NOTABLE SERMON

OF THE REVEREND FATHER

MASTER HUGH LATIMER,

Preached in the Shrouds at Paul's Church in London, on the 18th day of Jan. 1548.

Quæcunque scripta sunt ad nostram doctrinam scripta sunt. ROM. xiv. 4.

"All things which are written, are written for our erudition and knowledge." All things that are written in God's book, in the Bible book, in the book of the holy Scripture, are written to be our doctrine. I told you in my first sermon,† honorable audience, that I purposed to

*The shrouds or crowds, as we learn from Stow, was a chapel under the choir of St. Paul's Church, where sermons were preached in the winter, and when the weather would not permit an audience to stand in the churchyard.

In the edition of 1562, John Day says, "The rest of these sermons of the Plough are not yet come to hand."

declare unto you two things; the one, what seed should be sown in God's field, in God's plough land; and the other, who should be the

Sowers.

That is to say, what doctrine is to be taught in Christ's church and congregation, and what men should be the teachers and preachers of it. The first part I have told you in the three sermons past, in which I have assayed to set forth my plough, to prove what I could do. And now I shall tell you who be the ploughers; for God's word is a seed to be sown in God's field, that is, the faithful congregation, and the preacher is the sower. And it is in the gospel; "Exivit qui seminat seminare semen suum: he that soweth, the husbandman, the ploughman, went forth to sow his seed. So that a preacher is resembled to a ploughman, as it is in another place; "Nemo admotâ aratro manu, et a tergo respiciens, aptus est regno Dei." No man that putteth his hand to the plough, and looketh back, is apt for the kingdom of God. (Luke ix.) That is to say, let no preacher be negligent in doing his office. Albeit this is one of the places that hath been racked, as I told you of racking Scriptures. And I have been one of them myself that hath racked it, I cry God mercy for it; and have been one of them that have believed and expounded it

THE PREACHER GOD'S PLOUGHMAN.

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against religious persons that would forsake their order which they had professed, and would go out of their cloister: whereas indeed it toucheth not monkery, nor maketh any thing at all for any such matter; but it is directly spoken of diligent preaching of the word of God.

For preaching of the gospel is one of God's plough-works, and the preacher is one of God's ploughmen. Ye may not be offended with my similitude, in that I compare preaching to the labor and work of ploughing, and the preacher to a ploughman. Ye may not be offended with this my similitude, for I have been slandered of some persons for such things. It hath been said of me, "Oh, Latimer, nay, as for him, I will never believe him while I live, nor never trust him, for he likened our blessed Lady to a saffron-bag:" where indeed I never used that similitude. But it was, as I have said unto you before now, according to that which Peter saw before in the spirit of prophecy, and said, that there should come afterward, men "Per quos via veritatis maledictis afficeretur," there should come fellows by whom the way of truth should be evil spoken of, and slandered. But in case I had used this similitude, it had not been to be reproved, but might have been without reproach. For I might have said thus; as the

T

saffron-bag that hath been full of saffron, or hath had saffron in it, doth ever after savour and smell of the sweet saffron that it contained; so our blessed Lady, which conceived and bare Christ in her womb, did ever after resemble the manners and virtues of that precious babe that she bare. And what had our blessed Lady been the worse for this? Or what dishonor was this to our blessed Lady? But as preachers must be wary and circumspect, that they give not any just occasion to be slandered and ill spoken of by the hearers, so must not the auditors be offended without cause. For heaven is in the gospel likened to a mustardseed; it is compared also to a piece of leaven; and as Christ saith, that at the last day he will come like a thief; now what dishonor is this to God? Or what derogation is this to heaven? Ye may not then, I say, be offended with my similitude, for because I liken preaching to a ploughman's labor, and a prelate to a plough

man.

But now you will ask me whom I call a prelate? A prelate is that man, whosoever he be, that hath a flock to be taught of him; whosoever hath any spiritual charge in the faithful congregation, and whosoever he be that hath cure of souls. And well may the preacher and the ploughman be likened to