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CArdinal Wolsey was not so great in his Fortune, as he was mean in his Original: his honest and industri∣ous Parents helped him to a good Constitution, and a large Spirit, (two hopeful steps to greatness;) though one hath said of him,
Brave Priest, whoever was thy Sire by kind, Wolsey of Ipswich nere begat thy mind.
His Ambition gave him the opportunity to en∣crease his parts; he was as pregnant at Ipswich-School, as he was promising in Magdalen Colledg; where he was Batchelour of Arts at 15 years of Age, and therefore called the Boy-Batchelour; His In∣dustry and parts advanced him to a command over Noble men of the Marquess of Dorset's Family, as School-master; as his Policy promoted him to an Imperiousness over Kings in the quality of States∣men. The first step to Greatness in a Scholar, is Rela∣tion to a Nobleman: The best Education for the Court, is in the Palace. Nature made him capable, the School and University made him a Scholar; but his Noble Employment made him a Man. At Oxford he read Books, at my Lord's he read Men, and observed Things: His Patrons two Parsonages bestowed upon him, was not so great a Favour as the excellent principles instilled into him; he be∣ing not more careful to Instruct and Educate the young Men, then their Father was to Tutor him: his Bounty makes him Rich, and his Recommen∣dation Potent: His Interest went far, his Money far∣ther. Bishop Fox was Secretary to K. Henry the seventh, and he to Bishop Fox; the one was not a greater Favourite of the King's, than the other was his; as one that brought him a Head capable of all Observations, and a Spirit above all Difficul∣ties. Others Managed the Affairs of England, Wolsey understood its Interest: His Correspondence was good abroad; his observations close, deep, and continued at home: He improved what he knew, and bought what he knew not. Being a Master of so happy a reservedness, as to what he understood not, that in all those variety of things that tried
his parts, he n••ver came under the reproofe of Meg••by••es, to whom Apelles ••aid. Whilst thou wast 〈…〉〈…〉 seemed••t to ••e some bod••, but now the••e is not the meane•• Boy that g••i••••e•••• O••ker, bu•• he laugheth a•• ••hee. And as he 〈…〉〈…〉 in his spe••ch, so he ••as 〈◊〉〈◊〉 in ••is ca••••••age, till the suc••••ss of lesse•• ••ction•• fle••hed him for greater.
He could m••ke any ••hing he read or heard, his own; 〈…〉〈…〉 imp••••ve any ••hing that was his own to 〈…〉〈…〉
One Chri••tmas ••••••••••••ment to the Marquess of Dorsets f••om Ma••••al••n C••lledge, where he was fel∣low and Scho••••e-••••••te••, was like to have undone him, at the ••ame ••ime that it made him; for that debonairne•••• whe••eb•• he hoped to open the way to Honour as a Courtier, occasioned his disgrace as a Minister.
Sir Iames Pawlet, (who for six d••ys Impri∣sonment of him in Somersetshire, s••ffe••••d six years Confinement by him in the Middle-Temple and the Gate-House, untill he was glad to ado••••e one Pri∣son at a gre••t Charge, with the badge and Cogni∣zance of the Cardinals greatness, to abate his dis∣pleasure, as he said, he had di••graced another with a School-Masters meanness to provoke it,) thought fit to Commit him for that activity, for which others advanced him; and that to a Capacity, (••ee the instability of humane affairs; the Greate••t should not presume, the meanest should not despond) of haveing the Knight as much at the Sc••ool-Masters pleasure, as the School-Maste•• was at his humor. For having lost the Marquess,
through whom he hoped to shew himself with ad∣vantage at Court, by death, and his fellowship at Magdalen, where he might have appeared with ap∣p••au••e in the University, by Resignation, he Travel∣ed himself into the old Trea••urer of Callis fa∣vour and service, first as his Chaplain, then as his Deputy, and by him to K. H. 7ths. notice: to whom he became, by dextrous addresses to the two then great Favou••ites Bishop Fox and Sir Thomas Lovel, known as well by his sharpe and solid discourses in the Closet, as by his discreet and modest behaviour in the Chappel, to be capable of two things, Busi∣ness by his diligence, and Trust by his Reservedness, both tryed in an Ambassage to Maxamilian the Emperour; his first employment performed so quickly, that the King checked him for not being gone, when he