W

BISHOP LATIMER

AS born about the year 1480, and on the 16th of October 1555, was burned alive at the stake, by the decree of bloody Mary, uttering those memorable and truly prophetic words to his companion in the flames,-" Be of good comfort, brother Ridley, and play the man; we shall this day light such a candle, by God's grace, in England, as, I trust, never shall be put out."

He was a homely and painful preacher,.of a character singularly fearless and intrepid. On one occasion he boldly denounced from the pulpit the appointment of bishops and other distinguished ecclesiastics to lay offices, and more especially to places in the mint, during the reign of Edward VI. In one of his sermons on the number of unpreaching prelates, he said:

"But they are otherwise occupied; some in king's matters; some are ambassadors, some of the Privy Council, some to furnish the court; some are lords of Parliament; some are presidents, some controllers of

140

Latimer's Power of Rebuke.

mints. Well, well, is this their duty? Is this their office? Is this their calling? Should we have ministers of the Church to be controllers of mints? Is this a meet office for a priest that hath the cure of souls? Is this his charge? I would here ask one question: I would fain know who controlleth the devil at home at his parish, while he controlleth the mint? If the apostles might not leave the office of preaching to the deacons, shall one leave it for minting? I cannot tell you. But the saying is, that since priests have been minters, money hath been worse than it was before!"

In another part of his discourse, the good Bishop proceeds to ask:

"Is there never a nobleman to be a Lord President but he must be a prelate? Is there never a wise man in the realm to be a controller of the mint? I speak it to your shame; I speak it to your shame. If there be never a wise man, make a water-bearer, a tinker, a cobbler, a slave, a page, the controller of the mint. Make a mean gentleman, a groom, a yeoman, make a a poor beggar, Lord President. Thus I speak, not that I would have it so, but to your shame, if there be never a gentleman meet nor able to be Lord President. For why are not the noblemen and young gentlemen of England so brought up in knowledge of God and in learning that they might be able to execute offices in the commonweal? Yea, and there be already noblemen enough, though not so many as I could wish, to be Lord Presisidents; and wise men enough for the mint. And as unmeet a thing it is for bishops to be Lord Presidents, or priests to be minters, as it was for the Corinthians to plead matters of variance before heathen judges.

He Asks a Strange Question.

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"It is also a slander to the noblemen, as though they lacked wisdom and learning to be able for such offices, or else were no men of conscience, or else were not meet to be trusted, and able for such offices. And a prelate has a charge and cure otherwise; and therefore he cannot discharge his duty and be a Lord President too. For a presidentship requireth a whole man; and a bishop cannot be two men. A bishop has his office, a flock to teach, to look unto; and therefore he cannot meddle with another office, which alone requires a whole man; he should therefore give it over to whom it is meet, and labour in his own business; as Paul writes to the Thessalonians, 'Let every man do his own business, and follow his calling. Let the priest preach, and the nobleman handle the temporal matters. Moses was a marvellous man, a good man: Moses was a wonderful man, and did his duty, being a married man: we lack such as Moses was. Well, I would all men would look to their duty as God hath called them, and then we should have a flourishing Christian commonweal.

"And now I would ask a strange question: Who is the most diligent bishop and prelate in all England, that passes all the rest in doing his office? I can tell, for I know who it is; I know him well. But now I think I see you listening and hearkening that I should name him. There is one that passes all the other, and is the most diligent prelate and preacher in all England. And will ye know who it is? I will tell you-it is the devil. He is the most diligent preacher of all others; he is never out of his diocese; he is never from his cure; you shall never find him unoccupied; he is ever in his parish; he keeps residence at all times; you shall never find him out of the way; call

142 Latimer's Denunciation of Superstition.

for him when you will he is ever at home. He is the most diligent preacher in all the realm; he is ever at his plough; no lording nor loitering can hinder him; he is ever applying his business; you shall never find him idle I warrant you. And his office is to hinder religion, to maintain superstition, to set up idolatry, to teach all kinds of Popery. He is ready as can be wished for to set forth his plough; to devise as many ways as can be to deface and obscure God's glory. Where the devil is resident, and has his plough going, there away with books and up with candles; away with Bibles and up with beads; away with the light of the Gospel and up with the light of candles, yea, at noonday. Where the devil is resident, that he may prevail, up with all superstition and idolatry,-censing, painting of images, candles, palms, ashes, holy water, and new service of men's inventing; as though man could invent a better way to honour God with than God himself hath appointed. Down with Christ's cross, up with purgatory pickpurse-up with him, the Popish purgatory I mean. Away with clothing the naked, the poor, and impotent; up with decking of images, and gay garnishing of stocks and stones; up with man's traditions and his laws, down with God's traditions and His most holy Word. Down with the old honour due to God, and up with the new god's honour. Let all things be done in Latin: there must be nothing but Latin, not so much as Remember, man, that thou art ashes, and into ashes shalt thou return;' which are the words that the minister speaketh unto the ignorant people when he gives them ashes upon AshWednesday; but it must be spoken in Latin. God's Word may in nowise be translated into English.

"Oh that our prelates would be as diligent to sow the

His Advice to the Bishops.

143

corn of good doctrine as Satan is to sow cockle and darnel! And this is the devilish ploughing which worketh to have things in Latin, and hinders the fruitful edification. But here some man will say to me, What, sir, are you so privy to the devil's counsel that you know all this to be true? True; I know him too well, and have obeyed him a little too much in condescending to some follies; and I know him as other men do; yea, that he is ever occupied, and ever busy in following his plough. I know by St Peter, who saith of him, 'He goeth about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.' I would have this text well viewed and examined, every word of it: 'He goeth about' in every corner of his diocese; he goeth on visitation daily, he leaves no place of his cure unvisited; he walks round about from place to place, and ceases not. 'As a lion,' that is, strongly, boldly, and proudly; stately and fiercely, with haughty looks, with his proud countenances, with his stately braggings. 'Roaring,' for he lets not any occasion slip to speak or to roar out when he seeth his time. 'He goeth about seeking,' and not sleeping, as our bishops do; but he seeketh diligently, he searcheth diligently all corners where he may have his prey. He roveth abroad in every place of his diocese; he standeth not still, he is never at rest, but ever in hand with his plough, that it may go forward. But there was never such a preacher in England as he is. Who is able to tell his diligent preaching, which every day, and every hour, labours to sow cockle and darnel, that he may bring out of form, and out of estimation and renown, the institution of the Lord's Supper and Christ's cross? For there he lost his right; for Christ said, 'Now is the judgment of this world, and the prince of this world