2L, A 1CT 20) , B „ B o

THE

LIFE AND TIMES

OF

WILLIAM LAUD, D.D

LORD ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY.

BY

JOHN PARKER LAWSON, M.A.

IN TWO VOLUMES. VOL. I.

LONDON: PRINTED FOR C. J. G. & F. RIVINGTON,

ST. PAUL'S CHURCH-YARD, AND WATERLOO-PLACE, PALL-MALL.

MDCCCXXIX.

1 LONDON:

PRINTED BY R. GILBERT, ST. JOHN'S-BQUAUE.

PREFACE.

IN appearing for the first time in an avowed manner before the Public, it is allowable to indulge in a few introductory remarks. I am well aware of the delicacy of the sub- jects which I have attempted to discuss, and I am also aware of the popular feeling which exists respecting them. This, however, has not deterred me from stating my own opi- nions, which I am strongly disposed to main- tain, because I believe them to be true ; and they are to be ascribed neither to par- ticular connexions, nor to the prejudices of education, but to a candid conviction, resulting from anxious and laborious re- search.

It has often appeared to me a singular circumstance, that in this prolific age of lite- rature, no complete biographical history of Archbishop Laud should have appeared. When I reflected on the many celebrated names which adorn our national literature,

A 2

iv PREFACE.

— distinguished alike for their loyalty, their talents, and their learning, I had anticipated that a work such as the present would have fallen into the hands of some writer, whose reputation would, perhaps, have given addi- tional authority to his opinions. When I reflected, again, on the distinguished place which such men as Archbishop Laud hold in our national history, — that they lived at periods confessedly the most momentous and interesting in the English annals, I could not refrain from surprise that those who had been the glory and the renown of their age, both in Church and State, should thus be neglected by modern writers.

• ouit 9cl rv § 'y?')Hof; I f>&JM"j xl

For myself, I can truly say, that a sincere desire to search after truth, and a wish to rescue the memory of a great man from opprobrium, have been my chief motives in this undertaking. Educated as I have principally been at a Northern University, having generally resided during that period, (excepting the winter seasons, when I was pursuing my academical studies,) in places sequestered, and remote from business, and the bustle of active life, I cannot be sup- posed to have formed those connexions to

PREFACE. v

which many look forward with fond antici- pation, to whom fortune has been more propitious, and circumstances more favour- able. I submit this work to the Public, there- fore, trusting solely to their opinion as the reward of my labours. Whatever may be thought of the propositions I have advanced, sure I am that they are offered in singleness of heart, and in firm devotion to that Church, to which I reckon it my privilege and my happiness to belong.

The Memoirs of Archbishop Laud, writ- ten by his chaplain, Dr. Peter Heylin, are of great importance in a history of the Pri- mate's life and times ; but this work, which was published twice, first in 1668, and again in 1671, (London, folio) is now a rare book, and seldom to be found except in our public libra- ries. Notwithstanding its value, it labours under great disadvantages. Many of the facts recorded therein are not correct ; which is easily to be accounted for, as Dr. Heylin, who died in 1662, had never seen the au- thentic copy of Laud's Diary, [which was published by the learned Henry Whar- ton in 1695,] but was compelled to make use of Prynne's disgraceful publication of it,

vi PREFACE.

entitled the Breviat, published in 1644, in which that individual, after he had most illegally and nefariously seized the Primate's private papers, altered, mutilated, omitted, and inserted whatever he pleased, in order to inflame the public mind against the Arch- bishop. Thus, the defects of Dr. Heylin's work, although I have found it extremely useful in the course of my labours, are the results of circumstances over which that learned man had no control: and I am certain that, had he seen the authentic copy of the Diary, his work would have been complete.

I have been greatly assisted by an article contained in the eleventh and twelfth Num- bers of the Scottish Episcopal Magazine, an able periodical work, which is unfortunately but little known, and now discontinued. These Numbers contain a memoir of Arch- bishop Laud, bare, indeed, in facts, from the necessarily confined space of the medium through which the account wras given to the world, but abounding with admirable and pro- found observations. Its author, to whom I am indebted, in common with others who ad- here to a now depressed and humble Com- munion, for many excellent and valuable

PREFACE. vii

instructions, is one of the most learned and distinguished members of the Scottish Epis- copal Church.

It may be necessary to mention some other sources whence I have derived my information. In the Library of the HO- NOURABLE AND LEARNED THE FACULTY OF ADVOCATES, at Edinburgh, I found much important information. That noble Institu- tion contains a vast collection of MSS. on Scottish history, as well as on other sub- jects, and I perused those which relate to this work.

From the Library of the UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH, I have received some valu- able hints from various documents and books.

The MSS. in the Library of the UNIVER- SITY OF GLASGOW are of greater value. There, among others, are preserved the Wodrow MSS., the fruit of the labours of the indefatigable Robert Wodrow, a Pres- byterian minister at the period of the Revo- lution, and Professor of Divinity in that University. By the kindness of a friend, I

viii PREFACE.

received various important communications on the affairs of Scotland from those MSS., to which I have referred in the proper place.

But in the Library of our splendid na- tional establishment, the BRITISH MUSEUM, the historical inquirer may freely indulge his favourite pursuits. Encomium on this Esta- blishment is needless : in it, besides the printed books, the valuable MSS. on every subject are inexhaustible, and are submitted to the perusal of the student with the utmost promptness. Access to such a Library is an invaluable privilege. Besides the MSS., and the productions of the seventeenth century, which I consulted, and to which I have re- ferred, many of the Archbishop's original letters are there preserved. I transcribed the most interesting ; and I proposed to in- sert a few of them, but my limits precluded me from making use of these and other documents in the present w^rk, farther than by reference.

The principal papers of the Archbishop, however, are to be found in ST. JOHN'S COLLEGE, OXFORD. Some of these have al- ready been published by the learned Henry

PREFACE. ix

Wharton, and in the Second Volume of Archbishop Laud's Remains, edited by his father, and published in folio, 1700. Those preserved in St. John's College relate chiefly to the University during his Chancellorship, which have merely a local interest, and would be serviceable only in a history of that venerable seat of learning. To some of these I have referred, in detailing the Arch- bishop's proceedings at Oxford.

It is unnecessary to observe, that, after all, the Diary of the Archbishop must be the great text-book in a history of his life. For this valuable work the world is indebted to the learned Henry Wharton, who too soon for his country closed his short and useful life. This publication has established the infamy of Prynne. Printed with the- Archbishop's affecting History of his Troubles and Trials, writ- ten by himself while a prisoner, with other interesting documents, it forms a valuable folio volume. It is quite refreshing, after perusing Prynne's disgraceful and muti- lated edition of the Diary, and his " Can- terburie's Doome," to turn to a work in

x PREFACE.

which reason and learning prevail, in con- tradistinction to fanaticism and want of judgment.

In the progress of the present work, be- sides the MSS. preserved in the public Libraries, I have consulted upwards of three hundred works, exclusive of numerous bio- graphies and general histories of recent date, which I perused rather to ascertain the sen- timents of the different writers, than in the hope of discovering any new or unknown facts. From the above number of works, more than two hundred are cited in the following volumes. As these are principally our great standard authorities, this Life of Archbishop Laud, the Notes to which I consider its most important part, will supply the historical student with a very ample list of all the principal writers on the history of that age.

I am desirous that it should be understood that throughout these volumes I have dis- cussed systems alone, not individuals ; the former I hold to be fair subjects of discus- sion, the latter not ; and it is in this light,

PREFACE. xi

therefore, that I wish my remarks to be viewed as exclusively my own, and as nei- ther maintained nor denied by the Church to which I belong.

I am aware that many of the sentiments, both political and ecclesiastical, contained in this work, are neither common nor popu- lar ; but it does not follow, that because a doctrine is unpopular, it is therefore false. That Archbishop Laud died a martyr for the Church of England, no man can have the slightest doubt. Persecution is detestable, under whatever form, and by whomsoever inflicted — whether it proceed from Popish Conclaves, Parliamentary Committees on religion, Presbyterian Synods or General Assemblies.

Much has been said and written on the history of this momentous period, and much difference of opinion exists on those eventful times. I quote on this subject, with satisfac- tion, the following passage from a well-known periodical Journal : —

" Did our limits permit, we would show

xii PREFACE.

ft

what has been well observed by a most dili- gent and meritorious author*, intimately conversant with the history of that age, and better acquainted than any other person with what were then the bearings and ef- fects of religious opinions upon ecclesiastical affairs, that the constitution, even at its deepest depression in Charles' days, con- tained within itself copious materials for self-restoration, and that the course pursued by the Calvinistic malcontents, was not that which the laws suggested for the redress of grievances. We would show that the griev- ances which excited discontentment arose from no scheme of tyranny in the crown, but from the remains of feudal oppression, and the rapacity of powerful men, among whom were some of those who were most active in instigating and directing the rebel- lion; that the financial difficulties which accelerated the crisis, and without which that crisis could not have been brought about, were not produced by any wasteful expenditure on the part of Charles' govern-

* Mr. James Nichols, in his " Calvinism and Arminian- ism compared."

PREFACE. xiii

ment, but by the conduct of Parliament at the commencement of his reign, in with- holding the just and necessary supplies ; and, finally, by the Scottish insurrection, raised by the intrigues of France, and of a knot of factious men, who are at this day called patriots by a certain party, because, having succeeded in rebellion, they escaped the punishment of treason ; that the intole- rance and persecution were not on the side of the Laws and the Establishment, but of the Puritans ; that there was no design of subverting the liberties of the nation, but that there was a settled purpose of over- throwing the Church and the Monarchy ; that the King appealed to the laws, and his opponents to the prejudices, the passions, and the physical force of the people. It is impossible for us here to enter upon this wide subject, but we will not suppose that the duty (for such it has become in this age of systematic misrepresentation) will long remain unperformed ; rather we will hope, that it may be undertaken by some person qualified for the task by ability, industry, and accu- racy, added to those principles which were formerly the proud characteristics of Eng- land, and on which the strength and the

xi* PREFACE.

safety of these kingdoms are founded, and alone can rest *."

I may here add, that such a work I have determined to undertake ; not, certainly, in the presumptuous hope that I shall be able to supply the desideratum so forcibly pointed out by the learned Reviewer, but with a view to lay before the Public a plain and authentic history of the enormities of that turbulent age. Having enjoyed oppor- tunities of obtaining much knowledge of the authorities relating to that eventful period of history, and having access to the prin- cipal Libraries both of England and Scot- land, it will be my endeavour to collate these authorities with the utmost impar- tiality, sparing neither time nor industry in the laborious research. I have already proceeded a considerable way in the first volume : but various circumstances prevent me from fixing the period of its completion. I propose to commence from the death of Henry VIII., and to continue the narrative till the Revolution, or, perhaps, till the Ac- cession of the House of Hanover.

* Quarterly Review, No. Ixxiii. Vol. xxxvii. p. 237,

238.

PREFACE. xr

In conclusion, I have only to observe, that, should the present work meet with the approbation of the Public, a third volume will be added, containing the select Theo- logical Works of Archbishop Laud, most of which have never been republished since the life-time of the Primate. This volume will contain : — 1. The Archbishop's Sermons, preached on public occasions. 2. An Ab- stract of his incomparable Treatise against the Church of Rome, entitled, the Confer- ence with Fisher the Jesuit. 3. His Manual of Private Prayers and Devotions ; and, 4. His Speeches on various public occasions. The whole will be accompanied with notes and illustrations from rare and original do- cuments now in my possession, or to which I enjoy the privilege of access. Such a republication will, I trust, prove a desirable addition to modern theological literature.

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER I.

1573—1603.

PAGE

Birth of Laud — His family connections — Notices of them — Laud's education — Sent to St. John's College, Oxford— Dr. John Buckeridge — Notice of him — Is Laud's tutor • — Reputation of Laud — His conduct at the University — Admitted into Holy Orders — Bishop Young — Principles of Laud— Calvinism, its nature and tendency — Its un- happy influence in the Church of England — The Puri- tans— Conduct of Laud — Remarks •••••• • 1 — 43

CHAPTER IL

1603—1604.

Accession of James I. — State of parties at that period — Religious feeling — Conduct of James — Remarks on his life — The Presbyterians — Insolence of their ministers — The Scottish Episcopal Church — Review of the Puritan objections to Episcopacy — The Hampton Court Confe- rence— Its objects and results — Remarks on the Articles

— Concluding observations ••••••• 43 — 91

vot, i. b

xviii CONTENTS.

CHAPTER III.

1604—1606.

PAGE

Promotion of Laud — James' first Parliament — His speech — Meeting of the Convocation — Death of Archbishop Whitgift — Notices of his life— His character — Laud becomes B.D. — His exercise on that occasion — Dispute with the Puritans — Cardinal Bellarmine — Arguments of Laud — Remarks on his opinions — Story of the Earl of Devonshire — Unfortunate conduct of Laud — His re- pentance— Is traduced as a Papist — Letter from Bishop Hall— Reflections on Laud's conduct '91—126

CHAPTER IV.

1606—1616.

Archbishop Bancroft — His prudent conduct — Laud's pre- ferments— His generosity — Bishop Neile — Hatred of Abbot towards Laud — Friendship of Bishop Neile — Laud is chosen President of St. John's — His election disputed — Decided in his favour by the King — His con- duct— Death of Archbishop Bancroft — His character- Inconsistencies of the Puritans — Their inveterate preju- dices— Danger and evil of sectarianism — Promotion of Archbishop Abbot — His enthusiasm — Encouragement of the Puritans — Effects of his Primacy — His opposition to Laud — Laud's promotion — Dr. Robert Abbot — His sermon against Laud — Gloucester Cathedral — Instruc- tions of the King to the University of Oxford .... 126— 1 65

CONTENTS. xix

CHAPTER V.

1616—1619.

PAGE

Remarks on the state of Scotland — James resolves to visit that kingdom — Remarkable violence of the Presbyterian ministers — Proposal for a union between Scotland and England defeated — Consecration of the Scottish Bishops at Westminster — Departure of James — His arrival in Scotland — Laud accompanies him — The Scottish Par* liament — The Perth Articles — General Assembly — Ra- tification of the Perth Articles — Return of James to England — Laud arrives at Oxford — Is inducted into the Rectory of Ibstock — Death of Dr. Robert Abbot, Bishop of Salisbury 165—184

CHAPTER VI.

1619—1622.

Political errors of James — Clamours against Laud — His promotion — Made Prebend of Westminster — Selfish conduct of Bishop Williams — Promotion of Laud to the See of St. David's — Fruitless opposition of Archbishop Abbot — Aspect of the times — Archbishop Abbot's mis- fortunes— He kills a game-keeper by accident — History of the affair — He is pardoned by the King — Consecra- tion of the new Bishops — Their unfounded scruples — Diligence of Laud — His primary Visitation — Advan- tages of it — His return to London — The Parliament — Distressing situation of the King — Vindication of James — The Parliament is dissolved — Intrigues of the Puritans — Calvinism — Remarks on Predestination — Its effects —

xx CONTENTS.

PAGE

Instructions of the King to the Clergy — Critical situation of the Church of England — Intrigues of the Papists — The famous Conference between Laud and Fisher, the Jesuit — Extracts from the relation of it — His senti- ments on error • 1 84 — 227

CHAPTER VII.

1622—1625.

Land's connexion with the Duke of Buckingham — Notice of that favourite — The Prince of Wales— Intended mar- riage with the Infanta — His journey to Spain with Buck- ingham— Their adventures — False assertions of Laud's enemies — Zeal of Archbishop Abbot — Insolence of the Papists — Cunning intrigues of Bishop Williams — Enmity to Laud — Conduct of the Archbishop towards Laud — Instances of Laud's piety — Meeting of the Parliament —Remarkable conduct of Abbot — Opposition of Laud to Buckingham — Moderation of that nobleman — Nego- ciations with France — Death of James I. — His character — His conduct towards Scotland — The Book of Sports — Defence of James — His character by Archbishop Spottis woode«« • 227—263

CHAPTER VIII.

1625—1626.

Accession of Charles I.-— State of the nation — Character of the King — the Duke of Buckingham — Bishop Laud — Proceedings of the King — Intrigues of Laud's enemies — Marriage of Charles I. — Meeting of the first Parlia- ment— Its proceedings— Remarks on it — Dr. Richard

CONTENTS. xxi

PAGE

Montague — Bishop Williams — Proclamation of the King — Conduct of Archbishop Abbot — Exertions of Laud — His appointment at the Coronation to officiate as Dean of Westminster — The Regalia — He regulates Westminster Abbey — Coronation of Charles I. — The Coronation oath — False charges against Laud — The se- cond Parliament — Intended impeachment of Buckingham — he is vindicated by the King— Conclusion of the se- cond Parliament — Practices against Laud — Dr. Good- man— Proclamation of the King • • 263 — 32?

CHAPTER IX.

1626—1628.

Removal of Laud to the Bishopric of Bath and Wells — His appointment to manage the subsidies by loan — Re- marks on his instructions — Apology for the King's con- duct— His hazardous situation — Death of Bishop An- drews— Laud's appointment — Bishop Williams — His conduct — Comment on it — Dr. Sibthorpe and Sir John Lamb — Sermons by Dr. Sibthorpe and Dr. Manwaring — Their fallacious positions — Passive obedience — Sen- timents of the two preachers — Remarks on the doctrine of non-resistance — Definition of it — The opinions of the Classic writers and the Primitive Christians— Of mo- dern writers — Publication of the sermons — Conduct of Archbishop Abbot — His sequestration — Received again into favour — Public affairs — Transactions of Bucking- ham— Promotion of Laud — The Bishopric of London — Its importance — Dr. Montaigne — Death of Archbishop Matthews of York — The Third Parliament — Impolitic measures of the King — Meeting of the Parliament — conduct of the Commons — Their proceedings — Speci-

xxii CONTENTS.

PAGE

mens of their injustice — Their practices — Arminianism

Subtle tenets of Calvin — Remarks on Arminianism —

Definition of it — Observations on the Synod of Dort — Remonstrance of the Commons against Laud and Neile — Pretended Letter of a Jesuit — Remarks on it — Prac- tices of the Jesuits — Their union with the Puritans — Prorogation of the Parliament — Laud removed to the Bishopric of London — General observations •••• 327 — -424

CHAPTER X.

1628—1629.

Insinuations against Laud — His conduct — Preparations for the war with France — The Duke of Buckingham as- sumes the command — He proceeds to Portsmouth — Is there assassinated — Account of the murder — Public ex- pressions of detestation— Character of Buckingham — Laud's conduct — Consecration of Dr. Montague — The exceptions against it over-ruled; — Examination of Pel- ton, the Duke's murderer — His trial and execution — The University of Oxford — Laud's care and munificence — His patronage of learning — The King's Declaration — Its nature and tendency — Remarks on it — The King's inclination to a reconciliation — Advancement of Sir Tho- mas Wentworth — The third Parliament — Notice of the speeches in it — Censure of the King's Declaration — Intolerance of the Puritanical party — Proceedings of Laud — Theological disputes — Conduct of the Parlia- ment— Disorders in the Commons — Their contempt of the royal authority — Uproar at their adjournment — Dissolution of the third Parliament — Libels against Laud.. .424—481

CONTENTS. xxiii

CHAPTER XI.

1629—1631.

PAGE

The Court of Charles I. — Character of the King — The Queen — Laud — The expediency of ecclesiastics inter- fering with state affairs discussed — Character of the Marquis of Hamilton — Notice of his life — Character of Sir Thomas Wentworth, Lord Wentworth — Notice of his life — Consequence of Abbot's Primacy — The Lecturers — Their practices — Cognizance taken of them by the court — Instructions concerning them — Preaching — Its nature and uses — Popular errors on it — Conduct of Archbishop Abbot — Proceedings of Laud — Specimens of the devotions of the Lecturers — Prosecutions against them for sedition — Death of the Earl of Pembroke, Chancellor of Oxford — Election of Laud as Chancellor of that University — His munificence and patronage of literature — Birth of Charles II. — Laud officiates at the baptism — Revival of the Predestinarian Controversy — Dr. Davenant, Bishop of Salisbury — Libels against Laud — Story of Dr. Alexander Leighton — His book termed " Zion's Plea" — His degradation and punishment — Defence of Laud — Examination of the Star-Chamber proceedings — The consecration of the Church of St. Ca- therine Cree — The nature of religious ceremonies — The Papists and Puritans — Remarks on Laud's con- duct— Farther instances of his munificence 481 — 549

CHAPTER XII.

1631—1633.

The Impropriations — Conduct of Laud — Dr. Peter Hey- lin's Sermon at St. Mary's, Oxford — Laud restrains the

2

xxiv CONTENTS.

PAGE

Impropriations— His proceedings at Oxford — He en- larges St. John's College — Promotes the repairs of St. Paul's Cathedral — Clamours of the Puritans — His go- vernment of the University — Enforces the" statutes — Remarkable enthusiasm of a graduate — Combination of the Puritan faction at Oxford — Cognizance of three of the leaders — Their punishments — Impartiality of Laud — New revival of the Predestinarian controversy — Arch- bishop Usher of Ireland — Calumnies against Laud — Lord Wentworth proceeds to Ireland — Ecclesiastical af- fairs— Prosecution of the King's printers — Henry Sher- field — William Prynne — Notice of him and his writings — His seditious libels — His imprisonment — Proceedings relative to Chaplains and foreign service — The English congregation at Hamburgh — Salutary regulations by Laud — General remarks • *••«.. 549—592

LIFE AND TIMES

OF

WILLIAM LAUD, D.D.

