YALE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY Bought with the income ofthe LARNED FUND Gul S/cef/an .del. Jac.J^i^aler, j-a^p. Effigies joh. coleti,s.t.f. THE LIFE or DR. JOHN COLET, DEAN OF ST. PAUL'S IN THE REIGNS OF K. HENRY VII. AND K. HENRY VIII. FOUNDER OF ST. PAULS SCHOOL: WITH AN APPENDIX, ¦ CONTAINING SOME ACCOUNT OF THE MASTERS AND MORE EMINENT SCHOLARS OF THAT FOUNDATION, AND SEVERAL OHIGINAL PAPERS RELATING TO THE SAID LIFE. BY SAMUEL KNIGHT, D.D. VI' PREBENDARY OF ELY. A NEW EDITION. OXFORD, AT THE CLARENDON PRESS. MDCCCXXIII. C676I ADVERTISEMENT. JL HE present edition of the Life of Dean Colet has been undertaken by the Delegates of the Clarendon Press, at the solicitation of several distinguished per sons connected with St. Paul's School. The original edition having been long out of print, it was sug gested, that a new one would be acceptable to the public at large, but particularly so to those persons educated on Dean Colet's foundation ; and. accord ingly it has been deemed expedient to reprint Dr. Knight's Life without alteration. Manifest errors however have been corrected, the references verified, and the quotations, and records in the Appendix, collated, A few notes have been added from the margins of eopies in the Bodleian Library, and the Index enlarged. The Plates have been entirely re-engraved; and the Delegates have to acknowledge a donation of an hundred guineas from the Mercers' Company, for that purpose, which has materiaUy lessened the price of the publication. Ju7ie 6, 1823. a 2 TO THE EIGHT HONOURABLE SPENCER COMPTON, ESQ. speaker to the honourable the house of commons. Sir, X OUR known affection to St. Paul's school em boldens me to beg your patronage to the ensuing Life of our great founder, dean Colet ; who, as he deserved well of mankind in general, so of those more especially who have had the happiness of being educated in his school: the which, among other great names, has reason to boast of you, as one of its chief worthies. Your great abilities have ren dered you very eminently serviceable to the pubUc in a post of great honour ; and how weU you have acquitted yourself in it, the universal suffrages of a British parliament have abundantly testified, by choosing you this second time to preside over them. I know your great load of public cares will not allow you much time for reading the many books with which the press is continuaUy teeming; but when your leisure will permit you to relax from your more weighty business, you will not perhaps think it labour quite lost, to look back upon that time when reUgion and learning did, after many and great struggles, get the better of ignorance and superstition, and in which you will find dean Colet to have made a glorious stand in defence of the a 3 vi THE DEDICATION. truth. But I shall not forestal any part of the ensuing narrative ; which, as I designed it for the honour of our school, so I hope it wiU not be ungrateful to our schoolfeUows in general. We have lately lost two persons of the most exalted stations that our school could glory in, viz. the dukes of Marlborough and Manchester : from whom, as we have had many instances of favour, we might (if they had lived longer) have expected more. But we have still a patron in you, who (we doubt not) wiU go on to countenance every thing that tends to wards the honour and benefit of St. Paul's school. In confidence of which, I beg leave to subscribe my self. Sir, Your most obUged, humble servant, SAMUEL KNIGHT, A PREFATORY EPISTLE master, wardens, and assistants of the worshipful company of mercers. Gentlemen, A.S our good founder, dean Colet, thought you worthy of the patronage of one of the best endowed schools in this kingdom ; and as you have aU along with great care discharged that trust, and for above two hundred years have given sufficient proofs that your company have been ambitious of letting the world see, that dean Colet knew what he did when he chose you to this honour ; I could not, upon so fair an opportunity, but make this honourable men tion of you. It is a very melancholy reflection, that there should be so many charitable donations that prove abortive through the mismanagement (not to say worse) of those to whose care they have been intrusted: but amidst aU the sad havock that has been made of such good designs, St. Paul's school has always kept up its reputation, and wiU (I hope) be always a lasting monument of your company's care and integrity. Who then can envy you the pleasure of seeing the happy fruits of your labour, and the plentiful harvest which the world hath re ceived from this fruitful seminary of reUgion and learning by your means? And I doubt not, but that God's blessing, which maketh rich, has been plenti- a 4 viii A PREFATORY EPISTLE. fuUy bestowed upon you, for your very great regard to the trust reposed in you by so great and so good a man : and that as your company have, so they al ways wUl, look upon the solemnity of those words in his statutes, wherein he commits this charge unto you, with that due regard, that you may not only avoid the horrid consequences of ever hereafter be traying your trust, but also reap both now and ever the blessings he mentions, as inducements to your faithfulness to that foundation; for which he was contented, even in his lifetime, almost to strip him self of his very patrimony, and to make himself poor for its more liberal endowment. His words are very expressive, especially where we find him " caUing " the dredefuU God to loke upon them (the mercers) " in all suche besynesse and exorting them to feare " the terrible judgement of God which seeth in " darknesse and shaU render to every man accord- " ing to his workes and finaUy praying the great " Lorde of mercye for theyre faythful deaUng in " this matter now and alwaye to send unto them in " this worlde muche weal the and prosperyte and " after this lyfe much joye and glorye." And of this he seemed so weU assured, that in the paragraph wherein he gives Uberty to declare the statutes, i. e. provide against their insufficiency, or, for good rea sons, make any alteration for the better, (a power not often lodged in trustees' hands,) he teUs the world, that he did it " in consideration of the assured " truthe and circumspect wisdome and faythfuU " goodnes of the most honest and substantial felow- " shippe of the mercery of London to whome I have " (says he) commytted aU the care of the schoole A PREFATORY EPISTLE. ix " and also belevyng verely that they shall aUwaye " drede the great wrath of God," The words are so very weighty and solemn, that they need no com ment : may they be as effectual hereafter as they have hitherto been, and your company can never want the honour they deserve. As to my own part, gratitude obUges me to make this pubUc acknow ledgment, since I am not only descended from your worshipful company, by my father's having the ho nour to be free of it, but more especiaUy for the in valuable benefit I have received by my education in this your school. That you may Uve and flourish under the auspicious guidance of a good Providence, and as you bear the first place in rank and credit amongst aU the companies of the greatest trading and most wealthy city in Europe, so that you may hand down the same privileges and advantages to your successors, when you are gone to reap the re wards of being faithful stewards in a better world, is the hearty and sincere wish of Your most obliged, humble servant, S. K, THE INTRODUCTION. J- HOUGH it may possibly be thought, by some less cu rious persons, a needless undertaking to write the Life of Dean Colet, who lived above two centuries ago, even before the blessed reformation of religion in this nation, especially since there have been some short essays of this nature al ready published : to obviate any objection of this nature, I shaU only observe, that if there were no particular obligar- tions to revive the memory of him, by reason of the noble foundation of his school, yet he was so considerable a man in other respects, that we cannot think it will be unaccept able to the public, to give a more full character of him than has been done as yet by any that have undertaken it. Indeed we find only loose and scattered memorials of him, and withal so much conciseness, so many very material cir cumstances omitted, so many facts (if touched upon) yet not pursued or set in a proper light, that the writers seemed to have had nothing more in view than just to let us know that there was once such a person living. But sure so great a man, as he will appear to be by the following narrative, deserves more than a bare remembrance, and merited too weU of mankind to be put off with so slight a history. So much is mentioned by some of these writers as may help us to form an imperfect idea of him, but not enough to satisfy an inquisitive reader. I have therefore ventured upon larger memoirs of dean Colet, collected from the most authentic accounts of that time ; and have diligently searched into the writings of his contemporaries, and from them illustrated the following Life. And here I must own, with the utmost gratitude, that I have received great assistance and encou- xii THE INTRODUCTION. ragement from the right reverend White, lord bishop of Peterborough; who, by furnishing me with his very va luable collections, engaged me first in paying this debt of gratitude to the noble founder of St. Paul's school, wherein I had the happiness of a good part of my education. But this was not the only, though the chief motive to this work. There is no period of time deserves more, and yet is so little known in our English history, as the fifty years preceding the reformation, which include the latter part of Henry VII. and the beginning of Henry VIII.'s reign : in which time true religion and useful leaming were just dawning upon the world, and the great Erasmus and his friend dean Colet, the great forerunners of the reformation, flourished. Of this time there is little to be met with in any of our printed books, f I thought therefore this defect might be in some measure supplied in the Life of Dean Colet : whom, though I cannot call a protestant, yet certainly he did great service towards the reformation ; and what he suffered hy j doing his duty, and speaking his mind freely, sufficiently testifies his sincerity : for it cannot possibly be thought otherwise, if we consider how warmly, in his sermon before the convocation, he attacks the corrupt clergy of his time ; for which freedom of speech he was never forgiven by them, though other reasons were pretended for their ill usage of him. / One would wonder, that almost all the ac count that we have of so considerable a person is from that learned foreigner Erasmus, who had experienced his fa vours while he sojourned here in England : but as he had left England many years befoi-e Colet's death, and his friends were too slack in sending in their materials, we could not but fall very short of several things which we might OtherAvise have hoped for. Lupset was a person, by reason of his intimacy with him, that might have done good service in this affair ; but he was (as one styles him) vir in omnibus ^estinabundus, and too unmindful of his old pa^ tron. It must be owned, it is a loss to the world, that Eras mus did not pursue his design of more fully publishing the life of his friend ; but, as imperfect as it is, we aj'e much THE INTRODUCTION. xui indebted to him for that small sketch he hath given us of him in his epistle to Justus Jonas, which is the best and most entire account that we have transmitted to us of him, though he doth very often occasionally make mention of him in several other parts of his works : these being care fully collected, I have inserted in their proper places. It is very plain, that the writing of lives was not the talent of that age, or for a considerable time after ; as will be owned by any one that reads the very lean and jejune accounts we have transmitted to us of the greatest men of that time, even by their very best biographers : so that the most use ful and delightful part of history seems to have been de signed for the succeeding times. Peter Gassendus's Life of Peireskius, and Joach. Camerarius's of Melancthon, were the first that led the van in such essays ; and how acceptable they and others of the same kind have been to the world, I need not say : but I must add, that as it is unpardonable in any writer of a modern life to take any thing upon trust, or without good authority, (this being writing a romance, and not a life,) so, it must be confessed, in one at so great a distance as this before us it is much more so, since there can be no reliance upon any matters of fact which cannot be supported by the testimony of coeval writers as vouchers to it. I have therefore carefully inserted the originals from whence I had my extracts : which being chiefly Latin, that I might not disturb the series of the history to the English reader, I have subjoined them to each page ; being sure I should not be forgiven by the more learned, if I had de prived them of those valuable transcripts and authorities, digested under proper heads, and set in the fairest light, which cannot but be acceptable to all lovers of antiquity. I wish I could have exactly fixed some niceties in the chro nology of a few particular circumstances : but this perhaps is almost an impossibility to compass, and therefore pardon able. From the whole it will appear, that dean Colet was a man that any age might value itself upon, though he lived in one wherein men seemed to love darkness rather than light, and wherein he was as a light shining in that xiv THE INTRODUCTION. darkness : but the event shewed, that he did at last come off more than conqueror over all the opposition that was made against him, and the truth he espoused. The very opinion that Erasmus, the great restorer of learning through Europe, had of him, gives great weight to his character : he knew his worth, and valued him accordingly ; and we find he never speaks of him without some preface of honour and esteem. May I add, that perhaps no single life can afford a more pleasing entertainment ; there being many wonder ful providences recounted in it, which deserve a place in history. I cannot here conceal my hearty wishes, that we would no longer suffer such bright characters of our coun tryraen to lie buried in oblivion. In our neighbouring countries, they think a man of moderate worth, or endued with some few good qualities, deserves a particular remem brance. Melchior Adamus's collection formerly, and Hen. Witten's lately, do abundantly confirm this observation: and shall we suffer so much of the history of reli^on and leaming as falls in with this Hfe to pass by unobserved by us ? It is a carelessness not to be forgiven, that we are ge nerally too negligent in this point ; especially since there is one advantage, amongst other disadvantages, in transmit ting any actions so remote from our own times, that we are in no fear of disobliging any one whatsoever, but may speak the truth without any reserve, or danger of offending, though the difficulty in getting together materials is greater than in more modern accounts : whereas in writing the life of any person nearer our time, we find, too often, that that impartiality is wanting which becomes an historian, and either the suppressing of some ungrateful truth, or the venting of some plausible falsehood, are the unhappy stum- blingblocks that few get over. I shall add no more on this head, but leave the reader to judge of and reflect upon the supereminent worth of this great man: which must afford him this melancholy thought, that when so dark and ignorant an age as that was wherein dean Colet lived, did form a person of such excellent qualities, and furnish him out with such attainments, the succeeding ages THE INTRODUCTION. xv since have not been proportionably productive of many like him ; though all the advantages, both from religion and learning, have concurred towards heightening the de grees of virtue and goodness in mankind to a more heroic pitch of piety than could possibly be expected in those times. And if the church of Rome would arrogate the ho-) nour of this great man to herself, because he died in her communion, yet the many passages in the following historyJ will sufficiently evince, that Dr. Colet was at least a happ^:^ ¦forerunner and promoter of the reformation, and alarmed this nation first toward the throwing off the yoke of super-l stitioH and popery. j As to the manuscripts which he left behind him, though he was an Oxford man, yet it so happens that there are none of them in that university, but are only to be found in that of Cambridge. The comments upon the Epistles to the Corinthians, now in Emanuel college in Cambridge, were given to that society by the reverend Dr. Anth. Tuck ney, (first of that college, afterwards master of St. John's coUege in Cambridge.) The same comments are in the most incomparable library of Corpus Christi college in Cam bridge, given by archbishop Parker, and has at the end thereof the beginning of a commentary on Genesis, no where else to be met with, and not so much as taken notice of in Dr. Bernard's Catalogue of Manuscripts, or in that more exact one of this library published by the reverend Dr. Stanley, one of the late masters of the said college : it begins thus ; Miror sane te, optime Radulphe, quum volu- isti, &c.; and yet, though this is an imperfect work, the fragments of this good man may be accounted a trea sure. There is a note under bishop Tunstal's own hand upon this manuscript, which shews that the dean had writ many other things, but they were lost by the carelessness of his servants: his words are, Svpersunt multa ab eodem Joa/nne Colet scripta in D. Paulum, sed puerorum incuria perierunt. This very valuable manuscript was writ by dean Colet's amanuensis. Pet. Meghen ; of whom I shaU make mention hereafter, when I shall have occasion to speak of xvi THE INTRODUCTION. that very famous manuscript, and the curious picture in it, which is also in the same library. The late reverend Dr. Tho. Gale left a manuscript of our dean's amongst his very valuable coUection, now in the pos session of Roger Gale, esq. and it is one of the fairest of his extant, as well as the only one of the kind: for as those others before mentioned are prolix commentaries upon the apostolical epistles, this is wholly in the analytical way, and seems to be a summary of his more larger comments. The doctor has, with his own hand, in the beginning of this ma nuscript, told us, that he had no reason to doubt of its being the genuine work of dean Colet; the style, manner, and phraseology of it agreeing with another manuscript in the chapter-house at St. Paul's, writ by dean Colet's own .hand. And I cannot but remark, that there is not the least litincture of popery throughout the whole. What Mr. Tho. i 'Smith says of the dean's comments on the Epistles, writj by his own hand, together with his last will and statutes of the school, as they are not now to be found, so it may be, presumed that they were with the old fabric, both schooll and library, consumed together. His comments upon St. Paul's Epistles to the Romans and Corinthians, in the public hbrary of the univeraty of Cambridge, seem also to be the donation of archbishop Par ker; and very probably were bought by him of the ex ecutors of dean Colet, who were ordered to dispose of them by his wUl. This book contains, besides his comments, se veral other pieces of his, which are no where else extant, viz. De Angelis ccelestique Hierarchia, and that episde of his to the abbot of Winchelcomb ; the latter of which is published in the Appendix : this also is a very fair and beautiful ma nuscript. His sermon to the convocation, though I have given an abstract of it in the body of the book, yet the ori ginal being not to be met with but in the Bodleian hbrary, I have printed it at large ; as also the English translation, printed the same year as the Latin, and very probably translated into English by the dean himself, for which I am beholden to the lord bishop of Peterborough. I should THE INTRODUCTION. xvii have been glad that I could have given a plate of the old school, but there is not any extant. From a plan of Lon don before the fire, it appears in a quite -different form from that which is now rebuilt in a much more magnificent manner ; a plate whereof is owing to the favour of John Bridges, esq. who is weU known to be an encourager of every thing that tends to pubhc service. I could have enlarged my account both of masters and scholars of this school, but that would have been to have writ many lives instead of one. All that I have done then is only to keep up the remembrance of persons who have made any sort of figure in the world, though in different capacities ; especially I have omitted none who have been writers. The continuation thereof may be hereafter under taken with great ease, if the school-register be kept in a more perfect way than it hitherto has been. I have added at the end a catalogue of the school-library : which I hope wiU not be without its use, either as a direction to bene factors what books to give, or to the succeeding stewards of the feast what books to buy ; or at least it may serve for a good model for a school-library, it containing an excellent coUection of classical learning. As to his effigies, it was taken by the best hand I could find, from a valuable painting, which was, many years ago, the reverend Dr. John Worthington's, (a great admirer both of dean Colet and his friend Erasmus ;) after whose death it came into the hands of Dr. StiUingfleet, late lord bishop of Worcester; and after that bishop's decease, was reco vered by my worthy friend the doctor's son, (Mr. John Worthington,) to whom I am obliged for this, as well as other kind offices. It seems there is another ancient picture of dean Colet, in the possession of Thomas Slater-Bacon, of Lynton in Cambridgeshire, esq. which resembles much that which Holland gives of him in his Heroologia Anglica. I could have wished, that the reverend Mr. John Pos- tlethwayte had gone through with his design in republish ing the Life of Dean Colet by Erasmus, with his own re marks; which he purposed to have pubhshed in the original b xviii THE INTRODUCTION. Latin, with that of one of his successors, dean Barwick. The reverend Mr, Bedford has lately made pubhc the latter of these, both in Latin and Enghsh, For what reason these two lives were to be joined together I know not, un less upon that of their being deans of the same church: both of them indeed were exceUent men in their respective times; but the circumstances of their lives were so very dif ferent, that they cannot possibly admit of an exact parallel. It were also to be wished, since Erasmus foUows the ex ample of Plutarch, and gives us a parallel between two very excellent persons, that he had chosen another of our coun trymen, rather than gone to France for the character of Vitrarius r who, though it must be owned he was a very pious man, yet, considering the different way of life in which he was engaged from that of dean Colet, (the one being a recluse, and the other as active as any one of his function in the age he hved,) by no means is that pai'allel just or proper. As to any opinions which may seem pecuhar to the dean, and may either be observed in the foUowing account of him, or in any of his manuscripts now extant, the following seem most remarkable, viz. that in his comment on 1 Cor. vi. he doth scarce allow going to law ; and in the seventh chapter of the same epistle he aUows not marriage to be lawful, but only as a remedy contra incontinentiam; ut uii non sentitur ilia injirmitas, ibi ilia ad nuptias licentia non est usurpanda. Nor did he think it necessary that Chris tians should marry for the begetting of children; for " that," saith he, " might be left to the Gentiles," " But what if "the Gentiles should be aU converted.?" " Then," saith he, " the kingdom of God was come ; then would the world " be sanctus et animo et corpore ; then would the end he, " and God all in aU," &c. These, and such hke notions, must be looked upon as nostrums; without which we shall find few writers free, and therefore they ought to be judged of candidly and fairly. I did design to have given in the following Life more of the history of the learned Erasmus, especiaUy that part of THE INTRODUCTION. xix his life which he spent in England ; but that being hke to swell the volume beyond what I designed, I shall rather pubhsh it by itself: and it may very well serve as a supple ment to dean Colet's Life, since it will iUustrate the history of the same time, and wiU afford a very pleasant, and even new, entertainment, to all who desire to have a fuUer account than has yet been given of that prodigy of learning. As I have in this work spared no pains to make it as perfect as I could, so I must gratefully own, that besides those worthy persons before mentioned, I have received good assistance from my special friends, the reverend and learned Dr. Tanner, chancellor of Norwich ; Roger Gale, esq. ; and Mr. Sam. Gale ; as also from Mr. Will. Colet, of Hale near Wendover, who, by the loan of an old family- book, furnished me with the particulars of the dean's spi ritual and temporal revenues, and the settlement of his city estate upon St. Paul's school, which is very nice and cu rious, and whereof there is no mention in his last will and testament; which, however, with his father's, sir Henry Colet's, I have copied out of the Prerogative-office at fuU length, and inserted in the Appendix. Out of the afore mentioned manuscript is also extracted a short Pedigree of the family of the Colets, delineated in the next page, which I could not with any certainty carry higher: and in the same manuscript, sir Tho. More, though not mentioned in dean Colet's wUl, appears to be a trustee in setthng his lands after his death by a deed of feoffment made to John Colet, mercer, kinsman to the said dean. The faults that have escaped the press I hope wiU can didly be imputed to the negligence of the transcribers, or the author's frequent absence firom the press. I shaU add no more, but conclude with wishing, that this essay may at least have the good effect of engaging some of the scholars of other great schools to do like justice to the memories of their founders, and the persons of note bred in their respective seminaries. Tlie Pedigree qf the Colets, as far as can be discovered hy the deeds in the old family booh. Richard Colet 1 Robert Colet of Margaret Wendover - Bur his wife row, from 5 to 24 Hen. VI. dead before 11 Ed. IV. I Thomas Colet of Wendover, 9-12 Ed. IV. WUliam Colet of Wendover, 20 Hen. VIH. John ColetjCi- tizen and mer cer of London 17-24H.VIII. Kateryne Katherine daughterof Tho. Whall, of London, Salter John Colet, citizen and mercer of London, di ed before 1 1 Ed. IV. Sir Hen. Co- let, knight, citizen, mer cer, alderman, sheriff, and mayor of Lond. occm's from 12 Ed. IV. to 18 Hen. VIL Rob. C. of Lon don, 14 Ed. IV. John C. Jeffe ry C. AUce C. Ann C. John Colet, dean of St. Paul's Richard, &c. N.B. There was a Henry Colet, who occurs from 5 Hen. V. to 17 Hen. VI. and also a Mathew Colet of KymbeU 24 Hen. VI. who died before 29 Hen. VI. and left a Tiddow named Margaret; and a John Colet of the Hale in Wendover, son of Robert Colet of the Hale aforesaid, husbandman, deceased 32 Hen. VIII. Fagel. THE LIFE OF DR. JOHN GOLET. J. HIS exceUent person was son and heir to. sir Henry Colet, knt. a younger son of Robert Colet pf Wendover % near AUesbury, in the county of Bucks, esq. who was born in that county, at the manor of Hale ; near which place some of his name stiU con tinue. His father being bred a mercer at London, did by God's blessing upon his industry arrive to great wealth and honour ; retaining always the more emi nent character of a wise and honest man; and his good quaUties made him soon taken notice of, and judged very fit for one of the chief offices in the city, in a time of trouble and confusion, when a great ' We find a will of John Co- 1461. [Reg. Stockton, in Cur. lett, citizen and mercer of Lon- Praerog. fol. 1 8 1 . b.] This John don, dated May 5, 1 46 1, where- Colet was, without doubt, a in he gives to Wendover, Aston, near relation to the dean ; and and Clinton churches, 20s. perhaps that John Colet, whose each ; and to Thomas Colet monument in the church of St. his brother, Alice his wife, Ro- Alban's, Wood-street, London, bert, John, and Jeffry, his sons, is mentioned by Stow. lool. each, prohat. Oct. 27, B 2 THE LIFE OF pestilence reigned there, and the duke of Clarence was put to death by the contrivance of his brother the duke of Gloucester. He was the elder ofthe two sheriffs of London in the year 1477, 17 Edward IV. And by reason of the mayor's great weakness both in body and mind^ a great part of the burden of the mayoralty feU to his lot ; which he discharged with much credit and reputation to himself, as weU as honour to the city. In the next short and tyran nical reign of Richard III. he made shift to escape his fury, though he was in the interest of his rival, Henry duke of Richmond, soon after the renowned king Henry VII. In the beginning of whose wise and happy reign he was elected lord mayor of Lon don, and soon after knighted. The time of his : mayoralty was distinguished by a double happiness, ! vi%. by the marriage of king Henry and the lady Elizabeth, Jan. 18, I486, which united the houses of ; Lancaster and York ; and by the birth of prince Ar thur in Sept. 1487, whom the king so named in ho nour of the British race. But it was his unhappi ness to bear this honourable office in a time of re beUion, when the earl of Lincoln, lord Lovel, and Martin Swart, were actuaUy in arms, though they were soon slain in battle. Before he left the chair, he was instrumental towards the rebuilding a new cross in West-Cheap in a very beautiful manner: bMCCCCLXXVII.xvii. Ed- but not so diligently as his pre- ward IV. mayor, syr Humphrey decessour dyd, wherefore it was Heyforde goldsmith ; sheriffes, not sped as it might have ben ; master Henry Collet, master and also he was a sycke and John Stocker. [Fabian, Graf- feable man, and had not so ton, Stow, &c.] sharpe and quycke mynde, as •^The mayor, Humphrey Hey- that other had. [Fabian sub forde, goiildsmyth, pursued the an. 1478.] rfiparation of the city walls; DR. JOHN COLET. 3 and he did himself and his office the honour of as serting the ancient privUege of naming a sheriff, by the ceremony of drinking to him : which he made more remarkable, in that he drank to his carver, by name John Percival''; whom he made immediately to cover his head, (before bare,) and to set down at the table, where he was waiting ^. When he had been more than seven years above the chair, he had the honour to be caUed to it a second time, in the year 1495, 11 Henry VII. which rendered him stUl more famous for his loyalty, prudence, and courage : he keeping the peace and fideUty of the city, when an army of rebels from CornwaU were very near it, being got as far as Blackheath. This year was farther signaUzed by his justice upon a person convicted of perjury, whom he caused to stand at Paul's cross on a Sunday, at sermon time, a spectacle of shame, in a coat of painted paper, like that horrible disguise which is imposed upon penitents by the inquisition : as also upon another offender ; who stood in a pil lory at CornhiU for adulterating of wines f. But that '' Sir John Percival, kt. (after- the Chronicles of England to wards lord mayor of the city,) the year 1572. sub anno and dame Thomasine his wife, i486. Stow's Survey of Lon- were worthy benefactors to the don, p. 388. parish of St. Mary Wolnoth. ' — On Candlemasse daye The several wills made by them stood at Powles crosse a man both in ancient writing, are (lo disguised in paper, which was the parishes great commenda- convict of perjurye. And the tion) very carefully kept and xxv. daye of Marche stood upon preserved in this church, in a the pyllory on Cornhyll, a cow- goodly enclosure made for that per named John Gamelyn, for purpose, and to be turned over bruyng of wynes, and for like folding tables. I have not chaunging of wyn Grek into seen the like in any other Candy buttes, where through church, saith Mr. Stow, in his wynes Grek were solde for Mal- Survey, ed. 410. p. 387. veseys. [Engl. Chron. MS. ^ Grafton's Abridgement of Cotton, Vitellius, A. 16.] B 2 4 THE LIFE OF which brought to him and his office more than or dinary reputation, both at home and abroad, was this : In February this year was concluded a treaty of peace and intercourse between England and Flanders ; and as the custom then was, for the se curity and warrantry of the peace, besides the re spective princes, the communities, or the chief trad ing towns and cities in each nation, were to be bound under their common seals for the mutual observa tion of it : London being one of the cities, and the chief on the part of England, a draught was therefore prepared for their common seal to be affixed to, (as had been in the conventions between England and Scotland, anno 1482, 22 Edward IV. by WUham Heryot, knt. and mayor, and the aldermen ofthe city of London §.) But the common councU would by no means agree to the putting of the seal to it ; and though the king's prime ministers came to GuUd haU to persua'de them to it, yet they stiU suspended their assent, and desired a respite of six days, in which time they would give their reasons in writing, to be laid before the king and his councU: which was then granted ; but the matter not weU admit ting of any such delay, it was afterwards contrived, that, instead of the body of the city, the mayor alone should give his personal security, and his sin gle bond should be thought equivalent to the pubhc faith of that whole community*^. His dutiful sub- s See Rymer's Fcsd. torn. 12. above and besyde both the seles p. 1 64. of eyther prynces, was graunted '' In the moneth of Febr. xi. to diverse townys of this lande Hen. VII. was conchided an to be bounde, among the whiche amyte and entrecourse between London was one : whiche seal- this lande and Flaunders ; and yng, when it sholde. have been for the assurance of the same, perfourmed, the commons of DR. JOHN COLET. mission is very remarkable ; that he should bind himself and his heirs to make good the faith and ho nour of the crown. And his loyalty and generosity made the king have so firm a respect for him, that he was protected from the artifices and insolences of Empson and Dudley, while several of the other mayors and sheriffs, near his time, were fined and imprisoned, under some pretence or other of exceed ing their commission in the execution of their offices, or being obnoxious to forfeitures and other penal ties of law, by straining of obsolete statutes to op press the subjects, and fiU the exchequer; as sir Thomas Kneysworth ', Sir WiUiam CapeU, and sir Lawrence Aylmer. It seems to have been in this the cite wolde not be agreable theyr sele sholde passe : and al beit that my lord Derby, my lord tresorer, the chyef justyce of England, maister Bray, and the maister of the Rolls, by the king's commaundment came into Guyldhall, to extorte the sayd comons for the same ; yet in no wyse they wolde not be agreable that the towne sele sholde passe, but besought the sayd lordes to graunt unto tliym respite of vi. dayes, trustyng in that season to shew in writyng soche consyderacyons unto the kings grace and his counsaill, that his grace sholde be there with well contented : whiche was to thym graunted, and thereupon dyvers billes were dyvysed. Albeit that for the hasty spede of my lorde cham- berleyne, whiche at that tyme was redy to departe to Caleys, to kepe suche appoyntraent as was before concluded, the mayrs sele was taken only, as in the maner folowith, &c. [See the deed in the Appendix.] ' Anno 1506. xxii. Hen. VII. was Thomas Kneysworth, late mayor, and his two sheriffs, condemned to the king in grete somes of money, over peynfull prisonment by them in the Marshalsea susteyned. Anno 1507. syr Willyam Ca pell was agayne put into vexa- tyon by sute of the kyng for thynges doon by him in the time of his mayoraltie. Anno 1508. syr William Ca pell, after his imprisonment in the counter and sherifTs house, was by the kyriges counsayle commaunded to the Tower, wher he remayned tyl the kyng dyed. And in likewyse was syr Law rence Aylmer delt with, and commytted to the warde or house of Rychard Smyth, shy- reve, and ther remayned as pry- soner by the space abovesaid. [MS. Cotton, Vitellius. A. 16.] B 3 6 THE LIFE OF second mayoralty of sir Henry Colet, and under his direction, that the solemn charge was given to the quest of wardmote in every ward, as it stands printed in the Custumary of London : " Also yf ther be any " paryshe-clerke, that ryngeth curfewe after the " curfewe be ronge at Bow chyrche, or Saynt Brydes " chyrche, or Saynt Gyles without Cripelgat, aU " such to be presented." Nor was sir Henry Colet only a good citizen and magistrate, but also parish ioner. Mr. John Stow, in his Survey of London, mentions him as a great benefactor to St. Anthonie's, (now caUed St. AntUn's,) his parish church, and says, the pictures of him and his wife, ten sons and ten daughters, remain in the glass window on the north side of the church. And it must not be forgot, that in the year 1505, when the church of Great St. Mary's, in Cambridge, was building for the use ofthe university, his name ^ occurs among the letters writ upon that occasion to divers of the prime nobiUty and persons of note, for contributions towards so good a work. After he had fiUed every relation with great reputation and honour, he died of a consider able age, and was buried at Stepney ' : where his mo nument, stiU remaining, shews this sir Hen. Colet, knt. to have been third son of Robert Colet, esq. twice lord mayor of London, and free of the mercers company, and father to Dr. John Colet, sometime dean of St. Paul's. It was refreshed by the com pany of mercers in the year 1605, on the north side ; ''Literaeperdiversosmercede batem Westm. [Lib. Procur. conscriptae ad regem, matrem Acad. Cantabr.] regis, comitem Oxon. Hen. i See also Norden's Middle- Colet, M""» Fyndar, Jo. Mor- sex, p. 39. Lewis. daunt Cancellarium, D'"" Ab- Page 6. iiiiiMiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinii liiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii iiiimiiiii iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimiiiiiiiii iiiiiiiiiiiii Illi Sepulchrum HENRICI COLET E(fuitis. r// Cancello E cries- ue de Stepney. DR. JOHN COLET. 7 and was repaired the second time at the charge of the company of mercers, London, 28th of July, 1697. But the ancient epitaph, preserved by Mr. Weever, in his book of Funeral Monuments, was this ; " Here " lyeth sir Henry CoUet, knight, twice mayor of " London, who died in the year of our redemption " 1510 ™." Sir Henry Colet, by his wife Christian, a gentle woman of good birth, (probably of the family of Kne- vet,) caUed nobilis mulier by a writer of that age ", had two and twenty children, in an equal number of sons and daughters ; of whom the first-born was our John Colet, who within a few years was the only surviving comfort to his parents °, and might seem to be an abundant compensation of Providence for the untimely loss of all the rest. This Dr. John Colet was born at London, within the aforenamed parish of St. Anthony, in the year 1466. At which time it was reputed a sort of no biUty to be born and bred in that great cityP, and ™ Letters of fraternity were [15 19.] insigniprobitate mulier, granted by the prior and chap- marito suo undecim filios pe ter of Christ Church, Canter- perit, ac totidem filias : quorum bury, to Christina Collett, dated omnium natu maximus erat Decemb. I, 15 10. Lewis. Coletus ; ac proinde solus haeres " Sane accidit, ut ex duobus futurus, juxta leges Britannicas, et viginti filiis quos Henricus etiamsi illi fuissent superstites : Coletus ejus pater, civis summa sed ex omnibus ille superfuit niodestia et gravitate, ex Cfiris- solus, cum ilium nosse coepis- tiana uxore, nobili muliere, sus- sem. [Epist. Erasmi Jod. eeperat, solus ipse superstes Jonse.J fuerit, eique paterna haereditas p Thomas Morus natus est venerit. [Pol. Vergil, lib. 26.] Londini ; in qua civitate, multo "Natus est e Claris et opulen- omnium celeberrima, natum et tis parentibus ; idque Londini : educatum esse, apud Anglos siquidem pater bis in urbe sua nonnuUa nobilitatis pars habe- praefecturam siimmam gessit, tur. [Ep. Erasmi Joanni Fabro, quam illi majoritatem appellant, in Ep. lib. 27. edit. Bas. 1540. Mater, quae adhuc superest, p. 1070.] B 4 8 THE LIFE OF more was expected from such than from others'': and we have no reason to doubt, he had his first edu cation there, in that school which bare the name of his own parish ; a school which at that time was the most eminent of any in London, and soon after gave education to one of Colet's most famiUar friends, sir Thomas More, knt. lord chancellor of England ; as afterwards to Dr. Nicholas Heath, archbishop of York, and lord chanceUor of England, Dr. John Whitgift, archbishop of Canterbury, &c. ^ His mother, after the death of her husband, con tinued at Stepney ; Uving retiredly in that house which her son gave afterwards for the safe abode of the master of Paul's school in the time of any pesti lential sickness ; and where a good house now stands, with the bust of Dr. Colet set on the front of it. The greatest pleasure she enjoyed there was to have the company of her son, and to entertain those learned friends he brought along with him ; espe ciaUy the poUte and facetious Erasmus, whose con versation she delighted in, and used to talk of him in his absence with a particular air of mirth and plea sant freedom of speech. So her son teOs him in a letter from that country-house, anno 1516 ^ But alas ! she there outUved aU her comfort in this "> Erasmus Joanni Moro ado- Houses of Learning. lescenti — dimittamte, si tibiad- * Me, ut facis, ama ; etsi ad hue unum Aristotelicum apo- nos reversus fueris, habebis me phthegma recensuero. Cuidam tibi deditissimum. Vale ex rure jactanti sese quod amplae cele- Stepnetiano, apud genetricem; brisque civitatis erat civis ; noli, quae adhuc vivit,et belle senescit, inquit, isthuc spectare, sed ex- et de te ssepius hilarem et ju- pende, num illustri civitate sis cundam facit mentionem. [Epi- dignus. [Ibid. p. 1 194.] stola Coleti Erasmo suo. Edit. ¦¦ Stow's Survey of London, Basil. 152 1. p. 91.] in the chapter of Schools and Oj0) 5s 11 DR. JOHN COLET. 9 world, this her son : which yet she bore Uke a good Christian ; with such contentedness and self-submis sion to the wiU of God, that Erasmus, many years after, cited her for a rare example of patience and acquiescence under the loss of children, when he comforted his friend Amerbach upon the death of his Uttle daughter. " I knew in England," says he, " the mother of John Colet, a matron of singular " piety : she had by the same husband eleven sons " and as many daughters ; aU which hopeful brood " was snatched away from her, except her eldest " son ; and she lost her husband, far advanced in " years : she her self being come to her 90th year, " looked so smooth, and was so cheerful, that you " would think she had never shed a tear, nor " brought a chUd into the world ; and (if I mistake " not) she survived her son, dean Colet. Now that " which suppUed a woman with so much fortitude " was not learning, but piety towards God. WiU " you then, who are a man, and of so great learning " and prudence, and even of courage in other mat- " ters, grieve, and talk of dying with a Uttle in- "fant'?" Decessit tibi filiola- quid habituri sumus justse que- relse adversus Deum ? Quod de dit, gratuitum est, quod, quum voluit, datum repoposcit, suo jure fecit; neque enim id per petuum esse voluit, sed commo- datitium. Apud Anglos novi Joannis Coleti matrem, rarae pietatis rnatronam ; ex eodem marito suscepit filios undecim, filias totidem ; totus ille chorus ereptus est uno excepto Coleto, qui fuerat natu maximus ; a- demptus est et maritus senex anui : jam accedebat ad annura nonagesimum, facie tam Inte gra, moribus tam alacribus, ut diceres illam non luxisse un quam, nec peperisse: denique, ni fallor, et Coleto supervixit. Tantum animi robur, foeminae praestitit, non eruditio, sed pietas erga Deum ; et tu, vir, ista doc trina, ista prudentia, ista cae teris in rebus animi praesentia, infantulae commoreris ? Friburg. BrisgoitB, pridie nonas Julii, 10 THE LIFE OF Having mentioned Erasmus, I cannot forbear ac quainting the reader, that as Colet and he were much of an age", (which he would sometimes modestly boast of, as an honour to be bom about the time this great man was,) so afterwards tbey became the most familiar friends imaginable, to the very end of their Uves. And therefore I shaU very much rely upon his authority ; who, being so very intimate with him, reported (no doubt) from fuU information and ex perience whatever account he gives of him. What Polydore VergU, another ofhis contemporary writers, says briefly of him is this : that he was by an early and natural disposition incUned to piety and reUgion ; and therefore as soon as he grew to wards a man, and was weU instructed in aU those arts and sciences that are caUed humanity, he ap pUed himself to the study of divinity, choosing St. Paul as his particular master, and exercising himself perfectly in his writings, both at Oxford and Cam bridge \ Erasmus (more fuUy) tells us, that while he was a youth, he run dihgently through a course of aU manner of scholastic philosophy, and deserved his ti tle of master of the Uberal arts and sciences, being perfectly versed in every one of them. Cicero's writ ings he had read with great eagerness : and he had anno 1532. [Epist. Erasmi cessit, atque ab his artibus qiii- lib. 24. epist. 16. Lond. ed. Col. bus aetas puerilis ad hunianita- 1 3 1 8.] tem informatur, se ad divinarum " Oxoniae — hominem nosse literarum studium contulit, et coepi — natus tum erat annos Paulum sibi praeeeptorem de- ferme triginta, me minor duo- legit ; in eoque cum Oxonii et bus aut tribus mensibus. [Epist. Cantabrigiae, tum in Italia, ita Eras. Jod. Jona;.] exercuit, &c. [Pol. Verg. lib. "Natura sanctus ac religio- xxvi. fol. ult.] sus, ut primum ex pueris ex- DR. JOHN COLET. 11 made some attempt upon the works of Plato and Plotinus ; and gone, with attention, through every part of mathematics. Before his travels abroad, he had determined his studies to divinity ; and in order to it, had searched into the ancient fathers, and was^ particularly deUghted with Dionysius, Origen, Cyy prian, Ambrose, and Jerome ; but he had the least reUsh of aU to St. Austin. He sometimes read Sco tus and Thomas, and such Uke trash of the school men, rather in comphance with the fashion, than from any true reUsh he found in them. He was also very industrious in consulting the best tracts in the civU and canon law. And there was no one book relating to the history and constitution of the church and state, which he had not dihgently turned over. Nay, and he run through all the EngUsh poets, for the true use of thera, to help, correct, and embel- Ush his language and style, and to fit and prepare him for a more eloquent preacher y. y Adolescens apud suos, Origene, Cypriano, Ambrosio, quicquid est scholasticse phi- Hieronymo : atque, inter vete- losophiae, diligenter perdidicit, res, nulli erat iniquior quam Au- ac titulum assequutus est, qui gustino ; neque tamen non legit septem liberaUum artium scien- Scotum, ac Thomam, aliosque tiam profitetur. Q\iarum nulla hujus farinae, si quando locus erat in qua ille non fuisset gna- postulabat. In utriusque juris viter ac feliciter exercitatus ; libris erat non indiligenter ver- nara et libros Ciceronis avi- satus. Denique nullus erat li- dissime devorarat, et Platonis, ber, historiam aut constitutiones Plotinique libros non oscitanter continens majorum, quem ille excusserat, nec ullam niathe- non evolverat. Habet gens Bri- matices partem intactam reli- tannica, qui hoc praestiterunt quit. Post tanquam avidus bo- apud suos, quod Dantes ac Pe- narum rerum negotiator, adiit trarcha apud Italos. Et horum Galliam ; mox Italiam. Ibi se evolvendis scriptis linguam ex- totum evolvendis sacris autori- polivit,jamtumsepraeparansad bus dedit. Sed prius per omnia prjeconium sermonis evangelici. literarum genera magno studio [Erasmus Jodoco Jonae, id. peregrinatus, priscis illis potis- Jun. 1519.] simum delectabatur, Dionysio, 12 THE LIFE OF Mr. Wood says, he was educated in grammatical partly in London or Westminster ; and being fitted for greater learning, was sent to the habitation of the muses, the university of Oxon, about 1483, (at which time one or more of his surname were of St. Mary Magdalen coUege, as most probably he himself was,) where, after he had spent seven years in logicals and phUosophicals, he was licensed to proceed in arts, being about that time so exquisitely learned, that aU TuUy's works were as. familiar to him as his epistles. He was also no stranger to Plato and Plo tinus ; whom he not only read, but conferred and paraUeled, perusing the one as a commentary to the other. And as for the mathematics, there was scarce any part of it wherein he was not seen above his years '\ This account is to be depended on, so far as agree able to the testimony of those aforementioned au thorities. However, each consents, that he very early gave the world reason to hope, he wovdd in due time become a very considerable person. But here it must be remembered, that when he read Plato, Plotinus, Dionysius, and Origen, he was forced to read the Latin translations of them : for at school he had no opportunity of learning the Greek tongue ^ ; nor scarce in the university at his first coming thither. ^ Athenae Oxon. vol. i. animadvertentes hanc blasphe- ^ About this time there were miam cadere in Hieronymum, great discouragements frora cui- Ambrosium, et Augustinuni, rivaling thestudy of the tongues. aliosque complures, quibus doc- Quidam non verentur privatim toribus gloriatur ecclesia. Hu- ac publice, atque adeo in sacris jusmodi stolidissimas nugas m- etiam concionibus deblatterare, culcant auribus adolescenti- has literas [i. e. Graecas] esse um in secretis confessionibus : fontes omnium haereseiun ; non " Cave a Graecis, ne fias haere- DR. JOHN COLET. 13 Such was the infeUcity of those times, that the Greek tongue was not taught in any of our gram- r mar-schools ^ ; nor was there thought to be any great need of it in the two universities by the generahty of scholars. It is worth notice, that Standish, who was a bitter enemy to Erasmus, in his declamation against him, styles him Grceculus iste; which was a long time after the phrase for an heretic, or one faUing under the suspicion of heretical pravity. And for this very reason, those very few that under stood Greek were afraid to teach it, lest they should be thought to propagate heresy '^. But Dr. John Fisher, reputed the best preacher and the deepest divine in those times, head of Queen's coUege in Cambridge, chanceUor of that university, chaplain at court, and afterwards bishop of Roches ter, was of another mind, and very sensible of this imperfection : which made him desirous to learn Greek in his decUning years ^•, and for that purpose " ticus. Fuge literas Hebraeas, quemque ad linguae ejus cogni- " ne fias Judaeorum similis" — tionem, quamdiu nobiscum de- [Erasmi Adagia. Op. tom. 2. gebat (degebaf autem annis ali- p. 933.] quot, intercisis licet tempori- *> Hunc [Erasmum] lubentis- bus) sine pretio informare ; qua sime amplectebantur quotquot in re tam feliciter desudavit, ut supra studiosorum vulgus sa- Grascas literas probe docti aca- piendum arbitrabantur : verum demicorum nonnulli alios dein- advertentibus monachis et fra- ceps erudirent. [Hist, et An- tribus quibusdam quod operam tiq. Oxon. lib. i. sub anno in Grasca lingua (quae quidem 1498.] maligne admodum in Academia "^ Me adolescente, in nostra tum nostra fiorebat) promoven- Germania regnabat impune da poneret, tanquam si monstri crassa barbaries ; literas Grae- quippiam aut scelerati aggre- cas attigisse haeresis erat, &c. deretur, popelli literarii animos [Erasmus adv. Cursium. Op. alienare ab illo nitebantur; tom. 9. p. 1440.] Coleto licet et Linacro in con- '' Si de haeresi periclitatur, qui trarium laborantibus. Non de- Graece et Hebraice novit, quod stitit tamen Erasmus volentem Lutherus haruni linguarum ru- 14 THE LIFE OF he wrote to Erasmus, to persuade WiUiam Latymer, an EngUshman, (who from his travels had brought home that language in perfection,) to be his instruc tor in it. Erasmus accordingly wrote to Latymer, and importuned him to it. But he decUned the un dertaking to teach the bishop at those years; al leging the long time it would require to make any proficiency in that tongue, from the examples of the greatest masters of it then in England, Grocin, Li- nacer, Tonstal, Pace, and Moore ; and to excuse him self, advised that the bishop should send for a mas ter out of Italy. And as there is no doubt but the con sciousness of want of Greek in Colet, incited him not only to attain to some competent knowledge of it himself, but also to lay the foundation of his school, for the better accommodation of others, and to pro vide a master the best accomphshed in that lan guage ; and so in effect to be the founder of the first Greek school in England: so not unlike to dean Colet was bishop Fisher in this point. For his want of Greek made him the greater patron and promoter of it in Cambridge ; and his being chanceUor of the university made it more eminent than Oxford in this respect : knowing therefore the abiUties of Eras mus this way, he invited him thither, and supported him in professing that language, which he Iiimself (at last) had made himself master of. And it wouldU^ bear a general observation, that the worthy founders of coUeges and schools have not been always the dis non est ; quur non potius in hic omnibus Unguis excellit, ille tuto esse dicitur, quod Joannes tres linguas, aetate jam ver- episcopus Roffensis, quod Hie- gente, non vulgari studio ani- ronymus Aleander archiepisco- plectitur. [Erasmi Adagia. Op. pus Brundusinus, propugnalores tom. ii. p. 933.] sunt nutantis ecclesi;e : quorum DR. JOHN COLET. 15 greatest clerks, though for the most part the wisest and best of men : there was sense and truth in that prelate^, who, when accused of being no scholar, said, he could make scholars, and that was greater. The coUege in Oxford, that has raised up the great est lights and ornaments in learning, was expressly founded for the three learned tongues : though the excellent founder f, the oracle of his age, could be only skiUed in the first of them, unless he recovered that defect of breeding in his old age : as it is cer tain bishop Fisher before mentioned did ; who, under the impulses of Erasmus, was not ashamed, that his gray hairs should, as it were, go to school again. And so our Colet, being sensible how deficient he was in this tongue, and inflamed by Erasmus's great proficiency in it, expresses in an epistle to him, his wiUingness to be his scholar, though of an advanced age?. It would cast a greater glory on the present state of learning in our two universities, to look back upon the clouds of ignorance which hung over them in the times immediately preceding the Reformation. As for Oxford, its own history and antiquities suf ficiently confess, that nothing was known there but Latin, and that in the most depraved style of the schoolmen. CorneUus VitelUus, an ItaUan, was the first who taught Greek in that university^'; and from ^ William Wickham, bishop adjungam lateri tuo ; exhibebo- of Winchester, founder of the que me tibi discipuluhi, etiam college there, and New college in discendo Graece, quanquam in Oxford. jam provecta aetate, et prope f Richard Fox, bishop of senex. [Epist. Coleti Erasmo Winchester, founder of Corpus suo, edit. Bas. 1521. p. 91.] Christi college in Oxford. ^ Antea enim Cornelius Vi- s Applicabo me, si patieris, et tellius, homo Italus Corneti, 16 THK LIFE OF him tlie famous Groi yno loarnod the first olomonts thereof In Ciunbridgo, Erasmus was the first who tauglit the Grook grammar. And so vory low A\as the state of lonruiugin that univorsity. that (ns he teUs a friend) about tho yoar 1 IS."), the beginning of Homy tho ^'llth's roigu. thoro wa.s nothing taught in that public seminary besides Aloxanilors Pai'va Logioa- lia. (as thoy oaUod them,') tlio old axioms of Aristotle. and the questions of John Sootus. till in proce.^ss of time good letters w oro brought in, and some know- lodsi'o of tho luathoinatios ; Jis also Aristotle in a now dross, and sonu" skUl in tho Greek tongue ; and, by dogroos. a multitudo oF authors, whoso names before had not been heard of'. It is oortain that even Krasnuis liimsolf (hd little understand (ircek, when ho i iuuo fust into Englaiul, in 1497. (13 Henry A'^II.) and that our oountryiuan Linaoer taught it him, being just returned from Italy ^\ ith groat skiU in that laiiguago : wliioli Li- naoor and ^^'illiam (irooyne w ore the two only tutors that wore able to toaoh it. Tlie first ossay that Erasmus made of shewing lii.s l)rofioionoy in tho (ireok tongue, w as in translating throe dcolamations of Libanius into Latin. Thus quod est muritimum Hotniriiv gressu temporis iu'cossonint o\)pidum, uiilus nobili prosupiii, boniK lilonc ; acci'ssit umtlieso- omnium prim\is (Konii bonis os cogiiitin ; lu'cossil uoviis, nut Uteris juvcnlulemerudivit. [l*ol. corlo noviilus. Aristotolos ; iic- \'iM-g, lib. xxvi.] ix'ssil (iniriinim lilori\n\ui pi'ii- ' Anto iiunost (cniio Irigiiitu, tin; lurcssi'ruut mitoii'S tiiiii nihil tnuli'biitur in si'liola Ciu>- ni\ilti, quorum olim ne noiuiiia tiibrigionsi, pia'ti'r Aloxiuidri (luidoMiti'ncbantur.S^c. [Enisiiil Parva liOi^iciiiiii, ut voimmI, ct Kpist. Hoiiiioo Hovillo, (liit. vett-ni illu Aristotolis dictntn, /I'o/ZIc cnl. Sept. i 516.] Scoticiisqwo ipustimios. Pro- DR. JOHN COLET. 17 wo I'ead nt the boginuing ; Prima ('.rpcrioifia iu rer- tfudis Ciricc!,\-. And he dedicated this vei"sion to Dr. I\ii'holas Rutor. l)islu>p of Anas, chancellor of tho univorsity of Lovain. Dat. Lovanii. M.D. III. xv. kal. Doiomb^ In tho mean time Bern. Andreas, a native of Tho- Itniso. first opouod a school for tho Grook tongue in Loudon. But tho first Englishman, who in any public school taught the (nook as weU as Latin, was nvastor ^^'illiam Lilly, in St. Paul's school; tho good foimdor whortvf. doan Colot, string the nooes- sity of having a tolorablo sliaro of the (irook tongue. towards tho hotter pitx-eeding in his tlieologioal studios, did slum uo pains, nor thought himself too old to learn it ; as was boforo liintod, p. l-t. ^^'hon Colot had taken his dogroos in arts at Ox ford, he was at years, aud nt liberty to choose his profession, or to take up with tho life of a gentloman ; having a suthoiont estate to support him. and a fair iuteirst to rei-ommend him nt court for any siutable othiv and omployment ; w itli the advantag-e of a tall and ot>nu ly poi-sonago '- And this turn to a courtier might jtei^haps have been the advice of his father, sir Henry Colet; who in so many pubhc olheos of tho city had btvn used to gaiety and sjilen- doin\ aud had g-juutnl a very particular interest in *= I'ho oris;in;il MS. is in Tri- sub persona Monelai, tertia nity ivlloijv librsirv in t'.-mi- Nov. t^c-;. (Oiuun nuper os- briitiiw pveu to it bv Hugh seuulivhuuationes aliquot Gr.v- IVters, the nxiiido. It is Innh eas naetus. pr.esiil amplissime. in GrxH.>k tuui Latin, with a do- eisque \ertendis perieuluin de dieatioii to Nie. Riiter, bishop iiieipso tiieere statuissem, i:te. o( .Vrnis ; liefore whieh ;ire his [Lc't.i'.'. 15 cal. Ptv. 150;.] anus illuininntcHi. Enisnnis is ' Xeeessenil his fortuniv eom- ther^ sInUhI e>»««>MiVit.< i'r„';'.;.v unHlis a^rpiis ele^ms ae pro- iV.'/«jrK,'.'f.''t!. IXvlauiatio prima eerum. [Era-;. .)ih1. .Ion.] 18 THE LIFE OF the king, by being a faithful and serviceable subject. But the pious young man, determined by his own spirit of reUgion, was resolved to enter into holy or ders, and so renounce the temptations ofhis birth and fortune : which choice, and his fixed adherence to the service of God in his church, Erasmus thought very commendable "- Being thus unmoved in his resolution, he was pre sented to the church of St. Mary Denyngton, in the diocese of Norwich, within the county of Suffolk; which made Cambridge a convenient road between Oxford and his benefice, and might weU entitle him to that relation unto both universities, which Polyd. Verg. ascribes to him ". He was presented to this Uving by sir WiUiam Knevit, knight, and dame Joan his wife ; instituted August 6, 1485°, and kept it to his dying day. Another of his preferments was the prebend of Botevant, in the church of York ; to which he was admitted in the year 1493, upon the resignation of the famous Christopher Urswicke. " Ac fortasse Coletus hoc negge, institutus fiiit personali- nomine phis laudis meretur, ter Johannes Colet acolitus in quod nec indulgentia fortunae, ecclesiam parochialem de De-^ nec impetu naturae longe alio nyngton suee dioces. per libe- trahentis, potuerit ab evan- ram resignationem M. Milonis gelicae vitae studio depelli. Thorpe, ultimi rectoris ibidem [Ibid. p. 573. edit. Bas.] rite factam et admissam, vacan- " Coletus se ad divina- tem ad praesentationem domini rum literarum studium contulit. Will. Knevet militis, et do- et Paulum sibi praeeeptorem de- minae Johannae uxoris suae, ve- 'legit; in eoque cum Oxonii et rorum ipsius ecclesiae patropo- Cantabrigiae, tum in Italia ita rum, receptoq\ie ab eodem in- exercuit, ut homo factus ad un- stitulo juramento canonicaeobe- : guem, &c. [Pol. Verg. Hist, dientiae, scriptum fuit archidia- Ang. lib. 6.] cono Suflble. seu ejus official! "Sexto die mensis Augusti ad indueenduni. [Ex registro anno Dom. [1485] pendominum domini .lacobi Goldwell, epis. reverendum patrem .-ipud Thor- Norviceiisis, lib. xii. fol. ii6.] DR. JOHN COLET. 19 He was also presented by his own father, sir Henry Colet, to the church of Thrynning % (or Thyrning,) in the diocese of Lincoln and county of Huntingdon ; to which he was instituted October 2, 1490. But he resigned it the latter end of 1493, and was succeeded in it by John Smith, chaplain, presented by John Peck, Jan. 20, 1493''. He re signed also the prebend of Goodeaster, in the church of St. Martin le grand, Jan. 26, 1503, having in 1502 been admitted to the prebend of Durnesford in the church of Sarum. He was scarce nineteen years old, when he was preferred to the great Uving of Denington : which practice of taking Uvings, whUe a novice, has gene raUy (though very irregular and indecent) prevailed in the church of Rome ; and was one of those many abuses which have been since removed by the blessed reformation. But if he did enter upon a cure of souls before he could sufficiently consider the weighty charge belonging to it ; yet by his care when he came to a more mature age he atoned for it : and we may see by his exceUent sermon to the clergy in convocation, that this matter had great weight upon his mind ; as well as every thing that tended to wards bringing on a reformation in the church. It will therefore be no surprise to find, that master P Henricus Colet mi- [Reg. Russel, ep. Line] les praesentamus dilectum — Primum quidem non pos- certe tam pondere, quam nu- sum assentire tibi cum multis a- raero violenta; tamen meam liis id dicenti, et meo judicio er- 42 THE LIFE OF After this, he was going on to answer his argu ments in order. " But," says he, " other business " caUs me now away, and I must abruptly end this "^ letter. Consider in the mean whUe how to defend " your causf ; for I shaU certainly attack you in my " next letter, till then fareweP." Mr. Colet kept his word, and sent a confutation of aU the foregoing arguments of Erasmus : but it seems the remaining papers were lost or stolen away''. While Erasmus made some stay at Oxford, the occasions of master Colet caUed him to some other part of England: but whatever was the distance, those two friends kept a constant correspondence, and Colet used to send his own servant to carry and bring back the letters that passed between them. In one of them * master Colet had kindly reproved ranti, sacras literas, saltem uno mus: verum eanon quibantha- aliquo in genere, suapte foecun- beri, cum haec imprimerentur. ditate plures sensus parere. Non [Ep. edit. Argentorati anno quod nohm ipsas quam foecun- 1515. 4to.] dissimas esse, quarum exube- <= Quam laetabar antea vel falso rantem foecunditatem plenitu- laudari a viro omnium laudatis- dinemque unice admiror : sed simo, tam nunc admoneri gau- quod opiner, foecunditatis esse deo ab amico sincerissimo. Igi- ipsius non parturire plura, sed tur posthac pro tuo arbitratu unum aliquod, et ipsum verissi- tuum Erasmum vel laudato, mum. vel objurgato, modo quotidie ¦^ — Nunc ex proposito de- literarum tuarum aliquid hue scendendum esset in campum, advolet ; qua re nihil possit ac- et cum tuis argumentis confli- cidere jucundius. Quod neo- gendum. Sed alia me avocant ; tericum theologorum genus, ut nunc cogar huic epistolae fi- qui meris ai^utiis et sophisticis nem ponere. Quapropter cau- cavillationibus insenescunt, tibi sam nostram tecum, et cum negas placere ; ne tu mecum ista instructa acie argumento- vehementer, mi Colete, sentis. rum, dimicationem in alia epi- Non quod illorum studia dam- stola expecta. Vale interea. nem, qui nidlum omnino stu- '' ; — Bis ad haec respondit dium non laudo ; sed cum sola Coletus ; toties rursum Eras- sunt iste, nec ullis antiquioribus DR. JOHN COLET. 43 Erasmus for some fault and omission in him : which though not mentioned by Erasmus, yet we find how weU it worked with him ; and that he thought these kind monitions were rather an establishment than a breach of friendship, and without which plain deaUng it was impossible it should subsist long.' Then he freely expressed his great disUke of that new theo logy, which was unhappily brought into the church by the modern schoolmen, and was in effect nothing but the art of trifling and wrangUng : telUng him that he had set himself against those scholastical di vines ; and would, if possible, restore the theological studies that were founded upon the scriptures and the primitive fathers. That it was upon this view he had publicly in Oxford expounded the epistles of St. Paul ; and should be glad of a partner in that labour of searching the scriptures. And he earnestly pressed Erasmus to join with him, and to undertake a Uke pubUc exposition of some part of the Old Testa ment, (while he himself was employed in the New,) either a book of Moses, or the eloquent Isaiah, that he might so warm the minds and affections of the students in those cold winter months that were now coming on ^. This exceUent letter of Mr. Colet is lost : but the elegantioribusque condita lite- tuas ; provinciam (ita me Deus ris, ejusmodi mihi videntur, ut amet) sumpsisti multis modis sciolum et contentiosum ho- pulcherrimam, ipsius theologiae minem reddere possint ; sapien- nomine piissimam, &c. tem an possint, viderint ahi. f — Hortaris enim, imo pene Quo cum hominum genere in- convicio efflagitas, ut quemad- expugnabili quum tu, Colete, di- modum tu Paulum, itidem ego micationem susceperis, ut veto- vel priscum ilium Mosen, vel rem illam ac veram theologiam, facundum Esaiam enarrans, hi- istorum spinis obsitam implex- bemis his mensibus frigentia amque tu pristinum nitorem ac (uti scribis) hujus gymnasii stu- dignitatem pro tua virili resti- dia coner accendere. 44 THE LIFE OF answer of Erasmus shews the contents of it. Where in, among the excuses made for not complying with the advice of it ^, the best excuse of Erasmus was, that he must soon return to Paris. In the mean time, while he was detained in England, partly by the winter season, and partly by an embargo laid on shipping, upon the flight of a certain commander, [^. e. an escape out of the Tower, made by the pre tender Perkin Warbeck,] he had retired for a few months to that famous university, to converse with scholars and divines, rather than with courtiers. He would have Colet go on with his laudable endeavours of reforming the studies of divinity, and says : " As " soon as I am conscious to myself of strength and " abiUty sufficient, I wiU readily come in to your as- " sistance ; and be diUgent at least, if not useful, in " that exceUent work. In the mean time, nothing " can be a greater pleasure, than either in discourse, " or by letter, to inquire into the sense and right " meaning of the holy scriptures. FareweU, my g — Ego vero, qui mecum agerem. Caeterum ubi mihi con- habitare didici, nec ignoro quam scius ero, adesse robur et vires sit mihi curta supellex, neque justas, accedam et ipse tuis par- doctrinae tantum arrogo, quae tibus, et in asserenda theologia, tantis obeundis rebus sufficiat ; si non egregiam, certe sedulam neque tantum animi robur mi- operam navabo ; interim nihil hi reor adesse, ut tot hominum mihi possit esse dulcius, quam sua fortiter tuentium invidiam (ita ut coepimus) quotidie vel queam sustinere. Quod si coram, vel per epistolas, de sa- maxime par sim, ne liceat qui- cris literis inter nos conflictari. dem : nam mox Lutetiam re- Vale, mi Colete. Hiimanissi- lictam repeto ; interim, dum me mus praesul, Richardus Char- partim hyems hic alligat, partim nocus, hospes meus, communis recens cujusdam ducis fuga non mihi tecum amicus, jussit tibi sinit exire, tuto in hanc lauda- suis verbis multam salutem ad- tissimam academiam me con- scribi. Oxoniae, e collegio ca- tuli, ut unum aut alterum men- nonicorum ordinis divi Augusti- sera, cum tui sirailibus potius, ni, quod vulgo dicitur S. Mariae. quam cum torquatis istis aulicis DR. JOHN COLET. ' 45 " Colet. The most courteous prelate, [all heads of " reUgious houses were so called,] Richard Char- " nock, my host, and our common friend, bids me " give you his wishes of health and happiness. Ox- " ford: from the convent of canons of the order of " St. Augustine, commonly caUed St. Mary's." Thus ends the epistle which is prefixed to the first im pression ofthe dispute, !De T(sdio et Pavore Christi; though it seems to have no relation to it, but to have been upon some other subject. In this epistolary intercourse, Colet and Erasmus, like true Christians and divines, consulted and in structed one another. And their conversation, while together in England, was to promote their mutual studies and endeavours for the pubhc good : which they continued to do many years after this : for when Erasmus was here preparing his immortal work, the New Testament in its original, and a new Latin version, he was very much assisted by Dr. Colet ; who lent him two very authentic Latin copies '', of so great antiquity, that he was at first a stranger to the literature of them, and was forced to learn their alphabet, that he might understand them '. •¦ The two first Gospels were adv. Satorem. Op. tom. ix. p. copied out of them by Peter 613.] Meghen, a rare scribe with one ' Testamentum quod vocant eye, born at Brabant in Flanders. Novum, omni qua licuit diligen- He' was kept by Dr. Colet, in tia, quaque decuit fide, recog- the dean's house at Paul's : novimus ; idque primum ad and his most fair transcript is Graecam veritatem: ad quam, now kept in the public library seu fontem, si quid incident, at Carabridge. [Smith's Life of confugere, non solum illustrium Colet. 1662.] Habui duos co- theologorum exempla suadent; dices vetustissimos ex biblio- verum etiam toties monent theca collegii quod est Londini Hieronymus et Augustinus, et sacrum divo Paulo, ex his quam ipsa Romanorum pontificum multa restitui. [Eras. Apolog. decreta jubent : deinde ad fidem 46 THE LIFE OF After the departure of Erasmus, master Colet had stiU his common residence at Oxford, where he went on with his useful exposition of the apostoUcal epistles ; and did it in such a clear affectionate way, that he gained much upon his audience. At this time it was a new thing to have any read ings upon the scriptures, even in that place where a pubUc divinity lecture was founded by king Ed ward IV''. And though theological disputations were frequently had in many houses, (especiaUy of the reUgious,) yet the scholastical divinity, (which then generaUy prevaUed,) did very Uttle concern it self with scripture. Their readings were ushered in with a text, or rather a sentence of Scotus and Aquinas : and the expUcation was not trying it by the word of God ; but by the voice of other scholas tic interpreters, and the intricate turns of what they caUed logic ; which was then nothing but the art of corrupting human reason and the Christian faith. It may be noted here, that the use and study of the scriptures was so low at that time, and even in this university of Oxford, that the being admitted a bachelor of divinity, gave only Uberty to read the Master of the Sentences, [Pet. Lombard,] and the highest degree of doctor of divinity did not admit a man to the reading of the scriptures : which made Mr. Colet so careless as to those degrees ; who would not take them several years after he was capable of vetustissimorum Latinae linguae cenda lectio, et in noscitandis codicum, quorum duos exhibuit dementis fiuerit repuerascen- eximius ille divinae philosophiae dum. [Erasmus lectori, in An- mystes, Johannes Coletus, Pau- not. N.T.] linae apud Londinum ecclesiae ^ Hist, et Antiq. Oxon. lib. decanus ; adeo priscis literarum xi. p. 32. typis, ut mihi ab integro dis- DR. JOHN COLET. 47 them, till at last (by the importunity of his friends) we find him doctor of divinity in the year 1504, (as Mr. Wood says,) a degree very becoming one who had such preferments as he then enjoyed ; and greater he was designed for; though his thoughts were so much engaged, that he could hardly attend to any thing else but the destruction of that idol of ignorance, the cobweb divinity of the schools, and to exalt the scriptures and Jesus Christ in its room; which was aU the honour he sought. He had observed these schoolmen to be a heavy set of formal feUows, that might pretend to any thing rather than to wit and sense : for to argue so elaborately about the opinions and the very words of other men, to snarl in perpetual objections, and to distinguish and divide into a thousand niceties ; this was rather the work of a poor and barren invention than any thing else '. It aU along appears that Colet was a great despiser of the Scotists ; and even sometimes an abhorrer of them : chiefly because they would be divines, with out so much as reading the scriptures ; as Erasmus observed with some indignation"^. And that he thought them as bad as even Colet himself did, is very plain from an epistle he wrote to one of his pupils, (Mr. Grey,) wherein he sets them out in their ' Scotistas, quibus hominum " — Audivi ego nonnuUos, vulgus ceu peculiare tribuit acu- qui sibi usque adeo humanis illis men, [Coletus] aiebat sibi videri commentatiunculis placebant, stupidos, et hebetes, et quidvis ut veterum interpretamenta pe- potius quam ingeniosos : nam ne pro somniis contemnerent ; argutari circa alienas sententias, tantumque illis fiduciae Scotus ac verba, nunc hoc arrodere, faciebat, ut ne lectis unquam nunc illud, et omnia minutatim sacris literis, se tamen absolutes dissecare, ingenii esse sterilis theologos putarent. [Erasmi et inopis. [Eras. Jod. Jon. ed. EnchiridioR. Op, tom. v. p. 8.] Bas. p. 176.] 