Much about the fame time he wrote the hiftory of Richard III. which was likewife held in esteem ; thefe works were undertaken when he was discharged from the business of the ftate.

Roper, in his life of our author, relates, that upon an occafion in which King Henry VIII. and the Pope were parties in a caufe tryed in the StarChamber, Sir Thomas moft remarkably distinguished himself, and became fo great a favourite with that difcerning monarch, that he immediately called him into his fervice.

A fhip of the Pope's, by the violence of a form, was driven into Southampton, which the King claimed as a forfeiture; when the day of hearing came on before the Lord High Chancellor, and other Judges, More argued fo forcibly in favour of the Pope, that tho' the Judges had refolved to give it for the King, yet they altered their opinion, and confirmed the Pope's right.

In a fhort time after this, he was created a Knight, and after the death of Mr. Weston, he was made Treasurer of the Exchequer, and one of the PrivyCouncil. He was now Speaker of the Houfe of Commons, and thus exalted in dignity, the eyes of the nation were fixed upon him. Wolfey, who then governed the realm, found himfelf much grieved by the Burgeffes, becaufe all their tranfactions were fo foon made public, and wanting a fresh fubfidy, came to the Houfe in perfon to complain of this ufage. When the Burgeffes heard of his coming, it was long debated whether they fhould admit him or no, and Sir Thomas ftrongly urged that he fhould be admitted, for this reason, that if he shall find fault with the fpreading of our fecrets, (fays he) we may lay.the blame upon thofe his Grace brought with him. The proud Churchman having entered the Houfe, made a long fpeech for granting the fubfidy, and asked several of the Members opinion concerning it; they were all fo confounded as not to be able to answer, and the House

at

at laft refolved, that their Speaker fhould reply for them. Upon this, Sir Thomas fhewed that the Cardinal's coming into the Houfe was unprecedented, illegal, and a daring infult on the liberty of the Burgeffes; and that the fubfidy demanded was unneceffary; upon which Wolfey fuddenly departed in a rage, and ever after entertained fufpicions of More, and became jealous of his great abilities.

Our author's fame was not confined to England only; all the scholars and statesmen in every country in Europe had heard of, and corresponded with him, but of all ftrangers he had a particular efteem for Erafmus, who took a journey into England in order to converfe with him, and enter more minutely into the merit of one whofe learning he had fo high an opinion of. They agreed to meet first at the Lord Mayor's table, and as they were perfonally unknown, to make the experiment whether they could difcover one another by converfation. They met accordingly, and remained fome hours undif covered; at laft an argument was started in which both engaged with great keennefs. Erafmus defignedly defended the unpopular fide, but finding himself fo ftrongly preffed, that he could hold it no longer, he broke out in an extafy, Aut tu es Morus, aut Nullus. Upon which More replied, Aut tu es Erafmus, aut Diabolus, as at that time Erafmus was ftriving to defend very impious propofitions, in order to put his antagonist's ftrength to the proof.

When he lived in the city of London, as a juftice of peace, he used to attend the feffions at Newgate. There was then upon the bench a venerable old judge, who was very fevere against those who had their purfes cut; (as the phrafe then was) and told them that it was by their negligence that fo many purfe-cutters came before Sir Thomas, who was a great lover of a joke, contrived to have this judge's purfe cut

him.

from

When

from him in the feffions-houfe by a felon. the felon was arraigned, he told the court, that if he were permitted to speak to one of the judges in private, he could prove his innocence to them; they indulged him in his request, and he made choice of this old judge, and while he whispered fomething in his ear, he flily cut away his purfe; the judge returned to the bench, and the felon made a fign to Sir Thomas of his having accomplished the scheme. Sir Thomas moved the court, that each of them fhould bestow fome alms on a needy person who then food falfly accufed, and was a real object of compaffion. The motion was agreed to, and when the old man came to put his hand in his purfe, he was aftonished to find it gone, and told the court, that he was fure he had it when he came there. What, fays More in a pleasant manner, do you charge any of us with felony? The judge beginning to be angry, our facetious author defired the felon to return his purfe, and advised the old man never to be fo bitter against innocent mens negligence, when he himself could not keep his purse safe in that open affembly.

