History of the Reformation in the Sixteenth Century Volume V Part 25

[Sidenote: CHARACTER OF TYNDALE.]

While the cardinal was intriguing to attain his selfish ends, Tyndale was humbly carrying out the great idea of giving the Scriptures of G.o.d to England.

[Sidenote: HE PREACHES SALVATION THROUGH CHRIST.]

After bidding a sad farewell to the manor-house of Sodbury, the learned tutor had departed for London. This occurred about the end of 1522 or the beginning of 1523. He had left the university--he had forsaken the house of his protector; his wandering career was about to commence, but a thick veil hid from him all its sorrows. Tyndale, a man simple in his habits, sober, daring, and generous, fearing neither fatigue nor danger, inflexible in his duty, anointed with the Spirit of G.o.d, overflowing with love for his brethren, emanc.i.p.ated from human traditions, the servant of G.o.d alone, and loving nought but Jesus Christ, imaginative, quick at repartee, and of touching eloquence--such a man might have shone in the foremost ranks; but he preferred a retired life in some poor corner, provided he could give his countrymen the Scriptures of G.o.d. Where could he find this calm retreat? was the question he put to himself as he was making his solitary way to London. The metropolitan see was then filled by Cuthbert Tonstall, who was more of a statesman and a scholar than of a churchman, "the first of English men in Greek and Latin literature,"

said Erasmus. This eulogy of the learned Dutchman occurred to Tyndale's memory.[440] It was the Greek Testament of Erasmus that led me to Christ, said he to himself; why should not the house of Erasmus's friend offer me a shelter that I may translate it.... At last he reached London, and, a stranger in that crowded city, he wandered along the streets, a prey by turns to hope and fear.

[440] As I thus thought, the bishop of London came to my remembrance.

Tyndale, Doctr. Tr. p. 395.

Being recommended by Sir John Walsh to Sir Harry Guildford, the king's comptroller, and by him to several priests, Tyndale began to preach almost immediately, especially at St. Dunstan's, and bore into the heart of the capital the truth which had been banished from the banks of the Severn. The _word_ of G.o.d was with him the basis of salvation, and the _grace_ of G.o.d its essence. His inventive mind presented the truths he proclaimed in a striking manner. He said on one occasion:--"It is the blood of Christ that opens the gates of heaven, and not thy works. I am wrong.... Yes, if thou wilt have it so, by thy good works shalt thou be saved.--Yet, understand me well,--not by those which thou has done, but by those which Christ has done for thee. Christ is in thee and thou in him, knit together inseparably.

Thou canst not be d.a.m.ned, except Christ be d.a.m.ned with thee; neither can Christ be saved except thou be saved with him."[441] This lucid view of justification by faith places Tyndale among the reformers. He did not take his seat on a bishop's throne, or wear a silken cope; but he mounted the scaffold, and was clothed with a garment of flames. In the service of a crucified Saviour this latter distinction is higher than the former.

[441] Ibid. p. 79.

Yet the translation was his chief business; he spoke to his acquaintances about it, and some of them opposed his project. "The teachings of the doctors," said some of the city tradesmen, "can alone make us understand Scripture." "That is to say," replied Tyndale, "I must measure the _yard_ by the _cloth_.[442] Look here," continued he, using a practical argument, "here are in your shop twenty pieces of stuff of different lengths.... Do you measure the yard by these pieces, or the pieces by the yard?... The universal standard is Scripture." This comparison was easily fixed in the minds of the petty tradesmen of the capital.

[442] Ibid. p. 153.

[Sidenote: IS RECOMMENDED TO TONSTALL.]

Desirous of carrying out his project, Tyndale aspired to become the bishop's chaplain;[443] his ambition was more modest than Wolsey's.

The h.e.l.lenist possessed qualities which could not fail to please the most learned of Englishmen in Greek literature: Tonstall and Tyndale both liked and read the same authors. The ex-tutor determined to plead his cause through the elegant and harmonious disciple of Radicus and Gorgias: "Here is one of Isocrates' orations that I have translated into Latin," said he to Sir Harry Guildford; "I should be pleased to become chaplain to his lordship the bishop of London; will you beg him to accept this trifle. Isocrates ought to be an excellent recommendation to a scholar; will you be good enough to add yours."

Guildford spoke to the bishop, placed the translation in his hands, and Tonstall replied with that benevolence which he showed to every one. "Your business is in a fair way," said the comptroller to Tyndale; "write a letter to his lordship, and deliver it yourself."[444]

[443] He laboured to be his chaplain. Foxe, Acts, iv. p. 617.

[444] He willed me to write an epistle to my lord, and to go to him myself. Ibid.

