History of the Reformation in the Sixteenth Century Volume V Part 32

BOOK XIX.

THE ENGLISH NEW TESTAMENT AND THE COURT OF ROME.

CHAPTER I.

Church and State essentially distinct--Their fundamental Principles--What restores Life to the Church--Separation from Rome necessary--Reform and Liberty--The New Testament crosses the sea--Is hidden in London--Garret's Preaching and Zeal--Dissemination of Scripture--What the People find in it--The Effects it produces--Tyndale's Explanations--Roper, More's Son-in-law--Garret carries Tyndale's Testament to Oxford--Henry and his Valet--The Supplication of the Beggars--Two Sorts of Beggars--Evils caused by Priests--More's Supplications of the Souls in Purgatory.

The Church and the State are essentially distinct. They both receive their task from G.o.d, but that task is different in each. The task of the church is to lead men to G.o.d; the task of the State is to secure the earthly development of a people in conformity with its peculiar character. There are certain bounds, traced by the particular spirit of each nation within which the state should confine itself; while the church, whose limits are co-extensive with the human race, has a universal character, which raises it above all national differences.

These two distinctive features should be maintained. A state which aims at universality loses itself; a church whose mind and aim are sectarian falls away. Nevertheless, the church and the state, the two poles of social life, while they are in many respects opposed to one another, are far from excluding each other absolutely. The church has need of that justice, order, and liberty, which the state is bound to maintain; but the state has especial need of the church. If Jesus can do without kings to establish his kingdom, kings cannot do without Jesus, if they would have their kingdoms prosper. Justice, which is the fundamental principle of the state, is continually fettered in its progress by the internal power of sin; and as force can do nothing against this power, the state requires the Gospel in order to overcome it. That country will always be the most prosperous where the church is the most evangelical. These two communities having thus need one of the other, we must be prepared, whenever a great religious manifestation takes place in the world, to witness the appearance on the scene not only of the little ones, but of the great ones also, of the state. We must not then be surprised to meet with Henry VIII, but let us endeavour to appreciate accurately the part he played.

[Sidenote: CHURCH AND STATE.]

If the Reformation, particularly in England, happened necessarily to be mixed up with the state, with the world even, it originated neither in the state nor in the world. There was much worldliness in the age of Henry VIII, pa.s.sions, violence, festivities, a trial, a divorce; and some historians call that _the history of the Reformation in England_. We shall not pa.s.s by in silence these manifestations of the worldly life; opposed as they are to the Christian life, they are in history, and it is not our business to tear them out. But most a.s.suredly they are not the Reformation. From a very different quarter proceeded the divine light which then rose upon the human race.

To say that Henry VIII, was the reformer of his people is to betray our ignorance of his. The kingly power in England by turns opposed and favoured the reform in the church; but it opposed before it favoured, and much more than it favoured. This great transformation was begun and extended by its own strength, by the Spirit from on high.

When the church has lost the life that is peculiar to it, it must again put itself in communication with its creative principle, that is, with the word of G.o.d. Just as the buckets of a wheel employed in irrigating the meadows have no sooner discharged their reviving waters, than they dip again into the stream to be re-filled, so every generation, void of the Spirit of Christ, must return to the divine source to be again filled up. The primitive words which created the church have been preserved for us in the Gospels, the Acts, and the Epistles; and the humble reading of these divine writings will create in every age the communion of saints. G.o.d was the father of the Reformation, not Henry VIII. The visible world which then glittered with such brightness; those princes and sports, those n.o.blemen, and trials and laws, far from effecting a reform, were calculated to stifle it. But the light and the warmth came from heaven, and the new creation was completed.

[Sidenote: SEPARATION FROM ROME NECESSARY.]

In the reign of Henry VIII a great number of citizens, priests, and n.o.blemen possessed that degree of cultivation which favours the action of the holy books. It was sufficient for this divine seed to be scattered on the well-prepared soil for the work of germination to be accomplished.

