1 I ^ %EONYSOl ? I 1 I I % 8 1 3 :lOS-ANCflj "%HAIN(l-]tf^ , Sk s f % i i i 3 & %BAINI1-J(^ %OJITO-JO^ %OJIWD-JO : ^ SSfc ^f^% ^t f s r i I g i ^\\E-UNIVER% ,^IOS-ANCEIFJ> ^OF-CA! ^ ^x^v-*f: */; > v/ P= == ..inc.AurFttf ,\t.iiDO ANIMADVERSIONS UPON M*. PHILLIPS'* HISTORY OF THE LIFE O F CARDINAL POLE. BY TIMOTHY NEVE, D. D. Redtor of Middleton-Stoney, Oxford/hire. Nefcimus, quo paflo ab initio rerum ita vidimus femper fieri, ut quotiefcunque Deus quaji accenderet, & hominibus patefactret veritatem Juam, quamvis ea non tantum antiquif- fima, fed etiam aeterna ejjet^ tamen ab impiis hominibus & hojiibus, recens &T nova diceretur. Juelli Apologia Ecclef. Ang. p. 114. OXFORD, At the CLARENDON PRESS.. MDCCLXVI. Sold by DAN. PRINCE, at OXFORD ; and by J. ROBSON, Bookfeller to her Royal Highnefs the Princefs Dowager of WALES, in New-Bond-Street, LONDON. Aft O v *& 3 W Imprimatur : D. Du R E L L, Vice- Can. . Co/LNov. i. 1765. To His GRACE THOMAS LORD ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY THE following attempt to vindicate the dodtrine and chara&er of our reformers, from the falfe reprefentation and injurious re- fledlions of a late writer of the life of Cardinal Pole, is, with all humility and veneration, infcribed by His GRACE'S moft dutiful and obliged Son and Servant, TIMOTHY NEVE. .3: .1 ^ PREFACE. THE reftlefs emiffanes of the See of Rome, not content with the liberty of confcience indulged them, are continually reviving the controver- fy between their church and ours, and making encroachments upon us. A- mongft the many attacks to which their eagernefs hath prompted them, and which of late have been very open and indecent ; there is no one, in which the exploded errors of popery are work- ed up in a more artful and infidious manner, than the Hi/lory of the Life of Cardinal POLE, which is a labour- ed, plaulible infult both upon the civil and ecclefiaftical Liberties of this coun- try. The PREFACE. The performance, indeed, hath no- thing in it, that may alarm us, or give us apprehenfions of its doing mifchief. But as every thing of that nature is looked upon as a kind of defiance, and, if not particularly confidered, as a triumph too ; the author of the fol- lowing fheets has ventured to accept the challenge. How he hath acquitted himfelf, the reader muft determine. But whatever his fuccefs may be, his endeavours are well meant ; and he comforts himfelf 'with this aflurance, that he hath ftrictly followed truth, and hath not wilfully fupprefled, or dif- guifed any thing. He is confcious, in- deed, that his work wants the orna- ments of ftyle to recommend it ; and that fome inaccuracies of language may have flipped from him, through the greater attention paid to matter, than to words ; for he hath confidered him- felf as concerned only with hiftorical evidence ; and that matter of fact, when plainly and faithfully related, would be more acceptable to thofe readers, P R E F A C E. readers, whom alone it is his defire to pleafe, than the gaudy decorations of affefted eloquence ; and he ihall think his ends fufficiently anfwered, if the pains he hath taken be any ways in- ftrumental in promoting that Sacred Caufe, which it is his ambition to ferve. Many of the Plagiarifms, which the compiler of the Englifo life of Cardi- nal Pole hath been guilty of, are taken notice of in the courfe of this work : But many more are unnoticed, to avoid prolixity. Only thus much may be obferved in general, that the work it- felf is little more than a collection from other writers ; and that there are not many notes, and not very many pages in it, for which he is not in- debted to them : their references are taken, but their names induftrioufly concealed. Thus, for inftance, !0m- rints preliminary difcourfes to every volume of his edition of Poles letters are only once openly referred to, (part i. p. 208) though they furnifhed Mr. Phillips with the greateft part of his materials. Whilft PREFACE. Whilft thefe papers were in the prefs, the author was honoured with fome ftridures upon Mr. Phillips by the Reverend Dr. Jortin ; and being unwilling to leflen the credit of fuch valuable obfervations, he hath put them in the Appendix by themfelves. CONTENTS. SECT. I. Introduaion, -page i. Pole at Oxford, 6. at Padua, 7. Erafmus writes to him, 8. Account of Longolius, 12. Vindication of Luther, 15. Charac- ters of the Popes from the beginning of the i6 th century to the end of the council of Trent, 38. Reformers charges againft popery, 48. Rife of Henry Vlllth's Divorce, 54. Account of dean Colet, 63. Profecution of the divorce, 68. Fall tfWolfey, 81. Pole refufes the archbiflioprick of York, 84. The convocation acknowledge the King's fu- premacy, 87. SECT. II. Account of Sadolet, 96. Conclufion of the divorce, 98. Profecution of heretics, 102. Henry mar- ries Anne Bullen, 107. Appeals to Rome prohibited, 109. Pope's fupremacy never legally allowed, 112. Account of Pole's book on the church's unity, 126. Account of Ver- ger's edition of it, 154. Account of Verger , 161. Of Sir Thomas More, 163. Of bifhop Fijher, 165. Of Anne Sullen, 169. Pole at Rome, 184. Made a Cardinal, 186. SECT. III. Account of the Cardinalate, 187. Of Ho- fius, 192. Defence of Erafmus, 193. Supprefiion of the leffer Monafteries, 219. Pole's firft embaffy to the Empe- ror and King of France, 240. Pole at Cambray, 250. at Liege, 251. Account of Cochley, 252. Of the cardinal of Liege, 255. SECT. IV. Suppreflion of the greater Monafteries, 258. The monaftery of St. Auflin, and flirine of St. Thomas a Becket deftroyed, 280. Account of Becket, 283. Of his miracles, 293. Account of Pigbitis, 298. Of _ Tapper, 301. Of cardinal Beaton, ibid. The periecuting fpirit of popery, 305. The lenity of the gofpel prptef- tant CONTENTS. tant Spirit, 308. The Pope excommunicates and depofes Htnry, 311. The later power and practice of the Popes ; and the doctrine of Popery, 312. Palis fecond embafiy to fhe Emperor, 319. Solicits him to make war againft Henry, 320. Account of 'Palis Apology to the Emperor, 322. Some of his relations condemned for treafon, 324. The fix articles paffed, 327. Pole pays his devotion to the head of Magdalen at Sainte-Beaume, 328. SECT. V. Pole at Rome, 331. Account of Cromwell, .333. Pole appointed Governor of the province of the Patrimony, 338. The teftimonies of Sulpicius Severus, and St. Aujlln againft perfecution confidered, 340. Ac- count of the Viterbo fociety, 344. Of FaldeJJb, 345. Exe- cution of Pole's mother, 347. SECT. VI. Concefiions of the neceffity of a refor- mation in the church of Rome, 349. Novelty of the grant of indulgences, 351. Luther's oppofition to them, 353. Account of Eckius, 357. Efforts of the Popes to fupprefs the reformation, 360. Doctrines, and progrefs of it, 362. Council of Trent opened, and diflblved, 368. Chanteries, Guilds, &c. fupprefled, 369. Second Council fummoned at Trent, 373. The Pope and the Emperor enter into a league againft the proteftants, 375. The Pope's conduct at Trent compared with that of the Bifhop of Alexandria at the council of Nice, 378. The council opened, 380. Account of it, ibid. Sufpended, 391. Ac- count of Pope Paul III. 391. Julius III. fucceeds Paul, and opens the Jubilee, 392. Council opened again at Trent, 393. Account of its decrees, 394. Sufpended, 396. Account of the conference at Poiji, 397. Another open- ing of the Council at Trent, 401. Account of the Le- gate Altemps, ibid. Of Navigero, 402. Account of the decrees of the Council, 403, 8V. Of Duditkius, 424. Note. SiCT. CONTENTS. SECT. VII. Account of Henry VIII. 429. Pole write* to the privy Council, 438. Account of his letter to Ed- ward VI, 440. Mr. Phillips' 5 reprefentation of the tranf- a&ions of this reign confidered, 442. Account of Peter Martyr, 451. Of Ochin, 452. Of Alafco, 453. Poles behaviour in the Conclave when his Friends would have promoted him to the Popedom, 463. SECT. VIII. Queen Mary 's acceffion, 472. Her be- haviour, 475. Sir Thomas Wyatt's rebellion, 483. Mar- ried clergy deprived, 486. Poles legantine powers conil- dered, 491. SECT. IX. Pole arrives in England, 495. Queen's fuppofed pregnancy, 499. Papal fecurity of church lands confidered, 500. Bifhop Gardiner's death, 503. SECT. X. Defence of Cranmer, 507. Pole writes to him, 517. Pole's behaviour to Sir John Cheke, 523, Queen Mary's and Queen Elizabeth's times compared, 527. Polt chancellor of both Univerfities, 534. State of learning in the Univerfity of Oxford in his time, 535. Sends com- mifiioners to vifit it, 536. Account of the letters which panned between him and Ignatius of Ltyola, 539. SECT. XI. Rupture between Pole and the Pope, 542.' Death of Queen Mary, 546. Pole writes to the Princefs Elizabeth, 549. His death, ibid. SECT. XII. Character of cardinal Pole, 551. more particularly his lenity and patriotifm confidered, 559. EXPLANATORY REFERENCES. Cardinal Pole's life is cited from ghtirini's edition of it, in his firft volume of Poles letters. Lord Herbert's life of Henry's VIII. is cited from the fmall folio edition, printed 1673. Bifhop Burnet's hiftory of the reformation is cited from the following editions, vol. i. printed in 1681, v. 2. 1683, and vol. 3, 1753. Sleidan's hiftory from Bobun's Eng. translation, 1689. Father Paul's hiftory of the council of Trent y from Brent's Eng. tranflation, printed in 1629. Erafmi Epiflolte^ from the Bafil edition, 1558. BoJ/uet's hijl. des vari. des Egl. Prate/}, from the Paris edit. 1718. HeyKn's hiftory of the reformation, from the firft edit, 1661. God-win's Annals, from the edit, printed with Lord Ba- con's hiftory of Henry VII. fmall fol. 1676. Fox's Aits and Monuments, from the edit, of 1641* ERRATA. The mere typographical errors, being obvious and nted not be pointed out ; thole which affect the fenfe, the Rea- der is defired to correct, as follows. Page 1 4, line 4 from the bottom, note-, inftead of/ar tbo 1 read, indeed. p. 1 6. turltsjedttnai r.fedajjdis.-r^. 35, at die end of note. 2, add, & Herrnfcbmidiivit. Lath. p. 99, p. 36, 1. 17, give, r. gave p. 38, note i, p. 9, r. p. 7 p. 41, note, 1. ult. p. 186, r. p. 286, and p. 56, r. /. 5a p. 6z, 1. 14, dele ^ p. 64, 1. 1 3 after nothing, add entire p. 69, 1. 8, be, r: & -p. So, 1. 3, 4^ follicit bis caufe, r, promote it p. 83, 1. 8 &c. the authorities for the quotation omitted, add at bottom Stcwe p. 5 54. Cavendijb p, 166 p. 106, 1, i, In r. it p. 1 1 8, 1. 20, but, r. far. p. 126, 1. 3, 4, invations, r. innovations. p. 128, 1. UJL note, and in 4 other place?, ibid, ibidem, r. //. ibid. p. 142, 1. uit. ' tbofe, r. the p-i75> ! "It- whom, r. &OT p. 188, 1. 14', dele, be "p.195, 1. 10, Frcr/!, r. After p. 200, 1. 3, this, r. tbe. p. 202, 1. uk. this r, tbe-f and after Cdet add, which is here re- ferred to p. 2c8, 1. 8, that, r. his. p.224, 1.14, More, r. wcrjc p. 2 28, 1.2, defenfille, r. dcfenfive p. 229, 1.19, /&fy, r.- it p. 235, 1.13, after Dcd, add coJleSld p. 238, I. 3, was, r. were p. 249, 1. penult, note, after farther, add back p. 282, note i. p. 248, r. ib. />. 248 p. 305, 1. 6, dele, but p. 306, 1. 3, fuch, r. bis. p. 31 1, 1. penult, bad fats, r. l\ivs Jut p. 322, 1. 9, dele where p. 324, 1. 3 fr bott. dele arid P. 330, 1. 22, have, r. batb. p. 340, note I, Home, r. Hor- tiii p. 341, 1. 3 fr bott. after edition, add of Sulpicius. p. 353, 1. 14, after conffjjion, add be, p. 354, note i, WclPs r. Wolfs p. 356, 1. 9, Cbrift will fee &c. r. let Cbrijf judge whether what I have jaid he bis, cr merely my own p. 363. 1. 12, from the bottom dele to offer p, 368, 1. 14, tetter have, r. done better to bare, and 1. 18, notbirg, r. any thing p. 380, afcer appe^rwce, add, of liftops.. and 1. 1 2, wherein, r. n p. 386, 1. 15, afar.judaea, add, the form in zcbitb they drew up this important article, with p. 387, note 4, add Du- pin, 16 Cent. v. 2. B. 2. p. 3a p. 390, 1. 13, the, r. /&tf. and. penult, thtm, r. ;V p. 4za, 1. i, after volume, add-, ?' /o//9 p. 486, 1. 8 fr. bott. after Cbrijl, add cr p. 492, note i, 1554, r. 1553 p. 500, note I, 1. 3, dogne, r. dogut r p. 50 f, 1. 9, after confirmed, add^y O^ p. 508, 1. 7. f* r. _/& ; and note Indors, r. Tudors p. 518, 1. penult, abjdutely, r. absolute 19, 1. 6, aher /^//s, addyr,^ p. 572,!. 7, r. lives. 1 A 7> whe ANIMADVERSIONS O N SECTION THE FIRST. IT was not to be expected, but that the extraordinary activity, zeal, and fuccefs of thofe great and eminent Per- fons, who were more immediately con- cerned in bringing about and effecting that important Revolution in Religion which happened in the beginning of the i6th Century, mould have rendered them the objects of reproach and defamation from the Members of that Communion, whofe intereft and gain they fo effectually over- turned. It might however be hoped that, at this diftance of time, their manes would have been fpared, and no endeavours ufed to perpetuate thofe invectives, and hand down to remoter!: pofterity that obloquy, which violent fpleen, and private refentment, raifed againft them at the firft. In a Controverfy of the moft interefting nature, in which long-received Opinions were called in queftion, and inveterate pre- judices attacked ; it is no wonder if the A paffions paffions took the alarm, and drew expref- fions of animolity and rancour from the defendants. Charity will make many and favourable allowances for thefe. We pity the men, and lament the infirmities of hu- manity. But mould a Writer, after an in- terval of more than two Centuries, enter into an examination of the caufe with a fpirit of malice, mould he defcend to fcur- rilities and perfonal invectives j he muft be received with indignation and contempt by every honeft Reader, even of his own Party. How far Mr. Philips, the Englijh Writer of the life of Reginald Pole, is chargeable with this offence to decency and good manners, will be feen in the following Pa- pers. He feems to have imagined there could be no better method of extolling his Hero, than at the expence of all who dared to differ from him, not only of thofe with whom he might have had perfonal alterca- tions, or from whom he might have re- ceived perfonal injuries, but of thofe whofe fole offence it was to think, in Matters of Speculation, differently from him. This is truly making himfelf a Party in his Fa- vorite's quarrel : and, as fuch, he muft be anfwerable for any free flrictures which may occafionally be brought againft the conduct, temper, and abilities of Pole him- felf; who perhaps may have reafon to fay to ( 3 ) to this difturber of his ames, why hafl thou difquieted me thus, to bring me up, and fet me before a frefli tribunal of thofe, who would not otherwife have troubled themfelves about me ? or fought to Men the fair reputation I have hitherto been permitted to enjoy amongft them, without any rigorous enquiry whether I was juftly entitled to it or no ? The time in which Reginald Pole lived puup was, as this Author exprefTes it, as re- markable an Epoch, as any fine c the eftablifi- P. i. went of Chrijiianity. The Revolutions in Religion, the revival of letters, and a li- beral way of thinking and writing, the confequence of the other two, have made it more canvafled, and better known than almoft any other Period : and he who (hall appeal to the teftimony of thofe times, mould take heed to tread upon the fureft grounds, and to be certain of his vouchers, not taking them at fecond hand, but con- fulting them himfelf, left he mould be de- tected either of ignorance or falmood. Dif- membered fentences, mutilated parTages, perverted citations where the connection will not anfwer to the appeal, or wilful mifconftruftions, will foon be found out where Scholars can have have recourfe to books. " He, fays Mr. Chillingivortb, that " will accufe any one man, much more any " great multitude of men of any great and A 2 horrible ( 4 ) " horrible crime, fhould in all reafon and " juftice take care that the greatnefs of his " evidence do equal, if not exceed, the " quality of the crime." ' Mr. Philips^ above attending to fo reafonable a law, doth not feek fo much for evidence of accufation as for matter of mere reproach 5 and, not con- tent with reviling Perfons, hath taken up~ on him to treat the Religion of his Coun- try with peculiar infult. Yet it feems we are to thank him for not fpeaking out; Preface for having a greater refpeft for the Pub- p. vn. ft c ^ than hi mf elf ) and facrificing much of his own. way of thinking, by fupprefjing not only fome juJljfiabL', but feme dijpleajing things : but by the fpecimen he hath given us, we do not reckon ourfelves much obliged to him for his civilities, or think that he has omitted any one afperfion, which might render the Reformers infamous, or repre- fent our Religion falfe and prophane. But what elie can be expected from one, who retails the virulence of Cochleius and Saun- ders, whofe authority, he muft know, was from the beginning rejected, as the evidence of common and profelTed calumniators. It is however by no means the intention of thefe reflexions to deprive Pole, or any of his Friends, of their juft praifes. Falfe is that Religion, and curfed is that Learn- i Chilttngworth's Religion of Proteftants. Chap. 6, part. i. p. 310. 2ti Edit. 1638. ing ( 5 ) ing which makes us blind to the merit of thofe with whom we cannot in all refpects agree : neither is it the defign of this work to enter deeply into the Controversy of the two Churches ; only to rectify Ibme grie- vous miftakes of this writer with regard to facts and authority, and to vindicate the good name of fome diftinguifhed charac- ters, whom he has made the peculiar ob- jects of his cenfures and reproaches. Agreeably therefore to his own defire, Preface We will Jlep back 200 years into the M?w-P- vu - ners, Religion and Policy of the times he treats about, and form the bed judgment we can from an impartial reprefentation of Facts, as if we had lived then, and were unconcerned about the Opinion of thofe who were to come after us. And here, the high birth, the eminent ftation, the real worth and the good qualities of Pole, are readily acknowledged : a refpectable Cha- racter he was no doubt, but far from be- ing that capital Figure he is here drawn. If compared with the Writers of his own times, we mall find his abilities, tho' not defpicable, were by no means fuch as would rank him amongfl the moil eminent of his cotemporaries. His parts were rather fpe- cious than folid ; his talent lying more in florid declamation than in itrict argumen- tation. From his circurnftances and fitua- tion in life, he was frequently placed in thole ( 6 ) thofe fpheres of action, which ill fuited his genius ; which was rather calculated preface for the jlill fcenes of life, where he ihone p. viii. to better advantage, than when he was en- gaged in thofe employments or defigns which required greater fpirit, life and acti- vity than he feems poffeifed of. His Education was attended with all the advantages that high birth and affluence could command. He was very early put fo forward in life by his excellent Tutors, that there was little doubt of his anfwering the expectations conceived of him, and making himfelf fit for thofe preferments defigned him by the King, who encouraged and maintained him. In the account that Wood gives of his relidence and progrefs in literature in Oxford ' he fays nothing of p 5. the academical exeroifes performed by him, nor of their having lajled feve ral days, as Mr. Philips informs us they did. But he took this account from the foreign Writers of the life of Pole, who it is probable mag- nified his proficiencies, on being told that he was admitted to read the logical books of Ariftotle ; by which nothing more is meant, than that he became B. A. it be- ing only the ftatutable form of admiflion to I IPootTs dthen. Oxon.v.i. p. 114. 2*. ed. which this Writer had feen and confulted, having been obliged to him, (though he is above acknowledging it;) for the greateft part of the particulars of the former page. that ( 7 ) that degree. From thence, for more -im- provement, he went to Padua, at that time the moft celebrated place in Italy for the cultivation of the Belles Lettres. A young nobleman of his hopes and distinction could not but be received with open arms, at- a place then at the height of its glory ; which P. 13, Erafmus himfelf longed to v.ifit, and ufed to call, not, as Mr. Philips fays, the Athens of Europe, but the Italy of Italy. ' As our Author is fo greatly obliged' to cardinal *jpnrti t for the account he has given us of the profeffors of Padua, and- the valuable acquaintance which Pole made during his five years refidence in that uni- verfity, it is very difingenuous not to vouch- fafe once to cite the firft chapter of ^uirini's remarks on Po/e's Letters ; for he has not only tranfcribed the chiefeft part of his narration from thence, but has taken al- moft every quotation and reference from him. 1 i hiam ut dim dtticam TM Efaoih? E^JW quidam appellarunt, merits Italtam Italia quis dixerit. Eraf. Ep. Petro Bembo. Lib. 25. p. 958. See alfo H^uirini v. i. p. 219. where the above Letter is referred to ; as is Budteus^ to Linacre cited by Mr. Philips in the note at the bottom, p. n. and alfo this Remark of Erafmus concerning Sir Thomas More, cited in the fame place, where he fays of him, mult a, adhuc majora ex nature fute felicitate pneftaturum, fi hoc in- gsnium exccluijjet Italia. Quirini, v. i. p. 223. 2 Where cardinal Quirini makes a reference to the page or book of any Author, fo does the fervile Mr. P. where the one quotes at random, the other is obliged to do fo too. The The great reputation of the Profeflcrs at Padua had made it the common refort of learned men, and of all who were am- bitious of that character, and defirous of being recommended to the notice of the world by thofe who were confefTedly the beft judges of literary merit. Here it was where Pole began thofe connections, which diftinguifhed his rifing worth. The Pro- feflbrs had this extraordinary fpur to their induftry and diligence ; they knew that they were forming the mind of one, who was the kinfman and the favorite of a great king, and might hereafter have it in his power amply to reward their labours : and ibme of them partook nobly of his prefent bounty, being maintained by him in his own houfe. They therefore took care to publiih his praifes, as of one who was an honour to them, and an ornament to their Univerflty. * Here commenced his clofe intimacy with Bemtio, Sadslet and Longo- ///, which lafted the remainder of their lives. Whilft he continued in this place, his acquaintance with Erafmus alfo took its rife. That great man had received from his friend Lupfct a very favourable reprefenta- tion of Pole. He therefore entered into an epiftolary intercourfe with him ; which he began by recommending to his favour and ini, v. I. p. 201, &c. -210. cfteem, efkeerh, In the 'warmeft terms, the after- wards well-known "John a Lafco j thereby genteelly laying himfelf under an obliga- tion to his new correfpondent. In one of his Letters he compliments him fo far as to give him a detail of the controverfy be- tween Luther and himfelf: and to this let- ter we owe that long, confufed note of Mr. P. 19- Philip s t infer ted evidently to afperfe the memory of Erafmus, and to miflead his readers ; for in it he has jumbled together a long fuit of letters, written fome of thern at the diftance of 6 or 7 years from others; and not only inverted the order of them, but hath moil unfairly repreiented them as written at almoft one and the fame time. The fubftance of this note is to be found in Seckendorfs copious hiftory of Luthera- nifm. ' And indeed he refers to him, but declines telling us in what part of that vo- luminous work we are to feek it. Hence it is probable that he did not confult Secken- dorf himfelf, but trufted to fome other au- thor who quotes him; or that he here gives us a Specimen of one of his ufual arts, of confounding thofe who would exa- mine his authorities. The epiftle to Melancbton, which he here cites, he hath miferably mangled. But why doth he take no notice of this claufe in it, Turn quod j crib o> non fcribo adverfus I Seckendorfliift. Lutb, L. i. p. 309. animi ammi fententiam ? plainly, becaufe it makes full againft him ; and clears Erafmus of the charge of prevarication, here fo ungene- roufly intended him. In the letter to Vives, Mr. Philips, by what art of conftrudlion I know not, makes him fay, " I have wrote a treatife on Free- " Will," whereas he fays only, (in an ab- rupt unconnected manner) " to confefs the " truth, we have loft free-will :" nor does he acknowledge that he believed nothing of what he wrote, as he is here reprefent- ed : he exprefTes himfelf thus, Illic mi hi aliud diftabat animus aliud fcribebat calamus. Now if inftead of retailing this ftale wea- ther-beaten calumny againft Erajmus, Mr. Philips had confulted his able and candid Apologift, he might have learned that the words, " tho' perhaps referring to his dif- " pute with Luther, and incautioufly ex- " prefTed, yet cannot mean that he had " written againft his Confcience, but his " Inclination, and fo had loft his free-will; " this he frequently declared, and chofe a " fubjecl: wherein he really, and ex ammo " differed from Luther j and all that we " can judge of thefe words is, what he "himfelf averred, that tho' very unwil- " lingly, yet very Jincerely, he had thus " written." x I Jortin's Life of Erafmu^ v. I. p. 413, &c. The The letter to the Senate of &trajburgh was written to complain of the asperity of Hutten, who had wrote a very abufive and fcurrilous treatife againft him, at which he fays both Luther and Melanchton were ve- hemently difpleafed. With regard to Lu- ther, he fays, " that he had rather lofe eve- " ry thing, than, by gratifying fome peo- " pie's paflions, write againir. his confci- " ence; only he would not join that party, " as well for many other reafons, as for " this, that fome things in Luther 's wri- " tings he underflood not, and fome things " he approved not." '. But it appears by his marginal reference, that our hafty Au- thor took this epiftle to be an apology of Erafmus for that acrimony which he long afterwards exprefled againft Luther, in a letter to him not lefs than two years after the date of this. * 1 Omnia recufavl, qua mlhi principes obtulerunt> ut fcriberem adverfus Luiherum^ tmo rnea malui perdere, quant ad affeRus quorundam fcribere contra confcientiam, tan- turn ijli fcederi nolui dare nomen^ quutn multls ali'is de eauJiSy turn ob hoc t quod qucedam in librh Lutheri non \n- telligerem, quesdam omnino non probarem. Eraf. Ep. L. 20. p. 716. 2 The reader may here fee at one view the refpedtive dates of the letters, &c. huddled together in this long note of Mr. Philips. Luther published his book againft Henry, in 1522. Ton/fall's letter to Erafmus, was written, in 1523. Luther's letter to Erafmus, difTuading him from writing againft him, is dated I 5 2 4- Erafmus's P. 20. The great intimacy that fubfifted be- tween Pole and Longolius gives our Biogra- pher an opportunity of making a more particular relation of this remarkable Cice- ronian. Poles life of him was the firft, and the beft fpecimen, he gave the public of his abilities. It is inferted in Bates's Lives, l and is an elegant elogium. We are told there as well as here, that Longolius was born at Mechlin, and that too from his own authority j and yet in a letter of Erafmus to Damian a Goes, * he fpeaks in a moft confident manner of his being a true Hollander, his father being of that country, and that he had this information from an uncle of Longolius. The whole bent of his ambition was the cultivation of eloquence, and the forming his ftyle ex- Erafmus's letters with copies of his book, to Henry, Ton/tall, IVolfey, and the Pope's Secretary are dated, I 524 Erafmus's letter, to George, brother of the Duke of Saxony, relates to the Hyperafpifta, and is dated, ' 1527. His letter to Melanchton, is dated, 1524. To Fives, is dated J 5 2 7' his angry letter to Luther, is dated, 1526. Erafmus' s book contra Pfeudo-Evangelicos. 1529. Letter to the Senate of Stra/burgh, dated, 1524. 1 Vitae felecfcorum Virorum. Batcjlus, p. 240. 2 Purus putus Hollandus, prognatus e patre HoJ- lando, in oppido celebri Hollandia, cm hortorum pulchri- tttdo nomen dedit Scboonhovite. quod dico, patruus ip- Jius, Pttrus Longolius, vir apprime dottus, mihi narravit. Eraf. Ep. L. 27. p. 1106. adllv ( '3 ) aftly after the model of Cicero's, fervilely copying his words and phrafes ; as if no- thing was claflical unlefs it was to be found in his writings. This clofe imitation drew upon him, and others of the fame turn, the cenfures of fome of the beft criticks of thofe times, who laughed at them for their pains ; * and yet this man undertook to re- P. 20. Jute Luther'j whole fyftem : " a tafk for " which he was not at all fit, having no- " thing in his head befides Ciceronianifm and " a little Philology." * An intenfe applica- tion to ftudy feems to have fhortened his days. Before he was taken ill, he made his will, and bequeathed his library to his friend and executor Pole, whom he ac- quainted with his illnefs, not by dictating but writing to him himfelf : and he im- mediately came to comfort his lick friend, 1 Erafmus in his Ciceronianus. Scaliger fays of Lon- golius, non fuo fenfn, fed Ciceronis locutus eft, dum nen flylum Ciceronis, fed ipfijfimas Phrafes, adeoque fententias tranfcribit. Scaligeran. p. 244. cited in Jcrtin's Life of Erafmus, v.i. p. 159. And Erafmus in his letter to Pole, befides the quotation in the margin, p. 20. doleo Lon- golium, &c. fpeaking of his ftyle, tells him, in his qua prodierunt apparet anx'ia Ciceroniana diflionis ajfeflatio, fed interim frigentibus inter dum fententiis, fubolet juve- nilis quidam amor gloria. Ep. L. 21. p. 790. 2 Jortin's Erafmus, v.i. p. 165. And thus Erafmus, in the letter to a Goes, cited here by Mr. Philips, fays, qui totus in hoc incubuit, ut Ciceronem exprimeret, nee in- feliciter cejjit conatits, at hie quanta jeipfo frigidior eft, in hh t in quibus pugnat adverfw Latheri dogmata. who ( '4 ) who expired a few days after, in the 33^ year of his age. It will give us but a very indifferent idea of his good fenfe, that he defired to be buried in the habit of a Cor- delier. 1 Erafmus, in a letter to Alciat, hath given an humorous account of the vanity and ftiffnefs of this pedantick Ciceronian ; " who was fo folemn, that though he ftaid " with him three days, he never obferved " him to fmile, not even at meal-times, " tho' he would fometimes aim at a joke " in his letters ; that according to this " fed!:, every thing mufl be exprefTed as " Cicero would have done it. Oh ! if he " could revive, how he would laugh at thefe I Epijlola a Longolio confer ipt a extremttm fpiritum du- cenie ; and then follows the former part of the letter here quoted, ghtirini, v. i. p. 205. Pole himfelf in his life of Longolius, fpeaking of his friend's illnefs, fays, ct tempore forte abejjet Polus, cut antea res fuas omnes cre- diderat) quern tamen per literas quo Jiatu ejjet certiorem fecit . . quo nuntio tri/tljjtmo ille percuijus fubito accurrit ; . . antequam vero difccderet^ in divi Franctfci Familiam voluit adoptari, ejufque babitu pojt mortem & temple fepe- lirt. Obiit 33. atatis anno. 3. Id. Septembris A. D. 1522. I have been thus minute and particular in this and a former note, to point out fome of Mr. Philips'* inaccuracies. It was as eafy for him to have followed his authorities clofely, as to have been hafty and care- lefs. A Biographer fhould attend to dates, and his ex- tracts fhould be clear and full, for tbo' the difagrtement here with matter cf fa ft is not material ; but the reader is entitled to accuracy even in things which are not fo. Pile's life, p. 24. Note. difciples " difciples of his." * Such is the character that Scholars have given of him. But while they at Padua were reforming their ftyle and language, they were called off to more important concerns than that of joining words together. An Augujlinian friar had ftarted a controverfy, not of dic- tion but of faith j and how well he main- tained his caufe is apparent. At the name of Martin Luther every fon of Rome trem- bled ; and happy was he who could afperfe him moft. Our Biographer hath put in his mite, and repeated the clamour ; and hath drawn the outlines of his picture, but in fuch distorted features, as to lofe all refem- blance. We difclaim the character here p. 2 given of that zealous Reformer, as being the reverfe of the original. But before we vindicate his good name, we will exorcife thofe evil fpirits that he is fuppofed to be pofTefTed with, and rid him of his execrable 1 Toto triduo quo mecum egit^ nunquam vidi hominem Vfl leviter fubridentem j ne in cowuiviis quidem : . . & tamen in epiftolis nonnunquam conatur ejfe feftivus . . exorta Jl nova Jeff a Ciceronianorum . . pofthac non liceblt eptf- copos appellare patres reverendos, nee in calce literarutn fcribere annum a Chrtfto nato> quod id nufquam faciat Ci- cero. Quid autem ineptius quam . . non aliter audere lo- qui, quam locutus eft Cicero ! ft revivifceret ipse Cicero, rider et hoc Ciceronianorum genus. Eraf. Ep. Alciato. L. 21. p. 798. See more of Lcngolius in the firft volume of Jortin's life .of Erafmus. pafflm, inti- Intimacies Mr. Philips fo pofitively aiTerts he maintained 'with thofe infernal inmates. A charge of this nature ihould be well proved, or not named at all -, for the infa- my of fuch flanders will fall fomewhere. Happily however for this (launch catho- lickj he tells us, Luther himfelf, loft to every human fentiment, acknowledged this diabolical injlruffior as his mafter. The firft appeal by way of proving this formidable accufation, is to a treatife of p. 25. Luther B y entitled Concio de turbis Sedandi : note. fo u t as no f UC Q treatife is mentioned either by Seckendorf, or Hernfchmidius (who pub- liihed Luther's life in 1742) who have each given a catalogue of his works according to the date of the years when they were wrote or published, I leave it to our writer to make the moft he can of it. His next proof of this notable fad: is, part of a fen- tence taken from Luther table-talk j a book not publimed by himfelf, not allowed to be his by many of his followers, nor ap- pearing till many years after his death, and its fuppofed compiler's ; " yet allowing it to " be genuine, what fair and refpedable ad- " verfary would urge loofe table-talk againfl " a man in controversy, and build ferious in- " ferences upon what perhaps was fpoken " but in jeft," 1 perhaps mifiaken by the rela- I Atterburys anfwer to the confiderations on thd fpirit of Martin Luther ; p. 16. 1687. Q^. tor, tor, or perhaps not fpoken at all. But how- ever, as we arc pretty fure that Luther ne- ver kept bad company, we will lee what Mr. Philips can make againft him from thence : tho' we muft remind him, that as there is an Englifh tranilation of this Table-talk, it was not kindly done to refer us to a Latin edition of a book not eafily to be procured, or if it could, to a pai- fage not readily to be found, when only a few detached words make the whole proof of this accufation. It was indeed prudent for him, thus to fight in the dark; for having found out the place, we fee nothing like it. For thus does Luther exprefs himfelf. Having before fpoke of the oppofition from within in mental fug- geftions, wherewith he was affaulted by the Devil, he adds to comfort himfelf. "What I " teach, write, preach, and intend, the fame " I lead openly in the clear day-light, not " hidden in a corner; I direct, and fquare " all the fame by the gofpel, by baptifm, " and the Lord's prayer. Chrift ftandeth " here, him I cannot deny, upon the gofpel " do I ground my caufe, &c. Yet notwith- " (landing all this, the Devil bringeth it fo " near unto me, with his crafty difputing, " that the fweat of anguifh droppeth from " me, infomuch as many times I feel and " underftand, that he Jleepeth nearer unto *' me than my wife Kate doth -, THAT is, B "he " he difquieteth me more, than me com- " forteth, or pleafeth me; even thus St. " Paul comforted himfelf when he was re- " viled for a rebel. Likewife the Devil ftirred " up the Jews againft Chrift, therefore do " I fay to the Devil, like as thou carnerl to " confufion by Chrift and St. Paul, even '' fo mall it go with thce, if thou meddleft " with me." l This is the whole conne&ed paflage, from whence this zealous honeft writer, or fome more zealous friend, picked out this founding, disjointed fentence, to de- monftrate Luther's intimacy with the De- vil. If fo, Martin mewed his affection for the fiend in a very odd manner ; and the proof of it does not difcover an intimacy of friendship, but a declaration of war, a challenge of defiance : and as he was over- turning his kingdom, he made as free with his name, as he did with any of his vota- ries. And whatever rejpeff was due to his P. 25. readers, Mr. Philips was certainly wanting in that due to himfelf, when he ventured to refer to this place. Errata ^ Llt f r this difmembered quotation, au- beforethethority is at laft produced, fuch as it is, but 2 pt * an authority plainly difcovered after the fal- fhood had been detected : becaufe, in this, and the following page of ^alfingbams fearch,* where this honeft quotation occurs, there 1 Luther's Table-Talk^ Engl. ed. chap. 37. Of tri- bulation and temptation, p. 391. 2 Search into matters of religion. Lond. 1609. are ( '9 ) are fome others of the fame fort added, which would by no means have been over- looked by one who was hunting for matter of defamation ; fuch as, eating a bufhel of fait with the Devi/, that he was Jo about him that he could neither write nor read, &c. &c. which have afforded much pleafant paftime to Luthers able and candid oppo- nents. Mr. Waljingham, the. perfon upon whofe authority our author relies for this weighty objection, was a deacon of our church ; a well meaning but a weak man, who was unfettled by lighting upon a de- fence of father Gampian, wrote by his bro- ther miffionary holy father Parfons, in an- fwer to a book publifhed by two Puritan Divines. Mr. W. in order to folve the doubts which he could not anfwer himfelf, inftead of confidering the full and able re- joinder immediately made to that defence, * chofe to fettle his mind by confiding in the plaujible reprefentations, which his new friends gave of their religion : and tr lifting to the books, they put into his hands, he feemeth not to have doubted of the truth of the citations he found in in them. For i See a treatife againft the defence of the cenfure given upon the books of W. Charke^ and Meredith Han- mer^ in maintenance of the feditious challenge of Ed- mund Campian lately condemned and executed for high treafon. A cool, well-written fenfibic performance. A 12. book, printed at Cambridge, no year men- tioned. in ( 20 ) in the inftance before us, it is fcarcely cre- dible that he, any more than Mr. Philips, gave himfelf the trouble of confulting Lu- ther's works j but relied upon extracts given him by a friend. For furely no honeft and good man, who could fee with his own eyes, or valued his own reputation, would flop ihort (as they both do) and content himfelf, with a Jew words in the middle of a fentence, when the whole, if clearly fiated, would make entirely againft him. But what Faith is to be kept with Hereticks 1 Neither does our Author fucceed better in his next reference, a quotation that he ought to be afhamed to make ; and to which no one, who would give himfelf time and thought to confult the book wherein it oc- curs, could in honour or confcience have given fuch a turn. It is not in the Treatife here appealed to, De abroganda miffaprivata, but in that entitled, De miffa privata & un5li one facer dotum -, and is plainly, like the former, a mental fuggeftion, a fpiritual con- flict upon reflecting, that for years together he had celebrated Mafs, whilft he was a fmner. He fought to quiet his confcience, and anfwer thefe temptations of the Devil, by faying, he was an anointed prieft becaufe he faid Mafs in the Faith of the church. He confefles, that tho' in refpect of his own faith and fins, upon the principles he then held, he could not repel the Devil's fophif- tryj ( 21 ) try; yet when he confiderea the grace and power of Chrift, all his terrors vanifhed. In the German^ and in theyena Latin tranflation, this imaginary bodily conference is laid to be in corded The whole reprefents the un- eafinefs of his own mind, not thoroughly fa- tisfied with the arguments he ufed againft thefe internal affaults, when under the bon- dage of popery, and whilft he was ignoraht of his own ftrength. 2 In this anxiety of mind, being convicted by the law of God, he owned himfelf a firmer; and turning unto Chrift with Peter * looked upon his in- finite merits, who hath condemned all hor- rible condemnation : and though without 1 Ccepit Diabolus in corde meo difputationem, multas enim nofles fatis acerbas 3* mole/las mini facer e poteft. Luther i op. ed. Jente? v. 2. In the Wittenburgh edition the conference begins thus, Si forfan agnofcatis, quam firmis nitatur columnis vcjlra caufa^ fi in horam incidatis tentationum . . Contigit me femel fub medlarn noflem fulnto expergefieri^ ibi Satan me- cum ccepit ejufmodi difputationem. De mifla privata, & unit, facerdot. Lutheri op. ed. Witt. v. 7. p. 228. 2 In bis angujliis^ in hoc agone contra diabolum vslebam retundere bojlein Armis, quibus affuetus fum fub papatu, ob- jiciebamque intentionem & fidcm ecclefics . . . ft ego inquam non refte credidi aut fenfi^ tamsn in hoc refle crcdidit & fen/it ccclefia. verum Satan e contra fortius $3* vebementius injians . . . bic refpondcbunt mi hi fanftijjimi patres, Me ridebunt & dicent^ Tune es Dottor ilk Celebris, & non nofti refpondere Diabolo? ---fipapiftaejjem omnium ten- tationum rudis, quern fecurum & Jlertentem negligeret . . . etiam talis gygas ejjem, contra abfcntem hojlcm, alacer^ y fortis. Ibid. p. 229. 230. Chrift ( 22 ) Chrift he was guilty, yet thro' faith in him, tho' a Tinner, he was holy and pure and clean; and had received Baptifm, Abfolu- tion, and the Sacraments, as feals of the Divine Grace. ' This is the fubftance of this imaginary Append, diabolical conference, which modeft and ho- pt. 2d. jy ]\/[ r . Pi-,i Ibid. p. 230. SecktndorfkaAh related the hiltory of this difpute, and fully expofed the idle objetSlion, of a real or feniible ap- pearance. L.I. p. 1 66', & feq. omit omit it, would be adding with too much honour for rancour and bigotry : it would be giving up the point : it would be con- fefiing the pafTage was falfly, was igno- rantly, was impertinently alledged. His bed way, fince he was gone' fo far, he thought would be, to compromife the matter; to flur it over with a pious ex- clamation ; grofly to infult the memory of Luther \ to take the Devil's part, and make him have the better of the difpute. Z/#- tbers works are not common : who" knows but a confident appeal to them will pafs off unfufpecled ? Is this the good faith of the confcientious Mr. Philips ? Did he think, that becaufe he published his book in a land of Herefy, we were not entitled to honefty and impartiality ? how elfe will he excufe his wilful mifreprefentations ? how elfe palliate his notorious falmoods ? But perhaps his zeal, or his horror, would not fuf- fer him to go through the few pages this conference takes up. I hope therefore for truth's fake, he did not read the whole paffage ; elfe, in his own language, we mall afk him, what fpirit is he pojfef/'ed with, to Append, fay, the Devil prevailed over Luther, and^> z - that Luther yielded the vlttory to him??' 2 * 1 ' when Luther himfelf expreffly afTerts, that the Devil was a liar; that he miffed his aim; that he could not drive him to defpair; and that the thoughts of Chrifl's Merits and and Mercies removed all his fcruples and anxiety of mind. Now let the Reader judge, whether or no Luther learnt of the Devil to abolifh the Mafs, that pretended capital article of the Catholick Religion. Af- -ter all, if' Mr. Phillips inftead of dipping into the book juft at the conference, and flopping there, had read further in this treatife de Mi/Ja priijata^ &c. he would have learnt that the queftion there, is not, about abolishing the Mafs ; but only that the conflicts of an awakened confcience for fay- ing private Mafs, when he firft found it to be finful, are ftated under the fiction of a bodily conference with the Adverfary of mankind. Now if this 'dialogue with the fpirit of lies had ended in Luther 's giving up the point, there would have been mat- ter of real triumph : inftead of that, he by no means yeilded to the perfuafions of his diabolical Foe, by being driven to defpair; but overcame the temptation and the a/fault, by appealing to the Mercy of God, and the Merits of Chrift. The enemies of Luther muft be hard driven, when they are compelled to go fo low for matter of invective ; as to rail at him, for difagreeing with the Devil. The truth is, that Luther, without the Devil's help or inftruftionS) had abolifhed the Mafs, as a capital error y fome years before this treatife was publifhed. To reprefent the feel- feelings and anxiety of his mind, before he could fatisfy himfelf in that point, he defcri- bed them in the language of the convent; and exhibited, under this feigned conference, the ftruggles of a tender confcience before conviction. Thus bis intimacies with thefe in- fcrnal inmates end not only in oppofing, but in vanquifhing them : which is but a ftrange way of returning the kindnefs of their in- JiruSlions. But what muft we think of thofe, who, to blaft a good man's reputation, mail quote a ftrong figurative manner of ex- preffion, as afTerting a real matter of fact, and then argue gravely from this prefump- tion ? is not this fuch difhoneft chicanery, as merits the fevereft reprehenfion ? but let fuch be left to the lames of their own. confcience. And Ifoould be wanting to the refpeff I owe to the reader -, to detain him by formally refuting fuch fhameful objections and "filly ftories, that they are fit to be the " objects of a flronger and more refigning " faith, than we proteftants can pretend to." * But did Luther alone keep fuch bad company ? Many of the Romift Saints had much greater familiarity with the fpirit of darknefe and lies. He played them many a fad prank. He ferved poor Benedict a trick, tho' he had like to have fuffered for it himfelf. He appeared to this Saint in, ftiape of a blackbird, and came fo near his I Atterbury^ p. 46. mouth mouth that he might have caught him, but whilfl he was croffing his mouth, the bird was flown indeed, but left behind him fo terrible a dimoneft carnal temptation, which plagued him fo much, that he threw off his cloaths, and rolled himfelf amongft thorns and briars, that the pain might drive away the temptation. That meek and godly man St. Dominick, the father of that holy tribunal the Inquifition, who is faid never to have committed one mortal fin, and to whom the virgin Mary gave the Rofary, yet even he could not efcape old Satan's malice. Once he disturbed the Saint at fludy, by (kipping about the leaves of his book in the fhape of a flea. Dommick however feized him, kept him in that fliape, and pinned him to the place where he left off, as a mark. Another time the fiend was more fancy, and in the fhape of a monkey, by grinning and other apim tricks difturbed him more than ever : but here again he met with his match, for the Saint made him hold his candle fo long, till his claws were burnt to the bone. One day as they were fludying together, the Fiend produced a long lift of the fins of the Do- minican fraternity, which upon the Saint's commands he quietly (knowing his power) gave up to him. * Once he had a long I Antoninus Chron. p% 3. tit. 23. cap. 4. 6. con- ( 27 ) conference with many Devils together, and forced them to confefs the virtues of the Rofary, and that he was the Saint they moft feared. After that, the Devil and he were good friends, and he became his difciple and fervant; for he fet up the Inquifition, and butchered the poor Albigenfes by whole- fale. In the firft adt of faith at Tboloufe, he burnt at leaft 300, fome fay 400 of thenft. alive in one day for herefy; which Para- mus, a well-known inquifitor, faid, was the mod glorious that ever was feen. * The flaming heart, the glorious St. Tberefa, as me is ftyled, had alfo many exteriour re- prefentations of the Devil in various fhapes and difguifes : and it was fome time, be- fore fhe found out, how much he detefted holy water, which made him fly away at once. x That angelick virgin, the ioul- feeing St. Catherine of Sienna, 3 and the famous S tn . Clara, * were both of them dif- 1 See Geddes's view of all the orders of monks and friars in the Roman church, p. 4. 28. 36, &c. where there are many fuch pretty tales taken from the lives of thefe blefled Saints. Mifcellaneous trails, v. 3. 2 S 1 . Tberefa's life, Eng. edit. 1642. c. 31. p. 445, fsfc . of certain exteriour temptations and reprefentations of the Devil, &c. 3 S c . Catherine of Sienna's life. Eng. edit. 1609. p*. I. c. 20. p. 87. Of the ftrange battailes which Ihe had againft the Devil, &c. 4 Vita S t3e . Clara. Antwerp. 1650. 0.7. p. 45. De exercitailone ejus in Oratione, a qua Damon earn abftrahere conatur. turbed ( 28 ) turbed by conferences with this angel of darknefs ; the latter of whom he afTaulted with flripes. But he made the moil im- preflion of all, in early days, upon St. Martin of 'Tours, with whom he had fo ma- ny conferences, that the St. began to con- ceive hope of his friend's Salvation. * But thefe are only flight fpecimens of the portentous fictions, with which the lives of the Romlfh Saints are replete. They are men- tioned here with no other view, but to mew the confiftency of Mr. Philips, who can re- late a ftory to the difgrace, as he conceives, of Luther, whilft multitudes of the like kind, but infinitely more abfurd, are re- corded to the glory of the heroes of his own communion ; all which, monftrous as they are, his religion compels him to be- lieve. But it is probable, fo enlightened a perfon hath fome favourable palliations to allege in behalf of thefe reveries : let him grant the fame indulgence to thefe flories of Luther, and then he will be at liberty to make the worft ufe of it he is able. I cannot but congratulate the world, on Mr. Alban Butler pious and edifying perform- ance, who in condefcenfion to the de- praved, vitiated tafte of the times, fo much devoted to novels and romances, the fig- ments of the imagination, has published I See his life by Sulpitlus Severus, fe&. 24. fuch fuch amufing fables, as the lives of the Preface Saints mujl be, if abounding with thofe ridi- P ; XI - culous and palpable abfurdities, which mark throughout the legendary lives of thofe cu- rious and imaginary Saints, the fathers of the defert, and thofe fanatical devotees whom Surius, Rabadeneira, &c. have fo gravely obtruded into the world. Having failed fo much in his evidence for Luther's diabolical connections, let us fee whether he is more fortunate in the character he draws of that reformer and his writings -, and it will appear that he is equally a ftranger to both; receiving his im- prefTions of them, not by a perfonal infpec- tion into his works, of which I am per- fuaded he never read a line, but from the exaggerated mifreprefentations of declared adverfaries. The firft and more immediate occafion of Luther 's defect from the See of Rome is well known. He was a man of un- common virtue and refolution. The cor- ruption, the ignorance, the wickednefs of thofe times, is loudly complained of by eve- ry ferious writer ; the neceffity and want of a reformation acknowledged by our au- thor in many places of this book, ' and in- deed by all the candid writers of his own church, and not openly denied by any of the fycophants of the popes. The moral i P, 139. 141,151,209, fcV; part ( 30 ) part of Luther 's character hath never been impeached : his abilities fpeak for them- felves. There is indeed, but then it was the general fault of the age, juft emerging out of ignorance and barbarifm, an afperity and roughnefs in his writings, far different from that delicacy which an improvement in politenefs has fince made the teft of ci- vility and good manners. What would of- fend us now, carried with it then, no idea of rudenefs or indelicacy, but was the com- mon language and expreffion of the fchools. This, and the nature of his undertaking, which required all the firmnefs he could poffibly collect, and all the native plainnefs of his country, is the only apology expe- dient to vindicate him from the petulant cenfures of this biographer. The cotemporary writers fpeak highly of Luther's morals, and abilities. Like ano- ther AtbanafiuS) he for fome time fmgly bore the florins of the whole world : and thofe who were the moft galled by him did by no means look upon him, tho' alone, as an infignificant opponent. They foon found his heroical fpirit too much fuperior to them. Many of thofe who widely differed from him, yet fpoke refpeclfully of him. Erajhms's favourable and candid opinion of him is well known : and to deprive us of the weight of his teftimony, he himfelf is accufed of being a fufpe&ed friend, and wifhing wifliing well to his defigns. But he does not fpeak more advantageoufly of him than Pope Leo the tenth himfelf did, when he faid, " brother Martin is a fine genius, and "his enemies are little envious monks;" 1 or than bifhop Pifier of Rochejler, who, in two of his letters to Erafmus, mentions him in terms of the utmoft regard ; acknow- ledging his extraordinary abilities, and his mafterly knowledge of the S S -, and only wifhing he had fpared the Pope and his court. * But Luther was not of a temper to do things by halves. He had a ready apprehenfion, a folid judgment, and an in- vincible fortitude : what he wrote, came from the heart; was the effect of convic- tion, of meditation, and prayer. His firft attempt, againft the exorbitant fale of indulgences, carried with it all the diffidence of modeft Worth : he feemed fearful of attacking received and revered 1 Jortins life of Erafmus. V. I. p. 124. Note. 2 Lutherus de quo fcripferas^ mirabili ingenii acumine praditus /?, & S S. prajio babet ad manum. Legi enim ea qute fcripjit maxima cum ai'iditate. Vellem KbentiJJime ilium pojfiim con-venire abfque gravi incommodo meo, ut poffem cum eo difcutere nonnulla, qua: me movent, &c. And in another letter he fays, Audio Lutberi commentaries in Pfalterium^ & in Epijiolam ad Ephefios propediem emit- tendos. Placet inibi hominis ingcnium^ $5" mirifica in SS. eruditio^ vellem profecJo fe temperajjst de fummo Pontifice. loqui) y de Us ques ad R.omanam curiam jpeclant. Cited by John Fox in his continuation of Haddon's anfwer to Ojorius, p. 279. dodlrines ; ( 32 ) doftrines ; yet confcious at the fame time of his abilities to fupport and confirm his notions and aflertions, which he propofed in a fcholaftick and academick method. When no redrefs was made, of this fhame- ful proftitution of religion, this offence to decency and common fenfe, fo loudly com- plained of; but the factors ftill went on with their delufive cheats, and the difpu- tant was not attempted to be anfwered by argument but overpowered by numbers : he then examined the matter more dogma- tically as a divine ; and foon found the ve- nerable name of antiquity impudently gi- ven to doftrines, but lately received into the church. In the courfe of his ftudies, he gained further degrees of knowledge and experi- ence, which he communicated to the world; and, as he knew not what it was to fear, s he gradually attacked, by the force of the fame powerful convi&ion, other corrup- tions of the church. When his writings were publimed, they were examined and debated amongft the learned, with the fame precifion and accuracy, as before by himfelf in his clofet ; and, as of old, fome believed and were perfuaded, and fome were not. But however it could not but give him perfect joy and fatisfadlion, to find his wri- tings fo eagerly enquired after, and fo well approved of, that many of the greateft dif- cernment ( 33 ) comment and understanding avowedly fup- ported his perfon and caufe. This alarmed thofe at Rome : and what was to be done ? Cajetan had found, that he had neither a fordid nor a timorous foul. He was then to be run down and baited with a world of furies. The Pope and the Emperor pro- fcribed him: they burnt his books; and would have confuted his perfon the fame way, if they could have caught him. They even fubmitted to expofe him by the mean- eft buffooneries : they reprefented him as the offspring or incubus of the Devil ; nay that he was not a man, but a Devil in a monk's cowl. They encouraged their tools in their moft illiberal railings againft him ; and, inftead of hearkening to any of his juft remonftrances, or vouchsafing to correct any of their mod flagrant corruptions, they mewed their inflexible determination to continue them with all their priftine enor- mities, and to check this infolent aggreffor by the fevereft denunciations. Then, and not till then, Luther 's fpirit and fire was moved; and when the per- verfenefs, the ftupidity, the effrontery of his opponents had tranfported him, and made him fomewhat furious, reafonable judges will efteem it not unpardonable, if he likewife, as well as they, offended in his words : but had he fhrunk under the oppofition, or been terri-fied at their C threats, ( 34 ) threats, there had been an end of him and his doctrines. A man of his warmth and impetuofity was abfolutely necefTary for the arduous work which God had appointed him to do, who operates by fecond agents and natural caufes : and the good man himfelf was as fenfible of this his natural infirmity as others were to reproach him with it, is frequently making apologies for it, and lay- ing it upon the great provocations he re- ceived. His enemies did all they could to irritate and provoke him ; and then bafely cried out againft his temper, when they felt the effects of his indignation. When he offered at firft to be quiet, if they would be fo too, they looked upon it as proceed- ing from fear; after that, he would not liften to any overtures of peace. ' In his memorable defence before the Emperor at Worms, he owned this to be his natu- ral failing; faying that "he did not pre- " tend to be a Saint, or difpute about the " goodnefs of his own life, but the doc- " trine of Chrift." * And in another place,, 1 Certits fum dogmata mea balere me de caelo .... Jpfi m-e provocaverunt ad helium, helium igitur kabebunt, faccm cllatam contempfcrunt^ pacem igitur non Labebunt. .... Chrijlus mibi fpiritum fuppeditabat infegnem con- temptoretit) tcnn fraudis, quam furoris Pap'iftici, fecitqtte ut quo magis SS, purgarem, eo certius abominationem im- piicitam invcnirem. Contra Regein Anglier., v. 2. JVitt. ed. p. 331. 2 Tcrtium genus eorum rft (fc. librorum) qrti fcripti fitnt ( 35 ) vindicating himfelf to the fame purpofe, he adds, " that they were welcome to attack "his life; but this he could fay, he was " above fuch low work ; all that he in- " veighed againft were doctrines and te- " nets, contrary to the word of God." ' And tho' we do not juftify fome excelTes of this infirmity, which came from him unawares, and when he had been roughly handled, or thought the facred caufe of truth and religion injured; yet we muft fay, was there not a caufe ? His enemies kept no terms with him : where they could, they imprifoned, they ruined, they burnt his friends : the leaft appearance of timi- dity in him would have been conftrued the deferring his caufe. He was obliged to ad funt adverfus privates quofdam^ qui tyrannidem pariter^ & dogmata Papa tueri volant., & mlhi calumnioje ?nulta impinxerunt) in bos confitcor me fuiJTe acerbiorem, quam pro religionc ant profejjione deceat^ neque cnim me janffum aliquem facia, neque de vita mea, fed de doElrina Chrijli difputo. Ibid. p. 165. i Longe me abejje a modeftia Evangelica dicit Latomu*,, quam doceo . . . at nunquam exegi, ut me quis modejlum aut Janftum haberet, fed ut Evangelium omnes agnofcerent, data Hcentia in meam viiam grajjandi cujufuis libidini. Hoc tamen gloriatur ccnfci.entia mea> nullius vitam^ aut fa- mam ejfe a me lesfam^ Jchim dogmata^ Jliidia^ & ingenia in verbum Dei impia & facrilega acerbe infetfatus Jum, .... Hoc poj/um teftan, cortex meus effe pete/? durior, fed nucleus mtus mcttis b" duhis ejl^ nemini enim male vo~ hi fed omnibus opto mecum quam optime confulttim^ porro duritia mea^ ut nemini noceat^ ita neminemfallit, Contra Latomum^ v. 2. Witt, ed. p, 213. C 2 vali- ( 36 ) valiantly. God had given him the heart of a lion. His magnanimity was vifible upon all occafions where refolution was required; and the conflicts which preceded fhewed it to be the effect, not of arrogance, but conviction : and with fuch firmnefs did he perfevere, that he frequently declared, the Pope mould fooner come over to him, than he return to his communion ; and, that he had rather fall with Chrift, than reign with Cefar. War being now declared ; and as the controverfy was to be decided by the pen, here was employment enough for the learn- ed of both fides. Their ambition was raifed by different motives. Abbies, bimopricks and the cardinalate, give an edge to the defenders of the papal power : whillt no- thing was left for the others, but to fight againft the flreain; and the poor pittance of a German profeflbrfhip, with the empty praife of deep erudition, was the utmoft temporal reward they could expect. But, before we proceed farther, it will not be improper to enquire a little into the go- vernment of the eccleiiaflical flate, and the publick reafons alledged by the reformers for the feceffion they made. Our author is fond upon all occafions of attacking the morals, not fo much indeed of the reform- ers themfelves (that we defy him to do) but of that promifcuous multitude, which was fuppofed ( 37 ) fuppofed to embrace the tenets of fome or other of them. This however is no argument at all j erunt vitia, donee erunt homines : and good men of every age and communion have ever lamented and confeiTed the wickednefs of the times. And furely none but bigots would pafs over the grievous actual faults of the members of their own church, to fpy out all the vices that difgrace religion and humanity in thofe who differ from them : for every ftate, and every church, muft, from the perverienefs and the obfti- nacy of mankind, feel its own evils ; and it is eaiy to retaliate fuch objections with intereft. If the fpring and head of the fountain be polluted, the ftreams will be Ib too. The numerous fchifms in the papacy, the diflblute lives of the profefied, the zeal of the church-men to aggrandize their own wealth and power, and the flagrant enor- mities of the Popes themfelves ( many of whom Bellarmine, their own doughty cham- pion, confeiTes to have gone in a long train to the Devil) had raifed the indignation of ferious and good perfons. * But the dege- neracy and corruption of the church of Rome was never more vifible than in the times we are now concerned with : as will be evident from a view of the exploits and characters of thofe fovereign pontiffs who I Such as Sffvanarola t Wicklijf^ Gerfon y Petrarch^ Tf. "preilded ( 38 ) prefided in the See of Rome, from the be- ginning of the 1 6th century (to go no far- ther back) to the end of the council of Trent. The firft of thefe holy fathers, was that deteftable monfter Alexander the 6th ; ' a man of the moft debauched and profligate character ; whofe government was one con- tinued feries of moil horrid crimes to ag- grandize his baftards, whom, after the ex- ample of his predeceflbr, he publickly owned. " That for luft, treachery, cruelty, " rapine, and every deteftable vice, he was "not to be equalled," is the encomium ge- nerally given of this Pope; who, when he had blefTed the church with his rule for about eleven years, met with the reward of his crimes, drinking, thro' the miftake of a fervant, that poifon, which he and his in- famous fon C&far Borgia had prepared for T Alexander 6. omnium qui unquam fuerunt^ perfidia^ libinine, jcsvitia feeler atijjtmus. Pertzonii hift. 1 6. fee. p. 9. Cut non finceritas, non verecundia^ ntn veritas, non fide*) non religio ulla aderat. Guiccardmi, L. I. Draco qui univerfum orbem vtneno interfecerit^ imtno- derata ambitione^ horrenda crudelitate^ & initfitatte avari- ttts exemplo, nam res facras pariter ac prof anas fine dif- trimine vendidit. ibid. L. 6. Thuanus, L. i. Onupbrii, vit. Akx. 6. Dupin 1 6 century, p. 14. Walchss hiltory of the Popes, p. 242. And yet this man had abilities, and fo has every prof- perous villain !' the ( 39 ) the benefit of fome rich cardinals, whofe wealth he wanted to inherit. To him fucceeded Pius the third, who reigning bat for a few days, nothing re- markable .is recorded of his pontificate. His place was immediately filled by the turbulent Julius the ad ; who, having more of a martial fpirit than became a Pope, * filled his reign with a fuccelTion of troubles. He quarrelled with the Venetians and with France y and carried his refentments to fuch a length, as to-excommunicate L^Wi the i2th king of France^ and thole cardinals and bi- mops, who, fince his holinefs, in violation of his oath taken at his election, would not, did of themfelves fummon a council at Pifa, and afterwards at Milan ; where they formally fufpended him from the ad- miniftration of the papacy, as contumaci- ous, as the author of fchifm, incorrigible, and hardened.* Having governed the church with exceffive rigour, he died amidft his projects for ruining France ; and left this eulogium behind him, that he was a fan- guinary prelate, who facrificed many thou- fands to his reftlefs martial fpirit, and by his other enormities rendered his name odi- ous to pofterity. 3 1 Beliica gloria plufquam Pcntificem deceret clarus. Onuphrii. vit. Jul. i. 2 Dupin Ecclef. hift. i6cent. pt. i. p. 19. 3 Julius 2, facrorum nundinatlins & nefandh msrllus infamh ( 40 ) To him fucceeded Leo the tenth ; whofe only praife was this ; that he was of a no- ble family, a man of learning, and a favourer of learned men: but his immoralities and his profanenefs fullied his fame. He indulged himfelf in all the diilolute pleafures of life. 1 The luxuries of his court were his fupreme paffion: religion was out of the quefrion ; he being not only ignorant of it, but fitting loofe to it : and yet this Pope, juftly fuf- , peeled for an infidel, could tamely hear himfelf complimented, in \\~\Q Later a?2 coun- cil, with having divine power given unto him over every thing in heaven and earth. 1 P. 8. And if, as Mr. Philips fays, hefaw the hap- py days of learning in all their brightnefs, he alfo felt the heat of them very ftrong, when P. 8, 9, this attention to literature, this ardour for I0 u - improvement, the cultivation of the fciences infamis^ bella ex bettis ferebat. Perizonius. p. 40. Sleidan, b. 2. p. 26. Onuplrii. vit. Jul. 2. Caleb's hiftory of the Popes, p. 245. and his picture drawn at full length in the dialogue entitled Julius 2. exclufus in- ferted in Jortins Erafmus^ v. 2. p. 600. 1 Id unum ei datu?n^ quod voluptatibus^ venationibus^ aucupiis effufe deditus^ luxul & fylendidijjinns conviviis mujicfsque magis quam tantum pontifaetn deceret^ totus im- penderet, pecunite qu&rendce caufa, pretio cardinales aliquot legit & officia qucsdam venalia excogitavit. Onuphrii vit. Leonis X. 2 Antoninus Puccius, apojloliccs Camera dericus^ in fy- nod'i Lateranenjis SeJJione g a . Leoni tribuit divinam ma~ jeflatem, eidemque uni omnem in ccelo & in terra tributa?n a Domino potejlatem. to Cited in Ksrtbolfs hift. ecclef. p. 686. and and Belles Leftres, and the art of print ing t all contributed to the progrefs of the refor- mation -, whofe influence foon fpread, to the aftonimment and confufion of the Pope and his counfello'rs. Their infatuated pro- ceedings ferved only to fpread the dodtrines they would condemn. He, like his prede- cefTors, was involved in wars ; and having deferted his old ally the king of France, the joy upon his defeat threw him into a flow fever, of which he died foon after, not v/ithout fufpicion of poifon. ' Upon his deceafe fucceeded Adrian the 6th, a man of a very different turn to his luxu- rious predeceffor. Not enjoying the infallible chair long, he was very zealous in acknow- ledging the neceffity of a reformation, but then it was only in morals or difcipline, not in faith or dodlrine; and contented himfelf with fending out bulls and writing let- ters again ft Luther and his followers, but without giving way to any vehement or perfecuting excefTes. His endeavouring to reform fome abufes in his own court, and not being fo profufe as his predeceiTor to the wits at Rome, ivbofe expectations be P. 26. did not anfwer, fo far provoked them, that not content with throwing out pafquils a- gainft him in his life-time, they contri- I Onuph. vit. Leon. Walcb. p. 247. Jortins life of Erajmus^ v. i. p. 285. and Pi;rizQnius quoted by him, p. 1 86. Sleldan, B. 3. p. 56. buted ( 42 ) buted to the unfavorable judgment patted upon him fmce his death ; tho' the more candid of his own communion have treated his memory refpe&fully. ' Except offend- ing the poets, who took ample revenge of him, his pontificate was memorable for lit- tle more, than an ineffectual ftruggle to re- form itfelf, and the canonization of Benno bifhop of Mifnia, a full account of which important occurrence is given by Secken~ dorf.* 2 7- Adrian dying in about a year, the cloud, fays Mr.Pbilips>wbicb bad intercepted the rays of fclence foon broke off, a fecond Medicean pontiff fucceeded. An unfortunate expref- lion ! feeing that by many he was deemed a baftard of Leo the tenth's : a fpurious offspring being at that time no uncommon fight at the caftle of St. Angela. Clement the /th had by no means the abilities, or the fteadinefs, proper for his exaltation, in the midft of thofe political alarms, and re- ligious broils, which kept continually in- creafmg. He was eminent for nothing, but a timid, fickle, irrefolute, wavering conduct, and grofs violation of treaties j he was alfo a dupe to his fears ; a friend and foe by turns to the Emperor, the kings of France and England. His threatening to excorn- 1 Dupin, Ecclef. hift. 16 cent. v. I. p. 7 3' Onupb. & Wakh. 2 Seckendorf hift. Lutb. pt. I. p. 285. & Jortin's Erafmus, v. i. p. 325. municatc ( 43 ) municate the laft proved the fatal -blow to the papal power in England. In his room was fubftituted Paul the 3d; one of the fame ftamp with his predeceflbrs, and wholly bent upon railing the fortunes of his baftards and family: but the virtues of him and of his fucceifor Julius the 3d, will be celebrated in the progrefs of this work. In Julius's place, was chofen Marcellus the 2d; whofe quick migration made room for his high and haughty Holinefs Paul the 4th, whofe love of pomp and power was bound- lefs. He fancied himfelf above princes, whom he imagined he could depofe, and whofe kingdoms he could give away at pleafure. He involved Italy in a war ; and publiihed the nrft Index of prohibited books, that the good catholicks might receive their learning, as well as their faith, at his com- mand. His attachment to the inquiiition is not to be wondered at : fire and faggot he knew, when reafon failed, was a prevail- ing argument : he ufed to call it the prin- cipal fecret and myftery of papacy, the true Ram to beat down herefy, and defend the apoflolick See ; and he had fo much at heart the interefr. of this holy office, that he recommended it to the college of cardinals in his dying moments. When he was dead, or rather whilft he was expiring, the people of Rome, exafperated by his op- preffions, vented their hatred in every kind of ( 44 ) of infult. But our author himfelf has fa- voured us with a very full account of this Pope and his characler in a long note, tranf- V. 2. lated entirely from&raf/ani; * and this im- p. 197 partiality we owe, in a great meafure, to 2 4 ' his fquabbles with Pole: therefore his bio- grapher has not fpared his memory, any more than the people of Rome did his fta- tue. z After him came Pius the 4th; a man of learning indeed, but gluttonous, intempe- rate, dnTembling; devoted to his pleafures; and as much intent upon raifing his family, as any of his pious predecefTors. He carried his refentment againft the Car off a family for oppofing him in the conclave (tho' he owed them many and great obligations) to fuch lengths of malice, violence and op- preffion, 3 as to ruin them all. In his reign 1 Gratiani de cafibus illtijirium virorum^ p. 313 342. 