and haste have misled him, do not allow of any æsthetic impression being made. Something of the old More is met with at times, inasmuch as in fundamental and general matters he manifests a certain large-heartedness and moderation; but this fundamental large-heartedness does not exclude much narrow-heartedness in his judgment of special cases. His moderation in general cases is coupled with great personal bitterness against his adversaries. More was unquestionably far superior to Tindale in intellect and learning, and yet in his dispute with Tindale he plays a miserable figure. Tindale can refer to his own former statements, and to his intercourse with Erasmus; More, who had become unfaithful to his opinions of former days, has to defend himself with wretched evasions, and to take his opponent's supposed evil intentions as his shield. Tindale appears to be playing the part of a persecuted man suffering for his faith; More-once a preacher of tolerance-comes forward as the persecutor, the merciless judge of heretics. He had so far forgotten the principles he expressed in his "Utopia" that he spoke openly in favour of burning stubborn heretics. We cannot forget that the man who had the heart to do this was Lord Chancellor of England, that, in this capacity, he examined poor wretches suspected of being heretics, and that, even though he was not guilty of having ever condemned one to death-we unhesitatingly accept his own assurance on this point-still, on many occasions he made life bitter enough to them. Few things are more adapted to make us realize the weakness of human nature, and the immense gulf that lies between mere theoretical speculation and the proof we have to offer of the sincerity of our ideas, than this melancholy episode in More's life, when it is compared with the glorious days of his earlier years. Rarely has fate allowed herself to indulge in such trenchant irony as in the metamorphosis by which the author of " Utopia" became the author of the "Confutacyon of Tindale." Fate owed More some compensation, the opportunity for making atonement; and this was granted him, but in such a manner that the irony of fate again asserted itself, and even more powerfully than it had done before. In the King's (( 185 service, and to some extent for the King's sake, More had become untrue to his better self. The King now gave him the opportunity of rehabilitating himself in the eyes of the world and before his own conscience. Even when More had first entered upon his duties as Lord Chancellor in Wolsey's place, events were already at work that were eventually to turn the Defensor fidei into the Head of a schismatic Church. For several years past King Henry's brooding nature had been in doubt about the validity of his marriage with Catherine of Aragon, the widow of his brother Arthur. And these scruples, nourished by the policy of Wolsey, became of real force and importance when, about the year 1527, a passion was aroused in the King's heart for the lovely Anne Boleyn. Energetic measures were now taken in Rome to obtain the Pope's sanction for a divorce from Catherine; theologians, canons, and learned bodies were appealed to for their opinion. All Europe was occupied with the question, and a number of persons brought forward their ideas uninvited. Luther and Tindale were absolutely opposed to the divorce. The latter, who had recognized Wolsey's hand in the whole affair, wrote a powerful treatise on the subject, and one of the most attractive that had proceeded from his pen, entitled "The Practyse of Prelates" (Marburg, 1530). Tindale here censures the course pursued by the Government, and at the same time presents an historical account of the development of the hierarchy and of the crafty policy of priests from the very outset up to his own day, and included Wolsey's proceedings. When this treatise appeared, Wolsey had already fallen into disgrace. His endeavours to obtain the wished-for divorce through the Pope's authority had proved unsuccessful, owing to the policy of the Spanish court, and mainly because of the Pope's fear of the power of Charles V. Wolsey was regarded as the guilty party when the King now appeared the victim of base intrigues, as a perplexed and deceived man, and hence the fall of the universally hated prelate was inevitable. Sir Thomas More was a resolute adherent of Catherine's cause, yet did not venture to come forward in her favour, but endeavoured rather, in his position as Lord Chancellor, to act in accordance with the King's commands as far as possible. When a forcible solution of the weighty question became unavoidable and was actually taken in hand, More asked and received permission to retire from office. Thereupon, under the combined influence of patriotic sentiments and egotistical impulses, of the national consciousness and strong passions, events of the gravest kind were forced to the front: the King's secret marriage with Anne Boleyn, his public divorce from Catherine, the coronation of the new Queen, and, above all-as the crowning deed to a series of prefatory acts the proclamation of the King's supremacy in all ecclesiastical matters, and his absolute break with Rome. Thomas More had, meanwhile, been residing at his country house at Chelsea, devoting himself to his family and to his studies; and although he continued the religious controversy in his former style, still, in the midst of his domestic circle and in the society of his wife, children, and dependents, the pure humanity and genuinely religious character of his mind burst forth more brilliantly than ever. Yet, when