‘Yes,’ replied Lambert, ‘and I thank God that ever I did so, for by them hath God shown me, and a vast multitude of others also, such light as the darkness cannot abide.’ Then testifying to the freedom of inquiry, he added: ‘Luther desires above all things that his writings and the writings of all his adversaries may be translated into all languages, to the intent that all people may see and know what is said on each side, whereby they may better judge what is the truth. And this is done not only by hundreds and thousands, but by whole cities and countries, both high and low. But (he continued) in England our prelates are so drowned in voluptuous living that they have no leisure to study God’s Scripture; they abhor it, no less than they abhor death, giving no other reason than the tyrannical saying of Sardanapalus: Sic volo, sic jubeo, sit pro ratione voluntas, So I will, so do I command, and let my will for reason stand.’[[181]]
Lambert, wishing to make these matters intelligible to the people, said: ‘When you desire to buy cloth, you will not be satisfied with seeing one merchant’s wares, but go from the first to the second, from the second to the third, to find who has the best cloth. Will you be more remiss about your soul’s health?... When you go a journey, not knowing perfectly the way, you will inquire of one man after another; so ought we likewise to seek about entering the kingdom of heaven. Chrysostom himself teaches you this.[[182]]... Read the works not only of Luther, but also of all others, be they ever so ill or good. No good law forbids it, but only constitutions pharisaical.’
Warham, who was as much opposed then to the liberty of the press as the popes are now, could see nothing but a boundless chaos in this freedom of inquiry. ‘Images are sufficient,’ he said, ‘to keep Christ and His saints in our remembrance.’ But Lambert exclaimed: ‘What have we to do with senseless stones or wood carved by the hand of man? That Word which came from the breast of Christ Himself showeth us perfectly His blessed will.’[[183]]
Warham having questioned Lambert as to the number of his followers, he answered: ‘A great multitude through all regions and realms of Christendom think in like wise as I have showed. I ween the multitude mounteth nigh unto the one half of Christendom.’[[184]] Lambert was taken back to prison; but More having resigned the seals, and Warham dying, this herald of liberty and truth saw his chains fall off. One day, however, he was to die by fire, and, forgetting all controversy, to exclaim in the midst of the flames: ‘Nothing but Jesus Christ.’
Latimer’s Evangelical Courage.
There was a minister of the Word in London who exasperated the friends of Rome more than all the rest; this man was Latimer. The court of Henry VIII., which was worldly, magnificent, fond of pleasures, intrigue, the elegances of dress, furniture, banquets, and refinement of language and manners, was not a favorable field for the Gospel. ‘It is very difficult,’ said a reformer, ‘that costly trappings, solemn banquets, the excesses of pride, a flood of pleasure and debauchery should not bring many evils in their train.’ Thus the priests and courtiers could not endure Latimer’s sermons. If Lambert was for freedom of inquiry, the king’s chaplain was for freedom of preaching: his zeal sometimes touched upon imprudence, and his biting wit, his extreme frankness, did not spare his superiors. One day, some honest merchants, who hungered and thirsted for the Word of God, begged him to come and preach in one of the city churches. Thrice he refused, but yielded to their prayers at last. The death of Bilney and of the other martyrs had wounded him deeply. He knew that wild beasts, when they have once tasted blood, thirst for more, and feared that these murders, these butcheries, would only make his adversaries fiercer. He determined to lash the persecuting prelates with his sarcasms. Having entered the pulpit, he preached from these words in the epistle of the day: Ye are not under the law, but under grace.[[185]] ‘What!’ he exclaimed, ‘St. Paul teaches Christians that they are not under the law.... What does he mean?... No more law! St. Paul invites Christians to break the law. Quick! inform against St. Paul, seize him and take him before my Lord Bishop of London!... The good apostle must be condemned to bear a fagot at St. Paul’s Cross. What a goodly sight to see St. Paul with a fagot on his back, before my lord in person seated on his episcopal throne!... But no! I am mistaken, his lordship would not be satisfied with so little ... he would sooner burn him.’[[186]]
This ironical language was to cost Latimer dear. To no purpose had he spoken in one of those churches which, being dependencies of a monastery, were not under episcopal jurisdiction: everybody about him condemned him and embittered his life. The courtiers talked of his sermons, shrugged their shoulders, pointed their fingers at him when he approached them, and turned their backs on him. The favor of the king, who had perhaps smiled at that burst of pulpit oratory, had some trouble to protect him. The court became more intolerable to him every day, and Latimer, withdrawing to his closet, gave vent to many a heavy sigh. ‘What tortures I endure!’ he said; ‘in what a world I live! Hatred ever at work; factions fighting one against the other; folly and vanity leading the dance; dissimulation, irreligion, debauchery, all the vices stalking abroad in open day.... It is too much. If I were able to do something ... but I have neither the talent nor the industry required to fight against these monsters.... I am weary of the court.’
Latimer Quits The Court.
Latimer had recently been presented to the living of West Kington, in the diocese of Salisbury. Wishing to uphold the liberty of the Christian Church, and seeing that it existed no longer in London, he resolved to try and find it elsewhere. ‘I am leaving,’ he said to one of his friends: ‘I shall go and live in my parish.’—‘What is that you say?’, exclaimed the other; ‘Cromwell, who is at the pinnacle of honors, and has profound designs, intends to do great things for you.... If you leave the court, you will be forgotten, and your rivals will rise to your place.’—‘The only fortune I desire,’ said Latimer, ‘is to be useful.’ He departed, turning his back on the episcopal crosier to which his friend had alluded.
Latimer began to preach with zeal in Wiltshire, and not only in his own parish, but in the parishes around him. His diligence was so great, his preaching so mighty, says Foxe,[[187]] that his hearers must either believe the doctrine he preached or rise against it. ‘Whosoever entereth not into the fold by the door, which is Christ, be he priest, bishop, or pope, is a robber,’ said he. ‘In the Church there are more thieves than shepherds, and more goats than sheep.’[[188]] His hearers were astounded. One of them (Dr. Sherwood) said to him: ‘What a sermon, or rather what a satire! If we believe you, all the hemp in England would not be enough to hang those thieves of bishops, priests, and curates.[[189]]... It is all exaggeration, no doubt, but such exaggeration is rash, audacious, and impious.’ The priests looked about for some valiant champion of Rome, ready to fight with him the quarrel of the Church.