HE MIRROVR
OF VERTVE
in Worldly (treat lies ,

OR

THE LIFE OF >5YR
Thomas More Kmght,
fometime Lo.Chanceliour
of

AT PARI5-
DC XX VI

THE

LIFE AND LETTERS

OF

SIR THOMAS MORE:

BY

AGNES M. STEWART,

Authoress of " Margaret Roper," "Florence O'Neill," "General Questions,"
" Biographical Headings," &c., &c.

CROMWELL. Sir Thomas More is chosen Chancellor in your place.

WOLSEY. That's somewhat sudden.

But he's a learned man, may he continue
Long in his Highness's favor, and do justice
For truth's sake and his conscience, that his bones,
When he has run his course, and sleeps in blessings,
May have a tomb of orphans' tears wept on 'em.

HENRY VIII. ACT in., SCENE 2.

LONDON :

BURNS & GATES, PORTMAN STREET,
AND PATERNOSTER ROW.

1876.

LIVERPOOL :
PRINTED BY MATTHEWS BROTHERS, THOMAS STREET.

PREFACE.

WITH a feeling of extreme diffidence we devoted ourselves
to the task of writing a life of that Christian hero and
philosopher, the learned and estimable Sir Thomas More.

His character is one on which the mind loves to linger,
so learned was he, yet so simple in his ways ; full of innocent
playfulness as a little child ; ever unmindful of self and bene-
ficent to others, so that he may justly be regarded as one of
the best and greatest of Englishmen.

It was well for those amongst whom he lived that he was
mistaken as to his vocation to a religious life, for he was
doubtless destined by Providence as a bright example, to
show unto others how they should educate their children,
serve their country, and, at the same time, practise the
Christian virtues of piety, humility, and continency.

It is hoped that the Letters, and abstracts of letters
written by More, which have been printed in this volume,
may be perused with interest by the reader ; indeed, without

11 PREFACE.

them, it would have seemed superfluous to publish the
work, varjous lives of the Chancellor having already been
written. The limits of this volume have forbidden the
publication of more than portions of some of them, on
account of their extreme length, but many are given in their
entirety ; and of the remainder, the pith of each has been
extracted, whilst all are reproduced which have appeared in
the pages of the old biographer, Cresacre More.

A far better idea of the noble and heroic character of the
Chancellor may be gathered from his own epistles than
from the words of others ; and it is hoped that the present
humble attempt at gathering together much that has not
appeared in former works may meet with a gracious
reception, though some more worthy pen than ours shall
perchance write hereafter of this brave English Martyr,
collecting together further documents deposited perhaps in
Libraries, to which we have not been so privileged as to
have access.

The character of Sir Thomas More was great in all its
moral aspects, fork was never sullied by ambition or avarice,
and whilst bound to Henry by the greatness of the benefits
that had been conferred upon him, and entirely loyal at the
same time, he was proof against blandishments and threats,
and though from the first moment that he thwarted the
wishes of the despotic Tudor sovereign he must have been

PREFACE. Ill

well aware that life-long imprisonment, or the block, would
be the result, he yet stood firm unto the last, steady and
true to the voice of his own conscience.

His famous work, the Utopia, won for him the greatest
popularity at home and abroad, and one would think that
some of the passages with which it abounds must needs
have been unpleasant to the Tudor King.

" In the Counsels of Princes," he therein observes,
" good advice proves of no avail, because the servant is
never consulted by the master, except with the view of
gratifying his passions." This great man was far in advance
of the times in which he lived, for in his Utopia, written
more than three centuries ago, he anticipates Lord Ashley's
factory bill, advocating six hours for labour and the rest for
recreation and study, and also condemning the heavy punish-
ments then inflicted for small crimes of theft, &c.*

In his imaginary Republic, fathers and grandfathers, with
their married sons and daughters, reside together as one
family, and if such a style of living be deemed incompatible
with family harmony, More'sown conduct proved the contrary,
for he, like a true philosopher, set the example by practising
his own precepts in an exemplary manner.

His contemporaries have left the abundant proof that in
More's home at Chelsea there was no strife or discord, but
* Lord Campbell.

IV PREFACE.

that, on the contrary, peace, love, refinement, purity, and all
the little courtesies and amenities of life were most tenderly
cherished ; and that never was master more faithfully served,
friend more valued, or father more beloved, than was
Sir Thomas More.

In his Utopia, that fairy-land born of his imagination,
every man was to be at perfect liberty to follow whatever
religion he pleased, and to try to draw others to it by force
of argument ; but ten years later, after the change of religion
brought in by Lutheranism, and branching off into many
other sectaries, had desolated Europe, a great change had
taken place in the feelings of More, a prophetic fear filled
his mind, and he strove by all the means in his power to
stem the tide of heresy, and devcted himself with all the
energy of his earnest nature to the cause of the Church.

He and the Bishop of Rochester stand foremost in the
army of English Martyrs for the supremacy of the Holy
See, and many of those who afterwards shed their blood in
defence of the same cause declared that courage had been
infused into them by their example. More's own parish
priest, Dr. Larke, of Chelsea, was so struck by his glorious
death, says Stapleton, that he himself shortly afterwards
suffered death in the same cause.

Before concluding we must remark that in looking over
extracts made from Mr. Brewer's Calendar of State Papers,

PREFACE. V

from which some abstracts of letters have been taken, we
were intensely surprised by observing the following remark,
concerning one of More's letters to Erasmus.

" More brings forward various instances to shew that the
later Church had departed from the dogmas of the Fathers."

We happened to be in Lancashire when this paragraph
was observed, and reference having been made in the
Calendar to " Jortin's Erasmus," vol. in., page 365, we
at once went to London to examine this book at the British
Museum.

Amongst many Latin letters or rather orations of More's,
for such Jortin calls them, we came at once on the letter
sought for. It extends to more than thirty pages of closely
printed matter, in small type.

A copy was at once made of all that portion of the letter
in which the remarks appeared, and, though personally a
stranger, the writer took the liberty of applying to the Rev.
Father Morris, the learned and accomplished author of
"Troubles of our Catholic Forefathers," begging his opinion
of the justice of Mr. Brewer's summary. He most kindly re-
sponded to her request and the following remarks were
made by him after perusing the passages in question :

" No Catholic has ever thought individual fathers to be
infallible, or would be surprised to find that there were
points on which they differed. This is all that More says,

VI PREFACE.

except in the case of the Immaculate Conception. There
he asks whether there was one of the ancient Saints who
did not believe that Our Blessed Lady was conceived in
sin, if he meant literally what he said, it was of course very
wrong, for it is impossible that the Church should ever
accept as generally as he says, she accepted in his time, a
doctrine, the contrary of which was explicitly taught by the
unanimous voice of the holy Fathers and Doctors. But the
expression may be regarded as an inadvertent exaggeration
in the warmth of argument. If Mr. Brewer attributes to
More the statement that the modern Church had departed
from the dogmas of the Fathers, such a statement would be
an attack by More, not on the Fathers, but on the Catholic
Church of his own time of this there is no trace in the
words you have sent me, unless it be deduced from the
phrase about the Immaculate Conception ; and it would be
very illogical from a particular statement, even if literally
meant, to deduce so general a conclusion.

" All that can be drawn from the marked passages
seems to be that More defended the statement of Erasmus
that some of the holy Fathers, whom he mentions in
very eulogistic terms, have fallen into occasional errors
.lapsos alicubi."

" If the errors were on points of doctrine, not at that
time decided by the Church, I do not see what difficulty

PREFACE. Vll

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 con-
clude 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 em-
bodied 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.

Vlll PREFACE.

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 blame-
less."*

* 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 pth, and at the end of his
letter, he says, " that in this as well as in every other question, he

PREFACE. IX

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 con-
sidered 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 meet-
ing 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 " Romano;
presertim Ecclesice auctoritati atque examini totum hoc sicut et
coetera qua ejusmodi, sunt universa reserve ; ipsius, si quid aliter sapio
paratus judicio emendare." Epist. dxxiv.

X PREFACE.

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."

LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS.

COPIES.
The Right Rev. Dr. Amherst,

Bishop of Northampton ... I
His Grace the Archbishop of

Cashel ... ... ... i

His Grace the Archbishop of

Cloyne ... ... ... i

The Right Rev. Robert Corn-

thwaite, Bishop of Beverley

Rev. Carbery, SJ

Rev. P. Devlin

Rev. J. Duggan

Rev. W. Dunderdale

Rev. C. Dunne

Rev. T. Dykes, S J

Rev. W. Fortune

Rev. Gralty... .. ''
Rev. E. Hannen

Rev. J. Hntton

Rev. J. Jack-on, SJ

Rev. D. O'Keefe

Very Rev. Canon Kershaw . . .
Very Rev. Canon Last
Veiy Rev. Provost Doyle
Rev. Canon Browne ...

Rev. P. Lewis

Rev. P. Lynch

Rev.N. Nenci, D.D

Rev. E. Purbrick, S.J.

Rev D. Ramsey

The Right Rev. Monsignor

Woodlock

The Right Hon. Lord Acton...
The Right Hon. Lady A rundell
Miss Amherst ...

Lady Bedingfeld

Mrs. Beckett

COPIES^

LadyBlount ... ... ... i

Mrs. Edward Blount ... ... 2

Mrs. Stephen Blount ...

Weld Blundell, Esq ...

J. B. Bowden, Esq.

L Bowring, Esq.

Mrs. Brady

N. Browne, Esq. ... ... 2

The Most Noble the Marquis

of Bute 2

A. Butler, Esq. ... ... i

Mrs. Cadman ... ... ... i

The Right Hon. Lady Camoys i

W. Campbell, Esq i

F. Chambers, Esq., M.D. ... I

Chamberlain, Esq ... ... 2

J. Chadwick, Esq I

Lady Chichester ... ... i

Miss Cholmeley ... ... 'J

Mrs. Coghlan ... i

Convent, Cahir j

,, Concepcion, Harbor 6

Clar i

,, Clapham ... ... 6

The Right Hon. Lady Clifford i

The Hon. Mrs. Clifford ... 2

C. Cranstoun, Esq. ... ... 2

James Cuddon, Esq. ... .:. I

Convent, Darlington ... ... i

The Right Hon. Lady Denbigh i

Mrs. De Lisle 4

E. H. Dering, Esq I

K. Digby, Esq. ... ... ... I

Miss De Lys I

C. O. Eaton, Esq i

C. Fairclough, Esq I

LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS.

COPIES.

lion. Mrs. Farrall ... ... I

The Right Hon. Lord Gains-
borough i

Right Hon. Lord Gerard ... I

Mrs. Gerard ... ... ... I

Mrs. Gillow 2

The Lady Grey 2

Miss Hales I

Mrs. Haslem ... I

C. Hargitt, Esq 2

The Right Hon. Lady Henries I

The Right Hon. Lord Howard 6

The Lady Holland I

R. Hind, Esq I

Mrs. Hutchins ... ... ... I

Mrs. Jones ... ... ... I

Mrs. Kelly I

R. M. Kelly, Esq 2

The Lady Henry Kerr ... I

Convent, Killarney ... ... I

,, Kilkenny ... ... I

Mrs. Leonard ... ... ... I

The Hon. Mrs. Lewis I

The Hon. C. Lindsey I

The Most Noble the Mar-
chioness of Londonderry I
Miss Lightbound ... ... :<

Mrs. Maher ... ... ... I

T. Mapother, Esq I

Mrs. Mercer ... ... ... I

J. J. Murphy, Esq. ... ... I

McVeigh, Esq i

Mrs. New ... ... ... i

His Grace the Duke of Norfolk 6
Her Grace the Duchess of Nor-
folk 2

Noble, Esq., M.D. ... i
Convent, Northampton ... I
Convent, Norwood I

COPIES.
Mrs. Orme

The Hon. Mrs. O'Ferrall ...
The Right Hon. Lady Petre ...

Miss Peel

The Hon. Mrs. Pereira
W. Prosser, Esq.

A. Purcell, Esq.

Mrs. Purcell

Convent, Plymouth ...

Mrs. Quick, English Convent,

Bruges 6

The Most Noble the Marquis

of Ripon ... ... ... 2

Mrs. Richardson ... ... I

Mrs. Rideout I

Miss Russell i

Mrs. Ryan ... ... ... I

Convent, Roehampton ... I

Mrs. Salvin ... ... ... i

Lady Smythe ... ... ... I

A. Shee, Esq i

Superioress, St. Margaret's,

Edinburgh ... ... I

Colonel Towneley ... ... 2

Topham, Esq. ... ... I

Mrs. Tozer ,

Sir F. Turville
T. H. Ware, Esq
Mrs. Watkins
Mrs. C. Weld
i Miss Wilson ... ...

Woolett, Esq., M.D.

j Mrs. Worswick ...

Convent, Wolverhampton

Rev. S. Wells "...
Lord F. G. Osborne
H. Whitgreave, Esq.

CONTENTS.

CHAP. PAGE.

