IZAAK WALTON AND HIS FRIENDS 105 



tion shortly given as to the contents of this great 

 work. Pope Clement VIII. said of it : " There are 

 in it such seeds of eternity as will continue till the 

 last fire shall devour all learning." Hallam re- 

 marks that Hooker never entirely emancipated 

 himself from the trammels of prejudice on the 

 subject of religious toleration. We should remem- 

 ber, however, that very few men of the period had 

 done so, and that even Baxter pronounced uni- 

 versal toleration to be "soul murder," though he 

 was, on the whole, somewhat more liberal than his 

 co-religionists on the subject (Lecky's Rationalism 

 in Europe, Vol. II., Chap. IV., Part 11. ). 



Dr Arnold (see his Life, by Stanley, Vol. II.) 

 wrote : " I long to see something which should solve 

 what is to me the great problem of Hooker's 

 mind. He is the only man that I know, who, 

 holding with his whole mind and soul the idea of 

 the eternal distinction between moral and positive 

 laws, holds with it the love for priestly and cere- 

 monial religion, such as appears in the fifth book." 

 In Lander's imaginary conversations between Lord 

 Bacon and Hooker, the former is made to say : 

 "Good master . . . you would define to a hair's 

 breadth, the qualities, states and dependencies of 

 Principalities, Dominations and Powers ; you would 

 be unerring about the Apostles and the Churches ; 

 and 'tis marvellous how you wander about a pot 

 herb," and Hooker's reply is : " Wisdom con- 