Tyndale's hopes now began to be realized. He wrote his letter in the best style, and then, commending himself to G.o.d, proceeded to the episcopal palace. He fortunately knew one of the bishop's officers, William Hebilthwayte, to whom he gave the letter. Hebilthwayte carried it to his lordship, while Tyndale waited. His heart throbbed with anxiety: shall he find at last the long hoped for asylum? The bishop's answer might decide the whole course of his life. If the door is opened,--if the translator of the Scriptures should be settled in the episcopal palace, why should not his London patron receive the truth like his patron at Sodbury? and, in that case, what a future for the church and for the kingdom!... The Reformation was knocking at the door of the hierarchy of England, and the latter was about to utter its yea or its nay. After a few moments' absence Hebilthwayte returned: "I am going to conduct you to his lordship." Tyndale fancied himself that he had attained his wishes.

[Sidenote: THE BISHOP'S REPLY.]

The bishop was too kind-hearted to refuse an audience to a man who called upon him with the triple recommendation of Isocrates, of the comptroller, and of the king's old companion in arms. He received Tyndale with kindness, a little tempered however with coldness, as if he were a man whose acquaintanceship might compromise him. Tyndale having made known his wishes, the bishop hastened to reply: "Alas! my house is full.[445] I have now more people than I can employ." Tyndale was discomfited by this answer. The bishop of London was a learned man, but wanting in courage and consistency; he gave his right hand to the friends of letters and of the Gospel, and his left hand to the friends of the priests; and then endeavoured to walk with both. But when he had to choose between the two parties, clerical interests prevailed. There was no lack of bishops, priests, and laymen about him, who intimidated him by their clamours. After taking a few steps forward, he suddenly recoiled. Still Tyndale ventured to hazard a word; but the prelate was cold as before. The humanists, who laughed at the ignorance of the monks, hesitated to touch an ecclesiastical system which lavished on them such rich sinecures. They accepted the new ideas in theory, but not in practice. They were very willing to discuss them at table, but not to proclaim them from the pulpit; and covering the Greek Testament with applause, they tore it in pieces when rendered into the vulgar tongue. "If you will look well about London," said Tonstall coldly to the poor priest; "you will not fail to meet with some suitable employment." This was all Tyndale could obtain. Hebilthwayte waited on him to the door, and the h.e.l.lenist departed sad and desponding.

[445] My lord answered me, his home was full. Tyndale, Doctr. Tr. p.

395.

His expectations were disappointed. Driven from the banks of the Severn, without a home in the capital, what would become of the translation of the Scriptures? "Alas!" he said; "I was deceived ...[446] there is nothing to be looked for from the bishops.... Christ was smitten on the cheek before the bishop, Paul was buffeted before the bishop[447] ... and a bishop has just turned me away." His dejection did not last long: there was an elastic principle in his soul. "I hunger for the word of G.o.d," said he, "I will translate it, whatever they may say or do. G.o.d will not suffer me to perish. He never made a mouth but he made food for it, nor a body, but he made raiment also."[448]

[446] I was beguiled. Tyndale, Doctr. Tr. p. 395.

[447] Expositions, p. 59.

[448] Tynd. and Fryth's Works, ii, p. 349.

[Sidenote: THE LONDON MERCHANT.]

This trustfulness was not misplaced. It was the privilege of a layman to give what the bishop refused. Among Tyndale's hearers at St.

Dunstan's was a rich merchant named Humphrey Monmouth, who had visited Rome, and to whom (as well as to his companions) the pope had been so kind as to give certain Roman curiosities, such as indulgences, _a culpa et a pna_. Ships laden with his manufactures every year quitted London for foreign countries. He had formerly attended Colet's preaching at St. Paul's, and from the year 1515 he had known the word of G.o.d.[449] He was one of the gentlest and most obliging men in England; he kept open house for the friends of learning and of the Gospel, and his library contained the newest publications. In putting on Jesus Christ, Monmouth had particularly striven to put on his character; he helped generously with his purse both priests and men of letters; he gave forty pounds sterling to the chaplain of the bishop of London, the same to the king's, to the provincial of the Augustines, and to others besides. Latimer, who sometimes dined with him, once related in the pulpit an anecdote characteristic of the friends of the Reformation in England. Among the regular guests at Monmouth's table was one of his poorest neighbours, a zealous Romanist, to whom his generous host often used to lend money. One day when the pious merchant was extolling Scripture and blaming popery, his neighbour turned pale, rose from the table, and left the room. "I will never set foot in his house again," he said to his friends, "and I will never borrow another shilling of him."[450] He next went to the bishop and laid an information against his benefactor. Monmouth forgave him, and tried to bring him back; but the neighbour constantly turned out of his way. Once, however, they met in a street so narrow that he could not escape. "I will pa.s.s by without looking at him,"

said the Romanist turning away his head. But Monmouth went straight to him, took him by the hand, and said affectionately: "Neighbour, what wrong have I done you?" and he continued to speak to him with so much love, that the poor man fell on his knees, burst into tears, and begged his forgiveness.[451] Such was the spirit which, at the very outset, animated the work of the Reformation in England: it was acceptable to G.o.d, and found favour with the people.

[449] The rich man began to be a Scripture man. Latimer's Sermons, p.

440 (Park. Soc.)

[450] Latimer's Works, i. p. 441. He would borrow no [more] money of him.

[451] Ibid.

