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judices against me, as being no friend to the prerogative of the crown, nor to the constitution of our church, that he said (as he was prepared), that unless the archbishop of Canterbury and a secretary of state would recommend me as a person fit to have access to his library, he desired to be excused. And though that worthy prelate said he would be answerable for the use that I should make of it, yet he could not be prevailed on to depart from the answer that he had made us. Nor could that reverend person prevail with Archbishop Sancroft to interpose. And though I offered to deliver up all the collections I had made to any person that would undertake the work, yet no regard was had to that; so I saw it was resolved on, either not to let that work go on, or, at least, that I should not have the honour to be employed in it.

With this we were at a full stop, when, accidentally meeting with Sir John Marsham the younger, I told him how I was denied access to the Cotton Library; but he told me he was, by marriage, a nephew to the family, and that for many years he had free access to it, and he might carry with him whom he pleased. So I, with a copier, went thither under his protection; and we were hard at work from morning to night for ten days; but then the owner, with his family, coming to town, I could go no further. In that time, and in the haste we were in, I did make such a progress, that the good bishop, together with the late archbishop of Canterbury, Tillotson, and the late bishop of Worcester, Stillingfleet, thought I was sufficiently furnished with materials for composing the first volume. Every part of it, as I wrote it, passed through their hands, and under their censure, and I submitted to their judgment in every par

ticular.

have been told, one that was much practised in that library, who is now dead, has censured me for not comparing what my copier wrote carefully with the originals. To this, all I can say is, that as my copier, by much practice, was become pretty exact; so I made him read all over to me, having the originals in my hands. I cannot say, in such dull though necessary work as the collating those things, I carried along with me all the attention that was requisite ; but I did it as well as I could. And when I was lately in the Cotton Library, I read over several of the originals, but found no material differences from the copies I had printed. One, indeed, runs through all those in the English language, which might perhaps offend a severe critic, that the old spelling is not everywhere exactly copied. I did recommend it to my copier, and he observed it often; but he said,

when he wrote quick, it was impossible for him to carry an antiquated spelling along with his pen.

The first volume lay a year after I wrote it before it was put in the press, and was offered to be read and corrected by all who were willing to give themselves that trouble. When it was brought to Secretary Coventry for his licence, he was pleased to say, that he dipped into it out of curiosity; but added, that he found such an entertainment in it, that he could not part with it till he had read it quite through. The earl of Nottingham (lord chancellor) took time to read and examine it, and to add many remarks in several parts of it, in all which I submitted to his censure; and some smaller matters coming in my way, they were added; so when those under whose direction I made every step in it advised me to put it in the press, I went on with it.

It happened to come out a few months after the discovery of the popish plot; and the ferment of that working powerfully over all the nation, the work was favourably received; and as I had the thanks of both houses of parliament for it, with a desire to finish what I had begun, so those who were the most zealous against popery pressed me to make all possible haste with the second volume, when they understood that I had made considerable discoveries with relation to Queen Mary's reign. By that time, Sir John Cotton seeing the good use I had made of his library, was pleased to ac knowledge the injustice of the suggestions that had been made to my prejudice, and allowed me free liberty to examine every thing in it; in which I ought to have been more exact than I was in searching into the matters set forth in my first volume; but the repeated importunities of my friends, for my publishing the second volume, so far prevailed, that I only examined what belonged to that period. I took, indeed, some papers relating to the former reign, that accidentally fell in my way, and inserted them. I had also other materials brought me from several hands, upon the public notice that I gave of my design in the first volume.

That primitive bishop, Fell, of Oxford, engaged an acquaintance of his, Mr. Fyllman, to make remarks on it; which he did with a particular acrimony of style, for which the bishop had prepared me. I bore it, and drew out of it all that was material, and sent it to him, to see if he did not find in it the substance of all his remarks on the first at the end of the second volume. It has been published over and over again, that he complained that I did not print a full account of his censure. The fact was thus: I sent it to him by the carrier; and begged of him, that, if he had any ex

ception to the abstract I had made of his remarks, he would return it back to me as soon as possible, for the press was to be stopped till it came. I stayed for it till the second return of the carrier; and when no answer came, I reckoned he acquiesced in my abstract; so I put it in the press. But before it was printed off, his answer came by the third return of the carrier; and I, finding that he excepted to some few parts of my paper, was at the charge of reprinting it exactly to his mind; and he afterwards received the present that I made him without any insinuation of any complaint.

Thus this work was sent abroad into the world. Nor do I yet see what more I could have done to procure me better information, nor what other steps I could have made. It took quiet possession of the belief of the nation at home, and of a great part of Europe abroad, being translated into four languages; and for some years I heard of neither censure

nor answer.

When I went to Paris, in the year 1685, I found there was a censure going about, written, but not printed. It came into my hands, and I presently wrote an answer to it; which I got to be put into French. And all who read both papers seemed fully satisfied with my answer; which will be found at the end of this volume. I was told that it was writ by M. Le Grand; who had given out, in many companies, that he had great objections ready to be made to my History. Upon that, two learned and worthy men (Mr. Auzont and Mr. Thevenot) designed to bring us together, and to hear what M. Le Grand had to object. We dined at Mr. Thevenot's; and after dinner, for the space of three hours, M. Le Grand proposed his objections, and I answered them on the sudden, far from charming them with my eloquence; which M. Le Grand must certainly mean as a jest, for I pretend to no more French than to be understood when I speak it. What he said was mean and trifling; and yet it was so fully answered by me that we parted civilly, and (as I thought) good friends; and when he was gone, both Thevenot and Auzont said they were ashamed to hear such poor things objected (pauvretés was their word), after the noise that M. Le Grand had made. But, two days after, Mr. Auzont came to me, both in his own name and in Mr. Thevenot's, and desired me not to speak of that matter to any person. The court was then so set on extirpating heresy, that they apprehended any thing said by me might bring me into trouble. They would do me justice, so I needed not be concerned to do it to myself.