48 THE LIFE OF proper colours. He had at Oxford (sometime be fore) conversed much with them, and now at Paris he was so much in their company, that it might (as he writes) be thought he had almost commenced one of them ; " a sleepy surly feUow, of a frowning ' countenance, heavy eyes ; a sort of walking ghost, ' and perfectly another man. The mysteries of their ' profound science, they affirm, cannot be attained by ' any one who holds a correspondence with the muses or graces. Their foUowers must unlearn aU good letters, and cast up whatever they have drunk ' upon the banks of HeUcon. I wUl endeavour," says he, " to talk no pure Latin, to say nothing smooth or smart, and by degrees I may be fit to be owned by them, &c. Yet I would not have you think that I say any thing against the profes sion of divinity, (which I entirely love and honour,) ' but only against the mongrel divines of the present ' generation ; a sort of wretched creatures, whose ' brains are rotten, their language barbarous, their ' apprehension duU and stupid, their knowledge ' abstruse and knotty, their manners very rough, ' their lives a mere scene of hypocrisy, their speech ' virulent, and their hearts as black as heU. Fare- ' well Paris, 1499"." " — Rem oppido quam pro- adeo sumus immersi, ut vix ad digiosam audies, sed veram. Stentoris vocem videamur ex- Ego, ille vetus theologus, nu- perrecturi. Quid si videres per Scotista esse coepi. Quam Erasmum inter sacros illos Sco- rem ut superi bene vertant, tu tistas xexi^oVa, sedentera, e sub- quoque debes apprecari, si limi solio praelegente Gryllar- mihi faves. Conte^ranei tui do ? Si cerneres frontem con- somniis (nam Scotum, ut olim tractam, oculos stupentes, vul- fuit Homerus, a diversis regio- tum soUicitum ? alterum esse nibus cert;atim adoptatum. An- diceres. Negant hujus disci- gli potisainiuin sibi vendicant) plinae mysteria percipi posse ab DR. JOHN COLET. 49 This mean opinion of Scotus, and his rigid dis ciples, Erasmus had borrowed chiefly from the good judgment of master Colet; who despised those' schoolmen whUe they were in the greatest vogue with the common people : and even the most cele brated Aquinas was not more favoured by him than the rest. " When I," says Erasmus, " once took oc- " casion to commend Thomas Aquinas, as not con- " temptible among the later schoolmen, because he " seemed to have studied the scriptures, and to have " consulted the primitive writers, &c. he held his " tongue, and seemed purposely to take no notice of " it. But when afterwards, in another discourse " with him, I said somewhat more in praise of " Aquinas, he looked wistly upon me, to observe " whether I spoke in jest or earnest : and taking me " to be in earnest, he raised himself into some " warmth, and said ; Why are you so fond of com- " mending that schoolman, who, without a great deal " of arrogance, could never have reduced aU things " into such positive and dogmatical definitions ; and " without too much of a worldly spirit, he could " never have so much corrupted and defiled the pure " doctrine of the gospel with his mixture of profane eo, cui quicquam omnino com- dicta theologiam, quam, ut scis, mercii sit cum Musis, aut cum unice semper colui : sed in nos- Gratiis. Dediscendum est, si trae tempestatis theologastros quid bonarum literarum attige- quosdam jocari libuit, quorum ris; revomendum, si quid hau- cerebellis nihil putidius, lingua seris ex Helicone. Adnitor pro nihil barbarius, ingenio nihil virili, ne quid Latine dicam, ne stupidius, doctrina nihil spino- quid venuste, aut salse : et vi- sius, moribus nihil asperius, vita detur res procedere; spes est nihil fucatius, oratione nihil fore, ut Erasmum agnoscant virulentius, pectore nihil nigrius. aliquando, &c. Verum ne quid Benevale. Lutetiae, anno 1499. erres, niellitissime Greie; no- [Erasmi Ep. ed. Bas. p. 3 1 1 .] lim haec interpreteris in ipsam 50 THE LIFE OF " phUosophy ? I admired this freedom of Colet in « censuring the head and father of the Thomists: " and it made me look a Uttle more narrowly into " the writings of that celebrated schoolman ; which " when I had done, it abated very much of my for- " mer esteem for ^lim °." That Mr. Colet by his own strength of judgment, and Erasmus by his example, should have, in those dark days of ignorance and superstition, such sense and courage as to despise the schoolmen on both sides ; this was a good sign and token of their soon opening a way for the reformation. For indeed those scholastical divines, on both sides of the church of Rome, had made themselves the piUars and buttresses of it ; and when they were puUed away, the mighty fabric could not but appear weak and ready to faU. Erasmus teUs his friend Colet, in another epistle, (from Cambridge,) that he was forced to fight for him with the Thomists and Scotists of that place?: being the more angry with those feUows, for hinder- " — Thomae tamen, nescio Quid tu, inquit, mihi praedicas qua de causa, iniquior erat istum, qui nisi habuisset multum quam Scoto. Etenim cum hunc arrogantiae, non tanta temeritate, apud ilium aliquando laudarem, tantoque supercilio definisset ut inter recentiores non asper- omnia ; et nisi habuisset aliquid nandum, quod et sacras literas, spiritus mundani, non ita totam et autores veteres videretur Christi doctrinam sua prophana evolvisse (cujus rei suspicionem philosophia contaminasset. Ad- mihi fecerat catena quas voca- miratus sum hominis iy6ovveum, cum animad- dimicatio pro te cum his Tho- verteret mfe ex animo loqui, tan- mistis et Scotistis; sed de his quam afflatus spiritu (juodam. coram. [Erasmi Epist.] DR. JOHN COLET. 51 ing the progress of learning ; especiaUy of the Greek language, at that time making its way into the world : which they were so mad at, that they could not forbear flying out against it even in their pul pits i; and endeavoured to run it down, under the notion of heresy, as hath been before hinted ' . But for aU the good precautions of great and wise men, poUte learning and the true use of the learned languages made slow advances in the world. And this caUs to mind a pleasant passage of one of the clan before spoken of. Though the knowledge of the Greek tongue was at this time very low, yet there was a comment on Aristotle ventured upon for the sake of the school men ; wherein, (as iU-luck would have it,) by the mis take (or rather ignorance) of the commentator, in stead of -i^nr/ri eaTtv aiJkof, anima est immaterialis, was read ^vyvj laztv alkog- and SO it was rendered anima est tibia, instead of immaterialis. This put the good man's brains, whUe reading upon that author, on the tenters, to clear his text : but at last he thought he had done notably, when he brought no less than fifteen reasons (such as they were) to prove that odd assertion, that the soul was a pipe, which Aristotle never so much as dreamt of. This was the case with aU of them, as to their 1 — Peccant qui odiose voci- rant) qui corrigit precationem ferantur in hactenus recepta dominicam, qui castigat canti- studia, licet infantia : sed gra- cum Magnificat, qui emendat vius peccant, qui conscenso evangelium S. Johannis. Adeste suggesto, unde solet audiri tuba praefecti, succurrite cives, tan- evangelica, Christi gloriam per- tam pestem arcete rebus huma- sonans, seditiose clamitant ; ar- nis. [Eras. Epist. ad Laur. ceteliberosvestros a Graecis lite- Campag. Card, praefixa Paraph. ris, hinc nascuntur haereses ; ne in ep. ad Ephes.] tangite libros illius et illius (ne- "¦ Page 13. que enim a nominibus tempe- E 2 52 THE LIFE OF ignorance in the Greek tongue. But yet they hugged themselves under this venerable raantle, and pro claimed every one an heretic, who understood that tongue ; especiaUy if he made use of his skUl in translating or criticising upon the New Testament. And this aversion to good Uterature remained aU the reign of Henry VII. and the beginning of Henry VIII. About which time, even at Oxford, a preacher de claimed openly at St. Mary's against the pernicious innovation of the Greek tongue ; and raised such a ferment about it among the students, that the king, then at Woodstock, (having had the matter rightly stated to him by Mr. Thomas More and Richard Pace,) sent his royal letters to the university, to aUow and commend that study among the young men^. It was not long after this, that a divine, preaching at court, presumed to raU plentifuUy at Greek leam ing, and new interpretations of the scripture. Dr. Pace cast his eyes upon the king, to observe how his majesty was affected with such stuff. The king smUed upon Pace by way of contempt of the preacher; and after sermon sent for him, and ap pointed a solemn disputation, wherein he himself would be present, to debate the matter between the ' — Anglia duas habet acade- ara, in populari concione, mag- mias, haudquaquam incelebres, nis et atrocibus convitiis de- Cantabrigiam et Oxoniam. In bacchari coepit in Graecas Kte- utraque traduntur Graecae li- ras. At rex, ut non indoctus terae: sed Cantabrigiae tran- ipse, ita bonis literis favens quille, quod ejus scholae prin- (qui tum forte in propinquo ceps sit Johannes Fischerius, erat) re per Morum et Pacaeura episcopus Roffensis, non erudi- cognita, denunciavit, ut volen- tione tantum, sed et vita theo- tes ac lubentes Graecanicain li- logica. A'erura Oxoniae, cura teraturara amplecterentur. Ita juvenis quidam, non vulgariter rabulis illis impositum est silen- doctus, satis feliciter Graeca tiura. [Eras. Ep. Pet. Mosel- profiteretur; barbarus quispi- lano, Lovan. 1519.] DR. JOHN COLET. 53 preacher opposing, and Mr. Thomas More defend ing the use of the Greek tongue. When the time came, Mr. More began an eloquent apology in favour of that ancient language. The divine, instead of an swering to the purpose, feU down upon his knees, and only begged pardon for giving any offence in the pulpit. And excusing himself, that what he did, was by the impulse of the Spirit : not the spirit of Christ, says the king, but the spirit of infatuation. His majesty then asked him, whether he had read any thing of Erasmus ? He said. No. Why then, says the king, you are a very fooUsh feUow, to cen sure what you never read. I have read, says he, something they caU JSIoria. Yes, says Pace, may it please your highness, such a subject is fit for such a reader. At last the preacher, to bring him self the better off, declared, that he was now better reconcUed to the Greek tongue, because it was de rived from the Hebrew. The king, amazed at the ignorance of the man, dismissed him, with a charge that he should never again preach at court '. t — Accipe et alteram, huic jamque theologi responsio ex- similem fabellam. Theologus pectaretur: is, flexis poplitibus, quidam, cum in aula conciona- nihil aliud quam veniam depre- retur apud eundem regem, catus est : sic tamen extenuans ctfepit in Graecas literas, et novos admissum, ut diceret se inter interpretes, non minus impu- concionandum Spiritu quodam denter quam stolide debacchari. afflatum, hoc in linguam Grae- Pacaeus in regem conjecit ocu- cam effudisse. Tum rex. Al ios, observans quo vultu hasc qui, inquit, spiritus iste non audiret. Is mox Pacaeo sua- erat Christi, sed stultitise. De- viter arrisit. Peracta concione, inde rogat, num quid legisset jussus est adesse theologus. Erasmicura; neque enira latuit Datum est Moro negotium, ut regem, quod in me torserat adversus hunc tueretur Graecas quaedam. Negat legisse. At literas. Rex ei disputationi isto, inquit, argumento, declaras voluit interesse. Ubi Morus te palam esse fatuum, qui dara- multa facundissime dixisset ; nes quod non legeris. Sub haec E 3 54 THE LIFE OF It ought to be looked upon as a singular provi dence, that king Henry VIII. was bred a scholar, and became a good judge in divinity ; and Ukewise that some of his prime ministers were men of let ters and languages : otherwise the court about this time might have been deluded by those old bigots, without ever seeing their hypocrisy and profound ignorance. To dispute with those old theologues, was Uke fighting with beasts at Ephesus: and yet these were the monsters our Colet often engaged with ; and did easily vanquish, though not convince. For they always looked upon him with a jealous eye; who, besides his love of Greek leaming, had some other violent symptoms of heresy upon him : and his friend Erasmus owns, that he had much more here tical pravity in him, than he himself had. Indeed Colet thought some usages in the church were intolerable, which Erasmus could more easUy bear : but both agreed in the necessity of a reform ation ; for which aU good and pious men could not but sigh out their cashes. And it is certain, that both these great men did jointly promote and for ward it; not only in puUing down those strong holds of ignorance and corruption, the scholastical divinity, and routing entirely both the Scotists and Thomists, who had divided the Christian world be- theologus : Legi, inquit, rem quod originem habeant ex lin- quandara, quae vocatur Moria. gua Hebraica. Rex, admiratus Hic Pacaeus interloquens. Hoc, insignem hominis stultitiam, ait, argumentum, serenissme jussit abire : sed hac lege, ne rex, huic maxime congruit. unquam rediret in aula concio- Denique comraentus est theo- naturus. [Eras. Ep. Pet. Mo- logus et aliud enthymema, quo sellano, &c. edit. Bas. 1540. leniret factum ; Grtecis, inquit, p. 241.] literis non perinde sum infensus, DR. JOHN COLET. 55 tween them ; but also in discovering the shameful abuses of monasteries, and houses caUed reUgious, and the perils of imposing ceUbacy on the clergy : to which places Colet gave little or nothing while he Uved, and left not a farthing when he died ; yet not so much disliking the orders themselves, as their way of Uving "- These houses had by this time so far lost their re putation, that a new abbey or priory had not been founded for above thirty years ; and very few and slender benefactions had been made to any of the ancient foundations. It was in contempt and de spite of them, that pubhc charities began now to run in another channel, that of schools and coUeges ; of which a greater number had been erected and en dowed within that time, than for a hundred years before. And it is certain, the restoration of languages, and the learning of the ancients, was now owing to a disreUsh of the barbarous schoolmen, and a new taste of classic authors, old Greeks and Romans. But the students in Scotus and Aquinas had got such a rude style, and such an intricate way of puz- zUng the world, that they had much to unlearn be fore they could attain to any benefit in those poUter studies. And this was not only the case in England, but in other countries. At Florence, the first aca demy of tongues and arts, we find the noble Jo. Pi- cus Mirandula complaining of his bUnd and slavish way of education ; and his grievous loss of time, in " — Eisque aut nihil, aut beat ordines ; sed quod homines quam miniraum largiebatur ; ac professioni suae non responde- ne raoriens quidera aliquid illis rent. [Eras. Jod. Jon.] decidit : non quod invisos ha fi 4 56 THE LIFE OF being so laboriously idle among the schoolmen : to no purpose, but to gain an Ul habit of mind "". But to return to Colet. Notwithstanding the odium he had gained amongst the generahty of the church men, and his freedom from ambition of any sort, un less to do good, and to be serviceable to the world ; he was, without one single step of his own, made dean of St. Paul's y, upon the promotion of Dr. Ro bert Sherburne to the see of St. David's ; who ^ had the temporaUties deUvered, 12. AprU, 1505, and the restitution of the spirituaUties the 4th of May fol lowing ". This preferment that wise king, who (as Sir Henry Wotton, in a letter, remarks) loved to give unex pected and undesired favours, thought very proper for him, upon the account of his being a most emi- * - — Expertus sura ego, cura seraper alias, tura hac proxima tua ad me epistola ; in qua dum barbaros hos philosophos in- sectaris, quos dicis haberi vulgo sordidos, rudes, incultos ; quos nec vixisse viventes, nedum ex tinct! vivant ; et si nunc vivant, vivere in poenam et contume liam : ita Hercule sum cora- motus, ita rae puduit piguitque studiorura meorum (jam enira sexenniura apud illos versor) ut nihil minus me fecisse velim, quam in tam nihili facienda re tam laboriose contendisse. Per- diderim ego, inquam, apud Tho mam, Johannem Scotum, apud Albertum, apud Averroem, me- liores annos ; tantas vigilias quibus potuerim in bonis literis fortasse nonnihil esse. Dat. Florenciae, in. nonas Junias, MCCCCLXXXV. [lUust. Vi rorum Ep. 1526. 4to.] y — Ab his sacris laboribus [i. e. Paulinis epistolis Oxoniae enarratis] regis Henrici ejus nominis septirai favore, Londi nura est revocatus, ac decanus apud divura Paulum factus, ut illius praeesset collegio, cujus literas sic adamabat. Est au tera ea dignitas ejus nominis apud Anglos prima, tametsi sunt aliae proventu magis opi- mo. [Eras. Jod. Jon. id. Jun. 1S2I-] ^ Rymer's Foedera, tom. xvi. p. 115. ^ After three years he was translated from St. David's to Chichester; where, having sat twenty-eight years, he died 21. August, 1536, aged ninety-six, .and was buried in his cathedral church; which had been cu riously beautified and adorned at his own charge. DR. JOHN COLET. 57 nent divine and excellent preacher, and this the chief church in his capital city ; as also his being a native of, and the son and heir of one who had been twice chief magistrate of that city. Such an advancement of Colet did much rejoice aU good men, who knew his fitness for so eminent a station : and his friend Erasmus was sure to take the first opportunity of letting him know how grate ful to him the news was of his honours and prefer ments. For being at this time in the house of an EngUshman at Paris, Mr. Christopher Fisher '', a singular friend to Dr. Colet, and a special promoter of aU sorts of good Uterature, was soon informed from the EngUsh court, of this intended disposal of the deanery of St. Paul's, and of the degree of doc tor of divinity taken by Mr. Colet, in order to it : so he writes him a congratulatory letter '^ ; which be- ^ Soon after bishop of Elphin accidere, ne ideo desierira esse in Ireland, and prebendary of in animo, quod absim ab oculis. Hustwayl in the church of Quod autem compluribus jam York ; employed as the king's annis nihil a Coleto redditur li- agent in the court of Rome, terarum, vel occupationes tuas, from whence he brought the vel quod certum non scires ubi pope's trifle, a golden rose, an- locorum agerem, denique quid- no 15 IO. vis potius in causa fuisse mihi ¦= Erasmus Joanni Coleto, S.P. persuaserira, quam oblivionem Si vel amicitia nostra, doctissime amiculi. Sed ut de silentio nec Colete, vulgaribus causis coiis- debeo, nec velim expostulare te- set, vel tui mores quicquam un- cum, ita majorem in modum te quam vulgi sapuisse visi essent, oro obsecroque, ut posthac tan- vererer equidem nonnihil, ne ea tillum otii suffureris studiis ne- tara longa taraque diuturna lo- gotiisque tuis, quo me nonnun- corumactemporumsejunctione, quara literis tuis compelles. si non interiisset, certe refrix- Miror nihildum tuarum com- isset. Nunc quoniam te mihi mentationura in Paulum atque doctrinae cujusdam singularis in evangelia prodiisse in lucem. admiratio, amorque pietatis, me • Equidem non ignoro tuam mo- tibi spes fortasse nonnulla, vel destiam ; verum ista quoque opinio potius harum rerura tibi aliquando vincenda, et pub- conciliavit; non puto metuen- licae utilitatis respectu excuti- dum esse, quod vulgo videmus enda. De doctoris titulo, ac de- 58 THE LIFE OF gins with an apology for the long silence between them : supposing that a friendship first laid iir the love of learning and religion, cannot easUy be dis solved by any distance of time and place, nor by any casual intermission of correspondence; and being persuaded the reason, why he has had no letter for some years from Mr. Colet, was either his continual crowd of business, or his not knowing how to direct a letter, (or was indeed any thing rather than a for getfulness of his old friend,) he would not now ex postulate with him for his past sUence ; but would only adjure him, from henceforward, to steal now and then an hour from study and business to write to him. He wonders Colet had not yet published his commentaries on St. Paul's epistles, and on some of the four evangeUsts ; knowing the reason of it to be his great modesty, which ought to yield and give place to the pubhc good. And as to his doctor's de gree, and the honour of a deanery, and some other distinguishing rewards of his virtue and merit ; he could not so much congratulate his person, who would have nothing but the labour and the bm'den of them, as he did the world, which would have the benefit: and the honours themselves, which then seemed worthy of their name, when they feU upon a man of merit, without his own seeking. To this judgment of Erasmus, which proceeded from one who knew him so intimately before his ad vancement, accords the account he gives of him af- caiiatus honore, neque non aliis quam iis, quibus tu ista gesturus quibusdam ornamentis, quae tuis es, quara ipsis honoribus, qui virtutibus ultro delata esse au- tum demum hoc nomine digni dio, non tam tibi gratulor, videntur, cum inciderint in pro- quem, certo scio, nihil inde sibi merentem, neque taraen ambi- praeter laborem vendicaturum, entem. [Eras. Ep. Coleto.] DR. JOHN COLET. 59 terwards. " For this exceUent man," says he, " as if " he had been called to the labours, not to the dig- " nity of his office, restored the decayed disciphne of " his cathedral church, and brought in what was a " new practice there, preaching himself upon Sun- " days and aU solemn festivals. In which course of " preaching, he did not take a desultory text out of " the gospel or epistle for the day ; but he chose a " fixed and larger subject, which he prosecuted in " several successive discourses, tiU he had gone " through the whole ; as suppose, the gospel of St. " Matthew, the creed, or the Lord's prayer. And " he had there always a fuU auditory ; and amongst " others, the chief magistrates of the city." The frequent preaching of dean Colet, in his own cathedral, set a good example to some other deans, to do the same good office in their respective churches ^ : as particularly at Litchfield, Dr. CoUing- wood introduced the pious practice of preaching every Sunday ; being the first and only preacher of aU the deans " there. That St. Paul's church might be constantly sup- ¦^ Hic vir optimus, tanquam puta evangehura Matthaei, sym- ad opus vocatus, non ad digni- bolum fidei, precationem domi- tatera, collegii sui coUapsam nicam. Et habebat auditorium disciplinam sarcit ; et quod erat frequens ; in quo plerosque pri- illic novum, singulis diebus fes- mores suae civitatis. [Eras. Ep.] tis in suo templo concionari in- ' Magister Radulphus Col- stituit, praeter condones extra- lingwood, S. T. P. et praeben- ordinarias quas nunc in regia, darius de Dorset, decanus Lich- nunc aliis atque aliis locis ha- field praefectus, eodem anno bebat. Porro in suo templo (15 12.) inchoavit residentiam non suraebat sibi carptim argu- in primo Januarii. Is primus mentum ex evangelic, aut ex et solus omnium decanorum in epistolis apostolicis ; sed unum more habuit, concionem ad po- ^iquod argumentum propone- pulum quolibet die dominico bat, quod diversis concionibus habere, ad tempus horae diniidi- ad finem usque prosequebatur ; atae. [Angl. Sacr. vol. i. p.456.] 60 THE LIFE OF plied, the dean caUed in to his assistance other learned and able persons ; amongst whom was mas ter William Grocyne ; whom he prevaUed upon to read divinity lectures upon some part or other of the holy scriptures, as I conceive : for though Mr. Wood seems positive, either from Erasmus, or at least from Mr. Fox, that his lectures were upon the book of Dionysius Areopagita, commonly caUed Hierarchia Ecclesiastica, even in dean Colet's time ; yet this seems not probable, if we trust even to the computa tion of Erasmus himself; who answering the divines of the faculty of Paris, about 1530, where he men tions Grocyn's ingenuous and open retractation of his opinion^ in relation to that author, (accounting him altogether spurious, though he had a httle be fore with great vehemency asserted the contrary,) he says expressly, that those lectures upon Dionysius were ante annos triginta ; which must carry it back to dean Sherborn's time. Dr. Colet's predecessor. However, it is plain that the pubhc lecturers, both in the universities and in the cathedral churches, took the Uberty of reading upon any book rather than upon the holy scriptures ; tiU Dr. Colet re formed that practice, and both in Oxford and in St. Paul's, brought in the more useful way of reading f Londini, in aede Divo Paulo non dubitavit apud eosdem au- sacra, magna celebritate coepit ditores, %aUvul{iv priorem sen- profiteri Hierarchiam Ecclesias- tentiam, profitens sibi nequa- ticam : atque in praefatione sto- quam videri Dionysii Areopagi- machatus est in eos, qui nega- tae. Recens adhuc est Grocini rent esse ilium Areopagitara : meinoria ; facile possum redar- notans, opinor, Laur. Vallam ; gui, si quid mentior. [Eras. verum ubi jam aliquot hebdo- Declarat. ad Censuram Facul- madas esset professus, atque ut tatis Theol. Parisien. Op. torn, fit, propius ac familiarius in- ix. p. 743.] trospexisset autoris ingenium. DR. JOHN COLET. 61 and expounding St. Paul's epistles, or some other parts of scripture. The said Grocyne, after he had continued some time to be so pubhcly useful, was preferred to the wardenship of Maidston in Kent, and the rectory of Newinton-LongviU in co. Bucks, and perhaps some other place; but though one of the best scholars and most judicious divines of the nation, had only these smaU preferments, (far below the worth of so great a man,) and was so bare in them, that he was forced to pawn his plate to the master of the roUs, Dr. John Yonge ; who, dying be fore him, did, by wUl, restore it, and remit the prin cipal debt and interest upon it. After Grocyne, dean Colet procured other learned men, to go through a like course of divinity lectures in his cathedral, for which he made them a generous aUowance. And among others, there was a very learned Scot, (probably John Major, D. D.) who (as an historian of that age relates in his Annals, 23 Hen. VII.) interpreted the epistles of St. Paul in that cathedral, with the attendance and approbation of a great number of the ecclesiastics, who had that benefit gratis ; it being weU known, that the re verend dean maintained that lecture by a suitable exhibition, or salary aUowed for it s. Another (no less famous) person encouraged to take his part in these labours, was father John Sowle, a CarmeUte, in the White-friars in Fleet-street : who s Mense Jan. xxiii. Hen. VII. tur ; quam quidem lectnram re- Sub idem tempus ad verendus ejusdem ecclesias de- sanctum Paulura quidara do- canus, Colet, omnibus palam ctor theologus, Scotus natione, exhibuisse dicebatur. [Bern. epistolas magna doctissi- Andr. Tholosatis Annales. xxiii. raorum virorum ecclesiastico- Hen. VII. MS. Cotton, Jul. A. rum cura approbatione atque 3.] frequentia, gratis interpretaba- 62 THE LIFE OF was a great admirer and preacher up of the doctrine of St. Paul, as weU as of an unblameable Ufe and con versation, and upon both accounts much valued and esteemed by our reUgious dean ''. Nor can I forget to put Erasmus himself amongst these divinity readers : he having prepared some lectures according to the direction of the dean, by way of commentary on the epistle of St. Paul to the Romans'; which he at first undertook by the sug gestion and example of Mr. Colet at Oxford, and af terwards enlarged by his advice, with an intention to read them in St. Paul's church at his second coming into England : but his meeting with a great many avocations, (such as visiting old friends, contracting new acquaintance, writing various epistles, revising and preparing several things for the press ; and above aU, his accepting the invitation of Dr. John Fisher, to spend some time in Cambridge,) prevented him from putting in practice what he had fuUy designed. After dean Colet had retained several leamed men successively, to read these theological lectures in his church, he at last procured a settlement for ever, for such a lecture to be constantly read there *' Johannes Souule Carraelita sent, quorura illud praecipuum London, magnus apostoli Pauli quod passim Graecadesiderarem. aestimator ac propalator, doctor [Erasmi Jo. Coleto ep. dat. Lu- doctori Coleto valde familiaris, tetiae, MD IIII. ed. Bas. 1521. &c. [Balei Centuriae.] P-4IS'] Sunt adhuc apud me ' Deinde liber atque toto pe- nonnulla jam olim coepta, quo- ctore divinas literas aggrediar, rum de numero sunt commen- in his reliquam omnera aetatem tarii in epistolam Pauli ad Ro- insurapturus. Quanquam ante manos. Cujus operis absolve- trienniura ausus sum nescio ramus libros quatuor, ante an- quid in epistolam Pauli ad Ro- nos, ni fallor, viginti duos. manos, absolvique uno quasi ira- [Cat. Lucubrationum. dat. 3 cal. petu quatuorvolumina : progres- Feb. 1522.] sums, ni me quaedam avocas- DR. JOHN COLET. 63 three days in every week, by the chanceUor of the church, or his sufficient deputy ''. It is true, divinity lectures had been read in La tin within many other cathedral churches, for the benefit of the priests and clerks belonging to them : but the subject of them (as of all sermons ad cle rum in the two universities, and in aU ordinary visi tations of the rural clergy) was commonly a question in scholastic theology, running into frivdlous doubts, and elaborate resolutions out of the oracles of Sco tus, and his puzzling interpreters ; not to edification, but to a confounding the thoughts of God and reU gion ; though I find one instance to the contrary '. It therefore redounds much to the honour of dean Colet, that he first engaged to purge away that bar barous divinity out of the capital church of St. Paul, and to introduce the more Christian practice of in terpreting and expounding the holy scriptures ; and especiaUy the epistles of St. Paul, which contains the fundamental doctrines of salvation ; and with which he was to that degree enamoured, that he seemed to be wholly wrapt up in them ; as may be seen in an exceUent epistle of his in the appendix, which was never before pubUshed. And it is very plain, that this way of his in expounding the scriptures, ^ Vide statuta, ordinationes, ' Acta visitationis eccles. et decreta Ricardi London, cath. Line, per Willielmura episcopi, cura assensu decani Lincoln, episcopum, die xxix. et capituli, et magistri Willel- Martii, anno MD post mi Lychfelde cancellarii, pro concionem Latine habitam per lectura in theologia jam denuo Edwardum Powel, sanctae theo- restauranda, et debite obser- logiae doctorem, super haec vanda, in ecclesia S. Pauli Lond. verba. Gen. xxxvii. Vade, et a dicto ecclesiae cancellario, vel vide, si cuncta prospera sint alio ejus deputato per 3 dies erga fratres tuos, SfC. [Memo- sing, septiman. Registr. Fitz. rand. Smyth episc. Line. MS.] James. 1518. p. 128. 64 THE LIFE OF though in a tongue unknown to the people, did be gin to raise in them an inquiry after those oracles of God ; and by degrees inflamed that love and zeal to search the scriptures, which soon opened a way to the blessed reformation. But tUl this time (to say nothing of those portions of scripture which were recited in the Latin offices) there was scarce so much as a Latin Testament in any cathedral church in England. Instead of the gospel of Christ '"j there was, forsooth, the gospel of Nicodemus affixed to a piUar in the nave of the church ; as Erasmus himself says, and admu'ed at it, in the metropoUtical church of Canterbury". "What helped farther to open a door to the reform ation, was Dr. Colet's discovering the shameful abuses of monasteries and houses caUed reUgious ; and the perUs of imposing of celibacy on the clergy; for which reason he gave Uttle or nothing to them whUe he Uved, and he left them not a farthing when he died. Not that he hated any one of their several orders ; but because he found few or none of them Uved up to their vows and professions. As to his own person : he had a great desire to extricate him- ™ No wonder that the gospel Christ, sometimes to five marks, of Christ was in so low esteem and soraetiraes to twelve marks, in that church ; seeing bishop hoc anno nihil. Morton, in his Appeal, observes " Cantuariae templum divo from the old books remaining Thomae sacrum Ingres- in the church of Canterbury ; sis aperit spatiosa quaedam ae- that whereas there used to be dificii majestes. Ea pars quos- three offerings, one to Christ, libet recipit. Nihil illic visen- another to the virgin Mary, dum praeter structurae moleiu, and the third to Thomas Becket; et libros aliquot coluninis af- that oblation made to Thomas fixos ; in quibus est evangelium Becket did communibus annis Nicodemi, et sepulchrum ne- amount to 800L or looo^ that scio cujus. [Erasmi Colloquium, to our lady, to 200I. that to Peregrinat'io relig'ionis ergo.'] DR. JOHN COLET. 65 self out of the affairs of the world, if he could but enter into any society, that would combine to Uve according to the rules of the gospel of Christ : and it seems when Erasmus first returned from England, with fuU intention of going towards Rome, he spoke to him to find out some truly reUgious ceU for him in Italy ; where he had known some monks to be reaUy wise and pious men : but in England, he could by no means think that to be reUgion, or a reUgious Ufe, which the common people so caUed, when it was often foolishness, and want of parts. He commended likewise some monks in Germany; among whom there were some footsteps of the ancient institution of Hermits. But he used to say, that he never found better or purer manners than among the mar ried men, whose natural affection to their wives, and care of their own chUdren, and government of their own famiUes, did keep them within the bounds of moderation and chastity". As for the reUgious orders : though he himself led a most unspotted Ufe ; yet among the men who " Cum nemo magis faveret Christianae pietati, tamen erga monasteria, quae nunc falso no- raine pleraque sic vocantur, minimum habebat affectus, eis que aut nihil, aut quam mini mum largiebatur ; ac ne mori- ens quidera aliquid illis decidit. Non quod invisos habeat or dines ; sed quod horaines suae professioni non responderent. Nam ipsi in votis erat, se pror- sus ab hoc mundo extricare, sicubi reperisset sodalitium vere conjuratum in vitam evangeli- cara ; atque id negotii mihi de- legarat Italiam adituro, narrans sese apud Italos comperisse quosdam monachos vere pru- dentes ac pios. Nec enim ille judicabatesse religionem, quam vulgus judicabat ; cum sit ali- quoties ingenii penuria. Lau- dabat atque Germanos aliquot, apud quos residerent etianinum priscae religionis vestigia. Dic- titare solet, senusquam reperire minus corruptos mores quam inter conjugates ; quod hos af fectus naturae, cura liberoruni, ac res familiaris, ita veluti can- cellis quibusdara distringerent, ut non possint in orane flagitii genus prolabi. 66 THE LIFE OF , took more liberty, and were any way vicious, he had more charity for those priests or monks who of fended only in that way. Not but that he did abo minate their sins of uncleanness : but stUl, he said, they were better than those other of their order, who being proud, envious, raUers, and backbiters, hypocrites, vain-glorious, ignorant, and given up to avarice and ambition, did yet set a mighty value upon themselves ; while the other frailer brethren, conscious of their own infirmities, were made more humble and modest by it. He said, for a priest to be habituaUy proud and covetous was worse than to keep a hundred lewd women. But let none infer from hence, that Colet thought such impurity to be a venial sin in a priest or a monk : he only thought that those other spiritual sinners were more vUe and impious men. He was angry with no sort of mortals more than with many of the bishops, in his time, who, instead of shepherds, acted the part of so many wolves : and he thought none more execrable, because under the pretence of devotions, ceremonies, benedic tions, and indulgences, they recommended themselves to the veneration of the people, whUe in their own hearts they were perfect slaves to the world, and minded nothing but the glory and gain of it".^"^ ° Cum ipse castissime viveret; indocti, toto pectore pecu- tamen inter illaudatos, minus e- niae et ambitioni dediti, ta- rat iniquus his, qui tametsi men sibi magnum quiddam esse sacerdotes essent, aut etiam viderentur; cum alteros infirmi- monachi, venere duntaxat pec- tas agnita redderet humiliores carent. Non quod impudicitiae ac modestiores. Aiebat magis vitium non detestaretur ; sed execrandara in sacerdote avari- quod hos experiretur multo tiam, et superbiam, quam si minus malos, quoties eos cum centum haberet concubinas. aliis conterret ; qui cum es- Ne vero quisquam haec hue ra- sent elatis animisi, invidi, ma- piat, ut putet leve crimen esse in ledici, obtrectatores fucati, vani, sacerdote, aut monacho libidi-. DR. JOHN COLET. 67 This way of thinking, and his free communicating of such thoughts to his friends, were out of the road of the church, and did not faU to expose Dr. Colet to the jealousy and hatred of the inferior clergy, and to a persecution from the then prevaiUng powers. But however, by the strength of his own parts, and the integrity of his conscience, he went on boldly in detecting the enormous corruptions of the Roman faith and worship. He had gathered up several authorities from the ancient fathers against the current tenets and cus toms of the church : and though he did not care to fly in the face of the governors ; yet he could not but favour those who utterly disUked the way of worshipping images in our Christian temples. As to those who questioned, whether the wickedness of the priest did not take away the efficacy of the sacra ment administered by him ; though he could not agree with them, yet he had great indignation at those of the clergy, who, by their scandalous Uves, gave occasion to such a wrong notion. The coUeges in England, which were buUt and endowed with great magnificence and bounty, he said, rather hin dered than promoted the right course of studies, and the quick progress of learning ; being then Uttle bet ter than the nests of drones, or the ceUs of slothful idle fellows. Nor did he think much better of our pubhc schools and universities in those times, when nem, sed ut intelligat, alterum remoniis, benedictionibus ac ve- genus longius abesse a vera niolis sese venditarent popu- pietate. Nulli mortalium ge- lo, cum toto pectore servirent neri erat infensior, quam epi- mundo, hoc est, gloriae et que- scopis, qui pro pastoribus lupos stui. [Eras. Jod. Jon. Ep. ed. agebant; nep uUos magis exe- Bas. p. 576.] crabatur, quod cultu sacro, ce- V 2 68 THE LIFE OF the ambition of professors, and their trade of getting money, corrupted the simplicity and plainer way of teaching arts and sciences. Though he weU ap proved of private confession, receiving himself a great deal of comfort and inward satisfaction from the use of it ; yet he could not but condemn the po pular custom of the frequent repetitions of what they caUed auricular confession^. And though the P — E Dionysio caeterisque priscis theologis quaedam hau- serat; quibus non ita favebat, ut usquara contenderet adversus decreta ecclesiastica ; sed tamen ut minus esset iniquus iis, qui non probarent sic passim in templis adorari imagines pic tas, ligneas, saxeas, aereas, au- reas, argenteas. Item iis, qui dubitarent an sacerdos insigni ter ac palam improbus confi- ceret aliquid sacramentali func tione, haudquaquara favens isto rum errori, sed indignatus iis, qui vita palam et indigne con- taminata, praeberent causam hu jusmodi suspicionis. Collegia quae multo magnificoque sump- tu sunt apud Anglos instituta, dicebat officere bonis studiis, nec aliud esse quam invita- bula ociosorum : neque scholis publicis perinde multum tribue- bat; quod ambitio profitendi, et quaestus omnia vitians, cor- ruraperet synceritatem omnium disciplinarum. Ut confessionera secretam vehementer probabat, negans se ulla ex re capere tan- tundem consolationis ac boni spiritus ; ita anxiam ac subinde repetitam vehementer damna- bat. Cum apud Anglos mos sit, ut sacerdotes fere quotidie faciant rem divinam ; ille ta men contentus erat diebus do- rainicis, ac festis sacrificare ; aut certe pauculis diebus extra hos ; sive quod sacris studiis, quibus se parabat ad concio nandum, et ecclesiae suae nego tiis distineretur, sive quod com- periret se majore cum affectu sacrificare, si id ex intervallo fa ceret. Haudquaquam tamen improbabat illorum institutum, quibus placeret quotidie adire mensara dominicam. Cum esset ipse doctissimus ; tamen anxiam hanc et laboriosam sapientiam non probabat, quae ex omnium disciplinarum cognitione, et ex omnium autorum lectione, vel ut ansis omnibus absolvitur; dictitans ita deteri nativam il lam ingenii sanitatem, ac syn ceritatem, hominesque reddi minus sanos, et ad Christianam innocentiara, puramque ac sim plicem charitatem minus ido neos. Plurimum tribuebat epi stolis apostolicis, sed ita suspi- ciebat admirabilem illam Christi majestatera, ut ad hanc quo- dammodo sordescerent aposto lorum scripta. Omnia fere Christi dicta miro ingenio re- vocarat ad terniones ; unde et li brum instituerat scribere. Quod sacerdotes, etiam occupati, quo tidie tam prolixas preces ex- DR. JOHN COLET. 69 custom in England was for the priests to say mass daUy ; yet he was content to do it only upon Sun days and great festivals, or at least upon very few intervening days: either because he thought lUmself better employed in his studies, (especiaUy in pre paring sermons,) or was detained by the necessaiy business of his church ; or because he found himself moi-e intent upon that sacred office, after some inter missions. And yet he did not condemn the practice of those devout pei'^ons, who loved every day to fre quent the Lord's table. Though he was himself an exceUent scholar, yet he could hy no means admire that anxious and laborious sort of leaming, that was to be gained by the running through aU sorts of books. He said this did but weai" away the natural edge of human understanding, and made men the less capable of a true Christian simpUcity, and the right evangeUcal charity. He had a mighty esteem for the apostoUcal epistles ; but was more affected with the admirable words of our Saviour in the gos pels : which he thought infinitely exceeded the other; and therefore he selected aU the sayings of our Sa viour under certain heads, and intended to write a book upon them. He misliked very much, that haui1i« cogerentur, etiam domi dum, ut et nihil proficeret, nisi atque in itinere, vehementer in pejus, et cxistimationis suae admirabatur; nam cultum ec- jacturam fkceret. Nullus erat desiasticummagnitice fieri valde Uber tam hcereticus, quem ille probabat. Innumera sunt hodie non attente evolveret ; dicens in publicis scholis receptissi- se plus aliquotiens ex illis ca- ma, a quibus ille plurimum pere fhictus, quam ex horum dissentiebat ; de quibus inter libris qui sic omnia definiunt, amiculos soleta liquando confisr- ut frequenter adulentur cory- re, apud alios dissimulabat ; ne plms, nonnunquam et sibi ipsis. geminum caperet incomrao- Ibid. 70 THE LIFE OF priests should be enjoined to run over every day a course of prayers and psalms, though at home, or in their journeys: for he would have aU divine ser vice performed in the most serious and solemn man ner. There were many opinions commonly received in the schools, from which he dissented very much in his own private judgment : and he would some times debate them among his famiUar friends; though he was more reserved in common conversa tion, to avoid a double inconvenience ; it being to expose himself, and yet work no good upon others. There was no book so heretical, that he did not read over with great attention : and he said, that he often learned more out of these, than from such as they caUed orthodox writers ; those who go on in the road that others lead them. It is not to be wondered that the greatest and the best of men, are often wedded to some Uttle pecu Uarities of error : but as we are not obhged to sub scribe to aU their opinions, so Ukewise not to think the worse of them for them, if they are not destruc tive of love and good works. Thus it is very plain, that the dean was got clear of many of the grossest errors and rankest supersti tions of the Romish church : which (considering the age he Uved in) was as much as could be expected ; and much more than was commonly practised at that time. But either out of conformity to the common usages of the church, or thinking some of the rites and ceremonies not in themselves sinful, he com- pUed with them in other things. And yet the bigots of that church gave him a great deal of disturbance for his swerving from those very palpable errors. DR. JOHN COLET. 71 which make up the main of their reUgion ; such as worshipping of images, auricular confession, &c'^i. be fore mentioned. And as for the doctrine of purga tory, (which of aU others is the most gainful amongst them,) it appears by a passage in his comment on the epistle to the Corinthians, he did by no means approve of it. He very honestly interprets that great text, 1 Cor. Ui. 13, 14. quite contrary to the whole current of their own interpreters : his gloss upon cujusque opus, quale sit, ignis probabit, being thus ; Idem spiritus purgatorius viri cujusque opus, quale sit, probabit : i. e. The Spirit of God, which is of a purging or purifying nature, shall discover, or make manifest, every one's work, what it is. And he adds ; Spiritus ille bonus et sanctus est, &c. It is the good and holy Spirit of God (not the fire of purgatory, which these men are so fond of, and which brings no smaU gain to such craftsmen) that will make this discovery. Erasmus, who was very intimate with the dean, and often entertained by him, and thereby had a fuU opportunity of knowing his ways, and methods of Uving, and governing his family, &;c. hath trans mitted the foUowing relation as an example to pos terity. And it is more than probable that most of 1 Auricular confession must was mistrusted, if he shrove needs been the more odious to hiraself at the Chartre-house, hira, if it was now raade such Syon, Grenewhyce, at Seynt an engine of state, as I find re- Ihons, or wheresoever it was, lated by an English writer. In the confessour was com- kynge Henryes dayes the VII. maunded by the autoryte of the cardynal Murton, and by- the pope to delyver his confes- shope Foxe of Wynchestre, de- syon wrytten, and sworn that it lyvered unto the kynges grace was all. [Cited in the Practyce theconfessionsofasmanylordes of Prelates, 1530. Svo.] as his grace lusted. Whosoever T 4 72 THE LIFE OF the observations he made in relation to his learning and way of Uving, were more from his own know ledge, than from any informations from others. He often teUs us so, more particularly in one of his epi stles, wherein he has these words : " There is at " London, Dr. John Colet, dean of Paul's ; a man " who has happUy conjoined the deepest leaming " with the greatest piety, and therefore is of the " highest esteem and authority among aU sorts of " people. He loves my conversation so weU, that he " would Uve with me above aU mankind'." No doubt then, such famUiarity made him privy to aU his ways and methods of Uving ; particularly such as foUow. " ^ The dean's table," says he, " which, under the " name of hospitaUty, had before served too much " to pomp and luxury, he contracted to a more fini- " gal and temperate way of entertaining. And it " having been his custom, for many years, to eat but " one meal, that of dinner, he had always the even- " ing to himself. WTien he dined privately with ¦¦ — Est Londini Joan. Cole- minus habuit multos; sed hoc tus, decanus apud D. Paulum, pauciores, quod et frugalis ap- vir qui maximam eruditionera paratus esset, tametsi nitidus, cura admirabili pietate copula- et brevis accubitus; denique vit, magnK apud omnes aucto- sermones qui non delectarent ritatis. Is me sic amat, ut nisi doctos ac bonos. Conse- cum nemine quam mecum vi- crata mensa, raox puer aliquis, vat libentius. [Eras. Ep. Ser- clara voce, distincte pronuncia- vatio.] bat caput aliquod ex Epistolis » — Mensara decani, quae Pauli, aut Proverbiis Solomonis. antea sub hospitalitatis titulo Ex eo delectura locum ipse fere luxui servierat, contraxit ad fru- repetebat, ac sermonis occasi- galitatem. Nara cura et ante onem sumebat, sciscitans ab annos aliquot, in totum absti- eruditis, ac ingeniosis etiam idi- nuisset a coena, caruit vesper- otis, quid hoc aut illud dictum tinis convivis. Porro, quum sibi vellet. Atque ita sermonem cum servis pranderet, etiam tum temperabat, ut quanquam et DR. JOHN COLET. 73 " his own family, he had always some strangers for " his guests ; but the fewer, because his provision " was frugal ; which yet was neat and genteel. The " sittings were short ; and the discourses such as " pleased only the learned and the good. As soon " as grace, before meat, was said, some boy, with a " good voice, read distinctly a chapter out of one of " St. Paul's Epistles, or out of the Proverbs of Solo- " mon. When he had done reading, the dean " would pitch upon some particular part of it, and " thence frame a subject-matter of discourse ; ask- " ing either the learned, or such as were otherwise " of good understanding, what was the meaning of " this or that expression : and he would so adapt " and temper his discourse, that though it was " grave and serious, yet it never tired, or gave any " distaste. Again, toward the end of dinner, when pius et gravis, tamen nihil ha- mones, quam de Christo. Im- beret taedii, aut supercilii. Rur- patiens erat oranium sordiura, sus sub convivii finem, quum adeo ut nec sermonem ferret jam utcunque satisfactum esset, soloecum, ac barbaric spurcum. non voluptati, sed necessitati, Quicquid erat domesticae supel- aliud argumentum injecit, atque lectilis, quicquid apparatus in ita convivas dimisit et animo et cibis, quicquid in vestibus, quic- corpore refectos, ut meliores quid in libris, nitidum esse vo- discederent, quara venerant, et lebat ; de magnificentia non la- stomachum minime cibis onus- borabat : non nisi puUis vesti tum referrent. Impense delec- bus utebatur, cum illic vulgo sa- tabatur amicorum colloquiis, cerdotes et theologi vestiantur quae saspe differebat in multam purpura. Summa vestis semper noctem ; sed omnis illius sermo, erat lanea ac simplex ; si frigus aut de literis erat, aut de hoc postulabat, interulis pelli- Christo. Si grati confabulo- ciis se muniebat. Quicquid e nis non erat copia (nec enim sacerdotiis redibat, id in usus quibuslibet delectabatur) puer domesticos oeconomo suo dis- aliquis e sacris libris aliquid pensandura reliquit ; quod erat pronunciabat. Me nonnunquam patrimonii (erat autem amplis- et peregrinationis coraitem as- simum) ipse in pios usus distri- civit. Nihil erat illic eo fes- buebat. [Eras. Ep. Jo. Jonae. tivius ; sed semper libellus erat id. Jun. 1521.] itineris comes, nec alii ser- 74 THE LIFE OF " the company was rather satisfied than satiated, he " would throw in another subject of discourse : and " thus he dismissed his guests with a double repast, " refreshed in their minds as weU as bodies ; so that " they always went away better than they came, " and were not oppressed with what they had eat " and drunk. He was mightUy deUghted with the " conversation of his friends ; which he would some- " times protract tiU very late in the evening : but " aU his discourse was either of leaming or reUgion. " If he could not get an agreeable companion, (for it " was not every body he did like,) one of his ser- " vants read some part of the holy scriptures to him. " In his journeys he would sometimes make me " (says Erasmus) his companion ; and he was as " easy and pleasant as any man Uving : yet he al- " ways carried a book with him ; and aU his dis- " course was seasoned with reUgion. He was so im- " patient of whatsoever was foul and sordid, that he " could not bear with any indecent or improper way " of speaking. He loved to be neat and clean in " his goods, furniture, entertainment, apparel, and " books, and whatever belonged to him ; and yet he " despised aU state and magnificence. His habit " was only black ; though it was then common for " the higher clergy to be clad in purple. His upper " garment was always of wooUen cloth, and plain ; " which, if the weather was cold, and required it, " he hned with fur. Whatever came in by his ec- " clesiastical preferments, he deUvered to his stew- " ard, to be laid out on family occasions, or hospi- " tahty : and aU that arose from his own proper " estate (which was very large) he gave away for " pious and charitable uses." Thus far Erasmus. DR. JOHN COLET. 75 Not less careful was he in fulfilUng any trust that he had taken upon him, in relation to the charitable bequests of others. Being now rector of the fraternity or gild of Jhe- sus, in the crowds of this church of St. Paul's, the better to discharge that trust, and his conscience in it, he first gathered up aU the deeds and evidences, acts, ordinances, and other memorials, relating to the foundation and continued estate of it, and then he caused them to be carefuUy transcribed into a cartulary, or ledger-book : and for the better govern ment of it, he caused a body of new statutes and or dinances to be made, for the regulation of divine service, for the registering and entering of charters and evidences, for the passing of accounts, &c. Which statutes he got to be solemnly confirmed by commissioners ; the lord archbishop of Canterbury, as chanceUor; the earl of Surry, as treasurer; sir Robert Fineux and sir Robert Rede, as chief jus tices, 24. April, 1507 '. t A fair copy thereof is pre- recordeth and sheweth the co- served in the aforesaid cartu- pies of certain letters patentes lary ; being a large and fair of kynges and ordinaunces for transcript of all the muniments the fundacyon and corporacyon belonging to the said gild or of the foreseyd fraternite. And fraternity, in vellum, folio, now also the copyes of dyvers char- in the hands of my reverend ters and dedes with accomptes, and learned friend Dr. Tho. and other necessarycs, which Tanner, chancellor of the see hereafter are to be hadde, en- of Norwich, thus entituled : titled, and remerabred for the This booke bought and or- behalfe of the saide fraternite deigned by maister j^ohn Colett, and guyld : I. The grante of doctour of divinitie, dean of the kynge Henry the sixte, for the cathedral churche of Panics, foundation and corporation. and rectour of the fraternitie II. The confirmation of kynge and guild of Jhesus in the Henry VII. teste meipso apud croudes of the said churche, Croydon, decirao sexto die A- William Crorawell and John prilis, anno regni nostri vice- Monke, wardens of the same, simo secundo. III. The actes 76 THE LIFE OF It seems to have been owing to the Uke care and pubUc spirit of dean Colet, that there was about the same time an inquiry made after the several chan tries founded within the cathedral church of St. Paul, and the parochial churches and chapels within the city of London ; found entered at the beginning of the registry of Dr. Fitz-James, bishop of London". and ordenaunces examined, ap proved, and aecepte by the most reverend fader in God William archbyshope of Caunterbury, chancellour of Englande ; John Fyneux, chiefe justyce of the kynges benche; and Robert Rede, chiefejustice of the com mon pleace, who sette thereto theyr sygnes manuell the 28. day of April, xxii. Hen. VII. IV. Other ordenaunces enacted for diuine servyce by the said rectour, wardens, and brothers of the said fraternite [begin ning] For as moche as the ho norable person maister John Colett, doctour in theology, deane of the cathedrall churche of saynt Paules, in the citee of London, and rectour of the fra ternite, &c. V. The regestryng and entryng of divers charters, dedes, and evydences belonging to the fraternite. VI. Ac comptes passed for several years. " Cantaria in ecclesia S. Pauli London, dicta Chesthunt, fundata pro domino rege et e- pisc. Lond. et .dicitur quod duae sunt. Cantaria in eadem ecclesia pro anima Michaelis de North- borough fundata. Cantaria in dicta ecclesia pro anima Nicolai Wokyndon. Cantaria in eadein ecclesia pro anima Eustachii dudum Lond. episc. Cantaria sancti Nicolai de Berkynge chyrche juxta turrim London. Cantaria in ecclesia de Al dermanbury pro animabus Ste phani Botrell, et uxoris ejus. Cantaria in ecclesia sancti Benedicti Sherhog pro animabus Tho. Romayne, et aliorum. Sunt duae cantariae in eccle sia de Aldermary Church-lane, immediate jurisdictionis ar chiep. Cant, pro anima Tho. Romayne, et oranium fidehum defunctorum fundata ; ad quas episc. Lond. qui pro tempore fuerit, vigore testamenti dicti Thomae, habet praesentare d"" Cant, archiepisc. quotiens illas vacare contigerit. Item si capella de Guyholde Lond. sit magistri sive custodis ibidem ministerio destituta per 24 dies vel ultra, quod nullus ad illud per idem tempus ep°. sit praesentatus, tum vigore fiin- dationis ejusdem liceat ep°. Lond. qui pro terapore ftierit, seu ipsius vicario in spiritualibus generali, sede plena, vel decano et capitulo sede vacante, unum capellanum de collegio in ma gistrum praeficere et custodem. Item sunt 4 cantariae in dicto collegio frindatae ; ad quas, cum vacaverint, major vel custos et DR. JOHN COLET. 77 Besides which, there was also a chantry in the church of St. Paul, founded on the 2d of July, 23 Hen. III. by Martin, one of the justices of the common pleas, and dean of that church, for two priests, or dained to celebrate divine service there daily for his soul, at the altar of the apostles. And two more, which are omitted in the said registry, were founded, 6. kal. Maii, by Richard de Gravesend, bishop of London : in whose inventory prices of corn, &c. rated by himself, are as foUow, vis. s. d. Malt ground Pease - - - Oats - - - . - 3 4-] -26; . - 2 OJ >the quarter. BuUs - - . --74] Kine - - ¦ --60 Mutton - - ¦ --10 Ewe sheep - • Capons Cocks .-08.-02- - 0 ob. >a piece. Hens - - Oob.. Amidst aU the good works, and other fruits of charity and beneficence before mentioned, dean Colet could not escape the censure of an heretic, or an enemy of the church. For preaching frequently at St. Paul's, and before the king, and in other popu lous assembhes, he would not refrain from speaking, with some freedom and boldness, against the vulgar superstitions and prevaiUng corruptions in the camerarius London, infra duo- devoluto ; et si ipse sit negli- decim dies a tempore vacationis gens per 1 2 dies, tunc decanus ejusdem habent praesentare. et capitulura eccles. cath. S. Alias episc. Lond. qui pro tem- Pauli, London, habent praesen- pore fuerit infra alios xii dies tare. E coUectaneis rev. patr. conferre potest, eodem jure sibi White, episc. Petroburg. 78 THE LIFE OF church. This exposed him to the hatred and ca lumnies of the more ignorant and inferior part of the clergy ; and especiaUy of those belonging to his own choir, who could not weU bear his love of disci pUne and regulation of manners, being so very ob noxious themselves to church-censures on the ac count of their iU behaviour '^ : and then knowing that the bishop of London (Dr. Fitz-James) was not weU affected towards him, they were ready to take any opportunity of incensing him more against him. There is a letter of Erasmus's to Dr. Colet, anno 1506, which relates to the uneasiness and opposition the dean began to meet with from those fierce bigots, (the clergy of that time,) which teUs him ; " He " now begins to smeU out that sort of men of whom " Colet had complained, and of whom they woidd " talk more when they mef." I beheve he meant the bishop of London, and his school divines, who were now beginning to accuse the dean of heresy. " ^ The dean," says he, " had never stood right with ^ How profane and dissolute " bottell to putt your drynke some of the popish choir of " in, because ye can kepe none Paul's were about this time, " in your brayne. Thys preest does appear in the remnant of " beynge therewith very angrye, an old English book, printed in " all sodenly toke the bottell, the latter end of Henry VII. " and with his fote flange it that has this plain story in it. " down into the bodye of the " Certeyne of vycars of Poules " churche upon the gent)l- " dysposed to be merye on a " mennes heddes." " Sondaye at hye masse tyme, > Jam nunc subodoror genus " sent another madde felowe of hoc hominum, de quo niemi- " theyr acquayntance unto a neras ; qua de re plura coram " folyshe dronken preest upon Cantabrigus tertio non. Octob. " the toppe of the stayres by MDVI. " the chauncell dore, and spake ^ Jam ne quid defuisse pute- " to hym, and sayd thus, Syr, tur absolutae Coleti pietati, tem- " my maistre hath sent you a pestates quibus agitatus est, ac- DR. JOHN COLET. 79 the bishop, who was a very rigid Scotist, and the more jealous of the dean, because his lectures and sermons were chiefly employed in opening the sense of the scriptures ; which being in the new way of learning, was caUed heresy. And in truth, at that time, any divine that had more learn ing or piety than the grosser part of his order, or did touch or talk of any thing out of the com- ' mon road of the church of Rome, was counted a '' perverse heretic, or at least suspected of the crime ' of heretical pravity. The bishop upon this score cipe. Nunquam illi bene con- venerat cum suo episcopo; de cujus moribus ne quid dicam, superstitiosus atque invictus erat Scotista, et hoc nomine sibi semi-deus videbatur. Quo quidem ex genere, cura aliquot noverira quos nolira improbos appellare, nullum tamen adhuc vidi quem, mea quidem senten tia, possis vere pureque dicere Christianum. Nec admodum gratus erat plerisque sui col legii, quod tenacior esset dis- ciplinae regularis ; ac subinde quiritabantur se pro monachis haberi, quanquam hoc colle gium olim fuit, et in vetustis syngraphis vocatur orientale monasterium. Sed cum jam odium senis episcopi, jam enim erat non minor annis octoginta, atrocius esset quam ut premi posset, ascitis duobus episcopis aeque cordatis, nec minus viru- lentis, incipit Coleto negotium facessere, non alio telo, quam quo soient isti, si quando cui quam exitium moliuntur. De fert eum apud archiepisc. Cant. articulis aliquot notatis, quos ex illius concionibus decerp- serat. Quorum unus erat, quod docuisset non adorandas ima gines. Alter, quod sustulisset e Paulo laudatam hospitalitatem, qui enarrans illud ex Evangelio, Pasce, pasce, pasce oves meas, cum in prioribus duobus cum re liquis interpretibus consentiret, pasce exemplis vitae, pasce ser mone doctrinae, in tertio dis- sensisset, negans convenire ut apostoli, qui tum erant pau- peres, juberentur oves suas pascere subsidio temporall, et hujus loco aliud quiddam sub- stituisset: tertius, quod cum in concione dixisset quosdam de charta concionari (id quod multi frigide faciunt in Anglia) oblique taxasset episcopum, qui ob senium id solitus sit fa cere. Archiepiscopus, cui Co leti dotes erant egregie cognitae, patrociniura innocentis susce pit, e judice factus patronus, cum ipse Coletus ad haec aliaque stultiora respondere dedignare- tur. Non conquievit tamen se nis odium ; tentavit aulam regi ara in Coletum concitare, atque iraprirais regem ipsum. [Eras. Ep. Jod. Jon. id. Jun. 1521.] 80 THE LIFE OF " accuses the dean to the archbishop, as a dangerous " man ; and calUng in the assistance of two other " bishops of equal bigotry, and no less virulency, " he began to create him a great deal of trouble and " vexation ; using no other weapon but that of the " charge of heresy, which was then reckoned the " most fatal engine for the destruction of their ene- " mies. So the bishop drew up certain articles " against the dean. One was, that the said Dr. Co- " let had taught, that images were not to be wor- " shipped. A second was, that he had preached " against the temporal possessions of the bishops, by " denying that the repeated exhortation of Christ to " Peter, to feed his sheep, could be at aU meant of " hospitahty, or the worldly ways of entertainment, " because the apostles were then poor, and unable " to give any such reception. A third was, that he " had preached against some men's reading their " sermons in a cold unaffected manner, whereby " he must needs mean to reflect upon the bishop " himself, who, by reason of his old age, had taken " up that idler way of preaching. But archbishop " Warham, who knew the integrity and worth of " Dr. Colet, undertook to defend the innocent party ; " and from a judge became his advocate and patron, " and dismissed him without giving him the trouble " of putting in any formal answer. And yet the old " bishop did not cool in his spirit of persecution ; but " in effect appealed from the archbishop to the " king, by endeavouring aU that was possible, to in- " cense his highness and the whole court against " him, as we shaU see hereafter." This account given by Erasmus is, no doubt, the most authentic, because he had it from the dean's DR. JOHN COLET. 81 own mouth, as their letters imply : and possibly he might have had it also from the report of arch bishop Warham himself. But the relation of this matter given by Mr. Fox, and his very introduction of it, seems to have been aU taken from this epistle of Erasmus, with no additional particulars of time or place, or any other circumstances " ; an argument, ° It is observable that Mr. Fox has nothing of these trou bles of Dr. Colet, neither in his Latin edition, dated from Basil, Sept. I, 1590. [Rerum in Ec clesia gestarum Commentarii,] nor in the first English impres sion, fol. But afterwards he inserted this account from E- rasmus, in his Book of Martyrs, vol. ii. p. 54. " Dr. John Co- " let, after he came from Italy " and Paris, began to read the " epistles of St. Paul openly in " Oxford, instead of Scotus " and Thomas : frora whence " he was called by the king, " and made dean of St. Paul's ; " where he accustomed much '•¦ to preach, not without a great " auditory, as well of the king's " court, as of the citizens and " others. And although the " blindness of that time carried " him away after the common " error of popery ; yet in ripe- " ness of judgment, he seemed " something to incline from the " vulgar trade of that age. The " religious order of monks and " friars he fansied not ; as " neither could he greatly fa- " vour the barbarous divinity " of the school doctors, as of " Scotus; but least of all of Tho- " mas Aquinas. The bishop of " London, Fitz-James, bearing " long grudge and displeasure " against Colet, with two other " bishops taking his part, like " to himself, entered action of " complaint against ' Colet, to " the archbishop of Canterbury, " being then William Warham. " The matter of his complaint " was divided into three articles. " The first was, for speak- " ing against worshipping of " images. Thesecond was, about " hospitality; for that the en- " treating upon the place of the " gospel, Pasce, pasce, pasce, " Feed, feed, feed ; when he had " expounded the two first for " feeding with example of life, " and with doctrine, in the " third, which the schoolmen " do expound for feeding with " hospitality, he left out the " outward feeding of the belly, " and applied it another way. " The third crime wherewith " they charged him was, for " speaking against such as " used to preach only by bo- " som sermons, declaring no- " thing else to the people but " what they bring in their pa- " pers with them : which be- " cause the bishop of London " used then much to do for his " age, he took it as spoken " against him, and therefore " bare him this displeasure. The " archbishop raore wisely weigh- " ing the matter, and being well G 82 THE LIFE OF that no copy of the articles, or other acts of process, were remaining, in his time; and, I believe, none have been since found: at least there is no manner of hint and reference that way in the register of arch bishop Warham ; nor in that of Fitz-James, bishop of London, which indeed begins only from the 4th of March, 1508-9- the third year ofhis translation. There may be room to conjecture, that the pro ceedings of the bishop against Mr. Dean Colet were not by way of first instance before Archbishop War ham, but rather by appeal. That the bishop of London had given the dean a citation at least to his own consistory, (where his lordship was often found proceeding against heretics,) and upon con tempt for not answering the aUegations, the bishop had denounced some sentence of suspension or sUence against him ; this is sufficiently intimated in other letters of Erasmus : and from this sentence Dr. Colet might appeal to the archbishop of Canterbury : who being a prelate of greater wisdom and moderation, saw through the charge, that it, was frivolous and vexatious; and so with a larger soul, and more Christian charity, he defended this good man from that persecution ; and encouraged him to return to his plain and useful way of preaching. We have also a good account of this matter given us by archbishop Parker, or by his suggestion, in the hves of his predecessors, the archbishops of Canter bury''. " acquainted with Colet, so dus atque copiosus ; vitae prae-i " took his part against his ac- terea integer, prudens, comis, ; " cusers, that he at that time atque fnigi ; cumque Paulinum j " was rid out of trouble." decanatum regis beneficio ac- ' '^ Vir fuit Coletus tam Latino, cepisset, in divino verbo praedi quam materno sermone facun- cando assiduus fuit. Hic in DR. JOHN COLET. 83 Mr. Fox has farther observed, that WUliam Tyn- dal, in his book answering Mr. Moore, addeth more over, and testifieth, that the bishop of London would have made the said Colet, dean of Paul's, an heretic, for translating the Pater-noster into Eng lish, had not the bishop of Canterbury stood up for the dean"^. Bishop Latimer, who was at that time a young student at Cambridge, remembered the noise that the prosecution of dean Colet for heresy then made, and says expressly, that he " was not only in trouble, " but should have been burnt, if God had not turned " the king's heart to the contrary"^." concionibus saepe pupugit bar- ;dos illos et stupidos theologos,'^ I qui semper eundem meditatum sermonem concioni adferebant, et ex legendis notas, acT^can- tatas narrationes saepius jters-^ bant. Inter hos tum fuit Lon dinensis episcopus, qui Fitz- James appellabatur, atque hoc I odio motus Coletum de haeresi i coram Warhamo archiepiscopo 1 ; postulabat : quoniam, ut cri- minabatur, simulacrorum cul tum damnabat: deinde, cum de verbis Salvatoris nostri ad apostolum Petrum ter repetitis, Pasce oves meas, praedicaret, de hospitalitate mentionera nul lam fecisset, sed tertiam pas- cendi Christi oves rationem alio '. traduxisset : postremo, quod sermones studio longo praeme- 1 ditatos reprehenderet. Verum archiepiscopus, cum huic Lon dinensis episcopi accusation! i-subesse odium, ipsaque accusa- tionis capita inania atque frivola ] judicaret, et Coletum ob theo logiae aliarumque scientiarum peritiam unice diligeret, eum judicio solvit atque liberavit. Coletus autem judicio dirais- sus verbum Dei frequentius, et ardentius prfedicavit. [Antiq. Britan. sub Gulielmo Warham. edit. Hanover, fol. 353.] ¦^ The words are in Tyndal's Answer unto M. More, third book, XV. chap. More, The by"^ shop of London was wise, ver tuous, and cunnyng. Tyndall. For all those three, yet he would have made the old deane Colet of Paules an hereticke for translatyng the Pater noster in English, had not the byshop of Canterbury holpe the deane. [Works of Tyndal, &c. foL Lond. 1573. p. 3 1 8.] '' When I was at Cambridge master George Stafford read a lecture there. I heard him ; and in expounding the epistle to the Romans, where St. Paul saith. That we should overcome our enemy with well-doing, and\ so heap up hot coals upon his head; now in expounding of that G 2 84 THE LIFE OF I think I may farther add, from as good an au thority, that the maUce of his enemies was so far from ending with his life, that some time after he was dead and buried, he had like to have been served as Mart. Bucer and Paul Fagius after wards were ; who were taken up and bumt at Cam bridge '^. After aU these authorities it may be fit to observe, that there is an unhappy omission in the Ecclesiasti cal History of Mr. ColUer ; who leaves out aU this preaching of Dr. Colet against image-worship, and other corruptions of the church of Rome ; and gives account only of his Lent sermons, about war ; as if they had been deUvered in this reign of Henry VII. when the occasion of their subject did not offer itself place he brought in an exam ple, saying, that he knew in London a rich marchant, which marchant had a very poor neigh bour ; yet for all his povertye, he loved him very well, and lent him money at his neede, and let him come to his table whenso ever he would : it was even at /that time, when Dr. Colet was in [ trouble, and should have bin I burnt, if God had not turned the king's heart to the contra rie : now the rich man began to be a scripture-man, he began to smell the gospel; the poor man was a Papist still. But at last this poor man was brought, through the lenity and meekness of the rich man, from his errour and wickedness to the know- . ledge of God's word. [M. : Latymer's Sermons, 1595. 4to. p. 174.] ' — Seldom shall ye see a known heretyke buried, but most commonly burned. Ex ample of this hath bene lately scene here in England, by Tho mas Hytton, Thomas Bylney, &c. The body of Formosus was first taken up by Steven VI. bishop of Rome, and disgraded. The bones of master John Wi cliff were taken up and burned xl. year after his death. So of' late years, in Worcester diocese, the body of master William Tracy, esq. and in London, the body of Richard Hunn, mer; chant-taylor. Moreover, John Colet, dean of Paul's in Lon don, also was not far from the same, for reading Pauls episdes, i by his lyfe; had not there weighty matters bene in the way. [John Bale, in his Image of both Churches, or paraphrase on St. John's Revelation, chap. xi. on those words, shall not sufi'er their bodies to be put in graves.'] DR. JOHN COLET. 