writers. In queen Mary's days the book was again published by an English exile, naming himself E. P. The title it now bore was, "A Confutation of Unwritten verities, by divers authorities, diligently and truly gathered out of the Holy Scripture, and ancient fathers, by Thomas Cranmer, late Archbishop, and burned at Oxford, for the defence of the true doctrine of our Saviour. Translated and set forth by E. P." Before it is a preface of the translator to his countrymen and brethren in England. In it he lamented the woful state of things in England, by the restoring of popery, and the persecution of protestants there; and shewed what a kind of man the chief bishop then in England, viz. cardinal Pole, was, who in 161 the last king's reign went from prince to prince, to excite them to make war against his own prince and country. This treatise is but a bare collection of places of holy Scripture, and ancient fathers, to prove, "That the canon of the Bible is a true, and sound, and perfect doctrine, containing all things necessary to salvation: that neither the writing of the old fathers, without the word of God, nor general councils, nor the oracles of angels, nor apparitions from the dead, nor customs, can be sufficient in religion to establish doctrine, or maintain new articles of faith." Then reasons are given against unwritten verities, and the places of holy Scripture, and other writers, which piled by E. P. out of some manu- matter which was put together by Cranmer, though probably without any design of publication, Dr. Jenkyns reprinted it in vol. iv. pp. 145–244. The other tract, being thought to be altogether spurious, was placed by him in the Appendix (vol. iv. p. 358) to the Remains of abp. Cranmer.] the papists bring to maintain unwritten verities, are answered. At last the objections of the papists are confuted, in a concluding chapter. Which last part was not writ by the archbishop, but by the translator. For relating here the story of the holy maid of Kent, he saith, she was examined by Thomas Cranmer, archbishop of Canterbury P. And at last he saith, "I have plainly and fully answered to all that I remember the papists do, or can allege by writing, preaching, or reasoning, for the defence of their unwritten verities; on which they build so many detestable idolatries and heresies. But yet, if any be able to answer so plainly and truly to the Scriptures, authorities, and reasons rehearsed by me as I have done to theirs, and to prove their doctrines by as plain testimonies and reasons as I have done mine, I shall not only acknowledge my ignorance and error, but I shall gladly return into England, recant my heresies," &c. Hence it is plain, that the conclusion of the book, as well as the preface, was writ by the translator. I will add one passage taken out of this book, about the middle, whereby it may be seen what a clergy was now in England. Having quoted the canons of the apostles, "Let Can. 3. not a bishop or deacon put away his wife," &c.,' he makes a heavy complaint against the frequent practice of beastly sins in the priests, adultery, &c. and that they never were punished. "And in my memory, (as he proceeds), which is above thirty years, and also by the information of others, that be twenty years elder than I, I could never learn that one priest was punisheds." P [See abp. Cranmer's Works, vol. ii. p. 65. Park. Soc. ed.] 9 [Id. p. 67.] r [Id. p. 37. Επίσκοπος, ἢ πρεσβύτερος, ἢ διάκονος τὴν ἑαυτοῦ γυναῖκα μὴ ἐκβαλλέτω προφάσει εὐ λαβείας· ἐὰν δὲ ἐκβάλλῃ, ἀφοριζέσθω s [See abp. Cranmer's Works, His care of Canterbury. Foxe's MSS. This is some account of the care he took for the church in general as metropolitan. But he had a particular care of his own diocese, now his power was not checked, as it was in the former reign, especially of the city of Canterbury; which had been formerly the backwardest in religion of any other place of his diocese. He supplied this city with store of excellent learned preachers, Turner, the two Ridleys, Becon, Besely, and John Joseph, who this year went along with the king's visitors as one of their preacherst. These converted not a few to sincere religion; as may appear by those numbers of Canterbury that in queen Mary's reign suffered the torment of fire for their profession of the gospel. But in that reign all the preachers fled, so that there was scarce one remaining in the city: which was looked upon as a particular sign of God's displeasure against that place, because the professors there, and others, reformed not themselves according to those 162 opportunities