clergy and striven to guide and influence them by the authority of his Episcopal office, if he had exhorted his suffragans to do the same, his revival might not have gone so far, but it would assuredly have rested on a firmer basis. It would have been ecclesiastical in a true sense, and would have associated discipline with the system of the Church rather than the laws of the State. If the Church of England claimed to refer to primitive antiquity for its belief and practice, surely its episcopal government should be carried on with reference to primitive methods. As it was. Laud's exercise of authority was an anomaly.
But Laud not only exercised his office as deriving its power from the State, but further held secular office in the State. This was one of the great evils of the mediæval Church, a fertile source of abuses. Yet Laud shut his eyes to its obvious dangers, and believed that civil power was best in the hands of Churchmen. Moreover, the work which Laud had set himself in the Church was more than enough for any man's energies. He could not carry the burden which he placed upon his shoulders. When much work has to be done a man is bound to be niggardly of his time; he becomes impatient of details; he delegates business which he considers unimportant. But spiritual work is all concerned with details; and he who would work for God must learn never to be in a hurry, must curb his natural impatience, must remember how tenderly God has dealt with him, must regard no time wasted which composes differences, or removes scruples, or resolves doubts, which cheers, consoles, or
