“No; but men can think in silence and act with prudence,” spoke Arthur, with a touch of sharpness in his tone.  “I would that you thinkers, who stand in peril of being excommunicated as heretics, had a little more of the wisdom of the serpent which the Scriptures enjoin upon the devout.”

“Excommunicated!” exclaimed Dalaber, and said no more.

To a devout young student, who had all his life through regularly attended the office of the Mass, and had communicated frequently, and prepared himself with confession and fasting and prayer, the idea of excommunication was terrible.  That the Mass was overlaid and corrupted in some of its rites and ceremonies Dalaber and others were beginning openly to admit; but that it was based upon the one sacrifice of the atonement, and was showing forth the Lord’s death according to His own command, none doubted for a moment; and to be debarred from sharing in that act of worship was not a thought easily to be contemplated.

Arthur saw his advantage and pressed it.

“Yes, my friend—­excommunicated.  That is the fate of those who mix themselves up in these matters, and draw down upon their heads the wrath of such men as the cardinal.  Believe me, there is such a thing as straining at a gnat and swallowing a camel.  And that is what you might chance to find you had done, were you cast out from the fold of the church for a few rash acts of ill-advised rebellion and disobedience, when all the while you might have lived in peace and safety, waiting till a better time shall come.  If this movement is of God, will He not show it and fight for it Himself?”

“Yes; but He must use men in the strife, as He uses men in His Holy Church for their offices there.  Yet, believe me, I do not desire strife.  I would rather live at peace with all men.  I have taken up a secular calling, that I may not be embroiled, and that I may be free to marry a wife when the time comes.  Always shall I love and revere those who stand for truth and righteousness; always, I pray, shall I have strength to aid them when occasion serves:  but I shall not embark on any crusade upon mine own account.  You may make your mind easy on that score, my friend.  I do not desire strife and controversy.”

Arthur looked relieved, and smiled his approval.

“Then I trust that on your account, friend Anthony, my fears are needless.  I would that I were not anxious also for our beloved friend and master, John Clarke.”

“Is he in peril?” asked Dalaber, with a startled look.  “He had no great dealings with Master Garret.”

“No; and for that I am thankful.  But there are other causes for fear.  The cardinal wrote to the chancellor that he had been told how that Oxford was becoming deeply tainted with heresy, that Garret was selling his books by scores to the clerks and students and masters, and that teaching and lectures were being held contrary to the spirit of the church.  This has stirred the hearts of the authorities deeply; they have been making close investigation, and have sent word back to the cardinal what they have found here.”