and that every parish should have and receive one of the aforesaid
printed books into every Church throughout all their principalities
and dominions, to be chained up, for the common people to read
therein.

"Upon which divine work, or Discourses, the Reformation, begun
before in Germany, was wonderfully promoted and increased, and
spread both here in England and other countries besides.

"But afterwards it so fell out that the Pope then living, viz.
Gregory XIII., understanding what great hurt and prejudice he and
his Popish religion had already received, by reason of the said
Luther's Divine Discourses, and also fearing that the same might
bring further contempt and mischief upon himself and upon the Popish
Church, he therefore, to prevent the same, did fiercely stir up and
instigate the Emperor then in being, viz. Rudolphus II., to make an
Edict throughout the whole Empire, that all the aforesaid printed
books should be burned; and also that it should be death for any
person to have or keep a copy thereof, but also to burn the same:
which Edict was speedily put in execution accordingly, insomuch that
not one of all the said printed books, nor so much as any one copy
of the same, could be found out nor heard of in any place.

"Yet it pleased God that, anno 1626, a German gentleman, named
Casparus Van Sparr, with whom, in the time of my staying in Germany
about King James's business, I became very familiarly known and
acquainted, having occasion to build upon the old foundation of a
house, wherein his grandfather dwelt at that time when the said
Edict was published in Germany for the burning of the aforesaid
books; and digging deep into the ground, under the said old