presented himself to signifie that he was returned; and so prudently and effectually, that according to his duty he fulfilled all those In∣structions given with him, and out of hi•• discretion those likewise too late sent after him; answe••ing the wise King, who asked him whether he met the Pursivant he sent after him? that he met him and read his Letters, the matter whereof he had dis∣patcht, concieving it necessary, for which he craved pardon, confessing it a presumption; the sage King vouchsafeing him not only pardon, but applause, promising himself the greatest Services from one that had giv••n so good an earnest. And indeed he had better success in serving others, than his dependents had in serving him; for it was Mr. Cromwels great complaint to him, and his great trouble within himself, that he had not taken all the opportunities offered him, to advance his Servants
while he stood, that they might have had abilities to assist him when he was fallen; for when he was reduced to a Pension of 4000. markes at Winches••er, and had his Lands belonging to his Colledges at Ox••o••d and Ipswich seized on by the Praemunire to the Kings use, and the Abbey at St. Albons divi∣ded among the Courtie••s, he was forced to borrow 200. l. of Iohn Higdon his fi••st Dean of Christ-Church, to pay and rewa••d some of his poorest Servants, on this condition, that they should not suscipere gradum Simonis, and having served a Cardinal, wait on any other below the King. Indeed his Estate in his prosperity was little enough for his Magni∣ficence, which performed great things, and design∣ed greater; and in his ad••ersity little enough, for his Charity, which he dispensed in all places be∣tween the Charterhouse at Richmond, where he be∣gan to dye Religiously, and the Abbey at Leicester where he dyed naturally: a Charity, which added to his reading Divine Service, and Preaching in some Churh every Sunday, his open house all the week days, the familiarity and sweetne••s of his converse, and the humility of his life, gained him as great a Respect in the North as he had lost in the South.
No sooner was he in with the Bishop of Win∣chester, but the Bishop was out with the Earl of Surrey; to whom he must have stooped, as he did unto Nature and Age, had not be raised his Servant equal to himself in the Kings Favour, and above Howard. He was sorbid by the Canon, Heirs of his Body; he was enjoyned by his Prudence to make an Heir of his Favour, equally to support and com∣••ort his old Age, and m••intain his Interest. Chil∣dren
in point ••f Policy, as in Nature, are a Blessing, an•• as Arrows in the hand o•• a mighty man; and ••appy i•• that o••d Courtie•• that hath his Q••iver ••ull of them, he shall not be a••••amed when he speaks with his Enemies in the gate. The old man com••end•• Wo••sey to Henry the Seventh ••or one fit to ••erve a King, and c••mmand Ot••er••. Forein Employment is the Statesmans first School; to France therefore he is ••ent, to poise his English Gravity with French Debonairness: A well-poised Q••ickness is ••he excellent temper. From Forein Employment, unde•• an old King, he i•• called home to some D••mestick Services under the Young One. He as quickly ••ound the length of His Foot, as he fitted him with an easie Shoo; the King followed his Pleasures, and the Cardinal enjoyet•• His Po∣wer; The One pursued his sports while Youth, the other his Bu••i••ess while Time served him•• (Give me to Da•••• a••d take thou to Morrow, is both the Cour∣tier and the Chri••tian's Language:) The Favourite took in t••e C••uncil-Table Deba••es, & other State-affaires in the Mass and whole Bulk of them by Day, and the King had the Q••intesse••ce of them extracted, and the sum of them represented to him at Night. All State-Business was disposed of by him, and most Church-Preferments bestowed up∣on him; the Deanery of Lincolne, the Kings Almo∣nership, a house near Bridewell, Durham•• Winchester, Bath, Worcester, Hereford, Tourney, Lincolne, St. Al∣bons and York were in his p••ssession; and all other Promotions in his Gift: He was installed in the Kingdom (during King Henry's youthfulness) and had the Chu••ch in Commendam. His great Ser∣vices indeed could not be managed without a great
Revenue, nor his greater Power supported, but by an able Purse, which may buy off Expedients as readily as his Greatness may command them.
