re base for perpetual tranquillity of his
conscience his Highness hath expressly resolved and determined with himself
to build and establish all his acts, deeds, and cogitations touching this
matter; without God did build the house, in vain they laboured that went
about to build it; and all actions grounded upon that immovable fundament
of truth, must needs therein be firm, sound, whole, perfect, and worthy of
a Christian man; which if truth were put apart, they could not for the same
reason be but evil, vain, slipper, uncertain, and in nowise permanent or
endurable." He then laboured to urge on the pope the duty of
straightforward dealing; and dwelt in words which have a sad interest for
us (when we consider the manner in which the subject of them has been dealt
with) on the judgment bar, not of God only, but of human posterity, at
which his conduct would be ultimately tried.

"The causes of private persons dark and doubtful be sometimes," the king
said, "pretermitted and passed over as things more meet at some seasons to
be dissimuled than by continual strife and plea to nourish controversies.
Yet since all people have their eyes conject upon princes, whose acts and
doings not only be observed in the mouths of them that now do live, but
also remain in such perpetual memory to our posterity [so that] the evil,
if any there be, cannot but appear and come to light, there is no reason
for toleration, no place for dissimulation; but [there is reason] more
deeply, highly, and profoundly to penetrate and search for the truth, so
that the same may vanquish and overcome, and all guilt, craft, and
falsehood clearly be extirpate and reject."

I am anticipating the progress of the story in making these quotations; for
the main burden of the despatch concerns a forged document which had been
introduced by the Roman lawyers to embarrass the process, and of which I
shall by-and-bye have to speak directly; but I have desired to illustrate
the spirit in which Henry entered upon the general question--assuredly a
more calm and rational one than historians have usually represented it to
be. In dealing with the obstacle which had been raised, he displayed a most
efficient mastery over himself, although he did not conclude without
touching the pith of the matter with telling clearness. The secretary was
to take some opportunity of speaking to the pope privately; and of warning
him, "as of himself," that there was no hope that the king would