The Diary Of John Evelyn Vol-2

JOHN EVELYN

129

WHICH LAST I KNEW, BEING THE TRANSLATOR OF THE «JeS-

Tiits' Morals»; I went to see and converse with him at
Whitehall, with Mr. Gates, one that was lately an apos-
tate to ^ the church of Rome, and now returned again
with this discovery. He seemed to be a bold man, and,
in my thoughts, furiously indiscreet; but everybody be-
lieved what he said, and it quite changed the genius and
motions of the Parliament growing now corrupt and in-
terested with long sitting and court practices; but, with all
this, Popery would not go down. This discovery turned
them all as one man against it, and nothing was done
but to find out the depth of this. Gates was encouraged,
and everything he affirmed taken for gospel; the truth
is, the Roman Catholics were exceedingly bold and busy
everywhere, since the Duke forbore to go any longer to
the chapel.

16th October, 1678. Mr. Godolphin requested me to
continue the trust his wife had reposed in me, in behalf
of his little son, conjuring me to transfer the friendship
I had for his dear wife, on him and his.

aist October, 1678. The murder of Sir Edmondbury

and was made a Fellow. He had the living of Pluekley, in Kent, which-
he resigned in consequence of quarrels with his parishioners and
Quakers. In 1657, he was made fellow of the newly-erected College at
Durham, and that being dissolved in 1660, he taught school at Islington.
He then went with Colonel Edward Harley to Dunkirk, and subse-
quently took a small living in Herefordshire (Lentwardine); but quitted
it for St. Mary Stayning, in London, which, after the fire in 1666, was
united to St. Michael, Wood Street. These he held till his death, in
1680. He was a great opponent of the Roman Catholics. Wood men-
tions several publications of his, among which are, « The Jesuits Un-
masked, » 1678; « Jesuitical Aphorisms,»1678; and « The Jesuits' Morals,^
1680 (1670) ; the two latter translated from the French. (Wood's«A thence,
OxonJ* vol. ii p. 502,) Evelyn speaks of the last of these translations as
having been executed by his desire: and it figures in a notable passage
of Oates's testimony. Gates said, for example, «that Thomas Whit-
bread, a priest, on isth of June, 16 . . did tell the rector of St. Omer's
that a Minister of the Church of England had scandalously put out the
< Jesuits' Morals* in English, and had endeavored to render them
odious, and had asked the Rector whether he thought Gates might know
him? and the Rector called the deponent, who heard these words as he
stood at the chamber door, and when he went into the chamber of the
Provincial, he asked him <If he knew the author of the « Jesuits' Mor-
als ? »> deponent answered, < His person, but not his name.> Whitbread
then demanded, "whether he would undertake to poison, or assassinate
the author; which deponent undertook, having ,£50 reward promised
him, and appointed to return to England.»
9outh considered.