His pithy and his witty sentences at the Starr-Chamber made him Speaker there, and his fluent Tongue the most forward every where else; his clear Head and smooth Tongue engrossed all the Kings Favour, and most persons addresses, which advanced his Estate much, and hi•• Reputation more: in so much that the management of, and Provision for the great Voyage to France, 5. H. 8. by Sea and Land was trusted to his sole Care; and ordered to very good effect by his sole Discretion: not neglecting his own affairs while he provided for the King's, being the most dextrous by his cor∣respondents at discovering Preferments, the closest at attaining of them; the quickest at Pos••essing them, and the most skilfull for Improve∣ing them of any man living; Punctual in keeping up the honour of his Place, witness his advanceing of his Cr••sses as Primate of England, above those of Canterbury as Prima••e of all England (pitty s••ith one, that they who should conte••d de pascendis ovibus should fall out de lanâ caprinâ) and what Jurisdiction he wanted as A••ch-B••shop, he made up as Cardinal, Legate de latere and Chancellour. In which capacity, he kept 500 Servant••, among whom 9 or 10 Lords, 15 Knights, and 40 Esquires: in which respect he was sent upon two Embassies of State to the Emperour Charles the 5th. in Flanders to the great honour of the English Nation. He en∣tertained all Ambassadors, to the great satisfaction of all Forein Princes, and the King often to his great content, administring to his Majesties Plea∣sure,
that he might enjoy his power; discovering as great skill in his Treats as in his Government, especially careful o•• three things.
Two Corrivals he had, Edward Stafford Duke of Buckingham, Charles Brandon Duke of Suffolk: Brandon he despised, as rather besides, saith my Author, than again••t him; h•• being the Kings Companion in pleasure, & Wolsey his Councellour in Policy; the Duke great with young Henry, the Bishop with the King: Buckingham he feared, as popular; and undermined, as proud: (that Tower must fall, who••e Foundation is hollow) Buckingham was high in Birth, Honour, and Estate, Wolsey higher in Prudence, whose Malice did the brave Duke much mischief, and his own folly more: (Vain-glory (writes my Friend) ever lieth at open guard, and gives much advantage of play to her Enemies:) A deboyst King is jealous, and a weak Nobleman ambitious. In fine, he is attainted of High Treason, (though rather Corrival to the King in his Cloaths than his Crown, in his Vani∣ties than his Authority:) but a cunning Upstart quickly blows off a young Noblemans Cap and Fea∣••her, and his Head too, when it stands in his way. Tarquin instructed more than his own Son, by striking off the heads of the Poppies.
His power ag••inst Buckingham was his Shield a∣gainst all others: One defense well managed, one Adversary throughly suppressed, is a Security at Court, where two men s••ldom fall the same way.
Many envied the Archbishop, the Cardinal, the Legate de latere, the Lord Chancellour; but all feared the Favourite: most were discontented, but none durst shake their Heads, le••t they fell off with Buckingham's: the Bishops displeasure was more fatal than the Kings, whose wrath was violent, but no•• lasting; as the Others anger was of less fury, but more malice, real, and more secret, he having set up as indiscernible way of Intelligence, as Angels do of Communication; he and his correspondents un∣derstanding one another, not by discourse, but by the present state of things; as those Intelligences un∣derstand one another, not by speech, but by Ideas. His Power was great, and his Justice equal; for he was too proud to be bribed, and too powerful to be overborn. But England was too narrow a Theatre for this great Spirit, and he aspires to Rome; and having been these many years Pope of this other world, would have been of that beyond the waters: his leap was great, from York to Rome, and his rise as good: Charles the Fifth was his Client, and his Masters Servant; the Cardinals were his Pensio∣ners; and when they failed (as he is no Fox whose Den hath but one hole, and he no Statesman who when one way is stopped, cuts not out another) he falls off from the German Emperour to the F••ench King: where, if he could not carry his own Design, he would hinder the Emperours; (and Revenge is an Advancement) (so great was he, that his Friend∣ship balanced Europe, over-awed Emperours, threatned Kings, and was fatal to Queens) if he cannot be Pope of Rome, he will shew he is as good as King of England; for finding that the King wanted a meet Yoak-Fellow for his Bed, and a law∣ful
Heir-Male to his Crown, and observing Queen Katharines Age above her Husbands, and her Gra∣vity above her Age, being more Pious than plea∣sant, a better Woman than Wife, and a better Wife for any Prince than King Henry; he pro∣motes a Divorce (upon some Scruples intimated by the Spaniard some years before in a Treaty a∣bout the Princesse Mary's Marriage, which others had forgot, but the Cardinal laid up) between the King and Q••een: but that was not all; but know∣ing that King Henry could not have a Wife to his minde, until he had a Pope of his own choosing, he would help him to a young Wife, but he must raise him to a new Power; Wolsey must be Pope, or King Henry could not be divorced: and to make all sure, he was no sooner to be parted from a Daughter of Spain, than he was to be joyned to a Princess of France; whose Nuptial Ring should wed King Henry to Her, and King Francis to Him∣self.
