was the
main object sought.

At length Wolsey ruefully understood that conciliation was impossible;
and, pressed as he was by the King, was forced to insist with Campeggio
that the cause must be judicially decided without further delay. Illness,
prayerful attempts to bring one side or the other to reason, and many
other excuses for procrastination were tried, but at length Campeggio had
to confess to his colleague that the Pope's decretal, laying down the law
in the case in Henry's favour, was only a show document not to be used, or
to leave his possession for a moment; and, moreover, that no final
judgment could be given by him that was not submitted to the Pope's
confirmation. Wolsey was aghast, and wrote in rage and indignation to the
English agent with the Pope denouncing this bad faith.[67] "I see ruin,
infamy, and subversion of the whole dignity and estimation of the
Apostolic See if this course be persisted in. You see in what dangerous
times we are. If the Pope will consider the gravity of this cause, and how
much the safety of the nation depends upon it, he will see that the course
he now pursues will drive the King to adopt those remedies that are so
injurious to the Pope, and are frequently instilled into the King's mind.
Without the Pope's compliance I cannot bear up against the storm; and when
I reflect upon the conduct of his Holiness I cannot but fear lest the
common enemy of souls, seeing the King's determination, inspires the Pope
with his present fears and reluctance, which will alienate all the faith
and devotion from the Apostolic See.... It is useless for Campeggio to
think of reviving the marriage. If he did it would lead to worse
consequences. Let him therefore proceed to sentence. Prostrate at the feet
of his Holiness I most urgently beg of him to set aside all delays."

This cry, wrung evidently from Wolsey's heart at the knowledge of his own
danger, is the first articulate expression of the tremendous religious
issue that might depend upon the conduct of the various parties in the
divorce proceedings. The fire lit by Luther a few years previously had
spread apace in Germany, and had reached England. All Christendom would
soon have to range itself in two divisions, cutting athwart old national
affinities and alliances. Charles had defied Luther at the outset; and the
traditions of his Spanish house made him, the most powerful monarch in
Europe, the champion of orthodoxy. But his relations with t