ceived his surname (as was customary in those times) from the place of bis birth (Wickliffe in Yorkshire) which took place A. D. 1324. Oxford claims the honour of his education, and afterwards of feating him in one of her profeffors' chairs. Nor did the marks of her refpect cease with this honourable proof of it; for on his death in 1384 she gave this additional teftimonial of Wickliffe's worth, and of the sense which the university entertained of it: "that from his youth to the time of his death, his converfation was fo praife-worthy, that there was never any fpot or fufpicion noifed of him; that in his readingand preaching he behaved like a stout and valiant champion of the faith; and that he had written in logic, philofophy, divinity, morality, and the speculative arts, without an equal." Disgufted with the fuperftitions and corruptions of the Church of Rome, and indignant at the flavery and ignorance in which her wicked policy kept the mafs of mankind, he boldly ridiculed the one, and inveighed againft the other; and both by his preaching, which was affiduous and energetic, and by his writings, which amounted to nearly two hundred volumes, he first laid the foundation of religious knowledge amongst "a people that had hitherto fat in darkness, and in the fhadow of fpiritual death." His principal artillery was levelled againft the doctrine of tranfubftantiation; the infallibility of the Pope; and the fupremacy of the Romish church. He contended alfo, that the New Teftament or Gospel is a perfect rule of life and manners, and ought to be read by the people, that wife men should leave that as impertinent, which is not plainly expressed in scripture; that those are fools and prefumptuous, who affirm fuch infants not to be faved, who die without baptifm; that baptifm doth not confer, but only fignify grace; that it is unfcriptural to affert that all fin is abolished in baptifm; and that the baptifm of water profiteth not, without the baptifm of the Spirit. But although the feeds of the Reformation were thus fown by that great and good man, they notwithstanding did not ripen into fruit till a century and half after his death; when the defigns of Providence in this refpect were completed, and the basis of that evangelical system of faith and church difcipline, with which we are at present blessed, was folidly laid.+ Henry VIIIth was the inftrument appointed by the unfathomable decrees of Divine Providence for effecting, in a principal meafure, this niemorable event. It is evident, however, that this monarch was not impelled to the work by any motives either of piety or philanthropy. In the early part of life he had been a bigotted devotee of the Romish doc

* Lewis's Life of Wickliffe. Fuller's Church Hist. b. iv. p. 130. In addition to his preaching and writings in behalf of religious truth, Wickliffe adopted another method of diffufing fpiritual knowledge amongit the people, by tranflating into English and publishing the New Testament, about the year 1381. "This tranflation he made from the Latin Bibles then in common ufe, or which were usually at that time read in the church. The reaton of which feems to have been, not that he thought the Latin the original, or of the fame authority with the Hebrew and Greek text, but because he did not understand those languages well enough to tranflate them. He likewife chose to tranflate word for word; as had been done before, in the Anglo-Saxonic tranflation, without always obferving the idioms or proprieties of the several languages; by which means this tranflation in fuch places is not very intelligible to those who do not understand Latin." Lewis's Hift. Tranflat. Bible, 4, 5.

+ So far were the principles of religious reformation from making any progress in England between the death of Wickliffe and the reign of Henry VIIIth, that the most severe perfecutions followed the profeffion of fentiments adverfe to the Catholic faith; and acts of the most fanguinary kind were paffed against the followers of Wickliffe. By an act of Henry Vth, in the early part of his reign, it is enacted, "that whatsoever they were who fhould read the fcriptures in the mother tongue, (which was then called Wickleve's learning) they should forfeit land, cattle, life, and goods from their heirs for ever; and fo be condemned for heretics to God, enemies to the crown, and most errant traitors to the Find." Emlyn's Collect. of State Trials, p. 48.

trine, and it is probable that the fame attachment to it continued till the conclufion of his reign; so that he could not be actuated by "confcience towards God," in the measures which he took for the fubvertion of papасу in his kingdom; whilft the natural pride and cruelty of his difpofition, and the general tenor of his conduct, adverse on all occafions to the fanctions of humanity, forbid us to imagine, that he entered upon the great and glorious work of reformation from "good-will towards men." So far, indeed, was the important event from originating in principles honourable to the memory of Henry, that it is probable his fubjects would have continued during the whole of his reign the flaves of popish fuperftition, had not the defire of revenge induced him to adopt a meafure, which opposed the prejudices of his education, and the convictions of his mind. It is well known that after Henry had lived nearly twenty years with his wife Catherine, his natural inconftancy (made still more criminal by the pretended fcruples of confcience under which it was veiled) induced him to move the Court of Rome for a divorce from this exemplary woman, that he might be enabled to efpoufe the unfortunate Ann Bulleyn, for whom he had conceived an unconquerable paflion. The Pope, however, fearful of offending the Emperor, Catherine's nephew, by a formal fanction of this iniquitous feparation, refufed, or at least delayed, complying with the king's request: which fo exasperated Henry, that he difclaimed the fupremacy of the Roman Pontiff'; folemnly feparated himself and his dominions from the apoftolical fee; and affumed to himself the title of Sole and Supreme Head of the Church of England, next and immediately under Chrift. was, at the time

