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Cibrarjp  of trhe  t:  h«olo0ical  ^tminavy 

PRINCETON    .   NEW  JERSEY 
PRESENTED  BY 

Robert  Carter 
1840 


BX  9418  .BA  1836  c.2 
B'eze,  Thaeodore  de,  1519 

1605. 
The  life  of  John  Calvin 


*--:  , 


tll^E    LITE*-^' 


OF 


>vit-....>;^.<iiff:\i: 


JOHN     CALVI  N.    rx 


-^J 


By    THEODORE   BEZA 


TRANSLATED 

BY  FRANCIS  SIBSON,  A.  B. 

OF    TRINITY   COLLEGE,    DUBLIN. 


WITH  COPIOUS   NOTES, 

BY   AN 

AMERICAN   EDITOR. 


PHILADELPHIA: 
J.  WHETHAM,  22  SOUTH  FOURTH  STREET. 

1836. 


Entered  according  to  the  Act  of  Congress  in  the  year  1836,  by  Joseph  Whetham, 
in  the  office  of  the  Clerk  of  the  District  Court  for  the  Eastern  District  of  Penn- 
sylvania. 


PHILADELPHIA ; 

WM.  S.  MARTIEN, 

PRINTER. 


PREFACE 

BY  THE   AMERICAN   EDITOR. 

The  history  of  the  life  of  Calvin,  and  of  the  times  in 
which  he  lived,  should  be  familiar  to  every  protestant,  and 
especially  to  those  who  venerate  the  man,  and  admire  the 
theological  system  which  he  so  ably  defended.  The  odium 
which  some  would  unjustly  c-a?  t  upon  his  name  and  memory, 
should  excite  us  to  cherish  both  with  increased  attachment. 
The  pious  and  candid  among  his  co temporaries,  and  among 
his  immediate  successors  in  life,  appreciated  his  worth,  and 
delighted  to  honour  him.  The  good  loved  hi» — the  wicked 
hated,  because  they  feared  him.  He  was  the  Hercules  of 
the  Reformation,  a  distinguished  and  commanding  leader 
among  the  hosts  of  the  Lord,  a  briUiant  ornament  of  his  age, 
and  of  the  church  of  Christ. 

Violent  opposition  to  religious  opinions,  is  easily  trans- 
ferred to  those  who  hold  them,  or  are  distinguished  by  an 
able  defence  of  them.  So  it  has  fared  with  Calvin,  and,  for 
the  most  part,  with  those  who  are  called  by  his  name ;  at 
whose  charge  the  weightiest  accusations  are  not  unfrequently 
laid  by  those  who  are  at  war  with  the  doctrinal  sentiments, 
and  therefore,  the  character  of  this  great  Reformer.  But  the 
ablest  defence  which  either  can  receive,  is  a  fair  exposition 
of  both.  It  has  therefore  been  thought  desirable  to  furnish 
such  an  exposition,  in  a  form,  and  at  a  price,  suited  to  the 
habits  and  the  means  of  all.  Calvin's  Commentary  on  the 
Epistle  to  the  Romans  has  just  been  published  with  this 
view.  And  the  account  of  this  great  and  good  man*s  life, 
contained  in  the  following  pages,  which  it  was  judged  would 
be  acceptable  to  the  American  churches,  is  noW^  given  to 


IV  PREFACE. 

them,  as  a  compamon  to  his  Commentary.  With  regard  to 
his  Commentary,  it  should  in  justice  be  observed,  that  his 
brevity  and  comparative  silence  on  some  points  now  much 
disputed,  are  explained  by  the  fact,  that  those  doctrines 
which  were  called  in  question,  and  most  discussed  at  the 
time  he  wrote,  naturally  claimed  his  special  attention,  and 
loudly  called  for  a  more  particular  exposition  and  elaborate 
defence.  This  remark  will  apply  with  justice  to  all  his 
theological  writings. 

The  author  of  the  life  now  presented  to  the  public,  was 
Calvin's  cotemporary,  and  colleague  at  Geneva.  According 
to  his  own  statement,  he  relates  what  came  under  his  own 
observation.  He  doubtless  gathered  much  from  Calvin  him- 
self, and  from  his  immediate  family  and  friends.  This  cir- 
cumstance is  adapted  to  inspire  the  reader  with  confidence 
in  his  statements,  and  to  impart  to  their  perusal  additional 
pleasure. 

It  was  judged  that  the  notes  now  appended  to  the  work, 
would  add  somewhat  of  interest,  if  not  value,  to  the  present 
edition.  And  it  is  hoped,  that  it  will  find  an  appropriate 
place  in  the  libraries  of  such  Sunday  Schools,  at  least,  as  are 
connected  with  Presbyterian  churches,  and  in  the  library  of 
every  Presbyterian  family. 

The  Translator's  notes  are  designated  by  the  contraction 
Tr.  The  American  Editor  found  it  impracticable  to  place 
all  his  notes  in  the  body  of  the  work,  and  has,  therefore,  put 
a  few  of  them,  in  consequence  of  their  length,  at  the  end  of 
the  life ;  and  referred  to  them  by  letters  of  the  alphabet,  as 
they  occur. 

The  work  and  the  reader  are  commended  to  the  favour 
and  blessing  of  that  God,  whom  Calvin  delighted  to  serve  on 
earth,  and  to  whose  praise  and  glory  he  now  sings  the  new 
song  of  redeeming  love. 

Philadelphia,  Feb.  17, 1836. 


THE    LIFE 


OF 


JOHN    CALVIN. 


John  Calvin,  Cauvin,  or  Chauvin,  was  born  at  Noyon,  a 
celebrated  city  in  Picardy,  or  the  country  adjoining,  on  the 
10th  of  July,  1509.*  His  father,  Gerard  Calvin,  and  liis 
mother,  Jeanne  Franc,  were  in  respectable  circumstances, 
and  of  virtuous  unblemished  character.!  His  father  possess- 
ed a  considerable  share  of  judgment,  and  of  skill  in  giving 
advice,  and  was  therefore  beloved  by  many  of  the  nobility  in 

*  The  Romanists  cast  many  reflections  on  Calvin,  for  changing 
his  name  from  Cauvin,  as  it  is  in  the  dialect  of  Picardy,  his  native 
province,  or  Chauvin,  as  it  is  in  French.  Calvin,  foreseeing  the 
dissentions  that  would  arise  on  the  spread  of  the  Reformed 
doctrines,  with  the  provident  spirit  of  a  great  genius,  prepared 
his  learned  and  elaborate  Commentary  on  Seneca's  Epistle  de 
dementia,  in  order  to  impress  on  the  mind  of  Francis,  the  king, 
the  mild  and  moderating  principles  of  clemency.  As  this  work 
was  written  in  Latin,  the  author,  of  course,  latinized  his  name,  by 
writing  it  Calvinus,  instead  of  Chauvin.  And  in  this  he  did  no 
more  than  was  done  by  Erasmus,  Luther,  Melancthon,  and  by 
almost  every  author  of  any  distinction  at  that  period.  Calvin, 
having  become  thus  known  by  his  Latin  name,  very  prudently  re- 
tained it  through  Ufe,  in  order  that  there  might  be  no  mistake  as 
to  the  authorship  of  his  other  works. 

f  According  to  the  Encyclopaedia  Britannica,  Calvin's  father 
was  a  cooper  by  trade. 

1 


LIFE     OF    CALVIN. 

that  part  of  the  country;  on  which  account  his  son,  though 
at  the  expense  of  the  father,  received  a  very  liberal  educa- 
tion with  the  children  of  the  Mommors,  a  family  of  the  first 
rank  in  that  place.  He  afterwards  accompanied  them  to 
Paris  for  the  purpose  of  prosecuting  his  studies,  where  he 
had  for  his  tutor,  in  the  College  de  la  Marche,  Mathurin 
Cordier,  distinguished  for  learning  and  strict  integrity.  He 
had  always  been  esteemed  in  a  great  number  of  the  schools 
of  France  as  an  excellent  teacher  of  youth,  and  died  at  Ge- 
neva, September  8th,  1564,  (the  same  year  with  Calvin,) 
aged  85,  in  the  discharge  of  his  professional  duties  as  in- 
structor of  the  youth  of  that  city. (I.) 

Calvin  was  removed  from  the  College  de  la  Marche  to 
that  of  Montaigu,  and  had  for  his  tutor  a  Spaniard  of  no 
small  attainments  in  learning,  who  cultivated  with  so  much 
success  the  talents  of  his  pupil,  naturally  very  acute,  as  to 
advance  him  from  the  grammar  class,  in  consequence  of  sur- 
passing his  schoolfellows  in  this  branch  of  education,  to  the 
study  of  logic,  and  of  other,  as  they  are  termed,  liberal  arts. 
His  father  had  from  the  beginning  destined  Calvin  for  the 
study  of  divinity,  which  he  considered  to  be  congenial  with 
the  bent  of  his  son's  inclination,  because  even  in  his  tender 
years  he  was  in  a  surprising  manner  devoted  to  religion,  and 
a  stern  reprover  of  all  the  vices  of  his  companions.  Some 
Catholics,  whose  testimony  cannot  be  doubted,  acquainted 
me  with  this  fact  many  years  after  Calvin  had  attained  great 
celebrity. 

His  father,  therefore,  as  he  had  destined  his  son  for  divi- 
nity, obtained  from  the  Bishop  of  Noyon  a  benefice  in  the 
Cathedral  church,  as  it  is  termed,  of  that  city,  and  afterwards 
the  parochial  cure  of  the  village  Pont  I'Eveque,  the  birth- 
place of  Gerard  Calvin  the  father,  from  whence  he  had  sub- 
sequently removed  to  the  neighbouring  city  of  Noyon.  It 
is  certain  that  John  Calvin  delivered  some  sermons  at  Pont 
I'Eveque  to  the  people  before  he  left  France,  or  received 
under  the  papal  hierarchy  orders  in  any  other  way  than  by 


LIFE     OF     CALVIN.  d 

tonsure.^  This  plan  was  interrupted  by  a  change  in  the 
mind  of  both,  for  the  father  thought  the  law  opened  a  surer 
road  to  riches  and  honours,!  and  the  son,  being  instnicted  in 

*  The  Tonsure  in  the  Romish  Church  may  be  received  after  the 
age  of  seven  years.  It  is  the  first  part  of  the  ceremony  of  ordina- 
tion. The  candidate  presents  himself  in  a  black  cassock  before 
the  Bishop,  with  a  surplice  on  his  right  arm,  and  a  lighted  taper 
in  his  hand.  He  kneels,  and  the  Bishop,  standing  covered  with 
his  mitre,  repeats  a  prayer  and  several  verses  from  the  Scripture. 
The  Bishop  then  sitting,  cuts  five  different  parcels  of  hair  from  the 
head  of  the  candidate,  who  repeats  these  words — The  Lord  is  my 
inheritance.  Putting  off  his  mitre,  the  Bishop  then  says  a  prayer 
over  the  person  tonsured — an  anthem  is  sung  by  the  choir;  then 
a  prayer,  in  the  middle  of  which  the  Bishop  puts  the  surplice  on 
the  candidate  for  orders,  and  says,  may  the  Lord  clothe  thee  with 
thy  new  name.  The  ceremony  is  closed  by  the  candidate's  pre- 
senting the  wax  taper  to  the  Bishop,  who  gives  him  his  blessing. 
Dr.  Kurd's  Rites  and  Cerem.  p.  282. 

t  Calvin,  in  his  Epistle  prefatory  to  his  Commentaries  on  the 
Psalms,  gives  the  following  account  of  the  change  of  mind  here 
spoken  of : 

"  As  David  was  raised  from  the  sheepfold  to  the  highest  dignity 
of  government,  so  God  has  dignified  me,  derived  from  an  obscure 
and  humble  origin,  with  the  high  and  honourable  ofiice  of  Minis- 
ter and  Preacher  of  the  Gospel.  My  father  had  destined  me,  from 
my  childhood,  for  theology.  But,  observing  how  extensively  the 
science  of  the  law  enriched  its  professors,  he  suddenly  changed  his 
purpose,  and  recalled  me  from  the  study  of  philosophy  to  that  of 
jurisprudence.  In  this  I  obeyed  the  will  of  my  father,  and  endea- 
voured to  give  faithful  attention.  God,  however,  with  the  reins 
of  his  secret  Providence,  eventually  turned  my  course  m  a  diffe- 
rent direction.  At  my  first  entrance  on  that  study,  I  was  indeed 
too  pertinaciously  addicted  to  the  superstitions  of  the  Papacy,  to 
be  easily  drawn  out  of  such  deep  mire ;  and  my  mind  too  firmly 
rooted  in  those  habits,  to  yield  with  docility  to  a  change  in  my 
studies  so  entire  and  unexpected.  At  length,  however,  having 
experienced  some  taste  of  the  pure  doctrines,  I  was  inflamed  w  ith 
such  zeal  to  progress  farther,  that,  although  I  did  not  reject  ray 


4  LIFE     OF     CALVIN. 

the  pure  religion  by  one  of  his  relations,  Robert  d' Olivet,  to 
whom  the  French  church  is  indebted  for  a  translation  of  the 
Bible  from  Hebrew,  printed  at  Neuchatel,  devoted  himself 
to  the  study  of  the  Holy  Scriptures,  and  becoming  disgusted 
with  the  superstitions  of  the  church  of  Rome,  began  to  de- 
tach himself  from  every  sacred  office  in  her  communion. (H.) 
/       Calvin  went  therefore  to  Orleans  for  the  purpose  of  pro- 
'    secuting  his  studies  in  civil  law,  which  was  taught  by  Peter 
de  I'Etoile,  the  most  distinguished  of  all  the  French  civilians; 
and  his  progress  in  a  short  time  was  so  surprising  that,  as 
he  frequently  supplied  the  chairs  of  the  professors  them- 
selves, he  was  esteemed  a  teacher  rather  than  a  scholar. 
The  degree  of  Doctor,  free  of  expense,  was  offered  him 
when  on  the  point  of  leaving,  with  the  unanimous  and  most 
flattering  testimony  of  all  the  professors  to  his  merits,  and 
his  claims  upon  the  University.     In  the  midst  of  his  other 
labours,  he  made  so  great  a  progress  in  the  study  of  the 
Scriptures,  which  he  at  the  same  time  diligently  prosecuted, 
that  all  those  who  were  zealous  to  be  instructed  in  the  re- 
formed religion,  frequently  applied  to  him  for  information, 
and  were  struck  with  deep  admiration  of  the  extent  of  his 
erudition,  and  of  the  ardour  of  his  pursuits.     Some  of  his 
surviving  associates  and  fellow-students  assert,  that  he  was 
accustomed  at  this  period  of  his  life,  after  taking  a  very  fru- 
gal supper,  to  pursue  his  lucubrations  till  midnight,  and  em- 
ploy his  morning  hours  in  bed,  reviewing,  and  as  it  were, 
digesting  the  studies  of  the   preceding  night;   nor  did  he 
easily  allow  any  interruption  to  this  train  of  meditation. 
These  long-continued  watchings  assisted  him  indeed  in  at- 
taining solid  erudition,  and  improving  an  excellent  memory, 
but  there  is  every  reason  for  thinking  that  in  return  he  con- 
other  studies,  yet  I  pursued  them  only  in  a  cold  and  indifferent 
manner.     One  year  had  not  elapsed,  before  all  those,  who  were 
desirous  of  the  knowledge  of  the  purer  doctrines,  flocked  to  me 
for  instruction,  while  as  yet  I  was  myself  a  mere  beginner  in  that 
school.  " 


LIFEOFCALVIN.  O 

traded  a  weakness  of  the  digestive  organs,  productive  of 
various  diseases,  and  finally  even  of  an  untimely  death. 

Calvin  determined  to  attend  the  lectures  of  Andrew  Alciat, 
the  first  civilian  without  doubt  of  the  age,  who  in  conse- 
quence of  accepting  an  invitation  from  Italy  to  the  University 
of  Bourges,  settled  there,  and  much  increased  its  celebrity 
by  his  talents.  During  his  residence  at  this  city,  Calvin 
formed  an  intimate  friendship,  on  account  of  his  religion  and 
learning,  with  Melchior  Wolmar,  a  native  of  Rothweil  in 
Germany,  and  at  that  time  public  professor  of  Greek  in  Bour- 
ges. It  affords  me  very  great  pleasure  to  speak  of  this  dis- 
tinguished scholar,  because  he  was  my  sole  preceptor  from 
childhood  to  mature  age  ;  nor  can  I  ever  sufficiently  praise 
his  learning,  piety,  and  other  virtues,  but  especially  his  ad- 
mirable skill  in  the  instruction  of  youth.  By  his  advice  and 
assistance,  Calvin  attained  anacquaintance  with  Greek  litera- 
ture, and  was  desirous  to  acknowledge  the  remembrance  of 
his  obligation  to  all  future  ages,  by  dedicating  to  Wolmar  his 
Commentaries  on  the  2d  Epistle  to  the  Corinthians.  While 
Calvin  pursued  his  professional  studies  he  never  neglected 
the  Holy  Scriptures,  and  occasionally  preached  at  Ligniers,  a 
small  town  in  the  Province  of  Berri,  in  the  presence,  and 
with  the  approbation  of  the  head  of  that  department.  (III.) 

^The  intelligence  of  the  sudden  death  of  his  father  recalled 
Calvin  from  Bourges  to  his  native  country.  Not  long  after 
he  removed  from  Noyon  to  Paris,  and  in  his  twenty-fourth 
year  published  his  excellent  Commentary  on  Seneca's  Epis-  X 
tie  concerning  Clemency.*  Calvin  was  certainly  very  much 
delighted  with  this  very  serious  author,  whose  sentiments 
evidently  harmonized  with  his  own  moral  character.  (IV.) 


*  Bayle,  in  his  Dictionary,  says  that  Beza  is  mistaken  as  to  the 
age  of  Calvin  when  he  published  his  Commentary  on  Seneca's 
Epistle.  Bayle  says  the  Epistle  Dedicatory  is  dated  from  Paris, 
April  4th  1532,  and  therefore,  that  Calvin  was  but  twenty-three, 
and  not  twenty-four  years  old,  as  Beza  states. 

1* 


D  LIFEOFCALVIN. 

Calvin,  during  the  few  months  he  was  at  Paris,  became 
acquainted  with  all  the  zealous  supporters  of  the  reformed 
religion ;  and  we  have  frequently  heard  him  afterwards 
praise,  among  the  rest,  Steven  de  la  Forge,  a  distinguished 
merchant,  subsequently  burned  for  the  name  of  Christ,  on 
account  of  his  remarkable  piety.  He  has  also  eulogized  this 
martyr  in  his  treatise  against  the  libertines.  Calvin,  from  that 
time,  abandoning  all  other  studies,  devoted  himself  to  the  ser- 
vice of  God,  to  the  very  great  satisfaction  of  all  those  pious 
characters,  who  then  held  their  meetings  privately  in  Paris. 

Not  long  after  this  an  opportunity  presented  itself  for  the 
display  of  his  strenuous  efforts  in  the  cause  of  the  reformed 
religion.  Nicholas  Cop,  son  of  William  Cop,  physician  to 
the  king,  and  a  citizen  of  Basle,  was  at  that  time  appointed 
in  the  usual  manner,  rector  of  the  University  of  Paris.  Cal- 
vin prepared  for  him  an  oration  to  be  delivered  according  to 
custom,  on  the  1st  of  November,  when  the  Roman  Catholics 
celebrated  the  feast  of  All  Saints  ;  and  in  this  he  discussed 
the  subject  of  religion  with  greater  purity  and  more  boldness, 
than  the  hierarchy  had  before  experienced.  This  excited  the 
displeasure  of  the  Sorbonne,  and  the  parliament  was  so  much 
offended  as  to  cite  the  rector  to  appear.  At  first  the  rector 
prepared,  with  his  officers,  to  attend  the  summons,  but  be- 
ing admonished  by  friends,  as  he  was  on  his  way,  to  avoid 
his  adversaries,  he  returned  home,  left  the  kingdom,  and  re- 
tired to  Basle.  A  party  proceeded  to  Calvin's  lodgings  in 
the  College  de  Fortret,  but  happily  not  finding  him  at  home, 
they  seized  among  his  papers  a  considerable  number  of  let- 
ters from  his  friends,  and  the  lives  of  several  of  them  were 
thus  exposed  to  very  imminent  danger.*    Such  was  the  se- 

*  Maimbourg,  in  his  History  of  Calvinism,  p.  58,  states  that 
"the  Lieutenant  Morin,  went  well  accompanied  to  Cardinal  le 
Moine's  College,  where  Calvin  lodged,  to  sieze  him  :  but  coming 
into  his  chamber,  they  found  he  had  escaped  out  at  the  window  by 
the  help  of  his  sheets,  which  were  left  tied  to  it."  On  this  Bayle 
remarks  that  *'  if  this  account  were  true,  (which  appears  to  be 


LIFEOF     CALVIN.  7 

verity  of  the  judges  against  the  church  of  Christ  at  that  pe- 
riod, and  the  violence  of  John  Morin  was  peculiarly  striking, 
whose  name  is  yet  distinguished  for  uncommon  cruelty. 
The  queen  of  Navarre,  only  sister  of  Francis  1st,  a  princess 
of  extraordinary  talents,  afforded  the  reformer,  on  this  occa- 
sion, marked  protection,  and  the  Lord  dispelled  the  storm  by 
her  intercession.  She  invited  Calvin  to  her  court,  received 
him  with  great  honour,  and  gave  him  an  audience.  (V.) 

Calvin  left  Paris,  went  to  Saintonge,  and  assisted  one  of 
his  friends,  at  whose  request  he  composed  some  short  Chris- 
tian exhortations,  which  were  presented  to  certain  parishes 
to  be  read  as  homilies,  that  the  people  might  gradually  be  en- 
ticed to  a  zeal  in  the  investigation  of  the  truth.*  About  this 
time  he  came  to  Nerac  in  Gascony,  on  a  visit  to  James  le  , 
Fevre,  of  Estaples,  now  far  advanced  in  years,  who  had  been 
defended  by  the  same  queen  of  Navarre,  when  in  danger  of 
his  life  from  the  vain  and  foolish  doctors  of  the  Sorbonne,  for 
his  having  introduced  great  improvements  in  mathematics 
and  other  branches  of  philosophy  in  the  University  of  Paris, 
after  a  long  and  very  violent  opposition,  and  for  his  assisting 
to  rout  out  the  scholastic  theology.  She  had  also  provided 
for  him  in  Nerac  a  town  within  her  jurisdiction.  The  good 
old  man  received  and  saw  young  Calvin  with  great  kind-  ■ 
ness,  and  predicted  that  he  would  become  a  distinguished  in-  * 
strument  in  restoring  the  kingdom  of  heaven  in  France.  (VI.) 

Not  long  after  Calvin  returned  to  Paris,  as  if  called  there 

founded  on  Papyrius  Masso's  Life  of  Calvin,  p.  414,)  Baza  would  be 
a  very  ill  historian ;  for  he  says  only  that  Calvin  happened  to  be 
then  abroad,  quo  forte  domi  non  reperto.  Varilla's  account  is  the 
same  with  Maimbourg's,  and  he  accompanies  it  with  abundance 
of  circumstances." 

*  The  name  of  this  friend  of  Calvin,  was  Lewis  du  Tillet.  He 
was  a  brother  to  John  du  Tillet,  Register  of  the  Parliament  of 
Paris,  and  also  to  another  Du  Tillet,  Bishop  of  Meaux.  Bayle — 
Drelincourfs  Defence  of  Calvin-  p.  40. 


8  LI  F  E    OF    CALY  IN. 

by  the  hand  of  God  himself;  for  the  impious  Servetus  was 
even  then  disseminating  his  heretical  poison  against  the  sa- 
cred Trinity  in  that  city.  He  professed  to  desire  nothing 
more  earnestly  than  to  have  an  opportunity  for  entering  into 
discussion  with  Calvin,  who  waited  long  for  Servetus,  the 
place  and  time  for  an  interview  having  b^en  appointed,  with 
great  danger  to  his  own  life,  since  he  was  at  that  time  under 
the  necessity  of  being  concealed  on  account  of  the  incensed 
rage  of  his  adversaries.  Calvin  was  disappointed  in  his  ex- 
pectations of  meeting  Servetus,  who  wanted  courage  to  endure 
even  the  sight  of  his  opponent. 

The  year  1534  was  distinguished  by  many  horrid  cruelties 
inflicted  upon  the  reformers.  Gerard  de  Rousel,  Doctor  of 
the  Sorbonne,  affording  at  that  time  great  assistance  to  the 
study  of  religion,  and  Couraut,  of  the  order  of  St.  Augustin, 
who,  having  been  for  two  years  under  the  patronage  of  the 
queen  of  Navarre,  promoted  very  much  the  cause  of  the  gos- 
pel in  Paris,  were  not  only  dragged  out  of  their  pulpits,  but 
thrown  into  prison.  The  indignation  of  the  infatuated  Francis 
1st,  was  so  much  enraged  on  account  of  certain  papers  against 
the  mass  dispersed  through  the  city,  and  affixed  to  his  cham- 
ber door,  that  having  appointed  a  public  procession,  he  walk- 
ed uncovered  before  it,  bearing  a  lighted  torch,  as  if  in  ex- 
piation of  the  crime,  accompanied  by  his  three  sons.  He 
ordered  eight  martyrs  to  be  burned  alive  in  four  principal 
quarters  of  the  city,  and  declared  with  a  solemn  oath  that  he 
would  not  spare  his  own  children,  if  by  any  chance  infected 
with  these,  as  he  called  them,  most  execrable  heresies.  (VH.) 

Calvin,  beholding  with  grief  such  a  spectacle  of  woe,  deter- 
mined to  leave  France,  after  he  had  first  published  at  Orleans 
an  excellent  little  work,  intitled  "  Psychopannychia,"  against 
an  error  which  commenced  in  the  earliest  ages  of  the  church, 
and  was  again  revived  by  those  who  taught  that  the  soul 
sleeps  when  in  a  state  of  separation  from  the  body. 

With  an  intention  of  leaving  France,  he  went  by  way  of 
Lorraine  towards  Basle,  with  the  young  gentleman  at  whose 


LIFE     OF     CALVIN 


9 


house,  as  already  stated,  he  resided  at  Saintonge.  Near 
Metz  he  was  plundered  by  a  servant,  who  saddled  one  of  the 
strongest  horses,  and  fled  with  so  much  speed  that  he  eould 
not  be  apprehended,  after  he  had  perfidiously  robbed  his 
masters  of  all  things  necessary  for  their  journey,  and  reduced 
them  to  great  difficulties.  The  other  servant,  however,  lent 
them  ten  crowns,  which  enabled  them  to  proceed  with  con- 
siderable inconvenience  to  Strasburgh,  and  thence  to  Basle 
He  formed  an  intimate  friendship  in  this  city  with  Simon 
Grinee,  and  Wolfgang  Capito,  men  of  the  greatest  celebrity, 
and  devoted  himself  to  the  study  of  the  Hebrew  language. 
Though  very  desirous  to  do  his  utmost  that  he  might  remain 
in  obscurity,  as  appears  from  one  of  Bucer's  letters  to  Calvin 
the  following  year,  he  was  under  the  necessity  of  publishing 
what  he  called  the  Institutes  of  the  Christian  Religion,  and 
the  rudiment  of  much  the  largest  of  his  works.  For  when 
tlje  Gerra^an  princes,  who  had  supported  the  gospel,  and 
whose  friendship  he  then  courted,  were  indignant  at  Francis 
1st,  for  the  murder  of  his  Protestant  subjects,  the  only  wise 
remedy  proposed  by  Bellay-Lange,  which  he  resolved  to 
adopt,  was  his  declaration  that  he  had  merely  punished  the 
Anabaptists,  who  boast  only  in  their  own  spirit  as  the  divine 
word,  and  despise  all  magistrates.  Calvin,  feeling  indignant 
at  the  calumny  with  which  the  new  religion  was  branded 
seized  this  opportunity  for  publishing  what  I  consider  an  in- 
comparable work.*     He  prefixed  also  an  admirable  preface 

*  Calvin,  in  his  preface  to  his  Commentary  on  the  Psalms,  thus 
states  his  reason  for  publishing  his  Institutes. 

"  While  I  lived  unknown  and  secluded  at  Basil,  the  burning  of 
many  pious  men  in  France  excited,  throughout  Germany,  severe 
indignation.  In  order  to  remove  these  resentments,  wicked  and 
false  pamphlets  were  dispersed,  in  which  it  was  asserted,  that 
those,  who  were  thus  cruelly  burnt,  were  only  Anabaptists,  and 
some  turbulent  persons  who,  by  their  perverse  conceits,  were  at- 
tempting to  overthrow  not  only  religion,  but  the  whole  order  of 


^y 


10 


LIFE     OF    CALVIN, 


to  the  king  himself,  and  if  he  could  from  any  circumstance 
have  been  induced  to  read  it,  I  am  either  very  much  mistaken 

civil  government.  Perceiving  that,  by  this  artifice,  the  crafty 
courtiers  of  Francis  designed  to  cover  the  crime  of  shedding  inno- 
cent blood,  and  to  cast  a  false  reproach  on  those  holy  martyrs,  and 
also  from  that  time  to  secure  to  themselves,  under  this  pretence, 
the  privilege  of  persecuting  the  Reformers,  even  to  death,  without 
the  hazard  of  exciting  the  resentment  or  compassion  of  any  on  ac- 
count of  their  sufferings,  I  determined  that  my  silence  could  not 
be  excused  from  perfidy ;  and  that  it  was  my  duty  to  oppose  those 
proceedings  with  all  my  power. 

The  reasons  for  my  publishing  the  Institutes  were  : — First, 
that  I  might  vindicate,  from  unjust  reproaches,  those  brethren 
whose  death  was  precious  in  the  sight  of  the  Lord.  Secondly,  be- 
cause similar  punishments  threatened  many  defenceless  and  op- 
pressed persons,  for  whom  I  was  anxious  to  excite,  at  least,  some 
compassion  and  solicitude  among  foreign  nations.  This  work  was 
not  then  so  full  and  laborious  as  it  now  is,  sed  breve  duntaxat  Eh- 
chiridion  tunc  in  lucem  prodiit,  but  a  short  Manual  only  was  then 
published,  having  solely  in  view,  to  testify  the  faith  of  those  whom 
I  saw  wickedly  put  to  death,  by  the  impious  and  perfidious  cour- 
tiers of  the  king.  Besides,  that  I  by  no  means  sought  to  increase 
my  own  fame,  is  evident  from  my  immediate  departure  from  Basil, 
when  as  yet  no  one  in  that  city  knew  me  to  be  the  author.  This 
I  continued  to  conceal,  as  it  was  my  determined  purpose  to  be  un- 
known, until  I  was  retained  at  Geneva,  not  so  much  by  counsel 
and  intreaty,  as  by  the  formidable  and  solemn  injunction  of  Wil- 
liam Farel,  which  arrested  me,  not  otherwise  than  if  God  from 
Heaven  had  laid  his  powerful  hand  upon  me." 

Calvin  embraced  this  opportunity  to  show  that  the  doctrines  of 
the  Reformation  were  not  those  taught  and  held  by  the  Anabap- 
tists ;  and  also,  that  it  was  not  against  these  fanatics  alone  that  the 
persecution  of  Francis  was  directed. 

Although  most  of  the  editions  of  this  work  have  the  date  August 
1, 1536.  Yet  Bayle,  who  examined  the  matter  carefully,  says, 
with  Dupin,  that  the  first  edition  was  published  at  Basil,  August 
1, 1535.  Calvin's  own  statement  accords  with  this  date.  And  it 
appears  that  the  custom  of  booksellers  was,  to  put  the  date  of  the 


LIFE     OF    CALVIN.  11 

or  a  great  wound  would,  even  at  that  period,  have  been  in- 
flicted on  the  whore  of  Babylon.  For  the  king  differed  in 
many  respects  from  his  successors ;  he  was  a  very  acute  judge 
of  the  situation  of  affairs,  possessed  an  excellent  talent  in  de- 
tecting the  truth,  was  a  patron  of  learned  men,  and  his  incli- 
nation did  not  lead  him  to  hate  persons  of  the  reformed  reli- 
gion. But  neither  his  own  sins,  nor  the  sins  of  his  people, 
which  were  even  then  menaced  with  the  speedy  arrival  of 
God's  indignation,  allowed  him  to  hear,  much  less  to  read,  this 
work. 

After  completing  his  Institutes,  and  faithfully  performing 
the  duties  he  owed  his  native  country,  he  felt  a  desire  to  pay, 
as  if  at  a  distance,  his  respects  to  Italy,  and  to  visit  Renee, 
the  Duchess  of  Ferrara,  and  daughter  of  Louis  r2th  king  of 
France,  whose  piety  was  at  that  time  very  much  praised. 
He  therefore,  waited  upon  her,  and  at  the  same  time  so  con- 
firmed her  in  a  sincere  zeal  for  religion,  to  the  utmost  of  his 
abilities  according  to  the  existing  state  of  affairs,  that  she 
continued  ever  after  to  entertain  a  sincere  affection  for  him 
during  his  life  ;  and  now  also,  as  his  survivor,  exhibits  strik- 
ing marks  of  her  gratitude  after  his  death.  (VIII.) 

From  Italy,  whose  territories  he  entered,  to  use  his  own 

next  year  to  a  work  printed  off  toward  the  end  of  August.  The 
first  edition  was  but  a  rough  sketch  or  outline  of  what  the  author 
afterwards  produced.  The  second  edition  appeared  in  1536,  at 
Strasburgh,  in  folio,  and  was  both  larger  and  more  correct  than 
the  first.  The  third  edition  was  printed  at  the  same  place,  in  1543, 
and  was  still  more  complete.  A  fourth  edition  also  came  out  at 
Strasburgh,  with  considerable  improvements.  A  fifth  edition  in 
4to  was  published  at  Geneva,  in  1550,  corrected  in  many  places, 
and  having  two  indexes.  In  1558,  both  the  Latin  and  French 
editions  received  the  author's  last  revision.  Since  that  period, 
the  work  has  gone  through  a  vast  number  of  editions,  and  has  been 
translated  into  almost  all  the  modern  languages;  a  circumstance 
which  alone  is  sufficient  to  demonsrate  its  real  excellence. 


12  LIFE     OF     CALVIN. 

language,  only  that  he  might  leave  them,  Calvin  returned  to 
France,  where  he  settled  all  his  affairs,  and  brought  along 
with  him  Anthony  Calvin,  his  only  surviving  brother.  His 
intention  was  to  return  to  Basle  or  Strasburgh,  but  the  wars 
compelled  him  to  make  his  route  through  Dauphiny  and  Sa- 
voy, all  other  countries  having  been  completely  closed  against 
his  passage.  This  was  the  cause  of  his  coming  without  his 
own  intention  to  Geneva,  where,  as  future  events  proved,  he 
was  conducted  by  a  divine  hand.  For  the  gospel  had  a  short 
time  before  been  wonderfully  introduced  into  that  city  by  the 
joint  exertions  of  two  very  distinguished  characters,  William 
Farel,  a  gentleman  of  Dauphiny,  educated,  not  in  a  monas- 
tery, as  was  reported  by  some,  but  in  the  academy  of  James 
Fabre,  of  Estaples,  and  Peter  Viret,  of  Orb,  in  the  Territory 
of  Berne,  and  Friburgh,  whose  labours  were  afterwards  most 
abundantly  blessed  of  the  Lord.  Calvin,  passing  through 
Geneva,  visited  these  good  men  as  a  matter  of  course,  on 
which  occasion  Farel,  with  his  usual  heroic  spirit,  after  urg- 
ing him  at  some  length  to  continue,  and  share  their  labours 
at  Geneva  without  going  farther,  thus  addressed  Calvin, 
when  he  manifested  no  disposition  to  comply  with  the  pro- 
posal:  "I  denounce  unto  you,  in  the  name  of  Almighty 
God,  that  if,  under  the  pretext  of  prosecuting  your  studies, 
you  refuse  to  labour  with  us  in  this  work  of  the  Lord,  the 
Lord  will  curse  you,  as  seeking  yourself  rather  than  Christ." 
Calvin,  terrified  by  this  dreadful  denunciation,  surrendered 
himself  to  the  disposal  of  the  Presbytery*  and  magistrates,  by 

*  Here  we  find  that  a  Presbytery  existed  in  Geneva,  before 
Calvin  went  there ;  yet  it  is  asserted  by  some  violent  advocates  of 
prelacy,  that  Presbyterianism  originated  with  Calvin.  But  it  is  a 
fact  that  Presbyterianism  was  introduced  into  Geneva,  long  before 
Calvin  ever  saw  that  city,  and  when  he  was  not  more  than  nine- 
teen years  of  age.  Dr.  Heylin,  in  his  History  of  Presbyterianism, 
p.  4 — 9,  and  who  was  a  very  zealous  and  high-toned  Episcopalian, 
says  that  after  the  religious  system  of  Berne  had  been  altered,  two 
men  exceedingly  studious  of  the  Reformation,  namely,  Viret  and 


LIFE     OF     CALVIN.  13 

whose  votes,  and  the  consent  of  the  people,  he  was  chosen 
not  only  preacher,  which  at  first  he  had  refused,  but  also  ap- 
pointed professor  of  divinity,  which  office  he  accepted  in  the 
month  of  August,  1536.* 

Fare],  laboured  to  effect  the  same  changes  in  Geneva,  which  they 
did,  after  the  expulsion  of  the  Bishop  of  Geneva;  and  that  Calvin, 
when  he  came  to  Geneva,  heartily  approved  of  what  they  had 
done. 

Calvin,  in  his  letter  to  Cardinal  Sadolet,  says,  that  the  religious 
system  of  Geneva  had  been  instituted,  audits  ecclesiastical  govern- 
ment reformed,  before  he  was  called  thither.  But  what  had  been 
done  by  Farel  and  Viret,  he  heartily  approved,  and  strove,  by  all 
means  in  his  power,  to  preserve  and  establish. 

It  is  equally  clear,  from  the  above  statement  of  Beza,  that  the 
settlement  of  a  minister  was  considered  as  a  proper  act  of  the 
Presbytery. 

*  It  may  be  presumed  that  when  Beza  wrote  the  account  of  Cal- 
vin's entering  on  the  ministerial  office,  he  did  not  even  dream 
that  any  one,  either  from  ignorance  or  effrontery,  would  call  in 
question  or  deny  Calvin's  ordination.  But  what  Beza  did  not  proba- 
bly even  dream  of,  two  doctors  in  America,  after  about  two  centuries 
and  a  half,  have  called  in  question,  and  it  seems  denied.  Dr.  Learn- 
ing may  be  excused  for  not  construing  the  Latin  of  Beza ;  but  Dr. 
Bowden,  unless  by  choosing  to  lose  himself  in  his  own  prejudices, 
he  has  passed  beyond  the  limits  of  common  testimony,  and  escaped 
out  of  the  entire  dominion  of  argument,  may  be  requested  to  read 
in  the  original  Latin,  Beza's  Life  of  Calvin,  Anno  1536.  Let  him 
examine  also  Calvin's  Preface  to  his  Commentary  on  the  Psalms, 
and  his  answer  to  Sadolet,  a  short  extract  from  which  shall  be  here 
given  in  a  fair  translation. — "  When  I  was  called  to  Geneva,  the 
reformed  religion  was  already  established,  and  the  order  of  the 
Church  corrected.  I  not  only  approved  by  my  voice  of  those  things  ./ 
which  had  been  done  by  Farel  and  Viret,  but  as  much  as  I  was 
able,  I  laboured  to  preserve  and  confirm  that  cause  in  which  I  was 
by  necessity  united  with  them.  I  could  have  easily  forgiven  you  any 
personal  injury,  out  of  respect  to  your  office  and  literature;  but  when 
I  see  my  ministry,  which  I  doubt  not  was  founded  and  sanctioned  by 

2 


14  LIFE     OF     CALVIN. 

This  year  is  also  distinguished  by  a  closer  alliance  be- 
tween Geneva  and  Berne,  and  bv  the  accession  of  Lausanne 


the  vocationof  God,  wounded  through  my  side,  it  would  be  perfidy 
and  not  patience,  if  I  should  remain  silent  and  dissemble  in  such  a 
case.  /  discharged  first  the  office  of  Professor  and  afterwards 
that  of  Pastor  in  that  Church.  And  I  contend  that  I  accepted  of 
that  charge  having  the  authority  of  a  lawful  vocation.  With  how 
great  fidelity  and  reverential  fear  I  performed  my  duty,  1  have  no 
occasion  now  to  testify  in  detail.  I  will  not  arrogate  to  myself 
any  peculiar  discernment,  erudition,  prudence,  address  or  even 
diligence.  I  am,  however  conscious,  before  Christ  my  judge,  and 
all  his  Angels,  that  I  walked  in  that  church  with  the  sincerity 
which  is  becoming  in  the  work  of  the  Lord.  On  this  point,  all 
good  men  will  give  me  the  most  luminous  testimony.  Since  then 
this  ministry  has  been  established  by  the  Lord,  if  I  should  silently 
suffer  it  to  be  slandered  and  abused  by  you,  who  would  not  repro- 
bate such  silence  as  a  prevarication  %  Every  one  sees,  that  I  am 
now  pledged  by  the  high  responsibility  of  m?/  office,  and  that  I  can- 
not escape  the  obligation  which  binds  me  to  defend  myself  against 
your  criminations,  unless  I  deliberately,  and  with  open  perfidy, 
abandon  and  betray  the  work  which  the  Lord  has  committed  to  my 
charge.  But  though  I  am,  at  present,  freed  from  the  pastoral 
charge  of  the  Genevese  church,  still  this  is  no  reason  why  I  should 
not  embrace  it  with  paternal  affection,  since  God  once  put  me  in 
authority  over  it,  and  bound  me  to  it  in  a  perpetual  covenant." 
Cardinal  Sadolet  did  not  deny  Calvin's  ordination.  Opuscula  Cal- 
vini,  p.  105.  Bellarmin,  another  Cardinal,  who  was  twenty-two 
years  of  age  when  Calvin  deceased,  says  that  none  hut  the  Popes 
could  create  Bishops  and  Presbyters — and  that  neither  Luther 
nor  ZuiNGLius,  nor  Calvin  were  Bishops,  hut  only  Presbyters — 
sed  tantum  Presbyteri.  It  may  be  faidy  left  with  the  doctor  to 
determine  the  question,  how  Calvin  could  be  a  Presbyter  without 
ordination. 

Francis  Junius,  in  his  animadversions  upon  Bellarmin,  says 
that  Luther  and  Zuinglius  received  ordination  in  the  Romish 
Church — that  Calvin  ivas  ordained  by  those  who  preceded  him — 
qui  antecesserunt,  eumque  ordinaverunt. — Farel  and  Couraut,  who 


LIFE     OF     CALVIN.  15 

to  Christ,  where  a  free  disputation  was  held  against  the 
Catholics,  which  Calvin  also  attended.  Calvin  then  pub- 
lished a  certain  formulary  of  doctrine  suited  to  the  state  of 
the  church  of  Geneva,  which  was  only  just  emerging  from 
the  corruptions  of  popery.  He  added  also  a  catechism,  not, 
as  it  is  now,  distinguished  into  questions  and  answers,  but 
much  shorter,  comprising  the  chief  articles  of  religion. 
Afterwards  he  endeavoured  in  conjunction  with  Farel  and 
Couraut,  to  settle  the  state  of  the  church  in  Geneva,  the 
greater  part  of  his  colleagues,  from  timidity,  avoiding  all  dis- 
turbance, while  some  even  secretly  opposed  the  work  of  the 
Lord,  which  Calvin  beheld  with  deep  concern.  He  induced 
the  citizens  to  convene  an  assembly  of  the  whole  people,  for 
the  purpose  of  openly  abjuring  popery,  and  of  swearing  to 
the  Christian  doctrine  and  discipline  included  in  a  few 
articles. 

Many  refused  to  do  this  in  a  city  not  yet  completely  libe- 
rated from  the  artifices  of  the  Duke  of  Savoy,  and  from  the 
yoke  of  Antichrist,  and  where  various  factions  still  continued 
to  rage.  On  the  20th  July,  however,  in  the  year  1537,  the 
Lord  granted  that  the  senate  and  people  of  Geneva,  openly 
preceded  by  a  public  scribe,  should  swear  to  the  articles 

received  ordination  in  the  Romish  Church,  preceded  Calvin  at 
Geneva ;  and  Beza  states,  that  they  were  colleagues  with  Calvin 
in  the  church  in  that  city.  The  letter  of  Bucer  to  Calvin,  dated 
Strasburg,  November  1,  1536,  is  unanswerable  testimony,  that 
Calvin  was  at  this  time  a  minister  of  the  church  of  Geneva,  or 
Bucer  would  not  have  spoken  of  his  ministry,  nor  called  him  my 
brother  and  fellow  minister.  This  designates  the  time  before 
which  Calvin  must  have  received  ordination  and  the  charge  of  that 
church. — For  other  proofs  of  Calvin's  ordination,  see  the  able  and 
elegant  letters  of  Dr.  Miller,  vol.  2,  Continuation  of  letters  con- 
cerning  the  constitution  and  order  of  the  Christian  ministry, 
addressed  to  the  members  of  the  Presbyterian  churches  in  the  city 
of  New  York,  1809.     Lett.  7,  p.  ^Q.—Waterman. 


16  LIFE     OF     CALVIN. 

both  of  the  doctrine  and  discipline  of  the  Christian  religion. 
But  Satan,  exasperated  by  such  proceedings,  and  expecting 
that  he  should  be  able,  under  the  pretext  of  religion,  to  ac- 
complish what  he  had  in  an  infinite  variety  of  ways  attempt- 
ed, by  means  of  foreign  enemies,  without  effect,  excited  the 
Anabaptists  in  the  first  place  to  oppose  them,  and  afterwards 
Peter  Caroli,  whose  character  and  conduct  will  be  examined 
in  the  sequel,  who  were  not  only  prepared  to  disturb,  but 
also  entirely  to  destroy,  and  to  subvert  the  work  of  the  Lord, 
either  because  what  had  now  been  effected  very  much  dis- 
pleased Satan,  or  else  he  anticipated  the  results  which  fol- 
lowed. But  as  the  event  itself  proved,  the  Lord  had  pre- 
vented his  schemes,  for  Calvin  and  his  colleagues  summoned 
the  Anabaptists  to  a  public  and  free  disputation,  and  confuted 
them  on  the  18th  of  March,  in  the  year  1537,  from  the 
word  of  God  alone,  in  so  forcible  a  manner,  and  with  such 
uncommon  success,  that  from  this  time  they  almost  entirely 
disappeared  in  the  church  of  Geneva.  Peter  Caroli,  the 
other  disturber  of  the  church,  excited  greater  and  more  long- 
continued  disturbances,  the  principal  of  which  I  will  here 
merely  state,  since  the  whole  history  of  the  controversy 
may  be  fully  collected  from  one  of  Calvin's  letters  to  Grinee. 
The  Sorbonne,  which  had  nurtured  this  excessively  impu- 
dent person,  afterwards  expelled  him  as  a  heretic,  though 
his  conduct  had  not  merited  such  treatment  at  her  hands. 
He  first  came  to  Geneva,  then  to  Lausanne,  and  afterwards 
to  Neuchatel,  the  spirit  of  Satan  always  so  accompanying 
him  that  in  every  place  he  left  the  impressions  of  certain 
marks  of  his  mean  and  base  conduct. 

On  finding  himself  convicted  by  the  Protestants,  he  passed 
over  to  the  Catholics,  and  afterwards  deserting  them,  again 
joined  the  reformers,  as  Farel  clearly  describes  his  arts  in  a 
long  letter  written  to  Calvin.  At  last  he  openly  began  to 
accuse  every  one  distinguished  for  excellence  of  character, 
but  particularly  charged  Farel,  Calvin,  and  Viret,  as  if  they 


LIFE     OF     CALVIN.  17 

entertained  false  notions  concerning  the  sacred  Trinity.  A 
very  full  synod  was  held  at  Berne  to  consider  the  truth  of 
the  accusation,  by  which  Peter  Caroli  was  proved  guilty  of 
calumny ;  he  afterwards  gradually  deserted  the  Protestants, 
and  went  to  Metz,  having  been  suborned  for  the  purpose  of 
impeding  the  work  of  the  Lord  begun  with  so  much  success 
in  that  city  by  Farel.  After  this  he  wrote  a  letter,  in  which 
he  openly  attacked  the  reformed,  that  the  hungry  dog,  hav- 
ing excited  undoubted  hopes  of  his  apostacy,  might  gain  a 
living.  He  was  however  sent  back  to  Rome  to  make  a 
public  confession  of  his  conduct  to  the  beast  itself,  where, 
being  treated  with  contempt,  and  suffering  both  from  poverty 
and  a  loathsome  disease,  he  was  received  with  difficulty  into 
a  hospital,  and  the  wages  of  sin — death,  was  paid  him  even 
by  the  son  of  sin.  Such  was  the  end  of  this  unhappy 
person. 

In  the  mean  time  Calvin  published  two  very  elegant  let- 
ters in  the  year  1537,  because  he  observed  many  in  France 
to  be  well  acquainted  indeed  with  divine  truth  in  their 
minds,  who  still  indulged  their  own  corrupt  feelings,  under 
the  pretence  of  its  being  sufficient  to  worship  Christ  in  the 
heart  while  they  attended  mass ;  one  was  directed  to  Nicho- 
las Cheminus,  of  Orleans,  concerning  the  necessity  of  avoid- 
ing idolatry,  whose  friendship  and  hospitality  he  had  very 
much  enjoyed  at  Orleans,  and  who  was  afterwards  appointed 
to  a  civil  office  in  the  Province  of  la  Maine.  Another  related 
to  the  popish  priesthood,  written  to  Gerard  Rousel,  already 
mentioned,  who,  after  the  tumult  at  Paris,  was  first  present- 
ed with  an  abbacy,  and  then  a  bishopric,  and  afterwards,  so 
far  from  pursuing  the  even  tenor  of  his  Christian  course, 
gradually  undermined,  as  domestic  chaplain,  the  faith  of  the 
Queen  of  Navarre. 

But  violent  domestic  seditions  were  raised  against  Calvin 

whilst  engaged  in  these  labours.     The  gospel,  as  we  have 

already  stated,  had  been  received  into  the  city,  and  popery 

abjured.     But  many  disgraceful  crimes   still  continued  to 

2* 


18  LIFE     OF     CALVIN. 

reign  among  various  persons  in  a  city,  which  had  been  for 
so  many  years  under  the  power  of  monks,  and  of  a  profligate 
clergy ;  and  ancient  quarrels,  which  commenced  during  the 
wars  with  the  Duke  of  Savoy,  were  still  fostered  among 
some  of  the  principal  families.  He  first  endeavoured,  with- 
out effecting  any  thing,  to  remove  these  disorders  by  gentle 
admonition,  afterwards  by  severely  reproving  the  stubborn 
and  refractory.  The  evil  increased  so  much  that  the  city 
was  divided  by  the  seditious  conduct  of  private  individuals 
into  various  factions,  and  a  considerable  number  altogether 
refused  to  join  that  body  of  the  people  who  had  abjured 
popery.  At  last  aff'airs  came  to  such  a  height,  that  Farel, 
Calvin,  and  Couraut,  (who,  as  we  have  already  stated,  after 
boldly  defending  the  truth  at  Paris,  was  brought  by  Calvin 
first  to  Basle,  and  afterwards  to  Geneva,  when  he  himself 
was  settled  there,)  openly  testified  that  they  could  not  pro- 
y  perly  administer  the  Lord's  Supper  to  citizens  who  lived  in 
such  a  state  of  discord^  and  were  so  utterly  averse  to  all 
church  discipline.  To  this  also  was  added  another  evil,  the 
disagreement  of  the  church  of  Geneva  with  that  of  Berne 
in  certain  rites.  The  churches  of  Geneva  not  only  used 
common  bread,  but  had  removed  all  baptismal  fonts,  as  they 
are  called,  considering  them  unnecessary  for  performing  the 
office  of  baptism,  and  had  abolished  all  festivals  except  Sun- 
day. The  synod  of  Lausanne,  compelled  by  the  people  of 
Berne,  had  decided  that  Geneva  should  be  requested  to  re- 
store the  use  of  unleavened  bread,  the  baptismal  fonts,  and 
the  festivals.  The  college  of  the  ministers  of  Geneva  consi- 
dered it  right  that  an  audience  should  be  afforded ,  and  on 
this  account  another  synorl  was  convened  at  Zurich.  Those 
who  had  been  elected  syndics  at  that  time,  for  this  highest 
office  in  Geneva  is  appointed  annually,  embracing  this  as  a 
favourable  opportunity,  became  the  leaders  of  the  seditious 
and  factious  part  of  the  city,  and  assembled  the  people. 
They  brought  aff'airs  to  such  a  state,  that  while  Calvin  and 
the  rest  of  his  colleagues,  who  held  the  same  views,  offered 


LIFE     OF     CALVIN.  19 

in  vain  to  assign  a  reason  for  their  conduct,  these  three 
faithful  servants  of  God,  in  consequence  of  the  more  virtuous 
party  being  outvoted,  were  ordered  to  leave  the  city  within 
two  days  for  refusing  to  administer  the  Lord's  Supper. 
When  Calvin  was  informed  of  the  decree  of  banishment,  he 
said,  "  Certainly,  had  I  been  in  the  service  of  men,  this 
would  have  been  a  bad  reward ;  but  it  is  well  that  I  have 
served  Him,  who  never  fails  to  repay  his  servants  whatever 
he  has  once  promised."* 

Who  would  not  have  thought  that  such  measures  were 
calculated  to  bring  certain  destruction  to  the  church  at  Ge- 
neva? The  event,  however,  on  the  other  hand,  showed  that 
it  was  done  by  Divine  Providence,  partly  with  a  view  to 
qualify  Calvin,  by  the  various  experience  he  acquired  as  a 
faithful  servant  in  other  scenes  of  usefulness,  for  engaging  in 
still  nobler  labours,  and  partly  to  purge  the  church  of  Ge- 
neva from  much  of  its  corruption,  while  the  leaders  in  the 
sedition  were  overthrown  by  their  own  violence.  So  won- 
derful does  the  Lord  manifest  himself  in  all  his  works,  but 
especially  in  the  government  of  his  Church.  The  truth  of 
these  remarks  was  proved  by  the  final  result  of  this  transac- 
tion. But  these  three  servants  of  Christ,  obeying  at  that 
time  the  edict,  while  all  good  men  mourned  on  account  of 
their  banishment,  proceeded  first  to  Zurich,  where  a  synod 
being  convened  of  some  of  the  Swiss  churches,  means  were 
used  according  to  its  decree,  by  the  intercession  of  the  go- 
vernment of  Berne,  to  try  to  influence  the  minds  of  the 
governors  and  people  of  Geneva.  This  attempt  was  of  no 
avail,  and  Calvin  went  first  to  Basle,  and  next  to  Strasburg, 
where  with  the  sanction  of  the  senate  of  that  city  he  was 
appointed  professor  of  divinity,  with  a  liberal  stipend,  by 
Bucer,  Capito,  Hedio,  Niger,  and  the  rest  of  their  colleagues, 

*  Calvin,  according  to  Spon,  had  borne  his  own  expenses  with- 
out receiving  any  salary. —  TV. 


20  LIFE     OF     CALVIN. 

men  of  the  highest  eminence,  who  then  illuminated,  as  so 
many  shining  gems,  the  established  church  of  that  place. 
He  not  only  taught  divinity  there  with  the  greatest  applause 
of  all  good  men,  but  with  the  consent  of  the  senate  planted 
also  a  French  church,  and  introduced  swch  discipline  as  he 
approved.  Satan,  thus  disappointed  in  his  expectation,  be- 
held Calvin  welcomed  by  another  city,  on  his  expulsion 
from  the  church  of  Geneva,  where  in  a  short  time  a  new 
church  was  formed.  In  the  mean  while  Satan,  using  every 
exertion  to  subvert  entirely  the  church  erected  at  Geneva, 
which  had  been  shaken  to  its  very  foundation,  found  in  a 
short  time  some  idle  characters,  who,  for  the  purpose  of 
concealing  the  great  iniquity  of  the  decree  under  the  pretext 
of  religion,  determined  that  unleavened  bread  should  be  sub- 
stituted for  common,  formerly  used  at  the  Lord's  table, 
with  a  view  to  afford  an  opportunity  for  fomenting  new  dis- 
sensions. And  the  great  enemy  of  the  Church  would  have 
succeeded  in  this  plan,  had  not  Calvin  seriously  admonished 
some  good  men,  so  displeased  with  the  change  as  to  consider 
it  their  duty  to  refrain  from  taking  the  Lord's  Supper,  not 
to  contend  about  a  subject  in  itself  indifferent.  The  use  of 
unleavened  bread  commenced  in  the  manner  now  stated,  nor 
did  Calvin  on  his  future  restoration  think  it  worth  while  to 
make  any  opposition  to  the  practice,  though  he  did  not 
attempt  to  conceal  his  approval  of  the  use  of  common  bread. 
Another  still  more  dangerous  evil  commenced  in  the  year 
1539,  and  was  at  the  same  time  extinguished  by  Calvin's 
diligence.  James  Sadolet,  Bishop  of  Carpentras,  a  man  of 
great  eloquence,  which  he  chiefly  abused  to  suppress  the 
light  of  the  truth,  and  who  had  been  presented  with  a  cardi- 
nal's hat,  with  a  view  to  enable  a  character,  whose  moral 
-conduct  was  in  other  respects  regular,  to  decorate  a  false  re- 
ligion in  the  best  possible  colours.  He,  observing  the  op- 
portunity then  offered,  and  thinking  he  would  easily  lead 
away  a  flock  deprived  of  such  distinguished  pastors,  adduc- 


LIFEOFCALVIN.  21 

ing  also  as  an  excuse  his  vicinity  to  Geneva,  for  Carpentras 
is  a  city  in  Dauphiny,  which  joins  on  Savoy,  sent  letters  ad- 
dressed to  his  dearly  beloved  brethren,  as  he  termed  them, 
the  magistracy,  council,  and  people  of  Geneva,  in  which  he 
omitted  nothing  that  might  be  useful  in  recalling  them  to  the 
bosom  of  Rome,  that  great  harlot.  There  was  no  person  at 
Geneva  able  to  answer  this  work,  and  it  would  in  all  proba- 
bility, if  not  written  in  a  foreign  language,  have  been  pro- 
ductive of  great  mischief  to  that  city  in  its  present  circum- 
stances. But  when  Calvin  read  this  letter  at  Strasburg,  he 
forgot  all  the  injuries  he  had  received,  and  immediately  an- 
swered it  with  so  much  truth  and  eloquence,  that  Sadolet 
forthwith  gave  up  the  whole  business  as  desperate.  But  Cal- 
vin did  not  permit  so  long  a  period  to  elapse  before  he  mani- 
fested the  due  affection  which  he  felt  as  a  pastor  for  his  flock 
at  Geneva,  who  were  at  that  time  suffering  among  their  fel- 
low citizens  in  a  very  severe  manner  for  the  common  cause 
of  religion.  The  excellent  letters  which  he  wrote  at  Stras- 
burg, both  in  the  year  of  his  expulsion  and  the  following, 
exhibit  striking  marks  of  his  affection,  in  which  his  whole 
object  is,  in  an  especial  manner,  to  exhort  them  to  repent- 
ance before  God,  to  forbearance  towards  the  wicked,  to  con- 
cord and  peace  with  their  pastors,  and  prayer  and  supplica- 
tion to  the  Head  of  the  Church.  He  thus  prepares  them  for 
the  renewed  expectation  of  the  splendid  shining  forth  of  that 
much  desired  pleasant  light  from  the  midst  of  the  most  hor- 
rible darkness,  and  the  event  wonderfully  proved  the  truth  of 
his  prediction.  He  then  published,  in  a  much  more  enlarg- 
ed form,  his  "  Christian  Institutions,"  his  "  Commentaries 
upon  the  Epistle  to  the  Romans,"  dedicated  to  his  most  af- 
fectionate friend  Simon  Grinee,  as  also  a  golden  Treatise 
"  on  the  Lord's  Supper,"  for  the  use  of  his  French  congre- 
gation at  Strasburg,  translated  afterwards  into  Latin  by  Ga- 
lar.  He  handled  the  subject  of  the  Lord's  Supper  with  so 
much  skill  and  erudition,  that  it  may  in  a  very  great  mea- 
sure be  considered  the  means  of  affording,  by  the  divine  bles- 


22  LIFEOFCALVIN. 

sing,  decisive  answers  to  a  great  variety  of  most  unhappy 
controversies,  in  which  men  of  the  highest  attainments  in 
learning  and  virtue  justly  acquiesced. 

He  had  great  success  in  reclaiming  many  Anabaptists ; 
their  principal  leaders  were  Paul  Volse,  to  whom  Erasmus 
had  dedicated  his  "  Manual  of  the  Christian  Soldier,"  after- 
wards a  pastor  in  the  church  of  Strasburg,  and  John  Storder, 
of  Liege,  who  subsequently  fell  a  victim  to  the  plague  ;  and 
Calvin  married,  by  the  advice  of  Bucer,  his  widow,  Idolette 
de  Bure,  distinguished  for  virtue  and  gravity.* 

■*=  As  the  Reformers  married  to  prove  their  conversion  from  the 
Papists,  the  latter  reproached  them,  as  if  they  warred  against 
Rome,  for  the  same  reasons  that  the  Grecians  warred  against  Troy. 
"  Our  adversaries,"  says  Calvin,  "  pretend  that  we  wage  a  sort  of 
Trojan  war  for  a  woman.  To  say  nothing  of  others  at  present, 
they  must  allow  myself  at  least  to  be  free  from  this  charge.  Since 
I  am  more  particularly  able,  in  my  own  case,  to  refute  this  scurri- 
lous reflection.  For  notwithstanding,  I  was  at  liberty  to  have  mar- 
ried under  the  tyranny  of  the  Pope,  I  voluntarily  led  a  single  life 
for  many  years."  Calvin  was  full  thirty  years  old  when  he  mar- 
ried Idolette  de  Bure.  She  was  an  Anabaptist,  whom  he  was  the 
means  of  converting.  He  married  her  at  Strasburg,  in  1540. 
Before  this,  Calvin  wrote  to  Farel  thus,  "  Concerning  my  mar- 
riage, I  now  speak  more  openly.  You  know  very  well  what  quali- 
fications, I  always  expected  in  a  wife.  I  am  not  of  that  passionate 
race  of  lovers,  who,  when  once  captivated  with  the  external  form, 
embrace  also  with  eagerness,  the  moral  defects  it  may  cover. 
The  person  who  would  delight  me  with  her  beauty,  must  be  chasle, 
frugal,  patient,  and  afford  me  some  hope  that  she  will  be  solicitous 
for  my  personal  health  and  prosperity." — Strasburg,  May  29, 1539. 

This  lady  whom  Calvin  married  had  children  by  her  former  hus- 
band, and  also  brought  Calvin  a  son,  who  died  before  his  father. 
This  son  was  Calvin's  only  child,  and  he  died  in  1545.  Calvin  at 
the  close  of  a  letter  to  Viret,  dated  August  19th  of  that  year,  says, 
"  The  Lord  has  certainly  inflicted  a  heavy  and  severe  wound  on 
us,  by  the  death  of  our  little  son,  but  He  is  our  Father,  and  knows 
what  is  expedient  for  his  children." 


LIFE     OF     CALVIN 


23 


Such  were  the  studies  and  employments  of  Calvin  at  Stras- 
burg  till  the  year  1541,  when  conferences,  appointed  by 
Charles  the  5lh,  were  held  first  at  Worms,  and  afterwards  at 
Ratisbon,  for  effecting  a  pacification  between  the  Catholics 
and  Protestants.  (See  note  A.)  Calvin  was  present,  by  the  ap- 
pointment of  the  ministers  of  Strasburg,  and  was  of  no  small 
use  to  the  churches  in  general,  particularly  to  those  in  his  own 
country.  Philip  Melancthon  and  Caspar  Cruciger,  of  happy 
memory,  were  in  a  peculiar  manner  delighted  with  him  ;  the 
former  often  honoured  Calvin  with  the  distinctive  appellation 
of  '*  the  divine,"  and  the  latter,  after  holding  a  private  con- 
ference with  him  on  the  subject  of  the  Lord's  Supper,  ex- 
pressly approved  of  his  views. 

The  time  had  now  arrived  when  the  Lord  determined  to 
have  pity  on  his  church  at  Geneva.  One  of  the  four  syndics, 
by  whose  means  the  decree  for  banishing  the  faithful  minis- 
ters had  been  passed,  being  accused  of  sedition  in  conducting 
the  affairs  of  the  state,  was  precipitated,  in  consequence  of 
his  corpulency,  when  he  was  endeavouring  to  escape  through 
a  window,  and  his  body  was  so  bruised  that  he  died  of  his 
wounds  a  few  days  after  the  accident.  Another  was  beheaded 
for  murder.  The  other  two,  accused  of  having  betrayed  the 
interests  of  the  city  in  an  embassy,  fled  from  their  country, 
and  were  condemned  to  perpetual  exile. 

On  the  expulsion  of  such  offscum  from  the  city,  Geneva 
began  to  demand  its  own  Farel  and  Calvin.  And  when  no 
hopes  of  recovering  Farel  from  Neuchatel  remained,  the  citi- 
zens directed  their  attention  in  the  most  earnest  manner  to 
.Calvin,  and  sent  a  deputation,  uniting  also  the  intercession 
of  Zurich,  to  Strasburg,  that  they  might  obtain  the  consent  of 
its  citizens  for  his  removal.  The  people  of  Strasburg  were 
very  reluctant  to  part  with  Calvin,  and  though  his  own  at- 
tachment to  the  people  of  Geneva  had  not  been  changed,  in 
consequence  of  the  insults  offered  him  by  men  of  the  basest 
characters,  yet  he  disliked  all  disturbance,  and  plainly  re- 
fused to  return,  because  he  saw   the  Lord  had  blessed  his 


24  LIFEOFCALVIN. 

ministry  in  the  church  at  Strasburg.  Bucer  and  his  colleagues 
testified  their  very  great  unwillingness  to  part  with  him.  The 
people  of  Geneva  persisting  to  demand  Calvin,*  Bucer  at 
last  thought  it  right  to  grant  their  requests  for  a  limited  time; 
he  could  not,  however,  persuade  Calvin  to  yield,  until  he  de- 
nounced the  severe  judgment  of  Heaven  against  him,  and 
pressed  upon  him  the  consideration  of  the  example  of  Jonah. 
But  since  these  things  occurred  at  the  time  when  Calvin  and 
Bucer  were  engaged  by  a  decree  to  go  to  the  conferences  at 
Ratisbon,  his  departure  was  deferred,  and  the  Geneveseonly 
obtained  leave  from  the  inhabitants  of  Berne  to  allow  Peter 
Viret  to  go  from  Lausanne  to  Geneva.  Calvin  returned  to 
the  city  with  more  readiness  when  he  found  A^iret  ap- 
pointed his  colleague,  whose  assistance  and  counsel  would 
be  of  great  use  to  him  in  restoring  the  church.  Tlius,  after 
the  lapse  of  a  few  months,  Calvin  returned  to  Geneva  on  the 

*  James  Bernard,  one  of  the  ministers  of  Geneva,  wrote  a  letter 
to  Calvin,  which  he  received  while  on  his  way  to  the  Diet  of  Ra- 
tisbon, from  which  the  following  is  an  extract : 

"  The  next  day,  the  Council  of  two  hundred  convened  and  called 
for  Calvin.  The  following  day,  a  general  meeting  assembled.  All 
exclaimed,  we  demand  the  return  of  Calvin,  the  honest  man,  the 
learned  minister  of  Christ.  When  I  heard  this  1  praised  God,  who 
had  done  what  was  marvellous  in  our  eyes,  in  making  the  stone 
which  the  builders  rejected  become  the  head  of  the  corner.  Come 
then,  my  venerable  father  in  Christ.  All  sigh  after  you.  Your 
estimation  in  the  hearts  of  this  people  will  be  testified  by  their  af- 
fectionate reception  of  you.  You  will  find  me  not  an  opposer,  ac- 
cording to  the  representations  of  some,  (may  God  forgive  them,) 
but  a  faithful  and  sincere  friend,  devoted  to  your  wishes  in  the 
Lord.  Come  then  to  Geneva,  to  a  people  renovated,  by  the  grace 
of  God,  through  the  labours  of  Viret ;  and  may  the  Lord  hasten 
your  return  to  our  church,  whose  blood  he  will  require  at  your 
hands,  for  he  has  set  you  a  watchman  unto  the  house  of  our  Israel. 
Farewell.  BERNARD. 

Geneva,  February  6,  1541. 


LIFE     OF     CALVIN.  25 

13th  of  September,  1541  ;  all  the  people,  and  particularly 
the  senate  highly  congratulating  themselves  on  the  occasion, 
and  acknowledging,  in  an  impressive  manner,  the  signal 
kindness  and  favour  of  God  to  their  city.  Nor  did  Geneva 
rest  until  the  temporary  grant  of  his  services,  made  by  Stras- 
burg,  was  changed  into  a  permanent  surrender.  Strasburg 
conceded  their  request,  but  insisted  on  his  retaining  the  privi- 
leges of  a  citizen,  and  the  annual  stipend  of  what  they  de- 
nominate the  prebend.  Calvin  gladly  accepted  the  former 
mark  of  respect,  but  could  never  be  induced  to  receive  the 
latter,  since  the  care  of  riches  occupied  his  mind  the  least  of 
any  thing.*  Calvin  on  being  restored  to  the  church  at  their 
earnest  request,  failed  not,  on  his  in^tauraticn,  in  consequence 
of  observing  the  city  to  require  such  restraints,  to  testify  how 
impossible  it  was  for  him  duly  to  discharge  his  ministerial 
functions,  unless  together  with  Christian  doctrine,  the  Pres- 
byterian plan  of  church  government  was  established  by  the 
state,  as  well  as  a  regular  ecclesiastical  discipline.! 

On  this  occasion,  therefore,  as  we  shall  detail  more  at 
length  in  another  part  of  our  narrative,  laws  were  passed 
consistent  with  the  word  of  God,  and  acceptable  to  the  citi- 

*  That  Calvin  was  not  greedy  of  gain,  is  the  testimony  of  friends 
and  foes.  This  would  abundantly  appear  from  a  perusal  of  his  will. 
But  in  addition  it  may  be  stated  that  he  publicly  renounced  all 
fellowship  with  the  Romish  church,  by  resigning  on  the  4th  of 
May,  1534,  the  benefices  of  the  Chapel  of  La  Gesine,  and  the  Rec- 
tory of  Point  r  Eveque.  By  a  covert  conduct,  he  might  still  have 
enjoyed  the  annual  emolument  of  these  livings  under  the  Papacy. 
In  throwing  himself,  therefore,  poor  and  unpatronized,  upon  the 
hand  of  his  Divine  JVIaster,  he  demonstrated  the  firmness  of  his 
principles,  and  the  purity  of  his  motives. 

t  When  Calvin  came  back,  in  1541,  from  Strasburg  to  Geneva, 
in  consequence  of  the  Council's  revocation  of  their  own  sentence 
of  exile,  he  thus  addressed  his  auditory : — 

"  If  you  desire  to  have  me  for  your  pastor,  correct  the  disorder 
3 


26  LIFE     OF     CALVIN. 

zens,  for  the  choice  of  elders,  and  for  establishing  the  whole 
plan  of  Presbyterian  discipline  which  Satan  afterwards  en- 
deavoured without  effect,  by  wonderful  contrivances,  to  dis- 
annul.    Calvin  also  wrote  a  catechism  in  French  and  Latin, 

of  your  lives.     If  you  have  with  sincerity  recalled  me  from  my 
exile,  banish  the  crimes  and  debaucheries  which  prevail  among 
you.     I  certainly  cannot  behold,  without  the  most  painful  displea- 
sure, within  your  walls,  discipline  trodden  under  foot,  and  crimes 
committed  with  impunity.     I  cannot  possibly  live  in  a  place  so 
grossly  immoral.      Vicious  souls  are   too  filthy  to  receive  the 
purity  of  the  Gospel,  and  the  spiritual  warship  which  I  preach  to 
you.     A  life  stained  with  sin  is  too  contrary  to  Jesus  Christ  to  be 
tolerated.     1  consider  the  principal  enemies  of  the  Gospel  to  be, 
not  the  pontiff  of  Rome,  nor  heretics,  nor  seducers,  nor  tyrants,  but 
such  bad  Christians ;  because  the  former  exert  their  rage  out  of 
the  church,  while  drunkenness,  luxury,  perjury,  blasphemy,  im- 
purity, adultery,  and  other  abominable  vices  overthrow  my  doc- 
trine, and  expose  it  defenceless  to  the  rage  of  our  enemies.  Rome 
does  not  constitute  the  principal  object  of  my  fears.     Still  less  am 
I  apprehensive  from  the  almost  infinite  multitude  of  monks.    The 
gates  of  hell,  the  principalities  and  powers  of  evil  spirits,  disturb 
me  not  at  all.     I  tremble  on  account  of  other  enemies,  more  dan- 
gerous ;  and  I  dread  abundantly  more  those  carnal  covetousnesses, 
those  debaucheries  of  the  tavern,  of  the  brothel,  and  of  gaming ; 
those  infamous  remains  of  ancient  superstition,  those  mortal  pests, 
the  disgrace  of  your  town,  and  the  shame  of  the  reformed  name. 
Of  what  importance  is  it  to  have  driven  away  the  wolves  from 
the  fold,  if  the  pest  ravage  the  flock  1    Of  what  use  is  a  dead  faith 
without  good  works?     Of  what  importance  is  even  truth  itself, 
where  a  wicked  life  belies  it,  and  actions  make  words  blush  ? 
Either  command  me  to  abandon  a  second  time  your  town,  and  let 
me  go  and  soften  the  bitterness  of  my  afflictions  in  a  new  exile, 
or  let  the  severity  of  the  laws  reign  in  the  church.     Re-establish 
there  the  pure  discipline.     Remove  from  within  your  walls,  and 
from  the  frontiers  of  your  state,  the  pest  of  your  vices,  and 
condemn  them  to  a  perpetual  banishment."      Mackenzie,  pp. 
163,  &c. 


LIFE     OF     CALVIN.  27 

differing  very  little  from  his  first,  but  much  more  copious,  and 
divided  into  questions  and  answers.  We  may  justly  terra 
this  an  admirable  work  which  has  received  the  approbation 
of  very  many  foreign  nations,  and  been  translated  in  a  very 
elegant  style  into  the  modern  languages  of  Germany,  Eng- 
land, Scotland,  Holland,  and  Spain,  into  Hebrew  by  Imma- 
nuel  Tremellius,  a  converted  Jew,  and  into  Greek  by  Henry 
Stephens. 

The  following  statement  of  facts  will  enable  us  to  form  a 
judgment  of  his  ordinary  labours.  In  every  fortnight  he 
preached  one  whole  week ;  thrice  every  week  he  delivered 
lectures ;  on  the  Thursdays  he  presided  in  the  meetings  of 
the  Presbytery  ;  on  the  Fridays  he  collated  and  expounded 
the  Holy  Scriptures  to  what  we  term  the  congregation.  He 
was  engaged  in  illustrating  many  of  the  sacred  books  by 
commentaries  of  very  uncommon  learning  ;  on  some  occa- 
sions he  was  employed  in  answering  the  adversaries  of  re- 
ligion, and  at  other  times  wrote  to  correspondents  from  every 
part  of  Europe  concerning  subjects  of  great  importance. 
Every  attentive  reader  of  his  numerous  productions  will  be 
astonished  to  find  one  weak  little  man  able  to  accomplish  so 
many  and  such  great  labours.* 

*  The  London  Christian  Observer,  in  the  review  of  Mackenzie's 
life  of  Calvin,  has  remarked  that  Calvin  was  "a  model  of  industry 
unwearied  by  toil ;  of  perseverance  undaunted  by  the  opposition  of 
an  enemy,  or  disheartened  by  the  timidity  or  languor  of  wavering 
and  inefficient  friends.  With  far  greater  fidelity  than  the  author, 
(Johnson,)  whose  well-known  language  we  adopt,  could  he  assert, 
that  his  almost  incredible  labours  were  pursued  '  with  little  assist- 
ance of  the  learned,  and  without  any  patronage  of  the  great;  not 
in  the  soft  obscurities  of  retirement,  or  under  the  shelter  of  aca- 
demic bowers,  but  amidst  inconvenience  and  distraction,  in  sick- 
ness and  in  sorrow' — An  exile  from  his  native  soil,  and  living  in 
an  age  when  the  mingled  storms  of  controversy  and  persecution 
beat  against  the  Church,  he  had  his  '  gloom  of  solitude ;'  a  gloom 
darkened  by  the  deepest  shades  of  public  and  spiritual  calamity. 


He  experienced  much  advantage  from  the  assistance  of 
Farel  and  Viret,  who  in  return  received  greater  from  him. 
And  the  close  intercourse  and  friendship  of  these  two  men, 
which  excited  as  much  envy  in  the  wicked  as  it  gave  plea- 
sure to  all  pious  minds,  afforded  him  wonderful  delight.  It 
was  a  most  plesant  sight  to  behold  and  hear  these  three  dis- 
tinguished persons  in  the  church  co-operating  with  so  much 
zeal  in  the  work  of  the  Lord,  and  flourishing  in  such  a  variety 
of  gifts.  Farel  excelled  in  boldness  and  grandeur  of  mind. 
The  thunders  of  his  preaching  none  could  hear  without 
trembling,  nor  feel  his  most  ardent  prayers  without  the  soul 
being  elevated  almost  to  heaven  itself.  Viret  so  excelled  in  a 
sweet  persuasive  eloquence,  that  his  hearers  were  compelled 
to  hang  upon  his  lips.  Calvin  filled  the  minds  of  his  hearers 
with  as  many  most  weighty  sentiments  as  he  uttered  words. 
Hence  I  have  often  thought  that  a  preacher  would  in  some 
measure  appear  perfect;  who  wa*s  formed  by  the  united  ex- 
cellencies of  all  three. 

To  return  to  Calvin, — he  was  exercised  not  only  with 
these  public,  but  with  domestic  and  many  other  foreign  cares. 
For  the  Lord  so  blessed  his  ministry  that  he  had  visitors 

'  without  were  fightings,  within  were  fears.," — Ch.  Observer  1817, 
p.  444-5. 

It  may  be  well  to  observe  in  this  place,  as  exhibiting  another  de- 
partment of  Calvin's  labour,  as  well  as  another  object  of  his  solici- 
tude, that  the  instruction  of  youth,  was,  in  his  estimation,  an  object 
of  primary  interest  to  the  welfare  of  civil  society,  and  the  cause  of 
religion.  He  therefore,  revised  and  enlarged  the  Catechism  which 
he  first  published  in  1537.  This  judicious  and  popular  w^ork  was 
composed  afler  the  order  of  his  Institutes,  embracing  doctrines, 
duties,  and  the  means  of  grace.  He  published  it  in  French  and  in 
Latin.  It  was  noticed  with  unparalleled  applause,  and  soon 
translated  into  many  languages,  as  Beza  states. — And  the  Assem* 
bly  of  Divines  at  Westminster,  in  1643,  made  it  the  model  of  the 
Catechism  which  is  so  justly  esteemed  among  all  the  Presbyteriaii 
churches. 


