and council thereto, which, were not meet and convenient for every one to understand.'[1]
The explanations being finished, the preacher exhorted his audience to take example from the spectacle before them, to fear God, and to learn that there was no power against the Lord. There, in their presence, stood a man, once 'of so high degree—sometime one of the chief prelates of the Church—an Archbishop, the chief of the council, the second person of the realm: of long time, it might be thought, in great assurance, a king on his side;' and now, 'notwithstanding all his authority and defence, debased from a high estate unto a low degree—of a councillor become a caitiff, and set in so wretched estate that the poorest wretch would not change conditions with him.'
Turning, in conclusion, to Cranmer himself, Cole then 'comforted and encouraged him to take his death well by many places in Scripture; bidding him nothing mistrust but that he should incontinently receive that the thief did, to whom Christ said, To-day shalt thou be with me in Paradise. Out of Paul he armed him against the terrors of fire, by the words, The Lord is
- ↑ Narrative of the Execution of Thomas Cranmer: MS. Harleian, 422. Another account gives among the causes which Cole mentioned, that 'it seemed meet, according to the law of equality, that, as the death of the Duke of Northumberland of late made even with Sir Thomas More, Chancellor, that died for the Church, so there should be one that should make even with Fisher, Bishop of Rochester; and because that Ridley, Hooper, and Ferrars were not able to make even with that man, it seemed that Cranmer should be joined with them to fill up their part of equality.'—Foxe, vol. viii. p. 85. Jenkins, vol. iv. p. 133.
