"The expense is reckoned, the enterprise is begun; it is of God; it cannot be withstood. So the faith was planted: So it must be restored."

Edmund Campion was born on January 25, 1540, into an England awash with religious turmoil. Though he had been expected to become an apologist for the Church of England, Campion instead fled to France where he was reconciled with the Church and accepted into the Society of Jesus.

After he was ordained a Jesuit priest in 1578, Campion was chosen by his superiors to lead a mission back to England. Shortly after his clandestine arrival in London in 1580, Campion quickly set about composing the statement that would later become known as "Campion's Brag". According to some scholars, it is the earliest defense of the faith to appear in the English language during the Reformation.

Campion was eventually captured in 1581 and brought to the Tower of London, where he was imprisoned and tortured for four months. After a farce trial of bribed witnesses and false evidence, Campion was convicted of treason and sentenced to death. On December 1, 1581, Campion was hanged, drawn, and quartered.

Links

Campion's Brag Full text: https://www.ewtn.com/catholicism/library/campions-brag-5297

Catholic Culture Podcast Ep. 69—Poetry of the English Martyrs | Benedict Whalen https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/ep-69-poetry-english-martyrs-benedict-whalen/

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