This last shows the apprehensions they were under of the spreading of Luther's books and doctrine. All people were as this time so sensible of the corruptions, that seemed by common consent to be as it were universally received, that every motion towards a reformation was readily hearkened to everywhere; corruption was the common subject of complaint; and in the commission given to those whom the king sent to represent himself and this church, in the council of the Lateran, the reformation of the head and members," is mentioned as that which was expected from that council. This was so much at that time in all men's mouths, that one of the best men in that age, Colet, dean of St. Paul's, being to open the convocation with a sermon, made that the subject of it all; and he set forth many of those particulars to which it ought to be applied. It was delivered, as all such sermons are, in Latin, and was soon after translated into English. I intended once to have published it among the papers that I did put in the Collection; but those, under whose direction I composed that work, thought that, since it did not enter into points of doctrine, but only into matters of practice, it did not belong so properly to my design in writing yet since it has been of late published twice, by a person distinguished by his controversial writings on this subject, I will here give a translation of all that he thought fit to publish of it.

His text was, "Be ye not conformed to this world, but be ye transformed in the renewing of your mind." He told them, "he came thither that he might admonish them to apply their thoughts wholly to the reformation of the church.' He goes on thus: "Most of those who are dignitaries, carry themselves with a haughty air and manner; so that they seem not to be in the humble spirit of Christ's ministers, but in an exalted state of dominion: not observing what Christ, the pattern of humility, said to his disciples, whom he set over his church, It shall not be so among you;' by which he taught them, that the government of the church is a mi nistry; and that primacy in a clergyman is nothing but an humble servitude.

"O covetousness! From thee come those episcopal, but chargeable visitations, the corruptions of courts, and those new inventions daily set on foot, by which the poor laity are devoured. O covetousness! the mother of all wickedness; from thee springs the insolence and boldness of officials, and that eagerness of all ordinaries in amplifying their jurisdiction from thee flows that mad and furious contention about wills, and unseasonable sequestrations; and the superstitious observing of those laws that bring gain to them,

while those are neglected that relate to the correction of

manners.

"The church is disgraced by the secular employments, in which many priests and bishops involve themselves: they are the servants of men more than of God; and dare neither say, nor do any thing, but as they think it will be acceptable and pleasant to their princes; out of this spring both ignorance and blindness: for being blinded with the darkness of this world, they only see earthly things.

Therefore, O ye fathers, ye priests, and all ye clergymen! awaken at last out of the dreams of a lethargic world; and hearken to Paul, who calls upon you, 'Be ye not conformed to this world.' This reformation and restoration of the ecclesiastical state must begin at you, who are our fathers; and from you must come down to us your priests. We look on you as the standards that must govern us: we desire to read in you and in your lives, as in living books, how we ought to live: therefore, if you would see the motes that are in our eyes, take the beams first out of your own.

"There is nothing amiss among us, for which there are not good remedies set out by ancient fathers: there is no need of making new laws and canons, but only to observe those already made. Therefore, at this your meeting, let the laws already made be recited. First, those that admonish you fathers not to lay hands suddenly on any: let the laws be recited which appoint that ecclesiastical benefices should be given to deserving persons, and that condemn simoniacal defilement. But, above all things, let those laws be recited that relate to you, our reverend fathers, the Lord's bishops, the laws of just and canonical elections, after the invocation of the Holy Ghost.

"Because this is not done in our days, and bishops are chosen rather by the favour of men than by the will of God; we have sometimes bishops who are not spiritual, but worldly rather than heavenly; and who are led by the spirit of the world, rather than by the Spirit of Christ. Let the laws be recited for bishops residing in their dioceses. Last of all, let those laws be recited for frequent councils, which appoint provincial councils to be more frequently called for the reformation of the church; for nothing has happened more mischievous to the church than the not holding of councils, both general and provincial.

"I do therefore, with all due reverence, address myself to you, O fathers! for the execution of laws must begin at you: if you observe the laws, and transform your lives to the rules set by the canons, then you shine so to us, that we may see what we ought to do, when we have the light of excellent

examples set us by you: we, seeing you observe the laws, will cheerfully follow your steps. Consider the miserable face and state of the church, and set about the reforming it with all your strength. Do not you, O fathers, suffer this famous meeting to end in vain, and in doing nothing: you do indeed meet often; but (by your favour suffer me to say what is true) what fruit has the church yet had of all your meetings? Go then, with that Spirit which you have prayed for, that, being assisted by his aid, you may contrive, establish, and decree such things as may tend to the advantage of the church, to your own honour, and to the glory of God." This Colet had travelled through France and Italy, and upon his return he settled for some time at Oxford, where he read divinity lectures, without any obligation or reward for it. His readings brought him all the learned and studious persons in the university. He read not according to the custom that prevailed universally at that time, of commenting on Thomas Aquinas, or on Scotus; but his readings were upon St. Paul's Epistles. He was brought afterwards to the deanery of St. Paul's, where old Fitz-James, then bishop of London, was his enemy, but he was protected both by Warham and by the king himself. He did in one of his sermons reflect on bosom-sermons, which Fitz-James took as a reflection on himself, for he read all his sermons. He did not recommend himself at court by strains of flattery: on the contrary, he being to preach there when the king was entering on a war, preached on Christians fighting under the banner of Christ, whom they ought to make their pattern in all the occasions of quarrel that they might have, rather than imitate a Cæsar or an Alexander. After sermon the king sent for him, and told him, he thought such preaching would dis hearten his military men; but Colet explained himself so, that the king was well satisfied with him, and said, "Let every man choose what doctor he pleased, Colet should be his doctor." He died in the year 1519.