CHAPTER I. 1573—1603.

Birth of Laud — His family connections — Notices of them — Laud's education — Sent to St. John's College, Oxford — Dr. John Buckeridge — Notice of him — Is Laud's tutor — Reputa- tion of Laud — His conduct at the University — Admitted into Holy Orders — BishopYoung — Principles of Laud — Calvinism, its nature and tendency — Its unhappy influence in the Church of England — The Puritans — Conduct of Laud — Remarks.

WILLIAM LAUD was born on the 7th day of October, 1573 \ in the parish of St. Lawrence, Reading, a town of considerable importance in Berkshire, plea- santly situated on the river Kennet, and famous for its magnificent abbey, now in ruins, founded by Henry I. in 1126, and dedicated to St. James the Apostle 2. He was the only son of William Laud,

1 Wood, Athen. edit. 1721, vol. ii. col. 55. Laud's Diary, p. 1. fol. edit. 1695.

3 Dugdale's Monasticon Anglicanum, vol. i. folio, edit. 1682,

p. 417. Lansdowne MSS. 721. " Abstract of the Lives of

John Williams, Bishop of Lincoln, and Archbishop of York,

and of William Laud, Bishop of London, and Archbishop of

VOL. I. B

2 LIFE AND TIMES [1573.

by profession a clothier, and Lucy Webb, sister to Sir William Webb of the same county, of an ancient and respectable family, who filled the office of Lord Mayor of London in 1591 *. His mother had been once married, previous to her marriage with his father : but of her first husband we know nothing, save his name and occupation. He was John Ro- binson, an eminent clothier and merchant in Read- ing, by whom she had several sons and daughters, all of them respectably connected in after life. A younger son entered into holy orders, and was Prebendary of Westminster and Archdeacon of Nottingham, and two of the daughters were mar- ried to clergymen of considerable reputation in the Church2.

Though the man who was in future to rise to

Canterbury, written by Bishop Racket and Dr. Heylin, who had been their Chaplains." It is there stated, " 1573, William Laud was born at Reading, in Berkshire, his father a rich clothier, and his mother (widow to one Robinson, a clothier, by whom she had children) a sister to Sir William Webb, Lord Mayor of London in 1591. So he was not born of poor and obscure parents, efaece plebis, as many said." Sir William Webb, it appears, was a salter. Fuller's Church History, book xi. p. 246.

1 Laud's maternal relatives were natives of Reading. His mother was a daughter of John Webb, of whom we know nothing. John Webb was father of Sir William Webb. Wood. Athen. Oxon. by Dr. Bliss, vol. iii. col. 117. Fuller's English Wor- thies, folio, edit. 1662, p. 98.

2 Dr. Cotsford and Dr. Layfield. Cyprianus Anglicus, or Life of Archbishop Laud, by his chaplain, Dr. Peter Heylin, fol. 1671, p. 42.

7

1573.] OF ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 3

the highest ecclesiastical station in the Church, and to be alike distinguished for his munificence, his learning, and his genius, could not boast of noble birth or splendid alliance, yet his parents, while engaged in trade, were respectable in their station, and possessed of considerable wealth1. His father was most extensively engaged in manufac- tures, and we are informed that he kept " not only many looms in his house, but many weavers, spin- ners, and fullers ; living in good esteem and repu- tation among his neighbours to the very last2." ,Of Laud's plebeian birth, however, his enemies after- wards took advantage, with that illiberality which is characteristic of little minds. When his actions were exhibited to his disadvantage by those whose extravagant pretensions he restrained, it was not

1 I may here notice the puerile and false assertions of the Pu- ritans. Neal (History of the Puritans, vol. ii. p. 156.) says, that " he was educated at St. John's College, Oxford, upon the charitable donation of Mr. White, Founder of Merchant Tailors' School." There is here a contemptuous way of talking of Sir T. White's scholarships, which marks the disposition of the party : besides, Laud was one year at College on his own ex- pences, before he received the scholarship, an appointment so honourable to his promising talents. That violent fanatic, Prynne, also tells us, that he was born of " poor and obscure parents in a cottage," and in July, 1589, " he came a poor scholar to Oxford." Such were the low and scurrilous false- hoods retailed by the Puritans. Prynne's Breviat of the Life of Laud, folio, London, 1644, p. 1.

2 Heylin, ut sup. p. 42. Laud's father died on the llth of April, 1594, and his mother on the 24th of November, 1600. Diary, folio, ut sup. p. 1,2. Lansdowne MSS. 721.

B2

4 LIFE AND TIMES [1573.

forgotten, that he who was then primate of all England was comparatively of humble origin ; nor were those furious zealots satisfied with stating that he was the son of a respectable and wealthy trades- man, and abiding by the naked truth, but falsehoods were busily circulated, and his enemies, delineating his character to their liking, broadly asserted that he was sprung from the very dregs of the people 1.

1 E faece plebis. Lord Brook, referred to by Heylin, who falsely asserted this not only of Laud, but of all the other Bi- shops. Republicanism, however, had then wrought its ferment, and the sectaries were rapidly advancing in their career of ex- travagance, rebellion, and blood. Lord Brook, however, ought to have been sparing of this insinuation on his part, inasmuch as he succeeded to the estate and honour in a very remote degree, his father, though a kinsman, being only keeper of Sir Fulk Greville's park. The son afterwards succeeded to the estate, Sir Fulk Greville having never been married. (Vide Peerage of Eng- land, London edit. 8vo. 1710, p. 67, 68.) Dr. Heylin, who was the chaplain and confidential friend of Laud, introduces an anec- dote of the Archbishop on this subject. He says that he once found him in his garden at Lambeth walking to and fro in re- markable agitation, and though he did not, through delicacy, in- quire the reason, the primate shewed him a paper, on which was printed a vile libel, which he had stopped at the press, repre- senting him with " so base a parentage, as if he had been raked out of the dung-hill." He at the same time said, that " though he had not had the good fortune to be born a gentleman, yet he thanked God he had been born of honest parents, who lived in a plentiful condition, employed many poor people in their way, and left a good report behind them." As if ashamed, however, to have been impressed with those falsehoods which his sectarian enemies daily invented and retailed, and reflecting with satisfaction on the worth and respectability of his pa- rents, his countenance resumed its wonted composure. " And

1573.] OF ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 5

They chose to forget, that, even had it been the case, the more worthy was he of that eminence to which he had attained, since the man who could exalt himself solely by his genius and merit, was to be held in much greater reverence than he who, boasting of his noble lineage, had no other recom- mendation. They forgot that it is a remarkable feature of that country, about whose liberty they clamoured so violently, that the highest offices are open to every Briton, and that he whose genius has secured for him a well-earned reputation, is every way as noble when he is exalted, as the offspring of fortune and ancestral fame. But, without enlarging on these inconsistences, I may here remark, that the coincidence between Laud's situation, and that of some of his predecessors in the Church, as well as of some of those who were his ecclesiastical contemporaries, is very remarkable. I need not go to the Church of Rome for examples, though abundant proofs could be adduced from its his- tory, that the best and the most celebrated of the Popes and dignitaries were men of humble origin,

thereupon," says Heylin, " I told him as presently as I durst, that Pope Sixtus V. as stout a Pope as ever wore the triple crown, but a poor man's son, did use familiarly to say, in con- tempt of such libels as frequently were made against him, that he was domo natus illustri, because the sun-beams passing through the broken walls and ragged roof, illuminated or illus- trated every corner of that homely cottage in which he was born : with which facetiousness of that Pope, so applicable to the present occasion, he seemed very well pleased." Heylin, ut sup. p. 43, 44.

6 LIFE AND TIMES [1573.

nay, some of them of menial extraction. In our own country, especially in the Church, before the Reformation, there are two notable examples, and the impartial pen of history will yet, perhaps, do justice to Thomas a Beckett, as it has done, it is pleasing to know, to the memory of Cardinal Wolsey. An Erasmus and a Luther on the con- tinent owed nothing to birth or grandeur, nor yet did Abbott, Laud's predecessor in the See of Can- terbury, who was nevertheless saved from such reproaches because he favoured the absurdities of the Puritans. It is needless, indeed, to enu- merate those prior to the days of Laud, both ecclesiastics and laymen, who rose superior to. the depressing influence of poverty, and whose minds, cast in other than plebeian mould, enabled them to surmount the difficulties opposed to them by hum- ble birth and adverse fortune. Nor yet need I stop to animadvert on that most certain mark of a pusillanimous mind, which repines at the uncon- trolable allotment of Providence, forgetting that heaven is impartial in its dispensations, and that all are equal in the eyes of Omnipotence, who " giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not." And who, after all, were those who thus dealt in slander and falsehood ? It was too base, indeed, and too ignoble for the man of illustrious descent, who, animated with noble and virtuous principles, dis- dains the weak retort, and rather looks on him thus elevated to his own rank as a brother ; nor were the nobles of that age, proud and haughty as

1573.] OF ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 7

they were, actuated by such weakness : but those very persons who themselves were Jiumili nati, who inherited the low and grovelling associations of their birth, who nevertheless felt their humilia- tion before Laud's vigorous mind, and who, because their fanaticism and absurdities had been restrained, endeavoured to excite among the people their das- tardly and ignoble spirit of revenge1.

During his infancy, Laud was subject to illness, to such a degree that he was not expected to live 2.

1 A scandalous libel upon Laud appeared in a production entitled the Scots Scouts Discoveries, London, 1642. (Bishop Kennet, apud Wood, Athen. Oxon. vol. iii. col. 117, note.) " His father was a clothier, his mother a spinster ; he was from his cradle ordained to be a puiiisher of poor people, for he was born between the stocks and the cage, which a courtier one day chanced to speak of, whereupon his grace removed them thence, and pulled down his father's thatched house, and built a fair one in the place." But let us state the truth. The Puritan writer endeavours to insinuate, that Laud was ashamed of his birth, and that he built a house, in order to obliterate the recollection of the one in which he was born. The " fair house," therefore, which " his grace" built, wras, as the Puritan writer knew well, an alms-house, which he endowed with two hundred pounds per annum. So much for Puritan veracity. I find, moreover, that in a small black letter tract, printed in quarto, 1641, which contains an account of Laud, although it is written by no pro- fessed friend, there is no notice taken of his connections, or any insinuations made on his birth. At all events, it is despicable in a modern writer to repeat this slander. Many of our present noble families were in the days of Laud ignoble. See Diary, and Fuller, book xi. p. 216, also the Topographical and Historical Account of Berkshire.

3 Diary, p. 1. " In my infancy," says Laud, " I was in danger of death by sickness, &c,"

8 LIFE AND TIMES [1589.

Having recovered, he received the rudiments of his education at the free-school of his native town, at which he continued till he was sixteen years of age. It is recorded, that, while he was at school, he gave so many indications of his future eminence, that his master frequently said to him, that he hoped he would remember Reading School when he be- came a great man l. Little, however, is known of his juvenile years. In the month of July, 1589, he was sent to the University of Oxford, when only sixteen years of age, and was admitted a com- moner of St. John's College, at that time under the superintendence of John Buckeridge, afterwards its President, and successively Bishop of Rochester and Ely. This distinguished prelate was born at Draycot, near Marlborough, in Wiltshire, and was the son of William Buckeridge, and Elizabeth, daughter of a gentleman named Keblewhyte, of Baseldon, and cousin to Sir Thomas White, founder of St. John's College, Oxford. He was educated at Merchant Taylors School, and in 1578 became scholar of St. John's, Oxford, and shortly after- wards Fellow of that society 2. It was, perhaps, among the most fortunate events of Laud's early

1 Lloyd's Memoires, folio, London, 1668, p. 225. "After a wonderful preservation in his infancy from a very sore fit of sickness, and a happy education in his childhood under a very severe schoolmaster, who, from his strange dreams, witty speeches, generous spirit, great apprehensions, and notable per- formances, promised him the greatness which he afterwards enjoyed."

2 Wood, Athen. Oxon. vol. ii. col. 507.

1589.] OF ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 9

life, that he was under the direction of this eminent man. Buckeridge was distinguished for his zeal- ous attachment to the Church of England, parti- cularly in opposition to the Puritans, who, notwith- standing the dislike entertained towards them by Queen Elizabeth, and the severity which she felt it necessary to exercise, had already broached that wild enthusiasm which was destined to break out with violence in the succeeding century. Laud was not unmindful of his venerable and learned preceptor in the days of his elevation, and Bishop Buckeridge has left behind him most honourable memorials of his zeal for apostolical and primitive truth '.

1 Godwin, Catal. Episc. p. 534. " Et tarn scribendo, quam concionando veritatem Evangelicam haud segniter satagit pro- pugnare." Of this worthy prelate it may also be proper to ob- serve, that he was one of the most zealous defenders of the Pro- testant doctrines of the Church of England, in opposition to the dogmas of Ijiome. " A person he was," says Antony Wood, " of great gravity and learning, and one that knew as well as any other person of his time, how to employ the two-edged sword of the holy Scripture, of which he made good proof in the times suc- ceeding, brandishing it on the one side against the Papists, and on the other against the Puritans and Non-conformists." And Dr. F. Godwin (Comment, de Praesulibus Angllce) says, that he endeavoured most industriously to defend and propagate the true religion, by law established, as appears from his famous work, De Potestate Papce in Rebus temf.oralibus, sive in Regi- bus deponendis usurpata, adversus Robertum Cardinalem Bellar- minum. This elaborate work, which is a large quarto volume, was published in London, 1614. In his celebrated sermon preached at Whitehall, March 22, 1617, " touching prostration and kneeling in the worship of God," from Psalm xcv. 6, and

10 LIFE AND TIMES [1590.

Under the superintendence of this excellent man, young Laud pursued his studies with the most in- defatigable activity and success. After residing one year at St. John's College as commoner, in the month of June, 1590, he was chosen scholar of Ij.SiMi ixJn dsifiw ". ''':'> rrv? ;''.)

in his " Discourse concerning Kneeling at the Communion," he completely vanquished the Scotch Presbyterians, four of whom had been honoured with an audience at Hampton Court, when he preached a sermon from Romans xiii. 5, on September 23, 1606. On that occasion the two Melvilles were present, famous for their turbulence, and fiery zeal for Calvinism. He published three other sermons, — a funeral one on Heb. iv. 7. the second, on the sixteenth verse of the same chapter, and the third on Heb. iv. 7. (1618.) The second sermon, which is a truly admirable one, is to be found at the end of Bishop Andrews' Sermons, folio, London, edit. 1661. This prelate was a bene- factor to St. John Baptist's College, Oxford, where his picture, says Kennet, (anno 1717) is now preserved on the south wall of the common hall. " Dr. J. Buckeridge, episcop. Eliensis altaris suae capellae vestimenta Phrygii operis pulvinaria, pallium, calicem, &c. collegio-legavit, ann. 1631. Hie episcopus dona- vit 500 Ib. terris quibusdam redimendis quarum proventus omni- bus et singulis turn sociis turn scholaribus ex sequa divideren- tur, ann. 1631." Two extracts from letters written by the unfortunate Earl of Essex (to whom Bishop Buckeridge was chaplain) to the Lord Keeper Puckering ; the one dated 1 7th Feb. 1594, and the other 12th Jan. 1595, will be found in Strype's Annals, vol. iv. p. 245, 246. and in Wood, vol. ii. col. 509, 510. The exact date of Bishop Buckeridge's death is not known, save that he was buried in the parish church of Brom- ley, in Kent, the manor of which belongs to the see of Roches- ter, on the 31st of May, 1631. Wood, ut supra; Strype's Annals, vol. iv. ; also Fuller's Church History, cent. xvii. London edit, folio, 1655. " By the temper of the tutor we may see that of the scholar." Lansdowne MSS. 721.

1593.] OF ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 11

that society l. We are informed, by Dr. Heylin 2, that he was held in so great estimation in his own native town, " partly by his own proficiency, and partly by the good esteem which was had of his father/' that he was nominated, by the mayor and others, a scholar of St. John's, " according to the constitutions of Sir Thomas White, the honourable and sole founder of it ;" for, though that munificent patron of letters had originally intended Merchant Taylors School in London as the chief place whence his scholarships should be supplied, yet he was a man of too liberal a mind to make his muni- ficence comparatively so exclusive, and therefore he instituted seven fellowships unconnected with that establishment, assigning two to Coventry, two to Bristol, two to Reading, and one to Tunbridge. In 1593, Laud was admitted Fellow of St. John's, and in June, 1594, he took the degree of Bachelor of Arts 3. In the years 1596-7, he himself informs us, that he was overtaken by a severe illness4. After his recovery, he proceeded Master of Arts, which degree he received in July 1598, when he became grammar reader, but relapsed into sickness towards the end of the same year 5.

1 Laud's Diary, p. 1. Lansdowne MSS. ut sup.

2 Life of Laud, ut sup. p. 45.

3 Diary, ut sup.

4 Anno 1596, " I had a great sickness/' and another, 1597, Diary, ut sup.

5 Diary, ut sup. Wood, however, asserts, (Fasti, vol. i. col. 144,) that he became B.A. July 1, 1594, and M.A. June 26, 1598. That industrious writer has confounded the months.

12 LIFE AND TIMES [1598.

Respecting Laud's general conduct while at the University, we are informed by Wood \ that he was " at that time esteemed by all that knew him, (being little in stature) a very forward, confident, and zealous person." It is not at all improbable, that he felt much of that rashness and buoyancy natural to youth, which would be more particularly liable to excitement on account of the influence of the Puritan faction in the University, whose enthusiasm it was impossible not to despise. But it does not follow, though his enemies, who eagerly caught at every thing- to suit their purpose, endeavoured after- wards to make it appear, since he was uniformly the same man from his birth to his death, that he gave any extraordinary signs of haughty demeanour. It is to be remarked, that the testimony now be- fore us is on the authority of the Puritans, and of those violent supralapsarians whom he afterwards so successfully opposed ; who themselves were not too scrupulous in veracity, either in public or pri- vate, as is notorious to every one who knows any thing of the crafty and designing methods which they adopted to accomplish their own ends 2 ; and it will be much more apparent to him who impartially peruses the volumes of Neal, the Puritan histo- rian3, or any of those contradictions repeated by Messrs. Bogue and Bennet, in their History of Dissenters. Nevertheless, it may have so happened

'Wood, vol. iii. col. 117. 122.

2 For example, in the affair about the famous Lambeth Articles;

3 Neal's History of the Puritans, vols. ii, and iii. ch. 5.

1601.] OF ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 13

that Laud did conduct himself haughtily (at least reservedly) towards the Puritan faction in the Uni- versity,, nor am I at all inclined to exhibit him as destitute of any of the failings of humanity, or su- perior to the sallies of youth, before his mind was matured by experience and reflection. But it is un- fair to allow sectarian prejudice so completely to ob- scure common sense, as to seize on the slightest peculiarities of youth, and fasten them on the actions of maturer years, as indications of what some men choose to call tyranny, and others popery. And thus much must be said of Laud, while only a pri- vate member of the University, that he then laid the foundation of his future eminence ; that he was held in no small estimation ; and that the fame which he acquired in all his public appearances is honourable to his genius, his industry, and his learning.

On the fourth of January, 1600, he was admitted into deacon's orders, by Dr. Young, Bishop of Rochester, and, on the 5th of April, 1601, he was ordained a priest by the same prelate1. We are informed that this prelate, " finding his study raised above the systems and opinions of the age, upon the noble foundation of the fathers, councils, and the ecclesiastical historians, early presaged, that, if he lived, he would be an instrument of restoring the church from the narrow and private principles of modern times, to the more enlarged,

Diary, p. 2. Lloyd's Memoires, p. 225. Heylin's Life of Laud, p. 45. Wood's Athen. Oxon. vol. iii. col. 117, 118. et seq.

14 LIFE AND TIMES [1601.

liberal, and public sentiments of the apostolic and primitive ages1." Nor was Bishop Young mistaken in his judgment, though he well knew that it would be a task of no small difficulty, — a task, indeed, not likely to be accomplished without bloodshed. For, after the English Reformation of religion, notions had been entertained by many persons in the Church, not only subversive of its constitution, but highly detrimental to the safety and well-being of the state. The discipline of Geneva, and the doctrine of expediency, as laid down by John Calvin, who has the merit, if merit it be, of contriving and introducing a new system of ecclesiastical polity, and who, moreover, has the still more questionable merit of discovering in the sacred Scriptures cer- tain doctrines which exhibit the Deity not in the most favourable light, as he himself was forced to confess, when with grief he admits it to be an hor- ribile decretum: — this discipline had led many astray from the maxims of primitive truth and order, and the notions of expediency as to the Church and its visibility, had engendered a la- mentable callousness towards that very Church of which they all professed to be sincere members. Forgetting that the Church of Christ is one and undivided, — forgetting that the Saviour himself declared, " my kingdom is not of this world," — and forgetting, too, that this union is not solely a spi- ritual union, composed at the same time of outward

J Lloyd's Memoires, &c. p. 225, 226.

