Jon Fox (or Foxe) was born at Boston, in
Lincolnshire, in 1517, where his parents are stated to have lived
in respectable circumstances. He was deprived of his father at
an early age; and notwithstanding his mother soon married again,
he still remained under the parental roof. From an early display
of talents and inclination to learning, his friends were induced
to send him to Oxford, in order to cultivate and bring them to
maturity.
During his residence at this place, he was
distinguished for the excellence and acuteness of his intellect,
which was improved by the emulation of his fellow collegians,
united to an indefatigable zeal and industry on his part. These
qualities soon gained him the admiration of all; and as a reward
for his exertions and amiable conduct, he was chosen fellow of
Magdalen College; which was accounted a great honor in the university,
and seldom bestowed unless in cases of great distinction. It appears
that the first display of his genius was in poetry; and that he
composed some Latin comedies, which are still extant. But he soon
directed his thoughts to a more serious subject, the study of
the sacred Scriptures: to divinity, indeed, he applied himself
with more fervency than circumspection, and discovered his partiality
to the Reformation, which had then commenced, before he was known
to its supporters, or to those who protected them; a circumstance
which proved to him the source of his first troubles.
He is said to have often affirmed that the
first matter which occasioned his search into the popish doctrine
was that he saw divers things, most repugnant in their nature
to one another, forced upon men at the same time; upon this foundation
his resolution and intended obedience to that Church were somewhat
shaken, and by degrees a dislike to the rest took place.
His first care was to look into both the
ancient and modern history of the Church; to ascertain its beginning
and progress; to consider the causes of all those controversies
which in the meantime had sprung up, and diligently to weigh their
effects, solidity, infirmities, etc.
Before he had attained his thirtieth year,
he bad studied the Greek and Latin fathers, and other learned
authors, the transactions of the Councils, and decrees of the
consistories, and had acquired a very competent skill in the Hebrew
language. In these occupations he frequently spent a considerable
part, or even the whole of the night; and in order to unbend his
mind after such incessant study, he would resort to a grove near
the college, a place much frequented by the students in the evening,
on account of its sequestered gloominess. In these solitary walks
he was often heard to ejaculate heavy sobs and sighs, and with
tears to pour forth his prayers to God. These nightly retirements,
in the sequel, gave rise to the first suspicion of his alienation
from the Church of Rome. Being pressed for an explanation of this
alteration in his conduct, he scorned to call in fiction to his
excuse; he stated his opinions; and was, by the sentence of the
college convicted, condemned as a heretic, and expelled.
His friends, upon the report of this circumstance,
were highly offended, when he was thus forsaken by his own friends,
a refuge offered itself in the house of Sir Thomas Lucy, of Warwickshire
by whom he was sent for to instruct his children. The house is
within easy walk of Stratford-on-Avon, and it was this estate
which, a few years later, was the scene of Shakespeare’s
traditional boyish poaching expedition. Fox died when Shakespeare
was three years old.
In the Lucy house Fox afterward married.
But the fear of the popish inquisitors hastened his departure
thence; as they were not contented to pursue public offenses,
but began also to dive into the secrets of private families. He
now began to consider what was best to be done to free himself
from further inconvenience, and resolved either to go to his wife’s
father or to his father-in-law.
His wife’s father was a citizen of
Coventry, whose heart was not alienated from him, and he was more
likely to be well entreated, for his daughter’s sake. He
resolved first to go to him; and, in the meanwhile, by letters,
to try whether his father-in-law would receive him or not. This
he accordingly did, and he received for answer, “that it
seemed to him a hard condition to take one into his house whom
he knew to be guilty and condemned for a capital offense; neither
was he ignorant what hazard he should undergo in so doing; he
would, however, show himself a kinsman, and neglect his own. danger.
If he would alter his mind, he might come, on condition to stay
as long as he himself desired; but if he could not be persuaded
to that, he must content himself with a shorter stay, and not
bring him and his mother into danger.”
No condition was to be refused; besides,
be was secretly advised by his mother to come, and not to fear
his father-in-law’s severity; “for that, perchance,
it was needful to write as he did, but when occasion should be
offered, he would make recompense for his words with his actions.”
