"But tell me—you have not failed in this endeavour?" said Sir Miles, in an anxious tone.
"Nay, nay, I have not failed. I have not put my hand to this Gospel plough to look back and regret it. Nay, nay, but the ploughing is hard sometimes; still, I have worked on," and, as he spoke, he took out of an oak-chest a goodly pile of clearly-written sheets of manuscript.
The sight of them filled Miles with joy. "They are beautiful," he said, in a tone of eager appreciation, as he took them in his hand, and ran his eye over the clearly-written pages. "Oh, I would that they could be printed here in London," he added.
But Tyndale shook his head. "It would not do," he said; "your most magnificent Cardinal has set his heart, I hear, on reforming the Church, but he would not approve of its being done in this way. He would cut down some of its abuses that he might fasten the power of the Pope more securely round our necks. That is not the reformation we desire, Sir Miles."
"No, indeed; but the Cardinal would not object so much to the Scriptures being given to the people if—"
"My friend the Cardinal knows that if once the people can read the Scriptures for themselves, there will be an end of his luxury, pomp, and power; and think you such a vain, conceited prelate as this Wolsey would be willing to yield these delights? Nay, nay, my friend, I must carry my treasure across the seas, to be beyond the power of this man, and that with as little delay as possible; for it has come to my knowledge of late that he has many spies in his service."
"But there is nothing in the New Testament half so bitter against the abuses and hypocrisy of the Church as there is in the books of Erasmus, and the Cardinal commends them to the notice of all his friends. I read 'The Praise of Folly' and the 'Colloquies' because the Cardinal told me I ought to do so," said Sir Miles, eagerly.
"Yes, yes; it is the fashion to read Erasmus, and abuse the monks just now. But to read the New Testament is to lead the soul of man to God Himself, without the intervention of priest or penance, and that is why all priests will hate it at first, for it cuts at the root of all their pretensions. Erasmus has done good service; he has been pulling clown the Church by his 'Praise of Folly;' but by means of his New Testament he has taught some of us to see that there must be building up as well as pulling down. Having cleared away the rubbish, we must see that we build on a firm foundation, even on the Word of God, for the future, and not as it has been in the past. I want to see such a reformation here as they are having in Germany under the monk Luther," concluded Tyndale.
"We want an English Reformation," said Miles, seriously; "but whether it would be wiser to take the German for our pattern I know not yet. God will show us the way, doubtless, as we go on," said Miles.
But Tyndale shook his head at his friend's caution, although he did not openly dissent from it. It was, however, his turn to listen to his friend's troubles and disappointments now, for Miles was deeply disappointed that his tenants were so slow to adopt improvements in the building of their houses and barns, and the cultivation of the land.