1601.] OF ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 15

heterogeneous masses, but is, in truth, both a spiri- tual and a temporal union, no limits were assigned to the extravagances of fancy, and no safeguard adopted for the preservation of that Church, the doctrines of which Latimer, Ridley, and Cranmer, had sealed with their blood. But the axiom which Laud subsequently assumed, though doubt- less sneered at by Dissenters, is strictly true, that the Church must be guarded both against Rome and Geneva — that a Church founded on the Apostles, and not on Christ, is the Roman and the Genevan rock — but that the Church must have a more solid basis, or it has no foundation at all ; and that, though it must be built on the founda- tion of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself must be the chief corner-stone. There were, therefore, only two positions, — either that the Church must be a regularly organized body, which, though a voluntary association, acknowledges Christ for its head, or it must not ; there must either be systems of authority and regulation, or there must be anarchy and confusion ; it must, in short, either be like a well-governed and well- organised kingdom, to which it is compared in the Holy Scriptures *, or it must be so ill-regulated, as that all its members may literally do that which is right

1 1 Cor. i. 10. Ephes. iii. 4. 7. 14. v. 23—30. 1 Tim. vi. 34. Heb. xii. 22. Matt. xvi. 18, 19. Col. i. 18. Rom. xiii. 1. xv. 6. xvi. 17. 1 Pet. ii. 13. 1 John xvii. 17. 1 Cor. xii. 13. 27. Gal. iii. 28. 1 Tim. iv. 6. vi. 4. 20, 21. 2 Tim. i. 13. Phil. i. 27. 2 Cor. xiii. 11. Jude 19.

16 LIFE AND TIMES [1G01.

in their own eyes. The former, then,, was the position of the well-wishers of the Church of Eng- land, the latter that of those who were preparing the way for its overthrow : the former was advo- cated by those who defended order and primitive truth, the latter by those who were on the point of holding out the right hand of fellowship to novelty and fanaticism. Laud hesitated not for a moment to decide ; and his memory does truly deserve well of the Church of England, since he so early avowed himself the bold defender of its constitutions.

Nor was it long before Laud had an opportunity of displaying his sentiments. Upon this subject, however, it is necessary to go a little into detail, more especially as it will serve to explain the oppo- sition which he encountered. During the Marian persecution, as it is termed, Laurence Humphries, Fellow of Magdalen College, Oxford, having been deprived of his fellowship for his attachment to the Reformation, retreated to the city of Zurich, in Switzerland, then famous as the birth-place and re- sidence of Zuinglius. Associating with that Re- former, and maintaining a constant correspondence with Calvin and his friends at Geneva, he became so much attached to the Calvinistic tenets, that, on his return to England after the death of Mary, he studied to promote them with all his influence. " The best that could be said of him," says Dr. Heylin1, "by one who commonly speaks well of

• :...: I* »? ,'fll ' • • .' -O.v •%' mVf «^J ''{ / . 'I. .2V.

1 Life of Laud, p. 46.

1601.] OF ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 17

all that party, is, that he was a moderate and con- scientious nonconformist1!' As he was a man of very great learning2, on his return from his exile he was presented by Queen Elizabeth to the Pre- sidency of Magdalen College, and was also ap- pointed Professor of Theology, and Vice-chancellor of the University. The duties of this office he dis- charged till 1596, about which time it is supposed he died 3. With these advantages, his influence was great in the University, nor was he idle in dissemi- nating the tenets which he had imbibed while in exile. Hence, through the influence of Dr. Hum- phries, Magdalen College became a nursery of non-conformity, and those students were only no- ticed who were zealous supporters of the dogmas of Calvin. It would appear that he coincided with some of that school who positively deny that Papists are Christians, or that there can be any

1 Fuller's Church History, lib. ix. p. 234.

2 " He was master," says Heylin, " of a pure Latin style." Heylin, ut sup.

3 The year of this learned man's death, however, is uncer- tain. Fuller, in his Church History of Britain, (lib. ix. p. 233, 234. London, folio, 1655.) says, " Here I am at a loss for the death of Laurence Humphries, but confident I hit the but, though miss the mark, at about this time, (1596). He was a conscientious and moderate Nonconformist, (condemned for lukewarm by such as were scalding hot) Dean of Winchester, and Master of Magdalene College in Oxford, to which he be- queathed a considerable sum of gold, left in a chest, not to be opened unless some great necessity urged it thereto."

VOL. I. C

18 LIFE AND TIMES [1601.

good in their corrupt and degenerate Church1. For his anti-popish zeal he was jocularly surnamed Papisto-Mastix.

Dr. Humphries was succeeded by Dr. John Hol- land, Ptector of Exeter College, who, though a man of much greater moderation, was strongly inclined to the tenets of the Puritans. But, zealous as Dr. Humphries had been against every thing, whether good or bad, which was observed in the Church of Rome, it would appear that he found an active assistant in the Lady Margaret Professor of Divi- nity 2. Yet even he was thought to be deficient in zeal ; and accordingly, Sir Francis Walsingham, the principal Secretary of State, who favoured the Non- conformists, founded a new theological lecture in the University 3. The reader of this lecture was re- quired to make short annotations on the holy Scrip- tures, in order that the students might be induced to pursue their researches 4. Whitgift was then primate, whose character for mildness, firmness, and moderation, is most conspicuous in those troublous times. By his judicious conduct he had

1 Heylin, p. 46. " He did not only stock his college with such a generation of Non-conformists, as could not be wormed out in many years after his decease, but sowed in the divinity schools such seeds of Calvinism, and laboured to create in the younger students such a strong hate against the Papists, as if nothing but divine truth were to be found in the one, and no- thing but abominations in the other."

2 Heylin'sLife of Laud, p. 46.

3 Heylin, ut sup. Collier's Eccles. Hist. vol. ii. p. 597.

4 Collier, ut sup.

7

1601.] OF ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 19

brought over many Roman Catholics to the Church of England ; but he was completely unsuccessful in his attempts to restrain the enthusiasm of the Puri- tans1. Before his promotion, he had engaged in dispute with the celebrated Puritan leader, Thomas Cart wright of Cambridge, and had written an an- swer to the Admonition of that zealot ; to which Cartwright wrote a reply. Whitgift rejoined in the following year, (1571), in a work entitled, " A Defence of the Answer." " To which," observes Collier, " Cartwright offered nothing, but retired from the field, and left the enemy possessed of all the entire marks of victory2." Walsingham, who had already signalised himself by his opposition to the subscription of three articles, which had been enacted " for the better increase of learning in the inferior ministers, and for the more diligent preach- ing and catechizing 3," and which are in themselves truly admirable, as he was a resolute friend to the Puritans, and had, besides, engaged in other dis- putes, in which he always advocated the cause of his dissenting friends, instituted this lecture not so much out of a pure desire to foster and encourage learning, as to make it subservient to the schemes of the Puritans, and to irritate and insult the fallen Roman Catholics *. And that this might be the more

1 Collier's Eccles. Hist. vol. ii. p. 684.

2 Collier's Eccles. Hist. vol. ii. p. 537.

3 Register, Whitgift, Part I. fol. 97. 131. 162.

Strype's Annals of Queen Elizabeth, vol. ii. ; also Lives of Archbishops Parker and Whitgift. Collier, Eccles. Hist. vol. ii.

c 2

20 LIFE AND TIMES [1601.

effectually promoted, the celebrated Dr. John Rey- nolds, President of Corpus Christi College, who afterwards distinguished himself in the dispute held at Hampton Court, before King James, in 1603-4, was appointed to the lectureship. Reynolds, though now a violent enemy to Popery, and to the hierarchy in general, had been in his youth on the continent, and, during his residence there was devoted in his attachment to Popery ; but having been drawn over to the Church of England by his brother, who himself recanted l, he fell into the other extreme, and resolved rlfr 1 ) I . ' •'•' ' ' •'• - - •

p. 597. Wood, Hist, and Antiq. Oxon. Heylin, ut sup. The last writer says, that Walsingham was " a man of great abilities in the schools of policy, an extreme hater of the Popes and Church of Rome, and no less favourable unto those of the Pu- ritan faction." It would appear that the lecture was well at- tended by the younger students ; but its object was censured by many, and even by some of the moderate Puritans, who, sus- pecting Walsingham's motives, " ventured to say, that the pre- tence of propagating truth, was only a colour to convey Wal- singham's sacrilege out of sight. For this gentleman, it seems, during the vacancy of the see of Oxford, had lopped the reve- nues." Collier, ut sup.

1 Fuller's Church History, book x. p. 47. Dr. Reynolds' brother, William Reynolds, had been as resolute a Protestant as he was a Papist. A mutual disputation took place between them on the articles of their faith, which ended in the Papist turning Protestant, and the Protestant to the Church of Rome, in which he died. " This singular occurrence," says Fuller, " gave the occasion to an excellent copy of verses, concluding with this distich :

" Quod genus hoc pugnae est? ubi victus gaudet uterque? Et simul alteruter se superdsse dolet."

1601.] OF ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 21

to exalt himself among the Puritan enthusiasts. He was, accordingly, high in favour with Sir Fran- cis Walsingham, who consulted him on every occa- sion, and also with the Earl of Leicester, Chancellor of the University, who, from political motives, was sometimes inclined to co-operate with the malcon- tents l. Reynolds was a man of great learning, and extensive reading, and he was no less remarkable for his prodigious memory 2. His private character, too, was most exemplary and pious, and he appears to have been very solicitous about the soundness of the doctrines which he taught3.

1 " Divinity," says Collier, " had now a new face at Oxford, and the first reformation was reformed away in great measure ;" ut sup.

2 Heylin, ut sup. ; Fuller, ut sup. p. 48 ; Wood, Athen. Oxon. ; Neal's History of the Puritans.

3 There seem to be different opinions concerning Dr. Rey- nolds. Collier says, " As for Dr. Reynolds, he made it his busi- ness to read against the hierarchy, and to weaken the authority of bishops." Fuller, on the other hand, asserts, that he, of all the Puritans, was most conformable in his practice to the Church of England. " His disaffection," says he, " to the discipline established in England, was not so great as some bishops did suspect, or as some Nonconformists did believe. No doubt he desired the abolishing of some ceremonies, for the care of the conscience of others, to which in his own practice he did willingly submit, constantly wearing hood and surplice, and kneeling at the Sacrament." In opposition to this testimony, however, re- specting the ecclesiastical habit, Heylin asserts, (p. 47), that " Dr. Reynolds had the confidence to appear in the conference at Hampton Court [in 1603] in his Turkey gown, and therefore may be thought to have worn no other in the University." It is a singular fact, at the same time, that Dr. Reynolds on his death-

22 LIFE AND TIMES [1601.

Under the auspices of those and other leaders of the Puritans, the tenets of Geneva were making rapid progress in the University, engendering the most novel speculations about the Church, and producing a general carelessness about its consti- tution, which threatened to sap its very foundation. Forgetting the moderation and admirable caution of the great men under whose auspices the reforma- tion of the Church of England had been conducted, they seemed as if they had themselves determined to commence a new reformation, while at the same time they admitted, that the line of demarcation between the Reformed Church and that of Rome was broad and insurmountable. Nor was their po- licy the less crafty than their general conduct ; for since they well knew that, were they to make any notorious innovation at once, they would be pu- nished by the civil and ecclesiastical power as dis- turbers of the peace of the realm, their sole hope lay in biassing the minds of the students in the Uni- versity, over whom they were placed ; while, at the same time, they merely corresponded about their differences with their friends among the laity who were in power and influence. Now it was, indeed, that the doctrines of the Church of England, founded

bed, at his own earnest request, received absolution, according to the form of the Church of England. " He received it," says Fuller, " from Dr. Holland, [the successor of Dr. Humphries, who was himself inclined, as I have already remarked, to Non- conformity,] whose hand he affectionately kissed, in expression of the joy he received thereby."

1601.] OF ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 23

on holy Scripture, were not only disputed, but po- sitively denied. The opinions of Calvin respecting predestination, reprobation, election, and all the other kindred dogmas, were zealously maintained, although their defenders might have known that, besides looking in vain for Calvin's horribile decre- tum in the holy Scriptures, the fathers, with the exception of St. Augustine, and his two disciples, Prosper and Fulgentius, never conceived such tenets, so far as individuals are concerned ; and perhaps in this view even St. Augustine himself may not be conceded l. The doctrine of Scripture and of the Church respecting regeneration in infant baptism was denied, as was also the doctrine of the Church respecting the holy Eucharist. It was absolutely denied, that either of these sacred rites had any efficacy in man's salvation. The article in the Apostle's Creed respecting Christ's local descent into hell, asserted in the Convocations of the Church in 1552 and 1562, was disclaimed as erroneous, merely, as Dr. Heylin well remarks, " because re- pugnant to the fancies of some foreign divines, though they were in dispute among themselves about the meaning of it 2." The episcopal govern- ment of the Church was held to be against the

1 Prosper confesses, that they who condemned Pelagianism, rejected St. Augustine's notion as a mere novelty; and that Father himself says, " It is the height of madness and injustice to hold any person guilty because he did not that which he could not do."

2 See the great work, Bishop Pearson on the Creed, folio.

24 LIFE AND TIMES [1601.

ecclesiastical constitution of the apostolic and pri- mitive times, and this, too, by men who were conver- sant with the apostles and fathers. Presbyters and bishops were held to be synonymous, and the falla- cious doctrine of expediency in church government was assumed, it being asserted, that the apostles did not trouble themselves about ecclesiastical polity ; the doctrine of the visibility of the Church was disclaimed, and sectarian conventicles were held to be as scriptural as the Church, though these, it was evident, were all founded on the visions of enthusiasts, and false positions erroneously drawn from holy Scripture. The Pope was furiously de- clared to be Antichrist ; the ordination of the Church of Rome was pronounced invalid, as part of " the mark of the beast." These and other such opinions were <e as positively and magisterially maintained, as if they had been the chief articles of the Christian faith1." The public services of the Church, according to the Book of Common Prayer, were either carelessly performed, or neglected ; of- fence was taken at every sacred rite and ceremony which had been practised since the days of the apos- tles. " In a word," to quote from Heylin 2 on this very subject, " the books of Calvin made the rule by which all men were to square their writings, his only word (like the ipse dixit of Aristotle) ad- mitted as the sole canon to which they were to

1 Heylin, p. 47.

3 See also the Preface to Hooker's Ecclesiastical Polity.

1601.] OF ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 25

frame and conform their judgments, and in compa- rison to whom, the ancient fathers of the Church, men of renown, and the glory of their several times, must be held contemptible : and to offend against this canon, or to break this rule, was esteemed a more unpardonable crime, than to violate the apos- tles' canons, or dispute the doctrines and determi- nations of any of the four first General Councils ; so that it might have proved more safe for any man, in such a general deviation from the rules and dictates of this Church, to have been looked upon as an heathen or a publican, than an anti-Calvinist."

Let me not be misunderstood, in the preceding remarks, as if I have given only a partial view of the lamentable state to which ecclesiastical discipline was reduced towards the last years of the reign of Queen Elizabeth. The Church of England has been justly called the great bulwark of the Protes- tant Reformation ; and why, it is asked, has it re- ceived this glorious appellation ? , Not certainly because, in its resolution to separate from Rome, it was actuated, in the persons of its venerable reformers, by mean and sinister motives, for they nobly sealed their attachment to the truth with their blood; nor yet, by trampling upon every sacred and venerable institution, as if, after having been long in one extreme, it was determined to run into the other, and, by making a total divestment of faith and sense, reduce religion to a pyebald exte- rior, presenting no counteraction to the effusions of fanaticism and ignorance, no means to preserve true

26 LIFE AND TIMES [1601.

religion within its pale, apart from the individual opinions of men, even supposing that its clergy were simultaneously to become degenerate ; nor yet by resigning the practice of the Church uni- versal in all ages, and closing with, novelty, as if anxious for new discoveries. Novelty in theology is the certain indication of error ; nor would the Church have appeared, as it does to this day, vener- able in its institutions, and simple in its ritual, had it so far wandered from the right path. But Eliza- beth was now in the decline of life, and the death of the unfortunate Essex had reduced her vigorous mind to a state of imbecility. Enthusiasm was, in consequence, making rapid progress at the accession of James. The Calvinism of Geneva had disgusted that monarch in Scotland, insolently as it was advo- cated by the Melvilles and their associates. It was highly necessary, therefore, that James should take measures, on his accession to the English throne, to oppose that insolent fanaticism which had been secretly kindling in the minds of the peo- ple for half a century, and disturbing the peace of the Church by every new importation of zealots from the school of Geneva. Nor, while thus speak- ing of the dogmas of Calvin, and the grand features of Presbyterianism, would I be thought wanting in respect to those who differed from us. I speak of systems only, not of individuals, excepting so far as their public conduct is concerned. Our Church has been incessantly attacked, but we are unwilling to retaliate, while we know the sure ground on

1602.] OF ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 27

which we tread. " Having a sure and certain word of prophecy, unto which it will be well for us to take heed," we reject the fallacious doctrine of ex- pediency, and assert with confidence the constant visibility and oneness of the Church in all ages, from the days of its Divine Founder. Nor need the authorities on which our positions are grounded, be required of us : even Calvin himself could not reconcile them to his own opinions l. To the merit of that reformer, indeed, I willingly bear testi- mony : his learning is indisputable, he was a great man ; but the same spirit which prompted him to pursue the mild, though mistaken, Servetus to the stake, was too amply inherited by his disciples both in England and Scotland, in the sixteenth and se- venteenth centuries ; by which the frenzy of a stern republicanism overthrew the government of the land, and, even after it was re-established, in- volved the northern part of the island in rebellion and bloodshed. The opinions he taught, as he con- ceived them to be derived from the Scriptures, re- quire other proof than that which he furnishes : and those do greatly err, who believe them to be the doctrines of the Church of England. That Church, it is consolatory to know, takes a much higher authority, and by the holy Scriptures it stands or falls.

Such, then, was the state of the Church in the years 1602-3, when Laud made his first public ap-

\ ;- " ^1 ^nil 1 Calvin, Institut. lib. iv. cap. iv. § 1.

28 LIFE AND TIMES [1602.

pearance^ Many of the original n on -confer mist leaders were now dead, but some of them still sur- vived. They wanted not, however, successors to tread in the same path. The celebrated Abbott !, afterwards primate, and Prideaux, who succeeded Drs. Holland and Reynolds as theological profes- sors, taught the tenets of their predecessors, and warmly attached themselves to the Puritans 2. In the year 1602, Laud read the divinity lecture in St. John's College, founded by Mrs. Maye3, and received the general applause of that society. In this lecture, he boldly advocated those opinions which he ever afterwards maintained. It would appear that he had long beheld, with deep regret, the dangerous tendency of the enthusiasm of the times ; and he resolved, though he stood alone, to raise his solitary voice in defence of the doctrines of the Church of England. He had studied the fa- thers with peculiar care, and had made himself master of the constitution of the Church, as set forth during the apostolic and primitive times in the canons of the general councils. His theological studies had been founded on the sacred canon, carefully perusing at the same time the comments and interpretations of the fathers ; and his vigorous

i

1 He was then Master of University College, and Vice-chan- cellor of the University.

8 Original Manuscript of Dr. Heylin, Lansdowne MSS. 721.

3 He was the last who read that lecture. Diary, p. 2 ; Hey- lin, p. 49 ; Lloyd's Memoirs, p. 226 ; Wood, Athen. Oxon. vol. iii. col. 121.

1608.] OF ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 29

mind enabled him at once to perceive the errors which the ancient heretics and modern schismatics had imbibed, by their attempts at private interpreta- tion of the canon of inspiration : a practice which is unhappily too prevalent among their successors in the present times. He was not to be led astray by the names of men, however great and renowned, and he was determined to oppose those novelties in theo- logy, which were daily becoming more prevalent. Fortified as he was by the canons of the Church, and, above all, by holy Scripture, he resolved " to hold fast the form of sound words" which had been delivered ; and, solitary as he stood in this perilous undertaking, to try his fortune in the wrork, and to leave the issue thereof unto God, by whom " Paul's planting and Apollo's watering do receive the increase V

On no subject, perhaps, has there been greater dispute than on the meaning of the Articles of the Church of England. While the zealous Puritan rejected them in toto, both because they were not sufficiently Calvinistic to suit his notions, and be- cause they contained that form of ecclesiastical po- lity which he abhorred ; the Calvinist, on the one hand, who wished not to leave the Church, disco- vered them to be thoroughly Calvinistic, and was

1 Dr. Heylin, p. 48. " Nor would he run precipitately into common opinions, (for common opinions many times are but common errors) ; as Calderinus is reported to have gone to mass, because he would not break company with the rest of his friends."

