CHAPTER XVI.

JUDGMENT CONTINUED.

All paid respect to the person and speech of Goldwell; all acknowledged his influence; and, had he rose to retire, not an individual would have remained to dispute one moment longer any matter whatsoever. All knew this well; so that, when the Bishop had once declared his decision, not the most furious zealot dared to utter a word. Bilney rose amidst the most profound silence.

'I can perceive,' he said, 'most worthy prelate, how very quickly these priests of Ipswich judge our motives, how little credit they give us for sincerity, and how soon they would gag our mouths, could they prevent our speech before thee. I am glad to find, however, that they pay thee the respect which not only thine office, but thyself dost deserve, inasmuch as they retain silence at thy command. I am silent, Bishop Goldwell, if thou dost command me; but, as thou hast given me liberty to speak, I will confine my observations to the one point which my friend has taken up upon this occasion--namely, the giving the Word of God into the hands of the people.

'Now, if I, or any other person having authority so to do, preaches the gospel, is the source whence we derive all our knowledge to be concealed? I would ask, supposing a messenger came to thee to order thee to go to such a place, wouldst thou not ask whence he derived his authority, what credentials he had to show for thine undertaking such a journey?

'No man would attend the bidding of another unless the bidding came from a source he could not dispute, and he was convinced it was his duty to obey. So I maintain before thee and all this assembly, that when we preach and teach the glad tidings of salvation, the people should have the law and the testimony, the Old and New Testaments, before them, that they may judge of the truth of the message, invitation, or threatenings which we hold forth.

'How is it possible for the people to believe any truth of Scripture without the assurance of the Scriptures themselves? I might as well preach the heathen mythology if they are merely to believe what we tell them, without our laying before them the grounds of our belief.

'I would never believe there were such persons as Adam, Abel, Seth, or Noah, or such an event as the Deluge, or such a person as Abraham, or the promise given to him as is recorded, without I had read or heard the Scriptures read, from whence the knowledge of such things and persons is derived. And how can we expect that the things we would not believe ourselves without such evidences, others should take upon a man's mere ipse dixit?

'It is here that men are subject both to credulity and incredulity; but give them the whole Word of God, let them see the wisdom which it conveys, let them think for themselves, and I am persuaded that we need never be afraid of the spread of divine knowledge.

'We cannot pretend to be inspired prophets of God, deriving from him a direct communication independent of that which he has once shed upon his ancient prophets and apostles. However secluded and separated we may be from the rest of the world--I ask thee, Bishop Goldwell--can we derive a direct communication from Heaven beyond the written Word of God? I do maintain then, that we should teach nothing for doctrine, but what the Revelation of God has unfolded.

'I would not, therefore, have the Word of God a sealed book amongst us, but spread far and wide among all people, that honest hearts may see the salvation of God, and glorify the Father of Light from whom it proceeded.

'Such appearing, to my mind, to be the wisdom required in the present day to drive from men's minds the clouds of darkness, I ask thee, Bishop Goldwell, wherein I speak what can, with justice, be called heretical? I should be glad to hear thy decision upon this point.'

The priest of St. Peter rose quickly from his seat, and stood erect before the company. He had his hair shorn with the utmost precision, his scalp bald, save the curling edges of grey hair which were allowed to cover his ears. He had a dark, black, piercing eye, which told of anything but calmness, every now and then flashing at Bilney and at the Bishop, as if it would strike a spark out of theirs to consume them. His spirit was evidently perturbed within him, and he could scarcely compose his nerves sufficiently to let his words come forth without passion.

He shook his vest with anger, as if he would not be contaminated with the touch of such men as spake that day.

'Shall the church,' he exclaimed vehemently, 'hold no more traditions? Shall we teach no kind of observances? Is the advice of our prelates and preachers to be no longer listened to, except it accord with the crude notions of this man? Are the people to run wild here and there after such preachers as John Bale and Thomas Bilney? We may as well at once give up our holy vows, and yield our right to the power of this wild abuse--that the people are to have private judgment, and cavil at our interpretation of the Bible. They hear our anthems, they join our prayers, they attend our altars, receive our absolution, and what would they have more? They want not to trouble their heads about the Scriptures. It is surely much better for them to accept what we tell them than to seek to be wise above learned men.

'But if their minds become disturbed by such men as these, there is no telling what may be the consequence. The real fact, Bishop Goldwell, is, these men have become bitter enemies to the Church of Rome, and, under the pretence of introducing the Scriptures to the notice of the people, they take every opportunity of inveighing against our authority. They know themselves deserving of censure from the church, they subject themselves to punishment, and I should think it no more than a duty I owed to the church, if I were in thy place, to commit them at once to the custody of some keeper.

'I conjure thee, venerable Prelate, not to listen to their complaint; "the poison of asps is under their lips, and they do but flatter with their tongues." I conjure thee, by the vows thou hast taken to support the church, to summon at once to thy court at Norwich these refractory sons of the church, that they may be made to answer before thy dean and chapter for the evil they have done; that if they do not cease publishing their absurd notions of religious freedom, their mouths may be stopped by thine authority, which, if thou dost fail to use, I tell thee before this company that I shall at once make a complaint to the Pope.

