now be against your contre to kepe them still in captivite, BOOK III. PART the Holy Ghost to illuminat you. And if ther be pleasure that I may do for you or yours, ye shall be assured to fynd me redy evermore therunto: as knoweth Almighty God who have you in his blessed tuition. Cotton lib. Cleop. E. 6. P-355. From London the xiii day of July, 1536. Number 53. An original letter of Pole's to Cromwell, justifying himself. My lorde, yff afore tyme itt could nott be suerlye and clerelye perceived what affectyon I have ever borne to the kyng's honour and wealthe, which in my hole lyfe never gave the least occasyon, whye any man shoulde think, but wyth them that tendery'd the same moste, I myght chieflye be nombery'd: yf my deeds were trulye and indyfferentlye examined but howe soever ytt be, yff any dede afore perverslye interpretate myght ryse any scrupell to surmise the contrary, surely these letters that I wryght now, as the time and case requirithe, bearyng that tenour as in readyng you shall knowe, be suffycyent not onely to abolyshe all former doubts, shewing those to be perversly surmysed, but to make clere, that a more constant and stable mynde in observance off a prince, hathe not bene founde nother yn subject nor other personnes besyde. And the cause hereoff ys, that there never happened lyke occasyon as thys ys, that causythe me nowe to wryght, wherebye my mynd myght be so well knowen, while occasion ys gyven off the kyng's part under this maner, that he procureing against me, by such meanes to my undoynge, as was never hard off the lyke in Chrystendome against anye, that bare that personne that I do att this tyme. Yff my minde, after all this remain stable, to procure all things that may be to his honour and wealthe, as ever I have professy'd afore-tyme, what can be more suerer tokyn off a depe and a profound grounded love and affection: whither I do so I shall afterward showe you. If I declare first to hym that knoweth it beste, the kyng's act ageynst me, to the entent you maye knowe, yff I after that III. remayne yn my old estate off observance, ytt is not for ig- BOOK norance that I knowe not what is machinate ageinst me. And suerly, thoughe I knewe afore bothe by your letters and other in what displeasure the king had me, without the least cause shewed off my part; I take God and my conscience to judge, which thynge, iff I had borne but a meane affectiyon myght a been suffycyent to alyenate also my mynde from thence, where I sawe what soever I dyd for the best, to be ever accepted in the worste parte. But this I wyll not have yowe take for any proffe off my mynde, but to procede off the kyng's dyspleasure toward me; the lesse I knowe the cause to be, the further I was from all imagynacyon to suspect that hys grace should be so incensy'd against my personne; that for to have me in his hands, he wold be content to breke and vyolate both Godd's law and mann's, to dystuourbe all commencement betwene contrye and contrye, between man and man, and thys I wold never a thought: but fyndyng the same to be so in dede, I could not but fynde wythall, howe hys grace was bent with all to my utter undoynge; agaynst the which yff I remayne in my old purpose to procure hys wealthe and honour, he that wyll seke other proffs after thys, or wyll not be content with thys declaracyon off a mann's mynde, he declareth with all that wythe no proffe he wyll be content, but wyll have him one off hys enemies whither he wyll or no. And off this mynde off the kynge toward me I had furst knowledge at myne arryvenge in France, off the whiche to showe youe the first motion of my mind herein, I was more ashamyd to hear for the compassion I had to the king's honour, then movyd by any indygnacyon, that I comyng not only as imbassadour, but as legate, yn the hyghest sort of embassage that ys used amongst the Chrysten princes, a prynce off honour shold desyer off another prince off like honour, betraye thyne embassadour, betray the legate, and give him into my embassadour's hands to be brought unto me. This was the dishonourable request, as I understand of the king; which (as I said afore) to me suerly, regarding my own part, I promes'd you was no great displeasure, but rather III. PART (if I shall say truth) I toke pleasure herein; and said furthwith to my company, that I never felt my self in full pos session to be a cardinall, as when I herd those tydings; wherby it pleased God to send lyke fortune to me, as it did to those hedds of the church, whose persones the cardynalls do represent, which was to be persecutyd moste of them, whose wealth they labouryd for most busyly. In this case lyved the apostells: and the same nowe beyng happenyd to me, afore God I promise I felt no displeasure, but rather was glad thereof, specially consedyryng herebye I hadd the better occasyon to declare and justyfie my minde more than ever I had afore, which was ever my minde: but touchyng the thynge, iff we had no other religion, but lyved as paganes and infidells, yet jus gentium should ever teache us what demande this was, the lawe of nature alone myght declare how abhomynable ytt were to grante to such a request, and no less to desyer ytt. This I rehearse now to this intent, that you might the sooner perceve, that if there had been but one sparke of a mynde alienate from the kyng, thys were able to set the same in such a fyer, that furst consideringe how all regarde off honour was sett aparte, and the law that maintaineth the commercement between man purposyd to be violate, so ytt myght torne to my undoing, Furst of all of my part, I shuld abstaine from all commercement with that part, other by word, writing, or dede; se condorylye, procure by all honest wayes, if I wolde not by dishonest, to repaye this malignytie, to the uttermoste damage I could devyse toward them, of whose malygne minde towarde me I had so greate experyence: and yett after all this, furst of all, youe may see forthwythe by wrytyng att this tyme, I doe nott abstayne from the furst acte to practyse and entreate, wyth them that hath bene authors hereof, and to practyse yett to hys honour and wealthe, whiche wold utterlie extinguyshe both in me. And if I be herd herein, to put the same also in execution; which thing thoughe I do suerlie of my owne purpose and mynd, yet some occasion hereof, howe it cometh otherwise I will not denye, nor kepe close, which is this; that whereas the bi III. shope of Verona, that was sent of me to the Frenche court, BOOK to intimate those affaires, that for the wealthe of Chrystendome, the pope had committed unto me, to entreate with his majestie, in his retourne passynge by Abbevylle, where were lodged my lorde of Wynchester, and Mr. Bryan; whereas he could not but gretlie marvayle of this acte of the kyng toward me, my hole legation purposing no other but his honour and weltche: and desiereng therefore to conferre the same with the embassadours, for better declaracyon of the truthe of the mattiers, to be known as they were: my lord of Wynchester, and Mr. Bryan, both abstaynenge for respect from all communycation, yet sending unto him theyre secretarye, after the bishope had in parte declared the effect of my legacie, that touched then any part the kyng, yet semed to be open to bothe parties, that all the king had done agaynst me, was of the sinistre and false reports of other, that by false conjecture of things they knewe not, had ill enfourmed the king of my purpose in comyng into these partes, which the secretarys thought onys clered and declaryd other by letters or messingers, the kyng wold turne his mynde, as his grace sawe the deds to justyfie themselfs. This the bishope of Verona (at his retourne) showed me ; which I accepted in that parte to be trewe also, that all came of evill enformacion. And that his grace being assertayned of my mynd, as it is and ever hath bene, it were not unpossyble then some part to knowledge rather my gratitude, than to machynate anye thing contrary. And that it might be so knowen, for all parts yet cannot be but well; but as I shewed the bishope, by letters I had attempted often the same, but all could not prevail: my messengers I had sent often for that purpose, could never be admitted to have audience of the kyng. And without one of these wayes were founde, there could no conclusion be had in theyse mattyers, wherein reasonyng with him, I asked, if for the love and service that ever he hath born to the kinge, and showed indede when he was in that place where his service might be in steade to the kynge, and love also he hath ever to me, having assured knowledge of all my affayres and pur |