LIFE     OF     CALVIN.  29 

from  every  quarter  to  solicit  his  counsel  in  matters  of  reli- 
gion, as  an  oracle  of  the  Christian  world ;  and  so  numerous 
were  his  hearers,  that  we  have  seen  an  Italian,  English,  and 
even  Spanish  church  at  Geneva,  which  seemed  not  suffici- 
ently large  to  contain  so  many  strangers. 

Although  his  friendship  was  much  cultivated  in  Geneva 
by  the  good,  while  he  was  regarded  with  terror  by  the 
wicked,  and  affairs  were  in  the  best  state  of  arrangement, 
yet  many  opponents  were  still  raised  up  to  keep  him  actively 
employed.  We  will  unfold  his  contests  separately,  that 
posterity  may  be  presented  with  a  singular  example  of  forti- 
tude, which  is  calculated  to  excite  their  most  strenuous  imi- 
tation. 

To  resume  his  history, — on  his  return  to  the  city,  keeping 
in  mind  that  sentence  of  our  Saviour,  "  Seek  ye  first  the 
kingdom  of  God,  and  all  other  things  will  be  added  unto 
you."  (Matt.  vi.  33,)  he  considered  nothing  so  important  as 
to  prescribe  laws  of  ecclesiastical  polity  consistent  with  the 
word  of  God,  and  sanctioned  by  the  consent  of  the  senate, 
from  which  neither  citizens  nor  ministers  would  be  allowed 
afterwards  to  depart.  And  this,  which  had  been  so  much 
approved  before,  gradually  excited  the  dislike  of  some  of  the 
common  people,  and  of  the  chief  citizens,  who  had  indeed 
put  off  the  pope,  and  put  on  Christ,  but  only  in  name. 
Some  also  of  those  ministers,  who  had  remained  on  the  ex- 
pulsion of  their  pious  brethren,  (the  most  influential  how- 
ever, after  being  accused  of  profligate  conduct,  deserted  their 
station  in  disgrace,)  although  convicted  by  the  testimony  of 
their  conscience,  they  wanted  courage  to  make  an  open  re- 
sistance, still  continued  to  pursue  a  system  of  secret  opposi- 
tion, and  did  not  easily  permit  themselves  to  be  forced  to 
adopt  the  established  discipline.  Nor  did  they  want  a  pre- 
text for  this  their  wicked  conduct,  namely,  the  example  of 
other  churches,  which  had  not  adopted  excommunication. 
Some  also  cried  out,  that  the  tyranny  of  popery  was  thus 
recalled.     But  these  difficulties  were  overcome  by  the  con- 


30  LIFEOFCALVIN. 

stancy  and  remarkable  moderation  of  Calvin,  who  proved 
that  we  ought  to  seek  for  the  reason  of  ecclesiastical  disci- 
pline, as  well  as  of  doctrine,  from  the  Scriptures,  and  ad- 
duced in  his  support  the  opinions  of  the  most  learned  men 
of  that  age,  iEcolampadius,  Zwinglius,  Zuichius,  Melanc- 
thon,  Bucer,  Capito,  and  Myconius,  to  whose  writings  he 
appealed.  Nor  did  he  assert  that  those  churches  ought  to 
be  therefore  condemned  as  unchristian,  which  had  not  pro- 
ceeded to  the  same  extent,  nor  those  shepherds  to  be  opposed 
to  their  Lord,  who  considered  the  same  curb  and  restraint 
not  to  be  wanted  by  their  own  flocks. 

Finally,  he  proved  the  difference  between  popish  tyranny 
and  the  yoke  of  the  Saviour,  and  thus  easily  succeeded  in 
inducing  the  people  to  receive,  with  unanimous  consent,  the 
same  laws  of  ecclesiastical  polity  yet  used  by  the  church  of 
Geneva,  and  which  were  written,  read,  and  approved  by  the 
suff'rages  of  the  people  on  the  20th  of  November. 

Although  Calvin  had  thus  made  a  successful  commence- 
ment, yet  he  knew  that  such  plans  could  not  in  reality  be 
carried  into  effect  without  difficulty;  and,  on  this  account, 
was  very  desirous  to  have  Viret,  whom  the  people  of  Berne 
had  allowed  only  for  a  certain  period,  and  Farel,  who  had 
been  received  on  his  expulsion  from  Geneva  at  Neuchatel, 
to  be  appointed  his  perpetual  colleagues.  In  this  attempt  he 
was  unsuccessful,  for  Viret  returned  soon  after  to  Lausanne, 
and  Farel  remained  at  Neuchatel,  so  that  he  enjoyed  almost 
the  whole  praise  of  restoring  the  church  by  his  own  unas- 
sisted eff'orts. 

Many  things  occupied  Calvin  the  ensuing  year;  for  to 
omit  various  domestic  aff'airs  which  pressed  upon  his  atten- 
tion, the  inflamed  fury  of  the  foreign  enemies  of  the  gospel 
banished  numbers  from  France  and  Italy  to  Geneva,  a 
neighbouring  and  now  distinguished  city.  Calvin's  zeal  in 
comforting  and  refreshing  those  refugees  by  every  kind  of 
dutiful  solicitude  is  very  surprising.  I  omit  mentioning  the 
consolation,  which  he  afforded  to  those  who  were  placed  in 


LIFE     OF     CALVIN.  31 

the  yawning  jaws  of  the  lion,  by  the  various  letters  which 
he  wrote  them  under  their  trials. 

Another  very  great  and  two-fold  evil  occurred  this  year  ; 
namely,  dearness  of  provision,  and  famine,  its  general  at- 
tendant. It  was  even  then  a  custom  at  Geneva  to  have  a 
separate  hospital  out  of  the  city  for  such  as  suffered  from  the 
plague.  Since  the  attendance  of  a  constant  and  active  pastor 
was  required,  most  of  them  dreaded  the  danger  of  contagion, 
and  three  only  offered  themselves — Calvin,  Sebastian  Cas- 
tellio,*  (of  whom  we  shall  mention  more  circumstances  in 

*  "  Ubi  quum  Pastoris  constantis  et  seduli  opera  requireretur. 
Beza  has  used  the  word  Pastor  in  a  manner  too  loose  for  a  histo- 
rian, and  has  misled  some  learned  writers,  who,  from  this  expnes- 
sion,  have  concluded  that  Sebastian  Castalio  was  a  Pastor  of 
the  Church.  But  this  is  not  the  fact.  Castalio  was  never  in  the 
ministry.  Calvin  first  patronized  him  by  introducing  him  as  a 
teacher  of  the  languages  in  the  Divinity  school  at  Strasburg, 
about  1540  or  1541.  After  Calvin  returned  to  Geneva,  he  invited 
Castalio  to  take  the  charge  of  the  grammar  school  in  this  city. 
He  soon  discovered  his  obscene  taste  and  heretical  opinions. 
Castalio  was  excluded  by  the  Senate  from  Geneva  in  1544.  The 
following  is  a  part  of  the  certificate  which  Castalio  states  was 
given  him  at  that  time,  written  by  Calvin  :  "  We  testify,  in  a 
brief  manner,  that  he  so  conducted  himself  with  us  that  by  our 
united  consent  he  was  already  designed  for  the  pastoral  office. 
Lest,  therefore,  any  one  should  suspect,  that  it  was  for  some  other 
reason  that  Sebastian  went  away  from  us,  we  would  give  this 
testimony  wherever  he  shall  come : — he  left  of  his  own  accord 
the  mastership  of  the  school.  In  that  employment  he  so  conducted 
himself,  that  we  judge  him  worthy  of  the  holy  ministry;  and  to 
this  he  would  have  been  received  had  it  not  been  for  some  spots 
on  his  life,  and  some  profane  opinions  which  he  advanced  against 
the  articles  of  our  faith.  These  were  the  only  reasons  which 
prevented."  This  is  full  evidence  that  Castalio  was  never  in  the 
Ministry,  and  of  course  not  deposed  from  it,  as  Spon  and  others 
have  asserted.  Calvin's  conduct  in  this  instance  appears  candid 
and  dignified  towards  Castalio,  who  did  not  cease,  in  a  covert  and 


32  LIFE     OF     CALVIN. 

the  following  part  of  this  narrative,)  and  Peter  Blanchet. 
The  lot,  for  this  was  the  method  of  their  appointment,  fell 
on  Castellio,  who  changed  his  mind,  and  impudently  re- 
fused to  undertake  the  burthen.  The  senate  would  not  allow 
the  lots  to  be  taken  a  second  time,  contrary  to  Calvin's  in- 
clination, and  Blanchet  himself,  therefore,  undertook  the 
whole  charge.  Other  weighty  affairs  also  occurred  at  that 
time :  for  the  controversy  concerning  the  Lord's  Supper  en- 
gaged the  attention  of  Peter  Tossanus,  pastor  of  Montbel- 
liard;  and  some  at  Basle,  Myconius  opposing  without 
effect,  were  desirous  to  overturn  the  foundations  of  church 
discipline,  which  had  scarcely  yet  been  firmly  laid,  and  held 
two  conferences  with  Calvin.  Farel  had  been  invited  to 
preach  at  Metz,  with  great  success,  but  very  much  hindrance 
was  given  to  the  work  of  the  Lord,  partly  by  the  apostate 
P.  Caroli  already  mentioned.  The  various  labours  in  which 
Calvin  was  thus  involved  by  writing,  admonishing,  and  ex- 
horting, and  by  other  methods  of  affording  assistance,  are 


hypocritical  way,  to  injure  and  involve  him  in  difficulties,  by  aid- 
ing the  factious  at  Geneva.  Castalio  spent  his  time  subsequently 
at  Basil,  where  he  instructed  in  the  languages.  He  died  poor  and 
unpatronized,  December  29,  1563,  aged  48.  Bayle  Art.  Cast." — 
Waterman. 

The  name  of  Castalio  deserves  a  remark.  He  once  addressed 
Calvin  as  follows : 

"  When  I  was  at  Lyons,  before  I  went  to  you  at  Strasburg, 
some  one,  by  mistake,  called  me  Castalio  instead  of  Castellio.  I 
was  pleased  with  it,  remembering  the  fountain  Castalius  conse- 
crated to  the  Muses:  this  made  me  in  love  with  that  false  name. 
I  preferred  it  before  that  of  my  family,  and  adorned  myself  with 
it  at  the  beginning  of  a  book."  In  his  defence,  he  says,  "  throw- 
ing off  this  Greek  vanity,  and  meeting  with  an  opportunity,  which 
I  had  long  wished  for,  of  making  the  change,  I  desire  that  I  may 
be  again  called  by  my  paternal  name,  Castellio."  Bayle  An. 
Cast. 


LIFEOPCALVIN.  33 

clearly  proved  by  the  great  number  of  his  published  letters, 
and  the  testimony  of  many  survivors. 

But  the  Sorbonne,  increasing  in  boldness,  supported  by 
P.  Liser,  first  president  of  the  parliament  of  Paris,  whose 
memory  is  universally  detested,  had  the  courage  to  attempt 
a  measure,  which,  to  the  astonishment  of  every  one,  was 
endured  by  the  bishops,  and  even  by  the  pope.  These  last, 
being  constantly  employed,  like  robbers,  in  dividing  the 
wealth  of  the  church  among  themselves,  voluntarily  resigned 
their  own  proper  duties  of  distributing  the  word  of  life  to 
such  of  their  brethren  as  they  denominated  good  doctors, 
provided  these  last  suffered  themselves  to  be  treated  like 
dogs,  which  gnaw  the  bones  that  their  masters,  after  repeated 
nibbling,  have  left.  The  Sorbonne  had  the  audacity,  unsup- 
ported either  by  human  or  divine  authority,  to  prescribe 
such  articles  of  Christian  faith,  as  both  by  their  falsehood, 
and  their  very  trifling  character,  so  commonly  to  be  met 
with  among  this  body  of  divines,  deservedly  lessened  their 
authority  in  the  opinion  of  all  those,  who  were  not  wholly 
devoid  of  judgment.  Some  had  subscribed  these  articles 
through  fear,  and  others  from  ignorance,  on  which  account 
Calvin  answered  them  in  such  a  manner  as  to  refute,  with 
great  learning  and  by  solid  reasoning,  the  errors  Uiey  con- 
tained, and  he  exposed  their  folly  by  a  beautiful  vein  of 
irony,  to  the  amusing  derision  of  all  men  of  common  dis- 
cernment. 

The  following  year  experienced  equally  destructive  ra- 
vages from  the  dearness  of  provisions,  and  from  the  plague 
which  infested  Savoy.  Calvin  was  constantly  employed  in 
strenthening  his  own  flock  at  Geneva,  and  in  boldly  repress- 
ing the  enemies  of  the  church  abroad,  particularly  by  pub- 
lishing four  books  on  free  will,  dedicated  to  Melancthon,  in 
answer  to  Albert  Pighius,  a  Dutchman,  and  the  most  skilled 
sophist  of  the  age,  who  had  selected  Calvin  as  an  adversary, 
expecting  that  he  would  obtain  a  cardinal's  hat  as  the  reward 
of  the  distinguished  victory  he  hoped  to  gain.     He  was, 


34 


LIFE      OF    CALVIN, 


however,  disappointed  in  his  expectations,  and  reaped,  what 
the  enemies  of  the  truth  justly  deserve,  the  contempt  of  all 
learned  and  sensible  men,  while  he  was  deceived  by  Satan 
himself.*  Melancthon  testified  by  his  letters  the  esteem  in 
which  he  held  these  works  of  Calvin,  and  we  considered  it 
right  to  publish  their  correspondence,  that  posterity  may 
have  a  certain  and  clear  testimony  against  the  calumniators 
of  such  distinguished  men.  A  letter  written  this  same  year 
to  the  church  of  Montbelliard  affords  a  sufficient  answer  to 
such  as  complain  of  his  too  great  severity  in  the  exercise  of 
ecclesiastical  discipline. 

Calvin  in  the  following  year,  1544,  stated  his  opinion  con- 
cerning the  plan  which  the  church  of  Neuchatel  should  adopt 
in  their  ecclesiastical  censures.     Sebastian  Castellio,  in  Ge- 

*  Pyghius  was  a  Dutch  divine,  and  was  remarkable  for  his  ex- 
treme ugliness,  and  dissonant  voice.  But  he  was  reputed  the 
greatest  sophist  of  his  time.  The  pope  rewarded  him  with  the 
provostship  of  St.  John,  at  Utrecht,  for  defending  his  bull  to  the 
General  Council  in  1538.  The  Cardinals  Sadolet  and  Cervinus 
were  his  patrons.  The  former  assured  him  that  he  would  recom- 
mend him  to  the  pope  and  cardinals.  The  latter  wrote  to  him  on 
the  27th  October,  1542,  in  these  words:  "  As  to  your  debts,  were 
it  in  my  power  to  pay  them,  you  should  be  in  no  distress :  and 
although  his  holiness,  at  present,  is  put  to  vast  charges  on  many 
accounts,  I  will  not  fail  to  represent  your  services  and  wants,  and 
to  assist  you  as  much  as  I  can." 

Pyghius  was  a  Pelagian,  and  was  stigmatized  as  such  by  several 
learned  Catholics;  and  particularly  by  a  Jansenist,  who  said  he 
was  full  of  Pelagian  errors  on  the  subject  of  original  sin ;  and  that 
he  spoke  against  Divine  predestination,  and  the  doctrine  of  effica- 
cious and  free  grace,  with  great  indiscretion  and  ignorance. 

Some  say  that  the  reading  of  Calvin's  works  made  Pyghius  he- 
retical with  respect  to  the  merit  of  good  works,  and  the  justifica- 
tion of  sinners.  Others  affirm  that  Pyghius  examined  the  works 
of  Calvin  with  so  great  a  desire  of  refuting  them,  that  he  ran  into 
the  extreme  of  Pelagius. 


L  I  F  E     O  F     C  A  L  V  I  N .  35 

neva,  whose  fickleness  we  have  already  noticed,  concealing 
under  an  apparent  modesty  a  foolish  kind  of  ambition,  and 
evidently  belonging  to  that  class  of  men,  which  the  Greeks 
call  self-opinionative,  became  irritated  with  Calvin  because 
he  disapproved  of  his  conceits  in  a  French  version  of  the 
New  Testament ;  who  carried  his  indignation  to  such  a 
height,  that  not  satisfied  with  maintaining  some  erroneous 
opinions,  he  even  ordered,  in  a  public  manner,  the  Song  of 
Solomon  to  be  erased  from  the  canon,  as  an  impure  and  ob- 
scene song,  and  reviled  Avith  very  violent  reproaches  the 
ministers  of  Geneva  by  whom  he  was  opposed.  They 
justly  thought  that  it  was  not  their  duty  patiently  to  endure 
such  conduct,  and  summoned  him  before  the  senate,  where, 
after  a  very  patient  hearing,  on  the  last  day  of  May,  and  a 
calm  examination  of  the  charges  brought  against  him,  he  was 
condemned  for  calumny,  and  ordered  to  leave  the  city.  He 
afterwards  settled  in  Basle,  and  his  conduct  there  will  be 
considered  in  another  part  of  our  narrative. 

Charles  5th,  in  the  year  1543,  advancing  with  all  his 
strength  against  Francis  1st,  had  taken  care  to  secure  for  the 
two  great  religious  parties  in  Germany  the  enjoyment  of 
equal  rights,  until  the  meeting  of  a  council  which  he  pro- 
mised to  convene.  Pope  Paul  III.,  feeling  very  indignant 
at  such  a  proceeding,  published  a  very  grave  admonition  to 
Charles  for  his  having  thus  placed  the  heretics  on  a  level 
with  the  Catholics,  and  for  putting  his  scythe  into  a  crop 
which  belonged  to  another.  Charles  returned  what  he  con- 
sidered a  fair  answer.  Calvin  repressed  the  audacity  of  the 
pontiff  for  the  severity  with  which  he  had  attacked  in  these 
letters  the  truth  of  the  gospel,  and  the  moral  conduct  of  the 
reformers. 

Calvin  embraced  the  opportunity  offered  him  by  the  diet 
assembled  at  Spiers,  for  publishing  a  book  on  the  necessity 
of  reforming  the  church,  which  in  my  opmion,  is  one  of  the 
most  nervous,  powerful  treatises  published  in  our  age  on  that 


36 


LIFE    OF     CALVIN. 


subject.  Calvin,  the  same  year,  so  refuted,  in  two  books, 
both  the  anabaptists  and  libertines,  who  had  revived  the  most 
monstrous  heresies  of  antiquity,  that  I  think  no  attentive 
reader,  unless  designedly  and  knowingly,  could  have  been 
deceived,  or,  if  he  had  formerly  been  in  an  error,  would  not 
voluntarily  have  returned  to  the  right  way.  The  book  pub- 
lished against  the  libertines  very  much  displeased  the  Queen 
of  Navarre,  because,  which  is  almost  incredible,  she  had 
been  so  infatuated  by  the  two  principal  leaders  of  this  horri- 
ble sect,  Quintin  and  Pocquet,  whom  ("alvin  had  expressly 
attacked,  as  to  consider  them,  though  she  did  not  adopt  their 
mysterious  views,  good  men,  on  which  account  she  thought 
herself  in  some  measure  deeply  wounded  through  their  sides. 
Calvin,  on  learning  this,  answered  her  with  uncommon 
moderation,  mindful  of  her  dignity,  and  of  the  several  kind- 
nesses which  this  queen  had  conferred  upon  the  church  of 
Christ ;  he  blamed  her  too  great  imprudence  in  an  ingenuous 
and  discreet  manner  with  great  address,  becoming  a  cou- 
rageous servant  of  God,  for  barkening  to  such  men,  while  he 
asserted  at  the  same  time  the  authority  of  his  own  ministry. 
His  writings  produced  the  effect  of  confining  the  followers  of 
this  horrid  sect  of  the  libertines,  which  had  begun  to  spread 
in  France,  within  the  boundaries  of  Holland,  and  of  the  adja- 
cent countries. 

After  he  had  terminated  so  many  labours  in  1544,  he  was 
again  involved,  in  the  following  year,  in  new  disputes  of  a 
still  more  serious  kind.  For  as  if  a  pestilence  inflicted  by 
God  himself  was  not  sufficient  to  waste  the  city  and  the  whole 
neighbourhood,  some  of  the  very  lowest  classes,  whose  as- 
sistance was  required  by  the  rich  in  cleansing  their  houses 
and  healing  the  sick,  were  induced  by  avarice  to  form  a  shock- 
ing conspiracy,  for  the  purpose  of  infecting  the  posts  and 
thresholds  of  their  doors,  and  of  every  thing  in  their  road, 
with  an  ointment  that  conveyed  the  disease  and  communicated 
this  dreadful  scourge.  They  also,  by  a  terrible  oath,  mutually 


LIFEOFCALVIN.  37 

taken  in  the  most  solemn  manner,  bound  themselvs  as  slaves 
to  Satan  should  they  ever  be  found  to  betray  their  accom- 
plices, though  the  rack  itself  were  used  to  extort  confession. 
A  considerable  number  of  them  were  detected  both  in  the 
city  and  adjoining  country,  and  received  a  punishment  me- 
rited by  their  enormous  crimes.  The  reproach  is  incredi- 
ble which  Satan,  by  this  artifice,  raised  against  Calvin  and 
the  city  of  Geneva,  as  if  the  prince  of  darkness  plainly  reign- 
ed in  that  city  where  he  was  most  violently  opposed. 

This  year  was  disgraced  by  a  massacre  of  unparalleled  cru- 
elty, occasioned  by  an  edict  which  the  parliament  of  Aix 
issued  against  the  Waldenses  of  Merindol  and  Cabrier,  and 
the  whole  of  that  tract  of  country ;  it  was  not  confined  to  one 
or  two  sufferers,  but  extended  to  the  whole  people  without 
distinction  of  age  or  sex,  and  the  villages  were  consumed  in 
one  common  conflagration.  These  evils  pressed  more  hea- 
vily on  Calvin,  who  afforded  solace  and  succour  to  the  few 
refugees  that  fled  to  Geneva,  because  he  had  on  a  former  oc- 
casion used  means,  by  sending  letters  and  supplying  pastors, 
to  have  them  purely  instructed  in  the  gospel,  and  by  his  in- 
tercession with  the  German  princes  and  the  Swiss  states,  had 
preserved  them  from  impending  danger. 

The  unhappy  controversy  respecting  the  Supper  of  our 
Lord  was  at  this  time  again  renewed,  Osiander,  a  proud 
man  and  of  a  strange  disposition,  stirred  up  the  flame  of  dis- 
cord, which  seemed  to  be  extinguished,  and  Calvin  used 
every  exertion  in  his  power  to  terminate  it,  as  appears  by 
his  letters  written  to  Melancthon,  and  published  under  my 
inspection.  But  Osiander's  want  of  moderation  prevented 
him  from  listening  to  the  sound  advice  of  these  two  great 
men,  by  whom  he  is  denominated  Pericles. 

In  the  mean  time  many  excellent  characters  fell  victims  to 
the  plague  which  raged  in  the  city.  But  Calvin  thundered 
with  all  his  power  from  the  pulpit  against  the  vices  of  some, 
and  particularly  against  fornication,  which  the  scourge  of  the 
plague  could  not  terminate.     The  good  supported  him,  but 


38  LIFE     OF     CALVIN. 

the  efforts  of  the  pious  were  weakened  by  a  few  demagogues, 
until,  as  will  be  stated  in  its  proper  place,  they  voluntarily 
plunged  themselves  in  irretrievable  ruin.  These  evils  were 
increased  by  the  unseasonable  disputes  concerning  the  right 
of  the  city ;  nor  could  faithful  pastors  in  other  parts  of  Eu- 
rope endure  to  see  church  property,  taken  from  the  Roman 
hierarchy,  improperly  managed  in  many  places.  Clamours 
and  complaints  were  at  that  time  very  frequent  on  this  sub- 
ject, and  much  labour  devoted  to  it  both  in  writing  and 
speaking,  but  generally  without  effect.  Calvin,  indeed,  openly 
professed  that  he  was  by  no  means  a  friend  to  so  many  sacri- 
ligious  proceedings,  which  he  knew  must  finally  meet  with 
a  most  severe  divine  scourge,  but  acknowledged  the  just  judg- 
ment of  the  Lord  God  because  he  would  not  allow  revenues, 
acquired  formerly  by  priests  in  so  base  a  manner,  to  be 
brought  into  the  treasuries  of  the  church. 

Calvin  felt  deep  concern  this  year,  both  from  a  domestic 
and  foreign  cause.  A  Genevese  of  the  name  of  Troillet, 
young,  indeed,  but  artful,  after  having  counterfeited  for  some 
time  the  hermit  in  France,  had  returned  to  Geneva.  Calvin, 
distinguished  above  most  m.en  for  liis  sagacious  penetration 
into  character,  developed  this  person,  who  concealed  him- 
self in  the  commencement  under  the  appearance  of  piety. 
Calvin  first  admonished  him  mildly,  but  afterwards  rebuked 
him  more  freely,  when  his  conduct  in  the  congregation  was 
distinguished  by  insolence  and  ambition.  He  did  not  bear 
such  reproof  properly,  and  endeavoured  to  secure  the  aid  and 
zealous  favour  of  such  as  were  generally  condemned  by  Cal- 
vin on  account  of  their  vices.  On  the  death  of  one  of  the 
pastors,  Troillet  openly  endeavoured,  with  the  assistance  of 
his  friends,  to  canvass  for  the  ofHce  of  a  minister  of  the  gos- 
pel, when  the  appointment  of  a  successor  was  under  consi- 
deration. In  short,  the  senate  interposed  its  authority,  and 
ordered  him  to  be  preferred.  Calvin  and  his  colleagues  op- 
posed the  measure,  proving  how  much  such  a  system  of  can- 
vassing was  contrary  to  the  word  of  God,  and  obtained,  with 


LIFE     OF     CALVIN.  39 

the  approbation  of  the  senate,  the  enforcement  of  the  written 
laws  of  the  church. 

There  were  also  at  that  time  in  France  certain  persons, 
who,  having  renounced  the  protestant  religion  at  the  com- 
mencement, through  fear  of  persecution,  had  begim  after- 
wards so  far  to  flatter  themselves  as  to  deny  there  was  any 
sin  in  being  present  with  their  bodies  only  at  the  celebration  of 
the  mass,  provided  they  embraced  the  true  religion  in  their 
hearts.  Calvin,  whom  they  blamed  for  the  excess  of  his  se- 
verity, plainly  refuted,  by  his  clear  and  elegant  writings,  this 
very  pernicious  error,  which  the  fathers  had  long  ago  con- 
demned. He  annexed  also  the  opinions  of  the  most  learned 
reformers,  Philip  Melancthon,  Peter  Martyr,*  Bucer,  and 
the  church  of  Zurich,  and  so  far  restrained  the  progress  of 
this  error,  that  the  Nicodemites,  which  name  they  had  ac- 

'*=  Bucer,  in  a  letter  to  Calvin,  dated  Strasburg,  October  28, 1542, 
says:  "Our  literary  school  is  well  supplied;  a  man  has  arrived 
here  from  Italy,  learned  in  Greek,  Hebrew  and  Latin,  happily 
versed  in  the  scriptures,  44  years  of  age,  with  good  talents  and  a 
penetrating  genius  ;  his  name  is  Peter  Martyr.  He  was  Presi- 
dent of  the  Canons  of  Lucca  in  Lombardy. 

Martyr  continued  at  Strasburg,  until,  at  the  invitation  of  Cran- 
mer  in  the  King's  name,  he  went  over  to  England,  in  November 
1547.  In  1549,  he  was  appointed  divinity  Professor  at  Oxford,  by 
Edward  VI.  He  married  at  Strasburg  a  nun  who,  like  himself, 
had  escaped  from  the  superstitions  of  a  convent.  She  died  during 
his  residence  at  Oxford.  On  the  accession  of  Queen  Mary  in  1553, 
after  Martyr  returned  to  Strasburg,  during  the  Marian  persecution, 
the  bones  of  his  wife  were  dug  up  by  the  virulent  Papists,  and 
buried  in  a  dung  hill.  Martyr  was,  for  the  seven  last  years  of  his 
life,  Professor  at  Zurich.  He  was  at  the  Convention  atPoissy,  in 
1561,  with  Theodore  Beza,  and  died  soon  after  his  return  in  1562, 
aged  63.  He  was  learned,  zealous,  sincere  and  humble.  He  wrote 
Commentaries  on  the  Scriptures,  and  against  the  Papists,  and  on 
the  Lord's  Supper,  in  reply  to  Gardner,  Bishop  of  Winchester 
Burnet,  vol.  2,  p.  50. 


40  LIFE     OF     CALVIN. 

quired  by  adducing  the  example  of  this  most  holy  person  as 
a  pretext  for  their  false  sentiments,  he  fell  into  bad  repute  in 
the  church. 

The  year  1546  was  not  less  stormy  than  the  past.     For  it 
was  necessary  to  fortify  the  minds  of  the  people  against  the 
frequent  accounts  circulated  concerning  the  designs  of  Charles 
5th  in  opposition  to  religion,   and  against   the  fraudulent 
schemes  of  the  pope,  who  was  reported  to  employ  a  number 
of  emissaries  as  incendiaries.     The  state  of  the  city  itself 
also  particularly  excited  his  commisseration,  for  the  petulance 
of  the  wicked,  so  far  from  suffering  itself  to  be  subdued  by 
so  many  scourges,  became  still  more  insolent,  and  at  last 
broke  through  all  restraints.     For  Ami  Perrin,  a  very  auda- 
cious and  ambitious  character,  denominated  on  this  account 
by  Calvin,  in  his  letters,  the  mock  Caesar,  had  succeeded,  by 
the  suffrages  of  the  people,  in  obtaining  the  nomination  of 
captain-general,  and  some  time  before  had  become  leader  of 
the  opposers  of  order.  This  man  imagining,  as  was  the  fact, 
that  neither  he  nor  his  accomplices  could  succeed,  while  the 
laws  were  maintained  with  vigour,  and  Calvin  in  particular 
continued  to  thunder  against  their  wanton  and  disorderly  con- 
duct, began  openly  to  discover  this  year  what  he  and  his  as- 
sociates had  long  projected.    He  continued  silent  for  a  while, 
when  he  had  been  punished  and  crushed  by  the  authority  of 
the  senate,  merely  with  a  view  to  disclose  afterwards  his 
wickedness  in  a  more  open  manner.     For,  a  short  period 
having  elapsed,  one  of  the  senators,  secretly  instigated,  as  is 
supposed,  by  two  ministers  addicted  to  wine,  who  had  good 
reason,  as  well  as  others,  to  dread  the  severity  of  the  laws, 
accused  Calvin  of  false  doctrine  before  a  considerably  large 
assembly.  Calvin  continued  unmoved  by  such  attacks.  This 
senator  was  tried,  condemned,  branded  with  infamy  by  his 
own  body,  the  two  false  pastors  were  conjointly  suspended 
from  their  office,  and  the  taverns  deprived  of  their  license. 
Such  was  the  result  of  the  machinations  of  the  wicked,  who 
were  completely  disappointed. 


LIFE     OF     CALVIN.  41 

The  general  conftagralion  which  had  been  smothered  this 
year,  burst  forth  in  1547,  which  was  the  most  calamitous 
period  during  that  age.  The  churches  in  Germany  were  re- 
duced to  the  greatest  extremity,  her  princes  and  cities  either 
surrendered  to  the  emperor,  or  were  taken  by  force,  and  a 
work,  which  had  been  raised  by  the  unwearied  labours  of  so 
many  years,  seemed  to  be  overthrown  in  one  moment.  Many 
considered  those  happy,  who  had  been  rescued  by  a  timely 
death  from  such  dreadful  tumults.  Who,  then,  can  picture 
the  anguish  that  wrung  the  pious  breast  of  Calvin  in  those 
public  calamities  by  which  so  many  churches  were  over- 
whelmed ?  When  the  churches  enjoyed  the  most  profound 
peace,  our  reformer  felt  as  ardent  an  affection  for  the  most 
distant,  as  if  the  weight  of  them  all  rested  on  his  own  shoul- 
ders. What  pungency  of  grief  must  he  at  that  time  have  felt, 
when  he  beheld  those  illustrious  characters,  Melancthon, 
Bucer,  Martyr,  his  dearest  friends,  exposed  to  such  imminent 
danger,  as  to  be  placed  on  the  very  brink  of  death !  His 
writings,  however,  testify,  and  the  fact  itself  proved,  that 
Calvin  overcame  these  storms  with  the  greatest  fortitude. 
Though  persecuted  in  a  very  severe  manner  by  the  wicked 
at  Geneva,  he  did  not  move  a  step  from  the  high  station  of 
constancy  and  integrity  which  he  had  taken. 

To  return  to  Calvin's  domestic  disputes, — when  his  whole 
time  was  employed  in  proving  that  the  gospel  he  preached 
was  not  a  mere  speculative  doctrine,  but  consisted  in  a  pious 
Christian  life,  he  necessarily  incurred  the  enmity  of  those, 
who  had  proclaimed  war  not  only  against  all  piety  and  virtue, 
but  even  against  their  very  country.  Perrin,  as  already  stated, 
sliii  continued  their  leader,  for  his  own  condition  and  the  state 
of  his  associates  were  so  bad,  that  it  was  evident  they  must 
make  the  most  desperate  efforts  ;  and  the  abandoned  openly 
declared  it  was  necessary  for  the  cognizance  of  all  questions 
under  discussion,  that  they  should  be  removed  from  the  pres- 
bytery to  the  senate.     The  presbytery,  on  the   other  hand, 

insisted  that  the  laws  established  concerning  church  discipline 

4* 


42  LIFE     OF     CALVIN. 

were  agreeable  to  the  word  of  God,  and  they  implored  the  aid 
of  the  senate  to  prevent  the  church  from  receiving  any  in- 
jury. The  senate  determined  it  necessary  to  ratify  the  laws 
of  the  church,  and  confirmed  them  accordingly.  After  Per- 
rin  had  exposed  himself  to  very  great  danger  by  his  own 
audacious  conduct,  the  whole  affair  was  settled  by  expelling 
him  from  the  senate,  depriving  him  of  his  captaincy,  and  re- 
ducing him  to  a  mere  private  station.  Though  all  these 
transactions  were  carried  on  before  the  magistrates,  yet  it  is 
impossible  to  state  how  much  trouble  they  occasioned  Calvin. 
On  one  occasion  there  was  great  danger  of  blood  being  shed 
in  the  court  itself,  where  the  council  of  two  hundred  was 
assembled,  by  the  swords  of  the  contending  parties.  Calvin 
coming  up  with  his  colleagues,  at  the  risk  of  his  own  life, 
since  the  faction  of  the  wicked  was  chiefly  aimed  against 
him,  quelled  the  riot.  He  still  persisted  to  hold  up  to  detes- 
tation, in  the  most  solemn  manner,  their  criminal  conduct, 
and  to  rebuke  them  in  the  strongest  terms  according  to  their 
deserts.*     Nor  was  his  denunciation  of    God's  judgment 

*  To  allay  the  increasing  evils,  this  council  of  two  hundred  were 
convoked  to  meet  on  the  16th  day  of  September,  1547.  On  the 
preceeding  day,  Calvin  informed  his  colleagues,  that  tumults 
would  probably  be  excited  by  the  factious,  and  that  it- was  his  in- 
tention to  be  present  at  the  meeting.  Accordingly,  Calvin  ac- 
companied by  his  colleagues,  proceeded  to  the  Council  house,  but 
arrived  before  the  appointed  time.  Seeing  many  persons  walking 
about  the  door,  they  retired  through  an  adjoining  gate,  and  were 
unnoticed.  They  had  not  been  long  in  this  retreat,  before  they 
heard  loud  and  confused  clamours,  which  instantly  increased  with 
all  the  signs  of  sedition.  Calvin  ran  to  the  place,  and  though  the 
aspect  of  things  was  terrible,  he  advanced  into  the  midst  of  the 
violent  and  noisy  crowd.  His  presence  struck  them  with  asto- 
nishment ;  his  friends  pressed  around  him  as  a  defence ;  he  raised 
his  voice,  and  solemnly  declared,  that  he  came  to  oppose  his  body 
to  their  swords,  and  if  they  were  determined  to  shed  any  blood,  he 
exhorted  them  to  begin  with  his.    The  heat  of  the  sedition  abated. 


LIFEOFCALVIN.  43 

vain,  since  a  certain  person  was  then  apprehended  for  writ- 
ing a  libel,  and  fixing  it  to  the  pulpit,  in  which  he  produced 
many  base  charges  against  the  ministers,  and  declared,  in  a 
written  document,  that  Calvin  himself  ought  to  be  cast  into 
the  Rhone.  He  was  summoned  to  trial,  convicted  in  an  un- 
expected manner  of  a  great  variety  of  other  blasphemous 
proceedings,  and  beheaded.  After  his  death  a  paper  was 
found  professedly  written  with  his  own  hand  against  Moses, 
and  consequently  Christ,  and  his  impious  conduct  left  no 
doubt  of  his  having  also  infected  some  others. 

Calvin  wrote,  this  year,  in  the  midst  of  all  these  conten- 
tions, his  "  Antidote  against  the  seven  Sessions  of  the  Coun- 
cil of  Trent."  He  also  sent  an  epistle  to  the  church  of 
Rouen,  fortifying  them  against  the  artifices  of  a  certain  Fran- 
ciscan preacher,  who  was  disseminating  the  poison'  of  the 
errors  of  Carpocrates,  that  were  renewed  by  the  libertines. 

The  following  year,  1548,  the  disorders  of  the  factious 
again  broke  forth  in  Geneva  by  the  device  of  Satan,  who 
made  Farel  and  Viret  instrumental  to  this  result ;  a  fact  scarce- 
ly credible,  because  they  were  most  desirous  to  cure  all  the 
evils.  These  ministers  came  to  Geneva  in  the  beginning  of 
the  year,  and  addressed  the  senate  in  a  very  solemn  manner 


On  entering  the  Senate  chamber,  he  found  a  more  violent  con- 
test. He  pressed  between  the  parties,  when  they  were  upon  the 
point  of  drawing  their  swords  for  mutual  slaughter,  in  the  very 
sanctuary  of  Justice-  Like  an  angel  of  peace,  he  arrested  the  fury 
of  the  faction,  and  having  brought  the  assembly  to  their  seats,  he 
addressed  them  in  a  continued  and  impressive  oration.  He  pointed 
out  to  the  seditious  their  crimes,  and  the  public  evils  which  must 
inevitably  follow  upon  indulging  in  such  immoralities  and  factions; 
and  denounced  upon  them  the  judgments  of  God,  if  they  should  per- 
sist in  such  iniquity.  The  effects  of  this  address  were  so  deely  felt  by 
the  seditious  themselves,  that  they  commended  him  for  his  inter- 
position, which  had  arrested  their  bloody  attack  upon  the  senate. 
—See  Calvin's  letter  to  Viret,  dated,  Sept.  llth,  1547. 


44  LIPEOFCALVIN. 

on  the  necessity  of  healing  their  contentions,  since  Calvin 
only  demanded  reformation  of  manners.  Perrin,  with  his 
associates,  that  he  might  recover  his  former  situation,  pre- 
tended to  agree  to  whatever  was  proposed.  Every  thing 
now  appeared  to  be  amicably  arranged,  but  the  result  after- 
wards showed  that  he  had  only  imposed  upon  the  pious. 
On  Perrin's  restoration,  the  wickedness  of  the  abandoned 
citizens  went  to  such  a  height,  that  they  openly  used  certain 
breastplates,  cut  in  the  form  of  a  cross,  as  a  mark  for  dis- 
tinguishing each  other ;  some  called  their  dogs  Calvin,  others 
transformed  Calvin  into  Cain ;  a  considerable  number  declared 
they  refrained,  in  consequence  of  their  hatred  of  Calvin,  from 
the  Lord's  Supper.  Our  reformer  and  his  colleagues  rebuked 
all  this  conduct  with  much  boldness,  summoned  them  to  the 
senate,"  and  the  innocence  of  the  pious  was  easily  victorious. 
An  amnesty  was  finally  again  ratified  on  the  18th  of  Decem- 
ber by  a  solemn  oath.  The  event  proved  that  Perrin  had 
been  dissembling  in  the  whole  of  his  late  conduct,  and  the 
only  object  he  had  in  view  was  to  rise  to  the  syndicate,  for 
the  purpose  of  more  completely  opening  to  himself  and  his 
associates  a  still  more  certain  access  to  these  ofinices,  which 
might  enable  them  to  involve  all  in  one  common  ruin. 

Calvin  was  not  diverted  from  his  labours  by  these  disputes, 
but  he  illustrated  six  epistles  of  St.  Paul,  by  very  learned 
commentaries,  as  if  he  had  enjoyed  the  utmost  leisure.  He 
refuted  what  was  termed  the  "Interim,"  that  was  published 
with  a  view  to  ruin  the  German  churches,  by  a  work  written 
with  great  force,  which  pointed  out  the  true  method  for  re- 
storing the  church.  He  exposed,  in  a  very  elegant  paper,  the 
falsehood  and  vanity  of  judicial  astrology,  of  which  many  at 
that  time  entertained  a  high  opinion.  Having  received  an 
obliging  letter  from  Brentius,  banished  to  Basle,  he  consoled 
him  with  much  tenderness  and  friendship,  and  T  wish  Bren- 
tius had  not  broken  the  bonds  of  this  union.  He  then  also 
candidly  exhorted  Bucer,  when  banished  to  England,  to 
speak  and   write   his  opinion  more  openly  concerning  the 


LIFE     OF     CALVIN. 


45 


Lord's  Supper,  and  comforted  him  in  a  friendly  manner. 
At  the  same  time  he  took  great  pains  to  give  advice,  by  let- 
ter, to  the  Duke  of  Somerset,  protector  of  England,  who 
afterwards  very  unjustly  suffered  an  ignominious  death;  and 
had  Calvin's  plans  been  followed,  the  church  of  England 
would  in  all  probability  have  escaped  many  storms. (IX.) 

The  church  of  Geneva  wonderfully  increased  in  the  midst 
of  these  disputes,  and  this  grieved  Satan  and  bad  men  to  a 
very  great  degree.  Calvin's  zeal  on  the  other  hand  was  very 
much  increased,  by  entertaining,  in  the  kindest  manner,  those 
who  were  banished  from  their  country  on  account  of  religion. 
The  faction  of  the  seditious,  though  not  entirely  extinguish- 
ed, was  much  subdued  the  following  year,  and  afforded  him 
more  leisure  for  attending  to  the  distresses  of  the  suffering 
protestants.  He  required,  indeed,  a  cessation  from  such  dis- 
putes, for  he  now  sustained  a  very  severe  domestic  affliction 
in  the  loss  of  his  wife,  who  was  distinguished  by  a  most  ex- 
cellent and  choice  character.*     He  endured  his  trial  on  this 

*  The  companion  of  Calvin,  who  had  for  about  nine  years  cher- 
ished him  in  the  most  affectionate  manner,  was  removed  by  death 
in  March,  1549.  She  was  comely  in  her  person,*  amiable  in  her 
manners,  and  devoutly  humble  in  her  religious  duties ;  and  her 
death  was  to  Calvin,  amidst  his  labours  and  infirmities,  an  irrepara- 
ble loss.  His  strong  and  habitual  faith,  however,  enabled  him  to 
submit,  with  exemplary  calmness  and  constancy,  to  this  chastising 
stroke  from  the  hand  of  divine  sovereignty.  On  this  interesting 
occasion,  he  shall  speak  for  himself. 

"  Calvin  to  Farel. 

"  The  report  of  the  death  of  my  wife  has  doubtless  reached  you 
before  this.  I  use  every  exertion  in  my  power  not  to  be  entirely 
overcome  with  heaviness  of  heart.  My  friends,  who  are  about 
me,  omit  nothing  that  can  afford  any  alleviation  to  the  depression 
of  my  mind.    When  your  brother  left  us,  we  almost  despaired  of 

*  Bayle. 


46  LIFE     OF     CALVIN. 

occasion  with  such  constancy  as  to  leave  a  singular  example 
of  fortitude  to  the  whole  church  in  a  similar  dispensation  of 
Providence.  (X.) 

her  life.  On  Tuesday,  all  the  brethren  being  present,  we  united 
in  prayer.  Pouppinus  then,  in  the  name  of  the  rest,  exhorted  her 
to  faith  and  patience.  In  a  few  words,  (for  she  was  very  feeble,) 
she  gave  evidence  of  the  stale  of  her  mind.  After  this  I  added  an 
exhortation,  such  as  I  thought  suitable  to  the  occasion.  As  she 
had  not  mentioned  her  children,  I  was  apprehensive  that  from  deli- 
cacy she  might  cherish  in  her  mind  an  anxiety  more  painful  than 
her  disease ;  and  1  declared  before  the  brethren,  that  I  would  take 
the  same  care  of  them  as  if  they  were  my  own.  She  answered, 
/  have  already  commended  them  to  the  Lord.  When  I  observed 
that  this  did  not  lessen  my  obligation  of  duty  to  them,  she  answer- 
ed immmediately,  If  the  Lord  takes  them  under  his  protection,  I 
know  they  will  he  entrusted  to  your  care.  The  elevation  of  her 
mind  was  so  great  that  she  appeared  to  be  raised  above  this  world. 
On  the  day  when  she  gave  up  her  soul  to  the  Lord,  our  brother 
Borgonius,  a  little  before  6  o'clock,  opened  to  her  the  consolations 
of  the  Gospel,  during  which  she  frequently  exclaimed,  so  that  we 
all  perceived  that  her  affections  were  on  things  above.  The  words 
she  uttered  were,  O  glorious  resurrection  ! — God  of  Abraham, 
and  of  all  our  Jathers ! — The  faithful  have,  for  so  many  ages, 

hoped  in  thee,  and  not  one  has  been  disappointed /  will  also 

hope.  These  short  sentences  she  rather  ejaculated,  than  pro- 
nounced with  a  continued  voice.  She  did  not  catch  them  from 
others.  But  by  these  few  words  she  manifested  the  thoughts 
which  exercised  her  mind,  and  the  meditations  which  she  cherished 
in  her  own  heart.  At  6  o'clock  I  was  compelled  to  leave  home. 
After  seven  they  shifted  her  position,  and  she  immediately  began 
to  fail.  Perceiving  her  voice  beginning  to  falter,  she  said.  Let 
us  pray — Let  us  pray — Pray  for  me,  all  of  you. — At  this  time  I 
entered  the  house.  She  was  unable  to  speak,  but  gave  signs  of  an 
agitated  mind.  1  said  a  few  things  concerning  the  grace  of  Christ, 
the  hope  of  eternal  life,  our  domestic  intercourse  and  fellowship, 
and  our  departure  from  this  society  and  union.  I  retired  to  pray. 
She  was  attentive  to  the  instruction,  and  heard  the  prayers  with 


LIFEOP     CALVIN.  47 

The  churches  of  Saxony  not  being  agreed  respecting  ihe 
nature  and  use  of  indifferent  things,  Calvin  was  this  year 

a  sound  mind.  Before  8  o'clock  she  breathed  her  last  so  placidly, 
that  those  present  could  not  distinguish  the  moment  which  closed 
her  life.  I  now  suppress  the  sorrow  of  my  heart,  and  give  myself 
no  remission  from  my  official  duties.  But  the  Lord  still  exercises 
me  with  other  troubles.  Farewell,  dear  and  faithful  brother.  May 
the  Lord  Jesus  strengthen  you  by  his  spirit,  and  me  also  in  this 
so  great  calamity,  which  would  inevitably  have  overpowered 
me  unless  from  heaven  he  had  stretched  forth  his  hand,  whose 
office  it  is  to  raise  the  fallen,  to  strengthen  the  weak,  and  to 
refresh  the  weary.  Salute  all  the  brethren  and  your  whole 
family.  "  Yours, 

JOHN  CALVIN. 
«  Geneva,  April  11,  1549." 

"  Calvin  to  Viret. 

"  Although  the  death  of  my  wife  is  a  very  severe  affliction,  yet 
I  repress,  as  much  as  I  am  able,  the  sorrow  of  my  heart.  My 
friends  also  afford  every  anxious  assistance,  yet  with  all  our  ex- 
ertions we  effect  less,  in  assuaging  my  grief  than  I  could  wish  ; 
but  still  the  consolation  which  I  do  obtain  I  cannot  express.  You 
know  the  tenderness  of  my  mind,  or  rather  with  what  effeminacy 
I  yield  under  trials  ;  so  that  without  the  exercise  of  much  mode- 
ration, I  could  not  have  supported  the  pressure  of  my  sorrow. 
Certainly  it  is  no  common  occasion  of  grief  I  am  deprived 
of  a  most  amiable  partner,  who,  whatever  might  have  occurred 
of  extreme  endurance,  would  have  been  my  willing  compa- 
nion, not  only  in  exile  and  poverty,  but  even  in  death.  While 
she  lived  she  was  indeed  the  faithful  helper  of  my  ministry, 
and  on  no  account  did  I  ever  experience  from  her  any  inter- 
ruption. 

"  For  your  friendly  consolation  I  return  you  my  sincere  thanks. 
Farewell,  my  dear  and  faithful  brother.  May  the  Lord  Jesus 
watch  over  and  direct  you  and  your  wife.  To  her  and  the  breth- 
ren express  my  best  salutation.         "  Yours, 

JOHN  CALVIN. 
«  April  7,  1549." 


48  LIFE     OF     CALVIN. 

'consulted  and  gave  his  opinion  frankly  on  the  subject;  he 
also  admonished  Melancthon  of  his  duty,  who  was  unjustly 
accused  by  some  of  too  much  gentleness  in  his  views  on  this 
question,  as  Calvin  afterwards  more  fully  discovered. 

It  was  not  then  known  what  spirit  actuated  the  evil-genius 
of  Flaccius,  and  the  whole  tribe  of  his  followers,  by  which 
they  afterwards  caused  such  disturbances,  and  to  this  day  so 
subvert  the  work  of  the  Lord,  that  they  could  not  have  done 
it  more  audaciously  and  furiously  had  they  been  hired  to  it 
by  the  gold  of  the  Roman  pontiff.  But  the  Lord,  while  this 
wound  was  inflicted  upon  the  German  churches,  granted  a 
contrary  blessing  to  the  Swiss  ;  for  Farel  and  Calvin  made  a 
visit  to  Zurich,  that,  as  certain  persons  considered  the  latter 
in  some  measure  to  favour  consubstantiation,  all  protestants 
might  be  entirely  satisfied  concerning  the  unanimous  agree- 
ment of  all  the  Helvetic  churches  in  this  important  article. 
It  was  not  difficult  to  unite  good  men  devoted  to  the  truth. 
An  harmony  was  drawn  up  with  the  unanimous  approbation 
of  all  the  Swiss  and  Orison  churches,  which  had  the  effect  of 
still  more  closely  uniting  Bullinger  with  Calvin,  and  the 
church  of  Zurich  with  that  of  Geneva,  to  which  we  still  ad- 
here, and  hope  by  the  blessing  of  God  to  do  so  to  the  end. 
The  conclusion  of  this  year  was  productive  of  happiness  to 
the  church,  when  it  is  contrasted  with  the  preceding ;  and  I 
state  this  with  greater  pleasure,  because  I  was  now  first  in- 
troduced into  the  sacred  ofl[ice  on  the  call  of  the  church  of 
Lausanne,  and  at  Calvin's  instigation. 

About  this  time  Calvin  wrote  two  letters,  abounding  with 
profound  erudition  to  Lelius  Socinus,  of  Sienna,  who  died  at 
Zurich  after  a  long-continued  residence. 

These  letters  evidendy  prove  the  scepticism  of  Socinus, 
which  was  not  fully  known  until  many  years  had  elapsed, 
and  death  itself  had  closed  his  labours.  He  visited  the 
various  churches,  and  deceived  even  the  most  learned,  and 
among  the  rest  particularly  Melancthon,  Calvin,  and  Came- 
rarius,  who  bears  in  his  life  of  Melancthon  a  very  honoura- 


LIFE     OF     CALVIN.  49 

ble  testimony  to  his  character,  which  he  does  not  deserve. 
It  is  ascertained  beyond  doubt,  that  he  was  afterwards  in  a 
great  measure  the  author  of  the  confused  Bellian  controversy, 
and  a  favourer  of  the  wild  opinions  of  Servetus,  Castellio, 
and  Ochinus,  an  account  of  which  we  shall  give  in  its  proper 
place.  His  commentary  also  upon  the  celebrated  first  chap- 
ter of  John  is  yet  extant,  in  which  he  has  much  surpassed 
the  impiety  of  all  the  heretics,  who  ever  corrupted  that  very 
divine  passage. 

The  year  1550  was  remarkable  for  its  tranquillity  with  re- 
spect to  the  church.  The  consistory  resolved  that  the  minis- 
ters should  not  confine  their  instructions  to  public  preaching, 
which  was  neglected  by  some,  and  heard  with  very  little 
advantage  by  others,  but  at  stated  seasons  should  visit  every 
family  from  house  to  house,  attended  by  an  elder,  and  a  de- 
curion  of  each  ward,  to  explain  the  Christian  doctrines  to 
the  common  people,  and  require  from  every  one  a  brief  ac- 
count of  their  faith.  These  private  visits  were  of  great  use 
to  the  church,  and  it  is  scarcely  credible  how  much  fruit  was 
produced  by  this  plan  of  instruction. 

The  consistory  gave  directions  that  the  celebration  of  the 
birth  of  Christ  should  be  deferred  to  the  following  day,  and 
that  no  festival  should  be  observed  as  holy,  excepting  the 
seventh,  which  is  called  the  Lord's  day.  This  proceeding 
gave  offience  to  many,  and  for  the  purpose  of  reproaching 
Calvin,  there  were  some  who  circulated  an  unfounded  report 
of  his  abrogating  the  Sabbath  itself:  though  this  subject  was 
discussed  before  the  people,  and  the  decree  passed  without 
the  request  or  even  the  knowledge  of  the  ministers,  yet 
Calvin  di .  not  think  it  worth  his  while  to  excite  any  dispute. 
In  consequence  of  many  being  offended  with  such  changes, 
Calvin  embraced  this  opportunity  for  writing  a  '*  Treatise 
on  Scandal,"  dedicated  to  his  old  and  very  faithful  friend, 
Laurence  of  Normandy.     (See  note  B.) 

The  disputes  in  1551  fully  compensated  for  the  tranquil- 
lity of  the  two  preceding  years.  The  death  of  Bucer,  much 
5 


50  LIFEOFCALVIN. 

beloved  by  Calvin,  and  of  James  Vadian,  consul  of  St.  Gal, 
a  person  of  singular  piety  and  erudition,  deeply  afflicted  the 
whole  church,  and  especially  our  reformer.*     The  wicked- 


*  Martin  Bucer,  Professor  of  Theology  in  the  University  of 
Cambridge,  closed  his  learned  and  useful  career,  February  28, 
1551.  As  he  had  been  highly  respected  by  Edward  VI.  his  re- 
mains were  interred  with  distinguished  funeral  honours.  See  Bur- 
net, vol.  2,  p.  155. 

In  the  Marian  persecution,  the  tomb  of  Bucer  was  demolished, 
and  his  body  burnt ;  but  the  tomb  was  afterwards  rebuilt  by  order 
of  Queen  Elizabeth. 

The  death  of  Bucer  occurred  at  the  critical  moment  when  the 
Liturgy  of  the  English  Church  was  undergoing  a  reform.  The 
loss  of  his  influence  in  that  work,  and  the  close  of  along  and  mo^t 
confidential  intimacy  and  correspondence,  so  deeply  affected  Cal- 
vin, that  in  his  letter  to  Farel,  he  forbore  dwelling  on  the  painful 
subject ;  and  says,  "  When  I  reflect  with  myself,  how  great  a  loss 
the  Church  of  God  has  sustained  in  the  death  of  this  man,  it  cannot 
be  but  that  I  should  be  tortured  with  fresh  sorrow.  His  influence 
was  great  in  England.  And  from  his  writings,  I  cannot  but  in- 
dulge the  hope,  that  posterity  will  be  benefitted  in  a  still  more  ex- 
tensive degree.  It  may  be  added,  that  the  Church  appears  to  be 
deprived  of  faithful  teachers."  Calvin  proceeds  to  mention  in  the 
same  letter,  the  death  of  his  friend,  James  Vadian,  consul  of  St. 
Gal,  a  civil  magistrate  valuable  for  his  learning  and  piety,  the 
weight  of  whose  influence  was  very  great  in  the  civil  and  reli- 
gious concerns  of  the  Helvetians.  See  Calvin's  letter  to  Fare], 
dated  June  15,  1551,  and  to  Viret,  dated  May  10,  1551. 

Bucer  was  born  1491,  at  Schelestadt,  in  the  province  of  Alsace. 
He  entered  the  order  of  Dominicans  at  the  age  of  seven  years.  In 
1521,  he  had  a  conference  with  Luther.  Having  previously  pe- 
rused the  writings  of  Erasmus  and  of  Luther,  he  was  prepared  to 
unite  with  the  German  Reformers.  He  settled  at  Strasburg,  and 
officiated  there  both  as  Minister  and  Theological  Professor  for  20 
years ;  and,  with  Capito,  was  the  chief  instrument  of  the  early 
reformation  in  that  city.  When  the  troubles  about  the  Interim 
arose,  he  gladly  accepted  the  invitation  of  Cranmer,  and  went  to 
England,  1549. 


LIFE     OF     CALVIN.  51 

ness  of  the  factious  burst  forth  with  greater  violence,  in  pro- 
portion to  the  length  of  time  it  had  been  smothered :  they 
openly  asserted  that  the  right  of  citizenship  ought  not  to  be 
granted  to  strangers,  who  took  refuge  in  Geneva ;  and  not 
content  v/ith  this,  they  mocked  and  jostled  Calvin  on  his  re- 
turn from  preaching  beyond  the  Rhone. 

Raymond,  his  colleague,  passing  over  the  bridge  across  the 
Rhone  by  night,  nearly  fell  headlong  into  it,  in  consequence 
of  the  factious  secretly  removing  one  of  the  piles.  They 
excited  a  considerable  tumult  at  the  church  of  St.  Gervais, 
assigning  as  a  pretext,  that  the  minister  had  refused  to  give 
the  name  Balthazar,  which  had  been  expressly  prohibited  by 
laws  made  on  sufficient  grounds,  to  a  child  whom  they  had 
brought  for  baptism.  Calvin,  not  being  able  to  remedy  these 
evils,  bore  them  with  Christian  resignation,  fortitude,  and 
invincible  patience.  But  another  new  evil  attacked  the 
church  of  Geneva  at  this  time.  Jerome  Bolsec,  late  a  Car- 
melite monk  at  Paris,  was  the  occasion  of  this  confusion ; 
who,  having  laid  aside  the  habit  a  few  years  before,  retained 
the  spirit  and  character  of  a  monk.  He  fled  from  Paris,  and 
was  banished  from  the  court  of  the  Duchess  de  Ferrara,  who 
had  been  deceived  by  him,  and  having  been  made  physician 
in  the  space  of  three  days,  paid  a  visit  to  Geneva.  Being 
held  in  no  repute  among  learned  physicians,  he  aimed  to 
establish  his  credit  as  a  divine,  by  beginning  to  prate  some- 
thing privately  concerning  the  falsehood  and  absurdity  of 
predestination,  and  afterwards  in  the  church.  Calvin  at  first 
was  content  with  refuting  him,  and  used  mild  remonstrance, 
but  afterwards,  by  private  conversation,  our  reformer  endea- 
voured to  correct  his  errors.  But  Bolsec,  whether  excited 
by  monastic  ambition,  or  goaded  on  by  the  seditious,  who 
had  been  seeking  for  some  one  to  attack  Calvin,  on  the  16th 
of  October,  when  the  preacher  was  explaining  in  the  church 
the  following  passage :  "  He  that  is  of  God  heareth  God's 
words ;  ye  therefore  hear  them  not  because  ye  are  not  of 
God,"  (John  viii.  47,)  openly  dared  to  support  free  will,  and 


52  LIFEOFCALVIN. 

the  foreknowledge  of  works,  for  the  purpose  of  subverting 
the  decree  of  eternal  predestination,  which  is  superior  in  or- 
der to  all  causes.  He  attacked  the  true  doctrine  with  con- 
tumelious language,  and  a  purely  seditious  arrogance ;  and 
he  is  thought  to  have  done  this  with  greater  boldness,  because 
he  considered  Calvin  to  be  absent,  as  Bolsec  did  not  happen 
to  behold  him  in  his  usual  place.  He  was  indeed  absent  at 
the  commencement  of  the  sermon,  but  as  he  came  in  after 
the  preacher  had  proceeded  with  his  subject,  he  had  remained 
behind  some  of  the  rest  of  the  congregation.  When  the  dis- 
course of  the  monk  was  finished,  Calvin  suddenly  appeared, 
and  though  he  evidently  spoke  without  premeditation,  dis- 
played on  this  occasion,  as  much  as  on  any  other,  his  great 
talents  in  controversy.  Calvin  indeed  confuted  his  opponent 
with  so  much  force,  adduced  so  many  passages  from  Scrip- 
ture, so  many  quotations  in  particular  from  St.  Augustin,  and, 
finally,  so  many,  and  such  weighty  arguments,  that  all,  ex- 
cept the  monk  himself,  with  his  shameless  front,  blushed 
exceedingly  for  the  daring  assailant.  He  was  seized  by  a 
magistrate  in  the  congregation,  who  was  empowered  for  that 
purpose,  dismissed  the  assembly,  and  committed  to  prison  as 
a  seditious  offender.  In  short,  the  cause  was  discussed  in 
various  disputations ;  the  senate  requested  the  judgment  of 
the  Swiss  churches,  expelled  him  from  the  city,  after  being 
publicly  condemned  for  sedition  and  downright  Pelagianism, 
and  threatened  to  inflict  corporal  punishment,  if  they  should 
again  apprehend  him  either  in  tlie  city  or  its  territory.  Bol- 
sec retired  into  a  neighbouring  city,  where  he  caused  many 
and  great  disturbances ;  and  having  been  twice  driven  from 
the  Canton  of  Berne,  he  went  first  to  Paris,  and  then  to  Or- 
leans, canvassing  for  the  charge  of  the  ministry  among  the 
French  churches,  which  he  expected  would  continue  tran- 
quil, affecting,  by  strange  arts,  repentance  for  his  conduct, 
and  expressing,  of  his  own  accord,  a  desire  to  be  reconciled 
with  the  church  of  Geneva.  When  he  appeared  as  if  really 
prepared    thus   to   act,   the   persecution   of  the   protestant 


LIFE      OF     CALVIN.  53 

churches,  contrary  to  his  expectations,  alarmed  him,  and, 
resuming  the  study  of  medicine,  he  openly  forsook  the  pro- 
testants,  and  returned  to  the  popish  profession,  having  aban- 
doned also  his  wife  to  the  canons  of  Autun,  and  became  a 
gross  railer  against  the  truth,  which  practice  he  still  con- 
tinues in  that  city.  But  the  College  of  Ministers  at  Geneva, 
in  a  public  meeting,  asserted  the  true  doctrine  of  predestina- 
tion, and  approved  the  statement  afterwards  given  of  it  by 
Calvin  in  a  treatise  published  on  that  subject.  Satan,  by 
these  disputes,  was  the  occasion  of  so  much  light  being 
thrown  upon  this  article  of  our  faith,  involved  before  in  very 
great  obscurity,  that  it  has  been  made  clear  and  evident  to 
all  but  the  friends  of  contention. 

In  the  following  year  it  appeared  more  certain  what  such 
a  flame  the  impure  Bolsec  had  raised,  although  condemned 
by  the  common  judgment  of  so  many  churches.  For  the 
difficulty  of  a  question,  which  had  not  yet  been  sufficiently 
explained  by  the  greater  part  of  the  ancients,  and  the  discus- 
sion of  which  had  not  always  ended  in  the  same  conclusion, 
excited  in  a  peculiar  manner  inquisitive  minds  to  investigate 
this  important  point.  The  factious  also  considered  this  to  be 
an  excellent  opportunity  for  effecting  the  complete  subver- 
sion of  all  order,  if  Calvin  could  only  be  expelled.  It  is  im- 
possible to  state  the  various  disputes  which  followed,  not 
only  in  the  city,  but  in  every  quarter,  as  if  the  trumpet  was 
sounded  by  Satan  himself.  For  though  the  ministers  of  the 
principal  churches  beautifully  harmonized,  there  were,  how- 
ever, some  of  the  neighbouring  churches  of  Berne,  which 
threatened  to  enter  into  controversy  with  Calvin,  as  if  he 
made  God  the  author  of  sin,  evidently  forgetting  that  Calvin 
had  long  ago  professedly  refuted  this  very  destructive  opi- 
nion, in  his  treatise  against  the  libertines.  At  Basle  also  the 
good  and  simple  man,  CasteUio,  the  greatest  part  of  whose 
conduct  was  marked  by  secrecy,  supported  Pelagianism  with 
considerable  openness.  Even  Melancthon  himself  had  com- 
menced writing  on  these  subjects  in  such  a  manner,  that  not- 

5* 


54  LIFE      OF     CALVIN. 

withstanding  he  had  expressly  before  this  period  subscribed 
to  Calvin's  book  against  Pighius,  yet  some  thought  he  pointed 
to  the  ministers  of  Geneva,  as  if  they  were  introducing  a  stoi- 
cal fate.  I  wholly  omit  mentioning  the  catholics,  who  now 
again  repeated  the  same  calumnies,  which  had  been  a  thou- 
sand times  refuted.  These  circumstances  necessarily  dis- 
tressed Calvin's  mind  with  much  greater  keenness,  because, 
occasionally  during  that  period,  the  power  of  error  had  been 
so  great,  that  in  some  parts  public  authority  seemed  to  inter- 
pose for  preventing  the  ministers  to  declare  the  truth. 

Nor  was  this  a  controversy  finished  in  a  few  years  :  but, 
first  of  all,  the  good  hermit,  Troillet,  already  mentioned, 
came  forth  this  very  year  to  enter  the  field  of  controversy 
with  Calvin,  who  some  time  before,  after  being  rejected  as 
an  unsuccessful  candidate  for  the  ministry,  had  become  a  law- 
yer, and  the  patron  of  the  factious.  This  cause  was  discussed 
on  both  sides  before  the  senate  with  considerable  warmth. 
Calvin  defended  his  doctrine  by  the  sole  authority  of  truth, 
while  his  opponent  conducted  the  discussion,  supported  by 
the  impudence  and  the  favour  of  the  abandoned.  The  truth 
was  victorious  ;  and  the  writings  of  Calvin,  which  is  a  strik- 
ing fact,  were  even  recognised  as  orthodox  and  pious  by  the 
sufi'rages  of  his  opponents. 

We  must  not  conceal  the  repentance  of  this  Troillet  some 
few  years  after,  who,  on  his  death -bed,  sent  for  Calvin,  with 
great  earnestness,  as  a  witness,  to  inform  him  that  he  could 
not  die  with  peace  of  conscience,  unless  he  was  reconciled 
to  him  before  he  departed.  He  confessed  in  ^hat  an  unwor- 
thy manner  he  had  carried  on  his  attack  against  Calvin,  who 
not  only  paid  him  every  attention,  but  with  the  greatest  kind- 
ness raised  and  comforted  his  drooping  spirit,  and  confirmed 
his  faith  until  his  dying  hour. 

But  the  year  1553,  the  wickedness  of  the  seditious  has- 
tening to  a  close,  was  so  very  turbulent,  that  both  church  and 
state  were  brought  into  extreme  danger.  They  made  so  great 
a  progress  by  threats  and  clamour,  the  virtuous  part  of  the 


LIFE      OF     CALVIN.  55 

society  enjoying  no  liberty  in  consequence  of  the  great  num- 
ber of  the  seditious,  as  to  disannul  the  ancient  edicts  for  elect- 
ing and  appointing  senators,  which,  by  the  kind  favour  of 
God,  afforded  an  argument  for  the  virtuous,  to  adopt  after- 
wards such  an  improvement  in  their  councils,  as  secured 
more  oompletely  their  own  rights.  They  expelled  some  from 
the  senate,  deprived  all  foreign  refugees  of  their  arms,  under 
the  pretence  of  fear,  and  allowed  them  only  the  use  of  swords 
when  they  went  into  the  country.  Every  thing  seemed  to  be 
in  a  state  of  preparation  for  accomplishing  the  plans  of  the 
seditious,  since  all  was  subject  to  their  power. 

Satan  then  presented  another  occasion  for  exciting  distur- 
bance. For  that  real  enemy  of  the  sacred  Trinity,  or  rather 
of  all  true  deity,  a;id  therefore  a  monster  formed  from  all 
kinds  of  the  most  absurd  and  impious  heresies  which  had 
formally  taken  possession  of  the  human  mind,  Michael  Ser- 
vetus,  after  wandering  as  a  physician  for  some  years  in  va- 
rious parts  of  Europe,  under  the  feigned  name  of  Villano- 
vanus,  disseminated  his  blasphemies  at  Vienne,  in  a  thick 
volume.  ArnoUet,  of  Lyons,  was  printer,  and  William  Gue- 
ret,  corrector,  as  it  is  termed,  of  the  press,  who  was  long  ago 
devoted  to  the  seditious  at  Geneva,  and  a  few  months  before 
left  that  city  for  Lyons,  to  avoid  the  punishment  to  which  he 
was  exposed,  on  account  of  fornication  and  other  crimes. 
Servetus,  after  publishing  this  work,  abounding  with  blas- 
phemies, on  account  of  which  he  had  been  imprisoned  at  Vi- 
enne, whence,  by  contrivances,  with  which  I  am  wholly  un- 
acquainted, he  afterwards  escaped,  now  came,  under  unfa- 
vourable auspices,  to  Geneva,  with  an  intention  of  going  to 
some  more  distant  place,  if  the  providence  of  God  had  not  so 
arranged  that  he  was  cast  into  prison  by  one  of  the  magis- 
trates ;  who  was  informed  of  his  being  in  that  city  by  Calvin, 
who  recognized  him  soon  after  his  arrival,  having  been,  well 
acquainted  with  Servetus  long  before.  A  book  was  published, 
where  a  very  full  account  may  be  met  with  of  the  controver- 
sies then  discussed,  and  of  the  importance  of  the  subjects  ex- 


/ 


56  LIFE     OF     CALVIN. 

amined.  The  result  of  the  whole  was,  that  this  ruined  char- 
acter, in  whose  ear  it  was  thought  one  of  the  seditious,  being 
assessor  with  the  praetor,  whispered  advice  calculated  to  har- 
den the  mind  of  the  prisoner  in  his  sins,  was  betrayed  by  his 
own  vain  confidence,  and  condemned  for  impiety  and  an  in- 
finite number  of  blasphemies,  according  to  the  sentence  even 
of  all  the  Swiss  churches.  This  unhappy  person  was  burned 
alive,  without  manifesting  the  least  mark  of  repentance,  on 
the  27th  of  October.  [See  note  C] 

Farel  was  so  broken  down  with  disease  this  year,  that  he 
was  left  by  Calvin,  who  had  come  to  visit  him  at  Neuchatel, 
apparently  in  dying  circumstances.  He  was,  however,  af- 
terwards restored,  contrary  to  all  expectations,  and  continu- 
ed to  comfort  and  refresh  the  church.  This  year  was  hidier- 
to  evidently  spent  by  us  in  an  alternation  of  hope  and  fear, 
but  the  grief  we  experienced  was  followed  by  the  feelings  of 
joy. 

For  while  the  proceedings  were  going  on  in  the  case  of 
Servetus,  Bertelier,  one  of  the  factious,  a  man  of  the  most 
abandoned  impudence,  who  had  been  forbidden  the  Lord's 
table  by  the  presbytery  on  account  of  his  many  crimes,  en- 
tered the  senate,  and  petitioned  them  to  authorize  the  abro- 
gation of  his  sentence.  Had  this  request  been  granted,  all 
the  bonds  of  church  discipline  would  undoubtedly  have  been 
broken,  and  all  church  order  immediately  dissolved.  Cal- 
vin, therefore,  with  great  earnestness  and  boldness,  in  the 
name  of  the  presbytery,  opposed  it,  and  proved  that  the 
magistrate  ought  to  be  the  avenger,  not  destroyer  of  the  sa- 
cred laws,  and  he  neglected  nothing  which  so  momentous  a 
dispute  required.  The  false  clamours  of  those,  who  assert- 
ed that  the  presbytery,  in  some  cases,  usurped  the  power  of 
the  magistrates,  triumphed  ;  and  a  resolution  was  passed,  on 
the  question  being  brought  before  the  grand  council  of  two 
hundred,  that  the  final  decision,  on  all  cases  of  excom.muni- 
cation,  should  be  vested  in  the  senate,  with  a  power  to  ab- 
solve such  as  they  thought  fit.     Agreeable  to  this  decision, 


L  1  F  E     O  P     CALVIN.  57 

Bertelier  secretly  obtained  letters  abrogating  his  sentence, 
and  confirmed  bj  the  seal  of  the  state,  from  the  senate, 
which  did  not  at  that  time  direct  its  attention  to  the  careful 
investigation  of  this  subject.  Perrin,  and  his  faction,  expect- 
ed that  Calvin  would  either  disobey  the  orders  of  the  senate, 
and  thus  sink  under  popular  tumult,  or,  if  he  obeyed  them, 
all  the  authority  of  the  presbytery,  and  with  it  all  the  power- 
ful restraints  upon  the  wicked,  v/ould,  without  difficulty,  be 
afterwards  broken  for  ever.  But  Calvin,  having  received 
notice  of  this  resolution  only  two  days  before  the  adminis- 
tration of  the  supper,  as  usual,  in  September,  uttered,  during 
the  sermon,  with  uplifted  hands,  and  in  a  solemn  tone,  many 
severe  denunciations  against  the  profaners  of  mysteries, 
whose  sacred  character  he  described  ;  and  "  for  my  own 
part,"  said  he,  (after  the  example  of  Chrysostom,)  "  I  will 
rather  suffer  myself  to  be  slain,  than  allow  this  hand  to 
stretch  forth  the  sacred  things  of  the  Lord  to  those  -.ho  are 
lawfully  condemned  as  despisers  of  God."  This  voice,  won- 
derful to  state,  produced  such  an  effect,  even  upon  his  un- 
bridled enemies,  that  Perrin  immediately  gave  secret  orders 
to  Bertelier,  not  to  present  himself  at  the  table,  and  the  sacred 
mysteries  were  celebrated  with  a  surprisingly  profound  si- 
lence, and  under  a  solemn  awe,  as  if  the  Deity  himself  had 
been  visible  among  them.  But,  after  dinner,  in  the  course 
of  his  explaining  that  remarkable  passage  in  the  Acts  of  the 
Apostles,  w^here  Paul  bids  farewell  to  the  church  of  Ephe- 
sus,  Calvin  protested  that  he  was  not  the  man  who  either 
himself  knew  anything  about  resisting  magistrates,  or  taught 
others  to  do  so,  and  exhorted,  at  considerable  length,  the 
people  to  persevere  in  the  doctrine  which  they  had  heard. 
And  in  conclusion,  as  if  it  was  the  last  sermon  he  would 
preach  at  Geneva,  he  said,  "  Since  affairs  are  in  such  a  state, 
permit  me  also,  brethren,  ^to  apply  to  you  the  language  of 
the  apostle,  I  commend  you  to  God  and  to  the  word  of  his 
grace."  These  words  struck  his  abandoned  enemies  dumb, 
in  a  surprising  manner,  and  the  good  were  more  seriously 


58  LIFE     OF     CALVIN. 

confirmed  and  admonished  of  their  duty.  Calvin,  the  next 
day,  accompanied  by  his  colleagues  and  the  presbytery,  de- 
liberately demanded  of  the  senate,  and  the  council  of  two 
hundred,  that  their  case  should  be  determined  by  the  people 
themselves,  since  the  law,  whose  abrogation  was  then  under 
consideration,  had  been  made  by  the  people. 

The  opinions  of  these  two  ruling  bodies  were  changed 
after  such  observations,  and  it  was  resolved  that  the  decree 
of  the  two  hundred  should  be  suspended,  the  four  reformed 
states  of  Switzerland  consulted,  and  no  alteration  in  the  mean 
time  should  take  place  in  the  existing  laws.  Thus  the  storm 
being  broken  rather  than  quelled,  the  leaders  of  the  faction 
endeavoured,  from  the  occurrence  of  particular  circumstances 
to  make  it  fall  upon  the  head  of  Farel,  which,  contrary  to  all 
expectation,  had  been  averted  from  that  of  Calvin.  For  Fa- 
rel, who  had  suffered  so  severely  from  a  violent  disease  in 
the  month  of  March,  visited  Geneva  as  soon  as  the  restora- 
tion of  his  health  allowed.  In  his  sermon,  relying  on  the 
justice  of  the  cause,  on  his  age,  and  former  influence,  he  re- 
proved with  great  keenness,  the  supporters  of  faction.  They 
complained  loudly  that  Farel  had  done  them  a  serious  injury, 
and  on  his  return  to  Neuchatel  they  procured  letters  from  the 
senate  to  the  government  of  that  state,  for  the  purpose  of  al- 
lowing Farel  to  be  summoned  to  Geneva,  and  to  answer  for 
himself  on  the  day  appointed.  Farel  came,  and  was  exposed 
to  considerable  danger  from  the  factious  who  cried  out, 
that  he  ought  to  be  thrown  into  the  Rhone  for  his  conduct. 
A  prudent,  discreet,  courageous  young  man,  in  the  first  place, 
frequently  warned  Perrin  to  use  every  exertion  that  the  com- 
mon father,  as  it  were,  of  the  city,  might  not  suffer  any  in- 
jury. He  was  afterwards  joined  by  one  of  his  companions, 
another  young  man  of  integrity,  who  advised  such  as  were 
friends  of  good  order  what  measures  they  ought  to  adopt. 
The  concourse  of  a  great  part  of  the  city  took  place  when 
Farel  seated  himself  in  the  court.  His  accusers,  astonished 
at  this  circumstance,  and  being  now  anxious  for  their  own 


LIFE     OF     CALVIN.  59 

personal  safety,  earnestly  entreated  for  the  acquittal  of  Farel, 
after  an  audience  had  been  given  him.  Thus  nearly  the 
whole  of  the  year  was  spent  against  the  wicked,  in  contend- 
ing either  for  good  doctrine,  or  wholesome  discipline.  The 
result  was  every  where  prosperous,  if  we  except  the  wound, 
which  not  only  England,  but  all  Christian  churches,  suffered 
in  the  death  of  the  most  pious  King  Edward  the  6th,  who 
was  cut  off  in  the  flower  of  youth.* 


*  This  excellent  prince  was  the  son  of  Henry  VIII.  and  Jane 
Seymour,  who  was  delivered  of  him  at  Hampton  Court,  October 
12,  1537,  but  not  without  the  cesarean  operation,  of  which  she 
died  in  a  few  days  after.  During  this  young  king's  last  illness,  a 
few  hours  before  his  death,  with  his  eyes  closed,  and  judging  that 
no  one  heard  him,  he  offered  up  the  following  prayer. 

