Smollett.

$64. Character of HENRY VIII.

a favourite point to carry; and then he would | his avarice prompted him to encourage infawn, flatter, and practise all the arts of in- duftry and trade, because it improved his nuation. He inherited a natural fund of cuftoms, and enriched his fubjects, whom he fagacity, which was improved by ftudy and could afterwards pillage at difcretion. experience; nor was he deficient in perfonal bravery and political courage. He was cool, clofe, cunning, dark, diftruitful, and designing; and of all the princes who had fat on the English throne, the most fordid, selfish, and ignorant. He poffeffed, in a peculiar manner, the art of turning all his domeftic troubles, and all his foreign difputes, to his own advantage; hence he acquired the appellation of the English Solomon; and all the powers of the continent courted his alliance, on account of his wealth, wifdom, and uninterrupted profperity.

It is difficult to give a just fummary of this prince's qualities; he was fo different from himfelf in different parts of his reign, that, as is well remarked by Lord Herbert, his hiftory is his best character and defcription. The abfolute and uncontrouled authority which he maintained at home, and the regard he obtained among foreign nations, are circumftances which entitle him to the appellation of a great prince; while his tyranny and cruelty feem to exclude him from the character of a good one.

He poffeffed, indeed, great vigour of mind, which qualified him for exercifing dominion over men; courage, intrepidity, vigilance, inflexibility; and though thefe qualities lay not always under the guidance of a regular and folid judgment, they were accompanied with good parts, and an extentive capacity; and every one dreaded a conteft with a man who was never known to yield, or to forgive; and who, in every controverty, was determined to ruin himself or his antagonist.

The nobility he excluded entirely from the adminiftration of public affairs, and employed clergymen and lawyers, who, as they had no intereft in the nation, and depended entirely upon his favour, were more obfequious to his will, and ready to concur in all his arbitrary meafures. At the fame time it must be owned, he was a wife legiilator; chafte, temperate, and affiduous, in the exercife of religious duties; decent in his deportment, and exact in the adminiftration of juftice, when his, private intereft was not concerned; though he frequently ufed religion and juftice as cloaks for peridy and oppreffion. His foul A catalogue of his vices would comprehend was continually actuated by two ruling paf- many of the worft qualities incident to human fons, equally bafe and unkingly, namely, nature. Violence, cruelty, profufion, rapathe fear of lofing his crown, and the defire of city, injuftice, obftinacy, arrogance, bigouy, amathing riches: and the le motives influenced prefumption, caprice; but neither was he his whole conduct. Neverthelets, his appre-fubject to all thefe vices in the most extreme henfion and avarice redounded, on the whole, degree, nor was he at intervals altogether deto the advantage of the nation. The first in-void of virtues. lie was fincere, open, gallant, duced him to deprels the netility, and abolith liberal, and capable at least of a temporary the feudal tenures, which Pendered them equal-friendfhip and attachment. In this refpect ly formidable to the prince and people: and he was unfortunate, that the incidents of his

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times ferved to difplay his faults in their full light; the treatment he met with from the court of Rome prøveked him to violence; the danger of a revolt from his fuperftitious fubjects feemed to require the hoft extreme feverity. But it muft at the fame time be acknowledged, that his fituation tended to throw an additional luftre on what was great and magnanimous in his character..

fied. He excelled in all the exercises of youth, and poffeffed a good understanding, which was not much improved by the nature of his education. Inftead of learning that philofophy which opens the mind, and extends the qualities of the heart, he was confined to the ftudy of gloomy and fcholaftic difquifitions, which ferved to cramp his ideas, and pervert the faculty of reafon, qualifying him for the difputant of a cloister, rather than the lawgiver of a people. In the firft years of his reign, his pride and vanity feemed to domineer over all his other paffions; though from the begin

The emulation between the emperor and the French King rendered his alliance, notwithstanding his impolitic conduct, of great importance to Europe. The extentive powers of his prerogative, and the fubmiflion, not toning he was impetuous, headstrong, impatient fay flavith defpotifm of his parliament, made it more eafy for him to affume and maintain that entire dominion, bw which his reign is fo much distinguished in Englith history.

It may feem a little extraordinary, that, notwithstanding his cruelty, his extortion, his violence, his arbitrary administration, this prince not only acquired the regard of his fubjects, but never was the object of their hatred; he feems even, in fome degree, to have poffeffed their love and affection. His exterior qualities were advantageous, and fit to captivate the multitude; his magnificence, and perfonal bravery, rendered him illuftrious to vulgar eyes; and it may be faid with truth, that the English in that age were fo thoroughly fabdued, that, like caftern flaves, they were inclined to admire even those acts of violence and tyranny, which were exercifed over themfelves, and at their own expence.

Died January 28th, 1547, anno ætatis 57, regni 37.

Hume.

§ 65. Another Character of HENRY VIII. Henry VIII. before he became corpulent, was a prince of a goodly perfonage, and com manding afpect, rather imperious than digni

of contradiction and advice. He was rath, arrogant, prodigal, vain-glorious, pedantic, and fuperftitious. He delighted in pomp and pageantry, the baubles of a weak mind. His pallions, foothed by adulation, rejected all reftraint; and as he was an utter ftranger to the finer feelings of the foul, he gratified then at the expence of juftice and humanity, without remorfe or compunction.

He wrefted the fupremacy from the bishop of Rome, partly on confcientious motives, and partly from reasons of state and convepiency. He fuppreffed the monafteries, in order to fupply his extravagance with their poils; but he would not have made those acquifitions, had they not been productive of advantage to his nobility, and agreeable to the nation in general. He was frequently af war; but the greatest conqueft he obtained, was over his own parliament and people.-Religious difputes had divided them into two factions. As he had in his power to make favour with the moft obfequious fubmifhion, either feale prepondeate, cach courted his and, in trimming the balance, he kept them both in fubjection. In accuftoming them to thefe abject compliances, they degenerated

into flaves, and he from their prostitution | fpiring the death of the other counsellors, he acquired the most despotic authority. He upon that abandoned him. became rapacious, arbitrary, froward, fretful, and fo eruel, that he feemed to delight in the blood of his fubjects.