85 tUl the preparations made by king Henry VIII. for a war against France, in 1512. But what is more surprising, he doth not so much as mention his name in his Historical Dictionary. Besides what hath been said, there was another reason why the dean could not be very safe, amongst those whose tender mercies were cruelty: in this age, if any man was, by mere humanity and goodness, a favourer or reUever of the then reputed heretics, it was enough, in the eye of the church, to make him partaker of their crimes : and this was the case of Dr. Colet. He had a great tenderness and com passion for the honest people, who suffered as Lol lards. One of them, it seems, had been censured and condemned in the spiritual court, and com mitted to one of the king's prisons, as given up to the civU magistrate for an obstinate offender : but dean Colet had the courage to interpose for him with the king himself, (a prince of noble wisdom and clemency,) and, by his own single interest, got him his life and hberty : an act of Christian compassion, which Erasmus, then in Flanders, highly commended in a letter to Andr. Ammonius*^ in England; which we find in the London edition, dated 1513, but most Ukely should be 1517^. f Gaudeo N. ereptum a car- knowing the singular humanity cere regio ; id si tuo quoque and good disposition of his bono factum est, duplici nomine friend Colet, had recommended gaudeo. Amo Coleti tam Chri- objects of compassion and cha- stianum animum ; nam ejus u- rity to him ; from whom he was nius opera liberatum audio, cum sure to meet with some suitable is semper a Coleto inter amicis- relief : particularly he tells simos habitus, cura jam amicus Pet. jiEgidius, he had done for urgeretur episcoporum calum- a friend of his. Petrus Codes nils, ab illius adversariis steterit. fortasse decumbit ; nara audio [Eras. Ep. Andr. Ammonio.] non modo spoliatum, verum s Erasmus, at other times, etiam delumbatum : id si verum g3 86 THE LIFE OF This Ammonius had some time before this, in a letter to Erasmus from London, mentioned the seve rity that was exercised towards the new professors ; so that the price of wood was raised by it, much of it being spent in burning of heretics, who in creased daUy ^ : Erasmus, in his answer, seems to jest upon the poor sufferers ; as if he was very angry with them for consuming so much wood, and raising the price thereof so near winter '. But though he took this liberty in playing upon the poor heretics, yet it is very plain, he mightily despised the popular religion in the church at that time. This appears from several instances already mentioned ; to which more might be added, (would they not make too long a digression.) It is very certain, he was ex tremely pleased to hear news of his friend Colet's de liverance out of his troubles. For though the dean had, in the time of his persecution, jested with Eras mus, and given him some reprimand for running out of town without caUing at the deanery, as if he had been afraid to come near a person infected with heresy, and under a suspension for it : yet Erasmus assures him, " that was not the reason, but his " haste for fear of the plague ; upon which account " he since had left Cambridge, and got into a coun- " try vUlage to be safe." And in the same letter he congratulates dean Colet, for getting out of his trou- est, doleo vicem hominis. Jam nobis praebent, plures tamen Coleto scripsi, ut succurrat ho- succrescunt. [Andr. Ammonio mini. BruxelUe, xiv. cal. Dec. Ep. Erasmi. [Eras. Ep. Pet. j3Egidio,ed. Bas. ¦ — Istis haereticis vel hoc '521. p. 329-] nomine sum iniquior, quod in- •^ — Lignorum pretium auc- stante bruma nobis auxerint lig- tum esse non miror; multi norum pretium. — [Erasmus quotidie haeretici holocaustum Ammonio.] DR. JOHN COLET 87 bles for heresy, and having his suspension taken of. And as he had wished him joy of this in a former let ter, he now again repeats his hearty satisfaction, that he was at Uberty to return to his former holy and use ful labours of the pulpit ; not doubting but the inter ruption given to him, would turn to a good account, and make the people more desu'ous to hear him ''- Indeed the troubles and persecutions which the good dean met with, seemed only to have this in fluence upon him, that they made him more devout and more charitable ; weaning him from the world, and bringing him in mind and soul much nearer unto heaven. He had a plentiful estate, without any very near relations : and as he had already dispensed the yearly produce of it in the occasional demands of piety, bounty, and charity ; so he now, in the midst of his hfe and health, resolved to consecrate the whole property of it to some standing and perpetual bene faction. Yet he had some debate within himself what would be the best work for the truest use and ''De reddita quiete dici non properabam isthinc subducere potest, quam tibi gratuler. — propter metum pestis, ut ne Sentio te substomachari, quod cubiculum meum fuerim in- iterum te insalutato Londinum gressus Hoc animo non reliquerim ; et impatientiam salutavi te — Gratulatus sum taxas meam. Equidem non in- proximis literis : et iterum gra- ; ficias eo morbum meum ; ve- tulor, quod ad sanctissimos illos' rum nihil tura fuit ejusraodi, ac saluberrimos concionandi la- \ cujusraodi suspicaris. Primum bores redieris. Arbitror enim ¦ nihil erat quod tecum agerem : cessatiunculam illam in bonum et palam admonuit me tuus etiam versum iri, dum avidius Giilielmus, te literis scribendis audient, cujus vocem aliquan- ; occiipatissimura esse, ne quid diu desiderarunt. Incoluraerate; obturbarem ; quanquara ego tueatur Opt. Max. Jesus. Can- nec in hoc veneram, sed ut li- tabrigia, calend. Nov. anno teras ad me missas a tuo Gu- 1507. rectius MDXV. [Eras. lielmo reciperem ; et adeo ine Ep. edit. Bas. 152 1. p. 290.] g4 88 THE LIFE OF service of the church and nation, of immediate be nefit to the present age, and of most lasting advan tage to posterity. The channels of pubUc charity in England had been long since the buUding and adorn ing of churches ; then the founding and endowing of monasteries, and what they caUed reUgious houses ; after this the establishing chantries, and perpetual masses for the souls of the dead ; soon after the erecting of coUeges, and providing for students in the universities!. The latter of these works of charity was most agreeable to the judgment of Dr. Colet, if under those regulations which he had formed in his mind. But he saw persons of higher rank and order engaging in those noble designs"' : and it is plain, he had taken some offence and prejudice against the universities, coUeges, and schools, as fiUed too much with idle ignorant feUows ; who about that time studied no thing but to be of the party of Scotus and Aquinas, and to snarl and wrangle. He considered there was a much poUter learning brought out of Italy, and spread by the art of printing, that might be properly caUed good letters ; consisting in the knowledge and practice of the Latin and Greek tongues, for the understanding and imitating the pure ancient writ- ' By Margaret countess of very low. The scholars despised Richmond, William Smith bi- Greek, and addicted themselves shop of Lincoln, Richard Fox wholly to a contentious sophis- blshop of Winchester, Hugh try; the monks and regulars Oldham bi.shop of Exeter. were given up to luxury, and all " Under this year 1508, the raanner of immorality: and if Oxford historian relates, that any of the students were sober kingHenry VII. had some good and industrious, and had more intentions of being a benefactor learning than the rest, they to that famous University ; but were inclined to the heresies of was diverted from it by reason Wicliffe, and durst not appear the state of learning was then in the public schools. DR. JOHN COLET. 89 ers, and for opening the sense of the scriptures, and looking back upon the state of the primitive church, and inquiring what reason and reUgion were of old in the simpUcity and sincerity of them, before they were perplexed and defUed by the barbarity that had broken in upon the church of Rome, and was indus triously maintained in her coUeges and schools. And therefore he thought it would better serve the pur pose of the restoration and improvement of learning, to provide a grammar school, for the instruction of youth in the two subsidiary languages of Latin and Greek, to come at the true sense and spirit of classic authors, to know how to read, speak, and write in a proper and agreeable way ; and so to lay the best and only foundation for academical studies, and especiaUy those of divinity : that in being the foun der of one such grammar-school, he should in effect be the restorer of the two universities, in preparing and fitting the youth of the nation for the better re ceiving any benefit from them. When he had, upon such (and the Uke) motives, fixed the nature of his charity, he cduld not be long in determining the place of it. London was his na tive city; wherein his father had obtained a fair portion of wealth and honour : and he bore a new relation to it, as dean of the noble cathedral church in the midst of it. He also found the city in nothing more deficient than in public schools, for the educa tion of youth. And moreover he thought, for his far ther encouragement, that the sons of his feUow-citi- zens were naturaUy more capable of learning than those who had a rustical birth and breeding ". " The building and endowing raised the envy of the great this school was a work that men, to see a private clergyman 90 THE LIFE OF This noble impulse of Christian charity, in the founding of grammar schools, was one of the provi dential ways and means for bringing about the blessed reformation : and it is therefore observable, that within thirty years before it, there were more gram mar schools erected and endowed in England, than had been in three hundred years preceding : one at Chichester, by Dr. Edward Story, bishop of that see, who left a farther benefaction to it, by his last wiU, dated 8th Dec. 1502 ° : another at Manchester, by Hugh Oldham, bishop of Exeter, who died 1519'': another at Binton in Somersetshire, by Dr. Fitz- James, bishop of London, and his brother sir John Fitz-James, lord chief justice of England : a fourth at Cirencester in Gloucestershire, by Dr. Thomas Ru- thal, bishop of Durham i: a fifth at Roulston in Staf fordshire, by Dr. Robert Sherborn, bishop of St. Da vid's, predecessor to Dr. Colet in the deanery of Paul's '^: able to be such a magnificent shire, bishop Oldham built an benefactor; as Thomas Moore house to be employed for a writes to Dr. Colet — Neque school, joining to the college valde miror, si clarissimae scolae there on the west part. Of this tuae rumpantur invidia. Vident school he appointed a master enim, uti ex equo Trojano pro- and an usher, who were to teach dierunt Graeci, qui barbaram children grammar after the diruere Trojam, sic e tua pro- raanner and forra ofthe school at dire scola, qui ipsorum arguunt Banbury in Oxfordshire, where atque subvertunt inscitiam. — Thomas Stanbridge taught the [Cited by Stapleton, tom. iv. Grammar composed by John p. 993 •] Stanbridge. [Athen. Oxon. vol. i. " — Item successoribus meis Col. 562, 565.] in perpetuum duo messuagia, et 'i Dr. Tho. Ruthal, born at terras pertinentes eisdem in Cirencester towards his Ambley ; scilicet ut habeant latter end founded a free school inde annuatim duo marcas, at the place of his nativity, and ut sint faventes et benevoli gave an house and seven pounds scolae meae grammaticali Cices- per annum, forthe maintenance tris per me erectae — Probat. of a master. [Ath. Ox. vol. i. 1 7. Martii. [Reg. Cant. MS.] Col. 565.] P At Manchester in Lanca- ¦• Anth. Oxon. vol. i. Col. DR. JOHN COLET. 91 a sixth at Kingston upon Hull, by John Alcock, bishop of Ely": a seventh at Sutton Colfield in Warwick shire, by Dr. John Harman, (ahas Veysy,) bishop of Exeter: an eighth at Farn worth in Lancashke, by Dr. WiUiam Smith, bishop of Lincoln, born there: a ninth at Appleby in Westmoreland, by Thomas Langton, bishop of Winchester : a tenth at Ipswich in Suffolk, by cardinal Wolsey ' : another at Wymbourn in Dor setshire, by Margaret countess of Richmond": another at AVolverhampton in Staffordshire, by sir Stephen Jennings, mayor of London : another at Macclesfield in Cheshire, by sir John Percival, mayor of London : as also another by the lady Thomasine his wife, at St. Mary Wike in Devonshire, where she was born : and another at Waltharastow in Essex, by George Monnox, mayor of London, 1515": besides several other schools in other parts of the kingdom. And after the reformation was estabUshed, the piety and charity of protestants ran so fast in this channel, that in the next age there wanted rather a regula tion of grammar schools, than an increase of them. No doubt the sarae motives occasioned the raising of St. Paul's school in London : which taking up some yeai's in purchasing the site, removing the in- 574. — A certain note collected Hulle ; et capellam ibidem ad by sir William Dugdale, and australe ecclesiae latus posuit. communicated to me, informs, [MS. J. W.] that the said Rob. Sherborne ' Ath. Oxon. vol. i. founded a free school in the " — Stipendia constituit tribus time of Hen. VIII. at Roulston hoc coenobio [Westmon.] mo- in Staffordshire. nachis et doctori grammatices 'Johannes Episcopus Elien- apudWymborn — [Epitaph.Ma- sis scholam pueris in gramma- garetae comitissae Richmond. tica instituendis extruxit, et do- ^ Stow's Survey of London, tavit, apud Kyngeston super p. 89. 577.] 92 THE LIFE OF cumbrances, erecting the new pUe of buUdings, pro viding of suitable masters, and setthng the endow ment in trust for ever ; this might be the reason why our common historians have differed so much in the date of its foundation, taking their hberty within the space of seven or eight years. This seems to be a true account ; that there was a beginning, and even a considerable progress made in it, before the death of Henry VII. in the year 1508. Accordingly the Annals annexed to the Nor- vicus of Alexander NevU place the foundation in this year y. And Polydore VirgU seems to point out the sarae time in the twenty-sixth book of his his tory ; which he concludes with the foUowing memo rial of dean Colet, and his ample foundation of Paul's school : speaking of the new foundations of coUeges in Oxford and Cambridge ; " ^ It was," says he, " the y Hoc anno 1508. Jo. Cole- rilis ad humanitatem informa- tus, divi Pauli decanus, suis tur, se ad divinarum literarum sumptibus magnificam scholam studium contulit, et Paulum si- extruxit, in ea parte coemeterii bi praeeeptorem delegit, in eo- Paulini, quae ad orientera spec- que cum Oxonii et Cantabrigiae, tat. Eodem anno mortuus est tum in Italia ita exercuit, ut Henricus ejus nominis septi- homo factus ad unguem, sicut mus. [Annal. ad finem Nordo- aiunt, cum raox domum rediit, vici Alex. Nevil.] coeperit Londini, ubi natus est, ^ — Idem etiam virtutis et Paulinas legere epistolas, et in gloriae stimulus concitavit Jo- templis saepe concionari. Et annem Coletum, decanura quem quoniam non secus docebat dicunt divi Pauli, ad istiusmodi quam vivebat, idcirco mirum in bonas literas propagandi stu- modum mortales in ejus opti- dium. Is partim animi atque mis praeceptis acquiescebant : mentis virtute, partim vitae ac erat enim homo contiuentissi- morum integritate ornatus, apud mus, qui semel in die cibum suos Anglos alter pene aposto- capiebat : non sitiebat honores, lus Paulus habitus est, quod na- non cupiebat opes, non quaere- tura sanctus et religiosus, ut pri- bat divitias ; quae tamen eum mum ex pueris excessit, atque fugientem secutae, tandem con- ab his artibus quibus aetas pue- secutae sunt. Sane accidit, ut DR. JOHN COLET. 9S " same spirit of virtue and glory that excited Dr. " John Colet, dean of St. Paul's, to propagate in " some like manner the knowledge of good letters. " He being very eminent, as weU for his greatness " and firraness of mind, as for his goodness and in- " tegrity of life, was esteemed among his country- " men (the EngUsh) as if he had been a second St. " Paul. For being from a child naturaUy devout " and religious, as soon as he grew up, and was per- " fectly instructed in those arts and sciences which " are called the studies of humanity, he applied him- " self with the utmost intention to divinity, and " chose out St. Paul for his great master and di- " rector : in whose writings he was so conversant. ex duobus et viginti filiis, quos Henricus Coletus ejus pater, ci vis summa modestia et gravi tate, ex Christiana uxore, nobili muliere susceperat, solus ipse superstes fuerat ; eique paterna haereditas venerit. Tum Joan nes videns plures suos cives na turae tantum habitu, evadere vi- ros graves et modestos, putavit illos ipsos multo excellentiores fore, si excolerentur doctrina : quapropter statuit suis sumpti bus juvare pubera Londinen- sera, ad percipiendam, colen- daraque doctrinam. Qui circi- ter ista tempora posuit in ea parte coemeterii Paulini quae ad orientera solem spectat, magni ficam scholam, deditque praeeep torem, GuUelmura Lilium ; alte rum, quirudiores inforraaretpue- ros ; quod in eo erat literatura, mores boni, diligentia summa. Nam Lilius vir, quemadmodum dicit Horatius, integer vitae, sce- lerisque purus, postquam in Ita lia aliquot per annos, perfectis literis operam dederat, domum reversus, Anglorum primus apud suos eas docuit : antea enim Cornelius ViteUius, homo Italus, Corneti, quod est maritimum Hetruriae oppidura, natus nobili prosapia, oranium priraus Oxo nii bonis literis juven tutera eru- divit. Deinde secutus est doc trinae et morum magister Johan nes Reighevus, deinde Richar dus lonys. lis autem ludi li terarii magistris Coletus, ex suis facultatibus in annos sin gulos stipendium constituit, quo illi, et posthac alii, omni tempore, gratuito docerent. Ac ut Londinensis juventus e Pau lina schola multo est politior, sic tota Anglia, multi studiis et doctrinis dediti perfecta litera tura florent. [Polydori Virgilii Urbinatis Anglicae Historiae lib. 26. et ult. finis, Svo. Lugd. Bat. 165 1.] 94 THE LIFE OF " both at Oxford and Cambridge, and in Italy, that, " becoming a sound divine, and a complete scholar, " as soon as he returned from his travels, he began " to read pubUc lectures out of the epistles of St. " Paul, in his native city of London, and to preach " often in the churches. And because his life was " agreeable to his doctrine, people were much the " more attentive and complying to him. For he " was a man of exemplary temperance, and aU other " virtues. He eat but once a day.' He was not " ambitious of , honour, nor covetous of worldly " wealth ; so far from pursuing after riches, that he " rather avoided and fled from them, whUe they " notwithstanding pursued and overtook him. It so " happened, that of two and twenty chUdren which " Henry Colet, his father, (a citizen of great prudence " and virtue) had by Christian his wife, (an excel- " lent woman, of a good faraily,) this John was the " only survivor ; and his father's inheritance came " to him. When he was in fuU possession of it, ob- " serving that many of his feUow-natives of that city " did, by the mere strength of nature, grow up into " considerable men, he concluded they would sooner " do so, if they had the help and advantage of being " trained up in good Uterature. And therefore he " resolved to lend (at his own expense) that assist- " ance to the chUdren of that city : for which pur- " pose he founded a magnificent school in the east " part of St. Paul's churchyard, and appointed two " masters ; the principal being WiUiam LUy, the " other John Ryghthuyse, who was to attend the " lower boys ; both men of learning, good manners, " and the greatest diUgence. LUy was a man (in DR. JOHN COLET. 95 " the phrase of Horace) of a pure and unspotted " life ; who, after he had bestowed some years in " Italy, for the attaining of perfect letters, i. e. the " Greek and Latin tongues, upon his return was the " first among the EngUsh that taught them in any " pubUc school. It was somewhat before this time, " that Cornelius ViteUius, an Italian, born at Cor- " naro, a maritime town on the coast of Tuscany, a " man of a noble family, and of aU agreeable quahfi- " cations, taught both these kinds of literature at " Oxford. " For those two masters dean Colet made a suitable " provision, by annual salaries, to support them, in " teaching without fee or reward for ever. And he " raade it an injunction, that in the roora of the " upper master, the second should succeed, without "just irapediraent: by which means Ryghthuyse " succeeded Lily ; and after Ryghthuyse, master " Richard Jones, a very learned and modest man. " But as by the benefit of this school the London " youth have been very much pohshed and im- " proved ; so the whole kingdom has enjoyed the " good effects of a daUy progress of languages and " school-learning." The foundation is placed the following year, 1509. 1 Hen. VIII. by master Grafton, in the Abridg ment of the Chronicles of England, (8vo. 1572.) in these words of Mr. HaU. " In this time also the " right famous and leamed doctor in divinity, John " Colet, dean of Paul's church in London, the sonne " of Henry Colet, mercer, and late mayor of Lon- " don, of his own great costes and charges, buUded, " in the east end of St. Paul's churchyard in the " said citye, one free grammar-schoole, and placed 96 THE LIFE OF " one master and usher in the same, for the educa- " tion and bringing up of youth in lemyng ; and he " buylded also two fayre tenements joyning to the " said schoole, for the maister and usher to inhabit' " in, and endued them with goodly pensions, and " committed the charge and oversight of the good " government and continuance of the saide schoole " unto the maisters and wardens of the worshipfuU " companye of the mercers for the tirae beynge, to " be ordered and kept according to such ordinances " and statutes as he had drawne for the good go- " vernment of the sarae : whiche said companye of " the mercers have, to their great prayse hitherto, " ordered the same to God's high honour, and to " the benefit of the common weale, and to the weU " bringing up of many an honest pore man's chUde. " This raan in his tyme was a great and dihgent " preacher of God's blessed worde ; and did in those " dayes rauch reprehend and rebuke the sloathfuU- " ness of the cleargie ; and he was the first in his " tyme that taught the people the articles of the " fayth, the commandments of Almighty God, and " the Lordes prayer in English ; for the which he " was not at that time weU thought of by sundry of " the bisshoppes and cleargy, who then favoured in " the common people ignorance better than know- " ledge." George Lily, in his Latin Chronicle, places the foundation of St. Paul's school under the same year, 1509. " ^At this time," says he, "the perfection ^ Anno 1509. His tempori- cipes nonnullos apud Anglos bus perfectae literae Latinae, si- suis sumptibus ad juvanda pas- raul ac Graecae, faelicissirao ex sim bonanim artium studia ex- Italia ingeniorum proventu, in citarunt — istorum instituta se- Britanniam usque diffusae, prin- cutus Joannes Coletus, D. Pauli, WJZS^J^ IKKPM DR. JOHN COLET. 97 " of good letters, Latin and Greek, by the happy ad- " vantage of many wits and scholars out of Italy, " was spread throughout Great Britain, and excited " the princes and nobUity of England to encourage " the study of arts and sciences. Their good ex- " araple was foUowed by Dr. John Colet, dean of " Paul's, an exceUent preacher of the word of God, " and much favoured of king Henry for his singular " piety and learning, who about this time erected a " public school in London, of an elegant structure, " and endowed it with a large estate, for teaching " gratis the sons of his feUow-citizens for ever." Others have fixed the foundation of this eminent school in the year 1510. (as Cooper'^, Holingshed •", &C.'') and with good reason ; because the front of it next the church was then finished, and this inscrip tion put upon it; schola catechizationis pu erorum IN CHRISTI OPT. MAX. FIDK ET BONIS LITERIS ANNO CHRISTI MDX^ uti vocant, decanus, verbi divini deane of Paules, erected a free concionator exiraius, Henrico schoole in Paules church-yarde regi, propter insignem anirai pi- in London, and coramitted the etatem doctrinaraque apprime oversight thereof to the masters charus, circa haec tempora Lon- and wardens of the mercers, dini scholam publicam, eleganti because hiraself was born in structura, posuit ; eandemque London, and was sonne to suorum civiura liberis gratuito Henry Colet raercer, soraetirae in perpetuum erudiendis ara- lord-mayor of the citie of Lon- plissimo patrimonio ditavit. [G. don. [HoHngshed sub anno Lilii Chron. sub anno 1509.] 1510-} '' The worshipfuU clerke doc- ^ Cumque Paulinum decana- tour Collett, which builded the tura regis beneficio accepisset free schole of Paules in London, in divino verbo praedicando as- lived at this tirae, and by his di- siduus fuit, et ad juvenes primis ligent preaching firste began to literis et grammatica instituen- open the slothfulness and neg- dos scholam illam egregiam, ligence of the clergy of this quae Paulina dicitur, extruxit. realme in those dayes. [Cooper's [Antiq. Britan. sub Will. War- Chron. 4to. sub anno 1510.] hamo, edit. Hanov. p. 306.] ' In the year ig 10, Dr. Colet, ' Some other ancient inscrip- H 98 THE LIFE OF The account of this foundation given by Mr. Wood is, though the last, the raost iraperfect of any. Speak ing of Dr. Colet, he teUs us: "In 1512, 4 Hen. " VIII. he was at the charge of 4,500/. for the found- " ing a free school in the east part of St. Paul's " churchyard, for three hundred fifty and three poor " men's chUdren, to be taught free in that school; " appointing a raaster, usher, and a chaplain, with " sufficient stipends to endure for ever ; and he com- " mitted the oversight of it to the raercers of Lon- " don ; whom he endowed with an hundred and " twenty pounds yearly, for the maintenance there- " of. He also at the sarae tirae gave orders for the " scholars ; whereby also the schoolmasters them- " selves should be directed. As for the rents, they " being rauch increased since, more comes to the " schoolraaster than the whole endowraent V But the best account is given us by Erasraus ; and it is very particular, as foUoweth. " sUpon the de'ath " of his father, when by right of inheritance he was " possessed of a good sum of money ; lest the keep- " ing of it should corrupt his raind, and turn it too " much toward the world, he laid out a great part of " it in buUding a new school in the churchyard of " St. Paul's, dedicated to the chUd Jesus : a magni- " ficent fabric ; to which he added two dwelUng- " houses for the two several masters : and to them tions, as also the modern ones, it by the worshipful company that are now to be seen in and of mercers. about the new fabric, I shall f Athen. Oxon. vol. i. col. ii. insert in the appendix. But s Nam patre deftincto, here it is to be noted, that the cum ingentera pecuniae vim ac- new school was built much ac- cepisset ex haereditate, ne ser- cording to the ancient model, vata gigneret in eo aliquid mor- though more raagnificently ; a- bi, novam scholam extruxit in bove 6,000^. being laid out upon coemiterio S. Pauli, puero Jesu DR. JOHN COLET. 99 he aUotted ample salaries, that they might teach a certain number of boys, free, and for the sake of charity. He divided the school into four apart ments. The first, viz. the porch and entrance, is for catechumens, or the chUdren to be instructed in the principles of reUgion ; where no chUd is to be admitted, but what can read and write. The second apartment is for the lower boys, to be taught by the second master, or usher : the third for the upper forms, under the headmaster : which two parts of the school are divided by a curtain, to be drawn at pleasure. Over the master's chair is an image of the chUd Jesus, of admirable work, in the gesture of teaching ; whora aU the boys, go ing and coraing, salute with a short hymn : and there is a representation of God the Father, say ing. Hear ye him; these words being written at my suggestion. The fourth or last apartraent is ' a Uttle chapel for divine service. The school has '- no corners or hiding places ; nothing Uke a ceU or • closet. The boys have their distinct forras, or • benches, one above another. Every form holds sacram, opere magnifico. Ad jecit aedes magnificas, in quibus agerent duo ludimagistri ; qui bus amplum salariura designa- vit, quo gratuito docerent;- sed sic, uti schola non capiat nisi certura numerum. Eam dis- tinxit in partes quatuor. Primus ingressus habet ceu catechu- menos. Nullus autem admitti tur, nisi qui jam norit et legere et scribere. Secunda pars habet eos quos hypodidasculus institu it. Tertia quos superior erudit. Alteram ab altera dirimit velum quoddam, quod adducitiir, ac diducitur, cum libet. Supra ca thedram praeceptoris sedet puer Jesus singulari opere, docentis gestu ; quem totus grex, adiens scholam ac relinquens, hymno salutat. Et iraminet Patris fa des dicentis, Ipsum audite: nam haec verba, me autore, ascripsit. In . postremo sacellum est, in quo licet rem divinam facere. ¦Tota schola nuUos habet angu- los, aut secessus ; adeo ut nec coenaculum sit uUum, aut cubi- culura. Pueris singulis suus est locus in gradibus paulatim ad- scendentibus, distinctis spaciis. H 2 100 THE LIFE OF " sixteen ; and he that is head or captain of each " form has a Uttle kind of desk by way of preemi- " nence. They are not to adrait aU boys of course, " but to choose thera in according to their parts and " capacities. The wise and sagacious founder saw " that the greatest hopes and happiness of the com- " monwealth were in the training up of chUdren to " good letters and true religion : for which noble pur- " pose he laid out an iramense sura of raoney; and " yet he would admit no one to bear a share in this " expense. Sorae person having left a legacy of one " hundred pounds sterUng toward the fabric of the " school, dean Colet perceived a design in it, and, by " leave of the Bishop, got that raoney to be laid out " upon the vestments of the church of St. Paul. " After he had finished aU, he left the perpetual " care and oversight of the estate, and government of " it, not to the clergy, not to the bishop, not to the " chapter, nor to any great minister at court ; but " amongst the married laymen, to the company of " mercers, raen of probity and reputation. Andwhen " he was asked the reason of so committing this trust, " he answered to this effect : That there was no ab- " solute certainty in human affairs ; but for his part, Quaeque classis habet sedecim ; stnicturam centum libras me et qui in sua classe praecellit, netae Britan nicae: ubisensitCo- selhdam habet caeteris paululo letus, hac gratia sibi nescio quid erainentiorera. Nec quosvis ad- juris vindicare laicos, permissu mittunt temere ; sed delectus fit episcopi sui, eam pecuniam con- indolisetingeniorura. Vidit illud tulit in sacras vestes templi. vir perspicacissimus, in hoc esse Reditibus totique negotio prae- praecipuara reipublicae spem, si fecit non sacerdotes, non epi- prima aetas bonis rationibus in- scopum, aut capitulum, ut vo- stitueretur. Ea res cum constet cant, non magnates, sed cives immensa pecunia, tamen nul- ahquot conjugates, probatae fa- lum in hujus consortium adrai- mae. Roganti causam, ait, nihil sit. Quidam legarat in earn quidem esse certi in rebus hu- DR. JOHN COLET. 101 " he found less corruption in such a body of citizens, " than in any other order or degree of mankind." Erasmus often had reference to the wisdom and honesty of Dr. Colet, in preferring a married man for the raaster of his school ; and again, raarried men for the trustees and guardians of it*^ : the ceUbacy of the clergy being at that time faUen into infinite crimes and scandals ; into the very corrupting of their prin ciples, and raaking it a less fault to have ten whores abroad, than one wife (or, as they caUed it, a concu bine) at home ; which sir Thomas Moore reraerabers to have been defended by a divine of his acquaint ance'. Besides which reasons, the dean might be further induced to make this wise choice, upon the account of that strange turn the church affairs were taking about this time. Here I cannot but remark also, that this school is manis, sed tamen in his se minimum invenire corruptelae. [Eras. Ep. Jod. Jon.] ^ So Erasmus observes in his dialogue de Pronunciatione. — Ursus. Proinde Joannes Cole tus, vir ieterna dignus meraoria, quum templo divi Pauli scholam puerilem addidisset, nulla cura magis torquebatur, quam in quos ejus rei prasfecturara delegare!. Episcopi judicant hanc rem in- dignam sua solicitudine. Scho- lasteres censibus recipiendis se potius quara scholae curandae datos arbitrantur, et pulchre sibi videntur suo functi officio, si lu- dijnagistros non deciment. In collegiis canonicorum fere sera per deterior pars superat. Ma- gistratus vel judicio fcarent, vel indulgent privatis affectibus. Leo. Quid tandem consilii repe- rit? Urs. Horainem conjuga- tum, et liberis divitem, scholae praefecit : provisionem delegavit aliquot e civibus laicis, quorum probitatem habere sibi videba tur exploratam, ut ab his in hae redes proximos derivetur. Leo. Num ea providentia securum reddidit? Urs. Minime; sed his aiebat sibi videri minimum esse periculi, ut tum habebant res humanae. p. 919. ' Theologus asserebat con- clusionem famosam cujusdam limpidissimi doctoris, qui fecit illura singularissimum librum qui intitulatur Directorium Conr- cubinariorum, plus eum peccare qui unam domi concubinam, quam qui decem foras raeretri- ces haberet ; idque cum ob ma- lura exemplum, tum ob occasi onem saepius peccandi cum ea quae domi sit. [Tho. Mori Apo logia pro Erasmo.] H 3 102 THE LIFE OF not harapered or clogged with any statute which might hinder it from being generally useful to the world. Not only natives of the city, but they that were born in any other part of the kingdom, and even those who are foreigners, and (as the founder expresses it,) of aU nations and countries, are capable (under the sarae good restrictions as others) to be partakers of its privUeges. And the good founder's wisdom is also very apparent, in giving Uberty to declare the sense of his statutes in general ; and frora time to time to alter and correct, add and dirainish, as should in after-times be thought proper, or should any way tend to the better government of the school. For want of such a Uberty, how raany ridiculous customs have been and stUl are kept up in some schools and coUeges; which, though when first enjoined, were not only laudable, but even necessary, yet became, in process of time, monstrously absurd and ridicu lous. The dean, no doubt, was aware of this; or else he would not have been so obsequious to the time he Uved in, as to mention in his statutes the ceremony of the boy-bishop : which seems to be so ludicrous, that he would never have enjoined any at tendance on him by his scholars, but that he hoped he raight thereby faciUtate raatters of rauch greater importance. Bating this one superstition, his sta tutes (drawn up by himself) would easUy gain behef, that they were of a more modern date, and writ by one who was not of the communion of the Romish church ; they being written in the most grave and pious strain imaginable, with frequent and very seri ous adjurations of the name of God. This school, which has continued for above two hundred years, could we but give the reader a com- DR. JOHN COLET. 103 plete catalogue of the names of the most consider able persons bred up in it, would have no cause to envy any of its standing in Europe. But we must content ourselves at present with those few orna ments of their country (according to their several capacities) which, with some difficulty, we have picked up by one means or other : a trouble that might have been prevented, if care had been taken to keep a register of every admission into the school ; which being handed down from time to time, would have been a great credit to the school, as well as service to the world. Such sort of diptychs should be hung up in every pubhc school, especiaUy those of ancient foundation, to excite a spirit of emulation in the boys to follow their famous leaders. AU that I can contribute towards so good a design, the reader will find in the appendix. The state of schools in London before dean Colet's foundation was to this effect: ''the chanceUor of ''CancellariusecclesiaeS. Pauli se, atque multae etlaudatae lite- London. Is etiam praeestli- raturae : is pueros doceat grarn- teraturae, non solum ecclesiae maticam maxime eos qui sint sed etiam totius civitatis. Om- ecclesiae ; eisdem exemplum bo nes magistri gramraatices ei nae vitae ostendat. Caveat mag- subjiciuntur. Is in schola Pauli nopere, ne scandalizet teneros magistrum idoneum, quem ante animos ahqua foeditate vel facti decano et capitulo praesentave- vel sermonis ; quin imo simul rit, praeficit ; et aedes illius scho- cum casta literatura imbuat eos lae sumptibus suis reficit. Is Sanctis moribus, sitque eis non etiara libros ecclesiae omnes solum grammatices sed etiam scholasticos custodit, et magis- virtutis magister. Is loco can ter eruditionis et doctrinae est ; cellarii scribit in tabula, atque et auditoribus legere oportet sa- notat ordine, quid quisque legat eras literas ad Dei cognitionera, in ecclesia. Is etiara magister et ad vitae et morum lnstitutio- habitum gerat in choro ; et in nem. majoribus festis primam lectio- De Magistro Grammatices. , nem legat. [Ex lib. Statutorura Magister scholae gramraaticae Eccles. S. Pauli Lond. scripto vir probus et honestus debet es- ad mandatum Th. Lyseux, de- H 4 104 THE LIFE OF Paul's (as in aU the ancient cathedral churches) was master of the schools, {magister scholarum,) having the direction and government of Uterature, not only within the church, but within the whole city; so that aU the masters and teachers of grammar de pended on him, and were subject to him : particu larly he was to find a fit master for the school of St. Paul, and present him to the dean and chapter, and then to give him possession; and at his own cost and charges to repair the houses and buildings belonging to the school. This master of the gram mar school was to be a sober, honest man, of good and laudable leaming ; who should instruct the boys, especiaUy those belonging to the church, in gram mar, and set thera the example of a good life, and take great care not to deprave the minds of those little ones by any turpitude in word or deed, but with chaste language and conversation, train them up in hoUness and the fear of God; and be unto them, not only a master of gramraar, but also of vir tue and reUgion. He was, to aU intents, the tnie vice-chanceUor of the church, and was sorae time so caUed ; and this was the original meaning of chan ceUors (and vice-chancellors) in the two universities, or great schools of the kingdom. A grant of the office and dignity of chanceUor of the church passed formerly by giving and granting the school of St. Paul ; as in the tirae of Richard de Behneis, bishop of London, about 1123. That Paul's school was very ancient, appears by the charter of Richard, bishop of London, in Hen. I.'s cani, an. decanatus sui nono. Cant. Mon. Angl. tom. iii. p. 1450. MSS. R. in bibl. pub. 339.] DR. JOHN COLET. 105 time ' ; who granted to one Hugh, the schoolmaster thereof, and his successors, the habitation of Duran dus, at the corner of the turret, or beU-tower, and the custody of the Ubrary belonging to the church : after whom succeeded Henry, a canon of the same bishop ; which Henry was so respected by Henry de Bloys, bishop of Winchester, that he commanded none should teach school in London without his U- cence, except the schoolmasters of St. Mary le Bow and St. Martin le Grand. AU that presumed to open any school within the city, (except in those exempt places,) after a third adraonition, were to be excom municated ™. Dean Colet being desirous his school should be independent upon this power, (which probably he observed had been soraewhat abused,) was therefore, in respect to the memory of his father, who had gained a fair estate in the company of raercers, as weU as for other reasons, wiUing to shew his regard ' Ricardus, Dei gratia Lond. lis : et in elemosina decimam episcopus, W. decano, totique de Hingis, et decimam de Ma- fratrurn conventui, et W. Oc- deleia. Test. Will, de Winto- chendone dapifero suo, cunctis- nia, et Willo de Occehendone que suis hominibus salut. et in dapifero, et Hugone de Cancri- Christo benedictionem. Notum sio. Valete. [Cart. Autogr. pe- vobis facio, carissimi, rae con- nes decan. et capit. Lond.] cessisse Henrico canonico meo, ™ H. Dei gratia Winton. ec- successori magistri Hugonis, cles. minister capitulo S. Pauli, scolas S. Pauli ita honorifice et Willelmo archid. et ministris sicut unquam melius et bono- suis salutem. Precipio vobis per rabilius illas ecclesia habuit ; et obedientiam, et post trinam vo- terram de atrio quod praedictos cationem, sententiam, anathe- Hugo ad se hospitandum sibi matis in eo proferatis, qui sine inclusit, et pratum quod eidem licentia Henrici magistri scho- Hugoni in Folcham concesse- larum in tota civitate London. ram ; scilicet iii acras, scilicet legere prassumpserit, preeter eos quicquid est in illo loco a grava qui scholas S. Mariae de Arcu- usque ad Taraisiara : singulis bus, et sancti Martini Magni annis pro xii. denariis, de re- regunt cognitione in festo S. Michae- 106 THE LIFE OF to them, by constituting them sole govemors of his foundation : and he seeras to have been instrumental in obtaining for thera the right of nomination, or presentation, of a master to the hospital of St. Tho mas of Aeon, in the city of London, (now Mercers' chapel,) granted to the said society by Richard, bi shop of London, in 1514. " At this time the common way for the nobiUty and gentry to educate their sons, was, to send them into a religious convent, especiaUy of the Domini cans, Franciscans, or Augustine friars : where, as Erasmus says, " they had not above three months' " time aUowed thera for learning grararaar ; and " then immediately were posted away to sophistry, " logic, suppositions, ampliations, restrictions, expo- " sitions, resolutions, and a thousand quibbles, and " so on to the mysteries of divinity ; but if they " were brought to any classic author, Greek or La- " tin, they were bUnd, they were ignorant, they " thought themselves in another world "." Yet the " Concessio nominationis sive genus sunt Dominicanorum, et presentation is magistri hospita- Franciscanonim, et Augustinen- lis S. Thomae de Aeon, facta slum. In his enim adolescen- societati merceriorum in civi- tes, vix trimestri studio gram- tate London, per D. Ricar- maticae dato, protinus rapiuntur dum London, episcopum, dat. ad sophisticen, dialecticen, sup- Fulham, anno MDXIV. nos- positiones, ampliationes, restric- trae translationis nono. [Reg. tiones, expositiones, resolutio- Fitz-James episc. London, f. nes ad gryphos et quaestionum cxviii.] labyrinthos, hinc recta in adyta ° — Ne recedamus ab insti- theologiae. Tales, ubi ventum tuto, hujus maii praecipua pars est ad eos autores qui utriusque mihi videtur oriri ex publicis linguae facundia praecelluerunt, scholis, quas ambitioso vocabulo Deum iraraortalem ! ut cascu- nunc appellant universitates, tiiint, ut delirant, ut sibi viden- quasi nihil absit bonae discipli- tur in alio prorsus esse mundo. nae ; tura ex monasteriis, prae- [Eras. Dialogus de Pronuntia- sertim iis in quibus instituuntur tione. Operum tom. i. p. 770.] ad doctrinam evangelicam, quod DR. JOHN COLET. 107 age began now to be wiser ; and to be weU versed in grammar-learning was thought a matter of greater importance by aU who were weU-wishers to the re storation of learning. Particularly bishop Waynfleet, in founding his three schools, at Waynfleet, Brack- ley, and within Magdalen coUege in Oxford, took care that in those different parts of the kingdom the seeds of Greek and huraan Uterature raight be early sown, to yield a plentiful increase through the whole nation P : and in his foundation of Magdalen coUege, as he provided sufficient salaries for a raaster and usher to teach boys the rudiments of that tongue, so for the scholars of his house that should grow up to greater raaturity in age and learning, he settled a particular professor, to confirra and perfect them in that language. That bishop Fox had a design to promote the three learned tongues in his coUege at Oxford, appears by a letter of Erasraus writ to John Clayraond, the first president thereof, here under placed''. And it would be weU, if governors and p — Hoc consilio illustrissira. declaravit, Clayraonde, non in- fundator et institutor collegii fimum decus ordinis theologici, vestri (Magdalensis) scholam quam quod collegium magnifi- Wainflettensem, Brachliensem, cum, suis impendiis extructum, et vestram domi celeberrimam tribus praecipuis Unguis ac meli- extrui et aperiri voluit, ut diver- oribus literis vetustisque auto- sis regni locis Graecarum et ribus proprie consecravit. Nara humanarum literarum semina qua ratione mehus mereri potuit sparsa in foecundara segetera to- de rebus humanis : aut quo mo- tius reipublicae excrescerent, &c. numento rectius nomen suum [Laur. Humphredus de Graecis aeternae hominum memoriae de- Literis, et Hoineri Lectione.] dicare? isthuc profecto demum ^ Eras. Rot. insigni theologo est ecclesiae columen, isthuc est Joanni Clayraondo, S. D. Egre- episcopura agere. mihi giam illam prudentiara suam, praesagit animus futurum olim, qua semper publicae famae prae- ut istud collegium ceu templum conio commendatus fuit Ri- sacrosanctura optimis literis di- cardus episcopus Wintoniensis, catura, toto terrarum orbe, in- nuUo certiore argumento nobis ter praecipua decora Britanniae 108 THE LIFE OF tutors could call back the younger scholars in col leges and haUs to the primitive institution of them ; the being perfected in languages, as weU as in arts and sciences. Instruction in grammar was a main use and pur pose of the ancient foundations. And even so late as the erecting and endowing of Jesus coUege in Carabridge, it was, as for a master and six feUows, so for a certain number of scholars to be instructed in grammar '. It may shew the great regard had about this time to these studies, that the university students took their degrees in rhetoric and grammar ; the manner whereof Mr. Wood tells us, in his account of an emi nent gramraarian, Robert Whitington. " In the he- " ginning of the year 1513, 5 Hen. VIII. he supph- " cated the venerable congregation of regents, under " the name and title of Robert Whytingdon, a secular " chaplain, and a scholar of the art of rhetoric ; that " whereas, he had spent fourteen years in the study " of the said art, and twelve years in the inform- " ing of boys, it might be sufficient for him, that " he might be laureated. This suppUcation being " granted, he was (after he had coraposed an hundred " verses, which were stuck up in pubhc places, espe- numeretur: pluresque futures jam olim notae perspectaeque quos trilinguis istius bibliothe- probitatis, novo collegio prae- cae spectacuUun, qua; nihil bo- fecerit. Lovainii, s kal. Jul. norum autorum non habeat, 1519. unde nihil malorum non exulet, ' Literae Henrici regis VII. pertrahat Oxoniam, quam olim quod Johannes episcopus Elien- tot miraculis visenda Roma ad sis fundare possit quoddam col- se pellexit. Quin et illud raihi legium de uno magistro, et sex quidem sagax consilium optimi sociis, et certo numero schola- praesulis arguit, quod te potissi- rium in grara. erudiendorum. mum ex omnibus delectura, vi- [Ryraer's Acta publ. tom. xii. rum haudquaquam novae, sed p. 653.] DR. JOHN COLET. 109 " ciaUy on the door or doors of St. Mary's church,) " very soleranly crowned, or his teraples adorned " with a wreath of laurel, that is, doctorated in the " arts of grararaar and rhetoric, 4. July the same " year \" And this may discover the error of some, who, not considering the crown of laurel as the en sign of a degree, have been apt to think that a poet laureat of old, as weU as of late, had that title, and a pension with it from the prince ; when it carae from the university, in coraraencing the degree of doctor of grammar ; as it came thus to Bernard Andreas, tutor of prince Arthur, to John Skelton, tutor of prince Henry, &c. Dean Colet, it is plain, had grararaar-learning so much at heart, that in the year 1509 ', as he had * Wood's Athenae Oxon. vol. i. col. 2 2. Hence the said Whi- tinton, in his grammatical tracts, began his epistles to the reader, Robertus Whitintonus, Lichfel- diensis, grammatices magister in florentissima academia lau- reatus, lectoribus salutem dicit, &c. Under his name there is a lit tle book of good manners for children, now lately compiled and set forth by Erasraus Roter- dam in Latin tongue, with an interpretation of the same into the vulgar English tongue, by Robert Whytyngdon, poet-lau- reat. By Wynkyn de Worde. 1532. ' The sad estate of gramraar schools a little before this time, with the reformation now made in thera, is frequently implied by Erasraus, particularly in his Ec clesiastes. (Op. tora. v. p. 710.) Priraum illud constat, grararaa- ticen esse disciplinarura omni um fundamentum, ex cujus neg- lectu quanta bonorum autorura ac disciplinarum vel interitus vel corruptela sit profecta, no- tius est, quam ut hic sit osten- dendum. Quum autem gramina- ticam dico, non sentio inflexio- nem nominum, ac verborum, et appositi cum supposito congru- entiam ; sed rationes emendate proprieque loquendi, quae res non contingit, nisi ex multij uga veterum lectione, qui sermonis elegantia praecelluerunt. Ac no stro quidem seculo jure gratu- lamur, quod e ludis literariis penitus sublatum est illud lite- ratorura genus, qui dura incul- cabant modos significandi, ali asque coramentitias diffiCulta- tes, idque verbis illotis atque so phisticis, nihil aliud docebant pueros quam barbare loqui, quum grararaatica sit ars eraen- date loquendi. Videbatur hoc 110 THE LIFE OF been the pious founder of this school, so he was la bouring himself to be the perpetual teacher and m- structor of it ; and therefore, after he had appointed Mr. WUUam LUy to be the chief or high master, who answered Erasmus's character of a good scholar in all respects ", he drew up sorae rudiments of grammar with an abridgment of the principles of rehgion, and pubUshed thera for the standing use and service of Paul's school, entitled, Rudimenta Grammatices a Johanne Coleto, Decano Ecclesice Sancti Pauli London, in Usum Scholce ab ipso instituta^. Which Uttle raanual, caUed Paul's Accidence, the author, Dr. Colet, dedicated to the new raaster, LUye, in a short elegant Latin epistle, dated from his own house the first of August, 1510 >'. esse compendium, quum revera maximum esset dispendium. Rapiebant pueros ante tempus ad dialecticam, atque adeo ad sophisticara, &c. Deum immortalem ! quale seculum erat hoc, quum magno apparatu disticha Joannis Gar- landini adolescentibus operosis ac prolixis commentariis enarra- bantur? Quum ineptis versicu- lis dictandis repetendis et exi- gendis magna pars temporis ab- suraebatur? Quum edisceretur Florista, et Floretus ? Nam Ale xandrum inter tolerabiles nu- merandum arbitror. [Eras. De Pueris liberaliter instituendis.] " — Priraum, ex omnium ci viura numero, deligam raihi vi rum aetatis non quidem decre- pitae, sed tamen provectae, vigi- lantem, industrium, bonae fidei, qui maximam aetatis partem in hoc literarum genere non infe- liciter transegerit. [Dialog. De Pronuntiatione. Op. tora. i. p. 766.] " In bibl. publ. Cantabr. in ter MS. reg.] y io. Colet suo Lilio salutem. Accipe, optime ac literatissime Liii, libellum puerilis institu- tionis, in quo quidem eadem, quae fuerunt ab aliis tradita, ra tione et ordine paulo (ni fallor) commodiore digessiraus. Idque fecimus, ut elementa gramma tices et felicius influerent in pu erorum animos, et tenacius in- haererent — Tuum erit, qui pri mus es hujus novae Pauli scholae praeceptor, his rudimentis dili genter exercere pueros nostros, deinceps ad majora profecturos : nihil enim aeque mihi cordi est in praesentia, quam ut parvuli Christi quam plurimum apud te proficiant, cum literatura, turn bonis moribus : ad quod si eni- DR. JOHN COLET. Ill The most remarkable part of this introduction to grammar, are the honest and admirable rules that the dean prescribed for the admission and continu ance of boys in his school : which rules and orders were to be read over to the parents, when they first brought their chUdren, for theu' assent to them, as the express terras and conditions of expecting any benefit of education there. And because the book is so rare, and the rules and cautions so very good, accept this copy of thera. " — The raayster shaU reherse these articles to " thera that offer their chyldren, on this wyse here " foUowynge " If youre chylde can rede and wryte Latyn and " Englyshe suffycyently, so that he be able to rede " and wryte his own lessons, then he shal be ad- " mitted into the schole for a scholer. " If youre chylde, after resonable season proved, " be founde here unapte and unable to lemynge, " than ye warned therof, shal take hym awaye, that " he occupye not oure rowme in vayne. " If he be apt to lerne, ye shal be contente that he " continue here tyl he have competent Uterature. " If he absente vi dayes, and in that mean season " ye shew not cause reasonable, (resonable cause is al " only sekenes,) than his rowme to be voyde, without " he be admitted agayne, and pay mid. " Also after cause shewed, if he contenewe to ab- " sente tyl the weke of admyssion in the next quar- " ter, and then ye shewe not the contenuance of his " sekenes, then his rowme to be voyde, and he none teris, et Jesum, puerorum prae- dideris. Vale, ex aedibus meis, sidem, tibi tuo studio deraere- cal. Aug. anno 15 lo. beris, et me plane felicera red- 112 THE LIFE OF " of the schole tyl he be admytted agayne, and paye " mid. for wryting his name. " Also if he faU thryse into absence, he shal be " admytted no more. " Your chylde shal, on Chyldermas daye, wayte " upon the boy byshop ' at Poules, and offer there. " Also ye shal fynde him waxe in winter. " Also ye shal fynde him convenyent bokes to his " lernynge. " If the offerer be content with these articles, than " let his chUde be admytted." Then foUow, in English, The Articles of the Faythe ; the seven Sacraments ; Charyte, the love of God, the love of thyne own self, the love of thy neighbour, penaunce, howseUnge in sekenes, in deth, precepts of lyvinge : (in Latine) Symbo- lum ApostoUcum ; Oratio Dominica ; Salutatio An gelica ; Oratiuncula ad puerum Jesum Scolae Praesi- dem : Mi Domine, Jesu suavissime ; qui puer adhuc, anno aetatis tuae duodecimo, &c. AU which you wiU have in the appendix. The great cardinal Wolsey, when he had founded a school in his native town of Ipswich, and was to recoraraend sorae Uttle system of grammatical rules to it, did dean Colet and himself the honour to re print those rudiments of Colet % for the use of Ips- '- See Thoresby's Vica. Leo- 1699. Svo.) who has rightly diens. Lewis. observed, (p. 20. chap. 3.) "In ^ No one of our writers had " our times the common grani- a true notion of cardinal Wol- " mar that goes under the name sey's building on this first foun- " of M. Lilye, was done by some dation of the grammar rudi- " of the most considerable men ments of Colet, till the excel- " of the age ; the English ru- lent author of Reflections upon " di ments by Dr. Colet, dean of Learning, (printed at Lond. " Paul's, with a preface to the DR. JOHN COLET. 113 wich, as well as of Paul's school, and prefixed an epistle dated at Westminster, 1 Sept. 1528. The title-page of which book runs thus ; " Rudimenta " Gramraatices, et docendi Methodus, non tam Sco- " lae Gypswichianae per Reverend. D. Thomam Car- " dinalem Ebor. foeUciter institutae, quam omnibus " alUs totius AngUae ScoUs praescripta. Joan. Gra- " pheus excudebat impensis Arnoldi Birckmanni, " Antw. 1534''." The cardinal also vouchsafed to direct the use ofit in a short epistle '^ to the masters of his school "^. " first editions, directing its use, " by no less man than cardinal " Wolsey. The most rational " part, the syntax, was writ or " corrected by Erasmus; and "the other parts by other "hands: so that though Mr. " Lilye now bears the name, " which, while living, he al- " ways modestly refused, yet it " was carried on by the joint " endeavours of several learned " men, and he perhaps had not " the largest share in that " work." *> Dr. Young of Welwyn told me, he had a quarto edition of this, published by cardinal Wol sey himself, probably printed in 1528, the year of the epistle. North. ' Mr. Wood had seen this epistle, and the directions for teaching the eight classes in Ipswich school, set before the grararaar of Williara Lilye, and printed in 1528 ; but having not seen the first editions, he cora mits a mistake in saying — Dr. John Colet, the learned dean of St. Paul's cath. compiled the eight parts of speech, and Wil liam Lilye, the first master of Paul's school, an English syn tax, whereunto cardinal Thomas Wolsey did afterwards prefix an epistle and directions for teach ing the eight classes or forms in Ipswich school. [Ath. Oxon. vol. i. col. 571. et col. 7.] Note, Ipswich school was after the model of St. Paul's eight classes, &c. ¦•Thomas cardinalis Ebor. &c. Gypsuychianae scolae praecepto ribus, S. D. Neminem latere putaraus, quanto animi conatu, studio, industria hue semper labores nostros destinaverimus ; non ut nostris privatim commo- dis, sed uti patriae civibusque nostris omnibus quam pluri mum consuleremus. Ex aedibus nostris 1528. cal. Sept. — Quo ordine pueri in nostrum gymna sium admissi docendi sint qui- que autores iisdem praelegendi — His rudimentis pueri in nos tra scola imbuti facile declara- bunt, quantopere referat ab op timis auspicatum fuisse. Vos modo pergite, ac patriam bene merentem honestissimis studiis illustrate. 114 THE LIFE OF A few years after the pubUcation and general use of these Rudiments, (which related chiefly to the more easy construing of Latin, and are now, with some improvement, placed in the common accidence after the eight parts of speech, though made before,) dean Colet proceeded to draw up, for the famiUar use of his boys, that other little tract of the Construction of the Eight Parts of Speech •=; which, with some altera tions, and great additions, now makes up the syntax in LUye's vulgar grammar. He sent it to the, master of his school, Mr. LUye, with a very ingenious and affectionate epistle, dated frora his own house in the year 1513. " *^ Methinks," says he, " my dear LUye, " I bear the same affection to my new school; as a " parent does to his only son ; to whom he is not " only wUling to pass over his whole estate, but is " desirous even to irapart his own bowels also : and " as the father thinks it to Uttle purpose to have be- "= Absolutissimus de octo ora- hunc institui, hoc est, genui, tionis partium constructione li- quodque insumpto patrimonio bellus, emendatus per Erasmum universo vivus etiam ac super- Rot. &c. cum Epist. praefixis stes solidam haereditatem cessi, Coleti et Erasmi. Antw. apud nisi modis omnibus dem ope- Mart. Caesarem, 1530. 8vo. ram, ut piis moribus et bonis f Joannes Coletus, decanus literis diligentereducatus, ad ma- S. Pauli, Gulielmo Lilio ad di- turam frugem adolescat. Proin- vum Paulum ludi moderatori de libellum hunc de construc- primario, S. D. Hand aliter tione octo partium orationis ad mihi videor affectus in novam te mitto ; pusillum quidem, sed hanc scholam nostram, Liii non pusillum utilitatis allatu- charissime ; quam in unicum rura nostrae pubi, si diligenter filium pater, in quem non solum abs te iiierit traditus. Scis in gaudet universam suam sub- praeceptis brevitatem placere stantiam transfundere, verum Flacco, cujus sententiam et ipse etiara sua viscera (si liceat) cu- vehementer approbo. Porro si pit impartiri. Nam ut huic est qua praeterea erunt digna cog- parum genuisse, nisi eundem nitu, tuarum partium erit, utin- diligenti educatione ad bonam cident in praelegendis autoribus, frugem provexerit : ita meo adnotare. Bene vale. Domi animo non satis est, quod luduni nostrae, anno mdxhi. DR. JOHN COLET. 115 " gotten a son, unless by diligent education he raises " him up into a good and useful man ; so to my own " mind it is by no means sufficient that I have " raised {i. e. begotten) this school, and have con- " veyed my whole estate to it, (even during my own " life and health,) unless I Ukewise take all possible " care to nurture it in good letters and Christian " manners, and bring it on to some useful maturity " and perfection. For this reason, master, I send you " this smaU treatise of the Construction of the Eight " Parts of Speech ; smaU indeed in itself, but such " as wiU afford no small advantage to our scholars, " if you dUigently teach and explain it. You know " Horace was pleased with brevity in the way of " teaching ; and I very much approve of his opinion " in that matter. If in the reading of the classic " authors any notable examples to these rules shaU " offer themselves, it wUl be your part to mark them " as they shall occur. Farewel. From my house, " 1513." Dean Colet had such hurable thoughts of his own performance upon this subject, that he charged Mr. Lilye to amend it and improve it, and then return it into his hands : and even when master Lilye had finished his emendations upon it, the dean would stUl have it brought, if possible, to a greater perfec tion. So he sends the papers to the best critic in Europe, Erasmus ; and importunes him to give the finishing strokes to it. Erasmus could not but com ply, as he teUs us, with such a friend, who might ask, and even command, any thing frora him : and after he had engaged in it, he made so many amend ments and alterations in it, that LUye could not in modesty own it for his work ; nor could Erasmus, in 1 2 116 THE LIFE OF justice, call it his own e. However it was pubUshed in 1515, by Erasmus, with an epistle, dated from Basil, 3. cal. Aug. giving an honourable account of the great concern that Mr. dean Colet had for his school, and how careful he was to make the book pass through several hands, that it might be the more correct and complete ^. B Gerardus Noviomagus ge- nerosissimo principi Maximili- ano Burgundo, S. D. P. — tandem forte fortuna pervenit ad manus meas libellus iste quem cemis, De constructione octo partium orationis, cujus autorem magnum ilium Eras- raura facile credidissem, nisi eloquentissimi theologi, Joannis Coleti, epistolam in fronte prae- scriptam legissem. — Vale, e collegio nostro, anno 15 14. cal. Aug. *> Erasmus Rot. candidis le ctoribus salutem D. — Video passim exoriri mei nominis et quam ipse velim studiosiores, qui libros mihi asserunt, quos aut non scripsi, aut certe non in hoc scripsi, ut aederentur. .Sldi- derunt epigraramata a me qui dem scripta (non inficior) sed non in hoc scripta. Ea (sicuti conjicio) famulus sufFuratus ty- pographis vendidit. Alius quis piam ex pauculis paginis, iisque depravatissime scriptis, velut ex opere aedito, dictu mirum, quam multa citet et inculcet de ra tione conscribendarum episto- larum. Et, ut de caeteris minu- tioribus sileam, nuper hunc ittpi (TWTa^eai; libellum mihi veluti postliminio vindicarunt, primitus nullius aeditum titulo. Quasrebat Joannes Coletus, the ologus inter Anglos eximius. novae scholae suae de Construc tione libellum, qui simul et com pendio pueris commendaretur, et perspicuitate. Eum ejus jussu scripserat Gulielmus Lilius, vir utriusque literaturae baud vul gariter peritus, et mirus recte instituendae pubis artifex. Abso lutum ab illo mihi tradidit, imo obtrusit emendandum, quid enim facerem, cum vir ille rogandi finem non faceret, tam amicus ut nefas esse duce- rem quicquam negare precanti, tantae vero authoritatis de me meritus, ut suo jure quidvis etiam imperare posset Erasmo. Quoniam autem sic emendarani, ut pleraque mutarim : nam eo nihil videbam esse facilius : nec Lilius, ut est nimia quadam modestia praeditus, passus est librum suo vulgari nomine, nec ego judicavi mei candoris esse, usurpare mihi, in quo quicquam esset alienum. Proinde magno- pere sura interrainatus cujusvis titulum, ascriberent modo ne meum. Itaque recusante utro- que, libellus avaro/w? prodiit, Coleti duntaxat praefatiuncula commendatus. Quem quidem libellum in praesentia nec lauda- turus sum, ne cui videar arro- gautior, nec vituperaturus, ne parum caudidus habear. Verum haec prEefari visum est, ne post hac quisquam ut meum am- DR. JOHN COLET. 117 Master LUye's son George, in the elogy of his father, ascribes the syntax to him ; and iraputes it to his raodesty only, that he would not assume a title to it, after he had submitted it to the correc tions and araendraents of Erasmus '. Give rae leave to observe by the way, that it re dounds not a Uttle to the honour of this school, that not only the Latin grammar is owing to the skUl and care of the founder, and the first master of his school ; but also the comraon Greek gramraar, used throughout England, by the same authority as the Latin, was composed by the great Mr. CamdenJ, who had been a Paul's scholar ; and, as the author of his life says, it was in this school that he laid the foun dation of that niceness and accuracy in the Latin and Greek tongues to which he afterwards arrived. It raay not be araiss to remark also, that many of the examples in the Latin gramraar pointed at the then juncture of pubhc affairs ; viz. the prosecution of Empson and Dudley in the beginning of Henry Vlllth's reign : as, Regum est tueri leges j Re- fert omnium animadverti in malos. And this hu mour was the reason, why in the foUowing editions plectatur, quod ipse praefatiun- et erudite exphcans, sub Erasmi cula mihi non assero. Plus sa- nomine a librariis exceptus, cui tis erratoruin et in iis quae pub- Lilius id operis recognoscendura licantur a nobis ut nemo alius paulo antea quara ederetur ob- aedat, quae vel non scripsiraus, tulerat. Nec enim postea li- vel non emendavimus. Bene bellum, quem aiterius judicii vale, lector amice. Basileae, iii. censurae subiniserat, modestus kalendas Augusti, mdxv. [Prae- ingenii sui aestimator suo ipsius fatio libelli De octo orationis nomine in publicum prodire vo- partium constructione, Erasmo luit. [G. LiMi Elogia quorun- Roterdamo autore. Lovanii, dam Anglorum, Svo. p. 89.] Mnxxiii. mense Octobri, 8vo.] J Dr. Smith in the life of ' Extat ejus (Lilii) Syntaxis Camden, prefixed to Bishop inscriptione libellus, Latini ser- Gibson's edition of his Britan- monis constructionera breviter nia. I 3 118 THE LIFE OF of the Syntax, there were examples accommodated to the respective years ofthe impressions : as. Audita regem Doroberniam projicisci ; Imperator meruit sub rege^, &c. There were Ukewise in that edition of Erasmus several exaraples referring to dean Co- let : as, Vixit Romce, studiit Oxonii, natus est Lon dini, discessit Londino, &c. After the Syntax was pubUshed, WiUiam LUye (at the suggestion no doubt of Dr. Colet, and with the approbation at least of Erasmus) drew up short rules for distinguishing the genders of nouns, caUed from the first words Propria quce maribus ; and likewise for the inflection of verbs, and indication of their pre- terperfect tense and supines, caUed As in prcesenti ; making the rules more compendious, and the hues sraoother, than had been in any of the former gram matical systems with which the schools abounded '- It is the opinion of Mr. Wood ¦", that the first printed grammar in England was that by one John Holt of Magdalen coUege, and usher of Magdalen school in Oxford, entituled, Lac Puerorum, &c. printed about the year 1497, and dedicated to Mor ton, archbishop of Canterbury: which grammar •^ Many, says Fuller, were journey into Canterbury, there to the editions of this grammar; give entertainment to Charles V. the first set forth anno 15 13, emperor, lately landed at Dover. when Paul's school was found- [Fuller's Ch. Hist. p. 168.] ed, as appears by that instance, ' — Scripsit et ad inutilem Meruit sub rege in Gallia, relat- grammaticarum prseceptionum ing to Maximilian, the German congeriem abolendam, paucis emperor, who, then at the siege exametris versibus, de Latino- of Therovenne in Flanders, rum nominum verborumque fouglit under the banner of generibus opusculuni, rudibus Henry VIII. taking an hundred adhuc ingeniis maturandis ac- crowns a day for his pay. An- commodatum. [Geo. Lilii En- other edition, anno 1 5 20, when comia quorundam Anglorum, Audita rege Doroberniam profi- Svo. p. 90.] cisci, refers to the king's speedy ™ Wood's Athenae Oxon, vol. i. DR. JOHN COLET. 119 (printed also with the works of John Stanbridge) being the first of note, or most fit for use that was ever printed in England, was much used and taken into the hands of aU sorts of scholars. And one Holt, who was master to sir Thomas More, did pubUsh ^an Accidence and Grararaar about the sarae time that Lac Puerorum was made extant. After the grammar of John Holt of Magdalen col lege aforesaid, John Stanbridge, and his scholar Robert Wliittington, with others, put forth divers treatises of grammar". WUUam LUye, before the dean had raade choice of him for his school, taught a private school in London ; and had shewn an excellent vein in Latin poetry, by celebrating the arrival and reception of PhUip, king of CastUe, and his queen, cast upon the coasts of CornwaU, in their passage from Flanders to Spain ° ; wherein some particular circumstances are handsomely descanted on. And again, when in June 1522, Charles the Vth, emperor of Germany, was here in England, nobly entertained by Henry VIII. at their solemn procession through the city of London, master LUye caused a very elegant " Robert. Whittingtoni Gram, ex eodem turbine sublata ex Lat. et Anglic. 4to. Lond. apud Paulini templi fastigio aenea Wyn de Worde, 15 16. magni ponderis aquila, quae fa- Idem de octo partibus Ora- cili raotu spirantium ventorum tionis, 4to. per Pynson, 1521. regiones indicare solet, ad ta- NoRTH. bernam librariara proxiraara in " — Sed et in carmine mire depictae aquilae tabulam impe- foelix atque candidus, Philippi teret, quo veluti prodigio, jam Maximiliani Caesaris filium vi tura non sine divini numinis tempestatis, dum ex Flandria potentia, ex tam gravi naufragio Hispaniam peteret, disjecta Philippe regi, qui pro insigne classe, in Cornubici littoris por- aquilara gerebat, optatam in tum appulsum, elegantissimis Britannia salutem contigisse os- aliquot versibus celebravit, quum te^ndit. [G. Lilii Encomia, &c.] I4 120 THE LIFE OF panegyric upon the emperor in verse p ; and an ora tion in prose, composed by himself, to be pubhcly re cited before him by one ofhis scholars'!. Having before raentioned how weU received Mr. LUye's pains were, as to that share he bore in the common Latin grammar, we wUl now reraeraber Dr. Linacer, who, about the same time, was engaged in a work of the same nature, which afterwards he im proved, and pubUshed under this title, De emendata Structura Latini Sermonis, libri ii. &c. Though this most accurate commentary was pro bably printed with a respect to Paul's school', Lina cer being encouraged thereto by dean Colet; and though the book has since met with great applause, and had several editions abroad, and has been had in the highest reputation as a classic, with several an notations on it ; yet Dr. Colet approved better of his own raore farailiar introduction, as a more plain and inteUigible one, whereas this other was very obscure and prolix, too acute and copious, rather a guide to critics than an help to beginners. This PhU. Me lanchton confessed in his epistle commendatory, that Linacer would be thought by many of the wiser readers to be a Uttle too curious in the minutest mat- P Carolum item quintura Cae- jointly raade and published with sarem, ab Henrico octavo rege those of sir Tho. More, nor magnificentissimo hospitio ex- his translation of an Italian ceptum, et celeberrimo specta- book upon Dice-play into proper culorum apparatu Londini ur- elegant English, made at the bera intrantem, panegyrico car- request of sir 'I'homas More. mine, et luculenta oratione a Vide Progymnasmata Tho. Mori puero in foro pronuntiata, lau- et Gul. Lilii sodalium, Bas. davit. [Ibidem.] 1518. 4to. [See new edition by ') It is somewhat strange that Dr. Bliss, vol. i. col. 32.] Mr. Wood, in the catalogue of >¦ See App. to Dr. Friend's W. Lilye's works, should neither History of Physic, vol. ii. n. viii. specify his versions from the Lewis. Greek and other epigraras. DR. JOHN COLET. 121 ters : and therefore, though he encouraged a new im pression of this grammar, and earnestly importuned the masters in Germany to receive it into their schools ; yet he intimated, it was too hard for beginners ^ Mr. Wood affirms, that Linacer's six books were originaUy made for the use of the lady Mary, the king's daughter ; mistaking this work for what he had before raentioned. The Rudiraents of Grammar, {Lond. in cedibus Pynsonianis,) turned into Latin by George Buchanan, a Scot, and printed at Paris 1533. and 1550, in octavo ; which book hath ever since been the cynosura to grararaarians explained. But this book was only an araendraent of some former tracts, made plainer and easier for the use of the said princess ". The original is very scarce : yet from the ^ Phil. Melanthon adolescen- ti Gulielmo Rifenstein Guliel mi filio. Adlatus est hue Lina- cri viri doctissimi liber de Syn tax! Latini sermonis, quem cum statim avide percurrissem, judi cavi magnopere profuturum esse studiosis ad eraendate et vere Latine loquendum, et ad recte judicandura de phrasi, et omni bus figuris Latini sermonis — mihi quidem nullum videtur in hoc genere scriptum extare per- fectius — Linacer ubique recitat exempla prudenter electa ex op timis autoribus, et interdum ali quam subtilem interpretationem addit ; neque hoc facit immo- dice, aut intempestive, sed ele git ejusmodi Texi/oXoy/a?, quae judicium lectoris acuunt. Quare valde optarim eura in scholis versari, ac legi ; et si quid raihi tribuunt isti qui praesunt ludis literariis, adhortor eos, ut dent operam ut hic libellus studiosis familiaris fiat. Witeb. mense Feb. anno 1531. ' Illustrissimae Marise, invic- tiss. Angliae, Franciaeque regis, ac fidei defensoris, filiae, Cornu- biae ac Walliae principi, Thoraas Linacrus medicus cura orani observantia, S. D. Quum tibi, illustrissima Ma ria, datus ab invictissimo rege patre tuo, pro tua sanitate tu- enda, sim comes, nec id minis terium obire per valetudinem li- cuerit, cogitavi mecum, quanam alia ratione tibi esse usui potis simum possem : itaque cernens in te, praeter indolein quandam ad omne virtutum genus, quae eminere in muliere possunt in- credibilem, nunc quoque foeli- cissimi ingenii tui ad studia li terarum generosum impetum ; hunc mihi quam maxime pro mea virili juvandum favendum- que censui ; vel interraissi diu officii raei sarciendi, vel literato- rura omnium causa; quibus ipsa in literis proficiens maxirao pro- 122 THE LIFE OF translation of it into Latin by George Buchanan", for the use of his noble pupil GUbert Kennedy, earl of Cassils"; it appears to be Uttle raore than the present Accidence taught in schools, and stUl retain ing that title of The Rudiments of Grammar : for it begins with the eight parts of speech ; makes five declensions, and gives the sarae examples to four of them ; and so the four conjugations are specified in amo, doceo, lego, audio, &;c. as in Colet's Rudi ments. But these rudiments of grammar, as adjusted to the use of the lady Mary, were not so plain and perfect as might have been desired : for this must be the reason why her mother, queen Katharine, soon after eraployed Ludovicus Vives to draw up some fa mUiar instructions, to direct her daughter in the study of the Latin tongue: which he did accord- culdubio futura es tura orna- mento tum adjuraento. Acci- pies igitur ea vultus serenitate qua reliqua soles, haec rudiraenta, quae alias Anglis tuis per rae edita nunc in suraraara quam potui redegi claritatem. Non potest (fateor) nisi rude esse munus, sicuti ipso nomine prae se fert. Sed si aptum tibi princi pium, ad majora discenda erit, vel opportunitate sua, principii gratiam quod (juxta pro verbium) plus est quara dimidium ; licet totam nec mereatur, nec speret, tamen nec ea in totum, ut spero, destituetur. Diu vivas Anglo rum deliciae et decus. " Rudimenta Grammatices Thomas Linacri, ex Anglico ser mone in Latinum versa, Geor gio Buchanano Scoto Inter- prete. Seb. Gryphius excude bat Lugduni, anno 1541. Svo. ^ Sumraae spei et indolis a- dolescenti, Gilberto Kennedo, comiti Cassil. Georg. Buchana- nus, S. D. Cum superiore anno tibi cursim, et memoriiB confir- mandae causa, haec Linacri Ru dimenta praelegerem, placuit mihi supra modum in eo viro, etiam in rebus minimis, citra curiositatem exaeta diligentia et ordinis lux, quanta in tam con- fusa rerum congerie esse potest, ut quaedam (ut reor) sani ju dicii lectoribus in argumento vulgato non ingrata futura no- vitas. Quare visum est mihi, tum ob haec, tura ob alia multa,' operae pretium futurum, si eum libellum e vernaculo Anglorum sermone, quo primum ab autore est editus, in Latinum verterem doctos omnes et humani tatis studiosos appello, quibus Linacer (nisi fallor) in majori opere satisfeciet. DR. JOHN COLET. 