Page:The Church of England, its catholicity and continuity.djvu/154

 remember, in Charles' days was, "Should the king or Parliament be supreme in the land." It was found that they could not work together. Another great difficulty of that time was to solve the question as to whether the Church of England should be the Church of the country. You know the opinions of the Puritans upon this point. Laud was most bitterly opposed to them. It was on this last matter that he held very strong and decided views. His whole aim was to preserve the Church of England, but, unfortunately, he was arbitrary and unwise in his method of obtaining his object. He looked upon the Church government model of Geneva with a great loathing, and he preferred to lose his head rather than agree to it. But then William Laud lived in times more troublesome than the reign of James. We must not forget that for a moment. He lived in a time when men's strongest passions were called forth by the events of the age.

William Laud came into prominence as soon as Charles I. ascended the throne. "He rose out of the mass of Court Prelates," says Mr. Green, "by his industry, his personal unselfishness, and his remarkable capacity for administration." He was born at Reading on October 7th, 1573. He was particularly fond of Oxford, his University, and he did much to elevate its standard of education. He was always the patron of learning. "His plans for the promotion of sound learning," as a writer says, "were of the most munificent kind. He had employed his fortune as well as his influence in carrying them into effect. From his own private means he had endowed a Chapel in his native town of