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FROM   THE   LIBRARY   OF 


REV.    LOUIS    FITZGERALD    BENSON,   D.  D. 


BEQUEATHED    BY   HIM   TO 

THE   LIBRARY  OF 

PRINCETON  THEOLOGICAL  SEMINARY 


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LIFE    AND    TIMES 


L  SEV 


OF 


JOHN      CALVIN, 


THE  GREAT  REFORMER. 


TRANSLATED  FROM  THE  GERMAN  OF 

PAUL   HENRY,   D.D., 

MINISTER    AND    SEMINARY-INSPECTOR    IN    BERLIN. 


BY 

HENRY   STEBBING,   DJ).3   F.R.S. 

AUTHOR  OF  '  HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCH  AND   REFORMATION  '    IN   LARDNER's    CYCLO- 
PAEDIA ;    HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCH  OF  CHRIST  FROM  THE  DIET  OF  AUGSBURG  ; 
LIVES  OF  THE  ITALIAN  POETS,  ETC. 


N   TWO   VOLUMES. 
VOL.   II. 


LONDON: 

WHITTAKER   AND   CO.,   AVE   MARIA   LANE. 
1849. 


PRINTED    BY    RICHARD    AND    JOHN    E.    TAYLOR, 
RED    LION    COURT,    FLEET    STREET. 


CONTENTS. 


PART  II.— Continued. 

Chapter  X. 

Page 
State  of  the  Church  in  the  years  1544  and  1545 1 

Chapter  XI. 

The  German  War. — League  of  Smalcalde. — Defeat  of  the  Pro- 
testants.— Calvin  writes  against  the  Interim. — The  Church  of 
England. — Calvin's  literary  labours    19 

Chapter  XII. 

Anabaptists. — Spiritual  libertines. — The  antichristianity  of  Ge- 
neva.— Political  libertines  opposed  to  the  Refugees     41 

Chapter  XIII. 
Fury  of  the_;libertines. — Anger  and  severity  of  Calvin. — Ameaux, 
Perrin,  and  Gruet , 55 

Chapter  XIV. 

Insults  heaped  on  Calvin. — His  resolution,  inward  peace,  and  con- 
solation in  friendship.— Viret 0,9 

Chapter  XV. 

Efforts  to  re-establish  peace. — Struggle  on  behalf  of  a  Great 
Church  Union. — Agreement  of  the  Zurichers  on  the  Lord's 
Supper 7 


iv  >   "N    N   SI  S. 

Ch  uti.k  X\'I. 


Page 
I  oion  of  great  minds. — A  plan  to  effect  unity  of  doctrine  and 
discipline  by  a  community  of  spirit— Harmony  between  Lu- 
ther and  Calvin  in  Living  faith.— J^elancthon 84 


PART  III. 


Chapter  I. 
Introductory  remarks. — Characteristics  of  Calvin    .  .  . . 103 

Chapter  II. 

The  outward  condition -of  the  Church,  and  Calvin's  circum- 
stances at  Geneva  in  the  years  1550,  1551,  1552. — His  work 
'  De  Scandalis.' — Letters  to  Craumer  and  Melancthon     108 

Chapter  TIL 

Tin    first  great  controversy. —  The  dispute  respecting  Predesti- 
nation.— Bolsec i 128 

Chapter  IV. 

Calvin's  second  great  controversy,  on  the  Trinity,  1553. — Dispute 
\\  itfa  Servetus. — Its  consequences 158 

Chapter  V. 

tUS   Condemned   to   death. —  His   last    hours    in    prison. — His 
i  cution. — An  inquiry  into  the  circumstances  attending  it. — 
l><  \i(  w  of  hi-  doctrim  b 214 

Chapter  VI. 
Otlur  teachers  of  false  doctrine  respecting  the  Trinity. — Mat- 
thseus  Gribaldi. —  Bland  rata. — Gentilis — his  system  and  history  263 


CONTEXTS. 


Chapter  VII. 

Page 
Calvin's  controversy  with  Westphal  and  Hesshus  on  the  doctrine 

of  the  Sacrament. — Rise  and  progress  of  the  dispute. — Parties 

engaged. — Results • 274 


Chapter  VIII. 

Final  struggle  against  the  libertines. — Berthelier. — Triumph  of 
discipline. — Failure  of  Calvin's  enemies. — Educational  plans  . .    306 

i 

Chapter  IX. 

Calvin's  activity. — His  influence  in  England  and  Scotland. — John 
Knox. — Correspondence  with  the  English  exiles  in  Frankfort  . .    326 

Chapter  X, 

Calvin's  relation  to  the  Northern  churches.—His  influence  in 
Poland. — Correspondence  with  King  Sigismund  and  with  the 
Polish  nobles 340 


Chapter  XI. 

Influence  of  Calvin  in  France. — Rapid  development  of  the  Refor- 
mation in  the  fire  of  persecution. — Martyrs  in  the  reign  of 
Henry  II.  at  Lyons,  Chambery,  and  other  places. — Calvin's  dis- 
tress.— He  exhorts  the  German  princes  to  interfere. — Beginning 
of  the  Church  in  Paris. — Emigration  of  the  Reformed  to  Ame- 
rica.— Heroic  courage  of  the  Confessors. — Anne  du  Bourg. — 
Sketch  of  events  preceding  the  Colloquy  of  Poissy. — Belief  and 
discipline  of  the  French  Church. — Unity  of  the  Church  under 
Calvin's  influence. — His  success  at  its  highest  point. — ^Animat- 
ing address  to  all  the  great  personages  in  France  belonging  to 
the  Evangelical  party 353 

Chapter  XII. 
Beza  at  the  Colloquy  of  Poissy,  1561. — His  account  to  Calvin. — 
Occurrences  September  9,  1561. — The  Reformed  Church  re- 
cognized by  the  Edict  of  January  1562     380 


\i  CONTENTS. 

Chapter  XIII. 

Page 

First  religious  * ar. — The  Peace. — 1562-1563 39G 


Chapter  XIV. 

C'alviiiV  latest  controversies. — The  false  reports  published  by  his 
enemies. — Struggle  against  Balduin 410 


Chapter  XV. 

Calvin  takes  leave  of  the  world. — Review  of  the  close  of  his  life. 
— J  lis  outward  circumstances  and  inward  state. — His  last  la- 
bours.—  Farewell  address  to  the  Ministers  and  to  the  council. 
— General  mourning. — Beza's  character  of  Calvin 419 

Appendix   437 

Index 445 


PART     IT. — (continued.) 


LIFE  AND  TIMES   OF  CALVIN. 


PART  IT.— Continued. 
CHAPTER  X. 

STATE  OF  THE   CHURCH   IN  THE  YEARS   1544  AND  1545. 

1  HE  beginning  of  a  letter  from  Calvin  to  Bullinger  contains  a 
notice  of  the  progress  of  the  Gospel  in  France.  He  speaks  of 
the  descendants  of  the  Waldenses  in  Provence  and  Piedmont : 
"  Their  piety  and  the  innocence  of  their  lives  is  such,  that  their 
salvation  must  be  precious  in  the  eyes  of  every  believer.  Three 
years  ago  they  presented  a  copy  of  their  confession  to  the  par- 
liament of  Aix :  it  is  pure  and  simple,  and  such  a  one  as  we  our- 
selves should  have  delivered.  Do  not  believe  that  it  was  a  zeal, 
fair  in  appearance,  but  soon  to  vanish.  They  have  been  again 
and  again  summoned  before  the  tribunal ;  have  endured  the 
trial  with  unflinching  firmness,  and  are  still  exposed  to  the  most 
cruel  persecutions.  The  king  himself  proposes  to  examine  and 
judge  their  cause.  Two  commissaries  have  received  command 
to  inquire,  both  publicly  and  secretly,  into  their  doctrine  and 
manners.  The  brethren  have  no  fear  of  these  officers,  for  they 
have  ever  so  conducted  themselves,  that  even  their  enemies  bear 
testimony  to  their  integrity.  Now  bishops,  prefects,  and  even 
the  parliament,  are  strenuously  labouring  to  hinder  the  fulfil- 
ment of  the  king's  intentions ;  and  if  the  old  rule  be  followed, 

VOL.  II.  b 


2  LETTER  TO  BULLINGER.  [dlAP.  X. 

they  will  rouse  up  all  the  lions  and  wolves  they  can  to  rage 
against  them.  But  even  if  he  be  obeyed,  they  are  not  freed 
from  danger.  They  have  already  introduced  the  pure  worship 
of  God  into  three  cities,  and  into  several  villages,  and  have  even 
established  a  church  purified  from  all  papistical  corruption.  In 
that  church  they  celebrate  baptism  and  the  Lord's  Supper  ac- 
cording to  our  usage. 

"  Now,  the  greater  the  clanger  on  all  sides,  the  more  must  we 
strive  to  be  ready  to  afford  help,  especially  since  they  exhibit  so 
noble  an  example  of  firmness ;  and  we  should  deserve,  did  we 
forsake  them,  to  be  overwhelmed  with  shame.  Add  to  this, 
that  the  present  matter  does  not  concern  them  alone,  for  either 
the  way  will  be  opened  by  their  persecution  to  the  rage  of  the 
wicked  against  the  churches,  in  all  parts  of  the  kingdom,  or  the 
Gospel  will  by  this  means  be  everywhere  diffused.  What  re- 
mains therefore  for  us  but  to  employ  all  our  strength,  lest  our 
pious  brethren  should  perish  through  our  sloth,  and  the  door 
be  long  closed  to  Christ?  I  have  desired  to  say  this  to  you,  in 
order  that,  should  they  seek  refuge  with  you,  your  government 
might  be  prepared  to  render  them  assistance.  One  of  two 
things  must  be  done  for  them;  that  is,  we  must  either  induce 
the  king  to  exercise  his  promised  good-will  towards  them,  or 
soften  his  anger,  should  it  have  been  excited  to  their  prejudice." 

Thus  it  appears  that  the  persecution  which  broke  out  in  the 
following  year  already  threatened  the  unfortunate  Waldenses. 
We  find  Calvin  busily  occupied  at  Geneva,  in  1545,  in  receiving 
the  sufferers,  and  affording  them  every  possible  kind  of  help. 

Another  storm  also  was  now  brooding  over  the  church  in 
Germany.  Charles  had  commenced  in  1542  an  expedition 
against  France;  but  this  was  concluded  in  1544  by  the  peace 
of  Crespy3  and  in  a  manner  very  advantageous  to  the  French. 
This  course  was  adopted  by  the  emperor,  that  he  might  employ 
his  whole  activity  against  the  league  of  Smalcalde.  It  had  been 
determined  by  the  diet  at  Speier,  that  both  parties  should  resolve 
on  certain  points  of  reformation.  In  the  expectation  of  carry- 
ing this  into  effect,  the  states  assembled  in  1545  at  Worms. 
The  Y-.  ittenberg  reformation,  as  the  plan  offered  by  the  pro- 
testants  was  called,  had  been  sketched  by  Melancthon  with  the 
greatest  moderation.  Paul  III.  opened  the  council  in  opposi- 
tion to  these  proceedings,  and  in  order  to  prevent  the  emperor 
from  interfering  with  religious  affairs:  this  constrained  Charles 
to  support  the  interests  of  the  reformers. 


A.D.  1544-45.]        STATE  OF  PUBLIC  AFFAIRS.  3 

During  the  hostilities  in  France  and  the  disturbances  in  Ger- 
many, the  Gospel  continued  to  advance ;  and  Beza  shows  how 
the  power  of  faith,  exhibited  by  many  Christians  in  their  mar- 
tyrdom, gave  occasion  to  the  further  triumphs  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 
It  was  just  now  that  the  violent  persecution  of  the  innocent 
Waldenses  was  commenced,  at  the  instigation  of  the  cardinal 
Tournon,  and  a  certain  Menyer  d'Opede,  governor  of  Provence. 
They  pretended  to  the  king  of  France,  that  they  would  send  the 
unfortunate  people  to  Marseilles,  and  convert  the  country  into 
a  Swiss  canton.  The  ardent  and  volatile  Francis  believed  this 
statement,  and  the  accused  were  surrendered  as  a  prey  to  their 
persecutors,  who  assailed  them  with  inconceivable  cruelty,  and 
even  ordered  that  the  little  children  should  be  left  to  die  of 
hunger*.  Those  who  escaped  the  persecution,  and  fled  to  the 
mountains,  obtained  at  their  earnest  entreaty  a  safe-conduct  into 
Germany.  A  part  of  these  afterwards  returned  into  their  val- 
leys, where,  after  the  endurance  of  many  persecutions,  their  de- 
scendants are  still  existing. 

Eeza  has  given  in  his  history  of  the  reformation  in  France,  a 
transcript  of  the  i  Instruction5  which  Henry  II.  issued,  at  the 
request  of  his  dying  father,  who  repented  of  the  course  which 
he  had  pursued,  against  the  persecutors  of  the  Waldenses.  We 
learn  from  this  instrument,  and  from  the  acknowledgment  of 
the  persecutors  themselves,  the  treacherous  and  barbarous  cha- 
racter of  the  persecution.  Twenty-two  villages  were  reported 
as  burnt,  and  their  inhabitants  were  murdered  without  even  the 
form  of  a  trial.  Calvin,  most  deeply  afflicted  at  the  sufferings 
of  these  unfortunate  people,  to  whom  he  had  formerly  sent  a 
minister  for  their  instruction  in  pure  doctrine,  so  exerted  him- 
self on  their  behalf,  that  4000  Waldenses  found  support  in 
Geneva.  He  instituted  collections  for  themf.  The  council 
allowed  them  to  be  employed  on  the  public  works,  and  opened 
a  way  for  them  through  Switzerland.  In  the  year  1554  those 
who  still  remained  in  Geneva  obtained  grants  of  land.     Calvin 

*  "  Les  mamelles  coupees  a  plusieurs  femmes,  aupres  dcsquelles  mortes 
furent  vus  mourans  dc  faim  les  petits  enfans,  ayant  fait  crier  le  dit  Opede  sur 
peine  de  la  hard,  qu'on  ne  donnat  vivres  ne  soulagement  quelconque  a  aucun 
d'iceux.  Tout  fut  pille,  bruM,  saccage,  et  ne  furent  sauves  que  ceux,  que  Pou- 
lin  choisit  pour  ses  galeres,  Les  femraes  rassemblees  et  brulces  dans  une 
grange;  800  personnel  tuees  dans  le  temple."  Leger  in  his  account  of  his 
country  says,  that  the  Eternal,  who  destined  it  to  be  the  theatre  of  his  mira- 
cles and  the  asylum  of  his  ark,  had  naturally  and  wonderfully  fortified  it. 
(T.  i.  p.  9.) 

t  Reg.  du  8  Juin  1545. — "  Collection  for  the  poor,  made  at  the  request  of 
Calvin,  and  which  produced  70  florins." 

B  2 


4  CALVIN  TO  VIRET.  [CHAP.  X. 

turned  especially  to  the  Swiss  cantons  and  the  German  princes, 
and  pressed  them  to  intercede  strongly  with  France  in  behalf 
of  the  Waldenses.  Thus  he  wrote  to  Schaff hausen  and  to  Bul- 
linger,  July  24,  1545,  desiring  that  an  embassy  might  be  sent 
to  the  king:—"  You  must  assail  their  base  opponents,  and  those 
who  are  excited  against  them  by  false  reports.  The  greater 
number  of  these  unhappy  people  are  perishing  in  chains,  others 
are  dispersed  by  flight.  None  dare  venture  even  to  indulge  the 
wish  of  ever  again  seeing  their  families.  Continual  attacks  are 
made,  and  that  with  the  knowledge  of  the  king,  upon  the  lord- 
ship of  Avignon.  Prisoners  are  carried  from  all  sides  to  Paris, 
and  if  some  effort  be  not  made  to  resist  these  proceedings,  you 
will  soon  hear  that  a  vast  conflagration  is  raging  through  the 
wThole  kingdom,  and  which  the  times  will  leave  no  chance  of 
extinguishing.  Use  all  your  influence  therefore  to  promote  the 
sending  of  a  respectable  embassy,  which  may  earnestly  entreat 
the  king  to  free  the  prisoners,  to  restore  their  goods  to  those 
who  have  fled,  and  to  institute  a  fair  inquiry  into  the  faith  and 
manners  of  these  pious  sufferers." 

Notwithstanding  Calvin's  active  and  zealous  exertions,  the 
embassy,  if  we  may  judge  from  a  letter  to  Viret,  dated  August 
17,  1545,  seems  not  to  have  been  sent.  In  September  he  des- 
patched two  Waldenses  to  Viret,  and  wrote,  "  You  will  see  that 
Satan  is  using  every  means  to  turn  the  hearts  of  all  against 
them ;  to  prevent  their  receiving  any  help,  and  to  exasperate  the 
feelings  of  the  king  and  his  courtiers,  fierce  as  they  already  are, 
still  more  to  their  prejudice.  Even  the  Swiss  are  greatly  dis- 
tressing me  by  supposing  that  I  am  bringing  upon  them  the 
anger  of  the  French  monarch.  But  nothing  can  appear  suffi- 
ciently important  in  our  eyes  to  turn  us  from  a  duty,  which 
is  more  than  ever  indispensable." 

It  appears  that  Viret,  during  these  troubles,  had  undertaken 
a  journey,  the  means  for  which  had  been  provided  by  Geneva. 
In  the  following  year  Calvin  encouraged  Farel  and  Viret  to 
travel  to  Worms,  to  make  exertions  in  behalf  of  the  sufferers  in 
France  : — "  It  is  your  business  to  fulfil  my  promise,  even  though 
it  might  be  given  improvidently.  This  circumstance  itself  will 
afford  you  help,  you  not  being  the  originators  of  the  affair." 
His  whole  life,  in  fact,  was  marked  by  the  most  diligent  endea- 
vours to  suppress,  by  the  interference  of  Germany  and  Switzer- 
land, which  had  then  a  certain  degree  of  political  importance, 
the  persecutions  in  France. 


A.D.  1544-45.]  CHURCH  AT  MEAUX.  5 

We  learn  from  a  letter  addressed  to  Calvin  by  Myconius*, 
some  of  the  darkest  features  of  that  afflicting  season.  The 
writer  thanks  him  for  his  letter  to  Charles  V.,  and  says  of  the 
emperor : — "  He  is  now  persecuting  the  saints  in  Belgium. 
Queen  Mary,  the  emperor's  sister,  has  not  been  able  to  defend 
even  her  own  chaplain.  This  is  the  case  in  numberless  other 
instances,  and  the  emperor  hopes  by  these  means  to  obtain  his 
reconciliation  with  the  offended  pope.  Why  does  he  not  much 
rather  endeavour  to  procure  peace  with  God,  whose  hand  lies 
now  so  heavy  upon  him,  weighing  him  down  with  grievous 
sicknesses  ?  I  hear  from  the  council  that  it  is  suspended.  The 
diet  is  not  proceeding.  Up  to  the  present  time  the  bishop  of 
Augsburg,  lately  made  a  cardinal,  is  the  only  prelate  at  Worms, 
and  he  has  been  playing  a  game,  which  is  quite  the  mode  in  little 
cities,  and  has  not  wholly  gone  out  of  fashion  even  in  Rome. 
Men  in  masks  force  themselves  into  the  houses  of  the  citizens, 
eat,  drink,  play,  dance,  and  commit  all  sorts  of  follies  and  de- 
baucheries, which  may  seem  gay  and  jovial  enough,  but  greatly 
scandalize  the  masters  of  families,  though  there  are  none,  as  I 
hear,  who  dare  venture  to  oppose  them.  This  is  a  worthy  pre- 
paration, as  well  for  the  diet  as  for  the  synod!  O  let  us  pray 
that  God  may  arise  to  uphold  his  cause  and  declare  his  righte- 
ousness !  The  offences  of  the  great  continually  increase,  so 
that  the  day  of  God's  wrath  seems  nearer  than  men  believe. 
The  Lord  grant  that  we  may  meet  Him  with  joy." 

But  what  was  most  important  for  Calvin  and  Geneva  at  this 
period,  was  the  deep  impression  which  evangelical  truth  was 
then  making  in  France.  This  is,  we  lament  to  say,  one  of  the 
most  unnoticed  portions  of  church  history,  which  only  delights 
in  repeating  the  great  events  of  an  age,  instead  of  exhibiting  for 
admiration  the  work  of  the  Holy  Ghost  on  the  souls  which 
shone  like  stars  in  this  night  of  gloom.  The  history  of  the 
martyrs  in  France  has  been  till  now  almost  totally  neglected. 

The  following  scenes  afford  a  fitting  contrast  to  the  levity  of 
which  Myconius  speaks,  and  to  the  vanities  of  the  council.  The 
year  1546,  so  pregnant  with  events,  produced  a  fearful  perse- 
cution of  the  church  of  Meaux.  It  had  been  already  once  di- 
spersed in  the  year  1523  ;  but  the  seed  of  the  divine  Word  soon 
after  took  still  deeper  root  there,  so  that  the  Lutherans  of 
Meaux  were  spoken  of  proverbially  in  France.  They  formed  a 
complete  church,  according  to  the  model  of  that  which  Calvin 
*  March  1545.  Ep.  61. 


6  CHURCH  AT  MEAUX.  [CHAP.  X. 

had  established  at  Strasburg.  Having  fasted  and  prayed,  they 
chose  for  their  minister  Pierre  Leclerc,  a  wool-comber  by  trade, 
but  who  was  deeply  versed  in  the  holy  Scriptures.  His  preach- 
ing was  so  blessed,  that  in  a  short  time  between  300  and  400  be- 
lievers assembled  to  hear  him.  On  the  3rd  of  September  1546, 
St.  Mary's  day,  sixty  persons  were  taken  prisoners  in  the  house 
where  he  preached,  and  who,  far  from  attempting  to  defend 
themselves,  submitted  quietly  to  be  bound,  praising  God  for  the 
honour.  The  Lutherans  who  were  outside  immediately  joined 
them  in  singing  the  seventy-ninth  psalm.  Those  who  were  seized 
(nineteen  women  and  forty-one  men)  had  been  selected  from 
the  rest,  because  at  the  time  they  were  celebrating  the  Lord's 
Supper.  Having  been  thrust  into  wagons,  prepared  for  the 
purpose,  they  were  conveyed  in  the  most  unmerciful  manner  to 
Paris.  Several  of  them  arrived  with  broken  limbs,  but  this  did 
not  protect  them  against  the  infliction  of  the  rack.  Fourteen, 
whose  names  have  been  preserved  in  the  history  of  the  church, 
were  condemned  to  unusual  tortures,  and  afterwards  to  be  pub- 
licly burnt.  The  house  in  which  they  had  been  accustomed  to 
assemble  was  pulled  to  the  ground,  and  a  chapel  built  on  the 
spot,  in  which  every  Sunday  mass  was  to  be  performed.  All 
the  expenses  attending  this  were  furnished  by  the  confiscated 
property  of  the  sufferers. 

Some  of  the  prisoners  had  been  placed  in  a  monastery,  that 
an  attempt  might  be  made  to  convert  them.  As  this  experi- 
ment did  not  succeed,  they  were  sent  back  to  Meaux,  attended 
by  two  Sorbonnists,  who  continued  to  press  their  conversion 
while  seeking  their  blood.  The  sentence  of  death  pronounced 
upon  them  was  executed  October  *j,  in  the  place  before  their 
meeting-house,  and  in  the  following  manner.  The  tongue  of 
one  of  them  being  torn  out,  he  was  still  heard  to  murmur,  "  The 
name  of  God  be  praised."  The  several  martyrs  were  then 
dragged  up,  that  they  might  be  burnt  at  the  fourteen  stakes, 
placed  in  a  circle.  Owing  to  this  position  of  the  stakes,  they  were 
able  to  see  and  encourage  each  other.  This  they  did;  praising 
God  with  a  loud  voice  to  their  last  breath,  although  their  words 
were  often  interrupted  by  the  priests,  who  shouted  forth  like 
madmen  their  hymns,  "  O  salutaris  hostia,"  and  "  Salve  Regi- 
na.*'  On  the  following  day,  in  order  to  complete  the  triumph, 
the  catholic  priest  proceeded  under  a  golden  canopy  to  the  spot, 
where  the  tire  was  still  burning,  and  preached  to  the  people. 
Among  other  things,  he  said,  that  "  it  was  necessary  for  the  sal- 


A.D.  1544-45.]  PERSECUTION  IN  FRANCE.  7 

vation  of  souls  to  believe  that  the  fourteen  heretics  were  now  in 
hell ;  that  if  an  angel  from  heaven  should  say  otherwise,  he  must 
be  rejected ;  and  that  God  would  no  longer  be  God  if  He  did 
not  eternally  damn  them."  This  seemed  incredible  even  to  the 
catholics  themselves,  who  had  known  the  pure  and  simple  con- 
versation of  the  martyrs ;  and  instead  of  the  seed  of  the  Gospel 
being  destroyed  by  this  rage  and  cruelty,  other  churches,  as 
Beza  relates,  were  built  of  the  stones  of  the  ruined  temple,  and 
there  is  even  to  the  present  day  a  reformed  community  at 
Meaux;  that  city,  in  which,  at  a  later  period,  under  Louis 
XIV.,  the  zealous  Bossuet  reposed.  Calvin  said  to  Farel  (1546), 
ci  The  parliament  of  Paris  continues,  I  hear,  a  fiery  war  with 
Christ.  Certain  it  is,  that  a  vast  number  of  believers,  far  and 
wide,  are  lying  in  bonds.  Sardanapalus  in  the  meanwhile  is 
dreaming  of  victory  in  the  midst  of  his  courtesans.  May  the 
Lord  look  down  upon  his  church  ! " 

The  new  life  was  now  beginning  to  diffuse  itself  abroad,  when 
Francis  I.,  oppressed  by  political  cares  and  terrors,  died  at  Ram- 
bouillet  in  1547.  He  has  been  dignified  by  some  with  the  title 
of  Great,  but  Beza  says, — "  This  surname  had  been  much  more 
to  his  praise,  if  it  could  have  been  truly  said  of  him,  that  he  was 
as  great  a  warrior  and  patron  of  letters  as  he  was  a  determined 
adversary  to  the  interests  of  religion."  His  only  son,  Henry  II., 
an  enemy  to  the  Gospel  and  a  weak  prince,  easily  allowed  him- 
self to  be  deceived,  and  became  a  cruel  persecutor.  His  whole 
reign  exhibits  a  succession  of  crimes,  and  his  untimely  death 
was  regarded  in  France  as  a  divine  judgement*. 

A  multitude  of  exiles,  driven  from  their  homes  by  the  perse- 
cution, flocked  out  of  various  lands,  but  especially  from  France, 
to  Geneva.  Humanity,  religious  fellowship,  and  love  for  his 
countrymen,  induced  Calvin  to  make  the  most  strenuous  exer- 
tions to  gather  them  together  in  that  city,  and  to  obtain  their 
support  in  the  establishment  of  his  principles.  A  great  number 
of  letters,  in  his  own  handwriting,  may  be  appealed  to  as  show- 
ing how  anxiously  he  advised  them  to  leave  their  country. 
Many  respectable  families  however  had  not  the  resolution  to 
follow  his  advice.  The  storm  of  persecution  had  led  them  to 
adopt  the  erroneous  notion,  that  they  might  serve  God  in 
secret,  while  outwardly  they  appeared  to  adhere  to  the  old 
errors.    But  the  reformer  was  of  too  resolute  a  mind  to  yield  in  a 

*  Calvin  refers  to  this  subject  in  a  letter  to  Farel  (MS.  Gen.),  July  19, 
1549,  and  in  one  to  Bullinger,  August  15,  1549  (MS.  Tig.). 


8  CALVIN  AGAINST  THE  N1C0DEMITES.        [CHAP.  X. 

matter  like  this.  The  sincerity  of  his  profession  would  not  allow 
a  violation  of  truth,  and  the  duty  of  making  a  good  confession 
of  his  faith,  and  of  annihilating  every  temptation  to  hypocrisy, 
induced  him  to  write  at  this  period  his  two  useful  little  works 
against  the  Nicodemites. 

Calvin's  ideas,  as  expressed  in  these  essays,  are  regarded  as 
too  violent,  and  he  has  been  accused  of  speaking  with  severity 
in  a  case  in  which  he  himself  was  free  from  danger.  The  wri- 
tings referred  to  are  now  chiefly  valuable  in  an  historical  point 
of  view,  but  at  the  time  when  they  were  produced  they  had  a 
real  practical  worth,  being  well-calculated  to  strengthen  timid 
minds  against  the  terrors  of  martyrdom,  and  thus  to  do  good, 
not  only  in  France,  but  also  in  Switzerland  and  Germany.  In 
these  moments  of  approaching  danger,  when  Luther  was  already 
advanced  in  life,  Calvin,  his  junior,  laboured  with  determined 
energy.  We  can  now  form  no  conception  of  the  heroism  of 
that  Waldensian  in  Calabria,  who,  being  allowed  to  choose  be- 
tween kissing  the  cross  and  being  thrown  headlong  from  a  lofty 
tower,  immediately  preferred  the  latter.  But  the  triumph  of 
evangelical  truth  then  depended  upon  this  devoted  courage. 
Hypocrisy,  at  such  a  time,  would  have  bowTed  the  church  to  the 
dust.  "  Dissimulation/'  says  Calvin,  "  makes  a  man  an  offender 
against  himself,  by  hiding  what  is  in  his  own  heart.  Hypocrisy 
however  is  still  worse,  for  it  consists  in  the  endeavour  to  give 
us  that  in  appearance  of  wThich  we  are  destitute  in  reality.  God 
is  not  satisfied  with  the  heart.  When  Peter  assails  the  vice  of 
unclcanness,  he  says,  e  Are  ye  not  the  members  of  Christ? '  &c." 

He  next  examines  all  the  various  ceremonies  of  the  catholic 
church,  and  shows  how  we  defile  ourselves,  as  protestants,  when 
we  take  any  part  in  their  performance.  I  will  here  quote  only 
what  he  says  respecting  the  funeral  service,  the  Calvinistic  sim- 
plicity having  now  almost  totally  disappeared.  "  We  who  have 
embraced  the  pure  doctrine  of  the  Gospel,  all  know  well  enough 
that  the  services  for  the  dead,  and  funeral  solemnities  generally, 
arc  abominations,  for  they  are  founded  in  falsehood,  are  con- 
trary to  Scripture,  and  do  dishonour  to  the  meritorious  suffer- 
ings and  death  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ."  Calvin  means  by 
I  In-,  that  Christ  having  died  for  souls,  it  is  unlawful  to  pray  for 
their  deliverance  from  purgatory,  for  the  dead  must  either  have 
believed  or  not,  and  this  alone  will  have  determined  their  fate. 
He  speaks  even  still  more  severely  against  any  apparent  con- 
formity to  the  catholic  worship,  and  confutes   the  argument 


A.D.  1544-45.]       APOLOGY  TO  THE  NICODEMITES.  9 

brought  from  the  example  of  Naaman,  permitted  by  the  pro- 
phet Elisha  to  enter  the  heathen  temple,  and  bow  himself,  with 
the  king.  The  instance  of  St.  Paul,  who  retained  some  Jewish 
customs*,  is  explained  in  a  similar  manner;  and  he  presses 
upon  his  readers  the  sublime  example  of  the  martyrdom  of  the 
seven  brothers,  in  the  time  of  the  Maccabees.  But  having  thus 
condemned  a  carnal  caution,  he  pleads  with  mildness  for  the 
weak : — "  I  protest  before  God,  that,  so  far  am  I  from  lightly 
blaming  my  poor  brethren  who  are  in  such  bonds,  I  would  far 
rather,  out  of  mere  pity  and  mercy,  find  arguments  by  which  to 
excuse  them.  After  all  I  have  said  on  the  subject,  I  sigh  over 
them,  and  pray  God  to  comfort  them.  It  is  far  from  me  to  con- 
demn them.  God  knows  that  the  opinion  which  I  entertain  of 
many  in  France  is,  that  they  are  holier  in  life,  and  more  perfect 
than  I  am.  I  acknowledge,  that  it  is  a  greater  virtue  in  them  to 
walk  in  the  fear  of  God,  in  the  midst  of  such  an  abyss,  than  it 
is  for  me,  who  have  not  so  many  trials  to  endure ;  and  that  if 
they  fall,  I  ought  to  regard  it  as  more  deserving  of  excuse_,  than 
would  be  the  case  were  I  to  fall.  So  far  also  am  I  from  not  con- 
sidering them  as  brothers,  that  I  praise  them  in  all  other  respects 
before  God  and  man,  and  hold  them  as  more  deserving  than 
myself  to  have  a  place  in  the  church."  In  conclusion,  he  im- 
parts noble  counsel  and  consolation  to  the  weak.  So  much  love 
and  tenderness  is  expressed  in  this  address,  that  none  of  his 
writings  are  better  calculated  to  confute  the  accusation  which 
has  been  brought  against  him  of  hardness  or  want  of  feeling. 

The  following  little  work,  6  His  Apology  to  the  Nicodemites/ 
is  written  in  a  stronger  tone :  this  was  because  he  had  learnt 
that  people  were  not  satisfied  with  the  former.  He  here  cha- 
racterises, with  considerable  humour,  the  various  classes  of  Ni- 
codemites existing  in  those  times :  first  were  those  who  im- 
perfectly explained  the  Gospel,  according  to  human  taste ;  and 
next  those  wrho  were  glad  to  seize  upon  the  Gospel  as  a  means 
of  making  themselves  agreeable  in  the  sight  of  the  ladies,  and 
furnishing  amusing  topics  for  conversation ;  the  only  draw- 
back to  this  being,  that  it  would  not  allow  them  to  live  after 
their  own  taste. 

In  the  same  line  with  the  persons  last-mentioned,  were  the 
court  favourites  and  the  ladies,  who  had  no  other  wish  but  that 
homage  should  be  paid  them ;  and  hence  it  was  not  to  be  won- 
*  Actsxviii.  18-24. 


10  calvin's  defence.  [chap.  x. 

dered  at  if  all  such  were  against  him,  their  common  watchword 
being,  "  Do  not  speak  to  us  of  Calvin — he  is  a  monster." 

There  were  also  the  Nicodemites,  who  understood  Christianity 
philosophically,  and  the  merchants,  and  other  little  people,  who 
were  happy  enough  in  their  homes,  and  did  not  wish  to  be  disturb- 
ed by  the  Gospel.  He  continues  with  great  earnestness  : — "  If  the 
believers  in  the  primitive  church  had  acted  thus,  where  now 
would  the  church  have  been  ?  The  whole  theology  of  the  old 
martyrs  consisted  in  the  knowledge  of  one  God,  whom  we  are 
bound  to  worship,  and  in  whom  alone  we  must  place  our  trust ; 
and  in  that  of  Jesus  Christ,  beside  whom  there  is  no  Saviour. 
Nor  had  they  any  such  lofty  acquaintance  with  these  things, 
that  they  would  have  been  able  to  deduce  them,  in  order,  from 
each  other.  They  held  them  in  all  simplicity,  but  they  rushed 
with  rejoicing  hearts  into  the  fire  to  bear  testimony  to  the  truth 
of  these  doctrines.  Nay,  even  the  women  readily  committed 
their  children  to  the  flames.  We,  on  the  other  hand, — we,  who 
are  such  great  doctors,  scarcely  know  what  is  meant  by  bearing 
witness  to  the  truth." 

This  is  followed  by  a  defence  of  his  own  conduct.  He  had 
been  accused  of  giving  people  advice  at  a  distance,  when  it 
would  have  been  better  for  him  to  have  furnished  them  with  an 
example  in  his  own  person.  This  was,  in  fact,  a  very  delicate 
point.  "  If  Calvin  be  so  very  brave,"  it  was  said,  "  why  does 
he  not  come  here,  that  we  may  see  how  he  would  conduct  him- 
self?" 

He  expresses  his  indignant  feeling  against  the  people  who 
thus  vilified  him,  in  a  very  characteristic  passage  : — "  Because 
they  cannot  endure  that  any  one  should  expose  their  leprosy, 
they  have  recourse  to  the  wretched  subterfuge  of  saying,  that 
their  inward  affection  is  towards  God;  this  is  as  much  as  to 
say,  that  they  make  a  division  between  God  and  the  devil,  and 
give  their  soul  to  the  one  and  their  body  to  the  other.  Will 
they  however  satisfy,  in  this  manner,  Him  who  says,  ( To  him 
all  knees  shall  bow/  &c.  ?  It  is  a  miserable,  unhappy  attempt  at 
escape,  to  make  ourselves  blind  in  order  not  to  see  our  misfor- 
tune. I  know  not  with  whom  we  can  better  compare  them 
than  with  some  cleaner  of  sewers,  who,  having  been  so  long  em- 
ployed in  the  filth  that  he  has  lost  all  sense  of  the  horrible 
odour,  ridicules  those  who  hold  their  noses  at  the  stench.  And 
to  carry  out  the  comparison :  as  the  scavenger  arms  himself  by 


a.d.  1544-45.]      calvin's  letter  to  lutiier.  11 

strong  salves  and  onions  against  the  poisonous  effluvia,  and  re- 
sists one  evil  smell  by  another,  so  these  people,  that  they  may 
not  suffer  through  the  odour  of  their  idolatry,  fill  themselves 
with  wicked  excuses,  like  stinking  spices,  in  such  a  manner 
that  they  may  hinder  any  other  impression.*'  This  species  of 
irony  will  be  considered  as  the  more  pointed,  when  it  is  recol- 
lected, that  it  was  intended  for  the  multitude  in  Paris,  and  for 
the  court,  debased  by  a  miserable  habit  of  flattery. 

Melancthon,  Martin  Bucer,  and  Peter  Martyr,  also  gave  their 
opinion  on  the  same  question  :  they  all  agreed  with  Calvin.  The 
latter  has  further  expressed  his  sentiments  on  the  subject  in 
two  letters,  written  in  1546;  and  in  four  sermons  preached  in 
1552.  An  epistle  was  addressed  to  Calvin  by  the  Zurichers  in 
1549,  and  from  this  we  learn  that  the  matter  had  been  long 
under  their  consideration.  Even  from  France  Calvin  received 
communications,  calling  upon  him  to  obtain  Luther's  counsel 
on  the  subject. 

The  letter  which  Calvin  wrote  to  Luther,  in  conformity  with 
this  desire,  is  interesting  as  the  only  one  which  he  addressed  to 
the  German  reformer.  His  great  reverence  for  him  is  clearly 
shown  by  this  document.  He  proceeded  very  cautiously  while 
speaking  with  the  venerable  father  of  the  church,  who  died  the 
next  year ;  and  he  felt  while  approaching  him  almost  as  a 
young  beginner,  scarcely  supposing  that,  in  the  following  cen- 
tury, the  common  consent  of  mankind  would  place  him  by  his 
side.     Zwingli  would  not  have  written  such  a  letter  to  Luther*. 

"  My  honoured  father  If— Being  assured  that  many  of  my  fel- 
low-countrymen in  France,  having  turned  from  the  darkness  of 
popery  to  the  pure  light  of  the  Gospel,  have,  notwithstanding, 
been  backward  to  change  their  open  profession,  and  therefore 
continue  to  pollute  themselves  with  the  horrors  of  popery,  as  if 
they  had  no  knowledge  of  pure  doctrine, — being  informed  of 
this,  I  could  not  refrain  from  assailing  such  sloth  and  indiffer- 
ence with  the  severity  which  I  think  they  deserve.  For  what 
kind  of  faith  is  that  which  remains  buried  in  the  recesses  of  the 
soul,  and  never  declares  itself  by  an  open  confession  ?     What 

*  MS.  Tig. 

f  Another  letter  written  by  Calvin  at  this  time,  to  some  unknown  person, 
expresses  his  feelings  respecting  the  difficulty  of  the  present  design  (Ep.  392, 
Ed.  Amst.  p.  235).  He  mentions  his  own  narrow  circumstances,  the  diffi- 
culty of  meeting  the  calls  upon  him  even  in  good  times,  and  the  expense  at- 
tending borrowing  money  of  the  merchants  or  others.  It  was  not  the  best 
time,  he  added,  to  ask  counsel  of  Luther,  whose  mind  was  but  just  beginning 
to  enjoy  repose  after  his  long  struggle. 


12  CALVIN'S  LETTER  TO  LUTHER.  [CHAP,  X. 

kind  of  witness  is  that  which  shrinks  concealed  behind  a  hypo- 
critical respect  for  catholic  idolatry  ?  But  I  will  not  here  dis- 
cuss this  matter,  of  which  I  have  treated  in  two  little  writings, 
from  which  you  may  easily  learn,  if  you  be  pleased  to  look  over 
them,  what  my  opinion  is,  and  upon  what  grounds  it  rests. 
Some  of  our  brethren,  aroused  by  reading  these  papers,  have 
awaked  from  the  slumber  in  which  they  wrere  sunk,  and  begun 
to  consider  what  it  is  their  duty  to  do.  But  since  it  is  a  hard 
thing  either  to  exercise  such  self-denial  as  to  expose  one's  life 
to  danger,  or  to  bring  upon  ourselves  the  hatred  of  the  whole 
world,  through  opposition  to  its  customs  and  opinions,  and  to 
suffer  the  loss  of  country  and  property  by  a  voluntary  exile,  so 
it  is  that  many  have  found  themselves  unable  to  persevere  in 
their  resolution.  They  suggest  however  other  excuses  for  their 
conduct,  and  it  is  plain  that  they  are  only  anxious  to  find  a  pre- 
text for  yielding.  While  they  thus  vacillate  to  and  fro,  they 
seem  desirous  of  learning  your  opinion,  which,  honouring  it  as 
they  ought  to  do,  will  have  great  weight  with  them.  They  have 
therefore  entreated  me  to  despatch  a  trusty  messenger  to  inquire 
your  sentiments  on  the  subject.  This  I  have  been  unwilling  to 
refuse,  assured  as  I  am  that  it  is  of  importance  to  their  best 
interests  to  find  themselves  supported  by  your  judgement,  and 
delivered  from  their  present  state  of  uncertainty ;  and  still  fur- 
ther, feeling  as  I  do  that  the  same  help  will  be  of  great  use  to 
myself. 

"  I  therefore  beseech  you  by  Christ,  my  very  honoured  father 
in  the  Lord,  out  of  regard  for  them  and  for  me,  to  endure  the 
trouble  of  reading,  in  the  first  place,  this  letter  which  is  written 
to  you  in  their  name,  and  my  own  two  little  books.  This  you 
may  do  for  pass-time,  in  your  leisure  hours,  or  may  commission 
some  one  to  do  it  for  you,  and  then  make  you  acquainted  with 
the  principal  points.  In  the  second  place,  I  would  beg  you 
to  state  to  us,  in  few  words,  your  opinion  on  the  subject.  It  is 
against  my  will  that  I  thus  disturb  you,  occupied  as  you  are 
with  so  many  important  and  such  various  affairs  ;  but  I  am 
convinced  that,  according  to  your  wonted  kindness,  you  will 
pardon  me,  while  I  only  yield  to  necessity  in  laying  before  you 
this  request.  Would  to  God  that  I  could  hasten  to  you,  were 
it  to  enjoy  but  a  few  hours  of  your  conversation!  Much  should 
I  prefer  it,  and  far  more  useful  would  it  be  to  speak  with  you 
personally,  not  only  on  this,  but  on  many  other  affairs.  I  hope, 
however,  that  that  which  is  not  allowed  us  on  earth,  will  soon  be 


a.d.  1544-45.]     melanctiign's  letter  to  calvin.  13 

granted  us  in  the  kingdom  of  heaven.  Farewell,  very  renowned 
man^  and  faithful  servant  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  my,  at  all  times, 
revered  father !  May  the  Lord  continue  to  guide  you  by  his 
Spirit  to  the  end,  for  the  common  good  of  his  church." — Jan.  20, 
1545. 

Calvin  sent  with  his  letter  to  Luther  another  to  Melancthon*, 
and  it  is  easy  to  see  that  he  feared  the  latter  might  accuse  him 
of  too  great  severity  in  his  second  book  against  the  Nicodemites. 
This  letter  is  also  remarkable  as  exhibiting  Calvin's  diligent 
endeavour  to  establish  a  union  of  opinion  with  Melancthon, 
probably  in  reference  to  the  last  statement  of  the  latter  on  elec- 
tion. On  the  doctrine  of  the  Lord's  Supper  they  had  already 
long  agreed, 

Melancthon's  answer,  which  has,  perhaps,  never  been  printed 
till  now,  affords  a  striking  view  of  his  position  at  that  period. 
We  see  how  he  stood  in  respect  to  Luther,  seeking  peace  and 
finding  none ;  what  he  thought  of  his  life,  how  oppressed  he 
felt,  and  yet  full  of  hope.  Much  is  contained  in  few  words. 
He  had  not  the  courage  to  lay  Calvin's  letter  before  Luther,  but 
he  sent  Calvin  his  opinion,  as  found  in  the  works  of  the  Gene- 
vese  reformer : — 

"  To  the  very  renowned  doctor  John  Calvin,  distinguished  by 
learning  and  virtue,  minister  of  the  church  at  Geneva,  his  pious 
and  true  and  very  dear  friend,  Melancthon,  sends  greeting. 
Thankful  should  I  be,  my  beloved  Calvin,  to  receive  from  you, 
on  my  own  account,  some  good  advice.  The  strife  from  which 
at  an  earlier  period  I  escaped,  is  now  increasing  here.  Having 
ever  considered  that  one  must  strive  to  uphold  the  peace  of 
the  church  in  these  wild  and  terrible  lands,  and  having  always 
expressed  myself  accordingly  in  the  most  temperate  language, 
something  more  difficult  is  now  demanded  of  me.  Therefore  I 
beseech  you  to  commend  me  to  God  in  your  pious  prayers.  I 
have  not  given  your  letter  to  doctor  Martin :  he  looks  at  things 
with  suspicion,  and  docs  not  like  to  have  his  sentiments  on  such 
questions  as  you  ask,  published  abroad.  I  have  answered  them 
as  well  as  I  could,  and  do  not  set  my  judgement  higher  than 
your  own,  or  that  of  other  pious  men.  It  is  a  satisfaction  for  me 
to  know  that  I  have  lived  without  seeking  to  indulge  in  theolo- 
gical disputes,  but  that  I  have  laboured,  not  unprofitably,  to 
disentangle  and  explain  many  difficult  subjects.  Notwithstand- 
ing this,  I  now  expect  banishment  and  other  sorrows.  Fare- 
*  Ep.  GO.  ed.  Amst.  p.  31. 


14  LUTHER  AND  THE  SWISS.  [CHAP.  X. 

well.— The  day  when,  3846  years  ago,  Noah  entered  the  ark, 
and  God  intended  to  show  us,  by  his  example,  that  He  would 
never  forsake  his  church,  however  it  might  be  tossed  about  on 
the  stormy  waves  of  the  world*." 

Luther's  angry  feeling,  as  alluded  to  in  the  above  letter,  was 
connected  with  the  dispute  between  him  and  the  reformers  of 
Zurich.  This  will  lead  us  to  speak  of  the  part  taken  by  Calvin 
in  the  sacramentarian  controversy,  and  of  the  earnest  endeavour 
which  he  made  to  restore  peace.  We  must  first  look  back  to 
the  origin  of  those  unhappy  circumstances  which  occasioned  the 
long  and  distressing  schism f. 

The  Swiss  had  adopted  in  1538  the  Wittenberg  confession, 
and  although  even  in  the  time  of  peace  opinions  were  not  altered, 
people  were  thoroughly  weary  of  dispute.  This  was  especially 
proved  by  the  cold  silence  preserved,  when  Luther,  a  few  years 
before  his  death,  began  to  renew  the  controversy,  and,  left  by  his 
friends,  remained  alone  in  the  arena.  He  had  already,  in  1543, 
written  to  Froschauer,  saying,  that  neither  he  nor  any  church 
of  Christ  could  have  communion  with  the  Swiss.  Melancthon 
sought  in  vain  to  tranquillize  him.  In  1544  Luther  published 
new  libels,  pouring  forth  his  gall  in  his  'Annotations  on  Genesis/ 
and  setting  forth  his  last  confession  on  the  subject  of  the  Lord's 
Supper,  in  which  Zwingli  and  CEcolarnpadius,  with  their  fol- 
lowers, were  called  heretics  and  reprobates.  The  cause  of  his 
wrath,  according  to  Hospinian,  who  follows  Pezel,  may  be  traced 
to  Zwingli's  latest  production,  his  f  Exposition  of  the  Christian 
Faith,'  edited  and  published  by  Bullinger  in  1536  J.  This  work 
seemed  to  Luther  so  contrary  to  its  author's  statement  at  Mar- 
burg, that  he  was  convinced  that  Zwingli  must  have  acted  to- 
wards them  with  false  heart  and  mouth.  Other  reasons  for  his 
anger  have  been  found  in  the  injurious  reports,  that  he  was  no 
longer  esteemed  at  Zurich ;  and  in  the  circumstance  that  a  new 
German  translation  of  the  Bible,  undertaken  by  Leo  Juda  and 
other  reformers,  was  published  in  1543;  while,  on  the  other 
hand,  Schwenkfeld  accused  him  of  a  secret  understanding  with 
the  Helvetian  church,  because  he  had  suffered  the  elevation  of 
the  bread  to  be  discontinued.  So  again,  Amsdorf  and  others  in 
Wittenberg  occasioned  him  much  vexation ;  Melancthon  him- 
self not  concealing  his  favourable  feelings  towards  the  Swiss. 

*  Melancthon's  opinion  is  added  to  Calvin's  Kxcus.  ad  Nicodemitas. 
f  Schriickh,  Reformationsgeschichte,  t.  i.  p.  3G3-420. 
X  Hess.  Leben  Bullingers,  t.  i.  p.  432. 


A.D.  1544-45.]  LUTHER  AND  THE  SWISS.  15 

Now,  while  the  traces  of  advancing  age  were  beginning  to  ap- 
pear, he  allowed  the  following  words  to  escape  him : — "  Let 
Zwingli  not  only  speak  as  he  will  against  the  sacraments,  but 
let  him  be  a  heathen  altogether,  and  place  the  impious  pagans 
side  by  side  with  Christ  in  the  kingdom  of  heaven.  But  where 
then  were  Christianity  and  the  sacraments  ?  Therefore  is  all 
hope  gone ;  nor  ought  any  more  prayers  to  be  offered  up  for  those 
who  are  soul-consumers  and  murderers."  At  the  same  time  it  is 
evident  from  all  this,  that  the  sentiments  which  may  be  ascribed 
to  his  own  personal  feelings  ought  not  to  be  regarded  as  possess- 
ing a  dogmatic  value,  or  as  justifying  the  separation  of  his 
church  from  the  reformed. 

Melancthon,  deeply  afflicted  at  this  breach,  wrote  to  Bullin- 
ger, — "  That  he  would  receive  a  letter  from  Luther,  according 
to  which  all  hope  of  reconciliation  must  be  given  up ;  that  he 
himself  would  retreat  quietly  into  his  own  soul,  and  there  en- 
deavour to  find  that  freedom  of  conscience  which  he  could  not 
enjoy  under  the  guardianship  of  Luther." 

The  Swiss,  though  warned  on  many  sides,  replied,  by  Bullin« 
ger,  in  a  German  and  Latin  writing,  entitled,  w  A  genuine  state- 
ment of  the  servants  of  the  church  at  Zurich,  as  to  what  they 
teach ;  especially  concerning  the  Lord's  Supper,  in  answer  to 
the  slanders,  condemnation  and  jests  of  Doctor  Martin  Luther." 
People  were  far  from  satisfied  with  this  production.  Calvin 
said  in  a  letter  to  Melancthon,  "  One  must  write  better,  or  not 
at  all:  the  work  is  meagre  and  puerile*." 

Luther  refrained  from  saying  anything  publicly  in  answer  to 
this  last  attack  of  the  Swiss;  but  he  continued  to  the  end  hos- 
tile to  the  Zwinglians.  After  his  death,  his  letter  to  the  provost 
Jacob,  dated  January  17?  1546,  became  commonly  known,  and 
in  this  he  says,  ((  Blessed  is  the  man  who  hath  not  walked  in 
the  counsel  of  the  Sacramentarians  ;  nor  stood  in  the  way  of  the 
Zwinglians ;  nor  sat  in  the  seat  of  the  Zurichers."  He  also 
alludes  to  the  controversy  in  his  work  against  the  theologians  of 
Louvain. 

Many  of  Calvin's  writings  show  how,  mindful  of  his  high  call- 
ing, he  sought  at  this  time  to  quiet  men's  minds,  while  he  saw 
with  a  prophetic  glance  the  approaching  schism  f.     Thus  in  a 

*  Hess.  Leben  Bullingcrs,  t.  i.  p.  455.  Ep.  63.  cd.  Amst.  p.  33. 

t  He  expressed  his  feelings  on  this  subject  in  a  letter  to  Farel,  dated  Octo- 
ber 10,  1544,  MS.  Gen.  —  "We  must  now,  before  all  things,  pray  to  the 
Lord,  who  alone  can  avert  this  evil,  which  will  soon  blaze  forth  like  a  burning 
brand.     We  may  now  look  for  the  end." 


16  CALVIN  TO  BULL1XGER.  [CHAP.  X. 

letter  to  Bullinger,  dated  November  25,  1544,  he  adjured  him 
to  treat  the  great  man,  meaning  Luther,  with  respect : — "  I 
hear,"  he  says,  "  that  Luther  assails  not  only  you,  but  all  of  us, 
with  horrible  abuse.  Now  I  can  scarcely  ask  you  to  be  silent, 
since  it  is  not  right  to  allow  ourselves  to  be  so  undeservedly 
abused,  without  attempting  some  defence.  It  is  difficult  more- 
over to  believe  that  such  forbearance  could  do  any  good.  I  wish 
however  that  the  following  may  be  clearly  understood  :— in  the 
first  place,  how  great  a  man  Luther  is ;  by  what  extraordinary 
gifts  he  is  distinguished;  and  with  what  energy  of  soul,  with 
what  perseverance,  with  what  ability  and  success  he  has  con- 
tinued up  to  the  present  day  to  overthrow  the  kingdom  of  anti- 
christ, and  to  extend  at  the  same  time  the  doctrine  of  salvation. 
I  have  already  often  said,  that  were  he  to  call  me  a  devil,  I 
should  still  continue  to  venerate  him  as  a  chosen  servant  of  God, 
uniting  with  extraordinary  virtues  some  great  failings.  Would 
to  heaven  that  he  had  striven  more  to  subdue  those  tempests  of 
feeling  which  he  has  so  continually  allowed  to  break  forth  ! 
Would  that  he  had  only  employed  that  violence,  so  natural  to 
him,  against  the  enemies  of  the  truth,  and  not  against,  the  ser- 
vants of  God  !  Would  that  he  had  exercised  more  care  to  dis- 
cover his  own  defects  !  Unhappily  there  was  too  great  a  crowd 
of  flatterers  about  him,  who  added  still  more  to  the  self-confi- 
dence peculiar  to  his  nature.  It  is  even  our  duty  to  view  his 
failings  in  such  a  light,  that  we  may  the  more  properly  estimate 
his  extraordinary  gifts.  I  beg  you  therefore  to  bear  in  mind, 
that  we  have  to  do  with  one  of  the  first  servants  of  Christ ;  with 
one  to  whom  we  all  owe  much.  I  would  also  have  you  consider, 
that  you  could  not  possibly  gain  any  advantage  by  entering  into 
a  struggle  with  him.  You  would  only,  by  such  a  course,  afford 
pleasure  to  the  enemy,  who  would  delight  not  so  much  in  our 
defeat  as  in  that  of  the  Gospel.  People  will  everywhere  will- 
ingly believe  what  is  said,  when  we  vilify  and  condemn  each 
other.  You  must  consider  this,  rather  than  what  Luther  may 
have  deserved  on  account  of  his  violence;  lest  that  should  hap- 
pen to  us  of  which  Paul  speaks,  namely,  that  while  we  bite  and 
devour  one  another,  all  may  go  to  the  ground.  Nay,  even  should 
he  challenge  us  to  the  contest,  wc  must  rather  turn  away  than 
hazard  by  our  twofold  fall  the  injury  of  the  church." 

Calvin  also  comforted  Melancthon,  who,  in  the  latter  years 
of  Luther's  life,  found  himself  in  a  very  painful  position.  Not 
agreeing  with  Luther  on  the  subject  of  the  spiritual  presence  of 


a.d.  1544-5.]      calvin's  opinion  of  luther.  17 

Christ  in  the  Lord's  Supper,  he  had  entered  fully  into  Calvin's 
purer  views. 

The  statements  of  the  latter  on  Luther's  great  power  and  in- 
fluence are  also  worthy  of  remark,  in  connection  with  the  ques- 
tion of  discipline*.  Shortly  before  his  last  journey  to  Eisleben 
Luther  spoke  to  Melancthon  in  a  conciliatory  tone.  This  state- 
ment is  made  by  Haller,  provost  of  Zurich,  in  his  continuation 
of  the  Bullinger  Chronicle,  but  without  reference  to  his  autho- 
rity. 

Luther,  weary  of  life  and  conflict,  left  the  arena  at4  the  mo- 
ment when  the  approach  of  a  storm  was  evident.  Calvin  was 
then  thirty-six  years  of  age,  armed  for  the  strife  and  not  fearing 
it.  It  is  interesting  at  the  present  day,  when  the  churches  are 
united,  and  after  we  have  been  so  long  accustomed  to  think  only 
of  Luther  at  Wittenberg,  to  meditate  by  his  grave  on  Calvin 
also,  and  on  the  united  consequences  of  their  labours.  The 
relation  existing  between  these  two  witnesses  of  the  Lord  is 
seen  in  the  common  and  the  general;  what  was  opposite  in 
them  consisted  in  their  appearance ;  the  work  of  each  had  its 
own  proper  limits ;  the  twofold  spirit  was  still  the  same,  and  is 
one  to  us :  more  of  living  energy  was  given  on  this  side,  more 
depth  of  thought  on  the  other.  The  one  sought  to  clear  Catho- 
licism of  what  was  antichristian  ;  the  other  went  further,  pene- 
trated critically  into  the  Gospel,  rejected  what  did  not  closely 
agree  with  it,  and  completed  the  reformation.  We  may  con- 
clude from  the  contrast  in  their  habits  of  thought,  and  accus- 
tomed as  they  were  to  execute  their  will  with  determined  reso- 
lution, that  they  could  not  easily  have  lived  near  each  other. 
But  as  John,  Paul  and  James  treated  of  the  same  truth,  only 
from  various  points  of  view,  so  did  Luther  and  Calvin  believe 
altogether  but  the  same.  Hence,  though  they  never  saw  each 
other,  they  never  felt  as  strangers,  but  entertained  a  mutual 
respect,  while  each  expressed  his  belief  according  to  his  par- 
ticular character.  These  men,  with  some  few  others,  were  the 
greatest  of  their  kind,  and  humanity  owes  to  them  its  highest 
blessings.  With  the  heroism  of  self-devotion,  and  continuing 
the  conflict  which  they  began,  in  the  name  of  God,  to  their  latest 
breath,  they  persevered,  whatever  their  individual  imperfections, 
in  proclaiming  the  great  truth,  that  one  only  is  holy,  that  is 
the  Lord.  It  is  right  that  Luther's  grave  should  be  left  with- 
out any  inscription.  All  words  would  have  been  tame ;  just  as 
*  Epis.  lxiii.  Ed.  Arast.  p.  33,  of  the  year  1545. 
VOL.  II.  C 


18  ZWIXGLI'S  OPINION  OF  LUTHER.  [CHAP.  X. 

it  would  have  been  impossible  to  find  a  fitting  inscription  for 
the  tombs  of  the  apostles.  While  however  the  entire  people  of 
Germany  thus  honour  him  by  their  silence,  the  words  of  the 
other  evangelical  party  are  not  to  be  passed  over,  and  might 
well  adorn  his  chamber  in  the  Augustine  monastery. 

Calvin  says  of  him :— "  We  sincerely  testify  that  we  regard 
him  as  a  noble  apostle  of  Christ,  by  whose  labour  and  ministry 
the  purity  of  the  Gospel  has  been  restored  in  our  times *J* 
Again  : — "  If  any  one  will  carefully  consider  what  was  the  state 
of  things  at  the  period  when  Luther  arose,  he  will  see  that  he 
had  to  contend  with  almost  all  the  difficulties  which  were  en- 
countered by  the  apostles.  In  one  respect  indeed  his  condi- 
tion was  worse  and  harder  than  theirs.  There  was  no  kingdom, 
no  principality,  against  which  they  had  to  declare  war ;  whereas 
Luther  could  not  go  forth,  except  by  the  ruin  and  destruction 
of  that  empire,  which  was  not  only  the  most  powerful  of  all, 
but  regarded  all  the  rest  as  obnoxious  to  itself  f"  Similar 
sentiments  are  expressed,  we  have  seen,  in  the  epistle  already 
quoted. 

But  if  we  desire  to  adduce  the  most  honourable  testimony  to 
Luther,  it  is  that  which  the  noble,  virtuous  Zwingli  delivers 
respecting  him  J.  "  Luther,"  he  says,  "  is  in  my  opinion  an  ad- 
mirable soldier  of  God.  He  has  examined  Scripture  with  as 
great  earnestness  as  any  one  has  done  within  the  last  thousand 
years.  I  consider  it  as  deserving  not  the  slightest  attention,  if 
the  papists  should  abuse  both  him  and  me  as  heretics.  No  one 
can  be  compared  to  him  for  the  manly,  unflinching  courage  with 
which  he  has  assailed  the  pope  of  Rome.  As  long  as  the  papacy 
has  endured,  all  others  have  been  blameless.  What  the  eternal, 
unchangeable  Word  of  God  contains,  that  he  bears  richly  forth, 
and  shows  the  heavenly  treasure  to  poor,  wandering  Christians, 
neither  caring  for  what  the  enemies  of  God  may  do  against  it, 
nor  trembling  at  their  fierce  looks  or  threats.  I  have  designedly 
read  him  but  little  ;  but  what  I  have  read,  insofar  as  it  respects 
the  doctrines,  meaning  and  sense  of  Scripture,  is  commonly  so 
Well  considered  and  grounded,  that  it  is  not  possible  that  any  one 
should  mistake  it.  He  yields  in  some  things  too  much  to  the 
weak  and  foolish,  and  in  this  I  do  not  agree  with  him.  But 
Luther  preaches  Christ.  He  does  it  as  I  do  it,  although,  God 
be  praised,  a  countless  world  of  people  have  been  converted  by 

•  T.  viii.  J).  123.  f  T.  Viih  p.  119- 

Niischeler'fl  Lcbensgeschichte  Zwingli's,  p.  159. 


A.D.  1547.]  THE  GERMAN  WAR.  19 

him  more  than  by  me  and  others,  whose  limits,  however,  whether 
great  or  small,  are  divinely  appointed*/5 


CHAPTER  XL 

THE    GERMAN  WAR. LEAGUE    OF    SMALCALDE. DEFEAT   OF 

THE    PROTESTANTS. CALVIN  WRITES  AGAINST    THE  INTE- 
RIM.— THE     CHURCH    OF    ENGLAND. CALVIN's     LITERARY 

LABOURS. 

Two  other  combatants  left  the  arena  soon  after  Luther ;  that  is, 
Francis  I.  and  Henry  VIII.  of  England.  The  circumstances  of 
society  had  received  on  all  sides  an  extraordinary  impulse,  as  if 
the  spirit  of  the  world  were  challenging  the  spirit  of  God  to  the 
fight,  for  the  purpose  of  deciding  their  quarrel  in  open  conflict. 
Whilst  the  council  of  Trent  was  treating  things  useless  and 
trifling  as  important,  and  things  most  important  with  levity, 
still  pretending  that  its  object  was  the  peace  of  the  whole  church, 
Charles  had  already  conceived  the  notion  of  suppressing  the 
league  of  Smalcalde  by  force  of  arms.  Already,  in  1546,  was 
the  little  state  of  Geneva,  lying  among  the  Alps,  on  the  borders 
of  Germany,  France  and  Italy,  greatly  agitated.  It  was  ex- 
pected that  the  emperor  would  pass  through  Geneva  on  his  way 
from  Italy.  An  instant  resolution  was  taken  to  arm.  The 
whole  of  Switzerland  offered  supplies  of  troops.  Bern  alone 
was  ready  with  2000  men.  But  such  was  the  feeling  then  ex- 
isting in  Geneva,  that,  dreading  the  loss  of  its  independence,  the 
citizens  rejected  the  offer;  and  the  little  state,  with  a  population 
of  only  20,000  souls,  prepared  itself  singly  for  the  struggle. 
Calvin  approved  of  this,  and  said  in  a  letter  to  Farel, — "  It  is  a 
wretched  condition  not  to  be  able  to  accept  defenders  without 
putting  ourselves  in  bondage  to  them."  The  news  however  was 
received  that  the  troops  of  the  emperor  had  been  repulsed.  In 
the  state-protocol  of  the  republic  Charles  is  constantly  described 
as  the  enemy  of  the  Gospel. 

The  protestants  had  firmly  declared  their  sentiments  at  Worms 

*  Bullinger,  Zwingli's  successor,  speaks  of  Luther's  death  in  a  similar 
style.     Fiislin  :  Epist.  Reformat,  p.  238. 

c  2 


20  THE  GERMAN  WAR.  [CHAP.  XI. 

in  opposition  to  the  will  of  the  emperor,  had  refused  to  furnish 
help  against  the  Turks,  and  were  preparing  themselves  for  war. 
The  year  1547,  the  most  eventful,  and,  at  the  same  time,  the  sad- 
dest year  in  the  whole  century,  was  now  at  hand.  Beza,  in  his 
account  of  Calvin,  thus  expressed  at  a  later  period  the  pain 
which  he  felt : — "  That  great  edifice  of  the  German  reformation, 
raised  with  so  much  toil,  now  seemed  ready  to  perish,  and  they 
were  accounted  happy  who  had  been  suddenly  snatched  away 
by  death/'  He  bears  witness  to  Calvin's  having  at  this  time 
exhibited  all  the  greatness  and  elevation  of  his  character : — "  How 
must  he  have  suffered,  he  who,  even  in  times  of  peace,  bore  in 
his  heart  the  remotest  even  of  the  churches,  and  participated  in 
the  cares  of  all,  as  if  their  burdens  rested  upon  him  alone  !  How 
must  his  pious  soul  have  been  tortured  through  the  misery  of 
so  many  !  He  beheld  at  this  moment  his  most  intimate  friends, 
Melancthon,  Bucer,  Peter  Martyr,  involved  in  the  greatest 
danger,  and  nearer  death  than  life.  But  his  writings  and  letters 
of  that  period  prove  that  he  overcame  all  those  storms  by  the 
energy  of  his  noble  soul.  His  opponents  in  Geneva  persecuted 
him  to  the  uttermost,  but  he  yielded  to  them  not  so  much  as  an 
inch." 

It  is  evident  indeed  that  Calvin,  who  speaks  of  himself  as 
naturally  timid,  exerted  the  whole  force  of  his  spirit  at  this  time, 
which  may  well  be  regarded  as  the  brightest  in  his  career  as  a 
reformer.  He  was  especially  useful  to  the  interests  of  the 
church  :  the  combatants  needed  a  leader,  and  he  was  admirably 
suited  to  become  the  centre-point  of  their  power.  His  resolu- 
tion, his  firmness,  doubtless  contributed  greatly  to  prevent  the 
courage  of  the  persecuted  from  sinking.  No  sooner  did  all  seem 
lost  in  Germany,  than  people  turned  their  eyes  towards  Swit- 
zerland, which  still  enjoyed  some  degree  of  security  under  the 
shield  of  its  ancient  renown. 

The  league  of  Smalcalde  wras  to  be  destroyed.  It  was  the  ob- 
ject of  the  emperor  to  become  absolute,  and  he  intended,  as  soon 
as  he  had  vanquished  the  protestants,  to  make  himself  the 
master  of  both  the  council  and  the  pope.  But  both  he  and  the 
pope  were  deceived  in  their  reckoning,  and  the  conquered  be- 
came the  conquerors.  The  league  of  Smalcalde  might  certainly 
have  established  itself  by  force  of  arms,  had  not  John  Frederic, 
firm  and  constant  in  the  spiritual  struggle,  but  unfitted  for  out- 
ward action^  been  chosen  for  its  leader.  The  emperor,  secretly 
united  with  Maurice  of  Saxony,  very  cautiously  declared  that 


A.D.  1547.]  THE  GERMAN   WAR.  21 

he  would  not  attack  doctrine.  Union  was  wanting  among  the 
protestants,  and  a  council  of  war  determined  that  the  whole 
should  be  summoned  to  Ulm.  Schartel  unfortunately  was  no 
longer  at  their  head ;  and  when  Maurice  advanced  upon  Saxony, 
and  sequestered  it  in  the  name  of  the  emperor,  the  elector  hast- 
ened back  from  the  south  of  Germany  to  repossess  himself  of 
his  dominions.  Augsburg  fell  first,  and  all  the  others,  with  the 
exception  of  Magdeburg  and  Bremen,  which  remained  invincibly 
faithful,  opened  their  gates  to  the  emperor.  The  hardest  con- 
ditions were  accepted ;  so  that  even  the  king  of  France  found 
it  wise  to  raise  the  spirits  of  the  protestants  again  by  promises, 
and  once  more  to  excite  the  Turks  and  the  pope  against  the 
conqueror. 

Calvin  however  had  not  lost  his  courage,  and  hoped  much 
from  the  Germans.  In  a  letter  to  the  Sr.  de  Bourgogne,  Feb. 
25,  1547>  he  says,  "  I  hope  that  our  Antiochus  (Charles  V.), 
wdio  now  oppresses  us,  will  be  chained  so  tightly  that  he  will 
not  remember  the  marks  on  his  feet  and  hands,  for  he  will  have 
them  over  his  whole  body.  May  God  grant  the  same  in  respect 
to  his  companion,  Sardanapalus  (the  king  of  France),  for  they 
both  deserve  one  and  the  same  measure."  But  after  the  battle 
of  Muhlberg  he  writes,  "  If  God  will  chastise  us  so  severely  as 
to  give  the  reins  to  this  tyrant,  who  meditates  nothing  but  de- 
struction, the  lesson  for  us  to  learn  is,  to  be  prepared  to  suffer. 
He  who  has  taken  us  for  his  servants  is  the  ruler  in  the  midst 
of  enemies.  It  becomes  us  therefore  to  have  patience,  and  to 
comfort  ourselves  with  the  hope  that  he  will  at  length  bring  his 
enemies  to  shame.  But  I  trust  that  He  will  bear  our  weakness, 
convert  these  distresses  to  a  good  end,  and  bridle  the  violence  of 
those  who  triumph  before  their  time,  and  even  against  God 
himself." 

A  proof  was  now  given  of  the  truth  of  that  which  the  land- 
grave Philip  said  to  Bucer, — "  It  is  not  the  will  of  God  to  up- 
hold the  interests  of  the  Gospel  by  the  sword,  or  by  force,  but 
by  preaching,  by  knowledge,  by  suffering,  by  death  and  the 
cross," — words  which  clearly  indicate  the  secret  cause  of  the 
apparent  want  of  activit}'  in  the  protestants,  but  which  was  ac- 
counted for  their  honour.  They  acted  not,  because  they  were 
convinced  that  God  must  contend  for  his  Gospel.  Luther  even 
had  long  hesitated  on  this  subject,  and  had  at  last  only  slowly 
decided  that  self-defence  was  lawful,  which  in  reality  gave  a 
false  direction  to  the  entire  power  of  protestantism. 


22  THE  GERMAN  WAR.  [CHAP.  XI. 

On  the  24th  of  April  the  emperor  attacked  the  elector  John 
at  Muhlberg.  The  latter  was  attending  a  sermon  at  the  time, 
and  would  not  allow  himself  to  be  disturbed.  He  fled  when  it 
was  too  late.  Alba  pursued  him  with  his  cavalry,  and  took  him 
prisoner  without  a  struggle.  The  emperor  allowed  sentence  of 
death  to  be  passed  upon  him.  John  renounced  his  electoral 
dignity,  but  declared  that  he  was  not  subject  to  the  council  of 
Trent.  Soon  after  this,  Philip  of  Hesse,  during  an  entertain- 
ment given  him  by  Alba,  was  treacherously  made  prisoner,  and 
in  the  presence  of  the  elector  of  Brandenburg,  who  had  agreed 
to  be  surety  for  his  safety.  Granvella  and  Charles  answered 
disdainfully  all  representations  made  to  them  on  the  subject. 
The  latter  led  John  Frederic  and  Philip  about  with  him  in  tri- 
umph, and  trampled  all  Germany  in  the  dust. 

Calvin  expressed  himself  well  on  these  unhappy  occurrences, 
and  employs  the  same  sentiments  as  the  landgrave  Philip. 
"We  have  news  from  Germany  (July  14,  1547)  j  affairs  are  at 
present  in  such  a  state  that  I  know  our  Lord  will  take  from  us 
the  victorious  Gospel,  in  order  to  compel  us  to  fight  under  his 
cross.  But  He  consoles  us  by  the  reflection  that  He  intends 
to  uphold  his  church  by  the  wonderful  exercise  of  his  power, 
and  not  by  the  hand  of  man.  The  trial,  I  acknowledge,  is 
severe ;  but  our  forefathers  have  experienced  it  as  well  as  we, 
and  they  remained  constant  and  unshamed.  We  may  now 
prove  the  truth  of  the  proverb,  e  Let  us  hope,  and  then  we  shall 
see.'  For  the  rest,  we  must  not  be  surprised  if  God  proves  to 
us  by  so  hard  a  method  that  there  is  an  eternal  life.  But  may 
those  who  have  not  yet  been  shaken,  contemplate  themselves  in 
the  mirror  of  these  examples,  and  so  be  prepared  to  stand  in  this 
manner  before  the  judge." 

After  the  death  of  Francis  I.  and  Henry  VIII.  the  emperor 
fell  himself  at  the  summit  of  his  power.  He  was  master  of 
Germany,  but  his  thirst  for  rule  was  to  prove  the  deliverance  of 
the  church.  The  diet  was  opened  at  Augsburg,  and  he  now 
declared  openly  that  he  was  resolved  to  establish  unity  in  reli- 
gion. But  the  entire  uprooting  of  protestantism  formed  no  part 
of  his  plan  :  the  evangelical  church  was  to  be  made  a  barrier 
to  the  papal  power.  The  pope,  on  his  side,  jealous  of  the  pro- 
ceedings of  the  emperor,  concluded  a  treaty  with  Henry  II.,  and 
transferred,  under  pretence  of  the  plague,  the  council  from  Trent 
to  Bologna,  lie  thus  placed  it  more  under  his  own  immediate 
control,     (diaries  did  not  conceal  his  anger  at  this  proceeding  : 


A.D.  1547.]  CALVIN  TO  BULLIXGER.  23 

the  Germans  could  not  send  their  representatives  into  Italy ;  and 
when  the  Synod  recommenced  its  sitting  in  1548,  he  protested 
solemnly  against  its  translation.  A  plan  was  at  the  same  time 
proposed  to  the  Diet  of  Augsburg  for  the  re-establishment  of 
religious  union,  and  from  this  arose  the  celebrated  Interim.  But 
both  parties  were  brought  into  a  hostile  position  by  the  Interim 
and  the  Council.  The  pope  demanded  an  unconditional  sub- 
jection to  his  will :  he  allowed  but  the  single  choice,  antichrist 
or  excommunication.  His  sole  object  was  to  raise  the  spiritual 
power  to  its  greatest  height ;  while  the  emperor  desired  the 
union  of  parties,  in  order  to  exalt  in  a  similar  degree  the  autho- 
rity of  the  state. 

At  the  commencement  of  this  unhappy  epoch,  Calvin  entreated 
the  Geneva  council  to  allow  him  to  visit  the  Swiss  churches, 
for  the  purpose  of  gaining  information  as  to  the  state  of  those  in 
Germany ;  perhaps  also  to  exhort  the  Swiss  themselves  to  union. 
He  returned  on  the  10th  of  February,  1547,  and  he  concludes 
his  address  to  the  council,  in  which  he  mentions  the  capture  of 
Ulrn,  with  these  apostolic  words:  "  Seeing  that  the  devil  torments 
those  who  have  a  zeal  for  the  Gospel,  because  of  our  sins  and 
our  forgetfulness  of  God,  let  us  recommend  ourselves  to  the 
Lord." 

The  danger  for  Switzerland  became  every  day  greater  by  the 
entrance  of  the  Spaniards  into  Germany,  and  their  possession 
of  that  country.  Calvin  earnestly  exhorted  the  cantons  to  rise. 
Strasburg  and  Constance  were  the  bulwarks  of  their  church. 
Thus  he  wrote  to  Bullinger  in  September,  1547  :  "  The  people  of 
Strasburg  are  alarmed  because  the  emperor  intends  to  spend  the 
winter  among  them :  they  would  shut  their  gates  against  him,  if 
they  could  obtain  assistance  from  other  quarters.  Let  him  enter 
Strasburg,  and  he  will  form  a  camp,  from  which  he  will  make 
war  upon  you.  Now,  dear  Bullinger,  were  there  an  opportunity 
of  taking  counsel  among  each  other,  and  you  neglected  to  do  so, 
would  you  not  be,  as  it  were,  holding  your  throats  to  the  knife  ? 
But  it  is  useless  to  speak.  I  know  that  your  fellow-townsmen 
are  wise  enough  to  wish  for  some  remedy  to  these  disorders. 
Your  neighbours,  who  have  no  idea  of  employing  means  to 
bridle  the  beast,  lose  their  reason.  But  if  they  have  actually 
resolved  to  perish,  the  Lord  will  direct  his  elect  by  the  spirit  of 
his  good  counsel,  that  in  due  time  they  may  be  delivered  from 
the  clanger.  Many  are  the  reasons  which  ought  to  make  you 
shrink  with  alarm  from  forming  a  league  with  France.  But  though 


24  STATE  OF  THE  CHURCH.  [CHAP.  XI. 

it  can  be  of  no  possible  advantage  to  you  to  entangle  yourselves 
with  that  country,  yet  I  do  not  see  why  you  should  refuse  all 
offers  of  union *." 

Calvin's  firm,  exalted  sentiments,  in  the  midst  of  these 
troubles,  appeared  the  still  more  encouraging.  In  a  letter,  dated 
July  21,  1547,  he  warns  the  faithful  in  France  that  the  agitation 
in  Germany  could  hardly  fail  to  affect  them  in  some  degree. 
"It  is  impossible  for  us,  if  we  once  find  ourselves  established  on 
this  firm  foundation  of  the  church,  not  to  be  prepared  to  breast 
even  the  fiercest  waves  and  storms,  and  to  hold  out  against  their 
assault.  Yea,  it  is  even  good  for  us  to  be  exposed  to  such 
afflictions  as  may  prove  our  constancy  and  the  firmness  of  our 
faith.  In  Germany  the  Lord  has  so  humbled  whatever  was 
great  and  glorious  among  our  brethren,  and  has  so  increased  the 
power  of  him  from  whom  nothing  but  evil  is  to  be  expected, 
that  he  seems  to  be  engaged  in  re-establishing  his  spiritual  king- 
dom wherever  it  before  existed.  According  to  human  appear- 
ance, there  is  the  least  possible  cause  for  hope  ;  but  if  we  do 
not  cease  to  commend  the  unhappy  church  and  the  kingdom  of 
Christ  in  prayer  to  the  Lord,  I  still  hope  that  He  will,  beyond 
our  expectation,  lend  his  hand  to  the  work.  It  is  to  be  feared,  that 
we  have  hitherto  allowed  our  eyes  to  be  too  much  dazzled  by  the 
expectation  of  human  help.  Now  that  we  have  been  taught  to 
depend  upon  Him  alone,  we  must  recall  to  our  minds  the  truth, 
by  which  He  supported  the  church  in  former  ages,  and  so  do 
nothing  but  what  may  tend  to  his  glory.  Often  have  we  had 
occasion  to  wonder  at  that  which  no  one  before  hoped  to  see. 
In  the  meantime  let  us  continue  our  warfare  as  soldiers  fighting 
under  the  standard  of  the  cross  of  Christ.  This  has  already 
gained  triumphs  surpassing  all  those  of  the  world." 

Turning  his  eyes  from  the  great  disorders  existing  in  Geneva, 
he  says,  "It  is  not  worth  while  to  trouble  you  with  these. 
Moses  and  the  prophets,  the  earlier  leaders  of  God's  people,  had 
other  troubles  to  bear,  and  such  trials  are  altogether  necessary 
lor  us.  It  is  your  present  duty  to  seek  God  by  prayer,  and  to 
entreat  Him  that  we  may  not  become  weak,  but  that,  if  it  be 
necessary,  we  may  be  prepared  to  give  up  our  lives  for  his 
service,  and  to  regard  the  rage  and  threats  of  the  impious  as 

*  In  a  letter  to  RullinGrer,  dated  May  1549,  he  shows,  by  examples  from 
Scripture,  thai  a  league  might  be  formed  with  the  wicked,  though  it  was  to  be 
feared.  'I  be  Bufferings  of  the  unfortunate  brethren  in  France  influenced  him, 
and  he  adjured  Bullingcr  to  think  of  them. 


A.D.  1548.]  FALL  OF  STRASBURG.  25 

nothing  in  comparison  with  the  fear  of  the  Lord.  God  grant 
that  all  tumults  may  at  last  be  stilled,  for  they  sorely  afflict  the 
souls  of  the  weak,  and  that  to  me  is  of  all  things  the  most 
distressing." 

Strasburg  was  obliged  to  sign  a  capitulation,  April  12,  1547, 
whereby  it  agreed  to  pay  30,000  dollars  and  surrender  twelve 
pieces  of  cannon.  Even  this  however  could  not  long  protect  the 
city.  Switzerland  suffered  still  more.  The  free  imperial  city  of 
Constance  lost  both  its  spiritual  and  political  liberties.  The 
emperor  took  advantage  of  this  event  to  unite  it  to  the  dominions 
of  Austria.  An  army  of  three  thousand  Spaniards  attacked  it, 
and  were  repulsed ;  but  a  ban  was  now  pronounced  against  it, 
and  it  was  compelled  not  only  to  receive  the  Interim,  but  to  give 
itself  up  to  Ferdinand.  Altars  and  masses  were  now  introduced, 
and  evangelical  ministers  were  forbidden  to  reside  there.  Farel 
says,  "  As  the  ruin  of  Sodom  is  described,  so  will  that  of  insen- 
sate Constance  be  related.  They  celebrate  the  Interim,  like 
bacchanals,  with  dancing,  gaming  and  drinking."  "  You  would 
be  astonished,"  remarks  Bullinger,  "if  you  could  see  the  form  of 
oath  by  which  Constance  has  pledged  itself  to  the  king.  They 
have  sworn  by  God  and  the  holy  angels  to  adopt  his  opinions." 
The  celebrated  Ambrosius  Blaarer,  and  all  the  evangelical  party, 
departed  with  grief  from  the  state,  where  Huss,  a  century  before, 
had  suffered  for  freedom. 

Musculus  had  already  fled  from  Augsburg,  and  sought  refuge 
in  Switzerland.  The  council  of  Zurich,  though  fearing  the 
emperor,  allowed  Bullinger  to  receive  him.  He  was  afterwards 
appointed  professor  at  Bern.  Calvin  wrote  thus  to  Farel,  April 
30,  1548:  e '  I  say  nothing  respecting  the  fearful  destruction 
which  threatens  so  many  churches :  I  am  too  much  troubled  at 
it.  Such  is  the  state  of  things,  that  no  one  can  be  reckoned 
among  the  servants  of  Christ  who  is  not  ready  boldly  to  venture 
his  head  in  their  defence.  If  Viret  wish  it,  I  will  hasten  to  him 
with  all  speed,  that  we  may  all  three  go  together  to  Zurich." 
Mention  is  soon  after  made  of  the  meeting  of  this  triumvirate, 
to  consult  for  the  good  of  the  church.  Calvin  says :  "  If  our 
prayer  has  any  weight  with  the  people  of  Zurich,  they  will 
prevent,  unless  I  err,  the  coming  evil  by  a  timely  interference. 
A  means  will  then  be  found  to  extend  the  discussion,  till  we  have 
adopted  some  common  measure  of  safety."  To  Viret  he  writes, 
June  1548,  "  Believe  me,  the  eyes  of  both  the  wicked  and  the 
good  are  directed  towards  you.     Each  party  inquires  what  kind 


2G  SWISS  EXILES.  [chap.  XI. 

of  spirit  animates  you.  By  prudent  conduct  you  will  preserve 
that  reputation  which  is  now  exposed  to  such  danger,  and  will 
soften  the  rage  of  the  enemy ." 

But  the  Swiss  remained  divided  and  inflexible.  Bullinger 
speaks  only  of  a  bold  answer,  which  they  had  resolved  to  give 
the  emperor,  who,  strange  enough,  had  shown  no  willingness  to 
unite  with  them.  The  catastrophe  was  accomplished  at  Stras- 
bnrg.  In  1549  the  Interim  was  fully  introduced;  those  who 
would  not  acknowledge  it  were  to  be  sent  to  the  galleys.  The 
teachers  fled ;  but  in  the  midst  of  the  general  apostasy,  a  feeling 
of  strength  and  dignity  was  again  awakened  in  Germany. 
"  Many  firmly  reject  the  deceitful,  double-meaning  deforma- 
tion." The  weaker  indeed  the  resistance  when  the  struggle 
was  only  for  territory,  so  much  the  bolder  it  became  when  it 
regarded  matters  of  conscience.  Melancthon  had  disapproved 
of  the  Interim  in  almost  all  its  particulars  :  Maurice  of  Saxony 
opposed  and  protested  openly  against  it :  the  captive  elector 
expressed  himself  in  noble  language,  and  still  more  definitely 
against  it.  A  host  of  writings  followed.  The  landgrave  Philip 
yielded,  but  his  clergy  did  not.  Frederick  II.,  of  the  Palatinate, 
and  Joachim  II.  adopted  it.  The  margrave  of  Brandenburg- 
Kustrin,  on  the  contrary,  and  all  the  principal  cities,  took  the 
part  of  its  opponents.  At  Augsburg  Musculus  had  preached 
against  it;  Osiander  also  was  obliged  to  flee ;  Bucer,  Fagius  and 
Martyr  went  to  England.  The  Interim  was  everywhere  ridi- 
culed, especially  at  Magdeburg,  which  distinguished  itself  by  its 
determined  opposition.  The  power  of  the  emperor  however  at 
length  prevailed ;  but  the  fiercest  hatred  was  awakened,  and  the 
way  prepared  for  new  events. 

Calvin  comforted  all  those  who  had  been  obliged  to  flee. 
Brent  his,  who  hastened  to  Basil,  wrote  to  the  reformer.  His 
courageous  answers  are  filled  with  the  joyful  sentiments  of  the 
Gospel;  and  in  the  whole  of  this  period  we  meet  with  opinions 
and  events  in  France  and  Germany  which  recall  to  mind  the  first 
centuries  of  Christianity,  and  exhibit  a  zeal  unknown  to  our 
mild,  free  age,  in  which  the  persecution  of  opinion  is  the  only 
thing  visited  with  anathemas. 

It  was  under  the  name  of  the  Interim  that  the  emperor,  in 
1548,  published  ;i  formulary,  which  was  to  serve  as  a  rule  for 
both  parties  in  the  ehnreh,  till  a  general  council  should  have 
pronounced  definitively  on  the  disputed  points  of  belief.  All  that 
the  Interim  granted  to  the  protcstants  was  the  communion  in 


A.D.  1548.]  THE  INTERIM.  27 

both  kinds,  and  the  marriage  of  the  clergy ;  but  it  was  declared 
that  even  this  was  only  conceded  for  the  time.  In  other  respects 
the  decision  was  wholly  against  the  Lutherans,  and  under  the 
pretence  of  impartiality  questions  of  the  utmost  importance 
were  solved,  to  the  injury  of  the  evangelical  cause.  Notwith- 
standing this  however  the  catholics  were  as  little  contented 
with  the  Interim  as  the  protestants.  It  already  existed  in  the 
germ  at  Ratisbonne,  and  was  wrought  out  by  the  politic,  but  far 
from  conscientious,  theologians,  Pflug,  Helding  and  Agricola. 
The  first  two  were  catholics,  but  they  were  honoured  on  account 
of  their  personal  character :  the  third,  Agricola,  was  a  pro- 
testant,  who,  as  it  was  suspected,  had  been  bribed  to  mislead  or 
betray  his  party.  The  emperor  had  passed  a  law  which  rendered 
it  a  capital  offence  to  write  against  the  Interim.  Still,  more  than 
thirty-seven  papers  appeared  against  it.  Calvin  was  also  called 
upon  by  his  friends  to  controvert  it.  He  wrote  to  Farel,  August 
10,  1548 :  "  Bullinger  has  exhorted  me  to  write  against  the 
bastard  reformation  (adult ero-Germanum,  as  he  named  the  In- 
terim). I  was  already  prepared  for  this,  before  his  letters  reached 
me,  but  I  had  put  the  work  aside.  I  have  asked  Bucer's  advice  : 
if  he  think  it  right,  I  will  attempt  something."  In  the  then 
state  of  things  it  was  a  proof  of  great  courage  to  dare  to  attack 
the  dreaded  emperor,  who  might  any  day  fall  upon  Switzerland. 
Bullinger  was  rejoiced  to  see  his  writing,  and  mentions  that 
an  answer  had  appeared  in  Saxony,  but  that  it  contained  nothing 
but  abuse,  He  had  himself  prepared  something,  but  would  not 
let  it  be  printed.  Calvin,  in  the  paper  referred  to,  again  opposed 
with  minute  particularity  the  Roman  Catholic  doctrine  in  all 
its  details,  and  shows  especially  how  the  church  might  have 
been  reformed,  and  peace  established,  had  the  authors  of  the 
Interim  really  desired  to  settle  the  dispute.  He  proves,  on  the 
other  hand,  the  sophistry  of  the  so-named  mediators,  according 
to  all  the  various  catholic  principles.  "  Not  the  smallest  truth," 
he  says,  "  must  be  lost,  unless  we  mean  to  be  guilty  of  what  is 
indisputably  a  sacrilege."  In  the  part  of  the  work  where  he 
treats  of  the  supremacy  of  Rome,  he  asserts,  among  other  things, 
that  Peter  never  was  in  that  city.  He  develops  his  ideas  on 
marriage  and  divorce,  opposes  the  notion  that  marriage  is  a 
sacrament,  and  particularly  refutes  a  catholic  who  had  written 
against  the  Interim  on  the  ground  that  it  allowed  the  marriage 
of  priests.     He  concludes  with  an  admirable  exhortation  to  all 


28  CHURCH  OF  ENGLAND.  [CHAP.  XI. 

his  evangelical  brethren  to  die,  if  necessary,  for  the  faith,  and 
to  fix  their  thoughts  on  eternal  life  with  God.  When  Melanc- 
thon,  at  a  subsequent  period,  did  not  reject  the  modified  Leipzig 
Interim,  Calvin  reproached  him  in  the  severest  manner,  and  with 
the  most  passionate  love  of  truth.  "  Vacillation  in  so  great  a 
man  is  not  to  be  tolerated.  I  would  a  hundred  times  rather  die 
with  you,  than  see  you  survive  a  doctrine  which  you  had  be- 
t  raved."  Thus  he  reproved  him,  but  without  undervaluing,  as 
others  did,  his  greatness. 

To  one  of  the  impressions  of  this  work  the  printer  affixed  an 
admonition,  stating  that  he  did  not  agree  with  an  opinion  con- 
tained in  the  book,  which  seemed  to  affirm  that  the  children  of 
believers  are  already,  before  baptism,  holy  and  regenerate,  and 
that  baptism  therefore  is  not  unconditionally  necessary.  Calvin 
opposed  the  attack  of  the  unknown  editor  in  an  especial  ap- 
pendix, which  appeared  only  in  1550. 

The  distracted  state  of  the  church  in  Germany  had  occasioned 
the  flight  of  many  of  Calvin's  friends  to  England;  and  the 
learned  and  christian  Peter  Martyr  became  in  Cranmer's  hand  a 
chief  instrument  of  the  Reformation,  which  now,  notwithstand- 
ing great  imperfections  and  abuses,  of  which  Calvin  speaks  in 
many  of  his  writings,  and  especially  in  his  letter  to  Somerset, 
went  more  prosperously  forward.  The  earlier  measures  of  the 
king,  under  whom  court  cabals,  passion  and  the  love  of  women 
entered  into  the  conduct  of  church  affairs,  had  given  such  a  bad 
direction  to  the  operations  of  the  clergy,  that  even  the  best 
teachers  could  not  overcome  the  difficulties  in  their  way.  Hert- 
ford, the  uncle  of  the  heir  apparent,  was  appointed  protector 
during  the  minority  of  Edward  VI.,  and,  as  duke  of  Somerset, 
ruled  with  kingly  power,  but  with  justice  and  moderation.  The 
disturbed  state  of  the  nation  as  to  religious  affairs,  the  variety 
of  parties,  rendered  the  control  of  a  ruler  at  this  time  more 
especially  necessary.  Sincerely  devoted  to  the  Reformation,  he 
looked  to  Cranmer  for  the  accomplishment  of  his  ends.  This 
prelate  sought  not  only  Bucer  and  Martyr,  but  Fagius,  Ochinus 
and  Musculus  as  his  fellow-labourers.  The  first  four  only  came 
t<>  England;  with  them  however  was  associated  John  a  Lasco, 
who  had  been  converted  to  the  truth  at  Zurich  by  Zwingli.  It 
was  at  Bucer'8  suggestion  that  Calvin  undertook  to  exhort  the 
duke  of  Somerset  to  despise  all  difficulties  in  the  execution  of 
his  purpose,    Somerset  seems  to  have  received  this  advice  favour- 


A.D.  1551.]  BUCER  AND  MARTYR.  29 

ably,  Calvin  having  subsequently  said  in  a  letter  to  Farel, 
"  Canterbury  has  told  me  that  I  cannot  do  anything  more  useful 
than  to  write  often  to  the  king/5 

"  I  hear/'  he  says  in  his  epistle  to  the  protector,  u  that  there 
are  two  classes  of  agitators  in  your  kingdom,  the  one  consisting 
of  fanatics,  who,  under  the  pretence  of  zeal  for  the  Gospel,  over- 
turn all  social  order;  the  other  of  those  who  obstinately  desire 
to  retain  the  whole  mass  of  catholic  superstitions.  Both  deserve 
to  be  punished  by  the  sword,  which  God  has  given  you,  for  they 
rise  in  defiance  against  the  king  and  against  God.  The  best 
means  however  to  check  the  evil  is  to  instruct  men  in  the  know- 
ledge that  we  are  created  after  the  image  of  God,  and  that 
Christianity  is  opposed  to  all  disorder.  What  I  have  to  say  to 
you  therefore  may  be  reduced  to  three  points.  First,  in  what 
manner  the  people  may  be  best  taught;  second,  what  means 
may  be  used  to  remove  the  abuses  of  the  church;  and  third, 
how  the  scandals  which  exist,  the  vices  and  luxury  of  the  day, 
may  be  overcome." 

He  wrote  at  the  same  time  to  Bucer  in  England,  encouraging 
him  to  promote  peace  and  union  there ;  he  also  prayed  him, 
with  great  freedom  of  expression,  to  speak  more  clearly  on  the 
doctrine  of  the  Lord's  Supper,  and  begged  him  to  have  the 
honour  of  the  Holy  Spirit  and  of  Christ  more  distinctly  before 
his  eyes,  that  no  part  of  it  might  be  ascribed  to  the  mere  minister, 
or  the  elements  of  the  sacrament.  The  letter  is  well  worth  read- 
ing, and  affords  an  excellent  view  of  the  subject.  "  You  must 
be  careful  to  devote  yourself  to  the  church,  and  to  the  service  of 
the  Lord.  You  have  already  run  over  a  long  course,  and  you 
know  not  how  much  still  remains  to  you.  I,  who  left  the  cradle 
a  little  earlier,  stand  perhaps  nearer  the  goal,  but  the  direction 
and  the  end  of  our  lives  are  in  the  hand  of  the  Lord."  He  then 
speaks  of  the  wretched  condition  of  France,  and  expresses  a  hope 
that  England  may  raise  itself  up.  "  I  have  exhorted  the  pro- 
tector, as  you  wished  me,  and  as  the  present  state  of  affairs  re- 
quires. It  is  now  your  duty,  in  all  possible  ways,  if  you  can  but 
obtain  a  hearing,  to  press  especially  for  the  abolishing  of  all 
ceremonies,  which  always  carry  somewhat  of  superstition  with 
them."  It  was  Somerset's  design  only  to  purify  the  English 
church  and  the  papacy,  not  to  reconstruct  them. 

Bucer  promised,  in  order  to  avoid  contention,  to  speak  of  the 
Lord's  Supper  in  the  same  language  as  Martyr.  In  the  year 
1551  a  new  strife  arose,  as  to  which  of  the  catholic  ceremonies 


30  CHURCH  OF  ENGLAND.  [CHAP.  XI. 

should  be  abolished.  Hooper,  who,  even  according  to  Calvin's 
opinion,  viewed  the  subject  too  strictly,  was  thrown  into  prison. 
Calvin  immediately  entreated  the  duke  of  Somerset  to  protect 
Hooper,  and  he  was  soon  after  liberated. 

Bucer  died  the  same  year,  and  Calvin  deplored  his  death  in  a 
letter  to  Viret : — "  I  feel  as  if  my  heart  would  break,  whenever  I 
think  of  the  manifold  loss  which  the  church  has  suffered  in 
Bucer.  May  the  Lord  grant  that  all  the  rest  whom  I  might 
have  to  weep  may  survive  me,  and  so  let  me  die  joyfully  !"  But 
he  was  still  very  dissatisfied  with  the  state  of  the  church  of  En- 
gland*. "There  is  yet  much  to  be  desired.  Among  others,  it 
is  an  incurable  evil,  that,  so  long  as  the  king  remains  under 
guardianship,  all  the  revenues  of  the  church  will  be  squandered 
by  the  great.  In  the  meanwhile,  they  give  a  mere  pittance  to 
men  without  merit,  but  who  perforin  the  character  of  pastors.  I 
will  not  cease  however  to  rouse  the  consciences  of  all  on  this 
subject."  He  developed  a  grander  plan,  in  a  subsequent  letter 
to  Cranmer,  for  a  general  union  of  the  evangelical  churches. 

The  young  king  Edward,  who  ascended  the  throne  in  his 
tenth  year,  ruled  till  1553.  His  noble  dispositions  awakened  the 
greatest  hope,  and  Calvin  sought  to  gain  him  more  and  more  for 
the  Gospel.  This  is  strikingly  shown  by  his  sending  him  a  copy 
of  his  Commentary  on  Isaiah.  This  was  followed  by  a  dedica- 
tion of  the  Commentary  on  the  Catholic.  Epistles.  In  the  epistle 
dedicatory  he  arms  the  young  prince  against  the  Council  of 
Trent.  Lastly,  he  dedicated  to  him  the  Commentary  on  the 
eighty-seventh  Psalm,  with  a  French  letter,  dated  1552. 

Evident  progress  was  made  by  the  Reformation  at  this  period. 
The  parliament  in  1549  appointed  a  committee  of  bishops  and 
clergy  to  undertake  the  task  of  forming  a  new  liturgy.  They 
retained  only  so  much  of  the  Mass  as  was  consistent  with  the 
principles  of  the  Reformation  ;  thus  the  invocation  of  saints  was 
abolished,  and  Latin  was  exchanged  for  English.  The  marriage 
of  the  clergy  was  allowed.  But  the  evil  disposition  of  Henry 
VIII.  was  still  at  work;  even  Cranmer  knew  not  of  what  spirit 
he  was,  and  became  the  persecutor  of  those  who  differed  from 
his  opinions.  Bishop  Bonner  was  deprived  of  his  office,  because 
he  supported  t\\v  old  doctrine  of  the  real  presence.  Even  some 
mechanics,  who  adhered  to  their  extravagant  notions,  were 
brought  to  the  scaffold  ;  and  Cranmer  pressed  it  upon  the  young 
king  as  a  duty  to  order  them  to  be  executed.  lie  yielded,  but 
*  Epis.  123,  Ed.  Amst.  p.  240. 


a.d.  1552.]  calvin's  commentaries.  31 

with  tears.  Violence  like  this  led  only  to  an  outward  unity,  and 
not  to  the  truth.  Thus  an  altogether  different  system  became 
necessary. 

Calvin's  influence  in  Scotland  was  not  exercised  till  a  later 
period;  but  he  already  took  a  comprehensive  survey  of  the 
churches  in  foreign  lands.  In  the  year  1545  he  renewed  his 
intercourse  with  the  Austrian  reformed  communities,  to  which 
he  dedicated  his  catechism,  with  the  view  of  establishing  a  union 
of  doctrine  between  them  and  his  own  church.  He  also  ad- 
dressed himself  to  the  Poles,  and  dedicated  his  Commentary  on 
the  Hebrews,  in  1549,  to  king  Sigismund  Augustus,  whom  he 
exhorted  to  give  himself  to  the  service  of  Christ,  a  which  places 
us  in  the  rank  of  angels,"  and  to  walk  in  the  footsteps  of  his 
glorious  father,  Sigismund,  who,  while  persecution  raged  in  so 
many  other  countries,  never  stained  his  pure  hand  with  blood. 
The  great  men  of  his  kingdom,  he  added,  were  now  expressing 
their  zeal  for  Christ  and  the  truth ;  John  a  Lasco,  a  descendant 
of  a  most  renowned  family,  shining  conspicuous  before  the  rest. 

The  Reformation  was  established  in  Denmark  as  early  as 
1536,  but  it  was  not  till  1552  that  Calvin  had  any  intercourse 
with  that  nation.  In  that  year  he  dedicated  the  first  half  of  his 
Commentary  on  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles,  to  the  excellent  king 
Christian  I.;  and  in  1554  he  dedicated  the  second  half  to  the 
son  of  that  monarch,  Frederic,  expressing  on  both  occasions  his 
high  esteem  for  those  princes,  and  his  love  towards  the  Danish 
church.  His  intercourse  with  Sweden  was  of  a  still  later  date. 
Beza  says,  "  He  bore  all  these  churches  on  his  shoulders." 

It  is  a  characteristic  and  a  joyous  sign  of  the  freshness  and 
overflowing  living  energy  in  this  great  man,  that  at  this  busy 
period  of  his  career  he  published  so  many  works,  that  it  might 
have  been  supposed  he  had  nothing  else  to  do.  When  more- 
over we  consider  their  solidity,  especially  in  the  case  of  his 
exegetical  writings,  we  feel  that  he  had  an  internal,  especial 
existence  for  himself,  as  well  as  his  outward  being ;  or,  as  he 
expresses  it,  ( all  the  conflicts  which  took  place  around  him,  and 
the  consequences  of  which  seemed  to  oppress  him  so  severely, 
were  but,  in  his  eyes,  as  skirmishes*.' 

If  he  was  by  anything  more  especially  characterized,  it  was 
by  the  exegetical  element,  with  which  he  wrought  upon  the  in- 
tellectual world.  The  clearness  and  sedateness  of  his  under- 
standing, the  tranquillity,  the  caution  against  extravagances,  in 
*  Epis,  ad  Pios  Gallos. 


32  calvin's  commentaries.  [chap.  xi. 

a  word  the  higher  cultivation  in  contrast  with  the  rudeness  of 
an  earlier  period,  the  simple  style,  the  dogmatic  freedom,  the 
tact,  the  learning  and  christian  sentiment,  the  practical  character 
of  his  interpretation, — all  characteristic  of  his  genius  and  writings, 
have  been  spoken  of  in  the  first  part  of  this  work. 

It  was  Bucer  who  first  encouraged  him  to  undertake  the 
labour  of  a  commentator.  "  The  Lord,"  he  said,  "has  endowed 
you  with  an  excellent  ability  to  interpret  his  Gospel.  You  have 
again  bestowed  upon  us  a  noble  gift  by  your  commentary  on 
the  Epistles  to  Timothy.  May  the  spirit  of  God  himself  guide 
you!" 

The  first  part  of  his  Commentary  on  the  Epistles  to  the 
Corinthians  he  dedicated,  in  1546,  to  the  Sieur  de  Bourgogne; 
and  ten  years  later  another  to  Galliazzo  Carraccioli.  In  writing 
to  the  former,  he  gives  a  proof  of  pure  Christianity  and  of  great- 
ness of  soul,  and  at  the  same  time  of  his  skill  in  addressing 
persons  of  rank.  The  second  Epistle  to  the  Corinthians  was 
dedicated  to  Melchior  Wolmar,  to  whom  Calvin  expresses  his 
thankfulness,  while  he  reminds  him  of  the  days  of  his  youth, 
which  he  spent  with  him.  The  Epistles  to  the  Galatians,  Ephe- 
sians,  Philippians,  Colossians,  were  dedicated  to  Christopher, 
archduke  of  Wirtemberg  and  Miimpelgard,  to  strengthen  him  in 
his  christian  course.  But  the  first  Epistle  to  the  Thessalonians 
he  dedicated,  in  1551,  to  the  aged  Maturin  Cordier,  his  former 
teacher,  principal  of  the  gymnasium  at  Lausanne,  and  to  whom 
he  expresses  his  gratitude  that  he  so  carefully  instructed  him  in 
his  early  years.  In  the  year  1551  he  sent  his  Commentary  on 
the  Second  Epistle  to  the  Corinthians  to  his  physician,  Textor, 
whom  he  thanks  for  his  friendship,  and  adds,  "  When  I  think  of 
my  departed  wife,  I  am  daily  admonished  how  much  I  am  in- 
debted to  you,  both  because  you  once  before  cured  her  of 
a  heavy  sickness,  and  employed  all  your  art  and  efforts  to 
afford  her  help  in  her  last  sufferings."  In  1548  he  dedicated 
the  two  Epistles  to  Timothy  to  the  duke  of  Somerset,  that,  as 
Paul  exhorted  Timothy,  so  he  might  exhort  the  youthful  king, 
and  show  him  in  what  the  true  church  consisted.  The  Epistle 
to  Titus  he  dedicated  to  Farel  and  Viret,  as  we  have  already 
stated.  Mention  has  also  been  made  of  the  Catholic  Epistles, 
and  of  that  to  the  Hebrews. 

Calvin's  methodical  unity  of  thought,  which  he  yet  knew  how 
to  combine  with  freedom,  was  strongly  shown  in  his  scientific 
style  of  interpretation.     He  wished  to  cultivate  reverential  feel- 


A.D.  1544.]  CALVIN  AND  CASTELLIO.  33 

ings  rather  than  mere  knowledge,  hut  he  never  unexegetically 
sacrificed  the  meaning  of  Scripture  to  the  desire  to  establish  a 
particular  doctrine.  He  was  therefore  naturally  averse  to  all 
hot-headed  people,  who  rashly  rushed  onward  before  their  time. 
This  leads  us  to  speak  again  of  his  dignified  opposition  to  the 
celebrated  Castellio.  His  struggle  for  doctrine  and  discipline  in 
the  church  began  with  the  year  1544.  We  pass  over  a  polemical 
intermezzo  which  he  had  with  Chaponneau,  a  minister  at  Neu- 
chatel,  which  is  only  interesting  on  account  of  a  characteristic 
letter,  addressed  to  a  party  in  that  city,  which  it  drew  from 
Calvin.  He  met  Chaponneau's  strife-loving  disposition  in  an 
indirect  way,  showing  his  own  disinclination  to  dispute,  and  at 
the  same  time  the  little  worth  of  his  opponent.  So  also  he 
stated  to  the  members  of  the  church  at  Neuchatel  his  opinion 
of  their  rules  in  respect  to  discipline  and  ecclesiastical  censures. 
He  touches  upon,  and  explains,  all  the  difficulties  which  had  any- 
thing to  do  with  the  delicate  office  of  correcting  manners.  "  Let 
it  be  universally  agreed,"  he  says,  "  that  the  erring  should  be 
openly  exposed ;  they  would  otherwise  go  to  other  churches,  and 
so  all  discipline  would  cease." 

This  operation  of  spiritual  censures  throws  some  light  also 
upon  the  affair  of  Castellio,  who  was  the  representative  in  his 
age  of  that  free,  passionate  spirit  which  has  only  in  later  times 
burst  forth  and  become  so  fearless. 

Calvin  became  acquainted  with  Castellio  at  the  university  of 
Strasburg  in  1539-40.  He  lived  for  some  time  in  the  same 
house  with  him,  and  endeavoured  to  obtain  the  diligent  young 
man,  the  ingenious  student  of  antiquity,  for  Geneva,  it  always 
being  the  wish  of  the  great  reformer  to  secure  for  his  church  a 
scientific  cultivation.  But  Castellio  was  determined  to  be  a 
theologian  also.  Beza  described  him,  according  to  his  own  style, 
by  the  Greek  term  ISioyvcoficov,  self-opinionated.  His  residence 
at  Geneva,  as  principal  tutor  in  the  Gymnasium,  lasted  about 
three  years.  He  did  not  receive  any  appointment  as  a  preacher, 
but  he  now  began  to  put  forth  some  singular  cxegetical  opinions 
on  scriptural  subjects.  Thus  he  declared  the  Canticles  to  be  a 
mere  obscene  song,  especially  the  seventh  chapter.  It  was 
written,  he  said,  by  Solomon  in  his  youth,  and  ought  to  be  struck 
out  of  the  canon.  He  never  considered  the  difficulty  of  setting- 
bounds  to  such  experiments,  and  to  what  end  they  would  lead 
where  the  catholics  were  concerned.    His  pervcrseness  was  even 

VOL.  II.  D 


34  CALVIN  AND  CASTELLIO.  [CHAP.  XI. 

still  more  apparent  in  his  denial  of  the  descent  of  Christ  into 
hell,  in  his  refusal  to  receive  Calvin's  intelligent  and  cautious 
exposition  of  the  subject,  or  to  consider  the  vast  importance  of  a 
reference  to  the  sentiments  of  the  early  believers. 

Calvin  was  obliged  to  declare  aloud  his  disapprobation  of  this 
conduct.  He  spared  him,  from  the  great  regard  which  he  enter- 
tained for  him,  as  much  as  he  could;  but  Castellio,  deeply 
tided;  wished  to  enter  into  an  open  discussion  with  him  on 
the  point  in  dispute.  The  council  refused  its  consent,  and 
thereby  evinced  its  discretion ;  but  for  the  sake  of  truth,  and 
not  to  limit  the  freedom  of  opinion,  the  discussion  was  allowed 
to  take  ptace  in  the  presence  of  the  assembled  preachers.  It 
was  continued  a  long  while,  but  without  any  good  result.  Cas- 
tellio  was  now  so  embittered,  that  he  openly  abused  the  ministers 
in  a  sort  of  congregation,  in  which  every  one  was  allowed  to 
bring  forward  his  complaints.  He  then  took  his  departure,  but 
without  being  obliged  to  leave  Geneva  in  a  degrading  manner, 
as  Beza  falsely  reports. 

This  occurrence  is  worthy  of  attention,  because  it  was  the 
first  time  that  the  council  was  wholly  on  Calvin's  side;  and 
through  him  it  was  that  that  union  of  opinion  was  established  upon 
which  the  safety  of  the  protestant  church  entirely  depended. 
It  appears  indeed,  from  the  whole  of  Castellio's  history,  that  he 
was  by  no  means  a  man  of  vicious  disposition,  but  an  ingenious, 
bold  and  earnest  theologian,  interesting  and  worthy  of  esteem, 
notwithstanding  his  failings,  which  mainly  arose  from  incon- 
sideratcness,  a  want  of  forbearance  and  love  of  strife.  He  was 
such  a  person,  in  short,  as  the  French  call  nne  mauvaise  tetc. 
Tlis  ability  was  not  sufficiently  exalted  to  enable  him  to  under- 
stand Calvin's  worth  and  calling  as  a  peace-maker  in  those  times 
of  excitement,  and  he  named  that  despotism  which  was  really 
but  Bdelity  to  duty.  Bayle  was  as  little  able  to  understand 
Calvin.  This  is  evident  when,  at  the  end  of  his  article  on  Cas- 
tellio, he  observes,  that  the  latter  had  only  failed  in  not  knowing 
how  kings— that  is,  theologians  who  hold  the  rank  of  autho- 
rities — must  be  managed.  Schlosser  judges  him  correctly,  when 
he  ('  him,  Castcllio,  as  "the  learned,  but  unfortunate, 

•I  and  restless  Sebastian."  Beza  regarded  him  as  honest; 
and  the  testimony  given  him  by  Calvin  and  the  minister;-  of 
Geneva  tends  equally  to  prove  his  integrity.  The  first  cause  of 
annoyance  between  these  two  distinguished  men  was  connected 


A.D.  1544.]  CALVIN  AND  CASTELLIO.  35 

with  the  printing  of  Castellio's  French  translation  of  the  Bible, 
which  Calvin  would  willingly  have  corrected,  but  Castellio 
would  not  allow  him. 

Castellio  bore  himself  so  unbecomingly  in  the  whole  of  this 
affair,  that  we  may  easily  account,  by  his  passionate  conduct  in 
the  one  instance,  for  his  rage  in  other  and  later  occurrences 
against  the  reformer.  Calvin  wrote  to  Fare],  May  30,  1544  : 
"  I  now  again  see  what  it  is  to  live  in  Geneva.  I  lie  among 
thorns.  There  have  been  terrible  quarrels  among  my  colleagues 
during  the  last  two  months.  Our  Castellio,  on  the  other  hand, 
raves  against  us  with  the  fury  of  despair.  About  sixty  hearers 
were  present  at  the  meeting  yesterday,  when  the  Scriptures  were 
expounded.  The  following  passage  was  proposed :  4  Let  us 
prove  ourselves  the  servants  of  God  in  all  long  suffering/  Cas- 
tellio now  raised  a  constant  opposition,  in  order  to  create  between 
us  and  Christ's  servants  the  greatest  possible  dissension.  Thus 
he  played  with  the  words  in  this  manner :  c  Paul  was  a  servant 
of  God, — we  serve  only  ourselves :  he  was  the  most  patient  of  men ; 
— we  are  impatience  itself:  he  watched  the  night  through  for 
the  edifying  of  the  church, — we  watch  to  amuse  ourselves  :  he 
was  modest  and  temperate, — we  have  a  drunken  boldness :  he 
was  persecuted  by  the  rebellious, — we  excite  them:  he  was 
chaste, — we  are  licentious  :  he  was  himself  cast  into  prison, — we 
cast  others  in,  if  they  but  utter  a  word  against  us :  he  looked  to 
the  power  of  God,— we  to  the  strength  of  others :  he  was  op- 
pressed,— but  we  oppress,  and  that  the  innocent/  What  more 
is  necessary  ?  It  was  in  short  a  cruel,  exciting  speech  through- 
out. I  was  silent  for  the  moment,  lest  a  greater  dispute  might 
be  kindled  in  the  presence  of  our  numerous  friends,  but  I  com- 
plained to  the  syndics.  Such  a  conduct  marks  the  beginning  of 
all  schismatics.  I  am  induced  to  oppose  myself  to  his  rage,  not 
so  much  on  account  of  the  perverseness  of  his  conduct  and  the 
rashness  of  his  abuse,  as  because  of  the  perfect  groundlessness 
of  his  accusations*." 

At  Basel,  where  it  was  not  felt  to  be  so  absolutely  a  duty  to 
contend  for  unity,  Castellio  was  appointed  to  the  office  of  Greek 
professor.  If  we  again  consider  the  relation  in  which  these  two 
eminent  men  stood  to  each  other,  we  shall  find  that  Castellio 

*  Other  letters  however  exist  which  show,  that,  full  of  indignation  as  Calvin 
was  on  account  of  Castellio's  slanderous  abuse,  he  yet  continued  to  befriend 
him.  Thus  he  recommended,  him  to  his  acquaintances,  only  lamenting  his 
fierce  and  inconsiderate  conduct:  1544  (MS.  Gen.).  In  a  letter  to  Viret, 
March  20,  1544  (MS.  Gen.),  he  says,  "  Consider  what  can  be  done  for  him." 

d2 


3G  CALVIN  AND  CASTELLIO.  [CHAP.  XI. 

continued  all  his  life  through  the  same  noble  but  absurd  cham- 
pion of  unlimited  toleration;  while  Calvin,  as  the  supporter  of 
the  grand  truth  which  he  viewed  as  the  source  of  life,  pursued 
with  enthusiasm  to  the  end  of  his  career  the  one  great  object 
which  he  had  always  in  view.    The  strife  was  soon  revived.    Cas- 
tellio  published  a  paper  on  the  doctrine  of  predestination  and 
justification,  as  founded  on  the  ninth  chapter  of  the  Romans.    It 
was  directed  against  Calvin's  principles.    The  essay  on  toleration 
is  also  generally,  and  rightly,  ascribed  to  him :  it  appeared  after 
the  trial  of  Servetus,  under  the  assumed  name  of  Martin  Bellius, 
and  with  the  following  title,  "  Haeretici,  an  sint  persequendi, 
mul tor.   sentential"      Calvin  answered  this  work.     Beza  also 
wrote  a  very  strong  reply  to  it,  at  Lausanne,  under  the  title  of 
(:  De  Haereticis  a  magistratu  gladio  puniendis."     He  supported 
his  views  with  great  talent,  painted   Servetus  in  the  darkest 
colours,  and  undertook  the  defence  of  his  friend   against   all 
assailants.     But  Castellio  was  not  yet  silenced.     An  anonymous 
writing,  the  author  of  which  Calvin  and  Beza  could  easily  guess, 
appeared  at  Paris,  under  the  title  of  "  Extracts  from  the  Latin 
and  French  works  of  Calvin."     In  this  publication  the  funda- 
mental doctrine  of  election,  that  which  supplied  all  deficiencies, 
was  trodden  underfoot  with  the  biting  wit  and  the  keen  logic 
which  might  have  been  looked  for  from  a  Voltaire.     Beza  and 
Calvin  however  exhibited  far  greater  ability  in  the  answer,  and 
again  trod  the  adversary  in  the  dust.     Worth  and  dignity  were 
on  their  side,  and  it  cannot  be  denied  that  Castellio  would  have 
done  better  to  be  silent.     It  is  not  so  much  matter  of  surprise, 
therefore,  that  they  should  have  spoken  severely  of  him  in  the 
preface  to  their  translation  of  the  New  Testament,  and  warned 
every  Christian  to  beware  of  a  man  "who  had  been  chosen  by 
Satan  to   deceive  the   thoughtless    and  indifferent."     Castellio 
indeed,  in  his  Apology,  published  in  1558,  complains  of  Calvin's 
fierceness  against  him,  and  declares  that  he  had  never  seen  the 
two  works  which  Calvin  ascribed  to  him*.     But  who  can  doubt 
that  they  were  his,  when  they  breathe  so  entirely  his  spirit? 
Still  we  must  praise  the  moderate  tone  of  this  Apology.     He 
accuses  the  reformer  of  believing  too  easily  all  the  evil  which 
was  told  him  of  his  opponents.     Among  other  things  Calvin, 
deceived  by  a  false  report,  had  accused  him  of  stealing  wood  to 
warm   his  chamber.     Castellio  spoke  very  temperately  of  this 
slander,  and  cleared  it  up  in  the  following  manner.     He  was 
*   Bayle,  art.  Castellio. 


A.D.  1544,]  CALVIN  ON  ASTROLOGY.  37 

indeed  in  very  necessitous  circumstances,  having  to  bring  up  a 
family  of  four  sons  and  four  daughters.  In  order  to  finish  his 
translation  of  the  Scriptures,  he  was  obliged  to  sit  up  during  the 
night,  and  to  provide  fuel  he  went  to  the  bank  of  a  stream  which 
flows  into  the  Rhine,  to  pick  up  the  pieces  of  wood  borne  down 
by  the  current,  and  which  two  hundred  men  had  done  at  the 
same  time.  He  appealed  to  all  Basel  in  proof  of  the  truth  of 
this  statement.  This  gives  us  a  glimpse  of  the  state  in  which 
this  great  and  accomplished  scholar  lived.  He  had  not  the 
means  of  warming  his  chamber,  and  such  was  his  poverty  or 
necessity,  that  he  was  obliged  to  cultivate  by  his  own  labour  a 
little  spot  of  ground  outside  the  city.  He  died  in  want,  in  the 
year  1563,  and  was  buried  in  the  grave  of  Grynseus.  But  his 
remains  were  subsequently  disinterred,  and  some  Polish  students 
buried  him  in  the  high  church  at  Basel,  adorning  his  tomb  with 
an  inscription.  Montaigne*  devotes  to  him  some  expressions 
of  sympathy :  "  To  the  great  shame  of  our  age,  two  distinguished 
scholars,  as  I  hear,  have  died  before  our  very  eyes  in  a  condition 
in  which  they  had  not  sufficient  to  eat, — Lelio  Giraldi  in  Italy, 
and  Castellio  in  Germany.  Thousands,  I  should  think,  would 
have  come  to  their  help  had  they  only  known  their  state." 

We  may  close  our  account  of  Calvin's  present  labours  by  the 
mention  of  two  works,  which  had  an  immediate  relation  to  the 
common  intellectual  character  of  the  period.  They  show  how 
sick  the  world  was,  and  form  a  proper  introduction  to  that 
which  we  have  to  say  on  the  anti-christianity  of  those  times. 
The  first  is  a  work  against  relics  :  it  is  written  with  much 
humour  and  irony,  and  was  likely  to  be  useful  from  its  popular 
tendency.  The  second  was  a  treatise  against  astrology.  Although 
a  certain  degree  of  light  had  been  diffused,  even  the  most  power- 
ful minds  were  affected  by  the  remains  of  superstition,  and  it 
was  Calvin's  peculiar  characteristic  to  be  able  by  his  own  active 
spirit  to  penetrate,  in  that  unlearned  age,  the  mists  of  error  and 
falsehood.  Even  Beza  himself,  according  to  Schlosser,  believed 
at  one  time  in  astrological  signs,  and  thought  that  the  appear- 
ance of  the  famous  star  in  Cassiopea  betokened  the  overthrow  of 
all  things.  It  is  well  known  that  Melancthon  inclined  to  this 
weakness.  The  regions  of  presentiment  and  mysticism  were 
equally  strange  to  Calvin,  and  there  are  only  two  cases  in  which 
such  matters  are  touched  upon.  In  the  very  year  in  which  his 
work  against  astrology  appeared,  he  wrote  to  Yiret,  Septem- 
*  Essais,  lib.  i.  ch.  34. 


38  CALVIX  ON   ASTROLOGY.  [CHAP.  XI. 

ber  23 :  "  In  the  packet  which  you  lately  forwarded  to  me, 
were  letters  from  Poland :  they  contained  nothing  new,  except 
the  account  that  a  lake  (in  ditione  Marcicii)  had  appeared  for 
two  days  like  blood,  and  that  the  people  had  here  and  there 
taken  up  masses  of  the  gore.  A  fearful  wonder,  the  meaning  of 
which  will  soon  become  clear  to  us.  There  being  now  so  many 
fables  abroad,  I  can  scarcely  believe  it,  till  our  booksellers  come 
back  from  the  fair."  In  speaking  of  one  of  Calvin's  sicknesses 
Beza  says,  "  He  was  lying  in  bed  ;  it  was  Saturday ;  the  north 
wind  had  raged  terribly  for  the  last  two  days ;  Calvin  lifted  up 
his  voice  in  the  presence  of  many  persons,  and  said,  ( I  know 
not  what  I  ought  to  think  of  it,  but  the  whole  night  through  I 
have  seemed  to  hear  a  tremendous  sound  of  warlike  instruments, 
and  I  could  not  convince  myself  that  it  was  not  so.  Let  us,  I 
beseech  you,  pray ;  for  certain  it  is  that  some  great  event  is  at 
hand.'  And,  strange  to  say,  on  that  very  day  the  great  battle 
of  Dreux  was  fought." 

It  is  not  uninteresting  to  hear  the  remarks  of  so  clear  a  mind 
on  the  then  famous  science  of  the  heavenly  bodies,  especially  at 
a  time  when  the  curtain  has  fallen,  and  a  Chalmers  has  brought 
this  new  branch  of  knowledge  into  harmony  with  the  Gospel. 
Calvin  had  yet  no  idea  of  the  system  of  Copernicus,  although 
the  work  of  that  astronomer  was  written  in  1530.  "The  whole 
heaven  moves  itself  around  the  earth,"  said  Calvin,  even  in  the 
last  edition  of  his  Institutes.  The  writings  of  Aristarchus  of 
Samos,  the  only  one  among  the  ancients  who  awoke  out  of 
the  egoistical  dream,  had  been  but  lately  discovered ;  and  how 
slowly  this  knowledge  was  diffused  appears  from  the  case  of 
Galileo,  who  in  1610  first  ventured  to  proclaim  the  truth  of  the 
new  system.  Somewhat  l$ter  Beza  shows.,  in  his  work  on  the 
plague,  that  he  was  acquainted  with  the  Copernican  system, 
though  he  might  not  understand  it. 

Astrology  is  certainly  indebted  for  its  origin  to  the  desire  of 
the  human  spirit  to  look  upwards,  and  there,  above,  to  seek  the 
solution  of  all  mysteries.  Nor  is  the  influence  of  the  heavens 
on  the  organisation  of  man  to  be  despised.  The  repressed  super- 
si  ii ion  of  catholics  and  protestants  had  now  again  concentrated 
itself  in  this  art.  familiar  in  Calvin's  time  to  all  men  of  learning. 
Francis  I.  dismissed  his  physician  because  he  had  shown  himself 
unwilling  to  prophesy  from  the  stars  respecting  the  future.  The 
celebrated  Renata,  duchess  of  Ferrara,  the  friend  of  Calvin  and 
a  promoter  of  the  pure  faith,  received   instruction  from  her 


A.D.  1544,]  CALVIN  ON  ASTROLOGY.  39 

astrologer,  Luc  Gauric,  in  order  not  to  be  ignorant  of  the  matter. 
At  the  court  of  king  Henry  II.,  Francis  II.  and  Charles  IX. 
the  far-famed  Michael  Nostradamus,  doctor  and  professor  of 
medicine,  enjoyed  as  much  distinction  as  if  he  had  been  really 
endowed  with  the  prophetic  spirit.  He  had,  as  well  as  Luc 
Gauric,  foretold  the  death  of  the  king  in  a  duel,  which  happened 
in  close  agreement  with  their  predictions.  The  influence  indeed 
of  this  error  arose  to  such  a  height  in  France  in  the  time  of 
Catherine,  that  both  the  church  and  the  state  found  it  necessary 
to  check  it.  Under  the  old  system  of  astronomy,  which  regarded 
the  heavens  only  in  relation  to  the  earth,  and  the  latter  as  the 
central  point  of  the  whole,  the  notion  could  be  easily  justified 
that  the  stars  were  the  language  of  God,  seeing  that  all  was  ap- 
pointed for  the  use  of  man  alone. 

Calvin,  who  opposed  himself  to  this  error,  did  not  intend  to 
write  a  learned  work  on  the  subject,  but  such  a  one  as  might  be 
useful  to  persons  of  moderate  understanding.  "  God,"  he  simply 
says,  "  has  given  us  his  word,  but  men  surrender  themselves  to 
superstition.  The  true  astrology  and  astronomy  is  the  know- 
ledge of  heaven.  We  learn  from  Moses  that  God  appointed  the 
sun  and  the  stars  for  the  day  and  the  night,  for  months  and 
seasons.  But  it  is  not  given  to  every  one  to  understand  their 
courses,  their  changes,  or  their  oppositions.  This  belongs  to 
science." — "  Astronomy  teaches  the  period  of  time  which  each 
planet  requires  for  its  course  round  the  sun,  what  relations  the 
sun  has  to  the  other  planets,  and  how  eclipses  may  be  calculated 
even  to  a  minute.  The  fact  is  this :  our  astrologers  start  with 
the  correct  principle,  that  all  earthly  bodies  are  subject  to  those 
above  ;  but  they  draw  a  wrong  conclusion  herefrom.  Natural 
astrology  teaches  rightly  that  the  moon  exercises  an  influence  on 
bodies ;  that,  for  example,  when  it  grows  or  wanes,  the  joints  arc 
more  or  less  affected ;  and  from  this  science  of  astrology  physi- 
cians derive  what  insight  they  possess.  We  are  therefore 
obliged  to  confess  that  there  is  a  certain  degree  of  harmony 
between  the  stars  and  human  bodies.  But  these  presumptuous 
people  have  invented,  under  the  name  of  an  art,  a  system  of 
astrology,  which  is  twofold,  and  consists,  1.  in  the  knowledge 
of  nature  and  the  organisation  of  man,  and  2.  in  an  inquiry 
into  all  the  occurrences  of  human  life, — into  what  men  have  to 
do  and  suffer,  what  will  be  the  issue  of  their  undertakings, — nay, 
into  the  minutest  affairs  of  existence."  He  then  shows  them,  in 
his  peculiar  and  cutting  style,  that  they  are  fools  who  believe  in 
such  a  system. 


40  THE  ANABAPTISTS.  [CHAP.  XI. 

We  find  from  this  writing,  that  Calvin  despised  all  such  things 
as  presentiments,  regarding  them  in  the  same  light  as  astrology, 
and  that  he  recognized  no  slumbering  and  re-awakening  faculty 
in  man  to  look  into  the  future.  Thus  he  rejected  the  predictions 
of  Ascletario,  who  foretold  Domitian  his  death,  and  those  of 
Spurinna,  who  warned  Csesar  to  beware  of  the  Ides  of  March, 
lie  thus  argues : — "  I  ask  you,  whether  there  were  not  many 
other  persons  born  at  Rome,  and  in  Italy,  on  the  same  day  and 
under  the  same  star  as  Caesar?  Did  they  all  die  on  the  same 
day,  and  by  a  similar  death?  It  is  evident  then  that  there  is  no 
truth  in  your  art,  since,  if  there  were,  what  happens  to  one  must 
happen  to  all.  There  may  be  thirty  who  have  the  same  nativity : 
one  may  die  when  he  is  thirty,  another  when  he  is  fifty ;  one  at 
home,  another  in  battle.  Theagenes  had  foretold  Augustus  that 
he  would  be  emperor,  having  been  born  under  the  sign  of  Capri- 
corn :  but  how  many  poor  wretches  were  there  not  born  under 
the  same  sign,  and  who  attained  to  no  higher  glory  than  that  of 
being  swineherds  or  cowherds  ?  If  the  stars  had  given  the  king- 
dom, not  only  to  Augustus,  but  to  all  the  rest  who  were  born 
under  the  same  sign,  a  very  little  portion  of  territory  would  have 
remained  for  him." 

"  Let  us  allow,"  he  continues,  "  that  some  predictions  are  ful- 
filled ;  still,  this  is  only  the  devil's  work.  God  allows  it,  in  order 
to  punish  disbelievers,  as  he  did  in  the  case  of  Saul."  Thus  he 
ascribes  the  whole  of  this  dark  side  of  human  knowledge  to  the 
influence  of  the  evil  spirit.  It  appears  also  that  people  in  his 
time  had  gone  very  far  in  these  practices :  he  speaks  of  the 
secret  exorcism  of  spirits ;  and  in  contemporary  writings,  as  for 
example  in  the  life  of  Cellini,  it  is  mentioned,  that  a  marvellous 
necromancer  dwelt  in  the  Coliseum  at  Rome.  "  Who,"  he  asks, 
"has  made  the  devils  subject  to  them,  that  they  should  serve  them? 
The  children  of  God  cannot  but  regard  them  as  their  most  cruel 
enemies,  must  flee  from  or  repel  them,  instead  of  seeking  com- 
munion with  them.  They  who  would  make  use  of  their  service 
will  at  last  see  that  they  have  played  into  the  hand  of  their 
master." 

It  should  be  remarked  that  Calvin  has  said  nothing  respecting 
magnetism  and  clairvoyance,  by  which  the  whole  empire  of  the 
supernatural  is  placed  under  another  and  higher  point  of  view, 
unknown  to  the  reformers. 

W  e  proceed  now  to  consider  the  anti-christianity  of  those 
times.  Having  seen  how  Calvin,  by  his  Institutes,  endeavoured 
to  give  stability  and  consistency  to  the  whole  church,  and  then 


A. U.  1544.]  SPIRITUAL  LIBERTINISM.  41 

directed  his  attention  to  the  common  necessities  of  the  age,  we 
have  at  present  to  examine  more  particularly  the  efforts  which 
he  made  at  Geneva  to  fix  the  constitution  and  discipline  of  his 
church.  In  order  to  do  this,  we  must  first  describe  the  character 
of  his  opponents.  Full  of  the  thought  that  the  Gospel  is  no 
speculation,  and  that  it  is  but  a  dead  letter  without  a  christian 
life,  he  could  not  fail  to  regard  all  as  antagonists  who  ridiculed 
what  is  spiritual  and  moral.  Yet,  as  in  the  middle  ages  the 
rude  violence  of  the  world,  which  so  long  resisted  the  power  of 
the  papacy,  was  at  length  compelled  to  give  way,  so,  in  this  case, 
libertinism  was  in  the  end  subjected  to  a  moral  rule. 


CHAFfER  XII. 

ANABAPTISTS. —  SPIRITUAL      LIBERTINES. — THE     ANTICHRIS- 

TIANITY     OF    GENEVA. POLITICAL     LIBERTINES    OPPOSED 

TO  THE  REFUGEES. 

It  is  evident  that  the  principles  which  gave  birth  to  the  opposi- 
tion which  Calvin  had  to  endure  in  Geneva,  were  diffused 
through  the  whole  church,  but  had  their  stronghold  in  that  city ; 
as  if,  according  to  Beza's  remark,  the  power  of  evil  was  to  be 
manifested  in  its  most  satanic  forms  where  it  was  to  meet  with 
the  boldest  resistance.  Popery  no  longer  concealed  its  worst 
features  :  it  was  unmasked.  Far  more  dangerous  was  the  spirit 
of  malice,  which  was  inwardly  consuming  the  life  of  the  re- 
awakened church.  Under  the  veil  of  a  pious  pantheism,  and  the 
form  of  a  new,  more  perfect  doctrine,  that  spirit  was  seeking  to 
win  away  unstable  souls.  How  well  it  succeeded  in  this  appears 
from  the  case  of  queen  Margaret  of  Navarre,  who  protected  the 
spiritual  libertines  at  her  court,  and  in  consequence  quarreled 
with  Calvin.  This  is  sufficient  to  prove  how  necessary  it  was 
that  he  should  stand  forth,  and  endeavour  to  quiet  the  waves 
which  had  been  raised  by  the  storm  of  various  passions,  and  of 
life,  now  in  the  progress  of  its  new  development.  The  awaken- 
ing of  a  fresh  principle  must  ever  be  attended  with  something 
unusual.  When  the  human  spirit  is  excited  by  great  objects, 
it  goes  forward  with  the  same  daring  feeling  which  prompted  it 


42  SPIRITUAL   LIBERTINISM.  [CHAP.XH. 

to  the  overthrow  of  idols,  and  easily  yields  itself  up  to  the  ideas 
which  carry  with  them  the  contempt  of  all  rule  and  order.  The 
anabaptists  are  an  example  of  this  perversion. 

It  is  well  known  that,  when  Luther  was  residing  on  the  Warfc- 
burg,  great  disturbance  was  created  at  Wittenberg  through  a 
sect  of  this  kind.  He  left  the  castle  to  restore  quiet,  and  de- 
livered, during  eight  successive  days,  his  famous  sermons,  so 
distinguished  by  practical  good  sense  and  discretion,  against  the 
spirit  of  fanaticism.  But  neither  his  powerful  influence*,  nor 
the  death  of  Thomas  Munzer,  and  the  disgraceful  defeat  of  the 
fanatics  at  Miinster,  availed  wholly  to  suppress  their  errors.  The 
same  notions,  not  long  after,  took  another  and  more  speculative 
direction^ — not  so  rude,  but  equally  deceptious.  The  main  doc- 
trine of  the  anabaptists  was  the  necessity  of  re-baptism  in 
mature  years,  and  the  rejection  of  infant  baptism  as  not  apo- 
stolical. The  libertines  went  much  further :  they  were  pantheists 
of  the  worst  kind,  trampling  all  morality  to  the  ground,  as  well 
as  Christianity,  against  which  they  raged  in  the  most  awful 
manner. 

Calvin,  to  confute  their  erring  and  wretched  notions,  wrote 
against  both.  The  work  against  the  libertines  appears,  in  the 
Amsterdam  edition,  with  the  date  1544:  that  against  the  ana- 
baptists was  of  the  same  year,,  but  is  written  with  so  much 
solidity  that  it  deserves  to  be  read  in  all  times.  The  two  works 
are  closely  connected,  the  notion  of  an  individual  inspiration 
being  the  fundamental  error,  and  that  which  required  to  be  com- 
bated, in  both  sects. 

In  the  preface  to  the  second  work,  Calvin  writes  to  the  brethren 
of  Ncuchatel,  who  had  begged  him  to  oppose  the  fanatics,  and 
states,  that  he  dedicated  his  book  to  them  as  a  public  proof  of  the 
friendship  which  was  so  dear  to  him,  and  that  the  world  might 
see  how  they  agreed  in  zeal  and  doctrine.  "Our  William  Fare!, 
who  is  endowed  by  the  Holy  Spirit  with  so  many  excellent  gifts, 
and  who,  as  an  old  veteran,  has  ever  stood  forth  against  the 
aiei  of  Cod,  has  already  done  more  than  was  necessary  in 
thai  which  you  have  required  of  me." 

The  first  error,  namely  that  children  ought  not  to  be  baptized, 
and  thai  those  only  ought  to  be  admitted  to  the  rite  who  are 
walking  in  the  Lord,  is  thus  refuted:  "In  the  time  of  the 
apostlei  children  were  baptized:  the  command  of  Jesus  refers 
only  to  unbelievers.     Christians  who  enjoy  the  promise  have 

*  x.d.  1522. 


A.D.  1545.]  SPIRITUAL  LIBERTINISM.  43 

received  it  also  for  their  children.  These  are  baptized  because 
they  are  already  in  the  covenant,  and  are  so  born.  The  circum- 
cision of  children  was  practised  among  the  Jews,  and  had  refer- 
ence to  repentance  and  conversion/' 

In  respect  to  excommunication,  they  supposed  that  open  sin, 
after  a  second  admonition,  rendered  the  offender  ripe  for  the  in- 
fliction of  the  anathema ;  and  further,  that  even  he  who  sinned 
through  ignorance,  though  still  more  he  who  willingly  trans- 
gressed, could  never  receive  forgiveness.  According  to  their 
notions  therefore  every  actual  sin  is  a  sin  against  the  Holy 
Ghost,  which  is  blasphemy. 

"To  what  does  this  lead?5'  asks  Calvin.  "What  Christian 
lives  without  sin  ?  and  where,  if  such  a  doctrine  be  correct,  is 
the  consolation  for  penitents  ?  Actual  sin  is  not  always  sin 
against  the  Holy  Ghost,  but  is  only  so  when  the  transgressor 
opposes  himself  with  all  his  might  to  divine  truth.  A  man 
however  may  actually  sin,  though  he  has  never  declared  war 
against  God  or  blasphemed  his  word."  Some  excellent  obser- 
vations follow  against  every  species  of  separatism.  "  These  people 
want  a  perfectly  pure  church,  and  insist  that  no  believer  ought 
to  remain  in  a  church  which  does  not  excommunicate  all  who 
are  wicked/5  In  opposition  to  this  he  says,  "  A  church  may 
exist  with  imperfections.  Every  church  is  stained  with  sin. 
The  prophets  and  Christ  are  members  of  the  church,  though  it 
be  conjoined  with  reprobate  communities.  We  ought  to  improve, 
not  to  separate." 

Again :  "  Those  who  dream  of  a  perfect  church  are  unwilling 
to  recognize  any  temporal  power  in  the  church,  or  any  authority 
independent  of  itself,  seeing  that  it  is  perfect  in  itself.  Excom- 
munication has  supplied  the  place  of  the  sword.  Christ,  they 
say,  would  not  judge  the  adulteress,  nor  decide  between  the 
brethren,  nor  be  a  king,  nor  allow  his  brethren  to  exercise  au- 
thority." 

So  also  he  justifies  the  christian  oath,  as  grounded  on  the  Old 
Testament,  and  not  abrogated  by  the  New.  Lastly,  he  confutes 
the  doctrinal  errors  of  the  fanatics.  They  spoke  of  the  Lord's 
having  a  heavenly  body,  as  the  Marcionites  contended  for  his 
having  only  an  apparent  body,  whence  it  would  follow  that  Christ 
was  not  really  man.  So  too  they  reasoned  of  a  sleep  after  dearth, 
which  error  Calvin  had  already  opposed  in  his  Psychopanny- 
chia. 

But  although  he  designated  these  people  as  dreamers,  and 


44  SPIRITUAL  LIBERTINISM.  [CHAP.  XII. 

even  as  swine,  who  delighted  to  wallow  in  the  mire.,  a  tone  of 
pity  and  great  gentleness  pervades  his  work,  as  if  it  were  in- 
tended to  be  addressed  to  those  who  had  only  exalted  themselves 
too  much  from  a  well-intended  though  erroneous  design.  It 
appears  that  the  anabaptists,  though  pursued  with  fire  and 
sword  in  catholic  countries,  instead  of  being  so  reckless  in  his 
time  as  they  had  been  at  an  earlier  period  in  Germany,  were  now 
well-disposed.     This  was  not  the  case  with  the  libertines. 

In  order  to  justify  a  free  and  licentious  life  by  christian  prin- 
ciples, the  spiritual  had  united  with  the  political  libertines  in 
exhibiting  a  false  view  of  christian  freedom.  They  were  distin- 
guished from  the  German  fanatics  in  this,  that  they  grounded 
immorality  on  a  system.  No  attempt  to  characterize  them  is 
made  in  the  smaller  lives  of  Calvin,  and  even  Schrockh  passes 
them  over  in  his  church  history.  Calvin's  work  against  them 
is  very  original  and  peculiar. 

He  describes  this  sect  as  il  reprobate,  and  not  merely  sinful, 
but  horribly  corrupt  above  all  others.  Its  end  is  licentiousness  : 
it  gives  a  false  idea  of  freedom,  and  calls  itself  spiritual.  Those 
who  hear  these  people  speak  might  suppose  them  to  be  carried 
away  by  their  raptures  above  the  skies.  Their  heresy  reminds 
us  of  that  of  Cerdo,  who  adopted  the  notion  of  two  principles, 
and  denied  the  resurrection.  This  was  the  case  also  with  Mar- 
cian,  with  the  Gnostics  and  the  Manichaeans.  They  took  some- 
thing from  all,  but  rejected  the  Gospel,  and  gave  nicknames  to 
the  apostles.  Neither  wit  nor  reason  can  be  found  in  their 
speech,  no  more  than  it  could  in  what  old  women  might  say  on 
astronomy.  And  I  am  expected  to  be  silent  when  the  name  of 
Christ  is  abused,  and  when  it  is  employed  to  screen  the  intro- 
duction of  such  wickedness  into  the  world  as  has  never  been 
heard  of,  and  thus  to  expose  him  again  to  the  shame  of  being 
accounted  worse  than  a  demon.  Were  I  to  do  this,  1  should  be 
baser  than  a  dog,  which  will  not  allow  his  master  to  be  attacked 
without  at  least  barking.  I  must  cry  out  aloud  then  with  a  clear 
voice,  so  that  if  heresy  dare  boldly  utter  its  wretched  and  horrible 
blasphemies,  this  may  be  heard  above  them." 

"  It  would  be  ridiculous  were  I  to  oppose  myself  to  the  pope 
and  his  coadjutors  with  all  my  power  (for  I  cannot  edify  the 
church  of  God  if  I  do  not  make  war  with  those  who  would  pull 
it  down),  and  yet  should  excuse  those  who  are  still  worse  enemies 
of  God,  and  much  greater  destroyers  of  the  truth.  For  the  pope 
docs  allow  a  shadow  of  religion  to  remain  ;  he  takes  not  away 


A.D.  1545.]  SPIRITUAL  LIBERTINISM.  45 

the  hope  of  eternal  life ;  he  desires  men  to  fear  God ;  he  makes  a 
distinction  between  good  and  evil;  he  acknowledges  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ  to  be  true  God  and  true  man ;  he  ascribes  honour 
to  the  Word  of  God.  But  the  only  end  which  these  people  have 
in  view  is  to  confound  heaven  and  earth  together,  and  to  nullify 
all  religion.  All,  even  the  little  children,  ought  to  spit  at  them 
in  sign  of  horror,  as  they  see  them  passing  along  the  streets,  and 
thus  to  heap  infamy  upon  those  who,  by  supporting  them,  have 
been  the  cause  of  ruin  to  thousands  of  souls." 

Calvin  next  complains  greatly  of  their  unintelligible,  mystical 
mode  of  expression,  and  accuses  them  of  playing  the  catholic 
under  the  pretence  of  christian  freedom.  They  indulged  in  an 
allegorical  interpretation  of  the  Bible.  Calvin,  on  the  other  hand, 
shows  what  Paul  meant  when  he  said,  i  The  letter  killeth.'  On 
the  one  side  they  exalted  themselves  very  high  and  desired  to  be 
called  spiritual,  and  on  the  other  they  sank  down  into  the  very 
mire.  'Their  main  defence  was,  that  there  is  only  one  spirit; 
but  it  is  a  very  different  thing  to  say  with  Scripture  that  all 
creatures  come  from  God,  and  that  what  God  has  created  is  God 
himself.  They  speak  of  the  devil  as  identical  with  the  world  and 
sin.  The  devil  and  his  angels  have  no  proper  existence :  wicked- 
ness is  only  a  negation  of  good,  and  the  distinction  between  good 
and  evil  vanishes.  The  human  soul  is  not  eternal,  since  it  is  of 
the  world.  The  spirit  accomplishes  whatever  is  done  in  the  uni- 
verse. Man  has  no  freedom,  and  therefore  everything  is  good  to 
him  ;  or,  in  other  words,  God  commits  sin.  Thus  both  the  belief 
in  God  and  every  trace  of  morality  are  lost  in  their  system, 
crimes  of  every  kind,  even  those  pertaining  to  God,  being  allowed. 
The  consequences  are,  first,  the  blasphemous  position,  that  God 
is  the  devil  himself,  not  providence ;  secondly,  that  men  have 
no  conscience  or  ability  to  distinguish  right  from  wrong ;  thirdly, 
that  all  kinds  of  sin  are  to  be  praised,  and  that  none  are  punish- 
able, all  being  the  work  of  God/ 

These  conclusions  are  assailed  in  a  manner  as  convincing  as  it 
is  pious.  The  Scriptures  are  the  source  of  the  writer's  arguments : 
he  shows  by  the  strongest  evidence  that  God  performs  his  own 
proper  work,  and  man  his,  without  God's  either  assisting  man 
too  much  or  taking  too  much  from  him.  Christ,  according  to 
the  Libertine  system,  is  the  spirit  which  is  in  the  world,  and  in 
us  all.  The  death  upon  the  cross  was  in  appearance  only. 
Christ  is  in  his  people :  they  are  all  Christ,  and  can  no  more 
suffer,  all  being  now  accomplished.     The  new  birth  consists  in 


46  SPIRITUAL  LIBERTINISM.  [CHAP.  XII. 

the  power  of  suppressing  the  fear  of  God  and  conscience,  and  in 
living  according  to  Christian  freedom.  Men  can  sin  no  more  in 
that  perfected  state  of  innocence.  The  freedom  thus  possessed 
is  boundless ;  as  if  Paul,  who  is  cited,  had  allowed  them  to  steal, 
to  slay  and  commit  every  species  of  licentiousness.  Calvin 
proves,  on  the  contrary,  that  the  law  retains  its  force  for  Chris- 
tians, with  this  distinction  only,  that  it  no  longer  condemns  us 
without  recall,  grace  being  provided  by  the  Gospel.  "  Let  every 
man  live  according  to  his  inclination."  It  is  thus  that  they  under- 
stand what  Paul  says  of  the  calling  of  Christians.  But  Calvin 
shows  that  we  ought  to  follow  the  inward  calling  of  God.  If 
every  one  were  to  obey  his  own  inclinations  as  a  call,  married 
people  might  separate  from  each  other.  The  new  marriage  is  a 
spiritual  marriage. 

And  further.  They  would  fain  establish  a  perfect  community 
of  goods.  Calvin  however  proves  that  the  first  Christians  under- 
stood thereby  nothing  more  than  the  greatest  degree  of  liberality 
and  benevolence.  The  resurrection,  they  say,  is  already  passed, 
seeing  that  the  spirit  now  returns  to  God*. 

We  shall  shortly  find  to  what  extent  these  principles  obtained 
ground  in  Geneva :  they  were  not  those  of  the  anabaptists, 
which  never  revived  after  they  had  been  opposed  and  openly 
confuted  by  Calvin,  but  the  doctrines  of  an  antichristian  pan- 
theism. 

It  appears  that  in  France  the  higher  ranks  wrere  especially 
infected  by  this  spiritual  libertinism.  Those  who  had  rejected 
Catholicism  in  their  hearts  misused  their  christian  freedom,  living 
according  to  their  will,  but  preserving  an  appearance  of  attach- 
ment to  catholic  forms.  The  enemies  of  the  faith  therefore  took 
advantage  of  the  publication  of  the  work  against  the  libertines  to 
ite  the  queen  of  Navarre  against  Calvin,  her  favourites  Quin- 
tin  and  Poquea  having  been  rendered  ridiculous  by  the  satirical 
freedom  with  which  he  had  treated  their  names.  When  he 
Learned  at  Geneva  the  change  which  had  taken  place  in  her  opi- 
nions, he  wrote  to  her,  and  in  a  style  which  combined  equal 
dignity,  firmness  and  prudence  t«  A  perfect  understanding  was 
hereby  restored  between  them,  and  the  sect,  which  had  spread 


ter  to  the  Faithful  of  Rouen  refers  to  the  same  subject.   Tt  was  written 
"  Contre  un  Franciscain  Bectateur  dea  erreurs  des  libertins."  Farel  also  wrote 
against  this  wretched  sect.     Calvin  had  exhorted  him  to  do  all  in  his  power 
to  suppress  it.     A  Franciscan  wrote  an  answer  to  his  work, 
t  According  to  13eza,  "  ingenue  ct  cordate." 


A.D.  1546.]  SPIRITUAL  LIBERTINES.  47 

itself  at  various  times  over  France,  was  for  ever  suppressed,  no 
trace  of  it  remaining  except  in  Belgium. 

The  system  of  the  libertines  however  exhibited  itself  at  Geneva 
under  still  darker  colours.  A  perfectly  formed  antichristianity, 
a  true  offspring  of  hell,  sprung  forth.  We  learn  from  many  cir- 
cumstances that  this  spiritual  libertinism  was  in  close  union  with 
the  political,  but  not  necessarily  so.  Among  the  signs  of  the 
evil  spirit  thus  existing  we  may  particularly  mention  the  blas- 
phemies uttered  against  the  truth  of  the  Gospel.  These  are 
found  in  the  work  of  a  certain  Genevese  citizen  of  the  libertine 
party,  and  exhibited  in  the  most  hideous  forms.  An  utter  dis- 
regard for  all  morality  is  shown,  among  other  instances,  in  the 
trial  of  the  wife  of  the  councillor  Ameaux.  Proofs  of  supersti- 
tion and  of  the  grossest  egotism,  are  afforded,  especially  in  the 
compacts  formed  with  the  devil,  in  order  to  obtain  from  him  a 
certain  degree  of  power.  These  appear  in  the  process  against 
the  persons  who  were  accused  of  diffusing  the  plague.  Number- 
less other  things  of  an  equally  infamous  character,  but  of  a  dif- 
ferent kind,  are  grouped  together. 

Gruet's  work  is  now  only  known  by  the  sentence  pronounced 
upon  him,  and  by  Calvin's  extract.  As  even  this  however  was 
never  generally  circulated,  Gruet  was  always  confounded  with 
the  authors  of  the  "Three  Impostors*."  But  it  is  certain  that 
he  had  no  hand  in  that  work.  He  speaks  of  God  and  Christ,  of 
Moses,  the  prophets,  and  the  apostles,  but  never  of  Mahomet, 
which  could  not  have  been  unobserved  by  Calvin.  The  main 
object  of  his  work  seems  to  have  been  to  show,  that  the  founders 
of  both  Judaism  and  Christianity  were  deceivers,  and  that  Christ 
was  justly  put  to  death.  But  the  work  entitled  "Dc  Tribus 
Impostoribus  n  is  a  species  of  philosophical  treatise,  in  which  a 
disbeliever  pretends  to  show,  tranquilly  and  with  regret,  but 
without  abuse,  that  the  three  revealed  religions  are  founded  in 
fraud,  and  that  the  only  true  religion  is  that  of  nature. 

The  world  wras  for  three  hundred  years  mystified  respecting 
this  production  :  it  was  at  length  printed.  Till  it  was  thus 
made  known,  it  was  dreaded  as  a  kind  of  monster  lurking  in 
secret.  People  considered  that  they  were  affording  one  of  the 
best  proofs  of  conversion  if,  just  before  their  death,  they  burnt  the 
extracts  from  this  work  which  (hey  had  secretly  obtained  at 
some  exorbitant  price.    But  Gruet's  work  was  still  more  adapted 

*  Traite  des  Trois  Imposteurs,  1777.     Diss,  de  la  Monnoye,  p.  108. 


48  gruet's  condemnation.  [chap.xii. 

to  horrify  the  world,  and  we  owe  a  debt  of  gratitude  to  those  by 
whom  it  was  destroyed.  The  present  generation  is  tolerably  well 
hardened  against  atheistical  writings,  but  the  daring  blasphemy 
of  this  production  was  so  frightful,  that  no  one  could  read  it 
without  terror;  for  what  are  all  the  antichristian  writings  of  the 
French  revolution  compared  with  the  hellish  laughter  which 
seemed  to  peal  from  its  pages*? 

It  was  not  till  a  later  period  that  the  work  to  which  we  allude 
was  discovered,  but  it  was  at  the  present  time  (1545-6)  that  it 
was  written,  and  secretly  read  at  Geneva.  The  principles  of  the 
anti-calvinistic  party  are  sufficiently  apparent.  The  pantheism 
of  the  libertines  led  directly  to  atheism,  and  this,  among  the 
initiated,  to  a  secret  but  most  decided  hatred  to  Christ.  How 
indeed  could  such  a  wicked  and  blasphemous  disposition  have 
developed  itself  in  Gruet,  had  he  not  been  living  in  the  midst  of 
an  infected  atmosphere  ?  The  book  consisted  of  thirteen  sheets, 
was  in  Gruet's  own  handwriting,  and  was  bound  in  parchment. 
It  was  discovered  in  1550,  under  the  roof  of  his  own  house, 
where  he  had  probably  placed  it  at  the  time  of  his  apprehension, 
and  was  delivered  to  the  magistrate.  Only  some  single,  detached 
passages  were  found  among  his  papers,  but  they  seem  to  have 
contained  the  elements  out  of  which  the  work  was  composed. 
They  formed  the  foundation  of  the  charge  of  blasphemy  brought 
against  him,  and  in  pursuance  of  which  he  was  condemned  to 
death.  The  work  itself  was  burnt,  but  Calvin's  remarks,  and 
the  evidence  respecting  its  general  character,'  are  sufficient  for 
the  permanent  justification  of  the  Genevese  magistrates,  who, 
according  to  their  principles  and  the  feeling  of  their  times, 
believed  themselves  bound  to  punish  such  offenders  with  the 
sword,  and  whom  we  still  deem  it  right  to  load  with  chains. 

The  corruption  of  morals  in  Geneva  has  been  already  men- 
tioned. It  is  evident,  even  from  the  numerous  trials  for  witch- 
craft, that  the  state  of  manners  in  that  city  was  fierce  and  turbu- 
lent. Men,  clothed  in  black  and  masked,  frequently  appeared 
to  women,  and  gave  themselves  out  for  the  devil,  intending  no 

*  Although  this  work,  De  Tribus  Impostorihus,  is  attributed  by  many  to  the 
emperor  Frederic  II.,  or  rather  to  his  chancellor  Petrus  a  Vineis,  it  is  probably 
a  production  of  the  sixteenth  century.  It  is  written  in  Latin,  and  bears  the 
tit  lc.  !)>•  Tmpo8turis  religionum  breve  Compendium.  There  have  been  two  editions 
of  the  Latin  text  ;  the  latter  with  the  title,  De  Tribus  Impostorihus.  A  later 
work,  of  thr  Bame  blasphemous  character,  has  appeared  in  French,  which 
however  is  nothing  more  than  a  copy  of  the  L' Esprit  do  Spinoza.  A  sect 
known  as  that  of  the  LucianLts  existed  in  the  latter  half  of  the  sixteenth  cen- 
tury, and  from  this  proceeded  the  De  Tribus  Impostorihus. 


A.D.  1546.]  SPIRITUAL  LIBERTINES.  49 

doubt  to  fill  their  minds  with  terror,  and  subject  them  to  their 
will. 

But  this  immorality  received  a  new  impulse  from  the  principles 
of  the  spiritual  libertines ;  and  numberless  processes  before  the 
tribunals  prove  that  this  state  of  things  must  have  long  continued. 
The  account  of  the  wife  of  the  councillor  Ameaux  belongs  to 
the  same  period.  Her  principles,  which  were  identical  with 
those  of  the  libertines,  show  by  their  very  nature  that  they  were 
not  gathered  from  the  clouds,  or  created  by  the  wanderings  of  a 
sick  or  phrenzied  mind.  It  was  the  wish  of  her  friends  to  make 
it  believed  that  she  was  mad:  they  hoped  by  that  means  to 
secure  her  escape.  But  her  opinions  had  a  deeper  root;  and 
her  conduct  compromised  her  husband,  whose  condemnation 
followed  at  a  later  period.  According  to  the  report  of  her  trial, 
she  not  only  gave  herself  up  to  the  grossest  immorality,  but 
justified  this  immorality  as  founded  in  principle.  The  process 
shows,  that  she  was  convinced  that  she  might  place  herself  at 
the  disposal  of  any  believer.  This  was  a  notion  common  to  the 
spiritual  libertines,  as  appears  from  the  trial  of  Gruet,  and  other 
acts.  "It  is  in  this  sense,"  she  said,  "we  ought  to  take  the 
communion  of  saints,  spoken  of  in  the  Apostles'  Creed ;  for 
this  communion  can  never  be  perfect,  till  all  things  are  common 
among  the  faithful,  goods,  houses,  and  the  body.  Believers 
have  then  only  reached  the  highest  grade  of  love  when  they 
understand  this  principle.  No  one  ought  to  forbid  this  com- 
munion even  between  the  nearest  relatives.  Such  a  union  is 
holy,  if  it  take  place  between  a  protestant  and  a  catholic,  since, 
according  to  Saint  Paul,  the  believer  sanctifies  the  unbeliever. 
A  union  of  this  kind  cannot  be  forbidden  without  wickedness, 
the  first  command  which  God  gave  to  man  being,  '  Increase  and 
multiply  9." 

The  consistory  and  the  council  employed  themselves  earnestly 
about  these  matters,  and  granted  the  husband  the  separation 
which  he  desired.    The  woman  was  committed  to  prison  for  life. 

At  a  somewhat  later  period,  the  history  of  Ilaoul  Monnet,  a 
representative  of  the  madness  and  folly  of  this  sect,  affords  a 
further  illustration  of  the  prevailing  power  of  Antichrist.  Raoul 
boasted  his  illicit  connection  with  women  of  the  highest  families 
in  Geneva,  especially  with  the  wife  of  the  first  syndic  Perrin. 
He  had  a  collection  of  obscene  prints,  copied  from  Aretino,  and 
which  he  insultingly  called  his  New  Testament :  so  too  he  had 
spoken  disgracefully  of  his  fatherland. 

VOL.  II.  E 


50  THE  PLAGUE  AT  GENEVA.  [CHAP.  XII. 

Raoul  was  beheaded,  and  his  pictures  were  burnt  by  the 
common  hangman.  He  had  been  long  connected  with  the  fac- 
tion of  Perrin,  and  it  was  only  shortly  before  his  apprehension 
that  he  had  left  it.  This  party,  well-skilled  in  the  arts  of  in- 
trigue, hastened  as  much  as  possible  his  execution,  that  he  might 
not  have  time  to  address  the  people,  and  expose  their  conspira- 
cies*. It  is  well-worthy  of  observation,  that  Calvin  makes  no 
mention  in  any  of  his  letters  of  these  circumstances.  They 
might  occur  perhaps  too  rapidly,  or  they  might  seem  of  too 
tragical  a  nature  to  form  the  subject  of  friendly  communication. 

But  still  more  horrible  was  the  iniquity  of  the  egoism,  which 
appeared  in  the  alliance  of  the  so-called  mfectionists.  A  pestilen- 
tial disorder  had  for  many  years  prevailed  in  Geneva,  and  the 
surrounding  districts,  to  such  a  degree,  that  the  population  was 
in  fact  decimated,  two  thousand  inhabitants  dying  out  of  twenty 
thousand,  the  highest  estimate  of  the  population  of  this  little 
city.  All  the  relations  of  life  were  disturbed :  the  courts  of 
justice  were  closed;  and  the  evil  would  have  become  still  worse, 
had  not  circumstances  led  to  the  discovery  of  a  conspiracy,  of 
rare  iniquity  even  in  those  times,  formed  by  a  set  of  wretches 
who  diffused  the  infection  by  means  similar  to  those  employed 
in  1530.  Their  practice  was  to  mix  up  the  virus  drawn  from 
those  who  were  sick  of  the  plague  with  salve,  and  then  to  place 
it  upon  the  locks  and  bars  of  doors,  and  on  the  lines  in  the 
public  streets.  The  disease  was  thus  spread  in  the  most  awful 
manner.  Even  some  of  the  inspectors  of  the  hospital  were  in 
league  with  these  wretches,  whose  only  object  it  was  to  share 
among  each  other  what  belonged  to  the  dead.  They  had  bound 
themselves  by  an  oath  not  to  cease  from  this  course,  till  Geneva, 
as  they  expressed  it,  might  be  fed  by  a  single  measure  of  corn, 
when  it  would  be  possible  for  them  to  take  possession  of  the 
entire  cityf. 

A  man  named  Tallent  betrayed  the  conspirators,  and  one 
Lentille  was  the  first  brought  to  trial.  He  pretended  to  know 
nothing  of  the  matter,  but  said,  that  care  ought  to  be  taken  to 

.  i.  p.  426. 
t  Some  suspicion  respecting  this  crime  existed  at  an  earlier  period.  In  the 
registers  of  April  17,  1543,  we  read  :  "J.  Goulaz,  accuse  d'avoir  semeUapeste,  a 
trapades  et  le  tourment  des  Bujegnins  sans  rien  avouer ;  on  le 
gardera  (  acore  i  n  prison,  puis  l'on  avisera.  June  8  :  L'on  soupconne  que  de 
unit  il  y  a  des  empoissonneurs,  qui  sement  la  peste  par  la  ville.  Ordonne 
(I'm  parler  a  Mr.  Henri,  portier  de  laTartasse.  May  16,  1543:  On  bannit 
pour  trois  ans,  sons  peine  de  1'ouet,  les  maris  des  fe mines  executives  pour  avoir 
communique*  la  peste." 


A.D.  1546.]  HORRIBLE  CONSPIRACY.  51 

watch  those  who  were  engaged  in  the  hospital,  if  the  magistrates 
wished  to  stop  the  pestilence.  According  to  Spon  and  others, 
the  affair  was  made  a  matter  of  jest  among  these  people :  they 
inquired,  when  they  met  each  other,  how  the  plague  went  on, 
and  gave  it  the  name  of  the  cripple,  as  death  and  fever  have  been 
called.  Thirty-one  of  these  wretches  were  apprehended  and 
burnt:  Jean  Lentille  died  in  consequence  of  the  torture  to 
which  he  had  been  subjected :  the  physician  and  the  two 
assistants  were  quartered.  Notwithstanding  the  horrible  punish- 
ments which  the  culprits  had  suffered,  the  same  crime  was  re- 
newed in  1568.  It  is  impossible  to  account  for  the  perpetration 
of  such  enormities  without  supposing  them  to  have  been  con- 
nected with  others  of  a  still  more  secret  character.  We  trace, 
for  example,  the  existence  of  a  fanaticism  among  the  conspirators, 
which  had  its  origin  in  superstition  and  in  the  most  frightful 
selfishness.  They  were  resolved  to  destroy  all  or  to  gain  all, 
and  their  confessions  show  that  they  believed  themselves  pro- 
tected against  infection  by  a  league  with  the  devil;  being  indeed 
guarded,  and  allowed  to  gain  possession  of  the  treasures  of  the 
world,  while  they  prayed  to  him,  who  has  promised  them  to  his 
worshipers. 

It  may  easily  be  conceived  how  these  horrors  afflicted  Calvin 
and  all  other  holy  men :  he  ascended  the  pulpit,  and,  deeply 
moved,  spoke  with  great  vehemence  against  the  levity  and  vice 
which  prevailed  in  the  city.  Convinced  that  the  pestilence  was  a 
scourge  sent  by  God,  he  declared  aloud  that  the  corruption  of 
manners  was  the  cause  of  the  affliction,  and  besought  the  council 
to  inflict  severer  punishments  on  those  guilty  of  adultery  and 
harlotry.  He  seems  indeed  from  this  time  to  have  resolved  that 
adultery  ought  to  be  punished  with  death :  the  offence  was 
connected  in  his  mind  with  others  of  a  still  higher  kind ;  he 
regarded  it  as  resulting  from  the  anti-christianity  of  the  age,  and 
which  he  desired  to  extirpate  with  fire  and  sword. 

Some  writers  have  sought  in  later  times  to  throw  suspicion 
on  these  accounts,  and  to  compare  the  belief  in  their  truth  to  the 
absurd  notion  which  attributed  the  cholera  to  certain  physicians, 
and  so  to  establish  the  position  that  fanaticism  discovered 
horrors  where  none  existed.  They  seem  however  to  forget  that 
it  was  the  educated,  and  not  the  lower  class  of  people,  in  Geneva 
who  undertook  to  punish  the  accused,  that  the  crime  was  repeated 
at  three  different  times,  and  that  a  period  of  twenty  years  was 
sufficient  to  afford  ample  opportunities  for  reflection,  and  for  the 

e  2 


52  HORRIBLE  CONSPIRACY.  [CHAP.  XII. 

investigation  of  evidence.  To  this  it  may  be  added,  that  two  of 
the  culprits  were,  with  Calvin's  help,  converted,  and  by  the  grace 
of  God  went  tranquilly  to  their  death.  We  cannot  suppose  that 
they  did  not  make  a  true  confession  to  their  spiritual  adviser. 
Calvin  therefore  may  be  taken  as  a  witness,  in  whose  testimony 
we  may  place  entire  confidence :  he  speaks  of  their  fanatical 
ideas,  but  without  saying  anything  further.  It  seems  that  they 
were  instigated  to  their  hellish  work  by  some  fearful  kind  of 
influence.  Calvin  viewed  this  with  grief  and  awe;  but  he 
communicated  the  fact  to  his  friends  very  briefly,  and  without 
attempting  to  determine  what  is  true  or  false  in  the  supposed 
operations  of  Satan.  This  laconic  mode  of  expressing  himself 
led  to  the  suspicion  that  he  did  not  willingly  speak  on  the 
subject.  His  own  words  are  as  follows* : — "The Lord  is  trying 
us  in  a  wonderful  manner.  A  short  time  back  the  discovery 
was  made  of  a  conspiracy  of  men  and  women,  who  for  three 
years  past  have  contrived  by  some  species  of  witchcraft  to  cir- 
culate the  pestilence  through  the  city.  Already  have  fifteen 
women  been  burnt :  several  men,  dreadfully  tortured,  have  killed 
themselves  in  prison:  there  are  still  twenty-five  in  confinement. 
But  notwithstanding  this,  the  locks  on  the  doors  of  houses  con- 
tinue to  be  every  day  besmeared  with  the  infectious  salve.  Such 
are  the  clangers  to  which  we  are  exposed.  God  has  hitherto 
guarded  our  house,  but  it  stands  in  the  midst  of  perils.  Well 
it  is  that  we  know  He  careth  for  us.  Farewell,  my  honoured 
friend  and  dear  brother  !  " 

To  Farel  he  wrote  t : — "  Why  should  I  relate  to  you  what  has 
taken  place  in  regard  to  the  infection  ?  Weber  (Textor)  is  with 
you,  and  he  can  explain  to  you  all  the  circumstances  much  more 
clearly  than  I  could  in  a  letter.  Renat  has  filled  us  with  surprise  : 
it  is  perfectly  wonderful  that  a  man  who  remained  firm  under 
torture  should  be  overcome  by  a  supposed  promise  ;  that  is,  by  its 
being  told  him  that  I  had  obtained  the  promise  of  a  pardon  for 
him  from  the  council.  His  wife  confessed  that  she  had  destroyed 
eighteen  men  by  witchcraft  or  poisoning,  and  that  he  had  killed 
four  or  five.  The  power  of  the  Lord  was  wonderfully  shown  at 
the  death  of  this  culprit,  so  perfect  was  the  conversion  of  his 
soul.  In  the  morning  he  evinced  no  sign  of  repentance,  but 
still,  as  it  seemed,  hurried  on  by  his  fanaticism,  he  complained 
that  he  was  about  to  be  punished  though  the  Lord  had  pardoned 
him.     But  the  Lord,  as  I  have  said,  has  wrought  marvellously 

*  MS.  Gen.  March  27,  1545.  f  MS.  Gen.  April  25,  1545. 


A.D.  1546.]  POLITICAL  LIBERTINES.  53 

and  beyond  my  hope.  Both  met  their  death  joyfully,  with  the 
greatest  firmness,  with  the  strongest  faith,  and  with  the  surest 
indications  of  repentance." 

About  this  time  also  a  so-called  wizard  was  apprehended  at 
Peney,  but  he  was  dismissed  by  the  magistrates  as  a  madman. 
This  is  a  proof  that  some  distinction  was  made  among  offenders 
of  this  kind. 

To  such  an  extent  did  these  disorders  proceed,  that  Geneva 
was  suspected  by  the  people  of  the  neighbouring  states  of  being 
engaged  in  the  sale  of  poison.  Thus  in  1565  a  simple,  ignorant 
man  from  the  country  came  to  the  city  for  the  purpose  of  pur- 
chasing from  the  seigneurs,  that  is  the  council,  a  portion  of  the 
well-known  salve :  he  is  said  to  have  been  in  league  with  the 
devil,  and  was  burnt  alive*. 

In  conjunction  with  the  spiritual  libertines,  and  as  active  in- 
struments of  the  same  spirit,  were  another  class  to  which  the  name 
of  political  libertines  was  applied.  Among  these  may  be  ranked 
those  families  in  Geneva  who,  not  comprehending  Calvin's 
theocratical  views,  employed  all  their  influence  to  resist  them. 
This  party  desired  nothing  but  emancipation  from  the  despotism 
of  Savoy,  and  the  establishment  of  free  institutions.  The  Re- 
formation offered  them  the  means  of  attaining  their  end.  They 
were  not  necessarily  connected  with  the  spiritual  libertines : 
their  leader  Perrin  does  not  appear  to  have  been  imbued  with 
any  speculative  anti-christian  element,  but  to  have  simply  desired 
reputation  and  power.  But  Calvin  was  a  stumbling-stone  to 
these  people :  so  long  as  he  stood  with  the  thunder  of  his 
eloquence,  with  his  iron  will,  and  with  the  Gospel  in  his  hand, 
they  could  not  advance  a  step.  Calvin's  vocation  and  zealous 
spiritual  efforts  were  a  riddle  to  them,  and  they  ascribed  his 
conduct  to  a  boundless  ambition,  judging  his  principles  by  their 
own  passions.  Both  parties  were  repeatedly  brought  into  rude 
collision  with  each  other,  and  the  apple  of  strife  was  the  spiritual 
authority  of  the  consistory  and  the  right  of  excommunication. 
There  was  but  one  celebrated  man  of  the  anti-consistoriai  party, 
Bonnivard,  who  though  burning  with  zeal  for  the  freedom  and 
welfare  of  his  fatherland,  and  daring  in  his  opinions,  could  yet 
understand  Calvin  and  humble  his  libertine  opposers. 

Calvin's  design  extended  further  than  to  the  present  establish- 

*  This  horrible  transaction  did  not  take  place  till  a  year  after  Calvin's  death. 
The  unhappy  old  man  was  evidently  a  lunatic  ;  he  had  been  urged  to  desire  the 
poisonous  salve,  so  he  said,  that  he  might  take  vengeance  on  those  who  had 
taken  away  his  daughter. 


54  EXILES  AT  GENEVA.  [CHAP.  XII. 

ment  of  his  institutions  and  principles.  That  which  he  was 
effecting  on  a  small  scale,  he  hoped  to  accomplish  still  more 
gloriously  in  the  great  kingdoms  of  the  world,  and  thus  to  ob- 
tain for  his  principles  a  universal  victory.  To  succeed  in  this 
object  however,  it  was  necessary  for  him  to  procure  allies,  to 
surround  himself  with  friends,  and  to  form  a  new  Geneva  in  the 
old.  The  persecutions  which  still  raged,  especially  in  France, 
favoured  his  plan ;  fugitives  from  all  parts  gathered  round  his 
standard ;  among  them  were  faithful,  earnest  Christians,  some 
from  Italy,  others  from  the  Netherlands  and  Spain,  and  with 
whom  conscience  availed  more  than  fatherland.  New  churches 
were  established ;  one  of  the  first  was  that  of  the  Italians,  to 
whom  the  Chapelle  des  Maccabees  was  granted,  or,  according  to 
others,  La  Grand  Salle  du  College*.  In  Notre  Dame  la  Neuve 
the  service  was  performed  in  English,  in  St.  Gervais  in  Spanish, 
and  in  St.  Germain  in  Flemish. 

Calvin,  as  we  have  already  seen,  proclaimed  it  to  be  the 
bounden  duty  of  the  followers  of  the  Gospel  to  leave  their 
country,  to  die  or  become  exiles,  rather  than  incur  the  guilt  of 
hypocrisy.  Many  of  his  writings,  as  those  against  the  Nico- 
medites,  show  what  were  the  arguments  which  he  employed  for 
this  purpose.  In  one  of  his  unpublished  letters  he  exhorts  a 
whole  family  to  flee,  proves  why  they  ought  to  do  so,  tells  them 
what  course  they  should  take,  and  what  they  had  to  expect  at 
Geneva.  These  exiles  found  in  that  city  the  pestilence,  hatred, 
and  continual  strife;  but  they  willingly  bore  all  this,  settling 
themselves  in  the  neighbourhood  of  this  great  man,  that  they 
might  cheer  themselves  by  the  beams  of  his  noble  spirit,  and 
listen  to  his  sublime  discourse.  Thus  a  hundred  youths  sat  at 
his  feet  in  the  lecture-room  and  noted  down  every  word  which 
he  spoke,  that  they  might  publish  his  interpretation  of  the 
Scriptures  in  foreign  lands.  This  was  the  state  of  things  on  the 
field  of  strife.  Calvin's  present  efforts  were  all  directed  to  obtain 
the  admission  of  these  worthy  people  to  the  rank  of  citizens, 
that,  adopting  his  principles  as  they  did,  they  might  contend 
with  him  in  the  council  for  their  establishment.  The  greater 
their  number,  the  greater  his  influence:  a  majority  of  votes 
was  thereby  secured  to  him  in  the  assemblies;  but  this  led  the 
entire  faction  of  the  libertines  to  persecute  these  people,  or  at 
to  render  their  lives  as  miserable  as  they  could;  and  hence 
arose  numberless  disturbances.     Nothing  was  neglected  to  pre- 

*  Picot.  T.  i.  p.  391.  Regis.  Oct.  13,  1542. 


A.D.  1546.]  CALVIN  AND  THE  LIBERTINES.  55 

vent  their  acquiring  the  right  of  citizenship.  They  demanded 
that  they  should  be  forbidden  to  bear  arms ;  and  it  was  at  one 
time  feared  that  they  were  plotting  some  murderous  design 
against  them.  The  exiles  on  the  other  hand  rejoiced  in  the 
especial  protection  of  the  consistory.  Galiffe,  and  the  state- 
protocol  show,  that  it  was  not  safe  for  any  one  to  speak  insult- 
ingly against  either  the  ministers  or  the  refugees ;  to  do  so  was 
regarded  as  an  offence  against  God ;  and  it  is  known  that  Calvin, 
when  he  had  gained  a  majority  in  the  council,  procured  the 
enrolment  of  three  hundred  new  citizens  at  one  time.  They 
were  for  the  most  part  Frenchmen,  and  it  was  openly  declared 
that  the  measure  was  adopted  "  for  the  better  protection  and 
support  of  the  lesser  council."  A  change  was  now  produced  in 
the  spirit  of  the  republic,  the  state  being,  according  to  Calvin's 
idea,  an  oligarchy.  Nothing  more  was  to  be  heard  of  the 
great  assembly  of  the  whole  body  of  the  citizens,  the  central 
point  of  primitive  freedom ;  and  they  who  wished  to  revive  it 
were  marked  as  unquiet  spirits  and  disturbers  of  the  people. 

Thus  the  party  which  consisted  of  the  old  Genevese  were 
brought,  though  too  late,  to  the  conviction  that  they  were  over- 
powered by  intruders,  and  that  they  had  been  guilty  of  a  gross 
oversight  in  committing  the  conduct  of  their  spiritual  affairs  to 
a  stranger.  But  the  new  citizens,  strong  in  spirit,  retained  the 
upper  hand,  and  vanquished  these  modern  Canaanites.  The 
reformation,  after  a  period  of  fearful  contention,  was  accom- 
plished, and  a  new  Calvinistic  Geneva  brought  into  existence. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 


FURY  OF  THE  LIBERTINES. ANGER  AND  SEVERITY  OF  CALVIN. 

AMEAUX,  PERRIN,  AND  GRUET. 

It  cannot  be  matter  of  surprise  that  the  rage  of  the  fanatical 
libertines  was  excited  to  the  highest  degree  against  a  man  who, 
unarmed,  and  aided  only  by  the  sword  of  his  eloquence,  could 
confound  them  all.  It  may  be  that  he  occasionally  acted  with  too 
much  of  passion,  that  he  allowed  himself  to  be  carried  away  by 
his  indignation.  The  world  can  form  no  proper  idea  of  his 
zeal,  but  vast  is  the  debt  of  gratitude  which  it  owes  to  Calvin 


56 


CALVIN  AND  THE  LIBERTINES.         [CHAP.  XIII. 


for  his  having  with  such  stedfastness  resisted  that  torrent  of 
infidelity  which,  but  for  him,  had  to  this  day  invaded  and  op- 
pressed us.  The  libertines  gnashed  their  teeth  at  him,  and  cried 
aloud  that  the  state  was  lost.  Calvin  did  not  allow  himself  to 
be  alarmed ;  the  more  they  raged  the  higher  rose  his  courage. 
He  let  the  law  take  its  free  course ;  and  the  first  councillor,  as 
well  as  the  simplest  burgher,  felt  his  severity  and  his  power. 
But  the  wicked  spirit  which  prevailed  would  yield  neither  to 
these  efforts,  nor  to  the  solemn  signs  of  the  times ;  it  was  rather 
excited  to  new  outbreaks  of  violence,  and  Calvin's  stern  an- 
nouncement of  the  coming  vengeance  of  God  was  found  no  false 
or  empty  prophecy.  The  libertines,  who  knew  that  they  could 
not  resist  the  continual  thunder  of  his  attacks.,  at  length  threw 
off  the  mask.  All  were  resolved  to  venture  the  utmost ;  and 
from  henceforward  they  desired  to  be  made  accountable  for  their 
offences  not  to  the  consistory,  as  the  moral  tribunal,  but  to  the 
council  of  state.  The  former  however  was  anxious  to  preserve 
the  discipline  of  which  it  was  the  guardian,  and  which  was 
sanctified  by  the  Word  of  God.  It  appealed  therefore  to  the 
council  for  support;  this  it  obtained,  and  the  spiritual  principle 
was  victorious.  The  struggle  here  alluded  to  is  worthy  of  note 
in  the  history  of  the  church ;  it  shows  the  difficulties  with  which 
such  a  tribunal,  especially  in  a  small  state,  has  to  contend ;  and 
we  cannot  sufficiently  admire  the  firmness  of  the  council. 

Calvin  pours  out  his  heart  on  this  subject  in  his  introduction 
to  the  commentary  on  the  Psalms,  and  thus  characterizes  the 
rage  of  his  enemies: — f;  If  I  should  describe  the  course  of  my 
struggles  from  this  period,  it  would  make  a  long  history.  But 
it  affords  me  no  slight  consolation,  that  David  preceded  me  in 
these  conflicts.  For  as  the  Philistines  vexed  this  holy  king  by 
continual  wars,  but  the  wickedness  and  treachery  of  the  faithless 
of  his  own  house  grieved  him  still  more,  so  was  1  on  all  sides 
assailed,  and  had  scarcely  a  moment's  rest  from  outward  or  in- 
ward struggles.  But  when  Satan  had  made  so  many  efforts  to 
destroy  our  church,  it  came  at  length  to  this,  that  I,  unwarlikc 
and  timid  as  I  am,  found  myself  compelled  to  oppose  my  own 
body  to  the  murderous  assault,  and  so  to  ward  it  off.  Five  years 
long  had  we  to  struggle  without  ceasing  for  the  upholding  of 
discipline;  for  these  evil-doers  were  endowed  with  too  great  a 
degree  of  power  to  be  easily  overcome;  and  a  portion  of  the 
people,  perverted  by  their  means,  wished  only  for  an  unbridled 
freedom.     To  such  worthless  men,  despisers  of  the  holy  law,  the 


A.D.  1546.]  CALVIN  AND  AMEAUX.  57 

ruin  of  the  church  was  a  matter  of  utter  indifference,  could  they 
but  obtain  the  liberty  to  do  whatever  they  desired.  Many  were 
induced  by  necessity  and  hunger,  some  by  ambition  or  by  a 
shameful  desire  of  gain,  to  attempt  a  general  overthrow,  and  to 
risk  their  own  ruin  as  well  as  ours,  rather  than  be  subject  to  the 
laws.  Scarcely  a  single  thing,  I  believe,  was  left  unattempted  by 
them  during  this  long  period  which  we  might  not  suppose  to 
have  been  prepared  in  the  workshop  of  Satan.  Their  wretched 
designs  could  only  be  attended  with  a  shameful  disappointment. 
A  melancholy  drama  was  thus  presented  to  me ;  for  much  as 
they  deserved  all  possible  punishment,  I  should  have  been  re- 
joiced to  see  them  passing  their  lives  in  peace  and  respectability; 
which  might  have  been  the  case,>iad  they  not  wholly  rejected 
every  kind  of  prudent  admonition." 

The  trial  of  Ameaux  may  be  especially  mentioned  as  one  of 
those  which  took  place  at  this  period,  and  as  affording  a  pro- 
found view  of  Calvin's  determined  conduct.  Pierre  Ameaux,  or 
Ameaulx,  was  a  member  of  the  council  of  Two  Hundred,  whose 
wife  had  been  already  punished  for  her  libertinism.  He  was  now 
in  close  alliance  with  some  of  its  most  depraved  ministers,  and  had 
spoken  loudly  in  a  social  meeting  against  both  the  doctrine  and 
the  person  of  Calvin,  whom  he  called  a  mean  and  wicked  man*. 
This  was  mentioned  to  the  council,  which  felt  itself  bound,  in 
remembrance  of  what  Calvin  had  done  for  the  church  and  state, 
to  take  serious  notice  of  the  matter,  and  having  put  Ameaux 
into  prison  to  examine  him  judicially.  It  was  deemed  proper 
however  at  the  same  time  to  call  the  council  together,  that  an 
inquiry  might  be  entered  into,  whether  there  was  anything  in 
Calvin's  conduct  deserving  of  reprehension.  Several  ministers 
were  summoned  on  the  occasion,  and  they  were  desired  to  state, 
in  the  absence  of  Calvin  himself,  their  candid  opinion  respecting 
him.  They  bore  the  most  honourable  testimony  to  the  purity 
both  of  his  doctrine  and  his  conduct.  It  was  not  deemed  proper 
however  to  inflict  on  Ameaux  any  further  punishment  than  that 
of  a  fine  of  sixty  dollars.  He  had  retracted  his  complaints  against 
Calvin,  and  had  declared  that  he  was  not  in  his  right  senses 
when  he  uttered  the  objectionable  words,  adding  still  further, 
that  he  would  for  the  future  show  him  all  becoming  respect. 
But  Calvin  now  appeared  before  the  council,  accompanied  by 

*  Picot,  T.  ii.  p.  410.  la  the  state-protocol  of  Jan.  TJ ,  1546,  it  is  said, 
"  On  met  Pierre  Ameaulx  en  jugement  pour  avoir  dit  que  Mr.  Calvin  prechoit 
une  fausse  doctrine,  etoit  un  tres-mechant  liomrac,  et  n'etoit  qu'un  Picard." 


