there is in his having thus defended his friend. The words cannot, without straining, be taken to mean more than this." More's best interpreter is More himself, so we will conclude with a quotation, from a conversation on this subject held with Margaret in the Tower.* The original may be met with in More's works, and is embodied in a very long letter, which we have copied into this volume, save about a page of which this forms part, and which would not interest the general reader. This edition of More's works, we believe, was printed about the year 1570. "For an example of some such matters, I have, I trow told you before now, Megg, that whether Our Blessed Lady was conceived in sin or not, was sometimes a great question amongst the learned men of Christendom, and whether it be yet decided by any general Council, I remember not, but this I remember well, that notwithstanding that the feast of her Immaculate Conception was celebrated in the * It will (adds Father Morris) be regarded as thoroughly satisfactory by those who know that unity in doctrine is derived from submission to the decisions of authority. Even saints may differ, and until the Church has spoken may be expected to differ. These differences in that which is undefined bring out into the clearest relief the unanimity that follows the definitions of the Church. This is what Sir Thomas More says to his daughter, and it is what, as a Catholic, he meant to say to Erasmus, though he has expressed himself more rhetorically and with less accuracy in one case than in the other. Churches, or at least in various provinces, yet was holy S. Bernard, which, as his manifold books written in praise of Our Lady testifieth, devoutly loved all things tending to her commendation, yet was that holy and devout man against that part of her praise, as appeareth by an epistle of his wherein he argueth against, and approveth not the institution of that feast, and he was not alone of this mind, but many other well learned men with him, and right holy men too. On the other side was the blessed and holy Bishop S. Anselm, and he not alone neither, but many well learned and virtuous were with him also. And they, Megg, be now two holy Saints in Heaven, with many more that were on either side, for neither side was then bound to change their opinion for the other, nor for any provincial Council either, but after the determination of a general Council, every man is bound to believe that way and to conform his conscience, to the determination of the general Council, then all they that held the contrary before, were for so holding blameless."* * Since the above was written a kind friend has favoured us with the following remarks—I have referred to the passage in the life and writings of S. Bernard respecting the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception. He finds fault with the Canons of the Cathedral of Lyons for introducing a new feast without authority from the Holy See. He objects in the same letter, to the Immaculate Conception, but not to the doctrine as defined by Pope Pius the 9th, and at the end of his letter, he says, "that in this as well as in every other question, he Thus both, Sir Thomas and S. Bernard, were of one mind, namely, submission to the Roman Church. As the plan we have adopted of giving the letters in the same type as the other portion of the work is unusual and may possibly be censured, we beg to say that we have preferred rather the convenience of the reader than the perhaps better appearance produced by the smaller type, the letters will by many persons, we feel confident, be considered very interesting. And we are equally sure that those who are advanced in life, or who are not blessed with strong sight, will be glad that they are printed in large type. We are indebted to the courtesy and kindness of the Proprietor of the Illustrated London News, and of the Rev. R. Davis, Rector of the old parish Church of Chelsea,for three of the Illustrations in this volume, and we take this opportunity of warmly thanking them. The former gave us his kind permission to copy by autotype process the meeting of Margaret and her father at the Tower Wharf; and the latter most kindly granted us the loan of Faulkner's Chelsea, refers to the judgment and authority of the Roman Church, and that he is ready to retract, should he have advanced anything in opposition to the judgment which it may pass. Here is the Latin-"Romanæ presertim Ecclesiæ auctoritati atque examini totum hoc sicut et cætera qua ejusmodi, sunt universa reservo; ipsius, si quid aliter sapio paratus judicio emendare."-Epist. clxxiv. for engravings of Sir Thomas More's house and Monument. The portrait of Sir Thomas was copied, by permission of the Trustees of the British Museum, from Roper's "Life of More." |