Monmouth being edified by Tyndale's sermons, inquired into his means of living. "I have none,"[452] replied he, "but I hope to enter into the bishop's service." This was before his visit to Tonstall. When Tyndale saw all his hopes frustrated, he went to Monmouth and told him everything. "Come and live with me," said the wealthy merchant, "and there labour." G.o.d did to Tyndale according to his faith. Simple, frugal, devoted to work, he studied night and day;[453] and wishing to guard his mind against "being overcharged with surfeiting," he refused the delicacies of his patron's table, and would take nothing but sodden meat and small beer.[454] It would even seem that he carried simplicity in dress almost too far.[455] By his conversation and his works, he shed over the house of his patron the mild light of the Christian virtues, and Monmouth loved him more and more every day.

[452] Foxe, Acts, iv, p. 617.

[453] Strype, Records, i. p. 664.

[454] Strype, Records, i. p. 664. He would eat but sodden meat and drink but small single beer.

[455] He was never seen in that house to wear linen about him. Ibid.

[Sidenote: FRYTH JOINS TYNDALE.]

Tyndale was advancing in his work when John Fryth, the mathematician of King's College, Cambridge, arrived in London. It is probable that Tyndale, feeling the want of an a.s.sociate, had invited him. United like Luther and Melancthon, the two friends held many precious conversations together. "I will consecrate my life wholly to the church of Jesus Christ," said Fryth.[456] "To be a good man, you must give great part of yourself to your parents, a greater part to your country; but the greatest of all to the church of the Lord." "The people should know the word of G.o.d,"[457] they said both. "The interpretation of the gospel, without the intervention of councils or popes, is sufficient to create a saving faith in the heart." They shut themselves up in the little room in Monmouth's house, and translated chapter after chapter from the Greek into plain English. The bishop of London knew nothing of the work going on a few yards from him, and everything was succeeding to Tyndale's wishes when it was interrupted by an unforeseen circ.u.mstance.

[456] Tyndale and Fryth's Works, iii, p. 73, 74.

[457] That the poor people might also read and see the simple plain word of G.o.d. Foxe, Acts, v, p. 118.

[Sidenote: LEARNING AND THE SCAFFOLD.]

Longland, the persecutor of the Lincolnshire Christians, did not confine his activity within the limits of his diocese; he besieged the king, the cardinal, and the queen with his cruel importunities, using Wolsey's influence with Henry, and Henry's with Wolsey. "His majesty,"

he wrote to the cardinal, "shows in this holy dispute as much goodness as zeal ... yet, be pleased to urge him to overthrow G.o.d's enemies."

And then turning to the king, the confessor said, to spur him on: "The cardinal is about to fulminate the greater excommunication against all who possess Luther's works or hold his opinions, and to make the booksellers sign a bond before the magistrates, not to sell _heretical_ books." "Wonderful!" replied Henry with a sneer, "they will fear the magisterial bond, I think, more than the _clerical_ excommunication." And yet the consequences of the "clerical"

excommunication were to be very positive; whosoever persevered in his offence was to be pursued by the law _ad ignem_, even to the fire.[458] At last the confessor applied to the queen: "We cannot be sure of restraining the press," he said to her. "These wretched books come to us from Germany, France, and the Low Countries; and are even printed in the very midst of us. Madam, we must train and prepare skilful men, such as are able to discuss the controverted points, so that the laity, struck on the one hand by well developed arguments, and frightened by the fear of punishment on the other, may be kept in obedience."[459] In the bishop's system, "fire" was to be the complement of Roman learning. The essential idea of Jesuitism is already visible in this conception of Henry the Eighth's confessor.

That system is the natural development of Romanism.

[458] Anderson's Annals of the Bible, i. p. 42.

[459] Anderson, Bible Annals, i. p. 42, 43. Herbert says (p. 147) "to suspend the laity betwixt fear and controversies."

Tonstall, urged forward by Longland, and desirous of showing himself as holy a churchman as he had once been a skilful statesman and elegant scholar--Tonstall, the friend of Erasmus, began to persecute.

He would have feared to shed blood, like Longland; but there are measures which torture the mind and not the body, and which the most moderate men fear not to make use of. John Higgins, Henry Chambers, Thomas Eaglestone, a priest named Edmund Spilman, and some other Christians in London, used to meet and read portions of the Bible in English, and even a.s.serted publicly that "Luther had more learning in his little finger than all the doctors in England."[460] The bishop ordered these rebels to be arrested: he flattered and alarmed them, threatening them with a cruel death (which he would hardly have inflicted on them), and by these skilful practices reduced them to silence.

[460] Foxe, Acts, v. p. 179.

Tyndale, who witnessed this persecution, feared lest the stake should interrupt his labour. If those who read a few fragments of Scripture are threatened with death, what will he not have to endure who is translating the whole? His friends entreated him to withdraw from the bishop's pursuit. "Alas!" he exclaimed, "is there then no place where I can translate the Bible?... It is not the bishop's house alone that is closed against me, but all England."[461]