I. THE BIRTH AND PARENTAGE OF SIR THOMAS MORE i

II. How SIR THOMAS WOOED HIS FIRST WIFE ... 19

III. IN FAVOUR AT COURT 25

IV. THE HOME AT CHELSEA 33

V. MOKE AND HIS FRIENDS 49

VI. SIR THOMAS MORE AS AMBASSADOR AND STATESMAN 75

VII. FRIENDS AT HOME AND ABROAD 99

VIII. THE MEN OF THE NEW LEARNING 118

IX. THE KING'S DIVORCE ... 127

X. SIR THOMAS MORE AS CHANCELLOR 145

XI. GIVING UP THE GREAT SEAL 183

XII. QUEEN ANNE BOLEYN 192

XIII. MORE AND FISHER 199

XIV. THE FITTING MATTER ... . .*. ' ' ...217

XV. THE TOWER ... 225

XVI. LADY ALDINGTON'S LETTER 239

XVII. SIR THOMAS MORE AND DR. WILSON 260

XVIII. BEFORE THE COUNCIL 273

XIX. 'TWIXT HEAVEN AND EARTH 286

XX. LOOKING FOR THE END 295

XXI. ARRAIGNED AND CONDEMNED 311

XXII. FATHER AND DAUGHTER 326

XXIII. MARGARET ROPER 34i

XXIV. THE KING 346

XXV. How SIR THOMAS MORE WAS MOURNED 352

XXVI. CHELSEA, OR, In Mcmoriam 357

XXVII. CONCLUSION 362

LIFE AND LETTERS

OF

SIR THOMAS MORE

CHAPTER I.

THE BIRTH AND PARENTAGE OF SIR THOMAS MORE.

IN the year 1480, towards the close of the reign of our
IVth Edward, in the, at that time, fashionable locality of
Milk Street, in the Chepe, now Cheapside, a child was
born, who, by the sterling virtues of his after life, diffused
happiness and peace around him, and whose name will be
held in reverent love and benediction as long as time itself
shall endure by all who can appreciate that nobleness of
mind, that generous unselfishness of spirit which shrinks
from no earthly sacrifice even to the rendering up dear life
itself, and considereth loss as gain, so that the path of duty
be rigorously followed.

Gifted with talents of the highest order, perceptible ta
those around him even in the early days of childhood, the
name of the wise and just Sir Thomas More occupies a
page in the history of his country, which will be read with
interest and edification as long as the English language
tself shall last

2 The Birth and Parentage of

" It cannot have escaped the observation of persons
interested in the life of this great and good man, that his
biographers are almost silent as to the family from which he
sprung; they take us no farther back than Sir Thomas's
father, Sir John More, and he was no less a person than
one of the superior judges, holding that dignity too for more
than twelve years, and not dying till after his son had
reached the highest legal position in the kingdom.

That Roper is silent cannot be attributed to ignorance,
for he was not only the son-in-law of Sir Thomas, but was
on terms of most affectionate intimacy with him, and it is
hard to ascribe his silence to other than a delicate disincli-
nation to expose what to weak minds he might fear would
derogate from the respect with which the Chancellor was
regarded. The great-grandson of Sir Thomas, now clearly
proved by Mr. Hunter's investigations to be Cresacre More,
endeavours to show that they were of gentle descent. He
cites Sir Thomas's epitaph, commencing thus : " Thomas
More, born of no noble family, but of an honest stock"; but
the word nobilis does not occur in the original, the passage
stands as follows :

"Thomae MoruS, urbe Londinensi familia non celebri
sed honesta natus," words simple enough, and which indi-
cate that he could have his pedigree little beyond his
father.

Cresacre More says Judge More bore arms from his
birth, having his coat quartered, meaning, that in conse-
quence of the marriage of one of his ancestors with the
heiress of a family entitled to coat armour, he quartered the
arms of that family with his own; on the monument at
Chelsea, it is true, the arms of Sir Thomas are quartered,

Sir Thomas More. 3

but the quartering may have belonged to Sir Thomas's
mother.

The arms of Sir John, as depicted by Dugdale, from the
window of the Refectory in Serjeant's Inn, Fleet Street,
contain no quartering, and none of the pedigrees in
Herald's College begin with an earlier name than that of
Sir John, except some of a later date, which carry up the
family, but without name or place, to an assumed grand-
father.. These, and the pedigree in the Ashmole Library,
mentioned by Mr. Hunter, are evidently derived from Sir
John's Will, in which he speaks of his grandmother, Joanna,
daughter of John Leycester.

Looking then at the modest description given by Sir
Thomas More himself, the total silence of his son-in-law,
and the absence of all evidence to the contrary, it seems im-
possible to come to any other conclusion than that the family
was an obscure one. Recent investigation has confirmed
this opinion, but so far from detracting in any degree from
the merit of the chancellor or the judge, it must be con-
sidered as speaking loudly to their own credit, as also that
of those to whom they owed their elevation, shewing, that
even in those days, virtue and learning met their due reward,
and contradicting the idea that none but rich men's sons
were admitted members of the Inns of Court.

Contradictory accounts are given of the Inns of Court
to which John More belonged, of the bench on which he
sat, and of the age at which he died.

As to the Inns of Court to which he belonged, Chauncey,
in his History of Hertfordshire (p. 531) says, that he studied
the law and was Reader at Lincoln's Inn ; and Dugdale, in
his list of Readers at the Middle Temple names John More

4 The Birth and Parentage of

as one of them, naming him afterwards as one of the Judges
of Common Pleas. If we examine the dates and facts we
shall have a doubt whether the Judge can be identified
with either.

Taking them in the order of date, John More of Lin-
coln's Inn, was Autumn Readerin 5th Henry VIL, 1489, and
Lent Reader in 1495. If this was the Judge, his elevation
to the bench would be twenty-nine years after his first
reading, an interval so great as to render the supposition
that the Reader and the Judge were the same person highly
improbable.

The name of More occurs in the Black Book, folio 1376,
as early as 4th Edward IV., when a John More was raised
from the office of butler to that of steward or senescha^
employed to collect the dues and keep the accounts, and
in Michaelmas Term 1470, 49, (being the year of that
king's temporary restoration) was admitted a member of
the society, in reward for having conducted himself faith-
fully in the office of butler and steward, which the entry
declares he had long filled, so that it may be well conceived
at the date of his admission he was at least forty years
of age.

He would then be progressively called to the bar, and
raised to the bench, and in due time be appointed a Reader,
and there can be no doubt that he was the Reader in 1489,
at which time he would be about 59 years old ; but were he-
the Judge who was appointed in 1518, he would have been
no less than 88 years old.

As to the claims of the Middle Temple, Sir John More
of that Society, was Autumn Reader there in 1505, and Lent
Reader in 1512, dates which seems to agree with the year

Sir Tfwmas More. 5

in which John More became a Judge, but there are two
facts which exclude the idea that the Judge could have
been the reader of the Middle Temple, this Judge was called
to the degree of the coif in 1503, and on that being
assumed, it is well known the new serjeant leaves his
original society and joins that of the judges and Serjeants,
and how could John More, made serjeant in 1503, be called
on to read in the society he had left in 1512, after he had
entered into another body?

It is difficult then to believe that either of them was the
future judge. Who then was he ?

His biographers place him at Lincoln's Inn, and Roper
records that, if the father and son met together at readings
in Lincoln's Inn, the latter, though Chancellor, would offer
in argument the pre-eminence to his father.

In the records of that Society, besides the former named
John More, originally the butler, and then raised from the
stewardship to be first a member and afterwards a Reader of
the Society, another John More is to be found with the
addition of "junior" to his name, who in 1482 (twelve years
after the first John More had been admitted a member) is
mentioned as pincerna, or butler. It cannot be doubted
that this John More was son of the first, holding as he did
the same office which he had formerly filled. Fourteen
years afterwards, on February 12, 1496, Thomas More, the
chancellor, was admitted into the society, the entry
describing him as the son of John More, without designa-
ting who John More was, leading to the inference that he
was some person so well known as not to need description.
That he was a member of the same society is especially
apparent by the entry further stating that Thomas is par-

6 The Birth and Parentage of

doned four vacations at the instance of John More, his
father.

His father must have been either John More, the former
steward, or John More, the butler; for no other appears
on the books at that time.

Presuming that the first was the father of Thomas and
the father also of John More, junior, he would then have
two sons, which would contradict the statements of all the
biographers. If John More, junior, is excluded, then the
birth of Sir Thomas, which is invariably fixed about 1480,
must have been at a very late period of his father's life,
the fact being, on the contrary, that he was the son of the
first of three wives with whom his father was united. Sir
Thomas therefore, being admitted in 1496, when only sixteen,
could not have been the son of the elder More ; the younger
John must, however, have been twenty-eight or thirty in
1482, and if he was the Chancellor's father, it may be well
conceived that, as he married early in life, he had a son
two years of age, who, in 1496, would be ready to be
admitted a member of the house, and to fix this parentage
it only remains to account for John More, junior, being
placed in such a position as afterwards to assume the coif
and obtain a seat on the judicial bench.

John More, the elder, a member in 1470, must have been
called to the bar long before 1482, when the younger is
mentioned as butler, and as he was made Reader seven years
afterwards, it is clear he was gaining an ascendancy in the
Inn, and must previously have become a bencher, and with
the natural feeling that he should wish his son to enjoy
his own advantages, it seems almost a necessary step to his
being admitted to the bench, that his son should be re-

Sir Thomas More. 7

moved from a menial office. That no entry of his son's
admission has been found may be accounted for by the
carelessness with which the books were then kept, and the
want of a regular list of admissions, that of Sir Thomas
himself being inserted in a page devoted to other matters.
Every Reader had, too, a special privilege of admitting any
person he pleased into the Society,* so that no doubt can
exist but that John More, junior, was admitted either before
or at the time when his father became one of the Governors,
or a Reader of the house ; and the interval between 1482
and 1503, when John More, the judge, was called serjeant,
is amply sufficient for all the successive gradations.

A careful comparison of facts and dates leads to the only
reasonable conclusion that John More, first butler, then
steward, and finally the reader of Lincoln's Inn, was the
Chancellor's grandfather, and that his son was the Chan-
cellor's father, and afterwards the Judge. Not only does
this descent suit precisely the ^ Non celcbri sed honesta
natus" in Sir Thomas's epitaph, but it explains the silence
of his biographers, and accounts for the Judge and the
Chancellor attending the readings of a Society with which
they had been so closely connected.

Such an investigation would be valueless if applied to an
ordinary person, but it acquires a peculiar interest when
a man of the highest eminence is the subject of enquiry, and
who, whether he be lawyer, philosopher, or historian, will
deny that title to Sir Thomas More ? Moreover, the fact is
interesting, as it proves that, at a time when the barriers
between the different grades of society were far more diffi-
cult to pass than in the present day, such talent united to
* Dugdale's Orig., 248.

8 The Birth and Parentage of

integrity and worth, could overcome all the prejudices in
favour of high descent which were the results of the feudal
system.

Of the date of Sir John's elevation to the bench we have
no precise information, but the uncertainty does not touch
the point under discussion. He died about November, 1530,
and was buried in the church of S. Lawrence in the Old Jewry.
His great-grandson describes him before his death as being
4< near ninety years old," an idea founded on the supposition
that he was the Lincoln's Inn Reader of 1489. This extreme
old age all subsequent writers have adopted, without reflect-
ing that in that case he would have been seventy-eight
when raised to the bench, a time of life at which it is
scarcely possible that any one would be selected for the
first time to exercise judicial functions.*

On the family pictures preserved at Burford Priory and
at Nostell Priory, painted in 1530, just before Sir John's
death, he is described as aged seventy-six on one, and on
the other seventy-seven, t

It is to be supposed that the old Judge was famous for a
facetious turn of mind, which he transmitted to his son, if
we credit the only saying which has come down to pos-
terity, but let us hope he intended it rather as a compli-
ment to the good qualities of the sex, three of whom he had
chosen successively as partners, than a satire on women
collectively.

He used to compare the multitude of women who are to
be chosen for wives unto a bag full of snakes having amongst
them a single eel : " Now, if a man should put his hand into

* Foss's Lives of the Judges,
f See Bruce's Archaeologia, xxxv., p. 26.

Sir Thomas More. 9

the bag he might chance to light on the eel, but it is a
hundred to one he shall be stung by a snake."

The maiden name of the mother of Sir Thomas was
Handcombe, she was born in Haliwell in Bedfordshire, and
died shortly after his birth, having previously become the
mother of two daughters, one called Jane, who afterwards
became the wife of one Richard Stafferton, and Elizabeth,
wife to John Rastell, who was the mother of the future
Judge Rastell.