30 LIFE AND TIMES [1602.

content ; the Arminian loudly asserted, on the other hand, that they contained the doctrines and tenets of Arminius, and cordially subscribed to them. Such was the procedure in the time of Laud, and such it is in the present day. Now, keeping out of view the Puritan and the modern Dissenter as completely hopeless subjects, or, in other words, as men be- yond the reach of argument or reason, nothing is more evident than that both the Calvinist and Ar- minian are decidedly wrong. The Articles are ex- pressed with such clearness, that he who candidly peruses them, and is gifted with an ordinary share of reason, cannot fail to perceive their meaning, and to acquiesce at once in their decisions ; but it is most absurd to say that they are founded upon, or that they favour, the individual theories either of John Calvin or of James Arminius. A division has indeed taken place in the Church in modern times, and an unaccountable zeal has now decided that the orthodox clergy are the Calvinists : those who deny Calvin's tenets being of course anti-evange- lical. Yet, if the test of evangelism be the rash assumptions of the predestinarian, most unquestion- ably that evangelism rests upon a feeble foundation, and they do greatly err whose zeal is thus per- mitted to triumph over their reason. But the Church of England at once disdains a blind vene- ration for any frail and erring mortal, however great or excellent in the eyes of his fellow men. That the Articles of the Church are not Calvinistic, I hope to shew in another place ; and that they are

1602.] OF ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 31

not Arminian, I here assert, inasmuch as the tenets of Arminius were not propagated until a long time after these Articles were compiled \ But if by Ar- minian (for language is arbitrary, and it matters not what may be the name, however odious that name may be to the descendants of the champions of the Covenant in the north) — if, I say, by Arminian, it be meant, that the Church of England in its Articles, not in its clergy, rejects and disapproves a rash inquiry into those " secret things which be- long unto the Lord our God," if it rejects the liorribile de ere turn of Calvin, on whose shewing, to adopt the language of John Wesley, " the elect will be saved, do what they will; the reprobate will be damned, do what they can," and in all its public ministrations, formularies, articles, rituals, and homilies, asserts, that every man, without excep- tion, who hears the glad sound of the gospel, may become a partaker of the same, and a true mem- ber of Christ's body, as he did become in infancy by " the washing of water and the renewing of the Holy Spirit,"— if, in short, it is the constant theme of the Church that " he who cometh unto God, will in no wise be cast out," and if its ministers are com- manded to call on all men every where to repent, without any reservation of election or reprobation,

1 James Van Harmen, or Arminius, was the disciple of Beza, and minister at Amsterdam. He was at first educated in rigid Calvinism, but on reflection, he expressed doubts as to that system in 1591. The Articles were compiled almost half a century previous.

32 LIFE AND TIMES [1602.

then let it be called Arminian, for such is the doctrine of Holy Scripture. And if the Episcopal government of the Church be taken into account, in opposition to the Calvinistic system of ecclesiastical parity, by which the unedifying sight has often been exhibited, of preachers at war with one another, without a head to control them, or to impose on them ecclesiastical obedience, then let it be Arminian, it matters riot, since the polity which is enjoined and practised, has been that of the Church in every age, since the days of its divine Founder.

When Laud, therefore, stepped boldly forth to vindicate the Articles and Constitution of the Church, against the fancies and enthusiasm of her Puritan members, those Articles " had been wrested from the literal and grammatical sense, to fit them to the sense of particular persons," and "a differ- ent construction had been put upon . them from that which had been the true and genuine meaning of the men that framed them, and the authority which had confirmed them." It was either in this lecture, , or in some other academical exercise, that Laud asserted and maintained the perpetual visibi- lity of the Church, as derived from the apostles by the Romish Church, and therein continued (as in the Churcr/es of the East and South) until the period of the Reformation1. This lecture gave great of- fence to the Puritans of the University. Abbot,

1 It is uncertain whether it was in this lecture or not ; but the conjecture is probably right that it was. Heylin, p. 49. Diary, p. 2. Wood, Athen, Oxon. vol. iii, col. 121.

1602.] OF ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 33

the vice-chancellor, who was secretly jealous of him, and who liked not to be surpassed in learning by a person who was under his control, was of a differ- ent opinion, — which, indeed, was natural, consider- ing his attachment to the Puritan faction. He asserted, on the other hand, that there was no de- finite visibility of the Church ; and, forgetting the axiom, that a corrupt Church may be nevertheless a true one, so far as ordination is concerned, out of his zealous abhorrence to popery, he yet traced a visibility from the time of the apostles to the sect called Berengerians, the followers of Berenge- rius, who flourished in the eleventh century1, from them to the Albigenses, or Waldenses, so called from the city Albi, or the district of Albigeois, in the south of France, supposed by Toplady and others to have been the uncorrupted descendants of the first Christians, but whose creed was pronounced by the Council of Tours, A.D. 1163, to be " a damnable heresy, long since sprung up in the ter- ritory of Toulouse V From them, again, to the Wickliffites, or Lollards, the followers of Wick- liffe, the proto-reformer of England, and the " morning-star of the English Reformation," from

1 Mosheim's Eccles. Hist. vol. ii. p. 558—560. Milner's Church Hist. vol. iii. p. 289 — 291.

2 Mr. Hume (History of England, vol. ii. chap, xi.) ob- serves, that the decree of this council so subjected them to perse- cution, that " those sectaries, though the most innocent and in- offensive of mankind, were exterminated with all the circum- stances of extreme violence and barbarity."

VOL. I. D

34 LIFE AND TIMES [160*.

them to the Hussites, whose leader, John Huss, adopted Wickliffe's opinions, for which he suffered martyrdom in the year 1415 \ and from them to the days of Martin Luther and John Calvin. This fanciful hypothesis, which Abbot assumed, was com- pletely refuted by Laud; which so enraged the former, and excited so much mutual disgust, that an enmity took place, which ever afterwards sub- sisted between them 2 : and so violent was Abbot's antipathy to his opponent, that he embraced every opportunity of displaying his opposition, which hap- pened more than once in after life 3.

1 Mosheim's Eccles. Hist. vol. iv. p. 384 ; vol. v. p. 117. Milner, vol. iv. p. 279, 280. 597.

2 Heylin, p. 49. Original Manuscript of Dr. Heylin, Lans- downe MSS. 721. Rushworth's Collections, vol. i. p. 440. " Abbot wrote a work on the subject, entitled, * A Treatise of perpetual Visibility and Succession of the True Church in all Ages.' London, 4to. 1624. He was then in the see of Canter- bury. His name is not at the work, but only his family arms, impaled with those of Canterbury." Dr. Heylin, who, by the way, was no friend to Abbot, remarks on this work, " This being his opinion also when he lived in Oxford, he thought it a great derogation to his parts and credit, that any man should dare to maintain the contrary, and thereupon conceived a strong grudge against Laud, which no tract of time could either abolish or diminish." It would appear, however, that some differences had taken place between him and Laud as early as 1597.

3 Abbot, says an author, conceived a very strong prejudice against Mr. Laud, which no time could either lessen or destroy. Although Abbot was a great and good man, it is certain that he entertained a violent hatred to Laud, and it so far influenced him, as to make him in after life give Laud a most unfavourable cha-

1602.] OF ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 35

That Abbot, if he defended the visibility of the Church at all, was wrong in his positions, and fan- ciful in his illustrations, is sufficiently evident from the incongruous nature of those sects amongst whom he traced that visibility. For, though Be- rengerius was Archdeacon of Angers, he died in the communion of the Romish Church, after making a public recantation of his opinions, both at Paris and Rome l. His followers, therefore, had no re- gularly ordained pastors, and, besides, they were

racter, which could only result from a recollection of the opposi- tion he had received. In the Archbishop's narrative concerning his disgrace at court, written by himself, (Rushworth, vol. i. p. 434, &c.) he talks about " knowing in general the disposition of the man," p. 439 ; and again, " about the dispute between the King and himself," Bishop Laud is designated " the only in- ward counsellor with Buckingham, sitting with him sometimes privately whole hours, and feeding his humours with malice and spite. His life in Oxford was to pick quarrels in the lectures of the public readers, and to advertise them to the then Bishop of Durham, that he might fill the ears of King James with dis- content against the honest men that took pains in their places, and settled the truth, which he called Puritanism, in their auditors. He made it his work to see what books were on the press, and to look over epistles dedicatory, and prefaces to the reader, to see what faults might be found," p. 440. That this is over-coloured there can be no doubt, when we recollect Abbot's feelings to- wards Laud, whom he secretly charged as helping to procure his disgrace.

He died, moreover, firm in his belief of transubstantiation. He maintained the doctrines of the famous Duns Scotus, sur- named Erigena. 'Although the Church of Rome in his time (1058) had not adopted any particular doctrine on the Eucharist, his heresy was condemned.

D 2

36 LIFE AND TIMES [1602.

in dispute amongst themselves about the eucharist, all agreeing that the elements were not essentially changed, though some asserted that they were partly changed. " Some admitted a change in part, and others an entire change, with this re- striction, that to those who communicated unwor- thily the elements were changed back again V The Waldenses had for their apostle Peter Waldo, or Valdo, a merchant of Lyons, who, whether he gave his name to them or not, never received the ordi- nation of a priest. It is not my intention here to enter into the discussion of this important subject in reference to those sectaries, nevertheless I may remark, that they also were not agreed among them- selves on certain doctrines. They held various opi- nions about infant baptism, and they asserted "that the sacraments are signs of the holy things, visible forms of the invisible grace ; and that it is good for the faithful to use those signs or visible forms ; but they are not essential to salvation." The same tenets were held by theWickliffites or Lollards, the Hussites, the Calvinists, and the Puritans, of the sixteenth century, as they are yet held by the Dissenters of almost every description. Sects which entertained those vague and confused notions on the holy sa- craments, have always framed equally crude ideas about the office of the priesthood ; and, in truth, they had no regular canonical ordination, and cared little about the unity of the Church, as taught in

1 Williams' Dictionary of all Religions, p. 63.

1602.] OF ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 37

holy Scripture. Now, it certainly is the doctrine of the Church of England, that the sacraments are not mere rites or memorials, (for we can conceive no opinion more unworthy of institutions set apart by the Saviour himself,) but are, in very truth, on their right reception, the ordinary means by which men obtain salvation. But the opposite opinion was held by the Puritans, and sanctioned by Ab- bot, on which account they totally misinterpreted those simple but sacred symbols, and rested more on visionary themes about faith and other doc- trines. The view which Abbot took of the visi- bility of the Church, therefore, struck at the very root of that Church of which he was a member, and still farther tended to promote the spirit of dangerous enthusiasm. It went far to overthrow that union and consistency which are necessary for the peace and well-being of the state ecclesiastical, and was, in a word, completely congenial to the views of the non-conformists.

, The question has been often sneeringly asked by the Romanists, where was the Protestant Church before Luther ? This question was common in the days of Laud, nor was it at all answered with satis- faction by the Puritan divines, who seldom abode by the argument, but went on to a discussion of certain doctrines, and spirituality in matters of faith. Now, that these are all right in themselves there can be no question, still there was another way in which the Romanists might be silenced, and the catholic doctrine of the visibility of the Church

38 LIFE AND TIMES [1602.

maintained. This position, therefore, Laud as- sumed, and he managed the subject with the ability of a master. While the positions of Abbot and others, who took refuge among the continental sectaries, were easily overthrown by the priests and Jesuits ; they were at once staggered by the argu- ments of a more powerful opponent, who revelled not in an enthusiasm which they had long despised, but successfully opposed them with the very autho- rities to which they themselves laid claim. The whole subject turned on the nature of the Church — on its polity, and the ordination of the clergy — whether there actually existed an apostolical descent, and whence it was transmitted. To deny the validity of the orders of the Romish Church, is unques- tionably absurd : for, however corrupt and dege- nerate that Church is, it cannot in the least degree affect the ordination it confers. For if such were the case, there would then be a dangerous position assumed, that there is a virtue in the ordination, which does not exist, any farther, than that no man without that ordination can lawfully and scripturally exercise the functions of the sacred office : and that he who does so, without being lawfully ordained to them, is actuated by that sec- tarian fanaticism which deluded multitudes in the seventeenth century, and produced an anarchy in the Church unparalleled in the records of history. If there be no such thing as regular and valid or- dination, then there is no ministry, and it matters not how the sacraments are administered, or by

1603.] OF ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 39

whom, seeing that one man has just as good a right to administer them as another. And if the orders of the Romish Church are to be rejected, as being part of the "mark of the beast/' let the most zealous Dissenter tell us of what he has to boast, or what hidden virtue there is in his form of ordi- nation. For the new inventions of modern times do not form the scriptural basis by which we are to regulate our ideas of ecclesiastical practice ; and I hazard the assertion, even though it may be re- ceived with a sneer, that there is no Dissent- ing minister whose ordination is as valid or as scriptural as that of the Romish priests. And if tenaciousness of ordination be held as a remnant of popery, then why do Dissenters ordain at all, seeing that they submit to a practice, which, even though exercised in their own way, they cordially set at nought and despise ? The truth is, every gift is not a grace : ordination is one thing, the doctrine taught is another : and he who imagines that the chief excellence of the Christian ministry rests in the mere act of preaching, and a human display of eloquence from the pulpit, labours under a most grievous delusion. The sacraments are among the ordinary means of salvation ; and the efficacy of these sacraments is rendered void as well by the want of regular ordination, as by the un- worthiness of the person partaking of them. v Our Saviour himself, when he declared that his kingdom was not of this world, distinctly taught that the office of the priesthood was to be separate, distinct, and

40 LIFE AND TIMES [1602.

removed from the secular concerns of the world ; and that they who assume this office must be re- gularly admitted thereto according to the practice which he has enjoined, as laid down by the holy apostles.

Without, however, enlarging farther on this subject, I merely observe, that whatever may be thought of Laud's principles by Dissenters in the present day, to all conscientious members of the Episcopal Church they must appear sound and scriptural, otherwise their ministry or ordination is of little avail. If Laud was wrong, so was the Church, but he chose rather to err with the Church whose doctrines had been pondered well by the venerable fathers of the Reformation, than to adopt the private interpretation of any man, or be led away by the current of extravagance, which was daily making rapid encroachments. Not that he did not exercise that freedom of thought which is natu- ral to every man : but he had studied the Scrip- tures with peculiar care, and the Articles appeared to him agreeable to that sacred standard.

But at this time an event happened, which ma- terially altered the state of the kingdom. On the 24th of March, 1602-3, Queen Elizabeth died at Richmond, in the 70th year of her age, and 45th of her prosperous reign. Her administration had been brilliant and glorious ; she had raised the kingdom to a degree of greatness, which made her an object of fear to foreign potentates, and gained her the admiration and affection of her subjects ;

1602.] OF ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 41

she knew well how to govern her people, and her promptitude and decision were equally remarkable in all her actions. It was her happiness to have statesmen whose names are rendered immortal, who loved their country, and who combined the most consummate political foresight with admira- ble talents for the administration of public affairs. She was invariably the defender of the Protestant Church, and though it may be questioned whether she ever felt the animating and superior power of true religion, yet her name will be transmitted to posterity with unsullied reputation for the fostering care which she bestowed on the Reformation. Not that her conduct is free from reproach. Her haughtiness and cruelty to the unhappy Mary, Queen of Scots, will always be a stigma on her memory, as acts of injustice, and outrages on injured innocence, unworthy of her vigorous mind, and which have few parallels in history. Her conduct to the clergy was often haughty and tyran- nical. " She restored the Reformation it is true," says Collier, " but in many places left little pro- vision to maintain it. She drew back the patri- mony of the Church restored by her sister Queen Mary, and reached somewhat unkindly unto the remainder. — These things considered, if the Queen's usage of the clergy be compared with that which they experienced in the reign of Henry VIII. it is to be feared that it may be said, her little finger was thicker than her father's loins ; and that he

42 LIFE AND TIMES [1602.

disciplined them with whips, but she chastised them with scorpions V

Thus far have I detailed the first years of the life of Laud. A new scene now opens to our view — the accession of James of Scotland — and the im- portant public transactions in which Laud was en- gaged— the theological disputes of the times — and the encroachments of the Puritans, who were making rapid progress in their endeavours to over- turn the constitution.

1 Collier's Eccles. Hist. vol. ii. p. 669, 670.

1603.] OF ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 43

CHAPTER II.

1603-4.

Accession of James I. — State of parties at that period — Reli- gious feeling — Conduct of James — Remarks on his life — The Presbyterians-— Insolence of their ministers — The Scottish Episcopal Church— Review of the Puritan objections to Epis- copacy— The Hampton Court Conference — Its objects and results — Remarks on the, Articles — Concluding observations.

THE eyes of the English nation were now turned on James ; the princes of Europe beheld his accession to the English throne with no ordinary interest. More fortunate than any of his ancestors who had swayed the Scottish sceptre, and destined to be happier than any of his descendants, his singular good fortune was the source of envy to many con- tinental princes, who beheld him called from the government of a small and feeble state, to become the monarch of three consolidated powerful king- doms. Nor was the enthusiasm of the English nation on his accession the less excited, — though afterwards that very people, whose joy was so uni- versal, were destined to exhibit many vicissitudes before the close of the seventeenth century. The beginning of that era saw the royal House of Stuart welcomed to the throne of Britain by every indi- 7

44 LIFE AND TIMES [1G03.

vidual : its close beheld those princes driven from the throne, exiled, and their station among the princes of Europe occupied by others.

I design to examine briefly the causes of this wonderful revolution in public opinion ; in the mean time, it is necessary to offer a few general remarks upon the state of parties at this eventful period of our history. I have already noted the progress of Puritanism, more especially in the University of Oxford, during Laud's residence there, and the in- fluence which the Puritan leaders possessed over the minds of the students. It must be confessed that they were great men, although led away by an ex- travagant zeal : but hitherto, although both Oxford and Cambridge were well supplied by those eccle- siastical malcontents, by the vigorous administration of Elizabeth, and the salutary restraints imposed by the primates, this faction had not in its early progress assumed a regular form, nor had it become united as one grand opposing body. The leaders and partizans were detached, and even in dispute among themselves : at all events, many of them, though raising a clamour about a second reforma- tion, as they called it, were by no means anxious to leave the Church. But on James' accession, they had become more united : and they clearly saw the necessity of co-operation. The genius of Laud had excited their alarm, and his sentiments in the lec- tures he delivered were not to be passed over in silence. He was, in fact, no common opponent : he was not to be put clown by the sophisms of

1603.] OF ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 45

Calvin, or the tenets of Genevan theology : and, armed as he was with an intimate knowledge of every argument of the Papists on the one hand, and of the Puritans on the other, they already anticipated this man in his rise to power, which they foresaw was inevitable. They could indeed boast of great men among their own adherents, whose learning was profound, and not surpassed by Laud himself, but unfortunately, however, having deeply imbibed the opinions of Calvin, they rejected the practice of the apostles and the authority of the primitive Church, in their anxiety to comprehend and ex- pound the Institutes of that Reformer. But here was a man who was under no such restraints : who valued no more the opinion of Calvin than he did that of the Bishop of Rome, and who was resolved to uphold and defend that Church whose ordination he had received, according to her Articles, and to the canons passed in her most solemn Convoca- tions l.

1 The famous Thomas Cartwright died the year before James' accession. Whitgift had all along treated him with lenity, think- ing that when his enthusiasm subsided, he would become well affected towards the Church, and was not disappointed in the expectations he had formed of him. Cartwright, who had con- tributed his full share towards the spread of Calvinism, and the fomenting of the religious disputes, after being admitted to bail, through the kindness of the Archbishop, died expressing his good inclinations towards the Established Church. He always acknowledged with gratitude the primate's kindness, as appears from several of his letters to the primate. — Sir George Paul's Life of Whitgift, p. 71, 72. Strype's Annals, chap, xxviii.

46 LIFE AND TIMES [1604.

The accession of James was hailed by men of all ranks, and in that perilous age, when religious disputes engaged the attention of almost every man, each party beheld it with jealous and interested feelings. Surrounded by the stern reformers of the north, who, by the excitement of their frenzy had marched over the country, carrying with them fire, sword, and sedition, and committing the most ruth- less and furious devastations 1 : educated by the cele- brated George Buchanan, a philosopher in prin- ciple, and a zealous votary of Geneva in religion2, who defended the excesses of his reforming friends, and traduced the memory of the hapless Mary, his first benefactress; it was supposed by the Calvi- nists of the north, and their brethren the Puritans of the south, that they would have now a king after their own heart, more especially as the former had compelled James, during his minority, to sign all

Sir Henry Yelverton, in his Epistle to the Reader before Mor- ton's Episcopacy Justified. " His last words on his death-bed were, that he sorely lamented the unnecessary troubles he had caused in the Church, by the schism he had been the great fo- menter of, and wished he was to begin his life again, that he might testify to the world the dislike he had of his former ways."

1 Knox's History, p. 136, 147, &c. Spottiswoode's Hist. P. 121 — 126. Stuart's Hist, of Scottish Reformation, p.. 11 3, 114. 203, 204. Dalyell's Cursory Remarks on Scottish Poems of the Sixteenth Century, vol. i. in the account of the Earl of Moray, p. 52, 53,

8 Nevertheless, Buchanan says of himself, that he was a Lu- theran. Vita scrip, ipso. — Dr. Irving's Memoirs.

1604.] OF ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 47

their covenants, confessions, and leagues, of every description. Accordingly, although James, when he assumed the reins of government, had given in- dications that he was not so pliable as they ima- gined, and, moreover, being more learned than the Presbyterian ministers, was easily able to confound them in their positions, yet the Puritans, and those who favoured their doctrines, presuming on his Pres- byterian education, or, at least, upon his favour and connivance, began to raise their desponding minds, and to augur much from this new combination of circumstances1. The Roman Catholics, who looked on the enthusiasm of the Puritans with perfect con- tempt, and who, in truth, were animated with less hatred towards them than towards the Established Church, (although the Puritans clamoured the more violently against them,) beheld James' acces- sion with the greatest exultation, and naturally expected favour from a monarch whose mother they considered to have died a martyr for their cause. The supporters of the Reformed Church by law established, were not the less animated by hope ; for, the Church being an integral part of the con- stitution, the king was bound to defend it against Popery and Puritanism, the two extremes between which the Church of England was placed.