A time not less important also was approaching--that in which the action of the popedom was to come to an end. The hour had not yet struck. G.o.d was first creating within by his word a spiritual church, before he broke without by his dispensations the bonds which had so long fastened England to the power of Rome. It was his good pleasure first to give truth and life, and then liberty. It has been said that if the pope had consented to a reform of abuses and doctrines, on condition of his keeping his position, the religious revolution would not have been satisfied at that price, and that after demanding _reform_, the next demand would have been for _liberty_. The only reproach that can be made to this a.s.sertion is, that it is superabundantly true. Liberty was an integral part of the Reformation, and one of the changes imperatively required was to withdraw religious authority from the pope, and restore it to the word of G.o.d. In the sixteenth century there was a great outpouring of the Christian life in France, Italy, and Spain; it is attested by martyrs without number, and history shows that to transform these three great nations, all that the Gospel wanted was liberty.[583] "If we had set to work two months later," said a grand inquisitor of Spain who had dyed himself in the blood of the saints, "it would have been too late: Spain would have been lost to the Roman church." We may therefore believe that if Italy, France, and Spain had had some generous king to check the myrmidons of the pope, those three countries, carried along by the renovating power of the Gospel, would have entered upon an era of liberty and faith.

[583] Geddes's Martyrology, Gonsalvi, Mart. Hisp. Llorente, Inquis.

M'Crie, Ref. in Spain.

The struggles of England with the popedom began shortly after the dissemination of the English New Testament by Tyndale. The epoch at which we are arrived accordingly brings in one view before our eyes both the Testament of Jesus Christ and the court of Rome. We can thus study the men (the reformers and the Romanists) and the works they produce, and arrive at a just valuation of the two great principles which dispute the possession of authority in the church.

[Sidenote: ARRIVAL OF THE NEW TESTAMENTS.]

It was about the close of the year 1525; the English New Testament was crossing the sea; five pious Hanseatic merchants had taken charge of the books. Captivated by the Holy Scriptures they had taken them on board their ships, hidden them among their merchandise; and then made sail from Antwerp for London.

Thus those precious pages were approaching England, which were to become its light and the source of its greatness. The merchants, whose zeal unhappily cost them dear, were not without alarm. Had not Cochlaeus caused orders to be sent to every port to prevent the entrance of the precious cargo they were bringing to England? They arrived and cast anchor; they lowered the boat to reach the sh.o.r.e; what were they likely to meet there? Tonstall's agents, no doubt, and Wolsey's, and Henry's ready to take away their New Testaments! They landed and soon again returned to the ship; boats pa.s.sed to and fro, and the vessel was unloaded. No enemy appeared; and no one seemed to imagine that these ships contained so great a treasure.

Just at the time this invaluable cargo was ascending the river, an invisible hand had dispersed the preventive guard. Tonstall, bishop of London, had been sent to Spain; Wolsey was occupied in political combinations with Scotland, France, and the empire; Henry VIII, driven from his capital by an unhealthy winter, was pa.s.sing the Christmas holidays at Eltham; and even the courts of justice, alarmed by an extraordinary mortality, had suspended their sittings. G.o.d, if we may so speak, had sent his angel to remove the guards.

Seeing nothing that could stop them, the five merchants, whose establishment was at the Steel yard in Thames Street, hastened to conceal their precious charge in their warehouses. But who will receive them? Who will undertake to distribute these Holy Scriptures in London, Oxford, Cambridge, and all England? It is a little matter that they have crossed the sea. The princ.i.p.al instrument G.o.d was about to use for their dissemination was an humble servant of Christ.

[Sidenote: THOMAS GARRET.]

In Honey Lane, a narrow thoroughfare adjoining Cheapside, stood the old church of All Hallows, of which Robert Forman was rector. His curate was a plain man of lively imagination, delicate conscience, and timid disposition, but rendered bold by his faith, to which he was to become a martyr. Thomas Garret, for that was his name, having believed in the Gospel, earnestly called his hearers to repentance;[584] he urged upon them that works, however good they might be in appearance, were by no means capable of justifying the sinner, and that faith alone could save him.[585] He maintained that every man had the right to preach the word of G.o.d;[586] and called those bishops pharisees, who persecuted christian men. Garret's discourses, at once so quickening and so gentle, attracted great crowds; and to many of his hearers, the street in which he preached was rightly named Honey Lane, for there they found the _honey out of the rock_.[587] But Garret was about to commit a fault still more heinous in the eyes of the priests than preaching faith. The Hanse merchants were seeking some sure place where they might store up the New Testaments and other books sent from Germany; the curate offered his house, stealthily transported the holy deposit thither, hid them in the most secret corners, and kept a faithful watch over this sacred library.[588] He did not confine himself to this. Night and day he studied the holy books; he held Gospel meetings, read the word and explained its doctrines to the citizens of London. At last, not satisfied with being at once student, librarian, and preacher, he became a trader, and sold the New Testament to laymen, and even to priests and monks, so that the Holy Scriptures were dispersed over the whole realm.[589] This humble and timid priest was then performing alone the biblical work of England.