"  Lord  God,  deliver  me  out  of  this  miserable  and  wretched  life, 
and  take  me  among  thy  chosen.  Howbeit,  not  my  will,  but  thine 
be  done.  Lord  1  commit  my  spirit  to  thee.  O  Lord,  thou  know- 
est  how  happy  it  were  for  me  to  be  with  thee ;  yet  for  thy  chosen's 
sake,  send  me  hfe  and  health,  that  I  may  truly  serve  thee.  O 
my  Lord  God,  bless  thy  people,  and  save  thy  inheritance.  O  Lord 
God,  save  thy  chosen  people  of  England.  O  my  Lord  God,  de- 
fend this  realm  from  papistry,  and  maintain  thy  true  religion,  that 
I  and  my  people  may  praise  thy  holy  name,  for  thy  Son  Jesus 
Christ  his  sake."  His  last  words  were,  "  I  am  faint,  Lord  have 
mercy  upon  me,  and  take  my  spirit."  Thus  died  this  blessed 
king — this  young  Josias,  July  6, 1553,  aged  17. 

Mr.  Brr-uicrd,  the  martyr,  said  of  this  excellent  prince,  that  he 
judged  him  to  be  the  holiest  and  godliest  man  in  the  realm  of 
England. 

In  the  beginning  of  his  reign,  Charles  I.  emperor  of  Germany  and 
king  of  Spain,  requested  that  leave  might  be  given  to  Lady  Mary 
(afterwards  Queen  Mary)  to  have  mass  said  in  her  house.  Bish- 
ops Cranmer  and  Ridley  were  sent  by  the  Council  to  entreat  the 
the  young  king  on  this  behalf.  They  plead  for  it  as  a  matter  of 
state  policy.  But  the  young  king  answered  them  from  Scripture 
with  such  gravity  and  force,  that  they  could  not  reply.     They 


60 


LIFE     OF     CALVIN. 


Calvin  was  so  intent  upon  his  studies  during  this  year,  as 
to  publish  his  excellent  commentaries  on  John.  We  may 
here  declare,  and  I  heartily  wish  it  were  without  cause  con- 
cerning Servetus,  what  the  ancient  fathers  of  the  church, 
taught  by  experience,  wrote  of  these  two  monsters,  Paul  of 
Samosata,  and  Arius  of  Alexandria,  that  they  commenced 
conflagrations,  which  afterwards  set  on  fire  nearly  all  the 
churches  of  the  Christian  world.  Servetus  was  justly 
punished  at  Geneva,  not  as  a  sectary,  but  as  a  monster,  made 
up  of  nothing  but  impiety  and  horrid  blasphemies,  with 
which,  by  his  speeches  and  writings,  for  the  space  of  thirty 
years,  he  had  infected  both  heaven  and  earth.  Even  now  it 
is  impossible  to  state  how  much  he  has  increased  the  rage  of 
Satan,  since  the  flame,  raised  by  him,  first  seized  upon  Po- 
land then  Transylvania  and  Hungary,  and  would  to  God  it 
had  not  extended  even  farther.  Servetus  may  justly  be  con- 
sidered as  having  uttered  a  prediction,  with  a  spirit  evidently 
Satanic,  when  he  selected  the  following  sentence,  with 
the  same  feelings  of  conscience  that  dictated  all  his  other 
writings,  as  a  frontispiece  to  his  book,  which  is  true,  if 
the  particle  with,  not  against,  be  used:  " Great  war  took 
place  in  heaven,  Michael  and  his  angels  fighting  with  the 
dragon." 


however  pressed  their  suit,  but  the  king  told  them  to  be  satisfied,  and 
said  that  he  was  resolved  rather  to  lose  his  life,  and  all  that  he  had, 
than  agree  to  that  which  he  knew  with  certainty  to  be  against  the 
truth.  Notwithstanding  all  this,  the  bishops  continued  their  inter- 
cessions, when  the  king  burst  into  tears,  through  tenderness,  love, 
and  zeal  for  the  truth ;  which  the  bishops  no  sooner  observed  than 
they  wept  also  and  withdrew.  On  their  return  to  the  Council,  they 
met  Mr.  Cheek,  who  had  a  great  share  in  the  king's  education. 
Cranmer  took  him  by  the  hand,  and  said  "Ah,  Mr.  Cheek,  you 
may  be  glad  all  the  days  of  your  life,  that  you  have  such  a  scholar ; 
for  he  hath  more  divinity  in  his  little  finger,  than  we  have  in  our 
whole  bodies." 


LIFE     OF     CALVIN.  61 

The  ashes  of  this  unhappy  man  were  scarcely  cold,  when 
the  question  was  discussed  concerning  the  punishment  of 
heretics.  Some  thought  it  right  to  restrain  within  due 
bounds,  but  not  to  punish  heretics  with  death ;  others  deter- 
mined to  leave  them  to  the  judgment  of  God,  from  a  con- 
viction that  the  word  of  truth  is  not  sufficiently  clear  on 
heresy,  and_  that,  according  to  the  practice  of  the  academi- 
cians, different  sentiments  may  be  entertained  by  both  sides 
concerning  all  the  articles  of  religion :  even  some  good  men 
supported  this  opinion,  fearing  lest,  by  adopting  contrary 
sentiments,  they  should  appear  to  inflame  the  cruelty  of 
tyrants  against  the  pious.  The  principal  supporters  of  this 
sentiment  were  Castellio  and  Lelius  Socinus,  the  former  in 
a  more  secret  manner,  the  latter  with  greater  boldness. 
Socinus,  in  his  preface  for  perverting  the  Holy  Bible,  has 
evidently  studied  to  destroy  the  manifest  authority  of  the 
divine  word,  and  has  expressly  stated  in  his  notes  to  the 
First  Epistle  to  the  Corinthians,  for  the  purpose  of  with- 
drawing our  attention  from  the  written  word  as  imperfect, 
that  Paul  had  taught  some  of  his  perfect  disciples,  with 
whom  I  am  wholly  unacquainted,  a  certain  more  profound 
system  of  divinity  than  what  he  has  delivered  to  us  in  the 
Scriptures. 

Calvin,  in  the  beginning  of  1554,  published  a  copious  re- 
futation of  the  doctrine  of  Servetus,  which  was  subscribed 
by  all  his  colleagues,  and  assigned  reasons  why,  and  to  what 
extent,  after  proper  legal  investigation,  heretics  ought  to  be 
punished  by  the  magistrates.  This  refutation  was  answered 
in  the  name  of  one  Martin  Bellius,  who  was  Castellio  himself, 
though  he  afterwards  denied  it  on  oath,  in  a  confused  work, 
formed  out  of  extracts  from  the  corrupted  writings  of  pious 
doctors,  and  from  the  manuscripts  of  certain  unknown  fana- 
tics. They  forged  the  name  of  the  city  where,  they  falsely 
pretended,  this  confused  treatise  had  been  published,  and  in- 
serted it  in  the  preface.  I  afterwards  returned  an  answer  to 
this  work,  which  contained  not  only  the  error  already  men- 

6 


62  LIFE     OF     CALVIN. 

tioned,  but  many  blasphemies,  with  a  view  to  free  Calvin 
from  the  troublesome  interruption  he  would  have  experienc- 
ed in  the  prosecution  of  works  of  greater  importance,  espe- 
cially in  writing  his  very  learned  commentaries  on  Genesis, 
and  also  in  his  unwearied  labours  for  warding  off  other  dan- 
gers, hereafter  to  be  stated,  by  which  the  church  was  threaten- 
ed. For  the  factious  persisted  in  their  innovations ;  and 
though,  on  the  2d  of  February,  an  amnesty  was  again  ratified 
in  the  presence  of  the  senate  with  a  solemn  promise,  yet 
they  daily  increased  in  wickedness.  Calvin  continued  to  be 
very  much  occupied,  while  he  laboured  by  his  usual  reproofs 
to  recall  the  abandoned  to  habits  of  virtue,  and  to  confirm  the 
good  against  the  vile  conduct  of  the  wicked  :  for  they  had 
advanced  to  such  a  dreadful  height  of  vice,  as  to  parody  the 
word  of  God  itself  in  obscene  songs,  and  to  knock  down,  and 
sometimes  even  to  plunder,  foreigners,  whom  they  met  in 
the  evening.  They  called  in  also  the  private  and  special 
assistance  of  Bolsee,  Castellio,  and  certain  other  characters, 
who  forsooth  displayed  great  anxiety  about  the  truth,  for  the 
purpose  of  renewing  the  controversy  concerning  predestina- 
tion. They  were  not  satisfied  with  disseminating  that 
famous  anonymous  work,  replete  with  calumny,  in  which 
Calvin,  the  faithful  servant  of  God,  was  reviled  in  a  very  sur- 
prising manner ;  but  Castellio  sent  another  Latin  work  to  be 
published  secretly  at  Paris,  which  I  afterwards  answered, 
and  Calvin  himself  refuted  some  foolish  absurdities  of  the 
same  argument  comprehended  in  certain  articles. 

Calvin  was  at  this  time  occupied  with  the  care  of  the  nu- 
merous strangers,  who  had  been  obliged  to  quit  England, 
some  of  whom  had  retired  to  Vezel,  others  to  Embden,  and 
the  rest  to  Franckfort,  who  all  frequently  solicited  his  advice. 
He  was  much  distressed  by  the  audacity  of  certain  pastors, 
belonging  to  the  French  church  at  Strasburg,  formerly  found- 
ed by  him,  who  were  supported  by  the  secret  favour  and  as- 
sistance of  some  of  their  colleagues. 

The  great  labours  in  which  Calvin  was  engaged  this  year, 


LIFE     OF      CALVIN.  63 

for  the  interest  of  various  churches,  appear  from  his  nu- 
merous letters,  by  which  he  induced  many  princes  to  em- 
brace the  gospel,  and  confirmed  with  very  great  advantage, 
many  of  his  brethren,  either  exposed  to  the  most  imminent 
danger  of  their  li^es,  or  confined  in  chains. 

We  have  already  spoken  of  the  published  harmony  of  the 
doctrine  of  the  sacraments  among  all  the  Swiss  and  Grison 
churches,  which  afforded  great  joy  to  the  learned  and  good 
of  all  denominations.  This  harmony  displeased  the  spirit  of 
error,  with  whose  power  we  are  already  well  acquainted. 
He  easily  got  one  Joachim  Westphal  to  stir  up  the  covered 
embers,  who  having  sounded  the  tocsin,  was  supported  by 
Heshusius,  then  minister  of  the  word  of  God,  and  now  made 
a  bishop,  of  whom  we  shall  afterwards  give  a  more  full  ac- 
count. Calvin  published,  at  that  time,  an  explanation  of 
this  harmony,  which,  in  proportion  as  it  excited  the  furious 
indignation  of  these  writers,  proved  more  highly  useful  to  all 
the  lovers  of  truth, 

The  following  year,  by  the  wonderful  kindness  of  God, 
produced  a  desired  rest  for  the  church  and  state  of  Geneva 
from  its  domestic  contentions.  The  factious  ruined  them- 
selves in  consequence  of  the  timely  detection  of  a  dreadful 
conspiracy,  by  the  petulance  and  audacity  of  certain  drunk- 
ards concerned  in  it ;  some  of  them  were  condemned  to  a 
capital  punishment,  and  others  left  their  native  country. 
And  although  they  harassed  the  city  for  a  considerable  space 
of  time  afterwards,  yet  all  shared  at  last  a  shameful  death; 
and  in  this  way  exhibited  a  singular  example'of  the  late,  but 
jusf  judgment  of  God.  The  republic  was  thus  freed  from 
these  pests  of  society  ;  and  God  conferred  another  blessing 
by  the  answer  of  the  four  Swiss  states,  which  was  returned 
a  short  time  before  this  event,  whose  opinion  the  senate  had 
determined  to  take  the  preceding  year,  as  already  stated, 
concerning  the  discipline  of  the  church  of  Geneva.  All  the 
edicts  of  church  government,  contrary  to  the  expectation  of 


64  LIFE      OP      CALVIN. 

the  factions,  were  ratified,  and  confirmed  by  the  unanimous 
suffrages  of  the  citizens. 

Calvin  was  not  left  without  occasion  for  strenuous  exer- 
tions, as  in  foreign  affairs  he  took  great  pains  in  promoting 
the  establishment  of  the  churches  in  Poland,  according  to 
the  will  of  the  king.  The  dreadful  tempest  excited  on  the 
change  of  government  in  England,  hurried  away  to  heaven, 
along  with  innumerable  others  in  that  country,  those  three 
bishops  and  martyrs  of  unrivalled  piety — Hooper,  Ridley, 
and  Latimer,  and  at  length  the  great  Cranmer,  Archbishop 
of  Canterbury.  Calvin  was  very  much  employed  in  com- 
forting his  French  brethren  in  bonds,  and  especially  the 
five  martyrs  of  most  distinguished  bravery,  who  were  burned 
in  the  most  cruel  manner  at  Cambray. 

But  the  ashes  of  Servetus  began  again  to  spring  up  afresh 
at  home,  whose  blasphemies  were  favoured  by  Matthew 
Gribaldo,  an  eminent  lawyer,  who  had  accidently  come  to 
Geneva,  as  Fargias,  a  village  in  the  neighbourhood  of  that 
city,  belonged  to  him.  Calvin,  on  being  introduced  to  him 
by  certain  Italians,  among  whom  he  had  been  a  teacher  at 
Padua,  refused  to  give  him  the  right  hand  of  fellowship,  un- 
less they  were  agreed  about  the  first  article  of  Christian 
faith,  the  sacred  Trinity,  and  the  divinity  of  Christ.  Such 
conduct  left  no  room  for  exhortations  or  arguments,  and  he 
in  reality  experienced  afterwards,  what  Calvin  even  then 
predicted,  that  the  dreadful  judgment  of  God  was  impending 
over  him  for  his  obstinate  impiety.  He  first  escaped  from 
Tubingen,  were  he  had  been  introduced  by  the  kindness  of 
Virgerius ;  and  was  afterwards  taken  at  Berne,  where  he 
renounced  his  heresies,  in  order  to  escape  the  dangers  by 
which  he  was  threatened.  He  afterwards  returned  to  his 
former  principles,  and  became  the  supporter  and  guest  of 
Gentilis,  to  whose  conduct  we  shall  on  another  occasion 
revert.  He  at  last  died  of  the  plague,  by  which  he  was  sud- 
denly seized,  and  thus  escaped  the  punishment  prepared  for 
him. 


LIFE     OF     CALVIN.  65 

Another  circumstance  prevented  Calvin  from  experiencing 
uninterrupted  joy  this  year.    A  faction  arose  of  a  few  neigh- 
bouring ministers,  who  were  of  their  own  accord  opposed  to 
Calvin,  and  under  the  influence  of  Bolsec.     These  persons, 
though  of  infamous  characters,  thinking  to  acquire  reputation 
by  attacking  so  illustrious  an  adversary,  accused  him,  in 
scurrilous  language,  of  making  God  the  author  of  sin,  be- 
cause he  taught  that  nothing  is  exempted  from  the  eternal 
providence  and  appointment  of  God.     Calvin  despised  at 
first  these  calumnies  to  which  we  have  already  alluded,  but 
compelled  at  last  by  their  railings,  solicited  permission  to 
repair  to  Berne,  accompanied  by  envoys  from  the  republic, 
to  maintain  the  cause  of  truth  before  the  inhabitants  of  that 
city.     After  advocating  his  cause,  Castellio  was  banished 
with  infamy  from  the  territory  of  Berne,  and  Bolsec  was  also 
ordered  to  depart ;  nor  did  they  think  it  then  necessary  to 
draw  up  any  definite  articles  on  the  subject  discussed,  since 
the  Lord  himself  took  his  own  plans  for  supporting  the  in- 
terests of  his  church.  Calvin  would  otherwise  have  appeared 
to  have  gained  his  object  by  authority  or  favour,  which  was 
subsequently  supported  by  the  voluntary  confession  of  his 
opponent.  For  all  these  calumnies  soon  afterwards  vanished 
into  smoke,  and  Andrew  Zebedee,  Calvin's  bitterest  accuser 
on  this  occasion,  retracted  bis  errors  on  his  death-bed,  after 
Calvin's  decease,  having  sent  for  the  principal  citizens  of 
Newburgh,  four  miles  distance  from  Geneva.  He  manifested 
his  perfect  detestation  of  his  former  conduct,  by  ordering  all 
his  own  papers  to  be  burned  before  his  eyes,  which  was  cer- 
tainly a  better  decision  than  if  these  orders  had  been  issued 
by  a  thousand  decrees  of  the  senate. (XI.) 

In  the  following  year,  Calvin,  in  consequence  of  his  im- 
prudence, was  attacked  with  a  tertian  fever  when  preaching 
and  obliged,  contrary  to  his  inclination,  to  leave  the  pulpit. 
This  circumstance  gave  rise  to  many  false*  reports,  which 
were  so  acceptable  to  the  Roman  Catholics,  that  a  solemn 
procession  was  held  at  Noyon,  his  native  city,  and  the  canons 

6* 


66  LIFE     OF     CALVIN. 

returned  public  thanks  to  their  idols  for  the  death  of  our  re- 
former.* But  the  prayers  of  the  pious  prevailed,  and  Calvin 
was  so  far  from  falling  a  victim  to  the  disease,  that  he  seem- 
ed, as  it  were,  to  be  renewed  in  strength,  and  commenced  an 
unusually  long  journey  to  Franckfort,  where  he  had  been 
invited  for  the  purpose  of  terminating  the  disputes  of  the 
French  Church. 

Calvin,  on  his  return  from  Franckfort,  though  something 
impaired  in  his  health,  did  not  remit  his  daily  labours,  hav- 
ing published,  the  following  year,  his  remarkably  learned 
Commentaries  on  the  Psalms,  accompanied  with  a  very  va- 
luable preface.  Part  of  this  year,  which  was  very  turbulent, 
and  distinguished  for  tumults,  excited  by  some  factious  mi- 
nisters, and  by  the  very  great  price  of  wheat,  Calvin  devoted 
to  the  defence  of  the  truth  against  Joachim  Westphal.  After 
Calvin  had  answered  Westphal,  in  consequence  of  his  con- 
tinually prating  on  this  subject,  I  engaged  in  the  controversy 
myself  with  a  success,  by  the  grace  of  God,  that  leaves  me 
no  cause  to  repent  of  the  part  I  took  in  this  question.  Then 
also  the  calumnies  of  Castellio  against  the  eternal  providence 
of  God,  which  he  had  circulated  without  affixing  his  name 
to  the  work,  were  refuted  by  us  both. 

The  news  of  the  very  dreadful  persecution  of  the  protest- 
ants,  which  particularly  began  in  Paris,  where  the  congrega- 
tion in  James'  street  was  seized,  assembled  for  celebrating 
the  Lord's  Supper,  deeply,  and  in  an  especial  manner  affect- 
ed Calvin.  Nearly  eighty  of  them  were  seized,  (the  rest 
escaping  by  means  of  the  darkness  of  the  night,)  and  dragged 
to  prison  about  break  of  day,  with  mucli  reproachful  and 
contumelious  language,  though  several  ladies  were  observed 
among  them  of  the  first  quality.  The  courtiers,  and  circum- 
stances of  the  times,  had  awakened  the  king's  anger  against 


*The  Edinburgh  EncyclopaBdia  says,  this  event  occurred  in 
1551.     So  also  says  Bayle. 


LIFE     OF     CALVIN.  67 

the  protestants,  for  this  affliction  took  place  soon  after  the 
news  had  arrived  of  the  defeat  of  the  French  at  St.  Quintin, 
and  their  assemblies  were  held  at  night,  not  being  permitted 
to  meet  in  the  day.  These  old  and  stale  calumnies,  formerly- 
invented  against  the  first  Christians,  were  again  revived  by 
Demochares,  a  doctor  of  the  Sorbonne,  pretending  that  all 
the  disasters  of  the  state  were  to  be  attributed  to  protestants 
alone.  They  procured  also  false  witnesses  to  prove  that  the 
putting  out  of  the  lights  was  followed  by  prostitution,  which 
many  were  credulous  enough  to  believe. 

Twenty-one  of  them  were  condemned  to  the  flames,  and, 
as  only  seven  were  executed  at  a  time,  this  spectacle  was 
exhibited  at  three  different  periods,  to  make  the  example 
more  dreadful.  The  first  who  entered  the  flames  was  a  lady 
of  rank,  whose  constancy,  and  that  of  other  six,  particularly 
of  the  two  last  of  the  young  men  who  suflered,  was  truly 
admirable. 

This  storm  was  in  a  great  measure  assuaged,  by  detecting 
the  calumny  of  the  doctors  of  the  Sorbonne,  though  even 
this  did  not  silence  them,  by  the  mother  herself  appearing 
before  the  judges  to  prove  the  chastity  of  her  captive  daugh- 
ters. An  excellent  treatise  was  likewise  published  by  a  very 
learned  pastor,  residing  for  some  months  in  that  neigh- 
bourhood, who  easily  refuted  all  the  falsehoods  in  circula- 
tion ;  and  the  earnest  intercession  of  an  embasy  from  the 
German  princes,  procured  by  Calvin's  exertions  with  the 
utmost  speed,  assisted  to  allay  this  storm  of  dreadful  perse- 
cution. The  following  year  shone  forth  with  great  happi- 
ness upon  the  state  of  Geneva,  by  a  perpetual  alliance  be- 
tween the  inhabitants  of  Geneva  and  Berne,  contrary  to  the 
expectation  of  such  as  had  been  banished  from  the  first  city. 
Several  unpleasant  occurrences  from  other  quarters  dimi- 
nished this  happiness,  besides  the  last  abortive  efforts  of  the 
exiles,  which  I  shall  wholly  pass  over. 

The  persecution  abroad  was  rekindled  in  France,  and  the 
most  mischievous  and  terrible  heresy  of  the  Tritheists,  re- 


68 


LIFE     OF     C ALV IN 


vived  from  the  ashes  of  Servetus,  by  Valentine  Gentilis,  a 
native  of  Cosenza. 

For  the  purpose  of  affording  assistance  to  those  suffering 
from  persecution,  an  embassy  was  sent  to  the  princes  of 
Germany,  with  letters  from  Calvin,  to  demand  their  inter- 
cession in  the  calamities  of  the  church,  which  they  depicted 
with  great  feeling.  Calvin  in  the  mean  time  strengthened 
the  hands  of  the  persecuted,  by  keeping  up  a  constant  cor- 
respondence with  them. 

I  will  give  a  brief  statement  of  the  whole  proceedings  with 
GentiUs,  and  an  account  of  the  death  of  this  monster.  For 
the  whole  of  this  history  is  faithfully  related  in  part  by  Cal- 
vin himself,  from  the  public  acts,  and  partly  by  Benedict 
Aretius,  minister  at  Berne,  having  added  a  refutation  of  the 
blasphemies  uttered  by  this  heretic.  All  these  treatises,  and 
some  others  pertaining  to  the  same  subject,  were  published 
in  this  city  in  the  1567th  year  of  our  Lord. 

Shortly  after  the  death  of  Servetus,  Gentilis,  possessed  of 
a  sagacious,  but  vacillating  and  sophistical  understanding, 
meeting,  some  time  after  the  punishment  of  Servetus,  with 
his  work,  and  its  refutation  by  Calvin,  easily  perceived  that 
neither  the  phantasms  nor  ideas  of  Servetus  to  colour  the 
heresy  of  Paul  of  Samosata,  nor  the  confusion  of  the  persons 
with  the  essence  introduced  by  Sabellius,  nor  the  fictitious 
deity  of  Christ,  taught  by  the  impure  Arius,  could  be  recon- 
ciled with  the  word  of  God.  Perceiving  also  that  the  views 
given  us  in  Scripture,  with  regard  to  three  distinct  persons 
in  one  essence,  are  above  our  comprehension,  he  did  not,  as 
is  usual  with  such  characters,  submit  himself  to  the  wisdom 
of  God,  but  was  satisfied  with  the  truth  of  such  opinions  as 
were  agreeable  to  human  reason.  He  attributed  the  mo- 
narchy and  supreme  authority  to  the  person  of  the  Father 
alone,,  whom  lie  would  liave  to  be  the  only  sovereign  God. 
He  began  openly  to  avow  the  doctrine  of  essentiation,  name- 
ly, the  propagation  of  essence,  and  as  there  were  three  per- 
sons, so  there  must  be  three  numerically  distinct  essences, 


LIFE     OF      CALVIN.  69 

that  is  to  say,  three  Gods,  eternal,  ahuighty,  and  immense. 
To  maintain  this  heresy,  he  perverted,  with  matchless  im- 
pudence, the  Scriptures,  and  the  council  of  Nice,  for  he 
wholly  renounced  the  Athanasian  Creed,  and  wrested  the 
more  ancient  writers  of  the  Church,  Ignatius,  Tertullian, 
Irenaeus,  and  Lactantius,  to  support  his  opinions.  For  he 
not  only  rejected  all  the  orthodox  divines,  followers  of  the 
Nicene  council,  but  treated  them  with  scorn,  as  guilty  of 
impiety.  This  blasphemy  was  the  forerunner  of  others  con- 
cerning the  hypostatic  union. 

At  first  he  proposed  his  opinions  privately  among  a  few, 
and  particularly  to  John  Paul  Alciat,  a  military  officer,  from 
Milan,  and  George  Blandrata,  a  physician  of  Salusses,  pro- 
fessing only  to  consider  it  as  a  subject  for  discussion.  But 
the  Presbytery  of  the  Italian  church  at  Geneva,  having  been 
informed  of  this  circumstance,  convened  an  extraordinary  as- 
sembly, at  which,  in  the  hearing  of  a  certain  number  of  sena- 
tors chosen  for  the  occasion,  and  of  all  the  ministers  and  el- 
ders, the  reasons  adduced  in  support  of  that  doctrine  were 
patiently  considered  by  Calvin,  and  refuted  from  the  word 
of  God.  This  conference  induced  all  the  Italians  to  sign  the 
orthodox  faith,  with  the  exception  of  six,  who  shortly  after- 
wards, being  examined  separately,  subscribed  it  with  their 
hands,  but  not,  as  the  event  proved,  with  their  hearts.  Gen- 
tilis,  returning  to  his  former  habits  and  dispositions,  was 
found  again  disseminating  the  same  blasphemous  opinions ; 
he  used  no  dissimulation  on  his  arrest,  and  had  as  long  and 
as  frequent  an  audience  granted  him  as  he  desired.  At  last, 
as  if  vanquished,  for  he  could  answer  Calvin  by  nothing  but 
obstinacy,  he  feigned  an  incredible  repentance,  a  copy  of 
which  is  yet  extant,  signed  by  his  own  hand.  To  be  brief,  he 
openly  renounced  his  opinions  in  the  streets,  and  was  dis- 
missed, after  taking  an  oath  that  he  would  not  leave  the  city. 
But,  regardless  of  this  obligation,  he  soon  after  fled  to  Gri- 
baldo  in  Savoy,  and  was  some  time  after  followed  by  Alciat 
and  Blandrata.     These  two  last  retired  to  Transylvania  and 


70  LIFE     OF     CALVIN. 

the  adjoining  countries,  where  they  destroyed  the  faith  by 
disseminating  their  heretical  opinions. 

Gentilis,  the  judgment  of  God  even  then  hanging  over  him, 
continued  with  Gribaldo,  since  they  both  despised  their  other 
associates  for  want  of  learning  and  skill,  and  prepared  a 
work  against  Athanasius  and  Calvin.  From  Savoy  he  went 
to  Lyons,  where  he  had  it  printed,  and  dedicated  the  preface 
to  the  prefect  of  Gez,  who  was  wholly  unacquainted  with 
their  crimes.  He  was  afterwards,  I  know  not  how,  arrest- 
ed at  Lyons,  when,  on  acquainting  them  with  his. writing 
against  Calvin,  he  was  dismissed,  as  one  who  had  deserved 
well  of  the  catholic  church.  From  thence  he  went  to  Mo- 
ravia to  visit  Blandrata,  Alciat,  and  others,  in  no  respects 
better  than  himself.  When  he  could  not  agre,  '^^^'<h  them, 
because  the  greater  part  had  forsaken  Tritheisn.  "^nd  em- 
braced the  doctrines  of  Paul  of  Samosata,  he  returned  to  Sa- 
voy to  his  friend  Gribaldo,  as  if  Christ,  by  his  own  hand, 
were  dragging  him  to  punishment.  But  another  plague  had 
taken  off  this  pest  of  the  church.  By  this  time  also  we  were 
deprived  of  Calvin.  After  this,  either  from  madness,  or  be- 
cause he  trusted  none  could  overcome  him  in  argument  since 
Calvin's  death,  he  went  immediately  to  the  prefect  of  Gez, 
whose  indignation  he  had  justly  merited.  On  recognising 
Gentilis,  the  prefect  sent  him  to  Berne,  by  the  just  judg- 
ment of  God,  to  plead  his  cause,  in  consequence  of  the  for- 
mer change  of  his  opinions,  when  he  was  convicted  of  per- 
juries and  manifest  wickedness.  Every  effort  having  af- 
terwards been  used  to  restore  him  to  the  right  path,  with- 
out success,  he  was  beheaded,  and  justly  punished  accord- 
ing to  his  numerous  crimes.  Such  was  the  issue  of  this 
affair. 

And  even  now  there  are  not  wanting  many  excellent  ad- 
vocates of  Christianity,  both  catholics  and  ubiquitarians, 
who  dare  calumniate  Calvin  as  the  author  of  these  blasphe- 
mies, nay,  as  one  who  had  opened  a  door  to  Atheism  and 
Mahometanism.     These  men,  sunk  in  ignorance,  were  al- 


LIFE     OF    CALVIN.  71 

together  unacquainted  with  the  fact,  that  Calvin  was  the 
first,  and  almost  the  only  person  in  our  time,  who  with  so 
much  labour  proved  the  falsehood  and  error  of  these  blas- 
phemies. 

The  cardinal,  at  Paris,  by  whose  direction  the  king 
transacted  all  the  affairs  of  state,  endeavoured  to  remove 
trials  for  heresy  from  the  ordinary  judges  and  laymen,  to 
the  triumvirate  of  cardinals.  The  parliament  of  Paris  op- 
posing this  plan,  more  by  divine  interference  than  any  hu- 
man exertions,  on  the  ground  of  the  cardinal  pleading  his  own, 
not  Christ's  cause,  he  abandoned  the  whole  of  his  intended 
wicked  scheme. 

This  last  year  was  the  commencement  of  a  still  greater 
source  of  grief  to  us,  for  Calvin  was  seized  with  a  quartan 
fever  in  the  month  of  October,  and  the  result  of  our  expe- 
rience has  too  strongly  confirmed  the  prognostic  sentiments 
of  our  physicians,  that  this  disease  is  fatal  to  men  of  ad- 
vanced life.  For  though  the  duration  of  this  disorder  was 
only  for  eight  months,  it  reduced  his  body,  thin  and  worn 
out  with  labours  and  constant  exertions,  to  a  state  of  de- 
bility from  which  he  never  afterwards  completely  recovered. 
By  the  advice  of  his  physicians,  and  at  the  request  of  his 
friends,  that  he  should  at  length  pay  some  regard  to  his 
health,  he  necessarily  omitted  his  public  sermons  and  lec- 
tures in  divinity.  He  still  however  continued  to  devote  day 
and  night  to  the  dictating  and  writing  of  various  letters  to 
different  parts  of  Europe,  and  very  frequently  uttered  the 
following  sentence :  "  How  unpleasant  to  me  is  an  idle 
life !"  though  even  then  such  of  us  as  enjoyed  a  good  state 
of  health,  might  justly  be  regarded  idlers  when  compared  with 
him.  A  clear  proof  of  this  is  afforded  by  his  publishing 
the  last  edition  of  his  "  Institutes  of  the  Christian  Religion," 
both  in  the  Latin  and  French  languages.  He  this  year 
published  rather  entirely  new  Commentaries  upon  Isaiah, 
than  a  revision  of  his  former  labours  on  that  prophet,  as  they 
had  been  given  to  the  world  by  Galar,  who  took  them  down 


72  LIFE     OF    CALVIN. 

in  writing  from  the  lips  of  Calvin  when  lecturing  on  that  part 
of  Scripture. 

The  following  year  was  distinguished  by  the  peace  of 
Chateau  Cambresis,  and  the  alliance  concluded  between 
two  of  the  most  powerful  kings  of  Europe,  Ferdinand  of 
Spain,  and  Henry  II.  of  France.  The  republic  of  Geneva 
would,  perhaps,  have  been  destroyed  this  year,  had  not  the 
plans  of  the  papists,  who  abused  the  unsuspecting  dispo- 
sition of  Henry,  been  providentially  prevented.  Henry 
undoubtedly  enacted  the  most  severe  laws  against  the  pro- 
testants,  and  imprisoned  some  of  the  senators,  who  contend- 
ed only  for  mildness  in  religious  affairs,  until  a  general 
council  should  be  convened.  The  first  step  proposed  to  be 
taken  for  the  destruction  of  Geneva  was  the  restoring  of  the 
territory  of  Savoy  to  its  former  governor  the  duke.  Cal- 
vin, though  feeble  in  body,  steadily  continued  his  labours 
in  Geneva,  confirmed  the  churches  most  severely  afflicted 
by  such  a  trial,  together  with  all  the  brethren,  and  never 
ceased  during  this  eventful  period,  to  solicit  aid  from  the 
Lord  with  unremitted  and  importunate  supplications.  But, 
behold !  in  the  midst  of  this  terror,  whose  powerful  in- 
fluence extended  in  all  directions,  both  near  and  remote, 
the  king  of  France,  in  preparing  for  the  celebration  of  the 
nuptials  which  confirmed  the  peace,  received  a  mortal 
wound  in  a  tournament,  inflicted  by  the  hand  of  the  pre- 
fect of  the  royal  guards,  to  whom  the  king  had  a  short 
time  before  given  orders  to  arrest  those  senators  who  plead- 
ed for  mild  treatment  in  religious  transactions.  The  fol- 
lowing conduct  of  Cardinal  Lorrain  showed  his  wish  to  ap- 
pear desirous  to  expiate  the  untimely  fate  of  king  Henry,  by 
causing  Annes  du  Bourge  to  undergo  the  most  unjust  death 
on  the  21st  of  December,  a  counsellor  of  the  most  extensive 
learning,  a  senator  of  the  most  unshaken  integrity,  and  of  the 
most  distinguished  holiness,  who  at  last  suflfered  as  a  martyr 
for  Christ. 

Geneva,  however,  by  the  peculiar  favour  of  God,  during 


LIFEOFCALVIN.  73 

that  very  period, — a  circumstance  almost  beyond  the  bounds 
of  credibility,  as  if  the  Lord  had  again  repeatedly  caused  a 
most  shining  light  to  arise  from  the  midst  of  the  thickest 
darkness, — was  inspired  with  such  confidence,  that  in  the  very 
year,  and  almost  moment,  when  those  powerful  princes  were 
conspiring  for  its  destruction,  the  inhabitants,  encouraged  by 
Calvin,  erected  splendid  buildings  for  a  public  seminary. 
Eight  masters  for  youth,  and  several  public  professors  of 
Hebrew  and  Greek,  philosophy  and  divinity,  adorned  this 
college.*  It  was  dedicated  in  a  solemn  manner,  before  a  full 
assembly  of  the  people,  in  the  first  church  of  that  city,  to 
the  most  high  and  holy  God,  where  the  laws  which  related 
to  the  object  of  this  most  useful  and  pious  institution,  and  its 


*  Geneva,  though  formerly  an  imperial  city,  had  for  some  years 
been  under  the  immediate  government  of  the  bishop,  who  had  the 
title  of  prince  of  the  town  and  adjacent  country.  The  Dukes  of 
Savoy  had  long  contended  with  the  bishop  of  Geneva,  for  the 
government  of  that  city.  The  form  of  its  internal  constitution 
was  purely  republican.  The  people  annually  elected  four  syndics, 
twenty-five  senators,  and  a  council  of  two  hundred,  for  the  man- 
agement of  their  affairs. 

The  citizens,  who  were  attached  to  the  popular  form  of  their 
government,  had  always  been  firm  in  their  opposition  to  those  who 
supported  the  Episcopal  or  ducal  prerogatives. 

The  bishop  and  the  duke  dropped  their  contending  claims,  and 
from  policy,  united  their  strength  against  the  common  enemy — the 
people  and  the  reformation.  The  bishop  having  offended  both 
the  duke  and  the  people,  made  a  precipitate  retreat  from  Geneva. 
The  duke  was  defeated  by  the  citizens,  and  they  extended  their 
Authority  over  the  neighbouring  castles,  and  eventually  establish- 
ed their  independence  on  the  republican  basis.  This  free  and  in- 
dependent city  progressed  under  the  benign  influence  of  the  re- 
formed doctrines,  to  a  degree  of  consideration,  wealth,  and  in- 
fluence, which  was  for  a  long  period  of  momentous  import  to  the 
civil  and  religious  concerns  of  Europe. — Dupin,  16  Cent.  p.  179. 
Rob.  Ch.  v.  vol.  3.  p.  117.  Rees'  Cyclop.  Art.  Geneva. 

7 


74  LIFEOFCALVIN. 

perpetual  confirmation,  were  for  the  first  time  read  and  pub- 
lished. 

In  the  following  year  Calvin  was  inviduously  accused  by 
some,  of  having  excited  certain  leaders  against  Francis  2d, 
heir  of  the  kingdom  of  France,  in  the  disastrous  tumults 
which  took  place  between  the  papists  and  protestants  at 
Amboise.  Calvin,  however,  I  know  for  a  certainty,  had 
never  been  made  acquainted  with  this  insurrection,  and  he 
always  openly  disapproved,  in  conversation,  as  well  as  by 
letters  sent  to  his  friends,  of  such  violent  attempts  on  the 
part  of  the  reformed. 

Francis  Stancarus,  of  Mantua,  as  if  Italy  was  doomed  to 
be  ruinous  to  the  religious  prosperity  of  Poland,  began  this 
year  to  propagate  the  opinion,  that  "  Christ  was  Mediator 
only  according  to  the  flesh,"  and  to  accuse  all  those  of 
Arianism  who  said,  *'  Christ  was  Mediator  in  his  divine  na- 
ture," as  if  the  supporters  of  this  doctrine  made  the  Son  in- 
ferior to  the  Father.  Melancthon,  Peter  Martyr,  and  others, 
refuted,  with  much  solidity  of  reasoning,  this  opinion,  and 
calumnious  view  of  Christ's  mediatorial  character.  On  the 
application  of  the  Poles,  Calvin  also  at  that  time  exposed  in 
a  very  brief  but  nervous  manner,  the  fallacy  of  that  error. 
He  at  the  same  time  foresaw  on  this  occasion,  what  after- 
wards actually  happened,  that  some  inexperienced  writers 
on  this  controversy,  if  they  were  not  very  circumspect, 
would,  from  a  zeal  to  refute  Stancarus,  be  in  danger  of  vin- 
dicating the  heresy  of  the  Tritheists,  and  he  expressly 
guarded  them  against  Blandrata,  and  his  followers,  who  had 
adopted  this  view.  He  was  desirous  to  induce  them  to  main- 
tain the  belief  that  Christ  was  Mediator  in  both  natures,  with- 
out multiplying  his  divinity.  This  advice,  however,  had  no 
effect  on  such  as  were  determined  on  ruin. 

At  this  time  also  the  Christian  brethren,  commonly  called 
Waldenses  of  Bohemia,  proposed  certain  questions  to  Calvin 
by  two  of  their  number  sent  to  visit  him.  He  satisfied  their 
scruples,  as  was  meet  and  right,  in  a  kind  manner,  and  ex- 


LIFEOFCALVIN.  75 

horted  them  to  enter  into  a  close  union  with  the  other 
churches.  At  the  same  time  many  of  the  French  reformers, , 
after  the  death  of  Queen  Mary,  took  refuge  to  England,  re- 
lying upon  the  striking  piety  and  humanity  of  her  most 
serene  highness  Queen  Elizabeth.  The  emigrants,  with  the 
consent  of  Edmund  Grindal,  Bishop  of  London,  requested  a 
minister  should  be  sent  from  Geneva,  for  the  purpose  of  esta- 
blishing a  French  church  there ;  and  Nicholas  Gallar  was 
appointed  to  go  to  London  for  that  purpose. 

At  the  conclusion  of  the  year  1560,  Francis  Second, 
king  of  France,  died  very  suddenly,  and  at  the  very  mo- 
ment when  in  the  midst  of  general  despair,  the  protestants 
of  that  kingdom  looked  only  to  God  for  help. 

Scarcely  had  Charles  the  9th,  yet  a  child,  commenced 
his  reign,  when  letters  written  in  his  name,  were  brought  to 
Geneva  by  a  herald,  in  which  he  complained,  that  persons, 
sent  from  that  city,  were  exciting  disturbances  in  his  king- 
dom. He  requested  their  immediate  recall,  stating  that  he 
would  not  pass  over  such  a  very  just  ground  for  revenge,  if 
they  refused  to  comply.  Calvin,  summoned  by  the  senate, 
in  his  own  name,  and  that  of  his  colleagues,  returned  as 
answer,  that  at  the  request  of  the  French  churches,  they  had 
advised  and  exhorted  men  of  tried  faith,  and  unimpeachable 
life  and  conversation,  and  on  whose  qualifications  for  such  a 
purpose  they  relied,  to  be  in  readiness  to  assist  their  country, 
when  soliciting  the  aid  of  their  own  people  in  the  sacred 
cause  of  establishing  a  pure  church.  In  undertaking  this 
measure,  they  had  not  intended  to  excite  disturbances  in  the 
state,  but  to  teach  the  gospel  of  peace ;  and  they  were  pre- 
pared, if  any  other  accusation  were  alleged  against  them,  to 
answer  their  opponents  in  the  presence  of  the  king  himself. 
This  business  proceeded  no  further.  Calvin  and  myself 
answered  this  year  a  work  written  by  Tileman  Heshusius, 
a  most  light  and  unreasonable  author.  Calvin  afterwards 
refuted  the  blasphemies  then  published  at  Lyons  by  Valen- 
tine Gentilis,  against  the  creed  of  St.  Athanasius.     Calvin 


76 


LIFE     OF    CALVIN. 


in  the  dedication  of  his  Lectures  on  the  prophet  Daniel  to 
the  French  churches,  declares,  as  in  a  prophetic  voice,  that 
tempestuous  and  severe  trials  were  hanging  over  their  heads. 
At  this  very  time  a  conference  between  the  Romish  prelates 
and  the  reformed  ministers  was  held  at  Poissy,  when  Beza, 
in  this  august  assembly  of  the  realm,  presented  to  king 
Charles  9th  the  confession  of  faith  approved  by  the  French 
churches,  and  many  promised  themselves  the  speedy  subver- 
sion of  popery.  During  this  session  Francis  Baldwin,  after- 
wards denominated  Changeling,  because  he  had  altered  his 
religious  sentiments  at  least  three,  if  not  four  times,  and 
who  before  the  last  melancholy  disaster  that  befel  the  French 
churches  on  the  24th  of  August,  1572,  as  appeared  from 
the  testimony  of  men  of  the  greatest  virtue  and  piety,  was 
very  desirous  even  then  to  be  united  with  the  protestants, 
and  letters  to  this  effect,  written  by  the  good  Baldwin  him- 
self, were  produced  at  the  synod.  He,  being  suborned  by 
Cardinal  Lorrain,  and  reconciled  to  the  King  of  Navarre  by 
base  intrigues,  offered  a  book  to  sale  in  the  palace,  published 
either  by  himself,  or  more  probably  by  Cassander,  who  as- 
sumed the  name,  pious  and  moderate,  which  was  worse  than 
the  Interim  of  Charles  the  5th,  because,  under  the  mask  of 
moderation,  it  defended  all  the  corruptions  of  popery.  Cal- 
vin, being  informed  by  Beza  of  this  circumstance,  published 
a  refutation  of  this  work,  to  which  soon  after,  some  additions 
were  made,  that  disclosed  to  every  one  the  character  and  in- 
tention of  Baldwin-  This  answer  of  Calvin,  and  another  by 
Beza,  excited  the  indignation  of  the  lawyer,  who  continued, 
during  the  remainder  of  his  life,  to  attack  Calvin  in  the  most 
vile  manner.  He  died,  and  at  the  same  time  ceased  railing, 
in  the  year  1574,  equally  odious  to  God,  to  papists,  and 
protestants,  who  had  been  so  frequently  deceived  by  him, 
in  the  act  either  of  carrying  on  a  certain  law-suit  in  Paris,  or 
pining  away  with  envy,  when  he  saw  another  person  chosen 
in  preference  to  himself,  for  the  purpose  of  accompanying 
Henry  the  3d  on  his  journey  into  Poland.     In  the  year 


LIFE     OF     CALVIN.  77 

1562,  the  French  churches  not  only  enjoyed  peace,  but  tole- 
ration, sanctioned  on  certain  terms  by  the  royal  edict  itself. 
The  King  of  Navarre  was  afterwards,  by  the  artifices  of  the 
papists,  suborned,  when  the  Duke  of  Guise  sounded  the 
trumpet,  perpetrated  the  horrid  massacre  at  Vassy,  and  com- 
menced, under  such  auspices,  that  civil  war  which  continued 
during  twelve  years  to  involve  wretched  France  in  the  hor- 
rors of  one  general  conflagration.  Language  can  convey  no 
idea  of  the  number  and  extent  of  cares  on  account  of  the 
afflictions  of  the  church,  which  grieved  Calvin's  mind,  whose 
bodily  infirmities  were  likewise  so  much  increased,  that  it 
might  even  then  be  easily  foreseen  he  was  hastily  advancing 
to  a  better  state  of  existence.  He  still,  however,  continued 
to  comfort  and  encourage  such  as  suffered  under  affliction, 
and  to  preach,  and  deliver  lectures  on  divinity.  Calvin,  this 
year,  in  the  name  of  the  Prince  of  Conde,  and  of  all  the 
pious,  presented  a  very  beautiful  confession  of  faith  to  the 
states  of  the  empire,  then  assembled  at  Franckfort,  as  an 
answer  to  the  calumnies  which  had  been  circulated  in  Ger- 
many, concerning  the  reformers. 

It  affords  us  satisfaction  to  mention,  in  this  place,  a  cir- 
cumstance that  deserves  to  be  stated.  On  the  19th  of  De- 
cember, which  was  the  Sabbath,  the  north  wind  having  been 
unusually  high  for  two  days,  Calvin  (although  confined  to 
bed  by  the  gout)  said,  in  the  hearing  of  a  number  of  friends, 
'*  I  know  not  indeed  what  it  means ;  I  thought  I  heard  last 
night  a  very  loud  sound  of  drums  used  in  war,  and  I  could 
not  divest  myself  of  the  opinion  that  it  was  a  reality.  I  en- 
treat you  let  us  pray,  for  some  event  of  very  great  moment 
is  undoubtedly  taking  place."  On  this  very  day  the  battle 
at  Dreux,  distinguished  for  its  great  cruelty,  was  fought,  the 
news  of  which  reached  Geneva  a  few  days  after. 

In  the  following  year,  1563,  his  bodily  infirmities  became 
so  severe  and  complicated,  that  it  is  indeed  incredible  that 
such  a  brave  and  noble  soul  could  have  been  any  longer 

confined  in  a  body  of  so  much  weakness,  exhausted  by  so 

.    7* 


78  LIFEOFCALVIN. 

many  labours,  and  worn  down  at  last  by  such  a  variety  of 
diseases.  Yet  when  his  body  was  even  in  such  a  state  of 
debility,  he  could  not  be  induced  to  spare  himself.  Nay,  if 
at  any  period  he  relinquished  his  public  duties,  which  he 
always  did  very  much  against  his  inclination,  he  still  con- 
tinued, in  his  own  house,  to  give  advice  to  such  as  consulted 
him,  or,  unfatigued  himself,  wearied  his  amanuensis  by  dic- 
tating to  him.  His  two  very  serious  Exhortations  to  the 
Polonese  against  the  blasphemous  enemies  of  the  holy  Tri- 
nity, his  full  answers,  both  oral  and  written,  to  the  deputies 
of  the  synod  of  Lyons,  his  Commentaries  on  the  four  Books 
of  Moses,  written  first  in  Latin,  and  translated  by  himself 
into  French,  and  his  Commentary  on  Joshua,  his  last  under- 
taking, which  he  commenced  this  year,  and  finished  on  his 
death-bed,  afford  ample  testimony  to  the  truth  of  this  asser- 
tion. 

On  the  6th  of  February,  1564,  the  beginning  of  his  eter- 
nal happiness,  and  of  our  greatest  and  most  long-continued 
grief,  he  delivered  his  last  sermon  with  difficulty,  in  conse- 
quence of  asthmatic  oppression.  From  this  period  he  taught 
no  more  in  public,  except  that  he  was  carried  at  different 
times,  until  the  last  day  of  March,  to  the  meeting  of  the  con- 
gregation, and  addressed  them  in  a  few  words.  His  diseases, 
contracted  by  incredible  labours  of  mind  and  body,  were 
various  and  complicated,  as  he  states  himself,  in  a  letter 
written  to  his  physicians  at  Montpelier.  He  was  naturally 
of  a  spare  and  feeble  frame,  tending  to  consumption  ;  during 
sleep  he  seemed  almost  awake,  and  spent  a  great  part  of  the 
year  in  preaching,  teaching,  and  dictating.  For  at  least  ten 
years  he  never  dined,  and  the  only  food  he  took  was  at  sup- 
per, so  that  it  is  astonishing  how  he  could  so  long  escape 
consumption.  He  frequently  suffered  from  megrim,  which 
he  cured  only  by  fasting,  so  as  occasionally  to  refrain  from 
food  for  thirty-six  hours.  But  by  overstraining  his  voice, 
and,  as  was  discovered  too  late,  by  an  immoderate  use  of 
aloes,  he  suffered  from  hemorrhoids,  which  degenerated  into 


LIFE     OF     CALVIN.  79 

ulcers,  and  five  years  before  his  death  he  was  occasionally 
attacked  by  a  spitting  of  blood.  Gout  in  the  right  leg,  fre- 
quently returning  pains  of  colic,  and  stone,  which  he  had 
only  felt  a  few  months  before  his  death,  followed  the  remo- 
valof  the  quartan  fever.  The  physicians  neglected  no  reme- 
dies, and  he  observed  the  directions  of  his  medical  attend- 
ants with  a  strictness  which  none  could  surpass.  In  other 
respects,  where  the  labours  of  the  mind  were  concerned,  he 
was  so  very  careless  of  his  health,  that  the  most  excruciating 
pains  of  the  megrim  never  interrupted  his  preaching.  Though 
tormented  by  so  many  diseases,  no  one  ever  heard  him  utter 
a  word  unbecoming  a  man  of  bravery,  much  less  a  Christian. 
Only  lifting  up  his  eyes  to  heaven,  he  used  to  say,  "  How 
long,  O  Lord  !"  for  even  in  health  he  often  had  this  sentence 
on  his  lips,  when  he  spoke  of  the  calamities  of  his  brethren, 
with  whose  sufferings  he  was  both  day  and  night  more 
afflicted  than  with  any  of  his  own.  When  admonished  and 
entreated  by  us  to  forbear,  at  least  in  his  sickness,  from  the 
labour  of  dictating,  or  at  least  of  writing,  "  What,  then,"  he 
said,  "  would  you  have  my  Lord  find  me  idle  when  he 
Cometh?" 

On  the  10th  of  March,  we,  his  brother  ministers,  on  pay- 
ing our  visit  together  as  usual,  found  him  dressed,  and  sit- 
ting at  the  little  table,  where  he  was  accustomed  to  write  or 
study.  On  seeing  us,  he  sat  silent,  resting  his  forehead  on 
his  hand  for  some  length  of  time,  as  he  frequently  did  when 
engaged  in  study  and  meditation ;  and  then,  with  a  voice 
occasionally  interrupted,  but  a  kind  and  cheerful  countenance, 
he  said,  "  I  return  you,  dearest  brethren,  my  most  hearty 
thanks  for  all  your  solicitude  on  my  account,  and  hope  in  a 
fortnight  I  shall  be  present,  for  the  last  time,  at  your  con- 
sistory," (which  was  established  for  discipline  of  morals,) 
"fori  think  that  the  Lord  will  then  manifest  his  pleasure 
with  respect  to  me,  and  take  me  to  himself."  He  did  attend 
the  consistory  on  the  24th  of  March,  as  usual,  and  when  the 
business  was  finished  in  a  peaceable  manner,  he  observed. 


80  LIFEOFCALVIN. 

that  he  felt  some  further  continuance  was  granted  him  by 
the  Lord.  He  then  took  up  a  French  New  Testament,  read 
to  us  himself  some  of  the  marginal  annotations,  and  request- 
ed the  opinion  of  his  brethren,  since  he  had  undertaken  to 
correct  them.  He  was  worse  on  the  following  day,  having 
been  fatigued  with  the  labours  of  the  preceding ;  but  on  the 
27th  he  was  carried  to  the  door  of  the  senate  house,  and 
being  supported  by  two  of  his  attendants,  walked  into  the 
hall,  and  after  proposing  a  new  rector  of  the  school  to  the 
senate,  he  uncovered  his  head,  and  returned  them  thanks  for 
the  favours  already  conferred  upon  him,  and  particularly  for 
their  attention  in  his  last  illness.  "  For,"  he  said,  "  I  think 
I  have  entered  this  house  for  the  last  time."  Having  utter- 
ed these  words  with  difficulty,  and  a  faltering  voice,  he  took 
his  last  farewell  of  the  senate,  overwhelmed  with  sorrow, 
and  bathed  in  tears.  On  the  2d  of  April,  which  was  Easter 
day,  although  suffering  from  great  debility,  he  was  carried 
to  church  in  a  chair,  was  present  with  the  whole  congrega- 
tion, received  the  Lord's  Supper  from  my  hand,  and  joined 
in  singing  the  hymn,  with  a  trembling  voice,  but  with  ma- 
nifest expressions  of  joy  shining  forth  from  his  dying  coun- 
tenance. On  the  25th  of  April  he  made  his  will  in  the  fol- 
lowing manner : 

THE    WILL    or    JOHN    CALVIN. 

In  the  name  of  the  Lord. — Amen.  In  the  year  1564,  and 
25th  day  of  April,  I,  Peter  Chenalat,  citizen  and  notary  of 
Geneva,  do  witness  and  declare,  that  I  was  sent  for  by  that 
excellent  character,  John  Calvin,  minister  of  the  word  of  God 
in  this  church  of  Geneva,  and  enrolled  citizen  of  the  same, 
who,  being  indisposed  in  body,  but  sound  in  mind,  said  he 
was  desirous  to  make  his  testament,  and  to  express  the  judg- 
ment of  his  last  will ;  and  requested  me  to  take  it  down,  and 
write  what  he  should  dictate  and  declare  by  word  of  mouth ; 
which  I  profess  I  immediately  did,  and  wrote  down  word  by 


LIFE     OF     CALVIN.  81 

word  as  he  pronounced  and  dictated,  without  omission  or  ad- 
dition, in  the  following  form,  dictated  by  him : 

In  the  name  of  the  Lord.— Amen.  I,  John  Calvin,  mini- 
ster of  the  word  of  God  in  the  church  of  Geneva,  finding 
myself  so  much  oppressed  and  afflicted  v/ith  various  diseases, 
that  I  think  the  Lord  God  has  determined  speedily  to  remove 
me  out  of  this  world,  have  ordered  to  be  made  and  written, 
my  testament,  and  declaration  of  my  last  will,  in  form  and 
manner  following :  First,  I  give  thanks  to  God,  that  taking 
compassion  on  me  whom  he  had  created,  and  placed  in  this 
world,  he  not  only  delivered  me  by  his  power  out  of  the 
deep  darkness  of  idolatry,  into  which  I  was  plunged,  that  he 
might  bring  me  into  the  light  of  his  gospel,  and  make  me 
a  partaker  of  the  doctrine  of  salvation,  of  which  I  was  most 
unworthy ;  that  with  the  same  goodness  and  mercy  he  has 
graciously  and  kindly  borne  with  my  multiplied  transgres- 
sions and  sins,  for  which  I  deserved  to  be  rejected  and  cut 
off  by  him ;  and  has  also  exercised  towards  me  such  great 
compassion  and  clemency,  that  he  has  condescended  to  use 
my  labour  in  preaching  and  publishing  the  truth  of  his  gos- 
pel. I  also  testify  and  declare,  that  it  is  my  full  intention  to 
pass  the  remainder  of  my  life  in  the  same  faith  and  religion, 
which  he  has  delivered  to  me  by  his  gospel;  having  no" 
other  defence  or  refuge  of  salvation  than  his  gratuitous  adop- 
tion, on  which  alone  my  safety  depends.  I  also  embrace 
with  my  whole  heart  the  mercy  which  he  exercises  towards 
me  for  the  sake  of  Jesus  Christ,  atoning  for  my  crimes  by 
the  merits  of  his  death  and  passion,  that  in  this  way  satis- 
faction may  be  made  for  all  my  transgressions  and  offences, 
and  the  remembrance  of  them  blotted  out.  I  farther  testify 
and  declare  that,  as  a  suppliant,  I  humbly  implore  of  him  to 
grant  me  to  be  so  washed  and  purified  by  the  blood  of  that 
sovereign  Redeemer,  shed  for  the  sins  of  the  human  race, 
that  I  may  be  permitted  to  stand  before  his  tribunal  in  the 
image  of  the  Redeemer  himself.  I  likewise  declare,  that  ac- 
cording to  the  measure  of  grace  and  mercy  which  God  has 


82  LIFEOFCALVIN. 

vouchsafed  me,  I  have  diligently  made  it  my  endeavour,  both 
in  my  sermons,  writings,  and  commentaries,  purely  and  un* 
corruptly  to  preach  his  word,  and  faithfully  to  interpret  his 
sacred  Scriptures.  I  testify  and  declare,  that  in  all  the  con- 
troversies and  disputes,  which  I  have  conducted  with  the 
enemies  of  the  gospel,  I  have  made  use  of  no  craftiness,  nor 
corrupt  and  sophistical  arts,  but  have  been  engaged  in  defend- 
ing the  truth  with  candour  and  sincerity. 

But,  alas !  ray  study,  and  my  zeal,  if  they  deserve  the 
name,  have  been  so  remiss  and  languid,  that  I  confess  innu- 
merable things  have  been  wanting  in  me  to  discharge  the 
duties  of  my  office  in  an  excellent  manner ;  and  unless  the 
infinite  bounty  of  God  had  been  present,  all  my  study  would 
have  been  vain  and  transient.  I  also  acknowledge  that  unless 
the  same  goodness  had  accompanied  me,  the  endowments  of 
mind  bestowed  upon  me  by  God,  must  have  made  me  more 
and  more  chargeable  with  guilt  and  inactivity  before  his  tri- 
bunal. And  on  these  grounds  I  witness  and  declare,  that  I 
hope  for  no  other  refuge  of  salvation  than  this  alone, — that 
since  God  is  a  Father  of  mercy,  he  will  show  himself  a 
Father  to  me,  who  confess  myself  a  miserable  sinner.  Fur- 
ther, I  will,  after  my  departure  out  of  this  life,  that  my  body 
be  committed  to  the  earth  in  that  manner,  and  with  those 
funeral  rites,  which  are  usual  in  this  city  and  church,  until 
the  day  of  the  blessed  resurrection  shall  come.  As  for  the 
small  patrimony  which  God  has  bestowed  upon  me,  and 
which  I  have  determined  to  dispose  of  in  this  will,  I  ap- 
point Anthony  Calvin,  my  very  dearly  beloved  brother,  my 
heir,  but  only  as  a  mark  of  respect.  Let  him  take  charge 
of,  and  keep  as  his  own,  my  silver  goblet,  which  was  given 
me  as  a  present  by  Mr.  Varanne :  and  I  desire  he  will  be 
content  with  it.  As  for  the  residue  of  my  property,  I  com- 
mit it  to  his  care  with  this  request,  that  he  restore  it  to  his 
children  at  his  death.  I  bequeath  also  to  the  school  for  boys, 
ten  golden  crowns,  to  be  given  by  my  brother  and  legal  heir, 
and  to  poor  strangers  the  same  sum.    Also  to  Jane,  daughter 


LIPEOF     CALVIN.  83 

of  Charles  Costans  and  of  my  half-sister  by  the  paternal  side, 
the  sum  of  ten  crowns.  Furthermore,  I  wish  my  heir  to 
give,  on  his  death,  to  Samuel  and  John,  sons  of  my  said 
brother,  my  nephews,  out  of  my  estate,  each  forty  crowns, 
after  his  death  ;  and  to  my  nieces  Ann,  Susan,  and  Dorothy, 
each  thirty  golden  crowns.  To  my  nephew  David,  as  a 
proof  of  his  light  and  trifling  conduct,  I  bequeath  only  twenty- 
five  golden  crowns. 

This  is  the  sum  of  all  the  patrimony  and  property  which 
God  hath  given  me,  as  far  as  I  am  able  to  ascertain,  in  books, 
moveables,  my  whole  household  furniture,  and  all  other 
goods  and  chattels.  Should  it  however  prove  more,  I  desire 
it  may  be  equally  distributed  between  my  nephews  and 
nieces  aforesaid,  not  excluding  my  nephew  David,  should  he, 
by  the  favour  of  God,  return  to  a  useful  manner  of  life. 

Should  it  however  exceed  the  sum  already  written,  I  do 
not  think  it  will  be  attended  with  much  difficulty,  especially 
after  paying  my  just  debts,  which  I  have  given  in  charge  to 
my  said  brother,  on  whose  fidelity  and  kindness  I  confide. 
On  this  account  I  appoint  him  executor  of  this  my  last  testa- 
ment with  Laurence  de  Normandie,  a  character  of  tried 
worth,  giving  them  full  power  and  authority,  without  a  more 
exact  command  and  order  of  court,  to  make  an  inventory  of 
my  goods.  I  give  them  also  power  to  sell  my  moveables, 
that  from  the  money  thus  procured  they  may  fulfil  the  condi- 
tions of  my  above-written  will,  which  I  have  set  forth  and 
declared  this  25th  of  April,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  1564. 

JOHN  CALVIN. 

When  1,  Peter  Chenalat,  the  above-mentioned  notary,  had 
written  this  last  will,  the  same  John  Calvin  immediately 
confirmed  it  by  his  usual  subscription  and  hand-writing. 
On  the  following  day,  April  26th,  1564,  the  same  tried 
character,  John  Calvin,  commanded  me  to  be  called,  together 
with  Theodore  Beza,  Raymond  Chauvet,  Michael  Cops, 
Louis  Enoch,  Nicholas  CoUadon,  James  de  Bordes,  minis- 


84  LIFE     OF     CALVIN. 

ters  and  preachers  of  the  word  of  God  in  this  church  of  Ge- 
neva, and  also  the  excellent  Henry  Scringer,  professor  of 
arts,  all  citizens  of  Geneva,  and  in  their  presence  he  hath 
declared  and  testified  that  he  dictated  to  me  this  his  will  in 
the  words  and  form  above  written.  He  ordered  me  also  to 
recite  it  in  their  hearing,  who  had  been  called  for  that  pur- 
pose, which  I  profess  to  have  done,  with  a  loud  voice,  and 
in  an  articulate  manner.  After  thus  reading  it  aloud,  he  tes- 
tified and  declared  it  to  be  his  last  will  and  testament,  and 
desired  it  to  be  ratified  and  confirmed.  As  a  testimony  and 
corroboration  of  this,  he  requested  them  all  to  witness  the 
same  will  with  their  hands.  This  was  immediately  done  by 
them  on  the  day  and  year  above  written,  at  Geneva,  in  the 
street  called  the  Canons,  in  the  house  of  the  said  testator. 
In  proof  and  witness  of  this  I  have  written  and  subscribed 
with  my  own  hand,  and  sealed  with  the  common  seal  of  our 
supreme  magistrate,  the  will  above  mentioned. 

P.  Chenalat. 

Having  made  this  will,  Calvin  sent  to  inform  the  four 
syndics,  and  all  the  senators,  that  he  wished  once  more  be- 
fore he  departed  this  life,  to  address  them  in  the  senate-room, 
whither  he  hoped  to  be  carried  the  following  day.  The  se- 
nators answered,  they  would  rather  come  to  him,  and  re- 
quested him  to  have  a  regard  to  his  health.  The  next  day 
they  all  repaired  from  the  senate-room  to  the  house  of  Cal- 
vin. After  mutual  salutations,  and  an  apology  on  his  part, 
because  they  had  waited  on  him,  when  it  was  his  duty  to 
have  visited  them,  he  commenced  by  stating  "that  he  had 
for  some  time  desired  to  have  this  interview,  but  deferred  it 
until  he  felt  more  certainly  assured  of  his  dissolution."  He 
then  said,  "  I  return  you  my  warmest  thanks,  honoured 
Lords,  for  conferring  such  great  honours  on  me,  who  had 
done  nothing  to  merit  them,  and  for  manifesting  such  for- 
bearance towards  my  numerous  infirmities,  which  I  always 
considered  the  strongest  proof  of  your  uncommon  kindness. 


LIFE     OF     CALVIN 


85 


Though  in  the  discharge  of  my  ministerial  duty  I  have  been 
engaged  in  various  disputes,  and  have  endured  numerous  in- 
sults, a  necessary  part  of  the  trials  even  of  the  best  charac- 
ters, yet  I  know  and  acknowledge  that  none  of  these  have 
befallen  me  from  any  fault  of  yours.  I  earnestly  entreat 
you  also,  if  I  have  not  performed  my  duty  in  any  instance  as 
I  ought,  to  ascribe  it  rather  to  want  of  ability,  than  to  want 
of  will  to  serve  you.  For  I  can  testify  with  sincerity,  that  I 
have  felt  a  deep  and  lively  interest  in  the  welfare  of  your  re- 
public ;  and,  if  I  have  not  fully  discharged  all  the  duties  of 
my  station,  I  have  certainly  exerted  myself  to  the  utmost  in 
promoting  the  public  welfare. 

"  Were  I  not  to  acknowledge  that  the  Lord  has  sometimes 
on  his  part  condescended  to  grant  that  my  services  have  not 
been  altogether  without  advantage  to  you,  I  should  justly 
deserve  to  be  charged  with  dissimulation.  But  I  again  ear- 
nestly entreat  your  pardon  for  having  performed  so  little 
either  in  my  private  or  public  capacity,  in  comparison  with 
what  I  ought  to  have  done.  I  certainly  grant  with  the  great- 
est readiness,  that  I  am  very  much  indebted  to  you  on  ac- 
count of  your  patience  in  enduring  that  vehemence  of  mine, 
which  has  sometimes  been  immoderate.  I  trust  God  him- 
self has  pardoned  all  these  my  sins.* 

*  Here  is  the  humble  and  candid  confession  of  a  Christian.  Cal- 
vin was  a  man  of  ardent  feelings,  and  they  may  at  times  have  be- 
trayed him  into  angry  and  hasty  expressions.  And  "  amidst  the 
incessant  and  violent  attacks  which  he  received,  and  the  uninter- 
rupted warfare  which  he  had  to  carry  on  with  the  advocates  'of 
error,  he  must  have  been  more  than  mortal,  if  he  had  never  spoken 
hastily  or  harshly.  But  a  few  incidental  actions,  contrary  to  a 
man's  general  conduct,  do  not  constitute  character:  and  after  every 
thing  of  this  kind  which  can  be  mustered,  it  will  still  be  true  that 
characteristically  Calvin  was  not  a  traducer  or  calumniator,  but 
the  possessor  of  a  meek  spirit,  a  governed  tongue,  and  a  guarded 
pen.  He  must,  on  the  whole,  be  ranked  not  only  among  the  great- 
est but  the  best  of  men." — Rees'  New  Encyclop.  Am.  Ed. 

Middleton  quotes  Toplady  as  saying  that  "  Calvin  has  been  tax- 
8 


86  LIFE     OF     CALVIN. 

*'  Touching  the  doctrine  you  have  heard  from  me,  I  tes- 
tify that  I  have  not  taught  the  word  of  God  intrusted  to  me 
in  a  rash  and  uncertain  manner,  but  with  purity  and  sincerity. 
Had  I  acted  otherwise,  I  should  have  been  as  fully  assured 
of  God's  anger,  already  impending  over  my  head,  as  I  now 
feel  confident  that  my  labours  in  teaching  have  not  been  dis- 
pleasing to  him.     And  I  testify  this  before  God,  and  in  your 

ed  with  fierceness  and  bigotry.  But  his  ineekness  and  benevo- 
lence were  as  eminent  as  the  malice  of  his  traducers  is  shame- 
less. I  shall  give  one  single  instance  of  his  modesty  and  gentle- 
ness. While  he  was  a  very  young  man,  disputes  ran  high  be- 
tween Luther  and  some  other  Reformers,  concerning  the  manner 
of  Christ's  presence  in  the  holy  sacrament.  Luther,  whose  tem- 
per was  naturally  warm  and  rough,  heaped  many  hard  names  on 
the  divines  who  differed  from  him  on  the  article  of  consubstantia- 
tion ,  and,  among  the  rest,  Calvin  came  in  for  his  dividend  of 
abuse.  Being  informed  of  the  harsh  appellations  he  received 
he  meekly  replied  in  a  letter  to  BuUinger,  "  It  is  a  frequent  say- 
ing with  me,  that  if  Luther  should  even  call  me  a  devil,  I  hold 
him  notwithstanding  in  such  veneration,  that  I  shall  always  own 
him  to  be  an  illustrious  servant  of  God;  who,  though  he  abounds 
in  extraordinary  virtues,  is  not  without  considerable  imperfec- 
tions." 

This  letter  to  Bullinger,  which  was  written  to  allay  the  exas- 
perated feelings  of  those  whom  Luther  had  provoked  by  his  aspe- 
rity, is  as  follows.  "  I  hear  that  Luther  has  at  length  burst  forth, 
with  atrocious  invectives,  not  only  against  you,  but  against  us 
all.  Now  I  scarcely  dare  beg  of  you  and  your  colleagues  to  be 
silent,  because  it  is  not  just  that  the  innocent  should  be  thus 
abused,  and  not  be  allowed  to  defend  themselves  ;  and  besides,  it 
is  difficult  to  determine  whether  it  is  expedient.  I  wish  you  to  re- 
call these  things  to  your  mind :  how  great  a  man  Luther  is,  and 
with  how  great  gifts  he  excels;  also  with  what  fortitude  and  con- 
stancy of  mind,  with  what  efficacy  of  learning,  he  hath  hitherto 
laboured  and  watched  to  destroy  the  kingdom  of  Antichrist,  and  to 
propagate,  at  the  same  time,  the  doctrine  of  salvation.  I  of  ten 
say,  if  he  shovM  call  me  a  devil,  I  hold  him  in  such  honour ^  that  1 


LIFEOFCALVIN.  87 

presence,   so  much  the  more  willingly,  because  I   cannot 
doubt  that  Satan,  after  his  usual  manner,  will  raise  up  wick- 


would  acknowledge  him,  an  eminent  servant  of  God*  But  as  he 
is  endowed  with  great  virtues,  so  he  labors  under  great  failings. 
I  wish  he  had  studied  more  effectually  to  restrain  his  impetuosity 
of  temper,  which  breaks  forth  in  every  direction ;  that  he  had 
always  turned  his  vehemence,  which  is  so  natural  to  him,  against 
the  enemies  of  the  truth,  and  not  equally  brandished  it  against  the 
servants  of  God ;  and  that  he  had  given  more  diligent  labour  to 
search  out  his  own  faults.  He  has  been  surrounded  by  too  many 
flatterers,  seeing  he  is  also  too  mucli  inclined  by  nature  to  indulge 
himself.  It  is  our  duty  to  reprehend  what  is  evil  in  him,  in  such 
a  manner  as  to  yield  very  much  to  his  excellent  qualities.  Con- 
sider, I  beseech  you,  with  your  colleagues,  in  the  first  place,  that 
you  have  to  deal  with  a  chief  servant  of  Christ,  to  whom  we  are 
all  much  indebted.  And  then,  that  by  contending,  you  will  effect 
nothing,  but  a  pleasure  to  the  impious,  who  will  triumph  not  so 
much  over  us  as  over  the  gospel.  For  reviling  one  another,  they 
will  give  us  more  than  full  credit.  But  when  we  preach  Christ 
with  one  consent  and  one  mouth,  they  pervert  this  union,  to  dimin- 
ish our  faith,  by  which  they  disclose,  more  than  they  would,  the  im- 
portance of  our  united  labours.  I  wish  you  to  examine  and  reflect 
upon  these  things,  rather  than  dwell  on  what  Luther  has  merited 
by  his  intemperate  language.  Lest  that  befall  us,  therefore,  which 
Paul  denounces,  that  by  biting  and  devouring  one  another  we 
should  be  consumed;  however  he  may  have  provoked  us,  we  must 
rather  abstain  from  the  contest,  than  increase  the  wound,  to  the 
common  injury  of  the  church." 

This  letter  fully  shows  that  Calvin's  disposition  was  tender  and 
affectionate,  and  that  his  temper,  perhaps  naturally  irritable,  was 
under  the  restraint  of  a  Christian  spirit. 

*  Luther,  in  his  asperity  against  the  Zuinglians,  BuUinger,  and  others, 
!iad  used  harsh  language ;  and  Calvin,  who  was  anxious  to  prevent  the 
controversy,  states  his  own  feelings,  supposing  Luther  should  call  him 
a  devil,  &c.,  to  allay  the  resentment  of  Bullinger  and  the  other  pastors 
of  Zurich. 


88  LIFE     OFCALVIN. 

ed,  vain,  light-minded,  ambitious  men,  to  corrupt  the  sound 
doctrine  which  you  have  heard  from  me  as  the  servant  of  God." 
Then  passing,  to  those  immense  benefits  which  they  had 
received  from  the  Lord,  he  said,  "  I  am  the  person  who  can 
best  testify  from  how  many  and  great  dangers  the  hand  of 
the  Lord  hath  dehvered  you.     You  see,  moreover,  in  what 
circumstances  you  are  placed.     Whether  in  prosperity  or 
adversity,  keep  this  truth,  I  beseech  you,  constantly  before 
your  eyes, — that  it  is  God  alone  who  can  give  stability  to 
^  kingdoms  and  states,  and  on  this  account  it  is  his  pleasure  to 
be  worshipped  by  mortal  men.     Remember  it  was  the  testi- 
mony of  the  illustrious  David,  that  he  fell  when  he  enjoyed 
profound  peace  ;  from  which  he  never  would  have  arisen, 
had  not  the  Lord,  with  singular  favour,  stretched  out  his  own 
hand  to  his  relief.     What  then  may  the  lot  be  of  such  little 
■weak   mortals,   when  this  prince,  distinguished  for  power 
and  fortitude,  experienced  such  a  fall !  It  requires,  therefore, 
great  humility  of  mind,  that  you  may  walk  with  care  and 
great  fear  of  God,  relying  on  his  defence  alone.     You  will 
thus  be  assured  of  the  continuance  of  the  same  protection 
which  you  have  hitherto  so  often  in  reality  experienced,  and 
may  proceed  with  stability  under  his  aid,  even  when  your 
safety  and  security  may,  as  it  were,  hang  suspended  from  a 
slender  thread.     If  your  affairs  are  prosperous,  be  careful,  I 
request  you,  not  to  exalt  yourselves,  like  the  profane,  but 
rather,  with  deep  submission  of  mind,  return  thanks  to  God 
for  all  your  blessings.     If  your  affairs  are  adverse,  and  death, 
therefore,  surrounds  you  on  all  sides,  still  trust  in  him  who 
raises  up  even  the  dead.     Nay,  consider  on  such  an  occa- 
sion with  the  greatest  earnestness,  that  God  is  in  this  man- 
ner  awakening  you   from   sloth,  that  you  may  learn  more 
fully  to  look  to  him  alone  with  entire  confidence. 

*'  If  you  would  preserve  this  republic  in  security,  see  to 
it  with  unremitting  care,  that  the  sacred  seat  of  authority,  in 
which  God  hath  placed  you,  be  not  defiled  with  the  pollu- 
tion of  sin ;  for  he  is  the  only  sovereign  God,  King  of  kings, 


LIFEOFCALVIN.  89 

and  Lord  of  all  lords,  who  will  honour  those  that  honour  him  ; 
but,  on  the  other  hand,  will  cast  down,  and  cover  with  dis- 
grace, those  by  whom  he  is  despised.  Worship  him,  there- 
fore, according  to  his  precepts,  and  let  your  minds  be  more 
and  more  intensely  directed  to  the  obeying  of  his  will,  for 
we  are  always  at  a  very  great  distance  from  the  performance 
of  our  duty.  I  know  the  temper  and  manner  of  you  all, 
and  am  aware  of  your  needing  exhortation.  There  is  none, 
even  of  those  who  excel,  without  many  imperfections  ;  and 
let  each  in  this  case  examine  himself  with  care,  and  ask  of 
the  Lord  the  supply  of  his  known  deficiencies. 

"  We  see  what  vices  reign  in  the  greatest  number  of  the 
assemblies  convened  in  the  world.  Some,  cold  and  indiffer- 
ent to  the  public  interest,  pursue  with  eagerness  their  own 
private  emoluments ;  others,  are  only  intent  upon  the  gratifi- 
cation of  their  own  passions  ;  some  make  a  bad  use  of  the 
distinguished  talents  bestowed  upon  them  by  God ;  while 
others  are  vain-glorious,  and  confidently  demand  that  the 
rest  of  their  fellow-counsellors  should  sanction  their  opi- 
nions. 

*'  I  admonish  the  aged  not  to  envy  such  young  persons 
as  they  find  to  be  endowed  by  God  with  particular  gifts  ; 
and  I  warn  younger  persons  to  conduct  themselves  with 
modesty,  and  to  avoid  all  presumption.  Let  there  be  no  in- 
terruption of  one  another  in  the  performance  of  your  duties. 
Shun  animosities,  and  all  that  acrimony  which  has  diverted 
so  many  from  a  proper  line  of  conduct  in  the  discharge  of 
their  oflace.  You  will  avoid  these  evils,  if  each  of  you  con- 
fines himself  within  his  proper  sphere,  and  all  perform  with 
fidelity  the  part  intrusted  to  them  by  the  state.  In  civil  trials, 
I  beseech  you  to  avoid  all  favour,  or  enmity  ;  use  no  crooked 
arts  to  pervert  justice ;  let  none,  by  any  plausible  address 
of  his  own,  prevent  the  laws  from  having  their  due  effect ; 
nor  depart  from  equity  and  goodness.  If  the  evil  passions 
excite  temptation  in  any  one,  let  him  resist  them  with  firm- 
ness, and  look  to  Him  by  whom  he  has  been  placed  on  the 


90  LIFE     OF     CALVIN. 

seat  of  judgment,  and  ask  the  same  God  for  the  guidance  of 
his  Holy  Spirit. 

"  Finally,  I  beseech  you  to  pardon  all  my  infirmities, 
which  I  acknowledge  and  confess  before  God,  and  his  angels^ 
and  in  your  presence  also,  my  honourable  lords." 

Having  finished  his  discourse,  he  offered  up  a  prayer  to 
the  almighty  and  most  merciful  God,  to  shower  down  upon 
them,  in  still  greater  abundance,  his  best  gifts,  and  by  his 
Holy  Spirit  to  direct  all  their  consultations  to  the  welfare  of 
the  whole  republic.  He  then  gave  his  right  hand  to  each 
separately,  and  bade  them  adieu.  All  the  senators  departed 
in  tears,  manifesting  deep  sorrow,  as  if  it  was  their  last  inter- 
view with  a  common  father. 