of this quarrel, furrounded by wife and good men, who had wished for a reformation of the national faith. Of these, the venerable Cranmer, and the active Cromwell, were the leading characters; who wifely availed themselves of Henry's indignation, and of the influence they at that time poffefled in his esteem and opinion, to confirm his refolution of throwing off the Papal yoke, and to render this freedom from fuperftitious thraldom the means of diffufing a purer religion over their own country. With the king's fanction, therefore, and (it should feem) affiftance also, these able friends of the Reformation compiled without delay, both in English and Latin, published and circulated, a small volume of devotional tracts, entitled the King's Primer; calculated to do away many of the erroneous notions, and to foften many of the fuperftitious prejudices, with which Popery had filled the minds of the people; as well as to infufe into them a knowledge of the fimple truths and spiritual doctrines of the gospel, and of the duties and obligations neceffarily refulting therefrom. So ardent and general was the defire for religious information, that the firft impreffion of the King's Primer was speedily difpofed of; and in the year 1535 another edition, on a larger fize, and enriched with many

4

In the beginning of his reign he was a most obedient fon of papacy, and employed his talents in writing againft Luther, in defence of the feven facraments of the church. This book was magnified by the clergy, as the most learned performance of the age; and upon prelenting it to the Pope, his Holiness conferred upon the King of England, and his fucceffors, the glorious title of Defender of the Faith. It was voted in full confiftory, and figned by twenty-feven cardinals in the year 1521.- Neale's Hitt. Puritans, vol. i. p. 8; Warmer's Eccl. Hift. vol. ii. p. 228.

+ The Latin Primers were intended for the use of those who were skilled in that tougue; and the English ones for those who were ignorant of it. In the king's injunctions, prefixed to the later Primers, all schoolmafters are directed to teach "this Primer or book of ordinary prayers unto their fcholars in English, and the youth cuftomably and ordinarily ufe the fame until they be of competent understanding and knowledge to perceive it in Latin. At what (which) time they may at their liberty either ute this Primer in English, or that which is by our authority likewife made in the Latin tongue, in all points correfpondent unto this in Englith."

b2

valuable additions, was put forth to gratify the public impatience for this popular manual. Of this fecond edition the contents are as follow: a godly preface; an expofition of the commandments, and of the creed; a confeffion; directions concerning prayer; an exposition of the Lord's prayer; a prayer to our Creator; prayers for various states of men; an office for all states; a differtation on good works; an exhortation to expect the crofs, and to bear it patiently; matins, or morning service; lauds, or acts of praife; evenfong; the seven penitential pfalms; the litany; a contemplation on pfalm li.; a prayer to our Saviour; the history of Chrift's paflion; a practical difcourse on the paflion; inftructions for children; a catechetical dialogue; prayers againft blindness and hardness of heart; various prayers and thanksgivings; the Dirige, or office for the fouls of the dead; commendations; and the collects, epiftles, and gofpels, throughout the year, with expofitions of them. This volume may be confidered as the parent of our present Book of Common-Prayer; for although, during the times of Popery in this country the forms of the Liturgy had always been in the hands of the laity, under the names of breviaries, miffals, and rituals; yet these being written in Latin, (an unknown tongue to the bulk of the community) and being full of idolatrous prayers, and fuperftitious services, were neither intelligible to the laity, nor could have furnished them with found doctrine, nor led them to right practice, had they been generally understood. The royal authority enjoined either the public or private use of the volume of fervices called "the King's Primer." But this fanction was perhaps unneceffary for enfuring its free and general circulation, as the people themselves were fufficiently prepared for its favourable reception; a fact that was clearly evinced by its rapid fale; very many editions being called for in the course of a few years.