I must also add, that M. Le Grand said, after he had

offered his objections, that, as to the main of my History, he could furnish me with many materials to support it. And he made me a present of a very valuable book, published by Camusat, at Troyes, 1613, with the title of Melanges Historiques; of which I have made use in the following work. The matter rested thus till the year 1688, that M. Le Grand published the History of King Henry the Eighth's Divorce: and soon after that, two other volumes of his appeared one was a severe invective against me and my History; the other was a collection of letters, by which his History was justified. In this last there are some very valuable ones; to which I have had occasion oftener than once to refer my reader. In the two first of these tomes, M. Le Grand thought fit to lay aside all sort of good manners, and to treat me more in the style of an angry monk than of one that had lived long in the company of well-bred men. I imputed this to a management he was under by some of the court of that unfortunate prince, who soon after felt the tragical effects of such unhappy counsellors as had then the ascendant. To these I did believe M. Le Grand had dedicated his pen ; and that drew from me a severe postscript to a censure that I published upon the bishop of Meaux's Book of Variations; for which I am heartily sorry, and ask his pardon.

The truth is, the first paper in his third tome seemed to justify any thing that could have been said, to expose a man that could offer such an abstract as he gave of it in his History, and them that judged so ill as to think fit to print that letter, that does plainly contradict the sense he gave of it. The letter is writ by Pace, dean of St. Paul's, to King Henry (said by him to be written in the year 1526, but in that he is mistaken, as will appear afterwards), on the subject of the divorce. He owns that he writ the book, which had been brought to the king the day before, by the advice and assistance of Dr. Wakefield, who was ready to defend it all, either in writing or in a public disputation. "* And since

* Et quoniam majestas tua mihi significavit, nescio quos è suis literatis consiliariis scripsisse Deuteronomium abrogare Leviticum, diligenter perquisivi quid id sibi vellet; et tandem inveni id indubitato falsum esse: est compendium, ac repetitio, seu, ut ita dicam, recapitulatio legis Mosaicæ. Et illud Græcum nomen Deuteronomium, quantum ad sensum rei attinet illud, idem significat quod habetur in Hebræo; id est, liber, in quo continetur secunda lex, vel repetitio primæ legis. Post meum à majestate tua discessum, D. R. Wakefeldns unice me rogavit, ut sibi significarem, an placeret tibi veritatem hac in re intelligere, utrum staret à te an contra te? Ei ita respondi, Te nihil velle quod esset alienum à nobili principe, et singularibus virtutibus prædito; illum majestati tuæ rem gratissimam facturum si laboraret ut puram veritatem tibi declaret. Tum ille nescio quo ductus ti

he heard from the king, that some of his learned counsellors wrote that Deuteronomy abrogated Leviticus, he shows him how false that was. It was only a recapitulation of the Mosaic law. It seems they thought this was the import of the Greek word Deuteronomy (or a second law), but he shows that it imported only a repetition of the former law, and the book had another title in the Hebrew. Then he says, that Wakefield desired him to let him know whether the king had a mind to know the truth in that matter, whether it stood for him or against him. To this Pace answered, that the king desired nothing but what became a noble and a virtuous prince; and that he would do a most acceptable thing to him if he would take pains to let him know what was the pure verity. Then he, being under some fear, said he could not set about it, unless his majesty would enjoin and command it; but when he received his commands, he would set forth such things, both against him and for him, as no other person within his kingdom could do." There is nothing here but what is honourable both for the king, for Pace, and for Wakefield.

M. Le Grand has made a very particular abstract of this: He says, "Pace designing to flatter his prince's passion, thought they should not stand either on the Vulgar, or the LXX translators, but have recourse only to the Hebrew, which he maintained was more favourable to the king. He had written to Wakefield, and showed him the trouble the king was in, and desired he would clear up the matter. Wakefield, ravished to be thus employed, said he would justify all that Pace had said to the king: but then, apprehending that Pace might deceive him, or be deceived

more negavit se hoc posse facere, nisi majestas tua id sibi injungeret et mandaret; et si mandares se producturum in medium tam contra te quam pro te illa quæ nemo alius in hoc tuo regno producere posset.

* Nos avons la lettre de ce dernier (Pace), qui cherchant à flatter la passion de son prince, vouloit que sans s'arreter ni à la Vulgate ni à la Traduction des Septante, on eût recours au texte Hebreu; qu'il soutenoit luy estre plus favorable. Il en ecrivit à Robert Wakefield, et luy decouvrit l'embarras où le Roy se trouvoit, le priant de luy vouloir eclaircir cette matiere. Wakefield ravy de travailler pour le roy, repondit d'abord, qu'il appuieroit ce que Pace avoit dit à Henry. Puis faisant reflexion que Pace pouvoit le tromper ou se tromper luy meme, ou que le roy changeroit peut estre, il alla trouvoir Pace, et luy temoignoit, qu'il souhaitroit que sa majeste luy ecrivît elle meme, ce qu'elle vouloit qu'il fit, et si il devoit defendre le pour ou le contre, et qu'alors selon les ordres qu'il recevroit, il donneroit des eclaircissemens ou pour ou contre. qui passeroient le capacite de tous les Anglois. C'est ainsi que Wakefield, qui avoit plus de vanité que de religion, trafiquoit de ses sentiments.

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