precision. It was the singular felicity of this queen, throughout her whole reign, to be supported, if not governed, by men of comprehensive genius, profound wisdom, and incorruptible fidelity. A Cecil, a Bacon, and a Walsingham, (not to mention others scarcely inferior in reputation and talent,) were enough to give éclât to any administration. The praise undoubtedly belongs to queen Elizabeth of having discerned their merits, introduced them to their several offices, adhered to them with constancy, and listened to their counsels in most questions of great political importance.

Yet when we contemplate more minutely the personal character of this celebrated princess, we find that it was made up of striking contrasts, and exhibited at once a strange combination of the greatest and most despicable qualities. The' magnanimity, the courage, the heroism displayed on some occasions, forms a remarkable reverse to the jealousy, the suspicion, and the gloomy apprehensions which were at other times betrayed. The imperious tone in which she was accustomed to address her parliaments, and the resistance she uniformly opposed to all constitutional efforts, ill accord with the license frequently given to her favourites, and the tameness with which, in some instances, she submitted to their ambitious projects. The self-command which was evinced by this princess on some great and trying occasions, is strangely contrasted with those petulant airs and sallies of anger, which led her sometimes to inflict blows on her attendants and favourites, as well as to use in conversation terms the most abusive, degrading, and profane. The economy which characterized her general administration was in some instances abandoned, as in the expensive expedition to Ireland, which is said to have cost her upwards of three millions; and her lavish distribution of gifts to the earl of Essex, amounting to three hundred thousand pounds. And, finally, that extreme susceptibility of mind which was manifested in her undissembled grief for the death of Essex, forms a striking contrast to the unfeeling cruelty with which she persecuted, even to death, her royal captive, and the insult which she subsequently poured upon the memory of that unfortunate princess. While we regard,

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with mingled pity and disgust, these instances of human imperfection and weakness, let us learn from them to distrust ourselves, to walk circumspectly in our several callings, and to-follow more closely his perfect example, who was "without spot and blemish-holy, harmless, "undefiled, and separate from sinners."

ESSAY XI.

A Retrospect of the State of Religion in England during the Administration of the TUDORS.

THE ecclesiastical history of the period now to be reviewed, is so inseparably blended with all the civil and political transactions of that age, that many facts have been introduced into previous essays, which would have more properly belonged to the present. It was impossible to sketch, however briefly, the reigns of Henry VIII., Edward VI., Mary, and Elizabeth, without adverting to the circumstances which occasioned the subversion or restoration of popery; and the rise, progress, or temporary suspension of the reformed religion in these realms; together with the manner in which those ecclesiastical changes were carried into effect. On this account it will be less necessary at present to enter into detail; yet there are many important and well-attested events connected with the religious history of this period, which have as yet been either wholly unnoticed, or mentioned but in the most incidental manner. These fragments, though lightly esteemed by the mere political historian, the christian annalist will deem too valuable to be thrown aside and forgotten.

During the reign of Henry VII. the principles of the Reformation silently but effectually undermined the strong holds of popery, and diffused themselves through all classes of the community. Notwithstanding all the efforts of the monks and superior clergy to destroy the writings

of Wickliffe, and prevent the publication of any heretical works, the tenets of that early reformer and his adherents were extensively propagated and maintained. The vices of the clergy had become so flagrant, and their extortions so intolerably oppressive, that, instead of the veneration in which they had formerly been held, they now encountered the ridicule of the multitude, and the abhorrence of the more virtuous part of the community. While the avaricious monarch was devising means of plundering his impoverished subjects, the mercenary agents of the papal church were not less assiduously employed in similar acts of extortion. Towards the conclusion of this reign (A. D. 1500) a jubilee was celebrated throughout the catholic states, from which a most abundant harvest was gathered by the church of Rome; for, in addition to the treasures, voluntarily remitted by opulent devotees, there were agents sent into all the kingdoms of Europe, laden with indulgences, dispensations, and relics, by selling which, immense sums were accumulated. A Spanish monk, named Jaspar Pons, carried on this traffic in England with great success, under the pretext of raising money for a new crusade against the Turks. It is but justice to the memory of Henry VII. to add, that the persecuting laws against reputed heretics were greatly relaxed, though not repealed, during his administration; and that comparatively few suffered martyrdom, or were even imprisoned, for their adherence to the doctrines of Wickliffe.