Two ways did he disoblige Queen Anne Bullein that was his deadly enemy, 1. by dissolving the Con∣tract between her and the Lord Piercy, the Earle of Northumberlands Eldest Son, to please the King, 2. by endeavouring to hinder, or at least delay the Marriage between her and the King, to gratifie himself; whom in vain afterwards, by Inventions unheard of, he endeavoured to please as well as the King; when he saw the Contrivances of a great Wit, the Allurements of a Famous Beauty, and the malice of a disappointed Woman, joyned to the envy of the greatest Lord, whom he had ordered as irrespectively as the meanest subject. When it is once past Noon with a Court-Favourite, it is pre∣sently
Night with him: for knowing that the Car∣dinal was cunning, and the King not yet cruel, they longed to have him at York while at Londen; and again they contrive to bring him to London while at York; the first upon pretense that he might do good, the last with design that he might do no harme. Sed nullae sunt occultiores insidiae quàm hae quae latent in simulatione officij: as he observed the me∣thod of some old cunning Parliament-men, who when they had a mind to cross a Bill, were always highest for it in the House (as the Eagle carried the shell up in the skye to break it) and would insert so many, and so great inconveniences into the Act, that they were sure it could never pass.
Tuta frequensque via est per amici fallere nomen.
Missing of Power, he meditates Honour; and instead of lavishing his infinite Treasure upon airy Expectations, he bestoweth it on real Monuments; witness the great work at Callice, &c. which makes his Memory a Renowned as his Life. That States∣man lives to small purpose, whose Actions are as short as his Life, and his Exploits of no longer du∣ration than his Age.
At this time, though King Henry bore the Sword, yet Cardinal Wolsey (as I am told) bore the stro••e all over the Land, being Legate a latere, by ver••us whereof he visited all Churches and Religion, Houses, even the Friers Observants themselves, notwithstanding the stoutness and stubbornness that first opposed him. Papal and Royal Power met in him, being the Chancellour of the Land, and keeping so many Bishopricks in Commendam, that his yearly Income is said to equal, if not ex∣ceed the Revenues of the Crown. He gave the
first blow to Religious Houses, by making one great Cardinal Colledge, now Christ-C••urch, (of which one comparing his project with his per∣formance, said, Instituit Collegium, absolvit Popinam. And another being asked what he thought of the ampleness of the Foundation, answered, Fundatione nihil amplius; to which I may add his Colledge at Ipswich,) of forty small Monasteries; to make way, as some thought, upon the Popes con∣sent, procured by him, to the overthrow of all.
He called all Captains and Officers to an accoun••, who bought off their own small corruption with his great one, and paid him the penalties of their Cheats with the Gains of it; the Richest of them escaping, and the poorest only made exemplary. Several Courts of pretended Equity he erected; to redress the poor, that was the Colour; to in∣rich himself, that was the Reality: at whose consti∣tution the Law-Courts were unfrequented, so spe∣cious was their seeming Integrity; at the ls••t they are deserted, so manifest was their real Grievances; the people not flocking so fast a••ter the Novelty, as they ran away from the Cheat: though his pre∣tense was fair, that the Kingdome should not be a Common-Wealth of Fish, where the greater de∣voured the Less.
What he did to reform the Courtiers, as a F••∣vourite, he did to reform the Clergy as Legate; erecting a Court Legantine (not without danger of a Praemunire) wherein all Clergy were visited; the Rich in their Purses, that excused them; the Poor in their Reputation, that compounded for them. Neither did his profits arise from the Liv∣ing onely, but the Dead; he engrossing the Proba∣tion
of all Wills and Testaments within his own Court: he had petty projects, viz. that Children should fo••low their Fathers Profession, saying that he observed, that the Fathers Eminency in any act, begat in the Child a propension to the same; and whe••e two or three successi••e Generations happily insist in the steps one of another, they raise an art to great pe••fection, and liked well the prudence of our Parliaments in permitting the Eldest Son of Barons to be p••esent at their C••nsultations to fit them by degrees, for the person they are to sustain.