Nevertheless, Archbishop Whitgift was not without fears concering James's real intentions. That excel- lent primate had been entrusted by Elizabeth with

1 Neal's History of the Puritans, vol. ii. p. 3, 4.

48 LIFE AND TIMES [1604.

the government of the Church, he had been long and deservedly in the favour of the queen, he had attended her in her last illness, and had composed a prayer on that occasion, remarkable for its piety and beauty1. He had been the chief mourner at her funeral, had received the offerings, and had the banners presented to him, as if he had been a member of the royal House. It is observed by Sir George Paul, that he had the chief management of all ecclesiastical affairs, the disposal of the bishop- rics, and other patronage ; and that the queen laid the whole burden of those cares upon his shoulders, saying, That if any thing were amiss, it was upon his soul and conscience to answer for it ; for she had rid her hands, and looked that he would yield an account on her behalf unto Almighty God 2. After James had been proclaimed, the Archbishop dis-

1 Sir George Paul's Life of Whitgift, p. 116. Strype, chap. xxix. from Reg. Whitgift, vol. iii. p. 148. The words of this beautiful prayer are : — O most heavenly Father, and God of all mercy, we most humbly beseech thee to behold thy servant the queen, with the eyes of pity and compassion. Give unto her the comfort of thy Holy Spirit, work in her a constant and lively faith, grant unto her true repentance, and restore unto her, if it be thy will, her former health and strength both of body and soul. Let not the enemy, nor his wicked instruments, have any power ever to do her harm. O Lord, punish her not for our offences, neither us in her. Deal not with us, O Lord, as we have deserved ; but for thy mercy's sake, and for Christ's sake, forgive us all our sins, and prolong her days, that we may still enjoy her, to the glory of thy holy name, and good of all such as truly fear thee, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

2 Sir G. Paul's Life of Archbishop Whitgift, p, 78.

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patched Dr. Neville, Dean of Canterbury, into Scot- land to do homage in the name of the Bishops and Clergy of the Church of England, and to ascertain the king's intentions concerning the government of the Church. Though James declared that he would maintain the Church as then established, yet Whit- gift passed the summer of the year 1604 in great anxiety *. The king's arrival, however, dissipated those fears, and at once opened the eyes of the non- conformists. They had printed a book in the former year, entitled " The Plea of the Innocents," which was written by one Nicholls, and now they had begun to despise the church service, " to forbear the use of the surplice, and to omit the ceremonies ; and those omissions they hoped would be acceptable to the king, considering his education, and the prac- tice of the Scotch kirk 2." But a proclamation ap-

1 Neal, the Puritan historian, who takes every opportunity to prevaricate, here remarks, that the king's assurances " com- forted the timorous Archbishop, who had sometimes spoken with great uneasiness about the Scotch Church." The latter clause is true, but it became this historian to be a candid man ; for though Dr. Neville did get such an assurance from James, it was a general one, and Whitgift was not comforted by it. Neal himself records, that James in his public declaration at Edin- burgh in 1590, said, " As for our neighbour Kirk of England their service is an evil said mass in English ; they want nothing of the mass but the liftings." James, by the way, was under tutorage when he uttered this speech. There was occasion for being timorous, when surrounded by men who were under- mining the Church.

2 Collier, vol. ii. p. 671, 672. VOL. I. E

50 LIFE AND TIMES [1604.

p eared on the king's arrival, strictly prohibiting any innovation in the doctrine or discipline of the Church as established by law.

It was not to be expected that James would escape censure for this procedure. Besides the impu- tation that he had changed his principles, ( if he had any, says Neal,) the most pusillanimous insinua- tions were daily sent abroad by the Puritans. For- getting that James had been the offspring of mis- fortune— that both his parents had suffered violent deaths — they actually asserted that he was deficient in intellect, and that the surprise which his mother had experienced at the murder of Rizzio had so affected the foetus, as to produce this intellectual weakness. But James, though peacefully inclined, was neither a coward nor an imbecile man. He had grappled with an assassin in the Gowry conspiracy ; in after life he gave other proofs of courage ; and his learning, though it abounded with pedantry, was extensive and profound. But what insinua- tions will not disappointment and passion provoke ? Men blinded by religious enthusiasm forget the first principles of true religion, and resort to miser- able subterfuges, which excite contempt and de- rision l.

The circumstances in which James was placed when he assumed the government were of a peculiar kind. He was never a real Presbyterian, though he has been often charged with apostasy by that party. His age had witnessed the most dread- ful catastrophes, and there is not perhaps in the history of any na- tion events so pregnant with interest as those which took place

7

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But it seems not the less surprising, that James should still be viewed by Presbyterians as if he had at one period of his life belonged completely to their party, and as if he had made a fearful apostasy when he succeeded to the English throne. Now, the simple truth is, that Andrew Melville first in- troduced Calvinism into Scotland; for, though Knox and the other Reformers were disciples of Calvin, they by no means adopted the system of ecclesiastical parity, but established the form of government by superintendents, (another term for bishops,} of whom there were Jive; and this polity was not, as some late Presbyterian writers would persuade us, designed to be merely temporary, but to be the regular ecclesiastical constitution of the Church1. Knox had himself, though at one period

in Scotland in the sixteenth century. Scarcely one of the lead- ing men escaped a violent death. James's great-grandfather, James IV, was slain at Flodden, with the flower of the nobility; his grandfather, James V, died of a broken heart ; his father murdered by an unprincipled nobleman ; his mother, the hapless Mary, murdered, too, under colour of justice, by the English queen. Cardinal Beaton assassinated by a band of enthusiasts in his own palace ; his successor, Archbishop Hamilton, most unjustly executed; Huntly slain; Moray assassinated ; Maitland of Lethington committed suicide ; Bothwell degraded and de- spised, a vile pirate in the Northern Seas ; Morton brought to the block ; Kirkcaldy of Grange hanged as a traitor ; terminating with the famous Gowry conspiracy. In short, every man who figured in public was cut off, with only one or two exceptions, without taking into account those who suffered for religion.

1 It were easy to multiply references and authorities in proof of my positions, but it is needless, and indeed the very anxiety

E'2

52 LIFE AND TIMES [1604.

of his life he refused a bishopric *, been the bearer

of the Presbyterians to make the superintendent system, which, they well know, was nothing else than a form of Episcopacy, as if it were designed merely pro tempore, is a sufficient argument in favour. The Scottish reformers might have had a horror at the name of bishop, if they had not the sagacity to disunite that office from the associations of Popery, and therefore they changed the word, which, by the way, has exactly the same meaning ; but no man who is acquainted with Knox's temper and actions, in particular, will for one moment suppose, that he was likely to gratify the prejudices or the associations of any individual. No ; he was for immediate reformation ; he forgot that all im- provements must he accomplished by the slow and imperceptible hand of time. " But after all," says Collier, whose authority is just as good as that of Dr. M'Crie, as set forth in the Life of Knox, vol. ii. and in the Life of Andrew Melville, vol. i. " Knox was no entire convert to the Geneva discipline ; he de- clared against Presbyterian parity, promoted the superintendent scheme, and pressed submission to that establishment." Ec- cles. Hist. vol. ii.

1 It may be disputed, however, whether Edward VI. did ac- tually offer Knox a bishopric ; his admirers affirm so, but he himself only hints, in his " Historic," about some great prefer- ment, which he rejected. His ambition would not have been gratified by his remaining in England, for he wished not to be a member, but the leader of a party. In some editions of his His- toric, there is the above insinuation, but it must be recollected, that there are considerable doubts as to the authenticity of the work, because Knox was dead before its publication, and we find the General Assembly of the Kirk granting authority to Richard Bannatyne, Knox's servant, a violent enthusiast, to collect and collate all the scraps and papers which Knox had left after his decease. His Genevan friends, therefore, thrust in what they pleased to favour their own purposes, and to make Knox speak the language of their party. Goodall's Queen Mary, vol. i.

1604.] OF ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 53

of a letter to the Bishops of the Church of Eng- land, in which he and his friends distinctly acknow- ledged Episcopacy, and their own polity as a mo- dification of it l. Melville, however, a furious zealot, was the first in Scotland who ventured to call in question the episcopal office, which he did in a crafty manner, by practising on one John Durie, a minister in Edinburgh, a good but simple and un- learned man, whom, in a General Assembly, he per- suaded to start the question, which he, of course, vigorously seconded. It is somewhat remarkable, too, that Melville, zealot as he was, admits in his speech on this very occasion, that the episcopal office is laid down in holy Scripture ; expressing himself in the following contradictory manner : " It is true the distinction of bishops is mentioned in Scripture, but then it was not to be taken in the customary construction, for our Saviour has allowed no superiority among his ministers : he himself is

1 Knox's History, p. 439. Spottiswoode's History, p. 198. Bishop Keith's History, folio. M'Crie's Life of Knox, vol. ii. Dr. Cook's History of the Reformation, vol. iii. Neal's History of the Puritans, vol. i. Appendix. This is aremarkable fact, even though the letter was written in favour of the Puritans. It was signed by the five superintendents, to- wit, John Spottiswoode, father of the Archbishop ; John Winram, who had been subprior of St. Andrew's ; John Erskine, the baron of Dun ; John Row, and Robert Pont ; with the names of a few ministers attached. It is entitled, " The superintendents, ministers, and others, of the realm of Scotland, to their brethren, the bishops and pastors of England, who have renounced the Roman Antichrist, and do profess with them the Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity."

54 LIFE AND TIMES [1604.

the only Lord of his Church, and as for his officers, they are all ranged in the same degree, and allotted the same proportion of power." It is needless to comment on this absurd observation.

It must be observed, that no act of parliament was ever passed for the abolition of Scottish Episco- pacy ; and, in fact, no acts at all, save those of the Assembly, which, after 1575, was very often self- elected. Hence, the Episcopal Church, until the period of the Revolution in 1688, was the Church established by law, as it had been often ratified by various parliaments. The Regent Morton had estab- lished Episcopacy, in the person of John Douglas, whom he presented to the primacy of St. Andrew's, and who was accordingly consecrated to that office. The very first year, then, in which James governed in his own person, he evinced his dislike to the Ge- nevan polity, and it was not allowed to pass unno- ticed. But that monarch, though he never regarded Melville and his associates with friendly feelings, was often tutored unto submission by those whom he favoured among the nobles, and hence arose his speeches on various occasions, which the Puritans afterwards turned so much against him.

It is amusing to observe the opinions which the Puritan historian indulges on James's accession. That veracious writer, determined to support his enthusiastic party at the expence of truth, fears not to hazard any assertion, however absurd or con- tradictory ; and as Laud is most conspicuous in his narrative of this period, for the public share he

1604.] OF ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 55

sustained in the controversies of the day, a few re- marks upon the following passages may not be out of place. " There had been a cessation of controversy," says Neal *, " for some time before the death of Queen Elizabeth : the Puritans being in hopes, upon the accession of a king that had been educated in their own principles, to obtain an easy redress of their grievances ; and certainly no prince ever had it so much in his power to compromise the differences of the Church as King James I. at the Conference at Hampton Court ; but being an indolent and vain glorious monarchy he became a willing captive to the bishops, who flattered his vanity, and put that maxim into his head, (No bishop, no king.9" — " If King James," he farther remarks, " had any prin- ciples of religion besides what he called king-craft, or dissimulation, he changed them with the climate, for, from being a rigid Calvinist, he became a fa- vourer of Arminianism in the latter part of his reign : from being a Protestant of the purest kirk upon earth 2, a doctrinal papist 3 : and, from a dis- guised Puritan, the most implacable enemy of that

1 Neal's Hist, of the Puritans, vol. ii. Preface, p. iii. iv.

3 He here means the Kirk of Scotland. Cedite Graii ! It is an assertion which even some of the members of that legal estab- lishment would not hazard at the present day, though it is much better now than it was in the days of Andrew Melville, or the succeeding years of covenanting chivalry.

3 That Neal must have been aware he was here writing a falsehood, is undeniable, if he had any common discrimination. Luckily for him, he does not give his authorities ; in truth, he could not, but his followers have believed it !

56 LIFE AND TIMES [1604.

people, putting all the springs of the prerogative in motion to drive them out of both kingdoms." And once more, to the same purpose, in another place, about James's accession, " The Scotch minis- ters did not approach him with the distant submis- sion and reverence of the English bishops, and therefore within nine months he renounced Pres- bytery, and established it for a maxim, no bishop, no king : so soon did this pious monarch renounce all his former principles, (if he had any,) and break the most awful and solemn oaths and vows V

The above assertions are utterly groundless from beginning to end, and this, even although I were not persuaded that future generations will yet do justice to the too-often misrepresented motives and actions of James, when those times arrive in which men will divest themselves of the prejudice of party, and accustom themselves to calm and sober reflection. These statements, however, are false, on three accounts : first, because they contain a dogmatic apology for the fanaticism of the Puritans, not on facts, but on mere assumptions ; secondly, because they are libels on the character of James, which are disgraceful to the writer, in his lamen- tation for James's departure from " the purest kirk on earth ;" because they are not supported ; and because some few phrases which the monarch used in ordinary conversation, are taken advantage of:

1 Neal's History, vol. ii. p. 4. Calderwood's Church History, p. 418. 473, &c.

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thirdly, because they are denied by historical fact, and refuted by the practice of modern times.

The apology which is here made for the fana- ticism of the Puritans is remarkable. There had been no cessation of controversy before the death of Elizabeth, for the Puritans, as I have already shewn, had filled the Universities with their dis- putes, had been patronized by Walsingham, and had been strengthening themselves by training future supporters to their cause. If there was a cessation, it was because they had the advantage, and, being adepts in intrigue, they looked forward to the accession of James as the period of their complete triumph : for already did they prevail in the University of Oxford under the fostering care of Abbot, and Cambridge contained a considerable number of the disciples of Cartwright. Accord- ingly we find, that in the former University they held the chief influence, until Laud astonished them by his lecture of Mrs. Maye's foundation. The Puritan leaders had been industrious in circulating their principles among the people, as their works still testify, and they were indefatigable in securing to themselves a vantage-ground, which they anti- cipated would enable them to triumph in the next reign. Knowing Elizabeth's determined opposition to them, it was not to be supposed that they would brave her power: her decease could not be far distant ; they were busy, therefore, in laying the foundation on which they were afterwards to build. But not a single authority can be adduced to prove

58 LIFE AND TIMES [1604.

that this part of Neale's representation is supported by facts, and the slightest examination might have satisfied that writer, had he resolved to be candid, that the veiy histcry of those enthusiasts whom he lauds so highly, is against himself; nay, he himself has written in his first volume what he directly con- tradicts in the second.

These statements, again, are false, because they are malicious libels on the character of James. We are told, that " from a Protestant of the purest kirk upon earth," he became " a doctrinal Papist V from a ' ' disguised Puritan," he became their " im- placable enemy." And were there, then, no purer churches in that age than the Kirk of Scotland? and are the opinions of John Calvin the sole criterion of purity ? But do the admirers of Neal require to be told that it is not so ? I am persuaded that there are few Dissenters in England, the very descend-

1 By the phrase, a " doctrinal papist," it must be understood, I presume, that James was a believer in the doctrines of the Rom- ish Church ; otherwise, if the Puritan historian really did write figuratively, he might have condescended to explain his meaning more fully. But the severity of James' treatment towards the Roman Catholics so exasperated them, that human sagacity alone enabled him to escape from the dreadful vengeance which they had prepared to execute on him and his court, in the memorable Gunpowder Plot. From his fondness for controversial learning, too, he founded Chelsea College, for the support of a number of polemical divines, whose talents and exertions were to be em- ployed in refuting the Roman Catholics. This is the monarch whom our Puritan calls a " doctrinal papist," and a prince who " was destitute of principle, if he ever had any !"

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ants of the Puritans, who will subscribe to these assertions of their historiographer. The preachers of the " purest kirk upon earth" had disgusted James on almost every occasion. They had insulted him, traduced the memory of his mother, had openly denounced her before his face, had made pointed allusions to her from the pulpit, had offered sedi- tious prayers to the throne of Heaven, had preached sedition. Whenever their conclave thought proper to legislate, they did so as if that legislation were the standard of government ; if the slightest oppo- sition was made, condemnation was openly de- nounced : they were invariably sharers in secret plots and intrigues ; continually interfering in politics, with which they had no concern ; they vindicated the plots of more than one band of conspirators ; they had their own share in the daring conspiracy of Ruthven, Earl of Gowrie : in a word, they de- clared that they were superior to the parliament, and that it had no right to enact laws without their consent, " because/' said they, " our power is of God, and Jesus Christ alone is our king." Such were the insufferable conduct and fanaticism of the preachers of the " the purest kirk upon earth." And if the Church of Scotland was the purest then, it must consequently be the purest now, for it pro- fesses (at least its present members do, for them- selves,) that it is a perfect specimen of the early Scottish Reformation. But there is not a Dissenter in England, not even Presbyterians, who would not smile at this assertion : and more than once have

60 LIFE AND TIMES [1604.

they declared their opinions on this matter *, and they, by a singular inconsistency with the practice of their ancestors, reject the Erastian tenet, " That Christ and his apostles have prescribed no particular form of discipline for the Church in after ages, but have left the keys in the hands of the civil magis- trate, who has the sole power of punishing trans- gressors, and of appointing such particular forms of church-government from time to time, as are most subservient to the peace and welfare of the com* monwealth." This was the notable discovery of John Calvin, too, after what Dr. Cook calls, " a careful study of the New Testament :" and the very essence of Calvinism therefore is, the doctrine of resistance to civil governors, if, no matter how trivial or useful, they should be conceived to do any thing which the individual chooses to think a griev- ance 2. A strange inconsistency truly, first to give the civil magistrate the sword, and then to aver that it is lawful to resist his authority, if it be thought that he rules with impropriety. Who are the judges ? The people, say the admirers of Cal- vin; but is it not a fact, that a state in which every man sets himself as an expounder of the laws would be one of anarchy and bloodshed : — that the people are not themselves sufficient judges, nor, if they promise obedience, have they a right to dispute

1 See the Congregational Magazine, for 1819, No. 16 ; and the Evangelical Magazine for April 1828, in the review of the Scotch Presbytery of London's Pastoral Letter. fl a Calvin's Epist, 283. 285. -305, 306. Knox'sHist. 391—401,

1604.] OF ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 61

authority, however repugnant that may be to their individual opinions ? These remarks are not against liberty of conscience, but they are against private interpretation ; and history presents a too faithful record of the effects of those baneful maxims which were inculcated in this country. For, from the combined violence and fanaticism of the English Puritans and the Scottish Covenanters, we know enough to deprecate another attempt to make the rabble of a nation the judges and arbiters of reli- gious and political disputes.

I venture to add one remark upon the Puritan historian's assertion, that James was a " doctrinal Papist," and that from " a disguised Puritan," he became their most "implacable enemy." These falsehoods are made, because James defended his own prerogative, and the Episcopal Church of England, and because he did not countenance and yield to puritanical extravagance 1. But James, though pedantic, and often imprudent — though at times weak, and, it maybe, indolent, was not deficient in political foresight, though he knew not always how to exercise it. His misfortune, and that of his successor, was the want of such able statesmen as conducted the public affairs in the reign of Eliza- beth, while his partiality to favourites made him elevate some to that distinction who had no capa- city for it, and disregard others who were more deserving. But he saw the enthusiasm of his Pu-

1 Kirkton's History of the Church of Scotland, edited from the original MS. by C. Kirkpatrick Sharpe, Esq. 4to. Edit. 1817, p. 15r16.

