For preaching of the gospel is one of God's plough-works, and the
preacher is one of God's ploughmen. Ye may not be offended with my
similitude, in that I compare preaching to the labour and work of
ploughing, and the preacher to a ploughman: ye may not be offended with
this my similitude; for I have been slandered of some persons for such
things. It hath been said of me, "Oh, Latimer! nay, as for him, I will
never believe him while I live, nor never trust him; for he likened our
blessed lady to a saffron-bag:" where indeed I never used that
similitude. But it was, as I have said unto you before now, according to
that which Peter saw before in the spirit of prophecy, and said, that
there should come after men _per quos via veritatis maledictis
afficeretur_; there should come fellows "by whom the way of truth should
be evil spoken of, and slandered." But in case I had used this
similitude, it had not been to be reproved, but might have been without
reproach. For I might have said thus: as the saffron-bag that hath been
full of saffron, or hath had saffron in it, doth ever after savour and
smell of the sweet saffron that it contained; so our blessed lady, which
conceived and bare Christ in her womb, did ever after resemble the
manners and virtues of that precious babe that she bare.
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