And not long after, he hath a Pa••e••t under the Great Seal of England, to do what he pleased in the French Cou••t, in order to the King•• Progresse thither; as he hath likewise af••er, with his Masters leave, under the great seal of France: After which honour, he was with the Kings Order, by English Subjects, the Lord Mayor and Aldermen, &c. honoured at no lesse rate than that of a Prince; and by the Clergy (who kept close to the publick tem∣per) with Processions, &c. at the same rate with a Pope. Great he was in England; greater in Ger∣many, where all the Nobili••y attended him, the Great Seal of England was carried before him; and the Emperour o••serving his Commission and Honour, met him with his whole Train, and harangued it with him no less than two days. He that over-ruled Empires might well presume on Subjects; and no sooner therefore doth he return, than by his own Authority he levieth four shillings in the pound of every man that was worth fifty pound per annum; and when that would not do (pretending to the Lord Mayor and Aldermen that he had been upon his Knees to revoke those
Commissi••ns) other Letters for a Benevolence, which lost him as much in the Countrey, as his Re∣formation of the Houshold did him at Court. But the King employeth him to France, as his Second, and takes his leave of him as hi•• intimate Friend; 1200 Horse attended him: Callice•• Bullein, Amiens honour him with the name of The Peaceable Cardi∣nal; and the Statue of a Cardinal Rescuing a Church and a Pope from danger, whom yet under∣hand he brought into danger, making the Duke of Bourbon General against the King of France to Revenge himself; and yet making an underhand Peace with France [which the Duke knew not of, till he took the Instrument of Peace Sealed at the Castle of Pavia] to please others; for which last ex∣ploit, carried on privately by receiving the French Ambassadour as an Italian Jester, the Duke of Bourbon resolved to goe and Sack Rome, and punish all the Cardinals he could come at for the fault of one he could not. But though his Armes reached him not, the Court Wits did; perswading his Ambition to goe upon a splendid Embassy, to Reconcile all the Christian Princes abroad, that they might have the better advantage to withdraw from him the Favour of his own Prince at home; contriving likewise, that all the Friends he had at Court ••hould be of his Retinue in the Ambassie, both to increase the envy of his train, and to wea∣ken the strength of his Interest: It was observed that he gave three Rules to his Company the morning he went from Callis; 1. That they should take care of the Soveraigns Honour that Imployed him. 2. That they should observe the natural Civility and Sobriety of the Nation they
came from. 3. That they should retain as much reservedness as became the Affair he went abo••••; giving them a Caution of the French in t••ese words, viz. that at their first meeting, they wou••d be as familiar as if they had known them by long acquain∣tance; and of t••emselves in these that they ••••ould not speak of any matter of Importance, but in their own Language, lest they should ••••scover that for want of words which they sho••ld hide with them.
Very exact he was in the honou••able circumstances of address, abateing the French King not 〈◊〉〈◊〉 in their approaches one to anoth••r, but most exact in the particulars of the T••eaty, yei••ding not a point to the whole Council o•• France; for knowing that their own conveniency, not their Love brought the Treaty about, he would often fling away, and make the King and Queen Regen•• Court him to renew the Consultation, which otherwise he m••st have caressed them to. Fear, n••t Love is the pas••ion of Common-Wealths. But his entertainment from the King his Master at home, was not answer∣able to his Service abroad; nor the applause from the Noble-men, Judges, and Justices of the Peace of each shire in England (cited from the Countrey to hear an account of his great League, that they might report it to the Countrey) suitable either to his Eloquence or Action at Star-Chamber, or his great expectation. The first Court design upon him, after his return, was an entertainment to the French Ambassador, injoyned by the King to beg∣gar him; the next was a discovery made to him of the Kings Love to Q. A. Bullein, (its dangerous to know Kings Secrets) from which he disswaded
his Majesty by Intreaties on his Knees, and by Ar∣guments from the most Learned men in the King∣dome which he Consulted with, and in both Uni∣versities which he sent to. Its not safe standing in the way of a Kings Lust, though indeed the Cardi∣nals Enemies had possessed themselves both of the King and the peoples apprehensions, so farr, that his Majesty was wrought upon to be angry with him, because he was perswaded that he was against his Divorce; and the people were incensed a∣gainst him (as he declared to the King at the Court in Bridewell) because they were made believe that he was for it.
Many chafing discourses (as he called them) had he with the King, whom yet he would coole with the gentleness of his behaviour; many affronts from Noble men: Especially one, whose head he had kept on, threatned his off. Often would he disswade the King from persuing his design; often upon the Kings solicitations did he and Cardinal Campein perswade the Queen to Reti••e.