58  CALVIN  AND  THE  LIBERTINES.  [CHAP.  XIII. 

all  the  ministers  and  elders  of  the  church.  He  complained  of 
the  lenity  of  the  judges,  and  demanded  that  the  sentence  should 
be  set  aside.  The  process  was  accordingly  renewed,  and  the 
council  condemned  Ameaux  to  the  following  humiliating  punish- 
ment:  he  was  to  pass  through  the  whole  city  bare-headed, 
and  with  a  lighted  torch  in  his  hand,  and  then  to  kneel  down  and 
openly  proclaim  his  repentance,  which  was  called  "Jaire  amende 
honorable."  Calvin  may  appear  in  this  to  have  acted  with 
fanatical  severity;  but  it  ought  to  be  considered  of  what  vast 
importance  it  was  to  him,  in  one  respect  at  least,  to  secure  a 
perfect  purity  of  doctrine.  In  the  present  case  he  identified 
himself  with  his  principles,  and  he  founded  his  proceedings  upon 
his  knowledge  of  Ameaux  and  his  party,  to  which  Christianity 
was  hateful,  and  whose  aim  it  was  to  destroy  it.  He  was  fully 
prepared,  the  attempt  having  been  made  against  religion  itself, 
to  fall  with  the  respectability  of  the  consistory.  If  we  carefully 
observe  that  the  extension  of  God's  kingdom  was  his  only  desire, 
we  must  admire  the  grandeur  and  freedom  of  spirit  which  he 
exhibited  under  these  circumstances,  and  which  was  sufficient 
to  raise  him  above  every  other  consideration,  even  above  the 
painful  feeling,  that  he  might  be  suspected  of  indulging  personal 
revenge,  and  thus  be  in  danger  of  losing  many  of  his  followers. 
It  required  moreover  no  slight  degree  of  courage  and  determi- 
nation to  proceed  in  such  a  manner  against  a  man  who  occupied 
so  high  a  position  as  Ameaux.  We  cannot  for  a  moment  impute 
to  him  the  vulgar  desire  of  triumphing  over  an  opponent :  he 
had  proved  how  readily  he  could  forgive,  in  other  circumstances, 
and  where  he  was  only  personally  concerned.  Could  he  have 
been  fairly  accused  of  the  love  of  revenge.,  or  of  any  dishonour- 
able wish,  he  must  have  lost  for  ever  the  confidence  of  his  party. 
As  this  however  was  far  from  being  the  case,  we  may  conclude 
that  it  was  evident  to  them  that  he  acted  according  to  higher 
principles.  Could  it  either  be  supposed  that  Ameaux  only  spoke 
in  jest,  we  should  scarcely  be  able  to  account  for  the  earnestness 
and  severity  which  marked  the  proceedings  of  the  council. 

The  sentence  passed  upon  Ameaux  gave  rise  to  an  outbreak 
of  popular  fury  in  one  quarter  of  the  city :  but  Calvin  despised 
the  tumultuous  shouts  of  the  multitude.  Two  preachers  who 
had  taken  the  part  of  Ameaux  were  deprived  of  their  office  :  one 
of  them,  Henri  de  la  Mar,  was  kept  some  days  in  prison.  All 
the  wine-shops  were  strictly  closed,  and  the  whole  council  pro- 
ceeded to  the  disturbed  quarter,  and  ordered  a  gallows  to  be 


A.D.  1546.]  CALVIN  AND  PERRIN.  59 

erected  in  the  Place  de  St.  Gervais.  This  threat  produced  the 
desired  effect :  tranquillity  was  restored,  and  the  sentence  was 
executed  on  Ameaux,  April  5,  1546. 

Calvin's  severity  increased,  and  laws  of  the  sternest  character 
were  passed  against  all  offences.  The  consistory  summoned  a 
great  number  of  licentious  persons  to  appear  before  it,  and  sub- 
mit to  a  strict  examination  of  their  morals.  New  edicts  wrere 
published  by  the  council  against  luxury*,  and  the  public  re- 
presentation of  a  play,  6  The  Acts  of  the  Apostles/  after  having 
been  performed  ten  times  with  great  applause,  was  forbidden  at 
the  request  of  the  clergy.  Calvin  describes  in  a  letter  to  Farelf 
his  conflict,  under  these  circumstances,  with  the  tumultuous 
people.  The  feeling  of  popular  indignation  was  still  further 
increased  by  an  order  which  forbade  the  naming  of  children  after 
the  Roman  catholic  saints :  among  the  most  favourite  names 
were  those  of  Claudius  and  Balthazar,  with  which  the  people 
had  associated  certain  superstitious  ideas  J.  To  heap  insult  on 
morality  and  religion  wras  the  order  of  the  day. 

The  principal  family  in  the  libertine  party  was  that  of  Faber: 
Francis  Faber  had  excited  many  to  struggle  for  freedom.  At 
the  head  however  of  the  party  was  a  man,  Amied  Perrini§,  who, 
without  any  intellectual  endowments,  had  made  himself  so  con- 
spicuous by  his  insolence  and  extravagant  ambition,  that  Calvin 
was  accustomed  to  call  him  the  stage-emperor :  his  wife  was  the 
daughter  of  Faber. 

A  fierce  opposer  of  the  strict  rule  of  the  church,  Perrin  stood 
forth  in  1553  with  increased  force  against  Calvin,  nor  was  it  till 
two  years  after  that  he  began  to  shrink  before  the  reformer.  Ha- 
ving been  raised  by  the  voice  of  the  people  to  the  chief  military 
station  in  the  republic,  he  had  a  great  show  of  wrorldly  distinc- 
tion to  aid  him  in  his  struggle  with  Calvin.  The  latter  had  in 
this  respect  a  more  difficult  position  than  Luther,  who  was  pro- 
tected by  the  prudent  elector,  and  lived  in  the  midst  of  a  people 
who  understood  his  heroic  daring,  and  encouraged  him  by  their 
applause.     The  laws  of  the  consistory  prohibited  dancing,  the 

*  Regis.  16  Av.  1543.  Ep.  lxxvi.  Ed.  Amst.  T.  viii.  pp.  44-46. 

f  Epis.  lxviii.  Ed.  Laus.  Amst.  p.  43. 

X  Picot,  T.  ii.  pp.  413,  414.  Regis.  1546,  Av.  27.  Chapuis  was  put  in  prison 
for  having  persisted  in  naming  his  child  Claude,  which  the  minister  did  not 
wish,  but  desired  to  call  him  Abraham. 

§  Perrin  is  known  under  various  names.  In  the  old  history  of  Servetus  he 
is  called  Amadeus  Gorrius  ;  and  in  French,  Amy  Pierre  or  Ame  Perrin.  Calvin 
gives  him  the  nickname  of  Csesar  Comicus  and  Ciesar  Tragicus. 


GO  CALVIN  AND   PERRIN.  [CHAP.  XIII. 

use  of  ornaments  and  worldly  amusements.  But  some  of  the  prin- 
cipal families  had  refused  to  deny  themselves  these  indulgences, 
and  having  kept  a  festival  at  Bellerive,  they  were  summoned  first 
before  the  council  and  then  before  the  consistory  *.  The  answers 
which  they  gave  at  their  examination  evinced  the  lively  hatred 
which  they  all  entertained  of  the  church  discipline.  Faber  was 
condemned  to  three  weeks5  imprisonment.  He  would  not  how- 
ever humble  himself  before  the  consistory  as  Perrin  did,  but  went 
to  prison  exclaiming  "Freedom,  freedom  ! "  Calvin's  own  words 
give  interest  to  these  circumstances,  and  show  to  what  lengths  he 
was  led  on  the  principle  of  moral  government. 

In  a  letter  to  Farelf  he  says :  "The  dance  has  given  us  more 
to  do  since  your  departure  than  I  had  at  first  expected.  All 
who  were  present  on  the  occasion  were  called  before  the  con- 
sistory, and,  with  two  exceptions  (Corneus  a  syndic,  and  Perrin), 
blasphemed  God  and  belied  us  with  daring  effrontery.  I  burned 
with  indignation,  and  spoke  with  all  my  strength  against  this 
open  contempt  of  God,  declaring  at  the  same  time  that  it  was  in 
vain  for  them  to  mock  at  the  holy  pledge  which  we  had  taken. 
They  persevered  in  their  scorn.  Having  thoroughly  considered 
the  matter,  I  could  do  no  otherwise  than  adjure  them  by  God 
to  repent  of  such  wickedness ;  at  the  same  time  declaring  that, 
at  the  peril  of  my  life,  I  would  make  the  truth  known,  that  they 
might  not  for  a  moment  imagine  they  had  gained  anything  by 
their  lies.  Francisca  Perrin  also  greatly  abused  us,  because  we 
are  hostile  to  the  Fabers.  I  answered  her  as  I  thought  fit,  and 
as  she  deserved,  asking  her  whether  her  family  was  sacred  and 
superior  to  the  laws.  Her  father  had  been  found  guilty  of  one 
adultery,  we  were  on  the  point  of  proving  him  guilty  of  another, 
and  there  was  no  little  talk  of  a  third :  her  brother  had  publicly 
ridiculed  both  the  council  and  ourselves.  I  added  lastly  that 
they  might  if  they  pleased  build  a  new  city,  in  which  they  could 
live  as  they  chose,  if  they  did  not  like  to  be  governed  here  by 
us,  as  under  the  yoke  of  Christ ;  but  that  as  long  as  they  were 
in  Geneva  it  was  useless  for  them  to  strive  not  to  obey  the  laws. 
Were  there,  I  further  said,  as  many  diadems  in  the  house  of 
Faber  as  there  were  phrenzied  heads,  this  would  not  alter  the 
fact  that  God  is  the  Lord.  Perrin  himself  had  in  the  meantime 
fled   to   Lyons,  hoping  that  the  business  might  be  buried  in 

*  IV n  in's  wife  is  thus  described  by  Calvin,  "  uxor  est  prodiyiosafuria  ":  and, 
"  impudenter  criminum  omnium  dpfensionem  suscipit."     Ep.  70. 
f  Epis.  lxxi.  1510. 


A.D.  1547.]  CALVIN  AND  PERRIN.  Gl 

silence.  It  was  my  opinion  that  they  ought  to  be  obliged  to 
take  an  oath  that  they  would  acknowledge  the  truth.  Corneus 
warned  them  respecting  the  danger  of  taking  a  false  oath :  they 
however  not  only  declared  what  we  desired,  but  added  that  they 
had  danced  on  the  same  day  at  the  house  of  the  widow  Balthazar. 
All  were  thrown  into  prison.  The  syndic  afforded  a  remarkable 
instance  of  coolness ;  but  having  received  a  severe  rebuke  on 
the  part  of  the  consistory,  he  was  deprived  of  his  dignity  till  he 
should  evince  sincere  repentance.*  It  is  reported  that  Perrin 
has  come  back  from  Lyons :  let  him  do  as  he  may  he  will  not 
escape  punishment.  Henri,  with  our  consent,  was  deposed  from 
his  office  and  committed  to  prison,  but  liberated  after  three  days. 
It  is  already  matter  of  public  observation  that  the  guilty  have 
no  hope  of  escaping  punishment;  and  this,  because  the  highest 
have  not  been  spared,  and  my  friends  have  escaped  no  better 
than  my  enemies.  Perrin  and  his  wife  are  raving  in  prison : 
the  widow  is  almost  mad ;  the  others  blush  and  are  silent." 

The  two  parties  became  more  and  more  enraged  against  each 
other.  Calvin's  eloquence  gave  him  a  decided  superiority  in  the 
little  republic.  On  the  24th  of  July  1547  he  wrote  to  Viret*  : — 
"I  continue  to  employ  my  usual  severity  while  labouring  to 
correct  the  prevailing  vices,  and  especially  those  of  the  young. 
The  right-thinking  tell  me  of  the  dangers  by  which  I  am  sur- 
rounded, but  I  take  no  heed  of  this,  lest  I  should  seem  too 
careful  for  my  personal  safety.  The  Lord  will  provide  such 
means  of  escape  for  me  as  He  sees  good/'  The  families  which 
belonged  to  the  libertine  party  took  a  very  formidable  position  ; 
but  Calvin  remained  master  of  the  field,  and  never  ceased  to 
avail  himself  of  his  office  as  a  preacher  to  attack  his  opponents. 
Somewhat  later,  that  is  August  21,  1547^  he  states  in  a  letter  to 
Farel  that  "letters  were  daily  brought  him  from  Lyons,  from 
which  he  learnt  that  he  had  been  killed  ten  times  over." 
"  Amadeus  is  in  France ;  his  wife  is  with  her  father,  where  she 
plays  the  Bacchanal  according  to  her  usual  fashion.  We  besought 
the  council  that,  if  she  showed  true  repentance,  all  the  past  might 
be  forgotten.  But  this  has  not  occurred,  and  she  is  so  far  gone 
as  to  have  cut  off  all  hopes  of  pardon.  I  will  seek  Penthesilea, 
when  the  season  for  administering  the  Lord's  Supper  arrives." 

Still  worse  signs  of  confusion  appeared  soon  after,  and  it  be- 
came more  and  more  evident  that  the  enemies  of  Calvin  would 
leave  nothing  undone  to  destroy  his  power.     This  is  shown  by 

*  Epist.  lxxx. 


G2  CALVIN  AND  PERRIN.  [CHAP.  XIII. 

an  important  letter,  addressed  at  this  time  to  Viret,  and  in  which, 
not  unlike  Cicero,  he  boasts  of  the  courage  and  eloquence,  by 
which  he  had  restrained  the  excited  multitude*. 

Calvin  entertained  originally  very  friendly  feelings  towards  the 
captain-general,  but  this  was  before  they  were  properly  known 
to  each  other.  Perrin,  as  a  promoter  of  the  reformation,  had 
taken  his  part  in  recalling  Calvin  from  Strasburg.  At  a  later 
period,  when  they  discovered  the  opposition  existing  in  their 
principles,  their  mutual  disfcke  became  the  fiercer  from  their 
former  acquaintance.  Calvin  saw  in  Perrin  only  the  libertine 
Genevese  citizen,  who,  rash,  active  and  frivolous,  was  on  the  way 
to  become  a  Catiline f.  He  tried  one  means  after  another, 
either  to  win,  or  at  least  to  bridle,  this  powerful  opponent.  En- 
treaty, admonition,  threats,  all  were  employed  in  vain,  and  he 
was  compelled  to  resolve  on  subduing  him  by  force.  Whether 
Perrin's  rashness  had  led  him  to  form  any  treacherous  design 
against  the  state,  cannot  be  sufficiently  proved ;  but  it  is  evident 
that  he  was  ready  to  excite  arising  to  overturn  the  existing  order 
of  things ;  and  his  conduct  appears  in  the  highest  degree  suspi- 
cious, when  we  read  that  Savoy  calculated  upon  his  assistance 
in  its  plans  against  Geneva.  As  an  idol  of  the  people,  Perrin 
was  all-powerful  with  the  multitude,  and  the  council  itself  felt 
that  the  pretensions  of  his  family  must  be  humbled.  The  im- 
prisonment of  his  wife  and  of  his  father-in-law  inflicted  a  deep 
wound  on  his  pride,  and  he  appeared  before  the  lesser  council, 
of  which  he  was  a  member,  with  bitter  complaints  and  threats. 
But  his  insolent  words  produced  no  effect  on  the  council :  his 
imprisonment  was  the  more  resolutely  enforced,  and  the  people 
suffered  it  to  take  place  without  opposition.  He  was  accused 
especially  of  playing  the   tyrant,  and  of  entertaining  designs 

Ep.  Ixxxii.  Sept.  17,  1547-  Calvin  here  describes  the  tumultuous  cha- 
racter of  the  assembly  about  the  doors  of  the  building  where  the  council  met. 
"  Fearful/' he  says,  "was  the  sight.  I  cast  myself  into  the  thickest  of  the  crowd, 
[was  pulled  to  and  fro  by  those  who  wished  to  save  me  from  harm.  I  called 
Clod  to  witness  that  I  was  come  to  offer  myself  to  their  swords,  if  they  thirsted 
f"r  blood."  lie  next  speaks  of  his  conflict  in  the  council,  but  adds/  that  the 
people  shrunk  from  harming  him,  "as  they  would  from  the  murder  of  a  father." 
I  Many  indications  of  this  appear  in  his  letters.  In  one  addressed  to  Viret 
in  Jan.  1546,  he  says,  referring  to  Perrin,  "  O  how  I  fear  that  he  will  at  length 
render  himself  intolerable  to  this  free  city!"  In  addressing  Pen-in  himself,  he 
speaks  to  him  as  to  a  Judas,  and  uses  the  words  Qua  /acts,  far  elfins.  Ed. 
Amst.  p.  53.  In  a  letter  to  Farel,  Nov.  27,  1548,  Ep.  kxxviii.  MS.  Gen.,  he 
oescribi  a  bun  thus  ■  -  Eodem  die  Caesar  Comicus  noster  soccos  iterum  induit. 
Nunc  lerocior  ahquanto  redditus  inter  histriones  suos  se  thrasouico  suo  more 
jactat." 


A.D.  1547.]  CALVIN  AND  PERRIN.  63 

against  the  freedom  of  his  fatherland,  having  formed  the  inten- 
tion of  introducing  a  body  of  two  hundred  soldiers  from  France, 
and  quartering  them  in  Geneva*.  The  whole  city  busied  itself 
about  this  trial :  many  wished  his  death,  others  his  liberation. 
The  lesser  council,  after  consulting  the  advocates,  acquitted  him 
on  the  capital  charge,  but  condemned  him  to  lose  his  offices, 
and  desired  that  he  should  pray  both  God  and  the  state  to  pardon 
his  treasonable  speeches.  The  office  of  captain-general  was  for 
ever  abolished. 

Farel  and  Viret  were  twice  called  to  Geneva  for  the  purpose  of 
attempting  to  reconcile  the  two  parties.  They  appeared  before  the 
council,  and  we  hear  Farel  thus  defending  his  friend: — "How," 
he  exclaimed,  e(  can  you  fail  to  honour  Calvin  ?  There  is  not  a 
man  in  the  world  who  has  warred  against  Antichrist  with  such 
vigour  as  he ;  there  is  no  one  so  learned ;  and  if  he  have  not 
spared  you,  neither  has  he  shrunk  from  blaming  the  greatest 
men,  Luther  and  Melancthon." 

Tranquillity  seemed  restored,  but  the  ministers  were  defeated. 
Perrin  recovered  his  position,  and  it  was  said,  indeed,  by  Calvin's 
recommendation ;  but  the  consequence  was,  that  the  wicked 
spirit  of  his  party  soon  reached  the  height  of  iniquity.  His 
followers  wore  a  species  of  cuirass,  that  they  might  be  known  to 
each  other,  and  they  heaped  upon  the  reformer  every  species  of 
abuse.  Farel  and  Viret,  who  were  obliged  to  return,  again 
effected  a  reconciliation  between  Calvin  and  Perrin ;  but  it  was 
only  in  appearance.  A  great  many  of  Calvin's  enemies  had  de- 
clared aloud,  that  it  was  their  dislike  to  him  which  kept  them 
from  the  Lord's  Supper;  but  he  and  his  brethren  put  them  all 
to  shame  by  their  bold  and  resolute  preaching  of  the  truth.  The 
council  took  their  part,  and  on  the  18th  of  December,  1548,  an 
amnesty  was  proposed  and  settledf.  But  the  events  which  suc- 
ceeded show  that  Perrin  had  practised  deceit,  and  had  nothing 
else  in  view  but  to  obtain  for  himself  the  first  place  in  the  state, 
and  with  it  the  means  of  accomplishing  his  designs.  In  the 
following  year,  1549,  he  was  first  syndic.      The  old  syndics, 

*  Regis.  25  Juill.  1555.  It  is  said  that  when  the  Duke  of  Alba  was  told 
of  Perrin's  offer  of  help,  he  laughed  and  replied,  that  if  he  had  two  thousand 
men  under  the  walls  of*  Geneva,  and  he  found  any  discord  in  the  city,  he  would 
take  it  without  any  aid  from  Ami  Perrin. 

t  In  a  letter  to  Viret,  Nov.  1548  (MS.  Gen.),  Calv'm  ascribes  the  restora- 
tion of  Perrin,  whom  he  speaks  of  as  Comicus  Ccesar,  to  the  small  number  of 
the  members  of  the  council  present.  This,  it  is  observed,  does  not  agree  with 
what  is  said  by  Senebier,  who  states  that  Calvin  assisted  in  restoring  Perrin, 
and  adds,  "  II  eut  la  satisfaction  chretienne  de  voir  son  ennemi  reliability. " 


CA  CRUET  THE   LIBERTINE.  [CHAP.  XIII. 

contrary  to  the  law,  allowed  him  the  highest  rank.  His  power 
was  thus  firmly  established,  and  he  again  stood  opposed  to 
Calvin  as  the  champion  of  the  evil  principle  against  the  good. 

Anticipating  the  narrative  of  other  events,  I  will  here  state 
that,  after  another  treasonable  movement  of  Perrin's  party,  the 
council  at  length  became  calvinistic,  and  suppressed  the  worst  of 
the  agitators  by  force.  A  sound  policy  had  taught  them  that  it 
was  impossible  to  allow  two  hostile  parties  to  exist  together, 
without  the  ruin  of  the  republic.  It  is  possible  however  that 
the  council  may  have  made  use  of  the  disturbances  as  a  pretence. 
The  accusations  do  not  appear  of  sufficient  importance ;  and  the 
council,  as  was  too  often  the  case  in  those  times  of  excitement, 
seems  to  have  played  with  the  lives  of  individuals,  and  not  to 
have  shrunk  from  shedding  blood  on  the  slightest  suspicion,  for 
the  sake  of  establishing  peace.  Perrin  himself  escaped  to  France, 
and  was  only  hung  in  effigy.  Bern  especially  demanded  the  an- 
nulling of  the  sentence ;  and  thus  some  degree  of  obscurity  must 
ever  involve  the  actual  criminality  of  this  notorious  personage. 

Immediately  after  the  apprehension  of  Faber  and  Perrin,  which 
took  place  on  Monday,  June  2j,  15473it  was  discovered  that  one 
of  the  libertines,  the  before-named  citizen  Jacobus  Gruet,  de- 
scended from  an  old  and  respectable  family,  had  affixed  a  libel  to 
the  pulpit  in  the  high  church  of  St.  Peter.  This  paper  contained 
an  expression  of  hatred  against  the  established  discipline,  and  a 
threatening  intimation  that  a  plan  was  laid  to  annihilate  the 
champions  of  the  church  party  by  murder. 

The  judicial  proceeding  against  Gruet  is  important  as  a  prelude 
to  that  of  Servetus.  It  exhibits  the  principles  of  the  council, 
the  prevailing  laws  of  the  city,  and  at  the  same  time  the  connec- 
tion between  the  spiritual  and  the  political  libertines.  The  ac- 
cusation brought  against  Servetus  was  purely  religious,  whereas 
in  that  against  Gruet  the  religious  was  mingled  with  the  political, 
and  presented  a  more  awful  specimen  of  unbelief.  We  will  leave 
Calvin  himself  to  give  an  account  of  this  affair. 

Addressing  Yiret*,he  says,  "We  must  now  contend  in  earnest." 
Then  having  alluded  to  the  wife  of  the  stage  hero,  and  to  her 
rage  against  the  spiritual  rule  which  had  bridled  her  love  of 
dancing,  he  continues: — "The  council  committed  her  to  close 
confinement.  She  fled.  The  next  day  a  paper  was  found  affixed 
to  the  pulpit,  threatening  us  with  death  if  we  did  not  remain 
silent.  The  council,  greatly  moved  by  such  proceedings,  have 
*  Epis.  lxxvii.  July  11,  1547. 


A.D.   1547.]  GRUET  THE   LIBERTINE.  G5 

given  command  to  investigate  thoroughly  the  nature  of  the  con- 
spiracy. As  the  suspicion  of  many  rests  on  Gruet,  he  has  been 
apprehended,  but  the  hand-writing  does  not  agree  with  his.  A 
search  however  having  been  made  among  his  papers,  several 
others  were  found  of  a  not  less  guilty  character,  one  of  which 
was  an  intended  address  to  the  people  on  the  day  of  assembly, 
and  in  which  he  endeavoured  to  prove  that  that  only  ought  to 
be  punished  by  the  laws  which  might  appear  injurious  to  the 
state.  There  was  the  danger,  he  argued,  that  whilst  the  city 
was  under  the  government  of  a  single  melancholy  man  (Calvin), 
an  insurrection  might  be  excited,  and  the  city  might  thus  be 
deprived  of  thousands  of  its  inhabitants.  Two  sides  were  written 
in  Latin,  and  in  these  he  made  a  mock  of  Scripture  altogether, 
and  abused  the  Saviour.  Immortality  he  called  a  dream  and  a 
fable,  and  struck  at  the  very  root  of  all  religion.  I  do  not  be- 
lieve that  he  is  the  author  of  this  paper,  but  it  is  in  his  hand- 
writing, and  the  process  therefore  is  carried  on.  It  is  possible 
that  he  may  have  employed  his  own  wit  to  reduce  to  a  whole 
that  which  he  has  heard  from  others."  Calvin  here  recognised 
the  doctrine  of  that  satanic  association  founded  by  the  spiritual 
libertines. 

Some  circumstances  may  be  mentioned  which  serve  to  throw 
light  on  the  origin  of  Gruet's  wrath.  In  order  to  make  his 
freedom  of  opinion  publicly  known,  he  had  introduced  a  part  of 
the  Bernese  costume,  the  people  of  Bern  being  opposed  to  Cal- 
vin and  the  council*.  This  luxurious  dress  was  immediately 
prohibited,  and  the  compulsion  thus  exercised  inspired  the  great 
champion  of  freedom  with  the  most  violent  indignation.  The 
preachers  exhibited  little  moderation  towards  their  opponents. 
Cop,  a  bold  energetic  minister,  had  called  the  Genevese  ladies  of 
the  libertine  party,  and  who  were  in  the  habit  of  attending  thea- 
trical representations,  harlots.  Thus  too  Abel  Poupin  de- 
scribed Faber  as  a  hound,  and  Calvin,  Gruet  as  "  balaufre" 

Gruet,  who  felt  his  strength,  was  greatly  embittered  to  see  his 
friends  humbled,  and  obliged  to  bend  the  knee  before  the  con- 
sistory. The  words  of  the  libel  were  t?  "You  and  yours  shall 
gain  little  by  your  measures ;  if  you  do  not  take  yourselves  away, 
no  one  shall  save  you  from  destruction ;  you  shall  curse  the 
hour  when  you  forsook  your  monkhood.  Warning  should  have 
been  given  before,  that  the  devil  and  his  legions  were  come 

*  "Les  hauts  dc  chausses  chaples  aux  genoux." 
t  Galiffe,  Not.  Gen.  Ait.  Gruet. 
VOL.  IT.  F 


66  GRUET  THE  LIBERTINE.  [CHAP.  XIII. 

hither  to  ruin  everything.  But  though  we  have  been  patient 
for  a  time,  revenge  will  be  had  at  last.  Defend  yourselves,  or 
you  will  share  the  fate  of  Verle  of  Freiburg  *.  We  do  not  wish 
to  have  so  many  masters  here.     Mark  well  what  I  say." 

Suspicion  must  have  been  already  directed  towards  Gruet ; 
he  would  not  otherwise  have  been  so  immediately  accused  in 
the  present  instance.  As  a  rash,  enterprising  man,  occupying 
a  conspicuous  place  in  his  party,  he  must  have  betrayed  his  anti- 
christian  sentiments  in  a  thousand  ways  to  the  eye  of  an  ob- 
server like  Calvin.  The  process  was  begun,  attended  as  it  seems 
with  some  agitation.  According  to  established  usage,  the  ac- 
cuser was  to  be  imprisoned  with  the  accused ;  but  in  this  case 
the  whole  council  must  have  gone  to  prison,  the  charge  being 
one  of  high-treason,  and  as  such  could  be  brought  by  no  other 
body.  Gruet  however  was  subjected  to  the  torture  morning 
and  evening  during  a  whole  month :  he  bore  his  sufferings 
firmly,  and  without  betraying  one  of  his  confederates,  of  whom 
he  must  have  had  many. 

In  a  letter  to  P.  de  Bourg,  he  says  of  Calvin,  whom  he  names 
"  Episcopum  Asculanensem/5  "  He  is  a  great  hypocrite,  who 
would  fain  be  worshiped  himself,  while  he  robs  our  holy  father 
the  pope  of  the  honour  due  to  him.  His  audacity  is  so  great 
that  he  declares  he  will  make  even  kings  and  emperors  tremble." 
In  another  letter  he  accuses  him  of  trifling  with  holy  things. 
It  is  worthy  of  remark,  that  a  copy  of  the  work  against  the  Ana- 
baptists and  libertines  was  found  in  his  house :  he  had  written 
on  the  margin  "  toutes  folies"  which  shows  plainly  that  he  had 
employed  himself  on  the  subject,  and  felt  that  he  was  aimed  at 
in  the  passage  which  he  had  marked. 

On  the  9th  of  July  he  confessed  that  he  had  been  guilty  of 
affixing  the  threatening  placard  to  the  pulpit.     On  the  12th  he 
repeated  this  confession,  with  some  alterations :  he  also  stated 
that  the  writings  found  in  his  house  were  his  own  composition, 
and  prayed  with  tears  that  he  might  be  at  once  led  to  execution. 
We  cannot  repress  a  sigh,  that  the  rude  period  which  we  are 
contemplating  would  not  allow  men  to  discover,  that  intolerance 
as  hateful  as  blasphemy,  and  the  actual  infliction  of  torture 
I  a  crime  as  uttering  a  threat  of  murder.     But  in  the 
pre  e  the  state  was  a  principal  actor:  it  would  therefore 

be  unjust  to  attribute  Gruet5  s  death  solely  to  the  religious  go- 
vernment of  Geneva,  as  if  it  had  been  effected  simply  through 
*  A  gentleman  who  had  been  murdered. 


A.D.  1547.]  EXECUTION  OF  GRUET.  6*J 

the  hatred  of  his  spiritual  opponents.  His  condemnation  must 
have  taken  place,  had  Calvin  not  been  in  Geneva.  The  latter 
had  no  doubt  rightly  judged  his  character,  although  it  was  not 
till  after  his  death  that  his  worst  crime  came  to  light,  and  that 
his  punishment  appeared  proportioned  to  his  offence.  But  no- 
thing can  be  more  ridiculous  than  the  clamour  raised  at  the  men- 
tion of  Gruet's  torture,  as  if  Calvin  was  the  author  of  its  in- 
fliction. Not  the  slightest  evidence  exists  in  history  that  such 
was  the  case,  while  it  is  well  known  that  no  important  trial  took 
place  in  those  times,  in  any  part  of  the  world,  without  the  appli- 
cation of  the  rack.  In  the  proceedings  carried  on  against  mere 
heretics,  as  in  the  trials  of  Servetus  and  Gentilis,  no  mention  is 
made  of  torture ;  but  it  would  be  contrary  to  all  historical  prin- 
ciples to  judge  Calvin  and  his  times  by  the  rule  of  modern  opi- 
nion. With  equal  right,  and  with  the  same  consequences,  it 
might  be  objected  against  him  that  he  did  not  wear  a  peruke 
a  la  Louis  XIV.,  or  found  his  decisions  according  to  the  Code 
Napoleon.  Calvin  speaks  on  these  things  with  great  simplicity 
and  earnestness  in  his  letters,  written  about  this  time,  to  Bour- 
gogne,  and  calls  the  libertines  young  people  whom  he  must 
constrain  and  bridle,  and  thus  do  them  good  against  their  own 
will*. 

Gruet  was  brought  to  the  scaffold  July  26,  1547.  The  sen- 
tence, which  was  read  aloud  to  him,  purported,  that  he  had  in- 
sulted religion,  and  had  declared  that  the  laws,  both  divine  and 
human,  were  but  the  invention  of  man;  that  he  had  written 
blasphemous  and  obscene  verses,  and  defended  the  grossest 
licentiousness ;  and  that  he  had  thereby  endeavoured  to  over- 
turn the  institutions  of  the  church,  and  lessen  the  authority  of 
the  consistory.  It  was  further  added,  that  he  had  threatened 
the  reformers  and  the  clergy,  and  had  spoken  with  especial  dis- 
respect of  Calvin ;  that  he  had  written  letters  to  excite  the 
French  court  and  the  monarch  against  him ;  and  lastly,  that  he 
had  threatened  even  the  council  itself. 

It  is  to  be  observed,  that  his  unchristian  sentiments  and  im- 
morality were  first  noticed,  and  that  then  followed  his  resist- 
ance to  the  consistory,  and  in  the  third  place  his  threatening  of 
the  council.  But  in  a  republic,  where  religion  was  so  closely 
bound  up  with  the  political  government,  every  attempt  against 
the  former  must  have  been  viewed  as  equally  directed  against 
the  latter,  which  hence  must  have  incurred  the  charge  of  into- 
*  July  14,  1547. 

F2 


68  CALVIN   AND  THE   LIBERTINES.         [CHAP.  XIII. 

lerance  whenever  it  inflicted  temporal  punishment.  As  Gruet's 
resistance  was  directed  against  the  moral  institutions  of  the  state, 
so  was  that  of  Servetus  against  its  principal  doctrine,  which,  as 
the  foundation  of  its  religion  and  its  power  was  of  still  greater 
importance,  and  demanded  a  sterner  sacrifice.  With  religion 
must  the  republic  flourish  or  be  overthrown. 

It  is  really  inspiriting  to  hear  how  Calvin  stormed  in  his  ser- 
mons against  the  opposite  party,  while  at  the  same  time  he 
laboured  to  convert  them.  "  I  am  ashamed,"  says  he,  "  to 
preach  the  Word  here  among  you,  where  such  horrible  disorders 
are  taking  place ;  and  were  I  to  follow  my  inclination,  I  should 
pray  God  to  take  me  from  this  world.  I  would  not  live  three 
days  amid  the  vanities  by  which  I  am  surrounded.  And  shall 
we  still  boast  that  we  have  established  a  reformation  !  Not  ser- 
vants of  God,  our  judges  might  be  blind,  for  they  may  feel  our 
worthlessness  with  their  hands.  I  know  not  indeed  whether 
God  may  not  send  the  executioner  among  us,  refusing  as  we  do 
to  hear  the  admonitions  of  his  mouth :  yea,  there  is  reason  to 
fear  that  he  is  preparing  to  raise  his  armed  hand.  But  this  is 
not  said  to  excite  resistance  against  him,  but  that  we  may  con- 
fess our  misery,  and  no  longer  harden  ourselves  in  sin.  He  has 
called  us  to  repentance :  let  us  then  embrace  both  his  pro- 
mises and  his  threats ;  let  those  who  serve  the  state  fulfil  their 
duties  now  with  more  faithfulness ;  let  the  clergy  labour  more 
diligently  to  cleanse  the  churches  of  their  impurity ;  let  every 
one  look  to  his  own  house ;  from  our  houses  let  us  look  to  our- 
selves, and  sanctify  ourselves,  that  when  we  celebrate  the  Lord's 
Supper,  we  may  be  more  and  more  established  in  his  grace,  and 
be  engrafted  into  his  body,  so  that  we  may  live  in  Him  and  He 
in  us,  and  that  we  may  be  able  to  boast  ourselves  the  children  of 
God." 

Still  more  striking  is  the  deep  religious  earnestness  which 
breathes  in  the  statement  put  forth  by  him  in  the  year  1550,  on 
the  vicious  proceedings  of  Gruet : — "  Not  only  did  he  oppose 
himself  to  our  holy  religion,  but  he  poured  forth  such  blasphe- 
mies that  they  make  the  hair  stand  on  end.  These  things  must 
tend  to  bring  a  curse  upon  the  whole  land :  all  therefore  whose 
consciences  are  awake  will  feel  the  necessity  of  praying  God  to 
forgive  this  abuse  of  his  name  amongst  us.  The  council  ought 
again  to  declare  aloud  that  this  blasphemer  has  been  justly  con- 
demned, that  the  wrath  of  God  may  be  averted  from  the  city 
which  has  harboured  such  wickedness;  that  the  associates  of 


a.d.  1547.]  calvin's  troubles.  G(J 

this  reprobate  and  more  than  devilish  sect  may  have  an  exam- 
ple of  vengeance  before  their  eyes,  and  that  thereby  the  months 
of  those  may  be  shut  who  would  treat  these  crimes  with  levity." 
Gruet's  book  was  cast  into  the  fire  by  the  common  hangman,  in 
the  name  of  the  Father,  the  Son,  and  the  Holy  Ghost.  The 
Scriptures  lay  open  before  the  people,  and  the  ceremony  took 
place  at  the  door  of  the  house,  in  the  Bourg  de  Foux,  where  he 
had  dwelt. 

The  Gospel  thus  gained  a  victory  over  its  enemies ;  in  the 
same  manner  as  in  Germany  freedom  triumphed  when  Luther 
burnt  the  pope's  bull,  and  the  papal  decrees. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 


INSULTS     HEAPED    ON    CALVIN. HIS     RESOLUTION,     INWARD 

PEACE,  AND  CONSOLATION  IN  FRIENDSHIP. — VIRET. 

The  enemies  of  Calvin  left  nothing  untried  to  injure  or  afflict 
him :  he  was  exposed  to  insult,  not  only  in  the  council,  but  in 
the  open  street.  He  says,  in  reference  to  this  period,  that  he 
expected  to  be  killed  ;  and  had  his  enemies  succeeded,  this  would 
in  all  probability  have  been  the  case.  Beza  observes,  among 
other  things,  that  they  gave  the  name  of  Calvin  to  their  dogs ; 
others  converted  it  into  Cain,  the  fratricide,  in  allusion  to  the 
execution  of  Gruet*.  But  he  allowed  nothing  to  rob  him  of 
his  courage  or  his  peace :  he  says  to  Viret,  "  I  awaited  tran- 
quilly what  my  enemies  might  do ;  they  tried  every  means  to 
overthrow  me ;  but,  on  the  one  side,  I  would  take  no  notice  of 
their  insults ;  and,  on  the  other,  I  let  them  understand  that  I 
regarded  all  their  machinations  with  contempt.  Had  they  dis- 
covered a  single  indication  of  fear  in  me,  they  would  have  sup- 
posed they  had  conquered.     There  is  certainly  nothing  better 

*  To  Viret,  Feb.  12,  1545.  "  I  must  continue  as  ever  to  fight  in  darkness 
with  hypocrisy."  And  further,  Dec.  1547,  he  says  emphatically,  "Nunc 
redeo  ex  Senatu.  Multa  dixi,  sed  canitur  surdis  fabula  :  Dominus  illis  mentem 
restituat !"  In  the  same  month  he  again  said,  "  that  he  knew  not  what  he 
should  do,  but  that  he  certainly  could  not  much  longer  endure  the  conduct  of 
such  a  people." 


yo  calvin's  inward  peace.  [chap,  xiv, 

calculated  to  disappoint  their  aim,  or  to  encourage  the  good  to 
persevere,  than  my  resolution/' 

Even  the  council  was  in  many  instances  opposed  to  Calvin, 
and  acted  so  as  to  increase  his  difficulties :  as  for  example  in  re- 
gard to  the  printing  of  his  works*.  The  following  circumstances 
however  gave  rise  to  a  still  more  serious  persecution  against 
him.  When  the  new  syndics,  and  among  them  his  opponent 
Amadeus  Perrin,  were  chosen  in  1545,  Calvin  wrote  to  Viret 
respecting  these  persons.  The  letter  was  lost,  and  Viret' s  ser- 
vant, into  whose  hands  it  fell,  gave  it  to  the  syndics.  Troillet 
translated  it  into  French,  and  made  it  public.  As  the  council 
was  at  that  time  unfavourably  disposed  towards  Calvin,  it  ex- 
cited complaints  against  him,  and  he  was  accused  of  having 
written,  that  the  Genevese  desired  to  be  ruled  without  God, 
which  was  to  slander  the  whole  council.  It  might  be  well 
enough  for  him  to  assail  his  opponents  in  the  pulpit,  but  he  had 
no  right  to  abuse  them  in  his  private  letters.  Calvin  wrote 
hereupon  to  Farel,  August  10,  1548,  "As  far  as  lean  gather 
from  common  report,  my  letters  have  been  given  to  them.  The 
worst  passage  in  these  letters  is  this  : — i  Our  people  here,  under 
the  mask  of  Christians,  wish  to  govern  without  Christ.'  They 
regard  this  as  an  arrow  directed  against  themselves.  But  I 
should  readily  endure  any  kind  of  death  if  it  could  tend  to  the 
defence  of  the  truth.  They  are  ashamed  however  to  show  these 
letters,  of  which  they  have  gained  possession  by  cunning,  and 
they  know  well  enough  that  I  am  in  a  position  to  endure  many 
insults  unmoved."  (August  20,  1548).  "  Trusting  to  the  tes- 
timony of  my  conscience,  I  fear  no  assault,  for  what  can  they 
inflict  upon  me  worse  than  death?" 

His  enemies  felt  confident  that  they  had  him  now  in  their 
powerf;  and  the  affair  would  have  been  carried  to  extremities 
could  they  have  established  the  accusation  against  him.  But 
his  resolute  and  prudent  conduct  gained  the  victory.  Although 
lie  supposed  that  he  had  sufficiently  explained  J  the  circum- 
stance to  the  council,  showing  that  he  had  only  passed  judge- 
ment on  his  opponents  in  a  private  letter,  and  as  a  Christian, 
without  inflicting  any  public  injury  upon  them,  yet  the  council 
reproved  him,  and  this  was  the  cause  why  Farel  and  Viret  came 
to  Geneva  to  afford  him  the  support  of  their  influence. 

ft  is  well  for  us,  after  contemplating  his  struggle  with  the 

*  To  Farel,  1548,  MS.  Gen.  \  To  Viret,  Sept.  20,  1548. 

{  Galiffe,  Not.  Gen.  p.  528. 


a.d.  1548.]  calvin's  inward  peace.  71 

outward  world,  to  penetrate  into  the  soul  of  this  same  man, 
armed  as  he  was  by  God,  and  so  living  as  it  were  with  him,  to 
learn  to  imitate  his  firmness.  In  an  age  characteristically  want- 
ing in  force,  it  is  elevating  and  strengthening  to  associate  with 
noble  minds ;  not  only  to  survey  with  their  eagle-like  glance  the 
divine  plan,  but  to  share  with  them  the  higher  impulses  of  the 
spirit,  grounded  upon  a  holier  sense  of  duty.  Calvin's  life  was 
not  rich  in  great  visible  circumstances,  but  the  contrary  was  the 
case  as  to  his  inner  conflicts,  thoughts  and  works.  We  have 
not  in  him  the  joyous  outbreaks  and  noble  instances  of  proud 
defiance  displayed  by  Luther,  but  he  ever  exhibited  the  perse- 
vering resolution  and  the  truth,  even  to  death,  which  win  the 
crown  of  life. 

It  is  important  for  the  display  of  the  fine  inner  life  of  Calvin,  to 
read  how  greatly  he  was  distressed,  under  present  circumstances, 
at  the  approach  of  the  season  for  celebrating  the  Lord's  Supper. 
He  says,  "  The  coming  Sunday  is  the  day  for  administering  the 
sacrament.  You  can  easily  imagine  with  what  anxiety  I  am 
oppressed.  Would  that  it  could  be  celebrated  in  my  absence, 
even  under  the  condition  that  I  should  come  creeping  to  you 
on  my  hands  and  knees*!"  Thus  we  see  Calvin  contrasted  with 
men  who,  according  to  his  conviction,  often  approached  the 
table  of  the  Lord  with  hypocrisy ;  while  he  only  sought  it  under 
the  influence  of  deep  feeling,  and  an  immoveable  faith  in  the 
righteousness  of  God,  and  in  the  presence  of  Christ  in  the  sacra- 
ment. He  frequently  indeed  yielded  himself  to  the  spirit  of 
the  Old  Testament,  but  communion  with  Christ  in  the  sacra- 
ment wras  the  middle-point  of  his  life.  None  of  these  struggles 
could  affect  him.  During  the  whole  of  this  turbulent  period  he 
was  supported  by  a  loftier  principle,  which  kept  him  firm,  and 
imparted  to  him  that  wise,  determined  will  which  nothing  could 
bow.  A  more  than  human  strength  and  confidence  in  this  re- 
spect characterized  his  position.  Those  who  study  the  lives  of 
men  celebrated  in  the  world,  will  find  that  such  men  feel  them- 
selves impelled  to  action  in  a  manner  not  to  be  explained  by  an 
ordinary  understanding.  It  was  so  with  Calvin,  and  it  is  only 
by  this  consideration  that  we  can  throw  any  light  upon  his  con- 
duct. He  had  no  self-interest  to  promote,  when  he  defied  those 
who  opposed  him,  and  stood  exposed  to  the  hatred  of  half  the 
world.  How  gladly  would  he  have  retreated  and  sought  re- 
pose !  What  was  it  which  kept  him  to  his  post,  except  the 
*  Ep.  70.     To  Farel,  Sept.  1,  1546. 


/2  calvin's  inward  peace.  [chap.  xiv. 

feeling  that  he  had  to  fulfil  a  higher  will  than  his  own  ?  What 
else  could  have  moved  him  to  employ  the  severest  methods  to 
gain  his  end,  but  the  consciousness  that  the  interests  of  truth 
could  only  be  effectually  supported  by  such  means  ?  This  con- 
viction gave  him  confidence,  joy,  and  untiring  patience,  even 
when  he  saw  himself  mistaken  by  his  friends  and  exposed  to 
their  censures*.  It  was  from  his  entire  resignation  to  the  divine 
will  that  he  drew  consolation  and  life,  and  thus  he  says,  "  I 
bring  my  heart  as  an  offering  and  gift  to  the  Lord ;  I  subject 
my  bound  and  vanquished  soul  to  the  obedience  of  God."  In 
the  same  humble  spirit  he  adds,  that  his  sufferings  and  conflicts 
were  far  less  than  those  of  other  servants  of  the  Lord,— that  his 
struggles  were  but  a  jest. 

"  It  is  not  worth  the  trouble,"  he  says,  writing  to  France,  "  to 
vex  you.     Far  different  were  the  anxieties  endured  by  Moses 
and  the  prophets,  the  leaders  of  God's  people.     Such  trials  are 
necessary  for  us."     A  little  afterwards  he  expresses   the  same 
joyous  feeling.     Moses  rose  to  his  mind,  and  rightly,  for,  like 
the  lawgiver,  Calvin  led  a  new  people  to  the  Lord,  triumphing 
over  a  thousand  dangers.     His  address  to  Farel  is  very  noble° 
"With  respect  to  your  exhortation,  that  I  and  my  brethren 
should  persevere  with  unbroken  resolution,  neither  dangers  nor 
troubles  lessen  my  courage.     But  since  I  know  not  sometimes 
in  this  confusion  where  to  look  for  counsel,  I  wish  that  God 
would  allow  me  to  depart.     I  can  easily  understand  that  you 
will  say  this  is  a  foolish  wish.     But  did  not  Moses,  that  glorious 
example  of  patience,  complain  of  the  burden  which  seemed  to 
lie  too  heavily  upon  him  ?     I  am  indeed  assailed  to  a  certain  de- 
gree by  such  thoughts,  but  I  do  not  encourage  them."     Certain 
it  is,  that  while  all  his  friends  trembled  more  and  more  for  him, 
and  while  the  whole  city  was  raging  against  him,  he  alone  en- 
joyed  profound    tranquillity  of  soul.      All  that  he  says  gives 
proof  of  this.     At  a  moment  full  of  disquietude  for  many  he 
thus  speaks  :-«  The  two  hundred  are  deliberating.     I  am  kept 
in  a  slate  of  expectation,  that  I  may  look  for  rest  in  the  Lord 
alone.     If  we  serve  Him  with  a  good  conscience,  we  can  never 
avoid  the  rage  of  those  who  would  fain  involve  everything  in 
nun.     But  it  will  always  be  to  us  a  strong  tower  that  we  hold 
last  by  the  Lord."     At  the  same  time  he  also  says,  «  I  am  con- 
plain  to  vTret  ot!  ^   ?P'  ^     "There  ar0  somc'  l  know'  **°  com- 

MmmmSS^USS^1     a,"-not  awarc  °fwhat  Viret  himself  thinks, 

aspect  that  he  tears  I  am  giving  too  much  room  to  my  zeal." 


A.D.   1548.]  CALVIN  AND   HIS  FRIENDS.  7$ 

vinced,  in  the  first  place,  that  God  shields  us ;  and  in  the  next, 
that  when  it  pleases  Him  to  expose  us  to  suffering,  to  die  for 
Him  will  be  my  deliverance.  The  present  time  warns  us  more 
than  ever  to  be  prepared  to  receive  from  God  whatever  He  may 
send  us.  My  apprehensions,  as  far  as  they  concern  my  own 
danger,  hinder  me  not  from  sleeping  tranquilly.  While  I  am 
pursuing  the  path  which  He  prescribes  me,  I  learn  how  to  cast 
the  greater  part  of  my  cares,  if  not  all,  upon  Him." 

Altogether,  in  this  respect,  like  Luther,  God  was  his  strong 
tower.  Like  him  he  exhibited  the  courage  which  had  faith  for 
its  firm  foundation ;  but  he  was  not  so  happy  as  Luther,  who, 
surrounded  by  powerful  friends,  could  find  a  refuge  in  the  for- 
tress of  Sickingen,  Schaumburg  and  others.  Geneva  had  the 
Savoy  and  French  territory  at  its  very  gates,  and  was  connected 
only  by  the  lake  with  the  Swiss  cantons,  but  half  of  which  had 
as  yet  received  the  reformation.  The  little  republic  lay  like  a 
rock  in  the  sea,  and  this  rock  was  occupied  by  parties  and  trea- 
chery. How  often  might  the  reformer  utter  the  words  of  the 
prophet,  those  words  which  he  so  continually  repeated  when  he 
was  dying,  u  O  that  I  had  the  wings  of  the  dove!"  His  eye 
rested  upon  the  distant  Alps,  which  stretched  before  him  tran- 
quilly, eternally  glistering;  he  remembered  the  rock  of  God's 
strength,  and  raised  his  thoughts  to  Heaven.  "  I  lift  up  mine 
eyes  towards  the  hills,"  he  says,  "  but  my  help  cometh  from  the 
Lord." 

In  contrast  to  the  fierce,  hostile  commotions  of  which  we 
have  spoken,  is  the  deep  affection  of  Calvin  for  his  friends,  and 
his  lively  care  for  them,  comforting  and  active  to  the  uttermost 
even  in  the  midst  of  those  stormy  times.  The  dedications  which 
he  wrote  at  this  period  show  that  he  sought  consolation  in  friend- 
ship, and  gladly  reverted  in  thought  to  the  tranquil  days  of  his 
childhood  and  youth.  There  is  a  loftiness  of  expression  in  the 
letters  which  he  addressed  to  John  Sturm  in  Strasburg.  They 
are  those  of  a  man  who  felt  himself  safe  above  the  ruins  of  the 
world.  "  Let  it  even  be  that  entire  destruction  awaits  us,  or 
rather  that  the  Lord,  overturning  the  present  system,  and  esta- 
blishing his  heavenly  kingdom,  has  determined  to  gather  toge- 
ther those  who  are  now  unhappily  dispersed,  and  are  wandering 
to  and  fro,  still  should  we  preserve  with  true  constancy  that 
friendship  whose  band  is  holy." 

As  Viret  was  numbered  among  the  friends  dearest  to  his  heart, 
he  extended  his  affection  to  those  who  were  related  to  Viret,  and 


74  CALVIN  AND  VIRET.  [CHAP.  XIV. 

he  thus  expresses  the  feelings  of  his  soul  in  a  letter  addressed  to 
him  in  March  1545: — "We  greet  you  with  your  wife,  whose 
health  we  have  commended  to  God.  Be  assured  that  we  are  as 
anxious  about  her  as  if  she  were  our  own  wife  or  daughter. 
May  the  Lord  uphold  and  strengthen  you  with  the  consolations 
of  his  spirit."  Again  he  writes : — "  Could  you  really  suppose 
that  I  would  refuse  you  anything  which  you  are  anxious  that  I 
should  grant*?" 

In  respect  to  vigour  of  mind  and  habits  of  business,  Calvin 
seems  to  have  estimated  Viret  even  more  highly  than  Farel. 
But  the  heart  of  the  latter  was  more  closely  united  to  Calvin, 
and  their  respect  for  each  other  increased  with  their  mutual 
labours.  According  to  the  conviction  common  to  both,  each 
was  the  complement,  the  completion  of  the  other.  Farel  was 
accustomed  to  compare  Calvin  to  Moses.  Although  much  older 
than  Calvin,  he  undertook  nothing  without  consulting  him ;  and 
when  he  himself  took  the  part  of  an  adviser,  he  jested,  and 
prayed  Calvin  to  suffer  this  for  friendship's  sakef. 

When  Viret's  wife  fell  sick,  Calvin  manifested  the  most  affec- 
tionate concern,  and  sent  him  a  physician.  After  her  death  he 
wrote  to  him,  saying,  "  Come,  not  only  for  the  sake  of  lessening 
your  present  grief,  but  to  obtain  some  respite  from  all  other  dis- 
tresses. Do  not  fear  that  I  should  impose  any  new  burden  upon 
you ;  my  only  care  would  be  to  let  you  be  quiet,  according  to 
your  own  wish.  If  any  one  should  prove  troublesome  to  you,  I 
will  come  to  your  relief.  The  brethren  promise  you  what  I  do. 
I  will  even  obtain  from  the  citizens  what  you  wish.  I  know  not 
how  sufficiently  to  execrate  the  wretches  who  have  spread  the 
report  of  your  death.  Nothing  could  be  more  opportune  than 
your  letter.  In  spite  of  what  was  said  respecting  your  death, 
mention  having  been  made  of  poison,  Textor  prepared  to  set  off 
at  once  for  the  place  on  horseback.  A  great  many  of  the  bre- 
thren assembled  in  my  house,  all  in  great  anxiety  and  affliction. 
As  soon  however  as  your  letter  came  to  sight,  such  was  the 
storm  of  joy  which  succeeded,  that  we  were  scarcely  masters  of 
ourselves.  It  is  well  that  we  had  not  had  a  night  of  sorrow.  I 
should  not  have  been  able  to  endure  the  contrast.  But  why  do 
I  detain  you,  and  not  rather  urge  you  to  hasten  hither  with  all 
possible  speed  ?     Farewell,  my  brother  and  dearest  friend  \" 

*  March,  1545,  MS.  Cicn. 

f  Sept.  7,  1555,  Ed.  Amst.  p.  234,  Ep.  211,  Ed.  Laus.  Schmidt,  Etudes 
sur  Farel,  p.  57. 


A.D.  1548.]  CALVIN  AND  SERVETUS.  75 

When  Calvin  had  to  endure  the  same  grief,  Viret  comforted 
him  in  his  turn.  Bucer,  who  knew  Calvin's  wife,  and  was 
united  with  them  both  in  the  strictest  bonds  of  friendship,  ex- 
pressed at  the  beginning  of  the  year  1549,  his  earnest  desire  for 
their  happiness.  It  is  evident  that  they  all  feared  that  anxiety, 
and  the  death  of  his  wife,  might  break JCalvin's  strength*.  "  I 
fervently  pray  to  God  that  He  may  restore  your  wife,  and  this 
I  do  rather  for  the  church  of  Christ  than  for  you,  that  you  may 
be  able  still  to  do  for  it,  and  with  a  lighter  and  more  cheerful 
heart,  what  you  are  now  doing.  My  brethren  and  my  wife 
unite  in  praying  that  you  may  have  all  that  can  be  wished  for, 
both  in  the  year  just  commenced  and  in  all  eternity."  Calvin's 
wife  was  soon  after  this  called  to  the  Lord.  He  now  stood 
alone  in  the  storm  and  in  the  conflict  with  half  the  world,  but 
his  soul  remained  firm  as  ever.  Farel  and  Viret  manifested 
their  care  for  him  during  his  domestic  afflictions  f. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

EFFORTS    TO  RE-ESTABLISH  PEACE. STRUGGLE    ON    BEHALF 

OF    A    GREAT    CHURCH    UNION. AGREEMENT    OF   THE    ZU- 

RICHERS  ON  THE  LORD'S  SUPPER. 

Notwithstanding  his  zeal,  and  the  bursts  of  ardour  which  he 
often  exhibited,  Calvin  lost  none  of  the  tranquillity  and  mode- 
ration proper  to  his  character.  As  far  as  possible  he  avoided 
strife :  this  is  shown  by  his  conduct  towards  Servetus,  when  they 
were  now  again  brought  into  collision.  In  the  midst  of  the 
agitation  which  we  have  described,  Servetus,  who  had  been 
living  in  France  as  a  physician,  and  had  taken  part  in  the  most 
fanatical  projects  of  reformation,  was  desirous  of  forming  a  league 
with  Calvin,  from  the  conviction  that  the  support  of  so  great  a 
mind  might  enable  him  to  accomplish  his  designs.  Calvin  had 
refused  him,  and  at  length,  when  Servetus  continued  to  reproach 
him,  he  remained  silent.  Servetus  now  attacked  Viret.  Cal- 
vin, who  thoroughly  knew  the  man,  was  resolved  to  have  no 

*  Ep.  96,  Jan.  9,  1549. 

f  Ep.  102  (Ed.  Amst.  p.  52,),  April  10,  1549- 


76  CALVIN  AND  THE   SWISS  CHURCHES.  [CHAP.  XV. 

further  communication  with  him,  and  was  anxious  to  avoid  him. 
This  appears  from  a  passage  in  a  letter  to  Viret : — «  I  think  you 
have  already  seen  the  answer  which  I  sent  Servetus.     I  have 
resolved  to   have  no  further  contest  with  this  perverse,   stiff- 
necked,  heretical  man.     It  is  certainly  right  in  this  case  to  fol- 
low the  precept  of  the  apostle  Paul.     He  now  attacks  you,  and 
it  behoves  you  to  consider  how  far  it  will  be  prudent  for  you  to 
oppose  his  folly :    for  my  part  he  shall  force  nothing  further 
from  me."    Calvin  sought  peace :  both  the  office  imposed  upon 
him  by  God  and  his  own  heart  led  him  to  desire  to  reconcile 
the  jarring  spirits  of  his  age,  and  to  secure  the  permanency  of 
that  which  he   had   accomplished.      Among  all  these  storms 
raging  without,  his  mind  was  occupied  with  a  great  and  exten- 
sive plan,  to  fix  the  little  republic  of  Geneva  on  a  firm  and  tran- 
quil basis.     His  thoughts  were  constantly  directed  to  a  system 
of  general  church  polity,  and  to  the  establishment  of  the  faith 
by  a  common  confession.     I  have  already  spoken  of  his  efforts 
to  accomplish  this  object,  and  have  remarked  the  desire  ex- 
pressed in  his  work  on  the  Lord's  Supper,  to  subdue  the  vio- 
lence of  hostile  parties.     His  soul  contemplated  the  unity  of  the 
entire  evangelical  church  in  Christ,  its  head  and  centre. 

It  was  in  conformity  with  these  feelings  that  he  now  pro- 
moted, by  all  the  means  in  his  power,  the  Zurich  confederacy, 
or  the  union  of  the  French  reformed  party  with  that  of  Switzer- 
land.    This  was  the  first  step  towards  the  accomplishment  of 
his  greater  plan.     Calvin,  agreeing  almost  entirely  with  Melanc- 
thon,  had  been  recognized  even  by  Luther  as  a  fellow-believer. 
The  last  proceeding  of  the  German  reformer  was  a  matter  of 
mere  private  concern,  and  had  no  dogmatic  importance.     Thus 
even  his  own  immediate  followers  suffered  him  to  indulge  his 
passion,  without  mingling  in  the  strife.     Calvin  could  therefore 
reasonably  entertain  the  hope,  after  Luther's  death,  that,  with 
the  help  of  Melancthon,  he  might  mediate  successfully  in  pro- 
moting a  union  between  Germany  and  Switzerland.     Had  this 
been   really  accomplished,  the  church  would  have  formed  one 
great  and  harmonious  whole,  and  Calvin  would  have  repaired 
by  Ins   intervention,  what  Luther's  violence  had  marred.     But 
as  an  essential  to  this  union,  the  Swiss  must  have  confessed  the 
spiritual,  nal?  substantial  presence  of  Christ  in  the  sacrament. 
Most  of  them  indeed  had  already  adopted  this  doctrine,  but  from 
regard  to  Zwmgli  they  refrained  from  openly  confessing  it,  and 
this,  though  Zwingli  himself  had  latterly  represented  the  sub- 


A.D.   1548.]  CALVIN  AND  BULL1NGER.  77 

ject  with  more  force  and  life  than  he  had  done  in  the  earlier  part 
of  his  career. 

Great  diversity  of  opinion  however  prevailed  on  this  subject 
in  the  church  at  Bern.  Yiret  was  involved  in  a  dispute  with 
Sulzer;  and  opinion  fluctuated  between  the  old,  one-sided,  abs- 
tract view  of  the  understanding,  and  the  more  concrete,  living 
one  supported  by  Calvin.  Both  he  and  Viret  were  accused  at 
Zurich  of  having,  according  to  report,  dissented  from  the  Swiss 
Confession  and  inclined  to  Lutheranism :  but  the  contrary  was 
known  to  be  the  case  when  Farel  and  Calvin  visited  Zurich  in 
1548.  The  former,  greatly  beloved  there  for  his  zeal  and  piety, 
was  able  to  accomplish  much.  He  was  still,  as  ever,  a  fervent 
missionary  for  the  things  of  the  Lord,  so  unwearied  that  he 
could  even  exhort  Calvin  himself  to  action.  They  worked  toge- 
ther unceasingly  to  calm  the  spirit  of  controversy  which  had 
arisen  among  individuals*. 

The  Consensus  Tigurinus,  which,  had  it  not  been  for  the  fool- 
ish intervention  of  the  Lutheran  preacher  Westphoal  in  Ham- 
burg, and  that  of  other,  for  the  most  part  vain,  followers  of 
Luther,  would  have  effected  by  degrees  a  general  union  in  the 
whole  protestant  church,  was  completed  in  1549-f.  Calvin  had 
rightly  felt  that  he  must  unite  with  Bullinger,  the  most  power- 
ful and  influential  man  in  that  part  of  the  church,  and  use  every 
means  to  remove  the  old  distrust.  Hence  there  was  commenced 
a  correspondence,  characteristic  of  both  parties.  That  the  under- 
taking which  had  already  engaged  so  much  of  Calvin's  attention, 
as  his  letters  to  Bullinger  from  Strasburg  show,  could  not  be  an 
easy  one,  after  all  that  had  taken  place,  appears  evident  from  a 
letter  written  to  Viret  in  April  1548.  He  there  complains  that 
the  Zurichers  were  so  perverse,  that  they  were  ready  to  admit 
the  most  slanderous  reports.  v  His  good  sense,  foresight  and  in- 
tegrity, as  well  as  the  difficulties  which  he  had  to  encounter,  will 
be  seen  by  some  extracts  which  we  will  give  from  the  letters 
which  he  wrote  at  this  period,  and  in  which  he  speaks  openly  of 
the  matters  in  hand.  Thus  he  says  to  Bullinger,  March  1, 
1548  : — "  Although  I  am  conscious  in  myself  of  a  more  inward 
union  with  Christ  in  the  sacrament  than  you  express  in  your 


*  Calvin  had  shortly  before  this  warned  some  of  the  ministers  at  Bern  of 
the  evils  which  continued  strife  would  produce  : — "  Malum  proculdubio  in  dies 
gliscet  et  crescet,  nisi  brevi  tollatur." 

t  Salig.  Hist.  Augs.  Confes.  T.  ii.  p.  1076.  Plank,  Protest.  Lehrbegriff,  B. 
vi.  p.  24. 


78  CALVIN  AXD  BULLIXGER.  [CHAP.  XV. 

words,  yet  this  ought  not  to  prevent  our  having  the  same  Christ, 
or  our  being  one  in  Him.  It  is  only  perhaps  through  this  in- 
ward consensus  that  we  ean  unite  with  each  other.  I  have 
always  loved  the  greatest  candour :  I  cannot  endure  subtleties, 
and  the  praise  of  clearness  is  given  me  by  those  who  object  to 
others  on  account  of  their  obscurity.  Cunning  therefore  can 
never  be  laid  to  my  charge.  I  have  never  employed  dissimula- 
tion to  please  men,  and  my  mode  of  teaching  is  too  simple  to 
give  rise  to  suspicion,  and  too  full  and  explicit  to  be  accused  of 
darkness.  If  I  do  not  content  others  by  such  means,  let  me  be 
pardoned  for  honestly  seeking  to  render  back,  in  all  simplicity 
and  truth,  that  which  I  have  received.  I  therefore  felt  no  little 
surprise,  when  I  was  lately  at  Basel,  to  hear  it  stated  by  a  friend, 
that  you  have  complained  that  I  have  taught  differently  in  my 
commentaries  to  what  I  promised  you.  I  at  once  answered,  and 
truly,  that  I  spoke  no  otherwise  at  Zurich  than  at  Geneva.  But 
I  ascribe  all  this  rather  to  some  error ;  for  why  should  I  now, 
without  any  necessity  for  so  doing,  alter  my  doctrines  or  prin- 
ciples? If  however  I  cannot  convince  men  of  this,  I  will  re- 
main content  with  knowing  myself  that  God  is  witness  to  the 
truth  of  what  I  say." 

Thus  also  in  the  following  letter  he  seeks  to  win  Bullinger  by 
his  gentleness  : — "  We  are  anxious  to  come  to  a  friendly  under- 
standing with  you.  It  is  no  mere  theatrical  affair,  which  would 
be  as  disagreeable  to  you  as  to  me,  that  we  propose.  I  say  no- 
thing about  Farel,  whose  mind,  as  you  well  know,  shrinks  with 
disgust  from  every  kind  of  ostentation.  That  which  we  wish  is 
to  speak  with  you  in  a  friendly  way  on  the  subject  about  which 
we  so  little  agree.  This  is  the  best  mode  among  brethren,  and, 
if  I  do  not  greatly  err,  that  which  we  should  find  the  most  pro- 
fitable. In  respect  to  the  question  of  the  sacraments,  we  do  not 
confine  the  grace  of  God  to  them,  nor  do  we  commit  to  them 
the  office  and  power  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  or  ascribe  to  them  the 
securing  of  salvation.  We  plainly  acknowledge  that  God  alone 
works  by  the  sacraments ;  all  which  is  efficacious  belongs  to  the 
Holy  Spirit,  and  its  efficacy  is  seen  only  in  the  elect.  In  no 
other  way  do  we  teach  that  the  sacraments  can  help  us,  but  as 
they  may  lead  us  by  the  hand  to  Christ,  and  that  we  may  seek 
in  Him  the  fountain  of  all  good  things.  I  do  not  see  indeed 
what  you  can  wish  for  more  in  this  doctrine,  which  shows  that 
salvation  is  to  be  sought  in  Christ  alone ;  that  God  only  perfects 
and  applies  the  mystery,  and  that  salvation  is  enjoyed  only  by 


A.D.  1549.]        CALVIN  AND  THE  SWISS  CHURCHES.  79 

the  secret  working  of  the  Spirit.     We  teach  that  the  sacraments 
are  the  instruments  of  the  grace  of  God." 

This  is  followed  by  a  remarkably  admirable  letter,  containing 
a  developed  view  of  the  Calvinistic  doctrine  of  the  Lord's  Sup- 
per. Calvin  took  the  middle  path,  avoiding  all  the  excesses  of 
Lutheranism,  but  at  the  same  time  showing  the  followers  of 
Zwingli  that  they  could  receive  no  other  faith.  He  declares 
aloud  his  reverence  both  for  that  reformer  and  for  (Ecolampa- 
dius,  but  without  entering  into  particulars,  there  being  too  great 
an  interval  between  them  and  him.  Bucer's  Apology  follows. 
He  subscribed  the  Confession,  and  Calvin  could  easily  under- 
stand him.  To  the  Swiss  he  says : — "  Christ  is  present  with  us 
under  every  circumstance.  If  we  seek  Him  in  those  earthly 
elements,  it  is  not  permitted  us  to  accuse  Him  of  deception ;  but 
this  is  actually  done,  if  we  do  not  feel  that  the  truth  is  connected 
with  the  sign,  it  being  allowed  that  the  sign  by  itself  is  useless. 
If  now,  for  a  brief  explanation  of  the  contents  of  the  sacrament, 
we  shortly  answer,  that  we  are  partakers  of  Christ,  that  He  may 
dwell  in  us  and  we  in  Him,  and  that  we  may  be  sharers  of  all 
his  glory,  what  is  there,  I  ask,  in  these  words,  dark  or  unrea- 
sonable ?  especially  if  we  distinctly  exclude  those  dreams  and 
fancies  which  so  easily  enter  the  mind.  And  yet  we  are  cen- 
sured as  if  we  had  fallen  from  the  pure  and  simple  doctrine  of 
the  Gospel." 

We  here  see  that  Calvin  was  thoroughly  occupied  with  the 
thought  of  reconciling  the  Swiss  by  a  method  of  his  own.  They 
had  been  violently  separated  from  communion  with  the  German 
protestants  by  Luther's  rough  and  intolerant  treatment,  and 
were  thus  driven  to  a  still  greater  one-sidedness  of  opinion. 
Calvin  hoped  to  correct  this  by  the  inculcation  of  higher  views, 
which  should  not  only  stretch  far  above  their  one-sidedness,  but 
bring  into  clearer  display  the  truth,  held  partially  by  both. 

Everything  seemed  to  promise  peace  when  the  year  1549 
commenced.  The  Lord  mingled  joy  and  sorrow  in  Calvin's  life 
this  year.  At  Geneva  the  faction  of  the  libertines,  which  had 
caused  him  so  much  distress,  was  for  the  moment  suppressed. 
The  Saxon  churches  however  were  disunited  on  the  question,  as 
to  what  ought  to  be  the  conduct  of  a  Christian  in  matters  indif- 
ferent, a  question  which,  like  many  others  of  a  similar  kind,  had 
its  origin  with  the  Interim.  Calvin's  opinion  was  asked,  and 
he  gave  it  freely.      Melancthon   had  been  openly  accused  of 


80  SYNOD  AT  BERN.  [CHAP.  XV. 

having  acted  with  too  much  gentleness  or  weakness  in  this  mat- 
ter. Calvin  admonished  him,  but  he  said  at  a  later  period  that 
he  had  erred,  and  that  injustice  had  been  done  this  great  man. 
It  was  not  at  that  time  clearly  seen  with  what  an  evil  spirit  the 
whole  multitude  of  the  Flacianer,  who  subsequently  created  such 
commotion  in  the  church,  were  possessed.  Such  was  their 
phrenzied  conduct,  that,  as  Beza  expresses  it,  they  seemed  to  be 
bribed  by  the  pope  himself.  But  the  deep  wounds  thus  in- 
flicted upon  the  church  in  Germany,  were  healed  by  the  won- 
derful mercy  of  the  Lord,  exhibited  towards  the  churches  of 
Switzerland. 

A  synod  was  held  at  Bern,  March  19,  1549.  All  the  Ger- 
man and  French  ministers  of  the  canton  were  present  on  the 
occasion.  The  Genevese  sent  a  letter  to  the  meeting.  Calvin 
employed  this  opportunity  to  win  the  Bernese  by  words  of  re- 
conciliation, and  thus  to  lay  the  foundation  of  union  on  the 
question  of  the  sacrament.  "That  we  offer,  uncalled  for,  a 
statement  of  our  views  on  the  sacraments,  requires  some  brief 
apology,  though  no  particular  preface  can  be  needed  in  address- 
ing you  on  so  important  a  subject.  Since  the  venerable  coun- 
cil has  called  you  together,  for  other  causes  indeed,  but  also  to 
consult  for  the  peace  of  the  church,  whose  surest  bond  of  union 
is  agreement  in  doctrine,  it  is  very  probable  that  mention  may 
be  made  of  the  sacraments,  a  subject  long  agitated  in  Bern. 
Though  no  exposition  therefore  of  the  doctrine  has  been  asked 
of  us,  we  have  yet  considered  it  our  duty  to  state  to  you  what 
we  all  with  one  spirit  acknowledge,  and  with  one  mouth  con- 
fess. As  it  is  the  same  Christ  whom  we  all  preach,  the  same 
Gospel  which  we  all  own,  and  as  we  are  members  of  the  same 
body,  the  church,  and  exercise  the  same  office,  no  difference  in 
the  temporal  rule  to  which  we  are  subject  must  either  disturb 
the  unity  of  our  faith,  or  mar  the  blessings  of  this  holy  union, 
established  and  sanctified  under  the  auspices  of  Christ.  Nor 
ought  the  influence  of  neighbourhood,  which  among  the  chil- 
dren of  this  world  is  so  powerful  a  cause  of  union,  to  be  of  less 
value  among  us.  We  are  so  mixed  up  together  that  locality 
even  ought  to  keep  us  united :  to  this  may  be  added  the  treaty 
between  the  two  cities :  ministers  from  among  us  are  employed 
in  the  territory  of  Bern,  and  we  again  have  pastors  in  the  Ge- 
neva churches  from  your  canton.  It  is  of  vast  importance  there- 
fore, both  for  you  and  for  us,  that  you  should  know  what  form 


A. D.  1519.]  CALVIN  AND  BULLINGER.  SI 

of  doctrine  we  follow.  To  speak  of  nothing  else,  we  shall  at 
least  free  ourselves  by  this  proceeding  from  no  slight  degree  of 
suspicion." 

Twenty  articles  follow.  It  was  Calvin's  main  design  in  these, 
to  show,  that  the  sacraments  ought  by  no  means  to  be  regarded 
as  empty  signs.  He  was  anxious  to  give  new  life  to  the  cold 
doctrine  of  the  Swiss,  and  to  make  them  see  that  they  could  not 
properly  persevere  in  holding  the  early  opinion  of  Zwingli,  but 
ought  rather  to  reconsider  it  as  he  himself  had  done.  These 
articles  form  the  groundwork  of  the  Zurich  union,  as  appears 
from  their  twenty-six  articles,  which  exhibit  a  still  fuller  de- 
velopment of  the  same  ideas. 

At  the  end  of  May,  after  the  death  of  his  wife,  Calvin  sud- 
denly roused  himself,  proceeded  to  Neuchatel,  took  his  friend 
Farel  with  him,  and  both  hastened  in  the  fine  spring  weather 
through  the  beautiful  country  to  Zurich.  Thus,  rising  superior 
to  earthly  sorrow,  Calvin  felt  himself  strengthened  by  the 
thought,  that  he  might  now  at  length  hope  to  establish  a  union 
of  opinion  on  the  subject  of  Christ's  presence  in  the  sacrament. 
To  Bullinger,  who  sent  him  an  invitation,  he  had  written : — 
"  Nothing  could  be  more  agreeable  to  me :  it  has  also  contri- 
buted to  lighten  my  domestic  sorrow,  which  so  greatly  bowed 
me  down."  The  world  ought  to  be  taught  how  closely  united 
Christians  are  who  love  the  truth.  "  By  prudence  and  love," 
Farel  had  said,  "  we  shall  conquer."  And  he  was  not  deceived. 
The  conference  of  the  ministers  continued  several  days,  in  the 
presence  of  the  civic  council;  and  the  well-known  formulary  was 
drawn  up,  which  all  the  Helvetic  and  Rhaetian  churches,  with 
those  of  the  Grisons,  subscribed ;  and  by  which  Bullinger  and 
Calvin,  and  the  churches  of  Geneva  and  Zurich,  were  united  in 
the  strictest  alliance.  Calvin  wrote  to  Bullinger  on  the  first  of 
August  respecting  the  conference,  and  sent  him  the  Consensus 
for  his  signature.  He  received  it  back  on  the  thirtieth,  and  the 
hope  which  Beza  then  expressed,  that  the  union  thus  effected 
might  be  preserved  for  ever  has  not  been  disappointed. 

Great  was  the  joy  which  this  event  produced.  Calvin  in- 
formed Bullinger  that  "  he  had  read  his  writings  in  company 
with  his  brethren,  as  Viret  also  had  done  with  his  in  Lausanne. 
All  were  full  of  delight,  and  rivalled  each  other  in  offering  thanks- 
giving to  God."  There  was  therefore  some  indication  of  im- 
provement. 

The  Bernese  wished  to  delay  the  publication  of  the  procecd- 

VOL.  II.  G 


82  CONSENSUS  T1GURINUS.  [CHAP.  XV. 

ings.  Calvin  however  expressed  to  Viret  the  joy  which  he  felt 
at  the  influence  which  he  knew  the  Consensus  must  exercise*. 
"  The  hearts  of  good  men  will  be  cheered  by  that  which  has 
taken  place ;  our  constancy  and  resolution  will  derive  new 
strength  from  it,  and  we  shall  be  better  able  to  break  the  power 
of  the  wicked.  They  who  had  formed  an  unworthy  opinion  of 
us,  will  see  that  we  proposed  nothing  but  what  is  good  and 
right.  Many  who  are  still  in  a  state  of  uncertainty  will  now 
know  on  what  they  ought  to  depend ;  and  those  in  distant  lands 
who  differ  from  us  in  opinion,  will  soon,  we  hope,  offer  us  their 
hand.  Lastly,  as  it  may  one  day  happen,  posterity  will  have  a 
witness  to  our  faith,  which  it  could  not  have  derived  from  par- 
ties in  a  state  of  strife;  but  this  we  must  leave  to  God."  To 
Farcl,  whose  earnest  Christian  spirit  could  not  but  gain  regard, 
Calvin  frequently  wrote  while  these  things  were  in  progress. 
He  says  indeed,  "  This  unwearied  champion  of  Christ  was  the 
originator  and  leader  of  the  whole. " 

But  Calvin  himself  had  still  many  minds  to  tranquillize.  Thus 
he  sought  to  satisfy  the  minister  Sulzer  in  Bern,  and  left 
nothing  undone  to  induce  one  after  the  other  of  his  opponents 
to  add  their  signatures  to  the  new  formulary f.  "By  the  for- 
mulary proposed  in  the  Consensus  Tigurimis"  says  Planck  J, 
"  couched  as  it  was  in  the  strongest  language,  and  intended  to 
reconcile  all  parties,  the  union  of  the  Swiss  with  the  Lutheran 
system,  in  the  first  and  main  point  of  dispute,  was  accomplished, 
or  at  least  declared.  It  had  hitherto  been  a  matter  of  doubt 
whether  the  Swiss,  in  partaking  of  the  sacrament,  recognized 
the  actual  presence  of  the  body  of  Christ,  according  to  the  sub- 
stance. But  doubt  wras  rendered  impossible  by  the  new  formu- 
lary, and  every  kind  of  suspicion  on  the  subject  was  accordingly 
removed.  The  formulary  set  forth  the  idea  of  a  real  presence, 
and  of  an  actual  participation  of  the  body  of  Christ  in  this  sacra- 
ment. But  it  explains,  at  the  same  time,  the  nature  and  manner 
of  this  presence.  According  to  Luther's  doctrine,  the  body  of 
Christ  was  miraculously  present  in  the  sacrament,  and  brought 
into  such  a  union  with  the  outward  sign  of  the  bread  and  wine, 
that  it  is  not  only  received  at  the  same  time  with  these,  but  in 

*  MS.  Gen.  Sept.  23,  1549. 

t  In  a  letter  to  Farel,  Nov.  18,  1549  (MS.  Gen.),  he  shows  how  power- 
fully hia  persaasiona  had  wrought  with  all,  and  characteristically  adds,  "  Nos- 
tra Binceritate  adducti  nihil  ncgabunt." 

X  See  this  author's  Remarks  on  the  Separation  and  Reunion  of  the  Pro- 
testant Churches.     Tubingen,  1803. 


A.D.  1549.]  UNION  OF  THE  CHURCHES.  83 

these,  and  under  these,  so  that  it  is  therefore  partaken  of  by  the 
mouth  by  every  one  who  receives  the  sign,  even  though  he  be 
an  unbeliever.  According  to  Calvin's  opinion,  on  the  contrary, 
the  body  of  Christ  is  not  brought  down  into  the  sacrament,  but 
the  soul  of  him  who  partakes  thereof  is  raised  by  faith  towards 
heaven,  and  is  there  brought  into  contact  with  the  body  of 
Christ,  and  thus  made  a  partaker  of  the  divine  life/'  Simple, 
but  full  of  profound  meaning,  is  Calvin's  whole  reasoning  on  this 
subject. 

The  Consensus  was  forwarded  through  Bullinger  to  the  vari- 
ous confederate  churches,  and  was  everywhere  received  with  the 
greatest  respect*.  When  the  Bernese  objected  to  the  printing 
of  the  document,  some  dissatisfied  individuals  being  found  among 
them,  Bullinger  proposed  to  alter  the  preface  and  conclusion. 
They  now  however  agreed  to  its  publication,  giving  only  their 
verbal  assent  to  its  contents.  In  October  it  appeared  in  its 
printed  form,  with  a  letter,  addressed  by  Calvin  to  the  Zu- 
richers,  and  the  answer.  The  apostolic  language  of  the  latter 
affords  a  striking  contrast  to  the  vulgar  and  abusive  invectives 
which  were  soon  after  spread  abroad.  This  exalted  and  tran- 
quil tone  of  feeling  was  the  more  remarkable,  as  displayed  by  a 
people  so  often  irritated,  and  only  so  lately  reconciled  to  Calvin, 
now  the  object  of  their  grateful  regard.  It  was  especially  a 
grand  moment  for  the  inner  life  of  the  church,  which,  however 
outwardly  torn,  had  an  inward  unity  in  the  Lord,  when  Me- 
lancthon  and  most  of  the  Lutheran  party  declared  their  agree- 
ment with  Calvin's  views,  and  when  the  French  reformed  and 
the  Swiss  united  themselves  anew,  and  expressed  the  genuine 
sentiments  of  a  true  and  primitive  brotherhood.  A  glorious 
communion  was  thus  established,  such  as  had  never  yet  been 
known.  The  epoch  was  no  less  noble  in  respect  to  the  life  of 
Calvin.  As  the  centre  of  the  reformed  churches,  he  had  ren- 
dered them  the  most  important  service,  and  had  led  them,  by 
the  knowledge  of  Scripture  and  brotherly  kindness,  to  truth  and 
concord. 

There  were  also  many  admirable  and  learned  men  at  a  distance, 
says  Lavater,  who  shared  the  joy  of  these  churches,  and  were 
thereby  strengthened  in  the  faith,  lie  relates  of  Melancthon, 
that  he  first  learnt  to  understand  rightly  the  doctrine  of  the 
Lord's  Supper  from  the  Consensus,  or  that  he  began  from  this 
time  to  incline  towards  the  Zwinglians,  not  allowing  himself  to 
*  See  Hess,  Leben  Bullingcrs,  T.  ii.  p.  19- 

G  2 


81  THEODORE  BEZA.  [CHAP.  XVI. 

be  induced,  even  by  the  most  violent  attempts  to  irritate  him,  to 
speak  or  write  against  them.  The  Swiss  sent  a  copy  of  the 
formulary  to  England,  for  Bucer,  who  congratulated  the  whole 
church  on  what  had  taken  place.  John  a  Lasco  had  also  his 
share  in  the  general  delight.  Calvin  and  Farel  communicated 
the  intelligence  to  the  faithful  in  France,  who  gladly  received 
the  good  news.  There  were  still  some  however  who  expressed 
their  dissatisfaction  at  the  formulary.  Melancthon  himself  seems 
to  have  admitted  the  article  on  election  with  some  unwillingness. 
It  was  objected  to  the  Zurichers  that  they  had  falsified  Calvin's 
writing,  and  to  Calvin  that  he  had  been  guilty  of  vacillation,  and 
had  received  the  doctrine  of  Zwingli.  But  the  main  attack 
against  the  Consensus  did  not  take  place  till  some  years  later, 
and  therefore  belongs  to  another  period  of  our  history. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

UNION    OF    GREAT    MINDS. A    PLAN    TO     EFFECT    UNITY    OF 

DOCTRINE    AND    DISCIPLINE    BY  A  COMMUNITY    OF    SPIRIT. 

HARMONY    BETWEEN    LUTHER    AND    CALVIN    IN    LIVING 

FAITH. MELANCTHON. 

While  Calvin  was  occupied  with  his  plan,  and  with  his  journey 
to  Zurich,  where  he  hoped  also  to  effect  something  for  his  op- 
pressed fellow-countrymen,  eight  noblemen  arrived  at  Geneva 
from  France,  whence  they  had  been  driven  by  the  persecution. 
One  of  these  strangers  was  distinguished  by  his  noble  form  and 
bearing,  by  his  genius,  energy  and  earnestness.  But  the  love  of 
the  world  was  still  unconquered  in  him.  When  these  gentle- 
men were  presented  to  Calvin,  he  immediately  recognized  in  the 
one  referred  to  an  old  friend  of  his  youthful  years.  It  was 
Theodore  von  Beza,  of  Vezelay  in  Burgundy.  They  all  asked 
permission  of  the  council  to  remain  in  Geneva,  and  Calvin  em- 
ployed all  his  zeal  and  ardour  to  induce  Beza  to  unite  with  him 
in  accomplishing  the  work  of  the  Lord  in  Switzerland.  He  had 
learnt  to  admire  his  talents  when  he  met  him,  a  young  man,  at 
the  house  of  Melchior  Wolmar;  and  he  saw  in  him  one  whom 
God  had  sent  to  share  his  conflicts,  to  become,  as  it  were,  his 


A.D.  1549.]  THEODORE  BEZA.  85 

right  arm,  to  carry  forward  the  reformation  at  a  later  period, 
and  to  supply  his  place  in  the  consistory  at  Geneva. 

Thus  a  friend  was  sent  to  Calvin,  just  as  the  loss  of  his  wife 
had  rendered  one  so  especially  needed.  But  Beza,  rich,  full  of 
talent,  and  worldly,  had  first  to  be  freed  from  the  vortex  of  out- 
ward life.  His  old  instructor,  Wolmar,  had  done  his  part. 
Beza  adopted  the  reformed  faith,  married  the  lady  with  whom 
he  had  lived  in  France,  and  associated  himself  with  Crespin  in 
Geneva,  in  order  to  establish  a  learned  book-trade,  a  project 
which  was  subsequently  productive  of  great  good.  Calvin  soon 
after  induced  him  to  commence  his  theological  career  in  Lau- 
sanne, to  which  city  he  had  been  invited  by  the  council  of  Bern, 
as  professor  of  Greek.  He  soon  after  his  arrival  published  a 
poem  on  the  sacrifice  of  Abraham,  which  obtained  considerable 
praise.  Not  long  after,  the  French  refugees  earnestly  requested 
him  to  expound  the  Epistle  to  the  Romans,  and  he  thus  laid 
the  foundation  for  his  learned  labours  on  the  New  Testament. 

With  what  zeal  Calvin  had  assailed  him  appears  from  his 
own  words*.  It  is  delightful  to  see  how  he  speaks,  in  his  bio- 
graphy of  Calvin,  of  that  period,  when  he  first  devoted  himself 
to  the  service  of  the  Lord. 

Beza,  who  united  to  earnestness  and  powerful  eloquence  a 
fascinating  manner,  was  admirably  adapted  to  uphold,  both  by 
his  piety  and  skill,  the  now  flourishing  church.  From  this  time 
Calvin  undertook  nothing  without  him,  and  in  the  year  1552 
Beza  had  already  begun  to  appear  as  the  champion  of  the  re- 
former's great  design.  To  all  the  other  arguments  advanced  by 
Calvin,  he  added,  that  a  church  divided  into  sects  and  opposed 
to  that  of  Rome,  especially  in  France,  could  never  stand.  It  is 
not  to  be  supposed  however  that  he  wished  to  see  a  single  man, 
acknowledged  as  the  head  of  the  church,  and  endowed  with  au- 
thority above  all  the  rest.  He  had  even  much  less  affection  for 
the  episcopal  element  than  Calvin,  and  it  is  grossly  unjust  to 
ascribe  his  zeal  for  the  church  to  political  ambition,  as  if  he  had 
not,  as  well  as  Calvin,  been  urged  forward  by  the  Spirit  of  God. 
It  surely  was  not  from  any  earthly  motive  that  he  defended  the 
doctrine  of  predestination,  nor  was  it  as  a  contriver  of  plots  that 
he  could  have  been  employed  by  Calvin  in  Switzerland.  Both 
the  one  and  the  other  soared  too  high  to  be  inspired  by  motives 
of  this  kind;  and  when  they  contemplated  the  miseries  of  the 
world,  they  felt  the  movements  of  a  mightier  will  conducting 
*  To  Viret,  Oct.  1549  (MS.  Gen.),  and  MS.  Goth. 


86  PETER  MARTYR.  [CHAP.  XVI. 

them  along  the  path  which  they  had  chosen.  Beza's  enthu- 
siastic admiration  for  Calvin  was  founded  on  their  communion 
in  Christ,  whom  both  had  learnt  to  own  as  their  inner  life. 
There  has  rarely  occurred  indeed  in  the  history  of  mankind  so 
remarkable  a  period  as  this.  A  number  of  exalted  minds,  roused 
by  the  great  events  of  the  age,  felt  themselves  impelled  to  ex- 
tend the  hand  of  friendship  to  each  other,  and  to  establish  a 
living  union  in  the  Lord.  Calvin  formed  the  shining  centre  of 
this  circle,  while  other  stars,  some  small  and  some  great,  moved 
around  him  and  gathered  light  from  his  rays.  The  disputatious 
spirit  of  a  mean  and  envious  faction,  which  so  soon  overpowered 
the  voice  of  faith,  and  exercised  its  injurious  influence  on  the 
age,  had  not  yet  been  awakened. 

If  we  take  a  single  glance  of  the  others  who  were  united  with 
Calvin  in  spirit,  none  will  appear  more  fitted  to  occupy  the 
place  next  to  Beza  than  Peter  Martyr  Vermili,  whom  Calvin 
was  accustomed  to  call  miraculum  Italia.  He  was  the  most 
learned  of  the  reformers,  but  was  far  more  beloved  and  admired 
for  his  simplicity,  his  childlike,  pious  disposition,  his  modera- 
tion, so  free  from  all  ambition,  and  his  pure  love  of  the  truth, 
which  rendered  him  an  enemy  to  every  kind  of  useless  contro- 
versy. He  entertained  the  highest  regard  for  Calvin.  There 
is  a  letter  of  his  in  which  he  asked  him  respecting  the  mystery 
of  our  communion  with  Christ :  the  reformer  answered  him 
literally  according  to  his  fundamental  principles.  He  enter- 
tained the  most  entire  love  for  peace  and  union.  "  Can  there 
be  anything  fairer/5  he  said  in  a  letter  to  Beza,  "  than  brotherly 
agreement  in  the  church?"  He  especially  loved  all  those  who 
hated  strife,  and  thus  he  cherished  the  warmest  affection  for 
Melancthon.  His  opinion  was  in  perfect  accord  with  that  of 
Calvin  on  the  subject  of  the  Lord's  Supper,  and  particularly  as 
it  was  opposed  to  the  doctrine  of  ubiquity.  Christ,  he  argued, 
has  the  two  natures  united  in  one  person,  without  any  mixture 
or  confusion  of  their  qualities.  According  to  his  divine  nature, 
therefore,  He  is  everywhere  present;  but  according  to  his  body, 
lie  must  have  one  place,  and  can  therefore  neither  realiter  nor 
substantiality  be  present  in  the  sacrament.  In  the  affair  of 
Servetus  also  he  thoroughly  agreed  with  Calvin.  He  defended 
the  doctrine  of  election  with  all  its  awful  deductions,  induced  to 
adopt  these  views  by  the  same  profound  reverence  for  God  as 
Calvin.  W  hen  the  dispute  on  the  sacrament  commenced  at 
Strasburg,  he  declared  himself  ready  to  sign  the  Augsburg  Con- 


A.D.  1549.]  BUCER  IN   ENGLAND.  87 

fession,  if  it  was  rightly  understood.  In  this  respect  also  he 
resembled  Calvin,  who,  although  he  seemed  to  have  excited  an 
opposition,  yet,  through  his  deeper  consciousness,  the  influence 
of  a  living  faith  and  his  love  for  union,  rose  superior  to  all  party 
considerations. 

This  mention  of  Peter  Martyr  brings  to  our  mind  the  cele- 
brated Italians  of  that  period,  who  had  found  at  Ferrara  an 
asylum  with  the  duchess  Renata,  that  noble-hearted  protectress 
of  all  who  were  friends  of  Calvin.     The  usual  tranquil  feeling 
now  prevailed  in  Germany,  but  the  country  was  still  bowed  be- 
neath the  storms  of  the  Interim,  and  had  little  prospect  of  per- 
manent religious  peace.     Melancthon,  who  was  ever  anxious  to 
promote  unity,  and  habitually  overlooked  the  smaller  differences 
of  doctrine,  was  labouring  earnestly  to  accomplish  this  object. 
In  this  he  was  supported  by  Cruciger,  and  by  all  who  were  sin- 
cerely devoted  to  the  living  doctrines  which  had  been  taught  by 
Luther.     In  Zurich  the  bold  and  faithful  Bullinger,  who  kept 
the  churches  of  Zurich  together  by  his  watchfulness,  and  showed 
how  strongly  he  was  moved  by  the  pure  and  noble  spirit  of 
Zwingli;  Pellicanus,  and  the  fervent,  deep-feeling  Musculus, 
who,  persecuted  on  account  of  God's  Word,  sought  consolation 
in  God  alone,  and  found  it;  and  lastly  Gualter,  the  nephew  of 
Zwingli  and  disciple  of  Bullinger,— all  these  lived  and  laboured 
with  Calvin,  in  one  spirit  and  with  one  aim. 

If  we  turn  our  attention  to  England,  we  shall  there  see  Bucer, 
sometimes  indeed  vacillating,  but  always  anxious  to  promote 
what  was  good  and  profitable  for  the  unity  of  the  church;  giving 
a  higher  place  to  the  faith  than  to  the  formularies  which  express 
it,  and  exercising  an  important  influence  on  the  side  of  the  party 
desiring  peace.  Nor  must  Fagius  be  forgotten;  nor  the  en- 
lightened John  a  Lasco,  who  had  formed  a  church  of  true  be- 
lievers in  that  country;  nor  Uttenhoven,  who,  with  the  former, 
was  soon  to  be  obliged  to  flee,  on  account  of  his  belief;  nor 
the  courageous  Knox,  whose  faith  also  was  now  to  be  again 
proved,  that  he  might  become  a  mightier  instrument  in  the 
hand  of  the  Lord. 

In  France,  queen  Margaret,  and  her  heroic  daughter  Johanna 
d'Albret,  co-operated  nobly  with  Calvin  and  Beza:  the  latter  of 
these  ladies  had  greatly  advanced  in  the  knowledge  of  the  truth. 
On  the  same  side  also  were  Coligni  and  many  other  admirable 
men,  all  prepared  to  defend  the  Gospel.  Who  could  fail  to  re- 
joice at  this  spectacle,  or  to  express  delight  that  this  commu- 


83  calvin's  moderation.  [chap.  xvi. 

nion  in  the  Lord  had  been  accomplished  by  the  renewed  church! 
Christ  ruled  spiritually  in  the  regenerated  congregation. 

Farel  had  been  long  anxious  to  see  this  living  union  and  peace 
secured  to  the  church.  In  1515  he  wrote  to  Calvin,  expressing 
his  wish  that  all  churches  would  combine  together  to  anni- 
hilate strife.  The  Augsburg  Confession  might,  he  considered,  be 
accepted,  and  he  greatly  desired  that  people  would  make  it  the 
ground  of  union,  with  this  condition,  that  the  Lord's  Supper 
should  be  viewed  according  to  the  doctrine  of  Melancthon*. 

Theological  differences  and  distinctions  did  not  appear  to  Cal- 
vin a  sufficient  cause  for  separation  :  his  liberality  indeed  went 
so  far  that,  where  he  did  not  observe  a  perverse  will,  he  was 
ready  to  admit  even  freethinkers  into  his  society.  We  may 
here  mention  his  treatment  of  some  Italian  refugees  who  joined 
him  at  this  period,  and  whom  he  exhorted  with  paternal  earnest- 
ness to  submit  themselves  to  the  teaching  of  the  Bible.  He 
entertained  the  highest  regard  for  Bernardin  Ochin  of  Sienna, 
whom  he  described  as  prceclarus  vir  and  vir  magnus  omnibus 
modish.  Still  more  interesting  was  his  connection  with  Laelius 
Socinus  J.  He  discovered  in  this  excellent  man  some  difference 
of  doctrine,  and  he  warned  him  accordingly ;  but  he  never  per- 
secuted him,  for  he  saw  that  he  was  struggling  to  find  the  truth, 
and  was  not,  like  Servetus,  engaged  in  diffusing  blasphemous 
errors  for  the  sake  of  destroying  the  church.  Calvin's  conduct 
towards  him  is  worthy  of  especial  notice :  it  throws  new  light 
upon  his  character,  and  proves  that  he  was  not,  as  has  been  so 
commonly  believed,  a  persecutor;  but  that  he  was,  on  the  con- 
trary, ready  to  suffer  variety  of  opinion,  if  it  did  not  manifestly 
tend  to  the  ruin  of  unity.  He  even  recommended  Socinus  in 
the  strongest  manner  to  prince  Radzivil,  when  the  latter  was 

*  His  expressions  on  this  subject  were  very  strong  : — "  Augustanam  Con- 
fessionem  tolerabilem  existimo,  nee  tain  abhorrendam  reputo  ab  ea— Quid 
volumus  pro  Augustana  Confessione  novam  suscitarc  tragcediam  ?  Una  est 
con  trover  si  a  de  cocna;  si  Augustana  Confessio  de  coena  contineat  quod  sana 
expositione  admitti  rossit,  et  secundum  mentem  autoris,  quid  prohibct,  quin 
admittamus  et  sancte  convenianius?" — April,  1558. 

f  Commending  him  to  Oswald,  a  minister  at  Basel,  he  spoke  of  him  as  a 
man  who  had  gained  a  great  name  in  Italy,  and  deserved  to  be  held  in  honour 
everywhere. 

J  La  lius  Socinus  was  ofVicenza:  he  appears  to  have  derived  his  dogmas 
from  the  Grecian  philosophy.  Having  fled  into  Poland,  he  there  taught  anti- 
trinitarianisra,  explaining  allegorically  the  passages  in  Scripture  which  op- 
posed  his  views.  Mis  nephew  Faustus  inherited  his  spirit  and  completed 
his  work.  Calvin  answered  him,  Epis.  359.  Ed.  Amst.  p.  197.  Ep.  104.  Ed. 
Amst.  p.  57.  7  Idus  Dec.  1549. 


A.D.  1549.]  LUTHER  AND  CALVIN.  89 

proceeding  to  Poland,  though  he  was  well  acquainted  with 
Socinus's  peculiar  views.  Beza  in  his  life  of  Calvin  says,  in 
reference  to  these  times,  that  Calvin  laboured  in  two  very  re- 
markable writings  to  effect  the  conversion  of  this  Italian.  Socinus 
however  was  still  hesitating,  and  put  various  questions  to  the 
reformer,  who  adhered  like  a  child  to  Scripture,  as  the  only 
foundation  of  a  living  unity. 

Calvin  had  at  length  accomplished,  by  means  of  the  Zurich 
Consensus,  that  which  he  had  so  constantly  and  resolutely  pur- 
sued.    How  gladly  would  he  now  have  ceased  from  his  restless 
strife  !     In  the  Confession  of  1554  he  gave  full  expression  to  his 
belief:  it  was  then  the  same  as  that  of  the  church  in  Germany, 
and  could  never  create  any  schism  among  those  who  were  joined 
together  in  true  communion  with  the  Lord.     All  who  had  the 
genuine  spirit  and  life  of  religion  in  their  hearts  still  felt  them- 
selves thus  united,  even  when  the  church  exhibited  its  growth 
and  development,  as  it  sometimes  needs  must,  by  means  of  op- 
posing principles.      Calvin,   as  I  have  already  remarked,  Mas 
necessarily  in  contrast  with  Luther.     The  peculiarities  of  his 
theology,  like  those  of  the  German  reformer,  were  for  a  parti- 
cular purpose ;  while  the  separation  of  the  churches  arose  only 
from  sin  and  ignorance.     They  agreed  in  faith  :  their  opposition 
lay  in  the  constitution  of  their  minds ;    this  gave  a  different 
direction  to  their  course;  but  instead  of  contracting  their  energy, 
it  tended  to  increase  their  vigour  and  activity.     Each  laboured 
according  to  his  peculiar  character.     Calvin  sought  to  establish 
order,  to  diffuse  knowledge,  and  reconcile  hostile  parties.     With 
him  the  understanding  was  chief;  with  Luther,  energy  and  ex- 
citement of  spirit.     But  while  the  latter  possessed  also  the  high- 
est intellectual  powers,  so  neither  did   Calvin  fail  to  exhibit, 
quickened  as  he  was  by  the  spiritual  view  which  he  took  of  the 
Lord's  Supper,  and   strengthened  by  the  sublime  doctrine  of 
election,  energy  to  fulfil  the  work  which  he  had  commenced. 
The  medium  by  which  the  two  reformers  were  brought  together 
was  Christian  sentiment:  this  it  was  which  secured  the  growth 
of  what  was  evangelical  in  cither  party ;  which  lived  in  the  pro- 
found mind  of  Melancthon,  and  is  still  even  in  our  own  clay 
exercising  its  general  influence.     It  would  not  be  altogether  just 
to  contrast  Zwingli  with  Luther,  or  to  suppose  that  Calvin  occu- 
pied the  place  between  them  :  it  was  only  in  respect  to  the 
sacrament  that  this  was  the  case.     In  regard  to  the  doctrine 
of  predestination,  Zwingli  appears  equally  rough   and   severe. 


90  DOCTRINE  OF  THE  SACRAMENT.    [dlAP.  XVI. 

Nor  does  he,  even  as  regards  the  Lord's  Supper,  stand  imme- 
diately opposed  to  Luther.     Firmly  resisting  the  catholic   doc- 
trine, but  with  a  too  narrow-sighted  view,  he  yet  did  not  set 
aside  a  pure  and  rational  exposition  of  the  subject :  the  worst 
which  he  did  was  to  deprive  his  own  system  of  depth  and  sub- 
limity.   Reflection  ever  prevailed  with  Calvin ;  and  it  was  there- 
fore in  harmony  with  the  general  operations  of  his  mind,  that, 
when  the  question  was  put,  how  Christ  was  present  in  the  sacra- 
ment, he  should  plainly  declare,  that,  as  having  a  body  which 
was  limited,  He  could  be  present  in  one  place  only,  and  not  in 
all  places  and  in  all  times ;  and  consequently,  that  the  believing 
soul  must  raise  itself  in  the  sacrament  to  hold  communion  with 
Him.     But  neither  the  worthy  nor  the  unworthy,  he  added, 
could  in,  with,  or  under  the  bread,  receive  Him  bodily,  seeing 
that,  where  space  has  ceased  to  exist,  no  body  can  be  properly 
spoken  of.     At  the  same  time  it  was  equally  clear  that  Luther, 
who  did  not  investigate  the  mystery  with  such  careful  thought, 
contemplated  the  glorified  body  of  our  Lord  as  diffused  through 
all  times  and  in  all  places,  considering  no  boundary  to  exist  be- 
tween this  world  and  heaven.     Both,  in  one  sense,  were  right, 
and  both  were  wrong :  for  while  it  is  not  given  to  man  to  com- 
prehend the  glorified  body  of  Christ,  so  each  ought  to  have  been 
contented  with  simply  acknowledging  his  presence  in  the  sacra- 
ment, without  attempting  to  explain  the  hoiv.     Luther  especially 
erred  in  this  matter ;  he  insisted  on  the  doctrine  of  a  personal 
communication,  and  hence  rendered  the  mystery  of  the  Lord's 
Supper  a  subject  of  long  and  painful  controversy.     Calvin,  on 
the  other  hand,  employed  his  powerful  intellect  in  fathoming, 
as  far  as  possible,  the  mighty  judgements  of  God,  without  feeling 
the  giddiness  which  seized  Luther  and  Melancthon,  when,  in  the 
earlier  part  of  their  career,  they  accompanied  him  on  this  peril- 
ous course.     They  clearly  saw,  at  a  subsequent  period,  the  dan- 
gerous nature  of  the  subject ;  and  hence  their  silence  respecting 
it,  and  the  milder  character  of  the  expressions  employed  by  Me- 
lancthon, and  after  him   in  the  Formula  Concord'ue.     Various 
opinions  were  not  to  be  avoided,  for  it  is  from  various  points  of 
view  that  the  truth  is  to  be  discovered ;  but  it  is  neither  neces- 
sary nor  becoming  that  this  should  be  made  a  cause  of  sepa- 
ration.    The  two  reformers  are  in  this  respect  worthy  of  the 
highest  admiration.     Though  dogmatic  differences  became  too 
visible  in  Luther's  lifetime,  they  felt  that  there  was  a  bond  be- 
tween them,  created  by  the  higher  species  of  unity  which  they 


A.D.  1549.]  DOCTRINE  OF  THE  SACRAMENT.  91 

were  mutually  seeking.  Calvin's  theology  was,  as  little  as  Lu- 
ther's, the  mere  product  of  the  understanding :  he  formally  pro- 
tested against  such  a  notion*:  it  sprung  from  a  living  faith  in 
the  holy  Scriptures.  Thus  Luther  also  felt  himself  as  a  believer 
united  with  Melancthon,  notwithstanding  the  difference  of  their 
temper.  How  otherwise  could  he  have  administered  the  com- 
munion to  him  ?  But  as  soon  as  the  pride  of  reason  obscured 
and  chilled  belief,  and  more  weight  was  given  to  the  power  of 
comprehension  than  to  the  life  of  God  in  the  soul,  separation 
was  at  hand,  for  the  most  violent  passions  gathered  about  the 
understanding ;  the  feeling  of  Christ's  presence  grew  daily  less, 
and  the  feast  of  love  at  length  became  a  source  of  the  bitterest 
hate.  It  is  necessary  therefore,  in  the  history  of  the  church,  to 
place  in  the  clearest  light  the  schismatic  conduct  of  the  people, 
who  gave  such  an  undue  importance  to  differences  of  opinion, 
annihilating  faith  in  the  true  communion  of  Christ,  and  con- 
verting the  blessed  unity  and  love  of  the  Gospel  into  an  apple 
of  discord.  But  even  far  more  culpable  are  those  who,  in  the 
present  day,  when  the  opposition  between  the  two  churches  has 
ceased,  strive  to  give  prominence  to  opposing  sentiments,  and 
thus  through  their  wilfulness  stifle  the  principle  of  communion, 
instead  of  acknowledging  with  Calvin  that  the  mystery  of  the 
Lord's  Supper  far  surpasses  our  comprehension. 

The  larger  portion  of  the  evils  of  the  following  century  may 
be  traced  to  the  excessive  respect  which  it  thus  became  the  habit 
to  render  to  the  decisions  of  the  understanding.  Instead  of 
refraining  from  any  interference  with  the  unavoidable  difference 
of  opinion  existing  on  the  subject  of  the  sacrament,  and  seeking 
communion  in  Christ,  each  party  only  hardened  itself  the  more 
in  its  one-sidedness,  and  became  fiercer  and  fiercer  against  the 
rest.  When  we  contemplate,  in  Germany  especially,  the  Fla- 
cianer,  the  followers  of  Heshusius,  Brentius,  Westphoal,  Mar- 
bach  and  others,  treading  underfoot  the  true  and  living  faith,  and 
giving  the  tone  to  after  times,  it  is  impossible  not  to  feel,  that  no 
real  reformation  had  as  yet  been  effected,  and  that  the  scourge 
of  the  thirty  years'  war  was  yet  needed  to  excite,  through  mani- 
fold afflictions,  a  higher  and  better  spirit.  After  that  event 
indeed,  the  unchristian  hatred  which  had  so  long  prevailed  bc- 

*  See  instances  of  this,  Institutes,  lib.  i.  c.  IS,  sec.  4.  "  Let  it  be  under- 
stood," he  says,  "  that  it  is  our  duty  to  embrace  with  gentleness  and  docility, 
and  without  exception,  whatever  is  delivered  to  us  in  holy  Scripture."  So 
also  Institut.  lib.  iv.  c.  17,  sec.  24,  25. 


92  UNION   OF  BELIEVERS.  [CHAP.  XVI. 

came  less  conspicuous,  and  the  bond  of  union  in  the  church 
began  to  be  more  distinctly  felt.  But  since  the  well-being  of 
the  next  generation  depends  upon  whether  we  hold  fast  com- 
munion in  Christ,  or  allow  the  church  to  be  rent  and  shattered 
by  division,  and  thus  bring  forth  a  blessing  or  a  curse,  so  it  is 
our  bounden  duty,  in  the  present  day,  to  take  care,  that  true  be- 
lievers secure  a  higher  stand  than  those  who  are  quarrelling 
about  nice  distinctions ;  that  every  one  may  be  able  to  choose 
whether  he  will  take  his  part  with  the  destroyers,  or  with  the 
benefactors  of  the  church. 

Lutherans  and  reformed  stand  side  by  side  in  the  united 
church.  Opposition  has  entered  with  union,  but  the  life  of 
Christ  is  superior  to  opposition.  Calvin,  Luther  and  Melanc- 
thon  exhibited  this  principle  in  their  own  time,  and  the  union 
therefore  of  later  days  has  only  expressed  their  sentiment.  It 
shows  little  candour,  consequently,  when  the  most  diligent  exa- 
mination is  made  of  the  differences  existing  in  the  creed  of  the 
reformers,  and  an  utter  indifference  prevails  as  to  their  general 
agreement.  The  most  marvelous  zeal  appears  in  the  revival 
of  old  disputes,  but  no  effort  is  employed  to  give  a  fresh  warmth 
to  languishing  faith  from  the  noble  example  of  the  reformers. 

Let  it  be  supposed  that  any  one  should  assert,  that  Calvin  had 
not  the  right  faith,  that  he  did  not  abide  by  God's  Word,  or  that 
the  truth,  and  that  through  his  own  fault,  was  not  clearly  known 
to  him,  it  must  then  follow  as  a  necessary  consequence  that  Luther 
also  was  thus  deficient,  for  he  recognized  Calvin  as  his  fellow- 
believer.  Attempts  have  been  made  to  fix  upon  the  reformed 
the  old  charge  of  Nestorianism.  This  has  probably  been  done 
to  give  them  the  right  to  make  a  counter-attack  upon  the  Lu- 
therans, and  to  brand  them  as  Eutychians  and  Monophysites, 
as  if  both  parties  had  torn  with  their  hands  the  glorified  body 
of  the  Lord.  To-day,  when  the  reformation  has  reached  its  ob- 
ject, and  the  church  has  been  formed,  we  have  to  obey  a  new 
impulse,  and  to  employ  the  power  of  the  faith  which  we  have 
realized  in  the  grand  work  of  converting  the  people  who  still  lie 
in  the  darkness  of  heathenism.  In  this  respect  we  are  to  view 
the  whole  reformation  as  a  far-stretching  field,  from  which  we 
are  still  to  press  bravely  onward.  It  certainly  is  not  the  time 
to  retrace  the  progress  made  during  three  hundred  years,  for  the 
sake  of  renewing  the  controversies  of  ancient  times.  Lament- 
able indeed  must  be  the  state  of  things,  if  such  a  profound  be- 
lief in  the  mystery  of  the  sacrament  as  that  of  Calvin  should 


A.D.  1549.]  UNION  OF  BELIEVERS.  93 

become  the  subject  of  suspicion  in  a  church,  where,  the  former 
difficulty  having  been  solved,  it  is  now  an  obvious  duty  to  go 
forward,  and  so  to  consider  the  still-existing  controversy  with 
the  catholic  church,  that  sooner  or  later  this  also  may  be  settled. 
It  is  of  importance  therefore  to  state,  in  this  part  of  our  work, 
all  those  circumstances  which  tend  to  exhibit  the  harmony  of 
opinion,  in  matters  of  actual  faith,  which  existed  among  the 
founders  of  the  reformed  church.  We  cannot  fail  to  derive  a 
feeling  of  security  from  the  unity  of  living  faith  discernible  in 
all  those  of  whom  we  have  spoken  above,  and  more  particularly 
in  Luther  and  Calvin. 

That  the  latter  did  not  exhibit  in  the  Consensus  Tigurinus  a 
mere  dry  product  of  the  understanding,  a  so-called  parchment- 
pope,  must  be  evident  to  all  who  have  the  witness  of  the  Holy 
Spirit,  the  author  of  unity,  in  their  hearts.  The  sacrament  was 
the  central  point  of  his  spiritual  life :  he  lived  only  for  that. 
Hence  his  earnestness  in  defending  it  against  the  approach  of 
the  unworthy,  or  whatever  might  defile  its  sanctity ;  and  the 
profound  anxiety  which  he  felt  as  the  seasons  came  round  for 
its  administration.  To  him  it  was  the  medium  of  a  most  inti- 
mate communion  with  Jesus  :  it  was  associated  in  his  mind  with 
the  sublimest  ideas, — with  faith  in  the  divine  sacrifice,  and  in 
the  present  and  personal  being  of  Him  who  alone  can  give  us 
life.  According  to  Calvin,  the  faithful  enjoy  the  glorified  Christ, 
— the  unworthy  and  the  wicked  receive  Him  not.  This  depends 
not  on  the  words  of  consecration :  such  a  notion  is  contrary  to 
the  spirit  of  Christ :  he  imparts  not  himself  to  the  unholy. 
Thus  also  Calvin  connected  with  this  doctrine  the  communion 
of  believers,  it  being  in  communion  only  that  the  sacrament  can 
be  properly  enjoyed.  Even  in  his  catechism  for  children  he 
speaks  of  a  real  and  actual  union  *.  The  mystical  element 
therefore  existed  in  Calvin  in  its  highest  form  and  energy :  he 
was  convinced  that  the  flesh  and  blood  of  Christ  are  partaken 
of  in  the  sacrament,  and  his  doctrine  was  in  perfect  agreement 
with  that  of  Luther,  except  that  his  expressions  were  more  spi- 
ritual, and  he  rejected  from  his  view  of  the  mystery  what  is 
sensual  and  local.  His  sound  understanding  could  never  com- 
prehend how  that  which  is  divine  can  be  eaten  and  swallowed  in 
earthly  elements  ;  nor  how  that  which  is  local  can  be  regarded  as 
available  for  the  spirit.     The  godly  and  glorified  Christ  is  that 

*  Bossuct  found  the  expressions  lure  referred  to  so  Lutheran  that  he  re- 
marked it  in  his  Hist,  des  Variat.  t.  ii.  p.  10. 


94  DOCTRINE  OF  THE  SACRAMENT.         [CHAP.  XVI. 

alone  which  penetrates  the  believer's  soul  and  becomes  one  with 
him. 

The  doctrine  of  predestination  was  a  fruitful  cause  of  oppo- 
sition, but  it  did  not  separate  Calvin  from  all  those  who  formed 
a  somewhat  different  opinion  on  the  subject.  He  practically 
agreed  with  Luther  in  this  matter;  and  in  his  last  Confession, 
drawn  up  in  15G2,  he  speaks  more  decidedly  than  ever  against 
those  who  trusted  to  predestination,  rather  than  to  that  which 
immediately  concerned  their  state*.  It  is  worthy  of  observation, 
that  his  nearest  friends,  as  Farel  for  example,  regarded  his 
teaching  in  respect  to  this  doctrine,  and  as  he  imparted  it  to 
them,  not  as  repulsive,  but  full  of  consolation  f.  Calvin  and 
Mclancthon  did  not,  it  must  be  owned,  agree  in  this  doctrine  at 
a  subsequent  period.  The  latter,  according  to  Calvin,  viewed  it 
too  philosophically ;  but  this  did  not  hinder  Calvin  from  editing 
Melancthon's  principal  work,  or  from  showing  the  world  that 
he  did  not  view  this  difference  of  opinion  as  of  any  great  im- 
portance. In  our  times  it  would  probably  be  regarded  as  a 
sufficient  excuse  for  separation. 

It  is  well  known  that  both  by  his  system  of  faith,  as  seen  in 
the  period  extending  from  1541  to  1554,  and  by  the  party  con- 
solidated through  the  second  Consensus,  he  stood  in  open  oppo- 
sition to  Lutheranism:  but  nothing  was  said  about  division. 
The  churches  could  not  but  persevere  in  those  principles,  which 
were  subsequently  more  strongly  set  forth  in  the  Formula  Con- 
cordia?, and  in  the  Confession  of  the  Synod  of  Dort.  But  nei- 
ther Calvin  nor  Luther,  had  he  lived  in  those  days,  would  have 
allowed  a  separation  to  arise  from  such  a  cause.  A  deeper  feel- 
ing would  have  told  them  both,  that  the  exaltation  of  the  soul 
to  Christ,  or  the  descent  of  Christ  into  the  bread  in  the  sacra- 
ment, can  be  as  little  understood  as  the  consistency  of  election 
with  the  free  and  the  moral  nature  of  man :  but  both  are  stated 
in  Scripture,  and  both  are  realities  for  the  Christian.  Many 
proofs  also  exist  that  Melancthon  never  swerved  from  the  Wit- 
tenberg Concordate,  but  lived,  by  the  influence  of  a  genuine 
faith,  in  constant  friendship  with  both  parties  in  the  church. 
When  he  found  himself  seized  with  a  dangerous  sickness,  in 

*  "We  are  not  of  the  number  of  those  fanatics  who,  under  the  shade  of 
God's  eternal  predestination,  think  not  of  attaining  to  the  life  which  is  pro- 
mised us  by  the  right  way.  But  regarding  ourselves  as  children  of  God,  we 
know  that  it  is  necessary  to  believe  in  Jesus  Christ,  and  that  in  Him  alone 
we  can  properly  seek  salvation."         f  Schmidt :  Etudes  sur  Farel,  p.  45. 


A.D.  1549.]  LUTHER  AND  CALVIN.  95 

1541,  he  declared  his  assent  to  the  established  faith.  His  let- 
ters to  Dietrich,  a  minister  at  Nuremberg,  show  that  he  recog- 
nized a  sacramental  presence  of  Christ,  though  no  inclosing  of  the 
body  in  the  bread;  that  is,  that  Christ  is  actually  present  when 
we  rightly  receive  the  symbols  or  signs  of  grace.  He  thus  ex- 
pressed himself  at  Ratisbonne  in  1541.  In  1542  and  1543  he 
remarked  in  his  letters  to  Dietrich,  that  they  ought  to  be  severely 
censured  who  pretend  that  the  body  of  the  Lord  is  inclosed  in 
the  bread,  as  by  a  sort  of  magic,  at  the  pronouncing  of  certain 
words.  He  is  far  however  from  representing  the  sacrament  as 
a  simple  supper :  on  the  contrary,  he  expresses  his  conviction, 
that  by  the  use  of  the  outward  signs  of  grace,  Christ  makes  us 
members  of  his  body,  and  works  mightily  in  us.  It  is  thus  that 
he  represents  the  doctrine  in  his  Locis  as  published  in  1543. 
He  had  even  resolved  to  leave  Wittenberg,  when  Luther  re- 
newed the  controversy,  rather  than  swerve  from  the  Concordat. 

That  Melancthon  agreed  in  this  respect  with  Calvin,  appears 
from  a  letter  written  by  the  latter  to  Farel  in  1539.  Calvin 
also  appealed  to  his  example  in  his  second  Apology  against 
Westphal  in  1556.  "  Philip  will  state  in  a  single  word  if  I  be 
not  of  his  opinion,  for  I  will  spend  no  more  words  on  the  sub- 
ject:" and  in  1557  be  says,  "If  I  be  found  guilty  of  rashly 
using  the  name  of  Melancthon,  I  will  submit  to  any  degree  of 
infamy.  I  have  said  it  a  hundred  times,  that  Philip  can  no 
more  be  torn  from  me  in  this  cause  than  from  his  own  bowels." 
And  this  agreement  continued  from  1539  onwards,  through  a 
period,  that  is,  of  seventeen  years.  Both  also  were  associated 
with  Caspar  Cruciger,  whom  Luther  always  loved  and  distin- 
guished. Melancthon  was  far  from  denying  this  his  agreement 
with  Calvin*. 

But  still  more  surprising,  and  in  our  times  more  important 
to  the  evangelical  church,  is  the  perfect  harmony  between  Cal- 
vin and  Luther  in  belief.  This  can  be  shown  by  various  facts, 
sufficiently  striking  to  convince  any  unprejudiced  mind.  These 
two  great  men  were  never  in  actual  strife ;  and  had  Luther  lived 
longer,  they  would  probably  have  learnt  to  entertain  for  each 
other  the  strictest  regard.  With  respect  to  the  Lord's  Supper, 
it  is  well  known  that  Calvin's  treatise  against  Pighius  De  Libera 
Arbxtrio  appeared  in  1543,  that  is,  before  the  death  of  Luther, 

*  See  also  Melancthon's  letters  to  Calvin  in  the  years  1552,  1554,  1555. 
Ed.  Anist.  p.  60.  Ed.  Laus.  Ep.  137,  fcc 


9(5  LUTHER  AND  CALVIN.  [CHAP.  XVI. 

and  was  dedicated  to  Melancthon.  In  this  work  he  defended 
Luther  with  the  greatest  zeal,  and  this  was  not  likely  to  remain 
unknown  to  the  German  reformer.  The  argument  prefixed  to 
the  paper  indicates  the  agreement  between  them.  "  That  which 
is  the  main  point  in  this  question,  and  on  account  of  which  all 
the  rest  is  said,  we  now  defend,  as  it  was  originally  proposed  by 
Luther  and  others/5  Calvin  quotes  his  Institutions  several 
times  on  this  occasion.  To  this  may  be  added  the  important 
fact,  that  Luther  never  uttered  the  least  word  of  disrespect 
against  Calvin,  although  the  latter,  eleven  years  before  Luther's 
death,  exhibited  in  his  celebrated  catechism,  without  any  alter- 
ation, his  whole  system  of  doctrine,  and  especially  that  on  the 
sacrament.  Luther  had  read  his  earlier  writings,  and  particularly 
his  Institutes,  in  the  first  and  second  editions,  "  cum  singulari 
voluptate"  as  he  said.  He  sent  him  his  greeting  in  his  well- 
known  letter  to  Bucer,  in  1539.  "  Saluta  mild  rever enter  J. 
Sturmitim  et  J.  Calvinum,  whose  books  I  have  read  with  especial 
pleasure.'5  But  in  the  works  referred  to  the  whole  doctrine  of 
the  Lord's  Supper  was  as  clearly  set  forth  as  at  any  future 
period.  It  is  also  probable  that  Luther  had  in  his  mind  Cal- 
vin's little  treatises,  De  Fugiendis  impiorum  illicitis  saci'is,  and 
De  Papisticis  Sacei'dotiis,  in  which  he  expressly  declares  his 
opinion  respecting  the  sacrifice  of  the  altar.  It  was  against  the 
Zwinglians  only  that  Luther  raged  so  fiercely,  and  his  indigna- 
tion was  excited  in  their  case  because  he  regarded  them  as  anni- 
hilating the  very  essence  of  the  sacrament.  His  last  attack 
upon  the  Zurichers  is  of  no  dogmatic  importance  to  the  church. 
It  was  occasioned  by  the  publication  of  Zwingli's  last  and  some- 
what too  freely  expressed  treatise,  and  by  that  of  the  new  trans- 
lation of  the  Bible  into  German.  Nor  must  it  be  forgotten,  that 
Calvin  was  sent  during  Luther's  lifetime  to  the  Colloquy  at 
Frankfort,  and  to  the  Diets  of  Worms  and  Ratisbonne,  in  the 
character  of  a  deputy,  to  support  the  Augsburg  Confession,  and 
that  he  was  received  there,  and  treated  with  marked  confidence, 
by  the  most  celebrated  of  the  Lutheran  theologians.  If  these 
distinguished  men  had  found  him  opposed  to  the  doctrine  of 
Luther,  Luther  himself  would  not  have  been  long  in  evincing 
his  resentment.  Sleidan  numbers  him  among  the  friends  of  the 
Confession,  and  to  these  Luther  wrote  without  exception  in  the 
following  words:— "  Nolite  timerc,  estote  fortes  et  laeti,  nihil 
solliciti."     But  he  knew  that  Calvin  was  there  with  the  rest. 


A.D.  1549.]  LUTHER  AND  CALVIN.  1)7 

Had  he  regarded  him  as  a  man  who  held  dangerous  or  erroneous 
opinions,  he  would  quickly  have  warned  the  princes  and  others 
who  were  present  against  his  discourse. 

But  still  further:  it  is  related,  that  when  Luther,  in  1540, 
according  to  the  command  of  the  Elector,  visited  Melancthon  in 
Weimar,  Dr.  Cruciger  read  to  him,  as  they  travelled,  Calvin's 
answer  to  Sadolet's  address  to  the  Genevese.  Luther  on  this 
occasion  bore  the  following  remarkable  testimony  to  Calvin's 
worth  : — "  This  writing  has  hands  and  feet,  and  I  rejoice  that 
God  has  called  up  such  people,  who,  if  it  be  his  will,  may  give 
the  final  blow  to  the  papacy,  and  finish  by  his  help  what  I  have 
commenced  against  antichrist*." 

There  is  something  especially  refreshing  in  the  relation,  which, 
bearing  all  the  internal  signs  of  truth,  is  wanting  in  none  of  the 
outer,  and  from  which  it  appears  evident  that  Luther  agreed 
with  Calvin  on  the  subject  of  the  Lord's  Supper,  and  felt  alto- 
gether united  with  him  in  faith.  This  narrative  carries  us  to 
old  Wittenberg,  and  shows  us  Luther  as  he  used  to  come  from 
his  lecture,  surrounded  by  students,  and  stood  at  the  door  of  a 
famous  bookseller's  shop.  Here  are  the  old  and  remarkable 
words,  so  little  known,  but  which  must  be  very  precious  to  all 
evangelical  christians  : — "  Calvin's  book,  thus  far  translated  into 
Latin  by  Galasius,  appeared  again  in  1545,  and  was  brought  to 
Wittenberg t.  On  the  Monday  after  Quasimodogeniti,  when 
Dr.  Luther  had  finished  his  lecture  on  Genesis,  upon  which  he 
was  still  engaged,  he  proceeded  to  the  shop  of  the  bookseller 
Maurice  Goltschen,  who  had  just  returned  from  the  great  Easter 
fair.  Luther  welcomed  him  home,  and  continued  in  these  words : 
(  Well,  Maurice,  what  good  news  is  there  at  Frankfort  ?  Do 
they  wish  to  burn  the  arch-heretic  Luther?'  Thereupon  Mau- 
rice replied,  '  I  have  heard  nothing  thereof,  honoured  sir ;  but 
I  have  brought  with  me  a  little  book,  which  John  Calvin  wrote 
some  time  ago  in  French,  on  the  Lord's  Supper,  and  which  has 
been  lately  republished  in  Latin.  It  is  said  of  Calvin,  that  he 
is  a  young  but  a  pious  and  learned  man.  In  this  little  book  he 
seems  to  have  shown  in  what  respect  your  reverence,  and  both 

*  A  clear  and  candid  account  of  the  Sacramentarian  Controversy  was  writ- 
ten by  Christopher  Petzel,  doctor  and  professor  at  Bremen,  where  he  died  in 
1604.  His  greatest  works  were,  Examen  Theologian  Melancthonis  cum  Ex- 
plicationibus,  1589  ;  Argumenta  et  Objectiones  de  Articulis  Christians  Doc- 
trinae  cum  Responsionibus,  1788  ;  and  De  Predestinatione,  1604. 

t  Calvin's  work  first  appeared  in  1540,  and  in  January  1545  it  was  printed 
in  Latin  by  Nicolaus  Galasius. 

VOL.  II.  H 


98  LUTHER  AND  CALVIN.  [CHAP,  XVI. 

Zwinglius  and  CEcolampadius,  have  gone  too  far  in  your  con- 
troversy on  this  subject.'  As  Maurice  Goltschen  did  not  ex- 
press himself  very  well,  Luther  answered  quickly,  '  Give  me 
the  book,  friend!'  The  bookseller  immediately  gave  him  an 
octavo  copy,  stitched  up.  Having  taken  it  in  his  hands,  Dr. 
Luther  sat  down  and  read  the  first  three  leaves  after  the  title, 
and  then  the  last  four  and  a  half  to  the  end.  These  he  read 
with  particular  attention,  and  at  last  said,  '  Maurice,  this  is  cer- 
tainly a  learned  and  pious  man,  and  I  might  well  have  entrusted 
the  whole  affair  of  this  controversy  to  him  from  the  beginning. 
I  confess  my  part.  If  my  opponents  had  done  the  like,  we 
should  soon  have  been  reconciled,  since  it  only  needed  that 
GEcolampadius  and  Zwinglius  should  have  thus  explained  them- 
selves, to  prevent  the  controversy  from  proceeding  to  such 
lengths.'  This  Was  heard  by  Matthias  Stoius,  who  was  one  of 
the  numerous  students  by  whom  Dr.  Luther  was  then  sur- 
rounded. He  was  at  that  time  a  boarder  in  his  house,  but  sub- 
sequently became  a  doctor  of  medicine,  and  was  appointed  pri- 
vate physician  to  the  old  duke  of  Prussia.  The  story  was  re- 
peated in  the  presence  of  many  of  the  nobility  of  the  archduke 
Albrecht." 

The  testimony  of  Dr.  Alesius  Scotus,  a  professor  at  Leipzig, 
and  the  friend  of  Luther  and  Melancthon,  is  well  known,  and 
has  been  often  printed.  In  his  answer  to  Ruard  Tapper's  de- 
fence of  the  Louvain  articles,  he  says,  "  They  do  as  if  they  were 
ignorant  of  what  Luther  said  to  Philip,  ere  he  set  out  for  his 
native  province,  where  he  died.  Philip  related  it  to  many,  and 
in  various  ways,  that  Luther,  unasked,  said,  ( I  own  that  too 
much  has  been  done  respecting  the  sacrament :'  and  when  Philip 
answered,  (  Let  us  then,  my  good  doctor,  for  the  sake  of  the 
churches,  publish  some  pacific  treatise,  in  which  we  may  clearly 
unfold  our  views ' — Luther  replied,  <  My  Philip,  I  have  thought 
anxiously  on  this  matter ;  but  as  I  might  throw  suspicion  upon 
the  whole  doctrine,  I  will  only  commend  it  to  the  good  care  of 
God.  Do  you  do  something  after  my  death.'  These  words 
were  written  down  from  Melancthon's  own  mouth."  It  was  the 
wish  of  the  latter  to  mention  the  subject  in  his  testament,  but 
he  died  too  soon.  The  witness  of  Dr.  Alesius,  who  had  the 
account  from  Melancthon  himself,  is  therefore  valuable.  It 
seems  certain,  that  as  Zwingli  had  a  deeper  insight  into  the 
sacrament  in  the  latter  years  of  his  life,  Luther  also,  a  year  be- 
fore his  death,  was  of  one  faith  and  of  one  mind  with  Calvin. 


A.D.  1549.]  LUTHER  AND  CALVIN.  99 

He  regarded  him  as  a  brother,  and  viewed  his  doctrine  as  fitted 
to  restore  union  to  the  distracted  church.  And  as  Luther  in- 
clined to  Calvin,  so  did  Calvin  to  Luther.  He  twice  declared 
his  assent  to  the  Augsburg  Confession,  and  stated  that,  in  his 
opinion,  the  formulary  of  the  Zurich  Union  contained  whatever 
was  found  in  the  Confession. 

We  may  here,  in  conclusion,  quote  some  of  the  most  remark- 
able expressions  which  he  employed  to  show  his  agreement  with 
that  formulary.  Thus,  in  a  letter  to  Martin  Schaling,  a  minister 
at  Ratisbonne,  he  says,  "  I  am  so  far  from  repudiating  the 
Augsburg  Confession,  that  I  have  willingly  and  gladly  subscribed 
it,  interpreting  it  as  I  am  authorized  to  do*."  To  Marbach,  a 
minister  at  Strasburgf?  he  wrote,  ee  If  that  excellent  servant  of 
the  Lord,  and  faithful  doctor  of  the  church,  Martin  Luther,  were 
still  alive,  he  would  not  be  so  severe  and  implacable  as  to  refuse 
his  ready  assent  to  this  Confession,  namely,  that  that  is  truly 
afforded  us  which  the  sacraments  figure,  and  that  we  are  there- 
fore partakers  of  the  body  and  blood  of  Christ.  How  often 
did  Luther  say,  that  he  contended  for  nothing  but  that  it  might 
be  clearly  understood,  that  the  Lord  does  not  mock  us  with 
empty  signs,  but  that  He  fulfils  inwardly  that  which  is  repre- 
sented to  the  eye,  and  that  thus  the  substance  is  connected  with 
the  sign  !  Hence,  if  I  do  not  greatly  err,  wre  are  agreed,  that 
the  Supper  of  the  Lord  is  no  vain,  dramatic  representation  of  a 
spiritual  feast,  but  that  it  truly  imparts  to  us  what  it  presents, 
and  that  holy  hearts  are  nourished  therein  by  the  body  and 
blood  of  Christ.  Greatly  would  it  trouble  me  if  a  doctrine 
should  now  be  rejected,  which  I  so  many  years  ago  taught 
freely  and  openly  at  Strasburg,  both  in  the  schools  and  in  the 
churches." 

Thus  Calvin,  in  the  second  epoch  of  his  career,  had  firmly 
established  his  evangelical  system  by  institutions  of  correspond- 
ing character.  It  only  remained  for  him  to  extend  his  system, 
and  to  combat  opposing  errors.  The  Consensus  Tigurinus^  which 
became  blended  with  the  Helvetic  Confession,  should,  accord- 
ing to  Calvin's  plan,  have  passed  into  the  Augsburg  Confession. 
There  would  then  have  been  no  mention  of  Lutherans  and  Cal- 
vinists,  and  the  whole  evangelical  church  would  have  presented 
one  glorious  and  imposing  mass. 

*  Ed.  Laus.  Ep.  236.  Ed.  Amst.  p.  112  (1557). 
f  Ed.  Laus.  Ep.  177.  Ed.  Amst.  p.  84  (1554). 

ii  2 


PART    III. 


103 


CHAPTER  I. 

INTRODUCTORY  REMARKS. CHARACTERISTICS  OF  CALVIN. 

A  survey  of  the  last  period  of  Calvin's  labours  will  help  us  to 
resolve  the  question,  why  has  not  a  milder  judgement  been 
passed  upon  him  ?  Why  have  his  merits  not  been  more  gene- 
rally recognized  ?  or  how  is  it  that,  in  some  church  histories,  he 
has  been  even  passed  over  with  contempt?  We  here  see  him 
involved  in  difficulties  of  such  a  peculiar  kind,  that  it  is  easy  to 
understand  how  he  might  be  wrongly  judged.  Appearances 
were  in  some  respects  against  him  :  his  judge  must  be  a  Christian, 
an  evangelical  Christian :  he  ought  to  be  also  an  intelligent,  un- 
prejudiced theologian,  and  one  well- acquainted  with  the  state  of 
affairs;  otherwise  his  decision  will  be  faulty.  Calvin's  life  is 
not  popular.  The  hatred  against  him  is  a  natural  consequence 
of  his  resolute  effort  to  establish  his  doctrine,  and  with  his  doc- 
trine the  unity  of  the  church.  That  which  concerns  the  pecu- 
liarity of  his  mind  I  have  shown  in  the  first  part  of  this  work, 
and  in  the  introduction  to  the  second.  It  will  be  sufficient 
therefore  here  to  remark,  that  if  an  outward  splendour  be  want- 
ing to  the  circumstances  of  his  life,  his  spiritual  comprehension 
was  of  a  sublimer  kind  than  that  of  other  reformers.  What 
place  then  will  he  occupy,  when  his  course  has  been  fairly  sur- 
veyed, in  the  estimation  of  mankind?  Will  he  appear  in  their 
eyes  as  one  of  those  unbending,  resolute  and  ambitious  men, 
who  have  shaken  the  world  with  their  plans?  or  will  he  be 
ranked  with  those  heroic  natures  who  sought  nothing  for  them- 
selves, and  whose  labours,  resigning  as  they  did  all  for  the  good 
of  mankind,  bear  on  them  the  stamp  of  godliness,  and  the  fame 
of  which,  like  a  mighty  wind,  passes  on  from  age  to  age,  and 
acquires  at  length  the  character  of  greatness?  or  will  he  be 
placed  on  a  still  higher  eminence  ?  Christians  are  not  called 
great  in  the  common  sense  of  the  expression.  Shall  he  be  styled 
then  an  apostolic  champion  of  the  truth  ? 

A  degree  of  mystery  has  long  hovered  over  the  grave  of  this 
celebrated  man.  It  may  properly  be  said  of  him,  "  Calvin's 
greatness  was  his  fate:"  or  it  may  be  asserted  that  the  world 
mistook  him  because  of  the  vastness  of  the  task  given  him  to 


104  CHARACTERISTICS  OF  CALVIN.  [CHAP.  I. 

perform,  while  before  the  eternal  judgement-seat  he  will  be  ac- 
counted as  a  faithful  soldier  of  the  Lord.  That  which  displeases 
in  him  arose  from  the  nature  of  his  duty.  There  was  a  certain 
fiery  excess,  a  daringness  in  his  nature,  which  many  could  not 
forgive.  It  mingled  itself  with  his  southern  blood;  and  the 
zeal  of  a  prophet  of  the  old  covenant  is  hardly  to  be  understood 
in  conjunction  with  Christianity. 

But  the  intelligent  observer  will  not  fail  to  perceive,  that  the 
duty  imposed  upon  Calvin  to  confirm  the  reformation,  was  at- 
tended with  peculiar  difficulties.  His  whole  strength  was  ex- 
erted to  overcome  them,  and  it  was  only  on  some  rare  occasions 
that  he  allowed  a  doubt  as  to  the  final  result  to  enter  his  mind. 
At  first,  indeed,  he  trembled  at  the  obligation  which  he  was 
called  upon  to  encounter.  The  wonderful  ways  by  which  God 
led  him  were  only  opened  by  degrees ;  but  on  his  death-bed  he 
could  say,  "  that  light  shone  upon  him  in  all  his  struggles,  and 
that  the  blessing  of  God  was  with  him."  He  sometimes  indeed 
rose  to  a  height  whence  it  was  difficult  for  him  to  take  a  distinct 
view  of  his  actual  circumstances.  Unconscious  of  it  himself,  he 
was  urged  onward  by  an  inward  fire,  by  a  burning  conviction, 
that  he  was  destined  before  all  others  to  proclaim  certain  doc- 
trines, to  awaken  a  new  feeling  of  devotion  to  God,  and  to  lead 
men  to  ascribe  to  Him  alone  the  work  of  redemption,  inde- 
pendent of  all  human  merit.  It  would  have  seemed  to  him  as 
if  all  had  been  lost,  had  he  not  hoped  to  see  this  doctrine  planted 
in  the  religious  conscience  of  mankind.  Hence  he  was  little 
understood  in  his  age,  and  sometimes  not  even  by  his  friends. 
But  here  was  the  mystery  of  his  vocation,  and  the  world  could 
not  tell  why  he  proceeded  to  such  lengths  in  his  desire  to  ful- 
fil it. 

Calvin's  designs,  as  seen  at  this  period  of  his  life,  were  retro- 
spective ;  they  were  formed  for  the  purpose  of  restraint,  for  the 
security  of  that  which  had  been  won.  Manifold  were  the  dis- 
gusts which  hence  arose.  It  is  difficult  to  find  the  right  mea- 
sure in  such  cases ;  and  the  multitude  which  readily  renders  its 
aid  to  change  and  overthrow,  is  little  disposed  to  assist  in  build- 
ing up  and  securing.  To  act  retrospectively,  is  never  so  ani- 
mating  as  to  advance  boldly  forward  against  the  vice  and  oppres- 
sion which  may  have  been  long  endured.  Thus  Luther  enjoyed 
sympathy  and  gratitude,  while  Calvin  had  to  encounter  blame 
and  criticism  :  the  latter  felt  himself  under  the  control  of  a  spirit 
which  desired  unity :  hence  his  struggles  against  heresy.     But 


A.D.  1549.]  CHARACTERISTICS  OF  CALVIN.  105 

the  mass  of  the  people  cannot  understand  why  this  unity  is 
necessary ;  they  suppose  that  things  would  go  on  well  enough 
without  it;  and  when  Calvin  employed  severe  measures  to  accom- 
plish his  purpose,  they  called  him  a  persecutor;  and  if  he 
sought  to  secure  the  rights  of  the  church  at  any  price,  they  ex- 
claimed, "  he  wants  to  rule  like  the  pope."  Even  to  this  day 
he  is  regarded  by  some  as  a  clever  politician,  a  Richelieu,  a  wise 
man  who  sought  his  own  aggrandisement.  But  further:  Cal- 
vin was  moved  in  some  respects  by  that  grand  spirit,  the  work- 
ing of  which  it  is  so  difficult  for  us  to  understand,  its  power 
being  now  almost  expended,  the  spirit  of  the  middle  ages.  The 
voice  of  a  new  life  spoke  within  him :  he  existed  in  the  season 
of  transition  to  another  period  of  cultivation,  which  he  partially 
comprehended,  and  partially  assisted  to  effect.  If  we  be  con- 
scious of  some  discordant  tones  in  his  life,  we  must  not -neglect 
to  consider,  that  after  the  course  of  some  centuries,  when  the 
world  is  animated  by  another  spirit,  history  in  our  present  mode 
of  existence  will  utter  more  than  one  discordant  note,  and  that 
because  we  are  more  or  less  in  bondage  to  the  spirit  of  our  age, 
which  can  never  be  absolutely  pure.  But  the  individual  is  not 
responsible  for  the  spirit  of  his  times.  The  stern  discourses  of 
Calvin  on  Predestination,  as  well  as  his  treatises  against  here- 
tics, may  be  regarded  as  having  their  origin  in  the  necessities  of 
the  age.  The  world  was  not  yet  worthy  of  the  milder  apostolic 
spirit.  As  in  the  second  part  of  this  biography,  anti-christianity 
has  shown  itself  in  its  gloomiest  form,  on  the  path  of  moral  ex- 
istence, so  in  the  present  epoch  we  have  to  contemplate  the  ad- 
vance of  a  heresy,  which  exerted  its  whole  force  to  mar,  or  blot 
out,  the  first  great  truth,  the  very  foundation-principle,  of  the 
church.  And  how  is  it  that  they,  who  assume  to  themselves  the 
right  of  passing  judgement  on  the  history  of  heroic  souls,  do 
not  perceive  that  the  mission  of  such  spirits  is  necessary  at  cer- 
tain periods  to  the  salvation  of  the  world  ?  This  great  man 
occupied  a  far  different  position  to  that  which  is  ordinarily  sup- 
posed. It  is  a  melancholy  thing  when  any  one  receives  a  com- 
mission from  God  to  proclaim  his  wrath,  and  teach  a  doctrine 
most  humbling  to  the  human  will.  Calvin,  on  this  account, 
could  not  but  be  misunderstood  and  hated  by  the  world.  He 
himself  clearly  saw  it ;  and  it  is  very  evident  even  to  the  present 
day,  that  whenever  an  inclination  exists  to  honour  Calvin,  Ser- 
vetus  appears  as  a  pale  spectre,  to  snatch  the  crown  of  honour 
from  his  head.     Exposed  to  the  wrathful  condemnation  of  the 


106  CHARACTERISTICS  OF  CALVIN.  [CHAP.  I. 

papists ;  decried  by  the  Lutherans,  as  if  he  were  little  better 
than  a  child  of  Satan ;  often  mistaken  and  censured  in  his  own 
church,  he  has  endured  more  injustice  than  any  other  religious 
leader  of  modern  times.  So  was  he  oppressed  at  the  period  of 
which  we  are  speaking,  that  he  wished  for  death.  "  If  I  had 
the  choice/'  he  said,  "  I  would  far  rather  submit  myself  at  once 
to  be  burnt  by  the  papists,  than  to  be  thus  lacerated,  without 
ceasing,  by  my  neighbours.  They  envy  my  great  prosperity, 
and  will  not  let  me  enjoy  a  moment's  rest,  and  yet  they  see  me 
almost  overpowered  by  the  weight  of  my  occupations,  tormented 
by  the  saddest  anxieties,  and  bowed  down  by  insufferable  claims. 
My  only  consolation  is,  that  death  will  soon  afford  me  deliver- 
ance from  this  oppressive  struggle." 

Such  indeed  has  been  the  indignation  often  expressed  against 
his  zeal,  that  since  Beza,  he  has  found  no  friend,  during  a 
space  of  three  hundred  years,  ready  to  exhibit  to  the  world  a 
fitting  representation  of  his  faithful  and  untiring  activity.  The 
unbelieving  world  regarded  him  as  a  troublesome  zealot,  of  whom 
it  was  better  to  speak  as  little  as  possible.  There  is  something 
puerile  in  the  judgement  which  many  have  formed  of  his  cha- 
racter, and  it  is  full  time  that  justice  should  be  done  to  Calvin 
as  well  as  to  Servetus. 

That  which  has  chiefly  tended  to  the  erroneous  view  of  his 
conduct,  may  perhaps  be  found  in  the  circumstance,  that  how- 
ever prosperous  he  was  in  the  accomplishment  of  his  work,  his 
church  was  never  well  established  in  France.  It  continued  op- 
pressed and  persecuted,  so  that  the  papists  have  continued  to 
the  present  day  to  load  it  with  falsehoods  and  insult.  Their 
cunning  and  superior  skill  in  such  attacks  have  rendered  them 
more  successful  than  we  have  been  in  the  defence.  We  depend 
upon  the  goodness  of  our  cause,  and  are  silent.  It  became  usual 
in  Calvin's  father-land  to  hate  him :  apparently  he  obtained  not 
his  purpose ;  and  in  Germany  it  was  suspected  that  he  was  the 
enemy  of  peace,  though  his  whole  strength  was  employed  to 
preserve  it.  All,  in  short,  took  the  part  of  the  idle  world  against 
him.  The  French  have  latterly  bestowed  some  attention  upon 
his  character,  but  they  have  not  yet  found  the  key  to  his  inner 
spiritual  life.  Hence,  in  their  review  of  his  genius,  they  speak 
only  of  his  influence  on  the  French  language ;  of  his  under- 
standing and  logical  ability.  They  even  term  his  whole  life  a 
syllogism.  In  the  same  manner  they  describe  his  subtle  policy, 
his  egoism,  and  especially  his  feeling  of  duty,  but  they  rarely 


A.D.  1549.]  CHARACTERISTICS  OF  CALVIN.  107 

allude  to  his  convictions.  It  is  thus  that  critics  may  be  ex- 
pected to  do,  whose  heads  are  possessed  with  the  prejudice,  that 
the  manifestation  of  Calvinism  is  necessarily  connected  with 
something  wrong. 

It  may  be  hoped  therefore  that  this  work  is  published  at  a 
right  period.  The  hostility  to  Calvin  has  been  re-awakened 
with  disgusting  violence.  Galiffe,  in  Geneva,  has  supplied  all 
his  opponents  with  plausible  arguments  against  him.  We  can 
appeal  only  to  the  facts  of  his  work.  His  judgements  are  palpa- 
bly false,  and  he  loses  all  claim  to  respect  or  credit  when  we 
find  him  undertaking  the  defence  of  Bolsec.  The  Life  of  Calvin 
by  Audin,  which  appeared  in  France,  and  has  since  been  trans- 
lated into  German,  is  a  wretched  party  affair.  A  critique  in  the 
c  Literarische  Zeitung'  (1841,  n.  34)  affords  a  correct  view  of 
this  work  : — "  It  is  altogether  unworthy  of  serious  notice,  being 
in  fact  a  sort  of  caricature  of  Dr.  Henry's  book,  the  contents  of 
which  it  has  perfidiously  pirated."  The  spirit  indeed  which 
animates  the  little  production  here  alluded  to,  shows  that  the 
Romish  church  has  made  no  step  towards  improvement  since 
the  Reformation.  But  so  long  as  that  church  thus  avoids  the 
truth,  and  forms  a  league  with  shameless  falsehood,  it  inflicts 
upon  itself  the  deepest  wound,  and  stands  irrevocably  separated 
from  the  evangelical  church,  which  would  so  gladly  form  with 
it  but  one  body  and  one  communion. 

A  later  author*,  who  has  employed  himself  much  about  the 
old  times,  and  is  familiar  with  all  the  documents  necessary  to 
the  task,  opposes  the  false  judgements  of  others  by  his  own  well- 
founded  and  earnest  criticism.  Agreeing  with  me,  he  says, — 
"  This  man  (Calvin) — descended  from  an  ancient  family,  learned 
and  profound  as  few  are,  superior  to  the  fear  of  man,  seeking 
nothing  for  himself,  and  hoping  nothing,  but  full  of  ardour  for 
the  glory  of  God, — became  more  and  more  the  soul  of  the  pro- 
testant  cause,  the  instrument  in  the  hand  of  the  Lord  to  give 
firmness,  durability,  and  a  steady  direction  to  the  new  church, 
and  to  settle  its  doctrine  on  the  surest  principles  of  good  sense 
and  reason.5'  "  People  have  often  supposed  that  they  were  in- 
sulting Calvin's  memory  by  calling  him  the  pope  of  protestant- 
ism. He  was  so,  but  in  the  noblest  sense  of  the  expression, 
through  the  spiritual  and  moral  superiority  with  which  the  Lord 
of  the  church  had  endowed  him  for  its  deliverance ;  through  his 
unwearied,  universal  zeal  for  God's  honour;  through  his  wise 
*  Trechsel :  Die  Protestantischen  Antitrinitarier,  1839,  s,  177. 


108  THE  COUNCIL  OF  TRENT.  [CHAP.  II. 

care  for  the  edifying  of  the  kingdom  of  Christ;  in  a  word, 
through  all  which  can  be  comprehended  in  the  idea  of  the  papacy 
of  truth  and  honour.  He  had  indeed  his  faults,  but  they  were 
either  those  of  his  time,  or  sprung  from  the  peculiarities  of  his 
character,  the  greatness,  force  and  elevation  of  which  our  weak 
degenerate  race  is  unable  to  comprehend  in  the  whole;  and 
which,  instead  of  contemplating  it  on  the  bright  side,  it  can  only 
judge  of  by  the  few  dark  spots  on  the  surface." 


CHAPTER  II. 


THE    OUTWARD    CONDITION  OF    THE    CHURCH,    AND  CALVIN5S 
CIRCUMSTANCES    AT    GENEVA    IN    THE    YEARS    1550,    1551, 

1552. HIS  WORK    '  DE    SCANDALIS.' LETTERS    TO    CRAN- 

MER  AND  MELANCTHON. 

On  the  10th  of  November  1549,  Paul  III.,  then  in  the  eighty- 
third  year  of  his  age,  was  called  to  render  a  final  account  of  his 
wicked  deeds  before  God.  The  papal  chair  remained  vacant  till 
the  7th  of  February  1550,  when  the  choice  of  the  conclave  fell 
on  cardinal  John  Maria  del  Monte,  the  legate  at  Trent  and 
bishop  of  Palestrina.  He  ascended  the  pontifical  throne  by  the 
title  of  Julius  III.,  and  one  of  his  first  acts  was  to  bestow  the 
cardinal's  hat  on  a  boy  of  sixteen,  the  keeper  of  his  apes.  This 
occurrence  furnished  Calvin  with  a  reason  for  writing  in  the  fol- 
lowing manner  to  Farel*  : — "  The  pope  whom  they  have  made 
and  consecrated  with  so  much  care  must  be  an  extraordinary 
monster,  and  in  truth  nothing  could  be  better  contrived  than  to 
give  such  a  moderator  to  a  Tridentine  council." 

Charles  lost  no  time  in  compelling  the  new  pontiff  to  reassem- 
ble the  synod,  while  he  himself  prepared  to  assail  the  protestants 
more  violently  than  ever.  A  bitter  edict  appeared  against  them 
in  the  Netherlands  on  the  19th  of  April;  and  in  the  diet,  held 
at  Augsburg  in  July,  the  emperor  directed  all  the  princes  of 
Germany  to  proceed  to  Trent.  This  command  was  expressly 
repeated  on  the  13th  of  February  1551,  and  on  the  1st  of  May 

*  MS.  Gen.  4  Non.  Mart.  1550. 


A.D.  1548-52.]  CALVIN  AND  EDWARD  VI.  109 

in  that  year,  the  assembly  recommenced  its  sittings.  The  pope 
had  ordered  that  the  Swiss  cantons  should  be  courteously  re- 
quested to  send  deputies  to  the  council ;  but  the  divines  of 
Zurich,  who  were  charged  with  the  answer,  sternly  declared*, 
"  That  they  had  ceased  for  thirty  years  to  acknowledge  the 
authority  of  the  pope ;  that  they  would  persevere  in  the  profes- 
sion of  their  evangelical  ci*eed  till  convinced  of  error  by  the 
Bible  itself;  and  that  the  reformed  church  could  not  submit  to 
the  council,  though  desired  to  do  so  by  the  pope,  the  emperor, 
the  princes,  and  the  catholic  cantons."  The  catholic  cantons 
were,  in  fact,  disunited  among  themselves,  and  the  king  of 
France  declared  his  intention  of  protesting  against  the  council, 
on  the  ground  of  its  want  of  catholicity. 

We  learns  but  from  a  somewhat  doubtful  source  of  informa- 
tiont,  that  Calvin  was  proposed  by  the  town  of  Strasburg  as  its 
representative  at  the  Council  of  Trent.  It  was  now  that  he  pub- 
lished his  Commentary  on  the  Epistles ;  and  we  read  with  satis- 
faction the  remarks  which  he  made  on  the  council  in  his  dedi- 
cation to  the  youthful  king  of  England,  Edward  VI. : — 

"  Our  Saviour  was  not  more  insulted  by  the  servants  of  anti- 
christ, when  they  gave  Him  a  reed  for  a  sceptre,  and  placed  a 
crown  of  thorns  upon  his  head,  than  He  was  in  the  Council  of 
Trent.  The  assembly  is  but  a  vain  shadow ;  but  it  is  regarded 
by  the  pope  as  a  sort  of  Hercules'  club,  wherewith  he  may  over- 
throw the  Son  of  God,  and  destroy  the  rest  of  the  church. 
And  if  that  teacher  of  impiety  so  shamelessly  attacks  the  honour 
of  God  and  the  strength  of  our  salvation,  is  it  meet  that  we 
should  betray  our  religion  by  our  neglect  ?  No  !  rather  ought 
we  to  suffer  a  hundred  deaths  than  allow  so  barbarous  an  op- 
pression of  piety  to  remain  unexposed."  Then  follows  an  exa- 
mination of  the  several  members  of  the  synod  : — "  Among  thou- 
sands there  may  perhaps  be  found  some  who  are  partially  on 
the  side  of  truth,  as  Peter  Vergerius.  But  what  is  the  result? 
They  are  thrown  into  prison  until  they  recant,  or  drink  of  that 
cup  which  closes  their  mouths  for  ever.  We  do  not  wish  to 
avoid  a  legitimate  council,  but  in  this  what  sort  of  audience 
could  we  expect?  With  what  patience  would  they,  who  cannot 
bear  a  gentle  admonition,  hear  the  thunders  of  the  truth  ?  They 
summon  us  indeed,  but  will  they  allow  us  to  take  even  the 
lowest  seats  ?     In  sooth  there  is  no  seat  at  all  for  any  who  pos- 

*  Ruchat,  t.  v.  of  the  new  ed.  s.  420,  427. 

t  Pezel :  Ausfiihrliche  Erzahluog  vom  Sakramentstreit,  s.  163. 


110  ritlNCE  MAURICE   AND  CHARLES  V.         [CHAP.  II. 

sess  not  the  mitre.  But  let  them  sit,  if  we  while  standing  be 
only  suffered  to  speak  the  truth.  They  will  say  that  they  give 
free  hearing  to  all ;  and  so  they  do,  but  it  is  only  that  we  may 
deliver  our  petitions,  be  immediately  removed,  and  after  a  fierce 
outcry  for  a  few  days,  be  called  once  more  to  hear  our  con- 
demnation." 

Calvin  next  examines  the  doctrine  proposed,  and  shows  what 
was  to  be  expected  from  "  the  blood-thirsty  pope."  "  If  they 
raise  the  war-cry  we  must  preserve  our  courage,  and,  armed  with 
his  never-failing  weapons,  follow  the  standard  of  our  great 
leader.  Every  one,  unless  he  obstinately  close  his  eyes  to  the 
truth,  must  acknowledge  that  the  papacy  is  a  detestable  mon- 
strosity, a  mass  of  errors  and  wiles  concocted  by  Satan." 

A  general  movement  was  now  about  to  take  place  throughout 
Germany,  and  the  "Dispersit  superbos"  was  to  receive  a  glori- 
ous fulfilment.  Whilst  the  emperor,  in  his  arrogance,  trod  the 
professors  of  the  evangelical  faith  underfoot,  those  mighty  plans 
unfolded  themselves  in  the  breast  of  prince  Maurice,  by  which 
he  was  about  to  establish  the  freedom  of  the  truth.  Though  of 
too  ambitious  a  spirit,  he  was  a  stanch  Lutheran,  and  was  now 
greatly  irritated  and  embittered  against  the  emperor  on  account 
of  his  treacherous  conduct  towards  the  unfortunate  landgrave. 
To  deceive  his  old  and  experienced  adversary,  he  well  knew 
that  he  must  proceed  with  the  utmost  caution.  He  accordingly 
took  up  his  residence  for  the  time  in  Saxony. 

Melancthon  had  lately  betrayed  some  degree  of  weakness. 
For  this  he  was  severely  reproached ;  and  Calvin  wrote  a  severe 
letter  to  Valentine  Pacaus,  a  doctor  at  Leipzig,  in  which  he  pro- 
tested against  the  indiscretion  of  which  his  friend  had  been 
guilty*. 

The  course  which  Calvin  took  in  German  politics  may  be 
gathered  from  his  letter  to  Melancthon  in  1551 1.  He  there 
speaks  of  the  conflict  carried  on  with  the  town  of  Magdeburg, 
at  that  time  besieged  by  Maurice :  it  subsequently  accepted 
the  Interim.  Melancthon  had  declared  himself  in  favour  of  the 
adoption  of  all  things  that  might  be  regarded  as  indifferent. 
lie  cared  only  for  the  fundamentals  of  Christianity:  for  this  he 

*  Ed.  Laus.  Ep.  115.   Ed.  Amatel.  p.  54,  a. 

f  Ed.  Laus.  E|>.  117.  Ed.  Amstel.  p.  54,  b.  Among  other  strong  sen- 
tences in  this  epistle  occur  the  following: — "  If  I  know  anything  of  religion, 
so  much  ought  not  to  have  been  conceded  by  you  to  the  papists  ; "  and,  "  I 
would  rather  die  with  you  a  thousand  times  than  see  you  survive  the  doctrine 
which  you  have  taught." 


A.D.  1548-52.]  CALVIN  TO  BULLINGER.  Ill 

was  somewhat  severely  rebuked  by  Calvin ;  but  it  is  delightful 
to  see  with  what  truth  and  candour,  earnestness  and  confidence, 
these  great  men  wrote,  each  fully  alive  to  the  merits  of  the  other. 
Calvin  was  far  from  being  of  the  number  of  those  who  have 
mistaken  Melancthon's  character.  He  acknowledged  the  great- 
ness of  his  mind ;  he  knew  that  he  would  have  willingly  laid 
down  his  life  a  thousand  times  for  the  truth's  sake ;  but  he  was 
vexed  at  the  pliancy  of  his  disposition. 

Maurice  had  besieged  Magdeburg  for  the  sole  purpose  of 
lulling  the  suspicions  of  the  emperor.  The  divines  considered 
him  an  enemy  to  protestantism  ;  and  he,  to  regain  their  respect, 
protested  against  the  Tridentine  synod,  declared  his  wish  that 
all  its  decrees  should  be  once  more  examined,  that  the  pro- 
testants  should  possess  a  direct  voice  therein,  and  that  the  pope 
should  himself  submit  to  its  decisions.  The  emperor,  on  the 
other  hand,  became  every  day  more  excited  against  the  pro- 
testants,  and  prohibited  the  preachers  at  Augsburg  from  touch- 
ing on  the  disputed  points.  Those  who  offended  against  this 
order  were  to  be  banished  the  city  within  three  clays. 

By  these  proceedings  protestantism  was  almost  suppressed  in 
Suabia.  But  it  soon  became  evident  that  Charles  was  as  anxious 
to  dissolve  the  old  constitution  of  Germany  as  he  was  to  secure 
the  overthrow  of  the  evangelical  church.  In  pursuance  of  these 
designs  he  set  out  for  Inspruck,  whence  he  hoped  to  control  the 
movements  of  the  council :  he  little  expected  the  exalt avit  hii- 
miles  which  was  in  store  for  the  reformers. 

After  the  submission  of  Magdeburg,  Maurice  was  appointed 
its  burggrave  :  his  troops  were  in  the  highest  spirits,  and  having 
concluded  a  secret  alliance  with  Henry  II.  of  France,  against  the 
emperor,  he  now  hoped  to  free  the  landgrave  of  Hesse.  It  was 
a  favourite  saying  however  of  the  acute  politician  Granvella, 
that  nothing  very  refined  could  proceed  from  the  heads  of  the 
drunken  Germans. 

Calvin  carefully  observed  all  these  events.  In  the  March  of 
1551  Bullinger*  received  from  him  a  letter  in  which  he  says, 
(i  The  proceedings  of  the  emperor  cause  much  anxiety  to  many 
here,  who  are  justly  suspicious  of  his  troops  which  are  now  pass- 
ing the  Alps.  If  he  takes  possession  of  this  country,  I  shall 
have  nothing  left  to  comfort  me  but  the  hope  thai:  the  Lord  will 
remove  me  from  this  miserable  world,  and  not  forsake  that  flock 
for  whose  safety  I  feci  so  much  solicitude."  He  at  this  time 
*  Ed.  Laus.  Ep.  120.  Etl.  Amstci.  p.  59,  b. 


112  beza's  sickness.  [chap.  II. 

continually  turned  his  thoughts  to  England,  and  wrote  to  Somer- 
set on  behalf  of  Hooper.  In  a  letter*  to  Farel  he  says,  "  There 
is  no  real  union  between  the  pope  and  the  Tridentine  council. 
With  the  former  the  French  king  has  a  secret  understanding. 
It  is  thought  that  the  flame  of  war  will  again  burst  forth  in  Italy. 
A  Turkish  ambassador  is  at  this  moment  at  the  court  of  the  king 
of  France,  for  the  purpose  of  exciting  him  to  hostilities.  A 
great  fleet  threatens  Italy  or  Spain.  Thus  the  Lord  will  leave 
them  no  time  to  work  evil  to  the  church." 

Calvin's  wish  to  die  was  not  fulfilled.  It  was  destined  that 
he  should  see  a  great  number  of  his  fellow-labourers  go  before 
him  :  as  Joachim  von  Watt  and  Vadian  in  St.  Gallen,  well-known 
as  a  philosopher,  theologian  and  magistrate ;  and  the  minister 
Oswald  Myconius.  The  famous  Sebastian  Minister  at  Basel, 
and  Caspar  Hedio  at  Strasburg,  had  already  died  of  the  plague. 
In  the  spring  of  this  year  Martin  Bucer  also  departed  this  life  in 
England.  Calvin  speaks  of  him  in  the  following  words t  '• — 
"  When  I  think  how  great  a  loss  the  church  has  suffered  in  this 
man,  I  am  torn  with  grief.  He  would  have  been  of  much  ser- 
vice to  England ;  and  I  had  hoped  even  better  things  yet  from 
his  writings.  I  daily  see  the  church  stripped  of  her  true  ser- 
vants. Vadian's  character  was  in  high  repute  among  the  Swiss; 
him  also  has  the  Lord  taken  from  us."  And  in  another  letter 
he  writes  J  : — "  May  God  grant  that  the  rest,  whom  I  should  so 
deeply  lament,  may  survive  me !  I  shall  then  die  in  peace." 
And  now  the  news  reached  him  that  Beza  was  seized  by  the 
plague.  On  this  occasion  he  exclaims  in  his  grief,  and  in  his 
peculiar  style  §  : — "  Truly  I  should  be  unworthy  of  the  name  of 
a  man  if  I  did  not  love  him,  who  loves  me  as  a  brother  and 
honours  me  as  a  father; — but  the  loss  to  the  church  distresses 
me  still  more,  for  I  saw  in  him,  who  is  thus  in  the  midst  of  his 
course  threatened  by  so  sudden  a  death,  a  man,  whose  amiable 
disposition,  fine  and  noble  spirit,  and  sincerity  of  mind,  have 
rendered  him  worthy  of  the  love  of  all  the  faithful.  I  hope  how- 
ever that  he  may  even  yet  be  restored  to  our  prayers."  Again  ||, 
"  Let  us  strengthen  our  souls  until  we  shall  have  completed  our 
course.    Once  I  feared  that,  though  among  those  who  are  hasten- 

*  Ed.  Laus.  Ep.  121.  Ed.  Amstel.  p.  60,  a. 

t  Letter  to  Farel,  July  15,  1551.  Ed.  Laus.  Ep.  123.  Ed.  Amstel.  p.  240,  b. 

%  To  Viret,  May  1551.  Ed.  Laus.  Ep.  122.  Ed.  Amstel.  p.  60,  b. 

§  Ed.  Laus.  Ep.  124.  Ed.  Amst.  p.  60,  b.  Prid.  Cal.  Jul.  1551. 

||  Calv.  Farello,  15  Jun.  1551.  Ed.  Laus.  p.  123.  Ed.  Amstel.  p.  240,  b. 


a.d.  1548-52.]     melancthon's  letter  to  calvix.         113 

ing  on,  I  should  have  to  atone  for  the  delay  of  others.  Above 
all  things  it  comforts  me,  that  you,  whose  zeal  has  overcome  all, 
have  forgiven  me  and  pardoned  so  much.  Let  it  suffice,  if  we, 
avoiding  the  extravagant  errors  of  others,  walk  in  the  right  path, 
satisfied  with  knowing  that  if  many  are  in  advance,  there  are 
still  many  behind  us." 

The  dawn  of  the  year  1552  beheld  in  Germany  the  beginning 
of  a  new  and  eventful  career ;  while  Switzerland  and  Geneva 
were  disturbed  by  fresh  causes  of  uneasiness,  and  by  a  contro- 
versy on  some  of  the  most  abstruse  points  of  Christian  doctrine. 
In  the  manifesto  now  issued  by  the  elector  Maurice,  three  things 
were  demanded ;  namely,  "  protection  for  the  evangelical  church, 
the  integrity  of  the  German  constitution,  and  the  liberation  of 
the  landgrave.'3  Maurice  rushed  like  a  thunderbolt  against  the 
old  emperor,  who,  utterly  unprepared  for  such  an  attack,  fled 
precipitately  from  Inspruck,  and  passed  over  the  Alps.  The 
Tridentine  council  was  dispersed  with  equal  haste,  the  worthy 
fathers  flying  in  all  directions.  Thus  the  plans  against  Germany 
were  defeated,  and  the  safety  of  the  church  was  secured  on  the 
basis  of  a  general  treaty.  The  king  of  France,  who  oppressed 
his  own  evangelical  subjects,  was  compelled,  much  against  his 
will,  to  assist,  as  the  ally  of  the  elector,  in  giving  durability  to  the 
German  church. 

But  disquiet  still  universally  prevailed.  The  true  position  of 
the  evangelical  church  may  be  learnt  from  a  letter  written  to 
Calvin  by  Melancthon,  and  in  which  he  exhibits  both  his  natural 
disposition  and  the  regard  which  he  entertained  for  our  reformer. 
The  satisfaction  which  the  latter  experienced  when  the  letter 
here  referred  to  arrived  from  Wittenberg  may  be  easily  imagined. 

"  Honoured  and  dearest  brother, — I  am  anxious  to  communi- 
cate with  you  on  matters  of  great  moment,  and  this  because  I 
hold  in  the  highest  esteem  your  judgement,  and  the  candour 
and  purity  of  your  soul*.  I  am  now  living  like  the  6V09  ev 
a(f>r)Kiats ;  but  shall  probably  soon  leave  this  world  to  join  the 
glorious  company  in  heaven.  If  however  my  life  be  prolonged, 
I  may  expect  banishment;  and  should  I  be  exiled,  I  have  re- 
solved to  see  and  converse  with  you.  I  have  pursued  my  theo- 
logical studies  with  some  success  in  this  country,  but  they  are 
now  interrupted  by  the  plague  and  the  war.  I  often  lament  the 
phrenzy  which  exists  among  our  rulers.  May  the  Son  of  God 
alleviate  our  misery  and  remove  its  cause  !  If  you  would  kindly 
*  Oct.  1,  1552.  Ed.  Laus.  Ep.  137-  Ed.  Amstel.  p.  66. 

VOL.  II.  I 


114  TREATY  OF  PEACE.  [CHAP.  II. 

write  to  me  often,  you  might  send  your  letters  to  Dryander. 
You  will  find  in  the  inclosed  that  I  have  given  a  brief  history  of 
this  autumn.  Farewell! — I  have  already  answered  Osiander. 
There  are  now  three  Turkish  pachas  in  Pannonia,  accompanied 
by  two  armies,  which  a  short  time  since  took  several  important 
towns,  and  routed  the  forces  of  king  Ferdinand.  Maurice  of 
Saxony  has  marched  towards  Austria,  against  the  Turks,  plun- 
dering in  the  meantime  the  margrave  Albrecht,  laying  waste 
Nuremberg,  and  levying  contributions  on  Frankfort,  towns  in 
the  dioceses  of  Mainz  and  Triers.  The  army  of  the  French  king 
is  approaching  the  diocese  of  Liege,  while  the  emperor  Charles 
assembles  his  army  at  Spiers,  to  restrain  the  margrave  and  the 
French.  The  son  of  the  earl  of  Mansfield,  who  is  collecting  an 
army  at  Bremen  in  Saxony,  is  near  at  hand,  and  threatens  to 
invade  the  land  of  his  birth,  throwing  the  whole  country  into 
disorder.  Desolation  hovers  over  all  Germany;  the  churches 
weep  together  in  affliction ;  theological  studies  are  at  a  stand- 
still; the  tumultuous  cry  of  insurrection  increases  on  all  sides. 
I  esteem  you  fortunate  in  your  tranquillity,  and  pray  God  to 
remove  our  afflictions/5  It  was  easy  for  Calvin  to  conclude, 
from  the  first  part  of  this  letter,  that  Melancthon5s  feelings  were 
not  too  deeply  wounded  by  the  freedom  of  his  reproaches. 

In  May,  Maurice  had  accomplished  his  enterprise  against  the 
emperor.  Negotiations  were  opened  at  Passau  on  the  26th  of 
that  month,  and  on  the  2nd  of  August  a  treaty  of  peace  was 
completed  and  signed.  According  to  these  arrangements  it  was 
settled  that  an  edict  should  be  issued  by  a  diet  within  six  months, 
in  favour  of  religious  liberty ;  that  until  that  time  the  party  at- 
tached to  the  Confession  of  Augsburg  should,  on  no  pretence 
whatever,  be  exposed  to  molestation ;  and  that  the  imperial 
court  of  judicature  should  act  towards  both  parties  with  equal 
justice.  This  was  the  first  germ  of  order  in  the  midst  of  those 
tumults  which  Melancthon  describes. 

The  moments  of  peace,  so  envied  by  his  friend,  Calvin  em- 
ployed in  making  regulations  for  the  conduct  of  the  church,  in 
literary  labours,  and  in  efforts  to  establish  unity.  It  was  in  the 
year  1550  that  the  arrangement,  already  alluded  to,  was  made 
for  the  more  effectual  pastoral  superintendence  of  the  people. 
Mere  preaching  had  been  found  insufficient.  It  was  therefore 
determined  that  the  ministers  should  severally  visit  their  parish- 
ioners at  home :  they  were  to  be  accompanied  by  an  elder,  and 
after  giving  instruction,  were  to  require  of  each  individual  a  state- 


A.D.  1548-52.]         ABOLITION  OP  FESTIVALS.  115 

ment  of  his  faith.  According  to  the  testimony  of  his  fellow- 
labourer,  nothing  could  exceed  the  benefit  derived  from  this 
private  and  domestic  catechising.  The  great  importance  which 
was  attributed  to  it  by  Calvin  may  be  learnt  from  a  somewhat 
remarkable  occurrence,  related  by  himself.  An  Englishman  at 
Geneva  had  come  to  the  conclusion  in  his  own  mind,  that  he 
himself  was  Moses,  and  Calvin  Aaron.  The  latter  having 
preached  and  greatly  exerted  himself  one  Christmas-day,  in  a 
certain  quarter  of  the  city,  where  he  was  anxious  to  maintain 
the  system  of  particular  inspection,  was  returning  home  op- 
pressed with  weariness.  The  Englishman  however  seized  him, 
and  insisted  that  he  should  wait  and  listen  to  his  wondrous 
revelations.  Calvin  only  escaped  from  the  consequences  of  the 
veneration  which  he  had  inspired,  by  humbly  entreating  to  be 
permitted  first  to  go  home  and  refresh  himself. 

Calvin  passed  a  portion  of  this  summer  in  the  country,  and 
affectionately  invited  his  friend  Viret  to  visit  him  there. 

An  unexpected  occurrence  happened  at  Geneva  about  this 
time  (1550).  The  event  alluded  to  affords  striking  evidence  of 
the  disturbed  state  of  affairs,  and  forcibly  proves  that  the 
church,  in  opposition  to  Calvin's  principles,  was  completely  sub- 
jected to  the  state.  One  day,  while  sitting  in  his  study,  his 
thoughts  engaged  on  very  different  matters,  information  was 
brought  him  that  the  Council  of  Two  Hundred  had  suddenly 
abolished  all  the  festivals  of  the  church,  directing  that  even  the 
Lord's  nativity  should  only  be  celebrated  on  the  succeeding 
Sunday.  This  affair,  concerning  which  the  consistory  was  not 
even  consulted,  was  the  work  of  the  laity  alone,  and  was  closely 
connected  with  national  feeling.  The  Bernese,  after  accomplish- 
ing the  expulsion  of  the  ministers,  had  re-established  in  Geneva 
the  following  festivals  : — the  circumcision,  the  annunciation,  the 
ascension,  and  Christmas-day.  These  the  Genevese  now  at 
once  abolished,  and  by  so  doing  highly  incensed  their  allies. 
Calvin,  to  whom  this  movement  was  generally  attributed,  did 
not  think  it  necessary  to  take  any  steps  against  it,  recollecting 
probably  that  the  observance  of  holy  days  is  nowhere  expressly 
enjoined  in  Scripture.  He  justified  himself  to  Haller,  the  pastor 
at  Bern*,  and  fully  proved  that  this  change,  though  far  from 
being  at  variance  with  his  own  opinions,  was  nevertheless  ac- 
complished without  his  knowledge.  It  was  rumoured  however 
that,  had  he  had  his  wish,  he  would  even  have  abolished  the 
*  4  Non.  Jan.  Ed.  Laus.  p.  118.  Ed.  Amstel.  p.  62,  a. 

I  2 


116  ABOLITION  OF  FESTIVALS.  [CHAP.  II. 

observance  of  the  Sabbath.  On  this  subject  he  wrote  as  follows 
to  a  minister  in  the  Bernese  territory*  : — "  Before  my  arrival  all 
festivals,  Sunday  alone  excepted,  had  been  abolished  by  Farel 
and  Viret.  When  we  were  banished,  four  festivals,  together 
with  other  observances,  were  again  introduced.  Although  at 
my  return  it  would  have  been  easy  for  me  to  have  suppressed, 
and  that  too  with  applause,  all  that  had  been  done  in  my  ab- 
sence, I  allowed  things  to  remain  as  they  were.  I  could,  never- 
theless, scarcely  contain  myself  when  I  saw  with  how  great  per- 
verseness  the  day  of  Christ's  circumcision  was  celebrated  at  the 
beginning  of  the  year,  whilst  the  day  of  the  crucifixion  was 
almost  totally  neglected.  The  day  of  the  annunciation  also  has 
been  kept  holy  by  the  people,  and  1  have  opposed  this  supersti- 
tion with  all  the  influence  and  energy  I  can  command.  Not- 
withstanding this,  I  by  no  means  wish  to  be  classed  with  those 
who  would  willingly  see  such  festivals  entirely  disregarded.  The 
earliest  of  the  evangelical  Christians  here  were  so  opposed  to  the 
innovations  which  were  afterwards  introduced,  that  I  experienced 
no  mercy  at  their  hands :  to  them,  my  moderation  had  the  ap- 
pearance of  lukewarmness.  This  dispute  indeed  was  at  one 
time  carried  so  far,  that  recourse  was  had  to  the  sword ;  and  as 
each  side  carried  its  opinions  to  an  immoderate  length,  that  ap- 
peared to  me  the  most  advisable  course  which  lay  at  an  equal 
distance  from  either,  namely,  that  all  shops  should  be  shut,  and 
labour  discontinued  until  mid- day,  when  the  people  might  re- 
sume their  customary  occupations  ; — a  regulation  similar  to  that 
which  was  introduced  nine  years  ago. 

"  The  controversy  however  was  not  yet  settled.  Some  of  the 
shops  in  the  town  were  open  and  some  shut,  and  perpetual  dis- 
putes existed  between  their  respective  owners.  As  no  remedy 
could  be  found  for  this,  I  appealed,  at  the  beginning  of  the  year, 
to  the  council,  and  besought  it  to  use  its  influence  with  the 
people.  But  I  said  not  a  word  respecting  the  suppression  of 
the  festival.  I  was  far  more  inclined  to  praise  the  moderation 
which  had  led  to  the  adoption  of  the  Bernese  practice.  When 
I  heard  of  the  measure  passed  by  the  council,  in  obedience  to 
the  popular  wish,  I  was  astonished  at  so  unexpected  a  proceed- 
ing. Certain  it  is,  that  if  any  one  had  asked  my  opinion,  I  should 
not  have  ventured  to  express  it  in  such  a  manner.  Nothing 
new  however  has  been  introduced :  we  have  only  returned  to 
the  old  and  better  custom.  Our  church  moreover  is  not  the 
*  Ed.  Laus.  Ep.  12S.  Ed.  Amstel.  p.  62,  b. 


A.D.   1548-52.]  TREATISE  DE  SCANDALIS.  11 J 

only  one  in  which  Sunday  is  the  only  festival  observed.  This 
was  the  practice  at  Strasburg* ;  but  1  did  not  think  it  right  to 
interfere,  on  my  return,  with  the  existing  order/' 

Bullinger*  praises  at  Zurich  the  apostolic  freedom,  by  means 
of  which  the  people  of  Geneva  had  succeeded  in  abolishing  the 
observance  of  Christmas.  The  church  at  Zurich,  he  says,  had, 
twelve  years  since,  many  festivals,  but  now  observed  only  Sun- 
day, and  those  of  the  nativity,  the  circumcision  and  the  ascen- 
sion of  our  Lord.  They  add  Whitsunday  to  these  merely  on 
account  of  the  sacrament.  The  Genevese  continued  to  observe 
the  regulations  which  they  had  introduced,  with  such  tenacity, 
that,  in  the  year  1555  they  subjected  some  persons  who  cele- 
brated Christmas  to  twenty-four  hours'  imprisonment. 

In  1551  a  report  was  circulated  that  Calvin  was  dead,  and 
the  papists  proceeded,  as  they  had  done  in  the  case  of  Luther, 
to  show  their  hatred  of  his  name  by  proclaiming  a  day  of  thanks- 
giving. A  solemn  procession  of  the  canons  of  the  cathedral 
took  place  in  his  native  town  of  Noyon.  Calvin  speaks  of  this 
in  a  letter  to  Farelf,  dated  December  2,  1552  : — Ci  You  have  no 
doubt  heard,"  he  says,  "that  I  survive  my  birth-place  J.  1 
cannot  but  weep  for  this  ruined  city,  although  last  year,  on  the 
report  of  my  death,  it  offered  up  solemn  thanksgivings,  as  if  it 
could  triumph  over  Christ."  Beza  has  incorrectly  stated  that 
this  occurrence  took  place  in  1556.  A  similar  course  had  been 
pursued,  some  time  before,  when  Luther  was  falsely  reported  to 
be  dead.  The  reformer  has  given  an  account  of  this  affair,  with 
his  own  remarks  §. 

Calvin  was  busily  employed  at  this  time  with  his  work  De 
Scandalis.  Beza  connects  this  undertaking  with  the  movement 
at  Geneva  respecting  the  festivals,  which  had  occasioned  offence 
to  many,  and  hindered  the  advancement  of  God's  kingdom. 
But  Calvin  only  took  advantage  of  these  circumstances  as  afford- 
ing a  good  opportunity  for  publishing  his  book.  We  see  from 
the  preface  that  it  had  been  for  some  time  expected,  and  was 
the  result  of  his  anxious  desire  to  establish  unity,  so  injured  by 
the  existence  of  scandals.  He  enumerates  them  in  this  work, 
and  shows  that  the  church  was  disturbed  by  them  from  the  bc- 

*  Calv.  Epp.  Ed.  Laus.  Ep.  129.  Ed.  Amstcl.  p.  63,  a. 
t  Ed.  Laus.  Ep.  140,  towards  the  end.  Ed.  Amstcl.  p.  67. 
X  Noyon  had  been  lately  destroyed  by  fire. 
§  Marheineke,  Reform.  Gesch.  t.  iv.  s.  325. 


118  TREATISE   DE  SCANDALIS.  [CHAP.  II. 

ginning.  Of  the  comprehensive  plan  of  this  work  he  had  already 
spoken  to  Farel,  August  19, 1550. 

The  preface  to  the  treatise  De  Scandalis  is  well  worth  reading. 
Calvin  dedicated  the  work  to  Laurence  de  Normandie  (lieutenant 
du  roi  a  Noyon),  and  suggested  to  him  many  topics  of  conso- 
lation. Laurence  had  resigned  country,  honours  and  the  world 
for  the  sake  of  the  Gospel ;  and  had  left  Noyon  at  the  same  time 
as  Calvin's  family.  He  had  lost  within  a  brief  space  of  time, 
his  father,  his  wife,  and  his  little  daughter ;  and  he  was  almost 
tempted  to  believe  that  the  curse  of  God  attended  his  change 
of  religion.  Calvin  consoled  him  with  the  recollection  of  what 
his  wife  had  said  on  her  death-bed*. 

Calvin  published  this  work  in  both  Latin  and  French.  A 
scandal  is  whatever  hinders  us  from  pursuing  the  right  path,  or 
causes  us  to  stumble.  Now  Christ  himself  is  a  rock  of  offence, 
because  men  stumble  at  him.  There  are  three  species  of  scan- 
dals : — 1.  The  first  are  derived  from  doctrine.  To  the  wise  of 
this  world  the  Gospel  is  itself  foolishness,  and  this  is  the  case 
with  its  fundamental  article,  namely  predestination.  2.  When 
the  Gospel  is  preached^  sects  arise,  and  controversies  among  the 
teachers.  3.  Another  class  of  scandals  spring  from  moral  depra- 
vity, hypocrisy,  the  ingratitude  and  vanity  of  worldly  professors. 

Against  the  first  of  these  three  species  of  scandals  Calvin 
argued  with  great  force,  showing  the  folly  of  those  who  take 
offence  at  the  Gospel  because  of  the  simplicity  of  its  language. 
He  next  speaks  of  the  doctrines  which  commonly  create  most 
disgust,  as  that  of  the  two  natures  in  Christ ;  of  the  salvation 
which  we  obtain  through  his  sufferings  alone ;  of  the  blessing 
enjoyed  by  his  becoming  a  curse  for  us ;  and  of  our  righteous- 
ness as  existing  in  God  only,  and  not  in  ourselves.  He  also 
speaks  of  the  cross  of  Christ,  of  self-denial,  and  of  constancy  in 
times  of  persecution.  We  quote  the  following  admirable  pas- 
sage : — "  Let  us  meditate  on  this,  that  however  low  the  outward 
state  of  the  church  may  be,  it  still  shines  in  inward  beauty. 
Though  shaken  upon  earth,  it  stands  fast  before  God  and  the 

"  I  can  wish  for  no  better  medicine  than  those  excellent  words  which  she 
spake  when  rendering  up  her  spirit.  She  held  me  by  the  hand,  and  thanked 
God  that  He  had  led  her  from  a  place  where  she  would  not  have  been  suffered 
to  die  in  peace.  '  O  how  happy  I  am  that  I  have  been  delivered  from  that 
cursed  slavery  of  Babylon,  and  am  now  about  to  be  delivered  from  my  last 
bondage !     How  would  it  be  with  me  now  were  I  still  in  Noyon,  and  dare 

not  open  my  lips  to  declare  my  belief  ?' I  know  not  which  was  greater, 

her  faith  or  her  humility." 


