Of Titus Oates, one professor said, “He was a great dunce, ran into debt, and, being sent away for want of money, never took a degree.”
Nonetheless, Catholic-hunters in England took as gold Oates' evidence about a plot to kill Charles II and put his brother James II on the throne. He had been kicked out of the Navy, and twice thrown out of Catholic seminaries, and yet still the English took his word about the plot.
The accidents of history play a part, of course. Sir Edmund Berry Godfrey, a fair man and friend to Catholics, died mysteriously, so Lord Shaftesbury exploited the death by accusing the Catholics of murdering a good Protestant. Lowlife perjurers were recruited from taverns and brothels to swear to the plot; sixteen people were directly (and falsely convicted). Eight more were convicted of being priests during this spasm of persecution. All twenty-four were executed before he was exposed as a liar.
Eventually, Oates was convicted for perjury and sentenced "to be whipped, degraded, pilloried, and imprisoned for life." The judge in the case declared, "He has deserved more punishment than the laws of the land can inflict.” However, during the reign of William and Mary, he was released and given a pension, the payment of which was later revoked.
One might be tempted to use a word like scoundrel or rogue to describe him, especially since he again tried his hand at ministry, and upon finding himself defrocked (this time by the Baptists), he dreamed up another fraudulent plot. Fortunately, this time no one bought it, so another twenty-four people didn't have to die.
No comments:
Post a Comment