123 ingly y, and dedicated that essay to the queen ^, as written by her command ; supplpng in many places the obscurities and omissions of former gramma rians*, with a great deference to the preceptor of the young princess, D. Tho. Linacer ; recomraending his Rudiments, and the grammar commonly ascribed to Erasmus : Compendium Grammaticce Thomce Li nacri, et libellus de Constructione, qui circumfer^ tur Erasmi nomine. That Linacer resented much Dr. Colet's refusing to admit those his lucubrations into Paul's school, (to which he seeraed to have an eye in the coraposing of thera,) Colet was very sensible ; and that he had incurred his displeasure. But Erasmus interposed, to soften the matter, and reconcUe them ''. And it y Ludovicus Vives de Ratione Studii puerilis, Svo. - Jo. Ludovicus Vives domi- nae Catharinae, reginae Angliae, patronae unicae S. Jussisti ut bre vem aliquam rationem conscri- berem, qua in Maria filia tua in- stituenda praeceptor ejus uti pos set. Parui libens tibi, cui in rebus multo majoribus obsequi vellem, si possem. Et quoniam insti tutorem illi doctura'in pri- rais horainem, ac probum, ut par erat, delegisti, res velut di- gito indicasse fui contentus ; ille reliqua explicabit. Quae tamen aut obscure tradita, aut praeter- raissa a scriptoribus artis gram raaticae putavi, ea paulo pluri bus consignavi verbis. Christum precor, ut haec docendi ratio et ad eruditionem et ad virtutera filiam tuara irapense juvet. Vale; et hunc meum animum addictiss. majestati tuae scito. Oxoniae. Non. Octob. mdxxiii. ^ — Quapropter egi cum ty- pographis nostris, ut quam pri mum excuderent, et passim in omnibus scholis harum regio- nura spargerent. Nunc vero etiara hos qui praesunt scholis duxi adhortandos esse, ut hunc librura adolescentibus propo- nant, et praelegant; sed ita, si prius vulgares regulas brevi compendio tradiderint; ad has postea velim accedere hunc li bellum, qui quasi exaedificatio est doctrinae de constructione. '' — De Linacro cave, ne cui temere credas : nam ego certis argumentis habeo compertum, ilium observantissimo in te esse anirao : at de rejecta grararaa tica non magnopere laborare, quamquam id est borainura in genium, ut suis quisque scriptis ceu parentes filiis impensus fa- veant ; quod siquid etiara ea res hominem movet, tuae dexte- ritatis erit dissimulare, neque 124 THE LIFE OF being certain, that Linacer was very laborious in his grammatical studies, and was forraing and revising these tracts twenty years together, in the midst of his practice of physic, and his phUosophical and ma thematical studies ; it is very likely that Erasmus must mean him, when, drawing his character and circumstances, without a name, he makes him a drudge, during Ufe, at the eight parts of speech '^- To shew the many good offices that Erasmus did for St. Paul's school upon the request of the founder: Dr. Colet employed this his friend's vein of Latin poetry for the service and honour of the said school ; which being under the patronage, (not of the boy- bishop, St. Nicholas,) according to the common superstition of that age ^, nor of any other saint nor angel, but of the chUd Jesus ; it seems to have been the founder's first request, to have an inscription that should signify the choice and preference of that divine protector and governor of the school. This Erasmus drew up in Iambic verse ^; and it seems to have refricare eam cicatricera ; vui- bus omissis, annis plus viginti tuque et consuetudinis alacrita- se torquet, ac discruciat, in te magis quam accusatione, prae- grammatica ; prorsus felicem se cipue per alios facta, revocare. fore ratus, si tam diu se liceat Hoc pacto, si quid illi dolet, vivere, donee certo statuat, quo- tempore sensira evanescet. Sed modo distinguendae sint octo nae ego egregie impudens, qui partes orationis, quod hactenus haec tibi ; hoc est sus Minervae nemo Graecorum aut Latinorum [Erasm. Ep. Jo. Coleto.] ad plenum praestare valuit. ¦" Novi quendam mXv^tx''0Ta- [Moriae Encomium, edit. Beati TOV Graecum, Latinum, mathe- Rhenani, Bas. 1522. p. 253.] maticum, philosophum, medi- <• See Mr. Strype's Ecclesi- cum, Koi TapTa Paai.'KiKov, jam astical Memorials, vol. iii. p. sexagenarium ; qui caeteris re- 206. ^ Carmen lambicum. Non invenusto antiquitas aenigmate Studii magistram, virginera DR. JOHN COLET. 125 been hung up in the proscholion, together with a Sapphic ode, imploring the divine aid and success to Finxit Minervam ; ac litterarum prsesides Finxit Camoenas virgines. Nunc ipse virgo matre natus virgine Praesideo virgineo gregi ; Et sospitator hujus et custos scholte. Adsunt ministri virgines, Pueros meos mecum tuentes angeli. Mihi grata ubique puritas, Decetque studia litterarum puritas. Procul ergo sacro a limine Morum arceant mihi literatores luem ; Nihil hue recipiant barbanim : Procul arceant illiteratas Uteras ; Nec regna polluant mea. SappMcum Carmen. Coeperit faustis avibus, precamur. Semper augescens meliore fato, Hic novae sudor novus officinae. Auspice Iesu. Hic rudis (tanquam nova testa) pubes Literas Graias, simul et Latinas, Et fidem sacram, tenerisque Christum Combibet annis. Quid fiiit laeta sobolem dedisse Corporis forraa, nisi mens et ipsa Rite fingatur, studiisque castis Culta nitescat ? Stirpe ab hac sensira nova pullulabit Civiura proles, pietate juxta ac Literis pollens, breviterque regno Digna Britanno. Ludus hic sylvae pariet fiiturae Seraina ; hinc dives neraus undequaque Densius surgens decorabit Anglum Latins orbem. Carmen Phalenum. Sedes haec puero sacra est Leso, Forraandis pueris dicata ; quare Edico, procul hinc facescat, aut qui Spurcis moribus, aut inerudita Luduiu hunc inquinet eruditione. Aliud. 126 THE LIFE OF this new foundation, and expressing the design of it to be for the institution of boys in the Greek and Latin tongues, and in the principles of reUgion ; as also wishing and portending, that from this semi nary should proceed, for generations to come, citi zens' sons so weU instructed in piety and leaming, as to be worthy of their Enghsh birth, and successive ornaments of this church and nation. At the upper end of the school was the image of the chUd Jesus, (before mentioned,) and Erasmus composed this distich which was put under it : Discite me primum, pueri, atque effingite puris Moribus ; inde pias addite literulas. When these Uttle compositions were done for the ornament of the school, (together with an inscription that seemed to be designed for the bottom of the school, as a sort of comment upon Disce aut discede, now painted upon the windows ; as also a tetrastic, recommending the example of the chUd Jesus, as the rule and original of wisdom and purity of hfe,) the dean had another task for Erasmus, which was to translate from the EngUsh the Institution of a Christian Man into Latin verse, briefly and plainly, for the easy apprehension and memory of the boys ; containing an exposition of the creed, the seven sa craments, the love of God, the avoidance of sin, the seven deadly sins, the avoidance of iU company, a zeal for reUgion, the duty of prayer, of temperance Aliud. Quin hunc ad puerum pueri concurritis omnes ? Unus hic est vitae regula fonsque pise. Hunc qui non sapiat, hujus sapientia stulta est : Absque hoc vita hominis mors (mihi crede) mera est. DR. JOHN COLET. 127 in eating and drinking, of fasting, purity of heart, cleanness of hands, restitution of any thing acci dentaUy found, the love of our neighbour, receiving the sacraraent of our Lord's body, a bed of sickness, the hour of death ; with a concluding sentence. Do this, and live. This was to be the school catechism, or instruction for chUdren, under the then common heads of religion, as Colet himself had pubUshed them in EngUsh, in his Paul's Accidence, or First Rudiments of Grararaar. I know not whether it has been observed, that the system of rehgion, in the beginning of the reformation, drawn up by the convocation, and approved by Henry VIII. was caUed the Institution of a Christian Man, from the title given of old to any httle abridgment of the principles of Christian reUgion ; particularly to this done by Erasmus. This Uttle book, with the sup plement to it, which seemed designed for the use of Paul's school, is mentioned by Erasmus also in a letter to GoneU at Carabridge, some time after : who teUs hira, that he would have sent it him, but that he has but one copy, and can get no one to transcribe it; complaining of the laziness of the EngUsh, that they wiU not work for money ^ In his own account of his writings he teUs the world that these verses, containing the Rudiments or Institution of a Christian Man, were put into the plainest or most simple style, by command of Dr. John Colet, who at that time had founded a new fEras. Rot. Gulielmo Go- Britannos laboris fuga, tantus nello, suo S. D. — Cato, et amor otii, ut ne tum quidem alia quae adjecimus, jampridem excitentur, quum spes dolosi af- absoluta sunt ; sed unicum no- fulserit nummi — tuus adven- bis duntaxat exemplar est, scri- tus erit gratissimus — [Epist. barum inopia — tanta est apud lib. 7. Ep. 38.] 128 THE LIFE OF gramraar school, for the education of the London youth in Christian piety, no less than in good let ters : " For," says he, " that good man of singular " wisdom, seeing the sad and degenerate condition " of that age, chose out the tender youth to work " upon, that he might put, as it were, the new wine " of Christ into new bottles s." But more expressly doth he ascribe this Uttle work to the dean, in an epistle to John Naevius, master of the LUian school at Lovain, and fixed to this book, saying, that Dr. John Colet had drawn it up in EngUsh ; " a man," says he, " whom the whole flourishing kingdom of " England could hardly equal, or afford one other " raore pious, or more truly a disciple of Christ ;" and that he hiraself had put it into verse, not in an elaborate, but a plain humble way ^ : which epistle is the more worthy of notice, because not reprinted in any coUection of his epistles. But though he calk this Uttle coUection a frivolous trifle ; yet it is plain, g — jEditum est carmen Gymnisiarchae, S. D. P. Disti- Rudiraenta coraplectens Homi- cha Moralia, v?'lgo Catonis in- nis Christiani. Id scriptura est scripta titulo, 5jevi theologorum stilo siraplicissirao : sic enim decus, primum diligenter a men- jussit Joannes Coletus, qui dis repurgavimus — adjecimus tum magnis impendiis novum his miinos publicanos, falso in- ludura literarium instituerit, in scriptos Senecae Proverbia — quo non minus in pietate, quam Addidiraus et Septem Sapien- in doctrina, volebat institui for- cum celebria Dicta ; et Hominis marique pueritiara : vir enim Christiani Institutum, quod nos singulari prudentia praeditus, carmine dilucido magis quam videns seculum suum deplora- elaborate sumus interpretati, tissimura, tenerain aetatem de- conscriptum antea sermone Bri- legit, ut novum Christi vinum tannico, a Joanne Coleto, quo novis utribus committeret. [E- viro non alium habet, mea qui- rasmi Catalog. Lucubrat. prsefix. dem sententia, florentissimum Operum tora. i. ed. Bas. 1540.] Anglorum imperium, vel magis '' Erasmus Rot. M. Joanni pium, vel qui Christum verius Nevio Hendiscolano Liliano- sapiat. Benevale. 15 14. kal. rum, apud inclytum Lovanium, Aug. DR. JOHN COLET. 129 that this great man valued himself upon it, since the design of it was to do good to chUdren, and to lay a sure foundation of moraUty in their minds '. We have a late instance of the like hurable con descension in the head of a haU ^ at Oxford ; a very worthy and noted man, who not only published the Guardian's Instruction for Youth, but (even latterly) a Hornbook (or A. B. C.) for chUdren. Another exceUent composition of Erasmus, for the use of the Paul's scholars, was an oration in praise of the child Jesus, (which was spoken publicly in the school, by one of the scholars, at the solemn tirae of visiting the school,) in an adrairable strain of Chris tian eloquence recommending the example of Jesus in his childhood, and exhorting the schooUeUows to foUow his steps in aU piety and virtue. This has been frequently pubUshed under the title of Concio de puero Jesu, pronunciata a puero in schola Coletica nuper instituta Londini. To which (no doubt at the Uke desire of dean Colet) were added two short prayers for the daily use of every scholar ; one for docUity', or aptness and appUcation to ' Erasraus Budaeo — mihi siis ac Laeliis ; pueris et cras- cordi est in hujusmodi frivolis sulis scribuntur. philosophari, in quibus et mi- Joannes Watsonus Erasmo. nus video nugacitatis, et ali- S. D. — Incidi ante paucos dies quanto plus fructus quam in in Catonera minorem, quem magnificis illis, ut ipsis vide- commentariolis elucidasti ; in tur, argumentis. Denique qui quibus non crederes quantum unum hoc spectat, non ut sese me oblectarim, admirans tam ostentet, sed ut prosit, huic non dulcem et uberera frugem, in perinde refert, in quara splen- tam modica gleba. didis versetur, atqui in quam ^ Mr. Stephen Penton, prin- utilibus. Non refugiara etiara cipalof St. Edmund hall, Oxon. illo contemptissirao latrunculo ' Precatio Puerilis pro Doci- contemptiora, modo sensero ad litate. provehenda bona studia condu- Audi preces meas, aetema cere. Non haec scribuntur Per- Patris Sapientia, Domine Jesu; K 130 THE LIFE OF learning ; the other, for a blessing on his parents "" : both which forms have nothing but plain Christian piety; savouring not the least of popery, or the coraraon superstition. I might here further mention some other short forms of prayer, drawn up by this great man: as also his exposition of the Lord's Prayer ; which was not only done at the request of the dean, but after a model and example given by him, that had the ho nour to be inserted into one of the pubhc offices of the church ; for in the coUection of prayers, &c. en titled, Horce beatce Marice Virginis ad usum Sarum, cum multis Orationibus ad longum, Svo. toward the end is put a paraphrase by Dr. Colet, on the Lord's Prayer in Enghsh ", which you may see in the Appendix. It is observable, that in all the forms of devotion composed by Erasmus, there are but two prayers of qui tenerae aetati docilitatis nec inter officia pietatis mini- commodum addidisti: adde, mum est pro parentum incolu- quaeso, ad naturae propensionera mitate tuam bonitatem inter- auxilium gratiee tus, ut literas pellare; serva, quaesumus, pa- ac liberales disciplinas citius rentes meos cum omni familia; perdiscara, sed tuae gloriae ser- primum in tuae religionis amore, vituras ; quarum adminiculis deinde tutos a corporis et ani- adjuta mens mea plenius asse- mi perturbatione. Mihi vero quatur cognitionera tui, quem prassta, ne quid illis ex me mo- nosse felicitatis humanae sum- lestiarum accedat; denique ut ma est : utque ad tuae Sanctis- ego illos, illi te propitium habe- siraas pueritiae exemplum indies ant, qui supremus es omnium proficiam aetate, sapientia, et Pater. Amen. gratia apud Deum, et apud ho- " Mr. Wood reciting the mines ; qui vivis et regnas in works of Dr. Colet, puts down consortio Patris et Spiritus Comment, in Precationem Do- Sancti, in aetema secula. Amen, min'tcam: et Com. in Symholum " Precatio pro Parentibus. Fidei ; and says, the first of these Domine Deus, qui nos secun- two last is translated into Eng- dum te plurimum honoris pa- lish. rentibus nostris habere voluisti. DR. JOHN COLET. 131 invocation to the Virgin Mary"; and they were made by him when he was very young : and he con fesses in effect, it was rather his fancy to please a lady than his own judgraent. But though made long before the foundation of Paul's school, they were never recoraraended to the boys ; nor indeed any thing else of foppery or popish superstition ; so that considering the original constitution of it, it might be caUed the first Protestant school before the reformation. To say the truth. Popery at that time was the ap parent issue of ignorance and interest ; and where people were got above the obstructions of the one, and the impulse of the other, they were so far turned back to a priraitive Christianity, the restoring whereof must of necessity end in a reforraation : and this was now beginning in the discerning minds of Colet and Erasmus, and raany other private raen of sense and integrity, long before it could make its way to be estabhshed by public authority. When dean Colet had obtained from Erasmus so many good essays, both in poetry and prose, towards directing and securing the principles and morals of the boys ; his next care was to procure some gram matical and critical performances, to lead and assist the boys in classic authors, and the Uterature con tained in them. So walking one day in his garden with Erasmus, and hearing him mention his pains in ° — Adjeceramus epistolam juvenili, et ad illius affectum paraeneticam ad Adolphum prin- accoramodato, potius quam ad cipera Veriensem, tum adrao- raeum judicium. Post unam dum puerum ; praeterea duas addidi ad Jesum magis ex animo precationes ad virginem ma- meo. [Erasmi Catalog. Lucu- trem, in gratiam matris iUius brationum, tom. i. 1540.] Annae Dorainae Verianae, stilo K 2 132 THE LIFE OF drawing up two books, De Copia Verborum ac Re rum, to form the style and help the invention of young scholars ; Colet asked him to dedicate that new work to his new school of Paul's. No, says Erasmus, your school is too poor and bare, I must have a patron of sorae ready money; and he teUing him the charge he had been at in books and papers, and transcribers for that purpose; the dean an swered, that he could not afford a just reward for those labours, but he would wUUngly give him fif teen angels ; upon whose repeating the promise, Erasmus did at last accept it. But some time pass ing between that promise and the impression of the book, the dean had forgot it ; so that Erasmus was forced to refresh his meraory by a jocose letter about it : to which the dean's answer was very serious and grave ^\ that he was indeed indebted to him, for he P Erasraus Rot. Coleto unico tissimus. De tenuitate tua pror- patrono suo. Ad epistolarajoco sus et credo et doleo; sed mea scriptam respondes serio. Non tenuitas gravius me premens decebat fortasse cum tanto pa- coegit, ut tuae tenuitati nego- trono jocari. Sed tamen mihi tiura facesserem. Quod quam turn libebat cura amico tam fecerim invitus, vel hinc potes singulari Atticis salibus ludere, colligere, quod jam olim promis- magis humanitatis tuae memori, sum tam sero petii. Excidisse quam magnitudinis ; tuae faci- tibi promissum baud miror, litatis erit nostram ineptiam quippe homini tot occupato ne- boni consulere. Scribis me tibi gotiis. At in horto tuo cum in- debere, etiamsi nolim. Omni- cideret de Copia sermo, et indi- no, mi Colete, durum est, ut in- cassem raihi esse in animo, ut quit Seneca, debere cui nolis. nuncuparera puerile opus prin- At ego neminera novi mortalium cipi nostro puero, rogabas ut cui libentius debeam, quam tibi. novum opus novae scholae tuse Et is semper in me fuit animus dicarem. Respondi subridens, tuus, ut etiam si nihil accessis- scholam tuam esse pauperculam, set officiorum, tamen debiturus mihi opus esse qui aliquantulum tibi plurimum fuerim : tantum daret in manum. Arridebas. De- autem accessit et officiorura et inde cum multos titulosadduxis- beneficiorum, ut si non agnos- sem suniptuura, nonnihil conta- cam, sim unus omnium ingra- tus negabas te posse suppeditare, DR. JOHN COLET. 133 owed his whole self to him ; but yet he did not re member the promise charged upon him. However, his stock was now very low, by reason of his great charge about the school : and besides, he was now so oppreissed with business, that he had not leisure to recoUect himself. To this Erasmus repUed, with acknowledgment of great obUgations to him, and some apology for chaUenging a proraise frora him ; reminding him how and where the proraise was reaUy made, and insisting, as decently as he could, upon the discharge of it, which he could not caU a debt, but a seasonable bounty to hira. He intiraates that some of the dean's friends thought him a Uttle too sparing ; which if a fault, was not owing to any tenacious avarice, but to his modesty : he not being able to deny some confident petitioners, and so the quantum meae res postiilarent ; verum quindecim Angelatos lu- benter daturum. Idque quum alacri vultu repeteres, rogabam nura satis esse videretur ? Re- spondebas etiam alacrius, hoc certe te libenter impensurum. Tura ego et ipse, inquara, li benter accipiara. Ex hac com- memoratione fortasse res redi- bit in memoriam tuam. Pos sem et aliis argumentis ad- struere, nisi tu mihi tua sponte jam fidem haberes. Sunt om nino quidam, iique ainici, (nam cum inimicis nihil mihi cora- mercii est, nec eorum dicta pili facio) qui te duriusculura prae- dicent, et in distribuenda pe cunia diligentiorera : idque non accidere (sic enim illis appro- bantibus interpretabar) vitio tenacitatis; sed quod improbe instantibus et urgentibus ne gare non posses, ob ingenii ve- recundiara, in araicos non mo- lestos, minus esse profusum, quandoquidera utrisque non posses satisfacere. Nec taraen haec res ad me pertinet, qui quanquara non sim admodura improbus ac molestus flagitator, tamen te semper benignissi- raura sura expertus. Non igi tur hoc accepi a tuis obtrectato- ribus, sed ab iis qui tibi ex animo bene volunt. Quorum tamen sententiae nec accedo, nec refragor, nisi quod tuam in me benignitatem singularem agnosco. Si reliquum promissi non gravaberis dare, equidem, ut nunc res meae sunt, acci piara, non uti debitura, sed uti beneficiura, relaturus si qua possim, certe gratiam habiturus. [Erasmi Epist. edit. Bas. 15 21. p. 492.] K 3 134 THE LIFE OF more unable to gratify those who deserved better of him. Dean Colet then comphed readUy with the ex pectation of Erasmus ; who therefore dedicated the said books De Copia, &c. to him, in the foUowing very eloquent epistle, dated from London, 3 cal. May, 1520. /i " I cannot but extremely commend, my dear Co- 1 Des. Erasmus Rot. Joanni Coleto, decano Sancti Pauli a- pud Londinum, S. D. Non possum equidem non vehemen ter laudare, Colete, singularem istam vereque Christianam ani mi tui pietatem, qui conatus tuos omnes, omnia vitae studia semper hue destinaris, non ut tuis privatim commodisconsule- res, sed uti patriae civibusque tuis quara plurimum prodesses. Neque minus admiror judicium tuum, qui duas praecipue res de- legeris, quibus id cumulatissirae consequi posses. Videbas enim amplissimum charitatis fructura in eo situra esse, si quis assiduis concionibus sacraque doctrina Christum popularium suorura animis inserat : quo tu quidem in negociojam annos coraplu- res versaris, non dicam quanta cum laude (quara tu adeo non spectas, ut nec adraittas) sed certe raagno cura fructu. Quo nomine Paulus ille tuus, alio qui raodestissimus, subinde glo riatur, ac sese sancta quadam insolentia jactat. Deinde quod proximum existimabas, ludura literarium longe pulcherrimura ac magnificentissimum institu- isti, ubi sub electissimis ac pro- batissimis praeceptoribus Bri tannica pubes rudibus statim annis, simul et Christum, et optimas imbiberet literas ; ni mirum graviter intelligens, et in hac aetate velut herba, spem reipublicffi positam esse, et quanti referat in omnem vitam, protinus ab incunabulis optimis imbui. Jam vero quis non ada- met etiara generosara istam animi tui celsitudinem, ac sanc tam (ut ita dixerim) superbiam, qui utrumque hoc in patriam officium ita gratuitum ac since- rum esse volueris, ut nec ex tot annorum laboriosissimis concionibus, vel teruncio factus sis ditior ; quumque tua semi- naris spiritualia, nullius unquam carnalia messueris; et scholae sumptus, tam videlicet ingentes, ut satrapam quoque deterrere possent, solus omnes ferre vo lueris : et quum vulgus homi num nulla in re libentius so- ciuin accersere soleat, tu pa- triraonium, tu censura univer sum, ad haec domesticam etiam supellectilem profundere raa- luisti, quam ulluin mortalem in istius gloriae partem admittere. Quaeso, quid istud est aliud quam in universes tuorum libe- ros, in universes cives animum plusquam paternum gerere ? Teipsum spolias, ut ipsos locu- pletes ; te ipsum nudas, ut illos DR. JOHN COLET. 135 " let, your singular and truly Christian piety ; who " have hitherto directed aU the endeavours and la- " hours of your Ufe, not to the seeking of your own " private interest, but to the consulting the good of " your country, especiaUy of your native city. Nor *' do I less admire your judgment, in choosing out " two of the most proper methods for the fuU at- " tainment of these glorious ends. For you saw the " greatest fruits of love and charity would arise from " the pains of instiUing into the minds of people " the knowledge of Christ by constant sermons, and " a dUigent teaching of the word of God : and there- " fore in this exercise you have now spent many " years ; I need not say with what praise and cora- " mendation, (for that you despise,) but I may say, " with great profit to the hearers ; upon which duty "of preaching the gospel your own apostle St. Paul " (otherwise modest, and sparing enough of his own " praises) did often boast, and in a manner pride " himself. Then for a second effectual means of an- " swering the same pubhc ends, you have founded a " very beautiful and magnificent school, where, un- " der the choicest and best approved masters, the " British youth, in their tender years, might imbibe ornes : teipsum laboribus con- tibi privatim sira obnoxius, ficis, quo tua soboles vegeta sit officii raei sura arbitratus, hte- in Christo. Breviter totura te rariura aliquod raunusculum in impendis, ut illos Christo Iu- ornamentum scholae tuae con- crifacias. Nimium profecto sit ferre. Itaque duos hos meos invidus, qui talia conanti non de Copia commentaries novae impensissime faveat ; impius, scholae nuncupare visum est ; qui reclamet et obstrepat ; hos- opus videlicet quum aptum pue- tis Angliae, qui non pre sua ritiae, tum non infrugiferum (ni virili adjumenti aliquid cen- fallor) futurum. Bene vale, ferre studeat. Ego sane non Colete optime. Londini. anno ignarus, et quantum Angliae de- mdxii. hi. cal. Maias. beam publice, et quantopere K 4 136 THE LIFE OF " the Christian reUgion and good letters ; as rightly " apprehending, that from that tender age, in bud " and blossom, the coraraonwealth might justly " hope and expect, in time, the fruit in proportion ; " and that it would be an infinite advantage to man- " kind in every stage of life, to be weU instructed " from their cradle. And in both these respects, " who would not love and admire that generous " greatness of mind (I was going to say that holy " pride) in you, that you paid both these regards to " your country in such sincere and disinterested a " manner ; that by so raany elaborate sermons, in so " long a course of years, you are not one farthing the " richer ; and though you sowed in such plenty " your spiritual things, you reaped no man's carnal " things ? And again, though the expenses of your " school were such an immense burden, that it " might weU have affrighted any noble peer, yet you " took it aU upon yourself; when the common sort of *' mankind are weU pleased to admit of any assistance " in such cases, you chose to spend your patrimony, " your whole revenue, your very furniture and house- " hold goods, rather than to admit any one soul to " be a partner in the glory of your ample founda- " tion '. What is this but to have a fatherly affec- " tion for aU your chUdren, that is, for aU your fel- " low citizens ? You become poor, to make them " rich ; naked, to clothe and adorn them ; by your " great labours, you well nigh destroy yourself, to " make them grow in Christ ; in a word, you spend " yourself, to gain them unto salvation. Surely he ¦¦ It cost him 4500/. (an im- 120Z. annual rent, which is mense sum in the time he lived,) much increased since. [New- and besides he endowed it with court's Repertoriimi Lond.] DR. JOHN COLET. 137 " must be very envious, who wUl not heartUy favour " such good works ; and he raust be notoriously im- " pious, who shaU dare to speak against them. He " is an enemy to England, who would not, accord- " ing to his power, help and promote them. For " my own part, I am not ignorant how much I am " indebted to this kingdom in general, and how " much to you my special friend : and therefore I " thought it my duty to bestow some smaU Uterary " present towards the beautifying and adorning " of your new school ; and to dedicate these com- " mentaries about the copiousness of words and " things to the use and benefit of your school at " Paul's ; a work befitting the wants of young learn- " ers, and such, I hope, as may be very serviceable " to them. FareweU, my best and most exceUent " Colet, Lond. 1512, 3 kal. Maii." This work, though the author designed it chiefly for the use of our school ; yet he elsewhere speaks of it with satisfaction, as what would be of a more ge neral use '- In the book itself ^ Erasmus adapts his examples to the honour of his Enghsh friends ; as particularly in varying this sentence. Semper dum vivam tui meminero, he makes the variation run whoUy upon ' Edidi opus De rerum ver- Cum scholiis raarginalibus Chri- boruraque Copia, quod inscripsi stopheri Hegendorphini, in qui- Coleto race ; opus utilissimum bus vir ille querundara studio- concionaturis. [Eras. Epist. sorum efflagitationibus victus, Servetio.] et exempla pleraque ab Erasmo * There was afterwards an adducta ex autoribus optimis edition with the commentaries quibusque deprompta ostendit, of Hegendorphin, thus enti- et loca authorura ab Erasmo tied, Des. Erasmi Rot. De Co- non indicata diligenter indicat. pia verborum ac rerum com- Anno mdxxviii. mense Julio, mentarii due, postrema autoris Antwerpiae in aedibus Michae- cura recogniti locupletatique. lis Hillenii, Svo. 138 THE LIFE OF his remembrance of master Moore, and rings the changes upon it in near two hundred several ways of expression. This raention of sir Thomas Moore after the let ter of Erasmus, which so highly commends the preaching of Dr. Colet, makes it not improper to observe, that sir Thomas Moore ", in his younger " Sir Thomas Moore, while a young man — He frequented sermons diligently, especially when those men preached who were most excellent for good life and spiritual direction; such as Dr. Colet was, the raost faraous dean of Paules, who, as Erasmus writeth, was wont every day to preach at Paules, besides many other sermons, which he raade at the court and elsewhere, expounding in thera either the Pater noster, the Apostles' Creed, the Ten Coramandments, the Seven Sa craments, or sorae other raatter of necessary instruction, which he never left ofif until he had perfected the whole, that there by every one might learn what they should believe, what to fol low, and what to shunne ; and shewed the means how every Christian might come to perfec tion in the sundry states of life. And his life did not disagree frora his doctrine; fer he ex ercised himself much in all works of charity and mortifica tion of his flesh. This was he that founded the goodly school of Paules, dedicating it to the little boy Jesus, as he was found disputing with the doctours at twelve years olde ; of which fa mous act sir Thoraas Moore, writing to hira, compareth it by a full antithesis to the horse of Troy, out ef which the Grecians issued to surprize the citye. In like manner, saith he, out of this your school many have come that have subverted and overthrown all ignorance and rudeness "Therefore he chose this worthy dean for his ghostlye father, fer he was ac counted one of the most skilful physicians fer the soule that could be found amongst ten thousand. Him he committed hiraself unto, as to a safe guide of perfection in the dangerous passages of youth ; that by his experience he might the more easily overcorae the devil, the world, and his own flesh, by following his wholesome les sons, to work the salvation of his soule, without any prejudice of his body. To him he was as obedient in all spiritual afl'airs, as he was to his father in all dutifull obligation, whereby he arrived te perfect obedience, one of the chiefest helps that a spiritual man can have to get heaven. And because every one may see what afl'ection he bore to this man, his ghostly physi cian, I will set down here an excellent letter of sir Thomas Moore to Dr. Colet. DR. JOHN COLET. 139 years, was a great admirer and constant frequenter of the sermons and lectures of Dr. Colet ; and had so great a veneration for his sound preaching and good Uving, that he made him his confessor. In an ex ceUent epistle to him he complains of his staying too long in the country, and importunes his speedy re turn to Stispney or London, that he might again en joy the benefit of his edifying sermons ; reflecting on the ordinary preachers at Paul's Cross, as men of iU Uves, who therefore could make no great impression upon their auditory. They were physicians that ought to be caUed upon to heal themselves ; and the people did not cai-e to have then- sores touched by those who they saw had need of heaUng themselves : in Colet only they had confidence ; of him they had experience ; he alone could cure them ; they would wiUingly aU submit to whatever he prescribed, &c. This letter in the original Latin I shaU subjoin to the EngUsh translation given long since by the au thor of the Life and Death of sir Thoraas Moore, 4to. 1642. " " As I was lately walking at Westminster, busy- " The. Morus Joanni Colete consuetudine tua privari ? en sue, S. D. Ambulanti mihi du- jus prudentissimo consilio frui, dum in foro, et intra aliena ne- cujus jucundissimo convictu gotia ocianti, obtulit se puer recreari, cujus gravissimis cen- tuus. Quem quam primum in- cionibus excitari, cujus ex- tuerer, vehementer sum gavi- emphs et vita promoveri, in sus, tum quod hic ipse mihi cujus denique vultu ipse ac nu- semper charus extitit, tum prae- tu solebam conquiescere. Ita- cipue quod arbitrabar eum non que ut his praesidiis vallatus sine te venisse : at ubi ab illo aliquando rae seusi roborari, didici te modo non rediisse, sed ita eisdem destitutus, languore nec adhuc diu reditunim ; dici raihi ferine videor absolvi, Et non potest, ex quanta laetitia, quia tua semper vestigia se in quantam moestitiam rejectus cutus, jam pene ex ipsis orci sum. Quid enim mihi potest faucibus emerseram, nunc rur- esse molestius, quara suavissima sura tanquam Euridice (con- 140 THE LIFE OF " ing myself about other men's causes, I met by " chance your servant ; at whose first sight I mar- traria taraen lege; Euridice quidem, quod illam respexit Orpheus ; ego vero, quia tu rae non respicis) in obscuras retro caligines, nescio qua vi ac ne cessitate, relabor. Nara in urbe quid est quod quenquam ad bene vivendura moveat, ac non potius suopte ingenio nitentem in arduura virtutis callem eva dere mille raachinaraentis revo- cet, illecebris mille resorbeat ? Queconque te conferas, quid aliud quara hinc fictus amor et blande adulatorum mellita vene- na circumsonant ? Hinc edia saeva et querulae lites ac forenses strepitus obmurmurant. Que- cunque tuleris oculos, quid aliud yideas, quam cupedinaries, ce- tarios, lanios, coques, fartores, piscatores, aucupes, qui mate riam ventri ministrant, ac mun do et principi ejus diabole ? Tecta quinetiam ipsa, nescio quo raodo, bonara partem lucis eripiunt, nec coelum libere si- nunt intueri. Aerera itaque non ofiC/awi; ille circulus, sed de- morura culmen deterrainat. Que aequior tibi sura, si rai- nirae te adhuc ruris poeniteat; quippe ubi simplicem turbara vides, et urbicae fraudis exper- tera ; ubi quoquoversus oculos intendas, blanda telluris facies juvat, aeris grata reficit tempe- ries, ipse te coeli delectat aspec- tus. Nihil ibi vides nisi benigna naturae munera, et sancta quae dam innocentiae vestigia. Nolo tamen his oblectationibus adeo capiaris, quin quam primura possis, ad nos revoles. Nam si tibi displicent urbis incommeda. at Stephani rus (cujus etiara non minus debes esse soUici- tus) baud minora tibi commoda suppeditabit, quam quod nunc incelis : unde etiara in urbem (ubi magna tibi raerendi mate ria est) potes interdum, tan quam in hospitium, divertere. Nara ruri, quum sint homines ipsi per se aut fere innocui, aut certe non adeo magnis sceleri- bus irretiti, cujusque medici manus utilis esse potest : at in urbe, tam propter ingentera magnitudinera, tara ob invetera- tam morborum consuetudinem, medicus omnis frustra, nisi pe- ritissimus, accesserit. Veniunt certe in D. Pauli suggestum aliquando, qui sanitatem polli- centur : sed quum speciose per- erasse videntur, adeo vita cura verbis litigat, ut irritent potius quara raitigent. Non enim per- suadere possent hominibus, ut quura ipsi sunt omnium aegro- tissimi, idonei credantur, qui bus alienarum aegritudinum cura merite comraittatur. Itaque morbos suos, quura ab his tractari sentiunt, quos exul- ceratos vident, indignantur iU- cet, atque recalcitrant. At si (ut naturarum indagatores affir mant) is demum medicus ad sanitatem appositus est, in que aegrotus maximam habet spem ; quis dubitetquin te une, ad cu- randam universam urbem, ne mo possit esse salubrior ? A quo quam aeque animo vulnera sua tractari patiantur, quantum confidant, quantum pareant ; et tute antehaec satis expertus es, et nunc apud omnes tui desi. DR. JOHN COLET. 141 " veUously rejoiced, both because he hath been al- " ways dear unto me, as also especiaUy for that I " thought he was not come to London without your- " self: but when I had learned of him, that you " were not come, nor yet minded to come of a long " whUe, it cannot be expressed how suddenly my " great joy was turned into as great sorrow and sad- " ness : for what can be more grievous unto me than " to be deprived of your most sweet conversation, " whose wholesorae counsel I was wont to enjoy, " with whose deUghtsome famUiarity I was recre- " ated, by whose weighty sermons I have been often " stirred up to devotion, by whose life and example " I have been much amended in my own ; finaUy, " in whose face and countenance I was wont to rest " contented ? Wherefore, as I have found myself " greatly strengthened whUst I enjoyed these helps, " so now do I see myself much weakened, and " brought almost to nothing, being deprived of them " so long : for having heretofore, by foUowing your " footsteps, almost escaped out of heU's mouth ; so " now, Uke another Euridice, (though in a contrary " raanner, for she was lost there, because Orpheus " looked back upon her, but I ara in the Uke dan- " ger, because you do not look upon me,) I faU back derium, atque incredibilis quae- rae tibi totura dedidi, et in ad- dara expectatio declarat. Venias ventura tuura solicitus pendeo. ergo tandera, rai Colete, vel Interea cum Grocine, Linacro, Stephani tui gratia, qui hand et Lilio nostre tempus transi- secus diuturnam tui gemit ab- gara ; altero (ut tu scis) solo, sentiara, quara infantuli matris ; dum tu abes, vitae meas magis- vel patriae tuae causa, cujus tre ; altero, studiorura prae- haud minor tibi cura esse de- ceptore; tertio, charissirao rerum bet, quam parentum. Postremo mearum socio. Vale ; et nos, (quamquam hoc miniraura sit ut facis, ama. Londini, lo cal. reducendi tui momentum) mei Noverabris. [Stapleton de Tribus te respectus comraoveat, qui Thomis. Op. tom.iv. p. 992.] 142 THE LIFE OF " again, by a certain violence and necessity, into " that obscure darkness I was in before. For what, " I pray you, is there in this city, which doth move " any raan to live well, and doth not rather, by " a thousand devices, draw hira back, and with as " raany aUurements swallow him up in aU manner " of wickedness, who of himself were otherwise weU " disposed, and doth endeavour accordingly to climb " up the painful hUl of virtue ? Whithersoever any " man cometh, what can he find, but feigned love, " and the honey-poison of venomous flattery? In " one place he shaU find cruel hatred ; in another, " hear nothing but quarrels and suits : whither- " soever we cast our eyes, what can we see but " victualUng-houses, fishmongers, butchers, cooks, " pudding-makers, fishers, and fowlers, who minis- " ter matter to our belUes, and set forward the " service of the world, and the prince thereof, the " devU ? Yea, the houses themselves (I know not " how) do bereave us of a great part of our sight of " heaven ; so as the height of our buUdings, and not " the circle of our horizon, doth limit our prospect. " For which cause I may pardon you the more easUy, " that you deUght rather to remain in the country, " where you are ; for there you fin4 a company of " plain souls, void of all craft, wherewith citizens " most abound ; whithersoever you look, the earth " yieldeth you a pleasant prospect, the temperature " of the air refresheth you, and the clear beholding " of the heavens doth deUght you ; you find nothing " there but bounteous gifts of nature, and saintly " tokens of innocence. Yet I would not have you so " carried away with those contentments, that you " should be stayed from hastening hither : for if the DR. JOHN COLET. 143 " discommodities of the city do (as they may yery " weU) displease you ; yet may the country about " your parish of Stepney (whereof you ought also " not to have the least care) afford you the Uke " deUghts to those which that affords you, wherein " you now keep ; from whence you may, upon oc- " casions, come to London, as into your inn, where " you may find great matter of merit. The country " people are most commonly harmless ; or at the " least, not loaden with great offences, and there- " fore any physician may minister physic unto them. " But as for citizens, both because they are many " in number, as also in regard of their inveterate " custom in sinning, none can help them but he " that is very skUful. There come into the pulpit " at Paul's divers men that promise to cure the " diseases of others, but when they have aU done, " and made a fair and goodly discourse, their Ufe, " on the other side, doth so jar with their sapng, " that they rather increase than assuage the giiefs " of their hearers ; for they cannot persuade men " that they are fit to cure others, whenas them- " selves (God wot) are most sick and crazy. And " therefore when they feel themselves touched and " handled by those, whom they see are fuU of loath- " some sores themselves, they cannot but have a " great aversion from them. But if such an one be " accounted by learned men most fit to cure, in " whom the sick raan hath greatest hope ; who " doubteth then, but you alone are the fittest in aU " London to cure their maladies, whom every one " is wUUng to suffer to touch their wounds ; and in " whom what confidence every one hath, and how " ready every one is to do what you prescribe, both 144 THE LIFE OF " you have heretofore sufficiently tried, and now the " desire that every one hath of your speedy retum " may manifest the sarae ? Return therefore, my " dear Colet, either for Stepney's sake, which " mourneth for your absence, no less than chUdren " do for the absence of their loving mother; or " else for London's sake, in respect it is your native " country, whereof you can have no less regard than " of your parents : and finaUy, (though this be the " least motive,) retum for my sake, who have wholly " dedicated myself to your directions, and do most " earnestly long to see you. In the mean time I " pass my time with Grocine, Linacer, and LUye ; " the first being, as you know, the director of my " life in your absence ; the second, the master of my " studies ; the third, my most dear companion. " FareweU, and see you love rae as you have done " hitherto. London, 21 Octob." [about the year 1510.] Upon reading this epistle, one cannot but observe the different spirit from what sir Thomas appeared to have had in the latter part of his Ufe, after Colet's death. He had early in his Utopiay sufficiently y Especially in the first edi- had been a leaden rule to their tion of that book, which gave lives, that some way or ether such a ridiculous view of the they raight agree with one an- several orders in the church other. But there is one thing yet of Rome, that care was taken more surprising ; that in p. 1 73, to erase several passages relat- he makes it one of the maxims ing thereunto. Thus in p. 56, ef his Utopians, that no man he taxes the preachers of that ought to be punished for his age for corrupting the Christian religion ; and yet afterwards he doctrine, and practising upon breathes out nothing but threat- it : for they, observing that the enings and slaughter against world did not suit their lives to the poor Protestants. See Bwr- the rules Christ hath given, neVs Hist. vol. iii. have fitted his doctrine as if it DR. JOHN COLET. 145 derided the popular superstitions in the church ; and had wit and learning sufficient to raake an heretic : and what is more to be wondered at, (if we raay be Ueve Erasmus's character of him,) he was a rehgious man, and free from superstition ''. But sure we are, the last scene of his hfe shewed hira to be a quite different raan ; so that in his very epitaph, composed by himself, he values himself upon his being a sworn*- eneray to heretics'^. This was owing to some of the prelates, who took him off frora his freedora of thinking, and importuned hira to eraploy his abihties and parts in defence of the cathohc church, against Tyndal, Frith, and other heretical writers, as they caUed them. He did so : and upon this controversial subject he wrote so unequaUy to what he had done before, and so very much beneath hiraself; that it either bewrayed a task imposed upon hira against his wUl, or a cause wherein wit and inven tion could not help him out against the simpUcity of truth. Let any one but read the Vindication of our Protestant Faith, by poor John Frith, a boy in effect, and a naked prisoner, and then run over the answers and oppositions of the noble lord chanceUor, sir Tho mas Moore, and compare the sense, the style, the spirit of them both ; and he need not be told on which side infinite advantage Ues. Had sir Tho raas wrote upon no other subject but this of re ligion, it would be as hard to find by his writings, as it was by his conversation, when he was in jest only, and when in earnest. Nay, Erasmus himself, an- ' Morus — verae pietatis non ^ — Quod in epitaphio profi- indiligens cultor, etiamsi ab teer haereticis me fuisse meles- omni superstitione alienissiraus. tura, hoc ainbitiose feci. [Mori [Eras. Ep. p. 43 7 .] Ep. Erasrae, ed. Lond. p. 1 5 1 1 .] L 146 THE LIFE OF other of the dean's raost intimate friends, those zea lots had, by their artful stratagems, brought even him to enter the Usts with Luther ^ : who, though in raany of his books he professes hiraself weU affected to Luther's person, and not averse to many of his doctrines ; yet he had no mind to be a mart)T for hira, by no raeans loving suffering, but dehghting in a studious ease and safety '^. ^ Multa scripsit Lutherus ini- prudenter magis quam impie ; quorum hoc istos habet pes- sime, quod Thomae non mul tum tribuit, quod minuit quae- stum veniarum, quod ordinibus raendicantium parum tribuit, quod scholasticis degmatibus non tantundem defert quan tum evangeliis, quod negligit humanas disputatorum argu- tias. Hae nimirum sunt hae reses intolerabiles ; sed his dis- siraulatis, praetexunt invidiosa apud pontificem homines tan tum ad nocendum et Concordes et callidi. Olim etiam reve- renter audiebatur hasreticus ; et absolvebatur, si satisfaciebat ; sin convictus perstitisset, ex trema poena erat, non admitte- batur ad ecclesiasticam com- munionera. Nunc aha res est haereseos crimen ; et tamen ob quamlibet levem causam, statim hoc habent in ore, haeresis est. Olim haereticus habebatur, qui dissentiebat ab evangeliis, ab articulis fidei, aut his quae cum his parem obtinerent authorita tem Nunc si quis un quam dissentiat a Thoma, voca tur hasreticus ; imo si quis a coramentitia ratione quam heri sophista quispiam in scholis commentus est. Quicquid non placet, quicquid non intelligunt, haeresis est. Graece scire hae resis est, expolite loqui haeresis e.st; et quicquid ipsi non fa ciunt, haeresis est. [Eras. Rot. arch, et principi Mogontino, cal. Nov. 15 19. Ep. ed. Bas. 1521. p. 477.] ¦^ — At pro Luthero, proque Lutheri paradoxis nondum est animus mortem oppetere. Pro his quae soient esse thema- ta conflictatienum schelastica- rum, nec ausim cuiquam wtam eripere, si judex sim, nec velim in capitis discrimen venire. Op tarim esse Christi martvT, si vires ipse suppeditet; Lutheri martyr esse nolim. [Erasmus adv. Huttenum Op. torn. ix. P-1365-] Ex universis Lutheri libris non perlegi duodecim pagellas, atque eas etiam carptim ; et ta men ex his degustatis verius quara lectis, videbar mihi de- prehendere dotes naturae raras, et ingenium pulchre accomrao- dum ad explicandum juxta ve terum morem arcanas lite ras, ad suscitandam evangelicae doctrinte scintillam, a qua et publici mores orbis, et scholae nimium jam indulgentes argutis magis quara necessariis quae- stiunculis vehementer prolapsse DR. JOHN COLET. 147 He afterwards also, in his Morice Encomium, lashed the cardinals, struck freely even at the pope hiraself, and exposed aU the ambition, avarice, pa geantry, and fopperies of the church of Rome : espe cially in the bargains about purgatory, raasses, pil grimages, indulgences, and other rehgious toys sold to the poor deluded people ; all which was effectu ally the blowing a trumpet for the reformation. Yet though these two writers were the two leading reformers, human fears and worldly poUcy stopped them short, and turned them out of the way they saw to be right. To ascend yet higher ; the same trick (for so it may weU be called) was put upon king Henry VIII. His education and parts were so good, that he could not but despise the idol of rehgion, as it was dressed up in the church of Rome : and he had openly laughed at some of their impostures ; and would have much sooner exerted his authority in reforming of them, if the bishops (especiaUy Wolsey, his prime minister, and Longland, his confessor) had not worked him up to shew his learning, in defence of the Cathohc faith, against Luther. And when, by their importunity and aid, they had got such a book from him, and a glorious title for the author, it was the greatest wonder of the providence of God, that he should afterwards become the first instrument of the reformation in these kingdoms. '^ But to return : the last act of Erasmus's kind- videbantur. Audiebam eximios evangelicae puritati proximus, vires probatae doctrinae, proba- ita minime infensum Luthero. taeque religionis, sibi gratulari, Porro vita praedicabatur et ab quod in hujus viri libros inci- iis qui doctrinara non ferebant. dissent. Videbam, ut quisque [Laur. Campegio Leva. 1520.] esset integ^rrimis moribus, »it '' Venit in me.ntera quiddam, l2 148 THE LIFE OF ness to the dean's school was to find out at Cam bridge (where he then was) an usher, or second master, according to the founder's desire, to be un der Mr. WiUiam Lilye. He inquired among the masters of arts there ; but he could meet with none, it seems, that cared for, or were fit for that place, who would engage in it. They did not affect so la borious an eraplayraent, however honourable the terras might be. One of the seniors said, in a flouting way. Who would lead such a slavish life among boys, in a school, ifhe can have any other way of living f " I answered gravely," says Erasmus, " that the office " of instructing youth in letters and good manners " was a very creditable office, that our blessed Saviour " himself did not despise the conversing with chUd- " ren ; that no age was so capable of good instruction, *' and a man could no where bestow his pains with a " better prospect of success, than at Paul's school, quod ridebis, scio. Cura inter qui is corrugate naso, subsan- raagistros aliquot proponerem . nans: " Si quis," inquit, " velit de hj'podidasculo, quidam non " omnino servire Christo, ingre- infimae opinionis subridens : " diatur mona,sterium ac reH- " Quis," inquit, "sustineat in ea " gionem." Respondi, Paulum " schola vitam agere inter pue- in charitatis officiis ponere veram " ros, qui posset ubivis quomo- religionem ; charitatem in hoc " docunque vivere?" Respondi esse, ut proximis quam maxime moHestius ; hoc munus mihi vi- prosimus. Rejecit hoc tanquam deri vel in primis honestum, bonis imperite dictum. "Ecce," in- moribus ac literis instituere ju- quit, "nos reliquimus omnia; ventutem ; neque Christum eam " inhocestpCrfectio." Nenre- aetatera contempsisse, et in nul- liquit, inquam, omnia, qui cum lam rectius coUocari beneficiura, possit plurimis prodesse labore et nusquam expectari fructum sue, detrectat officium quod hu- uberiorem, utpote cum ilia sit milius habeatur. Atque ita, ne lis seges ac sylva reipublicae. Ad- oriretur, hominem dimisi. Vides didi, si qui sint homines vere sapientiam Scotisticam et habes pii, eos in hac esse sententia, ut dialogum. Rursum vale. Can- putent sese nullo officio magis tabrigiae, postridie Simonis et demereri Deum, quam si pue- Judae. [Erasmi Epist. edit. ros trahaiit ad Christum. At- Bas. 152 1. p. 421.] DR. JOHN COLET. 149 " which was in the heart of the city, and centre of " the kingdom : besides, said I, if men have a true " sense of reUgion, they must needs think, that " there is no better way of pleasing and serving God " than by the bringing of children to Christ ; i. e. " training them up to piety, and virtue, and know- " ledge. But upon this he turned up his nose, and " said in a deriding manner. If any man desires to " be an absolute servant of Christ, he may go into " a monastery, and take the vows of religion upon " him. I told him, Paul placed true rehgion in the " works of charity ; and the greatest charity was to " do most good unto our neighbours : but he laughed " at this, as a siUy way of talking. fVell, says he, " we students seem to have left all; we must be " here in a state of perfection No, said I, a raan " cannot be said to have left all, who, when he can " do good to the world in any station, decUnes it, " because he thinks it too mean for hira : and so, to " prevent any further dispute, I took ray leave of " him." He had also in a forraer letter raentioned his fruit less endeavours to serve him in the affair of an usher''. And he did not only in the former of these epistles, but whenever he had an opportunity, encourage men of letters to undertake the laborious care of a gram mar school ; of which he often speaks in the highest comraendation, as what exalts the schoolraaster to the highest dignity; whose business is to season youth in learning and rehgion, and raise up men for the service of their country. " It may be," says he, = Nondum occurrit quem ex- rere, et simul atque reperero, istimera idoneum hypodidascu- certiorem te faciam. Bene vale, lum tuae scholae ; pergara inqui- praeceptor optime. L 3 150 THE LIFE OF " the employment is accounted vUe and mean in the « opinion of fools ; but in itself it is reaUy great and " honourable*^." The aforesaid story about the aversion of men in the university to the dmdgery of a grammar school, was by way of postscript to a letter, wherein Eras mus acquainted the deans, that he had almost finished f Erasmus Joanni Sapide. — Porro sortem tuara ut labori- osara esse non negaverini, ita tragicam, ut tu vocas, aut deplo- randara esse prorsus inficior. Ludi literarii niagistrura esse, proximum regno munus est. An tu putas serdidam esse func- tionera, primam illam aetatem tuorum civiura optimis literis et Christo statim imbuere, totque probes et integros vires patriae tuae reddere ? Stultorum opini- one humilius est, re longe splendidissimum. Sed que alacrius verseris in isto munere, fac raemineris se cundum principes et episcopos, neminera magnificentius posse mereri de republica, quam lu di literarii magistrum, si rudi bus adhuc, et in quemvis habi tum sequacibus animis men- tera instillet Christo dignam, easque literas, quae semper opti me cuique placuerunt. [Erasmi Epist. Euricio Corde, ludima- gistro.] s In absolvenda Copia mea nunc sum totus, ut jam aenig- matis instar videri possit, me simul, et in media Copia, et in suraraa versari inopia Porro quod mihi tuas offers pecunias, agnosco veterem tu ura in me animum, et gratiam habeo quam possum maximam. Sed pupugit nonnihil animura meum verbura illud, quamlibet joce dictum ; si humiliter men- dicaveris. Fortasse significas, et vere significas, quod sortem nostram tam iniquo ferimus animo — A caeteris ne frustra petam ; a te vero qua fron te, quaeso, petam ? praesertim cura ipse hoc opum genere non admodura abundes. At- tamen si tibi probatur invere- cundia, finiam epistolam clau sula quam possum impudentis- sima. Nec adeo possum per- fricare faciem, ut nullo titulo abs te petam ; nec adeo super- bus tamen sura, ut raunus re- jiciam, siquis talis amicus li benter dederit, praesertim hoc remm statu. Vale. Refricuit mihi jocus Mori mei, dictura quoddara non illepidum : nam aeditis libris de Copia; " Eraisit," inquit, " Erasmus utramque Copiam, " quid itaque reliquum fecit, " praeter suraraara inopiara ?" [Eras. Ep.] In the Hebrew tongue the word alluph, as one observes, is rendered both peedagogus and princeps; and shebet in that language is as pdphci; in the Greek, and signifies both a rud and a sceptre. DR. JOHN COLET. 151 his book de Copia, (before mentioned,) and yet upon the subject of plenty he found himself in great want. And as to his offer of money to him ; " I acknow- " ledge," says he, " your good old generous disposi- " tion, and thank you most heartily. But you have " nettled rae with one expression, (however spoken in " jest,) if you beg humbly ; intimating perhaps, (and " with truth enough,) that I am too proud for my " condition. However, were I to beg of others, I " am afraid it would be in vain. And yet with " what face can I beg of you ? especially when " you do not rauch abound in what I beg for. But " if you will excuse ray boldness, I wiU conclude " now in a very irapudent manner. I can hardly " have the face to crave any thing of you, when I " have deserved nothing ; and yet I am not so proud " as to refuse a gift when generously offered to me, " especiaUy under ray present circumstances, low " enough." What confidence Erasraus placed in his friend Colet, he discovers to hira also (with his state and circumstances) in another letter, which mentions his engaging in a translation of St. Basil upon Isaiah, a work that pleased him very much. " I wiU," says he, " send a specimen of it to the bishop of Rochester, " and try whether he wiU soften my labour with " some Uttle reward. This is a way of begging, you " wUl say ; and I know you wUl laugh at it. But I " begin to hate my poor condition ; and I ara re- " solved to get some fortune, to keep me above beg- " ging ; or else to imitate Diogenes, and get into a " tub h." ^ Cospi vertere Basilium in valde placet. Exhibebo gustura Esaiam. Mihi quidem op"S episcopo Rofl'ensi ; experiarque l4 152 THE LIFE OF Having before raentioned Erasmus's pains, in seeking out for a proper person for the usher's place in Paul's school ; I ara now to add, that being not dis couraged in his quest, he did at length very proba bly recoraraend Mr. John Rytwise ; who being bom at Sawl in Norfolk, and bred at Eaton school, was now member of King's coUege at Cambridge, and being retained by dean Colet as usher to his school, was, for his abiUty and industry, very agreeable to the head raaster LUye. Under these two exceUent raasters of Paul's school, if there was any fault in the raanageraent of it, it was in the practice of too rauch ' severity, ow ing a httle to the roughness of that age, and to the estabhshed customs of cruelty : somewhat too may be attributed to that austere teraper of the founder. Dr. Colet ; who verUy thought, there was a necessity of harsh discipline to humble the spirit of boys, to inure them to hardship, and prepare them for mortifications and other sufferings and afflictions in the world. This severity appears by several passages in Eras mus's works ; particularly in his tract of the Edu cation of Youth, where he faUs upon the rigid French schoolmasters of the Scotical t clan' ; than whom no- num is velit hos labores nostros ^ " Next the Scotch clan." aliquo praemiolo lenire. O men- Lewis and Cole. dicitatem ! jam rides, sat scio. ' — Gallis literatoribus se- At ego meipsum odi ; planeque cundum Scotos nihil est plago- decretum est, aut aliquam nan- sius. Hi moniti respondere cisci fortunam, quae me ab his soient, eam nationem, quem- raendicabulis eximat, aut pror- admodura de Phrygia dictura sus Diogenem imitari. Rursum, est, nonnihil plagis emendari. vale. Cantabr. id. Septembr. Hoc an verum sit, alii viderint ; [Eras. Epist. ed. Lond. p. 518.] fateor tamen nonnihil in natione ' Wood's Athenae Oxon. discriminis esse, sed multo ma- vol. i. col. 15. gis in singulorum ingeniorum DR. JOHN COLET. 153 thing more cruel, and yet when reproved for this their cruelty, they rephed, that this nation (as was said of Phrygia) is only to be araended by such a harsh proceeding. " Whether this be true or not, " I wiU not dispute," says Erasmus, " but must own, " there is a good deal of difference between one peo- " pie and another as to this point ; but much more " in the disposition of chUdren. You may kUl some " before you can raake them one whit better by " beating ; and yet at the same time with good " words, and good usage, you may do what you " please with thera. Of this temper I own rayseU" " to have been when a boy. And my master, of " whom I was a great favourite, because he was " pleased to have conceived great hopes of me, having " a raind to get a thorough knowledge of my dispo- " sition, did therefore raake a trial how I could " bear a sound whipping. Upon this a fault was " cooked up, of which (God knows) I never so much proprietate. Quosdam occidas cerem. Jam hinc mihi con- petius, quara verberibus emen- jecta, vir egregie, quam multa des ; at eosdem benevolentia felicissiraa ingenia perdant isti blandisque monitis ducas, quo- carnifices indocti ; sed doctriuK cunque velis. Hac indole fateor persuasione tuniidi, morosi, vi- me puerum fuisse, quum prae- nolenti, truces, et vel animi ceptor, cui prae caeteris eram gratia caedunt ; nimirum inge- charus, quod diceret se nescio nie tara truculento, ut ex alie- quid magnae spei de me con- ne cruciatu capiant voluptatem. cipere, magis advigilaret, vellet- Hoc genus homines lanios aut que tandem experiri quam es- carnifices esse decuit, non pue- sera virgarum patiens, objecit ritiae formatores. Nec uUi cru- coramissura, de quo nec somni- deliusexcarnificant pueros quara arara unquara, ac caecidit — Ea qui nihil habent quod illos do- res eranem studiorum amorem ceant. Hi quid agant in schohs, mihi excussit ; adeoque dejecit nisi ut plagis et jurgiis diem ex- puerilem animum, ut miniraura trahant ? [Eras, de Pueri in- abfuerit quin dolore contabes- stitut.] 154 THE LIFE OF " as dreamed ; and accordingly I suffered the dis- " ciphne of the school. Immediately I lost aU man- " ner of reUsh to my studies ; and this usage did so " damp ray spirits, that it alraost broke ray heart. " Frora hence we may see, that these iUiterate " butchers (to give them no better terra) ruin raany a " hopeful lad. These conceited, morose, drunken, " cruel creatures, exercise this their severity as a " piece of pleasure ; and from another's pain take " great satisfaction. They are indeed fitter for the " business of a butcher, or hangman, than to be in- " structors of youth. And it is an observation not " iU-grounded, that the most ignorant schoolmasters " are generaUy the best at this exercise. For what " is done in their schools ? and in what do they " spend their days ? Nothing but noisy stripes and " chidings." Erasmus therefore approved of the practice of Speusippus, who caused the pictures of joy and glad ness to be set round about his school ; " to signify, " (as the exceUent archbishop TiUotson observes,) " that the business of education ought to be rendered " as pleasant as may be ; and that chUdren stand in " need of aU enticements and encouragements to " learning and goodness imaginable : for, (as one " says,) JJJetus haud diuturni magister officii, fear " alone wUl not teach a man his duty, and hold " him to it ; but rather causes a lasting disgust to " both learning and virtue, and (to use Erasmus's " words,) Virtutem simul odisse et nosse!" Thus we find Erasmus was of a contrary opinion ; and more for the merciful and gentle way of edu cation : who therefore was almost angry with the DR. JOHN COLET. 155 dean and his two masters ; and told the story of them mentioned below "' in the original Latin, not very much to their reputation : which, though he con cealed their names, it wiU be a hard task to apply to any other than to them. He judged of human nature according to his own share of it ; and there fore was for the mUder and softer ways of teaching. He seeras to wish that boys could play and learn at the same time : and it is with approbation and plea sure that he teUs this story " of an Enghsh gentle man. " One seeing his little son very fond of shoot- ™ — Novi theologura quen dam, et quidem demesiice, maximi nominis, cujus animo nulla crudelitas satisfaciebat in discipulos, quum magistros ha beret strenue plagosos. Id ex- istimabat unice, et ad dejicien- dara ingeniorura ferociam, et ad edemandum aetatis lascivi- am pertinere. Nunquam agi- tabat convivium apud gregem suum, nisi quemadmodum ce- raoediae exeunt in laetam cata- strophen, ita post cibum sump- tura unus aut aller protrahere- tur virgis lacerandus ; et inte rim saeviebat, et in imraeritos, nimirum ut assuescerent plagis. Ipse quondam astiti proximus, quum a prandio ex more pue rum evocaret, annos natum (ut opinor) decem. Recens autem a matre venerat in eum gre gem. Praefatus est, illi ma trem esse cum prirais piam fce- niinam, ab ea sibi puerum stu- diese commendatum ; mox, ut haberet occasionem ca;dendi, coepit objicere nescio quid fere- ciae, quum nihil minus prae se ferret puer, et innuit illi cui collegii praefecturam coramiserat ut caederet. Ille protinus dejec- tum puerum ita caecidit, ut qui sacrilegium comraisisset. Theo logus semel atque iterum inter- pellavit, satis est, satis est. At carnifix ille fervore surdus per- egit suam carnificinam pene usque ad pueri syncopem. Mox theologus vertus ad nos. Nihil commeruit, inquit, sed erat hu- miliandus; nara hoc verbo est usus. Quis unquam ad eum modum erudivit mancipiura ? irae quis asinum ? [Ibid.] " Britanni jaculandi studio prascipue ducuntur ; nec aliud prius suos decent infantes. Quidam itaque solertis ingenii pater, animadvertens in filio miram jaculandi voluptatem, bellissimura arcum ac sagittas perpulcras paravit ; in omnibus tura arcu tum sagittis erant de pictae literae : deinde scoporum vice, Greecarura priraum, de inde Latinarum literarum figu- ras proposuit; ferienti ac literae nomen pronuncianti, praeter applausum, praemielum erat ce- rasuni, aut aliud que gaudent parvuli. [Eras, de Pueris insti tuendis. Op. torn. i. p. 441.] 156 THE LIFE OF " ing, bought him a fine bow and arrows ; which " was painted with the letters of the Greek and La^ " tin alphabet : and so for the butt, or mark to shoot " at ; the Uke capital letters were drawn upon it : " and when he hit a letter, and could tell the name " of it, he had, besides the applause of the by-stan- " ders, a cherry, or some such trifle, for his reward." Erasraus also was a great enemy to that laborious way of trifling and losing time, which had lately ob tained in gramraar schools"; the going round as it were in a mUl with sweat and noise, and getting by heart so raany lines, without understanding the sense of them ; too much the custom of idleness in Eng land and HoUand''. He shewed also a very good judgraent ; that boys should be sent early to a grararaar school, before their rainds are corrupted with any iU habit of tenderness, slothfulness, or other impediment of learning ; and then that they should not be taken away too soon to the university. ° Pueros nostros ultra puber- vi, et aliis indectissirais neniis, tatem domi detineraus ; ac otio, magnaque ambitione dictaba- luxu, deliciisque corruptos, vix tur, ediscebatur, exponebatur tandem in scholam publicam Ebrardus et Florista ; quod su- raittimus. Illic ut res bene cedat, pererat teraporis, ridiculis ver- degustant aliquid graramatices ; siculis transigebatur : Joannis mox simul atque norunt inflec- Garlandini Graeco-Latina dis- tere voces, et suppositum appo- ticha praelegebantur a sudan- sito recte jungere, perdidicere tibus, Catholicon in omnibus graramaticam, et ad perturba- templis habebatur. Urs. In- tara dialecticen admoventur ; felix profecto seculum. Leo. ubi si quid etiara recte loqui An tu credidisses unquam fore, didicerunt, dediscant oportet. ut apud Britannos, aut Bata- [Erasmus de Pueris instituen- vos, pueri Graece garrirent, dis. Op. tom. 1. p. 443.] Graecis epigrammatiis non infe- P Leo. Arbitror tibi frequenter liciter luderent ? Urs. Citius cre- ex majoribus auditum, fuisse didissem ruiturum coelum. [E- terapus quo pueri multis annis rasmi Dialog, de Pronuntiatione. discruciabantur modis signifi- Op. tem. i. p. 773.] candi, et quaestiunculis ex qua DR. JOHN COLET. 157 to be confounded with logic, before they rightly un derstand their grammar ; and in a manner to unlearn the httle they had learned at school. Sir Thomas Moore Ukewise doth often complain of the then vulgar method of teaching grammar, and the intricate systems of it ; particularly of the Parva Logicalia of Albertus, fuU of abstruse and trifling rules to puzzle and confound the poor boys i. But Erasmus was above aU soUcitous for the morals and virtuous .dispositions of chUdren. He would have them read no authors but what were clean and chaste, and be in no company but what was innocent and uninfected. We find by one of the dean's statutes, he was much of his mind ; for he orders several Christian authors {viz. Lactantius, Sedulus, Juvencus, &c.) to be used in his school, for fear the chUdren's morals should be corrupted by sorae of the heathen writers. Erasmus also thought boys carried frora school, as from their first vessel, that savour or tincture of good and evU that prevaUed in aU their following course of life, and gave them the right or the wrong bent and tum, to be wise and useful in their generation, or to be a sort of rakes and reprobates for ever. He used to talk over this subject with dean Colet, upon the occasion of discoursing about the masters and scholars of Paul's : and the dean fuUy declared •i Albertus quidam grararaa- parura habeat logices. Operae ticam se traditurum professus, pretium est videre in supposi- logicara quandara aut ineta- tionibua, quas vocant, in am- physicam, imo neutrara, sed pliationibus, restrictionibus, ap- inera sorania, mera deliria pellationibus, quara ineptas, grammatics; loco substituit ille quam etiam falsas praeceptiun- parvorura legicalium ; quem culas habet. [Tho. Mori Apo- ideo sic appellatum puto, quod logia pre Erasmo.] 158 THE LIFE OF himself of the sarae opinion, that boys would im bibe their principles and morals from the books and the company they conversed with. It is probable, that upon this observation the dean raade it a prover bial saying of his, " We are aU such as our conver- " sation is, and come habituaUy to practise what we " frequently hear." This apophthegm, or wise saying of dean Colet, is reraerabered by Erasraus in his ela borate coUection of Adages ; and is preferred before any of the sentences of the ancient phUosophers '. N'. B. Here I cannot but remark, that though dean Colet had a plain unaffected style, yet it had always something weighty and pungent in it : and this (which some raay caU carelessness) did not pro ceed frora a want of what goes under the name of rhetoric ; but from a professed contempt of it, as an art only of amusing. When Erasmus, in one ofhis books which he caUed Antibarbari, had elegantly declaimed against the abuses of rhetoric ; Dr. Colet, upon reading it over, told Erasmus in private conversation, that his book had perfectly persuaded him to despise eloquence: and when Erasmus desired him to suspend his opi nion, tiU he should hear what could be said on the other side ; he said, he was enough satisfied in that ¦¦ Proinde nullum apophtheg- idem oportet et de studiis acci- raaphilosophorum memini lege- pere. Qui vitam omnem in re, quod mihi videatur cum illo ethnicis conterunt literis, gen- conferendum, quod Joannes tiles evadunt. Qui praeter ob- Celetus meus, vir pariter et scoenos autores nil evolvunt, eruditus et incorruptus, subinde moribus obscoenis reddantur dictitare consuevit: Tales nos oportet. Etenim lectio collo- esse, qualia sunt quotidiana col- quiura quoddam esse videtur. loquia; tales evadere, qualia [Erasmi Adagia. Op. tom. ii. frequenter audimus. Jam vero p. 341.] quod de colloquio dictum est. DR. JOHN COLET. 159 matter'. He was however a great master of style and language. Hence it proceeded, that though his preaching was popular ', and adapted to the capacity of the comraon part of his congregation ; yet withal it was agreeable to the better judgraent of the men of wit and learning : as I before instanced in sir Tho. Moore, who was a great admirer of hira. But above aU, archbishop Warhara, who was, in eff'ect, the supreme judge in the chancery and in the church. ' Operis summam in quatuor libros digesseram. Primus re- fellcbat ea quae quidam vel su- perstitiosi, vel hypocritae reli gionis verius quam religiosi, so- lent nobis in os jacere. Secun dus, subornata persona, qualis est apud Platenera Glance, summis eloquentiae viribus vi- tuperabat eloquentiara ; tetam- que rhetorices panopliam ex intimis illius armariis petitam, in ipsara rhetoricen expedie- bat : adeo ut felicis memoriae Joannes Coletus, simul atque eum librum legisset, serio mihi dixerit in familiari colloquio ; Plane liber tuus mihi persuasit neglectum eloquentia : cum que monerem, suspenderet sen tentiam, donee audiret elo quentiae patrocinantera ; nega- bat a me posse dilui, quae in- tendissem. [Erasraus Johanni Sapide in librura primura Anti- barbarorum.] ' It was the free and plain preaching of Dr. Colet at Paul's Cross and Stepney, and ether places in and near the city, that had Kaised up the disposition and spirit of the people, to be gin to hate the yoke that had been put upon thera, and to de sire a redemption from it. There was so great a change iu the minds of the citizens, that from a slavish superstition they were become a body of heretics, or favourers of heretical pravity ; as the bishop of London com plained in a letter to cardinal Wolsey, at the beginning of the year 1 5 1 5, in behalf of his poor chancellor, who was then in warde, and endited, says he, by an untrue quest for the death of Richard Hunne. [Who, for refusing to pay a mortuary unjustly demanded bythe parish priest, was first accused ef heresy, then thrown into pri son, and there barbarously mur dered.] He begs that it may please the king's grace toawarde a plakarde unto his attorney, te confess the said enditement te be untrue, when the time shall re quire it; " For assured I am," says he, " if my chancellor be " tried by any twelve men in " London, they be so mali- " ciously sette in favorem Jue- " retica pravitatis, that they " will cast and condemn any " clerke, though he were as in- " nocent as Abel." 160 THE LIFE OF testified the highest approbation of his performances in this kind ; as appeared by this, that at the open ing of a convocation of the province of Canterbury ", the archbishop appointed Dr. Colet to preach the Latin sermon on that soleran occasion : whose sub ject was of the necessity of reforraation, from Ro mans xii. 2.