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Bradwardine, that Wyckliffe sat, and it was there that the truth reached his heart, inspiring him to diffuse among the people that consolation and strength which he had himself obtained from the Holy Scriptures, and largely endowing him with that power of resistance, that fervent zeal and trust in God, which were destined to contribute in so great a measure to the emancipation of his country from spiritual thraldom. The work of this potent spirit was pretty clearly indicated by the priests themselves. By translating the gospel into English,' they said, Master John Wyckliffe has rendered it more acceptable and more intelligible to laymen and even to women than it has hitherto been to learned and intelligent clerks! There is a great deal in this sentence. The satire which it conveys so simply, though involuntarily, is not less worthy of notice, perhaps, than the succinctness with which it expresses the whole tendency of the reformer's labours. It was indeed he who made the truth intelligible to the common mind, separating it from the superstitious legends and the gross fables of the monks, and hanging up the lamp of heaven's glorious light where all might see it, and be guided by it. That lamp was never again to be taken down. It was frequently obscured, and as frequently did the priesthood attempt to snap the chain which held it; but it still hung there, shedding its light into the hearts of the English people, until the day had fully dawned, and the Sun of Righteousness arisen. We need not stay to point out the leading incidents in the life of Wyckliffe. These are fully known to most English readers, more fully, perhaps, than Dr. D'Aubigné has given them; but it is pleasing to find him attaching due weight to his mission, and estimating it as he does in the following paragraph :—

'Wickliffe is the greatest English reformer; he was, in truth, the first reformer of Christendom, and to him, under God, Britain is indebted for the honour of being the foremost in the attack upon the theocratic system of Gregory VII. The work of the Waldenses, excellent as it was, cannot be compared to his. If Luther and Calvin are the fathers of the Reformation, Wickliffe is its grandfather... As a divine, he was at once scriptural and spiritual, soundly orthodox, and possessed of an inward and lively faith. With a boldness that impelled him to rush into the midst of danger, he combined a logical and consistent mind, which constantly led him forward in knowledge, and caused him to maintain with perseverance the truths he had once proclaimed. First of all as a Christian, he had devoted his strength to the cause of the church; but he was at the same time a citizen, and the realm, his nation, and his king, had also a great share in his unwearied activity. He was a man complete! . While Luther was surrounded by an ever-increasing number of scholars and princes, who confessed the same faith as himself, Wickliffe shone almost alone in

the firmament of the church. The boldness with which he substituted a living spirituality for a superstitious formalism, caused those to shrink back in affright who had gone with him against priests, friars, and popes. Ere long the Roman pontiff ordered him to be thrown into prison, and the monks threatened his life; but God protected him, and he remained calm amidst the machinations of his adversaries. "Anti-Christ,” said he, "can only kill the body." Having one foot in the grave already, he foretold that from the bosom of monkery would some day proceed the regeneration of the church.'-pp. 136-139.

The period which intervened between the death of Wyckliffe and the appearance of Wolsey, whose ambition contributed so largely to hasten the progress of the Reformation, obtains from Dr. D'Aubigné little more than a general survey. Although it presents nothing equal in importance to the events of the age which followed if we except the effect produced in England by the revival of letters, there are many interesting circumstances connected with the diffusion of Wyckliffe's doctrines which might have been more fully given. The chief incidents of the period are very succinctly narrated, however, and the measures adopted in the reigns of Richard II., Henry IV., and Henry V., to arrest the spirit of inquiry awakened by the great reformer, are clearly, though briefly stated. The revival of learning-one of the causes, if not the primary one-by which the Reformation was produced, is disposed of in too summary a manner. True, it forms an element in the consideration of many of the most important events in the early part of the reign of Henry VIII., and, as such, is frequently referred to by the historian in subsequent chapters, but we could have wished that something more than a page and a half had been given to the examination of circumstances so closely allied to the diffusion of spiritual light, and which connect the Reformation movement in England with that of Germany. Among these the visit of Erasmus ought to have obtained its due prominence, for there can be little doubt that the subtle scholar of Rotterdam exer- . cised, during his sojourn in England, a much greater influence over the young prince Henry, and the scholastic circles, than is to be inferred from the historian's allusions to him. great part of his work was done after he was compelled to repair to Basle, in order to avoid the fury of the priests, from whence was diffused anew the seeds of spiritual liberty; but the ground had already been well prepared for that seed. And here again we have a clear view of the essentially religious nature of the elements at work in developing the Reformation. The learned doctor of Rotterdam was but little aware of the extent to which his labours contributed to that development. In a certain sense, he was a reformer involunta

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rily; for while he maintained that a spiritual temple must be raised again in Christendom,' yet, when his Greek Testament had shaken the hearts of men, and when the monk of Wittemberg had put the trumpet to his lips, and blown the proclamation of the new day, it was with terror and dismay that he contemplated the tempest he had done so much to raise. It was not long ere England felt the force of the revolution which his work inaugurated. Tyndale was speedily to give the New Testament to the people, as it had already been given to the scholars. This became the mission of that earnest labourer's life, and marvellous was its effect. The several chapters in which Dr. D'Aubigné narrates the incidents connected with Tyndale's share in the Reformation-and he narrates them very fully-are among the most interesting in the whole volume. They are written with great clearness and force, and, although in one or two points, particularly in his remarks upon the interview which was supposed to have taken place between the simple-hearted Englishman and the great German reformer, he differs from some of our own historians, and gives no very cogent reasons for his view of the matter, as a whole this part of his narrative is deeply interesting, and evinces, more than any of the others, the extent and carefulness of his researches.