2 Tbuanus, 6.23. A. D. 1559. Sleidans continua- tion, p.36. Onupb. IPakb, p. 258. Father Paul, B.$. p. 416. Dupitiy 16 century, 2 v. p. 153. 3 NosJtts pontifex tantum privatis commodis & carita- tibus indulgebat) y fraterna vanitatis amulatione no- men y injignia Medice abufus in fpiritualibus, exceffiis in mandatis, & omnia denique in perverfurn mutata ; nee mi- rum Ji agritudo a capite in membra, a fummis pontificibus in alios inferiores preslatos defcenderit. Adrian 6th's In- ftru5lions to the Nuncio at the Diet at Norimberg 1523. cited by Seckendorf, L. I. p. 254. fee alfo p. 258. 2 j^w<# Lutherus fcripjit de tyrannide, avaritia, turpi- tudine Romans Curies, utiiiam mi Barbiri ejjent falfa, L. 21. p. 766. 4 Ego Roma bis auribus audivi qucfdam ctbcminandis hemiis debaccbantes in Chriftitm, & in iUius apoftolos, idque multis mecum audientibus, & quidern impune, ibidem mult os novi, qui commemorabant fe diEta borrenda audijfe a quibufdam facgrdotibus, aulte pontifidss min[ftrh, idque in mijja tarn dare, ttt ea vox ad multorttm aures pervenerit. Eraf. Ep. Augujl. Steucbo, L, 26. p. 1038. Jortins Erafmus, p. 516. The ( 47 ) Mr. Philips himfelf, the moft unexception- able witnefs that can be defired in this cafe, is forced to confefs, that to the difadvan- tages, under which Chrijlia7nty then laboured, the i$tb century had likewife the misfortune to fee moft of the Popes during that period altogether unworthy the fupreme place they held) and their Court, injlead of giving that example, 'which the 'world had a right to ex- peSt from it, was infefted with vices, which, like a torrent, fpread them/elves over all na- tions. l The fame obfervation was made by Luther when at Home in 1510. who fays, that the priefts there could dif- patch feven Mafies before he could fmifh one : and moreover, //// non tantum prapoftera fejlinatione pr opera- bant^ fed beec etiam impia verbafttbjungebant, PafTa, Pafla, remitte mox beatas Virgin! Filium fuum, item nonnul- los panem & vinum bifce verbis confecrare folere, panis es, panis manebis, vinum es, vinum manebis. Hernfchmidii vit. Luth. p. 24. Adamus vit. Theolog. Germ. p. 104. Jortin. p. 504,. To the fame purpofe was Cajlellanu^ complaint of the fame enormous licentioufnefs Cum pontificum Ro?nanorum fupinas libidlnes^ avaritiam, y rapacitatem^ religionis contemptum^ fuperbiamque Cardinalium, luxum & ignaviam, nundinatimffque cauponationes, & flagitia r eli qua aulicorum Romanenfmm defer iberet, & cetera qua: vidiffet commemoraret . . . frequenter diceret fibi effe per- fuajijjtmum, ne pontifices qumcm Romano s, reJigionis & fa- crorwn Antiftites^ tot fuis^ fucrumque flagitiis fceleribujque contaminates, vere ff ex animo Cbriftum colere ; qua au- tem in religions facerent, retinendce dominations caufa, veluti larva ad fallendum appofite, egregie fimulare. Gallandius vit. CaflelL cited by Dr. Jortin. Life of Erafmus, v. i . p. 504. i P. 322. where inftead of the isth, he probably ( 48 ) From a church, whofe ruling powers Were fo abominably corrupted, fo loir, to every fenfe of mame and decency; it was impoflible to exped that overtures of a- mendment could be liftened to at all. The bold promoters of fuch a fcheme, were to be defpifed, and treated as a fet of miferable mifcreants : but the matter foon grew too ferious for this play. To their forrow they found that they were engaged with thofe, who neither courted their favour, 'nor feared their frowns. From laming their vices, and defpifing their ignorance, they proceeded to attack the whole fyftem of their cor- rupted Faith. They charged them with putting the inventions of men upon a level with the word of God : they accufed them for having introduced into the church, for gain, fuch doctrines and cuftoms, as were not only not warranted by, but, contrary to, both the dodlrines and ufages of the firft and pureft ages of the church, as well as the words and intention of S S : that they had taught for dodlrines of faith and falva- tion, the commandments of men; and thereby had literally made the word of God of no efFecl, through their traditions, which they had impioufly made equal with the word of God. means the i6th century. However, his teftimony of either of thde centuries will very readily be admitted. This ( 49 ) This was the fubflance of the reformers charge. Which was anfwered, partly by obloquy, and loading them with harm names, fuch as heretics, fchifmatics, &c. and ifTuing out againfi them the fevere threatenings of bulls and excommunica- tion, and the feverer fentence of the flake ; and partly, by gravely haranguing on the crime 6f deferting the unity of the church, and accufing them of advancing tenets not?. 2$. known in any prior, age -, or if ever they were fet on foot, were condemned, as repugnant to what antiquity Jo ad always held. And what mifchiefs would not enfue, if they abo- lifhed thofe rules, which all antiquity had?- 44* received with reverence, and pracfijed with profit ? The former part of the reply was defpifed by thofe, who proceeded upon the fole motives of confcience. And for the latter, they averred, that to talk of the unity of the church was a falfe and idle pre- tence, if the church did not preserve the unity of the faith of Chrift pure and unful- lied. And as to the clamour of novelty ur- ged againfi them, they not only exprefly denied the charge; but they appealed to the SS, the uncorrupt word of God. They appealed to the Fathers of the three firffc centuries ; nay, they ventured lower ftill, they challenged the authority of the Fa- thers, to the end of the 6th century, in behalf of their doctrines : and more than D that, ( 50 ) that, they fhewed them the original and progrefs of their own corrupted dodtrines j and, with the utmoft accuracy and preci- p. 3 . fion, marked the date, when, in the iron age of ignorance and barbarifm, they were refpectively admitted in the church, as ar- ticles of faith > averting, that the former ages were wholly ignorant of them, but that they came in imperceptibly, under the melter of that mift and obfcurity, in which the quibbles of fchool divinity had involved both facred and profane literature. They therefore only recalled men, to the iludy of the revealed will and oracles of God. They defended themfelves under this impregnable fortrefs. And when not con- vinced, but perfecuted, what Luther faid in his defence at the Diet of Worms, when fummoned before the Emperor himfelf, and commanded to recant his writings, was common to them all niji convi&us fuero tejlimoniis Scripturarum^ aut ratione evident* vicJusfum SS. a me aeUuftis, captaque eft confcicntia in iierbis Dei, revocare neque pof- Jiim, neque volo quidquam> cum contra confci- entiam agere, neque tutum fit neque integrum. 1 And another of thefe able and refolute he- roes, publickly and folemnly declared, that if they prefumed to call their doclrine a novel one, they muft impeach the word of God of novelty too : that they had only i AclaWormaties Habita. Lutheri opera, v.2. p.i66. ed. bitten. rellored reftored to thofe facred truths that right to antiquity which had been long over-look- ed. ' Thus they went up to the fource and the fountain of knowledge, to the genuine?. 10. fenfe of the SS. And in this manner, to retort our biographer's words upon himfelf, the rays of truth and difcernment were en- kindled, which then enlightened mankind, and jlill continue to foine on it. Our author, fond of the feigned plea of antiquity, is ever objecting to the reforma- tion, for want of a better argument, its fuppofed innovations in religion, and its at- p. 2 6. tack upon the ancient faith, the faith of their 109.173. ancejlors, &c. The common language this a foiled party ! But however odious an im- putation this may feem to carry with it at firft, yet, when maturely weighed, it is lefs than nothing : it is attended with no- thing terrifying or formidable. If error and ignorance have been placed in the feat of I Novam quid appellant dcttrinam nojlrom, Deo funt vehementer injiirii, cujus facrum verbum novitatis injtmu- lari non merebatur, Illis quidem novam ejje minime dublto, quibus & Cbrijius novus ejl, & evangelium novum : fed qui illam Pauli concionem veterem effe noverunt, Jcfum Chriftum mortuum propter peccata no/Ira, refurrcxijje prop- ter Jujhficationsm nojlram, nibil apud nos dc^rehendent novum. )uod diu incognita fepultaque latuit, hv.mcma im- pietatis crimen ejl : nunc cum Dei benignitate nobis reddi- tur, Jaltem po/tliminii jure fuam antiquitatem recipere de- lebat. Calvin's preface ( before his inftitutions) to the king of France, p. 6. Gcnev. R.Stephens, 1559. ^ol. D 2 truth truth and knowledge ; if fome doctrines have been incautioufly received, and for fear of contending with a prevailing party, as implicitly obeyed ; it is then the duty of thofe endued with fuperiour abilities, and fortitude of mind equal to the tafk, to de- tect the impofture, and to exhibit to pub- lick examination, the motives and princi- ples upon which they ground their oppo- lition : and if, as quo antiquiora, eo veriora, the SS. are made the refolution of their faith, there the fearch muft end j for no- thing can be obligatory upon the confci- ence, as articles of faith, but what they clearly inculcate. This witnefs or tefHmony will remove the objection of novelty, and, in its ftead, will place, as a barrier to de- fend its votaries, the venerable name of truly primitive antiquity. But moreover falfly is this charge brought againft the re- formers upon another account. They were not the firfr, who. arraigned the corruptions of the Romifo church. There were many before them, who, from time to time, if they did not maintain quite the fame doctrine, at . lead oppofed the fame articles, with Luther and his afibciates; though, from the greater improvements in literature, thefe latter did it with greater precifion and knowledge. As the public, wearied with the bon- dage, and difgufted with the corruptions of P. 141. the morals of the Clergy, where a change iv as ( 53 ) 'was loudly called for, was difpofed to give a favourable attention to the endeavours of thofe who were thus zealous to correct thefe abufes : fo we cannot wonder, if, un- der fuch able directors, truth and know- ledge mould gain admittance into the courts of princes, and even into His palace, who , had condefcended to enter into the lifts, as the champion of linking popery ; whofe polemical merit was notably and gratefully rewarded by his Holinefs, with the title of Defender of the Faith ; which his fuccefibrs P. 26. have thought themfelves better entitled to, by virtue of acts of parliament, than by donation from the bimop of Rome. ' But this fit of good-nature and cordiality did not laft long. Henry, not meeting after- wards with that compliance he expected from his fucceflbr in a favorite fcheme, broke off all connections with that fee. It is not unlikely, but the flippery trick played Wolfey t by the Emperor's means, in the repeated difappointment of the papacy, might alienate him from his intereft 3 and not a little chagrin his mafter, who had himfelf reafon to be perfonally offended with the Emperor. I To encourage his Majeily's loyal fubje&s to read their fovereign's learned performance, the Pope iflued out a bull of indulgences for the benefit of their fouls. Librum hunc legentibus decent annorum^ & totidem quadragenarutn indidgentla, apojlstica authorilate concejja eft. Stype's memorials, v. I. p. 34. For ( 54 ) For fome years, Charles the 5th had found it neceflary to court the friendfhip of the king of England. In one of his expeditions here for that purpofe, we are told,, that he was folemnly con traced in perfon to the princefs Mary, per ver&a de prcejenti, under pain of excommunication, and the penalty of a very conliderable forfeit. * His affairs however foon after becoming more and more favourable to him, not content with barely breaking off the match, he did it with a flur upon the lady's honor; be- caufe his Cortez or council faid me was illegitimate) as being born in an unlawful marriage, a by One who had been wife to his elder brother. This publick affront, with another of the fame fort urged by the king of Frances ambafTador, revived thofe objections, which Henry had himfelf, at the beginning, made againfl the legality of his marriage : and it does not appear, that he ever cordially acquiefced in it, farther 1 Le-Grand, v. I. p. 63. Godwins annals, p., 34. A. D. 1524. Carte, v, 3. p. 48. and Lord Herbert, P''3 J 5' wno f a y s > fr Qai Bellay, that the King of France, (who had been prifoner in Spain,, ever fince the battle of Pavia) paid this forfeit for the Emperor, as part of his ranfom. 2 Burnet, v. I. p. 5. Heylin's hift. of queen Mary, p. 3. Carte i v. 3. p. 8c, 83. But Burnet afterwards, fays, that Henry^ at the Emperor's requeft, gave him a difcharge, in full form, of his obligations to marry the princefs, without taking any notice of the objections againft the legality of her mother's marriage. Hift. ref. v-3 P-33- than ( 55 ) than Catharines good behaviour, and the Pope's difpenfation, had quieted his con- fcience. It is unjufl and cruel therefore, to lay the rife of the divorce upon Wolfey and P. 28, fay, it 'was fet on foot by his revengejuljpirit. If any ftrefs is to be laid upon Grynaus's letter to Eucer, Henry's fears and fcruples had difquieted him long before any publick notice had been taken of them. ' The marriage with Spain being broke off, a trea- ty of the fame nature was propofed be- tween the princefs Mary and a Son of the King of France -, which was refufed, " till " it were known whether me be the King " of England's lawful daughter or not, for " well known it is, that he begat her onliis " brother's wife, which is diredtly againft " God's law and his precept." * This objec- tion was ftarted by the bimop of Tarbes, who was the French ambaffador at our court, and was in that capacity two years before in Spam, treating for his Sovereign's ranfom, at the very time that the Cortez of Toledo were fitting which prevailed upon the Em- peror to break off the match with Eng- 1 In the year 1531. the king declared to Grytusus, that for feven years he had abftained from the queen upon account of his fcruples. So that the king muft have had them fo early as 1524. Gryn&us's letter to Bucer referred to by Burnet^ v. i. P . 38. 2 Stowe, p. 541, & 543. Herbert, p. 244. land-, land-, and therefore the bifhop muft know their reafons for it, and what pafled in the Cortez. ' Since therefore Catherines own family, and the King of Franc? (who, in hisprefent condition, could not fubfift with- out Henrys friendship, and had lately re- ceived the higheft obligations from him) * objected to, or queftioned, the validity of his marriage; the King himfelf had fufficient motives to be alarmed, and might well be anxious about the fucceefiion to his crown. He could not but recollect, as v/ell his own reluctance, as that his fa- ther had made him fign a notarial act pro- teiting againft it, and renouncing the con- tract made in his minority. 3 [n purfu- ance of this act, he waved the confumma- tion of the marriage, from one time to another, till after his father's death; and then, for political more than religious rea- fons, fubmitted to the determination of the majority of his council. Such circumftances could never be entirely forgotten : they might be fupprefled for a time : but if ever they came to be agitated again, they muft burft out with greater violence j which we fhall fhortly find they did. The mention of this bufinefs of the di- vorce, and Poles arrival in England, gives our author an opportunity of entertaining 1 Carte, v. 3. p. 84. 2 Herbert^ p. 315. 3 Carte^ v. 3. p. 3. Heylins hiftory of Mary, p. 2. gurnet, v. I. p. 36. hlS ( 57 ) his readers, with a motley character -of Henry. He expatiates fo much at firft up- on his- good qualities, that one would be P. 29, tempted to think he was writing a pane- gyrick : but it is only to wound the deeper,- that, like his hero Pole, he may give the keener edge to his invectives, by a plaufible impartiality. But this uncommon candour and good-nature does not laft long; and is fucceeded by a torrent of the moft fcurri- lous and implacable rancour, which ends not even with his life. How far Henry really deferved this very injurious treat- ment, will be better feen, when our hifto- rian brings us to the clofe of his life. We will leave him, in the mean time, in full poiTeflion of the favourable character here beftowed upon him. Now the great Caufe of the Divorce began to be more publickly debated, as the legality of the marriage depended fofely upon the validity of the Pope's difpenfa- tion ; which was thought to be above every thing, andinconteftably admitted, as corning p. 59 . from that tribunal, to which canfes of Juch importance were wont to be referred. Nothing for many years had been faid againft it. But the papal power was now called in queftion : and that the Bifhop of Rome could not di- penfe with any of the pofitive laws of God, or enable Chriftians to violate them, was one of theiirft benefits accruing from the promoters of ( 58 ) of the reformation. If an aftion was finfu-1, they averred, the Pope could not not make it virtuous, or innocent. This advantage therefore Henry, tho' averfe to their doc- trines, reaped from the reformers ; not to think fo highly, as formerly, of the Pope's omnipotency. But yet willing to have his fanction, he layed his pleas before him ; he urged the tendernefs of an awakened fcru- pulous confcience ; he defired redrefs from that court, that a difpenfation granted, up- on falfe fuggeftions, without his confent or knowledge, ' might not remain in full force to the detriment of himfelf and his king- dom, but be fet afide by the fame authority from whence it received all its force and fanction. To afTert that Henry t in this appeal, a<5t- ed only from luft and refentment, or fatiety, is uttering a cruel and unjuflifiable cenfure againft him ; and what his behaviour to Catherine fufficiently contradicted. He ne- ver was perfonally rude or boifterous to her, but ever fpoke refpectfully of her : and the church -hiftorian, Mr. Dod, always bitter enough againft him, is forced to acknow- ledge (though he does it with an ill grace) that there are indeed fome remote circumftan- ces of confcience which plead in his favour. * 1 Cottier's ecclef. hlft. v. 2. p. 25. Carte t v. 3. p. 86. 2 DocTs church hiftory, v. i. p. 72. Mr. ( 59 ) Mr. Philips pronounces, that the earliejl?, 3 3, document which remains of thefe proceedings* is a letter of Secretary Pace to the King, in 'which he informs him, that be bad treated with Dr. Wakeficld of the Divorce, and that the Doctor was ready to refohe the Quejlion, either in the negative or affirmative, jufl as the King thought proper. . . . This letter, fays he, is dated in 15216, and, to Wakefield's eternal infamy, isftill extant. * But to his own infamy and confufion, all that he here aflerts is falfe and bafely fcandalous. He had Burners %& vol. of the hiftory of the reformation before him, and might have learnt better from it. z But whether he confulted it at all; or, if he did 1 , whether his care or his integrity failed him, I leave to his own confcience, and the reader's judgment, to determine. Paces letter is indeed extant; and a very honefl one it is. As the bifhop truly obferves, it contains nothing, but what is honourable for the King, for himfelf, and for his friend. He informs the King, that he had talked with Wakefield, whom he found willing to exa- mine and difcufs the caufe, if he could certainly know, Whether your Grace wolds be contente to here the trouthe in this matter, whether it were ayenjle you or for you ; and if he was commanded, He wolde uhdoubtydly 1 Le Grand, torn. 3. page i. cited by Mr. Philips. 2 Burnet's Introduction to the 3d vol. Ref. p. iv, v.. and hiftory, p. 36. flew? ( 60 ) Jhewe unto your Hyghnefs fuch thynge.^ as no man ivithin your realme can atteyne unto or Jhew the like and as well for you as againft you. Thefe are his words : and thefe are the only paflages in the whole letter, that could poffibly give occafion to Le Grand's wicked calumny ; ' which Mr. Philips hath adopted, and muft therefore anfwer for. In- veterate malice alone can difcover a fingle circumftance in it, that can caft a flam up- 3 3 on Wakefald's memory; or mew that he was ready to refolve the Qutftion, either in the ne- gative or affirmative t juft as the Kingjhould think proper. A letter of Wakcfield to the King, on the fame occafion, and written at the fame time, is alfo extant. This, neither Bur net, -nor Le-Grand, ever faw : but Mr. Philips himfelf might have feen it ; as it is to be met with in the appendix of fo well known a book, as Knight's life of Erafmus. Wake- feld in this letter tells the King, that he woll and can defende his caufe or ^ueflion in all the Umvcr/ities m Chriftendom, by the authority offcripture, of the bejl Interpreters of the Hebrews^ and of the holy Dotfors, both Greeks and Latins in Chrijl's Faythe. He adds, I have and ivol infuche maner anfwer to the Bifoop of Rochester's booke> that I trujle he foall be afoamy d to waade or med- dyll any jurther in the matter. l 1 Le Grand, hift. du divorce, v. i. p. 46, 2 Pace, and IVakefield's letters are both inferted in the It muft be obferved, that neither of thefe letters was written in 1526, but both In 1527, in which year the bifhops had actu- ally entered into a publick examination of the validity of the marriage. 1 Probably therefore Pace's letter is not the ftzn'/Vy? do- cument (as 'tis called) which remains of this proceeding. That it is not fo in fact, is moil evident from hence. Pace's and Wakefield's letters were plainly written nearly at the fame time ; but in the latter, mention is made of Fijhers book, and of an anfwer to it then in fome forwardnefs : therefore Fijhers book is an earlier document than Paces. Wakefield had indeed altered his opinion of this matter; and took up the pen in behalf of the King's caufe, for a very cogent and defenfible reafon, becaufe he was now perfuaded, that the marriage with Arthur was indeed confummated. A reafon deemed fo ftrong, that Bellay de- clared, and to Campegio himfelf, that if the confummation could be proved, neither the Pope, nor cardinals, could maintain the validity of the difpenfation. And all the anfwer the legate himfelf could make, was this weak reply, " that tho' his reafoning " was invincible, yet his own was fupport- the appendix to Dr. Knight's Life of Erafmus. N. 8, and 9. p. xxv, and xxvm. See more of Pace in WoocHs Athen. Oxon. 2d ed. v.l. p. 29. and of Wakefield. ibid, p. 64. I Colliery v. 2- p, 24. " able ; ( 62 ) " able ; becaufe to plead the Pope could not " difpenfc, would be to fubvert the papal " power which was unlimited -, * and it " was, in his opinion, better to fay, the " difpenfation was granted upon falfe fug- " geftions, than to fall into the latter incon- " venience." z It is of very little importance to enquire, whether Woljey himfelf firft, or Long/and the King's confeffor, by his inftigation, as p. 3 g. is here affirmed from Saunders, 3 moved this doubt to the King, Certain it is, the King, in his fpeech to the legates, at the court at Black-Friers, he publickly exculpated them both from this accufation j and " de- clared his fcruple to have arifen from " the bimop of Bayon's objections to the " legitimacy of his daughter Mary* That " when, after that, he perceived his con- " fcience fo doubtful, he moved it in " confeffion to bifliop Longland then his " ghoftly father." 4 And this is confirmed in a MS. life of Sir Thomas More, wrote not many years after Longland' $ death ; in which it is faid, " that the bimop being told what " rumour ran, that the very truth might " be known of him, anfwered, that in very 1 Bellays difpatches. Le Grand, v. 3. p. 196. and p. 216. cited in Carte's hiftory, v. 3. p. 92. 2 Bellay. Le Grand, v. 3. p. 217. 3 Sounder s dt Sthijmate Anglic, p.io. Bur net, v. I. p37- 4 S tow's Annals, p. 542, 543. " deed " deed, he did not break the matter after " that fort as is faid ; but the King brake " the matter to him firft, and never left (< urging him, until he had won him to " give his confent." So that if any credit be given to this, or the King's folemn af- firmation, the doubt was firft moved by him- felf. Whilft this affair was fo deeply canvafled, Pole, who was then in England, that he might not be involved in thefe contentions, retired to an houfe in the Carthujian mo- nailery at Sbene, where he lived in fo re- tired and quiet a manner, that fince no ma- terials or anecdotes could be produced to illuftrate this part of his life; our Biographer, following gtuirini's fteps, * defcants upon the praifes of the excellent Dean Colet, who P. 46. built the houie in which Pole lived during this retirement. He tells us, that the Dean ivas very converfant in the writings of the Fa- thers, and particularly in the holy Scriptures, of which the commentaries he has left are 1 Corrections of the two firft volumes of the Refor- mation, fuppofed to be written by the learned Mr. Ba- ker of Cambridge from a MS. Coll. Eman. Cant. ' Burnet, 3 vol. Ref. appendix, p. 744. 2 .Quoniam vero ejus (in Anglia} Inennii jludiis illuf- trandis^ ne unas quidem lit eras feu Poll ad alias, feu alto- rum ad ipfum, naJfi Jumus, quas proferamus, pauca qiirt- dam earum loco, de *Johanne Coleto, ejufque tsdibus^ necnon de Britannica: Literature fiatu, qui Polo in Patriam reduci fefe obtulit, trademus. V. i. p. 230. an ( 64 ) an abundant proof. Colet was indeed a truly refpe&able and amiable character : and the world would be much obliged to Mr. Phi- lips* if he would communicate the commen- taries above mentioned; for what comes from Co/et's pen muft be excellent. But the misfortune is, thofe who knew him better and perfonally have lamented, that the Dean could not be prevailed upon to publifh any thing, his modefty being as great as his learning : * for except the rudiments of grammar, and his famous convocation Ser- mon, there is nothing of his extant. In the lift of Colefs writings, as drawn up in Wood's Athena Oxon. a and the Bio- graphia Britannica, there are many titles I Cum enlm ejjet a natura ff eruditions facundus^ ac dicenti mira fuppeteret orationis ubertas, tamen fcrlbem fubinde labebatur in bis qu& folent notare critici. Atque hac ni fallor gratia a libris fcribendis abftinebat, atque utinam non abftinuifiet ; nam hujus viri cogitationes qua- cunque etiam lingua pro dit as optarim. Erafmus "Jodoc. Jorns Erpbordienji, L. 15. p. 480. See the whole of this very remarkable letter in Jortin$ Erafmus , v. 2. p. 310. To the fame purpofe, U^0. Lilly ', grammarian William Lilly > the firft mafter of the Dean's 'o the fame purpofe, Geo. Lilly ^ fon of the famous fchool, and his moft intimate friend, fays of him, nibil autem quod extat in fcriptis reKqtiit, ncc multo eum ferip- Jiffe conjlat. Virorum aliquot in Britannia Elogia^ 1559. 8w. cited in Knight's life of Colet^ p. 252. fee alfo p. 196, 197. 2 Wood's dtbena, 2d edit. v.i. p. 12, 13. Biog. Brit. (Colet) p. 1405. Of bf MSS. : "mentioned, forne of which are preferved in the libraries at Cambridge, but written, fays Wood, fo that few underttood them. In his will indeed, he leaves bis MSS. in Parchment, as comments on Paul's epiftles and abbreviations 'with many fuch other to bis executor s difpojition. ' But none of thefe have ever been publifhed : nor does there appear, in the only fair legible MSS. of his preferved in Dr. Gales -collection, * or in his will, the leaft tincture of popery. We cannot therefore help expreffing our admiration, how our writer fhould fo far forget himfelf, as to fpeak fo favourably of Co/ef; who had got much above the preju- dices of his times. He had a liberal, a fo- lid, and an enlarged way of thinking -, and was rather more open in expreffing his ab- horrence of the fuperftition and foppery of the Romijh church, than even Erafmus him- felf thought was confident with prudence. For Erafmus in his treatife de modo orandi Deum, cenfuring the miftaken Invocation of Saints, and the expofing their relicks, tells us, " that he and the dean being joint " fpeclators of the greafy relicks of Thomas " a Be eke t, Co/et could not refrain exprefs- " ing his indignation at this great inftance 1 Knight, p. 466. 2 Knight's Introdu&ion to his life, p. vui. Of (.66 ) " of religious folly." * His thorough good fenfe had emancipated him from the jar- gon of the fchools, and the theology of the times : and had his life been fpared a few years longer, his piety, learning and acti- vity, would have placed him at the head of the reformers of his own country. I In Anglla offerunt ofculandum calceum divi Thorn* quondam Archiepifcopi Cantuarienfis qui forte calceus eft alicujus Balatronis . . . vidi ipfe, cum ojlentarent linteola lacera, quibus vir ille dicitur abjierfiffe muccum nariunt y abbatem fcf cateros qui ajlabant aperto Scriniolo venerabun- dos pr odder e adgenua, ac manibus ctiamfublatis, adoratio- nem geftu reprafentare. IJla Johanni Coleto, nam is mecum aderat, videbantur indigna, & mibi ferenda videbantur y donee fe daret opportunitas, ea cltra tumultum corrigendi. Eraf. modus orandi Deum, p. 90. ed. Leyden. 24. 1641. In his dialogue de Peregrinatione Religionis ergo^ he gives a fuller and more particular account of the Dean's holy warmth at fuch fuperftitious and ofieniive foppe- ries, under the feigned name of Gratianus Pullus ; whofe free remarks aftonifhed the monks, and made Erafmus tremble. For the prior of the Auguftinian mo- naftery at Canterbury^ offering to thefe two ftrangers a blefled clout of that precious Saint to be kifled, Gra- tianus heic parum gratus, non fine faftidii fegnificatione^ digit'n contreftavit unum, & contemtim repofuit^ porrefiis labiiS) veluti Poppifmum imitans ; nam hie illi jnos erat^ Ji quid offenderet^ quod tamen contemncndum effe judicaret. Aleum animum Jimul y pudor, & timer difcruciabant. Gratianus Pullus (who is faid in this dialogue to be 3" Anglus^ tff notus, nee mediocris author it at is vir) and Co- let, muft be the fame, from the fimilarity of the cir- cumftances. Eraf. Dial. Per. Rel. ergo. Ed. var. p. 441. See this confirmed by Dr. Jortin. Life of Erafmus, v. 2. p. 706. We We arc affured from the beft authority, that he dhTented greatly from many of the received religious opinions of the times ; and, as he never attempted to conceal or difguife his diflike of them, would in pri- vate be very open in expreffing his fenti- ments. Monkery and its ftate was the fre- quent objedt of his avowed contempt. He was a diligent reader of heretical books ; and made no fcruple to declare, that he learned more from them, than from thofe dogmatical writers, who only flattered them- felves, and the heads of their own party. * Thefe free fentiments created him fuch trouble, that very hardly his body living, or dead, could efcape the fire. * Such was the excellent fpirit of Dean Co/ef 9 one of the forerunners of the refor- mation : and we can hardly think, that Mr. Phillips was aware of the contents of that letter of Erafmus to which, he fo obligingly 1 Opinionibus a vulgo multum dijjidebat^ fed mira pru- dentia hoc in re fefe attemperabat aliis . . . inter arnicas ac doftos liber rime profitebatur^ quid fentiret. erga monajleria^ qtue nunc folfo nomine pleraque fie vocantur, minimum habebat ajfettus. Nullus erat liber tarn hcere- tictts, quern ille non attente evafocret, dicens fe plus aliquo- tiens ex illis capere fruffus^ quam ex korum libris, qui Jtc omnia definiunt, ut frequenter adulentur CoryphtstS) non- nunquam iff fibi ipjis. Eraf. ep. Jodoc. Jona^ L. 15, p. 480. ed Bajil. Froben. 2 Knight's life of Colet, p..86 - 94. E 2 rew ( 68 ) P. 47- referred us for the Jketch of bis friend's life. But meeting in Quirini with the quo- tation of the note, faid by the cardinal to be an extract from EPISTLE 435, and wrote to Juftus Jonas of ERFURT, ' our hafty, ignorant, blundering transcriber bold- ly puts Jonas down for RifkVp of H E R E- FORD j and refers to the book of ILrafmuss epiftles PAGE 435, not coniidering, how many free ftri&ures there are in that memo- rable letter, againfl fome of the doctrines and cuftoms of his own church. Whilft Pole was purfuing his fludies in the Dean's lodgings, the affair of the di- vorce was profecuted with great ardour, and laid before the Court of Rome, which, P. 51. fays Mr. Phillips, bad carried her condefccn- tion to Henry as Jar as even the appearances of equity would allow. The Pope was then but in bad plight, having lately fled from Rome, where he had been befieged by the Impe- rialifts; and with great difficulty, and in difguife, had reached Orvteto, when Henrys ambaffadors were introduced to his fright- ed and difcomfited Holinefs. They loon found, that he was as much a captive there, and in awe of the Emperor, as when be- fieged by him in the cattle of St. Angdo I Eidem (fc. Coleto) quodammodo parentavlt in Epifl. 435- idque ut "Jodocec Jonte ERFORDIENSJ faiisfaceret. >uirini 3 v. i. p. 231. aliqua ( 69 ) ali qua mutatio foli, ( as they exprefs it ) fed nulla libertatis. Their very full and fatif- faclory difpatches to Wolfey reprefent him in the utmoft panick, not venturing to fpeak out ; fometirnes giving them hopes of yield- ing to their defires ; fometimes warily pro- tradting the debates. One frank acknow- ledgment however be made, which was, " he was not learned ; and to fay truth al- " beit it were a faying in the law, that " Pontifex habet omnia jura in fcrinio petfo- " ris, yet God never gave him the key to " open illud fcrinium" ' The Pope did indeed, at the ambafTadors requefl, grant a decretal bull, to confirm what the legates mould determine, and thereby make their fentence irrevocable ; but it was upon the ftricteft aflurances of fecrecy, that it mould be communicated to none but the King and Wolfey, and that very privately : however his fears returned, and his heart foon mifgave him for this concerTion ; for the Emperor being mafter of Italy, he ordered Campegio to burn it. But afterwards, by Gardiner's importunity he figned a promife or pollicitation as it was called, not to revoke the commiffion grant- i The King's ambaflador's letter to Wolfey^ in Strype's memorials, v. i. hift. p. 91. and 101. Records, p. 46. and 62. ed ( 7 ) cd to the legates, but to ratify their decrees, which mould be final. * p. 5 1. Mr. Philips feems to confound thefe two bulls together. The decretal one, was burnt by Campegio. * But the other is ftill extant in our records. 3 And lord Herbert, tho' he fpeaks doubtfully of it, yet adds, " that " as divers original difpatches both before " and after, give fome touches of it; fo it " may challenge better credit than to be " thought a minute, and much lefs acoun- " terfeit and fuppofed piece, which is alfo " the more probable, in that the Pope " granted ampler teftimonies than this in " favour of the divorce." 4 Mr. Philips en- deavours to fet this afide, which he calls p. 52. the conjecture of this nobleman^ from the flyle Note. fa which the Pope, foon after, wrote to his legates. But this is no reafon : for the Pope was ever irrefolute, muffling backwards and forwards, jufl as he was awed by the Em- e^ v. 3. p. 91. Bttrnet^ v. I. p. 58. and 66. Records, p. 40. and 41. sV. 2 There was however a copy of it taken, and it is in- ferted at the end of Anti-Sanderus, p. 200, of which the author fays, tabula Ulte tanta folertia cuftodiebantur, ut non in multorum manus exiverint, no/Iras tamen (uti fit) non evaferunt, p. 15. See alfo Strype's life of Arch-bp Parker^ p. 382, 383. Herbert, p. 279, who took it from dnti-SanderuS) and fays, that he met, in our ar- chives, fome difpatches that make it probable. 3 Burnet, v. 3. p. 362. Herbert^ p. 249. 4 Herbert^ p. 248. peror, (70 peror, in whofe power he was j or, as he might have caufe to apprehend the King of England's defection ( who began openly to cenfure him for his dilatory, fickle con- duit) * if his requefts were not complied with. Bur net indeed fays, "that lord Her- " bert feemed in fome doubt concerning it, " but," he adds, "probably he hadnotfeen " the letter that Wolfey wrote to Gardiner, " in which he mentions the Pollicitation, " that he had in his hands, with feveral " other letters, that mention it very fre- " quently." * Campegio, the other, long-expe&ed, le- gate, being at laft arrived, after a delay of fix months from the time of his appoint- ment ', though he opened his commiffion, foon after his arrival, yet he managed it with the fame affedted delays, which had procraftinated his arrival, agreeably to the Pope's injunctions. But we are told, frefh ambaffadors were fent to Rome upon a moft extraordinary commiffion, . . . to ajk the Pope, as of their own motion, to permit the King to marry again, in cafe the Queen entered on a monajlic life. What the overtures were, are related by Eurnet : 3 and what Vannes was to fay, as of himfelf, was, to lay be- 1 Strype's Memorials, v. I. p. 108. 2 Burnet, v. 3. p. 37. 3 Burnet, v. i. p. 60. and alfo more fully by Collier, v .2. p. 29. fore ( 72 ) fore the Pope ferioCifly, the ill confequences of any ungrateful behaviour to the King, if his Holinefs, for partial refpecls and fears, mould refufe the King's defires. * And, if their inftruclions were as here maintained, they did not differ from his Holinefs's own opinion. For Sanders, whofe authority Mr. Philips will not object to, re- lates, that upon a warm remonftrance from the Emperor, againfr. hearing the caufe in England, the Pope fent four meifengers af- ter Campegio, who was then upon his Jour- ney, charging him to proceed as flowly as poffible; to endeavour to reconcile the King and Queen; and, if that could not be ef- fected, *' then to try to perfuade her to take on. " her the religious ftate : if neither of thefe " could be brought about, not to prefume ' c to give any definitive fentence, without t( . frem and exprefs commandment from " himfelf." a When the hearing of the caufe. came on, the Queen, fays Mr. Philips, produced the original difpenfation from Spain, the g.enuine- nefs of which her managers fufficiently proved. Our writer is one of thofe, who think little more is requilite to efcablim truth, than a bold and prefumptuous affirmation. This dilpenfation here produced was the famous 1 Ibid. See the Inftruclions. Records, p. 47. 2 Sanders de fchii'mate, p. 32. Herbert^ p. 252. Breve ( 73 ) Breve of Julius 2d, contrived to remedy the defers of a former bull, by allowing the 2d marriage with Henry, tho the for- mer with Arthur had been confummated ; to which many ftrong objections were made. That it appeared not in the records either of England or Spain, but was faid to be found amongft the papers of the Spanljh ambaflador de Puebla, who was here at the concluding of the match : that many names were falfly written : that it bore date the very fame day that the bull was granted r and that it allowed the confummation, which the Queen herfelf denied. ' So that it was looked upon as a forgery ; and the Queen's proctors made no reply. The Queen indeed did aver fhe came a virgin to Henry s bed. This will but ill a-P gree with what Burnet relates, " that the " Spanifo ambaflador, had by his matter's " orders, taken proofs of the confumma- " tion of her marriage with Arthur, and " fent them into Spain. a " And the King, in a minute fent to his ambaflador at Rome, orders him to acquaint his Holinefs, " that " when the difpenfation for the marriage " between him and Catherine was obtained, " a league was renewed and concluded be~ I Burnet, v. i. p. 68. Records, p. 67. Herbert, p. 264, 269. Carte, v. 3. p. 93, 2 Burnett v. i. p. 35. " tween ( 74 ) " tween their parents the Kings of Eng- " land and Spain. In which league is "alfo plainly mentioned and expreffed in " two places thereof, that the marriage be- " tween our faid brother and her was fo- " lemnized and perfectly confummated." f The prefumption is certainly againft her : and either me, or Prince Arthur, muft have maintained a falmood; the one out of vanity, the other from intereft. For there were as full and clear proofs of the confummation, as an affair of fo fecret a nature would allow, and what is every where admitted as fufficient evidence : and though the witneffes are here faid to be garbled ', they were fuch as, from their rank and ftation at court, were privy to thofe tranfadtions, and well acquainted with all the particulars. * Abundantly fufficient are they to confute the ridiculous fiction in- vented by Sanders, of an ancient grave ma- tron being in the fame bed with Arthur and Catherine, to prevent confummation. Neither did Catherines managers attempt to invalidate the teflimony of any one of the witnefles. And moreover, if Catherine was fo fure of her coming a virgin to Hen- rys bed, why did ihe keep the court and 1 Burnet, 3. v. Ref. hift. p. 86. Records, p. 391. rte^ v, 3,. p. 119. citing Rymer, v. 14, p. 448. 2 Herbert, p. 270. king- ( 75 ) kingdom in fuch fufpence after Arthurs deceafe ? that it was fix months after that event, before Henry took the title of Prince of Wales, that it might be known whether fhe was pregnant or no; "Arthur being "upon the point of 16 years of age when " he died, and forward and able in body." * And as fhe herfelf, for the better fecurity of her latter marriage, got the fuppofed 2d bull with the claufe (*oel forjan cognitam) which was not in the former, inferted -, it renders this her affirmation the more fufpi- cious, and liable to invincible objections. When thefe evidences were gone through, and the final determination eagerly expect- ed, Campegio prorogued the Court : which P. 57. abrupt tranfaction was owing to the Pope's having, at the requeft of the Emperor, re- voked the caufe to Rome -, peace being late- ly made between them. And but for this, it is very likely, the legates would have de- termined the caufe in the King's favour; having lately fent his Holinefs a memorable difpatch, wherein they mew themfelves in- clinable to fatisfy the king, and " reprefent " the bad confequences of a refufal. They " confefs the impolitic behaviour of the " queen : they complained, that whereas " other Popes had made no fcruple to make " and change divine laws at their pleafure ; i Bacon's hift. of Hen. 7, p, 118. "yet ( 76 ) " yet one Pope flicks fo much at the rc- " pealing what his predeceffor did, as if that " were more facred, and not to be meddled " with." } But no remonftrances could a- vail : and the Pope, in obedience to the Emperor, revoked the caufe to himfelf j which, and with great reafon, irritated Henry much, and battened thofe legal par- liamentary proceedings, by which the Pope's power in England was abrogated. But his Holinefs was under a conftant dread of the Emperor, who kept a rod continually over his head : and himfelf knew, mould any rigid enquiry be ever made into his own election to the papacy, upon how precarious a footing he held the infallible chair. His legitimate birth was much queftioned : and cardinal Colonna, a creature of the Empe- ror, had got a note from him, promifing him preferment, in cafe he mould, by his affiftance, get the papacy; and this he' eve- ry now and then, to awe him, threatened to produce. * Thus ended, without any decifion, the legates commifTion. 3 The Pope taking the 1 "Burnct, v. i. p. 68, 69. Records, p. 67. 2 Father Paul's hift. of the council of Trent, B. T. p. 42, Eng. edit, and Couravtr't Fr. ed. v. i. p. 65. note. Carte, v. 3. p. 83. 3 For a fuccinft account of the legates proceed- ings, confulc JBurnet, v. 3. p. 46. See alfo very full and particular extracts from Be/lay's difpatches in the fame vol. p. 39, 42, 49, 54, &c. relating to the divorce, ta- ken ( 77 ) .determination of this affair entirely to him- felf, Henry having already experienced his timidity, diffimulation and partiality, refufed to ftand to the award of fo manageable a judge, but appealing from him, he referred the confideration of his cafe to the free and impartial examination of the learned in the mojl celebrated univer/itisr. It is indeed P. 59. to be feared, that, in this, as in all cafes, carried on with violence and heat, the ma- nagers might not always conduct them- felves with that attention to order and de- corum, which calm and unconcerned pof- terity would juftify and approve. That Henry might not occafionally exert fome undue pecuniary influences, over particular univerfities or perfons, cannot perhaps be abfolutely denied : but the fame was done, and with greater profufion, by the friends of the oppofite party. Ccejar, fays Croke, minis, precibus, pretio, G? Sacerdotiis, par- tlm t err It at noftros, partirn confirmat fuos. l Whereas he, who was ona of the bufieft and ableft of the king's agents abroad, de- clares and protefls, " he never gave nor ken from Le-Grand^ v. 3. and much more interefting, than the trifling extracts about the fweating ficknefs referred to by Mr. Philips, p. 48 50. but as they confirm and eftablim the narration of that tranfaclion given us by our pwn hiftorians, they were, for that reafon undoubtedly, omitted by our impartial biogra- pher, j I Herbert, p. 329. " pro- ( 78 ) " promifed any Divine any thing, till he " had firft freely written his mind, and what " he then gave, was rather an honourable " prefent than a reward : and there is a bill *' of his accounts yet extant, whereby his " gifts appear plainly to be nothing more " than fmall acknowledgments : fo that it " was faid at Ferrara, that they who wrote " for the King had but a few crowns a- " piece, and they who wrote on the other " fide had good benefices." * The univerfi- ties of Bononia and Padua refufed the offer of money with thefe words, quod a Spiritu fan&o gratis accepimus, gratis & libenter impertimur. * In the latter place, the King's caufe was earneflly fupported by Leonicus, p. 15. Pole 's great Triend, mentioned before with fo much honour; who was very inftru- mental in devifing the inftrument of that univerfity in corroboration of the King's caufe. 3 And if all thefe learned men were bribed, and were fo mamefully proftitute, as for a few crowns to contradicT: their ho- nour and confciences, let Mr. Philips make the beft apology he can for them. They were found members of his communion : and if they had neither the fear of God, or the Pope, before their eyes, we cannot 1 Ibid. Burnet^ v. i. p. go. 2 Herbert, p. 329. 3 Burnet^ v. i. Records, p. 88. Strypis memorials, v. i. p. 143. Append, p. 106. help ( 79 ) help it. Only gentler words and fome proof may be expedted, when cenfures fo fevere are palled. ' He has indeed vouchfafed fome commen- dation to the prot ejlant divines,* for their up- p. right adting in this matter : and it was ve- ry much to their honour, that the divorce met no where with greater difficulty or oppofition, than amongft them. 3 There is an earneft letter of Luther extant, ( as every thing he wrote is fo) to Barnes the King's agent in Germany, vehemently dif- fuading the divorce; and if nothing elfe would do, that rather than approve of it, he would recommend it to the king to take two wives : and in this opinion, this grand hereiiarch hit upon the fame- expedient, which his Holinefs himfelf had propofed to the King's ambaflador at Rome. * 1 The Determinations of the univerfities, Burnet^ v. i . p. 87 91. Records, p. 89 94. 2 In a quotation from Larrey taken from ^uirini^ v. i. p. 240. 3 All the Lutherans be utterly againft your highnels in this caufe, and have letted as much with their wretch- ed power, malice, without reafon or authority as they could and might, as well here, as in Padua and Fer- rara, where be no fmall companies of them. Crake to the King, Burnet. v. i. Records, p. 88. 4 dntequam tale repudium probarem^ potius Regi per- mittereniy alteram Reginam quoque ducere^ ff exemplo Pa- trum s? Regum duas jimul uxores, feu Reginas habere. Luther us Antonio Amario Anglo ^ (for fo Barnes was called in Germany} in col. ep, Hala, 4 to . 1717. p. 289. Sup<- Amongft thofe, whom Henry employed abroad to follicit his caufe, he ordered his kinfman and penfioner Pole, to follicit his caufe at Paris. A mofr. ungrateful and dif- agreable commiffion ; and which could not but give him great uneafmefs : for he feems very early to have a&ed an open and a fair part, -and from the beginning to have pub- lickly oppofed meafures he could not ap- prove. The faithful and accurate Mr. Strype has taken notice of a circumftance omitted by other hiftorians, which is, that fo early as 1530, he put into the King's hands a difTuafive from his attempt, which was de- livered to Cranmer for his examination of it; who acknowledged, " the goodly elo- " quence of it, both of words and fentence. " The intent of it was to perfuade the " King, upon merely political motives, to " commit his great caufe to the judgement " of the Pope, wherein, fays Cranmer^ me " feemeth he lacketh much judgement." It was, afterwards in another form, work'd up and inferted in his famous treatife de unit ate eccle/jafiica. Superiortbus diebus^ poniifex fecrctc, veltttl rem quam magni facer et^ mihi ^roponit conditionem hujufmodi, con- cedi pcffe, veftra tnaje/tati, ut duas uxores habeat. Herbert i p. 330. Carte ^ v. 3. p. 107. I Strypis Life of Cranmer ^ p. 6. Records, p. 3. in a letter wrote by Dr. Cranmer to the earl of Jrntjbire^ before his ambafTys abroad. Henrys Henry's indignation and refentment at the difappointment he met with, that the , legate's pompous commiffioh fhould end in nothing but fmoke, mewed itfelf in falling with the utmoft feverity upon his favourite, Wolfey j whofe ruin from that time was in- evitable. And this mighty cardinal foon experienced the ficklenefs of worldly power and fortune ; being fuddenly hurried from the greateft profperity, to the loweft de- .gree of dejection and adverlity. But not- withftanding this reverfe of fortune, his condition was never fo bad, as our Author reprefents it, when he fays, that he ?;;//^p. 63. have perifoed through want, had not a few well-difpofedperjbnS) . . . relieved him. During all his troubles, he never was without a great number of attendants fui table to his ftation and dignity. At the firft breaking out of the ftorm, when his efFeds were feized, he lay under fome difficulties ( and much to his honour was it) with regard to a prefent refource of money, to fupport his train of gentlemen and yeomen, which was, fays his fervant Cavetidijh, no fmall company * 9 though they had good Jlore of all kinds of victuals, and of leer and Wine plenty ; till the grateful and the faithful Cromwell, who was the chief of thofe few well- difpojed per- Jons, with fome others of his houfhold, by their generous contributions, enabled him F to ( 82 ) to difcharge his menial fervants. ' But no fooner was the King acquainted with his diftrefs, than he reftored to him the reve- nues of Tork t and of Winchejler alfo, or at leaft a large yearly penfion out of it, a 1000 marks of which he ordered to be im- mediately paid him ; and fent him by Cromwell 10,000 pounds of his benevo- lence, telling him, he fiould not lack, and bidding him be oj good comfort. He alfo fent or gave him as much goods and plate, as amounted to upwards of 6000 pounds. And his retinue, when he fet out to go into Yorkfiire, was very confiderable -> having 1 60 horfe in his train, and 72 carts of houfhold furniture. a Great preparations were making at York, for a magnificent inflallation, when the king interrupted the fplendour of this feaft : and death, foon af- ter, put an end to all his troubles. When he retired from Londct, upon the lofs of the great feal, and the breaking out of the King's difpleafure, he ilaid iome time at After ; and from thence removed to Richmond, where he lay in the fame lodgings that Pole ufed to refide, in the houfe built by dean Co/et ', where he fpent his time full as ufefully as our Author's I Cavendijtfs life of Wolfcy^ 8vo. ed. London^ 1706. p. 145, 146. Stowe, 548, 549. - 2 CwotttlRJh, p. 167. Stowc, p. 555. Rapln, v. r. 9.789. Catte, v. 3, p, 100. Hero ( 83 ) Hero could do. Here, we are told, he got his firft turn to religion ; and every after- noon he 'would Jit in contemplation with fome of the moft ancient fathers of the monaftery, who converted him to defpife the vanities of this world) and there they gave unto him flirts of hair to wear next his body, which he wore divers times after. He was in this time of his difgrace, an object of great companion. His old matter, the King, had caft him off; the Pope did not care for him -, Catherine and Anne Bolen both de- tefted him ; and all his friends, fave Crom- w^//and Gardiner, had forfaken him. What- foever failings he had, they were the fail- ings of a great foul, for he was liberal and munificent to excefs, and above the mean arts of rapacious minifters : he employed his immenfe income, in works of grandeur and hofpitality, and in fuch actions as re- flected honour and credit to his flation. Mr. Phillips Friend, the church hiftorian, has fpoke more favourably and more fairly of the cardinal's character : and with him we will hope, that the errors of his life were all attoned for, by a timely and hearty repentance. * The death of this great cardinal, could Pole have conformed himfelf to the pre- vailing meafures of the court, would have i Church biftory, v. i. p. 155. F 2 opened ( 84 ) opened the way to his advancement to the beft preferments which the King's love and power could have heaped upon him. A tender of the arch-bi(hcprick of York was made him, on condition that he would not oppofe the divorce. But he rejected a dig- nity, which he could not accept of, but on terms which he deemed ingominious. This circumfrance would doubtlefs have re- flected much honour on his character, had not he himfelf unfortunately told us in his epiftle to King Edward, (feet. 34) that he took a month to debate the matter with himfelf; during which time he confeffed (feet. 36) he found out a method to recon- cile his honour and his intereft ; that he went full-fraught with it to the King, when preparing to utter his falvo, his confcience took the alarm, firft flopped his mouth, and then extorted from him language the very reverfe of that which he came pre- pared to deliver. It is not to be wondered, that Eurnet treats this conference of Pole with the King, as fabulous: he had never feen either Beccatelli, or Duditbius's life ' of I The bifhop in his reflexions on the 3d and 4th tomes of Varillafs hiftory of herefies, fays that Mr. Varillas mentions no author with regard to Englijb af- fairs, but the Arch-bp of Ragiija, who, as he fays, writ the life of cardinal Pole : he adds, I do not pre- tend to deny, that there is any fuch author, only I very much doubt of it, for I never heard of it in England, . . . and him; and neither Pole's letter to the parlia- ment, or to Edward the 6th, was in his time published. He was therefore furely no way to be blamed, for not crediting an ao count, which had then no other founda- tion than Sandent's aflertion, an authority lefs than nothing. But the circumftance of Henry s putting bis hand to his dagger , . . . and?* 67. being hindered by nothing^ but the mode/I in- trepidity of the jpeaker, from imbruing it in bis blood, being omitted by Pole in his ad- drefs, both to the parliament and Edward the 6th, and being only mentioned by the writers of his life; it may well be queftion- ed, whether Henrys paflion, at his kinfman's remonftrance, proceeded to fuch extremi- ties, as to threaten his life. The clergy being unfortunately included in a Praemunire, in the fame manner as Wolfey, were glad to gratify the King, both in the fupremacy, and a good round fum by way of gift, to prevent the feverities of the law. And the parliament limiting their power in fome ecclefiaftical cafes, the zeal of the bifhop of Rocbejier was excited ; and he made fome reflections upon thefe pro- ceedings, as coming from the want oj faith* Upon which, complaint being made, he . . . and I took all the pains I could to be well informed of all that had writ of him. Amjierdam edit. 1685. 12. p. 10, was ( 86 ) P- 7- was far from {hewing the intrepidity, here fo greatly commended, when he conde- fcended to make this paltry excufe for himfelf, by faying he meant it only of the people of Bohemia. And though he had fpoken it of them, the thing was falfe in fad: : for the troubles in Bohemia were en- tirely owing to the Emperor Sigifmond's for- feiting his honour and fafe conduct, given to yobn Hufs at the council of Conjlance y through the fuggeftion of the Pope and his fycophants ; who perfuaded him, that no faith was to be kept with hereticks. How- ever the bifhop's excufe was accepted, and the complaint was dropt. But Le-Grand> from whom all this fmart paffage about the P. 70. bifhop is tranflated, ' does not upon this oc- caiion report that blafphemy of Cromwell, which this pious man dares not repeat ', but, as himfelf knows very well, was fpoken (and is even applied by himfelf elfewhere) upon an- P 293 > other occafion, upon Arch-bp War hams com- munication with the Nun of Kent; when we own that Cromwell did make ufe of an in- decent and profane, though not a blafphe- mous, expreffion. * But right or wrong, 1 Le-Grand y hift. du divorce, v. I. p. 165. 2 Le Meme^ v. I. p. 243. Cromwell is reported to have threatened the Arch-bifhop's life, and fome par- tifans of Rome telling him there muft be a good deal of formality in the procefs againft this Bifhop a caufe difent-ihy qu'il ejl F oint du Seigneur, 3* que Dieu a de~ fendu. ( 87 ) properly or improperly, Mr. Phillips 's rc- fentment muft fall upon thofe he dillikes. . As Pole was in England, whilft that con- vocation fat, wherein the clergy's compoii- tion was offered to efcape the penalties of a praemunire, and when they acknowledged the King's fupremacy, Burnet had faid, that it is very probable that Pole, who was dean of Exeter, was one of the number who agreed to it : this gave occaiion to Quirini, * and his fervile copier and tranfla- tor, to cenfure the bifhop in a very unfair manner. In the firft place, the bifhop does not fay he makes no doubt, but only it /jP.ji. very probable : and the reafons he gives, are Note> thefe ; that Pole was then in England, and prefent when the King refufed the compo- lition, unlefs the fupremacy was agreed to ; and that it is not likely the King would have continued his penfions and prefer- ments, if he had refufed to fign the peti- tion and fubmiffion. a So that the bimop . fendu de toutker a fes oins-, mats, ajoutolt Crr/mivel, Ji le Rty n'izn veut croire^ il le fera attacker en Croix cor?in:c fon Chriji ; y parce quil eft Arcbtvique en luy damicra tine Potence plus haute^ qtiaux atttres. Quoted from a MS. hiftory of the divorce. 1 The whole note at the bottom of page 71, 72. is tranflated from >uirini, v. I. the firft part of it occurs, p. 243, 244, and the latter, refledb'ng upon the copiers of this fuppofed jlander^ and the other writers, &ibje notice it efcaped, p. 249 of the fame vol. 2 Bur net, v. I. p. 1 1 2, 113. did did not go upon poiirive, but 6nlyprefump- P 72- tive grounds. Neither does he a few lines 3te ' lower deftroy his own weak argument, as >uirim, and his conflant follower, calls it ; but feveral pages after l he owns, that he could not difcover of what perfons the two houfes of convocation were made up in times of popery ; and that his conjecture was, that deans fat in the upper houfe. But this was only his private opinion : and up- on better information he retracted and cor- rected this miftake. * A candid adverfary would not have continued this flander up- on the bimop's memory : and tho' ^uirini might not have feen the 3d vol. of bimop Burners hiilory of the reformation, Mr. Phillips has, and is therefore inexcufable. It is very likely, that before matters were come to a crifis, Henry had many anxious fears and inward apprehenfions : however he kept them to himfelf; they did not tranfpire; for the difpatches he fen t abroad fpeak the ufual fpirit of vigour and refolu- p. 73 , tion. But a ray of light^ we are told, at length pierced the chaos of pajfion, which had long o'verfpread his mind. This may be pret- ty language, but not the truer for all that. If the jay of light appeared, it was foon 1 Ibid. p. 129, 130. 2 Jjurnety v. 2. p. 413 Appendix; and more fully, v. 3, p. 81. loft loft in a : cloud ; and Henry recovered his courage. He found the Pope's threats to be a meer brutum fulmen. He found the learned, throughout Europe, ftrenuoufly to defend his caufe. He found his fubje&Sj, for the- moft part, heartily to concur with him, in abolishing the him op of Rome's ab- furd and ufurped claim. And of late years he had very jftrong precedents to juftify his proceedings. So lately as in 1520, the fa- mour Monfr. Lautrecb, governour of Milan, deprived the Pope of all his jurifdidtion in in that dukedom 3 difpofed of ecclefiaftical benefices : and the church, fays Tbuanus, was governed by the bimop of Bigorrc in France, without the intervention of the pope. ' From the fame authority too, we learn, that in 1524, the Emperor himfelf, to revenge the injury done him by pope Cle- ment, had abrogated his authority through- out Spain. * Thefe were good examples for an high fpirited prince to follow, who, as he was a reader of books, could not be ig- norant of Gerfons famous treatife de aufe- rlbtlitate papte ; and well knew how to a- vail himfelf of the arguments there urged. This fuppofed fluctuation in the King's breafl, gives our biographer an opportunity of returning to his fubje6t, and introducing lib. i. A. D. 1520.- Ibid, lib. jr. A. D. 1524. his ( 90 ) his hero again upon the ft age. had referred his readers to Poles apology to the Emperor, for that long detail of what follows in Mr. Phillips about Macbiavel and Cromwell '> which Pole himfelf had moftly From from a hearfay relation, and in which per- P- 73- to haps he might be impofed upon : hence that torrent of declamation inferted for fe- veral pages together, partly from Quirim, partly from Pole himfelf. Mr. Phillip s y fpeak- ing of Pole's writings, pronounces them Pref. the faithful mejjengers of his heart, and the p. xu. fureft way of knowing him from himfelf. Very likely fo ! but not the freer, for that refpect, from prejudice or malevolence. We mail find his writings, for the moft part, dictated with this fole view, of blazing out the fplendour of his own actions ; and ag- gravating the defects, and depreciating the merits, of thofe he looked upon as his ene- mies. We muft not therefore admit his evi- dence in his own caufe, abfolutely, and with- out exception : let him tell his tale ; and then, valeat quantum va/ere poteft. It is hard indeed, if a violent partial man can- not make a plaufible apology for his own actions, and relate his ftory in an infinua- ting manner. Pole> in the place referred i) v. i. p. 263 ---- 267 which Mr. Phi- lips tranflated and inferted, p. 73 ---- 79. to, to, by Mr. Phillips and his matter, has drefs- ed up a figure of Straw ; and, difliking th,e man, mifcalled the phantom Cromwell. But notwithftanding all this vehemence of Pole, their HolineiTes of Rome, for feveral fuc- ceffions, thought differently of the evil ten- dency of Macbiavel's prince, (as is owned P. 79. both by Quirini and Phillips) for from Leo X, to whofe nephew, Laurence de Medicis, it was dedicated, befides the two popes here mentioned, all his fucceffors to Clement 8th permitted the fale of it throughout Italy, whereof there were frequent editions and tranflations ; till at lad the jefuit Poffevin, who had never read it, bawled out herefy, and the inquifltion took it to tallc j l which prevailed more to filence the bad effects of this writer, than all Poles empty and florid harangues. Confidering Pole's bigotted attachment to the Pope's authority, we cannot help ex- preffing our admiration, that he of all men mould venture to differ in opinion from any of their Infallibilities -, for Leo the icth, and Clement the 7th, both of them pro- tected and promoted Machiavel : and one of his refigned obedience and abfolute fub- miffion to their almighty will, muft allow this as an uncontroverted maxim, %uod fummus pontifex, cum tot am ecclefiam docef, , I Bayle di^l. article Machiavel, in ( 92 ) in his qua ad fidem pertinent, nullo cafu er- rare potejl. 1 And then, either he or they muft bear the blame. But after all, this whole difcourfe about Machiavel, might have been better applied by Pole to his bro- ther cardinal Woljey, who, for the mod part a<5ted more confidently with thefe max- ims, and put fome of them in practice, than to Cromwelly who contented himfelf with only commending them, and perhaps did it but to amufe or laugh at the grave dean of Exeter ; for he was not fo adven- turous a ftatefman as the other ; neither had he ever that full power over his mafter Henry, which Wolfey, for many years to- gether, enjoyed. i Bellarmin. de Rom, Pont, lib. 4. c. 3. Controv. v. i. p. 962. ANIMADVERSIONS O N SECTION THE SECOND. IT is very fortunate for the pretenders to literary merit, when they can fkil- fully apply, to their own advantage, the, labours of others who have employed their time and abilities in purfuit of the fame plan of ftudies. I cannot therefore but con- gratulate the ingenious and diligent Mr. Phillips, for the admirable ufe he has made of fuch friendly amflances. The foreign writers of the life of Po/e, had only their own materials to work up, and have given us little more than a bare narration of facts : but happily ! the Englijh compiler, of the hijlory of bis lije^ found every thing ready to his hands. He muft have taken it for granted, his authorities had not been heard of, or could not be met with, or would not be enquired after. He might therefore fafely venture to flourifh away upon his borrowed, or rather flolen, flock of know- ledge ; ( 94- ) ledge; and arrogate to himfelf the reputa- tion of an able, and original writer. ' We have already detected him, in many inftances, of grofs and impudent plagiarifm : we now repeat the charge; and afrem ac- cufe him of the fame illiberal and difinge- nuous behaviour, in not acknowledging the fource of all his materials. I How free and lax a tranflator Mr. Phillips is, the reader may judge by comparing the references he has vouchfafed to give in his notes, with the paflages in the text. The very firft reference is a glaring inftance of the liberty he too often takes. He tells us, that on Palis arrival at Avignon, the fepulchre of Laura, . . . was difcovered. The inhabitants congratulated thcmfelves . en this incident^ no lefs than the Sicilians had done en the difcovcry of Archimedes' 's tomb^ the memory of ivhich they had lojl ; and paid the perfon, who difcovered it almojl the fame honours the latter had conferred on Cicero^ for the P. 81. Me benefit. Referring, at the note, to Bembi. Ep. L. 6, 5V. ^uirini informs us of two of Bembo's letters to Cajlellanus, in one of which that learned man fpeaks very hand fomely of Pole, and then adds, from another, the cited paflage tranflated as above. Altera autem (E- pijlola fc. Bemhi) Cajlellano gratulatur conquijitum nuper t & rcpertum Laura jcpulchrum, a Nicolas Perufmo^ qui ea in re non minorem confecutus ft laudein, qv.am dim Cicero apud Fflcitlos ex invents Archimedis turnulo^ cujus illi me- moriam amiferant : non ita vero gratulatur Verficulas quof- dam Vernaculos . . . in eo fepulchro invent os, quos ait non modo hngijjime abejje a Petrarchts mirifico^ ac prope divino tngenio) Jed ne mediocris quidem ullius poette ant Jlylum^ Gift eruditionem japere. ^uirini-, v. i. p. 274. Mr. Phillips, p. 82, has rendered Biturigas^ B.ziers : he had before, p. 17, rightly tranflated it Bourges. He alfo, p. 98, fpeaks of a letter from Bttnst to Selva : whereas ^uirini frequently mentions that critick's name, and uniformly calls him Buntftus, Un- ( 95 ) Unluckily for his credit, ^uirints edi- tion of Poles letters, contrary to his hopes and expectations, have found their way into England; to whofe preliminary difcourfes, had Mr. Phillips referred where he ought, how little would be left that could be called his own ! Where Quirini drops the hiftory, our author is then obliged to beat out elfe- where for matter to enlarge his book, and to aflbciate to himfelf fome other authority. As the cardinal did not purfue the bufinefs of Ilenry's divorce, which was again re- newed after Pole left England, our hifto- rian has condefcended to adopt Le-Grand's account of it. By the help of thefe two fupporters, he was enabled to go on brifk- ly : the Jirji thirty pages of this fedtion, except a few fentences here and there add- ed, to dodge the fcent, and tack his intel- ligence together, being literally tranflated from them. An eafy and compendious way this of becoming an author ! But, to ufe his own words on another occafion, he does Pt. 2 d. them an injury not to acknowledge what he P- *4* relates, to be theirs, whilft he ftudioufly conceals the juft property they have, in what is fo fhamefully pillaged from them. The former part of this fection, as it re- fpedts Pole's foreign connections, and refi- dence at Avignon and Padua, may (land uncorredted. We mail make no further ob- fervations on it, than only to reftore it to its its own author , and to refer the reader for the contents of it from page 80 to page 102, to Quirims introduction to the firft volume of Poles letters from page 274 to page 300. Mr. Phillips does indeed, in the courfe of thefe pages, cite fome of Poles letters, and a few other authorities, as vouch- ers of his hiftory : but then they are the very fame references, which Quirini, in his illustration of the letters, had feleded for him -, and which he, to blind his readers, vouchfafeth fometimes to quote. The illuftrious Sadolet bearing fo confi- derable a (hare in the correfpondence of Pole, we cannot entirely pafs him by, with- out gladly paying that regard to him, which is due to the memory of fuperiour virtue and ability. Sadolet, though fecretary to a Pope, was yet remarkable for candour and moderation, and for an affection to learned perfons, tho' they were fometimes engaged in defending religious principles different from his own. He had a very high regard for Sturmius, Bucer and Me- lanchton. ' Seckendorf hath preferved a va- luable letter of his addrefied to Mdancbion, I In a letter to Sturmius, dated 1539, ^ e t ^ lus ex ~ prefleth himfelf, Palam, cum facultas datur^ foleo 3" commemorare & loqui^ me tibi & Melanchtoni & Eucero^ bominibus doSiijJimis^ plane benevolum & ex ammo fauto- rcm ejje. Cited by Seckendorf^ hift. Luth. L. j. p. 43. which ( 97 ) which mews the goodnefs of his heart, and the fweetnefs of his temper. It is a letter expreffive of the higheft efteem of that ex- cellent reformer and his writings : in it he acquaints him with his promotion to the purple, and begs to be admitted into his friendfhip j telling him, he was not fuch a bigot, as to hate thofe who differed from him, but that the efreem he bore to learn- ing and worth was fuch, that he had al- ready no inconliderable mare of his affec- tion ; and hoped, the diftance of their abode would not prevent an union of their fouls. l I This letter of Sandslet is dated in 1537, an( ^ * s acdrefTed to Melanchton, DilefiiJJlmo tanquatn fratri : accidebat miki . . . ut ahquid nancifcerer de Jcriptis tuis^ qute ego 5" propter excellent ingenium tuum^ y propter ele- gantiam Jlyli & orationis^ HbentiJJime legere folebam. Id cut/i f&pius facer em^ magnaque in legendo deleft atione ad- ficerer^ fenji paulatim mibi incendl animum ad quandam benevolentiam nominis tui, ufque eo quidem^ ut rtnro quodam Jh{dio tecum imunda amicttice temrer. Ncn enim is fum, qui ut quifque opinions a nobis diffentit, Jlatim eum odia babeam. . . . Faveo ingenns^ virtutes bominum colo, Jlu- dia liter arum diligo^ in quibus tu 3 ut do&rirue & ingenii^ fie amoris mei nan mechocrcs partes poffides.. Nee dubito- quin tu eadem mente & voluntate J;s pr&ditfts. Ifti enim animo, qi'.i tarn liberaliter artibus ingenuis expolitus Jit y nihil agrejle atque ajperum, imjje pote/i, quo etiam mctjvrcm mihi fpem virtus tua facit^ meas hoc apud te li'eras pon- deris habituras, ut qui locorum fpatiis disjunfti fumus, animis tamen ff benevokntia amjungamur^ quod ego maxims ffveo atque expeto. SieilBdorfibid. fee alfo, B. 3. p. 244: and his chrif- tian candour and charity to the Vaudois is celebrated by Tkuanus, B. 6. A. D. 1550. G How ( 98 ) How amiable is fuch a fpirit ! how dear muft it render him to every lover of learn- ing and candour ! Honeil and moderate men muft admire him, and no adverfary could be fo ungenerous as to hate, or revile him. Of all the friends of Pole, there was none whofe acquaintance did him fo much ho- nour, as his intimacy with the truly refpec- table Sadolet : and had he but cultivated the fame freedom of thinking and writing, his own character might have equalled that of his friend the bifhop of Carpentras. After our hiftorian's account of Pete's li- terary engagements abroad, we are called off" from attending his hero, to hear his own P. 102. concluding relation of the affair of the di- vorce. Quirini being filent about this, Mr. Phillips was at a lofs where to meet with an impartial and fair detail of that bulinefs. To fearch into records, or to give us his own opinion, would be a work of time and pains : he pitched therefore upon that for- gotten author Monfr. Le-Grand, deeming that a tranfcrlpt from thence might be made with lefs hazard of difcovery, than from more approved writers. Though our author is as much obliged to Le-Grand for From the following pages of his hiftory relating 102 to the divorce, as he was to Quirini for his former intelligence ; yet except a trifling appeal, at his entrance, to an infignirkant minute in one of Caff'alis and "Ranee s let- in. ( 99 ) ters, in the 3d volume of Le-Grand's hif- tory, no notice at all is taken of his guide and director. The firft vol. of Le-Grand contains the hiftory or narration of the di- vorce : in the 3d volume are inferred the proofs, amongfl which there are feveral very valuable records, which bifhop BurHef hath made good ufe f in his 3d volume of the hiftory of the reformation j and hath honeftly referred his readers to Le-Grand upon every occafion, by a particular ac- knowledgment of thofe materials he felect- ed from thence to illuftrate his hiftory. As a relator of facls, it would have done Mr. Phillips no harm, to have confidered thefe records of the laft volume, rather than to have curtailed his partial narration in the firft. But however, even by this account, we learn, that the Pope ftill afted in his former muffling, prevaricating manner : and the feveral difpatches referred to by his au- thor, are ample teftimonies of his Holinefs's diflrefsful ftate ; who was urged, on the one hand, by the Emperor and the cardi- nals of his faction to declare againfl Henry ; and, on the other, was moved by the re- prefentation of the King of France and his agents, of the danger of an hafly determi- nation of Henry 's caufe. Neither was the King of England wanting in his own be- half. He wrote to the Pope, and infifted O 2 upon upon its being determined in England',* and, as Mr. Phillips, or rather Le-Grand, * P. 102. fays, tried to prevail on the queen to defift from her appeal to Rome. But Ihe was rc- folutely bent to have his Holinefs's deci- fion ; and, as if (he was determined to ex- afperate her hufband to the uttermoft, me applied in moft preffing terms to the Pope j and procured a Breve from him to prohibit the King's marrying another wife, and to charge him to live with the queen as for- merly; and in cafe he refufed, the whole kingdom was threatened with an inter- dict. 3 Upon this, the King was cited to Rome: but by his ambafTador and excufator Carne he protected againft this ftep, becaufe the Emperor's power was fo great at Rome, and he himfelf was a fovereign Prince, and the church of England a free church over which the Pope had no juft authority. * He had fome time before ifTued out a proclamation, forbidding the receiving or publifhing any bulls from Rome prejudicial to his royal prerogative; and his parliament had con- 1 Burnet, 3 v. Ref. p. 67. Records, p. 372. 