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whose writings display the soundness of his doctrines, flourished in this age. He may be justly termed one of the morning stars of the Reformation.

"About the year 1440, the art of printing was introduced; and this, under the divine blessing, opened the way for the promulgation of the sacred volume, with a rapidity unknown to manuscript editions. The first printed book with moveable types, was a copy of the Bible, which made its appearance between the years 1450 and 1452. This discovery is certainly to be attributed to the Germans, whether it consisted in printing with blocks of wood, or types moveable at pleasure. John Guttenburgh, of Mentz, has the best claim to the honour of this invention. The introduction of this invaluable art into this country, in 1447, is justly ascribed to William Caxton, a merchant of London, who acquired a knowledge of it in his travels abroad. He is said to have been a native of Caxton, a village near Cambridge, towards the latter end of the reign of Edward the Fourth. The first book printed in the English tongue was 'The Recuyell of the History of Troy;' and is dated September the nineteenth, 1471, at Cologne. The 'Game of Chess,' dated in 1474, is allowed, by all typographical antiqua

ries, to have been the first specimen of the art among us. Mr. Caxton died in 1486, or, according to other accounts, in 1491.

"In this century, viz. in 1428, the bones of John Wickliffe, the rising sun of the Reformation, were taken up and burnt, by an order of the council of Constance; and his works were thrown publicly into the flames, at Oxford.

"This great man was born at Richmond in Yorkshire, in the year 1324. He was presented to the rectory of Lutterworth in Leicestershire, through the influence of his friend the duke of Lancaster; and, in spite of the machinations of the priests, he not only preached with great success, but his doctrines became extremely popular, and he expired in peace, on his living, in the year 1384.

"The event of his death was hailed with triumph by the popish faction. But in vain did tyranny or artifice strive to stop the progress of truth: his followers rapidly increased; and, under the name of Lollards, we find them enduring, in the fifteenth century, a furious persecution. Yet, in spite of all that cruelty could devise, the doctrines of Wickliffe were not only maintained, but, one hundred and fifty years afterwards, we find that they had made great progress through all ranks in the nation.

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"It was at this period that the Reformation from popery and its errors commenced, under the reign of Henry the Eighth; and it was instigated, in a great measure, by the resistance of the pope to the divorce of this monarch, from the widow of his brother Arthur, to whom he had been married several years, and by whom he had one daughter, afterwards queen Mary. Religious scruples respecting the validity of this union, were the ostensible motives given by the capricious king; whilst a passion for Ann Boleyn, a celebrated and accomplished beauty, was the real motive which led to a step so wonderfully over-ruled for good.

"That Henry, previous to this time, had been a devoted papist, may be inferred from a book which he wrote in defence of popery, against Martin Luther, the celebrated Saxon reformer; for which the pope had bestowed on him the title of 'Defender of the Faith,' still retained by our monarchs. During this period many persons suffered persecution; and though it is far from my intention to enter into an account of many of the noble army of martyrs,' yet, to render you thankful for the mercies you enjoy in this privileged land, I will just mention, that, in 1519, six men and a woman were burnt at Coventry, for teaching the Lord's prayer, the

creed, and the ten commandments, in the vulgar tongue.

"On the 14th of November, 1532, Henry was secretly united to Ann Boleyn. On the second of May, 1534, the sentence of divorce was formally pronounced by Cranmer, between the king and Catherine of Arragon; and, on the twenty-eighth of the same month, his marriage with Ann Boleyn (who afterwards became the mother of our celebrated queen Elizabeth) was publicly confirmed. The pope's excommunication followed this step immediately; and Henry was so enraged, that he resolved to break entirely with the see of Rome, and to abolish the papal authority for ever.

"The parliament confirmed his proceedings, and thus were our forefathers delivered from the tyranny of Rome.

"But, strange as it may appear to you, persecution still raged, and many sufferers might be named, who, about this period, underwent martyrdom; for Henry, though he had indignantly renounced the temporal authority of the pope, was still zealously devoted, in all spiritual matters, to the Romish forms. Neither party, consequently, escaped his wrath. The reformers, who, by their preaching and writings, attacked the doctrinal errors, and exposed the supersti

tious and burdensome ceremonies of papacy, were equally liable to punishment with the Romish priests and laymen, who denied his supremacy. Whilst the lesser abbeys, to the number of three hundred and seventy-six, were suppressed, and, not long after, the greater ones shared the same fate; yet, with an inconsistency peculiar to Henry's character, he caused several eminent protestants, among whom was the excellent lady Ann Askew, to be burnt to death in Smithfield.

"One great act was achieved in this reignthe translation of the Bible into English; and, in the month of September, 1538, Thomas Cromwell, lord privy-seal, vicegerent to the king's highness, sent forth instruction to all bishops and curates throughout the realm; charging them to see, that in every parishchurch, the Bible of the largest volume printed in English, should be placed for all men to read in: and a book of register was also provided and kept in every parish-church, wherein was to be written every wedding, christening, and burying, within the same parish for ever. Crosses and images in many places were taken down: one image in particular is mentioned, as exposed at St. Paul's cross, by the bishop of Rochester, and afterwards broken and plucked in pieces. This

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