Calvin  addressed  all  of  us  ministers  under  the  jurisdiction 
of  Geneva,  who  were  assembled  in  his  chamber,  and  at  his 
request,  on  the  28th  of  April,  in  the  following  terms : — 
"  Stand  fast,  my  brethren,  after  my  decease,  in  the  work 
Avhich  you  have  begun,  and  be  not  discouraged,  for  the 
Lord  will  preserve  this  church  and  republic  against  the 
threats  of  its  enemies.  Let  all  divisions  be  removed  far 
from  you,  and  embrace  one  another  with  mutual  charity. 
Consider  on  all  occasions  what  you  owe  to  the  church  in 
which  the  Lord  hath  stationed  you,  and  let  nothing  draw 
you  from  it.  It  will  indeed  be  easy  for  such  as  are  wearied 
of  their  flocks  to  find  means  for  escaping  from  their  duty  by 
intrigue,  but  they  will  learn  by  experience  that  the  Lord  can- 
not be  deceived. 

"  On  my  first  arrival  in  this  city  the  gospel  was  indeed 
preached,  but  every  thing  was  in  the  greatest  confusion,  as 
if  Christianity  consisted  in  nothing  else  than  the  overturning 
of  images.  Not  a  few  wicked  men  arose  in  the  church, 
from  whom  I  suflered  many  great  indignities  ;  but  the  Lord 
our  God  himself  so  strengthened  me,  and  banished  all  fear 
even  from  my  mind,  who  am  by  no  means  distinguished  for 
natural  courage  (I  state  the  real  fact,)  that  I  was  enabled  to 
resist  all  their  attempts.     I  returned  hither  from  Strasburg, 


LIFE     OF     CALVIN.  91 

in  obedience  to  a  call,  against  my  inclination ;  because  I 
thought  it  would  not  be  productive  of  any  advantage.  I  knew 
not  what  the  Lord  had  determined,  and  my  situation  was  full 
of  very  many,  and  very  great  difficulties.  But  proceeding  in 
this  work,  1  perceived  at  length  that  the  Lord  had  in  reality 
blessed  my  labours.  Do  you,  therefore,  brethren,  persist  in 
your  vocation ;  preserve  the  established  order ;  use  at  the 
same  time  every  exertion  to  retain  the  people  in  obedience 
to  the  doctrine  delivered,  for  there  are  yet  among  you  some 
wicked  and  stubborn  characters.  Affairs,  as  you  see,  are 
not  now  in  an  unsettled  state,  on  which  account  you  will  be 
more  criminal  before  God,  if  they  are  subverted  by  your  in- 
activity. I  declare  my  brethren,  that  I  have  lived  united 
with  you  in  the  strictest  bonds  of  true  and  sincere  affection, 
and  I  now  take  my  leave  of  you  with  the  same  feelings.  If 
you  have  at  any  time  found  me  too  peevish  under  my 
disease,  I  entreat  your  forgiveness,  and  I  return  you  my 
warmest  thanks,  because  during  my  confinement  you  have 
discharged  the  burden  of  the  duties  assigned  me." 

After  this  address  he  reached  out  his  right  hand  to  each 
of  us,^and  we  then  took  leave  of  him  with  hearts  overwhelmed 
with  sorrow  and  grief,  and  eyes  flowing  with  tears. 

On  the  2d  of  May,  having  been  informed  by  Farel,  in  a  let- 
ter, that  he  was  determined,  though  now  eighty  years  old,  and 
in  a  state  of  health  rendered  infirm  by  age,  to  come  and  see  him 
from  Neuchatel,  for  Viret's  residence  was  at  a  yet  greater 
distance,  he  thus  answered  him  in  Latin  : — 

"Farewell,  my  best  and  most  faithful  brother!  and  since 
God  is  pleased  you  should  survive  me  in  this  world,  live 
mindful  of  our  friendship,  which  has  been  of  service  to  the 
church  of  God,  and  whose  fruits  we  shall  enjoy  in  heaven. 
Do  not  expose  yourself  to  fatigue  on  my  account.  I  respire 
with  difficulty,  and  continually  expect  to  draw  my  last 
breath.  It  is  sufficient  happiness  for  me  that  I  live  and 
die  in  Christ,  who  is  gain  to  his  people  in  life  and  death. 
Again  farewell,  with  the  brethren. — Geneva,  2d  May,  1564." 


92  LIFE     OF     CALVIN. 

The  good  old  man,  however,  came  to  Geneva,  and  after 
they  had  enjoyed  an  interview  with  each  other,  he  returned 
the  next  day  to  Neuchatel. 

Calvin  spent  the  remainder  of  his  days,  until  death,  in  al- 
most constant  prayer.  His  voice  indeed  was  interrupted  by 
the  difficulty  of  respiration ;  but  his  eyes,  which  retained 
their  brilliancy  to  the  last,  uplifted  to  heaven,  and  his  serene 
countenance,  were  certain  proofs  of  the  fervour  of  his  devo- 
tion, and  of  his  trust  and  confidence  in  God.  He  often  in 
his  prayers  repeated  the  words  of  David,  "  Lord,  I  opened 
not  my  mouth,  because  thou  didst  it ;"  and  at  times  those  of 
Hezekiah,  "  I  did  mourn  like  a  dove."  Once  also  I  heard 
j  him  say,  "Thou,  Lord,  bruisest  me,  but  I  am  abundantly 
satisfied,  since  it  is  thy  hand."  His  doors  must  have  stood 
open  day  and  night,  if  all  had  been  admitted,  who  from  sen- 
timents of  duty  were  desirous  to  see  him ;  but  as  he  could 
not,  from  difficulty  in  speaking,  direct  his  discourse  to  them, 
he  requested  they  would  rather  pray  for  him,  than  be  solici- 
tous about  paying  their  visits.  Often,  also,  though  I  always 
found  him  glad  to  receive  me,  he  was  very  scrupulous  re- 
specting the  least  interruptions  thus  given  to  the  duties  of  my 
office,  so  sparing  was  he  of  the  time  which  he  knew  ought 
to  be  spent  in  the  service  of  the  church ;  and  his  conscien- 
tious feelings,  lest  he  should  give  the  smallest  trouble  to  his 
friends,  exceeded  the  bounds  of  moderation.  Such  was  the 
manner  of  comforting  both  himself  and  friends  until  the  19th 
of  May,  when  we  ministers  were  accustomed  to  meet  relative 
to  the  censure  of  morals,  and  to  take  a  friendly  meal  together 
two  days  before  Whitsuntide,  and  the  celebration  of  the  Lord's 
Supper.  He  expressed  a  wish  that  the  common  supper  should 
on  this  day  be  prepared  at  his  house,  and  rallying  his  little 
strength  that  remained,  w^as  carried  from  his  bed  to  the  ad- 
joining chamber,  when  he  said,  "  I  come  to  see  you,  my 
brethren,  for  the  last  time,  never  more  to  sit  down  with  you 
at  table."  Such  was  the  commencement  of  one  of  the  most 
melancholy  repasts  we  ever  took.     He  then  offered  up  a 


LIFE     OF     CALVIN.  93 

prayer,  took  a  small  portion  of  food,  and  discoursed  with  us 
at  supper  in  as  cheerful  a  manner  as  his  weakness  permitted. 
Before  supper  was  fully  finished,  he  ordered  himself  to  be 
carried  back  to  the  adjoining  chamber,  and  addressing  the 
company  with  a  distinctly  smiling  countenance,  said,  "  This 
intervening  wall  will  not  prevent  me  from  being  present  with  /"^ 
you  in  spirit,  though  absent  in  body."  His  prediction  was 
fulfilled,  for  from  this  day  he  always  lay  in  an  horizontal 
posture,  his  small  body,  except  his  countenance,  which  was 
very  little  changed,  being  so  much  emaciated,  that  breath 
only  remained.  On  the  27th  of  May,  tlie  day  of  his  death, 
he  appeared  stronger,  and  spoke  with  less  difficulty;  but  this 
was  the  last  efibrt  of  nature,  for  about  eight  o'clock  in  the 
evening,  certain  symptoms  of  dissolution  suddenly  manifested 
themselves.  When  one  of  his  domestics  brought  one  of  the 
brethren,  and  me,  who  had  only  just  left  him,  this  intelligence, 
I  returned  immediately  with  all  speed,  and  found  he  had  died 
in  so  very  tranquil  a  manner,  that  without  his  feet  and  hands 
being  in  any  respect  discomposed,  or  his  breathing  increased, 
his  senses,  judgment,  and  in  some  measure  his  voice,  re- 
maining entire  to  his  very  last  gasp,  he  appeared  more  to  re- 
semble one  in  a  state  of  sleep  than  death.* 

Thus  this  splendid  light  of  the  reformation  was  taken  from 
us  with  the  setting  sun.  During  that  night,  and  the  follow-  / 
ing  day,  great  lamentation  prevailed  throughout  the  city,  for 
the  republic  regretted  the  want  of  one  of  its  wisest  citizens, 
the  church  deplored  the  death  of  its  faithful  pastor,  the  col- 
lege sorrowed  for  such  an  incomparable  professor,  and  all 
grieved  for  the  loss  of  a  common  parent  and  comforter  be- 
stowed upon  them  by  God  himself.     Many  of  the  citizens 

*  Francis  Junius,  in  his  animadversions  upon  Bellarmin,  says 
that  he  was  at  Geneva  when  Calvin  closed  his  life ;  but  that  he 
never  saw,  heard,  knew,  thought,  or  even  dreamed  of  the  blas- 
phemies and  curses  which  the  papists  said  he  uttered  at  his 
Heath. 


94  LIFEOF     CALVIN. 

were  desirous  to  see  him  after  he  was  dead,  and  could  with 
difficulty  be  tcrrn  from  his  remains.  Some  strangers,  also, 
who  had  come  from  a  distance  with  a  view  to  see  and  hear 
him,  among  whom  was  the  very  distinguished  English  am- 
bassador to  the  French  court,  M^ere  very  desirous  to  see  only 
the  body  of  the  deceased.  At  first,  indeed,  they  were  ad- 
mitted ;  but  afterwards,  because  the  curiosity  was  excessive, 
and  it  was  necessary  to  silence  the  calumnies  of  enemies, 
his  friends  considered  the  best  plan  would  be  to  close  the 
coffin  next  morning,  being  the  Lord's  Day ;  his  corpse,  as 
usual,  having  been  wrapped  in  a  linen  cloth.  At  two  o'clock 
in  the  afternoon  on  Sunday,  his  body  was  carried  to  the  com- 
mon burying-place,  called  Plein  Palais,  without  extraordinary 
pomp.  His  funeral,  however,  was  attended  by  the  members 
of  the  senate,  the  pastors,  all  the  professors  of  the  college, 
and  a  great  proportion  of  the  citizens.  The  abundance  of  tears 
shed  on  this  occasion  affijrded  the  strongest  evidence  of  the 
sense  which  they  entertained  of  their  loss.  According  to  his 
own  directions,  no  hillock,  no  monument  was  erected  to  his 
memory,  on  which  account  I  wrote  the  following  epitaph : — 

,     Why  in  this  humble  and  unnoticed  tomb 
5     Is  Calvin  laid — the  dread  of  falling  Rome, 

Mourn'd  by  the  good,  and  by  the  wicked  fear'd, 

By  all  who  knew  his  excellence  revered; 

From  whom  ev'n  virtue's  self  might  virtue  learn. 

And  young  and  old  its  value  may  discern  1 

'Twas  modesty,  his  constant  friend  on  earth, 

That  laid  this  stone,  unsculptured  with  a  name ; 

Oh !  happy  turf,  enrich'd  with  Calvin's  worth, 

More  lasting  far  than  marble  is  thy  fame ! 

He  lived  fifty-four  years,  ten  months,  and  seventeen  days, 
and  spent  half  of  this  time  in  the  sacred  ministry  of  the  gos- 
pel. His  stature  was  of  the  middle  size ;  his  complexion 
dark  and  pale  ;  his  eyes  brilliant  even  till  death,  expressed 
the  acuteness  of  his  understanding.  His  dress,  neither  highly 
ornamented  nor  slovenly,  was  well  suited  to  his  singular  mo- 


LIFE     OP     CALVIN.  95 

desty ;  his  victuals  were  so  moderate  that  they  were  very  far 
removed  from  the  pride  of  luxury,  or  the  littleness  of  parsi- 
mony ;  his  diet  was  very  sparing,  since  during  many  years 
he  took  only  one  meal  a  day,  assigning  the  weakness^  of  his 
stomach  as  the  cause.  He  lived  nearly  without  sleep.  His 
power  of  memory  was  almost  incredible ;  so  that  he  could 
immediately  recognise,  after  the  lapse  of  many  years,  any 
whom  he  had  only  once  seen  ;  and  though  he  had  been  fre- 
quently interrupted  for  many  hours  while  in  the  act  of  dictat- 
ing, he  would,  without  being  reminded,  forthwith  resume  the 
thread  of  his  subject ;  and  never  forget,  though  overpowered 
by  an  infinite  multiplicity  of  business,  such  things  as  it  was 
important  for  him  in  his  ministerial  character  to  know.  His 
judgment  was  so  sound  and  exact  on  all  subjects,  that  his 
decisions  seemed  almost  oracular;  nor  do  I  remember  an 
instance  of  any  error  being  committed  by  those  who  followed 
his  advice. 

He  despised  an  artificial  eloquence,  and  was  sparing  in  his 
words,  but  an  accomplished  writer ;  and  no  theologian,  until 
the  present  time^  it  may  be  said,  without  disparaging  any, 
hath  written  with  greater  purity,  gravity,  and  judgment  than 
Calvin,  though  none  either  in  our  own  age,  or  that  of  our 
fathers,  has  written  so  much  as  our  author.  By  close  study, 
during  his  youth,  by  uncommon  accuracy  of  judgment,  con- 
firmed by  the  practice  of  dictating  to  an  amanuensis,  he  was 
always  able  to  speak  with  propriety  and  gravity,  and  his 
language  in  conversation  differed  very  little  from  his  written 
compositions.  The  consistency  and  uniformity  of  his  doc- 
trine from  first  to  last,  are  scarcely  to  be  paralleled  in  any 
divine  of  the  present  time.  With  respect  to  his  manners, 
though  he  was  naturally  grave,  yet,  in  the  intercourse  of  so- 
cial life,  no  one  was  distinguished  by  more  suavity.  He 
exercised  great  prudence  and  forbearance  towards  all  such  in- 
firmities in  others,  as  are  consistant  with  integrity,  so  that 
he  did  not  overawe,  or  raise  the  blush  in  his  weak  brethren, 
by  unseasonable  or  too  severe  reproof,  nor  cherish  their  vices 


96  LIFE     OF     CALVIN. 

by  connivance  or  adulation.  He  was  as  severe  and  indig- 
nant an  enemy  of  flattery  and  dissimulation,  and  of  every 
kind  of  wickedness,  especially  where  religion  was  concerned, 
as  he  was  a  keen  and  ardent  friend  of  truth,  simplicity,  and 
candour.  He  was  naturally  of  an  irritable  temperament,  and 
this  fault  was  augmented  by  the  excessive  laboriousness  of 
his  life.  But  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord  had  so  taught  him  to 
moderate  his  anger,  that  he  was  never  heard  to  utter  a  word 
unbecoming  a  good  man,  or  which  went  beyond  the  bounds 
of  virtue ;  nor  did  he  ever  speak  with  rashness,  unless  his 
mind  was  roused  when  treating  on  the  subject  of  religion,  or 
when  engaged  with  obstinate  characters. 

No  attentive  reader  of  the  lives  of  those  men  who,  even  in 
profane  history,  displayed  more  than  usual  attachment  to 
any  kind  of  heroism,  will  be  astonished  to  find  so  many  ex- 
cellent qualities  and  splendid  virtues,  both  of  a  domestic  and 
public  nature,  to  have  called  forth  such  a  host  of  enemies. 
Nor  will  any  one  be  surprised  that  such  a  most  undaunted 
defender  of  sound  doctrine,  and  so  steady  a  follower  of  purity 
of  life,  should  have  experienced  such  violent  opposition  from 
the  enemies  of  true  religion  and  morality.  But  he  will  con- 
sider this  fact  chiefly  to  be  worthy  of  his  astonishment,  that 
one  man  alone,  like  some  Christian  Hercules,  could  have 
been  sufficient  for  subduing  so  many  monsters  by  the  use  of 
that  most  powerful  club,  the  word  of  God.  Calvin  achieved 
as  many  triumphs  as  Satan  raised  up  enemies  to  oppose  him, 
for  it  is  certain  he  had  none,  among  the  great  crowd  of  his 
adversaries,  but  such  as  had  proclaimed  war  both  against 
piety  and  virtue.  Those  enemies  brand  Calvin  as  a  heretic, 
but  Christ  suffered  under  the  same  reproach,  and  that  even 
from  the  priests  themselves.  He  was  expelled,  they  say, 
from  Geneva ;  true,  but  he  was  solicited  to  return.  What 
happened  to  the  apostles  ?  What  to  Athanasius  ?  What  to 
Chrysostom  ?  Many  other  charges  are  brought  against  him 
by  another  class  of  enemies,  but  what  are  they?  He  is 
charged  with  ambition,  yea,  with  aspiring  at  a  new  Popedom  ; 


LIFEOFCALVIN.  97 

— an  extraordinary  accusation  against  a  man,  who  preferred 
this  kind  of  life,  this  republic,  this  church,  which  I  may 
truly  call  the  very  seat  and  abode  of  poverty,  to  all  other 
honours.  They  say  again  that  he  coveted  wealth.  Yet  all 
his  worldly  goods,  including  his  library,  which  brought  a 
high  price,  scarcely  amounted  to  three  hundred  crowns  ;  so 
that  he  might  very  justly,  as  well  as  very  elegantly,  in  order 
to  refute  this  calumny  of  unparalleled  impudence,  use  the 
foUowmg  words  :  "  If  I  fail  in  my  lifetime  to  persuade  some 
people  that  I  am  not  a  lover  of  money,  my  death  will  con- 
vince them  of  the  contrary."  The  senate  can  certainly  tes- 
tify to  the  smallness  of  his  stipend,  and  so  far  was  he  from 
being  dissatisfied  with  what  they  gave  him,  as  positively  to 
refuse  an  advance  when  offered.  Some  object  against  him, 
that  his  brother,  Anthony  Calvin,  divorced  his  former  wife 
for  adultery,  when  she  was  discovered.  What  would  they 
have  said  had  he  continued  to  live  with  her?  If  the  disho- 
nour of  an  unchaste  female  is  brought  against  him,  what 
shall  become  of  the  family  of  Jacob,  of  David,  nay,  of  the 
Son  of  God  himself,  who  expressly  marked  out  a  devil,  as 
one  of  his  own  disciples  ?  His  numerous  labours  answer 
the  charge  of  his  delighting  in  luxury  and  indulgence.  Some 
are  not  ashamed,  both  in  their  speeches  and  writings,  to  ac- 
cuse him  of  reigning  in  the  church  and  state  at  Geneva, 
where  he  had,  as  it  were,  elevated  himself  to  a  high  tribunal. 

^  Claudius  Sponse,  of  the  Sorbonne,  the  rhapsodist,  dared  to 
accuse  him,  in  a  very  malevolent  book,  of  introducing  some 
living  man,  wholly  unknown,  instead  of  a  dead  one,  whom 
he  pretended  to  raise  to  life  in  the  presence  of  the  whole 
people,  which  is  as  disgraceful  a  falsehood,  as  if  he  had  said 

'  that  he  was  Pope  of  Rome.  What  accusation  will  not  some 
dare  to  bring  against  him  ?  But  such  false  statements  re- 
quire no  refutation  ;  and  neither  those  who  were  acquainted 
with  so  distinguished  a  person  during  his  life,  nor  the  judi- 
cious in  future  ages,  who  shall  form  their  opinion  of  his  cha- 

9 


98  LIFE     OF     CALVIN. 

racter  from  his  writings,  will  pay  the  least  regard  to  such 
gross  and  unfounded  calumnies. 

These  are  the  principal  events  in  the  life  and  death  of 
Calvin,  which  have  come  under  ray  own  immediate  observa- 
tion during  the  last  sixteen  years.  I  feel  myself  justly  war- 
ranted to  declare,  that  in  him  was  presented  to  all  men,  one 
of  the  most  beautiful  and  illustrious  examples  of  the  pious 
life  and  triumphant  death  of  a  real  Christian  ;  and  as  it  is 
easy  for  malevolence  to  calumniate  his  character,  so  the 
most  exalted  virtue  will  find  it  difficult  to  imitate  his  con- 
duct. 


THE 


CHARACTER  OF  CALVIN 


BY  THE  TRANSLATOR. 


Few  writers  or  divines,  in  any  age,  have  been  more 
exposed  to  the  calumnies  of  their  enemies,  or  less  flat- 
tered by  their  friends,  than  John  Calvin.  His  genius, 
his  talents,  his  learning,  his  unwearied  labour,  his  per- 
severing activity,  and  his  striking  disinterestedness,  secured 
for  him  no  small  share  in  the  reformation.  His  system  of 
church  government,  which  originated  in  a  great  measure  from 
the  peculiar  circumstances  of  aff*airs  in  Geneva,  and  was  ex- 
tended to  France,  Scotland,  Holland,  &c.,  gave  him  a  more 
extended  influence,  and  undisputed  power,  than  he  would 
otherwise  have  obtained,  and  contributed  also  to  make  him 
an  object  of  hatred  to  the  Roman  hierarchy. 

A  deep  and  well  founded  conviction  that  he  has  long  la- 
boured in  my  own  country  under  a  heavy  load  of  unmerited 
obloquy  induces  me  to  draw  a  few  outlines  of  his  character. 
In  doing  this,  I  have  been  guided  by  all  the  authentic  docu- 
ments which  I  could  command,  without  paying  any  regard 
to  the  statements  either  of  his  friends  or  foes. 

Timidity,  nay,  even  pusillanimity  was  one  of  the  most 
striking  features  in  the  natural  character  of  Calvin.  He 
wanted  courage,  as  a  man,  to  face  and  encounter  the  com- 
monest danger,  while,  as  a  Christian,  he  was  prepared  to 


100  CHARACTER     OF     CALVIN. 

meet  the  violent  assaults  of  the  most  powerful  emperors  and 
monarchs,  and  to  smile,  with  the  most  composed  compla- 
cency, at  the  grim  countenance  of  the  king  of  terrors  in  his 
most  horrid  forms.  He  placed  no  confidence  in  himself, 
but  depended  upon  the  protection,  and  guidance,  and  strength 
of  the  arm  of  Omnipotence.  He  knew  that  his  own  power 
was  nothing;  but,  relying  upon  the  promises  of  unchanging 
Truth  and  infinite  Love,  no  dominion,  however  great — no 
opposition,  however  violent — made  him  shrink  from  his 
Christian  duty,  or  in  any  instance  either  to  deny  or  recant 
the  truth.  He  rested  safe  and  secure  under  the  panoply  of 
the  Lord  of  Hosts,  whether  threatened  by  the  blasts  of  the 
pope  and  his  minions,  or  attacked  in  Geneva  by  the  vilest  and 
most  unprincipled  of  men.  His  religious  and  moral  courage 
— the  gift  of  the  Holy  Spirit — in  which  he  was  not  surpassed 
by  Luther  himself,  never  forsook  him  ;  and  he  was  equally 
intrepid  in  exposing  what  he  considered  the  errors  or  impro- 
per compliances  of  the  most  distinguished  leaders  in  the  re- 
formation, as  he  was  unflinching  in  his  opposition  to  every 
kind  of  heresy,  and  every  heresiarch  whose  views  diminish- 
ed the  simplicity,  undermined  the  truth,  or  obscured  the 
glory  of  the  gospel.  Our  reformer,  in  carrying  on  his  own 
unceasing  combat  with  Anti-christ,  used  no  armour  but  wjiat 
he  took  from  the  impregnable  tower  of  divine  truth,  and 
gloried  in  no  strength,  but  the  love,  the  righteousness,  the 
grace,  and  regenerating  influences  of  the  Most  High. 

Calvin  from  his  earliest  years,  was  unweared  in  the  pur- 
suit of  knowledge,  and  from  the  first  moment  that  the  book 
of  God  was  opened  to  his  mind  by  the  Spirit  of  truth,  to  the 
last  thread  of  his  existence,  no  labour,  however  great — no 
study,  however  arduous — no  meditation,  however  intense, 
retarded  him  in  his  glorious  career  of  doing  all  in  his  power 
for  extending  the  kingdom  of  heaven.  His  most  violent  and 
implacable  enemies  have  never  dared  to  deny  him  this  praise, 
and  even  Voltaire  holds  him  up  to  the  admiration  and  imita- 
tion of  mankind  for  his  almost  unparalleled  industry,  and  his 


CHARACTER     OF     CALVIN.  101 

admirable  disinterestedness.*  If  all  his  published  and  un- 
published works  were  translated,  they  would  form  at  least 
seventy  octavo  volumes,  which  were  prepared  in  the  midst 
of  constant  preaching  and  lecturing,  of  unceasing  care  for  the 
church  of  God,  continued  controversies  with  the  opponents 
of  the  gospel,  arduous  struggles  for  preserving  the  doctrines 
and  discipline  of  the  church  of  Geneva,  frequent  trials  from 
his  enemies,  and  repeated  indisposition,  during  the  short 
period  of  thirty-one  years.  He  lived  and  laboured  ever 
mindful  of  the  coming  of  his  Saviour ;  and  was  distinguished 
by  study,  contemplation,  watchfulness,  thanksgiving,  and 
prayer. 

Calvin's  labours  were  incessant.  He  delivered  more  than 
300  sermons  and  lectures  every  year;  and  his  correspon- 
dence, commentaries,  controversial  writings,  and  admoni- 
tions, Slc,  would  form  annually,  during  the  period  of  thirty 
one  years,  between  two  and  three  volumes  octavo.  The 
following  extract  from  a  letter  to  Farel,  written  in  1539, 


*  Middleton  says  there  are  many  among  the  Roman  Catholics, 
who  would  do  justice  to  Calvin,  if  they  durst  speak  their  thoughts. 
Guy  Patin  has  taught  us  to  make  this  judgment;  for  he  observes 
that  Joseph  Scaliger  said  that  Calvin  was  the  greatest  wit  the  world 
had  seen,  since  the  Apostles.  He  acknowledged  that  no  man  ever 
understood  ecclesiastical  history  like  Calvin,  who  at  the  age  of 
twenty-two,  was  the  most  learned  man  in  Europe.  And  he  tells 
us  that  John  de  Monluc,  bishop  of  Valence,  used  to  say  that  Calvin 
was  the  greatest  divine  in  the  world.  Patin  caused  the  life  of 
Calvin,  written  by  Papyrius  Masso,  to  be  made  public.  This  life 
has  done  a  great  deal  of  mischief  to  the  copies  of  Bolsec  ;  for  who 
can  read  it  without  laughing  at  those  who  accuse  this  minister  of 
loving  good  wine  and  cheerful  company  1  The  papists,  at  last, 
have  been  obliged  to  acknowledge  the  falsity  of  these  infamous 
calumnies  published  against  the  morals  of  Calvin.  Their  best 
pens  have  been  contented  to  say,  that  though  he  was  free  from 
corporeal  vices,  he  was  not  so  from  spiritual  ones,  such  as  slander, 
passion,  avarice  and  pride. — 2  Middleton,  57,  58. 

9* 


102  CHARACTER     OF     CALVIN. 

when  he  published  his  Commentary  on  Romans,  gives  us  a 
clear  view  of  the  active  character  and  persevering  labours  of 
our  reformer.  "  When  the  messenger  called  for  my  book,  I 
had  twenty  sheets  to  revise — to  preach — to  read  to  the  con- 
gregation— to  write  four  letters — to  attend  to  some  contro- 
versies— and  to  return  answers  to  more  than  ten  persons  who 
interrupted  me  in  the  midst  of  my  labours  for  advice."  If 
Protestant  divines,  in  the  nineteenth  century,  exhibited  the 
same  perseverance  and  alacrity  in  business  which  distinguish- 
ed the  great  luminaries  of  the  reformation,  we  should  not 
hear  of  complaints  about  the  increase  of  the  Roman  Catho- 
lics. The  hierarchy  of  the  church  of  Rome,  both  in  Eng- 
land, in  Ireland,  and  Scotland,  can  only  be  overcome  by  out- 
preaching,  out-praying,  and  out-living  them. 

There  is  no  part  of  the  conduct  of  the  reformers  more 
worthy  of  imitation  than  their  admirable  disinterestedness. 
The  following  passage  from  a  letter  of  Calvin  to  Farel,  writ- 
ten in  1539,  proves  under  how  great  a  pressure  of  poverty 
his  Commentary  to  the  Romans  was  written.  "  The  Wal- 
densian  brethren  are  indebted  to  me  for  a  crown,  one  part 
of  which  I  lent  them,  and  the  other  I  paid  to  their  messen- 
ger, who  came  with  my  brother  to  bring  the  letter  from  So- 
nerius.  I  requested  them  to  give  it  you  as  a  partial  payment 
of  my  debt.  I  will  return  you  the  rest  when  I  am  able. 
INIy  present  condition  is  so  very  poor,  that  1  have  not  one 
penny.  It  is  singular,  although  my  expenses  are  so  great, 
that  I  must  still  live  upon  my  own  money  unless  I  would 
burden  my  brethren.  It  is  not  easy  for  me  to  take  that  care 
of  my  health  which  you  so  affectionately  recommended." 
Had  the  ministers  of  the  gospel  in  all  ages  displayed  the  same 
disinterestedness  of  conduct  which  marked  Calvin,  who  left 
only  three  hundred  crowns,  even  scandal  itself  could  nsver 
have  accused  the  clergy  of  avarice.  Had  all  our  acrhbishops 
and  bishops  exhibited  the  same  spirit  of  love  which  distin- 
guished the  late  bishop  of  Durham,  who  expended  between 
two  and  three  hundred  thousand  pounds  in  religious  and  be- 


CHARACTER     OF     CALVIN.  103 

nevolent  purposes,  and  in  giving  money  even  for  the  build- 
ing of  Dissenting  places  of  worship,  no  true  Christian  could 
have  complained  on  account  of  the  large  annual  stipends 
which  the  English  bishops  receive.  Let  the  Dissenting  minis- 
ters imitate  the  conduct  of  John  Wesley,  who  spent  more 
than  twenty  thousand  pounds  in  promoting  the  interests  of 
rehgion  and  philanthropy,  and  died  nearly  as  poor  as  Cal- 
vin ;  and  the  constant  example  of  disinterested  conduct, 
which  the  clergy  of  all  denominations  would  then  exhibit 
could  not  fail  to  increase  the  liberal  character  of  the  laymen. 

His  learning  was  uncommonly  accurate,  and  so  extensive ^ 
that  Scaliger  considered  him  the  profoundest  scholar  since: 
the  days  of  the  apostles.  No  man  has  made  less  parade  and 
show  of  his  knowledge,  or  been  more  assiduous  in  rendering 
it  subservient  to  the  great  purpose  of  religion.  The  defence, 
illustration,  and  explanation  of  the  Scriptures  formed  the 
great  leading  object  of  his  life  ;  and  his  writings  will  ever 
remain  a  monument  of  his  Z€al  and  ardour  in  the  cause  of 
God  and  truth.  Although  he  knew  how  to  appreciate  every 
kind  and  every  department  of  literature  and  science,  yet  he 
was  fully  convinced  that  the  treasury  of  the  divine  word, 
which  had  for  so  many  centuries  been  concealed  from  the 
world  by  a  tyrannical  hierarchy,  could  only  he  unlocked  by 
the  most  patient  research,  and  extensive  acquaintance  with 
all  the  stores  of  ancient  and  modern  knowledge.* 

Few  ir.cn  seem  to  have  possessed  a  stronger  or  more  re- 
tentive memory,  both  for  words  and  things,  than  this  great  lu- 
minary of  the  reformation.  Close  attention,  clearness  of  think- 
ing, order,  frequent  repetition,  uncommon  pleasure,  and  deep 
interest,  in  the  great  object  of  his  pursuit,  gave  him  an  accu- 
racy, extent,  and  quickness  of  retentive  faculties  rarely  sur- 
passed.    He  laid  up  all  his  varied  stores  of  learning  in  well- 


*  Which  gives  a  light  to  every  age. 
Which  gives,  but  borrows  none. 


104  CHARACTER     OP     CALVIN. 

arranged  compartments,  and  was  enabled  to  take  them  out 
for  every  requisite  purpose  with  great  facility  and  correct- 
ness. 

His  judgment,  logical  sagacity,  and  accuracy  were  in  no 
respect  inferior  to  his  memory  ;  and  few  writers  surpassed 
him  in  perceiving  the  various  bearings  of  the  subject  which 
he  investigated.  He  is  indebted  to  this  faculty  for  his  un- 
common power  of  generalisation  and  success  in  making 
systems,  and  giving  well-digested  and  clear  catechetical  in- 
structions, which  he  highly  valued  as  containing  the  true  seeds 
of  doctrine.  All  his  writings  are  intended  to  cast  light  upon 
each  other,  and  few  authors  of  any  age  have  exhibited 
greater  uniformity,  and  consistency  of  sentiment — one  of  the 
surest  marks  of  a  sound  judgment — than  our  reformer. 
Strong  expressions  occasionally  occur,  as  in  all  controversial 
writers  ;  but  by  carefully  weighing  and  comparing  them 
with  each  other,  their  harshness  will  be  found  to  be  much 
diminished.  The  scope,  drift,  relation,  and  connexion  of  a 
passage  rarely  escape  the  minuteness,  clearness,  and  com- 
pleteness of  his  discriminative  powers. 

His  imagination  is  greatly  inferior  to  the  other  faculties 
of  his  mind ;  and  he  very  rarely  indulges  in  the  fascinations 
of  this  delightful  and  uncommon  talent.  When  he  suffers 
himself  to  be  hurried  off  by  any  sudden  sallies  of  this  fre- 
quently wayward  power,  he  invariably  keeps  it  under  the 
steady  curb  and  unceasing  restraint  of  judgment. 

His  affections  were  warm  and  ardent.  As  a  brother,  friend, 
husband,  father,  and  minister  of  the  word  of  God,  he  dis- 
played strong  and  steady  attachment.  He  carried  his  brother 
Anthony  to  Geneva,  and  manifested  towards  him  and  his 
family  the  greateat  and  steadiest  love.  After  the  death  of 
his  friend  Caurault,  he  says,  in  a  letter  to  Farel,  "I  am  so 
overwhelmed  that  I  can  put  no  limits  to  my  sorrow.  My 
daily  occupations  have  no  power  to  retain  my  mind  from 
recurring  to  the  event,  and  revolving  constantly  the  impressive 
thought.     The  distressing  impulses  of  the  day  are  followed 


CHARACTER     OP    CALVIN.  105 

by  the  more  torturing  anguish  of  the  night.  I  am  not  only- 
troubled  with  dreams,  to  which  I  am  inured  by  habit,  but  I 
am  greatly  enfeebled  by  those  restless  watchings  which  are 
extremely  injurious  to  my  health."*  Calvin  thus  writes  to 
Viret  on  the  death  of  his  wife  :  "  I  repress,  as  much  as  I  am 
able,  the  sorrow  of  my  heart.  With  all  the  exertions  of  my 
friends,  I  effect  less  in  assuaging  my  grief  than  I  could  wish  ; 
but  I  cannot  express  the  consolations  which  I  experience. 
You  know  the  tenderness  of  my  mind,  or  rather  with  what 
effeminacy  T  yield  under  trials  ;  so  that  without  the  exercise 
of  much  moderation  I  could  not  have  supported  the  pressure 
of  my  sorrow."  His  unceasing  efforts  for  the  spiritual  im- 
provement of  his  church,  both  at  Strasburgh  and  Geneva, 
leave  no  doubt  of  the  warmth  of  his  attachment.  His  friends 
also  invariably  manifested  their  strong  love  to  Calvin,  and 
this  affords  an  undoubted  evidence  of  mutual  and  reciprocal 
feelings.  The  tears  of  the  magistrates  and  the  ministers  of 
Geneva,  when  he  was  on  his  death-bed,  supply  the  clearest 
and  most  undoubted  proof  that  he  had  a  warm  and  a  feeUng 
heart. 

How,  it  may  be  asked,  did  Calvin  comfort  himself  under 
his  wounded  affections  ?  He  knew  and  felt  that  his  light 
afflictions,  which  were  but  for  a  moment,  were  working  out 
for  him  a  far  more  abundant,  even  an  eternal  weight  of  glory. 
The  following  extracts  from  his  letters  prove  that  he  relied 
on  no  comfort  but  that  of  his  gracious  Saviour. 

"  The  Lord,"  he  writes  to  Farel,  "  has  spared  us  to  sur- 
vive Caurault.     Let  us  be  diligent  to  follow  his  example  ;t 

*  Our  Reformer  thus  writes  on  the  death  of  Bucer,  "  1  feel  my 
heart  to  be  almost  torn  asunder,  when  I  reflect  on  the  very  great 
loss  which  the  church  has  sustained  on  the  death  of  Bucer,  and  on 
the  advantages  that  England  would  have  derived  from  his  labours 
had  he  been  spared  to  assist  in  carrying  on  the  Reformation  in  that 
kingdom. —  Tr. 

t  "  They  mourn  the  dead,  who  live  as  they  desired."— Young. 


106  CHARACTER     OF     CALVIN. 

and  watchful  to  tread  in  the  path  of  increasing  light,  till  we 
shall  have  finished  our  course.  Let  no  difficulties  dismay 
us,  or  any  weight  of  earthly  sufferings  impede  our  progress 
towards  that  rest,  into  which  we  trust  he  is  received.  AVith- 
out  the  hope  of  this  glory  to  cheer  us  in  our  way,  we  shall  be 
overcome  with  difficulties,  and  driven  to  despair.  But  as 
the  truth  of  the  Lord  remains  firm  and  unshaken,  so  let  us 
abide  in  the  hope  of  our  calling,  until  the  hidden  kingdom  of 
God  be  made  manifest."  After  the  death  of  his  wife,  he 
writes  to  Farel:  "I  now  suppress  the  sorrow  of  my  heart, 
and  give  myself  no  remission  from  my  official  duties.*  May 
the  Lord  Jesus  strengthen  me  in  this  so  great  calamity, 
which  would  inevitably  have  overpowered  me  unless  he  had 
stretched  forth  his  hand  from  heaven,  whose  office  it  is  to 
raise  the  fallen,  to  strengthen  the  weak,  and  to  refresh  the 
weary." 

Viret,  in  his  answer  to  Calvin  on  the  death  of  his  wife, 
thus  writes  : — "  I  admire  the  influence  of  that  divine  Spirit 
which  operates  in  you,  and  proves  himself  by  his  fruits 
worthy  of  the  name  of  the  true  Comforter.  Justly  may  I 
acknowledge  the  power  of  that  Spirit  in  you,  since  you  bear 
with  so  composed  a  mind  those  domestic  misfortunes,  which 
must  intimately  affect,  with  the  greatest  possible  severity, 
your  heart,  that  was  always  so  readily  involved  in  the  calam- 
ities of  others,  and  so  accustomed  to  feel  them,  as  if  they 
were  your  own.  Your  example  inspires  others  with  new 
strength,  since  you  can  draw  consolation  from  your  own 
trials,  and  conduct  yourself  in  all  the  duties  of  your  office,  at 
a  time  when  your  sorrows  are  recent,  and  have  the  keenest 
edge  to  wound  and  destroy  your  constancy,  with  as  much 
readiness   and  ease  as  when  all  was  well.t     May  the  ex- 


*  The  Rev.  Andrew  Fuller  commenced  writing  his  excellent 
treatise,  "Calvinism  and  Socinianism  compared,"  as  a  means  of 
solacing  his  grief  for  the  loss  of  a  beloved  partner.— Tr. 

t  The  steady  performance  of  our  various  duties,  domestic,  social. 


CHARACTER     OF     CALVIN.  107 

uberant  grace  of  divine  goodness,  from  which  proceed  all 
those  other  gifts,  that  the  Lord  hath  so  richly  bestowed  upon 
you,  supply  your  own  mind  with  the  resolution  to  bear  this 
cross."  His  feelings  for  the  church  of  Geneva  when  he  was 
most  unjustly  banished  by  them,  show  the  ardour  of  his  at- 
tachment to  the  church  of  God,  which  had  once  been  intrust- 
ed to  his  care.  In  a  letter  to  Viret,  he  says,  **  My  thoughts 
relative  to  the  arduous  office  of  governing  the  church,  dis- 
turb and  perp^x  my  mind  with  various  anxieties;  but  their 
influence  will%ot  prevent  me  from  doing  every  thing  which 
I  judge  best  for  its  welfare.  Nothing  is  more  conformable 
to  my  wishes  and  desires  than  to  give  up  my  life  in  the  dis- 
charge of  my  duty.  I  entreated  our  friends  with  tears,  that, 
omitting  all  consideration  of  me,  they  should  consult,  in  the 
presence  of  God,  what  would  be  most  beneficial  to  the  church 
of  Geneva." 

Calvin  thus  writes  on  this  subject  in  the  Preface  to  his 
Commentary  on  the  Psalms.  "  The  obligation  and  respon- 
sibility of  my  office  determined  me  to  restore  myself  to  the 
flock  from  which  I  had  been  violently  separated ;  and  the 
best  of  Beings  is  my  witness  with  what  deep  sorrow,  abun- 
dance of  tears,  and  extreme  anxiety,  I  entered  upon  my 
office." 

To  what  was  Calvin  indebted  for  all  the  courage,  learning, 
industry,  and  success,  which  he  possessed  ?  To  a  deep  and( 
settled  piety.  After  leaving  the  darkness  and  superstitions 
of  popery,  he  gave  up  his  undivided  attention  to  the  sacred 
records  of  the  divine  will.  Nor  did  he  study  them  for  the 
purpose  of  confirming  his  mind  in  preconceived  opinions, 
but  of  discovering  the  counsels,  the  plans,  the  truths  of  infi- 
nite wisdom.     His  great  design  was  to  follow  the  Lamb  of 

professional,  and  Christian,  is  one  of  the  most  powerful  and  cer- 
tain means,  with  the  joy  and  consolation  of  the  Spirit  of  God, 
to  enable  us  to  bear  up  under  any  bereavements. — Tr. 


108  CHARACTER     OF     CALVIN. 

God  whithersoever  he  went.  Hence,  by  the  iUumination  of 
the  divine  Spirit,  that  confidence  and  full  assurance  of  faith, 
which  he  so  strongly  insists  on  and  so  beautifully  describes. 
Hence  that  noble  heroism,  with  which  he  pursued  the  on- 
ward tenor  of  his  course,  in  breaking  down  the  barriers  of 
popery,  and  building  up  the  exalted  and  stately  pillars  of 
the  reformation.  He  knew  the  power  of  the  divine  word, 
that  it  was  able  to  bring  down  all  high  thoughts  in  subjec- 
tion to  the  dominion  of  Christ,  and  to  overcome  all  principa- 
lities and  powers.  Hence  his  numerous  commentaries,  and 
his  unwearied  expositions,  both  by  lectures  and  by  preach- 
ing, of  the  word  of  God.  To  this,  and  this  alone,  was  he 
indebted  for  the  confidence  with  which  he  met  all  his  ene- 
mies and  all  his  trials ;  with  which  he  faced  all  the  com- 
bined artifice  and  violence  of  the  Roman  Catholics,  and  the 
various  sects  and  heresies  rising  out  of  the  bosom  of  the 
reformation  itself. 

Calvin,  on  his  death-bed,  looked  back,  with  a  self-approv- 
ing conscience,  to  the  labours  in  which  he  had  been  en- 
gaged ;  and  though  he  condemns  himself  for  displaying  too 
great  violence  of  temper  on  certain  occasions,  never  once 
complains  of  self-accusation  on  account  of  the  death  of  Ser- 
vetus,  or  of  any  other  part  of  his  arduous  labours  in  opposing 
Castellio,  or  others.  Conscience  has  two  great  offices  to 
perform,  and  in  one  capacity  it  acts  as  an  accuser  and  d^  judge, 
in  the  other  as  a  director  and  a  guide.  The  improper  use 
of  this  guide  of  our  thoughts  and  actions  has  been  the  occa- 
sion and  the  cause  of  more  suffering,  and  persecution,  and 
misery,  than  almost  all  other  causes  put  together.  To  this 
we  must  trace  the  error  and  the  sin  of  the  disciples  John 
and  James,  when  they  wished  to  call  down  fire  from  heaven, 
and  our  beloved  Saviour  told  them  that  they  knew  not  what 
spirit  they  were  of.  To  this  we  must  attribute  the  persecu- 
tion of  pagan  and  papal  Rome  ;  and  the  first  reformers  them- 
selves derived  from  this  extensive  source  of  error,  of  sin, 
and  of  crime,  the  persecuting  principles  by  which  they  were 


CHARACTER     OF     CALVIN.  109 

all  influenced.  Although  Calvin  had  escaped  from  the  deep 
abyss  of  popish  darkness,  he  still  continued  to  be  enthralled 
and  awfully  deluded  by  the  horrid  principle  of  persecution 
which  he  placed  in  the  hands  of  the  civil  magistrate,  as  the 
church  of  Rome  vested  it  in  their  ruinous,  ignorant,  and  cor- 
rupt hierarchy.  Had  the  church  of  Geneva  been  separated 
from  the  state,  Calvin  would  never  have  thought  of  placing  j 
in  the  hands  of  the  clergy  of  that  city  the  power  of  punish- 
ing the  blasphemy  of  Servetus  as  a  capital  crime,  since  sim- 
ple excommunication  was  the  extreme  punishment,  which 
the  consistory  could  inflict.  Our  reformer  was  so  thoroughly 
convinced  of  the  power  of  the  magistrates  extending  to  blas- 
phemy against  God,  that  he  declares  the  apostles  themselves, 
had  the  government  under  which  they  lived  been  Christian, 
would  have  abetted  and  sanctioned  persecution.  The  true 
followers  of  the  meek  and  lowly  Jesus  must  be  compelled 
to  shed  tears  over  this  pernicious  and  altogether  ruthless 
principle,  which  was  adopted  and  maintained  by  all  the 
great  leaders  of  the  reformation.  Nay,  the  very  same  per- 
secution has  been  continued  in  England  until  the  other  day, 
when  Taylor  and  Carlile  were  liberated  from  prison.  May 
no  Briton  ever  again  have  cause  to  lament  over  this  anti- 
christian  conduct  on  the  part  of  a  government,  which  is  pro- 
fessedly in  league  and  alliance  with  the  ecclesiastical  esta- 
blishment of  the  country.  The  great  and  peculiar  glory  of 
Christianity  is  love  to  God  and  love  to  man,  founded  on  the 
principle  of  faith  in  a  dying,  risen,  and  interceding  Saviour, 
who  will  finally  come  in  the  character  of  a  Judge  to  separate 
the  goats  from  the  sheep,  and  to  assign  to  each  their  portion 
in  endless  happiness  or  misery.  It  does  not  confide  in  the 
arm  of  man,  in  the  power  of  emperors  or  of  kings  for  suc- 
cess, but  looks  up  with  unbounded  confidence  to  the  Lord  of 
Sabaoth  for  final  victory  and  triumph. 

Calvin  was  not  influenced  by  any  feelings  of  private  re- 
venge, or  of  personal  malevolence  against  Servetus,  as  many, 

contrary  to  all  the  evidence  of  the  truth  of  history  and  biogra- 
10 


110  CHARACTER     OF     CALVIN. 

phy,  have  asserted.  He  was  anxious  to  remove  all  heretical 
opinions,  and  to  watch  over  the  purity  of  the  faith  of  the 
church  at  Geneva,  as  well  as  of  all  the  protestant  churches. 
This  was  one  cause  of  his  bringing  Servetus  to  trial,  and  his 
desire  to  convince  him  of  the  error  of  his  opinions,  and  to 
convert  him  to  the  belief  of  the  truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus,  was 
another.  All  the  Swiss  Protestant  churches  concurred  with 
that  of  Geneva  in  sanctioning  the  punishment  of  the  Spanish 
physician.  Calvin  was  desirous  that  his  punishment  should 
have  been  less  ignominious,  and  not  burning,  but  the  magis- 
trates of  Geneva  opposed  this  measure. 

]t  is  unfair,  uncandid,  and  ungenerous,  to  lay  the  whole 
weight  of  persecution,  as  many  Englishmen  do,  upon  the 
shoulders  of  Calvin.*  Lambert  and  Askew  were  burnt  in 
the  reign  of  Henry  VHI.;  Vane  Pare  and  Joan  of  Arc,  by 
Edward  VI.,  at  the  instigation  and  urgent  solicitation  of 
Archbishop  Cranmer,  a  pattern  of  humility,  meekness,  arid 
charity,  at  Smithfield,  London,  three  years  before  Servetus 
suffered  at  the  Champel  of  Geneva.  Two  Anabaptists  were 
capitally  punished  under  Elizabeth,  and  sixty  Roman  Ca- 
tholics :  Legate  and  Wightman,  two  Arians,  under  James  L 
Cold  must  be  the  heart  that  does  not  feel,  and  tearless  the 

*  The  following  extract  from  a  letter  of  the  mild  Melancthon 
to  Calvin,  proves  what  his  opinions  were  concerning  persecution. 
"I  have  read  your  .clear  refutation  of  the  4iorrid  blasphemies  of 
Servetus,  and  I  thank  the  Son  of  God  who  awarded  you  a  crown 
of  victory  in  this  combat.  The  church  owes  you  a  debt  of  grati- 
tude even  at  the  present  moment,  and  will  owe  it  to  the  latest 
posterity.  I  perfectly  assent  to  your  opinion.  Your  magistrates 
did  right  in  punishing,  after  a  regular  trial,  this  blasphemer."  In 
this  very  letter  Melancthon  speaks  of  Calvin  "  as  a  lover  of  truth, 
and  as  having  a  mind  free  from  hatred  and  other  unreasonable 
passions."  Melancthon,  in  a  letter  to  Bullinger,  writes,  "I  won- 
der at  those  who  disapprove  of  the  severity  of  the  sentence  of  the 
Genevese  senate  against  Servetus,  for  they  were  perfectly  right, 
since  he  could  never  cease  blaspheming." — Tr. 


CHARACTER     OF     CALVIN.  Ill 

eyes  that  do  not  sympathize  with  all  the  victims  of  persecu- 
tion under  Charles  I.  and  II. 

The  distinction  which  Servetus  has  attained  for  his  vari- 
ous writings,  particularly  as  the  discoverer  of  the  pulmonic 
circulation  of  the  blood  before  our  illustrious  Harvey,  has 
contributed  to  make  his  trial  and  punishment  more  conspicu- 
ous, while  those  who  suffered  in  England  have  been  little  no- 
ticed in  consequence  of  their  ignorance  and  want  of  celebrity. 
Our  reformer  has  been  calumniated  without  mercy  and  jus- 
tice, and  with  all  the  rancour  of  malevolence  and  fury,  by 
many  of  our  anonymous  compilers  of  Biographical  Dictiona- 
ries. Even  Dr.  Lempriere,  in  his  Universal  Biography, 
makes  the  most  unfounded  assertion,  contrary  to  all  the 
authentic  evidence  of  history,  that  two  long  hours  elapsed 
while  Servetus  was  burning  at  the  stake.  Is  such  conduct 
worthy  of  the  generosity  for  which  my  countrymen  are  so 
justly  renowned  ? 

What  has  Calvin  done  to  merit  such  treatment  from  any 
of  the  natives  of  the  British  Isles,  or  of  Ireland  herself?  We 
are  indebted  for  all  our  psalmody  in  the  church  of  England 
to  Calvin,  who  fostered  with  paternal  care  the  English  ex- 
iles under  the  persecution  of  queen  Mary  ;  and  these  refu- 
gees annexed  the  Psalms,  versified  and  set  to  music,  to  a 
translation  of  the  Scriptures  in  the  English  language,  made 
chiefly  by  Coverdale,  Goodman,  Knox,  Gibbs,  Sampson, 
Cole,  and  Whittingham.  This  version  of  the  Psalms  soon 
superseded  the  Te  Deum.  Benedicite,  Magnificat,  Nunc 
DimittiSf  which  had  been  retained  until  that  time  in  the 
church  of  England  from  that  of  Rome.  Had  Calvin  done 
nothing  else  for  us  than  this,  he  deserved  at  least  to  have  re- 
ceived fair  treatment  at  our  hands. 

Not  satisfied  with  this,  Calvin  used  every  effort  in  his 
power,  by  correspondence  with  Peter  Martyr,  Bucer,  Fa- 
gius,  Cranmer,  Sir  William  Cecil,  Sir  John  Cheke,  the  Lord 
Protector  of  England,  and  others,  to  have  the  liturgy  of  that 
church  improved.     He  dedicated  also  his  Commentary  on 


112  C  H  A  K  A  C   r  E  R      O  F      C  A  L  V  I  N  . 

Isaiah,  ajul  the  Canonical  Epistles,  to  Edward  the  Sixth, 
who  is  justly  compared  with  kinir  Josiah  ;  and  he  points  out 
to  him  the  great  viiliie  and  importance  of  the  Scriptures,  as 
the  only  certain  means  lor  subverting  the  kijigdom  of  Anti- 
christ. He  dedicates  dso  one  edition  of  his  Commentaries 
on  Isaiah  to  Elizabeth.  In  his  letter  to  the  Protector,  ho 
strongly  approves  of  a  liiiirgy.  since  it  would  establish  a 
more  certain  agreement  of  all  the  churches  among  them- 
selves, check  tiie  instability  and  levity  of  innovators,  and  de- 
tect the  introduction  of  new  opinions  by  an  immediate  appeal 
to  such  a  standard.  He  objects  against  prayers  for  the  dead, 
the  use  of  chrism,  and  extreme  unction.  "  Religion,"  he 
writes,  "cannot  be  restored  to  its  purity  wlule  the  spurious 
and  counterfeit  Christianity  of  popery,  that  sink  of  pollution, 
is  only  partially  drawn  otf,  and  a  frightful  form  of  the  reli- 
gion of  Jesus  is  embraced  for  the  pure  and  original  faith." 
In  the  concluding  part  of  this  letter  he  points  out  the  neces- 
sity of  maintaining  the  honour  oi'  God  in  punishing  fornica- 
tion, adultery,  cui*sing,  and  drunkenness. 

Does  not  C^ilvin  merit  the  praise  of  every  true-hearted 
Englishman,  for  recommending  such  reformation  to  the  uncle 
oi'  king  Edwiu-d  ■  Nay,  is  it  not  high  time  that  something 
more  etlectual  be  at  present  done  by  the  state,  in  checking 
drunkenness,  if  it  ti\kes  any  interest  either  in  the  religious 
or  moral  improvemeiit  of  our  country  ?  In  some  parts  of  the 
kingdom,  there  is  a  public-house  or  tavern  for  a  population 
of  one  hundi-ed  inhabitants  ;  and,  if  we  allow  one  for  every 
three  hundred,  the  places  as  receptacles  tor  drinking  will 
amount  to  seventy  thousand,  which  is  more  than  three  times 
the  number  of  all  the  clergymen  belo?igingto  the  Established 
church  in  Great  Britain  and  Ireland.  Have  we  a  right  to 
consider  that  government  as  paying  the  least  regard  to  the 
morals  or  religion  of  a  country,  which  sanctions  and  licenses 
such  a  disproportionate  and  unnecessary  number  of  abodes 
for  the  drunkard,  or  the  licentious  ?  Surely  it  is  high  time 
that  somethinir  else  be  done  for  our  native  land,  than  the  con- 


CHARACTER     OF     CALVIN.  113 

tinued  following  up  of  a  system,  which  raises  so  large  a  por- 
tion of  the  taxes  of  the  country,  by  encouraging  drunkenness, 
which  destroys  the  health,  the  morals,  the  religion  of  the 
country,  and  is  more  effectual  in  destroying  domestic  com- 
fort and  happiness,  than  all  other  schemes  of  demoralization 
combined.  How  many  families  are  there  among  us,  which 
can  produce  some  husband,  brother,  or  son,  who  have  fallen 
martyrs  to  this  most  degrading  and  brutalizing  of  all  vices. 
When  will  a  reformed  parliament  be  able  to  say  that  the  fol- 
lowing line  of  Cowper  cannot  be  applied  to  them, — 

"  Ye  all  can  swallow,  and  they  ask  no  more."* 

Calvin's  uncommon  care  for  all  the  Protestant  churches  in 
Europe,  merits  the  highest  praise.  His  various  letters,  dedi- 
cations, exhortations,  written  to  every  nation  of  any  eminence, 
where  the  true  principles  of  the  gospel  had  been  introduced, 
afford  a  lasting  proof  of  his  ardour  and  zeal  in  promoting 
genuine  Christianity. 

His  letters  to  John  Knox,  the  Scotch  reformer,  prove  his 
earnest  zeal  for  the  spiritual  welfare  of  that  part  of  the  king- 
dom ;  and  I  am  sure  none,  who  has  had  the  happiness, 
which  I  have  experienced,  of  residing  in  that  land  of  kind- 
ness, hospitality,  education,  morality,  and  religion,  can  en- 
tertain a  moment's  doubt  of  the  great  advantages  which 
Scotland  has  derived  from  the  reformer  of  Geneva.  It  is, 
however,  not  a  little  singular,  that  no  distinguished  author 
in  that  kingdom,  with  whose  writings  I  am  acquainted,  has 
done  any  thing  of  importance,  either  in  vindicating  the  cha- 
racter of  Calvin  from  the  unjust  aspersions  of  his  calumnia- 
tors, or  in  translating  any  of  his  writings.     They  have  been 

*  It  is  truly  gratifying  to  learn  that  the  duke  of  Wellington  is 

doing  his  utmost  to  destroy  its  ravages  among  our  soldiers.  Should 

he,  in  any  measure,  conquer  this  horrid  vice,  he  will  be  a  greater 

benefactor  to  his  country,  than  even  by  his  glorious  achievements 

at  Waterloo.— Tr. 

10* 


114  CHARACTER     OF     CALVIN. 

more  desirous  to  impress  his  own  character  on  themselves 
and  their  countrymen,  than  to  exhibit  to  future  ages  a  full 
and  graphic  delineation  of  every  lineament  and  feature  which 
distinguish  this  luminary  of  the  reformation.     I  trust  the 
time  is  not  distant  when  one  of  the  ablest  biographers  of  the 
age — whose  kindness  I  must  ever  cherish  with   the  most 
grateful  feelings — to  whom  Knox  and  Melville  stand  indebted 
for  such  a  just,  impartial,  and  correct  view  of  all  their  la- 
bours, studies,  and  attachment  to  the  gospel  and  their  coun- 
try— will  be  equally  successful  in  doing  complete  justice 
to  their  great  master  and  leader  in  the  cause  of  truth  and 
righteousness. 

It  yet  remains  for  Scotland  to  rise  as  one  man,  and  to  de- 
mand from  a  reformed  parliament  the  same  freedom  in  the 
electing  of  the  ambassadors  of  the  Most  High,  which  has 
been  lately  granted  them  in  the  appointment  of  their  county 
and  city  members.  Religion  never  will,  and  never  can 
flourish  in  its  full  extent,  until  the  whole  united  empire  shall 
feel  a  deeper  interest  in  the  appointment  of  ministers  of  the 
gospel,  than  in  the  choice  of  any  civil  officer,  however  high 
or  powerful.  It  may  be  doubted  whether  even  a  tenth  part 
of  all  the  archbishops,  bishops,  deans,  priests,  deacons,  and 
ministers  of  the  word  of^God,  in  every  part  of  the  kingdom, 
are  elected  by  the  people.  Surely  then  religion  cannot  be 
made  a  personal  consideration,  while  so  large  a  part  of  the  in- 
habitants appear  to  rest  satisfied  with  such  spiritual  guides, 
directors,  and  comforters,  as  the  caprice,  or  interest,  or  party 
feelings  of  the  government,  or  of  other  patrons,  shall  appoint. 
This  state  of  things  must  be  altered,  if  we  ever  expect  to  be- 
hold a  lasting  and  soul-stirring  change  in  the  religious  cha- 
racter and  views  of  the  whole  empire.  All  the  Churchmen 
and  Dissenters  in  the  United  Kingdom  should  use  every  ex- 
ertion to  inspire  their  hearers  with  a  deep  sense  of  the  im- 
portance and  actual  necessity  of  selecting  .on  all  occasions 
their  own  spiritual  instructors. 

Ireland  herself  bears  ample  testimony,  in  the  province  of 


CHARACTER     OF     CALVIN.  115 

Ulster,  to  the  advantages  which  she  has  derived  from  the  in- 
dustry, manufactures,  education,  and  religion,  introduced  into 
that  country  by  the  followers  of  Calvin  ;  and  we  hope  the 
time  is  not  far  distant  when  the  wrongs  of  that  oppressed  na- 
tion will  be  redressed,  and  the  glorious  principles  of  unadul- 
terated Christianity  produce  their  genuine  effect,  and  seat  her 
side  by  side  with  her  two  sisters,  England  and  Scotland. 

Nor  is  Calvin  entitled  to  receive  common  justice  at  the 
hands  of  Britons,  merely  on  account  of  his  labours  for  promo- 
ting our  greatest  blessings,  by  advancing  the  cause  of  reli- 
gion. Hume — whose  opinion  was  not  in  danger  of  being 
warped  by  any  love  to  Christianity — has  clearly  proved,  in 
his  reign  of  Elizabeth,  that  we  are  chiefly  indebted  for  our 
liberties  to  the  stand  which  the  Dissenters,  who  were  gene- 
rally Calvinists,  made  against  the  arbitrary  measures  of  that 
illustrious  queen.  The  friends  of  slavery  are  entitled  to  do 
their  utmost  against  John  Calvin;  but  no  lover  of  freedom — 
no  true  Briton — no  genuine  Irishman — no  real  patriot,  can  or 
dare  lay  his  hand  on  his  heart,  and  say  he  has  cause  to  with- 
hold from  our  reformer  his  merited  share  of  praise. 

Louis  the  Eleventh  wished  his  son  to  know  merely  one 
sentence,  "  that  dissimulation  is  a  necessary  ingredient  in 
the  character  of  a  monarch,  without  which  he  cannot  rule." 
Politicians  alone  know  to  what  extent  this  principle  has  in- 
fluenced their  councils.  All  divines,  however,  if  they  wish 
to  have  the  least  claim  for  that  title,  ought  to  adopt  Calvin's 
device,  ^^  promptly  and  sincerely.^ ^*     To  these  two  princi- 


*  He  exhibited  both  these  characters  in  the  trial  of  Servetus. 
Promptness  induced  him  to  have  this  heresiarch  arrested  on  a 
Sunday ;  Calvin's  calumniators  and  revilers  have  falsely  stated, 
when  Servetus  was  at  church.  Our  reformer  maintained  with  all 
the  leading  pillars  of  the  reformation,  contrary  to  the  character, 
and  principles,  and  Spirit  of  the  Lamb  of  God,  the  Saviour  of  sin- 
ners, that  blasphemy  ought  to  be  punished  by  the  civil  magistrate, 
and,  as  a  freeman  of  Geneva,  considered  himself  bound  to  impeach 


116  CHARACTER     OF     CALVIN. 

pies  guided  by  the  light  of  the  gospel,  and  the  piety  and 
boldness  it  inspired,  we  may  trace  all  that  perseverance,  all 
that  heroism  and  magnanimity  with  which  he  assailed  the 
strong  holds  of  popery,  and  dared  to  point  out  to  the  greatest 


Servetus.  Sincerity,  and  an  earnestness  of  zeal  to  prevent  the 
spread  of  erroneous  principles,  led  him,  therefore,  to  have  Serve- 
tus arrested  and  tried  by  the  magistrates,  but  Calvin  never  uttered 
a  word  concerning  his  punishment.  Sufficient  time  was  granted 
the  Spanish  physician  for  carrying  on  his  trial,  but,  contrary  to 
the  voice  of  humanity  and  of  justice,  no  advocate  was  allowed  by 
the  senate  of  Geneva,  and  his  jail  exhibited  a  mass  of  squalid  filth, 
which  Howard  alone  could  have  assisted  to  remove;  for  he  is  the 
only  Christian,  since  the  days  of  the  apostles,  who  seems  to  have 
fully  entered  into  the  glorious  practice  of  visiting  the  prisoner  in 
his  abodes  of  the  deepest  wretchedness  and  destitution.  Servetus, 
on  his  trial  condemned  by  the  natural  standing  court  of  his  own 
conscience,  and  declared  guilty  by  its  verdict,  acknowledged  his 
hypocrisy  in  attending  mass  when  at  Vienne,  although  he  at  that 
time  considered  the  pope  to  be  Anti-christ.  The  torments  of  the 
flames,  with  all  their  horrors,  the  entreaties  and  admonitions  of 
Calvin,  whose  pardon  Servetus  begged  only  two  hours  before  his 
death,  never  induced  him  to  think  he  was  in  an  error ;  but  he  died 
in  the  same  sincere  conviction  of  the  truth  of  his  opinions,  as  he 
had  lived.  Had  all  the  reformers  attended  mass,  like  Servetus, 
the  Roman  hierarchy  would  never  have  been  shaken ;  and  had  the 
first  reformers  understood  the  nature,  enlarged  the  dimensions, 
and  beheld  the  real  deformities,  and  monstrous  stings  of  persecu- 
tion, they  would  never  have  been  disgraced,  or  become  a  stumb- 
ling-block to  others,  by  the  seeming  goodness  of  this  principle 
which  Christ  utterly  loathes.  May  the  writer  and  readers  of  this 
note  be  enabled  to  understand  that  heavenly  wisdom  of  divine 
love,  which  is  pure,  peaceable,  gentle,  easy  to  be  entreated,  full 
of  mercy  and  good  fruits,  without  partiality,  and  without  hypocrisy ; 
and  to  practise  its  dictates  with  promptness  and  sincerity,  guided 
by  the  voice  of  a  truly  enlightened,  and,  in  every  respect,  Chris- 
tian  conscience. — Tr. 


CHARACTER     OF     CALVIN.  11*7 

potentates  of  Europe,  the  conduct  which  they  ought  to  pur- 
sue. 

Weak,  timid,  pusillanimous,  and  effeminate  as  Calvin 
was  by  nature,  when  guided  by  the  Spirit  of  God,  no  dan- 
ger dismayed  him,  no  enemy  arrested  his  progress.  Our 
reformer  manifested  the  greatest  candour  and  sincerity  to  the 
meek  and  gentle  Melancthon,  when  he  freely  admonished 
him  of  his  too  accommodating  character,  from  a  fear  of  being 
accused  of  harshness  by  the  enemies  of  the  gospel.  In  writ- 
ing to  Melancthon,  Calvin  says,  "  The  trepidation  of  a  gene- 
ral, or  leader  of  an  army,  is  more  ignominious  than  the  flight 
of  common  soldiers.  All  will  condemn  your  wavering  as  in- 
sufferable. Give,  therefore,  a  steady  example  of  invincible 
constancy.  The  servants  of  (>hrist  should  pay  no  more  re- 
gard to  their  reputations  than  their  lives.  I  do  not  suppose 
you  are  eager,  like  ambitious  men,  for  popular  applause.  I, 
however,  ingenuously  open  my  mind  to  you,  lest  that  truly 
divine  magnanimity*  with  which,  otherwise,  you  are  richly 
endowed,  should  be  impeded  in  its  operations.  I  would 
sooner  die  a  thousand  deaths  with  you,  than  see  you  survive 
the  doctrine  which  you  illustrate  and  deliver.  Be  solicitous- 
ly watchful,  lest  impious  cavillers  take  the  opportunity  of 
assailing  the  gospel  from  your  flexible  disposition,"  He 
displays  the  same  sincerity  when  speaking  of  his  own  temper, 
which  was  constitutionally  susceptible  of  quick  emotions,  and 
frankly  acknowledges  that  he  had  not  succeeded  in  his  strug- 
gles to  conquer  his  impatience  and  irritability.  "  My  exer- 
tions," he  says,  "  have  not  been  entirely  useless,  although 
I  have  not  been  able  to  conquer  the  ferocious  animal." 
Calvin  never  lost  sight  of  the  future  advancement  and 
prosperity  of  the  church  of  God,  which  his  commentaries, 


*  Every  reader  of  Melancthon's  Letter  to  Henry  the  Eighth 
must  feel  thoroughly  convinced  that  his  heroic  feelings  were  en- 
tirely Christian. — Tr. 


118  CHARACTER     OF      CALVIN. 

controversies,  admonitions  and  other  labours,  were  calculated 
to  promote  with  the  quickest  promptness,  and  the  frankest 
sincerity. 

Calvin's  opinions  on  all  the  principal  subjects  of  evangelical 
truth,  and  the  leading  controversies  of  that  period,  were  the 
same  with  those  which  were  entertained  by  Luther,  and  the 
most  distinguished  leaders  in  the  reformation.  Even  Me- 
lancthon  writes,  in  a  letter  to  Calvin,  speaking  of  predestina- 
tion :  "  I  know  that  these  remarks  agree  with  your  opinions; 
but  mine,  since  they  are  less  refined,  are  better  adapted  to 
common  use."  In  another  part  of  the  same  letter  Melanc- 
thon  says,  "  In  beautifying  the  great  and  essential  doctrines 
of  the  Son  of  God,  I  wish  you  to  exercise  your  eloquence, 
since  it  is  able  to  confirm  your  friends,  to  terrify  your  ene- 
mies, and  assist  such  as  maybe  saved.  For  whose  eloquence 
in  reasoning  is  more  nervous  and  splendid  ?"  Were  not 
Bucer  and  Peter  Martyr  employed  in  carrying  on  the  refor- 
mation in  England  ?  Are  not  thpir  opinions  the  same,  on 
all  contested  points,  with  Calvin's  ?  Why  then  should  the 
Arminians  of  Holland  and  Great  Britain,  labour  to  cast  the 
whole  blame  upon  Calvin  ?  Did  not  Archbishop  Usher, 
Bishop  Hall,  the  judicious  Hooker,  entertain  the  same  theo- 
logical creed  ?  (See  note  D.)  It  is  surely  high  time  that 
these  able  champions  of  the  same  opinions  should  bear  some 
part  of  the  blame,  if  they  deserve  censure,  with  our  weak 
and  emaciated  reformer.  Theological  hatred,  tlie  most  viru- 
lent and  deadly  of  all,  has  been  long  dealt  out  without  mea- 
sure, or  justice,  or  truth,  against  the  Genevese  reformer  in 
England,  a  nation  justly  distinguished  for  generosity;  but 
the  time,  it  may  be  hoped,  is  not  far  distant,  when  new 
Horsleys  will  be  raised  up  to  break  in  pieces  the  arrows  of 
calumny,  and  to  make  all  the  followers  of  the  Prince  of 
peace  and  truth  ashamed  to  join  the  ranks  of  the  infidels,  in 
using  the  poisoned  weapons  of  shameless  detraction  for  the 
purpose  of  vilifying  the  character  of  one  of  the  most  holy — 


CHARACTER     OP     CALVIN.  119 

the  most  undaunted — the  most  laborious,  and  the  most  disin- 
terested followers  of  a  crucified  Redeemer.* 


'^  Whoever  is  at  all  versed  in  the  history  of  the  foreign  Prc- 
testant  Churches,  cannot  be  ignorant  of  the  great  abilities,  piety, 
and  learning,  which  ornamented  great  numbers  of  their  divines, 
and  particularly  in  the  French  Protestant  Church.  But  what  said 
the  judicious  Hooker,  a  man  who  may  justly  be  considered  as 
having  well  weighed  every  assertion  which  he  made  1  Speaking 
of  this  very  Calvin,  he  writes,  '  whom,  for  my  own  part,  I  think 
incomparably  the  wisest  man  that  ever  the  French  Church  did 
enjoy  since  the  hour  it  enjoyed  him.  His  bringing  up  was  in  the 
study  of  the  civil  law.  Divine  knowledge  he  gathered  not  by 
hearing  or  reading  so  much  as  by  teaching  others.  For  though 
thousands  were  debtors  to  him,  as  touching  knowledge  in  that 
kind,  yet  he  to  none  but  only  to  God,  the  author  of  that  most  bless- 
ed fountain,  the  Book  of  Life,  and  of  the  admirable  dexterity  of 
wit,  together  with  the  helps  of  other  learning  which  were  his 
guides.'  (Pref  to  Hook.  Ecclesiastical  Polity.)  Such  an  opinion, 
so  delivered,  and  by  such  a  man,  surely  deserves  some  attention 
from  those  who  consider  Calvin  as  a  vile  utterer  of  blasphemy  ar.d 
nonsense.  Once  more  let  the  venerable  author  of  the  Ecclesias- 
tical Polity  bear  his  testimony.  '  We  should  be  injurious  to  vir- 
tue itself,  if  we  did  derogate  from  them  whom  their  industry  hath 
made  great.  Two  things  of  principal  moment  there  are  which 
have  deservedly  procured  him  honour  throughout  the  world ;  the 
one,  his  exceeding  pains  in  composing  the  Institutions  of  the  Chris- 
tian Religion ;  the  other,  his  no  less  industrious  travails  for  expc- 
sition  of  Holy  Scripture  according  unto  the  same  institutions.'' 
(Ibid.)  Surely  the  venerators  of  Hooker  must  feel  some  portion 
of  esteem  for  him  whom  Hooker  thus  venerated,  and  expressly 
calls  'a  worthy  vessel  of  God's  glory.' 

Few  names  stand  higher,  or  in  more  deserved  pre-eminence 
amongst  the  wise  and  pious  members  of  the  English  Church,  than 
that  of  Bishop  Andrews ;  his  testimony  to  the  memory  of  Calvin 
is,  that  '  he  was  an  illustrious  person,  and  never  to  be  mentioned 
without  a  preface  of  the  highest  honour.' 

Of  the  high  opinion  entertained  of  Calvin  by  Archbishop  Cran- 


120  CHARACTER     OF     CALVIN. 

Calvin's  great  excellence  as  a  commentator  consists  in  his 
giving,  first,  a  concise,  clear,  full,  and  minute  view  of  the 

mer  and  his  associates  in  the  English  Reformation,  there  cannot 
be  a  higher  proof,  than  that  he  expressly  wrote  to  him,  intimating 
his  desire  'that  learned  and  godly  men,  who  excel  others  in  learn- 
ing and  judgment,  might  meet  to  handle  all  the  heads  of  ecclesias- 
tical doctrine,  and  agree  not  only  as  to  things  themselves,  but  also 
as  to  words  and  forms  of  speaking.'  He  then  entreats  Calvin, 
that  he  and  Melancthon  and  Bullinger  would  deliberate  among 
themselves  how  such  a  synod  might  be  assembled.  The  Archbi- 
shop also  expressly  writes  to  Calvin,  admonishing  him,  that  he 
could  not  do  any  thing  more  profitable  than  to  write  often  to  the 
king.  It  is  an  additional  argument  of  the  deference  paid  to  his 
opinions,  that  the  liturgy  underwent  an  entire  alteration  in  com- 
pliance with  the  objections  which  Calvin  made  to  it  as  it  pre- 
viously stood.  Bishop  Hooper  so  highly  valued  Calvin,  that  he 
wrote  to  him  from  prison,  addressing  him  by  the  title  of  Vir  prees- 
tantissime ;  earnestly  begging  the  prayers  of  his  Church,  and  sub- 
scribing himself  luce  pietatis  studiosissimus.  Many  more  proofs 
might  be  given  of  the  high  veneration  with  which  he  was  treated 
by  his  cotemporaries.  Whoever  examines  into  the  sermons, 
writings,  &c.  of  English  divines,  in  the  reign  of  Elizabeth  and 
James  the  First,  will  continually  meet  with  the  epithets  of  honour 
with  which  his  name  is  mentioned  :  the  '  learned,'  the  '  wise,' 
the  '  judicious,'  the  '  pious'  Calvin,  are  expressions  every  where 
to  be  found  in  the  remains  of  those  times.  It  is  well  known,  that 
his  Institutes  were  read  and  studied  in  the  universities  by  every 
student  in  divinity,  for  a  considerable  portion  of  a  century ;  nay, 
that  by  a  convocation  held  at  Oxford,  that  book  was  recommended 
to  the  general  study  of  the  nation.  So  far  was  the  Church  of 
England  and  her  chief  divines  from  countenancing  that  unbecom- 
ing and  absurd  treatment,  with  which  the  name  of  this  eminent 
Protestant  is  now  so  frequently  dishonoured,  that  it  would  be  no 
difficult  matter  to  prove,  that  there  is  not,  perhaps,  a  parallel  in- 
stance on  record,  of  any  single  individual  being  equally  and  so 
unequivocally  venerated  for  the  union  of  wisdom  and  piety,  both 
in  England  and  by  a  large  body  of  the  foreign  churches,  as  John 


CHARACTER     OF     CALVIN.  121 

scope,  drift,  and  connexion  of  the  whole  passage  he  is  ex- 
plaining, with  the  accuracy  and  precision  of  uncommon' 
logical  sagacity  and  acuteness.  He  then,  in  the  second  place, 
generally  analyzes  the  sense  of  each  word,  and  points  out 
its  appropriate  meaning  in  the  sentence  where  it  occurs.  He 
uses,  without  any  display,  his  immense  stores  of  learning, 
for  the  purpose  of  illustrating  what  is  dark,  enlightening 
what  is  obscure,  and  confirming  what  is  doubtful.  His  great 
object  is  to  get  to  the  pith  of  the  subject  under  his  conside- 
ration, and  to  break  the  shell,  that  he  may  give  his  readers 


Calvin.  Nothing  but  ignorance  of  the  ecclesiastical  records  of 
those  times,  or  resolute  prejudice,  could  cast  a  cloak  of  conceal- 
ment over  this  fact;  it  has  been  evidenced  by  the  combined  testi- 
mony both  of  enemies  and  friends  to  his  system  of  doctrmes. 

As  one  more  additional,  and  no  inconsiderable  proof,  that  the 
name  and  authority  of  Calvin  was  highly  esteemed  by  the  gover- 
nors of  the  English  Church  at  a  former  period,  we  find,  from 
Bishop  Overal's  Convocation  Book,  containing  the  Acts  and  Ca- 
nons which  were  passed  by  the  Convocation  first  called,  A.  D. 
1603,  Imo.  Jac.  and  continued  by  adjournments  and  prorogations 
to  1610,  that  the  name  of  Calvin  is  formally  mentioned  in  the  pre- 
amble to  the  eighth  canon  of  the  second  book,  thus — "  The  Car- 
dinal (Bellarmine)  is  so  far  driven  by  a  worthy  man,  and  some 
others  of  our  side,"  &c.  In  the  margin  the  reference  is  made  to 
Calvin's  Institutes.  The  deliberate  introduction  of  the  name  and 
its  epithet  into  the  acts  of  a  convocation  of  the  Church  of  England, 
appears  to  be  well  worthy  of  notice  in  our  present  inquiry.*  From 
such  data,  though  they  will  leave  every  man  to  a  liberty  of  con- 
science as  to  his  approbation  of  Calvin's  system,  yet  it  certainly 
does  not  leave  him  at  liberty  to  consign  his  memory  to  oppro- 
brium and  obloquy,  without  incurring  the  imputation  of  presump- 
tion, pride,  or  ignorance. 

*  Witness  also  the  exalted  testimonies  given  of  him  by  Bishop 
Bilson,  Bishop  Morton,  Bishop  Stillingfleet,  Dr.  Hoyle,  who  wrote  under 
the  patronage  of  Archbishop  Usher,  and  many  others  cited  by  Dr.  John 
Edwards,  in  his  Veritas  redux. 

