The Apology of the Church of England | Page 2

Richard Hooker
owed his opportunity of training for the service of the Church. Among
Jewel's writings, this Apology or Defence of the Church of England

was the most important; but he worked incessantly, and shortened his
life by limiting himself to four hours of sleep, taken between midnight
and four in the morning. Bishop Jewel died on the 21st of September,
1571, before he had reached the age of fifty.
H. M.

AN APOLOGY, OR ANSWER, IN DEFENCE OF THE CHURCH
OF ENGLAND,
_With a Brief and Plain Declaration of the True Religion Professed and
Used in the Same_.


PART I.
It hath been an old complaint, even from the first time of the patriarchs
and Prophets, and confirmed by the writings and testimonies of every
age, that the truth wandereth here and there as a stranger in the world,
and doth readily find enemies and slanderers amongst those that know
her not. Albeit perchance this may seem unto some a thing hard to be
believed, I mean to such as have scant well and narrowly taken heed
thereunto, specially seeing all mankind of nature's very motion without
a teacher doth covet the truth of their own accord; and seeing our
Saviour Christ Himself, when He was on earth, would be called the
Truth, as by a name most fit to express all His Divine power; yet we,
which have been exercised in the Holy Scriptures, and which have both
read and seen what hath happened to all godly men commonly at all
times; what to the Prophets, to the Apostles, to the holy martyrs, and
what to Christ Himself; with what rebukes, revilings, and despites they
were continually vexed whiles they here lived, and that only for the
truth's sake: we, I say, do see that this is not only no new thing, or hard
to be believed, but that it is a thing already received, and commonly

used from age to age. Nay, truly, this might seem much rather a marvel,
and beyond all belief, if the devil, who is the father of lies, and enemy
to all truth, would now upon a sudden change his nature, and hope that
truth might otherwise be suppressed than by belying it; or that he would
begin to establish his own kingdom by using now any other practices
than the same which he hath ever used from the beginning. For since
any man's remembrance we can scant find one time, either when
religion did first grow, or when it was settled, or when it did afresh
spring up again, wherein truth and innocency were not by all unworthy
means, and most despitefully intreated. Doubtless the devil well seeth,
that so long as truth is in good safety, himself cannot be safe, nor yet
maintain his own estate.
For, letting pass the ancient patriarchs and Prophets, who, as we have
said, had no part of their life free from contumelies and slanders, we
know there were certain in times past which said and commonly
preached, that the old ancient Jews (of whom we make no doubt but
they were the worshippers of the only and true God) did worship either
a sow, or an ass, in God's stead, and that all the same religion was
nothing else but a sacrilege, and a plain contempt of all godliness. We
know also that the Son of God, our Saviour Jesu Christ, when He
taught the truth, was counted a juggler and an enchanter, a Samaritan,
Beelzebub, a deceiver of the people, a drunkard, and a glutton. Again,
who wotteth not what words were spoken against St. Paul, the most
earnest and vehement preacher and maintainer of the truth? sometime
that he was a seditious and busy man, a raiser of tumults, a causer of
rebellion; sometime again, that he was an heretic; sometime, that he
was mad; sometime, that only upon strife and stomach he was both a
blasphemer of God's law, and a despiser of the fathers' ordinances.
Further, who knoweth not how St. Stephen, after he had thoroughly and
sincerely embraced the truth, and began frankly and stoutly to preach
and set forth the same, as he ought to do, was immediately called to
answer for his life, as one that had wickedly uttered disdainful and
heinous words against the law, against Moses, against the temple, and
against God? Or who is ignorant that in times past there were some
which reproved the Holy Scripts of falsehood, saying they contained
things both contrary and quite one against other; and how that the

Apostles of Christ did severally disagree between themselves, and that
St. Paul did vary from them all? And, not to make rehearsal of all, for
that were an endless labour, who knoweth not after what sort our
fathers were railed