2 Le-Grand hift. du divorce, v. I. p. 218. 3 Burnet, 3 v. Ref. p. 57. Le-Grand, v. 3. p. 446. There was afterwards another to the fame purpofe. Burnet, v. 3. Ref. p. 68. Le-Grand, v. 3. p. 531. 4 Burnety i v. Ref. p. 126. ibid, 3d v. Ref. p. 68. Herbert, p. 364. curred ( 101 ) currcd with him, in applying to the Pope for a fpeedy determination of this great matter. ' And the members of both houfes mewed themfelves very forward in reftram- ing the papal authority, and fupporting their fovereign with great fpirit and unanimity in the meafures he took entirely to annul it. The convocation had acknowledged him fupreme head of the church of Eng- land. The decifions of the univerfities were laid before the parliament, which excited their refentment againft the Pope, and their deteftation of the King's marriage. One of?. 104. the members did indeed fpeak againft the di- vorce, in the boufe of commons* and moved that the King might be entreated to cohabit with the queen. But whilft Mr. Phillips was men- tioning this, and the notice the King him- felf took of Mr. Teemfe's fpeech, he mould not have fupprelTed the moft material part of his Majefty's difcourfe with the fpeaker ; in which, befides what our author hath thought proper to give us, he told him " that the houfe might better underiland " his true reafons, he had informed him- " felf in all parts of chrifteridomj concern- " ing ftrange marriages ; and that faving in " Spain and Portugal, he could never find - " that any man had fo much as married j Herbert, p. 330, 331. Carte, y. ?. p. 101. and 107. " two " two fitters, if the firft were carnally known. " But for the brother to marry the bro- 1 ther's wife was fo abhorred amongft all ' nations, that he never heard any chriftian ' fo did, but himfelf, and therefore wHhed ' them to believe that his conference was ' troubled. * ' But why was this omitted ? -certainly for this reafon, left it might leave an im- preffion in Henry s favour. Le Grand who had as little good will for the King, as Mr. Phillips can pofilbly have; yet acted more fairly, and has honeftly related the whole fpeech. * After this, there was the utmoft harmony between the King and his parlia- ment : and the houfe, at his requeft, un- dertook to confider how far the oath, which the clergy made to the Pope, was deroga- tory to that of their fidelity to him. This occafioned the final renouncing of the Pope's authority, not long after. 3 During the recefs of this parliament, we are told by 'Le-Grand' t and his tranflator, P. 104. that the King now caufed a Jlrici inquiry to be made into Herejy, in which the bifhops fe- conded his capricious and fangu,inary inc V \ 'na- tions , with all the rigour of a Spanifo inqui- Jition. The conclufion of the parliament, i^ p. 363. Burnet^ I v. Ref. p. 122. 2 Le-Grand^ i v. p. 223. 3 Herbert ^ p. 363. Burnet^ I vol. Ref. p. 123. 4 Le-Grand^ j v. p. 224. and and the rengnation of the Great Seal by Sir 'Thomas More, being mentioned by them both at the end of their laft paragraph, might induce the reader to think, that this inquiry into herefy, was pofterior to thefe two events: whereas the contrary is the truth; and neither of thefe writers have ftriclly attended to the order of time, in their account of many of the tranfactions which they relate. This inquiry, here hint- ed at, was made long before the end of that Seffions, or Sir Thomas's giving up the feals. And the particular inftances of this ecclefiafrical feverity, tho' fpecified by Le- Qrandy 1 are yet taken no notice of by Mr. Phillips. I prefume, he was confcious, the dwelling upon them would tend to the dif- jhonour of fome of the greateft men of his own communion. The fuiFerers named by Le-Grand are Rilney, Btfield, Tewkfiury, and Bainbam : and the proceedings, carried on againft them, were exercifed, we freely grant, with all the rigour of a Spanijb inquijition. But who were thefe fanguinary inquilitors ? Bi- fhop Stoke/ley of London, a and Sir Thomas 1 Le Mcme^ p. 22^. 2 The fame perfon whom Mr. PhiHips y ( following ^uirini's or his printer's blunder,) in the no^e of p. 32, called John Stockier ; who is mentioned by Erafmx$ 9 (from one of whofe epiftles the note is quoted) as one of the illuftrious ornaments of Henry's court j and who, he : fays, More the chancellor himfelf -, the latter of whom, as appears by the infcri-ption which he competed in the height of his profpe- rity, and ordered to be placed on his mo- nument, gloried in nothing fo much as his hatred to all thofe, whom he was pleafed to brand with the appellation of hereticks. P. 115. We are told, indeed, that his prudence ', un- der/landing, and temper, feemed to vie with each other, and could be jurpajjed by nothing but a dijintereftednefs, probity, and jenfe of religion, which rendered the man, the ma- giftrate, and the chriftian compleat. But furely he did not exemplify any part of this amiable chara&er, when he condefcended to turn inquifitor and perfecutor -, when he fo far forgot the regard he owed to truth and his own honour, that not content with lending out a writ for the burning of Bil- ney, he could publickly declare to the world, ' that he had abjured his tenets be- fore his execution. A calumny this, which was fo far from having any evidence in its fupport, that the abfolute falmood of it was teilified by many witnerTes, * whofe vera- fays, was one of his chaplains, a facris, which Mr. P. 3*. Phillips, by a bold periphraiis, rendereth, is clerk of the dofa. 1 In the preface to one of his books againfl Tindal, Fox, 2 v. p. 272. 2 Fcx^ v. 2. p. 275. Cjf feq. Burnet, v. j. p. 163. Strype, Mem. i v. p. 201. city city is un questionable. He aiTerted the like of Bifield alfo, with as much malevolence, and as little truth. ' 'Tewkjbury, the ^d perfon mentioned by Le-Grand, was tried and condemned by bifhop Stoke/ley, and by Sir Thomas More, at his houfe at Chelfea; and carried directly from thence to the ftake. But in his treat- ment of Bainbam, the chancellor exercifed his cruelty to an horrid excefs. He impri- foned him in his own houfe; and to make him difcover and inform againft his here- tical acquaintance, he ordered him to be whipped at a tree in his garden; and then fent him to the tower, where he flood by, and faw him put to the rack. * The bi- fhop and the chancellor, we fuppofe, con-?t- zd. Jldered herefy not only as a grievous fin a- p * gainft almighty God, but as a heinous crime Ggainft the ftate. This made them fo zea- lous to extirpate fuch dangerous opinions. As the divorce was ftill depending at the court of Rome, the chancellor fuggefted to the King, that the Pope would be more wrought upon by his fupporting the church, and defending the faith, than by threaten- ings. 3 The perfecution therefore that was carried on, was owing entirely to Mores 1 Fox, v. 2. p. 294. 2 Fox, 2 V. p. 297. 3 Burnety hift. Ref. i vol. p. 159. infli- inftigation. In was begun in 1531, when he was in the height of his power: and the above mentioned fufFerers were execu* ted that year. Some few proceiTes indeed we meet with both before and after this time; but the violence of the ftorm was felt moft feverely then, but not every where alike. The rigour of it was confined al- mofl wholly to the diocefe of London ; where the bimop,who had much more learn- ing than humanity, was remarkably active in difplaying his religious fury : in which he was, no doubt, greatly encouraged and fupported, by the countenance of Sir jf#0- mas Moris authority j who frequently was prefent at the bifhop's examination of he- retics, and affifted him in that godly work. And how much his influence contributed to thefe profecutions is evident from hence, that with the decline of his power, the jlrift inquiry into berefy fubfided too : and we hear of but few condemnations for fome time, after More himfelf had felt the bitter feverity of the law. As he had fo great an hand in this inquilitorial inquiry, we are not furprifed, that Mr. Phillips fliould fo lightly fkip over thefe rigorous proceedings. He hath exprefTed himfelf in fo guarded a manner, that it is hard to judge from his narration, whether the per- jfecution was levelled againfl the promoters of the new, or the defenders of the old tenets. tenets. He has given us, becaufe Le-Grand?. 104, did, * a trifling inftance of trouble upon each account; wherein the King's fupre- macy only was concerned, which being juil declared and recognifed by the parlia- ment, the prieft, who maintained the Pope's title to it, might reafonably expedt to be imprifoned for oppofing the laws of the land : and the heretic, who appealed to the King, was well advifed to claim the benefit of this aft, to give his fovereign an oppor- tunity of exerciiing his new acknowledge^ jurifdidtion. Whilft Stokefley and More were thus bufily employed in defending the doctrine of the church, the bufinefs of the divorce was managed at Rome with all the accuf- tomed delays of the timid pontiff; till Hen- ry, fatisfied in his own mind of the unlaw- fulnefs of his marriage, offended at the in- dignity offered to his perfon in being cited to Rome, wearied with this impolitic treat- ment, and finding the generality of his fubjects had adopted his fentiments, cut, at p. 107. once, the knot, as Mr. Phillips fays, which he hadfo long, in vain, endeavoured to untie, and married Mrs Anne Bullen as foon as he returned Jrom France. John Stowe tells us, " the King returning to England, landed at "Dover the 1410 of November 1532."* I Le-Grand, i v. p. 225. 3 Stave's aanals, p. 563. But as the marriage was not publickly de- clared till the April following, it is impof- fible to fix the determinate day. Sanders * and Campion^ l whofe authority muft be of great weight; with Mr. Phillips, have with many other hiftorians fixed the day of this marriage upon the 1 4 of November. John Stowe and fome others tell us, it was de- ferred to the January following. 3 As the divorce was undecided, there is great pro- bability in that conjecture of bifhop Burnet, " that the day of marriage was given out " wrong on defign. And in a matter that " was fo fecretly managed, it was no hard " thing, to oblige thofe who were in the " fecret to filence." * ?. 107. The pleafant tale Mr. Phillips has amufed us with, concerning the fcruples of Dr. Lee who performed the ceremony, though here translated, from Le-Grand, 5 is originally de- rived from no other authority than the fidtion 1 Ad dcclmum vero fc? oftavum calendar Decembris^ , . . Rex longioris mora impatiens 9 . . . oninlno confti~ tuit cum Anna Bolena, nuptias contrabere. Sanders de fchlfm. Ang. L. I. p. 83. 2 Rex Annam Boleniam ducit -clanculum menfe Novem- &ri, ita ut nemo fere perfentifceret^ priufquam ad Aprilem froximum gravida notaretur. Edm. Campion, de divortio Hen. 8. p. 178- Inter cpufcula. 3 Annals, p. 562. 4 Burnet, v. 3. Ref. p. 70, 71. 5 Le-Grand, v. I. p. 237, 238. Of ( I0 9 ) of lying Sanders. * It is fcarce probable that Pole, who collected every thing that could defame the King and his new queen, would have omitted it in his fcurrilous invectives againft them, had there been the leaft foun- dation for fuch a report. Le-Grand indeed, in another place, endeavours to fupport it, by the convincing authority of a namelefs MS ; * the writer of which might perhaps owe all his knowledge either to Sander^ or to an authority of no better credit. But the ftory lying in Mr. Phillips 's way, he thought it told well, and did not care to drop it. Henry having taken this ftep, which was intended as a publick defiance of the pope, and an infult upon that tribunal which P. 59. had arbitrarily arrogated to itfelf the dcciflon of caufes of fuch importance, did not flop here. Perceiving the good difpofition of his fubjefts, he proceeded to eafe them of the many exorbitant encroachments of papal power, upon their Liberties, as well as his own prerogative. At the next meeting of the?. 107 . parliament, a law pa fled, by which all ap- peals to the See of Rome were prohibited. And high time it was, that fuch a law as this mould be enacted j for the grievances, which it was calculated to redrefs, had been 1 SancUrs de Schifmafe, &c. L. I. p. 83. 2 Le-Grand, v. 2. Defenfe de Sander us, p. 109. long f o ) long and loudly complained of: for thefe appeals to the Pope were neither more nor lefs, than the effect of a mere usurpation on his part, and of illegal ads in the fub- jedls. And the order of the procefs fettled by this bill was agreeable to the ancient conftitution of the kingdom. They owed their rife to that feparation, which William the conqueror made between the civil and ecclefiaftical jurifdiction. Before that time, the Pope was not confidered at all in Eng- land; and all ecclefiaftical cafes were deter- mined at home, without his interpofition. But by this feparation, the Pope, who be- fore was fubjecl: to the canons of the church, began to be above them. Hence was laid the foundation of thofe appeals, which were never allowed, without much ftruggling and reludlance, by the civil power; and which, by the continual contefls they occafioned, proved very detrimental to the kingdom. The firft who judicially, and under the form of authority, introduced them in Eng- land (tho' there had been a prior attempt or two before) was that turbulent and haughty prelate Henry de Blois bimop of Winchefter t and the Pope's legate, in the unfettled reign of King Stephen ; l who being, as legate, I / Anglia appellations in ufu non crant^ donee eas HenricuslFintonienJis, dum legatu s ejjet , mah fuo crudeKter intrufit. Hen. Huntingdon, A. 16. Steph. L. 8. p. 226. ed, Savil. fupe- fuperior to his metropolitan, took this ftep, to leffen the jurifdiclion of the See of Can- terbury -, and firft taking cognizance of theft appeals himfelf, they naturally and of courfe came to be determined in the Roman con- fiftory: whereas before they were ufually made to the primate, and determined by a council called by him. But they were not long tamely permitted : and upon Henry the fecond's putting a ftop to them by the 8th conftitution of the council of Claren- don, they remained ever after prohibited by law ; and fubfifted only by the conni- vance of the crown, though complained of from time to time by the commons in par- liament. This ftatute therefore providing againft them by fevere penalties, was only an af- firmance of the common law; though ne- ceffary in equity, to give notice to all pcr- fons, that the breach thereof would not be connived at for the future. ' This 00 cafioned Henry and his Holinefs to fulmi- nate againft each other. But the Vatican thunder now rolled in vain : it made no im- refflon on Henry , and was fet at nought by lis fubjects. The bimop of Romes autho* p f rity was abfolutely difclaimed. His decree I See Carte, v. i. p. 442, 443, and 551. and v. 3, p. 1 1 8. from whmce thi* account of thefe appeals is taken. againft ( "2 ) againft the divorce, and in confirmation of the validity of Catherine s marriage, was defpifed and trampled under foot. The King perfifted to cohabit with his new wife; and the nation acknowledged her for their queen. The jurifdidion and decrees of the Pope were renounced , the King de- clared the fupreme head of the church : and the people readily profefTed obedience to all the laws for extinguishing the papal power. P. 1 1 1 . In this manner ', fays our author, the fpi- ritual fupremacy was conferred on the King and his fuccejjors. He had before told us, P. 70. of the novelty of the claim, and its repug- nance to the fenfe of all antiquity -, and pe- remptorily afferted, that Henry, by this u- p. i. furped a power of laying isoajle that fair edi- Jice, the Pope's fupremacy, ivhick, like all others throughout the Chri/lian world, had St. Mat. been founded by the divine lawgiver, on the c ' pre-eminence of that See, and bad rejled on it t in this kingdom, Jince its firft ejlablfomsnt, during 900 years. A fmall knowledge in the Englijh hiftory would have made Mr. Phillips lefs pofitive in his afTertions. The renouncing the Pope's fupremacy, lie re- P. MX. prefents, as feparating from the catholic church. But what if this papal fupremacy was never legally allowed ? what if its pre- tenfions, in whole or in part, were ever refifted ? Did any of the Saxon Kings, tho' in- ( "3 ) indebted to" a miffionary from the Pope, for their converfion to chriftianity, make any folemn or formal acknowledgment, of their fubmiffion to the bifhop of Rome ? Where was hid this authority, when Dio- nothj the abbot of Eangor, told Augujline the monk ( whofe errand was as much to make converts to the church of Rome, as the church of Chrift ) that he knew no obedience due to him, whom they called the Pope, but the obedience of love; and, that under God they were to be governed by the bifhop of Caer/eon ? * What then did Henry do more, than what mod of his predeceffors had done before him ? The firft appeal upon record to the Pope, before the conqueft, was made by Wilfrid Arch-Bp of Tork, whofe remonftrances, a- gainft fomc regulations made both by civil and ecclefiafttcal authority, not being at- tended to; he denounced publickly, that he appealed for redrefs, to the See of Rome. 11 This," fays Carte, "appeared fo new and " fingular to the audience, that it occafion- i Spelman. cone. A. D. 601. cited by Arch-bifhop Bramhall ; who adds, that as this conference, between Dionoth and Augujline^ was held in the very beginning of the yth century, it is a demonftrative convincing proof that no fuch claim had been heard of, or ac- knowledged, at that time. BramhaWs vindication of the church of England, p. 84. Fol, H ridi- ( "4 ) " ed a general laughter, as a thing quite " ridiculous." ' And though the Pope de- creed in his favour, yet Aljrid the King would not reftore to him his preferments, declaring that " what the Kings his prede- " ceflbrs with their council had determined, " and what had been afterwards adjudged " by the arch-bimop and all the biihops of "England, he was refolved not to change, " for any papal letter or refcript what- " ever." z Afterwards, altho' William the conqueror, at his acceiTion to the crown, paid a little court to his Holinefs ; yet no fooner was he firmly feated, than he ftrenuoufly af- ferted the independency of his crown: and when the Pope admonimed him by his le- gate of the homage due to his See, he pe- remptorily refufed it, faying, Jidelitatcm fa- cere noluiy nee vo/o; quia nee ego promi/i, nee anteceffbres meos antccefforibus tuis id fe- ciff'e comperio. 3 So little regard did he pay to the Pope's authority, that he would not even fuffer his fubjeds to acknowledge any one for Pope, without his orders ; * or per- mit his primate to pafs any fvnodical ca- nons, but what were agreeable to his will, I Carte, i v. p. 250. - 2 Ibid, i v. p. 257. 3 See his epiftle to the Pope in Selden's Notes to dmerits^ p. 164. 4 Eudmerus, p. 6. not. p. 163. and ( "5 ) and firfl approved, or ordered by himfelf. * Neither would he fufFer the bifhops to ex- communicate any of his barons or officers. * His fon William Rufus exerted the fame fpirit : and when arch-bifhop Anfelm afked leave of him to go to Rome for his pall, he refufed his requeft, as being " contrary to " his own prerogative, to the laws of the " land, and to the rights of the church of " England-" alleging^ " that it had not been " the cuflom either in his father's time or " his own, for any body in England to ac- " knowledge a Pope without the King's " licenfe or approbation." 3 When Hilary bifhop of Chichejler, in Henry the fecond's time, " was exalting the papal authority, and " affirmed that no layman, not even the King " himfelf, could give any eccleiiaftical digni- " ties or privileges to a church, without the " Pope's allowance and confirmation;" the King in great wrath interrupted him, and told him " the Pope owed his power to " the grant of men, but the royal authority " was derived from God j that he mould " apply to the great council there afiembled " for doing him juftice on a man, who had " thus attacked the ancient liberties of the " crown, &. The whole audience affented " to what the King faid, and was moved 1 Ibid. not. p. 165. 2 Ibid. not. p. 168. 3 Carte, I v. p. 472. H 2 "with " with indignation again ft the bimop ; and " chancellor Becket reproved him for his " prefumption." ' In a parliament held at Carllfle under TLdward the firfl, in 1307, fuch a law was paffed, which, if well executed, would have put an end to all the extorted jurifdiclion of the court of Rome : for it was expreffly declared, " that the church of England " was founded in the.eftate of prelacy, by " the King and peers thereof, and that the " fcveral incroachments of the bifhop of " Rome y did tend to the annullation of the " ftate of the church, the dementing of " the King and the peers, and the deftruc- " tion of the laws and rights of the realm, " contrary to the difpofition and will of the " firft founders." a In the reign of Edward the 3d, and Henry the 4th, the judges de- clared the Pope's excommunication con- trary to law. 3 . Edward the 3d revived the ftatutes of praemunire, and of provifors, to prevent the Pope's intermeddling, either in the difpofal of benefices, or the hearing of ecclefraftical caufes, 4 Under Richard the 2d, the parliament made flill ftronger ef- forts, to curb this foreign encroaching ju- . I Carte^ i v. p. 584. 2 35 E. i. Statute of CarViJle. 3 Fiddh Scrvi, fubdtto infideli refponfto^ by Dr. Ckrl- y p. 51. 4 Rapin, i v. p. 478. 27 E. 3. c. i. rifdiclion ( "7 ) rifclidion . "They made it death for any " man to bring or lend any bull or procefs " from Rome j and that whoever procured " or executed any fentence from Rome mould " lofe all that he had, and be imprifoned " for life. And they alfo offered to de- " fend the King againft the Pope ; declar- " ring the crown of England was not fub- "ject to him, but to God only; adding, " that it had been fo free at all times, that "it hath been in no earthly fubjection." ' Thefe are in fiances, fufficient enough to prove, how much the nation was ever upon its guard to check the growth of the papal fupremacy, and to prevent its taking fuch root as thoroughly to be eilablifhed : tho' under weak, or very ambitious princes, or when civil commotions ran high, the en- croachments of the papacy were connived at, and fometimes appealed to, by thofe who either feared a rupture with that for- midable power, or found it neceflary to Strengthen their intereft by its friendship and fupport. Henry therefore, when he ut- terly abolimed this aifumed fupremacy, was fo far from being guilty of what Mr. P/6/7-P. m. lips arrogantly termeth an amazing innova- tion, that he really did no more, than add life and fpirit to thofe laws, which the vvifdom of his anceflors had indeed enaCt- i 16 R. 2. c. 5. ed; ( "8 ) ed ; but which, though they generally lay dormant, when the royal prerogative was not exerted : yet were they ftill known to be in full force, and, being exercifed from time to time, in certain inftances ; the na- tion, groaning under the infupportable bur- then of an infinity of papal exactions, and, in a manner, impoverished by them, was well enough prepared to receive the revival of the regal fupremacy. ' Mr Phillips , by the help of a citation from Henry's book againft Luther, ( which he found in a note in the church hiftorian of his own communion, and hath put into modern language ) hath, with Mr. Dod> * represented the clergy of thofe times, as charging the King with inconfiftency, and p. , n . a&ing contrary to his folemn declarations in that book. Henry s opinion, in this point, was certainly altered : but he had, fmce that time, got better knowledge of the Popes themfelves. They had amufed and deceived him fo much, that his good opinion of them and their courts was greatly abated. He might reafonably conjecture, power, thus abufed, could not be of divine right -, and that the Popes, in the exercife of it, did frequently determine not according to con- 1 Carte, 3 v. p. 129. 2 Dad's church hiftory, I v. p. 99. fcience, ( "9 ) itieflce, but the dictates of a prevailing Party. It was this grofs behaviour of the Pope, which occafioned the inquiry into the rife of his power, and how far he could difpenfe with the laws of God. The fpirit of the reformers had already taught men to defpife his menaces : and when they be- gan in earneft to examine the foundation of fuch high pretenfions, they foon found them to be againft the word of God, and the confent of earliefl antiquity : that they were only the acts of ufurpation and luffer- ancej for that every prince in his own do- minions was fovereign and fupreme head of all his fubjects, without diflinclion or ex- ception. When therefore the breach was made between Henry and the Pope, his intereft and his people's being the fame, the King no longer delayed to free himfelf, and them, from the burthen of that yoke, which they, as well as their fore-fathers, found too heavy for them; and thereby providentially became an inftrument of pro- moting the reformation, without intend- ing it. The Galilean church had always pre- ferved its liberties, exempt from the en- croachments of any foreign intruder. But with regard to E?2gland, we have it hinted, " that it might perhaps be looked upon as " a feodatary kingdom to Rome, as it once " was " was in the reign of King John, and part " of Henry the 3d's reign, and that the Pe- '* ter-pence was fr.il! a kind of acknow- " ledgment of that fubjedion. Now where " fuch a fubjection is really due, a feoda- which was the feftival of St. Peter ad vincula, in remembrance of 1 Dod's church hiftory, I v. p. 99. 2 Matt. Wejlmonajl. p. 265. Arch-bifhop Parker's ed. 1570. the the difcovery of the relicks of St. Alban, fuppofed to be found upon that holy-day. * The Popes themfelves, who did not ufe to be over-modeft, were fo far from looking upon it as a debt due to them as fuperior lords of a lay fee, that they called it only* eleemofyna beati Pefri, * alms or bounty money, not a tribute paid by way of hom- age. In the diftrefsful condition King 'John was, we need not wonder, if he had very little concern for the dignity of a crown, to which he had no other right, than what ufurpation and murder could give him. The Pope had abfolved his fubje&s from their allegiance : to free himfelf from the diffi- culties he was involved in, and to prevent a threatened invafion from France, he re- iigned his realms to his Holinefs, to hold them for the future, as his feodatary, by homage; and to pay him an annual tribute. John vainly thought this ftep would reduce his enemies to the fame diftrefles he had experienced himfelf, before he took fhelter under that fancTified banner. But the ba- rons were not fo foon frighted. As "John was univerfally odious, they raifed a cla- mour againft him in all places, for fubmit- j Collier ecclef. hift. i v. p. 143. 2 Pope Pafcal in a letter to Hen. I. Eadmer, p. 1 13. ting ting to be an homager to the Pope, and for giving up the independency of the crown. But the officers of the court of Rome, who well knew how to fiih in trou- bled waters, made great advantages of the ^ifturbances of his reign, and the weaknefs of his fon's adminiftration ; and committed fuch a&s of rapine and extortion, that the wantonnefs of their tyranny was raifed in proportion to the extreme paffive behaviour of the fupple Englijh. But however in the next reign, Edward the ift put a check to thefe exorbitances, and reftored the ancient power and prero- gative to the crown again. And when fome- time after, in the reign of Ed-ward the 3d, the Pope made a demand of the homage and acknowledgment which John, he faid, had engaged for himfelf and his fucceffors ; the three eftates in parliament, declared this a and had 'weighed the the arguments free from paffion and preju- dice, would he have expofed the nakednefs of his hero, by fuch fulfome and undeferved encomiums upon his abilities ? Had he been inclined to have infulted his memory, he could not have done it more effectually, than by magnifying the weight of his argu- ments. The ftyle of Reginald Pole in this work en the church's unity, and indeed in all his writings, is good and Ciceronian-, but too verbofe. He writes, as if he was confcious of the neceffity of enveloping himfelf in a cloud of words, to difguife the poverty of his reafoning. An indifferent reader cannot help being difgufted with Poles manner throughout. He enters upon the work with fuch a fpirit of acerbity, as fully manifefts, that he laboured more to gratify his own vanity, and to feed his own fpleen, than to convince Henry by the foothing language of duty and affection. He could not even command his temper at his firft fetting out : but, in the very introduction, and whilft he. is fignifying his doubts, whether he mould take up his pen and write, or no ^ he indulgeth his refentment in reproaching his friend, his benefactor, his patron. He tells the King, that it was not fo much through any delire of knowing the truth, that he had propofed to his confideration that new and ufurped dignity, which be had ( '28 ) had taken upon himfelf, of fupreme head of the church of Rngland, but that he might look upon the man of a contrary opinion as an enemy and a traytor, and punifh him accordingly. ' That how vain an at- tempt it would be, to perfuade the King to alter his opinion, they had experienced, who had loft their lives for being of the fame opinion with him, who had at firft incurred Henry s hatred and difpleafure, for not giving up the caufe of truth ; receiving this as the reward of their innocency, to fuffer that punimment which was due only to the vileft of malefactors. a 1 Ex altera parte, multa mihi funt impedimenta, multa me deterrent. Jlnte omnia, quod tu non veritatis cognof- cendce Jludio, hoc mihi argumentum praponis 9 de pete/late Pontificis Romani difputandi, cui adjunffa caufa eft tui tftius novi, & nunc primum ufurpati honoris, quo fupremi Anglica ecclefies capitis jus tibi, ac nomen arrogajh : nee quaji de rebus in controverjia pojitis, quid probem, quaris, cum Jic alteri parti, ff ei quidem quce maxime cum veritate pugnat, adhtsreas, ttt qui contra fenfire fe Jateatur, eurn tu hojlis ac proditoris loco habeas, eandem- que in ilium paenam, quam in fceleratijjitnum quemque fta- tuas. Polus de unit, ecclef. L. I. p. I. ed. Verger. 2 hiam autem frujlra me fatigarem, ft te conarer de- ducere de fententia, quidnam certius declarare poteft, quam eorum, qui idem, quod ego, fentiebant, nullum aliud ob crimen effufus fanguis ? )ui cum i nit io odium tuum, of- fenjionemqtie propterea fufcepiffent, quod veritatis caujam deferere noluijfent : hoc ad ultimum ajjecuti videntur, ut feeler atorum pcenas homines innocentijfirni fubirent. Ibid. Ibidem. Was ( 129 ) Was this a proper method to befpeak Henry s favour and attention ? was fuch language likely to divert him from his pur- pofes ? furely the fartheft from it. But what mould honeft Pole do ? Henry, it will be faid, wanted to entrap him : He did not?. n 2 . doubt what his fentiments were ; but he chofe this fhould be the date of that implacable en- mity, with which he, ever after, perfecutcd him and his family. Be it fo ! he gained his end to his heart's define : and Poles hafty vio- lence gave the King the opportunity of wrecking his vengeance on his family. Had P. 122. Reginald pofTcrTed but a common (hare of prudence and difcretion, he might ealily have eluded the tyrant's art. But what, if this be not reckoning rather too haftily ? Henry had neither quarrelled with Pole, nor any of his family, at this time : and it was not till fome years after, before his friends found any alteration in Henry s be- haviour ; and that was owing to provoca- tions given him by them. The King might indeed fufpedt, that Reginald favoured nei- ther his divorce, nor his fupremacy ; and if he wanted any occafion ( which indeed, is far from being clear) to quarrel with his kinfman upon this account, this work fuf- ficiently juftified his warmeft refentment. But the King commanded him to write his*?^\\^ opinion. True. Bat if Pole difapproved of his proceedings, could he not have writ- I ten, ( 130 ) ten, with the gratitude of a penfioner, the duty of a fubject, and the fpirit of a chrif- tian ? Did his difference with the King compel him to have recourfe to weak and grofs invectives ? When his paffions could hurry him to fuch lengths, at the entrance of his work, neither much temper, nor much reafbning, could be expected in the p'rogrefs of it. Mr. Phillips has produced a ftriking in- ftance of the vanity and arrogance of Pole, no-twit bftanding the mode/ly he has afcribed to him. Reginald, it feems, had fo good an opinion of his own performance, that he told his friend Priuli y " that he was fo engaged "in the defence of Peters fhip" (a fre- quent metaphor of Pole upon all occafions) "that he had nothing more at heart, than " how to prefer ve it from the afTaults and " attempts of all thofe pirates ( how many " or various foever ) that now or hereafter " might attack it." ' A modeft degree of confidence this, truly ! And if Mr. Phillips had ever perufed the work itfelf, he might have found in it many inftances of equal I Ad Petrl fcilicet navis dfftnfionem, in qua. nunc ita verfor^ ut nihtl mtbi majori cures fit, quam ut earn centra omnium Piratarum conatus, & impetus non modo, qui jam faSil Jruit^ fed 3* qui vel excogitari pojjlnt (qtti inulti, ut fcis, poffunt ejje & varii) tutam if nmnitam rcddam. Ep. ad Priolnm. >i v. I. p. 426. aflU- affurancc. I will only produce one example of this fpirit; of which it is hard to fay, whether the enthufiafm of it is moft to be pitied, or the profanenefs of it to be detefted. He tells the King, " that God commanded " him to abufe him. - Chrift," He fays, *' ordered him to write thefe bitter ** things, not to reproach him, but to fhew " him his tranfgreffions." ' The true cant this of every enthufiafr, ! Reginald worked himfelf up to a proper pitch ; and then prefumptuoufly fancied the turbulent emo- tions of his own difturbed mind, to be the didates of that fpirit, which is gentle, and worketh by love. The bitter, the vindictive wrath, which is kept up throughout this whole work of Pole, cannot be palliated by the feeble vin- dication which himfelf, and his admirers, offer in excufe of it. The Kbig, we are told, could not be wrought on to enter mfcp. 13: himfelf y but from the fole dread of having his actions feen in their real light. Milder methods had been applied in vain. But did I Idem dicere verijjime poffuin^ quod David dt ilia fuo conviciatore credtbat^ Dominum nnhi jitjjiffe^ ut tibi hoc meo- fcripto maledic^m . . . Sed qua mvjleria nunc lo- quar ? a quo fum juffus ? qiih Domimts me talia loqui jujjit? idem Princeps qui communis tibi mihique eft Domi- nus^ Cbriftus inquam me ilia fcribere jujjit, nor* ut ccnvi- ria tibifaarem, fed ut peccata tua oftendtrem. Pelus de Unit. Etchf. L. ^ p, 84. I 2 Pole ( '3* ) Pole ever try any of thefe milder methods I and did this bitternefs fucceed ? or if Henry was a brute, muft He therefore lay afide all regard to decency and good-manners ? If the one was outrageous, muft the other be fo too ? So it feems he thought : and the natural lenity, mildnefs and humility of the gentle Pole was, through mere ne- ceffity, let afide; and he muft needs try, what railing and fcurrility would do. ' And what had Henry done to deferve this afpe- rity fo contrary to Poles own temper. He had treated Sir Thomas More, and bifhop Fijker, feverely, cruelly, tyrannically. He had indeed. We are forry thofe great men iliould fall under the difpleafure of fo fu- >ious a Prince. "Though they fuffered" (as an old friend of Pole expreiled it, in a letter to him) "by their own folly. Which " died, neither for their virtues, nor for the " profellion of any fuch matter, which per- I Ei ufque fempei' ab/l'mui a male di fits C5* . ... lit multis ?nea hac lenitas^ Icniiudo potius quada/n {ff demtjji humilifque animt fignum vuhrctiir. It a fetnper natura abbsrnn a malediflis .... quid ergo ? ft talis mea & natura & confuetudo efl^ . . . commififfem unquam nt in Regem .... qui mea Jludia benignitate fua fovet, in hunc igitur talem inalediEla unquam mea fponte dicerem, nift qui in me nuijus Impcrium habet, hoc mihi impofuijjet ? Ibid, ibidem. Let the indignant reader remark this hypocritical cant. Pole certainly knew not what fpirit he was of, when he impioufly afcribed to the fuggeftion of God, the frantic ravings of fanatic fpleen. " taineth ( 133 ) ft taineth to Chrift's glory : but only for the " fuperftitious defence of that thing, for " the which I think hereafter never wife " man will do." ' Could Pole think, he took the right way to prevent any further feve- rities, when he irritated Henry to the ut- moft; and collected together, and applied to him, all the hard, abufive names that be- longed to an infidel, and a reprobate ? Of all men, Henry was the laft to be frighted by the bullying of a fubject ; who, mod ungratefully, attacked him with every in- vective, that animated rancour could fug- geft. And moreover, what might add ve- nom to his expreffions, was, that he had transferred his allegiance from Henry to the Pope : he was to be his penfioner for thfc future ; and upon that account might in- dulge himfelf the more in his illiberal rail- ing, to convince his Holinefs, that the breach, between himfelf and Henry, was got to fuch an height, that a reconciliation was ' impoffible : and therefore he would blow the trumpet of war, and raife up thofe ene- mies both at home and abroad, who mould difturb the tranquillity of Henrys reign. And all this forfooth ! out of pure good will, if we will believe him. z This may be . I Starky's letter to Pole, inferted in Strypc's memo- rials, v. i. Appendix, p. 190 198. 2 Hacienus ego contra Regem, cut, fane it a me advcr- farium prajiiti^ ut eum jam perdition, & fibl^ & re.no Juo, called haranguing, but it is not reafoning. P. 133. We are deiired however, to examine the 'weight of the arguments. The fupremacy of the bimop of Rome is the point, that Pole avowedly labours to eftablifh. He tells the King in the begin- ning of the work, " that he could not offer " a greater injury to the church, than when rs Ckrijli "the bifhop pf Rome fucceeded Peter in " his authority, for when Chrift faid, lo, I " am with you always even unto the end " of the world, not indeed corporally pre- " fent with you ; but there (hall never be " wanting thofe, who fhall reprefent my " perfon, and to whom I will give the fame " divine power, as to you : * now," fays our acute reafoner, " no other See, but that of " Rome, can reckon a conftant fucceffion of "bimops; which could not have been, if " that church had not been fupported by " the word of Chrift. * And Cyprian , * * r and Hierom,* call the church of Rome, " the See of Peter* Thefe are fome of thofe weighty and ir- refragable arguments, which Pole fo grace- fully employs, in this moft celebrated and im- portant of all his writings. To produce them, is to expofe them ; for in truth they deferve no other notice, than the moft fo-^ Chrifti fine ulla exceptione, Petro committantur tanquam pafton , nonne iota ecclefia illtus cures & gubernationi attribuitur ? nonne is jam paftor tcttus ecclefia declaratur ? Ibid, ibidem. 1 Spiritu quidem nunquam a vob^5 difcedam ufque ad confummationem faculi^ corpore certe pr&Jens nsn era : cuod de nulla ecclefia, nifi Romana . . . oftendi poteft, quod certe fieri non potuijjet, nifi verbo Chrijli Roma nlteretur. Ibid. p. 41. 3 Ibid. p. 44. 4 Ibid. p. 46. vereign ( '38 ) vtreign contempt : and though there be many paffages in this work nervous and pathetic, yet nothing can be more idle and trifling, than the argumentative part of it. We do not therefore wonder to find, .that they were pretty much defpifed when they were fent firft into England, as having no- thing of 'weight in them. ' And yet Mr. Phillips, loath to lofe a fmart fentence that ftruck him, hath adopted for his own, this P. 286. fhrewd remark of >uirini * Thus, as the errors of Janfenhts are faid to have found a grave prepared for them in the "writings of S ado let, it may be added, that Luther's have met with the fame fate in thofe of Contareni and Pole. Pofitive aflertions are fooner made, than proved. Contarmi, perhaps, reafoning neither more weightily, nor more gracefully than Pole, the Friar's writings and doc- trines were fo far from fading a grave in the works of either of thefe, that they are ilill extant, and in credit : whereas all the 1 Qua ad Regem, fcf ejufdem confultores a tua Pater- nttate in Britanniam fcripta prruatim mittuntur, ea crede cum maximis cachinnis excipi, & ceu nihil ponder is baben- tia irrideri. Anglus quidam Polo, >uirini, v. 2. Diatribe, p. C. iff Ep. p. 77. 2 jcmfemfocf doflrma tumulum in Sadoletica reperiri, qitortindam Catholicorum Dottorum effatum eft, part ra- tisne infignem cladem a Contareno, & Polo retidijje dottri- nam Lutheranam dicendum erit. i, v. 3. Praef. p. 86. dignity dignity of the others, have hardly had weight enough with the learned world to preferve their labours; and they arc better known, as cardinals, than as writers. But, fo a compliment could be made to Pole* our joint authors, Qwrini and Mr. Phillips, are much lefs follicitous to examine the propriety of it, than how often they can offer up the groffeft incenfe to the imagi- nary, faultlefs character of their all-perfect hero. Burnet and Verger have fallen under the iafh of Quirini\ pen, for prefuming to cen- fure this moft celebrated performance. The cardinal ' is highly offended, that the bi- mop mould fpeak fo difrefpedfully of it, and fay that it was more efteemed for the?. 134. high quality of the author 9 than for found note reafoning. His Englt/h copier repeats the cenfure : but they differ in their reply to this bold ajjertor. The One refers us to the handfome things that Cafa hath faid of Pole in the life of Eembo. * The Other modeftly fays, that, what has been already J aid, re- p - l M- futes this peremptory decifion, Mr. Phillips no I htirini t v. i. Diat. c. 5. p. 329, referring to Burnet hift. Ref. but making no reference to volume, book, or page, our writer has left his readers equally in the dark, where to find the bifhop's juft character of this trifling, flafhy, felf-fufficient performance of Pole. It occurs in v. i. book 3. p. 221. 2 >uirini t ibid. p. 330. muft muft certainly think very meanly of his readers, if he flatters himfelf he can com- mand their underftanding, or their affent, at pleafure. What we have produced here, will, we hope, confirm bimop Burners opinion ; and leiTen the high conceit, that our author, or others, may entertain, of the found reasoning made life of in this work. Pref. Our biographer tells us, that he might p ' * have trifled very learnedly with the mifre- prefentations of writers offome note t to which the courfe of his work had led him. It would have done him no harm, to have looked into thole writers a little more than he did. His knowledge lay in a narrower compafs than comparing different hiilorians : hap- pily for him, his learning was acquired at an eafier rate. The laborious Quirini had gone through the drudgery of collecting the greateft part of the materials requifite to illuflrate his fubject : and where he did not purfue the hiftory, others, as little known, might eafily enough be had to fupply his deficiencies. Le-Grand has helped him to moft of the particulars of Henrys divorce : where he ended, Mr. Phillips was forced to have recourfe to his old co-adjutor. Quirini could enable him to difplay his judgment in collecting his materials, and his learning in defending Pole : the Englifo were ftran- gers to the cardinal's name and character ; and and all would go off, as his own, with eclat : Lahore alleno magno partam gloriam Verbis in fefe tranfmo*vet ; qui habst jalem. Who could detect him ? he called himfelf an author, who could prove him to be lit- tle more than a mere tranflator ? what, if no body could ? he muft.yet be confcious himielf of his ,pwn vanity, and ever fear the frame of detection .. And tho' his cre- dit might be unimpeached, yet his induflry and his care in the compilation of his ma- terials, would be called in queftion. Had he condefcended to have confulted thofe hiftorians he gives himfelf the air to flight, they would have furnimed him with many documents greatly to his purpofe. He fays indeed, that accefs has been had to all' our && records. We know it well. We find others p. *. did take that pains. But we doubt very much, whether Mr. Phillips himfelf ever confulted any one of thofe records : but where he does appeal to them, he well knows his parade of diligence cometh often times, from fome of thefe flighted hiftorians. In the part now under consideration, our author refteth contented with what he found in Quirini, ' to illuftrate the hiftory I Diatrlba ad Epift. Reg. Poli t c, 5, from p. 307 362, .JJjtfX v. i. of of Poles work on the chunk's unity: he does not feem to have given himfelf any trouble, in inquiring into the fentiments of our own writers concerning that book, any further, than the information he received from the cardinal. Eurnet and Strype have produced, from the public records, many particulars relating to this very treatife worth his notice ; the omiffion of which would be deemed unpardonable in any im- partial and accurate hiftorian, who had but heard of their names, and was defirous to render his own work the more compleat. Sampfons book, which the King fent to Pole, and againft which he profefTedly wrote his own book, Mr. Strype has inferted in his memorials of the reformation. * From the fame author we learn, how this impor- pertant work was received in England by Pole's beft friends, and well-wiihers ; and the trouble they gave themfelves to flate the matter fully and clearly to him. * %ut- rini t 3 and his copier, tell us, that when P. 128. Pole fent the w6r on the church's unity to the King, Henry wrote to him by the fame Mejfenger. Now, had Mr. Phillips confulted Bp Bur net, he would have communicated to him thofe private inftrucTuons, Pole en- 1 Vol. i. appendix, p. 109, Wr. 2 Strype's Memorials, v. I. .37 and 38. p. 289, fcf c. 3 guirini, v. i. p. 340. trufted ( '43 ) trufted with the mefTengef, who carried his book to the King. * And, what his anfwer?. 128. to Henry really *was t when he commanded }ikn home to explain his book, is preferved by Mr. S try PC. * The fubjed: matter of correfpondencc between Pole and his Englijb friends, is (kated in two long letters of Reginald to his confident Cortfareni ; 3 and eludicated by Quiriui in the chapter above referred to* I 1 ,Barnei t Rdf. v. 3. Records, .p, 4.60. 2 SJrype's. memorials, v. i. appendix, p. 199. 3 Mr. Phi Hips i when he gfves us faej&tytoatce'tffmf$ biters, p. 128, bfa rendereth thefe words id eft ad ecclejiam redeat, a qua . . . erat alienijjtmus (htir. v. I. p. 45,6.) Thus, Tliat be would return to his country^ when ht co-aid do it -with ho~ nour and fofety. But by what kind of conftnStiQD, i$ hard to fay. It is agreeable to the liberty he takes ia the next page, where relating the fubftance of Crom- well's and Ton/lal's remonftrances, he makes Pole Pay, at the clofe, that they made him (be/ides bewailing his coun- try's misfortunes) endeavour to convey, ta the King that truth, which fo many meafures contributed to extinguijb. P. 129. Whereas Pole's own words are, fc;ant me -nun- quam illi defutur-um .... quo minus Verltatem, & Jo.- lutarem fontentiam cognllam non omnibus mudis MIUS incukein. Ibid. p. 474. But it would be tirefome to produce every where this licentious humour of tranflation is indulged ; was this, or the faulty tranflation s, to be carefully no- ted, few of Mr. Phillips' s authorities would be found to have efcaped the correcting improvements of his luxu- riant pen. v. >uir. v, i. Ep, Poll Contarcno, p. 455, and p. 47 0. His ( '44 ) His tranilator is indeed much more civil to Pole than any of his correfpondents, or even Quirini himfelf; for he maketh Cromwell to addrefs him (in the abftract, he has badly tranflated, of a letter from Pole to Contareni) under the ftyle and title of My P. 129. Lord-, to which he had no more right or pretenfions, than Mr. Phillips, I believe, hath; and which Pole himfelf -could give him no reafon to add, from the account he fent Contareni of the letter he had re- ceived from that minifter of ftate. Sure 1 am, his other friends contented themfelves with calling him, Sir y or Mafter : and if we may guefs from Poles abfurd behaviour to Cromwell, or his malicious invectives a- gaimt him, he had no reafon to expect any- further civilities from him, than he could legally claim. Mr. Phillips proceeds and tells us, Pole p - '34' anfwered 'Ton ft a/' s letter y 'which he fays 'was rather a volume than an epijlle. Pole does indeed fay this in a letter to his confidant Contareni \ where he betrays a fufficient degree of vanity and felf-conceit, to fay it of Tonftal's letter, when his reply to it was fo immoderately tedious and prolix. The bifliop of Durham's letter is inferted by bi- fhop Burnet amongft his records, '. and con- taineth about 6 pages : Poles reply is pre- i Bur net y Rcf, v. 3. Records, p. 464. / fcrved ( '45 ) ferved by Strype, and filleth no lefs than 13 pages. * In this letter, the bifhop con- tented himfelf with attacking the founda- tion of the principles advanced by Pole in his late book; which drew from him that ver- bofe letter, which, with greater truth, may be called, rather a volume than an epiftle. Upon this,- Tonflal renewed bis objections to P. 1 3* the papal authority, in a letter wrote in his own and Stoke/leys name, and lent to Pole upon his nomination to a red bat, as he terms it -, wherein he entered into a very minute examination of the weighty and con- vincing arguments of Pole's book. * Befides thefe, there are two or three very earned letters written by Thomas Starky, a chap- lain of the King, and an old and intimate friend of Pole -, who expostulated with him, in a very home and fenfible manner, upon his violent, perverfe, and diiloyal behaviour towards Henry.* Had Quirini known any thing of thefe letters, his tranflator would have heard of them too; and triumphed in the accefs that p^ had been had to our public records^ for there p. x. are they preferved : and if we compare them 1 Strypis Memorials, v. i. Append, p. 206. 2 Tonjlal's fecond letter. Knight's life of Erafmus, Append, p. LXVI. - Strype s Mem. v. i. p. 299. and life of Parker, p. 47. 3 Strypis Mem. v. I. p. 291, and p. 298. Append, p. 1 88, and p. 190. K with (- i 4 6 ) \vith the fliort and unfair reprefentation which the felf complacent Pole giveth, of thofe he mentions, to Contareni, we fhall find fome human foibles in the character of Pref- this moft confpicuous perfonage of his Epoch ; XUI * and that his modejl 'worth was no more void Pref. of vanity and oflentation y than other infe- p. in. riour mortals. The trouble his friends in England gave themfelves, was all in vain. Reginald was not to be moved. Confcious of his info- lence, and malignity againft Henry* he was afraid to truft himfelf into his power. The Vicar of Cbrijt however foon relieved him of his embarraflinent, by ordering him to Romt^ in virtu fe fanclce obedientia : ' and glad he was to fhelter himfelf under that all-powerful protection. And no entreaties or remonftrances from Henry, or his own family, could prevent his taking this offen- five flep; though, he knew, they confider- ed it, as the public renouncing of all duty and gratitude to his fovereign, all 'regard to his friends and family, and all love to his country. He was fo abforbed in the Vortex of the Pope's fupremacy, that thefe motives affected him not. From this time* he indulged himfelf in every malevolent 'difpofition towards Henry. To deceive hini- l /. P.rJ: Papa 3. Reg. Polo. i, v. i. p. 466. felf ( 147 ) (elf, and to difguife it more artfully from others, h,e cloathed it in the garb of religion : and to palliate his over-ats of treafon, he made his fears for the church, the vehicle of his railing. In a letter to Contarem, in- ftead of fpeaking with that degree of kind- nefs, which a milder heart would havePref. done, for the follicitude the king (whoP' XI1< certainly loved him much) had (hewed to reclaim him, if poffible, and draw him to his duty; he rather betrays a wicked ma- lignity of heart, in harbouring a fufpicion, that his life was in danger ; and therefore he defires his friend to advife with his Holinefs, how he might beft efcape the fnare. ' Mr. Phillips indeed fays, the Event P. 138. I Nunc, utfcires, quojlatti y quo penculo verfor . . . hunc tabcllarium miji^ & fimul ut rogarem^ ut de hac re cum S. D. N. confer as maxime, qua rations ab horum in- fidns^ qui ex hac canja mihi erunt immicij/imi^ tutus effc pojfan. De hoc enim maxime labor o y quod jciam^ pojtquam me verbis flec/li po/e defperarint^ eos ornnia conaturos> xi me c media tollant. hiirmi^ v. I. Ep. Poli Cont. p. 483. Mr. Phillips has taken his ufual liberties with this let- ter. Pole does not fay, the news of his journey had al- ready reached the Kings ears : his own meflenger, whom he had fent to Henry to acquaint him with his invita- tion to Rome^ was returned, and he fays, brought back with him, the ftrongeft diffuaiives againft that journey. Cromwell's letter, he adds, was written in the King's name, atque has, ex Rfgis verbis fcripfo. His mother's and brother's letters, he adds, qua: me maxime movebgnt t erant fcript& jlc miferabilittr ut . . . prope Juccubuerim , In confequence of his refolution to purfue his journey, he did not, as Mr. Phillips tells us, write to Lct'4 Crom- K a net!. verified the prediction. But furely Pole in- dulged his fears too early. His enemies as he called, and had made them fuch, had hi- therto been ftriving to recover his affection, by the arts of perfuafion ; and had given him no reafon for this jealoufy. His over- cautious, affected anxiety might perhaps in- cline them to humour him in his own way; and to keep up thofe alarming fears, which his own fufpicious temper had firft raifed. When Charles the, $tb was expefted in Italy, not to be crowned by the Pope (for that had been done fome years before ) but to have a conference with him concerning the affairs of Italy, and the pacification of Germany ; ' Pole, in fome letters of his to Priuli wrote about this time, expreffeth great uneafinefs at the appreheniions of a renewal of friend ill ip between Henry and the Emperor. He entreats him moil ear- neftly to prevent fuch an accommodation : and when Priuli feemed to think it an im- proper fcafon, for the Emperor to meddle in Engl/Jh matters, becaufe of the wars he wr/7, &c. p. 138. but to give the whole in his own word?, -Pile himfelf fays. Suare Jlatttti nuncium remifi ad Regcm . . . tale vero refpcnfum dedi^ ift facile fcirct, tali in cm-fa, nihil me ullius hominis minas facere. Tun- jldlli "verr> tiiteriS) vel pctiiis volumini . . . non minus longa ora'tone . ; . rfjpondi. Parentibus autem^ ut potui^ fatis^eci. i Father Paul's hifr. of the council of Trent, B. i. p. 78. was ( 149 ) was engaged in: Po/e, upon this, vehemently expoftulated with him, in the long letter here referred to, for his worldly maxims; for being contented that the care of profe- cuting the war, mould take place of that of religion. What was this, he tells him, but to defer that to a more convenient op- portunity, which, God had. commanded, fhould be firit of all confulted. * It requires but little fagacity, to penetrate into Poles real defigns. He certainly wanted his friend Priuli to prevail upon Contareni, by the warmed perfuafions, to inftigate the Emperor, to put into execution the fangui- nary advice he had inculcated into him, in that impertinent harangue addrefTed to him in the body of his late work ; which was, to divert his arms from the eaftern to the weftern Mahometan, as the greater foe of the two to Chrift and his church. * Pole's 1 Hoc tumultu belli nihil a me ejujmodi expefiari jubes. Quid ergo expeflabimuS) ut belli gerendi confdia religionis taufee juvandts confiliis anteponantur ? At htec pofl jinlia bello commodius agent ur. It a ne vero, quco Deus primi loco kabenda cenfuit^ tu in fecundum rejicies, dff dices com- modius illic reponi ? . . . An hoc modo peri ula bellsrum evitantUK) J: ejus cauja fecundo loco ratio habeatur^ in cu jus manu funt omnes vifforta ? , . . . An animus tuus tanti beneficii in Ckrifti ccchfiam confcius dubitare dc vic- toria pojjit ? Quirim, v. I. Ep. Poli Aloyfio Prioli, p. 451. 2 Ne dubitare quidem pojfum^ multo graviora pati pojje fub hoc Occidentali Turca ChriJJianos^ quarn fub Orientali, quanquam fub utroque gravity fed hie gravior Ghrijli hoj- fubfequefit behaviour will fully juitify the feverity of this remark. Reginald's hiitorians are as much at i r31 - lofs to defend him from M? capital objettion of a perfonal ammofity and jpirit of revenge* as ever Pole himfelf was. But if he was blamelefs in this refpect, what occafion had he to take fo much pains to juftify him- felf? If his reproof of Henry proceeded from love, how came his own friends to miftake it for virulence ? If he was wrong- ed, by being charged with too much vehe- mence in this work, would he not have foftencd his language, in the apology which he addreifed to the Emperor fome years af- terwards ? If the former treatife was writ- ten in the heat of paflion and refentment, by that time he might have cooled a little, and profited by advice and experience. But his implacable, revengeful malignity (for his perfeverance in thefe opprobrious reproaches of his fbvereign, cannot well be called by any other name ) is expreffed in that apo- logy, in ftill Wronger terms. >uirJm, one of thofe who will always have the laft word, in fome prefatory dif- courfes to the 3 firft volumes of Poles epif- tles, ' labours moft ftrenuoufly to vindicate ttS) qui notntn Ckriftiani tenen^ in fervos Chrijil ha /&vit. ty v k 2. Ep. Reg. Poll Contareno, p. 198. Sihelhtrrnii turn anhnadverjionibus> in the ift ( '5* ) him from this' imputation.- What others may call rancour and hatred, he lays, is all love and mildnefs. How- fo ? why, there are many pious wifhcs for the King's refor- mation, in this and the other writings and letters of Pole. We believe Pole to be full as weak a bigot, as he was a reafoner -, and that he could at any time quiet his con- fcience, by giving a pious turn to his ve- nom. This is no uncommon, or extraordi- nary cafe. The oration in the 3d book, where thev.\-(\, difcourje is turned from the King to the Em- note - peror, being looked upon as the moil excep- tionable part of the whole work, the cardinal thinks he has fully vindicated his favourite character, by faying, that if Pole intended the ruin, rather than the fafety of the King, he would have fent it directly to the Em- peror, rather than to Henry, ' and there- fore it was only to forewarn him of the danger he was in, and kindly to mew him how to avoid it : * that is to fay, in plain I ft volume. Prtzfatio ad leftsrem, & Epift. ahera Scbel- bornii, cum anirnadverjionibus, in the id volume. Jtidi- cum Lipjienfe cum animadvcrjicmibus, in the 3d. Qtirini, as well as Pole, was fond of writing, and never wouTd give up a point. But he was drove hard in thefe ani- madverfions, and forced to repeat, over and over again., thofe arguments, the fubftance of which Mr. Phillips has given, p. 132. 1 ^uirini, v. r. Prof. p. xxx. 2 Ibid. ibid. Praf. p. LXII. and ( '52 ) Englifi, Pole chofe to bully his 1 Prince ; and vainly thought, he would be moved by fuch diftant threats. But will this leflen either the vanity, or the forwardnefs, of this P. 132. young reprover r As to tbe charge of hatred of his Prince ; the reluctance he always Jhe iv- ed to any one feeing the work but Henry, is all tbe justification he can ft and in need of, in Mr. Phillips s opinion. If any marks of real love and duty appeared, we would liften to this defence : but his actions and letters to- tally contradict it. Before this work was fent to the King, befides Priuti and Conta- 7.132. rent, the revijers of it; Beccatelli,* and the arch-bp of Naples, * afterwards Pope Paul the 4th, and others, faw it : and the P. 132. only reafon, of Poles unwillingnefs of its being Jhewn to Clement the jtb, was, left it fhould come by any means to the King of England's ears. 3 It was fome few years after printed pri- vately at Rome, when Pole was legate in Spain, * by order of the Pope, and advice and confent of Contareni: and though great care was taken to conceal it, yet fome co- pies of it got, very early, abroad ; for Da- mian a Goes wrote to Pole, in 1540, from 1 Ibid. Ibid. Ep. Pali, Priob, p. 439. 2 Ibid. v. 4. Ep. Poli Magijlro Sacri Palatii, p. 92. 3 Ibid. v. r. Ep. Pali, Pnolo^ p. 443. 4 A.D. 1539, or 1540. >uif>ni, v. i. pref. p.xix. Diairiba y p. 313. and v. 4. Ep. Poll p. 85. Lowuain Loiruain, to beg a copy of him ; telling him, that the only one which had found its way into Flanders, had fallen into the hands of the Englifi relident, and heen burnt by him. 4 But ' notwithstanding all the pains to fupprefsit, it could not be fup- pofed, that a book wrote upon fuch an oc- cafion, and by fuch a perfon, could be kept an entire fecret. It is rather aftonifhing, it could remain fo long in private hands, confidering the iurficient Authority we have for faying, that /V^ was not at all fhy of communicating it to choice and trufty friends. Verger, one as likely to know this fadl as any body, being at that time a fa- vourite of the court of Rome, and the Popes Nuncio in Germany, tells us, " that he made " prefents of his book, to Popes, Cardinals, " Bimops, Kings, and Princes, whom he i Quirini, v. 3. Ep. Pelt, p. 37. How feme of Palis foreign friends fed themfelves with the hopes, ci- ther of the red hat's overfpreading, or perhaps that the triple crown might be united to, the imperial crown of England, we may guefs from the curious conclufion of this letter of a Goes valebis amplijjime Pole, quern, Ji in meis auguriis aliquid veri ejl, adhuc Regcm Anglies vtdcbimus, quod cum evenerii, fac tit memor J:$ noflri, & propbetia: noftrts. Lovanii, \iOSlobri3, 1540. AGoefs zeal for his friend was pretty warm : and Pole, to ck him juftice, did not encourage his footh-faying corrcf- pondent at all ; but plainly told him, he believed hi^ prayers would do him more good, than his prediction ;. Ibid. Ep. Poll, a Goes, p. 38, was ( '54 ) "was dcfirous to oblige."- 1 Sladan like- wife, mentioning this book and the occafion of Poles writing it, adds, " they fay, he " printed his book at Rome at his own " charge, and ordering all the copies to be " brought to him, gave them out only to " the Pope and cardinals, and to his fpecial " friends ; for he was willing to ftand fair " in their opinion, and was likewife afraid, " it's probable, of falling under the cenfure " of thofe, who had feveral times heard " him difcourfe very differently upon that " fubjecV' * And this is moreover confirm- ed, from the frequent mention there is made of this book, in very many letters which paffed between Pole and feveral of his friends, and the prolix account given of it, to fome of his correfpondents, long before Verger publimed it. P. 131. Mr. Phillips tells us, that Verger procured te ' a copy of the work, . . . and publijhed it with the moft virulent notes. His chief inveSliues, he adds, have no other foundation than his own mi/lake. Reginald, in the third book, turns his difcourfe from the King to the Em- peror, and continues, through feveral pages, in this figure ; and Verger reprefents this di- "jerfion offpsech as a feparate work, &c. j ___ mercatus gratiam his exemplarilits a Pontificibus, Cardinalibus^ Epifcopis, Regibus atque Princtplbus quibus placer e Jluduit. Praf. ad opus Pali, &c. p. 2. 2 Sleidan, B, 10. p. 210. This ( 155 ) This it is to write at random. From this account, we are pretty fure, that Mr. Phil- lips hath never feen either of the books that Verger publifhed upon this occalion : nor indeed did he fufficiently attend to the information Quirini could have given him, who clearly diftinguimes between them both. * The firft book ( if a fmall pam- phlet may be called a book ) that Verger publifhed, was that addrefs or oration to the Emperor, by itfelf ; which fo far from reprefenting as a feparate work* that in the very title page, he expreflly afTerts the con- trary, faying that it was extracted from it.* At the end of the dedication, wherein he charges Pole with once favouring their doc-, trine, he tells his friend, he will fhortly fend him the whole work from whence he took this oration. 3 . Then follow fome fe- vere and farcaftical notes or fcholia, chiefly reflecting upon the fuppofed incongruity of 1 Quirini, v. I. Diat. p. 324. 2 The title runs thus, Oratio Reginald! Poli^ &c. - excerpta ex ejus libris^ quibus titulum fecit^ pro wirtatis ecclffiajlicts defenfione y cum fcholiis Atbanafii. Jf.D. 1554.. A thin 4 to . containing not many pages. 