Protestantism in England From the Times of Henry VIII - James Aitken Wylie

must divide with Henry the guilt of their murder.
The now morose and suspicious temper of the
monarch made it easy for conspirators to lead him
into crime. The darkest periods of his life, and in
particular the executions that followed the
enactment of the Six Articles, correspond with the
ascendency at court of Gardiner and his party, who
never ceased during Henry's reign to plot for the
restoration of the Papal supremacy.
Henry VIII was a great sovereign--in some
respects the greatest of the three sovereigns who
then governed Christendom. He had the wisdom to
choose able ministers, and he brought a strong
understanding and a resolute will to the execution
of grand designs. These have left their mark on the
world for good. Neither Charles nor Francis so
deeply or so beneficially affected the current of
human affairs. The policy of Charles V ruined the
great country at the head of which he stood, The
same may be said of the policy of Francis I: it
began the decline of the most civilized of the
European nations. The policy of Henry VIII
inspired, we grant, by very mixed motives, and
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