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.

And first of Mr. PARKER.

WHen I consider with my selfe the hard beginning, though more prosperous successe of the reformed Church of England, me thinks it may be compa∣red to a foughten battell; in which some Captaines and Souldiers, that gave the first charge, either died in the field, or came bleeding home; but such as fol∣lowed, putting their enemies to flight, remained quiet and victorious. Or I may more fitly (without offence) liken that to the successe of them of the Primitive Church, wherein the Apostles and their immediatc Successors were one while honoured and magnified, by their fol∣lowers

the Christians; As St. Peter, at whose feet the believers layd down all their goods; and St. Paul, who was re∣ceived as an Angel of God; another while tormented, and persecuted, by Jews and Heathen; as the same Apostles, whip∣ped by Jewes; hanged and headed by the Romans; sometimes (I say) a Centurion, a Lieutenant•• a Proconsull favouring them; straight a Priest, a Scribe, and a Lawyer promooting against them. A few of Caesars houshold wishing well unto them, and believing them. But the Caesars themselves for 300 yeeres (except a very few) detesting and suppressing them. For in such sort Cranmer, Ridley, La∣timer, Hooper, Rogers, Coverdale, and many others enduring great conflicts in those variable times of King Henry the Eighth, King Edward, and Queen Mary, suffering by fire, by imprisonment, banish∣ment, losse and deprivation, with many fights, many flights and many frights for their conscience sake; those that died had the glory of valiant Souldiers, and worthy Martyrs; such as survived, have since in a long and happy peace, enjoyed the comfort of their victory, and are like still to hold the same, if some muti∣nous

souldiers of their own camp, doe not by disturbing the peace at home, give heart to the enemy abroad. Among the surveyors of these first Leaders, that past so many pikes, the first in time, and the highest in place, was Doctor Matthew Parker, (who, as by this Author is noted) having lost all his Livings for his marri∣age, now being made Archbishop of Can∣terbury, dissembled not his marriage, as Cranmer in King Henry the eighths time, was found to doe; which, because some have taken occasion to note with too black inke, to exclude him from the re∣putation of a rubricated Martyr; and have cited the testimony of his sonnes widdow yet living, that she was carried in a trunk, and by misfortune almost stifled, by being set by an ignorant Porter with her head downward; which tale goes very current among the Papists. I can truly affirme, that this is a meere fiction, for I have exa∣mined the Gentlewoman her selfe (being of kin to my wife, and a Rogers by name) and she hath sworn to me, she never re∣ported, nor ever her selfheard, of any such misfortune.

But now though this Arch-Bishop (Parker) dissembled not his Marriage,

yet Queen Elizabeth would not dissem∣ble her dislike of it. For whereas it pleased her often, to come to his house, in respect of her favour to him (that had been her Mothers Chaplain) being once above the rest greatly feasted; at her parting from thence, the Arch-bishop and his Wife being together, she gave him very speciall thanks, with gratious and honourable termes, and then looking on his Wife, and you (saith she) Madam, I may not call you, and Mrs. I am ashamed to call, you so as I know not what to call you, but yet I do thank you.

It is true, she misliked Marriage in Bi∣shops, and was not very forward to al∣low that, in some of the Layety; for I knew one of good place about her, that had contracted himself to a rich Wid∣dow, and yet would not adventure to marry her, till he had gotten the Queen to write, for that, which he had obtained before, to the intent, that the Queen re∣puting that as her benefit, might not dis∣like with her own act. But for Clergy men, caeteris paribus, and sometime impa∣ribus too, she prefer'd the single man, be∣fore the married.

Of Arch-bishop Edmond Grindal.

Of Mr. Edmond Grindal, whereas my Authour writes he was blind, I have heard by some (that knew somewhat in those dayes) that he kept his house upon a strange occasion, the secret whereof is known to few, and the certainty is not easie to find out, but thus I was told; that

There was an Italian Doctor (as I take that of Physick) that having a known Wife a Lyar, yet bearing himself on the countenance of some great Lord, did marry another Gentlewoman, (which to do now, is by most godly Laws since made fellony.) This good Arch-bishop, not winking at so publick a scandall, con∣vented him for that, and proceeded by Ecclesiasticall censures against him; Let∣ters were presently written from this great Lord, to the Arch-bishop, to stop the proceeding, to tolerate, to dispense, or to mitigate the censure; but the Bishop remained still unmoved and un∣moveable: when no subjects intreaty could be found to prevail, they intreat the Soveraign to write in the Doctors

behalf; but this John Baptist not only per∣sisted in his Non licet habere eam, but also in a reverent fashion, required an account of her Majesties faith, in that she would seem to write in a matter that (if sh. were truly informed) was expresly against the word of God. The Queen in a gracious disposition, was purposed to have yield∣ed an account in writing; but the great Lord not onely disswaded her from that, as too great an indignity; but incensed her exceedingly against him; whereup∣on, he was privately commanded to keep his house; where because he was some∣time troubled with sore eyes, his friends gave out he was blind. But if he were blind, that was like to the soothsayer Tiresias that foresaw and told Pentheus ru∣ine as Qvid writes.

