26 MAY 1593

Four days

I endeavoured to persuade my superiors [at the English seminary] that I was embarked upon the study of sacred literature, while in fact I was much more attracted to profane authors of the worst sort…

So far was I advanced in self-love and personal pleasure that… I found a way of pleasing myself and gaining greater familiarity with certain younger students. These I sought to lead astray…

This, then, was my course: the scandal and ruin of many young men.

RICHARD BAINES, FROM ‘A RECANTATION’, GIVEN TO THE CATHOLICS FOLLOWING HIS CAPTURE AS A PRIVY COUNCIL SPY, 13 MAY 1583