of grace, which God had put into their hands. And so I find in a letter to them, wrote by some eminent person in prison in queen Mary's reign: "Alas! how few faithful servants hath the Lord of life in these troublesome days within Canterbury, to whom above all other people, in comparison of multitude, he hath sent most plenteously his word, in the mouths of most excellent preachers. But even as the people were negligent, hard-hearted, nothing willing to take the lively word unto their defence against the world, the devil, and the flesh-even so hath he permitted the same preachers to be dispersed, that not one of them should be a comfortable example to such an unkind people"." t [See above, pp. 13, 14.] u ["A letter from a prisoner for the gospel in queen Mary's time" is preserved in the Harl. MSS. 416. Plut. lxv. E. fol. 159. but the above passage is not found therein it is probable that either Strype was incorrect in his reference, or that some portion of this document may have been destroyed.] CHAPTER VI. THE ARCHBISHOP'S CARE OF THE UNIVERSITY. versity. THE archbishop was a great patron of all solid learning, The archbishop's inbeing a very learned man himself. And knowing very well fluence uphow much the "libertas philosophandi," and the know- on the uniledge of tongues, and the other parts of human learning, tended to the preparing men's minds for the reception of true religion, and for the detecting of the gross errors and frauds of popery, which could subsist only in the thick darkness of ignorance; these things made him always cast a favourable aspect upon the universities, and especially that of Cambridge, whereof he himself was once a member: which the governors and the rest of the gremials very well knew, and therefore did frequently apply to him, as often as they had need of the favour of the court or parliament. Roger Ascham, fellow of St. John's College, and one of the floridest wits of this university, and who succeeded sir John Cheke in reading the Greek lecture, said of him in a letter he sent him, (wherein he styled him "literarum decus et ornamentum"), "That he was the man, who was accustomed to express great joy at the good progress of learning, such was his singular goodwill towards it; and when it went otherwise than well with it, he alone could apply a remedy; such was his sway and authority w." And so much was he the known Mecenas of learning, that according to the public encou W ["Quoniam tu is es, qui literis progredientibus plurimum gaudere soles, propter singularem tuam erga illas voluntatem: et eisdem laborantibus unice medêri potes, propter summam tuam au- Some of St. on the ap of a danger. ragement or prejudice it received, so the vulgar accounted the praise or dispraise thereof to redound upon Cranmer. So that if learning were discountenanced, it was esteemed to cast some disparagement upon him; if it flourished, it was a sign that Cranmer prevailed at court. For to that purpose do those words of the said Ascham to the archbishop, in another letter, seem to tend: "Nulla hoc tempore literis vel insperata clades, vel expectata commoditas accidere potest, cujus tu non aut author, ad magnam commendationem, aut particeps ad aliquam reprehensionem, voce ac sermone omnium jactatus eris." In this year 1547, and in the month of October, there lege apply fell out an accident in St. John's College in Cambridge, to him up which made those of that college that favoured learning 163 and religion, (as that house was the chief nursery thereof prehension in that university), judge it highly necessary to apply themselves to the archbishop to divert a storm from them. The case was this; a French lad of this college, sizer to one Mr. Stafford there, had one night, in hatred to the mass, secretly cut the string whereby the pix hung above the altar in the chapel. The like to which was indeed done in other places of the nation by some zealous persons, who began this year, without any warrant, to pull down crucifixes and images out of the churches: as was particularly done in St. Martins, Ironmonger-lane, Londony. This affront to the popish service made a great noise in the college; and the sober party among them feared the ill effect it might have upon the whole college, either to its disparagement or prejudice, when the news of it should come to court; especially by the means of such, who stomached much the decay and downfall of superstition, and endeavoured what in them lay to obscure and x [Epist. Rog. Aschami, p. 315.] y [See Burnet's Hist. of Reformat. vol. ii. p. 17. ed. Oxon. 1829.] |