The Greatness of Martin Marprelate

“Martin [Marprelate] himself had of course a serious intention and must, for all his motley, be regarded as a heroic figure. Nor have I any sympathy with those who make prim mouths at him for introducing scurrility into a theological debate, for debate was precisely what the bishops had suppressed. Those who refuse to let their opponents dispute have no right to complain if they hear instead lewd catcalls in the streets; in a sense, it is what they have chosen . . . His importance as a controversial theologian is therefore small: his real place is in the history of prose” (C.S. Lewis, English Literature in the 16th Century, p. 405).