3 It is dedicated thus. AthanafiuS N. Pajlori Auguf-* tarto Scio cardinalem Polum . . . . fe non abhcrrere a nojlra doflrina^ atqite hoc ipfa re declaraturum dixiffe^ fe conutia celebrentitr. . . . unde poffis judicium facer e^ quam peritum artificem in diffimulando babueris fub tuo teflo, &c. Brevi mlttam ad te Mum eum librum, ex qua orationem deferipji. Pole's note Poles profeffion and behaviour. The next year (^S 5 S) Verger was as good as his word, and published the whole work ; and com- mented on it, fays our knowing author, with P. 134. all the acrimony of an adverfary. But he did not learn this from Quirini, in the place from whence he took, what, by flopping in the middle of a fentence, he is pleafed to call, an advantageous tejllmony of the per- formance: whereas the clofe of that fen- tence gives quite another turn to it, and is far from being a compliment, either to the honour or the honefty of Pole. l And more- over the cardinal is there cenfuring Merger for the bitter conftruction he made of Pole's care to conceal the publication of his book ; and refcrreth his reader to Verger s preface to that work, which, he fays, he printed cum Antidotis, z ( which Mr. Phillips feem- eth to miftake for Notes} exhibiting as a proof of Vergers invectives, that 'very paf- 1 Scrip/it hie libros quatnor de unitate ecclefiajlica : in hvs quicquid unquam ab ullo fcripturn pro pontifice acute y collide 5" fubtiliter fuit^ undique congejjit^ magnis elo- quentite luminibus, non ad veritatis lucem, fed ad tegu- mentum mendaciorum, per fummam fraudem atque ma- litiam. Verg. Prof. p. 2. cited by >uir. v. I. Dial. P- 374- 2 ^uo magis candide, quo magis pacate a Polo ijla nar- rantur de euro a fe fufcepta in celando libra fito eo acerbiorerriy eo virukntiorem Vergerii de codem orgu- mcnto orationem re^eriri in pref fat tone quam ifte appojuit libra Poli a fe cum Antidotis, anno 1555 Argentorati evul- goto. Ibid. ibid. ( '57 ) fage, which our Englijh writer, by cur- tailing it, would impofe upon his readers, as an advantageous teftimony, from an adver- fary> of the performance. So far from it, that it appears from this and other places of the preface, that Ver~ ger had really a contemptible opinion of it, and looked upon it as a very mallow performance. He faith, " that Pole hath 4t urged no new arguments : that he hath " indeed fome ftrokes of oratory, not of " fenfe to add weight to his conclufions, " but of words only, taken from the (hops " of rhetoricians, to fill the ear, but not "convince the judgment; and they ap- " plied in fuch a manner, as to give it the " air of a juvenile, more than a grave per- " formance." * Verger s judgment of this verbofe flimfy work, is, we fee the fame, in other words, with that of Burnet : and fo unfortunate is Mr. Phillips in appealing to I In hoc libra legendo, animadvert!, Polum nullo argu- mento //', quo non Jint ufi in condudendo alii, neque idlum telum emittere^ quod non jafium Jit a reliquis, qui Papa- turn defender vint. Ornamenta quo-dam attulit, non fenten- tiarurn, qua pondus afferant condufwnilus, fed verborum e Sophijlarurn officinis^ quce aures imp/ettntj non fatisfaciant mentibus eorum^ qui legttnt, y ea ipfa ita adbibita feint \ ut magis exercitationis^ cujufdam juvenilis vidcantur, quam feria- aftionis. He had before made this remark, Po- lusy omnia fua Icvia & anilia argumenta, tanquam fucofa auro^ fie verborum inflate ornatu^ in quibus veritas occul- taretur, mendacium defender e tur, in vulgus prpdere conatus eft, &c. forger. Precf. p. 3. the the teftimony of the former, that, we fear, he will hardly efcape the cenfure of being P. 134. an ignorant, as well as a falfe and bold affer- note. f 0r . For this is not the only blunder he makes concerning Merger, or his writings. P. '3'- He had told us before, that Verger pub- notc> lifted the work on the church's unity with the mojl virulent notes. He did not. He publifhed it 'without any notes at all. Nor 'P.I 31. did he then make any objection to Poles animofity andfpirit of revenge againft Henry: for there he takes no notice at all of it. The virulent notes, he might have learned from Quirini, ' were not added to the work ; but were thofe few inferted at the end of the oration when he publifhed it by itfelf : af- terwards, when the whole came out, it was printed without any notes at all. There was indeed a (harp preface prefixed to it, but in that, Verger took no notice of any dif- ference between Pole and Henry, it was not neceflary, as he had done it before. He only " reproached Reginald for his paltry and " difingenuous behaviour in difperfing his " book with fuch privacy, that no copies " could be procured to expofe the venom I Polus exermt pariter Chriftianum zelum in sratione ad Carolum defarem . . . quamque typh edendam cura- vit^ adjunflis virulentijjim'n fcboins? an, 1554. fub Atha- nafn nomine latens^ Petrus Paulut Vergerius, quod paulo po/i de t;to opere (non fine antidctis ait ipfc) pariter pr#- jiitit* Quirhii, v. I. p. 324. Sec alfo, p. 374. "of ( '59 ) " of it : that difficulty being got over," he fays, " he found it did not anfwer expeo " tation. Inftead of being a formidable de- " fence, it was an empty nothing : he was ' therefore willing to exhibit it to the world ** as an harrnlefs performance. But to pre- " vent its doing any mifchief to ignorant " perfons, or thofe not ufed to fuch kind " of writings, he had, by way of antidote, *' added fome treatifes written upon the fame " fubjedl by Luther and other learned men ; " by which they might be enabled to trace " the rife and progrefs of the papal power." This is the fubftance of the preface : and thofe treatifes of Luther, and fome other reforming divines, are publifhed, as well as Poles book, without any notes or remarks whatever. Mr. Phillips proceeds on in the fame P. note, and fays, the argument (of Poles dif- loyal animofity, I fuppofe) was taken up, about 25 years ago y though with much more decency, by Scbelhorn, public profejflor at Hamburg. Schelhorn calls himfelf, and fo doth Quirijii ftyle him, Ecclefiafta & Rib- liothecarius Memingenfis. But how* Mr. Phil- lips came to remove and fend him to Ham- . burghy I know not ; for, if living, I believe, he is ftill refident at Memingen. And the argument he took up, was managed by him with very great ability, and very great candour, in a long and accurate hiftory of this ( 160 ) this work of Pole on the church's unity.; * and afterwards in a controverfy with ityi- rini, * whofe invincible obftinacy, and over- bearing method of arguing, fo confounded the modeft Schelborn, that feeing no end of fuch a difpute, he fairly gave up the point, -being equally tired of the conteft and the adverfary. - To make the note compleat, our author goes on in the fame carelefs, blundering p. 131. manner 3 and informs us, that Gardiner, note. T^onjlal, and Sampfon attacked the dogmati- cal part of the 'work, and the two /aft, with Stoke/ley, be/lowed abufe, very liberally* on the author. Where did Mr. Phillips learn all this ? He had it not fromguirmi: tho' it is true, he does name them all together in one place j but not fo much as adverfa- ries of Pole, as of his caufe ; and as infe-. rior in worth to More, Ft/her, and War- ham. 3 Our author's memory, we fear, hath here failed him a little : and he forgetteth what, fome pages back, he himielf had I Hijloria opens, quod Reginaldus Polus adverfos Henricum VHL Anglits Regtm pro unitatis ecclefwjiica -defenfione olim ccnfcnpjit. A7na>n. hift. ecclef. &f Litt. torn. i. p. I. fcff. 2 Prefixed to aytrini't firft and fecond volume. 3 Si squidem caufts adverfarios, cum laudatijjimh ip- fius patronis, comparandos, nancifci valuijjet, Gardinerins, Tunftallus, Stokejleius, Sampfon, nimis quam dijiant c Afori, Fifcheri) fe' Par ami prajlantia. Quirini, v. I. Diat. p. 366. afferted afferted from his own oracle, ' that Samp* p. Jon's and Gardiner's treatifes were prior to Poles-, therefore they could not well at- tack the dogmatical part of a work, .which was not perhaps, when they wrote their books, fo much as thought of. And if he will deign to look into Ton/lal's w\&.Stokef- leys letters, now he knows where to find them, he will fee in them no abuje at all, but great friendship, great tendernefs, and found reafoning, thrown away upon the ob- ilinate and inflexible Pole. forger, having been thus inflnimental in the publication of this work on the church's unity, we will add a few lines concerning this memorable perfonage. He was bifhop of 'Jujiinopte or Capo d' Iftria in Italy, and had been employed for many years by Pope Clement the yth, and his fucceflbr Paul the 3d, as their Nuncio in Germany. * He had been at Augjbourg, at Worms, at Prague, at Naples, and other places, to treat with the Emperor, and the reformed Princes and States, about religious matters, and the call- ing of a council ; and was in thofe inter- views and conferences, a very able and a<5tive inftrument in the Pope's behalf ; who was difluaded from rewarding his fervices, as iriru, v. i. p. 308. 2 Verger ius cujus Jedula opera Clemens 7, ac Paulus 3, per Germaniam uji f iterant, vlr mag-nee doftrina fcf Per-' dinanda Regi . . . valde earns. ( Thuanus, L. 5, A, D. 1548- L he he intended, by advancing him to the pur- ple, upon this fuggeflion, that he had been fo long and fo often in Germany, that he was become a Lutheran* Verger, to wipe off this afperfion, was defirous to prove his orthodoxy, by writing againft the apoftates of Germany. This obliged him to converfe as much with their books as a divine, as he had done before with their perfons, in the character of a ftatefman. He foon found the difficulties of what he had undertaken. S.urprifed and confounded at the flrength and folidity of the reformers reafonings, he was convinced by the force of thofe argu*- meats, he could not fatisfactorily anfwer ; and became, by degrees, a convert to thofe rery principles, which he had at firft fat down to confute. The vigilance of inqui- fitors foon difcovered,or fufpected, his change of opinion; and obliged him to fly from his diocefe. The council of 'Trent being then met, the bimop went there to vindi- cate himfelf ; but as fo great a crime as he- refy was objected againfl him, he was, by the Pope's exprefs orders, neither permit- ted to take his place there, nor to juftify himfelf. Thefe and other indignities being offered to him, he retired firft to Padua, where being a witnefs of the deplorable end of the defpairing Spira, he was fo greatly affected with that (hocking fcene (an ac- count of which he foon after publifhed ) 'that, that, never to experience fuch dreadful a- gonies of a guilty confcience for denying the truth, he fully relblved to leave his country, and friends, and all that he had ; and go where he might fafely profefs and teach that dbclrtne, which, upon the moft rational inquiry, and clearest conviction, he faw mort agreeable to the gofpel of Chrift. Leaving Italy, he went firft to the Grifons, where he preached for feme years in the Valteline; till he was called, by the Duke -of Wittenburgb, to Tubingen ; where be fpent the remainder of his days, in doing fervice to that caufc, which, upon the no- blefl motives of religion and confcience, he had fo fincerely embraced, by writing and tranflating books to ftrengthen and fupport it. * Pole, in the work we have been confi- dering, -hath made the execution of More and Fifisr, one great topic of his inveclive againft the King. His biographer, after re- -peating what is faid of them in the apology to the Emperor, difplays his own eloquence, in illuftrating the character of the one, and bemoaning the fate of the other. Sir T/60-P. 1 Sleidan, B.AI. ^.475 477. Seckendorf ? L. 3. p. 95 98. Arid again, p. 60 1. Palladia ni, L. 6. .13. fed.3. & L. 15. c. 10. fed. 13,1,1. Father Paul, B. 2. p. 1 54. Ati&'-f%rk*idm (p. 152) -AKmta (p.n6) inter vitas fheol. txter. Bayle ( article Verger) Clarke ( p. 676 ) and Fuller ( p. 288 ) have, all of them, given a ihort detail of Verger , in their collection of lives. L 2 mas mas More, he fays, was one of the grcattft ornaments^ if not the greateji, in every kind of various excellence, this nation has ever 'boa/led. We do not deiire to leffen the high encomiums b,eftowed upon either of thefe worthies. It is impofiible to juftify all Hen- ry's rigorous proceedings againft More, and his afibciate in affliction, the bifhop of Ro- chefter. There might poffibly be fome pro- vocation, to us unknown, which irritated an inflammable tyrant, to profecute with unrelenting feverity, thofe whom he for r merly held fo dear to him. They were coniidered as the heads of the papal and imperial parties in England: and the King might deem it neceiTary to confirm his new made laws, by facrificing to them two fuch eminent and refpedtable opponents. They were indeed hardly and cruelly dealt with. In contemplating their characters, we are heartily forry to find any thing that can leffen their juft reputation. But who can - help regretting, that More, with all his ex- cellent abilities, and liberal way of think- ing, mould condefcend to be the tool of bigots ; mould learn to rail and revile for the honour of religion ; and that all the amiable accomplishments of his younger years, mould, in the latter part of his life, be loft in a narrow, fuperftitious turn of mind ? Who could think, that the free and Uprightly writer of the Utopia, mould be fo ( 1 65 ) fo much devoted to the violent churchmen of thofe days, as to become a perfecutor, and to glory in being the plague of here- ticks ? nay he was fo carried away with his prejudices, as ferioufly to defend himfelf for them, and that too in a letter to Era/- mtts * who would not think the better of him, for indulging in himfelf that bit- ter, perfecuting fpirit, which is equally a difgrace to religion and humanity. We have before noted fome inftances of his ac- tivity in " promoting inquifitions and cru- *' _ cities, fcarce to be reconciled with what " is faid of the humanity of his nature. *'* " Ovid has two lines which characterize, " and fuit him, as if they were made for him, C&pjfti melius, quam definis : ultima primls Cedunt : dij/imilis hie vir, f ilk puer. Ep. ix. 23."' The bimop of Rocbefter had been much deceived in his tamperings and correfpon- dence with the Holy Maid of Kent -, 'and had thereby given Henry greater advantages over him, than the more cautious Sir Tho- mas More. There was no doubt, but the 1 Quod in epitapbio profiteor bcerei'uis me fuij/e niolsf- tum^ hoc ambiiioje fed. Nam omnino fie illud hominum ge- nus odi-f ui itlis, nifi refipifcant, tarn invifns ejje vc,'i?n y quam ail maxime, qinppe quos indies magis atque magh ex- ptrior talc's^ ut mitndo ab illis vebementer mctuam. Morns Erafmo. Eraf. Ep. L. 27. p. 1076. 2 Carte^ v. 3. p. 131. 3 Jortin's ErafmuSy v. 1. p. 192. artful ( x66 ) artful managers of that Nun's tricks and revelations, did it with a view to foment a rebellion ; and were defirpus of having their infamous fcheme countenanced, by fome perlons of real and indisputable worth. Amongft others, they impoied upon the credulous age of the well meaning Fijber 9 whom they drew into their fnare : and no- thing but obftinacy, too often the attendant upon years, was the occaflon of his ruin. Cromwell in a long letter to him, wherein he candidly proved his infufficient excul- pation of himfelf, * with a tenderneis and humanity which did him honour, took the trouble to inform, and the pains to per- fuade him to it, that any kind of fubmif- fion to the King would infure his par- don. * The bifhop, by not hearkening to this friendly and falutary advice, muft be greatly anfwerable for the fad confequences that followed. But it was the folly and the vanity of the Pope, in fending him a red hat, that moft of all contributed to haflen the end of that life by a violent death, which otherwife, in the courfe of nature, could not have held out much longer. 1 Burnei hifir. Ref. v. r. p. 153, 154. Collier eccl. liift. v.2. p. 97. who has given Fijher's defence of hirn- fclf, in his letter to the houfe of lords, p. 87. of the fame volume. 2 Eumct, hift. Ref. v. i. Records, p. 123. For For a proof of Fifhers great- knowledge., we are referred to a fpeech he made upon the fubject and cafe ofthefupremacy, and?- preferred by Lord Herbert. But if this was all the proof of his great knowledge^ we fhould be to feek for it elfewhere. For, as it contains only fome hackneyed, ftale ar- guments, and groundlefs aiTertions, and calleth the Pope's court a kind of chancery to all other courts of jultice, there is no- thing worthy of notice in it. But moreover, Lord Herbert doth not relate it for bifhop Ft/her* s 9 or give the lead reafon to think it was his. * Mr. Dod, with more modefly than our writer, contents himfelf with fay- ing, " that fome afcribe this remarkable "fpeech to bifhop Fffier" * The authority of Fuller's church hiftory is appealed to, for a very circumftantial and^- U 9- interejling account of the bijhop' s execution. Fuller is indeed very minute and particular in the relation he hath given of this fad:. But let Fuller fpeak for himfelf; and de- clare from what quarter he had his intelli- gence, and how little it was to be depend- ed upon. Having been favoured with a MS life of Fifoer, he was willing to com- r Lord Herbert's words are, t>ne of the councel, 'who much Favoured the papal Authority, fpake in this manner naming no one. p. 390. 2 Dad's church hiftory, p. 95. municate municate the contents of it to the public, " the rather" fays he, " becaufe I collected " the fame out of his MS life, compiled by " Richard Halt, of C6r//?-Colledge in Cam- " bridge. Only be it premifed, that the " fame Hall was a {['iff Roman catholick, and " therefore accordingly muft abatement be " made in his relations." ' "A book, ( fays "he in another place,) which when lately cc in manufcript , I then more prized for the *' rarity, then fince it is now printed I truft "for the verity thereof. *" And when he cometh to his author's tale concerning the infults faid to be offered to his body, Fuller faith, " It will hardly enter into my be- " lief. Befides, feeing the King vouchfafed " him a noble prifon, and an honourable " death, it is improbable he would deny " him a necefTary equipage for a plain and "private burial. Wherefore I liften to the " relation as inflamed by the reporter's paf- "Jton." 3 The indignities, this fcribler talks of, are mentioned by no other writer. Po/e, Sanders, Gratiani, and Hafptfieid, who would have rejoiced at fuch a fubjeft of re- T Fuller'; church hift. B. 5, p. 2O2. 2 His hiftory of Cambridge, p. 99. This MS life of Fijher hath been lince publilhed, and is that wretched romance, entitled the life of the renown ed "John Fijkcr, &c. by Thomas Bailey, D. D. whofe name It bears inftead of Hall the real writer, v. JVood. Athen. Oxon. 2d ed. v. i. p. 569. , 3 Fulkr's church hift. 3.5. p. 205, preaching ( J ^9 ) preaching Henry for his barbarities, being iilent about them, we may venture to pro- nounce them abfolute falfhoods. There is nothing more contradictory to the laws of hiftory, than to write with a prejudiced and paffionate attachment to par- ticular perfons or opinions. He who in- dullrioufly catches at every occafion to ex-' prefs private malignity and malevolence; and he who wilfully fupprelTes every cir- cumftance which would give a favourable construction to the actions of thofe, whofe perfons and whofe party he diflikes ; may be faid to write, not fo much with a view to inform and convince others of the truth, as to gratify the refentment of private fpleen and animofity. To enter thus into the conduct of former times, with that keennefs and afperity, which can hardly be juftified even in perfonal altercations, is not the, way to cover beats, but to fpread perpetuate them. Mr. Phillips hath drawn the character of the unfortunate Anne Bullen, not with the coolnefs of a writer of the prefent times, but with a virulence, becoming only the malicious invectives of the railing Sanders, and the tailing Gratiani. Forgetting the regard due to himfelf and his reader, he defcendeth to fuch bafe flanders, as are e- qually ofFenfive to religion, to good- nature, to humanity. And what were Anne's pe- culiar culiar offences, which, at this diftance of time, could occafion fuch a torrent of ran- corous abufe ? Was fhe the caufe of Ca- therines divorce ? was it not begun before (he entertained the leaft fufpicion of the King's regard for her ? When the learned throughout Europe, when men of the great- eft eminence at home, condemned Henry's marriage with his brother's widow, and wifhed for the diflblution of it ; nay, when the Pope himfelf allowed it difputable by entering into the merits of it ? where was the offence, or where the fcandal, if a lady liftened to the declarations of an honeft love ? What young mind could well with- ftand the honourable offers of a great King ? Was there not another lady of high rank talked of for the King, and whom Wolfey had recommended to him, before Anne Bul- len had even appeared at court ? x But fome- thing muft be faid to ftigmatize the rival and fuccefTor of Catherine. The account that our biographer hath P. 125. given of this unfortunate woman, as he call- note, eth her, is taken, for the moft part, from that trifling colle&or of hear- fay ftories, Gratiani bimop of Amelia ; whofe florid cmbellifhments of the queen's execution I Clarke fidelis ferv'i fubdlto infideli refponjio^ p. 40 46. Carte> v. 3. p. 84. Htylm's hift. of queen Elizabeth, p. 87. Rapin, v. i. p. 775. flriking (hiking the /gay fancy of Mr. Phillips^ he hath adopted for his reader's entertain- rrwnt. * But not thinking this fufficient authority, he hath ventured exprefty to ap- peal to Sanders, and the bulk of our bijlo-v. 125, rians, who hi general, he fays, agree in character he hath drawn of Anne Bullen. The extreme malignity of Sanders 's difpofi- tion rendereth him an exceptionable wit* nefs : and one, who would not fey it, if he- could help it, makes this juft and foft re- mark upon him, " that to fail both in truth " and temper, is too common with him.' 1 * His evidence, as a deteftable Har, is there- fore pofitively rejected. And what fay the other vouchers ? Stowe fays, " when the " queen was arraigned within the Tower, * me made fo wife and difcrete anfwers that " me feemed fully to clear herfelf of all " matters laid to her charge, but beirrg " found guilty, judgment was pronounced 4< on her." 3 Godwin making reflections up- on this memorable catajlropbe, as Mr. Phif- lips calls it, fays, " an act of parliament a- " gainft her fhall not work on my belief."* Fuller tells us, " in the fentence of divorce, 1 Grattanus de cafibus virorum iUujlrium* &e quaitucr Britannia reginis^ p. 263. 2 Collier, v. 2. p. 87. 3 Stowe, p. 572. To the fame effect Sir R. Baker in his chronicle, p. 283. 4 Godwin s annals, 1536, p. 82. no ( '72 ) " no particular caufe is fpecified. Sure I am, " there is no darning on the credit of the *' lady, nor any the leaft infmaations of in- " chaftity in it. Her great-eft" guilt was, "*the King's better fancying of another, " which made him, the next day after her " death, to mourn fo paffionarely for her, in " the embraces of a new bride." * Hume fays, " Her innocence cannot reafonably be <( called in queftion. The whole tenour . f< of her conduct forbids us to afcribe to her * f an abandoned character, fuch as is im- " plied in the King's accufation, and had " me been fo loft tp all prudence, and fenfe " of fhame, {he muft have expofed herfelf " to detection, and afforded her enemies " the cleared evidence againfl her." * Lord Herbert adds, ' thus ended this queen la- " mented by many, both as me was de- " lirous to advance learned men, and as me " was a great alms-giver." 3 And to this purpofe do our hijlorians in general agree in their reprefentations of this unfortunate queen's hard fate. * 1 Fuller s church hiftory, B. 5. p. 207, 208. 2 Hume's Tudors, v. I. Q^. p. 202 209. and p. 248. 3 Lord Herbert, p. 446 450. 4 Heylin Ref. hiftory of Elizabeth, p. 91 95. Carte, v. 3. p. 133. Collier, v.2. p. Il6-~ll8. Bur- net, v.i. p. 196 207. and v. 3. p. 118 120. Echard, v. i. p., 685. Rapin, v. I. p. 8jO 812. Speed, p. 1030 ---1032." From From an impartial review of the relation which thefe feveral hiftorians give of the fall of Anns Bulkn, there does not appear any real foundation for the grievous crimes with which fhe was charged. -The utmoft that can fairly be alledged againft her, is, that through the gaiety and opennefs of a youthful levity, owing in a great meafure to a French education, he "either took " or permitted liberties, which gave offence " to an impetuous hufband, who had pride " enough to make him the moft jealous of " mortals, and the moft furious in his jea- " loufy. And her enemies taking notice " of every little indifcretion of hers, im- " proved it to raife in the King fufpicions " of her virtue.'" 1 ' The greateft proof of which was, that in the prcfence of many, her brother prefumed to whifper fomething in her ear, when me was in bed, which was to the flander of the iflue begotten be- tween the King and her. And this was all the proof that could be procured of this innocent queen's inceft and adultery. It is no wonder, if fo fudden and unexpected a fall, when a crime of fuch horrid guilt was objected againft her, brought on, with great violence, thofe hyfterical diforders fo com- mon to her fex : and yet, when in the moft defponding ftate, and when moft oppreffed i Carte, v. 3. p. 133. with with thefe vapours, {though fhe fomctimes confefled fome unguarded expreffions, which difcovered more Iprightlinefs than difcretion, but nothing of a criminal tendency) ^he conftantly, and upon all occafions, perfe- vered to vindicate her innocence, and her virtue. Gratiani fays, that the Queen's brother, and the other prifoners upon her account, were tortured into a confeffion of her crimes ' But this, and many other eirc.un>- fiances mentioned by him, are mere ficlions invented to drefs up a romantic narration. Norris, one of thefe unhappy fufferers, no- bly rejected the offers of life and pardon, upon the ignominious terms of accusing her j which he refufed to do, as believing her in his confcience to be innocent. And though fomething is faid to have been con- fefled, in hopes of pardon, by Smeton, to the prejudice of the queen's honour and chaftity, which fome of our hiftorians have too haftily caught, and as haftily reported; yet, if we may credit Cromwell's letter to the King from the 'Tower, when he and fome of the council were fent thoroughly to fift and examine the prifoners : " many " things, (fays he in that letter) have been I Comprebenft ftatim Gewgius Annts f rater, reltquiqttf, & pro magnitudine jlagitii acriter tcrti, de Je quijQue eft confeffitS) & continue omnes merito JitppKcio funt traditi. Gratianus'de- caf. Vir. ill. p, 269. " ob- ( 175 ) *' objected, but nothing confefTed, only foiae " circumftances have been acknowledged "-by Mark." l But what thefe circumftances Were, we are ftill to learn ; for Smeton was never confronted with her, or any ufe made $f his evidence, at her trial: and he (as well as the reft) loft his life, to procure ibme credit to the defamation. The crowd, fays Mr, Phillips* that thronged?. 124. to the place of execution, gazed 'with uncon- cern: and fo fays Gratiani too. But if this be true, then Sir William Kingfton the lieutenant of the Tower, who attended the execution, mult be miftaken : for he fays in a letter to Cromwell* giving an account of the Queen's behaviour at her execution, that there were not above thirty ftran- " gers ; and not many others." And this was Sir Williams advice, who thought that a reafonable number was beft, as he found, me would declare herfelf to be a good woman, for all men, but for the King at the hour of death. * Mr. Strype, from fome original letters of Sir William Kingfton* " has been enabled to reprefent matters con- " cerning this queen in her afflictions more that there never was P. 125. a gentler and more merciful Prince than Henry. Shall this be objeded againft her ? Does Mr. Phillips s religion teach him, that forgivenefs of injuries is inconfiftent with 1 Herbert^ p. 446. 2 Letter 5. p. 12. fuffer- fufFering innocency ? The Queen had faid enough at her trial to clear herfelf : and tho' me now experienced the Kings cruel and unrelenting temper, yet how amiable did her virtue, or rather her chriftianity appear, in fo totally fuhduing that indigna- tion, which, if liftened to, would only have disturbed the ferenity of her end. She mewed how much me had profited by af- flidtions j and exerted the higher! inftance of that gofpel fpirit of love (which Mr. Phillips, by finding fault with, feems to have no notion of) by praying for him, whofe fury and whofe jealoufy was the fole caufe of her death. Thus have I endeavoured to do fome lit- tle juitice to this greatly injured Queen's 4nemory. We have confulted, with. others, the historians Mr. Phillips has cited j and which, if he had inipeiled himfelf, he muft know, that though they ingenuouily relate the motives of the King's fufpicions, and all that can be faid againfl her; yet do they give as ftrong conviction of her hard and cruel fate, as fa&s can fpeak, or words exprefs. To aggravate the one, and entirely to omit the other, is fuch a flagrant proof of partiality and prejudice, of barbarity and injuftice, as cannot but excite the detefta- tion and contempt of every friend to can- dour and to truth. But when they tell us, her fate 'was conjidered not merely as a pu- p l nifloment, [ 1 84 ] nijkment, but as a divine judgment -, we mall content ourfelves with this reply to fuch pre- fumptuous ( if not profane) interpreters of the providence of God, by anfwering them in their own way, that we cannot help thinking, that the divine goodnefs recom- penfed the unjuft calamities of the mother, by the long, the profperous, and the glo- rious reign of her daughter Elizabeth. The tender and candid manner in which our hiftorians have fpoken of the equally virtuous and unfortunate Catherine, may mame others in their rancorous fpleen a- gainft her fucceflbr in the King's affections. They both of them felt the indignation of a violent and impetuous hufband j and tho' of different natural difpofitions, the one ri- gid and auftere, the other gay and fpright- ly ; yet were they both made the victims of their hufband's real or pretended fcruples, and that, not through any immediate crime or fault of their own, but by being unhap- pily connected with an arbitrary and jea- lous Prince, whofe will was too often his fubjedts law. After this long digremon concerning Poles work on the church unity, and thofe Engtijh matters we have been conlidering, we are called again to return to the more immediate fubject of- the hiftory before us. In obedience to the cbrnmarids of the Pope, Pole was now arrived at Rome, ' and lodged in in his Holinefs's palace. Our biographer, from his informant Quirim, * relates the occalion of his particular call to that place ; which was, with fome other commimon- ers, to effeSi a reform of manners. A plan?. 139. of reformation was accordingly drawn up.^H * But all thefe good endeavours of Pole, and his aiTociates, were at once rendered inef- fectual : his Holinefs himfelf put his ne- gative upon them. "The temper of the times, it is faid, feemed ill fuited to the change?. 139, which was projetted : and no ufe at all was made of the plan. It anfwered the Pope's end indeed : the very plea of a council of reformation, would ferve to amufe the Ger- mans-, and ftave off, that dreaded evil to the court of Rome, the calling of a general council. But had thefe commiffioners proceeded in the execution of their plan, it would have iignified but little : for they would not acknowledge any thing to be faulty in dodtrine ; only were willing to reform fome- thing in difcipline, and in the adminiftra- tion of ecclefiaftical matters and perfons. * So that no good could have accrued to the chriftian ftatc, from the purfuit of a plan , 1 Quirini, v i. cap. tilt. p. 366 371. 2 Skldan^ B. 12. p. 233, &c. and Herbert, p. 490. who lays the fame, and whofe authority is imperfectly cited by Mr. Phillips. . . only only calculated to reform a fmall part of the evils complained of: for the corruptions of Faith and doctrine were as flagrant and notorious, as thofe of morals and difci- pline. To comfort Pole, and his partners in this work, that their labours might not be thrown away; amongft others, whom he rewarded in the fame way, the Pope thought P. 141; fit to promote Reginald to the purple. A ftep which exafperated his fovereign beyond meafure, offended his friends in England, 1 and proved the ruin of his family. All this he forefaw plainly : but the Emperor and the Pope, for political reafons, would not allow him to refufe this dignity ; but forced it upon him, with a view to prevent any profpedt of a reconciliation between him and his friends in England. 1 Strypis Mem. v. I. p. 298, 299. . ANIMADVERSIONS O N SECTION THE THIRD. POLE being now a member, in Mr. P's language, of the fenate of the itm-p. i 47 . verfa/ church, which has been co?ifidered as P. 1 48. the common council of the chriftian world \ his biographer has kindly entertained his countrymen, with a pompous account of the origin and inftitution of the cardinalate, in hopes of removing thofe prejudices, which?- H9* the caufekfs fpleen of a mere Englijh reader is apt to concei-ve at the 'very name of cardi- nal. We are greatly obliged to Mr. P. for this extraordinary condefcenfion : though it be rather too late to. tell us, by way of information, that this order of the purple was founded to fupport the pride and pomp of the court of Rome. In former days, the chief priefts of larger parimes were diflin- guifhed by this appellation, though with a different meaning. They were then look- ed upon as inferior to prelates : and the title ( '88 ) title was dropped, when the mitre was af- fumed. In later days, when the temporal power of the See of Rome was enlarged, an additional degree of honour and dignity was annexed to the council of the Pope : and the archi-prejbyteri of the primitive bi- fhops, were intended to be revived by the inftitution of the cardinales prejbyteri, tho* with much higher powers : for the latter were foon confidered as afleflbrs to his Ho- linefs at Rome ; who afterwards, by beftow- ing this title upon bifhops and other great men, whilft he augmented his own autho- rity, by fuch powerful ailbciates, he grati- fied their ambition by the gaudy decorations of privilege and precedence. By the weight of their influence, it eafi- ly overshadowed the epifcopal dignity : the jus divinum of which was forced to fubmit P. 148. to the jus humanum of the cardinal; who, holding the higheft rank in the catholic church, was confidered as a being of a fupe- riour nature. So much lefs honour was paid to that order, which Chrift himfelf, or his apoflles, were fuppofed to have inftituted, P. 147. than to that which his vicegerent, through the expediency of a change in jbme points of primitive discipline, eilablifhed for the dif- patch of a multiplicity of temporal affairs. By one .degree of art and another, this pow- erful body became alone concerned in the election of the bilhop of the 'capital of the chrifiian ( 1 89' ) chriftian 'world, and thereby of giving a fa-?. 145. preme head to the church. The prefent num- ber of this facred college was fixed by Six-? tus the 5th, for this wife reafon, that as he reprefented Jefus Chrift, they (the car- dinals) Ihould reprefent his difciples. As they have had amongft their lift the bro-f. i 4 s. thers and fons of the great eft potentates ; as they have frequently guided the councils of different jlates, and been concerned in im- portant negotiations : we are not to wonder, if the worldly wifdom and rapacity of the politician, hath fometimes got the better of the felf-denying humility of the eccle- fiaftic ; which occafioned a wicked wag humouroufly to define a cardinal, to be ani- mal rubrum* callidum, & rapax -, capax Gf vorax omnium benejiciorum. * Thus can we heretics divert ourfelves; and, turning our P. 149. minds from founds to things, be much better pleafed to hear of the flowing eafe andfoape,?* H8- and fear let colour of the robes, at a diflance; than to fee them parade in triumph amongft us, and bafk as formerly, in the enjoyment of a glorious plurality of bifhoprics and be- nefices. a 1 Guy Patin, v. Jortin's Erafmus^ v. I. p. 564. 2 See more about cardinals, in Farnewortb's Prolego* mena to the life of Pope Sixtus 5. N e . 5. p. iv. Bing- hams antiquities, B. 2. c. 19. feft. 18. p. 82. and the hiftory of the cardinals, Part i. Book third, through- out. m Paul the 3d conferring this honour of the red hat upon Pole, his biographer, will- ing to return the obligation, thinks him- felf equally bound with Quirini, ' to vindi- P. i-i. cate alfo the patron of his hero. It has been objected, he faith, againft Paul, thai he conferred the purple on fome of his own family, at an age which feems immature for that dignity : but if the care he took of their education, and his hopes of them, be ta- ken into the account, his behaviour, in this particular, ivill either not appear unbecoming the other parts of his conduct, or miift be placed among ft thofe iveaknejfes which hai'e too great a mixture of humanity, not to ad- mit of great alleviation. In fb tender a man- ner, does this good and charitable Mr. P. who does not fpare his crueleft reproaches i Cardinal ^uirini, fond of taking every opportu- nity of extolling Paul the 3d, for the worthies whom he honoured with the purple, is for ever enlarging up- on his Holinefs's praifes. But in one place his boldnefs is confummate, and exceeds every thing, when he a- icribes the Pope's choice of cardinals, and their accept- ance of that dignity, to the influence of the Holy Ghoft : for fpeaking of Pole's letters to Contareni, he fays, ex Us conjlare annoiavimus, Paulum in. Pont'if. max. Spiritu fanfio duce ad evehendos cardinales procedere ccnfuevijfc, prater ea cardinales delatam fibi dignitatem lion niji ejufdem fpiritzts impnlfu accepiffe. V. 2. Diat. feft. i. p. LV. See alfo, v. i. Praf. Ep. Schelborn cum anim, p. LXXVII. & Diat. p. 376. And again (befides the whole firft fe is now but little known : though I remember to have read fomewhere, of his performing fomething like a miracle to confound herefy. It feems an acquaintance of his, who had been dip- ping in fome heretical books, fell ill of a violent fever. Hq/ius, who looked upon it as a judgment for his prefumption, made him fenfible, that fuch wicked indulgence was the caufe of his illnefs ; and with great zeal threw the book into the fire, in order to cure his friend. No fooner was this prefcription tried, than it fucceeded. Whilft the book was burning, the fever abated. When the operation was over, the patient found himfelf quite well : his fever and his herefy, to the great triumph of Hofatss faith, left him at the fame time. Such an extraordinary exertion of faith and power, could not but pave the way for the ho- .nours he afterwards obtained. As his wri- tings were all of them upon controverfial fubjedts, the good catholics might vre\\Jlyle him a pillar of the church : but that, thofe p. 156. of a different perjuajion fhould honour him 'with ( '93 ) with encomiums Jlill more pompous may rea- fonably be queftioned ; feeing we find him reckoned, by fome of the writers of thofe times, amongft the loweft and bafeft flan- derers of Luther 's memory. '. And the fub- jecls he wrote upon, were not of that kind, as would leave any favourable impreffion of his candour or moderation, though his abilities might be readily acknowledged. * From the heightening reprefentation Mr. P. hath made of the character of Hojius, he is willing, we mould fee, he can excell in fatire, as well as panegyric. He pro- ceeds therefore to that celebrated name, E-P. 155. rafmus', whofe character is introduced here, with no other defign, but to exprefs the utmolt malevolence againft his memory, by indulging himfelf in all the petulant cenfures of the loweft bigots of his com- munion. Mr. P, who thinks it no fin to calum- niate, begins his account of Erafmus, by abufing his country. He was born> he fays, in a climate as little framed for ripening?* 157. minds as improving morals. National reflec- tions are, for the moft part, falfe; but are ever bafe, and what a true fcholar would 1 Jewell's reply to Harding? p. 2. who frequently nameth him, and ever ranks him with Ecdus, Pighius^ and fuch fort, liumfredi vita Juelli, p. 262. and Charkis anfwer to Parfons^' p. 240. 2 Dupln ecclef. hift. 16 century, 2 d p*. B. 5. p. 114. N difdain ( "94 ) difdain to make. At the time of the refor- mation, the fharpnefs of a true perfecuting fpirit was firft felt in the low-countries ; two monks being burnt there for Luthera- nifm, fo early as 1523 : where for fome years the fame rational method of convie- tion was frequently tried, and with the fame effeft. x Neither were the heroes, who fhuggled with fuch refolution and forti- tude for the civil liberties of this oppreffed Country, more memorable, than thofe ex- traordinary perfons, who, by their uncom- mon abilities, furnimed fuch fuccours to Europe for the advancement of literature, and made Holland the Afylum of letters. l The celebrated names of Scatiger, Salma- Jtus, Grotius and many others, before, and lince their time, would refled: honour up- on any country; and abundantly refute this idle, impotent attempt to defame it, as- be- i G. Brandt's hift. of the Ref. in the low countries. B.I. from A. D. 1523 to 1534: and his account of Gnaphteus's perfections. The ftrongeft proof of whofe heterodoxy, and what raifed a ftorm againft him, was, a pregnant woman, who had a longing, put a faufage, in Lent time, into the pot wherein he ufed to boil his peas. " That affair took up the judges during two 44 days : the phyficians were fent for, and afked whether " it was pofiible, that a woman with child fhould long " for meat in Lents' after having debated that queftion, " the judges pafled fentence, that Gnapbeus^ fhould be " apprehended dead or alive, where ever he fhould be "found." Brandt's hift. &V. abridged, v. i. p. 28. 2 "fortni's EraftnuS) v. I. p. 15, 16. lumi- ( '95 ) ing a climate as little framed for ripening minds, as improving morals. Our author does indeed acknowledge the erudition and abilities of Erafmus : and the p. i 5 8. view of him, as a fcholar, is declared to be luminous. But furely, if his excellency in this refpect be admitted, why could not that fame difcernment and underftanding, which enabled him to make fuch real im- provements in literary knowledge, enable him alfo to make fome advances in theolo- gical learning ; for the fame defects were obfervable in each, and that ignorance and ftupidity which dif graced the fc boots, dif- graced the church alfo ? Rrafmus faw and lamented this ; and did his beft to reform them both. It was this commendable un- dertaking, which firft raifed the fury of the bigots of his own times : and the ihameful clamour is ftill continued. But how comes the view of bis character, as a Chrijllan t in our author's phrafe, not to be equally lu- minous ? We are told, there was fear ce any?. 159, error advanced agalnjl the religion he pro- fej/ed, nay almojl, agalnjl chrijlianity itfelf, which be has not revived. It was Erafmus 's hard fate to be wilfully mifunderftood in his life time : and it hath been his hard fate fince, to have thefe mif* * reprefentations repeated, and with equal effrontery ; and the calumny not drawn from any intimate converfe with his wri- N 2 tings tings, but derived from a fecondary degree of knowledge, from the afperfions of pre- judiced enemies. A bitter charge is here brought againft a man, to whom Religion and Learning is greatly indebted : and how is it fupported ? by no other proofs, than bold, prefumptuous affirmations. That E- rafmus, from fome fet of men, mould meet with bad treatment, is not aftonifhing. He, whofe belief is confined to narrow fyftems, and, what he is pleafed to term, the confent of the church* cannot but look with an evil eye, upon every attempt to call men P. 161. from founds to things, as diffenting from the fpirit of the catholic church, and betraying a mind totally warped from her rule of rec- titude. Sounding words fortunately prove nothing. As the ftandard of orthodoxy is not the fame in all communions, we have .a right to expect fomewhat lefs arrogance, and more reafoning, and clear evidence, when a good man's reputation is at ftake, and prophanefs and impiety are boldly, and in the flrongeft manner, objected againfl him. The writers of the life of the precious founder of the order of the jefuits, have recorded, that that fpiritual ^uixot could not reliih the works of Erafmus. He found in that elegant book of the Enchiridion militis Chrijliani, none of the unffion fo relifhing in fome books of devotion, and fo necef- fary ( 197 ) fary to keep up the heat of the true en- thufiaft. " A judgment this, fays Dr. Jor- (t tin, worthy of him ; and every fanatic, *' like him, would want fome'thing more " pathetic and favcury, fomething with " more unttion, and lefs morality and com- " mon fenfe." * Whether Mr. P. belongs to that fociety or no, fignifies nothing : we apprehend however, he knows as little of Erafmus, and is as much a ftranger to his writings, as if he, as well as Loyola s difci- ples, had been forbid to read them ; for he has accufed him of maintaining fome prin- ciples, which the general tenor of his wri- tings do evidently contradict. The great object that Erafmus feems to have in view in his neligious treatifes, is, by manly and fenfible argumentation, to inculcate the true nature and end of devo- tion ; and to demonftrate, that it does not fo much confift, in a form of words, in ridiculous ceremonies, or a round of exter- nal duties, as in the inward affection and difpoiition of the heart. Though this was fixing religion upon its true bafts, it is in- conceivable, how greatly it exafperated the zealots of the church of Rome. By expo- fing the folly of their artificial incitements to devotion, they were fenfible, that his writings, if attended to, would rob them I for tins Erafmus ) v. I. p. 22. Of of their profit, and hurt their influence. Hinc illte lacrymce f By this craft they had their gain : and it was natural for them, to raife an outcry a- gainft the bold difturber of their eafe and power. A man of fuperiour endowments, could not but abhor the fuperftitious foole- ries, that had crept in by degrees into the religidus offices of the church ; where ge- nuine devotion was loft in mew and fop- P. 150. pery, and the divine plan of belief and prac- tice was almoft totally obliterated, by a ri- gorous and fervile attention to the externals of bodily worfhip. Seeing this lamentable decay of true pie- ty, Erafmus, who had a keen pen, could not help laming the ignorance, and the vices of the ecclefiaftics : and he hoped, that .what was wanting in authority, would be compenfated by the weight of his argu- ments -, and that to laugh at a fool, or a blockhead, would, if not reform him, at leaft inform others. Chriftianity therefore, as well as learning, owes a great deal to his memory, for his noble endeavours to draw men, from refting in the circum- ^antials, to attend to the fundamentals of religion. In this light he appears to great advantage, the foe to cant and hypocrify, the friend to manly and rational piety. But great juftice having lately been done to the memory memory and character of Erafmus, in an impartial and admirable performance, we refer the reader to Dr. Jorfms life of this extraordinary perfonage, as deeming it ra-P. 158. ther a more correSl criterion to judge of his p. 159. merits, than Mr. P's motly defcription ; as it is drawn from a mafterly knowledge of the hiftory of that age, and the writings of Erafmus himfelf. We have reafon to think, that Mr. P. is almoft as much a ftranger to the works of Erafmus, as we have mewed him to be to thoie of Luther. This will appear, by examining the feveral particulars of his op- probrious accufations againft him. * His firft charge is, the outrageous flights of im-P. 159. piety * again/I the devotion paid to the mo- ther of our redeemer. His references, in fupport of this afiertion, are .the dialogue i In that epiftle of Erafmus to Luther, which our author, by referring to, whilft he is drawing Erafmus's pifture, would make us believe, he hath read, there is fomething faid, which if one, of whofe worth and abi- lities, Mr. P. hath the higher! opinion, had properly attended to, he might have profited by. In that letter, Erafmus tells Luther, what good advice he had given the gentry of Louvain, that reformer's teizing adverfa- ries, Tantum admonui (fays he,) ne libris tuis nondum le&is, ad populum tarn odiofe vociferarentur But this kindnefs was thrown away, for he adds, nthil pro- feftum eft : hue ufque tnfaniunt obliquis imo famojis fuis dij'putationibus. Erafmus, as well as Luther, has fuffered plentifully by the retailing collectors of party preju- dice. Pere- ( 2OO ) Peregrin. Re!, ergo, and a note in his com- mentary on the fir ft chapter of Sf. Lukes gojpel. In this dialogue, Erafmus with a feverity, and freer > which true piety will juftify, laugheth at the abominable folly and fuperftition of thofe abfurd enthufiafts, who tramped from one country to another, to perform imaginary devotions to imagi-* ginary faints, in places fanctified by fraud and knavery to the purpofes of religious delufion. To give a keener edge to his fa- tire, he hath recourfe to a pious trick often played by the monks; pleafantly feigning a letter fuppofed to be written by a famous ftone image of the Virgin Mary in the neighbourhood of ~Bqfil, and gravely told by a zealous pilgrim, relating his rambles to different temples, in diftant kingdoms, confecrated to her honour, and to that of other faints. With an indignation becom- ing one, who had the intereft of truth and religion ferioufly at heart, he expofed the abfurdity of this Ipiritual Quixotifm, in thus running to every place and image, reputed to be endued with a wonder-working pow- er, to the difgrace of religion, and the total neglect of focial and domeftic duties. His general aim in this, and indeed in all the colloquies, was " to cure the bigotted world, " if he could, of that Yuperftitious devo- " tion, which the monks inculcated more " fedu- ( 201 ) " duloufly than true chriftian piety."' If Mr. P. will look into that part of Erafmuss reply to the Spanifh monks, wherein he vindicates himfelf from the imputation of leffening the Virgin Mary's honour, a be- tides what is faid in many pafTages of his other books, he will fee, that that great man had a due refpect and veneration for her ; and that, what he treated with fuch contempt, was, not the honour due to the bleiTed Virgin, but the prophane and nau- feous application made to her interceffion. The offenfive part of the comment upon the firfl chapter of St. Lukes gofpel, I take to be thefe following words, facram virgi- nem duplici nomine fuiffe turbatam, G? quod videret Juvenem ingredientem, & quod au- diret falutatwnem amatoriam, & nefcio quid procorum prce fe ferentem, following here- in chiefly, as he fays himfelf, the comment of St. Ambrofe. As we are referred for this ihameful paflage to Erafmuss anfwer to p. 1 50. Lee; fo do we likewife appeal to the famc note - reply, for his defence and apology. 3 We are next told, that hisjfo reafonsp. 159. againft the cuflom of having recourfe to her . inter ce]pQn> at the beginning of fermons, are all of them weak, and moft of them falfe and 1 yortin's Erafmus, v.t. p. 296. 2 Erafmi Opp. v. 9. BafiL ed. p. 884. De kcnore B. V. M. 3 Eraf. Opp. ed. Baf. v. 9. p. 128 130. all ( 202 ) profane: referring us, but without conde- fcending to name edition, page, or book, to the * Ecclefiajles. By this general refe- rence to a large work, we mrewdly fufpedt, Mr. P. does not fpeak this of his own knowledge. Had he taken the pains to con- fult the book itfelf, he would have found it a very difficult talk, to make them half as many as fix : and the reafons which E- rafmus doth aflign, are neither weak, nor falfe, nor profane. They occur in the fe- cond book, where he fays, this cuftom of thus invoking of the B.V. M. is, i. Without the authority of SS. and 2. Againft the ex- ample of all antiquity : adding moreover, but not as different reafons, only as illuf- trations of the former two, that fuch a prac- tice is often impertinently, often falfly ap- plied ; concluding in thefe words, Jed quid opus eft, prater S S. autoritatem, prater ve- terum patrum exemplum, confuetudinem in- ducere quoe egeat excufatione. ' In confequence of thefe principles, our au- 159- thor tells us, that he informs one of his ac- quaintance, that though he had ivrote feme things to the honour of the blejfed Virgin, it uuas againft bis will. Pretty extraordinary ! if he could mean either of the treatifes a- bove mentioned : for this letter to Colet was I Ecchjiajics, L. 2. p, 258, 259. ed. Baftl. 12. 1544. writ- ( 203 ) written many years before either his Collo* quies, or his Ecclejiaftes, were publifhed. * But aoachronifms are nothing with Mr. P.- who, if he had been converfant with - rafmuss works, would have put a more candid interpretation upon his not relimjng the Pcean or hymn to the Virgin Mary. It is not, in the letter referred to, exprefTed in the ftrong manner reprefented by Mr. P. and the reafon of his difliking if, was not fo much for the fubjecl: matter, as the flyle of it. It was compofed to oblige the mar- chionefs of Vere, and written Jiylo juvenili, & ad illius aff'effium accommodate ', fotius quam ad meum judicium ; as he informed his friend Botzem, when he gave him an account of his writings, in the letter prefixed to the "Bafil edition of his works. " It is indeed " a puerile performance, in a poetical, tu- " mid, idolatrous ftyle." a This was reafon enough, for his cool and maturer judgment , to diflike it : and though he could not but, as a chriftian, deem the mother of our Re- deemer, blej/ed above women-, yet he could p. 159. not in his heart approve, of that unwar- ranted incenfe offered up to her, in de- 1 This letter to Colet was writter in 1504. The Colloquies were publifhed in 1522. The Ecclejiaftes was publifhed in 1535. 2 Jortin's Erafmus, v. 2. p. 200. Erafmus's letter to fiotzem is alfo in this 2<3 vol. of Dr. Jortin, p. 415. fpight, fpight, as it was, of her fon's fole media- tion. P. 160. he commendations be/lowed upon Luther s writings* make another charge againft E- rafmus. The letter here found fault with, is a civil and courteous one, in reply to an excellent one from Luther-, * in which he fpeaks very refpettfully of that reformer, and his doctrine. He gives him indeed a little caution againft too much vehemency; not that Luther had then fhewn any thing of that fpirit, or that Erafmus fufpe&ed it -, only he was afraid, the warmth of contro- verfy migfit irritate eacfi party to fome ex- cels. As to Luther himfelf, this was but the "beginning of his preaching, in 1519, when he had hitherto diffcmguifhed himfelf, only by oppofing the fale and traffic of indul- gences : and therefore the encouragement of, P. 1 60. htzc non admoneo ut facias, fed ut quod facts note. perpetuo facias, might, without offence, be applied to Luther, whofe letter to him was full of the greateft modefty and humility -, and who, at that time, proceeded with I Luther's letter to Erafmus, & Eraf. ep. p. 243, and Erafmu^s reply, p. 244. When Mr, A talks of Erafmuis praifmg Luther and his writings, he forgets how much he differs in that opinion from his great friend ^idrini. For he fays Sexcenta funi in Erafml 'epiftoUs, ahtfque ejus lucubratio- riibus loca, quibus reformntionem a Luthero, aliifque ejus fodatibus,feu difcipulis procrcatamirridet, atqueexfecratur. .2. Diat. p. CLXXIII. great ( 2Q5 ) great fear and diffidence. He tells him, be had perufed his commentaries on the Pfalms, liked them much, and hoped they ivould prove ufeful. Mr. P, willing to fhew his learn- ing, kindly tells his reader, with a fneer, what equally orthodox and, edifying doctrines -p. i thefe commentaries contain. And has he read note. any of this hereliarch's writing ? or is this only, as ufual, a random charge ? Had Erafmus found any of thefe heretical doc- trines in the commentaries he praifed, he muft have been almoft as fharp-fighted as Mr. P. Luther, when this letter was writ- ten, was no heretic : neither did* he then, or for fome years after, hold or teach the doctrines here afcribed to him j and fome of them he never was fo abfurd to main- tain. All the commentaries he had then publifhed were two harmlefs ones, the one upon the feven penitential, the other upon the noth, Pfalms. 1 And thefe commenta- i In 1517 Luther had publifhed a comment on the feven penitential Pfalms, in German, which Seckendorf thus characterizes, etfi vero annis fequentibus majori luce & fpiritu materiam Pfalmorum horum traflavit, infignia tamen orthodox^ tbeologia, & -erudites paraphrafeos docu- menta eum jam turn dedtjfe, kclores facile deprehendent. Of the other comment upon the no th Pfalm, he thus fpeaks, in kac acerbe invebitttr in Picardos feu Bohemos, qui ex ecclejia Romano ob vitia facer dotum fecejjerint, eof- que pro hareticis if blafpbemis babet. Et, ad v. 4. fa- cerdotium Melchizedeci sternum ad facramentum ccents applicat. Seckendorf Index, 3. fcriptorum Luther i. I am aware, that ( 206 ) ries contained nothing, that could offend the moft orthodox catholic. P. 1 60, But Erafmus preferred the marriage Jiate to celibacy, and fet forth its privileges with fucb indecency, that a Cynic could not have other ideas, nor c loath them in coarfer terms. Mr. Ps ideas of purity muft be extremely delicate indeed, to cenfure, in fo unfair a manner, that juvenile declamation in praife of matrimony, addrefled by Erafmus to his pupil Lord Mountjoy : and if by giving a right turn to the youthful paffions of that nobleman, he encouraged him to enter in- to that ftate which is honourable in all men, what ferious man could refufe to praife him for it ? But it feems he preferred it to celi- bacy. And who mould not ? but he did not prefer it to virginity. As he knew the flagrant lewdneffes committed by many, who were under the vows of conftrained celibacy, it was a commendabe act of piety to expofe the abfurd rigour of fuch vows ; and to call men from indulging in that tur- that there is in Luther's works ( 3 d vol. Witt, ed.) a comment or lectures on the the firft 22 Pfalms, with a dedication to the elector of Saxony, and a recommen- datory epiftle of Melanchton both dated the beginning of 1519. But as thefe lectures were only begun in the month of March that year, and continued that and the 2 following years, and were not publilhed till 1524; it may well be doubted, whether Erafmus could fee them fo early as in May 1519. See Seckendorf^ L. i. p. 94. and p. 134. pitude pitude of behaviour, which it was a fhame to fpeak of; and to admonifh them to re- ftrain thofe defires by the purity of a chafte marriage, againft thofe deep divines and found cafuifts, who held fimple fornication to be no Jin. This raifed the outcry of the zealots againfl him ; and obliged him to take more notice of their pitiful objections than they deferved, by honouring fome of them with a reply. This defence of Eraf- mus againfl his minute adversaries, Mr. P, with his ufual partiality, entirely omit- teth. ' Our biographer, perfevering in his abufep. 160. on poor Erafmus, though a prieft, he fays, and advanced in years, he relates his gallan- tries in England, in aftyle more becoming the flews than the monajiery. We have here a frefh inflance of Mr. P's fpleen, ignorance, I Non arbitror rem effe periculofam laudare matrlmo- nium, pr&fertim cum a me laudatur matrimoniurn Jimilli- mum Virginitati, in quo uxcr gignenda proli y non libidtni habetur SantfiJ/imum eft vitts genus pure cafteque conjugium nunc nufquam reperias minus inquina- tam morum integritatem^ quam apud conjugates . . . non de r oit when fuperftition and enthufiafm prevailed in the church, proud and ambitious men found their account in copying, upon other views, the rigid aufterities of the firft monks : the monaftic ftate was looked upon, as the only ftate of perfection. By degrees, and the bleffings of ignorance, monks and monkery increafed to an aftonifhing heighth, both with refpecl: to variety of rules and orders, and the numbers of profefled in each or- der : fome of which, one would imagine, were only founded, and permitted, to mew how far folly and enthufiafm could carry men; and to give the world a fure, but melancholy proof, how naturally fuperfti- tion tends to enfeeble the mind, to draw it off from the duties of true religion, and make it contemptible and ridiculous. But a falfe notion of piety had deluded the world : and whilft men were ignorant of the true fpirit of chriftianity, fome fanati- cal faint or fpiritual inamorato, ferved to found, or dignify each refpedtive order ; and to promote the caufe, by lham miracles, and pretended relics. In ( 22! ) In our own country we had our full mare : and the monaflic ftate, flickering itfelf under the pretenfion of being confe- crated to God, triumphed in eafe, and power, and affluence j their pofTeffions were continually increaiing j and the laity had reafon to apprehend, that in time they might engrofs the heft eftates in the king- dom. In procefs of time, they had made good ftrides towards it : for expiring piety is oftner more fervent than difcreetj and maffes for the poor tormented fouls in a fancied purgatory, would expiate the enor- mities of a profligate life. The Wealth, that the dead left behind them, would an- fwer that expence. This made fo many poor heirs, and fo many rich convents j and was a comfortable and expeditious way of having the gates of paradife opened, at the expence of their executors. But whe- ther their fouls were releafed out of pur- gatory or no, their eftates remained with the monaftery ; whofe revenues, by this means, were daily augmented. Thus amaffing riches and influence, the monks could not but give umbrage to the flate. In the year 1410, the parliament petitioned Henry the 4th againft them ; Signifying, that they made an ill ufe of their riches, and confumed their incomes, in a very dif- ferent manner from their donor's intent ; that their revenues ought to be leffened : that ( 222 ) that by this means the kingdom's fafety would be better provided for, the poor bet- ter maintained^ and the clergy more attach- ed to their duty. * And again, a few years afterwards, another parliament, which had juft enacted very fevere laws againft the Lollards and heretics, addrefled his fuc- cefTor, Henry the 5th, in 1414, upon the fame confiderations, and for the fame pur- pofes. The clergy to avert, or at lead weaken this ftorm, agreed to refign part of their riches to the King, to fave the reft. They offered him the lands of all the alien priories being no: and accordingly thefe were given to him by aft of parlia- ment, without the clergy's oppofing it. * Befides this, there were inftances in hif- tory, that the Popes had changed one or- der for another; and fometimes, out of the omnipotency of their power, had entirely a- bolifhed others. 3 The multiplicity of them had been long, and every where, complain- ed of. St. Augujlin (by fome thought to have been a founder of one of the mon- kifli orders) fpeaks like a good protef- tant reformer. Luther could not have ex- prefled his cenfures, in ftronger terms than thefe, " we cannot tell whether they be- " came monks for purpofe to ferve God -, 1 Rapitis hift. v. I. p. 500. 2 Id. p. 509. 3 Fuller ': church hift. B, 6. p. 301. tl s-.*- " or elfe, being weary of their poor and " painful life, were rather defirous to be fed and cloathed, doing nothing : " and the alms they got, he did not fcruple to call, " the charges of gainful poverty ; and " the price of feigned holinefs." ' Bede % though a monk, both in his eccleliaftical hiftory, and in his famous letter to Egbert arch-bifhop of York, wrote a fhort time before his death, reckoned, that from their number, and the difTolute lives of the pro- fefled, they would prove prejudicial in the end to both church and ftate. * And that they ftill continued to need a reformation, cannot be doubted, when he, who was //fop. 140. direttmg mind that guided the whole', and alone drew up the plan of reformation be- fore mentioned, when even Pole himfelf, fully acknowledged, that amongft other grievances, thefe orders of monks and friars ought to be reformed. " For many of " them are fo vile, that they are a lhame < unto the feculars : and with their exam- " pie do much ill. As for conventual or- 1 Non apparet utrum ex propofoo fervitutis Dei vene- rint) an vitam inopem^ &f laboriofam fugientes^ vacui paf- ci, b 5 vejiiri voluerint. And the alms that they get, are called fumptus lucrofa egejiatis : & fimulata pretium fanffilatis. Augujlinus de cpere monach. cap. 22. & 28. cited in bifhop Jewell's defence of the apology, p. 451. 2 Bede ecclef, bift. L. 5. c. 24. and his Ep. ad Eg- frert, p. 258 261. Beda opera theol. edit, Wharton. " dert, y ive think it good they be all abo- lifted:' ' The eafe with which bimop Fifoer, and cardinal Wolfey, had procured the fuppref- fion of feveral of the lefTer monafteries in order to endow the colleges they were building, was an efpecial precedent to Hen- ry, who was now declared the fupremc head of the church of England: and in the difiblution of thefe religious houfes, he did no more, than fome of the moft zea- lous churchmen had done before. From their amazing increafe, and too often un- guarded behaviour (to fpeak no more) wife men were aware, they were too much over- grown to laft long. And when bifhop Fox of JVincbefter, in the beginning of this cen- rury, was inclined to found a monaftery of the order of St. Benedict, he was dilTuaded from it, by his friend bimop Oldbam of Exeter, * and advifed to build a college ; becaufe convents, he told him, pofTefTed more than they would long enjoy, and per- I Alius afiufus corrlgendus eft in ordinibus religiofo- rtim ; quod adeo multi deformati funt^ ut magno Jint fcan- dalo facularibus^ exemploquc plurimum noceant. Conven- tuales ordines abolendos e[je pntamus ornnes. Non tamcn ut alicul Jiat tnjuria^ fed prohibendo^ ne novos pojjint admit- tere. Sic enim fine uatns injttria cito delerentur^ & boni rel'igioji eis fubftitui pojjint. Nunc vero putamus optimum fore^ ft omnes pueri, qui non fnnt profej/i, ab ear urn mo- 'nafteriis repellerentur. Petr. Crabbe condl. torn. 3. cone, dilecl. cardinal, p. 822. 2 Wgod hift. & antiq. Oxon. L. 2. p. 230. haps ( 225 ) haps they themfelves might outlive them : and this was fpoke at a time, when there could be no fufpicion of their impending ruin. Upon this, the bimop of Winch efter altered his mind, and founded Corpus Chrijli College in Oxford : a fociety by me never to be mentioned without the utmoft gratitude and affection ; which hath re- flected honour upon its founder ; and many of whofe members have ftood high in the annals of fame. A pleating remembrance of former days prefents itfelf : Nee me Foxi meminifje pigebit, Dum memor ipfe mei, dumfpiritus bos reglt artus. The kingdom, by thefe inftances, may be faid to be prepared for the alterations that fucceeded. As the monaftic focieties were founded at firft in fuperftition, and encouraged by ignorance and fanaticifm, as foon as learning and the polite arts had p. ~ lighted up the f acred lamp of fcience* which, for fome centuries, had been almoft totally extinct j it was natural to inquire into the validity of fuch donations, what power the donors had to veft their property in fuch unalienable tenures, and likewife how far the focieties themfelves had anfwered the end of their original foundation *. The I Bp. Ellison fpiritual liberty, p*. i. p. 225,. &c. P monks [ 226 ] monks muft thank themfelves for the rigour of this inquiry : their own imprudence had brought it upon them. They had irritated a violent and high-fpirited prince : they had taken every opportunity, to infult him to his face, to blacken him in the minds of his fubjedts, to foment fedition, and to raife rebellions againft him. Henry, thus pro- voked, was in felf-defence obliged to hum- ble their power and influence ; and to crum thefe feminaries of faction (as he found them to be) which otherwife, by their in- fluence, might fubvert his authority. More effectually to difcover the (diforders that had been fo greatly complained of in that ftate, feveral commiflioners were ap- pointed for the vifitation of thefe houfes, previous to the parliamentary fuppreflion of them j that, from their representations, mea- fures might accordingly be taken. The in- ftructions given to the vilitors, to regulate their inquiry, are diftinctly fet down by bifhop Bur net l : and the account of their pro- ceedings, in the execution of their com- miffion, is preferved by that faithful hiflo- rian Mr. Strype*. Thefe proceedings be- ing laid before the parliament, brought on the acts for their difiblution, but firft of the \ Burnet) v. I. records, p. 131. 2 Strype's memorials, v. i. c. 35, throughout, p. ? 5 1 T &c. See -alib Bttrwf 9 v . t , p. 1 90. lefler leiTer monasteries, " which (fays lord Her- " bert) though lamented by many . . . had " thefe motives. The vitious and incor- " rigible lives of monaftical perfons, con- " fefled, by the whole parliament : the " lands not employed according to the in- " tent of the donors and founders ; divers " fuperrKtions, and forging of miracles < pra&ifed amongft them '. Such an undertaking as this, where the maintenance of fo many was concerned, could not poffibly be profecuted without complaint and oppolition j neither (though in the main a beneficial ftep) without doing private injuries, and perfonal hardfhips. Thefc ufelefs foundations, for they were now become in a great meafure fuch, upon the encouragement given to the univerfities, had fo great a mare of wealth and property, that if the ancient fuperjtition had continued, the greateft and beft part of the riches and influence of the nation would have been funk into the hands of thofe, who contri- buted little, or nothing, to the fupport of it. And truly, if we confider them in a fe- rious light, they were in many refpe&s dangerous to the ftate, and prejudicial to the church itfelf. They diftrefTed the ilate I Lord Herbert, . p* 440. Fuller's ecclef. hift. b. 6. p. 329. Pa by ( 228 ) by their immenfe poffefTions, and by robbing it of fuch numbers of defenfible men. E- very ftate mould guard againft perpetuities ; in the fewer hands property is, there is the greater danger of defpotifm and flavery '. They were alfo a hindrance to the free ex- ecution of juflice; for being moftly exempt from civil and ecclefiaftical jurifdiction, of- fenders found in them a refuge and fanc- tuary from mame and punifhment. They were detrimental to the church, by their great number of appropriations 3 by their exemption from tythes ; and by, what is ftill feverely felt, the fhamcful pittance they allowed the parim-prieft for the fervice of the church ; for when Henry feized their eftates, he referved the fame allowance for the fervice of the church, which the monks themfelves, out of their boundlefs genera- lity, and great confcience, had thought fuf- ficient for the maintenance of the parim- prieft. The antiquarian may be indulged in la- menting the demolition of thefe ancient monuments of their anceftors fuperftitious and miftaken devotion ; the zealot may rail againft the facrilege of perverting things plaulibly dedicated to religious purpofes. But what, if they were founded at firfl in i See letter X of a feries of fenfible letters published, in the Publick Ledger ', under the name of Candidas. ignorance ( 229 ) Ignorance of the true fpirit of religion? what if purgatory be a fable, and maffes for the dead of no avail ? then the intent and neceffity of their inflitution ceafes ; and the legiflature has a right to interfere, and to inquire how far fuch donations are really difpofed of for the fervice of God, the interefl of religion, and the benefit or civil welfare of the public : if they are found prejudicial to all, it may be prefumed, that God gives up his title and intereft in them, and that the legiflature is juftifiable in renaming them *. It were indeed greatly to be wimed, that the wealth of thefe dif- folved feminaries had gone into another and a better channel; and inftead of being fliared (however good the policy of it might be) amongft the leading men of the laity, had, as they ought, been appropriated to the fervice of the public; that holyLj//- mer's propofals had been attended to ; and two or three of thefe foundations fpared in every diocefe, not to retain monkery, but to maintain preaching, ftudy with praying, and good houfe-keeping. *. Mr. Dody fenfible that fome irregula- rities might have got ground in the mo- 1 Bifhop Ellis' $ trails, p l I. p. 226. Candtdus's letter XI. 2 Latimer*s letter to Cromwell. Strype mem. v. I. p. 259. Lord Herbert, p. 506. Burnet, v. i. p. 237. : P 3 naileries, ( 230 ) naileries, candidly owns, that the reforming of them would have been " a very laud- " able undertaking, had either order, de- " cency, or meafure been obferved in the " execution. Frequent abufes had for " many years been complained of, which " feemed to plead in favour of fuch an at- " tempt." ' How far true or falfe, the grievous accufations brought againfl the profefled were, and what credit is to be given them, we may judge from the evi- dence delivered in hiftory, which cannot well be denied. From the finful ftate, horrible deeds, pious tricks, and revelations, which were contrived, and committed in the monafteries, and are upon record, it could not but make the order infamous, and raife a general indignation againft the au- thors of fuch polluted adions, and mame- ful forgeries. * " We have the prior of " St. Andrew s confeffion amongft our rolls : 237 ) courfe, difcontented monks, they foon came to nothing. The King being mafter of his parliament, was equally fo of his king- dom : and thofe hafty and unfuccefsful ri- iings, which fucceeded this diflblution of the monafteries, though all under the fpe- cious pretence of religion and ancient ufages, did but ferve the more effectually to extir- . pate the religious orders, root and branch j and batten the vifitation of the greater mo- nafteries, whofe members had remarkably diftinguimed themfelves, by their zeal and activity in abetting thefe commotions. The pleas that thefe feveral mfurgenfsp l6 g 4 urged, plainly mewed, that they were ftirred up by the monks : the leader of the Lin- colnffjire infurreSlion, was Dr. Mackerel, prior of Barlings, and many years a fuffra- gan bimop in the diocefe of Lincoln ; who, difguifed as a mechanic, called himfelf cap- tain Cobler. The next rebellion (for the former was foon quelled) difcovered its in- tentions, under the quaint name of the pil-. 