An Introductory Sketch to the Martin Marprelate Controversy, 1588-1590 (Classic Reprint)

Excerpt from An Introductory Sketch to the Martin Marprelate Controversy, 1588-1590It is in this matter of Civil Rights that the martin marprelate tracts are so important in our history. In many respects, they were the attempt of Wit to fight (though at desperate odds) against Cruelty for permission to worship god according to the dictates of Conscience.Whatever frenzies or narrow-mindedness may be chargeable to the Puritans, they were undoubtedly the Founders of our present freedom: while the Bishops and their entourage, with all their patristic learning and general culture, were the supporters of arbitrary power and the active instruments of the people's repression. No amount of historical research can obliterate this distinction.It is important to remember that a Bishop after the Restoration was but a shadow of what a Bishop had been, before the Long Parliament broke the rod of their oppression. They continued to be Personages and Presences until almost our own day, but their temporal power departed for ever in the time of the Common wealth.About the PublisherForgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.comThis book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.