Queen Elizabeth’s Secretary, Walsingham, having retired from the busy world into the privacy of the country, some of his gay companions rallied him on his becoming religious, and told Him he was melancholy.
“No,” said he, “I am not melancholy, but I am serious: and it is fit I should be so. Ah! my friends, while we laugh, all things are serious around us. God is serious, who exerciseth patience toward us; Christ is serious, who shed His blood for us; the Holy Spirit is serious, in striving against the obstinacy of our hearts; the Holy Scriptures bring to our ears the most serious things in the world; the whole creation is serious in serving God and us; all that are in heaven and hell are serious. How then can we be gay?”