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incredible. He was much occupied in disputing with the papists, both with his tongue and with his pen. A lasting memorial of his zeal and ability in controversy, remains to speak his fame to many generations, His Defence of the Apology of the Church of England.' His excessive labour hastened his death, which took place in 1571, in the 50th year of his age. He was occupied in his great work of preaching almost till the day of his departure. The last exercise in which he was engaged exemplified the deep concern he felt to be found faithful. Having, after his return from a conference in London, commenced a visitation throughout his diocese, in which, with more severity than he had ever exercised before, he reproved the vices both of the clergy and of the laity, and preached oftener, which greatly enfeebled his constitution, he was recommended by a gentleman to return home and rest his body for his health's sake; but he could not be persuaded to spare himself, using this remarkable expression-" It becometh a bishop to die preaching in the pulpit." He went on, therefore, on horseback to preach at Lacock in Wiltshire, and in a state of great exhaustion ascended the pulpit, and preached his last sermon from Gal. v. 16, Walk in the Spirit.' He went from the pulpit to his bed, and in a few days expired. His closing scene was worthy of his character and of his life, and illustrated the reality and the strength of his faith.

Archbishop Parker.

BORN A. D. 1504.-DIED A. d. 1575.

MATTHEW PARKER, the second protestant archbishop of Canterbury, was born in the parish of St Saviour's, Norwich, on the 6th of August, 1504. In 1521, he was admitted of Corpus Christi college, Cambridge, of which house he was chosen scholar, or bible-clerk, six months after. In 1526, he was made sub-deacon. While at college, he had for his contemporaries, Nicholas Bacon and Cecil, Bradford and Ridley. In 1527, he was ordained priest, and elected to a fellowship. His studies appear at this time to have been mainly directed towards the Scriptures and the writings of the early fathers; but his scholarship was in such repute that Cardinal Wolsey invited him to join his new foundation at Oxford,—an invitation which he declined at the same time with his distinguished predecessor in the archbishopric, Cranmer.

In 1533, the archbishop of Canterbury granted Parker a license to preach throughout his province, and the king gave him a patent for the same throughout the kingdom. He now preached frequently before the court, and at St Paul's cross, and other public places. His zeal for the promotion of religion and learning recommended him to the intimacy and friendship of such men as Bilney, Stafford, Arthur, Friar Barnet, Scroode, Fowke, and other leading scholars and reformers. For Bilney, in particular, he cherished so great veneration that he went down to Norwich to attend him at his martyrdom, and afterwards fearlessly vindicated the memory of his murdered friend against the impeachment of Sir Thomas More, who asserted that, when brought

to the stake, Bilney had renounced his protestant principles, and expressed his adherence to the Romish church. Queen Anne Boleyn appointed Parker her own chaplain, and, a short time before her death, committed her daughter Elizabeth to his especial charge, enjoining him never to withhold from the young princess his pious and prudent counsel, and charging her to bear in remembrance her benefactor, if it should ever be in her power to reward his fidelity.

In 1535, he proceeded B. D., and, in the same year, was preferred by the queen to the deanery of the college of Stoke-Clare, in Suffolk. This place afforded him an agreeable retirement for the pursuit of his favourite studies. His friend, Dr Hadden, used to call it Parker's Tusculanum. It is not quite certain at what time Parker first imbibed the principles of the reformers, but soon after he began to preach in public we find articles exhibited against him by some of the more zealous papists. On the death of Queen Anne, Henry appointed him one of his chaplains, and nominated him to a prebend of Ely. In 1544, he was promoted to the mastership of Corpus Christi college, Cambridge, on the special recommendation of the king. In this office he zealously applied himself to reform and correct abuses; he also undertook the revisal of the statutes, which, with the countenance of his friend, Dr May, he reduced to nearly their present form. In 1547, he married Margaret, daughter of Robert Harlstone, of Mattis hall, in Norfolk, to whom he had been long attached. Mr Masters conjectures that it was about this time he drew up a short treatise, still preserved in the library of his college, De conjugio Sacerdotum.' On the occasion of Kett's rebellion, Dr Parker, happening to be on a visit to his friends at Norfolk, did eminent service to the government, by his exhortations and services; he even ventured into the camp of the rebels, and boldly inveighed against the sin of rebellion, charging them with disloyalty to God as well as to the king, and exhorting them to return to their allegiance, and disperse quietly. On the death of Bucer, who had long lived on terms of intimate friendship with Parker, the latter preached his funeral sermon. It was afterwards printed, and is much superior to the ordinary compositions of the day.

