A briefe view of the state of the Church of England as it stood in Q. Elizabeths and King James his reigne, to the yeere 1608 being a character and history of the bishops of those times ... / written ... by Sir John Harington ..., Knight.

Doctor Whiteguift.

Upon the decease of Arch-bishop Grindall, the State desirous, to have a learned and discreet person, in so emi∣nent a place; and the Queen resolved to admit none, but a single man; choyce was made of Doctor Whiteguist, then Bi∣shop of Worcester, a man in many respects very happy, and in the best Judgements very worthy. He was noted for a man of great learning in Cambridge, and he was grown to his full ripeness of reading and judgement; even then, when those that they called Puritans (and some meerely define to be Protestants scar'd out of their wits) did begin by the plot of some great ones, but by the Pen of Mr. Cartwright, to defend their new discipline.

Their indeavour as was pretended was to reduce all, in show, atleast to the Pu∣rity, but indeed to the poverty, of the primitive Churches.

These Books of Mr. Cartwright not unlearnedly written, were more learned∣ly answered by Doctor Whiteguift. Both had their reward. For Mr. Cartwright, was by private favour placed about Co∣ventry,

where he grew rich, and had great maintenance to live on, and honoured as a Patriarck, by many of that Profession. Doctor Whiteguift, was made Bishop of Worcester, and there having a great good report of Houskeeping, and governing the Marches of Walles, he was (as my Au∣thour hath told, called unto Canterbury. While he was Bishop of Worcester, though the revenew of that be not very great, yet his custom was to come to the Parlia∣ment very well attended, which was a fashion the Queen liked exceeding well. It hapned one day Bishop Elmer of London, meeting this Bishop with such an orderly Troop of Tawny Coats, and demanding of him, how he could keep so many men, he answered, it was by reason, he kept so few women.

Being made Arch-bishop of Canterbu∣ry, and of the privy Councel, he carried himself in that mild, and charitable course, that he was not onely approved greatly, by all the Clergy of England, but even by some of those, whom with his pen he might seem to have wounded; I mean these called Puritans, of whom he won divers by sweet perswasions to con∣formity. In the Star-chamber, he used

to deliver his sentence in a good fashion, ever leaning to the milder censure as best became his Calling. He was a great stay in Court and Councel, to all oppressions of the Church, though that current was some time so violent, as one mans force could not stop that.

He founded an Hospitall in or nigh Croyden, and placed poor men therein, in his own life time, and being grown to a full age, that he might say with St. Paul. Bonum certamen certavi, cursum confeci, &c. he was so happy, as to give to his Soveraign and preferrer, the last spirituall comfort she took in this World (I hope to her eternall comfort) and af∣ter that, he not onely joyned with the other Lords, for the proclaiming of King James, but on St. James his day follow∣ing, did set the Crown on his head, and anointed him with Oyl, and so having first seen the Church setled under a religi∣ous King, and the Crown established in a hopefull succession, he fell into a Palsey, to which he had been formerly subject, and with no long or painful sickness, he yielded to nature, deserving well this Epitaph, written by a young Scholar of Oxford, who was with me at the writing hereof.

Candida dona tibi Whyt••gifte, sunt nomen, & omen, Candidior a tuis 〈◊〉〈◊〉 〈◊〉〈◊〉 dedit. Nomen habes 〈◊〉〈◊〉 inscriptum nunc ergo lapi••••o, Et sto•••• pro meritis redditur alba 〈◊〉〈◊〉.