In fact he was better received by both of them than he had hoped
for.
By these means he kept himself concealed
for some time, and afterwards made a journey to London, in the
latter part of the reign of Henry VIII. Here, being unknown, he
was in much distress, and was even reduced to the danger of being
starved to death, bad not Providence interfered in his favor in
the following manner:
One day as Mr. Fox was sitting in St. Paul’s
Church, exhausted with long fasting, a stranger took a seat by
his side, and courteously saluted him, thrust a sum of money into
his hand, and bade him cheer up his spirits; at the same time
informing him, that in a few days new prospects would present
themselves for his future subsistence. Who this stranger was,
he could never learn; but at the end of three days he received
an invitation from the Duchess of Richmond to undertake the tuition
of the children of the Earl of Surry who, together with his father,
the Duke of Norfolk, was imprisoned in the Tower, by the jealousy
and ingratitude of the king. The children thus confided to his
care were, Thomas, who succeeded to the dukedom; Henry, afterwards
Earl of Northampton; and Jane who became Countess of Westmoreland.
In the performance of his duties, be fully satisfied the expectations
of the duchess, their aunt.
These halcyon days continued during the
latter part of the reign of Henry VIII and the five years of the
reign of Edward VI until Mary came to the crown, who, soon after
her accession, gave all power into the hands of the papists.
At this time Mr. Fox, who was still under
the protection of his noble pupil, the duke, began to excite the
envy and hatred of many, particularly Dr. Gardiner, then Bishop
of Winchester, who in the sequel became his most violent enemy.
Mr. Fox, aware of this, and seeing the dreadful
persecutions then commencing, began to think of quitting the kingdom.
As soon as the duke knew his intention, he endeavored to persuade
him to remain; and his arguments were so powerful, and given with
so much sincerity, that he gave up the thought of abandoning his
asylum for the present.
At that time the Bishop of Winchester was
very intimate with the duke (by the patronage of whose family
he had risen to the dignity he then enjoyed,) and frequently waited
on him to present his service when he several times requested
that he might see his old tutor. At first the duke denied his
request, at one time alleging his absence, at another, indisposition.
At length it happened that Mr. Fox, not knowing the bishop was
in the house, entered the room where the duke and he were in discourse;
and seeing the bishop, withdrew. Gardiner asked who that was;
the duke answered that he was “his physician, who was somewhat
uncourtly, as being new come from the university.” “I
like his countenance and aspect very well,” replied the bishop,
“and when occasion offers, I will send for him.” The
duke understood that speech as the messenger of some approaching
danger; and now himself thought it high time for Mr. Fox to quit
the city, and even the country. He accordingly caused every, thing
necessary for his flight to be provided in silence, by sending
one of his servants to Ipswich to hire a bark, and prepare all
the requisites for his departure. He also fixed on the house of
one of his servants, who was a farmer, where he might lodge until
the wind became favorable; and everything being in readiness,
Mr. Fox took leave of his noble patron, and with his wife, who
was pregnant at the time, secretly departed for the ship.
The vessel was scarcely under sail, when
a most violent storm came on, which lasted all day and night,
and the next day drove them back to the port from which they had
departed. During the time that the vessel had been at sea, an
officer, dispatched by the bishop of Winchester, had broken open
the house of the farmer with a warrant to apprehend Mr. Fox wherever
he might be found, and bring him back to the city. On hearing
this news he hired a horse, under the pretense of leaving the
town immediately; but secretly returned the same night, and agreed
with the captain of the vessel to sail for any place as soon as
the wind should shift, only desiring him to proceed, and not to
doubt that God would prosper his undertaking. The mariner suffered
himself to be persuaded, and within two days landed his passengers
in safety at Nieuport.
After spending a few days in that place,
Mr. Fox set out for Basle, where he found a number of English
refugees, who had quitted their country to avoid the cruelty of
the persecutors, with these he associated, and began to write
his “History of the Acts and Monuments of the Church,”
which was first published in Latin at Basle in 1554, and in English
in 1563.
In the meantime the reformed religion began
again to flourish in England, and the popish faction much to decline,
by the death of Queen Mary; which induced the greater number of
the Protestant exiles to return to their native country.