169. grimage of grace : a more regular and for- midable body than the other j and who feemed to have had fome leaders, well fkilled in the proper application of thofe popular and plaufible incentives, which can at any time irritate a mob, abufe of a mi- niftry, and the cry of religion and liberty. And why ? becaufe a few ilurdy monks had been fent abroad into the world, to become ufeful . ufeful members of the flate. However, this great body, upon the affurance of par- don, was foon prevailed upon to lay down their arms. The river Dun was fo obftinately here- p. 1 70. tical, as by a repeated inundation to be ren- dered impaffable, and twice to difconcert P. 167. the fchcmes of thefe pious perfons, whofe uneajinefs at the apprehenjion of a total fub- p 1 68 verfion of the ancient worfhip led them into overt acJs of hojtility, againft their fovereign. Had the river continued fordable, or had an high wind chanced to have made it fhal- lower than ordinary, how happily might our hiftorian, who is fo much given to judgments, have flourimed upon the favour of heaven in fo remarkably declaring for thefe injured infurgents ? How effectually p . would this have obviated whatever may be ' objected to the lawfulnefs of the method of redrefs t by thofe who are inattentive to the provocation ? Much better than the reafons he hath afligned. But alas ! thefe tumults, and all the rifings that fucceeded, were foon Hopped ; and the rebels made nothing out, notwithftanding the motives on which ' l f 1 ' they juftified their proceedings. Henry 's power and good fortune prevailed, though p f trufted to that general, who was the moji powerful of all thofe who favoured the an- cient religion^ and who was throughly per- fuaded of her faith and worjhip* Thus ( 239 ) Thus an end was put to thefe feveral commotions : and fome of the rebel lead- ers, not keeping their terms with the King, met with the reward of their trea- fon. " For, thinking the King dilatory, " general AJk and the reft of his adherents " fly again to arms, and endeavour to re- ' kindle in the north, the fire that was " lately extinguished." ' Can Henry then be blamed, upon thefe repeated pro- vocations, for ufing fome feverity, and making an example of fome, to prevent future revolts ? However, when the prin- cipal managers of thefe difturbances were executed, " the King," fays lord Herbert, " by letter to the duke of Norfolk, faid, he " would clofe this tragedy, for he fent now " a general pardon ; which was received ' , " with great joy, many being terrified " with the duke's proceedings." a To which?. 171. aft of grace 9 though lord Herbert does not fay it, he adhered. After this doleful account, which our biographer has given, of the lamentable ftatc of monks and monkery in England, and the ineffectual ftruggles of thofe /-P. 173. furgents, who had taken up arms in favour of the ancient doctrine, which was plainly 1 Dod, church hift. v. i. p. 106. 2 Lord Herbert, p. 492. (not p. 248, where we are referred by Mr, P.) intended ( 240 ) intended to prepare us for what follows ; the hero of the work before us is again introduced, but in a character, which we cannot help thinking will place him in a moft ofTenlive light. We mall find him bufily employed in doing the dirty work of a ipiritual incendiary ; and exerting every effort of fanctified malice, in abetting re- bellions, and exciting the principal powers of Europe to interfere in the management of affairs in England. The event mewed the folly of the Pope, and Poles vanity and ignorance of the world, to imagine that the P. 175. federal potentates, to whom he was fent with P. 1 73. the quality of legate, would liften to the re- ligious complaints of a fanatical cnthunaft. They could not but deteft the prefumption of that emiffary, who went, from court to court, to folicit affiftance againft his King and his country : they received him with that fcorn and contempt which his beha- viour deferved ; and would not condefcend to admit to any familiar converfation, or even into their prefence, the active inftru- ment of fo (hameful and unnatural a com- miffion. The flourifhing pen of our panegyrical hiftorian may glofs over the infamy of this commiffion : but let the impartial reader hear and determine, whether Poles beha- viour in this fpiritual: embafly, even from Quirim.s, and Mr. PV own reprefentation of of it, can entitle him to any gentler appel- lation, than that of being a rebel, and a traitor to his country. His own letters furnifh us with fufficient proofs of this charge, which did not fo clearly appeal- before. We learn from them, that he was fent into Flanders by the Pope, at the very time when the rebels were in arms in the north, to encourage and affift them ; and to fpirit up the Emperor and the King of France, to war againft his own fovereign, to whom, by his own confeffion, he had the higher! obligations. His credentials (as P. 175. they are termed) from the Pope, were cal- culated to juftify the lafr., and to raife fu- ture rebellions in England. The holy father of the chriftian church, in thefe credentials, has given a fpecimen of the ufual manner in which himfelf, and his pious predeceflbrs, exerted their univer-V. 178. fal fuperintendence over the church. His addrefs, not to the Englifo nation in gene- P. 175, ral, as Mr. P. tells us, but only to the ca- tholic bifhops and noblemen, was, to en- courage their rebellion, and to exprefs his joyful hopes of their fuccefs. ' His letters I Paulus III. ad eptfcopos Anglos, ac proceres catboluos Uliusregm^&c, Angli ~ populi nuper poenitentiam fatio^ & fuam vcluntatem pariter oftenderunt armis profanfta re- ligione, & veteri ejus obfervantia Jumpi is, quorum nos^ficut aberratione dolueramus, ita rei/erfione maxime latati. Quir. v. 2. p. CCLXVII. inter Momt to to the kings of Scotland, * and France, x and to Mary governefs of the Low Countries, 3 were written with the fame holy defign ; earneftly to folicit them, for the love of God, religion, and the church, to affift thofe zealous people of England, who chofe to obey God rather than man ; and 1 Idem Regi Scotia. Nos . . a te cum prtej omnijludio, & amore per Jefum Dominum petimus, ut nobiSy iff Romans ecclejue in pietate diflorum populorum ( fc. Angli atque judicium nunc praparantur. Ibid. p. iCCLXVII. & p. CCLXIX. 2 Idem Rfgi CbrijiianiJJimo. Cum mitteremus . . . Icgatum nojlrum ad confirmandam illorum Anglits popu- lar um pietatern. qui in vera, fef catholhee fidci cultu manere cttpiunt,. proptercaque juvandi a nobis, 6f omnibus bonis funt. he goes on, and entreats and exhorts him, ut /(?, & favorabilem ad juvandos verts religionis zelatores, (i. e. the rebels) & placabilem ad confilia pads prabere iielis y a qua hoc tempore catera bona dependent. And he tells both thefe princes, box plenius & particularius idem legatusjit expiicaturus. Ibid. p. CCLXX. 3 Idem Regime Marine gubernatrict Flandri 34- government, they were dejigned to overthrow : Henry, having now no apprehenfions of difturbance from any quarter, found him- felf at leifure to purfue fome further regu- lations, which the difconcerted fchemes of his enemies enabled him to profecute with- out interruption. Several of the monaftic profeffion having been too hafly and im- prudent in encouraging the late tumults, and the rebels having demanded the refto- ration of the ejected of that order, as one of the principal grievances to be redreiled j the monks had reafon to fear, that exaf- perated and triumphant power would call them to account for their ill-timed zeal. R The The King's power and influence was vi- fible, in thofe monasteries which were al- ready diflblved : and the late behaviour of the profefTed had given him the faireft op- portunity to eradicate the remainder. His experience had convinced him, that fo long as any of that order were left, he mould find them as troublefome to him, as they had been to any of his predecefTors -, and that they could not well be looked upon in any other light, than " as a body of re- " ferve for the Pope, and always ready to " appear in his quarrels, and fupport his " claims." ' . The entire extirpation of the religious houfes being determined, the King pro- ceeded in the fame method in the fuppref- fion of thofe which were left, as he had done with thofe which were diffolved be- fore, 'viz. by a vifitation of them, and by parliamentary authority. This occafions, what is not to be marvelled at at all, afrefh difcharge of our author's bitternefs againft Henry. The intereft of the Romiflj church was hurt : and its adherents may be al- lowed to murmur. But here, we cannot help wifhing, that Mr. P. had been honeft at the fame time, and not taken to himfelf the honour of the reflections he makes up- on this fubjedl. In his account of the dif- j Collier, ecclef. hift. v 2. p. 102. folutlon ( 2 59 folution of the lefler monasteries, he had been greatly obliged to Mr. W, the po- pifh church hiftorian, without making him any acknowledgment : in the prefent nar- ration of the fall of the greater ones, he is ftill more obliged to him -, but with the fame paltry difingenuity, he induilrioufly concealeth the kind collector of his ma- terials : and though every one of his re- ferences are plainly taken from Mr. ZW, yet is he never named. 1 Thus does our author, with his ufual art and freedom, af-. fume to himfelf the credit of another per- fon's labours. Neither of them however have much to boaft of, in the article be- fore us ; for Collier 9 in his ecclefiaftical hiftory, had prepared every thing for them : it was but copying, and referring to him ; I So implicitly does our author rely upon Mr. Dod y that he even copies his blunders ; and to prove, that the Kings pajjions ran fo ftrong for a dijjolution, that he could fcarce endure the report of a fair character given to the religious, (p. 213) he refers us to Gijfard's, one of the commijfioners, letter to Cromwell, without faying where that letter is to be met with. It is true, Mr. Dod, by the manner in which he hath cited thefe words, (p. 1 08) might lead him into this miftake : but if Mr. P. had confulted Collier himfelf, he would have found, that thefe are, not Giffard's words, but Collier's reflections upon his unfuccefsful application in, behalf of the priory of Wooljlrop. Ecclef. hift. v. 2, p. 156. R 2 and ( 260 ) and then their impartiality could not be queftioned. But Henry s accumulated guilt, in this diflblution of monkery, muft be clear and P. 219. allowed ; for we are told, that bad the monks been heard in their own caufe, they could not have pleaded it 'with greater energy than proteftant writers have done it for them, on the evidence of faffs, and from a principle 'which will do honour to their writings, ivhilft equity and the lingering fpirit of religion has yet applaufe in Britain. As if religion had really fuffered, by the extirpation of fuch fort of houfes. Let us fee then, what thefe fair reafoners have to plead in their behalf ; and, whether their authorities are fairly produced. Mr. P, and the defenders of the mo- nafteries, have urged many arguments, from the excellency or piety of the ftate itfelf, from the numbers of the profefled, and their revenues ; which, however fpe- cious they might formerly appear, have, by length of time, loft all their weight ; and may rather be deemed unanfwerable objections againft them. The riches of -a ftate are the number and increafe of its fubjeds. Now our writer, fpeaking of the number of thofe who were difpqffeffed out of the greater monafteries only, com- P. 2 ,8. putes them to amount to fome hundred thoufand thoufand perfons. Mr. Dod indeed is more moderate : he only fays, " fo many thou- " fands." ' And this being exclufive of the fecular and parochial clergy : when they are reckoned, with thofe belonging to the other eftaUijhmgnts or lejfer tenements of the?- 337- tike import, the number of thofe prohibited from matrimony muft amount to an amaz- ing body of people; who were fo far from contributing to the fupport of the govern- ment, " that the kingdom itfelf from this < redundancy of its defencelefs members, " might be fo exhaufted of its ftrength, " as to be incapable of protecting or fe- " curing itfelf from infurredions or inva- ' lions." a Tho' this is only a political in- convenience : yet if confidered, even in a re- ligious light, the very nature of thefe in- fKtutions will be found as much unneceflary to the promotion of true piety, as they were detrimental to the good of fociety. It is eafy to harangue upon the benefits of a retired, contemplative life, free from the cares, and detached from the love, of the world. But furely the man, who, in active and focial life, lets his light ftine be- fore men ; difplays the beauty and perfec- tion of religion to nobler purpofes, than when it is confined in the heart of a foli- 1 Dod, church hift. v. i. p. no. 2 Candidus, letter IX. R 3 tary ( 262 ) tary devotee : and the good hufband, pa- rent, mailer, and magistrate, is of more real benefit to the world by this exertion of his faculties ; and is doing his duty to God, to greater advantage to others, to greater comfort to himfelf, and to greater honour to religion, than if he had hid his talent in the cloifters of a monaftery, or the cave of an hermit. Such a man, by com- municating his goodnefs, does more fervice to the caufe of religion, than if a reclufe piety had kept him employed in counting his beads, tormenting his body, and fub- rnitting to thofe abfurd, ridiculous, and un- commanded obfervances, which belong not to religion. The freeing therefore fuch numbers from this con/trained, formal, out- ward devotion, and obliging them to be- come ufeful and active members of fociety; and the demolifhing fuch nurferies of idle- nefs and fpiritual fervitude (however it might be accompanied, as before, with too many a6ts of perfonal rapine and injuftice) were yet, in their confequences, beneficial to religion and the ftate ; and may well be juflified, upon the foundeft principles of each. The revenues which, by the piety or rather fuperftition of our anceftors, had been beftowed upon thefe communities, are urged, to enhance the guilt of their dirTolution. We are told, that they were ( 263 ) confecrations made to the Supreme Being, off. 218. a real and perpetual nature-, and were, as it were, ve/led in him. But perhaps it may be difficult to prove, that fuch foundations were any otherwife confecrated to religion, than alms-houfes and hofpitals may be faid to be. If the institution of the monadic ftate did not advance the end of religion, its endowments could fcarce be faid to be confecrated to God. In fome inftances, we think, the monks themfelves were fup- ported by continued ads of rapine and fa- crilege, when the income of the monaftery coniifted of impropriations ; and the paro- chial clergy were by that means robbed of a maintenance, apparently more confe- crated to God, and J word from our author) was marked, in a very confpicuous manner, by a long lift of heroes, in every fenfe of the word, whofe deep learning, folid fenfe, manly genius, and the exertion of every active faculty, raifed the glory and reputation of the king- dom to an height unknown before ; whilft quaint conceits, and puns, diftinguimed the pedant reign of the fucceeding prince. After this little fpurt of criticifm, the caufe of the monks is again taken in hand ; and we are confidently told, that, while?. 223. the religious houfes fubftfled, there were no provi/ions made by parliament to relieve the poor, no afjejjment on the pari/h for that purpofe -, but, at prefent, this charge on the kingdom, amounts, by a low computation, to above 800,000 pounds. If it did fo in Collier s time, who is the original author of all this intelligence, it muft rife to a much greater amount now. But what S jf ( 274- ) if this be a vague and falfe aflertion : There is great reafon to fufpect, that thefe houfes were not fo munificent. We have before obferved, that one motive alleged, at the diflblution of the alien priories, was, that the poor might be better maintained-, and there were, moreover, feveral parti- cular atts of parliament patted for the relief of the poor, at different times, " to oblige thefe very houfes to aid the poor in pro- portion to their income : from whence it is eafy and natural to conjecture, that they were not fo liberal and bountiful of their alms, as Mr. P. and his informants, would perfuade us. So that, as Candidus well and truly obferves, ^ " the nation neither got cc nor loft any thing, in this refpe<5t, by " the fuppreffion of the monafteries, only " the mendicant trade was reduced, in- " duftry encouraged, the poor better pro- " vided for, and the nation more equally " taxed." 4 On thefe confiderations, proceedeth our author, one of our hiftorians offer ts 9 that it would be but an aff of common jujiice, to give the generality of protejlants a more fa- vourable opinion of monafteries. Upon what eonfiderations ? the hofpitality and charity 1 Vi%. 15 Richard the 2 d . 4 Henry the 4 th . 39 Henry the 6 th , and two or three in Henry the 7 th> * reign, mentioned by Candidus^ letter XII. 2 Letter XII. of ( 2 75 ) of thefe houfes -, for that he is fpeaking o in this paragraph, and hath referred us, to prove this, to a place in Fuller,* where he is lamenting the plunder and the wafte made of their books ; which our author backeth by a corroborating evidence, as he think- eth, from bifhop Tanners preface to his Notitia Monaftica, wherein his chief pur- port is to mew, that monasteries were the repofitories of learning; neither of them, in the places appealed to, touching upon the charity of thefe houfes : nor did Mr. Dod cite them for that purpofe : but Mr. P's accurate eye caught them in the fame page, and he was determined they mould vouch as he wanted them. In one refpec% it was prudent he did not confult Tanner himfelf ; he would hardly have quoted him with fuch eagernefs elfe : for though it was to be expected from one who was writing the account of reli- gious houfes, to fay, with other antiqua- rians, every thing he could honeftly in their favour, yet he owns, " that thefe infti- " tutions were abufed from their original " foundation, and that he did not in the " leafl intend to vindicate the fuperftitions " and the vices of the monks :" and then addeth, immediately after the pafTage pro- duced by our author, this reflection -, " and i Fuller, ecclef. hift. b. 6; p. 335. 82 " indeed ( 276 ) 11 indeed confidering the provifions that " are made in the univerfities, for the en- et couragement and attainment of learn- " ing ; and the many hofpitals, that have " been built fmce the reformation, for the " relief of the poor, there is lefs reafon to " lament their lofs." ' This is Tanner 's teftimony. But now our writer takes a bolder flight : P. 224. an d national and perfonal calamities are ex- hibited, as fo many indications of a provoked and avenging God. What the national calamities were which trod on the heels of this iniquity^ we are at a lofs to know ; for Mr. P. will hardly reckon the cruel tyranny of Queen Marys reign as any mif- fortune to the kingdom. Fuller, the au- thority appealed to, fays nothing like it ; he fays " fome conceive yeapapifts would " perfuade us, that fuch pofTeffions are un- " fuccefsful, and will ruin their proprietors, " till reilored to their proper owners: for " mine own part," fays he, "I wifli to owing to this fin ; for he feems, by what he fays, not to know well when the Turks took that place. Could he think of no nearer event, than this, to contrail with Henrys rapine and impiety, which happened no lefs than 1 6 years before it ? Or would Poles nojlra cetate, paucis ante annis? juftify him in rendering it, about the fame time, when there was an interval of ib many years between them? The 1 P. 248. 2 Poll apologia ad Ctzfarem, Seft. 23. >nirini> v, i. p. 104. & v. 1. p. CLIII. cardinal, ( 283 ) cardinal, in the vehemence of his zeal, afks, where Henry could have learnt this practice of behaving thus to faints de- parted ? and anfwers himfelf, by faying, from that cruel tyrant Hercd, who is fup- pofed to have burnt John the Baptijl's bones in. the fame manner as Henry did Beckefs. But this is not clear. And the pious Pole needed not to have gone quite fo far back : for Henry learnt it from the clergy of his own church ; from the council of Albium, ( Albienje) who ordered dead heretics to be fo ferved ; and from the council of Con- ftance, who put that canon in execution, in their condemnation of Wictiffi and, lower ftill, from the chancellor of J^orcefter 9 who, by order of his fuperiors, had taken up and burnt the dead body of Mr, Tracy, not above 5 or 6 years before faint Becket's afhes were diflurbed. But notwithstanding Pole rages, in his apology to the Emperor, and elfe- where, againft Henry s impiety and inhu- manity ; yet he ftrangely altered his fenti- ments, when he came into power himfelf; and chofe to follow Henry s example, 'ra- ther than that of the Turks: for (as we mall fee hereafter) he exercifed, without fear or fhame, the very fame barbarous in- fults upon the bodies of fome departed worthies, who, we think, were better faints than Becket. The character of this prelate is here ex- hibited as an illuftrious faint, martyr, and?. 227. patriot : patriot : and his life and actions mew that he merited thefe characters alike. He was a faint from the womb ; and ufhered into the world as other faints ufually are, with figns and wonders. Fitz-Stephens> one of the earlieft writers of his life, tells us, that God revealed to his mother the greatnefs he had predeftinated him to, who dreamed in her pregnancy, that (he con- tained a whole cathedral within her womb: and when he was born, the midwife de- clared, me had lifted up an archbifhop from the ground. And again, whilft he lay in the cradle, his mother dreamt me told the nurfe, he had no quilt or cover- lid ; the nurfe infifted upon it he had, but it was fo large fhe could not open it, either in the bed-chamber, the hall, or the ftreet ; in iliort, it was of fuch a fize, me could not find the end of it, but it feemed to cover more than all England. 1 Thefe were o- mens of his future ftation and fandity, \vhich could not be gainfayed. The occafion of the quarrel between Beeket and his fovereign, Henry II. is well known. There were indeed fome fmaller ruptures which happened before the great breach, and had already inflamed them a- gainfl each other. The King wanted to make the clergy amenable to the fame laws I Fitz-Stephenfs life of Bedet^ p. 10. published a- mong Sparkis Hijiorice Anglican*, fcrip tores varii, fol. '723- for for capital offences, as the laity ; the arch- bimop infifted upon their privilege of be- ing tried in their own courts, and in cafe of conviction to be degraded, and deprived of their benefices ; and then, upon a relapfe, (but not before) or frefh breach of the laws, to be tried before the civil magif- trate. 1 By this means great enormities had been committed by thofe, whom the laws could not reach : and the King was in- formed, that above an hundred of his fub- je&s had been lately murdered by thefe lawlefs clerks; 2 and was offended to find, they had been too favourably dealt with in their own courts. Fitz-Stephens owns, the two following aftions fet the King and the archbimop at variance. A clergyman, in the diocefe of Worcester, had lain with a young woman, and killed her father. The King would have had the offender tried in his courts : the archbimop refufed it ; and, to prevent his being delivered to the King's officers, ordered his bifhop to imprifon him. An- other clerk had ftollen a filver chalice. Him likewife the King was defirous to have tried in the civil courts ; but the archbi- mop degraded him in his ; and, ex abun- dantly to appeafe the King, burnt him with an hot iron. 3 Thefe were furely very in- i Hoveden, p. 282. 2 Gul. Ntwbrig, 1. 2. c. 16. 3 W, a Stephanide, p. 33. decent ( 286 ) decent provocations, which thus flopped the exercife of impartial juftice. Not content with this, the archbifhop went farther, and took every opportunity to irritate the King, and to pufh matters to the utmoft extremity, faying and unfaying, fometimes promifing to give the King fa- tisfaction, then retracting it, till, by his perverfe obftinacy, he had wearied every body out. His brother bifhops, many of them, thoroughly detefted his violent be- haviour : and even the Pope endeavoured, or pretended to endeavour, but in vain, to foften his furious fpirit, and x conciliate matters. How Becket, who carried himfelf with fuch effrontery to his King, could be called P. 227. the guardian of the liberties of his country, in refufmg to obey the laws of it, is what Mr. P. has forgot to prove, any more than that thofe exemptions, or immunities of the clergy from the civil power, made no lefs a part of our conjlitution y than any others contained in the great charter. We have already taken notice of the fleady oppofi- tion ever made to papal encroachments, and of Becket's reprimand to the bifhop of Chi- chejier, for exalting that authority.* The King, after this, could not but be aftonim- 1 See the life and epiftles of Becket, publi&ed by Heribert, at Bruffek, 2 vol. 4*0. 1682. 2 P. 116. ed ed, to find that he had changed his prin- ciples with his pofts. When the conftitu- tions (as they are commonly called) of Cla- rendon, wherein the ancient rights and cuftoms of the crown were to be acknow- ledged, " which had not yet been com- " mitted to writing, being known only by " common practice, and ufage immemo- " rial, and it was thought proper to ipe- " cify fome of them, to prevent any fu- " ture difpute upon the iubjet :" * the archbifhop alone refufed to fign them. And what made this the more provoking was, that, not long before, at Wood/lock, he had promifed the King (chiefly at the inftance of the legate, whom the Pope, and the college of cardinals, had fent into England to order him to do it 1 ) " faithfully and " lincerely, without any prevarication, to " obferve them." Repenting, however, of this promife, when he came to Clarendon, he flew back : and it was with the utmoft difficulty, that he was at laft perfuaded to fwear, that he would obferve the laws of the kingdom, and the cuftoms, which the King faid were ufed in his grandfather's time. But when they were drawn up in writing, he abfolutely refufed to put his feal to, or confirm them. 3 And when one 1 Carte, v. i- p. 585. 2 Hoveden, p. 282. inter fariptores po/l Bfdam, ed. Savil. $ Id. ibid. of ( 2 88 ) of the indented copies of the conftitutions was delivered into his cuftody, he could not refrain from affronting the King in ib grofs a manner, that he never could re- cover his favour any more. 1 What great offence this haughty deport- ment muft give the King and his council, it is eafy to imagine. But he was defend- ing the rights of the church, truly! as if that could be done no other way, but by protecting criminals from punifhments ade- quate to their offence, and by trampling on the rights of the crown. Granting, how- ever, that he might have fome fcruples againft receiving the conftitutions of Claren- don, as imagining, that the Pope's power, and the clergy's privilege, might be in- fringed by them ; though thefe very ex- emptions, or privileges, were not infeparable from their order, but originally flowed from, and were granted to them by the crown : a yet what fhali we fay to his be- haviour the next year, when he was fum- moned before the King and council at Northampton, upon a merely civil account. His outrageous paffions broke out there a- frefh : and he was not amamed to plead the privilege of his order and dignity, to pre- vent the payment of his juft debts. 3 And 1 Id. ibid. 2 Collier, eccl. hift. v. i. p. 374. 3 Carte, v. i. p. 590, and p. 606. IF. de Stepb. P- 43- to to hinder any fentence being pronounced a- gainft him, he prohibited the bimops from being his judges; and, with every mark of infolence and vanity, prefumed, in direct vi- olation of the laws of the land, to appeal to the Pope in a civil caufe. The parliament, refenting this contempt of the laws, declared .him guilty of perjury and treafon. His pride not permitting him to hear his fen fence, the people, as he patted through the hall, fen- fible of the juftice of it, hifled him, calling him traitor, and bad him ftay and hear his fentence : ' " reproaches which he .retorted " upon fome perfons of diftinction, by call- " ing them liars, baftards, and fcoundrch. " This intemperate language," as Carte ob- fepves, " was not very fuitable either to the " character of an archbifhop, the humility of " a chriftian, or the patient temper and fpi- " rit of a confeflbr." a The King plainly appears, in all his adlions, to have defired the good of the flate, and the equal diftribution of juftice. The archbifhop, whofe religion mould have taught him to have feconded thefe good inclinations of his fovereign, was the man alone who hindered them from taking effect : and his refent- ments ever continuing ftrong, he wrote to the King, and to others, in his exile, fuch letters, as are lafting and clear evidences, not of his piety or humility, but of his pride* injo- I Hovedcn, p. 283. 2 Carte, v. I. p. 593, 594. T lence, ( 290 ) lence> and revenge : and he exerted thefe violent paffions agreeably to the fury of his temper, in endeavouring to fet the King of France, and his own King, at variance ; and in fomenting the petulant refentment of a fchif- matical antipope, 1 like himfelf, by his own frowardnefs perfecuted, and banimed from home. Afterwards, when through the wearied good-nature of Henry, a reconciliation was propofed and agreed to between him and Beckett the latter behaved, at the interview, with fuch haughtinefs and infolence, as dif- gufted his own friends: and when the King, willing to forget and forgive all former feuds, " freely extended his grace to the clergy who " had followed the archbimop in his exile;" 4 the haughty prelate, inftead of mewing, on his part, the fame peaceable inclinations to the King's adherents, refufed to make any fuch promife. And when he returned into England, he came with a mind agitated with the moft diabolical paffions : and to mew his implacable refentment, and that he was de- termined to gratify his own furious vehe- mence, he brought over with him the Pope's excommunication of fome refractory bifhops : and to difplay the inflexible feverity of his difpofition, he could find no better time or opportunity, than himfelf in perfon, and in his own cathedral, and upon Chrijlmas day, i Alex. 3. 2 Carte , v. i. p. 625. folemnly ( 291 ) folemnly to excommunicate feveral perfons for trivial offences. 1 Thefe were indications that his malice, his pride, and his luft of power, were boundlefs -, and that he would drive on as furioufly as ever. But his murderers flopped his career ; and, though good ought not to be brought about by evil, delivered their country, tho' by a moft unjuftifiable act, from the man who was the author of its troubles and dii- fentions. Thus did his turbulent, feditious, revengeful fpirit, raife him up enemies of as bad a temper as his own ; who carried their refentment to fuch outrageous and indefen- iible lengths, as to perpetrate his murder, in an horrid and barbarous manner. And tho' we join heartily with thofe, who detefl the bloody deed; yet, we declare, we fee nothing either in his life or death, to deferve the title of faint. We look upon him as a man, dri- ven on, in all his actions, by the impetuofity of his paffions, to the moft offeniive and fcan- dalous excefles ; and that he died, not in defence of Chrift, or his religion, but from an obftinate {liffnefs to fcreen offenders from the laws of the land, which he called, plead- ing for the laws of God, that is to fay, for the tyranny of ecclefiaftics, and the ufurpa- tions of the Pope. He was therefore not a martyr for Chrift, but for the Pope's power. I W. a Stepb. p. 80. Hoveden, p. 298. Carte, v. I. p. 630. T 2 And ( 292 ) And accordingly, fome of his moft zealous advocates, as if confcious of the weaknefs of his pretenfions to it, contend for his faint- hood upon this account. Thus Staplgton fays frankly enough, " that it is no more ab- " furd for the Pope to declare him a martyr, " who dies for aiTerting his authority, than if " he had been killed for the chriftian faith." ' Nay fo meritorious is this, that, a little after, he adds, " that the caufe of this martyrdom " was fuchj as to intitle a man to the name C and character of a faint, even though at- " tended with no preceding fanctity of " life." 1 From the moft difpaffionate view viBeckefs life and actions, we fee little of the fpiritual, but a great deal of the carnal man; and much more of the finner, than the faint. We do not therefore envy the Romijh church, the honour of having fuch kind of faints and martyrs; whole merit, to intitle them to thole venerable appellations, confifted chiefly in the unreflrained exercife of fuch violent and unregenerate pafiions, as are equally a reproach to humanity, and the gofpel. 1 Neque enim certe magis abfurdum ejl a Romano Ponti- fice martyr em pronunciari, qui pro autboritate Pontificia afle- rcnda occubuit^ quam qui pro fide chrifliana occifus fuerit. Tres 'Thorax, p. 53. ed. &vo. Colonix^ 1612. 2 Quanquam dff martyr it caufa tails eft ^ ut fi nulla vit fantfitas pr ; cej/ij/et, fola tamen ad fantti nsmen ac rcm adi- pifcendamfuffidat. Ibid. p. 54, As ( 293 ) As this holy faint was introduced into the world by vifions and miracles ; fo was his exit, in like manner, diftinguifhed by them. His approaching martyrdom was revealed to himfelf by a voice from heaven, not long be- fore he returned from his banifhment. 1 And as foon as he was dead, it was abundantly notified. A prieil faw, in a dream, a bimop in his epifcopal robes, in the body of the fun. A woman faw the moon fall from hea- ven, and cut in pieces by {words.* The very day his paflion happened, it was revealed by the Holy Ghoft to Goodrich the hermit, who lived 1 60 miles from Canterbury. And as foon as the monks had performed his ob- fequies, his wonder-working power com- menced : for whilfl his body lay upon the bier, he lifted up his right hand, and gave the bleffing. 3 This laft circumftance the archbifhop of Sens informed the Pope of; adding, moreover, that he had appeared unto many, arTuring them, that }ie was not dead but alive, and had mewed them, not his wounds, but only the fears of wounds. He told his Holinefs alfo, that a blind man, by anointing his eyes with the faint's warm blood, had received his fight ; and that he had lighted himfelf the wax candles, which 1 Hoveden, p. 297. See his own account of our Lady, in a vifion informing him of this and other particulars, cited, from the liegcr book of the abbey of Wlialley in Lancajhire^ in Ifaever's funeral monuments, p. 200. 2 W. a Steph. p. 90. 3 Hoveden, p. 299. T 3 were 294 were round his dead body, when they had been put out. 1 But thefe were only the beginning of won- ders. The feveral writers of his ftory feem to think, there was no better way to raife his fame, than by dwelling upon the marvelous ; and have accordingly feigned fuch an heap of miracles, as are an infult to religion, a mame to decency,* and an affront to common fenfe. We read of fuch reputed fandtity of his ihrine at Canterbury^ where his body was in- terred ; of fuch immenfe offerings, and fuch fuperftitious profanenefs exhibited at that place, as cannot but make us amamed of our forefathers folly and credulity. Neither was this all. So great virtue and power could not be confined to one fpot : and Staple- tin has produced a rare lift of fpecial mi- r icles, performed in a monaflery of St. Mar- tin, or St. Juft in the grove, in Artois; where the monks had got the rochet he had on the very day of his martyrdom, and part of his hair-mirt, both fo fprinkled with his facred blood, that no warning could get it out. They likewife had a piece of his dal- matic, his pluvial or cope, and his fhirt. 3 The.fe rags or relics, we are told, greatly exceeded, in their wonder - working power, I Ibid. p. 300. a Liber de miraculis B. Thorn r, autbore monacho quodan) Cantuar. cited in Fox's martyrs, v. i. p. 293. and in Re- fleciions on the devotions of the Roman church, p, 227, 3 $t dp let on, ires Thorn *'> p. ic8. ( 295 ) thofe which remained with -the body at Can- terbury. 1 It would be trifling to mention vulgar mi- racles, fuch as, the curing all manner of ficknefles and difcafes, making up of differ- ences, and the railing of the dead. So con- front a practice this of every faint, that the greateft wonder of all is, how any of their votaries ever happened to die. Such kinds of wonders every quack faint could operate: but thofe of the firft magnitude muft be more diftinguifhed. He, whofe cup of water, when tatted, was found rich and fweet wine 1 ; he, to whom his miftrefs, the virgin Mary, gave a new garment, and mended his torn hair mirt ; and he, whofe fowl, upon a fafting-day, was turned into a carp 3 ; muft have amazing com- munications of fupernatural influences im- parted to him; and his fanclity cannot be con- tefted: for he continued to work miracles/ with the fame fpirit with which he began. Benedift, the abbot of Peterborough, in about twenty years after Becket's death, filled five volumes with the hiftory of them *. Such a martyr, and fo much merit, could as eafily work miracles abroad, as at home ; for, as he I Id. p. no. 2 Hoveden, p. 298. 3 Gononi Chronicon SS. Deipar^e^ p. 177. Ibid. p. 176, and W~ickmcnis Sabbatifmiis Marianus, p. 73, cited in Re- fleuir. diat.v. 2. p. CXLV. 3 Hijioria cardinalnim a Donio 1)' jfttichy epifcopo /Edu- enfi, Tom. III. Hid. p. CXLVI. &\. 3. *Pr*f. p. 23. - tries ( 3S ) tries to have been for ever unacquainted, (p. 234). It is artful to throw out fuch fort of expreffions when writing in this country : but thofe who know the mercilefs, intolerant fpirit of popery, will only fmile at fuch fair and fmooth fpeeches. But nothing fo foft, nothing fo mild and eafy, as its garb and lan- guage, when at a diftance from power and dominion : but place it where it may exert itfelf, and this candour and moderation is no more. But the times are now altered; and good-fenfe, and good-nature have, as thefe encomiafts will tell us, refined the fe- rocity of ancient times, and the lenity of the gofpel fpirit is now the character of the members of the catholic church : their tem- pers and principles are, as Pole was, utterly averfe to Janguinary and compuljiiie meafures, (p. 235). They may have Pole's temper and principles, and not be averfe to fuch mea- fures neither. It is well, however, for thofe who talk fo, if this be really the cafe. This kingdom has experienced different treatment from thofe who called themfelves catholics : we never found them fuch gentle creatures. The bloody days of the Marian perfecution ex- hibited another picture of popery trium* phant. Neither did the infatuation of a prince, in later days, upon the throne, of the fame religious perfuafion, promife bet- ter -, and the ftate of the proteflants in U Ireland, lreland\ when one kingdom was loft, and the crown of the other was tottering upon his head, was a flagrant proof that fuch ac- tions, at fuch a time, could not be more owing to the weaknefs and folly of the prince himfelf, than to the Janguinary and compuljivc genius of that caufe, whofe beft argument is the fword. It was nothing but this pre- vented the reformation gaining ground, even in Spain and Portugal-, and has kept it fo low, in France and Hungary. And that in- iquitous tyrant the duke of Alva, when he left his government of the Low Countries, boafted, that he had delivered into the hands of the executioner above 18,000 heretics or rebels, without reckoning thofe who died in war: and yet Vargas, the prefident of the council of tumults in Holland, that bloody council (as it was called) erected to deftroy civil as well as religious liberty, had the boldnefs to affirm, that the Low Countries were loft out of a foolifh companion *. . To omit the many long, inhuman, and barbarous perfecutions, fo contrary to the / yet even there, and within thefe few years, the civil power hath been exerted to the ruin and extirpation of fome of its moft loyal and peaceable fubje&s ; and this, not for oppo- fition to government, or maligning the ad- miniftration, but folely and purely for con- fcience and religion's fake, and for worfhip- ping God after the way that they are pleafed to term herefy 3 . And whofe heart does not bleed, 1 A. D. 1731, 1732. See the account of the fuffer- ings of the periecuted proteftants in the archbi(hopric of Saltzburgk, in two pamphlets published in 1732 and 1/33. 2 Trlftijjima ecclef. Hung, pr:Ujlani. facits. A Matihia Bakil, V. D. M. Veritath caufa exule. Brega 1747. $ve. Lat. & Germ. 3 See authentic and indifputable vouchers for this, in two pamphlets. One intitled, Popery always the fame -, ex- emplified in an account of the perfscutiyns now carrying on a- gainft the protejlants in the fouth of France : publifhed in U 2 1746, ( 3S ) bleed, whofe indignation does not rife, at reflecting on the difmal cataftrophe of the Ca/as and Sirven families at T^ouloufe ', where bigotry, with its genuine offspring perfecu- tion, appeared in all its horrors ? Such little reafon have fome people to defcant upon the lenity of the gojpe I fpirit. Let them talk of it lefs, and praclife it more. We, however, do not defire to retaliate this cruel fpirit upon the eager, reftlefs emhTaries of the church of Rome in this kingdom. We hope God will pardon the blindnefs and per- verfenefs of their hearts j and make gracious allowances for the prejudices of an early edu- cation, and a milguided confcience. Know- ing the ftrong bias of violent prepofleffions, we may juftly fay, that we endeavour to win them, by the lenity of the gofpel fpirit. We return them good for evil ; and allow them that liberty of confcience, which they know not how to grant to us. We do not violently feize children from their parents. We do not condemn the men to the gallies, or the wo- men to the workhoufes, for being married by prieils of their own communion. We do not fend out military force to find out their 1 746. The ether is of ftill later date, bein^ an hijlori- cc.l rnc7norial of the niofl remarkable proceedir-gs againjl them 'in the. fame kingdom, from 1744 to 17;!: publiihed in 1752. Both of thcfe are worthy the knowledge and perufal of every ferious proteftatit. i See rdtaire's letter to Mr. D'AM. upon thefe two tragical incidents. Published the beginning of this year. places ( 39 ) places of meeting for religious worfliip ; and fhoot at, imprifon, and fine to utter ruin, thofe who happen to be furprifed there. We fend not their priefts to the gallies or the gallows, for preforming to' exercife their mi- nifterial functions '. Thefe, and the like actions of unchriftian violence, as contrary to the true fpirit of the gofpel, are forbidden us by our religion. Wq mew them therefore a better pattern : for compulfion is not convitfion. And though fometimes our moderation and forbearance may give offence to the more zealous part of our own perfuafion ; yet we had rather be flack or even negligent, than rigoroufly to enforce the penal fanctions of the laws againft thofe who differ from us, and which too many of them do juftly deferve to feel; fuch, I mean, who not content with this tolera- tion and connivance, but deeming a defen- live part too mean an undertaking, mail boldly put themfelves forward to a6l on the offenlive, (hall openly and infolently arraign the religion of their country, brave its laws, and do their utmoft to provoke the gentle government which harbours and protects them, by wantonly, and without difHnction or exception, fpeaking evil of every name endeared to us by all valuable and grateful o- bligations, as chriflians, as fcholars, and as 2 Sec many inftances of all thefe fa&s, in the pamph- ets above referred to. U 3 patriots, patriots. Thus, becaufe we have not, what a Pope ' once called the beft prop and main bulwark of the Roman faith, an inquifition to Jiknce berefy, our bigotted enemies of that church prefume to irritate us more and more; and avowedly fpare no care, or coft, or pains, or thought, to feduce weak, and ignorant, and dying perfons ; pleafing themfelves, that they can lull us afleep, by declaring againfl compullion and perfecution. But thefe reft- lefs bigots mould conlider, for their own fakes, that good-nature may be prefTed too hard; and that no government can tamely fuffer continued infults againft its laws, or care to fee their peoples principles debauched, and the allegiance due to their natural prince transferred to a foreign power. Their own officious fedulity therefore may hurt them. We know what we may expect from them. For though fmooth words are eaiily fpoken -, yet, as they are not always equally upon their guard, fomething will drop, which will difcover their real temper and principles. Thus this very writer, with whom we are concerned, who recommends the lenity of the vojpe I fpirit, and condemns all fanguinary and compul/ive meafures, is not afhamed to palliate and juftify the cruelties of queen Mary's reign. And this very cardinal of his, who is laid to be fo av t 'rje to fuch meafures ; yet, when legate here, arid inverted with full Paul the 4th. power, ( 3" ) power, was fo far from having either the ho- nefty or the courage to prevent them, that he employed them himfelf, in eftablifoing the ca- tholic caufe, (p. 235). The Pope having,- by his mediation, re- conciled the Emperor and the King of France > and thefe two princes, td humour his holi- nefs, joining in their cenfures of Henry s conduct : this feruant offcrvants, backed by fuch fupports, thought he might now ven- ture, from that univerfal fuperintendenee^ 'which obliged him to ivatch over the Jpiritual welfare of each part of the church* (p. 178) to ifTue out his bulls of excommunication and depofition of this adverfary of his fee ; and which, to Pole's great grief, he had kept by him for fome time, to the detriment, as he thought, of the kingdom '. By this act, the Pope, as far as in him lay, deprived Henry of his kingdoms ; abfolved his fubjects from their allegiance ; and ordered them to take up arms againft him : and all the chriftian princes of Europe were exhorted to fall upon him, as a public enemy of the church of God 1 . This extraordinary exertion of the pleni- tude of papal power, having been claimed and exercifed by feveral of thofe meek and chriftian bifhops who had fate in St. Peter s infallible chair, we cannot but exprefs our 1 ghtirini, v. i. Diat. p. 315. 2 Burnety ref. v. I. p. 245. Record^ p. 166. U 4 aftonifh- aironifhmenr, that Mr. P. fhould prefume to difcufs that claim ; and to queflion, not the validity of the excommunicating part of the fentence, but the depofing power alTumed in it : for he tells us, we do not any where find, that the author of our holy religion declared bis vicegerents in the hierarchy to be umpires and dijpojers of ji ate s and kingdoms, (p. 238). A conceffion this, highly derogatory to the Pope's fupreme and infallible authority, and which the abettors of it will not thank him for ; unlefs, perhaps, the greater fervice his book may do the caufe, may incline them to pardon and indulge him in any reprefentation he chufes to make of the principles of it. He fays, that Gregory VII, that very tur- bulent and ambitious pontiff, -was the Jirft ivho undertook to depofe afovereign, (p. 239). And fo it is frequently faid. But Bdlarmine dates this jurifdiction rather higher j and proving from fadts, that the Popes claimed this uncontroulable temporal power over princes, he inftances in Gregory the fecond, in the 8th century, depofing the emperor Leo Ifaurus the iconoclaft, and Zacharias, who deprived Cbilderic of the kingdom of France, and gave it to Pepin. He alfo mentions acl:s of equal temporal power exercifed by other Popes before Gregory the feventh f . And the I Bel/arm. Cent. torn. I. de Rom. Pent. lib. 5.*:. 8. p. 1087, tfj. See alfo the fame vol. and treatite, 1. 3. c. 16. p. 910. And Baroniusi fpeaking of Gregory's depofing the. emperor Leo Ifaurus, fays, Sic vwnptum ^jlfris dignwn ;v- . ( 3'3 ) fame author, in another place, enumerating the feveral reafons for calling a council, makes the motive of depofing an emperor one of them '. But, fays Mr. P, this opinion is fo far from making a part of the doctrine of the catholic church, that no profeffor would be allowed to maintain it in thofe countries, which are moft attached to her communion ; and no book Jitf- fered to appear in public, where it was averted, (p. 240). Things are ftrangely altered then of late years. For though the papal power hath been confiderably lowered fince the re- formation -, yet, that fuch a proof of ortho- doxy, as maintaining the Pope's temporal au- thority, mould be formally cenfured by any of that communion, is what we can hardly credit, when fo many infallible Popes have, ex cathedra, pronounced it heretical to deny it : when it has been made a kind of teft of fidelity and fubmiffion to the fucceffor of the prince of the apoflles : when fo many lumi- naries of that church have warmly contended for it : and when one of their GENERAL COUNCILS hath pofitively decreed, that Popes maydepojehereticalprinc.es, andabfohe theirfub- jecJsJrom their allegiance*. What can we rea- liquit Gregortus, ne in ecclefia Chrifti regnare Jinerentur karetiti principes. rfnnal. v. 9. A. D. 730. fei.$. p. 1 Id. Tom. 2.. fie conciliis & ecfle/ia, L. I. c. 9. p. 17. 2 The fourth general Lateran council, held under In- nocent ill. A. D. 1215. cap. 3. De bareticis. v. CraUe fend!. v 1. p. 947. ei. 1551, fonably ( 314 ) fonably conclude from hence, but that it is an article of their belief ? So necefTary hath this doctrine been thought to the well-being of the papacy, that fome of the greater! and ableft champions of the Ro- mifo church, inftead of looking upon it as a newfyftem, (p. 239) have thought it the more incumbent upon them, and from this very oppofition, to infift upon its antiquity, and to fhew the fatal tendency of depriving the fee of Rome of any part of its jurifrllSion. Earonius calls fuch an attempt, by no gentler a name than that of herefy, as depriving the Pope of half his power \ And that ready controverfialift, the ever-renowned Bellar- mine, who will not give up any the leaft of the pontifical claims, enlarges upon this ca- pital article ; and has employed his whole fifth book de Romano pontifice, in eftablifhing that Pontiff's temporal power; exprefsly af- ferting, that though the Pope hath not di- rectly, de jure divino, a power over the tem^ poralities of princes, yet indirectly, as the chief fpiritual prince, he can change king- doms, take them from one, and give them to another, if it be neceflary for the good of fouls *. The famous cardinal Perron was 1 Harefes errore notantur omnes^ qul ab ecclejia Romana\ cathedra Petri, e duobus alterum gladium auferunt^ nee nifi fpiritualem concedunt. Baronii dnnaks, A. D. 1053. fe printed at Luxemburg /n 1724. fellow ( 32 ) fellow chriiUans '. Such was Pole's chanty, loyalty, and piety, which drove him upon this crufade, at the moil unfeafonable time of the year : but vincit iter durum pietas, (p. 245). The hoflile air of tbefe injlruftions with re- fpect to Henrys was fuch, that Mr. P. himfelf allows, that it may feem extraordinary, the le- gate Jhould take upon him fuch a commijjion, (p. 242). But he thinks this apology will be admitted in his behalf, that he had been de- clared a traitor , for caufes which, in their na- ture, do not feem to come under the article of treafon, (p. 242). He had fo, and upon very juftifiable motives, for being concerned in the fame treafonable practices he was now again engaged in, for aiding and abetting a rebellion againft his King, and inviting and exciting the chief powers of Europe to in- vade and diftrefs his country. He was ever inculcating, that Henry was a greater enemy to the caufe of chriilianity than the Turk ; " that things might be fo managed, that I Perfuadere fua Alajejiali, ut cmni cura vtfit incum- Icre reduflioni illius regnl ad veram religionem, nee ulterius pati regem ilium Jasvire in Deum^ tf in fanfios, tamdiu afe, fcf a toto regno cultos, &c. . . . D. V. Romano conabitur om- nibus viribus perfuadere fit# Majefati knge preejlare . . . feri a liga univerfa inducias, (ct mclufo ctiam chrijlianifli* mo rege) cum Turds ad aliquod tempus, quam propter expe- ditionem in eofdem Tnrcas . . . amittere occafionem bene ge- renda.- rei jfnglitc, & Lutherans. Inftrufiio pro card. Polo, ' &c. >uir. v, 2. p. CCLXXIX. inter Mwum. Pralim. no ( 321 ) tc no force fhould appear, and yet the greater! " force applied, efpecially if the two powers * c (above mentioned) would but interpofe in Cf this caufe, which concerned themfelves, " the holy fee, and all Chriflendom ; and that cc now was the time, as they were at peace " together 1 ." But notwithftanding all this, we are told, whatever the legate s private opinion might have been of the Pope's depojing power, in ge~. neralj certain it ts, that he never inftigated the courts^ to which he ivasjenf, to aft in con- fequence of it, (p. 243) Surely, if Mr. P. had not the utmoft contempt of his readers, and the higheft opinion of his own import- ance and authority, he would not have dared to fay this in dired contradiction to Pole him- felf, who did injligate^ as much as in him lay, the courts to which he was fent> not to content themfelves with expoftulations and threats, but declare war againft his own country, " and crufh the new Turks before " they attacked the old ones." This was his fuggeflion to the Pope 4 : this does he in- 1 Hac omniajic trafiari pojfunt^ ut nulla vis apparent : , ^ iamen maxima vis adhibebitur j maxime Ji ijli dus prir.cipes interponant fe, ut caufam bujus fanfta fedis, & Juan, a'que iotius reipublictc cbrijliants agant^ quod ut faciant hac ipfa frit opportunitas, dum de pace inter eos conduditur. )uir. v. 5. p. 156. inter tria Pcli fcripta. 2 H$uare primum prohibsndum^ ne novi Turcha exorian- tur-> antequam ad veteres oppugnandos eatur. >uir. v. 5. p. 157. inter tria Pdi fcr^ta. X fift ( 322 ) fift upon in his letters to Contareni*. But not to overpower our biographer with too many proofs at once, I will only refer him to a treatife of the cardinal, which, by giving an abstract of, (p. 275) he would periuade us, he had read and conlidered. In that moft inflammatory and fcurrilous addrefs to the Emperor, which Pole called his Apology t where all the vile and bitter expref- fions, which a fruitful and malicious ima- gination could invent, are in the coarfeil lan- guage, without any regard to decency or reli- gion, applied to his fovereign ; and he who would lee ribaldry and railing in its perfec- tion *, and learn the art of calling an enemy by bad names, need only dip into this apo- logy, in comparifon with which, the language of his book on the church's unity, fevere and unchriftian as it is, is modefr. and decent: he here openly declares to the Emperor, that 1 Primum Ccefarem contentum ejfi, ut amborum no- mine mittantur, (fe. illius & regis chriftianiflimi) qui An- glo proteftentur^ &c. Delnde hoc dare explicit^ quod in om- ni proteJJatione intelligitur, Anglo non cbediente, fe contentum una cum rege chriftianijjimo exequi^ qua ad obedicntiam prin- cipum catholicorum pertinent? &c. Quir. v. 2. Ep. Poli Contareno^ p. 176. And again, in another letter, he fays, Exc itare- e nlm^ ut nojli\ in Scriptura Deus folet adverfarios^ & koftes contra eos quos Deus vult caftigare y &c. Ibid. p. 198. 2 The apology which Pole makes for all this fcurrility againft his King, is, that it was the will of God, and his vice-gerent, that he fhould abufe him ; and he could not help it ' Non minus (fays he) claram Dei vocem intus au- dire videor? qui me id facere juleat^ quam for is vicarii Dei imperium audio. Apol. ad Caf. fetl. VIII. p. 79. the ( 323 ) the motive of his late embafly was to expofe the flagrant wickednefs of Henry, and to perfuade him, " to divert his arms from the Turk ; and < if it could not otherwife be, to turn them, " where the greater neceflity of the church de- < manded them 1 ." It would bs tedious and cndlefs to produce other psfTages to the fame effecl: : for t^-fiitention of the whole trea- tife is to route" the Emperor to revenge the caufe of the church ; and to aflure him, he could not expecl fuccefs in his other enter- prizes, till he had triumphed over this enemy of chrij^iahity \ But alas ! neither the embafly, nor the eloquence of Pole, could prevail ei- ther upon the Emperor, or the King of France. They, it feems, were far from feeling any thing of the CHRISTIAN and public fpirit, with 1 Ab eo mijjus, cut me fas parere cogit, & ad te primam mijfus, deinde ad regem cbrijllanijfimum, ut hujus (Jc. Hen- rici) feeler a per fe quidem jnmime objcura detegam, & te, C-ffiSAR, a hello Turdco abducere coner^ fef, quantum pojfum, fuadeam, ut arma tua eo convertas, fi huic tanto malo aliter mederi non pojfis, quo te major necejfitas ecclefiuir.' v. 2. p. 181 199. taken ( 327 ) taken away. So that, " by perilling thefe " articles, the reader may perceive feveral of " the moft {hocking doctrines of the Roman <{ communion were foftened and explained " to a more inoffenfive fenfe, and feveral fu- (erftitious ufages difcharged V ut now, at the time I amfpeaking of, the zealots of the Romifh party had gained ground : and the King, (irritated by the oppofition Cranmer, and the well-wimers to the refor- mation, had made to the intire dhTolution of the monafteries) to manifeft to the world, that, though he was not a friend to the bi- fhop of Rome, he ftill adhered to the faith of the Romi/h church, and to remove that of- fence, which the former profeffion of faith had given, he eftablifhed thofe fix articles, which we acknowledge to be cruel and bloody indeed. But who enacted thofe fe- vere penalties to fpeculative points ? Cromwell or Cranmer ? No ; neither of them. The parti zans of the Romtjh church made this law : and " the adherents of the papacy were '' fo intent upon its execution, that they got " 500 perfons, to be taken up immediately, " but Cromwell reprefenting the evil con- " fequences of fo violent a proceeding, pro- d- wcrd the Vlth's reign, yet an attempt was made in the firft parliament of Marys reign to revive it, which not then meeting with fuccefs, was deferred to the next parliament} which, being of a more Jlaviftj difpofaion, re-> newed this, and all the fanguinary ftatutes againft heretics ; and recommended all the arti* cies of the catholic church, by an argument, of which, it mujl be allowed, the Queen, and her miniftry, were perfectly majlers, (p, 264). But to return to our cardinal; who, whilft Henry was thus demonftrating his orthodoxy, remained ftill at his retirement near Carpen- tras : but as foon as he had recovered his fpirits, he fet out for Rome in obedience to the Pope's commands : and fo fearful was he of any attempt againft his life andperfon, and , particularly in that place and neighbourhood, . that he deiired his coming might be kept a ; profound fecret, and appear unexpected _*. Whilft he was upon the road, he Hepped out of the way, to pay his devotions to the bead of Magdalen 3 , which was preferved as a va-t I Carte^ v. 3. p. 176. 2 <%uir. v. 2 Ep. Poll ' Contareno, p. 194. 3 Cumque inde ad templum ve- nif/em, in quo ejus caput aJTervatur, &c. >uir. y. 4. Ep. ad Mdwardum VI. Jet. XLVL p. 338. luable 329 luable relic, in a cavern near the road between Aix and Marfeilles, called Saint e-Beaume, (p. 271). As jbon (fays he) as I entered the church, I fell into a great jit of weeping, (p. 272). But what occafioned this excefs of forrow? Was it a compunction arifing from the fenfe of the mifery which his folly and enthufiafm had brought upon his own family ? No. They were, forfooth, his tears for Hen- ry s hardnefs and impenitency. Siren tears truly ! when he had juft before, like the knights - errant of old, been running from court to court, to folicit the affiftance of the chriftian powers, againft that infidel and he- retic, the King of England. His tears, there- fore, could never be "upon Henrys account, unlefs they were med, becaufe thofe princes would not enter into an holy war againft him. The cardinal, however, could fometimes attend to vulgar matters ; and had juft before given an inftance of his prudence and worldly wifdom, in refufing the vacant bifhopric of Salisbury from the Pope, judging wifely, it could do him no more good, than if he had been nominated, in the fame manner, to that of Antioch or Alexandria: it could neither bring him honour or profit v and his enemies, hearing of it, would make it an handle of their Jcorn and raillery l y (p. 267). But in this pilgrimage to Magdalen s cavern, he dif- . v. 2. Ep. Pcti Ccntareno, p. 1 87. covers ( 330 ) covers his weaknefs and fuperftition to a de- gree of credulity beyond even Mr. P's faith, who fairly confeffes, that the hiftorical fatts on which the tradition was grounded are of 'very doubtful authority, (p. 271): for how- ever high the veneration, formerly paid to this cavern, was, yet he muft be fenfible, " That it is not criminal now to deny that " Mary Magdalen ever was in Provence 1 ." And I am afraid, the falfe delicacy of a cor- rupt age will equally fmile at ^uirini *, and his Englijh copier, for fetting before the rea- der the j'entiments which the cardinal felt at Sainte-Beaume, as proofs of his love and regard for the perfon (p. 272) of Henry ; and pity their hero for a fimplicity, as void of under- ftanding, as of true piety. As we take no delight in calumniating the dead, we will let the character of Eembo (however dubious) pafs without contradiction; and will only obferve, that the profligacy of his younger years have met with a kind apo- logift, which is not more owing to his or- thodoxy and his purple, than to his attach- ment to, and his connections with cardinal Pole. 1 Voltaire's works, v. 7. p. 48: 2 >uir. v. 2. diat. p. CCXLVI; A N I- ANIMADVERSIONS O N SECTION THE FIFTH. OU R Englijh cardinal being now fafely lodged, and, to quiet his fears of an aiTaffination, well guarded too, at Rome, his biographer has again recourfe to his old friend and affiftant Quirini -, and as he learnt from him, how much Contareni had been the confidant of Pole in his late fpiritual ne- gociations, fo, from the fame authority, is he enabled to exhibit Pole's gratitude, by doing the fame kind offices to his friend, who was now, in his turn, engaged in an ecclefiaftical embafly at the diet of Ratisbon. Quirims' third volume, from which he had his intel- ligence, is chiefly taken up with matters re- lating to Contareni, and in vindicating him from the imputation of favouring the pro- teftant dodrine of juftification : but as that cardinal's actions were nothing to Pole, and the diet at Ratisbon ' had no connection with I For a full and accurate account of the proceedings at the diet at Ratisben, the reader may confult Seckendorf, 1- 3- ( 332 ) England, we will pafs by this part of the hiftory, as nothing to our purpofe. Quirini has taken great pains to prove the orthodoxy of Contarems fentiments on the fubjett of jujlification (p. 284) : and his copier fays, that fame Lutheran writers have vainly fattered them/elves, that Contareni was an abettor of their principles (p. 285). But thofe Lutherans were not Angular in their opinion : the infpired members of the council of 'Trent thought fo too. For when Contarems ne- phew, the biftiop of Belluno, delivered his opinion in the debate concerning juftifica- tion, and afcribed the whole of it to faith, and the merits of Chrift, exclufi ve of works ; the hiftorian of that council tells us, it gave very great offence , and revived the memory of the charge againfl his uncle, the cardinal, for maintaining the fame fentiments l . When Pole had been-fome time at Rome, he received forne comfort, however, to alle- viate his afflictions : this cordial drop was now adminijlered by the Jlow but fure vengeance, which, at length, overtook him, who had been the injlrument of them all. "This was the ex- ecution of Cromwell (p. 289). Perhaps the fatisfaction the cardinal took in the fall of this minifter of ftate, whom he looked upon, 1. 3. feft. 23, throughout, p. 352- 369. Pallavicini hiji. cone. Trid. 1. 4. c. 13 15. v. I. p. 140 147- Sleidan. b. 13, & 14, part of each. p. 275 285. Father Paul,b. i. p. 94 100. i Pallavicini t bijl. concii Trident, lib. 8. c. 4. / 15. V.' I. />. 261. to ( 333 ) to ufe his own fcurrilous language, as the agent of the devil % might enable him to at- tend to bufinefs, and exert himfelf in the be- half of his friend Contareni', for Cromwell was executed the year before that cardinal went to the diet at Ratisbon. We have before been made acquainted with Poles inveterate hatred of Cromwell, (p. 73, ?<:.). It is no wonder therefore, if his hiftorian mould compliment his hero, by drawing the charadier of the earl of Effex, with the venom of an exafperated adverlary. But as Mr. P. has profeiTedly adopted his fa- vourite's quarrels and friendfhips, and is there- fore too much a party in the cafe, to write either with truth or temper, let us try whe- ther a more favourable and juft conftruclion. cannot be put upon the meafures and actions of Cromwell, than cruelly and wantonly to reprefent him, as having talents only fitted for dejlruftion; and that being irreftrained by any principle* human or divine, and the brutal favagenefs of bis mind equal to bis vi/e extrac- tion, he was alike qualified to plan and execute his prince's worft dejigns, (p. 1 64). Cromwell's introduction into public life was in a manner fo honourable to himfelf, as would naturally befpeak the favour and good- will of every ingenuous and honeft mind. I Legatus Satants- s nitndus Satans. Nominetur ergo y Jjquidem dzmones etiam in fcriptura nominantur.. Poll A~ pol. adCaf. fefl. xxriz. >uir. v. j. p. 123, 125, 126.' By ( 334 ) By his own merit and activity, by his own induftry and ability, he furmounted the ob- ftacles which a low birth and education threw in the way to obftruct his rife. Cou- rage, fidelity, and gratitude to an eminent degree, diftinguifhed his firfr. appearance in the houfe of commons: and the King, pleafed with his generous behaviour in defence of the finking Wolfey^ reafonably concluded, that he, who had ferved a private mafter with fuch zeal and affe&ion, would ferve him, with the fame affiduity and attachment, in the great concerns of flate. But here he found, how " impoffible it was that any um JIudium in expugnandis htereticis non repre- benderem, ft non jludio vincendi, plus quam oportuity certaf- fent, p. 447. St. ( 341 ) St. Martins fpeech to the Emperor, that it was a new and unheard of crime, that a fe- cular judge mould determine an ecclefiaftical caufe*. This was the bad example, the jhameful proceeding, not the profecution or punimment of heretics, (for they were, he fays, unworthy of life *) but their being tried in the temporal courts. But, the indignation thofe bimops raifed againjl themfefoes was ftill greater, when they followed them to Treves, in quality of accufers, (p. 302). Mr. P. may think fo : but Sulpicius does not fay it, for he knew they could not help going to Treves 3 . And though St. Martin was indeed againft thofe heretics being put to death, yet the zeal of other more fanguinary bimops pre- vailed for their execution. But, moreover, we are told, that neither Sf. Martin, nor St. Ambroje would have any far- ther communication with the prof editors, or the biJJjops who continued in their communion, (p. 302), &c. [to the end of the quotation.] All this is true : but Mr. P. did not learn it from Sulpicius 's hiftory. That St. Ambrofe did fo, the editor of the variorum edition mentions in one of his notes. But Baronius, in his life of St. Ambrofe^ fays, that that 1 Novum fj/e & inaudttum nefas, ut caufam ecclefueju- dex ftcculi judicaret^ p. 449. 2 Hoc fere modo homines luce indignij/imi, pejjimo exempts necati, out exitiis inultati, p. 452. 3 Omnes, quos caufa invsfcerat, ad regem dedufti. Secuti ft jam accufatorts, p. 447. Y 3 faint, ( 342 ) faint, and the reft of the orthodox, did not condemn this execution, only difliked that bifhops, who ihould abftain from blc-odj mould be the profecutors '. And Sulpicius % not in this, but in another work, has related, that St. Martin reproached himfelf* (p. 302), for a little temporifing ; which place, if Mr. P. had confulted, he might have diverted his reader, with the miraculous circumftance of an angel's reproving the faint for that offence, who from that time found a diminution of virtue *. But, however, his holinefs Pope Leo the great, one of the moft ilhtfirious bifoops that ever filled the pontifical throne, (p-399), dif- fered greatly in opinion from thefe two faints ; and, when writing to Turibius bifhopof Aftu- ria, commended this flaughter of the Prtf- cttliamjls, as an excellent undertaking 3 . This authority proving fo ineffectual, let us fee whether the next can ftand our author in better ftead. Every writer mould be con- iiftent : if he contradicts himfelf, by faying and unfaying, his evidence muft go for no- thing. And though in the epiftle referred to by Mr. P, St. Aujlin does indeed fpeak in life of Amir of? ^ prefixed to the edition of his works, v. i. p. 47. '632. 2 Sulpicii Sever i Dial. 3. feft. 15. p. 575 579. 3 Sulp. Sev. hijt. lib. 2- />. 452, in the notes. Baron: "jit. Amir of. p. 47, who alio refers to St. Aujlin as ap- proving the fame practices : and this letter of Leo is brought by Maimbourgb to prove that herefy is a capital crime, and may be punifhed with death. Hijl, du Pontif an Leon le grand, lib. i. favour ( 343 ) favour of moderate courfes -, yet in fo many more does he fpeak fuch oppofite language, that nothing can well be argued from his opinion. But the zealots of the Romijh church have made fuch good ufe of Aujiins into- lerant principles, that Mr. P. muft furely be off his guard to produce him as a patron of moderation, when he cannot but know that, that faint's authority is alleged, upon every occafion, to juftify perfecution. Thus their two champions, Stapleton ' and Harpsfield*, cite him as recommending death as the proper punimment of herefy. And at a very critical time in the laft century, a French verfion of fome of Auftiris letters was publifhed, by or- der of an archbimop of Pans, to juftify the perfecution of the proteftants, with this ex- traordinary title, Tfhe conformity of the conduct of the church of France, for re-uniting the proteftants, with that of the church' of Africa, for re-uniting the Donatifts with the catholic church: which letters were well taken to pieces and expofed by Bayle in his philofo- phical commentary 3 . So little fervice have 1 Stapleton, Promptuarium Catbolicum, Dominica quinta poft Epipb. upon the parable of the tares, p. 61, pars prirna ; dif Domin. fecunda pcft Pentcccft ; upon the gofpel, Compel them to come in, p. 159- 2 Harpsf eld's dialogues. Dial. 6. p. 916. 