Richard Pace (pronounced "Pacey") was an ambassador and courtier in the service of King Henry VIII. He also acted as the king's secretary. On the surface, Pace enjoyed a successful, even brilliant, political career that combined humanist leanings with political success. He belonged to the generation of younger, reforming humanists who entered government service and befriended such luminaries as John Colet, Desiderius Erasmus, and Sir Thomas More. Pace acted on the king's behalf in several delicate diplomatic missions, including arguing for Henry's attempt to become the Holy Roman Emperor; he was appointed (though did not serve) as reader in Greek at Cambridge; he was granted a series of highly lucrative benefices, including the deanery of St. Paul's; and attended the Field of the Cloth of Gold, where he preached a sermon, later published, on the benefits of universal peace. He devoted his few moments of leisure to learned...