It is said that the mother of Sir Thomas, the night of her
marriage, beheld in her sleep, as it were engraven on her
wedding ring, the number and faces of the children she was
to have, one of which shone most brightly, by which Sir
Thomas's fame and sanctity were supposed to be foreshown.
Also, say the old writers, God designed to show how dear
this babe was unto him, for, .one day, his nurse with the
child in her arms was riding over a piece of water, the horse
stepping beyond its depth, put both she and her burthen in
danger, and with the hope of saving the child, she flung it
from her arms over a hedge into a field, and fortunately
escaping herself, when she went in search of the babe
she found him smiling and unhurt, so that it was said of
him, "Angels shall bear thee up, lest perchance thou htt
thy joot against a stone"

The greatest care was taken by the Judge with respect to
the education of this child of promise, and as soon as his
still tender age would permit, he was placed by him in St.
Antony's Free Schcol. This school was instituted in
Threadneedie Street, in the parish of S. Benet Finck, and
was one of the four grammar schools founded by Henry V.,
a great patron of learning, in the twenty-fourth year of his

io The Birth and Parentage of

reign. In the time of Sir Thomas More this school was
the most celebrated in London. I myself, in my youth,
says Stowe, have yearly seen on the eve of 8. Bartholomew
the Apostle, the scholars of divers grammar schools repair
unto the churchyard of St. Bartholomew, or the Priory in
Smithfield, where, upon a bank, boarded about, under a
tree, some one scholar hath stepped up, and there hath
opposed and answered, till he were by some better scholar
overcome and put down, and then the overcomer taking
the place did like as the first, and in the end the best
opposers and answerers had rewards, which I observed not,
but it made good schoolmasters and also good scholars
diligently against such times to prepare themselves for the
obtaining of that garland. I remember there repaired to
these exercises, amongst others, the masters and scholars of
the Free Schools of St. Paul's in London, of St. Peter's at
Westminster, of Sir Thomas Aeon's Hospital, and of St.
Antony's Hospital, whereof the last named commonly pre-
sented the best scholars, and had the prize in those days.*

From this school various men of great reputation sprung,
Sir Thomas More, Nicolas Heath, Archbishop of Canter-
bury and Lord Chancellor, and Archbishop Whitgift. It
had fallen to decay in the time of Stowe and had come to
nothing.

Not long had young More been at this school before he
outstripped his companions in wit, talent, and application,
making rapid advances in the Latin tongue. When he had
reached his fifteenth year, his father, according to the custom
of the times, placed him as page in the family of Cardinal
Morton, then Archbishop of Canterbury, and Chancellor
* Stowe iL, p. 75.

Sir Thomas More. n

under Henry VII. Here, along with some youths of the
first families in England, young More waited at table, his
learning and all manly exercises being well attended to
meanwhile.

It was not long before the great talent and engaging
parts of the youth under his care, drew upon him the
notice of his master, who, though he had past the eightieth
year of his age, and filled a post of the highest dignity in
the realm, was not too dignified or stately to encourage the
innocent amusement of his page, or to discern the extra-
ordinary merit of the boy whose future fame he foretold'
for the learned prelate often proved his wit, having at
Christmas time entertainments for the recreation of his
household, when the youth of a sudden would step in
amongst the players, and never having studied the matter
before, would invent a part for himself, so full of wit and
jest that he would draw off the attention from the other
players. The Cardinal at length became much attached
to him, and not unfrequently said to those who dined with
him, This child here waiting at the table, whosoever shall live
to see it, will prove a marvellous rare man.

The wise prelate, however, speedily saw that, in his house,
amidst the distractions of public business, young More could
not profit to the extent he desired, and placed him in Can-
terbury College, at Oxford, now part of Christ Church, where
he was instructed in Greek, a language not very commonly
taught or learned at that time in England, and which Sir
Thomas learned of Linacre, the famous physician. The
taste for classical study was then reviving, and Oxford was
the favoured spot in which the indefatigable young student

I2 The Birth and Parentage of

contracted intimacies which were to end only with his

own life.

Beneath the classic shades of his beloved university young
More became acquainted with Wolsey, then bursar of Mag-
dalen College, and the first classical scholar there, already
opening his mouth in Latin disputations with Grocyn,
Linacre, and Warham. He had commenced building his
matchless tower, still one of the noblest monuments as a
gem of architecture, amidst the groans of the Trojans, for so
those were called who hated the language of Homer, and
ridiculed every novelty.

His intercourse with the great scholar, or rather master,
Erasmus, of Rotterdam, began about this time, as also with
the young and enthusiastic student More, and the two
former, truth obliges us to acknowledge, wasted their wit in
ridiculing monks who were far above them in moral worth,
or at pious foundations too good for their respective coun-
tries, and consequently about to be overthrown. Erasmus
had proved himself no saint when he dwelt in his own
monastery in Holland, whilst both he and Wolsey forgot
that, amidst the tumults of the middle ages, their most
admired authors would have perished had not the painstaking
inmates of the cloister preserved literature from the rough
grasp of the Huns and Goths, the Lombards and Vandals,
or the ferocious Danes. Here it was, too, that More became
acquainted with Colet, his future director. He was born of
wealthy parents resident in London his father had been
twice Lord Mayor his mother had had eleven sons and
eleven daughters, of whom Colet was the eldest, and out-
lived them all. He was of tall and handsome person. He
had studied the scholastic philosophy, icero, Plato, and

Sir Thomas More. 13

Plotinus, had visited France and Italy, and had diligently
studied the Fathers, especially S. Augustine, and 'was an
earnest reader of law and English poetry. On returning
from Italy he lectured on S. Paul's Epistles, at Oxford, when
he was of the age of thirty. Erasmus was of the same age,
within a few months, when the two became acquainted.
He made great advances in theology, though he took no
degree, and was invited to London by Henry VII, made
Dean of S. Paul's, became a great preacher, and distinguished
himself by his frugality and abstinence.*

Dean Colet was, too, a man of earnest and practical piety,
who made it his study to awaken a religious spirit in those
around him. It was he who founded the Free School of
S. Paul's, dedicating it to the Infant Jesus, and Thomas
More became both his friend and penitent.

Grocyn was professor, or public teacher of Greek at Oxford,
about the time Erasmus was there, afterwards becoming
Master of the College of Maidstone, in Kent. Thomas
Linacre lived a long while at Oxford, teaching Greek also.
He founded a lecture in S. John's College, as he had founded
two previously at Merton College, Oxford, and these three
men became united with More in the closest bonds of
friendship.

Persevering to the last degree, More fixed his attention
solely on his studies, and, as his father restricted him very
much with regard to pocket-money, scarcely, indeed, giving
him enough to pay for the mending of his wearing apparel,
he was deprived of one great incentive to the indulgence of
his passions, had he been so minded, and the course his
father had adopted More not unfrequently praised when he
* Er. Epis.

I4 The Birth and Parentage of

reached the years of manhood. It is to be observed, how-
ever, with reference to this strictness on the part of the old
Judge, that, with some natures, it would have had the con-
trary effect, and this spirit would have exhibited itself before
emancipation from college rules set the student free ; but it
was not with More as with many others, for whilst his dis-
position was full of vivacity and cheerfulness, a firm and
deep sentiment of religion prevented him from running riot
with many of those around him. He was nearly twenty
when he applied himself to the study of the law at Lincoln's
Inn, and whilst his countenance was the index of a happy
cheerful disposition, and a smile was ever on his lip, he was
practising in secret many an austerity of which the world
around him knew nothing, and had begun to lead that
" mortified life " which, with small mitigation, he continued
unto the day of his death, imitating austerities practised by
men who have forsaken the world, rather than those who,
in his age as in these our own days, seek to make its paths
most pleasant. He then began to wear a shirt of hair next
his skin, which he never wholly laid aside, even in the days
of his chancellorship.

On Fridays and fasting days he used the discipline. He
spent much time in fasting and watching, often lying on the
bare ground with a log of wood for a pillow, allowing himself
but four or five hours for sleep, treating his body hardly lest
the flesh should grow rebellious against the spirit, and using
severity to himself in this world, so that he might the better
tread the narrow path which leadeth to life eternal.

He was wont to say that his body was to be used like an
ass, with strokes and hard fare, lest provender might prick

Sir Thomas More. 15

it, and so bring his soul, like a headstrong jade, into the
bottomless pit of hell.

Undecided as to whether he should not forsake the world,
and devote himself wholly to God in the religious state,
More, together with his faithful friend Lily, who aspired to
the priesthood, fixed his abode near the Charter-house, and
dwelt for four years amongst the Carthusians, frequenting all
their spiritual exercises, but noc binding himself by irre-
vocable vows.

The relaxed state of some few of the religious houses in
England, may have in part deterred him from following this
design, but there is no doubt that it became clear to his
own mind, and that of his director, that God called him to
serve Him in the busy scenes of active life, and not in the
retirement of the cloister, holy as were the lives of the great
majority of their inmates. And forth to the world he came,
to grace and adorn it with his many virtues, and to set forth
to his own and succeeding generations the pattern of a perfect
Christian household for was not the household of Sir
Thomas More typical of all that is holy and beautiful in
domestic life ?

I have said Dean Colet was his spiritual director. The
following letter will testify to the respect, nay, the love, with
which he regarded him :*

"As I was walking lately in Cheapside, and busying
myself about other men's causes, I met by chance your
servant, at whose first encounter I was much rejoiced, both
because he has always been very dear to me, and especially
because, I thought he had not come to London without
yourself. But when I found from him that you had not
returned, nor minded to do so for a long space of time, my

r 6 The Birth and Parentage of

great joy was turned into sadness, for what could happen
worse for me than to be deprived of your moral conversa-
tions, whose counsels I was wont to enjoy, with whose fami-
liarity I have been accustomed to be recreated, by whose
sermons I have been excited to devotion, by whose life and
example I have been much amended in my own ; finally,
in whose very countenance I have settled my trust and con-
fidence of my progress in virtue. Wherefore, as I found
myself so strengthened by these helps, so do I see myself
weakened and brought low when deprived of them. For
having by following your footsteps almost escaped from hell,
so now, like another Eurydtce, but in a contrary manner, for
she was left there, because Orpheus looked back upon her,
but I fall again by a fatal necessity, for ' that you cast not
your eye upon me.'

" And I pray you what is there in this city that doth move
any man to live well, and not rather by a thousand devices
swallow him up in wickedness who would endeavour to
ascend the steep hill of virtue. Wheresoever one cometh,
what find we but feigned love, and the horrid poison of
flattery in one place, cruel hatreds in another, pestiferous
and hateful suits and quarrels.

" Wheresoever we cast our eyes what do we see but vic-
tualling houses, fishmongers, butchers, cooks, pudding-
makers, and fowlers, who minister to our bodies, and set.
forward ' the service of the world and the flesh.' Yea, the
houses themselves, bereave us of part of a sight of heaven,
nor do they suffer us to look freely towards it, so that our
horizontal circle is wholly cut short by the height of con-
tinued buildings. For which I pardon you the more easily
that you do delight to remain still in the country, for you

Sir Thomas More. 17

find there the society of plain souls void of the craft where-
with citizens do most abound. Wheresoever you look, the
earth yieldeth you a pleasant prospect, the sweetness of the
air refreshes you, the very bounds of the heavens delight
you, you find nothing but the bounteous gifts of nature, and
saint-like tokens of innocence. And yet I would not have
you so carried away with these delights, that you should be
stayed from hastening hither ; for, if the inconvenience of
the city pesters you, yet your parish of Stepney, of which
you should have great care, may afford you pleasure, like to
that which you now enjoy, from whence you may quickly
return to London as into your Inn, and may find great store
of merit

" In the country men are commonly more innocent and
not laden with any great offence, and any physician may
administer medicine unto them, but as for citizens, both
because they are a multitude, and also for their inveterate
manner of sinning, none can help them but he that is
skilful.

" There come into the pulpit at S. Paul's divers men that
promise to cure the diseases of others, but their lives do so
jar with their sayings, that when they have preached a
goodly process, they rather provoke to anger than assuage
a sore, for they cannot persuade men they are fit to cure
others when themselves, God wot, are most sick and crazy,
which causes them that have uncured sores not to be
touched or lanced by such ignorant physicians. But if one
be courted by learned men most fit to cure in whom the
sick man hath greatest hope, who doubteth then that you
alone are most fit to cure their maladies, whom every one
is willing to suffer to touch their wounds, and whose con-

c

1 8 The Birth and Parentage of Sir Thomas More.

fidence you have sufficiently tried, and the desire every one
hath that you may speedily return manifests the cause more
evidently.

" Return then, dear Colet, at least for Stepney's sake, which
mourneth your absence as a child does for its mother, or
else for London's sake, it is your native place, of which
you can have no less regard than of your own parents.

" Finally, though this be the least motive, return for my
sake, who have wholly dedicated myself to your direction,
and do most earnestly desire your return. In the mean-
while I pass my time with Grocyn, Linacre, and Lily, the
first being, as you know, the director of my life in your
absence, the second the master of my studies, the third my
most dear companion. Farewell, and see you love me as
you have done hitherto.

"London, 21 October."

CHAPTER II.

How SIR THOMAS MORE WOOED HIS FIRST WIFE.
SHORTLY after More had elected to remain in the world, he
decided on entering the state of matrimony, and the manner
in which his decision was made was certainly peculiar and
worthy of himself. He had become acquainted with a Mr.
Colt, of New Hall, in Essex, at whose bouse he was a
frequent visitor.

This gentleman had three daughters, who were all of
marriageable age, they were young gentlewomen of some
pretensions to personal beauty, and in whose manners there
was nothing light or frivolous.

On the second of these girls, the then young lawyer fixed
his affections, the choice of either of his daughters, having
been previously offered to him by Mr. Colt, who doubtless
anticipated the probable result of More's visits.

It was a question of the old old tale, and More, whose
fancy was more particularly attracted by the second
daughter, was on the point of asking her of her father in
marriage, when he found his sympathies were becoming
enlisted in behalf of the elder sister.

The second was undoubtedly the fairest and most highly
favoured by nature's gifts, and yet and here let us give the
biographer's own words, " he considered it would be both
great grief and some shame to see her younger sister pre-
ferred before her in marriage, and he then of a certain pitie
framed his mind to her, and soon after married her."* Thus
* More's Life of More.

20 How Sir Thomas More

out of pity and sympathy did Jane Colt become Mistress
More.

