Tower, are important evidences of Fisher's calm courage in the prospect of death, and of the humility which adds a crowning grace to his virtuous life. The long treatise concerning the penitential psalms, though of less enduring interest, contains here and there bursts of manly eloquence which, with the sermons on the king and princess, entitle the writer to an honorable name among the early masters of English prose.

HENRY VII. His character, 269-70. At the begynnynge of lent last passed he called vnto hym his confessour a man of synguler wysdome, learnynge and vertue, by whose assured instruccyon I speke this that I shall saye. This noble prynce after his confess yon made with all dylygence & great repentaunce, he promysed thre thynges, that is to saye, a true reformacyon of al them that were offycers and mynystres of his lawes [the Empsons and Dudleys] to the entent that Iustyce from hens forwarde truly and indyfferently myght be executed in all causes. An other that the promocyons of the chyrche that were of his dysposycyon sholde from hensforth be dysposed to able men suche as were vertuous & well lerned. Thyrde that as touchynge the daungers and Ieoperdyes of his lawes for thynges done in tymes passed he wolde graunte a pardon generally vnto all his people' (271-2). His trust in prayer; his collect said daily in all the churches of England; divers years about Lent he paid for 10,000 peculiar masses; gave to every virtuous man known to him 10 marks or £10 yearly to pray for him (272); his devotion to the sacrament; weeping sometimes of an hour in receiving it, creeping to it; kissing the foot of the 'monstraunt' when too feeble to communicate (273-4, cf. 275-6, 284); his devotion at the 'anelynge' and to the crucifix (274); his sufferings in mind and body (276-7); delicate constitution (277). Al his goodly houses so rychely dekte & appareyled, his walles & galaryes of grete pleasure, his gardyns large & wyde with knottes curyously wrought, his orcheyardes set with vines and trees moost dilicate, his meruaylous rychesse & treasour, his metes & drynkes were they neuer so dilycately prepared might not than helpe hym, but rather were paynfull to hym, so moche that longe before his deth his mete was to hym so lothsome (were it neuer so dilycately prepayred) that many a tyme he

sayd, but onely to folowe counseyle he wold not for all this world receyue it' (278). Apostrophe to the corpse: A kynge Henry kynge Henry yf thou were on lyue agayne, many one that is here present now wolde pretende a full grete pyte & tendernesse vpon the' (280). Pause for a silent paternoster to be said for his soul (281). His last advice to his son, 'the kynge that now is our gouernour & souerayne endued with all graces of god & nature & with as grete habylytees & lykelyhodes of well doynge as euer was in kynge' (285).

AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL. The sermons on the penitential psalms compiled at the 'sterynge' of the Lady Margaret, preached before her, and by her high commandment put in writing for to be impressed, during her son's lifetime (1-2). The sermon on the first part of the 38th psalm was preached on the nativity of our lady (8 Sept.), and Fisher was somewhat embarrassed by his engagements, on the one hand to speak on the subject of the festival, and on the other to follow the order of the psalms (44). Favours received by him from Henry VII. All be it I knowe well myne vnworthynes & vnhabylytees to this so grete a mater, yet for my most bounden duty, and for his gracyous fauour and synguler benefeytes exhybyte vnto me in this lyfe, I wolde now after his deth ryght affectuously some thynge saye, wherby your charytees the rather myght haue his soule recommended' (268). The confessions (148-150) may perhaps not be personal; but those addressed to his sister (353-362) no doubt are the unfeigned utterance of a man trying his life by a severe ideal and conscious that he had fallen short of it, however exemplary that life may have appeared to his contemporaries or may now appear to us. No doubt can remain when we read: 'Neyther buildyng of Colleges, nor makyng of Sermons, nor giuing of almes, neyther yet any other manner of buzynesse shall helpe you without this. Therefore first and before all things prepare for thys, delay not in any wyse, for if you doe, you shall be deceyued as I am now. I reade of manye, I haue hearde of manye, I haue knowne many that were disappoynted as I am nowe. And euer I thought and sayde, & intended, that I would make sure and not be deceiued by the sodayn comming of death. Yet neuerthelesse I am now deceyued,

X

CHARACTER OF THE LADY MARGARET.

and am taken sleeping, vnprepared, and that when I least weened of his comming, and euen when I reckoned my selfe to be in most healthe, and when I was most buzie, and in the middest of my matters. Therfore delay not you any farther, nor put your trust ouer much in your friends Trust yourself while ye haue space and libertie, and doe for your self now while you may. I would aduyse you to doe that thing that I by the grace of my Lord God would put in execution if his pleasure were to sende me longer lyfe. Recounte your self as dead, & thinke that your soules were in pryson of Purgatorie, & that there they must abyde till that the Raunsom for them be truly payde, eyther by long sufferance of payne there, or els by suffrages done heere in earth by some of your speciall friendes' (362). Of his sister Elizabeth (349, 351, 364) we learn that she was a nun (364, 374-5).

