When men stand out from great events they come of necessity under the glass of scrutiny, to be viewed from many angles. On some, a general judgment stands the test of time, on others it is later reversed or modified while others again elude a consensus of opinion and remain subjects of controversy. The great epoch of the reformation forced into the public view men who otherwise might have led lives of relative obscurity or be remembered today for quite different reasons. Because of the reformation, Thomas More and Martin Luther have, to the generality of succeeding generations, become identified with dramatic and irrevocable choice. Reginald Pole, on the other hand, is by no means so universally remembered. Historians have viewed him variously — as subtle and wily, as unworldly and indecisive, as upright and courageous. It can be fairly stated that his temperament bore an affinity with that of Erasmus, that he shared with Colet a clear-sighted desire for ecclesiastical reform and that at one time he came close to Luther’s thoughts on justification. In common with Erasmus, his considered theological opinions were regarded in some quarters with a suspicion which hardened into menace. Like More and Luther, Pole was presented with dilemmas and, not without agony, he came to decisions. His decisions were not followed by consequences of comparable drama. He did not divert the course of history and he died in his bed of a common fever. His writings are not often recalled, his career presents contradictions, his personality eludes.