Matters Cromwellian

Finished Hill's God's Englishman the other day. Got considerably more out of it this time round than on my first reading of some three decades ago. Most of all an enhanced understanding of what might be described as the Puritan view of providence and salvation. I suppose it's my Catholic upbringing that's always made it difficult for me to grasp the fundamentals of Protestant thought, though I rather suspect I would have volunteered for the New Model Army if I'd been around in those exciting times. I'd forgotten also just how much Cromwell's rule-cum-reign provided the seeds of the impetus to Empire on the part of my countrymen. There's a dark side to everything.

Oh, and this time round I finally grasped why it was that the Lord Protector's instincts were so profoundly undemocratic. The fear that extending the franchise would undo the revolution was well-founded, though it misses the point that the only real revolution is ever to be found in the hearts of men.