The children of this world be like crafty hunters; they be misnamed children of light, forasmuch as they so hate light, and so study to do the works of darkness.If they were the children of light, they would not love darkness.It is no marvel that they go about to keep other in darkness, seeing they be in darkness, from top to toe overwhelmed with darkness, darker than is the darkness of hell.Wherefore it is well done in all orders of men, but especial in the order of prelates, to put a difference between children of light and children of the world, because great deceit ariseth in taking the one for the other.Great imposture cometh, when they that the common people take for the light, go about to take the sun and the light out of the world.But these be easily known, both by the diversity of minds, and also their armours.For whereas the children of light are thus minded, that they seek their adversaries' health, wealth, and profit, with loss of their own commodities, and ofttimes with jeopardy of their life; the children of the world, contrariwise, have such stomachs, that they will sooner see them dead that doth them good, than sustain any loss of temporal things.The armour of the children of light are, first, the word of God, which they ever set forth, and with all diligence put it abroad, that, as much as in them lieth, it may bring forth fruit: after this, patience and prayer, with the which in all adversities the Lord comforteth them.Other things they commit to God, unto whom they leave all revengement.The armour of the children of the world are, sometime frauds and deceits, sometime lies and money: by the first they make their dreams, their traditions; by the second they stablish and confirm their dreams, be they never so absurd, never so against scripture, honesty, or reason.And if any man resist them, even with these weapons they procure to slay him.Thus they bought Christ's death, the very light itself, and obscured him after his death: thus they buy every day the children of light, and obscure them, and shall so do, until the world be at an end.So that it may be ever true, that Christ said: "The children of the world be wiser, &c."These worldlings pull down the lively faith, and full confidence that men have in Christ, and set up another faith, another confidence, of their own making: the children of light contrary.These worldlings set little bysuch works as God hath prepared for our salvation, but they extol traditions and works of their own invention: the children of light contrary.The worldlings, if they spy profit, gains, or lucre in any thing, be it never such a trifle, be it never so pernicious, they preach it to the people (if they preach at any time), and these things they defend with tooth and nail.They can scarce disallow the abuses of these, albeit they be intolerable, lest in disallowing the abuse they lose part of their profit.The children of the light contrary, put all things in their degree, best highest, next next, the worst lowest.They extol things necessary, Christian, and commanded of God.They pull down will-works feigned by men, and put them in their place.The abuses of all things they earnestly rebuke.But yet these things be so done on both parties, and so they both do gender, that the children of the world shew themselves wiser than the children of light, and that frauds and deceits, lies and money, seem evermore to have the upper hand.I hold my peace; I will not say how fat feasts, and jolly banquets, be jolly instruments to set forth worldly matters withal.Neither the children of the world be only wiser than the children of light, but are also some of them among themselves much wiser than the other in their generation.For albeit, as touching the end, the generation of them all is one; yet in this same generation some of them have more craftily engendered than the other of their fellows.
For what a thing was that, that once every hundred year was brought forth in Rome of the children of this world, and with how much policy it was made, ye heard at Paul's Cross in the beginning of the last parliament: how some brought forth canonizations, some expectations, some pluralities and unions, some tot-quots and dispensations, some pardons, and these of wonderful variety, some stationaries, some jubilaries, some pocularies for drinkers, some manuaries for handlers of relicks, some pedaries for pilgrims, some oscularies for kissers; some of them engendered one, some other such fetures, and every one in that he was delivered of, was excellent politic, wise; yea, so wise, that with their wisdom they had almost made all the world fools.