'It is all very well for thee to make this show of popularity in this ancient palace, and at thine own board, but a bishop who is so discourteous to his own clergy, and so very partial to these recusants, is not, I conceive, faithful to his trust. I am discontented and dissatisfied with the treatment which we true sons of the Roman Catholic Church have met with this day, and I conceive that a just cause of complaint is given to the hierarchy in Ipswich; and, unless a direct distinction be forthwith made in our behalf, I shall call upon all my brethren to join me in a petition to the higher authorities, that we may be justified in the sight of our fellow-townsmen.'

A dead silence pervaded that assembly, and even the Bishop waited to see if any other speaker would venture to utter a word. All eyes were turned towards the place where he sat; yet the only person seen to move was Alice De Clinton, who, leaning towards the Bishop, begged an exchange of place with Lord De Freston, that she might the more easily communicate what she had to say in the Bishop's ear. From her well-known character, her stern dignity, and cold-blooded, chilly disposition, it was well considered that nothing amiable could proceed. It was with some degree of shame that the Lord De Freston saw this female influence exercised, as unbecoming modesty as it was the real interest of her sex.

Ellen read in her father's face his dissatisfaction, little thinking that the sight of her intelligent countenance would awaken the eloquence of her friend Latimer; but De Freston had been speaking to him and urging him to say a word upon the occasion. Alice, however, having taken her seat with immoveable frigidity of feature, and silence still prevailing, Latimer rose.

'As a stranger to thee, Bishop Goldwell, and to the greater part of this company, I should not have risen to give utterance to the words of my heart had I not been urged thereto by my learned and truly liberal friend Lord De Freston. He assures me that, so far from being affronted with my boldness, thou wilt be the rather pleased that I venture to trespass upon the attention of thine assembly. At Oxford we are, as it is well-known, infected, if I may so call it, with orthodoxy, overgrown to such a state of particularity as to make things in themselves of no moment appear of the utmost consequence, and things of the most vital interest of but minor consideration. We are, moreover, intent upon learning, and never doubt for a moment that wisdom will ultimately prevail.

'If a youth who departed from this town a few years ago, and who has since become so distinguished for his learning and wisdom were here this day, I should keep silence before him and thee, well convinced that he would be much better able to speak those truths which I conceive ought this moment to be spoken. His relatives and friends I see before me, and some of them may not be sorry to hear me reëcho his sentiments, though they may regret his absence. Speaking in our theatre, some days ago, upon the same subject this day discussed, I heard him declare, in a long and animated speech, the duties of students with regard to scriptural learning, and the study of the original languages in which the Scriptures were written; but as all could not be learned enough to understand many things difficult therein, the duty of the ministry is to explain those things, and to afford living examples of that faith which they teach and preach. He hoped to see the time when the Scriptures might be unlocked and distributed in abundance to feed the people. His arguments were based upon the grounds of truth, that the Word of God can never be too widely circulated.

'The clergy, he declared, were but a very small portion of the visible church, and would lose nothing of their influence with the people by liberating their minds from ignorance of the Word of the living God. In speaking of heresy, he maintained before the whole university that it was nothing heretical to disseminate the Scriptures.

'I mention Wolsey as my authority for this assertion, not only because I know that in this his native place his fame is justly celebrated, his learning esteemed, and he himself, though young, is so highly respected, but because, Bishop Goldwell, his sentiments accord with my own. I would ask any man here present, who desires to know anything of his Redeemer, how he is to do so without the Scriptures? Our Saviour said, "Search the Scriptures, for in them ye think ye have eternal life, and these be they which testify of me." Now if we can have the Scriptures to search, it is our duty to look into them, that we may discover the truth as it is in Him.

'I see before me all the principal priests of the various parishes in this town, who all are attached to the ancient See of Rome. I value the preservation of the records of truth there as highly as any of them; but I say now, that heresy consists in the introduction of impositions, not required by the Word of God. The impositions I call _heresies_, are those of teaching for doctrine the commandment of men.

'I was at Bury lately, and saw what numbers of devout penitents were sent from all parts of the kingdom to pay their devotion to a piece of St. Edmund's shirt: Is not this heresy? There I saw what was termed the sinew of St. Edmund, his sword, the parings of his toes; and are such things to be held sacred?

'The monks showed me certain drops of what they termed St. Stephen's blood. Even if it had been the blood of Stephen, was it an object to be worshipped? is not this heresy? They showed me the coals on which St. Lawrence was broiled, Thomas à Becket's boots and his penknife, and numerous other things, to all of which they attributed such a degree of sanctity, that I was convinced of their ignorance; and however much history, revelation, and faith, might induce me to thank God for the examples of such men, I could not but think it _heresy_ to pay any kind of adoration to relics of such things.

'But the spread of God's Word cannot be heresy, nor are those who preach it heretics. God grant that our country may be the foremost to spread the light of truth over this benighted world. Nothing can be productive of so much happiness, either to the priest or the people, as this enlightenment. But I have done, Bishop Goldwell, and I have only to apologise for the length of time I have occupied the attention of this assembly.'

Latimer took his seat, not without a smile of thanks from Ellen, which not even the stern expression of Alice could in the least chill. Yet Alice frowned at Ellen as if she despised her for that look; and nothing but the rising of Bishop Goldwell to speak to his guests prevented her precipitate and indignant retirement.