11 


122  CHARACTER     OF     CALVIN. 

the  kernel.  He  approaches  the  only  record  in  which  Infi- 
nite Truth  addresses  lost  mankind,  with  all  the  feelings  of 
sacred  awe,  but  without  superstitious  dread ;  and  his  sole 
aim  is  to  discover,  by  every  possible  means  in  his  power, 
what  was  the  mind  of  the  Spirit,  without  labouring  to  make 
the  Scriptures  bend  to  his  own  prejudices,  or  to  support  his 
preconceived  opinions.  His  Harmonies  of  the  Law  and 
Writings  of  Moses,  and  of  the  Gospel,  display  the  accuracy 
and  extent  of  his  research,  which  is  only  surpassed  by  the 
correctness  of  his  judgment.  His  views  of  Christian  mora- 
lity, in  his  various  commentaries,  are  distinguished  by  a 
holy  simplicity,  which  scorns  to  fritter  away  the  principles 
of  eternal  wisdom,  or  to  accommodate  the  unerring  maxims 
of  the  gospel  to  the  manners,  customs,  or  practices  of  the 
world.  The  great  aim  of  Calvin,  in  his  numerous  exposi- 
tions, was  to  dispel  the  clouds  of  popish  darkness  by  the 
glorious  light  and  splendour  of  the  word  of  the  Most  High. 

None  of  the  reformers  understood  the  advantages  of  edu- 
cation more  clearly  than  Calvin;  and  the  establishment  of 
an  excellent  seminary  in  Geneva,  both  for  human  and  divine 
learning,  was  one  of  the  last  actions  of  his  life.  Even  now, 
when  Geneva  has  generally  deserted  the  standards  of  the 
original  reformers,  and  joined  those  of  Arius  or  Socinus,  her 
sons  rejoice  in  the  great  triumph  achieved  by  the  wisdom  of 
Calvin  over  the  power  of  Napoleon,  who,  on  conquering 
Geneva,  wanted  courage  to  make  any  change  in  the  system 
of  education,  which  had  been  planted  more  than  200  years 
before  Bonaparte  was  born,  by  this  distinguished  friend  of 
genuine  Christianity,  and  of  a  truly  scriptural  education.* 

Beza  has  left  nothing  to  be  added  to  his  account  of  Cal- 
vin's death.  Our  reformer's  unshaken  confidence  in  his 
Redeemer,  care  for  the  prosperity  of  the  state  of  Geneva, 

*  The  Life  of  Calvin,  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Scott,  is  written  with 
much  judgment  and  impartiality. 


CHARACTER     OF     CALVIN.  123 

and  the  interests  of  religion  in  that  city,  afford  a  noble  and 
unanswerable  testimony  to  the  piety  and  integrity  of  his  life. 
May  it  be  the  constant  prayer  and  labour  of  every  Christian 
so  to  live  that  he  may  die  the  death  of  Calvin,  and  reposing 
with  unshaken  confidence  in  the  promises  of  his  Immanuel, 
triumph  with  unutterable  joy  in  the  prospects  of  that  happi- 
ness which  is  prepared  in  the  mansions  of  eternal  peace  and 
harmony,  for  all  that  love  the  appearing  of  the  King  of 
glory. 


NOTES 


LIFE   OF  CALVIN 


BY    THE    TRANSLATOR. 

Note  I. 

Mathurin  Cordier,  Cordery,  or  Corderius,  was  distin- 
guished for  his  piety,  learning,  and  probity.  Few  men,  in 
any  age,  were  more  successful  or  indefatigable  teachers  than 
lie  was  ;  and  he  invariably  laboured  to  combine  true  religion 
and  morality  with  the  improvement  of  the  understanding. 
He  was  born  1479,  and  died  at  Geneva,  September  8,  1564. 
He  studied  divinity  for  some  time  at  Paris,  about  1528  ;  and 
was  indebted,  under  Providence,  to  Robert  Stephens,  for  a 
complete  emancipation  from  the  errors  and  superstitions  of 
Popery.  He  spent  upwards  of  fifty  years  in  teaching,  at 
Paris,  Nevers,  Bourdeaux,  Geneva,  whence  he  was  banished 
the  same  year  with  Calvin,  at  Neuchatel,  Lausanne,  where 
they  wished  to  have  placed  him  at  the  head  of  the  college ; 
but  the  inhabitants  of  Neuchatel,  where  he  then  taught,  would 
not  part  with  him.  He  concluded  his  laborious  career  of 
teaching  in  Geneva,  and  taught  the  sixth  form  till  within 
three  or  four  days  of  his  death,  aged  eighty-five.  He  taught 
according  to  the  monitorial  system,  and  educated  six  hundred 
boys  with  more  order  and  silence  than  are  observed  by  most 
teachers  who  have  only  thirty  or  forty.  The  reformers  dis- 
played an  indefatigable  zeal  for  promoting  education,  and 

11* 


126        translator's    notes    to 

never  failed  to  make  it  serve  as  an  handmaid  to  religion. 
What  an  awful  declension  has  taken  place  in  this  respect 
among  the  Protestants  of  the  nineteenth  century !  Some- 
thing is  doing,  and  has  already  been  done  for  the  religious 
education  of  the  lower  classes,  while  the  middling  and  the 
higher  are  frequently  altogether  neglected  in  this  most  impor- 
tant branch  of  instruction.  We  trust  the  time  is  not  distant 
when  every  good  classical  school  will  pay  so  much  atten- 
tion to  the  Old  and  New  Testament,  even  in  some  of  the 
higher  departments  of  biblical  criticisms,  as  to  compel  all  our 
colleges  to  assume  a  more  distinguished  stand  in  one  of  the 
most  important  branches  of  literature.  What  a  disgrace  that 
Britain  should  be  so  much  surpassed  by  Germany  in  this 
truly  useful  study  !  Shall  we  not  be  roused  by  our  American 
descendants  ?* 

Calvin,  in  1550,  dedicated  to  Cordier  his  Commentary  on 
the  first  epistle  to  the  Thessalonians,  and  acknowledged  him- 
Bclf  indebted  to  this  admirable  Latin  grammarian  for  all  his 
future  skill  in  that  language.  "  I  take  this  opportunity,"  he 
writes,  "to  testify  to  posterity,  that,  if  they  derive  any  bene- 
fit from  my  writings,  they  must,  in  a  great  measure,  acknow- 
ledge it  to  have  flowed  from  your  instructions."  The  sys- 
tem of  education  in  the  High  School  of  Edinburgh,  which 
has  been  adopted  with  so  much  success  nearly  all  over  Scot- 
land, appears  very  much  to  resemble  in  its  general  arrange- 
ment what  was  followed  by  Cordier. 

His  colloquies,  long  continued  even  in  Britain,  the  first 
stepping-stone  in  the  ascent  to  the  temple  of  learning  ;  and 
Dr.  Reynolds  recommends  them,  as  useful  in  assisting  to 
enable  the  classical  scholars  to  speak  Latin,  in  which  we 
have  been  so  much  surpassed  by  our  continental  neighbours. 


*  Professor  Stuart's  Critical  Remarks  on  the  Epistles  to  the  Ro- 
mans and  the  Hebrews  are  truly  valuable. —  Tr. 

Dr.  Hodge's  Commentary  on  the  Romans,  is  invaluable,  as  a 
masterly  and  orthodox  exposition  of  the  sacred  text. — Am.  Ed. 


THE     LIFE     OF     CALVIN.  127 

I  look  back  with  delight  to  the  time  when  I  began  the 
study  of  Cordery  under  one  of  the  most  affectionate  of  tutors 
and  friends,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Hair  of  Torpenhow,  Cumberland, 
whose  attainments,  as  a  sound  classical  scholar,  were  of  no 
ordinary  character.     I  spent  four  years  of  very  great  happi- 
ness under  his  truly  parental  roof.     A  striking  humility,  and 
the  most  unassuming  manners,  distinguished  every  part  of 
his  conduct.     Gentleness  was  his  chief  means  for  conveying 
knowledge,  and  the  plan  of  severity  never  once  entered  his 
mind.     He  was  curate  of  the  present  bishop  of  Bath  and 
Wells,  who  afterwards  promoted  him  to  Hayton.   Mr.  Hair 
was  much  beloved  by  his  parishioners,  in  spite  of  the  collec- 
tion of  tithes,  which  have  contributed  more  than  any  other 
cause  to  secularise  our  clergy,  to  create  discord  between 
them  and  their  flocks,  to  paralyze  the  exertions  of  the  far- 
mers and  the  peasantry — "  their  country's  pride" — to  aug- 
ment the  number,  add  to  the  influence,  and  strengthen  the 
power  of  the  dissenters.  From  Bishop  Hall,  to  whom  I  was 
introduced  by  my  instructor  in  English,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Par- 
sable,  in  consequence  of  the  bishop  being  a  school-fellow 
with  Mr.  Hair,  and  of  his  high  opinion  of  Mr.  Parsable,  T 
experienced  at  Dublin  all  the  attention,  watchfulness,  and 
care  of  a  parent.   I  enjoyed  the  use  of  his  library,  and  he  di- 
rected my  studies.     Few  men  displayed  a  greater  sense  of 
principle,  or  a  stronger  hatred  and  abhorrence  of  party  ;  and 
by  opposing  the  union  of  Ireland  with  England,  though  a 
native  of  Great  Britain,  he  was  prevented  for  some  time  from 
becoming  either  provost  or  bishop.  I  was  placed  by  him  un- 
der Dr.  Davenport,  one  of  the  kindest  and  best  of  tutors,  in 
a  college  distinguished  for  the  liberality,  kindness,  and  gen- 
erosity, that  characterise  the  whole  Irish  nation  ;  and  I  must 
ever  remember,  with  much  pleasure,  the  interest  he  took  in 
promoting  my  studies.     My  oldest  brother,  my  friend,  my 
guide,  and  my  teacher,  was  the  cause  of  advising  one  of  the 
best  and  tenderest  of  mothers,  to  whose  uncommon  affection 
I  am  indebted  under  Providence  for  all  the  blessings  I  now 


128       translator's    notes    to 

enjoy,  to  place  me  under  the  Rev.  Mr.  Hair.  My  dearest 
mother  and  the  Rev.  Mr.  Parsable  alone  survive  of  all  these 
kind  friends,  relations,  and  instructors  ;  and  may  the  Saviour 
of  sinners  long  continue  her  to  me  as  a  comfort,  and  fit  her 
for  the  enjoyment  of  that  kingdom,  where  there  is  neither 
sin,  nor  sorrow,  nor  woe. 

My  first  tutor  in  English,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Parsable,  acted 
towards  me  on  all  occasions  with  the  greatest  friendship,  and 
I  am  happy  to  have  this  opportunity  of  testifying  my  deep 
gratitude  for  his  instructions.  His  sole  aim  through  life  has 
been  the  promotion  of  useful  knowledge,  and  of  kindliness  of 
feeling  in  every  situation  which  he  has  filled.  May  he  be 
preserved  in  the  enjoyment  of  undiminished  health,  to  pro- 
mote the  happiness  of  his  parishioners,  until  the  Master  of 
the  harvest  shall  translate  him  from  his  present  labours  to 
reap  the  glories  of  an  endless  and  all-perfect  immortality. 

Note  H. 

Robert  d'Olivet,  a  relation  of  Calvin,  was  born  at  Noyon; 
and  published  at  Neuchatel,  in  1535,  the  first  French  Bible 
ever  printed  in  Switzerland,  and  translated  from  the  Hebrew 
and  Greek,  in  consequence  of  the  decree  of  the  synod  of  the 
churches  in  the  valleys  of  Piedmont.  He  was  banished  from 
Geneva,  where  he  was  tutor  in  a  gentleman's  family,  in  con- 
sequence of  his  defending  the  Lutherans  against  the  attack  of 
a  Dominican  friar,  and  withdrew  to  Neuchatel.  He  died  at 
Ferrara,  having,  it  is  supposed,  been  poisoned  at  Rome,  on 
account  of  his  activity  as  a  reformer  and  translator  of  the 
Scriptures,  in  1536  or  1538.  Calvin  wrote,  in  French,  at 
Neuchatel,  1536,  the  preface  to  the  Old  Testament,  addressed 
to  all  the  emperors,  kings,  princes,  and  nations,  subject  to 
the  dominion  of  Christ.  He  wrote  also  the  preface  to  the 
New.  We  behold,  in  the  Life  of  Robert  d'Olivet,  of  Calvin, 
of  Cordicr,  and  of  Robert  Stephens,  how  powerful  an  influ- 
ence the  translation  of  the  Scriptures,  printing,  classical  lite- 


THE     LIFE      OF      CALVIN.  129 

rature,  and  education  had  on  each  other  in  advancing  the 
cause  of  the  reformation. 


Note  III. 

Few  men  have  displayed  their  sense  of  gratitude  in  their 
dedications  more  than  Calvin.  He  dedicates  his  Commen- 
tary on  the  first  of  Thessalonians  to  Cordier,  because  he  had 
been  his  instructor  in  Latin ;  his  second  epistle  to  the  Co- 
rinthians to  Wolmar,  as  his  Greek  tutor ;  the  epistle  to  the 
Romans  to  Grynee,  as  his  director  and  adviser  in  the  method 
of  writing  commentaries  ;  and  the  second  of  Thessalonians 
to  his  physician  Textor,  who  had  paid  the  greatest  attention 
to  his  wife's  health,  and  his  own,  without  fee  or  reward. 
None  can  doubt  Calvin's  gratitude,  after  stating  these  facts  ; 
and  he  displays  the  utmost  candour  in  bearing  testimony  to 
their  assistance. 

Wolmar  was  a  native  of  Switzerland.  He  was  an  excel- 
lent Greek  scholar,  and  Calvin  and  Beza  were  indebted  to 
him  for  their  knowledge  of  this  language.  He  taught  Latin 
and  Greek  at  Bourges.  Tubingen  enjoyed  his  labours  in 
Greek  and  civil  law  for  more  than  twenty  years.  He  wrote 
commentaries  on  the  first  two  books  of  Homer's  Iliad,  and 
an  elegant  preface  to  Chalcondyla's  Greek  grammar.  He 
was  an  excellent  teacher,  and  much  beloved  by  his  pupils. 
He  died  at  Eisenach,  1561,  aged  sixty-four,  of  a  paralytic 
affection ;  and  his  wife  Margaret,  who  had  been  married  to 
him  twenty-seven  years,  died  of  grief  the  same  day,  and  they 
were  both  buried  in  the  same  tomb.  He  was  distinguished 
by  his  munificence  to  the  poor,  and  uncommon  modesty. 

Note  IV. 

Calvin,  April  4,  1532,  published  his  Commentary  on 
Seneca's  Epistle  on  Clemency,  when  he  was  only  twenty- 
two  years  and  nine  months  old.  The  perverse,  and  amusingly 


130        translator's    notes    to 

erroneous  statements  made  by  Varillas  concerning  this  work 
are  so  numerous  and  altogether  unfounded  that  we  need 
not  wonder  at  Bayle,  when  he  says,  they  are  calculated  to 
make  a  person  think  of  renouncing  for  ever  the  study  of 
history. 

Note  V. 

Margaret  de  Valois,  queen  of  Navarre,  distinguished  for 
learning,  piety,  and  a  firm  attachment  to  the  reformation, 
was  born  1495,  and  died  much  esteemed,  at  Castle  Odos, 
December  2,  1549.  She  was  of  great  use  in  affording  pro- 
tection to  John  le  Comte,  James  le  Fevre,  to  a  relation  of 
Melancthon,  and  many  other  reformers ;  as  also  in  writing 
religious  tracts,  and  counteracting  in  some  measure  the  ad- 
vice given  to  her  brother,  Francis  I.,  king  of  France,  by  his 
chancellor  and  counsellors  against  the  friends  of  the  reforma- 
tion. Though  she  did  not  agree  with  the  principles  of  Po- 
quet,  Quintin,  and  Copin,  leaders  of  the  Libertines  in  Hai- 
nault  and  at  Lisle,  yet  she  was  displeased  with  Calvin  for  at- 
tacking them,  as  she  had  received  them  into  her  household. 
Our  reformer's  letter,  written  to  her  on  this  occasion,  is  dis- 
tinguished by  a  truly  Christian  boldness  and  independence, 
which  is  combined  with  due  respect  for  the  rank  and  piety 
of  the  queen.  "  Who  would  excuse  me,"  he  writes,  "  if, 
when  I  hear  the  truth  of  God  assailed,  I  should  remain  si- 
lent ?  I  do  not  believe  you  expect  me  to  prevaricate  in  the 
defence  of  the  gospel  committed  to  my  ministry  for  the  pur- 
pose of  pleasing  yourself.  May  the  Lord  protect  you  by 
his  shield,  and  direct  you  by  his  Spirit  to  pursue  his  voca- 
tion, even  unto  death,  with  a  sincere  zeal  and  prudence." 


Note  VL 

James  le   Fevre,  of  Estaples   in  Picardy,  was   of  small 
stature  and  low  extraction,  but  distinguished  for  genius  and 


THE     LIFE     OF     CALVIN.  131 

learning.  He  received  his  education  at  Paris,  and  was  use- 
ful in  assisting  to  put  an  end  to  the  barbarism  of  the  schools. 
He  took  the  degree  of  doctor  in  divinity.  Briconnet,  bishop 
of  Meaux,  patronized  him  ;  but  he  was  compelled  to  go  to 
Blois  and  Guienne  to  escape  persecution,  and  finally  to 
Nerac,  where  he  died,  1537. 

Le  Fevre  clearly  discerned  the  certain  approach  of  the  re- 
formation, though  he  wanted  courage  to  join  its  standard. 
"  How  shall  I  stand,"  he  observed  to  the  queen  of  Navarre, 
"  before  the  bar  of  God  !  I  who  have  preached  the  gospel 
of  his  Son  to  so  many,  who  have  followed  my  doctrine,  have 
met  a  thousand  torments,  nay  death  itself,  with  constancy — 
while  I,  their  teacher,  fled — fled  from  persecution,  and  have 
lived  to  the  age  of  101,  although  death,  even  in  its  most  ap- 
palling horrors,  ought  never  to  have  excited  even  a  shudder 
in  my  frame.  Yet  feeling  and  knowing  this,  I  privately  with- 
drew myself,  and  basely  deserted  the  post  assigned  me  by 
the  Lord  of  glory."  When  the  queen  and  her  friends  com- 
forted the  weeping  patriarch  by  assurances  of  the  forgive- 
ness of  his  Saviour,  who  was  prepared  to  bury  in  oblivion 
all  his  unfaithfulness  ;  "  Nothing,"  he  added,  "  remains  for 
me  but  to  depart  to  God,  as  soon  as  I  have  made  my  will ; 
nor  ought  I  to  delay  ;  for  I  think  God  has  called  me.  I  ap- 
point you  my  heir  ;  I  bequeath  all  my  books  to  your  chap- 
lain ;  my  clothes  to  the  poor ;  and  I  commend  the  rest  to 
God."  "  What,"  said  the  queen,  smiling,  "  shall  I  get  by 
being  your  heir?"  '*  The  oflice,"  he  said,  "of  distribu- 
tion to  the  poor."  "  Be  it  so,"  replied  the  queen ;  "  and,  I 
declare,  this  inheritance  is  more  pleasing  to  me  than  if  my 
brother,  the  king  of  France,  had  nominated  me  to  all  his 
possessions."  The  countenance  of  the  old  man  brightened, 
and  he  said,  "  Now,  O  queen,  I  require  some  rest ;  may  you 
be  all  happy !  meanwhile,  farewell."  He  lay  down  on  a 
couch,  and  fell  into  a  gende  dose.  One  of  the  party,  after 
a  little  time,  went  to  awake  him,  but  his  spirit  had  de- 
parted. 


NOTES     TO 


Note  VII. 

Gerard,  and  Arnold  Roussel,  of  Picardy,  William  Farel  of 
Dauphiny,  James  le  Fevre,  first  preached  the  doctrines  of  the 
reformation  in  France,  under  the  patronage  of  the  Bishop  of 
Meaux,  in  1523,  where  the  first  Protestant  church  was 
established.  They  ordained  Peter  le  Clerk  over  a  con- 
gregation in  Meaux  amounting  to  400.  He  was  whipped, 
branded,  and  banished  by  the  Roman  Catholics,  and,  after 
preaching  at  Metz,  was  burnt.  The  other  four  ministers 
were  banished. 

Note  VIII. 

The  Princess  Renee,  daughter  of  Lewis,  was  distinguished 
for  her  steady  and  cordial  attachment^  to  the  reformation. 
She  returned  from  Italy  to  France  in  1560,  after  the  death  of 
her  husband,  the  Duke  of  Ferrara,  in  1559  ;  and  she  openly 
professed  the  reformed  doctrines  at  Montagris,  where  she 
died  in  1575.  She  afforded  protection  to  oppressed  Protes- 
tants with  noble  heroism  and  perseverance  against  the  perse- 
cution and  superstition  of  the  church  of  Rome.* 

Note  IX. 

Paul  Fagius,  in  a  letter  to  Calvin,  from  Cambridge,  in 
1550,  thus  writes  : — "  Few  parishes  in  England  have  proper 
pastors,  and  most  of  them  are  sold  to  noblemen.  Some 
clergymen  hold  three,  four,  or  more  parishes  without  doing 
ministerial  duty,  and  substitute  such  as  are  unable  to  read 
English,  and  who,  at  heart,  are  mere  papists.  In  some  pa- 
rishes no  sermons  have  been  preached  for  many  years.  The 

*  See  Dr.  M'Crie's  excellent  History  of  the  Progress  and  Sup- 
pression of  the  Reformation  in  Italy. — Tr. 


THE    LIFE     OF    CALVIN.  133 

greater  part  of  the  fellows  of  colleges  are  violent  papists,  or 
dissolute  Epicureans,  who  endeavour  to  entice  the  youth  to 
their  own  systems.  The  Government  refers  the  case  of  the 
church  to  the  bishops,  who  declare  they  can  make  no  altera- 
tion unless  authorised  by  the  public  law  of  the  kingdom. 
Any  interpretations  of  the  most  luminous  passages  of  the 
word  of  God  are  given,  which  either  prudence  or  pride  may 
suggest.  Admonish  the  Duke  of  Somerset  concerning  the 
pillaging  and  betraying  of  the  churches  in  this  kingdom,  that 
his  majesty  the  king,  whose  proficiency  in  science  and  litera- 
ture is  astonishing,  and  who  exerts  all  his  power  for  restor- 
ing the  truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus,  may  hasten  the  reformation." 
Calvin  was  indefatigable  in  doing  his  utmost  to  rouse  Arch- 
bishop Cranmer  to  appoint  effective  and  evangelical  minis- 
ters, to  prevent  the  open  sale  of  livings,  to  introduce  proper 
discipline,  and  to  publish  a  clear  and  luminous  confession 
concerning  the  various  controversies.  "  To  speak  freely," 
our  reformer  writes,  *'  I  much  fear,  and  this  fear  constantly 
recurs  to  my  mind,  that  so  many  autumns  will  be  passed  in 
delaying,  that  the  cold  of  a  perpetual  winter  will  succeed." 
How  melancholy  is  it  to  reflect  that  the  church  of  England, 
after  the  lapse  of  nearly  three  centuries,  still  continues  in  a 
state  which  requires  the  adoption  of  many  of  the  reforms 
alluded  to  by  Calvin.  The  affairs  of  the  church  are  post- 
poned from  year  to  year ;  and  while  great  efforts  are  making 
to  introduce  improvements  into  the  state,  nothing,  or  less 
than  nothing,  is  attempted  for  placing  the  cause  of  the  reli- 
gion of  Jesus  upon  a  sure  and  lasting  basis.  How  few  cler- 
gymen visit  their  parishioners  from  house  to  house  for  the 
purpose  of  knowing  the  actual  state  of  those  intrusted  to  their 
care !  How  few  bishops  visit  every  parish  in  their  diocess 
for  the  purpose  of  making  themselves  personally  acquainted 
with  the  character  and  exertions  of  the  pastors  over  whom 
they  are  appointed  !  What  heart-burnings  are  caused  by  the 
collection  of  tithes !  How  few  parishes  have  the  advantage 
of  electing  their  own  clergymen  !  And  shall  it  be  said  that  it 

12 


134       translator's    notes    to 

is  of  more  importance  to  have  the  power  of  appointing  a  re- 
presentative for  parliament,  than  to  be  enabled  to  choose  their 
own  shepherd  to  lead  them  in  the  way  of  everlasting  life  ? 
In  what  state  is  the  religious  education  of  the  whole  commu- 
nity ?  How  many  thousands,  and-  tens  of  thousands,  never 
enter  the  church  from  year  to  year  I  How  many  in  the  coun- 
try are  either  totally  indifferent  about  religion,  or  deists,  or 
in  a  state  of  doubt  and  uncertainty  !  The  division  between 
the  church  and  the  dissenters  is  not  diminishing ;  and  how 
is  it  possible  for  a  religion  of  love  to  flourish  where  feuds, 
opposition,  jealousy,  or  rooted  dislike  exist?  Men  may  talk 
about  Christianity  until  the  earth  itself  shall  be  burned  up, 
but  it  never  can — it  never  will  prosper  in  any  country,  among 
any  people,  unless  true,  disinterested  love  unite  all  classes — 
all  denominations — all  parties,  in  the  bonds  of  Christian  affec- 
tion. Love,  the  new  commandment,  which  our  beloved  Re- 
deemer left  as  a  legacy  to  his  disciples,  must  either  abound 
among  us,  or  we  are  as  sounding  brass,  or  tinkling  cymbal. 

At  a  period  like  the  present,  when  the  most  gigantic  strides 
are  making  to  communicate  useful  knowledge  to  all  classes 
of  the  community,  it  is  the  bounden  duty  of  every  child  of 
God  to  leave  no  means  untried  by  which  the  doctrines  of  the 
gospel  may  be  extensively  disseminated  in  all  their  fulness, 
and  all  their  glory.  The  history  of  all  states  connected  with 
the  church  clearly  establishes  one  important  fact — that 
affairs,  which  relate  to  the  gospel  of  Christ,  are  never  attend- 
ed to,  until  the  interests  of  the  commonwealth  have  been  first 
CDnsulted.  No  great  hopes,  therefore,  ought  ever  to  be  en- 
tertained of  much  good  accruing  to  the  church  from  the  inter- 
ference of  the  state,  since  the  prosperity  of  the  former 
will,  in  all  human  probability,  always  be  postponed  to  that 
of  the  latter.  Governments  forget  that  the  God  of  Israel  is 
he,  who  giveth  strength  and  power  unto  his  people :  blessed 
be  God. 


THE     LIFE    OF     CALVIN.  135 


Note  X. 

Calvin  in  a  letter  to  Farel,  says  of  himself,  "  that  he  was 
not  of  that  passionate  race  of  lovers,  who,  when  once  capti- 
vated with  an  external  form,  eagerly  embrace  also  the  moral 
defects  that  it  conceals.  I  expect  chastity,  frugality,  patience, 
and  solicitude  for  my  personal  health  and  prosperity,  in  that 
lady  who  delights  me  with  her  beauty."  The  Rev.  Mr. 
Robinson  of  Cambridge,  in  his  Ecclesiastical  Researches, 
attacks  Calvin  for  marrying  an  Anabaptist  without  ever  mak- 
ing the  slightest  allusion  to  her  own  conversion,  or  that  of  her 
husband.  This  is  merely  one  specimen  of  the  numerous 
false  statements  concerning  Calvin,  with  which  this  uncandid 
and  unfair  historian  has  thought  fit  to  delude  his  English 
readers.  ■•  Calvin  had  one  child,  who  died  in  1545,  and  he 
could  not  be  more  than  five  years  old.  Calvin,  at  the  close 
of  a  letter  to  Viret,  consoles  himself  on  this  occasion  in  the 
following  manner: — "The  Lord  has  inflicted  a  heavy  and 
severe  wound  on  us  by  the  death  of  our  little  son ;  but  he  is 
our  Father,  and  knows  what  is  expedient  for  his  children." 
Mrs.  Calvin  ejaculated  on  her  dying  bed  the  following  expres- 
sions:— "O  glorious  resurrection  !  God  of  Abraham,  and  of 
all  our  fathers  !  not  one  of  the  faithful,  who  have  hoped  in 
thee  for  so  many  ages,  has  been  disappointed  :  I  will  also 
hope." 

Note  XI 

Beza's  remark,  that  Zebedee's  confession  of  his  error 
was  a  better  decision  than  if  a  thousand  decrees  of  the  senate 
had  issued  these  orders,  proves  how  desirous  even  the  advo- 


*  Yet  Robinson  adopts  as  a  motto — "  Let  every  thing  said  or 
written  against  truth  be  unsaid  and  unwritten." — Tr. 


136      translator's    notes    to 

cates  for  persecution  are  to  secure  a  triumph  to  their  cause 
without  having  recourse  to  such  an  irrational  and  shocking 
system.  Even  the  most  inveterate  disciples  of  the  church 
of  Rome  are  not  now  disposed  to  go  all  lengths  in  advocat- 
ing the  Inquisition,  and  other  horrid  methods  of  cruelty,  by 
which  Anti-christ  has  for  so  long  a  period  kept  his  slaves 
under  the  most  dreadful  thraldom. 

"  Almost  every  page  of  ecclesiastical  history  is  polluted 
with  the  blood  of  men  sacrificed  on  the  altars  of  bigotry  and 
intolerance.  That  is  deemed  heresy,  in  every  age  and  coun- 
try, which  is  opposite  to  the  doctrines  of  the  established 
chruch.  We  have  at  present  oppugners  of  the  doctrines  of 
the  establishment ;  and  though  they  are  not  burned  for  their 
belief,  yet  they  are  by  some  spoken  of  with  disrespect,  and 
tolerated  with  reluctance.  Notwithstanding  this,  the  present 
church  of  England  we  are  confident,  had  she  the  power, 
would  be  as  far  from  treading  in  the  sanguinary  footsteps  of 
the  former  church  of  England,  as  the  British  Legislature 
would  be  now  from  granting  her  that  authority  of  doing  it, . 
which  was  so  superstitiously  conceded  to  her  in  an  age  of 
ignorance,  and  ecclesiastical  domination."*  The  period  is 
fast  arriving  when  every  thing  like  intolerance  on  religious 
subjects  will  be  banished  from  our  shores,  and  the  great 
principles  of  immutable  truth  be  supported,  not  by  the  iron 
arm  of  power,  but  the  invicible  evidence  of  reason,  religion, 
and  love.  Party  names  and  distinctions,  whether  arising 
from  establishments  or  other  causes,  will  be  merged  in  the 
glorious  appellation  of  Christian,  and  the  doctrines  of  the 
cross  be  supported  and  extended,  as  they  were  in  the  first 
ages  of  the  gospel,  by  the  wisdom,  industry,  piety,  sobriety, 
purity,  and  holiness  of  its  professors. 

The  crimes  of  nations  and  of  ages  will  it  is  to  be  hoped, 
henceforth  be  viewed  in  the  glass  presented  to  us  by  the 


Bishop  Watson. 


THE     LIFE     OF     CALVIN.  137 

Friend  of  sinners,  and  no  attempts  be  made  to  gloss  over  the 
transgressions  even  of  the-best  of  men,  by  apologies  derived 
from  the  ignorance,  or  superstition  of  the  period  in  which 
they  lived.  Future  ages,  no  doubt,  will  look  back  with 
wonder  on  the  infidelity,  immorality,  drunkenness,!  and 
Sabbath-breaking  of  this  boasted  nineteenth  century,  in  this 
boasted  land  of  liberty.  It  is  high  time  for  all  Christians  to 
do  their  utmost  among  us,  to  stem  the  torrent  of  irreligion 
and  iniquity  that  is  sweeping  over  our  land,  and  unite  in  the 
great  cause  of  promoting  genuine  Christianity  by  a  spirit  of 
harmony  and  of  concord,  which  would  paralyze  all  the 
efforts  of  its  vilest  enemies. 

An  interested  selfishness,  with  which  all  parties  look  merely 
to  themselves,  is  one  of  the  worst  and  most  lamentable  symp- 
toms of  the  present  times,  since  it  proves  that  the  cause  of 
Jesus  is  forgotten,  and  some  paltry  worldly  objects  of  the 
most  fleeting  nature,  preferred  to  the  glory  of  the  Lamb  of 
God,  who  taketh  away  the  sins  of  the  world.  The  same 
noble  disinterestedness,  which  made  Paul  support  himself  as 
a  tent-maker,  must  resume  its  dominion  among  us,  if  we  ever 
expect  to  hear  infidels  and  atheists,  who  now  blazon  forth 
their  own  shame  even  in  our  courts  of  justice,  cry  out,  "  See 
how  these  Christians  love."  By  showing  our  faith  by  our 
works,  the  blasphemy  of  unbelievers  would  cease,  and  the 
powers  of  a  future  and  coming  world  resume  that  authority 
and  influence,  which  neither  scepticism  nor  infidelity  would 
be  able  to  gainsay  or  resist. 


t  The  whole  amount  of  spirit  and  wine-merchants,  taverns,  inns, 
beer-shops,  &c.,  in  London  consisting  of  1,500,000  inhabitants,  is 
nearly  6000,  while  the  places  of  worship  do  not  much  exceed  600. 
Can  government  be  said  to  do  its  utmost  for  religion  under  such 
circumstances,  when  the  active  operations  of  the  ministers  of  the 
gospel,  compared  with  those  of  the  venders  of  wine,  spirits,  ale, 
&c.,  can  only  be  as  one  to  tenl — Tr. 

12* 


ADDITIONAL  NOTES 


LIFE  OF  CALVIN. 


BY  THE  AMERICAN  EDITOR. 

The  following  notes  are  thrown  together  in  a  separate  form, 
because  their  length  rendered  it  impracticable  to  place  them 
at  the  bottom  of  the  pages  on  which  they  respectively 
occur. 

Note  A. 

When  Calvin  returned  from  the  Diet  of  Worms,  he  wrote 
to  Farel  the  following  account  of  the  matter : 

"  We  have  at  length  returned  home,  after  an  absence  of 
almost  three  months.  Our  delay  was  occasioned  by  our  ad- 
versaries, who  constantly  were  devising  new  artifices  to  de- 
lude us  by  spinning  out  the  time.  When  the  Emperor 
was  said  to  be  approaching,  we  supposed  that  they  would 
have  a  good  pretext  for  their  own  justification.  For  during 
the  whole  period  they  had  eluded  any  conference  by  the 
most  impudent  shufflings ;  and  why  did  they  not  pretend 
that  they  could  have  no  consultation,  since  the  Emperor 
was  now  going  to  Ratisbon  to  hold  the  Diet?*     But  when 

*  The  Conference  at  Worms  was  appointed  to  be  opened  on  the 
28th  of  October,  1540.    From  this  time,  nothing  was  eflfected  till 


140  ADDITIONAL     NOTES     TO 

all  were  preparing  to  depart,  they  unexpectedly  gave  us  an 
opportunity  for  a  conference.  They  were  perhaps  appre- 
hensive, that  they  could  not  escape  the  accusation  of  disho- 
nesty, if  they  did  not  commence,  at  least  in  appearance, 
when  we  had  submitted  to  all  their  obtrusive  conditions. 
For  they  had  spent  a  whole  month  in  proposing  absurdities 
for  our  admission,  expecting  that  by  our  refusal,  they  should 
have  an  ostensible  reason  for  accusing  us  with  having  pre- 
vented the  conference.  By  our  patience,  we  frustrated  all 
their  expectations,  by  yielding  to  every  condition  which  did 
not  materially  affect  injuriously  the  cause  of  truth.  At  length 
the  colloquy  was  opened.  Eckius,  being  chosen  by  our  ad- 
versaries for  their  advocate,  commenced  with  a  speech  of 
two  hours.  Melancthon  answered  more  concisely.  After 
dinner,  Eckius  again  proceeded  boisterously.  On  the  fol- 
lowing day,  Philip  answered  him  with  great  moderation. 
Eckius  spoke  again  after  dinner.  The  judges  then  pro- 
nounced, that  they  had  disputed  long  enough  about  that  arti- 
cle.* To  the  injustice  of  this  sentence  we  objected,  that  it 
was  intolerable  that  our  adversaries  should  both  open  and 
close  the  debate.  But  Granville  persisted  in  his  sentence 
with  the  inflexible  obstinacy  of  an  Areopagite.  Permission 
was  obtained  for  our  advocate  to  speak  again,  on  condition, 
however,  that  our  adversaries  should  close  the  dispute.  On 
the  following  day,  Philip  closed  his  argument,  and  Eckius, 
with  more  moderation  than  usual,  ended  the  debate.  I  will 
not  attempt  to  describe  the  monkish  fastidiosity,  the  great 
audacity,  insolence,  and  impudence,  with  which  this  osten- 

the  13th  of  January,  1541.  On  this  day,  they  agreed  upon  a  col- 
loquy. This  was  afler  the  Emperor,  by  Granville,  his  prime 
minister,  had  published  his  determination  to  hold  a  Diet  at  Ratis- 
bon,  in  March. 

*  The  dispute  commenced  upon  the  doctrine  of  original  sin. 
Eckius  and  Melancthon  were  the  only  collocutors  appointed.  On 
the  third  day,  Granville  dismissed  the  conference. — Dupin. 


THE     LIFE     OF     CALVIN.  141 

tatious  man  vociferated.  Imagine  to  yourself  a  barbarous 
sophist,  exulting  foolishly  among  his  illiterate  companions, 
and  you  will  have  the  half  of  Eckius. Granville  hav- 
ing assembled  the  Diet,  -read  the  Emperor's  letter  by  which 
it  was  dissolved;  and  the  promise  was  given,  that  he  would 
examine  the  unfinished  business  at  Ratisbon." 

Calvin  also  attended  the  Diet  at  Ratisbon,  and  from  that 
place  thus  writes  to  Farel  concerning  the  meeting : 

"  Many  most  splendid  embassies  have  arrived  from  foreign 
nations.  Cardinal  Contarinus,  the  legate  of  the  Pope,  on 
his  entering  the  town,  scattered  over  us  so  many  signs  of 
the  cross,  that  his  arm,  I  apprehend,  did  not  recover  in  two 
days  from  the  painful  labour.  The  bishop  of  Modena  was 
sent  as  a  special  Nuncio-  Contarinus  would  have  us  submit 
without  bloodshed,  and  labours  by  all  means  to  complete  the 
business  without  having  recourse  to  arms.  The  Nuncio  is 
for  bloodshed,  and  has  nothing  but  war  in  his  mouth.  Both 
agree  in  cutting  off  all  hopes  of  amicable  discussion.  The 
Venitian  ambassador  is  a  man  of  great  pomp  and  parade. 
The  English,  besides  the  resident  minister,  have  sent  the 
bishop  of  Winchester  with  a  splendid  retinue,  a  man  too 
maliciously  cunning.  The  ambassadors  of  Portugal,  and 
several  others,  I  omit  to  name.  The  king  of  France  has 
sent  Velius,  an  importunate  blockhead.  In  mentioning  the 
princes,  I  passed  over  all  the  dregs  of  the  order  of  Pfaci, 
excepting  John  Pfaf,  elector  of  Mentz.  The  bishops  assem- 
bled in  gieat  numbers, — the  bishops  of  Ratisbon,  Augsburg, 
Spires,  Bremen,  Saltzburg,  Brescia,  Worms,  Bamberg,  Hil- 
desheim,  and  some  others. It  would  be  in  vain  to  con- 
jecture what  will  be  the  result  of  this  Diet." 

"  The  confederates  are  desirous  of  having  an  audience ; 
and  if  they  can  hope  for  no  confidence  or  lasting  peace,  until 
there  is  an  agreement  in  religious  matters,  and  the  Churches 
established  in  order,  they  will  urge  the  imperial  Chamber  to 
consider  this  subject  with  care  and  attention.  They  are 
anxious  that  all  dissensions  should  be  ended  without  tumult, 


142  ADDITIONAL     NOTES     TO 

and  detesting  war  as  the  certain  ruin  of  this  country,  they 
show  themselves  the  decided  enemies  of  all  violent  measures. 

*'  Our  opponents  are  divided  into  three  parties.  The  first 
are  for  proclaiming  war,  and  openly  raved  because  it  was 
not  commenced  the  first  day.  Of  this  class,  the  leaders  are 
the  elector  of  Mentz,  the  Bavarian  dukes,  Henry  of  Bruns- 
wick, and  his  brother  the  bishop  of  Bremen.  The  second 
class  wish  to  consult  the  good  of  their  country,  whose  ruin 
or  devastation  they  foresee  will  be  the  calamitous  effect  of 
war,  and  they  of  course  exert  all  their  powers  to  effect  a 
peace  of  any  kind  without  a  settlement  of  reUgion.  The 
third  would  willingly  admit  a  tolerable  correction  of  eccle- 
siastical doctrine  and  discipline,  but  being  either  deficient  in 
the  knowledge  of  the  truth,  or  in  fortitude  to  avow  them- 
selves abettors  of  these  opinions,  they  go  forward  apparently 
seeking  only  the  public  tranquillity.  Among  this  class 
are  the  bishop  of  Cologne  and  the  bishop  of  Augsburg 
among  the  Ecclesiastics ;  both  of  the  brothers  of  the  Pala- 
tine, Otho,  their  grandson,  and  perhaps  the  duke  of  Cleves, 
among  the  princes.  Those  are  the  small  number  who  are 
endeavouring  to  excite  tumults,  and  being  opposed  by  all 
the  good,  they  cannot  effect  their  wishes.  The  mind  of  the 
Emperor  is  entirely  inclined  to  peace,  and  to  obtain  it  he 
will  contend  with  all  his  strength,  putting  off  his  care  for  the 
cause  of  religion  to  some  future  time.  The  confederates 
will  not  easily  yield  to  this,  but  pei^ist  in  demanding  the 
reformation  of  the  Church.     We  hope  to  effect  something. 

"  The  Pope's  legate,  with  his  usual  solemnity,  entreats 
us  not  to  determine  on  violent  measures ;  but  violent  mea- 
sures, in  his  view,  are  any  discussions  about  religion,  or  any 
consultation  concerning  the  reformation  of  the  Church,  held 
without  the  authority  of  his  master.  They  openly  profess 
to  encourage  the  Diet  which  we  ask,  and  still  secredy  op- 
pose its  appointment  by  great  promises  and  high  threats. 
Contarinus  professes  to  wish  that  we  might  be  subdued 
without  bloodshed;  but  if  this  cannot  be  done,  and  the  Em- 


THE      LIFE     OF     CALVIN.  143 

peror  will  have  recourse  to  arms,  they  are  prepared  to  fur- 
nish him  with  large  sums  of  money.  While,  at  the  same 
time,  if  lie  yields  to  any  measure  disagreeable  to  the  Romish 
tyrant,  they  threaten  him  with  those  thunders  with  which 
they  are  accustomed  to  shake  the  whole  earth.  The  state 
of  things  in  Italy  makes  the  Emperor  anxious  for  his  power. 
If  he  can,  he  will  therefore  take  refuge  there,  in  order,  with- 
out meddling  with  religion,  to  place  Germany  in  a  more 
composed  state,  by  a  temporary  peace,  or  a  truce  for  a  few 
years.  In  this  he  will  be  opposed.  Thus  you  see  that 
affairs  are  in  such  obscurity,  that  there  is  no  place  for  pro- 
bable conjecture.  In  these  perplexities,  let  us  invoke  the 
name  of  the  Lord,  and  beseech  him  to  govern,  by  his  wis- 
dom, this  great  and  weighty  cause,  so  deeply  interesting  to 
his  glory  and  the  safety  of  his  Church ;  and  to  manifest,  in 
this  crisis,  that  nothing  is  more  precious  in  his  sight,  than 
that  celestial  wisdom  which  he  has  revealed  to  us  in  the 
Gospel,  and  those  souls  which  he  has  redeemed  by  the 
sacred  blood  of  his  Son.  In  proportion  as  all  things  are  un- 
certain, we  must  stir  up  our  minds  with  the  more  assiduous 
zeal  in  our  supplications.  Casting  our  views  over  the  whole 
progress  of  our  affairs,  we  find  that  the  Lord  has  governed 
events  in  a  wonderful  manner,  without  the  aid  or  the  counsels 
of  men ;  and  made  them  prosperous  beyond  all  our  most 
sanguine  hopes.  In  these  difficulties,  let  us  rest  entirely  on 
that  wisdom  and  power  which  he  has  so  often  displayed  in 
our  protection." 

In  another  letter  to  Farel,  he  thus  writes : 

"  Our  advocates  passed  from  the  subject  of  original  sin, 
without  difficulty.  The  disputation  on  free  will  followed, 
and  was  amicably  settled,  according  to  the  opinion  of  Au- 
gustine. This  harmony  was  somewhat  interrupted  by  the 
contention  about  the  meritorious  cause  of  justification.  At 
length,  a  formula  was  presented  ;  and,  after  passing  through 
various  corrections  on  both  sides,  it  was  admitted.  It  will 
doubtless  surprise  you,  that  our  adversaries  made  conces- 


144  ADDITIONAL     NOTES      TO 

sions  so  extensively  favourable  to  our  cause.  I  enclose  a 
copy  of  the  formula.  The  confederates  have  retained  the 
principal  doctrines  of  divine  truth,  and  nothing  was  admitted 
into  this  formula  contradictory  to  the  Scriptures.  You  will, 
without  question,  desire  a  more  full  explanation,  and  in  this 
respect  we  shall  be  perfectly  agreed.  But  a  moment's  re- 
flection, upon  the  characters  of  the  persons  with  whom  we 
have  to  transact  this  business,  will  convince  you,  that  we 
have  effected  much  beyond  our  expectations.  In  the  defini- 
tion of  the  Church,  the  advocates  were  agreed  ;*  but  an  ex- 
tensive and  unyielding  controversy  arose  about  the  govern- 
ment ;  and  the  article,  by  mutual  consent,  was  omitted.  On 
the  sacraments,  they  had  some  warm  contention  ;  but  when 
ours  admitted,  that  the  ceremonies  were  a  medium,  they 
proceeded  to  the  Supper.  This  was  an  insurmountable  rock. 
Changing  the  bread  and  wine  into  the  real  body  and  blood 
of  Christ,  replacing  the  host,  carrying  it  about,  and  other 
superstitious  practices,  were  rejected.  This  was  considered, 
by  the  Romish  advocates,  as  an  insuflerable  step.  Bucer, 
my  colleague,  being  wholly  bent  on  unity,  was  incensed 
that  these  controverted  questions  were  moved  so  prematurely. 
Melancthon  was  inclined  to  the  opinion,  that  all  hope  of 
pacification  should  be  cut  off,  about  things  so  entirely  cor- 
rupt. Our  advocates,  having  assembled  us  for  consultation, 
demanded  our  individual  opinions.  We  were  unanimous,  in 
our  judgment,  that  transubstantiation  was  a  mere  fiction  ;  that 
laying  up  the  host  was  superstitious  ;  and  that  the  worship 
paid  to  it  was  idolatry,  or  at  least  very  pernicious,  as  it  was 
not  warranted  by  the  word  of  God.  I  was  requested  to  give 
my  opinion  in  Latin,  and  although  I  understood  not  the 

*  The  advocates  to  manage  the  business  in  the  Diet,  appointed 
by  the  Emperor,  were  for  the  Catholics,  Julius  Pflugius,  John 
Eckius,  and  John  Grophar — for  the  confederates,  Philip  Melanc- 
thon, Martin  Bucer,  and  John  Pistorius.  Dupin,  16th  cent,  book 
2,  p.  162. 


THE     LIFE     OF     CALVIN.  145 

opinions  of  the  others,  I  freely,  and  without  fear  of  giving 
offence,  condemned  the  doctrine  of  the  local  presence,  and 
declared  that  the  worshipping  of  the  host  was  intolerable. 
Believe  me,  in  such  cases,  determined  and  resolute  minds 
have  a  very  great  influence  in  establishing  the  opinions  of 
others.  Cease  not  to  pray  to  God  to  support  us  with  the 
spirit  of  fortitude.  Melancthon  drew  up  a  writing,  Avhich 
being  presented  to  Granville,  was  rejected  with  abusive  lan- 
guage, which  our  three  advocates  announced  to  us.  If,  at  the 
very  commencement  of  the  discussion,  we  have  to  encounter 
such  difficulties,  what  an  accumulation  of  them  still  remains 
to  interrupt  our  progress,  through  the  examination  of  the 
private  mass,  the  sacrifice  and  communication  of  the  cup  ? 
What  obstacles  will  lie  across  our  way  when  we  come  to  the 
open  profession  of  the  real  presence  ?  What  tumults  will 
then  be  raised?" 

In  another  letter  to  Farel,  he  thus  writes  : 

"  The  messenger  having  delayed  his  departure  a  day 
longer  than  I  expected,  I  write  again,  to  mention  some 
things  which  have  taken  place,  and  which  may  be  interesting 
to  you.  Granville,  although  he  had  destroyed  by  his  answer 
all  hope  of  agreement,  when  he  heard  of  the  apoplexy  of 
Eckius,  whose  importunity  he  perhaps  supposed  had  pre- 
vented the  agreement,  commanded  that  Pistorius  should 
also  be  excluded,  and  that  the  other  four  should  proceed  in 
their  consultations  without  witnesses.  As  far  as  I  could 
understand,  our  advocates  might  have  easily  accomplished 
the  business,  if  we  would  have  been  contented  to  be  half 
Christians.  Philip  and  Bucer  framed  an  ambiguous  and  de- 
ceptive confession  concerning  transubstantiation,  endeavour- 
ing, as  far  as  possible,  to  satisfy  their  adversaries,  without 
yielding  any  thing.  I  am  not  pleased  with  this  method  of 
proceeding.  They  however  have  a  motive  which  guides 
them.  They  indulge  the  hope  that  the  things  will  manifest 
themselves,  whenever  there  shall  be  an  opening  for  the  true 
doctrines.  They  prefer  to  pass  over  present  difficulties,  re- 
13 


146  APPITIONAL      NOTES     TO 

crnnllcss  of  the  consequences  of  that  llexiblc  mode  of  expres- 
sion. But  in  my  opinion,  this  will  be  very  injurious  to  tlie 
cause.  I  am  pei*suaded,  however,  that  they  have  the  best 
interests  of  religion  at  heart,  and  are  extremely  anxious  to 
advance  the  kingdom  of  Christ.  Our  advocates  are  decided 
and  prompt  to  every  thing ;  but  in  their  intercourse  with  our 
opponents  they  are  too  temporizing.  It  grieves  me,  that 
Bucer  is  exciting  against  himself  the  displeasure  of  so  many 
persons.  Being  conscious  of  his  own  integrity,  he  expects 
more  security  from  it  than  circumstances  will  warrant.  We 
should  not  be  so  satistied  with  our  purity  of  conscience  as  to 
tlirow  off  all  regard  to  the  opinions  of  our  brethren.'' 

Note  B. 

Perhaps  no  man  has  ever  been  more  slandered  and  calum- 
niated by  the  enemies  of  truth,  nor  more  respected  and  vene- 
rated by  its  friends,  than  John  Calvin.  Not  only  have  the 
doctrines  which  he  taught,  been  grossly  misrepresented  and 
shamefully  caricatured,  but  his  life  has  been  charged  with 
the  grossest  immoralities.  To  disparage  or  to  praise  the  il- 
lustrious dead,  is  generally  a  matter  of  fashion,  and  second- 
hand retailing,  M'ith  those  who  are  the  most  extravagant  in 
either.  Hence  there  are  to  be  found  those  who  bestow  un- 
bounded applause  upon  the  Iliad  or  ^Eneid,  without  ever 
having  seen  either ;  as  well  as  those  who  lavish  with  a  most 
unsparing  hand,  upon  the  Geneva  Reformer  and  his  doctrines, 
the  stereotyped  calumnies  of  his  enemies,  without  a  know- 
ledge of  the  character  of  either.  This  persecuting  spirit  dis- 
covered itself  even  while  Calvin  was  yet  alive,  and  in  self- 
defence  he  published  a  tract  entitled  "  Calumniir  Nebulonis 
cujusdam  ad  versus  docirinam  Calvini  de  occulta  Dei  Provi- 
dentia  et  ad  eas  ejusdem  Calvini  Responsio."  While  his 
enemies  were  charging  him  with  persecuting  Servetus,  they 
seemed  not  to  be  aware  that  they  were  also  persecuting  him, 
and  endeavourmg  to  destroy  what  he  valued  far  more  than 


THE     LIFE     OF     CALVIN.  147 

life,  namely  his  character  and  uRefulness.  It  is  not  unfre- 
quently  the  case,  that  those  who  raise  the  cry  of  persecution 
in  order  to  excite  public  sympathy  in  behalf  of  any  individ- 
ual, at  the  same  time  seem  not  to  know  that  they  may  be 
cruelly  persecuting  the  very  individuals  on  whom  they  la- 
bour to  bring  public  odium.  So  it  was  with  the  calumniators 
of  Calvin. 

It  is  a  striking  fact  that  this  eminent  Reformer,  to  use  the 
language  of  the  Christian  Observer,  has  borne  the  blame  of 
many  an  erroneous  opinion,  both  doctrinal  and  practical, 
which  he  spent  his  life  in  opposing  ;  and  of  which  no  confu- 
tation could  be  found,  in  the  whole  circuit  of  theology,  more 
masterly  than  his  own  scriptural  commentaries.  The  Chris- 
tian Observer  proceeds  to  remark  thus  :  "  It  should  be  observ- 
ed in  common  justice  to  Calvin,  that  his  very  highest  no- 
tions of  absolute  decrees  are  by  his  own  representations,  as 
entirely  practical  in  their  results  as  any  opinion  gathered 
from  the  decalogue  ;  that  he  himself  would  be  the  last  man 
to  defend  the  religion  of  a  licentious  predestinarian  ;  nay, 
that  he  would  utterly  deny  any  such  character  to  be  possessed 
of  a  particle  of  genuine  faith ;  but,  on  the  contrary,  would 
view  him  as  a  practical  atheist,  whose  speculations  about 
grace  were  only  a  species  of  more  elaborate  blasphemy. 

"  Consistently  with  the  fundamental  principle  of  the  Re- 
formation, Calvin  went  directly  to  the  Bible,  and  not  by  the 
circuitous  route  of  councils  and  fathers ;  although  he  frequent-' 
ly  refers  to  them  with  much  veneration,  and  has  indeed  con- 
structed the  work  before  us*  in  the  order  of  the  Apostle's 
Creed,  considering  it  to  be  a  brief  corapend  of  Christianity, 
of  high  antiquity,  though  not  of  inspired  origin.  He  seems 
to  have  been  perfectly  aware  (as  we  have  been  lately  and 
truly  reminded)  that  the  introduction  of  the  fathers  into  the 
ranks  of  controversy,  as  decisive  authorities,  was  as  impoli- 
tic as  the  obsolete  practice  of  bringing  elephants  into  battle ; 

*  His  instituteg. 


148  ADDITIONAL     NOTES     TO 

such  allies  being,  in  the  contingencies  of  an  engagement, 
dangerous  alike  to  both  armies.* 

"  Liberated,  however,  as  he  was,  from  ecclesiastical  fetters, 
yet  well  knowing  the  dangers  resulting  from  independence, 
there  was,  to  a  serious  mind,  a  third  consideration,  which  if 
duly  regarded,  would  certainly  restore  the  equilibrium  when 
disturbed  by  the  other  causes ;  namely,  that  having  no  ac- 
credited church  to  lean  upon  on  the  one  hand  ;  and,  on  the 
other,  being  at  the  disposal  of  an  individual  not  to  be  trusted, 
(for  every  religious  man  is  suspicious  of  himself,)  the  only 
resource  was  the  volume  of  inspiration ;  and  this  resource 
was  happily  a  safe   and   effectual   one.     To   this  infallible 
guide,  therefore,  he  resorted ;  and,  if  he  misunderstood,  dark- 
ened, or  perverted  what  he  found  in  the  Bible,  he  uniformly 
says,  there  is  my  doctrine,  and  here  is  its  authority ;  than 
which  nothing  can  be  a  more  simple  and  Christian  method 
of  proceeding.     It  is  referring  the  objector  from  the  deduc- 
tion to  the  principle  ;  and  inviting  him  to  examine,  not  only 
the  process  of  the  reasoner's  logic,  but  the  truth  of  the  pre- 
mises with  which  he  sets  out,    and  of  the  conclusions    at 
which  he  arrives.     How  different  is  this  appeal  to  the  com- 
mon standard  of  the  Christian  world,  from  the  Jides  carbo- 
naria^  of  such  papists,  or  papal  protestants,  as  grope  in  vo- 
luntary darkness  amidst  the  noonday  blaze  of  revelation  !" 

Chambers,  in  his  Dictionary,  represents  one  tenet  of  Cal- 
vinism to  be  that  God  gives  to  man  "  a  necessitating  grace 
which  takes  away  the  freedom  of  the  will."  And  yet  to  re- 
pel this  slander  was  one  object  which  Calvin  had  in  view,  in 


*See  particularly  his  Dedication. 

t  A  Catholic  collier  was  once  asked,  "  What  do  you  believe  V* 
What  the  church  believes.  "And  what  does  the  church  believe'?' 
What  I  believe.  "  And  what  do  you  both  believe?"  Why  we 
both  believe  the  same  thing.  Hence  the  expression  fides  carbona- 
ria. 


THE     LIFE     OF     CALVIN.  149 

writing  his  "  Book  of  Scandals."  It  had  been  also  charged 
against  Calvin,  that  his  views  of  the  divine  sovereignty 
made  God  the  author  of  sin.  "  To  check  the  growth  of 
these  errors,"  says  Waterman  in  his  life  of  Calvin,  "and  to 
vindicate  the  cause  of  Christ  and  the  Reformation  from  re- 
proach, Calvin  published,  June  1,  1544,  his  Instructions 
against  the  errors  and  fanaticism  of  the  Anabaptists  and 
Libertines.^  In  his  arguments  against  the  latter,  he  points 
out,  with  great  clearness,  the  nature  of  the  divine  sovereignty, 
its  absolute  exercise  over  man,  a  fallen,  depraved,  but  still 
a  moral  and  accountable  being.  He  exposes,  with  a  strong 
hand,  the  absolute  falsity  of  the  libertine  position,  that  God, 
as  the  cause  of  all  things,  is  the  eflicient  cause  of  evil,  or  au- 
thor of  sin.  He  rejects  these  assertions  as  blasphemous, 
while  he  maintains  the  scriptural  doctrine  of  the  absolute 
sovereignty  of  God.  Calvin  discriminated  clearly  the  limits 
which  bounded  the  human  intellect  on  that  subject,  and 
wisely  stopped  short  of  that  duplex  labyrinthus,  double 
labyrinth,  as  he  calls  it,t  which  lies  beyond  the  light  of  reve- 
lation.    Neither   Augustine,  Calvin:}:  nor  Edwards,§  who 


*  Opuscula  p.  356  et  374. 

fin  argumento  Genesis.  Vol.  1,  ejus  operum. 
I  Passages  might  be  multiplied,  from  the  writings  of  Calvin,  to  show 
that  he  totally  rejected  the  impious  dogma — That  God  is  the  author, 
or  the  efficient  cause  of  sin — a  single  passage  in  which  he  quotes 
Augustme,  may  here  be  appropriate — Men  are  the  work  of  God, 
says  Augustine,  as  they  are  men ;  but  they  are  in  subjection  to  the 
devil,  as  they  are  sinners,  until  they  are  delivered  from  that  state 
by  Christ.  "Therefore,"  adds  Calvin,"  the  good  are  of  God  ;  the 
wicked,  a  seipsis,  from  themselves."  Opuscula  Calvini,  page  126 
— see  also  in  his  tracts,  in  p.  627 — 629 — "  Nego  Deum  esse  mali 
authorera."  Cal.  in  Acts  ii.  23.  "  Neque  tamen  malorum  author 
sit  Deus."     Cal.  Lib.  de  praedestinat.  et  passim. 

§  President  Edwards  says — I  utterly  deny  God  to  be  the  author 
of  sin;  rejecting  such  an  imputation  on  the  Most  High,  as  what  is 

13* 


150  ADDITIONAL     NOTES     TO 

thought  and  wrote  much  concerning  the  sovereignty  of  God, 
will  probably  ever  be  surpassed  in  intellect,  in  acquisitions 
or  distinct  apprehensions  in  the  science  of  morals,  or  the 
doctrines  of  religion.  They  neither  ventured  themselves, 
nor  have  they  given  license  to  others,  but  have  left  many 
warning  counsels  to  prevent  even  their  attempts  to  intrude 
into  the  secret  things  which  belong  to  God."* 

Jortin,  in  his  second  dissertation,  is  guilty  of  a  similar 
misrepresentation  of  Calvinism.  The  learning  of  so  distin- 
guished a  divine  forbids  us  to  ascribe  to  ignorance,  what 
seems  to  have  arisen  from  a  less  pardonable  failure.  He  says, 
"  they  (the  Calvinists)  held  a  Synod  at  Dort,  and  established 
their  Calvinistical  decrees  by  cruel  insolence  and  oppres- 
sion." And  a  little  after,  in  the  following  anecdote,  he  tells 
us  what  this  Calvinism  was:  "Two  of  their  (Calvinistic) 
divines,  elated  with  victory,  insulted  a  poor  fellow  who  was 
a  Remonstrant,  and  said,  what  are  you  thinking  on,  with 
that  grave  and  woeful  face  ?  I  was  thinking,  gentlemen,  said 
he,  of  a  controverted  question,  who  was  the  author  of  sin  ? 
Adam  shifted  it  off  from  himself,  and  laid  it  to  his  wife  ;  she 
laid  it  to  the  serpent ;  the  serpent  who  was  then  young  and 

infinitely  to  he  abhorred ;  and  deny  any  such  thing  to  be  the  con- 
sequence of  what  I  have  laid  down. — Freedom  of  the  will,  Part 
IV.  Sec.  IX.  II. 

*It  may  be  modestly  suggested,  whether  some  have  not  re- 
proached the  writings  of  Angustine,  Calvin  and  Edwards,  who 
still  never  read  them,  the  sum  total  of  whose  knowledge  of  the 
works  of  these  great  men  is  picked  up  from  mutilated  scraps,  se- 
lected for  the  sole  purpose  of  prejudicing  the  minds  of  common 
readers  against  them;  and  whether  others  professedly,  and  doubt- 
less in  some  instances,  real  friends  to  religion,  have  not  been 
prompted  by  a  desire  for  distinction,  to  make  the  world  believe, 
that  they  could  see  farther  and  clearer  on  those  speculative  points, 
than  Calvin ;  and  thus  plunging,  with  metaphysical  enthusiasm,  into 
the  darkness  of  that  double  labyrinth  which  will  bewilder  many 
unweary  minds  into  scepticism  and  infidelity. 


THE     LIFE     OF     CALVIN.  151 

bashful,  had  not  a  word  to  say  for  himself;  but  afterwards 
growing  older  and  more  audacious,  he  went  to  the  Synod  of 
Dort,  and  there  had  the  assurance  to  charge  it  upon  God." 

Jortin  proceeds  to  state  that  in  England,  almost  all  per- 
sons of  any  note  for  learning  and  abilities,  have  bid  adieu  to 
Calvinism,  have  side'd  with  the  Remonstrants,  and  have  left 
the  fatalists  to  follow  their  own  opinions,*  and  to  rejoice 
(since  they  can  rejoice)  in  a  religious  system,  consisting  of 
human  creatures  without  liberty,  doctrmes  without  sense, 
faith  without  reason,  and  a  God  without  mercy.  "  This  sys- 
tem," continues  Jortin,  "  so  far  as  it  relates  to  the  eternal  mi- 
sery of  infants  for  the  fault  of  Adam,  is  the  very  fable  of  the 
wolf  and  the  lamb."  This  fable  we  need  not  repeat,  as  it  is 
familiar  to  all  the  readers  of  jEsop. 

Jortin  then  quotes  Bernard,  a  father  and  a  saint  of  the 
twelfth  century,  as  saying  "  Nothing  burns  in  hell  but  our 
own  wills,"  and  remarks  that  he  is  highly  to  be  commended 
for  being  the  father  of  so  good  an  aphorism,  which  is  worth 
half  his  writings,  and  all  his  miracles.  Now,  in  all  this  can 
be  seen  a  continued  misrepresentation  of  Calvinism ;  and 
just  such  as  Calvin  himself  has  again  and  again  refuted,  and 
branded  as  calumny. 

It  were  well  if  all  who  undertake  to  refute  or  to  ridicule 
Calvinism,  would  listen  to  the  advice  of  bishop  Horsley.  In 
his  primary  charge  to  the  clergy  of  the  diocess  of  St.  Asaph, 
he  says,  *'  Take  especial  care,  before  you  aim  your  shafts  at 
Calvinism,  that  you  know  what  is  Calvinism,  and  what  is 
not ;  that  in  the  mass  of  doctrine  which  of  late  it  is  become 
the  fashion  to  abuse,  under  the  name  of  Calvinism,  you  can 
distinguish  with  certainty  between  that  part  of  it  which  is  no- 
thing better  than  Calvinism,  and  that  which  belongs  to  our 
common  Christianity,  and  the  general  faith  of  the  Reformed 
churches  ;  lest,  when  you  fall  foul  of  Calvinism,  you  should 
unwarily  attack  something  more  sacred,  and  of  higher  ori- 

*  Jortin,  more  than  once,  calls  Augustine  a  fatalist. 


152  ADDITIONAL    NOTES    TO 

gin.  I  must  say,"  adds  that  able  prelate,  "  that  I  have  found 
great  want  of  this  discrimination  in  some  late  controversial 
writings  on  the  side  of  the  church  (of  England),  as  they 
were  meant  to  be,  against  the  Methodists ;  the  authors  of 
which  have  acquired  much  applause  and  reputation,  but 
with  so  little  real  knowledge  of  their  subject,  that  give  me 
the  principles  upon  which  these  writers  argue,  and  I  will 
undertake  to  convict,  I  will  not  say  Arminians  only,  and 
archbishop  Laud,  but  upon  these  principles,  I  will  under- 
take to  convict  the  fathers  of  the  Council  of  Trent  of  Cal- 
vinism. So  closely  is  a  great  part  of  that  which  is  now  ig- 
norantly  called  Calvinism,  interwoven  with  the  very  rudi- 
ments of  Christianity." 

The  life  of  Calvin  was  also  charged  with  immoralities. 
But  this  was  done  principally  by  the  famous  Bolsec,  of  whom 
Beza  gives  some  account.  After  he  had  been  banished  from 
Geneva,  through  the  influence  of  Calvin  and  Farel,  for  sedi- 
tion and  Pelagianism,  he  wrote  a  life  of  Calvin,  with  a  view 
to  destroy  the  reputation  of  that  great  and  good  man. 

The  great  Dr.  Moulin  observes,  that  not  one  of  Calvin's 
innumerable  enemies  ever  carped  at  the  purity  of  his  life, 
but  this  profligate  physician,  whom  Calvin  had  procured  to 
be  banished  from  Geneva,  for  his  wickedness  and  impieties. 
The  reproach  of  such  a  man,  says  Middleton,  was  an  honour 
to  Calvin,  and  especially  upon  such  an  account,  for  as  Mil- 
ton truly  says, 

"  Of  some  to  be  dispraised,  is  no  small  praise." 

The  calumnies  of  Bolsec,  however,  were  reiterated  by 
other  enemies,  and  are  sometimes,  even  in  this  age,  raked 
from  the  filth  where  truth  has  long  since  consigned  them. 

"  One  of  the  greatest  uses,"  says  Middleton,  "  which  may 
be  drawn  from  reading,  is  to  learn  the  weaknesses  of  the 
heart  of  man,  and  the  ill  effects  of  prejudices  in  points  of  re- 
ligion.    No  less  a  person  than  the  great  cardinal  Richelieu, 


THE     LIFE     OF     CALVIN. 


153 


has  produced  an  accusation  against  Calvin,  on  the  credit  of 
Bertelier,  than  which  none  was  ever  worse  contrived,  and 
worse  proved;  though  it  has  been  adopted,  and  conveyed 
from  book  to  book.  Bertelier  pretended,  that  the  republic  of 
Geneva  had  sent  him  to  Noyon,  with  orders  to  make  an  exact 
inquiry  there  into  Calvin's  life  and  character;  and  that  he 
found  Calvin  had  been  convicted  of  sodomy  ;  but  that,  at  the 
bishop's  request,  the  punishment  of  fire  was  commuted  into 
that  of  being  branded  with  the  Flower-de-luce.  He  boasted 
to  have  an  act,  signed  by  a  notary,  which  certified  the  truth 
of  the  process  and  condemnation.  Bolsec  affirms,  that  he 
had  seen  this  act ;  and  this  is  the  ground  of  that  horrid  accu- 
sation. Neither  Bertelier,  nor  Bolsec,  are  to  be  credited.  If 
Berteher's  act  had  not  been  suppositious,  there  would  have 
been  at  Noyon,  authentic  and  public  testimonies  of  the  trial 
and  punishment  in  question;  and  they  would  have  been 
published  as  soon  as  the  Romish  religion  began  to  suflTer  by 
Calvin's  means.  Bertelier  had  no  party  against  him  in  Ge- 
neva more  inexorable  than  Calvin,  who  held  him  in  abhor- 
rence, on  account  of  his  vices.  Bertelier  was  accused  of 
sedition  and  conspiracy  against  the  state  and  church:  but  he 
ran  away,  and,  not  appearing  to  answer  for  himself,  was 
condemned,  as  being  attainted  and  convicted  of  those  crimes, 
to  lose  his  head,  by  a  sentence  pronounced  against  him,  the 
sixth  of  August,  1555.  No  envoy  or  deputy  was  ever  sent 
from  Geneva  on  public  business,  who  was  not  in  a  higher 
station  than  that  of  Bertelier ;  besides,  there  were  some  con- 
siderable persons  at  Noyon,  who  retired  to  Geneva,  as  well 
as  Calvin  :  by  whose  means  it  was  very  easy  to  receive  all 
the  information  which  could  have  been  desired,  without  go- 
ing farther.  If  what  Bertelier  said  was  true,  he  would  have 
liad  his  paper  when  he  fled  from  Geneva :  but  it  is  plain  he 
had  not  the  commission  he  boasted  of,  after  that  time.  But 
can  any  one  believe,  that,  before  the  year  1555,  when  those 
who  were  called  heretics  durst  not  show  themselves  for  fear 
of  being  burnt,  a  deputy  from  Geneva  should  go  boldly  to 


154  ADDITIONAL     NOTES     TO 

Noyon,  to  inform  himself  of  Calvin's  life  ?  Who  will  believe, 
that  if  Bertelier  had  an  authentic  act  of  Calvin's  infamy  in 
1554,  he  would  have  kept  it  so  close,  that  the  public  should 
have  no  knowledge  of  it  before  1557  ?  Was  it  not  a  piece 
which  the  clergy  of  France  would  have  bought  for  its  weight 
in  gold  ?  *  But  why  (says  Bayle),  do  I  lose  time  in  confut- 
ing such  a  ridiculous  romance  ?  Nothing  surprises  me  more, 
than  to  see  so  great  a  person  as  cardinal  de  Richelieu,  depend 
on  this  piece  of  Bertelier ;  and  allege  as  his  principal  reason, 
that  the  republic  of  Geneva  did  not  undertake  to  show  the 
falsehood  of  this  piece.'  The  truth  is,  this  cardinal  made 
all  imaginable  inquiry  into  the  pretended  proceedings  against 
Calvin  at  Noyon,  and  that  he  discovered  nothing;  yet  he 
maintained  the  affirmative  on  the  credit  of  Jerom  Bolsec, 
whose  testimony  is  of  no  weight  in  things  which  are  laid  to 
Calvin's  charge.  Bolsec  would  have  been  altogether  buried 
in  oblivion,  if  he  had  not  been  taken  notice  of  by  the  monks 
and  missionaries  for  writing  some  satirical  books  against  the 
Reformation.  He  was  convicted  of  sedition  and  Pelagianisra, 
at  Geneva,  in  1551,  and  banished  the  territory  of  the  republic. 
He  was  also  banished  from  Bern:  after  which  he  went  to 
France,  where  he  assisted  in  persecuting  the  protestants,  and 
even  prostituted  his  wife  to  the  canons  of  Autun.  He  was 
an  infamous  man,  who  forsook  his  order,  had  been  banished 
thrice,  and  changed  his  religion  four  times  ;  and  who,  after 
having  aspersed  the  dead  and  the  living,  died  in  despair. 
Varillas  thought  Bolsec  a  discredited  author  :  Maimbourg  re- 
jected the  infamy  that  was  thrown  upon  Calvin :  and  Flori- 
mond  de  Remond  owns,  they  have  defamed  him  horribly. 
Papyrius  Masso  spoke  very  ill  of  Calvin,  but  would  not  ven- 
ture to  mention  the  story  of  the  Flower-de-luce :  and  he 
called  those,  mean  wretched  scribblers,  who  reproached  that 
minister  with  lewdness.  It  is  not  strange  that  cardinal  de 
Richelieu,  in  one  of  the  best  books  of  controversy  that  has 
been  published  on  the  part  of  the  church  of  Rome,  should  be 
less  scrupulous  and  nice  than  Remond,  Masso,  and  Romuald ; 


THE     LIFE     OF     CALVIN.  155 

and  that  he  should  give  out,  as  a  true  matter  of  fact,  the  story 
of  Bolsec,  which  began  then  to  be  laid  aside  by  the  missiona- 
ries ?  Richelieu  intended  to  have  reconciled  both  religions 
in  France,  but  was  prevented  by  death ;  and  there  was  not 
one  story  which  people  did  not  believe,  when  it  defamed 
him  or  cardinal  Mazarin." 

Calvin's  political  opinions  have  also  been  questioned,  and 
variously  represented,  as  might  suit  the  purposes  of  those 
who  sought  to  bring  him  into  disrepute. 

Dr.  Kenny,  dean  of  Achonry,  in  his  "  Principles  and 
Practices  of  pretended  Reformers,"  labours  to  prove  that 
Calvin  was  a  sanguinary  democrat,  and  the  avowed  cham- 
pion of  political  principles,  which  are  subversive  of  social 
order,  and  of  legitimate  government.  What  Dr.  Kenny  con- 
siders *'  a  legitimate  government"  would  be  questioned  by 
the  American  people,  as  well  as  by  Calvin.  The  question 
of  Calvin's  political  principles  has  been  ably  discussed  by 
bishop  Horsley.  The  subject  was  taken  up  by  that  learned 
prelate  in  the  appendix  to  a  sermon  preached  before  the 
House  of  Lords,  on  the  30th  of  January,  1793.  He  was 
constrained  to  acknowledge  that  Calvin  was  unquestionably 
a  republican  in  theory.  He  says  that  Calvin  frequently  de- 
clared his  opinion,  that  the  republican  form,  or  an  aristo- 
cracy reduced  nearly  to  the  level  of  a  republic,  was  of  all 
the  best  calculated  in  general  to  answer  the  ends  of  govern- 
ment. So  wedded  indeed  was  he  to  this  notion,  that  he  en- 
deavoured to  fashion  the  government  of  all  the  protestant 
churches  upon  republican  principles.  Calvin  affirms,  with 
his  usual  wisdom,  that  the  advantages  of  one  government 
over  another,  depend  very  much  upon  circumstances ;  that 
the  circumstances  of  different  countries,  require  different 
forms.  And  this  is  stricdy  true,  for  until  a  nation  is  prepared 
to  appreciate  the  advantages  of  a  republican  form,  and  to  use 
civil  liberty,  without  abusing  it,  such  a  form  can  not  be  said 
to  be  the  best  for  them,  under  such  circumstances.  Calvin's 


156  ADDITIONAL    NOTES    TO 

political  views  may  be  fairly  collected  from  his  Commenta- 
ries on  the  Prophecy  of  Daniel. 

It  ought  to  be  remarked,  however,  that  Calvin  always 
enjoined  obedience  to  the  powers  that  be ;  in  as  much  as 
governments  are  ordained  of  God.  And  so  taught  the  apostle 
Paul.  Rom.  xiii.  1 — 3.    Titus  iii.  1. 

Note  C. 

The  Case  of  Servetus. 

Robertson,  in  his  History  of  Charles  V.  remarks  that  "  in 
passing  judgment  on  the  characters  of  men,  we  ought  to  try 
them  by  the  principles  and  maxims  of  their  own  age,  and  not 
by  those  of  another ;  for,  although  virtue  and  vice  are  at  all 
times  the  same,  manners  and  customs  vary  continually." 
Although  we  are  by  no  means  disposed  to  justify  Calvin  in 
the  part  he  took  in  the  unhappy  affair  of  Servetus,  yet  there 
are  facts  connected  with  that  transaction,  which  must  be 
known,  in  order  to  form  an  impartial  and  just  decision  of  its 
true  character,  and  of  the  conduct  of  those  who  were  the 
principal  actors  in  the  tragic  scene.  The  enemies  of  Calvin- 
ism have  united  with  the  opposers  of  all  evangelical  religion, 
in  selecting  this  event  in  the  history  of  the  Geneva  Reformer, 
as  the  topic  of  vituperative  harangue.  While  the  opposers 
of  Calvinism  dwell,  even  to  tediousness,  upon  this  subject, 
as  an  argument  against  the  distinctive  doctrines  of  the  Re- 
formation ;  the  enemies  of  all  godliness  use  it  as  an  argument 
against  religion,  and  especially  against  the  ever  memorable 
Reformation.  Some  point  it  out  as  the  "  first  fruits  of  the  Re- 
formation," and  others  as  resulting  naturally  from  the  adop- 
tion of  the  peculiar  tenets  of  that  Reformer.  Roscoe,  in  his 
life  and  pontificate  of  Leo  X.,  denominates  it  the  *'  first 
fruits  of  the  Reformation ;"  but  persecution  certainly  existed 
before  the  occurrence  of  that  melancholy  event.  Thirty-six 
years  at  least  elapsed  between  the  commencement  of  the  Re- 
formation and  the  death  of  Servetus. 