^ !Be not conformed to this world; but be ye transformed, in the renewing of your minds, &c. y In this discourse he tells his fathers and brethren boldly, that their present meeting was to consult the reforraation of ecclesiastical affairs ; and that there was never more need of it than in the present state of the church ; the spouse of Christ (which one would wish to be without spot and wrinkle) was become deformed and iU-favoured; as the faithful city was become a harlot, &c. He must therefore warn them and importune them to bestow aU then- thoughts upon the reformation of the church: a work incumbent on the bishops and clergy, because " See Holland's Heroologia " One of the excellencies of Angl. p. 146. and Carabden's " Dr. Colet was a meraory so Remains, p. 272. or 357. " stupendious, that he could re- " Mr. Wood seems not to be " peat the Decretals memoriter accurate, when he calls this " verbatim, and did never for- one serraon Orationes duce ad " get any thing he read. Sit Clerum in Convocatione, anno ^ "fides penes authorem. Yet 1511. &c. Lond. Svo. " One " there maybe sorae truth in " of them was also printed in " it." [Note on the Life of Dr. " three sheets in 4te. by Colet, written by Erasmus, p. " Richard Pynson." [Wood's 76.] Athen. Oxon.] y An English translation of Dr. Colet preached without part of Dr. Colet's sermon is notes ; and had the best ability given by bishop Burnet, who for se doing, in a strong and thinks it was preached 1513, happy meraory. Mr. Smith has though it is printed as preached put in this citation frora Wirt- in 15 11. [See Hist. Reform. zung, in his general Practice of vol. iii. p. 25, &c.] Physic, part i. c. 12. sect. i. DR. JOHN COLET. 161 notlung has so much disfigured the face of the church, as the secular and worldly hves of the clerks and priests in it : if priests and bishops, who should be the lights of the world, ran into dark ways, how great must the darkness of the common people beM The being conformed to this world, is to foUow the four evUs of this world ; I. DeviUsh pride. II. Carnal lusts. III. IVorldly covetousness. TV. Secular business. AU which now are, and reign, in the church and ecclesiastical persons. I. Pride of Ufe. How ambitious, how greedy are the clergy nowadays of honours and prefer ments ! How do they run as it were out of breath, from one benefice and dignity to another, frora the less to the greater profit, from the lower to the higher place ! And the more they rise, the more lofty and stately they become ; forgetting the hum ble office of bishops, and affecting a worldly lord ship, &c. II. Carnal lusts and concupiscence. And has not this ^^ce so abounded in the church, that at present ^ The Remains ascribed to " the salt of the earth ; and if Cambden have put down' this " that salt once appall, the among the 'svise Speeches, p. " world must needs wax un- 219. "Doctor Colet, the dean ef " sa verie : and he saith, that " Paules, said, that if the cler- " the clei^ie be the light ofthe " gie were naught, the laitie " world; and then, saith he, if " were worse ; for it could not " the light be darkened, how " otherwise be, but the lav- "' dark wUl then the darkness " men must ever be one degree " be ? That is to wit, all the " under the clereve: for hereby " world besides, whereof he " it cannot bea lie that eur Sa- "calleth the clergye only the " vyour said himself ; who sailh " light." " of the clergye, that they be 31 162 THE LIFE OF the far greater number of the priests regard nothing but the pleasure and deUght of their own senses ; feasting and reveUng, and vain babbUng, or hunting and hawking, or being immersed in other sports or amusements of the world, &;c. III. Worldly covetousness, or the lust of the eye. This plague has so infected the minds, and bhnded the eyes of the clergy, that they wiU look at nothing but what has sorae gain and filthy lucre in it ". What do we seek for in the church but fat benefices and high promotions ? And when we attain them, do we mind the duty of thera ? No, the greatest plurahst does the least office. O avarice, avarice, the root of aU evU, of thee comes the heaping of one be nefice upon another ; of thee, the bargain of resigna^ tions for pensions reserved; of thee, the frivolous suits for tithes, for oblations, for mortuaries, for dilapidations, in the name of the church ; but truly for our private interest. O avarice, of thee coraes the burden of episcopal visitations ; of thee, the cor ruption of ecclesiastical courts, and the new inven tions of extorting from the poor and needy ; of thee. ' Erasmus had often enter- numeres. Non audiunt poeni- tained Dr. Colet with great ex- tentium commissa, nisi sperent pressions of his indignation at praemiura. Sacrificant conducti. these markets in the church, and Non psallunt gratis, non erant mercenary dealings of the po- gratis, non imponunt manum pish clergy. — Apud sacerdotes gratis ; vix procul mota manu nihil non venale est, nihil im- benedicunt, nisi dederis. Non mune. Quas non tragoedias consecrant saxura, aut calicein, movent pro .suis illis decimis? nisi data raercede. Quin et illud quara odiose divexant raiseram vere pontificium munus docendi plebeculam ! Non datur bap- populum, quaestu vitiatum est. tismus, hoc est, non licet fieri Denique non irapertiunt cor- Christianum, nisi numeres : at- pus Christi, nisi numeres. [E- que his praeclaris auspiciis rasmi Adagia, Op. tom. ii. p. fores ingrederis ecclesiae. Non 296.] comprobant matrimoniura, nisi DR. JOHN COLET. 163 the sharpness of officials in grasping aU dues, and the eagerness of all ordinaries to extend their jurisdic tion ; of thee, the great abuses in the probate of wiUs, and the sequestration of fruits ; of thee, the ri gorous execution of aU canons that bring in profit to the court, and the shameful neglect of aU others that tend only to the reformation of manners. IV. The fourth evU is secular business ; wherein priests and bishops do now whoUy employ their time, as servants of men rather than of God, and more the soldiers of this world than of Jesus Christ. Our warfare should be to pray devoutly, to read and study the scripture dUigently, to preach the word of God sincerely, and rightly to administer the holy sacra ments. But, alas ! we are entangled in the affairs of the world, &c. Frora these secular occupations of the clergy many scandals do ensue. 1st, The dignity of the priesthood is debased, while priests are wrapped up in earthly things, whose conversation ought to be in heaven. 2dly, The sacred order must needs be debased, when there appears no difference between the priest and the layman, but according to the prophet Hosea, (chap. iv. 9.) there shall be like people, like priest. 3dly, The order and harraony in the church is confounded, when the highest churchmen meddle with the meanest and vilest things, and in their stead the matters of reUgion, the high and heavenly things, must be handled by the lowest of the people. 4thly, Great offence and occasion of faUing is given to the lay-people, when, by the example of the priesthood, instead of being weaned from the world, they are taught to be the raore addicted to it. Such worldly-minded priests are the worst of hypocrites, M 2 164 THE LIFE OF while they go in holy vestments, and live a profane Ufe. By these four mischiefs among the clergy, the face of the church is more wounded, than it was at first by the persecution of tyrants, or. since by the insults of heretics. For by persecuting tjTants the church in affliction grew more bright and pure, and the church being shaken by insulting heretics, was the better grounded and settled in the holy scriptures : but by the secular hves of the clergy and their worldly dealings, aU charity is extinct, and the church cannot be wise and strong in the Lord. We are sensible that the laity are very apt to oppose the clergy ; but, alas ! the danger is in our own opposi tion to the laws of Christ. We are now threatened and troubled with heretics ; but, alas ! the most per nicious heresy is in the iU Uves of the clergy. St. Bernard, preaching to a convocation of the clergy, said ; " Many men are cathoUc in their words and "doctrines, who are heretics in their works and " conversation. They do the sarae by Ul example " that others do by false doctrine ; /'. e. they lead " people out of the way of truth and righteousness. " These men are raore dangerous than other common " heretics ; as people are led into other pernicious " ways more easUy by Ul examples than by any per- " verse teaching." So much for the first part, !Be not conformed to this world. The second duty is to be reformed. The refor mation of the state of the church must begin from you fathers, and be foUowed by us, as sons and brethren. The way I presume to reform the church is not so much to make new laws, (we have DR. JOHN COLET. 165 enough, too many,) but to put the present laws in execution. To this purpose rehearse the ancient canons. I. The canons that warn you, holy fathers, to lay hands suddenly on no man ; not to be too easy in admitting men to holy .orders. This gate, alas ! is kept too wide and open. Multitudes thrust in, who have Uttle leaming, and less reUgion in tiiem. But the best qualification is good morals and serious piety. IL Rehearse the canons that command the bene fices of the church to be given to the raost worthy ; not by near relation, or carnal affection, or any other respect of persons", whereby it happens that boys, and blockheads, and sots, do now reign and rule in the church, instead of grave, and wise, and good men. III. Rehearse the canons against simony and cor rupt procuring of benefices ; a prevaiUng infection, that eats Uke a canker in the minds of the clergy, and prostitutes them to the most servUe and the most mercenary ways of getting preferment. IV. Rehearse the canons against non-residence. How many evUs grow from hence ! AU the care of souls is left to poor curates ; and these insufficient, if not scandalous. V. Let aU canons be recited that concern the Uves of the bishops and clergy, that forbid every man in holy orders to be either a merchant, a usurer, a hunter, a gamester, or a soldier ; especiaUy the ca nons that restrain clergyraen from the haunting of taverns, and keeping company with suspected wo men^. '' Nihil magis optandum, conjugio, liber ac totus ser- quara ut sacerdos immunis a viat Domino suo. Nunc vi- M 3 166 THE LIFE OF VL Recite the canons for the regulation of monks and reUgious orders ; that they leave the broad way of the world, and go in the strait and narrow way to heaven : not negotiating in worldly business, nor at tending and sohciting in the courts of princes. VII. Above aU, reverend fathers and bishops, re cite the canons that concern yourselves ; and espe ciaUy those which relate to your fair and canonical election in the chapters of the respective cathedral churches : the neglect of these canons has been the reason that bishoprics have been disposed of more out of favour to men, than any respect to the grace of God ; so that we have bishops who have Uttle of the spiritual persons in them, earthly rather than heavenly, savouring of the things of this world more than of the spirit of Christ. Let the canons be recited of the residence of bi shops within their respective dioceses ; that they look dihgently to the cure of souls, sow the seed of the word of God, shew themselves in their own ca thedrals, especiaUy on the greater festivals ; officiate sometimes in their own persons; do sacrifice for their people ; hear the petitions and pleas of the poor ; support the fatherless and widow, and exer cise themselves in the works of charity. Recite the canons for a due distribution of the re venues of the church ; not to squander thera away in costly buildings, nor in sumptuous apparel, nor in extravagant feasting, not in the raising of kinsmen, much less in the keeping of hounds ; but in things demus mundum esse plenum millia sacerdotum palam con- sacerdotibus concubinariis. Est cubinariorum. Nam tales sin- apud Gernianos episcopus qui- gulis annis pendunt aliquid epi- dara, qui ipse dixit in convivio ; scopo — [Erasmi Resp. in Not. uno anno ad se delata undecim N. Beddae. Op. tom. ix. p.40i.] DR. JOHN COLET. 167 profitable and necessary for the church. Remember St. Austin the monk (while bishop of England) had this rule given to him by pope Gregory, to make a partition of the goods of the church into four equal shares ; one for the support of the bishop and his fa mUy ; a second, to maintain the inferior clergy ; a third, to uphold and repair the buUdings of the Church ; and a fourth, to reheve the poor. Let the canons be recited, (even over and over,) that would purge away the corruption of their courts, the arts, the frauds, the many ways of getting and catching money by that sordid covetous humour that is the cause of aU our mischiefs, the fountain of aU iniquity. Lastly, let those canons and constitutions be re newed that enjoin the celebration of councUs, and especiaUy of provincial synods for the reformation of the church. Nothing can be more to the detriment of the church of Christ, than the want of such ge neral and provincial assembhes. When these several canons have been recited, with such as relate to the correction of raanners, there wUl want nothing but a due and irapartial execution of them ; that having a law of the church, we raay Uve according to that law. And the execution and observation of these canons must begin with you, our bishops and go vernors. Your example must teach and direct all other orders and degrees. It is your Ught must shine before us ; that we sons may see how to follow in our father's steps. When once the clergy are thus reformed in the church, we are then in a right method of proceeding to the reformation of the laity ; who wiU then readUy comply with us : for the body foUows the soul ; and m4 168 THE LIFE OF such as are the rulers ofthe city, such wiU be the in habitants thereof. So hkewise wiU the people soon be good, if the priests are so : our good Uves wiU teach them raore effectuaUy than aU our serraons and discourses to them ; our piety and virtue wUl even compel them to come into the right way, more powerfuUy than aU your suspensions, excommunica tions, and other cursings and terrors of the church. If you would bring the lay-people to hve accord ing to your wish and wUl, ye must first walk your selves according to the wUl of God. You would have them obedient to you ; and St. Paul doth so advise them, Heb, xiii. I7. But then the foundation of that obedience must be to take heed to yourselves, &c. You would be honoured of the people, as St. Paul again requires, 1 Tim. v, 17. But then ye must rule weU. Ye must hkewise labour in the word and doctrine ; and so shaU ye be counted worthy of double honour. You would have your tithes and offerings, and aU sort of church dues without suit or contention for them, as St. Paul has provided, Rom. xv. 27- But surely then you should sow your spiritual things, be fore you can expect to reap their carnal things. Would you be so hard and unjust upon them as to reap where you did not sow, and to gather where you have not strowed f You would have what ye call the Uberties and franchises of the church, /'. e. the clergy exempted from secular judges ", This also is reasonable ; for "^ The exemption of the clergy their serraons and writings. In frora punishment by the civil a treatise of the Soul of Man, magistrate, was the doctrine of printed about the time of this the popish clergy in most of sermon, wc find what follows DR. JOHN COLET. 169 it is written in the Psalms, Touch not mine anointed. Psalm CV. 15^^. But if ye desire this liberty, be not in bondage to the world, assert within yourselves the hberty of the gospel, that liberty wherewith Christ hath made you free. Set your hearts and af fections upon his service, which /* perfect freedom. Serve God, and reign in hira ; and then, believe rae, the people wUl not touch their Lord God's anointed. In this admirable sermon, it is observable, the preacher had first made an apology, that he, a ser vant, should presume to advise the lords ; and that the son should undertake to teach the fathers: " Truly this," says he, " had been more fit for the " fathers themselves. You prelates might have done " it with a graver authority and greater wisdora. " But the command of the most reverend father and in the ivth chap. Speaking of the dygnite of preestes, and how the vertu of the sacramentes is not lessed or mynyshed throwe the synnes of the receyver, and how God will not that seculers of the worlde correct the mynys- ters of holy chyrche " To " God it longeth only for to " correct them for theyr de- " fautes, and so I wyl it be, for " if the excellence and autorite " that I have gyve to them that " yt is from subjectyen of tera- " poral lordes, temporal lawe " may uothyng punish them, " but he only that is set aboue " for to raynystre in my lawe " that am endless God, (as be " such as are anoynted of me,) " they should correct them un- " der me, whan they trespasse, " and therefore by holy wryte " I have said thus, Nolite tan- " gere, &c. to temporal lords ; " touch not my Crystes that be " my mynestree, which be an- " oynted of rae," &c. ^ In the solemn dispute upon this subject in the Black-fryers, by the king's command, in April 15 15, the abbot of Win- chelcuinb, advocate for the clergy, did gravely produce this text, as giving an exeraption by divine right, and raaking any process against a clerk before a temporal judge to be malum in se, as contrary to the ex press commandment of Jesus Christ ; Nolite tangere Christos meos : to which Dr. Standish, advocate for the king and civil government, gave such a clear answer, that no reply was made te it. [Kellway's Reports. Trin. 7 Hen. VIII.] 170 THE LIFE OF " lord, the archbishop, president of this synod, must " be obeyed ; I must submit to the burden he has " laid upon me, (in truth too heavy for my shoulders,) " and bear it in remerabrance of what the prophet " has said. Obedience is better than sacrifice." And he concludes with another decent apology for the freedom he had taken. " I have mentioned, re- " verend fathers and brethren, the particulars I " thought proper for the reformation of our ecclesi- " astical affairs. I trust, that of your benignity ye " wUl take aU in good part. If I have gone beyond " my due bounds, or have spoken with too much " warmth ; forgive a man that speaks out of pure " zeal, heartily lamenting the breaches and decays of " the church. Consider the matters weU ; and be " not offended at my raanner of deUvery. Consider " the sad estate of the church ; and use aU your " utmost endeavour to repair and reform it. Sufflsr " not this great assembly to meet and depart in " vain. Suffer not this synod to be held to no end " and purpose. Truly ye have before met in convo- " cation = ; but if, by your favour, I may speak the ' Upon the great hopes and to which is now added an Ap- expectations from the first con- pendix ef bishop Andrews and vocation of the prelates and Dr. Hammond's solemn Peti- clergy after the restauration of tion and Advice to the Convo- King Charles II. for a sort of cation, &c. Cambridge, 1661. precedent and rule te them, Svo. this serraon ef Dr. Colet was This discourse being lately re printed in English, under this printed in the Phoenix, from Mr. title; A Sermon ef Conform- Smith's edition in full length, ing and Reforming made to the editor speaks of it in the the Convocation at St. Paul's following words : Church in London, by John " Dr. Colet's sermon, which Colet, D.D. Dean of the said " stands foremost in this volume. Church : upon Rom. xii. a. " and is perhaps one of the Be ye reformed, &c. writt an " oldest, as well as one of the hundred and fifty years since : " honestest, extant in the Eng- DR. JOHN COLET. 171 truth, I have not seen any good come of it to the church. Go on now, in the holy Spirit ye have caUed upon ; and by the aid of that Spirit, pre siding over this council, debate, determine, and or dain such things as may be to the interest of the church, to your own praise, and to the honour of God : unto whom we ascribe aU honour and glory, now and for ever. Amen." I cannot but here observe, that the same zeal. " lish tongue, is upon all these " accounts singularly valuable. " This piece we raight trust " alone into the world, without " passport or recommendation ; " whether we consider it purely " as a sermon, with respect to " the language and ornaments " ef speech, though preached in " the reign of Henry VII. or " with respect to the matter and " doctrine, though in the days of " popery. But the present age " abounding with infinite va- " riety of excellent new ser- " mons upon all texts, which " may tempt the injudicious to " ask. Why an eld sermon " upon us ? it may not be amiss " to assign the reason in the " words ofan illustrious prelate, " and shew there is a wonderful " historical use in an old ser- " raon, as well as in an old " raedal. " When I writ," says his lordship, " ray History of the " Reforraation, I had Dr. Co- " let's serraon in my hands : " and once I intended to have " published it, as a piece that might serve te open the scene, and te shew the state of things at the first begin nings ef the reformation : but I was diverted from it by those under whose direction I put the work. They thought it might have been judged, that I had inserted it on design to reflect on the present, as well as on the past, state of things. I sub mitted to their advice, &c. " " By his lordship's manner of taking notice he had Dr. Colet's sermon in his hands, he sufficiently intimates, that it was scarce as well as valua- able, and not to be met with but among the curious : and since the reasons and regards which diverted his lordship from publishing it in the reign of Charles II. are, it is to be hoped, in a great raeasure changed, or ceased in these days; we persuade ourselves, the reviving and publishing it now in the Phcenix will meet with universal satisfaction." * [Reflections on a book concerning the Rights, Powers, &c. of an English Convocation.] 172 THE LIFE OF and pious strain, appears in other writings of his ; particularly in his Comment upon the first Epistle to the Corinthians : where he makes use of the same veheraency of speech, and breathes out his soul in most passionate desires of reformation ; and yet at the same tirae doth it with so much tenderness and candour, without the least assuming to himself, or being dogmatical in his opinion, that I am persuaded the conclusion is worth inserting among the notes, in order to shew the winning way he had as to others, and the modesty and humiUty, as weU as the weightiness and importance of what he said ^ It is very observable, that in this sermon of dean Colet to a popish synod, there is no raanner of po pery, but in the phrase of doing sacrifice, which was at that tirae coraraon language for saying mass; and the exemption of the clergy from the civU ma gistrate ; which by a long prescription was become then in effect the law of the land : he seems indeed to claim it by divine right ; perhaps in comphance with the stiff humour of the clergy in those times. This, though large, abstract of the foregoing ser mon wUl probably be thought not sufficient ; because we have very Uttle or nothing of this great man ex tant besides. For though we have large catalogues of f — Nes autem quicquid in sit quod eos ofiendat qui meli- hoc argumentum contulimus, ori suntjudicio, id redargui, re- quanquam non aliis quam no- pelli, et in me rejici non recii- bismet ipsis scripsiraus, taraen sabo; agnosco enim infirmita- si fortasse haec nostra, quaecun- tera raeani : agnosco etiam que sunt, aliquando in aliorum omnia omnibus ex gratia esse, manus inciderint, quicquid in ut possumus et debemus illud his legent, eos precor ut boni apostolicum dicere ; Non sumus consulant. Tribuentque soli suffic'ientes ex nobis, quasi ex Deo, si quid repererint quod nobis, sed tota nostra sufficicn- recte dicitur : sin vero aliquid t'la a Deo est. DR. JOHN COLET. 173 the works of Dr. Colet, by Bale s and Pitts ^ ; yet, ex cepting the Rudiraents of Grammar, we have nothing ' B — Ego nihilominus ipsum multa scripsisse comperii ; sed ideo publicare noluisse, quod fuerit Graeci sermonis iraperi- tus, sine quo saepenumero se nihil esse fatebatur. Nam ista, divaricatis pagellis in secretis- simo suae bibliotheciB loco, sunt post ejus mortem reperta, ut ab amico quodam accepi, De Puerili Institutione, lib. i. Accipe optime ac literatis sime. De Moribus componendis, lib. i. Hosce articulos praecep tor recita. Enarrationes in Paulum, lib. xiv. In Proverbia Salomonis, lib. i. In Evangelium Mattli(Bi,\ih.i. Epistola ad Erasmum, lib. i. Non facile credideris, Erasrae. De Reformidatione Christi, lib. i. In Symbolum Fidei, lib. i. In Precationem Dominicam, lib. i. Condones ordinaries, lib. i. Condones extraordinarice, 1. i. Ad Convocationem Cleri, lib. i. Breviloquus Dictorum Chr'tsti, lib. i. Ad Argumenta Erasmi, lib. i. Exceptiones Doctorum, lib. i. Atque alia, sed omnino im perfecta. [Balei Script. Brit. Cent. V. 4to. 1548.] '' It is well known that Bale did multiply the works of his authors ; and that Pitts gene rally made bold to increase the catalogue ef them : as here Pitts added to the works of Colet, Vita Hominis Christiani. 2. Ortolan. 3. Epistola ad Tho mam Tailerum. And Mr. Wood doth mention Commentarii in Ecclesiasticam D. Dionysii Hi erarchiam, MS. This is in the public library at Cambridge, ad calcem Com. in Epist. ad Rom. et Corinthios. The title ef it stands thus : Jo. Colet de An gelis Ccelestique Hierarchia se cutus Dionysium. At the end of his Com. in Rom. Oxonice, is added, that which shews they were his prelections there. The daily Devotions, printed in his name, cannot be said to be all of his composition. There is still another manu script of the dean's, now in the possession of Roger Gale, esq. which seems to be an analyti cal comment on all the cano nical epistles. Tbe reverend Dr. Tho. Gale conjectures it to. be Dr. Colet's from the likeness of expression feund in his other writings ; and frora what he calls an uncorrectness, which he was subject to, by reason ef his more regarding sense than words. ' Mr. Wood has a little ex patiated upon the hint given by Bale : as for the things he wrote, they are many ; which being found in his study, after his death, few understood them, because written only for his own understanding, with inten tions, if life had been spared, that they should have been ali fairly transcribed and published. (Athenae Oxon. vel. i. col. i.) But for such intentions there can be no authority. The con trary is rather probable, that he 174 THE LIFE OF entu-e but this single sermon: the Latin original whereof is no where to be found but in the public library at Oxon, among archbishop Laud's MSS. though printed ; which, with the Enghsh translation, (written probably by the dean himself,) since it is also a great rarity, deserves a place in the appendix. Erasmus excuses him for not leaving more in writing, telUng us, " he could not bear, that the " standard of a good style should be taken from the " exact rules of grammar : which, he would often " affirm, did rather obstruct the purity of the lan- " guage ; not to be attained but by the reading of " the best and purest authors. He suffered by this " opinion : for when by genius and learning he had " a noble eloquence, and the perfect comraand of any " subject ; yet in writing he did soraetiraes faU un- " der the censure of the critics. And it was for " this reason, I presurae, that he abstained from the " writing of books. Though I wish," says that great man, " that he had not abstained : I should value " the thoughts of such a man, in whatever language " they were dressed''." It were to be wished, that we had some remains ofthe convocation in 1511, or of a forraer in 1509- In one of which I doubt not it would appear, that was averse to the publishing any mira suppeteret orationis uber- ef his writings. tas, tamen scribens subinde la- '' Recte loquendi copiam non bebatur in his quae soient no- ferebat peti e praeceptionibus tare critici ; atque hac, ni fallor, grammaticorum ; quas assevere- gratia, a libris scribendis absti- bat officere ad bene dicendum ; nebat : atque utinam non ab- nec id contingere, nisi evolven- stinuisset ; nam hujus viri co- dis optimis autoribus : sed hu- gitaliones, quacunque etiam jus opinionis ipse poenas dedit ; lingua proditas, optarim. [E- cum enim esset et natura et ras. Jod. Jon. Ep. edit. Bas.] eruditione facundus, ac dicenti DR. JOHN COLET. 175 the preacher, dean Colet, was (although he had made use of great freedom of speech in his sermon) elected prolocutor, and by his prudence and learning raa naged and restrained the spirit of persecution that was then ferraenting araong the inferior popish clergy. When one of the seniors of them was ar guing fiercely for putting heretics to death, and it was made a question, whether the scriptures did any where comraand it ; the man, with great eagerness, offered to quote Titus iU. 10. Hcereticum hominem, post unam et secundam correctionem, devita ; taking it for granted, that devitare in the Latin was de vita tollere, to kUl, or take away Ufe. Erasmus upon that place, in his Annotations, says ; " None should " suspect this to be my invention ; I had it from Dr. " Colet, a man of known integrity, who was prolo- " cutor when this thing happened in convocation '." ' Erasmi Annotat. in Epist. adTituracap.iii.com. lo. H, and designed for the greatest " preferments, but suddenly snatched away at the " age of forty years ="-." honestissimis amicis ; atque in his (quod tibi quoque delori esse doleo) Andrea nostro Ammonio, in quo et literae et omnes boni magnum fecere jacturam. Is valde sibi videbatur adversus contagionem victus moderatione munitus ; qua factum putavit, ut quum in nullum pene incide- rat, cujus non tota familia labo- raverat, neminera adhuc e suis id malum attigerit ; id quod et mi hi et multis praeterea jactavit, non admodum multis horis, antequam extinctus est : nara hoc sudore nerao nisi prime die perit. — Londini, xix. die Augusti. It is a mistake in Mr. Wood, to say he died in September. Athenae Oxon. vel.i. col. 14. y Rex oranibus, &c. Sciatis quod nos considerantes fidele servitium quod Andreas Ammo nius, alias dictus Andreas de Harena, clericus, noster in lin gua Latina secretarius, in par tibus Italiae eriundus, antehac nobis impendit, indiesque ma gis ac magis impendere non de- stitit, atque idcirco cupientes condignam sibi pro suis raeritis aliqua in parte referre merce dem, durante vita sua, sit indi- gena et ligeus noster. T. R. apud Croydon, xii. Apr. reg. 5to. [Rymer Acta publ. tom. xiii. pag. 400.] ^ Erasraus Rot. Jodoco Ga- vero, viro praeter juris profes- sionera undiquaque doctissirao. — Procul abest ab Italia Bri tannia, sed eniditorum homi num aestimatiene proxima est. Quam multos hic ex vetere so- dalitie desidero. Primum An- dreara Ammonium Lucensem. Deum immortalem ! Quanta ingenii dexteritate, quam fideli meraoria praeditum ! Tum ani mus, quam erat excelsus, quam alienus a livere, quam alienus a sordibus ! Hunc et suis doti- bus, et omni principum applau- su florentem, raa-ximis rebus destinatum, subita mors inter- cepit, natu minorem annis qua- draginta : cujus equidem deces- sum non possum non delere, quoties in mentem venit quam mihi fuerit jucunda ejus famili- aritas. — Basil, i. Mart. 1524. DR. JOHN COLET. 189 He was prebendary of Fordington and ^Vrithhng- ton in the church of SaUsbury, on the death of Gun- disalvus Ferdinandus, 1513, as Mr. Wood observes. And in his prebend of St. Stephen's, ^^''estminster, he was succeeded by another very learned man. Dr. Tho. Linacer, the king's physician. ^^"ithin the same year, and possibly ofthe same dis ease, died another of the dean's friends and brethren. Dr. WiUiam Lychfield, chanceUor of the church of Raid's ; who succeeded Gundisalvo Ferdinand in that dignity, 20 Dec. 1504, had been admitted rector of AlUiallows in the A^'aU, London, IMarch 1, 1474, and was coUated to the prebend of CliambeiiaiuA^ ood in the church of Paul's, Dec. 7. 1485. His wUl was proved 1517". In the same year 1517, in April, died also Dr. John Yonge, a very particular patron of Erasmus, as well as an intimate friend of Colet. He was master of the rolls, and dean of York. He liad been adraitted rector of St. Stephen's A^^albrook, in London, Mai'ch 17, 15021-, and before been rector of St. Martin's in * Testamentum magistri ^^^ill. tro Richardo Foxforde, scholari Lychefeld, clerici, die 2 Nov. meo Oxon. i^l.6s.8d. — Item, 1507. 9 Hen. VIII. Ego Wil- domino Andreae Stoketon, scho- lelmus Lychefeld, clericus, com- lari meo Oxon. 13?. 6$. Sd. pes mentis, sed seger in corpore, Probat. apud Lamehith, penult. conde testamentum Cor- Jan. 15 17. [Ex offic. Cur. Pre- pus sepeliend' in cancello ec- rog. MS.] clesiae paroch' de WiUesden, ce- ^ Anne 1502. die 17 Mart. rara imagine beatissimaeVirginis M. Joh. Yonge, LL.D. ad ec- Mariae Item, volo quod in cles. S. Stephani super '\^'al- obitu race celebrentur exequiae broke civitat. Lond. vac. per in ecclesia D. Pauli London, mortem M.Will. Sutton, S.T.D. cum missa de requiem in eras- ult. rectoris, ad press, honesti tine, et decanus praesens babe- viriTho.Mansfelde pro hac vice. bit 20s. quilibet canonicus prse- [Reg. Warham, Lond. IMS.] sens 6s. 8d. Lege Thomae Johannes Yonge, LL. D. ma- Lychefelde, fratri meo apud Car- gister rotulorum, admissus ad diff, 4oi. Item, lego magis- decanatum S. Pet. Ebor. per 190 THE LIFE OF Oxford, (17 March, 1500,) afterwards coUated by archbishop Warhara to the church of St. Mary-le- Bow, March 19, 1504 ; to the prebend of Holbourn in the church of St. Paul, by bishop Fitz-Jaraes, Novem ber 28, 1511; and, upon its resignation, to the better prebend of Newington, 11 Feb. 1511. He resigned the church of St. Mary-le-Bow, March 19; 1514, and was, in March 30 that year, admitted to the church of St. Magnus,at the foot ofthe bridge in London ; which he Ukewise soon after resigned, says Mr. Newcourt, mistaking him for John Yonge, bishop of CaUipoU ; and so other writers frequently confound them. An. 1513, 13 Jul. he was presented by cardinal Wolsey to the rectory of Therfeld, in the archdeaconry of Huntingdon"^, void by the death of Gund. Ferdinand ; was afterwards succeeded in it by Dr. Henry Raw- Uns ^. After he had been employed in several foreign embassies and negotiations, to PhiUp archduke of Austria, in 1504, to the same PhiUp, king of CastUe, in 1506, as also to MaximiUan the emperor, in 1512, to Francis the French king, in 1515, &c. For these good services he was made master of the roUs by let ters patents, 22 Jan. 23 Hen. VII. 1507-8, and being prebendary of Applethorp in the church of York, he was adraitted dean in his absence, by the dehvery of a book. May 17, 1514. He raade his last wiU and testament 25 AprU, 1516, wilUng his body to be bu ried in the chapel of the RoUs. He bequeathed to traditionem libri, die 17 Maii, salv. Ferdinandi, 13 Jul. 1513. 15 14. [Reg. Ebor. MS. penes [Reg. Srayth, Line. MS.] dec. et capit.] "^ Mag. Joan. Rawly ns, S.T. P. "^ M. Joh. Yonge, LL. D. praesentatus per Thoraam card. praesentatus per abb. et conv. de Ebor. virtute concessionis sibi Ramsey, ad ecclesiam de Ther- factae per abb. et conv. Ramsey, felde, vac. per mortem Gundi- ad ecclesiam de Therfeld, vac. DR. JOHN COLET. 191 archbishop Warham a golden saltcellar, remitting a debt to hira, and appointing hira overseer of his last wUl. To cardinal Wolsey he bequeathed a cup ; to New coUege, Oxon. six gilt goblets, and the Uke to the coUege at Winchester, (which raakes it probable that he was of Winchester school, and of New college aforesaid, as well as his namesake the titular bishop of CaUipoU.) Towards making a new conduit in the town of Rye he left one hundred pounds, (which seems to intimate he was born there.) He ordered the plate that master WilUam Grocyne had pawned to him, to be freely restored without principal or use of raoney. And he raade his executors Mr. John Taylor, Dr. Mayster, Dr. WiU. Thrograorton, Mr. WUliara Shragar, and Mr. Williara Skinner ^. On the beginning of the year 1519, died another very intiraate friend of both Erasraus and Colet, John Sixtine, a person of great sincerity as well as other per mortem magistri Johannis servaunts to my lorde car- Yonge, 28 April, 1526. [Reg. dynal a standinge cuppe Atwater, Line. MS.] Unto the new college of Ox- *¦ In Dei nomine Amen. John ford, vi guilt gobblettes Yonge, master of the rollys, and to the new college of Wynches- dean of the cathedral church ter vi guilt gobbletts, to the of York, 28 Apr. 1 5 16. 8 Hen. makyng of the conduyte in Rye VIII. My body te be bu- c Ub. I wyl that master ried in the chappie of theRolles, Grocen shall have his plate de- there as the organs now dothe lyvered unto hym whiche I have stande. Item, I wille that a now in pledge, vvithout any ma- tombe be made over the place ner ef redemption I or- of ray sepulture. Item, I gyve deyne and make executors M. and bequethe to ray lorde of JehnTaylour, Doctour Mayster, Canterbury a sake of golde, and mayster Will. Throckmorton my two gay saltes clone anelyd. doctour, M. William Shragar, Item, I reray tte cleriy to my said and M.' William Skynner. Itera, lorde of Canterbury two billes I beseche ray lorde of Canter- of debte, besechynge his lord- bury to be overseer. Probat. 17 shyp to be good lord unto my Maii, 1516. [Ex oflic. Cur. Pre- frendes, and namely to my poor rog. Cant.] 192 THE LIFE OF good quahties, a Phrysian by birth, bred in the uni versity of Senes in Tuscany; where he took the de gree of Dr. of both laws, civil and canon ; and he was incorporated in Oxford, 29 Nov. 1510, having been raore than a year in that university ; (as Mr. Wood says too sparingly;) for he was in Oxford when Colet and Erasmus met there in 1497, as ap pears by an epistle of Erasmus. He was rector of Ecclescliffe in the diocese of Durham, (wherein he succeeded Dr. West, bishop of Ely,) and of Hakkamb in the diocese of Exeter. Mr. Wood says, he was hke wise dignified in the church of England, and was reckoned one of the foreigners who were excused from paying a subsidy to the king anno 1513, (namely, Peter Carraelian, Polydore Virgil, Erasraus Roterod. Andrew Araraonius, &c.) He raade his last wiU on the 24th of March, at the end ofthe year 1518, which was proved 17 May, 1519, wherein he wUled his body to be buried in that part of Paul's which was caUed Pardon-church-yard, his grave to be covered with a raarble stone, and a plate of brass on it with this inscription. Orate pro anima Johannis Sixtini, &c. As to his estate in Frisia, he gave one moiety to the poor of Bolsward in that country, and the other half to the monastery of Owgocloyster, where his sister was a professed nun, on condition that his brother Albert should enjoy one half part ofthe profits during his life. He gave ten pounds to the repa ration of the church of Eglescliffe in the diocese of Durhara, though he had not one penny for dUapi- dations frora his predecessor Dr. ^Vest, bishop of Ely; and twenty pounds to be distributed among the poor inhabitants of the said parish, for buying of tools and instruments necessary for their country labours, at DR. JOHN COLET. 193 the discretion of his executors. And he left to the honour of God and St. Blaze, toward the repai-ation of the church of Hakkamb in the diocese of Exeter, though he had there hkewise not a penny for di lapidations, the sum of fifteen pounds. He be queathed forty pounds to be distributed for exhi bitions to poor scholars in the universities of Cara bridge and Oxford; and lastly, twenty marks to master Cutbert Tunstal, master of the roUs, whom he appoints executor, together with his brother Albert '. Erasmus, who condoled his death next to that of f Testamentum magistri Jo- ...... . ® hannis Sixtini, clerici. Anno MDXVIII. die 24 Martii, in qua dam alta camera infra domum solitae habitationis venerabilis et egregii viri Johannis Sixtini, utriusque juris doctoris, infra parochiani sancti Gregorii juxta ecclesiam D. Pauli Lond. voluntatem coudidit iu hunc modum. Ego Johannes Sixti nus, licet aeger corpore, sanae tamen memoriae, conde testa mentum Corpus sepelien- dum in claustro vulgariter vo- cate Pardon-church-yard, cum lapide marmoree, et parva desu- per iinagine de a°re, cum scrip tura. Orate pro anima Johannis Sixtini, &c. Item do et lego universa bona mea immobilia ubicunque in Frisia sita, dimi dium Christi pauperibus Bols- wardiae, alterum dimidium mo nasterio de Owgocloystre juxta Bolswardiam, in qua soror mea unica est professa : volens ta men ut dimidium usus fructus universorum bonorum imino- bilium antedictorum habeat fra ter meus, Albertus Sixtinus, du rante vita sua Item lego reparationi ecclesiae de Egles- kliff" Dunelm. dioc. licet nullum habui denariura pro dilapidati- one a domine episcopo Eliensi, qui tenetur secundum ratam temporis sui pro dilapidatione ejusdem, decem libras sterlingo- rura. Item do et lego viginti li bras distribuend. pauperibus pa- rochianis ejusdem parochiae pro emendis instrumentis rusticis sibi necessariis secundum arbi trium executorum meorum — Item lego ad honorem Dei et sancti Blazii, pro reparatione ecclesiae de Hakkamb, Exon. dioc. licet nullum habuerira de nariura pro dilapidatione ejus dem, quindecim libras. Item lego quadraginta libras, scil. distribuend. pre exhibitione pauperum scolarium in univers. Oxon. et Cantabr. Item lego M. Cutb. Tunstallo, magistro rotulorum, quem nomine, facio et ordino executorem una cum fratre Alberto, 20 marcas, pro labore suo. Probat. 7 Maii, 1519. [Ex Offic. Prerog.] O 194 THE LIFE OF Ammonius, observes, that he was of so strong a con stitution of body, that without a violent shock of sickness, he might have Uved to the age of Nestor ; that he had a masterly wit, a quick apprehension, and tenacious memory : and that, besides the know ledge of both laws in his profession, he was happily conversant in every other part of leaming ^. Another coramon friend of learning and good men was Hugh Oldham, bishop of Exeter, who died 25 Jun. 1519, after he had passed through several other preferraents. To the church of Swynested he was presented by Margaret countess of Richmond '', the king's raother, to whom he was chaplain; which church he resigned before the end of the year 1488. He was afterwards presented to Wardeboys ', in the county of Huntingdon, by the abbot and convent of Ramsey. He had also the rectory of St. Mildred, Milk-street, and stUl more preferments '', before he s — Erat hujus sodalitatis et presbyter, praesentatus per ab- Johannes Sixtinus Phrysius, qui bat. et conventum de Ramsey non multo post obiit, sed illo ad ecclesiam de Wardeboys, vac. [Andr. Araraonio] major; cae- per resig. mag. Thomae Hutton, terum corpore quod, nisi si qua 3 1 Martii, 1 494. quam resignat morbi vis incidisset, in Nestoris die i Maii, 1501. [Reg. Smyth. aetatem durare potuisset. Inge- Lincoln.] nium erat ad omnia versatile; "^ Anno 1494. 22 Jul. magis- memoria prompta, tenaxque. ter Hugo Oldham, canonicus li- Praeter juris utriusque scienti- berae capellae regiae S. Stephani am, quam habebat loco viatici, in Westm. collatus ad ecclesiam in nulla disciplina non feliciter de Cheshunt, vac. per censec. versatus. [Eras. Jod. Gavero Willelmi in episc. Cov. etLichf. Bas. cal. Mart, mdxxiv.] [Reg. Hill. Lond. MS.] *' Margareta comitissa Rich- Anno 1496. 11 Mart. mag. mend, praesentat. mag. Hug. Hugo Oldham, utriusque juris Oldham, clericum, ad ecclesiam baccalaureus, presbyter, prse- de Swynesheved dioc. Lincoln, sentatus ad hospitale S. Leo- vac, per mortera ult. rectoris, nardi in Bedford, vac. per resig. die 3 Febr. 1493. [Autogr. in raag. Bernardi Andreae, 1 2 Jan. Reg. Buckden. MS.] 1499. [Reg. Smyth. MS.] ' Magister Hugo Oldham, Anno 1500. 17 Aug. mag. DR. JOHN COLET. 195 arrived to the episcopal dignity. He Ues buried within his own chapel, in St. Peter, Exeter. It ap pears by his wUl, that he was of a very charitable and good disposition. I could not orait saying thus much relating to the characters of these good raen, in justice at least to the dean, whose judgraent can never be enough cora raended for raaking such a choice of friends. As to hiraself; after the raortification he received by the death of these his friends, he seemed to be satiated and cloyed with the world. He would be fore this ' have cast himself into sorae monastery or ceU for retirement and stricter Ufe, if he could have found any wherein studies and devotions had been the sole enjoyment of those they caUed religious; and now he began to have a retum of the sarae thoughts. But his opinion of the Enghsh convents was, that sloth, and luxury, and pride, had utterly corrupted the primitive state and good intention Huge Oldham, utriusque juris te, quantum potest, longissime baccalaureus, praes. per ab. et a mundanis negotiis semoveri. conv. de Ramsey ad ecclesiam Non quod verear, ne mundus de Shitlingdon, vac. per mortem hic, ut est haraatus, te sibi ven- doraini Johannis Raven. dicet, ac manus injiciat; sed ' Dr. Colet, in his letters te quod malim istud ingenium, Erasmus, was often wishing istam eloquentiara, istara eru- himself out of the noise and ditionem, in solidum impend! hurry of the world, in some Christo. Quod si non potes ex- hiding place, to enjoy his cen- plicare te, cavendum tamen ne science, and discharge his duties indies altius immergaris. Vinci to God : and to such expres- fortasse praestiterit, quam tanti sions of his being weary of a tu- emere victoriam. Maxiraura multuous life, Erasmus gravely enim bonum mentis 'tranquilli- and wisely answered as fellow- tas. Atque hae sunt spinae, di eth : vitiarum comites. Interim ma- — Injucundus mihi fuit epi- levolorura blateramentis oppone stelae tuae finis ; cum scribis, rectam et synceram conscienti- molestia negotiorum te solito am ; in unum illura et sira- gravius vexari : equidera cupiara plicera Christura te collige, O 2 196 THE LIFE OF of most of them"'; he hoped they had not so much degenerated in the desert places of Gerraany, or in some of the mountainous parts of Italy : and for that reason he had forraerly desired Erasraus, at his leaving England, to inquire in those countries he passed through, whether there reaUy was a reUgious house, of any order, wherein a man might enjoy a private hfe, and a truly pious, studious, and strict society": but meeting with no such information from abroad, and possibly being at that time more satisfied in the inexpediency of such a choice, by what Erasmus had writ formerly upon this subject frora Bononia, in two declaraations of the praise and dispraise of a monastic life °, he had for a long time done thinking of any such engagement. Yet now, towards the close of his life, he seemed in a good measure to have resumed the same thoughts again : for observing the strictest sect at home were the Carthusians, who had more of the austere gravity, sUence, and soUtude, than any other order, he was in chned to be near thera, though not among them. et minus turbabit multiplex mihi delegarat Italiam adituro ; mundus. Cantab, v. idus Jul. narrans sese apud Italos compe- MDXi. risse quosdam monachos vere ¦" Though religious houses in prudentes ac pios — Laudabat England were generally very et Germanos aliquot, apud quos corrupt, yet there were some residerent etianinum priscae re- few, where a strict discipline ligionis vestigia. [Eras. Epist. was kept, and the intention of Jod. Jon.] the pious founders in a good ° Bononiae scripseram decla- raeasure answered ; as the leam- matiunculam in genere suasorio. 5^ ed Dr. Tanner, by several in- dehortans a vita monachorum ; stances, proves, in the preface et rursus adhortans ad hoc vit* te his Notitia Monastica. genus ; meo judicio non indig- ° — Ijisi in votis erat, se nam quae vulgaretur, sed peri- prorsus ab hoc mundo extri- erint utrinque extremae paginae ; care, sicubi reperisset sodaliti- reliquum adhuc est in cartis me um vere conjuratum in vitam is. [Cat. Lucubr. Op. tom. xi.] evangelicam; atque id negotii DR. JOHN COLET. 197 For this purpose (as we are inforraed by Erasmus) he built a convenient, and what they caUed a mag nificent house within the precinct of the Charter house, near Richraond palace : " H^e said, he pre- " pared this seat for his old age ; that, when broken " with infirmities, and unable to discharge the duties " of his function, he might here retire frora the " world, and with two or three choice friends (among " which he was wont to reckon me) study and prac- " tise the true Christian phUosophy. Yet death pre- " vented him. He was taken with the sweating " sickness, a disease pecuUar to England : and re- " lapsing into it a third time, he very hardly escaped " with hfe ; and frora the relics of that disteraper he " feU into a consumption, that soon carried him off. " One of the physicians judged it to be the dropsy; " but upon the opening of the body, no extraordi- " nary symptom appeared, only that the capUlary " vessels of his hver had some pustulary eruptions " upon them. He was buried on the south side of " the choir of his own church of Paul's, with a " humble monuraent that he had several years before " appointed and prepared, with only this inscription " on it, Joannes Coletus p." P — Ut hoc opus [scholam imiis, (inter quos rae solitus est Paulinam] nemo non probavit, numerare,) sed mors antevertit. ita multi demirabantur, cur Nara cum ante paucos annos magnificentissiraas aedes extru- correptus esset sudore pestilen- eret intra poraceria monasterii ti, (qui morbus peculiariter in- Carthusiensium, quod non pro- festat Britanniam,) etab eodem cui abest a regia quae dicitur tertio repetitus, utcunque tamen Richemonda. Aiebat, se parare revixit ; sed ex morbi reliquiis sedem illam suae senectuti, cum contracta viscerura tabes, qua jara irapar laboribus, aut raorbe periit. Medicus unus hydre- fractus, cogeretur se submovere pem esse judicavit. Anatomia ab hominum consortio. Illic nihil indicavit novi, nisi quod erat animus philosophari cum epar repertum est extremas fi- duobus aut tribus amiculis ex- bras cirrhis prominentibus hir- o 3 198 THE LIFE OF This account we have from Erasmus ; though, as Mr. Wood says, Erasraus is not so particular as to the place where he died ; rather insinuating, that he died before he entered upon his retirement at Sheen, by saying, " he was prevented by death ; and that it " was designed by him for a recess for his old age, " when broken with infirmities," &c, Erasmus agree ing with others, who say, that he did not exceed fifty-three years when he died '^. Mr. Wood says, " When he discovered the sweat- " ing sickness to grow upon him, he retired to the " lodgings he had built in the monastery of the Car- " thusians at Sheen, near to Richmond in Surry : " where, having spent the Uttle remainder of his " days in devotion, he surrendered up his last breath " to Him that first gave it, on the 16th ^ of Septem- " ber, 1519. His body was afterwards carried to " London, and, by the care of his old decrepit mo- " ther, it was buried in the cathedral church of St. " Paul, nigh to the image of St. Wigefort '." Some time before this. Dr. Colet finding himself under a sensible decay, and as it were having re ceived the sentence of death, he took care, in the first place, to settle the perpetuity of his school, and to direct the govemment of it by a book of statutes, drawn up and written with his own hand, and by hira delivered to master LUye, June 18, 1518 '. sutum. Sepultus est ad australe mo tertio — [Eras. Epist. lib. chori latus, in sue templo, hu- 23. ep. 5.] mili sepulchre, quod in eum ' Fuller in the margin of his usum jam ante annos aliquot book says, the 4th of Septem- delegerat, inscriptione addita; ber. North. Jo. Coletus. [Eras. Jod. Jonae. ^ Wood's Ath. Oxon. Id. Jun. 1 52 1 .] • It is hard to say, whether he '1 — Joannes Coletus, qui de- left better laws for the govern- cessit anno" ferine quinquagesi- ment of his school, or lands for DR. JOHN COLET. 199 In the sarae year, he laboured to leave his church of Paul's in a better condition than he found it, as to residence, discipUne, and distribution of the reve nues ; and therefore drew up a scherae of the foun dation, statutes, customs, and regulations, that had been made in the several visitations of it. And hoping for no redress from Dr. Fitz-James, bishop of London, who had prosecuted him for an heretic, he laid the case before cardinal Wolsey, who was then exercising his legatine power, superior to aU ordinary judges : the title prefixed to his matters of coraplaint being thus worded; Exhibita a Johanne Collett Decano, Reverendissimo Patri et Domino Cardi nali Ebor. ae apostolico Legato a Latere, pro re formatione status residentiariorum in Ecclesia S. Pauli, primo Septemhris, an. Dom. 1518. He began with these heads - De Decano et ejus autoritate ", ex antiquo registro cartaceo Ecclesice ; De Resi- dentia Decani ^ ; De locum tenente Decaniy; and he went through the several duties of the residenti- aries, canons, rainisters, raembers, and other officers. Accordingly reformations and provisions were made under those respective heads, and so passed into le- the maintenance thereof. [Dr. secundum ordinationem domini Th. Fuller's Ch. Hist. p. 167.] Warham, episcopi, qui in plena " Secundum antiqua ecclesise visitatione sua ordinavit, ut de- statuta, S. Pauli decanus orani- canus sacerdos sit omnino, et bus canonicis, presbyteris, vi- resideat ; alioquin pro nullo cariis, rainistris praeest authori- decano habeatur, &e. tate et potestate, ordinaria et v Decane vero absente, con- immediata. Is regimen habet stituat locum gus tenentera u- aniraarura. Huic est jurisdictio num ex residentiariis, quem ju- et correctio delinquentiuin que- dicaverit ipse magis idoneum ; rumcunque in ecclesia, et ob- qui exercebit decani potestatera, stinatorum ac rebellium justa quatenus ei commissa fuerit a castigatio, &c. decano, et non amplius, &c. " Decanus in primis resideat, O 4 200 THE LIFE OF gatine constitutions; wherein the cardinal paid a particular deference and respect to the dean : for in the chapter regulating the residence and double por tion of the dean, it is expressly ordained, that this ordination conceming the dean shaU not take effect tiU after the present dean, who shaU fuUy enjoy aU that he now possesseth (granted to him for his me rits) peaceably, without any disturbance ==- They conclude with inhibiting and condemning aU man ner of dispensations, as the wounds and stabs of aU laws and statutes, without consent of the pope, (by whose authority the cardinal now acted as legate de latere,) and of the king, as royal founder, and of the bishop of London. After which foUow other sta tutes, relating to residence, that seem to be made as a decree in chancery, by consent of the dean and chapter '', to contract the nuraber of residentiaries to four, besides the dean, because the church had too raany other ordinary burdens on it, and was in debt, and had no present stock or treasure, &c. ** We should be able to give a better account of his wise and faithful administration of the affairs, re venues, and discipUne of his church, if we could ^ Pertio decani dupla — Haec primas, ipsius regni Angliae can- ordinatio de decane capiat eff"ec- cellarius, universis, &c. salutem, tum post decanura modernura : &c. Cura utique ecclesia cathe- modernus vero decanus gaudeat dralis Divi Pauli Londoniensis his quae modo possidet, sibi pro oneribus ordinariis, aere quoque suis meritis cencessa, pacifice alieno multo aggravari inventa sine omni disturbatione. est, nulles etiam ex se habens in ^ Statuta quaedam decani et aerario publice provisione the- capituli Londoniensis, facta per sauros, nec dotes, facultates, dom. cardinalera Ebor. ex con- aut patriinonia, sufficient, ad nu- sensu decani et capituli, per de- merosam residentiariorum mul- cretum, sine arbitramento. titudinem ultra sustentandam, *> Thomas miseratione divina &c. [Mon. Angl. tom. iii. p. Ebor. archiepiscopus, Angliae 354.] DR. JOHN COLET, 201 come at those coUections which he left for the use and service of the successive deans and chapters ; and which were araong the books appertaining to the cathedral church of St. Paul in London, deUvered by Henry Cole, sometirae dean of the said church, to Dr. May, succeeding dean, the 20th day of Septem ber, anno 1559. Inprimis, A book of the Statutes and Ordinances of the New Grammar School of Paul's. A book entitled. Statutes used in Dean Collet's Days. A book entitled. Liber Visitationis Johannis Collet, Decani Ecclesice S. Pauli Londinensis, sub anno 1506. A book written in parchment of certain statutes coUected by dean CoUett ; being bound in boards, and covered with black leather '^. When the good raan had thus fuUy perfected and estabUshed every thing that might conduce to render his good works beneficial and lasting, and had pro vided for the good estate of both his church and school, in the afore recited manner ; he had nothing more to do, in reference to this world, and in way of preparation for a better, but to make his last wUl and testament, and to set his household affairs in order, that he might have nothing further to disturb him the httle time he had to live. This he did de- hberately on the 22d day of August, 1518, and with out any of those superstitious conceits which were then become a part of the coramon course and form of wiUs and codicils ; expressing himself only like a Christian, and as a Protestant might now do. '^ Men. Angl. tora. iii. p. 369. ex vet. membr. penes decan. et cap. eccles. cathedr. S. Pauli. 202 THE LIFE OF For, whereas the usual way and manner of com mending a soul, was not only to God, but to the virgin Mary, (though it must be owned, that in a forraer Latin will, raade several years before, re lating only to his settlement on Paul's school, there is mention made of her,) and to other par ticular patrons in heaven, and at last in general to ihe whole corapany of saints ; he thought it suf ficient to trust his soul with its Creator and Re deemer only, and to bequeath it to God, and our Lord Christ Jesus : whereas the custom of others was to prescribe a ceremonious fiineral, with proces sions, crosses, torches, and a deal of Popish pa geantry ; he only ordered his body to be buried in the place he had before appointed, at the discretion of his executors : whereas others were taught to erect chantries, or praying offices, to fetch their souls out of purgatory, or at least to leave sums of money for diriges, raonth's-rainds, and anniversary obits, besides the soul-sceal, and oblations to a great raany altars ; he passed over aU that unchristian vanity, and left no manner of legacies but to tmly Christian and charitable uses, to reward his friends, to reheve poor scholars, and to help to support his old servants. He began naturaUy with his nearest relations : first, those on his mother's side, the family of the Knevets, frora whom he had his first Uving ; then proceeded to his nearest kinsmen of the Colets ; and so on to his most intimate acquaintance, Mr. Doctor Aleyn, (the same who was afterwards arch bishop of DubUn,) Mr. Doctor Morgan, (probably a dignitary in his own church,) Mr. John Banbrughe, maister Dancaster, Robert Hopwood, priest ; and to Thomas Lupset, whom he had bred as amanuensis DR. JOHN COLET. 203 in his family, and had supported with an exhibition at Cambridge ; and to Mr. WilUam Garrard, one of his executors. He left aU his printed books to be di vided amongst poor students ; a distribution of fifty pounds amongst his household servants ; and several vestments to several parish churches ; without men tion of one prayer for his departed soul: and he charged the fulfilUng of his wUl on the conscience of his executors; who were the lady Christian Colet, (his aged mother,) master WilUam Garrard, and master Nicholas Curleus. None can wonder that the dean, though he had so great a patrimony, and such good preferment, dis posed of Uttle by his wUl ; if they consider that his pubhc works, as weU as private charities, had almost exhausted both his real and personal estate. He told Erasmus, in an epistle not long before his death, that both did not afford sufficient for his expenses •*. It doth not appear that Erasmus had any place in his wUl : but it is certain, he received a yearly pen sion of the dean, while hving ; M^hich his successor. Dr. Pace, proraised to continue, and was put in raind of ^. It is certain also, that dean Colet was never wanting to do good offices for Erasmus, as weU ab sent as present. Particularly he recommended him to a rising favourite, sir Henry GuUdford, master of the horse to king Henry VIII. as Erasraus decently '' — Si de fortuna; ut non desiderera, [Eras. Rot. Ep. Pa- est nulla mea, ita non est am- caeo.] pia, et meis sumptibus vix sufr - — Sura Pacaeum expertus ta- ficiens lem amicum, ut nerao fratri fra- ' — Meraente, mi Pacaee, in ter posset esse amicior. Est cujus locum successeris ; et quid cum sumraatibus omnibus, tum nobis proraiseris, expectarim, ut optimo regi, lenge charissiraus : efficias, ne Coletum magnopere successit nuper in dignitatem 204 THE LIFE OF intimated in a letter to that honourable person ^ And he was perhaps instrumental in keeping up the correspondence between the king and Erasmus?, and prevaUed with his majesty to send hira a good pre sent, and an earnest invitation to corae once more into England ; for which Erasmus thanked the king in his elegant way. Erasmus at Lovain, in October 1519, hearing of the death of Dr. Colet, lamented it in every letter he wrote for several days : particularly to Budaeus at Paris ^, but especiaUy to his EngUsh friends ; to Dr. Cuth. Tonstal ', to bishop Fisher, and the lord Mont joy. And he declared to Dr. Pace, his successor, " he was but half alive, now he had lost his better " part," &c .^ But he thought the best tribute of sorrow and respect would be to preserve the me mory of his dear friend, by giving some account of Joannis Coleti, decani apud Di- quiis. Lovanii, vii. cal. Maii, vum Paulum ; provehendus mdxviii. haud dubie ad summas digni- '' Erasmus Budaeo suo — Jo- tates. [Eras. Ep. Hb. xii. Lond. hannesColetus,vir optimus, mi- edit, col. 614.] hique certissimus amicus, Lon- f Vir clarissime, raultorum dini periit hydrope. — Lovanii, sermone cognosce, quam araice idus Octob. mdxix. [Eras. Ep. sis in nos animo ; sive scintil- edit. Bas. 1540. p. 429.] las istius benevolentiae ex meis ' Erasmus RoteredamusCuth- lucubrationibus cencepisti, sive berto Tenstallo, S. D. — Coleti ex D. Joannis Coleti, caetero- mortem inconsolabiliter deplo- rumque amicorum hausisti ser- rarem, nisi scirera nec iUi, nec raone. Tu rae diligis. Quod mihi, profuturas lacrymas. — vere talem esse credas, qualem Lev. postrid. id.Oct. 1519. [Ib. illi praedicarunt, &c. [Eras. Ep. p. 430.] edit. Bas. 1 52 1 . p. 302.] k Erasmus Rot. Rich. Pacaeo, s Erasmus Henrico regi, &c. dec. apud Divura Paulum Lon- — Nos cogimur edendis volu- dini, S. D. — Videor mihi dimi- rainibus Novi Testamenti qua- diatus vivere, Coleto mortuo ; tuor menses impendere : ee ne- quem virum Britannia, quem gocio confecto, totes nos tuae amicum ego perdidi ! Tibi gra- majestatis dedicabimus obse- tulor, qui in ejus fortunam sue- DR. JOHN COLET. 205 his Ufe and character. This he immediately resolved upon ; and to get the best materials for it, he wiites away to two of the most famihar friends of dean Colet, who had longest known the manners and custoras of his life and conversation, Mr. Thomas Lupset and Mr. \^^iUiam Dancaster. He teUs the former, " that no loss had come so near him these " thU'ty years, as this of Dr. Colet ; that aU he can " now desire is, to recommend his raemory to after " ages ; and for that purpose he should be glad to " receive his informations and instructions," &c. ' His letter to Mr. Dancaster he begins with excla mations of grief. " How deplorable is your case and " nUne, who have lost such a teacher, such a patron, " such a friend ! It is said to a proverb, that the " loss qf money is bewailed with the truest sorrow ; " but I am sure, this is a loss of more inestimable " treasure, and ought to be infinitely more lamented. " But alas ! what signify aU our sighs and tears ? " He cannot be recaUed to us ; but we shall soon " foUow hira. We should rather, in the raean time, " congratulate our late friend, that he is now in " better company ; he securely enjoys his Saviour " Christ, whom he always had in his hps and at his " heart. I would wiUingly write his life, if you and " some other of his nearest acquaintance would fur- " nish me with proper materials for it, which I must " earnestly desire of you "'." cesseris — Lev. postrid. idus Oc- in ilium pietate capesses, ut me tob. mdxix. [Ibid.] instruas ; praesertim si qua sunt, ' Erasmus Rot. Thomae Lup- quae putes mihi non esse cogni- seto, S. D. Triginta jam annis ta. Lov. postrid. idus Octob. nullius mors mihi fuit acerbior 1519- [Ib. p. 428.] quam Coleti. Percupie hominis "" Erasmus Rot. integerrimo memoriam posteritati consecra- D. Gulielmo Dancastre, S. D. re : sed hoc negocii tu pro tua O nos miseres ! qui talem prse- 206 THE LIFE OF Writing again to Mr. Thomas Lupset, Dec. 13, the same year, (1519,) after a long coraplaint of the Ul treatment given him by Mr. Edward Lee, who had wrote severe strictures upon his edition of the New Testament, he falls again upon the subject of con doling the loss of Dr. Colet. " A comraon loss," saith he, " and lamentation to both of us ; my sincere " friend ; your singular patron, preceptor, or rather " your very parent. O true divine ! O pure preacher " of the gospel of Christ ! With what labour and " pleasure did he imbibe the principles of the right " Christian phUosophy! How sweetly did he suck " in the doctrines and the very spirit of St. Paul ! " How did he fully answer what he taught by what " he Uved ! How many years did he preach to the " people without any profit to hiraself; in this,imi- " tating that adraired apostle St. Paul ! I never had " any famihar or freer conversation with him, but " that I went from him better than I came ; or at " least not so bad. You ought therefore, my Lupset, " to endeavour to resemble, as near as possible, your " great master, in whose famUy you lived so many " years, in the Uke talents of leaming and piety. " From Lovain, St. Lucy's day," &c. " ceptorem, talem patronum, ta- hominis, si tu tuique similes, lem araiserimus amicum! Pio- quaedam me docueritis, mihi ratur lacrymis amissa pecunia fortassis incognita. Quod ut veris; hanc ego jacturam orani facias, etiara atque etiam rogo. lacrymarum genere deploran- Lov. postrid. idus Oct. mdxix. dam censeo. Sed quid conferunt [Ib. p. 428.] singultus? quid ejulatus ? Ille " Erasmus Ret. Tho. Lupseto revocari non potest, nos ilium — Sed nes querelae finem facia- brevi sequeraur. Interim Coleto mus oportet, cum illi suae vesa- gratulandum, qui jam securus niae nullum faciant finem. Ilia suo fruitur Christo ; quem sem- querela justissima mihi tecum per habebat in ore, semper in communis est, quod mors ade- pectore. Mandabo literis vitam rait Joannem Coletum, mihi DR. JOHN COLET. 207 Give me leave just to mention, in what an affect ing manner Erasmus expressed his sorrow to bishop Fisher. " I write," says he, " now in tears for the " decease of Dr. Colet ; a loss and afUiction to me, " greater than I have suffered these thu-ty years. I " know his state is happy ; he is now deUvered from " a troublesome and wicked world, and enjoys the " presence of his Redeemer" Jesus, whom he loved so " affectionately in his hfe : but in the narae of the " world, I cannot but deplore the loss of such an ad- " rairable exaraple of Christian piety, such an excel- " lent preacher of the gospel of Christ ; and even in " my own name, I must bewail the loss of a constant " friend and incomparable patron. AU that I can do " is, to pay my just duty to his narae and meraory, " and not to suffer them to die, if any thing I write " can Uve to posterity "." ° Haec scripsi moerens ob Co leti decessum ; qui mihi tara acerbus est, ut his triginta annis nullius hominis mors rae dis- cruciarit gravius. Scio bene actum cura illo, qui exemptus ab hoc scelerato pariter atque aerumneso seculo, cominus fru itur suo Christo, quera vivus sic dearaabat. At ego publico no- raine non pessura non deplorare tara rarum Christianae pieta tis exemplar, tam singularem Christianae doctrinae praeconem ; privatim autem raeo noraine tam constantem amicum, tara que incomparabilera patronum. Quod unum superest, hoc illi parentalium vice persolvam of ficii ; si quid mea scripta vale- bunt, non sinara ejus viri rae- moriam apud posteros inter- mori — Bene vale, reverendis- sirae praesul ; et Erasmum hoc syncerissimum amicum, tibi singularem patronum, praeeep torem, ac potius parentem. O verum theologura ! O rairura evangelicae doctrinae praeco- nera ! Quanto studio vir ille imbiberat philosophiara Chris ti ! Quara avide hauserat pectus ac spiritura Divi Pauli ! Ut coe lesti doctrinae totius vitae puri- tate respondit ! Quot annos ille gratis populura decuit, et in hoc suura Paulura referens ! Nun- quara mihi tam familiare, aut non seriura cum illo colloqui um fuit, quin ab ee discederera nielior, aut certe minus mains. Quo magis tibi, Lupsete, adni- tendum, ut tantum praeeepto rem, qui cum tot annos doraes- ticara consuetudinem egeris, et eruditione referas, et pietate. Bene vale. Lovanii, natal. Lu cia;, 1519. [Ib. p. 531.] THE LIFE OF It is certain, that Erasmus had lost in Dr. Colet a generous patron, as weU as a leamed friend. No wonder then that his concem was so great for his death, and that he never after reUshed England so much as to return to it again. The friend who was most desirous to see the hfe of Dr. Colet drawn up by Erasraus, was the faraous Jodocus, or Justus Jonas, of the university of Erd- ford. He earnestly importuned him to it ; and to satisfy him, Erasmus, when he had got the best in teUigence he could out of England, drew up A Nar rative qfthe Birth, Education, Studies, Conversa tion, good Works, and Sufferings of Dr. John Colet, (consisting mostly of his own experiences.) To which he prefixed the life and character of John Vitrier, a Franciscan friar, a raan of admirable piety and vir tues ; and one, it seems, who had so great a vene ration for the name of Colet, that he went over into England, on purpose to see and be acquainted with so great a raan ; but the raisfortune was, he carried over another Franciscan friar with hira, who being a sour Scotist, or stoical disputant, broke in upon Colet and Vitrier, and interrupted the conversation, which was prudent, pious, and very agreeable p. These two Uves Erasraus put together in an epistle to the said Jodocus Jonas, at Erphord, rector of that university ; etiam magis amplectere, quod bat Coletus, apud se fuisse Mi- Coletus avulsus dimidiatum re- noritam quendam, cujus coUo- liquit. Lovanii, pridie Luciae quio prudenti pioque mirum in anni 15 19. [Eras. Ep. edit, modum fuisset delectatus ; sed Lond. 1642. p. 619.] adhibitum alterum quendam P — Alterum alteri depinxe- ejusdem ordinis Stoicum, qui ram, et uterque aiterius videndi visus indigne ferre Christianum desiderio flagrabat ; atque hac colloquium interruperit. [Eras- gratia Vitriereus in Angliam mus Jed. Jonae, Ep. ed. Bas. trajecerat : ac mihi post narra- 1540. p. 483.] DR. JOHN COLET. 209 which is dated at Anderlach, on the ides of June, 1521, in the first BasU edition, (1521,) but 1519 in the second Basil edition, (1540;) yet both seem to be mistaken for the interraediate year, 1520. It could not be in the year 1519, for Colet was not then dead ; nor could it be so late as 1521, he having been so early in the undertaking. The date is ad justed by another letter of Erasmus to Lupset, 15 cal. Sept. 1520, wherein he teUs him i ; " I have now " composed in an epistle the hfe of Colet. If I have " not drawn him to the best advantage, it is partly " your fault, for not supplying me with better co- " lours. As to what you declare, that you have set " yourself his example for the rule and pattern of " your own Ufe ; I cannot but highly commend the so " doing, provided you choose weU : for you must con- " sider, that in the greatest example, the chief parts " are to be iraitated, rather than the whole ; nor those " parts, but as they are adapted to tirae and place, and " other circurastances ; for aU things are not agreeable " in aU cases. In him the shining excellency was, that 1 Erasmus Rot. Tho. Lup- quod sinceram Christi philoso- seto, S. D. — Coleti nostri vitam phiam, e purissimis evangeli- epistola coraplexus sum ; si pa- orum haustam fontibus, gratis rum graphice videbitur expres- impartiit populo; ut non absque sus, tibi partim iraputabitur, numine videatur illi contigisse qui rae parum ad plenum in- gentile cognomen : Siquidem struxeris viri coloribus, quod Coleheth Hebraeis dicitur con- quidera nemo te melius poterat. cionator, quem Graeci vocant Porro quod ad ejus viri formam ecclesiasten. Eam ad rera si te velutique praescriptum vitam in- toto studio contuleris, aut ego stituis, non possum non vehe- plane fallor, aut Coleto non in- menter probare, modo delectum ferior evades. Caeterum quod adhibeas. Probum quidem ex- illius exemplo tibi coenis in to- eraplar tibi preponis : sed in tum interdicis, equidem non optimis praecipua sunt imitanda, approbo ; nec in illo probabam. nec ea tamen nisi accomraoda ; Brugis, x. cal. Septerab. mdxx. nec enim oranibus erania con- [Eras. Ep. ed. Bas. 1 540. p. gruunt. In illo praecipuum erat, 45 1.] P 210 THE LIFE OF " he learned the purity of Christian wisdom at the " fountain of the holy scriptures, and then taught it " faithfully and freely to the people ; so that I have " often thought there was a providential hit in his " sirnarae, Colet, from the Hebrew word coleheth, " the sarae as the Greek ecclesiastes, i. e. preacher \ " If you apply yourself to the same holy function " with equal zeal and appUcation, either I am much " mistaken, or you wUl not be much inferior to Dr. " Colet : but as to your foUowing his course of life " in eating no suppers, I cannot commend the cus- " tom in you ; nor indeed did I ever approve it in " him." The beforementioned letter of Erasraus to Justus Jonas has been for the raost part transcribed already into this essay of Colet's life, as the subject-matter has fallen in ; only the preface and conclusion, and some other paragraphs remaining, which deserve to be here inserted. He begins ^ to this effect : " Since you are so very "¦ It must be confessed, that " him : for the colet is that the fancy of Erasmus in making " part of the ring wherein the the narae of Colet allude to the " precious stone is set. See Hebrew, is one ef the weakest " Tho. Thomasius in voce Pah. pieces of wit in all his writings^ "It pleased Almighty God to nor is it only a poor conceit, " break his mother's wedding- but even a mistake in the He- " ring in taking away all her brew word, which is net cole- " twenty-two children except heth but coheleth And yet he " only oue ; but he preserved has so determined for the sake " the colet of it in preserving ef an emen forsooth, that he " our doctor alive as long as she would be a good preacher. To " lived." [Smith in Colet's this fancy another is added by Life.] a later author. " If I might ' Erasmus Rot. Jodoco Jome " guess again, (quoth he,) I Erphordiens'i, S. D. " should say, that he was se Quod tam impense rogas, " called, because of those rare vir optime, ut tibi Johannis Co- " endowments that were in leti vitam paucis, velut in brevi DR. JOHN COLET. 