N20568:5166
The new and complete book of martyrs; or, An universal history of martyrdom: being Fox's Book of martyrs, revised and corrected, with additions and great improvements. : Containing an authentic account of the lives, persecutions and sufferings of the holy martyrs; and the many dreadful persecutions against the Church of Christ in all parts of the world, by pagans, Jews, Turks, papists, and others, from earliest ages of the church to the present period. ... The whole forming at once a general Christian martyrology, and a complete history of persecutions. / By the Rev. Mr. John Fox, M.A. late of Magdalen College, Oxford. ; Now revised, corrected and improved, with many additional articles, relating to the acts and monuments of the church. By Paul Wright, D.D. ; Embellished with forty elegant copper plate engravings. ; In two volumes. Vol. I[-II].The new and complete book of martyrs; or, An universal history of martyrdom: being Fox's Book of marytrs, revised and corrected, with additions and great improvements. : Containing an authentic account of the lives, persecutions and sufferings of the holy martyrs; and the many dreadful persecutions against the Church of Christ in all parts of the world, by pagans, Jews, Turks, papists, and others, from earliest ages of the church to the present period. ... The whole forming at once a general Christian martyrology, and a complete history of persecutions. / By the Rev. Mr. John Fox, M.A. late of Magdalen College, Oxford. ; Now revised, corrected and improved, with many additional articles, relating to the acts and monuments of the church. By Paul Wright, D.D. ; Embellished with forty elegant copper plate engravings. ; In two volumes. Vol. I[-II].
New-York: printed by William Durell, 1794
Title page typeset from the transcription.
Modern spelling is a reading aid: the words are the author’s, only the spelling is modernized. Original shows the page as printed, with the transcription marks.
J. HALES. I thank your lordship: and as for my vocation, being both a burden and a charge more than ever I desired to take upon me; whensoever it shall please the queen's highness to ease me thereof, I shall most humbly with due content obey the same; and so he departed from the bar.
A few days after, Mr. Hales, at the command of the bishop, was committed to the King's-Bench, where he remained constant until Lent; then he was removed to the Compter in Bread-street, and from thence to the Fleet.
BEING in the Fleet, what it was that he had granted the bishops, by their fraudulent assaults and persuasions, (namely, of Dr. Day, bishop of Chester, and of judge Portman, as it is thought, overcome at last) I have not to say. This is certain, that shortly after, he was brought to great repentance and terror of conscience: insomuch, that for very anguish of heart he was ready to kill himself with his penknife when he was in prison.
IT happened when supper-time came that he should be called down, but he having little or no stomach to eat or drink, went immediately to bed, where he lay all night sobbing and groaning, and took little rest or sleep. At length when morning came, about six o'clock, he sent his servant for a cup of beer, under pretence as though he was thirsty and desirous to drink; whether this cause were true or feigned, is unknown; but his man was scarce got out of the chamber, when he with his ⟨p. 496⟩penknife had wounded himself in divers places of his body, and, no doubt, intended to destroy himself; but his man meeting the butler, just when he had passed the chamber-door, the latter was desired to fill the drink, and he taking the cup, the other returned again unto his master, at the very time when he was working his own destruction; whereby Mr. Hales was hindered of his purpose. When the bishop of Winchester had knowledge of it, he straightway thereby took occasion to blaspheme the doctrine of the gospel, which he openly called the doctrine of desperation. Mr. Hales being within a while after recovered of those wounds, and delivered out of prison, returned home to his house; where he, either for the greatness of his sorrow, or for want of good counsel, or for that he would avoid the necessity of hearing mass, having all things set in order, a good while before that, pertaining to his last will and testament, casting himself into a shallow river, was drowned therein.
THE unhappy end of this worthy judge was the cause of great sorrow and grief to all good men, and it likewise gave occasion to some divines to doubt with themselves, whether he was reprobate or saved. But notwithstanding God's judgments be secret, and we likewise in doubt upon what intent he did thus punish himself; neither again is any man certain, whether he did repent or not before the last breath went out of his body; I think (saith Mr. Fox) their opinion is more indifferent herein, who do rather disallow the example of the deed, than despair of his salvation.
OTHERWISE, if we will judge all those to hell that have departed the world after this sort, how many examples have we, in the first persecutions of the church, of those men and women, who being registered in the works of worthy writers, have notwithstanding their praise and commendation? Or what shall we think of those young men, who being sought for to do sacrifice to idols, did cast themselves down headlong, and break their own necks, to avoid such horrible pollutions of themselves? What shall we say of those virgins of Antioch, who, to the end they might not defile themselves with uncleanliness and idolatry, through the persuasion of their mother, casting themselves headlong into a river together with their mother, did destroy themselves, although not in the same water, yet after the same manner of drowning as this Mr. Hales did? What shall we say of the other two sisters, who for the same reason did violently throw themselves into the sea, as Eusebius doth record? In whom though perchance there was no less confidence to bear out the pains which should be ministered unto them by the wicked, yet, their good desire to keep their faith and religion unspotted was commended and praised.
WE mention these examples neither to excuse nor to defend the heinous act of judge Hales, which we could wish might be drowned in oblivion: and because we do not know, nor are we able to comprehend the bottomless depth of the graces and mercies which are in Christ Jesus our Saviour, we will leave therefore the final judgment of him, to the determination of him who is appointed judge both of the quick and dead.
HAD faith and piety sincere conjoined,
HAD faith and piety sincere conjoin'd,
Adorned the moral virtues of thy mind,
Adorn'd the moral virtues of thy mind,
Thy body sound and strong would yet remain,
And thou 'mongst saints the chiefest place would gain.
But who so leads his life from sin so free,
That all his actions unpolluted be?
Then seeing blemishes deform the best
Thy own endeavour do, commit to God the rest.