3 The letters that occafioned Bayle' s remarks, were, Epif. 93 aliases, 185 alias 50, 164, 166, 167, 204, all in defence of the fword, and written againft the Donati/ls, and particularly that abfurd branch of them, known, not by Mr. P's new name of Girconcilions, but by that of Circumcellians (CircumcelHoncs). Y 4 thefe ( 344 ) thefe authorities been to Mr. P, that he had better have left the fubjeft to its own Jetf~* evidence, (p. 302), than have called in fiich feeble and infufficient fupports. The lenity of Pole in his government occa- fioned the late learned digreffion. We are now to conflder him as head of a literary fociety at Viterbo : and if <$uirini and Mr. P, were not refolved, at all events, to extol their hero, we might have expelled fome in- finuations of herefy to be thrown out againft the cardinal himfelf. The proteflants chal- lenged him at this time, as fecretly favouring their doctrine of juftification : and the Viter- bo fociety was unluckily compofed of real, or reputed heretics. Quirini fays, thefe were the principal members of it, Flaminius, Pe- ter Carnefecca, the marchionefs of Pefcara; and Caracriolus, from what is there faid of him, feems to be another 1 . Of thefe Fla- minius, de quo erant prima lachryma % was a fufpected heretic : and though he was re- gained to the church by the endeavours of Po/e, yet he never got over the objection of that crime, and is Hill branded with it 3 . Mr. P. indeed fays, he bad imbibed, at Naples* the tenets of Valdts, with whom he had con- 1 4>/r. v. 3. praf. De Fiterbtenfi fodalitto, p. 59 &f 72. f v. 4. Apparatus, p. I viu. 2 p. Hieron. Muzzarclli. Mag. fac. Palatii. Polo, >uir. v. 5. p. 127. 3 Shethorn. Aman. lit. v. 2. Diff. dc rcl. (Jc. Flamimi t p. 38. Thuanus, lib. 8. A. D. 1551. ( 345 ) t rafted a dangerous intimacy ', and was returned to Rome, a prof elite to hisc quoque accejjit ad cateros. patrottos, & advocates, quos in caelis habemus. ^tiirlni, v. 2. Vita Pali, fett. XL. p. 59. 2 Wifdom, ch. xiv. v. 12, & feq. A N I- ANIMADVERSIONS O N SECTION THE SIXTH. TO prepare his reader for one of the moft interefting events of Poles life, Mr. P, by the help of the bifhop of Meaux, is enabled to harangue upon the deplorable and corrupted flate of the church of Rome, for feveral centuries together, with refped: to morals and religion, in its bead and members, (p. 319). From the fame channel does he derive that fhew of learning and reading, to evince the neceffity of, what we acknowledge, and readily admit, the reformation of the church^ (p. 320). By an unfortunate mif- take, he difcovers this orientation of litera- ture to be a borrowed flock of knowledge ; and betrays his ignorance, by referring to the younger bifhop Durandus, as preparing mat- ters which were to be difcuffed in the council of Vienna, (p. 319). Now had Mr. P. looked into any ecclefiaftical hiftorian whatever, he would have found, that Duranduss under- taking ( 35 ) taking was difcuffed at the council of Vienne * in Daupb'me in France; but Bqffuet, by only faying Vienne, and not being more particular, led his tranfcriber into this grofs miftake 2 . This lamented degeneracy of morals, which Durandus, and Boffuefs other authorities com- plained of, our author confirms by adding, the opulence of the clergy, or the Inconveniences which always attend immoderate wealth, the croifades, or holy wars, abfence of bifhops from their diocefes, relaxation of canonical pe- nitence, the Importation of foreign vices, a gloomy, unprofitable, litigious kind of learning (p. 321); but above all, the notorious profli- gacy of moft, orfevera! (as corrected in the er- rata] of the Popes and their court, (p. 322), as evils that called aloud for redrefs. And thefe general caufes of the necejjity of a reformation were quickened into birth by the following event) (p. 323): namely, Luther s preaching againft indulgences. All this we readily al- low; and humbly thank him for thus be- fpeaking the favourable attention of the pub- lic to Luther s oppolition to the enormous corruptions of his church. But when he tells us, the grant of indulgences had been as ancient 1 Cave, hi/1, lit. v. i. App.p. 10 & p. 13. ^.2. p> 525. This was that famous council under Clement V, A. D. 1311, which perfecuted and aboliflied the knights Templars. 2 B afflict, hifl. des Variations, &c. v. i. lib.i.p. 15. from whom Mr. P. has tranfcribed without acknowledgment (his conftant praftice) p. 319 321 of his book, and pil- fered his vouchers. as as chrijlianity y (p. 323), we prefume to differ a little from him ; and fear, he hath too boldly advanced what he cannot prove : for our reading tells us the direct contrary. We find that fome of the champions of his own church were obliged to give up the point of antiquity. Thus cardinal Cajetan owns, " the " firft rife of indulgences is very uncertain : " that we have no account of it either in the " SS. or in the writings of the ancient " doctors, whether Greek or Latin ; all that " we know is, that St. Gregory inftituted the " indulgences of ftations V To the fame purpofe bimop Fijher, when writing againfl Luther himfelf, owns, that they were not in ufe in the firft ages of the church a . And we learn from Prierias, another of that herefi- arch's opponents, that they were made known to us not from the authority of SS, but from the greater authority of the church of Rome and her bifiops*. Thefe conceffions from fuch warm cham- pions of the Romijh faith, mould make the modern defenders of that church lefs peremp- 1 Dupiny ecclef. hi/}. 1 6 cent. \ft p t . p. 393. It is a wonder how this cardinal, and Alphorifo de Cajha^ who fays the fame in his book adverfus hares, lib. 8. p. 577, could efcape the pruning knife of the inquifltor Sotomajor^ who has put Polydore Virgil in his index txpurgatorfus, p. 853, for faying much the fame thing in his book de invent, re- rum.) lib. 8. c. i. 2 Johannes Rojf en/is de indulg. &c. art. 18. 3 L)ial. Sylv. Prieriatis^ art. 66. Inter opp. Lutheri^ v. i. cd. JVitt. p. CLXVI. torv, ( 352 ) tory, and more cautious and modeft in their aflertions : for, however they who know no better may be deceived by a fpecious repre- fentation of abfurd falfhoods, the ignorance or the impudence of fuch abfurd zealots will but the more expofe them to others. As the writers above alleged give up the argument from S S. which is more antient than that drawn from antiquity ; what will our biogra- pher make of this latter proof? It was to- wards the middle of the 9th century before we hear the word indulgences mentioned, in the fenfe which the prefent church of Rome holds. And all that Mr. P. fays is wide of the point ; for wherever he got his know- ledge, the inftances he has recourfe to in proof of the antiquity and lawfulnefs of indulgences, (p. 323), do not refpect the punifhments of the next world, but, what nobody denies, the power of the church in mitigating ecclefiafti- cal cenfures in this. In the dark ages of ig- norance and fuperftition, private bifhops firft began the gainful trade of indvlgences : which attempt fucceeding well, the Roman Pontifs limited their power, and monopolized the fcandalous traffic to themfelves 1 . The firft plenary indulgence is faid to have been granted by Innocent III. in the council of Later an in I Mojheinis ecclef. hift. Cent, xil, v. -i, p. 594, 595. For a full account of the enormous doctrine of indulgences , fee Lettres fur les jubiles^ by Mr. Cbais, minifter of the French church in the Hague, 3 vol. 8w, 1751. An ex- tra<5l of which is given in the Bibliothcque raijonnee. I2J5; ( 353 ) 1 21 5 ; and the next by Boniface VIII, in 1399, for the jubilee year. From this time they became more frequent, more avowed and Shamefully venal. It is owned, that the hor- rid prostitution of thefe grants was the glaring diforder of thuje times, and bad raifed fucb a general difcontent in all orders, as endangered the grace itfeJJ, and the authority iMch con- ferred it) to fall into contempt) (p. 324), Wherein then did Luther do amifs in oppo- fing this flagrant iniquity ? We defire no better apology for the zeal which animated that man of God, than Mr. P's own con- feffion : himfelf acknowledges their great a- bufe. And the Pope's agents in the difperiing thefe indulgences behaved in the moil out- rageous manner, publickly profKtuting the power of delivering fouls out of Purgatory, and openly, and without any fenfe of mame, fpent the money collected for that purpofe, in the ftews, and the tavern, in gaming, and in every thing that was vile 1 . Thus whilft a vicious court, and its profli- gate dependants, enjoyed the fpoils of a weak and puerile devotion, thofe of that church, who had godlinefs with understanding, could only bewail, in private, the miferable con- dition of true religion. To oppofe the tor- rent was, they feared, above the power and capacity of any private perfon. Thofe who had attempted to roufe the court of Rome, i Thuanus, lib. i, A. D. 1516. Z had ( 354 ) had been fo unfuccefsful, that they defpaired of any reformation being effected : and Albert Crantzius, the famous civilian, and dean of Hamburgh> who, in his youth, had funk un- der the oppofition raifed againft him, for fome cenfures of the court and doctrine of Rome, reading, juft before his death, Luther's proportions concerning indulgences, is report- ed to have faid, Prater, frater, abi in cellam, 6? die miferere met Deus\ " The bold ef- " forts of this new adverfary of papal ambi- " tion and defpotifm, were indeed honoured " with the applaufes of many, but few or " none entertained hopes of their fuccefs V But no fooner had he raifed his warning 'voice, than his endeavours were anfwered be- yond all expectation : and this obfcure and inconfiderable friar proved an inftrument in the hands of providence of that religious re- volution, which almofr. immediately com- menced. Mr. P. hath adopted a vulgar error; and imputes the firfl rife of this oppofition, to a jealoufy between the Auftin and Dominican fryars, (p. 324); and that Luther, out of re- fentment, that the monks of his order were not employed in vending thefe holy wares, was appointed by their general to preach in oppofition to their rivals, (p. 324). But Lu- ther s general character will clear him from 1 Kerthclt, hi/t. ecclef. p, 718. See alfo WoWs preface to Crantziuis works . 2 Mojbeim, v. 2. p. 15. this ( 355 ) this bafe inflnuation. He was not a perfon likely to be fwayed by fuch paltry motives : and, moreover, the thing itfelf is ialfe. This lucrative commirTion was ever principally in- truded with the Dominicans: and for half a century before Luther s time, Mr. P. will be hard put to it, to find any Aujlin friar em- ployed in this office. And befides, this very commiffion, which is fuppofed to have raifed the anger and envy of Luther , becaufe the 'Dominicans were preferred to his order, was offered to, and refufed by the Francifcans. The office itfelf was fo odious, that it was not at all defirable to be any ways concerned in the turpitude of fuch infamous traffic. None of Luther's cotemporary adverfaries ever reproached him with fuch ignoble and felfifh motives of oppoiition. " Even the " lying Cocbfttus was filent.on this head " during the life of Luther, though after " his death, he broached the calumny I am " here refuting. But fuch was the fcanda- " lous character of this man, who was no- " torious for fraud, calumny, lying, and their " fifter-vices, that the more refpectable ene- " mies of Luther were afhamed to make ufe " either of his name or teftimony'." The infinuation that Luther oppofed the fale of thefe indulgences, in obedience to Stau- pitzs commands, is as ill grounded as the former fuggeftion. For that reformer, in a im, v, 2. p. 17, 1 8. Mr. Machine's note. Z 2 letter ( 356 ) letter to his vicar-general, informs him, that fuch offence had been taken at his propo- fitions, that againfl his will he was obliged to appear in public ; and therefore he begged him to tranfmit his trifles (has meas ineptias) to the Pope; not, as he adds, that I wifli you in the fame danger with myfelf, fince I have undertaken thefe things at my own ha- zard alone. Chrift will fee whether they are his or mine which I have faid 1 . Now if Lu- ther 's preaching had been by order of Stau- pitz, would he, in a private letter, written to him, have taken all the blame upon him- felf ? Would he not rather have availed him- felf of his fuperior's command ? But Luther s further proceedings demonftrate, that his op- pofition did not arife from any other motive, than a zeal for the honour of God, and the injured caufe of religion. This was reafon enough for a man of his piety, ability and courage to exert himfelf, to attack the im- pious, novel doctrine, and efficacy of thefe par- dons, . . . and to dif credit them in the minds of the people, (p. 324). Amongft the federal catholic divines, who thought themfehes obliged to oppofe him, we I N"on quod te mibi conjungi periculo 'vcl'im, meo folium pericuh h&c cgijje volo. Cbriftus viderit, fua nefint an meet, qua dixi. He adds, Ca:terum mmacibus illis men amicis, nibil habeo quod refpondeam, nlfi illud Reuchlinianum : qui pauper eft, nihil timet, nihil potrjl perdere. Res nee habeo nee cupiQ. Famam & bonorem, Ji habui, ajjldue nunc perdit^ qui perdlt. Lutb. opp. v. i. p. 99, 100. J<t, See Sedendorf, lib. i. />. 15, &f 33. are ( 357 ) are repeatedly told, EC HI us dlftlnguifted him- fe/f, (p. 324). We guefs this formidable he- ro to be no other, than Eckius of Ingoldftadt ; who, as well as the other earlieffc opponents of Luther, undertook a talk, they were not at all qualified for ; as they were not to be named with their antagonist in point of know- ledge, or ability. -Such a contempt of them and their learned labours, had Luther and his friends, that they thought greater fervice could not be done his caufe, than by re- publiming, amongft his works, the lucu- brations of his adverfaries '. Mr. P. has pitched upon Eckius, as the greateft cham- pion of them all : his ftrictures (obelifci) up- on, and difputation with Luther, being of the fame clafs with the reft, are honoured with a place in the fame volume with his brother combatants -, and by this means they ftill live. But alas \ what hopes could the orthodox have of converting the heterodox, when, as Eckius- himfelf told his aflbciate Hogftrate (that well-known foe to Reuchlin, Erafmus, and Luther, to learning, religion, and common fenfe) that when he had fet in battle-array ever fo many fathers, that ram heretic Luther fhamelefsly denied them all ; and ventured, moreover, to aiTert, that he alone would confute a thoufand fuch, and i Tetzel's, Prieriais, and Eckiufs performances occur in the firft volume of Luther's works. Pope Leo X's bull againft Luther, is inferred in the 2 d volume, where, if I may fo fay, it is notably baited. Z 3 with ( 358 ) with no oilier argument than this, that Chrift was the foundation of the church, and none other mould any man lay : but, fays he, / clearly confuted him, by producing the 12 foun- dations out of the Revelations (c. xxi. v. 14). This was an irrefragable anlwer indeed ! The Divine proceeds in his narration; that_L#/^r maintained, -that the Greeks and others, not under the obedience of the Pope, might be faved. He faid too, he wifhed there was no mendicant order at all : and hefpoke alfomany other fcandalous and abfurd things, fuch as, that a Council, as it confirmed of men, might err; that purgatory could not be proved from S S. csV. as you will fee when you read our difputation 1 . Excellent arguments to con- vince fuch a man as Luther : and this is his own account too. And this was the princi- pal of thofe catholic divines^ who were pitched upon to confute that reformer. And could Mr. P. have thought of any abler adverfary, no doubt he would not have named Eckius. Can we therefore wonder, that when Lu- ther was rejijled only by thofe, who wrote like barbarians, and reafoned like ideots, that his writings were received with fuch univerfal applaufe, or that S S. reafon and antiquity fhould not triumph over fuch minute and I Dutn el (fe. Luthero) Augujlinum, Hiercnymum^ JEmbrs/tute) Grfg9rtwn t Gyprmnnm, Chryfoftomum^ Leoncm C3 3 Bcrnardum^ fuper illo adducerem cum Thcophylv^ cmnet ncgsvit abfqrie rubore^ CJY. Ep. Eckii ad J. Hoch/lraten. inter opp. Lutberi., v. I. p. 335. Ed. Witt. defpi- ( 359 ) defpicable opponents? The reafoning of Eckius being fo weak, he had then recourfe to his friend inquifitor Hogjlrates ftronger me- thod of conviction ; and attempted to accom- plim the ruin of the Saxon reformer, by pre- vailing on the Pope to imie out his anathemas, and excommunicate the man who could not otherwife be confuted. His own elegant ac- count of this (hall be given below, and in his own words too 1 . Luther's undaunted refo- lution no more regarded the Pope's bull, than the writings of his creatures : and to mew his defign of leaving a corrupt and fuperfti- tious church, he publicly burnt this bull againft himfelf, and thofe decretals and ca- nons which had eftabliihed the Pope's defpo- tic jurifdiction. From him did he appeal to a general council : and in the mean time he ftrengthened himfelf by appealing to the un- biafled fuffrage of the learned ; he expofed the antichrifKan doctrines of popery ; he vin- dicated himfelf and his caufe by many learned writings, which were every where greedily fought after, and occafioned an alarming fe- I Minuia contra Lutherum ejl concepta, proximo ccnfiftc- rlo cardinalium expedietur. Eifi Eckii con/ilium feq^ctur fanftiffimusy tune omnes cardinales tf omnes epifccpi Je fub- fcribent . . . Stithnus nitpcr^ Pcpa^ duo carainaks\ doSlor Hifpanus, $ff ego^ per qitinque horns in deliberations hujus negotii, finguli rogabamur no/Iras dare fentenlias. Bullcs forma placcbit bonis^ mixta cnim eft ex vcterum ccnciliorum ac pontificruK^ & no-vorum confueiudine^ err ores junt 41 cxprejje condemnati. Ep. Ecki't, inter opp. Lutheri, v. 2. p. 48. Z 4 ccflion ceflion from the church and authority of the Roman Pontiff. In the midft of this confufion Leo X. died (p. 327), who, from his exaltation to the pa- pacy, was remarkable for little more than aiTociating with wits and buffoons, and fpending his time in difTipations and pleafures of the lowed: kind '. In the beginning of his book our author had fpoken difrefped:- fully of Leo's fucceffor Adrian VI : but now when he is introduced as oppoiing tbeje inno- vations, his zeal and learning as a divine is infifted upon. And what care did he take to heal the divifions which troubled the peace of the church^ and the corruptions which had been the occajion, and Jerked as a pretence for them? Why truly, he did think, we are told, of removing whatever had given offence in the grant of indulgences. Having Iain qfide this dejign, he next thought, of re-ejlablifoing the ufe of public penitence, but . . . the depraved Jiate of Chriftianity rendered it abfolutely impracti- cable. He complained, that the officers of his own court were not difpofed to reform fever al unwarrantable practices, which caufed the in- novators to fay, that every thing was venal at Rome. The politic Soderino told him, fuch a ftep would only ferve to make the diflurbers of the public tranquUity more infolent, and heighten their credit with the people. Was his intended i Hiftoire dcs Papes, v. 4. 4*0. A la Haye, 1733. p. 417, &feq. refor^ ( 36 1 ) reformation to take place, they would go on to demand other ejjential changes , and thus throw every thing into confujion, (p. 327, 328). Can a member of the church of Rome fay this, and not blum? Is it not a full jollifica- tion of the reformer's oppofition to the tenets of that infatuated church, whofe rulers, in the language of the facred volumes, feeing they did fee, and not perceive, and hearing, they did hear and not underftand. ' And yet this Pope was by much the beft of any in thole days, and the very reverfe of his luxu- rious predeceflbr: a Divine, temperate, ferious, and willing to correct thofe corruptions, which, by being allowed, gave fuch encou- ragement to oppofers, as threatened the total ruin of the papal power. For this, his me- mory has been feverely treated by the parafites of the court of Rome ; who, though they reckoned him a good prieft, have looked up- on him but as a midling Pope z . After him the muffling Clement VII. and the fubtle Paul III. followed the example of their predeceffors ; talking indeed loudly of reformation, but making fruitiefs efforts of qffembling a general council^ though the latter had fworn to call one within two years after his election, (p. 328). But during thefe con- j'ul tat ions, we are informed the new opinions had Jit II continued to makefomefrejh breach 0;z, 1 Mark 4. v. 12. 2 PaUaviciniilib. 2. c. 9. n. i. what ( 362 ) what is termed, the received belief of all anti- quity, and gain over new profelytes, (p. 328). And well they might, when the learned (by the example of Luther 's intrepidity) had got over the dread of that brutum fulmen, the Pope's anathemas -, and had the courage to expofe to public derifion, the weak props which fupported the arrogated falfe claims of antiquity, unity and univerfality. When the impofture was once laid open and inconteft- ably proved, the wonder ceafes, that fo many ftates and kingdoms embraced with open arms this revival of chriftianity ; and fearch- ing the S S, (which before were hid from them) they found what the reformers faid to be true: they therefore gladly heard them; they received, and believed their word, and gave it free admittance. To convince us how weary the world was of the exorbitant encroachments, and grofs corruptions of the fee of Rome, Mr. P. has condefcended to relate the rapid progrefs (p. 328, 329) which the reformation made in feveral countries ; which is no weak argu- ment in favour of it. The Ant i -Trinitarians and AnabaptiflS) are inferted, only to triumph over the enormous licentioufnefs of new opinions, (p. 329). Could the reformers help this? Who were more ftrenuous than they in de- tecting the error of thofe fects ? But the Jy- nod of Scrinia came to this wild refolution, of allowing every one to believe as he thought proper. What the canons of that obfcure and ( 363 ) and unheard-of fynod were, I know not : but the rcfolution, here mentioned, was more agreeable to fenfe and reafon, than, with the fathers of the Trent fynod, to damn men, for not believing, what they could not pojjibly believe. But, fays our hiftorian, the reformation . . . was Jo far from producing any amendment, that the morals of thofe who relinquifoed the old religion, became vifibly more degenerate, (p. 330). We do not pretend to fay, that all who came over to the reformation, were, or continued faints : but it is flrange, if they were vifibly more degenerate, when, befides the fame calls to a virtuous life which they had before, they wanted in this new religion, all the e a fy' pacifiers of a tender and awaken- ed confcience; for the reformers had no par- don-mongers and indulgences, no corporal penances, or pretended abfolutions, no mafTes for the dead, no expected deliverance out of purgatory, to offer, to lefTen the dread, and remove the punimment of fin. They did not thus deceive finners. They exhorted their converts to trull: in no external ordi- nances, or formal devotion, but to amend and correct their hearts : and they affured them, that an holy life was as neceffary to falvation, as a found faith. If therefore their morals were not better than before, it was neither the fault of their religion, or their teachers, who omitted nothing that could manifeft the natural, odious deformity of fin. They ( 364- ) They did indeed acknowledge, that the many painful obfervances of the religion they had relinquifhedj (p. 331), did but kesp men in ignorance of the fpirituality of religion, and could never produce that faving conversion, which could arife only from conviction of fin. -tte myfleries of religion, they inculcated upon the foot they found them placed in the gofpel, as articles of faith fupported by ra- tional evidence, and contradictory neither to reafon, nor the experience of their fenjes. In the eucbarift, they coniidered the virtual ener- gy of Chad's prefence in that federal rite, which they deemed, the reprefentative appli~ cation of their Redeemer's death and paffion, the memorial of reconciliation with God there- by effected, and the open acknowledgments of blcflings expected from, and fecured to man- kind by the merits of it. They allb laid be- fore their hearers the progreffive and iniqui- tous fleps which the ambitious Pontifs of Rome had taken in the iron ages of ignorance and barbarifm, (p. 3), to maintain their un- authorifed power and grandeur; which was firft beftowed upon them by a tyrant who had murdered his mafter. And what was very- extraordinary, that this temporal power of the ( 2 d p', p. 226). The breathing time that our cardinal had after this diiTolution, giveth his hiftorian the opportunity to leave him at his nfual jludies y (p. 339), and return to England: where Henry ^ he fays, exhibited a fcene of rapacity andfacrilege, which, till then, had wanted a precedent^ and* for the honour of human na- ture^ has not been copied jince* (p. 336). And this was the diilblution of the lefler tenements (p. 337) of religion, fuch as colleges, chan- tries, guilds, &c. Here again our author's old affiftant, Mr. Dod, furnifhes him with his quota of materials : but though he kindly fupplied him with every thing relating to thefe ejlabliftiments (except the account of guilds* taken fromDugda/e) yet is he kept, as before, behind the curtain, and moft ungrate- fully deprived of the thanks due for his fer- vices 1 . The collegiate foundations were quickly put out of their pain. All that was intended, with regard to them, was, to put them upon a more fecure eftablimment, that, i Dod, v. i. p. 115, 1 1 6. A a the ( 37 ) the ufelefs donations of fuperftition being lopped off, the cultivation of true virtue and knowledge might meet with the due encou- ragement fuch foundations deferved, which were dedicated to the fervice of God, and the education of youth. The motive alledged for the difTolution of the chantVies, guilds, &c. was not the expence the King bad been at in diffblving monafteries, and reforming abufes in the church, (p. 337)? (this is Mr. Dod's embellifhment) but the King's expences in his wars with France and Scotland, the mifmanagement of their gover- nors, and the mifemployment of their reve- nues 1 . " The chantry-lands," fays Collier, " were given for the benefit of the dead, " and fettled, as it were, upon the other " world . . . And as Popes have often taken " money to let fouls out of purgatory, fo the " King took land, one would almoft think, " to keep them /*." And as indulgences had of late years been fo largely granted, the parliament perhaps thought with Erafmus, that purgatory might be almoft flripped of its inhabitants 3 : aud as its very exiftcnce was called in queftion, there was therefore the Jefs occafion for money and maffes, to pray departed fouls out of a place, they might ne- ver have been in ; and fo, to fave their own I Collier, v. 2. p. 207. 2 Idem. ibid. 3 Era/mi opp. torn. v. c. 359. Cited by Dr. Jortin, ]ife ofJEraj'mus, v. i. p. 114. Note. f eftates> ( 37' ) elates, made over to him the property of the dead. But death prevented Henry from taking pofTelTion of thefe lands, " which Ed- " ward VTs miniftry had the credit and pro- " fit of V But betides this, the bifliops of his own new foundation were fo impoverijhed, it feems, that the jirft incumbents lived on the benevo- lence of their clergy, and other well-difpofed perfons, (p. 337). Here Mr. Dod's zeal car- ried him a little too far, for he is not ufually guilty of fuch miftakes, and has led our au- thor, who knew no better, into the fame er- ror. The reference, in both thefe hiilorians, is made to the fame place in Collier; who, in his account of the reign of Queen Eliza- beth, fpeaking of the mifchiefs done to the bifhoprics of Henry VIII's erection, does fay this of thofe bifhops, who, in the courfe of her reign, were advanced to thofe fees * ; and cites Heylin, as his voucher *. But this havoc of the revenues of thofe fees, not being made in Henry's reign, is imperti- nently and invidioufly brought in to alperfe that King, for what he did not do. Mr. Dod is indeed principally to anfwer for this blunder : it was copied from him. And Mr. P, rejoiced to find fuch a charge againft Henry, and above confulting the authority I Dod, v. i. p. 347. 2 Collier, v. 2. p. 480.' 3 Heylin, hift. oi" Queen Elizabeth, p. 156, 157. No reference to page in Collier. A a 2 he ( 372 ) he appealed to, ventured to improve the in- ve<5tive, and to fix the odium more clearly up- on the King : he alters new biJJoops, into firft incumbents ; and, after the words, bene- volence of their clergy, adds, out of the fer- tility of his own invention, and other well difpofed perfons. The King, it is afierted, caufcd the parlia- ment to give him 70 manors belonging to the fee of York : and Mr. Dod, (to fpeak ten- derly) in faying this, and that the archbifhop had very little in exchange, has acted very unfairly. But this laft particular our better informed hiftorian drops, though Collier ; Mr. Dod's oracle, fays, that the archbifhop had feveral lands, C5V. in exchange '3 which, Hey- lin fays, were of the like yearly value, but of an extended rent*. Cranmer too gave up twelve manors belonging to Canterbury ; and Bonner, fays Mr. Dod, (which is omitted here) was obliged to do the like with fome belonging to. London; to which I add, from tleylin, " but not without fome reafonable " 'compenfation, or allowance for them." And Cranmer remonftrated againft it 3 . The large poffejjions, alfo, of Durham were, many years, Jecularized, (p. 337). In whofe reign ? not in Henry s. Therefore our two catholic hiftorians mould not have placed it here, to 1 Collier, v. 2. p. 207. 2 Heylin, hift. Edward VI. p. 18.' 3 Colliery v. 2* p. 214. aggravate ( 373 ) aggravate his facrilege ; nor indeed any where elfe, for it never took place. In Ed- ward Vlth's reign, fomething was done, which, if no more than the title of an act of parliament be read, does look a little like it. In the laft year of that young King, a bill was palled for \.\\e,ftipprej/ion of the bimopric of Durham but it was, to found two new fees , with deans and chapters out of it. *' The temporalities, indeed, werejecu/arizea 1 , " turned wholly to a county palatine, and " given to the duke of Northumberland. " But that the grant was executed in form of " law, is more than appears '." And the many years it was thus Jecularized, could not be more than two months at moft, if at all : for the grant was made in May, and the King died the July following, fo that both thefe deiigns proved abortive 2 . After this fpurt againft the King of Eng- land, we return to the fubject of the hiftory. Peace being now concluded between the Em- peror, and the King of France; and thofe princes being felicitous for the calling of a council : the Pope, after much feeming re- luftance and delays^ (p. 354), fummoned one to meet again at the fame place as before ; and made our cardinal a fecond time one of the legates, who, that himfelf and his offi- ciates might have the higheft notion of the 1 Collier^ v. 2. (p. 350), he inculcates, with equal arrogance 1 , the boundlefs prerogative of the fee of Rome; and in defiance of ecclefiaftical hiftory, his fancy and his prejudices ran away with his judgment: and the bold afTertor, the weak reafoner, and the abfurd interpreter of S S, characterife the author of this fpecious per- formance. Whilft Pole ftaid behind at Rome after his colleagues, and amufed himfelf in writing the treatife we have been fpeaking of, his ho- linefs allowed the other legates time to learn the lefTon which their affociate had kindly I See a fmall inftanceof this hinted at before, p. 130. and Mr, P's own extract of the treatifc itfelf. compofed ( 375 ) compofed for them; for it was nine months after their arrival at Trent, before they pro- ceeded upon bufinefs. But how confummate in the mean time, muft the wickednefs and diffimulation of the court of Rome be ! The legates, thofe angels of peace (p. 350), as they are hypocritically filled, were fent to Trent, faith the junior legate Pole, among other things to revive decayed difcipline, to prevent the increaje of herejy, and reform the extremely corrupt manners of the chriftian world, (p. 348). And yet they remained there, for a long time together, in an intirely torpid ftate. And why ? Becaufe his holinefs had other game to play, and was taking more effectual methods to carry thefe points. He did not know, but, (for all their objections to the place) the Lutherans might appear, and defend their doctrine : he did not know, how forcible their reafoning, or their elo- quence, might be : he did not care to trufl the caufe of the church altogether to a pro- mifcuous afTembly ; the Spanifo, and French bifhops might be refractory, and join the dif- contented party. This guardian therefore and pajlor of the church exerted his hierarchi- cal office (p. 345), in fecuring the Emperor at all events ; and fent his grandfon cardinal Farncfe to Worms (p. 351), to treat with his imperial Majefty to join their forces, and by the arm of the flefh to confute the hereties . I PaJlav. lib. 5. c. 13. n. i. A a 4 And ( 376 ) And we are further informed of the fatisfac- tion the Pope took, at being afibred the Em- peror would draw his fword againft them ; but this was to be kept a profound fecret ; and that the council fhould not enter upon the difpatch of bufmefs, till matters were ripe, left the Proteftants fhould be made def- perate ; but, however, that fo much of it might tranfpire, as fhould intimidate them *. But, as this would not tell well in a proteftant country, our candid and equitable hiftorian intirely omits it, though Pallavicini (whom he clofely follows) has not fcrupled to relate it in his hiflory of the council. Such were the honefr, and chrifHan arts employed by him, who called himfelf \hejirft bijhop of the cbriftian world j and to whom Pole, at this very time, was not afhamed to addrefs him- felf in fuch words and language, ivbicb can- not be read without borrour (p l 2 d p. 241). To fay to him, Quern fecundum Deum pair em & Dei patris locum & vices in fern's gerentem agnofcimiis 3 , is a profanenefs, that all the dignity of the purple cannot excufe. Thus it fhould feem, that thofe angels of peaCe, who were fent to prefide at the council, (p. 350), were only appointed as mafks to conceal the mean artifices and low defigns of the pretended father of the church. From the very tenor of their inflru&ions, it does not 1 Id. ibid. n. 4, 5. 2 Poll ep. Paulo 111. Jf>wr. v. 4. p: 35. appear* ( 377 ) appear, that any lenient meafures would be propofed ; the authority of the holy fee was to be elhbliihed, and the refractory and re- bdlioUS OF WHAT CONDITION SOEVER, Were to be reprejjed by cenfures and ecclcfiajlical pu- nifhments (p. 351). But as to the examina- tion of articles of faith, or the difcuffion of what the proteftants required, nothing lefs was defigned ; nothing lefs would be per- mitted : the legates were to propofe every thing, and to deliver his holinefs's deter- mination. And therefore to fhorten debates, and fecure a majority, they fgnified to the Pope that it would be proper to appoint a treafurer, with a fund fufficient to anfwer the exigencies (p. 351) of neceffitous and depend- ent bifhops. And not long after Poles arri- val in Trent, the legates gave it as their opi- nion to the Pope, that the Lutheran herefy> and the wickednefs and enormities committed by the King of England, mould be firft pre- fented, in form of a petition or complaint, to the anirnadveiiion of the council *. By this we may judge, how free a council this was like to be. Our author, willing to difplay his erudi- tion, whilft he was in fuch good humour with the Emperor and the King of France, compares the behaviour of thofe moft pious and refpedable princes, with Conftantines de- i Extracts from letters written to Rome from Trent, by the legates, ^uir. v. 3. p, 2J2. portment ( 378 ) portment at the council of Nice (p. 353), whofe very chriftianity has been called in queftion by fome of tbe greateft names in the Romift church. And this we confefs is done with great jufKce and propriety, as all the three princes were equally tormented with the violence and the fquabbles of the ecclefiaftics of their times; and found it ne- cefiary, upon particular occafions, to court their good will. But if the conduit of Paul III, at the council of Trent, be compared with that of Alexander bifhop of Alexandria, the greatefl metropolitan in the world ' ; the former will not appear to much advantage, as making himfelf both judge and party: where- as the other, having before cenfured Arius, and condemned his doctrine in his own pro- vincial fynod, at Alexandria, is faid to have declined the honour of prefiding at Nice; perhaps to obviate the complaints of the Ariaris, who looked upon him as a party, and highly prejudiced againfl them 1 . This example Paul fhould have followed. The proteftants denied his fupremacy; and defired a general free council, wherein they might appear, not as accufed in order to be condemned, but as propounders of do Bower's lives of the Popes, v. I. p. 130. 8w. Dub. edit. Here ( 379 ) Here then was an error at firft fetting out, which could not but widen the breach, viz. the Pope's fummoning the council, in his own name, and by his own authority, when that very power was one of the contested ar- ticles ; and it was manifeft, the whole would be conducted under the influence and direction of him, who could make and reward bifhops for their fervices. They were fenfible indeed, that the Popes, for many years, had aflumed the power of convening luch religious afTem- blies, but they knew, that from the beginning it was not fo ; that the Emperors and princes had, in more primitive times, exerted this part of their regal prerogative. They knew likewife, that this firft general council of Nice was fummoned immediately by Conjlan- tme, not by the bimop of Rome, who neither prefided at it in perfon, or by his legates ; for, properly fpeaking, the Emperor preiided him- felf. But as far as fuch a diftant fact can be afcertainecl : many antient writers affirm, that Eujiatbius, biftiop of Anttocb, took the lead j fat firft on the right hand in the aflembly ; and did all the duties of the Prefident's of- fice 1 . So that here appears nothing of the bifhop of Rome's vicarial authority : neither did his deputies iign the canons firil. 'To return to the bujinefi of the council^ (p. i See the authorities for this cited in Ricbardfon's Prtfl. Ecclef. v. i. De Nicaino concilw y p. 273. and others cited in Bower's lives of the Popes, p. 129. 8w. Dub. edit. 352) before us. The legates, as was before obferved, had been at Trent ever fince the beginning of March -, and it was towards the middle of December before they opened the council (p. 354); and though they had been there all that time, there was but a very in- confiderable appearance to proceed upon bu- iinefs : but their number being increafed, af- ter pacing' fome inconfiderable decrees, and confirming the Nicene creed, they proceeded to confider the canonical books of SS, and the authority, of tradition, wherein the latter, after a very faint oppofition, 'was put upon an equal Jooting with the revealed will of God '. The bimop of C/ogge (ClodienJisJ ventur- ing, to the aftonifhment and horror of the reft, to call this an impious decree, was fe- verely treated by the council, and looked up- on with an evil eye, as wavering in his reli- gion * : and we are further informed, that when the canon paffed, his aflent was not exprefTed, by the ufual term placet, but, obe- diam 3 . The bimops of Fiejole and Afturiu being fome what offended at this jargon about traditions, and whether the word apoftolical fhould be inferted or no, complained, that they had met to treat conjointly of faith and difcipline, but, that now, one was only at- tended to ; not without a fling of incon- 1 Pari-pietatis ajfeftu ac reverent la. Cone. Tr'td. SrJJ. ^. Decretutn de Canonicis. S S. 2 Pallav. lib. 6. c. 14. n. 4. & lib. 7. c. 4. n. 13. 3 Id. hi'. 6. <:. II. w. 9. flancy, ftancy, and wafting time in doing nothing. This language was Ib highly offenfive, fays Pallavicini, to the modeft and filent cardinal Poky that, waxing angry, he could not refrain from charging thefe impertinent prelates with not knowing what they were about ; that Luther s disturbances began by calling in queftion as well lawful authority, as the ver- fion of S S : that the whole of the contro- verfy turned upon thefe two points, S S and tradition ; and when they were once fettled, half the bufinefs of the council was done '. This was reafoning exactly like himfelf : and we are not furprifed to find fuch an hiftorian declaring, that the culprit bifliops were quite confounded. When this was eftablimed, it was but a natural ftep to declare what S S mould be allowed. The Vulgate was at once approved of, that grammarians mould not teach bi- fhops and divines. The zealous Pacbeco, in gratitude for his late exaltation to the purple, propofed, that all tranjlatiom into modern lan- guages Jhould be prohibited* (p. 356)> efpecial- ly thole made by heretics, which he after- wards extended to the LXX's verfion 3 . Madrucci indeed oppofed this, for fear of in- flaming the Germans* as Mr. P. owns : but he omits the cardinal's pious wih, that would to God the profeffors of Greek and Hebrew i Id. ibid. n. 10. 2 Id, ibid, c, 12. n. 5. 3 Id. ibid. (. 15. n. I, had ( 382 ) had never made their appearance in Ger- many, for then the church would not have been fo much difturbed as it is '. The mat- ter, however, was dropped ; and Pacheco re- ceived a reprimand, for trefpaffing upon the legates privileges, and propofing a queftion l . But however Madrucci might think it proper to retrain the indifcreet zeal of his brother cardinal, yet he did but fpeak the language of his church j and it was not with- out great reafon, that cardinal Ximenes faid, that the having the S S. in the vulgar lan- guage would fpoil their religion 3 . Thus too the tranflators of the Rbftntfb teftament con- fefs, that they do not publifh their tranflation " upon erroneous opinion of necefTity, that " the SS. mould be always in our mother " tongue, or that they ought, or were or- " dained of God, to be read indifferently of "all .... But upon fpecial consideration " of our country, unto which, divers things " are either necefiary, or profitable, and me- " dicinable now, that otherwife in the peace " of the church were neither much requifite, " nor perchance wholly tolerable*." And to this purpofe, Mr. P. hath added the weight of his own teftimony, by fuch an aukward apology for Pacheco s proportion, which, if I Id. ibid. c. 12. ;/. 5. 2 Id. ibid. c. 15. n. 3. 3 Geddes's methods of the Roman church to keep her people in ignorance, p. 5. In the 3** vol. of his trails. 4 Preface, p. 2. accepted, I ( 3^3 ) accepted, will make ignorance the mother of devotion (p. 356,357). To all thefe great names, we will only oppofe the authority of a modern author, (well known to Mr. P. himfelf ) in a dijcourfe on the Jludy of facred literature \ who affures us, " that divinity is not that abftrufe and as our author calls it, (p. xxui. Table of contents), we are fum- moned to attend the council. But as we do not propofe to difcufs every tranfaction of this affembly, there is nothing material to flop us till the article of juftification comes to be confidered ; which, as being the corner itone of the difference between the two religions, the fatal Jlumbling-block to Germany (p. 366), was entered upon, for very particular reafons, with great fpirit. For we learn, not from Mr. P. (for obvious reafons) but from Pal- lavicim, that when the legates were in- formed of the league between the Pope and the Emperor, againft the proteftants, " tho' " they confidered the uncertainty of war, " yet as there were no hopes in time of t peace of reconciling Germany , which would " die of a fever if the fword was not drawn ; " they comforted themfelves, that the coun- " cil would now be confirmed by flrength " of arms, and do their bufinefs with vi- \ Idem. p. 26. " gour " gour and refolution, when their court " mould have a powerful army for its appa- " ritors, and Charles V. himfelf would be " the executioner of its decrees 1 ." As this holy afTembly was now certain cf being well fupported, one Would have ima- gined they would have proceeded as briskly in the debate concerning j unification, as they began -, but fo it was, that with all their wifdom, and ail their power, it was fever al months % before the decree was parTed and agreed to. Our Eng/if/j cardinal had left Trent before this doctrine was canvafTed : but as he was not at any great diftance, the legates confulted him upon the occafion j who waved giving his opinion, as his indifpofition rendered him unable to think or write upon a 1 Pallav. Kb. 8. c. i. . 3. at the conclufion. The principal articles of the treaty were : (1) That the Empercr fhould compel the heretics tore- turn to the true and old religion, and to the intire obe- dience to the holy apoftolical fee. (2) That the Pope mould advance ico,cco crowns, which with the fame fum before contributed, {hould be ex- pended in the war. (3) That he mould maintain at his own expence for fix months '12,000 foot and 500 horfe. (4) That he mould give the Emperor one half year's revenues of the church benefices all over Spaln^ and per- mit him to fell as much of the abbey lands as would amount to 500,000 ducats but upon fecurity of repayment. See alfo Sleidan^ b. 17. p. 381, 382. who in the further progrefs of his hiftory relates the actions of this religious war. 2 From the beginning of June 1546 to the middle of January 1547. B b fubjeft ( 386 ) fubjec"l of fuch importance, though he would loon communicate his opinion viva voce l ; which he did a few days after by doctor Moriglla. Now though it doth not appear of what profeflion this doctor was j yet Mr. P. tells us, he was a doctor of divinity, with 12 bom Pole was particularly acquainted, (p. 367) ; that is, one of his domeftics, as the cardinal himfelf calls him *. From thefe flight documents, and becaufe the decree, as it now Jlands, was jound among the cardinal's, papers .... and was written at full length* in his own hand (p. 369); our biographer collects, that it furnifoes a Jlrong prefumption that the fathers of the council judged .... the alterations he propofed, the mojl proper to define, confirm, and explain the truths con- tained in it (p. 369) . and then triumphantly concludeth, that without all doubt it was fo. Nor can any infta?ice, fays this fulfome flat- terer, do more honour to his memory, than that the whole catholic church Jhould conjider him as a particular injlrument of the divine fpir it, in declaring a doctrine fo much contradicted by the innovators, and on which fo venerable a body as the council of Trent ftould defer to his opi- nion with fuch afignijication of their ejleem (p. 369). Quirini, who had thefe letters before him, and confldered the particulars, and is as eager to offer up incenfe to the memory 1 Poli ep. Quir. v. 4. p. 199, 20p. 2 Mando il drttor Mvriglia mis familiar e* Id. ibid. Of of Pole as Mr. P, infmuates no fuch thing ; neither doth it appear, that the cardinal com- municated his fentiments in writing, only that he commiflioned Moriglia to relate his opinion of the decree : but a compliment paid to his hero, is never loft by our writer! I cannot here but inform the reader, that that venerable body the council of Trent, who efteemed Pole fo highly, and pafied this im- portant decree, conliiled only of 4 cardinals, 10 archbifhops, and 45 bimops % who were, as our writer ftiles them the whole catholic church. We have been before told, that the precl- fan, order, and perfpicuity, with which this decree is delivered, have been the admiration of ally who have read it with attention (p. 368). If it was fo wonderfully clear, how came it to be fo fiercely contefted through- out ? How came two of the venerable fa- thers to fight about it * ? How came there to be fuch heats and contentions between three of the cardinals 3 ? How came Soto, Catharinus, and Vega*, to difpute fo much about it during the debate, and when it was determined, ilill to mifunderftand its mean- ing, to enter into a controverfy upon it, and 1 Pattern, lib. 8. c. 1 8. . 10. Dupin. ecclef. hift. 16 cent. 2 d p l b 3. p. 47. 2 The bifhops of Cavia, and Cbiozza. Pallav. lib. 8. c. 6. n. i. 3 The cardinals del Monte, Madruccl, and Pacheco. Id* ibid. c. 7. n. 9 12. g 4 Ib. c, 12. , 15. B b 2 in in vindication of their respective contrary no- tions, to appeal to this infpired council about the meaning of this their own decree, which the fathers with all their fuper natural aj/ift- ance, neither did nor could decide ? If the preci/ion, 2&& perfpicuity of this decree be fo apparent, whence could arife that continued difpute amongft their own writers, what was the intention of the council in averting that good works of juftified perfons do merit eter- nal life, and in denouncing an anathema againft thofe who deny it " ? or whether this merit was merit of congruity or condignity % ? The council might furely have expreffed themfelves in clearer terms, and given fatif- faction : but the rule they went by, in this and all their decrees, was, to give up no- thing, but to eftablifh every thing that was called in queftion ; and rather by fcholaftic fubtleties to leave it difputable, than to feem to approach to any accommodations with their adverfaries. If now, it is any honour to Pole to have been concerned in the framing this decree let him have it. After pamng this decree, and fome rules concerning difcipline and reformation, the council proceeded to coniider the doctrine of the facrame nts in general (p. 371), wherein, inflead of explaining them, the fathers con- 1 Cone. Tr'id. fefs. 6. . 16. & canon. 32. 2 See fufficient proof of this in Stilling feet's Council of Trent examined and difproved by catholic tradition. Art. 4, of the merit of good works, p. 59. tented tented themfclves with denouncing anathemas againft thofe who did not hold them in the fenfe of the church, and the deniers of the feptenary. number of them. A figment this never heard of till towards the latter end of the 1 2th century: and the earlieft and higheft authority that Bellarmine is able to produce, is that of Peter Lombard* the m after of the fentences x , (for the authority of SS. is out of the queffcion) which that cardinal fur- ther fupports by moft cogent, and undeniable arguments drawn from congruities> fuch as, the refemblance of the fpiritual and natural life in feven particulars, the feven deadly fins, the feven virtues, the frequent mention of the number feven in the Jewijh laws of atonement ; and he concludes, that the S S. feem to declare, that there would be a time when God would provide feven eminent and efficacious remedies for the expiation of fins*. When the car the fathers are Jilent as to the manner, by which the body of our Lord becomes prefent in the eucharijl (p. 384) : when, as exprefsly as words could do, they have defined it to be, " by a converfion " of the whole fubflance of bread and wine, " which, they fay, is aptly and properly " called tranfubftantiation '." And there- fore this facrament is in titled to the high eft act of divine worfhip. But to give the fi- nifhing ftroke, and to difnlay abfurdity and fuperftition in its higheft extravagance, the council exprefsly approved of the annual folem- nity, by which its inflitution was commemorated (p. 383). A feftival that owed its original to the pretended vifions and revelations, which a fanatical enthuiiaftical woman was fuppofed to have received in the I3th cen- tury * ; and was now corroborated by that bulwark of all their decrees, the tremendous threatening of damnation to all deniers of them. The facrament s of penitence ', and extreme unttion (p. 384), were then eftablimed, after much fcholaflic diiputation : the one of which was intended chiefly to fupport the facerdo- 1 Cone. Trid. fefs. 13. c. 4. 2 Mofoeim^ v. I. p. 69 . tal ( 395 ) tal power and influence, by the benefit of auricular confeffion; the other, to excite falie hopes of falvation, in expiring perfons, from the external application of an infignifi- cant ceremony. The ambafladors of the German proteftants were fome of them ar- rived : but fuch a proteft, with refpect to their reception, was regiftered in the name of all the fathers (p. 385), as was intended plainly to fignify, they mould not be regarded. The violent, impetuous legate, cardinal Crefcentio> tf - had before laid every impediment in his " power to obftrudl their coming to Trenf, " and to prevent the council's making any re- " formation, he and his tools would rather fuf- " fer their throats to be cut, than part with " an inch of their pretenfions." This character of the legate and the council, we have from the letters of Vargas, and other minifters of Charles V, who were prefent at it ' j and law, and detefted the paltry, fervile behaviour of the majority of the fathers, whofe aim was not to confult the peace and reformation of the church, but how they might beft ad- vance the preteniions of the papal power. For this purpofe, the controverted doctrines were -not debated upon the footing of a free inquiry ; but fo propofed, that by a mercenary i They were publifhed in 1697 by Dr. Geddes^ and are inconteftible evidences of the chicanery of the Pope, the fhamelefs violence of the legate, the bale fervility of the council, and their difmsenuous behaviour with regard to the fafe conduct to be granted to the proteftants. majority, ( 396 ) majority, their fenfe of them mould be forti- fied by formidable denuntiations againft all oppofers, and all their priftine corruptions rendered the indifputable teft of catholic or- thodoxy. Fortunately however for the dependants upon the Pope, rumours of wars arifing, the fathers faved themfelves the trouble of enter- ing into any difpute with the proteffont de- puties; for many of the bifhops fled from *frent upon the firft alarm: and " now af- " fairs being in a defperate ftate, the fathers " that remained met, and by reafon of the " differ. tions arid quarrels of Kings and " Princes, prorogued it for two years, and " longer if peace was not made V But where was our Englijh cardinal all the while that thefe important articles were tranfafting ? could he be abfent from this council, who had ever been fo dcfirous of feeing one ; who had wrote fo excellently upon its nature, neceffity, and importance ; and who had expreffed his concern in fuch moving terrns, at the breaking up of the two former meetings ? Yet fo it was, that neither his .zeal nor his piety could fend him to aid this council with his advice, or honour it with his prefence. Whether it was, that not having the honour of being the Pope's i Sleidan, b. 23. p. 548. Who alfo has expofed the paltry behaviour of the council, in this whole book; which he was well qualified to do, having been prefent at it himfelf, as one of the proteftant deputies. legate, ( 397 ) legate, he was fb piqued he would not attend; or whether he was endeavouring to get over the vexation of having the popedcm flip through his hands : but whatever the caufe was, he does not appear to have helped it forward any one way, either by taking no- tice of it in his letters, or by being con- fulted at all upon the occafion. So that this moft confpicuous perfonage of that epoch (pref. p. xin), is, for fome time, intirely forgotten. To fill up, however, the vacant interfKces, as his cardinal's actions afforded no materials, our author hath diverted his reader, with the above account of the affairs at Trent; and not being difpofed to return to his hero in hafte, hath prefented us, by way of inter- lude between the laft and the next council of Trent) with a fhort account of the famous Poifi conference ; and with his ufual good faith, and ilricl regard to truth. Mr. P. declareth in his preface againfl running into digrejfiom on times and perjons (p. v), with which Pole had little or no relation (p. v), as his intent 'ion , is -to put down only what his fubjeffi leads him to ; not every thing he could draw from it (Ib. p. vi). We can therefore only account for this violation of his intentions, in relating this conference, which did not happen till upwards of three years after Poles deceafe, but from the in- famous pleafure which our author takes in afperfing, upon all occafions, the memory of the reformers, and in blackening their cha- racters, rafters, by a falfe and partial reprefentation. Not to fwell this article, we (hall content ourfelves with referring to Tbuanus ', and Dupin, for the occafion and hiftory of this conference. To the former of thefe our writer hath himfelf appealed : and his tefti- mony is, that Beza, in the heat of the dif- pute (p. 339), dropped indeed fome expref- fions, which (hocked the audience. But what was this offeniive propofition againjl Cbrift's pr eft nee in the euchariji (p. 389)? He af- firmed, that the humanity of Chrifh being taken into confideration, his body was as far diftant from the eucharift, as heaven from earth. But mould an adversary of good faith have pafled over in filence the clear ex- planation he gave of this aflertion, wherein he avowed he did not deny the prefence of Chrift as God in the eucharift j but that his body was not therefore converted into the bread, which, as a fubftance, was circum- fcribed by place and fpace in heaven ; con- firming his opinion by the exprefs authority of \..Aujiin, and Vigilius bimop of 'Trent. The cardinal of Lorrairis bafenefs in charg- ing Beza, in public, with being the author of that blajphcmy . . . concerning this myjlery, Chrijlus non magis in c&na> quam in cceno y was very extraordinary. For the cardinal had be- fore, in private, taxed him with it, and I Thuanusj lib. 28, A. D. 1561. Ditpin y 16 cent. v. 2. b. 3. p. 169182. See a lib vif. BezM inter Adaml vit. Exter.Thecl. p. 21 1- 22 1. feemed ( 399 ) feemed fatisfied with his folemn afTeveration to the contrary. But our writer's malignity in fixing this wicked calumny upon Beza, is inexcufable, when Thuanus, whole account he had before him, fays, that this expreilion fell from Melanchton, who, in his controverfy with Qecolampadius, mentioned this as a con- fequence of his doctrine; and that the car- dinal had, by miftake, charged it upon Beza. Neither is this all. The jefuit Lames muft be brought in for his mare of the triumph over poor Beza ; whofe difcourfe . . . ivas fo fatisfattory, that it procured the fettlement of his order at Paris (p. 390). But here our hiftorian improves upon his authorities. For Thuanus exprefsly tells us, that Lames' s fpeech gave great offence ; that it confifted of rant and railing, inftead of argument j that he fell foul upon the proteftants in a grofs and fcandalous manner; and that he infolently reproved the Queen for meddling in matters which did not belong to her. And to mew how well read he was in divinity, he advanced a proportion concerning Cbriji's pre- fence in the eucbarijl, infinitely more ft oc king and derogatory to the divinity of Chrift, than Bezas offenfive expreffion : for he compared it to the prefence of a King at anniverfary re- joicings, to perpetuate the remembrance of his own victories. Beza, with an air of con- fcious fuperiority, bid the wretch keep his reproaches to himfelf ; and told him, that he fpoke of the eucharift, as if it was a ccmedy, ( 400 ) comedy, in which Chrift performed the principal part. That Lainess fpeech procured the fettle- went of his order at Paris, is another of our author's ufual inaccuracies. For the Jefuits licence to open a fchool in France bears date fome days before Lames difcourfed fo fatif- factorily : and it was with great difficulty, that the fociety got any eftablifhment. For we are told, " the fociety met with fo great " oppofition to its eftablifhment no where as " it did in France, nor had it fo many tra- " verfes any where as it had there 1 ." And the licence granted to the fociety was clogged with many redactions. If we may guefs by immediate effects, Beza and his companions had their endeavours crowned with fufficient fuccefs. The conference of Poifi gave them more liberty to defend their opinions, and fet up places of worfhip; it reconciled them to the favour and protection of the court ; and in the next year the famous ^January edict was publilhed for their toleration ; " and the " admiral Chatillon petitioned for churches " in the name (as he faid) of 2150 reformed " congregations V Such, fays Pallavicmi, was the milchievous confequence of this con- ference, that that doctrine, which before was hid in dens and caverns, was now avowedly profeffed 3 . And Beza himfelf met with i Dupin, v. 2. p. 455. 2 Dupin, p. 190. Tbuanus, lib. 29. A. D. 1562. 3 Pallav.lib. 15. c. 14. n. 3. great ( 401 ) great civilities from the court j was permitted to preach in the fuburbs of Pans, and in the houfes of the Queen of Navarre, and Prince of Conde. Though this calm did not laft long, through the opposition of the clergy, and the houfe of the Guifes. We are now come to the laft meeting of the council of Trent ; which is introduced by our author in a very formal and pompous manner (p. 391), to ftrike the Englifi reader by the relation of fuch folemnities, which are always ufed upon public occafions-, and where any ceremonials are to be obferved. In enumerating the legates, whom Mr. P. has fo particularly characlerifed, he has omit 5 - ted one ornament of the purple, by whom, it mujl be acknowledged that the majejly of the Jirft bifhop of the chriftian church 'was never reprefented by an happier choice .... nor the inter efts of that church better underftood, or fupported with greater ability (p. 392); and that was his holinefs's nephew, cardinal Al~ temps bifhop of Conftans, whofe abilities were fo remarkably mean, " that the Pope " when he appointed him one of the legates, " in the character he gave of him, excepted " only his knowledge and experience, that " is to fay, the only qualities neceflary for " the commiffion he had intruded him " with V Yet, as Pallavicini obferves, I Courayer's tranflation of father Paul's hiftory, &c: v. 2. 1; 5. p. 121. Notes. C c thefe thefe deficiencies might be fupplied if he would but be directed by his colleagues ' . We are informed by one who knew him well, that he was fo ignorant, that, before he was made a bifhop, he could not fay the Lord's prayer in Latin, which language he did not underftand, and, moreover, that he could hardly write his name a . Indeed, to give him his due, he foon found himfelf insufficient forfucha ftation, and follicited his difcharge; whic^i the Pope confented to, having thoughts of employing him in a manner more fuitable to his temper, by naming him his legate to the forces intended to be fent into France % to fupprefs the growth of proteftantifm *. There was alfo another of the legates, not much better qualified for that charge than Altemps; and that was Navigero. For Pal- lavicini fays, that when the Pope, upon . lib- 15, c. 13, n. ro. 2 Jaccbus Heerbrand, one of the proteftant Divines fent by the Duke of IVtrtewburgh^ to the laft council of Trent ; arid who fays of this legate, whofe ignorance he is ex- pofing Melius bimc novimus> quiet Dioctefantit nojier. Cited in Shelhorns Amten. hift. & lift. v. i, p. 351, 352. 3 Pallav. lib. 16, c. II, n. 10. 4 Shelborn has preierved fome pleafant and entertaining anecdotes relating to this learned and ingenious cardinal, worth communicating. The Emperor Ferdinand accoiled him once in Latin* and faid to him, Memento te ejji pifeatorem bomi-nnjn^ &c. AltempS) not underftanding Latin, replied, Yes, moft noble Emperor, there is very good fifh in .... fea. Another time, as he was riding in Rome, along with fome other cardinals, when fome of them complained of the cold j Ahemps^ that he might bear his fh.are in the conver- fation,. ( 43 '-Attempt's leaving Trent* had determined to fend two new legates, one of whom was Navigero* cardinal Gonzaga remonftrated a- gainft this defignation, and faid, that he was a very improper perfon, being neither a di- vine nor a civilian z : but notwithftanding this reafonable objection, upon Seripando's death, his holinefs appointed this very cardinal his fucceflbr (p. 405). Thefe were the prefi- dents of that council, which our writer hath prefumed to compare with the apoflolical and infpired one at Jerufalem y related in the ads of the apoftles. This being the laft feffions, and when the greateft number of prelates were prefent, our hiftorian judged he could not more effectually ferve the caufe of his church, or recommend the affeffors of this tribunal (p. 426), than by calling the council an illttftrious copy of the ve- nerable original of that of Jerufalem (p. 42 1 ), and afTerting, \^^\. a fuper natural ajjifiance 'was ASSURED to it (p. 423). To exemplify thefe arrogant claims, he has condefcended to give the public a laboured, plaufible detail of the decrees eftabliihed in it, as if they had never been controverted ; or, as if his fallacious 1ation, and fhew his skill in the Latin language, obferved to them, Ejl magnum frigwn ; one of his attendants, who knew fomewhat more than his mafter, whifperec' him in the ear gut, gus : the cardinal corre&ed his miftake by this emendation, Ejl magnum frignncus^ from whence he. got the nick-name of cardinal 'Frigunciu. Ameen, hift. & lit. v. i, p. 356. i Pallav, lib. 18, c. 16, n. i. C c 2 repre- reprefentatlon would be admitted as the faithful expofitor of them. His vanity in- deed flattered him, that his account would have, at leaft, the recommendation of novelty with the generality of his readers (p. 420) : yet, alas ! fmooth words, and fine colouring will no more deceive us now, than anathemas could formerly frighten our anceftors j for there is nothing, in all this florid narration, of weight enough to leffen our well-founded objections againft the authority of this fynod. We plainly perceive the fame fpirit of infa- tuation to reign in this, as much as in the former feffions; that the legates were as much the creatures of the Pope, as any of the former ones were; and that " the fpirit " which was wont to move the legates to " think as the Pope did, and the bifhops to " believe as the legates, did work as for- *' merry it had done V We find the fame caballing and intriguing, the fame violent and unfair methods to fecure a mercenary majority, and to infult oppofers. Frequent were the complaints, during the debates in the council, that it was not free : and it clearly appears, that it was not fo much the healing of religious divifions, or to bring the flrayed fheep into the fold of the church, that the leading members of the council had at heart, as how beft to drive them farther ofF> and how to advance the profit, and exalt i Father Paul, b. 4. p. 276. the ( 405 ) the power, of the court of Rome. The French ambafTadors, in their difpatches, make grievous complaints of the partiality, preju- dice, and obflinacy of the holy fathers : they tell their court, that the Pope was matter of the council, and many of its mem- bers his penfioners 1 ; that their intention feemed to be, to increafe the troubles of Cbriftendim, and ftop the progrefs of the pro- pofed reformation 1 . In another difpatch, they fignify, that though there are many ex- cellent perfons in the council, yet there is no hope of any reconciling meafures being a- dopted, the majority not being fo well in- clined : that they were at that time treat- ing of fome doctrines in fuch terms, that it was evident, their defign was effectually to ihut the door againft the proteftants, and ba- nifh them the council 3 . The ambafTador Pibracs fpeech, fo reproachfully reprefented by Mr. P. as Jhocking (p. 395) to the deli- cacy of the fathers, was a difcourfe which did himfelf and his nation credit j and would have done thofe reverend fathers honour, if they had attended to, and profited by it *. 1 See ABes du candle de Trent e, en T an 1562, & 1563, p. 59. 8w, 1607. Lettre dc Lanfac au Rot, 19'* Jul. 1562. 2 Le mcme I fore. Lettre au Roi par mejjieurs du Fer- rier & de Pibrac, le 25 'Sept. 1563. p. 163, y i6j. 3 Le meme. Lettre de Pibrac a la Reyne mere. 22 Jug. p. 63 & 66. 4 Lememe. p. 15 24. See alfo Dnpin 16 cent. v. 2. b. 3. p. 2l8 223. Pallav. lib. 16, c. 11, n. $-$. C c 3 But ( 406 ) But the council was not only difcompofed by this fpirited and chriftian addrefs of Pi- brae, at its firft fetting out ; but the affair of fettling precedence gave the legates equal un- eafmefs ; and the famous Rartholomaus a Martyribus, archbifhop of Braganza, feems fo far to have refented that his claim of pre- ceding dl the other archbimops was not de- termined according to his mind, that it occa- fioned him afterwards, when the reformation of the cardinals came under confideration, to propofe, what Mr. P. calls, a flan (p. 394) for that purpofej ufing that fneering expref- iion, recorded by Quirini, to fignify his ienfe of the neceffity of their reformation '. Mr. P, reviewing the decrees of the coun- cil, lays that t^e fathers have added nothing to the doctrine of antiquity, but placed in an ad- vantageous light -what +be innovators endea- voured to objcure (p. 423) : and therefore con- gratulates his church, whofe unerring light, he fays, is at once clear, unchanged, and uni- verfal-, and has in every age .... been the fource and tejl of every rightful tenet (p. 422). As Mr. P. fuppofes, the generality of his rea- ders to be ignorant of thefe tranfactions, and that they are novelties (p. 420) to them, it is no wonder he mould buoy himfelf up with the hopes, that confidence would pafs with i Cum In conjilio confuleretur-, an cdrdinales reformations egerent^ apoftolica libertate refportdlt^ illiiftriffimi^ & revf- rendijfimi cardinales egent tllujlrijjlma^ 13 reverendijfima re- formation*. htirini, v. i . />. LXXIX, LXXX. them, ( 47 ) them, both for truth and proof; for it may well be doubted whether any one could fay this, and be ferious. We can fcarce think, the fathers themfelves thought fo highly of their own decrees, or they would never have given fuch flrange reafons, for enacting fome of them, as they have done. Thus, in the firft feffions of any importance, they eftabliih communion in one kind only, and yet own that communion in both kinds was inftituted by Chrift himfelf ', and was not an uncom- mon practice in the earlieft ages- of the church *. So, likewife, in the doctrine of the mafs, when they aflfert that it is a propitiatory facrifice for the dead, they do not pretend to found it upon S S, but tradition 3 : and, a- mongft other reafons of equal weight, for the mixing of 'water with the wine in the chalice (p. 399), is this convincing reafon urged, be- caufe it is believed Chrift did fo 4 . And the reafon, for retaining the ancient practice as to the language in which mafs is performed (p. 399), is, that though the mafs contains great edification for the faithful, yet it is not expe- dient it mould be performed in the vulgar 1 Etji Chriftus Dominus in ultima ccena venerabile hoc facramentum inpanis & vini fpeciebus injlituit^ & apo- jlolis tradidit. Cone. Trld. fefs. 21, cap. I. 2 Licet ab initio cbriftiams reJigtoms, non infrequens utriufque jpeciei ufus fu'ffit. Id. ibid. cap. 2. 3 Pro defunttis in Cbrijlo nondurn ad plenum purgatis . . . juxta apoftolorum traditionem. Id. fefs. 22, cap. 2. 