Chyl…rē to be taughte trew relygion. / Christiā re ligion.
The Master's Inquiry
The master explains his duty to examine the scholar's religion and asks him to declare it.
Master. Since I know, dear son,1 that a big part of my duty isn't just to see that you're instructed in good learning, but also to earnestly and carefully examine what sort of religion you hold at this young age of yours, I thought it best to examine you with certain questions, so that I can know for sure whether you've worked well or poorly in it.23 So now tell me, my son, what religion it is that you profess.4
The Scholar's Profession
The scholar professes the Christian religion, as named in the book of Acts.
Student. That, good Master, is what I profess: the religion of the Lord Christ, which in the5 eleventh chapter6 of Acts is called the Christian religion.✦7
Read the original English
Master. Sith I know (dear ….) that it is a great part of my deutie, not onely to se that thou bee instructed in …d letters: but also earne…y and diligētly to examin what sort of Religion, thou …, in this thy tender …: I thought it b…st to … thee by certaine questi…, to the intent I may perfectly knowe, whether thou hast wel or il trauailed therin. Now therfore te… me (my sonne) what Religion that is which thou professest.
Scholer. That, good Master I professe, which is the … ligion of the Lorde …: which in the. xi. of the Actes is called the christiā ….
Scripture echoes
- ↩Acts.11.26 — And when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. And it happened that for a whole year they gathered with the church and taught a considerable crowd, and that the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch.
Notes
- 1 ↩Source lacuna after 'dear' (one illegible word). Reconstructed as 'son' from the Master's repeated address '(my sonne)' later in this section and throughout the dialogue; less likely alternatives include 'child' or 'scholar'.
- 2 ↩Multiple EEBO-TCP illegible gaps filled with the most plausible Early Modern readings: 'good letters' (…d letters); 'earnestly'; 'holdest' (one-word gap after 'thou'); 'age' (after 'tender'); 'best'; 'appose'/'examine' (one-word gap before 'thee', matching the preface's 'appose his scoler'); 'questions'.
- 3 ↩'good letters' is the reconstructed period idiom for liberal learning / schooling; rendered 'good learning' for modern readability. 'trauailed therin' rendered 'labored … in it' (studied/worked at it), not travel.
- 4 ↩Source 'te… me' reconstructed as 'tell me' (illegible letters after 'te').
- 5 ↩Source lacunae: '… ligion' restored as 'religion'; 'Lorde …' rendered as 'Lord Christ' from dialogue context and the following Acts 11 naming of Christian religion. Alternative fill 'Lord Jesus Christ' is also plausible.
- 6 ↩Source 'xi.' is a Roman chapter numeral in the citation 'the xi. of the Actes'; rendered as 'eleventh [chapter]' for modern readability.
- 7 ↩Terminal lacuna after 'christiā ….' restored as 'Christian religion' from chapter title/margin note ('Christian religion') and the Acts 11 naming context.
John Ponet's Short Catechisme (1553) companion
Rule yourself daily, not just on retreat
Chosen Portion turns the mirror into a daily practice — a short reading and examining question each morning before you lead anyone.
Chosen Portion makes the mirror daily: the ruler-formation questions this collection preserves become a two-minute morning examination in the app.
- A daily formation reading drawn from centuries of counsel to those in authority
- One pointed examination question a day — two minutes, before the meetings start
- Track your practice over weeks and watch the examined life become a habit