VII. CHAP. « prayer, which the most learned Doctor of doctors, our "Lord Jesus Christ, composed with his own mouth, he "set forth no less than three other prayers, and published "them to the people, that they might say them :" unless he meant, that the Bishop published three forms of prayer of his own composing in English, besides his translation of the Lord's Prayer into that language. However this be, here is another instance of the care which was then taken to hide from the people the means of greater knowledge, lest they should discover the follies and superstitions which were then practised, and no longer give credit to those fabulous legends and romantic stories, which they were so commonly made to believe for truth. Mr. Henry A much later writer mentions another English tract of our Bishop's, in the late Archbishop Tenison's library, entitled The poor man's looking-glass; at the end of which is added another little tract called, Some counsels for humane instruction, in which the author advises his readers to be diligent in perusing the Scriptures, and to have frequent commerce with those divine books. But so far as I can see, we have no reason to ascribe either of these tracts to our Bishop. Thus have I endeavoured to give the best account I could of the life and actions of our Bishop. He was certainly a person of very great parts and abilities, and was much superior in learning to even the generality of those of his own order at that time. But he seems to have been a little too confidente in these rare endowments, of which altum elevabat, quod ultra oracionem illam salvificam, quam Doctor doctorum doctissimus, Dominus videlicet Jesus Christus, proprio suo ore composuit, ederet in suo vulgari nedum alias tres, et populo ad dicendum propalaret. Acta, &c. MS. • In this manner does the Bishop express himself in his first part of the Book of Faith. "I haue spake oft tyme and bi long leiser with the wittiest "and kunnyngist men of thilk seid soort contrarie to the Chirche, and which "han beholde as dukis amonge hem, and which han loued me for that "pacientli heere her evydencis and her motyues without exprobracioun; and wolde VII. he was so great a master, and to have trusted too much CHAP. to them; whilst he hoped to be able by pure reason and argument to defend a very corrupt Church, in all its main doctrines and usages, against all opposers or assailants. It is very plain to any one who peruses those writings of his Lordship's which are yet remaining, how he was forced to sweat and labour hard in performing the difficult task which he undertook. So that however confident he was of success, and that, as his Lordship expressed himself, "the wittiest and most knowing men of that sort, 66 contrary to the Church, and which have been held as "dukes among them, knew right little to do for their 66 party;" he was yet forced here and there to drop many à concession, such as the warm and violent men of the Church could by no means brook or consent to. Our Bishop seems to have hoped, that in doing this he might have been safe enough from censure, since he was writing on the Church's side, defending her Bishops and Clergy from the clamours and invectives used against them, and shewing to those who scrupled the obligation of her determinations the lawfulness and reasonableness of their conformity to them. In this his Lordship judged too kindly of other men's moderation and candour by his own, and soon found himself mistaken. Under so severe Leland de judges, as the Prelates and Clergy of that time generally Script. Brit. were, it was not indeed likely that one of our Bishop's "verili noon of hem couthe make eny motiue for her parti so stronge, as y "myself couthe have made therto. And noon of hem couthe make eny mo"tiue, which schulde meve a thrifti sad Clerke nedis into concent; but ech "thrifti sad Clerk in logik, philosophie, and divinitie schulde soone schewe " her motive to be ouer feble, to be a cleer and undoutable proof. And if y may not herynne be bileeued of hem, write thei her euydencis and motyves "in which thei trusten, and thei schullen se by writyng agen, that thei kunne "rigt litil maistrie do for her party: ghe, moche lasse than good Clerkis kun"nen for her parti do. Ceese thei therfore, and leve thei werk; for y wote "weel thei hewen above her heedis, and weenen that thei han more and clerer "sight in kunning thanne thei han, or mowe haue, without Clergie or greet "helpe of Clerkis." p. 379. VII. Book of Faith, MS. part i. CHAP. spirit should be suffered to escape unpunished. The infallible authority of the Church, and lawfulness of terrifying Dissenters by wholesome severities and pious rigours, were favourite opinions, the opposers of which were not to be suffered to act with impunity. Besides, it was a tacit reproach of the cruel proceedings then used against the poor dissenting Wiclifists, for our Bishop to treat them with so much gentleness and goodness, as patiently to hear their evidences, and listen to their motives without exprobration, or using any insulting or upbraiding language to them. This was such a reproof to the thoughts of those who shewed no bowels of compassion towards Dissenters, but reckoned they did God service by tormenting and killing them, that we need not wonder at their lying in wait for our Bishop, because he was not for their turn, and clean contrary to their doings. Accordingly we see, that so much was our Bishop's enemies set against him, as in opposition to him to espouse the principles of those very people whom they called and treated as heretics. But it was for the everlasting honour of our Bishop, that he preferred the rational way of dealing with Dissenters, or the manifesting the truth to their consciences, before that cruel and inhuman method of making them a gazing-stock by reproaches, spoiling their goods, and tormenting their bodies with fire and faggot. This shewed by how Christian a spirit our Bishop was acted, and that he was not like the men of this world, who hate those that are of God, and persecute such as are born of the Spirit. I shall conclude with the following prayer of the Bishop's own composing in English. O thou Lord Jesu, God and man, head of thy Christian Church, and teacher of Christian belief, I beseech thy mercy, thy pity, and thy charitie, far be this said peril (of implicit faith) from the Christian Churche, and from each person therin contained, and shield thou, that this venom be never brought into thy Church, and if thou suffre it to be any while brought in, I beseche thee, that it be VII. soon again outspit; but suffer thou, ordaine, and do, that CHAP. the law and the faith, which thy Church at any time. keepeth, be received and admitted to fall under this examinatioun, whether it be the same verry faith, which thou and thine Apostles taught or no, and whether it hath sufficient evidences for it to be very faith or no. |