That within England dwells,

I wold he were somewhere else
For else by and by

He will drink us so dry,

And suck us so nigh,

That men shall scantly
Have penny or halfpenny.

42. Hugh Latimer, 1475-1555. (Handbook, pars. 78, 294.) Chaplain of Henry VIII, and made Bishop of Worcester. Henry afterwards deprived him of his Bishopric, to which Edward VI. offered to restore him. His earnestness and fidelity as a preacher contributed greatly to the progress of the Reformation.

Against Bribery and Corruption in Judges.

b

[Isaiah] calleth princes theeves. What! princes theeves? What a seditious varlet was this! Was he worthy to live in a commonwealth that would call princes, on this wise, fellowes of theeves? Had they a standing at Shooter's-hill or Stangatehole, to take a purse? Why did they stand by the highwayside? Did they rob or break open in any man's house or doore? No, no; this is a grosse kinde of theeving. They were princes: they had a prince-like kind of theeving, they all love bribes.' Bribery is a princely kind of theeving. They will be waged by the rich, either to give sentence against the poore or to put off the poore man's causes. This is the noble theft of princes and of magistrates. They are bribe-takers. Now-a-daies they cal them gentle rewardes: let them leave their colouring, and call them by their Christian name, bribes: omnes diligunt munera ‘a. the princes, all the judges, all the priests, all the rulers, are bribers.' What! were all the magistrates in Jerusalem all bribe-takers? None good? No doubt there were some good. This word omnes signifieth the most part; and so there be some good, I doubt not of it, in England. But yet we be far worse than those stiff-necked Jewes. For we reade of none of them that winced nor kicked against Esaies preaching, or saide that he was a seditious fellow. It behooveth the magistrates to be in credit, and therefore it might seeme that Esay was to blame to speak openly against the magistrates. It is very sure that they that be good will beare

Localities in the neighbourhood of the metropolis, which were formerly infamous as the scenes of robbery. i.e. must receive wages,

• An accusation which was often brought against Latimer at the time: hence his aliusion to it

F

and not spurne at the preachers: they that be faulty they must amend, and neither spurne, nor wince, nor whine. He that findeth himself touched or galled, he declareth himself not to be upright. Wo worth these gifts! they subvert justice everywhere: "They follow bribes.' Somewhat was given to them before, and they must needes give somewhat againe, for Giffe-gaffe was a good fellow; this Giffe-gaffe led them clean from justice. They follow gifts.'

A good fellow on a time bade another of his friendes to a breakfast, and saide, if you will come, you shall be welcome; but I tell you aforehand, you shall have slender fare: one dish, and that is all.' What is that?' said he. A pudding, and nothing else.' 'Marry,' said he, 'you cannot please me better of all meates, that is for mine owne tooth; you may draw me round about the towne with a pudding.' These bribing magistrates and judges follow gifts faster than the fellow would follow the pudding.

Now-a-dayes the judges be afraid to heare a poore man against the rich, insomuch they will either pronounce against him, or so drive off the poore man's sute, that he shall not be able to go thorow with it. The greatest man in a realme cannot so hurt a judge as the poore widdow; such a shrewd turne she can do him. And with what armour, I pray you? She can bring the judge's skinne over his eares, and never lay hands upon him. And how is that? The teares of the poore fall downe upon their cheekes, and go up to heaven,' and cry for vengeance before God, the judge of widdowes, the father of widdowes and orphanes. Poore people be oppressed even by lawes. Wo worth to them that make evill lawes against the poore! What shall be to them that hinder and marre good lawes? 'What will ye doe in the day of great vengeance, when God shall visite you?' He saith, He will heare the teares of poore women when He goeth on visitation. For their sake He will hurt the judge, be he never so high. He will for widdowes' sake change realmes, bring them into troubles, and plucke the judges' skins over their eares.

Cambises was a great king, such another as our master is: he had many lord-deputies, lord-presidents, and lievtenants under him. It is a great while agoe since I read the history. It chanced he had under him in one of his dominions a briber, a gift-taker, a gratifier of rich men; he followed gifts as fast as he that followed the pudding; a hand-maker in his office, to make

his sonne a great man; as the old saying is, 'Happy is the child whose father goeth to the devill.' The cry of the poor widdow came to the emperour's eare and caused him to flay the judge quicke and layd his skinne in his chayre of judgement, that all judges that should give judgement afterward should sit in the same skinne. Surely it was a goodly signe, a goodly monument, the signe of the judge's skinne. I pray God we may once see the signe of the skinne in England. Ye will say peradventure that this is cruelly and uncharitably spoken: No, no. I do it charitably for a love I beare to my country. God saith, I will visite. God hath two visitations: the first is, when he revealeth his word by preachers, and where the first is accepted, the second commeth not; the second visitation is vengeance. He went a visiting when he brought the judge's skinne over his eares. his word be despised, he cometh with the second visitation, which is vengeance.

From the Third Sermon before Edward VI.

The Devil a Diligent Preacher.