Among others, on the accession of Elizabeth
to the throne, Mr. Fox returned to England; where, on his arrival,
he found a faithful and active friend in his late pupil, the Duke
of Norfolk, until death deprived him of his benefactor: after
which event, Mr. Fox inherited a pension bequeathed to him by
the duke, and ratified by his son, the Earl of Suffolk.
Nor did the good man’s successes stop
here. On being recommended to the queen by her secretary of state,
the great Cecil, her majesty granted him the prebendary of Shipton,
in the cathedral of Salisbury, which was in a manner forced upon
him; for it was with difficulty that be could be persuaded to
accept it.
On his resettlement in England, he employed
himself in revising and enlarging his admirable Martyrology. With
prodigious pains and constant study he completed that celebrated
work in eleven years. For the sake of greater correctness, he
wrote every line of this vast book with his own hand, and transcribed
all the records and papers himself. But, in consequence of such
excessive toil, leaving no part of his time free from study, nor
affording himself either the repose or recreation which nature
required, his health was so reduced, and his person became so
emaciated and altered, that such of his friends and relations
as only conversed with him occasionally, could scarcely recognize
his person. Yet, though he grew daily more exhausted, he proceeded
in his studies as briskly as ever, nor would he be persuaded to
diminish his accustomed labors. The papists, foreseeing bow detrimental
his history of their errors and cruelties would prove to their
cause, had recourse to every artifice to lessen the reputation
of his work; but their malice was of signal service, both to Mr.
Fox himself, and to the Church of God at large, as it eventually
made his book more intrinsically valuable, by inducing him to
weigh, with the most scrupulous attention, the certainty of the
facts which he recorded, and the validity of the authorities from
which he drew his information.
But while he was thus indefatigably employed
in promoting the cause of truth, he did not neglect the other
duties of his station; he was charitable, humane, and attentive
to the wants, both spiritual and temporal, of his neighbors. With
the view of being more extensively useful, although he had no
desire to cultivate the acquaintance of the rich and great on
his own account, he did not decline the friendship of those in
a higher rank who proffered it, and never failed to employ his
influence with them in behalf of the poor and needy. In consequence
of his well-known probity and charity, he was frequently presented
with sums of money by persons possessed of wealth, which he accepted
and distributed among those who were distressed. He would also
occasionally attend the table of his friends, not so much for
the sake of pleasure, as from civility, and to convince them that
his absence was not occasioned by a fear of being exposed to the
temptations of the appetite. In short his character as a man and
as a Christian was without reproach.
Although the recent recollection of the
persecutions under Bloody Mary gave bitterness to his pen, it
is singular to note that he was personally the most conciliatory
of men, and that while he heartily disowned the Roman Church in
which he was born, he was one of the first to attempt the concord
of the Protestant brethren. In fact, he was a veritable apostle
of toleration.
When the plague or pestilence broke out
in England, in 1563, and many forsook their duties, Fox remained
at his post, assisting the friendless and acting as the almsgiver
of the rich. It was said of him that he could never refuse help
to any one who asked it in the name of Christ. Tolerant and large-hearted
he exerted his influence with Queen Elizabeth to confirm her intention
to no longer keep up the cruel practice of putting to death those
of opposing religious convictions. The queen held him in respect
and referred to him as “Our Father Foxe.”
Mr. Fox had joy in the fruits of his work
while he was yet alive. It passed through four large editions
before his decease, and it was ordered by the bishops to be placed
in every cathedral church in England, where it was often found
chained, as the Bible was in those days, to a lectern for the
access of the people.
At length, having long served both the Church
and the world by his ministry, by his pen, and by the unsullied
luster of a benevolent, useful, and holy life, he meekly resigned
his soul to Christ, on the eighteenth of April, 1587, being then
in the seventieth year of his age. He was interred in the chancel
of St. Giles’, Cripplegate; of which parish he had been,
in the beginning of Flizabeth’s reign, for some time vicar.
In the centuries since the decease of John Fox, other saints have undertaken to record the continuing story of the Christian Church to preserve the history of latter-day martyrs, in a manner and style worthy of the creator of this work, to the praise of Christ our Savior.
