In Knox, on
the other hand, we see foreshadowed the whole Puritan
Revolution and the scaffold of Charles I.
(1) Described by Calvin in a letter to Cecil, Knox's Works,
vol. iv.
There is little doubt in my mind that this interview was what
caused Knox to print his book without a name. (1) It was a
dangerous thing to contradict the Man of Geneva, and doubly
so, surely, when one had had the advantage of correction from
him in a private conversation; and Knox had his little flock
of English refugees to consider. If they had fallen into bad
odour at Geneva, where else was there left to flee to? It
was printed, as I said, in 1558; and, by a singular MAL-A-
PROPOS, in that same year Mary died, and Elizabeth succeeded
to the throne of England. And just as the accession of
Catholic Queen Mary had condemned female rule in the eyes of
Knox, the accession of Protestant Queen Elizabeth justified
it in the eyes of his colleagues. Female rule ceases to be
an anomaly, not because Elizabeth can "reply to eight
ambassadors in one day in their different languages," but
because she represents for the moment the political future of
the Reformation. The exiles troop back to England with songs
of praise in their mouths. The bright accidental star, of
which we have all read in the Preface to the Bible, has risen
over the darkness of Europe.
Pages:
321
322
323
324
325
326
327
328
329
330
331
332
333
334
335
336
337
338
339
340
341
342
343
344
345