Appointed Bishop of Worcester in 1535, he preached boldly the reformed doctrines, but lost favor at court, and when Gardiner and Bonner pushed a reactionary movement to the front, he retired from his see (1539).  Latimer lived in peaceful retirement under Edward VI, but under Mary he, with other reformers, was arrested and thrown into the Tower.  Brought to Oxford for examination, he refused to recant, and was confined for a year in the common prison, and on October 16, 1555, put to death by fire, along with Ridley, at a place opposite Balliol College, where the Martyr’s Memorial was subsequently erected.

LATIMER 1485—­1555

ON CHRISTIAN LOVE

This is my commandment, that ye love one another, as I have loved you.—­John xv., 12.

Seeing the time is so far spent, we will take no more in hand at this time than this one sentence; for it will be enough for us to consider this well, and to bear it away with us.  “This I command unto you, that ye love one another.”  Our Savior himself spake these words at His last supper:  it was the last sermon that He made unto His disciples before His departure; it is a very long sermon.  For our Savior, like as one that knows he shall die shortly, is desirous to spend that little time that He has with His friends, in exhorting and instructing them how they should lead their lives.  Now among other things that He commanded this was one:  “This I command unto you, that ye love one another.”  The English expresses as tho it were but one, “This is my commandment.”  I examined the Greek, where it is in the plural number, and very well; for there are many things that pertain to a Christian man, and yet all those things are contained in this one thing, that is, love.  He lappeth up all things in love.

Our whole duty is contained in these words, “Love together.”  Therefore St. Paul saith, “He that loveth another fulfilleth the whole law”; so it appeareth that all things are contained in this word love.  This love is a precious thing; our Savior saith, “By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye shall love one another.”

So Christ makes love His cognizance, His badge, His livery.  Like as every lord commonly gives a certain livery to his servants, whereby they may be known that they pertain unto him; and so we say, yonder is this lord’s servants, because they wear his livery:  so our Savior, who is the Lord above all lords, would have His servants known by their liveries and badge, which badge is love alone.  Whosoever now is endued with love and charity is His servant; him we may call Christ’s servant; for love is the token whereby you may know that such a servant pertaineth to Christ; so that charity may be called the very livery of Christ.  He that hath charity is Christ’s servant; he that hath not charity is the servant of the devil.  For as Christ’s livery is love and charity, so the devil’s livery is hatred, malice and discord.