211 importunate with me, good sir, to draw you out the Ufe of Dr. John Colet, as it were in a little table of remembrance ; I shall do it the more wU Ungly, because you mean, I suppose, to get a no ble precedent and example, by which you may form your own Ufe and conversation. Truly, my dear friend, though I have conversed with very many whose integrity and goodness I have heartily approved, yet hitherto I never saw the man in whose morals I did not discover somewhat of the Christian simpUcity and purity to be wanting, when compared with these two exceUent persons whom I am now going to describe. I became ac quainted with one of them at St. Omers, when the plague (so far happy to me) drove me from Paris to that town; and with the other in England, when I was first drawn thither out of love and re- tabella depingam ; hoc faciam lubentius, quod suspicer te tibi quaerere egregium aliquod pieta tis exemplar, ad quod tuum in stitutum attemperes. Equidera, mi Jona carissime, ut fateor me cum multis habuisse consuetu dinem, quorura integritas mihi valde probaretur ; taraen nul- lura adhuc vidi, in cujus raori- bus nescio quid adhuc Chris tianae pietatis non desiderarem, quoties ad horum duorura sin- ceritateni conferrem aliquem : quorura alterura mihi nosse con tigit apud oppidura Artesiae, quod vulgo dicitur Sancti Au- domari, dura hue me pestis, hac sane in parte mihi felix, Lu- tetia propulisset : alterum in Britannia, quo me Montjeii mei charitas pertraxerat. Lucrum facies, cujus scio te avidissi- raura; prouno duos dabo. Prior dictus est Johannes Vitrarius, ordinis Franciscani; nara in hoc vitae genus adolescens inci- derat; meo judicio, nulla ex parte posthabendus Coleto, nisi quod ob servitutera instituti minus multis prodesse poterat : — quanquam autem illud vitae institutura, in quod per insci- tiara aetatis fiierat vel delapsus, vel pertractus, nequaquam pro babat; subinde dictitans apud me, fatuorum vitam esse po tius, quam religiosorum, ad nolae signum dorraire, exper- gisci, redorraiscere, loqui, ta- cere, ire, redire, cibum capere, desinere pastu ; denique nihil non facere ad praescriptum hu manum, potius quam ad Christi regulam, &c. P 2 212 THE LIFE OF " spect to my young pupU, the lord Mountjoy. You " wiU reckon it your advantage, I know, if, instead " of one, I give you two. The first, namely John Vi- " trier, was a monk of the order of St. Francis. He " feU into that way of Ufe, while very young, and " was in no other respect behind Dr. Colet, save only " that, being a slave to his order, he had not the op- " portunity of doing so much good. — ^As to that re- " hgious life into which he was drawn before he had " discretion to make any choice, he did by no means " approve it ; he would often teU me, that it was ra- " ther the Ufe of fools, than of the professors of reh- " gion, at the sound of a beU to sleep and wake, and " to go to bed again, to speak or keep sUence, to go " and come, to eat or to fast, and to do every thing " after the commandment of men, and not after the " wUl and rule of Christ," &c. Thoraas Vitrier and Colet had veiy rauch of the sarae adrairable qualities ; yet, as Erasmus observes afterwards, " perhaps Colet is on this account to be " thought the more exceUent, that he could never be " drawn from the ministerial office, either by the af- " fluence of his own fortune, or by the natural ten- " dency of flesh and blood'." He concludes his letter thus : " I have here given " you two of the truest and sincerest Christians that " I beheve any one age ever produced ; not in a " perfect print, but in a sort of rough draught, as far " as the narrow compass of an epistle would aUow. " It wiU be your part to pick out of both what you " think wiU conduce most to true Christian piety. If ' — Ac fortasse Coletus hoc nec impetu naturae, longe alio nomine plus laudis meretur, trahentis, potuerit ab evangelicae quod nec indulgentia fortunae, vitae studio depelli — . DR. JOHN COLET. 213 " you ask, to which of the two I would give the pre- " ference ; I think them of equal goodness, though " of difi'erent condition of life. And as it was a " greatness of soul in Colet, with that plentiful for- " tune, not to foUow where nature, but where his " Saviour caUed him ; so truly it was a singular ex- " ceUence in Vitrier, that he could shew so much of a " pure evangeUcal spirit in such a wrong tvrrn of reU- " gious life, and be, as it were, a fish in the fens with- " out any thing of the muddy taste. After aU, there " were some things in Colet that savoured a Uttle of " human infirmity : but I never saw any thing in " '\"itrier that betrayed the least tincture of flesh and " blood. Now, in my opinion, you should make no " scruple of inserting those two good Christians into " the catalogue of saints, though they are not ca- " nonized by the Pope. Happy souls, to whora I am " so much beholding, assist with your prayers poor " Erasmus, yet struggling in this lower world, that " he may be brought into your blest society above, " never more to be separated from it. Adieu, my " dear Jonas : ifl have satisfied your desire, it is weU ; " but I ara sure I can never do justice to the argu- *' ment. From the country of Anderlach, the ides " of June, 1520 "." " Habes, Jodoce, duos quos cum dissimili fuerint conditione. aetas nostra tulit, mea senten- Siquidem ut magnum erat, Co- tia, vere sincereque Christianos, letum in ea fortuna constanter non tara depletes quara deli- sequutum esse, non quo voca- neatos, quantum passa est epi- bat natura, sed quo Christus : stolaris angustia. Tuum erit ita speciosior est laus Vitrarii, ex utroque decerpere, quod tibi quod in eo genere vitae tantum videbitur ad veram pietatem obtinuerit ac praestiterit spiritus maxime conducere. Jara si evangelici ; perinde quasi piscis quaeres, utrum alteri prasferam ; in palude vivens nihil trahat de mihi ridentur pari laude digni, sapere palustri. Sed in Coleto P 3 214 THE LIFE OF It appears from several other instances, that dean Colet's fame was spread far and wide throughout Europe ; and it is evident, not only from this fo reigner's desire to have some account of him, but also frora what (Ecolampadius and others mention of hira '^. That expression in Erasmus's foregoing character of Colet, that " there were several things in him " which savoured of human infirraity," puts me in mind of a good story told also by the same great man, which discovers a strong incUnation in him to be of a high spirit, and irapatient of even the least injury y. The story is this ^: Archbishop War ham's house quaedam erant, quae testarentur ilium hominem esse : in Vitra- rie nihil unquam vidi, quod ullo pacto saperet aff'ectum hu- raanura. Quod si me audies, Jona, non dubitabis hes duos divorum ascribere catalogo ; etiamsi nullus unquam pontifex eos referat in canenem. Felices animae, quibus ego multum de beo, vestris precibus adjuvate luctantem adhuc in hujus vitae raalis Erasmum ; ut in vestrum contubernium reraigrera, nus quam postea divellendus. Vale, mi Jona. Bene habet, si tuo desiderio feci satis ; nara argu mento, scio, nequaquam esse sa tisfactum. Ex rure Andrelaco, idus Junii. mdxx. ^ — Virorum optimoruni laudes, Mori civilis, inquara, et Coleti religiosi — [CEcolarapa- dius Erasrae, p. 332.] y — Siquidem animo praedi tus erat insigniter excelso, et omnis injuriae impatientissimo — adversus animi celsitudinem ratione pugnavit. [Eras. Epist. Jed. Jonae, ut prius.] 2 — Solebam illi occinere fa- bulam de Johanne Coleto, per- enni hominum meraoria dig- no. Pessime illi conveniebat cura patruo, viro admodum sene, ac praefractis moribus. Lis erat, non de lana caprina, nec de asini (quod aiunt) um bra, sed de magna surama pe- cuniarura, ob quantara vel filius bellum indiceret patri. Coletus, pransurus apud R. P. Guilhel mum archiepiscopum Cantuari ensem, jiinxit rae sibi in cymba. Interea legebat ex Enchiridio meo remedium iracundiae ; nec tamen indicabat, cur ea legeret. Accubitus ordo forte sic dabat, ut Coletus sederet e regione pa- trui ; vultu subtristi, nec lo- quens, nec prandens. Archie piscopi vero rara quaedam est hac in re dexteritas, ut curet, ne quis parum hilaris sit in con vivio, sermones ad omnium af fectus attemperans. Per eura DR. JOHN COLET. 215 and table were ever open to men of leaming, as well foreigners as natives of his own country ; and none were more encouraged to accept of the civUities there bestowed than Erasmus and Colet, who often went to Lambeth and returned together. Now it seems, dean Colet had an old uncle so froward and perverse in his humours, that he could never agree with him ; and they had besides a suit, or quarrel, depending for a very considerable sum of money, enough to create a war between father and son. The dean going one day to dine with the archbishop, and taking Erasmus in the boat with hira, as they sat there, read that part of Erasmus's Enchiridion which prescribed a remedy against anger and passion; not intimating why he was so intent upon that subject. At the archbishop's table it so happened, that the dean sat over against his uncle, so troubled in his own mind, that he could neither talk nor eat. The archbishop had an admirable art of raaking aU his company easy and cheerful, by framing his discourse suitable to their humour and inclinations : and so he began to talk of ages ; who old, and who young. itaque injectus est serrao de repaguhs refractis, et cogna- coUatione aetatura. Hinc erta tionis affectu contempto, mani- est inter mutos confabulatie. festum bellum susciperet cura Denique patruus, senura raore, patruo : eaque gratia cepisse gloriari coepit, quod tantus na- meum Enchiridion in manus, ut tu, tantopere polleret viribus. iracundiae remediura quaereret, A prandio nescio quid seorsim et profuisse : mox ex ea quali- agitatuni est inter illos. Ubi cunque confabulatione, quae erta Coletus raecum repetisset cyra- est in prandio, utrinque di- bara; video, inquit, Erasme, te lutam amarulentiam ; sicut mox felicem esse. Ego adrairabar, archiepiscopo sequestro facile cur herainera infelicissimum di- res omnis inter eos cerapesita ceret felicem. Ibi denarravit, sit. [Erasrai Epist. Jod. Ga- quara atroci anirao fuerit in vere, dat. Bas. cal. Mart. 1524. patruura ; adeo ut properaodura ed. Lond. 1642. lib. xxiii. Ep. omnibus Christianse modestiae 5. fol. 1205. b.] P 4 216 THE LIFE OF Upon this topic, they who had said nothing before, began to be very free and faraiUar ; and the uncle, like a true old raan, boasted what he could do at his years. After dinner the archbishop talked in pri vate with the uncle and nephew, and brought them to terms of agreement. As they were going back in the boat, says Dr. Colet, " WeU, Erasmus, you are a " very happy raan, and have done rae a great deal of " service." WhUe Erasmus was admiring what he meant, the dean went on, and told the story ; how extreraely incensed he was against his uncle ; and how he had weU nigh resolved to put off" the kins man, and the very Christian, and to have waged open war with him ; that under this commotion of mind he had taken that manual with him, and read over the advice for restraint of anger, which had done him so rauch good, that he commanded him self at table, and carae to such a teraper with his old uncle, that presently after dinner, the arch bishop interposing, was able to make up the whole matter. This story Erasmus was wont to raake good use of; telUng it to people that were at difference, and hard to be reconcUed ; and recommending to them this example of reading a good book, talking together cooUy, to understand one another, and leaving the matter in dispute to an araicable arbitration. Thus have we gone through Erasraus's life and character of this great man : and by this last story we see how impartiaUy it is written, in that his very faults are not concealed. It were indeed to be wished, that the dean's friends had furnished Eras mus with more materials for that task, which he gave them to understand he was very wUling to un- DR. JOHN COLET. 217 dertake : but, however, what he hath comprised in one epistle is very valuable ; because he speaks a great deal of his own experience, and a thorough knowledge of him. Besides that account, every pas sage relating to him in any other part of his works, wherein he occasionaUy speaks of him, are here put together, in as good order as the matter would ad rait of. The second account of the hfe (if we may so caU it) of Dr. Colet, was given by Mr. Henry HoUand, in his Herologia AngUca, p. 155, to which is pre fixed his effigies, very beautiful, with this distich ; Cum colis Aonias, exculte Colete, soror es ; Te doctos inter posthuma fama refert. In this hfe and character there is in effect no thing but what Erasraus had observed ; only in more express, terms justice done to his raemory, viz. " that " in an age wherein popery had its kingdom of " darkness, in the reigns of Henry VII. and Henry " VIII. he embraced the true rehgion ; and shewed " his sincere confession of it in his ordinary painful " sermons, and especially in that before Henry VIII. " when he was going over to the siege of Turin," &c.^ Dr. Tho. FuUer, in his Abel Redivivus, has given ^ Joannes Coletus, filius Hen- men Septimo Henricoque Octa- rici Coleti, equitis aurati, et vo regnantibus, veram religio- iterura dora. praetoris Lendi- nem amplexus est. Quae ejus nensis, sacrae theologiae doctor sinceritas eluxit quidem ex or- ex academia Oxoniensi, et Pau- dinariis et operosis suis con- linae ecclesiae Londini decanus cionibus ; maxime vero eminuit eruditus, vir fuit magnopere li- concione ilia habita coram teratus ; et in illo caliginoso Henrico rege Octavo, cum in seculo vivens, in quo domina- Gallias Terronovanae ad prae- -batur papismus, Henrico ta- Hum trajecturus erat, &c. 218 THE LIFE OF the life and death of Dr. John Colet ; but, except ing the face before it, there is nothing to be com mended. It is a verbal translation of the epistle of Erasmus to Jodocus Jonas, without any notice from whence it was taken : and some things are over strained beyond the sense of the original. He says, that " Dr. Colet, perceiving the mani- " fold distractions which accorapanied the raanage- " raent of so plentiful an estate, called in his father's " debts, and sold his whole patriraony, which in the " total araounted to a very great mass of money, " and therewith he erected and endowed his school," &c. p. 100. Whereas Erasmus says nothing about selUng his patrimony ; but rather, on the contrary, that his father left him a great sum of raoney. Again, in p. 103, FuUer says ; " that in his judg- " raent conceming pubhc schools and universities, " he was not only heterodox, but, hke the bird " spoken of in the proverb, bewrayed divers symp- " toms of an exulcerated raind : but let that pass " araongst moles in the most beautiful faces." And yet there is no such thing in Erasmus : nor was Colet any otherwise offended at the universities, than he was at the raonasteries, and the whole church ; so far as they were then corrupted, and wanted reformation. Another short account of Dr. Colet's life is prefixed to his Daily Devotions, or the Christian Morning and Evening Sacrifice : which Ufe, Mr. Wood says well, is triflingly and imperfectly written by Thomas FuUer, of Waltham in Essex ; being mostly the same with that in his Abel Redivivus. This is very lately printed ; but without additions. Another history of his Ufe was compUed by Tho- DR. JOHN COLET. 219 mas Smith, of Christ's coUege in Cambridge, Ubrary- keeper of the pubhc Ubrary,) to be added to his edi tion of the Convocation Sermon, in Enghsh, 8vo. 1661. And it was honestly caUed, The Life of Dr. Colet, written by Erasmus : the several passages being coUected from the Epistles of Erasmus ; but without inquiry into his other works. He added some useful notes upon the Sermon and the Life; but not always with equal judgraent. One note is this : " I found Erasmus often caUing Dr. Colet, prcecep- " torem unicum et optimum ; but why, I know not, " unless for giving so good precepts in his sermon " before the convocation ;" whereas it was, no doubt, from his being directed and assisted by hira in his theological studies. Besides aU these, there was no writer of any note in or near this great raan's time, who doth not make sorae raention of him. Leland, in his Encomium of the iUustrious and learned Men in England, reckons Colet amongst those Ughts of learning which fetched their treasures of knowledge out of Italy. Lumina doctrinae, Grocinus deinde secutus Sellingus^ Linacer, Latimurusque pius. Tunstallus phoenix, Stocleius, atque Coletus, Lilius, et Paceus, festa corona virum. Omnes Italiam petierunt sidere fausto : Et nituit Latiis musa Britanna scholis. Omnes inque suam patriam rediere diserti ; Secum thesauros et retulere suos ''. » William Selling, lord prior ^ Lelandus in Encomiis illu- ef Merton in Surrey, took his strium et eruditorum in Anglia degree of doctor of divinity in Virorum. Edit. Lond. 1549. p. Oxford, 1503. [Wood's Fasti 74. Oxonienses, sub anno 1503-] 220 THE LIFE OF George LUy, in his Elogies of the learned Men in Britain, sent to Paulus Jovius, begins his catalogue with John Colet, in a grateful remembrance of the good offices done by him to his father, Mr. WiUiam LUy. And the account he gives may serve not only for a confirmation of what hath been before re lated of this great man, (since it is handed down to us by the son of one who was the most intimate friend of the dean's, and was acquainted with every circurastance of his life,) but also as a suraraary or epitorae of the foregoing essay. He teUs us ^, ^ Honestissimis suae civitatis parentibus Joan nes Coletus Lon dini natus est ; patre ad sum mam praefecturam bis in ea urbe vocato ; matre nobili ac praedivite foemina, ex uno tan tum conjugio vigesime secundo partu levata : Jeanne Colete natu maxirao, eoderaque ex tam foecunda prole, cui omnis veni ret haereditas, defunctis caeteris, superstite. Is statim a pueritia liberalibus disciplinis domi in stitutus ; raox, tanquara avidus optimarum artium mercator, Galliam prime, deinde Italiam adiit. Praecipue autera ad sa- crarura literarum scientiam om nium studiorum suorum cursum direxit. Ex Italia in Britanniam reversus, trigesimum circiter aetatis annum agens, in Oxoni ensi gymnasio, cum summa Christianae vitae disciplinam pro- fitentiura adrairatione, publice Paulinas Epistolas omnes gra- tuita opera enarravit. Oxonio deinde ab Henrico rege ejus nominis septimo Londinum est revocatus, et amplissime sacer- dotie donatus, templi in ea urbe maxirai ad Divi Pauli Britannice ritu decanus dictus ; ubi per annes aliquot e suggestu, Chris- tiano more concionandi formam auspicatus, pia diffinieudi at que disserendi facultate, inter sui temporis oratores praestan- tissimus habebatur. Hue ac cedebat egregii corporis proce- ritas, et suspiciendi oris sereni- tas, ut subinde in omni actione mirus venerandusque existeret. Tandem vero, cura abdicatis re bus omnibus, et relicto eo quo fungebatur sacerdotio, procul borainura turba, cura paucis re liquum vitae in Christianae phi losophiae otio transigere de- crevisset, ad Scaenum, nobili Cartusiensiura monachorum coe nobio, septimo ab urbe Londino lapide, peramoeno loco, et altae solitudini, piae meditatieni, stu diisque aptissimo, extriicto sibi eleganti apparatu domicilio ; pestilenti sudore paucis ante an nis, peculiari Britanniae morbo, semel atque iterum correptus, quum et tertio ab eodem repe titus, utcunque taraen revixisset, ex ejus morbi reliquiis contracta DR. JOHN COLET. 221 John Colet was born of very worshipful parents ; his father being twice lord mayor of London, his mother of a very rich and worthy family : they had two and twenty chUdren ; of which John Co- let, the eldest, survived aU the rest, and had thereby an araple patriraony descending to him : who, having had a careful and hberal education at home, went abroad for his further improvement , first visiting France, then Italy. He made aU his iraprovements in his studies subservient to his raain design of fitting himself for holy orders ; and therefore, at his return from Italy to his native country, being then about thirty years old, he read viscerura tabe, haud ita raulto pest Londini periit. Sepultus est ad Divi Pauli, huraili quidera sepulturae loco, quem sibi ante aliquot annos delegerat; in scriptione addita. Sed et funeris honorem omnem abdicanti ha bitus est ei, amicorum cura, maximus ; exquisitaque indus tria tabula, erudite praeconio exornata, depictaque ad vivum effigie, sepulchre affixa. Nihil autera quod extet in scriptis re liquit ; nec multa eum scrip sisse constat. Sed purissiraara LatiuK linguae elecutionem, eandemque laconica brevitate cempositam, ex aliquot ejus ad Erasmum familiaribus epistolis colligere licet. Cui etiara in sacra Biblia ad antiquae lectio nis dignitatem restituenda, civi lis ac diligens bibliothecae cultor, haud raediocrera operara praesti tit; exhibite ipsi Erasrae ve- tustissirao codicis exeraplari : unde et Bibliara ipsara multo nunc quara antea castigatiorem legiinus. At illud sane Coleti, praeter caetera, ad aeternam lau- dera, posteritati relictura, quod illustri in rem literariam patro- cinio, Britannicae juventuti eru- diendae, Londini scholara publi- cara raagnifico opere extruen- dara curaverit ; pia atque rauni- fica liberalitate erogatis in ean dem, priusquam obiret, araplis- simi patrimonii sui opibus ; quibus et praeceptores duos ho nestissimis stipendiis alerentur, et adelescentes ipsi gratuito sub iisdem praeceptoribus edo- cerentur. Atque hoc beneficio Britannia subinde delectissima semper juvenum indole politiori literatura preficientium ex hac schola prae caeteris nobilitata, fertilissima posteris ingenia os tendit. Fuit is annus quo Co letus, nondura senex, Christina matre adhuc superstite, obiit, Henrici et Francisci regum in Morinis ad Arderas colloquio Celebris. [Virorum aliquot in Britannia Elogia per Georg. Li lium. ed. 1559. 8vo]. THE LIFE OF " pubUcly and freely upon St. Paurs Epistles, to the " great admiration of his auditors. Henry VII. " caUed him from thence to the deanery of St. Paul's, " a preferment of great account in that kingdom ; " where he, by his exact and useful sermons, arrived " to the character of a raost excellent preacher. His " person was very graceful ; and there was some- " thing in his mien and carriage which did much " become him, and every thing he said and did. At " length, being weary of the world, he had designed " to have quitted his ecclesiastical preferments, and " to have retired to a good house of his own erecting " at Shene, where there was a monastery of the Car- " thusian monks ; distant from London not raore than " seven mUes, and on other accounts a very fit place " for this his pious design of sequestering hiraself from " the world : but having been seized by the sweating " sickness (a distemper pecuUar to that kingdom) " at two several tiraes before, he at last had it a " third tirae ; which carried him off, though not im- " mediately; for he soon after feU into a consumption, " proceeding from the reUcs of that distemper, of " which he in a short time died at London. He was " buried in his own church of St. Paul's, in a very " humble sepulchre, which he had contrived for him- " self in an obscure angle of the church some years " before, with the inscription of his name. But " though the good man despised aU funeral pomp " and ostentation, yet his friends were wUUng to " shew how rauch they valued hira, by erecting to " his raeraory a very elegant monument, with -his " effigies. He left not behind him any thing that is " pubUshed ; nor probably many manuscripts. But " by what appears in those epistles which he writ to Page 223. J:\l/.s:S'"_P///,-//, /¦/¦/'///,¦ />.i7>/.v Coleii.inB/'fi/.-FlM: Cantai^r. DR. JOHN COLET. " Erasmus, he was master of a pure Latin style ; " though chiefly in the laconic way. He did great " service to the world, in assisting Erasmus, when " engaged in restoring the pure text to the holy " Bible, helping him to a very ancient manuscript ; " by which raeans we have the same text much more " correct than it was before his time. But what re- " dounds most to his honour is, that in his lifetime " he laid out the whole income of his patrimony, in " founding a school at London, for the British youth, " to be instructed in good Uterature : and he having " settled Uberal stipends upon two masters, the " chUdren are instructed gratis under them : by " which means this school has flourished ; and is like " to produce very exceUent persons to aU succeeding " generations. Colet died before he arrived to old " age, and left his mother, Christiana, surviving ; in " that remarkable year of king Henry VIII.'s inter- " view with Francis, king of France, at Audry near « Guisnes." Thus far Geo. LUy^. As to his person ; he is described by Erasmus to be taU and coraely ^ ; upon which a late writer has given this note : " It appears from the picture of " his, which is in our pubhc Ubrary at Cambridge, " in a very choice manuscript s, most elaborately " done in his own house at Paul's. In the first page " whereof are these words, D. Joannis Coleti, de- ' See in the appendix a far- the expense ef dean Colet, from ther account of his work frora the manuscript of the New the MS. itself. Testament he lent to Erasmus : f — Accesserat his fortunae which , Erasmus says, was writ cemmodis corpus elegans et peregrinis notis ; and archbi- procerura. shop Parker, who gave it to that B Containing the two gospels library, adds with his own hand, of St. Matthew and St. Mark forte Saxonicis. before mentioned, copied out at 224 THE LIFE OF " cani S. Pauli, are writ over a young person in " priestly attire, having the beautifuUest face, in " my. opinion, that I ever beheld : and so far differ- " ing from that which is of him at St. Paul's school, " and his tomb, that I was fain to shew them both " to a judicious Umner, to know whether they were " drawn for the same person : who answered. Yes, " certainly. Whence I gathered, that he was very " fair, tUl his sweating sickness and consumption, and " perhaps chiefly his afflictions, changed his com- " plexion'^." The reader is here presented with an exact copy of it from the original. There is another curious picture of him, when a young raan, not un Uke to this, in the possession of Benedict Ithel, of Temple Dinsley in Hertfordshire, esquire. The best account of the remains of his body is thus given by Ant. a Wood : " Soon after his in- " terment, there was a coraely raonuraent set over " his grave, near to the Uttle one which he had set " up in his lifetirae, between the choir and south " side ; which monument remaining whole and en- " tire tUl 1666, was then consumed in the dreadful " conflagration that happened in the city of London. " His body, which was closed up in a leaden coffin of " six feet and two inches long, and of three feet and " two inches broad, was laid up and inclosed in the " wall, near to the place his monument was afterwards " put. In 1680, or thereabouts, when the waU was " taken down, the said coffin was discovered, (for " it lay in the said waU about two feet and a half " above the surface of the floor,) whereon was a " plate of lead fastened, with an inscription engraven " thereon, shewing the name of the person there de- '' Life of Colet, by Mr. Thomas Smith, 1662. DR. JOHN COLET. 225 " posited, his father's name, obit, benefaction, &c. " Some of the royal society, who out of curiosity " went to see it, did thrust a probe, or Uttle stick, " into a chink of the coffin ; which bringing out some " moisture wdth it, they found it of an ironish taste, " and fancied that the body felt soft and pappy like " brawn'." It appears his enemies had a design to have bmTied his bones ; but Providence prevented that piece of inhumanity, as Bale takes notice, who hved near his time, and doubtless had good authority for so saying''. His estate, or worldly circumstances, wUl best ap pear by his father Henry Colet's wUl: which I thought not unworthy of a place in the Appendix i, as also an original of his yearly income"-, that the reader might see how plentifuUy Providence had fur nished hira with the raeans of doing good. ^Vhat estate he had in London, he settled whoUy upon the endowment of his school of Paul's in his lifetime, by a deed or settleraent" ; though he drew it up first in the form of a wiU, in Latin, which being very nice, in minutely setting down his donation, I have given it a place in the Appendix. As to his other estates, in Buckinghamshire, Northamptonshire, Cambridge shire, Huntingdonshire, &c. though the demands of ' Athen. Oxen. vol. i. col. 12. pretended, was according to an ^ Hujus ex tumulo ejecissent ancient canon, which is and has atque incendissent praelati ca- been often put in practice : " If, daver, nisi aliud eis supervenis- after death, they shall be found set inexpectatum malum ; as to have been heretics, their bo- he hath it in his book De il- dies must be digged up, and lustr. Script, edit. 4to. 1548. their bones bumt." [Cone. Al- or, as he expresses it in his biense. canon. 52. p. 727.] folio edit, nisi aliunde a rege ' Number XIX. scilicet impeditum. ™ Number II. This way of proceeding, it is " Number III. 226 THE LIFE OF his charity and beneficence were very great, yet hav ing also such considerable preferments in the church, it appears by his last wUl that he died possessed of them. But whatever his possessions were, none could envy their having been in such good hands as his, by which they were whoUy expended in pubhc service, and for the good of the world. There seemed indeed to be something wanting that might com plete his school, viz. exhibitions for the raaintenance of sorae of the poorest of his scholars at the univer sity : but we have reason to wonder at his doing so rauch, rather than his not doing raore. However, what was at first wanting as to this matter, has since been very generously provided for by some worthy benefactors ; particularly by the lord and lady Campden ", Mr. Andrew, and the reverend Mr. Perry '', late lecturer at St. Peter's, CornhUl ; whose charitable bequests were rendered serviceable to our school by the reverend and leamed Dr. Gale, late dean of York : but above aU, we are not to pass by the good management of the revenue of the school by the worshipful company of raercers ; who have ° Lord viscount Campden Ralph Hicks, lord Campden, bought an impropriation ^ in sometime mercer in Cheapside, Northumberland, which cost gave certain exhibitions of lol. ']6ol. whereof one moiety is to a year, to such of the scholars be given towards the mainte- as went to Trinity college in nance ef an able preacher at Cambridge. [Ibid.] Hampstead, the other moiety p An estate was bought with to St. Paul's school in London, his legacy at Tenderell in Es- towards the maintenance of sex, which is expended in exhi- certain scholars in Trinity col- bitions for five poor scholars, lege in Cambridge. [Stow's formeriy 5/. each, but new only Survey of London.] four. Lady Campden, wife to sir » Viz. of Woodhorn on the seashore, north of Newcastle ; it was since the estate of Lord Widdrington ; now in the possession of A. Askew, M. D. who annually pays 1.50/. to the minister of Hampstead. This I had from his son Anthony Askew, M. D. in March 1757. North. Mo/timenttarh 10. COLET Dec S^ FmiM. DR. JOHN COLET. 227 always been able, by their improvement of it, to have a fund ready to supply the wants of then* more indigent scholars. What became of that smaU and raodest monu ment the good dean put up in his lifetime, we are at a loss to know. Possibly it was covered, or pulled down, when the mercers put up another, which they thought more worthy so great a man. His design in erecting that humble one in his Ufetime was, no doubt, to prevent any extravagance of this nature, and moreover to remind him of mortahty, as sir Thomas Moore, Dr. Donne, (one of his successors,) and others have done since. The goodly monument of dean Colet is preserved in sir WilUam Dugdale's History of St. Paul's Ca thedral ; and by the arms of the mercers set upon the top of it, it is plainly evident, that it was erected by that worshipful company ; but it was de stroyed in the dreadful fire, anno 1666. Underneath is the foUowing inscription : " Hic " est situs D. Joannes Coletus, hujus ecclesise de- " canus, theologus insignis : qui ad exeraplura S. " PauU, semper egit gratuitum evangeUc* doctrinae " praeconem, ac syncerae doctrinae perpetua vitae " synceritate respondit. Scholam Paulinam suo " sumptu solus et instituit, et annuo reditu dotavit. " Genus honestissimum Christi dotibus cohonestavit ; " praecipue sobrietate mira, ac pudicitia. Nunc " fruitur evangeUca margarita, cujus amore neglexit " omnia. Vixit annos 53. adrainistravit 16. obUt " anno 1519- " Morere mundo, ut vivas Deo." Over the raonuraent was the bust of Dr. Colet. Q 2 228 THE LIFE OF And in the middle of the monuraent, under the dean's bust, and over a prostrate skeleton, were the foUowing three Unes : J. C. Isthuc recidit gloria carnis. J. C. Morere mundo, ut vivas Deo. J. C. Love and live. At the bottora of the monument was the foUow ing inscription : " John Colet, D. D. dean of Paul's, and the only " founder of Paul's school ; who departed this hfe " 1519, the son of Henry Colet, knt. lord mayor of " the city of London, and free of the company and " fraternity of the mercers." The foUowing verses on dean Colet's tomb were, in grateful respect, coraposed by the eminent master of his school, WiUiam LUy. " In memoriara venerabUis viri Joannis Coleti, sacrae " theologiae doctoris, ad divura Paulum decani, et " scholae ibidem fundatoris, gratitudinis ergo, mo- " ni mentum, ogdastichon. " Inclyta Joannes Londini gloria gentis ; " Is tibi qui quondam, Paule, decanus erat ; " Qui toties magno resonabat pectore Christum, " Doctor, et interpres fidus Evangelii. " Qui mores hominum multum sermone diserto " Formabat, vitse sed probitate magis ; " Quique scholam struxit celebrem ; cognomine Jesu ; " Hac dormit tectus membra Coletus humo. " Floruit sub Henrico Septimo, et Henrico Octavo, " regibus. Obiit anno Dom. 1519. " Disce mori mundo ; vivere disce Deo." Under his Uvely pourtraicture are (aUuding to his DR. JOHN COLET. 229 comely personage reduced to dust and ashes) these words : Isthuc recidit gloria carnis. Love and live. The ruins of this monument are stUl to be seen under St. Paul's ; and the entire bust ; concerning which Mr. Strype says, that though it seeras to be stone, yet he had been told by an ingenious person, (Mr. Bagford,) it is nothing else but clay burnt and painted; a fine art known and practised in forraer times''. Mr. Weever, who first printed the epitaph, adds this remark upon it. " His monument is lately re- " vived by the company of the mystery of mercers ; " to whose charge he coramitted the oversight of St. " Paul's school, with lands worth an hundred and " twenty pounds, or better, of yearly value, for the " maintenance of a master, an usher, and a chaplain, " to teach and instruct one hundred fifty and three " poor men's children freely, without any reward : " and, as I am told, viis et modis, more coraes to the " schoolmaster at this day than the whole endow- " ment^" As to the remainders of his famUy, Mr. Smith in 1661 observed, that Mr. John Colet, then a student in the Temple, and his father, as also Mr, Nich. Ferrar, of Little Gidding in Huntingdonshire, (of whom there is honourable mention in Mr. George Herbert's Life,) were aU neai'ly related to our doctor ; and were aU three feUow-commoners in Clare-hall at Cambridge, dUigent frequenters of the chapel. 'i Life of Stew, p. 14. See ' Weever's Fun.Mon. p. 369. also Appendix, No. VIII. Q 3 330 THE LIFE OF Thomas Colet, a worthy patriot of the city of London, who dying 22d Sept. 1703, was buried in the church of St. Magnus, seems, by his arms, to have been of the same famUy. His epitaph you have in Le Neve's CoUection of Monumental Inscriptions. At Hale, near Wendover, where sir Henry Colet was bom, there are stUl descendants in a direct Une from Robert Colet, sir Henry's father ; to whom I am obUged for some original papers in the Appen dix \ We shall now conclude this history of one of the " Others I find ef the same name; but whether ofthe same faraily, I cannot say. Mr. Stow's Survey of London hath this epitaph in the church of St. Mary Magdalen, Milk- street. " Here lyeth the body " of Mistress Maiy Collet, wife " of Mr. John Collet, citizen " and Salter of London, who " deceased the 2 2d of Decem- " ber, 16 13, being aged thirty- " five years," &c. One of the name may not be here omitted, and with our magnificent dean (whora he seems to have set for his pat tern) deserves to be had in everlasting reraerabrance, x'iz. Mr. John Collet; who to the charity-school in the parish of S. Mary Overree, alias S. Sa viour in Southwark, has left in houses and lands 1 15^. per an num for ever ; as appears by an account of the present state of charity-schools in and about London, 1721. Another of the name too con siderable te be passed by, is Wil liam Collet, born at Over in Cambridgeshire : who was some time clerk te the keeper of the records in the Tower of Lon don ; but never master of that office, as Dr. Fuller raistakes in his book of Worthies ; giving a more true account of him in the following particulars—— " Be- " cause method is the mother of " memory, he so orderly di- " gested all records, that they " were to be feund in an in- " stant. He abominated their " course, who by water would " refresh a record to make it " useful for the present, and " useless for ever aifter. He de- " tested, under the pretence of " mending it, te practise with a " pen on any old writing ; pre- " serving it in the pure nature " thereof. Indeed master Sel- " den, and others, in their " works, have presented pos- " terity with a plentiful feast of " English rarities; but let me " say, that Collet raay be called " their caterer, who furnished " thera with provision en rea- " sonable rates. He died, to the " great grief of all antiquaries, "A.D. 1644." Q 4 DR. JOHN COLET. 231 greatest men of the age he lived in : whose inteUec tual accomplishments we need no other proof of, than the grief conceived at his death amongst aU leai-ned men, not only in his own country, but also abroad ; they looking upon him as the glory of our nation. But though both his leai'ning and piety were ob served to be above the pitch of those times ; yet that which made him renowned more than any thing, was his pubUc spirit. This is exceUently set forth in a dedication to him, by the elegant pen of Richard Pace, (when abroad about pubhc service,) worthy to be read in the Appendix, upon this as weU as other accounts. And if we look upon him as a church man, we shaU find him most indefatigably engaged for the good of souls ; preaching almost every day. To give more constant attendance at St. PaiU's ca thedral church, he was wiUing to quit one of the richest parochial churches in the kingdom, that of Stepney '. Yet he kept his Uving at Denyngton to the last '^. But there could be no other worldly mo tive for it, than to breathe a Uttle in that free air, and refresh himself sometiraes, after his immense labours in the city. And happy was that and every place where he came : his active soul would not suffer him to pass away any time without doing good, and emplojdng the utmost of his strength and wealth in his master's service; and this without the least ostentation or vanity ; for there was in his demeanour ' Walter Stone, LL. D. was ecclesia de Denyngton, vac. admitted to this vicarage, void per mortem Joannis Colet, ulti- by the resignation of Dr. Colet, mi ineumbentis. [E CoUectaneis 27 Sept. 1505. The. Tanner, S. T. D. cancel- " Sept. 26, 15 19, Robertus larii Norwicensis.] Cronker, S. T. B. institutus in THE LIFE OF the most unaffected simpUcity imaginable. And fur therraore, there was soraething so very taking in him, that though he had some raost implacable ene raies, (made such only by his teUing thera the tmth,) yet he always met with many powerful friends as were an overmatch for thera. And, what is raost to be admired, no person met with greater favour than he did from two successive princes, who were none of the mildest in their terapers, as the suiferings of other good men in their reigns sadly testify. From the whole it amply appears, that he was a \ very eminent forerunner of the reforraation : and we j glory in hihi as such ; as weU as for his being foun der of that faraous seminary of leaming, which has produced raany exceUent persons both in church and state, besides sorae that carried on those good and great designs, which the iniquity of the times he Uved in prevented his seeing accomplished. May God, who has long watered with his blessing what he so seasonably'' planted, raake it stUl answer the ^ The foundation ef this " Hence it was, that some school was in some respects no " hundreds were compelled to less seasonable than the schools " go te the same school ; where erected at London in the reign " (te use the words of the re ef Hen. VI. whereof we have " cords) the masters waxen the following account in an " rich in money, and learners History of the Church of Great " poor in cunning. 'Whereupon Britain, published by G. G. " this grievance was coraplained 1675. (4to.) p. 129. " of by four erainent ministers " 143 I. — Great at this tirae " in London, viz. Mr. William " was the want of grammar- " Lichfield, parson of Alhal- " schools, and the abuse of " lows the Great ; Mr. Gilbert " them that were even in Lon- " [Worthington], parson of St. " don itself ; it being penal for " Andrew's,Holbern;Mr.John " any (to prevent the growth " Cote, parson of St. Peter's, " of Wicklivism) to put their "Cornhill; Mr. John Neele, " children te private teachers. " master of the house of St. DR. JOHN COLET. noble ends of its founder ; and tUl time shaU be no raore, continue the happy advantages it affords, not only to the great city where it is placed, but to the whole nation; and in a word, to the whole world. " Thomas Acre's, and parson of " Canterbury, to erect five " Colchirch. To these it was " schools, (Neele having a dou- " granted by the advice ef the " ble licence for two places,) in " ordinary, or archbishop of " their respective parishes." AN APPENDIX; CONTAINING I. A COPY OF DR. COLET'S CONVOCATION SERMON, Taken from the Latin original, printed anno 1511. II. AN OLD ENGLISH TRANSLATION OF THE AFORE SAID SERMON. HI. SEVERAL EPISTLES, WRITTEN BY THE SAME AUTHOR. IV. A COLLECTION OF MISCELLANIES RELATING TO THE FOREGOING HISTORY. ORATIO HABITA A DOCTORE JOANNE COLET, DECANO SANCTI PAULI, AD CLERUM IN CONVOCATIONE, ANNO 1511. ORATIO AD CLERUM IN CONVOCATIONE. v.'ONVENISTIS, hodie, patres et viri sapientissimi, in- ituri concihum. In quo quidnam acturi sitis, quasque res tractaturi, nondum intelligimus ; optamus autem, ut ah- quando memores et nominis et professionis vestrae, cogitetis de reformatione rei ecclesiasticae : nam nunquam fuit magis necesse ; nec status ecclesiae vestra studia magis unquam de- sideravit. Est enim sponsa Christi ecclesia, quam voluit iUe sine macula et sine ruga esse, facta turpis et deformis ; ut Esaias loquitur, Civitas fidelis facta est meretrix; et ut Hieremias ait, Fornicata est cum amatoribus multis : unde concepit multa semina iniquitatis, et parit fructus quotidie turpissimos. Quamobrem hue access! hodie, patres, admo- nendi vestri gratia, ut de reformatione ecclesiae in isto vestro concilio toto animo cogitetis. Accessi autem non meo qui dem sponte profecto ; nam agnoscebam indignitatem meam, et videbam etiam quam esset arduum tantorum virorum ex- actissimo judicio satisfacere. Judicabam enim omnino in- dignum, et ineptum, ac prope arrogans, ut ego servus admo- neam vos dominos meos, ego filius doceam vos patres meos ; magis vero hoc convenisset aGcui uni ex patribus, id est, ex vobis praelatis, qui id et authoritate graviore, et sapientia ma jore fecisset. Veruntamen obediendum fuit mandato reveren- dissimi patris et domini nostri archiepiscopi, praesidis hujus concilii, qui hoc onus mihi certe grave imposuit ; quando- quidem legimus Samuelem prophetam dixisse, meliorem esse obedientiam, quam victimam. Quapropter, patres et viri praestantissimi, vos oro, obtestorque, ut hoc die imbecilli- tatem meam bonitate et patientia vestra sustineatis ; deinde. 240 ORATIO AD CLERUM ut me in principio juvetis piis orationibus vestris; atque ante omnia, fundamus preces nostras ad Deum Patrem omnipotentem. Inprimis in oratione nostra memores S. D. nostri papae, et omnium pastorum spirituahum, cum toto populo Christiano : memores deinde reverendissimi pa tris et domini nostri archiepiscopi, praesidis hujus concilii, et omnium dominorum episcoporum, ac totius cleri et totius populi Anglicani : memores postremo hujus congregationis vestrae et conventus; rogantes Deum, ut inspiret animos vestros sic unanimiter convenire, ad talem videhcet ecclesia? utilitatem et fructum, ut peracto conciho, non frustra et sine causa congregati fuisse videamur. Universi dicamus. Pater noster, &c. Exhortaturus vos, reverend! patres, ad studium refor- mandi ecclesiastici status, propterea quod nihil tam deforma- vit faciem ecclesiae quam in clericis et sacerdotibus ratio vivendi secularis et mundana; nescio unde convenientius sumam exordium sermonis mei, quam ab apostolo Paulo, in cujus jam templo congregamini. Is enim scribens ad ; Romanes, et in persona illorum ad vos dicit, Nolite con- formari huic seculo; sed reforma/mini, in novitate sensus vestri, ut probetis quce sit voluntas Dei bona, beneplacens, et perfectae Haec scripsit apostolus ad omnes Christianos ; maxime autem ad sacerdotes et episcopos : sunt enim sacer dotes et episcopi lumina mundi. Nam ilhs dixit Salvator, Fb* estis lux mundi; et idem ait. Si lumen quod in te est \ tenebrcE sint, ipsce tenebrce quantce erunt? Hoc est, si sacer dotes et episcopi, ipsa lumina, currant in via seculi tene- brosa, quam erit tunc tenebrosus ipse populus secularis .'' Quare maxime sacerdotibus et episcopis. dicit Paulus, Nolite conformari huic seculo, sed reformamini. Quibus verbis duo facit apostolus; primum, prohibet ne seculo conforme- mur, et efficiamur carnales ; deinde jubet, ut reformemur in Dei splritum, quo simus spirituales. Ego vero hunc ordi nem sequens, primum dicam de coi formatione, deinde de reformatione: Nolite, inquit, conformaii huic seculo. Secu lum vero appellat apostolus rationem et modum vivendi se- " Rom. xii. 2. IN CONVOCATIONE. 241 cularem; quae maxime in quatuor malis hujus mundi con- sistit, viz. in diabolica superbia, in carnali concupiscentia, in mundana avaritia, in negotiatione seculari. Hcec in, mundo sunt, teste Johanne apostolo, in Epistola sua' ca^ nonica : inquit enim ; Omne quod est in mundo, aut est con cupiscentia carnis, aut concupiscentia oculorum, aut su perbia vitce. Haec eadem modo sunt: et regnant in ec clesia, et in ecclesiasticis hominibus, ut videamur vere posse dicere ; omne quod est in ecclesia, aut est concu piscentia carnis, aut oculorum, aut superbia vitce. Inpri mis, (ut de superbia vita loquar,) Quanta sit his diebus in hominibus ecclesiasticis aviditas et appetitus honoris et dignitatis ; quam anhelans cursus a beneficio ad beneficium, a minore ad majus, ab humiliori ad altius, quis est qui non videt ? Quis autem videns non doleat .'' Praeterea in ipsis dignitatibus qui sunt, plerique eorum incedunt vultu adeo erecto, et oculis tam subUmibus, ut non in humili praesulatu Christi, sed in alto dominatu mundi positi esse videantur, non agnoscentes, nec animadvertentes, quidnam magister humilitatis, Christus, dixerat discipulis suis, quos vocavit ad praesulatum : Principes gentium, inquit, dominantur eorum; et qui major es sunt, potestatem habent : vobis autem non sic ; sed qui est major inter vos, sit ille minister; qui primus, sit omnium servus: venit enim Filius hominis, non ministrari, sed ministrare. Quibus verbis docet plane Salvator, mafflste- rium in ecclesia nihil_aliud esse quam ministerium ; et pri matum In ecclesiastico homine nihil esse aliud quam humilem servitutem. Secundum autem malum seculare, quas concu piscentia carnalis est ; nonne hoc vitium ita inundavit ec clesiam quasi flumine voluptatis sase, ut nihil studiosius quaeratur in hoc confusi^simo tempore a maxima parte sacer dotum, quam quod sensum oblectet, sensuique placeat. Conviviis et epulationibus se dedunt, in vanas confabu- lationes se efFundunt, se ludis et jocis tradunt, se aucupiis et venationibus accommodant, in deliciis hujus seculi se im- mergunt, conquisitores et inventores voluptatum in pretio habent. In quod genus hominum exclamat Judas apostolus 242 ORATIO AD CLERUM in Epistola sua canonica, dicens ; Vcs illis, qui in viam Cain abierunt. Hi sunt in epulis stds, macules convivantes, sine timore sibimetipsis placentes ; fiuctus fieri maris de- spumantes suas confusiones; quibus procella tenebrarum I reservata est in ceternum. Avaritia autem, quod tertnyn seculare malum est; quod Joannes apostolus appeUat con- cupiscentidm Oculorum, Paulus vocat idololatriam : hasc te- terrima pestis ita invasit animos fere omnium sacerdotum, et ita mentis oculos excaecavit, ut ad omnia jam caeci simus, nisi ad ea solum quae videntur nobis lucra afferre posse. Nam in his diebus quid aliud quaerimus in ecclesia quam pinguia beneficia, et promotiones ; in ipsis deinde promotionibus quid aliud numeramus quam fructus et proventus.? Ad quos inflammamur tanta aviditate; ut quot ac quas onera, ac quam magna sacerdotia suscipimus, dummodo magnos habeant reditus, non curemus. O avaritia, certe te Paulus appellavit omnium malorum radicem. Ex te enim est bene- ficiorum aliorum supra alia accumulatio : ex te, ex multis resignatis beneficiis tam magnae assignatae pensiones : ex te certamina de decimis, de oblatis, de mortuariis, de dilapida- tionibus, jure et titulo ecclesias ; pro quibus non minus quam pro ipsa vita nostra digladiamur. 0 avaritia, ex te onerosae vi- sitationes episcoporum; ex te corruptiones curiarum, et inven- tiones istae quotidie novas, quibus miser populus devexatur ; ex te procacitas et petulantia officialium. 0 avaritia, mater omnis iniquitatis ; ex te in ordinariis istud ardens studium amplificandae suas jurisdictionis : ex te in ordinariis ista in- ) I'^sana et rabiosa contentio cle insinuatione testamen torum/ ex ] te intempestivae sequestrationes fructuum : ex te ista super stitiosa observatio legum earum omnium, quae lucrosae sunt; posthabitis et neglectis eis quae ad emendationem morum spectant. Quid num erem reliqua.? Ut summatim dicam, ut uno verbo concludam ; omnis corruptela, omnis ecclesias ru- ina, omnia mundi scandala sunt ex avaritia sacerdotum, se cundum illud Pauli, quod repeto iterum, et inciiico in aures vestras ; Rad'i.v omnium malorum^ ciipiditas. Quartum au* tem seculare malum quod deformaf faciem ecclesiae, et msjf- IN CONVOCATIONE. 243 culat, est assidua occupatio secularis, in qua se implicant multi sacerdotes et episcopi his diebus ; servi magis homi num quam Dei, milites hujus mundi magis quam Christi : nam apostolus Paulus scribit ad Timotheum ; Nemo mili- ftans Deo implicat se negotiis secularibus. ^ilites autem \Dei sacerdotes sunt): militia vero eorum non est carnalis, sed spirituahs : nam mihtia nostra est orare, legere, et me- ditari scripturas, ministrare verbum Dei, ministrare sacra menta salutis, sacrificare pro populo, et pro peccatis eorum hostias offerre. Sumus enim sequestri et medii ad Deum pro hominibus ; quod testatur Paulus, ad Hebraeos scribens : Omnis, inquit, pontifex ex hominibus assumptus pro ho minibus constituitur in his quce sunt ad Deum, ut offerat dona et sacrificia pro peccatis. Unde apostoh, illi primi sa cerdotes et episcopi, tam abhorruerunt ab omni attrectatione rerum secularium, ut ne necessarium quidem victum egen ti bus ministrare voluerint, tametsi id magnum sit opus pie tatis ; sed dixerunt : Non est cequum nobis relinquere ver bum Dei et ministrare mensis; nos autem orationi et mini sterio verbi Dei instantes erimus. Et ad Corinthios clamat Paulus; Si secularia negotia habueritis, conternptibili- fiixs qui sunt in ecclesia vos constituite ad judicandum. Profecto ex ista secularitate, et quod clerici et sacerdotes, omissis splrltuahbus, se involvunt occupatlonibus terrenls, multa mala sequuntur. Primum, dehonestatur dignitas sa- cerdotalls, quK est major quam aut regia aut Imperatorla ; est enim aequalis angelicas. At hujus emlnentlae splendor ob- scuratur caliglne, quando sacerdotes versantur in terrenls, quorum conversatio debet esse in coslis. Secundo, sacer- dotlum contemnltur, quando nihil interest inter tales sacer dotes et laicos, sed (secundum Ozee prophetiam) sicut popu- jlus, ita est sacerdos. Tertio, pulcher ordo hierarchicus In ec-\i ^ clesia confundltur, quando summi In ecclesia tractant villa et tefrena, et loco eorum vlles et abjectae personae exercent sum ma et coelestla. Quarto, populus ipse laicus scandalizatur, et in rulnam Impellitur, quando quorum officium est trahere homines ab hoc mundo, hi asslduitate sua in seculo decent homines amare hunc mundum ; et ex amore mundi In ge- R 2 244 ORATIO AD CLERUM hennam praeclpltantur. Praeterea in ipsis sacerdotibus sic Intrlcatis sequitur necessario hypocrlsis ; nam commlxti con- fuslque cum laicis, sub veste et habitu sacerdotali ducunt vitam plane laicalem. Item infirmltas spirituahs, et quidam servilis tlmor, quin enervati aquis hujus mundi nihil aude- ant nec facere, nec dicere, nisi ea quae noverint suis prin cipibus grata et placentia. Postremo, ignorantia et csecitas, quando obcascatl tenebris hujus seculi, nihil vident nisi ter- rena. Quare non sine causa Salvator noster Christus admo nuit praelatos ecclesiae suae ; Attcndite, Inquit, ne graventur corda vestra crapula et cbrietate, et curis hujus seaili: curis, inquit, hujus seculi ; quibus aggravata corda sacer dotum ad alta se attollere, et ad coelestla se elevare non pos sunt. Multa sunt prasterea alia quas sequuntur mala ex se cularitate sacerdotum, quae longum esset enumerare ; sed facio finem. Haec sunt ilia quatuor mala quae dlxl, O patres, O sacerdotes, quibus conformamur huic seculo, quibus de- formatur facies ecclesiae, quibus ejus status destrultur; sane plusquam, aut olim in principio, ilia persecutlone tyrannica, aut deinde post invaslone quas secuta est heretica. Nam in persecutlone tyrannorum devexata ecclesia, facta fuit fortior et lUustrior ; in invaslone haereticorum agitata ecclesia, facta fuit sapientlor, et sacrarum literarum peritior: at Ista ini- quisslma secularitate Introducta, posteaquam irrepserit in ec- cleslastlcos homines ratio vivendi secularis, radix omnis spi ritualis vitae, ipsa charitas extlncta est : qua sublata, nec sa piens nec fortis in Deo ecclesia esse potest. In hoc quoque, tempore etiam magnam sentlmus contradlctionem a laicis: sed illi non tam adversantur nobis quam nos ipsi : nec con- tradlctio eorum tam nos laedit quam contradlctlo malae vitae nostrae, quae contradicit Deo et Christo: nam iUe Inquit; Qui non est mecum, contra me est. Infestamur etiam hoc tempore ab haereticis hominibus, mira stukltia insanlentlbus ; sed ilia haeresis eorum non tam est pestifera et perniciosa nobis et populo, quam mala et dcpravata vita sacerdotum ; qu£E, si credamus divino Bernardo, est quaedam species hasresis, et omnium maxima et pcriilciosissima. Nam prse- diciins sanctus ille pater in quadam convocatione ad sacer- IN CONVOCATIONE. 245 dotes sui temporis, in quodam sermone ita inquit, his verbis : " Multi sunt Catholici loquendo et praedicando, qui lldem " sunt haeretici operando ; nam quod haeretici faciunt pravis " dogmatibus, hoc faciunt illi malls exemplis; seducunt popu- " lum, et Inducunt in errorem vitae ; et tanto gravlores sunt " hasreticis, quanto prasvalent opera verbis.'" Haec Bernardus, ille sanctus pater, magno et ardenti spiritu, in sectam ma lorum sacerdotum sui temporis: quibus verbis significat plane duplicem esse hasreticam pravitatem ; unam perversae doctrinae, et alteram perversae vitae ; quarum posterior haec est pejor, et pernlcloslor, quae regnat in ecclesia, ad miserum ecclesiae interitum, sacerdotibus non sacerdotallter sed secu- lariter viventibus. Quare vos patres, vos sacerdotes, vos omnes clerici, experglsclmlnl aliquando, et exurgite ex isto vestro somno in hoc mundo letharglco ; et evlgllantes, tan dem audite Paulum clamantem vobis; Nolite corformari huic seculo. Et haec de prima parte. Nunc veniamus ad secundam. Secunda pars, de reformatione. Sed reformamini in novitate sensus vestri. Secundum autem quod jubet Paulus est, ut reformemur in novum sensum; ut sapiamus ea quae sunt Dei, reformemur ad ea quas sunt hlis quae modo dlxl contraria ; videlicet, ad humili tatem, ad sobrietatem, ad charitatem, ad occupationes spi rituales; ut quemadmodum scribit idem Paulus ad Titum, Abnegantes impietatem et secularia desideria, sobrie, et juste, etpie vivamus in hoc seculo. Haec autem reformatio et re- stauratio ecclesiastici status, oportet, Inclplat a vobis patribus nostris ; et sic deinceps in nos sacerdotes vestros, et in totum clerum derivetur. Vos enim estis capita nostra. Vos estis exemplar vivendi nobis. Ad vos spectamus tanquam ad slgna directionis nostrae. In vobis et in vita vestra, cupimus legere tanquam in vivis libris, quonam pacto ipsi vivamus. Quare si volueritis videre festucas nostras, prius toUlte trabes de oculis vestris. Est autem antiquum proverblum, Medice, cura teipsum. Vos medici spirituales, primum de- gustate vos istud pharmacum expurgatlonis morum, et de inde idem nobis degustandum propinetis. Via autem qua r3 246 ORATIO AD CLERUM. reformetur ecclesia, et in meliorem formam restituatur, non est quidem condere novas leges, (sunt enim leges satis mul ta et numerosas,) ut ait Salomon, Nihil est novum sub sole. Nam morbi qui nunc sunt in ecclesia, antea in praeteritis se- cuhs fuerunt. Et nullum est erratum cui patres optima re- / media non providerunt. Nullae sunt transgressiones quarum in corpore juris canonici non extant leges cohibitnces. Non est opus ergo ut condantur novae leges et constitutiones; sed ut serventur condltae. Quare in ista vestra congre- gatlone vocentur in medium, et recitentur leges qua sunt edltas ; quae prohibent mala, quaeque bona praecipiunt. Im primis recitentur leges illae quae admonent vos, patres, ne manus vestras cito alicui Imponatls, admlttatisve ad sacros ordines. Nam illic fons malorum est ; quod apertajanua sa crorum ordinum, omnes qui se offerunt, passim sine repulsa admittuntur. Hinc scaturit et emanat ista turba quas est in ecclesia, et Indoctorum et malorum sacerdotum. Non enim, meo judicio, satis est sacerdoti constructio coUectae, propo- sitlo quKstlunculas, responsio ad sophisma ; sed multo magis bona et pura et sancta vita, probati mores, medlocris doc trina scripturarum, aliqua cognitio sacramentorum; ante omnia tlmor Del, et amor vitae ccelestis. /'Recitentur leges quae jubent ut beneficia ecclesiastica dignls conferantur, et promotiones fiant In ecclesia recto examine virtutis ; non af- fectlone carnall, non acceptatlone personarum ; quo fit his diebus, ut pueri pro senlbus, stulti pro sapientibus, mall pro bonis regant et dominentur. Recitentur leges quffi militant contra symoniacam labem ; qua lues, quas contagio, quse dira pestis, late serplt modo, ut cancer, per animos sacer dotum ; ut non vereantur plerique his diebus precibus et obsequiis, praemiis, pollicltatlonlbus, comparare sibi magnas dignitates., Recitentur leges quas jubent personalem residen tiam curatorum in ecclesiis suis: nam ex hoc multa mala nascuntur, quod omnia hils diebus in ecclesia fiunt per ope ram vicariam, et homines substitutos ; et eos quoque inep- tos, et Inidoneos, ac sape iniquos, qui nihil aliud in plebe nisi sordldum lucrum quaerunt; undo scandala, unde has- rescs, unde in populo mala Christianitas. Recitentur leges IN CONVOCATIONE. 247 et sanctae regulae traditas a patribus de vita et honestate cle ricorum ; quae prohibent ne clericus sit mercator, ne sit fce- nerator, ne sit venator, ne sit publicus lusor, ne sit arma gerens; leges quae prohibent clericis frequentare tabernas, suspectas habere famlllarltates cum mullerculls ; leges quae jubent sobrietatem ef; modestiam in vestibus, et in corporis cultu temperantiain. Recitentur etiam istis dominis monachis et religiosis leges, quas jubent, ut via larga seculi rellcta, in- cedant arcta via, quae duclt ad vitam ; quae jubent, ut non inslstant negotiis, nec secularibus, nec ecclesiasticis ; quae jubent, ut non htigent in curiis principum pro rebus ter renls. Nam in Calclden. concilio est ; monachos se debere tradere duntaxat orationi et jejunlo, et castlgationl suae carnis, et observatlonl disciplinas suas monasticae. Ante om nia vero recitentur leges quae pertinent et spectant ad vos, reverendos patres et dominos episcopos. Leges de justa et canonica electione vestra, in capitulis ecclesiarum, cum in- vocatione divini Spiritus : nam propterea quod hoc non fit his diebus, et quia saepe eliguntur praelati magis favoribus hominum, quam gratia Dei : idcirco habemus certe nonnun quam episcopos parum spirituales, homines magis mundanos quam coelestes, saplentes magis splritum hujus mundi quam splritum Christi. Recitentur leges de resldentla episcoporum in dicecesibus suis ; quas jubent ut Intendant animarum sa^ luti, ut verbum Dei seminent, ut in suis ecclesiis, saltem magnis diebus festis, appareant, ut sacrificent pro populo suo, ut causas pauperum audiant, ut orphanos puplUos, et vlduas sustineant, ut semper in operlbus pietatis se exerce- ant. /Tlecitentur leges de patrimonio Christi bene distribu- endo ; leges quae jubent ut bona ecclesiae exponantur, non , in sumptuosis aedlficlls, non in apparatlbus et pompls, non in conviviis et commessatlonlbus, non in luxu et lasclvia, non in dltandls consanguinels, non in alendls canlbus, sed in rebus ecclesiae utilibus et necessariis : nam Interroganti Au- gustino, Anglorum episcopo, quomodo episcopi et praslati Angliae exponent bona sua quas sunt fidelium oblationes, re spondit papa Gregorius, (et ejus responsio ponltur in Decret. cap. xii. q. secunda,) Bona videlicet episcoporum in quatuor 11 4 248 ORATIO AD CLERUM partes divldl oportere ; quarum una pars episcopo et fa- mlllEe, altera clericis suis, tertia reparandis aedlficlls, quarta pauperibus debeatur. Recitentur leges, et iterum atque Iterum recitentur leges illae, qua tollunt sordes et spurcitias curiarum, quae amputant istas artes quotidie novas Inveni- endi lucri ; quas conantur extirpare ef eradlcare istam tetram avarltiam, quae est orlgo et causa omnis mall, quas est fons totius iniquitatis. Renoventur postremo Ulae leges et con stitutiones patrum de celebratione conciliorum ; quae jubent, ut provlncialla concilia frequentius pro reformatione ecclesiae celebrentur : nam nunquam accidit ecclesiae Christi res ma gis detrlmentosa quam omisslo conciliorum, tum generaliuin, tum provincialium. Hils legibus et hujusmodi aliis recltatis quae ad rem pertinent, quaeque ad correctionem morum spectant ; superest ut easdem cum omni authoritate et im perio mandentur executlonl, ut habentes legem aliquando secundum legem vivamus. Qua quidem in re vos potissi mum, debita cum reverentia, patres appeUo. Nam ista le gum executio, et observatio constltutlonum a vobis inclplat oportet, ut vivis exemplis doceatls nos sacerdotes vos Imitari. Alioquin certe dicetur de vobis : Imponunt onera gravia htt- meris aliorum ; ipsi autem ne digifo quidem suo volunt ea movere. Vos autem, si servaverltis leges, sique<^d normain , et regulam canonum vitam vestram imprimis reformaveritis; I tunc dabitis nobis lumen, in quo quid nobis faciendum sit videamus ; lumen videlicet qptlml exempli vestiij nos- que vldentes patres nostros servare leges, libenter patrissa- blmus, id est, vestigia patrum nostrorum sequemur. Refor- mata autem parte clerlcall et sacerdotali in ecclesia, possumus tunc justo ordine procedere ad reformationem partis laicalis. Quod quidem facllllmum erit factu, si prius nos refonnati fuerimus : nam corpus sequitur animam, et quales in civitate rectores, tales Inhabitantes in ea. Quapropter si sacerdotes ipsi, animarum rectores, fuerint boni, statim populus se- quetur bonus. Bonitas enim nostra docebit eos uf boni sint, clarlus quam omnes alias doctrinae et priedicationes : bonitas nostra coget eos in viam rectam, efficncius certe quam omnes vcstnc suspensioncs et cxccnnmunicationes. IN CONVOCATIONE. 249 Quamobrem si voletls laicos vivere pro voto et voluntate vestra, vos ipsi prius vivite pro voluntate Dei : atque ita (mihi credite) quod volueritis, in els facile assequemlni. Vos vultls obedientiam ab eis. Et justum est; nam in Epistola ad Hebr. sunt verba Pauli adjalcos: Obedite, inquit, prae- positis vestris, et subjacete eis. Sed si volueritis istam obe-_ dientlam, perficite prius in vobis rationem et causam obedl- entlae, quam tradit idem Paulus ; et sequitur in textu : hoc est ; Pervigilate, rationem reddituri de animabus eorum, et obedient vobis. Vos vultls honorem a populo : justum est. Nam scribit Paulus ad Timotheum ; Qui bene prcesunt presbyteri, duplici honore digni sunt; maxime qui labor ant verbo et doctrina. Cupientes ergo honorem, bene praeside- atls prius, et laboretis in verbo et doctrina ; et tum vos po pulus omni honore prosequetur. Vos vultls metere carnalia eorum, et colligere decimas et olilationes sine relucfatione. Justum est : nam dicit Paulus ad Romanos scribens : Debi- tores sunt, et debent in carnalibus ministrare vobis. Sed volentes metere carnaha eorum, prius semlnate vos spiritu alia vestra ; et tunc abunde carnalia eorum metetls. Nam durus est ille homo et Injustus, qui vult metere ubi non se- minaverit, et colligere ubi non disperserit. ¦ Vos vultls liber tatem ecclesiasticam, et non trahl ad judicia secularia. Et hoc quoque justum est : nam in Psal. est ; Nolite tangere Christos meos. Sed cupientes istam hbertatem, solvite vos prius a servltute mundana et ab obsequiis hominum ; et ven- dicate vos in veram libertatem Christi, spiritualem liberta^ tem in gratia a peccatis ; et servlte Deo, et regnate in ipso : et tunc (credatis mihi) populus non tanget Christos Domini Dei sui. Vos vultls securitatem, quietem, et pacem. Et hoc decet. Sed volentes pacem, redeatis ad Deum pacis et di lectionis ; redeatis ad Christum, in quo est vera pax Spiri tus, quaj exuperat omnem sensum ; redeatis ad vos, et ad veram vitam sacerdotalem. Atque postremo, quod jubet Paulus, Refiormemini in novitatem sensus vestri, ut sapiatis ea quae sunt Dei; et pax Dei erit vobiscum. Haec sunt, reverendi patres, vosque viri prasclari, quae de reformatione ecclesiastici ordinis dlcenda putavi. Ea, spero, 250 ORATIO AD CLERUM. pro vestra humanitate, in bonam partem accipietis. Quod sicubi forte in sermone hoc modum excesslsse videar; si- quid intemperantius dixisse ; Ignoscite mihi : et date veniam homini ex zelo loquentl; homini dolenti rulnam ecclesiae: et praetermlssls meis Ineptlis, considerate rem ipsam. Con siderate miseram ecclesiae formam et statum : et in ejus reformatione totis animis incumbite. Nohte, patres, nohte slnere istum vestrum tam celebrem conventum abire in va- num. Nohte pati istam vestram congregatlonem elabl in nihllum. Congregamini quidem saepe. Sed (ut vestra pace, quod verum est, dicam) non video, quis adhuc fructus, pras- sertlm ecclesiae, ex istiusmodi conventibus sit consecutus. Ite modo in Spiritu quem Invocastis, ut ejus auxiho adjutl, in isto vestro concilio possitls ea excogitare, statuere, de- cernere ; quas sint ecclesiae utiha ; quae vobis laudl, quae Deo honori : cui sit omnis honor et gloria in secula secu- lorum. Amen. THE SERMON OF DR. COLETE, MADE TO THE CONVOCATION AT PAULIS. JL E are come to gether ^ to daye, fathers and ryghte wyse men to entre counceU : in the whiche, what ye wyll do, and what matters ye wyll handell, yet we understande nat. But we wysshe, that ones remembring your name and profession, ye wold mynde the reformation of the churches matter. For hit was neuer more nede. And the state of the churche dyd neuer desyre more youre endeuours. For the spouse of Christe, the churche, whom ye wolde shulde be without spotte or wryncle, is made foule and euyl fauored, as saith Esaias : The fiaithfull cite is made an harlotte : and as saythe Hieremias : She hath dcme lechery with many louers : wherby she hath concerned manye sedes of wyckednes, and dayly bryngethe forthe very foule frute. Wherfore I came hyther to day fathers, to warne you, that of this your coun cel], with all your mynde, ye thynke upon the reformation of the churche. But for sothe I came nat wyllyngly : for I knewe myne unworthynes. I sawe besyde, how harde it was to please the precise iugement of so many men. For I iuged it vtterly vnworthy and vnmete, ye and almost to mal apert, that I a seruant, shulde counsayle my lordes ; that I a sonne, shulde teache you my fathers. Truely it had bene meter for some one of the fathers, that is to say, you pre- ° A more modern translation of l2mo. witli others of Dr. Howard, this Sermon by T. Smith, B. D. of &c. and notes on it and Erasmus's Cambridge, was priuted thei-e 1661, Life of Colet. Gough. 252 DR. COLET'S SERMON lates myght haue done it with more graue auctorite, and greatter wysedome. But the commaundement was to be obeyed of the most reuerent father and lorde, the archebys- shoppe, presydent of this councell, whiche layde vpon me this bourden, truly to heuy for me. We rede, that the pro- phette Samuell sayd : Obedience is better than sacrifice. Wherfore fathers and ryghte worthy men, I pray you, and beseche you, that this day ye wold susteyne my weakenes with your goodnes and paclence. Farthermore to help me at the begynnynge with your good prayers. And before all thynge let us pray unto God the Father allmyghty. Fyrste remembrynge our most holye father the pape, and all spi ritual pastours, with all Christen people, farthermore the moost reverent father and lorde, the archeblshoppe presi dent of this councell, and al blsshops, and all the clergie, and all the people of Englande : remembrynge fynally this youre congregation, desyrynge God to inspire your myndes so accordyngly to agre, to suche profyt and frute of the churche that ye seme nat after the councell fynysshed to have been gethered to gether in vayne and without cause. Lette us all saye Pater noster. To exhorte you reuerent fathers to the endevour of re formation of the churches estate : because that nothynge hath so disfigured the face of the churche, as hath the fa- cion of secular and worldly lyuynge in clerkes and pristes : I knowe nat where more conueniently to take begynnyng of my tale, than of the apostle Paule, in whose temple ye are gathered to gether. For he writynge unto the Romanes, and vnder their name vnto you saith : Be you not conformed to this worlde : but be you reformed in the newnes qf youre under standynge, that ye may prove what is the good zvyll of God well pleasing and perfiecte. This dyd the apostle wryte to all Christen men, but most chiefly unto pristes and bys- shops. Pristes and bishops are the light of the worlde. For vnto them sayde our Saulour : You are the lyghte qfthe worlde'''. And he sayde also : If the lyghte that is in tlie be ' Sir Thomas More, in his book of Sennon. " As I herde onys mayster Dialogues, fol. 83, speaks thus of this " Colett the good deane of Powlys TO THE CONVOCATION. 253 darkenes, howe darke shall the darkenes be ? That is to say, if pristes and bysshops, that shulde be as lyghtes, ronne in the darke way of the world, howe darke than shall the secular people be ? Wherfore saynt Paul sayde chiefly unto pristes and bysshops : Be you nat conformable to this world, but be ye reformed. In the whiche wordes the apostle dothe two thinges. Fyrst he doth forbyd that we be nat con formable to the worlde and be made carnall. Farthermore he doth command that we be reformed in the spyryte of God, where by we are spirituaU. I entendynge to followe this or der, I wyl speke first of conformation, than after of reform ation. Be you nat, sayth he, conformable to this worlde. The apostle calleth the worlde, the wayes and maner of secular lyuyng : the whiche chiefly doth reste in foure euylles of this worlde : that is to say in dluilysh pride, in carnall concupi scence, in worldly couetousnes, in secular busynes : these are in the worlde, as saynt John the apostle witnesseth in his pistell canonicall. For he saythe ; All thynge that is in the worlde, is either the concupiscence qfthe fiesshe, or the concupiscence qfthe eies, orpryde (fly fie. The same are nowe and reygne in the churche, and in men of the churche, that we may seme truely to say, all thyng that is In the churche, is ei ther concupiscence of fleshe, or eies, or pryde of life. And fyrste for to speake of pryde of lyfe, howe moche gredynes and appetite of honour and dignitie is nowe a dayes in men of the churche .? Howe ronne they, ye almost out of brethe from one benefice to an other : from the lesse to the more, from the lower to the hygher .? who seethe nat this 1 who seynge this sorowethe nat .'' More over these that are in the same dignities the moost parte of them doth go with so stately a countenance and with so hyghe lokes, that they seme nat to be put in the humble bysshoprike of Christ, " preche. He sayde that yt can be " must nedys waxe unsavery. And " none other, but that we muste ever " he saythe that they be the lyght of " be one degree under the clergye. " the world. Add then yf the lyght " For surely as he sayd yt can be no " sayth he be darkned, how dark " lye that our Savyoure saythe hym- " then wyl tbe darknes be, that ys to " selfe, whyche saythe of them, that " wytte all the worldbesyde, whereof " they be the salt of the crthe. And "he called the clergye onely the " yf the salt ouys apalle, the worlde "lyghte." North. 