III. BOOK the other had not. And this appeared in him, when, being brought forth to be baited before Brooks, the Pope's subdelegate; and Martin and Story, the King's and Queen's commissioners at Oxford; he gravely, and with an unmoved spirit, used these words: "That he acknowledged God's goodness to him in all his gifts; and thanked him as "heartily for that state wherein he found himself then, as "ever he did in the time of his prosperity; and that it was "not the loss of his promotions that grieved him at all.” 66 Osiander's the Arch CHAP. XXXVII. Osiander's and Peter Martyr's Character of the Archbishop. THE last thing I shall observe of him is, that he always remained the same man; not altered by his honours and high advancements. As he was a person of great piety, goodness, affability, and benignity, before he was Archbishop, and the sunshine of royal favour, so he continued at all times after. For a witness of this, I will set down two characters given him by two foreign learned men, both which knew him well. The one shall be of Osiander; from whom we may take character of this account of what he was before he was Bishop, while he bishop. remained abroad in Germany. Osiander, that great divine of Norinberg, professed to love him for some excellent endowments that were common to him with some other good men, but especially for others more extraordinary and pecuEpist. De- liar to himself: of the former sort was, "that he was a dicat. ante gentleman of good birth and quality; that he had an aspect and presence that carried dignity with it, an incre"dible sweetness of manners; that he had learning beyond the common degrees of it; was benign and liberal towards all, and especially to those that were studious and of good "literature. Of the latter, were those more abstruse and 458" heroical virtues of his mind, rare to be found in the age wherein he lived, viz. his wisdom, prudence, for Harmon. Evangelic. 66 64 ❝titude, temperance, justice; a singular love towards his CHAP. "country, the highest faithfulness towards the King; a con- XXXVII. "tempt of earthly things, a love of heavenly; a most burn 66 ing study towards the evangelick truth, sincere religion, "and Christ's glory." And this was Cranmer before he was placed in his high and honourable station. 66 Martyr's. cat. ante li The other character of Cranmer is that of Peter Martyr; And Peter who thus speaks of him, when he was at the top of all his earthly honour, in the middle of King Edward's reign: "That his godliness, prudence, faithfulness, and his singular Ep. Dedivirtues, were known to all the kingdom. That he was so brum de Eu"adorned with the grace and favour of Christ, as that, charist. "though all others are the children of wrath, yet in him "piety, and divine knowledge, and other virtues, might "seem to be naturally born and bred; such deep root had they taken in him. So that Martyr often wished and pro 66 66 fessed, he should esteem it as a great benefit vouchsafed "him of God, that he might come as near as might be to "his virtues, which he admired in him as the wonderful "gifts of God. And, as to himself and others, fled into "these quarters for religion, that Cranmer's kindness and "humanity, merits and benefits towards them, were such, "that if he should render just thanks, and speak of them as "they deserved, he must do nothing but tell of them; and "how much soever he should extol them, the greatness of "the matter would overreach his speech. And that it was "well known to all how humanely he received not him only, but many other strangers of his order, and how "kindly he treated them." 66 racter of the To both these I will subjoin the judgment of another, who, Bale's chaI cannot but conclude, was well acquainted with the Arch- Archbi. bishop, and a long and diligent observer of his demeanor in shop. his superintendency over the church; and that was John Bale, sometime Bishop of Ossory. "He never placed," said In Centur. he, "the function of a bishop in the administration of secular things, but in a most faithful dispensation of God's Word. "In the midst of wicked Babylon he always performed "the part of a good guide of Israel. And among Papists, "that tyrannized against the truth of Christ, he governed "the people of God with an admirable prudence. 66 BOOK The diffi cult times wherein Cranmer lived. "No man ever so happily and steadily persisted, with "Christ himself, in the defence of the truth, in the midst of "falsely learned men, in such imminent hazard of his life, "and yet without receiving any harm. "No man did more prudently bear with some false apo"stles for a time, although, with St. Paul, he knew what "most pestilent men they were, that so they might not be "provoked to run into greater rage and madness." All this that I have before written concerning this our venerable Prelate cannot but redound to his high praise and commendation and it is very fit such virtues and accom459 plishments should be celebrated and recorded to posterity. Yet I do not intend these my collections for such a panegyrick of him, as to make the world believe him void of all faults or frailties, the condition of human nature. He lived in such critical times, and under such Princes, and was necessarily involved in such affairs, as exposed him to greater temptations than ordinary. And if any blemishes shall, by curious observers, be espied in him, he may therefore seem the more