Religious Toleration in English Literature from Thomas More to John Milton
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Religious Toleration in English Literature from Thomas More to John Milton Dissertation Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Justin R. Pepperney, M.A. Graduate Program in English The Ohio State University 2009 Dissertation Committee: John N. King, Advisor Christopher Highley Luke Wilson Copyright by Justin R. Pepperney 2009 Abstract The purpose of this dissertation is to examine how the idea of religious toleration was represented in early modern English polemical prose, poetry, and other literary genres. I argue that religious toleration extends from what is permissible in spiritual practice and belief, to what is permissible in print, and texts on religious toleration encouraged writers to contemplate the status of the discourse to which they contributed. Although the study begins and ends with analysis of two authors whose writings on toleration have received extensive critical attention, this dissertation also applies the latest theoretical framework for understanding religious toleration to writers whose contribution to the literature of toleration has previously been less well documented. Thomas More‘s Utopia (1516) outlines an ideal state with apparently progressive institutions and social practices, including property shared in common, abolition of the monetary system, and religious toleration. Contrary to the view of previous criticism, however, the image of a tolerant society in More‘s Utopia is unlike the modern ideal of toleration as a foundational principal of modern pluralism. Although More also argued against toleration of heresy in his later polemical works, he engaged with the concept of toleration to contemplate the efficacy of the dialogue as a persuasive tool. ii Most importantly, More developed the ideal of polemical toleration, which held that participants in a debate should create a textual space characterized by moderately- toned language and the suspension of judgment for the time it takes to persuade and ultimately convert one‘s opponent. As this study shows, More‘s works reveal greater ambivalence towards polemical toleration than they do towards religious toleration of the heretical sects he so despised. This study also analyzes the role of religious toleration in John Foxe‘s Actes and Monuments (1563-1583). Foxe‘s work has traditionally been received as a polarizing statement on the nature of the ―true‖ and ―false‖ churches, but in its condemnation of persecution Foxe develops a tolerant authorial ethos that furthers his polemical goals. A chapter focusing on The Jesuit polemicist Robert Parsons examines how this writer too used the concepts of religious and polemical toleration for complex rhetorical purposes. Parsons employs the idea of toleration as a flexible rhetorical trope, often veiling critiques of the Elizabethan religious establishment behind appeals for toleration of English Roman Catholics. The study concludes with a discussion of John Milton‘s Areopagitica (1644), which argued for a broad freedom of the press and for toleration of Protestant sects by the government and by the Church of England. The limits of toleration circumscribed in Areopagitica are replicated in Paradise Lost (1667, 1674), which echoes the terms of the tolerationist debate in a way that tempts readers to view the rebel angels as a religious minority, only to reveal that some religious groups should not be tolerated. These chapters all show that toleration was a thoroughly vexed topic, and one that was closely tied to the art of persuasive language. iii Dedication Dedicated to William R. Pepperney (1949-2003) iv Acknowledgments I am thankful to my advisor John N. King, whose generosity and support throughout my project went above and beyond the call of duty. I cannot add more to the recognition John has earned other than to say that he is in all ways an exemplary scholar and mentor. I also wish to thank Luke Wilson and Christopher Highley, for serving on my committee and for their thoughtful instruction. Without John, Luke, and Chris, this dissertation would neither have been imagined nor completed. Drafts of my chapters greatly benefited from review of Alan Farmer and the Ohio State University Renaissance Dissertation Seminar. I also owe thanks to James K. Bracken and Geoffrey D. Smith of The Ohio State University Libraries, and to the staff of the Department of English. I am sincerely grateful for the professional training of Kitty O. Locker. I also wish to thank John D. C. Buck of the Department of English at The Pennsylvania State University, for teaching me to love Renaissance literature. More important than the education I gained at Penn State was being able to spend my time there in the company of my sister Amy and brother Michael. Finally, my deepest love and gratitude are for my parents Kenneth R. and Barbara J. Pepperney, who gave me potential, and for Wendy L. Chrisman, who helped me to fulfill it. v Vita June 1991…………………………………………………Bethel Park Senior High School 1997………………………………………A.S. Community College of Allegheny County 1999…………………………………….B.A. English, The Pennsylvania State University 2001……………………………………………..M.A. English, The Ohio State University 1999 to 2005………….