soon exposed him to the imputation of heresy, he was taken up with some merchants of his acquaintance, and carried before cardinal Wolsey. The merchants were probably converts of the same description as himself: they publicly abjured the new tenets at Paul's Cross. As for Roper, he was treated with great lenity, and, from motives of respect to his father-in-law, dismissed, after receiving a friendly warning. His zeal appears to have sustained no abatement in consequence of this check, and he continued for some years as forward and disputatious as ever. One day, More, talking on the subject with his daughter, said, "Megg, I have borne a long time with thy husband: I have reasoned and argued with him, and still given him my poor fatherly counsel, but I perceive none of all this can call him home again. And therefore, Megg, I will no longer dispute with him, nor yet will I give him over; but I will another way to work, and get me to God and pray for him." It is not surprising that Roper, who seems to have had a great deal of devotional feeling, should at length perceive the emptiness of opinions merely speculative, (for such appears to have been his acquaintance with the doctrines of the Reformation,) and gradually won by the deep and unostentatious piety of his wife and her father, attach the idea of truth to

doctrines adorned by such examples. He is said to have once more become a zealous catholic, and when the professors of that religion were in their turn exposed to persecution, he proved a steady friend to them, and devoted a large proportion of his income to their relief*.

Happy would it have been for More, had he never resorted to other means of converting heretics, than those he employed in the case of his son-in-law! He has, indeed, contradicted some of the charges of persecution, alleged against him by the protestants, and his wellknown veracity entitles him to credit; but, that he was guilty of many acts of severity towards the reformers, cannot be denied. While we freely censure this part of his conduct, we ought, however, to recollect, that neither the love of power, nor fame, nor affluence, had any share in urging him to the support of popery: he acted from mistaken principle.

The treatises written by More in defence of the Romish Church, were thought to have done such service to the cause, that the clergy, assembled in convocation, resolved as a mark of their gratitude, to present him with four or five thousand pounds, a sum equal to about thirty or forty thousand in our times. Three

* Wordsworth, in More, p. 147-149.

bishops, one of whom was his particular friend, Tunstall, bishop of Durham, were deputed to wait upon him in the name of the whole body, and to request his acceptance of this testimony of their gratitude. More expressed his satisfaction that his labours were approved by so many wise and learned men; but he absolutely refused their present, declaring that he would never accept of any reward for his religious writings, except from God*. Who can read this proof of his disinterestedness and sincerity, without lamenting the fatal darkness in which superstition may involve the clearest understanding, and the obstinacy with which even good men may cling to those prejudices, which early habit has induced them to regard as an essential part of religion?

While More continued to execute the office of chancellor, with honour to himself, except where religion was concerned, and even there with the approbation of his own mistaken conscience, the king became daily more urgent for the completion of his divorce, and began to discover symptoms of an intention to shake off altogether the control of the court of Rome. He refused to appear, either in person or by proxy, before the papal tribunal; and affected

Macdiarmid, p. 77-80.

to consider such a proposition as an insult, and a violation of his prerogative. In the parliament and convocation which met in the year 1531, direct measures were taken to abridge the authority of the pope, and the convocation was prevailed on to acknowledge the king as protector and supreme head of the church of England; though the partizans of the pope procured the insertion of a clause declaring, this was to be understood, so far as is permitted by the law of Christ. The parliament, especially the house of commons, manifested a disposition to set the papal power at defiance; and would probably have adopted some very expeditious remedies for a variety of ecclesiastical abuses, if they had not been prevented by accidental circumstances.

More was sensible to what point these measures were tending. He was aware that he must soon be called upon, in his official capacity, to take part in shaking off an authority which he regarded as the only means of restoring tranquillity to Christendom; and he perceived that this change was intended to pave the way for the king's divorce. He had already declared his conviction that Henry's present marriage ought not to be dissolved; yet he had been under the necessity of bringing forward the business of the divorce in parliament, and of explaining the

king's motives and intentions. He had, on this occasion, refrained from giving any indication of his own opinion, which remained unaltered; but he could not reconcile this ambiguous conduct to his sense of duty. As the only means, therefore, by which he could preserve his integrity without opposing the intended measure, he earnestly entreated the king to accept his resignation. But Henry, though mortified at the inflexibility of the chancellor, was so much attached to him on account of his amiable qualities, and entertained such respect for his talents and integrity, that he declared his willingness to accept of his services on his own terms; that nothing should diminish his favour towards him, and that his conscience should no longer be molested by importunities.

In all probability, More's acquaintance with Henry's character was too intimate to allow of his placing much dependence on these professions. It is evident that he could not reconcile himself to a continuance in office while the divorce was pending, and at length his repeated solicitations, supported by the intercessions of his friend the duke of Norfolk, who was then in high favour, procured the acceptance of his resignation; and he quitted power with the warm applause of his sovereign, who assured him that he should ever find a ready compliance