Excerpt from An Explanation of the Thirty-Nine Articles: With an Epistle Dedicatory to the Rev. E. B. Pusey, D.D The times were not favourable.for symbolizing the results of religious thought. The'reign of Elizabeth, of all the periods of English history, has suffered most from historical investigation. For a long time the assumed advocacy of certain popular and successful ideas 1nvested Elizabeth with a factitious glory, and the contrast of her reign with that of her successor's added to her fame. But truth in the long run vindi cates herself. Non s'emper pendebit inter latrones crucifixa veritas. The revelations of the State Paper Office, and still more' the confidential papers of the Spanish ambassador laid up at Simancas, have made a sad alteration in the estimate of that epoch. They exhibit a condition of things very sad hand to mouth legislation, political pyrrhonism, unbounded profligacy characterize the upper classes of England. The Queen, loving Dudley much, but power more, is found to be jealous and self-willed as her father, avaricious and selfish as Henry VII. The nobility, uncertain as to the future succession, from the Queen's reluctance to marry, are involved in constant intrigue, and desirous of opening the way for reunion with Rome 1, while the Church settlement is too recent to inspire any well founded confidence. With some noble exceptions Matthew Parker was of blameless life and great learn ing, and in later daysm Carleton, though a Puritan. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This 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.