He then sought to mould her character to his liking, for
she was but young in years, and also had her education
completed, for in those days the education of the daughter
of a country squire was a very imperfect affair.

After his marriage he removed to Bucklersbury, still pro-
secuting his studies at Lincoln's Inn with indefatigable
ardour, remaining there until he was called to the
Bench.

In the course of a few years Mistress More presented him
with four children, three daughters, the eldest of whom
became the incomparable Margaret Roper, and one son,
whom he named John, after his father, the Judge.

Probably his long residence amongst the Carthusians had
much to do with the exactitude and regularity with which
the subsequent days of More's busy and toiling life were
passed. With him procrastination, " that thief of time," was
known but by name, each hour of the day, so full in the
world's work, as well as in preparation for that which is to
come, being devoted to its own particular duty.

The day never dawned, unless sickness prevented it, which
did not witness the presence of More at the holy sacrifice of
the Mass, and it was doubtless owing to this careful offering
of the day's first fruits to his God which shed so much peace
over the life of this great and good man. So strictly, indeed,
did he observe this custom, that on one occasion, when he
was high in favour with the king, it is said that a messenger
being sent to him while Mass was being offered up, he would
not leave, though the message was twice repeated, until Mass
was wholly finished, and when requested to hasten quickly

Wooed his First Wife. ,21

for that the king awaited his coming, he calmly replied that
he must first perform his duty to a King who was above all
earthly princes.

At this time he was only working his way up to the future
eminence he so deservedly enjoyed, and a sore trial it must
have been to a man so careful of the interests of his children,
and so affectionate a father, when they were deprived by
death of their mother's care.

We may not then blame him as soon forgetting the young
wife to whom sympathy had led him to offer his hand, and
with whom he appears to have led, if but a short, still a
happy wedded life, because, in little better than two years,
he again entered the married state.

However devoted and affectionate a man may be to his
children, and it is as a father that we love to contemplate
the character of Sir Thomas More, he never can supply the
void to his children occasioned by a mother's death. The
busy career of a rising barrister's life led him much from
home, and he wisely decided on marrying again for the sake
of these motherless little ones.

Love, however, could have had no place in his heart when
he espoused the widow, Alice Middleton. She was well
advanced in life, plain and hard of feature, with small earthly
substance. She had, too, an only daughter, and was grasping
and .worldly in her disposition. Something, too, was there
about this second wooing almost as whimsical as about the
first, for, as the story goes, More was set to woo Mistress
Middleton for a friend, not for himself; but the widow
promptly replied :

" Your wooing will speed better if you do it on your own
account, Mr. More ; go, tell your friend what I have said."

22

How Sir Thomas More

The story further goes, that More referred it to his friend,
who, as he could not get the lady for himself, was well
pleased More should become her husband, an event that
speedily happened.

Careful and kind, however, she proved to his motherless
children ; and he, on his part, was a loving father to a child
of hers by her first husband. Nevertheless, Mistress More
was a downright shrew, and one would think that, but for
the good quality we have named, More must often have
regretted that he married her.

More then became under-sherirT, an office at that time
judicial, and of much importance. His court, we find by a
letter written by Erasmus to Hutton, which the reader will
peruse when he comes to the description of More's life in
his Chelsea home, sat every Thursday, and it testifies to the
fact that no judge gave more righteous decisions, often
remitting the fines to which he was entitled by the suitor,
and the way he conducted himself in this new office endeared
him extremely to his fellow-citizens.

A new life, however, shaped itself before More. After an
intermission of seven years, Henry VII, called a new par-
liament, in order to obtain a subsidy of three-fifteenths on
the occasion of the marriage of his eldest daughter, the Lady
Margaret, with James, king of Scotland. More, whose
abilities and talents had speedily won for him the admiration
of his fellow-citizens, was returned in parliament, " for many
had now taken notice of his sufficiency," and he is recorded
as the first member who become famous as an orator, and
who,' whilst others held their peace, not daring to resist,
became a successful leader of the opposition, and incurred
the enmity of the court, for his arguments were so powerful

Wooed his First Wife. 23

why these exactions should not be granted, that a denial was
returned to the king's request,* and Mr. Tyler, a gentleman
of his privy chamber, hastening from the house, told his
majesty that it was owing to a " beardless boy,"t that his
expectations were disappointed. According to Tudor deal-
ings with refractory subjects More might have been com-
mitted to the Tower for the offence, but Henry always had
a keen eye to the state of his exchequer, and as More,
" nothing having, nothing could lose," his grace devised a
causeless quarrel with the eminent Sir John More, his unof-
fending old father, and placed him in the Tower till he had
paid a fine of a hundred pounds.

The trouble this caused to the mind of his son may be
easily conceived, and he at once sought out Dr. Fox, Bishop
of Winchester, one of the Privy Council \ the Bishop affect-
ing great kindness promised him that if he would follow his
advice he would get him restored to the king's favour;
meaning, as it was afterwards thought, that he should con-
fess his offences against the king, but on leaving the Bishop,
More chanced to meet an intimate friend, Dr. Whitford,
the Bishop's chaplain, whose advice he also asked.

Whitford instantly conjured him not to follow the Bishop's
counsel, and thus serve the king's purpose, adding, "Why,
my Lord, to please the king would not stick to agree to his
own father's death." It is stated as a proof that More did
wisely in not making any confession that he had acted

* Henry was entitled by the feudal customs to ask for aid to make
his eldest son a knight, and to marry his eldest daughter. It wai-, how-
ever, so contrived that he might have the merit of moderation whilst he
imposed the burden. Lingard.

f Life of More, by his Great-grandson.

24 How Sir Thomas More Wooed his First Wife.

wrongly, that when Dudley and Empson, for their shameful
exactions, were led to execution in the next reign, that the
former meeting with More, said to him

" Oh, Mr. More, God was your good friend, that you did
not ask the king's forgiveness as many would have done,
for if you had done so, perhaps you should have been in
the like case with us now."

Henry VII. continued to watch the movements of the
young patriot, so that at the first opportunity he might
succeed in wreaking his vengeance against him, and justly
fearing that in the end some pretext would be devised for
doing so, More by degrees almost withdrew from his practice
at the bar,* and passed his time in the study of the French
language, in learning the viol, and perfecting himself in
most of the liberal sciences, geometry, and astronomy, and
he strove also to become a perfect historian.

He even meditated leaving England, but such a step
was rendered unnecessary, for the death of Henry VII.
preserved him for the service of his country.

*It appears from the Statute Book and the Parliament Roll, that
this Parliament met in January, 1504, so More must then have been
twenty-four years old, the age of William Pitt when Prime Minister.
His early biographers say he was twenty-one. CAMPBELL.

CHAPTER III.

IN FAVOUR AT COURT.

HANDSOME in person, generous in disposition, skilled in
every martial and fashionable exercise, affable to those around
him, and eminently religious, such was Henry VIII. on his
accession to the throne, and it is perhaps not surprising that
the usually far-seeing Thomas More regarded the young king
with the same eyes as the bulk of the nation, who at that
time looked forward to a long and prosperous reign.

He at once returned to the duties of his profession, dis-
charging them with even more zest than formerly, steadily
rose to eminence, and began to gain yearly, without " any
grudge of his conscience," as he afterwards told Roper,
^400 a-year. This sum, says Lord Campbell, considering
the value of money at that time, and the relative profits of
the bar, indicate as high a station as ^10,000 at the present
day.*

With Wolsey, the prime favourite, now rising rapidly to
greatness, the reader will remember that More had become
acquainted in his early days at Oxford, when he was the boy
student, and Wolsey bursar.

Amidst his natural love of pleasure, in the early portion

* Roper says that he was twice choen agent to the Still Yard Mer-
chants, or Steel Yard. They were chiefly of Germany, and enjoyed
privileges in London by charters from our kings. They were great
importers of corn. Htmter's Edition of Moris Life of More,

2 6 In favour at Court.

of his reign, Henry not unfrequently occupied himself with
matters of state, instead of being wholly absorbed in the
amusements of the court *

Wolsey only occupied the first place in the royal favour,
and at once fell in with the young king's wish to summon
More to court. It was with difficulty, however, that he could
be prevailed upon to accept the dangerous honour. His
present career was yet more honourable, nay, it was more
lucrative, and it was not without an inward misgiving and
apprehension of future trouble, that he finally consented, and
exchanged the peaceful quietude of his beloved home and
the daily round of his law duties, for the life of a courtier
and a statesman.

Some little time previous, More's services had been engaged
in a suit of which a circumstantial account has been handed
down to us. A ship belonging to the Pope had been seized
at Southampton, and was forfeited to the Crown for a breach
of the Law of Nations. The Pope's Nuncio at the Court
of London claimed restitution, and retained More's services
as counsel. The hearing was held in the Star Chamber
before the Chief Justices, the Lord Treasurer, and other
officers of State. To plead against the Crown must have
been an onerous undertaking, but More exerted himself to
the utmost, argued with precision and clearness, brought
all his own learning to bear as well as availing himself of

* Henry saw Wolsey's talent for business, and constantly flattered
him with thanks, but in everything governed for himself. Wolsey
neither framed a bill for parliament, nor a despatch for a foreign court,
which was not submitted to Henry, and never acted, even in domestic
politics, till he had taken his pleasure. Sir H. Ellis' s Original Letters,
p. 193, vol I.

In Favour at Court. 27

the authorities furnished by his client, and made such an
impression by his speech in behalf of his Holiness, that
restitution was decreed.

The King himself was present during the hearing of this
cause celebre^ and to his credit, instead of showing mortifica-
tion at the loss of his prize, he united with others in praising
More for his commendable demeanour, and for no entreaty,
says Roper, would he give up his services at Court.

How well did Henry's reign promise in the outset. He
undoubtedly was at that time ever ready to patronise merit,
his purse was open to the needy, or to reward and encourage
literature, and small -wonder is it that his subjects were
dazzled by the brilliant promise, and gave to him credit
for more virtue than he really possessed.

In the year 1514, More left the bar, was knighted by the
King, made Master of the Requests, and sworn of the
Privy Council.

Amidst the public and private duties that now thronged
thickly upon him, More yet found leisure for the composi-
tion of works which in his own day acquired the highest
celebrity.

The shafts of envy, however, did not pass him by, his
epigrams, full of pleasant and sparkling wit for which he was
famous throughout, aroused the malignity of Brixius or La
Brie, as his contemporary Rabelais calls him.*

In 1513, Brixius composed a poem which he called
Chordigera, where, in three hundred hexameter verses, he
described a battle fought that year on 8. Laurence's day
by a French ship La Cordeliere, and an English ship called
The Regent.

* Sam Knight's Erasmus.

2 8 In Favour at Court.

More, who at that time had not risen to as high a position
as he filled later, composed several epigrams in derision of
this poem, and Brixius, piqued at this affront, revenged him-
self by the Anti Morns, an elegy of four hundred verses, in
which he severely censured all the faults he thought he had
found in the poems of More.

Brixius was certainly the aggressor on this occasion as
More showed in a long and spirited letter which he sent
him. He also published an answer to the Anti Morus, but
on receiving a letter from Erasmus exhorting him to treat
the attack of Brixius with silent contempt, he at once sup-
pressed the edition, and even called in such copies as were
in circulation.

This quarrel produced, at a later date, a letter from
Erasmus, in which he says :

"Respecting your quarrel with More, I cannot express
the great esteem I have for his learning and character, I
think of More as all men do who know him, as a man of
incomparable genius, possessing a happy memory, a most
ready eloquence. When a boy he learned Latin, when a
young man Greek, under the ablest teachers, especially
Grocyn and Linacre. In divinity he has made so much
progress that he is not to be despised even by eminent
theologians. The liberal arts he has touched not infelici-
tously, in philosophy he is beyond mediocrity, to say nothing
of the profession of the law, in which he yields to no one.
His prudence is rare and unheard of, and for these reasons
his sovereign never rested until he had brought More to be
one of his council. As to the ostentatious contempt in
which you profess to hold More, the world will laugh at it.
1520."

/;/ Favour at Court. 29

Extremely against his will had More been brought to
court, and in a letter to his friend Fisher, Bishop of
Rochester, he writes thus concerning it :

" I have come to the court extremely against my will, as
every one knoweth, and as the king himself knows, for in
sport he often twits me with it, and here I hang as unseemly
as a man not used to ride doth sit unhandsomely in his
saddle ; but our prince, whose special and extraordinary
favour towards me I know not how ever to deserve, is so
affable and courteous to all who approach him, that every
one, however little he may imagine it, may hope to win his
love, even as citizens' wives of London do, who imagine that
Our Lady's picture near the Tower smileth' on them when
they pray before it. But I am not so happy as to perceive
such fortunate signs of deserving his love within myself, and
am of too humble a spirit to persuade myself that I deserve
it, yet such is the king's virtue and learning, and so great
his industry, that the more I see him increase in these high
qualities, the less irksome does this courtier's life appear
to me."

After he had been made Treasurer of the Exchequer,
Erasmus, writing to Cochleus, says :

"When next you write to More, you shall wish him joy
of his dignity and good fortune, for being before only of the
king's Privy Council, now of late by the benevolence and
free gift of his most gracious prince, he, neither desiring it,
nor seeking for it, is not only made knight, but Treasurer of
the King's Exchequer, an office in England both honourable
and also commodious for the purse."