THE     LIFE     OF     CALVIN.  157 

The  zeal  of  some  men  is  warmly  enlisted  against  persecu- 
tion on  account  of  heresy  or  religion,  while  they  themselves 
indulge  the  bitterest  spirit  of  persecution  against  religion 
itself.  This  spirit  is  as  active  and  powerful  in  men  of  no 
principle,  as  in  the  most  ferocious  bigots.  No  praise  is  due, 
therefore,  to  those  who  are  exempt  from  the  charge  of  open 
persecution,  only  because  they  are  destitute  of  all  religious 
principle.  There  are  persons  who,  though  little  disposed  to 
persecute  on  account,  or  rather  in  favour  of  religion,  yet  are 
ready  enough  to  do  so  when  the  gratification  of  avarice,  of  a 
revengeful  spirit,  or  of  any  other  passion  is  concerned.  In- 
deed, the  apparent  complacency  with  which  some  dwell  upon 
this  disgraceful  event,  seems  to  warrant  the  suspicion  that 
it  is  as  satisfactory  to  them,  in  as  much  as  it  furnishes  occa- 
sion to  heap  abuse  and  obloquy  upon  Calvin,  as  they  repre- 
sent it  to  have  been  to  that  Reformer  himself.  It  is  a  com- 
pliment unwittingly  paid  to  the  Reformation  and  to  religion, 
that  such  an  event  seems  as  necessary  to  the  enemies  of  both 
in  sustaining  their  opposition,  as  Calvin  misjudged  it  to  be 
to  the  honour  of  both.  But  as  explanatory  of  that  spirit  of  per- 
secution which  to  some  extent,  is  justly  chargeable  upon  the 
Reformers,  it  should  be  recollected  that  they  only  partici- 
pated in  a  common  error,  an  error  belonging  rather  to  the  age 
in  which  they  lived,  than  to  the  persecutors  themselves.  The 
rights  of  conscience  and  of  private  opinion  were  not  then  as 
well  understood  as  at  this  day.  These  rights  had  been  lost 
in  the  darkness  which  for  ages  had  gathered  and  thickened 
around  the  human  mind,  and  had  been  formally  denied  by 
the  corrupt  church  from  which  the  Reformers  had  emerged. 
In  the  midst  of  the  papacy  they  had  been  born,  in  her  lap 
they  had  been  nursed,  and  from  her  breasts  they  had  imbibed 
the  poison.  But  from  what  quarter  did  that  light  issue 
which  has  since  enabled  us  to  understand,  to  appreciate  and 
to  defend  these  rights  ?  Not  from  the  papal  throne,  for  they 
are  denied  in  her  infallible  and  unalterable  creed,  and  the  ex- 
ercise of  them  denied,  even  to  this  day,  to  all  who  are  sub- 
14 


158  ADDITIONAL     NOTES     TO 

ject  to  its  influence  and  control.  That  light  sprang  from  the 
Reformation ;  for  wherever  that  Reformation  now  obtains, 
these  rights  are  understood  and  exercised.  We  appeal  to 
facts,  let  them  decide  the  question. 

Let  the  number  of  individuals  who  suffered  in  protestant 
and  popish  persecutions  be  compared.  Let  the  persecutions 
under  the  five  years  reign  of  queen  Mary  alone,  be  com- 
pared with  all  the  protestant  persecutions  put  together. 

With  respect  to  the  wound  which  is  designed  to  be  inflict- 
ed through  the  sides  of  the  reformer,  upon  the  Reformation 
and  upon  Christianity  itself,  it  is  enough  to  observe  that  the 
truth  and  nature  of  pure  religion,  have  never  depended  upon 
the  character  of  its  professors.  Pure  religion  speaks  for 
itself,  and  it  needs  only  to  be  known,  in  order  to  be  admired 
and  loved. 

Let  us  therefore,  with  calm,  impartial,  and  unprejudiced 
minds,  examine  and  weigh  the  facts  connected  with  this 
case.  The  Biblical  Repertory  says,  Michael  Servetus  was 
born  at  Villa  Nueva,  in  Arragon,  in  1509.  He  called  him- 
self Ville  Neuve,  or  Villanovanus,  from  this  place,  but  is 
said  to  have  declared  himself  a  native  of  Tudelle,  in  Navarre. 
At  the  age  of  fourteen,  he  is  reported  to  have  understood 
Latin,  Greek,  and  Hebrew,  and  to  have  been  imbued  with 
the  knowledge  of  Philosophy,  Mathematics,  and  Scholastic 
Theology.  M.  Simon,  however,  says :  *'  it  is  evident  by 
this  author's  books,  that  it  cost  him  a  great  deal  of  trouble 
to  write  in  Latin  ;"  and  Servetus  himself,  in  the  second  edi- 
tion of  a  book,  says,  "  Quod  autem  ita  barbarus,  confusus  et 
incorrectus  prior  liber  proderit,  imperitiae  meae,  et  typogra- 
phi  incuriae  adscribendum  est."  At  the  age  of  fifteen  he 
went  to  Italy  in  the  suite  of  Charles  V.,  whom  he  saw 
crowned  at  Bologna.  Just  at  this  time  the  seeds  of  anti-trini- 
tarian  doctrine  began  to  germinate  in  Italy.  The  Socini  and 
their  fellows  were  then  rising.  It  is  believed  that  Servetus, 
under  these  influences,  adopted  his  peculiar  tenets.  The 
late  learned  Dr.  M'Crie  expresses  his  belief,  that  the  anti- 


THE     LIFE    OF    CALVIN.  159 

trinitarian  opinions,  which  spread  there  so  widely,  were  in- 
troduced into  Italy  by  means  of  his  writings.* 

From  Italy  he  went  to  Germany,  and  thence  to  Switzer- 
land ;  and,  at  Basle,  held  a  conference  with  Oecolampadius, 
with  whom  he  disputed  about  the  Trinity,  in  1530.  He 
then  repaired  to  Strasburg,  and  conferred  with  Capito,  and 
with  Bucer.  The  latter  was  so  far  overcome  with  indigna- 
tion at  the  impieties  of  Servetus,  as  to  say  from  the  pulpit, 
that  he  deserved  to  be  put  to  death.  Such  was  the  error  and 
blindness  even  of  one  who  was  surnamed  the  Moderate  Re- 
former ;  an  error  and  blindness  caught  from  his  Romish  edu- 
cation. Before  he  left  Basle,  Servetus  had  prepared  a  book 
in  which  he  attacked  the  orthodox  faith,  respecting  the 
Trinity.  This  he  left  there  in  the  hands  of  Conrad  Rouss, 
a  bookseller,  who  sent  it  to  Hagenau,  as  it  was  a  dangerous 
business  to  print  it.  The  author  followed  his  manuscript, 
and  published  it  at  the  last  named  place,  in  1531.  He  pub- 
lished a  second,  of  like  contents,  in  1532.  The  former  of 
these  was  entitled  "  De  Trinitatis  Erroribus  Libri  Septem, 
per  Michaelem  Servetum,  alias  Reves,  ab  Arragonia  Hispa- 
num."  Scarcely  a  copy  is  known  to  be  extant.  Mosheim 
says  that  both  this  and  the  dialogues  are  "  barbaro  dicendi 
genere  conscripti." 

The  second  work  was  entitled  "  Dialogorum  de  Trinitate 
Libri  duo.  De  Justitia  Regni  Christi,  Capitula  Quatuor,  per 
Michaelem  Servetum,  &;c."  In  this  he  retracts  all  that  he 
had  said  in  the  preceding;  not  as  being  false,  but  imperfectly, 
and  carelessly,  and  ignorantly  written.!  These  works  were 
so  largely  circulated,  especially  in  Italy,  that,  as  late  as  1539, 
Melancthon  felt  himself  bound  to  write  a  caveat  against  them 
to  the  senate  of  Venice.  Servetus  passed  his  time  in  Germany 
until  1533,  but  then,  finding  himself  without  adherents,  and 

*  Ref.  in  Italy,  p.  151. 

t  Non  quia  falsa  sunt,  sed  quia  imperfecta,  et  tanquam  a  parvulo 
parvulis  scripta.    Niceron.  Mem.  des  Hommes  111.  ii.  235. 


rS8  ADDITIONAL     NOTES      TO 

ject  to  its  influence  and  control.  That  light  sprang  from  the 
Reformation ;  for  wherever  that  Reformation  now  obtains, 
these  rights  are  understood  and  exercised.  We  appeal  to 
facts,  let  them  decide  the  question. 

Let  the  number  of  individuals  who  suffered  in  protestant 
and  popish  persecutions  be  compared.  Let  the  persecutions 
under  the  five  years  reign  of  queen  Mary  alone,  be  com- 
pared with  all  the  protestant  persecutions  put  together. 

With  respect  to  the  wound  which  is  designed  to  be  inflict- 
ed through  the  sides  of  the  reformer,  upon  the  Reformation 
and  upon  Christianity  itself,  it  is  enough  to  observe  that  the 
truth  and  nature  of  pure  religion,  have  never  depended  upon 
the  character  of  its  professors.  Pure  religion  speaks  for 
itself,  and  it  needs  only  to  be  known,  in  order  to  be  admired 
and  loved. 

Let  us  therefore,  with  calm,  impartial,  and  unprejudiced 
minds,  examine  and  weigh  the  facts  connected  with  this 
case.  The  Biblical  Repertory  says,  Michael  Servetus  was 
born  at  Villa  Nueva,  in  Arragon,  in  1509.  He  called  him- 
self Ville  Neuve,  or  Villanovanus,  from  this  place,  but  is 
said  to  have  declared  himself  a  native  of  Tudelle,  in  Navarre. 
At  the  age  of  fourteen,  he  is  reported  to  have  understood 
Latin,  Greek,  and  Hebrew,  and  to  have  been  imbued  witli 
the  knowledge  of  Philosophy,  Mathematics,  and  Scholastic 
Theology.  M.  Simon,  however,  says :  "  it  is  evident  by 
this  author's  books,  that  it  cost  him  a  great  deal  of  trouble 
to  write  in  Latin  ;"  and  Servetus  himself,  in  the  second  edi- 
tion of  a  book,  says,  "  Quod  autem  ita  barbarus,  confusus  et 
incorrectus  prior  liber  proderit,  imperitiae  meae,  et  typogra- 
phi  incuriae  adscribendum  est."  At  the  age  of  fifteen  he 
went  to  Italy  in  the  suite  of  Charles  V.,  whom  he  saw 
crowned  at  Bologna.  Just  at  this  time  the  seeds  of  anti-trini- 
tarian  doctrine  began  to  germinate  in  Italy.  The  Socini  and 
their  fellows  were  then  rising.  It  is  believed  that  Servetus, 
under  these  influences,  adopted  his  peculiar  tenets.  The 
late  learned  Dr.  M'Crie  expresses  his  belief,  that  the  anti- 


THE     LIFE    OF    CALVIN.  159 

trinitarian  opinions,  which  spread  there  so  widely,  were  in- 
troduced into  Italy  by  means  of  his  writings.* 

From  Italy  he  went  to  Germany,  and  thence  to  Switzer- 
land ;  and,  at  Basle,  held  a  conference  with  Oecolarapadius, 
with  whom  he  disputed  about  the  Trinity,  in  1530.  He 
then  repaired  to  Strasburg,  and  conferred  with  Capito,  and 
with  Bucer.  The  latter  was  so  far  overcome  with  indigna- 
tion at  the  impieties  of  Servetus,  as  to  say  from  the  pulpit, 
that  he  deserved  to  be  put  to  death.  Such  was  the  error  and 
blindness  even  of  one  who  was  surnamed  the  Moderate  Re- 
former ;  an  error  and  blindness  caught  from  his  Romish  edu- 
cation. Before  he  left  Basle,  Servetus  had  prepared  a  book 
in  which  he  attacked  the  orthodox  faith,  respecting  the 
Trinity.  This  he  left  there  in  the  hands  of  Conrad  Rouss, 
a  bookseller,  who  sent  it  to  Hagenau,  as  it  was  a  dangerous 
business  to  print  it.  The  author  followed  his  manuscript, 
and  pubUshed  it  at  the  last  named  place,  in  1531.  He  pub- 
lished a  second,  of  like  contents,  in  1532.  The  former  of 
these  was  entitled  "De  Trinitatis  Erroribus  Libri  Septem, 
per  Michaelem  Servetum,  alias  Reves,  ab  Arragonia  Hispa- 
num."  Scarcely  a  copy  is  known  to  be  extant.  Mosheim 
says  that  both  this  and  the  dialogues  are  "  barbaro  dicendi 
genere  conscripti." 

The  second  work  was  entitled  "  Dialogorum  de  Trinitate 
Libri  duo.  De  Justitia  Regni  Christi,  Capitula  Quatuor,  per 
Michaelem  Servetum,  &;c."  In  this  he  retracts  all  that  he 
had  said  in  the  preceding;  not  as  being  false,  but  imperfectly, 
and  carelessly,  and  ignorantly  written.!  These  works  were 
60  largely  circulated,  especially  in  Italy,  that,  as  late  as  1539, 
Melancthon  felt  himself  bound  to  write  a  caveat  against  them 
to  the  senate  of  Venice.  Servetus  passed  his  time  in  Germany 
until  1533,  but  then,  finding  himself  without  adherents,  and 

*  Ref.  in  Italy,  p.  151. 

t  Non  quia  falsa  sunt,  sed  quia  imperfecta,  et  tanquam  a  parvulo 
parvulis  scripta.    Niceron.  Mem.  des  Hommes  III.  ii.  235. 


1^0  ADDITIONAL     NOTES     TO 

awkwardly  situated,  from  his  ignorance  of  the  language,  and 
particularly  desirous  of  studying  mathematics  and  medicine, 
lie  went  to  France.  Here  he  sought  notoriety  both  as  a 
scholar  and  an  author.  He  studied  medicine  at  Paris,  under 
the  instruction  of  Sylvinus  and  Fern  el,  and  was  graduated 
Master  of  Arts  and  Doctor  of  Physic  by  the  university. 
Beza  relates  that,  in  this  city,  as  early  as  in  1534,  Calvin 
opposed  his  doctrines.*  After  taking  his  degrees,  Servetus 
professed  mathematics  in  the  Lombard  college.  During  this 
period,  he  was  preparing  an  edition  of  Ptolemy's  Geography, 
and  several  medical  works ;  being,  meanwhile,  in  warm  con- 
tests with  the  medical  faculty.  We  next  find  him  at  Lyons, 
with  Frellon,  a  publisher,  whom  he  served  as  corrector  of 
the  press.  After  various  excursions,  he  settled  at  Charlieu, 
and  there  practised  medicine.  Bolsec,  the  noted  enemy  and 
slanderer  of  Calvin,  and  who  wrote  a  memoir  for  the  mere 
purpose  of  blasting  his  character,  accounts  thus  for  Serve- 
tus' leaving  his  settlement :  "  This  Servetus  was  arrogant 
and  insolent,  as  those  have  affirmed  who  knew  him  at  Char- 
lieu,  where  he  lodged  with  la  Riviere,  about  the  year  1540, 
but  was  forced  to  leave  that  place  on  account  of  his  extrava- 
gancies."t  From  Charlieu  he  returned  to  Lyons.  Here  he 
fell  in  with  Peter  Palmer,  archbishop  of  Vienne,  followed 
him  to  his  see,  and  enjoyed  a  harbour  in  his  palace.  While 
at  Vienne,  he  worked  at  a  revised  edition  of  Pagnin's  Bible, 
which  he  furnished  with  notes,  abounding  in  crudity  and 
pravity  of  doctrine.  By  the  intervention  of  the  printer, 
Frellon,  he  opened  a  correspondence  with  Calvin.  The  man- 
ner in  which  Servetus  conducted  himself  in  this,  may  be 
seen  in  the  published  letters. :{:  Calvin  chose  to  break  oif  all 
communication  with  a  man  who  treated  him  with  perpetual 

*  Beza  Hist,  des  Ecc.  Ref.  T.  19.— Vit.  Calv. 
t  Vie  de  Calv.  p.  9,  ed.  1664,  apud  Chauffpie. 
I  Opuscul.  rain.  p.  517,  ed.  1667. 


THE     LIFE     OF     CALVIN.  161 

arrogance,  and,  from  this  time,  Servetus  never  ceased  to  vi- 
tuperate and  oppose  the  Reformer. 

Servetus  wrote  a  third  book  against  the  orthodox  faith, 
and  after  several  ineffectual  attempts  elsewhere,  had  it  print- 
ed at  Vienne,  in  1553.  This  was  his  famous  Restitution  of 
Christianity.  Attempts  have  been  made  to  show  that  it  was 
Calvin  who  caused  information  to  be  lodged  against  Serve- 
tus, with  the  ecclesiastical  authorities.  After  a  careful  exa- 
mination of  the  authorities,  and  a  full  citation  of  all  the  wit- 
nesses on  both  sides,  M.  Chauffpie  pronounces  the  charge 
to  be  wholly  without  proof.  If  it  were  true,  it  could  show 
no  more,  than  that  Calvin  did  what  no  good  citizen  of  that 
generation  would  have  denied  to  be  a  praiseworthy  act. 
That  Calvin  communicated  the  evidence  on  which  this  pro- 
cess was  founded,  he  expressly  denies.  And  this  denial 
must  be  credited,  for,  as  he  says,  it  is  utterly  against  every 
presumption  that  he  could  correspond  with  Cardinal  Tournon, 
pne  of  the  chief  persecutors  of  ihe  Protestants;  and,  accord- 
ingly, his  virulent  foes,  Maimbourg  and  Bolsec,  never  hint 
such  a  charge.*  It  is  agreed,  however,  that  process  was  in- 
stituted, and  the  issue  was  a  sentence  "  that  there  was  not  as 
yet  sufficient  evidence  for  an  imprisonment."  On  a  second 
examination,  the  Inquisition  seized  his  person,  by  a  finesse; 
and  by  a  finesse,  quite  as  allowable,  Servetus  escaped  from 
them,  June  17,  1553,  and  betook  himself  to  the  Lyonnois. 
The  process  went  on  in  his  absence,  and,  according  to  the 
usual  course  of  popish  trials,  resulted  in  condemnation,  and 
sentence  that  he  should  be  burned  alive  in  a  slow  fire.  This 
was  executed  on  his  effigy  and  five  bales  of  his  books.  The 
unfortunate  author,  after  thus  flying  from  Vienne,  wandered 
in  places  where  historians  cannot  trace  him.  If  Calvin  is  to 
be  credited,  four  months  elapsed  before  he  arrived  at  Gene- 
va ;  where  he  was  arrested,  tried,  condemned,  and  executed. 


*  Senebier.  I.  205.    Calv,  Op.  viii.  517. 
14* 


162  ADDITIONAL     NOTES     TO 

There  is  great  diversity  of  statement  in  the  different  accounts, 
as  to  the  length  of  time  he  remained  at  large,  and  the  manner 
of  his  being  apprehended.  According  to  the  most  unfavour- 
able report,  he  was  discovered  at  divine  worship,  on  the 
Lord's  day,  and  his  presence  was  made  known  to  the  magis- 
tracy by  Calvin  himself.  That  this  was  done,  if  done  at  all, 
from  personal  enmity  rather  than  mistaken  zeal  for  a  code 
of  laws  against  heresy  which  all  the  world  then  approved, 
is  only  asserted,  can  never  be  proved,  is  by  no  means  proba- 
ble, and  will  be  rejected  by  impartial  history  as  the  conjec- 
ture of  prejudice.  Such  writers  as  Gibbon  and  Roscoe 
have  vented  much  bitter  recrimination  on  this  pretended  mo- 
tive. We  may  ask,  with  a  late  eminent  historian :  "  Is  it  not 
with  justice  that  it  has  been  surmised,  that  philosophers  who, 
not  only  iniquitously  resolve  to  try  men  of  the  sixteenth 
century  by  rules  and  principles  scarcely  admitted  before  the 
eighteenth,  but  greedily  receive  every  calumny  or  insinua- 
tion that  'false  witnesses'  can  utter  against  them,  and  in- 
dulge in  the  most  extravagant  invectives  in  setting  forth  their 
misdeeds,  had  they  themselves  happened  to  live  three  centu- 
ries back,  would  not  have  been  content  to  smite  only  with 
the  tongue  or  the  pen,  but  would  eagerly  have  grasped  the 
sword  or  the  torch?"* 

We  have  conducted  this  brief  narrative  thus  far,  without 
any  account  of  the  opinions  charged  against  this  unhappy 
fugitive.  As  we  approach  the  critical  and  final  act  of  the  sad 
drama,  it  becomes  proper  to  state,  calmly  and  from  the  best 
sources,  the  nature  of  those  tenets  which  rendered  him  ob- 
noxious to  the  laws.  And  let  no  one  undertake  to  discuss 
this  subject,  who  is  so  ignorant  of  history,  as  not  to  know, 
ihat  in  that  day,  and  throughout  Christendom,  heresy,  espe- 
cially when  joined  with  blasphemy,  was  a  capital  crime.  In 
the  noonday  of  civil  and  religious  freedom,  a  child  may  de- 
tect the  fallacy  of  the  argument,  that  heresy,  which  slays  the 

*  Scott's  Continuation  of  Milner,  vol.  iii.  437. 


THE     LIFE      OF      CALVIN.  loJ 

soul,  should  have  as  dire  a  penalty  as  murder,  which  slays 
only  the  body.  But  the  Roman  Catholic,  the  Protestant,  and 
the  Socinian,  of  the  sixteenth  century,  assented  to  this  argu- 
ment.* 

According  to  the  standard  of  the  times,  Servetus  was  a 
heretic.  The  following  sketch  of  his  published  opinions  is 
very  far  below  their  enormity;  for  details  are  purposely 
omitted.  The  authorities  may  be  seen  at  great  length  in  the 
life  of  Servetus,  by  M.  Chauffpie. 

Such  is  the  jumble  of  inconsistent  crudities  in  the  works 
of  this  writer,  that  it  is  impossible  to  refer  his  tenets  to  any 
existing  title  in  the  nomenclature  of  error.  He  was  not  a 
cool  speculator,  but  a  hasty  enthusiast.  At  the  same  time 
he  was  furiously  opposed  to  many  of  the  doctrines  always 
regarded  as  fundamental  in  the  church  of  Christ.  It  was 
not  the  favourite  dogmas  of  Calvin,  as  some  ignorantly  or 
maliciously  assert,  which  this  heretic  made  it  his  business  to 
impugn.  It  was  not  predestination,  special  grace,  perse- 
verance, or  any  of  the  tenets  for  which  the  reformed  churches 
peculiarly  contended,  which  were  assaulted  in  his  works. 
His  shafts  were  aimed  at  more  vital  parts,  the  very  nature  of 
God,  the  Trinity,  the  Incarnation,  and  similar  foundations 
of  our  holy  faith.  He  was  at  once  a  Pantheist,  an  Anti-tri- 
nitarian,  and  a  Materialist.! 

Not  content  with  philosophizing  about  the  personalty  of 
God,  he  maintained  that  God  is  the  Universe,  and  that  the 
Universe  is  God.     According  to  him,  God  is  the  infinite 


*  Socinus  procured  the  death  of  Francis  David,  because  the 
latter  denied  that  Christ  should  be  worshipped.  See  the  whole 
account  in  Chauffpie,  note  BB.  also  Bi.  Brit.  vol.  iv.  p.  66.  Mur- 
dock's  Mosheim,  Vol.  iii.  269,  n.  (30).  275.  And  Servetus  himself 
shows  what  was  the  opinion  of  the  age,  in  his  request  of  August 
22d,  1553,  in  which  he  acknowledges,  as  we  shall  see,  that  here- 
tics might  be  banished.     Chauffp.  ubi  supra. 

t  Guerike.  Handb.  d.  allgemeiner  Kirchengeschichte.  II.  p.  959. 


164  ADDITIONAL      NOTES     TO 

ocean  of  substance — the  essence  of  all  things.  Not  only  the 
devil  is  in  God,  as  also  depraved  spirits — but  hell  is  no  other 
thing  but  God  himself.  As  God  is  the  principle  and  end  of 
all  things,  so  they  return  at  last  to  him ;  and  in  going  into 
eternal  fire,  demons  shall  go  to  God  himself.* 

But  it  was  the  doctrine  of  the  Holy  Trinity  that  he  set 
himself  chiefly  to  impugn.  In  his  first  book  he  was  more 
cautious  than  in  those  which  followed ;  the  doctrine  of  the 
earliest  was  nearer  to  Sabellianism  than  to  any  thing  else. 
We  have  the  authority  of  the  ministers  of  Zurich,  for  saying 
that  he  often  called  the  Trinity  of  the  orthodox,  "  a  triple 
monster,  a  three-headed  Cerberus,  imaginary  gods,  and, 
finally,  visionary  and  three-headed  devils  ;"  that  he  reviled 
Athanasius  and  Augustin,  as  "  Trinitarians,  that  is,  Jlthe- 
2S/s."t  To  enlarge  upon  his  other  errors  and  heresies,  re- 
specting the  creation,  the  immortality  of  the  soul,  regenera- 
tion, &c.,  would  be  unnecessary.  Our  object  is  not  to  detail 
the  vagaries  of  an  enthusiast,  whose  works  indicate  a  perver- 
sion of  mind  almost  amounting  to  insanity.  Still  less  is  it 
our  wish  so  to  represent  his  pestiferous  errors  as  to  convey 
the  idea  that  it  was  right  to  visit  them  with  secular  penalties 
and  a  cruel  death.  We  reject  the  opinion,  nor  is  it  a  merit 
in  any  one  to  do  so  at  this  time,  when  all  reasonable  Chris- 
tians do  the  same.  But  we  only  mean  to  show  that  the  ten- 
ets of  Servetus  were  such,  as  might  naturally  lead  even  good 
men,  in  the  twilight  of  religious  liberty,  to  recognise  the  duty 


*  Some  of  his  own  expressions  are :  Ignis  ille  ab  seterno  paratus 
est  ipsemetDeusqui  est  ignis.  Si  hoc  bene  intellexissetOrigenes, 
non  dixisset  dgemones  salvandos,  eoquod  essent  ad  suum  princi- 
pium  redituri ;  redibunt  quidem,  et  euntes  in  ignem  ad  ipsumet 
Deum  ibunt.     ChaufFpie,  note  W. 

X  For  the  propositions  in  full,  see  Natalis  Alexandri  Hist.  Ecc. 
ix.  163,  ed.  Lucca,  fol.  1734.  Calvin.  Tract.  Theol.  p.  590.  sqq. 
Also  consult  Epist.  Philippi  Melancthonis,  p.  152,  708,  710,  fol. 
liond.  1642. 


THE     LIFE     OF     CALVIN.  165 

of  surrendering  him  to  the  secular  arm.  That  Calvin  so 
thought,  is  not  surprising,  as  we  have  the  fullest  evidence  to 
make  it  probable  that  any  one  of  the  prominent  men  of  the 
age,  whether  churchman  or  layman,  whether  Romanist  or 
Protestant,  would  have  held  the  same  opinion. 

Accordingly,  as  soon  as  Calvin  discovered  that  Servetus 
was  in  the  city,  he  used  means  to  have  him  apprehended. 
The  words  of  Calvin  are:  "He  thought  perhaps  to  pass 
through  this  city.  Why  he  came  hither  is  not  known,  but 
seeing  that  he  was  recognised,  I  thought  it  right  that  he 
should  be  detained."*  It  was  necessary  that  the  prosecutor 
should  be  personally  held  in  durance  while  the  process  was 
pending,  and  Calvin  used  the  intervention  of  Nicholas  de  la 
Fontaine,  a  student  belonging  to  his  household.  Great  re- 
proach has  been  cast  on  the  reformer  for  this  step,  as  if  it  had 
been  his  intention  to  shun  the  appearance  of  being  active  in 
the  affair.  But  he  declares  most  fully  the  contrary:  *'I  de- 
clare frankly,  that  since,  according  to  the  law  and  custom  of 
the  city,  none  can  be  imprisoned  for  any  crime  without  an 
accuser,  or  prior  information,  I  have  made  it  so,  that  a  party 
should  be  found  to  accuse  him  ;  not  denying  but  the  action 
laid  against  him  was  drawn  by  my  advice,  in  order  to  com- 
mence the  process."! 

In  our  account  of  the  trial  we  follow  Chauffpie,  in  whose 
impartial  statement  are  found  abundant  extracts,  and  refer- 
ences to  authentic  documents,  of  which  most  are  beyond  the 
reach  of  American  students,  and  therefore  need  not  be  ex- 
pressly cited.  Servetus  first  appeared,  August  14th,  1553. 
La  Fontaine  adduced  in  evidence  the  printed  books,  and  a 
manuscript,  which  was  owned  by  the  author,  though  it  had 
been  several  years  lying  in  the  hands  of  Calvin.  On  the  15th, 
the  examination  upon  the  same  articles  proceeded.     On  the 


*  Calvin  to  Farel,  Oct.  27, 1553. 
t  Declaratorie,  p.  11,  apud  Chaoiffpie. 


166  ADDITIONAL      NOTES      TO 

17th,  La  Fontaine  and  a  certain  German  named  Calladon, 
who  was  now  associated  with  him  in  the  prosecution,  pro- 
duced letters  from  Oecolampadius  and  passages  from  Melanc- 
thon,  showing  that  Servetus  had  been  condemned  in  Ger- 
many, They  likewise  cited  further  passages  of  a  heretical 
character.  On  the  2ist,  he  appeared  again;  and  after  the 
course  of  the  ordinary  investigations  had  proceeded,  he  con- 
ferred or  disputedwith  Calvin  on  certain  questions  respecting 
the  Trinity.  This  conference,  liowever  it  may  have  been  mis- 
represented, was  not  contrary  to  the  prisoner's  interest :  in- 
deed it  should  seem  that  his  abetters  complained  that  there 
was  not  sufficient  license  allowed  for  frequent  disputations. 
The  judges  then  ordered  that  the  books  which  Servetus  re- 
quired for  his  answer  should  be  bought  at  his  expense,  and 
that  he  should  retain  those  which  Calvin  had  cited.  On  the 
22d,  Servetus  sent  a  letter  to  the  syndics  and  council,  enter- 
ing a  plea  to  their  jurisdiction — maintaining  that  it  was  un- 
christian to  institute  a  capital  prosecution  for  religious  opi- 
nion— declaring  that  the  ancient  doctrine  allowed  merely  the 
banishment  even  of  such  as  Arius  himself — and  praying  that 
he  might  have  an  advocate.  The  reader,  while  he  weeps 
over  the  prejudice  which  could  disregard  pleas  so  reasonable, 
will  remember  that  even  in  England,  long  since  the  reforma- 
tion, prisoners  have  been  denied  counsel  to  plead  their  cause 
before  a  jury  in  any  felony,  whether  it  be  capital,  within  the 
benefit  of  clergy,  or  a  case  of  petty  larceny.*  On  the  28th, 
new  articles  of  accusation  were  brought  forward,  and  among 
other  offences,  he  was  charged  with  the  anabaptist  error 
about  the  power  of  the  magistrate.  During  these  protracted 
investigations,  he  persisted  in  avowing  his  tenets,  and  his 
determination  to  avow  them,  unless  he  should  be  convinced. 
Even  when  charged  with  his  indecent  railings  and  dreadful 
blasphemies,  he  made  no  excuse;  'I  confess,'  said  he,  *I 


*  Blackstone,  vol.  iv.  p.  355,  note  8. 


THE      LIFE     OF     CALVIN.  167 

have  written  so ;  and  when  you  shall  teach  me  otherwise,  I 
will  not  only  embrace  it,  but  will  kiss  the  ground  you  walk 
on.'  In  the  mean  time,  information  had  most  unnecessarily 
and  ungenerously  been  sent  to  Vienne,  of  the  arrest  of  Ser- 
vetus.  On  the  last  day  of  August,  an  officer  from  that  city 
appeared  before  the  council  of  Geneva,  with  a  copy  of  their 
sentence,  and  a  request  that  the  prisoner  should  be  remanded 
to  them.  It  was  left  to  his  choice,  and  as  was  most  natural, 
he  rejected  the  harsh  proposal,  and  pathetically  besought  that ' 
he  might  be  judged  by  the  magistrates  of  Geneva. 

Hitherto,  we  find  nothing  in  the  conduct  of  Calvin  incon- 
sistent with  the  standard  of  belief  and  feeling  at  that  day.  It 
is  melancholy  to  observe  how  this  important  circumstance  is 
overlooked  by  those  who,  from  a  hasty  induction  of  mistaken 
facts,  attribute  to  personal  malice  the  whole  of  his  conduct. 
Let  it  never  be  forgotten,  that  the  proceeding  of  a  democrati- 
cal  city  and  a  judicial  council  is  one  thing,  and  the  ministe- 
rial and  subordinate  act  of  their  pastor  and  teacher,  another 
thing.  And  even  though  the  latter  might  willingly  appear  in 
the  case  as  prosecutor,  witness,  or  expounder  of  theological 
opinions,  we  are  not  to  charge  him  with  every  enormity  of 
the  syndics  and  council ;  especially  as  it  is  matter  of  history, 
that  the  faction  which  was  at  that  juncture  dominant  in  the 
council  of  Geneva,  was  opposed  to  the  Reformer.*     Plainly 

*  Even  at  the  time  Calvin  complained  that  he  was  made  respon- 
sible for  every  thing :  "  Quicquid  a  senatu  nostro  actum  est,  mihi 
passim  ascribitur."  The  statement  of  the  text  will  be  confirmed 
by  reference  to  Scott,  vol.  iii.  p.  432,  439,  442,  and  Waterman's 
Calvin,  p.  124.  In  the  Encyclopaedia  Americana,  Art.  "Calvin," 
the  compiler  of  a  hasty  and  disingenuous  sketch,  without  citing  a 
single  authority,  pretends  to  give  certain  acts  of  the  common- 
wealth, "  to  prove,"  forsooth,  "  the  blind  and  fanatical  zeal  which 
he  [Calvin]  Imd  infused  into  the  magistracy  of  Geneva."  As  if 
the  penal  statutes  against  heresy  had  not  been  for  ages  a  part  of 
their  code  !  See  Chauffpie,  notes  S.  and  Z.,  and  la  Chapelle, 
Bib.  Raisonn.  vol.  ii.  p.  139,  141. 


168  ADDITIONAL     NOTES     TO 

unjust  is  it  then  to  repeat,  for  the  tliousandth  time,  that  we 
are  at  liberty  to  consider  every  act  of  that  body  as  emanating 
from  Calvin.  This  charge  of  vicious  and  vindictive  interfe- 
rence has  been  repelled  by  several  impartial  historians. 
"  Calvin,"  says  M.  la  Roche,  "  never  came  into  the  court 
but  when  he  was  commanded,  and  there  he  did  nothing  but 
by  the  order  of  his  master.  Upon  every  emergency,  it  seems, 
they  had  recourse  to  divines ;  to  consult  with  them,  to  con- 
fer with  prisoners,  to  direct  interrogations,  to  make  extracts, 
examine  answers,  and  many  other  things  of  this  kind.  I  be- 
lieve, in  the  station  this  pastor  of  Geneva  was  in,  they  were 
afraid  of  transgressing,  if  they  did  any  thing  without  him — 
but  why  represent  him  as  an  impertinent  hypocrite,  who  in- 
truded himself  by  his  office  in  this  affair;  or  as  an  impla- 
cable enemy,  who  earnestly  solicited  Servetus'  death  ?"t 
And  here  it  is  but  fair  to  let  the  defamed  Reformer  speak  a 
word  for  himself.  The  extract  is  from  his  French  works  as 
cited  by  la  Chapelle  :  "  I  will  not  deny  but  that  he  was  made 
prisoner  upon  my  application.  But  after  he  was  convicted 
of  his  heresies,  every  one  knows  that  T  did  not  in  the  least 
insist  that  he  should  be  punished  with  death.  And  as  to  the 
truth  of  what  I  say,  not  only  all  good  men  will  bear  me  wit- 
ness, but  I  defy  all  malicious  men  to  say  it  is  not  so.  The 
proceeding  has  shown  with  what  intention  I  did  it.  For 
when  I,  and  my  brethren,  I  mean  all  the  ministers  of  the 
gospel,  were  called,  it  was  not  owing  to  us  that  he  had  not 
full  liberty  given  him,  of  conferring  and  treating  of  the  arti- 
cles wherein  he  has  erred,  in  an  amicable  manner  with  us." 
It  was  on  the  first  day  of  September  that  the  judges  again 
availed  themselves  of  Calvin's  aid  in  procuring  an  extract  of 
offensive  propositions,  in  the  very  words  of  Servetus.  These 
were  thirty-eight  in  number.  They  were  put  into  the 
author's  hands,  that  he  might  answer,  explain,  or  retract. 
He  wrote  a  reply ;  and  this,  in  its  turn,  was  answered  by 


*  Chauffpie,  note  U. 


THE    LIFE     OF    CALVIN.  169 

Calvin.  The  answer  of  Calvin  was  likewise  delivered  to 
Servetus,  who  made  notes  upon  it.  The  reader  who  would 
pursue  the  subject  into  its  lesser  windings,  may  find  all  these 
documents  among  Calvin's  Opuscula.  A  consultation  of 
these  will  do  more  to  show  the  virulence  and  headstrong 
fury  of  Servetus,  than  any  second-hand  statement.  About  a 
fortnight  was  spent  in  these  proceedings.  On  the  15th, 
Servetus  petitioned  that  his  cause  might  be  referred  to  the 
Council  of  Two  Hundred ;  in  which  body,  it  should  be  ob- 
served, the  sovereignty  of  the  commonwealth  resided.  "  It 
is  believed,"  says  the  cautious  ChaufTpie,  "  that  this  request 
was  suggested  to  him  by  Calvin's  enemies,  who  contributed 
as  much,  and  even  more  than  he,  to  Servetus'  destruction. 
Believing  himself  well  supported,  he  observed  no  measures 
with  Calvin  or  his  judges.  If  he  had  had  the  least  modesty 
or  discretion,  I  doubt  not  but  he  might  have  brought  himself 
off;  but  flattering  himself  with  a  triumph  over  Calvin,  by  the 
credit  of  the  party  which  opposed  this  reformer,  he  was  the 
victim  of  his  pride -and  prejudice.  This  is  the  only  way  of 
explaining  his  constant  conduct  at  Geneva ;  in  all  respects 
so  different  from  his  behaviour  at  Vienne." 

The  hopes  of  Servetus  from  the  city  faction  must  have 
been  strong,  as  we  find  him,  on  the  22d  of  September,  peti- 
tioning that  Calvin  should  be  punished  as  a  calumniator.  On 
the  10th  of  October,  he  made  a  new  request,  from  which  it 
appears  that  his  situation  in  the  prison  was  very  miserable. 

It  is  common  to  charge  the  persecution  of  Servetus  upon 
Calvin  alone,  and  the  undiscriminating  compilers  of  our  bio- 
graphical dictionaries,  without  adducing  an  authority,  dog- 
matically declare  that  the  reformer  of  Geneva  acted  out  his 
mere  personal  hatred.  It  is  glaringly  false.  It  is  not  for  us 
to  say,  how  much  false  fire  mingled  with  the  zeal  of  Calvin; 
but  we  are  well  informed  that  not  only  he,  but  all  protestant 
Europe,  looked  upon  it  as  the  common  cause  of  truth.  From 
what  has  been  already  said,  it  is  plain  that  the  case  was  not 
precipitately  issued.     And  at  the  point  of  time  which  our 

15 


170  ADDITIONAL     NOTES      TO 

sketch  has  reached,  the  magistrates  of  Geneva  determined  to 
consult  the  Swiss  Cantons.  For  this  purpose  they  sent  to 
them  the  "  Restitution  of  Christianity,"  with  Calvin's  papers 
and  the  prisoner's  answers ;  and  requested  the  opinion  of  the 
Swiss  theologians  upon  the  subject.  The  unanimous  reply 
was,  that  the  magistrates  of  Geneva  ought  to  restrain  Serve- 
tus,  and  to  prevent  the  spread  of  his  errors. 

Painful  as  the  conclusion  is,  it  cannot  be  evaded,  that  the 
judgment  of  John  Calvin  was  simply  the  judgment  of  all  the 
Helvetic  Christians  ;  too  nearly  allied,  alas  !  to  the  popish 
errors  from  which  they  had  half  escaped,  but  palliated  by  the 
circuitistances.  M.  d'Alwoerden,*  the  great  authority  of 
Mr.  Roscoe,  in  his  hasty  and  petulent  censures,  pretends 
that  Calvin  kept  back  from  the  press  all  these  letters  except 
the  one  from  Zurich.  But  the  letters  are  happily  extant  to 
give  triumphant  refutation  to  the  slander ;  and  whoever  reads 
them  will  conclude  with  La  Chapelle,  that  "  all  the  churches 
of  Switzerland  agreed  to  punish  Servetus  capitally,  since  they 
all  concurred  in  testifying  their  utmost  abhorrence  of  his 
heresies,  and  requiring  that  this  outrage  should  not  be  left 
unpunished."!  Beza  was,  therefore,  not  falsifying,  when  he 
wrote  that  the  issue  was  '  ex  omnium  enim  Helveticarum 
ecclesiarum  sententia.'  The  prisoner  himself  showed  a  de- 
gree of  confidence  in  these  authorities,  by  the  appeal  which 
he  is  known  to  have  made  to  the  churches  of  Zurich,  Schaff- 
hausen,  Berne,  and  Basle. 

What  were  the  replies  of  the  Swiss  magistrates  to  this  re- 
ference from  Geneva?  Those  of  Zurich  used  these  terms: 
"  In  confidence  that  you  will  not  suffer  the  wicked  intention 


*  "  Historia  Michelis  Serveti."  Helmstadt,  1727.  This  work 
was  written  under  the  superintendence  of  Dr.  Mosheim.  Every 
reader  of  Maclaine's  notes  has  learned  to  be  on  his  guard  against 
this  learned  man,  whenever  the  question  lies  between  the  Luther- 
ans and  the  Reformers. 

t  Bibl.  Raison.  t.  2.  p.  173. 


THE     LIFE     OF     CALVIN.  171 

of  your  said  prisoner  to  go  farther,  which  is  entirely  con- 
trary to  the  Christian  religion,  and  gives  great  scandal  and 
insult."*  And  the  ministers  still  more  decisively:  "The 
holy  providence  of  God  has  now  offered  an  occasion  for 
cleaning  you  from  the  suspicion  (i.  e.  of  fostering  heresy)  of 
this  evil ;  that  is,  if  you  shall  be  vigilant,  and  diligently  take 
heed  that  the  contagion  of  this  poison  spread  no  farther. 
Which  we  doubt  not  your  excellencies  will  effect."!  The 
magistrates  of  Schaffhausen,  referred  the  question  to  their 
ministers,  and  sent  the  reply  of  the  latter,  which  ends  thus  : 
*'  Nor  do  we  doubt,  but  that  of  your  remarkable  wisdom,  you 
will  repress  the  attempts  of  this  man,  lest  his  blasphemies 
eat,  as  doth  a  canker,  still  more  extensively,  into  Christ's 
members.  For  to  set  aside  his  ravings  by  long  argumenta- 
tion— what  would  it  be,  but  to  rave  with  a  madman.":}:  The 
magistrates  of  Basle,  proceeding  in  the  same  way,  replied 
by  their  ministers  :  "  But  if  he  persevere  incurably  in  the 
perverseness  which  he  has  conceived,  let  him,  in  pursuance 
of  your  duty  and  of  the  authority  granted  you  by  the  Lord, 
be  so  coerced,  that  he  may  no  longer  be  able  to  molest  the 
Church  of  Christ,  and  lest  the  last  things  be  worse  than  the 
first. "§    The  magistrates  of  Berne  wrote  :  "  We  beg  of  you, 

*  Chauff.  note  Y.  and,  as  there  cited,  Bi.  Angl.  t.  2.  p.  163. 

t  Malta  ergo  fide  et  diligentia  contra  hunc  opus  esse  judicamus, 
praesertim  cum  eccIesisB  nostrae  apud  exteros  male  audiant,  quasi 
hsereticas  sint  ethaereticis  foveant.  Obtulit  vero  in  prsesenti  sancta 
Dei  Providentia  occasionem  repurgandi  vos,  simul  ac  nos  a  pravi 
mali  hujus  suspicione  :  si  videlicet  vigilantes  fueritis,  diligenterque 
caveritis  ne  veneni  hujus  contagio,  per  hunc  serpat  latius.  Id  quod 
facturos  A.  V.  nil  dubitamus.     Inter.  Ep.  Calv. 

X  Neque  dubitamus  quin  vos  pro  insigni  prudentia  vestra  ipsius 
conatus  repressuri  sitis,  ne  blasphemias  ipsius  tanquam  cancer 
latius  depascantur  Christi  membra.  Nam  longis  rationibus  aver- 
tere  ipsius  deliramenti;  quid  aliud  esset  quam  cum  insaniente  in- 
saniri  1 — ib. 

^  Verum  si  insanabilis  in  concepta  semet  perversitate  perst  et, 


172  ADDITIONAL     NOTES     TO 

not  doubting  but  you  are  thereto  also  inclined,  that  you  will 
take  proper  measures  that  sects  and  heresies  as  these  are,  or 
such  like,  be  not  sown  in  the  Church  of  Jesus  Christ,  our 
only  Saviour."* 

Such  was  the  unanimous  answer  of  the  Swiss  magistrates; 
and  we  think  the  fact  worthy  of  repetition,  as  being  very 
important  in  its  bearing  on  the  whole  affair,  that  Servetus, 
after  a  protracted  examination  and  defence  before  the  senate, 
and  after  the  consistory,  or  ministerial  body,  had  laboured  to 
confute  and  reclaim  him,  appealed  to  the  Swiss  Churches ; 
and  this,  before  the  said  consistory  had  given  their  official 
opinion,  as  to  the  question  whether  the  positions,  which  the 
Senate  considered  as  proved,  amounted  to  heresy  and  blas- 
phemy .t 

On  the  26th  of  October,  sentence  was  pronounced,  by 
which  Servetus  was  condemned  to  be  burned  alive. — Bib. 
Rep.  vol.  8,  p.  87, 

The  sentence  is  as  follows  : —   ' 

"  TTie  Judgment  of  the  Syndics  and  Senators,  pronounced 
upon  Michael  Servetus. 

"  We,  Syndics,  Judges  of  criminal  causes  in  this  city,  hav- 
ing witnessed  the  process  made  and  instituted  against  you,  on 
the  part  of  our  Lieutenant,  in  the  aforesaid  causes,  instituted 
against  you,  Michael,  of  Villeneuve,  in  the  kingdom  of  Ar- 
ragon,  in  Spain,  in  which  your  voluntary  confessions  in  our 
hands,  made  and  often  reiterated,  and  the  books  before  us 
produced,  plainly  show,  that  you,  Servetus,  have  published 
false  and  heretical  doctrines ;  and  also,  despising  all  remon- 

sic  pro  officio  vestro  potestateque  a  Domino  concessa  coerceatur, 
ne  dare  incommodum  queat  ecclesiee  Christi,  neve  fiant  novissima 
primis  deteriorari. — ib. 

*  Bi.  Ang.  in  Chauff.  u.  supra. 

t  Waterman's  Life  of  Calvin,  117. 


THE     LIFE    OF     CALVIN.  173 

strances  and  corrections,  have,  with  a  perverse  inclination, 
sown  and  divulged  them  in  a  book  published  against  God 
the  Father,  the  Son  and  Holy  Spirit ;  in  sum  against  all  the 
true  foundations  of  the  Christian  religion,  and  have  thereby 
tried  to  introduce  trouble  and  schism  into  the  Church  of 
God,  by  which  many  souls  may  have  been  ruined  and  lost — 
things  horrible,  frightful,  scandalous,  and  infectious  ;  and 
have  not  been  ashamed  to  set  yourself  in  array  against  the 
divine  Majesty  and  the  holy  Trinity;  but  rather  have  obsti- 
nately employed  yourself  in  infecting  the  world  with  your 
heresies  and  offensive  poison ;  a  case  and  crime  of  heresy 
grievous  and  detestable,  and  deserving  corporal  punishment. 
For  these  and  other  just'reasons  moving  us,  and  being  de- 
sirous to  purge  the  Church  of  God  from  such  infection,  and 
to  cut  off  from  it  so  rotten  a  member,  having  had  good  coun- 
sel from  others,  and  having  invoked  the  name  of  God,  that 
we  may  make  a  right  judgment ;  sitting  upon  the  tribunal  of 
our  predecessors,  having  God  and  the  holy  Scriptures  before 
our  eyes,  saying,  in  the  name  of  the  Father,  of  the  Son  and 
of  the  Holy  Spirit,  by  that  definite  sentence  which  we  here 
give  by  this  writing — you,  Michael  Servetus,  are  condemned 
to  be  bound  and  led  to  the  Champel,*  and  there  fastened  to 
a  stake,  and  burned  alive  with  the  book  written  with  your 
hand  and  printed,  until  your  body  shall  be  reduced  to  ashes, 
and  your  days  thus  finished  as  an  example  to  others,  whd 
might  commit  the  same  things;  and  we  command  you,  our 
Lieutenant,  to  put  this  our  sentence  into  execution. — Read 
by  the  Chief  Syndic,  De  Arlord."t 


*  The  Champel  was  a  small  eminence,  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile 
from  the  walls  of  Geneva. 

t  Life  of  Servetus,  London  edit.  1774. 
15* 


174  ADDITIONAL     NOTES     TO 

Extracts  from  the  refutation  of  the  errors  of  Michael  Serve- 
tus,  draivn  up  by  Calvin,  with  the  assistance  of  the  other 
Ministers  of  the  Genevese  Republic. 

In  this  work  the  propositions  in  proof  of  the  heresy  and 
blasphemy  of  Servetus  are  stated,  his  answers  and  the  reply 
to  them,  &c.  &c.  &;c.  And  the  question  discussed.  Whether 
it  is  lawful  for  Christian  magistrates  to  punish  heretics  ? 
The  affirmative  is  maintained  by  Calvin,  and  subscribed  by 
all  the  ministers,*  as  follows  : 

John  Calvin,  Michael  Cope, 

Abel  Pouppinus,  John  Pyrery, 

James  Bernard,  John  de  St.  Andrew, 

Nicholas  Galasius,  John  Baldwin, 

Francis  Borgonius,         John  Faber, 
Nicholas  Little,  John  Macarius, 

Raymond  Calvet,  Nicholas  Colladonius. 

Matthew  Malesian, 

The  Repertory  proceeds : — Calvin  informs  us,  that  Ser- 
vetus, two  hours  before  his  death,  sent  for  him,  and  asked 
his  forgiveness.  Calvin  reminded  him  "  with  all  mildness, 
that  sixteen  years  before  he  had  endeavoured,  even  at  the 
risk  of  his  own  life,  to  reclaim  him,  and  that  it  had  not  been 
through  his  fault  that  Servetus  had  not  by  repentance  been 
restored  to  the  friendship  of  all  religious  persons."  He  also 
endeavoured  to  have  the  mode  of  execution  changed  to  one 
less  barbarous.!  Chateillon  (otherwise  called  Castellio  and 
Castalio)  a  declared  enemy  of  Calvin,  accused  him  of  having 
smiled  when  the  heretic  passed  the  window  from  which  he 
was  looking.  There  is  no  other  alleged  proof  of  this  unlikely 

*  See  TractatusTheologici  Calvini,  p.  511— 597. 
t  Ep.  Cal.  Farello.  71.     Opusc.  viii.  511. 


THE     LIFE     OF     CALVIN.  175 

Story.  M.  La  Roche,  who  elsewhere  deals  harshly  with 
Calvin,  treats  this  as  a  wretched  calumny.  Servetus  was 
accompanied  to  the  stake  by  Farel,  and  so  far  maintained  his 
characteristic  obstinacy,  that  he  would  scarcely  allow  Farel 
to  ask  the  prayers  of  the  people.  Thus  miserably  perished 
this  unfortunate  and  wicked  man,  by  a  cruel  death,  on  the 
twenty-seventh  day  of  October,  1 553. 

During  the  whole  trial,  the  contumacy  and  recklessness  of 
the  prisoner  were  remarkable.  Especially  did  he  seem  to 
make  it  his  aim  to  irritate  and  sting  his  great  opponent,  Cal- 
vin. In  the  notes,  already  mentioned,  which  Servetus  ap- 
pended to  Calvin's  confutation  of  his  arguments,  he  endea- 
vours to  goad  the  latter  by  every  name  of  insult  which  could 
be  foisted  in.  Cain,  and  Simon  Magus,  and  murderer,  are 
ordinary  terms,  and,  in  the  course  of  a  few  hundred  lines,  we 
have  counted  instances  of  the  lie  direct,  Mentiris,  to  the 
number  of  forty-six.*  Yet  the  replies  of  Calvin  are  compa- 
ratively mild.  He  deals  with  his  opponent  as  if  he  scarcely 
thought  him  balanced  in  mind.  And  when  sentence  was 
pronounced,  it  is  notorious  that  he  used  his  influence  with 
the  judge  to  procure  a  mitigation  of  the  punishment,  but 
without  effect.— Bib.  Rep.  Vol.  8,  pp.  76—88. 

Mackenzie,  in  his  Life  of  Calvin,  says  "  It  has  been 
confidently  pretended,  and  boldly  asserted,  that  Calvin  had, 
through  life,  nourished  an  implacable  hatred  against  Servetus, 
and  that  the  Genevese  theologian  had  employed  all  his  efforts 
to  satiate  it  in  the  blood  of  the  unhappy  Spaniard;  that  le 
denounced  him  to  the  magistrates  of  Vienne,  and  occasioned 


*  As  a  specimen  of  his  petulence,  the  Latin  reader  may  take 
the  following  phrases : — Jam  pudet  toties  respondere  bestialitati 
hominis — Ridiculus  mus — Impudentissime — Monstrum  horren- 
dum — Tu  teipsum  non  intelligis — Sycophanta  imperitissime — Tu 
plusquam  pessimus — Ignoras  miser — Abuser  futilis  et  impudens 
Deliras — O  nebulonem  excoecatissimum — Sceleratus — Simon  Ma- 
gus— Mentiris  imo  ab  seteino. — Tract.  Theol.  p.  592,  sqq. 


176  ADDITIONAL     NOTES     TO 

him  to  be  arrested  on  the  day  after  his  arrival  at  Geneva. 
Things  advanced  with  an  air  of  confidence  are  readily  be- 
lieved, and  it  is  scarcely  suspected  that  they  may  be  false. 
Bolsec,  however,  the  mortal  enemy  of  Calvin,  who  wrote 
the  life  of  that  illustrious  man  merely  to  blast  his  memory, 
and  who  was  contemporary  with  the  facts  which  he  relates  ; 
and  Maimbourg,  equally  known  by  his  partialities  and  his 
falsehoods,  have  never  dared  to  advance  those  things  which 
modern  historians  have  not  been  ashamed  to  risk.  Bolsec 
says,  that  Servetus  quitted  Lyons  to  establish  himself  at 
Charlieu,  because  his  *  pride,  his  insolence,  and  the  danger 
of  his  projects,  made  him  equally  feared  and  hated.'  He 
adds,  that  Servetus  returned  to  Lyons  ;  that  he  entered  into  a 
correspondence  with  Calvin ;  that  he  communicated  to  him 
his  ideas ;  that  Calvin  combated  them  with  force,  and  that 
Servetus  persisted  in  them  with  obstinacy  ;  that  he  sent  his 
work  entitled  Restitutio  Christianismi,  which  he  printed  at 
that  time ;  and  that  Calvin  indignant,  declined  all  acquain- 
tance with  him.* 

But  Calvin,  it  is  said,  abused  the  confidence  of  Servetus ; 
he  sent  to  Vienne  the  letters  which  he  had  received  from 
him,  to  which  he  added  his  work  entitled  Restitutio  Chris- 
tianismi,  of  which  Servetus  had  made  him  a  present.  This 
accusation  is  mysterious:  is  it  to  be  believed  that  Calvin, 
whose  name  was  execrated  in  all  Catholic  countries,  could 


*' Restitutio  Christianismi,  hoc  est  totius  ecclesiag  apostolicae 
ad  sua  limina  voeatio :  in  integrum  restituta  cognitione  Dei,  fidei 
Christianae,  justificationis  nostrse,  Regenerationis,  Baptismi,  et 
CoenBe  Domini  manducationis;  restitute  denique  nobis  regno  coelesti, 
Babylonis  impia  captivitate  solute,  et  anti-christo  cum  suis  penitus 
destructe.' — This  book  is  extremely  scarce ;  all  the  copies  were 
burned  at  Vienne  and  Frankfort:  it  has  been  long  doubted  whether 
there  were  any  remaining;  but  it  appears  certain  that  Doctor 
Mead  possessed  a  copy,  which  found  its  way  into  the  library  of 
the  Duke  de  la  Valiere. 


THE     LIFE     OF     CALVIN. 


177 


expect  from  their  magistrates  any  attentions  to  his  complaints 
or  any  regard  to  his  letters  ? 

The  extreme  improbability  of  the  correspondence  here 
alluded  to,  may  be  inferred  from  the  character  of  the  indivi- 
dual to  whom  Calvin  is  said  to  have  applied.  All  historians 
agree  in  representing  Cardinal  Tournon  to  us  as  the  scourge 
of  heresy.  He  caused  the  severest  edicts  to  be  published 
against  the  innovators.  He  established  at  Paris  a  fiery  court 
[Chambre  Ardente,)  which  was  properly  an  inquisition,  and 
ordered  all  the  tribunals  of  the  kingdom  to  prosecute  the  new 
errors  as  crimes  against  the  state.  The  fury  of  his  zeal 
transported  him  so  far,  that  he  caused  all  the  heretics  to  be 
burned  who  had  the  misfortune  to  fall  into  his  hands.  Be- 
hold tlie  man  they  want  to  make  a  correspondent  of  Calvin 
by  letters!  Whatever  wickedness  they  would  load  him 
with,  they  must  suppose  him  a  perfect  blockhead  to  attempt 
such  a  correspondence,  by  a  criminal  accusation  of  his  ene- 
my, as  it  would  appear  by  the  loud  fits  of  laughter  they 
make  the  cardinal  fall  into,  upon  receiving  this  letter. 

But,  supposing  that  this  reformer  had  been  capable  of 
such  extravagant  folly,  how  can  we  imagine  that  the  cardinal 
*  this  scourge  of  heresy,'  would  have  satisfied  himself  with 
laughing  at  this  affair  ?  That  he  made  himself  merry  with 
the  accuser,  needs  not  surprise  us  ;  but  that  he  neglected  to 
prosecute  such  a  heretic  as  Servetus  we  cannot  so  easily  be 
persuaded  of.  Thus  Calvin  himself  gives  no  other  reason 
in  answer  to  the  calumny  we  are  refuting,  as  we  shall  see 
by  his  own  words,  than  that  the  calumny  came  originally 
from  Servetus  ;  and  that  Bolsec  knew  nothing  of  the  matter, 
but  from  uncertain  reports.  "  I  have  no  occasion,"  says  Cal- 
vin, "  to  insist  longer  to  answer  such  a  frivolous  calumny, 
which  falls  to  the  ground,  when  I  shall  have  said,  in  one 
word,  that  there  is  nothing  in  it.  It  is  four  years  since  Ser- 
vetus forged  this  fable  upon  me,  and  made  the  report  travel 
from  Venice  to  Padua,  where  they  made  use  of  it  according 
to  their  fancy.     I  don't  dispute,  however,  whether  it  was 


178  ADDITIONAL    NOTES    TO 

by  deliberate  malice  he  had  forged  such  lies  to  bring  the 
hatred  of  many  upon  me,  or  whether  fear  made  him  suspi- 
cious :  only  I  demand  how  it  could  happen,  that  since  the 
time  I  discovered  him,  he  has  lived  three  years  in  the  sight 
of  his  enemies,  without  being  disquieted,  or  speaking  one 
word  about  it  to  him ;  certainly  either  those  who  complain 
of  me  must  confess,  that  it  has  been  falsely  invented,  or  that 
their  martyr,  Servetus,  has  had  more  favour  from  the  papists 
than  I.  If  this  had  been  objected  to  me  with  justice,  and  that 
I  had  published  it  in  order  to  have  him  punished  by  any  per- 
son whatsoever,  I  would  not  have  denied  it,  and  I  don't 
think  it  could  have  turned  to  my  dishonour."  This  I  am 
confident  is  sufficient  to  satisfy  reasonable  men :  above  all, 
if  we  add  to  it,  what  Calvin  had  said  immediately  before  the 
passage  I  have  dted : — "  A  report  flies  about  that  I  had  en- 
deavoured to  have  had  Servetus  apprehended  in  a  popish 
country,  viz.  atVienne;  upon  which  a  great  many  say,  that 
I  have  not  behaved  discreetly  in  exposing  him  to  the  mortal 
enemies  of  the]  faith,  as  if  I  had  thrown  him  in  the  jaws  of 
wolves;  but  I  pray  you,  from  whence  so  suddenly  this  pri- 
vate dealing  with  the  pope's  satellites  ?  It  is  very  credita- 
ble, indeed,  that  we  should  correspond  together  by  letters, 
and  that  those  who  agree  with  me,  as  well  as  Belial  agrees 
with  Jesus  Christ,  should  enter  into  a  plot  with  such  a  mor- 
tal enemy,  as  with  their  own  companion." 

But  supposing  Calvin  could  have  been  capable  of  such 
an  absurdity,  is  it  to  be  imagined  that  he  could  have  kept 
silence  during  seven  years  ;  that  he  would  not  have  persecut- 
ed him  sooner ;  that  he  would  have  sent  to  the  places]where 
Servetus  resided,  the  letters  which  he  had  received,  and  the 
work  which  he  possessed  ?  It  is  evident,  however,  that  Calvin 
had  corresponded  with  Servetus  seven  years ;  and  the  fa- 
mous letter  of  Calvin,  which  Uttembogaert  saw  in  the  library 
of  the  king  of  France,  shows  that  Calvin  was  then  perfectly 
acquainted  with  his  character,  and  that  he  had  seen  his  fa- 
mous work: — "  Servetus  lately  wrote  to  me,  and  accompa- 


THE     LIFE     OF     CALVIN,  179 

nied  his  letter  with  a  large  volume  of  his  extravagant  opi- 
nions, with  a  hectoring  boast,  that  I  should  see  extraordinary 
and  unheard-of  things,  if  I  were  willing  that  he  should  come 
hither ;  but  I  was  unwilling  to  give  my  promise ;  for  if  he 
should  come,  I  shall  use  my  authority  in  such  a  manner  as 
not  to  suffer  him  to  depart  alive."  This  letter  is  dated  in 
February,  1546  ;  Calvin  evidently  refers  to  the  work  entitled 
Restitutio  Christianismi ;  he  plainly  discovers  his  judg- 
ment of  it,  and  of  the  punishment  which  bethought  its  author 
deserved  ;  but  it  is  equally  evident  that  he  was  very  far  from 
engaging  him  to  come  to  Geneva,  and  that  he  had  forewarned 
him  of  what  he  might  expect  to  meet  with,  if  he  should  have 
the  temerity  to  appear  in  that  city.  It  is  therefore  evident, 
that  if  Calvin  endeavoured  to  keep  Servetus  from  Geneva  to 
induce  him  to  avoid  the  punishment  with  which  he  threaten- 
ed him,  he  could  not  possibly  think  of  inflicting  it  upon  him 
elsewhere,  which  would  have  been  attended  with  considera- 
ble difficulty,  if  not  absolutely  impossible. 

But  what  end  could  Calvin's  letters  to  the  magistrates  of 
Vienne  have  answered  1  Calvin  was  assured  that  Servetus 
was  known  to  be  the  author  of  the  work  entitled  Restitutio 
Christianismi,  since  it  bore  the  name  of  Villanovanus. 
Servetus  was  well  known  by  this  name  :  it  was,  therefore, 
useless  for  Calvin  to  send  them  intelligence  which  was  pub- 
lic :  neither  was  it  more  necessary  for  him  to  inform  them 
what  that  book  contained ;  a  single  perusal  evinced  it.  It 
would  have  been  absurd  in  Calvin  to  send  them  a  copy  of  the 
work,  since  it  had  been  printed  in  France,  under  their  own 
eyes ;  so  that  it  is  difficult  to  imagine  the  possibility  of  the 
conduct  of  Calvin  in  this  affair  being  what  his  enemies  have 
represented  it. 

Farther ;  the  sentence  pronounced  at  Vienne  against  Ser- 
vetus, takes  no  notice  of  any  interposition  on  the  part  of  Cal- 
vin :  it  condemns  Servetus  for  his  printed  work,  on  the  re- 
port of  the  Doctors  in  Theology  consulted  on  the  occasion ; 
on  the  ground  of  the  errors  contained  in  that  work ;  and 


180  ADDITIONAL     NOTES     TO 

finally,  on  the  confessions  of  that  unhappy  man.  It  is  true 
that  the  magistrates  of  Vienne,  having  learned  that  Servetus 
corresponded  with  Calvin,  demanded  his  letters  with  all  the 
writings  relating  to  him  ;  but  the  demand  was  made  to  the 
Council  of  Geneva,  who  complied  with  their  request.  From 
these  circumstances  it  appears  that  Calvin  had  no  share  in 
sending  the  letters  of  Servetus,  and  that  they  had  no  influ- 
ence upon  the  decision  of  Vienne,  as  no  mention  is  made  of 
them." 

It  is  a  little  remarkable  that  Romanists  in  this  country,  fre- 
quently allude  to  the  death  of  Servetus,  as  an  indelible  stain 
upon  the  character  of  Calvin  and  of  the  Reformation,  when 
this  unhappy  man  was  sentenced  to  be  burned  alive  by  their 
own  infallible  church  ;  and  had  he  not  escaped  from  prison, 
would  certainly  have  been  executed,  on  the  same  day  that  his 
effigy  and  books  were  consumed.  Servetus  fled  from  the  jaws 
of  Romish  tyranny,  and  came  to  Geneva,  although  he  had  been 
forewarned  by  Calvin  not  to  appear  in  that  city.  Nor  could 
Servetus  have  been  ignorant  of  the  laws  of  that  republic, 
enacted  against  heretics  by  the  emperor  Frederick  II.  when 
it  was  under  the  imperial  jurisdiction,  and  which  were  still 
in  force. 

The  Socinians  too,  are  clamorous  in  their  denunciations  of 
Calvin  and  of  his  doctrinal  tenets,  on  the  ground  of  his  hav- 
ing burnt  Servetus,  who  advocated  their  principal  errors. 
But  on  the  testimony  of  one  of  their  own  creed,  they  are  as 
really  chargeable  with  the  spirit  of  deadly  persecution  as  Cal- 
vinists.  Not  that  either  are  justly  so  chargeable  ;  but  if 
the  conduct  of  Calvin  must  be  made  to  operate  to  the  dis- 
advantage of  Calvinists,  the  conduct  of  Faustus  Socinus  must 
affect  in  the  same  manner  and  degree,  the  character  and  cause 
of  Socinians.  Mr.  Lindsey,  in  his  Apology,  p.  153 — 156, 
acknowledges,  that  Faustus  Socinus  himself  was  not  free 
from  persecution,  in  the  case  of  Francis  Davides,  superin- 
tendent of  the  Unitarian  churches  in  Transylvania.  Davides 
had  disputed  with  Socinus  on  the  invocation  of  Christ,  and 


THE     LIFE     OP      CALVIN.  181 

**  died  in  prison,  in  consequence  of  his  opinion,  and  some 
offence  taken  at  his  supposed  indiscreet  propagation  of  it 
from  the  pulpit.  I  wish  I  could  say,"  adds  Mr.  Lindsey, 
"that  Socinus,  or  his  friend  Blandrata,  had  done  all  in  their 
power  to  prevent  his  commitment,  or  procure  his  release  af- 
terwards." The  difference  between  Socinus  and  Davides 
was  very  slight.  They  both  held  Christ  to  be  a  mere  man. 
The  former,  however,  was  for  praying  to  him ;  which  the 
latter,  with  much  greater  consistency,  disapproved.  Con- 
sidering this,  the  persecution  to  which  Socinus  was  acces- 
sary, was  as  great  as  that  of  Calvin ;  and  there  is  no  reason 
to  think,  but  that,  if  Davides  had  differed  as  much  from  So- 
cinus as  Servetus  did  from  Calvin,  and  if  the  civil  magis- 
trates had  been  for  burning  him,  Socinus  would  have  con- 
curred with  them.  To  this  might  be  added,  that  the  conduct 
of  Socinus  was  marked  with  disingenidty ;  in  that  he  con- 
sidered the  opinion  of  Davides  in  no  very  heinous  point  of 
light ;  but  was  afraid  of  increasing  the  odium  under  which 
he  and  his  party  already  lay,  among  other  Christian  churches. 
That  divines  and  historians,  who  are  members  of  the 
Church  of  England,  should  reproach  Calvin  about  burning 
Servetus,  even  if  the  fact  were  so,  is  strange,  when  without 
reverting  back  to  the  burning. of  Lambert  and  Askew,  in  the 
reign  of  Henry  VIII.  to  Van  Pare  and  Joan  of  Kent,  in  that 
of  Edward  VI.  (who,  when  he  discovered  some  reluctance 
to  sign  the  death  warrant  of  the  latter,  was  entreated  and  be- 
sought by  Cranmer  to  do  so)  or  of  the  two  Anabaptists  in 
that  of  Elizabeth  ;  they  may  read,  as  late  as  1612,  under 
James  1.,  of  the  burning  of  Legate  and  Wightman  for  the 
Arian  heresy.  And  if  they  follow  down  the  details  of  their 
history,  during  the  reign  of  Charles  L  and  archbishop  Laud, 
and  read  the  petition  of  Alexander  Leighton,  or  his  sentence 
and  punishment,  they  will  find  causes  enough  for  the  chills 
of  grief,  and  tears  of  sympathy,  from  persecutions,  not  only 
for  heresy,  but  for  non-conformity  to  the  Common  Prayer 
Book  of  the  Episcopal  Church. 
16 


182  ADDITIONAL       NOTES      TO 

Mackenzie  proceeds  to  observe,  that  "  the  principal  accu- 
sations exhibited  against  Servetus  were,  first,  his  having 
asserted  in  his  Ptolemee,  that  the  Bible  celebrated  improperly 
the  fertility  of  the  land  of  Canaan,  whilst  it  was  unfruitful 
and  barren.  Secondly,  his  having  called  one  God  in  three 
persons,  a  Cerberus,  a  three-headed  monster.  Thirdly,  his 
having  taught  that  God  was  all,  and  that  all  was  God.  Ser- 
vetus did  not  deny  the  truth  of  the  principal  accusations,  but 
whilst  in  prison  called  the  Trinity  a  Cerberus,  a  three-head- 
ed monster;  he  also  grossly  insulted  Calvin,  and  was  so 
fearful  that  death  would  be  the  punishment  of  heresy  at  Ge- 
neva, as  well  as  at  other  places,  that  he  presented  a  petition 
on  the  22d  of  August,  in  which  he  defended  the  cause  of 
ignorance,  and  urged  the  necessity  of  toleration :  the  procu- 
reur-general  replied  to  him  in  about  eight  days,  and  no  doubt 
did  it  very  ill.  Servetus  was  condemned  upon  extracts  from 
his  books,  He  Trinitatis  Erroribus,  and  In  Ftolemceum 
Comment ariiis  ;  from  the  edition  of  the  Bible  which  he  had 
published  in  1552  ;  from  his  hook  Restitutio  Christianisimi; 
and  from  a  letter  which  he  had  written  to  Abel  Paupin,  a 
minister  of  Geneva. 

"  The  enemies  of  Calvin  exulted  in  this  affair,  and,  for 
once,  with  the  appearance  of  reason:  but  tlieir  efforts  injured 
the  cause  of  Servetus  ;  they  endeavoured  to  bring  him  before 
the  Council  of  Two  Hundred,  in  which,  however,  they  did 
not  succeed. 

*'  The  Council  of  Vienne  claimed  Servetus,  who,  being 
left  at  liberty  to  return  to  his  ancient  judges,  preferred  the 
chance  of  a  more  favourable  judgment  at  Geneva,  to  the 
certainty  of  suffering  the  capital  punishment  pronounced 
against  him  at  Vienne,  where  he  had  been  condemned  to  be 
burned. 

"  To  the  Council  of  Geneva,  justice  ought  to  be  done  with 
respect  to  this  transaction,  though  we  may  blame  the  princi- 
ples of  its  jurisprudence :  they  neglected  nothing  to  discover 
the  truth ;  they  multiplied  their  interrogatories ;  they  em- 


THE     LIFE     OF     CALVIN.  183 

ployed  all  possible  means  to  make  Servetus  retract ;  and,  as 
they  experienced  the  inutility  of  these  measures,  they  wrote 
to  the  reformed  Swiss  cantons  for  their  advice.  Is  it  credi- 
ble? they  were  unanimous  in  exhorting  the  council  to 
punish  the  wicked  man,  and  to  put  it  out  of  his  j^ower  to 
increase  heresy.  If  Calvin  may  be  supposed  to  have  influ- 
enced the  Council  of  Geneva,  shall  he  domineer  at  his  plea- 
sure over  four  councils  of  four  different  states,  and  all  the 
persons  who  were  consulted  by  them  in  forming  their  judg- 
ments ?  Shall  the  fury  imputed  to  him  render  so  many  ma- 
gistrates cruel,  whom  he  had  never  known?  It  must  be 
confessed,  that  the  intolerant  spirit  of  the  age  dictated  the 
sentence  of  Servetus  at  Geneva ;  but,  it  is  not  equally  evi- 
dent that  Calvin  was  the  author  of  that  atrocity,  and  that  he 
laboured  with  ardour  to  accomplish  it." 

Some  who  labour  to  fix  upon  Calvin  every  thing  which 
the  senate  did,  assert  that  his  influence  was  powerful  with 
that  body,  and  that  to  liis  influence  must  be  attributed  the 
death  of  Servetus.  But  how  did  it  happen  that  his  influence 
was  not  sufficiently  great,  to  induce  the  syndics  to  commute 
the  punishment  they  inflicted,  nor  to  mitigate  its  severity, 
although  he  laboured  long  and  hard  to  effect  it  ? 

The  syndics  and  senate  of  Geneva  were  annually  elected. 
In  1553,  Perrin  was  one  of  the  syndics;  and  Bertelier,  who 
is  said  by  Beza  to  have  excited  Servetus  personally  to  abuse 
Calvin,  when  before  the  senate  as  a  witness,  was  clerk  of 
the  lower  court,  and  had  been  about  six  months  before  the 
trial  of  Servetus  excommunicated.  The  majority  of  the 
senate,  at  this  very  time,  were  under  the  influence  of  the 
Perrin  and  Bertelier  faction,  as  abundantly  appears  from 
their  proceedings  in  other  matters,  particularly  when  in 
August  and  September  of  this  year,  they  voted,  in  the  face 
of  Calvin  and  the  consistory,  that  Bertelier  should  be  admit- 
ted to  the  Lord's  Supper.  It  may  be  asked  where,  and  in 
what  respect,  Calvin  had  any  influence  over  the  senate  that 
f'ondemned  Servetus  ?     It  must  be  admitted,  that  the  senate 


186  ADDITIONAL     NOTES      TO 

wicked  to  produce  whatever  they  know.  But  how  far  I  pro- 
ceeded is  not  of  so  much  consequence,  as  that  I  ought  to 
refute  in  this  public  work,  the  calumny  invented  to  asperse 
me  by  turbulent,  foolish  or  malicious  men  and  drunkards." 
Tractatus  Theologici  Calvini,  p.  511. 

Extract  2. 

As  Servetus  was  sentenced  to  be  burnt  by  the  papists  at 
Vienne,  the  enemies  of  Calvin  took  occasion  to  accuse  him 
of  being  the  cause  of  his  apprehension  in  that  city.  "  Nothing 
was  less  becoming  me,  say  they,  than  that  I  should  expose 
Servetus   to  the  professed   enemies  of  Christ,  as  to  huge 
beasts.     For  they  affirm,  that  it  was  by  my  means,  that  he 
was  taken  at  Vienne,  in  the  province  of  Lyonnois.     But 
whence  this  my  so  sudden  familiarity  with  the  inquisitors  of 
the  pope  ?     Whence  this  great  influence  with  them  ?     Is  it 
credible,  that  letters  should  pass  freely  to  and  from  those, 
who  are  as  much  at  variance  as  Christ  and  Belial  ?  It  is  use- 
less to  spend  words  in  refuting  this  calumny,  which  is  broken 
to  pieces  and  falls  by  a  simple  denial. — If  indeed  what  they 
falsely  object  to  me,  was  a  fact,  I  do  not  see  any  reason  why 
I  should  deny  it ;  since  I  do  not  dissemble,  that  it  was  by 
my  means,  that  he  was  seized  in  this  city,  and  required  to 
defend  his  cause.  Let  malevolent  and  slanderous  men  object 
what  they  please,  I  offer  myself  beforehand,  and  freely  con- 
fess, (for  according  to  the  laws  of  this  city  the  man  could  not 
be  justly  treated  otherwise,)  that  the  accuser  proceeded  at 
my  request ;  that  the  formula  was  dictated  by  my  advice ; 
by  which  some  entrance  was  made  upon  the  cause.     But 
what  my  design  then  was,  is  evident  from  the  progress  of 
the  action.  When  my  colleagues  and  myself  were  summoned^ 
it  was  by  no  means  our  fault  that  he  did  not  confer  peaceably 
and  freely  with  us  concerning  his  dogmatisms.     We  in  fact 
proceeded  as  in  chains  to  give  the  reason  of  our  faith,  and 
informed  him  that  we  were  prepared  to  answer  his  objec- 


THE     LIFE     OP      CALVIN.  187 

tions.  It  was  then  that,  with  swollen  cheeks,  he  poured 
forth  upon  me  such  reproaches,  as  made  the  judges  them- 
selves ashamed  and  grieved  for  him. — I  avoided  all  railing  at 
him.  ^nd  had  he  been  in  any  manner  curable,  he  would 
have  been  in  no  danger  of  any  weightier  punishment.  But  he 
was  so  entirely  destitute  of  moderation,  that,  filled  with 
boasting  and  ferocity,  he  petulantly  rejected  with  scorn  all 
wholesome  and  useful  advice.  But  the  execrable  and  absurd 
blasphemies  which  he  uttered,  during  the  conversation,  may 
perhaps,  be  related  elsewhere,  with  more  propriety.  This 
only  for  the  present  will  I  declare,  that  I  was  not  so  invete- 
rate against  him,  but  that  he  might  have  redeemed  his  life, 
by  mere  m,oderation,  if  he  had  not  been  destitute  of  reason.  I 
know  not  what  I  shall  say,  unless  that  he  was  so  seized  with 
this  fatal  madness,  that  he  threw  himself  headlong  into  ruin. 
Eight  days  after,  I  was  again  summoned ;  and  the  opportu- 
nity was  again  given  him  of  a  free  conference  with  us.  He 
formed  an  excuse,  that  he  was  prevented  by  his  grief  and 
anxiety.  But  whatever  books  he  requested  I  freely  lent  him, 
partly  from  my  own  library,  and  partly  from  others.  It  is 
therefore  a  probable  suspicion,  that  he  was  encouraged  from 
some  others,  with  a  vain  confidence,  which  destroyed  him. 
—I  trust  that  my  moderation  will  be  evident  to  all  good  men, 
unless  indeed  it  should  seem  to  be  efl^eminacy.  But,  as  if  he 
had  taken  new  draughts  of  a  poisonous  humour,  he  proceed- 
ed to  insert,  in  all  the  books  he  could  obtain  of  mine,  his  in- 
sulting reproaches,  so  that  he  left  no  page  free  from  his  puru- 
lent vomiting.  Concerning  this,  at  that  time,  I  thought  it 
best  to  be  silent,  and  my  intimate  friends  know  that  I  was 
entirely  unruffled  by  his  ungenerous  insults." 

Tractatus  Theologici  Calvini,  p.  517.  y 


188  ADDITIONAL      NOTES     TO 


Extract  3. 

