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him a copy, but you might have sent me one also. For I so delight in your love, that I am jealous when 'I see you more mindful of others than of myself.

That book did, however, after all come into my hands first. I read it through before it was handed to 'the bishop.

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'I dare not express an opinion on this book. I am 'conscious of my own ignorance, and how blind I am in matters so mysterious, and in the works (opibus— ' operibus ?) of so great a man. However, in reading it, the chief miracles seemed to me to lie more in the 'words than the things; for, according to him, Hebrew 'words seem to have no end of mystery in their cha'racters and combinations.

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СНАР.
XIII.

A.D. 1517.

them.

'O Erasmus! of books and of knowledge there is Colet's ' no end. There is no thing better for us in this opinion on short life than to live holily and purely, and to 'make it our daily care to be purified and enlightened, and really to practise what these "Pythagorica" and "Cabalistica" of Reuchlin promise; but, in my opinion, there is no other way for us to attain this than by 'the earnest love and imitation of Jesus. Wherefore leaving these wandering paths, let us go the short way to work. I long, to the best of my ability, to do so.1 · Farewell.—From London, 1517.'

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1 Sed, meo judicio, nulla via Adhuc enim durior mihi 6 assequemur, quam ardenti amore 'videtur esse hic sermo tuus.' And 6 et imitatione Jesu. Quare relictis the layman replies. Et tamen ipse ́ambagibus, ad brevitatem brevi ́me rogasti, Domine Magister, ut ' compendio eamus: ego pro viri-compendiosissimum ad supremam 'bus volo.' These sentences remind 'hujus vitæ perfectionem iter tibi one of the conversation between demonstrarem. Et certe securioTauler and Nicholas of Basle, in the rem ego, quàm sit ista, viam ad beautiful story of the Master and 'imitandum exemplar sacratissime the Man, where the master says, 'humanitatis Christi nullam novi.' Verum est, charissime fili, quod Thauleri Opera, p. 16. Paris. 1623.

CHAP.
XIII.

A.D. 1517.

VI. MORE PAYS A VISIT TO COVENTRY (1517 F).

It chanced about this time that More had occasion to go to Coventry to see a sister of his there.

Coventry was a very nest of religious and monastic Coventry. establishments. It contained, shut up in its narrow streets, some six thousand souls. On the high ground in the heart of the city the ancient Monastery and Cathedral Church of the monks of St. Benedict lifted their huge piles of masonry above surrounding roofs. By their side, and belonging to the same ancient order, rose into the air like a rocket the beautiful spire of St. Michael's, lightly poised and supported by its four flying buttresses, whilst in the niches of the square tower, from which these were made to spring, stood the carved images of saints, worn and crumbled by a century's storms and hot suns. There, too, almost within a stone's throw of this older and nobler one,

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and as if faintly striving but failing to outvie it, rose Monastic the rival spires of Trinity Church, and the Church establish- of the Grey Friars of St. Francis; while in the distance. Coventry. might be seen the square massive tower of the College of Babbelake, afterwards called the Church of St. John; the Monastery of the Carmelites or White Friars; and the Charterhouse, where Carthusian monks were supposed to keep strict vigils and fasts in lonely and separate cells. And beneath the shadow of the spire of St. Michael's stood the Hall of St. Mary, chased over with carved work depicting the glory of the Virgin Mother, and covered within by tapestry representing her before the Great Throne of Heaven, the moon under her feet, and apostles and choirs of angels doing her homage. Other hospitals and religious houses,

CHAP.
XIII.

which have left no trace behind them, were to be found within the walls of this old city. Far and wide had spread the fame of the annual processions and A.D. 1517. festivals, pageants and miracle plays, which even royal guests were sometimes known to witness. And from out the babble and confusion of tongues produced by the close proximity of so many rival monastic sects, rose ever and anon the cry for the martyrdom of honest Lollards, in the persecution of whom the Pharisees and Sadducees of Coventry found a temporary point of agreement. It would seem that, not many months after the time of More's visit, seven poor gospellers were burned in Coventry for teaching their children the paternoster and ten commandments in their own English tongue.1

Mariolatry

This was Coventry-its citizens, if not 'wholly given Fit of up to idolatry,' yet in all things too superstitious,' at Coand, like the Athenians of old, prone to run after some ventry. 'new thing.' At the time of which we speak, they were the subjects of a strange religious frenzy-a fit of Mariolatry.

The doctrine of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin had not yet been finally settled. It was the bone of contention between the rival monastic orders. The Franciscans or Grey Friars, following Scotus, waged war with the Dominicans, who followed Aquinas. Pope Sixtus IV. had in 1483 issued a bull favouring the Franciscans and the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception, and Foxe tells us that it was in consequence' holden in their schools, written in their books, preached in their sermons, taught in their

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1 1 Foxe, ed. 1597, p. 887.

CHAP.

XIII.

'churches, and set forth in their pictures.' On the other side had occurred the tragedy of the weeping image A.D. 1517. of the Virgin, and the detection and burning of the Dominican monks who were parties to the fraud.

More's dispute with a friar.

It chanced that in Coventry a Franciscan monk made bold to preach publicly to the people, that whoever should daily pray through the Psalter of the Blessed Virgin could never be damned. The regular pastor of the place, thinking that it would soon blow over, and that a little more devotion to the Virgin could do no harm, took little notice of it at first. But when he saw the worst men were the most religious in their devotion to the Virgin's Psalter, and that, relying on the friar's doctrine, they were getting more and more bold in crime, he mildly admonished the people from his pulpit not to be led astray by this new doctrine. The result was he was hissed at, derided, and publicly slandered as an enemy of the Virgin. The friar again mounted his pulpit, recounted miraculous stories in favour of his creed, and carried the people away with him.

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More shall tell the rest in his own words :

"While this frenzy was at its height, it so happened 'that I had to go to Coventry to visit a sister of mine 'there. I had scarcely alighted from my horse when I was asked the question, " Whether a person who daily prayed through the Psalter of the Blessed Virgin could be damned?" I laughed at the ques⚫tion as absurd. I was told forthwith that my answer ' was a dangerous one. A most holy and learned father 'had declared the contrary. I put by the whole affair as no business of mine. Soon after I was asked to supper. I promised, and went. Lo and behold! in

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CHAP.
XIII.

came an old, stooping, heavy, crabbed friar! A servant 'followed with his books. I saw I must prepare

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'brush. We sat down, and lest any time should be A.D. 1517. lost, the point was at once brought forward by our host. The friar made answer as he already had

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' preached. I held my tongue, not liking to mix myself
up in fruitless and provoking disputations. At last they
6 asked me what view I took of it. And when I was
obliged to speak, I spoke what I thought, but in few
'words and off-hand. Upon this the friar began a long
'premeditated oration, long enough for at least two
sermons, and bawled all supper time. He drew all
'his argument from the miracles, which he poured out
upon us in numbers enough from the "Marial;" and
'then from other books of the same kind, which he
ordered to be put on the table, he drew further
authority for his stories. Soon after he had done I
'modestly began to answer; first, that in all his long
'discourse he had said nothing to convince those who
perchance did not admit the miracles which he had
' recited, and this might well be, and a man's faith in
Christ be firm notwithstanding. And even if these
'were mostly true, they proved nothing of any
moment; for though you might easily find a prince
'who would concede something to his enemies at the
entreaty of his mother, yet never was there one so
foolish as to publish a law which should provoke
daring against him by the promise of impunity to all
'traitors who should perform certain offices to his
'mother.

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'Much having been said on both sides, I found that he was lauded to the skies while I was laughed at as a fool. The matter came at last to that pass, by the

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