" No man," as Erasmus truly said, " ever strove harder
to gain admittance at court than More to keep out of it."

30 In Favour at Court.

Riches and honours then lay at the feet of their unwilling,
recipient, and the even tenor of his life was changed, but he
was never dazzled by the glitter of worldly prosperity, or
court favour, neither of which drew his great heart from
God or the contemplation of eternity.

He then removed from Bucklersbury to the village of
Chelsea, where he had built a pleasant country residence,
for the Chelsea of the sixteenth century was truly in the
country.

The mansion, with a farm attached to it, was large and
commodious. It stood in the midst of pleasant grounds
extending westward at the distance of about a hundred yards
from the Thames. The facade of the house was alternately
divided into four bay and four large casement windows, the
roof having four pediments, each containing a window, a
clock turret crowning the whole.

The porch over the entrance door, which gave ingress to
the hall, was clustered over with jasmine and honeysuckle,
and a profusion of flowering shrubs grew around in wild
luxuriance, doubtless oftentimes tended lovingly by the
hands of his daughter Margaret, that best-loved child of
More's, whose tastes were like his own, for in one of the
letters of his chosen friend, Erasmus, we are told that this
great man loved flowers. The author of the " // Moro "
writes :

"Along the beautiful banks of the Thames there are
many delightful mansions, situated in charming places, in
one of which, very near the city of London, dwelt Sir
Thomas More. It was a beautiful and commodious resi-
dence, and to this place it was his custom to retire when
weary of London. At this house, as well on account of its

In Favour at Court. 31

proximity to town, as for the admirable character of its
owner, men distinguished for their genius, who dwelt in the
city, were often accustomed to meet, and at their leisure were
wont to enter into some useful argument or discourse on
things pertaining to human nature. The place was charming,
both from the advantages of its site, for from one part almost
the whole of the noble city of London was visible ; and
from another, the beautiful Thames, with green meadows
and woody eminences all around, and also for its own
beauty, for as it was crowned with an almost perpetual ver-
dure, it had many flowering plants, and the branches of fruit
trees which grew around, so beautifully interlaced each
other, that it appeared like a living tapestry woven by nature
herself."

How More must have enjoyed, when his day's toil was
over, taking boat with Roper, his future son-in-law, at West-
minster, and rowing back to his pleasant intellectual home
on the banks of the then pellucid waters of the Thames.

At this time Sir Thomas was in the very prime of man's
existence. He was daily at the court. Honours, affluence,
and pleasures awaited him at every turn. His society was
sought for by his prince, he was esteemed by his equals,
loved by the poor, and honoured by his fellow-citizens. But
let us look at the other side of the picture, and regard Sir
Thomas in the bosom of his family, in his several relations
of life as husband, father, and master and we shall find
it simply impossible to imagine a more perfect type of a
Christian household, than that which was governed by Sir
Thomas More.

Moroseness and formalism, the condemnation of innocent
and cheerful recreation, regarding it as a species of sinful-

32 In Favour at Court.

ness, all this is the heritage of Puritanism, brought in with
the so-called Reformation, and it found no place in More's
household. Religion was, indeed, as it always should be,
brought to bear on the daily events of life, but in no way
interfered with the rational enjoyment of the earthly blessings
bestowed on him. or cast a shadow on any innocent pleasure
or cheerful relaxation, and the master mind of him who
governed the household was full of cheerfulness and wit, and
gifted also with a sweetness of temper which lighted up and
cheered all who came within the range of its happy influence.
And having said thus much, we will devote a chapter to a
description of the household of Thomas More, and insert
various letters written to his daughters from the court. The
letters of Erasmus to Hutton and Budaeus, and his own
letter, which he sent to his friend Peter Giles, with his
Utopia, will admirably bear out all that his early biographers
have described of More's home life.

33

CHAPTER IV.

MORE'S HOME AT CHELSEA.

SOME little distance from the mansion, nestled amidst the
verdant meadows which for generations past have vanished,
for Chelsea has long since become merely a populous
environ of the great Babylon of London, of which it is
indeed a part, Sir Thomas More erected what he called
" The New Buildings."

These buildings consisted of a chapel, a library, a gallery,
and a home for destitute and infirm persons of the parish,
for the support of whom he set aside a fixed amount, and
the care and superintendence of this place devolved entirely
on his eldest daughter, Margaret.

To this chapel he often retired, when he had leisure, for
prayer and meditation. It was his practice to linger there,
especially on the Fridays, in memory of Christ's Passion,
spending much of the day in contemplation, a practice
which, above all else, makes known to us the source whence
he derived his unalterable patience and resignation. Much
in the night, too, did he watch whilst all around him slept.
On Good Friday it was his custom to call his family together
in this chapel, and read to them the Passion of our Lord,
pausing now and then at certain passages on which he
desired to comment.

Idleness was a stranger in More's household. His
numerous servants were not allowed to pass their time at

D

34 Morels Home at Chelsea.

games of hazard. The natural ability and talent of each
one was tested carefully, and whilst the undisciplined lives
of the serving-men of persons of rank were often the main-
springs which caused much trouble to the community at
large, the domestics of More formed a happy exception to
the general rule. Everyone was provided with the occupa-
tion best suited to him. If one had an ear for music, or
another a good voice, the talent was encouraged in every
possible way. Some had a particular portion of the garden
to attend to. The men dwelt on one side of the house
the' women on the other. It was also his wont to call them
together to pray with him, ere the shades of night had
fallen. He rose early himself, and all followed this most
healthy and laudable example. At table one or other of
his servants would read aloud, and his domestics he regarded
rather in the light of children than as servants.

Yery careful, too, was he of the avoidance of all singu-
larity, and so appeared like most others in his dress and
behaviour, but yet next his body he wore a shirt of hair,
which, says William Roper, my sister More*, as he sat at
supper, single in his doublet and hose, wearing thereupon a
plain shirt, without either ruffe or collar, chancing to espie,
began to laugh at it. " My wife,t not ignorant of his ways,
perceiving the same, told him of it privately, and he, sorry
that it had been seen, at once concealed it. Not unfre-
quently did he use a discipline of knotted cords, known only
to my wife, his eldest daughter, and above all others he

* Roper's Life of More.
Anne Cresacre More, the wife of John More, aged 15.

t Margaret Roper.

More's Home at Chelsea. 35

specially trusted her to wash with her own hands these same
shirts of hair."

His admonitions to his wife and children were delivered
in his own peculiar style. " It is no great matter if you, my
children, get to heaven," he was wont to say, " for everyone
sets you good example, and adviseth you wisely. You see
virtue rewarded and vice punished, and so you are carried
up thither by the chins ; but if you chance to see the day
when none shall give you good example, or good advice,
and you shall rather see virtue punished and vice rewarded ,
if then you stand fast, and cling close to God, then, on my
life, though you be only half good, God will count you as
whole good." To foolish indulgence of those he dearly
loved he never yielded, and if he heard them complain of
trifling discomforts, he would say to them, " We mast not
look to go to heaven on feather beds. Our Lord Himself
went thither but by suffering, and the servant must not look
to be in better case than his master." Somewhat careless
even in his own apparel, the charge of which he left entirely
to his man Harris, who was at times somewhat forgetful of
his duty, he was never more distressed than when he
observed in his children any evidence of personal vanity,
and once observing Dame Alice, his wife, take great pains
to comb up her long hair to show her high forehead, and by
tight-lacing to strive to make her waist small, even to her
own great pain, said he, " Forsooth, madam, if God give
you not hell He will do you great wrong, for it must needs
be your own of very right, for you buy it very dear, and take
great pains to gain it."

A sharp keen manager was this Lady More, and her
husband was wont to tell her she was "penny-wise and

36 Morels Home at Chelsea.

pound foolish ; saving a candle's end and spoiling av elvet
gown ;" whilst she, on her part, not unfrequently quarrelled
with him for having no ambition, using a favourite and
inelegant form of speech, which she often adopted : " Tillie
vallie, tillie vallie ! will you sit and make goslings in the
ashes. My mother has often said to me, ' it is better to rule
than to be ruled.' " " Good wife," replied More, " that is
well said, for I never yet found you willing to be
ruled."

It was no small sorrow to More to find that, by degrees,
he, for a long space of time, almost wholly lost the happi-
ness of his own home, for he found that when he was in
London, he was expected by the king to lodge within the
palace, so that not only was all domestic enjoyment at an
end, but he was also unable to execute the literary projects
he had formed. On holidays it was the king's custom, when
his devotions were over, to summon Sir Thomas to his
cabinet, and converse with him on astronomy, geometry, and
divinity, and, on clear nights, to ascend with him to the
leads of the palace, and there discourse with him of the
diversity of the courses, motions, and operations of the stars,
and being of a facetious and pleasant turn of mind, the king
and queen would often, after they had supped, send for him
tp enjoy his pleasant conversation.

Sir Thomas, however, liked his liberty far better than this
unrestricted intercourse with royalty, and at length, finding
that scarce once in a month he had leave to go to his wife
and children, and that he could not absent himself for two
days without being sent for again, he began to dissemble his
mirth, and so, little by little, " to disuse himself, and from
henceforth at such seasons he was no more ordinarily sent

Mare's Home at Chelsea. 37

for.' 7 * With so tender a nature, and so sweet a disposition,
he must indeed have sorely missed the home circle, and as
they were chiefly written whilst he was either thus detained
by the king at court, or when engaged on foreign embassies,
this appears, as we said in the preceding chapter, the fittest
place in which to insert the various letters written by the
scholar to his children.

Sir Thomas More's daughters may be said to have led the
way for the better education of the female sex. Latin was
still somewhat of a living language, and an acquaintance
with it was of more use than in the present day, and the
' School of Sir Thomas More," as it was calted by his family
and their friends, gradually acquired a widely spread
renown. There are many, even in our own later times, who
deny to women the intelligence of the sterner sex ; granting
the truth of the assertion, Sir Thomas saw in it only a reason
for increased diligence on the part of women. Witness the
following letter writen to their preceptor, one William
Gunnell : t

" I have received, my dear Gunnell, your letters such as
they are wont to be, most elegant and full of affection.
Your love towards my children I gather from your letters,
their diligence by their own ; for every one of their epistles
pleaseth me much. Yet most especially I take joy to hear
that my daughter Elizabeth hath showed as great prudence
in her mother's absence as if she had been present ; let her
know that that liked me better than all the epistles besides,
for as I esteem learning which is joined with virtue more
than all the treasures of kings, to what doth the fame of being

* Roper,
f Life of Sir Thomas More, by More.

38 More's Home at Chelsea.

a great scholar bring us, if it be severed from virtue, other
than a notorious and famous infamy, especially in a woman,
whom men will be the more ready to assail for their learning
because it is a rare matter, and argueth a reproach to the
sluggishness of a man, who will not stick to lay the fault of
their natural malice upon the quality of learning ; but if a
woman, on the other hand, shall join many virtues of the
mind with skill in learning, as I hope all mine will do, I
shall account it a more happy thing than if they had all the
riches of Crcesus united to the beauty of the fair Helen, not
because they were to get fame thereby, though it insepar-
ably follows virtue as the shadow doth the body, but because
they will obtain the true rewards of wisdom, which can never
be taken away as wealth may, nor will it fade as beauty doth,
because it dependeth upon truth and justice, and not on the
words of men's mouths, than which nothing is more foolish ;
for as it is the duty of a good man to eschew infamy, so is
it the property of a proud man to frame his actions only for
praise, for that man's mind must be full of anxiety that always
wavers, for fear of other men's judgments, between joy and
sadness. Amongst the benefits which learning hath bestowed
on men I account it the most profitable that we look not for
praise to be accounted learned, but only to use it on all
occasions ; which the best of all learned men, I mean the
philosophers, have delivered to us, though some of them
have abused their science, aiming only to be accounted
excellent men by the people. Thus have I spoken, my
Gunnell, somewhat more cf not coveting vain glory in respect
of those words in your letter, wherein you say that the high
spirit of my daughter Margaret's wit is not to be dejected ;
I am of the same opinion, but I think that he dejects his

Mortfs Home at Chelsea. 39

wit who admires vain objects, esteeming the shadow of good
things, for want of discretion to judge true from apparent
good rather than the truth itself j and I have not only
requested you, dear Gunnell, who of yourself I believe would
have done it, neither have I desired my wife alone, but also
other friends I have entreated many times, to persuade my
children to avoid the gulfs of pride, to walk through the
pleasant meadows of modesty; not to be enamoured of the
glitter of gold and silver, nor lament the want of it j to think
none the better of themselves for all their costly trimmings,
nor more meanly for the lack of them ; not to lessen their
beauty bestowed on them by nature by neglecting it, nor to
add to it by artificial means ; to esteem virtue their chief
happiness, learning and good qualities the next, of which
above all are piety towards God, charity to all men, modesty
and Christian humility in themselves, by which they will
reap from God the reward of an innocent life, so that they
shall not need to fear death, and meanwhile will not be
puffed up with the vain praises of men, nor cast down by
slanders and disgrace. These are the solid fruits of learning,
which as I confess belong not to all, but those may yet attain
them who study with this intent. It matters not at harvest
time whether man or woman sowed the corn, for both are
reasonable beings, and therefore I do not see why learning
may not equally suit either sex. Reason being thus culti-
vated and (as a field) sown with wise precepts, it bringeth
forth good fruit ; but if the soil of woman's brain be of its
own nature bad, and more apt to bear fern than corn, by
which saying many terrify women from learning, I am of
opinion that woman's wit is the more diligently to be culti-
vated, to the end that nature's defect may be redressed by