A.D.  1548-52.]  TREATISE  DE  SCANDALIS.  119 

angels ;  wretched  after  the  flesh,  it  is  rich  in  spiritual  blessed- 
ness. Even  so  we  see  that  Christ  lay  in  the  manger,  in  the 
greatest  poverty,  while  angels  were  singing  his  praise  in  the 
heavens.  The  star  gave  notice  of  his  glory,  and  the  wise  men 
from  distant  lands  felt  his  power.  When  Satan  tempted  Him, 
hungering  in  the  wilderness,  and  when  the  bloody  sweat  dropped 
from  his  forehead,  angels  were  at  hand  ready  to  minister  unto 
Him.  At  the  moment  when  He  was  about  to  be  taken  pri- 
soner, his  voice  cast  down  the  foremost  of  his  enemies;  and 
while  He  was  hanging  upon  the  cross,  the  darkened  sun  pro- 
claimed that  He  was  the  Lord  of  the  universe.  The  graves 
opening,  declared  that  He  was  the  Lord  of  life  and  death.  In 
this  day,  when  we  behold  Him  suffering  in  his  body  (the  church) 
through  the  pride  and  insults  of  the  wicked ;  oppressed  by  their 
tyranny;  exposed  to  their  abuse;  driven  to  and  fro  by  their 
rage,  none  of  these  wonders  can  move  us.  We  ought  therefore 
to  do  our  utmost  to  keep  in  mind,  that  the  church  is  appointed 
to  struggle  continually  under  the  cross,  as  long  as  we  remain  in 
this  present  world." 

Another  cause  of  offence  is  the  poverty  of  the  church,  and  the 
conflicts  to  which  it  is  perpetually  exposed.  Calvin,  in  reply, 
describes  the  sufferings  and  oppressions  which  the  people  of 
Christ  have  had  to  endure  from  the  beginning.  All  these  things 
proceed  from  the  disobedience  of  mankind,  the  great  hindrance 
to  the  grace  of  God,  as  shown  by  history.  Still,  in  the  end, 
grace  is  always  mighty  and  victorious,  and  that  even  in  the 
times  of  antichrist.  It  is  necessary  that  the  church  should 
suffer  affliction,  in  order  that  our  pride  may  be  humbled. 
Hence  the  melancholy  termination  of  the  religious  war  in  Ger- 
many. 

"At  the  time  when  the  knowledge  of  the  Gospel  was  most 
widely  diffused  in  Germany,  and  when  those  who  most  zealously 
upheld  it,  seemed  to  stand  firm  ;  when  that  war  was  undertaken 
which  had  so  lamentable  a  termination,  and  I  saw  that  all  our 
friends  were  inspired  by  the  most  lively  hope  of  success ;  I  often 
said  in  my  sermons,  that  the  victory  which  we  seemed  on  the 
point  of  gaining  would  be  more  perilous  to  us  than  anything 
which  the  enemy  could  do  against  us  ;  for,  certainly,  no  affliction, 
however  heavy,  could  injure  us  so  much  as  a  too-triumphant 
Gospel.  It  would  have  been  disproportioncd  to  our  strength. 
I  do  not  repent  having  spoken  thus." 

After  expressing  his  feelings  on  the  fall  of  many  who  had 


120  TREATISE  DE  SCANDALIS.  [CHAP.  II. 

renounced  their  faith,  he  thus  speaks  of  the  elector  John : — 
ce  There  are  others  who  have  shown  how  invincible  is  the  power 
of  faith  when  strengthened  by  the  Spirit  of  God.  We  could 
never  have  supposed,  had  not  the  cross  been  laid  upon  him,  that 
there  was  such  an  heroic  feeling  in  the  duke  of  Saxony  as  that 
with  which  God  has  inspired  him,  in  order  that  he  might  be- 
come an  example  to  all  times." 

Calvin  next  speaks  of  the  scandals  which  pertain  to  those  who 
ascribe  their  sins  to  God,  or  who  stumble  at  the  doctrine  of 
predestination.  He  says  well: — "As  we  offend  God  when  we 
endeavour  to  penetrate  secrets  which  He  is  pleased  to  hide  from 
us,  so  is  it  our  duty  to  hearken  with  all  humility  to  what  it  is 
his  will  to  tell  us,  and  to  refrain  from  any  deeper  scrutiny  of  the 
mystery.  True  christian  prudence  consists  in  this,  so  to  be- 
ware of  vain  curiosity,  that  we  may  never  wish  to  know  more 
than  that  which  Scripture  reveals.  Certain  it  is,  that  God  "has 
hidden  nothing  from  us  but  what  it  would  be  useless  or  super- 
fluous for  us  to  know,  or  what  might  surpass  our  power  of  com- 
prehension." 

The  scandals  next  described  are  those  occasioned  by  the  pub- 
lic preaching  of  the  Gospel.  Men  are  offended  because  the 
Gospel  often  gives  rise  to  strife  and  war.  Calvin  here  speaks  in 
defence  of  war,  when  it  is  carried  on  for  the  interest  of  souls. 
He  does  not  however  seem  to  be  quite  consistent  with  himself 
on  this  point : — "  I  willingly  allow,"  he  says,  "  that  if  the  slavery 
of  the  body  only  were  in  question,  it  were  better  to  endure  it 
than  cause  any  great  disturbance  or  bloodshed ;  but  when  the 
everlasting  fate  of  our  souls  is  concerned,  we  must  never  regard 
peace  as  sufficiently  precious  to  induce  us  to  preserve  it  at  such 
a  sacrifice.  Still  worse  is  it  to  endanger  the  Gospel,  to  sacrifice 
the  honour  of  God's  Son,  and  of  his  kingdom,  in  order  to  keep 
well  with  the  world.  It  were  far  better  that  heaven  and  earth 
should  be  cast  into  the  abyss,  than  that  the  glory  given  Him  by 
his  Father  should  be  lessened.  Shall  we,  to  save  life,  forsake  the 
Author  of  existence  ?  To  have  peace  with  men,  shall  we  make 
war  with  God?  To  save  ourselves  from  the  assaults  of  the 
wicked,  shall  we  separate  ourselves  from  Christ,  who  has  recon- 
ciled men  and  angels  to  God  the  Father  ?  This  would  be  a  very 
unwise  proceeding." 

Christ  foretold  that  there  would  be  wars.  Hence  the  justifi- 
cation of  his  religion,  when  it  has  been  the  occasion  of  wars  and 
commotions,  in  opposing  the  papacy.     "  Must  pure  and  genuine 


A.D.  1548-52.]         TREATISE  DE  SCANDALIS.  121 

religion  be  less  esteemed  because  it  has  dragged  this  horrible 
serpent  out  of  its  hole?"  Calvin  speaks  in  this  passage  of  cer- 
tain enemies  of  the  Gospel  under  the  name  of  Agrippa,  Ville- 
neuve*  and  Dolet.  He  mentions  Rabelais  also  among  others. 
God  warns  us  through  such  men,  and  heresies  therefore  can  be 
no  proper  cause  of  offence.  They  are  all  blinded  by  their  pride 
and  haughtiness.  This  was  the  case  with  Michael  Servetus, 
who,  as  well  as  his  doctrine,  is  here  characterized.  Thus  the 
libertines  also  gave  cause  of  scandal  by  their  converting  christian 
freedom  into  licentiousness. 

And  further,  he  speaks  of  the  scandal  occasioned  by  the 
wicked  who  live  among  the  good,  and  more  especially  against 
wicked,  carnal  ministers.  The  Gospel  however  is  not  chargeable 
with  their  guilt.  Offences  appear  throughout  the  entire  history 
of  the  Gospel.  But  the  wicked  must  ever  be  mingled  with  the 
good,  that  the  faith  of  the  latter  may  be  proved. 

Offences  are  also  created  by  those  who  allow  themselves  to  be 
easily  enticed  from  the  profession  of  the  truth.  The  example  of 
such  persons  must  be  opposed  by  that  of  those  who  were  willing, 
at  the  same  time,  to  become  martyrs  for  the  Gospel.  God  has 
granted  strength  for  this  purpose  not  to  men  only,  but  also  to 
women,  who  sometimes  even  surpass  men  in  fortitude.  "  We 
learn  from  church  history/'  he  observes, "  that  no  better  examples 
of  courage  can  be  found  than  those  afforded  by  the  women  in 
Artois  and  in  the  Netherlands." 

Another  fruitful  source  of  scandals  exists  in  the  controversies 
between  the  various  teachers  of  the  church.  Calvin  particularly 
instances  the  unhappy  sacramentarian  dispute.  "  I  can  say  with 
truth,  that  I  have  found  to  my  grief  what  a  contrivance  of  the 
devil  this  was  to  keep  afflicted  consciences  in  a  state  of  per- 
plexity. But  as  I  have  since  learnt,  that  I  was  held  back  rather 
through  my  own  weakness  than  by  any  actual  obstacle,  I  shall 
not  hesitate  to  assert  the  same  of  others." 

"  The  papists  contend  daily  on  all  the  points  of  their  religion, 
and  their  books  show  that  they  as  constantly  support  different 
views.    They  assert,  on  the  other  hand,  that  we  are  not  in  agree- 

*  Villanovanus  was  probably  not  Servetus.  Several  learned  men  of  this 
name  lived  at  the  time  of  Servetus,  in  Spain,  France  and  Italy.  Rabelais 
speaks  of  a  Villeneuve  (Pantagruel,  liv.  iii.  c.  13),  and  calls  him  '  Le  doctc 
Villanovanus,  Francois.'  Postell  also  wrote  a  book  in  which  he  endeavoured 
to  show  that  the  Mohammedans  and  Lutherans  agree,  and  that  Villanovanus 
wrote  the  book  '  De  Tribus  Prophetis ;'  but  this  same  author  defended  Servetus. 
The  author  of  the  Dialogue  between  the  Vatican  and  Calvin  names  Villano- 
vanus, as  Calvin  himself  does,  with  Agrippa  and  Doletus. 


122  TREATISE  DE  SCANDALIS.  [CHAP.  II. 

ment  among  ourselves.  The  dispute,  however,  between  Luther 
and  Zvvingli  shall  not  keep  us  from  the  Gospel,  for  we  see  that 
Paul  and  Barnabas,  and  Paul  and  Peter  could  fall  into  sharp 
contention  with  each  other.  I  dare  indeed  assert,  that  when 
men's  hearts  arc  not  too  much  heated  by  dispute,  or  are  not  be- 
fooled by  evil  suspicions,  means  may  readily  be  found  to  reconcile 
them."  Calvin  adds,  that  all  the  evangelical  parties  in  the  church 
had  reverted  to  his  views  of  the  Lord's  Supper,  and  differed  from 
each  other  only  in  expression. 

Another  class  of  scandals  is  derived  from  the  slanders  of  the 
wicked ;  and  Calvin  here  enters  into  a  justification  of  the  protest- 
ants  against  the  catholic  teachers,  frequently  expressing  himself 
in  a  very  original  and  characteristic  style.  Thus,  for  example, 
in  his  observations  on  the  Romish  fasts :  "  They  here  follow 
their  usual  practice,  drinking  right  well  the  day  before,  that  their 
hearts  may  not  sink  too  low  on  the  fast-day.  So  also,  being 
obliged  to  fast,  they  first  eat  till  they  are  ready  to  burst  from 
fear  of  hunger  in  the  evening.  The  following  day  they  eat 
double  to  cool  their  revenge.  Having  thus  sported  with  God, 
as  with  a  child,  they  are  bold  enough  to  accuse  us  of  having 
abolished  fasting  and  mortification."  "The  papists  wish  to 
make  us  believe  that  the  dispute  which  we  carry  on  with  them 
is  nothing  but  a  conflict,  through  which  we  seek  to  possess  our- 
selves of  women."  Here  follows  Calvin's  justification  of  his  own 
marriage :  "  Even  while  I  lived  in  subjection  to  the  pope,  I  was 
never  bound  not  to  marry.  But  when  God  freed  me  from  that 
bondage,  I  remained  for  a  long  time  without  taking  a  wife.  At 
length  I  found  so  excellent  a  one,  that  I  had  reason  to  praise 
God  for  his  giving  her  to  me ;  but  when  she  was  taken  away,  I 
was  far  from  hastening  to  marry  again.  And  with  what  do  these 
good  champions  of  chastity  charge  us  ?  That  Luther,  inspired 
by  lust,  cast  himself  into  marriage,  and  led  the  whole  swarm  of 
priests,  monks  and  nuns  after  him,  involving  them  in  the  same 
offence !  Can  anything  be  more  ridiculous  than  to  argue  that 
Romanism  must  be  forsaken  unless  we  can  live  in  chastity?" 

The  work  concludes  with  an  admonition  to  unity.  It  is 
especially  rich  in  thought,  and  must  have  possessed  great  prac- 
tical utility  for  the  times  in  which  it  appeared. 

We  must  here  pause  for  a  while,  to  consider  the  ruling  ideas 
of  this  particular  epoch.  As  we  saw  Calyin  in  the  first  period 
of  his  course  striving  for  doctrine,  and  in  the  second  for  such  a 
system  of  church  discipline  as  might  give  stability  to  his  reforma- 


A.D.  1548-52.]  CHURCH  UNITY.  123 

tion,  so  now  we  are  to  contemplate  him  in  eager  pursuit  of  the 
third  great  object  of  his  labours. 

Who  desires  not  unity  in  the  church?  The  Lord  himself 
prayed  for  unity,  and  his  prayer  must,  sooner  or  later,  be  ful- 
filled. Numberless  efforts  have  been  made  to  this  end.  But 
what  are  the  right  means  ?  That  is  the  difficult  question.  Ideally, 
the  church  of  Rome  might  be  supposed  to  exhibit  the  unity  de- 
sired ;  but  its  unity  is  a  falsehood,  and  the  means  by  which  it 
has  been  sought  are  antichristian.  There  can  be  no  grander 
idea  than  that  of  a  theocracy,  as  held  by  the  popes, — of  a  king- 
dom ruling  by  the  Spirit,  and  the  design  of  which  is  to  establish 
peace  and  faith  among  the  nations.  Sublime  was  the  end  which 
the  church  seemed  to  have  reached  when  the  rude  strength  of 
the  people  was  opposed  by  its  firm  barrier;  when  there  was  a 
union  of  all,  even  of  the  most  distant  churches,  supported,  quick- 
ened and  governed  by  Rome,  and  when  no  change  was  to  be 
looked  for  in  their  doctrine.  Hence  it  was  that  the  whole  of 
Christendom  seemed  inspired  by  one  spirit ;  hence  its  power  to 
undertake  such  mighty  enterprises  against  the  Mohammedans ; 
and  hence  the  establishment  of  monasteries  as  asylums  for  science 
and  misfortune. 

But  what  were  the  means  employed  to  secure  this  unity?  It 
was  necessary  that  the  civil  power  should  be  crippled ;  that  con- 
sciences should  be  enslaved,  and  their  most  secret  movements 
paralysed  by  the  medium  of  confession.  The  servants  of  the 
church,  separated  from  the  world  and  brought  up  for  the  church 
alone,  were  compelled  to  a  celibacy  which  opposed  the  rights  of 
nature,  not  forgetful  to  avenge  itself.  But  while  free  from  and 
independent  of  the  state,  responsible  only  to  the  head  of  the 
church,  secured  from  poverty,  and  living  even  in  princely  splen- 
dour, they  might  cherish  the  hope  of  rising  to  the  highest  stations 
in  the  world,  and  could  thus  combine  ambition  with  an  apparent 
apostolic  humility. 

The  Inquisition  pursued  its  revengeful  course  without  any 
regard  to  the  rights  of  states  or  the  duties  of  charity;  and  al- 
though it  succeeded  in  effecting  an  outward  unity,  whilst  the 
war  was  still  raging  within,  the  wrong  means  employed,  and  the 
schism  which  resulted  therefrom,  produced  the  most  distressing 
consequences  to  the  visible  church.  Its  unity  had  been  broken, 
and  it  was  already  divided  into  fragments,  as  Calvin  showed  in 
his  defence  against  Sadolet,  who  accused  him  of  disturbing  the 
communion  of  the  saints,  and  in  his  reply  to  those  who  sum- 


124  UNION   OE  THE  REFORMED  CHURCHES.        [CHAP.  II. 

moned  him  before  the  judgement-seat  of  God  as  a  betrayer  of 
the  papacy. 

But  the  question  so  difficult  for  the  protestants  to  answer  was 
now  asked,  namely,  how  they  could  preserve  the  holy  unity  of 
which  they  spoke  ?  for  it  was  evident  that  neither  a  church  nor 
communion  could  exist  without  unity.  But  for  this,  each  party 
would  have  its  own  church,  and  the  body  would  be  torn  into 
numberless  fragments.  That  both  Luther  and  Calvin  were  con- 
vinced of  this  fact,  appears  from  the  care  with  which  they  un- 
ceasingly opposed  the  authors  of  those  false  notions  which  every 
day  brought  forth.  In  that  remarkable  period,  upon  which  we 
are  now  entering,  when  the  churches  are  more  than  ever  divided, 
and  when  principles  are  contrasted  with  each  other  in  the  rudest 
antagonism,  this  subject  of  the  unity  of  the  church  possesses  a 
continually  increasing  interest. 

Calvin  entered  upon  the  discussion  with  a  holy  earnestness 
peculiar  to  himself.  He  not  only  strove  for  unity  in  his  contest 
against  error,  but,  as  far  as  it  was  practicable,  he  promoted  it  by 
the  settlement  of  the  controversy  on  the  Lord's  Supper ;  through 
the  formularies  and  conventions,  which  deserved  so  much  re- 
spect ;  and  especially  by  means  of  the  synodal  intercourse  with 
France,  the  first  great  and  apostolic  source  of  all  church  com- 
munion. This  was  peculiarly  the  case  internally,  because  the 
general  synod  settled  the  disputes  which  existed  on  particular 
dogmas,  and  had  authority  to  interpret  the  Scriptures ;  and,  ex- 
ternally, because  it  had  the  control  of  worldly  affairs;  in  the 
larger  states  the  episcopal  element  being  combined  with  the 
synodal. 

But  Calvin's  thoughts  were  now  occupied  with  a  still  wider 
plan,  that,  namely,  of  uniting  the  several  reformed  churches,  as 
those  of  France,  Scotland  and  Germany,  in  one  body.  This 
appears  from  a  letter  which  he  addressed  to  Cranmer.  Beza 
would  fain  have  pursued  the  path  thus  opened  to  him ;  and  if 
the  divines  who  formed  the  assembly  at  Dort,  the  last  of  the  re- 
formed synods,  peculiarly  so  called,  or  if  protestantism  even  would 
not  consent  to  this  unity  and  entireness,  yet  does  the  praise  pro- 
perly belong  to  Calvin  of  having  shown  the  way  by  which  it 
might  have  been  attained.  Unity  in  the  Holy  Ghost  was  the 
cherished  object  of  Calvin's  will.  It  was  not  the  offspring  of 
private  intellectual  inquiry,  the  principle  falsely  ingrafted  upon 
protestantism.  The  Calvinistic  rule  is  the  rightful  medium 
between  papal  tyranny  and  protestant  anarchy.     "Evangelical 


A.D.  1548-52.]        UNION  OF  THE  REFORMED  CHURCHES.         125 

truth/'  says  Calvin  to  Sadolet,  "  is  the  bond.  May  God  grant 
that  you  and  yours  may  see  that  there  is  no  other  bond  of  union 
but  this,  that  Jesus  Christ  may  deliver  us  from  the  present  evil 
world,  and  bind  us  together  in  his  love,  so  that  we  may  grow  up 
by  his  word  and  Spirit  as  having  one  heart  and  one  soul !"  This 
principle  of  a  mystic-spiritual  union  with  the  Lord  is  finely  em- 
bodied in  Calvin's  doctrinal  teaching,  but  less  manifestly  so  in 
its  practical  development. 

In  the  August  of  1555  Calvin  received  a  letter  from  Peter 
Martyr*,  in  which  he  states  his  wish  to  have  Calvin's  opinion 
on  the  union  of  the  faithful  in  Christ.  Calvin  in  his  answer  very 
distinctly  asserted  the  existence  of  this  communion.  He  was 
not  however,  as  has  been  intimated,  always  in  agreement  with 
himself  on  this  subject,  in  so  far  as  phraseology  is  concerned ; 
and  the  expressions  which  he  sometimes  used  excited  against 
him  a  more  than  ordinary  degree  of  hatred. 

It  appears  that  in  the  midst  of  all  the  differences  about  doc- 
trine which  prevailed,  this  idea  of  a  visible  unity  always  employed 
his  thoughts.  The  work  of  which  we  have  been  speaking,  De 
Scandalis,  had  its  origin  in  this  feeling ;  and  Calvin  now  looked 
to  the  greatest  men  of  the  time,  hoping  that  by  arousing  their 
attention  to  the  distracted  state  of  the  church,  a  communion 
might  be  effected  which  would  still  further  diffuse  the  principles 
involved  in  the  Consensus  Tigurinus.  We  shall  hereafter  see 
how  constantly  Buliinger  strove  for  the  same  object;  while  in 
the  year  1561  Beza,  at  the  conference  held  at  St.  Germain,  urged, 
in  the  name  of  the  reformed,  the  necessity  of  a  general  council, 
in  which  not  the  pope  but  the  Scriptures  might  decide  the 
questions  discussedf. 

In  the  work  De  Scandalis,  Calvin  shows  that  the  catholics 
accused  the  reformed  as  the  authors  of  schism,  whereas  they 
themselves  were  not  united,  and  failed  to  employ  the  proper 
means  to  establish  concord.  Calvin  was  convinced,  in  his  own 
mind,  that  he  had  discovered  the  means  for  accomplishing  this 
great  end.  The  tone  of  his  letters  both  to  Cranmer  and  Me- 
lancthon  clearly  indicates  that  he  felt  himself  called,  by  an  inward 
witness,  to  the  highest  place  in  the  future  conduct  of  the  Refor- 
mation. His  words  to  the  two  distinguished  men  above-named 
are  well-worthy  of  attention.     To  Cranmer  he  writes  j, — 

"  In  the  present  distracted  state  of  the  church,  you  suppose 

*  Ed.  Laus.  Ep.  208.  Ed.  Amstel.  p.  100,  a. 

t  Hist.  Eccles.  iv.  pp.  716,  717. 

\  Ed.  Laus.  Ep.  126.  Ed.  Amstel.  p.  61,  a. 


126  UNION  OF  THE  REFORMED  CHURCHES.       [CHAP.  II. 

that  no  better  means  can  be  employed  than  that  pious,  sensible 
men,  brought  up  in  the  school  of  God,  should  unite  in  setting 
forth  a  common  confession  of  christian  doctrine.  Satan  seeks 
by  manifold  wiles  to  extinguish  the  light  of  the  Gospel.  The 
dogs  in  the  pay  of  the  pope  cease  not  to  bark,  that  they  may 
drown  the  voices  of  those  who  preach  the  word  of  truth.  Such 
is  the  madness,  such  the  impiety  which  everywhere  prevails,  that 
religion  can  hardly  any  longer  be  protected  from  daring  mockery. 
Even  those  who  have  not  declared  themselves  as  its  open  ene- 
mies are  yet  so  bold  and  rash,  that,  if  they  be  not  chastised,  they 
will  soon  involve  everything  in  horrible  confusion.  Nor  is  this 
state  of  feeling  (the  result,  in  one  respect,  of  immoderate  conceit, 
and  in  another  of  extravagant  curiosity)  confined  to  the  people 
alone.  Still  more  lamentable  to  say,  it  is  extending  among  the 
clergy.  But  the  Lord  will  himself  communicate  to  us  the  unity 
of  a  true  faith,  and  that  in  some  wonderful  manner,  and  by 
means  altogether  unknown  to  us  ;  even  as  He  has  done  from  the 
beginning  of  the  world,  so  that  it  may  not  be  destroyed  by  the 
strife  of  men.  He  will  not  however  suffer  those  whom  He  has 
placed  as  watchmen  to  slumber.  They  are  his  servants,  and  by 
their  means  the  pure  doctrine  of  his  Word  ought  to  be  preserved 
from  all  unholy  mixtures,  and  so  handed  down  to  posterity.55 

Calvin  expressed  a  wish  that  Cranmer  would  appoint  some 
place  in  England  where  the  heads  of  all  the  protestant  churches 
might  meet,  and  having  settled  the  main  articles  of  belief,  might 
lay  the  foundation  of  a  permanent  union.  "  One  of  the  greatest 
evils  of  our  time,"  he  says,  "  is  that  the  churches  are  so  widely 
separated  from  each  other,  that  there  is  not  even  a  temporal  or 
human  intercourse  carried  on  between  them ;  we  may  well, 
therefore,  be  silent  as  to  a  holy  communion  of  the  members  of 
Christ,  which  is  in  everybody's  mouth,  but  no  sign  of  which 
exists  in  the  heart.  This  is  partly  the  fault  of  the  princes.  The 
body  of  Christ  is  torn  asunder  because  the  members  are  sepa- 
rated. As  far  as  I  am  concerned,  if  I  can  be  of  any  use,  I  will 
readily  pass  over  ten  seas  to  effect  the  object  in  view.  If  the 
welfare  of  England  alone  were  concerned,  I  should  regard  it  as  a 
sufficient  reason  to  act  thus.  But  at  present,  when  our  purpose 
is  to  unite  the  sentiments  of  all  good  and  learned  men,  and  so, 
according  to  the  rule  of  Scripture,  to  bring  the  separated  churches 
into  one,  neither  labour  nor  trouble  of  any  kind  ought  to  be 
spared*.55 

Cranmer,  it  seems,  fully  comprehended  Calvin's  idea,  and  was 
*  Ed.  Laus.  Ep.  127.  Ed.  Amstel.  p.  61,  b. 


A.D.  1548-52.]  CALVIN  AND  CRANMER.  127 

anxious  to  establish,  at  least  in  England,  the  proposed  plan. 
Calvin  rejoiced  at  this,  and  reminded  the  prelate  of  the  power 
which  his  dignity  afforded  him  to  excite  his  zeal : — "  Beware  that 
you  may  not  have  to  charge  yourself  with  many  grievous  accu- 
sations, if,  through  negligence  or  delay,  you  leave  the  world  in 
its  present  distracted  state.  Besides  the  waste  of  church  pro- 
perty, which  is  wicked  enough,  there  is  a  still  more  unpardon- 
able crime  committed.  The  public  income  of  the  church  is 
employed  to  fill  the  bellies  of  a  multitude  of  idle  fellows,  engaged 
to  sing  vespers  in  a  foreign  language.  I  will  say  nothing  more 
than  that,  if  you  allow  yourself  to  appear  as  a  supporter  of  such 
an  abuse,  at  open  variance  with  the  true  order  of  the  church, 
nothing  can  be  more  absurd.  Although  I  doubt  not  but  that 
this  must  appear  so  to  yourself,  and  must  have  been  so  repre- 
sented by  the  excellent  Peter  Martyr,  yet  the  difficulties  with 
which  you  have  to  contend  are  so  numerous,  that  it  may  not  be 
useless  on  my  part  to  excite  your  resolution." 

A  letter  from  Cranmer,  dated  March  20,  1552,  shows  that  he 
had  adopted  Calviirs  views,  and  was  anxious  to  secure  unity  of 
opinion  on  the  doctrine  of  the  Lord's  Supper.  He  imparted  his 
wish  to  Melancthon  and  Bullinger.  The  whole  plan  was  de- 
stroyed, it  seems,  by  the  death  of  Edward  VI. 

Calvin  now  also  directed  the  attention  of  Melancthon  to  the 
necessity  of  some  effort  for  securing  unity  of  doctrine.  The 
letter*  which  he  wrote  on  this  occasion  expressed  the  feelings 
of  his  innermost  heart  and  conscience.  He  knew  well  what 
position  he  occupied,  and  that  their  friendship  could  not  be 
interrupted  without  injury  to  the  church.  Hence  he  reproved 
him  in  gentle  terms  for  his  vacillation  in  respect  to  the  doctrine 
of  election,  which  at  this  time  greatly  occupied  his  thoughts, 
and  because  his  opponents  appealed  to  the  doubtful  sentiments 
of  Melancthon,  who  even  refused  to  admit  the  cautious  expres- 
sions of  the  Consensus  Tigurinus. 

It  has  been  already  stated  how  Calvin,  in  the  year  15  13,  con- 
troverted the  opinions  of  Pighius,  and  dedicated  his  work  to 
Melancthon.  A  Benedictine  monk  in  Italy,  Georg  Siculus, 
had  undertaken  to  confute  Calvin ;  but  no  sooner,  as  we  are 
about  to  relate,  had  the  controversy  on  election  broken  out  in 
Geneva,  than  the  people  of  that  city  united  to  uphold  the 
doctrine,  and  obtained  Calvin's  consent  to  their  views.  But 
Melancthon  refused  to  adopt  either  the  Zurich  or  the  Gcnevese 
*  Nov.  29,  1552.     Ed.  Laus.  Ep.  141.  Ed.  Arnstel.  p.  66,  b. 


128  OPPOSITION  TO  CALVIN.  [CHAP.  III. 

system*.  On  the  26th  of  August,  1554,  Calvin  again  wrote  to 
him  to  obtain  his  consent  to  the  doctrine,  and  thus  to  establish 
unity  f. 


CHAPTER  HI. 

THE    FIRST    GREAT    CONTROVERSY. THE    DISPUTE    RESPECT- 
ING PREDESTINATION. BOLSEC. 

The  letter  to  Melancthon  clearly  shows  what  the  zeal  of  the 
reformer  for  unity,  in  regard  to  this  important  controversy,  was 
likely  to  effect.  Calvin,  through  his  love  for  the  doctrine  of 
election,  has  been  almost  wholly  misunderstood  by  church  his- 
torians. We  must  either  indeed  view  him  as  an  unimpassioned 
controversialist,  or  distinctly  recognize  the  part  which  he  took 
in  this  matter  as  pointed  out  to  him  by  a  higher  Spirit.  This 
doctrine,  in  fact,  exhibiting  as  it  does  the  peculiarity  of  the 
evangelical  in  opposition  to  the  catholic  church, — namely  that 
man  is  saved  not  by  his  works,  but  by  the  grace  of  God, — neces- 
sarily exercises  a  very  extensive  influence  in  the  former.  It  was 
therefore  the  bounden  duty  of  its  advocate  to  defend  it  against 
all  opponents,  and  to  insist  upon  its  introduction  into  the  con» 
fession  of  the  several  churches,  as  was  done,  at  a  subsequent 
period,  in  France,  Scotland  and  Holland,  and  still  later  in  the 
case  of  one-half  of  the  Methodist  community. 

A  dispute  on  this  subject  was  begun  at  the  commencement  of 
the  year  1551.  One  of  the  Bernese  ministers,  indignant  at  find- 
ing that  three  French  refugees,  who  resided  in  his  village,  went 
on  the  Sunday  to  hear  Calvin,  declared  J,  that  they  were  objects 
of  suspicion,  for  that  they  worshiped  the  inventor  of  a  new,  false 
and  impious  doctrine  as  an  idol.  "  Ke  attacks  me,"  said  Calvin, 
"  like  a  raging  papist,"  and  the  circumstance  was  brought,  at 
his  instance,  before  the  Bernese  council.     "  How  sincere  and 

*  Beza  v.  Calv.  "  Quin  etiam  his  de  rebus  ita  scribere  coeperat  Phil. 
Melancthon,  ut  quamvis  antea  Calvini  atlversus  Pighium  libro  diserte  sub- 
scripsisset,  tamen  Genevenses  quasi  Stoicum  fatum  invehentes  notare  quibus- 
dam  videretur." 

f  Ed.  Laus.  Ep.  179-  Ed.  Amstel.  p.  82,  a.  "Although  I  grieve  that  no 
reply  has  been  received  from  you  to  my  last  letter." 

J  MS.  Tigur.  1551. 


A.D.  1551.]  GALEAZZO  CARACCIOLT.  129 

faithful  I  have  been/'  he  said,  "  in  the  declaration  of  the  truth, 
will  our  excellent  father  Musculus  readily  testify.  How  earnestly 
I  have  sought  to  establish  peace  and  union,  will  right-minded 
men  generally  acknowledge.  That  unsavoury  monster  has  en- 
deavoured to  pervert  the  Consensus  between  the  Zurichers  and 
Bernese,  in  order  to  prove  that  I  am  the  author  of  an  impious 
doctrine ;  and  that  he,  who  is  but  a  mole,  is  alone  endued  with 
the  power  of  seeing  right/' 

Calvin  appealed  to  the  Bernese,  in  the  name  of  Christ,  and 
called  upon  the  pious  exiles  to  defend  him  against  his  barbarous 
accuser,  the  monk,  George  Siculus,— his  opposers  being  now  so 
numerous,  and  his  time  fully  occupied  with  his  work  against 
Pighius*.  The  mysterious  subject  of  election  was  at  present 
debated  in  all  circles  at  Geneva.  Exiles  flocked  to  that  city 
from  every  quarter ;  and  our  attention  is  called  to  two  men,  of 
very  different  intellectual  character,  who  were  thus  brought 
together. 

The  one  was  a  distinguished  Neapolitan,  Galeazzo  Caraccioli, 
Marquis  of  Vico,  whose  history  affords  us  an  instance  of  the 
most  wonderful  triumph  of  grace  over  nature  f.  The  other  was 
Bolsec,  who  exhibits,  on  the  contrary,  the  victory  of  our  com- 
mon nature  over  truth  and  honesty.  Vico  was  descended  from 
the  ancient  race  of  the  Caraccioli  of  Capua.  His  mother,  a 
Caraffa,  was  sister  of  Pope  Paul  IV.  Vico  heard  Peter  Martyr 
at  Naples,  and  from  that  time  his  mind  had  no  rest.  He  was 
brought  up  in  the  court  of  the  emperor,  and  his  parents  married 
him  to  a  woman  of  great  worth,  hoping  thereby  still  to  keep 
him  in  the  fashionable  world.  But  Vico  resisted  their  tears 
and  persuasions,  overcame  all  temptations,  and  firmly  resolved 
within  himself,  after  a  severe  struggle,  to  leave  father,  mother, 
wife,  children,  the  honours  and  riches  of  this  world,  for  the 
Lord's  sake.  He  met  Peter  Martyr  once  again,  when  he  had 
become  professor  at  Strasburg.  Martyr  again  proved  to  him 
that  he  must  cease  altogether  from  attending  the  mass.  Vico 
revered  his  aged  father.  His  wife,  who  was  united  with  him  in 
the  tenderest  affection,  could  not  resolve  to  change  her  faith. 
Grace  triumphed,  but  it  cost  the  heart  of  Vico  indescribable 
anguish  to  separate  himself  from  his  children.  To  accomplish 
his5 purpose,  it  was  necessary  that  he  should  leave  his  beautiful 
country,  his  lordly  palace,  the  court  and  its  attractions,  to  be- 

*  MSS.  Gen.  Calvin  to  Virct,  August  17,  1551. 

t  Ruchat,  Hist,  de  la  Reform.  Suisse.  Nouv.  Ed.  T.  V.  p.  449. 

VOL.  II.  K 


130  CHARACTER  OF  BOLSEC.  [CHAP.  III. 

come  an  exile,  to  endure  poverty  and  want,  and  to  become  an 
object  of  aversion  even  to  his  friends.  But  grace  was  sufficient 
for  him.  "  I  can  now  for  love  of  Thee,  O  Lord,  deny  my- 
self!" he  at  length  exclaimed:  "blessed  be  banishment  and  the 
cross,  which  tear  me  away  from  the  vanities,  and  the  sins  of  the 
world!" 

It  was  only  to  some  few  friends  that  he  dare  trust  his  safety: 
they  left  him  on  the  borders  of  Italy.  His  family  had  been  led 
to  suppose  that  he  was  going  to  the  emperor.  He  arrived  at 
Geneva  in  April  1551  :  Calvin  received  him  with  open  arms, 
and  continued  throughout  his  life  to  regard  him  with  the 
greatest  esteem.  He  expressed  this  feeling  for  him  in  the  de- 
dication prefixed  to  his  commentary  on  the  Epistles  to  the 
Corinthians,  and  the  historians  of  Geneva  bear  witness  that  he 
was  an  example  of  the  sincerest  piety.  In  Naples  the  agitation 
produced  by  the  announcement  of  his  departure  was  universal : 
nothing  was  left  untried  to  bring  him  back.  He  answered  that 
his  conscience  would  not  allow  him  to  live  in  the  midst  of  Ca- 
tholic superstition,  and  that  he  had  sacrificed  the  glory  of  this 
world,  that  he  might  not  lose  the  glory  which  is  eternal.  At 
length  the  emperor  proclaimed  him  guilty  of  high-treason,  con- 
fiscated his  possessions,  and  degraded  his  children.  His  aged 
father  threw  himself  in  despair  at  the  feet  of  the  emperor,  and 
desired  Caraccioli  to  come  to  him  at  Venice.  He  obeyed,  com- 
mending himself  to  the  prayers  of  the  whole  church  at  Geneva. 
His  father  received  him  lovingly,  and  did  all  in  his  power  to  win 
him  back ;  but  he  answered  firmly,  that  not  even  a  father  could 
oblige  him  to  prefer  the  honours  and  possessions  of  this  world 
to  the  glory  of  God.  They  separated  for  ever :  Yico  returned 
to  Geneva :  grace  had  finally  conquered. 

In  direct  contrast  with  this  remarkable  man  stood  Jerome 
Bolsec.  He  was  born  in  Paris,  and  became  a  Carmelite  monk. 
Having  cast  aside  his  cowl,  he  was  obliged  to  flee  into  Italy, 
dreading  the  consequence  of  having  spoken  too  freely  respecting 
the  catholic  church.  The  duchess  of  Ferrara  had  received  him, 
with  her  accustomed  kindness,  as  a  clergyman.  But  he  became 
a  physician,  married,  and  went  to  Geneva.  There  he  became 
acquainted  with  many  persons  of  distinction,  among  others  with 
De  Bourgogne,  who  had  settled  in  that  city  at  the  earnest  en- 
treaty of  Calvin.  Bolsec, was,  to. all  appearance,  a  good  Chris- 
tian, and  there  are  reason!  to  believe  that  he  employed  himself 
at  one  time  in  compiling  materials  for  the  life  of  Calvin ;  traces 


A.D.  1551.]  CHARACTER  OF  BOLSEC.  131 

of  such  a  collection  being  found  at  the  beginning  of  his  libel, 
published  at  a  later  period.  Not  by  any  means  vicious  or  despi- 
cable at  first,  this  man  sank  by  degrees  to  the  lowest  depths  of 
error,  and  became  the  declared  enemy  of  truth.  He  commenced 
by  discussing  vehemently,  in  the  different  circles  at  Geneva,  the 
abstruse  doctrine  of  election.  Calvin  admitted  him  to  a  con- 
ference, and  explained  to  him  the  nature  of  the  subject,  so  dif- 
ficult and  profound,  but  without  effect.  Bolsec  was  called 
before  the  consistory,  and  he  was  desired  to  consider  the  in- 
consistency of  his  opinion ;  but  he  refused  to  listen.  But  such 
an  opposition  could  not  be  tolerated  in  the  midst  of  the  reforma- 
tion. It  was  the  well-known  custom  at  Geneva  for  a  minister, 
whether  of  the  city  or  country,  to  preach  every  Friday,  accord- 
ing to  his  turn,  in  the  cathedral ;  the  other  ministers  examining 
and  deciding  upon  the  merits  of  the  discourse.  Any  individual 
also  might  at  that  time  go  up  to  the  preacher,  even  in  the  church, 
and  make  such  observations  as  he  pleased.  This  was  allowed  in 
order  to  accustom  the  people  to  contend  firmly  for  all  points 
connected  with  the  reformation. 

On  the  16th  of  October  the  minister  of  St.  Andrew's  preached 
to  a  crowded  congregation,  on  St.  John,  chap.  viii.  ver.  47.  "  He 
that  is  of  God  heareth  God's  words  :  ye  therefore  hear  them  not, 
because  ye  are  not  of  God."  All  those  who  are  not  of  God, 
resist  him  to  the  end,  because  God  affords  the  grace  of  obedience 
to  his  elect  alone.  As  the  preacher  uttered  this  remark,  a  man 
suddenly  started  up  from  the  midst  of  the  congregation,  and 
combated  with  unbecoming  vehemence  the  doctrine  which  had 
been  thus  advanced.  All  were  silent.  "  How,"  he  said,  "  can 
you  believe  that  God  has  determined  the  lot  of  a  man  before  his 
birth,  destining  this  one  to  sin  and  punishment,  and  that  one  to 
virtue  and  eternal  reward?  It  is  a  false  and  impious  notion, 
which  Laurentius  Valla  has  started,  namely,  that  the  will  of  God 
is  the  cause  of  all  things,  and  that  therefore  the  origin  of  all  the 
evils  and  all  the  sins  which  exist  must  be  ascribed  to  him,  as  the 
old  poets  feign  with  regard  to  Jupiter.  Would  you  make  of 
God,  the  eternal  and  righteous  one,  a  senseless  tyrant?  Would 
you  rob  virtue  of  its  glory,  free  vice  from  its  disgrace,  and  the 
wicked  from  the  terrors  of  conscience  ?  " 

He  who  spoke  thus  was  the  physician  Bolsec.  The  fathers 
of  the  church  were  cited  in  his  speech,  and  he  concluded  by 
exhorting  the  people,  in  the  most  seditious  and  abusive  language, 
not  to  allow  themselves  to  be  deceived  by  the  clergy.     He  was 

k  2 


132  CALVIN  AND  BOLSEC.  [CHAP.  III. 

probably  induced  to   adopt  this   course  by    some   of  Calvin's 
enemies. 

A  curious  scene  now  took  place.  Bolsec  had  ventured  to 
act  as  he  had  done,  because  Calvin  was  not  then  present;  but 
just  as  he  was  in  the  midst  of  his  speech,  the  reformer  entered 
the  church.  He  was  concealed  by  the  mass  of  the  people,  and 
listened,  in  secret,  but  with  astonishment,  to  the  attack  made  upon 
his  grand  doctrine.  Scarcely  had  Bolsec  ended,  when  he  pressed 
through  the  crowd,  hastened  up  to  his  opponent,  and  without 
preparation  proved  at  once  his  prodigious  powers  of  argument. 
He  thundered  against  the  antagonist  with  so  many  and  such 
apposite  quotations  from  Scripture,  and  with  so  many  passages 
from  Augustine, — he  so  assailed  him  with  arguments,  that  all  who 
were  present,  it  is  said,  blushed  for  the  defeated  monk.  He 
himself  however  appears  to  have  felt  no  shame. 

Among  the  hearers  was  the  prefect  of  police :  this  officer 
immediately  apprehended  Bolsec,  as  a  seditious  disturber  of  the 
peace,  and,  the  congregation  having  separated,  led  him  off  to 
prison.  Farel  was  also  present,  and  admonished  the  people  with 
pious  words.  How  great  was  Calvin's  zeal !  On  the  same  even- 
ing the  clergy  assembled,  and  drew  up  seventeen  questions,  to 
which  the  prisoner  was  to  give  an  answer.  A  long  and  fruitless 
dispute  was  carried  on  with  him,  both  by  word  of  mouth  and  by 
writing.  The  affair  was  brought  before  the  council.  Bolsec  ad- 
hered firmly  to  his  opinion,  and  seems  to  have  believed  that 
many  of  the  Swiss  clergy  had  adopted  his  views.  No  judgement 
therefore  was  pronounced,  but  the  Swiss  ministers  were  to  be 
asked  their  sentiments.  Bolsec  did  not  venture  to  oppose  him- 
self to  this  proceeding,  but  he  thought  the  clergy  of  the  chief 
city  far  too  united  with  Calvin  to  be  impartial.  He  censured 
Zwingli  above  all,  and  declared  that  Bullinger,  Melancthon, 
and  Brenz  were  of  his  opinion.  From  the  answer  which  Bolsec 
gave  in  prison,  it  would  appear  that  he  was  sincerely  anxious  to 
discover  the  truth,  and  prayed  God  to  enable  him  so  to  do. 
This  also  appears  from  a  poem  which  he  wrote  at  that  time. 

In  the  fifth  of  the  questions  proposed  to  him  he  was  asked, 
"  Whether  he  acknowledged  that  faith  proceeded  from  the  divine 
election,  and  that  the  illuminated  received  such  grace  because 
God  had  chosen  them?"  Bolsec  answered,  "Faith  depends 
not  upon  election,  but  election  and  faith  go  together.  A  man 
cannot  be  considered  as  elect  before  he  is  beloved  of  God; 
and  before  he  is  beloved,  we  must  know  for  whose  sake  we  are 


A.D.   1551.]  CONTROVERSY   ON    ELECTION.  133 

beloved,  that  is,  Jesus  Christ.  There  are  in  God,  who  knows  not 
past  or  future,  the  three  following  truths  ever  present, — the  union 
of  man  with  the  Son  through  faith  ;  God's  love  to  him,  the  love 
which  comes  from  faith ;  and  election,  which  rests  on  faith  in 
Christ.  Many  of  the  old  doctors  agree  in  this ;  and  so  also  the 
three  worthy  men,  Melancthon,  Bullinger,  Brenz." 

Calvin  speaks  in  the  eleventh  article  of  the  wonderful  counsel 
of  God,  whose  primal  reason  is  not  known  to  us ;  and  of  the 
doctrine  of  predestination,  as  not  opposed  to  a  sound  human 
understanding ;  there  being  still  left  to  the  mind,  looking  behind 
the  veil,  the  possible  deliverance  of  the  reprobate,  Bolsec  how- 
ever answered,  that  he  would  not  on  any  account  pretend  to 
look  into  these  wonderful  decrees  of  God.  He  proposed,  on  the 
contrary,  certain  questions  to  Calvin,  which  are  in  some  degree 
interesting  to  all  ages.  They  were  such  as  represent  the  views 
taken  by  a  sound,  natural  understanding,  with  which  the  church, 
which  must  go  deeper  if  it  would  annihilate  Pelagianism,  cannot 
agree.  The  questions  thus  proposed  formed,  it  is  probable,  the 
groundwork  of  Calvin's  work  on  election,  which  appeared  soon 
after. 

The  Genevese  council  now  addressed  itself  to  the  churches 
of  Zurich,  Bern  and  Basel,  and  sent  them  a  summary  of  the 
errors  of  Bolsec,  the  chief  of  which  were,  that  faith  does  not 
come  from  election,  but  that  election  proceeds  from  faith.  The 
ministers  of  Geneva  also  wrote  to  the  ministers  of  those  cities. 
It  is  interesting  to  see  how  all  opposed  the  severer  view  of  the 
doctrine  alluded  to,  and  how  Calvin  in  his  turn  attacked  them 
all.  The  remarks  of  the  Basel  theologians  deserve  notice  :  they 
say  that  "  God  elected  us  in  Christ  before  all  time ;  that  he  who 
believes  in  Him  is  redeemed ;  but  that  the  Father  draws  not  all ; 
that  some  will  not  be  drawn,  and  are  therefore  left  in  a  state  of 
condemnation  ;  that  this  fact  is  clear,  but  that  how  it  is  so  must  be 
left  with  God."  "  You  see  therefore,"  it  is  added,  "  our  agreement 
on  this  subject."  Sulzer  and  Myconius  subscribed  the  document. 

A  different  feeling  was  expressed  by  the  Bernese :  they  spoke 
in  a  high  tone,  and  preached  a  toleration  to  the  Genevese  not 
then  known  to  the  world.  The  writing  was  subscribed  by  Mus- 
culus,  whom  Calvin  greatly  loved,  but  who  in  this  case  agreed 
with  the  rest  in  opposing  him.  The  Bernese  commenced  the 
letter  very  cautiously,  spoke  of  the  necessity  of  concord,  but 
not  to  the  sacrifice  of  charity.  We  quote  the  following :  "  The 
Genevese  ought  to  treat  Bolsec  with  gentleness,  and  never  lose 


134  BOLSEC  AND  THE  BERNESE.  [CHAP.   III. 

sight  of  the  love  of  Christ.  For  He  loves  not  only  the  souls  of 
the  faithful,  but  those  even  of  the  erring,  of  whom  He  takes 
more  especial  note.  It  commonly  happens  that,  when  we  un- 
dertake the  defence  of  a  doctrine  with  peculiar  zeal,  we  forget  the 
claims  of  Christian  love,  and  fail  to  keep  in  sight  the  conduct 
which  becomes  the  disciples  of  Christ,  as  if  the  spirit  of  charity 
could  not  consort  with  zeal  for  the  truth/5 

To  this  is  added  an  expression  of  praise  for  the  earnestness  of 
the  Genevese ;  but  they  are  besought  "  to  consider  how  easily  the 
mind  of  man  can  fall  into  error,  how  unwillingly  it  submits  to 
control,  and  how  much  more  likely  kindness  than  severity  is 
to  gain  its  object."  In  reference  to  Bolsec  it  is  said,  "  You  are 
well  aware  how  much  distress  this  controversy  has  occasioned 
many  religious  people,  who,  when  they  find  in  Scripture  the 
mention  of  a  common  pardon  and  grace,  have  not  sufficient 
penetration  to  understand  the  mysteries  of  predestination,  and 
the  blindness  and  wickedness  of  the  human  heart,  and  therefore 
suppose  that  the  hardening  of  the  sinner  cannot  be  ascribed  to 
God  without  blasphemy." 

These  remarks  are  followed  by  a  reference  to  those  passages 
of  Scripture  in  which  mention  is  made  of  a  common  grace.  Great 
importance  is  ascribed  to  them,  and  it  is  added,  that  the  doc- 
trine of  predestination  ought  to  be  spoken  of  with  much  caution  : 
it  is  not  the  milk  for  children,  but  the  strong  meat  for  men. 
"  And  Jerome  plainly  shows  that  even  he,  in  this  respect,  per- 
tained to  the  Meak ;  for  he  says,  that  he  dared  not  press  into  the 
secret  counsels  of  God.  Bolsec's  answers  indicate  that  he  is  not 
a  bad  man.  Were  there  no  strife  existing,  he  might,  it  is  pro- 
bable, be  led  to  embrace  higher  views." 

This  was  a  strong  sermon  for  Calvin.  The  Bernese,  it  seems, 
were  fearful  that  the  matter  might  be  carried  too  far,  Bolsec  being 
still  in  prison.  Even  Museums  had  remarked,  in  one  of  his 
letters,  "  that  people  should  be  brought  back  to  the  truth  with 
gentleness,  not  with  severity  or  with  bonds  and  imprisonment." 
The  latter  words  were,  for  some  reason,  crossed  out. 

Such  language  was  novel  for  that  period.  But  two  years 
afterwards  these  parties  agreed  in  the  condemnation  of  Servetus  ; 
and  at  a  later  period  the  Bernese  themselves  condemned  Gentilis. 
Haller  thus  expressed  himself  to  Bullinger,  in  reference  to  Cal- 
vin*: "  We  have  tried  to  pray,  that  God  may  have  mercy  upon 

*  MS,  Tig,  Dec.  5,  1551. 


a.d.  1551.]         calvin's  zeal  for  election.  135 

us,  and  silence  these  disputes ;  for  I  see  no  article  of  faith  on 
which  it  is  more  perilous  to  strive  than  this." 

The  Zurich  ministers  answered  the  council  of  Geneva  more 
definitely  than  those  of  Basel.  Their  reply  is  well  worthy  of 
notice,  it  being  in  the  character  of  an  official  statement,  as  a  sort 
of  renewed  Consensus  Tigurinus,  in  which  light  it  has  been  fre- 
quently viewed.  The  letter  is  in  Bullinger's  handwriting,  and 
will  be  again  referred  to.  Those  in  whose  name  he  wrote  say, 
"The  Genevese  council  may  perhaps  not  know"  (this  expres- 
sion is  curious — the  council  must  have  known  it,  as  well  as  Bul- 
linger)  "that  they  are  agreed  on  the  subject  of  the  Lord's  Supper. 
Their  confession  on  the  doctrine  of  election  follows.  The  terms 
used  are  cautious*,  the  main  point  in  the  dispute — the  repro- 
bation of  the  wicked  by  God's  decree — being  avoided.  Bullin- 
ger's allusion  to  Zwingli  is  interesting.  "  Bolsec  errs  in  suppo- 
sing that  Zwingli  believed  in  the  necessity  of  sin.  People  should 
read  all  his  works  t"-  &c. 

Bullinger's  private  letters  were  equally  mild  :  thus  he  warned 
Calvin  :  "  Believe  me,  many  persons  are  distressed  at  what  you 
have  said  in  your  Institutions  on  predestination,  and  connect  it 
with  what  Bolsec  says  on  Providence  from  Zwingli's  book."  To 
this  he  adds,  "According  to  the  meaning  of  the  apostle,  God 
wills  the  happiness  of  all  men  J." 

Calvin  was  still  less  content  with  the  Zurich  ministers  than 
with  those  of  Basel §.  "My  dear  Farel,"  said  he,  alluding  to 
the  Bernese,  "  I  cannot  tell  you  how  this  barbarity  distresses  me. 
There  is  no  more  humanity  among  us  than  among  wild  beasts. 
Edicts  have  been  sent  forth  (that  is,  from  Bern)  which  forbid 
the  refugees  to  have  anything  with  us  in  common." 

We  here  see  Calvin  standing  alone  on  the  field  of  conflict, 
with  characteristic  firmness  and  unshaken  conviction.  Opposed 
to  him  were  all  his  old  friends,  Bullinger,  Haller,  Melancthon. 
It  is  evident,  as  Bolsec  said,  that  they  adhered  to  the  weaker 
party.  Impelled  by  an  irresistible  inward  feeling,  Calvin  de- 
clared, "  that  the  honour  of  his  God,  and  the  salvation  of  the 
world,  depended  upon  this  doctrine,  and  that  they  who  opposed 

*  "  Constituimus  enim  electionem,  qua  Deus  pcccatores  in  Christo  elegit, 
omnino  esse  gratuitam.  Elegit  nos  in  Christo,  antequam  jacerentur  funda- 
menta  raundi." 

f  And  further:  "There  are  many  of  us  still  living,  who  heard  him  preach 
on  this  subject,  and  we  know  that  he  always  spoke  of  it  with  great  piety." 

X  MS.  Tig.  1st  Dec.  1551.     "  Deum  bene  velle  omnibus  hominibus." 

§  MS.  Bern.  Sth  Dec.  1551. 


136  STRIFE  AND  CONTROVERSY.  [CHAP.  111. 

it  assailed  God :  that  unity  on  this  subject  must  be  established, 
cost  what  it  would."  These  expressions  remind  us  of  what  Ma- 
thesius  said  on  Luther's  extraordinary  nature: — "  Great  men  have 
great  thoughts.  The  One  Spirit  has  many  operations ;  and  we 
who  are  destined  to  pursue  the  highway  and  the  common  foot- 
path, should  not  pretend  to  follow  those  who  take  their  course 
over  field  and  flood,  mountains  and  valleys.  Much  less  should 
we  venture  to  judge  lightly  the  fervour,  earnestness,  zeal  and 
courage  of  great  characters*." 

The  Bernese  council  also  addressed  an  epistle,  of  a  very  pacific 
character,  to  the  Genevese;  but  it  contained  the  explanation 
which  led  to  so  much  bitterness  when,  at  a  subsequent  period, 
the  Genevese  were  influenced  by  such  different  feelings.  The 
warning  now  given  was  well  meant.  It  was  feared  that  the 
business  might  turn  out  ill  for  Bolsec;  this  was  possible  ac- 
cording to  the  ideas  then  prevailing.  Calvin  however  defended 
himself  against  the  suspicion  thus  entertained,  as  against  some- 
thing which  could  have  no  proper  foundation.  But  the  Gene- 
vese council  found  it  necessary  to  pronounce  sentence  of  banish- 
ment upon  Bolsec, December  23, 1551, because  he  had  obstinately 
resisted  the  judgement  of  the  church,  to  which  he  had  promised 
to  submit. 

Bolsec  returned  to  Thononfj  where  he  began  again  to  dogma- 
tise. He  was  then  silent  for  a  time :  he  soon  however  recom- 
menced the  strife,  and  was  at  last  banished  as  an  insufferable 
disputant,  even  by  the  Bernese,  who  would  fain  have  kept  him 
quiet.  The  worst  part  of  his  character  now  showed  itself:  he  pro- 
ceeded to  Paris,  and  spoke  of  repentance,  in  the  hope  of  obtaining 
a  position  as  a  reformed  pastor.  A  conference  with  the  ministers 
was  allowed  him.  They  represented  to  him  his  errors  and  wicked 
course,  and  referred  his  case  to  the  synod,  which  was  to  meet  at 
Orleans,  that  he  might  there  solemnly  renounce  his  errors.  He 
appeared,  exhibited  the  signs  of  deep  contrition,  promised  to 
subscribe  the  orthodox  confession,  and  to  give  satisfaction  to  the 
churches  of  Bern  and  Geneva.  But  when  he  saw  the  reformed 
church  in  more  danger  than  ever  of  a  fearful  persecution,  he  fell 
back  into  his  old  state  of  wretched  doubt,  and  sank  deeper  and 
deeper.     He  again  sought  Switzerland.    We  find  him  some  time 

*  Hess,  Leben  Bullingers,  T.  II.  s.  56.  This  author  appears  to  have  no  idea 
of  Calvin's  higher  calling  :  he  accuses  him  of  seeking  honour  in  the  present 
controversy. 

t  Ruchat,  Nouv.  Ed.  t.  v.  p.  466,  t.  vi.  p.  475. 


A.D.  1551.]  STRIFE  AND  CONTROVERSY.  137 

after  in  Lausanne,  practising  as  a  physician.  He  was  admitted 
to  the  rights  of  a  citizen,  under  the  condition  that  he  should  adopt 
the  Bernese  confession  of  faith.  But  he  did  not  remain  long  there. 
Beza  wrote  against  him  to  the  faithful  of  Lausanne.  He  was 
once  more  received  by  the  Bernese,  but  Haller  being  full  of  zeal 
for  purity  of  doctrine,  he  was  told  to  remove.  His  next  place  of 
abode  was  Mompelgard  :  he  there  found  Tossanus,  who  was 
opposed  to  Calvin,  and  in  the  end  rejoined  the  catholics.  Such 
was  the  hatred  of  this  man  against  the  reformer,  that  twelve 
years  after  the  death  of  the  latter  he  wrote  a  libel  upon  him,  which 
has  been  the  source  of  all  the  detestable  slanders  current  in  later 
times. 

The  Bolsec  controversy  had  caused  considerable  uneasiness  at 
Geneva,  and  the  ministers  feared  that  the  differences  of  opinion 
on  this  abstract  doctrine  might  give  rise  to  new  agitation.  It  was 
the  season  for  the  administration  of  the  Lord's  Supper,  and  a 
preparatory  congregation  was  held  on  the  18th  of  December. 
Calvin  explained  the  whole  matter,  and  the  collective  body  of 
ministers,  both  of  the  city  and  country,  declared  that  they  were 
fully  agreed  with  him  on  the  subject.  A  large  number  of  the 
congregation  subscribed  their  names  to  this  statement  after  the 
clergy.  The  instrument  thus  signed  was  printed,  and  Calvin 
compiled  and  published  a  work,  which  he  dedicated  to  the  coun- 
cil, January  1,  1552,  as  a  new-year's  gift.  The  progress  and  ter- 
mination of  this  affair  proves  what  influence  Calvin  had  gained, 
how  united  the  council  was  become,  and  what  power  the  con- 
victions which  were  the  result  of  his  labours  exercised.  To 
establish  unity,  Calvin  meditated  the  renewal  and  enlargement 
of  the  (  Zurich  Consensus.'  This  was  effected  at  a  later  period. 
The  importance  which  he  attached  to  this  formulary  appears 
from  his  communications  to  Farel. 

Calvin's  incredible  zeal  in  the  midst  of  all  these  disputes  was 
to  most  people  a  riddle  :  his  enemies  raved  on  all  sides.  "  It 
is  almost  impossible,"  said  Beza,  "  to  describe  the  agitation  in 
and  out  of  the  city :  it  is  as  if  the  devil  himself  were  sounding 
the  trumpet.     Calvin,  they  say,  makes  God  the  author  of  sin." 

In  Basel,  Castellio,  and  in  Neuchatel,  Christopher  Fabri, 
though  a  friend  of  Calvin,  declared  his  discontent.  Melan- 
cthon's  views  are  well  known :  notwithstanding  the  manner  in 
which  Calvin  had  expressed  himself  in  his  work  against  Pighius, 
Melancthon  conceived  thai  the  Genevese  entertained  the  ancient 
doctrine  of  fate,   or  destiny.      The  papists  clamoured  loudly 


133  CALVIN   AND  TROILLET.  [CHAP.  III. 

against  the  reformers  in  this  respect;  and  even  in  Geneva  itself 
Calvin  had  to  contend  with  an  eremite  from  Burgundy,  who  had 
passed  over  to  the  evangelical  church. 

The  name  of  the  man  to  whom  we  here  refer  was  Troillet,  an 
advocate,  and  a  leader  of  the  malcontents,  and  who,  like  Bolsec, 
a  weak  man,  was  ignorant  of  the  real  purport  of  the  theological 
question,  and,  still  more,  of  the  necessity  of  union  and  of  the 
force  of  Calvin's  mind.  By  birth  a  Genevese,  he  no  sooner  found 
himself  weary  of  an  ascetic  life  than  he  desired  to  return 
Geneva  as  a  minister.  This  was  against  the  law.  Calvin,  who 
fully  understood  his  pretensions  to  piety,  and  saw  through  his 
hypocrisy,  repelled  his  advances.  The  council  however  directed 
the  consistory  to  admit  Troillet  to  the  situation  left  vacant  by  a 
deceased  minister.  But  Calvin  had  sufficient  influence  with  the 
council  to  procure  the  reversal  of  this  decree  :  he  even  proved 
that  two  members  of  the  body  had  received  presents  from 
Troillet :  this  created  great  disgust.  Troillet  gave  up  his  preten- 
sions to  the  ministerial  office,  but  passed  over  to  the  opposite 
party.  He  was  at  this  time  a  member  of  the  chief  council.  In 
the  hotel  where  the  Libertines  held  their  meetings  he  declaimed 
against  Calvin,  as  guilty  of  the  grossest  pride,  and  as  contra- 
dicting his  own  opinions,  as  exhibited  in  the  '  Institutions/ 
Calvin  cited  him  before  the  council.  Troillet  defended  himself, 
and  endeavoured  to  prove  that  Calvin  made  God  the  author  of 
sin.  On  the  first  of  September,  an  order  was  passed  prohibiting 
the  reformer  from  preaching  on  the  doctrine  of  predestination. 
Agitation  and  disorder  universally  prevailed.  The  council  in- 
vited Farel  and  Viret  to  Geneva,  to  undertake  the  restoration  of 
tranquillity.  The  discussion  between  Calvin  and  Troillet  was 
concluded  on  the  ninth  of  November,  and  the  book  of  the  i  In- 
stitutions' was  recognized  by  the  Genevese  as  "  good  and  Chris- 
tian," and  Calvin  as  "  a  true  minister  of  the  Word  of  God."  It 
was  forbidden  to  speak  against  Calvin's  work  ;  but  six  days  after, 
his  opponent  received  an  apology  from  the  council*. 

Calvin  gave  an  account  of  this  controversy  to  a  friend.  "  It 
grieves  me  chiefly  that  Troillet  found  the  means  of  dragging 
Philip  with  him  into  the  quarrel.  I  shrunk  from  this,  for  I  could 
safely  declare  that  I  had  always  spoken  of  that  great  man  with 
sentiments  of  honour."  He  expresses  a  suspicion  that  Falais  had 
sent  Troillet  from  his  wretched  abode.     Of  himself  he  says,  that 

*  MS.  Gen.  Vol.  contcn.  Memoires  sur  Caroli  et  Troillet. 


A.D.  1552.]  CALVIN  AND  HIS  FRIENDS.  139 

it  was  difficult  for  him  to  exercise  moderation  under  such  circum- 

But  how  encouraging  was  it  for  Calvin  that  his  writings  were 
spoken  of  as  pious  and  orthodox,  even  by  the  opposite  party  ! 
It  happened  after  some  years  that  he  was  called  to  visit  a  sick 
man :  he  hastened  to  see  him  :  Troillet  lay  on  his  death-bed  : 
disquietude  and  deep  repentance  moved  his  soul :  he  declared 
that  he  could  not  feel  peace  unless  he  was  assured,  before  his 
end,  that  Calvin  was  reconciled  to  him.  With  his  peculiar  ear- 
nestness and  tenderness,  Calvin  consoled  the  dying  man,  and 
supported  him  to  the  last  moment*.  Thus  the  power  of  his 
doctrine  triumphed,  however  and  on  whatever  side  opposed. 

Still  Calvin  could  not  easily  bear  the  coldness  and  indifference 
of  his  friends.  He  appealed  to  Bullinger  with  mingled  severity 
and  pathos.  "  Bolsec,"  he  said,  "  has  disturbed  by  his  clamours 
the  peace  of  the  church :  he  complains  that  we  describe  God  as 
possessed  of  a  tyrannical  power,  and  that  we  set  up  a  poetical 
Jupiter  in  his  place  :  and  yet  you  defend  this  man,— a  thing  to  be 
most  vehemently  lamented  f." 

Not  long  after  he  justified  himself,  in  a  letter  to  the  same,  on 
his  mode  of  teaching  the  doctrine  of  election.     "  You  say  that 
my  manner  offends  many  excellent  persons.     But,  between  our- 
selves, Zwingli's  little  book  is  filled  with  so  many  hard  passages, 
that  it  far  surpasses  my  weak  comprehension  %»  This  observation 
confirms  what  has  been  said  in  a  former  part  of  this  book  re- 
specting Calvin's  opinion  of  Zwingli.     With  regard  to  Fabri,  he 
complains  of  the  coldness  of  the  Basel  people,  and  of  Myconius 
and  Sulzer§.     To  the  Bernese  he  expresses  himself  still  more 
strongly  :  he  thus  addresses  Farel||  :  "  You  might  expect  them 
to  renounce  altogether  the  doctrine  of  election,  and  the  wonder- 
ful providence  of  God/'     He  hoped  to  have  exhibited  a  feeling 
of  tranquillity  in  his  letters,  but  he  had  much  to  do  to  quiet  his 
agitation.     Fearing  that  he  might  not  meet  with  a  brotherly 
welcome,  he  would  not  go  to  Bern.     Such  however  was  the 
multitude  of  evils  which  prevailed,  that  it  was  necessary  some- 
thing should  be  done.     The  Consensus  itself  was  endangered ; 
and  if  the  union  failed  in  this  point  all  would  be  lost.     His  public 
writings  were  characterized  by  moderation.     He  lamented  that 

*  Beza,  Vie  de  Calv.  t  MS.  Gen.  Jan.  21,  1552.  J  MS.  Gen. 

§  "  Expert!  sumus  quam  parum  in  iis  sit  auxilii.     Myconius  fngide  nescio 
quid  attingit,  rem  nulla  modo  expendit." 
||  MS.  Gen.  Jan.  27,  1552. 


140  JACQUES  DE  BOURGOGNE.        [CHAP.  III. 

Bolsec  had  not  expressed  himself  as  the  Swiss  did  in  their  con- 
fession. The  latter,  though  not  sufficiently  clear,  were  orthodox 
in  their  sentiments*. 

But  consolation  and  sympathy  were  not  wanting  to  him  at  this 
period.  Calvin  ever  found  in  Farel's  friendship  a  great  source 
of  support.  In  March  1551  he  wrote  to  himt:  "I  cannot  say 
how  much  I  thank  you.  May  Christy  who  is  both  my  treasure, 
and  my  chief  treasure  too,  repay  you  !  "  At  the  end  of  December 
in  the  same  year  Viret  addressed  Calvin  in  these  encouraging 
words  :  "  The  devil  persecutes  you  and  Farel,  because  you  defend 
the  interests  of  Christ.  Do  you  therefore  receive  his  attacks  as 
a  sacrament,  through  which  you  may  become  more  and  more 
confirmed  in  the  holy  struggle  to  which  you  are  called.  Think 
of  the  faith  by  which  David  was  strengthened,  when  he  was  going 
against  Goliath ;  and  how  he  remembered  the  victory  which  he 
had  gained  over  the  bear  and  the  lion.  He  who  has  hitherto 
rendered  you  and  your  brethren  invincible,  will  perfect  the  work 
which  he  has  begun,  through  you." 

During  these  untoward  events,  afflicting  news  arrived  from 
France,  respecting  the  persecution  of  the  evangelical  party  in 
that  country.  But  Bullinger  thus  addressed  him  J  :  "The  God 
who  delivered  his  people  out  of  Egypt  lives  for  ever.  He  lives 
who  led  them  back  from  captivity.  He  lives,  who  has  given 
freedom  to  his  church,  emperors,  kings  and  princes  lying  pro- 
strate before  him.  But  we  must  enter  into  heaven  through  much 
tribulation.  Woe  however  be  to  them  who  harm  the  apple  of 
God's  eye !  Let  us  continue  to  preach  the  pure  word,  and  to 
proclaim  the  Gospel  of  Christ,  and,  with  all  saints,  to  fix  our 
eyes  on  heaven.  Then  He  who  has  said  e  I  will  be  with  you  to 
the  end  of  the  world,'  will  never  forsake  us." 

Calvin  stood  in  the  nearest  relation  to  Jacques  de  Bourgogne, 
Sieur  de  Falais  and  Bredam.  His  friendship  for  this  excellent 
man  shows  us  how  strictly  he  viewed  life  itself,  with  all  its  asso- 
ciations, from  the  central  point  of  truth  and  the  church.  Jacques 
de  Bourgogne  had  sought  in  Geneva  that  peace  which  he  found 
it  impossible  to  obtain  in  France.  Calvin  rejoiced  to  receive 
him,  and  he  and  his  wife  resided  for  some  time  in  the  reformer's 
house.  The  latter  wrote  an  apology  for  him,  which  was  laid 
before  the  emperor ;  and  he  dedicated  to  him  his  commentary  on 

*  Ed.  Laus.  Ep.  134  ;  Ed.  Amstel.  p.  64.  b. 

f  Kirchhofer,  in  Farel's  Lebcn.  ;  Farel  and  Calvin,  March  1551. 

J  Ed.  Laus.  Ep.  139. 


A.D.  1552.]  BOURGOGNE  AND  BOLSEC.  141 

.the  First  Epistle  to  the  Corinthians.  A  reference  to  the  corre- 
spondence which  they  carried  on  for  many  years  will  prove  how 
tender  a  regard  united  Calvin  and  this  noble  family.  It  is  re- 
markable, however,  that  great  as  was  the  friendship  which  the 
Sieur  de  Bourgogne  entertained  for  Calvin,  he  long  resisted  his 
persuasion  to  settle  in  Geneva.  He  at  first  preferred  Basel,  and 
Calvin  described  in  vain  the  beauties  of  Geneva,  adding  even 
that  he  had  bought  on  his  account  a  cask  of  old  wine.  It  seems 
indeed  as  if  the  lord  of  Falais  suspected  that  it  was  easier  to 
honour  a  great  man  at  a  certain  distance  than  when  too  near. 
He  was  of  a  somewhat  gay  temper,  and  the  tone  of  society  at 
Basel,  where  the  elegant  Erasmus  had  formerly,  and  where  the 
liberal  Castellio  now,  lived,  was  not  so  stern  as  at  Geneva. 
The  ministers  of  that  place  were  also  of  a  quieter  temper,  and 
they  saw  clearly  that  it  was  not  every  one  who  could  imitate 
Calvin's  eagle  flight.  At  length  however  Bourgogne  yielded, 
and  proceeded  to  Geneva,  where  Bolsec  became  his  physician. 
Now  begins  the  catastrophe.  The  good  Falais  and  his  excellent 
wife  had  no  suspicion  of  what  was  going  on,  and  they  under- 
stood nothing  of  the  controversy  respecting  predestination.  They 
could  not  comprehend  the  mystery  of  eternal  decrees,  and  they 
beheld  with  astonishment  their  intimate  friend  rousing  himself 
like  a  lion  robbed  of  its  young, — his  benevolent  countenance 
full  of  fire,  his  forehead  expressive  of  the  sternest  indig- 
nation, and  the  accomplished  Calvin  raging  against  all  the 
world.  The  peace-loving  Bourgogne  had  formerly  entreated 
Bullinger  to  unite  with  Calvin  in  restoring  peace  to  the  church ; 
"  for  two  such  spirits  as  yours,"  he  said,  "  could  not  easily  be 
found,  to  perform  this  work  of  reconciling  that  which  other  pious 
people  may  have  disturbed."  Now  he  said  to  Bullinger,  with  a 
sorrowful  heart,  u  It  is  not  without  tears  that  I  am  compelled 
to  see  and  hear  this  tragedy  of  Calvin  and  his  friends.  May 
God  ever  vouchsafe  to  grant  us  the  truth  ! "  Bourgogne  adopted 
from  benevolence  the  part  of  his  imprisoned  physician;  and 
when  the  latter  was  banished,  he  left  for  ever  the  city  where  a 
feeling  prevailed  so  contrary  to  his  taste,  and  where  it  was  con- 
sidered a  violation  of  propriety  to  speak  of  the  freedom  of  the 
will.  He  used  his  influence  with  the  Swiss  to  protect  Bolsec, 
and  he  subsequently  declared  that  he  agreed  with  him  in  his 
views.  Hence  Calvin's  anger.  "  Let  Falais,  if  he  please,  regard 
Bolsec  as  a  good  man ;  and  whilst  he  defends  an  unknown  bab- 
bler, expose  his  own  calling  to  hazard.     But  this  is  the  end  of 


142  BOURGOGNE  AND  BOLSEC.  [CHAP.  III. 

the  matter.  That  deceiver  shall  not  be  received  in  the  Bernese 
territory.  I  am  so  ashamed  when  I  think  of  Falais,  that  I  can 
scarcely  bear  to  see  the  face  of  any  one  who  reminds  me  of  his 
levity*/' 

It  is  difficult  for  us  now  to  understand  how  so  excellent  a  man 
as  Bourgogne  could  become  the  friend  of  so  unworthy  a  one 
as  Bolsec.  But  the  latter  was  to  him  as  the  protector  of  his 
earthly  existence.  Calvin  has  let  fall  some  few  words  on  this 
subject:  he  even  retracted  the  honour  which  had  bestowed 
upon  his  friend  a  kind  of  immortality — the  dedication,  that  is, 
to  the  Commentary,  mentioned  above ;  as  a  king  might  take 
from  an  unfaithful  servant  the  decorations  granted  him  at  a 
former  period.  In  the  year  1556  he  dedicated  this  work,  as  we 
have  also  stated,  to  the  excellent  Galeazzo  Caraccioli,  whose  life 
appeared  to  him  in  complete  contrast  to  that  of  Bolsec.  "  Would 
to  God,"  he  said,  "  that  when  this  my  commentary  first  saw  the 
light,  he  had  been  unknown  to  me,  whose  name  I  am  now  com- 
pelled to  obliterate,  or  at  least  that  I  had  known  his  true  character  1" 

The  friendship  between  Calvin  and  Bullinger  was  not  for  a 
moment  weakened  through  this  controversy  with  Bolsec.  He 
remained  equally  united  with  Haller  and  Musculus.  Bullinger 
warned  him  affectionately  to  be  cautious  on  the  doctrine  of  pre- 
destination, when  he  published  the  second  defence  against  West- 
phal,  and  Calvin  did  not  reject  his  counsel. 

At  length,  that  is  at  the  beginning  of  the  year  1552,  Calvin 
was  informed  that  a  courier  from  Saxony,  passing  hastily  through 
Geneva,  was  anxious  to  see  him.  This  was  the  son  of  Justus 
Jonas,  from  Wittenberg,  sent  by  the  counts  of  Mansfeld  to  the 
king  of  France.  Calvin  anxiously  asked  him  the  state  of  the 
church  in  Saxonyf.  "The  wrath  of  God,"  he  exclaimed  after 
this  conversation,  u  is  turning  the  world  upside  down,  because 
it  refuses  to  rest  under  his  dominion.  I  dare  not  say  more  in  a 
letter.  As  our  conversation  referred  to  the  Saxon  church,  the 
stranger  told  me,  among  other  things,  that  Melancthon  was 
publicly  censured,  because  he  had  not  openly  stated  his  agree- 
ment with  us  on  the  subject  of  the  Lord's  Supper.  He  himself 
spoke  so  prudently,  and  with  so  much  knowledge  of  the  whole 
matter,  that  I  could  discover  nothing  whatever  injudicious  in  his 
conversation,  though  I  took  pains  to  observe  him  with  the 
greatest  attention." 

*  MS.  Gen.  Dec.  1551. 

t  From  the  year  1552.  Ed.  Laus.  Ep.  140.  Ed.  Amstel.  p.  67. 


A.D.  1552.]  GENEVA  AND  BERN.  143 

Melancthon  however  was  now  somewhat  perplexed :  he  had 
viewed  the  doctrine  of  predestination  with  considerable  uneasi- 
ness, and  could  not  follow  the  lofty  progress  of  Calvin's  ideas. 
We  learn  this  from  his  letter  to  Camerarius*,  in  which  he  ex- 
claims, "  See  the  madness  of  the  age !  the  Allobrogian  (the 
Genevese)  controversy  on  the  stoical  doctrine  of  Fate,  rages  to 
such  a  degree,  that  people  are  cast  into  prison  if  they  do  not  hold 
the  same  views  on  the  subject  as  Zeno."  Socinus  had  written 
to  him,  and  Calvin  replied  to  him  in  these  noble  words :  "  No- 
thing shall  hinder  me  from  stating  openly  what  I  have  learnt 
from  the  holy  Scriptures.  The  reception  of  this  simple  doc- 
trine is,  and  will  ever  continue  to  be,  to  me,  the  only  rule  of  wis- 
dom." 

The  long-existing  quarrel  between  Geneva  and  Bern  had  ar- 
rived during  this  controversy  at  its  greatest  height.  Many 
historians  have  well  described  the  internal  state  of  Switzerland 
at  this  timet-  That  however  which  chiefly  concerns  the  pur- 
poses of  our  biography  is  the  inward,  divine  impulse  which 
governed  Calvin,  and  convinced  him  that  he  must  gain  the  vic- 
tory for  his  doctrine.  He  stood  alone  against  all.  We  may 
rightly  compare  him  with  the  great  pontiffs  of  the  middle  ages, 
who,  whilst  they  were  often  oppressed  and  insulted  by  the  infe- 
rior nobility  at  Rome,  swayed  at  a  distance  the  destiny  of  rulers, 
made  nations  tremble,  and  solved  the  most  important  of  histo- 
rical problems.  This  remark  will  tend  to  explain  how  Calvin 
continued  exposed  year  after  year  to  numberless  petty  annoy- 
ances and  persecutions,  whilst  his  influence  was  so  powerfully 
felt  in  all  directions.  It  has  been  said,  that  the  Bernese  pro- 
hibited all  discussion  and  preaching  on  the  subject  of  predesti- 
nation in  their  territory.  There  were  however  many  whose 
zeal  prompted  them  still  to  rave  against  Calvin  and  Geneva.  It 
was  a  distressing  period  for  him.  He  now  wrote  the  Defence  of 
the  Consensus.  Agitation  prevailed  in  the  city  J,  and  in  Bern 
the  people  were  excited  to  the  most  bitter  feeling  of  hostility. 
This  arose  indeed  to  such  a  height  that  they  openly  insulted 
Calvin,  and  loaded  the  Genevese  with  curses  from  the  pulpit. 
"  It  is  reported  throughout  the  country  that  we  have  been  con- 

*  Corpus  Reform.  Ed.  Br.  T.  vii.  p.  390.  Cal.  Feb.  1552. 

f  See  Trechsel's  Antitrinitarier,  s.  194  ;  Hess,  Leben  Bullingers,  t.  ii.  s.  237  ; 
and  especially  Hundeshagen,  Conflicte  des  Zwinglianismus,  Lutheranismus 
und  Calvinismus  in  der  Berner  Kircbe,  s.  253. 

I  MS.  Gen.  Calvinus  Bullingero,  Sept.  18,  1554.  His  language  is  very 
strong  : — "  Interim  a  vicinis  nostris  plus  quam  atrociter  proscindor ." 


144  GENEVA  AND  BERN.  [CHAP.  III. 

demned  by  the  Bernese  ministers  as  heretics."  This  sentence 
occurs  in  the  epistle  of  the  Genevese  to  the  Bernese  ministers, 
October  6th,  1554;  and  further,  "  Zebedaeus,  babbling  on  the 
subject  of  foreknowledge,  exclaimed  aloud  at  a  dinner-table,  that 
we  are  worse  than  papists.  Encouraged  by  these  things,  that 
monster  (Bolsec)  who  lives  at  Thonon,  cries  that  Calvin  is  a  he- 
retic and  an  antichrist.  On  the  opposite  side  of  the  lake  dwells 
another,  not  very  unlike  the  former :  his  name  is  Sebastian,  a 
banished  Genevese.  Think  now  what  sport  is  created  for  the 
papists  by  these  occurrences,  and  what  scandal  is  thereby  heaped 
upon  the  holy  name  of  Christ."  The  Genevese  demanded  satis- 
faction ;  but  Haller  and  Musculus  had  not  the  courage  to  lay 
their  letter  before  the  council. 

The  Bernese  again  prohibited  the  discussion  of  this  mysterious 
doctrine,  and  still  more  expressly  the  subject  of  discipline,  as 
connected  with  excommunication. 

At  the  repeated  instance  however  of  the  Genevese,  Bolsec 
and  the  more  violent  of  the  preachers  were  brought  before  the 
council  at  Bern.  It  exhibited  great  firmness,  and  desired  nothing 
but  peace.  The  popular  dislike  to  Geneva  was  only  the  more 
remarkable.  On  this  occasion  the  conduct  of  the  Bernese  minis- 
ters in  general  was  highly  becoming :  they  warned  their  supe- 
riors with  great  faithfulness ;  but  none  appeared  to  understand 
the  ground  of  Calvin's  zeal.  They  answered  the  Genevese 
council  with  implied  reproaches,  and  exhorted  all  to  cultivate 
peace.  A  mandate  was  issued  from  Bern,  in  which  people  were 
strictly  forbidden  to  go  to  Geneva,  or  to  receive  the  sacrament 
according  to  the  Calvinistic  form.  This  mandate,  read  by  the 
preachers  from  the  pulpit,  and  posted  up  by  the  order  of  the 
magistrates,  was  unfortunately  regarded  by  the  people  as  an 
excommunication  of  the  Genevese,  and  Calvin's  name  was  loaded 
with  execrations.  He  poured  out  his  griefs  to  Bullinger*: 
"  Having  attained  some  degree  of  tranquillity  here  in  Geneva, 
the  Bernese  council  has  not  only  absolved  those  who  denounce 
me  as  a  heretic,  but  they  have  sent  forth  against  me  and  this 
church  a  host  of  raging  adversaries.  We  are  accused  as  crimi- 
nals, and  we  have  shown  that  we  are  ready  at  any  moment  to 
give  an  account  of  ourselves.  With  our  own  free  consent  we 
have  allowed  them  to  be  our  judges ;  but  they  will  not  hear  us. 
In  the  meantime  the  people  are  forbidden,  by  a  public  edict,  to 

*  MS.  Tig.  Feb.  24,  1555. 


A.D.  1552.]  GENEVA  AND  BERN.  145 

partake  of  the  sacrament  with  us.  Cease  then  to  feel  any  asto- 
nishment at  the  barbarity  of  the  Saxons ;  since  hatred  against  a 
man,  who  has  a  hundred  times  been  ready  to  peril  his  neck  for 
the  sake  of  peace,  can  thus  be  made  a  cause  for  rending  the 
churches  asunder.  Nothing  disturbs  me  more  than  the  feeling 
that  God  is  hereby  manifesting  his  wrath.  But  if  so  it  must  be, 
let  them  satisfy  their  hunger  by  driving  me  into  a  wearisome 
exile.  I  pour  out  these  complaints  into  your  bosom,  that  you 
may  support  me  by  your  holy  prayers." 

All  this  tended  to  the  entire  destruction  of  union  among  the 
churches  of  Switzerland.  A  deputation  therefore  was  sent  from 
Geneva.  It  consisted  of  a  syndic,  a  member  of  the  council, 
Calvin,  and  another  minister,  and  proceeded  to  its  task  in  March 
1555.  Viret  in  the  meantime  came  from  Lausanne,  and  Fabri 
from  Neuchatel,  with  two  others,  to  make  their  complaints  on 
the  subject  in  dispute.  Geneva  had  placed  in  the  hands  of  its 
representatives  an  "  Instruction,"  written  by  Calvin  himself, 
and  containing  a  firm  statement  of  evangelical  faith*.  It  was 
required  that  an  inquiry  should  be  instituted  into  the  slanders 
against  Calvin's  doctrine,  and  into  those  against  the  Genevese 
themselves,  who  were  accused  of  despitefully  rejecting  the  Bernese 
rites  and  ceremonies.  The  firmness  of  the  Genevese  in  this 
respect  is  well-deserving  of  notice,  considering  their  position 
in  respect  to  Bern,  their  political  difficulties,  their  anxious  desire 
to  renew  their  treaty  with  the  Bernese,  which  the  present  move- 
ment was  so  ill  calculated  to  promote,  and  the  perils  with  which 
their  little  state  was  threatened  on  the  side  of  France  and  Savoy. 
The  energy  of  Calvin's  faith  was  their  ruling  principle  through 
this  whole  period. 

Calvin  now  stood  before  the  council  at  Bernf?  and  stated  his 
complaints.  The  examination  was  deferred  to  a  later  day,  to 
enable  the  opposite  party  to  appear.  The  deputies  accordingly 
repeated  their  statements,  April  2,  1555.  Calvin  addressed  the 
assembly  with  his  usual  eloquence,  in  a  speech  of  which  the 
following  is  an  abstract: — "No  other  doctrine  is  preached  at 
Geneva  than  that  which  is  preached  at  Bern ;  the  doctrine,  that 
is,  of  predestination ;  and,  therefore,  we  pray  you  to  take  means 
to  instruct  your  subjects  thereon,  and  thereby  silence  the  slanders 
with  which  we  are  assailed.     We  also  beg  that  these  calumnies 

*  MS. 

t  Compare  He?s,  Leben  Bullingers,  t.  ii.  ?.  246,  and  the  complete  account 
in  Trechsel,  s.  200.   Ruchat,  t.  vi.  p.  127. 

VOL.  II.  L 


146  GENEVA   AND  BERN.  [CHAP.  III. 

may  not  go  unpunished ;  and  that  the  mandate  by  which  your 
people  are  forbidden  to  partake  of  the  sacrament  at  Geneva 
may  be  otherwise  and  better  worded,  seeing  that  some  ill-disposed 
persons  have  taken  occasion  therefrom  to  assert  that  you  con- 
demn our  doctrine." 

But  the  opposition  to  Calvin  was  universal ;  and  his  adversaries 
either  denied  what  they  had  said,  or  escaped  by  subterfuge.  The 
Genevese,  however,  would  not  be  satisfied  by  such  excuses. 
Calvin  boldly  brought  forth  his  great  doctrine,  that  to  which  he 
had  devoted  his  life,  and  declared  "that  he  was  not  contending 
for  himself,  but  for  the  truth,  and  that  a  synod  therefore  must 
decide  the  question."     He  would  have  gone  again  before  the 
council,  but  his  friends  prevented  him.     Haller,  who  now  seemed 
to  begin  to  understand  him,  took  a  lively  interest  in  his  cause. 
Calvin  spoke  again  the  next  day ;  but  his  ardent  zeal  only  occa- 
sioned offence.     The  preacher  L'Ange  quoted  a  passage  from  his 
works,  said  to  be  heretical.   Calvin  had  somewhere  written,  that 
"  Christ  was  despairing  on  the  cross."     Calvin  in  reply  declared, 
Si  that  this  was  an  error  of  the  press."     But  the  council  was  of 
opinion  that  he  was  answerable  for  it,  and  remained  inflexible. 
With  a  rude  angry  tone  the  Bernese  admonished  the  Genevese  to 
preserve  peace,  and  to  see  that  their  ministers  preached  so  as  to 
offend  no  one,  nor  even  in  their  books  to  investigate  the  deep 
secrets  of  God,  which  was  not  necessary,  nor  likely  to  conduce 
to  edification.     As  for  Calvin^s  doctrine,  they  would  not  inquire 
into  it,  nor  pronounce  either  for  or  against  it.     There  should  be 
no  controversy  on  the  subject  in  their  territory.     They  added, 
that  they  were  aware  that  Calvin  rejected  the  doctrine  of  Zwingli 
on  the  Sacrament  as  false  and  dangerous ;  and  that  he  directed 
this  censure  against  themselves,  to  whom  the  doctrine  pertained 
as  a  part  of  their  reformation.     They  had  therefore  just  cause  of 
offence  against  him  ;  but  they  would  now  pass  this  over,  in  order 
to  give  him  an  example  of  moderation.     They  notwithstanding 
warned  him,  that  if  they  should  hereafter  find  in  their  territory 
books,  or  other  writings  of  his,  directed  against  the  doctrine  of 
their  church,  they  would  order  them  to  be  burnt;  and  would 
severely  punish  any  one  who  should  in  any  wise  write  or  speak 
against  their  reformation. 

This  was  the  unity  after  which  Calvin  panted !  The  man  who 
could  write  to  a-  Lasco  : — "  Fain  would  I  that  all  the  churches  of 
Christ  were  so  united,  that  the  angels  might  look  down  from 
heaven,  and  add  to  our  glory  with  their  harmony."     The  waves 


A. D.  1552.]  GENEVA  AND   BERN.  147 

which  cast  him  on  the  strand  bore  him  back.  He  returned  to 
Geneva  with  his  mighty  convictions  in  his  heart,  which  no 
one  would  share  with  him,  but  which  he  was  assured  would 
finally  conquer.  The  deputies  protested,  with  all  their  force, 
against  the  resolution  of  the  Bernese.  Those  of  Lausanne  and 
others  also  remonstrated  against  them.  "  Zwingli  and  CEcolam- 
padius,"  they  said,  Ck  would  have  agreed  with  Calvin  in  this 
matter:  quiet  would  soon  be  restored  if  people  would  but  be 
guided  by  Scripture."  The  council  however  would  yield  no- 
thing, and  Calvin  on  his  side  remained  if  possible  still  more  im- 
moveable. But  Bolsec,  as  a  disturber  of  the  public  tranquillity, 
with  two  others  who  had  affronted  the  honour  of  Geneva,  were 
expelled  the  Bernese  territory.  The  friends  of  Calvin  also  now 
stepped  forward,  offering  their  sympathy  and  encouragements. 
Farel  said  to  him : — "  I  must  be  made  of  wood  and  stone,  if  I 
do  not  regard  you  with  the  tenderest  affection.  Christ  has 
worked  for  us  above  all  our  hope,  and  will  accomplish  still 
greater  things.  Surely  we  ought  to  stand  unterrined ;  for  the 
conflict  is  not  ours,  nor  are  we  the  leaders." 

Calvin,  as  a  truly  great  man,  was  wholly  occupied  with  the 
desire  of  working  out  his  general  historic  principle.  It  is  easy 
to  perceive  what  was  the  spirit  which  operated  on  his  mind  in 
the  remonstrance  against  the  Bernese  decree1'.  "  As  great  hatred 
had  been  exhibited  against  him  there,"  he  said,  "  he  wished  to 
appear  in  Bern  as  a  private  person.  But  it  was  not  he  alone 
who  had  been  condemned:  the  whole  church  of  Geneva  and 
the  Bernese  ministers,  who  agreed  with  him,  were  included  in  the 
sentence  of  the  late  decree."  "  You  think  that  no  books  ought 
to  be  written  on  the  mysteries  of  God :  but  to  what  does  this 
tend?  Many  in  your  territory  speak  more  insultingly  of  the 
holy  doctrine  of  predestination  than  would  be  suffered  even  in 
popish  countries.  I  know  well  enough  that  we  ought  to  be 
humble  and  modest  in  the  treatment  of  this  profound,  incompre- 
hensible mystery ;  but  if  you  had  looked  into  my  much-misre- 
presented book,  your  excellencies  would  have  discovered  that  its 
only  object  is  to  subdue  the  pride  of  the  human  spirit,  and  to 
teach  it  to  reverence  in  all  fear  and  humility  the  majesty  of  God, 
without  in  any  wise  giving  the  reins  to  an  idle  curiosity.  But 
if  people  will  indiscreetly  abuse  this  doctrine,  and  attempt  to 
correct  the  Holy  Spirit,  we  must  strike  out  of  the  Scriptures 
what  is  openly  revealed  to  us  in  their  pages.     I  cannot  but 

*  MS.  Gen.  et  Bern.,  May  4,  1  Jr."). 

)    2 


148  CALVIN    AND  BEZA.  [CHAP.  III. 

wonder  that  I  alone  am  attacked;  for  if  what  I  have  said  be 
compared  with  what  has  been  set  forth  by  the  most  learned  men 
in  Germany,  who  have  seen  the  light  of  the  Gospel  in  these  our 
days,  it  will  be  found  that  my  language  is  far  more  cautious  than 
theirs.  I  therefore  adjure  you,  according  to  the  precept  of  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,  that  you  show  no  respect  for  persons ;  since 
though  my  name  and  books  should  perish,  what  the  prophets 
and  apostles  have  said  would  endure  for  ever;  and  it  is  from 
them  that  I  have  derived  the  doctrine  which  man  condemns." 

At  the  end  of  May,  Calvin  was  again  sent  to  Bern,  in  order  if 
possible  to  establish  some  better  ground  of  agreement*.  But 
this  experiment  led  to  no  useful  result.  Political  rivalries  di- 
vided the  two  states,  and  the  libertine  party,  which  had  been 
dispersed,  now  found  a  shelter  in  Bern.  But  if  the  enmity  against 
Calvin  increased,  his  sense  of  duty  became  still  greaterf-  We 
learn  this  from  his  own  expressions.  Addressing  the  Bernese 
ministers  with  profound  earnestness,  he  prayed  for  counsel,  pro- 
tection, and  sympathy  J.  "  Shall  I  not,"  he  says,  "  defend  a  doc- 
trine by  my  words,  for  which  the  holy  martyrs  doubted  not  a 
moment  to  pour  out  their  blood?"  "That  they  who  speak  of 
God's  election  shall  be  punished, — consider  wTell  whether  this 
ought  to  be  endured.  I  would  rather  that  my  tongue  should  be 
cut  out,  than  that  such  an  enormity  should  be  allowed  in  a 
church  entrusted  to  my  care  and  fidelity." 

It  was  a  circumstance  favourable  to  the  cause,  that  the  council 
of  Bern  did  not  declare  in  his  favour.  Had  it  done  so,  it  would 
no  doubt  have  been  believed  that  Calvin  had  effected  by  his  in- 
fluence what  was  afterwards  accomplished  by  the  mere  force  of 
truth.  All  the  slanders  which  had  been  uttered  then  vanished 
as  smoke.  After  Calvin's  death,  his  accuser,  Andreas  Zebedaeus, 
the  man  who  persecuted  him  so  virulently,  confessed,  on  his 
death-bed  at  Nyon,  in  the  presence  of  many  witnesses,  the  truth 
of  the  doctrine  which  he  had  assailed ;  and  in  order  to  testify 
his  repentance,  desired  that  all  the  papers  referring  to  the  con- 
troversy should  be  burnt  before  his  eyes.  This  was  more  im- 
portant for  the  cause  of  the  reformer  than  all  the  decisions  at 
Bern  §. 

The  world  deals  in  contraries :  Calvin  was  called  to  raise  one 
side  of  this  doctrine,  that  the  other  might  sink  into  shade.  This 
was  not  understood  till  the  conscience  of  his  dying  opponents 

*  Bretschn.  Epp.  Calv.  p.  60.       f  MS.  Gen.  Calv.  Bullingero  Jun.  5, 1555. 
t  MS.  Gen.  3  Non.  Mai.  1555.  §  Beza,  Vie  de  Calv. 


A.D.   1552.]  CALVIN  AND  BEZA.  149 

admonished  them,  that  it  was  the  Holy  Spirit  alone  who  im- 
pelled Calvin  to  the  course  which  he  had- adopted.  The  true 
historian  will  take  due  notice  of  this  important  fact. 

Beza,  Calvin's  energetic  friend,  and  who  seemed  to  have  one 
heart  and  one  soul  with  him,  could  not  remain  silent  under  the 
circumstances  above  described :  Calvin's  belief  was  his.  With 
the  convictions  derived  therefrom  were  intimately  combined 
whatever  was  most  excellent  in  his  character,  or  most  useful  in 
his  labours.  Calvin  willingly  allowed  him  the  first  place  in  the 
eyes  of  the  world.  In  this,  the  third  epoch  of  the  reformer's  life, 
they  both  pursued  the  same  end ;  and  Beza  was  thoroughly  im- 
pressed with  the  idea,  that  the  evangelical  church  could  only  be 
delivered  by  the  establishment  of  unity.  Hence,  in  the  contro- 
versy with  Bolsec,  he  espoused  with  the  utmost  zeal  the  party 
of  Calvin ;  and  undertook  to  quiet  the  minds  of  the  Swiss,  and 
to  suppress  the  agitation  which  existed,  by  setting  the  doctrine 
of  his  friend  in  a  fair  and  correct  point  of  view.  With  this  ob- 
ject he  lectured  at  Lausanne,  in  French,  on  the  Epistle  to  the 
Romans.  He  had  already  acquired  fame  by  his  poem  on  u  Abra- 
ham Sacrificing,"  and  was  altogether  fitted  for  the  office  which 
he  undertook*. 

But  on  the  other  hand,  he  openly  expressed  his  opinions: 
"Calvin  knows  well  enough  from  Bullinger's  letter,  that  people 
are  not  pleased  with  his  old  treatment  of  the  doctrine  of  predes- 
tination. He  ought  for  the  sake  of  the  weak  to  have  spoken  with 
less  severity  and  distinctness."  And  further :  "  As  Pighius  is 
dead,  he  had  no  reason  to  employ  abuse  as  if  he  were  still  alive, 
for  he  thereby  offended  many."  Though  a  confutation  of  Pighius, 
his  work  was  not,  he  observed,  a  confutation  of  all  opponents. 
Beza,  therefore,  suggested  to  him  a  plan,  according  to  which 
the  whole  would  appear  much  simpler.  He  could  not  however 
write  for  him  to  Bern,  because  it  was  well  known  there  that  he 
and  Viret  were  on  intimate  terms  with  him.  Still  he  was  an 
active  and  zealous  labourer  in  Calvin's  cause.  When  the  mi- 
nisters in  the  Lausanne  district  were  most  violently  excited 
against  the  doctrine  of  reprobation,  Beza  induced  them  to  hold 
an  assembly,  in  which  they  subscribed  a  formulary,  declaring 
that  God  has  elected  to  happiness  a  number  of  human  beings 
from  eternity ;  not  on  account  of  their  faith,  but  to  bring  them 
to  faith.  But  the  word  f  reprobation  '  was  not  introduced  ;  and 
Beza  declared  to  his  friend,  "that  he  had  acted  as  a  prudent 
*  Compare  Schlosser's  Life  of  Beza,  here  chiefly  referred  to. 


150  CALVIN  AND   BEZA.  [CHAP.  III. 

creditor  with  an  honourable  debtor,  accepting  what  was  offered 
him  at  the  time,  and  looking  for  the  rest  at  a  future  and  more 
prosperous  period."  Beza  also  undertook  the  difficult  task  of 
reconciling  the  Swiss  ;  and  he  prayed  Calvin  to  induce  Bullinger 
and  Blaarer  especially  to  write  to  the  Bernese  council.  They 
in  vain  sought  to  move  Melancthon  to  declare  himself.  He 
seemed  not  to  understand  Calvin's  zeal  or  love*.  But  how 
truly  was  Beza  Calvin's  friend !  How  well  did  he  understand 
his  position !  Speaking  of  him  to  Bullinger,  in  terms  of  the 
tenderest  eulogy,  he  says : — "  I  testify  before  God,  that  Calvin 
has  not  been  too  earnest  in  this  affair.  I  admire,  on  the  con- 
trary^ his  patience  and  moderation  in  contending  with  so  many 
bad  spirits  f."  This  witness  as  given  by  Beza,  who  saw  Calvin's 
labours,  is  worth  much  to  those  who  would  form  a  fair  judgement 
of  the  man. 

The  Zurichers  compelled  Bolsec,  as  we  have  seen,  to  keep  for 
a  time  silent.  When  however  he  had  found  a  protector  in  the 
lord  of  Falais,  Beza  sought  in  several  journeys,  which  he  made 
on  foot,  to  obtain  for  Calvin  the  aid  of  many  influential  men 
against  Bolsec.  So  full  of  zeal  was  he  in  this  respect,  that  he 
brought  upon  himself  the  charge  of  neglecting  the  proper  duties 
of  his  office  X,  for  the  sake  of  labouring  to  promote  unity.  This 
was  a  cause  of  great  offence  to  the  Bernese. 

We  have  seen  that  Bolsec  again  appealed  to  the  council  at 
Bern  against  Calvin ;  and  that  the  latter  poured  out  his  feelings 
in  a  second  epistle,  addressed  to  the  Bernese  ministers,  in  1555. 
The  image  of  his  character  is  deeply  impressed  upon  this  writing. 
Inspired  by  holy  zeal,  he  displayed  his  doctrine  to  the  hearts  of 
his  opponents  as  a  thing  of  God.  But  what  he  was  unable  to 
accomplish  by  the  stormy  power  of  his  convictions,  Beza  effected 
by  the  devotion  of  his  friendship.  He  sought  witnesses  against 
Bolsec  in  order  to  compel  him  to  an  answer.  The  Bernese 
could  now  no  longer  protect  him.  By  means  therefore  of  Beza, 
who  makes  no  mention  whatever  of  the  circumstance  in  his  Life 
of  Calvin,  the  latter  overcame  his  most  dangerous  adversary. 
Hence  also  we  see  the  influence  of  the  reformer.  Hated  though 
he  was,  he  found  friends  sufficiently  enthusiastic  in  his  cause  to 
expose  themselves  for  his  sake  to  a  host  of  the  bitterest  ene- 
mies.    Great  as  were   the  trouble  and  annoyance  which  Beza 

*  Beza  says  (MS.  Goth.),  "  Philip  has  disappointed  my  hopes."  "O  miserum 
hominem  !  Hi  sunt  nimirum  fructus  eorum,  qui  non  a  Deo,  sed  a  coelo  pendent." 
t  MS.  Goth.  J  Schlosser,  Lcben  Bezas,  s.  43,  62. 


A.D.  1552.]  CALVIN   AND  BEZA.  151 

encountered  throughout  the  proceedings,  he  exhibited  a  resolu- 
tion and  self-denial  characteristic  of  the  noblest  mind.  He  un- 
dertook and  endured  all  in  the  power  of  faith,  and  feared  not 
the  banishment,  with  which  he  was  threatened,  from  the  Bernese 
territory :  "  If  the  earth  itself  rejected  him,"  he  said,  "  still 
heaven  was  open*."  And  the  sacrifice  which  he  made  for  Calvin 
must  be  regarded  as  of  yet  higher  value,  when  it  is  recollected, 
that  he  was  at  this  very  period  occupied  with  his  annotations  on 
the  edition  of  the  Testament  published  by  Henry  Stephens. 

Beza  and  Viret  protested  violently  against  the  Bernese  edict, 
issued  in  1555,  and  which  forbad  in  severe  terms  any  participa- 
tion in  the  controversy  on  the  side  of  the  ministers.  After  many 
arguments,  Beza  saysfj  "As  far  as  we  are  concerned,  let  it  not 
be  supposed  that  we  would  impose  anything  upon  ourselves 
with  regard  to  our  faith  as  Christians,  through  reverence  for 
Calvin,  or  any  other  human  being.  We  confess,  however,  that 
having  become  acquainted  with  his  teaching,  with  his  work  on 
Predestination,  and  his  various  expositions  of  Scripture,  we  ac- 
knowledge, according  to  our  consciences,  that  his  doctrine  is 
agreeable  to  the  Bible."  Bolsec  was  hereupon  banished;  but 
the  threatened  penalties  were  still  inflicted.  Beza  issued,  in  1557? 
another  writing  respecting  the  repeal  of  the  offensive  edict,  and 
the  Bernese  now  began  seriously  to  consider  the  matter.  He 
and  Viret,  however,  at  length  left  the  territory.  They  declared 
that,  though  their  fellow-labourers  yielded  their  assent,  they  could 
not  in  their  conscience  adopt  the  resolutions  of  the  Bernese. 

Beza's  work  against  Castellio  concludes  with  the  wish,  that  the 
authorities  of  Basel  would  expel  the  latter  from  their  land.  We 
shall  consider  Castellio's  reply,  after  we  have  reviewed  Calvin's 
"  Consensus  Pastorum." 

He  dedicated  this  work,  in  the  name  of  the  assembled  ministers, 
to  the  council  of  Geneva,  as  a  new-year's  gift,  January  1,  1552. 
In  his  address  he  thanks  the  members  of  this  body  for  their 
untiring  defence  of  pure  doctrine ;  exhorts  them  to  persevere, 
and  to  protect  all  who  sought  safety  in  their  city,  that  it  might 
thereby  become,  in  those  troubled  times,  a  secure  sanctuary,  a 
city  of  refuge,  for  the  dispersed  members  of  Christ.  Bolsec 
himself  is  not  mentioned,  and  this  because  he  seemed  to  have 
merely  wished  to  gain  a  name  by  burning  the  temple  of  God. 
The  work  is  therefore  directed  against  Pighius  and  Georg.  Siculus 

*  MS.  Goth.  "  Si  nos  terra  non  ceperit,  at  ccrte  ccelum  nobis  patet." 
Schlosscr,  s.  63.  t  Schlosser,  s.  CO,  from  Beza's  Tractat.  Thcol. 


152  CALVIN  ON  PREDESTINATION.  [CHAP.  III. 

only,  it  being  Calvin's  object  to  treat  Bolsec  with  marked 
contempt. 

Milton,  in  his  description  of  the  world  below,  shows  us  the 
wicked  spirits,  disputing  on  the  subject  of  freedom  and  necessity ; 
on  fate  and  providence ;  on  good  and  evil ;  happiness  and  eternal 
woe.  This  was  founded  on  a  deep  consideration  of  the  human 
mind,  which  is  too  weak  to  solve  the  great  problem  in  which 
such  questions  are  involved,  and  the  discussion  of  which  is 
described  as  proper  to  the  damned.  The  subject  indeed  is  one 
which  cannot  but  confound  the  understanding  and  arouse  the 
fiercest  passions,  whenever  it  is  treated  of  without  humility,  faith 
and  devotion.  If  grace  alone  produces  all  our  actions,  it  is  not 
man  who  acts,  but  the  eternal  law,  and  many  men  are  of  neces- 
sity led  to  salvation,  and  others  to  destruction.  If,  on  the  other 
hand,  man  be  left  free,  he  is  responsible  for  his  sins,  but  cannot 
comprehend  why  God  should  have  given  him  a  free-will  which 
urges  him  to  eternal  ruin.  Freedom  brings  with  itself  the  terri- 
ble alternative  of  eternal  life  and  eternal  death.  But  why  was 
this  possibility  of  sin  allowed,  when  God  must  have  foreseen  the 
consequences  ?  Now  if  two  disputants,  both  equally  convinced 
of  the  truth  of  their  views,  and  inspired  with  like  zeal,  stand 
resolved  to  force,  each  upon  the  other,  his  own  particular  notion ; 
they  are  like  those  spirits  which,  as  described  by  Milton,  rest 
solely  upon  intelligence,  and  neglect  the  aid  of  humble  prayer  to 
guide  them  in  their  inquiry. 

It  was  not  thus  with  Calvin :  prayer  and  the  grace  of  the 
Spirit  were  his  support.  His  work  shows  that  if  free-will  be  in- 
comprehensible, yet  the  grandeur  of  the  attempt  to  grasp  it  is 
not  to  be  despised ;  and  that  we  may  easily  be  tempted  in  our  per- 
plexity to  look  into  the  great  mystery  of  God's  own  being.  There 
is  at  least  something  striking  in  the  view,  which  says  that  all  is 
good  before  God, — the  world  with  its  errors  and  its  crimes ;  that 
all  sins  have  happened  in  agreement  with  his  will,  because  He 
turns  them  to  the  best  purposes ;  and  that  there  is  no  evil  but 
in  the  man, — in  the  individual.  The  writer  however  who  could 
venture  to  exhibit  this  daring  theory  in  its  boldest  form,  cherished 
the  profoundest  trust  in  the  God  in  whom  he  believed.  The 
ground  of  the  whole  argument  is  as  follows : — God,  before  the 
creation  of  the  world,  freely  elected  a  certain  number  of  men, 
and  consigned  another  portion  to  eternal  reprobation ;  we  being- 
altogether  incapable  of  knowing  or  understanding  why  He  did 
so.    Predestination  embraces  three  chief  points  : — 1.  The  eternal 


A.D.   1552.]  CALVIN  ON   PROVIDENCE.  153 

decree,  through  which  God  determined,  before  the  sin  of  Adam, 
what  should  take  place  with  regard  to  the  whole  human  race, 
and  to  each  individual ;  2.  The  principle,  that  man  is  condemned 
to  death  on  account  of  his  own  sin  and  wickedness ;  and  3.  That 
after  Adam  fell,  the  entire  human  stock  was  so  corrupted  and 
debased  in  him,  that  God  could  not  consider  one  better  than 
another;  and  that,  therefore,  those  whom  He  saves,  He  saves 
only  through  his  own  free  grace. 

The  whole  development  of  this  doctrine  is,  as  Calvin  himself 
says,  a  repetition  of  that  which  is  found  in  the  Institutions.  He 
proves  his  theory  by  Augustin  and  the  Scriptures,  referring 
chiefly  to  the  apostle  Paul.  Whenever  he  finds  himself  com- 
pelled to  acknowledge  the  difficulties  of  his  system,  he  plainly 
declares  that  he  could  not  comprehend  so  great  a  mystery ;  and 
that  we  ought  to  be  content  to  receive  that  which  God  has  been 
pleased  to  reveal  to  us,  and  to  teach  in  his  Holy  Word.  The  in- 
tensely sublime  idea  of  the  Godhead,  which  penetrated  Calvin's 
soul,  impelled  his  understanding  to  place  all  upon  that  one 
point,  and  thus  to  bow  unceasingly  before  the  solemn  thought 
of  God.  The  tract  on  Providence,  appended  to  the  work,  is 
useful  and  edifying.  Calvin  speaks,  first,  of  the  general  pro- 
vidence which  upholds  the  world  at  large ;  secondly,  of  the  par- 
ticular providence  by  which  God  watches  over  every  individual 
creature ;  thirdly,  he  shows  the  care  of  God  for  kingdoms ;  and 
lastly,  the  watchfulness  and  fatherly  goodness  which  He  exercises 
on  behalf  of  his  church. 

In  the  next  place,  he  answers  the  common  objections  to  the 
doctrine,  and  shows  that  God,  whose  will  governs  all,  cannot  be 
the  author  of  sin.  He  does  not  agree  with  Augustin  in  the 
notion,  that  sin  in  itself  is  merely  corruption  ;  but  he  insists  upon 
the  principle,  that  all  wicked  actions,  and  whatever  is  done  by 
men  with  a  wicked  design,  are,  notwithstanding,  good  and  righte- 
ous works  of  God.  "  Nothing  happens  by  chance,  nothing  by 
necessity.  For  us  there  may  be  contingences,  but  not  for  God, 
who  has  determined  all  things  beforehand  by  his  own  counsel. 
For  example,  the  bones  of  Christ  might  have  been  broken  upon 
the  cross,  but  not  one  was  broken,  because  it  was  so  determined 
by  God.  Providence  works  by  second  causes.  We  cannot  say, 
'All  is  determined,  and  therefore  it  is  indifferent  what  we  do; 
for  God  has  commanded  us  to  act  thus,  and  no  otherwise/  But 
the  Lord  rules  over  the  free-will  of  men :  He  it  is  who  excites 
good  in  their  hearts.     He  also  hardens  the  heart,  and  yet  the 


154  CALVIN  ON  PROVIDENCE.  [CHAP.  III. 

sin  which  is  committed  in  its  hardness  comes  from  man  alone. 
To  will  and  to  do  is  the  result  of  his  working ;  and  He  bows 
the  human  heart  to  his  will.  We  accordingly  cannot  say  that 
God  merely  allows  sin :  it  happens  actually  by  his  will.  The 
wicked  deeds  which  are  done  certainly  do  not  please  God,  but 
He  has  them  in  his  power,  and  He  makes  them  issue  in  good. 
Augustin  says,  that  the  will  of  God  is  the  necessity  of  things." 

Calvin  interprets  this  proposition  as  signifying  that,  whatever 
happens,  happens  by  God's  almighty  will;  not  simply  in  nature, 
through  existing  laws,  but  through  his  hidden  counsel  and  his 
grace.  This  omnipotent  God,  however,  always  acts  according 
to  law  and  righteousness.  It  would  be  easier  to  deprive  the 
sun  of  its  warmth  than  God  of  his  righteousness ;  and  he  doubt- 
less sins  not  in  the  act  which  he  recognises  as  sin  in  the  offender. 
Robbers  took  away  the  goods  of  Job ;  but  he  says,  "  The  Lord 
gave,  and  the  Lord  hath  taken  away;"  but  assuredly  he  imputes 
not  to  God  the  crime  committed  by  the  robbers.  We  must 
judge  of  everything  according  to  the  design  and  object  of  him 
who  does  it.  For  example,  the  judge  who  condemns  a  murderer 
to  death,  and  causes  his  blood  to  be  shed,  deserves  praise.  And 
should  not  God  be  viewed  in  the  same  light  ?  So  also  a  king  is 
commended,  who,  with  the  good  design  of  upholding  his  country, 
leads  an  army  to  battle.  While  he  does  this,  individuals  com- 
mit many  evil  deeds,  robbery  and  murder,  but  these  things 
are  never  laid  to  the  charge  of  the  monarch.  He  is  not  accounted 
guilty  of  blood-shedding.  How  then  should  God  be  unjust, 
and  why  should  the  glory  of  his  righteousness  be  darkened  be- 
cause He  acts  by  wicked  angels  and  by  men  ?  The  sun  is  ever 
shining  in  its  splendour,  though  sometimes  hidden  from  us  by 
the  black  vapours  of  the  earth.  And  thus  it  is  with  the  righte- 
ousness of  God.  It  is  the  wish  of  blasphemers  only  to  involve 
all  in  the  like  condemnation,  because  the  human  and  the  divine 
will  appear  in  collision. 

"  But  though  men's  wicked  actions  come  from  God,  and  not 
without  good  cause,  although  this  be  not  known  to  us,  and 
though  his  will  is  the  first  source  of  all  things,  yet  I  (Calvin) 
say  that  God  is  not  the  cause  of  sin.  Men  act,  impelled  by  the 
force  of  passion ;  but  God  who  acts  through  them,  by  means  of 
his  righteous  judgement,  which  is  wholly  incomprehensible  to  us, 
cannot  sin.  What  is  it  which  works  sin  in  man,  but  a  wicked 
disposition,  cruelty,  pride,  envy,  evil  desires?  But  there  is 
nothing  of  all  this  in  God.     It  was  thus  that  Shimei  sinned 


A.D.  1552.]  CALVIN   AND  CASTELLIO.  155 

against  David ;  but  David  knew  that  it  was  the  will  of  God,  and 
that  his  will  is  just.    So  also  did  the  wickedness  of  the  Arabians 
who    robbed   Job    appear  sufficiently   evident,   for   they    were 
wrought  upon  by  sinful  desires,  but  God  made  use  of  them  in  a 
righteous  way  to  prove  the  patience  of  Job.     It  often  seems  as 
if  man  and  God  agreed  in  will ;  but  they  do  not  any  more  than 
fire  and  water ;  for  while  the  one  desires  the  absolute  good,  the 
other  desires  the  absolute  wrong.     Let  us  ever  return  to  Au- 
gustin,  who  says,  <  The  works  of  God  are  precious,  according  to 
his  will,  but  they  are  often  incomprehensible  to  us.     So  that 
that  which  happens  against  his  will,  happens  not  without  his 
will.     For  nothing  would  take  place  did  not  he  allow  it;  and 
he  does  not  allow  it  against  his  will,  but  according  to  and  with 
his  will.' " 

Calvin  was  well-aware  that  the  banishment  of  Bolsec  would 
not  terminate  the  struggle.     Though  little  satisfied  with  their 
conduct,  he  had  addressed  a  friendly  letter  to  the  ministers  of 
Basel,  and  proved  to  them  how  far  removed  Bolsec  was  from 
their  opinions,  and  how  little  right  he  had  to  expect  their  sup- 
port.    He  foresaw  evils  to  come.     There  was  one  great  doctrine 
for  which  he  had  to  struggle  to  the  end  of  his  life.     In  Geneva, 
the  libertine  party  hoped  that  Calvin  would  be  driven  out  of  the 
city  through  these  occurrences.     The  opposition  was  as  fierce  in 
Basel  as  in  Bern.     There,  where  Erasmus  so  long  laboured,  a 
freer  opposition  against  the  doctrine  of  Luther  was  encouraged  ; 
and  there  less  severity  was  exhibited  against  the  heresy  of  Ser- 
vetus.     Hence  we  may  understand  why  the  free-thinking  people 
of  Basel  so  readily  received  the  learned  Castellio,  who  stood  in 
direct  opposition  to  Calvin.     Castellio,  with  no  remarkable  theo- 
logical acuteness,  rather  inclined  to  natural  religion.     He  openly 
taught  his  Pelagian  doctrines :  nor  did  he  possess  the  capacity 
to  comprehend  the  profound  ideas  of  the  thinking  and  devout 
Calvin,  and  still  less  the  character  of  his  times.     According  to 
the  writing  which  appeared  under  the  name  of  Martin  Bellius, 
abusive  anonymous  papers  were  addressed  to  the  Geneva  council, 
against  the  doctrine  of  the  reformer  (155  1).     Calvin  recognized 
his  opponent  at  Basel  in  them,  and  complained  to  Sulzer.    Cas- 
tellio was  accused  before  the  council  at  Basel ;  but  he  denied 
having  any  share  in  the  matter.     Another  later  pamphlet,  which 
must  also  be  mentioned  as  referring  to  this  period,  contained  an 
extract  from  Calvin's  exposition  of  the  doctrine  of  predestination. 
It  was  sent  by  the  Swiss  to  Paris,  in  order  to  be  printed.    A  copy 


156  CALVIN   AND  CASTELLIO.  [CHAP.  III. 

came  into  Beza's  hands,  and  he  forwarded  it  to  Calvin.  Both 
wrote  answers  to  these  tracts.  Schlosser's  judgement  on  the 
two  men  is  altogether  faulty,  and  as  he  is  the  representative  of  a 
party,  he  must  be  answered.  "  Castellio,"  he  says,  "  who  had 
been  already  called  a  knave  on  the  title-page  of  Calvin's  work, 
(he  probably  had  not  read  Castellio' s  miserable  production),  could 
naturally  not  remain  silent.  He  spoke,  however,  discreetly ;  but 
Beza  replied  with  much  gall,  and  called  him  a  devil  and  so  forth : 
'  Quid  est  diabolum  agere,  si  hoc  non  est}'  I  answer,  that  a  satanic- 
ironical  attack  of  such  a  doctrine  of  Scripture  well  deserves  such 
an  answer  as  Beza's."  The  jest,  a  la  Voltaire,  on  sacred  things 
could  not  fail  to  excite  the  zeal  of  these  men  for  the  honour  of 
God.  Had  they  not  responded  to  the  call,  they  would  themselves 
have  been  guilty.  Both  acted  from  inward  conviction,  not  from 
enmity.  Beza's  biographer  forgets  this.  Schlosser  supposes 
that  "  Beza  sacrificed  his  honour  to  friendship,  and  Calvin  re- 
warded him  with  the  place  of  rector  of  the  academy  in  Geneva, 
that  all  Europe  might  see  that  he  regarded  him  as  a  man  of 
learning."  There  is  here  a  fundamental  error.  It  proceeds  on  the 
supposition  that  Calvin  bribed  his  friend ;  that  he  who  strove  for 
divine  truth  alone  was  impelled  merely  by  the  love  of  learning 
or  the  desire  of  fame.  But  both  these  great  men  were  far  supe- 
rior to  ambition,  or  the  wish  for  human  honour.  No  reforma- 
tion would  have  been  effected  had  they  been  subject  to  the  little 
feelings  here  ascribed  to  them.  It  is  also  false  that  Calvin  called 
his  opponent  a  knave.  In  the  French  copy  he  translates  the 
word  nebulo  by  un  brouillon,  an  idle-talker  or  babbler,  which  is 
but  a  mild  expression. 

Calvin  himself  was  not  contented  with  his  second  work.  It 
merely  repeated  what  had  been  often  said  before,  and  he  despised 
the  abuse  heaped  on  him  by  his  opponent.  We  will  therefore 
give  Beza's  sharp  dialectics  in  certain  passages  of  the  confuta- 
tion, especially  where  he  cites  Calvin,  and  strives  with  his  argu- 
ment. It  is  interesting  to  see  with  what  truthfulness  and  affec- 
tion he  defends  him.  Calvin's  object  was  not  to  enter  into  a 
particular  reply,  but  simply  to  show  that  he  was  no  blasphemer. 
It  is  worthy  of  observation,  however,  that  he  establishes  the 
innate  will  on  the  firm  foundation  of  practical  utility.  This  he 
does,  although  in  appearance  and  in  theory  he  seems  to  oppose 
it.  The  whole  force  of  Castellio's  argument  was  derived  from 
the  notion  that  such  was  the  case,  and  that  morality  was  alto- 
gether annihilated  by  the  system  of  the  reformer.     Calvin  was 


A.D.  1552.]  CALVIN  AND  CASTELLIO.  157 

more  distressed  at  this  accusation  than  at  any  other.  It  made 
it  appear  that  he  was  guilty  of  a  foolish  inconsequence.  But  he 
now  proved  how  the  doctrine  of  predestination  had  grown  up 
with  his  whole  being,  and  complains  that  it  was  despised  on  his 
account,  and  that  to  God's  dishonour.  To  all  the  insults  uttered 
by  Castellio,  he  continually  replies  that  his  doctrine  was  that  of 
the  Holy  Scriptures.  "  Bark,"  he  says,  "  as  much  as  you  like, 
you  will  no  more  bow  God's  glory  to  the  dust,  than  you  could 
darken  the  light  of  the  sun  by  spitting  at  it*."  And  that  Calvin 
spoke  the  truth  appeared  as  clear  as  the  sun. 

Castellio  kept  back  his  name,  and  played  the  character  of  a 
well-meaning  man  (though  his  conduct  at  Geneva  shows  that  he 
could  act  in  a  very  different  spirit),  and  of  one  who  desired  to 
promote  the  unity  of  the  church.  He  humbly  besought  Calvin 
to  explain  to  him  some  difficulties  in  the  doctrine  of  predestina- 
tion, which  seemed  to  resemble  that  of  the  ancient  Fate,  that  he 
might  be  able  to  answer  the  objections  of  opponents. 

Calvin  was  much  more  excited  than  Beza.  This  is  apparent 
from  his  work  written  at  the  period  of  which  we  are  speakingf. 
The  well-known  expressions,  in  reference  to  Castellio,  are  found 
in  its  pages  : — "  Verily,"  he  says,  "  would  I  a  thousand  times 
rather  that  the  earth  should  swallow  me  up,  than  that  I  should 
fail  to  listen  to  that  which  the  Spirit  of  God  reveals  to  me  by  the 
mouth  of  the  prophet,  or  refuse  to  bear  the  insult  through  which 
the  majesty  of  God  is  abased.  If  there  be  but  a  spark  of  piety 
in  us,  such  shameful  conduct  must  needs  kindle  in  us  the  fire  of 
the  highest  indignation.  As  far  as  I  am  concerned,  I  will  rather 
rave  than  not  be  angry." 

When  the  news  soon  after  arrived  that  Castellio  was  dead, 
Beza  expressed  himself  to  Bullinger  in  the  following  terms :  "  I 
was  too  true  a  prophet,  I  find,  to  Castellio,  when  I  told  him  that 
the  Lord  would  quickly  revenge  his  blasphemies,  little  willing 
as  I  am  to  judge  of  the  dead." 

We  must  here  remark,  in  conclusion,  that  the  great  doctrine 
of  predestination,  after  it  had  gained  a  complete  victory  in  the 
reformed  church,  reached  its  end,  and  annihilated  the  Catholic 
Pelagianism,  again  sunk  from  the  firmament.  It  still  lives  in 
Scotland,  and  among  the  Methodists.  No  stronger  opponent, 
however,  was  found  to  it  than  the  first  leader  of  the  Methodists, 

*  Opus.  p.  642,  ad  Art.  X.  "  Latra  quantum  voles  :  non  magis  tuis  male- 
dictis  obrues  Dei  gloriam,  quam  solis  fulgorem  spuendo  obscurabis." 
f  Ed.  Laus.  Ep.  393.  Ed.  Amst.  p.  237. 


158  CONTROVERSY  ON  THE  TRINITY.  [CHAP.  IV. 

Wesley,  who  on  this  account  separated  from  Whitfield,  the  con- 
stant and  powerful  advocate  of  the  divine  decrees.  Wesley  em- 
ployed the  same  arguments  as  Castellio,  but  with  the  greatest 
dignity ;  and  nothing  in  modern  times  of  a  stronger  character, 
I  might  say  of  a  more  terrible  one,  has  been  advanced  against 
Calvin's  doctrine,  than  the  reasoning  of  Wesley,  the  founder  of 
the  Methodists. 

Calvin  felt  to  the  last  that  it  was  his  duty  to  contend  for  his 
doctrine.  He  again,  in  later  years,  expressed  his  indignation, 
that  men  hated  the  system  out  of  hatred  to  him.  "  God's  ho- 
nour," he  exclaims,  u  is  trodden  under  foot,  truth  is  falsified,  the 
unity  of  the  faith  torn  asunder,  the  concord  of  the  church  de- 
stroyed, and  its  peace  ruined ; — and  would  you  have  me  slum- 
ber*?" At  the  end  of  the  work  against  Castellio  he  says,  si  I 
would  fain  know  why  you  accuse  me  of  cruelty,  except  on  account 
of  your  teacher  Servetus,  for  whom,  notwithstanding,  I  prayed 
that  the  judges  would  allow  him  a  milder  death." 

These  words  will  lead  us  to  the  consideration  of  the  following 
memorable  occurrences. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

calvin's  second  great  controversy,  on  the  trinity, 
1553. DISPUTE  WITH  servetus. ITS  consequences. 

A  dark  cloud  appears  at  this  epoch  to  be  sinking  upon  the  path 
of  the  reformer.  Calvin  entered  upon  the  new  year  with  Beza's 
blessing.  "  I  adjure  thee,  beloved  father,"  he  said,  "  to  persevere 
in  thy  work,  and  be  sure  that,  as  thou  hast  often  found  it  to  be 
the  case,  our  united  prayers  will  be  a  thousand  fold  mightier  in  thy 
behalf,  than  all  the  efforts  of  the  servants  of  Satan  against  thee." 
But  at  present  everything  was  adverse  to  him  in  the  little  re- 
public. His  influence  sank  to  so  low  an  ebb,  that  he  broke  forth 
into  loud  complaints,  in  a  letter  addressed  to  Bullinger,  in  the 
September  of  the  year  above-mentioned.  The  senate  was  against 
him ;  his  enemies  were  at  the  head  of  the  dominant  party.  The 
libertines  were  rejoiced  at  the  prospect  of  being  at  length  able 
to  overpower  him.     To  accomplish  this  object  they  must  deprive 

*  MS.  Bern.  Jul.  4,  1558. 


A.D.  1553.]  ILLNESS  OF  FAREL.  159 

the  clergy  of  all  share  in  the  management  of  the  state.  In  this 
they  succeeded.  Amied  Perrini  was  chief  of  the  senate,  as  first 
syndic.  He  and  his  party  ventured  on  the  6th  of  February  to 
assert,  with  loud  clamours,  in  the  Council  of  Two  Hundred,  when 
that  body  was  engaged  in  the  election  of  the  lesser  council,  that 
they  were  treated  with  great  severity,  and  were  even  cast  into 
prison,  which  was  a  punishment  proper  only  for  murderers, 
thieves  and  traitors. 

A  violent  tumult  followed  this  assertion,  and  it  was  imme- 
diately proposed,  without  a  dissentient  voice,  that  all  the  mini- 
sters should  be  expressly  excluded  from  the  general  council ;  for 
why,  it  was  asked,  should  preachers  be  members  of  that  body, 
when  the  priests  had  formerly  been  denied  a  place  there  ?  Cal- 
vin, who  was  present,  immediately  answered, "  That  the  preachers 
believed  themselves  bound  by  their  duty  as  citizens  to  take  part 
in  the  council.  The  comparison  which  had  been  made  was  not 
a  just  one,  for  the  priests  did  not  recognise  the  temporal  power." 

But  on  the  16th  of  March  it  was  resolved,  that  the  attendance 
of  ministers  should  be  dispensed  with.  Their  children,  however, 
were  not  excluded.  At  the  end  of  the  year  the  opposite  party 
endeavoured  to  overturn  the  entire  constitution  of  the  church, 
by  insisting  upon  the  administration  of  the  sacrament  to  every 
one,  without  regard  to  his  moral  character.  Their  plan  was  one 
of  great  extent,  as  appeared  from  the  sequel.  On  the  11th  of 
April  it  was  declared  that  the  refugees,  of  whom  many  were  citi- 
zens, were  disarmed,  and  might  only  wear  a  sword,  the  use  even 
of  this  being  restricted  to  their  own  houses,  or  when  they  were 
on  a  journey.  They  were  also  prohibited  from  forming  part  of 
the  guard,  but  were  to  aid  in  its  support  by  money. 

The  influence  of  the  first  syndic,  and  the  general  triumph  of 
Calvin's  enemies,  tended  greatly  to  depress  the  power  of  the 
consistory. 

Calvin's  old  and  faithful  friend  Farel  had  fallen  ill  in  March, 
and  all  hope  of  his  recovery  was  given  up.  Calvin  hastened  to 
him  at  Neuchatel,  attended  by  several  of  the  refugees.  Farel 
exhibited  his  noble  testament,  and  Calvin  subscribed  it.  To  the 
great  joy,  however,  of  all,  Farel  recovered,  and  Calvin,  who  had 
prayed  that  his  friend  might  survive  him,  saw  his  wish  fulfilled, 
when  he  was  preparing  himself  for  a  long  separation*.  Calvin 
still  desired  for  himself  ten  years  of  active  labour  in  the  cause  of 
the  church,  and  they  were  allowed  him.  "  Let  us,"  he  said  to 
*  Ed.  Laus.  Ep.  145.  Ed.  Amstel.  p.  69,  a.  Calv.  Farello,  6  Cal.  Apr.  1553. 


160  ACCOUNT  OF  SERVETUS.  [CHAP.  IV. 

Farel,  Ci  so  live  to  Christ,  that  we  may  every  day  be  prepared  to 
die  to  Him/5  It  was  a  year  of  persecution  for  many.  The 
glorious  strength  of  true  martyrdom,  and  the  weakness  of  that 
which  was  only  pretended,  now  showed  itself  in  the  most  con- 
spicuous manner.  Six  weeks  before  the  trial  of  Servetus,  the 
catholics  had  burnt  three  protestants  at  Lyons.  Calvin  described 
to  Farel  the  resolution  of  a  merchant*,  who  went  to  execution 
with  wonderful  tranquillity.  His  relations  and  friends  had  em- 
ployed every  means  to  induce  him  to  recant.  At  the  moment 
when  they  were  using  their  last  endeavours,  a  woman  was  seen 
to  approach  the  scaffold :  she  threw  herself  three  times  at  his 
feet ;  but  he  quietly  repelled  her  entreaties  f.  It  was  his  mother. 
The  execution  of  the  three  young  students  at  Lyons,  before 
alluded  to,  took  place  this  year. 

Many  of  Calvin's  friends  would  fain  have  seen  this  period  of 
his  history  wholly  obliterated ;  and  there  are  others  who  could 
conceive  the  idea  of  writing  his  life,  without  entering  into  any 
particular  account  of  the  affair  of  Servetus.  I  do  not  agree  with 
them.  It  is  here  that  Calvin  appears  in  his  real  character ;  and 
a  nearer  consideration  of  the  proceeding, — examined,  that  is,  from 
the  point  of  view  furnished  by  the  age  when  it  took  place, — will 
completely  exonerate  him  from  blame.  His  conduct  was  not 
determined  by  personal  feeling:  it  was  the  consequence  of  a 
struggle  which  this  great  man  had  carried  on  for  years  against 
tendencies  to  a  corruption  of  doctrine  which  threatened  the  church 
with  ruin.  Every  age  must  be  judged  according  to  its  pre- 
vailing laws ;  and  Calvin  cannot  be  fairly  accused  of  any  greater 
offence  than  that  with  which  we  may  be  charged  for  punishing 
certain  crimes  with  death.  It  has  been  rightly  said,  that  both 
the  legal  and  theological  feeling  of  the  age,  expressed  as  we  find 
it  in  a  variety  of  striking  forms,  allows  not  a  shadow  of  suspicion 
to  fall  upon  Calvin's  integrity  for  demanding  a  judgement  which 
was,  in  every  respect,  justified  by  the  laws  of  the  state.  Papistical 
pamphleteers,  swallowing  the  entire  history  of  the  Inquisition, 
and  straining  at  this  one  execution  for  heresy,  present  a  ludi- 
crous instance  of  hypocrisy,  as  they  come  forth,  with  pious  mien, 
to  declaim  and  rave  against  the  cruelty  of  Calvin. 

At  the  burning  pile,  where  Servetus  suffered,  the  whole  Chris- 
tian church  may  adduce,  through  all  ages,  the  fundamental  truths 
which  it  is  its  duty  to  uphold,  and  prove  its  faith  far  better  than 

*  Ed.  Laus.  Ep.  156.  Ed.  Amstel.  p.  70. 
t  Beza,  Hist.  Eccles.  t.  i.  p.  88. 


A.D.   1553.]  ACCOUNT  OF  SERVETUS.  161 

in  sight  of  the  numberless  iniquities  perpetrated,  from  century 
to  century,  in  catholic  lands,  by  the  blind  rage  or  ferocity  of 
inquisitors.  According  to  Calvin's  system  every  human  action 
comes  within  the  scope  of  God's  providence.  This  appears  in 
the  last  controversy ;  and  it  is  a  fact  that  the  misfortunes  of  Ser- 
vetus  became  eventually,  through  the  inquiries  which  they  oc- 
casioned, a  source  of  good.  Light  has  been  thrown  on  man)r 
opinions,  and  Servetus  by  his  death,  strangely  enough,  aided 
in  one  respect,  though  in  a  way  very  different  to  that  which  he 
sought,  the  object  which  he  proposed  to  himself, — the  reforma- 
tion of  the  world.  His  burning  pile  will  ever  remain  a  conspi- 
cuous point  in  history.  The  great  question  respecting  the  de- 
fence of  the  church,  of  its  purity  and  unity,  against  daring  blas- 
phemers,  will  be  repeatedly  renewed.  That  flaming  pile  however 
stands  as  the  boundary  between  the  barbarous  middle  ages  and 
modern  times,  in  which  new  principles  are  in  operation,  and  by 
which  we  are  to  learn  how  far  tolerance  is  possible. 

We  are  here  to  contemplate  two  men,  meeting  in  the  dark 
ways  of  life,  the  contrast  between  whom  is  such  as  has  rarely 
been  witnessed.  On  the  one  side  was  the  zeal  of  Elias,  on  the 
other  a  blind  fanaticism ;  the  one  a  true  reformer,  the  other  a 
would-be  reformist.  Both  were  sincere  in  their  intentions,  and 
the  one  overthrew  the  other  for  the  honour  of  the  Lord.  It  is 
interesting  for  us,  in  these  tranquil  times,  to  behold  the  struggle 
of  two  such  inquirers,  the  one  striving  for  pure  evangelical  doc- 
trine, the  other  for  a  fantastical-philosophic  Bible-system.  The 
picture  becomes  still  more  striking  when  we  see  in  the  one  the 
representative  of  the  sacred  doctrines  of  the  church  in  all  ages, 
and  in  the  other  a  precursor  of  the  champions  of  philosophic 
religion  in  later  times.  Of  these,  some  have  not  unfrequently 
meant  the  good  of  Christianity.  Servetus,  we  may  remark,  did 
not  thoroughly  understand  himself.  There  was  much  in  him 
which  was  still  chaotic,  but  which  in  later  times  has  come  forth 
in  the  light  of  pure  thought.  In  Calvin,  on  the  contrary,  all  was 
already  clear  and  complete. 

Mention  has  been  made,  in  the  first  part  of  this  work,  of  his 
proceedings  against  Servetus,  and  the  question  was  suggested, 
whether  he  repented  of  his  conduct.  But  to  expect  that  he 
would  feel  as  we  now  do,  or  to  make  him  responsible,  as  is  the 
practice  of  his  enemies,  for  all  the  coarse  severity  of  his  times,  is 
manifestly  an  absurdity.  That  he  should  regret  the  death  of 
Servetus  is  to  look  for  too  much  from  him,  and  utterly  to  mis- 

VOL.  II.  m 


162  ACCOUNT  OF  SERVETUS.  [CHAP.  IV. 

take  the  character  of  the  age.  The  only  glimmering  of  anything 
of  this  kind  which  we  can  see  is  in  those  moments  when  he 
seemed  to  breathe  the  new  spirit  of  the  period  which  was  just 
commencing.  But  in  Servetus  a  bold  and  restless  nature  ruled 
unconcealed.  With  nothing  actually  opposed  to  Christianity  in 
his  will,  he  cherished  in  his  thoughts  an  unpardonably  rash  and 
blasphemous  notion.  To  this  sin  he  adhered  to  the  last;  for 
this  he  suffered  death.  We  see  in  the  whole  the  germ  of  a  new, 
free-thinking  age.  An  obscure  presentiment  of  this  coming  time 
wrought  on  the  mind  of  Servetus ;  and  amidst  all  the  folly  and 
all  the  sin  thus  exhibited,  there  is  still  something  to  interest. 
We  would  gladly  not  regard  him  as  an  enemy.  It  is  natural  for 
us  to  defend  those  who  have  atoned  for  their  crimes.  But  I  must 
ask  of  all  the  opponents  of  Calvin,  whether,  when  they  find  Ser- 
vetus perpetually  pouring  out  his  blasphemies,  they  would  be- 
come responsible  for  these  devilries  before  God  ?  or  whether  they 
would  not  rather  join  with  Calvin  and  his  age  in  taking  up  the 
stone  against  him  ?     I  take  it  up. 

I  will  here  quote  a  passage  which  has  never  yet  been  brought 
against  him,  but  which  tends  to  throw  new  light  upon  his  extra- 
ordinary character.  In  order  to  make  the  doctrine  of  the  incar- 
nation appear  ridiculous,  he  insultingly  exclaims,  6i  If  the  Word 
had  become  flesh,  as  woman,  then  they  would  have  called  the 
Word  itself  the  Son  of  God,  and  the  woman  herself  the  daughter 
of  man.  Hence  the  Son  of  God  would  have  been  of  two  sexes." 
And  further,  "  If  the  angels,  in  like  manner,  were  to  take  asses5 
bodies,  you  must  allow  that  then  they  would  be  asses,  and  they 
would  die  in  their  asses^-skins :  they  would  be  four-footed  ani- 
mals, and  would  have  long  ears.  So  too  you  must  allow,  that 
were  you  right,  God  himself  might  be  an  ass ;  the  Holy  Spirit 
a  mule;  and  that  He  would  die  if  the  mule  died.  O  the  won- 
drously  altered  animal !  Can  we  be  surprised  if  the  Turks  think 
us  more  ridiculous  than  asses  and  mules  ?  "  It  is  with  grief 
that  we  copy  this ;  but  it  is  necessary  to  show  the  blasphemous 
sport  which  Servetus  made  of  holy  things. 

That  man  must  indeed  have  been  remarkable  whom  catholics 
and  protestants  equally  hate;  whom  both  parties  condemn  with 
horror ;  and  who,  when  found  guilty  by  the  whole  world,  could 
venture  to  call  upon  God  and  Christ  with  fervent  supplications, 
and  in  words  which  had  an  edifying  sound,  as  if,  indeed,  the  Spirit 
of  truth  dwelt  with  the  culprit.  The  smoke  which  arose  from 
Champel  long  darkened  the  pure  gladsome  air  of  the  Geneva 


A.D.   1553.]        CALVIN  AND  SERVETUS  CONTRASTED.  163 

Lake.  But  now,  after  three  centuries,  when  we  only  desire  the 
truth,  independent  of  party  interests,  the  history  of  Calvin  lies 
clear  before  us.  Public  opinion  has  fixed  a  brand  upon  his  name. 
The  world  has  done  this  because  it  has  no  proper  understanding 
either  of  Servetus  or  of  the  character  of  his  age.  I  shall  relate 
the  events  of  which  we  are  speaking  as  fully,  and  yet  as  succinctly, 
as  possible,  and  adduce  all  that  can  be  advanced  for  Servetus, 
filling  up  what  may  still  appear  wanting  in  the  evidence  on  his 
behalf.  The  remarkable  life  of  this  man  ;  his  genial  nature  ;  the 
rareness  of  his  works ;  his  end ;  his  system,  so  imperfectly  com- 
prehended even  by  himself,  and  which  Calvin  examined  only 
from  the  point  of  view  which  the  church  afforded, — these  have 
all  tended  infinitely  to  increase  the  difficulty  of  the  subject*. 

While  Servetus  presented  a  singular  contrast  to  Calvin,  both 
in  his  inner  and  in  his  general  spiritual  character,  the  contrast 
was  scarcely  less  remarkable  in  the  circumstances  of  their  lives. 
The  reformer  was  distinguished  by  his  clear  and  logical  intelli- 
gence. Servetus  was  no  less  so  for  his  fantastic  imaginativeness, 
and  for  his  defective  argumentation.  With  Calvin  there  was  the 
profound  religious  feeling,  which  proves  true  faith;  with  Servetus, 
on  the  contrary,  there  was  no  acknowledgment  of  sin,  but  a  mere 
philosophical  element,  altogether  deficient  in  clearness.  In  the 
one,  christian  firmness  and  determination  were  conspicuous ;  in 
the  other,  indecision,  the  result  of  inward  excitement,  as  if  the 
spirit  of  Ahasuerus  dwelt  in  him,  was  the  main  characteristic. 
The  one  would  have  been  named  by  the  Saviour,  a  son  of  thunder ; 
whilst  he  would  have  regarded  the  other  with  melancholy ;  Ser- 

*  The  documents  before  me  are,  'The  Writings  of  Servetus  ;'  Calvin's  work 
referring  especially  to  him  ;  and,  besides  the  labours  of  Mosheim  and  Trechsel, 
the  last  publication  of  Nilliet  (Relation  du  Proces  Criminel  intente  a  Geneve 
a  Michel  Servet.  1844).  An  abstract  of  the  reports  of  the  trial  have  also  been 
preserved  at  Bern  ;  they  agree  with  those  which  Mosheim  had  before  him. 
The  discovery  of  the  original,  however,  is  still  of  importance,  as  proving  the 
fidelity  of  Mosheim's  report.  Some  additional  details  are  very  precious.  This 
is  especially  the  case  in  regard  to  the  proof  which  the  author  produces,  that 
Calvin  enjoyed  so  little  favour  with  the  council  that  he  could  employ  no  influ- 
ence on  the  trial.  The  fact  however  that  Servetus  was  condemned,  not  as  a 
blasphemer,  but  for  political  offences,  is  not  clearly  proved.  M.  de  la  Roche, 
the  editor  of  the  '  Bibliotheque  Anglaise,'  who  wrote  a  short  history  of  Ser- 
vetus, published  in  1/17  extracts  from  the  reports  of  the  trial.  Mosheim's 
learned  work  appeared  at  Helmstadt  in  1748.  I  have  also  referred  to  the  im- 
portant work  of  the  same  author,  '  Neue  Nachrichten  von  dem  beriihmten  Spa- 
nischen  Artzte  Mich.  Servet.  1750,'  and  to  the  Abbe  d'Artigny's  '  Nouv. 
Memoires  de  Critique  et  de  Litterateur/  1749,  t.  ii.  art.  1  ] .  The  latter  author 
had  the  acts  of  the  process  against  Servetus  at  Vienne  before  him,  and  he 
proves  convincinglv  that  Mosheim  was  not  to  be  depended  upon. 

M  L> 


164  CHARACTER  OF  SERVETUS.  [CHAP.  VI. 

vetus  receiving  the  reproach  with  disdain,  till  in  his  last  hour  a 
better  spirit  seemed  to  take  possession  of  his  soul. 

And  as  the  inner  characters  of  these  men  differed,  so  was  the 
outward  course  of  their  lives  various.  Servetus  represented 
himself,  from  the  beginning,  as  a  new  prophet ;  as  one  appointed 
to  regenerate  Christendom,  and  as  raised  above  both  catholics 
and  protestants.  But  notwithstanding  this  boast,  he  was  doubt- 
ful and  perplexed.  We  may  properly  compare  him  to  Hamlet, 
whose  judgement,  in  reference  to  his  goodwill,  was  too  weak  for 
the  great  part  which  he  had  undertaken,  and  who  therefore  had 
an  appearance  of  insanity.  In  a  similar  manner  Servetus  had 
not  ability  corresponding  to  his  extensive  design,  but  yet  was 
skilful  enough  to  disturb  the  reformation  in  the  south.  He  was 
deficient  in  understanding,  and  therefore  indulged  in  vain  and 
wanton  blasphemies.  In  one  point,  however,  both  these  oppo- 
nents agreed :  they  were  alike  in  the  outburst  of  feeling,  except 
that  Calvin  exhibited  more  of  anger ;  the  Spaniard  more  of 
haughtiness  and  heat. 

Mosheim  estimates  the  mental  qualities  of  Servetus  at  a  high 
degree,  and  places  them  on  a  level  with  Calvin's*.  A  later  writer 
says  of  him,  "  He  had  a  certain  penetrating  acuteness  of  mind, 
which  was  subsequently  increased  by  his  study  of  the  law, — a 
powerful  fancy,  which  held  the  understanding  in  abeyance.  He 
was  skilled  in  analysing,  and  could  annihilate  by  his  critical 
acumen  the  notions  of  others,  but  he  could  not  bridle  his  own 
imagination,  or  reduce  his  thoughts  to  a  tranquil  and  logical  de- 
velopment. By  his  natural  wit  he  could  everywhere  discover 
types,  similes,  analogies,  allegories,  but  could  not  perceive  the 
eccentricity  and  perverseness  of  his  own  opinions  f"  I  place  his 
natural  gifts  very  high  ;  his  moral  culture  very  low.  He  failed 
altogether  in  practical  virtue,  and  consequently  in  the  knowledge 
of  his  times,  and  in  a  proper  feeling  for  the  unity  of  the  church. 

Calvin  was  at  this  time  deeply  impressed,  as  we  have  shown, 
with  the  necessity  of  preserving  this  unity :  he  was  anxiously 
desirous  to  prevent  the  existence  of  any  doubt  respecting  his 
agreement  with  Melancthon.  But  the  fearful  disturbance  excited 
by  the  controversy  with  Servetus  threatened  to  destroy  not  only 
the  unity  of  the  church,  but  the  church  itself.  He  grasped  at 
not  one  principle  merely,  but  at  the  very  heart  of  truth.     Thus 

*  Mosheim,  Gesch.  Servet's,  s.  254.         f  Trechsel,  Antitrinitarier,  s.  62. 


A.D.   1553.]  ACCOUNT  OF  SERVETUS.  165 

he  assailed  the  triune  Deity  and  the  person  of  the  Redeemer,  not 
in  reverent  language,  but  in  that  of  blasphemy;  not  as  a  scholar 
for  scholars,  but  as  a  reformer  who  wished  to  introduce  a  new 
Christianity,  and  deprive  the  people  of  the  old.  In  this  character 
he  opposed  himself  to  Calvin,  summoned  him  forth,  and  sought 
to  place  him  on  a  new  and  dizzy  height,  in  the  hope  of  making 
him  renounce  his  doctrine.  We  feel  how  great  must  have  been 
the  indignation  of  the  watchman  of  Israel  at  these  attempts, 
which  he  beheld  from  far.  The  ardour  of  his  character  and  his 
sense  of  duty  must  indeed  have  been  roused  to  the  utmost,  when, 
in  the  progress  of  events,  he  knew  that  all  must  be  saved  or  all 
be  lost. 

The  history  of  Servetus  may  be  divided  into  three  periods : 
1.  That  during  which  he  was  developing  his  system,  and  when 
he  first  appeared,  a  period  extending  to  the  year  1532,  when  he 
left  Basel  and  Strasburg.  2.  That  from  1532  to  1553,  during 
which  he  lived  in  various  parts  of  France,  and  printed  his  great 
work.     And  3.  The  period  of  his  trial  and  death. 

In  the  first  of  these  periods  he  was  known  as  well  by  the  name 
of  Reves  as  by  that  of  Serveto.  Reves  is  probably  an  anagram 
of  Serveto.  In  the  second  period  he  bore  the  name  of  Villano- 
vanus ;  and  in  the  third  he  took  sometimes  the  one  and  some- 
times the  other.  During  the  first  of  these  periods  his  mind  was 
still  comparatively  sober;  but  there  was,  notwithstanding,  no 
slight  degree  of  irreverence  in  his  view  of  the  opinion  held  by 
the  church  on  God.  The  period  closed  with  the  publication  of 
his  work  on  the  errors  regarding  this  doctrine.  In  the  second 
period  his  mind  rose  to  the  highest  degree  of  exaltation  :  he  felt 
himself  called  upon  to  contend  in  the  host  of  Michael.  In  the 
third  he  stood  before  the  two  tribunals.  There  were  now  strug- 
gling in  him  the  good  and  the  evil  principle,  fear,  confidence, 
despondency,  pride,  truth  and  falsehood.  In  the  end  faith  con- 
quered, as  far  as  he  was  capable  of  its  impressions,  and  he  died 
in  anguish  and  terror,  obtaining  the  sympathy  which  is  allowed 
to  a  bowed  and  hesitating  soul.  That  which  he  wrote  to  CEco- 
lampadius  at  the  beginning  of  his  career  deserves  to  be  cited  as 
highly  characteristic  of  his  nature  :  u  God  knows/5  he  says, 
"that  my  conscience  is  clear  in  all  that  1  have  written/' 

The  difficulty  which  we  find  in  giving  any  account  of  his  life 
arises  especially  from  this,  that  we  can  learn  it  only  from  his  own 
mouth;  from  the  information  which  he  gave  to  the  judges  at 
Yicnnc,  and  which  contradicts  that  given  before  those  of  Geneva. 


166  ACCOUNT  OF  SERVETUS.         [CHAP.  IV. 

The  declaration  made  at  Vienne,  and  which  Artigny  has  adopted, 
can  only  be  followed  with  the  greatest  caution.  Servetus  on 
that  occasion  wove  a  web  of  falsehoods,  to  deliver  himself  from 
the  danger  with  which  he  was  threatened,  and  to  prove  that  he 
was  not  Servetus,  but  Villeneuve.  In  Geneva,  on  the  contrary, 
he  appeared  as  Servetus  :  believing  that  it  would  then  avail  him 
nothing  to  conceal  his  history,  he  spoke  with  much  freedom. 

The  christian  name  of  Servetus  was  Michael :  he  was  born  of 
christian  parents  at  Villanueva,  a  city  of  Arragon,  in  the  same 
year  (1509)  as  Calvin:  his  father  was  a  jurist  and  advocate,  not 
of  Jewish  descent,  as  the  judges  supposed  in  their  desire  to  ac- 
count for  the  supposed  hatred  of  Servetus  to  Christianity  by 
tracing  it  to  his  birth.  It  reported  that  he  was  brought  up  in  a 
Dominican  convent.  His  frame  was  weak ;  he  himself  speaks  of 
a  double  injury  which  he  had  received,  and  of  his  unfitness  for 
marriage  :  but  his  appearance  was  agreeable;  and  in  the  engraving 
which  Mosheim  gives,  from  an  excellent  portrait  of  him,  the  ex- 
pression of  his  eye  is  free  and  somewhat  wandering.  At  Vienne 
he  stated  that  in  his  fourteenth  year  he  entered  the  service  of 
Quintana,  the  confessor  of  Charles  V.,  and  in  the  year  1529  was 
present,  as  one  of  his  train,  at  the  famous  meeting  which  termi- 
nated with  the  coronation  of  the  emperor.  The  passage  occurs 
in  the  c  Restitutio,'  where  he  exclaims,  "These  mine  eyes  beheld 
the  pope,  exalted  with  vast  pomp  above  the  greatest  personages, 
and  worshiped  by  crowds,  which  knelt  before  him  in  the  street ; 
those  considering  themselves  the  happiest  of  people  who  could 
kiss  his  feet  or  his  slippers."  Then  exciting  himself  to  the  highest 
degree  of  indignation,  he  continued,  "  O  thou  beast,  of  all  beasts 
the  most  wicked ;  of  all  harlots  the  most  shameless  ! M 

He  subsequently  went  into  Germany,  in  the  train  of  the  em- 
peror, and  after  the  death  of  Quintana  he  proceeded  to  Paris. 
Quintana  stated  that  he  knew  him  by  sight  (which  certainly  does 
not  prove  that  he  was  familiar  with  him),  and  he  expressed  the 
greatest  anger  and  vexation  that  this  Spaniard  was  the  author  of 
the  work  against  the  Trinity.  He  had  already  probably  become 
connected  with  the  free-thinkers  in  Italy. 

At  Geneva  he  stated  that  his  father  sent  him  to  Toulouse  to 
study  the  law.  This  is  worthy  of  credit,  although  D'Artigny 
here  contradicts  Mosheim.  It  is  probable  that  he  had  left  Quin- 
tana after  the  journey  into  Italy,  in  his  nineteenth  year,  and 
before  he  went  to  Paris.  He  had  no  reason  for  inventing  the 
statement  referred  to  at  Geneva,  and  his  writings  afford  many 


A.D.  1553.]  WRITINGS  OF  SERVETUS.  1G7 

indications  of  legal  study.  At  the  university  he  formed  the  new 
idea  of  a  further  reformation,  and  then,  for  the  first  time,  read 
the  Bible,  and,  as  it  seerns,  in  the  original  language.  His  first 
work  proves  that  he  had  been  long  acquainted  with  plans  of  re- 
formation. Like  Calvin,  he  began  his  career  with  the  study  of 
the  law ;  but  we  at  once  discover  the  different  character  of  their 
minds,  the  Spaniard  early  devoting  a  portion  of  his  time  to  astro- 
logy, while  he  despised  the  philosophy  of  Aristotle. 

But  the  impulse  which  he  felt  to  promote  the  salvation  of 
mankind  left  him  no  rest.  He  read  most  of  the  fathers  of  the 
church,  especially  all  who  lived  before  Arius.  In  Tertullian 
and  Irenaeus  was  found,  he  thought,  the  true  christian  doctrine  : 
he  also  carefully  studied  the  catholic  doctors  of  the  middle  ages  ; 
and  lastly,  he  read  such  of  the  writings  of  the  German  reformers 
as  were  circulated  in  France.  He  had  undoubtedly  by  this  time 
renounced  Romanism  ;  but  he  appears  to  have  thought  that  the 
reformers  had  accomplished  only  half  a  work.  Proclaiming  him- 
self even  then  in  the  most  perfect  opposition  to  the  age,  he  de- 
clared that  it  was  not  lawful  for  a  christian  to  punish  his  fellow- 
man  with  death*;  and  desired  to  reveal  to  the  world,  as  an 
instrument  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  the  being  of  God  and  of  the 
Saviour. 

This  was  the  groundwork  of  the  seven  books  on  the  i  Errors 
in  the  Doctrine  of  the  Trinity.'  But  he  could  not  remain  safe  at 
Toulouse ;  the  parliament  there  had  always  proved  itself  san- 
guinary :  he  accordingly  left  France  and  went  to  Basel,  where 
Zwingli's  reformation  was  established,  in  order  to  make  his  views 
known  to  GCcolampadius,  as  the  foundation  of  a  further  improve- 
ment in  the  church. 

Of  the  spiritual  state  of  Servetus,  and  of  the  nature  of  the 
mysterious  thoughts  which  urged  him  on,  and  possessed  him  even 
in  his  early  years,  we  learn  somewhat  from  his  work  on  Justifi- 
cation f:  "  I  agree,"  he  exclaims,  "neither  with  protestants  nor 
catholics  in  all  things,  neither  am  I  opposed  to  them.  Each 
seems  to  me  to  have  a  portion  of  truth  and  also  of  error  :  the  one 
looks  down  upon  the  error  of  the  other  and* forgets  his  own  :  God 
grant  that  we  may  discover  our  mistakes,  and  without  pride  or 
obstinacy.  How  easy  would  it  be  to  separate  truth  from  error, 
if  it  were  allowed  to  all  to  speak  their  minds  in  peace;  to  strive 
to  instruct  themselves  ;  and  if  the  spirits  of  the  old  prophets  were 

*  Serv.  CEcolarapadio,  Mosheim,  p.  393. 
f  De  Justificat.  c.  4,  <le  Charit. 


1G8  SERVETUS  ON  THE  TRINITY.  [CHAP.  IV. 

.subjected  to  the  new,  and  became  silent,  according  to  the  com- 
mandment of  Paul,  when  the  latter,  as  often  as  somewhat  is 
revealed  to  them,  speak.  But  those  of  our  times  are  only  strug- 
gling for  honour.  May  the  Lord  destroy  all  tyrants  of  the 
church*!"  In  another  place  he  expresses  the  hope  that  the 
catholic  church  might  be  converted  :  "  God  will,  sooner  or  later, 
open  the  minds  of  the  monks,  that  they  may  understand  the 
mystery  of  Christ  and  the  power  of  his  faith,  which  alone  can 
purge  their  consciences  from  a  gloomy  superstition,  and  free  it 
of  its  fetters :  then  will  they  bitterly  lament  the  great  relapse  of 
Christianity  into  Judaism,  the  consequence  of  doubt  and  igno- 
rance, and  of  their  not  distinguishing  between  the  Law  and  the 
Gospelf"  He  speaks  exceedingly  well  on  the  power  of  faith : 
"Such  was  the  high  degree  of  excellency  to  which  Luther  at- 
tained in  faith,  that  no  danger  could  appal  him :  he  overcame  all 
the  powers  of  hell,  of  death  and  the  devil.  Through  this  secure 
strength  of  faith  he  could  command  the  powers  of  heaven  and 
earth,  with  such  success,  that  he  could  bring  the  angels  from 
heaven  to  serve  him  in  the  wilderness,  where  he  was  left  forsaken. 
I  doubt  not  but  that  this  might  take  place,  for  hell  has  no  force 
against  believers,  any  more  than  it  has  against  Christ :  they  are 
made  partakers  of  his  kingdom  and  of  his  power,  and  all  which 
He  has  done  shall  they  also  do,  if  they  have  faith  in  Him  J." 

The  novelty  of  his  notions  excited  surprise  and  alarm  :  he 
ruined  his  cause  with  the  gentle  CEcolampadius  by  his  rash  ex- 
pressions. The  principal  point  in  dispute  between  them  referred 
to  the  person  of  Christ.  Servetus  denied  the  union  of  the  two 
natures  :  Christ,  he  said,  can  only  be  eternal  in  the  sense  in  which 
the  world  is  eternal,  the  idea  thereof  being  eternal  in  God.  This 
controversy,  Ruchat  states  §,  was  carried  on  quietly  between  the 
two  disputants  by  letter.  Servetus,  as  so  often  happens  in  such 
cases,  to  satisfy  CEcolampadius,  concealed  his  philosophical  errors 
under  a  seemingly  orthodox  confession;  but  CEcolampadius  was 
not  to  be  deceived,  and  in  a  conference  with  Zwingli  and  Bullin- 
ger  he  proved  the  danger  of  the  opinions  which  Servetus  had 
advanced.  The  latter  now  printed  his  work  c  De  Trinitatis  Er- 
roribus?  at  Hagenau,  to  which  place  he  went  himself  to  speak 
with  the  printer,  John  Sarcerius. 

*  By  the  old  prophets  were  meant  the  protestant  and  catholic  teachers. 
Servetus  wished  to  represent  himself  as  the  one  prophet  now  enjoying  revela- 
tion. 

t  Mosheim,  s.  53.  X  McKsheim,  s.  53.   Dc  Ju&tiiicat.  c.  3,  4. 

§    Mosheim  contradicts  this,  s.  16  and  389-92. 


A.D.  1553.]  SERVETUS  ON  THE  TRINITY.  169 

The  plan  of  the  work  consists  mainly  in  an  endeavour  to 
prove  the  great  mystery  of  the  Trinity  through  the  man,  the 
historical  Christ.  Thus  the  author  seeks,  in  the  first  place,  to 
show  that  this  man  is  Jesus  Christ ;  that  He  is  the  Son  of  God ; 
and  lastly,  that  He  is  God  himself*. 

No  sooner  had  the  work  made  its  appearance  than  the  clamour 
against  it  became  universal.  It  was  felt  that  the  seeming  belief 
of  the  writer  did,  in  reality,  tread  the  holy  creed  of  true  christians 
in  the  dust.  People  could  scarcely  understand  how  Servetus 
had  dared  to  conceive  such  extraordinary  errors  in  respect  to  a 
doctrine  which  had  been  so  long  free  from  attack.  It  was  even 
fabled  that  he  had  made  a  journey  into  Africa,  and  had  gathered 
his  notions  from  the  Koran :  this  idea  seemed  justified  by  the 
fact,  that  he  had  employed  arguments  from  that  book  to  illustrate 
his  reasoning. 

Servetus  exhibited  in  this  his  first  work  the  pride  and  bitter- 
ness which  never  left  him.  His  principles  are  very  apparent, 
and  it  naturally  excites  surprise,  that  in  the  one-and-twentieth 
year  of  his  age  he  could  undertake  to  attempt  the  reformation  of 
religion  and  philosophy  with  such  a  show  of  knowledge.  His 
doctrine  was  original.  The  antitrinitarians  before  him  were  of 
little  account.  He  professed  that  the  Holy  Scriptures  were  the 
source  of  all  his  knowledge  :  in  the  same  manner  he  asserted  that 
they  had  both  a  literal  and  a  mystical,  or  spiritual  signification ; 
the  former  depended  upon  history,  the  latter  upon  Christ.  True 
Christianity,  according  to  him,  had  been  darkened  through  the 
Aristotelian  philosophy,  and  a  want  of  the  knowledge  of  Hebrew. 
Paul  of  Samosata,  he  said,  who  represented  Christ  as  man,  bad 
originally  a  perception  of  the  truth.  The  doctrine  of  the  Trinity 
was  framed  in  opposition  to  the  heretics  who  existed  at  the  time 
when  the  pope  assumed  the  sovereignty  of  the  church  f.  It  was 
then  that  we  lost  Christ.  The  two  principles  on  which  Servetus 
founds  his  reasonings  are  the  incommunicability  of  the  divine 
essence ;  for  God  is  one,  and  therefore  the  modifications  in  God 
can  only  be  variations  or  forms,  and  not  persons.  God  is  incom- 
prehensible without  a  revelation.  To  make  himself  known  He 
has  sent  forth  two  forms  or  manifestations,  the  Son  and  Spirit. 
He  desires  therefore  the  Father,  Son  and  Holy  Ghost  to  be  ac- 

*  See  the  abstract  of  the  work  in  Trechsel,  Antitrinitarier,  s.  68. 

f  De  Trin.  Error,  lib.  7-  tbl.  3,6.  "  Puto  fuisse  divinee  punitionis  judicium 
ut  eodem  tempore  Papa  efficerctur  rex,  quo  estTrinitas  orta,  et  tunc  C  hristum 
perdidimus." 


170  SERVETUS  AND  ZWINGLI.  [CHAP.  IV. 

knowledged ;  but  only  in  the  sense  in  which  the  Latins  use  the 
word,  persona,  as  representing  an  outward  form.  The  operation, 
which  is  called  "  the  Word,"  became  flesh :  God,  that  is,  united 
himself  in  this  manner  with  man  :  Christ  therefore  is  God,  and 
must  be  adored.  The  Holy  Ghost  is  a  divine  energy ;  an  angel. 
This  Trinity  is  not  eternal,  but,  like  the  world,  is  eternal  accord- 
ing to  the  divine  idea :  ideal  as  Logos :  real  only  in  the  world. 

This  new  system  of  ideas  would  have  had  even  an  attractive 
appearance,  had  not  Servetus  heaped  terrific  abuse  upon  the 
ancient  faith  of  the  church,  calling  the  persons  of  the  Godhead 
inventions  of  the  devil,  and  the  triune  Deity  a  hell-hound.  So 
much  that  was  new  was  here  thrust  upon  the  world  that  catholics 
and  protestants  agreed  in  their  expression  of  indignation.  Quin- 
tana,  ofTended  beyond  measure  that  a  Spaniard  was  the  author 
of  such  a  work,  obtained  immediately  an  imperial  order,  that  the 
book  should  be  everywhere  suppressed.  The  protestants  were 
in  still  greater  excitement.  Servetus  was  in  communion  with 
them,  and  they  might  be  accused  of  agreeing  with  him  in  opinion. 
It  happened  that  about  this  time  Melancthon  wrote  in  the 
strongest  terms  respecting  him  to  Camerarius :  "  Good  God ! 
what  tragedies  will  not  the  questions,  whether  the  Logos  and  the 
Holy  Ghost  be  persons,  create  for  future  times  ?  "  To  Brentius 
he  complains  especially,  that  the  Logos  should  be  represented 
only  as  the  thinking  Father,  or  as  his  Voice.  He  calls  Servetus 
a  fanatic*. 

Zwingli,  eminently  discreet,  spoke,  a  year  before  his  death,  in 
the  most  marked  manner  in  regard  to  Servetus.  In  the  last 
month  of  1530,  when  Servetus  visited  CEcolampadius,  Zwingli 
was  one  day  in  company  with  Capito,  Bucer  and  Bullinger;  they 
conversed  together  on  the  great  phenomena  of  the  times ;  and 
Bullinger  reports  to  us  the  earnest  words  of  the  reformer,  words 
which  indicate  the  attention  paid  at  that  period  to  this  comet- 
like, meteoric  apparition  f  :  "  This  year  J,"  he  says,  "  I  was  pre- 
sent at  a  conversation  between  the  pious  and  beloved  servant  of 
God,  John  CEcolampadius,  with  Capito  and  Bucer,  in  which  they 
discussed  how  the  pure,  genuine,  evangelical  truth  and  doctrine 
might  be  further  promoted  and  upheld  in  the  midst  of  the  present 
difficulties  and  opposition.  And  CEcolampadius  greatly  com- 
plained that  he  had  with  him  at  Basel  a  rash  and  obstinate  Spa- 
niard, Michael  Servetus,  who  was  perpetually  annoying  him  with 

*  Epist.  Mel.  ed.  Peuc.  p.  97-106. 

f  Mosheim,  s.  17,  18.  J  1530. 


A.D.  1553.]  SERVETUS  IN  GERMANY.  1 71 

troublesome  questions,  and  talking  and  acting  in  a  way  which 
proved  that  he  was  an  Arian.  And  it  was  plain  that  he  did  not 
confine  his  wickedness  to  CEcolampadius,  but  poured  it  out 
among  others.  Thereupon  Zwingli  said,  '  Brother  CEcolam- 
padius,  you  must  beware  and  watch,  and  take  good  heed ;  for  the 
false  and  evil  doctrine  of  that  rash  Spaniard  will  otherwise  ruin 
the  whole  system  of  our  religion  :  since,  if  Christ  be  not  truly 
the  eternal  God,  so  neither  is  He,  nor  can  be,  our  Saviour;  and 
thus  all  will  be  false  which  the  holy  prophets,  the  apostles  and 
the  churches  have  taught,  and  of  this  we  are  more  than  certain. 
God  forbid  that  such  wickedness  should  ever  appear  among  us, 
either  now  or  at  any  future  period.  Lose  no  time  then,  but  em- 
ploy all  diligence.  Let  him  state  fully  his  argument,  and  try 
whether  you  cannot  turn  and  win  him  to  the  truth  by  good  and 
clear  reasoning.'  GCcolampadius  answered,  '  I  have  already 
attempted  this ;  but  he  is  so  proud,  presumptuous  and  quarrel- 
some, that  it  has  been  all  to  no  purpose.5  Zwingli  said,  6  This 
must  not  be  endured  in  the  church  of  God,  therefore  do  what 
you  can  to  prevent  the  blasphemy  from  getting  abroad,  to  the 
injury  of  Christianity/"  This  incident  shows  that  Zwingli 
thought  that  Servetus  should,  at  all  events,  be  removed,  for  the 
safety  of  the  church. 

It  is  probable  that  Servetus,  having  found  a  publisher  for  his 
work  in  Alsace,  removed  in  the  year  1531  from  Basel  to  Stras- 
burg.  He  was  afterwards  in  Germany ;  and  it  is  reported  that 
he  even  heard  Luther  and  Melancthon ;  but  this  is  involved  in 
doubt*,  as  is  also  the  question  whether  he  was  in  Germany  after 
the  appearance  of  his  first  work,  and  why  he  left  that  country. 
Supposing  that  he  did  visit  Germany  before  the  year  1530,  and 
his  work  appeared  a  year  later,  the  old  mistake  is  settled,  namely, 
that  the  first  article  of  the  Augsburg  Confession  was  directed 
against  his  sect.  It  is  certain  however  that  he  again  visited  Basel, 
and  lived  for  some  time,  in  the  middle  of  the  year  1531,  with  his 
friend  Marinus.  CEcolampadius  gave  him  an  ungracious  recep- 
tion, and  informed  the  council  of  his  arrival ;  but  he  was  induced 
to  speak  of  him,  with  some  degree  of  gentleness,  in  a  judgement 
which  he  was  required  to  give  by  that  assembly.  Such  was  his 
anger  however  at  the  work  of  Servetus,  that  he  aroused  Bucer 
against  him,  and  botli  he  and  Capito  became  his  determined  an- 
tagonists. Servetus  had  visited  them  while  his  book  was  in  the 
press,  and  explained  his  system.     Both  felt  more  and  more  con- 

*  Mosheim,  s.  393.  Fiisslini  Centuria  I.  Epp.  Reform.  Helv.  p.  77. 


172  SERVETUS  RETRACTS.  [CHAP.  IV. 

vinced  of  the  dangerous  character  of  the  man,  and  Bucer  began 
to  preach  openly  against  him.  It  required  some  boldness  to 
enter  upon  such  a  discussion  ;  and  the  Spaniard  exhibited  at  the 
same  time  rashness,  versatility,  and  a  glowing  imagination.  The 
representations  of  the  Strasburgers  were  of  no  avail:  he  put  his 
name  to  the  work,  and  set  the  Inquisition  at  defiance.  The  pub- 
lisher and  printer  were  more  cautious,  and  were  silent  as  to  the 
place  where  it  was  printed.  When  the  work  began  to  make  a 
noise,  Bucer  was  again  ready  to  assail  Servetus,  and  such  was 
his  indignation  that  he  exclaimed  in  the  pulpit,  "  Servetus  de- 
serves to  have  his  entrails  torn  from  his  body*." 

We  see  from  the  general  feeling  respecting  him,  how  con- 
spicuous the  man  had  made  himself,  and  how  much  he  was 
dreaded,  long  before  the  controversy  between  him  and  Calvin. 
It  is  not  unreasonably  conjectured  that  he  was  required  in  Basel, 
before  he  was  allowed  to  leave  the  city,  to  make  a  retractation  of 
his  errors,  a  statement  to  this  effect  appearing  at  the  beginning 
of  a  little  work  printed  after  his  stay  at  Basel  j.  In  this  docu- 
ment he  humbly  prays  to  be  pardoned  the  offence  which  he  had 
given;  he  accuses  his  own  understanding,  and  calls  his  writing 
perplexed  and  obscure.  With  this  perhaps  may  be  conjoined 
his  Essay  on  Justification,  OEcolampadius  having  objected  to 
him,  that  he  had  insulted  the  faith  of  the  Lutherans  in  regard  to 
this  doctrine. 

But  even  this  retractation  bears  with  it  marks  of  his  charac- 
teristic insolence.  He  unsays  all  that  he  had  stated;  but  as 
childish  and  imperfect,  not  as  false.  An  advance,  however,  is 
visible  in  the  new  work ;  the  Logos  is  more  noticed,  and  the 
Father  retreats :  man  and  God  penetrate  Christ,  but  without 
confusion.  In  justification,  the  writer  takes  a  middle  course 
between  the  Catholic  and  Lutheran  doctrine.  The  consciousness 
of  sin  is  obscure,  according  to  his  representation,  and  the  idea  of 
justification  is  proportionably  uncertain.  Works  have  a  reward, 
and  both  Jews  and  heathen  will  receive  it.  The  will  is  free  to 
perform  good  works,  though  grace  alone  conducts  to  the  king- 
dom of  God.  He  here  takes  occasion  to  ridicule  the  doctrine  of 
the  reformers,  that  good  works  proceed  necessarily  from  faith. 

*  Ed.  Laus.  Ep.  126.  Ed.  Amstel.  p.  70.  "  Bucerus,  cum  alioqui  mansuetus 
esset  ingenio,  pro  suggestu  pronuntiavit,  dignum  esse,  qui  avulsis  visceribus 
discerperetur." 

t  He  wrote  two  discourses  on  the  Trinity,  with  a  little  essay  on  the  Right- 
eousness of  Christ's  Kingdom.  Dialogorum  de  Trinitate  libri  duo,  de  Justitia 
Regni  Christi  capp.  iv. 


A.D.  1553.]  JOURNEYS  OF  SERVETUS.  1 7 o 

Servetus  discovered,  after  his  first  ill-judged  experiment,  that 
it  was  no  easy  matter  to  accomplish  a  reformation  ;  nor  was  there, 
full  of  ardour  as  he  was,  a  single  trace  of  the  heroism  of  a  martyr 
in  his  disposition.  Leaving  Germany,  he  proposed  to  take  up 
his  abode  in  France;  and  in  order  to  avoid  being  tried  as  a  heretic, 
he  rejected  the  name  of  Serveto  and  Reves,  and  called  himself 
Michael  of  Villanueva. 

Here  begins  the  second  epoch  of  his  unsettled  career,  1532- 
1553.  He  tells  us  that  in  the  year  1534  he  studied  mathematics 
and  medicine  at  Paris,  in  the  '  College  de  Calvi/  and  subse- 
quently in  the  c  College  de  Lombards/  He  lived  securely 
under  the  name  which  he  had  assumed,  till  he  was  condemned 
at  Vienne,  as  Villeneuve,  to  the  flames.  It  was  not  till  he  went 
to  Geneva  that  his  true  name  was  known.  He  was  probably 
first  at  Lyons,  for  the  purpose  of  circulating  his  books. 

We  have  seen  that  in  the  year  1534,  Calvin,  still  young,  but 
already  celebrated,  was  at  Paris,  endeavouring  to  fortify  the 
evangelical  church  against  the  dangers  by  which  it  was  threatened. 
Servetus  resolved  upon  making  his  acquaintance,  and  imparting 
to  him  his  convictions.  The  time  and  place  were  settled  for  their 
meetings:  Calvin  kept  his  appointment, but  Servetus  did  not  carry 
out  his  design  :  he  returned  to  Lyons,  and  employed  himself 
about  an  edition  of  Ptolemacus.  On  leaving  Paris  he  went  to 
Orleans.  Joh.  Wier  relates,  that  it  was  while  he  was  there  the 
disgraceful  spectre-tricks  were  played  by  the  Franciscans ;  that 
he  had  several  not  undistinguished  friends,  and  that  among  them 
was  Michael  Villanovanus.  Joh.  Sturm  and  Sleidan  were  also 
there  at  that  time,  as  licentiates  of  law  :  the  latter  has  described 
the  scene  got  up  by  the  conspirators. 

Subsequently  to  this,  Servetus  spent  a  year  in  Italy.  Mosheim 
speaks  of  this  journey  in  connection  with  his  first  work  ;  it  is  not 
impossible  that  he  was  in  Italy  at  that  time  also :  he  may  have 
made  two  journeys  to  that  country,  or  the  former  one  may  have 
been  invented,  to  afford  him,  through  his  connection  with  Quin- 
tal ia,  a  reputation  for  orthodoxy.  The  earlier  cited  of  his  writings 
on  the  pope  may  be  referred  to  this  season.  The  account  of  his 
journey  is  taken  from  the  preface  to  his  edition  of  Ptolemaeus, 
which  appeared  in  1535.  That  he  then  began  to  obtain  disciples 
is  shown  by  one  of  his  apologists,  Postellus.  It  is  evident  that 
his  opinions  were  received  favourably  at  Venice,  from  the  fact 
that  Melancthon  was  called  upon  to  address  the  senate  of  that 
city  against  his  errors.     "  He  is  circulating,"  it  was  said,  "the 


174  STUDIES  OF  SERVETUS.  [CHAP.  IV. 

accursed  doctrine  of  Paul  of  Samosata,  and  opposes  the  doctrine 
of  the  two  persons  in  Christ.  The  understanding  cannot  indeed 
comprehend  how  the  Word  is  one  person ;  but  we  must  rest,  in 
faith,  on  the  doctrine  of  the  early  church  and  of  the  apostles,  and 
thus  put  Servetus  to  shame." 

In  Paris  Servetus  saw  Francis  I.  touch  persons,  according  to 
the  old  custom,  to  cure  them  of  the  king's-evil :  he  speaks  of 
this  in  his  Ptolemaeus,  and  expresses  his  doubts  on  the  subject, 
not  seeing  the  people  healed.  It  appears  that  he  did  not  ascribe 
the  healing  power  to  faith,  as  we  find  was  the  case  at  that  time 
in  England,  where  the  monarch  was  supposed  to  cure  the  ague 
and  epilepsy  by  the  touch.  Lyons,  to  which  Servetus  afterwards 
returned,  was  a  polished  city :  the  book-trade  flourished  there 
to  a  considerable  extent,  and  Servetus  became  corrector  of  the 
press  to  the  brothers  Trechsel,  who  were  celebrated  for  their  ex- 
cellent printing.  In  the  year  1537>  with  what  he  had  gained  in 
this  employment,  he  went  again  to  Paris,  where  he  obtained  the 
degree  of  master,  and  gave  lectures  on  mathematics  and  astro- 
nomy. 

With  what  extraordinary  capacity  he  was  endowed  appears 
from  the  fact,  that  having  hitherto  devoted  himself  to  the  study 
of  theology,  he  now  pursued  with  equal  ardour  the  several 
branches  of  natural  science,  and  with  such  success  that  in  a  short 
time  he  was  qualified  to  lecture  upon  them.  We  even  find  him 
numbered  among  the  most  skilful  physicians  in  France,  and  it  is 
said,  that  it  was  he  who  gave  the  first  intimation  of  the  circulation 
of  the  blood*.  Nor  did  he  neglect  his  theological  pursuits:  he 
was  still  employed  about  an  edition  of  the  Bible.  This  period 
indeed  might  be  accounted  the  happiest  of  his  life :  science  was 
his  proper  field ;  but  dazzled  by  the  unhappy  notion  that  God 
would  make  special  use  of  him  for  the  enlightening  of  the  world, 
he  was  again  impelled  into  fanaticism.  How  different  was  this 
spiritual  darkness  to  the  timidity  of  which  Calvin  complains  at 
the  beginning  of  his  course  1 

Servetus  gave  lectures  at  Paris,  in  his  character  of  master,  on 
Ptolemaeus,  astronomy  and  mathematics.  A  numerous  auditory 
assembled  around  him.  In  the  science  of  medicine  he  agreed 
with  the  Greek  physicians,  in  opposition  to  the  Arabian.  The 
controversy  between  these  two  parties  was  one  of  the  topics  of 
the  day.  Champier,  a  physician,  and  the  friend  of  Servetus,  at 
Lyons,  attributed,  in  a  writing  for  Leonh.  Fuchs,  false  views  to 
*  Christianismi  Restitutio,  de  Trin,  lib.  v.  pp.  169,  170. 


A.D.  1553.]  SERVETUS  AT  CHARLIEU.  175 

the  former,  and  accused  him  of  inclining  rather  to  the  Arabian 
system.  This  produced  an  answer  from  Servetus,  and  as  what- 
ever he  did  he  did  with  talent,  a  very  excellent  work,  on  the  use 
of  Syrups,  with  a  review  of  theGalenists  and  Averroists,  appeared, 
from  his  pen,  at  Paris  in  1537.  This  work,  as  well  as  the  notes 
on  Ptolemaeus,  was  written  in  Latin,  and  so  excellently,  that 
Mosheim  ventures  the  conjecture,  that  he  intentionally  employed 
a  negligent  style  in  his  theological  writings,  it  being  a  principle 
with  him  that,  in  matters  of  religion,  language  should  always  be 
humble. 

But  such  was  the  pride  of  the  man,  that  it  prevented  his  re- 
taining his  present  honourable  position.  The  university  and  the 
faculty  rose  against  him.  This  was  the  result  partly  of  envy,  and 
partly  because  he  had  accused  many  learned  men  of  ignorance, 
especially  in  astronomy.  They  attacked  him  in  their  lectures. 
He  defended  himself  by  an  answer,  in  which  he  called  them, 
among  other  things,  the  plague  of  the  world.  The  dispute  at  last 
reached  such  a  height,  that,  to  get  red  of  him,  his  enemies  em- 
ployed, as  a  pretence,  his  love  of  astrology,  and  he  was  forbidden 
to  continue  his  astronomical  lectures.  Ke  had  even  had  the 
boldness,  trusting  to  the  anonymous  appearance  of  his  theolo- 
gical works,  every  page  of  which  exposed  him  to  the  flames,  to 
submit  himself  to  the  judge  of  heresy  at  Paris,  and  was  acquitted. 
It  is  incredible  how  a  man  who  wished  to  look  upon  himself 
as  a  chosen  servant  of  God,  appointed  to  restore  Christianity, 
could  devote  a  part  of  his  life  to  such  follies,  and  live  as  a  hypo- 
crite among  his  bitterest  enemies.  He  obtained  the  degree  of 
doctor  of  medicine,  but  it  is  characteristic  of  his  temper  that  he 
never  employed  this  distinction.  On  leaving  Paris  he  went  to 
Avignon,  and  then  again  to  Lyons.  We  at  length  find  him  in 
1538  at  Charlieu,  a  little  town  not  far  from  Lyons,  where  he 
supported  himself  as  a  physician ;  but  here  again  his  arrogance 
destroyed  his  repose*.  He  was  now  thirty  years  old,  and  he 
thought  that  he  ought  to  be  baptized,  at  this  time,  according  to 
the  example  of  Jesus  Christ.  So  strongly  was  he  convinced  on 
this  point  that  he  even  exhorted  Calvin  himself  to  take  the  same 
course,  that  he  might  receive  the  Holy  Ghostf.  Faith,  according 
to  his  belief,  justifies,  but  baptism  saves.  Man  thereby  becomes 
greater  than  the  angels,  and  is  actually  born  again.     It  is  not 

*  "  On  account  of  that  which  he  there  stupidly  and  insolently  attempted," 
says  Bolsec,  if  we  may  cite  his  pamphlet. 

t  Christian.  Restitut.  p.  615,  ep.  15.  "  Vera  Christi  fide  ad  Baptismum 
accede  ut  accipias  donum  Spir.  S.  tibi  ita  promissi." 


17^  EDITION  OF  THE  SCRIPTURES.  [CHAP.  IV. 

erroneously  conjectured  that  Servetus  secretly  received  baptism 
about  this  time  from  some  anabaptist  in  Switzerland  or  elsewhere, 
perhaps  even  in  Charlieu,  from  a  person  of  this  persuasion.  Of 
this  however  Calvin  expresses  a  doubt,  being  inclined  to  regard 
him  as  a  despiser  of  all  religion*.  According  to  a  passage  in  the 
c  Restitutio t/  he  appears  to  have  belonged  to  some  secret  sect, 
in  which  the  Lord's  Supper  was  administered  in  a  different 
manner  to  that  practised  among  catholics  and  protestants. 

He  now  removed  to  Vienne  in  Dauphine :  he  there  found  a 
patron  in  the  archbishop,  Peter  Palmier,  who  had  attended  his 
lectures  at  Paris,  and  was  distinguished  for  his  patronage  of 
science.  This  exalted  personage  received  him  into  his  palace, 
and  thus  protected  he  lived  in  perfect  tranquillity,  but  as  a  hypo- 
crite, for  he  submitted  himself  to  all  the  practices  of  the  church. 
He  thought  of  this  shortly  before  his  death,  and  expressed  his 
shame  in  the  presence  of  the  magistrate. 

