E N G J 
felling pardons and abfolutions for fin at certain dated 
prices. A deacon, or fubdeacon, who committed mur¬ 
der, was abfolved from his crime, and allowed to polfefs 
three benefices, upon paying twenty crowns, A bifliop 
or abbot might commit murder for about ten pounds ot 
our money. Every crime had its dated value; and abfo- 
lutions were given for fins not only already committed, 
but fuch as fliould be committed hereafter. The wiled of 
the people looked with filent detedation on thefe impofi- 
tions ; and the ignorant themlelves began to open their 
eyes to fuch glaring abfurdities. 
Thefe vices and impofitions were now almod come to 
ahead; and the increafe of arts and learning among the 
laity, propagated by means of the art of printing, which 
had been lately invented, foon taught them to refid that 
power which was originally founded on deceit. Leo X. 
A.D. 1519, was at that time pope, and feduloufiy em¬ 
ployed in building the noble church ot St. Peter, at 
Rome. To procure money for carrying on the under¬ 
taking, he gave an unlimited commifiion tor felling in¬ 
dulgences. Thefe were to free the purchafer from the 
pains of purgatory ; and they would ferve even for one’s 
friends, if purc’nafed with that intention. Shops were 
every where opened for their fale ; but in general they 
were to be had at taverns, brothels, and gaming-houfes. 
The Augudine friars had been employed in Saxony to 
preach up the virtue of thefe indulgences, and from this 
trud had derived both profit and conlideration ; but the 
pope’s minider, fuppoling that they had found out illicit 
methods of fecreting the money, transferred the employ¬ 
ment from them to the Dominicans. Martin Luther, 
profeffor in the univerfity of Wirteinberg, was an Auguf- 
tine monk, and one of tliofe who refented this transfer 
of the fale of indulgences from their order to that of 
another. He began to fhew his indignation by preaching 
againd their efficacy ; and being naturally of a fiery tem¬ 
per, he quedioned even the authority of the pope him- 
felf. The people, who had long groaned under the papal 
tyranny, heard his difeourfes with pleafure, and defended 
him againd the fury of his enemies. Frederic, elector 
of Saxony, furnamed the Wife, openly encouraged him ; 
the republic of Zurich even reformed their church ac¬ 
cording to the new model ; and Luther, who was natu¬ 
rally inflexible, was incapable, either from promifes of 
advancement, or terrors of feverity, to recede from the 
part he had taken. It was in vain, therefore, that the 
pope iffued out his bulls againd Luther; it was in vain 
that the Dominican friars procured his books to be 
burnt; he expofed the hypocrify of the Dominicans, and 
burnt, in his turn, the pope’s bull in the dreets of Wir- 
temberg. In the mean time, the difpute was warmly 
conteded by controverfial writing on both fides. Luther, 
though oppofed by the pope, the conclave, and all the 
clergy, fupported his caufe fingly, and with fuccefs. As 
the controverfy was new, his ignorance of many parts of 
the fubjedf was not greater than theirs ; and, ill as he 
wrote, they replied dill worfe. Opinions are often in¬ 
culcated upon the minds of mankind, rather by confi¬ 
dence and perfeverance, than by drength of reafoning, 
or beauty of di&ion ; and no man had more confidence 
or more perfeverance than he. In this difpute it was the 
fate of Henry to be a champion on both fides. His father, 
who had given him the education of a fcholar, permitted 
him to be indruCted in fchool-divinity, which then was 
the principal object of learned enquiry. Henry, there¬ 
fore, willing to convince the world of his abilities in that 
fcience, obtained the pope’s permiflion to read the works 
of Luther, which had been forbidden under pain of ex- 
communication. In confequence of this, the king de¬ 
fended the feven facraments, out of St. Thomas Aquinas, 
with confiderable dexterity ; though it is fuppofed that 
Wolfey had the chief hand in directing him. The book 
being thus finidied, was font to Rome for the pope’s ap¬ 
probation, which it is natural to fuppofe would not be 
withheld. The pontiff, ravifhed with its eloquence and 
, A N D. 635 
depth, compared it to the labours of St. Jerome or St. 