40 Morels Home at Chelsea.

industry ; of which mind were several wise and holy Fathers.
S. Jerome and S. Augustine amongst others, who not only
exhorted many noble matrons and honourable virgins to love
of study, but, to help them, expounded to them difficult
portions of Scripture ; and wrote letters to tender maidens,
full of so great learning that scarcely our greatest professors
of divinity can well read them ; which works, you will endea-
vour, my dear Gunnell, that my daughters may learn,
so that they may know the end they ought to have in
study, to place the fruits of their labours in God and a pure
conscience, that at peace with themselves they be not moved
with flattery nor grieved at the scoffs of the unlearned.
Though I fancy you may reply that though this be true my
precepts are too strong and hard for the tender age of my
young wenches to listen to, for what man, be he ever so old
and learned, is always so constant as not to be elated with
the tickling of vain glory? For myself I consider it so
hard to shake from us this plague of pride that we ought the
more to endeavour to do it from our very infancy. I think
there is no other cause why this mischief doth stick so fast
to us, but that it is ingrafted in us even by our nurses as
soon as we have crept out of our shells, fostered by our
masters, nourished and perfected by our parents, whilst no
one proposeth anything good to children, but they at once bid
them expect praise as the reward of virtue, whence they are
so used to esteem much of praise, that seeking to please the
greater number, who are always the worst, they are ashamed
to be good with the few. And that this plague maybe
banished from my children, I desire that you, my dear
Gunnell, their mother, and all their friends, would still sing
them this song, hammer it into their heads on every occasion,

Mores Home at Chelsea. 41

that vain glory is to be despised, nor anything more excel-
lent than the humble modesty so much praised by Christ,
which prudent charity will so guide and direct that it will
teach us rather to desire virtue than to upbraid others for
their vices, and make them rather love those who correct
their faults than hate them for their good counsel, to obtain
which nothing is more available than to read them the pre-
cepts of the Fathers, whom they know not to be angry with
themselves, and with whose authority they must be moved
because they are venerable for their sanctity.

"If, therefore, you will read the works of such to
Margaret and Elizabeth besides their lessons in Sallust,
as they, being the eldest, are of riper age, than John and
Cicely, you will make both them and me every day more
beholden to you ; moreover you will then make my children,
dear in the order of nature, more dear for learning, and by
their increase in virtue most dear unto me. Farewell.
From the Court, this Whitsun Eve."

By the above letter which I have transcribed it will be
seen that Sir Thomas's chief care was to make his children
virtuous, as well as learned. The following letters were
addressed to themselves.

" Thomas More, to his whole School sendeth greeting.

" Behold, I have found out a compendious way to salute
you all, and make spare of time and paper, which I must
needs have wasted in saluting each one of you by name,
which would be very superfluous, because you are all so
dear to me, some in one way, some in another, that I cannot
leave one of you unsaluted. Yet I know not if there be
any better motive why I should love you, than that you are
scholars, learning seeming to bind me more closely to you

42 Morels Home at Chelsea.

than nearness of blood. If I loved you not exceedingly I
should envy your great happiness in having many great
scholars for your masters. I hear that Mr. Nicolas is with
you, that you have learned much astronomy of him, and
have proceeded so far in this science that you know not
only the pole-star, the dog, and such like common con-
stellations, but also, which argues you as absolute and
cunning astronomers, you know the chief planets them-
selves, and are able to discern the sun from the moon. Go
forward therefore in your new and admirable skill, and
whilst you daily admire the stars, I admonish you also to
think of this holy fast of Lent, and let the pious song of
Boethius sound in your ears, so that your minds may ascend
to heaven, lest when the body is lifted up on high the soul
be driven down to earth with the brute beasts. Farewell.
From the Court, this 2 9th of March."

And, in answer to the loving replies of his daughters,
came the following.

" Thomas More, to his best beloved children, and to
Margaret Giggs, whom he numbers amongst his own, send-
eth greeting. The merchant from Bristol brought me yours
the day after he had received them from you, with the
which I was extremely delighted, for there can come nothing,
though never so rude nor meanly polished, from your work-
shop but it yieldeth me more delight than other men's
works, be they ever so eloquent, your writing doth so stir
up my affection for you.

t " Exclusive of this, your letters also please me well for
their own worth, as full of fine wit and pure Latin phrase ;
therefore they all please me exceedingly. Yet, to tell you
candidly what I think, my son John's letter pleaseth me

Morels Home at Chelsea. 43

most, because it was longer than the others, and also he
seems to me to have taken more pains than the rest ; he
not only pointeth out the matter clearly, and speaketh
elegantly, but also playeth pleasantly with me, returning my
jests upon me again very wittily, and this not only pleasantly
but temperately withal, showing that he is mindful with
whom he jesteth, to wit, his father, whom he endeavours so
to delight that he is also afraid to offend.

" Hereafter I expect every day letters from each one of
you, neither will I accept of such excuses as you complain
of, that you had no leisure, or that the carrier went away
suddenly, or that you have no matter to write. John is not
wont to allege any Such things, and nothing can hinder you
from writing, but many things should exhort you to it. Why
should you blame the carrier, seeing you may prevent his
coming, and have them ready made up and sealed two days
before any offer themselves to carry them ? And how can
you want matter of writing to me, who am delighted to
hear either of your studies or your play, whom you may
then please exceedingly, when, having nothing to write of,
you write as largely as you can of that nothing, than which
nothing is more easy for you to do, especially being women,
and therefore prattlers by nature, amongst whom a great
story riseth out of nothing. But this I admonish you to do,
that, whether you write of serious matters or of trifles,
you write with diligent consideration, premeditating it
before ; neither will it be amiss if you first indite in English,
for then it may be more easily translated into Latin, while
the mind free from inventing is apt in finding eloquent
words.

" I leave this to your choice whether you do so or no,

44 Mores Home at Chelsea.

but I enjoin you by all means diligently to examine what
you have written before you write it over fair again, examin-
ing first the whole sentence, then various parts of it, by
which you will discover if any solecisms have escaped you ;
which being corrected, and your letter fairly written out,
let it not trouble you to examine it again. By this dili-
gence, your trifles will seem serious matters, for as nothing
is so pleasing but that it may be made unsavoury by garru-
lity, so nothing is so unpleasant that by industry may not
be made graceful and comely. Farewell, my sweetest
children. From the Court, this fifth day of September."

Amidst the distractions of a court life, and the exactions
the king made upon his time, More yet found leisure to
compose letters full of wisdom and fatherly love ; one of
his replies to Margaret ran as follows

" Thy letters, dearest Margaret, were grateful unto me>
which certified me of the state of Shaw ; yet would they
have been more grateful unto me, if they had told me what
your and your brother's studies were, what is read amongst
you every day, how you converse together, what themes
you make, and how you pass the day amongst you ; and
although nothing is written froni you but is most pleasing
to me, yet those things are sweet which I can only learn
through you or your brother. And in short, I pray thee,
Meg, see that I understand by you what your studies are.
For rather than I would suffer you, my children, to live
idly, I would myself look to you with loss of my temporal
estate, bidding all other cares and business farewell, amongst
which there is nothing more sweet unto me than thyself,
my dearest daughter. Farewell."

The following letter is addressed to all his daughters.

Morels Home at Chelsea. 45

'? Thomas More sendeth greeting to his most dear
daughters, Margaret, Elizabeth, and Cicely, and to Margaret
Giggs, as dear to him as if she were his own. I cannot
sufficiently express, my best beloved wenches, how your
eloquent letters have pleased me and not the least that I
understand by them that you have not in your journeys,
though changing places often, omitted any of your customs
of exercising yourselves either in declamation, composing
poetry, or in your logical exercises ; and so I feel convinced
that you dearly love me, being thus careful to please me by
your diligence, performing in my absence what you know
delights me when I am present ; my return then shall be
profitable to you, and assure yourselves, that amongst my
troublesome and business affairs there is nothing so much
delights me as when I read of your labours by which I
know that to be true which your loving master writes me of
you ; for unless your own epistles showed me how great
was your desire to learn, I should have suspected that he
had either written out of affection than according to truth,
but now you make me believe and lead me to imagine those
things to be true of your disputations which he boasteth of
you almost beyond belief. I am very desirous to come
home that I may set our scholar to dispute with you, who
is slow to believe you able to answer your master's praises.
But I hope knowing how stedfast you are that you will
shortly overcome your master, if not in disputing, at least
in not leaving off your strife. Farewell, dear wenches/'

Nor could the loving father refrain from pouring into
Margaret's ears the praises of a learned divine, and he
begins as follows : *

* Stapleton's Life of More, p. 267.

46 Mare's Home at Chelsea.

"Thomas More sendeth hearty greetings to his dearest
daughter Margaret.

" I must tell you, my dearest daughter, how much your
letter delighted me ; you may imagine how exceedingly it
pleased your father when you understand what emotions its
perusal raised in a stranger. This evening I was seated with
the Lord Bishop of Exeter, a learned, and in every one's
judgment a most truthful man. As we were talking together,
and I taking out of my pocket a paper concerning what we
were speaking of, I pulled out by chance your letter. The
handwriting pleasing him he took it from me and looked at
it ; when he perceived it to be a woman's he began to devour
the letter, novelty inciting him ; but having read it, and
understood it to be your writing, which he never would have
believed if I had not seriously affirmed it, such a letter,
but I will say no more, yet why should I not repeat what
he said ? So pure a style, such good Latin, so full of sweet
affection, he was perfectly delighted with it ; and when I
produced, which he read, also, many of your verses, he
was so astonished that his very countenance and manner,
free from all flattery and deceit, betrayed that he felt more
than he " could say, though he said much in your praise.
Forthwith he drew from his pocket a portegue,* which you
shall receive enclosed herein. I could not possibly avoid
taking it, for he desired to send it as a sign of his affection
for you, though I strove to return it again ; this was the
cause why I showed him none of your sister's works, fearing
lest he should think 'I showed them on purpose that he
should bestow the same courtesy on them also, for it troubled
me sorely to take of so worthy a man ; but it is a happiness
* Portegufc, a gold coin of the value of 3 xos.

Morels Home at Chelsea. 47

to please him. Write carefully to him, and as eloquently
as you are able, in order to return him thanks. Farewell.
From the Court, this nth of September, almost at mid-
night."

Margaret made an oration to answer Quintilian, defend-
ing the rich man he accused of having poisoned a poor
man's bees with venomous plants in his garden ; and so
eloquent and witty was this oration that it deserved a place
beside his own. With one more letter of the Chancellor,
containing strictures on his daughter's letters, I shall con-
clude these letters on his children's studies. It ran as
follows :

" Thomas More sendeth greeting to his dearest daughter
Margaret.

" There was no reason, my dearest daughter, why you
should have deferred writing for fear that your letters being
barren should disgust me ; for though they had not been
most curious, yet on account of thy sex any man might
pardon thee, yea, even a blemish in the child's face seems
often beautiful to a father. But then your letters, Meg,
were so eloquently written that they had nothing in them
to fear from your indulgent father. Also, I heartily thank
Mr. Nicolas (a clever astronomer), and congratulate you
for having in the space of one month with but small labour
to learn so many wonders of that mighty and eternal work
which were not discovered in many ages, but by watching
in many cold nights under the open sky with much pain
and labour. 1 am well pleased that you have resolved so
diligently to study philosophy. I love you for this, dearest
Meg, seeing that you will recover by diligence what negli-
gence hath lost you. I have never found you a loiterer,

48 Moris Home at Chelsea.

your learning showing how painfully you have proceeded ;
yet such is your modesty, that you had rather accuse your-
self of negligence than vainly boast of diligence, except you
mean that in future you will be so diligent that your former
efforts may be called negligent.

" If this be the case nothing can happen more fortunate
to me, or more happy to you, my dearest daughter, for as I
have earnestly wished that you might spend the rest of your
life in studying physic and holy Scriptures^ by which help
shall never be wanting to you to the end of your life, which
is to strive that a sound mind be in a healthy body, of
which studies you have already laid a foundation, so I think
that some of the first years of your youth still remaining
may be well bestowed in human learning and the liberal
arts, both because your age may best struggle with difficulty,
and also because it is uncertain whether at any other time
we shall have so learned and careful a master.

" I could wish, dear Meg, that I might talk with you a
long time about these matters, but those who bring in supper
interrupt me and call me away. My supper cannot be so
sweet to me as this my speech with you, were I not to
respect others more than myself. Farewell, dearest daugh-
ter ; commend me kindly to your husband, my loving son,
who makes me rejoice that he studies the same things with
you ; so that, although I am wont to advise you always to
give place to your husband, now I give you leave to strive
to master him in the knowledge of the spheres. Farewell,
again and again ; commend me to all your school-fellows,
but especially to your master.

49

CHAPTER V.

MORE AND HIS FRIENDS.

THE following abstracts of letters written by More, when he
was in the height of his fame will no doubt be interesting,
coupled as they are with the name of the scholar Erasmus,
and of other celebrities, some of whose letters are inserted ;
they are the key to many which follow them, and abun-
dantly testify to the fact of the poverty of this learned man,
as also to the liberality of Archhishop Warham, and Fisher,
Bishop of Rochester. The following bears the date of
1516, but no month is specified.

