"The letters are _factious, seditious, and malicious letters, and as base as the worst of mankind could ever have invented_." "And if he be guilty of it--the greater the man is the greater the crime, and the more understanding he has, the more malicious he seems to be; for your little ordinary sort of people, that are of common mean understanding, they may be wheedled and drawn in, and surprised into such things; but men of a public figure and of some value in the world that have been taken to be men of the greatest interest and reputation in a party, it cannot be thought a hidden surprise upon them; no, it is a work of time and thought, it is a thing fixed in his very nature, and it _shows so much venom as would make one think the whole mass of his blood were corrupt_." "Here is the matter he is now accused of, and here is in it malice against the king, malice against the government, malice against both Church and State, malice against any man that bears any share in the government, indeed malice against all mankind that are not of the same persuasion with these bloody miscreants." "Here is ... the sainting of two horrid conspirators! Here is the Lord Russell sainted, that blessed martyr; Lord Russell, that good man, that excellent Protestant, he is lamented! And here is Mr. Sidney sainted, what an extraordinary man he was! Yes, surely he was a very good man--and it is a shame to think that such bloody miscreants should be sainted and lamented who had any hand in that horrid murder [the execution of Charles I.] and treason ... who could confidently bless God for their being engaged in that good cause (as they call it) which was the rebellion which brought that blessed martyr to his death. It is high time for all mankind that have any Christianity, or fear of Heaven or Hell, to bestir themselves, to rid the nation of such caterpillars, such monsters of villany as those are!" Of course the packed jury found him guilty; he was fined L10,000.[90] [Footnote 90: 7 St. Tr. 1333.]