‘The first man you [i.e. Father Parsons] name is M. D. Stapleton “whom his Holiness purposed to prefer to higher dignity.” If he were now alive, he would tell another tale against those that hindered him from that higher dignity, and that told him a tale in his ear when he was ready to put his foot into his litter, and made him stay at home and lose that “higher dignity”’ (Ely, Certaine Briefe Notes, &c., 1603, p. 254). Stapleton died at Louvain on 12 Oct. (N.S.) 1598, and was buried in the church of St. Peter, where a monument was erected to his memory with a long Latin inscription, which has been printed by Pits (De Angliæ Scriptoribus, p. 797). He left all his books and manuscripts to the English College at Douay; but Dodd, after a diligent search, was unable to find any of the manuscripts.
Wood calls Stapleton ‘the most learned Roman catholic of all his time,’ and it is generally admitted that he was a most skilful controversialist. Even his chief adversary, William Whitaker [q. v.], paid a willing tribute to his powers and erudition. Stapleton attempted to introduce some moderation at least into the theory of the relations between the papal authority and civil governments. He disclaimed any suzerainty of the pope over princes, and he denied that the pope had any right to dethrone them for any merely civil cause. At the same time he held that the pope could justly interfere with temporal governments when they were hostile or detrimental to the catholic religion, and that the pope might excite the people to throw off the authority of their prince and to dethrone him; and if this did not succeed, the prince might give the throne to some catholic prince. Stapleton was one of the English writers on whose information Pius V mainly relied when he issued his famous bull against Queen Elizabeth. His principal polemical opponents were Dr. William Fulke, Dr. William Whitaker, Dr. John Rainolds, Bishop Jewell, and Dr. John Bridges, bishop of Oxford.
His portrait, engraved by L. Gualtier and representing him in a doctor of divinity's habit, forms the frontispiece of his collected works (Granger, Biogr. Hist. i. 224). It is reproduced in Richardson's collection of ‘Engravings illustrating Granger's Biographical History of England’ (vol. iii.).
Stapleton's principal works are: 1. ‘The History of the Church of Englande. Compiled by Venerable Bede, Englishman. Translated out of Latin into English,’ Antwerp, 1565, 4to; St. Omer, 1622, 8vo. 2. A translation from the Latin of Frederic Staphylus's ‘Apologie, intreating of the true and right vnderstanding of holy Scripture,’ Antwerp, 1565, 4to. To this is appended a ‘Discours of the Translatour vppon the doctrine of the protestants, which he trieth by the three first founders and fathers thereof, Martin Luther, Philip Melancthon, and especially Iohn Caluin.’ 3. ‘A Fortresse of the Faith first planted amonge vs englishmen, and continued hitherto in the vniuersall Church of Christ. The faith of which time Protestants call Papistry,’ Antwerp, 1565, 4to. 4. ‘A returne of vntruthes vpon M. Iewels Replie,’ Antwerp, 1566, 4to. 5. ‘A Counterblast to M. Hornes vayne blaste against M. Fekenham,’ Louvain, 1567, 4to. The substance of the ‘Counterblast’ was in reality penned by Fekenham, who was in custody in England, and who requested Stapleton to revise the manuscript and to publish the work in his own name. 6. ‘Of the express Word of God,’ Louvain, 1567, from the Latin of Cardinal Hosius. 7. ‘In Laudem Franc. Richardoti Atrebat. Episc. Oratio Funebris, Duaci habita MDLXXIIII mense Augusto,’ Douay, 1608, 4to. 8. ‘Orationes Funebres,’ Antwerp, 1577. 9. ‘Principiorum Fidei doctrinalium Demonstratio methodica, per controuersias septem in libris duodecim tradita,’ Paris, 1578, 1579, and 1582, with a thirteenth book. 10. ‘Speculum pravitatis hæreticæ per orationes quasi ad oculum demonstratæ,’ Douay, 1580. 11. ‘De Universa Justificationis Doctrina, hodie controversa, lib. xii.,’ Paris, 1581. 12. ‘Tres Thomæ; seu res gestæ S. Thomæ apostoli, S. Thomæ archiepisc. Cantuar. et martyris, et Thomæ Mori Angliæ quondam cancellarii,’ Douay, 1588, 8vo; Cologne, 1612, 8vo. The ‘Life of More’ was in 1689 printed both separately (Gratz [1689], 12mo), and as a preface to More's collected Latin works [see under More, Sir Thomas]; and a French translation, by A. Martin, appeared at Paris (1849, 8vo), ‘avec une introduction, des notes et commentaires par M. Audin.’ 13. ‘Promptuarium Morale super Evangelia Dominicalia totius anni. Pars Hyemalis,’ Antwerp, 1591; Cologne, 1615; Paris, 1617, 8vo. ‘Pars Æstivalis,’ Venice, 1593, 1594; Mayence, 1610; Cologne, 1620; both parts, 2 vols. Antwerp, 1613, 8vo; Paris, 1 vol. 1627, 8vo. 14. ‘Promptuarium Catholicum in Evangelia Dominicalia totius Anni,’ Cologne, 1592, 1602; Paris, 1617, 8vo. 15. ‘Promptuarium Catholicum in Evangelia Ferialia totius Quadragesimæ,’ reprinted Paris, 1617, 8vo. 16. ‘Promptuarium Catholicum in Evangelia Festorum totius Anni,’ Cologne, 1592; Antwerp, 1608. 17. ‘Relectio Scholastica et Compendiaria Principiorum Fidei Doctrinalium,’ Antwerp, 1592;