1

THE LADY MARGARET. Her noble descent, noble manners, noble nature, noble marriages (290-293). Noble manners: She was bounteous & lyberall to euery persone of her knowlege or acquaintaunce. Auaryce and couetyse she moost hated, and sorowed it ful moche in al persones, But specyally in ony that belonged vnto her. She was also of singular easynes to be spoken vnto, & full curtayse answere she wolde make to all that came vnto her. Of meruayllous gentylnesse she was vnto all folkes, but specyally vnto her owne, whom she trusted and loued ryghte tenderly. Unkynde she wolde not be vnto no creature, ne forgetefull of ony kyndnes or seruyce done to her before, whiche is no lytel parte of veray nobleShe was not vengeable, ne cruell, but redy anone to forgete and to forgyue iniuries done vnto her at the leest desyre or mocyon made vnto her for the same. Mercyfull also & pyteous she was vnto suche as was greuyd & wrongfully troubled And to them that were in pouerty or sekenes or ony other myserye. To god & to the chirche full obedyent & tractable sechynge his honoure & pleasure full besyly. A warenes of herself she had alwaye to eschewe euery thynge that myght dyshonest ony noble woman, or dystayne her

nes.

The MS. cited in pp. 289 seq. is in St John's College, pp. 97-109 of the volume calendared in the appendix to Mr Cooper's Memoir (Cambridge, 1874), pp. 129-178. It had already been used by Thomas Baker in his edition of the Mornynge Remembraunce.'

moost louyng maystres is gone hens for her promocyon, for her grete furtheraunce, for her moost wele & prouffyte' (306-7).

Faith and good works of the Lady Margaret.

'That this noble prynces had full fayth in Ihesu cryste it may appere yf ony wyll demaunde this questyon of her that our sauyour demaunded of Martha, he sayd to her, Credis hec? Byleuist thou this? what is that that this gentylwoman wolde not byleue? she that ordeyned .ij. contynual reders in bothe the vnyuersytes to teche the holy dyuynyte of Ihesu, she that ordeyned prechers perpetuall to publysshe the doctryne & fayth of cryste Ihesu, she that buylded a college royall to the honour of the name of crist Ihesu, & lefte tyll her executours another to be buylded to mayntayn his fayth & doctryne. Besyde al this founded in the monastery of westmynster where her body lyeth thre prestes to praye for her perpetually. She whom I haue many tymes herde saye that yf the crysten prynces wolde haue warred vpon the enmyes of his faith, she wold be glad yet to go folowe the hoost & helpe to wasshe theyr clothes for the loue of Ihesu, she that openly dyde wytnesse this same thynge at the houre of her dethe, whiche saynge dyuers here presente can recorde how hertly she answered whan the holy sacrament contaynynge the blessid Ihesu in it was holden before her, & the questyon made vntyl her whether she byleued that there was verayly the sone of god that suffred his blessyd passyon for her & for all mankynde vpon the crosse. Many here can bere recorde how with all her herte & soule she raysed her body to make answere there vnto, & confessed assuredly that in the sacrament was conteyned cryst Ihesu the sone of god that dyed for wretched synners vpon the crosse, in whom holly she put her truste & confydence, these same wordes almoost that Martha confessed in the ende of this gospell. Ego credidi quia tu es christus filius dei qui in mundum venisti. That is to saye I haue byleued that thou art cryst the sone of god whiche came in to this worlde. And so sone after that she was aneled she departed & yelded vp her spyryte in to the handes of our lorde, who may not nowe take euydent lyklyhode & coniecture vpon this that the soule of this noble woman, whiche so studyously in her lyf was occupyed in good werkes, & with a faste fayth of cryst, & the sacra

xvi

SERMON AGAINST LUTHER, 1521.

mentes of his chirche, was defended in that houre of departynge out from the body, was borne vp in to the countre aboue with the blessyd aungelles deputed & ordeyned to that holy mystery. For yf the herty prayer of many persones, yf her owne contynuall prayer in her lyf tyme, yf the sacramentes of the chirche orderly taken, yf indulgences & pardons graunted by diuers popes, yf true repentaunce & tceres, yf fayth & deuocyon in criste Ihesu, yf charyte to her neyghbours, yf pyte vpon the poore, yf forgyuenes of iniuries, or yf good werkes be auaylable, as doubtles they be, grete lyklyhode & almoost certayne coniecture we may take by them, & all these that soo it is in dede. Therfore put we asyde all wepynge & teeres, & be not sad ne heuy as men withouten hope, but rather be we gladde & ioyous, & eche of us herin confort other. Alwaye praysynge & magnyfyenge the name of oure lorde, to whome be laude and honoure endlesly. Amen' (308-10).

SERMON AGAINST LUTHER, 1521.

On a clear day often black clouds arise and a mighty tempest breaks out; so when the sky of the church is clear, thick clouds of heresy arise, such as John Wicliff, and sore tempest the church. Such another cloud is now raised aloft, one Martin Luther a frere, who terribly thundereth against the pope's authority (311-12). Christ and Peter are as Moses and Aaron under the law; in Christ's absence the cure of Christian people is committed to Peter; pasce, pasce, pasce (315-16). Luther cannot conceive duos summos. St Paul gives a woman three heads, God, Christ, and her husband; and she has a head of her own to boot. So the church has a head of her own (the pope), yet Christ her Husband is her head, and God also. This wretched man hath divided himself from the vicar of Christ; how then can he have in him the Spirit of truth, specially when he all to raggeth' the head of Christ's church, to whom by his religion he has vowed obedience (321-2)? Argument against the efficacy of faith's 'sklender' light, unless strengthened by the rebounding of hope and heat of charity (323-31). The Bible needs the supplements of cabala and tradition (331—8).

Luther's adherents say that he is learned in scripture, religious,