MORE TO ERASMUS.

" I have received only three letters from you direct, dearest
Erasmus, since I left. Were I to lie with most solemn
countenance and swear I had replied to you as often, it is
ten to one you would not believe me ; especially as you
know me so well, how idle I am in answering letters, and
not so superstitiously veracious as to reckon every white
lie as black as thunder.

** Pace is on an embassy in your part of the world, yet
not wholly so, for though not with us, he is not with you.
I have a great affection for him and hope he will return
safely, as between Pace and you I lose both parts of my-
self. I hope some great good fortune is in store for Pace,
he stands so high in favour with the king, the cardinal, and

50 More and his Friends.

all men of worth. I hope better luck too for yourself, you
are partly to blame and partly in luck, as the prebend of
Tournay, which Mountjoy had obtained for you, and which
you now wish to have, but had formerly told me and
Sampson you would rather decline, will be exchanged for a
better. Shortly before you left I went to Tournay, and
then heard from Mountjoy and Sampson that Wolsey, in
ignorance of these arrangements, had written for that pre-
ferment to be given to some one else, to whom he had pro-
mised it. I have, however, got them to write back to him-,
and say it was promised to you, but Wolsey said it was not
good enough for you, and promised something better. He
is well-disposed towards you. I have quickened Maruffo
about paying the money.

" The Archbishop has succeeded at last in getting rid of
the chancellorship, which he has been labouring to do for
some years. The king has nominated Wolsey in his place.
My embassy has been successful but tedious. I have been
away more than six months. I have written to the Cardinal
for my recall, and made use of Pace for that purpose ; but
on my return I met Pace at Gravelines, hurrying away at
such a rate we had scarce time to say, ' How do you do?'
Tunstal has just returned after a stay of ten days of anxiety,
and is thrust, much against his stomach, into a new legation.
I compare the case of clerical ambassadors to that of a
layman like myself. They have no family to burthen
them, and have a chance of ecclesiastical promotion which
costs the king nothing. Amongst other things which
pleased me in my embassy not the least is it that I became
acquainted with Buslidian,he entertained me most courteously
according to his great wealth and extreme good nature ; he

More and his Friends. 51

showed me his house most cunningly built, and enriched
with costly furniture and a number of antiques, in which
you know I take a great pleasure ; finally, he showed me
his exquisite library, yea, even his very heart he laid open
to me, more stored than any library, so that I was greatly
amazed.

" But in all my travels, dear Erasmus, nothing happened
more to my wish than making the acquaintance of Peter
Giles of Antwerp, a man so learned, so merry, so modest,
and so friendly, that let me be baked if I would not pur-
chase this man's familiarity with the loss of a good part of
my estate. He is a man of good reputation amongst his
countrymen, and worthy amongst the best, and being but a
young man, I know not whether he be more learned or
better endowed with great abilities, he is most virtuous and
a great scholar. And, moreover, so courteous to all and so
faithful to his friends that you would find it hard to find
another to compare with him, he has also a rare diffidence,
loves not flattery, candour and wisdom are united in his
person, and then his conversation is so cheerful and pleasant
that he greatly lessens my still over eager desire to return
to my country, my wife, and my children, of the enjoyment
of whose company, I am yet very anxious. I am glad to
hear the New Testament gets on well.

" Linacre speaks highly of you, as I have heard from
some who were present at a supper given by the king, when
your praises were being sung. My wife desires to be
remembered to you, also Clement, who makes great pro-
gress in Greek and Latin, and whom I hope will one day
be an ornament to his country. The Bishop of Durham is
grateful for the dedication of Seneca."

More and his Friends.

MORE TO ERASMUS.

"25 Feby., 1516.

" The Archbishop has ordered 20 to be sent you. I
enclose his letter and the bond of Maniffo, that you may
understand how liberal the Archbishop is of his money,
and that I am no bad purveyor of other men's property.
I have written to an Englishman to pay Aegidius ^30
Flemish, which you deposited with me. Colet is earnestly
studying Greek, and has made use of the services of
Clement (More's page). I think you had better not write
and urge Colet in his new studies. * Solet ut eis, disputandi
gratia repugnare suadentibus, etiamsi id suadeant in quod
illi sua sponte maxime propendeantur.' "

FROM THE SAME TO THE SAME.

"April 28, 1516.

" I am too much engaged, my dear Erasmus, to apply to
the beauties of style. On receipt of your letter I called
on Maruffo, who said that as soon as he had the money
from the Archbishop he would arrange for its payment to
you. I told him you had received notice of its payment
from the Archbishop, on which, in a great fright, Maruffo
gave me a bond for the money, took the letters as a security,
and wrote for prompt repayment, saying he had already
been some time out of pocket by advancing the money to
you. I could give you a laughable account of my inter-
view with the Archbishop and Maruffo's discomfiture. For
every i you will receive 303. 4d. Flemish. The cardinal
has received with pleasure your books and letters. I am

More and his Friends. 53

glad you like Basle. I have read the bundle of correspond-
ence you sent me, Pace has not yet returned ; he is now
the king's secretary. Clement desires his remembrances."

The following was evidently written when Erasmus visited
England, and was More's guest at Chelsea, from the allusion
to the wife of the latter.

ERASMUS TO AMMONIUS.

" I hope the hunting may prove as fortunate to you as it
has proved unfortunate to me, for it carried away the King
and the Cardinal I angled for Urswick by sending him
a New Testament, and asked for the horse he had promised
me, but I found when writing to him on Monday that he
had also gone hunting ; Thynne slips off in the same way,
and now yourself. I beg you to break open the letter
destined by me for the Pope, and to have it re-copied. I
hope our projects will be successful.

" P.S. I might possibly stay in England a few days,
waiting for Urswick to send me the horse, were I not tired
of this country, and feel that I am a stale guest to More's
wife, (sentirem me vetulum jam hospitem nxori Moricce sup

THE SAME TO THE SAME.

" The Bishop of Rochester (Fisher) has prevailed on me
to spend ten days with him, I have regretted it more than
ten times. I had hoped to wheedle Urswick out of a new
horse, by sending him a New Testament, as my old horse
died of drink in Flanders, but whilst he was away hunting,
my hunting ended in nothing. I shall not leave here before
the end of the week. On leaving home I wrote to More

54

More and his friends.

and sent him a copy of the Epistole ad Leonem, but it was
badly written.

"Rochester, 16 Aug., 1516.

"P.S. I shall feel greatly obliged if you will do me the
service I asked of you, and thus relieve me from my
anxiety."

AMMONIUS TO ERASMUS.

11 1 did not dare ask you to stay even two days, as you
seemed in such a hurry to get away ; I will venture, however,
though all are not like the Bishop of Rochester. I am not
at all surprised that your hunting proved unsuccessful ; it is
a new kind of metamorphosis to transform books into
horses.

" I have received the letters you sent for More, and I
will look to your business, but you must not expect haste
as the passages are beset with soldiers. Give my compli-
ments to the Bishop of Rochester.

" 26 Aug., 1516."

ERASMUS TO AMMONIUS.

" John would have gained a beating had not More stepped
in in time to save him, for as soon as he heard I was in
Rochester, he paid me me a visit as if he never expected to
see me again. You are always catching at occasions of
sending me presents ; I would have sent back the last had
not More dissuaded me from doing so. I am much pleased
with the handsome white horse you have sent, but would
rather have played the thief with the Archbishop of York,
Colet, or Urswick, the last of whom promised a horse, and

More and his Friends. 55

will certainly keep his word. I will write from Brabant to
Yorke and Larke.

"Rochester, nth Sep., 1516."

ERASMUS TO MORE.

" I send you my picture by Peter Codes (the one-eyed),
you need not give him more than ten or twelve groschen
(grossi). I wish I could come myself. Whilst nursing
Petrus Aegidius I have caught so bad a cold that I am
almost dead with it. Dorpius is friendly, but sparing of his
praises.

" Lou vain, 1517."

i
MORE TO ERASMUS.

" Peter Codes has brought me the picture; I am delighted
with the skill of the artist. If there be one thought of
ambition in my mind, it is the pleasure I feel that my name
will always hereafter be intimately associated with yours.
I have read your Apology, and admire it more than any of
your writings. I have sent the transcriber into England
with ten groats as you ordered, and I gave a noble to Peter
who brought the picture. I am much affected by the death
of Buslidian ; I was so hampered that I could not get away
to St. Omer. Tunstal has returned to England.

"Calais, 17 Oct., 1517."

MORE TO PETRUS AEGIDIUS.

"I am very anxious for your convalescence. I have
written to Erasmus, and beg you will seal and send him the
enclosed letters.

" P.S. Enclosed is a copy of verses in which I compli-

56 More and his Friends.

ment (Quinctinas Matsys) the painter, for his picture ot
Erasmus and yourself. Quinctinas has so cleverly imitated
my hand that I could not do it so well myself.

" Aegidius was represented holding in his hand a letter
from More."

MORE TO ERASMUS.

" I have received your letter, my dear Erasmus, written
at Calais, and informing me of your prosperous voyage, the
Provost of Cassell says that before he reached home you
had got safely to Brussels, MarufFo grumbles that he has
lost on the money paid to you. I have sent a bill for ,20
more from the Archbishop, and the bearer will pay Aegidius
the ,20 deposited with me by you. I sent my Utopia
some time since, and am delighted to hear it will come
out in a magnificent form,

"Lond., 1517.

ERASMUS TO MORE.

" I sent you lately a packet of letters, with a copy of the
Utopia by a friend, and I now send you by the hand of
another, Reuchlin's work, Reuchlinsea Omnia, in a single
volume, which you are to show to Bishop Fisher and return
when read.

"I commend to your notice the Theological Proposi-
tions. I sent a letter to Marlianus, who imagined that the
first book of Utopia was written by me. As soon as you
have corrected the Utopia I will send the MS. to Basle
or Paris.

"The Prince (Charles) will soon take his departure, and
I am quite uncertain as to my own movements. Large

More and his Friends. 57

sums are demanded of the people and immediate payment,
it has been allowed by the nobles and the clergy, that is, by
those who will not have to pay it. The Emperor is at hand
with a magnificent army, and the fields are full of soldiers.
I wish to know if Canterbury, Colet, and Rochester remain
constant to me. A pest upon Maruffo and his band.

* ' Antwerp, March, 1817.

" Francis is in England, send back copies of the enclosed
letters, and also those delivered by Lupset."

Thus did Erasmus vent his complaint concerning the
money committed to him from England by the hands of a
knavish Italian, who retained no small portion of it, and he
then begged the Archbishop to take heed for the future
what agents he employed in the affair. This good Prelate
had been in pain, as his letters show, lest Erasmus
should want for money, and promised to procure him
another prebend. How uncommon is it for persons in
high station to have any regard at all for the learned, and
much more to preserve so constant an affection especially
for one who is at a distance. Erasmus in his preface to S.
Jerome tells his patron that as he was contented with a little,
so at that time he wanted for nothing. At present, he writes,
" I think myself a sort of nobleman, for I maintain two horses
who are better fed, and two servants who are better clad
than their master."

Living thus, it was impossible he could lay up much, for
he wanted amanuensis to transcribe his works, and horses
to travel himself. In appearance Erasmus was low of
stature with blue eyes, and in his youth his hair was of
flaxen colour. His countenance was grave ; he had a won-

58 More and his Friends.

derful memory and without question, was the finest genius
and the most learned person of his age.*

ARCHBISHOP WARHAM TO ERASMUS.

" I received your letter on the ides of February, speaking
highly of your expectations ; If fortune favors you I advise
you to embrace it. I would have invited you to England
that I might have enjoyed in my present retirement from
the bench the pleasure of your conversation, but I am un-
willing to frustrate your hopes. You need not be under
any anxiety about your pension, I have written to Maruffo
to transmit you a sum of money free of all expenses."

"Canterbury, March 24th, 1517."

BISHOP FISHER TO ERASMUS.

"I wrote to you lately and sent you a little present. I
have no control over the funds placed under my care, its
expenditure being limited to certain purposes which it is out
of my power to alter. So long as I have any money, how-
ever, I will not suffer you to want, who are so necessary to
the University of Cambridge. Mountjoy will be sure to re-
member you if he has made any promise to do so. He is
now at Court."

"London, 1517.

Though printed at Basle, the Greek Testament of Erasmus
was strictly the work of his residence in England. In the
collation and examination ofMSS. required for that purpose,
he had the assistance and support of Englishmen ; and
English friends and patrons lent him that aid and support,
without which it is very doubtful whether Erasmus would
* Da Pin.

More and his Friends. 59

ever have completed the work. He was not always liberal
in acknowledging his obligations, yet in his New Testament,
hidden away in a page where no one would have expected
to find it, he bursts into a sudden fit of enthusiasm and
celebrates the praises of Warham in language such as none
but Erasmus could command. After descanting upon the
Archbishop's modesty, labors, genius, administration of
justice (for he was still Chancellor), his patronage of letters
and learned men, Erasmus thus pursues the subject.

