LIFE OF ARCHBISHOP SAXCROFT. 29 



a powerful one, will not be doubted, when it 

 is considered how great a sacrifice of worldly- 

 interest and eminency he made in consequence 

 of it. After he had made the sacrifice, the 

 natural turn of his mind must have been to jus- 

 tify to himself the line he had taken, by con- 

 firming and strengthening that view of things 

 on which the resolution was founded. In ad- 

 dition to this, his more free and unreserved 

 communications after his retirement were prin- 

 cipally maintained with persons who had acted 

 on the same views with himself; and, as many 

 of these carried their feelings and prejudices 

 on the subject which divided them from the 

 rest of the nation, much farther than he did, 

 the result seems to have been that his mind, 

 besides being confirmed in its approbation of 

 the part which he had taken, gradually ad- 

 vanced to a strong: conviction of the error and 

 even sinfulness of the part taken by others. 

 Thus, as we shall find, he was induced to think 

 and speak of those of the prelates and clergy 

 who refused the new oath, and were in conse- 

 quence ejected, as forming the true church of 

 England, while he looked upon the rest who 

 remained in possession of their benefices, or 

 were appointed to those vacated by the non- 

 jurors, as forming an apostate and rebellious 

 church. And, under the influence of the same 