4 >uod Chrijlum Dominum itafecijje crcdatur. Id. ibid* cap. 7. C -c 4 tongue.. ( 408 ) tongue. The fathers certainly wanted a little of IVJr. P's fubtlety, or they would have ufed fome more artificial refinements in com- pofing their decrees. Our author, however, is fo well fatisfied with their reafons, that he avers, that every article of tbejc chapters .... is enounced with a dignity becoming this auguft myftery, and in a manner the mojl fuitable to infpire thoje with refpeffi and devotion 'who are difpofed to Juch imprejjions (p. 399) : to pro- mote which, and to aftonim his prote&ant countrymen, he entertains his readers, with the relation of the folemnities of this cere- mony on Rafter eve, as it was performed by one of the rnoft magnificent and ambiti- ous prelates that ever filled the pontifical throne', who, whatever care he might take to increafe inward fanftity, yet, knowing how much eafier it is to wor (hip with the eye than the heart, made ufe of what had a pleafing effeSl on the fenfes (p. 399); and in- troduced into the religious offices of the church, an enormous multitude of pompous {hewy ceremonies, which were only calcu-r lated to attract the flupid admiration of a gazing populace. Theie gaudy fpectacles, that by thus cap- tivating the fenfes, place religion in out- ward mew, and fuperftitious rites, are abfo- lutely deftrudtive of the life and power of true devotion. And our author has given a ftriking proof of the effects of bigotted pre- judice, to represent with fuch pleafure the cumber- cumberfome and theatrical ceremonies in the E after-eve's fervice &f St. Leo the great ($.^0}-, and to prefume, that fudi a fwelling account of the laborious pomp of an outward wor- fhip could give any advantageous idea either of the faint, or the church in his days. If the reader be inclined to have any further in- ftances produced of the foppery and pomp of the Romifo ritual, as he may never have bad an opportunity of feeing tbefe atts of reli- gion performed with folemnity (p. 389) we be- lieve, he will not be difpleafed to have re- commended to his ferious perufal, Doclor Geddes's defcription of a folemn pontifical mafs ' : and Mr. Wbitfield's account of fome Lent proceffions, and ecclefiaftical entertain- ments at Lisbon 2 -, who, after defcribing the offenfive exhibition of a Good Friday s fer- vice at that place, makes this ferious and fen-, fible remark upon the ufe of what may have perhaps a pleajing ejf'eff on the fenfes (p. 399) of boys and girls, but mufl excite the com- paffion of every well - inftrucled chriftian. " How mean" (fays he) " is that eloquence, truly, required a mode- ration with refpett to fevered of thofe articles (p. 404) ; that is to fay, the Pope was fen- fible he had got a fure majority, and therefore was not difpofed either to yield any thing, or to oblige the King of France in his defire (for the peace of his kingdom) of reforming abufes, which time had introduced (p. 404). Indeed, whatever zeal that King might fhew to reftore the ancient difcipline, the council, being Nervis alienis mobile lignum, was de- termined to mew none : for notwithftanding thefe remonftrances, from a variety of dif- ficulties, nothing was done for feveral months ( 4" ) months together, except quarrelling in a mameful manner, and avoiding every appear- ance of a reformation. The debates, parti- cularly about epifcopacy and the cup, were carried on with fuch indecent violencies, as will be a lading blot upon the piety and pru- dence of the holy fathers themfelves, and the order and regularity, which mould have been obferved by infpired perfons. Father Paul is laid to write as an adverfary 1 (p. 424) : but Pallavicims hiflory is as full of their fquab- bles as the other * ; and is, upon the whole .(though attempted with a different defign) a ftrong confirmation of the other's credit 3 : and the Romanics can have little reafon to object to the friar's account, when this packed afTembly is fufficiently expofed by bis repre- fentation, who fpeaks of it in the moft ad- vantageous light. When the difficulties already mentioned (p. 405) were got over, the Council pafled the doffrinal decrees concerning holy orders, and the in/lit ution of epifcopacy. Thofe claffes which properly belong to holy orders, are defined to be 7 in number, and undoubtedly for the fame reafons of congruity as they had before decreed the feptenary number of facraments. They fay indeed, that the SS. make exprefs 1 Boffuet, bift. des Var. v. 2. p. 438. 2 y. lib. 16, c. 4, n. 2p. Lib. 16, c. 5, n. 5. Lib. 19, c. 5, . 5. Lib. 23, c. 6, n. 6, &c. paflttn per tot. 3 Courayer's preface to his translation of father Paul, p. Til. mention, ) mention only of the prieflhood, and the deaconmip ; the other five therefore ftand upon the Wronger rock, Antiquity, and Councils '. But if tbisfupreme tribunal was ciffurcd of a fupernatural affiflance (p. 423), why did the fathers draw up the articles con- cei > ing epifcopacy, with fuch caution* as to a-^ 'void an explicit decifion of the nature of the right, J'rov? which the jurifdi&ion of that or- der is derived (p. 406). If, as we are told elfe where, that the decifions of the Council are net lefs :: r and precife^ than abfolute and pe- remptory (p. 424) ; why did not the infpired members of it put an end at once to the con- troverfy, whether epifcopacy is immediately of divine right*; or whether bifiops as dele- gates of the holy fee (p. 358) have only a de- pen dent jurifdittion and power comprifed in (p. 406), and derived from the Pope ? And how- ever Mr. P. may prefume to flight Laineis fpeech, yet Pallavicini tells us, that no one perfon in the Council got fo much credit, as Laines by this fpeech upon epifcopacy 3 ; and another, which he made foon after, upon this and the fubjecl: of difpenfations, was fo much admired, that the legates fent a copy 1 Condi. Trid. fcfs. 23, cap. z. 2 Bofluet) kljl. des variations > v. 2. p. 436, to whom Mr P. is greatly obliged for the pompous and florid eto- gium given of the Council and its decrees, at the end of this fe&ion. But, as ufual, without reference or ac- knowledgment. 3 Lib. 18, c. 15, n. i. of ( 413 ) of it to Rome*. Which was fo far from le<* mg, as Mr. P. afferts, refuted 'with great fo- lidity . ... by Verdun (p. 406), that, as bet- ter hiftorians allure us, Verdun never ipoke at all. They tell us, that though he and Hu- gonius offered to reply to Lames, the cardinal of Lorrain would not permit either of them to do it T . Whiljl the decree for the reformation offo- i)ereigns (p. 408) was in agitation, Du Per- rier t one of the French ambafTadors, did, as Mr. P. obferves, fpeak with great vehe- mence 3 : but he could not well reply, to his anfiverer the hi/hop of Monte Fiafcono, by a dlfcourfe of pajjion and refentment, for he was not prefent when the bimop made his fpeech *. Mr. P. defervedly cenfures this projected reformation (p. 408), which was fet afide : and all that the Pope feems to have intended by it, was, that Princes being en- gaged in defending themfelves, might have the lefs power or inclination to urge the re- formation of the court of Rome ; and that, if the world had heard of complaints againil Popes, they might now hear of as many com- plaints againft Princes 5 . 1 Lib. 21, c. 6, n. 15. 2 Id. ib. #.16. /W,b. 8, p. 722. Duptn t 16 cent, v. 2, b. 4, p. 317. 3 djpero& aculeato atramento. Pallav, lib. 23. c. i, n. 4. See alfo ^cf^s de candle de Trente t p. 138, & 144. Dupin y v.2, .4, p. 345. 4 Pallav. lib. 23. c. i. n. 10. 5 Id. lib. 22, c. 9, n. i. The ( 414 ) The decrees coricerning marriage and re- formation being pafled ; Mr. P, to convince the heretics of Jlandering the church of Rome, prejents his readers 'with the whole decree on Purgatory and invocation of faints (p. 412, 413). And truly, if fpeaking peremptorily would do it, the doctrine is then fufficiently eftablifhed : but, though it be enounced with the ufual formal arrogancy of the Council's being injlrucled by the Holy Ghoft, according to SS, and the docJrine of all antiquity (p. 412) ; yet this will not fet afide this unanfwefable objection, that in this, as well as other de- crees, the Council TEACHES for doctrines the commandments of men. Pallavicini fays, that fome objected to this decree of Purgatory, that it was a mean one, and unworthy the Council : but they Were told, that in great buildings, fomething lefs perfect would al- ways be found, and to avoid the great evils of delay, fome omifiion of a lingering policy would be commended, if not excufed '. Af- ter this, we do not wonder (as the Council itfelf did not explain what Purgatory is) to find Eellarmine fo perplexed about it, that, for want of better proof, he was obliged to have recourfe to yews, Mahometans, heathen i Etiatnft decrctum de Purgatorio videretur quibufdam tenue, ac par urn dlgnum conftlio. Bed refpondfbatur, in cunftis ingentibus fabricis aliquid minus pcrfettum reperiri, & quo 'vitarentur gravia ma/a, ex mora impendent la^ quam- cunque prater mijjjionein aluujus lentts folcrtits laudabilcm y ne- dum excufabilcm rcddi. Lib. 24, c , 4, n. I o. poets, poets, philofophers, and apparitions % to prove this article of his creed $ which many writers of his own communion are honed enough to own the ancient Doctors were ignorant of. But it anfwered well the profits of th church ; and was too gainful a trade, for the priefts not to be follicitous to retain it a . As it was a doctrine fo well fupported by le- gends and fables, the prudence and policy of the Council cannot be too much admired, to make this article, evidently the fpawn of fu- perftition and credulity, and the nurfe of co- vetoufnefs, an article of faith ; and to damn thofe who are fo hardy to laugh at, or diile- lieve it. It was at the fame time no impolitic fcheme, not to determine the number of mafles neceiTary to releafe a foul out of Pur- gatory : for the more mafTes, the more mo- ney. So that cardinal Rkblieu was not out when he told his chaplain, " that jufl fo ' many mafles would ferve to fetch a foul " out of Purgatory, as fnow-balls would " ferve to heat an oven V The decree concerning the invocations of faints, and the worihip of images, is drawn up with the fame art and finefTe, that the 1 Bellarm. Cont. v. 2. De Purgatorio^ lib. I, c, 11, p. 749 75.0- 2 Minim in mcdum amant (monachi) igncm purgafcriurxj quod utilijjimus Jit illorttm 'citKnts. Eraf. Hieron. Agatblo. Ep. Kb. 20, />. 75^. 3 Cited in two difcourfes on Purgatory and prayers for the dead, fuppofed to be writtc,n by bifhop Burnet, p. 8- former former one concerning Purgatory was : and it will be fufficient to remark, that however thefe doctrines may be glofTed over, the practice of the church does not appear in fo fair a light. " The terms," fays Mr. Mac- laine, " employed in thefe canons are art- ( 17. p. 1616. ( 419 ) Its, that the dodtrine of his church is the very reverfe (p. 418) of what is generally repre- fented, with regard to this article, yet the fenfe of any church may be bed feen by it's prac- tice ; and this plenitude of the papal power is flill occafionally exerted as much as ever. In the year 1729 a papal bull was iflued out, and fent from Erujjeh into Ireland, to Chriftopber Butler titular archbifhop of Cafte//, to grant an indulgence of 10 years (I think) to thofe who fhould contribute money towards advan- cing the pretender to the crown of thefe king- doms, and dethroning the late King George *. Mr. Wejley alfo, in one of his journals, has inferted a remarkable indulgence, which he found ftuck upon the door of the great church of Menfz, fo lately as 1738 *. And the mif- fionaries here in England, have power from the Pope to grant plenary indulgences to all new converts, to all the faithful (if contrite) at the point of death, and to all the faithful under their care, three times every year. The 1 See the report of the Irijb committee m?de Dec. 19. 1733. 2 A full releafe for the poor fouls in purgatory. His papal holinefs Clement XII, hath this year 1 738, on the feventh of Augufl, moft gracioufly priviledged the cathe- dral church of St. ChriJIopber in Mentz. So that every prieft, as well fecular as regular, who will read mafs at an altar for the foul of a chriftian departed, on any holiday, or on any day within the o6lave thereof, or on two extra- ordinary days, to be appointed by the ordinary, of any week in the year, may each time deliver a foul out of the fire of purgatory. Wejlefs 3d Journal, from Aug. 1738. to Nov. 1739. p. 6. D d 2 terms, ( 420 ) terms, upon which this indulgence is granted, are thefe eafy ones, viz. that they excite in their hearts, the moft per feel: compunction poffible, and after confeffion, before or aftes communion, fay fome prayers in the day with great devotion during the fpace of about a quater of an hour, at the fame or different times, for the exaltation of the catholic church; for the peace and concord of chriftian princes; for the extirpation of herefy ; for the con- verfion of England '. Thus is this abufe of piety reformed : and thus, as Mr. P. fays, do we chufe to mifreprefent the doctrine of indul- gences, (p. 418). But let the reader judge whether he or we are miftaken in the repre- fentation given of it. This was the lafl decree of any moment worth our writer's attention ; the reft are palTed over, as being of lefs importance. But there was one in a more particular manner very neceiTary to be eftablimed by thofe, who were corrupting the faith,, and that was, the decree which remits to the Popes care the cata- logue of prohibited works, &c. (p. 41 8) j. that the faith, having now new doctrines and ar- ticles added to it, might have the appearance however of being fupported by the teftimony of the learned, whofe works it was determined r This, and fome other fecret pralices of the miflion- aries were difcovered from the papers of, Mr P's friend, Alban Butler^ which were fent by miftake to the bifhop's palace at Norwich., in 1753. See alfo Dr. Sifbbing againft popery, p< 2. p. ior. {hould ( 421 ) fliould at all events fpeak the language not of the authors themfelves, but of the Romifli church ; every pafTage being carefully ex- punged, corrected and amended, which tends to contradict the novelties of Pope Pius's creed, and his additional articles of faith. This the Belgic inquifitors make no fcruple to avow ' : but they have his holinefs's fanc^ tion for it -, though it is fo horrid and vil- lainous a proceeding, that it muft make the faith of all books, and all authors juftly fufpected. Such men muft lay afide both confcience and honour. Henry Boxbortj, pro- fefTor of divinity at Louvain, was employed in the Index Expurgatorius of the Low-countries, publimed by command of the duke of Alva under Arms Montanus; and fays, that with his own hands, he ftruck out no fewer than 600 pafTages in ancient writers, which feemed to contradict the doctrines and claims of the church of Rome. The fenfe of this difhonefty lay fo heavy upon his mind, that it proved the occafion of his turning proteftant, and quitting that religion which could not defend itfelf without fuch manifeft impoftures a . In the Spanifh Index Expurgatorius, which is a " 1 Cenfores Belg. de libra Bertram!, p. 1 2. In Catholids I'eteribus al'ris plurtmos feramus errores, & extenuemus, ex- cufemuSy excogitato comment a perfape negemus, ff commodum Us fenfum affingamus dum opponuntur in difputationibus , &c. 2 Henricus Boxkornius de Eucharijlia, Lib. 3. towards tke beginning. D d 3 bulky ( 422 ) bulky volume, the expunged places and words from the works of Erajmus take up no lefs than 59 pages, and thofe from Tbuanus, 12 '. Such havoc do thefe theological-barber-fur- geons, (as Dr. Jortin calls the inquifitors) make *. So true was that remark of Pakarius, though it proved a fatal one to him, for it coft him his life, that the inquifition was a poniard drawn againil learning 3 . Such means are indeed proper for fuch a caufe, where every art muft be ufed, to prevent the fpreading of too much knowledge. But if religion be to be fupported by violent and wicked means, this is not to defend, but to defile and violate it 4 ; and every honeft man mull; abhor fuch deteftable methods. Let Mr. P. and the congregation of the Index 5 vindicate, if they can, this breach of honour and good faith. 1 Erafmus author damnatus^ p. 256 315* p.6y8 690. Sotomajor's Index, &c 2 Jortin's Erafmus^ v. 2. p. 283. 3 Sica diftrifta in liter atos. Tbuanus, 5.39. A.D.I 566^ towards the beginning. 4 Defendenda enhn eft rcliglo non feeler e^ fed fide Nam ft tnalo religionem defendere velis^ jam non defendetur ilia? fed polluetur, aique viclabitur. Laflantii Injlltut. de jujlitia^ L.$. Sefi. 19. Ed. Var. p. 520. the author lived in the fourth century, 5 The bufineis of this congregation, is to examine MSS and books defigned for publication, to correct erroneous books, to condemn heretical, and pernicious ones, and to grant the privilege of perufmg them to certain perfons. Mojbeim, v. 2. p. 86. note, From, ( 423 ) From this fketch or review of the council of Trent, chiefly drawn from Pallavicini, Mr. P f s own hiftorian, the reader may judge, how little it merits the high flown panegyric be- ftowed upon it by our zealous admirer of it : but thefe are only words of courfe, to amufe his countrymen by a pompous detail of novel- ties-, (p. 420). But truly ! this council muft be compared to the apoftolical one at jferufa- lem, where St. Peter in perfon prefided. We have compared them together ', the illujlrious .copy, and the venerable original, (p.42i) -have no refemblance : humility, faith, candour, and holinefs, are the lovely fignatures of the one ; whilft pride, prefumption, faxftion, and bigotry ftrongly characterize the other. St. Peter indeed, according to the fcriptural ac- count of the Jerufalem meeting, (p. 42 1 ) did not know his place and duty fo well as his holier fuccelTors : for he neither called the council, nor prefided at it, nor pronounced the fentence ; neither did it run in his name, nor did he confirm it, nor was any appeal made to his authority. The believers did not fend to Peter only, or in the firft place, but to the apofHes and elders : and St. Barnes clofed the debate, pronounced the decree, and enacted the law, which was agreed to by the apoftles and elders and brethren *, without any regard to Peter s vicarial authority} with- i See Afls 15. v. i. & feq. and Barrow on the Pope's fupremacy, y. i. p, 4.5. a book never yet anfwered. D d A out ( 424 ) out giving the leaft foundation for the info- lent claims of his pretended fucceffors. The members of the Jerufalem council, were indeed guided by the fpirit of God, but what pretenlions had the fynod of 'Trent to this awful direction ? tc Hirelings, effeminate, "beardlefs, titular bimops made up the " greaeft part of this affembly j where the " Holy Ghoft had nothing to do, for all was " conducted by human and worldly policy, to " fupport the Pope's immoderate, fcanda- " lous authority 1 ," Had Lord Bolingbroks i Duditbius's letter to the Emperor Maximilian^ infert- ed at the end of father Paul's hiftory of the council, p. 841, and 882. As Dudithius was the latin translator of Beccatellis life of Pole, we will give the reader a fhort ac- count of him. After having ftudied in the moft famous univerfities, and travelled through a) mod all the countries of Europe, he was prefent at the council of Trent, as de- 'puty of the clergy of Hungary and bifhop of Knin in Croatia, where he diftinguiihed himfelf much, and fpoke againft feveral abufes of the church of Rome. He was a great favorite of the Emperors Ferdinand and Maximilian, and employed by them in many negotiations: He after- wards married, and refigned his bifhoprick ; and being protected by the Emoeror, defpifed the papal excommuni- cations which were levelled at his head. Tired at laft of the fopperies and fuperflitions of the church of Rome, he embraced the proteftant faith, having for fome time been its fecret friend, and kept up a correfpondence with Beza. He is faid to have inclined to Socinianifm, but fome of his friends deny it. He was well acquainted with feve- ral branches of philofophy and mathematics, with the fciences of phyfic, hiftory, theology, and the civil law. He had fomething majeftic in his figure, and in the air of his countenance. His life was regular and virtuous, his manners elegant and ealy, and his benevolence warm and pxtenfive. M^Jbeim, v. 2, p. 267. note ; from whence this ( 425 ) never offended more againft religion, than, when he called this council a folemn banter, (p. 424) neither his religion, nor his piety, could have been called in queflion. And moreover, if the decrees of the council were fo clear and precife, fo abfolute and peremptory, (p. 424) as the bifhop of Meaux, and from him Mr. P. would reprefent them; why, nmongft other congregations fet apart for adminiftring the fpiritual affairs of the church, and uphold- ing the catholic caufe, was there one in par- ticular, whofe' bufinefs it is to explain the de- cjfions of the council of 'Trent ? If the decrees had been as plain, as reafonable, as conib- nant to the doctrines of the gofpel, as thofe of the Jerufalem council, there had been no occafion for a fubfequent tribunal to direct, and regulate the orthodoxy of thofe, who ought to adopt no other plan of faith and mo- rals, than the SS, thofe Qracles of the living God, the only binding obligation upon chrif- tians of all denominations. Mr. P. concludes this long fe&ion, and his encomiums on the council of 'Trent, by a tefti- mony above all exception, (p. 429) and appeals' to Dr.Courayer's excellent preface to his tranf- lation of father Paul's hiftory of it : but had Mr. P. confulted the preface itfelf, he would fcarce have clofed this fubjecl: with fo unfor- tunate an appeal. He found two citations alledged by Quirini, as proof, that fome this account is chiefly taken. See alfo Dupin, 16 Cent. v s 2. B. 3. p. 204. and Thuanus, L. 96. A, D. 1589. regard ( 426 ) regard had been paid to the rernonftrances of princes concerning the corrupted irate of the church T ; and he produces them hoping they would ftand him in as good ftead as the car- dinal ; and that it would leave a lafting efteem of the council, if he confirmed his high character of it, by producing an evi- dence in its behalf, above all fufpicion of partiality ; and which, he knew, would be received with the refpedl: due to great learn- ing, candour and modefty. But if, inftead of relying upon another's reference, he had infpedted his voucher himfelf, he would have found, that this conceffion was only with re- fpedl: to mere externals, to what regards dif- ciplinc y and that the Dr. in fome pages be- fore had feverely cenfured the council, for augmenting the evils complained of, when it fhould have redrefTedthem,and had exemplified this charge in many important and interesting particulars z . He would have found alfo, that the Dr. after making the exception concern- ing difcipline, in the paragraph from whence the citations' are taken 3 , immediately added, > - that he could not pretend to judge fo favor- ably of the decrees concerning dottrines - that he could not juftify the fathers, for making 1 )uir'im^ v. 3. p. 41. Praef. citing Dr. Courayer, and Adding, quern nulla rations rejici poffe ab heterodoxis cenfui. The reference is made by the cardinal, as well as by Mr. P. without taking notice of the number of the page where the extra&s occur. 2 p. 18 21. 3 P-2i 3 22. fo C 427 ) fo many uncertain opinions articles of faith > for driving out of their communion, and ex- communicating whole nations for a difference of fentiments in thofe doctrines, which were of fuch little importance, that, till the coun- cil of Florence, every one was at liberty to believe or reject them without the impu- tation of fchifm, apoftacy and herefy '. This, and more to this effect, is the testimony of this 'very polite and judicious writer, (p. 429.) as Mr. P. juflly ftyles him. We leave it to his further conlideration a . 1 p. 22,23. 2 It would have fwelled this fection to too great a length, to have confidered Mr. P's account of^this coun- cil more minutely. He telis us, it ivas fubferibed to ^255 fathers (p. 419) : but of thefe, no lei's than 187 were Ita- lian bifhops, entirely at the Pope's command : See the lifts at the end of the canaries & dccreta concll. Trident.' where all their names are fpecify'd. Next to this GREAT number, which ferved to conftitute it a GENERAL COUN- CIL, the characters of the perfons who compofed it (p. 421) js another topic for our author to expatiate upon. That there were fome knowing and learned men amongft them, we deny not : but they were few in companion. We fhall give our readers great pleafure, when we refer them to Schelhorn's judicium Edmundi Campiani Soc. Jef. de conciL Trident, expenfum, inferted in the ameenitates hi/}. & lit. v. i. p. 281. & feq. where they may have a view of the merits of the fathers who compoied this illujlrious copy of fhe council of Jerufakm. ANIMADVERSIONS N SECTION THE SEVENTH. WE are now again returned to the fub- ject of the hiftory before us, and are brought to the concluding period of Henry s life, in which our biographer, adopting his hero's revengeful fpirit, fummons up all his rancour, and malignity ; and relateth every idle tale, which he could pick up from Pole and Sanders: the former of whom, in his invective againft the King, which he entitled his Apology to the Emperor^ has recorded a ftory to Henry s prejudice, which (if true) muft make him a monfter replete with every vice. But as the fact efcaped even Sanders's notice ; and as no other writer whatever men- tions fuch an inflance of c ample at ivortblejjnefs (p. 433), (and fo flagrant a one could not be concealed) it merits no confutation; and is only a fad proof of the eagernefs with which Pole's malice fwallowed every fiction againft Henry, and of the pleafure he took upon all occafions ( 4-29 ) Occafions of propagating thofe flanders in a manner unbecoming his profeffion, and con- trary to the charitable and forgiving fpirit of the gofpel. The mixed character of Henry VIII. ren- ders it impoffible to fpeak of him, without blending great virtues and great vices to- gether. He was a prince endued with good fenfe and ftrong natural abilities, but of fuch violent paffions, that he did not always at- tend to justifiable means in the profecution of his defigns j the fame vehemence of temper was obfervable in his friendships, and refent- mentSj for he neither favoured nor ruined by halves. Many of the writers of the Romifo church take particular pains to exalt the earlier actions of his life, that they may lafh him the more feverely for his latter failings. The ungrateful and the bitter Pole does this when- ever he has occafion to mention him j and by indulging his hatred and his fears of him, was ever alarming himfelf and his friends, that his life was continually in danger, and that Henry was never without having fome of his agents employed in bafe attempts againft it. We have before obferved ', that Pole harboured thefe fears of Henry y from the very commencement of their rupture, and even before the King could poffibly have given him the leaft reafon for fuch appre- . i P. 147, 148. henfions, ( 4*6 ) henfions. From that time his imaginatioii was always foftering thofe jealous anxieties^ which Mr. P. has worked up into real plots ; and has related, in the courfe of this hiftory, and with the utmoft confidence, fome circumftances, which Poles miftruft, and his own ingenuity has improved into a real defign of aflaflination. 'Three attempts of this kind are particularly mentioned by our author. I mail fay nothing of the firft, concerning the man who came to Liege in the evening (whilft Pole was fculking there after the difappointment of his firft em- bafTy) and left it, on the morrow, before break of day (p. 202), but that it mews the cardi- nal's great and natural timidity. The fecond was of three Italians who, he fays, 10 ere hired by King Henry for that purpofe (p. 306). But as no other writer of Pole's life imputes this guilt to the King, the whole refts folely on Mr. P's evidence. The reader, by this time, well knows what degree of credit it deferves 1 . The next is, of three ruffians, who werefeized on fufpicion : and ivho, it is added, confeJJ'ed who they were, and on what errand they had beenfent.($. 306). But let Pole himfelf re- late the fad, as we find it ftated in his dif- patches to his friend cardinal Cervini at Rome, whom he acquainted with the whole ftory. He tells him, " three perfons, one of i . Viterbii tres Italos, necem fill molientes, liberari jnjjlt. (Vita Poll, p. 56,) is all that is faid of this attempt. " them ( 43* ) T . e (life erned and detefted thefalfenefs, preva- rication and impiety with which it doth moil eminently abound. For what can- be more impious and abominable, than Poles afcribing his whole conduct, in his writing and pub- lifliing his fcurrilous letters, to the immediate direction, and irrefiftible impulie of God, as he hath in a multitude of places ? than his profane, fcandalous perveriion of S*? than his calling God to witnefs (what mud be falfe) his extreme love for Henry, and citing the word of God to fanclify his fplenetic fcurrility ? Had he been the good man he pretends, and would reprefent himfelf to be, he would have been content to die an exile, rather than feek to be recalled, by fiich arts. How could he think to perfuade or convince that virtuous young monarch, that he was all the while leading him to Chrift, when he was inflructing him to abhor the memory of his father, and with true enthufia'ftical cant denouncing God's judgments againfl him and his people, if he attended not to his ex- hortations ? This, in few words, is the fub- ftance of this addrefs to Edward VI. by which the reader will be enabled to judge whether or no it merits the fingular com- mendations beftowed upon it by Mr. P. who is fo liberal, upon every turn, in offer- ( 442 ) ing up the groiTefl: incenfe to the manes of his favourite character 1 . Edward's minifters were, it feems, fo far from wanting this officious and impertinent director, that the leading part of them were bent on fubverting every meafure the cardinal had recommended to the young King . ... In a word) abolifoing the ancient religion (p. 442). To make this appear* in the representation which Mr. P. pleafes to give of religious matters in this reign, he rummages about for matter of abufe ; and collects, from Heylin and Cottier, every fimple action and unguarded expreffion related by them, which have the lead tendency to defame the friends of the reformation; without attending to what is offered by thofe very writers in j unification of them. Though we do not think the principles of the reformation in die leaft af- I How this letter to Edward VI, after being preserved in private for fo many years, came to be communicated to the world, Mr. P. learned from h ivbicb fivept away Jb many thoufandS) the very year it was reared (p. 444) ; and which indeed began the year before. The pulling down fo many churches, and difturb- ing the burial places of the dead, and carry- ing their bodies to other places, were indeed acts of great wrong and violence ; " Yet this " notice of former fuperftitions was gained " by this barbarity ufed by him and others. " . . . . That among a great number of " rotten carcafes were found caskets full of " pardons, fafely folded and lapt together in " the bottom of their graves ~." 1 Stowe's Survey, p. 627. 628, and 682. Heylin, p. 128. 2 Strype's Memorials , v. 2, p. 181. The ( 449 ) The next objection, which our author bringeth to afperfe the reformers, is concern- ing abftinence from Jle/h, and the keeping of Lent. Here he again kindly refutes him- felf, by adding, that upon bt/hop Gardiner s complaint a proclamation came forth, 'which en- joined the obfervance of Lent , and the King's lenten diet was fervcd up as formerly (p. 444) : and farther flill, an act of parliament was palled the next year to inforce that procla- mation 1 . But what fort of men they were which vented thefe novelties, that they were time-fervers and hypocrites, we may learn by the following inflance. The preacher, men- tioned by Mr. P. who informed his audience* that Le?it was a political ordinance, and might be fet afide at pleafure, made his peace after- wards with Pole, who forgave him this of- fence, though his biographer cannot : for Dr. Glazier (which was his name) was in fuch high favour in the next reign of faints, that the cardinal himfelf honoured him fo far, as to make him one of the inquifitors under him, to profecute heretics *. tte gofpellers, as they are called, do next offend the zeal of our hiftorian, who ajferted the blafphemous doctrine of Cafoin, that God is the author of Jin (p. 445). Bifhop Hooper ; fays Hey /in, charges thefe gofpellers with v. 2, p. 95. Parliamentary Hiflory, v. 3, p. 246. 2 Strypes Memorials, v, 2, p. 25, and v. 3, p. 452. F f main- f 450 } maintaining this doctrine " 5 which he would not have done if they had been Calvin s dif- ciples : fo far from that, our author might have learned from Collier that Calvin him- felf wrote againft them and their principles, in a letter to the Protector *. The dotages of the Anabaptifls are mentioned here with no other view, but to expofe that heinous fin of arcbbifoop Cranmer, who took his feat on an altar of the bleffed Virgin, in Sf. Paul's churchy 'when he examined fome of them : but this fin mud be laid at the door of that precious faint, bifhop Banner, who, himfelf, or by his officers, as the archbifhop told him to his face, pre- pared the fcaffold whereon he was to fit - y and whether (faid he) there were any altar under it or not, I could not perceive it, nor once fufpected it. And this he fpoke, when that holy prelate, with his ufual meeknefs and good-nature, infulted his metropolitan in his affliction, for fitting, like Lucifer, in the place of Chrift, upon an altar 3 . But it is not enough for our biographer to infult his countrymen : foreigners alib muft come in for their fhare of perfonal fcurrility. The candid and the moderate Cranmer thought the bed way to come at truth, would be to advife with thofe of the greater! character for learning and piety. With this view, he en- couraged a correspondence with the mild and i Heylin, p. 93. 2 Collier,, v. 2, p. 284. $ Fox, v. 3, p. 663. excellent ( 45' ) excellent Melantthon, and with Calvin, the great director of the French churches. Amongft others whom, he invited into England, as a place of fecurity from perfecution, and who accepted his invitation, were Martyr, Ocbin, and Alafco-, who are here diftinguifhed by our author's falfe and injurious calumnies. Martyr and Ocbin, faith he, were particularly employed to compile a liturgy (p. 445). Martyr and Bucer, if he pleafes, were confulted, (but not Ocbin} upon the review of the Liturgy '. Martyr and Ocbin fays Mr. P. were both monks, and yet entered o?i a marriage-ftate, which, though honourable in all, was in" compatible with their vows. If an infpired apoftle mall exprefsly fay, that Jl ate is honour- able IN ALL, who ihall prefume to fay, that conftrained vows of celibacy are not difhon- ourable and unlawful ? But Martyr, quoth he, was a profeffed Zuinglian. He knows nothing of Martyr who can aflert this. Let Mr. P. confult his dilTertation upon the eu- charift * ; and then, if he knows what it is to be afhamed, let him be amamed. He has ignorantly traduced a good, a learned, and a modeft perfon, for efpouiing a doctrine, which, as profeflbr of divinity in Oxford, he did for- mally, and ex cathedra oppofe : it will not lefTen the malignity of thefe calumnies to urge that they are derived from the informa- 1 Strypis Life of Cranmcr, p. 210. Collier ; v. 2, p. 309. 2 Martyris loci communes, p. 995, 996. Sirype's Mem. v. 2, p. 196. J>ife of Cranmer, p. 20 r. Heylin^ p. "Q. F f 2 tion ( 452 ) tion of the biihop of Meaux ', and DF. Hey tin. Ochin-t co-ntinues Mr. P. became afterwards a declared enemy of the divinity of Jefus Chrift (p. 445). There is great reafon to think he did : but whilft he was in England his cha- racter was as unexceptionable in every refpect, as whilft he was a member of the Romijh church ; when cardinal Ecmbo gave the mar- chionefs of Pefcara the high-eft encomium of his life * -, when Gratiani fpoke of him in the warmeft terms, as a mirror almoft of zeal and piety, relating that he was revered as a faint, and efteemed univerfally the beft preacher in Italy 3 ; when the Emperor himfelf, who heard him at Naples, declared that he preached ivith fuch fpirit and devotion as was fiifficient to make the very ftones weep 4 ; when cardinal Caraffa (afterwards Paid IV.) could obferve no mediocrity in his praifes of him, but dwelled, with expreffions of rapture, upon the ardour of his devotion, the vehemence of his preaching, and the fanclity of his life . 5 Afterwards, when exception was taken againft, what we hope, were rather unguarded, than wilfully offenlive expreffions ; and he was f>ro- fcribed from place to place ; it is fome mitiga- tion of his errors, if fuch violent treatment oc- eafioned thofe inconfiftencies in his later adtions I Hijl. dts Var. v. i, /. 7, p. 332. 1 ghiirini, v. 2, Dial. p. CCLVI. 3 Gratiani in his life of Commendonl, cited in BaylSs t. article Ocbin, note C. 4 Mojhtim, v. 2, p. 73. Note. 5 Qtirini, v. 3, Diat. p. LXXXVI &fey. and ( 453 ) and writings, that blafted the fair character to which the former part of his life had given him fo juft a title. After all, he may be greatly injured by the mifreprefentations of declared enemies ; who, in his life-time, making no allowance for the weaknefles of old age, and a mind continually opprefTed by infults, exag- gerated all his failings. Candid and impartial pofterity will rather deem him an object of companion, than dwell with pleafure upon his unfortunate fall '. Alafco comes next for his mare of perfonal abufe, and is faid to have adopted the errors of Zuinglius (p. 445). Mr. P, mould have told us what thofe errors were. Zuinglius is recorded to have been a man of great fanc- tity of manners, ability and refolution ; his doctrine of the eucharift was, that the ele- ments of bread and wine were only figns and fymbols of the abfent body and blood of Chrift 1 . Whether Alafco was his, or Calvin's difciple, I know not ; Sotomajor hath marked him for a Lutheran heretic % .and our writer here for a Zuinglian^ becaufe he found that Heylin, Collier., and fome others fpeak more reproachfully of Zuinglius than Cahin. Alafco, it feems, jound out twelve different meanings 1 See more of Ochin, Bayk's Di&. Ochln. Mojbeim> v. 2, p. 230. 2 Mojbeim^ v. 2, p. 191, 197. See alfo p. 26, 27, of the fame vol. 3 "Johannes a Lafco Polonus. Lutb. Theol, Index prohib: ?r. p. 631. Ff 3 of ( 454 ) of the words cf the injlitution of the eucharijl\ but whether any, or all, or none of them were contrary to the true doctrine, we are frill to feek. If this be heretical, Dr. Waterland hath almofl as much to anfwer for, as Alafco ; for the Doctor, in his learned review of the eucharifr., hath taken notice of Ten of the moft noted names under which it hath been anciently fpoken of 1 . And if any fhall be inclined to think this an impeachment either of the Doctor's or the reformer's orthodoxy, we will offer this apology for them both ; and, in the language of one who carried his notions of the efficacy of the eucharifr. to the highefl pitch : " as the nature, office, and tells us, " was much lamented by the a very fhort time after, a frefli deputation to allure him, that they had propofed no- thing, but what was ufual, lawful, and right : by this time he had fo far recovered him- tllius afelli) qui cum ad ojlium domini ful Jlaret alligatus^ mi- fit Chrijlus duos, qui eumjoherent^ & adfe adducerent^ quod ipfe fan flam civitatem in eo jcdens ingredi vellct. Sic enim cogitavi) audienSy ques duo illi in mandatis haberent^ eofque propterea venijje^' ut me ex eo loco deducerent^ quo a dextra ingredient! januam major is face/It, tanquam ad ojlium Domini met alii gains Jlabam (ibi enim conjiituta erat^ qua mi hi ob~ tiger at i cella.) Eos igitur ftc audiebam quafi a Cbrijlo mij/'os ; ita vero mcipfum intuebar^ tanquam afe/lum, de quo max dixi ; heec enimfpecies mihi demetipfo turn maxime animo obfervaba- iitr^ etfi aliis fortajje videri pojjim bane ipfam perfonam dcpo- fuljje ; propterea quod non Jlatlni ab illis me folvijim & deduci. Ego vero confcnjum ilium minime fum ape fed nocJem tf tenebras (ut verumfatear) extimui. an f ecus? Hie non difputabo ; ncque enim quam rettefecerim, explicare conjlitui^ fed tantum quid fecerim. Ego igitur, cum noEtem & tenebras nonnihil fufpeftas haberem? ut quv minime Qptes viderentur ad illud jumentum fohendu?n, in quo Rex ilk manfuetus infidens, civitatem fanftam, id ejl ecclefiam^ in- grejjiirus effet y quern facr is liter is proditum eft^ clara luce in- greflumfitijfe,, ut res ad lucem differ etur pojlulavi. Id. ib. p. 58, 59. i Ptricuhjis & minime gloric/is contentionibus. Id. ib. P. 62. felf, felf, that he told them, he would obey their commands ; and in this, fays he, I returned again to perfonate the afs '. But no fooner were the cardinals retired out of his cell, than he was feized with his old qualms, re- pented of what he had promifed, and imme- diately fent a meffage to them, defiring them, if poffible, to put off the bufinefs till the morning. The cardinals, tired with fo pre- poflerous a mortal, deferted him at once -, and his meffenger returned, and told him, that he had found them of their own accord, al- ready come to that refolution; and, to his great furprize and difappointment, he difco- vered the next morning, that they had no occaiion for his attendance in the chapel; other views and difpojitions, as Mr. P. lays, then took place ^.458)*. This was that Mavi&sr, which, our hiflo^ rian fays, gave a greatnefs to bis private cha- raSler.y 'which no elevation could have equalled (p. 459). When a man is determined at all events to utter a panegyric, it is no difficult matter to give a fair and plaufible turn to the abfurdeft actions. From Poles own narra- tion, it is clear, that he was abfolutely unfit for that high and aclive ftation. When the point came to a crifis, and it was requifite for him to declare, whether he would accept the 1 In quo fane mibi vldelar ad jumenti perfonam rediijje: Id. ib. p. 59. 2 Idem conftlium fua fpwte cepljje repfrit. P. 59. G g 2 pope- ( 463 ). popedom or no, his whole conduct was fo ridi* culoufly fanatical, that his friends were afhamed of it, and thought of him no more. * The prefent exigences -of their church, they well knew, required, in Pole's own metaphorical language, a bold and fteady pilot; and that a log, or an afs, would have neither {kill nor fagacity fufficient to {leer St. Peter s {hip, with an even and fteady hand, which was now in great jeopardy, tofled about with violent ftorms, and in danger of continual attacks from the alarming number of heretical pi- rates 1 ." They turned therefore their eyes (being fo deceived in him) to another perfon, and the oppofite party having amufed Pole, till the French cardinals could arrive, ma- naged their point fo artfully, that the pope- dom flipped through his hands when he thought it moft fecure ; and, when he little dreamed of it, one was put over his head, 1 who had no fuch fantaftical fcruples about the night or the darknefs, and who thought he could fill St. Peter s chair full as well as if he had been chofen in open day light. When the election was thus determined to the no fmall difappointment of our myftical quietift, he then found out, not that he did not represent the afs he had defcribed, but 1 See p:i30. 2 Miln nee opinanti fignificatum eft, inter paries tandem one of the Juftices of the Common Pleas, Lord Chief Juftiee, and one of the privy council. P. 17. Court enay, is faid to be fon to the marquis of Wtnchefier^ inftead of Exeter. He was foon after created earl of De- von/hire. P. 1 8. and other places Goldwell, for fo Rymer, and all the Englijb writers call him, (except Mr. Dod) Mr. P. mentions by the name of Godwell. Indeed, I find his name fo written amongft the fubfcribers to the council of Trent. P. 82.' The Earl of Arundtl, who was Lord Steward, is ftyled High Chamberlain. P. 78. Sir Anthony Broum, lately created Lord Montague, Mr. P. calls, Pole's nephew, taking him for a ion of his elder brother. ambaf- ( 474 ) ambajfador at the Emperors courf, (p. 6.) un- dertook, we are told, the management of it : and difpatched his fecretary into England with Pole's letters to the Queen, who gave him ample afTurances of her attachment to the catholic caufe j but it was under fuch flrong injunctions of fecrecy, that being informed by her ambaiTador at Venice* that the fecre- tary had communicated her intentions, too publicly, to the confiftory at Rome. She com- plained thereof to Pole affuring him, that if fuch reports mould come to the knowledge of the parliament, the late ftatutes concern- ing religion, and the new ailumed fupremacy would not be fo readily repealed '. A com- plaint of this nature, and at fo critical a junc- ture, was deemed worthy of his Holinefs's own interpofition, who wrote to the Queen himfelf to afTure her of the falfenefs of that intelligence, that all that the meiTenger had informed the coniiftory of was, what he had feen and heard, namely, the execution, re- pentance, and prayers of the condemned re- bels ; and thofe public aclions of hers which teftified her catholic and pious difpoiition ; what more me had heard, was, he told her, only raifed to prejudice her againft the apof- tolic See *. Noailles, the French ambaj/ador at the court , v. 4. Ep. Maria Reg. Ang. Polo, p. 119, 1 2O. Collier , v. 2. p. 352. 2 ^K/r/W, v. 4. Julius P. P.lll. Maria Reg. Anglia, P- 432. if ( 475 ) of England* ( p. 9 ) eafily perceived the drift of this communication between Ro?ne and England-, he gave his court early intimation of the Legate's commiflion, and of the ne- ceffity that it mould be upon a good footing with him, who, fays he, " if once he comes hi- ther > will have the firjl place in the Queens confidence., to the no fmall difpleafure of the C/jancellor, and of fever al of the nobility, who, on account of their religious principles, will fee with regret, not, (as Mr. P. tranflates the next words,) a churchman, but, fuch a fervant of the Pope, at the head of the minijlry : (p. 10 ) for the Queen, (he adds) has al- ready raifed up fo many enemies againfi her, upon the account of religion, that there needs but little frem matter to put all things into confuiion '." No fooner was Mary feated on the throne, than Ihe began to mew the temper of her reign. There could indeed be little hopes of any attention to law or decency, when the Sovereign avowedly put herfelf at the head of a party, and brought to the crown all the ir- ritated paffions of a difgufted fubject. Her naturally gloomy temper had long been four- ed by thole hardships which her father's vio- lence compelled her to fubmit to ; this gave I De quoi fcjlime que le Chancelller naura trop de plaijir, ff beaucoup moingz grand nombre de Millords, & du peuple qui voudront mal voluntiers porter obeiffance a v.ng tel mini/Ire duPope^ &. AmbaJJades de Noailles, v; 2, p. 136. her ( 476 ) her an unconquerable averfion to every fubfe- quent meafure : fhe looked upon her catife and popery to be one and the fame, and her- felf in fome meafure a confeflbr for the Pope's iupremacy. Although me had paid, in her fa- ther's life-time a temporary feigned obedience to his laws; yet, by pleading her brother's minority, for oppofing his religious regula- tions, me became involved in a difpute with his miniftry concerning the indulgence me claimed of the full exercife of her religion, at a time when the laws made it penal. This increafed her averfion to the reformation, which upon her acceffion to the regal power, broke out in the ftrongeft iymptoms of ran- cour, and fuperftition. Her memorable r-eply (p. 10) to the Empe- ror's prudent advice, that She faith Mr. P. v. 3, p. 308. the the young lord Guildford Dudley, and, though no part of the late confpiracy But it is by one who knows them not. After this digreffion we are informed, that the Lord Mayor and Aldermen waited on the Legate, and dejired him to honour the city with hh prefence in that char after (p. 87). To pay the greater refpect to him, the whole court attended him to St. Paul's upon Advent Sunday, where he went in great ftate, and the chancellor himfelf preached. But how- ever acceptable the late proceedings in parlia- ment were to the court and courtiers, the Legate had the mortification to find that the citizens of London abhorred thofe acts, and that he was not received with that pleafure and refpecl: he wimed. " The Legate" ( as Mr. Strype tells us from a fpeuirini, v. 5, p. 107. in a letter from cardinal Mo- rone to Pe/f, dated 1556, for For in a bull of his addreffed in 1712 to the King of the Romans, his Holinefs " cancels " all promifes and oaths made in favour of " proteftants ; declaring them null and void, " whenever they are prejudicial in any man- " ner to the catholic faith, the falvation of " fouls, or to any rights of the church what- " foever; even though fuch engagements have "been often ratified and confirmed. 1 " So that, what one Pope folemnly confirms ano- ther can as folemnly refcind, and both claim an equal plenitude of authority. If there- fore the papal difpenfation be all the afTu- rance the lay pofiellbrs of the church lands have for their fecurity, it is none at all. Any future infallible head of the church (mould opportunity offer) may allege fome pretence or other for the refumption of what was un- alienably annexed to the church, as confecra- tions made to the fupreme Being , of a real and perpetual nature ; and as it were vefted in him, and not to be taken back 'without his confent, jignified by thofe he hath appointed interpreters of his 'Will and delegates of his power. ( i ft pt. p. 218.) The Legate, fays our author, had accom- plijhed a work, which required a zeal and abi- lities as enlightened and exteujive as his : and now a foreign great exigence called him forth, in which, if he had not the fuccefs he met with in his own country, his integrity and talents i Clem. xi. P. Max. Ep. Brevia, v. 2, p. 1 79. I i 3 for ( 5 2 ) for negotiation appeared to no lefs advantage and were acknowledged with equal applaufe (p. 107). This great exigence was a treaty of peace, which the Legate, the lord chancellor Gardiner^ the lords Paget and Arundel, were to mediate between France and the Emperor. Mr. P. here tells us how high an opinion Noailles the French ambaflador had of his he- ro's, political talents. That minifler doth in- deed fpeak very refpectfully of Pole in many of his letters. But when the cardinal appear- ed at the congrefs, Noailles foon found Gar- diner s obfervation to be true, that his abili- ties were not anfwerable to fuch an undertak- ing. He fays that the Legate was only a ci- pher ', and that he dared not to propofe any thing till the other commiflioners gave him leave *. This treaty was foon broken off, but afterwards was renewed in London : and the ambaflador is again fo far from fpeaking of the Legates political talents with applaufe, that lie complains greatly of his timidity, and caution, of his want of vigour, execution and abilities to conduct fuch negotiations 3 . He does indeed, as Mr. P. fays, elf ewh ere fpeak in the, moji honourable manner of him (p. 112) ; and rejoiced at his being in the miniftryj with great reafon truly, for it clearly appears, that he had procured Parpalia, the abbot of 1 AmlaJJades de Noailles^ v. 4, p. 326. 2 Le Memc, v. 4, p. 355. 3 Lf Meme, v. 5, /. 235, 236. 286. Ban San Salute, to be a fpy upon him, from whom he had clear intelligence and full information of all his matter's adlions, and the fecret in- trigues of ftate '. Though the Legate had great influence with the Queen, yet Gardiner the chancellor was in many inftances a check upon him. This of courfe created a jealoufy between them : upon Gardiner s death the Legate had no rival. So memorable a perfonage as this prelate was muft not be parTed by unnoticed. He was a man of great political craft, and, in that refpedl:, the ableft fbtefman the Queen had. He had prevented her from taking ma- ny difgraceful and offenfive fteps. Knowing the temper of the nation, he oppofed both the Spanifo match and the Legate s powers ; but the Queen's violence obliged him to yeild. However as much as laws could bind, he pre- vented Philip from reaping thofe advantages from the marriage, which the intrigues of his father and the Queen's paffion would other- wife have procured him ; neither would he permit the Legate to exercife any powers without a commiffion under the great feal. The writers of the Eiograpbia Britannica have taken great pains to blanch this prelate's cha- racter. From them hath Mr. P. drawn his account, and referreth to them. They do in- deed fpeak favourably of Gardiner, and at- i Le Meme, v. 5, p. 139. 165. 289, ft. tempt tempt to clear him of being the author of the cruelties exercifed in Mary's reign, by lay- ing the blame of them chiefly upon Pole, He was, in fad, a perfecutor of the protefl- ants, and in his examination of them often grofsly rude and infolent ; but growing weary at laft of the drudgery, he gave over condemn- ing and burning. That odious employment }ie left to the more zealous and impetuous Banner, and betook himfelf to the manage- ment of the ftate, at a time when a good head joined to a bad heart might exert itfelf to the beft advantage. One of the firft acts of Poles legantine au- thority was to grant commiffions for the pro- fecution of heretics. Soon after others were iiTued out to the bidiops and officials of the vacant Sees to reconcile and abfolve both cler- gy and laity. But to thefe were tacked fome instructions, which (hew, that notwithftand- ing the good opinion fome of our hiftorians have entertained of Pole, he brought with him the fpirit of an inquifitor. For by them the ordinaries were authorized to proceed a- gainft and to punim heretics and fcifmatics ; and, that fuch might be effectually difcover- ed, they were required to regifter the names and refpective parifhes of every one who had been formally reconciled to the church; and all others were to be fummoned to~ appear at the next vifitation, and to be proceeded againft as obftinate offenders. Thus early did the cardinal put the bifhops upon executing the fan- i ( s 5 } fanguinary laws lately revived *. We can- not but obferve with what candor our Bio- grapher draws a veil over that perfecuting difpofition which thefc documents ( had they been laid before the reader) would have be- trayed in his hero. He very honeftly removes them oat of fightj and haftily flurs them o- ver in that heap of infignificant regulations which throiD no further light on the character of Pole, or on the ft ate of the nation as it flood related to him (p. 142). He rather chufes to amufe his readers for feveral pages together with the Legate 's fpeculative plan of reforma- tion, in thofe fy nodical decrees propofed by him to the convocation, which were to efta- blim the Romi/li faith and ritual. But as they contain nothing new of doctrine or difcipline, we will pa'fs them by, as not worth any con- fideration ; only remarking, that Mr. P. hath mifreprefented, and, as ufual, foftened every circumflance which might be orfcnfive to a proteftant ear. When thefe decrees were agreed to by the convocation, the Legate fent an abftradl or fummary of them to Rome for the Pope's ap- probation. Cardinal .Morone was ordered to tell him, that his Holinefs was much pleafed with the fummary tranfmitted to him, and waited for the decrees in form, when he would confirm every part of them that mould appear | Sfrype's Cranmer, p. 346. Appendix, p. 191. right ( 506 ) right and proper. And then, to match one reformation with another, he informs the Le- gate, that 150 common flrumpets had been reformed by the preaching of one friar, which was, fays he, a mofl furprizing miracle in- deed ' ! v. 5, p. 100 102. A N I- ANIMADVERSIONS O N SECTION THE TENTH. THE great fhare which archbifhop Cran- mer had in forwarding the reformation in England, has rendered him the object of Mr. P's particular animofity. The account he hath given of this excellent prelate is one continued bitter invective, a collection of e- very fcandal which falfhood, cruelty, and ma- lice have invented to defame him. That he had his failings, we deny not; that they are here exaggerated and mifreprefented, will ap- pear ; if, (as our writer has defired us in be- half of bimop Gardiner) ive neither jorm our opinion of him from clogy or inwecJive, but from facts ; and take into the ejlimate the various temper of the reigns he lived in (p. 120). The firft charge againft him is, that he had been one of the chief promoters of Henry's fepara- t ion from Catharine of Arragon, . . . and bad, moreover, pronounced the fen fence of the divorce (p. 145). But why this offence fhould ^be pecu- ( 508 ) peculiarly charged on Cranmer, or why it ihould have flirred up the refentment of the Queen againft him only, whilft others who were equally concerned with him were high in her favour, I leave it to Mr. P. to account for. He tells us, it was to avenge the wrongs done to the religion the profejjed (p. 146). Probably enough ; as the fame zeal for the fame religion has prompted him to perfecute this prelate's memory, and to load him with the moft virulent calumnies. An impartial relater of facts would not have omitted the great obligations the Queen had received from Cranmer : her contumaci- ous behaviour in her father's reign had well nigh endangered her life, and it was his inter- ceflion alone, that foftened the King, and di- verted his anger '. A candid hiftorian alfo, when he told the public that Cranmer fub- fcrlbed to the change of the fettlement made in Edward's reign, would have declared the oppofition he made to it in council, and the reluctance with which he figned it at laft; which iurliciently terrified it was neither his propofal nor agreeable to his fentiments, but that he was overcome by the perfuafions and example of the reft of his counfellors, and the importunity of Edward himfelf. Tbefe mifdemeanors, our author fays, be bad aggra- vated by fpreading feditious libels, and raiftng I Strype's Mem. of Cranmer, p. 431. Bnrnet, v. 2, p. 241. Hume's Indorf. v. I, p. 354. tumults , ( 59 ) tumults. What libels did he fpread ? what tu- mults did he raife ? At the Queen's acceffion he kept himfelf quiet. The brutal Banner himfelf faid, Mr. Canterbury is become very humble*. This quiet behaviour of his was laid hold of by his enemies, and he was al- perfed as if he had reilored the mafs. It was, I fuppofe, the anfwer the archbifhop had pre- pared to this infamous lie, in which he offer- ed to juftify King Edward's liturgy, and to prove that the mafs had no foundation in S S, but was contrary to the fame, which Mr. P. in- folently termeth afeditious libel But there could be nothing in this paper treafonable or fedi- tious, becaufe the mafs was at that very time contrary to the laws of the land. How far from raiting tumults Cranmer was, may ap- pear from his fubmitting quietly to the Queen's authority, and that his name was at the head of the letter which recognized her title, and ordered the duke of Northumber- land to lay down his arms. So far was he from perfevering to oppofe the Queen, that he confefled his offence in confenting to the late King's will, and implored her mercy. She herfelf, with all the refentments of a wo- man, was fenfible, that me could not with any decency forgive the reft of the late King's council, and take away the life of him who was the lead culpable of any of them : fhe therefore pardoned him the treafon, but de- tained him in prifon for herefy. . I Burnet t v. 2, p: 248. The The portraiture, which our author hath exhibited of this eminent prelate, is not drawn from the original ; but from the diflorted co- pies which he found of it in the bifhop of Meaux l and Mr. Dod's hiftories 2 : from them hath he extracted his materials, from them is his bitternefs derived. The charges which he brings againft the archbimop, though moft ungeneroufly aggravated, and drawn out into a long detail, may be reduced to thefe two articles, hypocrify and fervility. At Cranmers confecration to the See of Canterbury, his accufer fays, he retired Into a private place, and entered a protefl againft the oath he was going to take, (of obedience to the See of Rome,) and then took it (p. 154). The plain truth of the cafe is this : having fcruples concern- ing the legality of that oath, he communi- cated them to the beft canonists and civilians, who fuggefted the expedient he made ufe of j by their advice he protefted againft it, not in. a private place, but publicly, at three feveral times, and before feveral witnefles ; firft in the chapter houfe of the church in which he was to be confecrated -, fecondly, at the high altar before his confecrators \ and laftly, when he received his pall ; declaring folemnly each time, that his oath of obedience to the See of Rome mould not be binding in any thing that was contrary to the laws of God, the prero- J Hi/lorie des Variations, &c. v. I, p. 283, 2 Church hift. v. i, p. 370 373. gative f 5" gative of the King, and the ftatutes of the realm ; or in matters relative to the reforma- tion of religion, and government of the church of England '. Inftruments were made, at his own requelr, recording thefe repeated protefl- ations. This was acting fairly, and iignify- ing, in the moil public manner, in what fenfe and with what limitations he took this oath ; and if it be faid, that there was fomething of infirmity in this proceeding, there was alfo fomething of great opennels and fincerity in it. In confequence of this abandoned turn of mind, fays Mr. P, hefubfcribed to the fix fa- mous articles, &c. (p. 154). This impu- dent -falfehood can proceed only from an utter abhorrence of candour and truth. Mr. P. might have known, that fubfcription to thefe articles was never enjoined at all; he could not but know ( for every hiftory of that tranfaction aflerts it ) that the arch- bimop oppofed them in the parliament houfe with the utmoft firmnefs and refolution. i Strype's Mem. of Cranmc^ p. 20. Appendix, p. 9. Fox's adts and monuments, v. 3, p. 66 1. Fuller's church hift. B. 5, p. 1 86. We are told by Mr. P, that this iaft cited author is at a lofs how to defend Cranmer again ft the articles which the celebrated Mr. Prynne^ one of the founder few of our writers^ lays to his charge (note, p. 158). If our biographer had but confulted thefe writers himfelf, he would hardly have ventured to refer to them : and would have been afnamed of relying fo {implicitly upon Mr. Dad's partial reprefentation. See his church hift. v. I, p. 373. ee alfo Prynne's antipathy of prelacy and monarchy, p. I3* The ( 512 ) The bill was a favorite one of the King's, and he was determined to have it parled ; he therefore defired Cranmer to go out of of the houfe, and not vote at all, if he could not give his affent to it. But he abfolutely refufed to ad: in fo difingenuous a manner, and notwithflanding the danger he was in of incurring the royal difpleafure, he perfevered in his oppofition to the bill : he fpoke againft it repeatedly during the three days the debate lafted, and to the end he voted and protefted againft it '. What now mutt we think of the man who can pronounce in the true fpirit of Sanders, that Cranmer fubfcribed to the fix famous articles ? The abandoned turn of mind that fuggefled this bale calumny will, I doubt not, be detefled by every reader of common honefty. Thus much for the charge of hypocrify. His fervility furnimes the next accufation againft him. There ivas no abjeff compliance, . . .to which he did not let himfelf down, to fatter the pajjiom of Henry VIII, and ]e cure his own credit (p. 154). The following particulars, befides the above mentioned, will demonftrate the malice and falfehood of this bold afTertion. The arch- bifhop, as hath been before obferved, faved Marys life by a feafonable application to her irritated father. He interceded for Sir Thomas More and bifhop Fifoef, when they were I Strype's life of Cranmer, p. 73. Burnet, v. I, p. 25 /; 258. Fox, v. 2, p. 443 and p. 498* con- condemned to death for refuflng to own the King's fupremacy. He wrote to the King in favour of Anne EuUen and Cromwell, when they lay under condemnation, and their de- ftruction was reiblved on. He would not join or be concerned in the attainder of the duke of Norfolk^ though his enemy. In JLdfyarfs reign he protefted againft the diffolution and alienation of the chantery lands. He mace warm remonftrances to the protestor againft the embezzlement of the church revenues, and when that great man was afterwards in difgrace, he alone had the courage not to de- fert him. He oppofed the duke of Nortlum- berland during his whole administration. When bifhop Tonftall was attainted for mif- prifion of treafon, Cranwer not only fpoke warmly in his defence, but protefted againft the bill. Thefe are fads which fpeak for themfelves, and will place his character in a very advantageous light, and will vindicate him from the mameful mifreprefentations of thofe, who feem as much ftrangers to the vir- tues which adorned his mind, as they are to his real character. If ever any man deferved the good word of his enemies, it was the amiable Cranmcr; great learning, great probity, great candour, joined with fweetnefs of temper, ingenuity of dif- pofition, elegance of manners, and all the milder merit tftbe heart, procured him the love and refpect of his cotemporaries. His confci- ence was upright, his mind enlightened, his K k motives motives fincere and manifeft, and his life re- gular and unhlameable. Thefe were the vir- tues which diftinguifhed Cranmer^ and which fecured him in Henry s life-time from the florms of that impetuous monarch. He knew, whenever Cranmer was accufed, his fincerity would declare without referve the whole truth. And that Prince, whofe caprice made him ready to give up every favorite, was fo aflured of the iimplicity, integrity and honefty of Cranmer s heart, that he would liften to no infinuations againft him, till he had talked with him himfelf. His artleis freedom con- vinced the King, that his intentions were ever moft upright, his actions moft difintereired, and his benevolence moft warm and exten- iive. By this guilelefs behaviour Cranmer en- joyed the love and veneration of Henry : of which, however, he made no other ufe but to do acts of kindnefs and lenity to his ene-* mies, and to mollify his fovereign's pamons. He who can fay falfe and fevere things of fuch a man mujl be a fir anger to the Jeelings of jujlice, humanity and religion (ifl pt. pag. 430.) The brutal enemies of Cranmrr were from the beginning determined to make him the object of their peculiar feverity. Their cruel treatment, their iniquitous proceedings, their perfidious dimmulation were fuch and fo great,-: as muft fhock every humane and tender heart, The venerable Primate was caft into prifon immediately upon the Queen's acceiTion, arrd he he who had been ever remarkable for mild- nefs and humanity, received from the barba- rians, in whofe power he was, nothing but outrageous mockery and infult. At his firft imprifonment his revenues were fequeftred, and the malice of his perfecutors, not content with reducing him to abfolute beggary, would not even allow others to relieve his neceffi- ties *. To omit the hardlhips of prifon, the tumult of the dijputation at Oxford, and other circumftances of equal cruelty ; let us attend to the inhuman behaviour of his tormentors at the clofe of his life, when his execution was abfolutely fixed. CommirTioners were fent to Oxford to examine him : they cited him to appear at Rome, and there anfwer for himfelf in perfon. To prevent his obeying that fummons, they detained him in prifon, and yet pronounced him contumacious for not going *. This was not all -, bigotry may excufe this proceeding, however abfurd and ridiculous, as confident with forms of law. Thefe deteftable mifcreants (they deferve no better name) who had been long contriving to fhake the Primate's firmnefs, having found him unterrified by threats and unmoved by dan- ger, took another method. They affaulted the good old man with the pleafures of life > they removed him from the mortified restraints of his prifon to the elegant hofpitality of the 1 Strype's Cranmer, p. 450. 2 Id. p. 374. Burnet, v. 2, p. 332, v. 3, p. 249. K k 2 deanery deanery at Chrift church; they flattered, they cajoled, they made him chearful, and, taking advantage of his flow of fpirits, they plied their internal artillery againft him; they mol- lified him by the pleafmg arguments of health, of affluence, of ftation ; they told him of the Queen's perfonal efteem and regard for him ; and reminded him of the refpecl, the love, and the attention paid him when in power. Jn an unguarded moment the tempters pre- vailed, and Cranmer gave up his religion. When this triumph over humanity was corn- pleated, how did thefe Saints act ? His de- ftruclion was determined : but this the hypo- crites kept in profound fecrecy, left a fufpi- cion of their hellim defigns might give the alarm to his confcience, and induce him to retract the recantation which their execrable artifices had drawn from him. He was there- fore kept in total ignorance of his approach- ing execution till he was actually led to it. But by the grace of God he recovered himfelf, and gave fuch public proof of unfeigned con- trition and invincible firmnefs of mind as retrieved his character, confounded his re- lentlefs adverfaries, and left a lafting ftain up- on thofe zealots who took fuch wicked and abominable methods to execute their venge- ance. Cranmer s victory over thofe diabolical agents, who thus plotted his eternal deftruc- tion, is recorded by us with the highefl plea- lure. To ( 5'7 ) To the many bafe tormentors of the af- flicted Primate we muft .add the Legate him- felf, who peftered him with two fuch prolix and tedious letters as will ever be urged a- gainft the lenity, the ability, and the religion of Pole himfelf. One of them is preferved by Strype ', and may eafily be met with ; the o- ther, whkh attempts to defend the real pre- fence, is not fo well known, I mall there- fore give a mort account of it. Le Grand acknowledges that it favours of the de- claimer % which in truth it doth in a very eminent degree; and is at the fame time as void of argument, as it is of common huma- nity. Mr. P. however compliments it with the title of one of the mojl compleat pieces of controverfy that was ever penned on that cba- ratterijlic article of the catholic religion, (pag. H7-) After an infolent apology for his entering into communication with fo vile a man, and alluring him, that, was he to liften to the movements of his own nature, he mould ra- ther call upon God for fire from heaven to confume him ; he proceeds, in chriftian cha- rity, to load the unfortunate prelate with the moft envenomed and illiberal fctirrilities ; charging him with hypocrify, pride, impiety, and repeated perjuries ; with abandoning him- felf to grofs impurities and mameful paffions ; 1 Life o^Cranmer. Appendix, p. 206. 