"But it is disturbed," interrupted Miles.
The elder man smiled. "Students' discussions are like a brawling brook after summer rain. What we desire is that there shall be no hindrance put in the way of the free circulation of God's Word, but we want it done quietly, peaceably, and the Cardinal alone can hinder or help forward this work. But say no word to His Eminence of what you yourself have been doing, for he would think you unfit for such a task, and I have told you before that there is danger in it, for the Church is very jealous lest the unlearned should attempt what she claims to be her own prerogative. I hope and believe that the aim of the Cardinal is the same as ours, but he is a man of affairs, and understands the temper of the times better than we do; and so I would have you watch and be wary, but true to God and the new learning above all things."
"I will not fail to keep your counsel in mind," said Miles, thanking him for all his kindness.
A good sum of money having been given to him to meet the expense of the journey, Miles turned his steps toward his own room once more, smiling to himself as he went, for Master Clark, by his lectures and teaching, was fast earning for himself the name of heretic. He was wise, perhaps, to bid Miles be wary and careful of what he said and did, but he deemed his own position gave authority to teach the unsearchable riches of Christ revealed in the Scripture; and he could honestly thank God that such a man as the great Cardinal Wolsey was at the head of Church and State.
At this time the whole direction of English home and foreign affairs rested with Wolsey alone. As Chancellor he stood at the head of all public justice; and, as Cardinal Legate, all ecclesiastical affairs, instead of being referred to Rome, came into his hands as the Pope's representative for this realm.
This suspension of the custom of sending weighty appeals to Rome served a useful purpose later on, when the time came for the King to declare that his kingdom should sever from the Church of Rome, and he himself would be the head of the English Church. For men had grown accustomed to this state of things under Cardinal Wolsey, and the Cardinal frequently declared that he held all this vast power for the King, and at his will; and so he was slowly but surely preparing the way for the greatest blow to be dealt at the Church of Rome it had ever received.
No such intention was dreamed of by the Cardinal, who carefully insisted, not only that the King could do no wrong, but that the property and persons of his subjects were his also, and that a man had no right to more than the King thought fit not to take from him. And these maxims were being practically carried out in matters of State policy by the man who now ruled in both Church and State.
So he forged the fetters to bind England's liberty with one hand, and with the other sowed the seed that should burst them asunder; for the new learning owed much to the fostering care of the great Cardinal, and he was ready to join hands with Colet in improving its education.
Miles joined the party of travellers early next morning, and to be on horseback once more and out in the open country was in itself sufficient to fill him with delight. He had always loved to be out beside the budding hedgerows, or watching the springing corn at the dear old home, which he might never see again perhaps, for his father had written to tell him never again to show his face at Paton Hall, and he had not dared to brave his father's displeasure, beyond writing a letter to his mother, which his father had sent back unopened. Visions of his home rose before him as his horse plodded on and disturbed the sheep that were grazing just over the hedge.
The sight of the sheep in such numbers, and in such widely extended pastures, was not a pleasant one to Miles, for he knew the sorrow and ruin that had been wrought in the old cornfields to bring this about. A bitter feeling crept into his heart, and he wondered what would be the end of this greed for money if it was not speedily checked.