254 DR. COLET'S SERMON but rather in the high lordship, and power of the worlde, nat knowynge, nor aduertisinge, what Christe, tbe mayster of aU mekenes, sayd unto his disciples, whome he called to be bysshoppes and pristes: The princis qf people, sayth he, haue lordshipp ofthem : and those tliat be in auctorite haue power: but do ye nat so: but he that is greatter amonge you, let him be minister. He that is highest in dignitie, be he the seruant ofi al men. The Sonne qfman came nat to be mynystred vnto, but to minystre. By whiche words our Saulour dothe playnly teache, that the maistry in the churche, is none other thynge than a ministration : and the hygh dignitie in a man of the churche to be none other thing than a meke seruice. The seconde secular euyll is carnal concupiscence. Hath nat this vice so growen and waxen in the churche as a fludde of theyr luste.? so that there is nothynge loked for more diligently, in this moost besy tyme, of the most parte of pristes, than that that dothe delite and please the senses ? They gyue them selfe to feastes and bankettynge: they spend them selfe in vaine bablyng : they gyue them selfe to sportes and plays : they apply e them selfe to huntynge and haukynge : they drowne them selfe in the delytes of the worlde. Procurers and fynders of lustes they set by. Against the whiche kynd of men, Judas the apostle crieth out in his plstle, sayeng : 'Wo unto them whicfie haue gone the way ofi Cain. They arefioule and bestly,festing in their meates without fieare,fieadyng them selfe: fiuddes qfthe wylde see: fiomynge out their confusions : unto whom the storme qf darkenes is reseruedfior euerlastyng. Couetousnes is the thyrde secular euyll : the whiche saynt John the apostle callethe concupiscence qfthe eies: saynt Paule calleth hit idolatry. This abominable pesti lence hath so entred in the mynde, almoost of all pristes, and so hath blynded the eies of the minde, that we are blynde to all thynges, but onely unto those, whiche seme to brynge vnto vs some gaines. For what other thinge seke we nowe a dayes in the churche, than fatte benefices and hy^h promotions ? vo and in the same promotions, of TO THE CONVOCATION. 255 what other thyng do we passe upon, than of our tithes and rentes .'' That we care nat howe many, howe chargeful, howe great benefices we take, so that they be of greatte valure. O couetousnes: saint Paule iustly called the the roote qfal euyll. Of the cometh this heaping of benefices upon bene fices : of the so great pensions assigned of many benefyces resygned : of the, all the suynge for tithes, for offrynge, for mortuaries, for delapldations, by the ryght and title of the churche : for the whiche thing we stryue no lesse than for our owne life : O couetousnes : of the cometh these charge ful visitations of byshops : of the cometh the corruptnes of courtes and these daily newe Inuentions : where with the sely people are so sore vexed. Of the cometh the besyte and wantonnes of officials. O couetousnes mother of all iniquitie. Of the cometh this feruent study of ordinaries to dilate theyr iurisdictions : of the cometh this woode and ragenge con tention in ordinaries, of the insinuation of testamentes : of the cometh the vndewe sequestration of frutes: of the com eth the superstitious obseruyng of all those lawes, that sounde to any lucre, settynge a syde and displsynge those that con cerne the amendment of maners. What shuld I reherse the reste? To be shorte, and to conclude at one worde: all corruptnes, all the decaye of the churche, all the offences of the worlde, come of the couetousnes of pristes. Accordyng to that of saynt Paule, that here I repete agayne, and beate in to your eares : Couetousnes is the roote ofi all euyll. The fourthe secular euyll, that spotteth and maketh euyll fauored the face of the churche, is the continuall secular occupation : wherin pristes and byshops nowe a dayes doth besy them selfe, the seruantes rather of men than of God : the warrlours rather of this worlde than of Christe. For the apostle Paule wryteth vnto Tlmothe : No man beinge Goddes souldiour, turmoyle hym selfe with seculare busynes. The warrynge of them is nat carnall but spiritual!. For oure warrynge is to pray, to rede and study scriptures, to preache the worde of God, to mynlstre the sacraments of helth, to do sacrifice for the people, and to offre hostis for their slnnes. For we are medlatours and means unto God for 256 DR. COLET'S SERMON men : the whiche saynt Paule wytnessethe, writinge to the Hebrewes : Euery byshoppe, sayth he, taken ofmen, is or- deynedfior men in those thynges that be unto God, that he ''^^y 'iff^''' Syfi^^ "''"¦^ sacrifices fior synnes. Wherefore those apostels, that were the fyrst pristes and bishops, dydde so moche abhorre from all maner of medlyng of secular thinges, that they wolde nat mynlster the meate, that was necessarye to poore people, all though that was a great worke of ver tue : but they sayd : It is nat mete, that we shulde leaue the worde qf God, and serue tables : we wyll be continually in prayer, and preachynge tJie worde ofGod. And saynt Paul cryeth vnto the Corlnthes : If you haue any secular besynes, ordeyne them to be iuges, that be mooste in contempt in the churche. Without dout, of this secularitie, and that clerkes and pristes, (leauynge all spirituahtles,) do tourmoyle them selfe with erthly occupations, many euylls do folowe. Fyrst the dignitie of prlsthode is dyshonoured, the whiche is greatter than other the kynges or emperours: it is egall with the dignite of angels. But the brightnes of this great dignitie is sore shadowed, whan pristes are occupied in erthly thinges : whose conuersation ought to be in heuen. Secondarily prlsthode is despised, whan there is no differ ence betwixt such prlstls and lay people : but accordynge to the prophecy of Ozee, As the people be, so are the pristes. Thirdly the beautiful ordre, and holy dignite in the churche, is confused, whan the highest in the churche do meddle with vile and erthly thynges : and in theyr stede, vyle and ablecte persons do exercise hygh and heuenly thynges. Fourthly the laye people haue great occasion of euyls and cause to fall, whan those men whose dutie Is to drawe men from the affection of this worlde by their continuall conuersation in this worlde, teche men to loue this worlde, and of the loue of the worlde cast them downe heedlyng in to hell. More ouer in suche pristes, that are so besled, there must nedes folowe hypocrisy. For whan they bi so mlxte and confused with the lay people, vnder the garment and habite TO THE CONVOCATION. 257 of a priste, they lyue playnely after the laye facion. Also by spirituaU wekenes and bondage feare, whan they are made weake with the waters of this worlde : they dare ney- ther do nor say, but suche thynges as they knowe to be plea sant and thankefuU to their princes. At laste Ignorancy and blyndnes, whan they are blynded with the darkenes of this worlde, they se nothing but erthly thynges. Wherfore our sauiour Christe nat without cause, dyd warne the pre lates of his churche : Take hede, (sayde he,) lest your hartes be greued with glotony and dronkennes, and with the cares of this worlde, with the cares (saythe he) qf this worlde, wherwith the hartes of pristes beynge sore charged, they canne nat holde and lyfte vp their myndes to high and he uenly thynges. Many other euils ther be, besyde those that folowe of the secularitie of pristes, whiche were longe here to reherce but I make an ende. These be the foure euyls that I haue spoken of, O fathers, O pristes, by the whiche we are conformable to this worlde, by the whiche the face of the churche is made euyU fauour- ed, by the whiche the state of it is destroyed, truly moche more than It was in the begynnyng by the persecution of tyrantes : or afterwarde by the Inuasion that folowed of he- retykes. For in the persecution of tyrantes, the churche beynge vexed was made stronger and bryghter : in the inua sion of heretykes, the churche beynge shaken, was made wyser and more cunnyng in holy wrytte. But sens this secularitie was broughte in, after that the secular maner of lyuynge crepte in, in the men of the churche : the roote of all spiritual lyfe, that is to say, charlte was extlncta: the whiche taken awaye, there can nother wyse nor stronge churche be in God. In this tyme also we perceyue contradiction of the laye people. But they are nat so moche contrarye vnto us, as we are oure selfe : nor theyr contrarines hurteth nat vs so moche as the contrarynes of oure euyll lyfe, the whiche is contrary both to God and Christe. For he sayd : Who that IS nat im,th me, is agaynst me. s 258 DR. COLET'S SERMON We are also nowe a dayes greued of heretykes, men mad with marueylous folyssbenes : but the heresies of them are nat so pestilent and pernicious vnto vs and the people, as the euyll and wicked lyfe of pristes : the whiche (if we be- leue saynt Barnard) is a certeyn kynde of heresy, and chiefe of all, and most perillous. For that same holy father, in a certayne conuocation, preachynge vnto the pristes of his tyme, in a certayne sermon, so he sayde by these wordes. " There be many catholyke and faythful men in speakynge " and preachynge, the whiche same men are heretyckes in " workyng : for that that heretykes do by euyU teachynge : " that same do they throughe euyll example, they leade the " people oute of the right way, and brynge them in to er- " rour of lyfe. And so moche they are worse than here- " tyckes, howe moche theyr workes preuaile theyr wordes." This that holye father saynt Bamarde, with a great and a feruent spirite, sayde agaynste the sect of euyU pristes in his tyme : by whiche wordes he shewethe playnly, to be two maner of heresies, the one to be of peruerse teachynge, and the tother of naughty life. Of whiche this later is worse and more peryllous : the whiche raygneth nowe in the churche in pristes, nat lyuynge prisdy but secularly, to the vtter and miserable destruction of the churche. Wherefore you fathers, you pristes, and ah you of the clergie, at the laste loke up and awake frome this youre slepe in this forget ful worlde : and at the laste (beynge weU awaked) here Paule crienge vnto you : Be you nat conformable vnto this worlde. And this for the first part. Nowe let us come to the seconde. The seconde part of reformation. But be you reformed in the newnes qf youre vnderstand- ynge. The seconde thynge that saynt Paule commandeth, is that we be reformed in fo a newe vnderstandynge, that we smelle those thynges that be of God. Be we reformed unto those thynges, that are contrary to those I spake af euen nowe : tbat is to say, to mekenes, to sobernes, to cha ritie, to spiritual occupation : that as the sayd Paule writeth vnto Titus, Renyeng all zoickedncs and xcorldly desyres, «'^ lyue in tlm worlde soberly, truly, and vertuou^ly. TO THE CONVOCATION. 259 This reformation and restoring of the churches estate muste nedes begynne of you our fathers, and so folowe in vs your pristes, and in all the clergye : you are our heedes : you are an example of lyuing vnto vs. Unto you we loke as vnto markes of our direction. In you and in your lyfe we desyre to rede as in lyuely bokes, howe and after what facion we maye lyue. Wherfore if you wyU ponder and loke vpon oure mottis, fyrste take awaye the blockes out of your eies. Hit is an olde prouerbe : Phisition heale thy selfe. You spiritual phislcions, fyrst taste you this medicine of purgation of maners : and than after offre vs the same to taste. The waye, whereby the churche maye be reformed in to better facion, is nat for to make newe lawes. For there be lawes many, inowe, and out of nombre, as Salomon saith : Nothyng is newe vnder the sonne. For the euils that are nowe in the churche, were before in tyme paste, and there is no faute, but that fathers haue prouyded verye good re- medyes for hit. There are no trespaces, but that there be lawes agaynst them in the body of the canon lawe. Ther fore hit is no nede, that newe lawes and constitutions be made : but that those, that are made all redye, be kepte, wherfore in this your assemble, let those lawes, that are made, be caUed before you and rehersed. Those lawes (I saye) that restrayne vice, and those that furder vertue. Fyrst let those lawes be rehersed, that do warne you fa^ thers, that ye put nat ouer soone youre handes on euery man, or admltte vnto holy orders. For ther is the well of euils, that the brode gate of holy orders opened, euerye man that offerethe hym selfe, is all where admytted without puU- ynge backe. Therof spryngeth and cometh out the peo ple, that are in the churche both of vnlerned and euyU pristes. Hit is nat Inoughe for a priste (after my iugement) to construe a coUette, to put forth a question, or to answere to a sopheme, but moche more a good, a pure, and a holy life, approued maners, metely lernynge of holye scripture, some knowlege of the sacramentes. Chiefly and aboue all thynge, the feare of God, and loue of the heuenly lyfe. s 2 260 DR. COLET'S SERMON Lette the lawes be rehersed, that commaunde that bene fices of the churche be gyuen to those that are worthy: and that promotions be made in the churche by the ryghte ba lance of vertue, nat by carnaU affection : nat by the accep tion of persones : wherby hit happenethe nowe a dayes that boyes for olde men, fooles for wise men, euyll for good do reigne and rule. Lette the lawes be rehersed, that warreth agaynst the spotte of symonle. The whiche coruptlon, the whiche in fection, the whiche cruell and odlble pestilence so creepeth nowe abrode, as the canker euyU, in the myndes of pristes, that manye of them are nat aferde now a dayes, both by prayer and seruice, rewardes and promesses, to gette them great dignities. Lette the lawes be rehersed, that commande personali resy dence of curates in theyr churches. For of this many euyls growe : by cause all thynges now a dayes are done by vicaries and parysshe pristes : ye and those fool- ysshe also, and vnmete : and often tymes wicked : that seke none other thynge in the people than foule lucre, wherof cometh occasion of euyl heresies, and yl Christendome in the people. Lette be rehersed the lawes and holy rules gyuen of fa thers, of the lyfe and honestye of clerkes : that forbydde that a clerke be no marchant, that he be no vserer, that he be no hunter, that he be no common player, that he bere no weapon. The lawes that forbydde clerkes to haunte tauernes: that forbydde them to haue suspecte familiaritie with women. The lawes that commaunde sobernes, and a measurablenes in aparyle, and temperance in adournynge of the body. Let be rehersed also to my lordes these monkes, cha- nons, and religious men, the lawes that commande them to go, the stray te way, that leadeth vnto heuen: leauynge the brode way of the worlde : that commande them nat to tour moyle them selfe in busynes, nother secular nor other : that commaunde, that they sewe nat in princis courtes for erthly thynges : for it is in the councel of Calcidinens, that monkes TO THE CONVOCATION. 261 ought onely to gyue them selfe to prayer and fastynge, and to the chastysynge of their flesshe, and obseruynge of theyr rules. Aboue all thynges let the lawes be rehersed that pertayne and concerne you my reuerent fathers and lordes, bysshops, lawes of your iuste and canonicall election : in the chaptres of youre churches, with the callynge of the Holy Goste. For by cause that is nat done nowe a dayes, and by cause prelates are chosen often times more be fauour of men than by the grace of God : therfore truly haue we nat a fewe tymes byshops full hteU spiritual!, men rather worldly than heuenly, sauouryng more the spirite of this worlde than the spirite of Christe. Let the lawes be rehersed of the residence of byshops in theyr diocesis : that commaunde, that they loke dihgently, and take hede to the helthe of soules : that they sowe the worde of God : that they shewe them selfe in their churches, at the leest on greatte holye dayes. That they do sacrifice for their people. That they here the causes and matters of poure men : that they susteine fatherles children and we- dowes : that they exercise them selfe in workes of vertue. Let the lawes be rehersed of the good bestowyng of the patrimony of Christe. The lawes that commande that the goodes of the churche be spent, nat in costly byldyng, nat in sumptuous appareU, and pompls : nat in feastyng and bankettynge : nat in excesse and wantonnes : nat in enrich- inge of kynsfolke : nat in kepynge of dogges, but in thynges profitable and necessarye to the churche. For whan saynt Augustyne, some tyme bysshoppe of Englande, dyd aske the pope Gregorie, howe that the bysshops and prelates of. Englande shulde spende theyr goodes, that were the offringes of faithful people ; the said pope answered (and his an swere is put in the Decrees, in the xii. chap, and seconde question) that the goodes of byshops ought to be deuyded in to liij partes : where of one parte oughte to be to the by shoppe and his householde: an other to his clerkes: the third to repayre and vpholde his tenementes : the fourthe to the poure people. s3 262 DR. COLET'S SERMON Let the lawes be rehersed, ye and that often tymes, that take awaye the filthes and vnclenlines of courtes : that take awaye those daylye newe founde craftes for lucre : that besy them to pulle away this foule couetousnes, the whiche is the spring and cause of all euils : the whiche is the well of all iniquitie. At the last lette be renewed those lawes and constitutions of fathers of the celebration of councels, that commaunde prouinclall councels to be oftener vsed for the reformation of the churche. "For there neuer hapneth nothyng more hurtefuU to the churche of Christe, than the lacke both of councell generall and prouinclall. Whan these lawes and such other ar rehersed that be for us, and that concerne the correction of maners, there lacketh nothynge, but that the same be put in execution, with all auctorltle and power. That ones (seing we haue a lawe) we hue after the lawe. For the whiche thinges, with al due reuerence, I calle chiefly vpon you fathers. For this execution of the lawes, and obserulng of the constitutions, muste nedes begynne of you, that ye may teache vs pristes to folowe you by lyuely examples : or elles trewely hit wyll be sayde of you : They lay greuous burdens vpon other mens backes, and they them selfe wyl nat as mocJie as touche it with their lytell fiynger . Forsothe if you kepe the lawes: and if you reforme fyrste your lyfe to the rules of the canon lawes, than shall ye gyue vs lyght (in the whiche we maye se what is to be done of our parte) that is to say, the lyghte of your good example : and we seynge oure fathers so keping the lawes wyU gladly folowe the steppes of our fathers. The clergies and spirituals part ones reformed in the churche, than may we with a iuste order precede to the re formation of the lays parte : the whiche truely wyll be verye easy to do : if we fyrst be reformed. For the bodye folow eth the soule. And suche rulers as are in the cite, lyke dwellers be in it. Wherfore if pristes, that haue the chmge of soules, be good : streyghte the people wyll be good. Our goodnes shall teche them more clerely to be good than al TO THE CONVOCATION. 263 other teachynges and prechynges. Our goodnes shaU com pel them in to the right way, truly more effectuously, than than all yom- suspendynges and cursynges. Wherfore if ye wyll haue the lay people to lyue after youre wysshe and wyll : fyrst lyue you your selfe after the wyl of God. And so (trust me) ye shall gette in them what so euer ye wyll. Ye wyU be obeyed of them, and right it is. For in the episteU to the Hebrewes, these are the wordes of saynt Paule to the laye people. Obey (saith he) to your rulers, and be you vnder them. But if ye ^vyll haue this obedience : first performe in you the reason and cause of obedience : the whiche the sayd Paule dothe teache : and hit foloweth in the texte : that is : Take you hede also diligently, as though ye shuld gyue a recknynge fior theyr soules : and they wyU obey you. You wyll be honored of the people : hit is reason. For saint Paule wryteth vnto Timothe : Pristes tliat rule well, are worthye double honours, chiefiy tliose tliat labour in worde and teachyiig. Therfore If ye desyre to be honoured : fyrste loke that ye rule weU, and that ye laboure in worde and teachynge: and than shall the people haue you in all honour. You wyll repe theyr carnaU thinges, and gether tithes and ofirynges without any stryuynge : right it is. For saint Paule wryting vnto the Romanes, sayth : T/iey are dettours, and ought to ministre vnto you in carnall thinges: fyrst sowe you your spultuaU thynges : and than ye shall repe plentifully theyr carnall thynges. For truely that man is very harde and vniust, that wyl repe where he neuer dyd sowe: and tliat wyll gether where lie neuer skatered. Ye wyl haue the churches Hberte, and nat to be drawen afore secular iuges, and that also is ryght. For hit is in the Psalmis, Touche ye nat myne anoynted. But if ye desire this hberte: fyrst vnlouse your selfe frome the worldlye bondage, and from the seruices of men : and lyfte vp your selfe in to the trewe lybertye, the spmtuaU lyberty e of Christe, in to grace frome synnes, and serue you God, and raygne in s 4 264 DR. COLET'S SERMON. hym. And than (beleue me) the people wyU nat touche the anoynted qf theyr Lorde God. Ye wolde be of busines in rest and peace : and that is conuenient. But if ye wyl haue peace, come agayne to the God of peace and loue. Come agayne to Christe : in whom is the very true peace of the goste, the whiche passeth al wytte. Come agayne to your selfe, and to youre pristly ly uynge. And to make an ende, as saynt Paule saythe: Be you reformed in the newnes qf your vnderstandynge, that you sauoure those thynges that are ofGod: and the peace qf God shall be with you. These are they reuerent fathers and ryghte famous men, that I thought to be said for the reformation of the churches estate : I trust ye wyU take them of your gentylnes to the best. And if parauenture it be thought, that I haue past my boundes in this sermon, or haue sayd any thyng out of tempre, forgyue bit me : and ye shall forgyue a man speak ynge of very zele, to a man sorowynge the decaye of the churche : and consyder the thynge hit selfe, nat regardynge any foolysshenes. Consyder the miserable fourme and state of the churche: and endeuour your sehes with aU your myndes to reforme it. Suffre nat fathers, this your so greatte a getherynge to departe in vayne. Suffre nat this your congregation to slyppe for naughte. Truly ye are gethered often tymes to gether (but by youre fauoure to speke the trouth) yet I se nat what frute cometh of your assemblyng, namely to the churche. Go ye nowe in the Spirite that ye haue called on, that by the helpe of hit, ye maye in this your counceU fynd out, decerne, and ordeyne those thynges that may be profitable to the churche, prayse vnto you, and honour vnto God. Unto whom be all honoure and glorye, fibr euermore. Amen. Thomas Berthelet regius impressor excudebat. Cum pri- vUegio. COLETI EPISTOLA SEX. QUIBUS ACCESSIT ERASMI EPISTOLA. EPISTOLA I. Joannes Coletus Abbati Winchincombensi K 1-/RAT mecum heri yesperi (reverende pater) consacerdos quidam, homo bonus et doctus ; et Pauli dlhgens auditor, et ipsius etiam intime cognoscendi cupientissimus. Ad focum , et ignem quum aliquantulum confabulati eramus, is ex sinu suo codicillum, in quo Pauli Epistolae erant sua ipsius manu diligenter descriptse, protulit : ad quod ego subridens, et si mul hominem laudans, ei dixi illud ; Ubi thesaurus tuus, ibi cor tuum. Tum iUe; " Nihil," inquit, " in scriptis aut magis " amo, aut admiror, quam quas ab hoc Paulo conscrlbuntur." Et addidit mihi blandiens, homo non infacetus ; me meis in- terpretamentis, superiori termlno, eum in se erga apostolum affectum maxime concitasse. Tum ego, aspiclens hominem ; " Amo te," inquam, " mi frater, amantem Paulum, quem " ego quoque, una tecum, unice amo et admiror." Deinde, quum multa adjungebam de laude, sapientia, et divinitate Pauli ; quumque dicebam, " In ejus Epistolis, et in hac, in " omni earum parte admirandissimam esse fecundltatem, et " rerum, et cognitionis ; ut advertens homo, et diligenter " considerans, si velit, fere ex omni verbo apostoh possit ad- " mlrablles et notandissimas sententias depromere :" tum * I take this abbot to be John Kid- learned man. See Wood's Ath. Oxon. derminster, abbot of Winchcomb ; a p. 20. 266 COLETI ille, hoc dicto quasi incensus ; " At," inquit, " te quEeso, " nunc nobis deprome aliquid, dum sedemus ociosi, et ex " hoc thesauro abscondito, quem dicis tantum esse, erue ali- " quot propositiones, et offer in lucem ; partim, ut ex hoc J " nostro consessu et consermocinatlone habeam ahquod quod " memoriae meae commendem ; partim etiam, ut ipse quo- " que per me legens Paulum solus, possim ahquam adver- " tendi et notandi rationem, te imitatus, quae potissimum " sunt notanda, tenere." Tum ego inquam ; " Vir optime, " morem tibi geram : aperi hbellum tuum, et in primo ca^- " pite Epistolae quae est ad Romanos solo, quot et quantas " et quam aurese sententiae coUlgl possunt, experiamur." " At," inquit ille, " ne memoria excidant, vohs me scribere " etiam quae dicis .''" " Scribe," Inquam, " ad hunc modum." Itaque, reverende pater, quae ille me dictante scripsit, volui ad te describere, ut tu quoque, omnis sanctioris sapientiae ardentissimus amator, videas quid leviter in Paulo nostro^ ad hibernum ignem sedentes modo annotabamus -tantum in primo capite quae est ad Romanos ; quas sunt ea quae se quuntur. " Credere Christo est ex gratiosa vocatione : " evangelizare Christum est ex segregatione. Paulus a " Christo ipso legatus et missus fuit. Omnes vero Chiisti- " ani dllecti sunt a Deo, et sancti. Gratia et pax cum Deo " est, quae maxime exoptetur a Deo. Gaudendum maxime " est et gratulandum de fide hominum visendi sunt alii. " Ad fructum et emolumentum fidei praedicatoris verbi Dei " est docere unlversos. De evangelio nusquam, et nunquam, " et nullo modo pudendum est. Potens justificatio homi- " num a Deo ostendi tur in evangelio. Credens et confidens " Deo Justus est: confidens creaturls quibuscunque Impius " et Injustus est: unde justitia Deo confidentia est; inju- " stltla aliis confidentia, quae est conjuncta cum dlffidentla " Deo. Cujusmodl est fides, talis est cultus Dei. Cuique " alii a Deo confidere idololatria est. Ex confidentia soli " Deo verus Del cultus nascltur. Cognoscere Deum quoquo " modo, et non eundem colere, maxima et odiosissima imple- " tas est. Deus in creaturls suis loquitur, et per eas seipsum " hominibus ostendit. Deum discere in suis creaturls, ut EPlSTOLiE. 267 " philosophantes conantur, et eundem non colere, non modo " non prodest, sed maxime nocet ; unde sequitur, quod me- " lius sit ignorare Deum, quam eundem quoquo modo co- " gnitum non amare et colere. Impietatis id est. Quod " Deus non colitur, nulli hominum excusatio esse potest : " omnes nationes et gentes ab initio mundi Deum non co- " lentes impietatis conderanabuntur. Cognitum si habes " Deum quoquo modo, si eundem non colueris e vestigio, " excaecatur mens, et cognitio evanesclt. In summa stul- " titia solet esse maxima opinio sapientiae, et hominis pluri- " ml-factio sui. Maximum argumentum stultltlae est te " ipsum putare sapientem. Ex Impietate negligentlaque " Dei ignorantia exorta est. Ex Impietate, ignorantia, ut a " fonte, omne malum profluxit. Impii deserunt Deum : de- " serentes Deum a Deo deseruntur : deserti a Deo prfficipi- " tantur, in omne scelus corruunt. Mala sunt ex perversa " voluntate, perversa voluntas ex Ignorantia, ignorantia ex " impietate. Impletas est ipsa Dei negllgentla : negligentes " autem Deum [a Deo] negllguntur ; neglecti a Deo mille " modis depereunt. Ex perversitate voluntatis sequitur " etiam naturae perversio. Cum peccato simul poena pec- " cati, ut ejus merces, crescitur. Ultimus peccati finis aster- " na mors, qua peccatores sunt digni. Pari morte sunt " digni et qui aberrant a Deo, et qui meliora cognoscentes, " sinunt tamen homines aberrare. Est cognoscentls rectam " viam, aliis monstrare viam, et ad viam incessanter revo- " care, ne ipsi cum aliis periclitentur." Haec excerpslmus, et notavimus^ subito, venerande pater, ut modo dixi, ex pri mo capite Epistolae ad Romanos. Quae non sunt omnia quae notari possunt. Nam in salutatione etiam colligi potest, Christum vaticiniis prophetarum fuisse promissum; Christum esse Deum et hominem ; Christumi homines sanctificare, per Christum resurrectionem tum animarum tum corporum es se ; et adhuc Innumerabllla aha sunt, quae in eo capite primo continentur, quae homo llncels oculis faclUlme introspiciat, ( et si veht, possit effodere. Ut pelagus quoddam Infinitum ' sapientiae et pietatis mihi unus videtur Paulus esse. Sed ea paucula, isto modo posita, breviter delibasse suffecit consa- 268 COLETI cerdoti ilh nostro, qui aliquas sententias excudi voluit ro- tunde, et quasi annulos, ex aurea Pauli materia effingi. Quae, ut vides, ad te descripsi mea propria manu, ut tua mens, optime pater, bonitate aurea, tanquam ex quodam specimine, quantum est aurum in Paulo reconditum, agnoscas. Volo etiam dominus Gardianus hac una tecum legat : cujus ani mus est tanta humanitate, et amore omnis boni praeditus, ut quicquid sit in bonis, in eo arbitror quam plurimum delec tari. Vale, optime et mihi charissime pater. Tuus Joannes Colet. Hanc nostram chartulam, quum legeris quse in ea conti nentur, patieris tunc eam nos rursus habere : quoniam ejus exemplum apud me non habeo; et quanquam non soleo apud me epistolas meas servare, nec possum, quia ut primo scribuntur, a me dantur, nuUo earum exemplo reten- to ; tamen, si quae sunt quae aHquid in se doctrinae habent, eas omnino perdi nolim : non quod sunt dignae ahqua cu stodia, sed quod a me relictae aliquam meam memoriam possunt adjuvare. Etiam si qua aha sit causa, cur conser- vari vehm quas scilicet ad te scribo epistolas ; ea est una, vel maxima certe, quod ipsae testes perpetue velim perma- neant meae erga te observantiae, Iterum vale. This epistle is transcribed out qfthe original MS. in the public library qf the university qf Cambridge, and was never printed before. EPISTOLA II. Joannes Coletus Erasmo suo S. D. NON facile credideris, Erasme, quanta me laetitia affecit epistola tua, quam modo ad me attuht unoculus noster: nam ex ea intellexi ublnam locorum es, quod ante ignora- bam ; ex eadem etiam videris mihi reversurus ad nos, quod erit mihi, et amicis quos habes hic quam plurimos, gratissi- EPISTOL.^. 269 mum. Quod scribis de Novo Testamento, intelligo. Et hbri novae edltionis tuae hic avide emuntur, et passim le- guntur ; multis probantlbus et admirantibus tua studia : nonnuUis etiam improbantibus, et carpentibus, et ea dicenti- bus quae in epistola Martini Dorpil ad te scripta continen tur. Sed hi sunt theologi iUl, quos tu in Moria tua, et aliis locis, non minus vere quam facete describis ; a quibus laudari vituperium est, et vituperari laus est. Ego vero ita amo tua studia, et istam tuam novam editlonem ita amplector, ut in eadem varie afficiar. Nam nunc dolor me tenet, quod non didicerim Graecum sermonem, sine cujus perltia nihil sumus : nunc gaudeam in ista luce, quam tu ex sole tui in genii emisisti. Profecto, Erasme, miror foecunditatem pectoris tui ; qui tot conclpis, et tanta parturis, et tam perfecta paris quotidie ; maxime nullo loco stablhs, nuUls certis et magnis stipendiis adjutus. Hieronymum tuum expectamus, qui multum tibi debet ; et nos quoque, qui per te legemus eum, nunc et emendatum et iUustratum. Recte fecisti, scribens de Institutione Principis Christiani. Utinam principes Chri stiani sequerentur bonas institutiones. lUorum insanlls in- terturbantur omnia. LibeUum ilium valde cuplo, propterea quod plane scio, uti aha tua omnia, prodlblt libeUus iUe abs te perfectus. Quod scribis de Germania, credo. Quod au tem mea verba de eadem, et testimonium tam multis ante annis dictum cltas, miror te memoria tenere. De tranquiUa sede quam scribis te optare, ego quoque eandem tibi opto, et tranquiUam et felicem : nam et ista tua aetas et doctrina exposcit. Opto etiam, ut ista tua sedes ultima esset apud nos, si te, tanto viro, digni essemus : sed quales sumus, ex pertus es saepius : tamen habes hic, qui te summopere colunt. Cantuariensis noster, cum eram apud Ulum, his diebus, de te multa locutus, valde cupivit praesentiam tuam. Is, homo absolutus omni negotio, nunc degit in otio felicisslmo. De Philosophatione Christiana quod scribis, verum est. Nemo est (credo) in orbe jam Christiano ad iUam professionem et negotium te aptior, et magis idoneus, propter multifariam tuam doctrinam : quod ipse non scribis ; sed ego hoc dico, quod sentio. Legi quod in primum Psalmum scripsisti; 270 COLETI et miror tuam copiam. Desidero quae molitus es in Epi stolam ad Romanos. Non cessa, Erasme ; sed quum dede ris nobis Novum Testamentum Latinis, illustra idem tuis Exposltionibus, et ede Commentaria longlssima in Evan gelia. Tua longltudo est brevitas. Crescet appetitus, modo stomachus sit sanus: in lectione tuorum aman tibus scri pturas, si aperuerls sensus, (quod nemo te melius faciet,) magnum beneficium conferes ; et nomen tuum immortalitati commendabls. Quid dico, immortalitati.'' Nomen Erasmi nunquam peribit : sed glorias dabls nomen tuum sempitemae; et sudans in Jesu, vifam tibi comparabis aeternam. Quod deploras fortunam tuam, non fortiter. In tanto negotio, vide hcet in declarandis scripturis, non poterit tibi fortuna de- esse ; modo speres in Deo, qui te in primis adjuvabit, stlmu- labitque alios, ut te in sanctissimis studiis adjuvent. Quod me exclamas felicem, demlror, si de fortuna loqueris, ut non est nuUa mea, ita non est ampla, et meis sumptibus vix sufficiens. Ego me beatum putarem, si vel in summa eges- tate milleslmam partem fuse doctrinae et sapientiae posside- rem, quam tu sine opibus comparasti ; docens doctrinam singularem alia via, nescio qua, sed tua ista Erasmlca, &:c. Applicabo me, si patieris, et adjungam lateri tuo ; exhlbebo- que me tibi disclpulum etiam in discendo Graece, quanquam jam provectus aetate, et prope senex, memor Catonem senem Grascas literas dldlclsse ; agnoscens etiam te, qui es mecum par aetate et annis, nunc Hebraicis literis te dare. Me, ut facis, ama; et si ad nos reversus fueris, habebis me tibi deditissimum. ' Vale, ex rure Stepneptiano apud genetricem; quae adhuc vlvit, et belle senesclt, et de te saepius hilarem et jucundam facit mentionem. In die sancti Edwardi, in festo sujK translationis, sive 13. Octobris, anno 1516. EPISTOLA III. Joannes Coletus dom. Erasmo S. ERASME charissime, accepi literas tuas Basileas scrlptas 3 cal. Septemhris. Gaudeo, quod inteUlglmus ublnam lo- EPISTOLiE. 271 eorum es, et sub quo coelo vivis ; gaudeo etiam, quod va les : fac votum persolvas Paulo, ut inquis, factum. Ma- guntiae tanti te factum fuisse, quantum scribis, facile credo : gaudeo te reversurum aliquando ad nos. Tamen non possum id sperare. De uberiore fortuna tibi nescio quid dicam; nescio, quod qui possunt, nolunt, qui volunt non possunt. Tui hic omnes valent : Cantuariensis semper est sohta sua- vitate, Lincolniensis, regnat nunc Eboracensls, Londinen sis non cessat vexare me. Quotidie meditor meum secessum et latlbidum apud Cartusienses nidus noster prope per fectus est : reversus ad nos, quantum conjicere possum, ilhc mortuum mundo me reperies. Tu cura ut valeas ; et quo te conferes, fac sciam. Vale. Ex Londino, 20 Octobris, anno 1516. [Edit. Lugd. Bas. 1703. tom. Iv.J This and thefiollowing epistle were in no edition ofEras- muis Epistles, till printed in the magnificent edition qfhis works at Leyden, 1702. fol. EPISTOLA IV. Joannes Coletus Erasmo Rot. S. PROFECTO, Erasme charissime, de te nihil accepi novi post tuum hinc decessum. Quod si postea quippiam Intellex- ero, faciam (quod jubes) te certiorem. Eram his diebus ruri apud meam genetricem ; ut consolarer dolentem de morte servi mei, qui interiit in domo illius ; quem dilexit loco filii, et flevit mortem iUius, plusquam mortem filii sui. Ea nocte, qua revertebar ad urbem, accepi epistolam tuam. Unum tibi slgnifico ridicidum ; quendam episcopum, (uti ac- ceperam,) et eum qui habetur ex sapientloribus, in magno hominum conventu, nostram scholam blasphemasse ; dixisse- que, me erexisse rem Inutilem, imo malam, imo etiam (ut iUius verbis utar) " domum idololatriae." Quod quidem ar bitror eum dixisse, propterea quod iUic docentur poetae. Ad ista, Erasme, non irascor ; sed rldeo valde. Franciscus re- 272 COLETI versus exegit hbrum ; ad diem S. Joannis voluit me custo- dire. Mitto ad te hbellum, in quo est Oratio. Impressores dixerunt se missuros Cantabrigiam ahquot. Vale, memor Ulorum carminum pro pueris nostris ; quae vehm conficias omni facilitate et suavitate. Cura et alteram partem tuas CopicE habeamus. EPISTOLA V. Joannes Coletus domino Erasmo S. SUBIRASCOR tibi, Erasme, quod me hteris ad alios, non ad me datis, salutas : nam quanquam non diffido aml- citiffi nostrae, tamen ista ahena et in ahenis hteris salutatio facit, ut alii minus me abs te amari judicent. Item alio nomine subirascor tibi ; quod ad Roffensem misisti Cabal- listica Reuchlini, et non ad me. Non quod noluerim mi- sisse ad eum ; sed quod voluerim, simul ad me unum librum mislsses : tam enim delector amore tuo, ut doleam quando video te minus memorem esse mei, quam ahorum. Liber iUe prius venit ad manus meas ; prlusque a me percursus est, quam datus est Roffensi. De quo libro non audeo judicare. Agnosco inscitiam meam ; et qui caecus sum in rebus tam remotis, et in opibus tanti viri. Quanquam, inter legendum, nonnunquam visa fuerint mihi majora miracula verborum quam rerum ; nam (ut docet) nescio quid mysterii habeant Hebraica verba in characteribus et combinationibus. Eras me, librorum et scientias non est finis : nihil mehus pro hac brevi vita, quam ut sancte et pure vivamus ; ac quotidie dare operam ut purificemur, et iUuminemur, et perficiamus quae promlttunt ista Reuchlini Pythagorica et CabaUistica. Sed, meo judicio, nulla via assequemur, quam ardenti amore et imitatione Jesu. Quare relictis ambagibus, ad brevitatem brevi compendio eamus ; ego pro viribus volo. Vale. Ex Londino, anno 1517. EPISTOLiE. 273 EPISTOLAVI. Joannes Coletus Erasmo Rot. S. P. QUID non probabo .'' ita scribis. Quid est Erasmi, quod non probem.? Legi epistolam istam tunc de Studiis cur sim ; quoniam pedetentim, per occupationes, adhuc non li cet. Inter legendum non solum probo omnia, sed admiror sane et ingenium tuum, et artem, et doctrinam, et copiam, et eloquentlam. Saepe optavi ad istum modum Institueren- tur pueri scholae nostrae, quemadmodum diffinllstl faciendum esse. Saepe etiam optavi, tales esse praeceptores, quales sa- plentissime descripsistl. Quando veni ad eum locum in ex trema epistola tua, ubi profiteris te paucioribus annis posse adolescentes perducere ad mediocrem utriusque linguae elo quentlam, quam isti literatores ad balbutiem ; O Erasme, quam tunc optavi te praeeeptorem in nostra schola ! Sed habeo spem te aUaturum nobis aliquid adjumenti, vel insti tuendis praeceptoribus nostris, quando dlscesserls ab istis Cantabriglenslbus. Servabo exempla tua, ut jubes, Integra. De Linacro nostro faciam quod consulls, et amanter, et pru denter. Non desinas nobis perqulrere hypodldasculum ; si istlc sit aliquis talis, qui non superblat, quique non dedi- gnetur sub primo magistro esse. Quod scribis dlmlcare te nonnunquam mei causa cum istis Scoti militibus; gaudeo me habere talem pugilem, et propugnatorem mei. Sed est inlquum certamen, et Ingloiium : quid enim laudis est tibi, si abegeris et confoderis muscas ? Quid gratias promereberls a me, si prostraverls arundines ? Est dimicatio magis ne cessaria quam magnlfica aut strenua; at utcunque probat soUlcitudlnem, et amabUem curam, quam habes mei. Perge, Erasme, in dando nobis Baslho, qui dabls nobis Esaiam. Bene facies, meo judicio, et tibi optime consulls, si imlterls Diogenem ; et paupertate delectatus, te regem regum esse ; forsan contemtu nummorum nummos, et fortunam asse- quere. In viris Christianis mundus sequitur fugientes. Unde tot facultates et opes in ecclesia, nisi ex fuga ? Sed scio, non placent tibi ista paradoxa. Quod scribis de Ri- T 274 COLETI EPISTOLiE. chardo Croco, miror. Quid ego cum pecunlis aliorum.? Unde judices, aut suspicere, apud me esse pecunias, quoquo modo mihi credltas ? Non adsto morituris, non blandior pe- cuniosis viduls, non immisceo me in testamentis divitum, non quasro famlliarltates locupletum, non laudo peccata eorum, non jubeo redlmant scelera sua pecunlis arbitrio meo posi- tls. Crede, apud nos qui non est id genus hominum, non facile habeblt pecunias eleemosynarias. Ego meas solum pe cunias tracto ; quas in quam partem effundo, tu nosti. Sed subrlsi, Erasme, et simul amavi istam tuara Innatam sim- plicltatem, quod in ista odiosa tua mendicitate e^ti potius causam aliorum quam propriam. Summa est, ut luliU ha beam allenae pecuniae pro ahis, ita si humihter mendicaveris, habeo aliquid propriae ef meae pecunias pro te ; quod si petas inverecunde, paupertas paupertatem saltem pauperrime ad juvabit. Vale ; et saepe, te quasso, ad me sciibito. Tuus Jo. Coletus. Londino, anno 1513. ERASMI EPISTOLA. Erasmus Rot. Joanni Coleto S. P. -TR-iE CEPTOR optime, et miror et doleo, Coclitem hue sine tuis venisse Uteris. Is tuo nomine mecum expostulat, quod nihil scribam. Imo jam, opinor, excusavi me tibi, quod et rarius et brevius scribam, et tuo otio gratulatus sum, qui crebras ac longas literas nostras flagites. Crede mihi, Colete, tot epistolis hic interpellor episcoporum, ma gnatum, eruditorum, amicorum, ex Italia, Hispania, Ger mania, Galha, ut si nlhU alioqui mihi sit negotii, non sira tamen huic uni negotio suffecturus. Redamare possum omnes, respondere singulis non possum. De Grocini morbo, ex animo doleo, qualis qualis in me fuit. O rem indignam ! ejusmodi ingenia, neque senium, neque mortem sentire : sed hffic incommoda magis sentiunt immortalitate digni. Cogor ob Novum Testamentum excudendum, aliaque nonnuUa, aut Basileam adire, aut, quod magis opinor futurum, Ve- ERASMI EPISTOLA. 275 netias : nam a Basilea partim deterret pestis, partim Lach- neri mors, cujus impendiis res potissimum agebatur. Tan tum iter, inquies, suscipis, senex, valetudinarlus, fum hoc saeculo, quo non aliud fuit sceleratius intra sexcentos annos .'' tanta praedonum ubique licentia? Sed quid facias.'' His fatis sum natus. Si Immoriar, Immoriar operi non omnino malo, ni faUor. Sin hoc extremo fabulae actu ex sententia confecto redire contigerit, quod reliquum erit vitae apud vos agere statui ; is erit meus ab orbe undique inquinato seces sus. Regnant in omnibus principum aulis personatl theo logi. Curia Romana plane perfrlcuit frontem : quid enim impudentlus his assiduis condonationibus ? Et nunc bellum praetexitur in Turcas, cum re id agatur ut Hispani depellantur a Neapoh: nam Laurentius nepos Campaniam sibi vindi care conatus, filia Navarrae regis in uxorem ducta. Qui tu multus si procedant, tolerabilius fuerit Turcarum imperium, quam horum Christianorum ferre. Sed facessant inutiles querimoniae. Habeo gratiam, quod apud regem negotium meum amanter agere cceperls ; atque perficlas, rogo : nam viatico amplo nunc opus est, ne desit, si quid forte acciderlt, eorum quae soient homini ; et est animus nostram bibliothe- cam augere. Quid hoc est ? toties a me captatus est rex, et reverendissimus, toties retia fallunt? Montjolus tantum amat : idque sane est aliquid ; sed nihU ad hanc profectio- nem. Queritur, ut audio, quod non acceperim conditionem nuper a rege oblatam. Oblatae sunt libras quadraginta; et centum libras me sperare voluit : rem vero novam, voluit ut sperarem, quod Uh non ausi sunt promlttere ; toties jam expertus, non praestita fuisse, non dicam promissa, sed deje- rata. Demlror neque Franciscum, neque Unoculum quic quam hterarum tuarum hue retuhsse : sed Uie suum est so litus agere negotium : et Petro non fuit otium a compota- tlonibus ; adeo ut cum Antuerpiam appuhsset, non hcuerit hominem primo die convenire, ita vino erat sepultus. Nunc meum ipsius famulum Istuc misi, qui mihi certiora de sin gulis referat : rogo ne inanls ad nos redeat, et redeat quam fi eri potest celerrime ; siquidem una haec res moratur meam profectionem. Adhibe ad negotium TunsfaUum, hominem T 2 276 ERASMI EPISTOLA. vere amico amicum. Pecuniam ex consiho Sixtini jube de- poni apud Maruffum, qui mlnistro det syngrapham, qua li ceat ubivis reclpere, et quam mlnlmo damno. D. Ursewicus ante annum promislt equum, et hac spe Novum Testamen tum illi donavl ; quod si sclrem UU rem cordi non esse, non soUicltarem hominem : si videtur, scribe Ull duo verba per famulum meum. Gratulor tibi, qui Mariam habeas domi, turbulentum, Inquam, lUum hominem : quem ut meis verbis diligenter salutes majorem in modum, te rogo ; nam et amo ilium ex intimis animi affectibus, et debeo plurimum; Uie me suis precibus fulclt, ille epistolis et consolatur, et admo- net. Si quid forte fuerit famulo meo, rogo ne tua benigni- tas illi velit deesse. Vale. Lovanio, anno 1518. A COLLECTION OF MISCELLANIES RELATING TO THE FOREGOING HISTORY. Number I. Sir Henry Colefs single bond, on the behalf ofi the city ofi London, in the treaty qf peace and intercourse between England and Flanders, anno Dom. 1496. never before printed. -L 0 all Chrysten people these present letters beholding or heryng Henry Colet knyght nowe mayor of the cite of Lon don in the relme of England helth in oure Lorde everlast- ynge. Where as bi twene the high and myghty prynce my soveragne lorde Henry by the grace of God kyng of Eng land and of France and lorde of Irelande on that one partye and the noble prynce Philyp tharchduke of Austry and duke of Burgoyne on that other party certayne treatyes of amyte and entrecourse of merchandyslng and other commu- nicacyon of merchaunts concernynge the profyte of both prynces theyr relmes and subjettes the xxiiii daye of the moneth of Februarye last past at London wer finally con cluded and determyned. Knowe ye me the say'd Henry at the requeste and commaundment of my said sovereigne lorde, and at the contemplacyon of his lettres to me in that behalfe directed and delyvered of good fayth to have pro- mysed and me and myn heyrs to the sayd prynce Phelyp tharcheduke to his heyres and successours under plegge and bonde of all my goods present and to come, to have bounde t3 278 MISCELLANIES. and by thes presentes promyse and bynde, that I shaU pro cure instaunce and as moche as in me is shall doo that the same my lord the kyng his heyres and successours all the sayd entrecourse and amyte and all and singuler in the same conteyned and specyfyed well fully and truly shall holde observe and fuUfylle and by his subjettes and servaunts in that theym concerne and hereafter shall concerne weU and truly shall doo to be holdyn observed and fuUfylled and to the contrarlent doers and brokers of the same shall ministre or doo to be ministred justyce. In witnesse whereof the scale of armes of me the same Henry to these presents I have put wryten at London the fyrst daye of the moneth of Maye in the year of our Lord God MCCCCXCVI. and the xi yere of the reygne of my sayd soveragn lord Henry the VII. [MS. Cotton. Vitellius. A. 16.] Number II. ANGLIA Status omn' fructuum proventuum et reven'onum tam omn' et singulorum benefidorum ecclesiastic' quam omn' et sin gulorum dominiorum maner' terr' et ten'torum de jure hereditario d'no Joh. Colett sacre theologie professori de cano eccl'ie cath' sancti Pauli London pertinen' et spec- tan' et que sene'lo hosplcil sui pro expensis ejusdem hos- picli idem decanus asslgnault et unde rec' balllui firmarii et alii ministri eorundem computablles pro anno finito ad f m sancti Mich'ls arch'l anno regni dn'i regis nunc Henr' VII' xxiiii" responsur' sunt vldel't Arr' sperat' de anno preceden' in London et Mlddx at ii ill ob Sutton Court xv vi Dorneford vii xii Denyngton v vu x Colchestre iiii ill iiii J. Derby nup. rec' debet vi xiu ii ob Summa xlvi iiii viu q NUMBER II. 279 Decan' S. Pauli London videl't Manerium de Lambourne ad fir- mam Manerium de Sutton ad firmam Reddit' et firme in London et Midd Rectoria De Denyngton ad firmam xxxi Beneficia ecclesiastica valent hoc an no videlicet Prebende de More in eccl'ia S. Pauli x Botivant in eccl'ia cath' Ebor xx Dorneford in eccl'ia cath' Sarum xx Libera Capella De Hilberworth in com. Norff. . . . xxx Ixvi XIII nu xlll xiii illi XXXV cxiili vi viii Ixxii CCXVl XVI VUI Patrimonii de jure hereditario Weston Turvyll xxi 11 ix Wendover x nil u Weston et Hame vii vi vill Wyngrave viii Vaches in Aston Clynton et Wen dover vu xiu vi Shyryngton vii xvii iiii Barton in com. Cant vi xiii iiii Clypsby in com. Suff.^ Ixx Colchestre iiii London xxi ix viii hu^^xviii xvii v Sum .•• cccxl xiili 1 " A mistake for Norf. T 4 280 MISCELLANIES. L. .. d. Summa totalis omn' fructuum et ali orum premlssorum ccclxi xviii ix Reprls' In reddit' assis' predlctl decanatus in Midd' nondum leuab' iv vu Reprlsls prebende de Botivant — lix iiii Reprisis terr' in occu'one Wyl'mi Bradshawe vui ix ix Reprisis terr' in occu'one Wyl'mi Bornman ix xix Reprlsls et ahis reprisis que per copiam pot'nt apparere per esti- mac' X xxxmi xvu VIU Et reman' de fruct' revensio'bus at ahis premissis cccxxvii xiii Unde predictus sen'lus recognovit se reclplsse super expensis hosplcli predlcti c inl ix Et reman' in man' rec' baUivorum firmar' tenen' et aliorum mini strorum de premissis computa- billum exlsten' ccxxvi xvi iiii Edmundo Knevet armlgero Manerium de Weldon cum mem- brls in Denethorpe Kyrkby Dene Dulwyk Thyrnyng com. North' et Hunt' perquisit' de Wyll'mo Knevet mllife et Job' Knevet armig' valent' per an num in toto xliiii Inde resolut' annuatim diversis d'n's feodorum Ulorum lilii x Clar' xh v ii NUMBER II. 281 L. s, il. Crlstofero Knevet Terr' et ten'ta perquisit' de Catys- by in Weldon iii Terr' et ten' perquisit' de Edwai-- do Cumberford ib'm iii xv Terr' et ten' perquisit' de Thoma Stoke in Kyrkby xx xl Manerium de Thurrnyng perqui sit' de MuUlsworth Hi illi Duo mesuag' cum terr' et per' in Thrynnyng perquisit' de Hen- ford XX xi Cet' terr' et ten' ib'm perquisit' de Newman xv Inde resolut' diversis d'nis feodo rum Ulorum annuatim X V ob Clar' xii xvi 11 ob Tallat' Terr' et ten' talat' apud Wendo ver in com' Buk iv Hi iv Inde resolut' dlv's d'nis feod' an nuatim in redd' assis' xx vu xl Clar' iii v vi Joh'i Colet fil. Wi'i Colet Terr' et ten' in feod' simplici in Wendover vi iiii Inde resolut' div's d'lnls feod' U- lorum xxxiili v Clare iiii v xi Non legate o Terr' et ten' in Clyppesby in com' Norf per ann' clare ill x est solus seisitus. Septem acre pasture et nil acr' terre apud Bednalgrene perqui sit' de Ed'o Ratclyf xviii 282 MISCELLANIES. L. s. d. Inde resolut' ep" London annu atim de redd' iiii 1 Clare xui i est solus seislt' Non legat' Terr' et ten' in Stebbunhlth man- cion' ib'm cum gard's locatis pro \\l. per ann. ac sex ten' in White-chapeU per ann xxvii xliii Inde resolut' ep'' London annu atim de redd' custumar' Ivi Clare per ann' xxiiu xviii N. B. The casting up of sums is not always exact in originals. The preceding account is taken out qfa manuscript writ in the dean's days, now in the hands qfthefiamily. Number III. The testament ofi Doctor John Colet, A. D. 1511, fir tlie endowment qfS. PauTs school. IN Dei no'ne Amen quarto die mensis Novembr anno Dom' mlU'mo quingenteslmo undecimo et anno regni regis Henrici octavl post conq'm tercio ego Johannes Colet sacre theologie doctor decanus ecclesie cathedral' sancti Pauli Lon don' civis et mercerus London' ac hber homo ejusdem civi tatis filiusque et heres Henrici Colet mUitis civis 'dum vixit et aldermannl London' condo facio et ordino presens tesfa.- mentum meum quo ad disposicionem omn' et singulorum mesuag' terr' et ten' meorum subscript' cum eorum pertinen' infra civitatem London' in hunc qui sequitur modum In primis lego et recommendo a'lmam meam Deo om'lpotenti Creator! et Salvatori meo beateque Maiie matiique ejus Item ego prefatus Johannes Colet do et lego custodibus et co'tati mister' mercerie civitat' London' omnia mesuagla NUMBER III. terr' et ten' mea subscript' videl't unum mesiiagium cum do' ibus shopis celar' solar' et om'ibus aliis suis pertin' situat' jacen' et exlsten' in Soperslane in parochus sancti Antonini et sancti Pancracii in warda de Cordewanerstrete Lpndon' in ter veneUam vocat' Soperslane ex parte orien' et tenem' pri oris et conventus hospitalls beate Marie de Elsyng London' et ten' pertinen' eccl'ie pariochal' de Colchirche London' ex parte occiden' et ten' eccl'ie beate Marie de Arcubus London' ex parte austral' et aleiam sive introitum ib'm ducentem a Soperslane predict' usque ad posterior' portam mesuagii dictorum prioris et conventus ex parte borial' Continetque idem mesuagium meum per terr' in longitudlne in parte ori ental' inde juxfa Soperslane predict' inter boriam et austrum centum et septendecem pedes et unum poUicem assise et in latitudine in parte borial' juxta dictam aleiam sive introitum inter orlentem et occiden' octoginta sex pedes et qulnque polhces assise et continet in longitudine in parte austral' inde per tria separal' frontispicia sive separales angulos nonaglnta et tres pedes et quatuor poUices assise Interius sive posterius quorum quidem trium frontisplciorum sive angulorum con tinet in longitudine per austrum viginti novem pedes et di- mld' et tres poUices assise Mediumque frontispiclum sive angulus inde continet in longitudine per austrum viginti et qulnque pedes assise Et anterius frontispiclum sive angulus inde continet in longitudine per austrum triginta novem pe des et dimidium assise Que faciunt dictam longitudinem nonaglnta quatuor pedum et trium poUlc' Et continet inte rius sive posterius frontispiclum dictorum trium frontisplci orum in latitudine in fine occidental' inde quadraginta qua tuor pedes et tres poUices assise Et medium frontispiclum inde continet in latitudine ad finem occidental' versus au strum plusquam diet' interius frontispiclum per viginti et sex pedes septem poUic' et dimidium assise Ac interius frontispiclum inde continet in latitudine ad finem occidental' inde versus austrum plusquam medium frontispiclum per quatuordecim pedes et duos poUices assise Ac etiam omnia ilia sex tenementa mea cum eorum pertinen' situat' ad invi cem in p'ochia sancti Geor^i in Podynglane juxta Estchepe 284 MISCELLANIES. in warda de Belyngesgafe London' inter ten' deca' et capi tuli diet' eccl'ie sancti Pauh London' ex parte oriental' et ve neUam vocat' Podynglane ex parte Occident' et veneUam vo cat' saint Gorges lane ex parte austral' et ten' mistere de les Salteres London' vocat' le Scaldynghous alias diet' Fanners- halle ex parte borial' Acquldem sex tenementa cum perti nen' continet per terram in longitudine in austral' parte [inde] juxta d'cam veneUam vocat' saint Gorges lane inter orlentem et occiden' quinquaglnta octo pedes et sex poUices assise et in longitudine in borial parte inde juxta diet' ten' vocat' le Scaldynge hous inter orlentem et occidentem septua^nfa pedes assise et in latitudine ad finem occidental' inde juxfa Podynglane predict' triginta sex pedes et tres poUices assise et in latitudine ad finem oriental' inde inter boriam et au strum viginti sex pedes et octo polhces assise Necnon om'ia ilia duo mesuagla mea cum eor' pertinen' situat' et ja cen' in parochia sancti Magni Martiris in warda pontis Lon don' unde unum mesuagium inde situat' et jacet inter regi am stratam ib'm vocat' Briggestrete ex parte oriental' parte inde juxta dc'am stratam vocat' Briggestrete inter austrum et boriam decem pedes et qulnque poUices assise et regiam viam ib'm vocat' Thamlsestrete ex parte borial' Et continet in longitudine in oriental' parte inde juxta dict'm stratam vocat' Briggestrete inter austrum et boriam decem pedes et qulnque polhces assise et in longitudine in occidental' parte inde inter austral' et boriam decem pedes et tres poUices ac dlmld' assise et in latitudine ad finem borial' juxta Thamlse strete predict' novem pedes et octo poUices assise Et in lati tudine ad finem austral' inde inter orien' et occiden' novem pedes septem poUic' ef dlmld' assise Et aliud messuagium inde situat' et jacet in Briggestrete predict' infer stratam de Briggestrete ex parte orien' et tenement' nuper Johannis Brunshop et Augnetis uxoris ejus et ten' nuper de d'ne Allele Talllard ex partibus occiden' et austral' et ten' nuper Ricardi Cokkys et Leticie uxoris ejus ex parte borial' Et continet in longitudine in borial' pai'te inde inter orienfem et occiden' sexdecim pedes et septem poUices assise et in longi tudine in parte austral' inde inter orlentem et occiden' quin- NUMBER III. 285 decim pedes et octo polhces assise et in latitudine ad finem oriental' inde juxta Briggestrete predict' decem pedes sex poUices et dlmld' assise et In latitudine ad finem occidental' inde inter boriam et austrum novem pedes et septem pol hces assise Que quidem messuagia terr' ac ten' ac cetera premissa cum eorum pertinen' nuper fuerunt predlctl Hen rici Colet patris mei et que per et post mortem ipsius Hen rici Colet jure heredltar' mihi descendebant Ac in que om nia et singula mesuag' terr' et ten'ta ego prefatus Joh'es Colet jure heredltar' nuper intravl ac inde plenam et pacifi- cam possessionem et sel'nam cepi Ac in hujusmodi posses sione mea inde hucusque contlnuaul et de eisdem mesuaglo terr' et ten' ac ceteris premissis cum eorum pertinen' ad pre sens solus seisitus existo in domln' meo ut de feodo Habend' et tenend' om'ia predict' mesuag' ac cetera premissa cum eorum pertinen' praefatls custodibus et co'itatl mistere pre- dlcte et successoribus suis Imperp'm de capitalibus d'nis fe ed' ur per servit' inde debit' et de jure consuet' pro continu- atlone cujusdam scole in cimiter' d'ce eccl'ie sancti Pauli pro pueris in eadem scola in bonis moribus et I'ratur' erudiend' et pro sustentat' unius magistri et unius hostiarii vel duorum hostiariorum ejusdem scole Ac ad alia opu-s usus, et inten- tiones content' et specificat' slue contlnend' et specificand' in quibusdam indentur' inter prefatos custodes et coi'tem ex [una] parte et rae prefatum Joh'em Colet ex altera parte de et super premissis inter aha confect' sive conficiend' In cu jus rei testimonium huic presenti testamento meo sigUlum meum apposul hils testibus. Number IV. Des. Eras. Rot. concio de puero Jesu pronunciata a puero in nova schola Joannis Coleti, per eum instituta Londini, in qua prcesidet imago pueri Jesu, docentis specie. PUER apud pueros verba facturus de ineffabUl puero Jesu, non optarim mihi TuUlanam illam eloquentlam, quae brevi atque inani voluptat'te aures dellnlat. Quantum enim 286 MISCELLANIES. abest Christi sapientia a sapientia mundi, (abest autem im- menso intervallo,) tantum oportet Christianam eloquentlam a mundana dlfferre eloquentia. Sed lUud una mecum arden- tlbus votis impetretls velim ab optimi Jesu patre Deo, a quo ceu fonte bonorum omnium summa proficiscitur, quique so lus foecundo illo suo Spiritu linguas infantlum reddidit dlser- tas, vel e lactantium ore laudem absolufam depromere soli tus; ut quemadmodum omnis nostra vita non alium ex primere debet, quam ipsum, de quo dicturi sumus, Jesum, ita et oratio nostra ilium sapiat, iUum referat, ilium spiret, qui et verbum est Patris, et verba vitce solus habet, cujus sermo vivus et efilcax penetrantior est quovis gladio ancipiti, ad intimos etiam cordis recessus penetrans : ufque ipse, de cujus ventre fiumina promanant aquce vivce, non gravetur per organum vocis nostrae veluti per canalem, in omnium vestrum animos influere, multoque gratiae ccelestis irrigare succo. Id ita futurum confido, commUitones mei charisslmi, si piis votis purgatas, ac vere sitientes aures adjungetis, eas videlicet aures, quas asternus ille Sermo requirens in Evan gelio, Qui habet, inquit, aures ad audiendum, audiat. Nos porro cur non audeamus rem hanc, arduam quidem illam sed tamen piam, aggredi ? praesertim ipso adjutore Deo, in quo hoc plus potest mortalis infirmltas, quo minus suis niti tur viribus, et in quo Paulus omnia se posse gloriatur. Jam vero cum tanto studio flagrent isti qui mundanae, hoc est, diabolicas militiae dedere nomina, ut suum quique ducem laudibus vehant ; nobis quid prius, aut antlquius esse debet, quam ut praeeeptorem, vlndicem, imperatorem nostrum Je sum, ac eundem quidem omnium, sed tamen peculiariter no strum, id est, puerorum principem, certatim plis celebremus praeconiis? Hunc in primis cognoscere studeamus, cogni tum laudemus, laudatum amemus, amatum expiimamus at que imitemur, imltantes eo fruamur, fruentes immortall fae- liclfate potiamur. Sed in tam ubere, tamque Immensa rerum copia, unde quaeso Inltium, aut ubi finem nostra reperiet oratio, cum is de quo loqui paramus, fons sit, vel (ut verius dicam) oceanus bonorum omnium. Verum ut ipse natura incomprehensus, et infinitus, tamen sese velut in arctum co- NUMBER IV. 287 hibuit contraxitque, itidem et nostra oratio in explicandis ejus laudibus, quas modum nesciunt, modum tamen ipsa si bi faciat oportet. Equidem tria potissimum esse video, quae vel disdpulorum, vel mUitum animos soient ad gnaviter agendum Inflammare, ea sunt duels admiratio, amor, et prae- mium. Itaque quo praeceptori nostro ac dulci Jesu studiis alacriorlbus pareamus, agedum singulatim haec in eo pia cu- riosltate consideremus. Primo loco quam sit susplciendus undique ac stupendus : deinde quantopere dillgendus, atque ob id imitandus : postremo quam ingens dilectionis fructus. Ac mos quidem est rhetorum in hoc dicendi genere illustrium principum adhibere exempla, videhcet quo coUatione crescat is quem conantur laudibus attollere. Verum Imperator no ster usque adeo superat omne celsltudinls humanse fastigium, ut quicquid quantumvis egregium adhibuerls, tenebras ad- moverls, non lucem. Cujus enim imagines ac natallum splendor non videatur esse fumus, si cum Jesu componas, qui quidem ineffabUi, imo etiam incogltablli ratione Deus a Deo semper absque tempore nascltur aeterno summoque Pa- rentl per omnia aequalis ? Quanquam hujus vel humana na tivitas nonne facile regum omnium claritatem obscurave- rit? quippe qui stupente rerum natura, auctore Patre, af- flante Spiritu, pronubo angelo, citra virilem operam, virgo de virgine coelitus gravida, natus est homo in tempore, et rursum ita natus est homo, ut neque Deus esse desineret, neque sordium nostrarum quicquid omnino contraheret. Jam vero quid eo fingi potest amplius, qui Infusus per omnia, nullo tamen loco cohibitus, in seipso manet immensus? Quid iUo ditius qui summum Ulud est bonum, a quo bona proma nant omnia, nec tamen ipse dimlnui potest ? Quid illustrius eo, qui splendor est paternas glorias, quique solus illuminat omnem hokinem venientem in hunc mundum P Quid illo potentlus, cui Pater Omnlpotens universam tradidit potesta tem in coelo et in terra ? quid eflficaclus eo, qui simphci nutu condidlt universa; ad cujus jussum sUescit mare, vertuntur rerum species, fugiunt morbi, concldunt armati, pelluntur daemones, serviunt elementa, scinduntur petrae, reviviscunt mortui, resipiscunt peccatores, denique novantur omnia? 288 MISCELLANIES. Quid augustius eo, quem admirantur superi, tremunt inferi, medius hic orbis supplex adorat, ad cujus comparationem summi reges nihil aliud quam vermiculos esse sese confiten- tur ? Quid eo fortius et Invlctius, qui solus mortem aliis in- vlctam, sua morte devlclt, ac Satanae tyrannldem coelesti, vir tute demolltus est ? Quid triumphantius eo, qui perfractis ac spoliatls inferis, tot pus comitatus animabus, victor coelos adiit, ibique sedet ad dextram Dei Patris ? Quid iUo sapi- entlus, qui tam admirabili ratione cuncta condidlt, ut vel in aplcuhs tot tantaque suae sapientiae reliquerit miracula, qui que tam stupendo rerum ordine atque harmonia nectit, con tinet, admlnlstrat universa, obiens omnia, nec tamen a seipso dlscedens, omnia movens, ipse immotus ; omnia concutiens, ipse tranquUlus : postremo in quo id quod stultissimum est universam mortalium sophorum sapientiam longo superat intervallo? cujus debet nobis esse gravior auctoritas, quam ejus de quo Pater Ipse palam est testificatus, Hic est Filius meus dilectus, in quo mihi complacui, ipsum audite ? Quid aeque reverendum, atque is cujus oculis perspicua sunt om nia ? Quid perinde formidandum atque Uie, qui solo nutu potest et animam et corpus in tartara mittere ? Quid au tem formosius eo, cujus vultum Intueri summa est felicltas? Denique, si multis pretium addit antiquitas, quid Uio antl quius, qui nec inltium habet, nec finem est habiturus ? Sed fortasse magis convenerit, ut pueri puerum admiremur, quandoquidera hic quoque stupendus occurrit, usque adeo quod IUius est infimum, sublimius est us quae sunt apud ho mines excelslsslma. Quantus erat ille, quem infantulum va- gientejn, pannosum, abjectum in prassepe tamen coehtus ca- nunt angeli, adorant pastores, adorat et quae genuit, agno- scunt bruta animantia, indicat Stella, venerantur magi, timet rex Herodes, trepidat omnis Hierosolyma, sanctus amplectitur Symeon, vatlcinatur Anna, et in spem salutis erlguntur pii. O humilem subhmltatem et subhmem humilitatem ! Si nova miramur, quid simile unquam aut factum, aut auditum, aut cogitatum ? Si magna suspicimus, quid nostro Jesu modis omnibus amplius, quem nulla creatura possit vel exprtlnere voce, vel cogitatlone concipere ? Hujus magnitudinem qui NUMBER IV. 289 velit oratione complecti, is multo stultius agat, quam si co- netur vastlssimum oceanum angusto exhaurlre cyatho. Ado randa est ejus inimensltas magis quam explicanda, quam vel hoc ipso magis mirari convenlt, quo minus assequlmur. Quidni nos faciamus, cum magnus Uie praecursor Indignum sese pronunclet, qui corrlgiam calceamentorum ejus solvat ? Agite igitur, pueri suavissiml, hoc tam inclyto puero Jesu praeceptore, hoc tam insigni duce, sancta superbia gloriemur, hujus sublimitas nobis ad pie audendum animos addat, in hoc uno nobis ipsi placeamus ut exlstimantes Ulius omnia nobis esse communia, nos ipsos mehores arbitremur, quam qui, semel tali addlctl Imperatorl, mundo vitiisve sordidissi- mls utique dominis servlamus. Secunda pars. Sed admirantur, et contremiscunt etiam daemones, amant soli pii. Quamobrem altera hujus orationis pars, ut proprlus ad nos pertinet, ita est attentlorlbus auribus acclplenda, vi delicet quot nominibus Jesus sit nobis amandus, vel red- amandus magis, uf qui nos et nondum conditos, ante omne tempus amavit in se, in quo jam tum erant omnia. Itaque natlva sua bonitate cum nlhU €ssemus, nos finxit, finxit au tem non quodvis animal, sed homines, et finxit ad sui ipsius Imaginem, hoc est summi boni capaces, ac sacro suo oris af- flatu splritum vitalem indldlt. Ad hiec ceteris animantibus Imperio nostro parere jussls, quin etiam angelis in nostri tu telam deslgnatis, latisslmam hanc, ac pulcherrimam mundi fabricam nostris addlxit usibus. In qua nos velut in admi- rabUl quodam theatro constituit, ut in rebus creatis oplficls sapientiam admiraremur, bonitatem amaremus, potentiam veneraremur, quoque id magis fieret, tot animi dotibus or- navlt, tam persplcaci Ingenii lumine condecoravit. Quid hoc anlmante fingi poterat vel admlrabihus, vel felicius ? Sed O semper felicitatis comitem invidiam. Rursum serpentis astu in peccatum, hoc est plus quam in nihUum relapsus est miser. Sed hic tu rursum optime Jesu, quam ineffabUl consiho, quam Inaudlto exemplo, quam IncomparabUl charitate tuum figmentum restitulsti? Nam ita restituisti, ut labl prope- 290 MISCELLANIES. modum expedlerif, eamque culpam quidam non absurde fe licem vocaverlt. Omnia debebamus Conditori, at Reparatori plusquam omnia debemus. Ultro temetipsum e regno pa tris in hoc nostrum exllium demisisti ; ut nos paradiso ex- actos, coeh elves redderes: nostram humanam carnem as- sumpsisti, ut nos in tuae divinitatis consortium ascisceres : nostrum hunc limum induisti, ut nos immortahtatis gloria vestires : nostra tectus forma, nobiscum in hoc calamltoso mundo complures annos agere voluisti, ut vel sic in tui ra- peres amorem ; nudus in hanc lucem, imo noctem emersistl, nobiscum atque adeo pro nobis vagisti, sitisti, esuristi, al- slsti, aestuastl, laborasti, delassatus es, egulsti, vigUastl, jeju- nastl : tot malls nostris obnoxius esse voluisti, ut nos ab om nibus exemptos malls, in tui, hoc est summi boni communi onem assereres. Deinde per omnem sanctissimo vitas tuae seriem, quam efficaclbus exemplis animos nostros inflammas ? quam salutarlbus praeceptis erudis, ac formas? quam stu- pendls miraculis expergefacis ? quam blandis monitis trahls ? quam certis promlssls invltas, ut non sit aha commodior via ad te, nisi per teipsum, qui unus es via, Veritas, et vita. Sed viam non indlcastl modo, verumetiam aperulsti, dum pro nobis vinclri, trahl, damnari, rideri, caedi, conspul, va- pularl, probrls affici, demum in ara crucis agnus sine ma cula Immolarl voluisti, ut nos tuis vincuhs solveres, tuis sa- nares vulnerlbus, tuo lavares sanguine, tua morte ad immor talitatem eveheres. In summa totum te nobis impendisti, ut tui (si fieri possit) jactura nos perditos servares. Vitae redditus, toties tuis apparulsti, atque Ulis intuentlbus Patrem repetlsti, ut membra confiderent eo se perventura, quo caput jam prascessisse conspicerent. Deinde quo magis confirma- res amicos Patre placato, egregium iUud perpetui amoris tui pignus misisti sacrum ilium Splritum, quo mortui mun do, longe verius ac felicius jam vlveremus in te, quam nostro hoc spiritu vivlmus. Quaeso quid his summae charitatis ar gumentis poterat accedere? Ne haec quidem tam multa, tam magna flagrantlssimo tuo in nos amori sat erant. Quis enim commemorare possit, quot martyrum mortlbus nos ad hujus vitae contemptum aniinas ? quot virginum exemplis NUMBER IV. 291 ad continentiam accendls ? quot sanctorum monumentis ad pietatem solicitas ? quam admlrandls ecclesiae tuae sacramen tis communis pariter et ditas? Ut consolaris, erigls, ar- mas, doces, mones, trahls, rapis, mutas, transformas nos ar- canis tuis Uteris, in quibus vivas quasdam tui sclntlUulas condi voluisti, magnum amoris incendium excltaturas, si quis modo pia diligentia conetur excutere. Denique quam undique nobis obvlus es, ne quando liceat obllvlscl tui. Ad haec quam paterne toleras peccantes; quam clementer reclpis ad te redeuntes ? Nec imputas beneficia tua gratis, nec reslpiscentlbus nostra imputas malefacta. Ut subinde tacitls velhcas, ac trahis Insflnctibus ? ut emendas adversis ? ut aUlcls prosperls ? ut omnem moves lapidem, ut nusquam cessat ardentissima tua charitas in fovendis, asserendls, tu- endls, beandls nobis ? Sed quam pauca de tam innumeris perstrinxlmus, commUitones ? et tamen videtls quam sit im mensus benefidorum acervus. Eat nunc qui volet et Pyla- das, Orestes, Perithoos, Theseos, Damonas, ac Pythias ver bis phaleratls efferat, mera prae lis nugamenta. Atque haec quidem contulit ultro nlhU promeritis, imo transfugis, atque hostibus, et a quibus nihil omnino mutui beneficii redire po terat. Si mediocribus officiis homines ad amandum homi nem accendlmur, hunc conditorem, vlndicem, sic amantem, sic promerltum, non saltem redamablmus ? quandoquidera hanc solam gratiam ille a nobis reposclt, quam tamen ipsam in nostrum refundit lucrum. Adamas sanguine moUescit hircino. Aquilae, leones, pardi, delphlnes, dracones, agnos cant ac referunt beneficium : et O durltlam cordis humani plusquam adamantinam, si tam Inaudita charitate non mi- tesclt : O ingratltudinem plusquam belluinam, si tantorum meritorum potest obllvlsci: O singularem impudentiam dicam an potius dementlam, si sic condltus, sic restitutus, sic locu- plefatus, tanta obrutus beneficentia, ad tantas vocatus spes, quicquam amare potest, praeter ilium unum, in quo et a quo sunt omnia, quique nobis omnia secum impertlt. Porro au tem quanquam haec charitas mortales omnes complectltur, tamen nos iUi pecuhariter debemus, propterea quod in nos trum hoc est puerorum ordinem singularem quadam pro- u 2 292 MISCELLANIES. pensione atque indulgentia fuisse sese, pluribus declaravit argumentis. Primum quod ita ut erat vatum oraculls pro- missus, puer parvulus nasci voluit, cum esset Immensus. Propterea quod adhuc uteri virginei latebrls Inclusus, Infan- tls item nondum nati gestlculatione, atque exultatione gavi- sus est salutari. Deinde quod statim innocentium puerorum sanguine, suam nativitatem voluit consecrari, ut his quasi velltlbus, dux invictus bellum auspicaretur. Adde his, quod instante morte trlumphall Hlerosolymam venlens pu erorum occursu, atque officio decorari, puerorum voce suas laudes decantari maluit. Jam vero quam amantem, quamque sollcltum puerorum patronum agit, cum matribus infantes suos offerentibus ut Jesu contactu consecrarentur, discipu los ne possent admltti vetantlbus Indlgnans : Sinite, inquit, parvulos venire ad me. Neque vero pueris benedlxit tan tum, verum etiam negat uUi mortahum aditum patere in regnum coelorum, nisi qui ad parvulorum formam descende- rlt. Rursum, quam amanter et Ulud ? cum tam graviter deterret ab offendendls pusiUis, affirmans magis expedire, ut molari saxo collo alligato praeceps in mare detur aliquis, quam ut unum quemlibet ex his parvulis qffendat. Atque his quam insigne addidit eloglum ad puerorum commenda- tlonem ? Amen dico vobis, Angeli eorum semper vident fiad- em Patris. Gratias agit tibi tuus tlblque dicatus grex, Jesu praeceptor, cui quaeso ut sacras tuas manus semper admovere veils, et ab omni scandalo procul arceas. Quid Ulud ? nonne magnum amoris indicium, cum puero in me dium coUato, discipulis eum exemplo proponlt? Nisi, in- quiens, conversi fiueritis, et efficiamini sicut parvulus iste, non intrabitis in regnum coelorum. Annon eodem pertinet? cum Nicodemo sciscitantl, qua via possit ad vitam immor talem pertlngere, jubet ut denuo renascatur, hoc est in pu erum redeat. Usque adeo Christo duel nostro placuit in fantia, ut senes etiam cogat repuerascere, si modo vehnt ad Ulius admltti consortium, extra quem nuUa salutis spes est. Neque vero a Christo dissonat Petrus cum admonet, ut tanquam nuper editi infantes lac concupiscamus. Neque discrepat Paulus, Filioli /?ici,lnquiens, quos iterum parturio. NUMBER IV. 293 donee fiormetur Christus in vobis. Idem parvulos in Christo lacte potaf. Multa sunt id genus in mysticis hteris; omnino Chrlstlanlsmus nihil aliud est quam renascentla, quam re- puerascentla quasdam. Magnum igitur pueri, magnum pu eritiae sacramentum, qua Jesus tantopere delectatus est. Non contemnatls aetatem nostram, quam verus ille rerum aestimator tanti fecit; tantum demus operam, ut ejusmodi simus pueri, cujusmodl dlliglt Jesus. Dillglt autem inno- cuos pueros, docUes, simplices, atque illud interim memlne- rimus, hanc Deo gratam pueritiam non in annis esse sltam, sed in animis, non in temporibus, sed in moribus. Est enim praeposterum quoddam, noblsque magnopere fuglendum puerorum genus, qui mento levi, mente sunt hirsuta, et astate Impuberes, vitiosa astutla senes sunt. Est Igitur no vum quoddam pueritiae genus quod a Christo probatur, pu eritia citra puerllltatem, et omnino senUis qusdam pueritia, quae non annorum numero constat, sed Innocentla, sed in genii slmplicltate. An non Id palam indicat Petrus cum alt, Deponentes igitur omnem maliciam, et omnem dolum, et si- mulationes, et invidias, et detreclationes, sicut modo geniti infantes, rationale, et sine dolo lac concupiscite, ut in eo crescatis in salutem. Cur addidit rationale ? nempe ut ex- cluderet stultitiam, quae hujus fere astatis consuevit esse co mes. Cur detrahlt invidias, simulatlones, ac reliqua id ge nus vitia, quae senum sunt quasi pecullaria ? nimirum ut In- telligeremus, Christi pueros