At Grafton in Northamptonshire was the first step of his Fall, when the King went to Dine with Queen Anne Bullein, and left him to shift among the Servants.
Queen Anne pressed the King with the poor Condition he had brought the Subjects to; o∣thers into what great Estate he had raised himself. First he returns from Court to Westminster, and the broad Seal, with his rich furnished house, being ta∣ken from him, afterwards to Putney, or Ashur; when he that could have furnished Kings with accomo∣dations, was furnished himself by the Bishop of Carlisle. Afraid they were he should have a summe
of money to live upon at Rome, therefore they searched Cardinal Campeius Train at Callis; more afraid he should have an habitation near the King: therefore ••hey demanded his House as Bishop of Yorke called White-Hall, which the Cardinal (in∣treating the Judges that came to take his Recogni∣zance, to teach the King not onely what he might do, but what he ought to do, and to put him in mind of the g••eatness of the Eternal habitations as Hell and Heaven, as well as the conveniency of earthly dwellings) chose rather to give upon terms for Yorke-House, than to lose by force.
The A••ticles against him in the House were bravely waved by his Servant Mr. Cromwel, the grief of his heart much allayed by a Ring sent him from the King, and a Tablet from the Queen; his Majesties Physicians had a special Charge about hi•• Health; and his Wardrobe about his House: but this was only a Lightning before Death, to ex••sperate his Enemies rather than gratifie him.
Cardinal Wolsey going over to France, upon an extraordinary Embassy, had for his Attendance Tonstal Bishop of London, the Lord Sands, late Chamberlain, the Earl of Derby, Sir Tho. More, Sir H. Guilford, and 200 Horse; and was met two days journey from Paris by King Francis and his Mother, carr••ing with him 140000. l. though sil∣••er was but 20 d. an ounce, to assist that King in the War against Charles the fifth; and furnished with such a Plenipotentiary Commission, that he gave Law to France and the Popedome: and he ••••mported himself with such dexterity and high wisdome, that all the Princes of Christendome, who had their eyes fixed upon him, admired him.
The King gave him many places, & he bes••owed on him his magnificent Palaces; White-Hall, that Good Hypocrite, mo••e convenient within, than comely without, Hampton Court, Windsor; the two first to be resident in, and ••he last ••o be buried in. (Arma tenenti omnia dat, qui justa negat)•• fi••ting his humour with pleasant habitations, as he suit∣ed his ambition with power and authority.
But the King broke with him at last about the divorce, being vexed with so many delays, defe••s, retardings, and prorogations between two Popes, Clement that was, and Wolsey that would be: yet rather eased him of his bu••dens, than deprived him of his preferments; continuing him Bishop of York and Durham, (when he turned him out of his Chancellourship of England) where being sent by that Lord, who would not endure him nearer the King, and could not get him further, he lived ra∣ther like a Prince than a Priest, providing as mag∣nificently for his Installation, as a King should for his Coronation: which unseasonable ambition was improved by his enemies malice, and the King's jealousie to his ruine: for in the midst of his so∣lemnities he is arrested by the Kings order, signi∣fied by the Earle of Northumberland, whose wrath was the Messenger of Death, and in his way to Lon∣don, being distracted between hope and fear, died at Leicester, where he was buried as obscurely as he was borne; and breathing out his soul in words to this purpose, viz. If I had served the God of Heaven as faithfully as I did my Master on earth, he had not for∣saken me in my old age, as the other hath done. He died, swelling in his body, as he had done in his mind, the pain being really in his hea••t, which
seemed to be in his guts; for when Northumber∣land whom he had b••ed, and a Privy Chamber∣man whom he had preferred, were sent to him, he could still hope that ••he King intended him Ho∣nour; but when Sir William Kingston, Lieutenant of t••e Tower, who carried a restraint in his looks, came to him, he could not believe but he intended him Punishment, keeping him only between the tick∣ling hopes of p••e••erment, & pinching fear of dis∣grace, to found his bo••tome, and to discover his E∣sta••e; so well he took the first Arrest, that he di∣••ected the Messenge••s to execute their Commissi∣on legally; saying, that he ought to yield himself to a Privy-Chamb••rman on his word; though not to the Earle withou•• his Commission; So ill the second, that he could not govern himself tolerably. Very observant he was of old Prophesies; applying that
When the Cow rides the Bull, Then Priest beware thy skull.to Hen. 8. whose armes, as Earle of Richmond was a Cow; and Anne Bullein, whose devise was a Bull: whose Love to each other, was the occasion of their hatred to him.