The  leisure  which  he  now  enjoyed  enabled  him  to  prepare  a 
new  edition  of  Ptolemseus,  in  which,  to  avoid  offending  his  pa- 
tron, he  left  out  the  passage  respecting  the  unfruitfulness  of 
Canaan,  which  was  afterwards,  as  we  shall  see,  adduced  against 
him.  This  second  edition  he  regarded  as  his  own,  and  dedicated 
it  to  the  archbishop. 

As  a  convincing  proof  that  he  never  entirely  lost  sight  of  a 
higher  life,  he  published  at  this  time  the  translation  of  the  Bible, 
made  by  a  learned  monk,  Xantes  Pagninus :  he  altered  it  very 
little,  but  appended  his  own  ideas  respecting  the  translation  of 
the  Scriptures :  his  chief  object  was  to  show  that  the  prophecies 
which  occur  in  the  Old  Testament  were  fulfilled  before  the  coming 
of  Christ,  and  refer  only  in  a  spiritual  sense  to  his  appearance. 
There  is  no  levity  in  this  book.  According  to  him,  the  second 
and  twenty-second  psalms  speak  of  David;  the  forty-fifth  of 
Solomon ;  but  they  also  prophesy  of  Christ,  because  David  and 
Solomon  were  types  of  Him.  Thus  also,  Isaiah  meant  by  the 
virgin,  Abi,  who  was  to  bring  King  Hezekiah  into  the  world. 
In  the  same  manner  that  prophet  mourned  the  death  of  Cyrus, 
when  he  spoke  of  the  sufferings  and  death  of  the  Redeemer. 
The  preface,  in  which  he  criticises  the  genius  of  the  Hebrew  lan- 
guage, shows  the  great  talent  of  the  writer :  he  remarks  that  no 
translation  can  reach  the  beauty  of  the  original. 

This  edition  of  the  Bible  did  not  please  the  catholics.     At 

*  The  baptism  of  Servetus  is  denied  by  Fusslin. 
f  Apolog.  p.  710. 


A.D.   1553.]  SERVETUS  ON  THE  TRINITY.  1 77 

Louvain  it  was  placed  in  the  list  of  forbidden  books.  It  was 
also  received  very  ungraciously  in  Spain.  But  Servetus  lived 
twelve  years  in  peace,  and  was  the  regularly  appointed  physician 
of  the  city ;  his  zeal  however  would  not  suffer  him  to  enjoy  any 
actual  quiet;  he  was  still  anxious  to  play  the  reformer,  and  for 
this  purpose  he  must  issue  a  new  work. 

We  approach  the  third  period  of  his  history,  and  the  world 
has  now  to  become  acquainted  with  his  true  name.  He  deter- 
mined to  issue  a  manifesto  against  the  prevailing  antichristianity  : 
the  Revelation  of  John  and  the  signs  of  the  times  convinced  him 
that  the  fall  of  antichrist  was  at  hand.  But  we  are  still  interested 
in  the  man :  his  soul  had  wings.  In  the  introduction  to  his  last 
work,  that  which  brought  him  to  the  flames,  he  says,  "  We  in- 
tend to  make  manifest  the  divine  revelation  from  the  earliest 
times — the  great  mystery  of  faith,  which  is  superior  to  all  con- 
troversy. The  God  who  in  former  ages  was  not  seen,  and  whom 
we  shall  now  see,  because  the  veil  is  removed  from  his  face,  Him 
shall  we  see  shining  in  ourselves*."  He  then  thus  apostro- 
phizes the  Son  of  God :  "  O  Christ  Jesus,  Son  of  God !  reveal 
thyself  to  thy  servant,  that  this  great  revelation  may  be  clear  to 
us  in  its  truth.  Give  me  now  thy  good  spirit  and  thy  mighty 
word  ;  guide  my  pen  and  my  soul,  that  1  may  be  able  to  describe 
the  glory  of  thy  godhead,  and  to  confess  to  Thee  the  true  faith  ! 
This  is  thy  work,  which  an  inward  impulse  teaches  me  to  attempt, 
being  anxious  for  thy  truth.  I  undertook  the  same  in  time  past, 
and  now  again  I  feel  myself  urged  thereto,  for  the  appointed 
season  is  fulfilled.  Thou  hast  taught  us  that  thy  light  must  not 
remain  hidden,  and  woe  to  me  if  I  do  not  proclaim  thy  Gospel  f." 
Servetus  may  have  deeply  felt,  in  the  ardour  of  his  imagination, 
the  great  mystery  of  the  being  of  God.  The  glowing  fancy  with 
which  he  was  inspired  bore  him  so  away  that  he  spoke  of  himself 
as  if  he  had  been  an  apostle  of  the  Lord :  he  thought  that  he  was 
appointed  to  reveal  the  all- important  truth  which  had  been  kept 
concealed  for  centuries.  The  right  faith,  according  to  him,  had 
been  lost  in  the  course  of  1260  years,  and  it  was  God's  will  that  he 
should  revive  it.  Thus  speaks  the  book  of  Revelation,  c.  xii.  v.  1. 
Greater  than  the  disciples  of  the  Lord,  he  thus  stood  upon  an 
equality  with  the  Theosophers,  who  have  taught  the  hidden  truths 
of  God's  being;  with  those  who  went  out  from  among  the  first 
teachers ;  and  also  with  the  philosophers,  who  reveal  the  secret 

*  Prooem.  lib.  de  Trinit.  t  Ibid. 

VOL.  II.  N 


178  DOCTRINES  OF  SERVETUS.  [CHAP.   IV. 

things  of  God  through  the  might  of  the  Spirit,  and  who  are  there- 
fore exalted  far  above  the  revelations  of  the  apostles. 

His  doctrine  of  the  Trinity  was  then  not  at  all  known.  Man 
could  be  saved,  he  said,  through  a  simple  belief  in  the  Messias*. 
The  great  mystery  seems  to  have  been  partly  known  at  the  time 
of  the  apostles.  John  was  deeply  moved  to  declare  it  fully : 
"At  the  beginning  was  the  Word."  The  mass  of  mankind  are 
justified  by  mere  faith  in  Christ,  without  a  right  understanding 
of  his  godhead ;  and  as  this  doctrine  was  known  but  by  few,  and 
there  were  but  few  writers,  metaphysical  sophists  invaded  Chris- 
tianity and  its  injured  God. 

Calvin  found  the  Apocalypse  so  unintelligible,  that  he  could 
not  be  persuaded  to  undertake  its  interpretation.  Servetus,  his 
opponent,  on  the  contrary,  commenced  with  this  book.  It 
abounded,  as  he  conceived,  with  astrological  prophecies ;  but 
this  notion  Calvin  strongly  combated  in  a  separate  treatise.  He 
points  out  especially  the  vision  in  the  twelfth  chapter :  "  The 
dragon  which  would  destroy  the  woman  and  her  offspring  is  the 
pope ;  the  woman  is  the  church ;  her  son,  whom  God  delivers, 
is  the  faith  of  Christians.  For  1260  prophetic  days  or  years 
must  the  church  remain  under  antichrist.  Then  commences  the 
conflict  with  the  dragon.  Michael  and  his  angels  conquer,  after 
that  the  dragon  has  murdered  many,  and  the  good  and  wicked 
fight  upon  the  earth.  This  contest  is  now  at  an  end.  The  hosts 
of  Michael  are  true  witnesses  of  the  church.  In  the  time  of 
Constantine  the  Great,  the  dragon  began  to  drive  the  true  church 
into  the  wilderness  :  Christ  ceased  to  rule  from  the  moment  when 
the  true  doctrine  respecting  him  was  corrupted,  and  the  divine 
essence  divided  into  three  persons  f" 

Servetus  was  one  of  those  who  delight  in  controversy  from  the 
notion  that  they  are  favoured  with  a  particular  revelation,  and 
that  God  will  restore  the  lost  faith  in  answer  to  their  prayer.  It 
was  well  that  he  retained  enough  of  discretion  to  avoid  supposing 
himself,  according  to  his  name,  the  angel  Michael.  He  wrote  to 
Calvin  :  "  I  labour  incessantly  for  the  requickening  of  the  church, 
and  you  are  indignant  with  me  because  I  take  a  part  in  this  con- 
flict of  Michael,  and  wish  all  pious  men  to  follow  my  example. 
Consider  well  this  passage,  and  you  will  see  that  there  are  men 
thus  struggling  who  are  ready  to  sacrifice  their  lives,  in  the 

*  Mosheim,  s.  95.  "  Hac  sola  fiducia  rudis  plebs  justificabatur,  quamvis 
Christi  divinitatcm  non  plene  cognosceret." 

t  Christ.  Restit.  1.  i.  de  orbis  perditione,  p.  396. 


A.D.  1553  ]  CALVIN  AND  SERVETUS.  179 

blood  and  in  the  testimony  of  Christ.  That  they  are  called  an- 
gels is  according  to  the  usage  of  Scripture.  The  new-birth  from 
above  makes  us  like  the  angels.  See  you  not,  that  the  subject 
here  spoken  of  is  the  revivifying  of  the  ruined  church  ?" 

The  manuscript  of  the  '  Restitutio '  was  sent  by  Servetus  to 
Calvin  through  the  bookseller  Frellon.  He  was  anxious  to  see 
what  the  reformer  would  say  respecting  it.  Some  time  after  he 
desired  that  the  manuscript  might  be  returned  to  enable  him  to 
correct  it.  Calvin,  however,  did  not  send  it :  it  was  now  in  the 
hands  of  Viret  at  Lausanne.  The  correspondence  extends,  with 
several  intervals,  between  1540  and  1548*.  It  was  necessary 
for  Servetus,  as  a  reformer,  to  measure  his  strength  with  the  most 
powerful  spirit  of  the  protestant  party.  Calvin  was  the  greatest 
obstacle  to  his  plans.  His  impatience,  and  the  proposed  meet- 
ing in  the  early  part  of  his  career  at  Paris,  are  sufficient  indica- 
tions of  his  jealousy  towards  the  reformer.  He  was  anxious  to 
obtain  his  answer  to  the  three  following  questions f :  they  will 
serve  to  show  the  materials  of  which  his  system  consisted  : — "  Is 
the  crucified  man,  Jesus,  the  Son  of  God,  and  on  what  account 
is  He  so?"  There  was,  therefore,  still  a  doubt  on  his  mind, 
although,  in  the  first  work,  he  had  professed  this  faith.  "  Is  the 
kingdom  of  God  in  men,  when  they  go  into  this  kingdom, — 
when  they  are  born  again  ?" — "  Must  the  baptism  of  Christ  take 
place  in  faith,  as  the  Lord's  Supper ;  and  why  did  He  institute 
baptism  and  the  Supper  ?" 

The  most  remarkable  point  in  Calvin's  answer,  which  exhibits 
the  main  principles  of  his  theology,  is  found  in  the  statement, 
that  faith  is  necessary  to  baptism,  and  is  as  strength  to  children. 
It  is  sad  to  think  that  Servetus  was  not  satisfied  with  the  solid 
answer  which  Calvin  gave.  He  replied  to  him  with  warmth,  and 
desired  an  explanation  in  his  second  writing,  more  modest  in  the 
conclusion :  "  I  beseech  you,  by  God,"  he  says,  "  that  as  you 
promised  to  add  somewhat  to  your  former  statement,  so  you  will 
now  teach  me,  in  the  first  place,  what  true  faith  is."  Subse- 
quently he  spoke  of  his  opponent  as  a  knave ;  but  his  attack  on 
the  Calvinistic  view  of  baptism  was  not  wrongly  conceived.  He 
was  unwilling  to  regard  it  as  distinct  from  the  Lord's  Supper. 
When  he  sent  several  other  questions  to  Calvin,  which  indicated 

*  Calvin,  in  his  Tract,  p.  517,  says,  "  When  he  was  at  Lyons  he  sent  me 
three  questions  to  answer.  He  thought  to  entrap  me.  That  my  answer  did 
not  satisfy  him  I  am  not  surprised." 

t  Calv.  Refut.  Error.  Serveti,  Ed.  Amstel.  p.  517-  Ed.  Gen.  p.  600. 

N  2 


180  CALVIN    AND  SERVETUS.  [CHAP.  IV. 

an  awakened  spirit,  the  reformer,  who  would  rest  on  nothing  but 
Scripture,  answered  him  in  a  friendly  manner,  but  with  earnest 
remonstrances*. 

On  the  baptism  of  children,  which  Calvin  defended,  we  have 
the  following  excellent  remark  : — C(  Should  God  take  them  out  of 
the  world  before  they  could  be  spiritually  circumcised,  we  must 
leave  them  to  the  secret  dispensation  of  divine  grace;"  and  this 
may  be  regarded  as  an  antidote  to  all  the  severity  of  his  system. 
To  the  new  questions  put  by  Servetus,  he  returned  no  answer. 
He  needed  time,  and  it  sufficed  to  refer  to  his  ( Institutes/  The 
proud  Spaniard  was  so  offended  at  this  treatment  that  he  sent  a 
great  number  of  letters  to  the  reformer,  one  after  the  other,  con- 
taining almost  countless  accusations  and  offensive  expressions, 
which,  however,  were  very  patiently  endured.  Mosheim  throws 
some  doubt  on  the  progress  of  the  affair,  as  related  by  Calvin ; 
but  he  regards  as  genuine  the  thirty  letters,  written  in  a  very 
calm  tone,  which  Servetus  appended  to  his  last  work,  and  sup- 
poses that  they  were  really  sent  to  the  reformer. 

The  study  of  Calvin's  character,  in  respect  to  these  occurrences, 
shows  him  to  have  been  a  man  of  extraordinary  observation,  even 
in  little  things.  In  the  correspondence  of  which  we  have  spoken, 
he  was  the  slave  neither  of  imagination  nor  of  a  cold  mechanical 
memory.  Servetus,  on  the  other  hand,  was  continually  guilty  of 
a  want  of  candour ;  was  always  under  the  influence  of  his  ima- 
gination. He  was  capable  of  printing  letters  never  sent  to  Cal- 
vin, and  he  may  have  omitted  what  Calvin  calls  scurrilous  words 
and  curses,  if,  as  is  probable,  the  letters  which  were  sent  to  Vienne 
are  the  same  as  those  appended  to  the  '  Restitutio.'  Only  two 
ordinary  letters  are  known,  as  directed  by  Calvin  to  Servetus. 
The  style  of  the  latter  displeased  him  from  the  beginning ;  but 
he  was  willing  to  continue  the  controversy,  either  in  the  hope  that 
he  might  at  length  convince  him  of  his  error,  or  because  he  sought 
a  suitable  antagonist.  Certain  it  is,  however,  that  several  smaller 
papers  were  addressed  by  him  to  Servetus.  Calvin's  letter  to 
Frellon,  with  his  answer  to  Servetus  inclosed,  is  very  character- 
istic of  both  opponents.     We  give  the  following  extract : — 

"  Herr  Johann !  I  would  fain  satisfy  your  wish  ;  not  that  I 
have  much  hope  to  effect  anything  with  such  a  man,  but  because 
I  am  anxious  to  try  whether  any  means  exist  to  bring  him  to  a 

*  "  I  neither  hate  you  nor  despise  you,  nor  do  I  wish  to  persecute  you  ; 
but  I  would  be  hard  as  iron  when  I  behold  you  insulting  sound  doctrine  with 
such  audacity." — Refut.  Error.  Serv.  Ed.  Amstel.  p.  521.  Ed.  Genev.  p.  605. 


A.D.  1553.]  CALVIN  AND  SERVETUS.  181 

right  understanding,  or  whether  God  may  have  wrought  in  him 
any  change.  He  has  written  to  me  in  a  very  haughty  spirit,  and 
I  have  desired  to  humble  him  a  little ;  hence  I  have  spoken  to 
him  rather  more  severely  than  is  my  wont.  This  is  all  I  could 
do;  and  I  assure  you,  that  nothing  is  more  necessary  for  him 
than  a  lecture  on  humility.  True  it  is,  he  can  only  acquire  that 
grace  through  the  Spirit  of  God ;  but  we  must  lend  him  what 
help  we  can.  If  God  be  so  gracious  to  him  and  us  as  to  render 
this  answer  profitable  to  him,  I  shall  have  cause  to  rejoice ;  but 
if,  on  the  other  hand,  he  continue  to  pursue  his  present  course, 
you  will  lose  your  time  in  urging  me  to  labour  for  him.  I  have 
other  occupations  of  a  more  pressing  nature,  and  I  shall  make  it 
a  matter  of  conscience  not  to  concern  myself  any  longer  about 
him,  for  I  have  little  doubt  that  he  is  a  Satan,  whose  end  it  is  to 
divert  me  from  other  and  profitable  studies.  I  entreat  you, 
therefore,  remain  content  with  what  has  been  already  done,  if 
there  be  no  change*." 

Calvin  entertained  a  hope  that  the  Holy  Spirit  might  still 
effect  the  conversion  of  Servetus.  He  was  not  yet  a  castaway 
in  his  eyes,  and  this  shows  that  the  expressions  which  he  used 
respecting  him  to  Farel  are  not  to  be  taken  literally. 

Frellon's  letter  to  Servetus,  sent  to  him  by  a  trusty  messenger, 
characterizes  his  impatience,  and  his  desire  to  stand  on  an  in- 
timate footing  with  Calvin.  When  the  latter  referred  him  to  his 
6  Institutions,'  he  sent  the  work  back  to  him,  accompanied  with 
some  bitter  remarks.  Calvin's  well-known  letter  to  Farel,  who 
was  then  at  Metz,  was  dated  February  13,  1546.  Servetus  had 
sent  him  a  great  mass  of  his  heretical  writings.  He  even  ex- 
pressed his  wish  to  come  to  Geneva ;  but  he  required  a  safe- con- 
duct and  an  invitation.  Calvin,  however,  would  lend  him  no 
aid.  "  Servetus,"  he  says,  "  wrote  to  me  a  short  time  ago,  and 
sent  a  huge  volume  of  his  dreamings  and  pompous  triflings 
with  his  letter.  I  was  to  find  among  them  wonderful  things, 
and  such  as  I  had  never  before  seen,  and  if  I  wished  he  would 
himself  come.  But  I  am  by  no  means  inclined  to  be  responsible 
for  him;  and  if  he  come  I  will  never  allow  him,  supposing  my 
influence  worth  anything,  to  depart  alive  f." 

This,  among  a  thousand  other  matters,  was  but  an  outbreak 
of  anger,  a  threat  uttered    in    passion  ;    the  letter,  which  was 

*  Mosheim,  s.  89- 

t  "  Sed  nolo  fidem  mcam  intei  poncre.  Nam  si  vencrit,  modo  valeat  mea 
authoritas,  vivum  exirc  nunquam  patiar." — MS.  Gen. 


182  CALVIN   AND  SERVETUS.  [CHAP.IV. 

sent  the  same  day  to  Frellon,  containing  an  expression  of  hope 
that  Servetus  might  still  be  converted.  Calvin  had  probably 
answered  his  communication,  and  now  spoke  of  the  circumstance 
to  Farel.  His  enemies  have  made  the  sentence  referred  to  of 
vast  importance,  because  they  can  find  no  worse  cause  of  accu- 
sation against  him.  They  do  not  perceive  that  their  complaint 
is  unreasonable,  for  had  Calvin  desired  the  death  of  Servetus,  he 
would  have  encouraged  his  coming  to  Geneva.  It  is  incredible 
how  many  fables  have  been  founded  on  this  expression  ;  to  what 
ravings  even  it  has  given  occasion,  and  that  up  to  the  present 
day.  For  us  it  is  a  matter  of  no  importance  whatever,  since 
Calvin  subsequently  acknowledged  with  all  simplicity,  that  he 
considered  the  death  of  Servetus  necessary. 

That  the  correspondence  between  Calvin  and  Servetus  had 
wholly  ceased  in  the  year  1548  appears  from  the  words  of  the 
former  to  Viret.  Not  being;  able  to  effect  anything  with  Calvin, 
Servetus  had  attacked  that  minister.  Calvin  says  respecting 
this :  "  1  suppose  you  have  read  the  answer  which  1  sent  Ser- 
vetus; it  was  my  wish  to  have  nothing  more  to  do  with  this 
incurably  hard-necked,  heretical  man,  and  certainly  it  was  well 
to  follow  in  this  case  the  precept  of  the  apostle.  But  now  he 
assails  you :  it  will  be  right  for  you  to  consider  how  far  it  is 
prudent  to  oppose  his  folly :  he  will  extort  nothing  farther  from 
me." 

Finding  that  Calvin  would  not  answer  him,  Servetus  wrote 
several  times  to  the  minister  Pepin  at  Geneva,  to  obtain  the  re- 
turn of  his  manuscript.  He  had  another  in  hand,  which  he  sent 
with  certain  alterations  to  the  press.  The  third  letter  to  Pepin 
is  preserved:  it  is  a  remarkable  document,  and  was  adduced 
against  him,  with  his  other  manuscripts,  on  his  trial  at  Geneva. 
"  Although,"  he  says,  "  my  letter  to  Calvin  shows  plainly  that 
the  force  of  the  law  is  taken  away,  I  will  quote  a  passage  which 
will  prove  to  you,  still  better,  how  a  new  order  of  things  has  been 
introduced  through  the  coming  of  Christ.  That  the  law  has  lost 
its  authority,  you  will  clearly  see,  if  you  read  the  passage  to  which 
I  refer.  Thus  the  Prophet  Jeremiah,  chap,  xxxi.,  teaches,  that 
the  covenant  with  the  fathers,  when  they  went  out  of  Egypt,  was 
abolished.  So  also  Ezekiel,  chap,  xvi.,  and  Paul,  Heb.  viii.  It 
is  not  under  the  influence  of  this  covenant,  therefore,  that  God 
now  receives  us  as  his  people  ;  but  through  faith  in  Jesus  Christ, 
his  beloved  Son.  Consider  well,  then,  what  kind  of  a  Gospel 
you  have,  confounded  as  it  altogether  is  with  the  law.     Your 


A.D.  1553.]  CALVIN  AND  SERVETUS.  183 

Gospel  is  without  the  One  God,  without  the  true  faith,  without 
good  works.  In  the  place  of  the  One  God,  you  have  a  three- 
headed  Cerberus ;  instead  of  the  true  faith,  you  have  a  set  of 
unhappy  dreamings;  and  good  works  you  regard  as  nothing 
better  than  idle  fancies.  Your  belief  in  Christ  is  a  mere  pre- 
tence, and  without  any  reality.  According  to  your  system,  man 
is  a  mere  clod,  and  God  a  monster  with  a  fettered  will.  Divine 
regeneration  by  water  is  unknown  to  you,  or  is  a  mere  fable. 
You  shut  man  out  from  the  kingdom  of  God,  by  making  it  appear 
as  a  mere  invention.  Woe,  woe,  woe  to  you  !  I  would  fain  have 
warned  you  by  this  last  letter,  and  brought  you  to  a  better  state 
of  mind ;  but  my  warnings  are  ended.  It  is,  perhaps,  a  vexation 
to  you  that  I  engage  in  this  struggle  on  the  part  of  Michael,  and 
wish  you  would  do  the  same.  Read  carefully  the  passage  in  the 
book  of  Revelation,  and  you  will  see  that  the  discourse  therein  is 
of  men,  ready  to  contend,  placing  their  lives  in  jeopardy,  in  the 
blood,  and  for  the  testimony  of  the  Lord.  That  they  are  called 
angels,  is  according  to  the  usage  of  Scripture.  See  you  not  also 
that  allusion  is  here  made  to  the  church  of  Christ,  so  long  op- 
pressed in  the  wilderness  ?  Is  there  not  reference  made,  accord- 
ing to  what  John  himself  says,  to  some  future  event  ?  Who  is 
that  accuser,  who  complained  of  our  transgressing  the  law  and 
the  ordinances  ?  Before  the  conflict,  he  says,  there  will  be  ac- 
cusations and  the  seducing  of  the  world.  Then  shall  the  con- 
flict follow,  and  the  time  is  near.  And  who  are  they  who  shall 
gain  the  victory  over  the  beast,  and  who  bear  not  his  marks  ?  I 
know  it  assuredly,  that  I  must  die  for  this  thing ;  but  I  am  not 
on  that  account  troubled  in  my  soul,  or  because  that  I,  a  disci- 
ple, shall  be  like  my  Master.  I  am  distressed  that,  through  you, 
I  cannot  correct  many  passages  of  my  writings,  which  are  now 
in  the  hands  of  Calvin.  Farewell,  and  do  not  expect  any  more 
letters  from  me.  I  shall  stand  upon  my  watch-tower,  and  see 
what  He  will  say  unto  me  ;  for  He  will  come,  and  will  not  tarry." 
The  date  of  this  letter  is  not  known,  but  it  appears  to  have  been 
written  when  his  fanaticism  was  at  the  height. 

W7e  are  now  approaching  the  third  epoch  of  his  unquiet 
course,  that  in  which  his  passions  became  engaged  in  the  terri- 
ble struggle  with  the  feeling  of  truth  which  still  lived  within 
him.  He  had  acquired  some  little  knowledge  of  his  great  weak- 
ness :  the  castles  in  the  air,  which  he  had  created  for  himself  in 
the  magic  light  of  his  fanatical  pride,  had  sadly  vanished,  and 
nothing  was  left  for  him  but  a  fearful  reality ;  the  actual  struggle 


184  SERVETUS  AND  THE   PRINTERS.  [CHAP.  IV. 

of  martyrdom,  conducting  him  through  imprisonment,  disho- 
nour, anguish  and  the  flames.  He  had  nourished  the  hope  that 
his  first  work  would  make  an  impression  on  the  reformers. 
When  they  neglected  to  notice  him,  he  remembered  that  the 
early  prophets  were  taught  to  listen  in  silence  to  what  the  Spirit 
should  reveal  to  those  who  came  after.  But  when  he  found  all 
opposing  him,  his  feelings  were  embittered,  and  then  followed 
his  last  work,  as  a  hostile  manifesto.  He  had  for  a  long  time 
been  an  object  of  suspicion  to  the  Roman  Catholics,  but  it  was 
his  own  unquiet  temper  only  which  first  exposed  him  to  trouble. 

In  order  to  bring  his  work  before  the  world,  he  endeavoured, 
in  the  first  instance,  to  have  it  printed  at  Basel :  in  this  he 
failed.  The  archbishop  himself  had  brought  some  printers  to 
Vienne.  William  Queroult,  the  overseer  of  the  press,  could  be 
easily  won  ;  he  had  been  driven  out  of  Geneva,  and  was  Cal- 
vhr's  enemy.  Balthasar  Arnoullet,  the  director,  was  not  very 
willing  to  allow  a  book  to  be  printed  without  the  license  of  the 
clergy ;  but  he  was  influenced  by  a  bribe,  and  two  presses  were 
set  to  work  in  secret.  Servetus  corrected  the  proofs.  The 
printing  continued  from  the  Michaelmas  of  the  former  year  to 
the  January  of  1553.  Five  bales  of  copies  were  sent  to  Lyons; 
as  many  to  Chatillon ;  still  more  to  Frankfort ;  and  others  to 
Geneva.     One  of  the  copies  fell  into  the  hands  of  Calvin. 

M.  d'Artigny  has  falsified,  in  a  most  unpardonable  degree,  the 
history  of  the  detection  of  Servetus.  He  has  been  convincingly 
answered  and  properly  censured  by  Mosheim.  Calvin  can  have 
had  no  premeditated  intention  of  accusing  Servetus.  The  fol- 
lowing statement  may  be  regarded  as  historically  correct. 

There  lived  at  Geneva,  at  the  time  when  the  work  of  which 
we  are  speaking  was  published,  a  noble  Frenchman  of  Lyons, 
who  had  left  his  native  country  on  account  of  religion.  This 
was  William  Trie  ;  and  he  had  a  relation  at  Lyons  named  Arneys, 
who,  as  a  zealous  catholic,  was  perpetually  persuading  him  to 
return  to  the  Romish  church.  Trie,  on  the  other  hand,  as  anxi- 
ously entreated  him  to  come  to  Geneva.  He  was  well  known  to 
Calvin,  and  it  is  probable  that  the  latter,  greatly  excited  at  read- 
ing the  work  of  Servetus,  allowed  the  expression  of  his  indigna- 
tion to  escape  him  in  conversation  with  Trie,  and  others  of  his 
friends. 

On  the  26th  of  February,  Trie  wrote  to  Arneys :  "  I  cannot 
but  wonder  at  your  objecting  to  me,  that  we  have  no  church 
discipline  and  order.     I  see,  God  be  praised,  that  crimes  are 


A.D.  1553.]  SERVETUS   DETECTED.  185 

better  punished  among  us  than  by  all  your  boasted  spiritual 
tribunals.  And,  as  regards  doctrine,  although  we  have  more 
freedom  here,  yet  we  never  suffer  the  name  of  God  to  be  blas- 
phemed, or  errors  to  be  diffused  without  opposing  them.  I  can 
give  you  an  example,  which,  to  say  the  truth,  is  greatly  to  your 
shame.  A  heretic  is  protected  among  you,  who  well  deserves  to 
be  burnt,  wherever  he  is  found.  When  I  speak  of  heretics,  I 
here  refer  to  a  man  whom  the  Papists,  as  well  as  we,  condemn ; 
for  although  we  differ  in  many  things,  we  have  yet  this  in  com- 
mon, that  we  acknowledge  three  persons  in  one  God,  and  be- 
lieve that  the  Son,  who  is  the  eternal  Logos,  was  begotten  of 
the  Father  before  all  worlds ;  that  He  has  in  himself  eternal 
life,  his  Holy  Spirit.  Suppose  now,  that  a  man  should  declare 
that  the  Trinity,  in  which  we  believe,  is  a  Cerberus,  a  hellish 
monster,  and  should  heap  upon  it  all  imaginable  abuse,  and  make 
a  mock  at  all  which  the  ancient  fathers  have  said  thereon ;  sup- 
pose that  this  were  the  case,  I  ask  you  in  what  light  would  such 
a  man  appear  among  you?  How  base  a  thing  it  is,  that  they 
should  be  led  to  death  who  acknowledge  that  there  is  one  only 
God,  and  that  prayer  must  be  offered  to  Him  in  the  name  of 
Jesus  Christ*,  while  such  a  man  as  this,  who  regards  Christ  as 
an  idol,  who  tramples  on  all  the  principles  of  faith,  revives  all 
the  absurdities  of  the  old  heretics,  condemns  the  baptism  of 
children,  calling  it  a  devilish  invention, — should  be  held  in 
esteem  among  you,  and  treated  as  if  he  had  done  nothing  amiss  ! 
The  man  to  whom  I  refer  is  a  Spaniard  or  Portuguese,  Michael 
Servetus  by  name.  This  is  his  proper  name ;  but  he  is  known 
by  that  of  Villeneuve,  plays  the  physician,  and  has  just  had  a 
work  printed  at  Arnoullet's  office  in  Vienne.  You  say,  that  the 
books,  the  sole  object  of  which  is  to  persuade  men  to  abide  by 
the  simple  doctrine  of  Scripture,  corrupt  the  world;  and  yet 
you  protect  under  your  wings  a  venomous  creature  sufficient  to 
destroy  the  entire  volume  of  Scripture,  and  all  even  which  you 
regard  as  Christianity."  Trie  inclosed  in  his  letter  the  title,  the 
register,  and  the  first  four  leaves  of  the  '  Restitutio/ 

It  is  easy  to  perceive  that  Trie  was  embittered  by  his  know- 
ledge of  the  horrible  sufferings  endured  by  his  evangelical  bre- 
thren in  France ;  but  it  was  unreasonable  in  him  to  accuse 
the  catholics  of  allowing  a  heretic  to  live  among  them,  when, 
through  his  assumption  of  a  strange  name,  he  must  have  been 

*  The  writer  here  describes  the  faith  of  the  evangelical  reformers. 


136  SERVETUS  DETECTED.  [CHAP.  IV. 

unknown.  It  appears  surprising  to  some  that  he  should  have 
sent  the  title  of  the  work,  whereas  it  is  certain  that,  at  this  time, 
at  Geneva,  nothing  was  less  likely  to  be  talked  of  among  the 
faithful  of  that  city  than  the  work  of  Servetus.  Calvin's  oppo- 
nents wish  it  to  be  supposed,  that  Trie  begged  the  title  of  the 
book  of  him,  as  if  there  had  been  but  one  copy  in  Geneva. 
People  however  could  have  obtained  as  many  copies  as  they 
pleased  from  Stephanus,  for  Servetus  had  glutted  the  world  with 
them.  Calvin  sent  a  copy  to  Bullinger.  It  ought  also  to  silence 
opponents,  when  it  is  known,  that  Calvin  definitely  stated  in 
the  Q  Refutatio/  that  he  was  ready  to  say,  that  had  he  accused 
him  at  that  time,  it  would  not  have  been  a  thing  to  deny.  He 
believed  indeed  that  if  he  had  driven  him  from  Geneva  by  fire 
from  heaven,  he  would  but  have  done  his  duty,  for  he  was  the 
reformer  of  the  church,  not  of  the  congregation  of  a  single  city. 
It  is  evident  that  Servetus,  who  had  managed  the  affair  at  Yienne 
so  secretly,  had,  notwithstanding,  a  false  friend,  through  whom 
the  whole  was  made  known  to  the  Genevese.  How  otherwise 
could  Trie  have  discovered  that  the  work  was  printed  at  Vienne, 
and  by  Arnoullet  ?  Neither  the  city  nor  the  printer  was  named 
on  the  title-page,  although  Calvin  immediately  recognized  the 
work  as  written  by  Servetus.  It  is  now  however  understood  that 
Frellon,  a  catholic  at  Lyons,  was  acquainted  with  both  Calvin 
and  Servetus,  and  it  is  probable  that  when  he  found  the  latter 
going  too  far,  he  joined  the  rest  against  him. 

The  fate  of  Servetus  was  now  determined.  Arneys,  a  zealous 
catholic,  lost  no  time  in  placing  Trie's  letter  before  Ory,  the 
judge  of  heresy  at  Lyons,  where  the  bloodthirsty  cardinal  Tour- 
non,  who  had  brought  the  skilful  inquisitor  above-named  out 
of  Italy,  was  ready  to  give  ear  to  any  suspicion.  Servetus  was 
instantly  summoned  before  the  tribunal  at  Vienne,  and  under- 
went an  examination  before  Montgiron,  the  general-lieutenant 
of  Dauphine.  He  had  found  means  however  in  the  two  hours 
whilst  he  was  still  at  liberty  to  put  aside  as  many  papers  as 
seemed  necessary.  Presenting  himself  without  any  appearance  of 
concern  before  the  magistrate,  he  declared  that  he  was  quite  will- 
ing to  open  his  house  to  any  one  who  chose  to  search  it,  for  that 
it  had  always  been  his  wish  to  be  free  from  every  suspicion  of 
heresy.  The  magistrates  did  in  fact  thoroughly  search  the  house, 
but  nothing  heretical  could  be  discovered.  A  man  influenced 
by  the  Spirit  of  God  would  have  spoken  differently  from  the 
beginning. 


A.D.  1553.]  SERVETUS  EXAMINED.  187 

Queroult  was  subjected  on  the  17th  of  March  to  a  long  exa- 
mination, but  being  a  man  of  ability  he  betrayed  himself  in 
nothing.  All  the  people  employed  in  the  office  were  examined, 
and  asked  whether  they  knew  the  handwriting  of  the  work,  some 
leaves  of  which  were  placed  before  them.  They  all  answered  in 
the  negative.  A  catalogue  of  the  books  printed  at  the  office  for 
the  preceding  two  years  was  required :  no  octavo  was  found  men- 
tioned. All  the  assistants  and  servants  in  Arnoullet's  house, 
with  their  families,  were  brought  before  the  tribunal,  and  they 
were  forbidden,  under  pain  of  being  punished  as  heretics,  to  make 
public  any  of  these  proceedings.  On  the  following  day,  Arnoul- 
let  himself,  who  had  been  on  a  journey,  returned;  he  was  im- 
mediately summoned  before  the  tribunal.  There  was  nothing 
against  him,  and  the  magistrates  were  obliged  to  declare  that 
the  Spanish  physician  could  not  be  imprisoned  on  the  evidence 
before  them. 

Ory  was  called  to  Vienne  :  he  considered  that  it  was  necessary 
to  refer  to  the  original  source  of  the  report,  and  therefore  sum- 
moned Arneys  to  his  aid.  At  the  same  time  he  himself  wrote  to 
Trie,  and  begged  him  for  an  entire  copy  of  the  work,  of  which 
at  present  they  had  only  the  first  pages  :  among  other  things  he 
said,  "  If  sufficient  proof  could  be  had,  people  at  Geneva  should 
soon  see  that  the  honour  of  God  and  of  the  faith  was  cherished  in 
France,  and  that  they  were  not  so  negligent  as  was  imagined." 
The  book  now  could  have  done  no  good,  for  Servetus  denied  that 
he  was  the  author.  An  answer  to  the  above  arrived  on  the  26th 
of  March. 

Trie  says  to  his  relation,  "  When  I  wrote  you  the  letter  which 
you  have  given  to  those  whom  I  accused  of  negligence,  I  did  not 
suppose  that  the  affair  would  go  so  far;  my  only  design  was  to  make 
it  apparent  to  you  what  a  fine  zeal  they  must  have  who  call  them- 
selves pillars  of  the  church,  whilst  they  could  suffer  such  a  wretch 
among  them,  and  yet  persecute  so  fiercely  the  poor  Christians, 
whose  whole  desire  it  is  to  worship  God  in  all  simplicity.  But 
as  my  private  letters  have  been  made  public,  God  grant  that 
they  may  at  least  tend  to  free  Christianity  from  such  filth,  yea, 
from  such  a  deadly  pestilence  !  I  cannot  send  the  book  itself, 
but  1  can  furnish  you  with  a  better  means  of  proving  the  guilt 
of  this  man,  consisting  of  two  dozen  written  leaves,  in  which  are 
portions  of  his  heresy.  If  his  printed  work  be  shown  to  him, 
he  can  deny  that  he  is  the  author,  but  not  so  with  his  own  hand- 
writing.    I  must  however  plainly  confess  to  you,  that  I  have  had 


188  SERVETUS  EXAMINED.  [CHAP.  IV. 

great  trouble  in  obtaining  from  Mr.  Calvin  what  I  now  send  you  ; 
not  that  he  wishes  such  a  cursed  blasphemer  to  remain  un- 
punished, but  because  it  seems  to  him  that  it  is  the  duty  of 
one,  who  bears  not  the  sword  of  justice,  to  oppose  heresies  by 
doctrine  rather  than  by  such  means.  But  I  so  wore  him  with 
my  importunities,  showing  that  the  charge  of  levity  would  be  cast 
upon  me  if  I  had  not  his  help,  that  he  at  last  yielded,  and  gave 
me  what  you  see."  Calvin  therefore  had  a  right  feeling  of  his 
duty,  but  his  consent  in  this  matter  is  an  instance  of  his  wavering 
between  the  principle  of  the  old  and  that  of  the  new  covenant. 

Notwithstanding  the  care  with  which  these  proofs  were  col- 
lected, they  were  not  sufficient  for  the  purpose  intended.  Ser- 
vetus  at  Vienne  was  called  Villeneuve,  and  the  handwriting  of  a 
person  was  not  allowed  as  decisive  evidence  in  a  trial  for  heresy : 
it  could  also  be  set  aside  by  an  oath.  The  law  required  that 
Villeneuve  should  be  proved  to  be  the  author  of  the  i  Restitutio/ 
and  further,  that  Arnoullet  had  printed  the  book  at  Vienne. 
Arneys  begged  Trie  a  second  time  to  furnish  him  with  better 
evidence.  The  messenger  who  brought  the  letter  arrived  very 
late  on  the  last  day  of  March.  Trie  answered  during  the  night, 
the  questions  put  to  him,  stating  that  Servetus  apologized  in  the 
last  of  the  letters  sent  for  having  taken  a  strange  name ;  that  his 
identity  was  therefore  proved ;  and  that  the  manuscript  of  the 
work  was  at  Lausanne,  and  consequently  could  not  be  sent : 
"  But  that  you  may  know  that  this  is  not  the  first  time  that  that 
monster  has  endeavoured  to  disturb  the  church,  I  can  inform 
you,  that  twenty-four  years  ago  he  was  expelled  from  the  first  of 
the  German  churches,  and  if  he  had  been  in  this  place,  he  would 
never  have  gone  out."  The  writer  could  not  tell  how  it  had  be- 
come known  that  Arnoullet  was  the  printer. 

Although  no  clear  proofs  of  their  guilt  existed,  the  judges  de- 
termined that  Villeneuve  and  Arnoullet  should  be  kept  in  con- 
finement, to  afford  an  opportunity  for  their  more  formal  trial :  they 
were  accordingly  both  thrown  into  prison,  and  in  separate  places. 
Servetus  was  confined  in  the  royal  palace,  and  treated  with  re- 
spect. Palmier  conducted  the  whole  affair ;  he  sent  a  messenger 
immediately  to  the  chateau  Roussillon,  about  fourteen  miles  from 
Vienne,  and  where  the  cardinal  Tournon  was  then  residing. 
Ory  mounted  his  horse  and  was  speedily  at  Vienne ;  his  zeal  was 
extraordinary.  In  the  afternoon,  the  magistrates  assembled  in 
the  Palace  of  Justice,  and  in  the  chamber  where  causes  of  life 
and  death  were  decided.  The  accused  appeared  :  he  was  required, 


A.D.   1553.]  SERVETUS   EXAMINED.  189 

according  to  custom,  to  take  an  oath  that  he  would  speak  only 
the  truth :  he  spoke,  alas  !  scarcely  anything  but  falsehoods. 
Thus  he  deprived  himself  of  his  only  proper  consolation  and 
genuine  strength.  Not  as  a  prophet;  not  as  a  servant  of  the 
truth ;  not  surely  as  a  soldier  in  the  host  of  Michael,  did  he  now 
stand  before  the  tribunal.  At  every  new  examination  there  was 
a  fresh  oath,  and  another  instance  of  perjury  :  his  weakness 
shows  the  courage  and  tranquil  spirit  of  the  martyrs  at  Lyons 
in  a  still  fairer  light. 

D'Artigny  here  relates,  from  Quintana,  the  history  of  Servetus, 
according  to  the  report  of  the  trial.  In  the  course  of  his  exa- 
mination two  leaves  of  a  printed  work  were  placed  before  him, 
with  marginal  notes,  and  the  superscription  "  De  Baptismo, 
c.  1 7  *."  This  was  a  chapter  of  Calvin's  i  Institutes  ;'  not  of  the 
c  Restitutio,'  as  Artigny  absurdly  supposed,  that  work  not  being- 
divided  into  chapters.  Servetus  had,  in  fact,  sent  to  Calvin  a 
copy  of  his  own  work,  accompanied  by  abusive  remarks  :  to  this 
book  the  leaves  of  which  we  are  speaking  had  belonged,  and  in- 
fant baptism  is  one  of  the  subjects  rashly  treated  of  in  the  mar- 
ginal annotations.  This  appears  from  Calvin's  refutation  of  the 
errors  of  Servetus,  in  the  course  of  which  he  accuses  him  of 
having  vilified  several  of  his  books. 

The  judges  only  wished  for  some  explanation  of  these  notes. 
Servetus  was  so  imprudent  as  to  give  it,  and  thus  to  show  that 
he  was  the  author ;  after  however  having  done  so  he  expressed 
a  doubt  wThether  it  was  his  writing.  With  regard  to  the  doctrine 
of  baptism,  he  retracted  his  opinion,  spoke  in  the  most  orthodox 
manner,  and  submitted  himself  in  all  things  to  the  church,  as 
his  holy  motherf.  It  is  easy  to  see  that  his  only  object  was  to 
save  his  life. 

When,  at  his  second  examination,  he  observed  that  all  his 
letters  to  Calvin  were  in  the  hands  of  the  judges,  his  courage 
entirely  forsook  him;  he  saw  that  the  affair  must  terminate 
badly,  and,  in  this  necessity,  he  could  invent  no  means  of  deliver- 
ance but  an  insipid  lie.  "  My  lords,"  he  said,  his  eyes  streaming 
with  tears,  "  I  will  confess  the  truth.  Twenty-five  years  ago3 
when  I  was  in  Germany,  a  book  by  one  Servetus,  a  Spaniard, 
was  printed  at  Aganon  (Hagenau)  ;  1  know  not  whence  he  came  ; 
but  at  that  time  I  was  in  correspondence  with  Calvin,  and  he 

*  These  leaves  were  out  of  Calvin's  '  Institutes.'      Mosheim  (Neue  Nachr. 
s.  50,  65)  has  not  clearly  represented  this  matter. 
f  D'Artigny,  t.  ii.  p.  105. 


190  ESCAPE  OF  SERVETUS.  [dlAP.  IV. 

addressed  me  as  Servetus,  for  there  was  a  similarity  in  our  ap- 
pearance, and  I  assumed  his  character."  For  ten  years  however, 
he  added,  he  had  ceased  to  write;  and  he  declared,  before  God 
and  the  judges,  that  he  had  never  desired  to  do  aught  against  the 
church,  or  to  dogmatize,  in  any  way,  against  the  Christian  re- 
ligion*. 

There  must  have  been  something  very  comical  in  such  a  lame 
and  absurd  account  as  this,  when  addressed  to  a  tribunal  for  the 
examination  of  heretics,  and  at  the  head  of  which  was  the  Italian 
Ory.  In  his  confusion,  he  stated,  that  the  letters  were  written 
to  Calvin  in  Germany  twenty-five  years  back  ;  while  a  little  after 
he  asserted  that  they  were  sent  when  he  was  in  France.  Several 
letters  were  shown  to  him,  in  which  he  distinctly  expressed  his 
heretical  notions  :  he  did  not  deny  that  the  letters  were  his ;  but 
he  argued  that  they  only  contained  the  opinions  which  he  held 
in  former  times,  and  which  he  had  by  no  means  permanently 
embraced.  When  the  examination  was  continued,  in  the  after- 
noon, fourteen  other  letters  were  laid  before  him  :  he  still  gave 
the  same  answer,  stating,  "  that  he  did  not  profess  what  was 
heretical  in  those  letters,  but  only  what  his  judges  and  the  church 
believed  to  be  right." 

Servetus  had  been  allowed  considerable  freedom,  and  he  em- 
ployed the  present  opportunity  of  getting  together  some  money, 
and  preparing  all  things  for  his  flight.  It  is  evident  that  he  had 
friends  in  the  place.  The  archbishop  himself  was  not  yet  ac- 
quainted with  his  dangerous  book,  and  his  blasphemies.  He  had 
been  permitted  to  retain  in  the  prison  a  gold  chain  worth  twenty 
ducats,  which  he  wore  about  his  neck,  and  six  gold  rings  on 
his  fingers.  At  Geneva  ninety-seven  gold  pieces  were  still  found 
in  his  purse.  Happily  for  him,  a  garden  extended  up  to  the 
room  of  the  prison  in  which  he  was  placed :  it  was  possible  to 
get  from  this  up  the  roof  of  a  neighbouring  house,  and  thence 
along  a  wall,  down  which  a  man  could  let  himself  into  the  court 
of  che  palace.  When  once  there,  it  was  no  difficult  matter  to 
reach  the  city  gate,  and  the  bridge  over  the  Rhone. 

The  prisoners  were  allowed  to  walk  about  the  garden,  and  to 
enter  it  at  any  time  they  found  necessary.  Early  in  the  morning 
of  the  7th  of  April  Servetus  dressed  himself  completely,  but 
threw  a  large  night-gown  over  his  other  clothes,  put  a  silk  hand- 
kerchief about  his  head,  and  asked  the  keeper  of  the  prison  for 
the  key  of  the  garden.  The  man  having  no  fear  of  his  escaping 
*  D'Artigny,  t.  ii.  p.  108.  See  also  Mosheim,  Neue'Nachrichten,  s.  9G-100. 


A.D.  1553.]  SENTENCE   ON  SERVETUS.  191 

in  such  a  dress,  immediately  gave  him  the  key,  and  went  uncon- 
cerned with  his  people  to  tend  some  vines.  Servetus,  who  had 
beforehand  carefully  examined  the  place,  reached  the  court  of  the 
palace  without  interruption,  and  passed  the  bridge.  It  was  not 
till  after  many  hours  that  the  absence  of  the  prisoner  was  dis- 
covered. A  terrible  tumult  followed.  The  gates  were  closed, 
and  all  the  houses  were  searched,  but  the  fortunate  Servetus 
was  free.  After  three  days,  a  countrywoman  confessed  she  had 
seen  him  go. 

This  was  a  rare  event  in  the  history  of  trials  for  heresy.  The 
process  was  continued  as  if  Servetus  had  been  present :  at  length 
the  judge  discovered  that  the  e  Restitutio '  had  been  secretly 
printed  at  Vienne:  he  exposed  all  the  errors  which  it  contained. 
The  civil  magistrate  pronounced  judgement  before  the  end  of  the 
examination :  the  ecclesiastical  judges  did  not  finish  their  pro- 
ceedings till  after  six  months  had  elapsed,  and  when  Servetus 
had  already  been  long  condemned  at  Geneva :  they  declared  him 
to  be  an  arch-heretic*.  Independent  of  his  blasphemy,  the  ex- 
pressions which  he  employs  in  his  works  against  the  catholic 
church,  are  as  powerful  as  those  of  Luther  and  Calvinf. 

The  temporal  power  condemned  Servetus  to  be  burnt  to  death, 
and  he  was  to  be  burnt  in  effigy  in  the  interval  between  his  sen- 
tence and  apprehension.  Arnoullet,  who  proved  his  innocence, 
as  having  been  deceived,  was  set  free.  Queroult  had  assured 
him  that  the  f  Restitutio '  was  altogether  a  harmless  book.  The 
latter  probably  fled,  and  succeeded  in  making  his  escape.  The 
copies  of  the  i  Restitutio '  were  to  be  destroyed  J. 

It  was  on  the  1 7th  of  June  that  the  sentence  of  death  was 
pronounced,  and  on  the  same  clay  the  executioner  conveyed  the 
effigy  of  Servetus,  with  five  bales  of  books,  on  a  cart,  from  the 
palace  to  the  market-place,  and  thence  to  the  "  Place  Charneve:  " 
there  he  hung  the  effigy  on  a  gallows,  and  afterwards  threw  it 
into  the  fire,  in  which  it  was  slowly  consumed.     The  property 

*  Mosheim,  Neue  Nachrichtcn,  s.  100,  101. 

f  For  example,  "  O  Christe  Jesu,  Fili  Dei,  liberator  clementissime,  qui 
toties  populum  ab  angustiis  liberasti,  libera  nos  miseros  ab  hac  Babylonica 
Antichrist!  captivitate,  ab  hypocrisi  ejus,  tyrannide  et  idolatria!  " 

J  The  impression  consisted  of  a  thousand  copies.  Of  these,  a  part  had  been 
sent  to  Lyons,  another  to  Chatillon,  and  a  third  direct  to  Frankfort.  Ar- 
noullet took  care  that  the  copies  sent  to  Chatillon,  for  the  fair,  should  be  burnt. 
Calvin  wrote  to  the  ministers  at  Frankfort  not  to  spare  a  copy  (Epis.  153).  Of 
those  which  came  to  Geneva,  one  was  tied  to  the  body  of  Servetus  when  he 
was  burnt:  the  others  were  also  destroyed.  Mosheim  shows  that  only  six 
copies  escaped.  Robert  Stephanus  was'  the  man  pius  et  integer  of  whom 
Calvin  speaks  in  his  letter,  and  who  destroyed  the  copies  at  Geneva. 


192  SERVETUS  AT  GENEVA.  [CHAP.  IV. 

which  Servetus  had  acquired  was  so  considerable,  that  a  noble- 
man purchased  it  of  the  king  for  his  son. 

Servetus  had  determined  upon  going  to  Naples,  and  there 
practising  as  a  physician  :  his  way  led  him  through  Switzerland, 
fear  of  pursuers  preventing  him  from  passing  over  Piedmont. 
He  wandered  for  about  a  month  in  France*,  and  then  went 
quietly  to  Geneva.  A  homeless  man,  impelled  by  a  peculiar  fate, 
he  had  no  sooner  escaped  from  the  tire  than  he  rushed  into  new 
danger.  An  extraordinary  delight  in  running  hazards  was  one 
of  his  characteristics.  He  knew  that  Trie  had  sent  his  letters  to 
Vienne  ;  that  Calvin  could  give  him  no  safe-conduct ;  that  he  was, 
on  the  contrary,  his  accuser;  but  notwithstanding  all  this,  a 
strange  irresistible  power  drove  him  to  Geneva.  He  had  many 
years  before  been  led,  in  the  same  manner,  to  seek  Calvin  in 
Paris ;  subsequently  he  forced  him  into  a  correspondence,  and 
now  at  last  he  came  himself,  in  order  to  observe  in  secret  this  man 
whom  he  at  the  same  time  both  sought  and  shunned.  Calvin 
had  reason  to  remark,  "  I  know  not  what  to  say  of  him,  except 
that  he  was  seized  by  a  fatal  madness  to  precipitate  himself 
upon  destruction/' 

In  the  middle  of  the  month  of  July,  a  man  was  seen,  on  foot, 
entering  the  gate  of  the  old  city  ;  he  turned  into  a  little  inn  used 
by  strangers,  called  the  Auberge  de  la  Rose,  and  situated  on  the 
lake.  The  night  before  he  had  slept  in  the  village  of  Le  Louy- 
set,  where  he  arrived  on  horseback.  It  was  easy  to  recognize  in 
the  traveller  a  man  of  education  ;  in  the  southern  expression  of 
his  eye,  there  was  deep  thought  and  dreaming  phantasy,  and 
somewhat  of  passionate  excitement:  he  indulged  in  some  light 
expressions.  The  people  of  the  inn  wishing  to  learn  more  about 
him,  asked  if  he  was  married ;  he  answered,  that  a  man  could 
find  women  enough  without  marrying.  Some  one  observed  him 
going  to  the  church  where  Calvin  preached. 

After  remaining  about  a  month  at  Geneva,  he  resolved  on 
making  a  journey  to  Zurich.  For  this  purpose  he  engaged  a 
boat  to  carry  him  across  the  lake ;  but  just  as  he  was  on  the 
point  of  departing  an  officer  appeared,  and  took  him  prisoner  in 
the  name  of  the  council  t«    This  event  occurred  August  13,  1553. 


*  According  to  Calvin's  letter  to  Sulzer,  for  four  months  (Ep.  156)  ;  but 
this  is  not  correct.  His  sentence  was  pronounced  at  Vienne  June  17th,  and 
Calvin  learnt,  August  13th,  that  he  was  in  Geneva. 

f  See  Beza's  preface  to  Calvin's  Commentary  on  Joshua,  Bibl.  Raisonn. 
Angl.  t.  ii.  pt.  1.  p.  95.  Moshcim,  s.  152. 


A.D.  1553.]  APPREHENSION    OF  SERVETUS.  193 

Calvin  assumed  to  himself  great  credit  for  having  rendered 
such  service  to  God,  to  the  church,  and  to  mankind,  by  depriving 
a  blasphemer  like  Servetus  of  his  power  to  do  harm,  and  exciting 
him  to  recant :  he  often  spoke  on  this  subject*,  and  repeated,  that 
it  was  his  duty  to  inform  the  council  that  Servetus  was  living  in 
the  republic. 

Servetus  appears  to  have  kept  himself  quiet  at  Geneva :  he. 
had  probably  friends  or  acquaintances  in  that  city ;  it  would 
otherwise  be  inconceivable  how  his  presence  there  should  have 
become  known.  Some  persons  relate  that  he  was  recognized  in 
the  church  ;  at  his  examination  he  stated  that  no  one  could  have 
a  right  to  apprehend  him  in  Geneva ;  he  had  not  attempted  to 
promote  his  reformation  in  that  city,  nor  was  it  his  intention  to 
remain  there.  Musculus  however  said,  in  a  letter  to  Bullinger, 
that  Servetus  was  only  wishing  to  make  use  of  the  bad  feelings 
of  some  great  men  at  Geneva  against  Calvin,  in  order  to  obtain 
a  position  whence  he  might  be  able  to  agitate  other  churches  t. 
This  may  have  entered  into  the  plan  of  the  libertine  party. 

Servetus  was  conveyed  to  prison, — the  old  prison  near  the 
church  of  St.  Peter :  he  complained  bitterly  of  this  in  his  letter 
to  the  council.  Nicolas  de  la  Fontaine  J,  a  student,  and  Calvin's 
secretary,  allowed  himself  to  be  named  the  accuser  of  the  pri- 
soner, and  with  a  full  knowledge  of  the  rule  established  at  Geneva, 
that  if  the  accused  was  found  innocent,  the  accuser  should  suffer 
the  punishment  which  would  otherwise  have  fallen  on  the  cri- 
minal. The  council  was  at  this  period  altogether  opposed  to 
Calvin,  but  it  regarded  his  accusation  of  Servetus  with  great  ap- 
probation §.     The  latter  had  been  long  considered  as  an  outlaw. 

Calvin  had  no  intention  to  expose  Servetus  to  capital  punish- 
ment ;  he  only  wished  to  render  him  harmless,  to  make  him  re- 
cant his  blasphemy,  and  so  preserve  Christianity  from  injury ; 
but  we  shall  see  how  the  Spaniard  opposed  himself  by  his  mis- 
chievous, obstinate  spirit  to  all  the  representations  of  reason,  and 

*  To  Sulzer,  Sept.  9,  Ep.  156.  Ed.  Amst.  p.  70. 

t  Grotius  is  altogether  wrong  in  his  statement  that  Servetus  went  to  Geneva 
to  consult  Calvin. 

t  Born  at  St.  Gervais  :  he  fled  to  Geneva,  where  Calvin  protected  him,  and 
made  him  cook  to  the  Sieur  de  Bourgogne,  when  that  nobleman  lived  in  his 
house.  He  next  became  Calvin's  secretary,  and  manifested  great  aptitude  for 
the  sciences:  he  had  already  lived  bix  years  with  Calvin  at  the  time  when 
vetuswas  apprehended,  and  had  advanced  far  in  theological  knowledge;  thus 
he  was  no  longer  a  menial,  nor  was  he  unworthy,  as  enemies  pretend,  of  the 
part  which  he  undertook.  He  is  called  by  Spoil  itudiant  en  theologie.  He 
styles  himself  p-oposant,  and  Calvin  his  pastor. 

$  "Magno  assertsu piorum,"  Says  Beza,  in  writing  to  Bullinger,  Aug.  27,  1553. 
VOL.   II.  O 


194  EXAMINATION   OF  SERVETUS.  [CHAP.  IV. 

thereby  excited  most  men  of  Christian  feeling  against  him.  Cal- 
vin's well-known  expression  to  Farel,  hastily  uttered,  as  has  been 
remarked,  was  but  an  outbreak  of  anger :  it  purported,  that  if 
Servctus  persevered  in  his  blasphemy  he  must  certainly  die,  if 
Calvin's  authority  had  any  weight  in  Geneva.  This  view  is  sup- 
ported by  the  words,  "Add,  that  no  danger  of  any  great  punish- 
ment hung  over  him,  if  he  could  possibly  have  been  brought  to 
his  senses*."  All  that  Calvin  required  was  a  recantation.  Thus 
he  sorrowfully  exclaimed,  at  a  later  period,  "  Would  that  we 
could  have  obtained  a  recantation  from  Servetus,  as  we  did  from 
Gentilis ! " 

But  notwithstanding  this,  he  still  firmly  asserted  the  principle, 
that  obstinate  heretics,  who  throw  all  things  into  confusion,  must 
be  punished  with  death.  The  conduct  of  the  council  towards 
Servetus  is  easily  understood,  when  it  is  recollected,  what  was  the 
then  state  of  affairs,  and  how  involved  the  very  existence  of  the 
civil  polity  was  with  that  of  the  church.  If  the  latter  sunk,  so 
must  the  former ;  if  the  evangelical  faith  ceased  to  prevail,  the 
catholic  must  be  restored,  and  with  it  the  bishop.  It  was  for 
this  the  catholics  wrere  looking,  and  nence  the  state  could  never 
be  indifferent  to  the  propagation  of  heresy.  Nor  should  it  be 
passed  over,  that  the  old  ordinances  of  the  emperors  against 
heretics,  those  particularly  of  Frederic  II.,  were  still  in  force 
in  Geneva,  as  in  the  rest  of  the  Christian  world.  According  to 
these,  heretics  were  placed  in  the  same  rank,  with  regard  to 
guilt  and  punishment,  as  traitors. 

Nicolas  de  la  Fontaine  was  required  to  state  to  the  council  the 
points  of  accusation,  as  drawn  up  by  Calvin  :  he  appeared  the 
next  day  before  the  tribunal,  and  formally  denounced  Servetus 
as  a  heretic.  Calvin  relates  the  circumstance  in  his  letters  f,  and 
mentions,  that  he  had  selected  forty  points  of  accusation  (there 
are  only  thirty-eight  J),  adding  characteristically,  and  as  if 
freeing  himself  from  the  heat  of  his  passion,  "  that  he  thought 
Servetus  would  be  punished  with  death  ;"  that  is,  if  nothing  could 
be  done  with  him.  But  still  he  was  unwilling  to  think  for  a 
moment  of  his  dying  in  the  flames. 

In  reference  to  the  first  thirty-six  articles,  which  regarded  his 
doctrine,  Servetus  answered  with  candour  and  serenity*  that  he 

*  Refut.  p.  517.  Opusc.  Fr.  p.  15:52. 

t  Ed.  Laus.  Ep.  152.  Ed.  Amstel.  p.  70,  a.     "  Nicolaus  nieus  ad  capitate 
judicium,  poena;  talionis  se  offerens,  ipsum  vocavit." 
t  See  Trechsel. 


A.D.  1553.]  EXAMINATION  OF  SERVETUS.  195 

acknowledged  himself  the  author  of  the  works  named,  spoke  of 
his  desire  to  be  instructed,  and  then  defended  himself  with  great 
simplicity,  asserting  that  he  had  not  intended  to  blaspheme,  and 
that  he  was  ready  to  recant*.  It  was  immediately  objected  to 
him,  that  he  had  said,  in  the  seventh  article,  "  Such  a  division 
in  the  being  of  God  makes  him  into  a  tripartite  God ;  that  is,  into 
a  devil  with  three  heads,  like  Cerberus,  which  the  old  poets  have 
called  a  hell-hound,  a  monster."  There  were  other  blasphemies 
of  a  similar  kind. 

He  did  not  deny  this,  but  declared  that  he  believed  in  the 
Trinity ;  only  that  by  the  term  person  he  understood  something 
different  from  what  was  meant  by  modern  teachers.  Since  how- 
ever he  practically  adhered  to  the  blasphemy  involved  in  the 
expression,  the  whole  weight  of  the  accusation  continued  to  rest 
upon  him.  To  the  complaint,  that  he  had  defamed  by  means 
of  his  book,  and  through  the  person  of  Calvin,  the  religion  of 
the  city,  casting  all  possible  insults  upon  it,  he  replied,  that 
"  Calvin  having  formerly  abused  him  in  many  of  his  books,  he 
had  answered  him,  and  shown  that  he  erred  in  many  respects, 
and  was  inebriated  in  his  opinions."  When  his  book  was  placed 
before  him,  he  observed  that  that  manuscript  had  been  sent  six 
years  before  to  Calvin,  for  his  consideration ;  that  it  had  not 
been  printed,  and  still  needed  a  thorough  revision.  The  work 
'  De  Trinitatis  Erroribus '  was  not  brought  forward,  there  being 
no  copy  of  it  in  Geneva :  this  appears  from  a  letter  written  by 
Viret  to  Calvin  f. 

In  the  second  and  subsequent  examinations,  when  it  was  well 
seen  that  Fontaine  was  in  nowise  equal  to  the  task  of  confront- 
ing such  a  man,  all  the  ministers  were  requested  to  appear.  The 
enemies  of  Calvin,  the  leaders  of  the  libertine  party,  Perrini  and 
Wandel,  were  also  present.  Fontaine  desired  to  be  excused. 
Calvin  now  at  length  stood  face  to  face  with  his  adversary :  all 
the  points  of  accusation  were  again  brought  forward,  and  Calvin 
argued  so  powerfully  and  correctly,  that  he  led  Servetus  to  con- 
clusions which  sounded  like  madness,  but  of  which,  as  deduc- 
tions from  his  principles,  there  could  be  no  doubt.  The  pan- 
theistic tendency  of  his  ideas  led  necessarily  to  such  conse- 
quences. 

In  his  letter  to  Farel,  August  20th J,  Calvin  says,  "I  will  not 

*  Trechsel,  p.  285.  t  Trechsel,  p.  228. 

+  Ep.  152.  Ed.  Amstel.  p.  70,  1553.     The  following  expression  occurs  in 
this  epistle  :  "  Spero  capitale  saltern   fore  judicium,   poena?  vero  atrocitatera 

o  2 


196  EXAMINATION  OF  sERVETUS.      [CHAP.  IV. 

speak  of  the  rashness  of  the  man  ;  but  his  frenzy  was  such  that  he 
did  not  hesitate  to  say,  that  the  divinity  dwells  even  in  devils ; 
that  there  are  actually  many  gods  in  each,  because  the  godhead  is 
essentially  communicated  to  them,  as  it  is  to  wood  and  to  stones/' 
He  speaks  also  of  the  same  subject,  and  more  fully,  in  the  (  Re- 
futation:  "When  he  asserted  that  all  creatures  were  produced 
from  the  proper  essence  of  God,  and  that  therefore  all  were  filled 
with  gods,  when  he  blushed  not  to  express  his  thoughts  both 
in  writing  and  by  word  of  mouth,  I  was  so  hurt  by  this  wretched 
absurdity,  that  I  assailed  him  with  these  words :  ( What,  un- 
happy man !  if  any  one  treading  upon  this  floor  should  say  to 
you,  that  he  was  treading  your  God  under  his  feet,  would  you 
not  be  scandalized  at  such  an  assertion  ?  '  He  answered,  c  I,  on 
the  contrary,  do  not  doubt  but  that  this  footstool,  or  anything 
else  which  you  may  point  out,  is  the  substance  of  God.'  When 
it  was  again  objected  to  him,  6  Then  will  the  devil  actually  be 
God  ?  '  he  answered,  with  a  peal  of  laughter,  c  And  can  you  doubt 
it  ?  This  hott  ever  is  my  general  principle,  that  out  of  the  sub- 
stance of  God  all  things  have  arisen,  and  that  the  nature  of 
things  is  actually  the  Spirit  of  God  f.9"  These  words  are  not 
in  the  original  account  of  the  trial :  it  is  possible  that  the  reporter 
may  have  omitted  them  from  a  feeling  of  piety ;  all  who  were 
present  heard  them. 

These  men,  both  powerful  in  their  way,  no  longer  exercised 
moderation.  Servetus  believed  Calvin  to  be  his  personal  enemy, 
which  he  in  reality  was  not,  and  he  consequently  resigned  him- 
self to  the  force  of  his  southern  temperament ;  whereupon  Calvin, 
according  to  his  own  confession,  answered  him  as  he  deserved. 
Irrational  heat,  abuse  and  blasphemy,  so  disgusted  the  people, 
that  at  the  end  of  the  second  examination,  the  judges  decided 
that  Servetus  appeared  to  them  well-deserving  of  punishment. 
It  may  be  added,  that  reports  were  daily  brought  of  the  murder 
of  holy  confessors  in  France,  Italy  and  Spain ;  so  that  it  might 
seem  ridiculous  to  let  such  a  man  as  Servetus  live.  In  times  of 
wild  excitement  like  those  described,  we  have  rather  to  wonder 
at  the  sedateness  of  his  judges. 

Calvin  was  right  when,  in  his  strong  argumentation  with  Ser- 
vetus, he  said,  that  he  threatened  to  overthrow  all  religion ;  for 
while,  in  his  fanatical  notions,  he  thought  to  restore  Christianity  to 

remitti  cupio,"— I  hope  that  the  sentence  will  at  least  be  a  capital  one,  but 
J  wish  that  the  severity  of  the  punishment  may  be  remitted. 
*    )\  522.  t  Refut.  Error,  p.  522. 


A.D.  1553.]  EXAMINATION   OF  SERVETUS.  197 

its  apostolic  form,  it  was  very  evident  that  his  doctrine  was  alto- 
gether opposed  to  the  primitive  belief.  So  also,  whether  the 
received  doctrines  were  true  or  not,  he  ought  never  to  have 
spoken  of  them  as  he  did,  to  render  them  ridiculous  in  the  eyes 
of  the  people.  It  could  not  be  denied  that  he  was  endeavouring 
to  introduce  something  entirely  novel,  but  which  he  desired 
both  catholics  and  protestants  to  receive  as  the  only  truth.  To 
treat  them  with  insult  because  they  would  not  do  so  was  the  part 
of  a  rash  and  obstinate  man,  intolerant  against  all  the  world. 
But  his  love  of  blasphemy  was  the  most  deserving  of  condemna- 
tion ;  and  if  his  ridicule  of  holy  things,  from  which,  as  if  it  be- 
longed to  his  system,  he  never  ceased,  even  to  the  last,  be  excused 
by  some  as  the  mere  result  of  humour,  this  may  be  taken  as  a 
sign  that  they  are  themselves  indifferent  to  all  religion.  If,  in 
the  present  day,  a  teacher  should  heap  similar  abuse  on  the  faith 
of  the  people  in  the  sacrament,  a  similar  expression  of  indignation 
would  be  the  consequence  :  he  would  be  restrained,  according  to 
the  laws  now  existing,  and  would  lose  his  freedom.  From  the 
same  principle,  in  past  times,  Servetus  could  not  fail  to  lose 
his  life.  The  Old  Testament  commanded  that  the  blasphemer 
should  be  punished  with  death,  as  we  still  punish  murder,  and 
Servetus  found  his  peculiar  delight  in  laughing  at  that  which  is 
hoi  v. 

Fontaine  was  let  out  of  prison,  and  Anton,  Calvin's  brother, 
became  bail  for  him.  Servetus  was  kept  under  stricter  guard : 
Calvin  assailed  him  with  great  severity  from  the  pulpit.  It  was 
necessary  to  make  the  people  acquainted  with  the  real  opinions 
of  the  Spaniard,  and  to  resist  the  operations  of  the  libertine 
party,  who  were  busy  with  their  plans.  But  it  is  laughable  to 
hear  the  enemies  of  Calvin  assert,  that  he  increased  the  severity 
of  the  prisoner's  treatment.  In  the  first  place,  it  was  not  his 
business  to  superintend  the  prison;  and  in  the  next,  Servetus 
had  pens,  ink  and  paper,  and  Calvin  lent  him,  out  of  his  own 
library,  whatever  books  he  desired. 

The  libertine  party  now  began  to  mix  themselves  up  with  the 
affair :  they  inspired  the  prisoner  with  false  hopes,  and  advised 
him  to  attack  Calvin  with  all  the  power  he  could.  This  only 
rendered  the  judges  more  indignant  against  him.  Calvin,  on  his 
own  part,  remained  unmoved  by  passion,  although  it  was  he,  in 
fact,  who  had  to  bear  the  whole  burden  of  the  proceeding :  he 
expressed  himself,  in  his  correspondence,  in  the  most  tranquil 
manner  respecting   Servetus.     Letters,  both  of  an  earlier  and 


198  EXAMINATION   OF  SERVETUS.  [CHAP.  IV. 

later  date,  exist,  which  show  that  other  things  moved  him  far 
more  than  this  process. 

Servetus  was  again  frequently  examined.  The  sentence  passed 
upon  him  by  CEcolampadius,  twenty  years  before,  was  cited. 
Passages  were  quoted  from  the  c  Common  Places '  of  Melanc- 
thon,  in  which  that  writer  complains  of  his  sporting  with  the 
idea  of  person,  and  calls  him  a  fanatic,  a  deceitful  and  godless 
man.  Servetus  replied,  that  the  judgements  thus  passed  upon 
him  were  not  the  sentence  of  a  magistrate.  According  to  Cal- 
vin, he  answered,  that  Capito  and  CEcolampadius  had  been  of 
his  opinion,  and  that  he  wondered  at  their  having  changed. 
Another  accusation  was  urged,  and  one  which  shows  the  spirit 
of  the  age ;  namely,  that  he  had  vilified  Moses  by  asserting  that 
his  account  of  the  fruitfulness  of  the  promised  land  was  false. 
The  passage  indicates  that  in  the  older  times  certain  free-thinkers 
endeavoured  to  introduce  a  different  interpretation  to  that  ac- 
knowledged by  the  church.  But  here  there  does  not  appear  to 
have  been  any  blasphemy  intended.  God  is  not  mentioned ;  and 
if  it  be  said,  that  the  beauty  of  the  promised  land  was  extrava- 
gantly and  falsely  praised,  it  is  a  matter  of  wonder  how  a  writer 
could  be  so  foolish  as  not  to  see,  that  Palestine  might  formerly 
have  been  very  lovely,  while  in  later  times  it  might  be  unfruitful. 
But  as  Servetus  persisted  in  defending  his  position,  and  accused 
Moses  of  employing  a  vain  boast,  an  insult  seemed  directed 
against  Scripture.  The  remark  which  had  been  made  was  not 
scientifically  critical ;  and  if  due  weight  be  given  to  the  known 
rashness  of  its  author's  character,  it  will  be  evident  that  he  de- 
lighted in  throwing  ridicule  on  the  inspiration  and  credibility  of 
Moses.  Thus  to  the  accusation,  founded  on  the  above  circum- 
stance, he  replied  at  first,  with  perfect  confidence,  "  that  he  had 
not  written  the  words  imputed  to  him/5  When  Calvin  pressed 
him  hard  upon  the  point  he  said,  "  that  it  was  not  honest  in- 
deed to  publish  the  work  of  another  under  his  name."  He  was 
too  petulant  to  prove  the  truth  step  by  step,  and  he  asserted 
that,  even  were  he  the  author  of  the  passage  referred  to,  there 
was  nothing  wicked  therein.  Wiping  his  mouth,  he  added,  "  Let 
us  proceed/'  Calvin  answered  him  by  the  most  weighty  argu- 
ments*. 

It  appears  that  the  proceedings  were  carried  on  partially  in 
public.     Calvin  observes,  in  regard  to  the  circumstance  above 

*  Op.  Fr.  p.  1550. 


A.D.  1553.]  EXAMINATION   OF  SERVETUS.  199 

mentioned,  "  That  which  I  relate  would  seem  incredible,  if  our 
gracious  senators,  and  many  men  of  importance,  had  not  been 
present/' 

Servetus  found  himself  in  a  still  more  perilous  condition  when 
his  exposition  of  the  Bible  was  brought  forward :  this  afforded 
fresh  evidence  of  his  impiety.  The  passages  chiefly  objected  to 
were  selected  from  the  7th,  8th,  and  53rd  chapters  of  Isaiah. 
His  principles  of  interpretation  have  been  already  alluded  to  :  he 
insisted  that  these  portions  of  the  Old  Testament  had  both  an 
historical  and  a  mystic-prophetic  sense.  The  53rd  chapter  ought 
to  be  understood,  he  said,  of  Cyrus  in  the  first  instance,  but  as 
also  containing  a  prophecy  of  Christ.  Calvin  however  proved, 
with  impressive  eloquence,  without  assailing  the  principle  ad- 
vanced by  Servetus,  that  he  was  endeavouring,  by  the  false  inter- 
pretation of  this  chapter,  to  shake  the  foundation  of  Christian 
faith.  Servetus,  in  fact,  did  not  understand  the  doctrine  of  the 
Atonement,  or  how  it  was  related  to  his  system,  and  he  may 
possibly  have  intended  to  tread  this  grand  principle  in  the  dust. 
Calvin  accused  him  of  such  a  wish*.  "  Possessed  by  a  mad  and 
devilish  lust,  he  would  rather  overwhelm  himself,  shameless  as 
he  is,  with  guilt,  than  not  destroy  all."  Servetus  replied,  that 
Nicolaus  of  Lyra  interpreted  these  places  of  Scripture  as  he  did. 
Calvin  desired  that  the  commentary  of  Lyra  might  be  referred  to. 
This  being  done,  he  convinced  him  that  he  was  altogether  wrong. 
"  But,"  says  Calvin,  "  he  manifested  no  shame  at  this  ;  for  it  was 
his  common  custom  to  cite  authors  whom  he  had  never  read." 

This  afforded  a  ready  introduction  to  the  attack  upon  his  he- 
resy, in  respect  to  fundamental  points,  and  in  reference  to  infant 
baptism,  which  he  disallowed, — a  great  offence  at  that  time;  the 
anabaptists  having  combined  man}r  other  errors  with  this  part  of 
their  system,  and  being  in  all  countries  punished  with  death. 

When  the  subject  of  the  Trinity  was  introduced,  he  called  it  a 
dream  of  St.  Augustine,  and  those  who  believed  in  the  doctrine, 
Tr  it  heists.  The  judges  treated  the  other  matters  as  of  compara- 
tively little  importance,  but  insisted  strongly  on  the  two  of  which 
they  had  now  to  speak.  Servetus  declared  that  he  was  only 
anxious  to  revive  the  original  doctrine  with  respect  to  God  ;  that 
he  himself  believed  in  the  Trinity  (this  was  not  honestlv  said), 
and  that  he  only  called  those  Tritheists  and  Atheists  who  parted 
the  unity  of  God.  The  term  person,  he  added,  signifies  a  visible 
manifestation  of  God ;  and  he  did  not  condemn  those  who  adopt 
*  Refut.  Error,  p  522,  b. 


2C0  EXAMINATION  OF  SERVBTUS.  [CHAP.  IV. 

a  certain  distinction  of  persons,  but  those  only  who  make  a  real 
distinction  in  the  being  of  God.  In  the  same  manner,  he  stated 
that  he  had  not  called  the  real  Trinity  a  hell-hound,  but  the  false 
only.  Thus  also  he  defended  himself  against  the  complaint  that 
he  had  spoken  wickedly  of  the  Son  of  God,  and  had  stated  that 
he  was  only  so  called  because  he  consisted  of  the  three  elements 
of  the  Father,  fire,  air,  and  water.  On  the  contrary,  he  asserted 
"that  he  believed  in  the  eternal  godhead  of  Jesus  Christ,  who 
was  begotten  from  eternity,  but  conceived  in  time,  by  the  Holy 
Ghost,  in  the  womb  of  the  virgin." 

That  he  here  threw  a  cloak  over  his  real  doctrine  is  certain. 
Pantheistic  and  Platonic  notions  lay  at  the  root  of  his  system  : 
Calvin  endeavoured  to  prove  this  to  him.  It  was  also  deduced 
from  his  principles,  that  he  denied  the  immortality  of  man :  on 
this  point  he  defended  himself  with  more  success  than  on  the 
others,  in  regard  to  which  he  depended  only  upon  subterfuges. 

When  all  the  several  articles  of  accusation  had  been  summed 
up,  he  was  desired  to  state  his  belief  on  the  peculiar  being  of 
God,  and  on  the  origin  of  things.  This  was  very  hard  for  him 
to  do ;  for,  according  to  his  notion,  all  things  were  not  created, 
but  flowed  from  the  being  of  God,  so  that  He  is  everywhere 
present.  He  had  already  asserted  that  God's  essence  is  in  all 
things,  but  now  he  wished  to  modify  his  statement,  and  said  that 
"  God  is  necessarily  present  by  his  attribute  of  omnipresence  : 
things  are  not  parts  of  God ;  but  the  original  images,  the  ideas 
or  forms  of  all  things,  are  in  Him." 

The  dangerous  question  respecting  infant  baptism  was  next 
considered.  This  was  more  likely  to  be  a  source  of  destruction 
to  him  than  any  of  the  others  on  which  he  was  examined.  The 
Genevese  council  viewed  him,  in  respect  to  this  subject,  not  only 
as  an  enemy  of  the  faith,  but  as  the  enemy  of  all  social  order. 
It  was  thus  that  the  anabaptists  were  everywhere  regarded. 

Striking  and  vehement  were  the  declarations  of  Servetus. 
"  Infant  baptism,"  he  asserted,  "was  nowhere  commanded;  it 
was  an  invention  of  the  devil.  No  one  could  commit  mortal  sin 
before  his  twentieth  year,  and  it  was  not  till  then  that  he  required 
redemption.  Till  children  could  understand  the  mystery  of  re- 
demption, their  sins  could  not  be  imputed  to  them,  and  an  early 
baptism  was  therefore  useless.  He  was  willing  however  to  be 
taught,  if  he  was  wrong." 

But  Calvin  could  not  convince  him  of  his  error.  This  was  a 
proof  of  the  earnestness  with  which  he  adhered  to  his  opinions, 


A.D.   1553.]  EXAMINATION   OF  SERVETUS.  20l 

and  how  superior  he  now  was  to  the  weakness  which  he  had 
exhibited  at  Vienne.  The  last  accusation  against  him  was,  that 
he  had  vilified  Calvin,  and,  in  him,  the  Genevese  church.  This 
was  founded  on  the  letter  in  which  he  denounced  woe  to  those 
who  preached  so  evil  a  doctrine. 

At  the  end  of  the  examination  he  stated,  that  he  had  sent  a 
part  of  the  edition  of  the  '  Restitutio/  through  Arnoullet,  to 
Frankfort.  It  was  on  the  information  thus  received  that  Calvin 
wrote  so  earnestly  to  the  ministers  of  that  city*. 

The  judges  announced,  on  the  fourteenth  day,  that  the  accu- 
sations brought  against  Servetus  were  proved,  Colladon  declaring, 
that  the  evidence  had  been  found  sufficient  for  that  purpose. 
According  to  custom,  the  whole  affair  was  now  to  be  referred  to 
the  chief  procurator,  whose  office  it  was  to  continue  the  prose- 
cution of  the  accused,  in  conformity  with  the  law. 

I  now  proceed  to  the  account  of  another  examination,  which 
took  place  four  days  after  the  last,  because  Servetus  had  expressed 
his  belief,  that  he  had  stated  in  his  work  the  doctrine  of  the  pri- 
mitive church.  During  the  intervening  four  days  Calvin  pre- 
pared himself  for  the  approaching  struggle.  On  the  21st  of 
August,  Servetus  again  stood  before  the  council  with  his  accusers. 
Calvin  had  not  arrived :  the  vacant  time  was  employed  in  show- 
ing Servetus  a  letter  in  which  Arnoullet  directed  the  bookseller 
Vertet,  at  Chatillon,  to  burn  all  the  books  of  the  Spaniard  found 
in  Frankfort.  He  had  been  deceived,  he  said,  through  Queroult, 
who  proposed  to  translate  the  work  into  French,  and  he  had  no 
knowledge  whatever  of  the  heretical  nature  of  its  contents. 

Calvin  now  entered,  with  the  ministers.  The  dispute  which 
was  to  be  decided,  and  by  such  opponents,  could  not  fail  to  be 
interesting  in  the  highest  degree  to  theologians.  A  little  mis- 
understanding occurred  at  the  beginning.  Calvin  sought  to  prove 
that  the  holy  Trias  was  acknowledged  by  Ignatius,  Poly  carp, 
Irenaeus,  and  Tertullian,  before  the  Nicene  council,  in  the  same 
sense  as  by  the  later  fathers.  When  Justin  was  mentioned,  and 
Calvin,  holding  the  book  in  his  hand,  illustrated  his  argument 
from  its  pages,  Servetus  requested  a  Latin  translation.  Calvin 
answered  that  there  was  none.  Servetus,  the  editor  of  several 
learned  works,  made  no  apology  for  this,  his  insufficient  know- 
ledge of  Greek,  strange  as  the  circumstance  must  have  seemed. 
In  the  argument  which  ensued,  it  was  Calvin's  object  to  show, 
that  the  word  vTroaTacris  is  to  be  found  in  the  ancient  writers,  as 
*  Ed.  Laus.  Ep.  153,  Amst.  p.  fl  :  August  27,  1553. 


202  EXAMINATION  OF  SERVETUS.       [CHAP.  IV. 

in  Tertullian  :  they  therefore  acknowledged  an  actual  distinction 
in  the  divine  essence.  Servetus,  on  the  other  hand,  sought  to 
prove,  that  these  writers  only  intended  to  speak  of  a  visible  ma- 
nifestation of  Deity.  The  war  of  words  here  became  so  fierce, 
that  the  reformer,  whom  Servetus  loaded  with  unmeasured  abuse, 
mindful  of  his  dignity,  considered  it  prudent  to  leave  his  seat. 
He  retired,  with  all  the  ministers. 

Servetus  remained  alone  on  the  arena.  He  expressed  his 
wish  to  buy  several  books  ;  many  even  of  those  which  Calvin 
had  brought  with  him  into  the  hall :  this  was  readily  allowed 
him.  He  took  Irenaeus,  Tertullian,  Ignatius,  and  a  fourth  book, 
in  order  to  draw  up  his  defence. 

A  petition,  which  he  presented  on  the  24th  of  August,  re- 
mained unnoticed.  He  prayed  therein  to  be  allowed  to  go  free. 
According  to  the  practice,  he  said,  of  the  primitive  church,  here- 
sies were  never  judged  by  the  civil  power,  but  by  the  church 
itself,  which  banished  the  offender.  Nor  could  he,  he  added,  be 
lawfully  punished,  seeing  that  he  had  committed  no  offence  in 
the  territory  of  Geneva,  and  was  altogether  opposed  to  the 
course  taken  by  the  anabaptists.  Lastly,  he  desired  the  aid  of 
legal  advisers.  But,  in  the  meantime,  the  examination  com- 
menced on  the  23rd  of  August  was  continued.  The  chief  pro- 
curator had  laid  thirty  questions  before  the  accused.  Servetus, 
who  now  discovered  the  great  danger  of  his  position,  prayed 
imploringly  to  be  liberated.  His  answers  however  were  given 
quietly,  because  perhaps  his  chief  antagonist  was  not  present. 
He  excused  the  publication  of  his  works  on  the  plea  of  his  good 
intentions.  By  the  restoration  of  Christianity,  he  meant  the 
establishment  of  true  doctrine.  He  did  not  believe,  he  now 
said,  that  the  churches  of  Geneva  and  Germany  were  on  the 
way  to  destruction  :  his  strong  expressions  had  reference  only 
to  scholastic  disputes.  If  he  had  erred  on  the  subject  of  infant 
baptism,  he  was  ready  to  recant.  To  the  accusation  that  he  had 
used  the  Koran,  he  answered,  that  this  book  had  been  printed 
at  Basel*,  and  with  the  letters  of  the  Zurich  ministers.  He  had 
only  desired  to  tread  in  the  paths  of  the  ancient  doctors  of  the 
church. 

At  the  examination  held  on  the  28th  of  August,  the  business 
was  well  nigh  brought  to  a  close f.  The  judge-advocate  proved, 
that  the  grounds  on  which  Servetus  had  founded  his  petition 

*  He  referred  to  Bibliander's  edition  of  the  old  version  by  Peter,  abbot  of 
Cliigny.     See  Trechsel,  p.  235.  t  See  Trechsel,  p.  303. 


A.D.   1553.]  .SENTENCE   ON  SERVETUS.  203 

could  not  be  allowed.  He  adduced  the  laws  of  the  church, 
which  required  that  heretics  should  be  punished,  wherever  they 
might  be  found ;  and  he  was  sure,  he  added,  that  the  prisoner's 
own  conscience  would  condemn  him  to  death,  if  he  honestly 
consulted  it.  There  was  no  doubt  of  his  agreement  with  the 
anabaptists,  and  justice  forbad  that  an  advocate  should  be  ac- 
corded to  such  deceivers*. 

For  the  rest,  Servetus  had  gained  in  fortitude  and  prudence. 
Though  he  still  sought  some  subterfuge  by  which  to  escape,  it 
was  now  that  the  grace  of  God  began  to  move  his  heart,  and  to 
prepare  him  for  death.  It  is  probable  that  he  found  support  in 
prayer.  At  this  examination,  in  which  sentence  was  pronounced 
upon  him,  he  no  longer  asked  for  mercy,  but  declared  that 
he  would  abide  by  his  convictions.  He  continued,  in  all  his 
speeches,  to  express  himself  with  fearful  violence  against  Cal- 
vin f,  and  the  chief-procurator  was  now  the  most  active  in  the 
business.  Calvin  however  was  intimately  associated  with  Col- 
ladon,  and  was  himself  a  lawyer.  The  judicial  sentence,  as  has 
been  remarked,  is  also  in  the  hand  of  one  of  Calvin's  amanu- 
enses ;  so  that  it  might  be  imagined,  that  this  last  document  was 
even  drawn  up  by  Calvin.  But  a  nearer  examination  of  the 
instrument  will  show  the  improbability  of  this  notion :  it  is 
full  of  confusion,  and  is  altogether  deficient  in  argument.  The 
writer  passes  from  doctrine  to  law,  and  refers  again  and  again 
to  the  life  of  Servetus,  a  method  altogether  contrary  to  the  clear 
style  of  Calvin.  He  appears  therefore  at  most  to  have  been 
only  aware  that  the  document  was  being  drawn  up. 

The  three  points  advanced  by  the  accused  in  his  petition 
were  rejected,  and  it  was  announced  to  him  that  the  law,  with 
which  he  was  well  acquainted,  condemned  him  as  a  heretic  J. 
Thirty- eight  new  questions  were  now  proposed.  In  an  additional 
examination,  at  which  Calvin  was  present,  Servetus  defended 
his  assertion,  that  the  ancient  church  did  not  punish  heretics. 
He  also  apologized  for  what  he  had  said  against  the  ministers  of 
the  reformed  doctrine,  and  justified  the  statement  which  he 
had  made  as  to  his  agreement  with  Capito  and  CEcolampadius. 
Further,  he  declared  that  he  was  ready  to  alter  his  opinions,  if 
he  could  be  shown  by  Scripture  that  they  were  wrong.  He 
therefore  desired  that  opportunity  might  be  allowed  him,  either 

*  Bibl.  Angl.  ii.  p.  14  2. 

t  Thus  he  called  him,  "Simo  Magus,  impostor,  sycophanta,  ridiculusmus, 
cacoda:mon,  homicida."  +  Trechsel,  p.  236,  237 •   Processacten,  p.  307- 


204  SENTENCE  ON   SERVETUS.  [CHAP.  IV. 

to  prove  the  truth  of  his  doctrine,  or  to  recant.  This  would 
have  been  to  repeat  the  whole  process  from  the  beginning. 

In  the  midst  of  these  proceedings,  that  is,  on  the  31st  of 
August,  the  superintendent  of  the  Palace  of  Justice  at  Vienne, 
in  which  Servetus  had  been  confined,  presented  himself,  with  a 
petition,  that  the  escaped  heretic  might  be  delivered  again  into 
his  hands,  so  that  they  might  execute  the  sentence  passed  upon 
him  at  Vienne.  Servetus  was  led  forth,  and  the  superintendent 
having  been  called  in,  the  former  was  asked  if  he  knew  him. 
He  answered  in  the  affirmative,  adding,  that  he  was  two  days 
under  his  guard,  and  had  been  twice  examined.  The  council 
wisely  decided  that  it  must  be  left  to  the  choice  of  Servetus 
himself  to  which  tribunal  he  would  submit.  He  now  threw 
himself  upon  his  knees,  and  prayed,  with  a  flood  of  tears,  the 
magistrates  of  Geneva  to  continue  his  judges,  and  to  do  with  him 
what  they  would.  He  again  ascribed  his  sufferings  to  the  per- 
sonal hatred  of  Calvin.  But  he  made,  on  this  occasion,  a  noble, 
penitent  confession.  Lamenting  his  hypocrisy,  he  acknowledged 
that  he  had  written  fiercely  against  the  Mass,  whilst  he  con- 
tinued to  partake  of  it  among  the  catholics.  "  I  sinned,"  he 
said,  "  but  the  dread  of  death  urged  me  to  it."  The  superin- 
tendent departed,  after  obtaining  from  Servetus  a  declaration, 
that  the  gaoler  was  not  privy  to  his  escape.  All  this  took  place 
in  the  month  of  August.  On  the  1st  of  September  another 
messenger  arrived.  He  brought  a  letter  from  the  Sieur  de 
Maugiron,  to  whose  son  the  king  had  sold  the  property  of  the 
prisoner.  This  gentleman  requested  Servetus  to  name  all  the 
persons  indebted  to  him  ;  but  Servetus  was  unwilling  to  do 
this,  lest  he  might  thereby  throw  several  poor  persons  into  diffi- 
culty. The  council  approved  of  his  conduct  in  this  respect. 
On  the  same  day  Calvin,  accompanied  by  the  ministers,  ap- 
peared again  before  the  council,  and  Servetus  was  especially 
admonished  to  honour  the  truth.  When  Calvin,  who  had  col- 
lected all  the  objectionable  passages  in  the  writings  of  the 
accused,  began  to  make  the  experiment  of  inducing  him  to 
recant,  he  answered,  that  inward  care  prevented  him  now  from 
considering  these  things  ;  and  he  laid  it  down  as  a  principle, 
that  matters  of  faith  were  not  to  be  debated  before  a  civil  tri- 
bunal, but  only  before  one  appointed  for  that  purpose.  Nor 
was  it  very  convenient,  he  added,  to  handle  questions  of  this 
kind  in  a  prison. 

Calvin  declared,  in  reply,  that  he  should  very  willingly  carry 


A.D.  1553.]  SENTENCE  ON   SERVETUS.  205 

on  the  dispute  in  the  church,  and  before  the  people,  for  he  de- 
fended that  which  was  right ;  but  it  was  not  contrary  to  the 
law  to  discuss  such  things  before  a  civil  tribunal.  According  to 
the  code  of  the  emperor  Justinian,  which  was  still  in  force, 
heretics  were  to  be  treated  as  malefactors.  Servetus  therefore, 
he  asserted,  suffered  no  injustice  in  being  brought  before  the 
present  court,  in  which  also  the  church  was  represented  by  its 
ministers,  engaged  to  convert  him. 

Servetus  answered,  that,  in  the  time  of  Justinian,  the  church 
had  already  lost  its  original  innocence  and  purity ;  and  further, 
that  the  church  of  Geneva  could  not  rightly  judge  him,  Calvin, 
his  enemy,  being  its  very  life  and  soul.  He  submitted  himself 
solemnly  to  the  churches  abroad.  But  he  could  not  make  this 
appeal  with  any  degree  of  consistency  :  he  had  claimed  supe- 
riority to  both  catholics  and  protestants.  Had  he  retained  his 
lofty  pretensions,  therefore,  he  must  have  insisted  on  being  tried 
by  a  council  of  all  the  various  churches  of  Christendom.  Calvin 
was  quite  ready  to  consent,  that  the  opinions  of  other  churches 
should  be  collected,  as  in  early  times  ;  but  he  and  Servetus 
could  not  agree  on  the  starting-point.  They  were  therefore 
obliged  to  separate  ;  and  the  council,  which  was  influenced  by 
a  spirit  of  moderation,  determined  that,  to  avoid  excitement, 
Calvin  and  Servetus  should  carry  on  their  dispute  in  writing. 
The  former  was  to  make  extracts,  in  Latin,  from  the  writings 
of  Servetus,  for  the  use  of  the  Swiss ;  and  Servetus  was  to 
answer  in  Latin,  and  by  writing.  An  indefinite  time  was  allowed 
him,  so  that  he  might  retract  what  he  found  wrong,  and  could 
rectify  any  perversion  of  his  meaning.  The  papers,  on  both 
sides,  should  afterwards  be  forwarded  to  the  Swiss  churches,  and 
await  their  judgement. 

The  magistrates  now  expressed  their  wish,  with  marked 
thoughtfulness  and  caution,  that  the  business  might  be  submitted 
to  the  decision  of  a  spiritual  tribunal.  Calvin  spent  fourteen 
days  on  his  new  labour.  He  probably  did  not  require  so  long  a 
period ;  a  single  evening  would  have  been  sufficient  for  the  work  ; 
but  he  wished  to  give  Servetus  time  to  collect  and  tranquillize 
himself.  But  whatever  was  attempted  for  his  good,  served  only 
to  injure  him.  lie  lost  all  patience.  In  a  petition  which  he 
addressed  to  the  council,  he  stated  that  he  had  been  now  five 
months  in  prison,  that  he  still  desired  the  aid  of  an  advocate, 
and  that  he  wished  his  cause  to  be  brought  before  the  Council  of 


206  CALVIN  AND  SERVETUS.  [CHAP.  IV. 

Two  Hundred,  to  which  he  would  submit  himself.     He  added, 
that  he  would  bring  a  counter-accusation  against  Calvin. 

In  this  useless  and  unmeaning  petition,  he  very  distinctly 
retracted  his  appeal  to  a  spiritual  tribunal,  because  the  civil 
power  was  incompetent  to  determine  matters  of  faith.  He  fell 
at  once  from  his  lofty  height  into  the  dust.  His  present  course 
could  have  been  dictated  by  no  prudent  counsellor ;  he  must 
have  adopted  it  from  the  suggestion  of  the  party  opposed  to 
Calvin.  Amied  Perrini,  the  soul  of  that  party,  had  a  majority 
in  the  Council  of  Two  Hundred,  and  made  use  of  Servetus  to 
overcome  Calvin,  whose  position  at  that  time  wTas  very  uncer- 
tain. Servetus  knew  nothing  of  the  constitution  of  the  Genevese 
republic,  but  his  appeal  indicated  a  thorough  knowledge  of  its 
institutions  on  the  part  of  his  adviser.  The  council  rejected  his 
petition,  but  ordered  that  he  should  be  better  treated  in  prison. 
That  he  wras  urged  forward  by  the  enemies  of  Calvin  appears 
evident  from  a  letter  of  the  reformer  to  Farel,  in  which  he  relates, 
that  Perrini  had  appeared  in  the  council  for  Servetus,  and  de- 
manded that  the  business  should  be  brought  before  the  "  Two 
Hundred."  Advice  was  also  given  the  accused  to  ingratiate 
himself  with  the  libertine  party,  and  to  heap  abuse  on  Calvin*. 
It  was  at  this  period  that  the  attempts  of  that  faction  were  made  to 
set  aside  the  right  of  excommunication  and  the  rules  of  discipline. 

Two  letters  were  interchanged  between  them.  Calvin  pro- 
duced thirty-eight  points,  distinctly  heretical,  without  any  addi- 
tion or  remark  ;  they  were  derived  exclusively  from  the  last 
work  of  Servetus.  The  objections  therefore  to  the  inspiration 
of  the  Mosaic  Scriptures,  and  those  which  respected  the  inter- 
pretation of  the  Bible,  were  no  longer  the  question  ;  but  there 
were  the  most  horrible  blasphemies  against  the  fundamental 
principles  of  divine  truth,  against  the  person  of  Christ,  the 
Holy  Spirit,  immortality,  and  infant  baptism. 

Servetus  replied  to  Calvin's  accusation :  "  He  had  assumed 
to  himself  a  species  of  Sorbonne  authority,  without  understand- 
ing what  was  meant.  His  simple  object  was  to  show,  that  when 
Christ  is  called  in  Scripture  the  Son  of  God,  this  is  always  as 
the  man  Christ.  The  second  person  in  the  godhead  is  called  a 
person,  because  a  personal  exhibition  of  the  man  Jesus  had 
already  taken  place,  hypostatically,  in  God,  and  this  might  be 
proved  by  numberless  passages  from  the  old  fathers." 
*  Bibl.  Angl.  ii.  p.  161.     Ruchat,  vi.  p.  36. 


A.D.  1553.]  CALVIN  AND  SERVETUS.  207 

This  statement  is  followed  by  an  expression  of  immoderate 
hatred  against  Calvin.  The  writer  reminded  him,  that  the  rash- 
ness of  a  man  was  deserving  of  all  wonder,  who  dare  assert  himself 
to  be  a  true  believer,  when  he  was  in  reality  a  disciple  of  Simon 
Magus,  as  he,  Servetus,  had  manifestly  shown  in  his  Apology*. 
"  Who  will  say/*  he  asked,  "  that  a  criminal  accuser  and  a  mur- 
derer can  be  a  servant  of  the  church  ?  "  He  now  repeated,  in 
few  words,  haughtily,  and  with  intense  contempt  of  his  anta- 
gonist, "  Thou  art  a  pitiful  wretch,  if  thou  continuest  to  condemn 
things  which  thou  understandest  not.  Art  thou  not  ashamed  to 
assert  so  much  and  without  reason  ?  Thinkest  thou  to  deceive  the 
ears  of  the  judges,  simply  and  solely  through  thy  howling  ?  Thou 
hast  a  dull  perception,  and  canst  not  comprehend  the  truth. 
Wretch  !  thou  knowest  not  the  reason  of  things.  Wretch  !  disci- 
ple of  Simon  Magus  !  thou  art  altogether  ignorant,  and  desirest 
to  make  us  wood  and  stone  by  thy  notion  of  fate.  Thou  art 
only  dreaming  with  the  sorcerer/* 

The  accusations  brought  against  himself,  Servetus  treated 
with  the  greatest  indifference,  as  if  it  did  not  really  concern  him 
to  attempt  a  justification  of  his  conduct,  or  as  if  he  had  no  idea 
of  the  good  intentions  of  the  council,  of  the  rights  and  sanctity 
of  the  church,  of  the  state  of  affairs  in  general,  or  of  his  own. 

It  was  only  as  a  reply  to  the  clergy  that  this  hateful  docu- 
ment was  received.  The  council,  weary  of  the  matter,  gave  the 
ministers  but  two  days  in  which  to  consider  it.  Servetus  sent 
their  answer  back  with  great  contempt,  and  accompanied  by 
malicious  and  wrathful  marginal  notes.  It  was  like  the  raving 
of  a  madman.  To  the  first  accusation,  Calvin  fairly  answered, 
that  it  was  simply  in  obedience  to  the  command  of  the  council, 
against  which  Servetus  made  no  complaint,  that  he  had  selected 
the  passages  exhibiting  his  principal  errors.  He  had  performed 
this  task  with  all  honesty f. 

Calvin  shows,  in  the  next  place,  that  it  was  the  object  of 
Servetus  to  prove,  that  Christ,  the  Word,  was  not  in  God,  and 
begotten  from  eternity  ;  and  that  he  had  loaded  those  who 
receive  this  truth  with  every  species  of  abuse.  He  then  assails 
the  error  of  Servetus,  and  shows  that  he  fully  comprehended  his 
meaning,  and  that  Christ  is  not  simply  ideally,  but  really  in 
God. 

This  development  of  Calvin's  doctrine  is  accompanied  with 
many  reproaches  against  his  antagonist.    The  passages  adduced 
*  Apologia,  674,  701.  f  Refut.  Error,  p.  528,  b. 


208  CALVIN  AND  SERVETUS.  [CHAP.  IV. 

by  Servetus  in  defence  of  his  system  are  employed  in  confuting 
it.  He  is  called  a  heretic  and  a  monster.  "  The  Clemens,"  it  is 
said,  "  whom  he  quotes,  was  written  by  a  foolish  monk.  He 
avoids  those  places  which  prove  the  contrary  of  what  he  asserts. 
Thus  he  has  altogether  forgotten  to  cite  Ignatius,  because  that 
father  would  testify  against  him.  Proceeding  with  his  abuse, 
he  has  called  Calvin  a  murderer,  to  show  probably  how 
skilled  he  is  in  this  species  of  insult*.  He  repeats  a  hundred 
times  such  expressions  as  these  in  his  marginal  notes :  "  Thou 
dreamest :  thou  liest."  Here  we  read :  "  Well,  well,  thou  disci- 
ple of  Simon  Magus,  if  thou  deny  that  thou  art  an  assassin,  I 
will  prove  it  to  thee  by  thine  own  conduct.  Thou  darest  not 
deny  that  thou  art  Simon  the  magician,  whoever  may  believe 
and  think  that  thou  art  a  good  tree.  I  adhere  to  this  righteous 
cause,  and  fear  not  death  j\"  This  is  followed  by  a  full  con- 
futation of  the  errors  advanced  by  Servetus,  with  the  just  re- 
mark, that,  whereas  he  had  continually  spoken  of  the  doctrine 
of  the  Trinity  with  contempt,  he  now  pretended  to  acknowledge 
a  distinction  of  persons,  and  to  view  it  as  threefold.  The  obser- 
vation made  by  Mosheim  on  this  subject  will  excite  surprise : 
he  considers  that  Calvin  must  have  opposed  Servetus  on  new 
grounds,  in  order  to  win  him  to  his  opinion.  But  the  reformer 
saw  well  enough  that  he  could  do  little  with  this  perverse  man, 
who  had  already  heard  so  often  that  which  he  had  to  say.  Cal- 
vin was  justified  in  observing,  when  speaking  on  the  subject  of 
infant  baptism,  that  it  did  not  become  any  one  who  pretended 
to  the  slightest  degree  of  gentleness  or  candour  to  rave  as  Ser- 
vetus did,  and  call  infant  baptism  a  scandal,  "  a  detestable  abo- 
mination." "  We  do  not  doubt,"  Calvin  had  observed,  "  but 
that  God  upholds  all  things  by  his  power  ;  but  it  does  not  follow 
from  this  position,  that  there  is  an  essential  Deity  in  ail  things : 
still  less  can  it  be  argued,  that  the  floor  on  which  we  tread  is 
a  part  of  the  godhead,  and  that  all  the  devils  are  full  of  the  divine 
essence,  as  Servetus  asserted  at  his  examination." 

In  answer  to  this,  the  latter  remarked,  "  That  is  all  one. 
Thou  hast  heard  from  Irenaeus  and  others,  that  *  being,'  or '  sub- 
stance,' is  that  which  supports  us.  But  moving  thy  foot,  thou 
deuiest  that  it  is  moved  in  God.  Thus  thou  wouldst  move  in 
Satan.  We  on  the  contrary  assert,  that  we  move  in  God,  in 
whom  we  live  ;  and  thou,  though  a  devil,  must  also  move  in  him." 

*  Refut.  Error,  p.  527,  b. 

t  Refut.  Error,  p.  528,  a.  b.  and  p.  533,  a.  Opusc.  Fr.  pp.  15G7  and  1582. 


A.D.  1553.]  CALVIN  AND  SERVETUS.  209 

And  further:  "  I  would  fain  make  a  list  of  thine  errors.  He 
who  is  not  Simon  Magus  is,  according  to  Calvin,  a  Pelagian. 
The  whole  body  of  Christians,  consequently,  are  condemned  by 
him ;  even  the  apostles,  and  the  disciples  of  the  apostles,  and 
the  doctors  of  the  church;  for  none  of  them  rejected  free-will,  as 
this  sorcerer  has  done.  Thou  liest,  thou  liest,  thou  liest,  thou 
most  wicked,  wretched  monster  ! " 

Servetus  also  objected  to  Calvin,  that  he  condemned  astrology, 
while  he  was  ignorant  of  its  nature :  "  So  great  is  thy  impudence 
that  thou  judgest  of  things  of  which  thou  knowest  nothing,  for 
thy  science  extendeth  not  beyond  thy  grammar*.  I  am  not 
confuted  by  Scripture:  I  stand  alone;  but  Christ  is  my  de- 
fender f." 

To  this  document  Servetus  added  a  letter  to  the  council,  in 
which  he  apologized  for  his  marginal  notes ;  and  another  to 
Calvin,  as  if  it  had  been  the  proper  time  to  accuse  him  of  not 
being  acquainted  with  philosophy  and  the  natural  sciences.  "All 
action  takes  place  through  contact;  God,  consequently,  must  be 
in  everything  in  order  to  give  it  movement."  And  further :  "  No 
one  dare  now  assert  that  the  law  of  Moses  is  still  in  force." 

The  frantic  passion  which  Servetus  thus  exhibited  estranged 
all  parties,  and  wholly  deprived  him  of  their  respect.  They 
had  expected  a  sensible  answer  to  the  accusations  of  his  oppo- 
nents. No  further  reply  was  given  to  what  he  had  written. 
The  clearest  proofs  now  existed  that  his  obstinate  spirit  was 
wrought  upon  by  malicious  feeling.  He  might  have  been  left 
to  the  enjoyment  of  his  own  convictions,  but  he  was  bound  ta 
respect  and  suffer  the  belief  of  his  antagonists ;  and  he  ought, 
at  least,  to  have  expressed  regret  at  having  so  unreasonably 
troubled  and  scandalized  worthy  and  simple  Christians,  yen, 
even  the  entire  church. 

Calvin  says,  in  reference  to  what  took  place  before  the  coun- 
cil, and  when  freedom  was  given  him  to  dispute :  "  I  stood  be- 
fore him  humbly  and  patiently,  as  if  I  myself  had  been  the 
prisoner.  I  was  present  to  bear  testimony  to  the  truth  of  my 
doctrine.  He  took  every  opportunity  to  abuse  me  roundly ;  so 
much  so,  that  the  judges  were  shocked  at  his  conduct;  but  I 
restrained  myself  from  repaying  him  as  he  deserved.  He  would 
not,  indeed,  have  been  in  danger  of  any  severe  punishment,  if  he 
had  only  conducted  himself  with  moderation,  and  had  afforded 
any  hope  of  his  repenting.     But  so  far  was  he  from  this,  that, 

*  Refut.  Error,  ed.  Amst.  p.  537.  Op.  Fr.  1595.         f  Moshcim,  s.  199- 
VOL.  II.  p 


210  JUDGEMENT  OF  THE  SWISS  ON  SERVETUS.     [CHAP.  IV. 

full  of  wrath  and  boasting,  he  utterly  rejected  all  sound  and  use- 
ful admonition.  Let  it  not  be  said  that  it  was  a  laudable  firm- 
ness which  induced  him  to  persevere  in  his  confession ;  for  at 
Vienne  he  was  ready  to  deny  it  all,  merely  to  save  his  life/5 

It  is  certainly  remarkable,  that  Servetus  now  exhibited  such  an 
unbending  firmness ;  nor  can  wc  say  whether  it  was  the  conse- 
quence of  his  hatred  to  Calvin,  a  fanatical  love  of  his  own  errors, 
or  of  a  false  security,  nourished  by  the  encouragement  of  the 
libertine  party. 

On  the  21st  of  September  the  interchanged  papers  were  sent 
with  the  c  Restitutio5  to  the  churches  of  Zurich,  Bern,  Basel, 
and  Schaffhausen.  The  council  requested  their  opinion  on  the 
affair.  Calvin  had  already,  on  the  7th  of  the  same  month,  made 
Bullinger  acquainted  with  the  whole  of  the  proceedings*. 

That  eminent  man  was  the  chief  promoter  of  the  pacific  sen- 
timents, which  led  to  the  good  understanding  existing  between 
the  churches  of  Switzerland,  and  that  of  Geneva.  At  his  en- 
treaty, Haller  wrote  from  Bern  to  Sulzer  in  Basel.  As  an  illus- 
tration of  the  feeling  with  which  the  best  men  in  the  country 
regarded  the  punishment  of  heretics,  it  must  be  remarked,  that 
Farel  opposed  Calvin,  and  advocated  putting  them  to  death  by 
fire.  In  this  he  agreed  with  the  otherwise  benevolent  Bullinger, 
and  both  exhorted  Calvin  to  be  firm  and  severe.  Thus  Farel 
says  to  him :  "  It  will  be  a  wonder  if  that  man  suffering  death, 
should,  at  the  time,  earnestly  turn  to  the  Lord,  dying  only  one 
death,  whereas  he  has  deserved  to  die  many  thousand  times ;  and 
a  wonder  it  will  be,  if  he  should  endeavour  to  edify  those  present, 
— he  who  has  sought  to  destroy  so  many  of  those  who  are  already 
gone,  of  those  who  now  live,  or  are  still  to  be  born.  Adversaries 
of  Christ,  and  true  enemies  of  the  church,  will  the  judges  be,  if 
they  do  not  show  themselves  moved  by  the  horrible  blasphemies 
of  this  godless  heretic,  who  has  so  assailed  the  divine  majesty, 
and  laboured  to  undermine  the  Word  of  God,  and  to  destroy  the 
churches.  But  I  do  hope  that  the  Lord  will  so  order  it,  that 
they  who  are  praised  for  their  righteous  sentences  on  robbers, 
and  on  those  guilty  of  sacrilege,  will  so  act,  that  they  will,  in  tins 
case  also,  obtain  a  good  report,  by  putting  to  death  a  man  who 
has  so  long  persevered  in  his  heresy,  and  has  involved  so  many 
others  in  misery.  If  it  be  thy  wish  to  lighten  the  horror  of  the 
punishment  due  to  such  an  offender,  then  wilt  thou  be  acting  as 
a  friend  towards  thy  bitterest  enemy.  But  I  beseech  thee  not 
*  MS.  Gen.   7  Idus  Sept.  1553.  i.  p.  95. 


A.D.  1553.]         SERVETUS  AND  THE  LIBERTIES.  211 

to  act  so  as  to  encourage  others  to  introduce  new  doctrines  among 
the  people,  and  to  hope  that  they  may  pursue,  uninterruptedly, 
the  same  course  as  Servetus." 

Bullinger  wrote  :  "  The  Lord  has  given  this  Spaniard  into  the 
hands  of  your  senate.  If  the  council,  therefore,  assign  to  this 
wretch  the  punishment  due  to  his  crimes,  the  whole  world  will 
see  that  the  Genevese  hate  blasphemers ;  that  they  will  pursue 
obstinate  heretics  with  the  sword  of  righteousness,  and  will 
avenge  the  honour  of  the  divine  majesty.  If,  on  the  contrary, 
they  delay  to  do  this,  thou  must  not  neglect  the  congregation : 
were  you  to  do  so  many  other  evils  would  arise.  Pursue  thy  course 
then,  unterrified.  Trust  in  God,  through  Christ.  Beseech  Him 
to  give  thee  counsel  and  help,  that  He  may  deliver  thee  from  this 
peril.     We  will  aid  thee  with  our  prayers/' 

Calvin  had  written,  in  the  mean  time,  to  the  minister  Sulzer, 
at  Basel,  where  the  Genevese  had  many  enemies,  Castellio 
among  the  rest,  in  order  to  make  him  acquainted  with  the  whole 
business*. 

During  the  progress  of  this  correspondence,  the  affair  at  Ge- 
neva was  quietly  drawing  towards  its  conclusion.  Servetus,  as 
we  have  stated,  had  allowed  himself  to  be  tempted,  by  the  ene- 
mies of  Calvin,  to  assail  the  reformer  as  a  mortal  enemy ;  as  a 
false  accuser,  an  unworthy  servant  of  God ;  as  a  foe  to  Christ, 
and  a  heretic.  He  even  desired  to  see  him  banished  the  land ; 
the  proper  punishment,  according  to  his  view,  of  heretics.  This 
was  the  anxious  wish  of  the  libertines ;  and  could  it  have  been 
effected,  Servetus  wTould  then  have  taken  his  place  as  a  reformer 
in  Geneva,  and  have  destroyed  its  church. 

The  accusation  which  Servetus  brought  against  Calvin  may 
appear  an  absurdity ;  but  it  must  be  observed,  that  the  party  by 
which  he  was  led,  was  now  ready  to  venture  alt  to  accomplish 
some  important  purpose.  The  most  senseless  part  of  the  com- 
plaint is  that  which  accuses  Calvin  of  sorcery,  and  the  proposal 
to  deprive  him  of  his  property,  it  being  well  known  that  he  pos- 
sessed' none. 

Servetus  could  certainly  not  effect  his  purpose  by  means  so 
ridiculous  as  these.  The  council,  which  was  firm  and  prudent, 
refused  to  receive  the  complaint,  and  transferred  it  to  the  ordi- 
nary "Acts."  Servetus  then  besought  an  audience;  but  this 
was  also  refused.  He  now  sent  a  brief  letter  of  remonstrance, 
complaining  of  his  painful  position.  This  was  on  the  10th  of 
*  Calv.  Epist.  156.  Ed.  Arast.  p.  70,  Sept.  9,  1553. 

p2 


212  SERVETUS  AND  THE  COUNCIL.  [CHAP,  IV. 

October.  Calvin  in  the  mean  time  informed  his  friends,  that 
the  hostile  party  was  earnestly  engaged  in  its  tumultuous  oppo- 
sition to  the  church ;  and  that  he  wished  that  Farel  and  Yiret 
were  with  him  at  so  important  a  juncture.  His  position  had 
never  been  more  dangerous.  It  is  characteristic  of  his  nature, 
that,  at  a  period  like  this,  he  could  take  part  in  the  minutest 
affairs  which  were  interesting  to  others.  Thus  he  communicated 
to  his  friend  the  news  of  the  marriage  of  one  of  their  acquaint- 
ances*. That  the  affair  of  Servetus  would  have  a  very  serious 
termination  he  states  as  a  thing  evident  of  itself.  The  Swiss 
clergy  had  already,  that  is,  at  the  beginning  of  October,  come  to 
a  decision  on  the  subject.  It  was  soon  commonly  reported  that 
their  sentence  was  adverse  to  Servetus.  Some  voices  were  im- 
mediately raised  in  his  favour.  An  anabaptist,  David  Georgii, 
or  Joristj  who,  under  the  name  of  Johann  von  Briick,  had  found 
refuge  at  Basel,  and  was  beloved  and  honoured  in  the  reformed 
church,  seems  to  have  regarded  Servetus  as  a  brother,  because  of 
his  views  on  baptism.  Excited  by  personal  considerations  against 
intolerance,  he  wrote,  but  without  naming  himself,  to  the  Swiss 
communities,  exhorting  them  to  oppose  the  clergy.  "  It  is  an 
incredible  blindness,"  he  said, "that  the  servants  of  Christ,  who 
arc  sent  to  give  life  to  the  dead  through  the  knowledge  of  the 
truth,  should  condemn  the  erring  to  death,  and  through  tempo- 
ral death  expose  their  souls  to  eternal  ruin.  The  right  to  pass 
such  a  sentence  belongs  to  Him  alone  who  gave  life,  and  suffered 
death  for  our  redemption.  Were  it  lawful  to  put  heretics  to 
death,  there  would  be  a  general  slaughter,  for  all  religious  par- 
tics  regard  their  opponents  as  guilty  of  heresy.  If  Servetus 
(whom  he  calls  good  and  pious)  be  a  heretic,  he  ought  to  be  ad- 
monished in  a  friendly  manner,  and  then  banished  the  state. 
The  Lord  himself  will  slay  all  false  teachers  with  the  breath  of 
his  mouth,  and  not  with  the  sword.  The  tares  must  be  left  to 
grow  up  with  the  wheat,  and  await  the  judgement  which  will 
take  place  at  the  end  of  the  world." 

An  Italian  lawyer,  Gribaldof,  at  Geneva,  also  made  a  similar 
appeal  for  Servetus ;  but  it  came  too  late. 

The  authorities  at  Zurich  did  not  take  long  to  consider  the 
subject.  They  received  the  writings  from  Geneva  on  the  28th 
of  September,  and  on  the  2nd  of  October  they  replied,  that, 

*  MS.  Gen.  Oct.  14,  1553.  f  See  Mosheim. 

I  The  error  of  Servetus  respecting  Christ,  a9  the  Son  of  God,  in  his  human 
nature  only,  greatly  pleased  Gribaldo.  (Trechsel,  p.  254.) 


A.D.  1553.]        JUDGEMENT  OF  THE  SWISS  ON   SERVETUS.         213 

"  According  to  the  advice  of  their  ministers,  they  now  admo- 
nished the  Genevese  to  exercise  such  severity,  that  the  wicked 
and  deceitful  intentions  of  their  prisoner  might  not  be  accom- 
plished, for  that  his  doctrines  were  totally  contrary  to  the  Chris- 
tian religion,  and  gave  great  scandal  and  offence*/'  The  mi- 
nisters of  Zurich  agreed  with  Calvin  throughout ;  and  though 
they  would  not  determine  respecting  the  punishment  to  be  in- 
flicted on  the  prisoner,  they  readily  united  in  exhorting  the  Ge- 
nevese to  exercise  great  severity,  and  added  a  prayer,  that  the 
Lord  might  give  them  wisdom. 

From  SchafFhauscn  the  council  wrote,  that  it  had  consulted 
with  the  clergy,  and  now  forwarded  their  letter  to  Geneva.  These 
ministers  went  farther  than  those  of  Zurich.  "  We  doubt  not," 
they  say,  "  that  you  will  frustrate,  according  to  your  great  wis- 
dom, the  designs  of  Servetus,  and  prevent  his  blasphemies  from 
feeding,  like  a  scorpion,  on  the  members  of  Christ.  But  if  you 
were  only  to  resist  his  mad  inventions  with  long  argumentation, 
this  would  be  merely  to  rave  with  the  raving f."  This  is  one  of 
the  strongest  expressions  used  on  the  occasion. 

The  senate  at  Basel  still  recollected  the  controversy  which 
Servetus]  carried  on  with  G^colampadius :  they  laid  the  papers 
before  the  clergy.  "  All  the  old  heresies,"  said  the  latter,  "  are 
revived  by  Servetus.  With  regard  to  himself,  you  must  employ 
all  diligence  to  convert  him :  it  is  by  this  means  only  that  you 
can  allay  the  agitation  which  he  has  excited.  If  however  he 
be  incurable,  and  continue  hardened  in  his  wickedness,  he  must 
be  chastised  according  to  the  power  given  you  by  the  Lord,  and 
as  it  will  be  your  duty  to  proceed,  so  that  he  may  be  prevented 
from  bringing  further  shame  upon  the  church,  lest  the  last  state 
should  be  worse  than  the  first  J." 

In  a  letter  to  Farel§,  Calvin,  having  briefly  announced  the 
end  of  the  process,  characterizes  the  brethren  of  Zurich  as  om- 
nium veliementissimi,  because  they  expressed  themselves  so 
sternly  on  the  atrocity  of  the  Spaniard's  impiety ;  and  those  of 
Basel  as  cordati.  The  letter  from  the  Bernese  (on  whom  he 
passes  no  judgement)  and  that  of  their  council  also  arrived : 
"  Our  friends,"  says  Calvin,  u  were  greatly  moved  thereby." 

The  Bernese  ministers,  although  they  condemned  Servetus, 

*  Bibl.  Angl.  1717,  Art.  7,  p.  163.  t  Ep.  158.  Ed.  Amst.  p.  74. 

J  Ed.  Laus.  Ep.  IGO.  Ed.  Amst.  p.  72.  §  Ep.  161. 


214  LAST  HOURS  OF   SERVETUS.  [CHAP,  V. 

expressed  themselves  in  conclusion  as  follows*:  "We  pray  the 
Lord  that  He  may  lend  you  the  spirit  of  wisdom  and  power, 
that  you  may  thereby  drive  this  pest  from  your  church  and  from 
other  communities,  and  at  the  same  time  may  do  nothing  which 
can  seem  unworthy  of  Christian  magistrates."  But  the  general 
language  of  the  document  was  strong  and  severe,  and  the  coun- 
cil of  Geneva  felt  itself  confirmed  in  the  zeal  which  it  had  dis- 
played. On  a  former  occasion,  the  Bernese  had  advocated  tole- 
rance. Intone  of  Haller's  letters  to  Bullingert  it  is  said,  that 
the  Bernese  magistrates,  when  they  learnt  the  opinion  of  the 
ministers  on  Servetus,  were  so  excited,  that  they  would  have 
burnt  him  on  the  spot.  The  blasphemies  which  he  had  uttered 
terrified  them,  and  they  feared  for  the  peace  of  the  land.  "We 
must  swallow,"  they  said,  "what  the  Genevese  have  prepared 
for  us  in  the  way  of  agitation."  In  the  letter  of  the  Bernese 
council  to  the  Genevese  it  is  said,  "  We  pray  you,  doubting  not 
that  such  is  your  desire,  to  use  a  firm  hand,  that  sects  and  here- 
sies, whether  those  now  spoken  of,  or  others  like  them,  may 
not  be  planted  in  the  church  of  Christ,  our  only  Saviour ;  and 
that  so  you  may  avoid  trouble  and  adversity,  and  effectually  ad- 
vance his  glory {." 


CHAPTER  V. 

SERVETUS     CONDEMNED     TO     DEATH. HIS     LAST     HOURS     IN 

PRISON. HIS  EXECUTION. AN  INQUIRY  INTO  THE  CIR- 
CUMSTANCES ATTENDING  IT. REVIEW  OF  HIS  DOC- 
TRINES. 

Although  the  Swiss  had  not  distinctly  stated  their  opinion  as 
to  the  death  which  Servetus  ought  to  suffer,  it  is  evident  that 
they  wished  his  death.  The  ministers  of  Zurich  and  Basel 
prayed  that  the  Genevese  might  be  endowed  with  wisdom. 
WThat  they  meant  by  this  is  very  clear,  when  we  recollect  the 
condemnation  of  Gentilis  at  Bern,  and  the  burning  of  the  bones 

*  Ep.  163.  Ed.  Amst.  p.  73.  f  See  Mosheim  in  Neue  Nachr. 

+  See  Schellhorn,  who,  in  Actis  Historico-Ecclesiasticis  Saeculi  xv.  et  xvi. 
p.  217,  has  given  a  document,  which  the  Bernese  ministers  laid  before  the 
council,  on  the  subject  of  Servetus. 


A.D.  155.3.]  LAST  HOURS  OF  SERVETUS.  215 

of  Joris  at  Basel.  All  expressed  their  desire  that  Servctus  might 
no  longer  be  allowed  to  disturb  either  the  Genevese,  or  any  other 
community.  This  was  in  fact  to  pronounce  his  doom.  Banish- 
ment would  merely  have  transferred  the  heretic  to  some  other 
church.  They  seem  to  have  been  only  prevented  by  Christian 
horror  from  writing  down  what  they  meant.  No  idea  was  likely 
to  be  entertained  of  perpetual  imprisonment,  when  capital  pu- 
nishment was  the  order  of  the  day.  Still,  that  by  fire  is  not 
mentioned.  Calvin  says,  "  All,  with  one  mouth,  declared,  that 
Servetus  has  renewed  those  impious  errors  by  which  Satan,  in 
early  times,  disturbed  the  church;  and  that  he  is  a  monster  not 
to  be  endured." 

However,  therefore,  the  clergy  might  hesitate,  they  yet  gene- 
rally inclined  to  severity*.  It  is  also  to  be  borne  in  mind,  that 
the  Swiss  Confessions  imposed  it  as  a  duty  on  the  civil  magi- 
strate to  punish  blasphemers  with  the  sword  f. 

The  proceedings  had  now  reached  their  last  stage.  It  was  not 
lawful  for  the  lesser  council  to  pronounce  sentence  of  death,  with- 
out having  previously  conferred  with  that  of  "  The  Sixty,"  and 
obtained  a  majority  of  votes  J.  The  discussions  of  the  council 
lasted  three  days.  Opinions  were  greatly  divided.  Some  of  the 
members  advocated  perpetual  banishment ;  others  perpetual  im- 
prisonment ;  but  the  greater  number  were  in  favour  of  capital 
punishment.  But  of  what  kind?  The  majority  determined  upon 
that  by  fire,  according  to  the  old  law,  unless  the  prisoner  should 
recant. 

It  may  have  been  owing  to  the  difficulty  of  coming  to  any  con- 
clusion, in  the  agitated  assembly  of  a  republic,  that  the  council 
would  not,  or  could  not,  afterwards  alter  the  decision  at  which 
it  had  once  arrived.  It  was  now  that  Perrini  represented  him- 
self, for  four  days,  sick.  He,  and  other  enemies  of  the  church 
party,  weakly  retreated,  when  they  ought  to  have  come  most 
boldly  forward.  In  a  letter  of  Calvin  to  Bullinger§  he  says, 
"  What  will  become  of  the  man  I  know  not:  as  far  as  I  can  un- 
derstand, sentence  will  be  pronounced  tomorrow,  and  executed 
the  day  after."  It  was  not  till  the  last  day,  that  the  council  re  ■ 
solved  upon  condemning  the  prisoner  to  die  by  fire. 

*  We  must,  on  this  point,  agree  with  Arraand  de  la  Chapelle  against 
Mosheim. 

f  "  Magistrates  stringat  Dei  gladium  in  omnes  biasphemos."  Conf.  Ilelv. 
cap.  xxx. 

I  Bibl.  Raisonne,  t.  ii.  pt.  i.  p.  105. 

§  Ed.  Laus.  Ep.  1G2.  Ed.  Amst.  p.  78,  Oct.  25. 


216  LAST  HOURS  OF  SERVETUS.  [CHAP.  V. 

Perrini  now  appeared ;  but  it  was  too  late :  he  made  an  at- 
tempt, but  it  was  fruitless.  "  Our  play-house  Caesar/'  says 
Calvin*,  "after  pretending  a  three-days'  sickness,  presented  him- 
self at  length  in  the  council,  to  save  this  malefactor  from  pu- 
nishment. He  did  not  blush  to  express  his  wish  that  the  whole 
business  should  be  transferred  to  the  c  Two  Hundred.'  But 
Scrvctus  has  been  condemned,  without  dispute ;  and  will,  to- 
morrow, be  led  to  execution."  The  lesser  council,  it  appears, 
was  unanimous. 

As  soon  as  Calvin  heard  that  the  assembly,  in  its  zeal,  had 
gone  too  far,  he  called  the  ministers  together ;  and  they,  with 
one  voice,  besought  the  council  to  soften  the  mode  of  execution. 
Another  colour,  in  fact,  had  been  given  to  the  whole  proceeding, 
by  dooming  the  culprit  to  the  flames.  Calvin  had  already  said 
to  Farel,  "  I  think  he  will  be  condemned  to  die ;  but  I  wish  that 
what  is  horrible  in  the  punishment  may  be  spared  himt."  We 
have  seen  the  answer  of  Farel,  who  was  altogether  of  another 
opinion.  Calvin  now  wrote  to  him,  u  We  have  endeavoured  to 
change  the  mode  of  execution,  but  without  avail :  I  will  tell  you, 
by  word  of  mouth,  why  we  could  do  nothing  J."  Farel  received 
no  more  information  by  letter  :  he  had  come  suddenly  to  Geneva. 

The  last  hours  of  Servetus  were  the  best  in  his  life :  his  im- 
provement began  with  his  misfortunes ;  as  if  the  Spirit  of  the 
Lord  had  found  the  way  to  his  heart,  through  sorrow  and  the 
expectation  of  death,  and  had  thus  rapidly  developed  his  capa- 
bility of  good.  He  was  now  about  forty-four  years  of  age ;  but 
during  the  short  period  of  his  imprisonment  at  Vienne,  his  mind 
had  advanced  more  rapidly  than  during  the  whole  of  his  earlier 
career.  This  was  most  conspicuously  the  case  at  the  last.  It 
is  certain,  however,  that  he  still  failed  in  acquiring  a  thorough 
knowledge  of  himself. 

We  find  that  it  was  his  blasphemy,  his  rash  jesting  with  holy 
things, — the  insult  with  which  he  had  treated  the  majesty  of  God, 
which  weighed  heaviest  upon  him§.  The  judges  passed  over 
everything  else ;  such  as  his  supposed  pantheism,  his  rejecting 
the  prophecies  of  Isaiah,  and  his  doubts  respecting  the  spi- 
rituality of  the  soul.  Instead  of  insisting  on  these  things,  they 
confined  their  attention  to  that  which  he  had  said  on  the  person 
of  Christ,  without  plunging  into  the  depths  of  speculation.    That 

*  Ed.  Laus.  Ep.  161.  Ed.  Amst.  p.  71,  to  Farel,  Oct.  26. 

f  Ed.  Laus.  Ep.  152,  Aug.  20.  Ed.  Amst.  p.  70. 

X  Ed.  Laue.  Ep.  161.  Ed.  Amst.  p.  71.  §  Beza,  Vita  Calv. 


A.D.  1553.]  LAST  HOURS  OF  SERVETUS.  21? 

however  which  all  regarded  with  the  greatest  horror  was  his 
blasphemy :  his  insult  of  the  majesty  of  God  was  viewed  alike 
by  all.  Calvin  in  his  last  admonition,  and  Farel  in  his  address, 
at  the  place  of  execution,  and  also  in  his  letter  to  Blaarer,  insist 
on  this ;  and  here  the  offender  still  remained  unbending  as  iron. 
He  could  not  be  induced  to  ask  for  forgiveness,  or  to  retract  his 
infamous  expressions.  Hence  it  was  that  he  could  not  die  tran- 
quilly ;  and  that  all  future  generations  will  lift  up  the  stone  against 
him, 

We  would  fain  pass  with  him  these  last  two  days  of  his  unhappy 
life.  He  regarded  it  as  a  matter  of  conscience  not  to  think,  for 
a  moment,  of  retracting ;  and  this  creates  a  certain  degree  of 
interest  in  his  favour.  The  gaoler  opened  the  door  of  the  prison ; 
the  officers  of  justice  entered,  and  read  to  him  the  sentence, 
Ci  that  he  was  on  the  following  morning  to  be  burnt  alive,  and 
his  body  consumed  to  ashes."  He  remained  dumb  for  a  mo- 
ment,* as  if  a  thunderbolt  had  struck  him.  Then,  after  deep 
sighs  which  resounded  through  the  hall  in  which  he  was  seated, 
groans  and  howlings  followed,  like  those  of  a  madman*.  At  last 
he  cried,  "  Have  mercy,  have  mercy !"  A  true  martyr  would 
now  have  found  strength  to  praise  God  for  giving  him  so  glo- 
rious an  opportunity  of  bearing  testimony  to  the  faith.  How 
differently  did  the  five  confessors  at  Lyons,  like  numberless 
others  of  the  same  spirit,  walk  to  the  place  of  execution,  singing 
as  they  went  the  ninth  Psalm  !  The  only  appearance  of  dignity 
which  Servetus  manifested  was  when,  ceasing  to  rave,  he  sud- 
denly mastered  himself,  and  expressed  a  general  repentance. 

We  have  no  record  how  he  spent  the  night,  but  the  next  day 
he  was  calmer.  It  was  the  27th  of  October,  an  autumnal  day 
in  that  beautiful  country,  where  the  neighbouring  hills  are  often 
seen  covered  with  snow,  while  the  valley  still  glows  with  the 
richest  tints  of  the  season,  the  glaciers  of  Savoy  rising  majes- 
tically in  their  glittering  vest  above  all.  The  words  of  Servetus 
indicated,  on  this  day,  a  mingling  of  Christian  feeling  with  his 
depraved  notions,  and  a  sentiment  which,  in  relation  to  his 
enemy,  had  something  in  it  noble.  When  the  heart  bears  such 
fruit,  as  reconciliation  with  enemies,  an  earnest  desire  to  pray 
for  forgiveness,  and  a  certain  trust  in  God,  there  appears  to  be 
some  truth  in  its  sentiments,  even  though  its  convictions  may 
want  the  clearness  given  by  the  Spirit. 

The  excellent  Farel  was  with  the  prisoner  by  seven  o'clock  in 
*  Op.  Fr.  p.  1552.  Calv.  Refut.  Error.  Serv.  p.  523. 


218  EXECUTION  OF  SERVETUS.  [CHAP.  V« 

the  morning  :  this  was  in  conformity  with  the  express  wish  of 
Calvin,  who  desired  him  to  accompany  the  wretched  man  to  the 
place  of  execution.  The  Genevese  ministers  who  had  borne 
witness  against  him  could  not  well  perform  this  duty.  Farel 
has  left  us  an  account  of  the  proceedings*.  This  holy  man 
easily  inspired  confidence,  and  Servetus  could  have  desired  no 
better  companion  on  his  last  journey,  to  him  so  terrible.  Even 
to  us  it  seems  as  if  a  heavy  weight  were  about  our  feet.  We 
feel  with  what  different  eyes  the  unhappy  Servetus  must  have 
surveyed  the  heavens,  and  the  surrounding  landscape  as  he  ap- 
proached the  place  of  execution,  and  as  he  prepared  to  leave  a 
world  which  he  had  been  accustomed  to  look  at  in  the  splendour 
of  his  imaginary  reformation. 

Farel,  who  was  intent  upon  leading  his  soul  to  the  true  faith, 
began  again  to  speak  of  his  errors,  and  then  passed  to  the  sub- 
ject of  Christian  love.  He  besought  him  "  to  repent  of  his  sins, 
and  to  confess  the  God  who  had  thrice  revealed  himself."  But 
the  unhappy  man  persevered  in  his  original  statement,  and 
required  that  it  should  be  proved  to  him  from  Scripture,  that 
Christ  was  called  the  Son  of  God  before  he  became  man.  Farel 
answered  him,  but  he  could  not  be  convinced  of  his  error  :  he 
had  nothing  to  reply,  but  remained  impenetrable  and  obstinate. 
The  struggle  was  long-continued,  and  the  hour  of  execution  drew 
near.  Farel,  therefore,  and  some  ministers  from  the  country 
who  were  then  present,  warned  him,  that  if  he  would  die  as  a 
Christian,  he  must  be  reconciled  to  Calvin,  whom  he  had  treated 
so  unjustly.  Servetus  consented.  Calvin  was  sent  for,  and 
appeared  accompanied  by  two  members  of  the  council,  probably 
on  the  supposition  that  the  prisoner  might  still  retract. 

Servetus  received  Calvin  tranquilly.  The  solemnity  of  the 
hour  of  death  had  sharpened  his  conscience,  and  tamed  his  pride 
and  wrath*  Calvin  himself  has  described  these  last  moments : 
u  When  one  of  the  members  of  the  council  asked  him  what  he 
wished  with  me,  he  answered,  that  he  desired  to  ask  my  for- 
giveness. I  readily  answered,  and  it  was  strictly  the  truth,  that 
I  had  never  sought  to  resent  any  personal  affront  received  from 
him.  I  also  tenderly  reminded  him,  that  sixteen  3rears  before, 
I  had  diligently  sought,  at  the  hourly  peril  of  my  own  life,  to  win 
him  to  the  Lord;  that  it  was  not  my  fault  that  all  pious  people  had 

*  In  a  letter  to  Blaarer  (Blaurer).  An  extract  only  of  this  letter  is  given  in 
Hottingcr,  s.  803  ;  and  in  lluchat,  t.  vi.  p.  51.  The  document  was  commu- 
nicated literally,  to  the  author,  by  Orelli,  the  librarian  at  Zurich. 


A.D.  1553.]  EXECUTION  OF  SERVETUS.  219 

not  extended  the  hand  of  friendship  towards  him,  and  that  this 
would  have  been  the  case,  had  he  but  shown  some  degree  of 
judgement ;  that  although  he  had  taken  to  flight,  I  had  still  con- 
tinued to  correspond  peaceably  with  him ;  that,  in  a  word,  no 
duty  of  kindness  had  been  neglected  on  my  part,  till,  embittered 
by  my  free  and  candid  warnings,  he  had  resigned  himself  not 
merely  to  a  feeling  of  anger,  but  to  absolute  wrath  against  me. 
Turning  however  from  that  which  concerned  myself,  I  prayed 
him  to  implore  the  forgiveness  of  God,  whom  he  had  so  awfully 
blasphemed,  seeking  to  annihilate  the  threefold  personality, 
and  calling  it  a  three-headed  hell-hound,  whenever  mention  was 
made  of  a  distinction  between  Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost.  I 
besought  him  to  seek  the  pardon  of  the  Son  of  God,  whom  he 
had  dishonoured  by  his  heresies,  denying  that  Christ,  by  the 
human  nature  which  He  had  taken,  had  become  like  us ;  and 
thus  destroying  the  band  of  brotherly  union  between  us  and 
the  Saviour,  and  our  only  hope  of  deliverance.55  But  Servetus 
gave  him  no  answer.  Calvin  continues  :  "  When  I  found  that 
I  could  effect  nothing  by  my  arguments  and  persuasions,  I 
would  not  attempt  to  be  wiser  than  the  precept  of  the  Master. 
I  withdrew  from  the  presence  of  a  man  who  had  sinned  as  a 
heretic,  and  was  condemned  of  himself.  Titus,  iii.  10,  11*." 
And  thus  Calvin  and  Servetus  parted. 

As  soon  as  Calvin  was  gone,  Servetus  continued  his  prepa- 
ration, with  prayer  and  supplication.  He  said  once,  in  confi- 
dence, to  Farel,  that  he  had  learnt  much  from  a  man  who  had 
no  little  name.  "  But  I  know/5  says  Farel,  w  that  he  both 
thought  and  wrote  in  after-times  very  differently.  I  do  not 
doubt,  however,  but  that  he  had  been  not  a  little  harmed  by  the 
Rabbinical  writings  ;  of  which  Erasmus  somewhere  says,  that 
such  impious  productions  ought  to  be  avoided,  or  read  With 
great  caution,  to  prevent  their  poisonous  influence.55  Farel  says 
further :  "  A  few  hours  before  his  execution  he  struck  his  breast, 
and  cried  aloud  to  God,  aloud  to  Christ,  praying  for  forgiveness, 
and  acknowledging  Jesus  as  his  Reedemer.5'  But  Farel  adds, 
that  when  he  had  declared  the  necessity  of  punishment  for 
heresy,  "  the  unhappy  man  could  not  be  brought  to  confess,  in 
truth,  that  Christ  was  the  eternal  Son  of  God,  but  only  that  He 
was  the  Son  of  God,  because   God  had  miraculously  created 

*  Calvin  describes  the  scene  in  the  prison.  Refut.  Error.  Serv.  p.  511. 
They  spoke  in  French,  and  the  very  words  are  reported  in  the  Opusc.  Fr. 
p.  1508. 


220  EXECUTION   OF  SERVETUS.  [CHAP.   V. 

Him  in  the.  womb  of  the  Virgin."  Farel  calls  him,  repeatedly, 
miser  and  infelix,  a  proof  that  his  impressions  respecting  him 
were  very  distressing. 

The  council  continued  assembled  throughout  the  morning, 
either  in  the  hope  that  he  might  retract,  or  to  pronounce  its 
final  judgement  upon  him.  Servetus  was  led  before  it,  and  the 
staff  was  broken  over  him.  The  sentence  was  next  read.  The 
unhappy  prisoner  cast  himself  at  the  feet  of  the  magistrate*, 
and  this  at  the  moment  when  a  martyr  would  have  raised  victo- 
riously his  eyes  to  heaven.  He  prayed  that  they  might  put  him 
to  death  with  the  sword,  lest  by  great  pain  he  might  be  driven 
to  despair,  and  so  lose  his  soul.  If  he  had  sinned,  he  said,  he 
had  done  so  through  want  of  knowledge,  for  it  had  been  his  will 
and  his  aim  to  promote  the  glory  of  God. 

Servetus  did  not  seem  to  feel  the  humiliating  nature  of  his 
entreaty.  Farel  however  interrupted  him,  and  said,  that  he 
must  first  acknowledge  his  wickedness ;  and  that  then  he  might 
ask  for  mercy.  Servetus  answered,  "  that  he  suffered  inno- 
cently ;  that  he  was  led  to  death  as  a  sacrifice ;  but  that  he 
prayed  God  to  forgive  his  accusers." 

Farel  regarded  these  words  as  insulting  in  the  mouth  of  so 
wretched  a  criminal,  thus  pretending  to  play  the  martyr.  He 
addressed  him,  therefore,  with  severity ;  threatened  to  leave  him 
to  the  judgement  of  God,  if  he  continued  thus  to  speak;  said 
that  he  had  hoped  that  he  would  edify  the  people,  and  would 
entreat  them  to  pray  for  him.  It  was  only  with  this  thought 
that  he  had  been  induced  to  accompany  him  to  the  last,  Ser- 
vetus was  silent,  and  made  no  further  appeal. 

But  Farel,  who  had  a  tender  heart,  was  deeply  moved,  and, 
addressing  the  council,  he  earnestly  implored  it  to  soften  the 
punishment,  although  originally,  as  we  have  seen,  he  was  in 
favour  of  the  burning.  The  members  of  the  council,  however, 
were  so  horrified  at  the  wickedness  of  Servetus,  that  they  re- 
mained inflexible,  and  answered,  that  a  sentence  so  passed  could 
not  be  altered. 

We  now  behold  Servetus  feebly  descending  the  steps  of  the 
senate-house ;  not  passing  out  by  the  present  door,  but  by  the 
old  gate,  the  modern  fortifications  not  then  existing.  We  follow 
his  last  steps  to  the  Place  Champel,  where  already  so  many 
malefactors  had  breathed  their  last  in  the  flames.  He  prayed 
as  he  went  along,  both  with  Farel  and  with  the  others,  who 
*  This  is  stated  in  the  old  history,  de  Morte  Serveti. 


A.D.  1553.}  EXECUTION  OF  SERVETUS.  221 

walked  not  far  from  him.  Many  times  he  cried  aloiul,  a  God, 
deliver  my  soul !  Jesus,  Son  of  the  eternal  God,  have  mercy 
upon  me  \"  In  vain  was  he  entreated  to  call  upon  the  Saviour 
as  the  eternal  Son  of  God. 

They  were  now  arrived  at  the  place,  where  all  was  prepared 
for  the  execution,  and  a  large  multitude  of  people  assembled. 
A  wide-stretching  eminence  about  two  miles  from  the  city,  and 
originally  belonging  to  the  bishops,  is  still  known  by  the  name 
of  Champel,  or  Champey.  The  road  to  it  lies  through  the  pre- 
sent Porte  Neave,  and  the  friendly,  shady  path,  called  the  Tour 
des  Philosophes,  lies  to  the  right.  From  the  top  of  Champel 
the  view  extends,  on  the  one  side  along  the  valley,  surrounded 
by  vineyards,  and  to  the  woody  amphitheatre  of  the  Jura  moun- 
tains ;  on  the  other,  the  eye  traces  the  course  of  the  Arve,  rush- 
ing along  with  many  windings,  and  pouring  at  last  its  snow- 
grey  waters  into  the  clear  bright  stream  of  the  Rhone.  In  the 
distance  may  be  seen  the  Fort  de  l'Ecluse,  where  the  Rhone 
disappears ;  and  on  the  Savoy  side,  the  two  Saleves,  the  Mole, 
and  the  Voirons,  which  here  cover  the  glaciers  of  Savoy.  On 
the  opposite  side  of  the  Arve  lies  the  little  town  of  Carouge.  A 
pleasant  villa,  surrounded  by  gardens,  now  crowns  the  summit 
of  Champel ;  but  in  the  lower  part  of  the  eminence,  where  the 
old  place  of  execution  was,  an  excavation  is  still  found,  effected 
by  the  removal  of  the  gravel,  called  "  Le  Creux  du  Bourrcau*." 

Servetus  beheld,  as  he  approached  this  place,  a  stake, 
with  a  huge  heap  of  oak-wood  and  leaves  in  a  circle.  At  the 
sight  of  these  preparations  he  cast  himself  on  the  ground,  and 
prayed  awhile  in  silence.  During  this  interval,  Farel  addressed 
the  surrounding  multitude.  "You  see,"  he  said,  "what  power 
Satan  has  at  command,  when  he  once  gets  possession  of  a  man. 
Here  is  one,  learned  above  most  others,  and  who,  perhaps,  be- 
lieved that  he  was  acting  right.  He  is  now,  however,  possessed 
by  the  devil ;  which  might  happen  also  to  any  of  you." 

Servetus  rose,  and  Farel  encouraged  him  to  speak  some  few 
words ;  but  he  sighed  deeply  from  his  wounded,  struggling  soul, 
"  O  God  !  O  God  I"  Farel  asked,  "  Hast  thou  nothing  else  to 
say?"  "What  can  I  do  else,"  was  the  answer,  "  but  speak  of 
God  ?"  Farel,  who  did  not  know  what  relations  he  might  have, 
inquired  if  he  had  a  wife,  or  children,  and  added,  that  if  he 
wished  to  make  any  will,  a  lawyer  was  present.  He  made  no 
answer.  When  Farel,  however,  asked  whether  he  would  not 
*  Keysslcr's  Reisen,  b.  i.  s.  149. 


222  EXECUTION  OF  SERVETUS.  jiCHAP.  V. 

desire  the  people  to  pray  for  him,  he  yielded  to  the  suggestion, 
and  begged  the  bystanders  to  remember  him  in  their  prayers. 
Fare!  now  repeated  his  former  entreaties,  and  besought  him  to 
call  upon  Christ  as  the  Son  of  God.  This  he  would  not  do ;  but 
he  made  no  more  mention  of  his  doctrine ;  and  Farel  regarded 
this  as  providential.  "  Satan,"  he  says,  "  was  hindered  from 
again  spitting  out  his  blasphemies." 

When  Servetus  was  now  led  to  the  pile,  Farel  exhorted  the 
people  to  pray  for  the  wretched  man ;  and  to  entreat  the  Lord 
to  have  mercy  on  his  lost  soul,  and  to  turn  him  from  his  cursed 
errors  to  sound  doctrine*. 

The  executioner  employed  by  the  Genevese  was  not  so  well- 
skilled  in  his  work  as  others.  The  wood  which  had  been  piled 
up  was  fresh  oak,  still  in  leaf.  There  was  a  stake,  and  before  it 
a  block,  upon  which  Servetus  was  to  seat  himself.  His  feet 
hung  to  the  ground ;  his  body  was  fastened  by  an  iron  chain  to 
the  stake,  and  his  neck  by  a  strong  rope  twisted  several  times 
round  it.  On  his  head  was  a  wreath,  woven  of  straw  and  leaves, 
sprinkled  with  brimstone,  through  which  suffocation  might  be 
speedily  effected.  The  book,  which  had  occasioned  all  his  misery, 
was,  according  to  the  sentence,  tied  to  his  body,  both  the  ma- 
nuscript sent  to  Calvin  for  his  opinion,  and  the  printed  work. 
He  now  prayed  the  executioner  to  put  an  end  to  his  sufferings 
as  speedily  as  possible.  The  officer  brought  the  fire  and  kindled 
the  wood,  so  that  he  was  surrounded  by  the  circling  flames.  At 
this  sight  he  cried  out  so  terribly  that  the  whole  people  shrunk 
back.  As  the  pile  continued  to  burn  but  slowly,  a  great  many 
of  the  people  ran  and  cast  additional  bundles  of  wood  into  the 
flames.  Servetus  cried  continually  to  God  for  mercy.  It  is 
possible,  as  one  report  states,  that  a  strong  wind  prevented,  for 
a  considerable  time,  the  action  of  the  fire.  The  torture,  to 
which  the  papal  tribunals  had  so  long  doomed  believers  in 
the  Gospel,  was  prolonged  in  the  case  of  Servetus,  if  we  may 
believe  the  account  addressed  to  the  Genevese,  for  half  an  hour. 
Farel  says  nothing  on  the  subject.  At  last  Servetus  cried  aloud, 
and  this  may  be  regarded  as  a  sure  sign  that  he  persevered  in 
his  belief,  "  Jesus,  Thou  Son  of  the  eternal  God,  have  mercy 
upon  me !" — protesting,  in  the  midst  of  the  flames,  and  in  de- 
fiance of  the  whole  Christian  world,  against  the  doctrine  of  the 
Trinity. 

When  the  sun  stood  at  the  highest,  in  the  autumnal  sky,  and 
*  Opusc.  Fr.  p.  1553. 


A.D.  1553.]  EXECUTION  OF  SERVETUS.  223 

the  clock  in  St.  Peter's  tower  struck  twelve,  Servetus  had  ended 
his  sufferings,  and  the  people  dispersed  in  silence. 

In  the  evening  of  this  hot  day,  and  when  Calvin  was  sitting 
retired  in  his  study,  Farel,  who  had  soon  to  set  out  on  his  jour- 
ney home,  most  probably  came  to  him  to  rest  awhile,  and  to 
describe  what  had  taken  place.  To  realize  the  image  of  this 
hour,  I  imagine  to  myself  the  evening  sun  colouring  the  distant 
glaciers,  while  Calvin  is  seated  at  work,  by  the  light  of  a  lamp, 
at  his  library  table.  On  Champel  there  is  a  black  spot,  marked 
by  the  signs  of  fire,  and  where  the  ashes  of  the  heretic  are  still 
lying,  and  will  be  found  for  many  days.  It  is  related  that  Ber- 
nardin  Ochino,  who  arrived  from  England  the  day  after  the  exe- 
cution, entered  Geneva  and  immediately  departed*. 

And  now  we  inquire,  what  were  the  feelings  of  the  reformer 
at  the  close  of  this  affair  ?  From  a  letter  which  he  wrote  to 
Bullinger,  and  by  the  statement  of  Farel,  who  described  his 
sentiments  at  this  time  in  a  letter  to  Blaarer,  we  may  form  some 
opinion  of  the  state  of  his  mind.  It  seems  that  he  had  written 
to  inform  Farel,  who  did  not  receive  his  last  letter,  acquainting 
him  with  the  trouble  which  he  felt  at  the  severity  of  the  senate, 
which  rejected  his  application  to  allow  Servetus  a  milder  death. 
The  reasons  which  induced  the  senate  thus  to  act,  he  would 
explain  to  him  by  word  of  mouth.  Farel  too,  it  is  probable, 
related  what  efforts  he  had  made  to  support  Servetus  by  his 
prayers.  Their  conversation  will  then  have  turned  upon  the 
punishment  of  heretics,  as  apart  from  the  crime  of  blasphemy, 
Farel  having  observed,  at  the  beginning  of  his  letter,  how  neces- 
sary such  punishments  were.  He  mentions  that  Calvin  had 
undertaken  to  confute  the  errors  of  the  heretic,  and  to  describe 
his  unhappy  death.  This  was  done,  in  quiet,  on  the  same  even- 
ing, and  Farel  communicated  the  necessary  information.  As  he 
calls  Servetus  "  the  wretched  and  unhappy  one  "  and  "  the  dis- 
honest heretic,"  this  was,  no  doubt,  the  general  tone  in  which 
they  spoke  of  him.  The  tranquil  feeling  with  which  Calvin 
viewed  all  the  proceedings  of  this  period,  serves  also  to  indicate 
the  temper  in  which  he  and  Farel  discoursed.  But  the  effort  of 
the  libertines  to  destroy  the  discipline  established  in  the  church, 
of  which  Calvin  had  shortly  before  spoken  to  Bullinger,  and 
on  which  the  conservation  of  the  church  in  Geneva  so  mainly 
depended,  must,  in  all  probability,  have  engaged  their  attention, 
far  more  than  the  death  of  an  outlaw*  whom  all  the  world  con- 
*  In  the  Vatican  Manuscript,    Mosheim,  s.  292, 


224  CALVIN  AND  SERVETUS.  [CHAP.  V. 

demned.  In  whatever  light  we  view  the  present  period,  a  great 
crisis  had  occurred  in  Calvin's  life  :  his  energy  was  roused  to  its 
highest  pitch,  but  altogether  unconsciously  to  himself. 

Contemplating  as  we  are  the  execution  of  Servetus,  the  deli- 
cate and  interesting  question  may  be  asked,  whether  Calvin  ever 
really  thought  much  about  the  death  of  that  unhappy  man  ?  If 
he  did  not  absolutely  promote  it,  he  certainly  considered  it  just 
and  necessary.  But  the  inquiry  has  no  peculiar  value  if  we 
confine  our  attention  to  the  times  in  which  Calvin  himself  lived. 
It  is  for  our  own  age,  for  that  which  he  helped  to  introduce, 
that  it  is  mainly  important ;  and  we  cannot  but  wish  that  his 
mighty  intellect  had  more  clearly  perceived  the  new  principles 
which  lay  undeveloped  in  him.  And  indeed,  when  some  few  bold 
and  earnest  minds  assailed  him,  affording  more  striking  indica- 
tions of  the  Christian  spirit  unfolding  itself  with  Protestantism, 
this  made  a  deep  impression  upon  him,  although  he  continued,  ac- 
cording to  Bullinger's  advice,  resolutely  to  defend  the  old  system. 
At  a  time  when  believers  were  on  all  sides  mowed  down  in 
troops,  the  evangelical  church  had  already  reached  so  high  a 
point  in  its  principles,  that  it  strongly  censured,  on  its  own  part, 
and  never  afterwards  pardoned,  the  few  severe  acts  of  which  its 
members  were  guilty  in  imitation  of  the  old  papal  rule.  That 
Calvin  was  startled  hereby  does  honour  to  his  awakened  spirit. 
Melancthon  experienced  nothing  similar.  The  Genevese  re- 
former, like  Beza,  had  often  silently  felt,  when  the  might  of 
apostolic  sentiment  was  victorious  over  that  of  the  old  covenant, 
that  his  convictions  had  carried  him  too  far.  That  such  was  the 
case  appears  from  the  fact,  that  in  his  last  discourses  he  let  not 
a  word  fall  indicative  of  the  great  and  serious  injustice  done 
him,  when  his  opponents  found  fault  with  him  for  a  conduct 
which  was  good,  and  necessary  to  the  upholding  of  the  church. 
The  mention  of  Servetus  is  dropped,  as  if  he  had  never  existed. 
Beza,  who  was  Calvin's  second  self,  seems  to  have  had  Servetus 
in  view  when  he  finally  judges  of  Calvin's  character,  at  the  con- 
clusion of  his  biography :  "  He  rarely  yielded  himself,"  he  says, 
"  to  any  passionate  emotion,  except  when  he  had  to  deal  with 
religious  errors  and  obstinate  dispositions." 

That  Calvin  gave  the  most  earnest  attention  to  matters  about 
which  any  doubt  existed,  or  which  appeared  to  him  sometimes 
holy,  and  sometimes  the  contrary,  because  of  the  transition-point 
at  which  he  himself  stood,  is  evident  from  this :  he,  who  had 
passed  a  life  pure  and  holy  as  few  men's  have  been ;  a  life  devoted 


A.D.  1553.]  CALVIN  AND  SERVETU9.  225 

to  the  highest  interests  of  humanity,  makes  repeated  and  espe- 
cial mention  in  his  last  will  of  the  sins  which  he  had  committed. 
Beza  takes  particular  note  of  this ;  and  the  circumstances  referred 
to  can  be  only  such  as  they  had  both  learnt  to  view  otherwise, 
under  the  light  of  the  Gospel,  than  formerly.  Indications  of  this 
kind  speak  strongly  in  favour  of  Calvin's  tenderness  of  disposition. 
It  has  been  already  said,  that  in  one  of  his  letters  he  speaks 
with  a  sigh  of  Servetus  and  Gentilis :  "  Ah  !  if  we  could  but 
have  obtained  from  Servetus  a  recantation  like  that  of  Gentilis  !" 
His  sole  wish  was  to  give  security  to  the  church.  I  find  another 
indication  of  the  same  sort  in  his  Preface  to  the  Psalms.  Here 
he  so  surrenders  himself  to  the  prevailing  sentiment,  that  he 
speaks  not  a  word  of  Servetus ;  and  it  is  interesting  for  the 
student  of  human  character,  to  find  that,  while  he  seems  to  take 
pleasure  in  comparing  himself  with  David,  he  ventures  not  to 
institute  the  most  distant  comparison  between  himself  and  a 
prophet  or  apostle.  But  David,  the  man  after  God's  heart,  had 
committed  great  offences,  had  to  endure  many  inward  struggles, 
and  was  surrounded  by  a  host  of  outward  enemies.  He  might 
easily  indeed  understand  the  sins  to  which  his  evil  passions 
had  given  birth  ;  but  Calvin  could  only  by  great  susceptibility 
of  conscience  discover  the  transgressions  of  which  he  had  been 
guilty  through  his  zeal.  They  sprung  from  a  holy  principle, 
and  the  prevailing  error  of  his  times ;  so  that  he  could  never 
clearly  perceive  their  nature.  At  the  first  he  even  defended  them 
against  his  antagonists,  and  that  with  a  good  conscience. 

We  also  see  that  he  did  not  persevere  in  his  views  respecting 
the  punishment  of  death,  even  in  the  case  of  revilers.  Had  he 
retained  his  original  convictions,  he  would  have  again  stated  to 
the  council,  in  the  strongest  terms,  when  he  addressed  that  body, 
and  the  clergy,  in  his  last  speech,  the  right  which  he  had  against 
his  enemies,  and  the  necessity  of  retaining  such  principles  for 
the  support  of  the  church.  But  the  world  was  not  yet  ripe  for 
a  change  in  these  things ;  and  it  is  well  known,  that  the  laws 
against  heretics  and  blasphemers  remained  in  force  another 
century  and  a  half,  even  in  countries  enlightened  by  the  re- 
formation. 

In  reflecting  therefore  upon  the  execution  of  Servetus,  we 
are  concerned  with  a  period  very  different  to  that  which  serves 
as  a  point  of  view  for  apostolic  times.  But  we  must  here  pause 
awhile.  Servetus  deserved  his  punishment  as  a  blasphemer ;  but 
his  execution  has  another  aspect  for  our  age.     We  arc  here  con- 

VOL.  II.  Q 


226  PERSECUTION   AND  TOLERATION.  [CHAP.  V. 

cerned  with  the  toleration  of  error  in  its  reference  to  that  of 
blasphemy.  The  spot  where  Servetus  died  marked,  as  it  were, 
the  boundary  between  the  barbarity  of  the  middle  ages,  and  the 
refinement  which  has  been  effected  by  the  light  of  the  reforma- 
tion. Here  it  was  that  those  powerful  voices,  which  grew  might- 
ier every  day,  were  first  lifted  up  in  behalf  of  freedom  of  con- 
science. We  stand  upon  Champel :  before  us  lies  a  Christian 
city,  but  just  freed  from  the  trammels  of  superstition ;  that  city 
is  the  abode  of  a  reformer,  well-versed  in  holy  writ ;  at  his  feet 
sit  hundreds  of  hearers.  It  is  not  however  with  him  we  have 
now  to  do :  he  had  some  perception  of  approaching  changes, 
and  helped  to  effect  them.  The  Genevese  council,  the  papal 
church,  and  the  people  of  the  age,  claim  our  present  notice. 

A  burning  pile  in  the  midst  of  evangelical  Christendom  !  What 
a  theme  for  the  lamentation  of  all  future  times  !  More  murders 
were  committed  at  this  period  by  the  papal  church,  according  to 
judicial  form,  than  were  ever  perpetrated  by  wretches  who  lived 
by  crime.  But  the  execution  of  Servetus  made  so  deep  an  im- 
pression on  men's  minds,  because,  forgetting  the  blasphemy  of 
which  he  had  been  guilty,  they  fixed  their  attention  on  the  free- 
dom of  thought  which  the  reformation  advocated,  and  a  course 
altogether  different  to  that  pursued  by  the  papists  might  natu- 
rally be  looked  for  on  the  side  of  evangelical  Christians.  Few 
genuine  martyrs  therefore  have  gained  so  much  notice  as  this 
fanatic.  A  great  principle,  and  the  peace  of  the  world,  seemed 
involved  in  the  proceedings  against  him ;  since,  if  intolerance  be 
allowed,  one  vast  series  of  murders  may  be  looked  for,  extending 
even  to  the  last  man,  who  shall  hold  firm  to  his  convictions. 
Thus  Champel  is  a  melancholy  monument  of  the  past,  but  one 
on  which  spirits  may  be  discerned  and  proved. 

Romanists  rejoice,  even  to  the  present  day,  at  the  memorial  of 
this  event,  and  remind  protestants  of  it  with  bitter  scorn.  Bos- 
suet,  a  wicked  enemy  of  the  truth,  because  well-acquainted  with 
Christianity,  and  an  early  witness  of  the  persecutions  in  France, 
speaks  on  this  subject  with  diplomatic  cunning.  "  We  must 
remind,"  he  says,  "  the  protestants,  of  the  execution  of  heretics 
at  Geneva,  if  they  complain  so  bitterly  at  being  persecuted." 
And  the  last  wretched  pamphleteering  antagonist  of  Calvin  raves 
against  him,  as  if  he  had  been  responsible  for  all  the  sins  of  the 
middle  ages,  and  the  inventor  of  all  the  instruments  of  torture 
employed  by  the  papists.  This  writer,  in  fact,  sets  aside  the  en- 
tire history  of  the  Inquisition,  and  especially  the  condemnation 


A.D.  1553.]         PERSECUTION  AND  TOLERATION.  227 

of  Servetus  at  Vienne,  as  if  these  people  could  be  justified  in 
persecuting  us  because  we  committed  an  error,  for  the  principle 
of  which  we  have  to  thank  themselves. 

Christians  weep  over  their  sins  when  aware  of  them :  the 
Genevese  lamented  their  early  severity.  i6  Would  to  God/5  said 
one  of  them  in  the  last  century,  "  that  we  could  extinguish  this 
burning  pile  with  our  tears  ! "  This  is  the  common  sentiment. 
But  the  Romanists  have  imitated  the  heathen,  and  burnt  num- 
berless of  their  brethren,  confessing  their  Saviour,  to  ashes.  For 
ten  centuries  have  the  flames  raged  upon  the  altar  of  their  Mo- 
loch. They  could  not  inflict  a  greater  penalty ;  but  had  it  been 
in  their  power,  gladly  would  they  have  destroyed  the  souls  of 
the  faithful  with  their  bodies.  The  death  which  they  inflicted 
was  a  symbol  of  their  hatred  to  the  truth.  In  their  imbecile 
wrath  they  burnt  the  body  to  ashes,  or  buried  it  alive,  while  the 
spirit  escaped  their  rage  unharmed.  Nor  has  the  catholic  church 
ever  renounced  her  old  principle  of  persecution,  or  condemned 
it  as  Satanic ;  on  the  contrary,  she  still  boldly  defends  it  by  her 
recognized  organs.  Not  one  of  her  teachers  has  allowed  it  was 
the  spirit  of  Antichrist  which  then  blinded  them.  It  was  her  own 
principle  therefore  which  triumphed  in  the  Genevese  council ; 
her  sons  are  answerable  for  this  deed ;  the  blood  that  was  shed 
cries  out  against  her ;  and  till  Rome  pronounce  aloud  her  con- 
demnation of  the  spirit  of  persecution,  the  death  even  of  Ser- 
vetus will  remain  as  a  fearful  witness  against  her.  Calvin  and  the 
members  of  the  Genevese  council,  nurtured  in  these  principles, 
and  surrounded  by  the  auto-da-fees  of  the  Inquisition,  were  not 
answerable  for  the  results.  The  whole  protestant  church  is  on 
one  side,  and  expresses  its  sorrow  for  the  injustice  perpetrated 
against  Servetus,  Krell,  and  some  others.  And  yet  will  the 
papists  venture,  up  to  the  present  day,  with  insane  rashness  or 
childish  folly,  as  the  latest  publication  on  their  side  against  the 
reformer  shows,  to  represent  him  as  one  of  the  worst  characters 
in  history,  because  he  desired  the  death  of  Servetus :  they  see 
not  that  they  are  inflicting  the  deepest  wound  upon  themselves, 
by  thus  imputing  their  own  guilt  to  us.  It  was  they  who  con- 
demned Servetus  to  the  flames,  long  before  he  was  judged  by  the 
Genevese :  they  were  anxious  to  become  the  privileged  execu- 
tioners of  the  world,  and  they  only  regarded  such  a  sin  as  im- 
possible among  the  reformers,  because  their  conscience  repre- 
sented it  to  them  as  a  simple  type  of  their  own. 

J3ut,  whatever  may  be  said,  Christians  will  ever  look  with 

Q2 


228  OPINIONS  ON  SERVETUS.  [CHAP.  V. 

astonishment  at  the  execution  of  Servetus,  and  will  wonder  how 
Christians,  who  differed  from  each  other  on  so  many  points, 
could  be  of  one  mind  in  this,  that  the  erring  should  be  punished 
with  death ;  nay,  that  all  the  great  intellects  of  the  day  should 
be  agreed  upon  the  point,  and  pronounce  their  Amen !  to  the 
sentence.  In  contemplating  the  event  therefore  of  which  we  have 
been  speaking,  we  look  in  fact  into  the  deep  abyss  of  the  sins  of  the 
middle  ages,  which  paid  no  regard  to  the  rights  of  conscience. 

Servetus,  who  insulted  the  holy  and  unchangeable  faith  of  the 
entire  Christian  world,  ought  certainly  to  have  been  condemned 
to  perpetual  silence.  But  suppose  that  he  had  only  strange  per- 
ceptions of  Christianity, — perceptions  which  disturb  when  they 
do  not  spring  from  a  right  faith, — still  the  burning  pile  which 
shed  its  light  into  the  future  proclaimed  the  dawn  of  better  times. 
Yes,  Servetus  became  a  reformer  by  his  freely  protesting,  even 
unto  death :  he  has  aroused  the  indignation  of  evangelical 
Christians  in  all  ages  against  the  sin  of  the  papacy,  which  passed, 
at  the  beginning,  into  our  own  church, — the  sin,  that  is,  of 
punishing  error  with  death.  And  the  attention  of  mankind  has 
now  been  fixed  on  the  idea,  that  there  is  a  development  of  faith 
superior  to  that  which  is  merely  protestant  or  catholic, — a  pro- 
blem for  the  coming  age.  Servetus  was  altogether  a  different 
man  to  Gentilis,  who  retracted  his  opinions  without  a  word ;  and 
to  Joris,  who  lived  in  luxury  at  Basel,  under  a  strange  name, 
and,  as  a  false  prophet,  predicted  his  own  speedy  resurrection. 
Some  even  regarded  Servetus  as  a  man  of  piety. 

I  imagine  to  myself,  now  that  three  hundred  years  have  passed 
away,  a  jury  of  impartial  men,  gathered  from  all  the  various 
Christian  churches,  and  assembled  on  the  summit  of  Champel, 
to  pass  a  final  judgement  in  this  remarkable  cause.  If,  aided 
by  all  the  necessary  documents,  they  could  transport  themselves 
to  the  period  when  the  event  took  place,  and  examine  those  who 
were  eye-witnesses  of  the  proceedings,  they  would  in  all  proba- 
bility free  Calvin  from  the  charge  against  him,  and  pronounce 
him  not  guilty.  Servetus,  on  the  other  hand,  they  would  de- 
clare guilty,  but  with  extenuating  circumstances.  An  impar- 
tial jury  would  thus  oppose  the  common  judgement,  which  treads 
sometimes  the  one  and  sometimes  the  other  of  these  men  in  the 
dust,  and  does  justice  to  neither.  Both  excite  our  lively  in- 
terest. We  cannot  but  shrink  from  adopting  the  opinion  of 
Mosheim,  expressed  with  as  much  harshness  as  coldness  : — "  The 
one  searches  after  lost  truth,  and  becomes  a  dreamer ;  the  other 


A.D.   1553.]       CASE  OF  SERVETUS  RE-EXAMINED.  229 

contends  for  truth  abused,  and  becomes  a  homicide."  A  jury, 
such  as  we  have  described,  would  especially  recognize  it  as  Cal- 
vin's duty  to  punish  such  an  offender,  at  a  time  when  the  preser- 
vation of  the  truth  was  necessary  to  the  safety  of  the  world ;  and 
they  would  think  of  Moses,  who  punished  the  people  at  Sinai 
for  their  idolatry.  It  was  the  spirit  of  the  age  to  do  so ;  and  it 
would  make  a  strong  impression  upon  the  mind  of  every  judge, 
that  the  laws  which  then  existed,  and  the  sentiments  of  mankind, 
were  in  accordance  with  the  proceeding.  Calvin's  zeal  was 
founded  upon  his  conscientiousness :  this  is  the  key  to  his  whole 
being:  it  was  his  guide  in  the  development  of  his  system  of 
doctrine,  in  his  moral  judgements,  and  in  his  struggle  for  unity. 
Both  he  and  the  council  acted  from  so  deep  a  sense  of  duty,  that 
it  had  a  powerful  influence  on  every  one,  as  if,  in  the  pressure 
of  the  times,  thus  it  was  willed  by  the  Spirit  of  God.  All  felt 
that  indifference  to  the  schisms  which  tore  the  church  would  ruin 
the  reformation  in  the  south,  as  was  subsequently  the  case  in 
Poland,  through  the  errors  which  there  prevailed.  It  is  not  only 
unjust,  therefore,  but  a  mark  of  ignorance,  to  blame  Calvin  for 
having  nobly  done  that  which  he  believed  it  was  his  duty  to  per- 
form. 

Nor  will  impartial  judges  be  blind  to  the  real  character  of  Ser- 
vetus ;  they  will  bear  in  mind  that  he  not  only  adhered  firmly 
to  his  convictions,  but  that,  lively,  fantastic,  and  comet-like  as 
he  was,  he  approached  at  length  the  spirit  of  Christianity.  His 
last  moments  indicate  the  germ  of  a  genuine  sense  of  freedom, 
notwithstanding  the  power  which  a  vicious  disposition  exercised 
over  him  to  the  end.  But  Calvin,  with  his  profound  religious 
feeling,  with  his  simple  Scriptural  faith,  rose  higher  than  any 
step  which  could  be  reached  by  all  the  philosophical  knowledge 
of  God,  belonging  to  that  or  any  future  age.  The  words  of 
Thomas  a  Kempis  will  here  occur  to  mind :  u  What  can  it  help 
thee  to  be  able  to  dispute  learnedly  on  the  doctrine  of  the  Trinity, 
if  thou  be  wanting  in  the  humility,  without  which  thou  canst 
never  please  the  Trinity?" 

Not  revenge,  but  a  holy  indignation,  would  the  judges  say, 
must  excite  every  one  against  the  folly-perplexed  Servetus.  Cal- 
vin, as  the  affair  then  presented  itself,  had  the  right  to  assert, 
that  the  accused  wished  to  overthrow  all  religion.  Had  he  in- 
deed been  left  free  to  exercise  his  extraordinary  endowments, 
and  still  for  years  to  come,  he  being  now  only  forty-four,  to  spread 
his  unbelief  on  all  sides,  and  to  strengthen  his  union  with  the 


230  CASE  OF  SERVETUS  RE-EXAMINED.  [CHAP.  V* 

dangerous  sects  of  the  libertines  and  anabaptists,  to  which  he 
held  out  both  his  hands,  there  is  little  doubt  but  that  the  refor- 
mation in  the  south  would  have  been  easily  suppressed.  A  con- 
scientious jury  therefore  would  answer  the  objection,  that  Calvin 
opposed  Servetus  when  not  in  the  territory  of  Geneva,  and  has- 
tily acquainted  the  magistrates  with  his  arrival  in  that  city,  by  the 
remark,  that  he  had  undertaken  to  labour,  in  the  name  of  God, 
for  the  spiritual  good  of  all  mankind,  and  not  for  a  small,  indi- 
vidual church.  This  is  rather  for  than  against  him.  His  friends 
have  never  found  fault  with  him  on  this  account,  and  his  enemies 
only  provoke  ridicule,  when  they  adduce  the  well-known  letter  to 
Farel  as  evidence  against  him.  Calvin  considered  it  as  an  honour 
to  have  deprived  Servetus  of  the  power  of  injuring  mankind. 

Mosheim  asserts  that  Servetus  was  himself  impetuous,  and 
would  have  punished  Calvin  as  a  heretic  had  he  had  him  in  his 
power.  Here  the  impartial  judge  is  of  a  different  opinion.  Ser- 
vetus speaks  indeed  as  if  heretics  might  be  punished  with  death*, 
and  denounces  Calvin  as  worthy  of  its  infliction :  but  this  proves 
nothing ;  his  whole  career,  and  the  tendency  of  his  mind,  are  op- 
posed to  it :  he  was  characteristically  liberal ;  it  was  his  grand 
effort  to  realize  the  plan  of  the  apostolic  church,  and,  as  a  true 
image  of  a  free-thinker  in  the  protestant  community,  he  did  not 
shrink  from  comparing  himself  to  the  apostles  of  the  Lordf. 
This  was  the  effect  of  his  gross  self-delusion. 

A  conscientious  jury,  again,  would  no  doubt  earnestly  inquire, 
whether  the  present  age,  any  more  than  the  past,  would  allow 
itself  to  be  judged  according  to  the  principles  of  another,  far  re- 
mote, and  of  the  feelings  of  which  it  could  form  no  opinion, — 
whether,  under  such  circumstances,  we  might  not  be  charged, 
as  well  as  the  reformers,  with  all  the  follies  of  legislation,  and  with 
the  hundreds  of  executions  which  take  place  every  year, — with 
the  executions,  that  is,  which  send  so  many  unconverted  souls 
into  eternity,  for  the  purpose  of  securing  the  safety  of  the  state, 
and  while  it  would  be  possible  to  proceed  according  to  the  prin- 
ciples of  a  milder  age,  readily  disposed  to  abolish  the  punish- 
ment of  death,  as  a  remnant  of  barbarous  times. 

But  posterity  will  never  fail  to  behold  the  death  of  Servetus  as 
affording  a  striking  instance  of  the  powerlessness  of  disbelief, 
of  the  curse  *  which  rests  upon  blasphemy ;  nor  will  it  contem- 

*  Restit.  p.  G56.     "  Hoc  crimen  est  morte  simpliciter  (lignum. " 
f  "  Et  maximi  apostolorum  fuerunt  aliquando  in  errore."     Ep.  ad  CEco- 
lamp.  Ep.  Ref.  Helv.  p.  78. 


A.D.   1553.]  OPINIONS  ON  SERVETUS.  231 

plate  without  admiration  the  spirit  of  that  mighty  man  who 
sought  to  defend  the  truth;  as  it  ought  ever  to  be  defended,  and 
who  at  the  same  time  esteemed  the  methods  proper  to  the  age  in 
which  he  lived  as  the  best  adapted  to  its  support.  We  ourselves 
should  then  have  acted  as  he  did,  and  should  now  restrain  such 
an  offender  as  Servetus,  who  poured  contempt  on  God,  and  all 
that  is  holy,  with  the  punishments  known  to  our  times.  Had 
he  died  in  prison,  as  Campanus  did,  no  complaint  would  have 
been  raised  against  Calvin.  And  how  different  was  his  con- 
duct to  that  of  a  Philip  of  Spain,  a  Mary  of  England,  an  Alba, 
a  Richelieu,  and  others,  all  of  whom,  blinded  by  a  political,  fa- 
natical and  savage  spirit,  only  desired  to  accomplish  their  own 
selfish  purposes  !  Calvin,  on  the  contrary,  was  inspired  by  an 
earnest,  holy  zeal  for  the  honour  of  God.  We  here  behold  the 
peculiar  sublimity  and  keenness  of  his  intellect ;  and  we  answer 
the  question,  whether  there  can  be  times  and  circumstances  in 
which  we  may  dare,  as  Christians,  to  call  fire  from  heaven.  We 
will  not  say  with  Grotius,  that  the  spirit  of  Antichrist  was  as 
active  on  the  shores  of  Lake  Leman  as  on  the  banks  of  the  Tiber ; 
but  we  appeal  to  all  the  clergy  of  our  age,  both  catholic  and 
protestant,  and  ask,  who  will  venture  to  utter  a  wrord  against 
Calvin,  or  to  cast  a  stone  at  him, — who  there,  with  Melancthon, 
Zwingli,  Bullinger,  Farel,  Bucer,  and  Peter  Martyr,  raises  his 
countenance  in  prayer  to  heaven  ? 

How  quickly  vanishes  the  scene  which  we  have  described  in 
the  grandeur  of  nature  !  The  smoke  of  the  burning  pile  darkens 
not  the  hills,  which  shine  in  perpetual  beauty :  those  other  times 
have  come,  which  were  then  but  about  to  dawn ;  and  the  Alps, 
in  their  deep  tranquillity,  an  image  of  the  rock  upon  which  our 
faith  is  built,  will  testify  in  the  day  of  promise,  when  the  glad 
message  will  resound  from  all  quarters  of  the  world,  that  the 
pure  Gospel  has  conquered,  that  the  heathen  have  come  in,  and 
that  catholic  and  protestant  are  known  no  more  in  the  apostolic 
community,  because  the  truth  has  loosened  all  the  fetters  of  the 
mind.  But  here,  on  the  spot  where  Servetus  died,  must  the 
disciples  of  Christ  vow  to  each  other  never  again  to  mar  the  re- 
constructed edifice  of  Christianity  through  their  prejudices  ;  and 
if  these  pure  evangelical  sentiments  find  a  place  in  their  hearts, 
the  citizens  of  Geneva  will  assemble  on  the  27th  of  October,  1853, 
when  three  hundred  years  shall  have  passed  away,  and  will  ascend 
the  summit  of  Champcl,  and  there  erect  a  pillar,  with  this  in- 


232  OPINIONS  ON  SERVETU8.  [CHAP.V. 

scription  :  "  To  all  defenders  of  the  faith,  of  freedom  of  mind,  and 
of  conscience ! " 

But  we  cannot  yet  leave  this  spot.  It  is  but  right  that  we 
should  hear  the  judgement  of  contemporary  witnesses.  Of  these, 
the  most  worthy  are  all  on  the  side  of  Calvin.  Christians  of  that 
age  beheld  in  Servetus  a  manifestation  of  Satan.  The  Swiss 
churches  feared  that  they  might  be  regarded  by  the  whole  world 
as  his  associates  in  the  guilt  of  heresy,  if  they  did  not  loudly 
pronounce  his  condemnation.  They  were  willing  to  exercise  tole- 
ration in  the  case  of  a  Laelius  Socinus.  He  reasoned  only  as  a 
scholar,  and  kept  his  errors  to  himself.  Servetus,  on  the  con- 
trary, had  declared  that  he  would  dissolve  the  protestant  as  well 
as  the  catholic  church.  This  difficult  subject  has  always  been 
eagerly  debated :  it  became  at  length  matter  of  public  contro- 
versy between  Mosheim  and  Armand  de  la  Chapelle*.  But  it 
is  not  the  judgement  of  modern  times — it  is  that  of  Calvin's  con- 
temporaries,— which  really  decides  the  case.  He  was  the  man  of 
the  age :  the  best  minds  therefore  were  for  him.  It  has  been 
already  stated  how  Bucer  expressed  himself  in  the  pulpit,  de- 
claring that  Servetus  deserved  to  be  torn  in  pieces  f.  But  the 
most  remarkable  testimony  remains  still  to  be  mentioned ;  it  is 
that  of  the  mild  and  amiable  Melancthon,  who,  advanced  in 
years  and  free  from  passion,  judged  calmly  and  thoughtfully. 
"  Honoured  man,  and  most  beloved  brother/'  he  writes  to  Calvin, 
"  I  have  read  your  letter,  in  which  you  excellently  confute  the 
horrible  blasphemy  of  Servetus;  and  I  thank  the  Son  of  God, 
who  has  been  the  umpire  and  the  director  of  your  conflict.  The 
church  of  Christ  will  also,  both  now  and  in  all  future  times,  own 
its  gratitude  to  you.  I  am  wholly  of  your  opinion,  and  declare 
also  that  your  magistrates,  the  entire  proceedings  having  been 
conducted  according  to  law,  acted  quite  justly  in  condemning 
the  blasphemer  to  death  J." 

Melancthon,  whose  opinion  represented  that  of  the  times, 
judged  Servetus  even  more  severely  than  Calvin,  and  undertook 
the  defence  of  the  council  when  the  offender  suffered  in  the 
flames.  It  is  therefore  a  gross  error  still  to  complain  of  Cal- 
vin, when,  if  he  be  viewed  according  to  the  sentiments  of  the 
age,  his  proceedings  were  marked  by  moderation. 

*  Mosheim,  pp.  2,  14,  270-6.  Arm.  de  la  Chapelle :  in  Biblioth.  Rais.  t.  ii. 
pt.  i.  p.  169.  t  Ep.  ad  Sulcer. 

X  Ed.  Laus.  Ep.  187.  Ed.  Amst.  p.  92.  Oct.  14,  1554. 


A.D.  1553.]  OPINIONS  ON  SERVETUS.  233 

Again,  Melancthon,  speaking  to  Bullinger  on  the  same  subject, 
says*,  "  I  have  read  what  you  have  written  respecting  Servetus, 
and  applaud  your  piety  and  your  conclusions.  I  agree  with  you, 
that  the  Genevese  council  was  right  in  getting  rid  of  so  hardened 
a  man,  who  would  never  have  ceased  to  blaspheme.  It  has  often 
been  cause  of  surprise  to  me,  that  there  are  men  who  can  find 
fault  with  the  severity  which  has  been  exercised.  I  send  you  a 
few  leaves  in  which  I  have  stated  my  opinion."  He  also  gave 
his  judgement  still  more  distinctly,  in  writing,  on  the  sentence 
of  Servetus,  when  it  had  been  put  in  execution f.  No  one  could 
be  more  decided  as  to  the  punishment  of  heretics :  thus  he  was 
especially  indignant  against  the  rationalist,  Theobald  Thamer  J. 

In  the  year  1557  there  appeared  at  Wittenberg  a  pamphlet, 
warning  people  particularly  against  the  errors  of  this  man.  It 
appears  to  have  been  written  by  Melancthon.  The  author  calls 
upon  the  magistrates  to  prevent  the  spread  of  blasphemous  opi- 
nions, and  represents  the  proceeding  against  Servetus  as  well 
deserving  imitation.  He  says  of  his  execution,  "  that  it  afforded 
a  pious  and  memorable  example  for  all  posterity."  Calvin  was 
therefore  justified  in  appealing,  at  a  subsequent  period,  to  the 
opinion  of  Melancthon. 