If

And now I would aske a strange question: Who is the most diligentest bishop and prelate in all England, that passeth all the rest in doing his office? I can tell, for I know him, who hee is; I know him wel. But now methinks I see you listning and harkning that I should name him. There is one that passeth all the other, and is the most diligent prelate and preacher in all England. And will you know who it is? I will tell you; it is the devill. Hee is the most diligent preacher of all other; hee is never out of his dioces; hee is never from his cure; ye shall never find him unoccupied; hee is ever in his parish; hee keepeth residence at all times; ye shall never find him out of the way; call for him when you wil, he is ever at home; the diligentest preacher in all the realme; he is ever at his plough; no lording or loytering can hinder him; he is ever applying his busines; ye shal never find him idle, I warrant you. And his office is to hinder religion, to maintaine superstition, to set up idolatry, to teach all kinde of popery. He is ready as he can be wished for to set forth his plough: to devise as many waies as can be to deface and obscure God's glory. Where the devill is

a i. e., acting as a lord, in an indolent dignified way.

⚫ He has been speaking against loitering lords and unpreaching prelates. In the sense of plying or accomplishing.

resident, and hath his plough going, there away with bookes, and up with candels; away with bibles, and up with beades; away with the light of the gospel, and up with the light of candels, yea, at noone daies. Where the devill is resident, that he may prevaile, up with all superstition and idolatry-sensing, painting of images, candels, palmes, ashes, holy water, and new service of men's inventing; as though man could invent a better way to honour God with than God himselfe hath appointed. Down with Christ's cross, up with purgatory pick-purse, uppe with popish purgatory, I meane. Away with clothing the naked, the poore and impotent; up with decking of images, and gay garnishings of stockes and stones: up with man's traditions and his lawes, down with God's tradition and his most Holy Word. Down with the old honour due to God, and up with the new god's honour. Let all things be done in Latin: there must be nothing but Latin, not so much as 'Remember, man, that thou art ashes, and into ashes thou shalt return:' which be the words that the minister speaketh unto the ignorant people, when he giveth them ashes upon Ash-Wednesday; but it must be spoken in Latin: God's Word may in no wise be translated into English.

Oh that our prelates would be as diligent to sow the corne of good doctrine, as Satan is to sow cockel and darnell! . . But heere some men will say to me, What, sir, are ye so privy of the devill's counsell that ye know all this to be true? Truly I know him too well, and have obeyed him a little too much, in condescending to some follies; and I know him as other men do, yea, that he is ever occupied, and ever busy in following his plough. I know him by St. Peter's words which saith of him, 'He goeth about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.'

From the Sermon of the Plough, preached in the Shroudes, at Paul's Church, Lond., Jan. 18, 1548.

43. Sir Thomas More, b. 1480, beheaded 1535. (Handbook, pars. 82, 294, 309.)

·

Chancellor of Henry VIII. A man of genial temper; author of Utopia, and of a History of Edward V. and Richard III., the first specimen of English prose free from vulgarism and pedantry' (Hallam).

The sermons usually preached at

St. Paul's Cross were, in bad weather, preached in a place called the Shrouds,

which was, according to Stow, 'at the side of the cathedral church, where was covering and shelter.'

Letter to Lady More.

Written from Woodstock, on hearing that his barns, and some of the barns of his neighbours, had been burnt. Its gentleness to his wife, who was of an anxious and ill-tempered turn, and its kindness to his poor neighbours, as well as its cheerful thankfulness, are very beautiful.

Maistres Alyce, in my most hartywise, I commend me to you. And whereas I am enfourmed by my son Heron of the losse of my barnes and our neighbours' also with all the corn that was therein; albeit (saving God's pleasure), it is gret pitie of so much good corne lost; yet sith it hath liked hym to sende us such a chaunce, we must and are bounden, not only to be content, but also to be glad of his visitacion. He sente us all that we have loste, and sith he hath by such a chaunce taken it away againe, his pleasure be fulfilled! Let us never grudge thereat, but take it in good worth and hartely thank him as well for adversitie as for prosperitie. And peradventure we have more cause to thank him for our losse than for our winning, for his wisdome better seeth what is good for vs than we do our selves. Therefore, I pray you be of good cheere, and take all the howsold with you to church, and there thanke God, both for that he hath given us, and for that he hath taken from us, and for that he hath left us; which if it please hym, he can encrease when he will and if it please hym to leave us yet lesse, at his pleasure be it!

I pray you to make some good ensearche what my poore neighbours have loste and bid them take no thought therfore; for if I shold not leave myself a spone, there shal no poore neighbour of mine bere losse by any chaunce happened in my house. I pray you be, with my children and your household, merry in God; and devise somewhat with your frendes what waye wer best to take for provision to be made for corne for our household and for sede thys yere comming, if ye thinke it good that we kepe the ground stil on our bandes. And whether ye think it good that we shall do so or not; yet I think it were not best sodenlye thus to leave it all up and to put away our folk of our farme, till we have somewhat advised us thereon. How beit if we have more nowe then ye shall nede, and which can get them other maisters, ye may then discharge us of them. But I would not that any man were sodenly sent away, he wote nere wether. At my comming hither, I perceived none other but that I shold tarry still with the