IN CONINGTON CHURCH, HUNTINGDONSHIRE. 149 square cappes, sommc round cappcs, somme buttcn cappcs, somuie only liattcs? Doe not somme wear side gownes liavinge large sleeves, with tippettes, whiche is not wel liked of your secte, somme of more perfection, Turkey gownes, gaberdeines, frockes, or niglite-gownes, of the most laye fashion, for avoiding of superstition ?" In replying to which Jewell incidentally alludes to this subject, putting this question to Harding — " AVherefore doothe Thomas of Aquine tel us so certainly that the wearinge of Francise or Dominike's Cowle liad power to remove sinne as well as the Sacramente of Bap- tisme?" The marginal reference given by Jewell to the works of that great schoolman is a general one, and I have been unable to verify it. Amongst the writings of Becon against the Church of Rome, those on "The Acts of Christ and of Anti-Christ," published in 1577, contain the following passage — "Anti-Christ, for the forgiveness of our sins and of our justification, sendeth us to his pardons and Bulls, to his years of Jubilee, and masses of Scala Coeli ; yea, he sendeth us to a Grey Friar's Cowl and Avilleth us to be buried in that, promising us by that means both remission of sins and everlasting life." In a letter from Latimer, bishop of Worcester, to Sir Edw. Baynton, is the following passage : — " I have thought in times ])ast that if I had been a Friar and in a Cowl, I could not liave been damned nor afraid of death." And elsewhere, in a sermon preached by him on Septuagesima Sunday in 1552, he observes as follows^ — " True it is that God requireth good works of us, and commandeth us to avoid all wickedness. But for all that, we may not do our good works to the end to get heaven withal ; but rather to show ourselves thankful for that which Christ hath done for us, who with his passion hath opened heaven to all believers ; that is to all those who put their hope and trust not in their deeds, but in his death and passion, and study to live well and godly ; and yet not to make merits of their own works, as though they should have everlasting life for them, as our jMonks and Friars, and all our religious persons were wont to do, and therefore may rightly be called nuumerers ; for they had so great a store of merits that they sold some of them unto other men, and many men spent a great part of their substance to buy their merits, and VOL. V. X
