[350]’Tis true, he was for building colleges, repairing churches, settling statutes for cathedrals, annexing commendams to small bishoprics, settling of tithes, building hospitals, aggrandizing the power, and encreasing the riches of the clergy; and these things may be esteemed arguments of his piety, and of “the greatness of his soul above the ordinary extent of mankind:” This I do not take on me to deny; but it puts me in mind of the Carthusian monk, mentioned by Philip de Comines, in his “Commentaries of the Neapolitan war:” Comines was looking on the sepulchre of John Galeacius, first duke of Milan of that name, in the Carthusian church of Pavia, who had governed with great cruelty and pride, but had been very liberal in his donations to the church and clergy. As he was viewing it, one of the monks of the order commended the virtue, and extolled the piety of Galeacius. Why, says Comines, do you thus praise him as a saint? You see drawn on his sepulchre the ensigns of many people, whom he conquered without right. “Oh,” says the monk, “it is our custom to call them saints, that have been our benefactors.” ----- Footnote 350: Com. Hist. p. ----- But let us pass on from his piety to his christian tenderness and compassion, of which there are many very remarkable instances on record. [351]The case of Mr. Prynne, I have already mentioned. Another instance is that of the Rev. Mr. Peter Smart, who, July 27, 1628, preached on the Lord’s Day against the innovations brought by Dr. Cosins into the cathedral church of Durham; such as fonts, candles, pictures, images, copes, singings, vestments, gestures, prayers, doctrines, and the like. Cosins demeaned himself during the sermon very turbulently, and immediately afterwards summoned him before the high commission; by whom he was censured by two acts of sequestration, and one of suspension. After this they unlawfully transmitted him to London, to answer there in the high commission, for the same cause, before the inquisitors general for the kingdom; who sent him back again with proper instructions to the high commission at York, where they fined him £500. committed him to jail, detained him under great bonds, excommunicated him, sequestred all his ecclesiastical livings, degraded him, “ab omni gradu et dignitate clericali;” by virtue of which degradation, his prebendship and parsonage were both taken from him, and himself kept in jail. By these oppressions his life was several times endangered, and himself and children lost and spent above fourteen thousand pounds of real estate, whereby they were utterly undone. The hand of Laud was in all this evil, as appears by the book published by Mr. Smart himself, with the title of “Canterbury’s Cruelty.” ----- Footnote 351: Com. Hist. p. 58. Notes. -----