"  By  mutilating  the  word  of  God  in  a  foul  manner,  he 
manifestly  proved  that  all  religion  was  equal  to  him,  only 
provided  that  he  could  indulge  himself  after  his  own  petu- 
lancy.  Moreover,  we  entertain  such  a  judgment  of  that  man, 
who  held  only  one  object  professedly,  that  he  took  no  plea- 
sure in  reviling  any  traditions  concerning  religion,  unless  he 
could,  through  their  obscurity,  erase  from  the  memories  of 
men  all  belief  of  the  Godhead.  While  his  arrogance  called 
up  all  the  most  violent  heresies,  yet  he  added  and  mixed  up 
with  them  a  certain  rashness  of  intemperate  zeal.  The  life 
of  Servetus  was  too  dissolute,  to  lead  any  one  to  suppose, 
that  he  was  driven  by  mere  error  to  disturb  the  church.  He 
had  indeed  never  hesitated  to  subscribe  to  the  substance  of 
the  grossest  superstition ;  but  with  this  great  liberality,  he 
had  never  given  much  care  to  present  himself  as  a  worshipper 
of  God.  When  he  was  therefore  asked  in  prison,  by  the 
judges,  from  what  reason  he  was  so  zealous  concerning  all 
innovations  in  religion  ?  he  was  speechless.  Nor  had  he  any 
thing  to  say,  unless  that  he  took  the  liberty  to  be  bold  in  sa- 
cred things,  as  if  to  trifle  with  God.  In  his  trial  he  evinced 
his  impiety  in  the  most  evident  manner.  He  declared  all 
creatures  were  of  the  personal  substance  of  God,  and  that  all 
things  were  full  of  Gods  ;  for  in  this  manner  he  did  not  blush 
deliberately  to  speak  and  write.  We  were  wounded  with  in- 
dignation and  asked  him,  miserable  man  !  What  ?  If  any 
one  trampling  on  this  pavement  should  say,  that  he  trampled 
on  your  God,  would  you  not  be  ashamed  at  so  great  an  ab- 
surdity ?  He  said,  I  do  not  doubt  but  that  this  bench,  and 
whatever  you  see,  is  the  substance  of  God.  When  it  was 
objected,  then  the  devil  will  be  substantially  God ;  he  burst 
into  a  deriding  laugh,  and  said,  do  you  doubt  this  ?  This  is 
my  general  principle — All  things  spring  from  the  stock  of 
God,  and  all  nature  is  the  substantial  Spirit  of  God. — The 


THE     LIFE     OF     CALVIN.  189 

volume  of  Ptolomy's  Geography  was  introduced  ;  in  the  pre- 
face to  which,  Servetus  had  admonished  his  readers,  that  the 
scripture  account  of  the  great  fruitfulness  of  the  land  of  Judea, 
was  mere  boasting;  as  the  testimony  of  travellers  proved  it 
to  be  uncultivated,  barren,  and  destitute  of  every  pleasant 
thing.  He  first  said  that  this  was  written  by  another.  So  bold 
a  cavil  was  promptly  refuted,  and  by  this  means  he  was  de- 
monstrated to  be  a  public  imposter.  Reduced  to  this  strait, 
he  defended  it  as  correctly  written.  He  was  asked  if  he 
was  vain  enough  to  suppose  any  authority  was  superior 
to  Moses.  He  said  others  had  written  besides  Moses. 
— It  was  replied,  certainly,  and  they  all  agree  with  Moses, 
who  was  the  most  ancient.  How  great  is  the  crime  of  the 
man  who  would  deceive  posterity  by  falsehood  ?  Who  was 
it  that  said,  it  was  a  land  that  flowed  with  milk  and  honey  ? 
And  it  was  added,  that  the  land  was  now  a  testimony  of  the 
righteous  judgment  of  God,  formerly  threatened  against  the 
Jews,  as  is  described  in  Psalm  cvii.  33,  34.  The  senate  and 
many  other  distinguished  persons  witnessed,  that  when  he 
was  convicted  of  impiety  against  the  Scriptures,  he  slily 
rubbed  his  face  and  said,  there  was  no  evil  in  all  this  ;  and 
though  convicted  he  made  no  acknowledgement.  Intrusted 
by  the  printer  of  the  Bible  in  Latin,  at  Lyons,  with  revising 
the  proof-sheets,  he  cheated  the  printer  out  of  500  francs, 
adding  his  polluted  notes,  (fee.  He  perverted  most  wickedly 
the  53d  chapter  of  Isaiah,  stating  that  the  sufferings  described 
— were  the  mournings  for  Cyrus,  who  had  died  to  take  away 
the  sins  of  the  people. — I  omit  that  when  Servetus  pretended 
to  have  the  suffrage  of  Nicholas  Lyranus,*  (in  favour  of  his 
false  glosses  upon  Isaiah)  the  book  was  brought ;  and  though 
convicted  of  falsehood,  he  did  not  blush.  It  was  a  common 
thing  with  him,  boldly  to  quote  from  books  he  had  never 
seen.  Of  this  he  gave  a  specimen  laughable  enough  in 
Justin  Martyr.     He  magnificently  boasted,  that  Martyr,  in 

*  One  of  the  most  celebrated  commentators  of  the  14th  century. 


190  ADDITIONAL     NOTES     TO 

his  Golden  Age^  had  not  mentioned  the  fables  of  the  Trinity 
and  persons.  I  immediately  ordered  the  volume  to  be  brought, 
and  pointed  out  with  my  finger  certain  places,  in  which  that 
holy  man  had  as  openly  asserted  our  faith,  as  if  he  had 
written  at  our  request.     But  he  could   no   more  read  the 
Greek  language  than  a  boy  learning  his  A,  B,  C.     Finding 
himself  basely  caught,  he  peevishly  asked  for  the  Latin  trans- 
lation to  be  handed  him.     How  happens  this,  said  I,  since 
there  is  no  Latin  translation  extant,  and  you  cannot  read 
Greek,  that  you  should  yet  pretend  yourself  to  have  read  so 
familiarly  the  works  of  Justin  ?     Whence  then  did  you  ob- 
tain those  testimonies  which  you  indulge  yourself  in  quoting 
so  liberally  ?     He,  as  he  was  accustomed,  with  a  brazen 
front,  passed  quickly  to  another  subject,  without  the  least 
sign  of  shame. — But  that  wicked  and  hardened  men  may  not 
boast  of  this  frantic  man  as  a  martyr,  on  account  of  his  ob- 
duracy, in  his  death  there  appeared  such  a  brutal  stupidity, 
as  justifies  the  opinion,  that  he  never  acted  at  all  seriously  in 
religion.     After  the  sentence  of  death  was  pronounced  upon 
him,  at  one  time  he  stood  like  a  person  astonished,  at  another 
he  gave  deep  sighs,  and  at  others  he  shrieked  like  one  af- 
frighted by  apparitions  ;  and  this  increased  upon  him  till  he 
continually   cried   out,   in   the   manner   of  the   Spaniards, 
mercy !  mercy !     When   he  was  brought  to  the  place  of 
punishment,  our  brother  and  minister,  Farel,  with  difficulty 
extorted  from  him,  by  earnest  exhortation,  his  consent  that 
the  assembly  should  unite  with  him  in  prayer.     And  truly, 
I  do  not  see  by  what  principle  he  should  consent  to  have 
those  do  this,  concerning  whom  he  had  written  with  his 
own  hand,  that  they  were  ruled  by  a  diabolical  faith ;  that 
they  had  no  Church,  no  God,  and  that  because  they  bap- 
tized infants,  they  denied  Christ  himself. — But  Farel  ex- 
horted the  people  to  supplicate  for  him,  and  expressly,  that 
the  Lord  would  have  mercy  on  this  man,  and  would  lead 
him  back  from  his  execrable  errors,  to  a  right  mind,  that 
he  might  not  perish.     In  the  mean  time,  although  he  gave 


THE     LIFE     OF     CALVIN.  191 

no  signs  of  repentance,  he  did  not  even  attempt  a  word  in 
the  defence  of  his  opinions.  What,  I  ask,  does  this  mean, 
that  when  placed  under  the  hand  of  the  executioner,  and 
having  obstinately  refused  to  invoke  the  eternal  So7i  of  God, 
he  did  not,  for  he  had  the  liberty,  offer  some  defence  at  least  ? 
— ^I  think  it  is  quite  evident,  that  as  long  as  he  thought  he 
could  sport  himself  with  impunity,  he  conducted  himself 
with  far  too  much  audaciousness  ;  but  when  the  punishment 
due  to  his  crimes  was  inflicted,  he  fell  into  despair. — But 
more  than  enough  has  been  said  concerning  the  man,  other 
things  shall  be  placed  in  their  order,  in  the  descriptions  of 
his  dogmatisms,  where  the  reader  may  determine  whether 
the  man  himself,  or  the  error,  is  indifferent  and  sufferable,  or 
a  vast  and  deep  ocean  of  impieties,  which  weaken  our  whole 
faith,  and  indeed  in  a  great  measure  entirely  destroy  its 
foundation.  I  do  not  propose  to  lay  open  the  whole  mass 
of  confused  mixtures,  for  I  perceive  this  would  be. to  plunge 
into  thickets  of  briars  and  thorns,  and  wander  in  endless  laby- 
rinths. It  will  be  most  useful  to  pursue  the  same  compendious 
course,  which  we  followed  in  the  examination  of  the  cause 
itself,  that  the  nature  of  the  doctrines  being  noted  under  dis- 
tinct heads,  the  readers  may  perceive  what  monstrous 
things,  no  less  detestable  than  multiform,  are  contained  in 
his  books.  How  various  and  continued  was  the  verbal  dis- 
pute, and  then  after  this,  he  repeated  that  complaint,  that  it 
was  improper  to  conduct  the  trial  about  religion  in  the 
prison;  which  I  answered  it  was  true,  and  that  I  had  from  the 
beginning  declared  that  nothing  would  be  more  grateful  to 
me  than  that  the  points  should  be  discussed  in  the  house  of 
worship,  in  the  presence  of  all  the  people.  Nor  was  there 
any  reason  why  I  should  avoid  the  light  and  presence  of  the 
assembly,  where  the  cause  most  worthy  of  approbation 
would  be  watched  by  candid  hearers.  After  all  this,  how- 
ever, HE  APPEALED  TO  OTHER  CHURCHES,  IIU  provocaret  ad 
alias  ecclesias.  This  condition  was  also  freely  agreed  to  by 
me.     Upon  this  our  senate,  desirous  to  put  an  end  to  his 


192  ADDITIONAL     NOTES      TO 

prevarications,  decreed  that  the  propositions  which  I  had 
selected  from  Servetus'  books  should  be  copied  and  given  to 
him.  By  the  same  decree  of  the  senate,  he  was  permitted 
to  retract  any  thing  which  he  should  perceive  that  he  had 
unjustly  written ;  and  if  he  found  any  thing  unfairly  per- 
verted by  me,  he  might  refute  it ; — if  he  thought  any  of  his 
opinions  unjustly  condemned,  he  might  defend  them  from  the 
word  of  God.  And  that  there  might  be  no  needless  delay,  I 
transcribed  every  article  to  a  word.  He  had  as  much  time 
as  he  pleased  to  make  out  his  answer  to  the  propositions, 
while  to  U3  there  was  allowed  no  more  than  two  days.  And 
besides  all  this,  as  he  expected  that  it  would  make  his  cause 
more  plausible,  if  he  made  the  closing  defence,  he  again  re- 
quested in  writing,  that  this  might  be  granted  him,  and  he 
obtained  this  privilege  also.  But  although  he  well  under- 
stood, that  the  question  to  be  decided  was  de  capite  suo,  con- 
cerning his  life,  and  that  the  neighbouring  churches  were  to 
be  consulted,  on  whose  answer  would  depend  the  weighty 
previous  sentence,*  yet  how  he  continued  to  cavil,  the  rea- 
ders will  see,  whom  I  would  inform,  lest  there  should  be  any 
suspicion,  that  there  is  not  a  single  thing  put  down  by  me, 
in  these  propositions  and  replies,  which  was  not  lawfully 
sealed  and  entered  on  the  public  records." 

Tractatus  Theologici  Calvini,  p.  522,  523. 
Tiie  following  extracts  from  letters,  written  by  several 
eminent  reformers,  show  that  they  concurred   in  opinion 
with  Calvin  on  the  subject  of  punishing  heretics ;  and  that 
they  approved  of  his  conduct  in  relation  to  Servetus  : — 

BULLINGER   TO    CaLVIN. 

''  In  all  places  there  are  good  men  who  are  of  opinion,  that 
impious  and  blasphemous  heretics  are  not  only  to  be  admo- 

*  Whether  the  accusations  were  proved,  and  if  proved,  whether 
he  was  guilty  of  blasphemy. 


THE     LIFE     OP     CALVIN.  193 

nished  and  imprisoned,  but  also  capite  esse  mulctandos,  to 
be  punished  ivith  death.  Be  not  therefore  discouraged  that 
you  have  undertaken  this  labour.  The  Lord  will  assist  your 
holy  endeavours  and  studies.  I  know  that  you  have  not  a 
cruel  disposition,  nor  do  you  approve  of  any  cruelty.  And 
who  does  not  know  that  there  are  proper  limits  to  be  fixed 
to  this  subject?  I  do  not  see  how  it  was  possible  to  have 
spared  Servetus,  that  most  obstinate  man,  the  very  hydra  of 
heresy. 

"Zurich,  June  12,  1554." 

Melancthon  to  Calvin. 

*'  Reverend  and  dear  brother,  I  have  read  your  book,  in 
which  you  have  clearly  refuted  the  horrid  blasphemies  of 
Servetus  ;  and  1  give  thanks  to  the  Son  of  God,  who  was  the 
^^ajSfVT'j??,  the  awarder  of  your  crown  of  victory^  in  this 
your  combat.  To  you  also  the  church  owes  gratitude  at  the 
present  moment,  and  will  owe  it  to  the  latest  posterity.  I 
perfectly  assent  to  your  opinion.  I  affirm  also  that  your  ma- 
gistrates did  right  in  punishing,  after  a  regular  trial,  this 
blasphemous  man. 

*•  Oct.  14,  1554." 

Melancthon  to  Bullinger. 

♦'  Reverend  and  dear  brother,  I  have  read  your  answer  to 
the  blasphemies  of  Servetus ;  and  I  approve  of  your  piety 
and  opinions.  I  judge  also  that  the  Genevese  senate  did  per- 
fectly right,  to  put  an  end  to  this  obstinate  man,  who  could 
never  cease  blaspheming.  And  I  wonder  at  those  who  dis- 
approve of  this  severity. 

"August  20." 

Peter  Martyr  to  Calvin. 

*'I  would  not  have  you  be  retired  in  this  extremity.  It 
bitterly  grieves  me  and  all  good  men,  that  against  the  truth 
and  your  name,  they  spread  such  foolish  and  false  things, 

17 


194  ADDITIONAL     NOTES     TO 

about  the  eternal  election  of  God,  and  the  punishment  of 
heretics  with  death. — But  it  is  well,  in  what  they  write  they 
dare  not  mention  his  (Servetus')  name.  As  often  as  we  are 
asked  about  this,  both  Zanchius  and  I  defend  your  side  of  the 
question  and  the  truth,  in  public  and  private,  with  all  our 
strength. 

"  Strasburg,  May  9." 

The  following  letter  of  Servetus,  written  while  in  prison, 
and  addressed  to  the  lords,  syndics,  and  senators  of  Geneva, 
expresses  his  views  on  the  subject  of  capitally  punishing 
heretics  and  blasphemers  for  their  opinion. 

*♦  My  greatly  honoured  lords,  I  am  detained  under  a  crim- 
inal accusation,  on  account  of  John  Calvin,  who  has  falsely 
accused  me  ;  saying  that  I  had  written  : — 

*'  First,  that  all  souls  were  mortal. 

"  Secondly,  that  Jesus  Christ  took  from  the  Virgin  Mary, 
only  a  fourth  part  of  his  body. 

'*  These  are  horrible,  and  execrable  things.  Among  all 
other  heresies,  and  all  other  crimes,  there  is  none  so  great, 
as  to  make  the  soul  mortal.  In  all  others,  there  is  some 
hope  of  salvation,  but  in  this  there  is  none.  Whoever  says 
it,  does  not  believe,  that  there  exists  either  God,  or  justice, 
or  resurrection,  or  Jesus  Christ,  or  holy  Scripture,  or  any 
thing ;  but  all  at  death,  man  and  beast,  are  both  the  same 
thing.  If  I  had  said  that,  not  only  said  but  written  and  pub- 
lished it,  to  infect  the  world,  /  shoidd  condemn  myself  to 
death.  Therefore,  my  lords,  I  demand  that  my  false  accuser 
be  punished  poena  talionis,  and  be  detained  prisoner  as  1 
am,  until  the  cause  is  determined  by  my  death  or  his,  or  by 
some  other  punishment.  For  this  I  inscribe  myself  against 
him  on  the  said  poena  talionis  ;  and  am  contented  to  die,  if 
he  is  not  convicted  as  well  of  this  as  of  other  things,  which  I 
shall  allege  against  him.  I  demand  justice  of  you,  my  lords, 
justice,  justice,  justice. — Done  in  your  prison  at  Geneva,  this 
22d  of  September,  1553. 

"  MICHAEL  SERVETUS,  in  his  own  behalf." 


THE     LIFE     OF     CALVIN.  195 

It  is  a  fact  that  Erasmus  did  maintain  in  his  Epistle* 
against  som.e,  (that  is  the  reformers  at  Basil,)  who  falsely 
call  themselves  Evangelists,  that  there  were  certain  cases  in 
which  they  might  lawfully  be  punished  capitally,  as  blas- 
phemers and  seditious  persons.  Quid  autem  vetat,  inquit, 
ne  Frinceps  haereticos  turbantes  publicam  iranquillitatem  e 
medio  tollat  Pi  No  one  of  the  Reformers  ever  contended 
for  a  power  in  the  civil  magistracy  more  extensive  than  this 
for  which  Erasmus  pleads.  The  duplicity  of  Erasmus 
should  not  be  dignified  by  the  term  of  toleration.  For  with 
all  his  wit  and  learning,  and  he  had  much  of  both,  he  was  of 
a  temporizing  and  vafrous  mind,  who  did  in  his  way  much 
of  the  work  of  a  reformer,  and  still  lived  and  died  profess- 
edly a  papist. 

Beza  wrote  a  tract  De  Hasreticis  a  civili  Magistratu  puni- 
endis.  In  this  work  is  an  extensive  illustration  of  the  views 
and  opinions  of  the  ancient  fathers  and  early  reformers  of 
the  Christian  church,  relative  to  the  right  and  duty  of  the 
civil  magistracy  to  punish  heretics.  At  pages  94  and  148, 
the  opinion  of  Luther  is  given,  and  his  words  expressly 
quoted,  to  prove  that  he  maintained,  that  heretics  were  to  be 
restrained  and  punished  by  the  civil  magistracy.  In  the 
same  work  it  also  appears,  that  this  was  the  opinion  of  Me- 
lancthon,  of  Urbanus  Regius,  of  the  Saxon  church,  of  Bren- 
tius,  of  Erasmus,  of  Bucer,  of  Capito,  of  BuUinger,  of  Mus- 
eulus,  and  of  the  Genevese  church.  To  these  distinguished 
reformers,  the  names  of  almost  all  others  might  be  added,  to 
prove  that  Calvin's  opinion  on  that  subject  was  only  the 
opinion  of  all  other  learned  and  pious  men  of  that  period. 
It  is  also  to  be  noticed,  that  Melancthon,  Bullinger,  Peter 
Martyr,  Hemmingius,  Farel,  Beza,  Bishop  Hall  and  others 
approved  expressly,  and  in  writing,  of  the  conduct  of  Calvin, 


'^  Rees'  Cyclopaedia,  Art.  Eras,  and  Bayle. 

t  Beza  de  Heereticis  a  magistratu  puniendis.  Tract.  Theol.  p.  95. 


196  ADDITIONAL     NOTES     TO 

and  also  of  the  final  sentence  of  the  senate  of  Geneva,  in 
punishing  capitally  the  man,  who  called  the  triune  unity  of 
God  a  three  headed  Cerberus,  and  a  triple  bodied  monster. 

For  more  than  fifty  years  after  the  death  of  Calvin,  no  in- 
stance could  be  found  of  any  respectable  writer,  who  cen- 
sured him  respecting  the  execution  of  Servetus.  On  the 
publication  of  Calvin's  Epistles  by  Theodore  Beza,  in  1575, 
Jerome  Bolsec  took  offence  at  the  account  which  had  been 
given  of  his  conduct  and  opinions  in  some  of  those  letters. 
Bolsec,  at  that  time  having  turned  back  to  the  papists,  wrote 
a  Life  of  Calvin  for  the  sole  purpose  of  blasting  his  name. 
But  however  destitute  of  principle,  and  prompted  by  revenge 
to  invent  the  most  daring  falsehoods,  he  no  where,  it  is 
asserted,  accused  Calvin  of  personal  hatred  towards  Servetus, 
or  cast  any  blame  upon  him  for  what  he  did  in  advising  the 
prosecution  against  him. 

Maimbourg,  a  Jesuit,  wrote  a  History  of  Calvinism,  in 
which,  with  all  his  popish  partialities  and  misrepresentations, 
he  says  nothing  on  that  subject. 

Dupin,  another  papist,  in  his  Ecclesiastical  History,  does 
not  even  name  Servetus  in  his  life  of  Calvin,  and  but  barely 
mentions  him  among  the  Socinian  heretics. 

Bayle,  who  was  of  no  religious  denomination,  in  his  Life 
of  Calvin,  does  not  even  name  Servetus,  nor  cast  any  re- 
proach upon  that  reformer  in  his  voluminous  notes. 

"  The  pious  and  excellent  bishop  Hall  solemnly  pro- 
nounced, that  in  that  transaction,  relative  to  Servetus,  Calvin 
did  well  approve  himself  to  God's  church." — See  his  Chris- 
tian Moderation,  b.  2,  sect.  14,  quoted  in  Dr.  Miller's  Con- 
tin,  of  Lett.  p.  327.  Heylin,  although  strongly  attached  to 
Episcopacy,  and  to  archbishop  Laud,  in  his  history  of  the 
Presbyterians,  says  much,  with  his  usual  unauthorised  as- 
perity, against  Calvin  ;  yet  he  never  reproaches  him  as  to  the 
matter  of  Servetus,  whom  he  only  names  as  a  Socinian. 

Bishop  Burnet,  in  his  history  of  the  Reformation  of  the 


THE     LIFE     OF     CALVIN.  197 

English  Church,  has  passed  in  silence  the  story  of  Servetus, 
and  always  named  Calvin  with  respect. 

Without  increasing  this  list  with  the  names  of  Francis  Ju- 
nius, James  Arminius,  Davila,  Strype,  and  a  vast  number  of 
other  historians  and  divines  of  different  theological  senti- 
ments, it  may  be  asked,  on  what  principle  it  was,  that  those 
writers  passed  with  approbation,  or  without  notice,  such 
atrocious  cruelty  and  personal  malevolence  in  Calvin,  as  Mr. 
Roscoe  and  others  within  a  century  back,  have  boldly 
charged  upon  him  in  the  affair  of  Servetus  ?  Were  the  di- 
vines and  historians  at  the  close  of  the  16th,  and  through 
the  17th  century,  more  ignorant  of  the  facts  and  circumstances 
which  attended  that  business,  than  those  divines  or  histo- 
rians who,  in  the  18th  century,  have  so  pointedly  selected, 
and  so  invidiously  impugned  Calvin,  as  pre-eminently  pos- 
sessing, and  furiously  exercising  the  spirit  of  persecution  for 
the  sake  of  opinions  ?  This  it  is  presumed  will  not  be  as- 
serted by  any  one  competent  to  judge  of  that  question. 

The  Biblical  Repertory  again  says  :— 

We  have,  from  the  outset,  conceded  the  cardinal  fact, 
namely,  that  Calvin  was  instrumental  in  bringing  Servetus 
to  trial  for  heresy,  and  thus,  if  you  please,  to  execution.  But 
we  shall  ever  maintain,  that  it  is  grossly  unjust,  without  the 
shadow  of  proof,  to  charge  this  act  to  motives  which  are  not 
charged  in  a  multitude  of  similar  instances.  It  was  scarcely 
so  much  the  fault  of  the  man  as  of  the  age.  At  this  time  of 
day,  a  protestant  can  scarcely  picture  to  himself  the  horrid 
image  raised  in  the  mind  of  our  forefathers  by  the  name 
heretic.  A  heretic  was  then,  as  M.  la  Chapelle  well  says, 
"  a  monster  of  horror,  an  emissary  of  hell,  an  enemy  of  God 
and  man ;  this  is  the  notion  of  common  people  among  the 
papists  to  this  day.  Judge,  then,  how  they  would  talk  of  a 
heretic,  when  heretics  were  almost  as  rare  in  Europe  as  the 
phoenix  in  Egypt.  Did  they  consult  the  canon  or  the  civil 
law,  or  theological  standards  ?  Heretics  were  excommuni- 
cated persons,  poisoners  of  mankind,  public  pests,  guilty  of 
17* 


198  ADDITIONAL      NOTES      TO 

high  treason  against  both  human  and  divine  governments,  a 
treason  capital  in  the  first  degree."  These  principles  were 
assumed  as  self-evident,  in  parliaments,  and  courts  of  princes, 
by  popes  and  republics.  In  the  Reformation  a  sun  .had  arisen 
on  the  world,  but  the  mists  and  fogs  of  a  long  night  still 
mantled  the  horizon.  The  doctrine  of  persecution  was  a 
papal  innovation  which  lingered  after  theological  errors  had 
been  dispersed.  It  was  found  in  the  laws  of  the  empire,  and 
in  the  fathers  of  the  church,  whose  authority  had  scarcely 
yet  been  shaken.  Hence,  we  can  pity,  even  more  than  we 
blame,  the  inconsistency  of  the  protestants,  who,  escaping 
from  persecution,  became  persecutors  in  their  turn. 

To  every  calm  inquirer  into  the  history  of  religious  liberty, 
the  injustice  of  singling  out  this  case  will  appear  most  glaring. 
It  is  Calvin's  tenets  which  exasperate  the  minds  of  his  ca- 
lumniators ;  else  Servetus  had  lain  in  oblivion,  along  with 
Joan  Bocher  and  George  Van  Parre.  The  great  standing 
charge  against  Calvin  is  one  which  it  is  hard  to  answer, 
simply  because  it  is  without  any  proof.  It  is,  that  the  Re- 
former was  actuated  by  long-cherished  resentment  and  pri- 
vate hate.  M.  Chauffpie  has  the  candour  to  admit,  that  even 
if  this  could  be  proved,  it  would  be  a  question  whether  he 
did  not  take  advantage  of  the  rigor  of  laws  which  he  believed 
to  be  just.  But  it  cannot  be  proved.  "  It  is,"  as  Mr.  Scott 
observes,  "  unsupported,  and  even  contrary  to  evidence, 
and  is  requisite  to  the  solution  of  none  of  the  phenomena  of 
the  case." 

The  case  might  be  safely  left  at  this  point;  but  we  will  go 
farther,  and  evince  by  authentic  records,  that  the  instance 
was  not  singular.  One  might  suppose  from  the  angry  zeal 
with  which  it  has  been  blazoned  as  the  sinister  blot  on  the 
escutcheon  of  Calvinism,  that  this  act  of  intolerance  stands 
isolated,  flaming  forth  with  the  horrors  of  a  beacon  on  a  hill. 
It  is  not  so  ;  all  who  have  the  smallest  pretensions  to  histo- 
rical erudition  know  that  it  is  not  so.  There  are  noted  ex- 
amples of  heretics  being   punished  in  difTerent  protestant 


THE     LIFE     OF     CALVIN.  199 

States.  "  Let  persecution,  "  we  exclaim  with  M.  Chauffpie, 
**  be  blamed,  and  let  the  execution  of  Servetus  be  condemned, 
we  subscribe  to  the  whole ;  but  let  us  not  make  it  peculiar 
in  Calvin,  to  have  been  under  the  prejudices  of  his  age." 

More  than  sixty  years  after  Calvin's  death,  we  find  the 
same  judgment  taking  effect  at  Geneva,  in  the  case  of  Nicho- 
las Antony,  who  was  burned  for  heresy,  in  1632,  in  spite  of 
the  remonstrances  of  the  ministers,  who  desired  the  execu- 
tion to  be  suspended.  Again,  in  1652,  by  virtue  of  the  same 
ecclesiastical  code,  though  not  on  the  same  charge,  one 
Chauderon  was  hanged  for  witchcraft.  And  we  are  only  re- 
peating the  words  of  the  liberal  Chauffpie,  Mr.  Gibbon's 
"  best"  authority,  when  we  say :  "  How  many  vexations 
have  the  Presbyterians  suffered  in  England  under  the  reign 
of  James  I.,  Charles  I.,  and  Charles  II.  I  find,  under  the 
reign  of  the  first,  Neal,  bishop  of  Winchester,  caused  to  be 
hanged  one  Wightman,  a  dogmatizer  of  that  time  ;  and  that 
King,  bishop  of  London,  condemned  one  Legat  to  be  burnt 
for  heresy ;  who  was  executed  in  Smithfield.  And  Peter 
Gunter,  of  Prussia,  a  farrier  by  trade,  was  beheaded  at  Lu- 
beck,  in  the  month  of  October,  1687,  by  the  consent  of  two 
Universities,  because  he  would  not  own  the  divinity  of  Jesus 
Christ."* 

It  is  surprising  that  certain  writers  of  the  Episcopal  de- 
nomination should  have  the  eft^ontery,  as  they  have  some- 
times had,  to  charge  the  death  of  Servetus  on  presbytery. 
This  event  has  by  some  of  them  been  attributed  to  the  "  gen- 
tle sway  of  presbytery."  This  is  very  weak  argument,  and 
very  desperate  policy,  not  to  dwell  on  its  dishonesty.  The 
nobler  minds  among  prelatists  have  seen  that  common  jus- 
tice and  the  good  faith  of  history  alike  repudiate  the  base  in- 
sinuation; that  the  common  cause  of  protestantism  is  wounded 
by  it ;  and  that  this  sort  of  argument,  even  if  it  should  avail 


Chauff.  Servetus,  note  BB. 


200  ADDITIONAL     NOTES     TO 

to  tarnish  presbytery,  would  overwhelm  prelacy  with  con- 
tempt.* We  reject  it,  and  our  cause  needs  it  not.  In  the 
noted  and  prominent  case  of  Cranmer,  we  scornfully  reject 
it.  The  meanness  of  charging  one  good  man  with  the  sole 
offence,  when  all  the  age  were  in  like  condemnation,  we 
shall  condemn  wherever  we  find  it.  And  it  is  only  as  a  speci- 
men of  impotent  malice  that  we  cite  the  following  observation 
of  a  Mr.  Le  Bas,  the  compiler  of  a  life  of  Cranmer ;  an  ob- 
servation written  as  if  to  divert  attention  from  the  case  of 
George  Van  Parre,  which  he  had  just  related  :  "  Every  one 
knows  that  Servetus  was  burned,  not  merely  as  a  heretic,  but 
as  a  blasphemer ; that  the  distinction  might  be  suffi- 
cient to  satisfy  a  man  like  Calvin  may  not  be  very  surpris- 
ing ;  for  what  is  known  of  his  vehement  temper  would  almost 
justify  the  suspicion,  that  had  he  lived  in  the  age  of  St.  Do- 
minic, he  might  have  sat  most  conscientiously  in  the  chair 
of  the  Inquisition."!  As  if  most  studiously  to  cut  off  the 
wretched  Calvin  from  all  benefit  of  the  plea  he  had  just  made 
for  the  archbishop.  That  plea,  we  acknowledge  as  valid  and 
judicious.  But  we  lament  the  ignoble  prejudice  which  ap- 
pended a  gratuitous  and  false  insinuation,  against  the  man 
whom  that  very  archbishop  delighted  to  honour.  Melan- 
choly, indeed,  but  true  it  is,  that  Cranmer  was  concerned,  at 
least  as  much  as  Calvin  ever  was,  in  bringing  to  the  stake 
not  one  blaspheming  heretic,  but  not  less  than  four  persons, 
of  whom  two  were  simple  women.  This  is  recorded  by 
such  Episcopal  historians  as  Strype,  and  Burnet,  and  Fox. 


*  If  we  except  the  case  of  Luther,  perhaps  the  earliest  tolera- 
tion that  was  practised  after  popery  had  introduced  the  reign  of 
persecution,  was  settled  upon  the  basis  of  doctrines  decidedly  Cal- 
vinistic.  We  mean  the  decree  of  Berne,  in  November,  1534. — 
Scott,  iii.  p.  245. 

f  In  Bas'  Life  of  Cranmer,  vol.  i.  p.  272.  Harper's  stereotype 
edition.  See  also  a  no  less  uncalled  for  taunt  in  Hallam's  Const. 
History  of  England,  vol.  i.  p.  131. 


THE     LIFE    OF    CALVIN,  201 

He  did  it  in  his  ignorance,  and  we  may  well  weep  over  the 
story ;  but  let  no  one  who  affects  to  weep,  wipe  away  his 
tears  to  eject  contumely  upon  a  brother  reformer,  found  in 
the  same  offence. 

It  was  Cranmer,  who  "procured  the  death"  such  are  the 
very  words — of  Joan  Bocher  and  George  Van  Parre ;  and 
who  when  the  pious  Edward  VI.  with  tears  hesitated  to  sign 
the  death-warrants,  added  his  own  persuasions.*  Even  Mr. 
Le  Bas  says,  with  regard  ta  Joan  Bocher :  "  That  he  fully 
acquiesced  in  the  proceeding,  can  hardly  be  doubted,  if  we 
are  to  credit  the  story  so  confidently  told  by  his  ardent  ad- 
mirer Fox,  and  not  contradicted  by  any  contemporary  writer ; 
namely,  that  all  the  importunity  of  the  council  could  not  pre- 
vail on  Edward  to  set  his  hand  to  the  warrant — that  Cran- 
mer, upon  this,  was  desired  to  persuade  him — that,  even 
then,  the  merciful  nature  of  that  princely  boy  held  out  long 
against  the  application — and  that,  when  at  last  he  yielded, 
he  declared  before  God,  that  the  guilt  should  rest  on  the  head 
of  his  advisers."! 

That  the  case  is  different  in  many  of  our  popular  historical 
works,  and  in  the  articles  of  biographical  dictionaries, 
patched  up  from  these  by  mere  compilers,  will  surprise  no 
one  who  recollects  that,  in  our  day,  history  has  too  often 
fallen  into  the  hands  of  sceptics.  Roscoe  makes  it  his  espe- 
cial care  to  vilify  the  reformers ;  we  may  safely  leave  his 
allegations  to  the  triumphant  answer  of  Mr.  Waterman.^ 
Gibbon,  as  we  need  scarcely  say,  found  it  to  suit  the  pur- 
pose of  his  life  to  degrade  the  memory  of  a  leading  Christian. 
But,  be  it  noted,  that  the  authority  chiefly  relied  on  in  the 
preceding  details,  and  from  whose  truly  cautious  statements 
we  have  not  seen  occasion  to  vary  in  a  single  instance,  is 
Chauffpie,  the  continuator  of  Bayle's  Dictionary ;  whose 

*  Burnet's  Hist.  Ref.  vol.  ii.  112.    Gilpin's  Lives  of  Reformers, 
ii.  99. 
t  Le  Bas'  Cranmer,  vol.  i.  p.  270.    X  Life  of  Calvin,  p.  122. 


202  ADDITIONAL     NOTES     TO 

narrative  Gibbon  prononnces  "  the  best  accounf^  he  had  seen 
of  the  transaction. 

Other  writers,  affected  by  no  predilections  in  favour  of 
presbytery,  have  had  the  patience  to  study,  and  the  honesty 
to  adjudicate,  this  perplexing  case,  with  different  results. 
Among  these  we  name  the  late  Samuel  Taylor  Cole- 
ridge ;  an  independent  thinker,  a  laborious  reader  of  authori- 
ties, and  a  professed  enemy  of  Calvinism.  His  opinion  is  as 
follows : 

*'  What  ground  is  there  for  throwing  the  odium  of  Serve- 
tus'  death  upon  Calvin  alone  ? — Why,  the  mild  Melancthon 
■wrote  to  Calvin*  expressly  to  testify  his  concurrence  in  the 
act,  and,  no  doubt,  he  spoke  the  sense  of  the  German  reform- 
ers ;  the  Swiss  churches  advised  the  punishment  in  formal 
letters,  and  I  think  there  are  letters  from  the  English  divines, 
approving  Calvin's  conduct  I  Before  a  man  deals  out  the 
slang  of  the  day,  about  the  great  leaders  of  the  Reformation, 
he  should  learn  to  throw  himself  back  to  the  age  of  the  Re- 
formation, when  the  two  parties  in  the  church  were  eagerly 
on  the  watch  to  fasten  the  charge  of  heresy  on  the  other. 
Besides,  if  ever  a  poor  fanatic  thrust  himself  into  the  fire,  it 
was  Michael  Servetus.  He  was  a  rabid  enthusiast,  and  did 
every  thing  he  could  in  the  way  of  insult  and  ribaldry  to 
provoke  the  feeling  of  the  Christian  church.  He  called  the 
Trinity  triceps  monstrum  et  Cerberum  quendam  tripartitum, 
and  so  on."t 

This  is  sensible  and  just;  and  what  might  be  expected 
from  a  philosopher  and  a  scholar.  For  such  a  one,  no  de- 
clamation without  proof,  will  be  sufficient.  But  the  careless, 
the  prejudiced,  and  the  wicked,  and  especially  those  who 
hate  the  doctrine  of  special  grace,  and  Calvin  as  its  trium- 
phant modern  defender,  will  still  avoid  a  laborious  investiga- 

*  Here  is  given  the  sentence  cited  above, 
t  Table  Talk,  p.  143.     See  also  a  fair  discussion  of  the  case  in 
Sir  David  Brewster's  Encyclopaedia,  Art.  "  Calvin." 


THE     LIFE     OF     CALVIN.  203 

tion,  and  repeat  in  wilful  ignorance  the  refuted  slanders  of 
their  predecessors.  This  rooted  enmity  to  the  theological 
system  called  Calvinism,  is  the  true  source  of  the  unjust  in- 
vective against  the  Reformer's  conduct  in  this  affair.  If  not, 
why  are  the  similar  and  even  worse  offences  of  other  great 
men,  altogether  omitted,  or,  if  not  omitted,  mentioned  with 
every  phrase  of  extenuation  ?  It  is  Calvinism,  it  is  the  doc- 
trine of  Paul  and  of  Augustin  which  has  caused  this  peculiar 
exacerbation  of  zeal.  And,  after  all,  many  seem  to  be  igno- 
rant of  the  history  of  this  hateful  scheme  of  opinions.  It  is 
acknowledged  by  Mr.  John  Scott,  himself  an  Episcopalian, 
in  the  work  already  named,  that  Luther,  Melancthon,  and 
Zwingle,  (at  an  earlier  period  of  their  lives,  at  least)  held  the 
doctrines  of  election  and  predestination,  which  have  subse- 
quently been  denominated  Calvinistic.  "  Nor  did  those  high 
doctrines,"  says  he,  "  originate  with  these  persons.  They 
held  them  in  common  with  eminent  writers  who  had  preceded 
them,  and  were  members  of  the  Roman  Catholic  church ;  and 
they  would,  I  apprehend,  have  been  able  to  support  some  of 
their  boldest  positions  by  the  authority  of  St.  Augustine  himself. 
Why,  then,  is  all  the  odium  of  these  obnoxious  doctrines  to 
be  accumulated  upon  the  devoted  head  of  Calvin,  who  had 
never  been  heard  in  public  life,  even  at  the  latest  period  re- 
ferred to?"* 

It  is  our  confident  expectation,  that  in  proportion  to  the 
increase  of  biblical  study,  and  the  culture  of  mental  philoso- 
phy among  good  men,  there  will  be  a  return  to  these  very 
doctrines ;  and  that  the  works  of  Calvin  (as  we  already  see 
in  Germany)  will  rise  again  in  the  estimation  of  the  church ; 
and  that  his  character  will  be  pondered,  as  one  of  the  noblest 
models  of  the  theologian,  the  expositor,  and  the  reformer. 
When  this  day  shall  come,  the  calumnies  of  his  foes  will 
find  their  due  level.    And  though  no  man  will  ever  vindicate 


Page  230. 


204  ADDITIONAL     NOTES     TO 

his  opinion  or  his  practice,  in  this  instance,  any  more  than 
the  exploded  whimseys  of  the  astrologer  or  the  alchymist, 
pious  Christians  will  accord  to  him  the  praise  of  bishop  An- 
drews, that  "he  was  an  illustrious  person,  and  never  to  be 
mentioned  without  a  preface  of  the  highest  honour."  Mean- 
while, let  the  enemies  of  the  reformer's  memory  ponder  the 
testimony  of  Arminius  himself.  In  a  letter,  only  two  days 
before  his  death,  he  says :  *'  After  the  holy  Scriptures,  I  ex- 
hort the  students  to  read  the  Commentaries  of  Calvin  : 

for  I  tell  them  he  is  incomparable  in  the  interpretation  of 
Scripture  ;  and  that  his  Commentaries  ought  to  be  held  in 
greater  estimation  than  all  that  is  delivered  to  us  in  the 
writings  of  the  ancient  Christian  fathers :  so  that,  in  a  certain 
eminent  spirit  of  prophecy,  I  give  the  pre-eminence  to  him 
beyond  most  others,  indeed,  beyond  them  all."* 

In  closing  this  article,  we  are  happy  to  be  able  to  say  that 
two  elaborate  memoirs  of  Calvin  may  soon  be  expected.  One 
is  understood  to  be  preparing  by  Mr.  Henry,  pastor  of  a 
church  in  Berlin  ;  and  great  pains  have  been  taken  to  gain 
information  from  unpublished  manuscripts  and  other  docu- 
ments existing  at  Geneva.  The  other  biography  is  that 
which  was  left  by  the  late  lamented  Dr.  M'Crie,  and  which 
will  be  made  ready  for  the  press  by  one  of  his  sons.  From 
the  biographer  of  Knox  and  Melvill,  every  thing  which  the 
case  admits  may  be  expected. — Bib.  Rep.  vol.  8, pp.89,  96. 

Note  D. 

One  of  the  most  interesting  circumstances  attending  the 
Reformation,  was  the  striking  uniformity  of  doctrinal  senti- 
ment among  the  reformers.  This  uniformity  is  evident  from 
an  inspection  of  their  respective  Confessions  of  Faith,  and  of 


*  Christian  Observer  for  1827,  p.  622. — "  Declaration  of  Armi- 
nius."   Ibid.  1807,  p.  179.    Scott's  Milner,  iii.  496. 


THE     LIFE     OF     CALVIN.  205 

the  writings  of  their  most  distinguished  divines.  Their  ge- 
neral uniformity  of  opinion  on  the  subject  of  church  govern- 
ment and  ecclesiastical  discipline,  was  scarcely  less  remark- 
able. Uniformity  on  the  latter  point,  however,  was  not 
entire.  In  England,  from  motives  of  policy,  a  form  of 
government  was  introduced,  more  nearly  allied  to  that 
from  which  they  had  separated,  than  that  adopted  by  the 
rest  of  the  reformers.  But  even  in  England,  the  Episcopal 
mode  was  not  maintained  on  such  grounds  as  would  unchurch 
those  who  differed  from  them  in  theory  and  practice  on  the 
subject  of  church  government.  This  abundantly  appears 
from  the  fact,  that  the  leaders  of  the  reformation  in  England, 
fraternized  with  the  reformers  on  the  continent,  owned  them 
as  a  church,  applied  to  them  for  counsel  and  assistance,  and 
asked  their  co-operation  in  furthering  the  common  cause  in 
which  they  were  engaged.  These  marks  of  approbation  and 
brotherly  affection,  were  received  by  n5ne  more  frequently 
than  by  John  Calvin  ;  as  may  be  gathered  from  the  interest- 
ing and  full  correspondence  between  him  and  Cranmer,  the 
duke  of  Somerset,  and  the  rest  of  the  English  reformers. 

It  is  worthy  of  notice,  that  during  the  time  of  archbishop 
Laud,  a  sudden,  though  not  unaccountable  change  took  place 
in  the  minds  of  many  of  the  clergy,  as  to  the  meaning  of 
several  of  their  doctrinal  articles.  Prior  to  the  time  of  Laud, 
they  were  almost  uniformly  received  in  a  Calvinistic  sense. 
During  that  period,  also,  the  name  and  writings  of  Calvin 
had  great  weight  in  the  English  church  ;  but  since  the  time 
of  Laud,  an  an ti-( Calvinistic  sense  has  not  only  been  put  upon 
those  articles,  but  contended  for  by  many  as  the  only  admis- 
sible sense  in  which  they  can  be  honestly  adopted.  With 
this  change,  as  we  might  naturally  expect,  their  respect  and 
veneration  for  the  name  and  opinions  of  Calvin,  have  given 
place  to  strong  disapprobation,  if  not  contempt.  This  feeling 
has  led  many  writers  in  the  Episcopal  church,  to  say  many 
hard  things  of  Calvin,  and  to  endeavour  to  cast  obloquy  upon 
the  name  and  memory  of  the  man  to  whom  their  own  church 

18 


206  ADDITIONAL      NOTES     TO 

is  indebted  for  much  of  its  purity,  and  protestant  character. 
To  say  the  least,  it  is  gross  ingratitude,  thus  to  treat  the 
memory  of  so  great  a  benefactor.  But  while  some  of  the 
writers  alluded  to,  are  actuated  by  hatred,  and  influenced  by 
rancorous  feelings,  engendered  and  embittered  by  the  spirit 
of  controversy,  it  is  doubtless  true,  that  others  of  them  are 
utterly  ignorant  of  the  doctrinal  sentiments  of  those  lumina- 
ries of  the  English  church,  whom,  from  education,  they  are 
accustomed  to  venerate,  and  of  the  high  estimation  in  which 
they  held  Calvin  and  his  writings.  It  may,  therefore,  be  a 
service  to  such,  if  they  are  willing  "  to  come  to  the  light," 
and  allow  justice  to  the  memory  of  Calvin,  to  glance  at  the 
history  of  theological  opinion,  as  it  existed  among  the  Eng- 
lish reformers  and  their  successors,  down  to  the  time  of 
Laud.  But  the  limits  of  a  note  will  not  permit  us  to  extend 
the  inquiry  so  far  as  we  could  wish ;  we  shall,  therefore, 
confine  our  remarks  to  the  period  immediately  succeeding 
the  Reformation. 

Although  many  who  subscribe  the  articles  of  the  English 
church  cannot  adopt  the  doctrinal  sentiments  of  Calvin,  it  is 
nevertheless  true,  that  Calvin  approved  of  those  articles  as 
doctrinally  correct.  This  point  has  been  fully  established  by 
the  Editors  of  the  London  Christian  Observer.  See  their  vo- 
lumes for  the  years  1803, 1804, 1820.  As  to  the  censure  which 
Calvin  passed  upon  the  liturgy  of  the  English  church,  "/n  An- 
glicand  Liturgid  multas  video  tolerabiles  ineptias,^^  it  should 
be  observed  that  the  design  and  extent  of  this  censure  appear 
to  have  been  misunderstood  by  several  writers,  who  have 
supposed  the  doctrines  expressed  or  implied  in  the  liturgy 
to  be  its  object,  whereas  nothing  can  be  more  evident  than 
the  contrary.  It  belongs  exclusively  to  the  rites  and  cere- 
monies of  the  English  Church.  This  might  be  collected 
from  the  words  themselves.  It  was  not  the  disposition  of 
that  reformer  to  tolerate  doctrinal  errors,  or  to  treat  them  as 
trifling  or  frivolous  things  ;  but  in  matters  of  form  he  was 
less  rigid.  "  In  things  of  an  indifferent  nature,"  he  says,  "  I 


THE     LIFE    OF     CALVIN.  207 

am  easy  and  flexible,  yet  I  do  not  always  think  it  expedient 
to  comply  with  the  morose  temper  of  those  men,  who  will 
give  up  nothing  to  which  they  have  been  accustomed.  In  the 
English  liturgy,  such  as  you  describe  it,  I  see  that  there 
were  many  tolerable  fooleries:  multas  video  fuisse  tolerabiles 
ineptias."  The  letter  from  which  this  passage  is  extracted, 
is  addressed  to  certain  English  protestants  at  Frankfort,  who 
had  been  driven  from  their  country  by  the  bigotry  of  queen 
Mary.  In  this  letter  Calvin  censures  them  for  suffering  dis- 
sensions about  forms  and  ceremonies  to  prevent  their  union 
in  one  body.  His  expostulation  seems  to  have  produced  a 
good  effect,  for  in  a  second  letter,  dated  about  five  months 
later,  he  congratulates  them  upon  their  reconciliation.  The 
points  about  which  they  had  differed,  he  again  mentions  as 
useless  and  frivolous  ceremonies,  frivolis  et  inutilibus  cere- 
moniis,  and  particularly  specifies  the  use  of  tapers,  crosses, 
and  other  superstitions  of  that  kind. 

The  ceremonies  prescribed  in  the  first  liturgy  of  Edward 
VI.  viz  :  the  mixing  of  water  with  the  wine  in  the  eucharist, 
the  crossing  in  the  consecration  of  the  elements,  the  exorcism 
practised  at  baptism,  the  anointing  and  threefold  immersion 
of  the  infant,  and  extreme  unction  administered  to  the  sick, 
must  have  appeared  to  Calvin  frivolous,  and  deserving  of  the 
name  of  fooleries. 

It  cannot  now  be  determined,  with  certainty,  which  of  the 
liturgies  of  Edward  was  intended,  the  only  description  being 
liturgia  qualem  describitis,  the  liturgy  as  you  describe  it  •, 
and  the  ceremonies  of  tapers  and  crosses  seeming  rather  to 
refer  to  the  first  than  the  second  liturgy.  However,  as  the 
date  of  the  letter  is  posterior  by  about  four  years  to  the  second 
liturgy,  that  may  possibly  have  been  the  object  of  Calvin's 
censure,  on  account  of  some  ceremonies  still  retained ;  for, 
even  after  the  review  and  reformation  of  the  liturgy,  many 
things  remained  which  offended  the  admirers  of  the  naked 
simplicity  of  presbyterian  worship;  such  as  the  cross  in  bap- 
tism, the  bowing  at  the  name  of  Jesus,  the  kneeling  at  the 


208  ADDITIONAL    NOTES    TO 

Lord's  Supper,  the  observation  of  fasts  and  festivals,  and  the 
use  of  the  surplice.  The  last  of  these  upon  another  occasion, 
this  reformer  mentions  in  the  following  terms,  the  use  of  the 
linen  vest  together  with  many  fooleries,  linese  vestis  usum 
cum  multis  ineptiis. 

Whether  we  understand  the  words  of  Calvin  as  relating  to 
the  first  liturgy  or  the  second,  in  either  case  it  is  evident,  that 
the  object  of  his  censure  is  not  the  doctrines  of  the  church, 
but  some  of  her  ceremonies,  which  he  thought  frivolous.  For 
their  present  simplicity  she  is  in  part  indebted  to  his  remon- 
strances in  the  reign  of  Edward.  This  assertion  rests  upon 
the  best  authority,  the  confession  of  a  learned  and  ingenious 
adversary,  Heylin,  who,  in  his  History  of  Presbyterianism, 
b.  V.  ch.  vi.,  says,  "  the  first  liturgy  was  discontinued,  and 
the  second  superinduced  upon  it,  to  give  satisfaction  unto 
Calvin's  cavils,  the  curiosities  of  some  and  the  mistakes  of 
others  of  his  friends  and  followers." 

The  only  part  of  the  first  liturgy  to  which  Calvin  objected, 
on  account  of  doctrinal  error,  is  the  passage  in  the  commu- 
nion service,  at  the  end  of  the  prayer  for  the  whole  state  of 
Christ's  church,  "  We  commend  to  thy  mercy,  O  Lord,  all 
other  thy  servants  which  are  departed  from  us  with  the  sign 
of  faith,  and  now  rest  in  the  sleep  of  peace  ;  grant  unto  them, 
we  beseech  thee,  thy  mercy  and  everlasting  peace."  Prayer 
for  the  departed  was  judged  by  him  to  be  unscriptural.  Hence, 
in  his  letter  to  the  duke  of  Somerset,  he  objected  to  this  pas- 
sage, and  such  was  the  deference  paid  to  his  authority,  that 
in  the  second  liturgy  of  Edward,  the  last  clause  of  the  prayer 
for  the  whole  state  of  Christ's  church  was  altered  to  its  pre-~ 
sent  form.  The  other  points  which  he  specified  in  that  letter 
are  the  chrism  and  extreme  unction,  both  of  which  were  evi- 
dently ceremonial,  the  former  being  invented  as  a  type  of  the 
Holy  Ghost  in  baptism,  the  latter  being  a  rite  introduced  in 
imitation  of  the  practice  of  the  apostles,  and  which  ought  to 
have  ceased,  together  with  the  gift  of  miraculous  powers. 

On  the  whole,  there  appears  to  be  no  ground  for  the  as- 


THE     LIFE     OF     CALVIN.  209 

sertion,  that  Calvin  could  say  nothing  better  of  the  liturgy 
than  muUas  video  tolerabiles  ineptias.  These  words  have 
been  proved  to  relate  merely  to  certain  forms  and  ceremonies 
which  he  censured  as  useless  and  frivolous ;  at  the  same 
time  approving  cordially  the  doctrine  of  the  liturgy,  with  the 
single  exception  of  one  passage  in  the  communion  service, 
which  in  compliance  with  his  wishes,  was  corrected. 

It  is  also  well  known,  that  Calvin's  two  most  intimate 
friends  and  followers,  Peter  Martyr  and  Martin  Bucer,  who 
were  invited  to  England  by  Cranmer,  for  the  furtherance  of 
the  reformation,  approved  the  doctrines  of  the  Liturgy. 

Bucer  revised  the  Liturgy  of  the  English  church  in  1550, 
at  the  request  of  Cranmer.  The  first  step  towards  a  refor- 
mation of  the  service  of  the  church  in  England  was  under 
Henry  VIIL  in  1536.  Alexander  Aless,  a  Scotchman,  who 
resided  sometime  in  Germany,  had  imbibed  the  Lutheran 
sentiments.  He  was  at  this  time  with  Cranmer  at  Lambeth. 
Lord  Cromwell  introduced  him  to  the  Convocation,  and  de- 
sired him  to  give  his  opinion  about  the  Sacraments.  He 
maintained  that  Christ  instituted  only  two.  Baptism  and  the 
Lord's  Supper.  In  this  Convocation,  they  agreed  to  five 
articles  of  faith,  and  five  concerning  the  ceremonies  of  the 
church.  These  were  printed  and  published  with  the  sanc- 
tion of  Henry. 

On  the  accession  of  Edward  VI.  in  1547,  the  Liturgy  of 
the  church  was  new  modelled  from  the  several  popish  mis- 
sals or  mass-books,  as  of  Sarum,  Bangor,  York,  Hereford, 
and  Lincoln.  Thus  reformed,  it  was  published  and  sanc- 
tioned by  Edward,  in  November,  1548.  In  1550,  the  com- 
mon prayer-book  was  brought  to  another  revision.  Bucer 
was  now  professor  at  Cambridge ;  and  at  Cranmer's  request, 
Alexander  Aless  at  this  time  translated  the  Liturgy  of  1548 
into  Latin,  for  the  use  of  Bucer.  In  the  works  of  Bucer,  the 
translation  of  Aless  is  published  with  the  censures  of  Bucer, 
which  are  numerous,  and  which  Burnet  says  were  afterwards 

18* 


210  ADDITIONAL     NOTES     TO 

mostly  adopted.     Bucer  finished  liis  corrections  January  5, 
1551,  and  died  February  28. 

The  capitation  to  these  is  as  follows  :  "  Hie  Corrections  of 
Martin  Bucer  upon  the  Liturgy,  or  the  order  of  the  Church 
and  the  Ministry  in  the  Kingdom  of  England ;  written  at 
the  request  of  Thomas  Cranmer,  Archbishop  of  Canterbury  y 
Opera  Buceri,  p.  456. 

Dr.  Heylin,  in  labouring  with  much  petulance  to  fix  an 
odium  upon  Calvin,  has  highly  complimented  him,  by  relat- 
ing some  things  which  others  of  his  church  are  anxious  to 
deny.  He  says,  "  That  Calvin  having  taken  order  with 
Martin  Bucer,  on  his  first  coming  into  England,  to  give  him 
some  account  of  the  English  Liturgy;  he  had  no  sooner 
satisfied  himself  in  the  sight  thereof,  but  he  makes  presently 
his  exceptions  and  demurs  upon  it"* — and  "  presently  writes 
back  to  Bucer,  whom  he  requires  to  be  instant  with  the 
Lord  Protector,  that  all  such  rites  as  savoured  of  supersti- 
tion might  be  taken  away."  "  He  had  his  agents  in  the 
court,  the  city,  the  universities,  the  country,  and  the  convo- 
cation,'''' "  Let  it  suffice,  that  by  the  eagerness  of  their  soli- 
citations, more  than  for  any  thing  which  could  be  faulted  in 
the  book  itself,  it  was  brought  under  a  review,  (1550,)  and 
thereby  altered  to  a  further  distance  than  it  had  before,  from 
the  rituals  of  the  church  of  Romey  Heylin  Hist.  Presb. 
p.  11  and  12. 

Peter  Martyr  and  John  Alasco  were  of  the  number  com- 
missioned to  revise  and  embody  a  system  of  ecclesiastical 
laws  for  the  English  church  in  1552-.  Burnet,  Vol.  2,  Anno 


*  Calvin  was  not  alone  in  his  exceptions  against  the  Liturgy, 
for  Cranmer  "  Fatebatur  multa  detracta  oportere  superflua,  et  ar- 
dentibus  votis  cupiebat  ea  in  melius  correcta." — Cranmer  con- 
fessed that  there  were  many  superfluous  things  in  the  Book,  that 
ought  to  be  taken  out,  and  earnestly  wished  that  it  might  have 
some  further  amendment.  Pierce's  Vindic.  p.  12,  13,  quoted  by 
Neal,  Vol.  1.  Quarto  Ed.  Appendix,  p.  895. 


THE     LIFE     OF     CALVIN.  211 

1552.  In  1551,  the  articles  of  faith  in  the  English  church 
were  prepared.  Bucer  was  for  beginning  with  the  doctrines 
before  the  ceremonies,  but  Cranmer  judged  it  expedient  to 
delay  these  till  the  Liturgy  should  be  settled.  In  what  me- 
thod they  proceeded  in  compiling  the  articles,  Burnet  says, 
is  not  certain.  He  supposes  that  Cranmer  and  Ridley  first 
framed  them,  and  that  they  were  then  sent  to  others  to  pro- 
pose amendments.  The  doctrines  of  faith  were  comprised 
in  forty-two  articles,  and  published  with  the  Liturgy  in  1552, 
and  established  by  the  king.  They  were  again  revised  and 
reduced  with  some  alterations  to  the  present  number,  thirty- 
nine,  in  the  reign  of  queen  Elizabeth,  in  1562.  Burnet,  Vol. 
2,  p.  158,  and  Collection,  p.  190. 

Calvin's  offer  of  assistance,  as  some  have  called  it,  who 
would  represent  him  as  officious  in  the  matter,  appears  from 
one  of  his  letters  to  Cranmer,  to  have  been  at  the  request  and 
instigation  of  the  archbishop,  who  constantly  kept  up  a 
friendly  communication  with  him  on  all  points  connected 
with  the  Reformation.  Strype,  in  his  Life  of  Cranmer, 
says,  on  page  407,  that  "  he  (Cranmer)  sent  his  letters  to 
BuUinger,  Calvin,  and  Melancthon,  disclosing  his  pious  de- 
sign to  them,  (viz.  respecting  a  book  of  articles,)  and  requir- 
ing their  counsel  and  furtherance."  And  on  page  409,  com- 
mences a  chapter,  giving  an  account  of  Calvin's  correspon- 
dence with  the  archbishop  on  the  subject;  from  which  it 
appears,  that  though  Calvin  blamed  Cranmer  for  not  having 
made  more  progress  in  the  Reformation,  yet  Cranmer,  not- 
withstanding, "  kept  up  a  great  esteem  and  value  for  him." 
p.  411. 

The  Rev.  Elijah  Waterman,  the  author  of  a  valuable  Life 
of  Calvin,*  in  a  letter  addressed  to  William  S.  Johnson, 


*  The  American  editor  would  take  this  opportunity  to  acknow- 
ledge his  indebtedness  to  this  author,  for  much  of  the  matter  of  his 
notes. 


212  ADDITIONAL     NOTES     TO 

LL.  D.,  and  inserted  as  an  appendix  to  his  translation 
of  Calvin's  Catechism,  has  satisfactorily  shown  that  the 
Catechism  commonly  called  Dr.  Alexander  Nowell's  which 
was  sanctioned  in  the  convocation  of  Bishops  and  Clergy,  in 
1562,  and  published  in  1570  "  as  a  standing  summary  of  the 
doctrines  of  the  English  church,"  is  in  substance  the  Cate- 
chism of  Calvin  enlarged.  The  following  extract  from  that 
letter,  gives  a  concise  account  of  the  three  Catechisms  of  the 
English  church,  the  only  ones  that  have  ever  been  sanctioned 
in  convocations  of  the  Bishops  and  Clergy. 

1.  The  Catechism  of  Edward  VI. 

The  reformation  commenced  in  the  English  church,  in 
1547,  and  Cranmer  set  forth  the  Homilies,  12  in  number. 
In  1548,  the  Liturgy  was  compiled,  by  the  care  of  arch- 
bishop Cranmer,  Somerset,  Ridley,  and  Peter  Martyr,  and 
passed  the  house  of  Lords,  January  15lh,  1549.  This  Jirst 
Liturgy  contained  no  Catechism  of  doctrinal  instruction. 
In  1548,  Calvin,  in  his  letter  to  Somerset,  the  Protector,  re- 
commends, That  a  summary  of  doctrines  and  a  Catechism 
for  the  use  of  children  be  published.  "  It  becomes  you," 
he  says,  "  to  be  fully  persuaded,  that  the  Church  of  God, 
cannot  be  built  up  without  a  Catechism.''''  The  Protector 
himself  translated  this  letter  from  the  original  French,  and  it 
was  published  in  1550.*  The  same  year,  the  Articles  of 
Faith  were  "  set  about,"  and  completed  in  1552.  "As  for 
the  Catechism,"  Dr.  Burnet  says,  "  it  was  printed  with  a 
preface  in  the  king's  name,  bearing  date  the  24th  of  May, 
1553,  about  seven  weeks  before  his  death  :  In  which  he  sets 


*  See  Waterman's  Life  of  Calvin,  p.  336,  and  333,  where  Calvin 
gives  his  approbation  to  the  Homilies,  the  Apostles'  Creed,  Lord's 
Prayer,  and  Ten  Commandments,  as  set  forth  by  Cranmer,  and 
published  by  Somerset,  1547.  Burnet,  vol.  2.  p.  25. — And  Wood's 
Athen.  Oxon.  vol.  1.  fol.  p.  72.  A  copy  of  the  Protector's  trans- 
lation is  in  Harvard  library,  first  ed.  1550. 


THE     LIFE    OF     CALVIN.  213 

forth  that  it  was  drawn  by  a  pious  and  learned  man,  sup- 
posed to  be  bishop  Poynet,  and  was  given  to  be  revised  by 
some  bishops  and  learned  men."*  Rector  Strype,  in  his 
Annals,  vol.  2.  p.  368,  is  quite  confident  that  king  Edward's 
Catechism  was  written  by  Alexander  Nowell.  But  his 
proof  is  not  of  much  weight ;  as  it  is  more  probable  that 
Nowell  followed  Poynet  in  compiling  his,  in  1561.t  And 
this  will  better  account  for  the  "verbatim"  resemblance  be- 
tween some  of  the  questions  and  answers  in  those  two 
works. 

2.  The  catechism  commonly  called  Dr.  No  well's. 

In  Strype's  life  of  archbishop  Parker,  fol.  p.  301,  we  have 
an  account  of  Nowell's  Catechism.  It  was  proposed,  1561, 
to  be  in  Latin  for  the  use  of  schools,  that  youth  might  be  in- 
structed in  sound  principles  of  religion,  especially  those  of 
the  gentry,  and  such  as  were  designed  for  divinity.  In 
1562,  Nowell  laid  one  before  the  synod,  of  which  he  was 
prolocutor.  In  the  upper  house,  it  was  committed  to  four 
bishops,:j:  and  after  being  corrected  by  them,  it  passed  the 
review  of  both  houses,  and  had  their  full  approbation.^ 
Nowell  then  sent  the  Catechism  to  secretary  Cecil,  who 
returned  it  after  about  a  year,  with  certain  notes  of  some 
learned  men  upon  it,  which  Nowell  adopted.  "  So  carefully,''^ 
says  the  rector  of  Leyton,  "  and  exactly  was  itrevieived  and 
corrected,  to  make  it  a  standing  summary,  of  the  doc- 
trines OF  THIS  CHURCH."  As  Cecil,  to  whom  it  was  first 
dedicated,  did  not  direct  its  publication,  it  rested  in  Nowell's 


*  Hist.  Reform,  vol.  3.  p.  214.  fol. 

t  King  Edward's  Catechism  appears  to  be  published  at  large  in 
the  first  vol.  of  the  Christian  Observer. 

I  Dr.  Heylin  says  that  bishops  Jewel,  Bentham,  Alley,  and  Da- 
vis, were  the  four  who  reviewed  Nowell's  Catechism,  February 
25,  1562.    Hist.  Reform,  p.  332. 

\  See  Burnet,  vol.  3.  p.  303.  And  archbishop  Wake's  state  of 
the  church,  fol.  p.  602. 


214  ADDITIONAL     NOTES     TO 

hands,  five  or  six  years,  till  archbishop  Parker  obtained  the 
secretary's  consent  that  it  might  be  published,  and  if  he 
pleased  it  might  be  dedicated  to  the  bishops.  Accordingly, 
"  It  was  printed  by  Reynold  Wolf,  the  16th  of  the  calends 
of  July  (that  is  the  16th  of  June)  1570,  and  was  dedicated 
unto  the  bishops  because  it  was  offered  them  seven  years  be- 
fore in  convocation^  and  allowed  by  them  all,  as  above 
said.^^ 

''  This  Catechism,"  adds  the  diligent  and  impartial 
Strype,  "  was  printed  again  in  the  year  1572,  and  in  Greek 
and  Latin  157.'i,  and  so  from  time  to  time  had  many  impres- 
sions, and  was  used  a  long  time  in  all  schools,  even  to  our 
days,"  (that  is,  of  Charles  II.)  "  and  pity  it  is,  it  is  now  so 
disused  J' ^ 

3.  The  Shorter  Catechism. 

On  the  same  page,  yiz.  301,  Strype  says,  "  There  wanted 
now  nothing,  but  a  shorter  Catechism,  for  the  use  of  the 
younger  sort  of  scholars :  which  the  dean,  (Nowell,)  in  his 
epistle  to  the  bishops,  promised  to  draw  up,  contracting 
this  larger  one.  And  thus  the  church  was  furnished  by 
the  archbishop's  furtherance  and  care,  with  this  good  and 
useful  work." 

Numerous  writers  in  the  Episcopal  church  in  England, 
and  among  them  some  of  the  dignitaries  of  the  church,  have 
laboured  to  prove  that  the  English  reformers  were  hostile  to- 
wards Calvin,  and  that  their  Confession  of  Faith  and  Cate- 
chisms, were  opposed  to  his  theological  works  and  opinions. 
That  no  such  opposition  existed,  says  Waterman  in  his  let- 
ter to  Mr.  Johnson,  but  that  an  entire  harmony  prevailed 
between  those  venerable  reformers,  and  that  pre-eminent 
minister  of  Christ,  is  beyond  question  evinced  from  the  Ca- 
techism itself,  which  runs  parallel  with  his,  and  scarcely 
varies  from  it,  except  in  a  more  diffusive  illustration  of  the 
doctrinal  points.  It  is  an  incontrovertible  fact,  that  at  that 
very  time,  and  for  about  fifty  years  after,  to  the  arch-prelacy 
of  William  Laud,  the  Institutes  of  Calvin  were  publicly  read 


THE    LIFE     OF    CALVIN.  215 

and  studied  in  both  Universities^  by  every  student  in  divi- 
nity. And  the  Pope,  in  his  Bull,  excommunicating  and  de- 
posing the  queen,  in  1569,  alleges  against  her  this  offensive 
charge,  "  that  she  received  herself  and  enjoined  upon  her 
subjects,  the  impious  sacraments  and  institutes  according  to 
Calvin."  Every  historical  fact  that  has  fallen  under  my 
observation,  enforces  upon  my  mind  the  conviction,  that  the 
doctrinal  system  of  Calvin,  in  1562,  and  in  1570,  was  cor- 
dially received  by  the  bishops  of  the  English  church.  In 
proof  of  this,  not  to  rest  on  the  circumstance,  that  archbishop 
Parker  presented  to  the  University  of  Cambridge  the  Jnsti' 
tutes,  Commentaries,  and  other  writings  of  Calvin,  I  may 
adduce  the  following  paragraph  of  the  xvii.  Article  of  Faith, 
as  being  very  closely  copied  from  Calvin's  Institutes  :  "  Fur- 
thermore, we  must  receive  God's  promises  in  such  wise,  as 
they  be  generally  set  forth  to  us  in  holy  Scripture ;  and  in 
our  doings,  that  will  of  God  is  to  be  followed,  which  we 
have  expressly  declared  unto  us  in  the  word  of  God."* — 
For  this  fact  and  the  references,  I  am  indebted  to  the  Chris- 
tian Observer,  from  which  very  candid  and  evangelical 
work,  I  beg  leave  to  give  the  following  statement  :t  That  Dr. 
Randolph,  bishop  of  Oxford,  a  few  years  before,  republished 
"  The  whole  of  king  Edward's  Catechism,  the  declaration 
of  doctrines  in  Jewell's  Apology,  and  the  Catechism  com- 
monly called  Dr.  Nowell's,  in  a  collection  of  tracts  for  the 
use  of  students  in  divinity."  The  learned  editors  of  the 
Observer  then  say,  that  they  shall  republish  these  "  three 
works,  which  will  most  clearly  define  the  sense  of  the 

CHURCH,  IN  ALL  MATTERS  NECESSARY  TO  SALVATION  ;    and  by 

which  sense  we  wish  our  own  sentiments  to  be  inferred.''^ 

It  will,  1  apprehend,  be   conceded,  without  the  least  re- 
striction, that  bishop  Jewell  was  the  most  learned  and  influ- 

*  Cal.  Instit  Lib.  3,  chap.  24.  \.  5,  et  Lib.  1,  chap.  87.  \.  5,  and 
Christian  Observer,  vol.  3,  p.  433. 
t  Christian  Obser.  vol.  1.  p.  9,  10,  for  1802. 


216  ADDITIONAL     NOTES      TO 

ential  divine  among  the  dignitaries  of  his  day ;  and  that  iiis 
writings  were  the  standard  of  orthodoxy  in  the  English 
church.  He  was  the  scholar  and  companion  of  Peter  Mar- 
tyr. In  his  exile  he  drank  long  and  deep,  at  the  theological 
fountains  of  Switzerland,  Germany,  and  Geneva  ;  and  Law- 
rence Humphrey,  in  his  life  of  this  great  man,  states  as  an 
instance  of  his  uncommon  powers  of  memory,  "  That  he 
kneiv  Calvin's  Institutes  as  well  as  he  knew  his  own  fin- 
gers; quas,  tanquam  digitos  suos  probe  noverat  ;"*  and,  that 
he  very  much  recommended  that  work  to  his  friends.  Bi- 
shop Jewell  himself  gives  the  most  decided  testimony  of  his 
very  high  estimation  of  Calvin,  in  his  defence  of  his 
Apology,  against  the  papist  Harding,  who  called  him  a  dis- 
ciple of  Calvin.  Jewell  does  not  deny  the  charge,  but  says, 
"  Touching  Mr.  Calvin,  it  is  a  great  wrong  untruly  to  report 
so  great  a  father,  and  so  worthy  an  ornament  of  the  church 
of  God.  If  you  had  ever  known  the  order  of  the  church  of 
Geneva,  and  had  seen  four  thousand  people  or  more,  receiv- 
ing the  holy  mysteries  together  at  one  communion,  ye 
would  not,  without  your  great  shame  and  want  of  modesty, 
thus  untruly  have  published  to  the  world,  that  by  Mr.  Cal- 
vin's doctrine  the  sacraments  of  Christ  are  superfluous."! 

To  bring  the  evidence  on  this  part  of  the  subject  to  a  close, 
I  will  quote  from  Humphrey's  Life  of  Jewell,  what  I  consi- 
der as  conclusive  testimony,  to  prove  the  agreement  on  the 
essential  doctrines  of  the  gospel,  among  all  the  reformed  and 
protestant  churches.  For  the  sake  of  brevity,  I  will  omit 
the  Latin  and  give  it  in  a  translation. — "In  1562,  was  pub- 
lished the  Apology  of  the  English  church,  which  was  ap- 
proved by  the  consent  and  authority  of  the  queen,  published 
by  the  counsel  of  all  the  bishops  and  other  clergy,  as  it  was 


*  Vita  Jewelli,  p.  236,  ed.  1573. 

t  Jewell's  defence  of  his  Apology,  published  1564.    See  Chris- 
tian Observer,  vol.  3,  p.  629. 


THE     LIFE     OF     CALVIN.  217 

also  composed  and  written  by  the  author,  as  the  public  con- 
fession of  the  catholic  and  Christian  faith  of  the  English 
CHURCH,  in  which  is  taught  our  agreeirLiit  with  the  Ger- 
man, Helvetic,  French,*  Scotch,  Genevese,  and  other 
pure  churches."! 

Now,  that  which  consummates  this  argument,  is  the  fact, 
that  JewelVs  Apology^  the  Thirty-nine  Articles,  and  NoiveWs 
Catechism,  were  all  passed  and  sanctioned  by  the  same 
venerable  convocation,  in  1562.  They  were  all  designed 
alike  to  support  one  cause,  and  to  establish  and  perpetuate 
the  same  doctrines  ;  and  of  course  they  must  be  in  agreement 
among  themselves.  Bishop  JewelVs  Apology  was  designed 
as  the  defensive  armour  of  the  church,  against  the  calumnies 
of  the  papists ;  the  Articles,  to  preserve  lier  internal  union 
in  doctrines  and  worship  ;  and  the  Catechism,  to  im*bue  the 
minds  of  youths,  with  pure  principles,  which  was  by  no 
means  the  least  important  concern  of  the  reformers. 

That  Calvinistic  sentiments  were  held  by  the  clergy  dur- 
ing the  reign  of  Edward  VL  there  can  be  no  doubt.  Mo- 
sheim  says,  "  that  after  the  death  of  Henry  (VHI.)  the  uni- 
versities, the  schools,  and  the  churches,  became  the  oracles 
of  Calvinism ;  and  that  when  it  was  proposed,  in  Edward 
the  Sixth's  reign,  to  give  a  fixed  and  stable  turn  to  the  doc- 
trine and  discipline  of  the  church,  Geneva  was  acknowledged 
as  a  sister  church,  and  the  theological  system  there  estab- 
lished by  Calvin  was  adopted,  and  rendered  the  public  rule 
of  faith  in  England."  That  the  doctrines  of  the  church  of 
England  were  deemed,  by  many  of  the  reformers  themselves, 
to  be  not  at  variance  with  Calvin's  Institutes  might  easily  be 
shown.  A  remarkable  testimony  to  this  effect  will  be  found 
in  Fox's  detail  of  the  examination  of  the  martjT  Philpot,  the 


*  Calvin  drew  up  the  confession  of  the  French  churches — Vide 
•Harm.  Confess.  Catal.  Confess. 
t  Vita  Jewelli,  p.  177. 

19 


218  ADDITIONAL     NOTES     TO 

first  protestant  archdeacon  of  Winchester,  in  the  reign  of 
Edward  VI.  «  Which  of  you  all,"  said  he  to  his  popish 
judges,  "is  able  to  answer  Calvin's  Institutions,  who  is  mi- 
nister of  Geneva?"  "  I  am  sure  you  blaspheme  that  godly 
man  and  that  godly  church,  where  he  is  minister,  as  it  is  your 
church's  condition,  when  you  cannot  answer  men  by  learn- 
ing, to  oppress  them  with  blasphemies  and  false  reports :  for 
in  the  matter  of  predestination  he  (Calvin)  is  in  no  other 
opinion  than  all  the  doctors  of  the  church  be,  agreeing  with 
the  Scriptures."  On  another  examination,  he  said,  "  I  allow 
the  church  of  Geneva  and  the  doctrine  of  the  same ;  for  it  is 
zmaj  cathoUca,  et  apostolica,  and  doth  follow  the  doctrine 
which  the  apostles  did  preach  :  mid  the  doctrine  taught  and 
preached  in  king  EdwarcVs  days  ivas  also  according  to  the 
same.''^     (Fox,  Volume  III.  see  Philpot's  Examinations.) 

Bradford  wrote  a  treatise  on  the  doctrine  of  election,  prov- 
ing its  truth  from  the  first  chapter  of  Paul's  Epistle  to  the 
Ephesians.  This  work  was  approved  by  Cranmer,  Ridley, 
and  Latimer,  as  appears  from  the  following  extract  from 
Strype's  Life  of  Cranmer,  p.  350  : 

"  One  thing  there  now  fell  out  which  caused  some  distur- 
bance among  the  prisoners.  Many  of  them  that  were  under 
restraint  for  the  profession  of  the  gospel  were  such  as  held 
free-will,  tending  to  the  derogation  of  God's  grace,  and  re- 
fused the  doctrines  of  absolute  predestination  and  original 
sin." — *'  Divers  of  them  were  in  the  King's  Bench,  where 
Bradford  and  many  other  gospellers  were." — "  Bradford  was 
apprehensive  that  they  might  now  do  great  harm  in  the 
church,  and  therefore  wrote  a  letter  to  Cranmer,  Ridley,  and 
Latimer,  the  three  chief  heads  of  the  reformed  (though  op- 
pressed) church  in  England,  to  take  some  cognizance  of  this 
matter,  and  to  consult  with  them  in  remedying  it.  And  with 
him  joined  bishop  Ferrar,  Rowland  Taylor,  and  John  Phil- 
pot.  Upon  this  occasion,  Ridley  wrote  a  treatise  of  God^s 
election  and  predestination.  And  Bradford  wrote  another  upon 
the  same  subject,  and  sent  it  to  those  three  fathers,  in  Oxford, 


THE     LIFE    OF     CALVIN.  219 

for  their  approbation :  and  their's  being  obtained,  the  rest 
of  the  eminent  ministers  in  and  about  London  were  ready 
to  sign  it  alsoJ'^ 

The  notes  to  the  Bible,  to  which  archbishop  Parker  wrote 
a  preface,  are  highly  Calvinistic.  These  notes,  as  we  are 
informed  by  Strype,  in  his  Life  of  Archbishop  Parker,  p. 
400,  were  drawn  up  by  the  bishops,  but  chiefly  by  the  arch- 
bishops. As  a  specimen  of  these  notes,  we  insert  that  on 
Ezekiel  xviii.  23.  "  Have  I  any  desire  that  the  wicked 
should  die,  saith  the  Lord  God  V  The  note  is  as  follows : 
*'  Hee  speaketh  this  to  commend  God's  mercie  to  poor  sin- 
ners, who  rather  is  ready  to  pardon  than  to  punish,  as  his 
long  suffering  declareth.  Albeit  God  in  his  eternal  counsel 
appointed  the  death  and  damnation  of  the  reprobate,  yet  the 
end  of  his  counsel  was  not  their  death  only,  but  chiefly  his 
own  glory."  In  the  same  volume  was  inserted,  under  the 
same  authority,  viz.  that  of  the  bishops  and  archbishops  of 
the  church  of  England,  the  well  known  Calvinistic  Cate- 
chism, entitled,  *'  Certain  Questions  and  Answers  touching 
the  doctrine  of  Predestination,  the  use  of  God's  Word  and 
Sacraments."  Li  this  Catechism,  not  only  the  doctrine 
of  election,  but  that  of  reprobation  also,  is  plainly  and  expli- 
citly aflirmed  and  defended. 