The  sentiments  of  Zwingli,  and  those  also  of  CEcolampadius, 
have  been  already  given.  Bullinger  distinctly  called  upon  Cal- 
vin to  punish  Servetus  as  a  heretic.  When  Calvin  wrote  to  him 
to  say,  that  the  report  of  the  trial  was  to  be  sent  to  Zurich,  Bul- 
linger answered,  on  the  14th  of  September  §,  in  the  letter  already 
quoted,  "  If  your  council  would  but  proceed  against  this  wretched 
man  according  to  his  deserts,  the  whole  world  would  then  see 
that  blasphemers  are  hated  in  Geneva,  and  that  people  know 
there  how  to  punish  obstinate  heretics  with  the  sword  of  righte- 
ousness, to  the  honour  of  the  divine  majesty."  Bullinger  also 
expressed  at  a  later  period,  in  a  letter  to  the  Poles  ||,  his  horror 
of  Servetus  : — "  My  soul  shudders  whenever  I  think  of  his  here- 
sies and  blasphemies ;  I  am  convinced  that,  if  Satan  were  to  come 
from  hell,  and  were  to  proclaim  his  doctrines,  according  to  his 
own  taste,  he  would  use  many  of  the  expressions  employed  by 
the  Spaniard  Servetus."  Subsequently  to  this  also,  and  when 
Calvin  was  beset  by  opponents,  he  says^f,  alluding  to  his  work 

*  Ed.  L.  Ep.  214.  Ed.  Amst.  p,  108.  Aug.  20,  1555. 

t  See  Christ.  Pezel.  Concilia,  &c,  Melancthon,  2,  p.  223. 

\  Ncander.  Theob.  Thamer,  p.  50-52. 

§  Ed.  Laus.  Ep.  162.  Ed.  Amst.  p.  78. 

||  Epist.  Ref.  Helvet.  p.  371.  IF  Epist.  173.  Hess.  t.  ii.  8.85. 


234  OPINIONS  ON  SERVETUS.  [CHAP.  V. 

on  the  punishment  of  heretics,  "  I  know  that  many  have  wished 
that  you  had  not  defended  this  principle ;  but  many  also  thank 
you,  and  among  others  our  church.  Urbanus  Regius  has  long 
ago  proved,  in  a  work  of  his  own,  and  all  the  ministers  of  Lune- 
berg  agree  with  him,  that  heretics,  when  they  are  blasphemers, 
ought  to  be  punished.  There  are  also  many  other  pious  men 
who  think  the  same,  and  consider  that  such  offenders  ought  not 
only  to  be  silenced,  but  to  be  put  to  death.  Do  not  repent 
therefore  of  what  you  have  done :  the  Lord  will  uphold  your 
righteous  efforts.  I  know  that  your  disposition  is  not  cruel,  and 
that  you  will  favour  no  barbarity.  Who  knows  not,  that  a 
boundary  must  be  set  to  things  of  this  kind  ?  But  how  it  could 
be  possible  to  spare  such  a  man  as  Servetus,  that  sei-pent  of  all 
heresies,  that  most  obdurate  of  men,  I  see  not." 

Nothing  need  be  said  of  Beza  and  Viret.  Martin  Chemnits 
is  equally  severe  against  Servetus.  The  benevolent  Musculus 
uses  these  characteristic  words :  "I  am  horrified  at  such  infa- 
mous and  godless  principles !  May  the  Lord  chastise  this  devil, 
and  keep  his  church  for  us  in  safety  and  purity  of  doctrine*/' 

Three  years  after  the  death  of  Servetus,  we  read  the  following 
judgement,  given  by  Peter  Martyr  t  :  "  I  have  nothing  to  say  of 
him,  except  that  he  was  the  very  son  of  the  devil,  whose  pesti- 
lential and  frightful  doctrine  should  be  everywhere  hunted  down ; 
and  that  the  magistrate  who  condemned  him  to  death  is  not  to 
be  blamed,  seeing  that  he  gave  no  sign  of  improvement,  and  that 
his  blasphemies  were  beyond  endurance." 

We  have  seen  how  sternly  Farel  decided  the  question  J.  He 
adds,  that  all  who  favoured  the  anabaptists  wished  heretics  to 
be  allowed  to  escape.  "  Having  read  how  Paul  expressed  his 
willingness  to  die,  if  he  deserved  it,  I  have  often  myself  felt  pre- 
pared to  die,  if  I  could  be  charged  with  having  taught  false  doc- 
trine, and  have  owned,  that  I  should  be  worthy  of  every  punish- 
ment if  I  enticed  any  one  from  the  faith  and  knowledge  of 
Jesus  Christ ;  and  I  cannot  pass  on  others  a  different  sentence 
to  that  which  I  should  pass  upon  myself."  Supported  by  such 
testimony,  Calvin  might  properly,  in  his  controversy  with  Bern, 
declare,  "  that  the  severity  exercised  against  Servetus  was  uni- 
versally approved  §." 

*  Hess.  Leb.  Bull.  t.  ii.  s.  83,95. 

f  Ep.  ad  Dorainos  Polonos  Evangelium  profitentes  et  Eccles.  Ministros. 
Argent.  Feb.  14,  155G.     After  his  Loci,  Com.  Tigur.  1587. 

%  Calv.  Sept.  8,  1553.  §  MS.  Gen.  Mai.  4,  1555. 


A.D.  1553.]  LUTHER  ON  TOLERATION.  235 

How  strong  the  impression  was  respecting  the  blasphemy  of 
Servetus,  and  how  great  a  detestation  of  his  name  prevailed  long 
after  his  death,  appears  from  the  judicial  proceedings  instituted 
against  those  who  spoke  in  favour  of  his  doctrine. 

All  the  witnesses,  to  which  we  have  thus  appealed,  give  a  clear 
and  open  testimony.  There  are  others  who  take  part  against 
Calvin,  but  not  fairly  and  openly* :  against  these  it  is  a  duty  to 
protest.  Among  modern  writers,  Trechsel,  to  whose  sound 
judgement  we  have  before  alluded,  and  Leot,  expressly  declare 
themselves  in  favour  of  Calvin's  conduct.  Hase,  in  his  Church 
History},  still  speaks  of  "a  dark  deed." 

After  this  hearing  of  witnesses,  we  turn  our  attention  for 
awhile  to  the  spirit  which  now  animated  the  Lutheran  church ; 
and  we  shall  show,  that  the  "Reformed"  were  not  more  intolerant 
than  the  Lutherans.  The  anabaptists  were  the  only  people  at 
this  period  who  denied  to  the  magistrate  the  right  of  using  the 
sword.  We  have  still  to  mourn  over  two  executions,  those  of 
Krell  and  Gunther. 

Protestant  churches  in  later  times  have  vied  with  each  other  in 
the  defence  of  toleration  §.  The  reformers  themselves  varied  in 
their  views  on  the  subject.  Luther,  like  Calvin,  spoke  sometimes 
for  and  sometimes  against  the  principle  of  toleration ;  till  at  length 
the  old  spirit  of  stern  severity  prevailed  in  them,  and  the  churches 
adopted  their  views.  Noble  are  the  expressions  of  Luther  in 
favour  of  toleration,  in  his  work  on  the  power  of  the  civil  ma- 
gistrate, written  in  1523,  when  his  translation  of  the  New  Tes- 
tament was  proscribed.  u  God  will  suffer  no  one  to  rule  over 
souls,  but  himself  alone."  And  in  his  treatise  against  the  ana- 
baptists (1528),  he  says,  "It  is  not  right  that  such  wretched 
people  should  be  murdered,  burnt,  and  barbarously  destroyed. 
Far  better  it  would  be  to  let  every  one  believe  what  he  will ;  let 
the  Scriptures,  let  God's  word  be  appealed  to  ;  little  can  be 
clone  by  the  flames ;  were  it  otherwise,  hangmen  would  be  the 
most  learned  of  doctors."  The  same  good  feeling  is  expressed 
in  the  Concordian-formularies.  But  notwithstanding,  we  see  by 
what  an  intolerant  disposition  Luther  was  governed  in  his  con- 
duct towards  the  Sacramentarians.  The  consequence  to  his 
church  was,  that  the  Reformed  regarded  it  as  their  bitterest  foe. 
It  is  an  error  to  suppose,  that  Calvin  was  opposed  to  all  frcc- 

*  The  author  here  particularly  alludes  to  Heir  Galiffe  of  Geueva. 
f  Allgera.  Gesch.  t.  iii.  s.  219.  J  S.  4G1. 

§  Bibl.  Angl.  t.  ii.  p.  76. 


236  INTOLERANCE  OF  REFORMERS.  [CIIAP.  V. 

dom  of  opinion :  he  was  intolerant  only  against  blasphemy,  and 
what  was  wilfully  designed  for  the  destruction  of  the  faith.     In 
his  treatise  against  the  Council  of  Trent,  he  insists  upon  freedom 
of  opinion  against  the  pretensions  of  the  catholic  church ;  but, 
on  the  other  hand^  he  speaks  against  toleration  in  that  part  of  his 
work  in  which  he  justifies  the  punishment  of  heretics,  and  par- 
ticularizes the  doctrines,  the  preaching  of  which  ought  to  be 
punished  with  death.     Still  there  are  fine  passages  in  all  the 
editions  of  the  Institutes  in  behalf  of  this  virtue.    Even  his  con- 
duct toward  Servetus  proves,  that  he  was  not  intolerant  against 
those  who  merely  differed  in  opinion  from  himself:  he  only  de- 
sired that  they  should  not  openly  oppose  the  recognized  doctrines 
as  reformers.     Bullinger  spoke  in  this  manner  respecting  Soci- 
nus:  (<  I  repressed  his  petulant  curiosity  as  much  as  possible; " 
but  when  Socinus  became  the  assailant,  Bullinger  used  strong 
words,  and  in  the  same  sense  as  Calvin*.     Luther  considered 
it  very  dangerous  to  allow  the  principle  of  intolerance  to  be- 
come general,  but  still  he  wished  obstinate  heretics  to  be  pu- 
nished f.     He  was  not  true  therefore  to  his  early  sentiments. 
The  anabaptists  were  put  to  death  in  Saxony,  as  everywhere 
else.     Luther  also  stated  it  as  his  opinion  to  Philip  of  Hesse, 
that  it  was  lawful  to  inflict  capital  punishment  on  heretics ;  and 
this  opinion  was  subscribed  by  Melancthon,  Bugenhagen  and 
Cruciger.     He  urges  them  to  pursue  this  course  in  the  case  of 
such  as  deny  that  Christ  is  Godf. 

It  seems  evident  therefore  that  Luther  would  have  formed  the 
same  judgement  on  the  case  of  Servetus  as  Calvin.  To  an  in- 
quiry of  the  Wittenberg  theologians,  "  whether  it  was  lawful  to 
punish  anabaptists  with  the  sword/'  we  find  his  assent  written  in 
his  own  hand,  "placet  mihi  Luthero"§.  So  we  also  read,  "Where- 
ever  they  are  found  to  be  the  authors,  or  receivers,  and  have  for- 
bidden articles,  they  may  be  capitally  punished,  as  those  who 
have  instituted  conventicles,  against  the  mandates  which  have 
been  publicly  issued." 

This  variation  in  Luther's  views,  and  his  intolerant  conduct 
toward  the  Sacramentarians,  had  so  injurious  an  effect,  that  im- 
mediately after  his  death,  a  bitter  hostility  was  excited  against 
the  "Reformed."  About  seven  years  after  his  decease,  the  mem- 

*  Hess.  Leben  Bullingers,  t.  ii.  s.  86. 

f  Dc  Wette,  t.  iii.  s.  347  ;  and  for  the  other  view,  see  Comm.  Luth.  in  Ps.  71. 
X  Luther's  Wcrke  :  Altenburg,  t.  v.  s.  286,  and  a  longer  passage  in  the  Ger- 
man exposition  of  Psalm  82,  v.  4. 

§  Heidelberger  Universitatsbibliothek,  cod.  435,  bl.  33. 


A.D.  1553.]  PERSECUTION  OF  KRELL.  237 

bers  of  the  English  reformed  church  in  London,  consisting 
mostly  of  Germans  and  Netherlander,  sought  refuge  in  Ham- 
burgh and  Denmark.  Their  flight  had  taken  place  in  the  winter, 
but  they  were  forcibly  driven  from  the  shelter  which  they  be- 
sought, because  they  differed  from  the  Lutheran  church  on  the 
subject  of  Christ's  presence  in  the  sacrament.  It  is  universally 
known,  that  the  clamour  against  the  Crypto-Calvinists  was 
continued  into  the  seventeenth  century.  Not  less  generally 
known  are  the  proceedings  against  Nicolaus  Krell,  a  doctor,  and 
chancellor  to  the  elector  Christian  I.  of  Saxony.  On  the  death 
of  this  prince,  Krell  was  apprehended  as  a  criminal,  under  the 
pretence  that  he  had  endeavoured  to  introduce  Calvinism  into 
Saxony.  This  event  occurred  on  the  23rd  of  October,  1591,  and 
after  ten  years'  imprisonment  the  unfortunate  ex-chancellor  was 
beheaded  in  the  Judenhof  at  Dresden*. 

This  melancholy  occurrence,  though  less  known,  is  far  more 
lamentable,  considering  all  the  circumstances  of  the  case,  than 
the  affair  of  Servetus  at  Geneva.     Krell  was  merely  accused  of 
having  diffused  the  so-named  Calvinistic  errors,  and  certainly  not 
of  having  desired  to  overthrow  the  church.     Other  communities 
were  not  asked  to  state  their  views  on  the  question  of  his  guilt, 
and  nothing  was  proved  against  him.     Not  a  word  was  said  of 
his  having  blasphemed :  on  the  contrary,  he  died  as  a  pious 
Christian ;  and  it  would  be  difficult  to  explain,  why  he  was  not 
kept  as  a  prisoner  at  Konigstein,  if  he  was  really  feared.     The 
elector  Christian  was  very  favourable  to  the  doctrines  of  the 
*  Reformed/'  took  the  part  of  the  king  of  Navarre,  and  sent 
troops  to  France.    Krell  was  so  greatly  esteemed  by  his  master, 
that  the  latter  entrusted  to  him  the  guardianship  of  his  children  : 
but  he  was  hated  by  the  nobility.    Both  he  and  the  elector  were 
anxious  to  soften  the  spirit  of  Lutheranism ;  the  first  ministers 
of  the  country  agreed  with  them,  and  in  1591   the  practice  of 
exorcism  at  baptism  was  suppressed.     The  elector's  confessor 
published  a  Bible,  with  annotations,  which  was  ascribed  to  Krell. 
The  hostility  against  him  increased  more  and  more  :  immediately 
after  Christian's  death  it  broke  forth.     Four  weeks  only  had 
elapsed  when  he  was  apprehended,  and  four  clergymen  with  him. 
The  country  was  placed  under  a  regent,  duke  Frederic.     At  his 
command,  and  by  the  consent  of  the  states,  the  trial  was  com- 
menced, and  Krell  was  unrighteously  accused  of  numerous  of- 
fences.    It  is  evident  from  his  history,  that  he  was  condemned 
*  Leben,  Schicksa),  Ende  des  Dr.  N.  Krell.   Leipzig,  1798. 


238  TRIAL  OP  KRELL.  [CHAP.  V. 

illegally  and  unheard.  He  admitted  not  a  single  point  of  the 
accusation,  but  the  judges  were  expressly  instructed  not  to  hear 
his  defence.  On  the  5th  of  October,  1601,  he  was  brought  from 
Konigstein  to  Dresden,  as  strictly  guarded  as  if  he  had  been 
one  of  the  most  dreaded  of  criminals.  Having  partaken  of  the 
sacrament,  he  was  carried,  on  account  of  his  weakness,  to  the 
court  of  justice  on  a  chair.  The  sentence  purported,  "  that  he 
had  employed  body  and  life  against  the  peace  of  the  land,  and 
to  the  ruin  of  its  tranquillity  and  union ;  that  he  must  therefore 
die." 

During  the  reading  of  the  sentence,  Krell  exclaimed  to  the 
judge  :  "  Cease,  and  hear  my  answer  :  listen,  whether  I  acknow- 
ledge these  crimes,  before  you  execute  me!"  But  the  judge 
broke  the  staff  before  the  sentence  was  half-finished.  "  I  confess 
not  one  point  of  that  which  is  laid  to  my  charge,"  continued  Krell. 
"  Where  are  my  accusers  ?  Where  are  the  witnesses  ?  Shall  the 
contrary  proof  of  my  innocence  avail  nothing  ?  "  It  was  an- 
swered, that  that  was  not  the  time  for  disputation.  "  I  can  tes- 
tify," rejoined  Krell,  "  before  God  and  my  conscience,  that  I  am 
innocent  of  all  these  things."  The  judges  rose,  expressed  their 
indignation,  and  were  joined  by  the  people.  Krell  now  saw  that 
they  had  resolved  on  his  death ;  and  bowing  his  head,  with  his 
hands  raised  to  heaven,  he  said,  "  Well  then,  in  the  name  of  God, 
let  the  will  of  the  elector  of  Saxony  be  done !  May  God  have 
mercy  !  I  perish  innocently.  I  am  indeed  a  poor  sinner,  but 
I  have  never  committed  the  evil  deeds  here  laid  to  my  charge : 
my  accusers  must  answer  it  at  the  last  day." 

It  was  eleven  o'clock  when  he  was  carried  forth,  still  resting 
on  a  chair,  to  the  place  of  execution,  the  Judenhof.  He  prayed, 
in  the  meantime,  devoutly  and  with  a  loud  voice.  A  large  mul- 
titude followed  him  and  bewailed  his  fate.  The  widow  of  the 
elector  Christian  had  taken  her  position,  with  some  ladies  of  the 
court,  in  the  gallery  of  the  new  mews,  whence  the  execution  might 
be  conveniently  seen.  That  she  might  be  near  the  spot  where 
the  drama  was  to  be  performed,  the  scaffold  which,  some  clays 
before,  had  been  erected  at  a  little  distance  from  the  mews,  was, 
by  her  command,  broken  up,  and  reconstructed  close  to  the 
gallery. 

Krell  was  now  brought  to  the  place  where  he  was  to  end  his 
life.  At  the  sight  of  the  scaffold,  his  ordinary  resolution  forsook 
him,  and  he  fell  into  a  swoon,  from  which  he  was  only  recovered 
by  the  use  of  stimulants.     As  soon  as  he  revived,  he  was  taken 


A.D.  1554.]  EXECUTION  OF  KRELL.  239 

from  the  chair  on  which  he  had  been  brought,  and  was  placed 
on  another  without  a  back.  The  Christianity  of  the  man  was 
now  well-exhibited :  he  prayed  all  those  whom  he  had  in  any 
way  injured  to  forgive  him  ;  he  prayed  also  for  the  emperor,  the 
elector,  and  for  his  enemies,  concluding  with  these  words:  "Lord 
God,  Thou  who  hast  created  me ;  Lord,  Son  of  God,  who  hast 
redeemed  me  ;  Lord,  Holy  Ghost,  who  hast  sanctified  me  !  today 
I  render  back  the  pledge  wherewith  Thou  hast  entrusted  me !" 
While  he  was  thus  praying,  the  executioner  stripped  the  upper 
part  of  his  body,  and  asked  him  if  he  had  prepared  himself 
for  death.  Krell  answered  nobly  in  the  affirmative.  His  hands 
were  then  bound,  his  arms  having  been  drawn  behind  him  and 
fastened  with  straps  and  buckles.  He  was  now  allowed  to  sit 
for  a  little  while.  Expecting  the  stroke,  he  made  a  strong  effort, 
and  raised  his  head  :  an  attendant  pressed  it  down  again.  The 
executioner  now  coming  behind  him  tore  away  some  braids 
which  hindered  his  operations,  and  levelled  his  weapon  at  the 
martyr.  The  moment  after  he  took  up  the  head,  and  showing 
it  to  the  people,  exclaimed  jestingly,  u  Krell,  how  liked  you  the 
Calvinistic  stroke  ?  O  how  many  strange  things  there  were  in 
this  head !  There  are  many  more  such  in  this  crowd.  I  think 
some  of  these  people  must  still  fall  into  my  grasp." 

On  the  following  day  the  dead  body  was  carried,  accompanied 
by  a  procession  of  the  clergy  and  schools,  and  with  singing,  to 
the  Frauenkirche.  There  the  confessor  Blume  delivered  a 
funeral  discourse,  which  appears  to  have  been  harsh  and  severe. 
The  body  was  then  buried  in  the  churchyard.  The  sword  by 
which  he  was  beheaded  is  still  shown  in  the  armoury  at  Dresden. 
On  one  side  is  the  following  inscription  :  "  Conradin  Pols  ;"  and 
"  Cave  Calvinianae.  D.  N.  C."  (Dominus  Nicolaus  Crell).  The 
latter  was  the  name  of  this  martyr  of  Calvinistic  doctrine;  the 
former,  that  of  the  executioner. 

There  is  still  another  occurrence  of  a  similar,  but  yet  more 
striking,  character  to  be  mentioned,  as  connected  with  the  later 
history  of  the  Lutheran  church.  We  refer  to  the  execution  of 
Gunther,  who,  like  Scrvetus,  opposed  the  doctrine  of  the  Trinity, 
and  whose  last  words  sounded  like  those  of  the  Spaniard. 
Krell's  fate  might,  in  some  degree,  be  connected  with  political 
motives ;  but  such  could  not  be  the  case  with  that  of  the  man 
whose  execution  took  place  in  October,  1GS7,  and  which  was 
purely  the  result  of  fanaticism  and  the  dread  of  schism.     The 


240  OPINIONS  ON  TOLERATION.  [CHAP.  V, 

superintendent  Petersen,  in  Lunebcrg,  has  given  an  account  of 
this  event*. 

It  is  refreshing  and  encouraging  to  see  how,  in  many  parts  of 
Italy  and  France,  the  minds  of  men  were  awaking  out  of  slumber, 
and  preparing  to  declare  themselves  on  the  side  of  freedom 
and  inquiry ;  some  indeed  with  an  intelligence  which  we  could 
not  wish  to  see  excelled  even  in  the  present  age.  It  was  the 
dawn  of  a  new  civilization.  An  actual  revolt  against  the  council 
at  Geneva  appeared  in  the  writings  and  poems  of  the  day. 
People  declared  that  a  new  inquisition  was  established ;  that  if 
Christ  himself  came  to  Geneva,  he  would  be  crucified ;  and  that 
there  was  now  a  pope  in  that  city  as  well  as  at  Rome.  Bolsec 
published  in  the  Pays  de  Vaud  the  most  insulting  slanders  f. 
The  preachers  at  Geneva  in  the  meantime  raged  against  the 
name  of  Servetus,  and  again  condemned  him.  Thus  it  was 
natural  that  the  question  should  be  anxiously  asked,  whether 
heretics,  and  if  any,  what  class  of  heretics,  ought  to  be  punished 
with  loss  of  life  ?  It  is  plain,  as  Luther  strongly  intimated, 
that  if  the  principle  of  intolerance  was  once  allowed,  the  catholics 
would  want  no  pretence  to  annihilate  the  protestants.  But 
while  some  insisted  upon  the  necessity  of  bridling  the  teachers 
of  false  doctrine,  others  were  equally  anxious  for  entire  freedom. 
Beza,  in  his  Life  of  Calvin,  expressed  it  as  his  opinion,  that 
Castellio  and  Socinus  were  the  first  among  those  who  contended 
for  liberty  of  conscience.  Castellio  uttered  bold  sentiments  on 
the  subject,  in  the  preface  to  his  translation  of  the  Scrip- 
tures, which  concealed  others.  Many  persons  declared  them- 
selves scholars  of  Servetus,  without  the  least  knowledge  of  his 
doctrines. 

Calvin  would  probably  have  despised  this  noisy  abuse,  as  he 
did  so  many  other  attacks ;  but  it  so  increased,  that  Bullinger 
advised  him  to  defend  the  opinion,  that  it  is  the  duty  of  ma- 
gistrates to  punish  false  teachers  J.  This  was  a  remarkable  step. 
Calvin  found  himself  indeed  in  a  perplexing  situation.  The 
principle  was  not  yet  settled  as  to  the  means  which  should  be 
employed  to  secure  the  unity  of  the  church ;  and  the  case  of 

*  See  Leben  Wilhelm  Petersens,  doctor  und  superintendant  zu  Hannover 
urid  Liineberg,  s.  66.     Also  Arnold's  Ketser-historie,  t.  ii.  s.  434. 

t  He  sung,  as  he  went  about,  a  song  full  of  infamous  expressions  against 
Calvin.  Trechsel  has  given  a  poem  against  him,  written  by  C'amillus  Renatus 
Rhetus.     There  were  some  however  in  his  favour.     Mosheira,  8.  276. 

I  Ilesponsio  ad  Bald.  Couvitia. 


A.D.   1554.]  DEFENCE  OF  TOLERATION.  241 


Servetus  was  used  against  him.  Calvin  composed  accordingly, 
in  the  same  year,  the  often-cited  work,  written  in  French, 
against  Servetus, — a  defence,  which  only  served  to  excite  a  still 
larger  number  of  antagonists.  When  Calvin  was  silent,  Bcza 
entered  upon  the  controversy,  and  produced  a  well  and  carefully 
written  treatise. 

Calvin  began  by  showing,  that  the  civil  power  ought  to  bear 
with  the  erring,  but  to  restrain  incorrigible  heretics  and  blas- 
phemers with  the  sword.  He  supported  his  assertion  by  an  appeal 
to  the  law  of  God*.  It  is  worthy  of  remark,  that  Servetus,  so 
passionately  in  love  with  liberty, entirely  assented  to  the  principle 
thus  asserted  by  Calvin.  Even  according  to  his  own  views, 
obstinate  heretics  ought  to  be  punished  with  loss  of  life,  and  not 
merely  with  banishment  f.  In  the  second  place  follows  the 
proof,  that  Servetus  was  really  the  heretic  stated,  and  deserving 
of  the  punishment  which  he  received.  The  argument  to  this 
effect  is  drawn  from  his  own  history,  from  his  whole  corre- 
spondence with  Calvin,  from  his  trial  and  examination,  and 
lastly  from  his  works,  the  errors  contained  in  which  are  con- 
futed. This  was  no  private  undertaking;  it  was  subscribed  by 
all  the  Genevese  preachers,  fifteen  in  number. 

On  the  whole,  this  work  obtained  considerable  praise.  Some 
however,  and  Musculus  among  others,  were  not  satisfied  with 
the  design,  and  Bullinger  considered  it  too  short  for  the  depth 
and  obscurity  of  the  subject  J.  How  Calvin  himself  judged  of 
the  work  appears  from  the  following  expressions  :  fk  This  little 
book  is  very  brief,  and  stormily  written,  but  it  is  better  than 
nothing §."  So  also,  in  an  answer  to  Bullinger's  criticism,  he 
says  ||,  "I  have  particularly  endeavoured  to  prevent  the  brevity 
of  this  work  from  increasing  the  obscurity  of  the  subject,  but 
I  have  not  been  able  altogether  to  avoid  it.     My  plan  of  itself 

*  See  this  remarkable  passage.  Ed.  Amst.  Opusc.  p.  516.  a.  Ed.  Gen. 
p.  599-  a. 

t  Christ.  Restit.  p.  656,  Ep.  28.  "  Illutl  verum  est,  quod  correctione  non 
expectata  Ananiam  ct  Sapp.  oceidit  Petrus;  quia  SpiritU9  Sanctus  tunc 
maxime  vigens,  quern  spreverant,  doccbat  esse  incorrigibiles,  in  malitia  obs- 
tinatos.  lloc  crimen  est  morte  simpliciter  dignum,  et  apud  Deura  ct  apud 
homincm.  In  aliis  autem  criminibus,  ubi  Spirit  us  Sanctus  speciale  quid  non 
docet,  ibi  non  est  inveterata  malitia  aut  obstinatio  certa  non  appafet,  aut 
atrocitas  magna,  correctionem  per  alias  castigationes  sperare  potius  debemus, 
quam  mortem  inferre.  Inter  correctiones  exilium  laudamus  Christo  ita  pro- 
batum,  ut  excommunicato  probatur  in  ecclesia." 

t  Hess,  Leben  Bullingera,  t.  ii.  s.  95. 

§  Ed.  Laus.  p.  171.     Ed.  Amst.  p.  24  1. 

||  April  29,  1554.     The  autograph  is  at  Zurich. 

VOL.   II.  R 


242  DEFENCE  OF  TOLERATION.  [CHAP.  V. 

constrained  me,  from  various  causes,  to  write  with  as  much 
simplicity  as  possible.  It  was  my  whole  object  to  make  plain  and 
unlearned  people  easily  understand  the  contemptible  character 
of  the  Spaniard.  I  shall  be  well-satisfied  however  with  the 
reward  of  my  labour,  if  it  be  only  allowed  that  I  have,  with  true 
faith  and  honest  zeal,  defended  the  right  doctrine.  You  will,  I 
doubt  not,  from  love  to  me,  and  from  your  own  just  and  pure 
spirit,  judge  of  me  with  kindness.  Others  pursue  me  with 
harshness,  as  if  I  were  a  teacher  of  the  most  horrible  cruelty  ; 
and  as  if  I  still  wished,  by  means  of  my  writings,  to  tear  a  dead 
man  to  pieces,  a  man  who  perished  by  my  hands.  But  there  are 
some,  who  have  no  evil  will  against  me,  and  who  yet  wish  that 
I  had  not  written  this  book  on  the  punishment  of  heretics. 
They  think  that  others  have  been  silent  simply  to  avoid  being 
hated*.  But  it  is  my  good  luck  to  have  you  for  a  partner  in 
my  offence,  if  an  offence  it  be ;  for  you  in  fact  are  the  instigator 
and  author  of  the  undertaking.  Be  prepared  therefore  for  the 
strife." 

Three  voices  were  now  distinctly,  in  three  different  works, 
raised  in  behalf  of  freedom  of  conscience.  The  productions 
alluded  to  were,  that  of  the  pseudo  Martinus  Bellius  ;  the  i  Dia- 
logi  inter  Calvin um  et  Vaticanum ;'  and  the  noble  work  of  Minus 
Celsus,  a  reformed  Italian  nobleman,  whose  milder  tone  breathes 
entirely  of  the  pure  spirit  of  the  Gospelf.  He  had  been  obliged 
to  flee  his  native  land,  and  was  very  much  shocked  to  find  at 
Graublinden,  the  common  rendezvous  of  the  dissenters  of  that 
period,  instead  of  the  hoped-for  harmony,  nothing  but  strife  and 
division,  and  even  the  hated  rule  of  persecution.  As  soon  as 
he  was  made  acquainted  with  the  death  of  Servetus,  and  had 
heard  many  eye-witnesses  speak  of  his  fortitude,  and  express 
their  conviction  that  a  man  could  not  die  as  he  did  without  the 
spirit  of  God, — when  he  found  that  these  people  regarded  the 
heretic  as  a  martyr,  and  fell  from  their  orthodox  professions,  be- 
cause they  were  thus  led  to  look  on  heresy  as  truth, — he  resumed 
a  treatise,  which  he  had  begun  some  time  before,  and  translated 
it  into  Latin,  just  as  Calvin's  own  work  made  its  appearance. 
Celsus  died,  and  it  was  not  till  after  twenty  years  that  his  ex- 
cellent work  was  printed.     It  is  conceived  in  a  true  Christian 

*  This  may  possibly  refer  to  Bullinger  himself,  who  urged  Calvin  to  under- 
take the  task,  instead  of  doing  it  on  his  own  responsibility. 

t  Celsus  was  a  native  of  Sienna,  and  was  probably  first  instructed  by  his 
countryman  Ochino. 


A.D.   1554.]  CALVIN    OPPOSED.  243 

spirit,  and  evinces  great  love  for  truth.  The  toleration  which  it 
displays  is  a  lesson  for  all  ages,  and  its  author  was  no  disciple 
of  Servetus.  Heretics,  according  to  him,  should  be  restrained, 
but  not  condemned.  This  was  the  purest  testimony  in  favour 
of  freedom  of  conscience  known  in  those  unsettled  times.  The 
principle  of  toleration  exercised  no  prevailing  influence  in  Ger- 
many till  after  the  thirty  years'  war ;  and  although  the  mighty 
voice  of  De  Thou  was  raised  in  France  against  the  demon  of 
persecution,  especially  in  his  celebrated  preface  to  his  history,  it 
re-echoed  for  the  time  to  no  purpose. 

A  voice  in  favour  of  freedom  was  also  raised  in  Bern  :  it 
was  that  of  a  distinguished  man,  Zur  Kinden*,  the  state-secre- 
tary at  Bern,  and  a  friend  of  Calvin.  He  candidly  expressed 
his  displeasure,  as  did  others,  and  considered,  that  the  first  part 
of  Calvin's  work  ought  to  have  appeared  in  the  name  of  the 
council,  and  that  he  should  not  have  undertaken  individually  to 
support  a  view  which  was  hateful  to  all.  A  characteristic  letter, 
written  by  Calvin  to  this  correspondent  at  a  somewhat  later 
period,  still  exists  :  he  pours  out  to  him  his  afflicted  heart, 
and  declares,  that  although  people  regarded  him  as  implacable, 
there  was  no  man  upon  earth  less  revengeful  than  himself  in  any 
private  cause.  As  for  his  severity  against  the  wicked,  there  was 
this  to  justify  him  :  he  had  prophets  and  apostles  for  his  ex- 
ample. That  he  was  excitable,  he  did  not  deny ;  and  he  endea- 
voured to  correct  the  fault,  lamenting  that  he  did  not  make  so 
much  progress  in  the  effort  as  he  could  wish.  If  however  any  one 
expected  him  to  be  rendered  gentle  and  humane  by  the  hasty 
condemnation  of  his  zeal,  which  was  pious  and  righteous,  as 
God  was  his  best  witness,  he  would  find  it  difficult  to  discover 
others  inclined  to  adopt  the  same  idea. 

Many  of  the  Italian  refugees  now  came  forth,  and  with  ri- 
baldrous  songs  threatened  that  the  spirit  of  Servetus  was  about 
to  re-appear.  The  hatred  against  Calvin  continually  increased  : 
his  name  was  almost  become  a  word  of  reproach.  Two  years 
later  Hotoman  wrote t,  "  People  speak  of  him  here,  in  Basel, 
as  contemptuously  as  in  Paris."  But  the  friends  of  the  reformer 
supported  him  in  his  troubles.  Zanehi  wrote  a  tract  on  the 
Coercion  of  Heretics,  in  1554  :  it  was  in  defence  of  Calvin. 
The  latter  himself  thus  expressed  his  own  present  and  inward 
hope  : — "  It  is  well  that  we  have  a  pilot,  under  whose  protection 

*  He  wrote   to   Calvin,  Feb.  10,  1534,  on    the  subject  referred   to.      I!ii>! 
Gen.  cod.  114.  Trechsel,  s.  2G9.  t  To  Bullinger,  Sept.  '17,  1555. 


244  SYSTEM   OF  SERVETUS.  [CHAP.  V. 

we  may  be  secure  against  shipwreck,  and  that  we  are  not  far 
from  our  haven*."  He  had  even  prepared  to  leave  Geneva. 
Bullinger  wrote  to  him  on  the  subject  during  the  trial  of  Ser- 
vetus f.  "  Forsake  not,  I  beseech  you,  the  flock  which  contains 
so  many  excellent  men.  Think  on  Him,  who  aforetime  said  to 
Paul,  i  Be  not  afraid5  but  speak,  and  hold  not  thy  peace  :  for  I 
am  with  thee,  and  no  man  shall  set  on  thee  to  hurt  thee  :  for  I 
have  much  people  in  this  city.5  You  may  well  suppose  how 
the  enemies  of  the  Gospel  would  rejoice,  and  to  what  perils  you 
would  leave  the  pious  refugees  from  France,  were  you  to  depart. 
Remain  therefore,  and  endure  what  God  appoints  you."  And 
in  another  letter  of  the  12th  of  January,  1554,  he  again  exhorted 
him  to  continue  his  labour  in  the  same  spirit  as  before,  for  that 
God  would  bless  his  work  and  his  earnestness. 

Calvin  had  not  attacked  Servetus  in  the  first  edition  of  his 
Institutes  :  the  Spaniard  had  not  then  become  dangerous  : 
it  is  only  in  the  last  edition  that  mention  is  made  of  him  ; 
but  even  here  the  notice  taken  of  him  is  but  cursory.  We  may 
properly  however  close  the  history  of  Servetus  with  a  com- 
pressed but  systematic  account  of  his  doctrine.  The  chief  dif- 
ficulty in  this  undertaking  arises  from  the  circumstance,  that 
Servetus  remained  to  the  last  immature  in  spirit,  which  at  the 
time  of  the  principal  controversy  had  acquired  no  degree  of 
firmness  or  self-confidence.  If  Calvin  had  quietly  proved  him, 
and  learnt  to  understand  his  nature,  he  would  probably  have 
accused  him  on  very  different  grounds.  His  conscience  cried 
against  him,  but  he  neglected  to  consider  the  volatile  disposition 
of  the  man.  He  regarded  him  only  in  an  ecclesiastical  point  of 
view,  and  was  not  aware  that,  amidst  all  his  failings,  there  was 
something  lofty  and  even  interesting  in  his  being.  Calvin  did 
not  comprehend  his  main  disposition,  the  philosophical  element 
which  predominated  in  him,  but  without  entirely  suppressing 
the  religious  principle.  He  neglected  to  point  out  to  him  the 
contradictions  and  obscurity  which  must  necessarily  spring  from 
such  a  source,  and  when  again  the  religious  element  is  sub- 
jected to  the  power  of  a  fantastic  imagination. 

But  herein  lies  the  secret  of  the  mysticism  which  charac- 
terized Servetus  :  he  rejected  philosophical  reflection,  protested 
against  it  in  the  severest  terms  when  the  doctrine  of  the  Trinity 
was  concerned,  and   insisted  that  people  ought  to  give  them- 

*  Ed.  Laus.  Ep.  171.  Calv.  Bullingero.    Feb.  22,  1554. 
\  Ed.  Laus.  Ep.  157.  Ed.  Arast.  p.  78.     Sept.  14,  1553, 


A.D.  1554.]  SYSTEM   OF  SERVETUS.  245 

selves  wholly  up  to  the  child-like,  living  faith  of  the  first 
apostolic  age.  But  when  the  doctrine  respecting  God,  in  his 
own  system,  became  the  subject  of  debate,  he  then  sought  to 
comprehend  Deity,  gave  the  reins  to  his  fancy,  raised  a  pan- 
theistic structure,  and  objected  to  Calvin  that  he  was  no  philo- 
sopher. Knowledge  indeed,  he  said,  ought  to  be  kept  subor- 
dinate to  the  religious  principle,  but  still  the  latter  is  not  the 
all-prevailing  fundamental  element.  Thus  his  dogmatic  pro- 
positions are  not  absolutely  bound  up,  or  blended,  with  his  main 
philosophical  ideas. 

If  Servetus  had  clearly  comprehended  his  own  system  of  rea- 
soning, or  had  he  fully  wrought  out  his  pantheistic  notion  of 
Deity,  conscious  in  all  things,  Christ  would  probably  have 
become  to  him  the  personal,  self-revealing  God,  and  God  the 
common  substance.  It  is  to  this  that  his  system,  fairly  followed 
up,  would  lead  ;  but  his  religious  feeling  would  not  allow  him 
to  go  so  far.  He  rejected  the  doctrine  of  the  Trinity,  as  esta- 
blished by  the  early  councils,  the  distinctions  of  persons,  the 
union  of  the  divine  and  human  natures  in  Jesus,  the  eternal 
generation  of  Christ,  and  the  procession  of  the  Holy  Ghost, 
without  perceiving  that  the  apostolic  church  distinctly  recog- 
nized these  doctrines,  and  that  the  Nicene,  and  the  so-called 
Athanasian  Creed,  had  their  gradual  and  necessary  origin  in 
the  struggle  against  heretics,  who  understood  not  the  revelation 
of  God. 

According  to  Servetus,  redemption  and  justification,  in  the 
sense  of  the  church,  are  not  at  all  necessary.  God  created  his 
Son  to  reveal  the  mystery  of  the  divine  nature  ;  He  contem- 
plates himself  in  this  his  perfect  image  ;  and  man  contem- 
plates God  in  order  to  raise  and  conform  himself  to  that  image, 
and  again  in  God  to  live,  or  personally  to  cease.  But  this  is 
obscure,  God  being  in  Himself  incomprehensible.  A  living 
knowledge  of  God  can  only  proceed,  according  to  Servetus,  from 
the  historical  Christ,  independent  of  whom  truth  is  but  an 
abstraction.  Thus  the  doctrine  of  Christ  is,  with  him.  the  funda- 
mental, and  the  only  proper,  article  of  faith  belonging  to  the 
apostolic  church.  The  distinction  of  persons  in  the  Godhead 
was  to  him  altogether  unintelligible;  but  he  asserted  that  God 
was  actually  in  Christ  upon  earth,  and  that  Christ  must  be 
honoured  as  God.  AYc  would  fain  view  this  principle  as  the 
groundwork  of  his  system  ;  but  here  we  are  met  with  another 
difficulty.    Servetus  had  no  idea  of  original  sin  :  thus  the  doctrine 


246  SYSTEM  OF  SERVETUS.  [CHAP.  V. 

of  Christ  as  a  Redeemer  was  wanting  in  his  creed.  Hence 
also  he  rejected  infant-baptism  ;  and  man,  in  the  being  of  Christ, 
falls  into  the  background. 

It  has  been  commonly  supposed  that  Servetus  revived  the 
heresies  of  Paul  of  Samosata,  Sabellius  and  Photinus.  But 
that  he  was  far  apart  from  these  three  ancient  heretics,  and 
that  his  peculiarly  constituted  mind  led  him  into  much  greater 
errors,  if  it  did  not  indeed  embrace  those  of  all  the  three,  is 
sufficiently  evident.  He  began  with  placing  himself  above  all 
other  teachers :  he  rejected  Lutherans,  Calvinists,  Catholics, 
and  confined  himself  to  no  one  system  whatever.  "  I  believe," 
he  said,  "that  both  parties  (Protestants  and  Catholics)  have  a 
portion  of  truth  and  a  portion  of  error*/'  True  Christianity, 
according  to  him,  must  finally  triumph  upon  earth,  and  is  supe- 
rior to  all  earlier  systems.  Thus  the  fervours  of  a  living  faith,  to 
which  his  fancy  gave  wings,  are  not  to  be  despised  f.  Servetus 
in  one  respect  agreed  with  the  present  times,  in  which  Catho- 
licism and  protestantism  are  often  viewed  as  only  two  sides  of 
Christianity,  while  a  higher  expression  of  its  doctrine  is  felt  to 
be  still  needed.  How  little  Servetus  thought  himself  a  heretic, 
appears  from  the  fact,  that  he  placed  Paul  of  Samosata  at  the 
head  of  all  who  deserve  that  name  J. 

It  may  be  gathered  from  what  has  been  said,  that  the  relation 
between  knowledge  and  faith  was  necessarily  left  obscure  in  the 
system  of  Servetus.  The  understanding,  and  not  the  Scriptures, 
was  to  him  the  fountain  of  knowledge.  The  understanding  de- 
fines the  being  of  God,  and  the  holy  Scriptures  must  establish 
it.  He  set  little  value  on  tradition.  In  philosophy  he  agreed 
with  Plato,  against  Aristotle.  Plato,  he  thought,  derived  his 
knowledge  from  the  East,  and  from  Anaxagoras,  Parmenides,  &c. 
He  hoped  however  to  stand  higher  himself,  and,  weary  of  the 
philosophy  of  his  times,  he  sought  to  lay  the  foundations  of  a 
better  wisdom.  Against  the  Aristotelian  method  of  reasoning 
he  protested,  as  against  a  common  evil  :  the  Aristotelian  logic, 
and  ignorance  of  Hebrew,  he  regarded  as  the  cause  of  all  the 
errors  which  existed.  Philosophy  however  was  necessary,  and 
he  made  it  the  subject  of  rebuke  to  his  opponent  that  he  was 
unphilosophical.     "  I  have  said  it  with  the  best  intentions,  you 

*  De  Justificat.  c.  iv.  De  Charitate. 

t  His  prayer,  at  the  end  of  his  preface  to  the  '  Restitutio/  may  be  referred 
to  as  an  illustration  of  this  remark. 
J  De  Trinit.  Error,  lib.  vii.  fol.  Ill,  b. 


A.D.  1554.]  SYSTEM   OF  SERVETUS.  247 

are  ignorant  of  the  principles  of  things,  you  dream  of  imaginary 
qualities."  He  lays  down,  in  a  letter  to  Calvin,  a  maxim  re- 
specting the  being  of  God,  which  he  had  derived  solely  from 
reflection  :  it  is,  that  God  must  be  everywhere  present.  But 
still,  he  allowed  himself  to  be  guided  by  Scripture,  and  he  even 
declares,  that  all  is  false  which  is  not  derived  from  that  source. 
In  the  second  development  of  his  system  he  indulged  in  a 
far  more  speculative  course.  His  knowledge  consequently  of 
saving  faith  must,  according  to  these  premises,  have  been  very 
unsatisfactory.  In  the  work  '  De  Fide  et  Justitia/  he  expresses 
himself  more  clearly  than  in  his  early  writings.  The  essence  of 
faith,  with  him,  is  a  certain  confidence,  a  free  movement  of  the 
will,  and  not  a  habit  of  the  heart,  through  which  we  receive 
Christ,  and  thus  become  quickened  by  his  spirit.  This  faith  is 
the  source  of  every  good.  "  You  cannot,"  he  says,  "  believe 
that  Christ  is  in  truth  the  Son  of  God,  that  he  died  for  the 
pardon  of  your  sins,  without  hating  the  sin  for  which  He  suf- 
fered so  much."  Again,  "  This  living  faith  has,  of  necessity, 
hope  and  charity  for  its  companions."  So  too,  all  is  made  to 
rest  upon  the  knowledge  of  Christ.  "  I  have  always  said,  I  say 
it  now,  and  will  continue  to  say,  that  all  Scripture  refers  to  this 
doctrine,  that  Christ  is  the  Son  of  God — Christ  acquires  a  form 
in  us." 

But  this  confession  of  faith  was  only  seemingly  true.  No 
actual  acknowledgment  of  sin,  and  of  condemnation,  was  con- 
nected with  it.  The  law  was  taken  away  through  Christ,  and 
faith  is  represented  as  wonderfully  bestowed  by  Him  on  men, 
but  without  being  grounded  on  the  principle  of  inward  convic- 
tion. The  idea  and  knowledge  of  Christ  form  the  starting- 
point  of  the  system.  Thus,  according  to  Servetus,  the  bright 
form  of  Christ  is  impressed  upon  us,  and  it  is  only  when  this 
takes  place  that  we  become  conscious  of  our  wretchedness. 

Here  we  have  a  direct  perversion  of  the  doctrine  of  the 
Gospel.  To  understand  Servetus,  we  must  recur  to  the  prin- 
ciple, that  it  is  possible  for  us  to  realize  the  idea  of  the  divine 
and  human,  and  to  impress  it  upon  our  souls  as  a  substantial, 
luminous  form.  Thus  the  form  of  Christ  within  us,  as  the  result 
of  the  operation  of  the  spirit  of  Christ,  maturing  our  faith,  and 
impressing  upon  us  the  idea  of  Christ,  is  to  be  regarded  as  the 
grand  object  of  our  inward  contemplation.  In  this  manner  also, 
God  becomes  inwardly  visible  to  the  eye  of  faith  ;  and  believers, 
through  the  image  of  the  Son  of  God  in  their  souls,  are  made 


248  SYSTEM   OF  SERVETUS.  [CHAP.  V. 

partakers  of  the  Lord,  to  which,  in  the  sacrament,  are  added  his 
body,  flesh  and  bones,  for  the  nourishment  of  the  new  man. 

If  we  now  review  the  doctrine  of  the  being  of  God,  Servetus, 
who  pretended  to  solve  the  problem  by  thought  alone,  will  fur- 
nish us  with  less  infallible  rules,  according  to  which  we  may 
comprehend  the  nature  of  the  Most  High.  In  the  first  place, 
the  divine  essence  is  indivisible ;  and,  in  the  second,  that  which 
appears  in  nature  is  but  a  disposition  of  deity.*  Three  persons 
are  inconceivable  to  the  understanding.  To  form  however  such 
a  notion  of  persons,  we  must  look  to  the  dispositions  of  the  indi- 
visible God. 

At  his  first  appearance,  Servetus  opposed  G^colampadius  with 
these  fundamental  principles  of  his  system.  He  asserted,  that 
Christ  had  not  existed  from  eternity,  except  as  the  idea  of  Christ. 
Like  Sabellius,  he  did  not  absolutely  object  to  the  doctrine  of 
three  persons;  but  he  would  not  acknowledge  their  independent 
self-existence ;  he  admitted  it  only  as  so  many  relations,  under 
which  the  divine  essence  appeared.  The  perfections  of  God 
could  not  be  here  spoken  of;  since  his  essence,  like  pure  light, 
disperses  not  itself  in  various  hues.  God,  in  his  entire  fulness 
and  strength,  is  everywhere  present,  and  it  is  not  lawful  for  human 
reason  to  divide  God's  power,  in  order  to  form  various  powers, 
seeing  that  the  ray  of  pure  light,  broken  into  various  colours,  is 
no  longer  the  light  itself.  It  is  inconceivable  how  the  personal- 
ity of  God  should  be  eternally  preserved,  after  it  has  been  dis- 
played in  various  characters. 

We  here  discover  the  source  of  his  fierce  opposition  to  the 
reformers  and  the  catholics,  whose  fundamental  principle  is  a 
holy  belief  in  the  Most  High,in  that  eternal  and  personal  essence, 
which,  altogether  distinct  from  the  world,  created  it  free  and 
separate ;  which  includes  all  perfections  within  itself;  before 
which  all  created  beings  feel  bowed  in  the  sense  of  their  misery 
and  sin ;  and  in  which  there  is  a  necessary  Trinity  and  Unity. 

In  the  last  part  of  the  (  Restitutio '  we  have  the  paper  written 
by  Servetus  against  Melancthon,  who  had  powerfully  assailed 
his  doctrine  in  his  '  Common  Places/  Servetus  thought  that  he 
was  bound  to  treat  Melancthon  like  Calvin  :  he  spoke  of  him 
indeed  as  somewhat  more  reasonable  than  Luther  and  Calvin, 
but  only  in  regard  to  the  doctrine  of  free-will :  in  other  respects 
he  was  as  senseless  as  the  rest.  The  devil  must  have  inspired 
him  with  his  notion  of  personality.  As  Melancthon  called  him 
*  De  Trinit.  Error,  lib.  vii.  f.  118,  a. 


A.D.  1554.]  SYSTEM  OF  SERVETUS.  249 

a  disciple  of  Paul  of  Samosata,  so  he  in  return  styled  Melanc- 
thon  and  Calvin  scholars  of  Simon  Magus;  Augustin  and 
Athanasius  were,  according  to  him,  servants  of  Antichrist.  He 
asserted  that  the  true  doctrine  of  the  Gospel  was  to  be  found  in 
Irenacus  only,  and  in  some  few  others  of  the  ancient  fathers.  On 
the  other  hand,  the  church  had  ceased,  lie  believed,  to  exist  since 
the  council  of  Nicaea,  and  the  publication  of  the  doctrine  of  the 
Trinity.  He  remained  true  to  the  notion  advanced  in  his  first 
work,  that  there  are  no  persons  in  God,  but  dispositions  only, 
— manifestations,  that  is,  of  the  divine  essence.  But  what  such 
manifestations  or  dispositions  are,  or  how  the  one  is  separated  from 
the  other,  or  the  Word  from  the  Spirit,  is  not  stated.  The 
Word,  according  to  him,  is  not  the  voice  of  God,  but  an  oracle, 
an  expression  of  God,  which  appeared  in  the  angels,  whereby 
God  answered  Moses.  At  the  beginning  was  an  expression  of 
God  with  God,  and  this  oracle  was  God  himself.  He  subse- 
quently gave  a  fuller  statement  of  the  doctrine  thus  advanced, 
as  may  be  seen  in  his  account  of  the  creation,  and  of  Christ. 
The  doctrine  of  the  Trinity  was  to  him  Tritheism ;  and  he  de- 
scribed the  eternal  generation  of  the  Son  as  a  vain  and  unholy 
philosophy,  and  the  disfiguring  of  God  by  a  division  into  per- 
sons as  the  greatest  of  blasphemies.  This  is  the  necessary  con- 
sequence of  his  philosophy,  God  being  represented  as  a  simple 
being,  in  whom  Christ  was  not  personally  existing.  To  avoid 
all  difficulties,  therefore,  Servetus  proceeds  from  the  principle, 
that  God,  as  an  almighty  being,  can  adopt  all  forms  to  make 
Himself  manifest.  This  revelation  however  is  not  connected 
with  any  inward  necessity  pertaining  to  the  being  of  God.  Ser- 
vetus merely  supposed,  that  the  Deity  could  not  be  comprehended 
without  this  manifestation  or  revelation.  In  this  respect  his 
views  were  very  different  to  those  of  later  theorists,  who  assert, 
that  we  may  apprehend  God  by  pure  thought,  or  by  the  under- 
standing. God  freely  closed  the  two  revelations,  by  which  we 
should  feel  and  perceive  Him.  These  forms  pertain  only  to 
Deity.  The  expressions  which  Servetus  employs  are,  ( dispo- 
sition,' 'ceconomy,'  '  form/  '  personal  representation,'  and  fa 
kind  of  revelation,'  ca  species  of  divine  relation,'  ca  manifes- 
tation.' He  would  own  nothing  like  an  emanation  of  Deity.  If 
the  word  person,  however,  were  to  be  taken  in  the  sense  in  which 
the  Latins  used  it — that  is,  as  describing  the  outward  form  or 
appearance  of  a  man — a  Trinity,  he  said,  might  be  admitted,  and 
it  would  not  be  an  error  to  speak  of  three  persons  in  one  God. 


250  SYSTEM  OF  SERVETUS.  [CHAP.  V. 

In  the  Old  Testament  these  persons  were  shadows  and  types. 
They  who  heard  the  Word,  saw  and  perceived  only  an  outward 
appearance ;  they,  on  the  contrary,  who  received  the  Spirit,  felt 
his  power.  These  were,  so  to  say,  experiments  for  bringing 
forth  the  personality  of  Christ,  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  as,  ac- 
cording to  the  later  philosophy  of  religion,  the  eternal  law  of  the 
universe  tends  to  exhibit  the  personality  of  God,  in  subordinate 
manifestations,  and  through  a  circle  of  unconscious  substances, 
till  at  last  it  produces  Christ,  the  actual  personality  of  God. 

And  this  manifestation  of  the  Trinity,  says  Servetus,  will  again 
disappear,  as  not  of  necessity  existing.  God  might  also  have 
created  worlds  altogether  different  to  those  now  in  being.  So 
too  He  might  have  adopted  other  forms ;  and  thus  there  might 
have  been,  instead  of  a  threefold,  a  fourfold  or  a  fivefold  per- 
sonality ; — a  bold  idea,  and  one  which  shows  how  high  a  notion 
he  had  formed  to  himself  of  the  divine  essence.  The  unity  might 
have  broken  itself,  by  various  means,  into  visible  rays ;  for  ex- 
ample, for  the  sake  of  beings  differently  constituted  to  ourselves. 

An  interesting  passage  occurs  in  the ( Dialogues  on  the  Trinity/ 
respecting  the  cause  why  God  created  the  universe.  The  in- 
visible God,  he  says,  resolved  by  his  own  free  will  to  create  the 
wprld,  and  to  reveal  Himself  to  us ;  for  the  creation  would  have 
been  without  use  if  God  had  remained  unknown.  The  Almighty 
said,  "  Let  it  become,"  and  by  his  word  He  created  the  Logos, 
or  Elohim,  or  Christ.  And  as  He  spake,  He  imposed  upon 
himself  a  certain  rule,  and  wrought  somewhat  in  himself,  when 
He  became  a  Creator.  He  now  acts  otherwise  than  originally : 
He  reveals  himself;  whereas  before,  dwelling  in  eternal  silence, 
He  was  known  to  no  one.  By  the  word,  f  Let  there  be  light/ 
He  transferred  himself  from  eternal  darkness  into  light,  and 
became  comprehensible  by  a  bright- shining  form,  which  John 
called  '  The  Word/  and  Moses,  '  Elohim.'  This  light  remained 
hidden  under  the  image  of  angels,  till  it  shone  forth  in  the  face 
of  Christ.  Then  also  God  the  Spirit  began  to  be,  for  there  was 
no  spirit  before  God  breathed. 

Servetus  afterwards  expressed  these  notions  in  a  more  extended 
form.  In  the  fourth  book  of  the  *  Restitutio/  he  undertook,  as 
the  title  intimates,  to  explain  the  name  of  God,  the  nature  of 
God,  and  the  principle  of  all  things.  Having  spoken  of  the 
names  Jehovah  and  Elohim,  he  unfolds  his  platonic  idea  of  God. 
The  original  images,  or  ideas,  of  all  things  are  in  the  Almighty. 
The  forms  of  all  things,  which  were  afterwards  to  exist,  were 


A. D.  1554.]  SYSTEM  OF  SERVETUS.  251 

present  to  his  wisdom  from  eternity.  Wise  men  of  all  ages  have 
taught  this  truth,  and  the  holy  Scripture  itself,  according  to  its 
design.  Plato,  who  seems  to  have  studied  Moses,  and  who  was 
familiar  with  the  wise  men  of  earlier  times,  and  therefore  stood 
higher  than  Aristotle,  expounded  it.  He  regarded  ideas  not  as 
mere  notions  in  God,  but  as  the  actual  images  of  the  things,  to 
which  God  gave  life,  according  to  his  good  pleasure,  and  through 
the  light  of  his  being.  Thus  it  is  conceivable,  how  a  resplendent 
image  of  the  future  Christ,  without  any  change  of  his  own  being, 
might  originate  in  God  from  eternity.  In  this  last  development 
of  Deity,  Servetus  proceeds  from  a  pantheistic  point  of  view, 
which  is  not  the  doctrine  of  Plato.  According  to  that  philoso- 
pher, matter,  or  chaos,  was  separated  from  God.  In  the  eternal 
being  of  God,  which,  it  is  probable,  had  ceased  to  be  contem- 
plated in  its  personality,  there  are  numberless  forms,  and  the 
ideas  of  all  things.  God  himself  is  the  essence  and  the  source 
of  all :  unnumbered  beings  rest  in  Him.  This  essence  of  God 
takes  all  forms ;  and  Servetus  speaks  of  an  omniformis  Dei  es- 
sentia. But  with  all  this  manifoldness,  there  is  in  God  but  one 
modus,  the  principle  of  all  life,  of  all  light,  of  all  spirit, — a  divine 
modus  of  the  fulness  of  the  substance,  without  limit,  in  the  spirit 
and  body  of  Jesus  Christ.  The  modus  in  him  is  twofold.  Hence 
the  discourse  is  of  two  persons ;  the  appearance  in  the  Word, 
and  the  communication  in  the  Spirit ;  other  things,  both  spiritual 
and  corporeal,  being  created  thereby.  This  is  the  eternal  thought 
of  God  concerning  things,  and  their  representation,  by  form 
and  matter.  From  this  root  all  things  arise.  There  are  similar 
divine  modes  in  the  angels  and  in  men,  and  even  in  individual 
things.  The  Godhead  dwells  in  all,  but  all  spring  from  Christ. 
This  doctrine  is  represented  as  that  of  Scripture,  but  it  is  much 
more  that  of  the  Greeks  and  Orientals,  and  after  them  of  the 
Rabbins,  in  their  theory  of  the  soul  of  the  world.  Thus  the 
archetype  of  the  world  is  described  as  in  God,  and  the  wisdom 
of  God  is  the  Logos.  The  archetypes  spoken  of  are  not  merely 
images,  but  substantial  forms. 

Hence  we  find  that  Servetus  was  a  realist,  and  he  represents 
knowledge  according  to  the  Platonic  theory.  Thus  objects 
formed  according  to  the  original  patterns,  re-awaken  in  the  soul 
its  innate  ideas.  The  fountain  of  all  light  is  in  the  Logos ;  his 
light  is  the  formative  principle  of  all  things.  In  his  doctrine  of 
God,  Servetus  firmly  asserts  the  principle,  that  God  is  incom- 
prehensible to  the  creature,  except  as  lie  reveals  himself  in  the 


252  SYSTEM  OF  SERVETUS.  [CHAP.  V. 

Word  and  in  the  Spirit.  The  Logos  is  Ideal  in  God,  and  no 
Person.  The  Word  is  God  himself,  the  whole  God.  In  the 
representation  of  the  Logos.  Servetus  employed  no  settled  or 
definite  language.  Logos,  with  him,  is  the  divine  thought  and 
speech,  identical  with  the  divine  will.  The  eternal  thought  and 
will  of  the  person  of  Christ  are  the  organ  of  divine  revelation. 
So  far  as  all  other  divine  thoughts  are  gathered  together  in  the 
one  divine  thought,  the  Logos  appears  as  the  Ideal  world,  which 
may  be  represented  as  the  divine  understanding.  Lastly,  Servetus 
advocates,  in  his  concluding  work,  the  ideality  of  the  divine 
understanding  itself.  The  revelation  of  God  in  Christ  fills  the 
intermediate  space  between  God  and  the  creature.  In  the  man 
Christ  the  Logos  is  hypostatically  present.  The  union  with  God 
is  also  become  possible  to  the  angels.  Of  the  Holy  Ghost,  it  is 
said,  that  He  is  the  communication  of  the  divine  essence,  which 
proceeds  from  Christ  after  the  resurrection. 

In  all  this  we  recognize  a  philosophical  system  in  embryo, 
which  never  probably  would  have  been  brought  to  maturity ;  for, 
on  the  one  side,  Servetus  stumbled  on  dialectic  difficulties,  and 
on  the  other,  the  free  course  of  his  speculations  was  hindered  by 
the  element  of  Christian  piety.  If  he  had  understood  himself, 
as  a  philosopher,  and  had  kept  his  aim  steadily  in  view,  he  would 
have  described  Christ,  in  relation  to  God^  as  God  reducing  him- 
self within  the  limits  of  personality,  which  was  what  in  reality 
he  always  meant.  But  his  system  appears  as  a  mass  of  defective 
Christian  notions  on  the  work  of  redemption,  mixed  up  with  a 
certain  measure  of  Platonism.  Since  Christ  however,  according 
to  him,  is  a  person,  God  cannot  properly  be  so ;  for  a  twofold 
personality  would  as  little  agree  with  his  theory  as  a  three- 
fold. 

In  the  fourth  book  on  the  Trinity,  in  the  '  Restitutio/  Servetus 
proceeds  from  the  original  forms,  to  the  origin,  of  all  things.  We 
shall  speak  briefly  of  his  doctrine  of  creation.  He  combines 
religion  and  natural  theology,  and  illustrates  the  one  from  the 
other.  Light  is  the  ground  of  all  things.  God  is  light;  and  in 
this  light  of  the  Godhead  did  Christ  appear,  as  the  sun  in  the 
midst  of  created  light.  He  was  therefore  the  first  creation  of 
God.  The  various  characteristics  of  different  bodies  arise  from 
the  light,  which  mingles  itself  with  them.  Heat  and  cold  rule 
in  nature ;  but  both  the  one  and  the  other  derive  their  essence 
and  power  from  light.  The  light  of  the  sun  warms,  and  the 
watery  rays,  which  are  collected  in  some  of  the  planets,  in  the 


A.D.   1554.]  SYSTEM  OF  SERVETUS.  253 

moon,  in  Saturn,  and  other  parts  of  the  heavens,  diffuse  cold. 
All  this  has  the  Architect  of  the  world,  the  resplendent  character 
of  the  divine  essence,  that  is,  Christ,  accomplished  by  means  of 
light.  All  exists  by  him  :  he  created  the  elements,  and  after- 
wards imparted  to  each  a  portion  of  the  light  which  is  in  him- 
self. All  which  takes  place  in  nature,  as  well  as  in  the  kingdom 
of  grace  and  in  the  conversion  of  mankind,  is  wrought  by  light. 

God,  at  the  beginning,  created,  out  of  nothing,  two  heavens, 
the  earth,  and  the  light.  Hence  all  other  things  arose  :  the  water 
first,  from  the  water  of  heaven,  and  the  air.  The  air  and  the 
light  generated  fire.  The  doctrine  of  Thales  is  said  to  be  correct ; 
the  earth  was  prior  to  the  heavens.  God  created  air  and  a  watery 
heaven.  Further :  there  is  an  uncreated  heaven,  a  heaven  of  air 
in  God  and  Christ.  This  is  the  third  heaven,  of  which  Paul 
speaks.  There  is  air  in  the  water  and  in  the  fire,  a  heavenly  as 
well  as  an  earthly  material,  a  principle  hitherto  unknown  to  all 
the  philosophers  of  the  world.  There  are  four  fundamental 
principles  of  all  things  ;  two  material  and  two  formal : — 1.  Water 
and  earth :  2.  The  sun-light,  which  warms,  and  the  watery  ray, 
which  creates  cold. 

The  ancients  taught  rightly,  that  all  things  are  one,  since  all 
exist  in  God.  God  is  everywhere,  because  the  light  of  God  is 
in  all  things :  God  is  in  all  beings,  even  in  wicked  spirits :  all 
things  are  an  effluence  of  the  divine  essence,  but  all  things  are 
not  a  certain  species  of  the  Godhead,  or  parts  of  God ;  since, 
except  in  regard  to  the  matter  of  heavenly  light,  they  are  earthly, 
and  altogether  separate  from  God. 

Servetus,  on  account  of  his  pantheistic  expressions,  has  been 
characterized  as  a  forerunner  of  Spinoza.  This  is  very  unjust; 
his  Christian  feeling  raised  him  far  above  Spinoza,  while  he  was 
singularly  unlike  him  in  the  obscurity  of  his  reasoning.  Spirit 
and  matter,  according  to  him,  are  not  necessarily  opposed.  He 
acknowledged  a  creation  out  of  nothing,  by  the  free-will  of  God, 
and  he  pronounced  a  curse  upon  those  who  assert  an  unchange- 
able destiny  or  law.  Man  he  represents  as  perfectly  free,  which 
alone  would  be  sufficient  to  exonerate  him  from  partaking  in  the 
errors  of  Spinoza.  But  since  he  allows  not  the  creation  of  the 
world,  as  separate  from  God,  the  world  being  imperfect,  he  is 
in  this  respect  altogether  opposed  to  Christianity.  The  natural 
philosophy  of  Servetus,  and  his  belief,  go  always  hand  in  hand, 
and  he  availed  himself  of  his  experience  as  a  physician  to  il- 
lustrate the  operation  of  grace,  and  the  divine  government.     He 


254  SYSTEM   OF  SERVETUS.  [CHAP.  V. 

admits  of  the  existence  of  angels,  but  only  as  a  breath  of  God. 
Of  the  evil  spirit,  as  a  personal  being,  he  frequently  speaks,  but 
without  especial  definition. 

This  leads  us  to  the  notion  of  Servetus  on  the  fall  of  man.  In 
the  two  dialogues  on  the  Trinity,  and  in  the  3rd,  6th  and  7th 
books  of  the  (  Restitutio/  mention  is  made  of  the  fall,  of  angels, 
of  punishment  in  hell,  and  of  salvation.  He  here  expresses  the 
fine  idea,  which  occurs  also  in  Calvin,  that  through  the  sin  of  the 
first  man  all  the  world  sunk,  and  even  the  stars  became  unclean. 
Nowhere  however  does  he  speak  of  the  ruin  of  mankind,  and 
of  their  condemnation,  as  grounded,  according  to  the  Christian 
doctrine,  on  the  knowledge  of  sin.  Man,  he  asserts,  can  be  pre- 
pared for  good  works  without  being  born  again  of  the  spirit. 
This  was  the  first  cause  of  his  errors,  of  his  haughty  intractable 
character,  and  of  his  perverse  conduct.  Here  and  there  how- 
ever expressions  occur,  respecting  the  corruption  of  the  human 
race,  which  have  a  pious  and  orthodox  sound.  The  devil  is 
spoken  of  as  sin  dwelling  in  us,  as  sickness  and  death.  In  a 
similar  manner  also  he  speaks  of  the  tree  of  knowledge.  But 
these  passages  are  contradicted  by  others.  Original  sin  is  repre- 
sented as  a  mere  sickness,  and  as  unconnected  with  guilt.  Man 
is  subjected  to  bodily  death,  not  to  spiritual,  for  he  is  without 
guilt ;  he  is  not  condemned  to  hell,  but,  so  to  speak,  is  left  in 
school,  or  the  place  of  the  dead,  till  he  arrive  at  the  age  of  know- 
ledge, that  is,  his  twentieth  year.  He  who  sins  after  this  exposes 
himself  to  both  bodily  and  spiritual  death.  Thus  Servetus  ne- 
cessarily rejected  infant-baptism. 

The  view  which  he  took  of  redemption  is  evident  from  his 
doctrine  of  the  nature  of  Christ :  much  is  said  on  this  subject 
in  his  two  dialogues  on  the  Trinity,  which  form  the  sixth  and 
seventh  books  of  the f  Restitutio,'  and  in  which  Michael  and  Peter 
are  introduced  conversing  with  each  other.  In  the  second  dia- 
logue he  seeks  to  show,  as  he  states,  in  what  manner  Christ  was 
begotten  of  God.  Christ  is  no  creature  (these  words  must  be  un- 
derstood in  his  own  sense  :  He  is  eternal  as  thought) :  his  power 
has  no  end:  He  is  worthy  of  worship,  and  is  the  true  God. 
Such  expressions  even  as  these  occur :  "  The  soul  of  Christ  is 
God ;  the  flesh  of  Christ  is  God ;  the  spirit  of  Christ  is  God." 
But  the  human  nature  is  disregarded,  and  that  he  erred  in  this 
respect  was  viewed  as  his  greatest  offence.  Thus  Calvin,  while 
he  was  in  prison,  made  this  a  cause  of  accusation  against  him ; 
and  in  his  sentence  it  is  stated,  "that  he  wickedly  destroyed 


A.D.   1554.]  SYSTEM   OF  SERVETUS.  255 

Christ's  humanity,  the  main  source  of  consolation  to  poor, 
perishing  mankind." 

It  has  been  already  shown,  how  he  despised  and  blasphemed 
the  doctrine  of  the  church  respecting  the  incarnation,  or  the 
union  of  the  divine  with  the  human  principle.  On  the  other 
hand,  he  speaks  in  the  following  manner  on  the  human  nature 
of  Christ,  and  on  his  generation.  The  Logos  was  the  paternal 
seed :  a  part  of  the  spirit  of  God,  and  a  part  of  light,  which  is 
Deity  itself,  passed  into  the  holy  Virgin,  and  a  part  of  her  blood 
mingled  therewith.  This  earthly  part  of  the  mother  became 
visible :  therefore  the  blood  of  Christ,  the  flesh  of  Christ,  the 
soul  of  Christ,  is  God  himself.  This  Christ  is  no  creature :  God 
himself  and  the  fulness  of  God  dwell  in  Him.  As  Servetus 
would  not  acknowledge  the  eternity  of  the  Son  of  God,  but  yet 
confessed  his  divinity  according  to  the  Scriptures,  he  was  ob- 
liged to  view  the  union  of  the  divine  nature  with  the  manhood 
of  Christ,  in  such  a  sense,  that  the  man  Christ  might  be  called 
God,  thus  setting  aside  the  personality  of  God.  Three  light- 
elements  of  the  Father  were  combined  with  the  blood  of  the 
mother  in  the  generation  of  the  son.  Thus  in  Christ  the  primal 
light  of  God  is  mingled  with  the  earthly  nature  of  the  mother, 
the  divine  with  the  human  :  he  is  partaker  of  both  natures,  con- 
substantial  with  God,  ofjLoouaios. 

In  the  second  book  of  the  f  Restitutio5  he  interprets  the  first 
verse  of  the  first  chapter  of  John,  and  more  at  length  than  in  his 
earlier  work.  He  also  expounds  the  passage,  in  the  first  chapter 
of  the  Epistle  to  the  Colossians,  in  which  Christ  is  described  as 
the  first-born  of  every  creature.  The  flesh  of  Christ,  the  earthly 
portion  of  his  being,  is  older  than  our  flesh ;  his  body  is  derived 
from  the  first  pure  matter,  as  it  existed  before  sin ;  whereas  our 
bodies  are  of  the  impure  matter,  as  it  has  existed  since  the 
fall.  Thus  he  deified  the  man  in  Christ.  Calvin  remarked  this. 
He  combined  the  Godhead  with  the  flesh  of  Christ,  mingling 
the  two  natures ;  while  he  separated  the  flesh  of  Christ  from 
ours,  as  far  as  heaven  from  earth.  Again,  he  says,  that  as, 
through  the  incarnation,  the  Word  became  flesh  for  all  creatures, 
so,  through  the  resurrection,  the  flesh  ceased  to  be  a  creature. 
The  Word  from  heaven  is  now  the  flesh  of  Christ :  the  human 
nature  of  Christ  is  the  same  as  the  divine. 

"  But  what,"  says  Calvin,  "  will  become  of  our  communion 
with  Christ,  and  of  our  salvation,  if  we  thus  tear  the  band  asunder 
which  unites  us  in  brotherly  communion  with  Christ,  the  only 


256  SYSTEM  OF  SERVETUS.  [CHAP.  V. 

pledge  of  our  adoption  ?  Christ,  according  to  the  apostle,  is  our 
brother;  for  He  was  made  in  all  things  like  unto  us,  sin  only 
except.  Servetus  understands  this  expression  as  merely  inti- 
mating that  he  had  a  similar  life  to  ours ;  whereas  the  apostle 
speaks  of  a  like  nature :  and  it  is  evident  indeed,  that  the  Son  of 
God  could  not  have  reconciled  us  to  the  Father,  without  atoning 
for  sins  in  that  which  was  truly  human  flesh,  not  divine,  so  that 
the  satisfaction  might  be  accomplished  in  our  own  nature.  Christ 
paid  the  price  of  our  redemption  in  his  flesh.  If  his  flesh  had  been 
divine,  what  should  we  have  had  to  do  with  the  payment  ?  There 
is  a  union  indeed  of  both  natures,  but  no  mingling  or  confusion 
of  the  two." 

According  however  to  the  system  of  Servetus,  this  divine 
Christ  is  a  transient  Deity.  He  had  already  spoken,  in  his  con- 
troversy with  (Ecolampadius,  of  this  his  notion  of  Christ,  and 
he  persevered  in  defending  it,  asserting  that  Christ  can  be  called 
eternal  in  no  other  way  than  the  world  is,  the  idea  of  which  had 
existed  from  eternity  in  the  mind  of  God.  He  thus  expresses 
himself  also  respecting  the  end  of  the  world,  and  with  it,  of  its 
Trinity.  The  person  of  Christ,  consequently,  when  its  work  is 
finished,  will  cease  to  be ;  and  thus  he  not  only  looses  the  band 
which  binds  us  to  Him  for  eternity,  but  sets  aside  redemption 
itself. 

The  doctrine  of  the  Holy  Ghost  is  equally  defective  in  the 
system  of  Servetus.  He  describes  the  spirit  of  God  as  an  energy. 
In  the  air  which  we  breathe  there  is  the  power  of  God :  He 
moves  nature  thereby.  The  Holy  Ghost  however  works  in- 
wardly, enlightens  and  sanctifies  man.  Spirit,  wind,  breath,  in- 
dicate the  outward  living  energy;  the  "Holy  Ghost"  the  in- 
ward. When  God  spake,  He  became  God  the  Spirit:  before 
He  thus  breathed,  there  was  no  Spirit,  and  He  breathed  not  till 
He  spake.  Thus  Moses  says,  that  the  Spirit  of  God  moved  the 
water.  This  Spirit,  in  the  Old  Testament,  was  only  a  shade,  a 
type ;  but  in  the  New  Testament  He  became  a  certain  power  of 
God,  which  works  in  the  souls  of  men ;  and  hence  He  is  no 
longer  called  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord,  but  the  Spirit  of  God,  the 
Holy  Ghost.  He  is  a  movement,  which  God  excites  in  men ; 
and  when  it  is  imparted  to  men  through  the  ministry  of  angels, 
which  are  only  a  breath  of  God,  then  it  is  itself  also  in  Scripture 
called  an  angel.  The  Holy  Ghost  is  a  person  of  the  Godhead ; 
while,  as  an  angel,  He  directs  the  work  of  God.  This  Spirit  is 
a  "  disposition"  in  God ;  and  in  this  sense  we  may  speak  of  three 


A.D.  1554.]  SYSTEM   OF  SERVETUS.  257 

persons  in  God.  At  the  beginning,  however,  of  this  very  article 
Servetus  had  indulged  himself  in  his  usual  ridicule  and  abuse  of 
the  church  doctrine  of  the  Trinity. 

This  second  revelation  of  God  is  not  distinct  from  God  him- 
self, and  from  the  Logos,  but  only  in  the  form  of  the  manifes- 
tation. 

According  to  the  last  development  of  his  system,  Servetus 
represents  the  Spirit,  like  everything  else  in  the  world,  as  ori- 
ginally contained  in  the  Word,  that  is,  in  idea  and  substance^  as 
the  idea  and  archetype  of  all  other  spirits.  The  universal  Spirit 
of  God,  which  fills  creation,  is  properly  the  soul  of  the  world. 
He  first  appeared  perfect  in  Christ:  He  assumed  the  human 
nature  with  the  Logos,  and  formed  the  soul  of  Christ.  We  re- 
ceive through  regeneration  and  in  the  sacrament,  the  Holy  Spirit, 
and  that  by  means  of  the  breath  of  Christ. 

If  we  look  now  at  the  church,  which  the  Spirit  of  God  founded, 
we  shall  find  that  Servetus  claimed  for  it  a  vast  power,  which, 
although  it  be  hidden,  is  mightier  than  all  powers,  so  that  angels 
and  devils  must  be  subject  unto  it. 

To  this  part  of  his  system  belongs  his  doctrine  of  justification 
by  faith,  by  works,  and  by  Christ.  Melancthon  wrote  to  Ca- 
merarius,  "  He  is  manifestly  mad  on  the  subject  of  justification." 
The  principal  exposition  of  his  doctrine  respecting  the  method 
of  salvation  is  found  in  the  second  part  of  the  (  Restitutio.'  1. 
In  the  three  books  on  Faith,  and  on  the  righteousness  of  the 
kingdom  of  Christ,  which  surpasses  the  righteousness  of  the 
law.  2.  In  that  which  treats  of  the  law  and  the  Gospel.  3.  In 
the  description  of  charity,  in  its  relation  to  faith  and  good  works. 
This  is  a  repetition  of  his  earlier  work  on  Justification.  He 
shows  here  especially,  that  he  sought  a  higher  species  of  faith 
than  that  of  either  Catholics  or  Protestants.  Lamenting  the 
depression  of  Christianity,  he  says,  "  No  one  knows  what  the 
faith  of  Christ  is,  or  what  charity  is."  His  creed  was  simple 
enough : — "  The  man  Christ  Jesus  is  the  Son  of  God,  who  died 
for  our  salvation."  The  account  which  he  gives  of  the  manner 
in  which  we  arrive  at  faith  is  as  follows.  The  understanding 
first  apprehends  all  the  truths  of  the  Gospel;  the  heart  applies 
these  truths  to  itself  by  the  drawing  of  the  Father,  or  the  move- 
ment of  the  Holy  Ghost.  The  mind  accordingly  receives  the 
faith,  and  freely  embraces  it :  it  still  retains  the  ability  to  choose 
what  is  good,  and  has  somewhat  of  the  Godhead  :  but  God  must 
vol.  n.  s 


258  SYSTEM  OF  SERVETUS.  [CHAP.  V. 

come  to  its  aid,  that  it  may  be  able  to  take  advantage  of  its 
freedom.     Faith  is  a  fruit  of  this  freedom. 

Justification,  he  says,  is  the  forgiveness  of  sins :  when  a  man 
recognizes  Christ  as  the  Son  of  God  and  Saviour  of  the  world, 
he  becomes  righteous  and  is  saved.  The  Gospel  stands  far 
higher  than  the  law :  in  the  Old  Testament  we  have  the  righte- 
ousness of  works,  and  in  the  New  the  righteousness  of  faith ; 
but  he  contends  against  the  so-called  extravagance  of  the  Pro- 
testant doctrine,  which  will  allow  of  no  reward  for  works.  This 
is  discussed  in  the  third  book  of  the  second  part,  Be  Mercede  et 
Gloria  Differentia,  "  concerning  rewards  and  the  distinction  of 
glory/-  He  shows  that  in  the  New  Testament  a  certain  species  of 
righteousness  becomes  available  through  works,  and  that  the  first 
justification  by  faith  is  followed  by  a  second  justification,  which 
proceeds  from  the  diligence  with  which  a  man  performs  good 
works,  which  God  actually  rewards.  To  some  interesting;  re- 
flections,  he  adds,  that  salvation  comes  from  faith,  but  that  the 
materials  of  it  are  good  works,  for  love  and  good  works  increase 
blessedness :  they  clothe  faith  and  preserve  it  alive. 

This  leads  us  to  the  consideration  of  his  views  of  free-will :  it 
is  characteristic  of  his  peculiar  notions,  that  he  felt  that,  in  his 
time,  the  freedom  of  man  was  not  yet  comprehended  in  its  pro- 
per mystery.  Hence  he  opposed  himself  with  all  his  force  to 
the  main  doctrine  of  Calvin,  which  he  designated  as  that  of  fate, 
or  a  universal  necessity.  In  the  same  manner  he  spoke  of  the 
bondage  of  the  will  as  a  sign  of  Calvin's  stupidity.  The  re- 
former exhorted  men  to  do  what  he  knew  they  could  not  do. 
"You  say  a  vast  deal  about  free-doings,  and  say  that  there  is  no 
free-doing." 

In  his  earlier  work  on  Justification  he  says,  "  It  is  better  to 
perform  good  works  than  to  inquire  into  the  causes  of  good 
works ;  but  as  there  are  many  who  have  little  skill  in  philoso- 
phizing, I  will  here  dispense  with  my  philosophy.  I  believe 
that  good  works  have  their  peculiar  origin  in  free-will,  which  is 
as  distinct  from  faith  as  it  is  from  charity.  There  is  an  operating 
Spirit  which  is  higher  than  any  will,  or  any  inward  quality,  and 
which  freely  brings  forth  good  works.  The  outward  action  is 
effected  by  the  movement  of  the  heart,  which  sends  its  spirits 
into  the  members ;  and  this  action  of  the  free-will  is  something 
more  than  the  resolution  of  the  will,  there  being  more  difficulty 
in  accomplishing  than  in  willing.    The  meaning  of  this  is:  faith 


A.D.  1554.]  SYSTEM   OF  SERVETUS.  259 

excites  charity ;  charity  the  will ;  but  the  higher  energy  is  needed 
for  this.  The  energy  thus  spoken  of  is  superior  to  the  will  to  do 
good.  For  of  what  avail  would  the  pious  will  be,  if  there  were 
no  power  to  accomplish  its  object  ?  It  is  this  power  which  brings 
with  it  a  reward  from  God." 

Thus  Servetus  endeavoured  to  penetrate  the  depths  of  free- 
will, Calvin  and  the  other  reformers  being  content  to  comprehend 
it  in  an  antithesis.  Servetus  placed  freedom  in  a  certain  power 
of  the  heart  to  effect  the  conclusions  of  the  will.  Sin  excites  in 
the  natural  man  evil  desires :  faith  awakens  love  and  holy  de- 
sires. There  is  an  ability,  however,  in  the  free-will  of  man  to 
determine  whether  he  will  accomplish  his  good  or  evil  resolves : 
good  or  evil  works,  consequently,  may  be  set  to  his  account ;  and. 
thus  we  may  look  for  hell  or  a  sublime  blessedness. 

In  the  little  work  on  Justification,  in  which  Servetus  seeks  a 
middle  path  between  the  old  and  the  new  doctrine,  he  concedes 
to  Luther,  that  faith  justifies  without  merit  or  works  ;  and  to  the 
Catholic  church,  that  charity  and  good  works  may  deserve  some- 
what with  God  and  expect  a  reward.  He  contends  however 
with  great  severity  against  the  dead  works  of  the  monks,  and 
speaks  of  faith  with  as  much  fervour  as  Luther,  disagreeing  with 
him  only  when  the  discourse  refers  to  free-will  and  the  source  of 
good  works.  In  the  times  of  the  old  covenant  grace  was  not 
bestowed  on  men  :  he  who  fulfilled  the  law  as  well  as  he  could 
was  righteous :  even  the  holiest  men  were  only  righteous  in  a 
natural  sense ;  they  had  earthly  desires  and  feared  earthly  chas- 
tisements. This  carnal  justification  was  abolished  by  Christ. 
In  the  new  covenant  the  spirit  is  justified  by  faith :  to  attain  it 
we  must  hear  Christ,  repent,  deny  and  sacrifice  ourselves,  and 
place  our  whole  trust  in  this,  that  man  has  been  redeemed  by 
the  blood  of  Christ,  and  that  by  his  mercy  alone,  without  any 
desert  on  our  own  part,  we  may  obtain  forgiveness  of  sin,  and 
recover  our  lost  spiritual  life.  Works  avail  nothing  for  salvation. 
Faith  produces  charity,  and  through  it  we  receive  the  Holy  Ghost. 
But  although  faith  alone,  and  without  works,  justifies  us,  yet 
Christians  who  act  well  may  expect  their  reward  both  in  time  and 
in  eternity. 

Above  all,  he  says,  is  obedience  acceptable  to  God ;  the  sub- 
jection, that  is,  of  our  understanding  to  the  rule  of  Christ  as  the 
Son  of  God.  This  one  command  of  faith  in  Christ  has  God  put 
in  the  place  of  all  the  law.  Through  this  faith  we  become 
children  of  God. 

s  2 


260  SYSTEM  OF  SERVETUS.  [CHAP.  V. 

The  distinction  between  justification,  as  viewed  by  Servetus 
and  the  Reformers,  consists  in  this,  that  with  Servetus  it  was  not 
faith  in  the  merits  of  Christ,  without  works,  which  justifies,  but 
the  faith  in  the  Son  of  God  which  incites  us  to  good  works. 
Hence,  according  to  him,  the  Lutherans  could  never  understand 
justification :  he  wished  to  give  it  a  practical  character. 

With  this  subject  is  connected  the  view  which  Servetus  takes 
of  the  means  of  grace.  According  to  him,  the  christian  church 
has  three : — the  preaching  of  the  Gospel ;  baptism ;  and  the 
Lord's  Supper.  The  power  of  the  keys  is  the  power  of  preach- 
ing,— of  the  exposition  of  the  truth ;  while  the  pope  holds  the 
keys  of  the  abyss.  In  the  doctrine  of  the  sacrament,  he  sepa- 
rates from  the  Lutherans,  whom  he  designates  Impanatores; 
from  the  Zwinglians  and  Reformed,  whom  he  calls  Trojjisten; 
and  from  the  Catholics,  whom  he  reviles  as  Transubstaniiatores. 
He  rejects  the  opinions  of  each  and  all  of  these  parties,  and 
adopts  a  view  similar  to  the  Calvinistic  doctrine,  the  idea,  that 
is,  of  a  spiritual  eating.  In  the  order  to  be  remarked  in  the 
several  parts  of  the  work  of  salvation,  baptism,  with  him,  is  not 
the  beginning,  but  the  middle  point  of  the  course.  He  would 
acknowledge  but  two  sacraments,  properly  so-called.  It  appears 
remarkable  that  he  should  have  assailed  the  use  of  infant  baptism 
with  such  peculiar  violence.  He  even  calls  it  a  murdering  of 
the  Holy  Ghost ;  a  desolating  of  the  kingdom  of  God ;  a  ruining 
of  Christianity.  This  is  unintelligible,  unless  we  suppose  him  to 
have  altogether  rejected  the  doctrine  of  original  sin,  as  received 
by  the  church.  Servetus  however  was  not  properly  an  anabaptist : 
he  admitted  the  power  of  the  civil  magistrate ;  the  duty  of  obe- 
dience, and  the  lawfulness  of  oaths :  but,  on  the  other  hand,  he 
described  adult  baptism  as  alone  making  men  Christians,  and 
as  exalting  them  above  the  angels.  Prior  to  this  baptism  faith 
is  imperfect :  faith  justifies,  but  baptism  saves.  In  the  first  in- 
stance, the  preaching  of  the  word  must  awaken  and  enlighten 
the  heart;  repentance  must  then  follow;  and  this  will  prepare 
the  man  for  entering  into  the  kingdom  of  heaven.  There  must 
be  faith  in  the  Son  of  God,  to  induce  him  to  come  to  baptism  ; 
and  for  this  purpose  he  is  to  undergo  the  proper  instruction  of 
a  catechumen.  With  respect  to  those  who  fall  after  baptism, 
no  further  baptism  or  reconciliation  is  possible.  This  is  another 
reason  why  children  should  not  be  baptized.  There  is  a  won- 
derful efficacy  in  this  sacrament,  as  in  that  also  of  the  Lord's 
Supper:  they  cannot  be  separated  from  each  other.     Baptism 


A.D.  1554.]  SYSTEM  OF  SERVETUS.  261 

may  properly  take  place  in  the  thirtieth  year  of  a  man's 
life*. 

Unbaptizecl  children,  nay,  even  the  most  excellent  men  among 
the  heathens  and  Jews,  cannot  enter  the  kingdom  of  heaven. 
There  are  habitations  prepared  for  them  where  they  enjoy  the 
happiness  proper  to  their  condition.  This  leads  us  to  consider 
his  views  of  the  future  state. 

Servetus  adopts  without  questioning  the  doctrine  of  the  im- 
mortality of  the  soul.  This  is  evident  from  the  declaration 
which  he  made  at  his  trial,  and  from  his  behaviour  at  the  stake. 
It  is  not  so  apparent  from  his  works. 

In  his  Defence,  written  against  Melancthon,  he  advocates  the 
notion  of  a  purgatory,  through  which  all  Christians  must  pass. 
This  he  calls  the  baptism  by  fire.  In  the  end,  souls  pass  away 
into  the  divine  vision  or  idea.  This  subject  is  treated  of  in  the 
seventeenth  letter,  in  the  ( Restitutio/  Again  :  Servetus  con- 
tended against  Calvin,  that  the  visible  body  of  Christ  has  no 
place  in  heaven.  Calvin  answered,  that  "  if  the  body  of  the  Lord 
is  in  no  certain  place,  the  bodies  of  the  saints,  after  the  resur- 
rection, which  are  visible  like  his,  can  have  no  certain  place." 
Servetus  expressed  no  surprise  at  this  objection,  but  readily 
admitted  Calvin's  assertion  ;  adding,  "  When  heaven  and  earth 
shall  have  passed  away,  there  will  be  neither  time  nor  place, 
neither  movement  nor  being.  We  shall  be  inclosed  by  no  space, 
but  shall  exist  in  the  idea  or  understanding  of  God."  Sola 
idea  divina  nos  post  resurrectionem  continebimur.  Christ  him- 
self will  be  embraced  in  the  highest  idea  or  understanding  of 
God,  and  will  thus,  without  any  change  of  place,  be  everywhere 
present.  Sola  principe  idea  divina,  ipse  princeps  continetur,  et 
per  earn  est  ubique  vult,  sine  locali  motu.  Everything  is  derived 
from  the  idea  of  God,  and  to  that  will  everything  return.  There 
are  ideas  and  original  forms ;  they  have  sprung  into  life,  and 
will  again  become  essential. 

Servetus  admits  the  doctrine  of  infernal  punishment  and 
future  blessedness.  "  God  himself  is  the  purgatory,  Christ  the 
holy  fire."  The  doctrine  of  the  restoration  of  all  things  is  stated 
in  the  third  part  of  the  e  Restitutio, '  where  the  kingdom  of 
Antichrist  is  also  spoken  of.  The  sixty  signs  of  Antichrist  are 
described  in  the  fifth  part. 

The  whole  world  is  fallen  through  sin,  and  Christ  renews  it. 
Satan  ruined  the  natural  world  by  Eve,  and  the  spiritual  by 
*  Dc  Rugcncratione,  passim. 


262  SYSTEM  OF  SERVETUS.  [CHAP.  V. 

the  Romish  whore,  the  pope.  Servetus  here  speaks  continually 
with  as  great  severity  against  Rome  as  the  Reformers  had  done. 
But  he  speaks  with  no  less  rage  against  the  Protestants,  and 
especially  against  Melancthon,  whom  he  addresses,  in  his  e  Apo- 
logy,' in  words  which  show  the  entire  disorder  of  his  mind. 
"  You  say  that  the  Jews  and  the  Turks  do  not  worship  God 
aright.  But  what  is  the  notion  you  yourself  have  formed  of  the 
hell-hound?  To  what  a  monster  do  you  not  pray  !J* Calvin  is 
drunk  when  he  teaches  that  man  has  no  power  of  free  action, 
and  yet  expects  him  to  act  as  if  he  had.  You  too  are  drunk, 
when  you  exhort  to  the  true  love  of  God,  and  at  the  same  time 
say  that  it  nowhere  exists.  But  most  of  all  do  you  show  your 
error  and  drunkenness  in  your  belief  in  the  Trinity,  in  your  false 
conclusions  respecting  the  two  natures,  which  so  drive  you  into 
a  corner,  that  you  are  compelled  to  allow  that  the  Holy  Ghost 
might  die  in  a  mule,  since  you  have  asserted  that  your  invisible 
Son  of  God  died  in  a  man." 

The  system  of  Servetus,  taken  as  a  whole,  gives  signs  of  an 
awakened  mind,  of  ability  and  lofty  views ;  but  it  was  not  the 
fruit  of  a  renewed  heart.     The  Holy  Spirit  speaks  a  different 
language.     The  power  which  inspired  Servetus  taught  him  not 
the  wretchedness  of  sin;  hence  his  pride  in  opposing  what  he 
did  not  understand,  and  his  shameless  language,  unparalleled 
in  the  history  of  the  church,  of  either  ancient  or  modern  times. 
The  principles,  moreover,  which  he  advances,  are  far  more  un- 
intelligible as  speculations  than  all  the  deep  things  of  our  faith. 
Had  he  developed  these  creations  of  his  brain  scientifically,  or 
merely  for  himself,  as  had  been  done  in  other  times,  he  might 
have  been  pardoned  ;  but  when  he  undertook  to  establish  his 
system  in  the  place  of  that  which  is  evangelical  and  catholic, 
and  when  the  libertines  and  the  Anabaptists  were  found  to  take 
his  part,  in  order  to  oppose  the  Reformation,  it  was  necessary 
that  his  fanaticism  should  be  suppressed.     Had  this  not  been 
done,  the  reformation  in  the  South,  which,  in  the  midst  of  the 
convulsions  which  now  prevailed,  was  only  supported  by  the 
strongest  efforts,  must  have  shared  the  fate  of  that  of  Poland ; 
an  event  which  would  have  been  as  injurious   to  the  general 
progress  of  the  world  as  to  the  interests  of  Lutheranism.     It 
was  Calvin's  task  to  defend  the  Reformation  with  the  weapons 
furnished  by  the  age  in  which  he  lived. 


263 


CHAPTER  VI. 

OTHEH    TEACHERS     OF     FALSE     DOCTRINE     RESPECTING     THE 

TRINITY. MATTHiEUS     GR1BALDI. BL  AN  DRAT  A. GENTI- 

LIS HIS  SYSTEM  AND  HISTORY. 

As  we  are  only  concerned  with  those  teachers  of  error  who 
stood  in  special  opposition  to  Calvin,  we  may  pass  over  the 
well-known  anabaptist  Joris  or  Georg,  who  died  in  1556,  after 
having  lived  unknown  twelve  years  in  Basel.  According  to  his 
dogma  he  was  the  true  Christ,  and  could  forgive  sin  and 
condemn  the  world.  He  had  the  Spirit,  against  which  no  one 
should  dare  to  sin.  It  was  one  of  the  principles  of  his  sect,  that 
the  marriage-vow  need  not  be  kept  unbroken*. 

We  must  not  however  neglect  to  notice  the  disturbances 
which  prevailed  at  this  time  in  the  Italian  church  at  Geneva, 
and  which  threatened  to  prove  dangerous  to  unity  of  doctrine. 
Among  the  members  of  the  congregation  alluded  to  was  the 
lawyer,  Matthaeus  Gribaldi  f.  Without  understanding  Servetus, 
he  declared  that  one  side  of  his  error  appeared  to  him  like  truth  ; 
that  Christ,  according  to  his  human  nature,  was  properly  and 
truly  the  Son  of  God.  Thus  his  views  were  in  reality  Socinian. 
He  supposed  that  the  Father  alone  was  the  eternal  God ;  the 
Son  being  a  subordinate  God,  the  first-born  among  many. 
Calvin  describes  this  controversy  in  an  interesting  letter  to 
Georg  of  Wurtemberg,  May  2,  1557  t-  It  shows  that  the  re- 
former merely  desired  the  banishment  of  heretics,  when  their 
errors  were  unaccompanied  by  blasphemy.  Gribaldi  was  exiled. 

But  the  excitement  which  he  had  occasioned  at  Geneva  was 
not  terminated  by  his  removal ;  other  restless  spirits  were  at 
work.  At  length  the  elders  and  ministers  of  the  Italian  church 
besought   the  Council  that  a   confession  might  be  drawn  up, 

*  Buchat,  t.  vi.  p.  2[)3,  gives  his  history  at  length. 

t  Gribaldi  had  been  a  professor  at  Padua,  and  witnessed,  in  1548,  the 
horrible  despair  of  the  conscience-stricken  apostate,  Franz  Spiera.  Not  being 
safe  at  Padua,  he  obtained,  through  the  recommendation  of  Vergerio,  the 
appointment  to  a  law-professorship  at  Tubingen,  from  the  Duke  ofWiirtem- 
berg.  He  travelled  much  about,  and  on  coming  to  Geneva  bought  the  c- 
of  Farges  in  Gex.     Calvin  warned  Wolmar  in  Tubingen  against  him. 

I  Ed.  Amst.  p.  113,  b.  Laus.  Ep.  238. 


264  GRIBALDl's   HERESY.  [CHAP.  VI. 

which  every  member  of  the  congregation  should  be  required  to 
subscribe.  Calvin  employed  his  influence  to  effect  this  object : 
the  several  councils  favoured  the  establishment  of  the  rule,  and 
it  became  the  law  *.  The  Italian  church  was  assembled  ;  those 
who  entertained  doubts  had  a  conference  with  Calvin,  which 
lasted  three  hours :  he  convinced  them  all,  and  all,  with  the  ex- 
ception of  five  members  of  the  congregation,  subscribed  the 
formulary.  Among  those  who  refused  was  Valentine  Gentilis. 
Both  he  and  his  companions  soon  after,  from  fear,  left  the  city. 
These  circumstances  took  place  in  May  1558.  The  duke  of 
Wurtemberg  subsequently  learnt  that  Gribaldi  was  engaged  in 
spreading  his  heretical  opinions  on  the  Trinity  in  his  territories  : 
he  accordingly  assembled  the  divines  of  Tubingen,  to  examine 
Gribaldi  respecting  his  doctrine.  Gribaldi  requested  time  to 
prepare  his  confession ;  but  he  retired  secretly  from  the  city,  and 
withdrew  to  his  country-seat  at  Farges,  in  the  canton  of  Bern. 
The  duke  acquainted  the  authorities  at  Bern  with  all  which  had 
taken  place :  they  accordingly  summoned  Gribaldi  before  them, 
and  cast  him  into  prison.  The  clergy  of  Bern  were  desired  to 
examine  his  writings  :  they  replied  that  Gribaldi  taught,  "  that 
there  are  three  unequal  Gods/5  &c.  He  had  however  a  con- 
ference with  them,  and  subscribed  a  confession,  in  which  he 
acknowledged  his  errors.  Banished  from  Bern,  he  was,  notwith- 
standing, permitted  to  return  to  Farges,  where  he  remained  to 
the  end  of  his  days.     He  died  of  the  plague. 

Another  heretic,  who  went  to  Poland,  there  to  play  his  part, 
and  whom  Calvin  pursued  thither  with  the  sword  of  the  Spirit, 
was  the  physician  Blandrata.  This  Italian,  having  exhibited  his 
character  in  Geneva,  and  been  pronounced  a  heretic  by  his  coun- 
tryman Peter  Martyr,  went,  as  we  have  stated,  to  Poland,  and 
there  acquired  an  honourable  position.  "  I  am  not  surprised," 
said  Calvin  t,  "  that  this  abandoned  man  has  tried  to  effect  among 
you,  who  indulge  in  more  license  than  we,  what  he  attempted 
among  us.  But  I  am  deeply  affected  at  learning  from  your 
statement,  that  many  persons  among  you  have  been  carried  away 
by  this  fury.  A  short  time  ago  a  writing  was  brought  to  me,  in 
which  Christ  is  represented  as  a  sort  of  strange  God  ;  and  I  wrote 
an  admonition,  which  I  hope  has  already  reached  you.  I  am 
now  induced,  by  your  pious  encouragement,  again  to  consider 
how  I  may  best  oppose  this  continually  spreading  evil." 

*  M3.  Tig.  Oct.  9,  1361.  1    MS.  Paris.  Calv.  Stanislad. 


A.D.   1554.]  BLANDRATA  THE   PHYSICIAN.  265 

With  regard  to  Blandrata,  we  learn  his  history  from  a  notice 
sent  by  the  Genevese  ministers  to  the  Wilnaer  church,  and 
which  was  written  by  Calvin  *.  The  latter,  it  seems,  imagined 
that  he  could  see  wickedness  in  the  countenance  of  the  man  : 
"  Your  very  look,"  he  once  publicly  said  to  him,  "  indicates  the 
monster  which  you  cherish  in  your  heart  f."  But  he  warned  him 
against  the  secret  circulation  of  his  errors,  and  endeavoured  by 
frequent  conferences  to  bring  him  to  a  better  state  of  mind.  All 
however  was  in  vain  ;  Blandrata  persevered  in  his  fanaticism, 
and  threw  the  Italian  congregation  at  Geneva  into  fresh  excite- 
ment. The  elders  were  anxious  for  quiet.  A  discussion  took 
place  at  which  two  members  of  the  Council  were  present.  Calvin 
explained  the  circumstances.  Blandrata  had  the  rashness  to 
accuse  him  of  falsehood,  but  was  convinced  of  his  slander.  He 
stated  to  an  intimate  friend,  Paul  Alciat,  that  the  Genevese  wor- 
shiped three  devils,  worse  than  all  the  idols  of  the  papists,  because 
they  regarded  them  as  three  persons.  He  left  the  city  with  this 
companion. 

Blandrata  was  cited  before  the  consistory.  Calvin  endeavoured 
to  tranquillize  him ;  a  scene  however  took  place,  which  was  suffi- 
ciently comical  to  provoke  even  the  stern  Genevese  to  laughter. 
While  Calvin  was  once  holding  a  discourse,  and  Blandrata  was 
present,  one  of  the  syndics  entered  the  hall.  Blandrata,  terrified 
by  his  wicked  conscience,  believed  that  the  syndic  was  come  to 
try  him  ;  putting  therefore  his  handkerchief  to  his  nose  as  if  it 
were  bleeding,  he  ran  out,  and  immediately  hastened  through  the 
gate  of  the  city,  to  which  he  never  returned.  No  thought  of 
harming  him  had  been  entertained.  He  fled  to  Zurich,  where  he 
was  opposed  by  Peter  Martyr,  and  thence  to  Poland.  Calvin  wrote 
a  little  treatise  against  him  J.  Like  Gentilis,  he  separated  the 
person  of  Christ  from  the  Father;  but  he  agreed  with  Gribaldus 
in  acknowledging  the  Godhead  of  Christ,  and  hence  had  many 
Gods. 

We  have  still  to  mention  some  characteristic  circumstances 
respecting  Blandrata.  In  the  introduction  to  the  account  of  this 
man,  before  quoted,  Calvin  declares  himself  ready  to  be  recon- 
ciled to  him.  He  treats  the  matter  somewhat  ironically;  adding, 
in  his  epistle  to  the  church  at  Wilnaer,  which  had  assembled  a 
synod, — "  Blandrata  has  received  no   slight  recompense  for  his 

*   Ed.  Laus.  Ep.  322.     Ed.  Arast.  p.  I  ill,  an.  1561. 

f  MS.  Bern.  13  Cal.  Dec.  1558. 

X  Responsum  ad  Queestiones  J.  Blandrata?,  1559. 


266  BLANDRATA  THE  PHYSICIAN.  [CHAP.  VI. 

troublesome  journey,  having  gained  so  great  a  name.  He  seemed 
worth  nothing  among  other  people ;  but  you  admire  him,  as  if 
he  were  an  angel  fallen  from  heaven.  I  do  not  envy  your  good 
luck.  If  you  distrust  my  authority  in  this  affair,  yet  surely  the 
respectability  of  the  elders  of  the  Italian  church,  and  of  that 
excellent  servant  of  Jesus  Christ,  Peter  Martyr,  will  have  some 
influence  with  you."  This  appeal  to  other  authorities  we  should 
certainly  not  find  in  Luther  in  his  later  years. 

It  appears,  indeed,  that  Blandrata  had  met  with  striking  en- 
couragement. Calvin  praises  the  Polish  Stanislaus,  that  he  was 
not  hurried  away  like  others,  who  were  ignorantly  praising  the 
heretic.  "  Know,"  he  says,  "  that  Valentin  Gentilis,  whose 
fanaticism  I  shortly  ago  exposed,  is  of  the  same  party."  Felix 
Cruciger  was  at  that  time  in  Poland.  Stancarus  had  circulated 
accounts  in  Geneva,  accusing  even  the  Polish  believers  of  inclining 
to  the  errors  of  Arius  and  Servetus.  A  synod  therefore  was 
assembled,  and  a  confession  of  faith  was  sent  to  Geneva  in  order 
to  clear  them  of  this  slander.  Calvin  highly  praised  it.  They 
declare,  that  they  desired  always  to  remain  in  connexion  with 
the  church  at  Geneva.  (i  May  a  holy  union  ever  prevail  between 
us!"  was  Calvin's  answer.  But  how  little  the  volatile  Italians 
understood  the  deep  mystery  of  the  being  of  God,  and  how 
fiercely  they  disputed  on  the  subject,  appears  from  Calvin's 
' Admonition'  to  the  brethren  in  Poland  (1563)  and  from  the 
following  narrative. 

Valentin  Gentilis  was  a  person  of  some  distinction :  he  was 
a  native  of  Consenza;  and  sought  that  peace  at  Geneva  which 
he  could  not  find  in  his  own  heart.  His  history,  characteristic 
of  the  times,  is  given  partly  by  Calvin  himself,  and  partly  by 
Benoit  Aretius,  a  theologian  of  Bern.  Calvin  relates  to  the 
Marquis  Caraccioli,  before-mentioned,  and  who  so  wisely  sepa- 
rated himself  from  the  frivolous  spirits  by  which  he  was  sur- 
rounded, the  excitement  which  had  been  caused  in  the  Italian 
church,  and  adds,  that  Valentin  had  persevered  in  diffusing  his 
poison,  but  was  now  in  prison.  He  describes  him  "  as  deceitful 
and  disloyal,"  and  says  "  he  kept  a  school  for  secretly  dissemi- 
nating his  errors,  which  are  in  one  respect  as  detestable  as  those 
of  Servetus ;  they  are,  in  fact,  the  same.  I  know  not  what  will 
be  the  issue  ;  but  the  beginning  greatly  distresses  me." 

Gentilis  asserted,  that  all  power  ought  to  be  ascribed  to  God 
the  Father,  who  communicated  his  might  to  the  other  two  per- 
sons ;    so  that   he  admitted  three   persons    and  essences,   and 


A.D.  1554.]  HERESY  OF  GENTILIS.  267 

consequently  three  Gods,  eternal,  almighty,  and  infinite.  He 
openly  acknowledged  this  doctrine,  and  declared  that  his  con- 
science compelled  him  to  teach  it.  But  notwithstanding  this, 
he  had  subscribed  the  Confession  of  the  Italian  church,  which 
concludes  in  the  following  terms :  "  We  approve,  receive,  and 
confirm  all  these  articles,  asserting  that  he  who  does  otherwise 
is  perjured  and  perfidious."  While  in  prison,  Gentilis  drew  up 
a  short  account  of  his  belief.  The  Council  desired  that  it  should 
be  stated  more  at  full.  He  then  confessed,  that  (i  if  the  Father, 
Son,  and  Holy  Ghost  were  to  be  acknowledged  as  equal  in  the 
divine  essence,  a  fourfold  personality  ought  to  be  admitted  ; 
since  the  divine  essence  was  in  itself,  without  any  consideration 
of  persons,  the  true  God."  The  Father  alone,  he  said,  expresses 
the  divine  essence.  The  Word  is  '  the  brightness  of  his  glory ' 
and  '  the  express  image  of  his  being/  distinct  from  the  Father, 
He  alone  being  the  true  God.  Again,  "  The  Word  is  the  Son, 
and  therefore  truly  God ;  and  yet  they  are  not  two  Gods,  but 
one  and  the  same." 

The  clergy  frequently  visited  him,  with  the  desire  of  inducing 
him  to  explain  his  views ;  but  in  vain.  He  wished  to  answer 
them  in  writing.  He  accordingly  composed  an  apology,  com- 
plaining that  after  he  had  come  so  far  to  see  Calvin,  of  whom 
he  had  heard  so  much,  he  should  be  subjected  to  persecution. 
Endeavouring  to  support  his  opinions  by  scholastic  reasoning, 
he  concluded  with  a  quotation  from  Melancthorv's  "  Loci,"  and 
with  several  from  Irenaeus  and  Tertullian.  Calvin  answered  him, 
in  the  name  of  the  ministers,  confuting  every  point  in  his  argu- 
ment. Valentin  requested  the  assistance  of  an  advocate,  "  that 
his  innocence  might  not  be  oppressed  by  the  power  of  the  man 
and  the  volubility  of  his  tongue  ;"  because  "  I  openly  acknow- 
ledge that  I  cannot,  with  a  good  conscience,  adopt  his  four- 
fold personality  in  God."  In  other  respects  he  expressed  him- 
self prudently,  avoiding  whatever  was  blasphemous.  His  trial 
therefore  exhibited  a  great  contrast  to  that  of  Servetus,  whose 
shameless  blasphemy  alone  was  the  cause  of  his  condemnation. 
Gentilis  declared,  "that  he  desired  to  submit  himself  altogether 
to  the  consistory  ;  and  that,  as  so  many  agreed  in  pronouncing 
him  wrong,  he  would  rather  believe  them,  even  though  they 
dreamed,  than  himself,  though  awake."  He  entreated  the  favour 
of  the  Council;  praised  Calvin,  and  acknowledged  his  deserts. 

But  there  was  something  strange  in  this  retractation  for  the 
judges.    They  felt  that  he  was  jesting  witli  them,  and  that  they 


2G8  HERESY  OF  GENTILIS.  [CHAP.  VI. 

understood  little  of  his  real  meaning.  Five  jurisconsults  were 
therefore  called  to  their  aid,  and  they  were  asked  what  punish- 
ment was  due  to  him  according  to  the  law.  The  lawyers  answered, 
that,  according  to  the  imperial  law,  he  ought  to  be  condemned 
to  the  flames.  Upon  hearing  this,  the  members  of  the  council, 
on  the  15th  of  August  1558,  sentenced  him  to  be  beheaded. 
But  the  affair  now  took  another  direction.  The  lawyers  soon 
felt  regret  that  they  had  spoken  so  strongly,  and  prayed  the 
Council  to  defer  the  execution  of  the  sentence  till  the  state  of 
the  man's  soul  could  be  more  clearly  determined.  The  Council 
was  well-content  to  receive  this  application,  and  the  milder  sen- 
timents which  prevailed  plainly  indicate  the  transition  to  better 
times.  Gentilis  was  re-examined,  and  he  stated  his  belief  in 
more  cautious  terms.  "  I  must  acknowledge,"  he  said,  "  that 
when  I  made  my  first  confession,  my  zeal  so  carried  me  away, 
that  I  would  willingly  have  endured  any  punishment  for  the 
sake  of  establishing  my  doctrine.  But  after  I  had  many  times 
carefully  perused  the  answer  given  me  by  the  consistory,  and 
which  appeals  so  distinctly  to  fundamental  principles,  it  pleased 
the  Father  of  mercies,  who  allowed  me  to  wander  for  a  time  in 
doubt,  to  bring  me  to  the  knowledge  of  my  error,  which  rests 
upon  three  false  supports.  In  the  first  place,  I  was  wrong  in 
not  observing  that,  while  I  asserted  that  the  one  only  God  of 
Israel  is  the  Father  of  our  Lord,  the  Godhead  of  the  Son,  of  the 
Father,  and  of  Jesus  Christ,  was  excluded  by  this  contrast  of 
one  peculiar  God.  Secondly,  when  I  viewed  the  being  of  God, 
independently  of  the  persons,  I  insisted  upon  a  fourfold  perso- 
nality ;  which  was  erroneous  ;  since  the  essence  can  be  seen  only 
in  the  three  persons,  each  of  which  has  the  whole  essence  in 
himself.  My  third  error  consisted  in  the  assertion,  that  the 
person  of  the  Father  is  sophistical ;  which  is  false,  as  has  been 
proved  to  me.  Upon  these  three  rotten  foundations  I  built 
many  false  consequences,  which  I  now  condemn."  He  expressed, 
moreover,  his  grief  that  he  had  caused  any  trouble  to  the  church, 
and  that  he  had  answered  Calvin,  that  great  theologian,  so 
thoughtlessly.  So  also  he  stated  his  hope  that  the  ministers 
would  receive  him,  the  lost  sheep,  into  the  bosom  of  the 
church  again ;  and  he  prayed  that,  as  they  had  mercy  on  his 
soul,  so  they  would  also  consider  his  bodily  necessities,  for  that 
he  had  now  been  six  months  in  prison,  and  was  poor  and  sick. 
He  appended  a  formal  renunciation  of  his  errors,  and  a  pure 
confession  of  the  truth. 


A.D.  1554.]  HERESY  OF  GEXTILIS.  2G9 

Calvin  declared,  that,  although  he  saw  full  well  that  as  soon 
as  Gentilis  was  free  he  would  return  to  his  errors,  and  that  no- 
thing was  to  be  expected  of  so  deceitful  a  man,  they  had  no  wish 
to  resist  the  mercy  of  the  judges,  but  would  silently  acquiesce  in 
their  decision. 

In  the  report  of  the  trial  it  is  stated,  "  that  Gentilis  had  been 
apprehended  on  account  of  his  heresy  ;  that  although  he  had 
subscribed  the  confession  of  the  Italian  church,  he  had  fallen 
back  into  error;  that  while  in  prison  he  had  resisted  all  admo- 
nitions, remaining  hardened  in  his  impiety  and  in  his  blasphe- 
mous assertion,  that  we  have  four  Gods,  two  Fathers,  and  a 
Turkish  God  ;  but  that  at  length  he  had  manifested  repent- 
ance." The  sentence  is  remarkable  for  the  time.  "  Although," 
it  says,  "  thou  didst  well  deserve,  for  thy  wickedness,  to  be 
destroyed  from  among  men,  we  desire,  having  regard  to  thy  re- 
pentance and  conversion,  to  act  towards  thee  with  mercy  rather 
than  severity.  We  therefore  sentence  thee,  Valentin  Gentilis, 
to  be  stripped  to  the  shirt,  and,  with  naked  feet  and  bare  head, 
and  with  a  lighted  torch  in  thy  hand,  to  kneel  before  us,  and 
beseech  the  judges  to  pardon  thee,  acknowledging  that  thou  hast 
wickedly  diffused  a  false,  heretical  doctrine,  and  expressing  thine 
abhorrence  of  the  writings  in  which  thou  hast  taught  it.  And 
we  command  thee  to  cast  with  thine  own  hand  these  thy  writings 
into  the  fire  here  kindled,  that,  being  full  of  dangerous  lies,  they 
may  be  burnt  to  ashes.  And  in  order  to  prove  thy  repentance 
more  fully,  we  command  that  thou  be  led  through  the  streets  of 
the  city,  with  the  sound  of  trumpets,  and  we  forbid  thee  to  de- 
part the  city.  We  desire  that  this  may  be  an  example  to  those 
who  might  attempt  things  like  to  thine." 

The  sentence  thus  passed  upon  Gentilis  was  executed  Sep- 
tember 2,  1558.  He  burned  his  writings,  and  exhibited  pro- 
found humility  and  grief.  All  present  were  astonished  ;  and  he 
besought  the  Council,  with  many  prayers,  to  allow  him  to  leave 
the  prison  without  his  being  obliged  to  find  security,  which  his 
poverty,  living  as  he  did  upon  alms,  might  render  impossible. 
The  council  graciously  acceded  to  his  request ;  and  he  declared 
with  an  oath,  that  he  would  not  depart  the  city. 

But  all  this  was  done  in  mockery.  Gentilis  no  sooner  found 
himself  at  liberty  than  he  set  out,  and  took  the  nearest  road  to 
his  friend  Gribaldi,  now  at  his  country-seat  at  Farges.  Two 
other  Italians  followed  him, — Paul  Aleiat  and  the  physician 
Blandrata.      We   may   easily   conceive   how  these  four  Italians 


270  HERESY  OF  GENTILIS.  [CHAP.  VI. 

discussed,  in  their  retirement,  the  doctrine  of  the  Trinity,  and 
Calvin's  vocation.  Gentilis  became  more  confirmed  in  his  error 
than  ever,  and  went  to  France  for  the  purpose  of  spreading  it. 
While  with  Gribaldi  he  had  drawn  up  a  confession  of  faith,  in- 
troducing many  abusive  expressions  against  Athanasius  and  his 
creed,  and  also  against  Calvin.  He  had  the  folly  to  dedicate 
this  work  to  Simon  Wurstenberger,  landvogt  (bailiff)  of  Gex,  as 
if  he  entertained  the  same  sentiments.  Having  done  this,  he 
went  to  Lyons  to  give  the  document  to  the  printer.  He  was 
apprehended,  but  liberated  the  moment  it  was  known  that 
he  had  written  something  against  Calvin.  The  report  of  his 
trial  was  now  published,  and  with  it  an  address  to  the'Lyonnese. 
Gentilis  went  to  Poland.  Driven  from  thence,  with  other  Anti- 
trinitarians,  he  visited  Siebenburgen,  Hungary  and  Moravia. 
He  fell  into  the  mistake  of  supposing  that  it  was  Calvin  only, 
and  not  the  principles  of  the  age  which  were  opposed  to  his 
system.  Returning  to  Switzerland,  he  knocked  at  the  door  of 
his  friend  in  Farges,  to  repose  awhile  under  his  roof;  but  Gri- 
baldi had  died  a  short  time  before  of  the  plague. 

The  rash  and  foolish  man  now  ventured  to  address  himself  to 
the  bailiff  of  Gex,  and  expressed  his  desire  to  hold  a  disputation 
at  which  all  the  clergy  of  the  neighbourhood  might  be  present. 
The  notice  which  was  issued  purported,  that "  if  any  one  wished 
to  defend  the  doctrine  of  Calvin,  he  should  present  himself  in 
eight  days  to  dispute  with  him  (Gentilis),  under  the  condition 
that  he  who  could  not  support  his  opinions  by  God's  word 
should  be  beheaded  as  a  deceiver;  and  that  if  there  were  none 
to  accept  this  challenge,  the  landvogt  and  the  council  of  the  city 
should  solemnly  declare,  that  the  doctrine  of  Gentilis  respecting 
God,  the  Father,  Son  and  Holy  Ghost,  was  the  orthodox  doc- 
trine/' The  landvogt,  who  had  been  already  greatly  offended 
with  Gentilis  for  having  dedicated  his  confession  of  faith  to  him, 
which  had  created  injurious  suspicions  at  Bern,  gave  directions 
for  his  apprehension.  The  magistrates  of  Bern  ordered  that 
he  should  be  forthwith  brought  to  the  city ;  and  a  process  was 
commenced  against  him,  which  lasted  through  a  month.  He 
confessed  his  belief  with  the  greatest  firmness.  The  ministers 
of  Bern,  and  Beza,  who  was  present,  endeavoured  to  bring  him 
back  to  the  truth  ;  but  he  obstinately  persisted  in  his  heresy  and 
in  his  insufferable  abuse  of  the  Trinity.  Some  books  were  found 
in  his  possession  which  he  had  written  on  the  subject,  and  dedi- 
cated to  the  King  of  Poland ;  and  as  he  had  broken  his  oath  at 


A.D.  1554.]  HERESY  OF  GENTIL1S.  271 

Geneva,  he  was  sentenced  to  be  beheaded,  that  he  might  cause 
no  further  trouble  to  the  church.  He  continued  to  reiterate  his 
blasphemies  to  the  last.  The  sentence  was  executed  at  Bern,  in 
the  year  1566,  that  is,  two  years  after  the  death  of  Calvin. 

The  system  of  Gentilis,  whose  chief  error  is  stated  on  the  title- 
page  of  the  work  which  Calvin  published  against  him*,  can  only 
here  be  glanced  at.  To  avoid  repetitions,  we  shall  merely  men- 
tion that  he  could  not  comprehend  the  relation  of  the  Son  to  the 
Father.  Thus  he  sometimes  separated  the  Son  from  the  Godhead, 
so  that  he  was  no  longer  the  true  God  ;  and  sometimes,  again,  he 
divided  the  essence  of  God  from  the  persons,  and  converted  the 
Trinity  into  a  quaternity,  rendering  the  whole  subject  contempt- 
ible. At  length  he  admitted  three  eternal  Almighty  Godheads, 
because  he  could  not  comprehend  the  inward  and  outward  rela- 
tions of  the  persons.  Calvin  concluded  his  work  against  him, 
and  his  argument  for  the  faith  in  the  true  God,  with  the  sublime 
expressions  of  Gregory  of  Nazianzum  : — "  I  cannot  think  of  the 
One  without  being  dazzled  with  the  splendour  of  the  Three  :  nor 
can  I  acknowledge  the  Three  without  feeling  my  soul  at  the  in- 
stant beaming  back  upon  the  Unity." 

John  Paul  Alciat  de  la  Motte,  a  Piedmontese  nobleman,  was 
summoned  in  the  course  of  this  agitation  before  the  tribunal  at 
Genevaf .  He  left  the  city,  and  wrote  to  the  Council,  "  that  he 
thanked  them  for  the  right  of  citizenship  which  they  had  bestowed 
upon  him,  and  which  he  now  resigned  back  into  their  hands  ;  that 
there  was  some  one  among  them  whom  he  would  for  his  own 
sake  take  care  not  to  name,  who  persecuted,  and  laid  snares  for 
him.  He  besought  the  pious  magistrates  to  judge  between  them." 

This  letter  was  very  unfavourably  received.  The  Council  sa- 
tisfied itself  however  with  pronouncing  Alciat's  perpetual  banish- 
ment as  a  schismatic,  heretic,  and  companion  of  the  devil.  When 
he  heard  that  he  had  been  summoned  by  sound  of  trumpet  to 
appear  in  the  city  and  undergo  his  trial,  he  sent  in  a  confession 
of  faith,  in  which  he  owned  Christ  as  the  true  God,  and  rejected 
the  notion  of  a  plurality  of  gods  as  impious. 

As  the  error  of  which  we  have  been  speaking  was  now,  through 
the  instrumentality  of  Blandrata,  Gentilis,  Alciat  and  others, 
established  in  Poland,  Calvin    despatched  two  brief  addresses 

*  "  L'Irapietc  de  Valentin  Gontil  apertement  descouverte  et  descripte,  leqncl 
enseigne  ce  blaspheme  plein  de  sacrilege  que  Jesus  Christ  est  un  Dieu  qui  a 
prins  son  essence  d'ailleurs." 

f  Archives  de  la  Republique. 


272  CALVIx's  ADDRESS  TO  THE   POLES.  [CHAP.  VT. 

to  be  circulated  in  that  country*.  This  leads  us  to  mention  the 
heresy  of  Stancarus,  who  was  involved  in  the  chief  errors  of  the 
time,  and  formed  a  striking  contrast  to  Osiander,  of  whom  he 
had  been  the  colleague.  His  principal  dogma  referred  to  the 
mediatorship  of  Christ,  but  it  was  closely  connected  with  the 
doctrine  of  the  Trinity,  the  relation  of  the  Father  to  the  Son 
being  in  neither  case  comprehended.  Since  Christ  as  Mediator 
is  subordinate  to  the  Father,  Stancarus  sought  to  represent 
Him  as  less  than  the  Father :  being  Mediator  only  in  so  far  as 
He  is  man,  many  came  to  view  the  Father  only  as  God. 

It  appears  from  several  letters f  that  Calvin's  admonition  was 
for  some  time,  either  through  negligence  or  treachery,  suppressed  ; 
and  when  the  Poles  wished  for  other  writings,  he  refused  to  grant 
their  request.  This  is  said  also  of  his  little  work  against  Stan- 
carus, in  which  he  especially  attacks  his  error  on  the  character 
of  Christ  as  Mediator.  "  I  praise  your  zeal,"  he  says  in  a  letter 
to  Trecius,  ci  but  it  is  my  duty  to  remark,  that  I  do  not  cast  my 
writings  to  the  wind  for  sport.  Nay,  the  less  I  am  endued  with 
foresight,  the  more  timid  am  I,  and  the  more  watchful  must  I  be 
of  my  safety."  Christopher  Trecius,  who  was  returning  from  Hei- 
delberg to  Poland,  wished  Calvin  to  give  him  letters  for  those 
who  had  been  led  astray  by  Stancarus.  But  he  also  refused  to 
write  to  the  Hospodar  of  Wallachia  and  Moldavia.  It  was  in  the 
year  1563,  and  he  alleged  his  bodily  weakness  as  an  apology.  In 
a  letter  to  Stanislaus  Sarnicius  J,  written  the  same  year,  a  threat 
is  expressed  against  Gregorius  Paulus,  a  preacher  at  Cracow, 
who  had  become  involved  in  the  Antitrinitarian  controversy. 

Francis  Stancarus,  a  well-known  disputant  of  those  times,  was 
a  native  of  Mantua.  He  had  been  invited  to  Cracow  as  a  teacher 
of  Hebrew§ ;  but  he  was  obliged  to  leave  that  city,  and  joining 
Felix  Cruciger,  he  went  to  diffuse  his  notions  in  other  parts  of 
Poland.  Calvin's  writings  had  at  that  time  exercised  the  most 
happy  influence  in  the  country.  Stancarus,  who  had  advanced 
the  erroneous  opinion  that  Christ  is  our  Mediator,  not  in  his  di- 
vine but  only  in  his  human  nature,  was  condemned  by  the  sen- 
tence of  a  synod  in  1554.  He  still  however  ventured  to  visit  Po- 
land. Lismannius  accusedhim  of  Sabellianism.  He  now  travelled 
into  Hungary  and  Siebenburgen,  where,  at  Clausenburg,  a  confes- 

*  Thcso  addresses  were,  first,  the  Admonition  "  ad  Fratres  Polonos,"  and 
secondly,  an  Kpistle  to  the  Polish  Nobles  of  Cracow. 

f  MS.  Paris.  Calv.  Jacobo  Silvio.     Ibid.  Calv.  Christoph.  TYccio. 

;   MS.  Gen.  Sept.  13,  1563. 

§   Salig.  Gesch.  der  Augsburg   Confession.  Thl.  ii.  s.  572. 


A.D.   1554.]  FRANCIS  STANCARUS.  273 

sion  was  drawn  up  in  opposition  to  his  doctrine  of  Christ's  Media- 
torship  ;  and,  as  he  belonged  to  the  Reformed,  the  confusion  was 
hereby  rendered  greater  than  before.  After  a  colloquy  with  the 
Lutheran  ministers,  and  much  excitement,  he  withdrew.  At  last 
this  wrangler  went  to  Konigsberg,  where  he  became  professor  of 
theology  and  Hebrew.  The  controversy  between  Osiander,  Mor- 
lin  and  Staphylus,  on  justification,  was  then  at  its  height.  Stan- 
carus  could  not  long  retain  his  position  in  Konigsberg,  and  on 
his  departure  he  described  Osiander,  in  a  rash  farewell  address 
to  the  duke,  as  an  Antichrist  and  a  blood-hound.  He  now  as- 
sumed the  office  of  a  teacher  at  Frankfort,  where  he  created  such 
disturbance,  that  Melancthon  was  obliged  to  be  summoned  to 
restore  order.  Stancarus  had  assailed  him  among  the  rest,  and 
accused  him  of  Arianism*.  The  Genevese  church  declared 
itself  especially  opposed  to  the  errors  which  this  Italian  taught. 
Calvin  has  described  this  controversy  in  a  little  treatise  on  the 
subject  f. 

With  regard  to  justification,  Stancarus,  from  the  desire  to 
suppress  every  idea  of  communion  with  Christ,  founds  the  whole 
work  of  our  reconciliation  to  God  on  the  sufferings  of  our  Lord's 
human  nature.  We  find  the  opposite  error  in  Osiander,  who  sepa- 
rated justification  from  the  forgiveness  of  sins,  denied  the  satis- 
faction effected  by  the  sufferings  of  Christ,  and  insisted  that  we 
are  justified  and  sanctified  through  the  living  apprehension  of 
Christ  himself {. 

Melancthon  and  Calvin  expressed  themselves  strongly  against 
these  views.  Osiander  complained  that  people  contented  them- 
selves with  an  imputed  righteousness,  and  that,  though  the 
death  of  Christ  might  indeed  be  our  redemption,  it  was  not  our 
justification.  His  doctrine,  he  believed,  would  triumphantly  ex- 
alt the  practical  element  of  Christianity.  The  visible  Christ,  his 
works,  his  sufferings,  are  not  sufficient  of  themselves  to  make  us 
righteous:  the  inward,  the  actual  essential  Christ,  alone  avails 
for  this.  He  denies  the  influence  of  the  satisfaction,  and  argues 
that  the  life,  which  is  in  the  actual  Christ,  accomplishes  the  most. 
Christ  is  the  righteousness  or  holiness  of  God  himself;  and  con- 
sequently we  are  inwardly  justified  by  Him,  and  outwardly  also 
by  his  love,  which  is  the  fulfilling  of  God's  law.     But  it  is  not  faith 

*  MS.  Paris,  without  date. 

t  Responsum  ad  Fratres  Polonos,  quomodo  Mediator  sit  Chiistus  ad  refu- 
tandum  errorem  Stancari.  1560. 

X   Planck  describes  his  system,  /.  c.  s.  2G7. 
VOL.  II.  T 


2?4  FRANCIS  STANCARUS.  [CHAP.  VII. 

which  justifies  :  it  is  the  righteousness  of  Christ,  which  we  ap- 
prehend through  Christ  himself.  Calvin  thus  expresses  himself 
against  Osiander  in  a  letter  to  Melancthon* :  "I  have  always 
numbered  him  among  our  disgraces."  He  speaks  equally  strongly 
on  the  subject  of  his  doctrine.  Having  accused  him  of  ambition, 
he  says,  "  He  exalts  to  the  highest  degree  the  shadowy  notion 
of  an  actual  righteousness,  allowing  nothing  to  the  free  accept- 
tance  on  the  side  of  God,  as  if  that  were  a  subordinate  conse- 
quence." 

Osiander  confounded  regeneration  with  justification.  He  says 
that  we  are  not  so  justified  by  the  obedience  of  Christ,  and  the 
satisfaction  which  He  rendered,  as  we  are  through  his  divine 
and  eternal  righteousness.  Altogether  different  is  the  statement 
of  the  Apostle,  who  simply  declares  that  we  are  made  righteous 
by  the  obedience  of  one  man. 

Having  thus  described  the  two  obstinate  controversies  on  pre- 
destination and  on  the  doctrine  of  the  Trinity,  it  still  remains 
for  us  to  consider  that  which  originated  in  the  theories  advanced 
respecting  the  Lord's  Supper.  Calvin  here  displayed  his  earnest 
zeal  for  the  unity  of  the  church  ;  and  this  controversy,  through 
the  direction  which  it  received  from  circumstances,  became  the 
most  important  of  all  others  in  reference  to  the  church's  progress 
and  development. 


CHAPTER  VII. 


calvin's  controversy  with  westphal  and  hesshuss  on 

the  doctrine  of  the  sacrament. rise  and  progress 

of  the  dispute. parties  engaged. results. 

The  agreement  in  doctrine  established  between  the  Swiss  and 
the  Genevese  extended  their  influence  to  France,  England,  Scot- 
land, and  Holland.  In  the  same  manner,  the  union  between  Me- 
lancthon  and  Calvin  on  the  subject  of  the  sacrament  secured  the 
peace  of  the  Protestant  church ;  and  there  was  every  reason  to 
expect  its  continuance,  till  Westphal,  Hesshuss,  and  some  others, 
designedly  created  a  breach,  and  thus  aroused  the  holy  indig- 
nation of  Calvin.     This  old  controversy  acquires  a  fresh  interest 

*  Ep.  141,  1552. 


A.D.  1554.]  SACRAMENTAL  CONTROVERSY.  275 

through  the  circumstance  that  voices  even  in  the  present  day  are 
again  raised,  and  with  fiery  zeal,  in  favour  of  the  original  Lutheran 
doctrine  of  the  sacrament.  This  may  produce  a  schism,  even- 
tually destructive  to  the  church. 

That  which  was  so  calculated  to  excite  Calvin's  anxiety  was 
evidently  the  prospect  of  the  indescribable  evils  which  threatened 
the  church  through  these  proceedings  in  Germany.  In  the  case 
of  a  man  like  Luther,  he  could  forgive  anything,  even  when  he 
most  fiercely  assailed  the  doctrine  of  Zwingli,  and  rent  the  church. 
But  Westphal  manifestly  awakened  the  strife  from  an  ignorant 
love  of  disputation  ;  and  Calvin,  in  order  to  bridle  him,  threatened 
him  with  the  fire,  but  of  a  kind  altogether  different  from  that 
which  consumed  Servetus.  Calvin's  main  effort  had  ever  been 
to  establish  concord  between  the  two  great  parties  in  the  church: 
he  had  placed  himself  in  the  midst  that  he  might  bind  them 
together*. 

The  Lutherans  since  the  year  1536,  when  the  Wittenberg  Con- 
cordia was  established,  had  remained  satisfied  with  the  funda- 
mental idea  of  the  true  bodily  presence  of  Christ  in  the  sacrament. 
They  regarded  particular  definitions  of  the  manner  in  which  He 
is  present  as  unnecessary.  Melancthon  himself  had  in  some 
degree  relinquished  the  notion  of  a  local  presence,  to  give  more 
force  to  the  spiritual.  Luther,  indeed,  had  again  begun  to  rage 
against  the  Swiss,  but  the  silence  of  his  party  only  tends  to  show 
more  remarkably  the  existence  of  a  union  of  belief  between  the 
churches  themselves.  The  Zurich  "  Consensus"  seemed  finally 
to  adjust  the  matter.  In  the  apprehension  of  the  mystery  in- 
volved in  the  sacrament,  of  which  he  said  that  it  exceeded  the 
powers  of  his  understanding,  Calvin  showed  that  he  possessed  as 
profound  a  sense  as  Luther. 

In  the  new  formulary,  which  Calvin  persuaded  the  Swiss  to 
adopt,  it  was  expressly  stated,  "  that  there  is  an  actual  par- 
taking of  the  body  of  Christ  in  the  sacrament ;  that  a  perceptible 
strength  is  imparted  to  the  soul  of  the  communicant,  from  the 
substance  of  the  body  of  Christ ;  and  that  its  operation  is  incom- 
prehensible,— a  miracle."  But  this  was  followed  by  a  most  wicked 
love  of  strife ;  and  when  the  main  question  was  settled,  there 
still  remained  the  collateral  inquiry,  so  difficult  to  be  settled,  as 
to   how   Christ  is  present  in  the  sacrament,  and  which  it  was 

*  See  Planck,  On  the  Separation  and- Reunion  of  Parties  in  the  Christian 
Church,  s.  127  ;  and  his  work  Ueber  den  Protestantischen  Lehrbegriff,  Bd.  v. 
Thl.  ii. 

T  2 


2?6  SACRAMENTAL  CONTROVERSY.  [CHAP.  VII. 

only  necessary  to  urge,  to  destroy  the  peace  of  the  church. 
Westphal  endeavoured  to  prove  that  this  inquiry  was  of  the 
utmost  importance  ;  and  he  evinced  thereby  how  little  he  cared 
about  Christianity  itself,  and  how  much  was  necessary  to  satisfy 
his  own  ambition.  As  a  vain  disputant  on  the  mysteries  incom- 
prehensible to  Calvin,  he  exposed  himself  to  be  branded  with  the 
mark  of  his  true  character,  and  to  the  anathemas  of  the  church. 

Calvin  never  exhibited  his  prudence  more  conspicuously  per- 
haps than  in  this  controversy.  He  stood  between  two  parties, 
each  violently  excited  against  the  other,  ready  to  pervert  every  ex- 
pression which  was  uttered,  and  one  of  which  was  utterly  averse 
to  peace.  He  engaged  his  whole  ability  in  the  struggle ;  and 
most  people  will  probably  be  inclined  rather  to  admire  his 
moderation  at  the  commencement  of  the  controversy,  than  to 
accuse  him  of  bitterness. 

The  expressions  used  by  Calvin  and  Peter  Martyr  had  long 
since  aroused  the  attention  of  the  sterner  Lutherans.  Westphal 
commenced  the  attack  with  a  little  pamphlet  in  the  year  1552: 
in  this  work  he  summoned  the  Lutherans  to  the  field,  and  it  is 
evident  that  he  had  no  other  object  but  that  of  embroiling  both 
parties  in  a  conflict.  He  enumerates  twenty-eight  different  in- 
terpretations of  the  consecrating  words  in  the  Lord's  Supper,  and 
on  which  the  Sacramentarians  were  opposed  to  each  other.  This 
was  a  striking  evidence,  he  said,  of  error;  but  the  Lutherans,  he 
added,  had  always  persevered  in  asserting  one  meaning.  In  con- 
clusion he  declared,  and  with  great  violence  of  expression,  that 
the  blasphemies  of  the  Sacramentarians  ought  to  be  resisted  by 
the  power  of  the  magistrate  rather  than  by  the  pen. 

When  the  Swiss  were  now  silent  from  regard  to  Christian  feel- 
ing, and  the  Lutherans,  Flaccius,  Amsdorf,  Wigand,  and  Mbrlin, 
were  otherwise  occupied,  Westphal  appeared  again  with  a  new 
pamphlet  written  against  the  Sacramentarians  at  Magdeburg. 
In  this  production  he  summoned  the  Lutherans  to  unite  to  de- 
fend their  doctrine,  everywhere  oppressed  by  Zwinglianism,  now 
spreading  on  all  sides.  Bullinger  delivered  two  discourses,  in 
which  he  treated  this  subject  with  the  greatest  earnestness.  Viret 
also  this  year  translated  into  Latin  a  very  comprehensive  work, 
written  some  time  before  in  French :  he  soon  after  wrote  two  other 
works  on  the  Lord's  Supper*.  It  was  at  this  juncture  that  Mary 
ascended  the  throne  of  England,  and  commenced  the  persecution 

*  Ruchat,  vi.  6,  7,  8.     Hospinian,  p.  383. 


A.D.   1554.]  SACRAMENTAL  CONTROVERSY.  277 

of  the  Protestants.  A  reformed  congregation  in  London,  whose 
minister  was  John  a  Lasco,  was  obliged  instantly  to  disperse,  its 
members  seeking  safety  by  flight.  Laski,  a  native  of  Poland,  who 
enjoyed  Calvin's  profoundest  respect,  and  was  a  truly  noble  and 
enlightened  man,  had  been  originally  nominated  to  the  richest 
bishoprics  in  his  own  country  and  in  Hungary ;  but  he  had 
resigned  all  to  become  a  minister  of  the  reformed  congregation 
at  Emden,  and  to  teach  the  simple  truth  of  the  Gospel.  To  avoid 
signing  the  Interim,  he  had  proceeded  in  the  reign  of  Edward 
VI.  to  London,  and  there  established  a  congregation  which  had 
now  four  ministers. 

Laski,  when  the  persecution  commenced,  embarked  in  Septem- 
ber 1553  with  175  persons.  The  ship  was  wrecked  in  a  storm. 
Laski  ran  into  the  harbour  of  Elsinore.  It  was  winter,  but  the  ex- 
iles received  command  immediately  to  re-embark,  and  to  proceed 
to  the  German  coast*.  Even  the  women,  with  children  at  their 
breasts,  were  not  allowed  to  wait  for  calmer  weather.  Force  was 
quickly  employed  to  drive  them  into  the  ship,  or  beyond  the  bound- 
ary-line, and  this  in  spite  of  all  their  prayers  to  be  allowed  to  re- 
main to  the  end  of  winter  f.  Even  in  Germany  they  were  treated 
as  enemies  of  the  country  and  of  the  church.  Westphal  called 
the  members  of  Laski's  exiled  community,  the  devil's  martyrs. 
Bugenhagen  refused  to  acknowledge  them  as  Christians,  and  they 
were  told  that  papists  could  be  better  endured  than  they.  Laski's 
children  only  were  allowed  to  remain  in  Hamburg  till  the  spring. 

The  hatred  of  the  Lutherans  pursued  the  wanderers  not  only 
in  that  city,  but  also  in  Lubeck  and  Rostock.  At  length  they 
found  refuge  in  Danzig ;  and  Laski  himself  was  honourably  en- 
tertained at  Emden,  through  the  influence  of  the  Countess  Anna 
of  Oldenburg.     Gustavus  Vasa  also  invited  him  to  Sweden. 

We  learn  from  these  circumstances  that  the  Lutherans  had 
but  half  escaped  from  the  trammels  of  the  Catholic  spirit ;  and 
that  the  feeling  still  prevailed  among  them,  that  their  own 
church  was  the  sole  source  of  salvation  ; — a  fanatical  error  which 
still  exhibits  its  force  in  the  new  Lutheran  communities. 

A  great  number  of  frantic  Lutheran  preacher.-  branded  the 
exiles  with  the  name  of  heretics,  and  thus  excited  the  populace 
against  them.     They   were  also    decried   as   anabaptists  by  the 

*  Krasinski,  Geschichte  der  Reformation  in  Polen.     London,  L841. 
f  Uttehhoven  gave  an  accounl  of  the  Bufferings  of  these  exiles.     The  narra- 
tive was  preceded  by  a  preface  from  the  pen  of  a   Lac  -  Pontoppi- 

dan's  Annalen,  Thl.  iii.  s.  317.  '24. 


278  SACRAMENTAL  CONTROVERSY.  [CHAP.  VII. 

clergy;  and  the  magistrates  were  therefore  compelled  to  deny 
them  a  place  of  shelter.  This  angry  zeal  exhibited  itself  in  a  man- 
ner which  proved  clearly  that  it  had  been  nourished  in  secret 
before  it  actually  broke  forth. 

Calvin  first  received  the  melancholy  tidings  through  Peter 
Martyr,  in  a  letter  from  Strasburg,  May  9,  1554.  He  could  now 
no  longer  remain  silent,and  he  at  oncehurled  his  lightnings  against 
the  false  protestant  ministers*.  Disposed  originally  to  use  gentle 
means,  he  wrote  to  Caspar  Liser,  in  August  1554, — "  I  rejoice  to 
see  that  you  approve  of  my  efforts  to  heal  the  schism,  which  has, 
alas  !  attended  the  revival  of  the  Gospel ;  but  we  must  meet  this 
rebellious  spirit  with  mildness,  and  thus  prevent  the  fire  from 
spreading  far  and  wide  around."  He  expresses  himself  with 
similar  moderation  in  an  answer  to  Sulzer  at  Basel  f;  and  with 
the  same  object  in  view,  he  dedicated  his  Commentary  on  Genesis 
to  the  sons  of  the  Duke,  John  Frederic,  of  Saxony,  hoping  to 
convince  them  of  the  necessity  of  opposing  the  Catholics  by  a 
union  established  on  the  true  principles  of  peace  and  concord. 

At  the  end  of  March  he  wrote  to  Bullinger,  stating  that  the 
brethren  from  France  were  flocking  into  Geneva,  with  the  inten- 
tion of  keeping  Easter  there ;  as  if  they  knew  nothing  of  the  pre- 
vailing agitation,  or  of  the  guard  posted  at  all  the  barriers.  He 
also  expressed  his  thanks  for  the  sermons  published  by  Bullinger, 
and  for  the  honourable  mention  of  himself,  inquiring  at  the  same 
time,  whether  Bullinger  would  oppose  Westphal?  Beza  drew  his 
attention  to  this  man  ;  and  added,  that  he  might  be  put  down  in 
three  days  J. 

The  condition  of  Laski  greatly  affected  Calvin.  Addressing 
him,  he  says,  "  The  cruel  conduct  of  Denmark  affects  me  bitterly. 
Great  God !  what  an  instance  of  barbarity  among  a  Christian 
people  !  It  surpassed  even  the  fury  of  the  waves."  He  praised 
a  Lasco's  moderation  and  firmness.  Some  strong  expressions 
respecting  the  king  of  Denmark  follow : — "  The  more  I  have 
celebrated  his  zeal  and  friendship,  the  more  distressed  do  I  feel 
at  discovering  that  this  was  a  false  and  useless  display  of  mild- 
ness. But  I  see  that  a  devilish  frenzy  has  seized  the  whole  of 
that  coast.  Saxony  too  rages  against  us  without  shame  or 
measure.  A  gay  and  pleasant  exhibition  this  for  the  papists ! 
Although  I  doubt'  not  that  this  species  of  fury  must  be  detestable 
to  learned  and  thoughtful  men,  yet  I  feel  that  I  ought  not  to  re- 

*  Opuscules,  p.  1S08.  t  Ep.  176. 

J   IMS.  Goth,  in  Bretschncider,  p.  41,5  Cal.  Apr.  1554. 


A.D.  1554.]  CALVIN  AND  WESTP1IAL.  2J(J 

main  any  longer  silent ;  and  certainly  as  far  as  we  are  concerned 
the  disposition  was  to  offer  resistance  from  the  first.  But  our 
most  excellent  father  Bullinger  thought  otherwise,  and  made  the 
victory  depend  upon  silence  and  forbearance.  Subsequently 
however  he  altered  his  opinion  ;  and  of  his  own  accord  urged  me 
to  write  some  little  book  to  confute  these  infamous  slanders." 

Calvin  in  the  writing  referred  to  manifestly  mistook  at  first 
the  rude  importance  of  his  opponent,  and  his  work  shows  the 
profoundest  contempt  of  Westphal,  whom  he  will  not  once  name. 
He  wished  to  believe  that  as  all  the  other  Lutheran  divines  had 
remained  silent,  he  had  only  to  deal  with  this  one.  He  listened 
however  to  Bullinger's  advice,  made  him  acquainted  with  his 
work,  and  was  guided  by  his  remarks.  That  he  did  this  with 
regard  both  to  the  past  and  the  future,  appears  from  the  writing 
itself*.  It  was  regarded,  in  fact,  as  a  repetition  of  the  "  Con- 
sensus," and  was  subscribed  by  all  the  Swiss  f.  Bullinger  washed 
Calvin  to  reject  the  doctrine  of  Luther  with  the  strongest  expres- 
sions of  dislikej  :  "  It  has  not  perhaps  yet  occurred  to  you  how 
gross,"  &c.  Calvin  had  not  read  Luther's  German  writings. 
They  sent  him  some  specimens ;  still  Bullinger  blamed  Calvin's 
severity,  and  the  latter  answered  the  Zurich  ministers  that  he 
had  struck  out  the  harsh  passages  in  his  work  according  to  their 
suggestion.  His  apologies  are  very  comical.  He  says  among 
other  things,  that  what  he  meant  by  the  Latin  word  nebulo  (a 
scoundrel  or  paltry  knave)  was  merely  '  a  good-for-nothing  fel- 
low,' c  a  man  of  wind,'  c  a  darkling §.'  The  word  '  beast'  he  had 
struck  out.  He  could  not  understand,  he  said,  why  they  wished 
the  name  of  Westphal  to  be  inserted.  To  this  he  was,  as  before,, 
wholly  opposed;  the  work  was  more  respectable  without  it.  He 
had  but  one  word  to  say  about  Luther,  for  the  sake  of  peace. 
They  also  should  take  care  not  to  awaken  any  angry  feeling  in 
the  heart. 

Calvin  here  relates  a  circumstance  worthy  of  notice.  "When 
Melancthon,"  he  says,  "had  occasion  to  go  to  Worms,  to  altera 
passage  in  the  Augsburg  Confession,  the  papists  exclaimed  that 
both  we  and  the  Zwinglians  were  falsifiers.  The  elector  of  Bran- 
denburg, who  was  then  seeking  the  chief  command  in  the  Turk- 
ish war,  secretly  sent  a  prince  of  Anhalt  to  Luther,  who  was  to 

*  MS.  Tigur.  Calv.  Bullingero,  Prid.  Xon.  Oct.  1554. 

f  MS.  Gen.  Calv.  Molinaeo  Jurisconsulto,  .'an.  1555. 

I  Mess,  Leben  Bullingers,  Thl.  ii.  s.  217. 

§  MS.  Tigur.  Nov.  13,  1554. 


280  CALVIN  AND  WESTPHAL.  [CHAP.  VII. 

irritate  Luther  against  us,  and  persuade  him  to  abandon  our 
party.  But  Luther  afforded  this  proof  of  his  moderation,  that 
he  dismissed  the  traitor,  and  gave  us,  of  his  own  accord,  an  ac- 
count of  the  wickedness  practised  against  us." 

The  milder  expressions  were  adopted  by  general  consent.  Cal- 
vin learned  from  private  sources  that  the  work  had  proved  dis- 
pleasing to  Melancthon.  He  had  not,  he  informed  the  Zurich 
ministers,  followed  all  their  suggestions.  The  expressions  which 
he  employs  in  calling  their  attention  to  wdiat  is  mysterious  in 
the  sacrament  are  striking  and  beautiful*.  The  same  may  be 
said  of  the  manner  in  which  he  declares  his  confidence  in 
Luther  f. 

But  the  affair  was  not  to  be  so  quickly  settled.  From  a  letter 
to  FarelJ  we  learn,  that  the  Zurich  ministers  were  well-satisfied 
with  the  corrected  paper,  but  still  hesitated  to  adopt  it,  alleging 
that  it  was  somewhat  confused.  Calvin  was  on  the  point  of  burn- 
ing it  in  anger,  the  Council  having  resolved  to  submit  it  to 
the  censors. 

This  first  work  however  against  Westphal  was  published  in 
French,  November  28,  1554,  that  the  people  might  be  made  ac- 
quainted with  the  nature  of  the  controversy.  In  the  preliminary 
address  to  the  Swiss  ministers,  Calvin  expresses  his  utter  un- 
willingness to  engage  in  controversy  with  a  set  of  men  indulging 
in  absurdities.  He  would  write  against  one  of  them  only;  and  to 
show  his  contempt  even  for  him,  he  would  not  mention  his  name. 
In  his  last  epistle  however  to  Westphal,  he  intimates  that  it  was 
from  tenderness  to  him  that  he  refrained  from  naming  him. 

"  This  vain  and  foolish  doctor,"  he  says  in  the  French  dedica- 
tion, "  who  has  published  a  wretched  work  against  the  Sacramen- 
tarians,  although  we  know  better  than  he  how  to  defend  the  sa- 
craments, speaks  also  against  our  (  Consensus/  as  if  we  con- 
templated in  that  document,  not  the  sacrament,  but  an  empty 
sign."  The  Latin  text  is  the  more  correct.  We  meet  with  the 
following  reproachful  expressions  : — "  This  calf  afterwards  cites 
our  own  words,  in  which  we  openly  confess,  that  the  body  of 
Christ  is  actually  communicated  to  the  faithful.  He  answers, 
that  we  speak  only  of  a  spiritual  eating.    What  then  ?     He  would 

*  "  We  readily  agree  that  you  are  right,  if  it  be  in  your  mind  to  reject  the 
miracles  imagined  by  superstitious  men  ;  but  to  refuse  to  acknowledge  any 
mystery  in  the  sacrament,  that  is  to  dissent  too  much  from  the  secret  power 
of  the  Spirit,  which  we  so  often  celebrate." 

f  Ep.  177-  Ed.  Amst.  p.  84. 

I  MS.  Gen.  Calv.  Farello,  Pec.  26,  1554. 


A.D.   1554.]  CALVIN  AND  WESTPHAL.  281 

like,  I  suppose,  to  make  it  appear  that  the  flesh  of  Jesus  Christ 
may  be  eaten  like  the  flesh  of  the  oxen  on  his  farm*.  Christ 
has  a  real  natural  body,  as  it  was  once  offered  upon  the  cross  : 
and  this  is  daily  presented  to  us  in  the  sacrament/' 

Calvin  complains  that  Westphal  had  perverted  the  expressions 
employed  in  the  "  Consensus/5  "  Is  he  not  like  a  foolish  dog, 
which  bites  at  every  stone  that  lies  in  his  way  ?  This  con- 
fusion-counsellor pretends  that  we  are  guilty  of  trickery  ;  that 
we  deceive  the  simple,  by  speaking  of  a  spiritual  eating.  In  the 
same  manner  this  fine  champion  of  the  faith  shows,  that  we  are 
all  at  variance  with  each  other  in  our  views.  He  has  thereby 
done  us  a  service ;  for  nothing  can  more  plainly  prove  that  we 
are  agreed,  since  all  our  views  tend  to  the  same  end,  namely  that 
the  mystery  is  figuratively  exhibited.  Even  the  Apostles  differ 
in  their  words,  but  this  man  supposes  that  we  differ  in  sense. 
Some  may  indeed  seem  to  contradict  each  other ;  but  the  church- 
fathers  and  the  Apostles  express  themselves  in  various  ways  on 
the  mystery  of  the  sacrament." 

"You  see,"  he  continues,  "what  grounds  this  brainless  man 
has  for  fabricating  thunderbolts  in  his  chamber  to  set,  if  possible, 
all  Europe  in  a  blaze.  In  one  place  he  asserts,  that  the  words 
of  Christ  are  perfectly  clear  and  need  no  commentary,  when  he 
says  that  the  bread  is  his  body  ;  but  that  he  said  this  figuratively, 
which  yet  does  not  lessen  the  truth,  that  the  bread  is  indeed  the 
body  of  Christ." 

Lastly,  Calvin  objects  to  him  his  unholy  desire  to  involve  the 
church  in  schism,  whereas  Zwingli,  (Ecolampadius,  and  especially 
Bucer,  had  agreed  to  the  "  Consensus."  "  I  will  confine  my 
answer  to  three  words.  It  is  the  property  of  Satan  to  slander, 
to  darken  the  light;  and  as  the  father  of  contention,  to  destroy 
peace,  and  break  the  unity  of  the  faith.  Such  being  the  charac- 
teristics of  this  babbler,  nothing  remains  for  us  but  to  designate 
him  a  child  of  the  devil." 

This  address  is  followed  by  the  work  itself,  which  is  founded 
on  the  second  "Consensus"  with  the  Zurichcrs.  Planck  re- 
marks the  great  difficulty  of  the  undertaking,  and  shows  how 
much  acutcness  and  prudence  Calvin  combined  with  his  zealf. 
This  renders  it  so  much  the  more  remarkable  that  such  a  work 
should  have  been  so  little  regarded  J. 

*  Ed.  Amst.  p.  651. 

t  Geschichtc  des  L'rotestant  Lehrbegriffs,  Bd.  v.  Thl.  ii.  s.  50. 

X  Opusc.  Fran?,  p.  1821. 


282  CALVIN  AND  WESTPHAL.  [CHAP.  VII. 

Calvin  could  not  deny  that  the  view  taken  by  the  Swiss 
churches  was  actually  different  to  that  of  the  Lutherans,  al- 
though in  principle  the  same.  He  had  to  show  that  the  greatest 
Lutheran  theologian  did  in  reality,  without  daring  to  acknow- 
ledge it,  vary  in  some  measure  from  the  belief  of  Luther  him- 
self; and  to  prove,  on  the  other  hand,  that  the  doctrine  of  the 
Swiss,  in  regard  to  the  Lord's  Supper,  which  was  acknowledged 
to  be  different  from  the  Lutheran,  might  yet  have  been  ap- 
proved by  Luther  ;  in  other  words,  that  he  gave  the  true  view  of 
the  subject,  and  that  the  most  intelligent  theologians  recognised 
it  as  such*.  Calvin  therefore  started  with  the  fundamental  con- 
viction, that  Luther  in  his  controversy  had  protested  only  against 
empty  signs  and  symbols.  In  what  degree  Luther  was  right,  he 
would  not  inquire.  The  Lutheran  divines  had  been  somewhat 
quieted,  at  the  time  of  the  Wittenberg  Concordia,  by  the  declara- 
tions of  their  opponents  ;  but  they  were  not  fully  satisfied,  and 
therefore  he  had  laboured  to  establish  the  "  Consensus  Tigu- 
rinus."  This  being  the  case,  all  he  had  to  do  was  to  prove  that 
in  reality  the  signs  of  the  bread  and  wine  were  not  to  be  viewed 
as  empty  signs  and  symbols.  Here  was  the  point  between  him 
and  Westphal ;  and  on  this  alone  it  really  was  that  Luther, 
whatever  other  differences  prevailed  between  them,  separated 
from  the  Swiss. 

Calvin's  first  object  is  to  prove  that  his  party  never  intended  to 
convert  the  sacrament  of  the  Lord's  Supper  into  a  mere  ceremony. 
He  asserts,  that  with  the  signs  there  are  also  actually  united  the 
body  and  blood  of  Christ,  and  that  they  are  given  us  spiritually 
with  the  signs.  According  to  the  Lutheran  doctrine,  there  were 
no  more  signs,  but  the  flesh  and  blood  of  Christ;  although  the 
bread  always  remained  bread.  Calvin,  as  well  as  Luther,  esta- 
blished his  doctrine  on  the  force  of  Christ's  words  in  the  conse- 
cration. Luther  however  insisted  that  the  body  of  Christ  was 
given  bodily  with  the  bread;  Calvin,  that  it  was  truly  given. 
Luther  allowed  a  manducation  with  the  mouth ;  Calvin,  only  a 
spiritual  manducation.  But  Luther  also  referred  it  all  to  the  soul. 

In  the  next  place,  Calvin  shows  what  he  understood  by  a  spi- 
ritual eating.  Thus  he  described  faith  as  the  organ ;  and  speaks  of 
a  quickening  power,  which  proceeds  immediately  from  the  flesh  of 
Christ,  and  exercises  its  vital  energy  on  the  soul.  The  sacra- 
ment has  not  a  mere  moral  force,  but  is  an  incomprehensible  my- 
*  See  Planck,  Gesch.  der  Protest.  Lehrb.  s.  51. 


A.D.  1554-8.]  CALVIN  AND  WESTPHAL.  283 

stery  to  us.  As  soon  as  the  sign  is  received,  an  actual  influence, 
derived  from  the  flesh  of  Christ  and  out  of  his  substance,  flows 
into  the  soul.  But  still  we  must  not  imagine  a  local  presence,  or 
one  extended  over  all  space.  The  expression  <  real  presence  and 
communication*  he  would  willingly  have  used,  if  people  would 
have  been  content  to  employ  it  in  a  spiritual  sense.  On  the  other 
hand,  he  stated  why  he  could  not  admit  the  Lutheran  notion 
respecting  a  local  presence  and  eating  the  flesh  of  Christ.  He 
candidly  confessed  that  the  idea  appeared  to  him  altogether  irra- 
tional. The  understanding,  he  acknowledged,  must  be  silent 
when  the  Scriptures  speak ;  but  in  this  case  they  do  not.  Christ 
cannot  be  corporeally  present  in  many  places  at  once,  because 
that  is  contrary  to  the  nature  of  bodies. 

But  a  short  time  had  elapsed  after  the  appearance  of  Calvin's 
work,  when  Westphal's  miserable  answer  was  published  at  Frank- 
fort. He  soon  renewed  also  his  attack  upon  Laski  and  the 
other  exiles,  and  even  called  upon  the  Frankfort  ministers  to 
persecute  them.  It  is  characteristic  of  his  temper,  that  when 
Laski,  in  a  letter  written  with  true  Christian  feeling,  reprehended 
his  conduct,  and  showed  that  he  had  treated  them  as  if  they  had 
been  thieves,  murderers,  and  poisoners,  he  had  the  letter  printed, 
appending  an  answer  to  it,  in  which  he  senselessly  repeated,  that 
they  were  not  only  thieves,  murderers,  and  poisoners,  but  much 
more  infamous,  for  that  by  their  false  doctrine  they  were  mur- 
derers of  souls. 

Luther  had  never  thus  forgotten  himself;  often  therefore  did 
Calvin  sigh,  "Ah  !  would  that  Luther  were  still  alive  !  These 
people  have  none  of  his  virtues,  but  they  think  to  prove  them- 
selves his  disciples  by  their  clamours*."  Westphal  gathered  to- 
gether a  great  number  of  confessions  from  the  towns  of  Saxony, 
which  solemnly  declared  themselves  in  favour  of  the  Lutheran,  and 
opposed  to  the  Calvinistic,  doctrine.  Calvin  was  now  assailed 
on  all  sides.  Brentius  appeared  in  YViirtemberg  with  his  homilies, 
in  which  he  supported  the  most  violent  views  on  the  subject  of 
the  real  presence.  Jacob  Andrea  advocated  the  same  doctrine,  at 
first  with  more  moderation,  but  he  subsequently  became  one  of 
its  fiercest  champions  :  he  sent  his  writing  to  Calvin,  and  the 
latter  answered  him,  praising  his  moderation  -j\  In  the  year  1557 
Schnepf  and  others  followed  in  the  same  track.  Westphal  him- 
self answered  Calvin's  second  writing ;  so  that  the  reformer  com- 

*  MS.  Goth.  ed.  Br.  p.  43,  Calv.  Sidcmanno,  Mar.  1555. 

f  Ed.  Laus.  Ep.  240.  Ed.  Amstcl.  p.  114,  b.    Calvin  to  Dr.  Jacob  Andrea. 


284  CALVIN   AND  WESTPHAL.  [CHAP.  VII. 

plained  to  Bullinger  that  there  seemed  to  be  a  conspiracy  against 
him*. 

Calvin  made  a  second  and  third  experiment  to  extinguish  West- 
phal's  fire  by  his  own  ;  but  he  only  increased  the  fury  of  the 
flames  thereby.  Westphal  answered  him  with  such  an  excess  of 
zeal,  that  Calvin,  always  ardent  in  the  defence  of  his  dignity, 
though  not  without  discretion,  as  was  apparent  in  his  terrible 
conflict  with  Servetus  before  the  Council,  drew  himself  back,  and 
was  silent,  leaving  the  field  to  Beza,  fresh  and  well-armed  for  the 
conflict,  and  ready  to  take  his  friend's  place  in  this  instance,  as 
he  had  in  the  controversy  on  predestination. 

A  glance  at  the  writings  thus  produced,  and  at  the  spirit  by 
which  they  were  dictated,  will  show7  how  wise  Melancthon  was 
not  to  meddle  with  the  controversy  ;  but  he  should  have  strongly 
protested  against  the  wicked  temper  which  now  prevailed,  and 
have  pointed  out  the  path  which  Christians  ought  to  tread. 

Calvin's  second  work  against  Westphal  was  written  with  in- 
credible rapidity,  and  sent  to  the  press  without  revisal ;  it  is  the 
only  work  of  Calvin's  of  which  this  is  said.  But  it  exhibits  great 
skill  in  reconciling  and  winning  hostile  minds.  Calvin's  chief 
difficulty,  with  regard  to  most  of  the  questions  before  him,  arose 
from  his  desire  to  adopt  a  middle  course,  and  which  it  is  so  much 
less  easy  to  pursue  than  that  which  is  extreme.  This  was 
especially  the  case  in  his  viewr  of  the  efficacy  of  baptism,  of  the 
spiritual  eating  in  the  Lord's  Supper,  and  of  the  punishment  of 
heretics.  It  was  in  the  article  of  predestination  only  that  he 
carried  his  docirine  to  the  farthest  limits  of  the  subject. 

Before  the  work  appeared,  he  wrote  to  Bullinger  as  follows : 
"  When  I  said  that  Westphal  desired  nothing  more  than  to  bring 
a  countless  host  of  antagonists  into  the  field  against  us,  I  felt 
anxious  to  say  as  little  as  possible  that  might  be  offensive  to  his 
party.  If  time  allowed,  I  should  have  been  glad  to  let  you  read 
this  work  before  it  was  published  :  I  might  perhaps  have  altered 
some  things  on  your  suggestion.  But  the  haste  was  so  great, 
that  I  only  dictated  it,  another  person  read  it  through,  and  I 
then  immediately  sent  it  to  the  press." 

Calvin's  friends  at  Geneva  did  not  think  the  style  of  this 
work  too  violent ;  and  he  allowed  himself  to  be  easily  persuaded 
that  they  were  right.  But  soon  after  its  appearance,  January 
5,  1556,  he  confessed  to  Bullinger  that  he  had  been  too  severe, 

*  MS.  Tigur.  That  is,  to  crush  him  under  a  mountain  of  books.  "  Luthe- 
ranosconspira^e  video,  ut  libiorum  mole  nos  obruant." 


A.D.  1554-8.]  CALVIN   AND  WESTPIIAL.  285 

adding  however  a  jest  to  this  acknowledgement.  It  is  some- 
what strange  indeed  to  find  a  work  on  so  important  a  subject 
sent  so  suddenly  into  the  world,  and  with  a  sort  of  petulant 
gaiety,  the  author  himself  afterwards  doubting  whether  he  had 
done  right.  The  treatise  in  fact  is  the  production  of  a  genius 
which  could  venture  on  an  arrogant  employment  of  its  powers. 
Bullinger  also  entered  at  this  time  into  controversy  with  West- 
phal. 

But  it  was  Calvin's  object,  as  appeared  from  the  very  title-page 
of  the  book,  to  invite  to  peace  ;  the  work  being  dedicated  to  all 
true  servants  of  the  Lord  in  Saxony  and  Lower  Germany.  In  the 
preface  he  called  them  to  witness,  that  he  had  been  constrained 
to  send  his  earlier  productions  into  the  world  by  the  furious 
spirits  which  were  raging  abroad,  and  whose  conduct  was  even 
worse  than  the  barbarity  of  the  papists.  He  only  wrote  for  the 
purpose  of  promoting  unity.  Expressing  himself  very  properly 
respecting  the  hatred  manifested  by  Westphal,  he  apologises  for 
the  heat  which  he  had  himself  displayed : — "  If  I  have  treated  him 
harshly,  and  used  strong  expressions  in  some  passages,  you  must 
consider,  according  to  your  wisdom,  howT  he  has  goaded  me  to  this. 
His  book  appears  written  with  no  other  object  but  that  of  casting 
us  down  to  hell,  and  overwhelming  us  with  curses.  What  could 
I  do  otherwise  than  act  according  to  the  proverb,  c  The  bad  ass 
must  have  a  bad  driver/  to  prevent  his  wrath  having  too  much 
its  own  way?" 

While  there  was  any  hope  of  procuring  peace  for  the  church, 
Calvin  could  humbly  solicit  it ;  but  we  see  the  aim  of  his  op- 
ponents, and  God  himself  gave  him  an  example  to  justify  his 
stern  treatment  of  the  obstinately  wicked: — "Thou  wilt  save  the 
afflicted  people,  but  wilt  bring  down  high  looks."  (Ps.  xviii.  27.) 
<{  Westphal,''  he  says,  "  allows  that  I  have  written  correctly  on 
the  dignity  and  operation  of  the  sacraments.  Whether  I  have 
actually  done  so,  I  do  not  inquire ;  it  is  enough  if  I  have  done 
it  with  a  pious  feeling."  There  remained  but  three  points  to  dis- 
cuss. Westphal  insisted — 1.  That  the  substantial  bread  was  the 
body  of  Christ.  2.  That  his  body  was  infinite,  and  everywhere 
present.  3.  That  there  was  nothing  figurative  in  the  words  of 
Christ. 

"We  assert,"  says  Calvin,  "  that  the  body  and  blood  of  Christ 
are  actually  given  to  us  in  the  sacrament,  that  our  souls  may 
receive  life  therefrom  ;  and  that  they  may  be  nourished  by  this 
spiritual  food,  as  our  bodies  are  by  earthly  bread.      We  acknow- 


286  CALVIN  AND  WESTPHAL.  [CHAP.  VII. 

ledge  therefore  that  a  real  communication  of  the  body  and  blood 
of  Christ  takes  place  in  the  sacrament.  If  any  one,  for  the  sake 
of  disputing,  attaches  importance  to  the  word  e  substance/  we 
assert  that  Christ  gives  life  to  our  souls  through  the  f  substance* 
of  his  flesh." 

Westphal  says,  in  the  first  place,  that  the  substantial  bread  is 
the  body  of  Christ.  Whence  it  follows  that  a  wicked  man 
swallows  the  body  of  Christ  with  the  bread.  Judas  therefore 
received  the  body  of  Christ  as  well  as  Peter.  Westphal  and  his 
party  in  fact  had  formed  a  notion  of  substance  which  did  not 
agree  with  the  words  of  Christ.  The  unbelief  of  a  man  cannot 
indeed  alter  the  virtue  of  the  sacrament,  but  it  will  not  act 
upon  the  unbeliever,  because  the  organ,  faith,  which  is  neces- 
sary to  our  receiving  Christ,  is  wanting  to  such  a  person. 

The  second  point  relates  to  the  mode  and  manner  of  the  com- 
munication, which,  according  to  Westphal,  cannot  take  place  if 
the  body  of  Christ  be  not  infinite.  "  He  insists  that  the  body 
must  appear  before  our  eyes,  and  that,  were  this  not  the  case, 
it  could  not  be  communicated  to  us.  We,  on  the  contrary,  be- 
lieve that  the  separation  of  place  is  here  of  no  concern,  because 
it  is  the  energy  of  the  Holy  Ghost  which  derives  life  for  us  out 
of  the  flesh  of  Christ.  Hence  the  manifest  wickedness  of  those 
who,  to  make  us  hateful  in  the  eyes  of  the  people,  exclaim  that 
we  deny  the  presence  of  Christ  in  the  sacrament,  and  measure 
the  power  of  God  by  our  senses.  As  if  this  were  not  a  mystery, 
the  depths  of  which  surpass  ail  understanding,  when  we  say  that 
Christ,  although  now  glorified  in  the  body,  yet  comes  down  to 
us  through  the  secret  grace  of  his  Holy  Spirit,  that  we  may  be 
partakers  of  his  life, — as  if  he,  who  teaches  that  life  flows  into  us 
from  the  flesh  of  Christ,  does  not  exalt  the  power  of  God  as 
highly  as  he  who  says,  that  this  flesh  comes  down  from  heaven 
to  work  life  in  us." 

In  the  third  place,  Westphal  asserts,  that  no  inquiry  need  be 
instituted  as  to  the  meaning  of  the  words  of  consecration,  which 
were  plain  enough.  "  We,  on  the  contrary,"  says  Calvin,  "  ap- 
peal to  the  common  usage  which  gives  to  the  sign  the  name  of 
the  thing  signified.  But  with  us,  when  the  discourse  regards 
the  sacrament,  it  is  not  of  an  empty  sign  that  we  speak ;  for  we 
declare,  plainly  and  intelligibly,  that  the  Lord  fulfils  in  reality 
that  which  he  testifies.  What  we  desire  is,  that  people  should 
distinguish  the  things,  and  that  they  should  thereby  be  led  from 
the  visible  sign  to  that  which  is  invisible ;  for  to  what  end  does 


A.D.   1554-8.]  CALVIN    AND  WESTPHAL.  287 

Christ  give  us  the  earthly  element  unless  thus  to  elevate  us  ?  If 
it  be  granted  as  a  help  to  our  unbelief,  no  one  must  expect  to 
attain  to  the  thing  itself  without  the  use  of  this  means ;  and  thus, 
step  by  step,  ascending  from  earth  to  heaven." 

Hereupon  Calvin  exhorts  his  opponents  to  the  cultivation  of 
peace.  "  I  beseech  you,  by  the  most  holy  name  of  Christ,  and 
by  the  bonds  of  righteousness,  which  we  have  in  Him,  afford 
your  help  to  accomplish  this  object.  Whatever  door  you  open 
to  us  whereby  we  may  effect  a  reconciliation  so  greatly  to  be  de- 
sired, I  solemnly  declare  to  you  that  I  am  not  only  inclined  to 
take  advantage  of  it,  but  shall  seize  the  opportunity  with  joy  and 
with  all  my  heart."  And  yet  Westphal  persevered  in  asserting, 
that  Calvin  was  guilty  of  tearing  the  churches  asunder,  which, 
under  God's  guidance,  agreed  so  nobly  together  in  all  points  of 
doctrine. 

The  several  ideas  here  alluded  to  having  been  developed  with 
great  force  and  logical  precision,  there  follow  some  passages  full 
of  power  and  eloquence,  and  which,  while  they  display  the  ex- 
alted spirit  of  Calvin,  place  in  an  equally  clear  light  the  unworthy 
character  of  Westphal.  Calvin  offered  to  hold  a  disputation  with 
him ;  but  he  would  not  listen  to  the  proposal.  The  controversy 
was  not  likely  to  be  determined  by  writing ;  but  Westphal  de- 
pended upon  the  number  of  his  associates. 

He  objected  to  the  "  Reformed,"  that  they  had  abolished  all 
ceremonies.  Calvin  replied  that  they  (Westphal  and  his  party) 
retained  certain  vain  observances  in  the  celebration  of  the  sacra- 
ment, such  as  lighting  wax-candles  in  the  day-time,  and  against 
which  practices  Luther  had  for  the  most  part  protested,  although 
it  was  necessary  for  awhile  to  allow  them.  Westphal  condemned 
all  the  churches  of  southern  Germany  and  of  Switzerland,  and 
then  boasts  of  his  humility.  Calvin  breaks  forth  into  these  ex- 
clamations: —  "O  Ishmael,  thou  whose  hand  is  against  us  all, 
may  the  hands  of  all  be  against  thee !  For  as  Luther's  magna- 
nimity deserved  so  much  the  greater  praise,  because  he  stood 
alone,  and  did  not  hesitate  to  attack  the  whole  papacy,  so  art  thou 
the  more  contemptible  in  thy  cowardice  when  thou  seekest  in 
light  and  trivial  things  for  the  means  of  sowing  dissension  among 
the  people  of  God." 

We  now  arrive  at  the  objections  which  Westphal  urged  against 
the  reformed  churches  in  general,  and  in  respect  to  which  Cal- 
vin defended  them.  It  is  said,  for  example,  that  children  were 
allowed  to  die  without  baptism,  because  women  were  prohibited 


288  CALVIN  AND  WESTPHAL.  [CHAP.  VII. 

from  affording  it  in  case  of  necessity,  which  was  against  the 
commandment  of  Christ.  But  "  children  are  not  thereby  lost, 
for  God  has  said,  i  I  will  be  your  God,  and  you  shall  be  my 
seed/  The  grace  which  is  given  to  the  parents  is  derived  to  the 
offspring."  Again  :  "  He  accuses  us  of  not  giving  the  sacra- 
ment to  the  sick ;  but  we  refuse  it  to  avoid  superstition,  for  it 
has  been  the  custom  to  parade  the  bread  about  as  if  it  were  on 
a  stage,  and  because  moreover  the  Lord's  Supper  ought  to  be 
partaken  of  in  society."  And  further :  "  We  have  no  absolution, 
it  is  said,  before  the  sacrament.  We  answer,  that  there  may  be 
errors  among  us ;  but  absolution  is  papistical.  It  is  not  my 
design  however  to  assert  that  particular  absolution  may  not  have 
something  useful  in  it ;  I  have  even  recommended  its  adoption 
in  several  parts  of  my  writings,  if  it  be  free  and  without  super- 
stition ;  but  it  is  neither  wise  nor  allowable  to  make  it  the  law, 
and  so  binding  upon  the  conscience." 

In  the  next  place  WTestphal  accuses  Calvin  of  retaining  the 
second  commandment  against  images.  "  We  shall  show,"  says 
the  reformer,  "on  good  grounds,  that  the  ten  commandments 
are  correctly  divided  by  us :  we  have  ancient  testimony  on  our 
side.  Westphal,  in  order  to  darken  the  commandment  which 
forbids  idolatry,  tears  the  last  commandment  into  two  pieces." 
And,  finally,  Westphal  was  indignant  at  the  manner  in  which 
the  Reformed  had  modified  the  calendar  of  the  church.  Calvin 
replies :  "  Mary's  day  and  other  saint  days  are  not  of  primitive 
origin ;  but  Westphal  believes  that  all  is  lost  if  we  do  not  fol- 
low the  Hamburg  calendar."  With  regard  to  the  arrangement 
of  the  lessons  from  Scripture,  Calvin  says  :  "  Formerly  the  whole 
of  the  gospel  was  read  to  the  people ;  but  now  only  portions,  as 
time  allows ;  and  one  knows  well,  and  it  is  only  necessary  to  read 
the  extracts  to  see,  that  these  little  fragments  of  the  Bible  have 
been  selected  without  judgement.  Certainly,  if  it  be  good  to 
extract  certain  portions  for  Sunday  reading,  the  choice  ought  to 
have  been  different  to  what  it  is  :  and  assuredly,  whoever  he  may 
be  who  made  this  selection,  he  has  not  only  incorrecthy  divided 
every  passage,  but  has  sometimes,  through  ignorance  or  negli- 
gence, broken  off  in  the  very  middle  of  a  statement."  Westphal 
spoke  also  with  great  indignation  respecting  the  "  Postils." 
"  We  may  pardon  Luther,"  he  says ;  "  he  accommodated  him- 
self to  the  prevailing  custom,  all  things  being  then  in  disorder; 
and  he  deserves  to  be  praised  for  having  endeavoured  to  teach 
the  Gospel  in  the  shortest  way." — "Thus  Westphal  celebrates 


A. D.  1555-8.]  CALVIN  AND  WESTPHAL.  289 

St.  Martin's  day  with  the  papists,  and  chants  with  them  the 
gospels  and  epistles  according  to  the  fine  sing-song  of  the  mass- 
book  ;  as  if  the  Gospel  would  be  lost  if  it  were  not  thus  torn  into 
fragments.  Is  there  any  one  now  that  can  doubt  that  this  man 
has  too  much  leisure  in  his  corner,  when  he  can  venture  to 
annoy  people,  who  have  enough  to  do,  with  trifles  of  this  sort?" 
Westphal  accused  Calvin  of  pride.  Calvin  answered:  "  If  I 
have  received  a  measure  of  grace  from  God,  I  endeavour  to  use 
it,  without  pride  or  boasting,  for  the  edification  of  the  church. 
My  books  bear  witness  that  there  is  a  great  deal  wanting  to 
make  me  ambitious  of  gaining  advantage  over  others,  or  of  ap- 
pearing in  the  light  of  a  scholar  or  a  genius.  There  is  nothing 
which  I  avoid  more  than  boasting."  Westphal  having  asserted 
that  his  church  might  be  compared  to  the  angels  in  heaven, 
Calvin  exclaims,  "  O  Luther,  how  few  hast  thou  left  behind  pos- 
sessed of  the  glorious  gifts  which  were  in  thee  !  But  how  many 
hast  thou  left  who  imitate,  like  apes,  thy  peculiarities  !  We  won- 
der not  that  Luther  had  frequently  such  lofty  words  in  his  mouth. 
He  could  not  have  warred  so  bravely  under  the  banner  of  the 
Lord,  had  he  not  despised  the  world  with  all  its  greatness ;  but 
it  is  insufferable  when  such  a  drone  as  this,  whose  unintelligible 
din  only  throws  the  bees  into  confusion,  dares  to  speak  so  high." 
Calvin,  referring  to  himself,  says,  "  If  I  assert  that  I  am  faith- 
ful in  my  endeavour  to  make  the  whole  world  feel  that  it  depends 
upon  the  word  of  Christ  alone,  I  can  adduce  not  only  my  books 
and  my  daily  discourses  to  prove  the  truth  of  this,  but  all  those 
persons  who  witness  my  daily  labour;  and  so  gloriously  does 
God  seal  my  efforts  with  his  blessing,  that  were  there  ten  West- 
phals,  the  fruits  and  the  profitableness  of  my  toil  could  not  be 
made  to  appear  contemptible.  If,  indeed,  I  speak  of  the  blessing 
of  my  calling,  I  do  this  in  common  with  the  Apostle  Paul." — 
"  I  should  wish,"  says  Westphal,  "  ignorant  as  I  am,  to  know 
what  notion  this  writer  forms  of  learned  men." — "As  if,  in  order  to 
find  a  learned  man  besides  Westphal,  we  should  have  recourse  to 
the  Platonic  theory  of  ideas." — "  It  is  not  in  the  school  of  Archi- 
medes that  we  have  learnt  that  the  body  of  Christ,  which  was 
taken  up  into  heaven,  is  far  from  the  earth.  We  believe  that  it 
is  authentically  stated  in  the  Holy  Scriptures.  I  dare  not,  in 
the  weakness  of  my  understanding,  pretend  to  miess  from  what 
system  of  philosophy  Westphal  has  learnt  that  Christ,,  when  he 
first  celebrated  the  sacrament,  had  a  twofold  body;  one  mortal, 
visible,  confined  to  one  place;  and  one  invisible,  of  infinite  ex- 

VOL.  II.  U 


2i;0  CALVIN  AND  WESTPHAL.  [CHAP.  VII. 

tension." — "  Westphal  is  proud,  and  applies  to  himself  what  is 
said  in  the  Psalms.  I  understand,  he  says,  more  than  all  those 
who  have  taught  you.  And  what  rank  then  will  Luther  have,  if 
he  who  stands  on  the  lowest  step  be  thus  above  him?" 

"  In  conclusion,  he  says,  'That  if  he  were  not  learned,  there 
would  be  no  ground  to  fear  him/  And  truly  it  requires  but  little 
to  make  me  grant  what  he  so  much  desires." — "  As  if  he  were 
taking  the  part  of  Jupiter  in  a  play,  and  bore  a  Minerva  in  his 
head,  he  makes  no  difficulty  of  clothing  all  his  sentiments  in  the 
language  of  God's  word.  If  it  had  not  been  the  custom,  from 
remote  times,  for  all  false  prophets,  the  farther  they  are  from 
God,  to  exhibit  the  greater  audacity,  and  shield  themselves  with 
his  name,  he  might  perhaps  have  gained  something  by  his  deceit, 
and  by  thus  terrifying  the  people." 

This  work  is  not  only  interesting  from  its  being  written  in  the 
old,  naive  French,  in  which  Calvin  delighted  to  express  his 
powerful  humour,  but  it  is  also  valuable  for  the  force  of  its 
crushing  argumentation,  for  the  life  and  sublimity  of  its  style, 
and  the  occasional  expression  of  profound  indignation  by  which 
it  is  characterized.  Calvin  has  been  sometimes  accused  of  too 
much  violence  in  this  controversy  ;  but  he  everywhere  proves  the 
un worthiness  and  folly  of  his  adversary,  and  is  always  con- 
siderate. 

At  the  end  of  the  second  defence  Calvin  reviewed  the  entire 
subject,  and  again  states  his  opinion  respecting  the  sacrament  of 
baptism,  observing  that  it  is  profitable  as  introducing  us  into  the 
church,  but  not  indispensably  necessary  to  salvation.  He  con- 
cludes the  work  with  another  attack  upon  his  noisy  antagonist. 

The  third  work  against  Westphal  crowned  the  argument.  Cal- 
vin's indignation  here  displayed  itself  in  the  highest  degree  ;  and 
this  though  he  had  been  warned  by  Farel ;  for  he  could  not,  he 
said,  moderate  himself  in  contending  with  Westphal*.  It  was  im- 
possible, he  added,  to  view  this  man  and  his  associates  any  longer 
as  brethren.  They  themselves  had  execrated  the  name.  He  was 
willing  however  to  bear  blame  from  Farel,  and  he  did  not  con- 
ce;d  from  himself  that  he  was  likely  to  become  an  object  of 
general  hatred.  "  But  God  will  be  well-pleased  if,  boldly  and 
joy  fully,  I  do  not  shrink  from  awakening  against  myself  the  wrath 
of  these  wild  beasts." 

After  an  introduction,  in  which  he  defends,  and  partly  excuses 
himself,  he  first  answers  the  accusation  advanced  by  Westphal, 
*  MS.  Gen.  Calvl  Farello,  August  1,  1557. 