[584] Earnestly laboured to call us to repentance. Becon, iii. p. 11.

[585] Quod opera nostra quantumvis bona in specie nihil conduc.u.n.t ad justificationem nec ad meritum, sed sola fides. (Foxe, Acts, v. p.

428.) Because our work, however good in appearance are of no avail to justification or to merit, but faith alone can save.

[586] Every man may preach the word of G.o.d. Ibid.

[587] Psalm lx.x.xi. 16.

[588] Having the said books in his custody. Foxe, Acts, v. p. 428.

[589] Dispersing abroad of the said books within this realm. Ibid. p.

428. See also Strype. _Cranmer's Mem._ p. 81.

[Sidenote: WHAT MEN FOUND IN THE SCRIPTURES.]

And thus the word of G.o.d, presented by Erasmus to the learned in 1517 was given to the people by Tyndale in 1526. In the parsonages and in the convent cells, but particularly in shops and cottages, a crowd of persons were studying the New Testament. The clearness of the Holy Scriptures struck each reader. None of the systematic or aphoristic forms of the school were to be found there: it was the language of human life which they discovered in those divine writings: here a conversation, there a discourse; here a narrative, and there a comparison; here a command, and there an argument; here a parable, and there a prayer. It was not all doctrine or all history; but these two elements mingled together made an admirable whole. Above all, the life of our Saviour, so divine and so human, had an inexpressible charm which captivated the simple. One work of Jesus Christ explained another, and the great facts of the redemption, birth, death, and resurrection of the Son of G.o.d, and the sending of the Holy Ghost, followed and completed each other. The authority of Christ's teaching, so strongly contrasting with the doubts of the schools, increased the clearness of his discourses to his readers; for the more certain a truth is, the more distinctly it strikes the mind. Academical explanations were not necessary to those n.o.blemen, farmers, and citizens. It is to me, for me, and of me that this book speaks, said each one. It is I whom all these promises and teachings concern. This _fall_ and this _restoration_ ... they are mine. That old _death_ and this new _life_.... I have pa.s.sed through them. That _flesh_ and that _spirit_.... I know them. This _law_ and this _grace_, this _faith_, these _works_, this _slavery_, this _glory_, this _Christ_ and this _Belial_ ... all are familiar to me. It is my own history that I find in this book. Thus by the aid of the Holy Ghost each one had in his own experience a key to the mysteries of the Bible. To understand certain authors and certain philosophers, the intellectual life of the reader must be in harmony with theirs; so must there be an intimate affinity with the holy books to penetrate their mysteries. "The man that has not the Spirit of G.o.d," said a reformer, "does not understand one jot or t.i.ttle of the Scripture."[590] Now that this condition was fulfilled, the Spirit of G.o.d moved upon the face of the waters.

[590] Nullus h.o.m.o unum iota in Scripturis sacris videt, nisi qui spiritum Dei habet. (Luther, De servo arbitrio, Witt. ii. p. 424.) No man but he who has the Spirit of G.o.d can see a single jot in the sacred scriptures.

Such at that period were the hermeneutics of England. Tyndale had set the example himself by explaining many of the words which might stop the reader. "The _New Testament_!" we may suppose some farmer saying, as he took up the book; "what _Testament_ is that?" "Christ," replied Tyndale in his prologue, "commanded his disciples before his death to publish over all the world _his last will_, which is to give all his goods unto all that repent and believe.[591] He bequeaths them his righteousness to blot out their sins--his salvation to overcome their condemnation; and this is why that doc.u.ment is called the _Testament_ of Jesus Christ."

