to omit much which he should have liked to embody in his treatise; and indeed a larger book would have been easier to write. The appearance of this volume at this moment is opportune in another respect. The celebration of the Quatercentenary of the birth of John Calvin is to be held next year. Now the Puritan movement, strictly so called, began at Frankfort and Geneva, and was not only an immediate fruit of Calvinism, but one of its most widespread, permanent, and influential consequences. The present volume, which records its history in England, may, therefore, be regarded as a contribution towards that Commemoration. Of course such works as Neal's voluminous History of the Puritans, Marsden's History of the Early and Later Puritans, Fuller's Church History of Britain, Burnet's History of the Reformation, Collier's Ecclesiastical History of Great Britain, and many other Histories both general and special, have been constantly consulted, including Strype's Annals, his Life of Archbishop Parker, and other Lives; but it will be apparent to the reader that wherever it was possible, especially for the Elizabethan period, the author has gone to such sources as the Original Letters, the Zurich Letters and other Documents published by the Parker Society, and has given his own judgment on persons and events. COLLEGE PARK, BELFAST, July 1908. |