A variety of promotions were conferred upon Parker during the reign of Henry. It is even said that he had the offer of a bishopric, but declined it. The accession of Mary changed the face of his fortunes. In common with the other married clergy who would not put away their wives, he was stripped of all his preferments. But he bore his reverse of fortune with firm resignation. Strype quotes a MS. in the college library, which says of Parker at this period, that he "lurked secretly in those years (the reign of Queen Mary) within the house of one of his friends, leading a poor life, without any man's aid or succour; and yet so well-contented with his lot, that, in that pleasant rest and leisure for his studies, he would never, in respect of himself, have desired any other kind of life, the extreme fear of danger only excepted." Either from the remissness of his enemies, or the kindness of his friends, he succeeded in secreting himself in these peculiar times, being, says Middleton, " reserved for better days." Among other treatises which employed his pen during this interval, was one in defence of priests' marriages against a book by Dr Martin. It was printed without his name, in 1562.1 He also Strype, p. 504.

translated the book of Psalms into metre, which was afterwards printed, probably in 1567. This book-which Strype says he never could get a sight of is divided into three quinquagenes, with the argument of each psalm in metre placed before it, and a suitable collect at the end of each. Some copies of verses, and transcripts from the fathers and others, on the use of the psalms, are prefixed to it, with a table dividing them into Prophetici, Eruditorii, Consolatorii, &c. And, at the end, are added eight several tunes, with alphabetical tables to the whole.

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On the accession of Elizabeth, Parker left his retreat, and was sent for to town by his old acquaintance and college-fellow, Sir Nicholas Bacon, now lord-keeper. For a considerable time he resisted the lord-keeper's invitations; but it had been resolved to elevate him to the primacy, and after extorting an unwilling consent from him, he was consecrated archbishop of Canterbury on the 17th of December, 1559. The subsequent history of Archbishop Parker is that of the church of England. His first care was to have the several sees filled with learned and pious In this particular, he exercised a most wholesome influence on the state of religion throughout the kingdom, for it has been observed, that during the fifteen years of his primacy, he either consecrated or confirmed the bishops of all the dioceses in England,—a circumstance which has occurred to him alone of all the archbishops of Canterbury. He was also eminently useful in filling the chairs of the several colleges with men of sound learning and principles. Soon after his consecration, he received a letter from the celebrated Calvin, urging him to entreat her majesty to summon a general assembly of all the protestant clergy, for the settlement of some uniform plan of church discipline and service. Parker laid the venerable reformer's letter before the council, who directed him to return thanks for the communication, but to signify that they were resolved to abide by episcopacy in ecclesiastical affairs. In 1561, he united with some of the other prelates in an application to the queen, against the use of images. Their remonstrance succeeded upon this point, but he was less successful in his attempts to overcome the queen's repugnance to the marriage of the clergy. On one occasion in particular, she so ruffled the archbishop's temper on this point, that in a fit of chagrin and vexation, he addressed a letter to Secretary Cecil, in which he protests that her majesty's behaviour to him had quite indisposed him for all business, and that if she went on as she had threatened to force the clergy to any sinful compliance, he and others would obey God rather than man, and he trusted would have conscience and courage enough to embrace the stake rather than deny their faith, by pronouncing that unlawful which the Scriptures permitted and enjoined. It was with nearly equal difficulty that our archbishop moderated betwixt the queen and the clergy in the matter of ecclesiastical habits. By virtue of a clause in the act of uniformity, which gave the queen a power of enjoining any other rites or ceremonies she pleased, she sent forth her injunctions that the clergy should wear seemly garments, square caps, and copes. Many conformed to her majesty's wishes in this respect; but others, who were of opinion that popery might consist in dress as well as doctrine, declined to wear the cap and surplice. Hereupon the queen ordered the archbishops to confer with her ecclesiastical commissioners with the view of establishing and maintaining an exact order and uniformity in all external rites and