[591] Tyndale and Fryth's Works (ed. Russell.). vol. ii. p. 491. The "Pathway unto the Holy Scripture" is the prologue to the quarto Testament, with a few changes of little importance.

"The _law_ and the _Gospel_," said a citizen of London, in his shop; "what is that?" "They are two _keys_," answered Tyndale. "The _law_ is the key which shuts up all men under condemnation, and the _Gospel_ is the key which opens the door and lets them out. Or, if you like it, they are two salves. The law, sharp and biting, driveth out the disease and killeth it; while the Gospel, soothing and soft, softens the wound and brings life."[592] Everyone understood and read, or rather devoured the inspired pages; and the hearts of the elect (to use Tyndale's words), warmed by the love of Jesus Christ, began to melt like wax.[593]

[592] Tyndale and Fryth's Works (ed. Russell), vol. ii, p. 503.

[593] Ibid. p. 500.

[Sidenote: MORE'S SON-IN-LAW.]

This transformation was observed to take place even in the most catholic families. Roper, More's son-in-law, having read the New Testament, received the truth. "I have no more need," said he, "of auricular confession, of vigils, or of the invocation of saints. The ears of G.o.d are always open to hear us. Faith alone is necessary to salvation. I believe ... and I am saved.... Nothing can deprive me of G.o.d's favour."[594]

[594] More's Life, p. 134.

The amiable and zealous young man desired to do more. "Father," said he one day to Sir Thomas, "procure for me from the king, who is very fond of you, a license to preach. G.o.d hath sent me to instruct the world." More was uneasy. Must this new doctrine, which he detests, spread even to his children? He exerted all his authority to destroy the work begun in Roper's heart. "What," said he with a smile, "is it not sufficient that we that are your friends should know that you are a fool, but you would proclaim your folly to the world? Hold your tongue: I will debate with you no longer." The young man's imagination was struck, but his heart had not been changed. The discussions having ceased, the father's authority being restored, Roper became less fervent in his faith, and gradually he returned to popery, of which he was afterwards a zealous champion.

The humble curate of All Hallows having sold the New Testament to persons living in London and its neighbourhood, and to many pious men who would carry it to the farthest parts of England, formed the resolution to introduce it into the University of Oxford, that citadel of traditional catholicism. It was there he had studied, and he felt towards that school the affection which a son bears to his mother: he set out with his books.[595] Terror occasionally seized him, for he knew that the word of G.o.d had many deadly enemies at Oxford; but his inexhaustible zeal overcame his timidity. In concert with Dalaber, he stealthily offered the mysterious book for sale; many students bought it, and Garret carefully entered their names in his register. This was in January 1526; an incident disturbed this Christian activity.

[595] And brought with him Tyndale's first translation of the New Testament in English. Foxe, Acts, v, p. 421.

[Sidenote: HENRY VIII AND HIS VALET.]

One morning when Edmund Moddis, one of Henry's valets-de-chambre, was in attendance on his master, the prince, who was much attached to him, spoke to him, of the new books come from beyond the sea. "If your grace," said Moddis, "would promise to pardon me and certain individuals, I would present you a wonderful book which is dedicated to your majesty."[596] "Who is the author?" "A lawyer of Gray's Inn named Simon Fish, at present on the continent." "What is he doing there?" "About three years ago, Mr. Row, a fellow-student of Gray's Inn, composed for a private theatre a drama against my lord the cardinal." The king smiled; when his minister was attacked, his own yoke seemed lighter. "As no one was willing to represent the character employed to give the cardinal his lesson," continued the valet, "Master Fish boldly accepted it. The piece produced a great effect; and my lord being informed of this impertinence, sent the police one night to arrest Fish. The latter managed to escape, crossed the sea, joined one Tyndale, the author of some of the books so much talked of; and, carried away by his friend's example, he composed the book of which I was speaking to your grace." "What's the name of it?" "_The Supplication of the Beggars._"--"Where did you see it?"--"At two of your tradespeople's, George Elyot and George Robinson;[597] if your grace desires it, they shall bring it you." The king appointed the day and the hour.