The Interpretour To
the gentle reader, healthe in
Christe Jesu.

Death (Good Reader)
as scripture declareth, and our dayly
experiēence practeseth, to
all mankynde is a thing
most certeine and sure. For who is
he that shall lyve & not se nor tast
of deathes cuppe: the longest lyvers
at length dyed, neyther kyng
ne keysar can avoyde the duyte of
death, but of necessitie, as al are of
earth and asshes, so shall they returne
into the same.

Notwythstandynge thys that
sure we be to dye, yet when it shall
come, the Lord hath lefte secret to
hys owne wysdōom, chefelye bycause
we shulde ever kepe watche, and
warde, & be styll in aredines wyth
our lāampes burnyng to wayte upon A.ii. the A2v the bridegrom, whych cōommeth we
can not tell whēen, whether at mydnyght,
or at the cockes crowynge,
wherfore our mayster Christ gave
us warnyng that we shulde be alwayes
wakyng, and loke vigilāantly
for he cometh closlye lyke a thefe,
wythoute warnynge us, at what
houre he wyll come.

Then as he findeth every māan,
so wyll he judge hym, and where
the tree falleth (whether it be towarde
the South or North) there
it lyeth: there is then no respite to
be had, but streyght waye due execution
of goddes justice shal come
upōon all fleshe, happy is he therfore,
whome hys maister at hys returnynge
fyndeth wakynge, for hym
shall he put in auctoritie over all
hys treasure.

And for so moche as then the
matter shall hange al together in clear- A3r clearenes of conscience, whyche
at that tyme shall accuse a man,
or defende hym, acordynge as he
hath kepte it cleane with vertues,
or stayned wyth vices (for in the
booke of mēennes concience are all
theyr dedes layed uppe, to be opened
at the audit day of our death)
me thynk nothyng can be a greatter
staye to the concience of man,
then to know how he ought to go
owt of thys present lyfe, and what
to cary wyth hym to hys account,
or leve behynd hym in the world.

In consyderation wherof I
have translated into my natyve
spech out of Italiēen a sermōon of maister
Barnardine Ochin teaching
how a true chrystēen ought to make
hys last wyll: and for so moche as
the divell is at that instant of deth
very bragging busyly wyth man,
and diversly troblith hym, and the A.iii. iustice A3v justice of god on the other side fearith
hym, I have, to staye & strēengthen
the cōonsience on thes behalfes, turned
into english two sermons enstructyng
us how to aunswer the
divel whēen he tempteth us at what
tym, & by what meanes to quiet
our myndes, as touching gods justice,
other two have I also translated,
whych enforme us of the true
workes that god requireth of us,
and the way to go to heaven, and
that our saviour christ Jesus hath
by hys most preciouse death purchased
for us paradise with out our
deservynges.

Wich fyve sermons taken out
of the first part of maister Barnardine
sermons, as they be wrytten
and publyshed of good zeale to the
wealth of many, so it is thy curtisye
(gentle reder) to accept them
in good parte, & pardon my grosse tearmes A4r tearmes as of a begynner, and
beare wyth my translation, as of
a learner obteynynge thys of the
good reader I shalbe redye and
wyllynge hereafter when god geveth
better knowlege (accordyng
as my talēent wyll extende) to turne
mo godly sermōons of the sayd mayster
Barnardine into Englishe for
the enformacion of all that desyre
to know the truth. For they truely
conteyne moch to the defacyng of
al papistrie, and hipocrysie, and to
the advancement of the glorye of
god, and of the benefytes of Christ
Jesus. To whom wyth the holye
ghost be all honoure
and glorye for ever
and ever.
So be
it.

God Save The Kyng
and graunt us the truthe
of hys Worde.