ceremonies of the church, and Parker accordingly drew up ordinances for the due order in preaching and administering the sacraments, and for the apparel of persons ecclesiastical. But the puritan party, headed by Dudley, earl of Leicester, stoutly resisted the execution of the ordinances, and Elizabeth herself-overcome by the arguments of her favourite refused to sanction them for a time. They were at last published under the name of advertisements;' and he then proceeded to enforce them with a zeal which procured for him from one party the name and reproach of being a persecutor, and from another the title and reputation of a friend and supporter of the church of England. He continued to struggle with the difficulties attending his office and the spirit of the times, until his 71st year. He died on the 17th of May, 1575. Parker's learning has never been disputed. His extensive liturgical reading pointed him out as one of the fittest persons for drawing up the book of common prayer, in which he accordingly had a principal hand. He was mainly instrumental in procuring the publication of 'the Bishop's Bible,' as it was called, which was undertaken and carried on under his direction and inspection. He edited the histories of Matthew of Westminster, and Matthew of Paris, and various other historical works which are enumerated by Tanner. The work on which he is generally supposed to have spent most of his time, was that‘De antiquitate Britanniæ ecclesiæ.' It is doubtful, however, what share he had in this book: probably he did little more than plan it, and supply his assistants with materials from his own valuable collection of ecclesiastical antiquities. The original work is exceedingly rare, but a very elegant edition of it was published by Dr Drake in 1729. He had the taste and spirit of an antiquary, and was very useful in reviving the study of the Saxon language, from which he executed some translations. Middleton says of him: "he was pious, sober, temperate, modest even to a fault, being upon many occasions over-bashful,-unmoveable in the distribution of justice,- -a great patron and zealous defender of the church of England, in which he acted with great resolution, it being his rule in a good cause to fear nobody.'"

Richard Cox, D.D.

BORN CIRC. A. D. 1500.-DIED A. D. 1581.

THE patronage of Wolsey first brought this ecclesiastic into notice. He was born of mean parentage at Whaddon in Buckinghamshire; but having been sent to Eton school, was elected thence to King's college, where he attracted the cardinal's attention, who placed him on his new foundation at Oxford. His learning commanded the esteem of the university; but, having spoken rather freely in favour of the reformed doctrines, he was glad to exchange his fellowship for the mastership of Eton school. The interest of Cranmer at last obtained for him some dignified appointments in the church, and he was appointed one of Prince Edward's tutors. In this latter situation, he rose rapidly in favour at court, and in 1547 was elected chancellor of Oxford. It is said that, as one of the commissioners appointed to visit and report upon the state of the universities, he inflicted severe injury on the

public libraries by destroying a great number of books in his zeal against popery; but, if he hurt these seminaries of learning in this instance, he amply atoned for the loss inflicted on them by obtaining exemption for them from the operation of several acts levelled against the property of kindred institutions.

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On Mary's accession, Cox retired with other exiles to Strasburg. From this place he proceeded to Frankfort, where he got involved in a violent quarrel with some of his countrymen, who had shown a disposition to adopt the form of worship instituted by the reformers of GeThe magistrates of that city supported Cox, who had the satisfaction to see the books of common prayer forced upon his countrymen, and his principal antagonist among the refugees, the celebrated John Knox, driven in disgrace from the city on a charge preferred by Cox of having libelled the emperor. After a victory so little honourable to himself, Cox returned to Strasburg, where he employed himself more laudably in organising a kind of university for the benefit of his countrymen in that city.

On the demise of Mary, Cox returned to England, and was one of those divines who were appointed to revise the liturgy; he also appeared on the protestant side in the great disputation held at Westminster between eight catholics and an equal number of the reformed clergy. His well-tried zeal for the church of England, his learning, his abilities as a preacher, and his sufferings for the faith, recommended him to the patronage of Elizabeth, who bestowed on him the bishopric of Ely. This preferment proved a fertile source of uneasiness to him, for his high notions as to the prerogatives of the clergy, and his strenuous opposition to whatever savoured in the remotest degree of papistry, even in the arrangements of the queen's private chapel, brought him into frequent collision with the rapacious courtiers of Elizabeth, and involved his old age in a series of troubles and contentions. Wearied out, he at last consented to resign his bishopric, upon an annual pension of £200; but the court found it impossible to prevail on any respectable ecclesiastic to accept of the see during the lifetime of the proper incumbent; and he accordingly retained it till his death, which happened in 1581. Bishop Cox was the author of several short pieces. He had also a principal hand in compiling the liturgy of the church of England; and when the new translation of the bible, commonly known by the name of the Bishop's Bible,' was made in the reign of Elizabeth, the four Gospels, the Acts, and the epistle to the Romans, were assigned to

THIS excellent man was born at Kentmire in Westmoreland in the year 1517. He studied at Queen's college, Oxford, and made great proficiency in the logic and philosophy of the day, in so much that he was chosen, while yet a very young man, to oppose the introduction of the reformed doctrines into the university by disputing with Hooper and Peter Martyr in public. For this task he was better qualified than