A Revision of Two Letters from George Morley, Bishop of Winchester, to Jan van Vliet

soldier is shameful. But behold, suddenly, with no one thinking of a future struggle from him, he descends into the arena, he brandishes his aged limbs in a youthful manner, he congratulates himself on past victories, and he proclaims them in such a way that, not with aged prudence but with youthful levity, forgetting his own human weakness, he seems to promise himself new laurels and future triumphs.

The uncertainty of human affairs and my own weakness, which I always keep before my eyes, prevent me from imitating him in this matter. So that the reader may judge more easily, I place the arguments of the distinguished Lord, expressed in his own words, before my own responses. I am not conscious of having hidden their force anywhere. Whether I have fully satisfied them, let others judge. I know the pursuits of men and that one's own biases are not easily removed from anyone; nor is it unknown how much influence these have in bending, not to say corrupting, judgment. Hence, in our cause, I do not prejudice, nor do I boast in advance as if of a victory already won. Yet I cherish no small hope in my heart, from the goodness of the cause, from the assistance of the Holy Spirit promised to the Church, and from your humanity, reader, friend of truth, that our responses will be approved by learned and impartial judges, free from party spirit.

The distinguished author of the letters teaches us that they were written twenty-four years ago, because the latter was dated in the year 1659, and it has only come to light in this year 1684. Therefore, not for nine years only, as the poet advises, but for nearly three times nine years did he keep them with himself. I, however, have not spent even