ents in a single statute, so that they
must stand or fall together; even the King's representations effected
no alteration in this; the cardinal had to comply.

On the other hand the King's influence, if we believe himself, had all
possible success in the other affair, which was at any rate not less
weighty. 'With the intervention of the Parliament,' he continues in
the above-mentioned letter, 'we have made a law, I and the most
illustrious Queen, for the punishment of heretics and all enemies of
holy church; we have revived the old ordinances of the realm, which
will serve this purpose very well.' It was more especially the
statute against the Lollards, by which Henry V had entered into the
closest alliance with the hierarchy, that was to be re-enacted by
Parliament. Gardiner had not been able to carry it through in the
previous session, though it was known that the Queen wished it. Under
the King's influence, who was accustomed to the execution of heretics
in Spain, the Lords after some deliberation let their objections drop
and accepted the bill.

If we put together these four great Acts, the abolition of the Common
Prayer-book, the Spanish marriage, the restoration of obedience to
Rome, and the revival of the heresy laws, we could hardly doubt the
intention of the members of the government, and of the Parliament, to
return completely to the ancient political and religious state of
things. With some members such an intention may have been the
predominant one: to assume it in all, or even in the majority, would
be an error.[169]

The agreement then legalised as to ecclesiastical property, and the
abolition of the monastic system, already formed such an anomaly in
the Roman Catholic church, that the ecclesiastical condition of
England would have always retained a very abnormal character. And the
obedience expressed was by no means complete. For it should have
included above all a recognition of that right of dispensation, about
which the original quarrel had broken out, and the revocation of the
order of succession which was based on its rejection. In fact
Gardiner's intention was to bring matters to this; being besides a
great enemy and even persecutor of Elizabeth, he wished to see her
illegitimacy pronounced in due form;[170] the resolutions passed
seemed necessarily to lead to it. Men however did not proceed this
time so logically in England. They did not wish to base the future
state of the realm on Papal decr