But no sooner did Henry VIII. ascend the throne, than the flames of persecution were rekindled, and numerous victims sacrificed. Though a voluptuous and dissipated monarch, whose youth was spent in the gratification of every depraved appetite, Henry was also from the commencement of his reign a catholic zealot, most bigottedly attached to all the superstitious rites and antichristian errors of the church of Rome. He manifested his zeal on her behalf, both by controversial writings, in which he defended the system of popery after the manner of the schoolmen, and by the rigour with which he caused the persecuting edicts against heretics to be executed. During the first nineteen years of his reign, he thus continued to prove himself a dutiful and devoted son of

the church, a zealous and intrepid defender of the faith. And when the circumstances in which he was subsequently placed, and the political purposes he wished to accomplish, induced him to separate from that church, and assert his own supremacy, he still clave with tenacity to all the errors and corruptions of the papal system. As far as relates to the king himself, the change which took place was purely political; but some of his ministers, (and particularly the excellent Cranmer,) had other views, and were seriously desirous of introducing a genuine reformation of religion. As a proof of the sincerity of their intentions, it appears that the object at which they aimed, was to withdraw the attention of the people from huinan traditions, and direct it to the word of God, as the only standard both of faith and practice. In a circular letter of instructions to the clergy, issued by Cromwell as vicargeneral, and supposed to have been drawn up by Cranmer, the parochial priests were enjoined to preach one sermon in each quarter of the year, "wherein they were to declare purely and sincerely the very gospel of Christ, and to exhort their hearers to works of charity, mercy and faith, specially prescribed and commanded in scripture, and not to repose their trust and affiance in any other works devised by men's fantasies."

After the fall of Cromwell, the protestant cause retrograded considerably in this kingdom, till the death of Henry VIII. The Bible, though translated into the vernacular tongue, was no longer permitted to be publicly read in churches, or privately possessed. In place of this infallible standard, a formulary of faith and discipline was drawn up by the king, and sanctioned by his servile parliament, which all classes of his subjects were required to believe and obey. This book was entitled, "A necessary Doctrine and Erudition for any christian man, set forth by the King's Majesty." It was confidently but vainly imagined by the despotic sovereign, that his royal formu lary would have such mighty efficacy as to put an end to all diversity of religious opinions, and to produce an entire uniformity of faith and practice. In this celebrated work many of the most obnoxious tenets of popery were asserted, and the doctrines of the Reformation were pro

nounced heretical and destructive. Yet such was the servility of parliament, that they not only decreed, that this book should be the standard of orthodoxy, but added also that it should remain such, till the king should change his opinions, in which case his subjects would be bound, as soon as it was made known to them by act of parliament, to imitate his example. This formulary of faith and discipline was quickly followed by a manual of private devotion, entitled "the King's Primer," which alone was to be used by all his subjects in their retirements. Such was the arbitrary character of those ecclesiastical regulations which were introduced by Henry VIII. as supreme head of the church. Strange as it may now appear, the right of the sovereign to dictate articles of faith, and to prescribe forms of devotion, was then almost universally admitted. Few even of the protestants themselves deemed it necessary or right, to appeal from these systems of human invention, "to the law, and to the testimony."

The ground having been in a great measure cleared, during the despotic reign of Henry VIII., and the rubbish of monasteries and abbeys removed by the vigorous administration of Cromwell, it became a comparatively easy task, at the accession of Edward VI. to lay the foundation of a genuine religious reformation. The weight of influence was now clearly on the side of protestantism; the leading members of the council were sincerely attached to the reformed religion; and both the superior and inferior orders of the clergy, (with a very few exceptions,) found little difficulty in submitting to the new order of things. Short as was the reign of this excellent young prince, not only was more effected towards the expurgation of the established religion from the errors of popery, than had been accomplished during the whole administration of his predecessor, but more also than was subsequently effected during the protracted reign of Elizabeth.

A great accession of strength was obtained to the protestant cause in England, by the arrival of many learned and pious foreigners, who fled from the storm of persecution which raged in Germany, in consequence of the successes of the emperor Charles V. against the princes of the protestant league. Among these illustrious