Et veniet, nec enim dignabere numen honore, Me{que} sub his tenebris nimium vidisse quereris.

For that Lord, that so persecuted this Prelate about his Physitians two wives dying twenty years since, left two Wives behind him, that can hardly be yet a∣greed which was his lawfull Wife,

and so much for Arch-Bishop Grindall.

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 〈◊〉〈◊〉.

Doctor Richard Bancroft.

Upon the death of Arch-bishop White∣guift, divers worthy men were named in the vacancy. His Majesty not after the manner of some Princes, seeking to keep that vacant, but rather hastning to fill that. The Bishops of Durham and Win∣chester were as it were, voce populi made competitrs with the Bishop of London, rather by their eminence of merit and Learning, then by any known desire, or endeavour of them or their friends. Wherein methinks by the way, envy it self cannot but gratulate the Church of England, that is so furnished with learned Bishops, as if choyce had been to be made, not by a judicious Prince, but by the for∣tune of a lot among those three, and ma∣ny more beside, that could not have fallen amiss. But his Majesty had long since un∣derstood of his writing, against the

Genevising, and Scotizing Ministers: and though some imagined he had therein given the King some distaste, yet finding him, in the disputations at Hampton Court, both learned and stout, he did more and more increase his liking to him; So that although in the common rumour, Thoby Matthew then Bishop of Durham was likest to have carried that, so - learned a man, and so assiduous a Preacher, qui in concionibus dominatur as his emulous and enemy wrote of him, yet his Majesty in his learning knowing, and in his wisdom, weighing that this same strict charge Pasce oves mes feed my sheep, requires as well a pastorall courage of driving in the stray sheep, and driving out the infectious, as of feeding the sound, made especiall choyce of the Bi∣shop of London, as a man more exercised in affaires of the State. I will add also my own conjecture out of some of his Maje∣sties own speeches, that in respect he was a single man, he supposed him the fitter, according to Queen Elizabeths prin∣ciples of state: upon whose wise foun∣dations, his Majesty doth daily erect more glorions buildings.

But I lose labour to repeat these things

to your Highnesse better known, then to my selfe. I should onely speak of the for∣mer times.

Of his beginning therefore, and rising, I will boldly say that, which I would I might as truly of all that follow in this Treatise, viz. that he came to all his pre∣ferments very clearly, without prejudice or spoile of his Churches.

He was Tutor in Cambridge, to the Lord Cromwell, who had cause to wish, and (as I have heard) hath wisht, he had staid with him longer, though he were sharp and austere. My Lord Chancellor Hatton made speciall choyce of him, to be his Examiner.

Est a liquid de tot Graiorum millibús unum a Diomede legi.

By his means Queen Elizabeth came to take knowledge of his wisdome and suf∣ficiency. He both: wrote, as I touched before, and laboured earnestly by all good means for the suppressing of the fantasti∣call Novellists. After the strange and frantick attempt of Hacket and his fel∣lows; which practice, though the bran∣ches thereof were easily cut off, yet was it thought, to have a more dangerous and secret root. But for these his travels, as

the Queen and State favoured him, so the seditious Sectaries (to use Judge Pophams word, that would not have them call'd Puritanes) they, l say, no lesse maligned-him in Libels and Rimes; (for they were void of reasons) laying the im∣putation of Papistry unto him; some of them were punished in the Starchamber, namely one Darling, the last. Starchamber day in Queen Elizabeths time, was sharp∣ly censured. And it is no wonder, if they lov'd him not, for indeed he had stoutly opposed their chiefest darlings. As for the imputation of Papistry, which they lay on all men that crosse their designes, he is so free from it, that I can truly af∣firme the greatest blow the Papists recei∣ved in all Queen Elizabeths time, came from his hand, or at least from his head: For having wisely observed the emula∣tion, ambition; and envy, that lurked in the minds of their secular Priests, and the Jesuits one against another, he found the means by the same policy, and with the like spirit, that St. Paul set the Phari∣sees against the Sadduces, to set the Priests against the Jesuits, Watson against Parsons (Impar congressus) but yet thereby he so divided their languages, as scantly they

can understand one another as yet. These things acted, before the King your fathers happy entry, I thought good to touch, though more sparingly then my particu∣lar affection & his just deserts do give me occasion. Of his late imployments of his great care, in setting; forward and setting forth all his Majesties godly procee∣dings, though I know much, yet if I should say all I know, perhaps it is lesse then your Highnesse knowes; therefore I will con∣clude with that which the truth, rather then my kindnesse enforceth me to say, that no Bishop since I can remember hath been counted more vigilant in looking to his charge. Ne quid Ecclesia detrimenti capiat.