Augudine ; and rewarded the author with the title of 
Defender of the Faith , which has ever fince remained as one 
of the titles'of the Englilli kings. 
Belides the religious obfervances, which contributed to 
render the Romifh church odious and contemptible, there 
were dill others, proceeding from political meafures. 
Clement VII. had fucceeded Leo; and the hereditary 
animofity between the emperor and the pope breaking 
out into open war, Clement was imprifoned in the cadle 
of St. Angelo; and with thirteen cardinals, his adherents, 
kept in cudody for his ranfom. As the demands of the 
emperor were exorbitant, Henry undertook to negociate 
for the pope, and was procuring him a favourable treaty ; 
when his holinefs, corrupting his guards, made his efcape 
from confinement; and, leaving the treaty unfinifiied, 
wrote Henry a letter of thanks for his mediation. The 
violence of the emperor taught Henry that popes might 
be injured with impunity ; and the behaviour of the pope 
manifeded but little of that fandfity or infallibility to 
which the pontiffs had pretended. Befides, as Henry had 
laid the pope thus under obligations, he fuppofed that he 
might, upon any emergency, expert a grateful return. 
It was in this predicament of the church and the popq* 
that a new feene was to be opened, which was to produce 
endlefs didurbances, and to change the whole fydem of 
affairs in Europe. Henry had, A. D. 1527, been eighteen 
years married to Catharine of Arragon, who, as we have 
related, had been brought over from Spain to marry his 
elder brother, who died a few months after cohabitation. 
But, notwithdanding the fubmidive deference paid to the 
indulgence of the church, Henry’s marriage with this 
princeisdid not pals without fcruple and hefitation. The 
prejudices pf the people were in general bent againd a 
conjugal union between fuch near relations; and the 
late king, though he had folemnized the efpoufals when 
'his foil was but twelve years of age, gave many intima¬ 
tions that he intended to annul them at a proper oppor¬ 
tunity. Thefe circumdances might have given Henry 
fome doubts and fcruples concerning the legitimacy of 
his marriage ; but as he had three children by the prin- 
cefs, and as her character and condurt were blamelefs, 
he for a while kept his intentions private. But the 
queen was fix years older than him ; and the decay of Her 
beauty, together with particular infirmities, had conirL 
buted to make him defirous of another confort. How¬ 
ever, though he felt appalled at her perfon, yet for a 
long time he broke out into no flagrant aft of contempt; 
but was contented to range from beauty to beauty among 
the ladies of his court, with whom his rank procured 
him an eafy compliance. But Henry was carried forward 
by a motive much more powerful than the tacit fuggef- 
tions ot his confcience. Among the maids of honour to 
the queen, was Anna Boleyn, the daughter of fir Thomas 
Boleyn, a gentleman of diflinftion, and related to mod of 
the nobility. He had been employed by the king in fe- 
veral embaflies, and was married to a daughter of the 
duke of Norfolk. The beauty of Anna far furpaffed that 
of all others who had hitherto appeared at this volup- 
tuous court: and her education, which had been finiihed 
at Paris, tended to fet off her perfonal charms. Henry, 
who had never learnt the art of redraining any pallion 
that he wifhed to gratify, faw, and loved her; but, after 
feveral efforts to induce her to gratify his criminal de¬ 
fires, he found that without marriage he had no chance 
of fucceeding. This obdacle, therefore, he undertook to 
remove ; and, as his own queen was become hateful to 
him, in order to procure a divorce, he alleged that his 
confcience rebuked him for having fo long lived in inced 
with the wife of his brother. In this pretended per¬ 
plexity, he applied to pope Clement VII. who owed 
him many obligations, defiring him to diffolve the bull 
of the former pope, which had given him permiflion to 
marry Catharine ; and to declare that it was not in the 
power, even of the holy fee, to difpenfe with a law fo 
completely 