It seems this sermon was preached in the year 1513, though it is printed as preached in the year 1511; for the mention that he made in it of the immunities of the clergy, and of those words" touch not mine anointed," seems to relate to the opposition that the clergy made to the act that passed in parliament in the year 1512, against the immunity of the inferior orders of the clergy. It is true, in the translation I have given, there are no such words; but I find them in the reflections that I made on that sermon, when I intended to have printed it so I took it for granted that the sermon was not fully printed in the book out of which I was forced to make my translation; the copy that I had of it being mislaid

or lost. It had been but a reasonable thing for that writer either to have printed the whole sermon, or to have told the reader that only some passages were taken out of it; since the title given to it would make him think it was all printed. I could not find either the Latin sermon, or the English translation of it, that was printed near that time and I cannot entirely depend on a late impression of the English translation; yet I will add some few passages out of it, which deserved to be published by him that picked out a few with some particular view that it seems he had. Before the first period printed by him, he has these words:

"How much greediness and appetite of honour and dignity is seen now-a-days in clergymen! How run they, yea almost out of breath, from one benefice to another, from the less to the greater, from the lower to the higher! Who seeth not this; and who, seeing, sorroweth not?"

Before the next period, these words are to be found:"What other things seek we now-a-days in the church, but fat benefices and high promotions? And it were well if we minded the duty of those when we have them. But he that hath many great benefices minds not the office of any small one. And in these our high promotions, what other things do we pass upon, but only our tithes and rents? We care not how vast our charge of souls be; how many or how great benefices we take, so they be of large value."

In the next period, these remarkable words are omitted: "Our warfare is to pray devoutly; to read and study Scriptures diligently; to preach the word of God sincerely; to administer holy sacraments rightly; and to offer sacrifices for the people.'

A little before the next period, he has these words: "In this age we are sensible of the contradiction of lay people; but they are not so much contrary to us, as we are to ourselves. Their contrariness hurteth not us so much as the contrariness of our own evil life, which is contrary both to God and to Christ."

After Colet had mentioned that of laying hands suddenly on none, he adds, "Here lies the original and spring-head of all our mischiefs that the gate of ordination is too broad; the entrance too wide and open. Every man that offers himself is admitted everywhere, without putting back. Hence it is that we have such a multitude of priests, that have little learning and less piety. In my judgment it is not enough for a priest to construe a collect, to put forth a question, to answer a sophism; but an honest, a pure, and a holy life, is much more necessary: approved manners, competent learning in Holy Scriptures, some knowledge of the sacraments";

but chiefly above all things, the fear of God, and love of heavenly life."

A little after this, "Let the canons be rehearsed that command personal residence of curates (rectors) in their churches for of this many evils grow, because all offices now-a-days are performed by vicars and parish priests; yea, and these foolish and unmeet, oftentimes wicked."

At some distance from this, but to the same purpose, he adds, You might first sow your spiritual things, and then ye shall reap plentifully their carnal things. For truly that man is very hard and unjust, who will reap where he never did sow, and desires to gather where he never scattered."

These passages seemed proper to be added to the former, as setting forth the abuses and disorders that were then in this church. I wish I could add that they are now quite purged out, and appear no more among us. Colet was a particular friend of Erasmus, as appears by many very kind letters that passed between them.

To this account of the sense that Colet had of the state of religion at that time, I will add an account of Sir Thomas More's thoughts of religion. Those of the church of Rome look on him as one of their glories, the champion of their cause, and their martyr. He in this period wrote his Utopia; the first edition that I could ever see of it was at Basil, in the year 1518; for he wrote it in the year 1516; at which time it may be believed that he dressed up that ingenious fable according to his own notions. He wrote that book probably before he had heard of Luther; the Wicklevites and the Lollards being the only heretics then known in England. In that short, but extraordinary book, he gave his mind full scope, and considered mankind and religion with the freedom that became a true philosopher. By many hints it is very easy to collect what his thoughts were of religion, of the constitutions of the church, and of the clergy at that time and therefore, though an observing reader will find these in his way, yet, having read it with great attention, when I translated it into English, I will lay together such passages as give clear indications of the sense he had of those matters.

Page the 21st*, when he censures the enclosing of grounds, he ranks those holy men the abbots among those "who thought it not enough to live at their own ease, and to do no good to the public, but resolved to do it hurt instead of good;" which shows that he called them holy men in derision. This is yet more fully set forth in page 37, where he

*The references are to the pages of any translation.