slmphcitate ac puritate aestimari non natalibus. Ad eundem modum et Paulus: JfaZi^m, Inquit, parvuli estate, sensibus autem perfecti. Quanquam est omni no in ipsa puerorum aetate natlva quaedam bonitas, et velut umbra quasdam ac slmulachrum innocentlje, vel spes potius atque Indoles futurae probitatis : moUls, et in quemvis habi tum sequax animus, pudor optimus Innocentlas custos, inge nium vitlls vacuum, corporis nitor, ac veluti flos quidam ver- nantis aevl, et nescio quomodo quiddam spirltibus cognatum ac familiare. Neque enim temere fit, ut quoties apparent angeli, puerili spede sese offerant oculis. Quin etiam magi, si quando suis incantamentls spirltum ehclunt, in puerile corpus feruntur accersere. At quanto libentius Spiritus iUe u3 294 MISCELLANIES. Divinus, piis ac Sanctis evocatus votis, in hujusmodi doml- cilia demlgrablt? Ergo ad has naturae dotes si accesserit summi Ulius et absoluti pueri imltatlo, tum demum et grati in ilium, et IUo digni pueri videblmur. Etenim sic prome rltum quis possit non amare ? Verum enim vero ea veri amoris vis est, ut ejus quod ames quam simUlimus esse cu- plas. Quod si in nobis efficit amor humanus, quantum smu- landi studium excltabit amor divinus, cui Uie coUatus, vix amoris umbeUa est? Proinde si vere atque ex animo non verbo tenus Jesum amamus, Jesum pro nostra virih cone mur exprimere, vel potius in Ulum transformari. Quod si virum assequi non possumus: saltem pueri puerum imi temur. Quanquam hoc ipsum facinus est haudquaquam puerUe, imo senlllbus etiam viribus majus, sed quod fere nusquam succedat felicius quam in pueris. Etenim quoties negotium ab humano pendet praesidio, tum robur, aetas, sexus expenditur, verum ubi gratiae res agitur, non naturas, tum hoc efficacius exerit sese miraculum spiritus, quo minus erat opls ac fiduclas in carne. Denique quid dubitemus, aut diffidamus ipso formante, fingente, ac transformante nos, quem conamur exprimere ? Quis Danieh puero tantum ad didit prudentiae ? quis puero Solomonl tantum tribuit sapi- entias ? quis tribus illis pueris tantum adjunxit tolerantiae ? quis puerum Hely dignum divino fecit alloquio ? quis Nico- lao puero? quis ^gidio? quis Benedicto? quis Agnetl? quis Cecilias ? quis tot tam teneris virgunculis tam mascu- 1am atque Invlctam virtutem dedit? profecto non natura, sed gratia, et ubi minus succurrit natura, ibi mirabUius ope- ratur gratia. Hac igitur freti, magno animo studium aemu- landi puerum Jesum capessamus, nec unquam oculos ab eo velut a scopo deflectamus. Absolutum exemplar habe mus, nihU est quod ahunde petere oporteat. Omnis IUius vita, quid nos sequi debeamus, clamitat. Quid autem docuit Uie puer purlssimus de purisslma virgine natus, nisi ut om nem hujus mundi spurcitiam et inqulnamenta vitemus, at^ que angellcam quandam vitam jam nunc in terris medl- temur, hoc est, id esse studeamus, quod Uhc semper sumus futuri. Porro spiritus Jesu cum omnes sordes aversatur, ef NUMBER IV. 295 odlt, tum praecipue belluinam Ulam, et prorsus homine in dignam hbidinem. Quid autem docuit nos, natus peregre, editus in tuguriolo, abjectus in praesepe, pannis involutus, nisi ut semper meminerimus nos hic paucorum dierum hos- pites esse, utque calcatis opibus, spretis mundi falsis honori bus, per pios labores ad coelestem iUam patriam expediti festinemus, in qua jam nunc animo vivamus oportet, etiamsi corporeis Interim pedibus terram continglmus. Rursum quid admonuit in JEgj'ptum aufugiens, nisi ut inquinatorum commerclum modis omnibus devltemus, qui Jesum in nobis, hoc est, innocentiam, ac mundi neglectum conantur extin- guere ? Quid vero docuit circumclsus, nisi ut omnes carnis affectus, ad Christum properantibus obstrepentes, ampute- mus, ac tanquam in nobis ipsis mortui, solo Jesu spuitu ducamur ac vegetemur? Quid docuit oblatus in templo, nisi ut totos nos ab ipsa jam infantia Deo, rebusque sacris dicemus, consecremusque ac protinus recenti adhuc mentis testula Jesum imbibamus ? Neque enim Ula aetas ad discen- dam pietatem imniatura est, imo non est aha magis tem- pestlva ad discendum Christum, quam ea quae mundum ad huc nescit. Jam ipsi apud vos aestimate pueri, puer Uie sic natus, sic Deo dicatus, quam Sanctis studiis totam pueritiam transegerit, non otio, non cibo, non somno, non ineptis lu- slbus, non stultis fabuhs, non evagatlonibus, quemadmo dum puerorum vulgus facit, sed aut parentum obsequiis, aut sacris precationibus, aut auscultandls doctoribus, aut piis meditationibus, aut Sanctis ac seiiis cum aequahbus pu eris coUoquiis. An non haec cum multis simillbus summatim complexus est sanctus Lucas, cum scribit ad hunc modum ? Puer crescebat, et con/brtabatur plenus sapientia, ct gratia Dei erat in Uh. An non palam videtis novum pueritiae ge nus? De pristinis pueris dictiun est: Stultitia colligata est in corde pueri: de novo hoc auditis, plenum sapientia. Quid adhuc aetatis inscitiam praeteximus, cum audiamus non sapi entem, sed plenum sapientia puerum ? Videte ut omnem rerum ordinem hic puer Invertit, qui loquitur in ApocalA-psi : Ecce ego nova fiacio omnia. Perditur sapientia senum, ac prudentia prudentium reprobatur, et pueri implentur sapi- u4 296 MISCELLANIES. entia. Nimirum hoc nomine gratias agens Patri : quoniam, inquit, abscondisti hcec a sapientibus, ct revelasti parvulis. Porro ne stultam hujus mundi, ac fucatam sapientiam affec- taremus, protinus adjecit, et gratia Dei erat in illo. Is vero demum saplt, qui mundo deslplt et nil nisi Christum sapit. Is non e philosophorum libris, non e Scotlcis argutils, sed sincera fide cognoscltur, spe tenetur, charitate devlncltur. Jam vero quam multa docuit nos ubi duodecim natus an nos, a parentibus furtim subduclt sese, ne inter notos qui dem ac propinquos repertus, post triduum denique Inventus est. Sed ubi tandem inventus est ? num in circulis ? num in chords ? num in viis ? aut foro ? Audite pueri, ubi reper tus est Jesus, relictis parentibus, quodammodo fugitivus, et ubi vos versari convenlat intelligetis : in templo, Inquam, in. ventus est, in medio doctorum sedens, audiens illos, ac vi- cissim interrogans. Quid docuit nos Jesus his tam adml randls factls ? non dubium quin rem magnam, rem serlam, rem imitandam docuerlt. Quid autem ? quid ? nisi ut gran- descente in nobis Christo, quandoquidera et in nobis nascl tur, et habet suos aetatura gradus, donee occurramus in virum perfectum et in mensur am plenitu din is ejus? Ergo cum grandescit in nobis, docet ut naturales parentum et amicorum affectus in Deum transferamus, nUiU hic amemus, nihil mlremur, nisi in Christo, et Christum in omnibus. Meminerimus nos verum patrem, patriam, cognatos, amicos habere in ccells. Verum ne quis imaglnetur hunc parentum neglectum, fastum, aut Inobedientiam sapere, consequltur, et erat subditus illis. Imo nemo suos parentes verius amat, nemo magis pie collt, nemo observantius morem gerit, quam qui sic contemnlt. Quid autem est sedere in templo, nisi in rebus sacris conquiescere, ct ad discendum animum ab om nibus tranquillum curis adferre ? nihil autem vitiis est tur- bulentlus, et otium ac quietem amat sapientia : jam a quo tandem nos gravemur disceio, quam attentas aures praecep toribus prasbere convenit, cum puer IUe ccelestis, sapientia Dei Patris, in medio doctorum sedeat, audiens vlclsslm ac rcspondens, sed ita respondens, ut omnes ejus sapientiam admlrarentur ? neque id mirum, cum is esset, ad quem om- NUMBER IV. 297 nis mundi sapientia stulta est. Prteclara res legum pruden tia, egregia res philosophije cogniflo, suspiclenda res tiieo- logiie profossio, veriun si quia Jesum audiat, iUlco stultes- cunt omnia. At nostra responsio, si sapientiae miraculum exdtare non potest, certe sapiat modestiam, sonet innocen tiam. Rursum obsecro, quam moiigeros, quam obsequentes nos esse decot parentibus ac pra?ceptoribus, quos potlores velut ingenii parentes habemus, posteaquam Uie Dominus omnium, cum a pai-entibus non InteUlgeretur, tamen subdi tus iUis redierit in Nazaretii. Debetur hoc pietati, debetur parentum reverentia-, ut allquoties Ulorum voluntati conce- damus, etiam si nos meliora vlderlmus. Sed jam operae pre tium est audire, quam apto fini Lucas Jesu pueritiam con- duserit. Et Jcsuii, Inquit, prqficicbat supiiutia, (rfafc, ct gratia apud Deum, ct apud homines. Quam multa quam paucis nos docuit ? Primum cum a?tatls accessione pietatis item accessionem oportere copulari, ne illud in nos jure did possit, quod in hominum vulgus divus dixit Augusti nus, " Qui major est aetate, major est inlquitate." Neve in hoc pulcherrimo certamine unquam restemus, aut nos asse- cutos arbitremur, sed in morem currentium in stadio, a terg-o rdicta negligentes, in anteriora nltamur, ac semper a bonis ad mdiora, a melioribus ad optima proficere conemur, donee ad metam, hoc est, hujus vitfe finem per\-entum erit. Socra tes jam admodum senex perinde quasi nUiil scuet, ita sem per et a quovis discere sitiebat. Itidem et nos, quo magis in Christo fuerimus, hoc minus nobis placebimus, si modo vere in illo fuerimus progrcssl. Adeo ^iXaur/a pestis est et studi orum, et pietatis, ac, juxta Fabium, pra?cox Ulud ingeniorum genus, non temere pervenit ad frugem vel eruditionis, vel innocentii. Equidem nec ordinem otiosum esse puto apud Deum, et apud homines, ut intelligamus in primis dandam operam, ut A-ita nosti-a Deo placeat. Id ag-eutes humanus favor ultro consequetur. Nihil enim virtute pulchrius, nihil amabihus, quam laus h»c magis sequi solet, quo minus ap- petitur. Paucis ut potulmus \obls expressinius exemplar pueri, quem et amare plurimum, et imltaii studiosissime de bemus. Atque omnino tmitum videblmur amai-e, quantum MISCELLANIES. fuerimus imitati. Rursum tanto plenius imitabimur, quanto amablmus ardentius. Proinde hoc ipsum ab illo quotldianis ac puris precibus flagltemus, ut nobis donet amore sui fla^ grare, sui simUes evadere, hoc est, castos, puros, inconta- mlnatos, mites, simplices, tractabiles, expertes fuci, Ignaros doh, nescios invidias, parentibus morigeros, praeceptoribus dicto audientes, mundi contemptores, rebus divinis addlctos, piis literis intentos, noblslpsls quotidie mehores, probatos su- perls, gratos hominibus, odore bonae famae quam plurimos ad Christum allicientes. Haec, inquam, assidue flagltemus, haec manibus pedibusque conemur, dum habUis aetas, brevi ahoqui fugitura. Etenim si recte monuit Fabius, optima statim ac primo discenda: quid prius disci debet quam Christus, quo nihil est melius, imo quid ahud discere opor tet Christianum, quam eum unum, quem nosse, vita est ceterna ? quemadmodum ipse testatur, Patrem orans in Evangeho. Id si curabimus, utcunque pro virih gratiam referemus, tam singulariter de nobis merito, et Ull referendo gratiam, ipsum nobis lucrifaciemus. Referemus autem hoc plenius, quo vehementius redamablmus. Porro hoc magis redamablmus, quo magis vita ac moribus exprimemus ? Jam quo magis exprimemus, hoc magis ipso locupletabimur. Tertia pars. At interim nonnuUis forsitan succurret animo, duram hanc esse militiam, repudlatls omnibus, cum Christo crucem tollere. Sed memineritis, fratres dllectissimi, longe diversam mundi et Christi esse naturam. Mundus ceu fucata mere trix, prima fronte blandus nobis et aureus occurrit, postea quo ingredlare altius, quo propius insplcias, hoc magis ac magis tetra, putida, fellita sunt omnia. E diverse Christus procul intuentlbus durlor apparet, dum cruces videmus, dum voluptatum ac vitae contemptum. Verum si quis fidenti animo totum sese in iUum rejlciat, reperiet nihil esse mol- llus, nlhU expedltius, nihil dulcius. Nisi forte verum non dixit Veritas in evangelio, cum alt : Tollite jugum meum super vos, et invenietis requiem animabus vestris ; jugum enim meum suave est, et onus meum Icvc. Hasc nimirum NUMBER IV. 299 vere est ardua iUa virtutis via, quam et olim tanto ante Christum utcunque somnlavlt Hesiodus, " primo aditu aspe- " rior, progressu semper et facilior, et amcenior." Sed quid tandem asperum videri potest, quo ad tam Ingens, tam cer tum Itur prasmium ? Si juxta sapientis dictum " spes prae- " mil minuit vim flagelll," quis in hac momentanea vita, non leve, non dulce judicet, quo coelestem IUam, et nunquam desi- turam sibi paret vitam, aeternum regnare cum Christo, assidue summum illud intueri bonum, versari in angelorum contu- bernio, ab omni malorum metu procul abesse? Quis oro tantum hoc premium, non vel sexcentls mortlbus emptum velit? Atqui hoc tantum donativum poUlcetur mUltibus suis imperator noster Jesus, qui neque fallere potest, neque mentiri novit. Jam apud vosmetlpsos expendlte fructus aetemitatem, ac magnitudinem, contra quam breve hujus mlhtiae tempus, nimirum haud longius ipsa vita, quae quid ahud est, quam vapor ad exlguum tempus apparens, aut unius horae somnium ? sed agedum, de hoc interim inasti- mabUi praemio sUeamus, atque inspiciamus quam abunde magna mercede dux noster mllitum suorum labores etiam in hac vita compenset, quamque dlsparem metant messem, qui mundo militant, et qui merent sub Christo Jesu. Audi amus quid ipsi dicant impu in libro Sapientiae: Lassati sumus in via iniquitatis, perditionis ambulavimus vias dfi- ficiles, viam autem Domini ignoravimus. lUectat mundus fucatls bonorum simulacris, quae nihil ahud sunt, quam mel lita venena. Mox attractos, et velut Inautoratos, Deum im mortalem! in quas curas, quas soUlcltudines, quas turbas, quas dispendia, quae dedecora, in quam consclae mentis car nificinam, in quam infelicem exitum miseros adducit? ut hic quoque jam abunde magnas Impietatis poenas dedisse videantur, etiamsi nuUi consequantur inferi. At qui rejectis mundi fuels, in Jesum, hoc est, summum bonum, omnem amorem, curam, studiumque transferunt, totique ab IUo pen dent, 11 juxta promissum evangellcum, non modo vitam aeternam possidebunt, verum etiam in hoc seculo centuplum acclpient. Quid est autem accipere centuplum? Nempe pro fucatis bonis vera, pro Incertis certa, pro fluxis aeterna, pro 300 MISCELLANIES. veneno tinctis sincera, pro curis ocium, pro solicitudine fidu- ciam, pro turbulentla tranquUIltatem, pro dispendlls utUl- tatem, pro flagltlis integrltatem, pro consclentiae cruciatu se cretum et ineffabile gaudium, pro turpi atque infelicl ex- itu gloriosam ac triumphalem mortem. Sprevisti divitias amore Christi, in ipso veros invenles thesauros: rejeclstl falsos honores, in hoc longe erls honoratior : neglexisti pa rentum affectus, hoc Indulgentius fovebit te Pater verus, qui est in ccells: pro nihilo habuisti mundanam sapientiam, in Christo longe verius saples, ac fehclus : aspernatus es pestlferas voluptates, in ipso multo alias Invenles dehcias. Breviter ubi arcanas illas, sed veras opes Christi, dlspulsa mundi caliglne videris, omnia quae prius arridebant, quae sollcltabant, ea non solum non admiraberis, sed perinde ut pestes quasdam fugles, rejlcles, aversaberis. Fit enim mi rum in modum, ut simul atque ccelestis Ula lux animos nostros penitus attigerit, protinus nova quaedam omnium rerum facies oboriatur. Itaque quod paulo ante dulce vide batur, nunc amarescit : quod amarum, dulcesck : quod hor rendum, blanditur : quod blanditur, horresclt : quod splen- didum ante, nunc sordldum : quod potens, Infirmum : quod formosum, deforme : quod nobile, ignoblle : quod opulen- tum, egenum : quod sublime, humlle ; quod lucrtmi, dam num : quod sapiens, stultum : quod vita, mors : quod ex- petendum, fuglendum, et contra : ut repente mutata rerum spede, nihil minus esse judices, quam id quod esse videban tur. Ergo in uno Christo compendio, ac vera reperiuntur omnia bona, quorum Inanes ac mendaces Imagines et umbras ceu praestiglas mundus hie ostentat, quas miserum mortahum vulgus tanto animi tumultu, tantis dispendlls, tantis pericu lis, per fas nefasque persequitur. Quam obsecro beatitudi- nem cum hoc animo conferre queas ? qui jam hber sit ab errore, liber ab affectibus, securus, semper gaudens ob testi monium conscientias, nulla de re solicitus, altus, sublimis, ac coelo proximus, jamque supra sortem humanam, qui Christo excelslsslma petra nixus, omnes hujus seculi fucos, tumul tus, proceUas ex alto rideat, negllgat, vel potius commisere- tur? Quid autem timeat is, qui propugnatorem habeat NUMBER IV. 301 Deum? Ignominiam? At summa est gloria pro Christo ignominiam pati. Paupertatem ? At opum sarclnam lubens abjicit, quisquls ad Christum properat. Mortem? At ea maxime in votis est, per quam sclt sese ad immortalem vitam esse transmittendum. Qua de re sit solicitus, cujus Pater ccelestis etiam pilos habet annumeratos ? Quid autem cupiat is, qui in Christo possidet omnia ? quid enim non commune membris et capiti ? Jam vero quanta est hominis non modo felicltas, verum etiam dignitas, vivum esse membrum sanc- tlsslmi corporis ecclesiae, idem esse cum Christo, eandem carnem, eundem splritum, communem cum illo habere Pa trem in coehs, Christum habere fratrem, ad communem cum illo haereditatem destinatum esse : breviter jam non hominem esse, sed Deum? Adde his gustum quendam fcelicltatis futurae, quem piae mentes subinde perclpiunt. Haec nimi rum videraf, hasc senserat propheta, cum alt: Nec auris audivit, nec oculus vidit, nec in cor hominis ascendit, quce prceparasti Deus diligentibus te. Proinde charlssimi sodales, si dablmus operam, ut vere Christi membra simus, juxta illud prophetlcum dictum : Justus ut palma florebit, etiam in hac vita perpetua quadam adolescentla vernabimus, non animo tantum, verum etiam corpore. Etenim quemad modum florldus IUe Jesu spiritus in nostrum spirltum redun- dabit, ita noster vicisslm in suum corpus influet, et quoad fieri potest, in sese transformablt. Nec poterit tantus animi ac corporis nitor vestium sordes ferre. Nam animus noster habltaculum est Dei, animi domlcilium est corpus, porro vestis et Ipsa corporis quodammodo corpus est. Ita fiet ut capitis puritati totus homo respondeat, donee peracta hac vita ad Immortalitatem traducatur. Epihgus. Agite igitur, optimi commUitones, ad hanc tantam fellci- fatem summis viribus enltamur, ducem nostrum Jesum unum admiremur, quo majus nihil esse potest, immo sine quo nlhU est omnino magnum. Hunc unum amemus, quo nlhU esse melius potest, immo extra quem nihil est omnino bonum. Hunc imitemur, qui solus est verum et absolutum 302 MISCELLANIES. pietatis exemplar, extra quem quisque sapit, deslplt. Huic uni inhaereamus, hunc unum amplectamur, hoc uno fru amur, in quo est vera pax, gaudium, tranquillitas, voluptas, vita, Immortalitas. Quid multis ? summa bonorum est om nium. Extra hunc nihil susplciamus, nihil amemus, nihU appetamus, huic uni placere studeamus. Meminerimus nos sub illius oculis, et ilhus angelis testibus, quicquid agimus, agere. Zelotypus est, nec uUas mundi sordes patitur. Quare puram et angelicam in Uio vivamus vitam, Uie sit nobis in corde, in ore, in omni vita. Hunc penitus sapi amus, hunc loquamur, hunc moribus exprimamus. In IUo negotium, otium, gaudium, solatium, spem, praesidium omne coUocemus. Hic a vlgUantium animis nunquam discedat, hic dormlentlbus occurset. Hunc et literae nostrae, et lusus etiam sapiant, per hunc et in hoc crescamus donee occur ramus in virum perfectum, et gnaviter obita militia perpe tuum cum illo triumphum agamus in coehs. Dixi. ^ Number V. The Statutes qfS. PauTs School. Peologus. JOHN COLETT the sonne of Henrye Colett dean of Paules desiring nothyng more thanne education and bringing uppe children in good maners, and literature, in the yere of our Lorde A M fyve hundreth and twelfe bylded a schole in the estende of Pauhs churche of CLIII to be taught fre in the same. And ordeyned there a maister, and a surmaister, and a chappelyn, with sufficiente and perpetuale stipendes ever to endure, and sett patrones and defenders governours and rulers of that same schoole the most honest and faithful fellowshipe of the mercers of London. And for because nothing can continue longe and endure in good ordre with out lawes and statutes, I the said John have expressed and shewed my minde what I wolde shoulde be truly and dili- gentlye observed and kepte of the sayde maister and sur- NUMBER V. 303 maister, and chapelyn, and of the mercers governours of the schole that In this boke may appere to what intent I founde this schole ^. Capitulum primum de magistro primario. In the grammar scole founded in the churche yard of PaiUes at the estende in the yeare of our Lorde 1518 by John Colet deane of the same churche in the honour of Christe Jesu in pueritia and of his blessid modir Marie. In that scole shaU be firste an hyghe maister. This hyghe maister in doctrine learnyng and teachinge shall directe all the scole, this maister shall be chosen by the wardens and assistance of the mercery ; a man hoole in body honest and vertuous and lerned in good and cleane Latin literature, and also in Greke, yf such may be gotten a wedded man, a sin gle man, or a preste that hath no benefice with cure, nor service that may lett the due besinesse in the scole. The mercers shall assemble togither in the scole house with such advise and counseU of weU hteratur and learned men as they can gett, they shall chose this maister and give unto him his charge saying unto him on this wyse. Sir, we have chosen you to be maister and teacher of this scole to teache the children of the same not allonly good h- terature, but allso good maners certlfieing you that this is no rome of continuance and perpetultle, but upon your dewtie in the scole. And every yere at Candlemasse when the mercers be assembled in the scole-house ye shall submit you to our examination, and found doinge your duetie accord ing ye shall continue, otherwise reasonable warned, ye shall contente you to departe, and you of your partie not warned of us, but of your mynde in any season wiUlng to departe ye shall give us warning XII monthes before, without we can be shortlyer weU provided of another. Also being maister ye shall not absente you, but upon li cense of the surveyors for the tyme being. " In the original book was this " didi manibus W. Lilii xviii die Ju- memorandum prefixed : " Hunc li- " nii, anno Dom. Mcccccxviii." " bellum ego Johannes Collett tra- 304 MISCELLANIES. Also yf any controversy and stryfe shaU be betwixt you and surmaister, or the chapelyne of the scole, ye shall stande at the direction of the surveyors being for that yere. And yf the chosen maister wlU promise this, then admytt him and name him to it, and stall him in his seat in the scole and shew him his lodglnge, that is to saye aU the sel lers bynethe the haUe, the kytchln, and butterye, and over that the hool storye, and chambers, and in the house roofe the litell middel chamber, and the galarye on the south side. As touching all the storye of chambers nexte undemeth the galary, he shall nothing meddeU withall, and they shaU geve hym the ymplements of his house by indenture. All these lodgings he shall have fre without any payment and in this lodging he shall dweU and kepe householde to his power. His wagis shaU be a mark a weke, and a lyvery gowne of liii nobles delivered in cloth. His absence shall be but onys in the yere, and not above XXX dayes which he shall take corjunctim or divisim, yf the maister be syke of sykenesse incurable or fall into such age that he may not conveniently teache, and hath bene a man that longe and laudably hath taught in the scole, thanne let another be chosyn, and by the discrete charitie of the mer cery let there be assigned to the olde maister a reasonable levlnge of xl. or otherwise as it shaU seme convenyent, so that the olde maister after bis longe labor in no wise be lefte destitute. Yf the maister be syke of sekenesse curable yet neverthelesse I will he shall have his wages, and in suche sekenes yf he may not teache, let hym reward the under- maister for his more labor somewhat according. Yf the undermaister be in literature and in honest lyfe accordynge, then the hygh maisters rome vacante, let him be chosen be fore another. The hyghe maister shall have the tenement in Steben- hlth now in the handes of Crystofer Myddelton to resorte unto, whiche tenement the mercers shall maynteln and re payre. NUMBER V. 305 The Surmaister. There shall be also a surmaister, some manne vertuouse in levinge, and well lettered that shall teache under the mais ter as the hygh maister shall appoynt hym, some single man, or wedded, or a preste that hath no benefice with cure, nor service that may let his due diligence in the scole. This surmaister the hyghe maister sball chose as often as the rome shall be voide, A man hoole in body and when the high maister hath appointed him upon one he shall call to the scole the surveyors of the scole, and before them he shall say to the surmaister on this wise; Sir, before these my maisters here the surveyors of this scole ; I shew unto you that I have chosen you to be under maister of this scole, and to teache alway from tyme to tyme as I shall appoynte you, and supply my rome in my absence when it shall be graunted me by my maisters the mercers, wardens, and sur veyors. And for such more labor in my absence I shall some what se to you as my maisters here shall thinke best, thanne the surveyors shall exorte the surmaister diligently to do his dewtie. And shall saye unto hym on this wyse. Your rome is no perpetuite but according to your labor and dili gence ye shaU continue, otherwise found not according and reasonable warned of us ye shall departe. Yf it shall be so that at any tyme ye will departe of your owne mynde ye shall geve us a half years warninge. Yf any controversy be betwixt you and the hlghe maister ye shall stande at our discretion in every thinge. Yf he wUl promise this, thenne let the mercers approve the election of the surmaister, and assigne him his lodeglng in the old Chaunge. His wagis shall be ms. viild a weke and a lyvery gowne of illi nobles delivered in clothe, he shall go to comyns with the hyghe maister if he may conveniently. He shaU be absent in all the yere not above XXX dayes, and yet than for cause reasonable, and with hcence bad of fhe hlghe maister and also of the surveyors. 306 MISCELLANIES. In sekenes curable as aches, or suche sekenes for a tyme he shal be tolerated and have his full wagis. Yf after his commynge he fall sick into sickenes incurable as lepry, or Frenche poxe, or after his longe labor in the scole fall into ageympotent, thenne I commit him to the charlte of the mercers, they of the color of the scole to provide him a lyvinge as it may be possible praying them to be charitable in that behalf. Ofi both Maisters at onys. Yf both maisters be sicke at onys, thenne let the scole cease for that while. Yf there be suche sicknesse in the citie contagious, that the scole cannot continue, yet neverthelesse bothe maisters shall have theire wagis being always readie for to teache. Neyther of these maisters shall take office of lectorshype or proctorshype or any such other besiness, which shall let their diligence and their necessary labor in the scole; yf they do and warned lawfuUy, yf they wlU not cease from suche besines, then lett them be warned to departe. Lett the hlghe maister se the scole to be kept cleane by the poor childe, and be swepte every Satorday, and also the leades, and from tyme to tyme to call upon the mercers for necessary reparations. The Chapelyn. There shall be also in fhe scole a preste, tiiat dayly as he can be disposed shall singe masse in the chapeU of the scole, and pray for the children to prosper in good life and in good literature, to the honor of God and our Lord Clirist Jesu. At his masse when the bell in the scole shall knyll to sa- cringe, then aU the children in the scole knelynge in then- seats shall with lift upp handes pray in the time of sacringe. After the sacringe when the bell knylleth agayne, they shaU sitt downe agayne to theire bokes learninge. This preste some good honest and vertuouse man shall be chosen from tyme to tyme by the wardens and assistance of fhe mercery, NUMBER V. 307 he shall also learne, or yf he be lerned helpe to teache in the scole, if it shall seme convenient to the hlghe maister or else not. He shall have no benefice with cure nor service nor no other office, nor occupation, but attende allonly up pon the scole, he shall teache the children the Catechyzon and instruction of the Articles of the Faythe and the X Commandments in Inglishe. His wagis shall be vlliZ. by the yere, and a lyvery gowne of xxv'is. vnid. delivered in clothe. His chamber and lodglnge shall be in the newe house in the olde Chayn, or in the maisters lodging as shall be thought besfe. He shall not have his rome by writinge, or seale, but at libertie according to his deserving. His absence may be once in the yere, yf it nede be, as yt shall seme best to the surveyors of the scole for that yere. And than with license askyd and obteyned of the said sur veyors. In sekenesse he shall be nothing abridged of his wages. But let it be sene that he be hoole in body when he is chosen. Yf he fall to unthrlftiness and misbehaviour after lefuU warning, let him be repeUld and another chosen within vui dayes or assone after as can be. The Children. There shall be taught in the scole children of all nations and contres Indifferently to the number of cliii * according to the number of the seates in the scole. The maister shah admit these chUdren as they be offirid from tyme to tyme, but first se that they canne saye the Catechyzon and also that he can rede, and write competently else let him not be admitted in no wise. A childe at the first admission once for ever shall paye iiiid for wrytinge of his narae, this money of the admissions shall the poor scoler have that swepeth the scole and kepeth the seats cleane. ' Alluding to the number offish taken by St. Peter, John xxi. 11. x2 308 MISCELLANIES. In every forme one principali childe shal be placid in the chayre, president of that forme. The children shall come unto the scole in the mornynge at vii of the clocke bothe winter and somer, and tarye there untyll a xi, and returne againe at one of the cJocke and de parte at v and thrise in the daye prostrate they shall say the prayers with due tract and pawslng as they be con teyned in a table in the scole, that is to say in the morn ynge, and at none, and af eveninge. In the scole in no tyme in the yere, they shall use talough candeU in no wise, but alonly waxe candeU, at the costes of theyr frendes. Also I will they bring no meate nor drinke, nor bottel nor use in the school no breakefasts, nor drinkings, in the tyme of learnynge in no wise, yf they nede drincke let them be provided in some other place. I will they use no cockfigbtlnge, nor rydinge about of vlctorye, nor disputing af saint BartUlmewe, which is but foolish babllng, and losse of time. I will also that they shaU have no remedyes [play-dayes]. Yf the maister grantith any remedyes he shall forfeit xl*. totiens quotiens excepte the kyng, or an archbisshopp, or a bishop present in his own person in the scole desire it. All these children shall every Childermas daye come to Paulis churche and hear the childe bishop sermon; and after be at the hygh masse, and each of them offer a id. to the childe bysshop^ and with them die maisters and sur veyors of the scole. ¦> Mr. Strype, in his Memorials " a man. The Popish Festival tells Ecclesiastical under Queeu Mary, p. " ns, that while he lay in his cradle, 206, gives the following account of " hc fasted ^Vednesdays and Fri- the ceremony of the boy bishop meu- " days, sucking bnt once a day on tioned in these statutes, viz. " Be- " those days. And his meekness and " cause the way of celebrating St. " simplicity, the proper virtues of " Nicolas' day is so odd and strange, " children, he maintained from his " let me add here a word or two expla- ' ' childhood as long as he lived : ' and " natory ofit. The memory of this " therefore, saitli the Festival, chil- " saint and bishop Nicolas was thus " dren done him worship before all " solemnized by a child, the better " otlier saints.' This boy-bishop, or " to remember the holy man, even " St. Nicolas, was commonly one ot " when he was a child, aud his " tlie choristers, and tiierefore in " childlike virtues when he became " the old offices was called episcopus NUMBER V. 309 In general processions when they be warnid they shaU go twayne and twayne together soberlye, and not singe out, but say devoutlye tweyne and tweyne vii psalmes with the letanye. To theyr vrine they shall go thereby to a place ap pointed, and a poore childe of the scole shall se it con veyed awaye fro tyme to tyme, and have the avayle of the vrine, for other causes yf nede be they shall go to the wa- tersyde. Yf any childe after he is receyved, and admitted into the scole go to any other scole, to learne there after the maner of that scole, than I will that suche childe for no mans suite shall be hereafter received into our scole, but go where him lyste, where his frendes shaU thlncke shall be better learninge. And this I will be shewed unto his frendes or other that offer him at his first presenting in to the scole. What shall be taught. As touching in this scole what shall be taught of the maisters and learned of the scolers, it passeth my wltte to devyse, and determyne in particular, but in general to speake and sume what to saye my mynde, I would they ' choristarum, bishop of the cho- children of the Gray Fryars, and ' listers, and chosen by the rest to then those of St. Paul's school. ' this honour. Bnt afterward there As also another general procession ' were many St. Nicolases, and every on March 8, 1554, wherein the pro- ' parish almost had bis St. Nicolas. cessioners were all the children of ' And from this St. Nicolas' day to Paul's school, &c. • Innocents' day at night, this boy These last are only mentioned to ' bore the name of a bishop, and shew how considerable St. Paul's ' the state and habit too, wearing school was in that reign, but seem ' the mitre and the pastoral staff, not to be what is hinted at here of ' and the rest of the pontifical at- the boy-bishop, of whom the learned ' tire; nay, and reading the holy Mr. Gregory of Christ-church ob- ' offices. While he went his proces- serves, in his posthumous pieces, ' sion, he was mnch feasted and that there is one of them at Salis- ' treated by the people, as, it seems, bury buried in his pontificalibus, as ' much valuing his blessing, which dying in that office. I shall only re- ' made the citizens so fond of keep- mark, that there might this at least ' ing this holyday." be said in favour of this old custom. He mentions also, p. 208, a pro- that it gave a spirit to the children ; cession on St. Paul's day by every and the hopes that they might one parish in the city, before whicb went time or other attain to the real mi- two schools; that is, first all the tre, made them mind their books. x3 310 MISCELLANIES. were taught always in good literature bothe Laten and Greke, and good autors such as have the verrye Romayne eloquence joyned with vrisdom, specially Cristen autors, that wrote theire wisdome with clean and chaste Laten, other in verse or in prose, for my Intent is by this scole specially to encrease knowlege and worshlppinge of God and our Lord Christ Jesu, and good Cristen life and maners in the children. And for that entent I will the chUdren learne first above all the catechizon in Englishe and after the accidens, that I made, or some other, yf any be better to the purpose, to induce children more spedely to Laten speeche. And then Institutum Christiani Ho minis, which that learned Erasmus made at my requeste, and the boke called Copia of the same Erasmus. And then other authors Christian, as Lactantius, Prudentius, and ^ Proba and Sedulius, and Juvencus and Baptista Mantua^ nus, and suche other as sball be thought convenient and most to purpose unto the true Laten speeche, aU barbary, all corruption, all Laten adulterate which ignorant blinde foles brought irito this worlde and with the same hath dystained and poysonyd the olde Laten speche and the veraye Romayne tongue whiche in the tyme of Tully and Salust, and VlrgUl, and Terence, was usid, whiche also salnte Jerome and salnte Ambrose and saint Austen and many holy doctors lernid in theyre tymes. I saye that fylthines and all suche abuslon whiche the later blynde worlde brought in whiche more rather may be called blot- terature then litterature, I utterly abannyshe and exclude out of this scole, and charge the maisters that they teache alwaye that is beste, and Instruct the children in Greke and redynge Laten in redynge unto them suche autors that bathe with wisdome joyned the pure chaste eloquence. Tlte Mercers. The honourable company of mercers of London, that is to saye, the maister and all the wardeins, and aU the as sistence of the felowshyppe, shall have all the care and charge rule and governaunce of the scole, and they shah NUMBER V 311 every yere chose of their companye 11 honeste and sub stantiall men called the surveyors of the schole, whiche in the name of the hoole felowshlp shaU take all the charge and besinesse about the schole, for that one yere. They shaU oversee and receave all the landes of the scole, and see them repayred from tyme to tyme by their officers, and such officer as they appoint to be renter, or to other besy nesse of the scole for his more labor in the scole besyness; I wyll he have xx*. a yere, and a gowne price xilis. id. The surveyors of the scole shall come into the scole vi dayes before Xtmasse vi dayes before Ester, vi dayes be fore salnte John Baptiste daye, and vi dayes before Mi- chaelmass, and paye the hlghe maister and the surmaister, and the preste their quarter wages, and at the latlr end of the yere, they shall gyve accompte to the maisters, wardens and assistence of the felowshype. Their accompts shall be about Candlemasse, three dayes before or three dayes after Candlemasse. In that daye ap poynted shaU be an assembly, and a llteU dinner ordeyned by the surveyors not exceedlnge the pryce of fower nobles. In that daye they shall call to a rekenlnge all the estate of the scole, and see the accompte and discharge the olde surveyors, and to the younger chose another and in that daye affer the accompte they shaU geve to the maister war den a noble yf he be present or else not. To eche of the other wardens V*. yf they be present or else not. To the surveyors eche of them XI*. for theyre labors for that yere. For theyr rydlng and vysityng of theyre landes to eche of them XI*. yf they ryde. The clerke of the mercery shall inacte all thinges that daye and have for his labor ill*, lind. See that the stuarde bring in his court roUes ear he hi ve his fee. See that the bayliffes renewe theyr rentalls every yere. Let not the landes of the schole, but by the space of five yeres. That is spared that daye in rewardes and charges lett it be put in the treasure of the scole. x 4 312 MISCELLANIES. They shall dyvers tymes in the quarter come to the scole and see how they do. Every yere at the foot of the accompte all ordynary charges done, the overplus of the monye which at this daye is extemed, this I hooly gyve to the felowshippe of the mercery to the malnteynlng and supporting and repayring of that longeth to the scole from tyme to tyme. And albeit my mynde is that they shall have this sur plusage for thentent aboveseyd, yet nevertheless I wiU the sayd surplusage as much as shall be spared of it, above re parations and casuelties at every accompte be brought and put in a cofir of iron gy ven of me to the mercers standynge in ther hall, and there from yere to yere remayne aparte by it self that it may appere how the scole by the owne selfe maynteneth it self. And at length over and above the own ly velode ; if the saide scole shall grow to any further charge to the mercery that than also that may appere to the laude and prayse and meryte of the sayde felowshippe. Libertye to declare the Statutes. And notwithstanding these statutes and ordinances be fore written In which I have declared my mynde and wlU. Yet because in tyme to come many thyngs may and shaU survyve and growe by many occasions and causes whiche at the making of this booke was not possible to come to mynde. In consideration of the assured truthe and circum spect wlsedome and falthfull goodnes of the mosf honest and substantial felowshype of the mercery of London to whome I have commytted all the care of the schole, and trustyng in theyre fidelite and love that they have to God and man and to the scole, and also belevyng verely, that they shall aUwaye drede the great wrath of God. Both all this that is sayde, and all that is not sayde whiche here after shall come unto my mynde whyle I live to be sayde, I leve it hoolely to theyre discretion and charlte : I mean of the wardens and assistances of the felowshype with suche other counsel! as they shall call unto them good lettered and learned men, they to adde and diminlshe of this boke, NUMBER V. 313 and to supply in if every defaulte. And also to declare in it every obscurite and darknes as tyme and place and just occasion shall require; calling the dredefuU God to loke uppon them in all suche besynes and exorting them to feare the terrible judgment of God whiche seeth in derkness, and shall render to everye man accordynge to his workes. And finally prayinge the great Lorde of mercye for theyre fayth fuU dealing in this matters now and alweye to send unto them in this worlde muche wealthe and prosperyte, and affer this lyfe muche joye and glorye. The Landes qfthe Scole. L. s. d. Fyrste of the olde scole Item the iiii shoppes in the holde of Berel Item the tenements in Bridge-strete Item the tenements in Soperlane . . . Item the tenements in Poding-lane... /fem the holdes without Aldgate ... XX nu VUI VI VIU VI xm nil VI XIU UU VI XVIU Summa xxxiii Item the maners and landes and te nements in the counte of Buck. ... lil Item the maner of Vach in Barton with the members viii Item the maner of Berwlcke viii Item of landes in Colchester ill Summa Ixxu Item a tenement and certen closes late in the holde of WiUiam Role by the yere Item a tenement and a close late in the holde of Clyfton Itern a close late in the holde of mais ter WeUis IX vl ob XUI IX ob XXVI vill XXUI Ull 314 MISCELLANIES. L. s. Item another litell close in the holde • of the same maister Wcllis v Item a barne late in the holde of the same man vi Item of Edmonde Role for iiii acres of lande of the backeslde of White- hart-strete v Item of Chrystopher Hall for certen lande late John Atfeux by the yere vii Item of the same Hall for vin acres of lande in London felde xvi Item of Mr. Crystofer Middleton for a certen tenement there xx Item iiii little tenements there xiii Item ix acres pasture next die place there xxx Item a place with gardens there xl Summa xvdii xvi Payde to the bisshopp of London yerely at iiii termes of londes and tenements before hi iiii Summa clar xvi Summa totalis cxxll iiii vii ob Whereof deducted for the shoppes "j in the holdyng of Berell for a [• iiii certain tyme Remayneth clere cxviii iiii vii ob Charges ordinare out payde yerely. To the hye maister hi mai'c. The under maister xxvi marc. Ul mi V xl xl XXVI vm XX xm nil Ixxix vill illi NUMBER V. 316 L. s. d. The preste viii Theyr ly verye iiii The supervisours Uii For the visitation of landes illi The clerke The maister warden To sf uardes Tobaylyffs The costes of the dyner The officer of the mercery renter of the scole For his gowne Summa Ixxix So resteth to the reparations suytes -x casuelties and aU other charges ^xxxviii xvi ill ob extraordlnarye J Joannes Colett fundator nove scole manu mea propria. Number VI. An account qfthe high masters qf St. Paul's school. WILLIAM LILLY, the first master of this school, was born at Odiham, in Hampshire. After he had travelled abroad in Italy, where he acquired the knowledge of the Greek and Latin tongues, and had made some stay in the isle of Rhodes for the same purpose, having also visited Je rusalem, at his return to England he set up a private school, till Dr. Colet pitched upon him for the head master of his new erected school at Paul's, where he taught ten years; preferring him the rather for his being a married man, and the father of many chUdren. He was the godson of the famous WUliam Grocyn, who dying in 1522 left a legacy to him. The Latin Grammar commonly used goes 316 MISCELLANIES. under his name, though, as is before shewn, his patron Dr. Colet and others had a hand in it: however, he is said to be the first Enghsh traveller that brought Greek out of Italy to Oxford about the year 1490=. He was author and translator of several miscellaneous pieces d, though Mr. Wood, in his account of him, forgets to mention any of them. He was greatly valued by the leamed men of his time : we have a great elogy of him in Ric. Pace''s ded. epist. to Colet, prefixed before his book of The Use qf Learning, set down in this Appendix. He composed (in gratitude to his patron dean Colet) the epitaph in Latin verse which was Inscribed upon his monu ment in St. Paul's church. He himself died of the plague in the year 1522; was buried in St. Paul's church ; having, on a brass plate fixed in the wall by the north door, an epitaph composed by his son George LUly, and was as foUows : Gulielmo LUio Paulina schola olim praceptori primario, et Agneta conjugi sacratissimo in hijus templi Coemiterio hinc a tergo ntmc destructo, consepultis Georgius Lilius hujus ecclesia canonicus Parentum memoria pie consulens Tabellam hanc ab amicis ccmservatam hic reponendum curavit. ' Polydore Vergil gives him this gymnasmatum titulo sunt inscripta, character: that he was " Vir (quem- Britannus est, vir omnifariam do- " admodum dicit Horatius) integer ctus, non modo Graecos authores, " vitae scelerisque purns, postqnam sed et ejus nationis mores vernaculos " in Italia aliquot per annos per- domestice notos habens, ut qui in " fectis literis operam dederat, do- insula Rhodo fuerit aliquos annos "mum reversus Anglorum primus commoratus; is nunc Indum litera- " eas docuit." Jngl. Hist. lib. xxvi. rium quem Londini Coletus instituit '•''i" '^^*- magna cum laude exercet. Seati " Gulielmus Lilius Mori sodalis, Rhenani Epistola ad Bitibaldum tn cum quo vertendis Grsecis epigram- principio Epigram. Thoma Mori, matibus j.-im olim coUnsit, quae pro- ito. Bas. 1518. NUMBER VI. 317 Erasmus gives LiUy, before the epistle to the Syntax, this character : that he was utriusque literatura haud vul gariter peritus, et recte instituenda pubis artifex; i. e. that he was a man singularly skilful in both kinds of hterature, [Latin and Greek,] and an artist in the bringing up of youth. He had many great scliolars, who proved after wards famous in their generations; as Lupset, sir Anth. Denny, sir Edw. North, sir Will. Paget, &c. His son-in-law and successor Ritwyse has left these verses on him :Vivere perpetuis si possunt nomina chartis, Ac cineri quemquam est fias super esse suo; Crede tuo hoc, Liii, doctrina munere claro, Dignus es aterna posteritate firui. His own son George, being born in London, was edu cated in Magdalen coUege in Oxford ; travelled afterwards to Rome, where he was received into the protection of cardi nal Pole, and became noted there for his singular parts and learning; and after his return, (in queen Mary's reign,) was made canon of St. Paul's cathedral and prebendary of Canterbury. He was author of Elogia Doctorum Virorum in Anglia, et Chronicon Angl. Regum. 4!to. Francof. 1565. John Ritwyse, or Right wyse, in Latin ^Justus, was the second head master, having before been Mr. WUl. LUly's usher. He was born at Sawl, in Norfolk, educated in Eton school, elected into King's college in Cambridge anno 1507. He made the tragedy of Dido out of Virgil, and acted the same with the scholars of his school before cardinal Wolsey with great applause. He married Dlonysia, fhe daughter of Mr. WUl. LiUy, whom he succeeded in the head master's place, 24th Hen. VIII. anno 1522. After his death she was married again to James Jacob, one of the = Leland dedicates a copy of verses Quadam dexteritate, nec ruinam to him under the foUowing title : ^d Musarum pateris nitentium ul- Justum PaulincB Schola Moderato- lam, rem. Tu nunc Juste, meum manu be- Qui linguas teneras nova rejin- nigna gis Carmen suscipe 318 MISCELLANIES, masters of this school, by whom she had a son, called Poly dore Jacob, probably the godson of Polyd. Vergil. This Ritwyse was a most eminent grammarian and critic : he re vised and corrected his father Lilly's Latin Grammar, and made useful additions to it: for whereas the Grammar, as completed by Lilly, was mostly in prose Latin, under the four parts of Orthographia, Etymologia, Syntaxis, and Prosodia, master Rytwyse put the finishing hand to Pro pria qua maribus, and like rules of finding the praeterper- fect tenses and supines of verbs, caUed As in presenti^; as Mr. Robinson afterwards added the rules of Heteroclites, beginning Qua genus, &c. He was head master ten years, as his father-in-law had been before him, and dying in the year 1532, was succeeded by RiCHAED Jones, who entered upon the government of the school the same year, of whom a learned foreigner gives a very good characters. Thomas Feeeman succeeded in 1549, having remained here ten years, gave way to John Cook, M. A. admitted into King's coUege, Cam bridge, anno 1533. He seems to be a native of Lincoln shire, and schoolfellow with the lord treasurer Burleigh; as may be conjectured from a letter of the said Cook to the said lord, thankfuUy acknowledging the obliging reception that great minister of state once gave him after a long ab sence and intermission of acquaintance. He was rector of North Cadbury in Somersetshire, given him by the earl of Huntingdon, by the interest of lord Burleigh. We have nothing more to remark of him, but thaf he succeeded in this place tbe very year that queen Elizabeth came to the crown : and by his direction and care, one of '' Gulielmi Lilii grainmatici et po- inaj praeeeptorem. AntverpuB apud etae eximii, Pauliute scholae olim Mich.Hilletiium. Jn.^l.T).\XX\ll. moderatoris, de generibus nominum b Lilio mortuo Ryghthusus ac verborum prffiteritis et supinis re- et Ryghthuso Ricardus Jonys homo guise pueris apprime utiles. Opus re- doctus atque modestus successerit. cognitum et adauctum cum noini- Polyd. Verg: Urb. Angl. Hist. p. num ac verborum intcrpretamentis, \b^i. per Joannem Ritiiissum scholae Paul- NUMBER VI. 319 the scholars of his school spoke a congratulatory oration to her in her passage tiirough tbe city, as she came over- against the school, with some verses to the same purpose ; which were graciously received by her majesty, and are as foUows, out of Holinshed's Chronicle, vol. ill. p. 1177. Philosophus ilic divinus Plato inter multa praclarc ac sapicntcr dicta, hoc posteris proditum rdiquit; rcmpubli- cam illam fielicissimam fiorc, cui princeps sophicc studiosa, virtutibusque ornata contigerit. Quem si vcrc dixisse ccn- seamus {ut quidem verissimc) cur non terra Britanuica plaudcrct? Cur non populus gaudium ac Icetitiam agita- ret? Immo, cur non hunc diem, albo {quod aiunt) lapillo nofarct? Quo princeps talis nobis adest, qualem pi-iores non vidcrunt, qualemque posteritas haud fiacile ccrncrc poterit, dotibus quam animi, tam corpo7-is undique ficelicissima. Casti quidem corporis dotes ita apcrtce sunt, ut oratione lion cgcant. Animi vero tot tantcrquc ut ne verbis quidem exprimi possint. Hcec ncmpc regibus summis orta inorum. atque animi nobilitatc genus exuperat. Hujus pectus Christi religionis amore fiagrat. Hac gcntem Britannicam virtutibus illustrabit, d yp eoque juMi- ticB tcgct. Hcec Uteris GrcEcis et Latinis cximia, ingvnio- que prapollcns est. Hac impcrantc pietas vigcbit, Anglia Jhrebit, aurea secula redibunt. Vos igitur Angli tot com moda acccpturi, Elizabetliam reginam nostram celeberri mam, ab ipso Christo hujus regni imperio destinatam, lio- nore dcbito prosequimini . Hujus impcriis annuo Ubcntis- simo subditi estote, vosque tali principe dignos preebetc, ct quoniam pueri non viribus sed precibus officium pr(Bstarc possunt, nos alumni hujus scholce ab ipso Coleto olim. templi Paulini decano crtructtr, tcncras palmas ad caelum tcn- dcntcs, Christum Opt. Max. prccaturi sumus, uf tuam cel situdinem annos Nestoreos summo cum honore Anglis im- peritarc fiaciat, matrcmquc pignoribus charis beatam red dat. Amen. Anglia nunc tandem plaudas, Icetarc, rcsulfa, Praesto jam vita est, prcesidiumquc tibi. 320 MISCELLANIES. En tua spes venit, tua gloria, lux, decus omne, Venit jam solidam quce tibi prasstat opem, Succurritque tuis rebus qua pessum abiere, Perdita qucsfiuerant hcec reparare volet. Omnia fiorebunt, redeunt nunc aurea scecla. In melius surgent, qu9. Cato Major, de .Amidtia, ice. Varior. Epist- Fam. Varior. 2 vol. Amst. 16TT. de Offidis. De Oratore per Tho. Cockman. Oxon. 1696- Academicse et Tusculanae Quaestiones et de Finibus, apud Gryph. Lugd. 1-5T4. Tuscul. Disputationes per Davis. Cant. 1709. E e 4 424 MISCELLANIES. Clenardi (Nlc.) Epistolae. C. Plant. 1566. Grararaatica Graeca. Cruell (Lud.) Tragoedise ef Coraoedlae quaedam datae in CoUeg. Conlrabricensl. Lugd. 1605. Demosthenls de Corona et .(Eschinis in Ctesiphont. Ora tiones Gr. Lat. Oxon. Dionysii Periegesis Gr. Lat. cum Eustathii Comment. Oxon. 1697. Dodwdli (Hen.) Annales VeUdanae. Donatl (Marcelli) et Steph. Dilucidationes in Historic, ali quot Romanos. Erasmi Paraphrasls in Evang. Lucae. Antv. 1541. Euripldis Tragoediae Gr. Lat. per W. Piere (Ch. Mag.) Cant. 1703. Eutroplus Gr. Lat. edit. Tho. Hearne. Oxon. 1703. Fabricil (Jo.) Bibliotheca Latina. Lond. 1703. Galel (Tho.) Opuscula Mythol. Phys. et Ethic. Amst, 1688. Rhetores Graeci. Genealogicon Latlnura. Lond. 1711. Geograph. Vet. Script. Gr. Min. 3 vol. Oxon. 1703. Goldasti (Mdch.) Centurla Epist. Philol. Var. Viror. Franc. 1610. Gordon's (Pat.) Geographical Gramraar. Lond. 1711. Graramaticae Rudimenta Lat. Metric. Lond. 1688. Diction. Franc, et Lat. per M. P. Brosses. Gen. 1625. Greenwood's (James) Enghsh Grammar. Lond. 1723. Grotius (Hugo) de Jure BelU ac Pads. Amst. 1670. Gruteri (Jani) Fax Artium Liberal. 8 vol. Fr. 1602. Hermogenes Rhetor. Gr. Lat. cum Sturmii schohis. 3 vol. Bas. 1570. Herodlan. Gr. Lat. Boeclerl Notis. Arg. 1694. Gr. Lat. Oxon. 1678. Herodotus Lat. Franc. 1595. Hesiodus Gr. Lat. Clerici Notis. Hierocles Gr. Lat. per Needham. Cant. 1709. Horatius in usura Delphini. Lond. 1722. Johnstoni (Joan.) Idea Univers. Medicinae. Amst. 1648. NUMBER XXI. 425 Italic. Gramm. Lanfredini. Par. 1683. Ker (Joan.) Sdectae Observat. Ling. Lat. Lond. 1709. Kidder's (Rich.) Comment, on the Pentateuch. 2 vol. Lond. 1694. Linacer (Tho.) de Emend. Struct. Lat. Serm. .ff. Steph. 1550. Livius Tit. cum Annotat. Godelevaei. Franc. 1578. ex Rec. Tho. Heame. 3 vol. Oxon. 1708. Longinus de Sublimltate Gr. Lat. Oxon. 1710. Luclanus Gr. Lat. per Leedes. Cant. 1704. Machiavelli (Nlc.) Princeps. Lugd. Bat. 1640. Macrobius Varior. Comment. Malalae Historia Chronica. Oxon. 1691. Maximus (Valerius.) C. Plant. 1574. Maye (Georg.) Institutiones Ling. Hebr. Lugd. 1622. MeursU (Jo.) Criticus Arnoblanus. Lugd. Bat. 1598. de Funere Rom. cui adjicitur de Puerperio. Hag. 1604. Misson, Nov. Voyage d'ltalie. 2 vol. Hag. 1694. Mceris, Atticista, de vocibus Atticis et HeUenicis. Martinus (Georg.) Gr. Lit. de Pronunc. Oxon. 1712. Munsteri (Seb.) Grammatica Hebraica. Bas. 1552. Nelson's (Rob.) Fasts and Festivals. Lond. 1705. Nov. Meth. pour apprendre la Lang. Grecq. Par. 1673. Paterculus (Velldus.) Oxon. 1711. Perrault, Homraes lUustres. Par. 1701. Plautus cum Varior. Notis. 2 vol. Amst. 1684. Pontani (Jacob.) Progymnasmata Latinitatis. Fr. 1643. De Pronunciatione vera Gr. et Lat. Comment. Bezae, Me- cherchi, Lipsii, &c. H. Steph. 1587. Relandi (Adriani) Analecta Rabblnica. Ultr. 1702. Rhodigini (Ccehl) Lectioues Antiquae. 3 tom. Lugd. 1562. Schedius (Ehas) de Dus Germanls. Scoti (Alex.) Grammatica Graeca. Lugd. 1613. Senecae Tragoediae ex Rec. Scriveril. Lugd. Bat. 1621. Sophocles Gr. Lat. cum Schohis. Cant. 1665. Stephani (Hen.) Ciceronian. Lexicon. Gr. Lat. H. Steph. 1557. 426 MISCELLANIES. Stephani (Hen.) Vera Pronunciatio Ling. Gr. Lat. H. Steph. 1587. Stradae (Fam.) Prolusiones Academicae. Lugd. 1627. Tatiani Oratio ad Graecos. Gr. Lat. Oxon. 1700. Terentius in usum Delphini. Lond. 1723. Terence, les Coraedies, par Dacler. 2 tom. Par. 1699. Testamentura Nov. Gr. ex edit. Buck. Cant. Vegetii, Frontini, et aliorum de re mihtari libri. Wesalice. 1670. Verrii Flaccl quae extant, et Pomp. Festus Scallgeri Not. Gen. 1593. VlrgUlus cum Notis Varior. 3 vol. Xenophon Gr. Lat. 3 vol. Oxon. 1696. Zouchei (Ric.) Quaestiones Juris CivUis. Oxon. 1660. INDEX. INDEX. Acolyte, Colet no more at his taking preferment, 20. Albert's "Parva LogicaUa," 157. Alcock, John, bishop of Ely, endows a school at Kingston- upon-Hull, 91. Aleyn, Dr. afterwards archbi shop of Dublin, a legatee of dean Colet, 202. Ammonius, And. his death, 1 86. his character, 187. Andreas, Bern, tutor to prince Arthur, 109. Andrew, Mr. benefactor to St. Paul's school, 226. Andrews, Lancelot, bishop of Winton, 322. Antlin's, St., church, beautified by sir H. Colet, 6. Appleby, a school there, 91. Aquinas, Tho. not affected by Colet, 49. Arthur, prince, born in sir H. Colet's mayoralty, 2, 109. Ascham, Rog. 326. Ascough, Philip, high master of St. Paul's school, 331. Athenians sacrificed a ram to Conidas the instructor of Theseus, 326. Auricular Confession condemn ed by Colet, 68. Aylmer, bishop, 343. Aylmer, sir Laur. fined by the king's oflicers, 5. Bachelor of divinity, what re quired for that degree, 46. Bagford the antiquary, 229. Bale's account of Colet's writ ings, 173. Banbrughe, John, a legatee in dean Colet's will, 202. Basil, St. on Isaiah, translated by Erasmus, 151. Bentley, Dr. Rich, his epitaph on Roger Cotes, 370. Binton, school there, 90. Bloys, Henry de, bishop of Winchester, 105. Blondele, Richard, an account of, 358. Bond, R. 326. Botevant, prebend in the church of York, 18. Bow and arrows, the way of teaching the alphabet by them, 156. Boy-bishop, the superstition of Colet's time, 124. Bradford, Sam. bishop of Ro chester, 373. Bricot, friar, Colet's enemy, 181. Brome, Colet's friend, 29. Brougljton, Hugh, 322. Brounsby, prebend in the church of St. Paul, 185. Brundly school, 326. Bucer, Mart. 84. Buchanan's book for the use of the earl of Cassils, 122. Budaeus, Will, a friend of Colet, 21. letter to him about Co- let's death, 204. Burton, Will, an account of, 344- Cain, dispute between Erasmus and Colet about his offence, 34- 43° INDEX. Calamy, Dr. Benj. an account of, 354- Cambridge, the state of it in Colet's time, i6. Camden, Will, account of, 343. Capel, sir Will, his prosecu tion, 5. Carmelian, Pet. excused from paying a subsidy to the king, 192. Cassils, earl of, 122. Cave, sir Ambrose, 320. Cecyl, secretary, 330. Celibacy of the clergy, infinite scandals thereof, loi. Chaloner, sir Tho. 320. Chancellors, why so called, 1 04. Charles V. emperor, entertained by king Henry VIII. 1 19. Charnock, Rich, very hospita ble to Erasmus at Oxford, 28. recommends him to Co- let, 29. Cheap, West, cross rebuilt in a beautiful manner, 2. Chichester, school there, 90. Churchill, John duke of Marlbo rough, an account of hira, .372. Cirencester, school there, 90. Claymond, Jo. Erasmus's letter to him, 107. Codes, Pet. relieved by dean Colet, 85. Colet, Christian, mother of John Colet, of the family of the Knevets, 7. had children twenty-two, eleven sons and eleven daughters, who all died before her, ib. her patience under the loss of them, 9. dies above the age of ninety, ib. Colet, sir Henry, father to Dr. Colet, I . his wisdom and ho nesty, ib. wealth and riches, ib. elder sheriff of London 17th Edw. IV. 2. no friend to Richard HI. ib. a great favourite of Henry VII. ib. lord mayor of London in the beginning of this reign, ib. his carver, John Percival, made sheriff of London, 3. courage in difficult times, ib. justice upon a perjured per son, ib. gives his single bond for the public faith, 4. a copy of the bond, 277. puts his seal to a public treaty, 4. protected from Dudley and Empson, ibid, lord mayor a second time, 6. re pairs the church of St. An thony, and gives a window, ib. benefactor to the church of great St. Mary in Cam bridge, ib. death and burial at Stepney, ib. his will, 398. Colet, John, dean, eldest son of his parents, 7. born at London in St. Antlin's pa rish, ib. educated in the school of that parish, 8. early disposition to piety and religion, 10. studies divinity at Oxon, ib. ignorance of the Greek tongue, 12. chooses his profession, 18. presented to his first living, Denyngton in Suffolk, by sir William Knevet, ib. to a prebend in the church of York, ib. to Thryning in Huntingdon shire by his father, 19. only acolite when presented to his benefices, 20. canon of St. Martin's-le-Grand, ib. tra vels into France and Italy, 21. natural propensities, 23. return to Oxford, 26. divi nity lecture in Oxon, 28. ac quaintance there with Eras mus and Charnock, 28. dis putation with Erasmus about the agonies of our Saviour, INDEX. 431 38. aversion to the school men, 47. is made dean of St. Paul's and doctor of di vinity, 56. table, and way of life, 72. is made rector of the gild in St. Paul's, 75. troubles from the bishop of London and others, 78. ar ticles upon which he was prosecuted, 80. design in founding his school, 91. fa miliarity with sir Thomas More, 139. sermon before the clergy in convocation, 160. a copy of the sermon, 239. a translation of it, 251. account ofhis writings, 173. deliverance, and the king's favour to bim, 181. preacher in ordinary to the king, and privy counsellor, 185. settles the affairs ofhis church, 199. his last will, 201,400,403. estate,225,278. epitaph, 227. letters to Erasmus and others, 265 — 273. his Institution of a Christian Man, 381. Pro heme to his Rudiments, 388. Colet, John, fellow-commoner of Clare hall, nearly related to Dr. Colet, 229. Colet, Rob. esq. father to sir Henry, 6. Colet, others of the same name, 230. Colet, Tho. his death and bu rial, 230. Collier, Jer. his omission of Colet's troubles, 84. Collingwood, dean of Lichfield, introduces preaching in his cathedral, 59. Compton, Spencer, 373. Conidas, instructor of Theseus, 326. Cook, John, high master of St. Paul's school, his life, 318. Cooper, Spencer, 373. Corker, William, account of him, 356. Cotes, Roger, account of, 369. Cromleholme, Sam. high mas ter of St.Paul's school, his life, 325. Cumberland, bishop, an account of, 366. Curleus, Nie. an executor of Dr. Colet's will, 203. Dancaster, Will, a legatee in Dr. Colet's will, 202. Eras mus's letter to him, 205. Davies, sir Thomas, account of, 358.. Demetrius, 22. Denny, sir Anth. 317. account of, 336- Denyngton in Suffolk, kept by Colet to his death, 12, 231. Dionysius, his works read by Colet, 12. Divinity lectures, the subject of them formerly, 6^. Doctor of grammar and rhe toric, crowned with laurel, 109. Dodingtou, George, account of, 367- Durnesford, prebend in the church of Sarum, 19. Edward IV. founds a divinity lecture at Oxon, 46. Erasmus at Stepney with Colet, 8. his ignorance of Greek at his coming to Cambridge, 16. first essay in that lan guage, ib. friendship with Colet, 28. friends in Eng land, ib. tutor to lord Mont joy and Tho. Grey of the Dorset family, ib. diverted from going to Rome, ib. conversation at Oxford, 32. epistles to Colet, 3-1, 39, 57. 134, 274. corapositions by him for St. Paul's school, 124 — 129, 384. opinion of 432 INDEX. too much severity, 154. not hasty for the reformation, 183. had a pension from Colet, 203. is recommended to sir Henry Guildford by dean Colet, 204. his lamen tation for the death of dean Colet, ib. " Concio de puero " Jesu," 285. " Christiani " Hominis Institutum," 384. Empson and Dudley's prosecu tion of mayors and sheriffs, 5. their prosecution hinted at in the Latin Grammar, 117. Fagius, Paul, 84. Farnabie, Tho. 323. Farnworth, a school there, 91. Ferdinand, Gundisalvus, 189. Ferrar, Nie. a relation of dean Colet, 229. Fifiher, Christ, entertains Eras mus at Paris, 57.- Fisher, bishop John, chancellor of the university of Cam bridge, 13. Fitz-James, bishop of London, an enemy to Colet, 78. founds a school at Binton in Somer setshire, 90. Fordington prebendary in the church of Sarum, 189. Forfar, Archibald earl of, an account of him, 371. Fox, Rich, bishop of Winches ter, only skilled in the Latin tongue, 13. France, the reason of traveUing thither, 22. Francis king of France, his in terview with Henry VIII. 223. French schoolmasters' cruelty, 153- Freeman, Thomas, high mas ter of St.Paul's school, 318. Frith, John, his conquest over sir Tho. More, 145. Fuller, Tho. his "Abel Redivi- " vus" censured, 217. Gaguinus's " History of France," its character, 30. Gale, dean of York, his kind ness to St. Paul's school, 226. Gale, Tho. D.D. high master of St. Paul's school, his life, 326. Garrard, M'ill. one of the ex ecutors of Dr. Colet, 203. Gentry, the way formerly used in their education, 106. George, St. Soworke, fraternity there, 184. Germany and northern parts neglected by English stu dents, 23. religious houses there better than in other places, 196. Gill, Alex. sen. high master of St. Paul's school, his life, 322. Gill, Alex. jun. high raaster of St. Paul's school, his life, .323- Gipps, Thomas, an account of, 357- Gonel, Will. Erasmus's letter to him, 127. Gower, Humphrey, an account of, 360. Grafton, his account of Colet's foundation, 95. Grammar schools in London, 104. Gravesend, Rich, de, bishop of London, his inventory, 77. Grocyne, WUl. one of dean Colet's lecturers, 60, 219. named by Dr. Young in his will, 191. Guilford, sir Hen. a patron of Erasmus, 203. Hale, near Wendover, birth place of sir Henry Colet, INDEX. 433 Harena, Eliz. de, mother of Andrew Ammonius, residuary executor to Andrew Ammo nius, 187. Harman, John, bishop of Exe ter, endows a school at Sut ton Colfield, 91. Harrison, John, high master of St. Paul's school, his life, 321. Hartgrave, master of Brundley school, 326. Henry VII. favours sir Henry Colet, 2. Henry VIII. his kindness to dean Colet, 185. drawn to write against Luther, 147. bred a scholar, and skilled in divinity, 54. Heretics to be put to death, how proved by scripture, 175. Heriot, sir Will, lord raayor, a weak man, 4. Holland, Henry, his account of Colet, 217. Holland, its ^schools censured, 156. Holt, John, first printed a grammar in England, 118, 119. Hooper, George, bishop of Bath and Wells, 373. Hopwood, Rob. legatee of Dr. Colet, 202. How, John, 369. Howson, John, 343. Jennings, Stephen, endows a school at Wolverhampton in Staffordshire, 91. " Institution of a Christian " Man" approved by Henry VUI. 127. Johnson, Samuel, account of, 352- Jones, Rich, high master of St. Paul's school, 318. his life, ib. Ipsvrich, a school there, 91. Italy, why visited by our nobi lity and gentry, 23. Ithel, Benj. esq. his picture of Dr. Colet, 224. Justus Jonas, his earnestness for the life of Colet, 211. an account of, 397. "Juvencus" recommended, 157. Kennedy, Gilbert, earl of Cas sils, 122. Kimbolton, built by the duke of Manchester, 372. Kingston-upon-Hull, a school there, 91. Knevet, dean Colet's raother of that faraily, 7. Kneysworth, sir Tho. prosecut ed by Empson, 5. " Lactantius" recommended by dean Colet, 157. Lancaster (house of) and York united, 2. Lane, Edw. an account of, 346. Langley John, high master of St. Paul's school, his life, 324- Langton, Tho. bishop of Win chester, endows a school at Appleby in Westmorland, 91. Latimer, Hugh, his account of dean Colet's trouble, 83. Latimer, Will, teaches bishop Fisher Greek, 14. Lee, Edw. adversary to Eras mus, 206. Leicester, Rob. Dudley, earl of, 320. Leland, John, an account of, 339- Leng, John, bishop of Norwich, 373- Libanius' "Declamations" first translated by Erasmus, 16. Lichfield, Dr. Will, chancellor of St. Paul's, his death, 1 89. Lilly, George, his " Chronicle,'' 97. character of Colet, 220. short account of him, 317. F f 434 INDEX. Lilly, WUl. his travels abroad, 22. first high master of St. Paul's school, 95. writes some parts of the Comraon Gramraar, 113, 114, 118, 119. his life, 315. Linacer, Tho. studies Greek at Florence, 21. his Grammar, 121. Longlond, bishop, his character of Colet's preaching, 396. Lucca, in Italy, 187. Lucy, the lady Theophila, 361. Lupset, Tho. a legatee in Dr. Colet's will, 202. Erasmus's letter to him about Colet's death, 206. account of, 333. Luther favoured by Erasmus, 146. Macclesfield, a school there, 91. Major, John, D. D. his Exposi tion of St. Paul's Epistles in that cathedral, 61. Malin, or Malim, Wra. high master of St. Paul's school, his life, 320. Manchester, a school there, 90. Manchester, duke of, an ac count of him, 371. Margaret countess of Richmond endows her school at Wyn- bourn in Dorsetshire, 91. Marlborough, duke of, see Churchill. Marshall, Dr. Nath. preaches at Mr. Blondel's funeral, 358. Mary, princess, king Henry VIII.'s daughter, Linacer's book designed for her use, 121. Mary, rirgin, Erasmus's Prayers of Invocation in Cambridge to her, 131. Masters of St. Paul's school, list of, 315. Meggot, Dr. Rich, an account of. 354- Mercers repair sir H. Colet's tomb, 6, 7 . dean Colet leaves them governors ofhis school, 98. Melancthon, Phil, his judgment of Linacer's book, " De e- " raendata Structura Lat. " Serra." 120. Milton, John, an account of, 347- Mirandula, Jo. Picus, his com plaint against the common way of education, 55. Monnox, Geo. mayor of Lon don, endows a school at Waltham-Stow in Essex, 91. Monastic life much abused, 65, 196. Montjoy, lord, pupU of Eras mus, 26. More, sir Thomas, reads pub licly at Oxford on St. Aus tin " de Civitate Dei," 27. used hardly by his father at Oxford, ib. the greatest wit at that time in the island, 35. his letter to Colet, 139. exposes the superstitions of the Romish church in his "Utopia," 145. complains of the vulgar method of teach ing grammar, 157. writes to Erasmus an account of the death of Ammonius, 187. his opinion of Colet's ser mon, 252. Morgan, Dr. a dignitary of St Paul's, 202. a legatee of Dr. Colet's, ib. Morland, Benj. high master of St. Paul's school, 332. Morton, archbishop of Canter bury, 118. Mulcaster, Rich, high master of St. Paul's school, his life, 321. Munster, tumults there a great prejudice to the reformation, 183. INDEX. 435 Naevius, John, master of the Lilian school at Lovain, 128. Nelson, Robert, an account of, 361. Nevil, Alex, his "Norvicus," 92. Nicholls, WUL an account of, .357- Nicodemus, his gospel affixed to a pUlar in Canterbury. 64. Nightingale, Th. account of, 333- North, sir Edw. 317. an ac count of, 337. Northey, sir Edw. an account of, 373- Nowel, Alex, a great favourer of St. Paul's school, 342. Oldham, bishop Hugh, founda tion of his school at Man chester, 90. a common friend of learning, 194. his prefer ments, ib. Oxford, the low estate of learn ing there in Colet's tirae, 15. lectures of Colet there, 26. Pace, Dr. R. banters an igno rant preacher, 50. great ad vocate for the Greek tongue, 52,203. dedication to Colet, 231, 391- Paget, sir Will. 317. an account of, 336. Parker, archbishop, his account of Colet's prosecution, 1 76. Paul's epistles read upon by Dr. Colet, 45. Paul's school, inscriptions in, 373. benefactors to, 376. sermons at the anniversary, 379. catalogue of the library there, 409. Penton, Steph. principal of Ed mund hall, 129. Pepys, Samuel, an account of, 351- Percival, lady Thomasin, en dows a school at St. Mary Wike in Devonshire, 91. Percival, sir John, carver to sir H. Colet, mayor, made she riff by drinking to him, 3. endows a school at Maccles field, 91. Perry, gave exhibitions to St. Paul's school, 226. Pett, Peter, an account of, 349. Philip king of Castile, east upon the coast of Cornwall, 119. his arrival celebrated in La tin verse by W. Lilye, ib. Physicians to be approved by the dean of Paul's, 1 84, 396. Pitts, too large in the works of his authors, 173. Plague at London, 89. at Cara bridge, ib. Poet-laureat why so called, 108. PoUtianus, 22. Postlethwayte, John, high mas ter of St. Paul's school, his life, 329. Prayers by Erasmus for the use of St. Paul's school, 1 29. Professor of divinity's blunder, 176. Reynolds, Dr. Edw. bishop of Norwich, funeral sermon on J. Langley, 324, 325. an ac count of him, 355. Rhetoric, Colet's opinion of it, 158. Richard de Gravesend, bishop of London, his inventory, 77- Richmond, Margaret countess of, see Margaret. Ritwyse, John, second high master of St. Paul's school, recommended by Erasmus, 152. his life, 317. Rosewell, Samuel, account of, 368. Roulston, a school there, 90. F f 2 436 INDEX. Ruthal, Tho. bishop of Dur ham, endows a school at Ci rencester, 90. Salem, how interpreted, 176. Scarborough, sir Charles, ac count of, 350. Schoolmasters, Erasmus's de fence ofthem, 148. Scribes, scarcity of them in England, 127. Sedulius recommended by dean Colet to his school, 157. Selling, WiU. 219. Senes in Tuscany, 192. Shene near Richmond, Dr. Co- let's hou.se there, 222. Sherborn, Rob. bishop of St. David's, Colet's predecessor, his preferment, 56. founds a school at Roulston in Staf fordshire, 90. Shragar, Will, executor to Dr. Young, 191. Sixtine, John, Colet's friend, a learned physician, 35. stu dies at Oxford, ib. his death, 191. Skelton, John, tutor of prince Henry, and poet-laureat, 109. Skinner, Will, executor to Dr. Young, 191. Sraalridge, bishop, his epitaph on Nelson, 362. Sraith, Jeremiah, 369. Smith, Robert, 370. Smith, Tho. translates Colet's serraon, 249. an account of him, 356. Smith, WUl. bishop of Lincoln, endows a school at Farn worth in Lancashire, 91. Sowle, John, a Carmelite, his lectures at St.Paul's, 62. Speusippus, his custom in his school, 154. Stafford, Geo. his lectures at Cambridge, 28, 83. Stanbridge, Jo. a noted gram marian, 119. Standish, a bitter enemy to E- rasraus, 13. and to Colet, 177. State of schools before dean Colet's foundation, 103. Statutes of St. Paul's school, 302. Stepney, a house there left by dean Colet for the master of St. Paul's, 8. St. Mary Wike, a school there, 91. Stoccleus, 219. Stone, Walt, ricar of Stepney, 231- Story, Edw. bishop of Chiches ter, founds a school there, 90. St. Stephen's chapel, Westmin ster, 219. Sutton Colfield, a school there, 9^' Swart, Mart, in rebellion, 2. Sweden, its monuments of an tiquity, 23. Svrinsted in Huntingdonshire, 194. Talbot, sir John, 369. Taylor, John, 191. Theseus, feast of, 326. Thomists, their great prevalence, 54- Thrograorton, Will. 191. Thyrning in Huntingdonshire, Colet rector there, 19. Tonstal, Cuthb. a good Grecian, 14. Tooke, Thomas, an account of, 368. Trevor, sir John, an account of, 37°- Turin, the siege of, 2 1 7. Vannes, Peter de, 187. Vaughan, Edw. preferred by Colet, 185. Vergil, Polyd. contemporary with Colet, 10. INDEX. 43f Vitellius, Corn, teaches Greek at Oxon, 95. Vives, Lud. 122. Urswicke, Christ. 18. " Utopia" of sir Tho. More, a- gainst superstition, 94. Wainfleet, bishop of Winton, founds three schools, 107. Waltharastow, a school there, Wardeboys in Huntingdonshire, 194. Warhara, archbishop, protects Colet, 82. approves of his convocation serraon, 159. Warner, Dr. reads lectures at Cambridge, 27. West, Nie. bishop of Ely, 192. Whitaker, Dr.Wm. account of, 340- Whitgift, John, archbishop of Canterbury, 8. Whittington, Robert, a gram marian, 119. Wickam, Will. 15. Wolsey, cardinal, founds a school at Ipswich, 91. Wolverhampton, a school there, 91. Wood, Ant. his account of Co- let's education, 12. Wotton, sir Henry, his remark on Henry VII. 56. Writhlington prebend of Sa rum held by Amraonius, 189. Wymborn in Devonshire, a school there, 91. York, Colet prebendary there, 18. Young, Dr. 189. his prefer ments, 190. Young, John, bishop of CaUi poU, 190. 3 9002 00707