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ritan subjects ; he needed " no bishops" to be his instructors ; he had felt it, severely felt it, before his accession, while his rule was confined to their Presbyterian friends in the north. He saw it neces- sary, therefore, to assert his prerogative, to draw tightly the reins of government, and, if possible, to restrain that religious frenzy which had excited the spirit of faction. The pupil of Buchanan was not destitute of penetration, and he is called a "doctrinal papist," not because he believed in Popery, for not even the sturdiest Puritan could be animated by a greater anti-popish zeal than he, but because he became the ' ' implacably enemy" of men who, he saw, were secretly spreading their enthusiastic opi- nions throughout the kingdom, to overthrow the constitution of the Church and State, and who were attempting to make Calvin the grand oracle of all theological and political science. What, there- fore, was the result ? Of what advantage would the reformation of religion have been to James, as a monarch and a prince, had he yielded at his acces- sion to the demands of the Puritans ? A Church in which " every man did that which was right in his own eyes," and rejected all human authority, was a nursery of sedition, of treason, of every thing, in short, which could molest and annoy, and which its preachers would not fail to defend, in their visionary themes about spirituality, and what they termed things lawful. These remarks, therefore, are against private interpretation, whether in re- ligion or politics : it should be the voice of the learned, not of the ignorant ; of the prudent, not of

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the clamorous and violent : and not even should it be always the former, seeing that they are alike subject to deception. The Reformation had indeed rid James of the intolerance and tyranny of one Pope ; but to have yielded to Puritans, would have been to have raised up against himself a pope in every parish of England and Scotland. He had been delivered, I say, from the absurdities of one extreme, now he would have fallen into another. And if the contest had been between him and the Bishop of Rome, if he fell, there was glory in the fall : it was to crouch before the majestic lion : but to have fallen before the Puritans, and tlje Calvinistic preachers of the north, to have yielded to them, to have al- lowed their fanaticism to triumph, — it was un- worthy of him as an English monarch, <vi

The Puritan historian's assertions are, moreover, proved to be false by historical facts, and are re- futed by the practice of modern times. The former part of this particular I shall point out as I pro- ceed ; the latter part may be discussed in a few words. " No bishop, no king," was a favourite phrase among their party, which they faithfully re- peated from James, who had jocularly used it on one occasion. But granting its absurdity, had it been seriously used, the practice of the Puritans, and indeed their language, may justly be retorted upon them with no less acrimony, for it was with them virtually, No Puritans, no freedom ; no Cal- vinism, no religion ; no Presbytery, no true church- government ; no opposition to Episcopacy, no li-

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berty of conscience ! And, let it be noted, the writer who has faithfully recorded this phrase, and his partizans who believe it true, are the very persons whose conduct displays that heated imagination which will not allow men to think with candour, and reason with impartiality. It has, indeed, been again and again asserted by the Presbyterians of the north, and the Dissenters of the south, and in this they make a most deplorable display of igno- rance, that Episcopacy did not exist before it was countenanced by the civil power : that it was readily adopted by those monarchs who aimed at arbitrary government and despotism : and that it is merely a worldly hierarchy, existing solely by the support and protection of the secular arm : therefore, ac- cording to these speculators, there can be no Epis- copacy where there is no monarchy — no Episcopacy where there is no civil support. The first and second of these assertions will come under my notice in another place : let me therefore make a single remark on the third, and on the natural in- ference which is to be drawn from the facts. In the United States of America, in which it yet remains to be shewn whether the government, or that of the monarchy of England, is the wiser and the better, notwithstanding the high encomiums which have been passed on that republicanism by certain men in this country, — under a government which pro- fesses to countenance no religion at all, but to pro- tect every sect, however absurd and ridiculous its belief, however infidel and deluding, — in that coun-

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try, where, notwithstanding its many works of reli- gious philanthropy, infidelity stalks abroad, shew- ing its gorgon head, and ejecting its deadly poison, there is a branch of the Episcopal Church, having dioceses and regularly consecrated bishops, who by their practice conform to every apostolical and pri- mitive injunction — which Church, to say the least, ranks the third in point of numbers in the United States, and the first in point of the learning and moral worth of its clergy, and its conformity to apostolical truth and primitive order. Here, then, is a church, a branch of the ancient Episcopal Church, which has bishops, where there is " no king ;" and which is not only existing, but reckons an increase of its members every year. This fact, therefore, proves the fallaciousness and ignorance of the assertion, that Episcopacy is dependent upon monarchy, and cannot prosper without it ; which is refuted by Presbyterianism being now the legal establishment of Scotland, which, though professing to be repub- lican and free in its constitution, nevertheless is closely allied to the state, and exists as an establish- ment by its protection from the secular power.

But there is another proof, which in a discussion of this nature, and especially in a narrative of Laud's life and times, ought not to be forgotten. I allude to that venerable and primitive, though humble and depressed communion, the Episcopal Church of Scotland, about which it will be my duty hereafter to say much in detail. This small suffer- ing Church, in whose welfare Laud in his prosperous

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days interested himself so greatly, has existed since the Revolution in a state of total neglect, at which period it ceased to be the Established Church, not because William III. had any particular partiality for Presbyterianism, although a Calvinist, for he solemnly declared to Bishop Rose of Edinburgh, at the Hague, that he would preserve it, but because the bishops and clergy, from conscientious motives, would not take the oath of allegiance. Nay, this Church has not only existed without the slightest support or patronage from the secular power, but even when its clergy were proscribed and punished, if found " worshipping God after the manner of their fathers," when its members were prohibited from assembling themselves together, and when their chapels were plundered and destroyed by out- rageous and ignorant mobs of Presbyterians. Nor was this the procedure of that age of strife, turbu- lence, and sedition, when the zealots of the Cove- nant drew the sword, and threw the scabbard away, but it was the procedure of the eighteenth century, and the vengeance of the government was wreaked on the unfortunate Episcopalians of Scotland, as if they had been the chief ringleaders of the insurrec- tion of 1745. The Episcopal clergy had been rab- bled out (as it was called) from their livings on the triumph of Presbytery in 1688, nor were the insults few which they experienced from the stern and in- tolerant Calvinists. But with a purpose still more malignant, more than half a century after that event, the Presbyterians made ample retaliation for the

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persecutions which their fathers were said to have undergone, and which they most unjustly and igno - rantly ascribed to the Church. At that time, they procured edicts from the court, not only against the Episcopalians of Scotland, but against their re- ligion itself1; and some of the clergy were actually imprisoned in the middle of the last century for officiating according to the established ritual of the Church. Nor was it till within the last thirty years that those penal acts were removed, which so dis- gracefully oppressed this humble Church, under which it laboured long, without exciting the commi- seration of the more flourishing Church of England. And at this moment, what are the prospects of this our Church in Scotland ? We rejoice to know that it is advancing in popular opinion, which must be the case in proportion as men become more enlight- ened ; that it can reckon a considerable number of chapels within the five dioceses, and that it can boast of a clergy who are riot, for learning, in any respect, behind their more favoured neighbours of England. Here, then, is another branch of the Episcopal Church, existing, as if in a republic, without any protection from the state save tolera- tion ; and yet the episcopal order is preserved with- out the slightest variation. This is a powerful argu- ment against the maxim on which the Puritans have expatiated so copiously, " no bishop, no king,"

1 The reader will find this subject copiously treated in the, Continuation to Bishop Keith's Catalogue of the Scottish Bishops, by the Rev. Dr. Russel of Leith.

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Having made these remarks, it is needless to en- large farther on the religious state of the kingdom at the accession of James. The Puritans, who had indulged in the most sanguine hopes, and who had thought proper to make some innovations in the Church, were extremely mortified at the king's pro- clamation, that no alteration was to take place in the doctrine and discipline. They were not, how- ever, all animated with the same spirit, nor inclined to proceed at the very outset to unwarrantable ex- tremes ; for though they were all inclined to Pres- byterianisrn, and secretly designed the downfall of the Church, " they disliked," says Collier, " those sallies of zeal, and resolved to manage by a more regular motion." Accordingly, they appointed meetings among themselves ; and, after a long de- liberation, they presented a petition to the king, entitled, ' ' The humble petition of certain Ministers of the Church of England, desiring reformation of sundry ceremonies and abuses." This petition, known as the famous Millenary Petition, because, it was alleged to have been subscribed by a thou- sand Puritan ministers, though it wanted, at the least two hundred to complete that number l, was presented in the month of April, 1603. Its pream- ble was set forth by a denial that they " were fac- tious men, affecting a popular party in the Church," or that they were " schismatics, aiming at the dis-

1 Collier's Eccles. Hist. vol. ii. p. 672. Neal's History of the Puritans, vol. ii. p. 5,

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solution of the state ecclesiastical •;" but affirming that they were " faithful ministers of Christ, and loyal subjects to his Majesty ;" and that they groaned "under the burden of human rites and ceremonies :" and they proceeded to enumerate their desires of reformation in four heads ; namely, in the church service ; concerning ministers ; about church liv- ings ; and on church discipline. As this petition, though written in plausible language, and making no express remonstrance against Episcopacy, or the service of the Liturgy, bore generally against the whole practice of the Church, the Universities in- stantly opposed it, as they were more likely to dis- cover the designs of the Puritans, from the numbers who resided within their walls. An order passed at a Congregation in Cambridge, ordaining that he who wrote against the Church, or opposed in any way the doctrine and discipline, should be sus- pended from all his degrees, and be deprived of taking others at any future period l. Instructions were also given to draw out an answer to the peti- tion ; but the heads of colleges at Cambridge, being informed that an answer was in a state of consi- derable forwardness at Oxford, contented them- selves with merely writing a letter of thanks to that University for its zeal and activity.

Laud had by this time been chosen Proctor for

1 Collier, ut sup. p. 673. Fuller's Church History, p. 22. Wood, Athen. Oxon. Life of Whitgift, p. 267. Neal, vol. ii. p. 7.

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the University of Oxford, his appointment to that office being dated May 4, 1603 l. Although he took no remarkable share in the answer to the Millenary Petition, he yet exerted all his influence to thwart the craftiness and smoothness which were concealed therein. He penetrated into its design, and as it had been strongly rumoured that some of the Scots Presbyterians at court had promised to aid it with all their influence, thereby furthering the views of their Calvinistic friends in the north, and as he saw, moreover, that its success would prove the destruction not only of the Church, but also of the Universities, he lent his efficient aid to the re- ply, entitled, " An Answer of the Vice-Chancellor, Doctors, Proctors, &c. in the University of Oxford, to the Petition of the Ministers of the Church of England desiring Reformation." In this petition, the University justly charges the Puritans with false conduct, in first subscribing, and then com- plaining of those things which they had subscribed. They are asserted to be factious men, and some severe but just remarks are made on the Scotch reformation, and the intemperate zeal for novelty which characterized those who were embroiling the Church in that kingdom. A severe censure, too, is passed therein on the intolerance of Presbyte- rianism, as it was displayed among the Scots, by which every preacher carried himself in the most domineering manner, not only towards his equals

1 Diary, p. 2.

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•who differed from him, but even towards those who conducted the government.

Nothing, in truth, could be more unfair than the conduct of the Puritans on this occasion. Besides giving occasion to a multitude of smaller petitions from all quarters of the country, they had not the manliness to declare, that they wished the extirpa- tion of Episcopacy, and the establishment of Pres- byterianism,that irreverent offspring of a foreign soil> but they adopted covert language, and affected the greatest piety and moderation. The measures which they tpok to procure subscriptions, too, were cha- racteristic of the party. The chief petition, indeed, was subscribed only by ministers, but the minor ones were subscribed by every person who could scrawl his own name. " Sure I am," says Fuller1, " the prelatical party complained, that to swell a number, the non-conformists did not choose, but scrape subscribers, not to speak of the ubiquita- riness of some hands, the same being always pre- sent at all petitions. Indeed, to the first only ministers were admitted, but to the latter brood of petitions, no hand which had five fingers was re- fused. Insomuch, that Master George (now Lord) Goring, who then knew little, and cared less, for Church government, as unable to govern himself, being then (fifty years since,) rather a youth than a man, a boy than a youth, set his hand thereto, in the right, I believe, of his mother, a good lady,

1 Fuller's Church History, book x. p. 24.

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and much inclined to that party : and King James would in merriment make sport with him, to know, what reasons moved him at that age to this sub- scription."

The result of this petition was the famous Hamp- ton Court Conference, held on the 14th of January, 1604. In this procedure the king acted contrary to the practice of his predecessor. Elizabeth con- ceived that public religious disputations frequently induced disorders, and therefore she avoided them altogether ; but James was of a different opinion, and resolved to embrace the opportunity of paving a public debate, and perhaps making a display of his learning, of which he was exceedingly vain; He accordingly issued a summons to each party for this Conference. The commissioners of the Church were the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Bishops of London, Durham, Winchester, Worcester, St. Da- vid's, Chichester, Peterborough, and Carlisle, the Deans of Westminster, St. Paul's, Christ Church, Worcester, Salisbury, Chester, and Windsor, with Dr. King, the Archdeacon of Nottingham, and Dr. Field, afterwards Dean of Gloucester. The Mil- lenary petitioners, on their side, sent only four de- legates— Dr. John Reynolds, already mentioned, and Dr. Thomas Sparke, from Oxford ; Messrs. Chadderton and Knewstubbe, from Cambridge l. The Conference lasted three days, and ultimately

1 The Sum and Substance of the Hampton Court Conference, by William Barlow, D.D. and Dean of Chester, London, 1604.

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ended in the defeat of the Nonconformists. It pro- duced, however, some alterations in the Liturgy. The baptizing of children by women was forbid- den : in the rubric of absolution, the words, the re- mission of sins, were inserted : confirmation was termed an examination of children : some words were altered in the Gospels ; and it was resolved at this Conference, in fine, that there should be a new translation of the Bible l. This most import- ant of all points, was speedily carried into effect, and our present translation is the version which was produced by the famous Conference at Hamp- ton Court 2.

1 Fuller's Church History, book x. p. 21.

* The changes, to be more particular, were as follows. In the general absolution, after the confession of sin, the words the re- mission of sins, were added. In the office for baptism, instead of let them that be present, we now have, " let the lawful minister and them that be present." See some other minor changes, on comparing the Book of Common Prayer, printed in 1599, with that of 1 61 5. Dr. Reynolds and his three friends were satisfied with these changes and explanations, and promised to render due obedience to their ecclesiastical superiors. The thanksgivings, added on this occasion, were those for rain, fair weather, plenty, peace, and victory, and for deliverance from the plague, with a few additions to the Catechism. Vide Records, apud Collier's Eccles. History, vol. ii. No. C. from the Paper Office. I ex- tract the last particular, under " the fourth head to be reformed rather by care of good magistrates, than by straitness of law." * Lastly, for matter of ceremonies and order, being thought in- different, that the rule of the apostle be kept, that all things be done to edification, that so neither grave, sober, and peaceable persons be not too far urged at first, nor turbulent and unquiet

74 LIFE AND TIMES [1604.

Neal, the Puritan historian, speaks of this Con- ference with great contempt. He calls it " a mock conference," and insinuates that the commissioners of the Church had transacted matters with the king before the appointed time. Reynolds, it would ap- pear, lost the favour of his party ; and though Neal well knew that he was defeated in the argu- ment, he accounts for it by asserting, that it was nothing wonderful, " being overawed by the place and company, and his sovereign as his opponent." The Puritans, indeed, sent forth numerous misrepre- sentations of this Conference, being enraged at the keen disappointment. They asserted, that the King had summoned their delegates, not to hear them debate, but to inform them of his pleasure ; not to know what they wished to say, but to let them know what he resolved to do. They charged Dr. Barlow with giving a partial account of the dis- putation, alleging, that as he was then a professed enemy, it must follow that his account was false. But the conduct of the King during the conference deserves the highest applause ; and from the re- marks on Dr. Barlow's narrative, it is evident that the Puritans were not an order of men at all inclined to learn truth even from an enemy. Though Neal asserts, that the primate and his brethren had been indefatigable in possessing the King with their opi-

ry "< •"' '.'ii'V ;>

persons, and true spirits, to do what they list. These," it i& added, " are the conclusions of this conference, wherein his Ma- jesty sat as moderator to the great admiration of all."

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nions of the excellency of the English hierarchy, as resembling the practice of the primitive Church, and best suited to monarchical government, thereby in- sinuating, according to custom, that his friends re- ceived unfair treatment ; yet the observations which James made are honourable to his talents, and cre- ditable to his learning. It was no hasty tutorage which induced that prince to decide ; indeed, it was by no means easy to control him in points which related to theological speculations. But the Puri- tans did not stop with these insinuations ; numerous pamphlets were printed and circulated among their associates, in which they abused Dr. Barlow, who had published an account of the conference. " Not- withstanding," says Collier, te the Nonconformists came off with disadvantage, they gave out the news of their having gained an absolute victory : and for this purpose they affirmed, that the King had gra- tified Dr. Reynolds "in every thing desired; that these concessions (the alterations in the Liturgy) were but the beginnings of reformation ; and that greater things were expected ; that the Bishop of Winchester was silent upon the matter ; that the Bishop of London called Dr. Reynolds a schismatic, but said little to the purpose ; that the King treated the bishops haughtily, but was kind and caressing to Dr. Reynolds ; that the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Bishop of London, kneeling to the King, entreated his Majesty to take their cause into his own hands, and put such an end to it as might not

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injure their reputation V 'Neal, of course, has given his own account of it, in which he makes his remarks to bear against Dr. Barlow's narrative, and insinuates, on the authority of a Puritan minister, that Barlow repented on his death-bed of the injus- tice he had done the Nonconformists : forgetting that the Dean's narrative would not have been pub- lished at all, had it not been necessary for his own vindication 2.

After this a proclamation was issued by the king for uniformity in discipline and worship ; and thus

1 I quote another specimen of the Puritan historian's can- dour in his authorities. " The Account of the Conference," says he, " was published only by Dr. Barlow, who being a party-man, (says Fuller), set a sharp edge on his own, and a blunt one on his adversaries' weapons." (Vol. ii. p. 11.) Now, from this we na- turally would conclude, that these are Fuller's exact words, and bearing quite to the point ; but no such thing. Neal was not over-scrupulous in giving new and improved versions of his quo- tations. The passage in Fuller is simply this : after remarking that the Puritans complained that only Dr. B., their professed enemy, (there is nothing about party-man) had given a narration of the affair, to their own disadvantage, — " and when the Israel- ites," says Fuller, " go down to the Philistines, to whet all their own tools, no wonder if they set a sharp edge on their own, and a blunt one on their enemies' weapons." (Book x. p. 21.) Com- ment is needless, when these two passages are compared. It is no doubt a trifling circumstance, yet it goes far to let us know the method of the Puritans in taking advantage of their authors.

2 Collier's Eccles. Hist. vol. ii. p. 683. The object of Dr. Barlow's publication was to remove the aspersions which were cast on himself and some prelates, particularly the Primate, and the Bishops of London and Winchester.

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the Puritans retired from the Conference completely overcome. No doubt they craved time to give in their answers, but this was the result of their cause, that they must have time to reflect before they came to a decision. On the whole, therefore, the senti- ments of the royal proclamation were rigidly just : " that they (the Nonconformists) did absolutely use a form of prayer of their own ; held assemblies with- out authority; and did other things, carrying a very apparent shew of sedition more than zeal : that the success of the Conference was that, which happens to many other things, which give great expectation before they are closely examined : that he found strong remonstrances supported by such slender proofs, that both himself and his council perceived there was no ground for any change in those things which were loudly clamoured against : that the Book of Common Prayer, and the doctrine of the Esta- blished Church, were both unexceptionable ; and as to the rites and ceremonies, they had the practice of the primitive Church to plead in their defence : and, lastly, that notwithstanding, with the consent of the bishops, and other learned men, some passages were rather explained than altered; yet, with a rea- sonable construction, every thing might very well have stood in its former condition." The king then proceeds to enjoin the use of the Book of Common Prayer on all his subjects, civil and ecclesiastical; and commands offenders to be punished agreeably to the laws of the realm. In fine, he admonishes all his subjects, of what rank soever, not to expect any

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alteration in the public service ; and that he would give no persons any occasion to presume that his re- solution, so maturely settled, could be removed by any frivolous suggestions ; neither was he ignorant how much a government must suffer by admitting innovations, and departing from things settled after a thorough debate. And yet, such is the levity of some men, that they are always languishing after change and novelty ; insomuch, that were they to be humoured in their inconstancy, they would ex- pose the public management, and make the admi- nistration ridiculous l.

In these remarks I feel persuaded that all judi- cious men will coincide. Our own experience in the ordinary business of life, as well as our observation, must corroborate them ; and if this " desultory le- vity" be observed in common affairs, and be natural to some people, is it not much more likely that in religion, a subject on which, above all others, men disagree, it will be more prevalent ? If religious matters must invariably appear different to differ- ent individuals, what would be the consequence were every impulse of methodistical enthusiasm to be regarded ? But let us hear Neal on this pro- clamation. " It was a high strain of the preroga- tive to alter a form of worship established by law merely by a royal proclamation, without consent of parliament or convocation ; for by the same autho- rity that his Majesty altered one article in the Li- Jfs aifai K^.L> : r \3aii id °fo ,o valVrft

1 Proclamation to the Book of Common Prayer, printed 1615.

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turgy, he might set aside the whole ; for every sen- tence was equally established by act of parliament : but this wise monarch made no scruple of dispensing with the laws. However, the validity of all procla- mations determining with the king's life,, and there being no subsequent act of parliament to establish these amendments, it was argued very justly in the next reign that this was not the Liturgy of the Church of England established by law, and conse- quently not binding upon the clergy." Now, Neal should have told us by whom this was justly argued, though we know well it was by one of the most vio- lent republican Puritans. Yet this writer should have established his first assertion, in order to make out an argument, before he laid before us a second, and proved to us wherein James " altered one arti- cle in the Liturgy," or what he meant by " one article !" James himself, in his declaration, says, that, with consent of the bishops and other learned men, some passages had rather been explained than altered ; yet, with a reasonable construction, every thing might very well have stood in itsformer con- dition; and, in fact, he had no intention of altering at all. Where, then, consisted the " high strain- ing of the prerogative," or the " altering of a form of worship established by law ?" Had the form of worship really been altered, according to the literal meaning of that expression, that is, had there been an alteration from Episcopacy to Popery or Pres- bytery, it would truly "have been a high strain of the prerogative " to have done so by a royal pro- 7

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clamation merely, " without the consent of the par- liament or convocation :" although I may remark by the way, that the Puritan ministers in this Con- ference, when pressing James to make complete alterations, spoke neither of parliament nor convo- cation, but fell on their knees before him, and ad- dressed him as if he, in his own person, and by his own command, could alter the ecclesiastical consti- tution. And had James gratified their desires, whe- ther he consulted the parliament and convocation or not, we should have heard nothing about the " mock conference," or the " high strain of the pre- rogative;" but, on the contrary, we should have had a complete defence of every step taken in the affair. Such is the inconsistency of the men who have asserted, that the freedom of our country is owing to the rigid adherence of the Puritans to the doctrines of Calvin. But had Neal only read the thirty- seventh Article, he might have seen what the fathers of the English Church meant by the royal prerogative, with which James' conduct was in strict accordance ; and as that Article, with the others, had been ratified both by parliament and the convoca- tion in 1571 ; and as not only the bishops, and other learned men, but the privy council (a fact which Neal forgets) were present at this Conference, there was not, in the nature of things, a high straining of the prerogative in this royal proclamation,, inasmuch as James acted solely with the power vested in him by the constitution. Had he, I repeat, " altered one article in the Liturgy," with the consent of the

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t

civil and ecclesiastical powers, he would have " strained his prerogative/' and acted in direct opposition to the laws. But it does not follow, that the " explaining, rather than altering," to quote from this very proclamation, " some pas- sages," which, " with a reasonable construction," might have " stood in their former condition," is an altering of articles, in the meaning which is at- tached to that expression. In short, James merely modified a few phrases, so far as the language was concerned ; but no article or doctrine was altered, which Neal either knew, or might have known, had he examined the subject, and compared the royal proclamation with this pretended " straining of the prerogative," and alteration of the Articles.