The zeal, however, of our pious reformers was not fatisfied with these first fruits of their labours. In the fame year 1535, the whole Bible tranflated into English was given to the public, through the influence of Cranmer and his friends. The royal authority had previously been obtained to fanction and give currency to this impreffion of the holy fcriptures; and injunctions were published by Cromwell, in the name of the King; which ordained, amongst other things, that "every parfon or proprietary of any parish church within the realm, before Auguft 1st, should provide a book of the whole Bible, both in Latin and alfo in English, and lay it in the choir, for every man that would, to look and read therein: and should difcourage no man from reading any part of the Bible either in Latin or English, but rather comfort, exhort, and admonish every man to read it, as the Word of God, and the spiritual food of man's foul."+ This glorious effort in behalf of religion was followed up in the enfuing year (1536) by the fettlement of "Certain Articles of Religion, to prevent diversity of opinion both in matters of faith and worship, and to eftablish unity in the Church of England;" which being agreed upon in convocation, were approved, confirmed, and ordered to be published by the royal authority. These articles constitute the holy scriptures, and the ancient creeds, the standard of faith and doctrine. They state and explain the foundations of belief, and the terms of covenant and grace. The three facraments, Baptifm, Penance, and the Eucharift, are alone enjoined, inftead of the feven impofed by the Romish church. The honouring or worshipping of angels is condemned; and the notions respecting purgatory are corrected. Auricular confeffion and the corporal prefence are

1

left untouched; and juftification is declared to fignify the remiflion of sins, and a perfect renovation of nature in Chrift." In the fame year also, with the publication of " the Articles," appeared a feries of Injunctions, (framed, as is fuppofed, by Archbishop Cranmer) the object of which was to correct the abuses and corruptions of the clerical character, and tinguish certain fuperftitious notions, rites, and practices, that still infected both clergy and laity.

and use till the

year 1543;

to ex

The enfuing year, 1537, was marked by fresh endeavours of the reformers to accomplish their great and falutary work. Cranmer, Latimer, and other prelates, (nominated as a committee for that and other purposes, by the convocation held in 1536) drew up and published a compendium of religious inftruction called "the godly and pious Inititution of a Chriftian Man." This treatise, confifting of rules of faith and practice, revifed, corrected, and augmented by the King, and ratified by the Parliament; when it was continued to be in general request fuperfeded by an enlarged and improved edition of the fame work, altered, however, in matter and arrangement, and bearing the new title of " A neceffary Doctrine and Erudition for any Chriftian Man, fet forth by the King's Majefty of England, &c." It was called the "King's Book," and defigned for a standard of Chriftian belief, and contained the following articles or treatises:-" The declaration of faith. The articles of our belief, called the Creed. The feven facraments. The ten commandments of Almighty God. Our Lord's Prayer, called the Pater Noster. The falutation of the Angel, called the Ave Maria. An article of free-will. An article of juftification. An article of good works. Of prayer for fouls departed." In the year that followed the publication tion of this book, another step was made in the progress of reformation, as well as a small advance to the introduction of a national liturgy; namely, the printing and circulation of a form of proceffion, drawn up in the English tongue, entitled "An exhortation to prayer, thought meet by his Majesty and his Clergy to be read to the people; alfo a litany with fuffrages, to be faid or fung in time of the proceffions."†

Flattering, however, as this and other circumstances of Henry's conduct might be to the profpects of the reformers, yet the cruel caprice and childith inconfiftency of his difpofition were perpetually interrupting the progress of the work; and dictated fuch proceedings towards the clofe of his reign, as threatened the moft ferious injury to the interests of religion. Indeed, after he had effected his first and principal objects, a feparation from the church of Rome, and the affumption of the fupremacy into his own hands, which he feems to have pursued with the utmost confiftency and zeal; it appears that his fervices towards a reformation of religion were rather accidental and capricious, than steady and uniform, and refulted more from humour than from principle. Advances towards a purer faith, or retrogreffions into the corruptions of Popery, fluctuated with the ebbs and flows of royal favour; and according as Cranmer and Cromwell, Latimer and Shaxton, and other friends of the Reformation, were more or lefs in the confidence of the king, in the fame degree was his fupremacy exerted

* In the preface to this book (which was written by the king) mention is made of the reftriction that at this time was land upon certain defcriptions of his fubjects, with refpect to reading the holy fcriptures. "Confonant whereunto, (fays he) the politic law of our realm hath now restrained it from a great many, elteeming it fufficient for those so reitrained to hear and truly bear away the doctrine of fcripture taught by the preachers," &c. The prohibition to which this alludes torbade the public reading of the Bible to women, artificers, and apprentices entirely, and enjoined that none should have that privilege, unlets they hau previously obtained the royal licence for that purpose.

+ Neale's Hist. Purit. vol. i. p. 35. Burnet's Hift. Ref. vol. i. p. 331.