And that, that he should have his end at Kingston, to King••ton upon Thames, a Town he would not look on willingly while he lived; and to Sr William Kingston, a man he would not with his good will hear of when he died: And fearful of new Omens, Interpreting the falling of his Crosse to break Bon∣ners head, the f••ll of the Church to the danger of his own. A serene and peaceable soul acts by solid ••eason, a frighted and troubled one by fansie, ima∣gination and superstition; a mind in the dark of m••lancholy, and trouble, feareth every thing. The K••ng not knowing his own changeble mind, would
have given 20000 l. he had lived; and his Enemies knowing it too well, gave 10000 l. that they might be sure he should dye.
The one aiming at a booty from his Estate (as ap∣peared afterward by his ••eward to those Servants that discovered it; the o••her at their own securi∣ty ••rom his power: both to his dying day, so great, that indifferent men thought them enough, his foes too much, and he himself too lit••le. Plenty without pomp, is penury to pride, which Kings may make humbled, God only humble: He being a∣ble to take away the fire, the Lu••t within; the o∣ther only to withdraw the Fuel, the sta••e without.
Remarkeable were his words of himself. This is the just reward that I must receive for my diligent pains and study, not regarding my service to God; but only my respect to the King. Flattery is the Common Moath of great Palaces, where Alexan∣ders friends are more than the Kings. Observable his caution to the Councellors, whom he advised to take heed, what they should put into the Kings head, for (said he) you can never put it out again. Heinous is the crime of poysoning Fountains: and such is a Kings mind in a Common-wealth. Nota∣ble was the Jealousie of his Enemies, who could not but believe he was alive, until the Mayor and Corporation of Liecester [who were called there∣fore to view his Corps] testified under their pub∣lick Seal, that he was dead: But most notorious his burial, that
He, who from his own store late might have, A Pala••e or a Colledge for his Grave; Should lye interr'd so obscurely, as if all Of him to be remember'd were his fall;
Nothing but earth to earth; no Pompous weight Vpon him, but a pibble or a quait.Yet though his Fortune was not great, as his merit, or his merit as his mind; he planted things that are like to last as long as men are either to do things wo••thy to be written in books, or books are to record things worthy to be done by men.
His Enemies made mock defences for him, on pu••pose to overthrow him: So before a serious Warr, Cities use to personate their adverse party, and feign mock combats and skirmishes to encou∣rage their friends, wherein you may be sure that their own side shall conquer. Which puts me in mind of the Lyons answer in the Fable, when the picture of a man beating a Lyon was produced to him, he said, If a Lyon had made this picture, he would have made the Lyon above•• and the man beneath. Nihil est quin male narrando possit depravarier.
One thing he advised young men to take care of in their publick deliveries, viz: that they should rather proceed, though more inaccurately, than stop sensibly; few being able to discerne the fai∣lu••e of a continued speech, when all understand the mischance of a gross silence.
A Fellow having made a long Oration to his hea∣rers, of the virtues of a Feather, which he affirmed to have dropped from the wing of Michael the A••ch-Angel; and the Feather being stolen from under his sleeve out of drollery, and a Cinder put in the place of it to trye hi•• humour, he went on c••••fidently with his discourse; telling them, that though it was not the feather which he had men∣tioned; yet it w••s one of the coles which St. Lau∣rence
was broyled with; and had all those virtues which he had formerly ascribed to the feather.
When good men die suddenly, it is said they are poysoned; and when the bad fall unexpectedly, as he did, it is said they poyson themselves. He di∣ed unpitied, because he had lived feared; being the great Bias of the Christian World.