A.D.   1555-8.]  CALVIN  AND  WESTPHAL.  291 

namely,  that  he  overthrew  the  Augsburg  Confession,  and  that 
Melancthon  was  against  him.  Secondly,  he  shows  that  the 
primitive  church  was  represented  by  Augustin,  as  stated  by 
Westphal ;  and  thirdly,  he  combats  the  various  doctrines  of  the 
Saxon  church,  and  defends  his  own  view  of  the  Lord's  Supper. 
With  regard  to  Melancthon  he  speaks  thus  strongly  :  "  It  would 
be  as  easy  for  a  man  to  separate  Melancthon  from  me  in  this 
thing,  as  to  separate  him  from  himself.  He  has  feared,  it  is  true, 
the  thunder  of  some  people  in  his  neighbourhood  (this  will  be 
understood  by  those  who  know  that  Luther  was  excited  against 
him),  nor  has  he  always  spoken  so  distinctly  as  I  could  wish  ; 
but  Westphal  must  not  be  allowed  maliciously  to  assert,  that  he 
only  waited  for  Luther's  death  to  join  our  party.  We  discussed 
this  subject  together  seventeen  years  ago,  and  the  first  words 
which  we  interchanged  showed  that  we  agreed  so  well,  that  we 
had  not  to  speak  of  altering  a  syllable,  either  on  the  one  side  or 
the  other." — "  Thus  Caspar  Cruciger,  who,  next  to  Melancthon, 
was  most  beloved  by  Luther,  so  clearly  apprehended  the  doctrine 
which  Westphal  now  assails,  that  nothing  could  better  agree  than 
our  expressions*." 

Calvin  now  describes,  and  refutes,  Westphal's  last  production, 
in  which  he  called  upon  the  princes  and  magistrates  to  punish 
heretics.  Calvin,  who  in  all  difficult  questions  took  a  middle 
course,  asserts,  on  the  other  hand,  "  that  punishment  ought  only 
to  be  inflicted  when  a  trial  had  been  regularly  instituted,  and 
the  heresy  was  well-defined,  and  not  according  to  the  course  pur- 
sued by  the  papists,  who  murder  the  innocent.  He  speaks,  in 
this  case,  very  strongly  in  favour  of  toleration.  Westphal  called 
every  one  a  heretic  who  differed  from  him  in  opinion,  without 
any  inquiry  into  the  several  views  which  people  may  adopts  and 
he  insisted  that  punishment  ought  to  be  immediately  inflicted. 
Many  churches  agreed  with  him.  But  how  was  it  that  a  much 
greater  number  of  his  own  party,  than  of  our  churches,  con- 
demned him?  He  speaks  of  the  union  of  the  princes  at  Smal- 
calde  :  but  it  was  not  the  design  of  these  princes  to  condemn  us. 
Bucer  and  Melancthon  were  both  present.  At  Marburg  we  were 
regarded  as  the  brethren  of  Luther,  although  the  question  at 
issue  was  not  then  so  distinctly  stated  as  it  now  is.  Westphal 
is  so  unreasonable  that  he  objects  to  us,  that  our  doctrine  has 
condemned  the  popes,  Nicholas  and  Gregory  VII.,  which  we,  on 
the  contrary,  regard  ;is  an  honour.'' 


Planck,  b.  74,  104. 


U  2 


292  CALVIN  AND  WESTPHAL.  [CHAP.  VII. 

The  accusation  brought  against  Calvin,  that  he  had  never  read 
Augustin,  is  refuted  by  Calvin's  appeal  to  that  author.  "  Why," 
says  Augustin,  "  make  the  teeth  and  the  body  ready  ? — believe, 
and  thou  hast  eaten."  Westphal  quotes  a  great  many  of  Au- 
gust in's  expressions,  in  which  that  father  calls  the  bread  the  body 
of  Christ.  "  And  we  do  the  same,"  says  Calvin,  "  in  the  sense 
in  which  he  does  it;"  and  he  then  again  patiently  states  the  real 
point  disputed.  "  Is  the  sense  of  Christ's  words  figurative  or 
not  figurative  ?  "  This  Westphal  would  never  distinctly  answer. 
Hereupon  follows  the  proof,  that  Augustin  also  admitted  a  me- 
tonyme.  "  He  says  that  when  Christ  distributed  the  sacrament, 
he  bore,  so  to  say,  his  body.  But  Westphal  leaves  out  this  so 
to  say,  which  is  the  main  part  of  the  sentence.  According  to 
Augustin,  the  good  and  the  wicked  receive  the  sacrament  alike. 
We  say  the  same ;  for  Christ  is  always  therein  present ;  but  the 
wicked  receive  the  sign  only,  they  being  destitute  of  the  faith, 
which  is  necessary  to  our  partaking  of  the  power  of  the  sacra- 
ment." 

This  is  followed  by  a  resume  of  the  argument.  "  1.  Augustin 
takes  the  words  of  Christ  figuratively,  which  Westphal  denies. 

2.  We  adopt  the  doctrine  of  a  spiritual  eating,  but  in  such  a 
sense  that  the  sacramental  only  remains.  True  piety  abhors  the 
gross  imagination,  that  we  can  swallow  what  is  divine.  West- 
phal, by  making  the  spiritual  effect  the  consequence  of  the  eating, 
limits  the  salvation  accomplished  for  us  by  the  death  of  Christ. 

3.  WTestphal  objects  to  us,  that  we  believe  only  such  a  presence 
of  Christ  in  the  sacrament  as  leaves  his  human  nature  altogether 
disregarded."  Hereupon  follows  the  well-known  reasoning 
against  ubiquity  and  consubstantiation.  We  must  not,  it  is  ar- 
gued, assert  things  in  theology  which  are  altogether  impossible 
according  to  the  laws  of  the  understanding.  The  statement, 
"  God  is  not  bound  by  natural  laws,  because  He  himself  made 
them,"  is  absurd,  or  rather  proves  the  contrary.  Much  neces- 
sarily remains  incomprehensible  to  us  in  the  Lord's  Supper. 
With  regard  to  the  eating  of  the  sacrament  by  unbelievers,  the 
Swiss  had  granted  the  point  in  the  Concordia,  allowing  that  the 
signs  only  were  received.  In  the  Zurich  l  Consensus '  Calvin 
declared,  that  he  did  not  agree  with  the  Lutheran  doctrine.  In 
opposition  to  Westphal,  who  thence  argued  that  Calvin  did  not 
acknowledge  the  real  presence  of  the  Lord  in  the  sacrament,  the 
reformer  drew  up  another  conclusion. 

Calvin  refers,  in  the  next  place,  to  the  followers  of  Westphal 


A.D.  1555-8.]  CALVIN  AND  WESTPHAL.  293 

in  the  Saxon  academies.  "  They  hate  Melancthon,"  he  says, 
"  and  join  with  Westphal,  because  the  sharpness  of  my  language 
displeases  them.  This  is  the  case  with  Flacius  Illyricus  and  Eras- 
mus Sarcerus."  He  shows  Westphal  how  his  own  party  only 
in  some  respects  agreed  with  him,  while  they  in  others  dis- 
sented from  his  views.  This  leads  him  to  examine  the  Magde- 
burg Confession,  in  reviewing  which  he  very  patiently  refutes 
the  errors  exhibited  in  twenty-eight  articles  of  that  formulary ; 
and  also  the  answer  of  his  opponents  to  the  fifty-nine  arguments 
which  he  had  employed  in  the  present  discussion,  and  had  exa- 
mined anew  and  defended.  The  whole  is  summed  up  in  this, 
that  they  wished  people  to  adhere  to  the  Word  alone,  without 
any  interpretation.  "This  much  is  certain,  that  we  have  pene- 
trated an  insurmountable  wall ;  that  the  Lord  has  established  a 
sacrament ;  and  that,  according  to  the  common  usage  of  Scrip- 
ture, these  words  must  be  interpreted  in  a  sacramental  sense,  in 
the  usual  style  and  manner,  that  is,  of  the  sacrament,  namely, 
that  the  sign  receives  the  name  of  the  thing  which  it  betokens." 
Lastly,  he  controverts  the  dogmas  of  several  other  Saxon 
churches,  as  those  of  Bremen,  Hildesheim.  &c,  which  were 
especially  indignant  at  Calvin's  dedicating  his  second  treatise  to 
them. 

We  see,  from  what  has  been  stated,  that  it  was  Calvin's  rule 
to  answer  every  objection,  and  to  let  nothing  pass  unnoticed. 
The  repetition  of  so  many  points  is  often  wearisome,  and  it  was 
in  direct  contrast  with  the  plan  pursued  by  Melancthon,  who 
hoped  to  subdue  his  enemies  by  silence.  Calvin  concludes  with 
a  proposal  of  peace.  "Unwilling  should  I  be,"  he  says,  "  not- 
withstanding these  things,  to  be  a  hindrance  to  the  establishment 
of  a  solid  friendship  between  us,  and  the  fulfilment  of  the  hope 
that  we  may  still  enjoy  peace.  With  regard  to  myself,  I  have 
been  called  forth  in  a  very  unworthy  manner,  and  circumstances 
have  excited  me  to  speak  more  vehemently  than  I  wis  lied  in  this 
writing  ;  but  if  anyone  will  appoint  the  place  and  time,  and  agree 
to  discuss  this  matter  in  a  friendly  spirit  with  me,  I  promise  to 
be  prepared  to  meet  him  immediately,  and  with  sueh  good  feel- 
ing, that  everything  shall  be  done,  on  my  side,  which  can  lead 
to  a  true  and  holy  agreement,  an  event  which  every  one  must 
desire." 

Calvin  indeed,  throughout  the  controversy,  anxiously  endea- 
voured to  effect  a  reconciliation,  and  challenged  his  opponents 
to  adduce  one  word  in  his  statement  which  did  not  aurcc  with 


294  CALVIX   AND   WESTPHAL.  [CHAP.  VII. 

the  '  Confession'  drawn  up  at  Ratisbone  in  1541.  He  made  the 
noblest  efforts  to  accomplish  a  union,  and  even  in  the  midst  of 
the  controversy  stretched  out  the  hand  of  a  brother  to  his  adver- 
sary. "  I  call  Christ/'  he  says,  "  and  all  the  angels  to  witness, 
that  the  moment  Westphal  will  abandon  his  obstinacy,  it  shall 
not  be  my  fault  if  there  do  not  reign  between  us  friendship  and 
brotherly  love.  Even  now,  if  he  will  show  a  brother's  heart 
towards  me,  I  am  ready  to  love  him  as  a  brother  in  return." 

Calvin,  in  fact,  always  proved  himself  anxious  to  seize  upon 
the  points  which  might  secure  a  reunion  of  the  churches  ;  while 
Westphal,  on  the  contrary,  was  as  disposed  to  magnify  differ- 
ences. With  the  one,  the  spiritual  eating  in  the  sacrament  was 
sufficient,  because  Christ  was  believed  to  be  actually  present ; 
the  other  held  to  the  words,  "  This  is  my  body,"  without  under- 
standing them ;  and  Calvin,  had  he  refrained  from  all  personal- 
ities, and  written  with  more  moderation,  would  have  gained  one 
of  the  best  and  fairest  of  victories.  In  many  instances  indeed 
he  did  thus  triumph,  and  Calvinism  itself  has  since  made  the 
greatest  progress  in  Germany,  and  has  now  the  common  voice 
of  the  church  on  its  side. 

A  letter  written  by  Calvin  to  Martin  Schaling,  a  minister  at 
Ratisbone,  affords  a  good  illustration  of  his  fine  and  earnest  love 
of  unity*.  The  same  desire  of  peace  induced  him  at  last  to  de- 
spise WestphaFs  wrath,  and  to  let  it  expend  itself  in  noise  f.  He 
once  again  assailed  the  Lutheran  zealots  with  admirable  force, 
when  he  found  them  renouncing  every  overture  to  peace  J.  Such 
were  the  lengths  to  which  the  foolish  Saxon  ministers  allowed 
themselves  to  be  carried,  that  they  were  constantly  ready  with 
their  anathemas ;  they  excommunicated  each  other,  and  it  was 
now  a  serious  question  among  them,  whether  they  ought  not  to 
pronounce  the  ban  upon  Calvin.  The  reformer  felt  however 
that  if  they  should  indulge  their  wrath  to  this  ridiculous  extent, 
he  had  only  to  meet  the  attack  with  silence §. 

Melancthon's  behaviour  in  this  controversy  still  remains  a 
riddle.  Calvin  complained,  in  the  severest  terms,  of  his  e  drow- 
siness.' He  adjured  him,  in  the  name  of  God,  to  come  forth  and 
declare  his  opinions,  and  prevent  the  separation  of  the  churches  ; 
but  he  summoned  him  in  vain.     Planck  supposes  ||  that  Me- 

*  Ed.  Laus.  Ep.  236.   Ed.  Amstel.  p.  112,  March  25,  1557. 

t   MS.  Tigur.  Calv.  Bullingero,  Nov.  19,  1558. 

J    Ed.  Laus.  Ep.  292.    Ed.  A.mst.  p.  140,  April  22.  1560. 

§  M.S.  Gen.  Calv.  Earello. 

II   Bd.  v.  Thl.  2.  s.  416. 


A.D.  1555-8.]     CORRESPONDExVCE  WITH  MELANCTHON.  295 

lancthon  was  inclined  to  adopt  a  more  refined  policy ;  that  he 
meant  to  let  the  fire  burn  itself  out ;  to  preserve  the  appearance 
of  abiding  by  Luther's  doctrine,  and  yet  by  his  influence  to  pre- 
vent the  faith  of  the  church  on  the  points  in  question  from  being 
so  exactly  defined,  as  to  enable  either  party  to  use  it  for  the 
condemnation  of  the  other.  But  if  this  were  the  case,  it  is  diffi- 
cult to  understand  why  he  did  not  communicate  his  design  to 
Calvin,  and  exhort  him  also  to  preserve  silence.  I  think  however 
that  Melancthon  took  a  higher  stand,  and  that  he  held  his  peace 
from  Christian  conviction.  He  adhered  to  the  expression  regard- 
ing the  actual  presence  of  Christ  in  the  sacrament,  agreed  alto- 
gether with  Calvin,  and  believed  that  the  truth  would  conquer. 
The  correspondence  between  Calvin  and  Melancthon,  the  long 
powerful  letters  of  the  former,  and  the  short  answers  of  the  latter, 
are  in  the  highest  degree  striking.  Melancthon  was  anxious  to 
communicate  personally  with  Calvin  before  he  died.  He  con- 
stantly designated  the  error  of  the  Lutherans  ( bread-worship/ 
apToXarpeia.  Calvin  wished  to  induce  him  to  subscribe  the  re- 
newed '  Consensus '  with  the  Zurichers.  Melancthon,  in  the 
year  1555,  promised  to  state  his  sentiments  openly.  Calvin 
hereupon  wrote  him  a  letter  expressive  of  the  liveliest  satisfac- 
tion*. Their  correspondence  now  ceased  for  two  years;  not 
three,  as  is  commonly  supposed. 

Calvin,  through  this  whole  period,  was  occupied  with  the 
thought  of  a  Convention,  in  which  certain  right-minded  repre- 
sentatives of  the  churches  might  come  to  an  understanding  re- 
specting the  points  at  issue.  He  communicated  this  idea  to 
Melancthon,  and  prayed  that  he  "  might  yet  once  more  enjoyjthe 
glad  sight  of  his  countenance  in  this  world,  and  be  somewhat 
refreshed  by  him,  whilst  they  wept  together  over  the  evils  which 
they  could  not  prevent." 

Others,  as  Blaarer  and  Martyr  (1558),  complained,  in  the 
strongest  language,  of  Melancthon's  weakness  (imbecillitas). 
They  all  considered  that  if  he  had  but  openly  declared  himself 
in  favour  of  the  views  adopted  by  the  Reformed,  the  separation 
of  the  church  would  never  have  taken  place.  But  Calvin  would 
not  grieve  the  now  aged  man,  and  was  silent. 

In  the  year  1559  the  Lutheran  zealots  had  forced  the  con- 
demnation of  Calvinism.  Melancthon  however  declared,  that 
no  one  had  a  right  to  make  the  orthodoxy  of  the  whole  church 
depend  upon  the  private  opinions  of  Luther.      lie  felt  himself 

*  Ed.  Laus.  I. p.  210    Ed.  Amstel.  p.  100,  Sept.  155.".. 


296  DEATH  OF  MELANCTHON.  [CHAP.  VII. 

also  compelled  to  declare  openly  against  Brentius,  who,  in  the 
Wiirtemberg  6  Concordia/  had  attacked  him  as  i  a  neutral  theo- 
logian/ and  had  asserted  the  ubiquity  of  the  human  body  of 
Christ  as  a  fundamental  doctrine.  But  this  was  his  last  effort. 
Peucer  states,  that  he  defended,  as  well  as  the  short  time  before 
his  death  allowed  him,  the  doctrine  of  the  union  of  the  two  na- 
tures in  his  lectures.  This  had  an  important  relation  to  the 
question  at  issue.  A  vast  number  of  his  young  followers,  it  is 
also  added,  were  rightly  instructed  by  him  on  this  subject. 

Such  was  the  state  of  the  controversy  when  Melancthon  was 
called  to  his  eternal  rest.  It  happened  at  the  moment  when  he 
was  summoned,  nay  almost  compelled,  by  Brentius,  openly  to 
declare  his  opinions.  The  melancholy  tidings  were  conveyed  to 
Geneva.  Calvin  inquired  the  day  when  he  died  :  it  was  the  19th 
of  April,  1560.  Melancthon  left  Calvin  alone  on  the  field  of 
strife.  They  were  both  destined  to  be  cruelly  persecuted  in  the 
last  days  of  their  life  by  their  own  party.  The  one  submitted, 
and  lamented  the  wickedness  of  mankind ;  the  other  fought 
bravely  on  to  his  end,  awakening  respect  by  his  courage.  We 
cannot  better  characterize  the  feeling  of  these  two  men,  than  by 
the  words  which  rose  from  the  depth  of  Calvin's  soul,  as  he 
meditated  on  Melancthon  : — "  O  Philip  Melancthon,  I  appeal  to 
thee  as  my  witness !  Thou  now  livest  with  Christ  in  the  presence 
of  God,  and  waitest  for  us  to  share  with  thee  that  blessed  rest. 
Wearied  with  labour,  oppressed  with  many  cares,  a  hundred 
times  didst  thou  express  thy  wish  to  live  and  die  with  me.  I  too 
a  thousand  times  wished  that  we  could  live  together.  Assuredly 
thou  wouldst  then  have  been  stronger  to  begin  the  fight ;  to  de- 
spise the  hate,  and  to  treat  with  contempt  all  the  slanders  of 
thine  enemies ;  and  thus  would  the  designs  of  the  wicked,  ren- 
dered bold  by  what  they  called  your  sleepiness,  have  been  dis- 
appointed." 

When  Wrestphal  again  answered  Calvin,  the  latter  remained 
silent;  his  reasons  for  doing  so  may  be  learnt  from  what  is  stated 
at  the  end  of  Beza's  work  :  "  Westphal  uses  expressions  which 
are  proper  only  to  the  lowest  class  of  women."  But  Beza,  like 
Calvin,  preferred  friendship,  and  carried  on  the  controversy  so 
happily,  that  Westphal  was  brought  to  silence.  Melancthon  had 
formerly  said,  that  the  strife  would  continue  after  his  death.  In 
January  1561  another  controversial  writing  by  Calvin  was  printed 
at  Geneva,  and  soon  circulated  through  Germany.  Tileman 
Hesshus,  one  of  the  zealots  of  that  period,  affords  us,  in  his  life, 


A.D.  1555-8.]     THE  LUTHERAN  AND  SWISS  CHURCHES.  297 

an  image  of  those  unquiet  times  :  he  had  so  rude  and  untamed  a 
heart,  that  he  was  seven  times  deposed  from  his  office,  and  ex- 
pelled. This  wrangler  was  now  anxious  to  fasten  upon  Calvin. 
The  reformer  took  the  pains  to  confute  him  fundamentally.  Beza 
also  answered  him.  How  Calvin  regarded  the  work  directed 
against  him  appears  from  two  letters,  the  one  of  which,  wherein 
he  expresses  his  contempt  for  the  man,  is  addressed  to  Olevia- 
nus,  and  the  other  to  a  prince,  whose  name  is  unknown.  The 
latter  was  written  for  the  object  of  defeating  the  unheard-of  plans 
of  the  Lutherans,  now  proposing  to  excommunicate  the  whole  of 
the  reformed  churches  in  a  mass.  Calvin  declares  himself  ready- 
to  accept  the  Augsburg  Confession  in  all  its  articles,  but  not  the 
expressions  of  the  new  Stoa  of  theologians.  He  thus  criticises 
Hesshus  :  "  I  have  read  the  book  written  by  Hesshus  ;  he  inserts 
the  disputed  points  in  the  definition;  passes  over  the  exposition 
of  the  apostle  Paul ;  gives  his  own,  which  is  new  and  unheard  of, 
instead,  and  thus  quietly  sets  it  aside.  He  adduces  authorities 
which  have  nothing  to  do  with  his  argument,  but  rather  support 
the  contrary.  In  fact  he  writes,  not  to  teach,  but  to  judge  and 
to  condemn.'' 

Calvin  next  declares  explicitly  his  own  opinions,  and  asks, 
whether  any  one  would  personally  anathematize  him  as  a  heretic? 
He  further  proves  the  absurdities  of  his  opponents,  especially 
those  involved  in  the  ubiquity  of  the  body,  and  the  worship  of 
the  host.  This  is  followed  by  a  severe  expression  against  those 
who,  in  their  mad  folly,  were  anxious  to  assemble  a  synod  for  the 
purpose  of  condemning  the  French  and  Swiss  churches.  Calvin 
also  shows  how  the  reformed  of  all  countries  were  excited,  and 
how  the  queen  of  England,  although  inclined  to  the  Augsburg 
Confession,  could  not  be  induced  to  adopt  the  carnal  form  of  the 
words.  It  was  not,  he  said,  the  pure  or  actual  doctrine  of  Luther 
which  these  people  adopted,  but  an  hyperbole  thereof.  He  next 
confutes  their  false  and  perverted  views  of  Melancthon,  whom 
they  described  as  a  weak  old  man,  and  shows  his  agreement  with 
him  and  Martyr.  The  whole  affair,  he  reminded  them,  would 
serve  as  a  jubilee  for  the  Catholics.  The  reformer,  on  the  other 
hand,  earnestly  desired  a  national  council  of  the  three  people,  of 
Germany,  France  and  England, — a  council  at  which  some  prince 
should  preside,  and  in  which  the  ambassadors  of  other  princes 
might  take  a  part.  Before  the  assembling  of  such  a  council,  the 
heads  of  the  other  parties,  as  Martyr,  Bullinger,  Calvin,  Beza, 
should  be  invited  to  attend,  and  the  questions  at  issue  might  then 


298  THE  LUTHERAN  AND  SWISS  CHURCHES.       [CHAP.VII. 

be  fairly  discussed.  The  tyrannical  synod  which  the  others  pro- 
posed to  assemble  could  only  tend  to  create  a  schism,  the  flames 
of  which  posterity  might  not  be  able  to  extinguish. 

Calvin  proves,  in  his  writing  against  Hesshus,  how  opposed 
the  latter  was  to  Westphal,  who  boldly  asserted  that  the  body 
of  Christ  is  masticated  with  the  teeth.  Hesshus,  on  the  contrary, 
insisted,  that  it  may  be  eaten  with  the  mouth,  but  not  touched 
with  the  teeth,  and  is  altogether  opposed  to  the  grosser  idea. 
Calvin  now  states  how  he  understood  and  used  the  word  '  sub- 
stantial/ Thus  Christ,  he  says,  through  the  secret  power  of  his 
Spirit,  applies  to  us  the  life  of  his  own  Spirit,  so  that  He  lives 
in  us,  and  his  life  becomes  ours.  He  now  again  reviews  the  whole 
subject,  and  expresses  his  hearty  good-will  to  promote  peace  and 
unity,  giving  at  the  same  time  a  brief  abstract  of  the  points  in 
which  the  two  parties  agreed  or  disagreed,  and  thus  placing  the 
whole  subject  in  the  clearest  point  of  view. 

But  no  effort  availed  to  soften  the  passions  which  had  been 
excited,  and  after  sixteen  years  of  violent  strife,  and  when  Calvin 
was  dead,  it  belonged  to  the  Lutherans  to  perpetuate  the  schism 
by  the  Concordate-formulary  (1580),  in  which  all  the  points  op- 
posed by  Calvin,  in  regard  both  to  the  sacrament  and  predestina- 
tion, were  adopted  as  symbolic.  The  fiery  zeal  of  the  Lutherans 
excited  a  general  movement.  The  churches  of  Bremen,  Hesse, 
and  the  Palatinate;  Anhalt,  and  the  house  of  Brandenburg,  passed 
over  to  the  Reformed.  The  schism  was  rendered  still  greater  by 
the  Synod  of  Dort,  which  took  a  political  character ;  and  the  fana- 
ticism of  the  Particularists  rendered  a  reunion  hopeless.  It  is 
impossible  to  tell  the  consequences  of  this  unhappy  separation. 
During  the  thirty  years'  war,  the  Elector  Palatine  was  placed 
on  the  throne  of  Bohemia.  From  the  same  cause,  the  Huguenots 
of  France  were  forsaken  by  their  brethren ;  and  the  German 
schism  transferred  the  judicial  power  at  Minister  to  the  hands  of  the 
former  country.  Alsace  was  now  snatched  from  enfeebled  Ger- 
many. The  lower  Palatinate  was  overrun  with  troops  ;  and  thus 
the  separation  between  Luther  and  Zwingli,  and  the  rage  of  the 
zealots,  became  the  curse  of  our  fatherland. 

Numberless  efforts  were  made  by  the  Reformed  church  to  re- 
store peace,  and  thus  to  repair  the  ills  inflicted  by  Luther's  error. 
These  experiments  were  indications  of  the  existence  of  a  noble, 
inward  life,  it  being  a  principle  interwoven  with  the  very  con- 
sciousness of  a  Christian  to  contemplate  the  church  as  one.  It 
was  Christ's  prayer  to  his  Father  that  his  disciples  might  "be 


A. D.  1555-8.]     THE   LUTHERAN   AND   SWISS   CHURCHES.  299 

one,  as  they  are  one/'     The  Holy  Spirit  still  urges  us  to  the 
same  end. 

Calvin  hoped  much  from  an  assembly  of  theologians.  A 
meeting  took  place  at  Worms,  in  conformity  with  the  orders  of 
the  Emperor  Ferdinand.  It  was  an  experiment  to  bring  the 
Lutherans  and  Catholics  nearer  to  each  other,  but  it  only  served 
to  render  their  separation  more  evident.  Representatives  from 
Geneva  were  present.  Calvin  sought  thereby  to  accomplish  the 
object  which  he  had  in  view,  and  to  awaken  the  sympathy  of  the 
German  princes  and  divines  in  behalf  of  the  poor  persecuted  be- 
lievers in  France.  This  could  only  be  rendered  possible  by  in- 
ducing the  German  Evangelical  party  to  acknowledge  the  Re- 
formed as  their  brethren  :  hitherto  they  had  spoken  against  them 
rather  than  in  their  behalf,  although  they  both  received  in  com- 
mon the  Augsburg  Confession. 

Farel  and  Beza  had  already  been  sent,  at  an  earlier  period,  to 
the  Reformed  Swiss  cantons,  to  persuade  them  to  employ  their 
influence  with  the   king  of  France  in  behalf  of  the  persecuted 
Waldenses.     Having  accomplished  their  purpose  in  this  case, 
they  next  hastened  to  the  Elector  Palatine,  who  received  them 
graciously,  and  sent  them  to  the  Duke  of  Wiirtemberg.     The 
latter  however,  to  avoid  interfering  for  the  Waldenses,  pretended 
that  they  were  Sacramentarians.     Thus  Farel  and  Beza  found 
themselves  obliged  to  place  in  his  hands  a  new  and  strongly  ex- 
pressed confession  respecting  the  presence  of  Christ  in  the  sa- 
crament.   When  the  Zurichers  were  informed  of  this  proceeding, 
they  expressed  great  anger,  and  insisted  that  the  confession  re- 
ferred to  was  not  in  accordance  with  their  doctrine.  They  severely 
reproved  Beza,  and  the  latter  promised  to  give  them  on  the  first 
occasion  a  full  explanation  of  the  matter,  and  to  act  in  constant 
union  with  them.     Farel  heard  of  this  misunderstanding  when 
he  came  to  Beza  at  Lausanne,  and  apologized  in  a  letter,  in  which 
he  says  that  neither  Viret,  nor  Andrea,  norOalvin,  saw  anything 
worthy  to  blame  in  what  had  been  done.     He  was  astonished,  he 
says,  now  that  the  other  party  was  reconciled,  that  the  Zurichers 
should  still  be  inclined  to  wrath,  and  he  speaks  \<  ry  excellently 
on  the  sacrament  and  the  unity  oft  he  church.  "  1  thank  God  thai 
this  holy  union  of  the  churches  lias  now  been  proclaimed  before 
God,  the  angels  and  men.   I  would  willingly  have  shed  my  blood 
for  this;      Far  rather  would  I  that  any  one  should   take  my  life, 
than  that  I  should  separate  from  this  holy  union.  Tellme  there- 
fore it'  1   have  offended  you  in   the  slightest   point,  and   1  will 


300  CONVENTION  PROPOSED.  [CHAP.  VII. 

hasten  to  seek  your  pardon/'  Beza  also  justified  himself.  But 
when  Calvin  asserted  that  the  confession  spoken  of  was  the  true 
expression  of  their  belief,  Bullinger  sharply  assailed  him.  and 
imputed  to  him  the  doubtful  language  employed  by  Bucer. 
Hence  it  appears,  that  although  the  Swiss  cantons  were  de- 
sirous of  peace,  the  Zurichers,  who  adhered  with  painful  anxiety 
to  their  opinions,  still  presented  an  obstacle  to  the  union  of  the 
churches. 

Bullinger  remained  inflexible  in  his  belief  that  a  convention 
would  be  of  no  avail.  The  assurance  that  Melancthon  was  in 
favour  of  the  meeting  was  wholly  disregarded.  Calvin  however, 
who  recollected  the  diet  of  Ratisbone,  hoped  much  from  an  oral 
discussion,  if  Brentius,  that  is,  were  prevented  from  taking  the 
chief  part  in  the  assembly.  Such  was  the  state  of  affairs,  when 
the  church  of  Geneva  sent  Farel  and  Beza,  for  the  second 
time,  with  John  Bude  and  Caspar  Carmel,  in  order  to  summon 
the  Protestant  powers  to  interest  themselves  earnestly  with  Henri 
II.  of  France,  in  behalf  of  their  brethren  in  his  kingdom.  Calvin 
would  not  go  to  Worms,  as  Farel  wished :  he  wrote  however  to 
Melancthon  three  times  in  the  course  of  six  weeks,  to  urge  him 
to  unceasing  exertion.  Having  spoken  strongly  against  Andrea, 
he  says,  "The  issue  of  the  meeting  at  Worms  will  only  be  that 
the  papists  will  invent  delays,  according  to  their  old  fashion,  and 
will  have  the  princes,  the  defenders  of  the  true  faith,  for  the  most 
part  on  their  side."  It  was  the  violent  Lutherans  however,  the 
followers,  that  is,  of  Flacius,  who  mainly  contributed  to  destroy 
the  fruit  of  this  assembly. 

In  the  meantime,  the  Genevese  deputies,  who  had  been  before 
in  Zurich,  commenced  their  duties  at  Worms  ;  but  they  created 
another  cause  of  offence  to  the  Zurichers.  Melancthon  expressed 
a  hope  that  something  would  be  done  for  their  afflicted  brethren. 
Another  persecution  of  the  Waldenses,  among  the  Alps  of  Turin 
and  Grenoble,  had  been  begun  in  October  155/.  Three  of  these 
unfortunate  people  were  burnt  in  Paris  to  spread  terror  among 
the  rest.  The  Protestants  wished  to  have  a  short  confession  of 
faith  drawn  up,  that  they  might  be  the  better  able  to  commend 
the  deputies  to  the  princes.  Calvin's  Catechism  was  not  fitted 
for  the  purpose.  The  Augsburg  Confession  was  spoken  of,  and 
Beza  declared  himself  altogether  in  favour  of  its  adoption,  with 
the  exception  of  the  article  on  the  Lord's  Supper;  and  even  this 
he  was  ready  to  admit,  according  to  the  interpretation  given  by 
Melancthon. 


A.D.  1555-8.]  CONVENTION  PROPOSED.  301 

This  was  sufficient :  letters  of  introduction  were  given  him  to 
the  Elector  Palatine^  to  the  Landgrave  Philip,  to  the  Count- 
Palatine  Wolfgang,  and  the  Duke  Christopher,  at  Wiirtem- 
berg.  These  princes  promised  to  intercede  for  the  persecuted 
brethren.  The  desired  object  was  therefore  attained.  But  al- 
though the  confession  above-mentioned  was  given  in  the  name 
of  the  French  church  only,  the  Zurichers  still  found  cause  for 
quarrel.  The  Lutherans  had  certainly  the  good  intention  of  lead- 
ing the  Reformed  to  the  Augsburg  Confession ;  and  Calvin  per- 
haps, having  a  higher  end  in  view,  would  not  have  refused  to 
yield  in  this  respect.  He  had  ever  in  his  thoughts  the  infinite 
evil  of  schism.  But  Bullinger  adhered  to  his  extreme  views,  and 
would  not  go  to  Worms.  Calvin,  not  unfairly,  found  fault  with 
this  conduct.  By  being  present  at  Worms,  Bullinger  might  have 
prevented  the  condemnation  of  the  Zwinglians.  Melancthon, 
though  earnestly  admonished  by  Bullinger,  was  so  perplexed, 
after  refusing  to  condemn  the  Zwinglians,  the  followers  of 
Osiander,  and  the  Majorists,  that  he  subsequently  published  a 
statement,  in  which  he  declared  that  he  rejected  the  Zwinglian 
system,  and  condemned  all  teachers  who  opposed  the  Augsburg 
Confession. 

This  unfortunate  issue  of  the  convention  at  Worms,  which 
tended  to  fix  Bullinger  more  firmly  in  his  views,  did  not  dis- 
hearten Calvin.  He  desired  that  a  Colloquy  might  be  held  for 
the  purpose  of  uniting  parties  against  the  views  of  the  Zurichers. 
Bullinger,  on  the  contrary,  opposed  the  interests  of  union;  but 
the  brethren  of  Basel  were,  in  the  end,  induced  to  join  with  Cal- 
vin. Sulzer  was  wholly  in  favour  of  union,  in  opposition  to  the 
narrow  views  of  the  Zwinglians.  Thus  a  secret  antipathy  was 
created  between  Zurich  and  Basel,  which  displayed  itself  con- 
spicuously on  the  publication  of  the  Helvetic  Confession.  Hence 
it  is  probable  that  Calvin  would  have  done  better  for  the  interests 
of  the  church  at  large,  had  he,  together  with  the  French  Reformed 
congregations,  allied  himself  with  Germany,  and  subscribed  the 
Augsburg  Confession,  without  demanding  any  explanation  of  the 
tenth  article.  Their  fundamental  principles  were  the  same.  Cal- 
vin was  himself  a  Lutheran,  in  the  same  way  as  the  thoughtful 
Lutherans  are  Calvinists  ;  and  had  the  union  of  which  we  have 
spoken  taken  place,  the  development  of  the  church  would  have 
had  another  direction.  Bullinger,  in  this  case,  exhibited  a  de- 
spotic anxiety,  as  Luther  had  before  a  stormy  despotism.  But 
Calvin's  truthfulness,  which  was  not  recognised  as  it  ought  to 


302  THE  LUTHERAN  AND  SWISS   CHURCHES.         [CHAP.  VII. 

have  been,  held  him  back*.  "You  have  nothing  to  fear  as  to 
my  doing  anything  injurious  to  our  close  alliance.  If  we  should 
be  summoned  to  a  Colloquy,  I  will  attend,  as  I  have  already  said, 
not  for  the  purpose  of  seeking  new  friends,  and  leaving  you,  my 
old  ones,  to  yourselves,  but  to  win  new  opponents  for  us  both. 
Whether  I  go  or  not,  it  will  be  my  care  not  only  not  to  concede 
anything  which  is  contrary  to  my  faith,  but  to  adhere  to  our 
6  Consensus'  with  all  possible  resolution.  Threats  affect  me  not ; 
for  nothing  can  be  more  agreeable  to  me  than  the  thought  of  lea- 
ving this  world,  to  say  nothing  of  this  city,  as  soon  as  possible/5 

The  Protestant  princes  having  discovered  at  Worms  how  little 
union  existed  among  their  theologians,  had  reassembled  them  at 
Frankfort  (1558)  in  order  to  effect  a  reconciliation.  The  Wit- 
tenbergers,  guided  by  Melancthon,  were  more  moderate  on 
this  occasion ;  and  Melancthon  and  some  others  entered  into 
a  correspondence  with  Bullinger  and  Calvin.  The  Reformed 
expressed  themselves  again,  at  Frankfort,  in  the  strongest  man- 
ner on  the  presence  of  the  Lord  in  the  sacrament.  The  fol- 
lowers of  Flacius,  on  the  other  hand,  still  raved,  asserting  that 
it  was  Zwingli's  and  Calvin's,  and  not  Luther's  doctrine,  which 
was  asserted.  Deputies  from  the  French  churches  also  ap- 
peared there  again  with  Beza  :  the  latter  had  only  just  risen 
from  a  bed  of  sickness.  They  earnestly  implored  help  for  the 
persecuted,  and  warned  their  hearers  not  to  allow  themselves  to 
be  deceived  by  the  Cardinal  Guise  of  Loraine,  who  pretended 
that  the  embassy  would  avail  nothing  with  the  king  of  France, 
and  that  he  would,  without  its  interference,  suppress  the  persecu- 
tions, which  were  then  at  the  height.  Beza  gained  his  end.  They 
also  begged  to  be  allowed  to  hold  a  friendly  conference  on  the  dis- 
puted points  with  the  German  theologians.  All  seemed  to  promise 
tranquillity,  when  it  was  heard  that  the  Duke  of  Wiirtemberg  had 
published  an  edict,  banishing  all  who  adhered  to  the  Zwinglian 
doctrine  from  his  dominions.  This  intelligence  excited  the  great- 
est astonishment. 

Somewhat  later,  that  is  in  May  1560,  Calvin  again  expressed 
his  profound  agreement  with  Bullinger,  remarking  that  there  was 
nothing  to  hope  from  the  mimickers  of  Luther f. 

At  the  same  time  (1560),  two  deputies  from  the  Waldensian 
churches  in  Bohemia  arrived  at  Geneva  :  they  were  also  anxious 
to  establish  some  point  of  union.  Calvin,  to  whom  they  brought 

*  Calvin  to  Bullinger,  May  22,  1558.     Hess,  s.  395.    Buchar,  t.  vi.  p.  239- 
f  MS.  Gen.  Dc  Lutheri  Simiis. 


A.D.  1555-8.]  THE  POLES  AND  WALDENSES.  303 

a  letter,  dated  May  11,  from  the  chief  presbyter  of  the  brother- 
hood at  Carmel,  received  them  with  open  arms*. 

Some  years  before  (1557),  a  misunderstanding  had  arisen  be- 
tween the  Waldenses  and  the  other  Protestants  in  Poland.  Cal- 
vin had  admonished  both  parties  to  cultivate  peace  ;  there  being 
at  the  time  three  sections  disputing  with  each  other  on  the  sub- 
ject of  the  sacrament ;  the  one  Lutheran,  the  other  Waldensian, 
and  the  third  taking  a  middle  course.  It  is  said,  in  a  letter  to 
Bullinger,  that  John  a  Lasco  was  too  violent  against  these  Wal- 
denses. Calvin  thought  it  right  to  warn  him  not  to  separate  them 
from  communion. 

He  now  answered  the  brethren  in  a  friendly,  heartfelt  letter, 
abounding  in  admirable  thoughts  on  the  communion  of  Christians 
in  Christ.  This  epistle  indeed  affords  a  noble  proof  of  the  joy 
which  he  felt  in  union,  and  at  the  same  time  throws  considerable 
light  on  the  relations  existing  between  the  churches  of  the  north. 
It  was  Calvin's  opinion  that  these  Waldenses  might  be  very 
useful  in  aiding  the  diffusion  of  the  Gospel,  and  he  was  anxious 
therefore  to  retain  them  in  communion  with  the  church  ;  but  they 
had  now  separated  themselves  from  the  Polish  Reformed,  be- 
cause they  saw  that  they  were  continually  engaged  in  theological 
strife.  "  If  Satan  has  flung  Stancarus  and  Blandrata  among 
them,  is  it  not  your  duty  to  hasten  to  the  succour  of  the  brethreu 
in  Poland  ?  If  you  neglect  them,  they  will,  sooner  or  later,  for- 
sake you.  The  cause  of  this  controversy  and  of  your  separa- 
tion is  the  dispute  existing  respecting  the  communication  of  the 
flesh  and  blood  of  Christ.  Two  things  have  distressed  you : 
the  first,  that  we  wrote  complaining  that  }rour  confession  was,  on 
account  of  its  brevity,  obscure,  and  likely  to  excite  doubt;  and, 
secondly,  that  the  apology  which  you  set  forth  was  much  too 
violent  against  those  who  wish  for  the  light  of  a  sound  exposi- 
tion, in  the  words  where  you  say,  '  The  bread  is  the  body  of 
Christ.'  You  are  well-aware  of  what  Melancthon  thinks  on  this 
point;  but  honouring  as  we  do  his  memory,  we  would  not  cm- 
ploy  the  respect  due  to  his  name  to  overthrow  our  opponents; 
we  only  desire  to  show  how  unfairly  they  act  who  appeal  to  the 
Augsburg  Confession,  when  they  differ  altogether  from  its  au- 
thor. Your  formulary  can  only  be  adopted  with  danger;  it 
would  give  occasion  to  great  disturbance  among  the  Poles.  If 
your  deputy  answer,  that  I  have  also  exhibited  great  heat  in  my 
writings,  I  do  not  deny  this  in  the  whole  ;  but  it  is  not  the  right 
*  Ed.  Laus.  Ep.  :«.>4.  Ed.  Amst,  p.  145. 


304  CHURCH  AT  STRASBURG.  [CHAP.  VII. 

time  to  bring  such  an  accusation.  I  may  indeed  have  attacked 
some  unclean  dogs  rather  severely ;  but  your  apology  has  had  a 
very  different  aim.  It  has  confused  and  condemned,  without 
distinction,  many  pious  and  learned  men,  with  the  most  aban- 
doned." Calvin  concludes  his  epistle  in  a  quiet  and  friendly 
style,  praying  those  to  whom  it  was  addressed  not  to  take  what 
he  had  said  amiss,  and  hoping  that  the  Genevese  would  receive 
a  warning  if  they  failed. 

In  the  summer  of  1554,  Calvin  heard  that  the  Reformed  church 
at  Strasburg  was  in  clanger :  his  affection  for  the  old  congrega- 
tion, which  he  himself  had  established,  was  awakened  anew ;  and 
of  little  importance  as  this  circumstance  may  seem,  we  must 
speak  of  it,  since  even  what  was  in  itself  trifling  in  his  life  had 
a  peculiar  character.  He  wrote  to  Marbach  in  Strasburg,  saying, 
that  his  anxiety  would  no  longer  allow  him  to  remain  silent*.  He 
spoke  in  the  same  manner  to  Farelf.  Some  people  at  Strasburg 
had  interested  themselves  for  Servetus,  and  had  spoken  against 
both  the  punishment  of  heretics  and  the  doctrine  of  election. 
Calvin  had  therefore  addressed  a  letter  to  one  of  the  resident 
ministers  in  Strasburg:  his  language  is  strong,  patient  but 
energetic,  as  it  was  likely  to  be  when  he  believed  himself  unjustly 
assailed  J. 

Peter  Martyr  spoke  with  similar  severity  against  Zwingli,  the 
son  of  the  Swiss  reformer,  from  Strasburg;  stating  that  false 
opinions  were  preached  in  that  city  on  the  subject  of  election, 
and  on  the  capital  punishment  of  heretics.  He  agreed  on  both 
points  with  Calvin ;  but  the  schism  was  mainly  caused  by  dis- 
putes on  the  subject  of  the  sacrament.  The  second  minister  had 
attacked  both  the  stated  doctrine  and  his  associate  Gamier,  who 
defended  it.  Five  of  the  congregation  had  dissented,  and  ac- 
cused the  first  pastor :  they  were  protected  by  the  Lutherans. 
It  was  intended  to  depose  the  obnoxious  pastor  from  his  office. 
Calvin  prayed  for  him  and  for  the  peace  of  the  church.  The 
council  succeeded  in  restoring  tranquillity.  At  the  time  of  the 
Interim,  which  was  adopted  in  Strasburg,  the  congregation  had 
exhibited  considerable  firmness.  The  accused  pastor  was  at 
length  obliged  to  yield,  and  in  the  year  1555  Calvin  wrote  to 
Martyr — "The  breaking  up  of  the  little  French  congregation 
afflicts  me  in  no  slight  degree."     He  exhorts  him  to  reinstate 

*  Ed.  Laus.  Ep.  177-  Ed.  Arast.  p.  84,  b.  Cal.  Sept.  1554. 

f  MS.  Gen.  Nov.  1,  1554. 

X  Ed.  Laus.  Ep.  189-  Ed.  Amst.  p.  85. 


A.D.  1555-8.]  CHURCH  AT  STRASBURG.  305 

the  church,  and  remarks  that  he  would  find  faithful  supporters 
in  Sturmius  and  Sleidan.  Sleidan,  the  well-known  historian  of 
this  period,  was  one  of  the  chief  men  in  the  congregation  ;  Cal- 
vin carried  on  a  confidential  correspondence  with  him,  and  their 
letters  express  a  very  rash  and  startling  judgement  on  Me- 
lancthon*. 

Peter  Martyr  soon  after  left  Strasburg,  went  to  Zurich,  and 
the  Lutheran  party  was  victorious.  In  1563,  Zanchius,  tor- 
mented by  Marbach,  laid  down  his  office  and  removed  to  Grau- 
biinden,  where  he  became  minister.  In  the  same  year  the  c  For- 
mula Concordia?,'  or  (  Consensus  Argentinensis,'  for  the  settle- 
ment of  doctrine,  was  drawn  up  at  Strasburg  and  subscribed  by 
all  the  churches.  But  on  the  19th  of  August,  the  French  re- 
formed church,  as  not  agreeing  with  the  confession  thus  esta- 
blished, wras  dispersed :  it  subsequently  however  revived. 

The  dissent  of  Tossanus,  minister  in  Miimpelgard,  was  also 
treated  by  Calvin  as  one  of  the  sad  consequences  of  this  quarrel. 
He  suspected  him  of  being  imbued  with  the  errors  of  Servetus, 
and  some  time  after  spoke  of  his  follies  to  Philip  of  Hesse.  It 
appears  from  the  letter  which  he  wrote  on  this  occasion,  that 
Tossanus  invited  preachers  from  Geneva,  prepared  of  his  own 
accord  the  '  Consensus  Pastorum/  and  exercised  a  control  over 
ministers  inconsistent  with  christian  brotherhood.  The  prince 
was  exhorted  (i  not  to  let  one  by  violence  appropriate  to  himself 
the  command  over  others  f" 

We  ask  now,  What  had  Calvin  gained  for  unity  at  this  period 
by  his  zealous,  noble  struggles ?  It  Mas  the  general  establish- 
ment of  the  church,  as  far  as  it  was  then  possible,  and  the  tri- 
umph of  the  Wittenberg  'Concordia'  in  Switzerland,  effected  by 
the  renewal  of  the  ' Consensus'  in  the  years  1551  (?)  and  1554. 
We  cannot  indeed  better  conclude  the  account  of  the  three  con- 
troversies above-described  than  b}^  again  quoting  the  noble  sen- 
timents which  Calvin  addressed  to  Laski : — "  Fain  would  I  that 
such  a  harmony  reigned  among  all  the  churches  of  Christ  in  this 
world,  that  the  angels  might  sing  to  us  from  heaven  J  !" 

*  In  a  letter  from  Calvin  to  Sleidan,  Aug.  155  l,  Ed.  Amst.  p.  85,  we  read 
the  following:  "  In  summis  capitibus  philosophis  so  venditana  sanara  doctri- 
narn  oppugnat, — vcl  ne  in  se  quorundam  exeitet  odia,  Bensum  Buum  astute, 
saltern  parum  ingenue  tegit.  1  taminus  eum  fortiore  spiritu  instruat,  ne  gravem 
ex  ejus  timiditate  jacturam  sentiat  posteritas." 

f  MS.  Gen.  Calv.  Farello,  May  18,  1556.  J   Ruchat,  vi.  55S. 


VOL. 


306  AGITATION  AT  GENEVA.  [CHAP.  VIII. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

FINAL  STRUGGLE  AGAINST    THE  LIBERTINES. BERTHELIER. 

TRIUMPH        OP       DISCIPLINE. FAILURE       OF       CALVIN5S 

ENEMIES. EDUCATIONAL  PLANS. 

Having  given  a  connected  view  of  the  disputes  concerning  doc- 
trine, we  now  enter  upon  a  period  rich  in  all  respects  in  evan- 
gelical operations.  Calvin  had  reached  by  his  perseverance  the 
grand  end  of  his  activity,  which  never,  as  was  the  case  ^Yith 
Luther  in  his  latter  years,  declined,  his  spirit  growing  no  weaker 
by  the  conflicts  in  which  it  was  engaged.  His  fundamental  prin- 
ciples ever  urged  him  to  seek  the  unity  of  the  church.  In  the 
first  period  of  his  career  he  laboured  to  exhibit  a  correct  system 
of  doctrine,  and  in  the  second  he  employed  his  energies  in  effect- 
ing the  security  of  that  which  he  had  thus  accomplished  by 
means  of  church  discipline,  and  the  c  Consensus  Tigurinus/ 

But  this  reference  to  the  concluding  aera  of  his  labours  brings 
him  before  us  engaged  in  a  new  conflict  with  his  opponents  at 
Geneva.  They  were  at  length  however  subdued ;  so  that  the 
reformer  gained  time  to  nourish  his  church  at  home,  and  yet  to 
extend  his  influence  to  Scotland  and  Poland,  and  to  keep  the 
evangelical  church  in  France  on  a  firm  foundation,  till  he  was 
called  away  to  his  rest,  in  the  midst  of  the  storm  caused  by  the 
wars  of  the  Huguenots. 

It  is  necessary  to  take  a  brief  review  of  the  troublous  year 
1553.  Calvin  was  so  firmly  fixed  in  the  feeling  of  duty  that  he 
watched  carefully  the  course  of  public  events.  It  was  in  this 
year  that  he  published  his  Commentary  on  St.  John,  and  dedi- 
cated the  work  to  the  council.  In  the  preface  he  extols  the 
members  for  having  so  hospitably  entertained  the  persecuted 
strangers  who  had  found  refuge  in  Geneva,  and  exhorts  them  to 
remain  superior  to  all  barkings  and  tumults. 

But  fresh  clouds  were  gathering  about  his  head.  Since  the 
affair  with  Bolsec,  Bern  had  been  at  constant  strife  with  Geneva. 
The  revolutionary  party  raised  its  head  ;  the  ministers  were  ex- 
cluded from  the  council*;  and  the  French  refugees  were  for- 
bidden to  carry  weapons  f.     Perrini  had  resolved  to  overthrow 

*  February  4,  1553.  t  April  11,  1553. 


A.D.   1553.]  BERTHELIER  AND  PERRiNI.  307 

the  newly-established  system  of  church-discipline,  and  with  it 
the  power  of  Calvin.  Servetus  was  at  this  time  in  prison  ;  Cal- 
vin was  occupied  with  the  process  against  him ;  and  now  it  was 
that  Philip  Berthelier,  the  son  of  the  Berthelier  who  lost  his  head 
in  the  cause  of  freedom  in  1518,  made  his  appearance.  He  was 
very  much  beloved  by  the  people  on  account  of  his  father's  me- 
mory; but  in  1552  his  disorderly  life  occasioned  his  expulsion 
from  the  number  of  communicants,  and  the  magistrates  ordered 
him  to  be  cast  into  prison.  In  the  month  of  August  he  made 
an  appeal  to  the  council,  and  desired  it  to  reverse  the  sentence 
of  the  consistory.  The  state  protocol  shows  that  he  entertained 
no  friendly  feeling  towards  Calvin.  If  his  reasonings  had  been 
admitted,  all  excommunicated  persons  would  have  pursued  the 
same  course,  the  council  would  have  assumed  the  entire  govern- 
ment of  the  church,  and  Calvin's  work  would  have  been  abor- 
tive. Berthelier  had  many  adherents  in  the  council.  They  pro- 
posed that  a  minister  should  be  summoned  to  the  assembly  and 
absolve  the  offenders  in  its  presence.  Calvin,  greatly  excited, 
proved  by  the  most  powerful  arguments  that  the  council  ought 
to  be  the  defender,  and  not  the  disturber  of  the  sacred  laws  of 
the  church.  He  even  assembled  all  the  ministers  both  of  the 
city  and  country,  and  proceeded  with  them  on  a  subsequent  day 
to  the  council,  before  which  each  of  them  solemnly  protested 
against  the  contemplated  injury;  and  all  declared  that,  rather 
than  suffer  it,  they  would  lay  down  their  office  and  leave  their 
churches.  But  the  party  of  the  libertines  rose  tumultuously  and 
gained  the  victory.  "  The  consistory,"  they  exclaimed,  "  wished 
to  assume  to  itself  the  authority  which  belonged  to  the  civil 
magistrates." 

This  affair  was  now  brought  before  the  "  Council  of  Two 
Hundred,"  and  it  was  decided  that  the  council  had  in  reality 
the  right  to  hear  complaints  like  those  referred  to,  and  to  ab- 
solve. Berthelier  was  acquitted,  and  received  a  document  ac- 
cordingly, sealed  with  the  seal  of  the  republic.  Perrini  believed 
that  he  had  now  triumphed ;  that  Calvin  would  either  not  obey 
the  decree,  and  so  would  be  judged  as  a  rebel,  or  that  he  would 
yield,  and  that  in  such  case  the  power  of  the  consistory  would 
be  for  ever  gone :  but  he  had  to  do  with  a  man  whose  energy 
was  of  a  very  different  kind  to  his.  In  such  moments  Calvin 
exhibited  the  entire  greatness  of  his  mind,  and  the  shallow  cri- 
tics who  describe  him  as  a  mere  cold  reasoner  merit  supreme 
contempt. 

x2 


308  BERTHELIER  AND  PERRINI.  [CHAP.  VIII. 

It  was  on  the  Friday  before  the  first  Sunday  in  September, 
when  the  whole  reformed  church  celebrates  the  Lord's  Supper, 
that  Calvin  received  information  of  the  plan  against  him.     He 
instantly  requested  the  syndics  to  summon  a  meeting  of  the 
council.     He  hastened  thither  himself,  and  in  an  earnest  address 
endeavoured  to  convince  those  who  were  present,  that  it  was 
their  duty  to  revoke  the  decree.     He  concluded  with  protesting 
that  he  was  resolved  to  die  rather  than  disgrace  the  celebration 
of  the  Lord's  Supper  in  so  unworthy  a  manner  :  "  For  nothing," 
he  said,  u  can  be  worse  than  your  proposing  to  let  this  man  sport 
with  the  church,  and  thus  excite  others,  by  the  impunity  which 
he  enjoys,  to  the  same  insolence."     The  council  however  an- 
swered that  it  would  change  nothing  in  its  decree.     Calvin  ac- 
cordingly formed  in  his  heart  the  resolution  to  leave  the  city,  or 
rather  he  saw  himself  exposed  to  a  second  banishment.     The 
important  Sunday  now  arrived,  September  3rd :  the  reformer 
ascended  the  pulpit ;  his  ardent  eloquence  was  employed  on  the 
holy  mysteries,  and  on  those  who  despised  them.     At  the  end 
of  his  discourse  he  raised  his  voice,  and  admonished  the  con- 
gregation to  receive  the  sacrament  with  holy  earnestness.     He 
spoke  with  great  force  against  those  who  despised  the  sacred 
rite,  and,  imitating  the  example  of  Chrysostom,  declared  that  he 
would  give  the  sacrament  to  none  of  those  who  were  excommu- 
nicated ;  and  that,  if  any  one  among  them  should  attempt  to 
seize  the  bread  of  the  Lord  by  force,  he  would  do  so  at  his  peril. 
Then  lifting  up  his  hand,  he  exclaimed,  "  I  will  lose  my  life  rather 
than  let  this  hand  give  the  holy  things  to  those  who  have  been 
pronounced  despisers  of  God."     These  words  sounded  like  a 
thunder-clap,  striking  the  excommunicated  and  his  associates  to 
the  earth.    Wonderfully  affected  himself,  Perrini  secretly  advised 
Berthelier  not  to  approach  the  Lord's  table ;  and  the  holy  sup- 
per, Beza  relates,  was  celebrated  in  the  profoundest  silence,  and 
with  a  holy  awe,  as  if  God  himself  had  been  visibly  present  in 
the  assembly. 

In  the  afternoon  of  the  same  day  Calvin  preached  another  ser- 
mon, and  in  pursuing  the  text  on  which  he  was  discoursing,  the 
twentieth  chapter  of  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles  lay  before  him. 
In  referring  to  the  admirable  address  in  which  Paul  took  leave 
of  the  church  at  Ephesus,  Calvin  appealed  to  his  congregation 
with  the  words,  " '  Watch,  and  remember,  that  by  the  space  of 
three  years  I  ceased  not  to  warn  every  one  night  and  day  with 
tears;  and  now,  brethren,  I  commend  you  to  God,  and  to  the 


A.D.  1553.]  CALVIN  AND  THE  COUNCIL.  309 

word  of  his  grace.' "  "  I  am  not,"  he  continued,  "  the  man 
either  to  contend  against  authority  myself,  or  to  excite  others  to 
do  so."  He  then  exhorted  the  congregation  to  persevere  in  the 
doctrine  which  he  had  preached  to  them,  declaring  that  he  was 
always  ready  to  serve  the  church,  and  every  individual  member 
of  it.  "  But,"  added  he,  in  conclusion,  "  affairs  here  are  now  in 
such  a  state  that  I  know  not  whether  this  may  not  be  the  last 
time  that  I  shall  proclaim  to  you  the  word  of  God ;  for  those 
who  have  the  power  in  their  hands  wish  to  compel  me  to  do  a 
thing  which  is  not  lawful  before  God ;  therefore  must  I  say  to 
you,  as  Paul  said  to  the  elders  at  Ephesus,  e  I  commend  you, 
dear  brethren,  to  the  grace  of  God*/"  These  words  made  a 
deep  impression  on  the  assembly ;  they  terrified  the  enemies  of 
Calvin  and  confirmed  his  friends.  The  next  day  he  appeared 
with  all  the  ministers  and  the  other  members  of  the  consistory 
before  the  lesser  council,  and  before  that  of  the  "  Two  Hundred," 
in  order  to  ask  permission  to  be  heard  by  the  great  council :  the 
question  concerned  a  law  which  that  body  had  sanctioned. 

Calvin's  request  was  not  granted ;  but  a  very  different  feeling 
had  arisen,  and  resort  was  had  for  the  moment  to  the  practice 
allowed  by  the  "  Council  of  Two  Hundred,"  of  adjourning  the 
meeting.  It  was  announced  in  the  mean  time  that  the  opinion 
of  the  cantons,  on  the  laws  of  discipline,  should  be  collected, 
and  that,  till  this  was  done,  things  should  remain  as  they  were. 

All  these  proceedings  took  place  during  the  trial  of  Servetus. 
Calvin  acquainted  Bullinger  with  them  in  a  letter,  dated  October 
25  ;  shortly,  that  is,  before  the  execution  of  Servetus,  but  to  whom 
there  is  only  a  cursory  allusion.  He  had  already  said  to  Gualter, 
who  was  there,  that  he  was  prepared  to  die  rather  than  cast  the 
holy  bread  to  dogs,  who,  in  despite  of  the  Gospel,  had  auda- 
ciously resolved  upon  treading  underfoot  the  order  of  tin1 
churches  t- 

The  storm  passed  over,  but  it  gathered  again  about  the  head 
of  Farel :  he  accompanied  Servetus,  as  we  have  seen,  to  the  place 
of  execution.  Soon  after  this  he  hastened  again  to  Geneva,  in 
order  to  bridle  by  his  influence,  by  his  powerful  discourse,  and 

*  Ed.  Laus.  Ep.  102.  Ed.  Amst.  p.  78.  An  allusion  ia  made  t<>  the  above 
discourse  in  a  letter  which  Calvin  wrote  to  Bullinger,  and  from  which  it  ap- 
pears that  it  was  written  by  a  short-hand  writer  a-  he  delivered  it.  The  ma- 
nuscript probably  exists  at  Zurich  ;  since  Calvin  referred  Bullinger  to  the 
sermon  itself,  quam  Beza  noater  vertendam  curavit. 

t  He  spoke  somewbat  later  on  the  same  subject,  expressing  bis  inward 
convictions  of  duty,  and  saying  that  he  would  remain,  out  of  pity  ti»  his  church, 
which  would  otherwise  be  ruined.      MS.   Tig.  Feb.  1  I.  1554. 


310  FAREL  ACCUSED.  [CHAP.  VIII. 

the  respect  due  to  his  age,  the  fury  of  Calvin's  opponents.  He 
ascended  the  pulpit :  all  hastened  to  hear  him  :  he  assailed  them 
with  the  mighty  eloquence  which  he  had  always  ready  at  com- 
mand, exhibited  the  antagonist  party  in  its  true  light,  and  then 
departed.  His  discourse  however  was  skilfully  represented  by 
the  disaffected  as  a  gross  injustice  against  them,  and  they  con- 
strained the  council  to  furnish  them  with  a  letter  for  Neuchatel, 
to  compel  Farel  to  answer  their  complaint  in  his  own  person. 
Calvin  considered  it  advisable  for  him  to  yield  to  their  demand. 
The  old  man  accordingly  set  out  on  foot,  alone  and  in  the  rough- 
est autumnal  weather,  on  his  way  to  Geneva.  Calvin  dare  not 
let  him  preach.  There  was  a  general  excitement.  The  tumult 
in  the  senate-house  was  so  great  when  the  accusation  was  formally 
made,  that  the  hostile  party  exclaimed,  that  Farel  must  be  flung 
into  the  Rhone.  A  young  and  courageous  man  now  stepped 
forth,  and  warned  Perrini  to  take  care  that  the  father  of  the  city 
suffered  no  harm.  Another  young  man  soon  joined  him ;  and 
when  the  people  began  to  collect  about  the  council-chamber,  the 
ministers  appeared  in  a  body,  and  admonished  the  council  to 
defend  the  honour  of  God  and  his  word.  Justice  demanded  a 
loud  protest  in  behalf  of  Farel. 

A  general  tumult  pervaded  the  place :  the  citizens  and  work- 
people left  their  homes  to  defend  their  ministers.  The  accusers 
became  alarmed,  and  were  obliged  to  submit  to  terms.  Calvin, 
Viret  and  others,  now  explained  the  wicked  designs  of  their 
enemies.  Farel  defended  himself  in  a  lengthened  address,  and 
upheld  the  truth.  In  the  registers  of  the  republic  it  is  stated, 
that  Farel  declared  that  he  had  no  intention  to  blame  the  city, 
but  that,  on  the  contrary,  he  cherished  a  sincere  love  for  Geneva. 
This  speech  deeply  affected  the  auditory.  Among  those  who 
had  forced  their  way  into  the  presence  of  the  council,  were  many 
who  had  taken  part  against  Farel ;  but  all  now  proclaimed  that 
they  believed  him  to  be  a  true  servant  of  the  Gospel,  and  their 
spiritual  father.  Upon  this  the  council  commanded  that  every 
one  should  give  him  his  hand,  and  that  a  feast  should  be  held  in 
token  of  the  general  reconciliation.  The  first  syndic  was  now 
obliged  to  declare,  with  trembling,  that  Farel's  sermon  was  holy; 
that  nothing  could  be  fairly  said  against  him  ;  that  his  opponents 
must  be  reconciled  to  him,  and  that  every  one  must  live  accord- 
ing to  the  word  of  God.  The  libertines  hereby  discovered  that 
they  had  not  the  mass  of  the  people  with  them,  and  Perrini 
humbled  himself  before  Farel. 


A.D.  1553.]  PACIFICATION   OF  GENEVA.  311 

Thus  this  troublous  year,  in  which  the  church  had  also  to  lament 
the  death  of  King  Edward  of  England,  ended  prosperously  for 
Geneva.     The  question  respecting  discipline  was  still  debated  ; 
but  the  agitation  thereby  created  was  only  the  forerunner  of  much 
greater  evils.     On  the  eve  of  the  year  1554,  Calvin  expressed  to 
Bullinger  his  sorrowful  feelings :   his  position  was  almost  un- 
bearable.   The  days  had  arrived  when  he  felt  indeed  that  it  was 
not  without  cause  that  he  had  trembled,  when  Farel  pressed  it 
upon  him  as  a  duty  to  return  to  Geneva,  and  when  he  exclaimed, 
Cor  nieum  velut  mactatum  Deo  in  sacrificium  offero,  ee  I  offer  my 
bleeding  heart  as  a  sacrifice  to  God."     On  the  1st  of  January 
another  great  feast  was  celebrated  :   Calvin  was  present :   the 
magistrates  and  the  members  of  the  lesser  council  also  attended. 
"  If  any  one  disturbs  the  peace,"  it  was  then  said,  "  let  all  rise 
against  him."     On  the  2nd  of  February,  1554,  the  people  took 
an  oath,  with  upraised  hands,  that  they  would  live  for  the  future 
according  to  the  teaching  of  the  reformers ;  that  they  would  re- 
frain from  all  malice,  forget  the  past,  and  invoke  the  vengeance 
of  God  upon  the  houses,  persons,  wives  and  children  of  those 
who  should  violate  this  holy  vow.     On  the  23rd  of  the  same 
month  Calvin  wrote  to  Bullinger:  "The  good  citizens  have  not 
had  sufficient  courage  to  bring  the  affairs  of  the  church  into 
order,  the  want  of  which  was  the  first  cause  of  this  agitation. 
They  have  satisfied  themselves  with  shaking  hands  in  token  of 
reconciliation,  and  with  proclaiming  on  oath  that  they  will  no 
longer  support  injustice.    Thus  under  the  pretence  of  promoting 
peace,  they  have  set  aside  church  order,  the  only  sure  foundation 
of  peace.  I  was  called  to  the  council-chamber,  and  there  declared 
that  I  forgave  all  who  felt  true  repentance  ;  that  I,  however,  was 
not  the  consistory ;  and  that  I  would  rather  die  a  hundred  times 
than  claim  for  myself  an  authority  which  belonged  to  the  whole 
church,  the  right,  that  is,  of  establishing  rules  of  discipline.    The 
enemy  has  made  at  present  but  little  uproar ;  it  will  soon  be  ne- 
cessary however  to  renew  the  conflict." 

Calvin  was  not  mistaken  :  the  evil  became  greater  than  he 
had  feared.  Complaints  were  again  made  to  the  council  re- 
specting the  determination  of  the  consistory,  and  the  elders  were 
obliged  to  appear  before  the  former  to  defend  themselves.  Jus- 
tice was  so  little  regarded*,  that  the  first  syndic  this  year,  who 
required  satisfaction  for  an  injury  done  him,  could  obtain  none 
*  Ruchat,  t.  v.  p.  116. 


312  RENEWAL  OF  STRIFE.  [CHAP.  VIII. 

7 

from  the  council,  and  he  openly  declared  that  he  would  seek 
justice  of  the  citizens  themselves,  from  door  to  door.     Calvin 
was  now  attacked  in  his  own  person.     It  has  been  already  men- 
tioned, that  the  council,  in  August  1554,  had  received  a  long 
letter   under    a    strange    name,   containing   fearful    accusations 
asainst  Calvin.     It  was  communicated  to  him,  and  he  believed 
that  it  came  from  Castellio.     We  have  spoken  of  the  numerous 
insults  heaped  upon  him ;  but  no  mention  has  yet  been  made  of 
the  circumstance,  that  as  he  was  once  returning  from  St.Gervais, 
where  he  had  been  preaching,  a  number  of  miscreants  attacked 
him  on  the  bridge  over  the  Rhone.     He  answered  their  threats 
by  quietly  remarking,  that  the  bridge  was  broad  enough  for  them 
all.     They  then  directed  their  rage  against  a  French  refugee, 
whom  they  pursued  to  his  own  shop,  and  wounded  him.     The 
people  assembled  ;  swords  were  drawn  and  blood  flowed.     Many 
cried  aloud,  "Murder,  murder  the  foreigner!"     Similar  occur- 
rences took  place  day  after  day.    Another  time,  when  Calvin  was 
going  to  give  his  lecture  he  was  publicly  insulted,  and  his  ser- 
vant was  beaten  in  the  open  street. 

The  admonitions  of  the  consistory  were  utterly  despised,  and  the 
magistrates  were  slow  to  punish  offences.     They  indulged  them- 
selves, on  the  other  hand,  in  the  language  of  threat,  when  engaged 
in  public  business,  as  if  they  were  the  lords  of  the  state.    Efforts 
were  made  to  abolish  the  moral  judicature,  and  blasphemy  and 
adultery  triumphed.    The  endeavours  made  to  resist  this  state  of 
things  proved  fruitless.     One  of  its  licentious  opponents  dared 
to  say  to  the  consistory,  that  it  was  more  savage  than  Satan  him- 
self, but  that  it  would  soon  cease  to  be   so.     "  See/'  said  some 
other  libertines,  "  how  we  are  governed  by  the  French  edicts  and 
by  Calvin  ! "    Often  at  night  some  fresh  attack  was  made  upon 
the  foreigners,  and  they  were  cruelly  beaten.     Calvin  reproved 
the  offenders  with  the  whole  might  of  his  pulpit  eloquence  ;  but 
the  council,  which  considered  his  vehemence  unseasonable,  called 
him  into  its  presence,  and  besought  him  to  moderate  his  zeal. 
The  old  Genevese  citizens  united  in  opposing  the  admission  of 
the  strangers  to  equal  civil  rights ;  and  had  obtained  a  law,  by 
which  it  was  ordained,  that  no  foreigner  should  be  eligible  for 
election  into  the  great  council,  till  he  had  been  resident  twenty- 
five  years. 

It  was  at  this  period  that  the  refugees,  who  had  settled  in  We- 
sel,  Emden  and  Frankfort,  occasioned  Calvin  so  much  anxiety 


A.D.  1555.]  RENEWAL   OF   STRIFE.  313 

About  the  same  time  also  he  received  a  letter  from  Peter  Mar- 
tyr, at  Strasburg,  May  9,  1554,  stating  that  Philip  of  Spain  had 
been  acknowledged  as  king  in  England;  that  popery  was  re- 
established in  that  country,  and  that  holy  men  and  believers  were 
obliged  on  all  sides  to  seek  safety  by  flight.  "  I  write  this,"  says 
Martyr,  "  that  you  and  your  church  may,  in  these  unhappy  cir- 
cumstances, afford  help  by  your  prayers."  And  further,  "  I  do  not 
wish  it  to  be  hidden  from  you,  that  I  and  many  pious  people  are 
in  the  highest  degree  troubled,  that  so  many  perverse  and  false 
reports  should  have  sprung  up,  both  against  the  truth  and  against 
your  name,  in  reference  to  God's  eternal  election,  and  the  punish- 
ment of  heretics." 

Nothing  indeed  but  the  invincible  strength  of  this  man,  who 
had  no  worldly  object  of  desire,  could  have  resisted  the  stream  of 
corruption  now  ilowing,  or  have  upheld  the  rights  of  the  church 
against  it.  Beza  states  that  the  revolutionary  party  made  obscene 
songs  on  the  word  of  God.     It  was  during  1553,  and  the  two 
following  years,  that  this  rebellious  feeling  reached  its  height.  One 
night  in  Januarv  1555,  the  streets  were  illuminated,  and  a  mock 
procession  took  place,  in  which  the  hymns  of  the  church  were 
ridiculed  in  vulgar  parodies*.     At  this  time  also  it  was  reported 
by  Beza,  that  the  king  of  France  had  commanded  the  duke  of 
Guise  to   make  himself  master  of  Geneva.     The   fortifications 
were  accordingly  carefully  repaired,  and  the  Waldensian  refugees 
were  employed  in  the  work.     But  this  gave  rise  to  new  disturb- 
ances.    Perrini,  as  general  of  the  forces  of  the  little  republic, 
employed  himself  in  circulating  a  statement,  that  the  Genevese 
French  were  in  league  with  the  enemy,  and  that  if  they  agreed 
with  him,  the  king  would  admit  them  to  his  favour;  they  ought 
therefore,  he  said,  to  be  watched  and  examined,  and  to  be  sub- 
jected to  an  annual  tax.     The  position  was  one  of  difficulty  for  a 
small  city.     There  was  an  enemy  at  the  gates,  and  there  were 
factions  within  the  walls.    Calvin  rightly  said,  that  if  the  church 
was  everywhere  disturbed,  in  the  case  of  Geneva  it  was  tossed 
to  and  fro  like  the  ark  in  the  deluge.     But  he  observed  to  Yiret, 
"  that  he  bore  all  this  in  silence."     If  he  was  now  engaged  in 
forming  plans  against  the  libertines,  as  some  writers  suppose,  he 
would  certainly  have  quietly  intimated  it  to  his  friends  ;  but  he 
speaks  only  of  his  troubles.  Before  the  commencement  of  the  de- 
cisive year  1555,  we  hear  him  pouring  out  his  deep  sighs,  and  ex- 

*  An  account  of  these  proceedings  is  given  in  the  registers  of  the  republic, 
Jan.  0,  1553. 


314  RENEWAL  OF  STRIFE.  [CHAP.  VIII. 

pressing,  like  Melancthon,  his  wish  to  die*  :  he  uttered  the  same 
feelings  at  a  somewhat  later  period f. 

But  in  the  year  above-mentioned,  this  fierce  struggle  respecting 
discipline  was  brought  to  a  happy  close.  The  libertines  them- 
selves contributed  by  their  turbulence  to  this  result  J.  On  January 
24th,  a  few  days  after  the  procession  to  which  we  have  alluded, 
the  "Council  of  Two  Hundred"  being  assembled,  the  ministers 
were  summoned  to  attend  for  the  purpose  of  stating,  as  they  had 
desired,  their  views  on  the  important  question  of  discipline.  The 
inquiry  wras  not  about  excommunication  itself,  but  the  tribunal 
by  which  it  was  to  be  pronounced.  The  edicts  which  had  been 
confirmed  by  the  great  council,  the  chief  authority  in  the  state,  on 
the  return  of  Calvin,  had  placed  the  right  of  inflicting  excommuni- 
cation in  the  hands  of  the  consistory  alone.  That  body  accordingly 
pronounced  sentence  upon  incorrigible  offenders  without  appeal. 
The  council  had  endeavoured  to  appropriate  this  right  to  itself, 
because  it  was  inconceivably  inconsistent,  it  said,  that  the  govern- 
ment of  a  state  should  be  without  the  power  of  revising  whatever 
decrees  were  passed.  The  consistory  pretended  to  the  rank  of  a 
sovereign  tribunal  in  the  state  ;  but  sound  reason  demanded,  that 
for  the  safe  guardianship  of  freedom,  the  entire  power  and  rule 
should  be  in  the  hands  of  the  civil  magistrate.  It  was  well  known 
what  tyranny  the  popes  exercised  under  the  pretence  of  this  spi- 
ritual jurisdiction. 

To  these  insinuations  the  clergy  answered  by  Calvin,  "that  it 
was  the  duty  of  men  to  submit  themselves  to  the  authority  of 
Christ  and  his  Apostles,  to  whom  He  had  given  the  power  to 
loose  and  to  bind,  and  to  administer  the  sacraments."  It  was 
also  added,  "  that  the  magistrate  had  no  more  right  to  oppose 
himself  to  spiritual  discipline,  than  the  clergy  had  to  intermeddle 
with  the  determinations  of  a  temporal  judge.  It  wras  their  duty 
therefore  to  see  that  the  sacraments  suffered  no  dishonour ;  that 
since  the  clergy,  as  subjects,  yielded  entire  obedience  to  the  ma- 
gistrates, all  persons  of  rank  and  authority  ought  to  bow  them- 
selves implicitly  to  the  word  of  God  ;  that  pious  princes  have 
ever  made  this  distinction  ;  that  at  the  very  founding  of  the 
church,  Aaron  received  the  high-priesthood  ;  David  did  not  sa- 
crifice ;  the  Lord  severely  punished  those  who  despised  his  law 
in  this  respect ;  Uzzah  died  because  he  laid  his  hand  upon  the 
ark ;    and   King  Hoseah  was   covered  with   leprosy ;    that  the 

*  Calvin  to  Wolf,  7  Cal.  Jan.  1555.      t  Ed.  Laus.  Ep.  2i6,  Oct.  10,  1555. 
f  Ruchat,  vi.  p.  133. 


A.D.  1555-60.]        THE  COUNCIL  AND  CONSISTORY.  315 

laws  were  a  sufficient  defence  against  any  abuse  of  authority  on 
the  part  of  the  consistory  ;  and  that  freedom,  if  Christ  was  ba- 
nished, would  be  but  a  lamentable  servitude."  This  reasoning 
made  an  impression  upon  the  minds  of  people,  and  it  was  de- 
termined by  a  majority  of  votes,  that  all  the  edicts  passed  by  the 
great  council  must  have  the  authority  of  law  ;  whence  it  followed, 
that  church  discipline  must  remain  solely  in  the  hands  of  the 
consistory. 

While  all  the  friends  of  peace  were  rejoicing  that  this  victory 
had  been  gained  for  religion  and  morality,  the  rabble,  weakened 
and  restrained  by  the  ministers  and  their  powerful  discourses, 
were  loud  in  exclaiming  that  preaching  ought  to  be  suppressed, 
and  the  number  of  ministers  reduced  to  two  ;  that  these  should 
be  confined  to  the  reading  of  Scripture,  without  interpretation  ; 
that  the  people  should  be  taught  the  "  Credo,"  the  u  Lord's 
Prayer,"  and  the  "Ten  Commandments  ;"  that  it  was  not  only 
useless  but  dangerous  to  allow  so  much  expounding ;  and  taking 
advantage  of  the  Bernese  remonstrance  on  the  doctrine  of  pre- 
destination, they  added,  that  it  was  unnecessary  to  print  so 
many  books  and  commentaries. 

A  still  greater  feeling  of  indignation  was  expressed,  when  the 
council  at  one  sitting  admitted  fifty  foreigners,  known  for  their 
respectability,  to  the  rights  of  citizenship.  It  was  necessary  to 
make  a  bold  experiment.  Amy  Perrini  and  Peter  Vandel, 
members  of  the  council,  directed  the  chief  of  the  police  to  ap- 
pear before  the  lesser  council,  that  a  complaint  might  be  made 
to  him,  in  the  name  of  the  people,  respecting  the  admission  of 
these  foreigners  to  the  rank  of  citizens ;  a  measure  which  dis- 
quieted the  city,  and  rendered  it  necessary  to  bring  the  subject 
before  the  "Council  of  Two  Hundred."  The  council,  however, 
would  not  allow  such  a  proceeding.  Perrini  returned  the  next 
day  with  a  larger  number  of  his  tumultuous  followers  :  he  was 
sent  away,  with  the  charge  to  keep  himself  quiet.  The  people 
now  spread  themselves  about  in  the  low  drinking-houses,  and 
gave  free  expression  to  their  wrath.  This  happened  on  a  Sun- 
day, May  14.  Calvin,  expecting  some  great  event,  commended 
himself  to  the  prayers  of  Fare!.  On  the  following  Tuesday, 
May  1G,  the  malcontents  returned  in  still  greater  numbers  to 
the  council-house  ;  they  were  accompanied  by  fishermen  and 
sailors,  and  were  armed  with  huge  double-handed  swords.  Their 
demands  were  the  same  as  before,  and  they  were  again  sent  back. 
They  continued  to  perambulate  the  whole  city,  and  fresh  crowds 


316  AGITATION  AT  GENEVA,  [CHAP.  VIII. 

of  the  lower  class  were  induced  to  join  them.  To  secure  their 
aid,  they  distributed  food  to  the  work-people  and  the  poor,  and 
commended  the  city  to  their  care,  lest  it  should  fall  into  strange 
hands.  The  more  moderate  among  them  desired  an  assembly 
of  the  great  council,  but  they  were  overpowered  by  the  violence 
of  the  rest,  who  seem  to  have  formed  the  design  of  killing  the 
refugees,  and  those  who  espoused  their  cause.  The  following 
Sunday  was  the  time  appointed  for  this  deed ;  but  the  violence 
of  some  of  the  party,  and  their  too  great  haste  to  accomplish 
their  design,  happily  defeated  the  plan.  On  the  following  night, 
a  member  of  the  council  named  Baudichon,  accompanied  by 
two  young  burghers,  made  the  circuit  of  the  city  :  they  were 
greatly  hated,  as  well-known  champions  of  the  persecuted  refu- 
gees. In  the  course  of  their  rounds  they  were  met  by  a  crowd 
of  the  disaffected,  who,  on  perceiving  Baudichon,  instantly  shout- 
ed, "  Down  with  the  traitor,"  and  drew  their  swords.  Hearing 
the  cry,  the  syndic  Aubert  hastened  to  the  spot  with  his  staff  of 
office,  and  ordered  one  of  the  leaders  to  be  arrested  ;  but  his  staff 
was  wrenched  from  his  hand,  he  was  surrounded  by  the  rabble, 
and  the  cry  became  general,  "  Treason, — the  French, — kill, 
slay, — the  French  are  seizing  the  city  !"  But  not  one  of  the  re- 
fugees was  to  be  seen.  "  The  Lord,"  says  Calvin,  "  had  poured 
a  deep  sleep  upon  them."  The  whole  city  was  soon  under  arms, 
without  knowing  why.  Vandel's  wife  ran  about  the  Bourg  de 
Four,  exclaiming,  "  The  French  are  taking  the  city  :  up,  and 
murder  them  all."  When  Baudichon  reached  his  house,  the 
crowd  assembled  around  it,  and  shouted,  "  The  French  are  there, 
all  armed."  But  the  tumult  passed  over  without  bloodshed  ; 
and  Perrini's  plan  was  defeated.  Still,  the  malcontents  hoped 
to  effect  their  grand  design  of  bringing  about  a  revolution. 

Aubert  the  syndic  lost  no  time  in  summoning  the  council : 
it  met  that  very  night ;  the  syndics  proceeded,  at  its  command, 
from  street  to  street,  and  ordered  the  people  to  retire  to  their 
homes.  In  many  places  this  command  was  disregarded.  Van- 
del,  seeing  that  his  orders  were  useless,  appeared  in  person  to 
quiet  the  excited  multitude.  The  next  day  an  order  was  issued 
by  the  council  prohibiting  the  people  from  meeting  in  crowds. 
In  the  following  week  the  "  Two  Hundred"  met,  in  order  to 
communicate  with  the  council  on  the  subject  of  these  occurrences. 
When  Amied  Perrini  saw  that  he  was  exposed  to  the  danger  of 
a  judicial  investigation,  and  that  exemplary  punishments  would 
be  inflicted  on  the  guilty,  without  respect  to  persons,  he  withdrew 


A.D.  1555-60.]  AGITATION  AT  GENEVA.  31 7 

to  his  country-seat,  in  the  canton  of  Bern,  whither  he  was  fol- 
lowed by  Vandelj  Philibert  Berthelier,  and  many  others.  They 
were  publicly  summoned  before  the  magistrates ;  some  of  the 
party  appeared,  and  were  slightly  punished.  Four  however  of 
the  worst  of  the  malcontents  were  beheaded.  They  protested 
that  they  did  not  die  as  traitors ;  that  they  had  had  no  thought  of 
treason  ;  and  that  their  sole  object  had  been  to  prevent  the  admis- 
sion of  the  new  burghers,  hoping  thereby  to  defend  the  city 
against  foreigners.  But  this  policy  of  the  libertines  appeared  to 
the  government,  as  Rucliat  remarks,  highly  dangerous.  '  The 
practice  of  recruiting  itself  by  the  admission  of  new  citizens  was 
necessary  to  Geneva,  as  to  all  little  states.  Geneva,  moreover, 
was  so  circumstanced,  that  the  strangers  would  soon  have  become 
more  powerful  than  the  old  burghers,  if  they  had  not  been  thus 
incorporated  with  them.  Bern  interested  itself  in  the  case  of  the 
fugitives,  but  in  vain.  On  the  3rd  of  June  they  were  pronounced 
rebels  and  traitors,  and  condemned  to  lose  their  heads  ;  the  sen- 
tence was  executed  in  effigy.  It  was  now  determined  that  the 
existence  of  a  captain-general  was  dangerous  to  the  little  repub- 
lic, and  the  office  was  abolished. 

Three  letters  from  Calvin  to  Bullinger  throw  additional  light 
on  these  occurrences.  One,  which  is  printed,  gives  a  striking  ac- 
count of  the  whole  affair;  another,  unprinted,  begins  with  his 
defence  against  the  accusation  that  he  was  present  at  the  torture 
of  one  of  the  criminals.  Hence  it  appears  that  Calvin  did  not 
busy  himself,  as  his  vilifiers  wish  it  to  be  supposed,  in  proceed- 
ings of  this  kind ;  it  was  only  as  a  minister  that  he  visited  the 
prison,  and  when  called  by  the  malefactors  themselves.  He  was 
accustomed  to  speak  with  the  utmost  confidence  to  Bullinger, 
but  not  a  word  occurs  in  his  letters  to  justify  the  accusations  of 
his  enemies.  Instead  of  pronouncing  anathemas  upon  the  cri- 
minals, as  it  was  wickedly  said  he  did,  these  unfortunate  people 
placed  their  full  trust  in  him  as  their  spiritual  adviser.  The  let- 
ters show  what  the  accused  confessed,  and  what  they  retracted. 
Calvin  questioned  some  of  them  at  the  moment  when  they  were 
being  led  to  execution*. 

The  friends  of  Bolsec,  at  Bern,  gladly  seized  this  opportunity 

*  This  was  especially  the  case  with  regard  to  two  brothers.  Having  ques- 
tioned one  of  them  particularly,  he  concluded  by  asking  him,  whether  he  had 
ever  attempted  to  force  anything  from  him  by  threats  or  promises  ;  to  which 
the  young  man  replied  that  nothing  of  this  kind  had  been  done.  Speaking  of 
the  criminals  generally,  he  says  that  there  was  not  one  of  them  who  did  not,  by 
his  silence,  confess  the  greater  part  of  his  guilt. 


318  calvin's  successes.  [chap.  viii. 

of  slandering  Calvin.  The  libertines  now  also  came  to  their  sup- 
port :  to  such  an  extent  did  their  rancour  proceed,  that  Calvin 
exclaimed,  "  I  see  that  the  hatred  of  some  against  me  is  so  great, 
that  they  will  never  cease  to  rave  till  I  have  fallen  a  victim  to 
their  malice."  Speaking  of  Geneva,  he  says,  "  But  little  was 
wanting  to  involve  this  city  in  one  night,  and  all  of  us  with  it,  in 
destruction*." 

But  this  struggle  was  followed  by  tranquillity :  Calvin's 
spirit  prevailed,  and  ruled  the  church.  Discipline  was  confirmed 
by  the  common  consent  of  the  cantons.  We  have  the  testimony 
of  a  noble  eye-witness  to  the  events  of  this  period.  Knox,  who  was 
at  Geneva  in  1556,  writes  to  his  friend  Locke  t>  "  I  always  wished 
in  my  heart,  nor  could  I  ever  cease  to  wish,  that  it  might  please 
God  to  bring  me  to  this  place,  where,  I  can  say,  without  fear  or 
shame,  the  best  Christian  school  exists,  since  the  time  of  the 
Apostles.  I  allow  that  Christ  is  truly  preached  in  other  places 
also,  but  in  no  other  have  I  seen  the  Reformation  so  well  wrought 
out,  both  morally  and  religiously,  as  in  Geneva."  Thus  Farel 
also  expressed  his  astonishment  at  the  grace  enjoyed  by  the 
church  of  Geneva,  which  now,  after  such  perils,  flourished  as  an 
example  for  other  churches  J.  "  I  was  lately  at  Geneva,"  he  says, 
"and  so  delighted  was  I,  that  I  could  scarcely  tear  myself  away. 
I  would  rather  be  last  in  Geneva  than  first  in  any  other  place : 
were  I  not  prevented  by  the  Lord,  and  by  my  love  for  my  con- 
gregation, nothing  should  hinder  me  from  ending  my  days  there." 
Drelincourt  expressed  the  same  admiration  a  hundred  years 
after. 

But  high  now  as  Calvin  stood,  there  were  not  wanting  things 
to  humble  him,  both  inwardly  and  outwrardly.  He  was  subject 
to  frequent  and  severe  attacks  of  fever :  they  sometimes  came 
upon  him  while  in  the  pulpit ;  and  he  once  wrote  to  a  friend, 
saying  that  it  was  only  with  great  trouble,  and  by  sitting  down, 
that  he  could  get  through  his  sermon  §.  But  he  had  a  heavier 
trial  to  bear :  the  wife  of  his  brother  Anton  disgraced  the 
family  by  her  infidelity.  Farel  observes  on  this,  that  it  was  good 
for  Calvin  to  encounter  these  humbling  circumstances,  "  lest 
his  mind  might  be  too  exalted  by  the  greatness  of  the  reve- 
lations vouchsafed  him."     The  conflict  with  the  libertines  was 

*  MS.  Gen.  Calv.  Bullingero. 

t  Knox,  Leben  von  M'Crie  bearbeitet  von  Planck,  s.  235. 

J    Kirchhofer,  ii.  s.  124. 

§   He  speaks  of  this  to  Haller,  May  9,  1556,  and  to  Blaarer,  April  13,  1557. 


A.D.  1555-60.]        CALVIN  AND  THE  BERNESE.  319 

not  yet  ended.  Bern  again  exhibited  a  disposition  to  tyranny, 
and  took  their  part ;  they  stood  in  crowds  on  the  Arve-bridge, 
and  uttered  abuse  of  every  kind  against  the  Genevese.  On  one 
occasion  they  violently  attacked  Viret.  The  efforts  of  the  coun- 
cil to  induce  them  to  depart  were  of  no  avail ;  the  people  would 
have  rushed  out  against  them,  but  were  held  back.  According 
to  the  declaration  of  the  Bernese,  the  malcontents  had  commit- 
ted no  crime.  The  Genevese  however  proceeded  to  expel  the 
wives  of  the  fugitives  from  the  city,  confiscated  their  possessions, 
and  prohibited  their  return  on  pain  of  death.  Thus  at  the  mo- 
ment when  the  little  state  wras  left  to  itself,  it  displayed  the 
noblest  energy.  The  refugees  were  again  permitted  to  bear  arms: 
Calvin  and  the  city-secretary  were  to  acquaint  the  cantons  with  this 
circumstance.  To  induce  the  Bernese  to  consent  to  the  proceed- 
ing, the  procurator-general  of  Geneva  wished  to  lay  the  judicial 
documents  respecting  the  fugitives  before  the  tribunal  at  Bern, 
and  there  to  appear  against  them* ;  with  this  proviso,  however, 
that  Geneva  did  not  thereby  in  anywise  subject  itself  to  the 
Bernese  judicature.  But  Bern  resumed  the  process  of  its  own 
accord  ;  freed  the  culprits  from  the  sentence  of  the  Genevese  ;  and 
condemned  the  syndics,  the  council,  and  the  city  of  Geneva  to 
afford  satisfaction  to  the  fugitives,  to  ask  their  pardon,  and  to  pay 
the  costs  of  the  trial. 

It  was  thus  that  Bern  treated  the  little  republic,  which  seemed 
destined  to  destruction.  The  fugitives  proposed  to  assert  their 
right  by  force,  and  such  of  the  Genevese  as  possessed  any  pro- 
perty in  the  territory  of  Bern  were  exposed  to  daily  attacks.  At 
length  the  day  arrived  for  Geneva  to  plead  its  cause :  it  be- 
sought the  Bernese  to  act  with  greater  moderation,  and  to  renew 
the  old  treaty,  which  terminated  in  1556. 

Calvin  had  continued  to  be  hated  by  the  Bernese  since  the 
dispute  on  predestination.  Bullinger  wrote  to  him :  "  People 
say  that  you  wish  to  play  the  part  of  sole  ruler  in  Geneva  by 
means  of  your  French,  and  that  it  is  you  who  hinder  an  agree- 
ment with  Bern."  He  then  consoles  him  by  citing  the  early 
sufferings  of  Chrysostom  and  Ambrose,  and  gives  him  excellent 
advice  in  respect  to  moderation,  the  fatherly  care  of  Geneva,  and 
of  the  numerous  refugees  in  the  city  f  : — "  Watch,  I  beseech  you, 
dear  friend,  for  all :  counsel  all :  take  care  of  all,  that  nothing 

*  Ruchat,  vi.  190. 

f  Hess,  Leben  Bullingers,  t.  ii.  s.  259,  262,  note.    Oct.  1559- 


320  CALVIN  AND  THE  BERNESE.  [CHAP.  VIII. 

may  be  neglected  which  can  minister  to  peace  and  general  edi- 
fication.    The  days  are  evil ;  God  give  you  grace  to  be  wise.*3 

Calvin  answered  Bullinger  in  an  apologetic  letter.  Bullinger 
again  promised  the  interference  of  the  Zurichers ;  but  the  whole 
year  1557  passed  away  without  anything  being  done.  During 
this  period  Calvin  was  often  full  of  anxiety  for  Geneva,  and 
laboured  much  in  secret  to  win  back  the  minds  of  the  people  to 
tranquillity.  At  the  end  of  the  year  1556,  when  the  Bernese 
again  rudely  repulsed  the  Genevese,  Calvin  once  more  begged 
Bullinger  to  engage  Zurich  in  effecting  a  reconciliation.  This 
circumstance  however  was  kept  secret,  and  the  letter  to  Bullin- 
ger is  interesting,  as  connected  with  the  history  of  Geneva. 

The  Bernese  appear  to  have  intended  to  weary-out  Geneva 
by  petty  agitations,  till,  in  the  hour  of  danger,  it  should  throw 
itself  into  their  arms,  and  thus  give  the  disaffected  the  means  of 
indulging  in  still  greater  insolence.  It  is  evident  indeed,  from  a 
letter  to  Bullinger,  that  they  had  made  a  formal  complaint  against 
Geneva.  Calvin  was  anxious  to  learn  from  him,  confidentially, 
whether  they  had  any  hope,  and  he  wished  a  letter  to  be  addressed 
to  the  city  of  Geneva.  The  state  of  affairs  did  not  improve.  In 
the  August  of  the  following  year  Calvin  complains  to  Bullinger*, 
that  their  good  neighbours,  who,  in  the  pulpit,  spoke  of  the  com- 
munion of  saints,  utterly  disregarded  the  present  divisions,  and 
were  equally  indifferent  to  the  fate  of  Geneva.  At  the  end  of 
the  year  1557  the  discussion  was  brought  to  a  close,  but  it  was 
not  till  the  next  year  that  the  business  was  finally  con  eluded  f. 
After  the  victory  of  St.  Quentin,  Emanuel  Philibert  returned 
from  Savoy,  at  the  head  of  his  victorious  band,  to  his  own  country, 
and  might  easily  have  attacked  Geneva.  The  danger  thus  to  be 
apprehended  may  have  warned  the  Bernese  that  Savoy  might 
still  be  able  to  strengthen  itself  against  them  by  means  of  Geneva. 
New  anxieties  arose  in  the  following  year.  At  the  end  of  every 
letter  Calvin  entreats  his  friends  to  pray  for  Geneva  J.  The  dis- 
pute was  still  prolonged ;  and  the  Genevese,  on  their  side,  acted 
with  characteristic  violence.  One  of  the  libertine  party,  whom 
they  caught  in  a  village,  lost  his  head  §.  Their  adversaries,  on  the 
other  hand,  confiscated  the  possessions  of  the  council,  by  bring- 
ing them  within  the  Bernese  territory.     But  an  invisible  arm 

*  MS.  Tig.  7  Idus  Aug.  1557- 
t  MS.  Par.  Calv.  Hotomanno,  Jan.  10,  1558. 
X  MS.  Bern,  to  Bullinger,  Nov.  19,  1558. 
§  Ruchat,  vi.  232. 


a.d.  1555-60.]  fauel's  marriage.  321 

was  upraised  amid  all  these  dangers,  and  in  the  year  15GJ  Calvin 
could  say  to  Uttenhovcn,  "  that  they  had  been  wonderfully  deli- 
vered*." His  feeling  was  one  of  joy;  and  he  encouraged  an- 
other combatant  by  the  suggestion,  that  all  beginnings  in  the 
kingdom  of  God  are  little,  insignificant,  and  proportionally  diffi- 
cult f.  He  was  again  attacked  by  the  quartan  ague:  the  weak- 
ness continued  for  a  long  time,  and  his  patience  was  greatly 
tried  J. 

It  was  at  this  juncture  that  the  startling  intelligence  reached 
Geneva,  that  Farel,  now  sixty-nine  years  of  age,  was  just  married, 
and  to  a  very  young  person.  The  astonishment  expressed  at 
this  event  was  great.  People  had  been  so  accustomed  to  con- 
template the  old  missionary  daring  all  the  dangers  and  difficul- 
ties of  his  position  alone,  that  it  was  difficult  to  view  him  in  the 
light  of  the  father  of  a  family.  But  when  we  consider  Farel's 
bold,  stormy,  romantic  character,  there  is,  in  reality,  nothing  dis- 
cordant in  this  episode.  Calvin  expressed  himself  earnestly  and 
characteristically  in  his  letter  on  the  subject  to  the  Neuchatel 
clergy  §  :  he  besought  them  to  pardon  him,  in  consideration  of 
his  thirty-six  years'  service. 

In  the  midst  of  all  these  disquietudes,  troubles  and  dangers, 
Calvin  was  intently  engaged  in  promoting  the  educational  ad- 
vancement of  Geneva.  He  now  also  published  a  new  edition  of 
the  i  Institutes.'  This  was  the  third  and  last  revision,  and  the 
crowning  labour  of  his  life. 

Calvin  had  regularly,  since  his  return  from  Strasburg,  delivered 
three  weekly  theological  lectures.  A  school  was  established  at 
Geneva  from  the  commencement  of  the  Reformation,  and  we 
have  already  mentioned  that  Castellio  and  Cordier  were  early 
numbered  among  its  teachers.  It  was  Calvin's  design  to  esta- 
blish an  extensive  gymnasium,  and  an  academy  especially  de- 
voted to  the  study  of  theology.  The  means  to  effect  this  object 
were  promised,  but  the  little  republic  was  too  poor  to  fulfil  its 
promise,  and  years  passed  away,  leaving  the  plan  still  unaccom- 
plished.   At  length,  after  the  treaty  with  Bern,  the  council  began 

*  MS.  Bern,  May  15,  1560.  "  Et  mirantur  qui  nos  exitio  addixerant  nou 
centies  periisse." 

f  Ed.  Laus.  Ep.  267.  Ed.  Amst.  p.  129. 

X  MS.  Calvin  speaks  of  this  to  a  French  correspondent  in  Feb.  1559  ;  he 
had  alluded  to  an  earlier  attack  in  a  letter  to  Bullinger,  Nov.  l<),  L558,  MS.  Tig. 

§  MS.  Gen.  Sept.  26,  1558.  Kirchhofer,  ii.  s.  L52.  This  author  errs  greatly 
in  supposing  that  Calvin  favoured  the  marriage.  "  I  am  dumb  with  astonish- 
ment," he  says,  speaking  of  the  subject,  and  he  alludes  to  Farel  as  his  "  poor 
brother." 

VOL.   II.  v 


322  EDUCATIONAL  INSTITUTIONS.  [CHAP.  VIII. 

to  turn  its  attention  to  the  internal  affairs  of  the  city.  The  noble 
Bonnivard  gave  his  whole  fortune  to  forward  the  design*.  In 
the  year  1558  the  gymnasium  was  founded,  and  in  the  following 
year  the  academy.  A  favourable  circumstance  promoted  the 
success  of  the  undertaking.  Several  ministers  from  the  Grisons, 
during  the  dispute  with  Bern  on  the  subject  of  excommunication, 
had,  after  many  contentions,  been  either  banished  or  deprived  of 
their  office.  Among  these  were  Peter  Viret,  Beza,  the  excellent 
Augustus  Marlorat,  who  was  destined  to  win  the  martyr's  crownf, 
Jacobus  Valier,  and  twenty  others.  They  retired  to  Geneva, 
and  appealed  to  the  council,  in  a  body,  for  permission  to  take  up 
their  permanent  abode  in  that  city  J.  Viret  was  made  one  of 
the  ministers  of  the  place,  as  he  had  formerly  been ;  but  he  re- 
tained the  office  only  two  years.  He  was  invited  to  France ; 
many  of  the  refugees  followed,  those  only  remaining  who  were 
invited  to  assist  in  the  formation  of  the  academy.  Calvin  would 
fain  have  engaged  doctors  for  all  the  various  faculties,  but  he  was 
obliged  to  content  himself  with  that  which  was  absolutely  neces- 
sary. Beza  was  given  him  for  a  colleague,  both  as  professor  and 
minister.  The  academy,  as  well  as  the  school,  was  placed  under 
the  government  of  the  clergy,  who  elected  the  rector,  the  pro- 
fessors, and  teachers,  but  submitted  their  choice  to  the  appro- 
bation of  the  council.  Calvin  drew  up  the  rules  for  the  manage- 
ment of  the  academy,  and  a  confession  of  faith,  which  all  stu- 
dents at  their  matriculation  were  to  subscribe.  The  plan  which 
he  sketched  out  for  the  conduct  of  the  professors,  master,  and 
scholars,  is  altogether  stamped  with  the  character  of  the  middle 
ages.  The  students  were  to  attend  divine  service  once  every 
Wednesday,  and  three  times  every  Sunday.  In  summer  they 
were  to  attend  class  at  six  in  the  morning;  in  winter  at  seven: 
they  were  to  breakfast  in  class,  and  at  ten  o'clock  the  teachers 
were  to  conduct  them  to  their  homes.  After  dinner,  that  is,  at 
eleven  o'clock,  they  were  to  return  to  school,  and  practise  psalm- 
singing  for  an  hour :  from  one  to  two  they  were  to  take  their 
little  afternoon  refreshment  in  class.  The  lessons  were  to  cease 
at  four  o'clock,  and  then  the  scholars  were  to  assemble  in  the 
hall,  where  the  rector  was  to  be  present,  and  dismiss  them  with 
kindly  counsel,  openly  censuring  those  who  had  merited  the  re- 
prehension of  their  teachers.  Besides  divinity,  and  the  Latin  and 

*  Senebier,  Hist.  lit.  t.  i.  p.  4S. 
■f  He  suffered  at  Rouen  in  1562. 
X  Ruchat,  t.  vi.  p.  306. 


A.D.  1555-60.]  OPENING  OF  THE  ACADEMY.  323 

Greek  languages,  logic  was  to  form  a  part  of  the  studies  in  the 
first  class.  This  was  necessary  according  to  the  practice  of  the 
age,  and  as  an  introduction  to  the  Aristotelian  philosophy*. 

On  the  5th  of  June,  1559,  the  doors  of  St.  Peter's  church  were 
opened ;  the  magistrates  entered ;  the  clergy  assembled  in  a  body  ; 
all  the  learned  men  of  Geneva,  all  the  best  families  of  the  place, 
and  six  hundred  scholars,  were  present.  Calvin  arose,  and  in  a 
speech  which  he  delivered  in  French,  he  advocated  the  useful- 
ness of  educational  institutions,  and  exhorted  all  who  heard  him 
to  pray  to  God  for  the  success  of  theirs.  Roset,  the  state-secre- 
tary, then  read  the  laws  of  the  new  institution,  and  proclaimed 
the  rector.  This  being  done,  Theodore  Beza  delivered  a  Latin 
oration,  and  Calvin  concluded  the  solemnity  with  a  prayer.  The 
classes  were  opened  the  following  day.  A  grand  school-festival 
is  still  yearly  solemnized  in  the  same  church  at  Geneva,  and  at 
which  one  of  the  scholars  pronounces  a  commemorative  oration. 

This  foundation  of  an  academy  affords  sufficient  proof  of  Cal- 
vin's anxiety  to  unite  the  sciences  with  the  church,  and  to  sanc- 
tify knowledge  by  faith :  he  was  anxious  also  to  have  his  young 
friend  Beza  chosen  rector  of  the  new  institution ;  and  he  thus 
showed  how  little  desire  he  had  for  outward  fame  or  power. 
Many  distinguished  men  have  been  mentioned  in  a  former  part 
of  this  work  as  connected  with  the  academy ;  but  the  emolu- 
ments attending  the  office  were  very  slight,  amounting  only  to 
280  Geneva  florins  and  a  residence  :  so  poor  indeed  was  the  city, 
that  in  the  interval  between  1580-90  the  institution  was  sup- 
ported by  a  collection  made  in  England,  Beza  having  for  a  long 
time  performed  the  duties  of  all  the  professors,  who  had  neces- 
sarily been  discharged. 

It  is  worthy  of  remark,  that  as  early  as  the  year  157(3  it  was 
found  expedient  to  dispense  with  the  subscription  to  the  formu- 
lary of  faith,  originally  required  of  the  students.  This  measure 
was  adopted,  that  no  one  who  sought  the  light  might  be  re- 
pulsed. According  to  the  former  rule,  papists  and  Lutherans 
must  have  for  ever  been  deprived  of  sharing  in  the  studies  of  the 
academy. 

We  learn  from  Calvin's  correspondence  with  what  anxiety  he 
sought  to  bring  learned  men  to  Geneva.  It  was  his  early  wish 
to  obtain  the  celebrated  Peter  Martyr  for  the  Italian  congrega- 
tion, but  no  sufficient  means  existed  to  pay  him.  He  however 
described  the  place  to  him  in  the  most  inviting  language.  "That 

*  Picot,  ii.  91. 

Y  2 


324  PROGRESS  OF  THE  ACADEMY.  [CHAP.  VIII. 

church,"  he  says,,  "is  the  very  flower  of  Italy*."     He  thought, 
probably,  of  Carracioli. 

When  the  academy  was  properly  established,  he  wrote  to  Tre- 
mellius,  who  was  then  teaching  at  Heidelberg,  and  whom  he 
■would  gladly  have  brought  to  Geneva,  stating  that  he  proposed 
founding  professorships  for  the  three  learned  languages,  but  that 
the  stipends  would  be  very  small f.  He  had  wished  also  to  ob- 
tain Mercerus  as  professor  of  Hebrew  J,  but  he  failed  in  accom- 
plishing his  object.  He  renewed  the  invitation  October  1 7,  1563, 
and  begged  him  to  leave  Paris,  where  he  then  was,  for  Geneva §. 
Martyr  refused  the  offer  of  an  appointment  to  the  ministry  of 
the  Italian  congregation  in  1557.  Calvin  said  to  him,  that  he 
could  forgive  him,  but  that  his  countrymen  were  not  likely  to 
pardon  him  so  easily  ||. 

It  is  not  necessary  to  repeat  how  great  an  impulse  Calvin 
gave,  by  these  undertakings,  to  the  literary  advancement  of  the 
reformed  church.  Certain  it  is,  that  he  was  indebted  to  the 
academy,  which  soon  became  greatly  frequented,  for  the  rapid 
diffusion  of  his  doctrines  in  Germany,  Holland,  France  and  En- 
gland. His  unclassical  adversaries  may  also  be  reminded,  that 
previous  to  the  Reformation  scarcely  a  distinguished  man  was 
known  at  Geneva.  The  human  mind  was  utterly  bowed  down ; 
while  now,  on  the  contrary,  beams  of  light  flowed  freely  upon 
all.  Some  difficulties  necessarily  arose,  from  the  position  of  the 
city ;  it  lay  between  Italy,  France  and  Germany,  and  a  defence 
was  needed  against  the  national  vices  peculiar  to  each.  The  high 
character  of  Calvin  impressed  upon  the  little  republic  its  own 
peculiar  features.  It  is  curious  to  observe  how  mean  a  spirit 
will  often  prevail  in  states,  even  when  they  have  attained  to  great 
rank  and  influence.  Calvin's  humorous  remark  may  be  cited 
in  illustration  of  this  fact.  Laughing  at  the  want  of  influence 
exercised  by  the  sciences  on  social  life,  he  described  the  general 
state  of  manners  in  his  time  by  the  significant  term  barbaries. 
The  contrast  between  the  present  state  of  the  elegant  city  and  this 
description  of  its  manners  in  a  past  age,  is  sufficiently  striking. 

We  must  here  briefly  state  the  circumstances  which  led  to  the 
banishment  of  Viret  and  Beza,  and  which  are  not  unimportant 
in  their  relation  to  the  history  of  church  discipline.  Bern  went 
back  to  the  original  Zwinglian  principle,  and  rejected  the  Cal- 

*  MS.  Gen.  Jan.  18,  1555.  f  4  Cal.  Sept.  1558. 

X  MS.  Gen.  Mart.  16,  1558.  Calv.  Mercerio. 

§   MS.  Bern.  Calv.  Mercerio.  ||  MS.  Par.  Oct.  13,  1557. 


A.D.  1555-60.]  BEZA  AND  VIRET.  325 

vinistic :  it  resolved  to  order  ecclesiastical  matters  accordino-  to 
the  simple  rule  of  civil  policy ;  it  would  recognize  no  church 
authority,  and  it  lost,  in  consequence,  forty  distinguished  mini- 
sters. Geneva,  though  destined  to  become  a  European  city,  was 
treated  with  contempt.  The  little  French  community  in  the 
Grisons  appears  to  have  been  weak  and  changeable.  The  con- 
sistory  of  Lausanne,  therefore,  addressed  itself  to  the  council  of 
Bern,  and  besought  it  to  introduce  a  strong  system  of  church 
discipline,  similar  to  that  established  at  Geneva.  This  desire 
was  expressed  in  the  most  energetic  language  (1543).  The 
gentle  Viret  proved  himself  in  this  case  endowed  with  great  force 
of  character.  The  Bernese  discouraged  the  design,  and  would 
hear  nothing  of  excommunication.  Thus  Farel  in  1546  could 
not  settle  in  Lausanne.  Some  years  passed  away :  the  clergy 
of  Lausanne  then  addressed  themselves  to  the  council  of  the  citv, 
to  direct  its  attention  to  the  disorders  daily  occurring.  Certain 
laws  were  accordingly  proposed ;  but  Bern  was  greatly  displeased 
at  the  movement,  and  sent  a  copy  of  its  own  rule,  according  to 
which  it  desired  Lausanne  to  be  guided.  The  agitation  created 
by  the  great  question  concerning  excommunication  still  con- 
tinued. Some  ministers,  in  the  belief  that  this  law,  and  espe- 
cially the  rules  of  discipline,  were  of  divine  institution,  now  gave 
free  course  to  their  zeal,  and  hastened  on  the  storm.  The  mini- 
sters of  Lausanne,  Payerne  and  Thonon,  were  strongly  Calvi- 
nistic.  Bern  had  commanded  that  the  doctrine  of  predestination 
should  be  treated  with  great  moderation.  Four  ministers  of 
Thonon  preached  in  the  rudest  style  against  the  orders  of  the 
council.  Being  deprived  of  their  office,  they  went  to  Geneva, 
and  the  ministers  of  Lausanne  continued  to  make  every  effort  to 
establish  a  system  of  discipline.  The  council  however  would 
give  no  heed  to  their  representations.  Viret  threatened  to  refuse 
the  further  administration  of  the  sacrament :  he  was  entreated  to 
yield,  for  he  was  greatly  beloved,  and  he  consented.  At  length 
the  Bernese  consistory  established  certain  rules  of  discipline, 
but  it  utterly  repudiated  the  practice  of  excommunication,  and 
of  testing  the  faith  of  dissentients:  it  saw  in  things  of  this  kind 
a  hateful  inquisition.  It  still  however  desired  to  receive  the 
opinion  of  the  ministers  respecting  the  anathemas  of  the  church. 
This  they  regarded  as  a  sign  of  success.  They  expressed  them- 
selves freely  on  the  subject,  and  even  added  the  threat,  that  if 
their  wish  was  not  granted,  they  would  take  their  departure. 
The  council  was  enraged,  and  twelve  of  the  ministers  were  sum- 


326  BEZA  AND  VIRET.  [CHAP.  IX. 

moned  to  answer  for  their  conduct  at  Bern.  The  magistrates 
resolutely  opposed  them,  and  it  was  ordered  that  no  mention 
should  ever  be  made  of  anathemas.  Viret  now  again  declared 
to  those  of  Lausanne,  that  he  could  no  longer  administer  the 
communion  in  that  city,  his  people  being  distracted  as  they  were 
by  so  many  vexations.  The  council  answered^  that  anathemas 
were  not  the  right  means  for  quieting  agitation,  and  that  an  en- 
tirely pure  state  of  the  church  was  not  to  be  looked  for.  But 
Viret  remained  firm :  the  other  ministers  did  the  same.  The 
council,  on  the  other  hand,  was  settled  in  the  conviction,  that  the 
ministers  must  resign  their  appointments,  and  that  if  the  church 
suffered  harm  therefrom,  the  guilt  would  be  theirs. 

Viret  paused  for  awhile,  but  he  determined  not  to  administer 
the  sacrament  at  Christmas  1 55  J,  or  rather  to  defer  it.  Valier 
and  he  were  accordingly  banished.  Many  other  ministers  left 
about  the  same  time  (1558  and  1559).  The  agitation  in  the 
Grisons  respecting  discipline  was  thus  prolonged.  Ministers 
continued  to  leave  the  district,  and  it  is  probable  that  many  dis- 
orders existed  in  this  part  of  the  country  not  known  to  the  Ger- 
man cantons.  A  synod  was  ultimately  assembled  to  consider 
the  matter.  The  quarrel  was  an  affair  of  the  people.  Lausanne 
remained  for  a  time  without  ministers.  At  length  a  severe  rule 
of  discipline  and  morals  was  introduced :  women  of  loose  cha- 
racter were  thrown  into  prison,  and  offences  named  to  the  magi- 
strates by  the  consistory  were  severely  punished.  No  mention 
however  was  made  of  excommunication. 


CHAPTER  IX. 


CALVIN  S     ACTIVITY. HIS     INFLUENCE      IN      ENGLAND     AND 

SCOTLAND. JOHN      KNOX. CORRESPONDENCE     WITH     THE 

ENGLISH   EXILES   TN  FRANKFORT. 

We  have  already  spoken  of  Calvin's  influence  in  England  (1553)  : 
he  had  proposed  to  Cranmer  the  plan  of  a  great  church  union. 
On  the  death  of  Edward,  Queen  Mary  destroyed  the  work  of 
that  monarch,  and  Cranmer  breathed  out  his  life  in  the  flames.  A 
great  number  of  exiles  had  taken  up  their  abode  in  the  north  of 
Germany,  in   Frankfort  and  Geneva.     Calvin  sighs  over  these 


A.D.   1555-60.]  KNOX  AT  GENEVA.  327 


troubles  of  the  church  in  one  of  his  letters  to  Buliinger.  He 
suppresses  his  opinion  of  Cranmer.  His  remark  on  learning  the 
death  of  Lady  Jane  Grey  is  worthy  of  quotation  :  "  She  has  left," 
he  said,  "  an  image  which  deserves  everlasting  remembrance." 

From  the  year  1554  we  see  frequently  in  Geneva,  and  in  close 
intercourse  with  Calvin,  a  man  of  the  most  singular  appearance  ; 
strongly  built;  with  a  bold,  severe  expression  of  countenance; 
of  firm,  but  yet  tender  nature :  this  is  the  famous  Scotchman, 
John  Knox.  It  might  have  been  imagined  that  two  such  power- 
ful and  ardent  characters  as  these  reformers  could  not  have  agreed 
well  together ;  but  they  cherished  for  each  other  a  genuine  affec- 
tion :  the  one  could  submit  himself  to  the  other.  Knox's  friend- 
ship with  Calvin  requires  especial  notice.  He  was  a  powerful 
instrument  in  diffusing  the  principles  of  Calvinism  in  England, 
Scotland,  and  even  to  a  still  wider  extent ;  but  we  must  care- 
fully keep  in  view  the  circumstances  by  which  they  were  distin- 
guished. Knox  was  the  founder  of  the  Scotch  presbyterian 
church,  from  which  arose  the  rude,  fierce  spirits  of  a  subsequent 
period.  He  it  was  who  confounded  the  holy  cause  of  truth  with 
the  interests  of  a  political  party;  who  impressed  upon  the  Pro- 
testant church  in  England  its  peculiar  outward  character;  and 
who,  in  this  not  apostolic,  aroused  a  power  which  was  afterwards 
to  exercise  so  mighty  and  destructive  an  influence. 

Calvin  had  no  knowledge  of  this  worldly  spirit,  nor  can  any 
one  fairly  impute  to  him  the  political  tendency  of  the  Protestants 
in  France :  he  declared  himself  against  it.  All  his  principles 
and  designs  were  opposed  to  such  things  ;  and  this,  though  the 
French  church  had  greater  perils  to  encounter  than  that  of  Scot- 
land, and  had  to  combat  with  antagonists  of  a  far  more  desperate 
character.  Calvin,  in  this  respect,  stood  b}'  the  side  of  Luther, 
who  constantly  advocated  peace,  desired  to  see  the  church  deve- 
loping itself  through  the  power  of  the  Spirit,  and  wished  for  no 
aid  from  worldly  might  or  worldly  policy  Both  these  great 
men  were  anxious  to  employ  a  theocratic,  spiritual  influence 
only,  and  to  subject  even  the  church  itself,  in  other  respect  . 
the  civil  government.  At  the  most,  Calvin  could  only  be  ac- 
cused of  giving  too  great  a  weight  in  the  presbyterian  form  of 
church-polity  to  the  popular,  liberal  element  over  the  ministerial, 
or  of  neglecting  to  combine,  when  he  might,  the  principle  of 
episcopacy  with  that  of  presbyterianism. 

The  difference  of  character  in  Calvin  and    Knox  was  early 
displayed  when  the  latter  was  in  England,  and  interested  him- 


328  CALVIN  AND  KNOX.  [CUAP.  IX. 

self  in  the  revision  of  the  Prayer- Book.  Then,  as  subsequently, 
he  exhibited  the  most  decided  hostility  to  the  Anglican  church, 
on  account  of  its  retaining  some  of  the  Catholic  forms,  and  not 
adopting  the  severe  rule  of  the  Scotch.  Calvin,  who  so  energe- 
tically strove  against  superstition,  was  not  in  this  case  disposed 
to  agree  with  Knox.  He  willingly  suffered  outward  forms,  in 
themselves  indifferent,  to  remain,  or  at  least  did  not  assail  them 
with  fanatical  violence,  as  if  they  had  a  real  importance.  It  is 
possible,  indeed,  that  he  may  have  strengthened  Knox  in  his 
admiration  of  apostolic  simplicity ;  but  the  fundamental  idea  of 
the  Scotch  reformer,  and  his  dislike  to  the  principles  of  the 
English  church,  were  of  an  earlier  date  ;  they  may  be  traced  back 
to  the  year  1547.  He  would  allow  no  human  interference,  but 
desired  to  be  guided  solely  by  the  plain  rule  of  Scripture.  Thus 
he  refused  to  accept  any  appointment  which  would  have  im- 
posed upon  him  the  necessity  of  using  the  liturgy,  and  sharply 
reproved  the  English  clergy,  under  Elizabeth,  for  having  per- 
mitted the  revival  of  many  of  the  ancient  forms.  It  is  certain, 
however,  that  the  first  English  reformers  would  gladly  have 
adopted  the  same  system  of  Protestant  discipline,  and  church 
forms  which  Calvin  had  introduced  into  France  ;  but  they  were 
resisted  by  too  powerful  a  party.  Calvin  had  addressed  both 
Somerset  and  Cranmer  with  great  earnestness  in  favour  of 
these  views.  But  Elizabeth  subsequently  confirmed  the  episco- 
pal rule,  which,  in  the  form  thus  given  it,  petrified  the  church 
and  deprived  it  of  life  ;  for  it  now  ceased  to  enjoy  any  element 
of  activity ;  it  lost  its  synods ;  while,  on  the  other  side,  the 
presbyterian  church  was  destitute  of  the  element  of  rest  and 
durability. 

Both  Knox  and  Calvin  became  acquainted  with  each  other 
when  their  characters  were  already  formed.  Mary  ascended  the 
throne  of  England  in  1554;  and  Knox,  with  several  other  di- 
stinguished divines,  immediately  fled  to  the  continent,  and  pro- 
ceeded to  Switzerland.  This  happened  at  the  most  splendid 
epoch  of  Calvin's  life :  his  writings  were  now  known  through- 
out Europe,  and  people  flocked  to  Geneva  from  all  countries. 
He  received  the  Scotchman  in  the  most  friendly  manner.  Their 
souls  seemed,  as  it  were,  created  for  each  other,  through  their 
communion  in  faith,  hope,  and  works.  Both  were  of  the  same 
age ;  but  Knox  venerated  Calvin  as  a  father,  and  looked  to  him 
for  counsel  and  guidance.  The  church  of  Geneva  corresponded 
to  his  ideal  of  a  church.     Although  he  was  now  fifty  years  of 


A.D.  1555-60.]  KNOX  AT  GENEVA.  329 

age,  he  devoted  himself  to  study,  under  Calvin,  with  youthful 
ardour. 

Indignant  in  the  highest  degree  at  the  persecutions  carried  on 
by  Queen  Mary,  Knox  soon  gave  to  the  world  one  of  his  most 
violent  writings,  f  A  Warning  to  the  English  Nation/  in  which 
he  described  the  wretched  Gardiner  and  Bonner  as  the  hangmen 
of  Mary. 

Several  other  English  exiles  arrived  on  the  continent  at  this 
time,  and  formed  churches  at  Strasburg,  Basel,  Zurich,  Geneva, 
and  other  places.   At  Frankfort  they  were  permitted  to  establish 
a  congregation,  under  the  condition  that  they  should  adopt  the 
outward  forms  of  the  French  reformed  church,  and  renounce  the 
English  liturgy.     The  refugees  chose  Knox  for  their  minister, 
and  Calvin  induced  him  to  accept  the  call.     But  the  churches 
of  the  exiles  at  Zurich  and  Strasburg  now  united  to  oppose  that 
at  Frankfort,  and  refused  to  communicate  with  it  unless  it  agreed 
to  retain  the  old  English  rites.     Knox  undertook  the  part  of  a 
mediator,  and  besought  Calvin  to  settle   the  dispute :  the  latter 
stated  his  opinion,  January  20,  1555.     In  the  following  year  he 
went  to  Frankfort  himself;  but  Knox,  as  an  enemy  to  the  En- 
glish liturgy,  was  driven  from  his  office :  he  returned  to  Geneva, 
and  thence*  to  Scotland.     The  church  of  that  country  was  esta- 
blished in  1555.     In  the  following  year  Knox  formed  the  first 
combination  against  the  Catholics,  and  this  was  the  commence- 
ment of  those  political  acts  in  which  the  reformer  indulged:  the 
example  of  which  led  to  such  important  consequences  ;  the  jus- 
tice of  which  has  been  so  often  doubted,  and  which,  accordingly, 
form  the  most  remarkable  point  in  his  history. 

While  the  Scottish  church  was  thus  becoming  established,  the 
English  exiles  at  Geneva  elected  Knox  for  their  minister.  He 
willingly  accepted  the  call,  and  again  returning  to  Calvin's  city, 
he  now  took  with  him  his  wife  and  mother-in-law,  from  whom 
he  had  been  so  long  separated  (1556).  This  was  the  wile  whom 
he  early  lost,  and  whom  Calvin,  in  one  of  his  letters,  describes 
as  "a  most  sweet  woman/'  suavissima.  Knox  was  sentenced 
by  the  catholics,  in  his  absence,  to  the  flames,  and  was  burnt  in 
effigy:  he  remained  at  Geneva  two  or  three  years,  and  this  was 
the  most  tranquil  period  of  his  stormj  life. 

In  1557  Knox  was  recalled  to  hi  i  na  ive  country.  Calvin  ad- 
vised him  to  obey  the  summons.  He  set  out  ;  hut  the  Scotch 
were  still  unsettled,  and  he  stopped  at  Frankfort.  It  was  now 
that  the  persecution  raged  in  France.     An  impious  slander  had 


330  KNOX  RETURNS  TO  SCOTLAND.  [CHAP.  IX. 

been  published  against  the  reformed  in  Paris  :  they  printed  an 
iVpology,  and  Knox  translated  it  into  English.  But  his  country- 
men had  not  the  courage  to  receive  him,  and  losing  the  satisfac- 
tion which  he  had  looked  for  from  the  journey,  he  once  more  re- 
turned to  Geneva.  He  now  endeavoured  to  make  his  political 
ideas  known  by  means  of  a  work,  in  which  he  handled  the  diffi- 
cult question,  as  to  what  circumstances  may  justify  resistance  to 
the  chief  magistrate.  He  arrived  at  the  following  conclusion : 
that  sedition  is  altogether  unlawful,  but  that  an  entire  nation 
may  rightly  resist  a  tyrannical  government.  "  The  nobility 
formed,"  he  said,  "  the  defence  of  national  freedom :  the  nobles 
must  not  let  their  brethren  be  murdered.  They  ought  never, 
however,  to  rise  from  ambitious  or  mere  political  motives,  but 
only  for  the  cause  of  pure  religion/' 

Nothing  can  show  more  clearly  than  this,  that  Knox  was  de- 
pendent upon  himself  for  the  development  of  his  principles  ;  and 
that  Calvin,  as  his  teacher,  did  not  exercise  an  uncontrolled  in- 
fluence on  his  mind.  Calvin  never  entertained  the  opinions 
above-stated :  he  exhorted  the  persecuted  in  France  to  contend 
only  by  prayer.  Such  indeed  was  the  tenderness  of  his  Christian 
conscience,  that  he  advised  those  in  prison  not  to  attempt  to 
escape,  but  to  receive  martyrdom  as  a  grace  from  the  hand  of  God. 

Knox  joined,  at  this  time,  with  some  friends  in  planning  anew 
English  translation  of  the  Bible  :  this  translation  was  known  at  a 
later  period  as  the  Geneva  Bible,  from  the  place  where  it  was 
printed.  But  his  political  zeal  drove  him,  at  this  time,  to  print 
his  famous,  but  rudely  written  work,  against  the  government  of 
women,  and  in  which  he  lays  it  down  as  a  principle,  that  it  is 
not  lawful  for  a  woman  to  ascend  the  throne.  It  was  peculiarly 
a  revolutionary  writing,  however  much  he  protested  against  its 
being  regarded  in  that  light.  His  secret  design  was  to  prove 
the  abuses  of  the  government  of  the  regent,  and  of  that  of  Mary 
Stuart,  which  succeeded  it.  This  violent  production  very  uselessly 
excited  the  indignation  of  Mary,  and  made  Elizabeth,  the  de- 
fender of  the  Protestant  church,  his  enemy :  she  never  forgave 
his  rashness,  and  it  was  the  cause  of  her  equally  disliking 
Calvin. 

The  nobles  of  Scotland  now  united  in  reality  for  the  defence 
of  the  Protestant  religion :  they  wrote  to  Calvin,  begging  him 
to  use  his  influence  with  Knox,  and  to  send  him  to  their  aid. 
Elizabeth  was  on  the  throne,  and  the  members  of  the  English 
congregation  at  Geneva  returned  to  London  in  1559.     Knox 


A.D.  1555-60.]  KNOX  IN  EDINBURGH.  331 

however  was  so  hated  at  the  English  court,  on  account  of  his 
political  writings,  that  he  dare  not  pass  through  England : 
this  again  roused  his  enmity  to  that  country,  and  the  old  quar- 
rel respecting  the  liturgy  was  renewed.  But  Elizabeth  adopted 
a  sound  policy,  and  saved  thereby  both  the  church  and  the 
throne  :  she  supported  Scotland  against  France,  which  was 
striving  to  establish  Mary  Stuart  on  the  throne  of  that  country, 
with  the  design  of  subsequently  placing  her  on  that  of  England. 
Knox,  in  the  mean  time,  was  become  a  preacher  in  Edinburgh, 
and  the  head  and  soul  of  the  evangelical  party.  Calvin  however 
united  with  Cecil,  Elizabeth's  chancellor,  in  admonishing  him 
of  his  duty,  and  subsequently  endeavoured,  as  we  shall  see,  to 
excuse  himself  to  the  queen. 

At  length  war  broke  out :  the  French  supported  the  queen 
of  Scotland,  and  England  the  Protestants.  A  letter  written  at 
this  time  by  Knox  to  Calvin,  on  the  subject  of  discipline,  is  cha- 
racteristically short.  Calvin's  answer  is  far  more  circumstan- 
tial, and  his  views  are  much  milder  and  more  moderate  than 
those  of  Knox* :  the  latter  was  now  become  a  political  cha- 
racter. Elizabeth  besieged  Edinburgh  and  expelled  the  French. 
The  queen-regent  died.  Francis  II.,  the  husband  of  Mary,  as- 
cended the  French  throne,  on  the  death  of  Henry  II.,  and  thus 
the  power  of  France  fell  into  the  hand  of  the  Guises.  The  par- 
liament in  Scotland  took  advantage  of  this  period  to  establish 
the  Protestant  religion  by  law  (August  24,  1560).  A  confes- 
sion of  faith  was  drawn  up  :  it  was  altogether  Calvinistic,  and 
proves  that  Knox  was  fully  agreed  with  Calvin  in  belief.  To 
God  alone  belongs  all  honour.  Man  has  lost  all  by  sin :  he 
is  delivered  through  Christ.  He  can  of  himself  do  nothing ; 
but  yet  has  involved  himself  in  condemnation  through  his  own 
choice.  A  book  of  discipline  was  also  set  forth  by  Knox  :  he 
shows  his  admiration  of  the  rules  followed  at  Geneva,  and  wrought 
out  the  system  at  full.  Calvin  had  the  delight  to  be  made  ac- 
quainted with  this  glorious  progress  of  his  plan,  with  this  triumph 
of  his  doctrine  and  his  discipline.  The  agreement  thus  existing 
between  the  systems  established  at  Geneva  and  in  Scotland, 
proves  what  MfCric  is  unwilling  to  acknowledge,  that  Calvin 
exercised  great  influence  in  Scotland  by  means  of  Knox;  but  the 
latter  indulged  in  excesses,  and  this  first  led  the  way  to  the  cor- 
ruption of  the  system.  A  letter  which  Calvin  addressed  to  him, 
about  this  time,  shows  the  desire  of  the  writer  to  keep  him  within 
*  Ed.  Laus.  p.  283.   Ed.  A.mst.  p.  201. 


332  KNOX  OPPOSES  THE  QUEEN.  [CHAP.  IX. 

the  bounds  of  moderation*.  Scotland  was  not  fortunate  in  other 
respects.  The  possessions  and  revenues  of  the  Catholic  clergy 
were  seized  by  the  nobles,  and  not  left  for  the  support  of  the 
church,  as  in  Switzerland  (in  Zurich,  for  example),  and  partly 
in  several  of  the  German  states :  hence  the  great  poverty  of  the 
Scotch  church  and  university. 

It  was  at  this  time  that  Knox's  wife  died ;  at  the  period,  that 
is,  when  she  might  have  shared  with  him  more  prosperous  cir- 
cumstances. He  received  a  letter  from  Calvin,  containing  only 
a  few  words  on  the  subject ;  but  so  highly  valued  was  the  writer, 
that,  according  to  M'Crie,  Knox  was  filled  with  joy  by  these 
fewf. 

Queen  Mary  and  Francis  II.  made  another  attempt  to  nullify 
the  decree  of  the  Scottish  parliament;  but  Francis  died,  and 
Mary  proceeded  to  Scotland  to  assume  the  government.  Knox 
now  stood  opposed  to  the  young  queen  ;  his  situation  was  in  the 
highest  degree  difficult ;  but  impartial  judges,  who  can  rightly 
estimate  his  character  as  a  great  reformer,  his  iron  strength,  and 
his  devotion  to  the  truth,  without  however  blinding  themselves  to 
his  defects,  or  considering  his  fierceness  and  excesses  deserving 
of  praise,  will  acknowledge  that,  on  the  whole,  he  solved  fairly 
the  perplexing  questions  which  he  had  to  answer.  He  did  not 
always  support  the  dignity  of  a  preacher  of  the  gospel ;  and  it 
is  probable  that  Calvin  would,  in  some  things,  have  acted  with 
greater  moderation.  Take,  for  example,  Knox's  public  prayer  for 
the  queen,  "  Enlighten  her  heart,  O  Lord,  if  it  be  thy  good  will !" 
— as  if  the  preacher  was  in  doubt  upon  the  subject.  If  he  had 
the  doctrine  of  election  in  view,  he  passed,  by  these  words,  the 
bitterest  censure  on  his  own  belief;  and  gave  occasion  to  the  peo- 
ple to  suppose  that  he,  perhaps,  did  not  even  wish  for  the  conver- 

*  Calvin  had  said  in  a  letter  which  he  wrote  against  ceremonies,  "  I  know 
of  nothing  more  important  than  your  being  cautious  to  employ  as  few  cere- 
monies as  possible.  Consider  carefully  what  is  required  of  you."  But  always 
seeking  the  right  medium,  he  says  to  Knox,  "  I  hope  that,  in  regard  to  cere- 
monies, you  will  moderate  your  zeal.  We  must  take  care  to  preserve  the 
church  free  from  all  superstitious  adornment,  and  must  not  suffer  divine  my- 
steries to  be  marred  by  childish  additions  ;  but  holding  this  fast,  do  not  forget 
that  you  must  be  ready  to  bear  with  some  things  which  may  not  altogether 
please  you." 

f  "Your  loss,"  he  says,  "is  a  deep  and  bitter  affliction  to  me.  You  had 
a  wife,  to  whom  few  can  lie  compared  ;  but  you  know  well  where  to  find  con- 
solation, and  I  doubt  not  that  you  will  bear  this  great  sorrow  with  patience. 
Greet  the  pious  brethren  in  my  name."  In  a  letter  to  Goodman,  Ep.  306,  he 
says,  "  I  grieve  not  a  little  that  our  brother  Knox  has  been  deprived  of  his  most 
sweet  wife;  but  I  rejoice  that,  afflicted  as  he  has  been,  he  has  continued  to 
labour  strenuously  for  Christ  and  the  church." 


A.D.  1555-60.]  VIOLENCE  OF  KNOX.  333 

sion  of  the  queen.  In  every  case  a  malicious  will  was  evident, 
although,  on  his  death-bed,  he  declared  that  he  had  nothing  of 
the  kind  in  his  heart.  Calvin  indeed  discouraged  praying  for 
the  papacy  and  the  pope  as  such  ;  but  he  cautiously  added,  "  We 
must  distinguish  between  the  papal  chair  and  the  person*." 

Knox  was  now  settled  as  the  head  of  the  Protestant  party : 
he  acted  in  his  character  of  citizen,  as  the  champion  of  popular 
rights,  and  not  as  a  minister  only,  as  Calvin  did,  and  as  Beza, 
in  the  camp  of  Conde.  A  conversation  which  took  place  be- 
tween Knox  and  secretary  Maitland  throws  new  light  on  the 
principles  of  this  "  son  of  thunder."  Thus  he  defended  his 
form  of  prayer,  on  the  plea  that  Mary  Stuart  did  not  hear  the 
gospel,  but  the  mass,  and  that  he  therefore  could  not  help  doubt- 
ing as  to  her  conversion.  Further,  the  minister  desired  to  hear 
his  views  respecting  the  relation  of  rulers  and  subjects.  Knox 
had  made  a  distinction,  in  one  of  his  sermons,  between  the  per- 
sons to  whom  God  has  entrusted  power  and  the  ordinance  of 
God ;  and  had  said,  that  people  may  resist  the  former  without 
violating  the  latter,  for  that  subjects  are  not  bound  to  obey  the 
unrighteous  commands  of  their  rulers.  He  now  argued,  that 
he  made  the  above  distinction  according  to  the  words  of  the 
apostle,  who  states,  that  God  has  established  rulers  for  the  up- 
holding of  peace,  for  the  punishment  of  the  wicked,  and  the 
protection  of  the  good.  If  rulers  therefore  pervert  this  principle, 
and  employ  their  power  unjustly,  this  is  not  to  be  suffered :  the 
madness  of  the  tyrant  must  be  resisted.  He  also  added,  that  he 
could  not  allow  Mary  Stuart  to  hear  the  mass  :  thus  he  was 
intolerant  against  the  catholics.  He  insisted  not  only  that  the 
mass  should  be  abolished,  but  that  the  idolaters  should  be  put 
to  death  by  the  people;  for  such  was  the  law  given  by  God  to 
the  Israelites.  Maitland,  on  the  other  hand,  remarked,  that  the 
people  must  not  forestal  the  judgements  of  God:  God  would 
punish  offenders  by  death,  by  wars,  and  other  means.  Knox 
was  of  opinion  that  the  people  might  judge  their  princes. 

These  principles  show  that  Knox  formed  the  first  link  in  the 
chain  of  those  events  which  subsequently  took  place  in  England  : 
he  carried  out  the  republican  theory  to  its  farthest  extent,  and 
united  it  in  the  closest  manner  with  his  views  of  the  Gospel. 

*  MS.  Bern,  Sept.  27,  1552.  "  I  know  that  we  must  distinguish  b<  tween 
the  person,  and  the  abominable  and  cursed  see.  But  it  seems  to  me  that  they 
who  pray  by  name  lor  him  who  hears  such  a  mark  of  reprobation,  must  have 
a  great  deal  of  leisure." 


334  FRENCH  CHURCH  IX  LONDON.       [CHAP.  IX. 

We  cannot  avoid  therefore  ascribing  the  overthrow  of  the  En- 
glish throne,  in  an  after-age,  effected  as  it  was  by  the  Presbyte- 
rian and  Puritan  party,  in  the  name  of  God,  to  the  influence  of 
the  spirit,  which  wrought  so   mightily  through  Knox,  whose 
hatred  to  the  English  was  no  less  conspicuous  and  powerful. 
The  wretched  principles  which  actually  led  to  the  events  of  which 
we  are  speaking,  were  but  those  of  Knox  carried  to  an  extrava- 
gant excess,  as  the  latter  were  themselves  an  exaggeration  of 
Calvin's.     It  would  be  irrational  however  to  make  Calvin  an- 
swerable for  this;  and  no  less  unjust  would  it  be,  on  the  other 
hand,  so  to  misrepresent  Knox's  lofty  and,  in  many  respects, 
even  amiable  character,  as  to  place  him  in  the  light  of  a  gloomy 
fanatic.     He  was  a  noble  instrument  in  the  hand  of  God;  a 
benefactor  of  mankind,  and  a  faithful  champion  of  the  truth. 

The  Scotch,  as  soon  as  they  learnt  that  the  Reformation  was 
penetrating  their  country,  prepared  themselves  for  the  necessary 
course  of  action.  The  French  church  in  London  began  to  as- 
semble, and  a  pastor  was  sought  from  Geneva.  Calvin  sent  it, 
towards  the  end  of  the  year  1559,  the  well-known  Galiars. 
Grindal,  bishop  of  London,  had  done  much  to  form  this  church. 
Calvin  wrote  to  him,  saying,  «  that  he  had  with  difficulty  parted 
from  Galiars;  but  that  he  had  done  so  for  the  sake  of  God's 
kingdom.  He  was  very  much  esteemed  as  a  worthy  servant  of 
Christ."  The  next  year  the  bishop  sent  his  thanks,  with  a  noble 
eulogy  on  Galiars*. 

Calvin  finished  in  1559  his  Commentary  on  Isaiah,  and  had 
dedicated  it  to  the  queen  :  we  learn,  however,  that  he  was  in  no 
small  perplexity  on  this  account.    The  queen  received  the  dedi- 
cation angrily:  Calvin  had  expressed  himself  as  opposed  to  the 
government  of  women  :  he  now  endeavoured,  as  well  as  he  could, 
to  justify  himself.     In  a  letter  to  Cecil,  he  says,  "  that  although 
a  woman's  being  placed  on  the  throne  of  a  kingdom  might  gene- 
rally be  considered  as  a  divine  punishment,  there  were  noble 
exceptions  thereto  t"  Thus  also,  in  writing  to  JBullinger,  he  says, 
that  "  Knox  had  asked  him  what  he  thought  of  the  government 
of  women.     He  freely  answered,  that  there  were  some  women 
possessed  of  extraordinary  gifts,  and  who,  through  the  peculiar 
blessing  with  which  they  were  seen  to  be  endowed,  manifestly 
evinced  that  God  had  called  them.    Deborah  was  an  instance  of 

*  MS.  Goth.  ed.  Bretschn.  p.  220,  Feb.  10,  1560. 
t  MS.  Bern,  Nov.  1559. 


A.D.  1555-60.]        ENGLISH  CHURCHES  ABROAD.  335 

this  truth  ;  and  Isaiah  had  not  said  untruly,  that  queens  should 
be  the  protectors  and  nurses  of  the  church*." 

English  churches  had  been  formed  at  Zurich,  Basel,  Geneva, 
Aarau,  Emden,  Wesel,  Duisburg,  Frankfort,  and  Strasburg. 
They  were  by  turns  broken  up  and  renewed,  or  others  supplied 
their  place,  as  was  especially  the  case-on  the  arrival  of  the  refugees 
from  France,  at  the  repeal  of  the  edict  of  Nantes.  The  churches 
of  Emden  and  Frankfort  then  became  established,  and  have  con- 
tinued flourishing  to  the  present  times.  It  has  been  already 
mentioned  that  Calvin  dedicated  his  catechism  to  the  reformed 
churches  of  East-Friesland  :  he  wished  to  form  a  union  with 
those  communities.  We  must  here  give  a  brief  account  of  the 
relation  in  which  the  reformer  stood  to  the  church  at  Frankfort. 
It  exhibits  him  again  in  the  character  of  a  mediator  ;  and  affords 
a  striking  contrast  to  those  other  circumstances  of  his  eventful 
life,  which  seemed  to  pass  like  meteors  across  his  path. 

When  the  refugees,  who  had  been  driven  from  Denmark,  and 
the  north  of  Germany,  established  a  church  at  Frankfort,  and 
were  compelled  to  abandon  the  English  liturgy,  there  was  here 
a  cause  of  strife,  which  was  soon  followed  by  another  arising  from 
the  controversy  on  the  sacrament.  At  the  convention  in  1555  it 
was  formally  resolved,  that  the  Catholics  and  the  communities 
holding  the  Augsburg  Confession  should  alone  enjoy  the  protec- 
tion thus  afforded  ;  no  other  parties  or  sects  were  to  be  suffered  on 
German  ground.  This  last  regulation  was  employed  to  excite  the 
magistrates  at  Wesel  and  Frankfort  against  the  English  refugees. 
In  the  former  of  these  places,  the  clergy  assailed  them  as  heretics  ; 
while  the  refugees  on  their  part  appealed  to  the  judgement  of  Me- 
lancthon.  A  messenger  was  sent  to  Wittenberg,  and  a  letter  was 
written  to  Melancthon  by  Francis  Perucell,  the  minister  of  the 
congregation.  But  respect  for  Melancthon  availed  them  nothing. 
The  council  informed  them  that  they  must  either  shortly  leave 
the  city,  or  acknowledge  that  the  true  body  of  Christ  is  contain- 
ed in  the  sacrament,  and  that  He  is  eaten  not  only  spiritually, 
but  bodily  with  the  mouth.  The  unhappy  exiles  prayed  for  time 
to  consider;  they  were  answered  that  they  ought  to  thank  the 
council  for  its  moderation,  for  that  it  had  the  right  to  strip  them 
of  whatever  they  possessed,  and  even  to  punish  them  personally. 
Perucell  acquainted  Calvin  with  all  these  proceedings.  But  the 
Lutheran  clergy  continued  furious  against  them ;  they  even  ex- 

*  Calvin  to  Bullinger,  3  Cal.  Mai.  1554.  Mosheim,  Neue  Nachr.  Ketsergcsch. 
p.  103. 


336  ENGLISH  CHURCHES  ABROAD.       [dlAP.  IX. 

pressed  their  rage  in  the  pulpit.  One  Hermann  described  the 
exiles  as  wretches  who  disgraced  the  sacraments,  and  who  had 
stolen  like  wolves  into  the  sheep-fold,  that  they  might  diffuse 
the  poison  which  they  had  themselves  imbibed  in  England.  The 
common  people  were  greatly  excited  by  these  representations. 

Somewhat  more  moderation  was  exercised  by  the  council  at 
Frankfort ;  but  instead  of  cordially  uniting  together  and  exer- 
cising mutual  forbearance,  the  English  on  the  one  side,  and  the 
French  on  the  other,  began  to  dispute  on  little  differences  in 
matters  of  ceremony,  and  on  the  various  doctrines  of  the  Lord's 
Supper.  The  quarrel  thus  excited  between  them  was  carried  to 
such  an  extent,  that  they  had  almost  proceeded  to  blows  in  the 
church.  Calvin,  who  was  informed  of  what  was  taking  place, 
wrote  to  the  council  on  the  subject. 

It  has  been  stated  that  the  refugees  elected  Knox  their  mini- 
ster. The  simple  French  liturgy  gained  the  victory.  When 
however  the  members  of  the  English  congregations  at  Zurich, 
and  Strasburg,  declared  themselves  against  that  at  Frankfort,  be- 
cause it  had  not  retained  the  Anglican  ritual,  Knox  entreated 
Calvin  to  settle  the  dispute.  Calvin  had  dedicated,  in  the  August 
of  1555,  his  i  Harmony  of  the  Gospels '  to  the  Frankfort  council ; 
that  body  accepted  the  honour  with  thanks,  and  made  the 
author  a  present  of  fifty  gold  pieces.  In  March  1556  Calvin 
wrote  to  them  anew ;  he  expressed  his  astonishment  that  they 
had  suffered  the  work  of  Westphal  to  be  printed  at  Frankfort,  a 
work  written  especially  against  him,  whereas  he  supposed  his 
opinions  to  agree  with  those  which  they  themselves  professed. 
If,  however,  he  added,  there  were  any  at  Frankfort  who  differed 
from  him,  he  should  be  glad  to  confer  with  them.  This  dissen- 
sion was  more  particularly  distressing  to  him  on  account  of  the 
refugees,  who  had  left  their  native  land  for  the  sake  of  the  Lord. 
If  they  had  faults,  still  the  council  should  treat  them  with  mo- 
deration. The  representatives  of  the  Frankfort  people  quietly 
replied,  that  they  owned  they  did  not  agree  with  him  in  opinion  ; 
that  they  were,  notwithstanding,  anxious  for  peace,  and  that  they 
believed  him  to  be  a  true  servant  of  God. 

But  it  was  not  long  after  this  that  they  exhibited  a  very  hos- 
tile attitude  in  regard  both  to  Calvin  and  the  refugees  ;  accusing 
the  former  of  church -tyranny.  Calvin  immediately  wrote  to  the 
burgomaster  Clauburg  :  he  protested  against  the  accusation  of 
tyranny,  and  appealed  to  the  testimony  of  his  brethren,  who  often 
rather  charged  him  with  weakness.     It  is  interesting  to  observe 


A.D.   1555-60.]  CALVIN   AT  FRANKFORT.  337 

Calvin's  conduct  in  this  whole  affair.  He  spoke  admirably  to 
the  unquiet  spirits  with  whom  he  had  to  do,  in  favour  of  mode- 
ration. They  wished  to  subject  their  minister,  with  whom  they 
were  discontented,  to  a  fresh  election,  and  even  to  further  hu- 
miliations. Calvin  expressed  strongly  his  disapprobation  of  their 
proceedings.  "  Even  Guelphs  and  Ghibellincs,"  he  said,  "unite 
when  they  are  subject  to  a  common  attack.  You  are  attacked 
by  those  who  are  enemies  to  your  sacrament.  Valerand  has  re- 
pulsed them  ;  and  it  is  monstrous  that  he  should  now  be  exposed 
to  violence  from  you."  He  afterwards  adjured  them  to  seek 
peace,  and  to  submit  themselves  to  the  majority  of  the  church- 
elders.  Subsequently  he  appealed  to  them  again.  "  If  we  were 
resolved  to  bear  with  nothing  from  others,  everyone  must 
have  a  world  for  himself  alone.  I  love  you  all,  and  am  as  anxious 
to  see  your  imperfections  cured  as  I  am  my  own."  His  indiffer- 
ence respecting  useless  ceremonies,  in  the  sacrament  especially, 
is  well-deserving  of  remark.  "  There  are  some  silly  things  to 
be  tolerated  in  the  English  liturgy." 

When  Calvin  found  that  he  could  accomplish  nothing  by  let- 
ters, he  resolved  to  visit  Frankfort  himself.  He  had  but  just  re- 
turned from  Bern,  when  he  was  attacked  while  preaching  with 
such  a  severe  fit  of  ague,  that  even  his  strong  spirit  could  not 
overcome  it ;  but  after  enduring  the  sickness  for  some  time,  he 
appeared  again  stronger  than  ever  on  the  arena.  Farel  had  of- 
fered to  accompany  him  on  his  journey,  but  he  would  not  allow 
him.  He  had  heard  that  the  plague  had  broken  out  at  Frank- 
fort; and  he  left  without  taking  leave  of  Farel,  intending  thereby 
to  spare  his  affectionate  zeal. 

The  council  of  Geneva  gave  Calvin  for  his  protector  its  prin- 
cipal herald,  Eustachius  Vinzens,  who  had  formerly  been  sent  to 
accompany  him  from  Strasburg.  Laski  had  already  used  his 
best  efforts  to  inspire  a  friendly  feeling  at  Frankfort.  During 
his  residence  in  that  city,  he  was  constantly  occupied  in  endea- 
vouring to  unite  the  two  Protestant  churches.  King  Sigismund 
Augustus  had  encoura^f  d  him  to  undertake  this  work,  the 
schism  being  as  prejudicial  to  Poland  as  it  was  to  Germany. 
Laski  presented  a  memorial  to  the  council  at  Frankfort,  in 
which  he  showed,  that  no  sufficient  cause  existed  for  the  separa- 
tion of  the  two  Protestant  churches.  It  was  hoped  that  a  con- 
ference appointed  to  take  place  on  the  22nd  of  May,  1556, might 
lead  to  beneficial  results  ;  but  Brent  ins  ruined  every  prospect  of 
reconciliation.      He  insisted  that  the   reformed   should   sign   the 

VOL.    II.  Z 


338  CALVIN  AT  FRANKFORT.  [CHAP.  IX. 

Augsburg  Confession ;  and  the  doctrine  of  ubiquity,  so  absurd 
in  the  eyes  of  Laski,  -was  exalted  by  him  above  every  other. 
Hence  the  schism  was  made  wider. 

We  now  see  Calvin  again  sojourning  in  the  city,  where  he  some 
years  before  had  met  Melancthon.  In  a  letter  dated  September 
17,  1556,  he  complains  of  the  vast  amount  of  business  which  he 
had  to  do,  and  of  the  fury  of  the  parties  engaged  in  the  contro- 
versy. "  Certain  it  is  that  Satan  has  so  befooled  them,  that 
there  is  no  hope  of  restoring  union*. " 

Some  account  of  his  residence  at  Frankfort  is  found  in  a  let- 
ter to  Melancthon  f.  "  I  have  been  led  to  this  place  through  the 
quarrels  which  for  the  last  two  years  have  distracted  the  little 
churches  here,  speaking  our  language.  The  greatest  danger  may 
be  apprehended,  if  very  prudent  measures  be  not  adopted  to 
avert  it.  Since  my  arrival  in  the  city  I  have  not  had  time  to 
breathe ;  you  must  therefore  pardon  the  shortness  of  this  letter. 
I  have  however  little  need  to  be  very  anxious  about  your  par- 
don on  this  account,  for  I  see  by  your  silence  that  you  do  not 
much  wish  for  my  letters  ;  still,  I  am  convinced  not  merely  of 
your  good  feeling,  but  of  your  love  towards  me." 

Calvin  next  states,  that  a  certain  Justus  Welsius  had  employed 
him  two  days  J,  and  that  he  had  openly  disputed  with  him  on 
the  subject  of  free-will.  Valerandus  Pollanus  was  at  strife  with 
the  burgomaster  Clauburg.  The  subject  of  their  dispute  was 
the  Consensus  on  the  sacrament,  which  Bucer  had  set  forth,  and 
which  the  ministers  of  Frankfort,  in  accordance  with  Calvin^s 
views,  might  subscribe.  Among  other  proofs  of  his  laboriousness, 
an  old  document  exists  at  Gotha,  a  protocol,  that  is,  written,  in  his 
own  hand,  and  which  he  drew  up  as  moderator  of  the  presby- 
tery in  the  controversy  of  the  church  with  Pollanus  §.  He  also 
preached  at  Frankfort,  in  the  church  of  the  White  Nuns,  which 
had  been  given  to  the  refugees  ;  and  even  administered  baptism 
there,  which  was  afterwards  imputed  to  him  as  a  great  offence  ||. 
It  appears  that  he  did  not  visit  the  Lutheran  ministers  during 
his  stay  at  Frankfort ;  but  on  the  23rd  of  September,  the  day  be- 

*  MS.  Bern.  "Sane  ita  eos  fascinavit  Satan,  ut  nullam  spem  concordise 
reliquam  faciat." 

t  Calvin  to  Melancthon,  Sept.  17,  1556.  In  another  letter  addressed  to 
Justus  Jonas,  he  says,  that  he  had  scarcely  an  hour  free. 

t  Salig,  Geschich.  der  Augsburg.  Confes.  Bd.  ii.  s.  1140,  gives  an  account 
of  this  man. 

§  I  have  read  the  Consensus  by  Bucer,  and  with  the  exception  of  one  or 
two  heads,  I  should  not  hesitate,  for  the  sake  of  peace,  to  accept  it. 

||  MS.  Goth.  ed.  Bretschneider,  p.  73. 


A.D.  1555-60.]   STATE  OF  THE  CHURCH  AT  FRANKFORT.   539 

fore  his  departure,  he  addressed  the  ministers  assembled  to  com- 
memorate the  separation  from  Rome,  and  blessed  them. 

By  the  end  of  November  Calvin  was  again  at  home.  It  is 
evident  from  certain  expressions  which  we  find  him  employing, 
that  he  had  not  fully  accomplished  the  object  of  his  journey. 
On  the  21st  of  December,  1556,  he  complained  to  Clauburg,  that 
the  Frankfort  senators  had  proved  themselves  wanting  in  resolu- 
tion, and  he  wished  him  to  take  measures  that  the  authors  of  the 
tumult  might  be  bridled.  In  a  letter  to  Holbrach,  he  calls  the 
minister,  Valerand,  who  was  the  chief  fomenter,  probably,  of  the 
quarrel,  a  devil*.  He,  in  fact,  at  length  accomplished  the  purpose 
to  which  his  restlessness  or  ambition  impelled  him.  The  English 
and  French  were  obliged,  through  his  instrumentality,  to  subscribe 
the  Augsburg  Confession  ;  the  little  word  substantially  being  the 
only  term  omitted.  Calvin  however  still  remained  in  union 
with  the  church  at  Frankfort ;  it  reposed  confidence  in  him,  and 
was  glad  to  receive  his  advice.  In  a  letter  dated  February  25, 
1559,  he  expressed  opinions  of  great  importance f.  Certain  it 
is,  that  the  magistrates  treated  the  fugitives  with  no  little  harsh- 
ness. They  were  required  not  only  to  subscribe,  as  forming  the 
basis  of  a  reunion,  the  Augsburg  Confession,  the  Apology,  and 
the  Concordian  formularies,  which  Bucer  had  drawn  up  at 
Frankfort,  but  to  repudiate  all  the  writings  which  were  opposed 
to  those  documents,  and  to  adopt  the  forms  employed  by  their 
antagonists  in  the  administration  of  the  Lord's  Supper.  They 
consented  to  the  first  two  articles  ;  but  after  mutual  recrimination 
it  was  resolved,  on  the  part  of  those  in  power,  that  the  church 
of  the  refugees  should  be  closed  till  they  consented  to  adopt 
altogether  the  ceremonies  of  the  Lutherans,  and  their  opinions 
on  the  subject  of  the  Lord's  Supper.  They  were,  moreover,  to 
elect  a  new  preacher.  The  universities,  and  the  princes  on  all 
sides,  besought  the  Frankfort  magistrates  to  treat  the  exiles  with 
greater  forbearance  ;  they  were,  it  was  said,  of  the  same  faith  with 
themselves.  But  in  the  year  1562  the  intolerance  of  the  Lu- 
theran ministers  proceeded  to  such  an  extent,  that  the  refugees 
found  themselves  compelled  to  seek  another  asylum.  Elizabeth 
invited  them  to  England  ;  some  went  to  East  Friesland.  Those 
who  travelled  through    Brabant  were  taken  prisoners,  thrown 

*  Dec.  22,  1556. 

f  MS.  Tigur.  Feb.  23,  1559-  He  again  spoke  of  the  anxiety  and  distress 
which  he  suffered.  The  ministers  were  quarrelling  with  each  other.  He  ex- 
horted them  not  to  read  either  the  German  Theology  (La  Theologie  Germa- 
nique),  or  a  little  work,  entitled  '  Der  Neue  Mensch.' 


340  CALVIN  AND  THE  NORTHERN  CHURCHES.  [CHAP.  X. 

into  dungeons,  or  committed  to  the  flames.     Many  retired  to 
Strasburg  and  Switzerland. 

The  history  of  the  church,  of  which  we  have  thus  spoken,  is 
worthy  of  attention.  It  gradually  formed  for  itself  a  liturgy, 
which  agreed  neither  with  the  Lutheran  nor  with  the  Reformed, 
especially  in  respect  to  ceremonies  :  it  was  a  compound  of  these 
and  of  the  English.  The  churches  themselves  were  lost  in  dis- 
traction *. 


CHAPTER  X. 

HIS  IN- 
FLUENCE IN  POLAND.  CORRESPONDENCE  WITH  KING  SI- 

GISMUND  AND  WITH  THE  POLISH  NOBLES. 

Calvin  had  already  begun,  in  1552,  to  place  himself  in  com- 
munication with  the  Northern  States,  and  had  dedicated  the 
French  edition  of  his  Commentary  on  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles 
to  kins:  Christian,  who  had  introduced  the  Reformation  into  Den- 
mark.  He  would  fain  have  continued  in  friendly  correspondence 
with  the  monarch,  but  the  Lutheran  clergy  by  their  influence 
with  the  king  prevented  it.  After  the  sacramental  controversy 
with  Westphal,  Calvin  altered  the  dedication  to  Christian,  and 
dedicated  the  Commentary,  in  Latin,  to  prince  Radzivill,  the 
great  promoter  of  the  Reformation  in  Poland.  He  also  about 
this  time  entered  into  correspondence  with  Gustavus  Yasa,  the 
enlightened  king  of  Sweden.  To  this  prince  he  dedicated  his 
Commentary  on  the  twelve  minor  prophets.  He  was  induced 
to  do  this  by  the  persuasion  of  one  of  his  countrymen,  who 
hoped  thereby  that  some  influence  might  be  exercised  on  the 
mind  of  the  king's  son.  We  must  here  also  mention  his  work 
against  Menno  Simon,  well-known  as  the  head  of  the  anabaptists. 
It  is  comprehended  in  Calvin's  collected  correspondence.  This 
Frieslander,  wrho  was  originally  a  Catholic  priest,  published  his 
doctrine  at  Emden.  Laski  had  a  conference  with  him,  but  it 
led  to  no  result.  Calvin  subsequently  attacked  him,  that  is  in 
1559.     Menno  retired  with  several  others  to  Poland,  where  tole- 

*  Salig,  Bd.  ii.  s.  1135.     The  liturgy  is  given  in  Melchior  Fronberger's  ac- 
count of  the  French  and  Netherland  Churches,  1598. 


A.D.  1555-60.]  REFORMATION   IN  POLAND.  341 

ranee  and  anarchy  ruled  together.  Although  Calvin  could  not 
introduce  his  doctrine  into  Denmark  or  Sweden,  his  animating, 
evangelical  influence  was  thankfully  recognized  in  Poland,  in- 
dependent of  the  war  which  he  waged  with  the  errors  which 
there  prevailed.  Former  church-historians  have  made  little 
mention  of  his  name  in  connection  with  Poland,  and  he  is  only 
incidentally  alluded  to  by  those  of  a  later  date.  Evidences 
however  still  exist  of  his  zeal  and  usefulness.  The  congregation 
at  Posen,  consisting  partly  of  the  descendants  of  the  Bohemian 
brethren,  may  be  referred  to  in  proof  of  this.  Greatly  extended 
through  the  active  devotion  of  George  Israel,  its  chief  elder,  this 
community  exhibited  for  a  considerable  time  the  very  type  and 
model  of  church  order.  The  two  monarchs,  Sigismund  and  his 
son,  were  decidedly  in  favour  of  pure  doctrine  ;  they  therefore 
treated  the  faithful  with  much  kindness.  Calvin  seized  the  favour- 
able opportunity,  and  placed  himself  in  communication  with  all 
the  great  men  of  the  kingdom. 

The  movement  began  between  the  years  1530  and  1540*.  An 
early  hostility  was  manifested  to  the  doctrine  of  the  Trinity- 
Cruciger  preached  the  pure  gospel  in  Poland  in  1546  ;  the  doc- 
trines of  Calvin  and  Zwingli  were  always  more  favourably  re- 
ceived there  than  those  of  Luther.  The  Taborites,  who  bore  the 
name  of  Bohemian  brethren,  and  had  been  driven  in  a  body  from 
their  country,  also  exercised  considerable  influence  in  Poland. 
The  Reformers  became  still  more  powerful  under  Sigismund  Au- 
gustus. Nicolaus  Olesnicki,  urged  on  by  Stancar,  was  the  first  to 
attack  the  Roman  church.  The  monks  of  a  convent  in  Pinczow 
were  driven  forth,  the  images  were  destroyed,  and  an  experiment 
was  made  to  introduce  a  public  Protestant  service  after  the  exam- 
ple of  that  established  at  Geneva.  We  have  no  means  of  telling 
what  influence  the  Genevese  themselves  had  in  this  matter,  but 
it  is  certain  that  Calvin  corresponded  at  an  early  period  with  Tar- 
nowski,  stadtholder  of  Cracow,  and  with  prince  Radzivill,  the 
grand  marshal  of  Lithuania.  Tar  now  ski  was  a  remarkable  cha- 
racter; although  moderate,  he  was  decidedly  in  favour  of  great 
changes;  and  he  endeavoured  to  gain  the  pope's  consent  to  the 
administration  of  the  sacrament  in  both  kinds,  the  performance 
of  the  service  in  the  language  of  the  country,  the  marriage  of  the 
clergy,  and  the  abolition  of  fasts. 

At  the  diet  which  assembled  in  the  year  1550,  the  first  of  the 


*    Krasinsky,  Gesch.  d.  Urspr.  6<c.  d.   Ref.  in  I'm 


en,  s.  oa 


342  REFORMATION  IN   POLAND.  [CHAP.  X. 

nobility,  with  Radzivill  at  their  head,  appeared  as  the  advocates 
of  the  reformed  faith,  and  as  the  accusers  of  the  Romish  clergy. 
The  weakness  of  the  papal  party  was  manifest,  but  the  truth  did 
not  prevail.  At  the  diet  of  1552*,  evident  indications  existed  of 
the  decline  of  the  Romish  church.  Orzechowski,  a  bold,  rash 
man,  who  had  been  foremost  in  exciting  agitation,  vacillated  to 
and  fro,  and  at  length  became  reconciled  to  the  papal  party.  At 
this  diet  representatives  were  despatched  to  Trent,  but  with  the 
declared  hope  that  Rome  might  still  accomplish  her  own  thorough 
reform. 

Calvin  presented  himself  at  this  juncture.  The  Poles  respected 
his  doctrine  and  discipline  ;  the  free  republican  form  of  the  sy- 
nods agreeing  far  better  with  their  national  character  than  the 
consistorial  form  of  the  Lutherans.  Thus  he  already  enjoyed 
their  confidence.  But  it  was  his  design  to  bring  his  faith  to  the 
breach  ;  and  it  is  worthy  of  notice  that  he  began  his  efforts,  sum- 
moned, as  he  says,  thereto,  with  the  king  himself.  With  sound 
policy,  he  admits  the  principle  that  great  kingdoms  may  have 
patriarchates,  and  be  placed  under  a  primate.  Thus  we  see  how 
his  powerful  mind  could  discover  its  way  through  all  forms,  if 
free  course  was  but  secured  for  the  gospel.  Attentive  to  the 
strictest  courtesy,  he  begins  by  showing  that  even  kings  must 
receive  instruction  from  a  servant  of  Christ ;  then  follows  an  able 
eulogium  on  the  liberal  spirit  of  the  monarch,  with  the  remark, 
that  rulers  should  be  enlightened  above  all  other  men.  "  Re- 
member/5 he  says,  "that in  your  person  God  has  kindled  a  light 
for  all  Poland,  and  which  cannot  without  great  sin  longer  remain 
hidden.  Let  then  that  heroic  energy  at  length  break  forth, 
which  has  already  been  too  long  slumbering."  He  next  exhorts 
him  not  to  allow  himself  to  be  held  back  by  papistical  principles  : 
"  The  papists  constantly  object  to  us  their  hierarchy.  They  say, 
that  although  the  position  of  the  church  is  corrupt,  it  is  not  law- 
ful, at  least  not  for  the  laity,  to  point  the  finger  at  its  errors,  and 
that  the  papacy  has  inherited  all  power  through  Peter.  But  it 
is  very  strange,  that  Paul,  when  he  admonishes  us  to  cultivate 
unity,  and  speaks  of  one  God,  one  faith,  one  baptism,  and  of  one 
Spirit,  one  Lord,  one  body,  should  have  forgotten  what  here 
would  have  been  of  such  vast  importance,  namely,  that  there 
must  be  one  great  priest,  by  whose  dignity  and  authority  the 
whole  church  is  to  be  held  together  in  the  bonds  of  unity.     It 

*   Krasinskv,  B.  I  20. 


A.D.  1555-60.]         REFORMATION   IN  POLAND.  343 

would  have  been  a  sad  thing,  had  this  been  true,  not  to  warn 
believers  that  it  is  GocFs  intention  that  they  should  exist  under 
such  a  head.  Paul  says,  moreover,  that  the  apostleship  of  the 
gentiles  was  given  to  him,  as  that  of  the  Jews  was  to  Peter. 
There  is  here  indicated  not  only  an  equality  between  these  two 
apostles,  but  such  a  division  of  their  offices,  that  Peter  would 
seem  to  have  nothing*  whatever  to  do  with  us.  In  Ephesians  iv. 
11,  it  is  not  said  that  a  vicar  of  Christ  is  appointed  to  represent 
him  in  his  absence,  but  that  there  are  apostles,  preachers,  doc- 
tors, who  are  to  labour  according  to  the  measure  of  their  ability. 
Certain  it  is,  that  if  God  had  intended  to  set  one  above  all  the 
rest,  he  would  have  imparted  to  him,  not  a  mere  portion  of  the 
gifts  of  grace,  but  the  whole  fulness  thereof/' 

He  jests  at  the  pretensions  of  the  popes,  in  respect  to  their 
exclusive  possession  of  the  keys  : — "  What  relation  has  the  pope 
to  Peter  ?  Would  not  the  seat  of  the  primate  have  been  at  Jeru- 
salem, if  anywhere?  There,  where  Christ  beyond  dispute  exer- 
cised the  great  priestly  office.  In  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews, 
the  apostle  does  not  establish  a  worldly  priesthood,  but  he  shows 
that  Christ  is  the  true  high-priest,  one  who  can  have  no  suc- 
cessor, because  he  is  after  the  order  of  Melchisedec.  It  is  not 
for  a  mere  man  to  govern  the  whole  world.  The  avarice  and 
pride  of  the  Roman  court  fabricated  this  primacy.  The  ancient 
church  founded  patriarchates,  and  set  primates  over  different 
provinces ;  and  in  the  same  manner  it  was  lawful  to  appoint  an 
archbishop  for  the  renowned  kingdom  of  Poland ;  not  however 
that  he  might  exercise  lordship  over  the  rest  of  the  clergy,  or 
repossess  himself  of  the  power  which  they  had  won  for  them- 
selves, but  that  he  might,  for  the  sake  of  order,  hold  the  first 
place  in  the  synods,  and  preserve  a  holy  union  among  his  col- 
leagues and  the  brethren.  So  also  there  might  be  bishops  for 
the  various  provinces  or  cities,  whose  office  it  should  be  to  keep 
order  in  all  things,  as  circumstances  required  ;  and  one  might 
be  chosen  from  every  assembly  of  bishops,  to  whom  the  principal 
charge  might  be  entrusted;  for  to  endow  a  man  with  a  fair  por- 
tion of  dignity,  according  to  his  state  and  occupation,  is  very 
different  to  subjecting  the  whole  world  to  a  single  power.  The 
Catholic  theory  is  at  strife  with  God's  original  appointment,  and 
with  the  original  plan  of  the  church.  For  a  bishop  to  be  a  bishop 
of  bishops,  he  must  himself  be  a  bishop.  Unworthy  however 
is  he  of  such  a  title  who  refuses  to  learn,  but  surrenders  himself 
to  idle  pomp,  and  impiously  destroys  the  doctrine  of  Christ.1' 


344  CALVIN   AND  THE   POLES.  [CHAP.  X. 

Calvin,  in  the  next  place,  protests  against  the  immorality  and 
impiety  of  the  Roman  court.  His  language  becomes  more  and 
more  vehement :  he  calls  the  whole  Catholic  church  a  sect.  No 
reform,  he  says,  could  be  expected  from  it ;  it  could  only  exist 
by  the  ruin  and  misery  of  the  church.  To  wait,  therefore,  for 
improvement,  on  the  supposition  that  the  pope  would  assent  to 
it,  was  only  to  have  recourse  to  an  absurd  subterfuge.  "  We 
now  know/'  he  says,  "  what  the  apostles  meant  when  they  pro- 
claimed at  the  beginning,  that  the  builders  had  rejected  the  chief 
corner-stone." 

The  king  received  this  address  graciously,  and  answered  it : 
Calvin  therefore  continued  his  admonitions*.  We  see  him,  both 
in  this  and  the  following  year,  using  every  effort  to  excite  the 
zeal  of  all  the  great  and  influential  men  in  Poland.  In  one  day 
he  despatched  four  letters  to  that  country  f.  That  to  the  count 
of  Tarnaw,  general  of  the  Polish  army,  is  written  in  the  most 
energetic  language.  Calvin  spoke  to  him  as  a  soldier  to  a  sol- 
dier, exhorting  him  to  place  himself  at  the  head  of  the  soldiers 
of  Christ.  He  seems  to  have  understood  his  character,  and  to 
have  endeavoured  to  work  upon  him,  through  his  feelings  both 
of  duty  and  honour  J.  Thus  he  represents  to  him  the  baseness 
of  the  papacy ;  the  glory  which  God  ascribes  to  the  confession 
of  the  truth ;  and  the  rage  of  the  enemies  of  Christ,  which  ought 
to  stimulate  more  and  more  the  noble  zeal  of  his  followers.  "  It 
is  an  honour  to  contend  for  God,  and  you  must  not  be  the  last 
to  do  so."  He  further  represented,  that  it  was  for  the  interest 
of  the  state  to  take  this  course.  "  Poland  can  never  be  quiet  if 
the  reformed  religion  be  not  established  in  the  country." — "  You 
may  thus,  therefore,  evince  also  your  fidelity  to  the  king." — 
"  God  blesses  those  people  only  who  accept  the  true  faith." 

The  danger  to  the  Catholic  church  increased  every  day.  A 
protestant  synod  at  Kosminek  effected  in  1555  a  union  between 
the  Bohemian  brethren  and  the  Calvinists  in  Poland:  this 
greatly  strengthened  the  Protestant  party.  "  God,"  says  Calvin 
to  a  Polish  knight,  "  always  blesses  this  fellow  ship  and  commu- 
nion of  the  members  of  Christ.  The  experience  of  the  Wal- 
denses,  whom  the  Lord  has  so  long  proved,  will  be  of  very 
great  use." 

In  the  year  1555  the  old  disputes  respecting  the  church  were 
renewed  at  the  diet  of  Piotrkow.     It  was  announced  to  the  king 

*  Ed.  Laus.  Ep.  218.   Ed.  Arast.  p.  104.  f  December  29,  1555. 

*  Ed.  Laus.  Ep.  220.  Ed.  Amst.  p.  104. 


A.D.   1555-60.]  MEMOIR  OF   LASKI.  345 

that  an  immediate  necessity  existed  to  assemble  a  national  synod, 
consisting  of  the  representatives  of  all  parties,  who  might  take 
means  for  reforming  the  church,  on  the  principles  of  Scripture ; 
and  that  the  meeting  ought  not  to  be  formed  of  the  Polish  mini- 
sters only,  but  that  the  most  distinguished  reformers  in  various 
parts  of  Europe,  and  particularly  Calvin,  Beza,  Melancthon,  and 
the  Italian  Vergerio,  who  was  then  in  Poland,  should  be  invited 
to  attend. 

This  proposal  created  a  great  sensation,  but  the  Polish  bishops 
had  sufficient  influence  to  nullify  it.  The  Poles  themselves 
however  received  Calvin's  exhortations  with  profound  attention. 
Two  years  subsequent  to  this  they  earnestly  desired  him  to  come 
to  them  alone,  and  to  work  there.  This  must  have  been  the 
general  wish,  for  he  answered  them  in  a  letter  addressed  to  all 
the  nobility  who  had  accepted  the  pure  doctrine*.  Excusing 
himself,  he  says,  "  I  learn  from  a  letter  that  my  arrival  among 
you  would  be  acceptable,  but  I  fear  that  my  leaving  this  place 
might  be  attended  with  great  injury  to  the  church  here."  The 
council  also  would  not  allow  his  departure.  These  events  oc- 
curred simultaneously  with  Laski's  recal  to  Poland  (1556),  so 
that  Calvin  added  :  "  Now  that  Heaven  has  granted  you  the  pri- 
vilege of  enjoying  the  labours  of  that  most  excellent  servant  of 
Christ,  a  Lasco,  I  do  not  see  why  you  should  desire  my  presence 
so  much  ;  and  if  it  be  not  really  necessary,  you  cannot  yourselves 
wish  to  take  me  from  a  station  where  1  am  usefully  engaged." 
He  promises  however  to  seek  the  Lord  for  them  in  prayer. 

The  circumstance  above  stated  leads  us  to  review  briefly  the 
life  of  a  Lasco,  and  Calvin's  relation  to  him.  Calvin  took  ad- 
vantage of  every  opportunity  to  praise  this  awakened  man,  and 
to  express  his  esteem  for  him.  There  were  few  men  indeed,  even 
in  these  favoured  times,  so  remarkable  for  vivacity,  boldness  and 
simplicity.  lie  was  descended  from  a  noble  family;  was  con- 
verted by  Zwingli  in  the  course  of  a  journey  through  Germany, 
and  lived  some  time  with  Erasmus,  who  entertained  for  him  the 
most  lively  affection.  When  he  found  himself  compelled  to  give 
up  every  hope  of  the  reformation  of  the  Catholic  church,  he  went 
abroad  (1537)j  married  at  Mainz,  and  was  excommunicated  by 
Koine.  In  1554  he  became  superintendent  of  the  East  Frisian 
churches,  where,  after  six  years,  but  not  till  then,  he  was  so  happy 
as  to  see  the  Romish  errors  completely  abolished.  Albrecht 
•   Ms.  Bern,  8  Mart.  1557. 


346  MEMOIR  OF  LASKI.  [CHAP.  X. 

of  Prussia  was  now  anxious  to  obtain  his  assistance  in  establish- 
ing the  Reformation  in  his  territories ;  but  he  declined  the  invi- 
tation, asserting  the  principle  that  the  church  should  be  wholly 
independent  of  the  state.  Thus  also  he  separated  entirely  from 
the  Lutherans,  on  publishing  his  Confession  of  Faith  for  East 
Friesland,  which  now  pertained  altogether  to  the  Reformed  com- 
munion. It  was  about  this  time,  probably,  that  his  more  inti- 
mate acquaintance  with  Calvin  began ;  and  when  the  Lutherans 
acquired  the  upper  hand  in  Friesland,  he  gladly  accepted  Cran- 
mer's  invitation  to  England  (1548).  Disguising  himself,  he 
ventured,  according  to  his  daring  custom,  to  travel  through  Bra- 
bant. In  the  following  year  he  became  the  head  of  the  foreign 
Protestant  churches  in  London,  the  admirable  champion  of  their 
rights,  and  the  overseer  of  their  schools.  It  appears  that  he  did 
not  agree  with  Bucer  on  the  subject  of  the  Lord's  Supper.  De- 
cided in  character  as  he  was,  he  had  little  in  common  with  a 
man  so  ready  to  incline  to  many  sides.  Calvin  mentioned  this 
to  his  friend  Farel*. 

On  his  return  to  the  continent,  he  was  unwilling,  on  account 
of  the  Lutherans,  to  remain  at  Emden :  he  accordingly  went 
to  Frankfort.  It  was  his  object  to  reconcile  the  Lutherans  and 
the  Reformed  in  that  city.  We  have  already  alluded  to  his  wri- 
ting on  this  subject :  he  also  engaged  in  a  colloquy  for  the  same 
purpose,  and  went  to  Speier  to  regulate  the  proceedings.  Calvin 
said  to  himf,  "They  will  avoid  a  friendly  colloquy  as  something 
odious ;  but  if  they  be  honest,  they  will  find  us  ready  for  what- 
ever is  reasonable/5  He  warned  him  earnestly  to  be  cautious  of 
Vergerius,  and  added,  that  he  would  himself  hasten  to  be  present, 
whenever  the  princes  would  actually  hold  a  meeting.  To  this  the 
Zurichers  would  never  agree,  and  Calvin  relates  what  Bullinger 
said  to  him  against  the  colloquy. 

Laski  now  engaged  singly  with  Brentius :  he  disputed  against 
the  doctrine  of  ubiquity :  it  was  founded  neither  on  Scripture, 
nor  on  the  church.  The  apology  which  he  addressed  to  the 
council  of  Frankfort,  and  from  which  it  appeared  that  he  agreed 
with  the  Augsburg  Confession,  was  written  in  obedience  to  the 
wish  of  the  king  of  Poland.  Calvin  approved  of  it,  but  con- 
sidered it  heavy:  he  wTrote  to  Laski  August  28,  1556,  saying, 

*  MS.  Gen.  Febr.  1551.     He  does  not  quite  agree  with  Bucer,  it  seems, 
and  he  will  not  dissemble.     But  what  wonder  if  he  dissents  from  Bucer? 
f  MS.  Bern,  Mai.  15,  1556. 


A.D.  1555-60.]        PROGRESS  OF  THE  REFORMATION.  347 

that  "  he  was  wholly  of  opinion  that  there  was  nothing  in  the 
Augsburg  Confession  which  did  not  agree  with  his  doctrine  *." 

Brentius  had  utterly  destroyed  the  hope  of  a  reunion.  Laski 
proceeded  to  Wittenberg  to  confer  with  Melancthon  :  the  latter 
gave  him  a  letter  to  the  king  of  Poland,  exhorting  him  to  pro- 
mote the  Reformation  in  that  country.  Laski,  on  his  return, 
demonstrated,  in  a  writing  on  the  subject,  the  necessity  of  abo- 
lishing the  Roman  hierarchy  f  (December  1556).  This  was  the 
time  when  Calvin  exercised  so  much  influence  on  the  Poles,  and 
the  enterprising  Laski  was  wholly  devoted  to  accomplishing  the 
work  of  reform.  But  nothing  was  left  undone  to  make  him  an 
object  of  suspicion  to  the  king :  it  was  even  reported  that  he 
was  a  determined  enemy  to  his  native  land,  and  that  he  was  en- 
gaged in  collecting  troops  to  effect  a  revolution.  These  reports 
made  some  impression  on  the  monarch,  till  meeting  with  one  of 
Laski's  relations,  who  opened  his  eyes  to  the  truth,  he  observed, 
"  You  know  that  such  movements  and  disturbances  frequently 
lead  to  the  ruin  of  states.  Say  therefore  to  Laski,  Carry  on  the 
work  of  religion  among  yourselves,  and  in  a  short  time  you  will 
see  that  I  look  more  to  the  help  of  God  than  to  that  of  men  J." 

But  at  the  next  diet  the  affair  was  again  deferred,  and  put  off 
by  the  machinations  of  Satan  to  another  occasion.  We  see  Laski, 
however,  appointed  chief  superintendent  of  all  the  Protestant 
churches  in  Lesser  Poland.  The  union  of  the  Lutherans  with 
the  Reformed,  for  which  preparation  had  been  made  by  the  junc- 
tion of  the  latter  with  the  Bohemian  brethren,  was  the  first  object 
to  engage  his  attention.  He  did  not  make  a  journey  to  the  king, 
but  he  wrote  to  him.  The  Italian  Lismanini  now  came  to  his  aid  : 
this  person  had  already  employed  his  influence  to  induce  the  king 
to  promote  the  Reformation  :  he  had  expounded  to  him  Calvin's 
Institutes  twice  a  week,  and  had  travelled  into  different  Protestant 
countries  for  the  purpose  of  affording  the  monarch  a  true  ac- 
count of  their  state.  In  the  course  of  this  journey  he  had  visited 
Bern  and  Geneva,  whence  he  travelled  to  Paris,  on  returning 
from  which  he  came  again  to  Geneva.  There,  in  conformity 
with  Calvin's  exhortations,  he  publicly  announced  his  conversion 
to  Protestantism,  and  marked  the  event  by  marrying.  This  latter 
step  was  imprudent;  it  betrayed  the  views  of  the  king,  who  now 

*  MS.  Bern.  "  Mihi  placet  argumentum,  nam  el  ita  rea  habet  et  imprimis 
utile  est  cognosci,  nihil  esse  in  Confessione  Augnstana,  quod  non  sit  doctrinal 
nostra?  consentaneum." 

t   Krasinsky,  s.  106. 

J  Ed.  Laus.  Ep.  234.  Amst.  120,  Utenhoviua  Calvino,  Oncer.  1557- 


348  LASKI   AND  VERGERIO.  [CHAP.  X. 

forbad  his  return.  The  clergy  pronounced  him  excommunicate, 
and  the  interest  of  Bullinger,  Calvin  and  Beza  was  exerted  for 
him  in  vain.  It  was  not  till  1555,  when  the  synod  at  Pinczow 
wras  held,  and  when  Calvin  entreated  the  most  influential  of  the 
Protestants  to  invite  him  to  be  present,  that  he  dare  venture  to 
return.  He  lived  for  a  long  time  concealed  in  the  house  of  a 
Polish  lady,  Agnes  Dluska,  with  whom  Calvin  also  was  in  cor- 
respondence*. By  means  of  Tarnow  and  Cruciger,  he  at  last 
succeeded  in  placing  Lismanini  again  in  a  sphere  of  activity ;  but 
the  Italian,  unfortunately,  too  readily  inclined  his  ear  to  the  de- 
spisers  of  the  doctrine  of  the  Trinity.  He  had  entertained  Lselius 
Socinus  at  his  house  in  the  year  1551,  and  it  is  probable  that  he 
then  imbibed  the  doctrines  of  that  teacher,  though  he  concealed 
it  while  at  Geneva.  A  synod  at  Cracow  repeated  the  ban  pro- 
nounced upon  him.  He  subsequently  went  to  Konigsberg,  where, 
in  a  fit  of  phrenzy,  he  deprived  himself  of  life.  Although  now 
standing  alone,  Laski  went  boldly  forward  in  the  work  of  reform  : 
his  grand  purpose  was  to  effect  a  reformation  after  the  example 
of  that  of  England,,  and  at  the  same  time  to  accomplish  the  union 
of  the  two  parties.  By  the  efforts  which  he  made,  he  laid  the 
foundation  for  the  settlement  subsequently  agreed  upon  at  San- 
domir. 

At  the  diet  held  in  1556  the  important  law  was  passed,  that 
it  should  be  lawful  for  any  nobleman  to  introduce  the  observance 
of  the  evangelical  service  into  his  house.  Rome  was  called  upon 
to  correct  the  abuses  with  which  it  was  charged.  The  pope  had 
sent  a  legate,  and  he  was  present  at  the  diet.  Vergerio  and 
Laski  worked  together :  they  introduced  the  reformation  into 
Elbing  and  Danzig,  and  all  seemed  prepared  for  the  separation 
of  Poland  from  Rome. 

It  is  remarkable  that,  worthy  of  praise  as  was  Vergerio's  con- 
duct, Calvin  constantly  warned  people  against  him,  and  mani- 
fested his  own  want  of  confidence  in  his  character :  he  calls  him 
a  double-minded,  ambitious,  covetous,  tricky,  vain,  unsettled 
man.  Laski  was  of  a  character  altogether  different  to  this.  In 
the  year  1557  we  again  find  Calvin  praising  this  excellent  man, 
in  a  letter  respecting  the  Poles : — "  If,  after  the  war  with  Liev- 
land,  the  reformation  of  the  church  be  steadily  carried  forward, 
Laski  will  assuredly  obtain  that  situation  with  the  king  which  is 
due  to  piety,  learning,  experience  and  ability.     The  only  danger 

*  MS.  Gen.  Calvin  to  Agnes  Dluska,  the  mother  of  some  young  men  study- 
ing at  Zurich.  4  Cal.  Jan.  1555. 