Although he lived a courtier, and was much concerned in business, yet he never neglected his family at home, but inftructed his daughters in all useful learning, and converfed familiarly with them; he was remarkably fond of his eldest daughter Margaret, as fhe had a greater capacity and fprightlier genius than the reft. His children often ufed to tranflate out of Latin into English, and out of English into Latin; and Dr. Stapleton obferves, that he hath feen an apology of Sir Thomas More's to the university of Oxford, in defence of learning, turned into Latin by one of his daughters, and tranflated again into English by another, Margaret, whofe wit was fuperior to the reft, writ a treatise on the four laft things, which Sir Thomas declared was finer than his. She compofed

feveral

feveral Orations, especially one in answer to Quintilian, defending a rich man, whom he accufed for having poisoned a poor man's bees with certain venomous flowers in his garden, fo eloquent and nervous, that it may juftly rival Quintilian himself. She alfo tranflated Eufebius out of Greek.

Tho' Sir Thomas was thus involved in public affairs and domeftic concerns, yet he found leisure to write many books, either against Heretics, or of a devotional caft; for at that time, Lutheranism, which he reckoned Herefy, began to diffuse itself over all Germany and Flanders. He built a chapel in his parish-church at Chelsea, which he conftantly attended in the morning; and hired a house allo for many aged people in the fame parish, which he turned into an hofpital, and supported at his own expence. He at laft rofe to the dignity of Lord High Chancellor, upon the fall of Wolfey, and while he fat as the Chief Judge of the nation in one court, his father, aged upwards of ninety, fat as Chief Justice in the King's Bench; a circumftance which never before, or fince, happened *.

The people foon found the difference between the intolerable pride of Wolfey, and the gentleness and humility of More; he permitted every one to approach him without referve; he dispatched bufinefs with great affiduity, and fo cleared the court of tedious fuits, that he more than once came to the Bench, and calling for a caufe, there was none to try. As no dignity could inspire him with pride, fo no application to the most important affairs could divert him from fallies of humour, and a pleasantry of behaviour. It once happened, that a beggarwoman's little dog, which she had loft, was presented

* 'Tis faid, that every day, as Sir Thomas went to the bench, after he was Chancellor, he kneeled before his father, and craved his bleffing

to

to lady More, of which she was very fond'; but at laft the beggar getting notice where the dog was, complained to Sir Thomas as he was fitting in his hall, that his lady witheld her dog from her; prefently the lady was fent for, and the dog brought with her, which he taking in his hand, caufed his wife to stand at the upper end of the hall, and the beggar at the other; he then bad each of them call the dog, which when they did, the dog went prefently to the beggar, forfaking the lady. When he faw this, he bad his lady be contented, for it was none of hers. The Chancellor then gave the woman a piece of gold, and bid her be careful of her dog for the future.

A friend of his had spent much time in compofing a book, and went to Sir Thomas to have his opinion of it; he defired him to turn it into rhime; which at the expence of many years labour he at laft accomplished, and came again to have his opinion. Yea marry, fays he, now it is fomewhat ; now it is rhime, but before it was neither rhime nor reafon.

But fortune, which had been long propitious to Sir Thomas, began now to change fides, and try him as well with affliction as profperity, in both which characters his behaviour, integrity, and courage, were irreproachable. The amorous monarch Henry VIII. at last obtained, from his Parliament and Council, a divorce from his wife, and being paffionately fond of Anna Bullen, he mar ried her, and declared her Queen of England: This marriage Sir Thomas had always oppofed, and held it unlawful for his Sovereign to have another wife during his first wife's life. The Queen, who was of a petulant difpofition, and elated with her new dignity, could not withold her refentment against him, but animated all her relations, and the parties inclined to the proteftant intereft, to perfecute him with rigour. Not long after the divorce, the Council