Too suddain prosperity in the beginning, un∣doeth us in the end: while we expect all things flowing upon us at first, we remit our care, and pe∣rish by neglecting. Every head cannot bear wine, nor every spirit •• fortune: Success eats up Circum∣spection. How many a man had ended better, if he had not begun so well? It's the Emphasis of misery, to be too soon happy: Prosperity growing up with experience, makes a man in a firm settle∣ment, inured to all events. I will ever suspect the smooth waters for deepness: in my worst estate I will hope, in the best I will fear; in all, I will be circumspect and stil. R••ffling Ambition reacheth great Honour, a Sedate Humility supports it: the Lower the Basis, the higher & stronger the Pyramide. Love, the Issue of Humility, guardeth the weakest; Hat••ed, the Daughter of Pride, ruines the strong∣est. Ego & Rex meus, was good Grammar for Wolsey a School-Master; but not for the Cardinal a States-man. To be humble to Superiors, is duty; to Equals, is courtesie; to Inferiours, is nobleness; and to all, safety; it being a virtue that for all her lowliness commandeth those souls it stoops to. In a word, as I love Virtue, so I hate Vice, for her inside and her end. Cardinal Wolsey is famous for two things; that he never spoke a word too much, and but one too little.
ANd thus concluded that great Cardinal: A man in whom ability of parts and Industry were equally eminent; though, for being employed wholly in ambi∣tious ways they became dangerous Instruments of power, in active and mutable times. By these arts yet he found means to govern not onely the chief affairs of this Kingdom, but of Europe; there ••eing no Potenta••e, which, in his turn, did not seek to him: and as this procured him divers Pensions, so, when he acquainted the King therewith, his manner was, so cunningly to disoblige that Prince who did fee him last, as he made way thereby oftentimes to receive as much on the other side. But not of secular Princes alone, but even of the Pope and Clergy of Rome he was no little courted; of which therefore he made especial use, while he dr••w them to second him on most occasions. His birth being otherwise so obscure and mean•• as no man had ever stood to single: for which reason also his chief indeavour was not to displease any great person; which ••et could not sec••re him For as all things passed through his hands. so they who failed in their suits generally h••ted him: All whi••••, though it did but exasperate his ill nature, yet this good resultance followed, that it made him take the more care to be Iust; whereof also he obtained the reputation in his publick hearing of Causes: For
as he loved no body, so his Reason carried him. And thus he was an useful Minister of his King in all points, where there was no ques••ion of deserting ••he Roman Church; of which (at what price s••ever) I finde he was a zealous Servant; as hoping thereby to aspire to the Papacy, whereof (as the fac••ious times then were) he seemed more capable than any, had he not so immo∣derately affec••ed it. Whereby also it was not hard to judge of his Inclination; that Prince, who was ablest to help him to this Dignity, being ever preferred by him; which therefore was the ordinary Baite, by which the Emperour and the French King one after the other did catch him. And, upon these terms•• he doubted not to convey vast treasures out of this Kingdome, especially unto Rome, where he had not a few ••ardinals at his devotion; by whose help, though he could not attain that Supreme Dignity he so passionately desired, yet he prevailed himself so much of their favour, as he got a kinde of absolute power in Spiritual Matters at Home: Wherewith again he so served the Kings turn, as it made him think the less of using his own Authority. One error seemed common to both, which was, That such a multiplicity of Offices and Places were invested in him. For as it drew much envy upon the Cardinal in particular, so it derogated no little from the Regal Authority•• while one man alone seemed to exhaust all: Since it becometh Princes to do like good Husband∣men, when they sow their Grounds; which is, to scat••er, and not to throw all in one place. He was no great Dissembler, for so qualified a Person; as ordering his businesses (for the most part) so cautiously, as he got more by keeping his word, than by breaking it. As for his Learning, (which was far from exact) it consisted chiefly in the subtilties of the Thomists, wherewith the
King and himself did more often weary than satisfie each other. His stile, in Missives, was rather copious than eloquent, yet ever tending to the point. Briefly, if it be true (as Polydore observes) that no man ever did rise with fewer virtues, it is true that few that ever fell from so high a place had lesser crimes objected against him: Though yet Polydore (for being at his first com∣ing into England committed to Prison by him, as we have said) may be suspected as a partial Author. So that in all probability he might have subsisted longer, if either his pride and immense wealth had not made him obnoxious, and suspected to the King, or that other. than Women had opposed him: Who, as they are vigi∣lant and close Enemies, so for the most part they carry their businesses in that manner as they leave fewer ad∣vantages against themselves than men do. In conclu∣sion, As I cannot assent to those who thought him happy for enjoying the untimely compassion of the people a little before his end, so I cannot but account it a principal Felicity, that during his favour with the King, all things succeeded better than afterwards; though yet it may be doubted whether the Impressions he gave, did not occasion divers Irregularities which were observed to follow. He died Nov. 29. 1529.