Much, indeed, might be said on this subject, more especially as the Puritans took occasion to misrepresent this famous Conference, which, had it done nothing more, is entitled to the veneration and gratitude of posterity, for giving rise to the translation of the Holy Scriptures. Meeting, there- fore, all Neal's assertions, and reprobating his ca- lumnies, and the falsehoods which he has repeated to serve his purpose, along with his garbled ex- tracts from, and misrepresentations of, the language of his antagonists, his remark is utterly ground- less, that if " his Majesty altered one article in the Liturgy, he might set aside the whole," Having seen that he has here perverted truth, by calling the mere modification of a sentence, the changing of

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an article of religion, — not less ambiguous is the meaning of the next observation, that " every sentence was equally established by act of Par- liament." Now, this, in effect, is either ignorance or malice, for though the Parliament has rati- fied all which the Liturgy contains, and has en- joined that it be daily used at morning and evening prayer, yet it has not ratified every individual word, as if there were no other words of the same meaning, or as if the mere modification or explain- ing of a sentence were the alteration of an article of belief. The prohibition merely is, that no person shall explain away the Articles from their literal and grammatical sense, and force a construction upon them which it was never intended they should admit, to suit his own purposes of private inter- pretation— a prohibition which is imperatively ne- cessary, seeing the fondness of some men for authority in their religious frenzies. And as to the puerile argument used, it would appear " very justly in the next reign, that this was not the Liturgy of the Church of England, established by law, and consequently not binding upon the clergy," merely, forsooth, because the slight explanation of some sentences had been given in James* reign, it is evident that it was a mere quibble, employed by those violent and fanatical republicans, who were mustering their forces to overturn the civil and ecclesiastical constitution, in which unhappily they too well succeeded. But it was characteristic of

7

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the Puritans, whose determined hostility to the Church, because their Calvinistic prejudices were not gratified, requires no comment.

On the whole, then, the puritanical objections to the Church of England must evidently appear to be weak and trifling. Indeed, they themselves acknowledged that the " common burden of rites and ceremonies" under which they professed " to groan," were in themselves immaterial, and did not affect or endanger salvation. Where, then, was their vantage-ground ? Where their justification for that fanatical schism which they were the means of introducing ? Where their defence for that alleged spirituality and " godly reformation," about which they clamoured so violently ? If they were of little consequence, why not adopt them, since they were agreed to by the whole Church, — if there was nothing in the Scriptures against them, why strain the language of scriptural truth by far-fetched in- ductions and illustrations to oppose them ? They said they were of little consequence ; on their own shewing, therefore, they could do no harm : but if they could be proved to have been the practice of the primitive Church, then they must be in themselves not only useful, but laudable, and, if not repugnant to God's holy word, tending to edi- fication. If they were agreed to by the Church in general, ought the greater number to yield to the lesser? The case, in short, stands thus: The Church, after the Reformation, adopted certain rites and ceremonies which were practised in the

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apostolical and primitive times, and certainly what was then practised is at least entitled to some authority ; but a few men start up and argue, that they cannot agree to these things, they find no command for them in the Scriptures, their con- sciences are wounded, they must be given up. What then ? There is no direct authority for the change from the Jewish Sabbath to the Christian ; not a single passage is there to support this act of the Church : it is a mere matter of tradition, ought tradition, then, to be rejected because it is so ? A Puritan, if he be consistent, must reject it. I could adduce other facts, assented to by the Pu- ritans themselves, which rest merely on tradition, though it is needless ; nay, is it not evident, that the ascertaining of the number and extent of the canon- ical books of the Old and New Testaments is a matter of literary research, there not being a single command in these books as to their direct limita- tion ? If, therefore, the individual consciences of a few men were wounded, is that a sufficient reason to justify schism? Ought they not to have known that the opinions of those whom they opposed were just as much entitled to reverence as their own ? And was it lawful for them, who were but few in number, to disturb the peace of the Church, and harass the civil power, and, on being defeated, to give utterance to their feelings in foul calumnies and bitter reproaches, when the opinion of the Church was, at least, as good as that of the schis- matics ? But the wildness of their opinions was too

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well known : and their attachment to the Calvi- nistic novelties met with a deserved opposition. They had some years before been most active in- struments in a conspiracy against Elizabeth ], and now they were again sowing the seeds of national discontent : they were contending, in a word, for an exercise of religion, which, had it been granted, would have been productive of the most fearful absurdities and extravagances.

Had the Puritans soberly weighed the Articles of the Church, they would most probably have re- flected before they proceeded to extremities. I know well that the Article to which I am about to refer is unpopular among their admirers, but it does not follow, that, because a proposition is unpopu- lar, it is not true ; for the most wholesome truths are generally those which are ill-digested. The 20th Article, then, contains three propositions : — " The Church hath power to decree rites and cere- monies, and authority in matters of faith. And yet it is not I awful for the Church to ordain any thing that is contrary to God's word written, neither may it so expound Scripture at one place that it be repugnant to another." The truth of these propositions is evident. For what is the Church ? The 19th Article answers the question ; and there- fore, it being " a congregation of professing Chris-

1 Nichol's Defence of the Doctrine and Discipline of the Church of England, p. 195. Bishop Madox's Vindication of the Government, &c. of the Church, p. 394.

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tians," met together for the hearing of the word, and the administering of the sacraments, it must be met together under some particular authority, to which all men profess adherence and subjection, when they enter this voluntary association. The autho- rity is that of its divine Founder, and as the Church is " a kingdom not of this world," that is, a spiritual kingdom, set apart from the civil power, and having no connexion with it except as an esta- blishment, not requiring, but demanding support, both for the moral and spiritual benefit of man, there must be certain officers in that kingdom, and certain degrees, too, as in a temporal kingdom, — the officers to be an order peculiar to themselves, and the degrees to be conferred on them for the government of the Church as a peculiar govern- ment. The Church, then, is subject to human laws, because its officers and members are subjects of a civil government, and because " a house divided against itself cannot stand." And when its clergy meet to legislate, they meet by permission, but not in the name, of the prince, because it is his duty to protect all his subjects, as the first magistrate of the nation, whether civil or ecclesiastical. These offi- cers, therefore, have a right to legislate, in virtue of their ordination, to exercise " authority in mat- ters of faith," because they meet in the name of the divine Founder of the Church, if they expound not " one place of holy Scripture that it be repugnant to another."

But from the conduct of the Puritans of this

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period, we specially learn the truth, that men have often become violent sticklers for forms,, while they forgot more essential concerns ; and thus they affected to see a merit placed in things, which had actually none. If, however, they had perused the discourse which is prefixed to the Book of Common Prayer, entitled, <( Of Ceremonies, why some may be retained, and others abolished," they would have seen that those very men whom they con- demned as being semi-papists, and as wishing to make them " groan under the burden of rites and ceremonies," which, as practised in the Church of England, are simple and edifying, were as de- voted Protestants as themselves, as violent enemies of the Church of Rome, as great lovers of truth, of order, and of rightful ecclesiastical government. The difference, however, consisted in this — the mo- deration and candour rested in the Church, the fanaticism and extravagance were adopted by the Puritans : the former took the vantage-ground of the apostles, prophets, and fathers ; the latter had adopted the doctrines of Calvin and his adherents. Now, they might have known that the thirty-fourth Article was an answer to all their scruples ; while, if they had been reasonable men, its judicious and solemn warnings were calculated to make them ponder at the threshold of their schism. " It is not necessary," say the venerable compilers, " that traditions and ceremonies be in all places one, or utterly like ; for at all times they have been divers, and may be changed, according to the diversities of

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countries, times, and men's manners ; so that no- thing be ordained against God's word" Their great apostle, Calvin himself, sets forth this very proposition, and asserts, that the order of ceremo- nies is not one and the same in all ages and all countries. But the Puritan error, and that indeed of all his Presbyterian followers, lay in wholly re- jecting human authority and tradition, though many of the forms which they practise in their own way have no warranty in Scripture ; whereas the Church guards against this fanaticism, by adding in this Article, " But whoever, through his private judgment, willingly and purposely doth openly break the traditions and ceremonies of the Church, which be not repugnant to the word of God, and be or- dained and approved by common authority, ought to be rebuked openly, that others may fear to do the like ; as he that offendeth against the common order of the Church, and hurteth the authority of the magistrate, and woundeth the conscience of the weak brethren. Every particular or national Church hath authority to ordain, change, and abo- lish ceremonies or rites of the Church, ordained only by man's authority." These propositions, in direct accordance with Scripture, and in parti- cular with St. Paul's injunction to Timothy, " to hold fast the form of sound words, and the tradi- tions of the Church," were trampled under foot by the Puritans, who, it must not be disguised, started numerous trifling objections, that their own eccle- siastical discipline might be established, and that

1604.] OF ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 89

they might succeed in causing the authority of Cal- vin to supersede that of the fathers, prophets, and apostles, nay, (so far as his polity and some of his tenets were concerned) even that of the holy Scrip- tures.

From these remarks, an idea may be formed of those troublous times, and of the difficulty of re- straining that dangerous spirit of enthusiasm which had already been too widely spread throughout the nation. It was a great and hazardous task, suffi- cient to overwhelm the reflecting mind; but it was worthy of the effort, even though attended with certain failure and misfortune. Unhappily, the age has not yet arrived when men may be induced by any arguments to think rationally and philoso- phically on the actions of the past. And what will men not say and do when stimulated by enthu- siasm ? They actually think that they are fighting in the cause of truth, when they are only gratifying their individual prejudices, and striving to support their cause ; mistaking the impulses of enthusiasm for the certain indications of a superior judgment, they spurn the sober inquiry, and subject themselves to a more inglorious slavery of intellect than that which they pretend it is justifiable to oppose. This is not an age in which men, unrestrained by party, gird up their loins, and manfully descend into the arena of argument, combating with the weapons of reason and research : but when that age does arrive, a much better feeling will animate the population at large, than that which our visionary reformers

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of the present day augur from their exertions for the dissemination of what they call useful know- ledge. It is by making men acquainted with the blessings of religion, that they can be made happy, and that the foundations of real knowledge can be securely laid ; not by rejecting faith, and making sense oracular, by sowing the seeds of discontent- ment among the superficial, or by teaching them to long with ardour, and to rejoice in the overthrow, of the bulwark of the Protestant faith, of the Church of our fathers, and of those establishments and insti- tutions connected with it, which have been all along considered sacred, venerable, and holy.

1604.] OF ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 91

CHAPTER III;

1604—1606.

Promotion of Laud — James1 First Parliament — His Speech — Meeting of the Convocation — Death of Archbishop Whitgift — Notices of his Life — His Character — Laud becomes B.D.— His exercise on that occasion — Dispute with the Puritans — Cardinal Bellarmine — Arguments of Laud — Remarks on his opinions — Story of the Earl of Devonshire— Unfortunate conduct of Laud — His repentance — 7s traduced as a Papist — Letter from Bishop Hall — Reflections on Laud's conduct.

DURING those contentions Laud was residing at Oxford, taking no public share in the transactions between the Church and the Puritans, but a sedu- lous observer of their effects. He had been chosen Proctor for the University in May 1603, " with- out," says Wood, "any canvass, or seeking for it1/' and in September the same year he was appointed chaplain to Charles Blount, Earl of Devonshire 2, a younger brother of William Blount, Lord Mountjoy,

1 " His brother proctor," says Wood, (Athen. Oxon. vol. ii. col. 121.) " was Mr. Christopher Dale, of Merton College, who being very rigid and severe in his office, and intolerably choleric towards the seniors, he was so much hissed and hooted at in his return to his college, after he had laid down the badges of his office, that it was then usually said, he was proc- tor, and bore his office, cum parva-o LAUDE."

Diary, p. 2. Heylin says that he was appointed in 1605.

92 LIFE AND TIMES [1604.

who had distinguished himself in the Irish wars in Queen Elizabeth's reign.

James' first Parliament met on the 19th of March, 1604, at Westminster, on which occasion the King made a long speech to the Lords and Commons l. His remarks on religion are curious, and characteristic of the times. " On my first coming into England," he says, " I found three different ways of worshipping God professed. The first is the religion established by law, and which I now profess : the second is that of the Roman Ca- tholic, and the third that of the Puritans. And these novellists I take rather for a sect, than a so- ciety of Christians." He then observes, that these last, notwithstanding their differing from us in sub- stantial points were not great, yet their schemes of polity were very untoward : they were so fond of party and levelling, so perpetually remonstrating against all kind of superiority, " that they were al- ways uneasy, and disaffected to the public estab- lishment ; for which reason they were scarcely to be endured* in a well-regulated commonwealth." He then remarks on the Papists, that he owns the Romish communion for his mother church, though under the disadvantages of blemishes and corrup- tions. He compassionates the young people amongst them, " who have fallen under unhappy instruction, and been poisoned with ill principles," and sug- gests that the rest of the laity, who, out of affecta-

1 Stowe's Annals. Strype's Annals, vol. iv.

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lion, passion, or perverseness, have altered their persuasion, and have revolted from our communion, only to embroil the commonwealth, should be looked after, and their obstinacy corrected. The King then condemns the extravagant claims of the Pope, and the unsufferable pretensions of his clergy; and, finally, he cautions the English Roman Ca- tholics not to misapprehend him, or to presume too far upon his lenity, nor ever to entertain any visionary hopes of bringing their persuasion to a public establishment. He bids them assure them- selves that, though he is a friend to their persons on account of their dutiful behaviour, yet shall he al- ways continue a mortal enemy to their errors, and make it his business to prosecute and crush their mistakes. For that he should " either countenance or connive at the spreading of their religion, as it now stands, can never be expected upon three ac- counts. First, Such an indulgence cannot be granted without acting against his conscience. Secondly, The liberties of the island must suffer by relaxing to such an excess : and, thirdly, the crown would be conveyed to his posterity in a worse condition than he found it V

The Convocation met on the following day, but before that time Archbishop Whitgift had departed this life. This distinguished prelate, whom the Puritan historian characterizes as a " severe gover-

1 Rapin's History of England, vol. ii. p. 261. &c. Collier's Eccles. Hist. vol. ii. p. 616.

94 LIFE AND TIMES [1604.

nor of the Church, pressing conformity with great rigour V' was k°rn at East Grimsby, in Lincoln- shire, about the year 1530 2, and was descended from the ancient family of the Whitgifts, of Whit- gift in Yorkshire. He had been placed in his youth under the care of his uncle, Robert Whit- gift, who was abbot of the monastery of Wellow, near Grimsby3, and from him young Whitgift first imbibed unfavourable opinions towards the Romish Church. The abbot, observing his nephew's genius, persuaded his father to send him to St. Anthony's school in London. He resided in St. Paul's Church- yard with his aunt, who being a rigid Papist, often importuned him to attend mass, but having become already a convert to the truths of the Reformation, he withstood all her entreaties ; which so exaspe- rated her, that, at length, she turned him out of doors, remarking, " That at first she thought she had received a saint into her house, but now she perceived he was a devil." He was obliged to re- turn to his uncle the abbot, in Lincolnshire, who advised his father to send him to the University. He was accordingly sent to Cambridge in 1548, and entered of Queen's College there, but, not being pleased with the disposition of some members of that society, he removed to Pembroke Hall, and placed himself under the tuition of the famous John

1 Neal's Hist, of Puritans, vol. ii. p. 26.

2 Sir George Paul's Life of Whitgift, p. 2.

3 Strype's Life of Whitgift, in Appendix, No. I. fol. edit. 1711.

16Q4.] OF ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 95

Bradford, the martyr, who had been previously chosen Fellow. He was soon recommended by Bradford and Grindall, (afterwards Archbishop of Canterbury, but then Fellow) to the celebrated Nicholas Rid- ley, the martyr, through whose influence he was appointed Scholar of Pembroke Hall, and Bible Clerk. In 1553-4, he became Bachelor of Arts, and on the 31st of May, 1555, he was admitted Fellow of Peter-house, to which he had been unani- mously elected. He commenced Master of Arts in 1557, about which period he was overtaken by a severe illness ; and on his recovery, happened the famous visitation of the University under Cardinal Pole, to extirpate all the heretics who were found there. He at first thought of retreating to the Continent, to escape imprisonment, but having se- cured the friendship of Dr. Perne, the Master of his College, though a violent papist, that ecclesiastic undertook to shelter him from the Commissioners, if he promised not to leave the University. Perne kept his promise, and Whitgift escaped without any enquiry, notwithstanding the vigilance of the com- missioners. In 1560 he took holy orders, and preached his first sermon in St. Mary's Church be- fore the University, from the passage, " I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ." In this year he was appointed Chaplain to Dr. Cox, Bishop of Ely, who gave him the rectory of Fever sham, in Cam- bridgeshire. In 1563, he commenced Bachelor of Divinity, and in that year he was also appointed Margaret Professor. He acquired so great fame as a preacher, that two years afterwards he was made

96 LIFE AND TIMES [1604.

one of Elizabeth's chaplains. He shortly after- wards received distinguished marks of favour from the University, having a licence granted him to preach throughout the realm 19 and in the following year his salary was raised from twenty marks to twenty pounds 2. He was this year also a consi- derable benefactor to his own College3, of which, in b^'::Cii;n gr;vr yrf , I ^uvl ^£$S&lnfb no i/nat-

1 This licence he received under the common seal of the Uni- versity. Those preachers had the privilege of holding livings with their fellowships, which otherwise was not consistent with the statutes of the University.

2 While Whitgift was Lady Margaret Professor, he lectured throughout the Epistle to the Hebrews and the Apocalypse. His lectures, as we are informed by Sir George Paul, (Life, p. 8.) were prepared for press, but for some reason unknown, they were never published. Strype, in his Life of Whitgift, (Appendix, p. 8.) says, that he saw this manuscript of Dr. Whitgift's, in his own hand- writing, in the possession of Dr. William Payne, minister of Whitechapel, London, which, after the death of that clergyman, was intended to be purchased by Dr. More, Bishop of Ely, Whitgift's thesis for Doctor of Divinity was also contained in this manuscript : the subject of it was, Papa est ille Antichrist.

3 The commemoration-book of Peter-house contains the fol- lowing notice : " Reverendus Pater, Dom. Joh. Whitgift, Arch. Cant, et socius hujus collegii, dum adhuc erat Rector de Fever- sham, infra Cantabrigiam, una cum Margaretta relicta Bartho- lomaei Fulnethy, de eadem villa, dederunt nobis quatuor mar- charum pensionem annuam, exeuntem de manerio de Cailes in Elexia, ad sustentationem unius Bibliotistae." It is dated Octo- ber 4, 1 565. We are not informed as to this Margaret Fulnethy. Strype (p. 3.) says, that he was related to a family of that name. His picture is in the parlour at Peter-house, under which is the following distich on his name in Latin :

" Quod pace, Whitgifte, faves studiisq'ue priorum, Dat tibi pacis amans Candida dona Deus."