" Had it been my good fortune to have fallen in with such
a Maecenas in my earlier years, I might, perhaps, have done
something for literature. Now, born as I was in an unhappy
age, when barbarism reigned supreme, especially amongst
my own people, by whom the least inclination for literature
was then looked on as a crime, what could I do with my
small modicum of talent? Death carried off Henry de
Berghes, Bishop of Cambray, my first patron, my second,
William, Lord Mountjoy, an English peer, was separated
from me by his employments at court and the tumults of
war. By this means it was my good fortune, then advanced
in life and close on my fortieth year, to be introduced to
Archbishop Warham. Encouraged and cheered by his
bounty, I gained youth and strength in the cause of litera-
ture. What nature and my country denied me his bounty
supplied.*

" In one of his letters, Erasmus had complained that it
was discreditable he should be obliged to beg, after spending
so much time in England, but has had so much from Arch-
bishop Warham, that it would be a shame to accept more
if he offered it. And that Linacre, who knew he was going
* Brewer's Cal.

60 More and his friends.

away with no more than six angels, and in indifferent health,
urged him not to apply to the Archbishop or Mountjoy, but
habituate himself to poverty. ' I could do so,' he adds,
' when health was strong, but must try now to save my life,
and I will not refuse Colet's bounty.'"

"P.S. When I broached the subject of an under
Master of Arts, it was said to me, * Who would be a school-
master that could live any other way ? ' And on urging that
above all others it was a Christian work, my interlocutor
replied, ' If a man wishes to serve Christ let him enter a
Monastery;' and when I rejoined that to do good to others
was charity, I was answered, ' Perfection consisted in leaving
all things.' " *

MORE TO ERASMUS.

" I have spoken to Urswick, my dear Erasmus, about the
horse, and he says he has none fit to send you at present.
He sent you some time since Maruffo's bond, which is on
more liberal terms, though neither I nor Lily, who is is a
good Italian scholar, could read it. Palgrave is going to
Louvain to study law, but will continue his Greek and Latin.
He asked me for an introduction to you, and brings with
him letters sent to you from Basle, which I have had some
time."

" I am in the clouds with the dream of the government
to be offered me by my Utopians, and fancy myself a grand
potentate with a crown and a Franciscan cloak, (paludamen-
tum) followed by a grand processsion of the Amauri.
Should it please Heaven to exalt me to so high a dignity, I
shall still keep a corner in my heart for Erasmus and
*Bre*rer'sCal.

More and his Friends. 61

Tunstal, and should they pay me a visit to Utopia, I shall
make all my subjects honour them as is befitting the friends
of Majesty. The morn has dawned and dispelled my
dream, and stripped off my royalty, plunging me down into
my old mill-round at the court."
" London, 1517."

MORE TO ERASMUS.

" I send you my Utopia, my dear Erasmus, and have de-
livered your letters to the Venetian Ambassador, who would
have been glad of a copy of the Xew Testament. We paid
each other long compliments on meeting, but I like him very
much. I have heard nothing yet from the Archbishop. Colet
has not spoken to me about you, but he has. spoken with
Wolsey, who was profuse in your praise. My agent (John)
will deliver to you at Michaelmas the money deposited
with me. If you print my Epigrams a second time, would it
not be better to omit those relating to Briarius."

" London, 3 Sept., 1517."

COLET TO ERASMUS.

"I have received your letter by the one-eyed (Peter) I
did not know till then where he was. Your edition of the
New Testament is much sought after, some approving some
condemning it, using the arguments of Martin Dorp. I have
read it with mixed feelings, glad of the new light, sorry for
my ignorance of Greek. I look anxiously for S. Jerome.
I approve of your work De Institutione Christi Principis, and
I wish you quietly settled. The Archbishop, whom I visited a
few days since, talked much about you. He is rid of all
business and lives in happy retirement, (otio felicissimo)

62 More and his Friends.

I have read yourcomment on Ps. i, and admire your Copia,
I wonder you should praise my fortune, which is far from
ample, and scarce sufficient for my necessary expenses. I
hear you are learning Hebrew."

" From my mother's house at Stepney. She is a cheerful
old lady and often talks of you."

"London, 1517."

ARCHBISHOP WARHAM TO ERASMUS.

"I have received two letters from you, one in West-
minster Hall, the other by so bald a man that he had
scarcely a single hair on his head, who stated that you were
suffering from a cough. I send you twenty gold angels to
cure you, * inter quos Raphaelem salutis modicum reperies.^
I am glad to hear that you intend visiting London next
January.

' Lambeth, n Nov., 1517."

MORE TO ERASMUS.

" 15 Nov., 1517.

" I have received your letters for Colet and Fisher, with
a book for the latter. I wonder you have not written to
the Archbishop yourself, for you have more influence with
Warham than any one else has, but I will do it, if you think
I can do more in person than you can by letter \ but you
will have to wait, as it is usual for an ambassador, on his
return, to visit the King first, and not even casually call
upon any one else. Business also at Calais proceeds so
slowly that I fear I shall have to stay a long time. I will
manage that your pension shall be paid by Maruffo. I do
not think it advisable to redeem it, as it may offend the

More and his friends. 63

Archbishop. I am glad your Paraphrase is in the press;
Pace has not yet returned, nor do I know when he will.
1 cannot think what business he has on hand. As far as I
can hear he has none with the Swiss or the Emperor, and
he has now been more than a year at Constance. I am
glad you liked the verses on the picture. * A friar had
criticized them on account of More comparing the two
friends to Castor and Pollux.' "

MORE TO ERASMUS.

" I make no doubt that Palgrave has given you my letters.
I am glad to find that Dorpius, who would not be quieted by
mild usage, has yielded to sterner treatment. Such is the
way with some. Lupset has given me certain sheets which
he had belonging to you, e.g. Julii Genius, De Pueris
Erudiendis, he affirms he has nothing else. Linacre will
send his translations of Galen to Paris to be printed under
the care of Lupset, and is very much pleased at the notice
of his books by you. Lately, in a large concourse of
people, the Bishop of Winchester (Fox) affirmed that your
version of the New Testament was worth more to him than
ten commentaries. I expect my Utopia.

" London, 15 Dec, 1517.

** I have sent your letter to Latimer. My wife desires a
million of compliments, especially for your careful wish that
she should live many years. She says she is the more
anxious for this as she will live the longer to plague me."

ERASMUS TO PETER AEGIDIUS.

" I am sorry to hear, my dear Aegidius, of your father's
death. The Archbishop Warham writes me that I am to

64 More and Ms Friends.

receive 20, and if I send a receipt the money shall be
paid immediately. I beg you to send to John Crull to pay
the money, and take my receipt. It is to be paid to my
agent in England. More is still at Calais involved in tedious
business, this it is to be loved by kings and blessed by
cardinals. Pace has been in banishment with the Swiss
for two years. The Paraphrase is nearly finished. You are
not to send the books to N. at present, until I see More ;
he is now at Cambridge intending to lecture on Greek.
"Louvain, 17 Dec., 1517."

ERASMUS TO ARCHBISHOP WARHAM.
" I am going to Venice through Germany ; the road is
dangerous from robbers and sickness. I intend to increase
my store of books. Should it be my fate to return, I shall
visit England and settle there. I beg your Grace's liberality.
I am sorry to hear of the death of Grocyn. I think the war
against the Turks is a mere blind; Lorenzo, the Pope's
nephew, is attempting to occupy Campania, and has married
the daughter of the King of Navarre. I wish I had such a
horse as you once sent by me to the Abbot of St. Bertin's.
People seem to wonder that at my age I am going to under-
take such a toilsome journey, whilst I am much more as-
tonished that the Bishop of Paris, who is now nearly seventy,
should engage himself in a task much more burthensome,
for purposes not half so important in my judgment."
"Louvain, 5th March, 1518."

MORE TO THE UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD.

" When I was in London I heard that certain scholars of
the University in contempt of Greek literature had banded

More and his Friends. 65

together under the name of Trojans, taking the titles of Priam,
Hector, Paris, and the like. After I had followed the king
to Abingdon, it was repeated to me that this folly was begin-
ning to become serious, and that in the public sermons made
in the sacred season of Lent, much nonsense has been
uttered against learning generally, one "cannot but denounce
in severe terms the folly of a preacher who has distinguished
himself by an attack on the studies of the University and
especially on Erasmus. There is every necessity for a liberal
education for the proper study of theology."
" Abingdon, 4 Kal. April, 1518."

ERASMUS TO HUTTON.

" More is greatly delighted with your writings and at your
request, difficult as is the task, I send you the following
description of him : He is somewhat below the middle
height but perfectly symmetrical in all his limbs ; of a fair
complexion, face inclined rather to fairness than palor, with
very little red except a slight bloom ; hair inclining to black
or dark brown ; thin beard ; grey eyes covered with specks,
which, as a mark of genius, is much admired in England, and
indicates a generous nature. His inside corresponds to his
out. He has a pleasant smiling look, and to tell you the
truth is more inclined to pleasantry than gaiety, though he
is entirely free from buffoonery. His right shoulder is a
little higher that the left, especially when he walks not a
natural defect but an acquired ill habit. As compared with
the rest of his person, his hands are a little clumsy. He
has always been careless of his dress. I became acquainted
with him when he was twenty-three, he is now near forty,
and you may guess from this description how handsome he

p

66 More and his friends.

was in his youth. He has good health, but is not robust,
and is likely to live long, as his father is a very hale old
man. He is indifferent in the choice of his food, generally
drinks water, and sometimes, to please others, beer, little
better than water, out of a tin cup. As it is the fashion to
drink healths in England, More has learned to pledge his
guests summo ore. His favourite diet is beef, salt meats,
and coarse brown bread well fermented ; he prefers milk and
vegetable diet, and is fond of eggs. His voice is pene-
trating and clear, but not musical, although he is fond of
music, his speech plain and distinct. He wears no silk,
purple, or gold chains, except when he cannot avoid it, and
dislikes all ceremony. At first, he was disinclined to Court
life, through hatred of tyranny and love of equality, and
would not be induced to take service at Court except
after great solicitation from Henry VIII. He likes liberty
and ease, but no one is more active or more patient than
he when occasion requires it. He is friendly, accessible,
and fond of conversation, hating tennis, dice, and similar
games. He is very much given to jesting ; wrote and acted
little comedies when a lad, and loves a jest even when
made at his own expense. It was he who induced me to
write my Praise of Folly. He is equally at home with the
wise and the foolish, and in female society he is full of his
jokes. No one is less led by the judgment of the vulgar,
and yet no man has more common sense. His chief
pleasure is in watching animals; he has a variety of them, for
instance, an ape, a fox, a ferret, &c. ny rarity or exotic
he purchases readily, and his house is well furnished with
curiosities. He has always been fond of female society
and female friendships.

More and his Friends. 67

" As a young man he devoted himself to Greek, for which
he was nearly disinherited by his father, who wished to
bring him up to the law, a profession, which above all
others in England, leads to honour and emolument, but
requires many years of hard study. He lectured on St.
Augustine De dvitate Dei^ and was fitting himself by a course
of study and seclusion for the priesthood ; but as he had a
wish to enter the married life he abandoned this design.

" He married a young girl of good family, quite
uneducated, as she had been brought up entirely in the
country, had her instructed, and made her an accomplished
musician, when he unfortunately lost her, after she had
given birth to three daughters, Margaret, Elizabeth, and
Cicely, and a son named John. Unable to live alone, he
married a widow some months after, neither young nor
handsome (nee bella, nee puella, as he himself is fond of
saying) but a good housekeeper to look after his family,
with whom, however, he lives on very amicable terms.
Nothing can show his influence over her more completely
than that, though she is advanced in life, and very atten-
tive to housekeeping, More has prevailed upon her to learn
various musical instruments.

' ' He manages his wliole household in the same admirable
way, there is no noise nor contention, no vice nor bad repute,
and perhaps no family can be found where father, step-
mother, and son live together on such excellent terms.
Moreover, his father has just married a third wife, and
More swears he has not seen a better one.

" When he lived entirely by his profession, he gave every
man true and faithful advice, urging them to make up their
differences though it was contrary to his own interest

68 More and his Friends.

When that was not possible, as some persons take pleasure
in litigation, he showed them how to proceed at the small-
est cost. He was for some time a judge for civil suits in
London, an easy and an honourable post, as he sits only on
Thursday till dinner time, and well did he behave in this
post till he was sent on various embassies by the King, who
takes great pleasure in his company and conversation.

" With all this favour, More is neither proud nor boastful,
nor forgetful of his friends, but always obliging and chari-
table. He wrote his Utopia, to show the perils to which
governments are exposed, but he especially aimed at his
own country ; the second book was written first. He is a
good ex tempore speaker, has a ready wit, and a well-stored
memory, so that he speaks without hesitation. Colet is
accustomed to say of him that he is the only genius in
England. In his devotions he prayed ex tempore, and he
talks with his friends on a future life with perfect sincerity
and assured hope.

"Such men as More, Mountjoy, Linacre, Pace, Colet,
Stokesley, Latimer, Tunstal, and Clerk are a credit to the
Court of Henry VIII.

" Clumsy as is this description, it will not be tedious to
you, considering the subject. You can send by no one
better than Pace, whether I be in Brabant or Brittany. I
hear you are in great favour with Cardinal Cajetan.

"Antwerp, 10 Kal., Aug., 1519."

In another letter to Erasmus, More writes as follows :

"When I returned from my embassy to Flanders, the
king would have given me a yearly pension, which, inasmuch
as one respects honour and profit was not to be lightly es-
teemed, yet have I refused it, and shall continue to do so,

More and his Friends.