the most
excessive loyalty to the crown.[394] The informer, it must be allowed,
was a good-for-nothing person. He had gone to the confessor, he said, to
be shriven, and had commenced his confession with acknowledging "the
seven deadly sins particularly," "and next the misspending of his five
wits." As an instance of the latter, he then in detail had confessed to
heresy; he could not persuade himself that the priest had power to
forgive him. "Sir," he professed to have said to the confessor, "there
is one thing in my stomach which grieveth my conscience very sore; and
that is by reason of a sermon I heard yesterday of Master Latimer,
saying that no man of himself had authority to forgive sins, and that
the pope had no more authority than another bishop; and therefore I am
in doubt whether I shall have remission of my sins of you or not, and
that the pardon is of no effect."

The priest answered, "That Latimer is a false knave;" and seven or eight
times he called him false knave, and said he was an eretycke. "Marry,
this I heard Latimer say," the confessor continued, "that if a man come
to confession, and be not sorry for his sins, the priest hath no power
to forgive him. I say the pope's pardon is as good as ever it was; and
he is the Head of the Universal Church, and so I will take him. Here in
England the king and his parliament hath put him out; but be of good
comfort, and steadfast in your faith; this thing will not last long, I
warrant you. You shall see the world change shortly."

To this the informer said that he had replied, "You know how that we be
sworn unto the King's Grace, and he hath already abjured the pope."

[Sidenote: The confessor thinks that an oath loosely made may be loosely
broken.]

[Sidenote: Reported advice of Cranmer to the confessor of Sion.]

"As for that," said the priest, "an oath loosely made may be loosely
broken; and by this example be ye in ease. I had an enemy come unto this
church, and one of his friends and mine came unto me and said, 'Sir, I
pray you let us go drink with yonder man.' And the said friend maketh
such importunate suit unto me to drink with my enemy, that I promise him
by my faith that I will go and drink with him; and so indeed doth drink
with him. But what then," said the priest; "though I go and drink with
him upon this promise, trow you that I will forgive him with my heart.
Nay, nay, I warrant you. And so in like wise in this oath concerning the
abjuration of