1604.] OF ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 97

1567, he was appointed President. His great talents now paved the way for his future preferment. He was soon called from being President of Peter- house, to be Master of Pembroke Hall, and Regius Professor of Divinity : and, in less than three months, he was called from that place to be Master of Trinity, which appointment he received from the Queen, through the interest of Cecil. This year he became Doctor of Divinity. In December, 1568, Dr. Cox, Bishop of Ely, gave him a prebend's stall, In 1570, he compiled new statutes for the University, and in this year he procured an order from the Vice-chancellor and Heads of Colleges, prohibiting the famous Cartwright, who was now Margaret Professor, to read his lectures, until he should give satisfaction as to his principles. This the Puritan refusing to do, or at least refusing to renounce his tenets, he was deprived by Whitgift of the professorship, and expelled from his Fellow- ship in 1572, for not entering into orders at the time appointed by the statute. In 1571, Dr. Whit- gift was Vice-chancellor, and University Preacher, and in that year he was also appointed Dean of Lin- coln . He was now engaged in the controversies of the Puritans fomented by Cartwright and his associates, and one or two productions of his appeared in reply to lucubrations of the Calvinistic malcontents. On the 24th of March, 1576, he was nominated Bishop of Worcester, and, in virtue of his See, made Vice- president of the Marches of Wales, in the absence

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of Sir Henry Sydney, the President. Whitgift continued seven years in this See,, exerting himself with the utmost diligence to promote the interests of the Reformation, and on Archbishop Grindal's death, in 1583, he was nominated by the Queen to the See of Canterbury. He now, by the Queen's express order, exerted himself to repress the dis- orders of the Puritans, who, taking advantage of his predecessor's easiness in that respect, were pos- sessed of a great many ecclesiastical benefices and preferments, in which they were supported by some of the principal men at court. Being high in favour with the Queen, who consulted him on almost every occasion, he had a share in many of the public transactions of her reign ; and his exertions for the Church, and for promoting the Reformation of re- ligion, in opposition to the absurdities of Popery, and the extravagances of Puritanism, well entitle him to be held in the utmost reverence. Neal in- sinuates, that he was afraid of the first Parliament of James, and died with grief before it met, saying, that he would rather give an account of his bi- shopric to God than man1. He had appointed a

1 This assertion of Neal's (see vol. ii. p. 26, Hist, of the Puri- tans) is founded on Camden's testimony (Annal. Reg. Jacob, ad ann. 1604), who, though he ascribes the Archbishop's death to palsy, expressly declares, that " he died with grief, as he found the king began to contend about the Liturgy, and reckoned some things in it necessary to be altered. " Dum de Liturgia," says Camden, " recepta Rex contendere co3pit, et nonnulla in ea mu-

1604.] OF ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 99

meeting of the Bishops and other ecclesiastics at Fulham, to confer about the affairs of the Church before the Parliament assembled, on which occasion he caught cold, as he proceeded by water in his barge. On the next Sunday, however, being the first in Lent, he and the Bishop of London held a long discourse with the king at Whitehall, but de- parting from that place, he fell into a fit, which ended in paralysis, and almost deprived him of speech. The venerable primate was speedily con- veyed to Lambeth. On the following Tuesday he was visited by the king, who said to him, " that he would pray to God for his life, and that if he could obtain it, he would think it one of the great- est temporal blessings that could be given him in this kingdom." The aged archbishop would have spoken to the king, but his speech failed him, yet he was heard to repeat distinctly once or twice with great earnestness, and with eyes and hands lifted up, Pro Ecclesia DeL This was the subject which had occupied his whole life, and which was nearest his heart. He died on the 29th of February, 1603-4, in the seventy-third year of his age, and was in-

tanda censuit, Johannes Whitgiftus Archiepiscopus ex moerore obiit." Saunders, moreover, in his history of King James, asserts, that he used these words on his death-bed : " Et nunc, Domine, exaltata est mea anima, quod in eo tempore succubui, quando mallem episcopatus mei Deo reddere rationem, quam inter homines exercere." — " And now, O Lord, my soul rejoices that I die in a time when I would rather give an account of my bishopric to thee, than exercise it any longer among men."

H 2

100 LIFE AND TIMES [1004.

terred on the 27th of March, in the Parish Church of Croydon, where a monument is erected to his memory1.

The death of this pious and venerable prelate, who throughout a long life was active in promoting the interests of the Reformed Church, afforded a momentary joy to the Puritan faction. One of their great leaders, the famous Prynne, has traduced his memory, and heaped upon him the most scurrilous abuse 2. But his excellence ought not to be for- gotten by the Church, of which he was the boast and ornament at that momentous period. He was a popular and diligent preacher; his munificence was great, and his benevolence was unbounded, which he shewed by the relief he afforded to various foreigners in distress from France and Germany, recommended by Beza, and also by the large sums which he remitted to the latter from his own purse. Nor was his hospitality less conspicuous than his generosity; he hoarded not the revenues of his diocese, but liberally distributed them among his friends and the poor. The judicious Hooker re- marks of him, that " he always governed with that

1 Sir George Paul's Life of Whitgift. Strype's Life of Whit- gift, edit. 1718. Strype's Life of Archbishop Parker, in same edition. Regist. Univ. Cantab, and in Strype's Appendix, Nos. I. IV. VI. IX. &c. Regist. Matthaei Archiepiscopi Cantuar. Bancroft's Survey of Discipline. Strype's Life of Grindal, in edit. 1718. Anthony Wood's Fasti. Fuller's Church History, Books ix. and x. and History of Cambridge. Cotton Library, Cleopatra, F. 2. Regist. Whitgift. Camden's Annals.

2 Fuller's Church History, book x. p. 26.

1604.] OF ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 101

moderation which useth by patience to suppress boldness, and to make them conquer that suffer :" and Strype observes, " that he lived and died in great reputation,, and was particularly happy in being highly esteemed for his wisdom, learning, and piety, by both his sovereigns, Elizabeth and James; who both consulted him in all matters re- lating to the Church, and in all laws and orders which they framed for the salutary government thereof; and likewise took his advice respecting proper men to be placed in the chief situations." This excellent prelate persevered to the end of his life, in the face of much opposition, in devoting his pains, his studies, his learning, and his interest, to the defence of the Church, against the efforts by which its doctrines were assailed by the Papists, and its discipline and constitution by the Puritans V

1 One or two anecdotes are recorded of this distinguished prelate, which it may be interesting to insert. In his own courts he always behaved with great boldness and resolution. On one occasion, before he was a privy-counsellor, a gentleman who was afraid that he would lose a law-suit, which was before the court, told the Archbishop, that the lords of the council seemed to be of a different opinion from his Grace. " What tellest thou me," said the primate, " of the lords of the council ? I tell thee they are in these cases to be advised by us, and not us by them." On other occasions, towards the end of his life, he was wont to ob- serve to his friends, " that two things did help much to make a man confident in good causes, namely, orbitas and senectus; and, said he, they speed me both." When the French ambassador, Boys Sisi, asked what books the Archbishop had published, that he might purchase them, and read the works of him who was held to be " the peerless prelate for piety and learning in our

102 LIFE AND TIMES [1604-

When the Parliament assembled, and was pro- ceeding to enact laws to promote the interests of the Reformed Church, and, with the Convocation, to restrain the fanaticism of the Puritans, by the establishing of the Book of Canons, which were afterwards ratified by the King under the great seal, the University of Oxford was again in a state of fermentation with religious disputes. In this year, (1604,) on the 6th of July, Laud took his degree of Bachelor of Divinity, and in the exercise which he performed on the occasion, he gave great offence to the Calvinists. I have already observed, that a dispute was occasioned between him and Abbot about the visibility of the Church, which Laud suc- cessfully maintained in opposition to the fanciful theory of the latter. This had occasioned no little animosity between them, and accordingly the Pu^ ritan party determined not to lose this opportu- nity of renewing the disputation. The propositions

days," he was answered, that he had only published one or two books in defence of the English ecclesiastical constitution. But when he was told that the Archbishop had founded an hospital and a school, the ambassador immediately exclaimed, " Pro- fecto, hospitale ad sublevandam paupertatem, et schola ad in- struendam juventutem, sunt optimi libri quos archiepiscopus aliquis conscribere potuit." — " Truly, an hospital to shelter the poor, and a school to instruct youth, are the best books that an archbishop could publish." Sir George Paul's Life of Whitgift, p. 10. 111. The hospital alluded to is that at Croydon, which he endowed for the maintenance of twenty-eight men and wo- men, and near it is a free-school, with an ample salary for the master.

r£ L-i'JJii j J] *_ -'••" -*J *~ J «*•»-'•*

1604.] OF ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 103

which Laud laid down and defended were two, — the necessity of baptism, and that there could be no true church without diocesan bishops. The doc- trine contained in the first proposition was alleged against him on another occasion, but, in the mean time, he was charged with having taken the greater part of his argument from the works of the famous Cardinal Bellarmine ; while Dr. Holland, the divi- nity professor, violently attacked him on the second, as one who endeavoured to excite discord between the English and the Reformed Churches l.

The first objection, certainly an instance of foolish prejudice, which was fomented, as Dr. Heylin justly remarks, "as if the doctrine of the incarnation of the Son of God, or any necessary truths, were to be renounced, because they are de- fended by that learned Cardinal," struck, of course, at the very root of Puritanism and Nonconformity. The celebrated ecclesiastic, whose tenets Laud was accused of advocating, had been well-known to the Protestant controversialists ; and Bayle informs us, that "most of their learned divines wrote against him for the space of fifty years ; their profess-ors, lectures, and theses, made his name resound every where. He was attacked on all sides, and his ad- versaries did not forget to examine whether he had not afforded weapons which might be turned against

1 Heylin, Life of Laud, p. 49. Diary, p. 2. Prynne's Can- terbury's Doom, p. 29. Trial of Laud, p. 380. Wood, Athen. Oxon. vol. ii. col. 121

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himself1. It is the subject of a book which must needs have perplexed him not a little 2." Cardinal Robert Bellarmine, of the order of the Jesuits, was the best controversialist of his age, and no Jesuit did more for the honour of his order, or maintained, with greater skill, the cause of the Romish Church. He was born in 1542, and died in 1621. Unques- tionably Laud was acquainted with the writings of this celebrated man, but it did not follow that he was to reject any just reasonings they contained, because they were the productions of a Romish ecclesiastic. " There are some indiscreet and rash men/' says Bayle, " to be found every where, and therefore it is no wonder if some Protestant writers have published falsehoods againt Bellarmine, of which his party took advantage." He was much reviled by the Calvinists in particular, because he wrote against their dogma of predestination, (which, by the way, is a dogma also of the Jansenists,) and because he ventured to call in question some of the assumptions of St. Augustine. He was, indeed, a man admirably adapted for the age in which he lived, and the Calvinists and other sectaries had frequently experienced the severity of his pen. So famous, indeed, was Bellarmine, that whenever the Calvinists or the Lutherans wrote against the Romish Church, they invariably attacked his writings.

1 Bayle's Dictionary, vol. i. p. 726.

2 Bellum Jesuiticum, written by Andrew Castorius, and pub- lished in 4to. at Basle, in 1594.

1604.] OF ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 105

"If," says Ancillon1, "he undertakes to confute the Pelagians, he makes use of all the arguments of those whom he calls Calvinists ; if he has to do with the Calvinists, he makes use of the reasons and distinctions of the Pelagians. If he writes against the Anabaptists, concerning the baptism of children, he proves it by Scripture ; if he disputes with us about tradition, the baptism of children is one of the points which, he says, seems to prove the necessity of it, and of which the Scriptures do not speak in a convincing manner."

The opinions which Laud advanced in his exer- cise involved the doctrine of baptismal regeneration, — a doctrine which is taught in Scripture, and which has been held by the Church in every age. It is maintained in all the Confessions of the Reformed Churches, of every description : that it is the doctrine of the Church of England is unde- niable; it was that of the Church of Scotland, both when that Church was alternately Episco- palian and Presbyterian, so far as the original Con- fession is conceived, and perhaps the Confession of the present legal Establishment of that country may be included, although the Westminster Assem- bly of Divines, whose tenets it has adopted, were the first who 'ventured to call it in question. And the opposition which Laud encountered was a com-

1 Critical Miscellanies, torn. i. p. 352, quoted by Bayle, vol. i. p. 726.

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plete specimen of that diffuse and irreverent feeling which, it must be said, prevails among the Calvinists and other dissenters of the present day, by which they degrade the holy sacraments of the Church into mere signs or commemorative rites, not at all con- nected with salvation. But it is evident, that if there be no necessity for infant baptism, there is no conformity to the practice of the apostles, and of the Church in all ages : and if that holy sacra^ ment, simple as it is, (and, in our opinion, its sim- plicity farther proves its efficacy) does not confer regeneration upon the infant, who has committed no actual sin, and the same to the adult who worthily receives it, that is, if it is not only " a sign of profession, and mark of difference, whereby Christian men are discerned from others that be not christened, but is also a sign of regeneration, or new v birth, whereby, as by an instrument, they that receive baptism rightly are grafted into the Church, the promises of the forgiveness of sin, and of our adoption to be the sons of God by the Holy Ghost, are visibly signed and sealed ; faith is con- firmed, and grace increased, by virtue of prayer unto God1/' — then is it nothing at all, and there is a levelling or degrading of that sacrament which was ordained by our divine Saviour himself, as in-

1 Article XXVII. It is remarkable that the Church of Eng- land, when speaking of Baptism, always employs the words renatusy renati. The Church may be wrong, but such is the fact.

1604.] OF ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 107

dispensably necessary to be observed in the Church. Thus much is certain, that our Saviour taught a different doctrine to Nicodemus in his admirable discourse, from that which has unfortunately ob- tained at the present day : and I hesitate not to say, that no opinion can be conceived more un- worthy of the holy sacraments, than that they are mere rites or commemorations, and not, as they are indeed, the ordinary means whereby men ob- tain salvation.

When it is remembered that Calvin himself, in his Institutes, bears his testimony to the truth of these remarks, it is astonishing that those who profess to adopt his opinions should have exhibited such a lamentable disregard of primitive and scrip- tural truth. At the same time, however, it must be remarked, that opinions such as those which the Puritans held, are the natural results of the pre- destinarian tenets. Considering the times, it was not probable that Laud would escape censure for enforcing the Articles of the Church, and it marked the pusillanimity of the Puritan faction, to charge him with adopting Bellarmine's sentiments, as if it were utterly impossible for a Roman Catholic to maintain any scriptural truth. But it is useless to reason with men who are resolved upon opposi- tion, and who eagerly seek after novelties, rejecting the salutary and sober standard of scriptural and rational enquiry.

On his second proposition, that there can be no true church without diocesan bishops, Laud was

108 LIFE AND TIMES [1604.

virulently attacked by Dr. Holland l. This was a startling proposition 'to the Puritans. As to his arguments for the necessity of infant baptism, he was merely charged, though most unjustly, with adopting Bellarmine's sentiments ; but on this point they condescended to enter into debate. It gave great offence to the Calvinists, and it is denounced in no very measured language by his adversary Prynne, in that production of his entitled " Can- terburie's Doome." Of course, it struck at the very root of that polity of which the Puritans were so warm admirers, and overturned their famous doc- trine of expediency. But it was not the less sur- prising, that he should have been opposed on this subject by men who professed to be members of the Church of England, even though influenced by the doctrines of Calvin, and violent sticklers for a new reformation. They had all received its ordination, and professed to remain within its pale ; and their learning was neither circumscribed nor superficial. For what is it which gives to the Episcopacy of the

1 Dr. Holland, however, was a very learned man. We are told by Wood, (Atlien. Oxon. vol. ii. col. 111.) that " he did not, as some, only sip of learning, or at the best only drink thereof, but was mersus in libris ; so that the scholar in him drowned almost all other relations. He was esteemed by the precise men of his time, and after, ' another Apollos, mighty in the Scrip- tures/ and so familiar with the fathers, as if he himself was a father ; and in the schoolmen, as if he had been a seraphical doctor." He was born at Ludfcw, in Shropshire, and (lied in 1612. He was one of the translators of King James' Bible.

1604.] OF ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 109

English Church its high character and authority in the eyes of Protestant Europe, and of the world at large ? or, were it to fall, could an establishment so meagre and limited as that of Scotland, or could exertions so diffuse, and opinions so jarring and dis- cordant, as those of the English dissenters, prove bulwarks and defences to maintain and protect the reformed religion ? It is not because the Church of England is established by law ; it is not because that church reckons the princes and nobles of these kingdoms among its sons ; it is not because it is vested with a splendor and political importance which ensure for it homage and respect ; it is not because among its prelates and clergy there have been, and still are, those whose names will be re- membered by latest posterity with veneration and gratitude ; but it is because that Church is a portion of that Catholic Church, which retains the discipline and polity of apostolical truth and order ; it is be- cause in its ordination it follows the dictates of holy Scripture and the practice of the apostles and the primitive church, in the distinct order of bishops, priests, and deacons, as our Saviour himself set forth in his calling first his twelve disciples, and then in his ordination of the seventy ; and as the apostles set forth in their election of another by lot in the room of Judas, who " by transgression fell from his bishopric ;" it is because it enforces rigidly that canonical discipline set forth in the General Coun- cils of the Church in the earliest ages. For as the church of the Jews was an hierarchy, so must the

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Christian Church be also : the former being the type, the other the substance ; the former being the old dispensation, the latter the new, which our Saviour came " to fulfil ;" and which hierarchy it can be, and yet, unlike that of the Jews, be "a spiritual kingdom." But it is unnecessary to enter into a train of reasoning to shew the truth of Laud's pro- position. The question is, what is the true church ? and the answer to this question must not be dictated by enthusiasm, or affected and alleged spirituality. It was not, therefore, to be expected, that Laud's opinions would pass uncensured by his opponents. The allegations of the Puritans failed to convict him of having employed the arguments of Bellar- mine ; nevertheless, they were determined not to lose this opportunity of displaying their hostility. A report had already been industriously circulated in the University that he was secretly inclined to Po- pery, and this insinuation was farther strengthened in the minds of the Puritans by the theme for his Bachelor's degree. The scandal was turned to ac- count by his enemies, who now invariably connected his name with Popery, as if glad of this plausible pretext to declare their hostility. But, in truth, it was the fashion of the Puritans of that age to tra- duce all those as popishly affected, who did not coincide with their Calvinistic ideas ; and Laud received part of that obloquy which was cast on all conscientious defenders of the Church of England, from the sovereign, who was called " a doctrinal Papist," to the humblest member of the Church.

1605.] OF ARCHBISHOP LAUD. Ill

But in the following year, 1605, an affair hap- pened, which made as much noise as the scandal about his being a Papist. It has been already ob- served, that on the 3d of December, 1603, Laud had been appointed chaplain to the Earl of Devon- shire ; I now proceed to relate the particulars of an unfortunate transaction, which he remembered with penitence and humiliation in after life. Charles Lord Mountjoy, for his conduct in the Irish wars, had been created Earl of Devonshire by James, a Knight of the Garter, and Lord Deputy of Ire- land. This nobleman, before his preferment, when only Sir Charles Blount, had conceived a violent attachment for Lady Penelope Devereux, a daugh- ter of the Earl of Essex, and her beauty and accom- plishments had long excited his fondest admiration. This affection was returned by the lady with equal ardour, and promises of marriage at a future period passed between them. Her friends, however, were averse to the alliance, as he was only a younger bro- ther to Lord Mountjoy, having no estate or private fortune, and depending solely on court patronage : they, therefore, absolutely prohibited the intended union of the parties, and compelled her to marry Lord Rich, a nobleman of great fortune and estate, but of disagreeable manners, and no very engaging person. The lady being under the control of her friends, was compelled to this connexion, and Blount, conscious of his want of fortune, was necessarily obliged to submit calmly to the disappointment of his hopes. Had there been any written documents 7

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connected with their mutual engagement, he might have opposed the marriage at law ; but, unfortu- nately for him, all their assurances had been verbal, and there were no witnesses to support his attes- tations.

It happened, however, as is frequently the case in constrained marriages, that Lady Rich still re~ collected her affection for her former lover, and the rude behaviour of her husband contributed not a little to preserve this feeling. It is even recorded, that in her endeavours to make Blount acquainted with her disposition towards him, she made her husband the unconscious agent in her guilty com- munication. The consequence was, that a criminal connexion ensued between Lady Rich and Blount, at first indulged in private meetings, but afterwards publicly, without any disguise : and Blount began to act with more confidence on account of succeed- ing to his brother's estate, who died about this period. This guilty intercourse had been perse- vered in for some time, till at length Blount, now Lord Mountjoy, was ordered to Ireland, to assist in repressing the rebellion raised by the Earl of Tyrone : but, during his absence, Lord Rich had discovered the infamy of his lady, and procured a divorce. Mountjoy on his return, crowned with victory, and high in favour with the king, who created him Earl of Devonshire, finding Lady Rich separated from her husband, and having had chil- dren by her during their former guilty connexion, thought that in point of honour he could do no less

1605.] OF ARCHBISHOP LAUD. 113

than marry her, as it had beer; on his account that she had brought herself into disgrace. He, more- over, imagined, that by this act he would legitimatize his children, according to the doctrine of the civil law ]. For this purpose he prevailed with Laud, his chaplain, not without many importunate en- treaties, to solemnize the marriage, which was ac- cordingly done at Wanstead, in Essex, December 26, 1605, being St. Stephen's day2.

In this unfortunate affair, it must be remarked, that Laud was solely overcome by the persuasions of his friends, from the dangerous opinion, that, when a divorce ensues, the innocent and the guilty might lawfully remarry, and that the individual who has caused the divorce, might marry the individual divorced. The latter opinion, unquestionably to be condemned, as productive of the most dangerous consequences, and destructive of domestic peace, was, much more than the former, liable to the most serious objections. But Laud, as Dr. Heylin re- marks, though that writer does not profess to vin- dicate him, was not without reasons, and even precedents, to induce him to this affair : though these, it is not denied, were grounded on fallacious principles. He found that assurances of marriage had actually passed between the parties, before the

Some of those children afterwards distinguished themselves. One of them, Mountjoy Blount, became Earl of Newport.

2 Diary, p. 2. Heylin, p. 52, 53. Prynne's Beviat, p. 2 ; and Canterbury's Doome, p. 29. Rushworth's Collections, vol. i. p. 440.

VOL. I. I

1U LIFE AND TIMES [1G05.

lady was married to Lord Rich, which, though null in law, as being merely verbal, might, mforo con- scientice, have some -weight in procuring his com- pliance, and he might pity the situation of the parties, who had thus endured the disappointment of their fondest affections, although they took the most guilty means to establish an intercourse. Allowing his sympathy more than his reason to be influenced by the persuasions of his patron, and finding that Lord Rich had procured a final sen- tence of divorce, for the sake of the children born in this adulterous intercourse, he complied with the request made under such circumstances. There were also three opinions concerning marriages after divorce, maintained by different parties. 1. That such marriages are lawful unto neither party during the life-time of either, which is most posi- tively declared by the