……………Graduate Teaching Assistant, Department of English, The Ohio State University 2005 to 2007……………………………Graduate Teaching Assistant, The Center for the Study and Teaching of Writing, The Ohio State University 2007 – present……………………………Mortgage Officer, Chase Home Finance LLC Publications ―Cruel Handling: Reading Hands in Actes and Monuments‖ Forthcoming in Actes of Reading: Theorizing Reading and Interpretation in John Foxe‟s Actes and Monuments. Ed. Thomas P. Anderson and Ryan Netzley. Delaware: University of Delaware Press, 2009. ―The Elizabethan Jesuits and Religious Toleration.‖ Reformation 12 (2007): 139-168. ―Bodies in the Reformations." Review Article. Reformation 6 (2002): 179-88. Fields of Study Major Field: English vi Table of Contents Abstract……………………………………………………………………………………ii Dedication………………………………………………………………………………...iv Acknowledgments…………………………………………………………………………v Vita……………………………………………………………………………………….vi Chapter 1: Religious Toleration and Early Modern English Literature…………………...1 Chapter 2: Religious Toleration and the Case of Thomas More………………………...47 Chapter 3: Religious Toleration and the Case of John Foxe…………………………...104 Chapter 4: Religious Toleration and the Case of Robert Parsons………………………146 Chapter 5: Religious Toleration and the Case of John Milton………………………….194 Afterword……………………………………………………………………………….241 References………………………………………………………………………………244 vii Chapter 1: Religious Toleration and Early Modern English Literature Writing against English Roman Catholic appeals for religious toleration in the wake of the 1605 Gunpowder Plot, the Protestant controversialist Matthew Sutcliffe dismissed Catholic overtures for religious toleration by stating that "toleration of false religion is repugnant to rules of religion and holy scripture" (B2v). Sutcliffe‘s distaste for toleration of religious heterodoxy is only one example of the pervasive opinion in early modern England that those whose practices and beliefs deviated from the institutionally legitimated religious norm should not be tolerated. Another anti-tolerationist, Gabriel Powel, argues in similarly apocalyptic terms: ―The two [Protestant and Roman Catholic religions] cannot possibly stand together; For what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? And what communion hath light with darknes? What concord hath Christ with Belial?‖ (B2r). Sutcliffe and Powel both use figures of speech to reinforce their anti-tolerationist message; alliteration and repetition here provide two examples of how writers used literary prose style to address the complex issue of religious toleration. Although they could use their art to address such a controverted topic, for the writers presently under study, toleration offered a possibility to develop and enhance literary aspects of their texts. This link between literary method and religious toleration is strongest in writings on the concept of polemical toleration. Whereas religious toleration is a civil or 1 ecclesiastical policy of forbearing from acting against individuals or groups with disapproved spiritual practices or beliefs, polemical tolerance is the principal that persuasion and conversion most effectively take place when writers create a textual space bracketed from the judgment and derision that otherwise characterized controversial religious literature in print. 1 Because false religion inevitably had to be countered by a discursive saturation of printed books and arguments against it, it is best for disputants to embody a moderate discourse and to demonstrate an attitude that is, at least temporarily, accepting of competing and contrasting ideas. Because conversion requires persuasion, the opposing view should be tolerated for the time it takes to reveal it to be in error. Polemical toleration is thus an alternate tactic from what has been called ―persecution of the tongue.‖ 2 The purpose of this study is to examine how religious toleration was described in English polemical prose, poetry, public speeches, and other literary genres; and how writing about religious toleration opened new possibilities for writers to envision the literary genres to which they contributed. It is the main argument of this dissertation that texts that many texts concerning what is tolerable in religious belief and practice