But the period which Dr. D'Aubigné has happily called that of the two divorces was rapidly approaching. The power of Rome, which had already been so deeply effected by the reawakening of religious life among the people, and by the undermining influences of the labours of Erasmus, Tyndale, Latimer, Bilney, and others, was about to be rudely shaken by the hand of the civil power. Hitherto that power had been employed as its instrument in withstanding the attacks of the reformers; now it was to become its terror. Henry, though caring comparatively little for the church, had been drawn into the field as its champion by Wolsey, and by the appearance of Luther's writings in England. He had already, in a fit of superstitious Quixotism, earned, with the help of his Cardinal-Chancellor, the title of Defender of the Faith,' and, by doing so, says our author, 'he furnished Luther with an opportunity of establishing the authority of the Bible.' The Pope was in ecstasy, however, at the achievement of the king. Ten years' indulgences were promised to all readers of his book, while the self-satisfied author declared that he would not exchange the title conferred upon him by the papacy for half a kingdom. As a further proof of his zeal, he even wrote to the Archduke Palatine, conjuring him, if Luther did not repent, to deliver him and his audacious treatises to the flames,' offering at the same time his royal co-operation. But the reformer, nothing daunted, once

more addressed the excited monarch, and the correspondence of the Defender of the Faith' with the monk of Wittemberg, widely circulated throughout the land, was forwarding the work which Henry had now determined to arrest. The historian quotes a passage from Luther's reflections on this circumstance, which seems to us exceedingly characteristic.

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'There are twelve hours in the day,' he said; who knows, perhaps I may find one lucky hour to gain the king of England? I laid my humble epistle at his feet, but the swine have torn it. I am willing to be silent; but as regards my doctrine, I cannot impose silence on it. . . . . If any king imagines he can make me retract my faith, he is a dreamer. So long as one drop of blood remains in my body,

I shall say no. If my doctrine had no other enemies than the king of England, duke George, the Pope, and their allies-all these soap-bubbles-one little prayer would long ago have worsted them all. Where are Pilate, Herod, and Caiaphas now? Where are Nero, Domitian, and Maximilian? Where all our scribes and tyrants will soon be. But Christ? Christ is the same always. For a thousand years the Holy Scriptures have not shone in the world with so much brightness as now. I wait in peace for my last hour; I have done what I could. O princes! my hands are clean from your blood; it will fall on your own heads.'

Thus wrote the great German when in England the supremacy of Rome seemed stronger in royal support than it had ever been since the days of John. A general attack upon the heretics' was begun, and Wolsey, who had an end to gain as well as his master by upholding the papacy, breathed out threatenings against the disciples of Luther. But the very object which fired his zeal was about to become the cause of his fall, and the destruction of the pope's power in England. This arrogant and ambitious, though powerful churchman, had already attained the highest position in the kingdom under the throne. In his office as Chancellor, he governed the realm, while, as legate of the Holy See, he exercised uncontrolled power over the church. He could reach no higher point in his native land, and, alike the favourite of his king, and in influence the equal, perhaps, of most Continental sovereigns, nothing but the tiara could satisfy his ambition. Hitherto circumstances had conspired to favour his ambitious project. The contest for the imperial crown, vacant by the death of Maximilian, enabled him to carry on intrigues with both claimants-Charles of Austria and Philip of France, while secretly he wished for the success of neither. He saw that by flattering the ambition of Henry he might have some hope of satisfying his own; and although the accession of Charles V. put an end to his expectations from that quarter for a time, at

least, the assurances of friendship which he had received from that monarch, the anxiety of both claimants to gain over Henry, and the influence which the Cardinal knew he could bring to bear upon the latter, all tended to place him in an obviously favourable position for the attainment of his aim. He made great efforts, and even great sacrifices, for the cause of Charles, who, on his part, gave something very like a positive promise that if Henry could be gained over to his interest, Wolsey would be the successor of Leo X. All this ended, however, with the election of Julio de Medici, Clement VII., and Wolsey henceforth devoted himself to the gratification of his enmity towards Charles. The part he had to play was a strange one, requiring all the adroitness and dissimulation he was master of, for the emperor redoubled his appeals to Henry's ambition in order to retain his alliance, and it was with difficulty that the Cardinal maintained his position. Public discontent was beginning to be aroused against him, and his suppression of certain religious houses in order to devote their revenues to the endowment of his college at Oxford, called forth murmurs from the priests. Henry was put out of temper by the means secretly taken by Wolsey to thwart his negotiations for the invasion of France, and bluntly repeated the charges which were brought against him. It was obvious that a bold step must be taken, and the Cardinal determined on taking advantage of the king's scruples on the subject of his marriage with Catherine to break the connexion which existed between him and Charles her uncle.

The political events which led to the formation of this daring project, and which we have thus briefly referred to, are detailed by the historian with considerable minuteness, and, as we think, accurately. In the chapter which he devotes to the inquiry how far Wolsey was the originator of a scheme which was to produce such vast results, we, however, find a good deal of inconsistency. There can be no doubt about Wolsey's primary motive for moving in the matter; it was unquestionably his desire to be revenged on Charles, and we do not attach so much weight as Dr. D'Aubigné seems to do to the fact of the queen having reproached him for his dissolute life. That he was the instigator of the divorce which was ultimately to prove a divorce of England from the papacy is also pretty clear from the statements of contemporary writers, but we by no means think with the historian, that it originated solely with him, or even that his task, so far as Henry's feelings were concerned, was a very difficult one. Romish writers have endeavoured to show that it was Henry's passion for Anne Boleyn that gave energy and determination to his proceedings in the matter; and, although it may be admitted