He lost no time. Left perfectly free he went and came whithersoever he would, and was allowed to defend his opinions without any obstacle being thrown in his way. This was part of the plot. If the archbishop himself were capable of some kindly feeling, his nephew David and several others were pitiless. They wished Hamilton to speak, and to speak a good deal; he must be taken in the very fact, that they might dare to put him to death. Among those who listened to him there were present, without his being aware of it, some who took notes of his sayings and immediately made their report. His enemies were not satisfied with letting him move about freely in private houses, but even the halls of the university were opened to him; he might ‘teach there and discuss there openly,’ as an eyewitness tells us,[76] respecting the doctrines, the sacraments, the rites and the administration of the Church. Many people were pleased to hear this young noble announce, with the permission of the primate of Scotland, dogmas so strange. ‘They err,’ said Hamilton to his audience, ‘whose religion consists in men’s merits, in traditions, laws, canons, and ceremonies, and who make little or no mention of the faith of Christ. They err who make the Gospel to be a law, and Christ to be a Moses. To put the law in the place of the Gospel is to put on a mourning gown in the feast of a marriage.’[77] Then he repeated what he had already asserted at Marburg, what Luther had said, what Jesus Christ had said:--‘It is not good works which make a good man; but it is a good man who makes good works.’[78] It was above all for this proposition, so Christian, so clear, that he was to be attacked. The enemies of the young reformer exulted when they heard him avow principles so opposed to those of Rome; but desirous of compromising him still further, they engaged him in private conversations, in which they tried hard to draw him to the extreme of his anti-Romish convictions. Nevertheless, there were among his hearers righteous men who loved this young Scotchman, so full of love for God and for men, who went to his house, confided to him their doubts, and desired his guidance. He received them with kindliness, frequently invited them to his table, and sought to do good to them all. [Sidenote: HIS DISCUSSION WITH ALESIUS.]