called upon, with the other nobles of the kingdom, to give his oath to the act of succession-which, in consequence of preliminary formulas, included the oath of the King's supremacy-More steadfastly refused to sacrifice his conscience to King Henry, and was accordingly sent to the Tower, and died on the scaffold on the 6th of July, 1535. The last months of More's life and his death have enveloped his memory in a glorified light; the man's faithfulness to his convictions, his strength of character, his deep piety as a Christian, his touching tenderness as husband and father, the cheerful nature of his stoicism, combined with the refined humanity and kindly wit which adorned the character of this noblest of all humanists-were never more beautifully revealed in him than while in prison, confronting his judges, or facing death. And as the best of what existed in him, and lives on for posterity in his "Utopia," culminates and is concentrated in his death, so the figure of Thomas More, in literature and in history, radiates with inexhaustible splendour as the image of one of the greatest intellects and noblest characters which the English nation has ever produced. A fortnight before More's execution, John Fisher had suffered the same death for the same cause. Soon after this Tindale was arrested in Antwerp, imprisoned in the Castle of Vilvorde, and after a long term of confinement, was strangled and burnt as a heretic on the 6th of October, 1536. On the 11th of July of that same year Erasmus closed his rich life at Basle, amid great sufferings and bitter disappointments. A great period of culture had come to an end, but the more important of the questions that had been broached remained unsolved, the development which had been begun had not reached its full maturity in any one domain. We shall now, in the first place, follow the progress of prose on more neutral ground, and with this object in view shall have to retrace our steps somewhat. V. In the year 1523 the first volume of the English translation of Froissart's "Chronicles" had appeared, and was followed two years later by the second volume. The translator, John Bourchier, Lord Berners, was a gentleman of position, and a faithful servant both to Henry VII. and Henry VIII. in their wars as well as in diplomatic affairs. Under the first of the Tudors he had assisted in quelling a rebellion in Cornwall, and under Henry VIII. had taken a prominent part in the war with Scotland at the time when the English gained the battle at Flodden. As Chancellor of the Exchequer and at the Spanish court he had undertaken diplomatic work. He had also repeatedly acted as negotiator of peace, and yet never neglected attending the meetings of Parliament, of which he was a member. In 1520, after receiving many honours, and already a man of fifty, with his health greatly impaired, in perpetual monetary difficulties, and involved in vexatious legal proceedings, Berners was appointed Governor of Calais; here, after a life of varied activity, he enjoyed at all events some degree of leisure, and this he devoted to literary work. Berners was an industrious reader, and his chivalrous temperament was mainly attracted by historical works, whether true or fictitious, by accounts of great men, descriptions of battles, heroic deeds, and remarkable adventures. His acquaintance with the French language, together, perhaps, with some knowledge of Spanish, opened up to him many literary sources which were sealed to the majority of his countrymen, and it was his wish to make at least some of these works accessible to the English barons and knights. That his choice should have first fallen upon Froissart, whose vivacious account centres finally upon the differences between England and France, was natural enough in a Governor of Calais. In translating the old Chronicler, Berners was at the same time complying with the wishes-nay, with the commands-of the King, whose policy had meanwhile taken a direction antagonistic to France. Froissart's work was well adapted to stir up in the English people the old feelings of rivalry with France; and, by reminding them of their lost possessions there, and the glorious deeds of the Black Prince and other national heroes, aroused the English love of warfare. The most suitable form that can well be imagined for this material and a vivacious interpretation of the subject, is the purely epic presentation it had received in Froissart's hands. In endeavouring to reproduce approximately its charm in a foreign language, those will succeed best, therefore, who translate it with the greatest possible fidelity, so far as their own idiom corresponds with the naïve and striking form, and the simple construction of the sentences of the French Chronicler. Lord Berners' language and translation are of this kind, and hence his version makes the impression almost of being an original work. Powerful, therefore, was the effect it produced, particularly upon the English aristocracy. The national sentiments, as well as the chivalrous and romantic tendencies of the day, drew new nourishment from Berners' "Froissart;" for, as the work presented a detailed, picturesque, and vivid account of an important epoch in England's past, it aroused an interest in historical matters which could now, for the first time, find gratification in an admirable delineation in native prose. Lord Berners, however, thereupon directed his attention to subjects of another species, and translated the French prose-romances of "Huon de Bordeaux," "Artus de Bretaigne," or, as he calls it, "Arthur of Little Britain," |