He never feemed to betray the leaft fymptoms of tenderness in his difpofition; and, as we already obferved, his kindnefs to Cranmer was an inconfiftence in his character. He feemed to live in defiance of cenfure, whether ecclefiaftical or fecular; he died in apprehenfion of futurity; and was buried at Windfor, with idle proceflions and childish pageantry, which in thofe days paffed for real tafte and magnificence. Smollett.

Barnaby Fitz Patrick was his favourite: and when he fent him to travel, he writ oft to him to keep good company, to avoid excess and luxury; and to improve himself in thofe things that might render him capable of employment at his return. He was afterwards made Lord of Upper Offory in Ireland, by Queen Elizabeth, and did answer the hopes this excellent king had of him. He was very merciful in his nature, which appeared in his unwillingnets to fign the warrant for burning the maid of Kent. He took great care to have his debts well paid, reckoning that a prince who breaks his faith, and lofes his credit, has thrown up that which he can never recover, and made himself liable to perpetual diftruft, and extreme contempt. He took special care of the petitions that were given him by poor and oppreft people. But his great zeal for religion crowned all the reft-it was not an angry het about it that actuated him, but it was a true tendernefs of confcience, founded on the love of God and his neighbour. Thefe extraordinary qualities, fet off with great fweetnefs and affability, made him univerfally beloved by his people. Burnet.

§ 66. Character of EDWARD VI. Thus died Edward VI. in the fixteenth year of his age. He was counted the wonder of his time; he was not only learned in the tongues and the liberal fciences, but he knew well the ftate of his kingdom. He kept a table-book, in which he had written the charafters of all the eminent men of the nation : he ftudied fortification, and understood the raint well. He knew the harbours in all his dominions, with the depth of the water, and way of coming into them. He understood foreign affairs fo well, that the ambassadors who were fent into England, published very § 67. Another Character of EDWARD VI. extraordinary things of him, in all the courts All the English hiftorians dwell with pleaof Europe. He had great quicknefs of ap-fure on the excellencies of this young prince, prehenfion; but, being diftruftful of his me- whom the flattering promifes of hope, joined mory, he took notes of every thing he heard to many real virtues, had made an object of (that was confiderable) in Greek characters, the most tender affections of the public. He that thofe about him might not understand poffeffed mildnefs of difpofition, application what he writ, which he afterwards copied to findy and bufinefs, a capacity to learn out fair in the journal that he kept. His and judge, and an attachment to equity and virtues were wonderful: when he was madeiaftice. He feems only to have contracted, to believe that his uncle was guilty of con- from his education, and from the age in

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which he lived, too much of the narrow pre- | in drawing the character of this princess. poffeffion in matters of religion, which made She poffeffed few qualities either eftimable or him incline fomewhat to bigotry and perfccu- amiable, and her perfon was as little engaging tion. But as the bigotry of Proteftants, lefs as her behaviour and addrefs. Obftinacy, governed by priests, lies under more reftraints bigotry, violence, cruelty, malignity, revenge, than that of Catholics, the effects of this and tyranny; every circumftance of her chamalignant quality were the lefs to be appre-racter took a tincture from her bad temper hended, if a longer life had been granted to young Edward.

Hume.

and narrow understanding. And amidst that complication of vices which entered into her compofition, we fhall fcarcely find any virtue but fincerity; a quality which the feems to have maintained throughout her whole life, except in the beginning of her reign, when the neceffity of her affairs obliged her to make fome promifes to the Proteftants, which the certainly never intended to perform. But in thefe cafes, a weak bigoted woman, under the government of priests, easily finds cafuiftry fufficient to juftify to herself the violation of an engagement. She appears, as well as her father, to have been fufceptible of fome attachment of friendship; and that without caprice and inconftancy, which were so remarkable in the conduct of that monarch. To which we may add, that in many circumftances of her life, the gave indications of refolution and vigour of mind; a quality which feems to have been inherent in her family.

§ 68. Another Character of EDWARD VI. Edward is celebrated by hiftorians for the beauty of his person, the fweetnefs of his difpofition, and the extent of his knowledge. By the time he had attained his fixteenth year, he understood the Greck, Latin, French, Italian, and Spanish languages; he was verfed in the fciences of logic, mufic, natural philofophy, and mafter of all theological difputes; infomuch, that the famous Cardanus, in his return from Scotland, vifiting the English court, was aftonished at the progrefs he had made in learning; and afterwards extolled him in his works as a prodigy of nature. Notwithstanding these encomiums, he feems to have had an ingredient of bigotry in his difpofition, that would have rendered him very troublesome to thofe of tender confciences, who might have happened to differ with him in religious principles; nor can we reconcile either to his boafted humanity or penetration, § 70. Another Character of MARY. his confenting to the death of his uncle, who had ferved him faithfully; unlefs we fuppofe We have already obferved, that the charac he wanted refolution to withstand the impor- teristics of Mary were bigotry and revenge; tunities of his minifters, and was deficient in we thall only add, that the was proud, imthat vigour of mind, which often exifts inde-perious, froward, avaricious, and wholly dependent of learning and culture. ititute of every agrecable qualification.

Smollett.

$69. Character of MARY.

It is not neceffary to employ many words

Died Nov. 7, A. D. 1558. Hume.

Smollest.

§ 71. Character of ELIZABETH. Elizabeth had a great deal of wit, and

was