pardonable; and his great exemplary goodness and usefulness in the church of God may make ample amends for some errors. CHAP. XXXVIII. The Archbishop vindicated from Slanders of Papists. A lying I HAVE given, I hope, a just, though imperfect, account, character of a late thor. this Arch- from undoubted records and authentic manuscripts, as well bishop by as the best published books, of the excellent endowments of French au- this great Prelate, and of his innocent, prudential, and useful behaviour in his high place and station. So that none, who impartially weighs the premisses, can conclude otherwise of him, than that he was a very rare person, and one that deserves to be reckoned among the brightest lights that ever shone in this English church. And this all the sober unprejudiced part of posterity will believe, notwithstanding the unjust calumnies some hot-spirited Papists have cast CHAP. upon his memory. I shall pass over the unhandsome name that Feckenham gave him, calling him Dolt; as he did also his two other brethren in tribulation, Ridley and Latimer, prisoners then in Oxford, (men by far more learned than himself,) upon occasion of Mr. Hawks esteeming them deservedly "godly "and learned men." I shall also pass by what Bishop Boner then said of him, viz. “That he dared to say, that Cranmer would recant so "he might have his living;" as though he were a man of a prostituted conscience, and would do any thing upon worldly considerations. XXXVIII. History of But there is a late French writer, whom I cannot but take notice of with some indignation; who, to shew his bigoted zeal to the Roman church, hath bestowed this most defamatory character upon this our Archbishop; "That he was one of the profligatest men of England; Varillas his "that had nothing of Christianity in him, but the outward appearances; being ambitious, voluptuous, turbulent, and capable of all sorts of intrigues." Of which all that I have written is an abundant confutation; besides the severe chastisements the right reverend the Bishop of Sarum hath lately bestowed upon this author: who questionless was well versed in those famous Popish calumniators of our reformation, and of this our Archbishop, the great instaurator thereof, and had a mind to outdo them in their talent of throwing dirt. Those, I mean, who, living in the 460 age past, did most bitterly and virulently, as it fell in their way, fly upon Cranmer's memory and fame, to eclipse it to posterity if they could; namely, Saunders, Allen, and Parsons, and some others. But those who read these Memorials will be able easily to confute them, and will perceive that these men sought not so much to say what was true, as what might serve the ends of their anger and spite; their reports being made up for the most part of nothing but lies and slanders illy patched together. Allen, if he were the answerer of the Execution of English Allen's Justice, saith, "that Cranmer was a notorious perjured, calumny "and often relapsed Apostata, recanting, swearing and bishop. of the Arch BOOK modest "forswearing at every turn." A heavy charge; but we are III. left to guess what these perjuries, these so often swearings Sincere and and forswearings, these relapses and recantations be. But Defence of it is enough for them to roar out "notorious perjuries, &c." English But let us see what oaths Cranmer took, that might Catholicks, p. 45. occasion his perjuries. He swore, at his consecration, the usual oath to the Pope; and, in his future doings, laboured to restore the King's supremacy against the Pope's usurpations, and to promote a reformation against the Pope's superstitions. Was this one of his "notorious perjuries?” It is pity the doing so good a thing should fall under so Wiped off. bad a name. But, at the taking of that oath, did he not make a solemn protestation openly before public notaries, and that entered down into record, that he intended not by the said oath to do any thing against the law of God, the King, or the realm, and their laws and prerogatives; nor to be abridged thereby from consulting for the reformation of religion? In which way the best civilians then put him, and assured him, that by this means he might safely, without any guilt, take the oath to the Pope: which otherwise he would not have done. And truly, for my part, I think there was no other way to escape that perjury, that all other bishops elect in those times were entangled in, by swearing two contrary oaths, one to the Pope, and another to the King. Cranmer sware also, at receiving orders, to live chastely; but he afterwards married a wife. Surely hereby he brake not his oath, but rather kept it. He did likewise swear to the succession of Queen Ann: but would Allen have all that submitted to that act of parliament to be perjured? That would reflect upon the wisdom of the three estates at that time, in making such an ensnaring law; and involve all sorts of people, both clergy, nobility, and gentry, and all other persons of age, in perjury, as well as the Archbishop, excepting only two persons, More and Fisher, who would not submit to this act. And even they themselves offered to swear to the succession itself, and refused only to swear to the preamble of the said act. There was indeed an act made, which seemed contrary to this act, namely, that which in the year 1536 put by the succession of Queen Ann, and carried it to the King's children by |