_MEN WITH A MISSION._ WILLIAM TYNDALE. MEN WITH A MISSION. NEW SERIES OF POPULAR BIOGRAPHIES. _Illustrated. Small Crown 8vo. Price Fifty Cents each._ HENRY MORTON STANLEY. CHARLES KINGSLEY. HUGH LATIMER. WILLIAM TYNDALE. _In Preparation._ JOHN HOWARD. ABRAHAM LINCOLN. LORD LAWRENCE. DAVID LIVINGSTONE. [Illustration: WILLIAM TYNDALE.] _MEN WITH A MISSION._ WILLIAM TYNDALE. BY REV. JAMES J. ELLIS, AUTHOR OF “THE MESSAGES OF CHRIST,” “HARNESS FOR A PAIR,” “HENRY MORTON STANLEY,” ETC. ETC. “Thou hast left behind Powers that will work for thee; earth, air, and skies, There’s not a breathing of the common wind That will forget thee; thou hast great allies; Thy friends are exultations, agonies, And love, and man’s unconquerable mind.” --WORDSWORTH. NEW YORK: THOMAS WHITTAKER, 2 & 3 BIBLE HOUSE. _PRINTED IN ENGLAND._ PREFACE. “I have surveyed most of the learning found among the sons of men,” said the learned Seldon, “but I can stay my soul upon none of them but the Bible;” and precisely similar has been the experience of many others. The Bible is in the Scripture declared to be that which the Holy Spirit employs both in conversion and in sanctification; it is therefore needful above all things that we should know our Bibles well. Nothing can compensate for the want of this, and at the same time a spiritual knowledge of the Scriptures will often atone for natural deficiencies, both in mental equipment and in social position. The man, therefore, who brings the Bible to bear efficiently upon the hearts and lives of his fellow-creatures is the true servant of God; what then shall be said in praise of William Tyndale? Before his day such copies of Wycliffe’s Version as still survived could only be consulted in secret; they were but few in number, and the language in which they were written had become obsolete. Tyndale conceived the bold idea of translating the Scriptures so that the poorest might be able to obtain and to understand them. For this noble object he lived and died, and Englishmen should never forget that the priceless boon of an open Bible, which is the secret source of our national liberties and success, was paid for by Tyndale with his blood. Tyndale does not regret the purchase now, for although duty exacts a heavy fine, it more than repays those who give up all things that they may possess her. HARRINGAY, LONDON N., 1890. CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. _THE APOSTLE OF ENGLAND; OR, THE MAN WHO IS FORGOTTEN BECAUSE OF HIS SUCCESS._ PAGE “PUT IT ON THE SHELF!”--A BLANK WORLD--CLEVERNESS NO CREDIT--THE FARMER’S SON--NEW LIGHT FROM THE OLD CHRONICLES--THE MIDNIGHT DARKNESS AND THE MORNING STAR 1 CHAPTER II. _THE SCHOLAR WHO OUTSTRIPPED HIS TEACHER._