2 Hijhire du divorce? (iff. v. i, p. 259. K k ? with with mocking God, trampling on the laws, and feducing the king, to whom, he tells him, he had been fubfervient in his fouleft debau- cheries; and, what is moft notorioufly falfe, with the guilt of the blood fhed during that reign ; for all which, fays the mild and gentle Legate 9 was I at liberty, I would put up my cries to heaven to take vengeance upon you. But in companion to his precious foul (as he was now a prilbner, and foon to fuffer extream Punim- ment) he will fpare his imprecations, and lay before him the things he had done, folely with the hopes of leading him to repentance : though after all he defpairs of fuccefs, fince God had moft furely abandoned and given him over to a reprobate mind ; for nothing lefs than this could account for his having dared to combat a tradition of holy church. With the like impertinent rant, and cruel, unmannerly infults a confiderable part of this letter is filled. His arguments in defence of tranfubftan- tiation are beyond expreffion weak and futile, his reafoning illogical, and his quotations from SS. moft commonly diftorted and mif- applied : and this compleat piece of confroverjy is, upon the whole, a very poor defence of a very bad caufe. Its weaknefs, however, might be pafled by with contempt ; but the malice that runs throughout it, from one end to the other, is really mocking. What abominable words are thefe, " for an abfolutely certainty " you are not actuated by the heavenly father, "but " but by the prince of hell ; and the whole " courfe of your conduct hath made it evi- " dent that God hath rejected you." Could any man ufe fuch language to another whom he had a ferious delire of converting ? Could the fpirit of charity dictate to him a ftrain againft, I will not fay, a good, a learned man, a prelate, whole deftruction was at this juncture refolved on and determined, but againft the meaneft and worft of his fellow- creatures ? Indeed the whole tenour of the letter breaths nothing but infolence and inve- terate rancour, notwithstanding its impudent and hypocritical pretences, that it aims only at the falvation of his foul '. In truth, I cannot but look upon it as no fmall part of Cranmers fufferings to be thus teized in his laft hours with fuch confufed, impotent, fcurrilous, defpicable railing. Had Mr. P. confulted Poles honour, he would have been fo far from fpeaking of this vile performance of his in thofe high terms, and thereby exciting the curioilty of his readers to perufe it, that he would have paffbd it by in total filence : which indeed would have been more to the credit both of his hero and himfelf. In the former part of his work our au- thor harangued learnedly and laborioufly a- I See Lc Grand's French tranflation of this letter. Hif- ioire du divorce, v, i, p. 289. Qxirini 3 v. 5, p. 238. Bur- net, v. 3, p. 244. gainft C 52 ) intolerant -principles : the lenity of the gofpel fpirit (p. 234), Poles mildnefs in his go- vernment of the patrimony (p. 303 ), ferved him to difcourfe upon thefe/f- evidence affuch equitable fentiments (p. 301). But now the times are altered^ Mr. P's friends are at the helm. ^Thofe inhuman edich, which difcovered the frantic tyranny of Henry, and the Jlavifh difpojition of the parliament (p. 264), and which Edivard's laws had repealed, are now revived. The errors which J prang up againjl the ancient faith of tie church (p. 159), the many broachers of falfe doctrine, the prefer- r c at ion and peace of the flat e (p. 159), will now, it feems, fully juftify a Jeverity which y himfelf tells us, former times could not bear, and ivitb which it were to be wifhed the lenity of the gofpel fpirit had caufed all times and all countries to have been for ever unacquainted (jft.pt. p. 234). Thus can our writer, Pro- teus like, put on all appearances (p. 157), and vindicate or condemn perfecution juft as is moft convenient to the exigences of his own friends, who are to be treated with toleration and indulgence till they can prevail ; and then perfecution, as a neceiTary discipline, is to be infiicled by them upon their feditious and he- retical opponents. This is the turn Mr. P. gives ta the horrid executions which flamed the reign of .Mrzrywith fo much blood, and have rendered her odious to all poflerity. The provocations, the treafonable fratftfes, and indignities offered to the government ^ the ( 521 ) the religion^ and the perfon of the Queen (p. 1 6.0) are urged in mitigation of the feverities which followed. Without entering into a minute examination of each particular fact, we will juft point out fome of Mr. JP'j glaring mifre- prefentations. He aflerts that two years of the Queens reign had paffed without any thing which had *the air of perfection on account of religion. Immediately upon her acceffion, and even before her coronation, the prifons were filled with great numbers taken up on the fcore of religion only '. And was the depri- vation of the married clergy ( by order from the Queen herfelf, in the firfl year of her reign), notwithstanding the laws were yet in force that allowed their marriage, nothing which bad the air of perfecution * ? In that flrange group of provocations ( p. 161), which Mr. P. found collected together by Mr. Dod 3 , there are fome offences againft the flate invidioufly charged upon the pro- teftants, of which however they were no ways guilty. But admitting their guilt and the juftice of their punifhment, will this juf- tify the cruelties exercifed on thofe who were confefTedly innocent, who lived peaceably, and in humble duty to the ftate ? We tax not the Queen and her miniftry with feveri- ties to rebels and traitors, to thofe who in- fulted her perfon or affronted her religion. 1 Sirype's Mem. v. 3, p. 59, &V. 2 Id ib. p. 108. Burnet, v. 2, p. 276. . 3 Church Hift. v: i,' p. 460, 461.' We We complain not of the death of Northum- berland, of Suffolk, of Wyat, or of the exe- cution of the Lady Jane Grey and her huf- band. Thefe all had been engaged in open rebellion. But wherein had they offended, whom the wanton barbarity of bigots and perfecutors hunted out of their caves. They had broken no laws. They were not even " convinced for teaching, or dogmatizing, " contrary to the eftablifhed religion : they " were feized merely on fufpicion ; and arti- " cles being offered them to fubfcribe, they " were immediately upon their refufal con- " demned to the flames '." Amongft other inftances of indifcreet zeal, our author produces the following. When public prayers were ordered on a fuppoftion of the Queens pregnancy, a reformed clergyman made ufe of this form, that it would pleafe God either to turn her heart from idolatry, or to jhorten her days ; and that when federal who met at this affembly were taken up, bijloop Hooper comforted them by letter as fuffer ing faints (p. 161). The clergyman, whofe name was Rofe, himfelf tells us, that he was taken up and accufed before the bihop of Winchejler of having made fuch a prayer, not in this but the laft reign ; but that he vindicated him- felf fo thoroughly, that in his fubfequent exa- minations it was not once objected to him, and he was foon difcharged*. The letter which 1 Humes Tudors, v. I, p. 380. Burnet, v, 2, p. 304. 2 See his ftory in Fotc t v. 3, JV 934. Hooper ( 523 ) Hooper fent to thofe, who were taken up with the clergyman for the above offence, was to encourage them to fuffer patiently: he tells them, the word of God commands all men to pray for them that hate them, and not to revile any magistrate with words, or to mean them evil by force and violence '. We hope, Mr. P. will will find no fault with this doctrine. Our author, having endeavoured to palliate thefe cruelties, tries alfo to exculpate the Le- gate from having had any mare in them. That Poles natural temper might be averfe to fan- guinary proceedings, that thefe violent mea- fures were chiefly promoted by others, and that he (hewed fome instances of clemency and companion, is not to be denied ; but it doth not appear that he dnTuaded the court from thefe cruelties, or exerted his influence to prevent them. The inftance which is here pitched upon to mew his clemency, is his chriftian condefcenfion in reclaiming Sir 'John. Cheke (p. 1 64). Whatever Mr. P. may think of this condefcenfion of the Legate^ the pro- ceedings againft Sir John Cheke reflect igno-. miny on all concerned in that tranfaclion. It was not Pole, but Feckenham abbot of Wejl- minfter who, reclaimed him a j and this he did 1 Id. ib. -p. 1 1 6. See alfo Strype's hiftory, v. I, p. 325. 2 Strypt's life of Cheke, p. 142. The Lord PrtuH alfo fays the fame in a letter to Beccatelli. &>uirini, v. 5. P< 346 ' u- * chiefly ( 524 ) chierly by the dreadful alternative, turn or burn. The ufage he received from Pole was cruelly mean. The penitent heretic, when brought before him by his reclaimer , made an acknowledgment of his errors, and earneftly intreated him to be fatisfied with this decla- ration, and to have fo much compamon 'ori his frailty, as to fpare him the ignominy of a public recantation. Such a convert was not to be made without an open triumph. He was baited, as poor Cranmer had been, with recantation upon recantation. The hard-heart- ed Legate ', not content with one made to him- felf, impofed upon him the fevere penance of making another in the prefence of the Queen. This too did not fatisfy the zeal of his perfe- cutors : they compelled him to go through the farther drudgery of pronouncing a third before the whole court j which, from its ver- bofe prolixity, is commonly fuppofed to have been penned by Pole himfelf. And befides all this, he was to fubmit to whatfoever pe- nances fliould be enjoined him. Such was the clemency and chrijlian condefcenjlon which Pole mewed to Sir John Cheke. He made a wife and a worthy man miferable and wretch- ed; he brought him down in the meridian of life with mame and forrow to the grave. By this ungenerous, fpiritual tyranny the un- fortunate Cheke loft .his quiet and 'peace of mind, and died foon after heart-broken with grief and remorfe '. I Strypis life of Cbeke 9 p. 145 169. Mem. v. 3. l ) -3 I 53i6. Biog. Brit. b. 2 d . Article Cheke. Carte, v. 3. P* 3'6. Our I 525 ) Our author, ftill deiirous to give his read- ers a favourable opinion of the Legate s leni- ty, fays in another place : though he was at the head cf the council, . . . he frequently differed from the generality of thofe who compofed it \ . . . but he referred every thing to the majority, .... He fuffered rigours to be exercifed which were no lefs contrary to his judgment than in- clination -,.... and this, it feems, was the refult of his deference to the laws and confti- tutions of his country, &c. (p. 232). A dex- terous apologift this truly ! who endeavours to acquit his hero cf cruelty, at the expence of his prudence, his courage, his honefty. Shall the head of the council, fhall the Pope's Le- gate, fhall the patriot Pole (p. 230), who was not only an ornament to his country, but an honour to human nature (pref. p. vni), fujfer rigours to be exercifed contrary both to his judg- ?nent and inclinaiion ? Nay, fhall he himfelf iiTue out commiflions ( r p. 164) for exerciiing fuch rigours; and can he ftand acquitted of the charge of weaknefs, puiillanimity, and acting contrary to the dictates of his conici- ence ? As to the laws and confttttttions of his country, he found at his arrival here no law fubiifting for burning heretics. The laws, which were revived for this cruel purpofe, may be partly afcribed to his inftigation, and their rigours began and ended with him. It was not then the conjlitution of his country, but the conftitution, of popery, which drove the mild Legate to thefe violent meaiiires. But, ( 526 ) But, it feems, he adopted Pagan rather than chriftian learning* and comforted himfelf by dijlinguifljing between bearing what he could not help, and approving what he ought to con- demn (p. 232). Is Mr. P. the Legates friend, and is he not aware how little all this tends to the vindication of his hero's honour and probity ? But to proceed. The fanguinary and compulfive meafures which were now employed in ejlablijhing the catholic caufe, or redrejjing the injuries done to it (ift. pt. p. 235), perplex our author great- ly : he had before frequently fignified his a- I fuppofe, produced foon after the marTacre of Paris. If for times Mr. P. had faid Popery, he had fpoke the truth ; for perfecution and cruelty have ever been the charafteric of that religion. But did this temper of the times produce the fame effect in the days of Ed- ward and Elizabeth ? In the former of thefe reigns, through the remaining tincture of po- pifh principles not entirely eradicated, and by an unpardonable feverity, two perfons were ferved after the old manner of convincing he- retics : but neither of them were members of the Romijh church. When Elizabeth came to the throne, all the fanguinary laws were repealed; none were queltioned, not even bloody Bonner, for the cruelties of the for- mer reign ; none required to abjure their re- ligion under the penalty of death. The oath of fupremacy to the Queen was indeed re- quired, but the refufal of it was attended only with lofs of office and promotion. The maintainers of the papal fupremacy were, but not till after the third offence, punimable with death. And they were not profecuted for their religion (which they were permit- ted ted to enjoy, if they would live peaceably and quietly,) but for tfeafon and felony; they were not put to death by the fpiritual autho- rity, but were tried in the fame legal manner with other offenders againft the ftate, in the civil courts, and by their country. They who fufFered, fuffered for their confpiracies,feditions, and actual attempts againft the life of the Queen, for denying her title to the crown, and main- taining the Pope's power of depofing her '. So that Mr. Collier himfelf owns, " when " men declared thus openly againft the go- " vernment, 'tis no wonder if they drew a " frorm upon themfelves V Whereas the fuf- ferers under Mary were loyal, innocent and peaceable perfons, and could offend none but bigots and inquifitors who delighted in blood. Such was the difference between the provo- cations offered to the government in thefe two reigns. Mr. P. indeed has the audacity to compare them together, and ridicules the cenfures paffed on the bloody reign of Queen Mary as the difmal ditties of the Nurjery and the threadbare ballads of antiquity. It is hard to fay, whether fuch language deferves more our pity or our- contempt. This is his me- thod of extenuating the cruelties of bigotry and fuperftition. This the manner in which I Cambdens Elizabeth, 3 d ed. fol. 1675, p. 244. -270. 270. 306. 483, &c. See alfo Jfalfinghetn' s letter to Monf r Critty in Eurnet^ v. 2, p. 418. Foul'n's Romi/t) treafons, &c. p. 61, &c. Strype'shiR. v. 3, p. 249.412. * Collier, v. 2 1 , p. 571. he ( 529 ) Ke cbufes to treat this fubjeff, fo as to beats, not fpread and perpetuate them (166)* Our author has not yet done juftifying thefe perfecutions, but proceeds, as he calls it, to elucidate the ft ate of the quefiion. Thefe laws were cnatted in former reigns, and renewed in this on occajion of open rebellion againft the go- vernment, &c* (p. 1 66). What rebellion ? I know of none but Wyat's-, and that was to prevent the Spanijh match ; it was foon quell- ed, and all remained quiet. 'This caufed the kgiflature to confider herefy not only as a grie- vous Jin againft Almighty God, but as a hei- nous crime againft the ftate. There is nothing in the doctrine of the proteftants that can any way affect the ftate. Obedience to the King, as fupreme, was the doctrine of the proteftants then, and is the doctrine of the church of England now. If any proteftants at that time were guilty of rebellion or trea- fon, they were juilly punifhable for it : it Was their perfonal crime, and contrary to their religious principles. But can this juftify the committing innocent perfons to the flames, a more cruel punifhment than the laws inflict even on traitors and rebels ? But . . . thefe jlatutes are laws of the Englifh realm, not canons of the catholic church, and make no part either of her faith or difcipline. Her punifoments extend no further than the jpiritital flate of the offender .... jhe is not accountable for laws which foe did not ejlablijh, and leaves their exe- cution to whom it belongs (p. 167). Who can L 1 read ( 530 ) read fuch fhamelefs evafions without indigna- tion ? Is it not (to retort upon our author the cenfure he hath pafled upon bifhop Burnet) the bigbeft infult on the fenje and morals of his readers, to Juppofe them fujceptible oj fo grofs an imposition. As fcr himfelf, he muji have drank to the dregs of that intoxicating cup 'with which the lying prophets are drenched, to give out fuch abfurditieS) and expect they foould be credited (p. 158). It is the ecclefiaftical judge who pronounces the fentence : the civil magiftrates are only the executioners of it, and compel- led to the cruel task upon pain of excommu- nication and other cenfures '. It is therefore the act of the church alone, and enforced up- on the civil officers with a dreadful fanftion. If her power extends not to mutilation, or ta- king away the life of the delinquent (p. 167), why are not offenders tried in the civil as well as ecclefiaftical courts ? why does not the civil magiftrate confirm the fentence of the church, or hear the caufe afrem ? So far from that, the delinquents are never brought before the temporal courts, but carried to the flake without any further citation or hearing. But, fays Mr. P, the proceedings of thejpirhual court are always concluded with an interceflion, to the civil magiftrate in behalf of the con- I fine all qua proeeffuum vijtone, fententias latas prompt f. txequantur, fub excommunicationis pcena, aliifque cenfuris. Innocent. 8. Conjht.io. BiiUar. Rom. tern. I, p. 337. cited in Barlow's obfervations on Pope Piss V. Bull againfl Queen Elizabeth, p. 206. demned demned heretic : true ! with the greater! and moft abominable impiety and hypocrify, he is defired for the Love of Almighty God to do that, which the church herfelf knows he can- not, and by her public laws has commanded him not to do '. Suppofe a fecular judge fhould take this intercefiion in the literal fenfe, he would find himfelf as much mifta- ken as the meriff in the reign before us was, who faid he could not be compelled to obey fuch a writ, "for the which thing he was " fore troubled ( faith Fox) and in danger of his life* .'* But let me ask* Who was it that firft e- nacted thefe laws ? were they not procured by the inftigation of popim biihops and cler- gy ? Who was it in M.ary* time that revived them ? was it not a popim parliament, and popim prelates, with the Legate at their head? Who was it that carried thefe laws into exe- cution ? the fame popim bimops, who loft no time in this good work ; they lighted their fires immediately, and burnt near 300 heretics in about three years. Who was it that made inquifition after thefe heretics ? the fame po-^ pirn bifhop and Legate. "But the power o i Thus their own canonifts declare, Qnicquid dicatur, ad hoc fit ijla traditio ut puniatur morte. Panormitan. a tap. novimus 27. Extra, dc verb, fignificat. fett. 8. So/et (Ommuniter diet, quod ifta intercejjio eft potius vccalis jf cola- rata quam e/effualis. Idem Hortienfu ibid, both cited by Barlow as above, p. 208. a V. 3, p. 838. L 1 2 the ( 532 ) the church reaches only to excommunication." Why then did they not flop here ? why did they with the moft hypocritical farce defire the fecular power not to execute that fentence which they themfelves ordered it to do, and when they knew the death of the offender was the confequence of his being delivered over to it ? Thus the Pope in bis decree of Cranmers condemnation, tho' he does not ex- preily mention burning him, yet requires the King and Queen to deal with him .... as the law directs. What the law did direct, both he and they knew. It is little then to the purpofe to tell us, thefe penal laws againft heretics are not canons of the catholic church. Whether they make part either of her faith or difcipline, is of no moment to enquire, .fince the condemnation of heretics is her con- front practice. Thefe rigours, we are told, are no more to be imputed to the catholic church than the hardfoips of imprifoned debt- ors, or the fame punifoment being ajigncd to murder and the larceny of five fallings, can be to the church of 'England. An illuftration this, wide of the point ! thefe are merely civil of- fenders ; the church has nothing to do with them ; me neither commits them to prifon, nor examines, nor condemns them. Felony, not herefy, is their crime. Our author mufl be hard driven, to palliate the' cruelties of this reign by fuch falfe and pitiful recriminations. We may from hence learn, what we are to expect, if ever fuch men, ( 533 ) men, with fuch principles, mould again get the government into their hands. The like pretences would not be wanting to revive the fame fanguinary laws, or enact others equally rigorous. We mould be condemn- ed, not by the canons of the church, but by the laws of the land. Some Father Phillips or other would find us guilty of herefy ; but be, good man ! would befeech the civil magif- irate, for the love of almighty God, not to /-;/- mfo us with death, or lojs of limbs. But not- withftanding this, the popifh Prince would think himfelf obliged to condemn us to be burnt, according to the laws and cujloms of the realm, in detejlation of our guilty and for a. warning to other Chrijlians (p. 168). After this vindication of the fanguinary and compul/ive meafures of this reign, our bio- grapher returns to his Legate, who was now poilefTed of the See of Canterbury ', to which he was confecrated the very day after his pre- decerTor had fuffered at the flake. Mr. P, con- fcious that this hafte might be deemed a re- flection upon his hero's character, has with his ufual art reprefented the circurhftances of this tranfadtion in- fuch a manner (p. 168, 169), that an unattentive reader would ima- gine fome conliderable time palled between the nomination and the confecration. But Pole himfelf did not care to wait fo long for the ornaments of primacy (p. 169). He had taken care to have all the inftruments requi- fite for his inveiliture ready prepared, that as L 1 3 foon ( 534 ) foon as ever Cr tinnier could be conveniently dilpatched, he might ilep into the archbi- ilicpric without delay '. Some time after, he was honoured with the chancellorship of both univerfities ; to that of Cambridge he was eleded almofl immedi- ately upon his promotion to the primacy, His thanks ta that tilujlrious body were re- turned by a r oery elegant letter (p-i/i)* which Mr. P, ignorant of the hiftory of the Uni- verfities, and the refpedtive times when they admitted Pole to thofe honours, reprefents as fent to Oxford. The editors of the 5th vo- lume of Poles letters unluckily publimed that letter with this title, Collegia Oxonienji : their hafty, fervile copier looked no farther; he contented himfelf with the information that title gave him, and has adopted the blunder. The above editors, as Grangers to our nation, may be excufed. But Mr. P. boafts of other documents, and ought to have known better. If he did not take every thing upon truft; could he have referred to the catalogue of the chan- cellors of Cambridge^ and after that have made Pole compliment the univerfity of Oxford for having had Fifoer and Gardiner at the head of I lllttd autem ad aterxam immaniiaiis Pontificiee n:cmc- r'.arn^ infamiamque contra Polum valcbit^ quod eo Legato & accflcrantc integcrrimus doffijjlmufquc arcbicpijcopus Granrne- rus igfie crematus eft. Thefe are the words of the fucceflor of Pole in the See of Canterbury ', who could not but know the fecret fprings of every thing that happened in his reign. Parker's Antiq. Brit. p. 357. Hanovia:, 1605. See alfo Bttmet t v. 2. p. 327. and 34-. their ( 535 ) their fludies, when that very catalogue would have allured him, that they were his prede- ceffors as chancellors of Cambridge ? And if he had attentively confulted Wilkim> his other authority, and compared dates ; he could hardly have made that letter an acknowledg- ment to the univerfity of Oxford for chufing him their chancellor, which was written full feven months before that honour was confer- red upon him *. A fuppofed compliment in the preface to the Oxford ftatutes, which our author found in the Biograpbia Eritannica % ferves -him for a frefh occafion of applauding his hero. We would not willingly detract from the praifes of Pole : but if Mr. P. will take the trouble to coniult the preface itfelf, he will find he hath retrained what relateth to the iiatutes and manners of the univerfity to the govern- ment of Pole, and what the preface itfelf mani- feftly extends to all the intervening time from the chancellorfhip of Wolfey to that of arch- bifhop Laud; by whom the preient flatutes were finifhed and fettled ; which, fays the archbimop himfelf, " cardinal Wolfey firft, and " after him cardinal Pool 9 allayed, but left as " imperfect as they found them 3 ." i The Letter which Mr. P. tells us was Tent to the Uni- verfity of Ox ford \s dated Greenwich ^ April I. 1556. And the election of Pole to the chancellorfhip, according to jyilkins in the place he refers to, bears date November 2. I556- 2 Article Pck) note R. 3 Hiit. of his Trval and Troubles, p. 304. On ( 536 ) On this account federal candid protejianf writers have acknowledged this feat of learning ( the univerfity of Oxford) to have jiourifoed more in his time than either wider Edward or Elizabeth (p. 172). What theie writers fay, I know not ; no other teftimony is produced befides the above preface. Sure I am, the Ox- ford hiftorian fpeaks in no fuch high {train of the rlourifhing ftate of the univerfity un- der Pole's government. He tells us, that the univerfity was vifited in 1556 by a commif- fion from Pole as Legate : for he was not e- ledted chancellor till towards the latter end of the year. One of thefe commiffioners was Orwaneff, a favorite and trufry fervant of Poles (p. 189), who is recorded to have be- haved with the moft intolerable arrogancy *. The vifitors, as foon as they had opened their commirTion, exerted their zeal againft herefy in a notable manner. They burned all the Englifo tranflations of and comments upon the Bible, and every book they could find written in defence of the reformation, whe- ther kept in public libraries or private flu- dies ; and fined or expelled the owners of them. And fuch ftridt enquiry did they make after heretics, that they forced them all to fly and abfcond. They would alfo have burned the dead body of the wife of Peter Martyr -, I In Qrmanctto nil _aliud qitam arrogantia intolerabilis emincbat ; qua re tarn nnrifice ex cell f bat ^ ut ne fingi quidem aut cogitai i qwcquam pojjit arrogantnis. Wood Hijl. & Antiq. Univ. Oxon. L. i, p. 279. but . '. ( 537 ) but here they were at a lofs. They could not get full proof of her having maintained any heretical opinions : witneffes were carefully fought after, and examined on that point; but it feems they were fcrupulous, and would not atteft it upon oath, as they did not under- ftand Germany the only language me could fpeak. The important affair was therefore referred to the Legate^ who refolving in his mind, that both me and her hufband had broken their vows of chaftity, ordered the body to be removed, left it mould contami- nate the afhes of St. Fridefwide* near whofe tomb it had been buried. In obedience to his commands, it was taken out of the holy ground, and, to make fome atonement to the Saint for the affront me had received, was thrown into a dunghill '. Thefe were the feats of the viiitors at this place ; which, we fuppofe, were found necejj'ary for the better regulation of the univerjity (p. 172). After thefe extraordinary proceedings, what was the ftate of the univerfity the following year ? The fame author acquaints us the di- vinity fchool was mut up. The falary of the Margaret profefTor was applied to the repairs of the fchools. There were not found Divines enough to perform the ftatu table exercifes. Hardly one fermon was preached in a month. The public profeiibrs either through idlenefs or ignorance fcarcely ever read. The Greek lan- I Id. ib. Biog. Brit. Article Pole. Note R. guage guage was entirely neglected *. This was the ftate of learning in the univerfity during the government of Pole. It was bad enough in Edward's time, but it was now worfe. We may form fome conjecture of its deplorable condition, and the little encouragement given to learning in Mary's days, trom hence ; that during her whole reign, there proceeded only three Inceptors or Doctors in divinity, eleven in law, and fix in phyfic j and proportionably few in Artr There were indeed fome of emi- nence in logical and philofophical knowledge; but it was remarked, that many who pro- mifed well at firfr,, by pride, and indulgence in eating and drinking, made themfelves quite ftupid ; and loft their ability with their dili- gence *. This is Wood's account how little this Seat of learning fiourifocd under the au- fpices of Pole. He ' tells us further, how very foon the fcene changed, when the glori- ous fucceilbr of Mary promifed to be a friend to learning and the univerfities 3 . She per- formed her word : by her encouragement, a fpirit of learning and emulation revived ; the univerfity recovered its ancient fplendor. Its fame and reputation were even raifed to an height unknown before by the labours and abilities of thole illuftrious worthies, who, opening all the {lores of knowledge, reflected 1 Id. ib. p. 280. 2 Id. ib. p. 280, 281. 3 Id. ib. p. 281. A.D. 1558. honor ( 539 ) honor upon the place of their education T , and were fo many ornaments not only to their country but alio to human nature. Some few, civil, complimentary letters having pafTed between Pole and Ignatius of Loyola the founder of the order of the Jefuits (p. 17.0; our biographer takes occafion to cenfure bHhop Burnet and others, who have ajftrted the Legate s dif approbation of this or~ der, and his ippopng its eflablifometit amongfi us (p. 174). To confound thz&Jhufflers, and to remove popular prejudices againji the cha- r after of that celebrated perfonage Ignatius ( p. 173), our author produces his documents. All that we learn from them is what follows. Ignatius wrote to Po/f, " to congratulate him " upon the reduction of England to the ca- " tholic faith : he gave an account of the (< flourishing ftate of his fociety, and offered " to admit into it any young RngUjb gentle- " men he would recommend to him V The Legate in his anfwer replied to every other part of Ignatius s letter, but took not any the kail: notice of this offer \ In another letter to the fame Saint, he expreffed a general re- gard for him and his fociety, but ftill was filent as to this particular *. In a letter of condolance, which he wrote afterwards to Lames upon the death of Ignatius* he recom- J Id. ib. p. 289, 290. 2 G>uiriai 9 v. 5, p. 117. 3 13. ib. p. 1 19. 4. &. ib. p. 120. meads ( 540 ) mends himfelf to the prayers of him and his fociety ; but not a word is there mentioned of encouraging the order, or inviting any of it into England 1 . Thefe are all the documents relating to this affair. Mr. P. however ven- tures, upon the ftrength of thefe flight, tri- fling minutes, to call bimop Burners relation ijhuffling article ( p. 147, note) : but he hath not offered any arguments to prove it fo. The bilhop hath named his authority for what he faid * ; and other writers have confirmed his accounts. From them it appears, that the Je- fuits unfortunately made ufe of a wrong ex- pedient to prevail upon the Legate to admit their eftablifhment amongft us : they reprefent- ed the benedictines as a burthen to the pub- lic, and wanted to obtain their fuppreffed mo- nafteries for themfelves. Po/e, who was the patron of the Benedictine Order (ift pt. pag. 460), would not lifr.cn to their propoials, re- jected their offer with indignation, and would neither employ them, nor allow them to come into England. This provoked the fociety a- gainft him fo highly, that they ever after con- Sdered him as their mortal enemy 3 . Mr. P. might have paffed by in filence the above epiftolary correfpondence between Ig~ 1 Ib. Id. 2 An Italian MS. found in Venice by Mr. Crawford^ chaplain to the Englifl) Envoy at that place, v. 2, p. 328. 3 Hiftoire des religieux de la Compagnie de Jefus^ v. i. p. 182 184. Rafid de Selves life of Ignatius, Eng. Tr. v- 2, p. 33, 34. natius fiat ius and Pok, if his only motive for rela- ting it was to give us a different Idea of the former from what we entertained before. Ex- cepting that we hereby get a frefh inftance of the vanity and impertinence of that enter- prizing, extravagant enthufiaft, I believe, our ideas of him will ftill continue juft the fame : and fo will they of his fociety too, notwith- ftanding the encomiums here beflowed upon it. He has given us his reafons why he makes mention of Ignatius. But why was that fa- natic Francis Xavier introduced ? plainly, to difplay the uncommon gifts (p. 177) of that truly Jefuitical Saint. Now, fince Mr. P. has gone out of the way to do him honour, we alfo will throw in Our mite, and flop a little to record one gift with which he was endow- ed, uncommon enough in a certain order of men. He was able to exprefs his real fenti- ments without equivocation or diiguife : of this he gave a notable example, when he a- vowed ( I doubt not with much honefty and lincerity) that "miffionaries without mufkets " do never make converts to any purpofe '" I Geddes's Church hift. of Ethiopia, preface, p. 2. A N I- ANIMADVERSIONS O N SECTION THE ELEVENTH. WHILST Pole was bufily engaged in the exercife of his Legantine jurif- didion, in compleating the reunion of his country with the catholic church, and de- flroying that peftilential brood of heretics which had infedted it ; he was furprized with information from Rome, that the Pope had deprived him of all the powers belonging to his office. Paul IV. was engaged in a war with Philip of Spain King of England, wbicb was either the caufe or the pretext jor a rup- ture between France and Spain (p. 178)* The Eng/t/b Legate very imprudently prefuming to offer his advice, and to exprefs his wifhes for an accommodation, awakened in the Popes breajl an ancient malevolence he had entertained again/I him (p. 180). He knew him ever de- voted to the interefts of Spain. He wanted a Legate at the court of England, like him- felf, vigorous and reiblute; who by taking the lead ( 543 ) lead in counc'l, and gaining the Queen's con- fidence, might prevent her from engaging in her huiband's quarrels. So long as Pole re- mained in that ftation, he was apprehenfive, that by his inftigation me might enter into alliances destructive to his politics. In fpite therefore of every remonftrance and felici- tation to the contrary, he nominated another Legate, and reduced Pole to the humble ftate of an ordinary bifhop. Confidering the many eminent fervices the TLngliJh cardinal had rendered the See of Rome, he might have hoped for better ufage from her fupreme pontiff: not that, we think, the injury or the opprefllon he met with from the Pope could pofTibly be called the fevercft crucible in which heaven tries and rejines the purejl virtue (p. 178); or that he mewed that fortitude ', heroifm, and greatnefs of foul (p. 170) which Mr. P. talks of, in bearing up under fuch an opprejion ; for he remonftrated as ftrongly as he could to the Pope and to others againft it. After all, what did he lofe ? was it life, liberty, or eftate ? nothing like it. Thefe were the crucibles in which he himfelf tried and refined the virtues of others. By this refentment of the Pope he loft nothing more, than a little outward pomp and mew: the Jiher crofs (p. 89) was not carried before him, and the other ornaments of the Legate's office were dropt. But if, as we are told, the manner in which he exercifed that office put him to a confiderabk exfence j and every department of 'it ( 544- ) it was ferved without fees (p. 228); he might perhaps in one refpect be a gainer. He had, befides the revenues of the See of Canterbury, a penfon allotted him of 1500 pounds upon the bijboprick of Winch ejler (p. 228), which, as he " pradrifed the principles of Italian thrift '," would fufficiently anfwer all his expences as primate, and afford him noble opportunities of doing good with that income. The cardinal however did not relifh this diminution of his greatnefs -, he drew up a juftijication of himfelf j but perceiving it would be unfavorable to the Pope's reputation, he threw it into the fire (p. 205) : thus his duty got the better of his refentment. His cham- pion has no fuch fqueamifh fcruples ; he is not inclined to hide his father 's ignominy ( p. 226), but revenges the injuries his hero re- ceived from this imperious pontiff, by giving the reader the entertainment and injlru5iion of his character, . . . whofe malevolence to the Englifo cardinal fe ems, he fays, in a great mea- fure, to have been Jounded in the indulgence of a ruling pajjion, and in the total oppojition of difpofitions which was caufed by it (p-i97> note). We will not interfere in this quarrel between his Holinefs and our cardinal. Mr. P. is welcome to make as free with the cha- racter of Paul IV, or any other of the infal- lible heads of his church, as he pleafetji. Only we cannot help laying before the reader j Fullers Church Hift. b. 8, p. 41. a frefli ( 545 ) a frem inftance of our author's difingenuity in the note, where the long detail of this Pope's character is drawn up : which, except two or three fentences taken out of one of Poles letters, and referred to (p. 200) is ex- traded, as we have before obferved, ' out of Gratiani de cafibus illujlrium virorum. To e- lude detection, every artifice is employed ; the order obferved by Gratiani is frequently bro- ken, and his narration tranfpofed : to prevent any fufpicion of this deceit, a fentence is openly quoted from him in the body of the note (p. 198); and he is referred to at the con- clufion of it, not as furniming the whole ac- count, (which he in facl: doth) but only as a confirming evidence, together with others, to fupport that narration which Mr. P. would impofe upon us for his own. Upon the Queen's vigorous interpofition, who made the reftoring the Legantine jurif- diclion to Pole a national affair % and by his own fubmiffive behaviour, his Holinefs re- j P. 44- 2 If Mr. P. had not been afraid of trifling with the mifreprefintations of writers of feme note. ( pref. p. x.) he might have illuftrated this article with fome document*} which that faithful, accurate and valuable hiftorian Mr. Strype has preferved concerning it : who has inferted in his memorials of the reformation, the fubftance of that letter which Pole fent by Ormanet to the Pope ; as alfo re- monftrances from the King and the Qpeen, from the coun- cil or parliament, and from the nobility, to the Pope, to diiluade him from the revocation of the Legate's powers. Mem. v. 3, p. 392 - 398. Records, p. 231 237. M m lented ; ( 546 ) lented ; he connived at his continuing to ex- ercife that 'office, and w r ould doubtlefs have formally reinstated him in it; as he declared, that when peace was made between him and Philip, he would fend his nephew cardinal Carajfa to fettle this matter both with the King, and with Pole '. The pleafure which the cardinal received from this information, was foon interrupted by the death of the Queen of Eng/axjj. She had been for fome time in a declining ilate of health, which was increafed by great uneafmefs of mind. She found herfelf hated by her fubjects, defpifed by her enemies, flighted by her hufband, unfuccefsful in peace, unfortunate in war, and diftrefled at home : thefe reflections preyed upon her fpirits, and brought on a flow fever of which fhe died, after a fhort and inglorious reign : " every , " dreary year of which was blackened by re- " markable difafters, and by fuch acts of in- "juflice, rapine, violence, oppreflion, and " tyranny, as Spanifo councils only could have " fuggefted : and, having reduced the nation f( to the brink of ruin, fhe left it, .by her ',' feafonable deceafe, to be reflored by her ad- " mirable fucceflbr to its ancient profperity ' and glory V As mojl of our modern hijlorians have either not allowed or mifreprefented the laudable qua- 1 Vit. Paliy p. 47. Pa/lav. L. 14: . 2.' n. 6. 2 Carte, v. 3, p. 354, ( 547 ) Kties of this Princefs, &c. (p. 208); and be- cauje the candour of protejlant htftorians has fully juflified her much injured character, IJhall content my felf, fays Mr. P, with copying it from thefe originals, and almoft in their own 'words (p. 209). An ingenious way this tru- ly ! to jujiify the much injured character of this Princefs^ by fele&ing a few paflages from a few hiftorians, wherein fome of her private good qualities are candidly acknowledged, and by fuppreffing others, which would bear hard upon her memory. All the authorities, (ex- cept that of Sir R. Baker} which Mr. P. hath referred to ( p. 2 1 o, note) in behalf of her laudable qualities ( p. 208 ) Mr. Dod had already collected before him, and almoft in the fame words '. If inftead of contenting himfelf with that author's disfigured copy of thole originals, he had infpecled the hifto- rians there quoted, he would hardly have ap- pealed to any of them zsjuftifiers of the Queen 's much injured chara&erj and would have found, that though their candour induced them to fpeak tenderly of her religious and merciful difpofition; yet their regard to truth obliged them at the fame time to own her weaknefs and bigotry, and to dwell, at large, on the failings of her government *. 1 Church hiftory, v. I, p. 464* 2 That the reader may judge for himfelf, whether the fentiments of thefe writers are fairly and fully reprefented or no, by Mr. Dod and Mr. P, let him infped their hif- tories, and then determine, v. Collier, v. 2, p. 406. Cam- M m 3 Jtn'f ( 548 ) The concurrent teftimony of our hiftorians reprefent this reign as the moft difgraceful in the Englijh annals, and the death of the Queen as a fortunate event. From what we have obferved before, her religion was the religion of a bigot, well meant, but ill-dire6t- ed. Her private life, however, it may be faid, was ftricl: and unblemifhed ; but will this ex- cufe the guilt of that perfecuting fpirit, which, effacing the natural tendernefs of her fex, taught her to look upon the killing of here- tics as doing God fervice ? From this prin- ciple, it was, that me forgot every call to compaffion, and every fentiment of gratitude. Noailles, in his negotiations, defcribes her, as one who gave herfelf up entirely to chagrin and melancholy. He tells us, that in the ab- fence of her hufband, (lie fpent her time in tears, in complaints, and in writing to him, and in anger againft her fubjecls ; that me was fuf- picious of the nobility, and even of her coun- cil, and hardly knew whom to truft '. That me vented her fpleen and refentment for the flights me received from the King, by making great numbers feel the cruel rigour of jtifHce, and die by the fire and the fword *. By this behaviour, and the abfurd plan of politics pur- fued throughout this reign, the Queen loft derfs Introdu&ion to the Annals of Q.. Elizabeth , p. 10. Fuller's ch. hift. b. 8, p. 42. Sir R. Baker'* chronicley P. 324. Efbard, p. 327. 1 Amlnffades des Nnailles> v. 5, p. 362, 2 Id. /*, p. 370. the ( 549 ) the love and affe&ion of her fubjefts who confidered her death as their deliverance from the wanton tyranny of perfecutors and ftran- gers, who made this reign memorable only for the calamities, cruelties and misfortunes of it. Cardinal Pole barely furvived the Queen : the fame day put an end to both their lives. Some few days before his death, be wrote a letter (fays Mr. PJ to her (p. 210). If our biographer had confulted the Engltfo hifto- rians upon this article, they would have af- fured him, that this letter was not written to her, but to the Princefs Elizabeth, that, as the Queen's recovery was defpaired of, and fhe herfelf likely foon to fucceed to the crown, fhe might harbour no refentment a- gainfl him for the ill ufage fhe had met with '. This letter we may conclude was well re- ceived ; for the new Queen not only permit- ted the cardinal, according to his defire in his will, to be buried at Canterbury, and, at the requeft of his executor, allowed two bilhops to attend the funeral \ but alfo ordered letters i See Collier, v. 2, Records, p. 88, N. 75, and Strypt, Hift. v. i, p. 50 j who have given this letter in the cardinal's own words : and fo have me editors of the 5th vol. of Palis letters, p. 275. But thefe foreigners, fol- lowing Mr. Hearne's miftake, (fronv whofe colle&ion of letters inferted at the end of his edition of Livy of Friuli's life of Henry V, they took it,) having put this title to it, Epiftola Cardinalis Poll ad Mariam Reginam Angllee^ our author copied their blunder : tho' the fubjeft matter of the letter plainly fignifies to which Queen it was written. M m 3 from ( 55 ) from the privy council to be ilTued out for the better recovery of all debts and arrears due to him at the time of his deceafe ' ; that every thing might be fettled to the fatisfadtion of his executor, and that he might not leave the kingdom, but with the ftrongeft proofs of the court's attention to juftice, honour, and equity. j Strypis hiftory, v. I, p. 37, 38. A N ' ANIMADVERSIONS O N SECTION THE TWELFTH. WE are now come to our biographer's concluding fection, in which he pro- fefles to draw, as it were, to one point, and re- prefent in an uninterrupted view thofe particu- lar virtues which dijlinguifhed the federal parts of his hero's life (p. 217). Here, therefore, we might have expected fome mafterly flrokes of his, own pencil : but the fame piece of patch-work which marks all the former parts of his performance is continued in this reca- pitulation of it. There is fcarce a circum- ftance, tho' ever fo minute, which is not ta- ken from the foreign writers of the cardinal's life : to efcape indeed the purfuit of his read- er, Mr. P. leaps from one article to another; and gives himfelf the trouble to tranfpofe fbme of their fentences, not to prefent us with any of his own observations, but only the better to puzzle the fcent. He does however, to fave his credit in cafe of detection, vouchfafe, m one ( 552 ) one or two places, to refer to them, as his authorities, for a few particulars : whereas, in fact, almoft every remark through this fum- mary of the cardinal's character is deduced from them, the phrafe and arrangement only a little varied '. We have feen in the courfe of this work, how violently our Eng/tft> hiftorian's prejudi- ces have hurried him beyond the bounds of truth, decency, and impartiality. T/je flrength of the imprej/ion, which he felt in favor of his all accompli died original, has really raifed him to ajlrain^ which fobriety of thought can- not always approve ( pref. p. vi)j and un- doubtedly flattered him, he mould be able to draw his readers into the fame vortex ( ib. p. vu ). That they may not be abforbed in it, we have endeavoured to conlider the charac- ter of cardinal Pole, as we have found him reprefented in the general hiftory of the epoch in which he lived, and in the truejl copy of himfelj) his epiflolary inter courfe ( ib. p. xi ), and other writings, which are faid to be the faithful mejfengers of his heart ( ib. p. xn ). From theie, have we formed our opinion of him : and having attended his modern hifto- rian throughout his work -, we will, after his example, conclude with fome remarks upon the character of his hero, from the review we have taken of his life, I Vit> Poli, from p- SI- to the end. At ( 553 ) At his'firft introduction into public life, he cultivated an intimate acquaintance with Betnbo, Longolius, and other Italian critics, who diftingailhed themfelves by the airetftation of ufing no Word or phrafe, which was not to be found in Cicero : from them he caught that verbofenefs obfervable in all his compositions, in which the poverty of his fentiments is dif- guifed by a cloud of words. When a meta- phor falls in his way, he gives it no reft, but dwells upon it in fuch a manner, as to be- wilder his reader almoft as much as himfelf. Were we not fully convinced of his piety, we ihould be apt to cenfure him as a profane perverter of fcripture ; for he is ever blending it with his own language, and impertinently and perfonally applying it, as his fancy leads him, upon every occalion. His oppofition to Henry s divorce and fu premacy, lofes all the merit of proceeding from principle and confcience, from the man- ner in which he expreffed it. Forgetting all the duty and obligation he owed to the King of England, he defcended to the loweft and coarfeft invedives againft him j and never fcrupled to engage in any defign againft his fovereign, and his country. His zeal fandlified all fuch actions; and made him efteem them meritorious, as undertaken in fupport of the caufe of Chrift, and his religion. There is no part of his character more amiable than when we view him in his re- tirements, and in the focial intercourfes with private ( 554 ) private friends : here he appeared to great ad- vantage, and difplayed all the endearing good qualities of the polite fcholar, the chearful companion, and the iincere friend. His fame would have been handed down to porterity with undiminimed luftre, if he had never en- gaged in the turbulent, active fcenes of life ; for which he either was not defigned by na- ture, or had rendered himfelf unfit by indulg- ing an indolent and timid difpofition. His rank and ilation indeed frequently forced him upon public employments, in which he fel- dom anfwered the high opinion conceived of him. At the two councils of Trent, where he prefided as one of the Pope's Legates, nothing memorable or material is recorded of him ; no traces are to be found of his vigour and activity. He left the fecond council, pleading his ill Hate of health, before any of the moft interefting articles were debated, to the great regret of his colleagues, who were difpleafed at his departure. That we are not miftaken in thus charging cardinal Pole with indolence and inactivity ; let us confider what his be- haviour was in E?2gland> when inverted with his Legantine powers. He bewailed indeed the fins of the nation, he reunited it to the papal church, and abfolved it from the griev- ous crime of herefy : this he could not help doing himfelf: but he did nothing further belonging to his fpiritual jurifdidtion ; he nei- ther ordained, nor confecrated; nor did he vi^- t, even his own fmall diocefe, or his pecu- liars -, ( 555 ) liars ; but performed ail thefe branches of his duty by commilTion '. His pen, however, was not idle : he was perpetually employed in wri- ting volumes of canons, articles, injunctions, and letters. He could be active enough upon paper : and here all his vigour fpent itielf. Much is faid by his panegyrifl in praife of his remarkable mildnefs, and /jir lenient arts, to thofe who dijjented from the doctrine of his church : and Dr. Burners extorted concejjion is produced in confirmation of this affertion (p. 232). It is true, that prelate had once a favorable opinion of the cardinal's mildnefs : but upon further examination, he retracted that concejjion, and owned " he found, that " Pole was not fo mild, as he had reprefented " him V No colouring can difguife, no ex- cufes can palliate, his infolent and inhuman behaviour to Cranmer and Cheke. His zeal was not fatisfied with the perfecution of the living heretics, as he called them: it was exerted alfo beyond the grave. Being the Legate of the fancied fucceflbr of St. Peter, he feems to have imagined, that he had the power, by the help of Peters keys, to open the doors of purgatory; and he attempted to exercife it, but it was not with the charitable intent of freeing any fouls from their imaginary con- finement, but to thruft them, if poffible, from thence into hell. We have already confidered I Strype Mem. v. 3, p. 454. g Burnrt, v. 3, p. 261. one. one fmgular in fiance of wanton barbarity acl> ed, by his orders, at Oxford, upon the dead body of the wife of Peter Martyr. He who formerly reproached Henry VIII, for his fa- crilege in difturbing the afhes of Thomas a Becket^ now clofely followed his example, and fent his commiffioners to Cambridge, to take up, and burn for herefy, the dead bodies of Bucer and Fagius, two reforming divines, who had been profeflbrs in that uni- verfity, the one of Divinity, the other of He- brew : what the Legate commanded, his De- legates performed. After thefe inftances of frantic zeal, may not the mildnefs and humanity of Pole be called in queftion ? if not : can thofe religious principles which impelled him to acl fo con- trary to thofe amiable virtues, to his natu- rally good difpofition, be too much abhorred and detefted ! How noble, in comparifon of this furious bigotry, was the behaviour of the Emperor Charles V. who, when he had taken the town of Wittemberg, in which the body of that herefiarch Luther was buried, not only refifted the importunities of the bigots around him, to dig up his body and burn it ; but alfo protected it from their infults; and filenced their clamours by this chriftian, ge- nerous reply, Let him alone, let him reft to the day of the refurre&ion, and the judgment of all men ' ! I Hernfchmidii Vit. Lutb. p. 252. Adamus, p. 162. A veil ( 557 ) A veil is thrown upon thefe a&ions of Pole which I have been relating, in the panegyri- cal narration before us : and others of the fame tendency are flurred over with this apo- logy, that they were the refult of his deference to the laws and constitutions of his country, 'which did not allow him to Jlrain the tender firings of government, nor exert an undue au- thority on any pretext whatever (p. 132). Whereas Pole, by the general powers given him for reconciling the nation to the church of Rome, was inverted with a plenitude of authority over temporal, as well as ecclefiaf- tical courts : he had it therefore in his power to be as mild and merciful as he pleafed. But he had fo terrible a notion of herefy, that he feemed to look upon it as an unpardonable crime : it was this prevailing bias, which led him to fome ill-natured and harm feverities againft the poor fufferers for religion, at the time of their execution j and to fome uncha- ritable reflections upon their fortitude under it. Thus he writes to a namelefs bifhop ; " that " fome of the heretics did as much harm to " the people by their deaths as by their lives : " a preacher therefore, he fays, mould be pro- " vided againft the time of their fufferings, " who mould declare the occalion of their " death, their wicked life and obftinacy, and " the pains taken to bring them to repent- *' ance : . . . that by thefe means an a<5t of * ' companion may to the laft be offered to the " heretics, and the people refcued from the " danger ( 558 ) " danger of that offence, they fo eafily fall " into, when, without a preacher to declare " this, they only fee the conftancy of a wretch- " ed perfon in fuffering torment, and do not " perceive, under this falfe appearance of pie- " ty and refolution, the power and cunning " of the Devil '." Thus he alfo writes to King Philip-, and informs him, that Father Soto had been with the two condemned he- retics at Oxford, (Ridley and Latimer he means) one of whom would not fo much as fpeak to him ; that with the other he had fome con- verfalion, but to no effect : by which, faith the mild and chriftian Pole, it is manifeft that no one can fave thofe whom God hath re- jected, and therefore (he adds,) they fay the people beheld their execution with pleafure, when they underftood that nothing was omit- ted which could contribute to their Salva- tion *. The patriot fpirit of Pole would have been fignally difplayed ; if he had either retrained, or remonftrated againft thefe rigours : inftead of that, he encouraged them ; he did not in- deed condemn any himfelf to the ftake ; but his officers did it for him. His fuffragan, and his archdeacon, are faid to have poured out blood like water 3 -, and one of the laft acts* of authority he was concerned in, was to de- 1 Qtirini, v. 5. Ep. Poll Epifcspo . . . . p. 88. 2 Id. ib. Ei). pdi Philippo regi, p. 47. 3 HeyltK, p, 56. Fuller' s'Chm-ch hill. b. 8, p. ig. liver ( 559 ) liver over five heretics, whom they had con- demned, to the civil magiftrate for execu- tion : in confequence of this, they were burnt at Canterbury about a week before his death. Two or three inftances are, indeed, recorded of his clemency ; but they cannot clear him from the guilt of that blood, which was fhed by commitfions immediately granted by him ; when he had it in his power to have mitiga- ted thefe feverities, if his inclination to fpare and to fave had been as great as his autho- rity. We find alfo as few traces of patriotifm in the cardinal, either as an Englifhman or a ftatefman. He was the principal inftrument to reduce this church and kingdom to the ilavery of that fpiritual tyrant, againft whofe enormous exorbitances, the free fpirit of our anceftors had from time to time made fuch public and parliamentary remonftrances. As a flatefman, he was always devoted to the Spanifh faction, was made a cardinal by the Emperor's felicitation, and fupported by his intereft and influence in the conteft for the papacy. At his return into Rjigland, he was obferved to have adopted the referve and ftate- linefs of his foreign acquaintance, to converfe almoft entirely with them, and to have very little connection with his own countrymen, He might, indeed, have put in his claim to the title of a patriot (p. 230)5 'if, like his much injured predeceffor, he had oppofed all councils prejudicial to the honour of his coun* "7* try, and had behaved with the fame open firm- nefs. as Cranmer did upon every occafion. We fhould then have heard, of his diffhading thofe minifterial meafures which prevailed whilft be was at the head of the council (p. 232,) and were not only detrimental to the intereft of the kingdom, but alfo contrary to all the prin- ciples of humanity, and in direct violation of the laws of chriftianity. Nothing like this is related of him : he acquiefced in every thing : and even in religious matter -s, which were nwre peculiarly his department , he fuffered rigours to be cxerdjed (p. 232) which he entirely dif- approved of. He cannot, therefore, in any refpect, be conlidered as a patriot-, but as one whofe indolence and timidity rendered him the tool of others, who were more violent, ambitious and deligning, than himfelf. A j uft regard to the truth of hiftory has conftrained us thus to cenfure the actions of cardinal Pole. But notwithstanding this ; we are not blind to his real merits ; the excellen- cy of his morals, the natural goodnefs of his heart, and the piety of his difpofition, are chearfully confefTed ; his behaviour in his laft moments mewed, that his religion, though ill-directed, was iincere and genuine. It is with pleafure we can take our leave of him by a fair and favorable acknowledgment of his virtue and piety. We are forry to think, fo well meaning and fo good a man mould labour under fuch inveterate prejudices : and that, to fpare his character, thofe allowances mufl ( 56* ) jnuft be made for his conduit, which he, with all his lenity and good nature, knew not how to grant to any who differed from him. His good name and reputation have hither- to been tenderly treated : his biographer hath occasioned them to be more minutely exa- mined. How they will bear this enquiry, let him look to it, who hath thus difturbed his afhes, and made the elogium of his hero the vehicle of fcornfully traducing the religion of his country, of infutting the memory of thofe worthies who are fo juftly dear to it, and of recommending thofe horrid intolerant princi- ples, which enforced the naturally mild and eafy Pole to become an inquifitor and a per- fecutor. The cruelties, however, which were fo wantonly exercifed by him and others, in their day of power, have been attended with many providentially good effe&s, which are frill felt amongft us : they difcovered the true fanguinary fpirit of popery; they pro- moted the caufe of the reformation, and ex- cited in our anceftors, the utmofr. indignation againfl and contempt for that religion, which took inhuman methods to preferve its efla- blimment. The blood of the martyrs proved the feed of the proteftant church : many, who in the beginning of Marys reign were rigid papifts, were converted by the cruel execu- tions, and patient fufFerings of thofe whom they faw condemned to the flames for no crime ; but only for confcience fake : and foine made an atonement for their former N n blind- ( 562 ) blindnefs and fuperftition, and died in de- fence of that religion they had before oppof- ed. By thefe means, to ufe the words of the venerable, expiring Latimer, fuch a candle was lighted in England, as, we truft, by God's grace fhall never be extinguifhed. THE END. APPENDIX. NUMBER I. Some remarks upon Mr. Phillips s hiftory, &c. communicated by the Reverend Dr. J or tin. Reverend Sir, THE Life of Pole, by Mr. Phillips, is a performance which, in my opinion, forebodes no evil at all to our Church and State : yet it deferves to be examined and confuted. Such fort of Writers have given occafion to excellent anfwers, and furnifhed materials for the Stilling fleets, the Til- lotfons, &V. Much fuch a work as this, in fome refpefts, was The Life of Wo/fey, written at a critical time by our Fiddes a Proteftant- Papift (the expreffion is as proper at leaft as Roman-Catholic) to prepare us for Popery and the Pretender; a Book which had no other effecl; than to expofe the Author and his Patrons. The inve&ives of Mr. P. againft Erafmus, with whofe works lie feems to be entirely unacquainted, and whom he reprefents as a wretch void of all religion, are the fcum and dregs of the accufations which Blockheads, Bigots, Fanatics, and Hypocrites have plentifully thrown out. There are writers of the Romifo Communion, who have treat- ed Erafmus with decency and candor, as Thuanus, Du Pin, Richard, Marfollier, &c. But Mr. P. chufes rather to aflbciate himfelf with the other Fraternity ; and it is fit that he fhould have his choice. Amongft the Articles recommended by him to our belief, are thefe ; The fanftity of Thomas Becket, and the numerous miracles wrought by his Reliques, which according to BoJ/uet, are fo well attefted as to exclude all doubt ; and then for the character of Bojfuet, we are referred to Lord Bolingbroke, that incompa- rable judge of literary and theological merit: The authority of our countryman Sanders, a man fo famous for veracity, that if Captain Lemuel Gulliver had not fupplanted him, we might ufe the proverbial phrafe, // is true as if Sanders bad Jaid it : N n 2 Tht APPENDIX. The merits of Ignatius Loyola \ whom his unkind contempora- ries left to ramble about 0t large ; though it is to be fuppofed that in thofe days, as well as in tlicfe, there were houies fitted up for the reception of fuch as he : The infpiration of the fathers at Trent ; on which article of faith we will meet him half-way ; for we all allow them to have been infpired by his Holinefs. Pref. p. ix. " Dttditbitis, Bilhop of Tune." He was Bimop of Knln (Tininium) in Croatia. P. 98. " Bunet. So he calls Buncllus, famous for his pure latinity. P. 259, 260. " The Lutherans infifted upon changes in reli- tl gion, which, as Procopiut a Pagan writer obferves, on account " of the abfoluie Jtnglenefs of its iyllem, admits of none." In the margin he puts, fimplex cjf abfoluta. This curious piece of erudition deferves fingular notice. He calls Prccopitis a Pagan. He mould not have ventured out of his depth, and palled his judgment upon an Author of whom he knows juft nothing at all. La Mattbe Le Fayer,- Eicbelius, Akmaniius, and Cave have fufpccled Procopius of Paganifm, or of Atheifm ; but he hath been defended by Coujin, his French Tranflator, and by Fabri- tius, Bill. Gr. vi. 248. More may be faid in his behalf than they have urged ; and I will at any time undertake to prove that the arguments produced in fupport of this heavy charge againft him are altogether inconclufivc. Mr. P. gives us fiir.plex b 5 abjoluta as the words of Proco- pius ; whence we may colleft that he takes him for a Latin wri- ter. I can allure him that Procopius wrote in Greek. If he will not believe me, he may afic his Bookfeller. But unfortunately, thefe words, wherefoever he picked them Up, are not the words of Prucopiui : they are the property of another author, a Latin Hillorian and a Pagan, of Ammianus Marcellinus ; and fo little do they ferve the purpofes of Popery, that he ought by no means to have produced them, and helped himfclf to a flap on the face. MarceUinui blames the Emperor Conftantius for having made himfelf the Head of a Party, in the theological Squabbles of thofe days, inftcad of quieting the combatants ; and obferves that the Chriftians, by their frivolous contentions, and faife re- finements, darkened and perplexed a Religion which in itfelf was complete and fimple. He adds that the public Revenue.-, '."of- fered not a little by fupplying the Prelates with 1'oft- Chaifcs for their evcrlafting journeys to their Synods and Councils. " Conftantius Cbriftianam religionem abfokuam & fimplicem wili fypcrftitione ccnf lindens, in $ua fcrutanda perplex ins quam APPENDIX. (omponcnda gravius, excitavit dijjldia plurima, qttte progreJTa. fa fins aluit concert tit lone vcrborum : ut catcrvis Ant iftil um jumen- tis publich ultra citroque dlfcurrentibus, per Synodos quas appel- lant, diim riturn omr.em ad fuum trahere conaiur arbitrium, ret vckiculariee fuccideret nerves." xxi. 16. The fame honeft Hiftorisn, fpeaking of a vvorthlefs Prelate, fays that he did not learn his practice from his religion, - qiice nibll nifi juftum fu&det & lew. xxu. 1 1. Significant words, which for the benefit of fome people we will explain; - A religion which allows no mam- miracles, no pious frauds and forgeries, no compulfion of conscience, no Jnquifitions, no racks and tortures to ilretch a fcanty faith to a proper length, no violation of fafe -conducts, no godly mafiacres, no burning of heretics, no doing to others what we would not that they fhould do to us. What would this Author have faid to the perfeft fimpHcity of the Papal Syftem, and of the decrees of the Council of Trent ? " The Lutherans, quoth he, infilled upon changes in religion." Changes in Popery, if you pleale. The Lutherans wanted to abolifh all changes e and innovations, and to reilore Chrillianity, as nearly as they could, to its original ftate. For example; they defired to have the Communion adminiftred in both kinds, which had been, the known pn;lice of the Church for the firit thoufand years ; and multitudes of Romanics, to do them juftice, carneflly defired the fame. But the Court of Rome and its Crea- tures would not confem. If they had fully and freely granted the Cup to the Laity, and marriage to the Clergy, it might have been an ugly blow to Lutheranijm : but by refufing to give up any thing, how ab- furd foever, and by attempting to prevail with the help of their old fupporters, Fire and Fagot , they effectually eftabliihed the Reformation. Since that revolution, the Pope is the fliadow of what he once yvas ; he is Lttcatfs Oak ; Stat mngni nominls Vmbra* frugifero quercus fublimis in agro, Exuvias veteres populi, Jacrataque geftans Dcna ducum ; nee jam validis nadicibui bterens, Ponder e fixa fuo eft ; nudofque per a'e'ra ramos ' Ejfundens, tru'nco, non frondibus, ejficit umbram. I- 135- P. 251. " Pole put the Emperor in mind of Jojias, whofc " naval force was deftroyed, and who was told by a Prophet ; " becaufe thou haft entered into a league with a man who has " done fo many ungodly actions, therefore God has deftroyed "thy fleet." Pole APPENDIX. Pole and his Panegyrift ( to borrow a phrafe from SbakeJ'pear) had not prayed their Pible well. For Jofias had no fleet to lofc : it was Jebofapbat. 2 Cbron. xx. 35 37. An Englijh Papift, writing with a view to excite in us a fa- vourable opinion of himfelf and his party, undertakes a difficult task, which requires fingular qualifications. He (hould (hew in his works a fpirit of moderation, candor, ingenuity, fincerity, fairnefs, impartiality, humanity and charity. France hath pro- duced fome Authors of that communion, who have fome kind of claim to this character : but hardly {hall you find fuch amongft the Papifts of England, Ireland, Flanders, Spain, Portugal, and Italy. He mould alfo have a tolerable fliare of learning and know- ledge, and not be a mere borrower from others, and a Brother of the Religious order of Mendicants. GIVE me leave, Sir, to take the opportunity of concluding thefe pages with a remark upon myfelf. In the fecond Volume of the Life of Erafmus, p. 140 I gave a fpecimen' of the pronunciation of the modern Greeks, in which there is a miftake, which I overlooked, till it was too late to reftify it. It is in the diphthong , which is not founded by them like >, but like the Latin vowel u. The lines from Homer fliould therefore be written thus, putting the Latin a for the a. U Xepivtv, I (Aipt A^/sVj lit* it; ^ JOHN JORTIN APPENDIX. NUMBER II. A Letter from the Princefs ELIZABETH to Queen MARY, referred to p. 461. and 485. The Author was miftaken in faying [/>. 485.] that the original of this letter is extant in the Britijh Mufeum^ whereas it is found in the Paper-Office, as he has been fmce informed by Dr. Birch. IF any ever did try this olde faynge, that a Kinge's worde was more than another man's othe, I moft humbly befeche your M. to verefie it in me, and to remember your laft promis, and my laft demaunde, that I be not condemned without an- fvver and due profe, wiche it femes, that now I am j for that without caufe provid, I am by your counfel frome you com- manded to go unto the Tower, a place more wonted for a falfe Traitor, than a tru fubjeft, wich, thogth, I know, I deferve it not, yet in the face of al this Realme aperes, that it is provid ; wiche I pray God I may dy the fhamefullift deth, that ever any died, afore I may mene any fuche thinge ; and to this prefent hower I proteft afor God (who fhal juge my trueth ) what foever malice fhal devife) that I never pra6ttled, conciled, nor confentid to any thinge, that might be prejudicial to your parfon any way, or daungerous to the State by any mene ; and ther- for I humbly befeche your Majeftie to let me anfwer afore your Selfe, and not fuffer me to truft your coanfelors ; yea and that afore I go to the Tower ( if it be poffible ) if not afor I be fur- ther condemned, howbeit I truft affuredly your Highnes wyl give jne leve to do it afor I go ; for that thus fhamefully I may not be cried out on, as now I fhal be ; yea and without caufe let confciens move your highnes to take fome bettar way with me, than to make me be condemned in al men's figth afore my defert Jcnowen, Alfo I moft humbly befeche your Higthnes to pardon this my boldnes, wiche innocency procures me to do, togither with hope of jrour natural kindnis, wiche I truft wyl not feme caft away without defart ; wiche what it is, I wold defire np more of God, but that you truly knew : wiche thinge I thinke and beleve you fhal never by report knowe, unles by your Selfe you hire. 1 have harde in my time of many caft away for want of comminge to the prefence of their Prince ; and in late days I harde my Lorde of Somerfet fay, that if his Brother had bine fuffercd to fpeke with him, he had never fufferd : but the pre- fwafion* APPENDIX. fwafions wer made to him fo gret, that he was brogth in belefc, that he coulde not live fafely, if the admiral lived ; and that made him give his confent to his Dethe. Thogth Thes par- fons ar not to be compared to your Majeftie, yet I pray God as ivel perforations perfwade not one Siflar againft the other, and al for that the have harde falfc report, and not harkene to the trueth knowen. ' Therfor ons again knHing with humblenes of of my hart, bicaufe I am not fufterd to bow the knees of my body, 1 humbly crave to fpeke with your . higthnis, widie I wolde not be fo bold to defire, if I knewe not my felfe moft clere, as I knowe my felfe molt tru. And as for the Traitor. Wiat t he migth paraventur writ me a lettar ; but on my faiihe I never receved any from him ; and as for the copie of my let- ter fcnt to the Frencbe Kinge, I pray -God confound me eter- nally, if ever 1 fent him woid, meiTage, token or letter, by any ir.enes ; and to this my truith I wil fhnde in to my Dethe. I humbly crave but only one wordc of anfwcr from your Seife. Your Highnes moft faithful SubjecT, tkit hathe bine from the beginninge, and wyl be to my end 1 , ELIZABETH. ^\\EUNIVEj% ^ UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY Los Angeles This book is DUE on the last date stamped below. SD2343 9/77 f AINfl-3VS* ^/OJITCHO^ ^fOJIlVD-JO^ ^ftTO-SOV^ ty yANGElfj^ ^OF-CALIFOty^ ^OF-CAllFOfi^ <$M UNIVERS/^ ^ V-l IM=YI I UNIVERJ//, UC SOUTHERN REGIONAL A 000 SOI^ v/sa3MN[)3\\ 5 2 % = I ra I ,