A.D.  1555-60.]       VACILLATION  OF  THE  POLES.  349 

is,  that  he  may  fail,  in  some  degree,  through  too  great  an  auste- 
rity*." 

A  synod  was  assembled  by  the  Catholics  at  Lowicz,  in  which 
the  abuses  of  the  church  were  spoken  of  with  great  boldness. 
It  had  indulged  of  late  in  new  excesses,  and  the  whole  people 
were  enraged  against  it ;  but  it  was  not  till  1559  that  an  attempt 
was  made  to  exclude  the  bishops  from  the  senate :  even  this 
proved  fruitless.  The  decrees  however  of  the  Council  of  Trent 
were  utterly  rejected  by  the  diet.  Thus  the  struggle  between 
the  two  parties  continued  for  years  without  any  decisive  event. 
Laski  died  in  15 GO,  and  saw  no  result  of  his  faithful  labours.  This 
indecision  on  the  part  of  the  Poles  greatly  distressed  Calvin  :  the 
volatile  Antitrinitarians  were  mixed  up  with  these  proceedings. 
We  learn  from  his  letters  to  Tarnowsky  the  real  state  of  affairs  at 
this  time :  he  had  suggested  to  the  timid  mind  of  his  correspon- 
dent the  following  noble  thoughts :  "  Whatever  dangers  may 
threaten  us,  the  overthrow  of  the  perishable  kingdom  of  this  world 
can  never  appear  a  matter  of  so  much  consequence  as  to  induce 
us,  in  order  to  uphold  it,  to  neglect  the  service  of  God  and  the 
pure  religion,  on  which  depends  our  eternal  salvation.  But  these 
fears  are  vain ;  for  Christ,  the  prince  of  peace,  would  soon  allay 
whatever  storms  Satan  might  excite."  Tarnowski  answered  the 
simple  minister  of  the  Gospel  in  a  haughty,  jesting  tone.  Calvin's 
patient  reply  to  his  ironical  objections  was  very  admirable,  and 
shows  with  what  force  and  ability  the  reformer  could  act  in  such 
circumstances. 

The  Reformation  could  make  no  progress  among  minds  so  va- 
cillating and  capricious,  and  which  did  not  feel  the  immediate 
tyranny  of  Rome,  the  people  in  general  knowing  nothing  of  the 
baptism  of  suffering,  or  of  the  penitence  to  which  it  leads,  as  in 
France,  England  and  Germany.  But  Calvin  performed  his  part : 
there  was  much  that  was  noble  in  his  correspondence  with  prince 
Radzivill,  that  ardent  champion  of  the  Reformation.  The  prince 
applied  to  him  at  an  early  period  of  the  movement,  and  desired 
to  be  called  his  friend ;  but  scarcely  had  he  become  confirmed  in 
his  faith,  when  the  restless  minds  by  which  he  was  surrounded 
began  to  disturb  the  unity  and  purity  of  the  doctrine  which  he 
had  been  led  to  embrace.  Lrclius  Socinus  was  among  the  first 
to  create  this  excitement.  Calvin,  as  we  have  seen,  commended 
him  with  affectionate  earnestness  to  the  Poles,  and  must  have 

*  MS.  Gen.  155  7. 


350  ANTITRINITARIANS  IN   POLAND.  [CHAP.  X. 

felt  for  him  originally  no  slight  regard.  At  a  later  period*  he 
expressed  strong  doubts  regarding  him,  and  seems,  after  some 
few  years,  to  have  thoroughly  understood  both  him  and  Ochi- 
nus  f.  Socinus  however  subsequently  awakened  new  hopes,  and 
was  immediately  received  in  the  most  friendly  manner:  he  had 
deceived,  in  fact,  both  Calvin  and  Bullinger;  the  former  obser- 
ving, in  writing  to  the  latter,  "that  he  willingly  readmitted  the 
now  tranquillized  Socinus  to  his  friendship,  seeing  that  he  had 
renounced  his  errors  J." 

But  to  understand  the  relation  in  which  Calvin  and  Socinus 
stood  to  each  other,  the  reader  must  refer  to  what  has  been  said 
in  an  earlier  part  of  this  work.     The  injury  which  these  seekers 
after  something  new  inflicted  on  the  church  was  greater  even 
than  the  evils  wrought  by  the  papists.     The  works  of  Servetus 
were  much  read  in  Poland.     Peter  Gonesius  was  the  first  to 
reduce  the  errors  of  the  Antitrinitarians  of  that  country  to  a  sy- 
stem: he  publicly  declared  his  opinions  in  1556,  and  the  pro- 
gress of  unbelief  was  so  rapid  and  overwhelming,  that  the  ruin 
of  the  reformed  churches  was  generally  expected.     We  have 
before  spoken  of  Blandrata  and  Stancar :  Calvin  earnestly  warned 
the  Poles  against  them.     At  the  synod  of  Pinczow,  1556,  and 
subsequently  to  that,  when  Laski  and  Stanislaus  Sarnicki  resisted 
these  false  teachers,  they  failed  to  attain  their  end.     Gregory 
Pauh,  who  took  Blandrata's  place  when  the  latter  was  obli-ed 
to  leave,  and  went  to  Siebenbiirgen,  professed,  without  secrecy, 
his  opposition  to  the  Trinity.     Gentilis,  Alciat,  and  Dudith,  ful- 
filled their  course  there.     The  parties  at  length  separated,  and 
in  the  year  1563  the  doctrines  of  the  Antitrinitarians  were  for- 
mally condemned  in  an  assembly  of  the  Reformed.     The  Anti- 
trinitarians now  united  with  each  other  in  one  body,  the  foun- 
dation of  the  union  being  their  common  belief  in  the  superiority 
of  the  Father  to  the  Son:  this  took  place  in  1565,  when  they 
received  their  constitution. 

But  Calvin  long  continued  to  cherish  hope,  and  he  rejoiced 
that  his  system  of  discipline  had,  at  least,  been  introduced  into 
Poland.  This  was  a  triumph  for  the  principles  of  the  Reforma- 
tion; but  the  Poles  were  too  fond  of  unbridled  liberty  to  be  able 
to  comprehend  the  worth  of  Calvinistic  severity.  In  the  letter 
last-cited  Calvin  admonished  them  to  establish  a  seminary  for 

*  MS.  Gen.  Calv.  Bullingero,  Aug.  7,  1554 

t  K5"  5ern- Calv*  Vilet0  et  Bez*>  AFil  10,  1556. 
J  MS.  Gen.  Calv.  Bullingero. 


A.D.  1555-60.]  TOLERATION  IN  POLAND.  351 

ministers.  About  the  same  time  he  entered  into  correspondence 
with  a  learned  and  pious  Pole,  Doctor  Andreas  Tricesius,  who 
had  been  requested  to  translate  the  Scriptures  into  the  language 
of  the  country.  He  wrote  also  to  Johannes  Bonar,  castellan  of 
Viecz,  to  persuade  him  to  become  responsible  for  the  expenses 
of  this  work*.  Laski,  some  time  before  his  death,  united  with 
several  persons,  some  of  whom  even  were  inclined  to  Socinianism, 
in  prosecuting  this  translation  of  the  Bible  into  Polish :  it  was 
printed  at  Brzewsc,  in  Lithuania,  in  the  year  1563. 

But  Calvin  was  often  justly  alarmed  at  the  signs  which  he  dis- 
covered of  a  restless  character :  the  whole  nation,  in  fact,  seemed 
to  him  in  a  suspicious  state,  for  few  only  proved  themselves  sin- 
cere f-  In  his  care  for  the  Poles  he  acted  in  a  manner  consistent 
with  his  general  character.  Thus  to  Stanislaus  Sarnicki,  who  be- 
sought him,  shortly  before  his  death,  again  to  address  his  people, 
he  replied  that  it  was  useless  for  him  now  to  write  to  them  on 
the  subject  of  the  Trinity,  for  that  his  ( Admonition '  to  the  Poles 
was  already  printed,  and  he  appended  it  to  his  letter.  This  Ad- 
monition was  not  indeed  the  last,  but  it  was  one  of  Calvin's  latest 
works,  and  his  regard  for  the  Poles  was  strikingly  proved  by  his 
taking  the  pains  to  prepare  it  for  the  press,  while  he  was  daily 
sinking  under  his  infirmities. 

It  is  interesting  for  us  to  know,  that  in  the  midst  of  these 
theological  struggles,  the  healthier  portion  of  the  congregations 
effected  that  which  was  not  accomplished  in  any  other  church  in 
Protestant  countries ;  that  is,  the  evangelical  members  of  the 
community  preserved  unity,  and  yet  retained  distinct  confessions. 
Poland  rendered  itself  remarkable,  from  the  first,  by  a  noble 
tolerance.  Punishment  for  heresy  was  wholly  abolished ;  and 
although  the  Catholics  constantly  advised  the  persecution  of 
those  who  fell  away,  and  even  Beza  himself  once  wished  strong 
measures  to  be  taken  against  the  Antitrinitarians,  the  govern- 
ment constantly  answered,  that  the  punishment  of  those  who 
entertained  different  opinions  was  wholly  forbidden.  Hence  the 
dissenters  among  the  Protestants  flocked  to  Poland  as  a  place  of 
refuge.  This  tolerance  and  mildness  led  to  the  union  of  the 
Swiss-reformed,  the  Bohemian  brethren,  or  Waldenses,  and  the 
Lutherans  J.  When  the  Bohemians  here  spoken  of  became 
known,  by  means  of  various  reformers,  in  Germany  and  Swit- 

*  Both  letters  are  in  the  MS.  Paris. 

f  MS.  Gen.  Calv.  Bullingero,  Sept.  12,  1563. 

t  Krasinskv,  s.  132,  142. 


352  PLAN  OF  REFORMATION.  [CHAP.  X. 

zerland,  for  their  orthodoxy,  the  Lutherans  evinced  their  readi- 
ness to  own  them  as  brethren,  notwithstanding  the  efforts  of 
Flacius  Ulyricus,  who  made  a  journey  to  Posen  to  hinder  it. 
After  many  disputes  and  delays,  and  after  the  Wittenbergers  had 
again  declared  themselves  in  favour  of  the  measure,  the  union  of 
the  churches  was  proclaimed  at  Sandomir  (1570)  in  a  synod, 
from  which  the  Antitrinitarians  were  excluded,  on  the  condition 
that  none  of  the  three  parties  should  force  its  particular  confes- 
sion upon  the  others,  but  that  all  should  adopt  a  general  Polish 
Confession. 

But  as  no  other  means  availed  to  uphold  the  Catholic  church, 
an  antagonist  was  now  raised  against  the  evangelical  party  far 
more  formidable  to  it  than  even  the  vacillation  and  disbelief  of 
some  of  its  members :  we  allude  to  the  Jesuits,  who  possessed 
themselves  of  all  the  resources  of  education.  Bishop  Hosius,  on 
his  return  from  Trent,  prayed  Lainez  to  send  him  some  of  his 
spiritual  soldiers  :  this  was  in  1564.  After  the  death  of  Sigis- 
mund  Augustus  in  1572,  they  had  freer  scope.  The  king,  though 
irresolute  in  character,  was  of  a  noble  and  gentle  disposition. 
There  is  little  doubt  that  he  would  willingly  have  adopted  the 
Protestant  doctrine,  and  that  form  of  it  which  was  preached  by 
the  Swiss  Calvinists.  His  plan,  as  recommended  to  him  by 
Laski,  was  to  let  the  reformation  spring  from  the  midst  of  the 
Polish  church  itself,  whence  a  constitution  would  be  secured  for 
it  similar  to  that  of  the  church  of  England.  But  during  the 
agitation  which  followed  his  reign,  the  Jesuits  made  great  strides ; 
a  warning  for  the  country,  which  can  only  regain  legitimate  free- 
dom through  the  illuminating  power  of  truth. 

In  France,  to  which  we  must  now  turn  our  attention,  the 
evangelical  church  was  destined  to  pursue  a  very  different 
course,  and  to  prepare  for  itself  a  future  not  allowed  to  Poland. 


A.D.  1558-GO.]   REFORMED  CHURCH  IN  FRANCE.         353 


CHAPTER  XL 

INFLUENCE   OF    CALVIN    IN    FRANCE. RAPID    DEVELOPMENT 

OF    THE    REFORMATION    IN    THE    FIRE    OF    PERSECUTION. 

MARTYRS  IN  THE  REIGN  OF  HENRY  II.  AT  LYONSjCHAMBERY, 

AND   OTHER    PLACES. CALVIN?S    DISTRESS. —  HE    EXHORTS 

THE     GERMAN     PRINCES     TO     INTERFERE. BEGINNING    OF 

THE  CHURCH  IN  PARIS. EMIGRATION    OF    THE    REFORMED 

TO    AMERICA. HEROIC    COURAGE    OF    THE    CONFESSORS. 

ANNE    DU    BOURG. SKETCH    OF    EVENTS    PRECEDING    THE 

COLLOQUY    OF    POISSY. BELIEF   AND    DISCIPLINE    OF   THE 

FRENCH    CHURCH. UNITY    OF    THE     CHURCH    UNDER    CAL- 

VIN'S    INFLUENCE. HIS    SUCCESS    AT    ITS    HIGHEST    POINT. 

ANIMATING    ADDRESS   TO    ALL    THE    GREAT    PERSONAGES 

IN  FRANCE  BELONGING  TO  THE  EVANGELICAL  PARTY. 

The  history  of  the  Gospel  in  France  is  that  of  the  heroism  of 
its  professors  on  the  one  side,  and  of  a  wrathful  antichristianity, 
combined  with  the  selfishness  of  the  French  princes,  on  the  other. 
Far  more  anxious  about  their  own  authority,  which  seemed  en- 
dangered by  the  new  faith,  than  concerned  respecting  the  defence 
of  the  Catholic  church,  the  Romish,  Spanish  and  French  courts 
exhibit  all  those  vices  concentrated  in  one  point  which  are  usually 
spread  over  a  wide  space.  The  superstition  of  the  priests,  the 
intrigues  of  the  Jesuits,  the  bloodthirsty  cruelty  of  the  regent, 
the  violation  of  morality  and  justice,  went  hand  in  hand.  Re- 
freshing is  it  to  contemplate  the  other  side  of  the  picture,  where 
we  see  evangelical  purity  displaying  its  best  influence.  A  won- 
derful phenomenon  indeed  it  was,  that  Lutheranism,  as  it  was 
then  called,  had  spread  to  a  wider  extent  in  France  than  in  any 
other  country,  except  Germany,  while  it  was  in  no  other  so  fear- 
fully oppressed. 

We  have  already  spoken  of  the  beginning  of  the  Reformation 
in  France.  The  city  of  Mcaux  was  the  central  point  of  the  he- 
roic conflict :  it  was  there  that  the  bishop,  Briconnet,  and  John 
Leclerc,  defended  their  theses  against  the  pope.  It  was  at  Meaux 
that  the  last  persecution  of  the  reformed  took  place  previous  to  the 
French  Reformation*.  That  great  champion  of  the  faith,  who  first 
preached  the  Gospel  in  Metz,  died  there  soon  after  he  had  pro- 

*  Coquerel,  Hist,  des  Eglises  du  Desert,  t.  ii.  towards  the  end. 
VOL.   II.  2  A 


354  REFORMED  CHURCH  IN  FRANCE.      [CHAP.XI. 

claimed  the  truth.  Pavans,  L'Ermite  de  Livry,  Denis  de  Rieux, 
Berquin,  Renier,  Caturce,  were  the  first  who,  through  their  suf- 
ferings in  the  flames,  kindled  a  holy  fire,  and  proved  anew  that 
the  blood  of  the  martyrs  is  the  seed  of  the  true  church.  Wrought 
upon  themselves  by  a  mighty  power,  they  wrought  powerfully 
upon  the  people,  so  that  a  Catholic  writer  of  that  period,  under 
the  influence  of  strong  emotion,  observes,  that  "  it  was  astonish- 
ing how  men  and  women,  nay,  even  young  girls,  went  joyfully  to 
die,  and  remained  firm  as  rocks  in  their  agony.  Such  examples, 
continually  repeated,  affected  equally  the  hearts  of  the  simple  and 
the  great ;  nor  could  they  who  were  thus  affected  believe  that 
the  sufferers  had  not  the  truth  on  their  side." 

We  have  before  described  how  that,  towards  the  end  of  the 
reign  of  Francis  I.,  the  Waldensian  villages  were  burnt,  in  the 
name  of  the  king,  while  their  unfortunate  inhabitants  were  either 
massacred  on  the  spot  or  sent  to  the  gallies.  It  has  also  been 
stated  that  the  king  felt  deeply  the  stings  of  conscience  before 
his  death,  and  how  the  city  of  Meaux  suffered  from  persecution. 

But  Henry  II.  had  now  ascended  the  throne,  and  was  sur- 
rounded by  four  advisers,  who  were  in  all  respects  the  most  de- 
termined enemies  of  the  Gospel :  they  were,  the  Cardinal  of  Lor- 
raine, Anne  de  Montmorency,  the  Marshal  St.  Andre,  and  the 
old  mistress  of  the  king,  Diana  of  Poictiers,  who  controlled  him, 
as  Beza  says,  by  a  sort  of  magic.  When  the  king  solemnized 
his  public  entry  into  Paris,  he  expressed  his  wish  to  see  one  of 
the  heretics.  A  poor  Huguenot  tailor  was  accordingly  brought 
to  him  :  the  tailor  was  a  man  whose  cowardice,  it  was  supposed, 
might  be  safely  reckoned  upon  ;  but,  contrary  to  expectation,  he 
proclaimed  with  energy  the  great  truths  of  the  Gospel;  and 
when  the  king,  hearing  him  address  Diana  of  Poictiers  somewhat 
rudely*,  desired  him  to  be  burnt,  he  fixed  his  eyes  so  firmly  on 
the  monarch,  that  the  latter  could  never  forget  his  look.  Many 
others  were  burnt  in  Paris  at  this  festival,  and  the  same  spectacle 
presented  itself  on  all  sides.  Beza  gives  a  connected  detail  of 
the  occurrences  of  the  period  f,  extending  to  the  year  1553. 

On  the  21st  of  June,  1551,  the  king  issued  the  edict  of  Cha- 
teau-briant,  which  renewed  all  those  previously  published,  and 
committed  the  trial  and  punishment  of  heretics,  hitherto  divided 
among  several,   to  one  tribunal  exclusively,  invested  with  the 

*  "  Madame,"  he  said,  "be  contented  with  having  infected  France,  and  do 
not  mix  your  bad  odour  with  things  so  sacred  as  the  truth  of  God." 
f  Beza,  I.  c.  i.  p.  84. 


A.D.   1558-60.]         PERSECUTION  IN   FRANCE.  355 

power  of  life  and  death.  The  parliament  was  blamed  for  having 
been  remiss  in  the  prosecution  of  such  offenders ;  and  it  was 
ordered  that  the  possessions  of  all  those  who  fled  should  be  con- 
fiscated, and  that  no  book  printed  in  Geneva,  or  in  any  of  the 
reformed  states,  should  be  admitted  into  the  kingdom.  The 
monarch,  not  contented  with  this,  went  a  step  further,  and  ap- 
pointed Matthias  Ori,  of  whom  we  have  spoken  in  the  trial  of 
Servetus  at  Vienne,  as  chief  inquisitor. 

The  year  1553  was  rendered  remarkable  by  the  death  of  a  great 
many  holy  martyrs,  among  whom  were  the  five  students  at  Lyons 
before  alluded  to.  The  Cardinal  Tournon,  who  had  gained  great 
renown  as  a  persecutor  of  heretics,  had  promised,  on  passing  in 
his  journey  from  Italy  through  Bern,  to  interest  himself  in  be- 
half of  the  accused  ;  but  he  was  mocking  the  Bernese.  As  soon 
as  he  learnt  that  the  king  was  inclined  to  yield  in  some  degree,  he 
employed  his  influence  to  the  utmost  to  persuade  him  to  stronger 
measures.  The  numerous  letters  however  sent  by  the  Bernese 
occasioned  a  delay  in  the  execution  of  the  five  students,  and 
they  found  time  to  carry  on  the  work  of  evangelical  conversion. 
Cresphr's  Martyrology  has  preserved  several  letters  written  by 
Calvin  to  the  sufferers. 

But  if  this  period  was  rich  in  witnesses  to  the  truth,  how  much 
more  so  was  the  year  1555  !  It  was  during  this  year  that  the  bishops 
Hooper,  Ridley,  Latimer,  and  Cranmer,  were  condemned  to  the 
flames  in  England,  the  last-named  suddenly  evincing  the  Chris- 
tian greatness  which  lay  hid  within  him.  France  rivaled  En- 
gland in  this  conflict ;  and  Calvin  wrote  to  encourage  the  church 
there,  especially  afflicted  by  the  death  of  five  other  confessors 
burnt  at  Chambery.  The  sufferings  of  the  persons  here  spoken 
of  were  almost  more  edifying  than  those  of  the  former  martyrs. 
Three  of  them  were  ministers.  Like  the  five  students,  they  had 
all  left  Geneva  singing  psalms  as  they  went  forth  witli  the  grand 
design  of  spreading  the  Gospel  in  France,  and  winning  souls 
for  the  Lord,  although  they  beheld  on  all  sides  the  smoke  of 
burning  piles,  and  had  so  many  examples  to  deter  them  from 
their  course.  The  fulness  of  joy  inspired  by  the  Holy  Spirit  was 
shown  conspicuously  in  these  martyrs.  Having  been  speedily 
apprehended,  they  attained  their  end  by  leading  many  others, 
through  the  grandeur  of  their  devotion,  to  a  similar  confession*. 

One  of  these  martyrs,  Anton  Laborie.  was  married.    We  quote 
some  words  of  a  letter  which  he  wrote  while  in  prison  to  his 
•   Hist,  dea  Martyrs,  p.  345,  and  Beza,  Hi*r.  Krrles.  p.  f)7. 

2  a  2 


356  PERSECUTION   IN   FRANCE.  [CHAP.   XI 

wife.  They  prove  how  high  Calvin  stood  in  the  estimation  and 
confidence  of  these  believers,  who  must  doubtless  have  known 
him  better  than  his  modern  vilifiers,  "Anna,  my  good  sister  ! 
you  know  that  you  are  still  young,  and  are  about  to  be  sepa- 
rated from  my  society.  If  such  be  God's  good  will  for  us,  com- 
fort yourself  in  Him,  and  with  the  thought  that  Jesus  Christ  is 
your  Father  and  your  Husband.  I  am  convinced  that  He  will 
not  forsake  you.  Pray  to  Him  without  ceasing  for  his  holy 
word.  Flee  the  society  of  the  wicked;  seek  that  of  the  pious. 
Follow  not  your  own  conceits,  but  the  counsel  of  our  right- 
minded  friends,  especially  that  of  Mr.  Calvin.  He  will  not  let  you 
come  to  any  harm,  if  you  act  according  to  his  wish ;  and  you 
know  that  he  is  led  by  the  Holy  Ghost.  If  you  many  again, 
and  I  advise  you  to  do  so,  I  beg  you  to  hearken  to  his  opinion, 
and  to  do  nothing  without  him." 

Calvin's  messengers  fearlessly  penetrated  into  the  deepest  dun- 
geons. He  wrote  to  the  heroic  confessors  at  the  beginning  of  their 
imprisonment,  and  while  they  were  not  yet  so  fully  confirmed  in 
their  resolution.  Wishing  to  inspire  them  with  a  holy  tranquillity 
against  the  approaching  conflict,  he  says,  "  My  brothers  !  as 
soon  as  we  were  informed  of  your  imprisonment,  I  sent  a  mes- 
senger to  you.  It  is  not  necessary  to  tell  you  what  care  we  feel 
for  you,  and  in  what  distress  your  bonds  hold  us.  I  doubt  not 
that  since  so  many  believers  are  praying  for  you,  our  good  God 
will  grant  you  your  wish,  and  hear  your  sighs.  I  can  see  indeed 
from  your  letters  how  he  has  already  begun  to  work  in  you.  If  the 
weakness  of  the  flesh  show  itself  somewhat  therein,  and  prove 
that  you  have  to  endure  a  hard  struggle,  I  do  not  wonder  there- 
at, but  praise  God  for  giving  you  the  victory.  Fulfil  now  what 
you  have  learnt ;  and  since  it  has  pleased  the  Master  to  employ 
you  in  his  service,  go  forward  therein  as  you  have  begun. 
Although  the  door  is  shut  to  you,  and  you  can  no  longer  edify 
those  to  whom  you  were  sent  by  teaching,  yet  will  the  witness 
which  you  are  about  to  give  strengthen  them  from  afar.  God 
will  add  such  force  to  this  testimony,  that  it  shall  sound  much 
farther  than  the  human  voice  can  reach.  With  regard  to  any 
earthly  means  for  effecting  your  deliverance,  I  would  that  we 
possessed  them,  even  though  they  afforded  no  hope  of  success. 
We  will  certainly  do  whatever  in  us  lies,  but  God  instructs 
us  to  take  a  higher  view.  Your  main  object  must  be  so  to  col- 
lect your  thoughts,  that  you  may  find  rest  in  his  fatherly  good- 
ness, not  doubting  but  that  He  will  guard  both  your  body  and 


A.D.   1558-60.]  PERSECUTION   IN   FRANCE.  357 

spirit ;  and  that  if  the  blood  of  the  faithful  be  precious  to  Him, 
He  will  manifestly  show  that  it  is  so  in  your  case,  seeing  that  He 
has  chosen  you  for  his  witnesses.  If  it  be  his  good  pleasure  to 
make  use  of  your  lives  as  a  seal  to  the  truth, — (you  know  that 
this  is  a  sacrifice  of  the  highest  worth  to  him) — let  it  be  your  con- 
solation, that  leaving  all  in  his  hands  you  can  lose  nothing ;  for  if 
he  keeps  us  under  his  guardianship  even  in  this  imperfect  state, 
how  much  more  will  he  not  be  the  guardian  of  our  souls  when 
He  has  taken  us  back  to  Himself  1" 

No  church  had  as  yet  been  regularly  formed.  The  martyrs 
were  preachers.  But  in  this  season  of  confusion,  a  young  man, 
De  la  Riviere,  the  son  of  the  sieur  de  Launay,  made  the  first  at- 
tempt to  found  a  church  in  Paris.  This  church  continued  to 
flourish  till  the  reign  of  Louis  XV.,  when  it  was  destroyed,  and 
did  not  revive  till  after  the  revolution.  The  father,  a  decided 
enemy  of  the  Gospel,  implored  his  son  not  to  kill  him  with  grief. 
Some  friends  however  led  the  young  man  to  Paris,  where  he  held 
prayer-meetings  in  the  house  of  De  la  Ferriere ;  the  latter  re- 
solved not  to  let  his  infant  child  be  baptized  according  to  the 
Romish  rites ;  and  the  community  now  formed  elected  Riviere 
for  their  minister,  and  also  appointed  elders  and  deacons.  All 
this  took  place  under  the  eyes  of  the  parliament,  which  established 
a  chambre  ardente  in  the  city,  where  the  Sorbonne  and  the  people 
gave  full  scope  to  their  rage.  The  congregation  of  which  we 
have  spoken  existed  till  1557- 

Calvin  addressed  the  ministers,  elders  and  deacons,  for  the  first 
time,  January  5,  1556.  His  language  was  strong  and  encoura- 
ging ;  he  told  them  that  he  was  anxious  for  their  welfare,  and  sent 
them  a  minister  from  Geneva.  They  had  asked  for  another,  but 
he  would  have  too  much  excited,  says  Calvin,  the  wrath  of  the 
enemy.  Beza,  Viret,  or  Farcl,  must  have  been  the  person  alluded 
to.  A  letter  written  to  Calvin  from  Paris,  in  1557,  by  Thomas 
Querculus,  who  had  been  chosen  the  minister  of  the  congrega- 
tion then  existing  there,  shows  that  it  was  well-established  and 
flourishing.  "  Resting,"  he  says,  "  upon  the  strong  arm  of  the 
Lord,  it  becomes  exalted  more  and  more  every  day  */*  The 
writer  also  expresses  his  wish  for  a  personal  consultation  with 
Calvin.  Meaux,  Angers,  Poictiers,  and  many  other  cities,  fol- 
lowed the  example  of  the  capital,  and  formed,  amid  numberless 
dangers,  their  several  little  communities. 

In  the  year  1557  the  persecutors  became  dissatisfied  with  the 
*  xMS.  Goth. 


358  PERSECUTION  IN   FRANCE.  [CHAP.  XI. 

proceedings  which  they  had  hitherto  instituted.  The  Cardinal 
Lorraine  induced  the  king  to  establish  a  tribunal  for  the  trial  of 
heresy.  The  bull  of  the  pope  confirming  the  design  was  pub- 
lished on  the  2Gth  of  April,  but  some  difficulty  still  attended  the 
execution  of  the  plan.  The  battle  of  St.  Quentin  occurred :  the 
evangelical  church  at  Paris  occupied  itself  in  prayer,  beseeching 
the  Lord  to  turn  away  his  wrath  from  the  land.  Great  excite- 
ment prevailed.  On  the  4th  of  September,  the  faithful,  to  the 
number  of  four  hundred,  assembled  in  the  night,  that  they  might 
celebrate  the  Lord's  Supper  with  greater  solemnity.  A  sermon 
was  preached  on  1  Cor.  chap.  xi.  But  the  priests  had  discovered 
the  meeting  and  given  the  alarm.  About  midnight  they  rushed 
in  with  horrible  clamours,  and  fell  upon  the  congregation  as  it 
was  preparing  to  depart.  Some  exclaimed  that  they  were  mur- 
derers, others  Lutherans,  and  the  people  just  awoke  from  sleep 
hastened  to  the  spot  armed  with  halberds.  Many  of  the  gentle- 
men of  the  congregation  opened  a  way  for  themselves  with  their 
swords,  but  the  others  remained  shut  in,  and  guarded  by  the 
people  till  the  arrival  of  the  magistrates.  The  latter  learnt  on 
inquiry,  that  the  congregation  employed  itself  in  reading  the 
word  of  God,  in  prayer,  and  in  partaking  of  the  sacrament;  that 
all  disturbers  of  the  peace,  thieves  and  adulterers,  were  rigidly 
excluded  from  the  society  ;  that  supplication  was  made  for  the 
king,  as  appeared  by  the  liturgy ;  and  that  the  service  ended  with 
singing  of  psalms.  It  appeared  that  many  of  the  females,  of 
whom  there  were  about  140  in  the  congregation,  were  women  of 
the  first  families.  The  multitude  attacked  them  furiously  as 
they  were  conveyed  from  the  place  of  meeting. 

The  common  voice  was  against  the  persecuted,  and  the  king 
suffered  himself  to  be  led  by  the  clergy.  The  misery  of  France 
was  ascribed  to  the  Protestants,  as  the  misfortunes  of  the  empire 
were  to  the  Christians  in  the  time  of  the  primitive  church.  It 
was  vulgarly  reported  that  as  soon  as  they  extinguished  the  lights, 
the  congregation  gave  itself  up  to  every  species  of  licentiousness. 

All  those  who  had  been  apprehended  were  cast  into  the  most 
wretched  dungeons.  Their  relatives  despatched  messengers  to 
Germany  and  Switzerland  to  excite  the  princes  of  the  Reformed 
states  to  intercede  in  their  behalf.  Twenty-one  were  condemned 
to  die  in  the  flames,  and  three  were  speedily  led  to  execution. 
Beza  describes  the  death  of  the  youthful  Gravelle,  of  the  aged 
Clinet,  and  of  the  beautiful  Philippa  de  Luns,  in  her  23rd  year, 
widow  of  the   sieur  de  Graveron,   lately  deceased.     The  2/th 


A.D.   1558-60.]  MARTYRS  IN  FRANCE.  359 

of  September  was  the  day  of  their  death,  and  of  their  triumph  ; 
the  day  on  which  the  Holy  Ghost  was  to  exhibit  its  power  in  the 
youth,  the  aged  man,  and  the  weak  woman.  Many  similar  spec- 
tacles were  presented  to  the  people  in  this  Babel. 

But  in  the  meantime  Geneva  had  turned  its  attention  to  these 
proceedings  ;  and  it  is  interesting  to  see  how  Calvin,  while  ex- 
horting the  sufferers  boldly  to  encounter  martyrdom,  employed 
with  fatherly  anxiety  all  the  earthly  means  in  his  power  for  their 
deliverance.  The  popular  excitement  was  now  somewhat  abated, 
for  no  insurrection  broke  out,  as  the  enemy  had  pretended  would 
be  the  case;  the  slanders  also  which  had  been  circulated  were 
confuted.  A  mother,  whose  daughters  it  was  said  had  been  dis- 
honoured, proved  the  falsehood  of  the  charge  before  a  judicial 
tribunal.  Still  greater  benefit  was  conferred  on  the  persecuted 
by  the  publication  of  a  little  book,  spoken  of  in  the  Livre  des 
Martyrs,  and  in  which  the  testimony  of  the  fathers  is  adduced 
in  behalf  of  their  doctrine.  It  was  written  by  a  minister  of  the 
church  in  Paris,  named  Chandieu.  A  Sorbonnist  and  inquisitor, 
De  Mouchi,  answered  it  with  senseless  fury. 

While  Calvin  despatched  Beza  and  Bude  to  the  German  can- 
tons and  to  Germany  itself,  with  all  possible  speed,  in  order  to 
take  measures  for  the  liberation  of  the  prisoners,  he  addressed 
the  latter  in  a  style  of  heroic  earnestness.  "  We  give  you  no 
other  counsel  but  that  which  we  should  ourselves  wish  to  adopt, 
were  we  in  your  case.  It  is  better  for  us  to  hope  for  no  safety 
here,  but  to  expect  a  certain  death,  rather  than  fix  a  stain  on  the 
Gospel  through  our  deceit  or  disbelief.  Fruitful  indeed  are  the 
ashes  of  the  martyrs,  whereas  mere  human  designs  bring  with 
them  sterility  and  a  brand*.'5  At  the  same  time  he  wrote  to  a  mini- 
ster, imprisoned  in  Piedmont,  exhorting  him  to  a  similar  exercise 
of  fortitude  :  this  bold  champion  of  the  truth  stood  firm,  was 
strangled  and  burnt.  It  was  commonly  reported  that  when  the 
flames  ascended,  a  white  dove  flew  round  about  the  fire, — an 
image  of  the  purity  of  the  martyr,  whose  soul  was  ascending  to 
God. 

Calvin  expressed  himself  with  great  joy  at  the  progress  of  the 
Gospel  in  France.  "  Wonderfully,"  he  says,  "  does  God  protect 
the  truth.  The  church  in  Paris  has  now  four  courageous  mini- 
sters ;  and  the  number  of  the  assemblies  increases  on  all  sides." 
We  see  from  a  great  variety  of  letters,  that  Calvin  was  daily 
sending  forth  emissaries,  who,  although  not  always  ministers, 

*  Ed.  Laus.  Ep.  243.  Ed.  Amstel.  p.  IT'2.     MS.  Gen.  a  Mile,  de  Pantigny. 


360  EMIGRATION  TO  BRAZIL.  [CHAP.  XI. 

were  sufficiently  advanced  in  knowledge  to  instruct  those  who 
were  disposed  to  learn  ;  and  probably  carried  evangelical  books 
with  them,  as  is  done  by  the  colporteurs  of  the  modern  evan- 
gelical societies. 

An  emigration  to  the  states  of  Brazil  took  place  about  this  time. 
It  is  an  error  to  speak  of  a  formal  mission  to  that  country  ;  but 
it  appears  from  a  letter  written  by  the  minister  of  the  emigrants, 
Richer,  that  they  occasionally  employed  their  thoughts  about  the 
conversion  of  the  heathen.  This  experiment  at  colonization 
dates  from  the  year  1557.  A  certain  Maltese  knight,  Villega- 
gnon,  had  represented  to  the  Admiral  Coiigny,  that  he  might 
form  a  secure  establishment  in  America,  take  with  him  the  perse- 
cuted believers,  people  the  land,  and  convert  the  heathen.  The 
scheme  appeared  so  feasible,  that  the  admiral  was  altogether  in- 
clined to  adopt  it.  A  little  island  belonging  to  Brazil  was  taken 
possession  of  by  Villegagnon,  and  received  the  name  of  Coiigny. 
Ministers  and  emigrants  were  now  invited  out.  Geneva  sent 
Richer  and  Chartier ;  but,  contrary  to  the  hope  which  he  first 
held  out  to  the  community,  Villegagnon  opposed  the  Calvinists, 
persecuted  them  according  to  the  French  edict,  and  treated  them 
as  deceivers.  Four  of  them,  after  making  an  excellent  confes- 
sion of  their  faith,  were  by  his  orders  thrown  into  the  sea ;  the 
others  fled  to  France  *. 

We  have  already  alluded  to  the  journey  undertaken  by  Farel, 
Beza  and  Bude,  during  the  controversy  on  the  Confession  of 
Faith,  for  the  purpose  of  interesting  the  German  princes  in  be- 
half of  the  reformed.  Frequent  mention  is  made  of  these  pro- 
ceedings in  Calvin's  correspondence ;  he  did  whatever  lay  in  his 
power  to  lessen  the  distress  which  prevailed,  and  set  every  en- 
gine at  work  which  could  be  employed  for  that  purpose.  The 
state  of  political  affairs  seemed  favourable  to  his  efforts:  Henry 
II.  required  the  help  of  the  German  Protestants  against  Spain. 
But  on  the  other  hand,  sad  and  discouraging  were  the  dissen- 
sions which  the  Lutherans  had  introduced  into  Germany.  The 
cantons  sent  a  new  embassy  to  the  king  :  their  petition  was  sup- 
ported by  the  letters  of  the  Elector  Palatine  ;  and  the  king  seemed 
inclined  to  listen,  the  battle  of  St.  Quentin  having  convinced  him 
that  it  would  be  impolitic  further  to  embitter  the  Germans. 
Calvin  urged  the  elector  Otto  Heinrich  to  take  a  part  in  this  work, 

*  Job.  v.  Lory,  an  eye-witness,  has  given  an  account  of  the  horrors  attend- 
ing the  journey  home.  He  was  subsequently  a  reformed  minister  at  Bern. 
See  Diet,  des  Iiommes  Illust. 


A.D.  1558-60.]  PERSECUTION  IN  FRANCE.  3G1 

and  earnestly  entreated  him  to  send  an  embassy  to  France*. 
From  a  letter  to  the  court-preacher  Dillcr,  we  find  that  the 
prince,  deceived  by  false  representations,  would  not  follow  the 
example  of  the  other  princes  in  sending  ambassadors  :  he  had 
been  led  to  believe  that  the  prisoners  were  already  liberated. 

The  persecution  in  the  meantime  pursued  its  course.  "  In 
February  1558/'  says  Calvin,  in  a  letter  to  Farelf?  "  our  very  dear 
friends  Beza  and  Bude  travelled  for  the  third  time  to  visit  the 
German  princes.  The  king  has  besought  three  cardinals  from 
Antichrist  to  superintend  the  inquisition.  The  Cardinal  Lorraine 
has  all  the  power  in  his  own  hands/'  Beza  had  journeyed  to 
Frankfort,  where  an  assembly  of  the  electors  was  to  be  held : 
the  Germans  expended  their  time  as  usual  in  long  debate,  and 
approved  the  faith  of  the  persecuted  believers ;  but  they  did  not 
arrive  at  the  determination  to  interfere  in  their  behalf,  till  many 
of  them  had  already  suffered  in  the  flames.  Several  prisoners 
however  were  delivered  through  the  intercession  of  the  Protest- 
ant princes.  The  delay  which  occurred  might  be  attributed  to 
the  unchristian  influence  of  the  Lutheran  zealots. 

It  is  well  to  observe  how  nobly  Calvin  laboured  to  cheer 
and  uphold  the  oppressed  churches  in  the  midst  of  these  dan- 
gers J.  "  The  Lord/'  he  says,  "  guards  us  with  more  care, 
than  ever  did  a  bird  protect  its  young  under  the  cover  of  its 
wings.  As  we  see  that  the  reins  are  given  to  the  devil,  and  that 
he  is  suffered  to  trouble  the  poor  church  on  all  sides,  place  your- 
selves again  under  the  banner  of  Jesus  Christ ;  go  into  his  school, 
that  you  may  daily  be  instructed  better;  and  pray  your  God  that 
He  may  have  mercy  upon  you  as  redeemed  children." 

When  Calais,  in  1558,  was  recovered  by  France,  the  king's 
courage  revived,  and  the  cardinal  succeeded  in  establishing  the 
tribunal  of  which  we  have  before  spoken;  while  Henry  II.  fa- 
voured the  Guises,  he  promoted  the  growth  of  parties,  and  the 
misfortunes  of  the  country.  It  is  an  error  however  to  suppose, 
as  some  have  done,  that  the  movements  which  now  took  place 
were  the  result  of  political  schemes  formed  under  the  mask  of 
religion.  A  sufficient  number  indeed  of  political  springs  had 
been  set  in  motion ;  but  faith  was  also  exercising  its  mighty  in- 
fluence, as,  in  Germany,  the  proceedings  of  Maurice  of  Saxony 
were  not  independent  of  religious  impulses. 

On  the  side  of  the  Catholics,  fanatical  rage  was  not  wanting; 

*  Ed.  Laus.  Ep.  257-  Ed.  Amst.  p.  125. 

t  MS.  Gen.  Calw  Farello,  Feb.  2i,  1558.  J   MS.  Gen.  Mai.  2S,  1559. 


362  PROGRESS  OF  THE  REFORMED  CHURCH.     [CHAP.  XI. 

but  the  evangelical  party  were  desiring  truth.  It  is  confessed*, 
that  inasmuch  as  the  Calvinistic  system  had  a  moral  tendency 
far  stricter  than  the  Lutheran,  while  the  court  of  France  was 
distinguished  by  its  sensuality,  a  fiercer  hostility  was  created 
between  the  two  parties  in  France  than  in  Germany,  where  the 
princes  were  more  moral  and  temperate.  The  churches  how- 
ever grew  and  were  strengthened  in  spirit ;  although,  according 
to  report,  no  fewer  than  fifty  thousand  Huguenots  perished  du- 
ring the  reigns  of  Francis  I.  and  Henry  Il.f  Calvin  now,  for 
the  first  time,  called  the  evangelical  "  Protestants  J.'5  Some  ex- 
citement was  created  by  the  news  which  was  brought,  that  many 
of  the  reformed  wore  the  red  cap,  as  a  mark  of  distinction. 
Calvin  expressed  his  dislike  to  this  custom  in  a  letter  to  the 
Admiral  Coligny. 

The  affairs  of  the  evangelical  church  now  took  another  form. 
Its  martyrs  had  hitherto  been  for  the  most  part  of  the  humbler 
classes  ;  but  the  great  men  of  the  kingdom  now  began  to  declare 
themselves  its  champions,  without  however  entering  into  formal 
union.  The  king  of  Navarre  went  to  liberate  Chandieu,  one  of 
the  ministers  of  the  church  in  Paris,  with  his  own  hand,  from 
prison.  Andelot  Coligny  took  the  minister  Carmel  to  his  estate 
in  Brittany,  and  let  him  publicly  preach  there.  Gaspar  Coligny, 
the  admiral,  remained,  after  the  taking  of  St.  Quentin,  a  prisoner 
in  the  Netherlands.  Calvin  wrote  to  him  in  the  elevated  style 
in  which  he  was  accustomed  to  address  the  great,  and  exhorted 
him  to  read  the  Gospel.  "  You  know,"  he  said,  "how  depraved 
the  world  is ;  take  heed  then  not  to  involve  yourself  in  things 
which  may  pollute  you :  everything  is  now  permitted  except 
the  confession  of  the  true  faith.  Let  us  then  so  lay  to  our  hearts 
the  honour  of  God  as  not  to  hesitate  to  tread  all  things  under- 
foot, when  the  extending  of  his  kingdom  is  concerned,  for  the 
grace  of  the  Lord  shines  infinitely  higher  than  the  favour  of  all 
mankind."  Again :  "  This  letter  will  show  that  I  entertain  a 
holy  care  for  you,  and  brings  its  apology  with  it."  Again  ex- 
horting him  to  give  himself  wholly  to  the  Lord,  he  says  :  "  Trust 
in  the  word  of  Christ,  and  all  other  things  shall  be  added  thereto." 
Another  letter  was  written  the  same  day  addressed  to  the  wife  of 
the  admiral,  as  if  that  already  sent  was  not  sufficiently  im- 
pressive. Coligny  was  converted  ;  and  never  had  Calvin  had  a 
scholar  like  this  distinguished  man,  who,  still  in  the  prime  of 

*  A  thought  suggested  by  Leo's  Weltgeschichte,  s.  219- 

f  Ruchat,  t.  vi.  p.  320.  J  MS.  Bern,  Sept.  12,  1558.  Calv.  Farello. 


A. D.  1558-60.]   PROGRESS  OF  THE  REFORMED  CHURCH.   363 

life,  became  a  mighty  instrument  in  the  diffusion  of  the  truth. 
It  was  not  till  fourteen  years  after  his  conversion  that  he 
ended  his  glorious  career*.  Calvin  again  wrote  to  the  Lady 
Coligny,  expressed  his  sorrow  at  the  captivity  of  her  husband, 
and  reminded  her  that  it  was  "  her  duty  to  help  him,  by  her  ex- 
ample, to  preserve  his  resolution."  This  was  a  grand  period  for 
Calvin :  the  minister  of  Geneva  was  the  pastor  of  all  the  great 
men  in  France. 

The  ambassadors  of  the  German  princes  now  stood  before 
Henry  II. :  he  answered  them  graciously,  but  kept  none  of  his 
promises.  At  this  very  time  the  members  of  the  evangelical 
church  had  assembled  in  the  Pre  des  Clercs  at  Paris,  and  were 
singing  psalms  in  their  customary  strain  of  exalted  devotion. 
The  king  of  Navarre  and  his  queen  were  present ;  multitudes 
thronged  to  the  spot,  and  many  climbed  the  trees  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood that  they  might  the  better  hear  the  sweet  and  sacred 
melody.  Henry  was  in  the  camp  at  Amiens.  It  was  told  him 
that  an  insurrection  had  broken  out.  Andelot  was  accused,  and 
after  making  a  bold  confession  was  thrown  into  prison.  Calvin 
was  ready  with  his  encouraging  exhortations.  "  He  must 
strengthen  himself/'  he  said,  "  against  all  flattery,  and  against 
every  fear.  He  must  be  as  Moses  was,  who  left  the  Egyptian 
court  to  take  upon  him  the  reproaches  of  Christ.  We  must  con- 
fess the  Lord,  or  the  Lord  will  not  confess  us."  The  prisoner 
was  treated  severely.  Calvin  again  addressed  him  :  "  God  will 
strengthen  you  by  his  Spirit.  We  must  bear  the  image  of  Christ, 
not  in  death  only,  but  in  burial ;  even  though  we  faint,  and  lie  as 
it  were  a  long  time  under  the  earth. — The  companions  of  Daniel 
would  not  pray  to  the  idol ;  but  they  committed  no  crime  against 
their  king." 

But  so  grievously  was  Andelot  afflicted,  that  he  once  allowed 
himself  to  be  conducted  to  hear  mass.  Calvin  thus  reproved 
him  : — "  The  enemies  of  the  truth  have  celebrated  their  victory : 
they  have  gained  a  triumph  in  your  person,  as  they  think,  over 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  covered  his  doctrine  with  disgrace. 
Think  on  the  martyrs,  in  the  time  of  the  Maccabees,  who  died 
rather  than  eat  the  flesh  of  an  unclean  animal,  because  to  have 
done  so  would  have  been  to  testify  against  their  belief.  But  I 
will  not  overwhelm  you  with  .sorrow." 

The  custom  of  singing  psalms  in  the  streets  greatly  increased 
in  the  South,  and  led  to  some  disturbances.    Claude,  a  minister 

*    His  death  took  place  in  l.">7_\ 


3G1  PROGRESS  OF  THE   REFORMED  CHURCH.      [CHAP.  XI. 

at  Lyons,  relates  that  the  faithful  went  singing  through  the 
streets  in  the  evening.  The  edict  of  the  king,  now  published, 
forbad  this  practice.  This  impelled  a  number  of  excitable  minds 
so  much  the  more  to  sing  their  psalms  in  the  night.  Claude 
prayed  Calvin  to  employ  his  authority  for  the  suppression  of 
such  proceedings. 

The  year  1559  was  still  more  unquiet.  A  peace  was  con- 
cluded with  Spain  ;  and,  according  to  one  of  the  conditions, 
heresy  was  to  be  assailed  and  rooted  out  by  every  means  that 
could  be  employed.  In  the  month  of  August  it  was  heard  that 
Paul  IV.  had  breathed  his  last,  and  had  recommended  the  In- 
quisition, as  the  only  sufficient  means  for  the  purpose,  to  em- 
ploy itself  against  the  Protestants.  But  just  as  he  was  ex- 
piring a  popular  tumult  broke  out ;  the  palace  of  the  Inquisition 
was  torn  down,  and  the  prisoners  were  set  free.  The  re- 
formed churches  of  Switzerland  were  now  in  the  greatest  state 
of  agitation :  this  was  especially  the  case  with  Bern  and  Ge- 
neva ;  but  they  were  narrowly  watched.  Geneva,  as  the  central 
point  of  the  light,  was  the  most  hated  of  all.  It  was  the  time 
when  rich  and  poor  laboured  at  the  fortifications ;  and  when  we 
look  at  the  court  of  France,  and  at  the  death-bed  of  the  pope,  it 
is  interesting  to  turn  round  and  behold  the  simple,  energetic 
reformer  rising  from  his  study-table,  spread  over  with  his  Com- 
mentary and  his  Institutions,  and  going  forth  to  encourage  by 
his  example  the  erection  of  the  city-walls.  It  was  at  the  end  of 
this  year  that  he  was  admitted  to  the  rights  of  a  burgher*. 

The  Gospel  was  now  extended  throughout  France.  Bcza 
speaks  of  a  young  man  in  Paris,  named  Jean  Morel,  who  died 
with  remarkable  fortitude.  The  priests  proclaimed  aloud,  "  Death 
to  all  Lutherans;"  and  as  soon  as  any  one  was  so  called,  the 
people  fell  upon  him  with  unbridled  fury.  Some  of  those  who  had 
been  present  on  the  night  when  the  sacrament  was  administered, 
and  who  were  still  prisoners  in  Paris,  besought  consolation  from 
Calvin,  and  he  wrote  to  them  in  his  usual  comforting  and  ani- 
mating strain  f. 

In  the  midst  of  these  sanguinary  persecutions,  deputies  from 
all  the  reformed  churches  in  France  secretly  assembled  in  Paris. 

*  Registres  de  1559,  25  Dec.  Many  ministers  and  professors,  it  is  said, 
having  demanded  and  obtained  the  right  of  citizenship,  M.  Calvin  was  re- 
quested to  accept  it  also  ;  he  expressed  his  thankfulness  for  the  honour,  and 
added,  that  he  had  not  asked  for  it  before,  because  he  was  anxious  to  avoid 
giving  any  colour  to  the  suspicions  which  some  had  wickedly  suggested,  as  to 
his  wishing  to  gain  political  influence  and  power  in  Geneva. 

t  MS.  Gen.  Feb.  15,  1559- 


A.D.  1558-60.]  PROGRESS  OF  THE  REFORMED  CHURCH.   3G5 

The  well-known  Confession  of  Faith  was  drawn  up,  and,  with 
the  rule  of  discipline,  reduced  to  forty  articles :  thus  was  esta- 
blished the  unity  of  the  French  church.  The  plan  on  which 
this  proceeding  was  founded  had  been  formed  after  the  admi- 
nistration of  the  Lord's  Supper  at  Poictiers,  where  many  ministers 
were  assembled  on  the  occasion.  The  first  general  synod  met 
at  Paris  on  the  26th  of  May,  1559,  and  through  the  influence  of 
the  minister  Chandieu,  the  formulary  was  solemnly  set  forth  in 
writing  on  the  28th  of  the  same  month.  Thus  the  foundation- 
stone  was  laid,  and  herewith  begins  the  life  of  the  French  re- 
formed church*.  The  rule  of  discipline  established  for  its 
guidance  realized  the  theory  which  Calvin  had  fully  exhibited 
in  his  '  Institutions,'  but  which  he  could  only  imperfectly  exe- 
cute at  Geneva. 

The  Paris  parliament  was  also  assembled  at  this  time,  and 
employed  itself  in  devising  measures  for  the  suppression  of 
heresy.  Some  of  the  members  spoke  of  a  general  council ;  others 
proposed  to  limit  the  punishment  of  heretics  to  banishment; 
and  some  desired  to  know  definitely  what  was  meant  by  heresy ; 
every  one  being  able  to  perceive  clearly  the  grievous  errors  of 
the  church  itself.  The  truth  conquered;  and  they  would  hear 
no  more  of  the  punishment  of  heretics.  But  the  papists  were 
rilled  with  alarm,  and  so  wrought  upon  the  king,  that  he  resolved 
to  be  present  himself  at  one  of  the  meetings  of  the  parliament. 
The  assembly  was  held  in  the  monastery  of  the  Augustins,  the 
hall  in  which  it  usually  met  being  adorned  for  the  celebration  of 
the  marriage  of  Elizabeth,  the  daughter  of  the  king,  with  Philip 
of  Spain,  and  of  Margaret,  his  sister,  with  the  Duke  of  Savoy. 
The  king  entered  the  assembly  accompanied  by  the  Guises  and 
all  his  courtiers.  Every  person  was  to  be  allowed  to  speak  his 
sentiments  freely ;  and  the  members  of  the  council  did  so  with- 
out hesitation. 

Among  these  was  Anne  du  Bourg,  nephew  of  the  chancellor  of 
France,  an  excellent  jurist,  and  distinguished  for  his  legal  know- 
ledge above  all  others  who  attended  the  meetings  of  the  reformed. 
Having  given  God  thanks  that  the  king  had  come  to  hear  the 

*  This  is  the  Confession  which  Beza  presented  to  Charles  IX.  in  1561  at 
Poissy.  It  was  subscribed  in  1571,  in  a  synod  at  La  Rochelle,  by  Henry  IV., 
the  queen  his  mother,  the  Prince  of  Conde,  Louis  of  Nassau,  Coligny,  Cha- 
tillon,  and  all  the  ministers.  It  was  printed  in  Latin  in  1566  and  1581.  See 
Salig,  ii.  p.  273.  A  shorter  confession,  in  eighteen  articles,  seen  in  Calvin's 
letters,  was,  as  the  superscription  shows,  addressed  to  Henry  II.  Ed.  Amstel. 
p.  250. 


366  ANNE  DU  BOURG.  [CHAP.  XI. 

things  which  concerned  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  which  princes, 
before  all  men,  were  bound  to  defend,  he  spoke  with  the  great- 
est freedom,  as  God  prompted  him,  and  at  last  exclaimed,  "  It 
is  no  light  thing  to  condemn  those  who,  in  the  midst  of  the 
flames,  confess  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ *." 

The  king  arose,  profoundly  agitated,  and  conferred  with  his 
cardinals ;  then  immediately  leaving  the  chamber,  he  commanded 
Montgommery,  the  officer  of  the  guard,  to  apprehend  Du  Bourg, 
with  some  others.  They  were  thrown  into  the  Bastile.  Several  of 
the  councillors  fled :  the  rest  were  obliged  to  submit.  Thus  was 
the  parliament,  for  the  first  time,  dishonoured,  and  the  king  swore 
that  he  wished  with  his  own  eyes  to  see  Du  Bourg  burnt. 

These  proceedings  took  place  in  the  month  of  June.  An 
edict  was  published  at  Ecouen  to  root  out  the  reformed,  and 
similar  orders  were  sent  to  all  the  provinces,  with  the  threat, 
that  if  the  magistrates  were  not  diligent  in  the  work  they  should 
themselves  be  punished.  Du  Bellay  and  Demochares  were  the 
judges  of  Du  Bourg.  The  churches  gave  themselves  to  prayer. 
Their  ruin  seemed  at  hand ;  but  the  king  was  destined  to  fall  in 
the  midst  of  his  triumph.  It  is  well  known  that  he  was  ambi- 
tious to  shine  in  a  tournament,  preparations  for  which  were 
made  in  the  street  St.  Antoine,  not  far  from  the  Bastile,  where 
Du  Bourg  was  confined.  The  king  himself  reached  the  lance  to 
Montgommery :  it  broke  against  the  breast  of  the  monarch :  a 
fragment  flew  into  his  eye  and  injured  the  brain.  Catherine, 
moved  by  a  species  of  presentiment,  had  entreated  him  in  the 
morning  not  to  go  to  the  tournament.  The  circumstance  was 
not  forgotten,  that  he  had  expressed  his  desire  to  see  with  his  own 
eyes  the  burning  of  Du  Bourg  and  the  others. 

The  king  died  on  the  10th  of  July,  and  in  the  house  which 
had  been  decorated  for  the  nuptials.  The  festive-hall  became 
his  funereal  chapel,  and  was  covered  with  tapestry,  which  repre- 
sented the  conversion  of  St.  Paul,  with  the  words,  "  Saul,  why 
persecutest  thou  me  ?  " 

Francis  II.,  a  youthful  monarch,  the  husband  of  Mary  Stuart, 
now  ascended  the  throne.  Catherine  placed  herself  between  the 
two  parties.  Six  of  the  Guises  were  at  the  court.  Whenever 
they  became  too  powerful,  she  allowed  the  Protestants  to  gain 
strength.  But  the  young  king  survived  his  accession  only  seven- 
teen months.     Catherine  promised  to  put  an  end  to  the  perse- 

*  Calvin  gives  a  lively  account  of  Du  Bourg  to  Blaarer  in  1560.  Ed.  Laus. 
Ep.  357.  Ed.  Amstel.  p.  191. 


A.D.  1558-60.]     RENEWAL  OF  THE  PERSECUTION.  367 

cution.  She  was  probably  moved  to  express  this  determination 
through  the  representations  of  an  aged  protestant,  who  recalled 
to  her  recollection  those  better  days  when  she  herself  was  en- 
raptured with  the  psalms  of  the  Huguenots.  Du  Bourg  had 
resolutely  rejected  all  offers  of  deliverance.  Calvin  took  his  part 
in  the  business.  Many  of  the  great  men  of  the  kingdom  were 
aroused,  as  the  Duke  de  Longuevillc  and  the  Marquis  of  Rotte- 
lin.  The  church  in  Paris  addressed  a  petition  to  Catherine, 
couched  in  very  strong  language,  for  Du  Bourg.  Conde,  the 
admiral,  and  Madame  de  Roye,  exerted  their  influence  with  her 
daily  in  his  behalf.  She  was  once  sufficiently  excited  to  say, 
that  the  persecutions  affected  her,  and  that  the  reformed,  who 
died  with  such  exemplary  fortitude,  proved  that  they  were  in- 
spired by  a  more  than  ordinary  wisdom.  She  added,  that  she 
would  learn  what  the  doctrine  was  which  could  lead  people  to 
meet  death  as  joyfully  as  if  they  were  going  to  a  marriage  feast. 
This  was  the  last  indication  of  any  sentiment  in  favour  of  the 
reformed.  The  Guises  had  all  the  power  of  the  government  in 
their  hands  (1560).  Robbery  and  murder  were  still  practised 
against  the  evangelical  party.  Houses  suspected  of  harbouring 
them  were  forcibly  entered.  Nothing  could  be  sadder  than  the 
appearance  of  the  children  of  the  persecuted  believers,  who 
wandered  about  helpless,  from  place  to  place,  no  one  daring  to 
shelter  them,  lest  he  might  himself  become  exposed  to  suspicion. 
Calvin  complained  to  Martyr  and  Bullinger  respecting  this  sad 
condition  of  the  church.  The  priests  declared  to  the  people 
that  the  reformed  held  their  meetings  in  the  dark,  to  eat  children 
and  commit  other  abominations.  Catherine  was  informed  that 
they  had  celebrated  the  festival  of  Easter  (1560)  with  these 
shameful  deeds.  Induced  by  the  Guises  and  the  Chancellor 
Olivier,  she  gave  the  people  of  Paris  permission  to  attack  all 
these  heretics.  The  tumultuous  persecution  which  followed  con- 
tinued from  August  to  March.  But  the  reformed  never  omitted 
their  customary  service,  and  Beza  gives  a  long  list  of  those  who 
died  happily  in  the  fire. 

Du  Bourg  was  kept  a  close  prisoner  in  the  Basttle :  he  was 
treated  with  every  kind  of  severity,  and  frequently  even  put  into 
an  iron  cage.  His  trial  was  suddenly  determined  upon;  the 
Count-palatine  Otto  having  sent  ambassadors  to  require  his  pre- 
sence in  Heidelberg.  The  cardinal  commanded  that  he  should 
be  put  to  death,  before  the  request  of  the  count  could  be  formally 
made.     When  the  church  in  Paris  learnt  that  endeavours  were 


368  MARTYRDOM  OF  DU  BOURG,  [CHAP.XI, 

being  made  to  induce  him  to  modify  his  confession,  it  besought 
him,  by  the  minister  Marlorat,  to  persevere,  since,  if  he  did  so, 
his  death  would  encourage  many  others  to  glorify  God.  He 
obeyed  this  counsel,  and  found  means  to  address  the  church  in 
an  excellent  epistle.  Courage,  wisdom,  and  a  highly  cultivated 
mind,  were  manifest  in  his  whole  conduct.  Always  free  and 
mighty  in  spirit,  he  rejoiced  in  the  Lord,  and  sang  psalms,  ac- 
companying himself  on  a  lute.  When  it  was  proposed  to  make 
an  experiment  for  his  liberation,  he  rejected  the  offer,  and  exhi- 
bited more  and  more  cheerfulness  as  his  end  approached.  His 
sentence  was  read  to  him  :  it  purported  that  he  should  be  burnt 
alive.  "  On  hearing  this,"  says  Calvin,  u  he  knelt  down  and 
thanked  God  that  he  had  deemed  him  worthy  of  so  great  an 
honour  as  to  allow  him  to  die  in  the  defence  of  eternal  truth." 
For  four  hours  he  looked  forward  with  joyful  countenance  ex- 
pecting death.  At  the  place  of  execution,  which  was  surrounded 
by  four  hundred  soldiers,  he  put  off  his  clothes  as  tranquilly  as 
if  he  were  going  to  bed.  When  the  executioner  fixed  the  rope 
about  his  neck,  he  remarked  that  this  was  not  necessary;  for 
that  he  should  be  burnt  slowly  in  the  fire,  according  to  the 
usual  custom.  He  was  however  first  strangled,  and  his  body 
was  then  burnt  to  ashes. 

The  historian  Mezeray  relates,  that  the  death  of  this  member 
of  the  parliament  made  a  greater  impression  on  men's  minds 
than  a  hundred  ministers  with  their  sermons.  The  fate  of  Du 
Bourg  was  that  of  many  others  after  him.  In  order  to  detect 
the  Lutherans,  images  of  the  saints  were  placed  at  the  corner  of 
the  streets,  and  those  who  did  not  bow  to  them  were  imme- 
diately apprehended.  Sometimes  money  was  demanded  for  wax 
tapers,  and  a  refusal  was  followed  by  committal  to  prison.  The 
whole  country  was  shaken.  The  Guises  were  masters  of  the 
government,  and  the  young  king  and  his  mother  were  wholly  in 
their  power.  Some  of  the  better-disposed  men  in  the  kingdom 
met  to  consider  measures  for  resisting  this  ruinous  state  of  affairs  ; 
but  their  conscience  was  so  tender,  (a  proof  that  they  were  led 
by  the  spirit  of  the  Gospel,)  that  they  inquired  of  many  jurists 
and  theologians  in  France  and  Germany,  whether,  in  such  a 
state  of  things,  it  was  justifiable  to  oppose  an  existing  govern- 
ment. It  was  decided,  "  That  it  was  lawful  to  resist,  if  the 
princes  of  the  house  then  reigning  placed  themselves  at  the  head 
of  the  movement,  and  if  the  states,  or  the  better  part  of  them, 
called  them  thereto." 


A.D.  1558-GI.]  CALVIN  AND  BULLINGER.  369 

This  decision  was  the  beginning  of  the  French  civil  and  reli- 
gious wars.     Calvin's  very  strong  expression  on    the   subject 
shows  plainly  that  he  was  altogether  opposed  to  this  drawing 
of  the  sword  in  France,  however  just  the  cause  might  appear. 
The  conspiracy  of  Amboise  now  followed.     The  king  was  ad- 
vised to  destroy  Geneva,  as  the  one  source  of  insurrections.    But 
while  all  trembled,  Calvin  remained,  according  to  the  testimony 
of  the  chancellor  Roset,  altogether  tranquil.     This  also  appears 
from  a  letter  which  he  wrote  to  Blaarer  : — "  They  threaten  us, 
and  this  city  especially,  from  the  notion  that  it  is  here  that  all 
insurrections  have  their  birth ;  or  they  act  as  if  they  believed 
this,  in  order  to  have  a  pretence  for  abusing  us.    For  almost  the 
whole  month  our  neighbours  have  supposed  we   were  on  the 
point  of  sinking.     I  have  never  however  been  able  to  believe 
that  we  had  anything  really  to  fear,  nor  do  I  believe  that  we 
now  have  ;  but  should  the  greatest  peril  arrive,  supported  by  the 
arm  of  God,  we  should  await  the  issue  undisturbed."    So  sharply 
were  the  movements  of  Geneva  and  Calvin  watched,  that  the 
very  words  of  the  latter  were  repeated  in  the  king's  council*. 
An  assembly  of  the  nobles  was  called,  August  21,  1560,  to  con- 
sider the  evil  tendency  of  the  present  agitation  in  the  state. 
Calvin  acquainted  Bullinger  with  these  proceedings f.     "Before 
the  discussion  commenced,  admiral  Coligny  suddenly  rose,  and 
desired  of  the  king  and  the  council  that  the  believers  in  Nor- 
mandy should  be  allowed  the  free  exercise  of  their  worship.    He 
could  bring  50,000  signatures  to  this  petition."     All  present 
wondered  at  his  boldness ;  but  he  was  known  as  a  knight  with- 
out fear  and  without  reproach.     The  king  of  Navarre  had  re- 
turned to  his  own  territory.     Beza  was  at  present  with  hirn,  and 
the  queen  was  gained  for  the  gospel ;  but  no  safe  conduct  could 
be  procured  for  Beza  on  his  return  to  Geneva,  and  Calvin  re- 
proached himself  for  having  exposed  him  to  so  much  danger  J. 
He   had  written   in  June  to  Sturm  and  Hottornan§,  desiring 
them  to  persuade  the  German  princes  to  address  the  king  of 
France.     "  We  will  do  all  in  our  power,"  he  added,  "  to  excite 
the  king  of  Navarre  to  demand  the  reins  of  government;  for  it 
is  plain  that  the  kingdom  must  be  ruined  by  these  agitations, 
this  treachery  and  sloth.     The  pride  of  the  Guises  and  their 

*  MS.  Gen.  Calv.  Sulcero,  Sept.  30,  15G0. 
f  Ed.  Laus.  Ep.  300.  Ed.  Amstel.  p.  143,  Oct.  1,  1560. 
+  MS.  Gen.  Calv.  Galla?io,  5  Non.  Oct.  1560. 
§   MS.  Bern,  4  June,  15G0. 
VOL.   II.  2   B 


3/0  STATE  OF  FRANCE.  [CHAP.XI. 

avarice  can  no  longer  be  endured.     The  consent  of  the  queen- 
mother  must  be  gained  by  the  most  earnest  representations." 

Those  who  were  rightly  disposed  now  anxiously  urged  the 
assembling  of  a  general,  or  at  least  a  national  council.     The 
admiral  wished  that  in   the  meeting  thus  proposed,  a  decree 
might  be  passed  allowing  freedom  of  religion.     He  promised 
that  this  would  be  followed  by  the  general  tranquillity  of  the 
country.     Guise  skilfully  overthrew  these  plans,  and  referred  to 
the  Council  of  Trent.     All  things  were  in  disorder;  but  the 
church  in  Paris,  wonderfully  strengthened,  had  the  boldness  to 
hold  its  meetings  even  in  the  palace  of  justice;  and  Capel,  one 
of  the  ministers  present,  openly  displayed  in  the  council-cham- 
ber the  confession  of  the  reformed  church.     It  was  now  that 
the  famous  assembly  took  place  at  Orleans,  where  such  import- 
ant measures  were  to  be  adopted.     The  design  of  annihilating 
the  Huguenots  was  frustrated  by  the  sudden  death  of  the  king. 
The  whole  Protestant  church  had  just  held  in  silence  a  solemn 
day  of  penitence.     Affairs  might  still  take  a  prosperous  turn. 
Calvin  was  opposed  to  the  mention  of  war,  and  entertained  the 
hope  that  everything  might  be  brought  to  a  happy  conclusion 
without  the  shedding  of  one  drop  of  blood.     King  Anton  listened 
attentively  to  both  him  and  Beza*.     "  When  all  trembled  before 
the  Guises,  the  hand  of  God  helped  us.     The  death  of  the  young 
king  must  produce  great  changes  f" 

Calvin  had  soon  reason  to  rejoice  at  the  happy  alteration  in 
the  state  of  affairs.  "  God,"  he  says,  "  who  pierced  the  eye  of  the 
father,  has  struck  the  ear  of  the  son  (Francis  II.  died  of  an  ulcer 
in  the  ear).  But  many,  alas  !  yield  themselves  to  a  foolish  de- 
light, as  if  the  world  could  be  changed  in  a  moment ;  and  because 
I  do  not  sympathize  with  their  folly,  they  accuse  me  of  sloth. 
Should  however  the  persecution  cease,  a  wonderful  conversion 
might  be  looked  for  in  a  short  time." 

Charles  IX.,  only  ten  years  old,  was  now  king.  Anton,  to 
whom  the  regency  properly  pertained,  magnanimously  left  the 
government  to  Catherine :  the  States  said  nothing,  and  the 
Guises  were  more  prudent  than  all.  Conde  remained  of  his 
own  accord  in  prison  till  he  could  justify  himself :  Calvin  ap- 
proved of  his  conduct.  In  the  first  assembly  of  the  States,  the 
chancellor  L'Hopital  delivered  a  long  discourse  for  the  purpose 
of  tranquillizing  all  parties,  and  securing  their  obedience  to  the 

*   MS.  Eccles.  Bern,  Calv.  Sulcero,  Dec.  11,  1561. 
t    MS.  Bern,  Calv.  Stmmio,  Dec.  1G,  15G0. 


A.D.  1558-61.]  STATE  OF  FRANCE.  371 

young  king:  he  was  devoted  to  the  Huguenots.  Many  were 
dissatisfied.  During  these  proceedings  Pius  IV.  had  made  pre- 
parations for  the  opening  of  the  Council  of  Trent.  Monluc, 
bishop  of  Valence,  jestingly  remarked,  that  they  were  proposing 
to  extinguish  the  fires  in  Paris  with  the  water  of  the  Tiber,  in- 
stead of  using  the  water  of  France  itself.  All  the  prelates  of  the 
kingdom  were  to  assemble  on  the  20th  of  January,  1561.  The 
pope  was  angry,  and  informed  the  queen  that  the  sword  must 
be  drawn ;  that  Spain  and  Italy  would  assist ;  and  that  if  she 
did  not  wish  to  involve  her  own  subjects  in  war,  she  must  over- 
throw Geneva,  whence  all  the  evil  proceeded*.  He  gave  the 
same  advice  to  the  Duke  of  Savoy ;  but  they  could  not  agree  to 
whom  Geneva  should  afterwards  belong. 

The  Waldenses  were  now  assailed  by  a  fresh  persecution : 
their  indignation  was  roused,  and  they  seized  their  weapons f. 
This  was  the  first  example  of  the  religious  wars  which  were  so 
soon  to  follow.  Calvin  again  expressed  his  admiration  to  Co- 
ligny,  and  exhorted  him  to  persevere  in  his  onward  course,  how- 
ever few  might  be  found  to  imitate  him  J  :  — "Be  content  with  this, 
though  the  whole  world  should  be  blind  and  unthankful,  that 
God  and  his  angels  are  for  you ;  and  we  must  indeed  satisfy 
ourselves  with  knowing,  that  the  heavenly  crown  cannot  be  taken 
from  us  when  we  shall  have  virtuously  finished  here  below  the 
warfare  of  the  Son  of  God,  in  whom  standeth  our  eternal  life." 

The  pope  invited  the  German  princes  to  be  present  at  the 
Council  of  Trent §.  Calvin  wished  that  the  king  of  France 
would  unite  with  the  queen  of  England,  the  German  princes, 
and  the  Swiss,  in  a  protest  against  the  entire  council  ||. 

Although  the  regent  soon  found  cause  of  dispute  with  Anton 

of  Navarre,  the  position  of  the  church  daily  improved.     It  was 

forbidden  to  employ  the  word  Huguenot  as  a  term  of  reproach  : 

those  who  bore  the  name  were  to  be  undisturbed  in  their  houses, 

and  those  who  had  been  thrown  into  prison  were  to  be  liberated. 

The  king  went  to  Rheims  to  be  crowned  :  there  the  cardinal  of 

Lorraine  declared  that  the  Catholic  church  was  on  the  point  of 

ruin  :  he  expressed  his  wish  to  hold  an  assembly  of  the  clergy 

in  Paris  as  a  preparation  for  a  larger  meeting.     The  edict  of  July 

commanded  peace,  and  heresy  was  to  be  punished  with  banish- 

*   Ruchat,  t.  vi.  p.  371. 

f  MS.  Bern,  Calv.  Leningo,  Mart.  14,  1561. 

J  MS.  Gen.  Jan.  16,  1561. 

§  Ep.  333  and  334  refer  to  this.  Ed.  Laus.  Ed.  Amstel.  p.  178. 

||   MS.  Gen.  24  Sept.  1561. 

2  B  2 


372  FRANCE  AND  GENEVA.  [CHAP.  XI. 

ment  only.  The  prelates  were  summoned  to  meet  at  Poissy,  near 
St.  Germain  en  Laye,  where  the  court  was  held.  Calvin  had 
looked  for  this  at  the  beginning  of  the  year,  and  he  hoped  that 
the  ministers  of  the  new  faith  would  obtain  a  safe  conduct,  so 
that  they  might  be  heard  in  the  assembly,  and  see  whether  a 
union  with  the  Catholic  church  might  not  still  be  possible.  The 
king  of  Navarre  wrote  letters  with  his  own  hand  to  Peter 
Martyr,  then  at  Zurich,  and  to  Beza  in  Geneva. 

Calvin's  history  becomes  more  and  more  intimately  connected 
with  that  of  France :  he  lived  wholly  for  the  church,  and  the 
church  lived  through  him.  Thus  he  daily  sent  out  ministers  to 
form  new  congregations,  and  he  supported  it  by  his  consolatory 
addresses  and  his  counsels  :  he  was  the  soul  of  the  whole. 
Owing  to  this  his  vast  spiritual  influence,  and  the  view  which 
the  French  took  of  the  reformers  as  political  malcontents,  Cal- 
vin was  supposed  to  exercise  great  political  power,  whereas  to 
do  so  would  have  been  a  contradiction  of  his  most  fundamental 
principles.  True  it  is  that  he  was  in  union  with  all  the  great 
men  of  the  party :  even  Coligny  himself  communicated  to  him 
his  plans,  and  regarded  him  as  the  head  of  the  Reformation. 

Scarcely  had  Charles  IX.  ascended  the  throne,  when  a  letter 
was  addressed  to  the  council  at  Geneva  by  the  king,  or  rather 
by  Catherine.  "  His  council  and  the  States,"  it  is  said,  "  had 
declared  that  all  the  disturbances  in  France  had  been  occasioned 
by  the  preachers  sent  into  the  kingdom  from  Geneva :  he  there- 
fore prayed  that  peace  might  be  restored;  that  the  ministers 
might  be  recalled;  that  no  others  like  them  should  be  sent; 
that  God  and  the  world  were  witnesses,  that  the  king  would  be 
justified  in  taking  vengeance  on  a  city  which  was  undermining 
his  state." 

An  answer  was  desired  to  this  epistle:  the  ministers  were 
called  before  the  council  and  replied  through  Calvin  : — "  They 
could  not  deny,  that  when  men  applied  to  them  and  desired  to 
be  admitted  to  the  ministry,  they  admonished  them  to  fulfil  their 
duty,  and  to  spread  the  knowledge  of  salvation  as  the  Lord  com- 
manded; but  they  denied  that  they  were  guilty  of  creating  dis- 
turbances in  the  kingdom  of  France.  The  Gospel  was  not 
preached  for  such  an  end,  and  they  had  used  their  utmost  efforts 
to  restrain  those  who  had  manifested  a  wish  to  go  to  Amboise, 
and  were  ready  to  justify  themselves  before  the  king  himself  if 
necessary." 

This  reply  of  the  ministers  was  communicated  to  the  king  as 


A.D.  1558-61.]     PROGRESS  OF  THE  REFORMED  CHURCH.        37-3 

their  defence ;  but  it  was  added,  that  the  council  could  not  re- 
cal  those  whom  it  had  not  itself  sent  forth.  The  Catholics  had 
indeed  reason  to  think  of  these  things ;  for  in  respect  to  the  in- 
fluence exerted  by  Calvin  in  promoting  the  diffusion  of  the  new 
faith,  it  was  estimated  that,  looking  to  France  alone,  there  were 
five  million  professors  of  the  reformed  doctrines. 

This  intelligence  created  great  delight  in  foreign  countries.  A 
minister  named  Beaulieu  wrote  to  Farel  from  Geneva,  October  3, 
1561 : — "  I  cannot  tell  you  how  much  grace  God  is  daily  bestow- 
ing upon  our  church.  There  are  men  here  from  various  places, 
as  from  Lyons,  Nismes,  Gap,  and  from  the  districts  of  Orleans 
and  Poitiers,  anxious  to  obtain  labourers  for  these  portions  of  the 
new  harvest.  From  Tournon  especially  was  the  application  made, 
and  that  in  obedience  to  the  urgent  wish  of  the  bishop.  There 
were  five  hundred  parishes  in  these  parts  which  had  discontinued 
the  celebration  of  the  mass,  but  were  still  without  ministers. 
The  poor  people  were  famishing,  but  there  was  no  one  to  furnish 
them  with  the  bread  of  heaven.  It  is  extraordinary  how  many 
hearers  there  are  of  Calvin's  lectures :  I  believe  there  are  more 
than  a  thousand  daily.  Viret  is  labouring  for  Nismes.  I  have 
heard  men  say,  that  if  from  four  to  six  thousand  preachers  were 
sent  forth,  places  would  be  found  for  them*." 

Beza  relates,  that  Catherine  commissioned  the  admiral  (1561, 
immediately  after  the  conference  at  Poissy)  to  number  the 
churches:  there  were  2150:  the  members  of  these  petitioned 
for  edifices,  and  offered  their  goods  and  their  lives  for  the  use  of 
the  state.  Shortly  after  this,  the  whole  of  France  seemed  on  the 
point  of  becoming  Protestant  f. 

The  best  commentaries  and  other  works  of  Calvin  were  now 
before  the  world,  and  had  been  placed  in  the  hands  of  all  classes 
by  means  of  numerous  editions  :  his  influence  was  at  the  highest 
point.  Peace  was  looked  for  in  France ;  the  reformed  religion 
was  triumphing ;  the  church  in  Paris  flourished ;  the  numerous 
persons  of  distinction  who  belonged  to  it  were  anxious  to  in- 
crease its  splendour;  and  Calvin  was  called  to  their  aid;  but 
the  council  of  Geneva  would  not  part  with  him.  Calvin  was 
not  ungrateful,  and  he  willingly  remained  in  the  little  republic: 
he  assured  the  Parisian  community  however  of  his  esteem,  and 
dedicated  to  it  his  { Commentary  on  Daniel  J.' 

*  Ruchat,  t.vi.  p.  435.  MS. Gen.Calv.  toBullinger,  May24,  1561 

f  Aymon,  Svn.  t.  i.  pp.  21,  218. 

J  Ed.  Laus.  Ep.  308.  Ed.  A.mstel.  p.  151. 


374  calvin's  influence.  [chap.  xi. 

When  the  duchess  of  Ferrara  expressed  her  wish  to  have  a 
minister  from  Geneva,  the  council  granted  her  request,  with  this 
exception  only,  that  neither  Calvin  nor  Beza  should  be  sent*. 
Afterwards,  when  Beza  was  in  France  at  the  Colloquy  of  Poissy, 
Calvin  again  expressed  himself  to  the  purport,  that  it  was  vexa- 
tious to  him  to  have  it  supposed  that  he  wished  to  be  called  to 
France  f. 

To  understand  the  real  nature  of  Calvin's  influence  in  France, 
we  must  read  the  extensive  correspondence  which  he  carried  on 
with  those  who  were  seeking  the  Gospel  in  that  country.  I  have 
already  directed  attention,  in  speaking  of  his  pastoral  labours,  to 
the  number  of  affecting  letters  in  which  he  urges  it  as  a  duty  on 
Protestants  to  leave  Catholic  France  and  seek  a  refuge  in  Ge- 
neva J.  The  same  sentiments  are  expressed  in  several  of  his 
letters  to  entire  communities :  but  now  persons  of  high  rank 
submitted  themselves  humbly  to  his  counsel,  his  warnings,  and 
even  to  the  reproofs  of  the  minister,  in  the  same  way  as  the 
princes  of  Germany  listened  to  Luther.  And  with  what  zeal  did 
he  labour  for  them  !  To  show  this  the  more  completely,  we  must 
refer  to  what  has  been  stated  in  the  earlier  part  of  this  work,  re- 
specting his  correspondence  with  the  duchess  of  Ferrara.  When 
an  emissary  from  the  king  of  France  passed  through  Geneva, 
on  his  way  to  Ferrara,  to  compel  the  duchess  to  return  to  Ca- 
tholicism, and  there  was  reason  to  apprehend  her  fall,  Calvin  in- 
stantly despatched  a  messenger,  named  Colonge,  to  Ferrara  with 
a  letter,  which  has  been  preserved,  and  in  which  he  encourages 
her  to  exercise  resolution,  and  says  that  she  ought  to  receive  the 
messenger,  not  as  coming  from  him,  but  from  God  §. 

Some  years  after  he  again  wrote  to  her  for  the  purpose  of 
strengthening  her  faith  : — "  Meditate  carefully  on  the  truth  al- 
luded to  by  Paul,  namely,  that  if  a  perishable  metal  must  be 
proved  in  the  fire,  much  less  can  faith  be  spared  the  trial ;  but 
if  you  feel  that  you  are  weaker  than  you  ought  to  be,  turn  your- 
self to  Him  who  has  promised  that  all  who  trust  in  Him  shall  be 
as  the  tree  planted  by  the  water-side,  which,  with  its  living  root, 
shall  never  perish,  whatever  the  storms  which  beat  upon  it. 
Give  not  the  devil  the  opportunity  of  surprising  you,  and  do  not 
allow  yourself  to  imagine,  that  by  recanting  you  can  avoid  the 
conflict.     Your  fears  will  give  the  enemy  the  victory  which  he 

*  Re'gistres,  Juill.  3,  1561.  f  MS.  Bern,  Oct.  15(32. 

I   X  I'Abbcsse  do  Thouars,  &c.  &c.,  1553,  1554,  1558. 
$  MS.  Gen.  6Aoftt,  1554. 


A.D.  1558-61.]         THE  DUCHESS  OF  FERRARA.  375 

so  greatly  desires :  we  must  be  aware  of  his  cunning  to  over- 
come it.  For  the  rest,  harden  yourself,  dear  lady,  against  the 
frowns  of  the  world.  If  you  do  good,  this  is  the  reward  pro- 
mised us  from  above." 

Now,  that  is  in  the  year  15 GO,  after  the  death  of  her  husband, 
her  presence  was  required  in  France,  to  take  part  in  the  go- 
vernment. She  was  compelled  to  swear  fidelity  to  the  Catholics. 
Calvin  appealed  to  her :  "  Since  you  have  sinned  in  this,  and 
offended  God,  you  are  not  bound  to  keep  this  oath.  You  know 
that  Herod  is  not  praised  for  having  observed  the  oath  which  he 
rashly  took ;  but  is  known  rather  to  have  fallen  into  twofold  con- 
demnation." Calvin  dissuaded  the  queen  from  taking  a  part  in 
the  government,  suggesting  that  her  counsels  would  not  be  re- 
ceived, and  that  it  was  only  intended  to  make  use  of  her  name. 
He  desired  her  to  give  herself  wholly  to  the  evangelical  faith. 
"  Jesus  Christ,"  he  says,  "  is  well  worth  your  forgetting,  for  his 
sake,  France  as  well  as  Ferrara." 

The  duchess  followed  this  counsel.  In  the  persecutions,  she 
devoted  herself  to  the  care  of  the  unfortunate  fugitives,  and  the 
old  castle  of  Montargis,  where  she  dwelt,  obtained  the  name  of 
an  Hotel  Dieu.  Calvin  ceased  not  to  exhort  and  encourage  her 
with  edifying  words :  "  As  the  wanderer  in  the  evening  redoubles 
his  steps,  so  ought  advancing  age  to  admonish  you  to  leave  a 
good  witness  on  earth,  as  well  as  to  bring  one  before  God  and 
the  angels."  His  latest  letters  were  addressed  to  her.  In  one 
of  these  he  accuses  her  of  too  passionate  a  disposition,  which  was 
likely  to  produce  much  evil;  but  he  praises  her  honest  and  pure 
confession,  which  she  not  only  repeated  with  her  lips,  but  made 
known  by  her  noble  actions,  which  nothing  could  surpass.  The 
severity  of  the  reformer  is  strikingly  exhibited  in  that  which  he 
said  to  her  respecting  the  consistory  which  she  held  in  her  castle, 
and  in  the  proceedings  of  which  she  took  part.  He  earnestly 
calls  upon  her  to  recollect,  that  as  a  woman  she  ought  to  respect 
the  authority  of  the  consistory,  and  that  she  must  subject  her 
people  to  the  elders  of  the  church.  In  conclusion,  he  sent  her 
a  medal  which  her  father,  Louis  XII.,  had  struck,  and  on  which 
he  was  represented  on  horseback,  with  the  inscription  Destruam 
Babylonem*.  In  reference  to  the  question,  who  belonged  to  the 
elect?  he  compared  the  death  of  king  Anton  with  that  of  the 
duke  of  Guise f. 

This  led  to  his  correspondence  with  the  king  of  Navarre  :  here 

*  MS.  Gen.  Jan.  8,  1564.  t  MS.  Gen.  April  1,  1564, 


376  T1IE   KING  OF  NAVARRE.  [.CHAP.  XI- 

his  words  fell  upon  less  fruitful  ground;  but  he  did  not  fail 
through  want  of  energy,  and  what  the  king  several  times  did  in 
behalf  of  the  reformed  must  be  attributed  to  Calvin's  influence*. 
In  the  early  period  of  the  movement  the  monarch  rendered  sig- 
nal service  to  the  evangelical  cause ;  but  he  afterwards  relapsed. 
During  the  persecution  in  1553,  Calvin  exhorted  him  to  do  that 
which  God  expected  of  him.  "  You  ought  not  to  be  ashamed 
to  bear  the  reproach  of  Christ,  which  is  more  honourable  than 
all  the  glory  of  the  world  f" 

When  king  Anton,  by  the  sorcery  of  Catherine,  again  proved 
unfaithful,  Calvin  described  his  character  with  great  force,  and 
related  to  Bullinger  how  severely  he  and  Beza  had  chastised  him 
in  their  addresses  J.  He  had  been  amused  with  the  promise  of 
Sardinia,  and  flattered  with  the  expectation  thus  excited^  he  had 
delivered  at  Rome  a  declaration  against  the  reformed  doctrine. 
Calvin  assailed  him  with  the  most  indignant  expressions :  they 
show  how  he  could  deal  with  kings : — "  The  enemy  has  flung  this 
dirt  upon  you  that  he  might  be  able  to  sing  a  song  of  triumph 
at  your  disgrace.  What  would  it  help  you,  though  the  whole 
world  were  given  you,  if  you  had  to  do  homage  to  the  devil?  §  " 

Kowr  great  the  confidence  was  which  the  king  had  formerly 
placed  in  Calvin,  appears  from  the  fact,  that  when  he  was  in  need 
of  money  he  applied  to  the  poor  minister,  whose  yearly  stipend 
amounted  to  only  fifty  dollars.  Calvin  obtained  the  required 
help,  and  involved  himself  thereby  in  the  greatest  perplexity,  as 
he  afterwards  stated  to  the  queen  ||. 

Things  had  now  proceeded  so  far,  that  Calvin  some  months 
after  wrote  to  Bullinger,  saying,  that  "  there  was  now  nothing  to 
hope  from  king  Anton,  for  that  he  had  given  himself  up  to  dis- 
sipation/' Catherine  had  skilfully  involved  him  in  amours,  and 
was  so  successful  in  her  schemes,  that  he  continued  permanently 
her  captive.     This  called  forth  a  letter  from  Calvin,  which,  re- 

*  MS.  Gen.  Dec.  14,  1557.  t  MS.  Gen.  Juin  8,  1558. 

t  MS.  Ecc.  Bern.  Calv.  Bull.  Mai  24,  1561. 

§  MS.  Gen.  1562. 

||  MS.  Gen.  Juin  1563.  Calvin,  in  his  letter  to  the  queen,  states  that  he 
obtained  the  promise  of  a  loan  of  40,000  francs  for  the  king ;  that  the  latter 
sent  in  great  haste  for  25,000;  that  he  immediately  got  10,000  for  him,  and 
that  when  the  time  came  to  pay  this  sum,  he  knew  not  on  which  side  to  turn 
himself.  "  [  have  never  been,"  he  said,  "  a  financier,  and  I  can  assure  you, 
that  of  the  little  which  I  had,  and  which  was  a  mere  nothing,  I  hadexhausted 
the  last  shilling,  even  of  that  which  I  needed  for  daily  use.  But  at  length, 
God  be  praised,  the  payment  was  made."  He  spoke  to  the  queen  on  the  sub- 
ject, not,  he  said,  to  ask  for  anything  which  he  had  given,  but  for  the  sake  of 
b  i  had  helped  him  in  the  difficulty. 


A.D.  1558-61.]  THE   QUEEN   OF  NAVARRE.  3/7 

ferring  as  it  did  to  so  delicate  a  matter,  is  characteristic  of  the 
writer : — "  It  is  reported  that  you  are  hindered  from  doing  your 
duty  by  some  ridiculous  love-affair,  and  that  the  devil  has  given 
you  assistants,  who  seek  neither  your  happiness  nor  your  ho- 
nour*." 

Anton  exhibited  great  repentance  before  his  death,  and  vowed 
that  if  God  spared  his  life  he  would  serve  the  reformed  church 
with  entire  devotion.  Thus  Calvin's  words  were  not  altogether 
useless. 

But  the  correspondence  which  he  had  carried  on  with  the 
queen  had  proved  singularly  edifying :  he  continued  to  the  last 
to  derive  joy  and  consolation  from  this  truly  Christian  woman : 
she  it  was  who,  in  the  season  of  distress  which  followed  the  Col- 
loquy at  Poissy,  and  when  her  husband  had  relapsed,  uttered  the 
well-known  words,  "  If  I  held  my  kingdom  and  my  son  in  my 
hand,  I  would  rather  cast  them  both  into  the  sea  than  go  to  mass." 
She  brought  up  Henry  IV.  in  her  own  spirit,  and  thus  Calvin's 
influence  was  not  wanting  in  the  formation  of  his  character. 
While  there  was  still  any  hope  of  delivering  the  king,  he  urged 
her,  by  the  strongest  arguments,  to  labour  unceasingly  to  that 
end.  The  king  had  chosen  an  enemy  of  Calvin,  Balduin,  as 
tutor  for  his  natural  son.  The  reformer  protested  against  this 
step,  and  even  with  threats f.  When  the  king,  however  had 
actually  gone  over  to  the  Catholic  party,  Calvin  sent  Johanna 
many  consolatory  letters,  as  he  did  also  during  the  religious  wars. 
After  the  death  of  the  king  at  Rouen  he  supported  her  by  his 
counsel,  advising  her  how  to  govern  her  dominions  so  as  to  se- 
cure the  triumph  of  the  truth;  a  necessary  caution,  near  as  she 
was  to  the  king  of  Spain,  whose  dispositions  were  so  little  friendly 
towards  her.  He  advised  her  to  do  all  things  with  caution,  and 
to  entreat  the  German  princes  to  further  the  cause  of  the  Lord 
with  their  wonted  affection  J. 

It  is  interesting  to  hear  Calvin's  judgment  on  Henry  IV.,  and 
in  contrast  therewith  his  opinion  of  Charles  IX.  and  the  terrible 
Catherine,  who  had  not  yet  however  wholly  thrown  off  the  mask. 
Of  the  young  king,  whose  disposition  was  ruined  by  his  mother, 
Calvin  says§  :  "  The  king  is  only  nominally  of  age  ;  he  is  almost 
slavishly  subservient  to  the  will  of  others :  were  he  permitted  to 
think  at  all  for  himself,  he  would  not  be  wholly  opposed  to  us." 

*  MS.  Paris.  t  MS.  Gen.  Dec.  24,  1561. 

X  MS.  Palis  Jan.  20,  15(33. 

§  MS.  Gen.  Calv.  Bullingero,  1  Non.  Dec.  1563. 


378  THE  QUEEN  OF  NAVARRE.  [CHAP.  XI. 

Calvin  dedicated  one  of  his  latest  works,  the  Commentary  on 
the  last  four  books  of  Moses,  to  Henry  IV.,  then  a  boy  of  ten 
years*.  He  had  alluded  to  him  some  time  before,  in  a  letter  to 
La  Gaucherie,  his  tutor,  whom  he  requested  to  greet  the  son  of 
the  king  for  himf.  The  dedication  abounds  in  noble  and  stri- 
king admonitions,  as  if  he  had  had  the  boy  before  his  eyes,  and 
could  guess  the  course  of  his  future  life.  After  bestowing  di- 
stinguished praise  upon  the  mother  of  Henry,  he  continues : — 
"  Yours  is  the  duty  now  to  form  yourself  according  to  this  pat- 
tern of  all  virtues.  If  you  belie  the  heroic  spirit  which  animates 
you,  you  will  have  so  much  the  less  excuse.  Nothing  can  more 
delight  the  queen  than  your  advancing  in  the  ways  of  piety/5 
He  reminds  him  of  the  examples  of  Josiah  and  Hezekiah ;  warns 
him  against  courtiers  and  flatterers ;  against  scoffers,  who  pretend 
that  there  can  be  no  piety  in  such  tender  years ;  and  against 
pleasure;  as  if,  in  short,  he  saw  his  future  career  spread  out 
before  him.  In  conclusion,  he  wishes  for  him,  as  Isaiah  for 
Hezekiah,  that  the  fear  of  the  Lord  might  be  his  true  treasure. 

Let  us  contrast  with  this  what  Calvin  said  of  the  treacherous 
intrigues  of  Catherine.  Although  she  took  great  pains  to  conceal 
her  actual  opinions,  and  pretended  to  pursue  a  middle  path,  her 
hatred  to  the  Protestants  was  conspicuous  over  all.  Her  cun- 
ning had  long  been  apparent  to  Calvin  J.  Peter  Martyr,  her 
countryman,  formed  a  similar  opinion  of  her,  many  as  were  those 
whom  she  had  deceived  by  her  speciousness§.  Another  cele- 
brated personage  must  also  be  mentioned,  as  exercising  his 
influence  on  those  remarkable  times.  The  admonitions  which 
Calvin  and  Beza  could  address  to  the  prince  of  Conde,  who  some- 
times forgot  himself,  like  Anton,  in  the  pleasures  of  the  court, 
show  the  noble  character  of  their  apostolic  earnestness ||  : — "As 
soon  as  the  world  hears  that  you  devote  yourself  to  the  love  of 
women,  your  dignity  and  your  fame  will  sink;  the  good  will 
grieve,  the  wicked  will  laugh.  Distractions  exist  there  which 
cannot  but  hinder  you  in  the  fulfilment  of  your  duty.  Worldly 
vanity  will  necessarily  exercise  its  power,  and  you  must  watch 
narrowly,  or  the  light  which  God  has  given  you  will  be  extin- 
guished!! We  hope,  gracious  sir,  that  this  warning  will  be  ac- 
ceptable to  you,  when  you  consider  how  useful  and  necessary 
it  is." 

*  Bern,  1553.     The  dedication  was  dated  July  31,  1563. 

f  MS.  Bern,  Mai  26,  1559.  X  MS.  Tigur.  Calv.  Blaurero,  1561. 

§  Ed.  Laus.  Ep.  288.  Ed.  Amst.  p.  139. 

||  MS.  Paris,  Sept.  13,  1563. 


A.D.   1558-G1.]        REVIEW  OF  CALVIN'S  CAREER.  3/9 

We  have  not  sufficient  space  to  speak  of  the  other  great  cha- 
racters of  the  period ;  but  we  may  briefly  mention  the  duchess 
of  Longueville,  countess  of  Neuchatel,  who  came  to  Geneva, 
commended  by  Farel,  to  converse  with  Calvin  on  religious  sub- 
jects*. On  another  occasion  she  hastened  out  of  France  with 
her  son  to  Neuchatel,  and  prayed  Calvin  to  attend  a  synod  there, 
but  which  request  the  reformer  could  not  fulfil :  he  frequently 
corresponded  with  her,  and  in  speaking  of  her  to  others,  praised 
her  firmness  and  her  faith.  This  was  particularly  the  case  in 
his  letter  to  the  marchioness  de  Rottelin. 

We  may  also  briefly  mention  the  sieur  de  Soubize,  whom 
Calvin  advised  as  to  his  conduct  in  the  case  of  some  miserable 
man,  who  is  described  as  having  fallen  from  the  faith  f.  He  wrote 
to  him  on  another  occasion,  urging  in  strong  language  the  duty 
of  laying  aside  weapons  taken  up  against  the  commandment  of 
the  king. 

Such  was  Calvin's  reputation  in  the  last  period  of  his  career, 
that  all  who  stood  high  in  the  reformed  party  desired  to  have 
letters  from  him:  these  letters  were  themselves  regarded  as  a 
great  distinction. 

From  this  summit  of  his  influence  and  greatness,  won  by  the 
energy  of  his  spirit,  we  look  back  with  pleasure  to  the  commence- 
ment of  his  course ;  to  his  childhood ;  to  God's  way  with  him  ; 
to  the  time  when,  as  a  boy  twelve  years  old,  he  went  to  Paris 
with  the  children  of  the  Mommor  family,  and  there,  even  at  school, 
became  the  sedate  censor  of  his  companions.  We  follow  him 
afterwards  to  the  university,  where  he  timidly  kept  himself  retired, 
because  from  nature  he  was  fond  of  quiet  and  solitude ;  while  all, 
on  the  other  hand,  who  had  a  taste  for  pure  learning,  came  to  him, 
a  raw  recruit,  as  he  expresses  it,  for  instruction  ;  so  that  his  soli- 
tary retreat  was  converted  into  a  public  school.  And  now  we  hear 
him  praising  with  a  loud  voice  the  goodness  of  God,  who,  as  he 
led  David  from  the  sheep-folds,  and  made  him  king  of  Israel, 
had  also  exalted  him,  so  little  at  the  beginning,  to  the  high  office 
of  a  herald  and  minister  of  the  Gospel.  "  That  which  is  to  be 
great,"  said  Mathesius  of  Luther,  "  must  first  be  little." 

The  review  which  we  have  taken  of  Calvin's  important  cor- 
respondence with  France  will  enable  us  the  better  to  understand 
the  influence  which  he  exercised  in  the  following  events. 

*  Kirchhofer,  t.  ii.  s.  149,  1")Q. 

f  D'un  miserable,  homme  de  Hen  :  perhaps  king  Anton. 


380  LUTHER  AND  CALVIN.  [CHAP.  XII, 


CHAPTER  XII. 

BEZA  AT  THE  COLLOQUY  OF  POISSY,  1561. HIS  ACCOUNT  TO 

CALVIN. OCCURRENCES  SEPTEMBER  9,  1561. THE  RE- 
FORMED CHURCH  RECOGNIZED  BY  THE  EDICT  OF  JANUARY 
1562. 

We  now  enter  upon  the  last  period  of  Calvin's  active  career. 
The  Colloquy  at  Poissy  was,  for  the  Reformed  church,  what  the 
Diet  of  Augsburg  was  for  the  Lutheran ;  and  Beza  did  in  the  one 
place  what  Melancthon  did  in  the  other.  The  former  was  sent 
by  Calvin  because  "  he  could  tread  lighter  than  he  could  him- 
self." To  act,  according  to  the  meaning  of  this  expression,  was 
no  more  given  to  Calvin  than  to  Luther,  and  they  were  both 
sensible  of  this  point  in  their  character.  It  is  interesting  to  be- 
hold Luther  at  the  period  here  referred  to.  We  find  him  in  the 
fortress  of  Ehrenburg,  in  Coburg.  Guy  Dietrich,  who  after- 
wards became  intimate  with  Calvin,  was  witness  of  his  faith,  firm 
as  a  rock,  and  wrote  to  Melancthon  : — "  Dear  Mr.  Philip,  I  can- 
not sufficiently  admire  his  noble  fortitude,  his  joy,  his  faith  and 
hope,  in  these  lamentable  times.  Not  a  day  passes  in  which  he 
does  not  devote  at  least  three  hours  to  prayer,  as  most  profitable 
to  study.  I  was  once  so  happy  as  to  hear  him  pray.  Help  me 
God  !  what  a  spirit,  what  a  faith,  was  in  his  words  !  .  .  .  .  c  I  know 
that  Thou  art  our  dear  Father,  therefore  am  I  assured  that  Thou 
wilt  destroy  the  persecutors  of  thy  children.  But  if  Thou  do  it 
not,  the  danger  is  thine,  as  well  as  ours  :  the  whole  affair  is  thine. 
What  we  have  done,  we  were  obliged  to  do;  therefore,  dear  Father, 
defend  it!5  When  I  heard  him  thus  pray  with  a  loud,  clear 
voice,  my  heart  burnt  within  me  for  great  joy.  Therefore  doubt 
I  not  but  that  his  prayer  will  afford  mighty  help  in  this,  as  men 
think,  our  ruined  state." 

Calvin,  who  bore,  as  Beza  says,  all  the  churches  in  his  heart, 
exhibited  a  similar  child-like  trust  during  those  perilous  times 
of  which  we  are  speaking.  The  affair  which  was  now  in  agita- 
tion was  at  first  regarded  as  hopeless ;  but  Calvin,  in  his  preface 
to  Daniel,  exclaimed,  addressing  those  who  were  engaged  in  the 
struggle,  "That  stone  which  has  crushed  the  idolatrous  kingdom 
to  dust  was  not  formed  by  the  hands  of  man,  and  it  is  now  grown 
to  a  great  mountain.  I  warn  you  to  be  peaceable  in  the  midst 
of  the  thunder  of  those  threats  by  which  you  are  assailed,  till 


A. D.  1561-62.]  COLLOQUY  OF  POISSY.  381 

the  vain  tempest-cloud  shall  be  dispersed  by  power  from  above, 
and  disappear." 

Beza  states  that  Calvin  not  only  employed  himself  in  his  own 
retirement  at  home  in  praying  for  the  church,  but  aroused  the 
people,  by  his  sermons,  to  be  diligent  in  supplicating  God  in 
this  great  necessity.  The  syndic,  according  to  his  advice,  issued 
a  public  notice,  in  which  the  people  were  called  upon  to  humble 
themselves,  and  earnestly  seek  the  house  of  God.  The  season 
in  which  the  Colloquy  at  Poissy  occurred  was  marked  by  far 
greater  troubles  than  those  which  distinguished  the  period  of  the 
German  Diet.  All  depended  upon  a  day.  Luther  was  so  happy 
as  not  to  live  to  witness  the  religious  war;  but  Calvin  had  to 
deal  in  France  with  the  worst  characters  known  to  history.  By 
the  instrumentality  of  the  Guises,  and  Catherine,  the  church  was 
driven  from  its  apostolic  path,  and  assumed  a  warlike  character, 
whereby  it  acquired  a  more  definite  position,  till  at  length 
Henry  IV.  secured  to  the  reformed  a  political  existence.  It  was 
not  till  some  time  after  that  the  church  returned,  according  to 
Calvin's  wish,  into  the  path  which  it  had  left.  Never  however 
did  it,  of  itself,  give  occasion  to  the  civil  wars  in  France.  We 
may  trace  the  whole  of  its  subsequent  trials  to  the  events  of  which 
we  have  now  to  speak. 

Catherine,  after  frequently  flattering  the  Protestants,  had  issued 
the  edict  of  St.  Germain,  which  authorized  the  renewal  of  the 
persecutions.  The  admiral  Coligny  now  came  forward,  and  in- 
sisted that  king  Anton  should  take  the  place  of  Catherine  as  re- 
gent :  this  induced  the  latter  to  seek  a  reconciliation  of  the  two 
parties,  in  order  the  better  to  secure  for  herself  the  support  of 
both.  The  heads  of  the  Protestant  church  rightly  looked  for 
much  from  these  proceedings.  It  was  now  allowed  them  openly 
to  proclaim  the  truth  ;  and  they  were  convinced,  that  if  the 
gospel  were  but  freely  preached,  and  especially  by  such  able  men 
as  Beza,  or  Calvin,  they  would  obtain  the  victory.  The  king  of 
Navarre,  moreover,  had  allowed  himself  to  be  convinced  by  Bal- 
duin,  that  he  might  gain  a  great  name  were  a  union  of  parties 
once  accomplished*. 

The  hopes  of  all  were  excited  by  the  summoning  of  the  pre- 
lates to  Poissy.  The  heads  of  the  Protestant  party,  anxious  to 
see  Calvin  there,  had  written  to  him  on  the  subject.  He  and  Beza 
acquainted  the  council  with  the  application,  and  prayed  that  the 
latter  might  be  allowed  to  go  to  Zurich,  to  ask  Peter  Martyr  of 

*  Schlosser,  Leben  Beza's,  s.  98.     Ruchat,  t.  vi.  p.  407. 


382  OPENING  OF  THE  COLLOQUY.  [CHAP.  XIT. 

that  canton  for  the  important  affair.  He  had  received  an  invi- 
tation from  France,  and  was  ready  to  travel  to  the  French  court. 
The  council  would  not  suffer  Calvin  to  join  these  two  distin- 
guished men  in  the  journey  unless  hostages  of  the  highest  rank 
were  given  for  his  security  :  his  colleague  however  was  prepared 
to  set  off  for  Zurich  and  France.  Zurich  gave  a  friendly  assent 
to  the  application  made  respecting  Martyr,  and  France  now  in- 
vited both  him  and  Beza  in  all  proper  form. 

Beza  gave  good  proof  of  his  prudence  in  first  consulting  Bul- 
linger  on  the  manner  in  which  he  ought  to  express  himself  at 
Poissy.  Bullinger  had  shown  great  indignation  on  account  of 
the  language  used  at  Worms.  Beza  at  length  set  out ;  and  Cal- 
vin  undertook  to  perform  all  his  duties,  in  addition  to  his  own, 
during  his  absence.  This  was  a  fresh  instance  of  his  activity, 
advanced  now  as  he  was  in  years,  and  oppressed  by  weakness  *. 

The  opening  of  the  celebrated  assembly  had  been  fixed  for 
August  10th,  1561  ;  it  took  place  on  the  9th  of  September.  The 
states  (etats  generaux)  of  the  kingdom  were  assembled  at  the 
same  time  at  Pontoise  :  it  was  there  proposed  that  the  queen- 
mother  should  resign  the  regency,  but  she  skilfully  avoided  the 
danger.  In  an  address  to  the  king,  the  speaker  said,  that  it  was 
the  duty  of  his  majesty  to  follow  the  example  of  king  Josiah,  to 
read  the  Scriptures,  to  reform  his  kingdom,  and  allow  the  as- 
semblies of  the  evangelical.  The  prelates  met  to  prepare  for  the 
Colloquy,  and  the  ministers  of  the  reformed  church  arrived  at  the 
same  time  at  Poissy;  Marlorat,  St.  Pol,  Merlin,  Malot,  Des 
Gallars,  and  Spina :  Beza  and  Martyr  arrived  later.  They  were 
conveyed,  for  their  security,  to  St.  Germain  en  Laye,  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  the  castle.  Those  who  first  arrived  presented  a 
petition  to  the  king  on  the  17th  of  August.  In  this  address 
they  besought  him  to  make  their  confession  of  faith  known  to 
his  bishops,  that  they  might  learn  their  objections  thereto  ;  but 
they  protested  against  the  bishops  being  made  their  judges. 
They  desired  that  he  himself,  his  mother,  the  king  of  Navarre, 
and  God's  own  word,  should  alone  decide  the  cause.  This  peti- 
tion they  presented  with  their  own  hands  to  the  king,  who  re- 
ceived it  friendly.  Beza  reached  St.  Germain,  and  without  any 
safe  conduct,  August  23,  and  Martyr  still  later. 

*  Among  others,  we  may  refer  to  the  letter  written  August  27,  1561,  MS. 
Gen.  Speaking  of  the  death  of  Varrenus,  he  says,  "  He  is  happy,  I  am  mi- 
serable. We  are  unequal,  in  such  paucity,  to  our  burden."  Some  of  the 
absent  ministers  had  to  be  recalled  ;  even  Colonge  from  the  duchess  of 
Ferrara. 


A.D.  15G1-62.]    OPENING  OF  THE  COLLOQUY.  383 

Beza  now  stood  wholly  exposed  as  a  prey  to  the  humours  of 
the  French  court,  and  Catherine.  But  that  court  beheld  in  him 
a  man  of  great  accomplishments,  of  noble,  elegant  exterior;  a 
Frenchman  ;  mighty  in  speech  ;  faithful;  endowed  with  presence 
of  mind,  and  ready  at  any  moment  to  sacrifice  his  life  for  the 
Gospel.  He  first  appeared  before  the  regent  one  evening  in  the 
apartment  of  the  king  of  Navarre,  with  many  great  personages : 
she  had  the  courtesy  to  ask  immediately  after  Calvin's  health  ; 
and  the  conversation  was  carried  on  till  far  into  the  night*. 

Amidst  all  the  tumult  of  parties,  the  public  preaching  of  the 
word  was  not  interrupted.  Sermons  were  delivered  both  in  the 
castle  of  St.  Germain  and  in  other  places,  before  large  assem- 
blies of  the  nobility.  The  freedom  thus  enjoyed  was  even  in- 
creased by  the  arrival  of  the  queen  of  Navarre.  Beza  received 
a  short  letter  from  Calvin,  in  which  the  latter  warns  him  against 
allowing  the  Lotharingian  to  make  him  too  secure,  and  adds  jest- 
ingly, "  I  warn  you  that  I  am  also  a  brother  of  the  cardinal  of 
Ferrara  ;  for  when  he  once  embraced  me  here,  thirteen  years  ago, 
he  promised  always  to  entertain  for  me  the  most  brotherly  affec- 
tion :  take  care,  therefore,  not  to  oppose  yourself  too  proudly  to 
me,  for  I  could  return  like  with  like."  He  desired  that  Des  Gallars 
might  be  sent  back  to  him  as  soon  as  possible. 

As  on  the  8th  of  September  the  clergy  had  received  no  answer 
to  their  address  presented  on  the  l?th  of  August,  they  again 
applied  to  the  king,  and  requested  information  to  be  given  them 
in  writing.  Their  petition  was  read  in  the  presence  of  the  whole 
court :  the  queen  let  them  know  that  they  must  be  content  with 
her  verbal  assurance,  that  the  bishops  would  not  be  their  judges. 
Immediately  after  this,  twelve  Parisian  priests,  Sorbonnists,  en- 
tered, and  besought  the  queen  not  to  allow  heretics,  who  refused 
to  recognize  the  bishops  as  judges,  to  dispute  with  them,  which 
would  occasion  great  scandal.  They  were  answered,  that  it  had 
been  determined  that  the  reformed  should  be  heard.  A  royal 
secretary  was  directed  to  prepare  the  protocol :  the  Sorbonnc  pro- 
tested against  it. 

Beza  was  permitted  daily  to  proclaim  the  word  of  God  before  the 
king  of  Navarre  ;  and  so  affected  him,  that  he  led  him  to  mistrust 
the  jurist  Balduin,  who  had  been  invited  to  prepare  the  way  for  a 
union,  and  brought  with  him  from  Germany  a  double-meaning 

*  Beza  gave  an  account  of  his  interview  and  proceedings  to  Calvin,  August 
25,  1561.  See  also  his  Hist.  Eccles.  p.  494,  and  Ed.  Laus.  Ep.  309.  Ed. 
Amst.  p.  154. 


384  OPENING  OF  THE  COLLOQUY.      [CHAP.  XII. 

treatise  by  Cassander,  on  the  subject  of  religious  communion. 
Beza  was  profoundly  moved  before  the  opening  of  the  assembly. 
In  a  letter  to  Calvin*  he  says,  "  We  in  the  meantime  pray  to  God 
without  ceasing,  and  are  confident  that  the  prayers  of  those  at  a 
distance  will  not  be  without  fruit.  If  our  friend  Martyr  hasten 
hither,  his  arrival  will  greatly  strengthen  our  souls.  We  shall 
have  to  do  with  old  sophists ;  and  although  we  depend  on  this 
that  the  simple  truth  of  the  word  will  conquer,  it  is  not  for  every 
one  to  solve  their  subtle  falsehoods,  and  to  meet  their  quotations 
from  the  fathers  with  others.  When  I  consider  these  difficulties, 
I  am  full  of  anguish,  and  greatly  lament  the  sin  of  which  we  are 
guilty,  in  tempting  the  goodness  of  God,  by  leaving  the  most  ex- 
cellent of  his  instruments  unemployed.  We  have  resolved  how- 
ever not  to  retreat  a  step,  and  we  commit  ourselves  to  Him 
whom  the  world  cannot  overcome.  Lastly,  dear  brother,  as  you 
are  unable  to  aid  us  by  your  presence,  guide  us  like  children  by 
your  counsel,  and  in  all  other  ways,  though  from  a  distance. 
That  we  are  nothing  better  than  children,  I  see  and  feel  daily ; 
and  I  would  that  our  Lord  would  glorify  the  praise  of  his  won- 
drous wrisdom  by  your  mouth." 

The  next  day,  September  9,  which  was  appointed  for  the  con- 
ference, the  assembly  met  about  noon  in  the  great  refectory  of 
the  nunnery  at  Poissy.  The  king,  only  just  twelve  years  old, 
sat  upon  a  throne  :  on  his  right  hand  were  his  brother  the  duke 
of  Orleans  and  the  king  of  Navarre  ;  on  his  left,  the  queen-mother 
and  the  queen  of  Navarre ;  and  behind  him  numerous  princes 
and  nobles.  On  each  side  of  the  hall  were  three  cardinals. 
Before  them  sat  thirty-six  bishops  and  archbishops;  and  behind 
these  a  crowd  of  doctors  and  clergymen  of  all  ranks.  Silence 
having  been  commanded,  the  king  delivered  a  short  address  on 
the  object  of  the  assembly,  and  the  means  to  be  employed  for 
restoring  the  peace  of  the  kingdom.  The  chancellor  then  spoke: 
he  stated  that  the  nation  stood  exposed  to  ruin  through  the  pre- 
valence of  religious  discord  ;  and  he  admonished  the  meeting, 
that  if,  perchance,  corruptions  had  been  introduced  into  the 
church,  by  avarice  or  sloth,  they  ought  to  oppose  them  with  the 
whole  weight  of  their  authority  ;  while  the  other  party  must  rest 
assured,  that  it  should  no  longer  be  said,  that  they  were  con- 
demned unheard. 

The  ministers  of  the  reformed  church  now  approached,  con- 

*  Ed.  Laus.  Ep.  310.  Ed.  Amst.  p.  157.     Beza  Calvino,  Aug.  30,  1561. 


A.D.  1561-62.]   PROCEEDINGS  AT  THE  COLLOQUY.        385 

ducted  by  Francis  Guise  ;  they  were  twelve  in  number,  and 
were  habited  in  their  usual  simple  style.  Twenty-two  deputies 
of  the  various  congregations  accompanied  them  ;  and  the  whole 
party  now  stood  bareheaded,  before  the  court.  Beza,  addressing 
himself  to  the  king,  began  : — "  The  help  of  God  is  necessary  to 
success,  whatever  be  the  undertaking :"  saying  this,  he  imme- 
diately knelt  down  and  prayed.  He  commenced  with  a  simple 
confession  of  sin,  which  to  the  present  day  serves  as  the  intro- 
duction to  every  service  in  the  reformed  church.  This  being 
repeated,  he  said,  u  May  the  Lord  render  this  important  day  pro- 
fitable to  his  own  honour,  and  to  the  salvation  of  France,  and  of 
all  Christendom  !"  He  then  rose,  and  turning  to  the  king,  de- 
livered a  long  discourse,  in  which  he  first  endeavoured  to  confute 
the  accusations  brought  against  the  reformed,  and  especially  the 
error  of  the  bishops,  who  sought  to  make  it  appear  that  the 
ministers  of  the  new  faith  were  anxious  to  set  aside  the  higher 
offices  of  the  Catholic  church.  "  Do  not  believe,"  he  said,  "  that 
in  our  poor  estate  we  wish  to  liken  ourselves  to  you ;  for  rather 
do  we  desire  to  build  the  walls  of  Jerusalem,  and  to  establish  the 
spiritual  Temple/'  He  next  showed,  that,  in  the  main  doctrines, 
the  reformed  agreed  with  the  Catholics  ;  and  then  passing  to  the 
controverted  points,  he  carefully  enumerated  them. 

Beza  was  heard  with  profound  attention.  But  when  he  began 
to  touch  upon  the  sacrament  of  the  Lord's  Supper,  and  yielding 
himself  to  the  zeal  imparted  to  him  by  the  Zurichers,  let  fall  the 
words,  '  that  the  body  of  Christ  is  truly  given  us,  but  that,  as  to 
place,  it  is  as  far  from  the  bread  as  heaven  is  from  earth,'  a  sud- 
den uproar  arose  among  the  cardinals  and  the  bishops.  Some 
seized  upon  the  opportunity  to  exclaim,  "  He  has  blasphemed." 
Others  stood  up,  and  prepared  to  depart,  without  taking  any 
notice  of  the  presence  of  the  king.  The  cardinal  Tournon  now 
rose,  and  prayed  the  king  to  command  Beza  to  be  silent,  or  to 
permit  him  and  his  party  to  withdraw  ;  but  neither  was  allowed. 
Beza  then  addressed  the  prelates,  and  said,  "  My  lords,  I  beseech 
you  to  hear  the  end,  which  will  content  you :"  and  continuing 
his  speech,  he  confuted  the  accusations  brought  by  those  who 
pretended  that  the  reformed  were  engaged  in  exciting  the  people 
to  rebellion.  Having  ended  his  argument,  he  again  knelt  down 
with  all  his  companions,  and  presented  to  the  king  a  copy  of  the 
confession  of  the  reformed  church*. 

The  cardinal  Tournon  now  spoke  :  he  prayed  the  king  not  to 
believe  anything  which  had  just  been  said,  but  to  remain  true  to 
*  Hist.  Eccles.  p.  520. 

VOL.  II.  2  c 


386  PROCEEDINGS  AT  THE  COLLOQUY.   [CHAP.  XII. 

the  religion  of  his  forefathers ;  he  also  desired  that  a  day  might  be 
appointed,  when  he  might  answer  Beza  at  length.  The  day  after 
the  conference,  Beza  apologized  in  writing  for  the  rough  ex- 
pressions which  he  had  used  in  regard  to  the  sacrament  of  the 
Lord's  Supper.  It  is  easy  to  see  however  that  the  bishops  only 
sought  a  pretence  for  breaking  up  the  meeting.  It  is  no  less 
easy  to  discover,  how  deeply  infected  the  queen  and  her  courtiers 
were  with  error,  and  how  far  from  conversion,  when  so  noble  a 
testimony  to  the  faith  could  make  no  impression  on  their  hearts. 
Sometimes  indeed  there  was  an  appearance  of  assent,  but  they 
were  employed  solely  in  political  intrigues. 

In  the  meantime  a  letter  arrived  from  Calvin  :  it  affords  evi- 
dence of  his  penetrating  understanding,  and  speaks  clearly  of 
the  issue  of  the  conference.  He  had  heard  that  a  snare  had  been 
laid  for  the  brethren ;  and  that  they  had  been  required  to  sub- 
scribe the  Augsburg  Confession,  in  order  to  separate  them  from 
the  Swiss  *.  "  Let  the  others/5  he  says,  "  think  what  they  please, 
I  am  convinced  that  nothing  good  is  intended,  whatever  they 
may  promise.  Believe  me,  the  bishops  will  never  allow  it  to  come 
to  an  earnest  disputation.  They  who  are  at  the  helm  will  rather 
be  driven  to  extremities  than  be  compelled  to  order :  if  it  were 
left  to  them  to  prescribe  conditions,  they  would  probably  engage 
in  a  little  agreeable  skirmish  ;  but  now  they  find  that  they  must 
submit  to  certain  laws,  they  will  openly  reject  the  proposal  of  a 
discussion.  But  if  they  pretend  to  arm  themselves  for  the  con- 
flict, you  have  Peter  Martyr,  who,  according  to  my  reckoning, 
will  have  reached  you  at  the  right  time.  Although  I  have  begged 
you  so  much  not  to  speak  of  me,  you  cease  not  to  oppose  my 
wish  :  this  in  my  judgment  is  not  good.  I  have  designedly  barred 
the  door  against  myself  in  my  preface  to  Daniel.  Not  that  this 
labour  undertaken  by  you  would  be  contrary  to  my  inclinations, 
or  that  I  should  shrink  from  danger,  but  because  I  think  that  my 
presence  is  not  required,  where  there  are  so  many  well-instructed 
and  able  persons.  And  certainly  all,  you  and  Merlin  excepted, 
are  sufficiently  impetuous.  The  Augsburg  Confession  is,  as  you 
know,  the  torch  of  the  Fury,  who  wishes  to  kindle  a  fire  which 
would  consume  all  France.  But  we  must  understand  with  what 
design  this  confession  is  pressed  upon  us  :  its  lukewarmness  has 
always  been  displeasing  to  the  ardent :  it  was  unsatisfactory  to 
its  author,  and  was  chiefly  intended  for  popular  use ; — not  to 
mention,  that  its  brevity  has  given  rise  to  some  obscurities,  and 

*  Calvin  to  Beza,  Sept.  10,  1561.  Ed.  Laus.  Ep.  313.  Ed.  Amstcl.  p.  156. 


A.D.  1561-62.]   PROCEEDINGS  AT  THE  COLLOQUY.        387 

that  there  are  even  deficiencies  by  which  the  truth  appears 
mutilated.  It  would,  moreover,  be  contrary  to  sense,  to  reject 
the  French  confession  and  adopt  this.  What  materials  for  strife 
should  we  not  thereby  prepare  for  the  future  !  since  the  greater 
part  of  the  multitude  will  rarely  give  up  a  confession  already  re- 
ceived. I  deny  therefore  that  the  cardinal  and  his  creatures  can 
have  any  honourable  intentions,  if  they  pretend  to  accept  this 
confession  ;  but  they  lay  traps  for  you,  hoping  that  thereby  the 
present  conference  may  be  stopped,  and  all  things  thrown  into 
confusion.  I  suspect,  and  indeed  almost  firmly  believe,  that  a 
book  was  printed  by  Balduin,  at  Basel,  for  this  purpose." 

When  Calvin  however  heard  of  the  great  day,  he,  like  all 
others,  was  wonderfully  inspirited,  and  exclaimed,  "  O  happiest 
of  all  days,  on  which  that  freedom  has  been  given  to  the  church, 
which  could  not  indeed  fail  to  be  given  her,  but  which  it  has 
cost  so  much  labour  to  win  !"  "  Your  speech,"  he  says  to  Beza, 
"  is  here  :  God  wonderfully  guided  both  your  spirit  and  your 
tongue.  The  word,  which  so  greatly  excited  the  wrath  of  the 
holy  fathers,  could  not  have  been  left  unspoken,  unless  you  had 
been  willing  shamefully  to  conceal  the  truth,  and  to  expose  your- 
self to  the  insults  of  these  people,  who,  greatly  to  my  wonder, 
made  so  much  noise  about  this  thing  only,  whereas  they  were 
struck  no  less  heavily  by  other  passages  in  your  speech.  It  is 
ridiculous  for  them  to  pretend  that  the  conference  was  broken  up 
through  your  stumbling  on  this  expression.  They  would  have 
found  out  a  hundred  other  causes  of  offence,  though  they  now 
fasten  so  angrily  on  this  one  especially,  as  if  they  wished  it  to  be 
believed  that  they  were  ready  to  subscribe  to  all  the  rest  of  our 
doctrine  :  we  have  therefore  reason  to  rejoice  that  things  have 
thus  happened.  I  am  anxious  to  see  how  the  cardinal  will  con- 
trive to  repair  his  rags.  If  they  have  thus  made  an  end,  as  I 
suspect  they  have,  of  the  skirmish  before  the  battle,  they  will 
never  come,  1  believe,  to  a  real  fight.  Although  I  have  warned 
you  not  to  be  too  hasty  in  requiring  your  dismissal,  yet  the  legate, 
I  must  tell  you,  will  be  doing  me  a  very  acceptable  service  by 
allowing  you  a  speedy  departure." 

The  Catholic  theologians  had  in  the  meantime  assembled 
among  themselves.  The  cardinal  of  Lorraine  opened  the  meeting 
with  these  words  :  "  Would  that  we  had  all  been  dumb  or  deaf!" 
It  was  resolved  that  the  cardinal,  aided  by  Claude  d'Espence, 
should  write  a  speech,  the  two  main  points  of  which  should  re- 
spect the  church,  and  the  sacrament  of  the  Lord's  Supper.     It 

2  c  2 


388  PROCEEDINGS  AT  THE  COLLOQUY.  [CHAP.  XII. 

was  also  determined  that  they  should  draw  up  a  counter-confes- 
sion, which  the  reformed  should  be  called  upon  to  subscribe, 
and  that  if  they  refused,  they  should  be  condemned,  and  the 
conference  broken  up.  The  reformed,  on  being  made  acquainted 
with  this  proceeding,  applied  to  the  king,  and  the  chancellor  ac- 
knowledging the  weight  of  their  objections,  the  plan  was  frus- 
trated. 

On  the  6th  of  September  the  second  meeting  was  held.  The 
cardinal,  who  had  d'Espence  at  his  back,  delivered  the  speech 
which  had  been  prepared,  and  which  concluded  with  the  words, 
"  If  the  Protestants  adhere  to  their  belief,  that  Christ  is  in  heaven 
only,  and  not  on  earth,  then  I  confess  that  I  am  as  far  from  their 
opinion  as  heaven  is  from  earth/5  As  soon  as  he  had  ended, 
Tournon  rose  to  depart ;  but  Beza  said,  and  in  the  name  of  the 
ministers  with  him,  to  the  king,  "  that  he  was  ready  immediately 
to  answer  the  cardinal;  and  that  if  they  would  not  hear  him 
then,  he  desired  them  to  appoint  a  day,  on  which  the  subject 
might  be  treated  according  to  the  Holy  Scriptures."  The 
bishops  also  turned  to  the  king ;  and  the  latter  informed  the  mi- 
nisters, by  the  captain  of  the  guard,  that  a  time  should  be  ap- 
pointed for  hearing  them. 

Beza  and  his  companions  were  anxious  to  be  heard  imme- 
diately on  the  following  day ;  but  it  was  not  till  after  a  week 
that  they  obtained  their  wish.  A  third  meeting  was  appointed 
for  the  24th  of  September ;  it  took  place  in  a  small  apartment,  in 
the  presence  of  the  queen-mother  and  the  queen  of  Navarre.  The 
princes,  the  council,  five  cardinals,  with  sixteen  doctors  and 
bishops,  wrere  also  present.  The  Protestant  church  was  to  be 
represented  by  the  ministers ;  among  these  was  Peter  Martyr, 
who  had  arrived  three  days  before. 

In  this  conference  Beza  spoke  of  the  doctrine  of  the  church, 
and  occupied,  as  he  states,  an  hour  and  a  half  in  his  speech  :  all 
heard  him  with  the  greatest  attention,  and  he  hoped  that  much 
good  might  follow  his  address.  The  cardinal,  and  a  monk,  De 
Xantes,  answered  him  with  the  utmost  vehemence;  but  the 
former  passed  suddenly  to  the  doctrine  of  the  sacrament :  "  See," 
he  said,  drawing  a  paper  from  his  pocket,  "  what  I  have  lately 
received  from  Germany :  it  is  signed  by  forty-two  ministers." 
This  was  the  Wiirtemherg  Confession,  of  the  year  1559,  and  in 
which  it  was  said,  that  the  communicants  receive  the  body  of 
Christ  truly,  actually,  and  sacramentally.  But  the  doctrine  of 
transubstantiation  was  rejected.     The  passage  in  which  this  was 


A.D.  1561-62.]   PROCEEDINGS  AT  THE  COLLOQUY.        389 

stated,  the  cardinal  omitted  to  read,  but  immediately  demanded  of 
the  ministers  whether  they  were  willing  to  subscribe  this  docu- 
ment. "  d'Espence,"  says  Beza,  "  thought  that  we  should  not 
shrink  from  the  word  (  actually/  if  the  witness  of  a  great  man 
was  cited  to  us  :  he  therefore  quoted  three  passages  out  of  your 
own  work  against  Hesshus.  I  interrupted  him  by  observing,  that 
I  recognized  the  words  of  my  teacher  ;  but  when  I  was  preparing 
to  answer,  the  purple  autocrat  would  not  allow  me.  I  offered 
to  prove  to  the  queen  not  only  the  article  on  this  point,  but 
our  whole  confession  ;  and  I  concluded  by  asking  the  cardinal, 
whether  he  would  himself  subscribe  what  he  proposed  to  us. 
Caught  in  this  net,  he  began  to  seek  some  subterfuge." 

It  was  the  object  of  the  cardinal,  as  Calvin  had  shown,  to 
perplex  the  reformed.  By  refusing  to  subscribe  the  Lutheran 
confession,  they  would  become  hated  in  Germany;  while,  by 
subscribing  it,  they  would  render  themselves  obnoxious  to  the 
Swiss.  The  design  of  the  cardinal  to  break  up  the  conference 
wTas  obvious ;  and  Calvin  declared  himself,  from  this  time,  op- 
posed to  the  Augsburg  Confession.  It  would  have  been  incon- 
sistent, he  said  to  the  king  of  Navarre,  to  receive  this,  and  reject 
that  to  which  they  had  solemnly  pledged  themselves.  "  If  they 
had  not  so  glorious  a  subscription  as  the  blood  of  martyrs,  yet 
was  their  confession  drawn  from  the  pure  word  of  God,  and  had 
been  already  presented  to  the  king*." 

We  return  to  the  proceedings  of  the  Colloquy.  On  the  26th 
of  September  the  ministers  presented  a  writing  to  the  queen,  in 
which  they  complained  that  they  had  been  attacked,  in  the  pre- 
ceding conference,  on  their  ministerial  calling ;  that  an  effort 
had  been  made  to  induce  them  to  sign  a  confession ;  whereas 
they  were  not  there  for  themselves  alone,  but  had  the  eyes  of  a 
million  Protestants  upon  them  and  the  conference  :  they  desired 
a  well-regulated  discussion.  Beza  was  answered  by  the  cardi- 
nal, who  exhibited  no  slight  degree  of  warmth  and  excitement, 
that  the  Catholics  had  a  right  to  complain  of  those  who  had 
forced  themselves  into  their  churches  without  a  call ;  that  the 
reformed  did  not  desire  peace,  for  that  they  were  seeking  to  over- 
throw the  two  main  supports  of  the  kingdom  of  France,  that  is, 
the  ecclesiastical  and  the  royal  authority  ;  and  he  described  them 
as  enemies,  who  ought  to  be  instantly  carried  before  the  ma- 
gistrate. 

Beza  replied,  that  "  If  the  Catholic  party  would  first  subscribe 
*  MS.  Paris,  1561,  au  Roy  de  Navarre. 


390  PROCEEDINGS  AT  THE  COLLOQUY.    [CHAP.  XII. 

the  Augsburg  Confession,  all  might  still  be  well."  The  doctrine 
of  the  Lord's  Supper  was  now  again  brought  forward.  Peter 
Martyr  spoke  learnedly,  in  Italian,  on  the  whole  subject,  and 
compelled  all  to  enter  into  the  very  heart  of  the  question.  The 
queen-mother  listened  with  attention;  but  the  cardinal  inter- 
rupted the  speaker  with  the  remark,  "  That  he  wished  to  have 
to  do  with  those  only  Avho  understood  his  language." 

The  Spaniard  Laynez,  the  general  of  the  Jesuits,  now  rose : 
he  spoke  for  an  hour;  heaped  abuse  upon  the  Protestants; 
called  their  ministers  "apes  and  foxes;"  and  asserted  that  they 
had  submitted  themselves  to  the  Council  of  Trent.  Beza  an- 
swered him  as  he  deserved,  exposed  him  to  ridicule,  and  con- 
tinued the  discussion  with  d'Espence. 

But  this  conference  proved  fruitless.  After  much  contention, 
Beza  relates,  night  came  on  :  all  prepared  to  depart.  The  queen 
then  called  Beza  and  the  cardinal  into  the  midst  of  the  assembly, 
and  adjured  them,  in  the  name  of  God,  to  seek  peace.  All  pre- 
sent rushed  tumultuously  around  them  :  the  strife  was  renewed  : 
a  confused  murmur  arose,  and  the  increasing  night  alone  put  an 
end  to  the  uproar.  Overpowered  with  weariness,  Beza,  before 
retiring  to  rest,  wrote  to  Calvin  :  "  Here  everything  is  dis- 
agreeable to  me,  compared  with  my  very  dear  Geneva,  the 
thought  of  which  alone  revives  me." 

The  queen-mother  now  resolved  that  Monluc,  a  moderate  ca- 
tholic, d'Espence,  and  three  others,  should  confer  with  Beza  and 
Martyr,  Des  Gallars,  Marlorat  and  L'Espine,  respecting  an 
agreement  on  the  subject  of  the  sacrament.  In  a  second  con- 
ference, held  September  29,  after  these  five  had  employed  three 
days  on  each  side  in  deliberation,  a  formulary  was  prepared 
which  created  general  satisfaction*.  All  now  believed,  that  as 
there  was  an  agreement  on  the  main  point,  every  difficulty  was 
removed.  The  queen  ordered  Monluc  and  Beza  to  be  called 
into  her  presence ;  she  expressed  to  them  her  entire  approval. 
The  cardinal,  who  also  came,  declared  that  he  had  never  believed 
otherwise  than  what  was  now  stated,  and  that  the  convention 
itself  would  doubtless  be  content  with  what  had  been  done. 

But  the  contrary  to  what  was  expected  happened.  When  the 
formulary  was  presented  to  the  whole  assembly,  though  approved 
by  many,  it  was  rejected,  after  a  debate  of  six  days,  on  the  9th 
of  October,  by  a  majority  of  voices,  as  heretical.  The  cardinal 
was  severely  censured  for  his  conduct :  a  counter-statement  was 
*  See  Schlosser,  Leben  Bcza's,  p.  142. 


A.D.  1561-62.]  LETTERS  OF  CALVIN.  391 

to  be  drawn  up,  showing  the  insufficiency  and  the  defective  cha- 
racter of  the  confession.  The  doctors  and  prelates  declared  that, 
if  the  reformed  should  refuse  to  subscribe  the  articles  of  belief, 
which  it  was  now  proposed  to  lay  before  them,  they  would  se- 
parate from  them  for  ever,  and  they  must  be  banished  as  here- 
tics from  the  kingdom.  But  notwithstanding  this  threat,  a 
triumph  was  hereby  prepared  for  the  evangelical  church.  Cal- 
vin, oppressed  with  sickness,  again  cherished  the  hope  that  their 
affairs  would  prosper  nobly. 

«  I  can  scarcely  describe  to  you,"  he  says,  in  a  letter  to  Beza*, 
«  how  happy  your  letters  make  me  ;  they  place  me  in  the  midst 
of  your  proceedings:  although  our  circumstances  are  not  on  all 
sides  prosperous,  we  have  more  occasion  for  joy  than  for  discon- 
tent and  anger.  Praised  be  our  God,  again  and  again,  who  in- 
tends to  exalt  us,  as  it  seems,  above  the  clouds,  that  we  may 
embrace  the  feet  of  the  victorious  Christ,  and  look  down  trium- 
phant from  above  upon  our  enemies,  his  as  well  as  ours.  1  can 
give  you  nothing  for  thanks,  unless  you  would  be  satisfied  with 
brass  instead  of  gold.  That  you  may  know  however  that  while 
you  are  contending  on  the  battle-field,  in  the  sweat  of  your 
brow,  and  with  all  earnestness,  I  am  here,  in  the  shade,  carrying 
on  an  easy  conflict,  I  send  you  my  answer  to  Balduin's  libel,  lie 
cautious  not  to  object  to  anything  therein,  lest  I  should  say  that 
you  belong  to  the  faction  which  it  will  most  displease." 

Soon  after  this  his  hopes  again  declined,  and  in  the  same  me- 
lancholy state  of  his  health  he  wrote  to  Bezaf :  "  I  should  have 
committed  the  task  of  writing  to  you  to  another,  had  I  not  feared 
that  your  distress  and  apprehensions  might  have  been  thereby 
increased.  I  should  not  be  sorry  to  see  the  Colloquy  broken  up 
by  our  opponents  under  any  circumstances  :  events  are  far  from 
being  sufficiently  ripe  to  encourage  the  hope  that  pure  religion 
can  flourish  with  the  consent  of  these  men.  To  have  been 
contented  with  only  a  part  of  what  we  asked,  would  have  been 
nothing  else  than  to  interrupt  the  free  course  of  truth.  ^  1  could 
wish  that  in  the  present  matter  (the  breaking-up  of  the  Colloquy  | 
you  were  ready  to  yield." 

Now  followed  an  intrigue  with  the  German  theologians,  whom 
the  cardinal  had  summoned  with  the  design  of  increasing  the 
confusion  %.     Balduin  appeared  with  the  work  written  by  Cas- 

*  Ed.Laus.  Ep.317.   Ed.Amstel.  p.  159,  Oct.  7,  1561,  to  B« 
t  Ed.Laus.  Ep.323.  Ed.Amstel.  p.  I62,0ct.l5,  1561. 

{  Beza,  Hist.  Ecclcs.  p.  612-644. 


392  TERMINATION  OF  THE  COLLOQUY.   [CHAP.  XII. 

sander,  but  too  late  to  obtain  applause,  and  already  answered  by 
Calvin.  Jacob  Andrea  and  his  companions  had  an  audience : 
they  wished  to  compel  a  subscription  to  the  Augsburg  Confes- 
fession,  and,  not  succeeding,  returned  discontented  home.  The 
regent  indeed  said  to  the  Tubingen  theologians  at  their  de- 
parture, that  she  was  heartily  attached  to  the  Confession  of 
Augsburg  ;  but  these  words  availed  nothing.  On  the  13th  of  Oc- 
tober the  prelates  retired  from  Poissy,  but  first  made  the  king 
certain  grants,  so  that  it  was  commonly  reported,  that  the  con- 
vention had  only  been  assembled  in  order  to  frighten  the  church, 
and  to  drag  money  from  her*. 

Such  was  the  end  of  the  celebrated  Colloquy,  which,  through 
the  sin  of  the  clergy  and  of  the  queen,  who  were  only  anxious  to 
avail  themselves  of  the  assistance  of  each  party  to  oppress  them 
both,  remained  apparently  without  result.  But  it  was  followed 
in  reality  by  the  most  important  consequences.  The  Protestants 
were  now,  for  the  first  time,  openly  recognized,  and  their  cause 
at  once  acquired  unheard-of  success.  No  one  can  justly  accuse 
Calvin  or  Beza  of  extravagance  in  the  views  which  they  advo- 
cated at  the  Colloquy :  they  were  in  no  wise  enemies  to  episco- 
pacy, and  had  never  desired  its  abolition.  Beza  declared  this 
distinctly  in  his  first  speech*  But  the  cardinal  of  Lorraine  had 
from  twelve  to  fifteen  benefices,  bishoprics  and  archbishoprics ; 
and  was  accused  at  the  same  time  of  corrupting  all  the  fairest 
women  at  the  court.  How  could  men  of  this  kind  be  made  con- 
tented with  one  bishopric,  one  woman,  and  the  severe  Calvinistic 
moral  code  ? 

Beza  was  anxious,  when  Martyr  left,  to  return  to  Geneva. 
On  taking  leave  of  the  queen-mother,  she  said  to  him,  "You 
are  a  Frenchman :  we  would  fain  avail  ourselves  of  your  aid  to 
try  whether  we  may  not  quiet  the  agitation  of  the  kingdom." 
This  compelled  him  to  remain.  The  reformed  began  to  preach 
publicly  in  all  parts  of  the  country ;  they  even  possessed  them- 
selves of  some  of  the  churches  in  various  places,  and  experienced 
little  resistance.  Calvin  was  displeased  at  this,  and  expressed 
himself  against  it  to  Farel  and  Beza.  When  the  command  of 
the  king  was  issued  directing  the  immediate  surrender  of  the 
churches,  the  reformed  obeyed  at  once  the  direction  of  their 
ministers.  Pastors  were  called  for  on  all  sides :  the  queen  of 
Navarre  desired  to  have  three  sent  her.  Calvin  now  exhorted 
Beza  to  remain  in  France  for  the  sake  of  establishing  the  church. 

*  Beza,  p.  665. 


A.D.  1561-62.]        STATE  OF  AFFAIRS  IN  FRANCE.  393 

"  You  must  remain,"  he  wrote  to  him,  "  unless  we  would  betray 
our  own  cause,  and  let  the  church,  exposed  now  to  the  greatest 
danger,  be  altogether  ruined."  The  prince  of  Conde,  the  queen 
of  Navarre,  and  the  admiral  Coligny,  addressed  the  council  of 
Geneva  that  they  might  retain  Beza  in  France  :  he  was  work- 
ing beneficially  on  both  parties. 

It  was  at  this  time  that  the  pope  desired  Philip  of  Spain  to 
gain  over  Anton  of  Navarre  for  the  Catholics.  The  Spaniards 
had  deprived  him  of  his  territories,  and  it  was  proposed  to  him 
to  separate  from  his  present  queen  and  marry  Mary  of  Scotland. 
If  he  accepted  this  proposal,  he  was  to  be  put  in  possession  of 
Sardinia.  He  agreed  to  what  was  desired  and  rejoined  the  Ca- 
tholics :  the  latter  were  therefore  as  little  sincere  in  their  wish 
for  union  as  they  had  formerly  been  at  Worms.  Catherine 
however  sent  a  plan  of  reformation  to  Rome,  and  the  convention 
was  dissolved.  The  so-called  triumvirate,  consisting  of  the  duke 
of  Guise,  Montmorenci,  and  St.  Andre,  had  now  been  formed. 
Catherine  wished  to  employ  the  force  of  the  evangelical  party 
against  this  alliance,  and  she  desired  the  admiral  to  give  her  the 
number  of  the  reformed  churches  :  she  even  inquired  what  num- 
ber of  troops  they  could  bring  her ;  and  hence  the  Protestants 
in  France  were  converted  into  a  political  party.  Legitimate  au- 
thority was  employed  in  giving  it  this  character.  The  queen 
ordered  a  manifesto  to  be  read  in  all  the  churches ;  it  stated, 
"  That  she  was  ready  to  employ  the  assistance  of  the  Protestants 
against  the  foreigners,  who,  under  the  pretence  of  religion,  were 
prepared  to  invade  the  kingdom."  All  the  objections  urged 
against  the  reformed  fell  to  the  ground  when  this  was  said. 

Beza  employed  his  time  in  Paris  in  labouring  to  spread  the 
pure  doctrine :  he  himself  speaks  forcibly  in  his  letters  to  Cal- 
vin of  his  preaching  in  the  Faubourg  St.  Antoine,  and  afterwards 
in  the  Medards-Kirche,  and  of  the  tumult  and  conflict  there, 
when  the  priests  rang  all  the  bells  to  drown  the  voice  of  the 
preacher  in  the  church-yard,  and  how  thereupon  the  church  was 
stormed.  The  reformers  now  preached  for  the  first  time  under 
the  protection  of  the  magistrates,  and  they  led  ten  priests  bound 
through  the  streets  of  Paris.  At  length  the  edict  of  January 
1562  was  granted  :  by  this  the  regent,  as  the  rightful  authority, 
secured  to  the  evangelical  church  the  free  exercise  of  religion. 
The  edict  was  published  on  the  6th  of  March.  It  was  for  Beza 
to  manage  the  whole  affair:  his  situation  was  one  of  great  per- 


394  CONFERENCE  AT  ST.  GERMAIN.  [CHAP.  XII. 

plexity:    Calvin  constantly  exhorted  him  to  remain*;  but  the 
people  of  Geneva  feared  to  lose  him  for  everf. 

Preparations  were  made  in  February  1562  for  another  Col- 
loquy. The  regent  thought  that  if  she  could  bring  the  two  par- 
ties to  an  agreement  on  the  subject  of  images,  all  the  rest  might 
soon  be  arranged.  A  conference  was  accordingly  held  between 
the  Sorbonnists  and  the  Reformed  in  the  great  hall  of  the  palace 
at  St.  Germain,  and  in  the  presence  of  the  court.  The  first  sub- 
ject of  discussion  was  the  worship  of  images  :  this  Beza  treated 
with  his  customary  skill.  The  Catholic  bishops  delivered  their 
judgment  on  the  other  side :  it  was  marked  by  moderation. 
The  image  of  the  Trinity  was  forbidden,  and  all  superstitious 
observances  were  rejected ;  but  Beza  would  yield  nothing  on  this 
point.  No  dispute  was  to  take  place  on  this  occasion  respecting 
the  sacrament.  Calvin  objected  to  Beza,  that  in  his  discussions 
with  the  Catholics,  he  depended  too  much  on  the  testimony  of 
the  fathers. 

Beza  answered  the  Sorbonnists  in  a  very  eloquent  treatise, 
which  he  presented  to  the  regent  upon  his  knees ;  and  prayed 
her  to  remove  images  from  the  churches,  particularizing  those  of 
the  Trinity  and  of  the  Virgin,  and  those  which  were  placed  by 
the  way- side,  with  the  crucifixes,  before  which  the  people  were 
accustomed  to  prostrate  themselves.  As  the  general  of  the  Je- 
suits spoke  much  in  allusion  to  the  Council  of  Trent,  the  re- 
formed declared,  in  an  epistle  to  Catherine,  that  they  themselves 
heartily  desired  a  christian,  a  free,  general  council ;  one  at 
which  the  churches  of  England,  Scotland,  Germany,  Denmark, 
Poland,  Sweden,  and  Switzerland,  might  be  represented ;  pro- 
testing only  against  a  repetition  of  the  Council  of  Constance^ 
and  the  appointment  of  the  pope  as  judge  of  its  proceedings, 
instead  of  submitting  the  whole  to  the  rule  of  God's  word.  It 
seems  that  Calvin's  opinion  had  been  asked  respecting  the  con- 
ditions of  such  a  council.  The  ministers  proposed  it  at  the  end 
of  the  meeting  at  St.  Germain. 

*  Ed.  Laus.  Ep.  330.  Ed.  Amst.  p.  1C5.  He  told  him  that  he  must  on  no 
account  forsake  his  post,  as  long  as  he  was  permitted  to  remain,  unless  he  was 
sure  of  leaving  behind  him  some  faithful  successor.  "  If  you  suffer  violence," 
he  added,  "  you  must  bear  it  with  patience.  He  who  is  compelled  to  depart 
docs  not  forsake  his  post.  If  by  the  will  or  the  permission  of  the  church  you 
are  removed,  there  is  nothing  to  say  against  it." 

T  MS.  Gen.  Calv.  Bezre,  19th  Nov.  1561.  The  senate,  Calvin  says,  was 
full  of  anxiety  about  him.  Also,  Jan.  1562,  MS.  Gen.  : — The  brethren  were 
wonderfully  rejoiced,  he  says,  at  receiving  letters  from  him.  Of  himself  he 
says,  "  I  feel  deprived  of  I  know  not  what,  while  you  are  absent." 


A.D.  1562-63.]  EDICT  OF  JANUARY  1561.  395 

The  reformed  faitli  was,  in  the  meanwhile,  wonderfully  suc- 
cessful:  Calvin  had  the  delight  to  see  the  Gospel  established 
on  a  firm  foundation*.  The  edict  of  January  was  the  first  vic- 
tory of  the  evangelical  church  in  France  f  :  it  was  there  declared, 
"  That  the  king,  by  the  edict  of  July,  had  strictly  forbidden  the 
holding  of  any  assembly ;  but  that  this  had  not  been  observed : 
that  he  now  therefore  commanded  the  reformed  immediately  to 
vacate  the  churches  which  they  had  taken  ;  to  refrain  from  throw- 
ing down  any  cross  or  picture  ;  to  hold  no  meetings  in  any  town ; 
but  it  was  added,  they  might,  without  being  punished,  assemble 
outside  the  towns  for  the  purpose  of  religious  worship :  those 
who  interfered  with  them  in  such  cases  should  be  severely  pu- 
nished: consistories  and  synods  might  also  be  held  with  the 
knowledge,  and  in  the  presence,  of  the  proper  authorities."  Cal- 
vin remarked  on  this,  that  if  the  points  here  stated  were  properly 
observed,  the  papacy  was  overthrown  J;  and  this  was  also  felt 
to  be  the  case  by  the  opposite  party.  The  progress  of  the  Re- 
formation in  France  thus  far  resembled  its  course  in  Germany. 
The  confession  drawn  up  at  Augsburg  wrought  with  a  distinct 
and  quickening  force;  but  it  could  not  prevent  the  religious 
conflicts  of  after-years. 

We  have  some  interesting  information  respecting  a  conference 
which  took  place  at  this  time,  and  which  was  held  for  the  pur- 
pose of  putting  a  blind  before  the  eyes  of  the  German  princes. 
In  the  winter  of  the  year  1562,  we  see  the  pious  duke  Christo- 
pher, with  Brentius,  Andrea,  and  other  Lutheran  theologians, 
setting  off  for  Zabern  in  Alsace.  Francis  de  Guise,  and  his 
brothers,  the  cardinal  and  the  grand-prior,  met  them  there.  The 
cardinal  appeared  with  a  pious,  benevolent  countenance  before 
the  Germans  :  he  wished  it  to  be  thought  that  he  was  a  good 
Lutheran,  and  that  he  would  willingly  have  signed  the  Augs- 
burg Confession  at  Poissy.  We  have  seen  however  that  when 
Beza  asked  him  to  do  so.  he  refused :  now  he  declared  that,  as 
he  valued  his  souPs  salvation,  he  agreed  with  them.  This  took 
place  on  the  1  7th  of  February:  but  when  it  was  believed  that 
the  princes  had  been  lulled  to  sleep,  an  infamous  and  sanguinary 
scene  was  enacted  on  their  return,  at  Vassy.  The  landgrave 
Philip  wrote  on  the  occasion  to  his  deeply- afflicted  cousin,  say- 
ing, "It  had  often  occurred  that  pious  people  were  betrayed, 
but  God  would  still  find  a  way  for  the  exposure  of  the  Guises." 
This  leads  us  to  a  review  of  the  religious  wars. 

*  MS.  Bern,      t  Beza,  p.  674.      J  MS.  Bern,  Calv.  Sturmio,  25  Mart.  1562. 


396  MASSACRE  AT  VASSY.  [CHAP.  XIII. 

CHAPTER  XIII. 

FIRST  RELIGIOUS  WAR. — THE  PEACE. 1562-1563. 

While  the  queen  was  employing  her  whole  influence  with  the 
parliament  to  set  all  in  motion,  and  thereby  secure  the  publica- 
tion of  the  edict  of  January,  the  duke  of  Guise  arrived  in  Paris 
with  a  number  of  men  prepared  for  controversy  :  his  wife,  a 
daughter  of  the  duchess  of  Ferrara,  accompanied  him*.  En- 
raged for  a  long  time  against  the  inhabitants  of  Vassy,  who  were 
Protestants,  he  sent  thither  his  troops  :  it  was  the  1st  of  March. 
The  reformed,  to  the  number  of  a  thousand  or  twelve  hundred, 
were  celebrating  the  Lord's  Supper  in  a  barn,  with  profound  de- 
votion. The  duke  sent  word  that  they  were  not  to  disperse  :  he 
then  surrounded  the  place  with  soldiers.  Just  as  the  preacher 
was  beginning  his  sermon,  the  door  was  burst  open ;  the  mur- 
derers rushed,  with  horrid  blasphemies,  upon  the  unarmed  mul- 
titude, and  struck  down  whomever  they  found.  Twenty-two 
persons  were  killed  on  the  spot,  and  one  hundred  and  sixteen 
wounded,  many  of  whom  died  of  the  injuries  they  received.  All 
were  plundered ;  and  the  preacher  was  murdered  while  uttering 
the  noble  words  of  the  psalmist,  "  Thou  hast  redeemed  me,  Thou 
God  of  truth  \"  Guise  himself  was  present  with  drawn  sword: 
he  found  a  large  bible  and  brought  it  to  his  brother,  the  cardinal, 
who  stood  in  the  neighbouring  church-yard.  "  Read/'  said  the 
duke,  "  the  title  of  these  writings  of  the  Huguenots."  The  cardi- 
nal told  him  that  the  volume  was  the  Holy  Scriptures.  "  What," 
said  the  duke,  confused,  "  has  the  Bible  been  written  fifteen  hun- 
dred years,  and  was  only  printed  a  year  ago  ?  Par  la  mart  de 
Dieu,  tout  n'en  vaut  Hen." 

Beza  immediately  demanded  of  the  queen  that  judicial  pro- 
ceedings should  be  instituted  against  the  murderers;  but  the 
duke  of  Guise  laughed  at  the  demand,  and  despised  the  orders 
of  the  queen,  who  being  more  skilled  in  intrigue  than  in  govern- 
ment, was  anxious  to  keep  from  offending  either  party.  Guise 
was  received  in  Paris  with  every  mark  of  honour  and  rejoicing : 
the  people  shouted  as  he  passed,  "  Long  live  the  duke  !"  He  was 
proud  of  his  triumph,  and  king  Anton  and  the  queen  entered 
into  a  strict  confederacy  with  him.     Beza  stood  exposed  to  the 

*  Beza,  p.  722. 


A.D.  1562-63.]       COMMENCEMENT  OF  HOSTILITIES.  397 

greatest  danger,  and  was  obliged  to  flee  with  all  possible  speed 
to  Orleans ;  but  it  is  easy  to  perceive  by  his  letters  how  he,  as 
well  as  Calvin,  in  the  midst  of  all  the  threats  and  horrors  by 
which  the  Protestants  were  assailed,  still  remained  full  of  hope. 
The  fire  was  now  kindled  throughout  the  kingdom :  the  Guises 
possessed  themselves  of  the  person  of  the  king,  and  conveyed 
him  to  the  castle  of  Melun  :  "  Vassy"  was  the  watch-word  for 
massacre  in  many  parts  of  the  country,  especially  at  Cahors, 
Toulouse,  Tours,  Amiens,  and  Sens. 

But  the  whole  body  of  French  Protestants  now  arose ;  they 
besought  Conde  to  come  to  their  aid,  and  to  insist  on  the  right- 
ful observance  of  the  January  edict.  At  the  beginning  of  April 
this  distinguished  man  took  possession  of  the  city  of  Orleans,  and 
applied  on  all  sides  for  troops  and  money.  Beza  called  a  gene- 
ral synod :  it  assembled,  and  letters  were  sent  to  all  the  congre- 
gations of  the  reformed  in  France.  This  was  the  first  time  that 
the  synod  of  ministers  acted  in  a  political  capacity;  and  this 
moment  also  impressed  the  church  itself  with  its  peculiar  cha- 
racter. The  reformed  set  themselves  in  motion,  and  seized  se- 
veral cities  and  churches,  from  which  they  banished  the  mass, 
and  images.  Even  Lyons  was  taken  by  them,  but  more  through 
the  mild  address  of  Viret  than  by  the  power  of  arms.  Conde 
made  it  known  by  a  manifesto,  that  he  was  resolved  to  defend 
the  king  and  his  edict  by  the  sword.  On  the  11th  of  April  he 
wrote  to  the  Genevese,  requesting  them  to  offer  up  public  prayers 
for  him  and  for  his  cause :  this  was  done  through  the  whole 
of  the  war. 

The  most  eminent  men  of  the  reformed  party  now  hastened 
to  Orleans,  and  bound  themselves  by  an  oath  to  oppose  the 
Guises.  Conde  persuaded  the  whole  of  the  nobility  to  subscribe 
an  act  of  union,  by  which  they  pledged  themselves  to  contend 
for  the  honour  of  God  and  the  freedom  of  the  king,  and  to  pu- 
nish blasphemy  and  blasphemers:  hence  it  was  ordered  that 
the  camp  should  always  be  attended  by  ministers. 

During  these  proceedings  Beza  turned  himself  to  the  German 
princes,  and  even  to  the  emperor  Ferdinand,  to  ask  for  their 
cooperation. 

From  these  turbulent  scenes  it  is  refreshing  to  direct  our  at- 
tention to  Calvin,  who  had  just  at  this  time  received  a  letter  from 
Winterthur,  where  the  aged  Blaarer  had,  on  the  4th  of  April, 
celebrated  his  seventieth  birthday,  and  was  now  earning  on  a 
correspondence  by  letter  with  the  reformer  at  Geneva.     Calvin 


398  CONDUCT  OF  BEZA.  [CHAP.  XIII. 

spoke  to  him  with  piety  and  earnestness  on  the  events  of  the 
period,  and  praised  Beza  as  an  instrument  employed  by  God, 
in  proclaiming  his  word  to  the  people  and  to  kings :  he  also 
showed  how  great  were  the  evils  with  which  France  was 
threatened  by  the  union  of  the  Guises  with  some  of  the  German 
princes*. 

Beza  was  now  the  soul  of  the  whole  encampment,  and  had  to 
employ  his  utmost  efforts  to  restrain  the  passions  of  his  party, 
in  which  however  he  was  not  always  successful.  Thus  the  trea- 
sury of  St.  Martin  was  plundered  at  Tours,  and  the  tomb  de- 
stroyed f.  But  Beza  acted  throughout  consistently  with  his 
noble  character,  and  was  a  preacher  of  peace  in  the  midst  of  the 
storms  of  war  :  he  everywhere  raised  his  powerful  voice  against 
rapine  and  murder,  and  was  often  the  deliverer  of  the  Catholics. 
At  Angers  he  presented  himself  before  the  parliament,  and  as- 
sured it  that  he  and  his  party  abhorred  violence,  and  that  it  was 
only  committed  by  the  rabble  which  followed  in  their  track.  To 
his  own  associates  he  said,  l(  God  will  never  be  the  protector  of 
robbers  and  murderers."  Much  bad  conduct  indeed  must  have 
been  exhibited,  when  it  required  the  whole  influence  of  Coligny 
to  prevent  him  from  leaving  the  army  altogether.  He  exhibited 
his  moderation  in  the  fairest  light,  when,  after  the  siege  of  Rouen, 
his  friend  Marlorat  and  many  others  were  murdered,  and  the 
reformed  proposed  to  retaliate  in  their  camp  on  the  opposite 
party :  he  resisted  this  design  with  his  whole  power. 

The  general  synod  at  Orleans  opened  its  sittings  on  the  27th 
of  April,  in  the  presence  of  the  prince  of  Conde,  the  admiral 
Chatillon,  and  several  other  men  of  distinction.  Here  too  Cal- 
vin's enemy,  the  exiled  Bolsec,  appeared :  he  played  the  peni- 
tent, and  promised  to  offer  satisfaction  to  Bern  and  Geneva,  but 
it  was  only,  as  soon  as  the  churches  there  were  threatened  with 
danger,  to  return  to  his  proper  allies. 

Calvin,  deeply  troubled  at  these  warlike  proceedings,  said  to 
Bullingcr  that  grief  and  shame  had  prevented  his  writing  to 
him  J.  "The  arrival  of  the  English  has  greatly  alarmed  the 
enemy,  and  the  Scotch  will  soon  join  them :  the  queen  is  again 
returned  to  the  practice  of  her  arts,  and  messengers  have  been 
sent  to  treat  of  peace.  It  is  to  be  lamented  that  the  rage  of  the 
parliament  of  Toulouse  could  not  be  bridled  :  it  has  slain  by  the 

*  Ed.  Laus.  Ep.  338.  Ed.  Amstel.  p.  1C9. 

t   MS.  Goth,  to  Carl  Passelius,  Schlosser,  Leben  Beza's,  p.  165. 

I  June  9,  Aug.  15,  1562.  MS.  Tur. 


A.D.  1562-63.]   PROCEEDINGS  OF  THE  REFORMED.       399 

hand  of  the  executioner  above  three  hundred  rich  and  worthy 
men,  some  of  them  nobles,  and  others  the  administrators  of 
public  functions.  If  you  have  any  influence  with  the  Bernese 
council,  and  can  induce  it  to  send  troops  to  the  support  of  the 
princes,  I  beseech  you  to  do  all  you  can  to  this  end ;  for  if  the 
war  be  protracted,  we  and  the  entire  kingdom  are  lost.  The 
council  of  Geneva  has  borrowed  12,000  gold  dollars  to  meet  the 
expenses  of  the  war." 

Conde  had  entered  into  an  alliance  with  the  elector  palatine ; 
but,  at  the  same  time,  he  proposed  to  the  court  to  abide  by  the 
edict  of  January,  till  a  free  council  could  be  held  ;  and  he  promised 
on  these  conditions  to  lay  down  his  arms.  But  the  triumvirate 
rejected  his  advances,  and  were  resolved  to  have  only  one  reli- 
gion in  the  state.  Conde  complained  aloud  against  them,  and 
unmasked  their  plans.  The  religious  war  therefore  now  com- 
menced in  earnest.  On  the  3rd  of  July  Conde  prepared  to  give 
battle ;  but  the  enemy  hesitated.  The  Guises  spread  a  report 
through  Germany,  that  they  intended  to  introduce  the  Augsburg 
Confession  into  France ;  that  the  king  and  the  court  only  op- 
posed the  design  ;  and  hence  the  assembly  of  so  many  troops 
for  their  defence.  Conde  hereupon  sent  a  short  confession  to 
the  German  troops,  and  thus  brought  over  a  portion  of  them  to 
his  side.  When  this  was  found  to  be  the  case,  the  Catholics  im- 
mediately sought  the  aid  of  the  Spaniards  and  Italians. 

In  the  midst  of  these  events  the  plague  broke  out  in  Orleans, 
and  the  parliament  proclaimed  the  reformed  rebels.  They  pro- 
tested against  this  act.  On  the  12th  of  October  the  Protestant 
army  held  a  solemn  day  of  penitence.  About  ten  thousand  per- 
sons died  in  Orleans,  and  eighteen  thousand  in  Paris,  before  the 
pestilence  ceased. 

It  may  perhaps  be  asked,  how  could  the  reformed  so  sud- 
denly commence  this  war,  and  that  without  any  means  of  sup- 
port ?  We  have  seen  that,  according  to  the  discipline  of  the 
French  reformed  church,  all  the  expenses  of  worship  were  to  be 
borne  by  its  members,  even  to  the  costs  of  the  journeys  under- 
taken by  their  ministers.  That  Calvin  himself  took  great  inten  st 
in  these  circumstances,  appears  from  the  fact,  that  he  urged  the 
several  congregations  to  provide  the  money  necessary  for  certain 
journeys,  and  that  they  obeyed  his  call*.  Thus  the  churches 
in  Languedoc  were  expected  to  raise  money  to  pay  the  levies 

*  This  appears  from  a  letter  to  the  church  at  Poitiers,  August  1,  155S. 
MS.  Gen. 


400  SIEGE  OF  ROUEN.  [CHAP.  XIII. 

for  Andelot  *.  "  God/5  he  says,  "  again  bowed  us  down ;  but 
when  all  was  lost,  He  provided  means,  in  a  manner  incompre- 
hensible to  us,  for  the  uplifting  of  his  church,  as  if  awakening 
it  from  the  dead." 

The  emperor  Ferdinand  was  now  at  Frankfort  (1562),  whither 
he  had  gone  for  the  purpose  of  holding  a  diet.  Calvin  seized  the 
opportunity,  probably  in  conformity  with  Beza's  advice,  to  send 
him  an  excellent  confession  of  the  doctrines  of  the  French  re- 
formed church.  He  hoped  by  these  means  to  overcome  the 
slanderous  falsehoods  of  the  Guises ;  and,  as  he  relates,  the  way 
to  Frankfort  being  closed,  he  afterwards  made  this  writing  public. 
It  was  in  the  same  manner  that,  in  the  year  1535,  one  of  his  first 
works,  the  c  Institutions/  was  written  to  support  the  faith  of  his 
brethren  in  France ;  and  this,  one  of  his  last,  was  composed 
with  the  same  definite  purpose,  and  the  same  consistency  of  doc- 
trine, as  the  former  f. 

That  they  might  not  be  without  a  representative,  the  reformed 
had  sent  Jac.  de  Spifame  to  Frankfort :  he  was  both  a  preacher 
and  a  man  of  business,  and  acted  so  skilfully  at  the  diet,  that  all 
the  intrigues  of  the  Guises  were  discovered.  Thus  it  was  shown 
that  Conde  had  begun  this  war,  which  in  the  course  of  a  few 
months  had  cost  the  lives  of  30,000  men,  at  the  command  of 
Catherine,  so  that  he  stood  justified  before  the  assembly,  and  the 
envoy  was  able  to  recommend  the  cause  of  France,  by  the  most 
pressing  arguments,  to  the  consideration  of  the  German  princes. 

Guise  however  besieged  Rouen,  which  was  taken  by  storm, 
and  given  up  to  the  fury  of  the  soldiers.  The  pillage  continued 
eight  days,  and,  among  many  other  sacrifices,  fell  the  worthy 
Marlorat.  King  Anton  was  wounded  on  the  day  when  the  city 
was  taken,  and  died  of  the  injuries  which  he  had  received,  be- 
cause in  the  fever  with  which  they  were  attended,  he  refused  to 
be  separated  from  the  sirens  set  around  him  by  Catherine.  This 
woman  now  kept  a  fair  face  with  all  parties  and  with  all  vices. 
It  was  now  too  late  for  Anton  to  turn  his  back  on  the  Catholic 
clergy ;  but  he  ordered  the  book  of  Job  to  be  read  to  him, 
and  commanded  his  son  to  remain  true  to  the  king :  he  died  in 
November.  Conde  was  now  the  oldest  prince  of  the  house  ;  he 
strove  for  his  own  personal  interests,  not  for  the  church,  which 
he  plunged  deeper  and  deeper  into  the  stream  of  political  life. 
During  the  year  1562  the  war  raged  more  fiercely  than  ever,  but 
no  decided  blow  was  struck.     Coligny  and  Beza  with  difficulty 

*  MS.  Gen.  Sept.  30,  15G2.  f  Senebier,  t.  i.  p.  233. 


A.D.    15G2-63.]  BATTLE   OF  DREUX.  401 

prevented  their  allies  from  falling  upon  Paris,  and  exposing  it  to 
pillage. 

At  length,  December  19,  1562,  after  many  marches,  the  two 
stood  opposite  each  other,  near  Dreux.  Before  the  battle  com- 
menced, Beza  preached  a  severe  sermon  against  the  covetousness, 
the  love  of  slaughter,  and  the  enmity,  which  were  apparent  both 
in  the  higher  and  lower  ranks  of  the  army.  On  the  evening 
before  the  battle  Conde  had  a  dream,  which  he  communicated 
to  Coligny  and  Beza :  he  stated  that  he  dreamt  that  he  fought 
three  battles ;  that  in  each,  one  of  the  triumvirs  fell ;  but  that  in 
a  fourth  he  himself  was  mortally  wounded,  and  laid  upon  a  fu- 
neral pile.  Coligny  regarded  the  whole  as  mere  imagination, 
but  Beza  felt  convinced  that  it  was  a  presentiment  of  the  battle 
which  was  just  about  to  be  fought.  On  the  following  morning 
the  admiral  led  the  troops  to  the  first  onset ;  he  fell  victoriously 
upon  the  enemy,  and  one  of  the  generals,  Montmorency,  was 
taken  prisoner.  But  the  Swiss  Catholics,  animated  by  their  fa- 
naticism, restored  the  day  :  Conde  was  wounded,  and  taken  pri- 
soner. This  dispirited  the  troops  ;  but  Coligny  supplied  the  want 
of  the  prince,  and  Beza,  having  animated  the  soldiers  by  a  speech* 
full  of  ardour,  took  his  place  in  the  foremost  rank,  as  if  he  had 
been  a  standard-bearer.  Coligny,  after  performing  many  heroic 
actions,  drew  off*  the  remainder  of  the  troops  in  good  order,  and 
retreated  to  Lyons.  Among  the  slain  on  the  opposite  side  was 
the  marshal  St.  Andre. 

We  cannot  pass  over  without  mention  a  singular  circumstance 
which  occurred  to  Calvin  at  this  timef.  He  was  lying  in  bed 
on  the  Saturday  evening,  December  19,  sick  of  the  ague:  the 
north  wind,  which  rages  violently  at  Geneva^  and  over  the  lake, 
had  roared  furiously  for  two  days.  Calvin  uttered  the  remark- 
able words  :  "  I  know  not  what  may  be  betokened,  but  it  seemed 
to  me  last  night  as  if  I  heard  the  blast  of  war-trumpets  sounding 
fiercely  in  the  air.  I  could  not  convince  myself  that  it  was  not 
so.  Let  us  pray,  I  beseech  you  ;  for  assuredly  there  is  something 
important  going  on."  And  on  that  very  day  the  battle  at  Dreux 
took  place.  The  news  of  the  event  soon  arrived.  Calvin,  who 
felt  a  lively  interest  in  all  the  occurrences  of  that  year,  wrote  to 
Bullinger,  "that  the  battle  was  not  actually  lost  ;  that  it  was  now 
for  him  to  share  in  the  Maccabean  Btruggle." 

Conde  remained  a  prisoner;  true  indeed  to  bis  party,  but  more 


*   MS.  Gen.  Calv.  Bullingero,  Jan.  16,  1563. 
t   Be/a,  in  Calvin's  Life. 


VOL.  II, 


402  prince  of  conde.  [chap.  XIII 

from  hatred  to  the  Guises  than  from  regard  to  Beza's  exhorta- 
tions. Party  fury  was  now  at  its  height  in  France,  and  the 
duchess  Renata,  writing  to  Calvin,  expressed  herself  in  these 
melancholy  words :  "  I  am  more  afflicted  than  you  can  imagine, 
at  beholding  how  half  the  people  in  this  kingdom  conduct  them- 
selves :  the  most  pitiable  deceits  and  enmities  everywhere  pre- 
vail. Such  is  the  state  of  things,  that  little  simple  girls  have 
been  led  to  say,  that  they  are  ready  to  kill  and  slay  with  their 
own  hands.  This  is  not  the  rule  which  Christ  and  his  apostles 
have  given  us ;  and  I  say  it  in  the  deepest  distress  of  heart,  be- 
cause of  the  love  which  I  bear  for  my  faith,  and  for  all  who  ad- 
here to  that  which  Christ  has  taught.  I  speak  not  of  all,  but  of 
those  whom  I  know.55 

After  the  battle  at  Dreux,  the  two  parties  were  so  enraged 
against  each  other  that  they  even  carried  on  the  war  in  the  winter, 
till  the  duke  of  Guise,  at  the  siege  of  Orleans,  was  assassinated 
by  a  fanatic  of  the  reformed  party,  a  young  nobleman,  Jean  de 
Merci,  who  also  bore  the  name  of  Poltrot.  Guise  died  of  his 
wounds  on  the  sixteenth  day  (February  24, 1563) :  shortly  before 
his  death  he  spoke  with  sorrow  of  the  cruelties  perpetrated  at 
Vassy,  entreated  the  queen  to  conclude  a  peace,  and  called  those 
who  should  oppose  it  enemies  of  the  state. 

Peace  was  now  generally  spoken  of:  Montmorency,  though  a 
prisoner,  resisted  the  idea ;  but  Conde,  also  a  prisoner,  favoured 
it,  for  he  loved  the  repose  of  a  life  at  court :  he  was  permitted  to 
go  to  Orleans  on  his  parole.  The  reformed  ministers,  seventy- 
two  in  number,  held  a  meeting  in  that  city ;  they  all  expressed 
their  desire  to  have  the  edict  of  January  established ;  to  receive 
a  promise  of  protection  for  their  party ;  and  an  assurance  that 
those  who  violated  the  guarantee  should  be  punished.  Conde 
complained  of  the  severity  of  the  ministers,  while  the  latter  ac- 
cused him  of  indolence,  and  of  being  slow  to  take  advantage  of 
circumstances,  which  might  secure  the  Reformation  in  France. 

But  the  prince  was  under  the  influence  of  Catherine's  courtly 
dames.  We  have  seen  what  Calvin  said  on  this  matter.  The 
queen  now  endeavoured,  by  means  of  Balduin,  who  advocated 
indifference,  to  induce  Conde  to  conclude  a  peace  with  the 
Catholic  party,  and  which  should  merely  afford  toleration  to-the 
reformed.  Beza  returned  with  the  admiral  to  Orleans,  in  order 
to  strengthen  Conde's  faith  in  the  evangelical  doctrines;  but  the 
latter  prepared  a  treaty  of  peace,  which  received  the  immediate 
assent  of  the  queen  (March  19,  1563),  without  Coligny's  being 


a.d.  1562-63.]  calvix  to  conde.  403 

consulted  on  the  subject.  This  peace  was  concluded  at  Amboise. 
The  whole  Protestant  party  was  loud  in  the  expression  of  its 
disgust  and  resentment* ;  but  thus  ended  the  first  religious  war. 
Calvin  did  not  live  to  witness  the  second.  Respecting  the  peace, 
he  thus  expressed  himself  to  the  prince  of  Conde  t :  "  With  re- 
gard to  the  conditions,  I  know  well  enough  that  it  was  not  easy 
for  you  to  obtain  what  you  wished.  If  however  you  do  not  make 
use  of  your  authority,  that  which  has  been  concluded  in  behalf 
of  the  faithful  will  be  like  a  body  without  a  soul."  He  expressed 
a  wish  that  the  '  Confession'  which  he  had  sent  to  Frankfort, 
should  be  printed,  so  that  the  reformed  faith  might  be  made 
generally  known,  and  that  an  effectual  obstacle  might  be  raised 
to  the  introduction  of  the  Augsburg  Confession  into  France. 
"  By  this  measure,"  he  said  to  the  prince,  "  you  will  shut  the 
door  against  all  attempts  to  induce  you  to  subscribe  the  Augs- 
burg Confession."  In  conclusion,  he  commended  Geneva  to  his 
care,  and  prayed  him  to  use  his  influence  as  a  mediator,  and  to 
effect  a  union  with  Switzerland.  The  Swiss  had  left  the  Gene- 
vese  to  themselves.  Calvin  spoke  of  this  to  Bullinger,  and  with 
eyes  upraised  to  heaven :  he  again  wrote  to  Conde  respecting 
the  '  Confession ' ;  and  to  Bullinger  he  says,  "  It  must  be  pub- 
lished with  the  signature  of  Conde,  and  of  the  other  great  per- 
sonages. His  word  and  reputation  will  thus  bind  him  to  us, 
and  he  will  draw  over  the  German  princes  to  our  side." 

Beza,  having  fulfilled  his  mission  in  France,  hastened  back  to 
Geneva,  anxious  to  relieve  Calvin  of  the  vast  load  of  occupations 
which  had  been  imposed  upon  him  by  his  absence,  and  hoping 
there  to  rest  from  his  own  toils  in  peace  and  friendship.  Great 
gratitude  was  expressed  towards  him  in  France,  and  the  thanks 
of  the  brethren  were  communicated  to  the  council  of  Geneva;};. 
That  body  showed  itself  favourably  disposed  to  the  common 
cause,  and  shared  in  the  general  satisfaction.  Thus  it  passed  a 
resolution  to  give  the  clergy  and  professors,  from  time  to  time, 
a  public  entertainment,  as  is  mentioned  in  the  state-protocol §. 

Calvin  had  the  satisfaction  to  receive  at  this  time  a  letter  from 
the  duchess  of  Ferrara,  in  answer  to  his  own,  already  quoted. 
This  was  probably  the  most  satisfactory  period  of  his  life.  But 
we  may  see,  from  the  letter  alluded  to,  how  little  freedom  resulted 
from  the  peace.     The  duchess  had  left  Paris  because  a  reformed 


MS.  Gen.  to  Bullinger,  April  8,  1563.  t  MS.  Gen.  10  Mai,  1563. 

Registres,  7  Mai,  1503.  ^    Registres,  5  Mars.  L563. 

•J  !)  2 


404  THE   DUCHESS  OF  FERRARA.  [CHAP.  XIII. 

minister  was  forbidden  to  preach  in  her  house,  even  though  it 
was  situated  in  a  village.  She  answered  Calvin's  exhortations 
with  humility  and  respect,  assuring  him  that  she  would  follow 
his  counsel,  and  not  appear  again  in  the  consistory,  although  the 
queen  of  Navarre,  the  wife  of  the  admiral,  and  the  lady  de  Roye, 
did  not  fear  being  present.  She  thanked  him  for  the  gold  medal 
which  he  had  sent  her,  adding  the  remarkable  words,  important 
even  to  the  present  day,  "  I  had  never  before  seen  such  a  one ; 
and  I  have  thanked  God  that  the  king,  my  father,  chose  the 
motto  which  it  bears  [Destruam  Babylonem).  Though  God  may 
not  have  given  him  the  grace  to  fulfil  the  idea  thus  expressed, 
yet  he  may  perhaps  accomplish  it  by  those  who  shall  succeed  to 
his  place." 

A  few  months  before  Calvin's  death  she  complained  to  him, 
with  the  feelings  of  a  mother,  respecting  the  duchess  of  Guise, 
her  eldest  daughter,  who  supported  the  Catholics : — "  I  do  not 
wish  to  distress  you,  but  I  am  compelled  to  pour  out  my  heart 
to  you  with  the  sorrow  which  is  common  to  all  the  children  of 
God.  You  know  what  the  enemies  of  the  truth  design.  The 
treaty  of  the  pope  with  the  king  of  Spain,  with  Venice,  and  the 
other  Italian  powers,  among  which  is  our  neighbour — these 
imagine  that  they  can  root  Christianity  entirely  out  of  the  world  ; 
and  the  duchess  of  Guise  resigns  herself  to  a  course  which  can 
only  lead  to  ruin.  Thankful  should  I  be  if  she  could  be  led  by 
your  influence  to  bridle  her  passions." 

Calvin  saw  clearly  the  storm  which  impended  over  France,  and 
to  which  the  duchess  alluded.  He  himself  spoke  more  than  once 
of  the  condition  of  the  country,  and  urged  the  men  who  had 
power  and  influence  to  fulfil  their  duty*.  "With  regard,"  he 
said,  "  to  the  state  of  France,  I  see  it  so  pressed  on  all  sides  with 
difficulties,  that  I  almost  fear  everything  must  be  begun  anew ; 
not  that  it  would  not  be  easy  to  find  speedy  means  to  improve  its 
condition,  if  people  had  the  goodwill  to  seek  them ;  but  you  see 
to  what  a  state  we  are  come.  I  have  written  to  the  prince  of 
Conde,  but  not  in  the  style  which  you  wished  me  to  adopt,  for 
it  is  very  contrary  to  my  nature  to  make  him  believe  that  white 
is  black.  I  have  also  prayed  the  admiral  to  act  more  firmly  in 
some  respects;  not  as  if  it  were  absolutely  necessary  to  urge 
him  forward,  but  because  he  desired  me  to  speak  thus  freely 
with  him." 

Calvin  always  stood  in  close  relation  to  Coligny,  who  regarded 
*  MS.  Gen.  8  xMai,  15(33. 


a.d.  15G2-63.]      calvin's  political  influence.  405 

him  as  the  head  of  the  party,  and  carefully  acquainted  him  there- 
fore with  whatever  took  place.  Calvin  says  to  Bullinger*,  "  I 
yesterday  received  letters,  in  which  Coligny  informs  me,  that  he 
will  send  me  and  Beza  a  man  as  soon  as  possible  who  shall  in- 
form us  of  his  plans.  The  admiral  himself  declares  that  he  is 
prepared  for  the  first  attack." 

Looking  with  a  prophetic  glance  into  the  future,  Calvin  beheld 
the  signs  of  a  fearful  storm,  just  ready  to  break  outt*  A  few 
months  before  his  end,  and  while  the  League  was  in  process  of 
formation,  he  received  intelligence  from  Bullinger  that  the  cardi- 
nal of  Lorraine  had  effected  an  alliance  between  the  papal  powers. 
But  notwithstanding  this,  never  had  the  affairs  of  the  Protestants 
been  in  a  more  prosperous  condition.  The  admiral  Coligny, 
summoned  to  Paris,  had  entered  the  capital  with  a  retinue  of  five 
hundred  horsemen,  and  was  graciously  received  by  the  queen. 

In  Germany,  affairs  after  Calvin's  death  wore  a  worse  appear- 
ance than  in  France.  A  new  conference  was  held  at  Mumpel- 
gart  between  Beza,  Fay,  and  Jac.  Andrea,  but  it  only  afforded 
another  proof  of  the  unchristian  spirit  which  was  rapidly  spread- 
ing through  the  whole  Lutheran  church.  Westphal,  Hesshus, 
Brentius,  Flacius  and  Jac.  Andrea  were  still  the  chief  disputants ; 
it  was  therefore  no  wonder  that  the  Lutheran  church  continued 
to  decline,  as  to  its  inner  life,  whilst  the  reformed  church  arose, 
in  spite  of  all  the  pressure  from  without. 

Calvin  continued,  though  on  a  bed  of  sickness,  to  guide  the 
churches  with  the  spirit  of  a  true  reformer.  Five  months  before 
his  death  he  preached  to  the  community  of  Chambery,  formed 
as  it  had  been  among  papists,  on  Christian  decision,  of  which  his 
whole  life  had  been  an  example.  "Build  not,"  he  said,  "upon 
the  sand  :  summon  together  all  the  force  and  resolution  of  which 
you  are  possessed,  that  you  may  be  able  to  overcome  all  the  ob- 
stacles which  the  servants  of  the  devil  cast  in  your  way.  Re- 
member this,  that  it  is  not  permitted  you  to  serve  both  parties." 

The  share  which  Calvin  took  in  these  events  obliges  us  to 
speak  more  particularly  of  his  political  inllucnce. 

Calvin  has  been  accused,  even  up  to  the  present  times,  of 
having  caused  all  those  civil  wars  which  afflicted  the  period  to 
which  we  are  alluding.  Roman  Catholic  historians,  careless  and 
uncritical,  have  laid  this  down  as  an  axiom,  and  a  host  of  pam- 
phleteers have  followed  in  their  train.     Catholics,  like  Bossuet, 

*  MS.  (ion.  Jul.  29,  1563.  |    MS.  Tur.  Calv.  Stanis.  Sarnicio. 


406  calvin's  theocracy.  [chap.  xiti. 

pretend  that  he  was  involved  in  the  conspiracy  of  Amboise ;  and 
this  is  repeated  with  the  greatest  rashness  by  all  the  ill-in- 
structed minds  of  the  party,  to  which  truth  is  of  little  import. 
And  further :  Calvin,  they  say,  laid  the  foundation-stone  of  the 
republic,  without  considering  that  the  Gospel  renews,  but  does 
not  revolutionize.  Even  a  protestant,  in  modern  times,  with  more 
respect  indeed,  but  with  as  much  obscurity,  has  repeated  the 
accusation.  "  That  noble  precept,  f  The  weapons  of  our  warfare 
are  spiritual,'  vanishes  by  degrees  from  the  standard  of  a  religion 
which  could  not  continue  a  religion  or  a  church,  but  which  sought 
to  found  a  state."  Thus  the  Protestants,  it  is  insinuated,  hoped 
to  accomplish  great  things  by  means  of  a  pretended  impartiality, 
while  the  Catholics,  on  their  side,  resisted  them  with  their  wonted 
obstinacy. 

