him is that he should not, to keep his place, deliberately act contrary to what he believes to be wise or knows to be right. In his general conduct of politics Wolsey was true to his principles, and though occasionally thwarted, he still pursued the same ends. The matter of the divorce was sprung upon him, and it would have been well for Wolsey's fame if he had retired rather than involve himself in the unworthy proceedings to which it led. But the temptation to all men to think themselves necessary in the sphere which they have made their own is a subtle one; and those who begin by hoping that they may minimise inevitable mischief, end by being dragged into the mire. To a statesman this temptation is great in proportion to the largeness of his ultimate aim. He resents that his schemes should be ruined by a temporary derangement of the perspective of affairs; he believes that his practised hand can easily solve a trumpery difficulty; the excellence of his intentions in the long-run justifies an occasional sacrifice on the shrine of present necessity. If he does some things amiss, after all he is not responsible for them; they are disagreeable incidents in his tenure of office. So Wolsey regarded the divorce; and he is not greatly to be blamed for agreeing to promote it. He saw great national advantages in a divorce; he knew that it would be well for England if Henry VIII. left male issue; he did not like the political influence of Katharine; he saw that Henry was not likely to be happy in her society. It would have been difficult for him to find in the proposal itself a sufficient reason for withdrawing from politics even if he could have done so with safety. Not even Wolsey could foresee the king's obstinacy and tenacity of purpose, the depth of meanness to which he would sink, and to which he would drag all around him. Wolsey found himself powerless to resist, and the growing consciousness of moral turpitude practised to no purpose degraded him in his own eyes and robbed him of his strength. When once the divorce question was started Wolsey was pushed on to his ruin by a power of imperious wickedness which debased others without losing its own self-respect. The dictates of public opinion are, after all, not so very different from the commands of an absolute king. Both may destroy their victims, and go on their own way with heads erect.