them had been highly esteemed for zeal or piety in the Romish communion . Their opposition to the papacy was the result of their knowledge of the errors of the " holy see ." Their acquaintance with the mysteries of Babylon gave greater power to their testimonies against her .
" Now I would ask a strange question ," said Latimer . " Who is the most diligent bishop and prelate in all England ? . . . I see you listening and hearkening that I should name him . . . . I will tell you : it is the devil . . . . He is never out of his diocese ; call for him when you will , he is ever at home ; . . . he is ever at his plow . . . . Ye shall never find him idle , I warrant you . . . . Where the devil is resident , . . . there away with books , and up with candles ; away with Bibles , and up with beads ; away with the light of the gospel , and up with the light of candles , yea , at noondays ; . . . down with Christ ' s cross , up with purgatory pickpurse ; . . . away with clothing the naked , the poor , and impotent , up with decking of images and gay garnishing of stocks and stones ; up with man ' s traditions and his laws , down with God ' s traditions and His most holy word . . . . O that our prelates would be as diligent to sow the corn of good doctrine , as Satan is to sow cockle and darnel !" -- Ibid ., " Sermon of the Plough ."
The grand principle maintained by these Reformers--the same that had been held by the Waldenses , by Wycliffe , by John Huss , by Luther , Zwingli , and those who united with them--was the infallible authority of the Holy Scriptures as a rule of faith and practice . They denied the right of popes , councils , Fathers , and kings , to control the conscience in matters of religion . The Bible was their authority , and by its teaching they tested all doctrines and all claims . Faith in God and His word sustained these holy men as they yielded up their lives at the stake . " Be of good comfort ," exclaimed Latimer to his fellow martyr as the flames were about to silence their voices , " we shall this day light such a candle , by God ' s grace , in England , as I trust shall never be put out ." -- Works of Hugh Latimer , vol . 1 , p . xiii .
In Scotland the seeds of truth scattered by Columba and his co-labourers had never been wholly destroyed . For hundreds of years after the churches of England submitted to Rome , those of Scotland maintained their freedom . In the twelfth century , however , popery became established here , and in no country did it exercise a more absolute sway . Nowhere was the darkness deeper . Still there came rays of light to pierce the gloom and give promise of the coming day . The Lollards , coming from England with the Bible and the teachings of Wycliffe , did much to preserve the knowledge of the gospel , and every century had its witnesses and martyrs .
With the opening of the Great Reformation came the writings of Luther , and then Tyndale ' s English New Testament . Unnoticed by the hierarchy , these messengers silently traversed the mountains and valleys , kindling into new life the torch of truth so nearly extinguished in Scotland , and undoing the work which Rome for four centuries of oppression had done . Then the blood of martyrs gave fresh impetus to the movement . The papist leaders , suddenly awakening to the danger
151