Robert Plumpton to Mrs Isabel Plumpton

230 Robert Plumpton to Mrs Isabel Plumpton [?1535?36] (No. 13, p. 191)

Right worshipfull mother,^a I humbly recommend me vnto you, desiringe
Jesus long to continewe your healthe to the pleasure of God. Worshipfull
mother, I am bounde to write to you, yea & you were not my mother,
because it hathe pleased God, of his inestimable goodnes, to send me
some vnderstandinge in the Scriptures; for everie man or woman that
it shall please God to sende knowledge [p. 192]^b in the Scriptures is
bounde to instructe theire brethren in the lovinge of the Gospell.
Wherefore it is my dutie to instructe you, moste principalle of all other,
which hathe shewed to me so muche kindnes, besides all motherly
kindenes. Wherefore I desire you, moste deare mother, that ye will take
heede to the teachinge of the Gospell, for it is the thinge that [. . .]^c all
we muste live by;¹ for Christ lefte it that we shoulde altogether rule our
livinge thereby, or els we cannot be in favoure with God. Wherefore I
would desire you, for the love of God, that you woulde reade the New
Testament, which is the trewe Gospell of God, spoken by the Holy
Ghoste. Wherefore doubte not of it, dearely beloved mother in the
Lorde, I write not this to bringe you into anie heresies,² but to teache
you the cleare lighte of Goddes doctrine. Wherefore I will never write
nothinge to you, nor saye nothinge to you concerninge the Scriptures
but will dye in the quarrell.

     Mother, you have muche to thanke God that it woulde please him
to geve you licence to live vntill this time, for the Gospell of Christe
was never so trewly preached as it is nowe. Wherefore I praye to God
that he will geve you grace to have knowledge of his Scriptures. Ye
shall heare perceive what the profession of our baptisme is, which
profession we muste have written in our hartes. Which profession
standeth in two thinges, the one is the knowledge of the lawe of God,
vnderstandinge it spiritually as Christe expoundeth it, Math: v, vj, &
vij chapters, so that the roote & life of all lawes is this: love thy lorde
God with all thy harte, all thy soule, all thy mighte, & all thy power, &
thy neighboure as thy selfe, for Christes sake; & love onely is the
fullfillinge of the lawe, as saithe S. Paule; & that whatsoever we doe &
not of that love, that same fullfillethe note the lawe in the sighte of
God; & what the lawe dothe meane, ye shall finde in the prologue to
the Rom: in my fathers booke called the New Testament. I wryte vnto
you because that I knowe you have a fervent [blank]^d & his lawes³
[blank, unfinished]^e

Endorsed (p. 191): To his right worshipful mother bee this deliuered with
speed

     ^a Marginal note: 13 letter by Robert Plompton who dyed at Waterton 38 of Henry 8
about Christmas.

     ^b At the foot of the page RN.

     ^c we deleted.

     ^d Marginal note: Copied 7 of June 1626.

     ^e At the foot of the page: Mistress Ann Scrope, daughter to Sir Edw: Plompton of
Plompton, ded die in December the 16 1650. Lord Jesus rest hir sowle in heven. Edward
Cholmlay. The handwriting suggests one of the copyists.

     ¹ Robert predeceased his mother but she expressed her love for him in her will, Test.
Ebor., vi, 260?2.

     ² The Plumptons remained loyal to the old faith and suffered the penalties for
recusancy. Robert?s son William (d.1602) was presented as a recusant in 1582, and the
last heir in the direct line, Robert Plumpton, died unmarried 8 Aug. 1749 at Cambrai,
where his aunt was a Benedictine nun, H. Aveling ?The Catholic Recusants of the West
Riding of Yorkshire 1598?1790?, Proceedings of the Leeds Philosophical and Literary Society, X, vi
(1963), 196, 306; J.J. Cartwright, Chapters in the History of Yorkshire (1872), 239; Stapleton,
cxxxviii.

     ³ The writer?s concluding passages derive almost entirely from Tyndale, Dickens, 134?
5.

                                          LETTER XI.

      To his right worshipful mother bee this delivered with speed.

    Right worshipfull mother, I humbly recomende me unto you,
desiringe Jesus longe to continewe your halthe to the pleasure of
God. Worshipfull mother, I am bounde to write to you, yea and
you were not my mother, because it hathe pleased God of his in-
estimable goodnes to sende me some understandings in the Scrip-
tures ; for everie  man or woman that it shall please God to sende
knowledge in the Scriptures is bounde to instructe theire brethren
in the lovinge of the Gospell. Wherefore, it is my dutie to in-
structe you, most principalle of all other, which hathe shewed to
me so muche kindenes, besides all motherly kindenes. Wherefore,
I desire you, moste deare mother, that ye will take heede to the
teachinge of the Gospell, for it is the thinge that all wee muste
live by ; for Christe lefte it that we shoulde altogether rule our
livinge thereby, or els we cannot be in favour with God. Where-
fore, I woulde desrie you for the love of God, that you woulde
reade the Newe Testament, which is the trewe Gospell of God,
spoken by the Holy Ghoste. Wherefore, doubte not of it,
dearly beloved mother in the Lorde, I write not this to bringe you
into anie heresies, but to teache you the cleare light of Goddes
doctrine. Wherefore, I will never write nothings to you, nor saye
nothing to you, concerninge the Scriptures, but will dye in the
quarrell. Mother, you have muche to thanke God that it woulde
please him to geve you licence to live untill this time, for the
gospell of Christe was never so trewly preached as it is nowe.
Wherfore, I praye to God that he will geve you grace to have
knowledge of his Scriptures. Ye shall heare perceive what the
profession of our Baptisme is, which profession we muste have
written in our hartes. Which profession standeth in twoe thinges ;
the one is the knowledge of the lawe of God, understandinge it
spiritually as Christe expoundeth it, Math. v. vi. and vii. chap-
ters ; so that the roote and life of all lawes is this, Love thy Lorde
God with all thy harte, all thy soule, all thy mighte, and all thy
power, and thy neighboure as thy selfe for Christes sake. And
love onely is the fullfillinge of the lawe, as saithe S. Paule, and
that whatsoever we doe and not of that love, that same fullfilleth
not the lawe in the sighte of God. And what the lawe doth
meane ye shall finde in the prologue to the Rom: in my fathers
booke, called the Newe Testament. I write unto you because that
I knowe you have a fervent . . . . . . . and his lawes . . . . .

                                        (Rest wanting.)