The  imperfect  views  of  these  writers  may  be  traced  to  the 
errors  which  they  commit  in  regard  to  Calvin's  theocratic  spirit. 
To  many  indeed  the  idea  of  a  pure  Christian  theocracy  is  alto- 
gether strange.  Calvin  contended  for  the  government  of  God, 
not  for  the  government  of  the  people.  His  political  notions 
were  framed  in  the  spirit  of  the  old  prophets,  but  his  designs 
were  perpetually  involved  with  civil  affairs,  through  the  inter- 
ference of  the  council :  it  is  not  wonderful  therefore  that  he 
should  have  been  anxious  to  promote  an  alliance  between  France 
and  Switzerland.  The  notion,  that  Protestantism  sought  the 
formation  of  a  state,  and  not  a  church,  is  opposed  both  to  reason 
and  the  Gospel.  History  shows,  on  the  contrary,  that  it  was  in 
France  only  that  the  Protestant  party  acquired,  through  par- 
ticular circumstances,  a  political  character.  The  Guises  trod 
both  church  and  state  under  foot,  and  the  temporal  power  was 
compelled,  for  its  own  security,  to  put  weapons  into  the  hands 
of  the  Protestants.  It  is  false  to  assert  that  Calvin  desired  a 
republican  form  of  government.  The  church-polity  which  he 
adopted  was  the  polity  of  the  primitive  church.  Where  intro- 
duced into  Germany,  there  it  has  continued  without  creating 
change  or  agitation.  The  German  territories,  in  which  the 
reformed  system  has  prevailed,  have  never  been  more  inclined 
than  the  Lutheran  to  revolution.  The  Protestant  communities 
indeed  have  generally  been  opposed  to  change.  Their  religion 
renders  them  susceptible  to  reform,  while  Roman  Catholic  coun- 
tries are  necessarily  exposed  to  a  series  of  convulsions  which 
must  eventually  lead  to  the  downfall  of  the  papacy,  opposing 
itself  as  it  does  in  its  unyielding  grossness  to  every  species  of 


A.D.   1562-63.]  CALVIN  ON  GOVERNMENT.  407 

improvement.  Calvin's  enemies  ought,  in  common  justice,  to 
have  listened  to  the  enunciation  of  his  principles,  and  to  the 
expressions  which  he  so  distinctly  uttered,  proving  as  they  do, 
that  from  the  beginning  to  the  end  of  his  career  he  protested 
against  every  kind  of  warlike  movement. 

The  reformers  especially  recognized  the  rights  of  the  temporal 
power  against  the  principle  of  the  papacy.  The  state,  with  them, 
is  a  necessary  moral  institution*.  Calvin  however  wished  the 
church  to  have  an  existence  proper  to  itself — an  independent 
power;  hence  he  subjected  the  state  to  the  church,  as  the  church 
to  the  state,  which  naturally  introduces  a  theocracy.  Each 
separate  community  forms  a  little  republic,  and  from  the  whole 
springs  a  nobler  and  higher  unity.  But  according  to  Calvin, 
every  species  of  government  was  reconcileable  with  Christianity, 
even  despotism.  Where,  however,  representatives  of  the  people 
exist,  populates  magistratus,  it  is  their  duty,  if  the  people  be  op- 
pressed, to  resist  any  act  of  arbitrary  power.  Hence,  under  cer- 
tain circumstances,  Calvin  could  justify  in  France  a  rising  against 
tyranny :  he  preferred  the  republican  form  only  as  it  existed  in 
ancient  Israel,  where  the  government  was  carried  on  in  the  name 
of  God,  not  in  the  name  of  the  people.  The  sovereignty  of  the 
people  was  altogether  a  novel  idea  to  his  mind :  no  particular 
form  of  government  had,  with  him,  a  decided  preference ;  each 
had  its  defects.  He  would  have  no  war.  In  this  he  agreed  with 
Luther ;  but  the  German  reformer  thought  that  if  the  elector  of 
Saxony  was  attacked  by  those  who  persecuted  his  subjects,  it 
would  be  the  duty  of  that  prince  to  defend  his  people  by  force 
of  arms.  Supposing  however  that  some  mistook  the  spirit  of 
Calvin,  and  from  the  synodal  form  of  church  government  in 
France,  took  occasion,  in  the  struggle  against  Rome,  to  uphold 
republican  principles ;  or  that  Henry  IV.  established  a  reformed 
state  within  a  state,  thus  committing  a  great  political  error,  Cal- 
vin was  not  answerable  for  the  misuse  which  was  thereby  made 
of  his  doctrine.  He  observed  to  Sadolct,  and  to  the  count  Tar- 
nowsky,  iC  that  if  the  Christian  religion  gave  occasion  to  disturb- 
ances, this  must  be  attributed  to  applications  of  the  system,  not 
agreeable  to  the  truth." 

But  Calvin  has  not  been  wanting  of  supporters.     Thus,  for 

example,  the  excellent  Basnage  readily  undertook  to  prove  that 

the  conspiracy  of  Amboisc  was  a  political  stratagem,  which  had 

no  connection  with  the  church.    "The  Catholics/'  said  Mezerav, 

•    See  the  [nstitutes,  t.  iv.  c.  20.  >.  !,  26  31. 


408  THE  GUISES  OPPOSED.  [CHAP.  XIII. 

'•  feared  for  the  freedom  of  the  state/5  It  was  not  the  reformed 
who,  as  Bossuet  wished  to  represent,  were  seeking  to  revenge 
their  persecutions.  This  writer  heaps  falsehood  upon  falsehood, 
and  sees  not  that  it  ill  becomes  one  who  delighted  in  violence  to 
find  fault  with  the  reformers  for  venturing  to  defend  themselves, 
as  if,  like  an  executioner  appointed  by  the  church,  he  had  a  right 
to  their  blood.  But  here  is  the  truth.  The  plan  of  the  conspi- 
rators, of  whom  the  queen  herself  was  the  life,  was  laid  with  the 
design  of  securing  the  duke  of  Guise,  and  bringing  him  under 
the  operation  of  the  law.  According  to  Basnage,  the  divines 
and  jurists  were  desired  to  give  their  opinion,  as  to  whether  it 
were  allowable  to  make  a  minister  of  state  prisoner  before  his 
trial.  No  crime  was  committed  in  this  case.  All  that  was  done 
was  in  obedience  to  the  command  of  the  queen,  who  was  anxious 
tojfree  herself  from  the  tyranny  of  the  Guises. 

Bossuet  adduces  against  Calvin  one  of  his  unpublished  letters. 
The  latter  satisfied  himself  herein  with  simply  condemning  the 
violent  proceedings  of  the  baron  von  Adrets,  who  destroyed  a 
number  of  images  without  any  authority  to  do  so :  Calvin  passed 
no  censure  on  the  war  itself:  but  this  letter  in  fact  speaks  greatly 
in  his  favour.  The  war  carried  on  in  France  against  the  Guises, 
with  the  aid  of  legitimate  authority,  was  a  species  of  holy  war. 
Calvin  distinctly  called  the  proceedings  of  Adrets,  "  a  horrible 
scandal,  calculated  to  bring  disgrace  on  the  Gospel;5'  and  ex- 
pressed a  wish  that  whatever  had  been  taken  in  the  way  of  rob- 
bery should  be  restored.  Numberless  expressions  indeed  might 
be  quoted,  in  which  Calvin  decidedly  condemns  the  waging  of 
war  on  account  of  the  Gospel*. 

With  regard  to  the  conspiracy  of  Amboise,  Calvin  expressed 
his  disapprobation  of  the  design  as  soon  as  it  was  communicated 
to  him,  and  with  such  force,  that  he  hoped  he  had  prevented  its 
execution.  Applied  to  a  second  time,  he  still  as  resolutely  de- 
clared his  aversion  to  the  plans  of  the  conspirators.  When  how- 
ever he  was  asked  a  third  time,  he  assembled  his  colleagues  and 
protested  openly  against  the  undertaking ;  and  on  finding  that 
the  parties  concerned  were  resolved  to  proceed,  he  complained 
that  his  influence  and  advice  were  wholly  neglected.  He  even 
preached  against  what  was  being  done,  and  exclaimed,  "  Better 
were  it  a  thousand  times  that  we  all  perished,  than  that  we  should 
bring  such  infamy  upon  the  name  of  Christians  and  the  Gospel/5 

*  MS.  Paris,  16  Avril,  1561.  He  speaks  in  a  similar  manner  in  a  letter  to 
Bullinger,  Mai  11,  1560.     Ed.  Laus.  Ep.  2Q3.  Ed.  Amstel.  p.  142. 


A.D.   1562-63.]  CONSPIRACY  OF  AMBOISE.  409 

Beza,  who  was  so  rashly  accused  in  the  affair  of  Poltrot,  was 
equally  free  from  any  guilt  in  this  proceeding :  he  declared  in 
the  strongest  manner,  "that  he  never  knew  Poltrot;  that  he 
had  had  no  intercourse  with  him,  either  directly  or  indirectly ; 
nay,  that  he  had  never  heard  mention  of  the  plan  referred  to." 
So  also  he  said,  that  "  when  he  prayed  that  Francis  de  Guise 
might  be  converted,  or  that  the  land  might  be  freed  from  such 
an  enemy,  he  had  only  done  what  the  prophets  and  first  Chris- 
tians had  done  under  similar  circumstances, — e  When  wilt  thou 
avenge  the  blood  of  the  righteous  ?'  " 

The  admiral  Coligny  was  accused  by  the  same  party,  the 
advocates  of  St.  Bartholomew's  night,  as  a  wretch  who  had  heard 
of  Poltrot's  design  to  murder  the  duke,  and  had  taken  no  means 
to  prevent  it.  But  Coligny  declared  publicly,  that  he  had  warned 
the  duchess  of  her  husband's  danger, — a  service  which  would 
never  have  been  rendered  him  on  the  part  of  the  Guises*. 

Calvin's  oft-repeated  sentiments  show  clearly  how  earnestly 
he  endeavoured  to  calm  the  excited  feelings  of  his  associates. 
Thus  he  declared  to  them,  that  "  if  they  wished  to  establish  their 
rights  by  the  sword,  they  would  prevent  God  from  helping  them." 
— "  One  single  drop  of  blood  shed  by  you  will  overflow  all 
France."  He  forbad  their  taking  possession  of  the  churches ; 
and  said,  "  that  he  should  be  not  less  indignant  than  the  king 
against  those  who  employed  violence."  In  two  of  his  letters  to 
Soubize,  the  leader  in  the  movement,  he  directed  him  to  lay 
clown  his  arms,  as  the  king  desired ;  and  to  submit  himself  to 
the  legitimate  authority  of  the  state.  He  regarded  it  as  some- 
thing especially  monstrous  for  a  minister  of  religion  to  bear  arms  : 
"  It  is  their  duty  to  believe  that  the  church  will  be  extended  by 
other  and  extraordinary  means."  He  included  the  duke  of 
Guise  in  the  number  of  those  for  whom  he  prayed.  It  was  not 
his  fault  that  he  could  not,  in  that  confused  war  of  passions,  bridle 
the  spirit  of  political  parties.  Beza  remained  in  Coligny's  camp 
to  lessen,  as  far  as  possible,  the  miseries  occasioned  by  the  strife, 
and  Calvin  addressed  the  troops  in  words  of  the  mightiest  im- 
port. Thus,  notwithstanding  the  accusation  of  hostile  polemics, 
there  still  remains  inscribed  on  the  standard  which  he  raised,  the 
apostolic  motto,  "  The  weapons  of  our  warfare  are  not  carnal, 
but  spiritual." 

*  Beza,  I  list.  Ecclcs.  1.  vi.  p.  297. 


410  FRANCIS  BALDUIN.  [CHAP.  XIV. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

CONTROVERSIES. THE     FALSE     REPORTS 

PUBLISHED       BY       HIS       ENEMIES. STRUGGLE       AGAINST 

BALDUIN. 

Having  thus  considered  Calvin  in  his  relation  to  France,  and 
the  important  events  of  which  it  was  the  scene,  we  have  now 
again,  and  in  the  concluding  period  of  his  career,  to  view  him  as 
a  polemic.  It  was  in  fact  the  lot  of  this  reformer,  and  of  others 
like  him,  to  have  to  contend  with  all  the  dark  spirits  of  the  age 
in  which  they  lived.  The  last  years  of  Calvin's  life,  as  was  the 
case  with  Melancthon,  were  troubled  by  a  host  of  wranglers  and 
calumniators,  among  whom  Balduin,  the  jurist,  might  be  re- 
garded as  the  most  hateful. 

Calvin,  after  the  death  of  his  wife,  when  visited,  as  he  so  fre- 
quently was,  by  severe  attacks  of  illness,  assembled  around  his 
sick  bed  a  number  of  young  men,  to  whom  he  dictated  his  let- 
ters and  his  works.  Among  these  youpg  men  there  was  one  in 
whose  conversation  he  greatly  delighted,  and  whom  he  invited 
to  his  table,  carefully  instructing  him,  and  allowing  him  the  free 
use  of  his  library,  where  his  papers  and  manuscripts  lay  exposed. 
This  was  Francis  Balduin,  a  native  of  Arras,  and  subsequently 
celebrated  as  a  jurist  at  Heidelberg.  It  is  gratifying  to  see  how 
free  from  suspicion  this  great  man  was ;  how  open  he  stood  to 
the  world,  with  nothing  that  he  wished  to  hide  ;  and  how  little 
he  doubted  men's  honesty,  though  he  had  been  so  often  em- 
ployed in  unmasking  deceit  and  wickedness.  Balduin  however 
spoke  of  a  journey  to  France,  and  at  once  disappeared :  he  took 
with  him  several  of  Calvin's  papers,  all  of  which  he  appears  to 
have  diligently  perused,  having  possessed  himself  of  those  which 
he  could  employ  most  effectually  in  attacking  the  reformer. 
There  were  among  them  the  letters  from  Bucer,  in  which  he 
attacked  Calvin  with  the  strongest  expressions  of  censure  and 
reproof. 

Balduin  stood  by  the  side  of  the  cardinal  at  Poissy,  when  he 
planned  the  union  which  was  to  be  the  source  of  so  many  con- 
flicts. He  was  sometimes  a  protestant ;  sometimes  a  papist. 
Cassander  had  printed  a  letter  at  Basel  to  promote  his  object. 
Calvin  immediately  ascribed  it  to  Balduin,  and  at  once  wrote  to 


A.D.   1562-63.]        CONTROVERSY  WITH  BALDUIN.  411 

Beza,  then  at  St.  Germain,  on  the  subject.  Now  began  the 
strife.  Calvin,  in  his  preface  to  the  Psalms,  compared  his  case 
with  that  of  David,  who  was  also  continually  surrounded  by  ene- 
mies. But  very  different  to  Melancthon,  he  knew  how  to  make 
his  opponents  sensible  of  his  greatness  and  unyielding  fortitude. 
In  this  controversy  the  zeal  of  the  reformer,  advanced  as  he 
was  in  years,  exhibited  itself  in  all  its  strength ;  and  many  of 
his  friends  were  of  opinion  that  he,  as  well  as  Beza,  ought  to  have 
reflected  on  the  mildness  proper  to  those  who  are  saved.  But  it 
must  be  observed,  that  in  the  present  instance,  Calvin's  personal 
feelings  were  concerned,  and  that  they  were  excited  to  the  highest 
degree  by  the  treacherous  ingratitude  of  the  man  towards  whom 
he  had  behaved  with  so  much  unsuspecting  kindness.  Balduin 
moreover,  although  a  skilful  lawyer,  proved  himself,  by  the  lax 
character  of  his  plans  of  union,  but  an  indifferent  christian. 
This  must  have  tended  to  increase  the  fervent  zeal  of  both  re- 
formers, and  it  is  impossible  not  to  allow  that  they  were  in  the 
right.  Hence  we  also  see  why  Senebier  in  his  time,  and  Bayle, 
who  looked  down  upon  all  religions,  and  Niceron,  a  catholic, 
passed  no  severe  judgement  upon  Balduin.  But  both  the  last 
confessed  that  he  must  have  been  an  extraordinarily  unsettled 
man,  for  that  he  had  changed  his  faith  and  his  confession  seven 
times.  His  conduct  towards  Calvin,  which  certainly  merited 
severe  punishment,  they  did  not  name. 

The  circumstance  which  gave  occasion  to  the  controversy  with 
Calvin  has  been  already  stated.  King  Anton  conferred  with 
Balduin,  and  sent  him  back  to  Germany  to  form  plans  with  Cas- 
sander.  The  ministers  had  already  spoken  twice  at  Poissy,  in 
public  debate,  when  Balduin  appeared  there  with  a  copy  of  Cas- 
sander's  project  of  union,  as  printed  at  Basel.  Some  discontent 
was  expressed  that  he  came  so  late.  He  now  went  to  Paris, 
where  he  delivered  his  lectures;  but  he  had  lost  much  of  his 
reputation  through  engaging  in  the  late  affair.  Calvin,  in  his 
work  against  Cassander,  without  mentioning  his  name,  alludes 
to  Balduin  as  his  guest,  his  former  help  and  servant,  and  calls 
him  a  betrayer.  This  roused  the  anger  of  Balduin  to  the  highest 
pitch,  and  gave  him  the  long-wishcd-for  opportunity  of  distin- 
guishing himself  in  his  church.  Passing  all  bounds  of  modera- 
tion, he  loaded  his  adversary  with  abuse,  ami  proved  himself  to 
be  neither  Lutheran  nor  Calvinist,  but  simply  a  papist.  Calvin, 
very  embittered  at  finding  himself  so  treated  by  a  man  whom  he 


412  REPLY  TO  CASSANDER.  [CHAP.  XIV. 

had  brought  up,  soon  proved  to  him  that  the  ardour  of  youth 
was  not  yet  extinguished  in  his  spirit. 

Some  farther  light  is  thrown  on  the  cause  of  Calvin's  anger  by 
the  report,  that  Balduin  had  been  twice  in  Geneva  before  he 
was  called  to  Bourges,  and  that  he  renewed  his  friendship  with 
Calvin  when  no  longer  a  youth.  During  the  seven  years  that 
he  dwelt  at  Bourges  (1549-56)  he  professed  outwardly  the  Ca- 
tholic religion ;  but  he  carried  on  a  close  correspondence  with 
Calvin,  and  assured  him  that  he  was  inwardly  a  good  protestant. 
If  the  statement  therefore  referred  to  be  true,  Calvin  may  have 
still  cherished  the  hope  that  he  would  sooner  or  later  return  to 
the  reformed  church.  But  he  must  have  come  a  third  time  to 
Geneva,  on  which  occasion  Calvin  appears  to  have  reproached 
him  bitterly  for  his  dissimulation  in  religion,  and  to  have  refused 
to  forgive  him  till  he  exhibited  sincere  repentance.  It  may  be 
mentioned,  as  a  striking  proof  of  his  vacillating  conduct,  that 
after  engaging  in  such  a  controversy  with  Calvin,  he  appeared 
in  1566  in  the  first  assembly  held  by  the  malcontents  in  Breda, 
and  drew  up  the  paper  in  which  they  petitioned  the  duchess  of 
Parma  to  admit  the  free  exercise  of  the  Protestant  religion  in 
her  territories.  He  was  a  man  in  fact  of  all  colours,  while  Cas- 
sander,  on  the  contrary,  appears  to  have  been  a  genuine  lover 
of  peace.  George  Wicelius,  who  acted  throughout  his  life  in  a 
similar  manner,  practised  the  same  sort  of  vacillation  in  Ger- 
many. 

Calvin  assailed  Cassander's  writing  in  his  well-known  original 
style,  sharp,  caustic,  and  powerful*.  It  shows  how  impossible 
it  is  to  unite  both  churches  in  their  principles ;  for  example,  in 
the  doctrines  of  scripture  and  tradition,  a  point  which  Cassander 
would  leave  for  tradition  to  decide.  Catholic  tradition,  as  the 
unwritten  truth,  will  alone  suffice  to  allay  religious  strife.  He- 
resies, says  Cassander,  were  silenced  from  the  first,  not  by  the 
word  of  scripture,  but  by  the  right  understanding  thereof.  Cal- 
vin, on  the  other  hand,  observes,  "  According  to  this,  the  God- 
head of  Christ  rests  on  no  other  basis  than  the  decree  of  a 
council."  "  And  if,"  he  justly  adds,  "  we  value  the  tradition  or 
the  interpretations  of  the  first  century  as  highly  as  the  Bible,  the 
main  pillar  of  the  faith  is  shattered ;  for  original  sin,  justification, 

*  Calvin's  paper  against  Balduin  appeared  at  Geneva  under  the  title  of 
'  Io.  Calvini  Responsio  ad  versipellem  quendam  Mediatorem,'  &c.  &t\  ;  and 
in  French,  '  Response  a  un  certain  moyenneur  ruse,'  &c.  &c. 


A.D.  1562-63.]  REPLY  TO  CASSANDER.  413 

and  the  sufficiency  of  the  sacrifice  of  Christ,  are  treated  of  but 
very  obscurely  in  the  writings  of  the  oldest  fathers.  If  there  be 
a  written  and  an  unwritten  word,  by  what  signs  shall  we  deter- 
mine the  truth  of  the  latter,  so  as  to  distinguish  it  from  what  is 
false  ?  The  high  antiquity  of  a  tradition  is  no  certain  proof  of 
its  truth :  otherwise  we  should  be  obliged  to  adopt  all  the  hor- 
rible heresies  which  arose  in  the  apostolic  times.  The  clear 
light  of  the  Gospel  shines  resplendent  above  all  this  dai'kness 
and  confusion.  A  second  characteristic  of  tradition  consists  in 
its  universal  reception ;  but  by  universal,  the  writer  referred  to 
means  only  the  Roman  Catholic  church  of  the  West." 

On  the  one  side  indeed  Cassander  advocated  the  pure  institu- 
tion of  Christ ;  for  example,  in  regard  to  the  sacrament ;  but  on 
the  other,  he  justified  the  use  of  the  ceremonies  which  had  been 
invented  by  the  successors  of  the  apostles.  Thus  a  door  was 
opened  to  all  that  was  Romanistic.  Calvin  now  assailed  the  un- 
christian character  of  the  papacy  itself,  in  which  Cassander  had 
sought  the  true  church.  Calvin  acknowledged  indeed  that  there 
were  some  remains  of  the  true  church  in  that  of  Rome ;  but  he 
adds  a  review  of  the  papacy,  which  proves  the  impossibility  of  a 
union  between  it  and  the  Protestant  churches. 

The  main  obstacle  however  to  such  a  union  was  the  doctrine 
of  justification  :  on  this  Calvin  expresses  himself  as  follows  : — 
"  The  Catholics  pronounce  with  great  severity  the  condemnation 
of  Arius,  Sabellius,  Nestorius,  Eutyches,  Marcion,  and  the  Ma- 
nichees.  There  is  concord  therefore  among  us,  if  it  depend  only 
on  the  doctrine  of  the  divine  and  human  nature,  and  their  union. 
But  when  Paul  teaches,  that  the  church  is  established  on  Christ 
alone,  he  means  thereby,  that  Christ  is  made  unto  us  of  the  Fa- 
ther, wisdom,  redemption,  righteousness  and  sanctification.  But 
has  not  Cassander  rejected  the  wisdom  here  spoken  of,  when, 
like  another  Mahomet,  he  sets  himself  in  its  place,  plays  the  Lord, 
and  mars  by  his  inventions  the  brightness  of  the  Gospel  ?  Let 
it  be  observed  however  that  this  reformer  united  with  the  doc- 
trine of  free-will,  that  of  redemption  as  taught  by  Paul ;  and 
what  is  still  more,  that  he  spoke  of  good  works  as  opposed  to 
the  righteousness  which  we  receive  through  Christ.  If,  more- 
over, we  must  seek  our  holiness  in  Christ,  as  the  result  of  a 
working-together  of  the  human  will  with  the  grace  of  the  Holy 
Spirit,  which  only  comes  to  our  aid, — if  we  look  at  the  means,  or 
the  form  of  this  grace,  the  whole  theory  must  fall  to  the  ground, 
if  Christ  be  not  our  sole  high-priest,  our  Mediator;  and  if  we  do 


414  REPLY  TO  CASSANDER.  [CHAP.  XIV. 

not  view  the  death  of  the  Lord  as  our  only  and  eternal  offering 
to  God." 

Calvin  speaks  in  a  very  christian  spirit  of  the  communion, 
which  the  reformed  would  so  willingly  have  established  with  the 
Catholics ;  and  this  is  important,  as  confuting  the  statements  of 
those  who  impute  to  Calvin,  especially  in  this  controversy,  so 
much  gall  and  hatred.  Of  this  I  can  find  no  trace  in  his  works, 
with  the  exception  of  an  occasional  remark,  expressed  in  the 
sarcastic  tone  common  to  his  age.  "  With  regard  to  the  men 
themselves,"  he  said,  "  we  are  not  personally  opposed  to  them ; 
for  we  desire  their  salvation  equally  with  our  own.  We  do  not 
indeed  associate  with  the  Catholics ;  but  I  ask,  do  we  view  them 
as  swine,  or  dogs,  because  we  avoid  them  ?  On  the  contrary, 
we  truly  pity  their  blindness,  and  would,  as  far  as  in  us  lies,  put 
an  end  to  their  vices.  We  love  them  with  christian  goodwill : 
readily  should  we  accept,  yea,  we  are  very  anxious  to  receive 
them,  if  they  will  but  join  us  in  worshipping  God  with  purity  of 
heart.  In  short,  we  are  prepared  to  make  the  first  advances, 
and  by  all  means  to  unite  ourselves  to  them ;  but  we  would  not 
that  they  should  separate  us  from  Christ;  nor  would  we  par- 
take of  their  superstition,  which  would  only  harden  and  pollute 
us,  and  involve  us  in  a  common  ruin  and  condemnation. — How 
irrational  is  the  plan  of  union  proposed  !  True  religion  is  sup- 
posed to  lie  between  us  and  the  papists :  both  parties  have  their 
errors ;  so  that  in  one  respect  both  must  be  destroyed,  and  then 
the  fragments  must  be  sown  together  to  form  a  new  and  a  pure 
church." 

Calvin  had  written  this  work,  sorrowfully,  in  the  absence  of 
Beza,  and  while  at  the  same  time  he  had  been  deprived  by  death 
of  the  agreeable  society  of  his  young  friend  Varenius.  He  sent 
it  to  Beza,  having  before  forwarded  to  him  an  abstract  of  its  con- 
tents, that  he  might  know  what  course  to  pursue.  Balduin  de- 
fended himself  in  a  work  for  which  he  had  obtained  a  privilegium 
in  the  year  1557,  and  which  he  now  published,  corrected,  and 
with  the  addition  of  an  appendix.  This  was  soon  followed  by 
Calvin's  rejoinder ;  in  which,  as  he  himself  confesses,  he  came 
forth  with  a  feeling  of  indignation.  When  Balduin  again  quickly 
answered  him,  Calvin  briefly  replied,  that  he  would  pursue  the 
matter  no  further,  for  that  his  friend  Beza  would  now  take  his 
place  in  the  controversy.  This  declaration  forms  the  introduc- 
tion to  Beza's  answer,  to  which  also  Balduin  still  replied,  deter- 
mined to  have  the  last  word. 


A. D.  1562-63.]   CONTROVERSY  WITH  BALDUIN.  415 

It  is  difficult  to  understand  how  Senebier  and  others  could 
find  fault  with  Calvin  for  his  reply  to  Balduin,  whose  violence, 
unreasonable  complaints,  and  abusive  language,  so  richly  de- 
served the  treatment  which  they  received.  Calvin's  work  more- 
over is  not  uninteresting  as  illustrative  of  his  character;  resign- 
ing himself  as  he  did,  and  according  to  his  usual  custom,  so 
entirely  to  his  present  feeling.  There  is  no  mention  indeed  of 
doctrine  in  the  answer;  it  is  wholly  personal.  We  quote  the 
two  following  passages*: — "I  allow  that  I  am  full  of  indigna- 
tion. We  remember  the  celebrated  answer  which  Socrates  gave 
to  those  who  persuaded  him  to  bring  some  people  who  abused 
him  to  trial.  '  If  an  ass  should  kick  at  me/  he  said, { would  you 
have  me  summon  him  before  a  court  of  justice?'  Although  I 
am  very  far  from  possessing  such  magnanimity  as  Socrates,  yet 
long  custom  has  hardened  me  against  the  barking  of  such  dogs, 
and  I  have  learnt  in  a  better  school,  that  God,  in  order  to  prove 
the  patience  of  his  servants,  allows  them  to  be  assailed  by  slander 
and  abuse. — True  it  is,  that  I  am  not  elevated  by  the  greatness 
of  the  revelations  granted  me,  as  if  I  were  a  Paul ;  still  I  acknow- 
ledge that  I  have  this  in  common  with  the  apostle,  that  a  mes- 
senger of  Satan  has  been  sent  by  God  to  buffet  me  in  the  face, 
and  that  I  am  thus  taught  to  humble  myself.  But  as  we  must 
at  all  times  pray  to  God  to  drive  back  the  devil  and  his  angels, 
it  is  our  duty  to  oppose  their  revilings,  lest  the  truth  should  be 
injured  by  the  falsehoods  which  they  thus  promulgate." 

The  reformers  were  so  situated,  that  they  could  not  avoid  re- 
plying to  the  foolish  and  wicked  slanders  with  which  they  were 
assailed.  If  they  had  taken  no  notice  of  the  barkings  and  lies 
of  their  enemies,  they  would  have  been  regarded  by  the  people  as 
guilty.  But  it  was  for  the  people  that  they  lived  and  laboured, 
and  they  were  compelled  therefore  to  adopt  the  rude  language 
which  the  people  could  best  understand.  Calvin  was  sufficiently 
severe  in  his  first  reply  to  Cassander ;  but  he  was  far  more  so 
in  the  second  to  Balduin.  He  is,  in  fact,  throughout  more  vehe- 
ment and  passionate  than  in  his  earlier  works.  Fur  example : — 
"  Not  only  ought  a  brand  and  a  sign  to  be  set  upon  Balduin,  to 
mark  him  as  a  slave,  but  he  ought  to  be  hung  upon  a  gallows  ;  for 
why  should  such  a  vile  fellow  be  allowed  to  lift  up  his  head  from 
the  dunghill,  and  darken  the  light  of  the  sun  with  his  wicked 
audacity  ?  " 

Referring  to  Servetus,  Calvin  says  :  "  He  tells  a  wretched  false- 
*  Opusc.  p.  2215.   Ed.  Amstel.  viii.  p.  31(3. 


416  CONTROVERSY  WITH   BALDU1N.  [CHAP.  XIV. 

hood  when  he  asserts,  that  I  keep  all  others  in  bondage,  and 
make  them  dependent  on  my  will.  Now  I  desire  no  other  wit- 
nesses than  those,  who  differing  from  me  in  opinion,  yet  con- 
tinue to  be  my  friends  :  but  what  follows  is  still  more  detestable. 
If  any  one  opposes  my  plans,  it  is  said,  he  is  not  only  deprived 
of  his  rights,  but  loses  his  life.  Such  is  the  penalty  of  displea- 
sing me.  Castellio  perhaps  has  requested  him,  as  a  mark  of 
friendship,  to  defend  the  cause  of  Servetus.  True  it  is  that  that 
unhappy  man  received  the  punishment  due  to  his  offences ;  but 
did  this  happen  merely  according  to  my  will  and  pleasure  ?  It 
is  certain  that  his  arrogance,  no  less  than  his  impiety,  was  the 
cause  of  his  ruin  and  death.  But  what  of  wrong  did  I  commit, 
when  the  council  of  this  city,  encouraged  indeed  by  me,  but  ac- 
cording to  the  decision  of  various  churches,  took  just  revenge  of 
the  horrible  blasphemies  of  that  wicked  man  ?  Melancthon  ap- 
proved of  the  proceeding,  and  commended  the  severity  of  the 
republic  to  imitation."  The  respect  entertained  for  Melancthon 
was  sufficient  to  silence  all  objections. 

«  It  is  surely  not  necessary  to  blind  France  in  order  to  con- 
vince it  of  my  faithfulness,  my  diligence,  my  honesty,  discretion, 
patience,  and  daily  labours  for  the  church ;  things  which  have 
been  evidenced  from  my  youth  by  so  many  testimonies/' — "  This 
man  accuses  me  of  having  called  myself  Lucanius  in  my  letters, 
and  out  of  this  name  he  frames  that  of  Lucianus,  that  he  may 
abuse  me  as  an  enemy  of  the  true  God."—"  Among  other  things 
laid  to  my  charge  is  this,   that  I  have  no  children.     I  answer, 
that  the  Lord  did  give  me  a  child,  but  was  pleased  to  deprive 
me  of  it.    But  thousands  of  children,  in  all  parts  of  Christendom, 
have  been  given  me  in  its  place."     In  the  conclusion,  Calvin 
says  of  himself:  "  If  I  had  Balduin's  ambition,  I  could  easily 
gain  the  honours  after  which  he  has  so  long  and  so  vainly  sought ; 
but  I  willingly  resign  such  things.     Satisfied  with  my  humble 
condition,  I  have  ever  delighted  in  a  life  of  poverty,  and  am  a 
burden  to  no  one :  I  remain  contented  with  the  office  which  the 
Lord  has  given  me.     So  far  am  I  from  seeking  an  increase  of 
stipend,  that  I  have  given  up  a  portion  of  that  allowed  me.    I 
not  only  employ  my  best  ability,  my  labour  and  study,  to  do 
good  to  the  church  to  which  I  am  more  especially  devoted ;  but 
I  also  endeavour,  by  every  means  in  my  power,  to  benefit  all 
other  churches :  and  so  do  I  fulfil  the  duties  of  a  teacher,  that 
no  one  can  discover  in  my  earnest  truth  and  diligence  any  trace 
of  ambition.    I  bear  with  many  annoyances  ;  but  I  suffer  neither 


A. D.  1562-63.]        CONTROVERSY  WITH   BALDUIN.  117 

the  great  nor  the  powerful  to  abridge  my  freedom  of  speech. 
Thus  I  give  not  the  reins  to  the  great  by  flattering  them ;  nor 
fear  I  the  displeasure  of  either  one  party  or  the  other.  Up  to 
this  hour,  successful  as  I  have  been,  I  am  free  from  pride ;  and 
though  I  have  been  assailed  by  many  a  storm  and  tempest,  my 
courage  and  fortitude  have  never  failed  me,  till  God,  by  his  espe- 
cial goodness,  has  come  to  my  deliverance.  I  live  at  peace  with 
my  associates,  and  endeavour  with  all  sincerity  to  keep  up  the 
friendship  which  exists  among  us." 

This  public  witness  which  the  reformer  gave  of  himself,  in 
the  place  where  he  lived,  before  the  eyes  of  all,  and  to  the  very 
end  of  his  career,  is  well-deserving  of  attention.  Such  however 
was  Balduin's  confirmed  hatred  of  Calvin,  that  he  is  reported  to 
have  said,  "  that  he  would  rather  live  with  Beza  in  hell  than 
with  Calvin  in  heaven."  The  mere  presence  of  Calvin  was  a 
hell  to  him. 

Some  little  polemical  tracts  have  also  to  be  mentioned  as  be- 
longing to  this  period.  The  i  Congratulation  to  Gabriel  de  Sa- 
conay5  is  a  very  original  paper,  written  against  a  priest  of  Lyons, 
who,  although  himself  immoral,  wished  to  defend  good  morals 
against  the  reformers,  and  therefore  attacked  the  Genevese. 
Calvin  draws  a  very  comical  and  grotesque  picture  of  this  man, 
in  the  middle-age  style,  and  makes  him  appear  ridiculous  from 
beginning  to  end.  The  writing  has  some  worth,  as  affording  a 
specimen  of  the  wit  and  humour  of  the  reformer.  Saconay  had 
reprinted  a  part  of  Henry  the  Eighth's  work  against  Luther, 
with  a  very  absurd  preface  of  his  own*.  The  work,  which  Cal- 
vin believed  was  written  by  a  priest,  but  published  by  the  wish 
of  the  king,  under  his  name,  had  long  been  forgotten,  and  Saco- 
nay, a  catholic  priest  of  bad  character,  only  employed  it  as  a 
medium  for  accusing  Calvin  of  intolerance,  and  Beza  of  sen- 
suality. 

Calvin  took  occasion  from  this  circumstance  to  explain  what 
ought  to  be  understood  by  the  word  heresy :  he  shows  that  the 
determination  of  all  questions  must  depend  upon  Scripture,  and 
states  the  difference  between  the  Romish  and  Reformed  churches. 
From  a  critical  examination  of  the  papacy  he  passes  to  that  of 
the  doctrine  of  the  sacrament,  and  confutes  the  several  errors  of 
the  Catholics  one  by  one. 

This  writing  however  contains  much  which  is  merely  personal ; 

*  "II  a  cuyde  estre  demi-roy,  si  son  noni  estoit  niosk'  a  un  noin  royal," 
said  Calvin. 

VOL.  IT.  2   E 


418  POLEMICAL  TRACTS.  [CHAP.  XIV. 

for  example,  the  answer  to  the  accusation  that  Calvin  would  not 
suffer  Luther's  works  to  be  printed  at  Geneva :  but  he  shows 
that  he  thoroughly  agreed  with  the  German  reformer,  who,  in 
treating  of  the  unity  of  the  church,  prophesied  the  fall  of  the 
papacy*. 

Another  equally  characteristic  production,  written  in  French, 
deserves  also  to  be  mentioned  :  it  is  an  answer  to  Cathelin,  for- 
merly a  Franciscan  friar  of  Alby,  who  wrote  fiercely  against 
Calvin.  The  introduction  is  curious : — "  So  many  foolish  beasts 
are  so  detestably  busy  just  now  with  paper  and  print,  that  re- 
spectable men  of  learning  will  be  ashamed  to  have  anything  to 
do  with  printing/'  Cathelin  surpassed  all  the  rest  in  his  rage 
against  the  reformed :  he  prayed  the  syndics  to  compel  Calvin 
to  clear  himself.  The  latter  added,  that  the  papacy  could  not 
injure  itself  more  than  by  countenancing  such  writers f. 

A  third  work  of  a  similar  kind  is  supposed  to  have  been  writ- 
ten against  a  libertine  from  Holland :  Ziegenbein  quotes  it  by 
the  title  of  'Jean  Calvin,  de  la  vraye  et  fausse  religion.'  It  is 
not  found  however  either  in  the  Latin  edition  of  his  works,  or  in 
the  French  '  Opuscules,'  and  was  probably  written  by  Viret  J. 

*  "  Si  tu  t'enquerrois  du  pape,  il  te  diroit  que  son  royaume  estant  pourri 
corame  de  longue  phthisie,  est  ainsi  qu'une  charogne  qui  n'a  que  le  souffle.  Je 
t'annonce  que  ce  que  tu  crains  le  plus  t'arrivera  en  bref,  c'est  que  ta  cuisine 
gelera;  j'ai  voulu  achever  mon  propos  par  cette  conjuration,  parceque  tu  es 
de  cette  sorte  de  diable  que  Ton  ne  chasse  que  par  le  jeune." — Opus.  p.  2128. 

f  Calvin  says  that  this  man  came  accompanied  by  a  woman  to  Geneva,  and 
was  at  first  well-received  : — "  Puis  ils  ne  purent  tenir  de  diablier  dans  l'hostel- 
lerieet  se  prendre  au  poil  pour  essayer  qui  seroit  le  plus  fort — et  par  leur  pro- 
pre  bouche  furent  convaincus  d'etre  un  rumen  et  une  puta'me."  Calvin  adds, 
that,  "  with  regard  to  his  preface,  he  understood  only  the  high  German,  as 
they  say"  (that  is,  not  at  all).  "  It  attacks  the  Reformation,— demands  why  1 
forbid  giving  alms  to  the  papists,— asserts  that  I  teach,  that  to  vow  chastity  is 
to  tempt  God."  Calvin  makes  some  pointed  remarks  on  the  following  sub- 
jects .—Vows,  Auricular  Confession,  Absolution,  Baptism,  Regeneration,  the 
Sacrament  of  the  Eucharist,  and  thus  concludes  :— "  If  this  rogue  continues 
to  annoy  me  with  his  babble,  I  shall  easily  learn  to  despise  him,  as  I  do  so 
many  others,  a  thousand  times  more  formidable  than  he ;  for  it  is  not  my 
office  to  silence  all  the  dogs  that  bark  in  the  world." 
\  Senebier,  Hist.  Lit.  de  Geneve,  i.  p.  518. 


A.D.  1563-64.]  DISCIPLINE  AT  GENEVA.  119 


CHAPTER  XV. 

CALVIN     TAKES     LEAVE     OF    THE     WORLD. —  REVIEW     OF    THE 

CLOSE  OF  HIS    LIFE. HIS    OUTWARD    CIRCUMSTANCES  AND 

INWARD     STATE. HIS     LAST     LABOURS. FAREWELL     AD- 
DRESS TO  THE    MINISTERS,  AND  TO    THE    COUNCIL. GENE- 


Calvin  had  frequently  been  on  the  point  of  leaving  Geneva; 
but  he  felt  himself  to  the  last  supported  by  the  hand  of  God,  as 
he  was  at  the  beginning,  when  Farel  threatened  him  with  the 
curse  of  God  if  he  forsook  Geneva,  and  when  he  listened  to  his 
words  as  to  a  distant  storm.  Among  all  the  tempests  however 
to  which  he  stood  exposed,  he  had  ever  the  feeling  that  a  great 
blessing  was  with  him  :  he  saw  how  magnificently  his  work  pros- 
pered in  France,  and  in  the  year  1560  he  found  his  system  of 
discipline  adopted  in  the  Palatinate.  His  Answer  to  Caspar 
Olevianus  is  well-known.  The  law  in  Geneva  was  administered 
with  Roman  strictness. 

In  the  year  1563,  a  man  named  Villard,  who  had  made 
mockery  of  a  .storm  of  thunder  and  lightning,  while  other  people 
were  praying  in  terror,  and  who  had  sinned  in  other  respects 
against  good  morals,  was  seen  led  through  the  streets  of  Geneva, 
and  afterwards  whipped,  by  the  public  executioner.  In  the  same 
year  a  book  was  thrown  into  the  fire,  amid  a  great  concourse  of 
people  :  this  was  the  c  Discipline  Ecclesiastique  de  Morelli  de 
Villiers,'  in  which  it  was  asserted,  that  the  consistory  was  an 
institution  of  which  nothing  was  known  in  the  time  of  the 
apostles,  and  that  the  people  alone  had  the  right  to  judge  of 
doctrine  and  morals.  The  synod  of  Orleans  had  condemned  the 
book  in  1562.  Calvin  conducted  the  process  at  Geneva,  as  is 
evident  from  the  acts  and  remarks  written  in  his  own  hand. 
The  author  was  not  allowed  to  partake  of  the  Lord's  Supper 
with  the  Genevese  till  he  had  confessed  his  error:  he  stood  be- 
fore the  tribunal,  August  26th,  having  promised  to  submit  him- 
self to  the  judgement  of  Calvin,  Farel,  and  Viret.  Calvin  how- 
ever declared  very  decidedly,  that  he  would  not  place  himself 
above  the  opinion  of  the  synod.  Certain  questions  were  put  to 
the  author;  but  he  refused  to  answer,  except  in  writing.    As  no 


420  PUBLIC  AFFAIRS.  [CHAP.  XV. 

further  reply  was  received  from  him,  he  was  pronounced  schis- 
matic, excommunicated,  and  given  over  to  the  council;  but  he 
fled,  and  his  wife  pleaded  his  excuse.  Such  was  the  severe  dis- 
cipline, as  shown  by  many  examples,  established  at  this  period 

in  Geneva. 

Public  affairs  wore  a  very  troubled  appearance.     Geneva  was 
ao-ain  (1563)   threatened  by   Savoy*:    all   the  representations 
made  by  the  little  republic  to  the  Bernese  were  without  avail. 
They  had  entered  into  a  treaty  of  peace  with  Savoy.    Thus  Ge- 
neva at  the  end  of  the  year  was  in  danger,  even  during  the  cele- 
bration of  the  Christmas  festival,  and  when  all  the  people  were 
assembled  in  the  churches  to  partake  of  the  Lord's  Supper,  ot 
beino-  attacked  by  the  enemy.  The  city,  visibly  defended  only  by 
a  wretched  wall,  was  more  than  once  surrounded  and  fortified, 
through  the  prayer  of  the  faithful,  by  a  wall  of  fire.    Pius  n  . 
closed  this  year  the  Council  of  Trent;  and  the  cardinal  of  Lor- 
raine there  established,  as  before  related,  an  alliance  between  the 
several  Catholic  powers  of  the  South  against  the  Gospel.     We 
see  Calvin  shortly  before  his  death  resisting  this  confederacy 
with  almost  incredible  energy  :  he  adjured  Bullinger,  and  all  the 
brethren,  in  the  name  of  God,  to  exert  themselves  to  secure  the 
renewal  of  the  treaty  between  France  and  the  Swiss,  now  coming 
to  a  close,  that  the  Gospel  might  enjoy  protection,  peace,  and  a 

free  course  "f*.  • 

In  the  last  years  of  Calvin's  life,  during  the  most  eventful  times, 
and  after  his  death,  the  plague  raged  with  the  most  frightful 
violence,  as  if  God  had  now  mercifully  designed  to  awaken  men 
to  more  earnest  reflection.  Bullinger  himself  was  attacked,  bu 
recovered,  after  losing  his  wife  and  two  daughters  J.  "Wretched 
me!"  he  exclaimed,  "that  I  should  survive,  to  follow,  halt- 
dead,  so  many  to  the  grave !"   Multitudes  died  of  the  plague  in 

Switzerland.  ,  _       .  ,  .    rr   , 

As  in  the  case  of  Bullinger,  with  whom  throughout  his  hfe  he 
preserved  the  strictest  friendship,  Calvin  rema.ned  faithfully  at- 
tached to  his  other  associates,  and  to  the  companions  of  his  youth. 
Two  letters  still  exist,written  in  the  last  years  of  his  hfe,  to  Francs 
Daniel,  whom  he  knew  at  the  University,  and  to  whom  he  in 
1533,  dedicated  one  of  his  first  works  §.  Thus  also  he  manifested 
his  friendship  for  Melancthon  to  the  end  :  whether  Melancthon 
himself  valued  it  or  not,  it  is  equally  estimable  on  the  part  of 


a.d.  1563-64,]        close  of  Calvin's  life.  421 

Calvin.  The  evening  of  their  lives  was  troubled  by  numberless 
enemies.  But  Calvin  remained  free  from  mistrust,  and  never 
despaired  of  the  human  heart.  In  his  iron  breast  he  bore  a 
warm  and  tender  spirit :  as  long  as  Melancthon  lived,  it  was  his 
delight  to  pour  out  his  heart  to  him  from  time  to  time.  Thus 
he  described  to  him  in  confidence  his  infirmities  and  his  dangers, 
especially  in  the  year  155S,  rightly  thinking  that  this  might  in- 
terest Melancthon.  The  letter  here  referred  to  is  a  genuine 
outpouring  of  the  heart  *. 

Calvin  still  retained,  in  the  four-and-fortieth  year  of  his  life,  a 
youthful  feeling  :  he  says  of  himself,  "  What  a  young  man  I 
still  am ! "  But  in  the  year  1558  he  was  attacked  by  a  violent 
fever,  which  bowed  him  down.  It  was  now  that  he  first  began 
to  feel  old ;  and  the  sigh  which  occasionally  escaped  him  shows 
that  his  thoughts  were  turned  towards  home.  He  let  fall  some 
words  also,  intimating  that  he  hoped  to  see  his  friends  again  in 
eternal  life.  His  patience  and  resignation,  his  hope  in  God,  re- 
tained through  those  unbearable  sufferings  which  frequently  de- 
prived him  of  sense,  interest  our  profoundest  s}Tmpathies  on  his 
side.  His  spirit,  amid  all  his  trials,  never  failed  him.  All  his 
letters  exhibit  to  the  last,  the  same  colour,  freshness  and  sim- 
plicity. One  last  sigh,  and  the  description  of  his  sufferings,  a 
month  before  his  death,  show  that  all  his  organs  were  invaded 
by  disease  t-  His  body  was  in  fact  broken  up,  and  only  his  spirit 
lived  in  the  wasted  shell.  The  gentle  and  benevolent  feeling 
which  he  displayed  amid  all  these  sufferings,  uttering  no  com- 
plaints, but  merely  a  sigh,  presents  him  as  an  example  to  the 
afflicted,  and  a  proof  of  the  all-sufficient  power  of  the  Holy  Spirit, 
even  amid  the  tortures  of  the  rack. 

But  never  had  Calvin  been  more  oppressed  with  toil  than, 
owing  to  Beza's  absence,  in  the  last  few  years  of  his  life ;  hence 
the  fire  expended  itself  the  more  rapidly.  People  envied  Calvin 
his  high  position  ;  he  was  spoken  of  as  if  he  had  been  a  bishop, 
or  lord  of  Geneva.  We  learn  however  from  Bcza,  his  suc- 
cessor, what  were  the  burdens  imposed  upon  him.  If  we  enter  his 
study,  we  shall  sec  ample  proofs  of  his  diligence,  even  to  the  last. 

*  MS.  Bern.  Calv.  Melancthoni,  Nov.  19,  1558. 

f  MS.  Gen.  Calv.  Bullingero,  April  u\  15G4.  The  pain  of  his  side  he  said 
was  abated,  but  his  lungs  were  bo  affected  that  he  could  only  breathe  with 
great  difficulty.  He  was  afflicted  with  the  stone,  which  had  given  him  dread- 
ful pain  for  the  last  twelve  days.  No  medicine  had  availed  to  his  relief.  Riding 
on  horseback  might  have  helped  him,  but  he  was  affected  with  another  dis- 
order which  prevented  his  sitting  on  horseback  ;  added  to  all  this,  he  had  the 
gout.   Food  was  scarcely  tolerable  to  him,  and  wine  was  bitter  to  his  palate. 


422  close  of  calvin's  life.  [chap.  xv. 

They  are  to  be  found  in  his  controversial  writings,  and  still  more 
in  his  numerous  commentaries,  published  at  the  close  of  his  life. 
Beza  states  that  Calvin's  concluding  labour  was  his  Latin  com- 
mentary on  the  last  four  books  of  Moses,  which  he  translated  into 
French.  But  the  commentary  on  Joshua  followed :  this  he 
finished  while  dying.  The  commentary  on  the  first  book  of 
Moses  was  Luther's  last  work.  Thus  Mathesius  relates,  that 
Luther  finished  Genesis  on  the  17th  of  November,  1345,  and 
uttered  these  last  words  :  u  There  is  now  our  dear  Genesis  ;  may 
the  Lord  grant  that  others  after  me  may  do  better  than  I  have  ! 
I  can  do  no  more.  I  am  weak.  Pray  to  the  Lord  for  me,  and 
beseech  him  to  grant  me  a  good,  happy  little  hour/' 

Calvin's  work  against  the  Polish  heretics  belongs  to  this  period  ; 
so  also  do  his  discourses  addressed  to  the  deputies  of  the  Lyons 
synod.  In  a  letter  written  towards  the  end  of  1563,  he  himself 
speaks  of  the  last  literary  labours  in  which  he  was  engaged  : 
this  was  only  five  months  before  his  death.  In  July  1563  he 
wrote  to  the  brethren  in  Dauphine,  anxious  to  inspire  them,  in 
those  times  of  war  and  tumult,  with  a  true  feeling  of  the  Gospel  *. 
He  also  again,  in  writing  to  Bullinger,  who  had  desired  him  to 
attack  Brentius,  expressed  his  feelings  in  respect  to  that  violent 
and  unsettled  man,  with  that  clear  and  deep  conviction,  (after 
the  example  of  the  gentle  Peter  Martyr)  which  attended  him  to 
the  grave  f. 

With  the  peace  of  God  in  his  heart,  Calvin  now  laid  himself 

down  to  rest.     His  life  had  been  a  constant  struggle  against  the 

storm  ;  and  he  felt  that  it  had  at  length  cast  him  upon  the  shore. 

Thus  after  so  many  toils  and  dangers,  he  was  filled  with  inward 

joy.     He  had  often  said  that  he  was  never  so  happy  as  after 

completing  numerous  and  difficult  labours.     His  whole  life  lay, 

as  it  were,  behind  him,  and  the  fruit  of  his  exertions  before  his 

eyes.     Let  us  hear  what  Beza  says  of  this  period : — "  In  the 

year  1562  it  might  be  already  seen,  that  Calvin  was  hastening 

with  rapid  Strides  to  a  better  world.     He  ceased  not  however 

to  comfort  the  afflicted,  to  exhort,  to  preach  even,  and  to  give 

lectures.     The  following  year  his  sufferings  so  increased,  that  it 

was  difficult  to  conceive  how  so  weak  a  body,  and  exhausted  as 

it  had  been  by  labour  and  sickness,  could  retain  so  strong  and 

mighty  a  spirit.     But  even  now  he  could  not  be  induced  to  spare 

himself;    for   when   he  was   obliged,  against  his  will,  to   leave 

the  duties  of  his  public  office  unfulfilled,  he  was  employed  at 

*    Ed.  Laus.  Ep.  341.  Ed.  Amst.  p.  171,  Jul.  31,  1563. 
t  MS.  Gen.  Dec.  _>7,  L563. 


a.d.  156.3-64.]  close  of  calvin's  life.  423 

home,  giving  advice  to  those  who  sought  him,  or  wearing  out 
his  amanuenses  by  dictating  to  them  his  works  and  letters. 
The  year  1564  was  the  first  of  his  eternal  rest,  and  the  beginning, 
for  us,  of  a  long  and  justifiable  grief.  On  the  6th  of  February 
he  preached  his  last  sermon,  already  much  affected  by  a  cough. 
He  was  now  obliged  wholly  to  discontinue  his  public  duties,  but, 
according  to  his  wish,  he  was  several  times  carried  to  the  con- 
gregation :  it  was  on  the  31st  of  March  that  this  occurred  for 
the  last  time,  and  he  could  then  utter  only  a  few  words." 

But  fearfully  attacked  as  he  was,  and  suffering  so  acutely  as 
he  did,  not  a  word  of  complaint  escaped  him  unworthy  of  a 
Christian,  or  indicative  of  weakness.  We  learn  this  from  Beza, 
who  was  always  at  his  side.  His  last  letters,  addressed  to  the 
physicians  of  Montpellier,  and  to  Farel,  show  the  most  friendly 
disposition.  The  common  opinion  entertained  at  an  early  period, 
that  there  was  something  gloomy  in  his  character,  is  strikingly 
confuted  by  the  exemplary  kindness  which  he  exhibited  in  this 
season  of  suffering.  When  his  agony  was  at  the  height,  Beza  re- 
lates, he  only  raised  his  eyes  to  heaven,  and  exclaimed,  "  How  long, 
O  Lord \"  He  had  this  expression  frequently  in  his  mouth,  even 
while  in  health,  when  he  heard  of  the  sufferings  of  his  persecuted 
brethren,  whose  afflictions  distressed  him  day  and  night,  far  more 
than  his  own.  "  When  we  besought  him,"  says  Beza,  "  to  re- 
frain at  least  during  his  sickness  from  dictating  and  writing,  he 
answered,  e  Would  you  that  the  Lord  should  find  me  idle  when 
He  comes  ?? "  The  Holy  Scriptures  employed  him  to  the  last : 
they  were  to  him  as  light  in  the  darkness  ;  for  they  announced  to 
his  soul  the  dawn  of  a  new  and  eternal  day.  Such  was  the  tender- 
ness of  his  conscience  that  he  would  no  longer  receive  his  stipend, 
now  that  he  was  unable  to  perform  the  duties  of  his  office  *. 

On  the  10th  of  March,  the  council,  deeply  sensible  of  the 
greatness  of  the  loss  with  which  they  were  threatened,  directed 
public  prayers  to  be  offered  up,  as  in  a  season  of  the  greatest 
afflictions  t-  Beza  relates  :  "  On  the  10th  of  March,  when  several 
of  the  brethren  came  to  him  out  of  the  city  and  from  the  coun- 
try, we  found  him  dressed,  and  sitting  by  the  tabic  at  which  he 
was  accustomed  to  write  or  transact  affairs.  When  he  saw  us 
enter,  he  rested  his  forehead  on  his  hand,  as  he  was  wont  to  do 
when  thinking  deeply,  and  remained  silent  tor  some  time.  At 
Length  he  spoke,  and  said3  his  voice  frequently  failing  him.  bul 

*  Registres  de  Geneve,  l  ">  Mars,  IS  h  R  gist    19  Mars,  1564 


424  calvin's  last  sickness.  [chap.  xv. 

with  a  serene  and  smiling  countenance,  '  My  dear  brothers  !  1 
thank  you  greatly  for  your  tender  care,  and  I  hope  a  fortnight 
hence  to  assemble  you  all  around  me,  yet  once  more  ;  but  it  will 
be  for  the  last  time*.  The  Lord  will  then,  I  think,  reveal  what 
He  has  determined  respecting  me,  and  will  probably  take  me  to 
Himself.'" 

On  the  day  which  he  had  mentioned,  that  is  March  24,  after 
he  had  censured  the  brethren  according  to  the  appointed  order, 
and  had  been  censured  in  turn,  he  said,  that  he  felt  that  some 
alleviation  of  suffering  was  granted  him  by  the  Lord.  He  then 
asked  for  a  New  Testament  in  French,  and  read  to  us  some  of 
the  marginal  notes,  requiring  the  opinion  of  the  brethren  respect- 
ing them,  because  he  had  undertaken,  he  said,  to  correct  them. 

The  following  day  he  was  not  so  well,  the  labour  which  he 
had  undergone  having  apparently  exhausted  his  feeble  frame. 
On  the  27th,  however,  he  desired  to  be  carried  to  the  door  of  the 
council- chamber.  He  ascended  the  steps  leading  to  the  hall, 
supported  by  two  attendants ;  and  there,  having  proposed  to 
the  senate  a  new  rector  for  the  school,  he  took  off  his  scull-cap, 
and  thanked  the  assembly  for  the  kindness  which  he  had  ex- 
perienced at  its  hands,  and  especially  for  the  friendship  which  had 
been  shown  him  during  his  last  illness.  "  For  I  feel,"  he  said, 
"  that  this  is  the  last  time  that  I  shall  stand  here."  These  words 
were  uttered  in  a  voice  scarcely  audible  ;  and  he  immediately  took 
his  leave  of  the  council,  the  members  of  which  were  moved  to 
tears. 

"  On  the  2nd  ot  April,"  says  Beza,  "  it  being  Easter-day,  he 
was  carried  to  church  in  a  chair.  He  remained  during  the  whole 
sermon,  and  received  the  sacrament  from  my  hand.  He  even 
joined,  though  with  a  trembling  voice,  the  congregation  in  the 
last  hymn, £  Lord,  let  thy  servant  depart  in  peace  :'  and  looking  at 
the  countenance  of  the  departing  one,  easily  might  we  discover 
the  signs  of  Christian  joyfulness." 

On  the  25th  of  the  month  he  made  his  will:  this  instrument 
is  strikingly  illustrative  of  his  character.  It  is  as  a  full  stream 
of  the  sentiments  which  filled  his  humble  soul.  He  declares  his 
belief,  and  commends  himself  to  the  mercy  of  God  ;  he  then  dis- 
poses in  the  whole  of  225  dollars.  The  strict  observance  of  form 
in  the  will,  and  the  severe  but  yet  kind  manner  in  which  he 

*  The   day  alluded  to  was  that  appointed  for  the   brotherly  censureship  of 

sermons,  &c. 


a.u.  1563-64.]         calvin's  last  sickness.  425 

spoke  in  it  of  a  thoughtless  nephew,  are  very  remarkable.     Lu- 
ther's peculiarities  are  also  apparent  in  his  last  testament. 

We  quote  the  following  passage  from  Calvin's  : — "  In  the  first 
place,  I  thank  God  that  He  has  not  only  had  mercy  on  his  poor 
creature,  having  delivered  me  from  the  abyss  of  idolatry,  but  that 
He  has  brought  me  into  the  clear  light  of  his  Gospel,  and  made 
me  a  partaker  of  the  doctrine  of  salvation,  of  which  I  was  alto- 
gether unworthy  ;  yea,  that  his  mercy  and  goodness  have  borne 
so  tenderly  with  my  numerous  sins  and  offences,  for  which  I  de- 
served to  be  cast  from  Him  and  destroyed.    But  especially  is  my 
soul  filled  with  thankfulness  for  the  grace  and  love  of  the  Lord, 
in  deigning  to  make  use  of  my  labour  in  proclaiming  and  extend- 
ing his  Gospel.  I  testify  what  I  have  in  my  soul,  that  I  will  live 
and  die  in  this  faith  which  He  has  given  me  ;  for  I  have  no  other 
hope  but  that  which  rests  on  his  free  election,  the  only  founda- 
tion of  my  salvation  ;  and  with  my  whole  heart  do  I  embrace  the 
mercy  which  Christ  has  prepared  for  me,  that  all  my  sins  may 
be  buried  through  the  merits  of  his  death  and  sufferings.     I 
most  humbly  pray  that  I  may  be  so  purified  and  washed  by  the 
blood  of  this  great  Redeemer,  shed  for  the  sins  of  mankind,  that 
I  may  be  able  to  stand  before  his  judgement-seat  and  bear  his 
image  on  me.     I  testify  also,  that  according  to  the  measure  of 
grace  given  me,  I  have  taught  his  pure  word,  in  preaching,  in 
works,  and  in  the  exposition  of  Scripture  :  yea,  in  all  the  contro- 
versies which  I  have  carried  on  against  the  enemies  of  the  truth, 
I  have  employed  no  sophistry,  but  have  fought  the  good  fight  in 
simplicity  and  truth.    But,  alas  !  the  goodwill  which  I  have  had, 
and  my  zeal,  if  so  it  can  be  called,  has  been  something  so  poor 
and  cold,  that  I  have  failed  in  numberless  ways  in  fulfilling  my 
office ;  and  but  for  the  unbounded  goodness  of  God,  my  good- 
will would  have  been  but  smoke  ;  yea,  but  for  this,  even  the  grace 
which  He  gave  me  would  have  only  rendered  me  more  guilty 
in  his  sight  :  therefore  do  I  solemnly  testify  that  I  own  no  other 
power  of  salvation  but  this,  that  God,  who  is  the  God  of  mercy, 
is  ready  to  manifest  himself  as  the  Father  of  so  miserable  a 
sinner/' 

His  brother  and  Laurent  de  Normandie,  who  had  come  from 
Noyon  with  him,  were  appointed  executors  of  his  will.  It  was 
signed  by  the  seven  witnesses,  who  had  been  named  by  Calvin, 
and  the  notary,  after  it  had  been  read  with  a  loud  and  articulate 
voice. 

It  is  instructive  to  compare  with  this  of  Calvin.  Luther's  cha- 


426  calvin's  farewell  address.  [chap.  xv. 

racteristic  opinion  of  himself,  as  given  in  the  introduction  to  his 
will.  Treating  all  legal  forms  with  contempt,  he  says  :  u  I  am 
well  enough  known  in  heaven,  upon  earth,  and  in  hell ;  and  I 
am  sufficiently  respected  to  be  trusted ;  for  God,  miserable  sin- 
ner as  I  am,  and  deserving  of  condemnation,  has  out  of  his 
fatherly  mercy  entrusted  me  with  the  Gospel  of  his  Son,  and  has 
made  me  true  and  faithful  therein,  so  that  many  in  the  world 
have  received  it  through  me ;  and  do,  therefore,  own  me  as  a 
teacher  of  the  truth ;  while  I  have  been  enabled  to  despise  the 
ban  of  the  pope,  of  the  emperor,  of  kings,  princes  and  priests ; 
yea  the  hatred  of  all  the  devils.  How  then  can  my  hand-wrriting 
fail  to  be  a  sufficient  witness  to  a  thing  of  such  little  importance  ; 
and  if  it  can  be  said,  *  Thus  wrote  Dr.  Martin  Luther,  the  stew- 
ard of  the  things  of  God,  and  witness  of  his  Gospel*  \9" 

Calvin  now  sent  a  message  to  the  four  syndics,  and  the  several 
members  of  the  council,  stating  that  he  wished,  before  leaving 
the  world,  to  meet  them  once  more  in  the  senate-house ;  and 
that  he  would  cause  himself  to  be  carried  to  the  hall  the  follow- 
ing day  :  so  at  least  he  hoped  to  be  able  to  do.  The  senators 
answered,  that  they  should  prefer  to  come  to  him,  and  besought 
him  to  have  regard  to  his  health.  Accordingly,  on  the  30th  of 
April,  they  proceeded  from  the  council-chamber  in  solemn  pro- 
cession to  his  house.  When  they  wrere  assembled  around  him, 
he  collected  all  his  strength  in  order  to  repeat  to  them,  without 
interruption,  the  address  which  he  had  prepared.  His  speech 
was  noted  down  as  he  delivered  it : — 

"  Most  honourable  Seigneurs  !  I  cannot  sufficiently  thank  you 
for  the  marks  of  respect  which  you  have  bestowed  upon  me,  and 
which  have  been  so  wholly  undeserved  ;  or  for  the  patience  with 
which  you  have  borne  my  manifold  infirmities,  always  to  me  the 
greatest  proof  of  your  friendship  and  benevolence.  And  although 
I  have  had  in  my  office  here  many  struggles  to  endure,  and  have 
suffered  many  severe  injuries,  for  thus  must  every  righteous  man  in 
this  world  be  proved,  yet  know7  I  well  that  these  things  have  not 
happened  through  any  fault  of  yours.  My  earnest  prayer  now 
is,  that  if  I  have  not  been  able  to  effect  all  that  I  should  have  done, 
you  will  not  attribute  this  to  my  want  of  will,  but  to  my  want 
of  means.  This  however  I  can  with  truth  testify,  that  I  have 
been  devoted  with  my  whole  soul  to  your  republic  ;  and  although 
1   have  not  fulfilled  my   duty  as  I  could  have  wished,   I   have 

*  Seckendorf,  B.  iii.  p.  651,  und  De  Write,  Bricfsammlung,  t.  v.  p.  422. 


a.d.  15G3-64.]         calvin's  farewell  address.  4.2~ 

laboured  with  all  my  strength  for  the  common  good.  It  would 
be  hypocrisy  not  to  own  that  the  Lord  has  been  pleased  to  em- 
ploy me,  and  that  not  unprontably,  in  his  service.  But  one  thing 
more  also  must  I  earnestly  entreat  of  you,  and  that  is,  to  pardon 
me  if  I  have  done  little  in  my  public  and  private  life  in  com- 
parison with  what  I  ought  to  have  done.  I  own  especially,  that  I 
am  greatly  indebted  to  your  kindness,  for  bearing  so  patiently 
with  my  often  unbridled  impetuosity.  I  hope  and  trust  that  God 
will  also  forgive  me  the  sins  which  I  have  thus  committed.  For 
the  rest,  and  with  regard  to  the  doctrine  which  you  have  heard 
from  me,  I  testify  that  I  have  taught  it  not  lightly,  or  uncertainly, 
but  purely  and  faithfully,  according  to  the  word  of  God  which  was 
entrusted  to  me.  Were  it  otherwise,,  I  know  wTell  that  the  wrath 
of  God  would  certainly  impend  over  me,  whereas  I  am  now  con- 
vinced that  my  labours  in  teaching  the  word  have  not  been  un- 
acceptable in  his  sight :  and  this  I  so  much  the  rather  state  be- 
fore God  and  before  you,  because  I  doubt  not  that  the  malicious 
and  evil-minded  will  endeavour  to  pervert  the  weak,  and  corrupt 
the  pure  doctrine  which  you  have  heard  from  me." 

After  having  spoken  at  large  of  the  boundless  mercy  of  God, 
of  his  goodness  poured  richly  upon  all,  he  exclaimed  :  "  I  myself 
am  the  best  witness  of  the  power  of  the  Lord  to  deliver  you  out 
of  the  greatest  dangers.  You  know  well  what  position  your 
state  occupies  ;  good  or  ill  may  befall  you  in  these  circumstances  ; 
I  adjure  you  therefore  before  God,  always  to  bear  in  mind  that  it 
is  God  alone  who  gives  strength  to  states  and  cities,  and  that 
He  demands  of  men  the  honour  due  to  his  omnipotence.  Re- 
member that  David,  that  great  king,  testifies,  that  he  fell  the  low- 
est while  he  was  in  the  enjoyment  of  the  profoundest  peace  ;  and 
that  he  would  never  have  risen  again,  had  not  God  in  his  infinite 
goodness  stretched  out  his  hand  to  him.  How  would  it  be  then 
with  us,  poor,  weak  and  wretched  as  we  are,  seeing  that  sucli 
was  the  case  with  so  strong  and  mighty  a  man?  The  greatest 
possible  humility  of  heart  is  necessary  to  you,  that  you  may  pur- 
sue your  course  with  foresight  and  in  the  fear  of  God,  ever  hiding 
yourselves  under  his  wings.  Then  will  you  be  convinced  thai 
his  help  is  a  sufficient  support,  as  you  have  before  so  often  found 
it,  even  though  the  safety  and  prosperity  of  the  state  should  Beem 
to  hang  but  on  a  little  thread. 

"And  if  it  should  be  well  with  you,  1  beseech  you  do  not  fol- 
low the  example  of  the  unbelievers,  but  praise  God  with  all  hu- 
mility.    It'  misfortune  should  happen  to  you.  and  death  should 


428  calvin's  farewell  address.  [chap.  xv. 

threaten  you  on  all  sides,  then  place  your  hope  on  Him  who  can 
even  raise  the  dead.  At  such  a  time  be  especially  convinced  that 
you  are  visited  by  God,  in  order  that  you  may  learn  to  humble 
yourselves,  and  seek  the  covert  of  his  wings.  If  you  would  pre- 
serve this  republic  in  its  present  firm  and  happy  condition,  take 
care  above  all  things  not  to  suffer  the  holy  institution  which  God 
has  planted  among  you  to  be  polluted  with  sin  and  blasphemy. 
He  alone  is  the  great  God,  the  King  of  kings  and  Lord  of  lords, 
who  puts  honour  upon  those  who  honour  Him,  and  casts  down 
the  scorners.  Pray  to  Him  according  to  his  own  law ;  and  be- 
come more  and  more  perfect  in  this  knowledge,  for  we  are 
always  most  distant  from  that  in  which  we  ought  to  be  the  most 
perfect.  I  know  well  enough  the  temper  and  manners  of  each  one 
among  you ;  and  know  also  that  you  need  admonition ;  not  one 
of  you,  even  the  most  excellent,  is  without  many  faults.  Let 
every  one,  therefore,  examine  himself,  and  pray  the  Lord  to  be- 
stow upon  him  that  in  which  he  is  wanting. 

"  We  see  how  many^  and  what  great  defects  there  are  in  most  of 
the  assemblies,  in  which  the  business  of  temporal  states  is  carried 
on.  One  party  is  cold  and  negligent  as  to  the  public  welfare, 
in  order  that  it  may  secure  its  own  advantage ;  another  yields 
itself  to  its  passions  and  prejudices  ;  while  a  third  abuses  the 
glorious  gifts  of  God,  or  becomes  proud,  and  with  a  haughty  trust 
in  its  own  sufficiency,  insists  that  that  which  seems  good  to  itself, 
shall  be  accepted  as  such  by  all  others.  I  exhort  the  aged,  in 
the  name  of  God,  not  to  manifest  envy  towards  the  young  who 
may  be  adorned  with  especial  gifts.  I  exhort  the  younger  to 
prove  themselves  free  from  all  haughtiness  of  mind.  Let  not 
the  one  interrupt  the  course  of  the  other :  avoid  personal  enmi- 
ties, and  all  those  bitternesses  which  have  turned  so  many  in 
the  government  of  republics  from  the  right  path.  You  will  not 
fall  into  such  errors  if  you  severally  confine  yourselves  to  the 
duty  which  belongs  to  each,  and  execute  faithfully  the  part  en- 
trusted to  you  by  the  state.  In  the  execution  of  justice,  I  adjure 
you  never  to  exhibit  the  slightest  trace  of  favour  or  dislike.  Let 
no  one  mar  the  right  by  subterfuge  or  art  :  let  no  one  endeavour 
by  his  influence  to  contravene  the  strictness  of  the  law :  let  no 
one  swerve  from  what  is  just  and  honest. 

"  But  should  any  one  be  tempted  by  a  wrong  feeling,  let  him 
be  resisted  with  firmness ;  and  let  your  looks  be  directed  above 
to  Him  from  whom  all  power  is  derived,  and  ask  of  Him  the 
Holy  Spirit.     Lastly,  I  again  beseech  you  to  pardon  my  weak- 


a.d.  1563-64.]  calvin's  farewell  address.  429 

nesses,  known  as  they  are  to  God  and  the  angels,  and  which, 
honourable  sirs,  I  do  not  wish  to  conceal  from  you." 

Having  thus  spoken,  Calvin  prayed  to  the  great  and  good  God, 
that  he  mm-ht  furnish  the  members  of  the  council  with  increased 

o 

gifts  of  grace,  and  so  lead  them  by  his  Holy  Spirit,  that  they 
might  labour  effectually  both  for  their  own  salvation,  and  for 
that  of  the  people.  He  then  offered  his  right  hand  to  all  present, 
and  left  them  deeply  affected  and  shedding  floods  of  tears,  as  if 
taking  their  last  leave  of  a  father*. 

On  the  28th  of  April,  when  all  the  ministers  of  the  Genevese  ter- 
ritory were  assembled  at  his  house,  according  to  his  wish,  he  thus 
addressed  them  :  "  Do  you,  my  brothers,  when  I  am  dead,  perse- 
vere in  this  work,  and  your  spirit  will  never  faint ;  for  the  Lord 
will  preserve  this  church  and  this  republic  against  all  the  threats 
of  their  enemies.  Let  no  strife  exist  among  you,  but  exercise  love 
one  towards  another.  Never  let  the  thought  escape  you  of  what 
you  owe  to  this  church,  in  which  the  Lord  has  placed  you,  and 
let  nothing  separate  you  from  it.  I  know  well  enough  that 
there  are  some,  who  when  weary  and  disgusted  with  their  duty, 
can  easily  invent  excuses  for  forsaking  it ;  but  they  will  soon 
discover  that  the  '  Lord  is  not  mocked.5  When  I  first  came  to 
this  city,  the  Gospel  was  already  preached  here,  but  the  greatest 
disorder  prevailed  on  all  sides,  as  if  Christianity  consisted  wholly 
in  the  destruction  of  images.  Nor  were  there  wanting  occasions 
of  offence,  which  caused  me  endless  distress.  But  the  Lord,  He  is 
our  God,  so  strengthened  me,  fearful  and  weak  as  I  was  by  nature, 
that  I  never  yielded  to  my  adversaries  :  I  returned  hither  from 
Strasburg,  obeying  the  call,  against  my  own  will,  because  I 
thought  that  I  could  not  be  useful  here  ;  not  knowing  what  the 
Lord  had  in  store  for  me,  and  because  the  undertaking  was  in- 
volved in  manifold  and  great  difficulties. 

"  But  as  I  continued  to  proceed  in  the  work.  I  at  length  dis- 
covered, by  the  thing  itself,  that  the  Lord  had  blessed  my  la- 
bour. Do  you,  therefore,  persevere  in  this  calling  :  hold  fast 
the  established  order,  anil  exert  yourselves  to  the  end,  that  the 
people  may  be  preserved  in  the  love  of  pure  doctrine.  There 
are  still  among  us  some  perverse  and  wicked  spirits.  But  the 
whole,  as  you  see,  is  not  now  evilly  disposed  ;  you  would  there- 
fore be  the  more  guilty  in  the  sight  of  God,  it'  by  your  negli- 
gence all  were   again  to  be  thrown   into  confusion. — Further: 

*  They  thanked  him  tor  all  the  services  Ik-  had  rendered  them  ;  and  assured 
him,  that  they  would  always  manifest  their  love  to  the  surviving  members  of 
his  family,  for  his  sake. 


430  calvin's  last  hours.  [chap.  xv. 

My  brothers,  I  testify  to  you,  that  a  true  and  earnest  affection  has 
ever  united  me  to  you,  and  that  I  bid  you  farewell  with  the  same 
feeling.  If  I  have  often  during  my  sickness  appeared  less  friendly, 
pardon  me.  I  cannot  thank  you  enough  for  having  taken  upon 
you,  while  I  have  been  thus  suffering,  the  burden  of  my  duties." 
He  then  extended  his  right  hand  to  each ;  ei  and  we  went  from 
him,"  says  Beza,  "with  very  heavy  hearts  and  wet  eyes." 

Having  learnt  on  the  2nd  of  May,  by  a  letter  from  Farel,  that 
that  now  aged  man,  thinking  more  of  his  sick  friend  than  of  him- 
self, proposed  making  a  journey  to  Geneva,  Calvin  wrote  to  him 
the  following  letter  in  Latin*  : — "Farewell,  my  best  and  most 
faithful  brother :  since  it  is  God's  will  that  you  should  survive  me, 
live  in  the  constant  recollection  of  our  union,  which,  in  so  far  as 
it  was  useful  to  the  church  of  God,  will  still  bear  for  us  abiding 
fruit  in  heaven.  I  wish  you  not  to  fatigue  yourself  on  my  ac- 
count. My  breath  is  weak,  and  I  continually  expect  it  to  leave 
me.  It  is  enough  for  me  that  I  live  and  die  in  Christ,  who  is 
gain  to  his  people  both  in  life  and  in  death.  Once  more  farewell, 
with  the  brethren.  Geneva,  May  2,  1564."  But  notwithstanding 
this  letter,  the  good  old  man  came  to  Geneva,  and  having  once 
more  conversed  with  his  friend  and  embraced  him,  he  returned  to 
Neuchatel.f 

"  The  few  remaining  days  of  his  life,"  says  Beza,  "  Calvin 
spent  in  almost  constant  prayer.  So  weak,  however,  was  his 
voice,  through  the  shortness  of  his  breath,  that  for  the  most  part 
his  sighs  only  were  audible.  But  his  eyes  shone  bright  to  the 
last,  and  he  raised  them  to  heaven,  with  such  an  expression,  that 
it  was  easy  to  learn  from  them  the  fervour  of  his  prayer.  He 
frequently  repeated  in  his  agony,  with  profound  sighs,  the  words 
of  David,  6  Lord,  I  opened  not  my  mouth,  for  it  was  thy  doing  :' 
and  from  time  to  time  those  of  Isaiah,  e  I  mourn  as  a  dove/ 
I  have  also  heard  that  he  said,  'Thou  dost  sorely  afflict  me, 
O  Lord :  but  it  is  consolation  enough  for  me,  and  I  suffer  it  wil- 
lingly, since  it  is  thine  hand.' 

"  His  doors  must  have  stood  open  day  and  night,  if  all  had 

*  Viret,  it  appears,  was  far  distant.  Kircbhofer  says  that  Viret  and  Fabri 
laboured  boldly  in  France,  at  Lyons,  after  Calvin's  death  (B.  ii.p.  162).  The 
letter  here  quoted  is,  Ep.  344.  Ed.  Laus.,  Ed.  Amst.  p.  172. 

f  Of  Farel,  we  are  told  that  he  did  not  long  survive  his  friend.  His  missionary 
zeal  continued  active  to  the  last  :  unable  to  rest  at  home,  he  was  continually 
seeking  some  new  scene  of  action  abroad.  Thus  in  the  spring  of  1565,  when 
he  was  76  years  old,  he  went  to  Metz,  the  sphere  of  his  earliest  labours.  Ar- 
riving on  the  12th  of  May,  he  preached  and  returned  to  Neuchatel,  where  he 
soon  after  died  of  exhaustion.  He  left  behind  him  a  son,  and  a  little  property 
of  120  livres.     Ruchat,  vii.  pp.  75,  76- 


a.d.  1563-64.]  calvin's  last  hours.       .  431 

been  allowed  to  enter  who  came  to  manifest  their  sympathy  with 
him ;  but  as  the  weakness  of  his  voice  would  not  suffer  him  to 
speak  with  them,  he  desired  that  every  one  might  be  told  that  he 
would  rather  have  his  friends  pray  for  him,  than  afflict  themselves 
with  the  sight  of  his  sufferings.  He  frequently  said  to  me,  whose 
presence,  as  I  often  heard,  was  never  unacceptable  to  him,  that  it 
was  a  matter  of  conscience  with  him  to  disturb  me  as  little  as 
possible  in  the  duties  of  my  office.      He  was  always  so  careful 
of  time  which  belonged  to  the  church,  that,  exercising  almost  too 
great  a  degree  of  strictness,  he  would  not  allow  his  friends  to 
trouble  themselves  in  the  least  about  him,  whereas  they  could 
have  no  greater  joy  in  the  world  than  to  serve  him. 
;    "  He  thus  continued  to  linger,  consoling  himself  and  his  friends, 
till  the  19th  of  May,  on  which  day  we  were  to  hold  our  custom- 
ary censure  of  the  preachers,  and  to  dine  together  in  token  of 
mutual  friendship,  seeing  that  two  days  afterwards  we  were  to 
celebrate  the  Lord's  Supper  and  the  Easter-festival.     He  had 
given  us  permission  to  prepare  our  meal  this  day  in  his  own 
house ;  and  collecting  all  his  strength,  he  desired  to  be  carried 
from  his  bed  into  the  next  chamber.     He  then  said,  c  I  come  to 
you  for  the  last  time,  my  brothers,  and  shall  no  more  sit  at  the 
table  with  you.'    Such  was  the  mournful  beginning  of  this  din- 
ner :  he  however  delivered  the  prayer,  and  took  some  food,  his 
conversation  being  even  cheerful,  as  far  as  it  could  be  at  such  a 
time.     The  meal  was  not  finished  when  he  desired  to  be  carried 
into  the  neighbouring  room,  where  he  addressed  the  company  in 
the  most  joyous  accents,  and  said,  f  This  wall  of  separation  will 
not  prevent  me,  though  bodily  absent,  from  being  present  at 
your  meetings  in  spirit.'     This  was  doubtless  said  in  reference 
to  his  approaching  death.     What  he  had  intimated  took  place. 
He  continued  from  this  day  in  a  lying  posture  :  his  body,  with  the 
exception  of  his  countenance,  which  always  remained  the  same, 
was  so  emaciated.,  that  it  might  have  been  especially  said  of  him, 
that  the  spirit  only  was  left." 

Thus,  those  who  saw  Calvin  on  his  death-bed  might  well  re- 
collect the  case  of  Joshua  the  high-priest*,  when  Israel  came  out 
of  captivity,  and  God  spake  to  the  prophet,  "  Is  not  this  a  brand 
plucked  out  of  the  fire  ?"  So  this  man,  adorned  as  he  was  with 
such  various  gifts,  now  lay  there  like  a  withered  leaf. 

"The  day,"  continues  Beza,  "on  which  he  died,  namely  May 
27th,  he  seemed  to  suffer  less,  and  even  to  speak  with  greater 
*  Zcchariah  iii.  1. 


432  Calvin's  death.  [chap.  xv. 

ease ;  but  this  was  the  last  effort  of  nature.  In  the  evening,  about 
eight  o'clock,  the  sure  signs  of  death  became  suddenly  apparent. 
As  soon  as  this  was  made  known  to  me,  and  to  one  of  the  bre- 
thren, by  the  servants,  I  hastened  to  the  bed-side,  and  found  him 
just  as  he  quietly  expired  :  neither  feet  nor  hands  were  con- 
vulsed ;  he  had  not  even  breathed  hard.  He  had  retained  his  con- 
sciousness and  reason  to  the  end.  Even  his  voice  was  preserved 
till  his  last  breath,  and  he  looked  rather  like  one  sleeping  than 
one  dead.  Thus  on  this  day,  with  the  setting  sun,  the  brightest 
light  in  the  world,  and  he  who  had  been  the  strength  of  the 
church,  was  taken  back  to  heaven. 

"  During  the  night,  and  on  the  following  day,  great  was  the 
mourning  throughout  the  city.  The  entire  state  wept  for  the  pro- 
phet of  the  Lord  ;  the  church  lamented  the  departure  of  its  faith- 
ful pastor ;  the  academy  the  loss  of  so  great  a  teacher :  all  ex- 
claimed in  their  grief,  that  they  had  lost  a  father,  who,  after  God, 
was  their  truest  friend  and  comforter.  Many  inhabitants  of  the 
city  desired  to  see  him  after  he  was  dead,  and  could  hardly  be 
induced  to  leave  his  remains. 

"  Some  of  those  also,  who  had  come  from  distant  places  to  make 
his  acquaintance  and  to  hear  him,  among  whom  was  a  very  di- 
stinguished man,  the  ambassador  of  the  queen  of  England  to 
France,  were  particularly  anxious  to  behold  his  countenance,  even 
in  death.  At  first,  all  who  wished  were  admitted ;  but  as  they  were 
merely  influenced  by  curiosity,  it  seemed  advisable  to  his  friends, 
in  order  to  prevent  the  misrepresentations  of  adversaries,  to  put 
him  early  the  next  day,  which  was  Sunday,  in  a  shroud,  and  then 
inclose  him  as  usual  in  a  wooden  coffin.  At  two  o'clock  in  the 
afternoon,  he  was  carried  to  the  city  church-yard,  called  the  Plain- 
Palais.  All  the  patricians  of  the  city  followed  ;  they  were  accom- 
panied by  the  clergy,  the  professors  of  the  high-school,  and  by 
almost  the  whole  city;   not  without  many  tears." 

He  was  buried  without  the  slightest  pomp  :  this  was  ac- 
cording to  his  own  expressed  desire.  Beza  however  wrote  an 
epitaph  on  him.  He  had  lived  fifty-four  years,  ten  months, 
seventeen  days  ;  and  the  half  of  this  time  he  had  consecrated  to 
the  service  of  the  Gospel.  Respecting  his  last  will,  the  Genevese 
neither  raised  a  monument  to  his  memory,  nor  marked  his  grave 
with  a  stone.  Thus,  in  the  church-yard  which  is  so  decorated 
with  the  tombs  of  others,  the  grave  of  Calvin  is  unmarked  and 
unknown.  It  will  be  shown  at  the  last  day.  A  beautiful  brass 
medal  has  been  lately  cast  in  honour  of  his  name.     But  his 


a.d.  1563-64.]     beza's  character  op  Calvin.  433 

writings,  and  the  example  of  his  firm  faith,  have  a  durability 
greater  than  that  of  marble  and  brass ;  and  certain  it  is,  that 
wherever  a  church  is  praying,  or  a  martyr  is  struggling  for  the 
faith,  there  Calvin  is  also  present  with  his  power  of  faith  and 
prayer. 

In  proportion  to  the  grief  experienced  in  the  reformed  church, 
was  the  joy  of  the  Roman  Catholics.  The  pope  expected  that  he 
might  again  win  Geneva  to  his  side,  and  even  named  seven 
missionaries  for  this  especial  work  ;  but  the  council  venerated 
the  majesty  of  Calvin's  character,  and  held  firm  to  the  truth,  as 
if  it  had  still  the  invisible  before  its  eyes*. 

Calvin  died  in  Beza's  arms :  knowing  that  he  deserved  his 
entire  confidence,  he  had  charged  him  in  his  last  hours  with  the 
duty  of  editing  his  correspondence  for  the  use  of  the  church f. 
Beza  was  Calvin's  worthy  successor,  and  was  as  free  from  am- 
bition as  Calvin  himself. 

We  may  here  properly  subjoin  Beza's  rapid  sketch  of  Calvin's 
character.  It  forms  the  conclusion  of  his  biography,  and  is  a 
simple,  fitting  memorial,  in  harmony  with  the  nature  of  the  great 
man  to  whom  it  relates.  The  true  spirit  of  olden  times  breathes 
in  its  language,  and  it  may  well  be  classed  with  the  best  com- 
positions of  the  kind.  The  writer  begins  with  the  mention  of 
Calvin's  outward  life,  and  then  proceeds  to  that  of  his  spiritual 
character. 

"  Calvin  was  not  of  large  stature :  his  complexion  was  pale, 
and  rather  brown :  even  to  his  last  moments  his  eyes  were  pecu- 
liarly bright,  and  indicative  of  his  penetrating  genius.  He  knew 
nothing  of  luxury  in  his  outward  life,  but  was  fond  of  the  greatest 
neatness,  as  became  his  thorough  simplicity :  his  manner  of 
living  was  so  arranged,  that  he  showed  himself  equally  averse  to 
extravagance  and  parsimony  :  he  took  so  little  nourishment,  such 
being  the  weakness  of  his  stomach,  that  for  many  years  he  con- 
tented himself  with  one  meal  a  day.  Of  sleep  he  had  almost 
none :  his  memory  was  incredible ;  he  immediately  recognized, 
after  many  years,  those  whom  he  had  once  seen ;  and  when  he 
had  been  interrupted  for  several  hours,  in  some  work  about  which 
he  was  employed,  he  could  immediately  resume  and  continue  it, 
without  reading  again  what  he  had  before  written.     Of  the  nu- 

*  See  Beza's  Life  of  Calvin  in  French,  p.  54. 

t  See  Beza's  Dedication  of  Calvin's  correspondence  to  the  Count  Palatine 
Frederic. 

VOL.  II.  2   F 


434  beza's  character  of  CALVIN.       [chap.  XV. 

merous  details  connected  with  the  business  of  his  office,  he  never 
forgot  even  the  most  trifling,  and  this  notwithstanding  the  in- 
credible multitude  of  his  affairs.  His  judgement  was  so  acute 
and  correct  in  regard  to  the  most  opposite  concerns  about  which 
his  advice  was  asked,  that  he  often  seemed  to  possess  the  gift  of 
looking  into  the  future.  I  never  remember  to  have  heard  that 
any  one  who  followed  his  counsel  went  wrong.  He  despised  fine 
speaking,  and  was  rather  abrupt  in  his  language ;  but  he  wrote 
admirably,  and  no  theologian  of  his  time  expressed  himself  so 
clearly,  so  impressively  and  acutely  as  he,  and  yet  he  laboured  as 
much  as  any  one  of  his  contemporaries,  or  of  the  fathers.  For  this 
fluency  he  was  indebted  to  the  several  studies  of  his  youth,  and 
to  the  natural  acuteness  of  his  genius,  which  had  been  still  further 
increased  by  the  practice  of  dictation,  so  that  proper  and  digni- 
fied expressions  never  failed  him,  whether  he  was  writing  or 
speaking.  He  never,  in  any  wise,  altered  the  doctrine  which  he 
first  adopted,  but  remained  true  to  it  to  the  last, — a  thing  which 
can  be  said  of  few  theologians  of  this  period. 

"  Although  nature  had  endowed  Calvin  with  a  dignified  serious- 
ness, both  in  manner  and  character,  no  one  was  more  agreeable 
than  he  in  ordinary  conversation.  He  could  bear,  in  a  wonderful 
manner,  with  the  failings  of  others,  when  they  sprung  from  mere 
weakness :  thus  he  never  shamed  any  one  by  ill-timed  reproofs, 
or  discouraged  a  weak  brother;  while,  on  the  other  hand,  he 
never  spared  or  overlooked  wilful  sin.     An  enemy  to  all  flattery, 
he  hated  dissimulation,  especially  every  dishonest  sentiment  in 
reference  to  religion :  he  was  therefore  as  powerful  and  stormy 
an  enemy  to  vices  of  this  kind,  as  he  was  a  devoted  friend  to 
truth,  simplicity  and  uprightness.     His  temperament  was  natu- 
rally choleric,  and  his  active  public  life  had  tended  greatly  to  in- 
crease this  failing  ;  but  the  Spirit  of  God  had  taught  him  so  to 
moderate  his  anger,  that  no  word  ever  escaped  him  unworthy  of 
a  righteous  man.     Still  less  did  he  ever  commit  aught  unjust 
towards  others.     It  was  then  only,  indeed,  when  the  question 
concerned  religion,  and  when  he  had  to  contend  against  hard- 
ened sinners,  that  he  allowed  himself  to  be  moved  and  excited 
beyond  the  bounds  of  moderation. 

"  Let  us  take  but  a  single  glance  at  the  history  of  those  men 
who,  in  any  part  of  the  world,  have  been  distinguished  for  their 
virtues,  and  no  one  will  be  surprised  at  finding,  that  the  great  and 
noble  qualities  which  Calvin  exhibited,  both  in  his  private  and 
public  life,  excited  against  him  a  host  of  enemies.     We  ought 


a.d.  1563-64.]     beza's  character  of  calvin.  435 

not  indeed  to  feel  any  wonder,  that  so  powerful  a  champion  of 
pure  doctrine,  and  so  stern  a  teacher  of  sound  morals,  as  well  at 
home  as  in  the  world,  should  be  so  fiercely  assailed.  Rather 
ought  we  to  let  our  admiration  dwell  on  the  fact,  that  standing 
alone  as  he  did,  like  the  renowned  hero  of  antiquity,  he  was  suf- 
ficiently mighty  among  Christians  to  bridle  so  many  monsters, 
availing  himself  only  of  that  strongest  of  clubs,  the  Word  of  God. 
Thus,  however  numerous  the  adversaries  which  Satan  excited 
against  him  (for  he  never  had  any  but  such  as  had  declared  war 
with  piety  and  virtue),  the  Lord  gave  his  servant  sufficient 
strength  to  gain  the  victory  over  all. 

"  Having  been  for  sixteen  years  a  witness  of  his  labours,  I 
have  pursued  the  history  of  his  life  and  death  with  all  fidelity ; 
and  I  now  unhesitatingly  testify,  that  every  Christian  may  find 
in  this  man  the  noble  pattern  of  a  truly  Christian  life  and  Chris- 
tian death ;  a  pattern,  however,  which  it  is  as  easy  to  counterfeit 
as  it  is  difficult  to  imitate/' 


f  J 


APPENDIX. 


Vol.  I.  page  412. 

The  following  is  a  copy  of  the  Liturgical  Prayer,  which  Calvin  ap- 
pointed to  be  repeated  after  the  singing  of  the  Psalms  : — 

"  Nous  invoquerons  notre  bon  Dieu  et  pere,  le  suppliant  que  comme 
toute  plenitude  de  sagesse  et  lumiere  gist  en  lui,  qu'il  nous  veuille  illu- 
miner  par  son  St.  esprit  en  la  vraie  intelligence  de  sa  parole,  nous  faire 
grace  que  nous  la  recevions  en  vraie  crainte  et  humilite,  que  nous 
soyons  enseignes  par  icelle  de  mettre  pleinement  notre  fiance  en  lui  seul, 
le  servir  et  honorer  comme  il  appartient  pour  glorifier  son  St.  nom  en 
toute  notre  vie,  et  edifier  nos  prochainspar  nos  bons  exemples,  lui  ren- 
dant  l'amour  et  la  crainte  que  doivent  fideles  serviteurs  a  leurs  maitrcs 
et  enfans  a  leurs  peres,  puisqu'il  lui  a  plu  nous  faire  cctte  grace  de  nous 
recevoir  au  nombre  de  ses  serviteurs  et  enfans.  Et  le  prierons  ainsi 
que  notre  bon  maitre  nous  a  enseigne,  N.  p." 

Vol.  II.  page  194. 

The  following  is  the  original  of  the  curious  document  which  the  first 
accuser  of  Servetus  presented  to  the  Council : — 

"  Requete  de  Nicolas  de  la  Fontaine. 
(Rilliet,  Rel.  du  proc.  crim.  p.  33.) 

"  Pardevant  Vous,  magnificques,  puissans  et  trcs-redoubtez  Seigneurs, 
propose  Nicolas  de  la  Fontaine  sestant  constitue  prisonnier  en  cause 
criminelle  contre  Michel  Servet  pour  les  graves  scandales  et  troubles 
que  le  diet  Servet  a  desja  faict  par  lespace  de  vingt  quattre  ans  ou  cn- 
vyron  en  la  chresticnte,  pour  les  blasphemes  qu'il  a  prononce  et  eseript 
contre  Dieu,  pour  les  heresies  dont  il  a  infecte  le  monde,  pour  les  mes- 
chantes  calumnies  et  faulses  diff'amations  quil  a  public  contre  les  vrais 
serviteurs  de  Dieu  et  notament  contre  Mr.  Calvin  duquel  le  diet  pro- 
posant  est  tenu  de  maintenir  riionneur  comme  de  ><>n  pasteur,  sil  veult 
estre  tenu  pour  chrcstien,  et  aussi  a  cause  du  blasme,  et  deshonneur  qui 
pourroit  avenir  al'eglise  de  Geneve  pourceque  le  diet  Servel  condamne 
par  especial  la  doctrine  quon  y  presche. 

"  Daultant  que  du  jour  dhier  le  did  Servel  fust  examine  et  ne  re- 
sponds nullement  a  propos,  ains,  au  lieu  de  respond  re  pertinement  par 
oui  ou  non,  diet  cc  que  bon  luy  serabla  comme  vous  pourrez  voir  (pie 


438  APPENDIX. 

la  pluspart  de  ses  responses  sont  que  chansons  frivoles  quil  vous  plaise 
le  constraindre  a  respondre  formellement  sur  cliacun  article  sans  ex- 
travaguer  a^in  quil  ne  se  mocque  plus  de  Dieu  ne  de  voz  Seigneuries  et 
aussi  que  le  diet  proposant  ne  soit  frustre  de  son  bon  droict. 

"  Et  quant  le  diet  proposant  aura  verifie  son  intention,  et  que  le  diet 
Servet  aura  este  convaincu  davoir  escript  et  dogmatise  les  heresies  con- 
tenues  aux  interrogatoires,  le  diet  proposant  vous  supplie  humblement, 
que  si  vous  congnoissez  le  diet  Servet  estre  criminel  et  digne  destre 
poursuyvy  par  vostre  procureur  fiscal,  il  vous  plaise  en  faire  declaration 
et  le  vouloir  delivrer  avec  victoire  de  tous  despens,  dommaiges  et  inter- 
ests, non  pas  quil  fuye  ou  refuse  de  poursuivre  une  telle  cause  et  que- 
relle,  laquelle  tous  chrestiens  et  enfans  de  Dieu  doibvent  maintenir 
jusques  a  la  mort,  mais  pour  ce  quil  entend  que  les  us  et  coustumes  de 
vostre  ville  portent  cela,  et  que  ce  nest  pas  a  luy  dentreprendre  sur  la 
charge  et  office  daultruy." 

Vol.  II.  page  211. 
"  Requete  de  Michael  Servet. 

"  Tres-honores  Seigneurs ! 

"  Je  suis  detenu  en  accusation  criminelle  de  la  part  de  Jehan  Calvin, 
lequel  ma  faulsament  accuse  disant  que  javes  escript  1.  que  les  ames 
estiont  mortelles  et  aussi  que  Jesu  Christ  navoyt  prins  de  la  Vierga 
Maria  que  la  quatriesme  partie  de  son  corps.  Ce  sont  choses  horribles 
et  execrables.  En  tomes  les  aultres  heresies  et  en  tous  les  aultres 
crimes  ny  en  a  poynt  de  si  grand  que  de  faire  lame  mortelle.  Car  a, 
tous  les  aultres  il  y  a  sperance  de  salut  et  non  point  a  cestui-ci.  Qui 
diet  cela  ne  croyt  poynt  quil  y  aie  Dieu,  ni  justice,  ni  resurrection,  ni 
Jesu  Christ,  ni  sainte  escriture,  ni  rien :  sinon  que  tout  e  mort  et  que 
homme  et  beste  soyt  tout  un.  Si  javes  diet  cela,  non  seulement  diet, 
mais  escript  publicament  pour  enfecir  le  monde,  je  me  condamneres 
moy-mesme  a  mort. 

"  Pourquoy,  Mcsseigneurs,  je  demande  que  mon  faulx  accusateur 
soit  puni  poena  talionis,  et  que  soyt  detenu  prisonnier  comme  moy  jus- 
ques a  ce  la  cause  soyt  diffinie  pour  mort  de  luy  ou  de  moy,  ou  aultre 
poine.  Et  pour  ce  faire,  je  me  inscris  contra  luy  a  la  dicte  poine  de 
talion.  Et  suys  content  de  morir,  si  non  est  convaincu,  tant  de  cecy 
que  daultres  choses  que  je  luy  mettre  dessus.  Je  vous  demande  justice, 
Mcsseigneurs,  justice,  justice,  justice. 

"Faict  en  vos  prisons  de  Geneve,  le  22  de  Septembre  1553. 

"Michel  Servetus 
en  sa  cause  propre." 

The  above  was  accompanied  by  another  paper,  in  which  Servetus 


APPENDIX.  439 

enumerated  six  points  in  reference  to  the  part  which  Calvin  took  in  his 
apprehension  at  Vienne,  and  in  regard  to  which  he  insisted  that  he 
ought  to  be  judicially  examined.  Four  other  points  also  were  stated 
upon  which  Servetus  grounded  his  accusation  of  Calvin. 

"  Messeigneurs,  il  y  a  quatre  raisons  grandes  et  infaillibles,  par  les 
quieles  Calvin  doyt  estre  condamne. 

"  La  premiere  est,  pour  ce  que  la  matiere  de  la  doctrine  nest  poynt 
subjecte  a  accusation  criminelle,  comme  vous  ay  monstre  par  mes  rc- 
questes  et  monstrare  plus  amplement  par  les  anciens  docteurs  de  leglise. 
Pour  quoy  il  a  grandament  abusse  de  la  criminalite  et  contre  lestat  dun 
ministre  de  levangile. 

"  La  seconde  raison  est,  pour  ce  quil  est  faulx  accusateur,  comme  la 
presente  inscription  vous  monstre  et  se  prouvera  facilement  par  la 
lecture  de  mon  livre. 

"  La  tierse  est,  que  par  frivoles  et  calumnieuses  raisons  veult  oppri- 
mer  la  verite  de  Jesu  Christ,  comme  par  le  rapport  de  nos  escritures 
vous  sera  manifested  Car  il  y  a  mis  de  grandes  menteries  et  meschan- 
cetes. 

"  La  quatrieme  raison  est,  que  en  grande  partie  il  ensuyt  la  doctrine 
de  Simon  Magus  contre  tous  les  docteurs  qui  furent  jamays  en  leglise. 
Pourquoy  comme  magicien  quil  est,  doyt  non  seulement  estre  condamne, 
mays  doyt  estre  extermine  et  dechace  de  vostre  ville.  Et  son  bien  doyt 
estre  adjuge  a  moy  en  recompanse  du  mien,  que  luy  ma  faict  perdre, 
la  quiele  chose,  Messeigneurs,  je  vous  demande.  Faict  le  jour  que 
dessus,  etc. 

"Michel  Servetus 
en  sa  cause  propre." 

Vol.  II.  page  215. 

The  sentence  passed  on  Servetus  was  couched  in  the  following  terms. 
Whether  Calvin  had  any  share  in  its  composition  may  be  questioned. 

"  Le  proces  faict  et  forme  par  devant  noz  trcs  redoubtez  Seigneurs, 
scindiques,  juges  des  causes  criminelles  de  ceste  Cite  a  la  poursuitte 
et  instance  du  Seigneur  Lieutenant  de  ceste  diete  Cite,  es  dictes 
causes  instant  Contre  Michel  Servet,  de  Villencufve  au  Royaume 
d'Aragon  en  Hespagne. 

"Lequel  premierement  est  este  atteiut  d'avoir,  il  y  a  environ  vingt 
troys  a  vingt  quatre  ans  faict  imprinter  ung  Livre  a  Agnon  en  Ale- 
magne  contre  la  saincte  et  individue  Trinitc,  contenant  plusieurs  et 
grans  blasphemes  contre  icelle,  grandement  Bcandaleux  es  Eglisei  dea 
dictes  Alemagnes:  lequel  livre  il  a  spontanement  confesse*  avoir  faicl 
imprimer,  nonobstant  les  remonstrances  et  corrections  a  luy  faictea  de 


440  APPENDIX. 

ses  faulses   opinions  par  les  scavants  docteurs   evangelistes  d'icelles 
Eglises  des  dictes  Alemagnes. 

"  Item,  et  lequel  livre  est  este  par  les  docteurs  d'icelles  Eglises  d'Ale- 
magne  comme  plein  d'heresie  reprouve,  et  le  diet  Servet  rendu  fugitif 
des  dictes  Alemagnes  a  cause  du  diet  livre. 

"  Item,  et  nonobstant  cela  le  diet  Servet  a  persevere  en  ses  faulses 
erreurs,  infectant  d'icelles  plusieurs  a  son  possible. 

"  Item,  et  non  content  de  cela  pour  mieulx  divulguer  et  espancher 
son  diet  venin  et  heresie  dempuis  peu  de  temps  en  ca  il  a  faict  im- 
primer  un  aultre  livre  a  cachettes  dans  Vienne  en  Daulphine,  remply 
desdictes  heresies,  horribles  et  execrables  blasphemes  contre  la  saincte 
Trinite,  contre  le  Filz  de  Dieu,  contre  le  baptesme  des  petis  enfans  et 
aultres  plusieurs  saincts  passages  et  fondemens  de  la  religion  chresti- 
enne. 

"  Item,  a  spontanement  confesse  qu'en  iceluy  livre  il  appelle  ceux 
qui  croyent  en  la  Trinite,  trinitaires  et  atheistes. 

"  Item,  et  qu'il  appelle  icelle  Trinite  ung  Diable  et  monstre  a  troys 
testes. 

"Item,  et  contre  le  vray  fondement  de  la  religion  chrestienne  et 
blasphemant  detestablement  contre  le  filz  de  Dieu,  a  diet  Jesus  Christ 
nestre  filz  de  Dieu  de  toute  eternite,  ains  tant  seulement  dempuis  son 
incarnation. 

"  Item,  et  contre  ce  que  dit  le  scripture,  Jesus  Christ  estre  filz  de 
David  selon  la  chair,  il  le  nye  malheureusement,  disant  iceluy  estre 
cree  de  la  substance  de  Dieu  le  Pere,  ayant  receu  troys  elemens 
diceluy,  et  un  tant  seulement  de  la  Vierge :  En  quoy  meschamment  il 
pretend  abolir  la  vraye  et  entiere  humanite  de  nostre  Seigneur  Jesus 
Christ,  la  souveraine  consolation  du  pouvre  genre  humain. 

"  Item,  et  que  le  baptesme  des  petits  enfans  nest  qu'une  invention 
diabolique  et  sorcellerie. 

"  Item,  et  plusieurs  aultres  pointz  et  articles  et  execrables  blasphemes 
desquelz  ledict  livre  est  tout  farcy,  grandement  scandaleux  et  contre 
l'honneur  et  majeste  de  Dieu,  du  filz  de  Dieu  et  du  Sainct  Esprit : 
qu'est  ung  cruel  et  horrible  murtrissement,  perdition  et  ruine  de  plu- 
sieurs pouvres  ames,  estant  par  sa  dessus  dicte  desloyable  et  detestable 
doctrine  trahies.     Chose  epouvantable  a  reciter ! 

"  Item,  et  lequel  Servet  remply  de  malice  intitula  iceluy  son  livre, 
ainsi  drcsse  contre  Dieu  et  sa  saincte  doctrine  evangelique,  Christia- 
nismi  Restitutio,  qu'est  a  dire  restitution  du  christianisme ;  et  ce  pour 
mieulx  seduyre  et  tromper  les  pouvres  ignorans  et  pour  plus  commode- 
ment  infecter  de  son  malheureux  et  meschant  venin  les  lecteurs  de  son 
diet  livre,  soubz  l'umbre  de  bonne  doctrine. 

"  Item,  et  oultre  le  dessus  diet  livre,  assaillant  par  lettres  mesmes 
nostre  foy  et  mettant  peine  icelle  infecter  de  sa  poison,  a  voluntaire- 


APPENDIX.  441 

ment  confe9se  et  recogneu  avoir  escriptes  lettres  a  ung  des  ministres 
de  ceste  cite,  dans  laquelle  entre  aultres  plusieurs  horribles  et  enormes 
blasphemes  contre  nostre  saincte  religion  evangelique :  il  dit  nostre 
evangile  estre  sans  foy  et  sans  Dieu  et  que  pour  ung  Dieu  nous  avons 
ung  Cerbere  a  troys  testes. 

"  Item,  eta  davantage  voluntairementconfesse,  qu'au  dessusdict  lieu 
de  Vienne,  a  cause  diceluy  meschant  et  abominable  livre  et  opinions,  il 
fut  faict  prisonnier,  lesquelles  prisons  perfidement  il  rompit  et  eschapa. 
"  Item,  et  n'est  seulement  dresse  ledict  Servet  en  sa  doctrine  contre 
la  vraye  religion  chrestienne,  mais  comme  arrogant  innovateur  dhere- 
sies,  contre  la  papistique  et  aultres,  si  que  a  Vienne  mesmes  il  est  este 
brusle  en  effigie  et  de  sesdictz  livres  cinq  basles  bruslees. 

"  Item,  et  nonobstant  tout  cela,  estant  icy  es  prisons  de  ceste  cite 
detenu,  n'a  laisse  de  persister  malicieusement  en  ses  dictes  meschantes 
et  detestables  erreurs,  les  taschant  soustenir  avec  injures  et  calumnies 
contre  tous  vrays  chrestiens  et  fideles  ten  emen tiers  de  la  pure  imma- 
culee  religion  chrestienne  les  appellant  trinitaires,  atheistes  et  sorciers, 
nonobstant  les  remonstrances  a  luy  desia  des  long  temps  en  Alemagne, 
comment  est  diet,  faictes  et  au  mespris  des  reprehensions,  emprisonne- 
ments  et  corrections  a  luy  tant  ailleurs  que  icy  faictes.  Comme  plus 
amplement  et  au  long  est  contenu  en  son  proces. 

"  Et  Nous  sindiques,  juges  des  causes  criminelles  de  ceste  cite,  ayans 
veu  le  proces  faict  et  forme  devant  Nous,  a  linstance  de  nostre  lieute- 
nant es  dictes  causes  instant,  contre  Toy,  Michel  Servet  de  Villeneufve 
au  royaume  d'Arragon  en  Espagne,  par  lequel  et  tes  voluntaires  confes- 
sions en  noz  mains  faictes,  et  par  plusieurs  foys  reiterees  et  tez  livres 
devant  Nous  produictz,  nous  conste  et  apart  Toy  Servet  avoir  des  long- 
temps  mys  en  avant  doctrine  faulse  et  pleinement  hereticale  et  icelle, 
mettant  arrier  toutes  remonstrances  et  corrections,  avoir  d'une  mali- 
cieuse  et  perverse  obstination,  perseveremment  semee  et  divulguee 
jusques  a  impression  de  livres  publiques,  contre  Dieu  le  Pere,  le  Filz  et 
le  Sainct  Esprit :  brefz  contre  les  vrays  fondemens  de  la  religion  chres- 
tienne et  pour  cella  tasche  de  faire  schisme  et  troble  en  leglise  de  Dieu, 
dont  meintes  ames  ont  pu  estre  ruinees  et  perdues ;  chose  horrible  et 
espouvantable,  scandaleuse  et  infectante,  et  n'avoir  heu  honte  ni  horreur 
de  te  dresser  toutallement  contre  la  majeste  divine  et  saincte  Trinite  : 
ains  avoyr  mys  peyne  et  testre  employe  obstinement  a  infecter  le  mondc 
de  tez  heresies  et  puante  poyson  hereticale,  Cas  et  crime  dheresie 
griefz  et  detestable  et  meritant  grieve  punition  corporelle. 

"A  cez  causes  et  aultres  justes  a  ce  Nous  mouvantes,  desirana  de 
purger  leglise  deDieu  de  tel  infectement  et  retrancher  dycelle  tel  niem- 
bre  pourry,  ayans  heu  bonne  participation  de  conseil  avec  noz  citoyens 
et  ayans  invoque  le  nom  de  Dieu,  pour  faire  droit  jugement,  Beans  pour 
tribunal  au  lieu  de  nos  majeurs,  ayans  Dieu  et  ses  saintes  cscriptures 


442  APPENDIX. 

devant  noz  yeux,  clisans  au  nom  du  Pere,  du  Filz  et  du  Sainct  Esprit, 
par  iceste  nostre  diffinitive  sentence,  laquelle  donnons  ycy  par  escript, 
Toy  Michel  Servet  condamnons  a  debvoir  estre  lie  et  mene  au  lieu  de 
Champel,  et  la  debvoir  estre  a  un  pilotis  attache,  et  brusle  tout  vifz 
avec  ton  livre,  tant  escript  de  ta  main  qu'imprime,  jusques  a  ce  que  ton 
corps  soit  reduict  en  cendre ;  et  ainsin  iiniras  tez  jours,  pour  donner 
exemple  aux  aultres,  qui  tel  cas  vouldroient  commettre.  Et  a  Vous 
nostre  lieutenant,  commandons  nostre  presente  sentence  faictes  mectre 
en  execution." 


Vol.  II.  page  11. 

The  following  is  the  original  Latin  of  Calvin's  letter  to  Luther : — 

il  Excellentissimo  Christiana?  Ecclesiae  Pastori,  D.  M.  Luthero,  Patri 
mihi  plurimum  observando. 

u  S.  Cum  Gallos  nostros  viderem,  quotquot  a  tenebris  Papatus  ad 
fidei  sanitatem  reducti  erant,  nihil  tamen  de  confessione  mutare,  ac 
proinde  se  polluere  sacrilegiis  Papistarum,  ac  si  nullum  verse  doctrinae 
gustum  haberent,  temperare  mihi  non  potui,  quin  tantam  sane  socor- 
diam,  sicuti  meo  iudicio  merebatur,   acriter  reprehenderem.     Qualis 
enim  haec  fides,  qua?  intus  in  animo  sepulta,  nullam  in  fidei  confessionem 
erumpit  ?     Qualis  religio,  quae  sub  idololatriae    simulatione    deinersa 
iacet?    Verum  hie  argumentum  tractandum  non  suscipio,  quod  libellis 
duobus  copiose  sum  prosequutus,  unde  si  obiter  eos  adspicere  molestum 
non  erit,  turn  quid  sentiam,  turn  quibus  impulsus  rationibus  ita  sentiam, 
melius  perspicies.     Horum  vero  lectione  nonnulli  ex  nostris  hominibus 
expergefaoti,   cum  antea  secure   dormirent  altum   somnum,  cogitare 
coeperunt,  quidnam  sibi  agendum  foret.  Sed  quia  durum  est  vel  omissa 
ratione  sui  vitam  exponere  periculo,  vel,  concitatis  hominum  oflfen- 
sionibus,  mundi  invidiam  subire,  vel,  relictis  fortunis  et  natali  solo, 
voluntarium  adire  exilium,  his  difficultatibus  retinentur,   quo  minus 
certi  quidquam  constituti  habeant.     Alias  tamen  rationes,  et  quidem 
speciosas  obtendunt,  sed  quibus  appareat  praetextum  ab  illis  qualem- 
cunque  quaeri.     Caeterum,  quia  suspensi  quodammodo  haesitant,  tuuni 
iudicium  audire  desiderant,  quod  ut  merito  reverentur,  ita  illis  magnae 
confirmationis  loco  erit.     Me  ergo  rogarunt,  ut  certum  nuncium  data 
opera  ad  te  mitterem,  qui  responsum  super  hac  re  tuum  ad  nos  referret: 
ego  vero,  quia  et  ipsoruui  magnopere  interesse  putabam,  tua  authoritate 
adiuvari,  ne  sic  perpetuo  fluctuentur,  et  mihi  ipsi  ultro  expetendum  id 
fuit,  negare  illis  nolui,  quod  postulabant.    Nunc  ergo,  Pater  in  Domino 
plurimum  observande,  per  Christum  te  obtestor,  hoc  ut  taedium  mea  et 
ipsorum  causa  devorare  non  graveris,  primum,  ut  Epistolam  eorum  no- 
mine scriptam  et  Libellos  raeos,  tanquam  per  lusum,  otiosis  horis  per- 


APPENDIX.  443 

curras,  vel  legendi  negotium  alicui  demandes,  qui  tibi  summam  referat : 
deinde,  ut  sententiam  tuam  paucis  verbis  rescribas  :  invitus  equidem 
facio,  ut  tibi  inter  tot  tarn  graves  et  varias  occupationes  banc  molestiam 
exhibeam,  sed,  quae  tua  est  aequitas,  cum  non  nisi  necessitate  coactus 
id  faciam,  veniam  te  mihi  daturum  confido.  Utinam  isthuc  mihi,  quo 
saltern  ad  paucas  horas  tuo  congressu  fruerer,  lieeret  advolare  !  mallem 
enim  et  longe  praestaret,  non  de  hac  quaestione  modo,  sed  de  aliis  etiam 
tecum  coram  agere  :  veruni,  quod  hie  in  terris  non  datur,  brevi,  spero, 
in  regno  Dei  nobis  continget.  Vale,  clarissime  vir,  prsestantissime 
Christi  Minister,  ac  Pater  mihi  semper  honorande.  Dominus  te  spiritu 
suo  gubernare  pergat  usque  in  finem,  in  commune  Ecclesiae  suae  bonum. 
12  Calend.  Febr.  1545. 

"Johannes  Calvinus  tuus." 

Melancthon's  Answer  to  the  above. 

"  Clarissimo  Viro,  eruditione  et  virtute  praestanti,  D.  Joanni  Calvino, 
Pastori  Ecclesiae  Genevensis,  pio  et  fideli  Amico  suo,  charissimo 
P.  Melancthon  S.  1545. 

"Imo  vero,  Calvine  charissime,  mihi  consilium  de  me  ipso  ostendas. 
Crescit  enim  hie  certamen  quod  antea  defugi.  Cumque  hactenus  par- 
cendum  tranquillitati  Ecclesiarum  in  his  regionibus  feris  et  horridis 
senserim,  moderatissimeque  loquutus  sim,  nunc  duriora  a  me  postulan- 
tur.  Oro  autem  te  ut  me  Deo  piis  votis  commendes.  D.  Martino  non 
exhibui  tuam  epistolam,  multa  enim  suspiciose  accipit :  et  non  vult 
circumferri  suas  responsiones  de  talibus  quasstionibus  quas  proposuisti. 
Ego  utcunque  respondi,  nee  meum  judicium  antefero  tuae  et  aliorum 
piorum  virorum  sententiae.  Scio  me  avev  <pi\ovet.Ki<ts  versatum  esse  in 
negotiis  ecclesiasticis,  et  mediocriter  dedisse  operam  ut  multas  res  in- 
volutas  evolvercm  et  explicarem.  Nunc  exilia  et  alias  aerumnas  excepto. 
Bene  vale,  die  quo  ante  annos  3846  Noe  arcam  ingressus  est,  quo  ex- 
emplo  Deus  testatus  est,  se  Ecclesiam  suam,  etiam  cum  ingentibus 
fluctibus  quassatur,  non  deserere." 


445 


INDE  X. 


Albret,  Johanna,  mother  of 
Henry  IV.,  i.  19. 

Amboise,  the  conspiracy  of,  ii.  .'369 ; 
Calvin's  connection  with,  ii.  448. 

Ameanx,  prosecution  and  punishment 
of  his  wife,  ii.  49 ;  his  attack  on 
Calvin,  ii.  57  ;  Calvin's  severity  to- 
wards, ii.  58. 

Anabaptists,  in  France  and  Germany, 
i.  40 ;  the  Reformation  hindered  by, 
ib.;  Calvin's  opposition  to,  and  fun- 
damental errors  of  some,  ib. ;  Cal- 
vin's work  '  Psychopanny chia'  di- 
rected against,  i.  42  ;  driven  out  of 
Geneva  by  Calvin,  i.  114;  Calvin 
writes  against,  ii.  42. 

Angels,  Calvin's  doctrine  respecting, 
i.  191. 

Anton,  king  of  Navarre,  declares  for 
the  Reformation,  ii.  362 ;  falling 
away  from  the  faith  and  Calvin's 
correspondence  with,  ii.  'S7G. 

Apocalypse,  Calvin's  opinion  of,  and 
reasons  for  not  commenting  on,  i. 
221,  225. 

Art,  as  affected  by  the  Reformation, 
i.  416. 

Astrologv,  Calvin's  work  against,  ii. 

37. 

Audin's  life  of  Calvin,  ii.  107. 
Augustine's    view  of   conversion,    i. 
205;  of  the  church,  i.  212. 

Balduin,  Francis,  his  changes  in  re- 
ligion, ii.  410;  his  dispute  with 
Calvin,  ii.  411. 

Baptism,  the  doctrine  of,  i.  82 ;  Cal- 
vin's view  of,  i.  473 ;  of  infant, 
i.  83,  204  ;  of  the  celebration  of, 
i.  205. 

Bayle,  his  opinion  of  Calvin,  i.  221. 

Relief,  in  the  holy  church,  i.  372; 
harmony  of  Calvin's  and  Luther's, 
ii.  95. 

Bern,  progress  of  the  Reformation  in, 
i.  90 ;  its  hostility  to  Calvin,  ii. 
143;  Calvin's  discussion  in  the 
council  of,  ii.  30  ;  quarrel  with  the 


Genevese,  ii.  144 ;  repudiates  the 
practice  of  excommunication,  ii. 
325. 

Bernhard,  a  preacher  of  Geneva, 
urges  Calvin's  return  to  that  citv, 
i.  250. 

Berthelier,  Philip,  prosecution  and 
acquittal  of,  ii.  30/ . 

Beza,  life  and  character  of,  i.  110,  ii. 
383 ;  his  friendship  for  Calvin,  ib. ; 
respecting  Calvin's  character,  i. 
276 ;  answers  Castellio's  essay  on 
toleration,  ii.  36  ;  characteristics  of, 
ii.  85;  Calvin's  early  friendship 
with,  ii.  84,  112;  his  firm  friend- 
ship for  Calvin,  ii.  151 ;  his  arrival 
in  Geneva,  ii.  84 ;  at  the  colloquy 
at  Poissy,  ii.  380, 385  ;  letters  from 
Calvin  to,  ii.  383,  391 ;  his  influ- 
ence in  France,  ii.  394 ;  his  con- 
duct during  the  French  religious 
war,  ii.  398 ;  at  the  battle  of  Dreux, 
ii.  401  ;  returns  to  Geneva,  ii.  403 ; 
appointed  professor  and  minister  of 
the  school  at  Geneva,  ii.  322;  his 
death,  ii.  112. 

Bible,  Olivetan's  French,  i.  226 ;  Cal- 
vin edits,  ib. ;  later  editions  of,  i. 
228 ;  Castellio's  translation  of,  ib. ; 
Luther's  German  translation  of,  i. 
229. 

Bishops,  Calvin  respecting,  i.  371 ;  the 
Saxon  divines  respecting,  i.  397. 

Blandrata,  ii.  246;  Calvin's  opinion 
of,  and  treatise  against,  ii.  265. 

Bolsec,  Jerome,  his  life  and  character, 
ii.  130;  publicly  attacks  the  doc- 
trine of  election,  ii.  131 ;  tender- 
ness of  the  Swiss  churches  for,  ii. 
133;  imprisoned,  ii.  132;  banished 
from  Geneva,  ii.  136  ;  revival  of  his 
controversy  with  Calvin,  ii.  150. 

Bossuet,  on  Calvin's  firmness  of  doc- 
trine, i.  86. 

Bourg  Du,  a  martyr  of  the  French 
church,  ii.  368. 

Bourgogne  De,  Calvin's  correspond- 
ence with,  i.  279;  Calvin's  friend- 


446 


INDEX. 


ship  with,  ii.  140;  his  agreement 
with  Bolsec,  ii.  141. 

Brazil,  French  emigration  to,  ii. 
360. 

Brentius,  his  controversy  with  Laski, 
ii.  346. 

Bretschneider's  opinion  of  Calvin,  i. 
304. 

Bucer,  seeks  Calvin's  friendship,  i. 
113;  Calvin's  opinion  of,  i.  114, 
ii.  1 12 ;  respecting  church  property, 
i.  158;  on  pastoral  visits,  i.  445; 
his  hostility  to  Servetus,  ii.  172; 
his  death,  ii.  30,  112. 

Bullinger,  a  favourer  of  religious  per- 
secution, ii.  210;  letters  from  Cal- 
vin to  Bullinger, — on  his  taking  up 
his  residence  in  Geneva,  i.  106;  on 
christian  unity,  i.  1/4  ;  on  the  pro- 
gress of  the  gospel  in  France,  ii.  1 ; 
on  his  own  consistency,  ii.  77 ;  on 
the  doctrine  of  the  Lord's  Supper, 
ii.  78 ;  on  the  hatred  of  the  Bernese 
towards  himself,  ii.  144;  respect- 
ing the  religious  wars,  ii.  398. 

Calvin,  his  characteristics  as  a  man 
and  a  reformer, — compared  with 
Farel  and  Viret,  i.  108,  110;  in 
comparison  with  Luther,  i.  206, 
227,  241,  271,  291,  297,  280,  303, 
320,  321,  432,  ii.  89;  in  compari- 
son with  Melancthon,  i.  207,  238 ; 
in  comparison  with  Zwingli,  i.  208 ; 
in  comparison  with  Augustine,  i. 
211 ;  in  comparison  with  Moses,  i. 
353, 359 ;  in  comparison  with  Ser- 
vetus, ii.  161 ;  in  comparison  with 
Vincentius  of  Paula,  i.  421 ;  his 
doctrine  of  the  Lord's  Supper,  i. 
83,  167,  235,  242,  ii.  286;  on 
church  government,  i.  84 ;  con- 
stancy of  his  belief,  i.  86,  304  ;  his 
ability  in  argument,  i.  122;  his 
opinion  of  Luther,  i.  123  ;  his  opi- 
nion on  festivals  and  ceremonies,  i. 
134,  160,418,  ii.  116;  on  church 
discipline,  i.  141,  383;  on  the  pu- 
nishment of  heretics,  ib. ;  his  con- 
tempt of  slander,  i.  138;  respect- 
ing the  preparation  for  the  Lord's 
Supper,  i.  141, 142;  on  confession, 
i.  141,  417 ;  on  faith,  i.  150,  198, 
508,  ii.  179;  his  feeling  of  respon- 
sibility as  a  minister,  i.  154;  re- 
specting church  property,  i.  158 ; 
on  the  Reformation  in  England,  i. 
159;  respecting  the  diet  at  Hage- 
nau,  i.  106;  his  conscientiousness, 


i.  167,  168;  Luther's  opinion  of,  i. 
1 70 ;  his  love  of  unity  and  peace,  i. 
174,  180;  respecting  the  contro- 
versy on  the  Lord's  Supper,  i.  178 ; 
his  faithfulness  as  a  christian,  i. 
183;  energy  of  his  faith,  i.  188; 
on  the  Scriptures,  i.  188,210;  his 
doctrine  of  the  Trinity,  i.  189;  of 
angels,  i.  191 ;  of  Satan,  i.  192;  of 
man's  original  state,  ib. ;  of  the 
human  soul,  i.  193;  of  free-will,  i. 
193,  497;  of  the  omnipresence  of 
God,  ib. ;  of  predestination,  i.  193, 
203 ;  of  original  sin,  i.  194 ;  of  the 
renewal  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  i.  195 ; 
of  the  consequences  of  the  fall,  i. 
196;  of  conversion,  ib.;  of  salva- 
tion, i.  197 ;  of  good  works,  i.  199, 
508;  of  election,  i.  199,  201;  of 
damnation,  i.  199 ;  of  infant  bap- 
tism, i.  204;  his  perfect  reliance 
on  the  Scriptures,  i.  21 0 ;  his  belief 
in  the  true  God,  ib. ;  respecting 
images,  i.  207 ;  respecting  excom- 
munication, ib. ;  Bayle's  opinion  of, 
i.  221 ;  his  knowledge  of  Hebrew 
and  Greek,  i.  222 ;  his  exegetical 
talent,  i.  223,  ii.  31 ;  elegance  and 
characteristics  of  his  style,  i.  223, 
431 ;  his  confidence  in  Luther,  i. 
237 ;  his  disinterestedness,  i.  240 ; 
considered  as  a  poet,  i.  241 ;  as  a 
comforter,  i.  242 ;  on  submission 
to  and  reliance  on  God's  will,  i.  244 ; 
his  inward  life,  i.  250 ;  his  love  of 
poverty,  i.  269 ;  contrasts  in  his 
character,  i.  275,  277;  his^pre- 
eminent  conscientiousness,  i.  275 ; 
his  zeal  in  the  cause  of  God,  i.  276, 
353;  wrongly  considered  to  be  of 
a  melancholy  or  surly  disposition, 
i.  277 ;  his  sympathy  for  the  suf- 
ferings of  others,  i.  274  ;  his  bodily 
ill-health,  i.  280;  his  patience  un- 
der affliction,  i.  283 ;  the  "  majesty 
of  his  character,"  i.  284 ;  his  hatred 
of  the  enemies  of  God,  i.  286 ;  an 
upholder  of  christian  severity,  ib. ; 
his  forgiveness  of  personal  injuries, 
i.  2^7;  the  three  distinguishing 
tendencies  of  his  spirit,  i.  289 ;  his 
contempt  of  the  world,  i.  294 ;  free 
from  spiritual  pride,  i.  295;  love 
of  truth  the  fountain  of  his  inner 
life,  i.  297,  301 ;  his  view  of  mar- 
tyrdom, i.  302 ;  his  feeling  of  the 
constant  presence  of  God,  i.  306 ; 
respecting  exorcism  and  sorcery,  i. 
311;  considered  in  his  historical  re- 


INDEX. 


447 


lation  to  the  world,  i.  319 ;  his  im- 
portance to  the  Reformation,  i.  322  ; 
respecting  church  property,  i.  336 ; 
confidence  reposed  in  him  as  a  po- 
litician, i.  338 ;  on  burials,  i.  343, 
ii.  8 ;   on  theocracy,  i.  349 ;   as  a 
legislator,  i.  354,358;  his  opinion 
of    synods,    i.    3(5(5 ;    fundamental 
principles  of  his  church  polity,  ib. ; 
on  bishops  and  presbyters,  i.  371  ; 
on  the  ordination  of  the  latter,  ib. ; 
on  the  election  and  office  of  doc- 
tors and  preachers,  i.  373 ;  his  view 
of  the  claims  of  the  church,  i.  374  ; 
his  love  of  simplicity,  i.  375  ;  against 
the  observance  of  outward  forms,  i. 
37 (> ;  on  the  relationship  of  church 
and  state,  i.  380,  338 ;  an  advocate 
for    aristocratical    government,    i. 
381 ;  his  spirit  to  be  contemplated 
in  his  writings  rather  than  in  his 
doings,  i.  390 ;   his  catechisms,  i. 
409 ;  review  of,  and  extracts  from, 
i.  410;    respecting  congregational 
singing,  i.  414  ;   practical  tendency 
of  his  mind,  i.  423  ;  his  epistolary 
correspondence,   i.    428 ;    his    ac- 
quaintance  with    Latin   literature, 
i.  429  ;  considered  as  a  preacher, 
i.  431 ;  against  written  sermons,  i. 
434  ;    as  a  guide  to  salvation,  i. 
440;  his  rules  for  the  conduct  of 
ministers,  i.  441  ;    respecting  the 
visitation  of  the  sick,  i.  442;  on 
pastoral  visits,  i.  445 ;  on  attend- 
ance  at   public  worship,   ib. ;   his 
severity  towards  offenders,  i.  448 ; 
his  exhortation  to  the  reading  of 
the  Scriptures,  ib. ;  on  repentance, 
i.  450 ;  on  steadfastness  in  the  faith, 
ib. ;  against  nominal  Christianity,  i- 
462  ;  on  public  and  private  worship, 
i.  464 ;  his  praise  of  steadfastness 
under  persecution,  i.  465;  his  skill 
as  a  logician,  i.  468;  on  usury,  i. 
469 ;    on  dissembling  of  faith,  i. 
4/0 ;  on  the  lawfulness  of  resisting 
persecution,  i.    171  ;    on  the  mar- 
riage ceremony,  i.  472;  his  opinion 
of  theatres,  i.  473;   on  the  salva- 
tion of  children  dying  before  bap- 
tism,  ib. ;    his   general   activity.    1. 
475;   respecting  the  papal  autho- 
rity, i.  478;  on  free-will,  i.  497; 
on  regeneration  by  baptism,  i.  507  ; 
his  hatred  of  dissimulation,  ii.  8; 
his  opinion  of  Luther,  ii.  16,  18; 
his  magnanimity,  ii.  20j  his  inward 
life,  ii.  31 ;  his  methodical  unity  of 


thought,  ii.  32;  his  resolution,  ii. 
69;  his  consolation  in  friendship, 
ii.  7'^;  his  desire  of  unity  in  the 
church,  ii.  76,  294 ;  his  doctrine  of 
predestination,    ii.    94 ;    Luther's 
opinion  of,  ii.  .97  ;  the  world's  opi- 
nion of,  ii.   103 ;   his  various  bio- 
graphers, i.  300,  ii.   107;  his  un- 
failing  perseverance,  ii.  30(5 ;    his 
politics,  ii.  406  ;  his  opposition  to 
religious  war,  ii.  409  ;  on  justifica- 
tion, ii.  413;    on  heresy,  ii.  417; 
his  patience  under  affliction,  ii.  422. 
Calvin,  his  birth,  i.  1 ;  his  parents  and 
childhood,  i.  21  ;    his  personal  ap- 
pearance,  ib. ;  educated    with    the 
children  of  the  noble  family  of  Mom- 
mor,  i.  22 ;  obtains  an  appointment 
in  his  twelfth  year  in  the  Chapelle 
de  la  Gesine,  i.  23 ;  becomes  a  pu- 
pil in  the  high  school  of  Paris,  ib. ; 
receives  the  living  of  Marteville,  i. 
24 ;  changes  the  parish  of  Marte- 
ville for  that  of  Pont  l'Eveque,  ib. ; 
engages  in  the  study  of  the  law,  j'Z>. ; 
loses  his  father  in  his  youth,  i.  25  ; 
becomes  acquainted  with  Melchior 
Woolmar,  i.  26 ;  obtains  the  degree 
of  doctor,  i.  2/  ;   his  conversion  to 
the  reformed  faith,  i.  29  ;  compared 
with  Luther's, ib.;  its  sincerity,  i.30; 
his  own  account  of  the  same,  i.  31  ; 
he  publishes  the  two  books  of  Se- 
neca de  Clementia,  with  a  commen- 
tary,  i.   33;    peril    attending   the 
publication  of  this  work,  i.  35  ;  con- 
tents of  the  commentary,  ib.;  flies 
from  Paris,  i.  37  ;  protected  by  the 
queen  of  Navarre,  ib. ;  returns  to 
Paris,  i.   38  ;    publishes  his  work 
entitled  '  Psyehopannyehia,'  i.  39  ; 
visits   Strasbourg,   i.   40 ;    becomes 
acquainted  with  thejGerman  reform- 
ers, ib. ;  projects  the  conversion  of 
Francis  I.,  48  ;  his  opposition  to  the 
Anabaptists,  i.  40 ;   publishes  the 
'  Institutio,'  i.  53;  preface  to  the 
same,   ib. ;  its  origin  and  design,  i. 
69,  180;    resides  at  Basel,  i.  99; 
visits  Ferrara,  i.    100;    returns  to 
bid  farewell  to  his  country,  ib.}  be- 
comes preacher  and  teacher  of  theo- 
logy at  Geneva,  i.  105  ;  his  friend- 
ship with  Fare]  and  Viret,  i.  106; 
translates  into  Latin  the  first  CJeue- 
vese  catechism,  i.  112;   his  disputes 
with  Caroli,  i.  114,  161 ;  his  works 
'De   fugienda  Idolatria'  and   'De 
Papisticis  Sacerdotiis  vel    admini- 


448 


INDEX. 


strandis  vel  abjiciendis,'  i.  118;  con- 
tents of,  and  extracts  from  same, 
ib. ;  attempts  to  establish  strict  dis- 
cipline in  Geneva,  i.  125;    meets 
with  much  opposition,  ib. ;  refuses 
the  sacrament  of  the  Lord's  Supper 
to  the  Genevese,  i.  127 ;  banished 
from   their    city,  i.  128 ;    lives  at 
Strasburg,  i.135  ;  appointed  lecturer 
and  preacher  there,  i.  140 ;  defends 
the    Reformation    against  Sadolet, 
i.  148 ;    present  at  the  convention 
in  Frankfort,  i.  155;  respecting  the 
diet  at  Hagenau,  i.  166;  his  work 
*  De  Ccena,'  i.  175 ;  contents  of,  and 
extracts  from  same,  i.l  76;  publishes 
a  commentary  on  the  Epistle  to  the 
Romans,  i,  218;  dedicated  to  Gry- 
naeus,  ib. ;  edits  Olivetan's  French 
Bible,  i.  226;  his  opinion   of  the 
Catholic  disputants  at  the  diet  of 
Worms,  i.  232  ;   sent  to  Worms  by 
the  people   of  Strasburg,  i.  234  ; 
forms  an  intimate  friendship  with 
Melancthon,  ib.;  confutes  Robertus 
Moshamus,    Dean    of    Passau,    at 
Worms,   ib.;  obtains   the   title   of 
"  the  Theologian,"  i.  235  ;  tempo- 
rary coldness  between  him  and  Me- 
lancthon, i.  239  ;  his  triumphal  song 
(Epinicion),  i.  241  ;  the  Genevese 
desire  his  return,  i.  246 ;  unwilling- 
ness of  the  people  of  Strasburg  that 
he  should  leave  them,  i.  247;  de- 
cides on  returning  to  Geneva,  i.  252; 
his  reception  there,  i.  255 ;  his  do- 
mestic affairs,  i.  257  ;  his  poverty, 
ib. ;  his  marriage,  i.  263 ;  Luther's 
marriage  compared  with  his,   ib. ; 
his  opinion  of  his  wife,  i.  264 ;  on 
the  birth  and  death  of  his  only  son, 
i.  265  ;  on  the  death  of  his  wife,  i. 
266  ;  his  house  at  Geneva,  i.  330 ; 
his  first  address  to  the  Genevese 
after  his  recall,  i.  331 ;    establishes 
a  court  of  morals  in  Geneva,  i.  332 ; 
his  position  in  Geneva,  i.  346  ;  uni- 
versal worth  of  his  church  discipline, 
i.  365 ;  the  dedications  of  his  works, 
i.  423  ;  his  pastoral  labours,  i.  425 ; 
his  bodily  ill-health,  i.  280,  427; 
his  lectures  on  the  book  of  Job,  i. 
435  ;  extracts  from,  i.  436 ;  reproof 
given  by  him  to  a  licentious  com- 
munity, i.  457;    to  a   community 
under  persecution,  i.  453;  to  one 
suffering   domestic   persecution,  i. 
455 ;  letters  to  persecuted  converts, 
j.  467  ;  writes  against  Pclagianism, 


i.  489;    extracts  from  the  work,  i. 
493  ;  writes  against  the  council  of 
Trent,  i.  501 ;    extracts   from   the 
work,  i.   502;  his  writings  against 
the  Nicodemites,  ii.  8 ;  his  apology 
to  same,  ii.  9  ;  letter  from  Melanc- 
thon to,  ii.  13  ;  writes  against  the 
Interim,  ii.  27  ;  his  disputes  with 
Castellio,  ii.   34,    155 ;    his  works 
against  relics  and  astrology,  ii.  37  ; 
against  the  Anabaptists  and  liber- 
tines, ii.  42 ;  his  controversies  with 
Perrini,  ii.  62  ;  respecting  the  pro- 
ceedings of  Gruet,  ii.  68;  insults 
heaped  on  him  on  account  of  Gruet's 
death,  ii.  69  ;  his  friendship  for  Vi- 
ret,  ii.  74  ;  signs  the  Consensus  Ti- 
gurinus,ii.  81 ;  publishes  a  commen- 
tary on  the  Epistles,  ii.  109 ;  dedi- 
cates it  to  Edward  VI.  of  England, 
ib. ;  letter  from  Melancthon  to,  ii. 
113;  his  work  '  De  Scandalis,'  ii. 
117;  its  contents,  ii,  1 18  ;  his  con- 
troversy with    George    Siculus,    ii. 
1 29 ;    holds   a    public    disputation 
with  Bolsec,  ii.  32 ;  his  controversy 
with  Troillet,  ii.   138;  his  friend- 
ship for  Farel  and  Jacques  de  Bour- 
gogne,  ii.  140 ;  hostility  of  the  Ber- 
nese towards,  ii.  143  ;  his  appeal  to 
the  council  of  Bern,   ii.  1^5;    re- 
newal of  his  dispute  with  Bolsec,  ii. 
150;  his  work  'Consensus  Pasto- 
rum,'   ii.  151 ;    his  correspondence 
with  Servetus,  ii.  179;  his  conduct 
towards  Servetus  at  Geneva,  ii.  193; 
his  controversy  with  Servetus  whilst 
a  prisoner  at  Geneva,  ii.  199;  let- 
ter from   Farel  to,  ii.  210;    letter 
from  Bullingerto,  ii.  216;  his  part 
in  the  execution  of  Servetus,  ii.  224, 
2'2S  ;  his  work  against  the  latter,  ii. 
24 1  ;  writes  a  treatise  against  Blan- 
drata,  ii.  265  ;  his  controversy  with 
Gentilis,  ii.   271 ;    his  controversy 
with  Westphal  on  the  doctrine  of 
the  sacrament,  ii.  274  ;  analysis  of 
his  work  against  Westphal,  ii.  280  ; 
second    and    third   works    against 
Westphal,  ii.  284  ;  his  correspond- 
ence with  Melancthon,  ii.  295  ;  his 
controversy  with  Hesshus,  ii.  296  ; 
his  uneasiness  respecting  the  church 
at  Strasburg,  ii.  304  ;  publishes  a 
commentary  on  St.  John,  ii.  306 ; 
his  contest  with  Berthelier,  ii.  307 ; 
personally  insulted  by  his  enemies 
at  Geneva,  ii.  312;  visits  Frankfort, 
ii.  337  ;  disputes  with  Justus  Wei- 


INDEX. 


449 


sins  on  free-will,  ii.  338 ;  his  relation 
to  the  Northern  churches,  ii.  340 ; 
corresponds  with  Gustavus  Vasa, 
king  of  Sweden,  ib. ;  writes  against 
Menno  Simon,  ib. ;  his  influence  in 
Poland,  ii.  341  ;  his  letters  to  the 
Poles,  ii.  342,  344  ;  respecting  the 
papal  authority,  ii.  343;  his  address 
to  believers  about  to  suffer  mar- 
tyrdom, ii.  35G,  359  ;  his  influence 
in  France,  ii.  374  ;  his  correspond- 
ence with  the  king  of  Navarre,  ii. 
376 ;  obtains  money  for  the  latter, 
ib. ;  dedication  of  his  commentary 
on  the  four  books  of  Moses  to 
Henry  IV.  ii.  378;  his  opinion  of  the 
colloquy  at  Poissy,  ii.  386  ;  sends 
to  the  emperor  Ferdinand  a  con- 
fession of  the  French  reformed 
church,  ii.  400 ;  preaches  at  Cham- 
bery,  ii.  405 ;  opposes  the  conspi- 
racy of  Amboise,  ii.  408 ;  his  dis- 
pute with  Balduin,  ii.  411;  writes 
against  Cassander's  project  of  re- 
ligious union,  ii.  412;  his  last  lite- 
rary and  controversial  labours,  ii. 
422 ;  his  last  illness,  ii.  421 ;  Beza's 
account  of,  ii.  422  ;  his  will,  ii.  425  ; 
his  dying  address  to  the  council  of 
Geneva,  ii.  426  ;  to  the  ministers, 
ii.  429 ;  his  last  hours  and  death, 
ii.  430,  432 ;  his  character  by  Beza, 
ii.  433. 

Calvinism,  its  influence  on  England 
and  Germany,  i.  327,  328. 

Caraccioli,  Marquis  of  Vico,  his  life 
and  character,  ii.  129  ;  his  persecu- 
tion, ii.  130. 

Caroli,  his  life  and  dispute  with  Calvin, 
i.  114;  his  last  appearance  at  Metz, 
i.  341 ;  challenges  Farel  to  a  pub- 
lic disputation,  i.  342. 

Cassander  projects  a  union  of  reli- 
gious parties,  ii.  411;  Calvin  writes 
against,  ii.  412. 

Castellio,  resides  with  Calvin,  i.  257 ; 
his  character,  life  and  writings,  ii. 
33,  36 ;  disputes  with  Calvin,  ii.  34, 
155 ;  Montaigne's  opinion  of,  ii.  37; 
becomes  a  teacher  in  the  school  at 
Geneva,  ii.  33;  writes  anonymously 
against  the  doctrine  of  election,  ii. 
36. 

Catechism,  the  first  Gencvese,  drawn 
up  by  Calvin  and  Farel,  i.  112. 

Catholic  church,  the  constitution  of, 
i.  417. 

Chaponneau,  Calvin's  controversy 
with,  ii.  33. 

VOL.  II. 


Charles,  the  Emperor,  convokes  the 
diets  of  Worms  and  Ratisbon,  i. 
230 ;  seeks  to  unite  religious  par- 
ties, i.  232  ;  admonition  from  Alex- 
ander Farnese  to,  i.  480  ;  Calvin's 
counter-address  to,  i.  481 ;  Luther's 
address  on  the  triple  defence  of  the 
papacy,  i.  486. 

Charles  IX.  ascends  the  throne  of 
France,  ii.  370;  his  letter  to  the 
council  of  Geneva,  ii.  372. 

Chemminus,  letters  from  Calvin  to,  i. 
25,  28. 

Christ,  Servetus  on  the  humanity  and 
eternity  of,  ii.  254,  256. 

Church,  the,  Calvin  on  the  govern- 
ment of,  i.  84,  204 ;  controversy  re- 
specting church  property  in  Geneva, 
i.  335 ;  on  the  jurisdiction  of,  i. 
376;  great  simplicity  of  the  ser- 
vice in  the  reformed,  i.  375  ;  its  re- 
lation to  the  state,  i.  380 ;  the  pri- 
mitive, compared  with  the  Calvinis- 
tic,  i.  395;  polity  of  the  English,  i. 
400  ;  the  constitution  of  the  Catho- 
lic, i.  417;  Calvin's  and  Bullinger's 
wish  for  unity  in,  ii.  124,  125,  126. 

Coligni,  Admiral,  heads  the  Reforma- 
tion in  France,  ii.  369  ;  letters  from 
Calvin  to,  ii.  362;  letters  to  the 
wife  of,  i.  283. 

Commentaries  by  Calvin  on  the  old 
and  new  Testaments,  i.  218, 435,  ii. 
109,  306. 

Confession,  Calvin  on,  i.  141  ;  Luther, 
Calvin  and  Wesley  on,  i.  417;  con- 
fessions of  the  French  church,  i. 
408 ;  the  Helvetic,  i.  407. 

Conde,  forms  an  evangelical  union  at 
Orleans,  ii.  397  ;  taken  prisoner  at 
the  battle  of  Dreux,  ii.  401  ;  con- 
cludes a  peace  with  the  Catholics, 
ii.  402;  letter  from  Calvin  to,  ii. 
403. 

Conscience,  liberty  of,  i.  405. 

Consensus  Tigurinus,  the,  discussion 
respecting,  ii.  80  ;  letters  from  Cal- 
vin respecting,  ii.  80,  81  ;  generally 
received  by  the  reformed  churches, 
ii.  83. 

Consistory,  the,  its  office  and  powers 
as  established  by  Calvin,  i.  385. 

Contarini,  Cardinal,  at  the  diet  of  Ra- 
tisbon, i.  231. 

Conversion,  Calvin's  doctrine  of,  i. 
196;  Augustine's  doctrine  of,  i. 
205. 

Cop,  Nicolas,  rector  of  the  Sorbonne 
in  Paris,  i.  37. 

2g 


450 


INDEX. 


Coraud,  Calvin's  letters  on  the  death 
^  of,i.  139. 

Cordier,  Matnrinus,  establishes  a 
school  in  Geneva,  i.  335. 

Cranmer,  letter  from  Calvin  respect- 
ing the  unity  of  the  church  to,  ii. 
125. 

Creation,  the,  Servetus  respecting,  ii. 
250. 

Damnation,  Calvin's  and  the  refor- 
mers' doctrine  of,  i.  199,  201. 

Daniel,  Francis,  letters  from  Calvin 
to,  i.  17,27,34,  113. 

Dedications  of  Calvin's  works,  i.  423, 
ii.  32. 

Demoniacal  possession,  instance  of,  i. 
310. 

Denmark,  the  Reformation  in,  ii.  31 . 

Diets  of  Worms  and  Ratisbon,  i.  230, 
236. 

Discipline,  church,  i.  360;  Calvin's 
system  of,  i.  369,  383. 

Dreux,  the  battle  of,  ii.  401 ;  Beza's 
conduct  at,  ib. 

Edward,  king  of  England,  dedications 
of  Calvin's  works  to,  ii.  30;  his 
death,  ii.  311. 

Election,  Calvin's  doctrine  of,  i.  199, 
.201,  212;  mystery  of,  i.  215;  in- 
completely comprehended  by  Cal- 
vin, ib. ;  Bolsec's  doctrine  of,  ii. 
132;  views  at  Basel  and  Bern  re- 
specting, ii.  133. 

England,  state  of  its  church  in  1509- 
1530,  i.  3;  influence  of  Calvinism 
on,  i.  327 ;  church  polity  of,  i.  400 ; 
progress  of  the  Reformation  in,  ii. 
28  ;  persecution  in,  ii.  355. 

Eutychianism,  the  Lutherans  accused 
of,  i.  207. 

Epistolary  correspondence,  Calvin's,  i. 
428;  characteristics  of,  i.  429. 

Excommunication,  the  doctrine  of,  i. 
79  ;  Calvin  respecting,  i.  377 ;  Bern 
repudiates  the  practice  of,  ii.  325  ; 
moral  effect  of,  i.  394. 

Faber,  Peter,  letter  from  Calvin  to,  i. 
292. 

Faith,  Calvin's  doctrine  of,  i.  198; 
Servetus'  doctrine  of,  ii.  245,  247. 

Fall,  the,  Calvin  on  the  consequences 
of,  i.  196. 

Farel,  commences  the  Reformation  in 
Geneva,  i.  94  ;  persecuted  by  the 
clergy  of  that  place,  ib. ;  holds  a 
public  disputation  with  Guy  Furbity, 


i.  96 ;  narrowly  escapes  being  poi- 
soned, ib. ;  retains  Calvin  at  Ge- 
neva, i.  105 ;  his  true  friendship  for 
Calvin,  i.  107,  252;  his  strict  disci- 
pline, i.  112;  Calvin's  reverence  for, 
i.  252  ;  commences  the  Reformation 
in  Metz,  i.  339  ;  his  desire  of  unity 
in  the  church,  ii.  88;  his  favourable 
opinion  of  the  Augsburg  confession, 
ib.;  Calvin's  friendship  for, ii.  140;  a 
favourer  of  religious  persecution,  ii. 
210;  summoned  before  the  council 
of  Geneva,  ii.  310  ;  his  marriage,  ii. 
321  ;  letter  from  Beaulieu  to,  ii. 
373;  letters  from  Calvin  to  Farel, 
i.  107,  131 ;  on  church  property,  i. 
158,  160;  on  his  controversy  with 
Caroli,  i.  162,  165  ;  respecting  the 
Zurichers  and  Zwingli,  i.  171  ;  on 
the  general  affairs  of  Geneva,  i. 
1 73  ;  on  the  theological  discussion 
at  Ratisbon,  i.  236 ;  on  the  conflicts 
of  his  own  spirit,  i.  251,  253;  on 
his  marriage,  i.  264  ;  on  the  death 
of  his  wife,  i.  267 ;  on  the  govern- 
ment of  the  Genevese  church,  i. 
332;  his  projected  reformation  of 
Metz,  i.  339 ;  his  dispute  with  Cas- 
tellio,  ii.  35 ;  with  Perrin,  ii.  60 ; 
respecting  Servetus,  ii.  195  ;  on  the 
persecution  in  France,  ii.  361. 

Farnese,  Alexander,  his  acts  and  cha- 
racter, i.  480;  Calvin's  writings 
against,  i.  482. 

Fathers,  the  primitive,  clemency  of,  i. 
379. 

Ferrara,  the  duchess  of,  history  of,  i. 
9,  11 ;  Calvin  at  her  court,  "i.  102 ; 
her  regard  for  Calvin,  ib. ;  letters 
from  Calvin  to, — on  her  steadfast- 
ness against  temptation,  i.  103,  313; 
on  faithfulness  to  the  truth,  i.  450, 
ii.  374,375;  letters  from  the  duchess 
to  Calvin,  ii.  402,  404. 

Festivals  of  the  church  in  Geneva,  ii. 
115. 

France,  characteristics  of,  i.  19  ;  first 
reformed  congregation  at  Meaux,  i. 
15;  first  martyrs  of  the  Reformation 
in,  i.  15;  synodal  form  of  govern- 
ment of  the  church  of,  i.  389  ;  spi- 
ritual libertinism  in,  ii.  46;  opinion 
respecting  Calvin  in,  ii.  106;  let- 
ters from  Calvin  to  the  martyrs  of, 
ii.  356,  359 ;  the  Reformation  and 
persecution  in,  ii.  353,  354 ;  first 
French  religious  war,  ii.  396;  the 
synod  at  Orleans,  ii.  398. 

Francis  I.  of  France,  character  of,  i. 


INDEX. 


451 


48;  compared  with  Calvin,  i.  53; 
Beza's  opinion  of,  i.  7  ;  a  favourer  of 
learning,  i.  12;  persecutes  the  Pro- 
testants, i.  50;  Calvin  dedicates  his 
'  Institutes'  to,  i.  53. 

Francis  II.  of  France,  short  reign  and 
death,  ii.  366,  3/0  ;  persecution  of 
the  Lutherans,  ii.  367. 

Freedom  of  conscience,  favourers  of, 
^  ii.  242. 

Free-will,  doctrine  of,  Calvin's,  i.  193, 
497;  remarks  on,  i.  214. 

Funeral  service,  the,  Calvin's  view  of, 
ii.  8. 

Galiffe's  life  of  Calvin,  ii.  107. 

Gallars,  is  sent  by  Calvin  to  London, 
ii.  334. 

Geneva,  brief  history  of,  i.  91  ;  rise 
of  the  Reformation  in,  i.  94  ;  the 
authority  of  the  papacy  set  aside  in, 
i.  97;  blockaded  by  the  duke  of 
Saxony,  ib. ;  bad  state  of  morals  in, 
i.  99,  125,  ii.  48 ;  disturbances  in, 
i.  127, 134,  ii.  311 ;  Calvin's  letters 
to  the  Genevese  in  his  exile,  i.  145  ; 
the  Genevese  earnestly  desire  Cal- 
vin's return  to,  i.  246  ;  day  of  pub- 
lic penitence  in,  i.  331  ;  establish- 
ment of  a  court  of  morals  in,  i.  332 ; 
its  dispute  with  the  Bernese,  i.  338, 
ii.  144  ;  the  plague  breaks  out  in,  i. 
344  ;  Calvin's  position  in,  i.  346 ; 
theocratic  constitution  of,  i.  351 ; 
political  constitution  of,  i.  353; 
the  practice  of  torture  retained  in, 
i.  364 ;  the  Genevese  confession 
of  faith,  i.  407 ;  the  libertines  in, 
ii.  47 ;  French  refugees  in,  ii.  55  ; 
Infectionists  in,  ii.  50 ;  festivals  of 
the  church  abolished  in,  ii.  115; 
disputes  respecting  discipline,  ii. 
315;  Calvin  founds  a  school  in, 
ii.  321. 

Gentilis,  Valentin,  Calvin's  opinion  of, 
ii.  266;  his  doctrine  of  the  Trinity, 
ii.  267;  tried  and  condemned  at 
Geneva,  ii.  267,  268 ;  retracts  his 
opinions,  ii.  269  ;  set  at  liberty,  ib.; 
persecuted  at  Bern,  ii.  270 ;  con- 
demned and  executed,  ii.  271. 

Georgii,  David,  intercedes  for  Serve- 
tus,  ii.  212. 

Germany,  the  Protestant  princes  of, 
intercede  with  the  king  of  France 
m  behalf  of  the  reformers,  i.  237  ; 
influence  of  Calvinism  on,  i.  .">2S  ; 
its  religious  state  considered,  in  a 
letter  from  Calvin  to  Mvconius,  i. 


337;  religious  war  in,  ii.  19;  oppo- 
sition to  the  Interim,  ii.  25,  26. 

Grace,  Calvin's  doctrine  of,  i.  197. 

Gribaldi,  Matthseus,  exiled  from  Ge- 
neva, ii.  263 ;  from  Bern,  ii.  264. 

Grotius's  opinion  of  Calvin,  i.  315. 

Gruet,  writes  against  Christianity,  ii. 
47  ;  he  libels  Calvin,  ii.  64  ;  is  pro- 
secuted and  condemned  to  death  by 
the  state  of  Geneva,  ii.  66. 

Grynaeus,  Simon,  a  friend  of  Calvin's, 
i.  40 ;  Calvin  dedicates  to  him  his 
commentary  on  the  Epistle  to  the 
Romans,  i.  218;  letter  from  Calvin 
to,  i.  117- 

Guise,  the  duke  of,  persecutes  the 
Protestants,  ii.  396 ;  takes  Rouen 
by  storm,  ii.  400 ;  is  assassinated  at 
Orleans,  ii.  402. 

Hagenau,  the  diet  at,  i.  166. 

Helvetic  confession,  the,  i.  407. 

Henry  VIII.  of  England,  defends  the 
doctrine  of  the  seven  sacraments 
against  Luther,  i.  3 ;  is  divorced 
from  queen  Catherine  and  declared 
head  and  defender  of  the  church  of 
England  in  the  place  of  the  Pope, 
i.  4  ;  Calvin's  opinion  of  his  divorce, 
i.  5 ;  of  his  title  of  head  of  the 
church,  i.  39. 

Henry  II.  of  France,  persecutes  the 
Protestants,  ii.  358,  362 ;  his  death, 
ii.  366. 

Henry  IV.  of  France,  departs  from  the 
truth,  i.  67  ;  assassinated,  i.  6S ;  Cal- 
vin's dedications  to  the  same,  ii.  378. 

Heresy,  Calvin's  explanation  of,  ii.417. 

Heretics,  on  the  punishment  of,  ii.  240. 

Hesshus,  Calvin's  writings  against, 
ii.  297. 

Idelette  de  Bures,  Calvin's  marriage 
with,  i.  263  ;  character  of,  ib. 

Images,  Calvin  respecting  the  use  of, 
i.  207. 

Infectionists  in  Geneva,  ii.  50. 

Innocency  of  man,  Calvin  on  the  ori- 
ginal, i".  192. 

Inquisition,  the,  its  secret  proceedings 
in  Italy,  i.  1<>. 

'Institutes,'  Calvin's,  their  origin,  1. 
69;  contents,  i.  7'2  ;  design,  i.  180, 
187;  analysis  of,  i.  186;  their  per- 
spicuity, i.  209;  usefulness,  ib. ; 
preface  to  the  last  edition,  i.  85  ; 
the  Strasburg  edition,  i.  182;  the 
translations  of,  i.  185;  opponents 
of.  ib. 

2  G  2 


452 


INDEX. 


Interim  in  Germany,  ii.  25,  26 ;  Pro- 
testants and  Catholics  discontented 
with,  ii:  2/;  Calvin  writes  against, 
ib. 

Italy,  at  the  time  of  the  Reformation, 
i.  6  ;  Protestant  congregations  in, 

i.  10.  k   e 

Jesus  as  a  mediator,  i.  449. 

Job,  the  book  of,  Calvin's  lectures  on, 
i.  436. 

Julius  III.,  Pope,  character  of,  ii.  108. 

Justification,  Calvin's  doctrine  of,  i. 
5 1 0,  ii.  413;  Servetus's  doctrine  of, 
ii.  245,  257  ;  difference  of  the  views 
of  the  reformers  and  Servetus  re- 
specting, ii.  260 ;  Stancarus  and 
Osiander  respecting,  ii.  273. 

Knox,  John,  characteristics  of,  ii.  o27; 
becomes  a  preacher  at  Frankfort  and 
Geneva,  ii.  328;  political  writings 
of,  ii.  330;  brings  Calvin's  discipline 
into  Scotland,  ii.  331  ;  opposes 
Queen  Mary,  ii.  332 ;  letter  to 
Locke  on  the  affairs  of  Geneva 
from,  ii.  318. 

Krell,  Nicolaus,  trial  and  execution  of, 
ii.  23S. 

Krummacher  on  Calvin's  character, 
i.  184. 

Labori,  letter  to  his  wife,  ii.  356. 

Laski,  banished  with  his  congregation 
from  England,  ii.  277  ',  endeavours 
to  unite  the  Protestant  churches, 
ii.  337 ;  appointed  chief  superin- 
tendent of  the  Protestant  churches 
in  Lesser  Poland,  ii.  347  ;  Calvin's 
opinion  of,  ii.  348. 

Lasmanini,  ii.  347,  348. 

Leclerc,  John,  the  first  martyr  of  the 
Reformation,  i.  15. 

Leftwre  d'Etaples,  life  and  acts  of,i.l3. 

Legrant,  letter  from  Calvin  to,  i.  467. 

Libertines,  spiritual,  Calvin  writes 
against,  ii.  42;  pantheistic  doc- 
trines of,  ib. ;  in  France,  ii.  46  ;  in 
Geneva,  ii.  47  ;  political  libertines, 
ii.  53;  their  opposition  to  Calvin 
and  persecution  of  the  exiles,  ii.  5'A, 
5  1 ;  trials  of  Ameaux,  Perrin  and 
Gruet,  ii.  57,  62,  65. 

liturgy,  principles  of  Calvin's,  i.  412. 

Longueville,  the  duke  of,  letter  from 
Calvin  to,  i.  466. 

Lord's  Supper,  the,  Calvin's  doctrine 
of,  i.  83,  111,  176,342,  ii.  78,  79, 
Si ),  90,  285 ;  Calvin  on  the  prepa- 


ration for,  i.  142;  the  agreement 
of  Calvin  and  Melancthon  respect- 
ing, i.  155;  Calvin  in  reference  to 
the  controversy  on,  i.  178 ;  Calvin's 
and  Luther's  different  views  of,  i. 
207;  the  Calvinistic  form  of,  i. 
412;  Calvin  on  the  administration 
of,  to  the  sick,  i.  443 ;  on  the  fre- 
quency of  its  celebration,  i.  444  ; 
on  its  administration  under  both 
forms  to  the  laity,  i.  477 ;  the  opi- 
nions of  the  reformers  respecting, 
i.  167  ;  precepts  for  the  celebra- 
tion of,  i.  385 ;  the  doctrine  of  the 
Lord's  Supper  set  forth  in  the  Con- 
sensus Tigurinus,  ii.  82 ;  history  of 
the  strife  respecting,  ii.  14,  89 ; 
Luther's  doctrine  of,  ii.  90;  Cal- 
vin's controversy  with  Westphal 
and  Hesshus  on,  ii.  274-292  ; 
Calvin's  correspondence  with  Me- 
lancthon on,  ii.  295 ;  Beza  at  the 
colloquv  at  Poissy  respecting,  ii. 
385. 

Lorrain,  cardinal  of,  at  the  colloquy 
at  Poissy,  ii.  383,  392. 

Louis  XII.  resists  the  papal  preten- 
sions, i.  11;  refuses  to  persecute 
the  Waldenses,  i.  12. 

Louis  XIV.  opposes  the  Reformation, 
i.  68. 

Lovola  founds  the  order  of  the  Jesuits, 
i*.  226. 

Luther,  condemned  by  the  Sorbonne 
as  a  heretic,  i.  14;  the  rapid  spread 
of  his  writings,  i.  10;  his  doctrine 
of  the  Lord's  Supper,  i.  173;  com- 
pared with  Calvin,  i.  206,  ii.  89  ; 
Calvin's  confidence  in,  i.  237  : 
compared  with  Calvin  in  respect  to 
his  marriage,  i.  263 ;  as  a  married 
pastor,  ib. ;  his  disinterestedness 
and  contempt  of  wealth,  i.  274  ;  in 
conversation,  i.  280;  his  weakness  in 
the  struggles  of  the  faith,  i.  304 ;  his 
love  of  nature,  i.  307;  his  view  of  the 
works  of  the  devil,  i.  308 ;  his  fear  of 
the  plague,  i.  345  ;  on  church  polity, 
i.  397 ;  on  congregational  singing, 
i.  415;  his  address  to  Charles  V. 
on  the  triple  defence  of  the  papacy, 
i.  48(5;  defended  by  Calvin  against 
Pighius,  i.  493;  letter  from  Cal- 
vin to,  ii.  11  ;  his  dispute  with  the 
Swiss,  ii.  14 ;  Calvin's  opinion  of, 
ii.  16,  18;  Zwingli's  opinion  of,  ii. 
18  ;  his  opinion  of  Calvin,  ii.  97  ;  his 
opinions  on  toleration,  ii.  236 ;  his 
will  compared  with  Calvin's,  ii.  426. 


INDEX. 


453 


Macaire,  letter  from  Calvin  to,  i.  278. 

Man,  the  original  nature  of,  i.  192. 

Margaret,  queen  of  Navarre,  favours 

the  Reformation,  i.  13 ;  her  life  and 

character,  ib. ;  her  strife  with  the 

Sorbonne,  and  Calvin's  judgement 

thereon,  ii.  1(5,  1/. 

Marriage-ceremony,   Calvin   on    the 

celebration  of  the,  i.  472. 
Martyr,  Peter,  on  the  intellectual 
state  of  Italy  at  the  time  of  the  Re- 
formation, i.  /  ;  takes  part  in  the 
Reformation  of  England,  ii.  28  ;  his 
character,  ii.  86  j  Calvin's  opinion 
of,  ib. ;  his  opinion  of  Servetus,  ii. 
234 ;  respecting  the  church  at  Stras- 
burg,  ii.  30-1 ;  at  the  colloquy  at 
Poissy,  ii.  390 ;  letter  from  Calvin 
on  the  union  of  the  faithful  in  Christ 
to,  ii.  125 ;  letter  to  Calvin  on  the 
state  of  England  from,  ii.  313. 
Martyrs,  of  the  French  church,  i.  50, 
ii.  6,  355,  361 ;  Calvin  respecting 
martyrdom,  i.  302 ;  martyrs  of  the 
church  of  Meaux,  ii.  6 ;  of  the  En- 
glish church,  ii.  355 ;  letters  from 
Calvin  to,  ii.  356,  359,  363. 
Mathesius,  on  the  state  of  the  Ger- 
man church,  i.  1 ;  on  Luther  at  the 
diet  of  Worms,  i.  233  ;  on  Luther's 
struggles  of  faith,  i.  303,  304 ;  on 
Luther's  love  of  nature,  i.  307. 
Maurice,  Prince,  establishes  the  Cal- 
vinistic  church  in  Holland,  i.  327 ; 
protests  against  the  Tridentine  sy- 
nod, ii.  Ill ;  his  manifesto, ii.  113. 
Meaux,  persecution  of  the  church  of, 

ii.  5. 
Melancthon,  converses  with  Calvin  at 
Frankfort,  i.  156;  Calvin's  opinion 
of,  i.  160,  240,  ii.  Ill;  forms  an 
intimate  acquaintance  with  Calvin 
at  Worms,  i.  234 ;  compared  with 
Calvin  and  Luther,  i.  238 ;  his  re- 
presentation of  the  church,  i.  396  ; 
his  view  of  the  doctrine  of  predes- 
tination, i.  499;  on  the  Consensus 
Tigurinus,  ii.  S3;  his  doctrine  of 
the  Lord's  Supper,  ii.  90;  favour- 
able to  the  execution  of  Servetus, 
ii.  233;  his  correspondence  with 
Calvin,  ii.  295  ;  his  death,  ii.  296. 
Mcnno,  Simon,  Calvin  writes  against, 

ii.  240. 
Metz,Farel  invited  by  the  Protestants 

to,  i.  33!). 
Ministers  of  the  gospel,  respect  to  be 

shown  to,  i.  1  15. 
Mompelgarten,  church  of,  i.  342. 


Morals,  a  court  of,  established  in 
Geneva,  i.  332. 

More,  Thomas,  a  promoter  of  the  Re- 
formation, i.  4. 

Morns,  his  opinion  of  Calvin,  i.  294. 

Motte,  De  la,  Alciat,  accused  of  heresy 
and  banished  from  Geneva,  ii.  271. 

Myconius,  letters  to,  from  Calvin  on 
discipline,  i.  333 ;  on  the  affairs  of 
Germany,  i.  337. 

Navarre,  Calvin  writes  to  the  queen  of, 
respecting  the  libertines,  ii.  46 ;  the 
king  of  Navarre  favours  the  French 
Reformation,  ii.  362. 

Nestorianism,  the  Calvinists  accused 
of,  i.  207. 

Netherlands,  the,  persecution  in,  i. 238. 

Nicodemites,  the,  Calvin's  '  Apology ' 
to,  ii.  9. 

Normandie,  Laurence  de,  Calvin  de- 
dicates the  treatise  '  de  Scandalis' 
to,  ii.  118. 

Ochin,  Bernardin,  of  Sienna,  Calvin's 
favourable  opinion  of,  ii.  88. 

GLcolampadius  holds  a  discussion  with 
Servetus,  ii.  171. 

Olivetan's  French  translation  of  the 
Bible,  i.  227. 

Original  sin,  Calvin's  doctrine  of,  i. 
194;  Servetus's,  ii.  245;  compa- 
rison of  the  views  of  the  Protestant 
and  Roman  theologians  respecting, 
i.  491  ;  views  of  the  council  of 
Trent  respecting,  i.  506;  Calvin's 
opposition  to,  i.  507. 

Orleans,  the  synod  at,  ii.  398. 

Osiander,  heresies  of,  ii.  273. 

Papal  authority,  Calvin's  view  of,  i. 
478. 

Parental  authority  earnestly  defended 
by  the  reformers,  i.  36 1 . 

Pareus,  Nicolaus,  letter  from  Calvin 
to,  i.  252. 

Pastoral  letters,  Calvin's,  to  perse- 
cuted christians,  i.  451,  453,  455, 
467  ;  to  a  waverer,  i.  454  ;  to  an 
ill-disciplined  community,  i.  457; 
to  an  exile,  i.  461  ;  to  reformed 
congregations,  i.  463,4(55;  to  the 
duke  of  Longueville,  i.  466 ;  to 
Legrant,  i.  467;  to  the  brethren 
at  Aix,  i.   171. 

Paul  III.,  character  of,  i.  480;  his 
admonition  to  Charles  V.,  ib.  •  Cal- 
vin's answer,  i.  48]  ;  his  death,  ii. 
108. 


454 


INDEX. 


Pelagianism  of  the  Romish  church,  i. 
489. 

Perrini,  Ami,  head  of  the  libertines  in 
Geneva,  ii.  60 ;  Calvin's  friendship 
for,  and  subsequent  disputes  with, 
ii.  62 ;  their  reconciliation,  ii.  63. 

Persecution  in  France,  i.  15,  238,  ii. 
353;  in  England,  i.  238,  ii.  355; 
in  the  Netherlands,  i.  238 ;  Calvin 
on  the  lawfulness  of  forcibly  re- 
sisting, i.  471. 

Philosophy,  Servetus  on,  ii.  246. 

Pighius,  a  defender  of  the  Romish 
church,  i.  89;  Calvin's  writings 
against,  i.  492,  ii.  95 ;  letters  from 
Calvin  to,  i.  138,  143. 

Plague,  the,  in  Geneva,  i.  343 ;  Cal- 
vin and  Luther  compared  in  re- 
spect to  their  fear  of,  i.  345. 

Planck,  his  opinion  of  Calvin,  i.  168; 
on  the  Consensus  Tigurinus,  ii.  181. 

Poetrv,  in  relation  to  the  Reformation, 
i.  416. 

Poissy,  the  colloquy  at,  ii.  380,  384 ; 
its  results,  ii.  392. 

Poland,  the  Reformation  in,  ii.  341 ; 
Calvin  in  respect  to,  ii.  342;  Cal- 
vin's letters  to  the  Poles,  ib. 

Predestination,  Calvin's  doctrine  of, 
i.  193,  203,  ii.  94 ;  Zwingli's  doc- 
trine of,  i.  209  ;  the  controversy  on, 
ii.  133 ;  the  Bernese  theologians 
respecting,  ii.  134  ;  Calvin's  dispute 
with  Castellio  respecting,  ii.  156 ; 
Beza  writes  against  Castellio  in  de- 
fence of,  ii. - 156  5  Wesley's  opposi- 
tion to  the  doctrine  of,  ii.  158. 

Presbyters,  Calvin  respecting,  i.  3/1. 

Protestant  church,  the,  accused  by 
the  Roman  Catholics  on  account  of 
the  execution  of  Servetus,  ii.  227 . 

Psalms,  the,  translations  of,  i.  414 ; 
old  French  version  of,  i.  415. 

Psychopannychia,  or,  the  sleep  of  the 
soul,  Calvin's,  i.  39 ;  review  of,  and 
extracts  from,  i.  42. 

Public  worship,  Calvin  on  attendance 
at,  i.  445. 

Purgatory,  Calvin's  doctrine  of,  i.  51 1 ; 
Servetus's  notion  of,  ii.  261. 

llatisbon,  the  diet  of,  i.  231 ;  inutility 
of,  i.  236. 

Redemption,  Servetus  on,  ii.  245. 

Reformation,  the,  first  public  acknow- 
ledgment of,  in  Geneva,  i.  113  ; 
the  development  of  art  and  poetry 
affected  by,  i.  416. 

Reformed  churches,  the,  desire  that 


Servetus  should  be  punished,  ii. 
213 ;  intolerance  of,  ii.  23/  ;  the 
Calvinistic  compared  with  the  Lu- 
theran, i.  222. 

Reformers,  the,  unimaginativeness  of, 
i.  306 ;  their  imperfect  resignation, 
i.  307  ;  extreme  severity  of,  i.  360  ; 
their  love  of  simplicity,*  i.  375  ;  ge- 
neral review  of  the  European,  ii.  87. 

Regeneration  by  baptism,  Calvin's 
doctrine  of,  i.  507. 

Relics,  Calvin's  work  against,  ii.  37- 

Renata,  vide  Ferrara. 

Richebourg,  Louis,  death  of,  i.  242  ; 
letter  of  condolence  from  Calvin  to 
his  father,  ib. 

Riviere,  De  la,  founds  a  Protestant 
church  in  Paris,  ii.  357. 

Sacrament,  vide  Lord's  Supper. 

Sadolet,  his  character  as  a  Catholic,  i. 
147 ;  his  address  to  the  Genevese, 
ib. ;  Calvin's  answer  to,  i.  148. 

Saints,  the  worship  of,  i.  419. 

Salvation,  Calvin's  doctrine  of,  i.  197. 

Satan,  Calvin  respecting,  i.  192. 

Schools  established  by  the  reformers, 
i.  335. 

Scriptures,  the,  internal  evidence  of 
their  truth,  i.  188  ;  Calvin's  idea  of 
their  inspiration,  ib. ;  Calvin's  per- 
fect reliance  on,  i.  210;  various  ex- 
positors of,  i.  219;  Calvin's  expo- 
sition of,  i.  221. 

Sermons,  style  of  Calvin's,  i.  433. 

Servetus,  his  first  conference  with 
Calvin,  i.  38  ;  his  doctrine  of  the 
Trinity,  i.  190;  wishes  to  form  a 
league  with  Calvin,  ii.  75 ;  com- 
pared with  Calvin,  ii.  161  ;  Mo- 
sheim's  opinion  of,  ii.  164  ;  his 
history,  ii.  165;  progress  of  his 
religious  opinions,  ii.  167  ;  writes 
respecting  the  Trinity,  ii.  169; 
Zwingli's  opinion  of,  ii.  170;  visits 
Basel,  ii.  1/1;  retracts  his  doctrine 
at  that  place,  ii.  1 72  ;  resides  in 
France  and  Italy,  ii.  173;  favour- 
able reception  of  his  doctrines  at 
Venice,  ib.  ;  his  great  talents, 
ii.  174  ;  lectures  at  Paris,  ib.  ; 
respecting  the  Holy  Scriptures,  ii. 
176;  his  doctrine  of  justification 
by  faith,  ii.  178;  his  love  of  con- 
troversy, ib.  ;  his  correspondence 
with  Calvin,  ii.  179;  his  publica- 
tions at  Vienne,  ii.  184  ;  denounced 
by  William  Trie,  ib. ;  summoned 
before  the  tribunal  at  Vienne,  ii. 


INDEX. 


455 


186 ;  his  trial,  ii.  188 ;  escapes  from 
Vienne,  ii.  190;  condemned  in  his 
absence  by  the  civil  and  ecclesias- 
tical magistrates,  ii.  191  ;  resides  at 
Geneva,  ii.  192;  arrested  at  that 
place,  ib. ;  his  trial,  ii.  194 ;  dis- 
putes with  Calvin  whilst  a  prisoner, 
ii.  199  ;  appeals  to  an  ecclesiastical 
tribunal,  ii.  202;  violence  of  his  con- 
duct, ii.210;  severity  of  the  churches 
respecting,  ii.  213;  his  liberality 
of  opinion,  ii.  230  ;  condemned  to 
death,  ii.  215  ;  his  reception  of  his 
sentence,  ii.  217;  his  last  hours, 
ib.  ;  becomes  reconciled  to  Cfdvin, 
ii.  218;  his  character,  ii.  229;  as 
a  theologian  : — on  faith,  ii.  245, 
247  ;  on  the  Trinity,  ii.  245-248; 
redemption  and  justification,  ii. 
257 ;  original  sin,  ib. ;  infant  bap- 
tism, ii.  246;  rejects  all  the  com- 
monly received  views  of  Christi- 
anity, ib. ;  as  a  philosopher,  ib. ;  on 
the  omniscience  of  God,  ii.  247 ; 
his  favourable  opinion  of  Irenseus, 
ii.  249 ;  his  doctrine  of  the  Tri- 
nity Tritheism,  ib.  ;  respecting  the 
creation  of  the  universe,  ii.  250 ; 
his  platonic  idea  of  God,  ii.  251 ; 
his  natural  theology,  ii.  253 ;  supe- 
riority to  Spinoza,  ib. ;  on  the  fall 
of  man,  ii.  254  ;  respecting  Christ's 
humanity,  ib. ;  on  Christ's  eternity, 
ii.  256  ;  on  the  doctrine  of  the  Holy 
Ghost,  ib. ;  on  free-mil,  ii.  258  ; 
his  view  of  the  means  of  grace,  ii. 
260  ;  on  the  future  state,  ii.  261 ; 
his  character  in  respect  to  his  reli- 
gious doctrines,  ii.  262. 

Siculus,  George,  Calvin's  dispute  with, 
ii.  128. 

Sigismund,  king  of  Poland,  Calvin 
proposes  a  form  of  church  govern- 
ment to,  i.  401  ;  dedicates  his  com- 
mentary on  the  Hebrews  to,  ii.  31. 

Sin,  vide  Original  sin. 

Singing,  Calvin's  view  of  congrega- 
tional, i.  414. 

Smalclade,  league  of,  ii.  20. 

Socinus,  Laelius,  Calvin's  opinion  of, 
ii.  88;  creates  a  disturbance  amongst 
the  reformed,  ii.  349;  recommended 
by  Calvin  to  the  Poles,  ib. 

Somerset,  the  duke  of,  letter  from 
Calvin  on  church  government  to,  i. 
402 ;  on  written  sermons,  i.  434 ; 
on  the  fanatics  in  England,  ii.  29. 

Sorbonne,  the,  history  of,  i.  479 ; 
Calvin  writes  against,  i.  477. 


Soul,   Calvin  respecting  the  human, 

i.  193. 
Spifame,  Jac.  de,  sent  to  the  diet  at 

Frankfort    by    the  Protestants,  ii. 

400. 
Spina,  Johannes  von,  a  friend  of  Cal- 
vin's, i.  314. 
Stancarus,  Francis,  life  and  heresies 

of,  ii.  272. 
State,  the,  union  of  the  church  with, 

i.  350. 
Swiss,  the,  Luther's  controversy  with . 

ii.     14  ;    disunion    of    the     Swiss 

churches,  ii.  145. 
Synods,  Calvin's  opinion  of,  i.  366 ; 

office  and  authority  of,  i.  392. 

Tauler  on  povertv  in  a  christian's  life, 

i.  269. 
Theatres,  Calvin's  opinion  of,  i.  473. 
Theocracy,  i.  348;  Calvin's  idea  of, 

i.  349 ;    theocratic  constitution  of 

Geneva,  i.  351 ;  the  theocratic  ideal, 

i.  365. 
Tholuck  on  Calvin's  exegetical  talent, 

i.  223. 
Thourel,  false  judgement  on  Calvin  by, 

i.  299. 
Tournon,  Cardinal,  at  the  colloquy  of 

Poissy,  ii.  385. 
Tradition,    Calvin    on    scripture,    ii. 

412. 
Transubstantiation,    opinions   of  the 

reformers  on,  i.  236. 
Trechsel's  opinion  of  Calvin,  ii.  107. 
Trent,  the  council  of,  i.  300 ;  history 

of,  i.  501  ;  Calvin's  work  against, 

ib. ;  the  divines  of  Zurich  refuse 

to  attend,  ii.  109;  Calvin's  opinion 

of,  ib. 
Tribunal,  church,  the  Saxon  divines 

on,  i.  398. 
Trie,  William,  denounces  Servetus  at 

Vienne,  ii.  184,  187. 
Trinity,  Calvin's  doctrine  of,  i.  189; 

Servetus's  doctrine  of,    i.    190,  ii. 

169,  245,248;  Gentilis's  doctrine 

of,  ii.  267. 
Troillet,  one  of  Calvin's  adversaries,  i. 

288,  ii.    138;    Calvin's    discussion 

with,  ii.  138 ;  their  reconciliation, 

ii.  139. 

Unity  in  the  church,  ii.  123;  Calvin's 
anxiety  to  establish,  ii.  124,  126; 
Bullinger's  wish  for,  ii.  125. 


Vergerio 
348 


i,  his  activity  in   Poland,  ii. 


456 


INDEX*. 


Vico,  Marquis  of,  Caraccioli,  life  and 
character  of,  ii.  129;  persecution  of, 
ii.  130. 

Vincentius  of  Paula,  character  of,  i. 
420 ;  compared  with  Calvin,  i.  421  ; 
founds  the  order  of  the  Sisters  of 
Mercy  and  the  House  of  Lazarus, 
i.,421. 

Yiret,  Peter,  life  and  character  of,  i. 
109 ;  Calvin  respecting  the  mar- 
riage  of,  i.  261 ;  Calvin's  friendship 
for,  ii.  74 ;  letters  from  Calvin  to : 
— in  his  banishment,  L 130  ;  on  his 
wife's  sickness,  i.  '265 ;  her  death, 
i.  266 ;  the  state  of  the  Genevese 
church,  i.  335  ;  respecting  the 
plague,  i.  345 ;  his  discipline,  ii. 
61  ;  opinion  of  Servetus,  ii.  /6  ;  of 
the  Consensus  Tigurinus,  ii.  82. 

Virgin  Mary,  the,  worship  of,  i.  419. 

Visitation  of  the  sick,  Calvin's  view 
of,  i.  442. 

Waldenses  in  Provence  and  Piedmont; 
Calvin's  opinion  of,  ii.  1  ;  perse- 
cution of,  ii.  3 ;  Calvin  assists  and 
intercedes  for,  ii.  4;  take  up  arms 
in  their  own  defence,  ii.  371. 

Welsius,  Justus,  disputes  with  Calvin 
on  free-will,  ii.  338. 


Wesley  on  confession,  i.417  ;  on  co 
vents,  i.  421. 

Westphal,  Calvin's  controversy  with, 
i.  290,  ii.  275  ;  Calvin's  work 
against,  ii.  280 ;  his  answer  to  the 
same,  ii.  283;  his  doctrine  of  the 
sacrament,  ii.  286. 

Witchcraft,  i.  308 ;  punishment  of,  in 
Geneva,  i.  363. 

Wolmar,  Calvin  dedicates  his  com- 
mentary on  the  second  Epistle  to 
the  Corinthians  to,  ii.  32. 

Works,  Calvin's  doctrine  respecting:, 
i.  199. 

Worms,  the  diet  of,  i.  230 ;  theolo- 
gical disputes  at,  i.  235 ;  unfor- 
tunate issue  of,  ii.  301. 

Zurichers,  the,  urge  Calvin  to  return 
to  Geneva,  i.  253. 

Zwingli,  life  and  character  of,  i.  87  ; 
his  doctrine  of  the  Lord's  Supper, 
i.  167  ;  Calvin's  opinion  of,  i.  172, 
208 ;  compared  with  Calvin,  i.  208, 
369,  ii.  90 ;  his  doctrine  of  pre- 
destination, i.  209 ;  his  sketch  of 
church  polity,  i.  368  ;  his  opinion 
of  Luther,  ii.  18;  compared  with 
Luther,  ii.  90 ;  his  opinion  of  Ser- 
vetus, ii.  170. 


THE   END. 


PRINTED  BY  RICHARD  AND  JOHN  E.  TAYLOR, 
RED  LION  COURT,  FLEET  STREET. 


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