The  divines  deputed  by  king  James,  to  attend  the  synod 
of  Dort,  were  bishops  Hall,  Davenant,  and  Ward,  who  were 
all  eminent  and  decided  Calvinists.  King  James  himself,  held 
the  same  theological  opinions,  and  strongly  disapproved  of 
Arminius  and  his  sentiments.  That  the  divines  above  named, 
were  Calvinists,  is  evident  from  the  fact,  that  they  individu- 
ally and  collectively  subscribed  to  all  the  acts  of  that  synod, 
in  condemnation  of  the  Arminians.  King  James,  in  his  de- 
claration against  Vorstius,  calls  Arminius,  "  that  enemy  of 
God;"  "who  was  the  first  in  our  age  that  infected  Leyden 
with  heresy,"  And,  speaking  of  "  seditious  and  heretical 
preachers,"  he  adds,  "  our  principal  meaning  was  of  Armi- 
nius, who  though  himself  were  lately  dead,  yet  had  he  left 


220  ADDITIONAL     NOTES     TO 

too  many  of  his  disciples  behind  him."  *'  It  was  our  hard 
hap  not  to  hear  of  this  Arrainius  before  he  was  dead,  and 
that  all  the  reformed  churches  of  Germany  had  with  open 
mouth  complained  of  him."  King  James'  Works,  (p.  350, 
354,  355.)  In  a  meditation  upon  the  Lord's  prayer,  king 
James  says,  "  the  first  article  of  the  apostles'  creed  teaches 
us,  that  God  is  Almighty,  however  Vorstius  and  the  Armi- 
nians  think  to  rob  him  of  his  eternal  decree  and  secret  will, 
making  many  things  to  be  done  in  this  world  whether  he 
will  or  not."  (Works,  581.)  It  is  remarkable,  that  the  synod 
of  Dort  was  expressly  assembled  at  the  persuasion  of  king 
James  :  and  even  Dr.  Heylin  admits  that  the  king  "  had  la- 
boured to  condemn  those,  viz.  (the  Arminian)  opinions  at 
the  synod  of  Dort." — Life  of  Laud,  p.  120. 

The  archbishops  Whitgift,  Hutton,  and  Parker,  were  all 
Calvinists,  and  approved  of  the  Lambeth  articles.  The  pre- 
destinarian  controversy,  which  led  to  the  composition  of  those 
articles,  began  at  Cambridge  in  the  year  1595  ;  certain  indi- 
viduals of  name  in  the  university  having  about  that  period 
publicly  denied  some  of  the  doctrines  usually  denominated 
Calvinistic.  For  the  purpose  of  allaying  the  ferment  thus 
excited,  the  heads  of  colleges  deputed  Dr.  Whitaker  and  Dr. 
Tyndal  to  wait  upon  the  archbishop  at  Lambeth,  there  to 
confer  upon  the  subject  with  his  Grace,  and  other  learned 
and  eminent  men.  At  this  conference  the  Lambeth  Articles 
were  drawn  up  and  approved  ;  and  a  copy  of  them  was  soon 
after  sent  to  Cambridge  by  the  archbishop,  with  a  letter  and 
private  directions  to  teach  the  doctrine  contained  in  them,  in- 
that  university. 

The  reader  will  find,  (in  Fuller's  Church  History,  book 
ix.  p.  229,)  in  the  account  of  the  Lambeth  Articles,  the  fol- 
lowing sentence  : — "  Now  also  began  some  opinions  about 
predestination,  free-will,  perseverance,  <fcc.  much  to  trouble 
both  the  schools  and  pulpit ;  whereupon  archbishop  Whit- 
gift, out  of  his  Christian  care  to  propagate  the  truth,  and 
suppress  the  opposite  errors,  caused  a  solemn  meeting  of 


THE     LIFE    OF    CALVIN.  221 

many  grave  and  learned  divines  at  Lambeth ;  where  (besides 
the  archbishop,)  Richard  Bancroft,  bishop  of  London,  Rich- 
ard Vaughan,  bishop  elect  of  Bangor,  Humphrey  Tyndall, 
dean  of  Ely,  Dr.  Whitaker,  queen's  professor  in  Cambridge, 
and  others,  were  assembled.  These,  after  a  serious  debate 
and  mature  deliberation,  resolved  at  last  on  the  now  follow- 
ing Articles." 

"1.  God  from  eternity  hath  predestinated  certain  men 
unto  life :  certain  men  he  hath  reprobated  unto  death. 

*'  2.  The  moving  or  efficient  cause  of  predestination  unto 
life,  is  not  the  foresight  of  faith,  or  of  perseverance,  or  of 
good  works,  or  of  any  thing  that  is  in  the  persons  predesti- 
nated, but  only  the  good-will  and  pleasure  of  God. 

"3.  There  is  a  predetermined  and  certain  number  of  the 
predestinate,  which  can  neither  be  augmented  nor  dimin- 
ished. 

**  4.  They  who  are  not  predestinated  to  salvation,  shall 
necessarily  be  damned  for  their  sins. 

"  5.  A  true,  living,  and  justifying  faith,  and  the  Spirit  of 
God  justifying,  is  not  extinguished,  faileth  not,  vanisheth 
not  away  in  the  elect,  either  finally  or  totally. 

"  6.  A  man  truly  faithful,  that  is,  such  a  one  as  is  endued 
with  justifying  faith,  is  certain,  with  the  full  assurance  of 
faith,  of  the  remission  of  his  sins  and  his  everlasting  salva- 
tion by  Christ. 

'*  7.  Saving  grace  is  not  given,  is  not  communicate4»  is 
not  granted  to  all  men,  by  which  they  may  be  saved  if  they 
will. 

"  8.  No  man  can  come  unto  Christ  unless  it  be  given 
unto  him,  and  unless  the  Father  draw  him  :  all  men  are  not 
drawn  by  the  Father,  that  they  may  come  to  the  Son. 

"  9.  It  is  not  in  the  will  or  power  of  every  one  to  be 
saved." 

With  respect  to  the  principles  contained  in  these  Articles, 
we  are  assured  by  Whitgift  that  they  were  generally  recog- 
nised : — "  1  know  them,"  says  he,  '<  to  be  sound  doctrines, 
19* 


222  ADDITIONAL     NOTES     TO 

and  uniformly  professed  in  tliis  chnrch  of  England,  and  agree- 
able  to  the  Articles  of  Religion  established  by  auiliority  :  and 
therefore  I  thought  it  meet  that  Barer  should  in  more  humble 
sort  confess  his  ignorance  and  error ;  and  that  none  should 
be  sutVered  to  teach  any  contrary  doctrine  to  the  foresaid 
propositions  agreed  upon."  So  just  are  the  observations  of 
bishop  Ilorsley,  '•  Any  one  may  hold  all  the  theological  opi- 
nions of  Calvin,  hard  and  extravagant  as  some  of  them  may 
seem,  and  yet  be  a  sound  member  of  the  church  of  England 

and  Ireland" "  Her  discipline  has  been  submitted  to,  it 

has  in  former  times  been  most  ably  and  zealously  defended, 
by  tlie  highest  supralapsarian  Calvinists.  Such  was  the  great 
Usher  ;  such  was  "Whitgift ;  such  were  many  more  burning 
and  shining  lights  of  our  church  in  her  early  days,  when 
she  shook  oil  the  papal  tyranny,  long  since  gone  to  the  rest- 
ing place  of  tlie  spirits  of  the  just.'' 

Indeed,  it  must  be  considered  as  a  little  extraordinary,  that 
any  person  acquainted  with  the  history  of  tliose  times,  should 
mistake  the  real  nature  of  the  question  between  the  Estab- 
lished church  and  the  Puritanical  party :  it  was  not  a  ques- 
tion of  doctrine,  but  of  discipline. 

Archbishops  Grindall,  Bancroft,  and  Abbott  were  also 
strict  Calvinists.  The  doctrinal  sentiments  of  Thomas  Ful- 
ler, the  church  historian,  are  expressed  in  a  brief  compass 
in  his  Church  History,  lib.  ix.  p.  23*2.  He  cordially  ap- 
proved of  the  Lambeth  Articles,  and  considers  them  as  wit- 
nesses of  *•  the  general  and  received  doctrines  of  England  in 
that  age  about  the  forenamed  controversies."  Hutton,  arch- 
bishop of  York,  mentions  the  Puritans  of  his  time,  who  were 
Calvinistic,  as  agreeing  with  ilie  English  church  in  doctrine, 
though  they  differed  as  to  ceremonies  and  accidents.  And 
tliose  of  king  Charles'  time,  so  far  resembled  them  as  gene- 
rally to  approve  of  such  articles  as  are  stricdy  doctrinal. 
And  die  sense  which  tliey  affixed  to  tlie  articles  was  Calvin- 
istic, according  the  notions  which  had  usually  prevailed  till 
Charles'  davs,  both  in  and  out  of  the  estabhshment,     Bax- 


THE     LIFE     OF     CALVIN.  223 

ter  furnishes  many  proofs  of  this  fact,  so  far  as  it  respects 
Presbyterians.     Life  of  Baxter,  pp.  213 — 223,  &c. 

At  what  period,  then,  did  the  members  of  the  church  of 
England  generally  change  their  opinions  on  the  subject  of 
doctrinal  Calvinism?  It  is  intimated  by  Mosheim,  that  the 
change  took  place  soon  after  the  Synod  of  Dort :  and  this 
change  he  informs  us,  which  was  entirely  in  favour  of  Ar- 
minianism,  was  principally  eflected  by  the  counsels  and  in- 
fluence of  William  Laud,  archbishop  of  Canterbury.*  '•  As 
the  church  of  England  had  not  yet  abandoned  the  Calvinis- 
tical  doctrines  of  predestination  and  grace,  he  (James)  also 
adhered  to  them  for  some  time,  and  gave  his  theological  re- 
presentatives in  the  Synod  of  Dordrecht,  an  order  to  join  in 
the  condemnation  of  the  sentiments  of  Arminius,  in  relation 
to  these  deep  and  intricate  points.  Abbot,  archbishop  of 
Canterbury,  a  man  of  remarkable  gravity,  and  of  eminent 
zeal  both  for  civil  and  religious  liberty,  whose  lenity  towards 
their  ancestors,  the  Puritans  still  celebrate  in  the  highest 
strains,  used  his  utmost  endeavours  to  confirm  the  king  in 
the  principles  of  Calvinism,  to  which  he  himself  was  tho- 
roughly attached.  But  scarcely  had  the  British  divines  re- 
turned from  Dordrecht,  and  given  an  account  of  the  laws 
that  had  been  enacted,  and  the  doctrines  that  had  been 
established  by  that  famous  assembly,  than  the  king  and  the 
greatest  part  of  the  Episcopal  clergy  discovered,  in  the 
strongest  terms,  tlieir  dislike  of  the  proceedings,  and  judged 
the  sentiments  of  Arminius,  relating  to  the  divine  decrees, 
preferable  to  those  of  Geneva  and  of  Calvin.  This  sialden 
change  in  the  theological  opinions  of  the  court  and  clergy, 
was  certainly  owing  to  a  variety  of  reasons,"  tfcc.t  Here, 
then,  we  have  Laud  described  as  the  first  anli-Calvinistic 
archbishop  ;  and  the  time  distinctly  marked  when  the  change 
of  sentiment  took  place  generally  in  the  church  of  England. 


*  Cent.  xvi.  sect.  II.  part  ii.         \  Cent.  xvii.  sect.  II.  part  ii. 


224  ADDITIONAL     NOTES     TO 

From  this  period,  the  Institutes  of  Calvin,  which  had  till 
then  been  so  highly  appreciated  both  in  England  and  on  the 
continent,  began  to  be  less  valued,  less  read,  and  less  known. 
Bayle  states,  from  Schultingius,  "  that  as  soon  as  this  work  of 
Calvin  was  published  at  Strasburg,  about  the  year  1545,  Ber- 
nard Cincius,  bishop  of  Aquila,  carried  a  copy  of  it  to  cardinal 
Marcellus  Cervin,  legate  of  the  pope  at  the  court  of  the  em- 
peror; and  that  these  two  able  men  judged  it  to  be  a  more 
dangerous  book  than  all  the  other  writings  of  the  Lutherans.''^ 
Schultingius  was  a  papist,  and  canon  of  Cologne.  He  un- 
dertook to  confute  the  Institutes  of  Calvin.  "  This  work 
was  considered,"  he  says,  "  as  the  principal  fortress  of  the 
protestants."  He  proceeds  to  give  an  account  of  the  nu- 
merous editions  through  which  it  had  passed;  besides  its 
abridgments  and  translations  into  different  languages.  He 
says,  that  in  England  they  almost  gave  Calvin's  Institutes 
the  preference  to  the  Bible ;  that  the  bishops  ordered  all  the 
ministers  utpene  ad  verhum  has  ediscant, — that  they  should 
learn  them  almost  to  a  word; — and  ut  turn  Anglice  exactis- 
sime  versi,  in  singulis  Ecclesiis  a  parochis  legendi  appen- 
dantur, — that  being  most  exactly  turned  into  English^  they 
should  be  kept  in  all  the  churches  for  public  use; — that  they 
were  also  studied  in  both  the  Universities  ; — that  in  Scotland 
the  young  students  in  divinity  began  by  reading  these  Insti- 
tutes ; — that  at  Heidelburg,  Geneva,  Herborne,  and  in  all 
the  Calvinistical  Universities,  these  Institutes  were  publicly 
taught  by  the  professors  ; — that  in  Holland,  ministers,  civi- 
lians, and  the  common  people  studied  this  work  with  great 
diligence,  even  the  coachman  and  the  sailor  nocturna  verset 
manu,  versetque  diurna ; — that  esteeming  it  as  a  pearl  of 
great  price,  they  had  it  bound  and  gilt  in  the  most  elegant 
manner.  This  work,  Schultingius  asserts,  was  appealed  to 
as  a  standard,  on  all  theological  questions.  Such  is  the  ac- 
count given  of  the  authority  of  Calvin's  Institutes  by  a  pro- 
fessed papist,  who  lifted  up  his  mighty  arm  to  destroy  this 


THE     LIFE     OF     CALVIN 


225 


principal  fortress  of  the  Protestants,  in  four  large  folio  vo- 
lumes, published  at  Cologne,  in  the  year  1602.* 

The  animosity  enkindled  by  the  Arminian  controversy, 
supported  by  the  half  papist  and  persecuting  archbishop 
Laud,  changed  the  state  of  things  in  respect  to  the  authority 
of  Calvin's  Institutes  in  England.  Francis  Cheynell,  in  his 
Sermon  to  the  Commons,  March  25,  1646,  p.  42,  says: 
"  The  old  statutes  did  recommend  Calvin's  Institutions  to 
tutors,  as  a  fit  book  to  be  expounded  to  their  scholars.  But 
that  good  statute  was  omitted  in  the  book  of  new  statutes  ; 
because  there  are  so  many  precious  truths  in  Calvin's  Insti- 
tutions contrary  to  the  piety  of  those  ti'mes\  in  which  the  new 
statutes  loere  enacted.  We  begin  to  see  with  one  eye,  and 
hope  that  we  shall  in  due  time  recover  the  other." 

From  the  time  of  Laud,  then,  we  may  date  that  opposition 
which  has  so  long  prevailed  in  England  against  Calvin  and 
his  writings  ;  and  which  has  led  to  many  of  those  unchris- 
tian and  disingenuous  misrepresentations  which  were  de- 
signed to  blast  the  one,  and  suppress  the  influence  of  the 
other.  The  unhallowed  aspersions,  which  have  been  circu- 
lated by  the  dominant  class  of  Arrainians  in  that  country  re- 
specting Calvin,  have  been  with  some  persons  in  this,  of 
bigoted  and  feverish  minds,  a  sufl[icient  argument  for  re- 
proaching him,  and  all  those  who  are  denominated  from  his 
name,  with  cherishing  an  intolerant  spirit  in  matters  of  reli- 
gion. 

The  inquisitorial  mania  of  archbishop  Laud,  still  so  far 


*  See  Bayle,  Art.  Schultingius. 

f  When  Laud  was  archbishop  of  Canterbury,  he  was  charged 
with  popish  inclinations.  A  lady  who  had  turned  papist,  being 
asked  by  the  archbishop  the  cause  of  her  changing  her  religion, 
tartly  replied,  My  Lord,  it  was  because  /  ever  hated  a  crowd.  He 
requested  her  to  explain.  /  perceived,  said  she,  that  your  Lord' 
ship  and  many  others  were  making  for  Rome  with  all  speed,  and 
to  prevent  a  press,  I  went  before  you. — Bayle. 


226  ADDITIONAL     NOTES,     &C. 

prevails  among  the  dignitaries  of  the  English  church,  as  to 
render  it  somewhat  indispensable,  on  public  occasions,  for 
the  preacher  who  would  prove  his  orthodoxy,  and  secure  his 
popularity,  to  speak  directly  or  indirectly  of  "the  impious 
dogmas  of  Calvin." 

The  Rev.  and  pious  John  Newton,  of  the  church  of  Eng- 
land, who  was  a  Calvinist,  thus  writes  to  a  friend,  under 
date  Nov.  17, 1775:  "My  divinity  is  unfashionable  enough  at 
present,  but  it  was  not  so  always  ;  you  will  find  few  books 
written  from  the  era  of  the  Reformation,  till  a  little  before 
Laud's  time,  that  set  forth  any  other.  There  were  few  pul- 
pits till  after  the  restoration,  from  which  any  other  was 
heard.  A  lamentable  change  has  indeed  since  taken  place ; 
but  God  has  not  left  himself  without  witnesses." 

If  the  reader  wishes  to  pursue  this  inquiry  farther,  he  may 
consult  Toplady's  History  of  Calvinism  in  the  church  of 
England. 


CORRESPONDENCE 


The  reader  will  be  able  to  learn  much  of  the  character 
and  spirit  of  Calvin,  from  the  following  selection  from  his 
correspondence. 


LETTER  I.— BUCER  TO  CALVIN. 

Grace  and  peace  be  multiplied  to  you,  my  much  esteemed 
brother,  and  fellow -labourer  in  the  Lord.  We  have  entreated 
the  illustrious  and  truly  noble  Maurus  Museus,  personally 
at  Basil,  and  now  by  letters,  to  obtain  your  consent  to  assist 
us  in  our  controversial  disputes  on  religious  subjects.  We 
must  acknowledge,  as  it  appears  to  us,  that  the  Lord  has 
destined  you  to  be  eminently  useful  to  his  churches,  and  will 
extensively  bless  your  ministry.  We  are  anxious  that  both 
we  ourselves,  our  churches,  and  those  who  are  preparing  for 
the  ministry  with  us  or  elsewhere,  should  be  in  harmony 
with  your  sentiments  on  every  point  of  theology.  You  must 
be  sensible,  how  extensively  injurious  it  will  be  to  the  cause 
of  the  churches,  if  a  difference  of  opinion  is  entertained, 
even  on  minor  points,  among  the  principal'pastors.  If  we 
are  faithful  to  ourselves,  the  Lord,  I  trust,  will  put  it  in  our 
power  to  promote  unanimity  of  opinion  among  the  ministers 
and  churches,  especially  if  we  can  have  your  doctrines  illus- 
trated and  enforced  by  yourself. 

We  will  cheerfully  meet  you,  in  any  place  you  will  ap- 
point, for  the  purpose  of  a  conference  upon  the  whole  admin- 


228  CORRESPONDENCE 

istration  of  evangelical  doctrines,  preserving  the  highest  re- 
spect for  the  truth  of  Christ,  and  a  becoming  regard  for  you 
in  the  Lord.  This  age  has  so  advanced  in  the  practice  of 
calumniating  whatever  is  judiciously  said,  or  correctly  writ- 
ten, and  of  judging  with  the  most  rigid  severity  whatever  is 
of  an  opposite  character,  that  it  becomes  us  to  use  every 
means  to  render  our  ministry  as  influential,  as  its  importance 
is  dignified.  We  are  under  the  strongest  obligations,  to 
bring  all  our  exertions  into  unison,  both  to  secure  our  writ- 
ings and  discourses  from  any  unmerited  reproach  ;  and  to 
exhibit  the  beauty  of  holiness  in  that  simplicity  of  language 
which  is  adapted  to  the  capacities  of  the  very  children  in  the 
church  of  Christ.  You  are  sensible,  my  respected  brother, 
and  fellow-labourer  in  the  Lord,  how  highly  the  apostle 
Paul  estimated  the  meetings  and  conferences  of  holy  men, 
as  tending  to  promote  knowledge  and  purity ;  how  cheer- 
fully he  travelled  over  land  and  sea  to  animate  those  believ- 
ers, whom  he  knew  to  be  anxious  for  the  edification  of  the 
church,  to  be  frequent  in  their  society.  Appoint,  therefore, 
a  place,  either  at  Basil,  Bern,  or  even  at  Geneva,  if  the  du- 
ties of  your  ofiice  confine  you,  that  we  may  religiously  con- 
fer upon  subjects,  which,  although  clearly  apprehended  by 
you,  to  our  tardy  understandings,  require  a  more  extensive 
illustration.  The  wise  are  debtors  to  the  unwise,  that  they 
also  may  understand.  It  would  aflford  us  much  pleasure, 
did  our  ecclesiastical  duties,  which  we  cannot  neglect,  allow 
us,  even  uninvited  and  transiently,  to  visit  the  Swiss  churches. 
I  cannot  well  express  how  much  it  grieves  me  not  to  have 
known  and  conversed  with  you,  when  you  were  here. 
Capito,  however,  communicates  every  thing  to  me.  I  know 
not  what  evil  spirit  made  him  so  forgetful  as  not  to  introduce 
you  to  me,  which  omission  he  now  very  much  regrets. 
Farewell,  most  learned  and  holy  man. 
Strasburg,  November  1, 1536. 


OP    CALVIN.  229- 

LETTER  II.— CALVIN  TO  PETER  CAROLI. 

Grace  and  peace  to  you  from  the  Lord,  who  can  inspire 
both  you  and  us  with  a  good  understanding  and  a  right 
heart.  Since  your  situation  is  such,  we  should  have  prefer- 
red to  have  you  presented  yourself  in  person,  to  treat  in  our 
presence  concerning  a  reconciliation,  rather  than  that  you 
should  attempt  this  by  a  letter.  You  vehemently  labour  to 
prove,  that  you  did  not  excite  disturbances  in  the  church 
without  just  cause  ;  as  if  there  could  be  some  good  reason  for 
exciting  those  disturbances.  Grant  that  you  were  not  treated 
in  that  manner,  by  the  brethren,  which  you  ought  to  have 
been.  Would  this  indeed  furnish  you  with  a  right  to  raise 
such  a  tumult?  Will  you  say,  that  it  was  the  Spirit  of 
God  that  influenced  you  to  declare  war  upon  us  all  ?  I  do 
not  say  this  to  upraid  you  ;  I  wish  I  was  permitted  to  be 
wholly  silent.  But  while  you  connect  all  those  with  Satan, 
who  did  not,  at  least  according  to  your  opinion,  treat  you 
with  sufficient  equity,  you  certainly  suppose  them  to  be 
very  stupid,  if  you  imagine  that  this  business  can  be  passed 
over  in  silence.  You  still  glory  in  this,  that  you  have 
attempted  nothing  against  the  gospel  even  at  Metz.  But  by 
what  method  will  you  prove  this  to  us  ?  If  any  one  carries 
on  a  warfare  with  a  profound  servant  of  Christ,  and  instead 
of  aiding,  obstructs,  in  every  possible  manner,  the  kingdom 
of  Christ,  would  it  not  be  strange  if  you  should  declare  such 
a  man  to  stand  on  the  side  of  the  gospel  ?  Look,  I  beseech 
you,  again  and  again,  to  the  end  of  your  course.  We  hold 
a  ministry  in  no  manner  separated  from  Christ.  If  you 
doubt  this,  we  still  have  the  certain  and  confident  testimony 
of  our  conscience.  You  may  flatter  yourself  as  you  will  ; 
you  will  at  last  find,  that  it  is  hard  kicking  against  the  pricks. 
In  the  mean  time,  how  are  you  able  to  injure  us  ?  You  will 
call  us  heretics.     Where  ?     Among  those,  for  instance,  who 

20 


^230  CORRESPONDENCE 

hold  you  as  a  heretic,  and  at  this  very  moment  expose  your 
falsehoods.  Among  the  pious  and  the  learned,  I  fear  no  in- 
jury from  your  reproaches.  They  see  all  these  things  iji 
that  light,  in  which  I  would  have  you  receive  them,  and  call 
them  to  mind  before  that  God  whose  presence  you  begin  to 
acknowledge.  And  I  beseech  you,  do  not  meditate  your  de- 
fence by  the  condemnation  of  that  injustice  in  others,  for 
which  you  want  not  only  a  foundation,  but  even  a  pretext. 
If  you  still  persevere  in  this  way,  I  shall  be  satisfied.  I 
would  not,  by  any  means,  have  you  cast  away  all  hope  and 
courage.  For  if  you  will  exhibit  to  us  the  true  and  sub- 
stantial index  of  a  right  mind,  we  are  sincerely  prepared  to 
have  you  return  immediately  into  our  favour,  and  have  all 
things  buried,  forgiven,  and  erased  wholly  from  the  memory. 
I  wish  you  were  able,  Caroli,  to  inspect  my  breast;  for 
there  is  nothing  I  more  desire,  tha*n  that  you  should  in  the 
first  place  be  reconciled  to  God,  that  a  lasting  union  might 
be  formed  between  us.  But,  believe  me,  you  will  never  ac- 
ceptably serve  the  Lord,  unless  you  lay  aside  your  haughti- 
ness and  bitterness  of  tongue.  If  you  have  then  a  mind  to 
return  into  favour  with  us,  we  are  prepared  to  embrace  you, 
and  to  render  you  every  office  of  kindness  in  our  power. 
But  we  are  not  able  to  enter  into  that  compact  which  you 
demand ;  for  how  shall  we  at  this  time  promise  you  a 
church  ?  In  the  first  place,  you  know,  that  churches  are  not 
at  our  disposal ;  besides,  with  what  conscience  should  we 
promise  that  to  you,  before  it  is  evident,  that  we  agree  in 
doctrine.  You  do  not  dissemble  but  that  as  yet  you  differ 
from  us ;  and  yet  you  would  have  us  designate  a  place  for 
you  as  a  teacher.  Weigh,  yourself,  the  extreme  impropriety 
of  this.  Were  we  to  be  so  obsequious  to  you,  you  would 
correctly  judge  us  to  be  something  more  than  stupid.  But 
to  conclude,  I  beseech  you  to  examine  thoroughly  the  whole 
cause,  by  yourself,  with  a  composed  and  sedate  mind,  and 
weigh  this  letter  in  the  scales  of  candid  and  impartial  judg- 
ment.   You  certainly  know,  that  it  is  the  highest  wisdom  to 


OF     CALVIN.  231 

turn  from  the  evil  course  into  which  you  have  entered.  If 
you  will  make  the  experiment,  no  office  of  friendship  shall 
be  wanting  to  you,  when  restored,  from  me,  and  Farel 
seriously  promises  the  same  for  himself.  You  will  remem- 
ber, that  the  charity  which  you  so  severely  demand  of  others, 
must  be  shown,  in  some  measure,  towards  others.  If  I 
seem  to  be  somewhat  too  severe,  think  what  your  letter  de- 
serves. I  mention  this  only  to  profit  you ;  what  I  have 
written,  is  for  the  purpose  of  calling  up  your  sins  to  your 
remembrance.  Farewell,  my  brother  in  the  Lord,  if  you 
suffer  yourself  to  be  esteemed  and  to  hold  the  place  of  a  bro- 
ther. The  Lord  Jesus  Christ  guide  you  by  the  spirit  of 
counsel  and  prudence,  that  from  those  dangerous  rocks, 
against  which  you  have  broken,  and  that  tempestuous  sea, 
on  which  you  are  tossed,  you  may  be  received  safe  into  the 
haven  of  rest.     Your  sincere  friend, 

JOHN  CALVIN. 

Strasburg,  August  10,  1540. 

P.  S.  Farel  bids  you  to  be  in  health,  and  wishes  that  you 
may  be  sincerely  converted  to  the  Lord,  and  so  may  you  be 
prepared  to  return  to  our  friendship  and  fraternal  union,  as 
we  ourselves  are  prepared  to  embrace  you. 


LETTER  III— CALVIN  TO  FAREL. 

To  preclude  your  further  anxiety  for  my  long  expected 
letter,  I  shall  forward  it  fresh  from  my  pen,  without  waiting 
for  the  arrival  of  Michael.  I  will  pass  at  present  my  con- 
ference with  Melancthon ;  and  state  the  progress  of  affairs 
since  my  last.  The  unjust  conditions,  boldly  advanced  by 
the  ambassador  of  the  emperor,  had  well  nigh  terminated  in 
the  assumption  of  arms  to  settle  the  controversy.  He  pro- 
posed that  our  brethren  should  separate  from  the  Sacramen- 


232  CORRESPONDENCE 

tarians.*  You  will  be  aware,  that  this  is  the  artifice  of 
Satan,  who  cherishes  on  this  occasion  the  former  animosities 
which  he  sowed ;  while  at  the  same  time  new  offences,  like 
flaming  torches,  are  kindled  up  to  excite  still  greater  conten- 
tion. Our  German  brethren,  however,  while  they  refuse  to 
acknowledge  the  Sacramentarians,  are  desirous  of  a  union 
with  the  Helvetic  churches.  The  emperor  eventually  relin- 
quished this  point,  which  he  had  laboured  to  establish  as  the 
means  of  effecting  a  truce.  I  earnestly  wish,  that  these 
things  may  be  useful  to  the  churches  ;  but  in  looking  them 
over  in  their  effects,  they  promise,  in  my  opinion,  nothing 
beneficial.  The  elector  of  Saxony  clearly  apprehends  this, 
and  though  supposed  to  be  habitually  of  a  dilatory  tempera- 
ment, he  is  now  fixed  in  the  opinion,  that  we  are  under  the 
necessity  of  hazarding  the  consequences  of  war.  The  land- 
grave, beyond  all  expectation,  dissuades  from  warlike  mea- 
sures ;  and  although  he  consents  to  yield  to  his  aUies,  if  they 
shall  judge  it  expedient,  yet  his  influence  has  operated  ex- 
tensively in  abating  the  ardour  of  those  who  reposed  a  con- 
fidence in  his  constitutional  promptitude.  The  prospect  now 
looks  favourable  for  an  approaching  truce,  in  which  every 
attention  will  be  given  to  those  objects  that  may  be  condu- 
cive to  unanimity  of  opinion.  The  adversaries,!  intent  to 
frustrate  our  purpose  in  uniting  the  churches,  meditate  only 
measures  which  may  bring  about  the  war.  The  elector  of 
Saxony  will  go  from  the  assembly  to  visit  the  duke  of 
Cleves,  whose  sister  he  married.  If  the  elector  can  draw 
the  duke  over  to  the  cause  of  religion,  it  will  be  a  great  be- 
nefit to  the  church  of  Christ.     He  is  the  most  powerful 


*  These  were  the  followers  of  Zuinglius,  of  the  church  of  Zu- 
rich, between  whom  and  the  followers  of  Luther  there  was  a  wide 
difference  of  opinion,  about  the  manner  of  the  presence  of  Christ 
in  the  sacrament. 

t  These  were  the  Pope's  agents,  as  appears  from  Seckendorf, 
vol.  2,  anno  1539. 


OF     CALVIN.  233 

among  the  princes  of  Lower  Germany;  and  is  not  exceeded 
in  extent  of  dominion,  nor  surpassed  in  superiority  of  juris- 
diction, by  any  but  Ferdinand  himself. 

When  Bucer  last  wrote  me,  nothing  had  been  determined 
concerning  the  embassy  to  the  king  of  France,  for  the  safety 
of  the  brethren,  and  the  support  of  the  cause  of  religion. 
The  subject  will  be  discussed  and  arranged,  when  other 
matters  shall  have  been  determined,  as  they  will  then  be 
enabled  to  state  their  request  to  the  king  with  more  fulness 
and  force  of  argument. 

My  conference  with  Melancthon  embraced  a  great  variety 
of  subjects.  Having  previously  written  him  concerning  the 
agreement,  I  urged  the  necessity  of  obtaining  the  opinion  of 
the  best  men,  upon  a  matter  of  so  much  importance.  I  for- 
warded to  him  a  few  articles,  in  which  I  had  concisely 
summed  up  the  doctrines  of  truth.  To  these  he  consented 
without  controversy,  but  stated  that  some  in  that  quarter 
demanded  something  more  full  and  explicit,  and  with  such 
obstinacy  and  overbearingness  that  he  was,  for  some  time, 
in  danger  of  being  considered  as  having  wholly  departed 
from  their  opinions.  Although  he  did  not  suppose  that  an 
established  agreement  would  continue  long,  he  still  wished 
that  this  union,  whatever  it  might  be,  should  be  cherished, 
until  the  Lord  should  draw  us  on  both  sides  into  the  unity 
of  his  trutli.  Doubt  not.  but  that  Melancthon  is  wholly  in 
opinion  with  us. 

It  would  be  tedious  to  detail  our  conversations  on  a  diver- 
sity of  subjects ;  but  they  will  afford  us  an  agreeable  topic 
at  some  future  interview.  When  we  entered  on  the  subject 
of  discipline,  he  mourned,  as  we  all  of  us  do,  about  that  un- 
liappy  state  of  the  church,  which  we  are  all  allowed  to  de- 
plore, rather  than  correct.  You  must  not  suppose  that  you 
alone  labour  under  the  painful  burden  of  ineffectual  disci- 
pline. Every  day  new  examples  are  occurring,  which 
should  excite  us  all  to  the  most  vigorous  exertions,  to  obtain 
20* 


234  CORRESPONDENCE 

the  desired  remedy  for  these  evils.  A  minister  of  integrity 
and  learning  was  lately  ejected  from  Ulm,  with  the  severest 
reproach,  because  he  would  not  indulge  them  in  their  vices. 
He  was  dismissed  with  a  very  honourable  recommendation 
from  all  his  colleagues,  and  especially  from  Frechthus. 
When  this  was  reported  at  Augsburg,  it  excited  the  most 
unpleasant  sensations.  These  things  have  a  tendency  to 
encourage  the  licentious  to  consider  it  as  a  matter  of  sport, 
to  interrupt  the  pastors  in  their  ministerial  duties,  and  to 
drive  them  into  exile.  Nor  can  this  evil  be  remedied,  as 
neither  the  people  nor  the  princes  distinguish  between  the 
brotherly  discipline  of  Christ,  and  the  tyranny  of  the  pope. 

lUis  the  opinion  of  Melancthon,  that  we  must  yield,  in  a 
due  degree,  to  the  adverse  winds  of  this  tempestuous  season; 
and  without  despairing  of  eventual  success,  cast  our  eyes 
forward  to  some  favourable  moment,  when  our  enemies  may 
be  less  powerful,  and  we  more  able  to  introduce  the  jemedy 
for  these  internal  evils.  Capito  is  strongly  impressed  with 
the  belief  that  the  church  is  ruined,  unless  God  shall  supply 
some  speedy  succours,  and  good  men  become  united  in  her 
defence.  Despairing  of  doing  any  good,  he  has  a  desire  for 
death  as  a  release  from  his  unprofitable  labours.  But  if  our 
vocation  is  of  the  Lord,  of  which  we  are  confident,  he  will 
bless  and  succeed  us  through  all  the  difficulties  that  may  be 
thrown  in  our  way.  Let  us  attempt  all  remedies,  and  if 
they  fail,  still  let  us  persist  in  our  calling  to  the  last  breath. 

The  Waldensian  brethren  are  indebted  to  me  for  a  crown, 
one  part  of  which  I  lent  tliem,  and  the  other  I  paid  to  their 
messenger,  who  came  with  my  brother  to  bring  the  letter 
from  Sonerius.  I  requested  them  to  pay  it  to  you,  as  it 
will  partly  pay  you  my  debt,  the  rest  I  will  pay  when  I  can. 
Such  is  my  condition  now,  that  I  have  not  a  penny.  It  is 
singular,  although  my  expenses  are  so  great,  that  I  must 
still  live  upon  my  own  money  unless  I  would  burden  my 
brethren.     It  is  not  easy  for  me  to  take  that  care  of  my 


OF     CALVIN.  235 

health  which  you  recommend  so  affectionately.  Farewell, 
beloved  brother.  The  Lord  give  you  strength  and  support 
in  all  your  troubles.  JOHN  CALVIN. 

Frankfort,  March,  1539. 


LETTER  IV.— CALVIN  TO  FAREL. 

The  day  after  I  received  your  letter,  the  last  but  one,  I  set 
out  for  Frankfort.  I  omitted  to  answer  it,  as  my  journey 
was  entirely  unexpected.  Bucer  having  informed  me  that 
he  could  accomplish  nothing  concerning  the  cause  of  the 
brethren,  I  immediately  started  for  that  place,  lest  their 
safety  should  be  neglected  among  the  crowd  of  business  to 
be  transacted.  I  was  also  anxious  to  confer  with  Melancthon 
on  religion,  and  the  discipline  of  the  church.  The  entreaties 
of  Capito  and  others  furnished  additional  motives,  as  did 
also  the  pleasure  I  anticipated  in  the  society  of  Sturmius 
and  other  good  men  who  were  to  accompany  me.  As 
to  the  advice  in  answer  to  the  questions  of  Sonerius,  I  so- 
lemnly declare,  that  I  recommended  no  other  union  to  the 
brethren,  than  what  is  exhibited  in  the  example  of  Christ, 
who  did  not  hesitate  to  partake  of  the  mysteries  of  God  with 
the  Jews,  notwithstanding  their  deplorable  impiety.  They 
weighed  my  advice  with  caution,  and  were  dissatisfied,  that 
I  made  a  difference  between  the  minister  and  the  people.  Of 
the  dispenser  of  the  ordinance,  faith  and  prudence  were  re- 
quired ;  of  the  people,  that  each  one  examine  himself,  and 
prove  his  own  faith.  But  this  will  be  easily  explained  when 
we  have  an  opportunity  of  conversing  on  the  subject.  The 
evident  judgments  of  God  against  those  noxious  spirits,  who 
disturb  the  peace  of  the  church,  afford  me  some  pleasure 
mingled  with  my  grief,  for  I  see  that  these  scourges  were 
not  altogether  unmerited.  It  is  however  desirable,  that  a 
gracious  Providence  would,  by  some  means,  free  his  churches 
from   such   polluted   members.     You   say  very   correctly, 


236  CORRESPONDENCE 

that  their  consciousness  of  guilt  is  accompanied  with  an 
anxiety  to  have  every  thing  buried  in  the  deepest  obscurity, 
lest  their  own  personal  baseness  should  be  detected.  Per- 
plexed with  the  subterfuges  of  the  wicked,  we  must  labour 
to  the  extent  of  our  power,  and  leave  the  event  to  the  infi- 
nitely wise  management  of  God.  I  should  be  gratified  in 
obliterating  from  the  memory  all  those  evils,  which  cannot 
be  remedied  without  injury  to  the  cause.  But  it  would  be 
injurious  to  hide,  in  the  bowels  of  the  church,  those  bitter 
animosities,  hatreds,  and  doctrinal  differences,  whose  viru- 
lence would  thus  be  nourished,  till  ultimately  the  body 
would  be  covered  with  infectious  ulcers.  Evils  of  this  kind 
must  be  remedied,  when  lenient  measures  fail,  with  a  rea- 
sonable severity.  But  when  the  circumstances  will  admit, 
a  middle  way  should  be  pursued,  to  restore  the  dignity  of 
the  ministry,  to  bring  back  the  health  of  the  church,  to  call 
into  exercise  forbearance  for  small  offences,  and  leave  no 
necessity  for  intermeddling  anew  with  evils  concealed  or 
suppressed.  The  irritation  of  some  wounds  is  increased 
by  applications,  and  their  cure  only  effected  by  quietness 
and  neglect.  We  find  this  to  be  the  state  of  things  at 
Frankfort. 

From  the  house  of  Saxony,  the  elector,  his  brother,  and 
his  grandson  Maurice,  are  present,  attended  by  four  hundred 
horsemen.  The  landgrave  was  accompanied  by  the  same 
number.  The  duke  of  Lunenburg  arrived  with  less  pomp. 
Others  are  present  whose  names  I  do  not  remember.  The 
other  confederates,  the  king  of  Denmark  and  the  duke  of 
Prussia,  and  some  others,  sent  ambassadors.  This  is  not 
strange,  as  it  would  be  hazardous  for  them  to  leave  their 
own  dominions,  at  so  great  a  distance,  in  the  present  con- 
fused and  perilous  state  of  affairs.  All  were  displeased,  that 
the  duke  of  Wirtemburg,  at  the  distance  of  only  two  days' 
travel,  should  prefer  his  hunting  and  other  diverting  sports, 
to  consulting  for  the  safety  of  his  country,  and  perhaps  of 
his  head.     He  apologized  indeed  by  others,  that  he  was  not 


OF     CALVIN, 


237 


afraid  to  entrust  the  whole  care  to  those  whom  he  knew  to 
be  greatly  interested  in  the  issue  of  the  business.  Men  of 
the  first  distinction  were  delegates  from  the  cities. 

In  the  first  session,  war  was  decreed  by  a  unanimous  suf- 
frage of  the  assembly.  At  this  time,  two  electors,  the  count 
palatine,  and  Joachim  of  Brandenburg,  with  the  Spanish  am- 
bassador, Vesalis,  the  bishop  of  Lunden,  came  into  the  con- 
vention. The  first  opened  the  mandate  of  the  emperor, 
which  authorized  them  to  make  peace,  or  agree  upon  a  truce 
with  us,  on  such  conditions  as  they  should  judge  best.  With 
laboured  harangues,  and  accumulated  arguments,  they  en- 
deavoured to  persuade  us  to  yield  to  terms  of  pacification. 
The  point  which  they  urged  most  strenuously,  and  on  which 
they  felt  our  influence  most  sensibly,  was,  that  the  Grand 
Turk  would  prosecute  his  warlike  measures  with  more  vi- 
gour, in  proportion  as  he  saw  Germany  distracted  with  in- 
testine wars  :  that  having  possessed  himself  of  Wallachia,  he 
held  by  treaty  from  the  Poles,  the  right  of  a  free  passage 
through  their  dominions,  and  of  course  he  was  now  threaten- 
ing the  territories  of  the  emperor  with  invasion.  They 
moved  us  to  draw  up  the  conditions  of  a  peace  ;  and  if  this 
could  not  be  effected,  they  were  anxious  that  a  truce  should 
be  established.  We  made  no  question  of  their  sincerity  andp 
good  faith.  For  Joachim  was  favourable  to  the  cause  of  the 
gospel,  and  the  palatine  was  by  no  means  unfriendly  to  its 
success.  But  as  our  confidence  did  not  repose  with  ease  on 
the  mandates  of  Vesalis  the  Spaniard,  we  preferred  that  the 
affair  should  be  arranged  by  the  electors,  who  exercised  the 
supreme  authority  in  the  empire.  This  was  opposed  by  the 
elector  of  Saxony,  who,  for  various  reasons,  entertained  an 
implacable  aversion  to  the  elector  of  Mentz,  and  who,  being 
uncle  to  Joachim,  dared  not  consent  to  an  assembly  from 
which  his  relative  was  excluded.  Our  advocates,  therefore, 
after  stating  the  injuries  they  had  received,  and  the  causes 
which  had  forced  them,  unwillingly,  into  a  war,  proposed  the 
conditions  of  peace.     These  conditions  asserted  the  right  of 


238  CORRESPONDENCE 

government  over  their  own  churches,  the  authority  of  ap- 
pointing their  own  ministers,  and  of  securing  to  those  who 
united  with  them  the  privileges  of  their  league.  After  these 
articles  were  presented,  we  left  Frankfort.  Bucer  has  since 
informed  me,  that  the  two  imperial  electors  granted  us  some- 
thing more  than  tlie  Spaniard  was  willing  to  sanction.  The 
reason  of  this  arose- from  the  necessity  the  emperor  was 
under,  of  courting  the  assistance  of  the  papists  against  the 
Turks,  as  well  as  ours ;  so  he  endeavoured  to  please  both 
parties  without  giving  offence  to  either.  At  the  close,  he 
required  that,  when  the  present  state  of  affairs  should  be 
changed,  the  learned  and  pious,  who  were  disposed  for  union, 
should  assemble  and  agree  upon  the  articles  of  religion  which 
were  now  in  controversy;  and  that  the  whole  business  should 
then  be  referred  to  a  Diet  of  the  empire,  in  which  all  the 
controversies  of  the  several  branches  of  the  German  reformed 
churches  should  be  closed.  This  ambassador  proposed,  for 
the  arrangement  of  these  matters,  a  truce  for  one  year.  Our 
members  are  not  satisfied  with  the  shortness  of  the  time,  nor 
the  uncertainty  of  the  issue.  Every  thing  thus  remains  in 
suspense  ;  and  unless  the  emperor  makes  further  proposals, 
the  continuance  of  war  seems  inevitable. 
,  The  petition  from  Henry  VIII.  requested  that  an  ambas- 
sador, accompanied  by  Philip  Melancthon,  should  be  sent 
to  assist  in  the  more  secure  and  correct  establishment  of  the 
English  church.  The  princes  had  no  hesitation  about  send- 
ing an  ambassador;  but  were  unwilling  to  send  Melancthon, 
suspecting  that  he  was  too  yielding  and  irresolute.  He  is, 
however,  neither  ignorant  nor  dissembling  in  the  opinions 
which  he  forms ;  and  he  even  solemnly  afhrmed  to  me  that 
their  fears  were  unfounded. 

I  believe  I  know  him  perfectly;  and  I  should  as  confi- 
dently trust  him  as  Bucer,  when  he  has  to  manage  with  men 
who  wish  to  secure  to  themselves  ample  room  for  the  indul- 
gence of  their  vices.  Bucer  is  so  zealous  in  spreading  the 
gospel,  that,  contented  with   conformity  to   the   principal 


OF     CALVIN.  239 

points,  he  too  carelessly  gives  up  those  smaller  ones,  which 
may  have  an  extensive  influence  in  their  consequences. 
Henry  himself  is,  in  fact,  but  half  instructed.  He  prohibits 
the  marriage  of  bishops  and  priests,  under  the  severe  penalty 
of  being  deprived  of  the  power  and  privileges  of  their  office; 
retains  the  daily  masses  ;  would  preserve  the  seven  sacra- 
ments ;  and  thus  have  a  gospel  multilated  and  dismembered, 
and  a  church  filled  with  many  vanities.  He  moreover  mani- 
fests the  established  mark  of  a  weak  head,  by  refusing  the 
translation  of  the  Scriptures  into  the  vulgar  tongue,  and  pro- 
ceeding to  prohibit,  by  a  new  edict,  the  reading  of  them  by 
the  common  people.  And  to  put  the  matter  beyond  a  ques- 
tion, that  he  is  not  in  jest,  he  has,  to  the  grief  of  all  the  pious, 
lately  caused  an  honest  and  learned  man  to  be  burnt  at  the 
stake  for  denying  the  real  presence  of  the  flesh  of  Christ  in 
the  sacramental  bread. 

The  princes  of  the  empire,  though  generally  incensed 
with  such  cruelties,  will  not  relinquish  the  embassy, 
out  of  regard  to  the  cause  of  religion,  and  its  progress 
and  security  in  that  kingdom.  The  death  of  the  son  of 
prince  George,  who  had  been  confined  on  account  of  insa- 
nity, took  place  while  the  Convention  was  sitting  at  Frank- 
fort. His  successor  will  doubtless  be  Maurice,  whom  I 
named  among  the  confederates ;  and  of  course  the  possessions 
of  George  will  be  soon  added  to  support  the  little  flock  of 
Christ.  So  uncertain  are  the  events  which  may  chano-e  ex- 
tensively the  present  face  of  aflfairs.  Our  confidence  is  in 
God,  and  our  duty  is  to  pray  fervently,  that  he  would  grant 
a  favourable  issue  to  the  present  confused  and  perplexed 
state  of  things.  My  success  in  the  cause  of  the  brethren, 
and  the  subjects  of  my  conference  with  PhiUp,  you  will 
learn  more  miniUely  from  Michael.  My  letter  is  unfinished, 
but  the  messenger  will  not  tarry.  Farewell,  beloved  bro- 
ther. Salute  Thomas  and  all  the  brethren  from  me.  (Japito 
and  Sturmius  salute  you.    Yours,  &c. 

JOHN  CALVIN. 

March  16, 1533. 


240  CORRESPONDENCE 


LiJTTER  v.— CALVIN  TO  VIRET. 

When  your  letters  were  handed  me,  I  was  prepared  for 
my  journey,  and  in  the  course  of  my  life  I  do  not  remember 
one  more  tumultuous.  I  now  catch  a  moment  at  Ulm,  to 
answer  you  in  a  brief  and  confused  manner.  A  traveller  in 
a  tavern  has  not  much  time  to  meditate,  and  properly  arrange 
what  he  writes.  Your  letter,  if  I  correctly  remember,  is 
divided  into  two  parts — In  the  first,  you  would  prove  that 
the  church  at  Geneva  should  not  be  abandoned.  In  the  se- 
cond, you  contend  that  1  ought  to  hasten  my  return,  lest 
satan  should  take  advantage  of  my  dilatoriness,  and  throw 
some  impediment  in  the  way.  To  this  I  answer,  as  I  have 
always  done,  that  there  is  no  place  on  earth,  I  so  much 
dread  as  Geneva ;  not  because  I  bear  any  hatred  to  them, 
but  because  I  see  so  many  difficulties  in  my  way,  which  I 
am  very  far  from  being  able  to  surmount.  When  I  call  to 
mind  the  events  of  times  past,  I  cannot  help  shuddering  at 
the  thought  of  being  obliged  to  throw  myself  afresh  into  the 
midst  of  those  former  contentions.  If  my  business  was  to 
be  with  the  church  only,  my  mind  would  be  more  easy ;  at 
least  I  should  feel  less  dread.  But  you  must  understand 
much  more  than  I  can  write.  Take  in  a  word,  that  I  know, 
by  various  channels,  that  he,  who  can  most  injure  me,  bears 
still  an  implacable  hatred  against  me.  When  I  consider  the 
numerous  ways  which  lie  open  to  him  for  doing  evil,  how 
many  instruments  are  prepared  for  exciting  the  flames  of 
contention,  and  how  many  occasions  will  present  themselves 
to  him,  against  which  I  can  by  no  foresight  provide,  I  am 
wholly  disheartened.  Many  other  things  in  that  city  give 
me  no  small  anxiety.  As  I  progress  in  experience,  I  am 
more  sensible  of  the  arduous  office  of  governing  a  church.  I 
am  not,  however,  unwilling  or  unprepared,  as  far  as  I  un- 
derstand my  ability,  to  aff"ord  any  assistance  to  that  unhappy 
church.     These  thoughts  disturb  and  perplex  my  mind  with 


OF     CALVIN.  241 

delaying  anxieties ;  but  their  influence  will  not  prevent  me 
from  doing  every  thing  which  I  may  judge  to  be  for  its  wel- 
fare.    Farel  is  my  witness,  that  I  have  never  uttered  a  word 
against  their  calling  me  to  return  ;  I  only  entreated  him  that 
he  would  not,  by  officiousness,  lose  a  second  time  that 
church  already  in  ruins.     I  have  given  sufficient  proof,  that 
nothing  is  more  conformable  to  my  wishes,  than  to  give  up 
ray  life  in  discharge  of  my  duty.     I  do  not  dissemble  when 
I   say  this.     When   the    Genevese  ambassadors   came    to 
Worms,  I  entreated  our  friends  with  tears,  that,  omitting  all 
consideration  of  me,  they  should  consult,  in  the  presence  of 
God,  what  would  be  most  beneficial  to  the  church  which 
implored  their  assistance.     When  we  came  to  the  house, 
although  no  one  urged  this  question,  I  did  not  cease  to  im- 
portune them  with  my  prayers,  to  consider  seriously  upon 
this  subject ;  and  they  were  not  wanting  in  their  duty.     As 
we  suspected,  they  almost  immediately  decreed,  that  I  should 
be  united  with  Bucer.     But  I  declare  to  you,  as  I  did  to 
Farel,  that  this  was  not  fairly  settled ;  for  it  was  determined 
before  we  returned  from  the  Convention  of  Worms,  by  the 
influence  of  those  who  least  consulted  the  good  of  Geneva. 
If  you  consult  me,  I  see  no  reason  why  I  should  be  sent  on 
this  mission  to  Ratisbon ;  but  being  appointed,  I  could  not 
refuse,  unless  I  wished  to  hear  myself  every  where  abused. 
When  I  received  your  letters,  I  was  not  at  liberty  to  delibe- 
rate.    I  have  stated  the  fact  as  my  excuse.     You  have  now 
an  answer  to  both  your  inquiries.     I  never  have,  I  never 
can  refuse  to  go  to  Geneva  ;  and  I  promise  you  that  my  re- 
solution shall  not  be  changed,  unless  some  more  powerful 
obstacle  closes  up  the  way.     I  am  charged  with  the  care  of 
that  church  ;  and  I  know  not  how  it  is,  but  1  feel  myself 
more  inclined  to  take  the  government  of  it,  if  indeed  the  cir- 
cumstances demand  it  as  my  duty.     It  is  agreed,  that  after 
our  return  from  Ratisbon,  I  should  go  to  Geneva  with  Bucer. 
We  will  then  consult  what  will  be  most  expedient,  under 
21 


242  CORRESPONDENCE 

the  existing  circumstances,  for  the  re-establishraent  of  a  pas- 
tor, and  the  renovation  of  the  whole  church.  The  decision 
will  have  more  influence,  and  the  operation  will  be  more 
effectual,  as  we  shall  have  present  those  from  whom  we  have 
most  to  fear  afterwards.  When  the  business  is  once  settled, 
they  will  be  bound  by  their  own  judgment,  and  prevented 
from  exclaiming  against  its  operation ;  and  also  from  excit- 
ing others  to  disturb  the  established  order.  In  the  mean 
time,  my  brother,  I  entreat  you  for  Christ's  sake,  to  be  of 
good  courage.  The  more  uncertain  our  continuance  is  in 
this  life,  the  less  we  should  be  troubled  about  the  delay  of 
those  events  which  we  earnestly  desire.  There  are  many 
things  I  know,  which  must  cause  you  trouble  and  anxiety ; 
but  consider  that  these  are  trials  appointed  of  the  Lord,  to 
support  you  till  his  coming.  The  day  before  I  received 
your  letters,  I  wrote  to  the  senate  of  Geneva,  excusing  my 
delay  in  coming  to  them  ;  and  I  doubt  not  but  my  excuse 
has  been  accepted.  Farewell,  my  beloved  brother.  Salute, 
in  my  name,  all  who  are  devoted  to  the  truth.  May  the 
Spirit  of  the  Lord  strengthen  you  for  all  good  works. 
Ulm,  March  1, 154L 


LETTER  VI.^CALVIN  TO  FAREL. 

I  am  retained  here  as  you  wished  ;  which  may  God  grant 
to  be  for  his  glory.  Viret  still  continues  with  me,  nor  will  I 
suffer  him  by  any  means  to  be  torn  from  me.  It  is  your 
duty,  and  that  of  all  the  brethren,  to  afford  me  assistance, 
unless  you  wish  me  to  be  tormented  and  miserable,  without 
doing  any  good  to  the  cause.  I  reported  the  labours  of  my 
office  to  the  senate,  and  assured  them  of  the  impossibility  of 
settling  the  church  on  any  permanent  foundation,  unless  a 
system  of  discipline  was  adopted,  such  as  is  prescribed  by 
the  word  of  God,  and  was  observed  by  the  ancient  church. 


OF     CALVIN.  243 

I  treated  upon  certain  points,  which  might  sufficiently  ex- 
plain my  wishes.     And  without  entering  upon  the  whole 
ground,  I  requested  them  to  appoint  some  members  who 
might  confer  with  us  on  the  subject.     They  chose  a  com- 
mittee of  six.     Articles  concerning  the  whole  polity  of  the 
church  will  be  drawn  up,  which  we  shall  lay  before  the 
senate.     Our  three  colleagues  pretend  that  they  will  consent 
to  whatever  Viret  and  myself  shall  judge  expedient.    Some- 
thing will  be  effected.     We  are  anxious  to  hear  how  matters 
progress  in  your  church.     We  hope,  through  the  authority 
of  the  Bernese  and  the  Biellese,  that  the  commotions  are  at 
least  allayed,  if  not  terminated.     When  fighting  against  the 
devil,  under  the  banner  of  Christ,  He  who  armed  and  directed 
you  to  the  battle,  will  give  you  the  victory.     But  a  good 
cause  requires  a  good  defender;  take  heed,  therefore,  and 
give  diligence,  that  those  qualifications  may  be  found  in  you 
which  command  the  approbation  of  good  men.     We  do  not 
exhort  you  to  preserve  a  pure  and  undefiled  conscience ;  of 
this  we  do  not  doubt.     But  this  we  desire,  that  you  would 
be  as  accommodating  to  the  people  as  your  duty  will  allow. 
There  are,  you  know,  two  kinds  of  popularity.     The  one  is, 
when  we  obtain  approbation,  by  our  ambition  and  desire  of  ^ 
pleasing ;  the  other,  when  by  moderation  and  equity,  we  i 
entice  the  minds  of  others  to  yield  themselves  to  us  with  a  j 
pleasant  docility.     Pardon  us,  if  we  use  too  much  freedom 
with  you,  on  this  point,  we  perceive  that  you  do  not  fully 
satisfy  the  virtuous.     If  in  nothing  else,  you  transgress  in 
this,  that  you  do  not  satisfy  those  to  whom  the  Lord  has 
made  you  a  debtor.    You  know  how  much  we  respect,  how 
much  we  love  you.     This  love  and  this  respect  impel  us 
to  censure  you  with  this  exact  and  rigid  severity.     We 
ardently  desire,  that  those  excellent  gifts,  which  the  Lord 
has  bestowed  upon  you,  may  not  be  sullied  by  a  single 
blemish,  which  may  afford  a  handle   to   the   carpings  of 
malevolence,   to    injure  your  influence.      I  have  written 


244  CORRESPONDENCE 

these  things  by  the  advice  of  Viret,  and  for  this  reason  have 
used  the  plural  number.  Farewell,  dearest  and  excellent 
brother. 

Geneva,  16th  Sept.  1541. 


LETTER  VII.— CALVIN  TO  FAREL. 

I  was  prepared  to  detail  to  you  at  large  the  state  of  our 
affairs  ;  but  when  I  was  informed  that  our  good  father  Ca- 
pito,  of  saci'ed  memory,  was  taken  from  us,  and  that  Bucer 
was  sick  with  the  plague,  my  mind  v/as  so  shocked  that  I 
can  now  only  weep.  You  know  it  was  always  resolved,  that 
if  I  returned  to  Geneva,  you  should  return  with  me;  that 
our  united  ministry  might  be  restored.  Your  troubles,  at 
that  time,  prevented  you  from  leaving  Neufchatel.  It  is  now, 
however,  the  interest  of  our  common  ministry,  and  of  the 
whole  church,  that  you  should  come  to  this  city.  You  must 
do  it,  if  for  no  other  reason  but  to  fulfil  your  promise  to  me. 
Your  pretext  for  declining,  that  you  was  banished  by  the 
people  and  could  not  be  recalled  by  the  senate,  displeases 
me.  You  call  that  seditious  faction  of  abandoned  men,  the 
people ;  and  is  it  not  enough  that  the  people  themselves,  by 
their  decree,  pronounced  your  banishment  unjust?  It  is 
certain,  that  most  of  those  who  banished  you  have  either 
suffered  an  ignominious  death,  or  have  fled  from  the  city ; 
and  the  rest  are  either  ashamed  to  say  any  thing,  or  openly 
confess  their  fault.  Was  not  that  a  decree  of  the  people,  by 
which  they  unanimously  confessed  our  innocence?  It  was 
my  intention  on  entering  the  city,  to  have  asserted  that  we 
were  innocent ;  and  although  I  do  not  excel  in  oratory,  to 
have  defended  our  cause.  But  when  the  people  came  to 
meet  me,  condemning  themselves,  and  confessing  their  fault, 
I  perceived  that  it  would  be  useless,  ungenerous,  and  inhu- 
man, as  I  should  only  be  insulting  our  prostrate  enemies, 
condemned  of  God,  of  men,  and  of  their  own  conscience. 


OF     CALVIN.  245 

Will  you  continue  to  urge  your  scruples  about  the  people's 
recall,  when  you  are  told,  that  when  they  decreed,  that  those 
who  were  banished  should  be  recalled,  the  question  was  put 
in  this  form,  Do  you  not  confess  that  injustice  was  done  to 
Farel  and  his  associates  ?  AVill  you  require  more  than  this, 
that  the  people  condemn  themselves,  and  acquit  you  ?  It 
was  added,  Will  ye,  that  Farel  and  his  associates,  &c.  1 
Shall  I  not  ascribe  (forgive  me,  ray  brother,  if  I  err)  your 
scrupulous  difficulties  to  moroseness,  rather  than  sound 
judgment  ?  I  know  your  sincerity — how  little  you  regard 
yourself;  but  others,  less  acquainted  with  you,  may  suspect 
your  motives,  and  make  a  handle  of  it  for  detraction.  I  do 
not  pretend,  that  the  church  has  made  satisfaction,  propor^ 
tioned  to  its  offence.  But  if  you  saw  how  tender  every  thing 
is  here,  you  would  yourself  agree  to  press  this  matter  no 
farther  at  present.  I  entreat  you,  my  Farel,  to  yield  to  the 
counsel  of  those  who  are  prudently  solicitous  for  the  honour 
of  your  ministry.  Give  up,  if  not  to  our  judgment,  at  least 
to  the  entreaties  of  your  friends.  Farewell,  best  and  beloved 
brother. 

Geneva,  Nov.  29,  1541. 


LETTER  VIII.— CALVIN  TO  FAREL. 

The  numerous  deaths,  which  have  occurred  this  year 
among  my  pious  friends,  I  hope  will  instruct  me  in  the  emp- 
tiness of  this  present  life  ;  and  impress  me,  in  the  midst  of 
my  sorrow,  with  holy  meditations  concerning  my  own  mor- 
tality. Poralis,  the  first  syndic  of  this  city,  has  departed  to 
be  with  the  Lord.  His  death,  as  was  to  be  expected,  is 
severely  felt,  and  deeply  lamented  by  us.  His  dying  testi- 
mony was  a  source  of  consolation,  while  the  very  circum- 
stance of  his  piety  increased  our  grief;  as  we  felt  his  loss  to 
be,  on  that  account,  a  more  extensive  deprivation.  The  day 
after  he  fell  sick,  Viret  and  myself  were  with  him,  and  he 
21* 


246  CORRESPONDENCE 

informed  us  that  he  was  in  danger  of  Josing  his  life  ;  for  the 
disease  with  which  he  was  afflicted  was  fatal  to  his  family. 
We  conversed  on  a  variety  of  subjects,  in  which  he  inte- 
rested himself  with  as  much  familiarity  as  if  in  usual  health. 
The  two  following  days,  his  complaint  increased,  but  in  no 
period  of  his  life,  had  he  discovered  more  strength  of  mind, 
or  greater  powers  of  eloquence,  than  at  this  time,  while  he 
addressed  those  who  visited  him  with  some  excellent  exhor- 
tations, adapted  to  the  character  and  circumstances  of  each 
individual.  He  now  appeared  to  be  much  better,  and  we 
entertained  hopes  of  his  recovery.  But  after  three  days,  the 
disease  renewed  its  severity,  and  he  was  evidently  in  great 
danger  ;  but  as  his  body  was  oppressed,  his  mind  grew  more 
enlarged  and  animated.  I  pass  the  intermediate  time,  to  the 
day  on  which  he  died.  Viret  and  myself  visited  him  about 
nine  o'clock  in  the  morning,  I  said  a  few  things  concerning 
the  cross,  the  grace  of  Christ,  and  the  hope  of  eternal  life, 
for  we  would  not  fatigue  him  with  a  long  discourse.  He 
answered,  that  he  knew  how  to  accept  the  messenger  of  God 
in  a  proper  manner,  and  of  what  importance  the  ministry  of 
Christ  was  in  contirming  the  consciences  of  believers.  He 
then  discoursed  upon  the  ministry  and  its  use  so  powerfully, 
that  we  were  both  struck  with  astonishment,  and  as  often  as 
I  reflect  upon  it,  I  am  still  confounded  ;  for  he  appeared  to 
be  delivering  some  of  our  discourses  improved  by  his  own 
deep  and  long  meditations.  He  concluded  by  saying,  that 
he  believed  the  remission  of  sins,  of  which  we  assured  him 
from  the  promise  of  Christ,  with  as  much  confidence  as 
though  an  angel  should  appear  to  him  from  heaven.  He 
then  enlarged  upon  the  harmony  of  the  members  of  the 
church,  which  he  commended  with  the  highest  eulogy;  testi- 
fying that  his  best  consolations,  in  the  warfare  of  death, 
were  drawn  from  his  being  established  so  fully  in  that  unity. 
He  had,  a  little  time  before,  called  for  some  of  our  col- 
leagues, with  whom  he  became  reconciled,  lest  by  persisting 
in  this  disagreement,  others  might  make  a  bad  use  of  his  ex- 


OF     CALVIN.  247 

ample.  He  observed  to  us,  "As  the  welfare  of  the  church 
obliges  you  to  bear  with  them  as  brethren,  why  should  I  not, 
for  the  same  reason,  acknowledge  them  as  pastors  ?"  He 
admonished  them  with  seriousness,  and  called  up  to  their 
remembrance  the  sins  of  which  they  had  been  guilty.  But 
I  come  to  his  last  words.  Turning  to  those  who  were  pre- 
sent, he  exhorted  them,  that  they  should  hold  in  high  esti- 
mation the  communion  of  the  church,  and  advised  those  who 
were  still  addicted  to  superstitious  ceremonies  and  festivals, 
to  lay  aside  their  obstinacy,  and  unite  with  us  in  the  worship 
of  God  ;  for  we  saw  better,  and  judged  more  perfectly  than 
they  could  in  these  matters.  He  confessed,  that  he  himself 
had  been  obstinate  in  these  things,  but  at  last  his  eyes  were 
opened  to  see  the  baneful  effects  of  contention.  After  this, 
he  summed  up  his  faith  in  a  short,  solemn,  and  clear  confes- 
sion. He  then  exhorted  Viret  and  myself  to  constancy  in 
all  the  parts  of  our  official  duty,  and,  as  in  a  prophetic  vision, 
he  spoke  of  our  future  difficulties.  Concerning  the  interests 
of  the  republic,  his  counsel  was  judiciously  directed  to  what- 
ever related  to  its  prosperity.  He  urged  the  most  diligent 
attention  to  be  given,  to  effect  a  reconciliation  with  the  allied 
cities';  and  that  the  clamours  of  some  turbulent  people  should 
not  discourage  us  in  our  efforts.  After  addressing  a  few 
words  to  him,  we  prayed  with  him  and  retired.  About  two 
in  the  afternoon,  my  wife  visited  him,  when  he  exhorted  her 
to  be  of  good  courage,  whatever  might  happen,  and  to  con- 
sider that  she  was  led  to  this  city  not  rashly,  but  by  the 
wonderful  wisdom  of  God,  to  assist  in  spreading  the  gospel. 
He  soon  after  said,  that  his  voice  began  to  fail  him;  that 
however  that  might  fail  him,  he  should  retain  in  his  mind, 
and  die  in  the  confession  of  faith  that  he  had  made.  He  re- 
cited the  song  of  Simeon,  and  applied  it  to  himself,  saying, 
"I  have  seen  and  embraced  thy  salvation  ;"  and  then  com- 
posed himself  to  rest.  From  this  time  he  was  deprived  of 
his  voice,  but  continued  to  indicate  by  signs,  that  he  had  lost 
nothing  of  the  vigour  of  his  mind.     About  four  in  the  after- 


248  CORRESPONDENCE 

noon,  I  went  with  the  syndics  to  visit  him.  As  he  some- 
times attempted  to  speak,  and  was  unable,  I  requested  him 
not  to  fatigue  himself,  adding  that  we  were  abundantly 
satisfied  with  his  confession.  I  then  began  to  speak  as  well 
as  I  could.  He  heard  with  a  composed  and  tranquil  mind. 
We  had  scarcely  left  him,  when  he  rendered  up  his  pious 
soul  to  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  This  narration  will  be 
scarcely  credible  to  you,  when  you  consider  the  nature  of 
the  man ;  but  remember  that  he  was  endowed  entirely  with 
a  new  spirit. 

We  are  now  deeply  occupied  in  choosing  new  colleagues; 
and  our  trouble  is  increased,  as  those  whom  we  suppose  fit 
for  the  place,  upon  trial,  disappoint  our  expectations.  We 
will  inform  you  of  our  progress,  as  your  advice  may  be  use- 
ful to  us.     Farewell. 

June  16,  1542. 


LETTER  VIII.— CALVIN  TO  THE  MEMBERS  OF  THE 
CHURCH  OF  MONTBELLIARD. 

(abridged.) 

Your  two  brethren  having  stated  to  me  the  points  of 
doubt  or  controversy  which  exist  among  you,  I  will  simply 
and  briefly  expose  to  you  what  I  should  do,  were  I  in  your 
situation-  That  those  persons,  who  wish  to  partake  of  the 
Lord's  Supper,  should  present  themselves  to  the  minister  for 
a  previous  examination,  is  a  matter  so  clear  to  me,  that  I 
think  every  one  should  do  it  of  choice,  as  a  means  of  sup- 
porting the  purity  and  discipline  of  the  church.  But  to 
avoid  all  difficulty,  some  limits  should  be  prescribed,  and  the 
method  of  proceeding  defined.  1.  Let  it  be  in  a  degree  a 
private  examination,  to  teach  the  ignorant  in  a  familiar  way. 
2.  Let  it  be  an  opportunity  for  advising  and  reproving  those 
who  are  wanting  in  their  duty.     3.  Let  the  minister  endea- 


OF      CALVIN. 


249 


vour  to  strengthen  the  weak  in  faith,  and  encourage  those 
who  are  of  a  tender  conscience.  Concerning  the  Supper,  it 
is  my  opinion,  that  we  should  adopt  the  custom  of  adminis- 
tering it  to  the  sick,  when  circumstances  will  admit  it  to  be 
done  with  propriety;  and  also  to  criminals  under  sentence  of 
death,  when  they  request  it,  and  are  sufficiently  qualified ; 
but  by  this  rule,  that  it  be  a  true  communion, — that  is,  that 
the  bread  be  broken  in  a  meeting  of  believers.  It  would  be 
improper  to  celebrate  the  Supper  in  an  ordinary  meeting, 
merely  at  the  request  of  one  person.  Do  not  indulge  a  too 
frequent  use  of  it  in  this  way,  lest  those  should  pretend  a 
necessity  for  it,  who  are  able  to  come  into  the  public  assem- 
bly. To  permit  midwives  to  baptize  is  an  impious  and 
sacrilegious  profanation  of  baptism.  Therefore,  I  think 
that  this  practice  ought  not  only  to  be  resisted,  but  if  the 
prince  should  urge  the  point  to  extremes,  you  ought  to  re- 
sist even  unto  death,  rather  than  consent  to  sanction  this 
intolerable  superstition.  In  burials  of  the  dead,  I  would 
wish  this  to  be  observed,  that  the  body,  instead  of  being 
carried  to  the  place  of  worship,  be  conveyed  directly  to 
the  place  of  burial ;  and  that  the  exhortation  should  there  be 
given  to  all  the  attendants  of  the  funeral.  As  to  the  ringing 
of  the  bell,*  I  would  not  advise  you  to  be  very  tenacious  in 
your  opposition,  if  the  prince  cannot  be  persuaded  to  abolish 
it,  as  it  is  not  worth  contending  about.  I  would  not  have 
you  oppose  every  festival,  but  insist  on  the  abolition  of 
those  which  carry  the  most  decided  marks  of  superstition, 
without  any  tendency  to  edification.  In  this  manner  you 
will  have  a  plausible  reason  for  your  objections.    I  wish  you 


*  Mabillon  says,  it  was  an  ancient  custom  to  ring  the  bells  for 
persons  about  to  expire,  to  advertise  the  people  to  pray  for  them  ; 
whence  was  derived  the  passing-bells,  the  use  of  which  was  con- 
nected with  other  superstitions;  as  was  the  bell  at  the  festivals, 
masses,  &c.    See  Rees'  Cyclopsedia,  Art.  Bell  and  Funeral. 


250  CORRESPONDENCE 

not  to  show  yourself  obstinate  and  morose ;  for  when  the 
prince  sees  your  moderation,  he  will  be  more  inclined  to 
yield  in  some  measure,  if  he  finds  that  you  do  not  oppose 
them  all  nor  without  reason.  I  entirely  agree  with  you,  as 
to  the  danger  of  varying  from  those  forms  which  are  com- 
monly used  in  our  churches  ;  but  as  we  have  not  yet  arrived 
to  that  perfection,  which  we  anticipate,  and  towards  which 
we  hope  we  are  advancing,  you  need  not  hesitate  to  admit 
some  of  those  rites,  which  you  can  neither  wholly  appro- 
bate, nor  totally  abolish.     Yours, 

JOHN  CALVIN. 
Geneva,  October  7, 1543. 


LETTER  IX.— CALVIN  TO  THE  MINISTERS  OF  NEUF- 
CHATEL. 

The  love  of  God,  the  peace  of  Christ  and  the  fellowship 
of  the  Holy  Spirit  be  multiplied  unto  you  always,  brethren 
beloved  in  the  Lord. 

When  our  brother  Enard  brought  your  Articles,  concern- 
ing the  administration  of  discipline  among  ministers,  and 
also  the  objections  of  a  certain  brother  to  those  articles,  there 
was  no  one  of  us  who  did  not  judge,  that  an  answer  ought 
to  be  given  to  each  with  all  readiness.  But  as  we  were  not 
all  present,  we  deferred  it  to  this  day's  meeting.  The  busi- 
ness being  proposed,  we  all  agreed,  with  one  consent,  to  the 
following  answer:  When  ministers  have  occasion  for  any 
special  discipline  among  themselves,  the  inquiry  is  not  to  be, 
after  what  manner  we  jnay  live,  without  established  rules  in 
the  Church ;  but  that  management  and  order  are  to  be  pur- 
sued, which  are  adapted  to  retain  us  in  our  office,  and  to 
serve  for  edification.  The  affairs  of  men  are  never  so  well 
established,  as  that  any  thing  is  found  perfect.  To  this 
point,  however,  we  ought  always  to  aim,  that  with  one  con- 


OP     CALVIN.  251 

sent,  and  by  united  exertions,  we  may  promote,  as  much  as 
possible,  the  design  for  which  the  Church  was  instituted. 

In   this   state  of  infirmity,  it   cannot  be  but  that  some 
things  will  be  wanting  in  us,  concerning  which  it  is  useful 
and  proper  that  we  should  be  admonished.     In  some  minis- 
ters, particular  faults  are  to  be  corrected :  others  are  to  be 
warned  before  hand,  when  we  see  them  in  danger,  lest  they 
fall  into  imprudences  :  some  are  to  be  excited  to  greater  zeal : 
others  must  be  checked  in  their  impetuosity :  and  concern- 
ing others,  we  must  make  inquiry,  when  any  unfavourable 
and  yet  doubtful  report  about  them  goes  abroad.     Again,  it 
is  asked,  "Whether,  in  general,  it  is  necessary,  that  the 
individual  delinquent  should  be  admonished   privately  by 
each  of  the  other  ministers  ?     Or  whether  it  may  sometimes 
be  expedient,  that  a  deliberation  be  held  among  them,  and 
the  admonition  be  given  by  the  whole  meeting?"     It  often 
happens,  that  we  ought  to  be  admonished  by  a  number  to- 
gether, about  that  concerning  which  no  individual  can  with 
propriety   admonish   us.     Exempli  gratia,  as  it  was  just 
stated,  a  rumour  is  raised,  or  some  complaints  spread  about 
some  brother :  the  neighbours  know  it.     It  cannot  be  met 
with  a  better  remedy,  than  that  the  ministers,  having  con- 
sulted among  themselves,  advise  or  admonish  him  concern- 
ing whom  the  reports  or  complaints  are  made.     If  he  is  un- 
justly criminated,  they  will  thus  provide,  that  the  reports 
spread  no  further ;  but  if  true,  he  ought  not  to  be  admonish- 
ed by  one  only,  but  to  be  corrected  by  the  meeting  of  his 
brethren.     Take  another  example :   there  shall  be    some- 
thing in  a  brother,  which  shall  displease  some  others,  either 
of  the  common  members,  or  of  his  colleagues.     Here  the 
question  is  changed :  whether  that  which  is  a  deficiency  is 
to  be  treated  as  a  fault,  and  corrected  ?     In  this  case,  the 
principal   points  being   compared,   a    judgment    must    be 
formed.     Cases  of  this  kind  are  daily  occurring.     To  these 
the   provincial   Synods  had  some  respect,  which  were  for- 
merly held  twice  a  year.     In  those  synods,  when  they  en- 


252  CORRESPONDENCE 

tered  on  the  consideration  of  doctrine,  then  the  complaints 
were  heard  concerning  the  faults  of  any  one,  and  the  order 
of  discipline  was  exercised  towards  the  individual.     Your 
institution,  therefore,  such  as  you  have  described,  we  judge 
to  be  sacred  and  lawful.     It  is  certainly  with  propriety,  that 
we  approve  of  that  order  and  discipline  in  your  Church, 
which  we  ourselves  have  used  as  good  and  salutary.     Only 
let  us  first  use  (in  our  Censura  Morum)  equity  and  candour ; 
and  also  prudence  and  moderation.     When  we  require  can- 
dour and  equity,  we  understand  this,  that  no  one  shall  labour, 
with  a  malignant  mind,  to  throw  spots  on  the  character  of 
his  brother.     By  prudence  and;  moderation  we  understand, 
that  no  one  shall  make  known  a  secret  fault,  by  which  any 
disgrace   may  be  affixed   upon   his   brother;  neither  shall 
things  of  small  consequence,  levicula,  be  exaggerated,  with 
i.mmoderate  severity.     If  at  any  time  it  should  happen,  that 
those   things  are  made  public,  from  the  moroseness  or  offi- 
ciousness  of  ^brethren,  which  ought  to  be  kept  secret ;  or  if 
from  a  censorious  disposition  in  any  one,  private  faults  are 
published ;  those  reporters  or  informers  should  by  no  means 
be  heart! ;  "\  ut  they  should  be  severely  repressed  and  dis- 
countenanced.    That  the  procedure  may  be  safe  in  those 
difficulties,  which  arise  in  the  administration  of  discipline,  it 
is  useful  that  a  previous  discourse  be  faithfully  delivered, 
concerning  those  things  which  are  to  be  strictly  observed, 
by  all  those  who  would  not  turn  the  salubrious  medicine  of 
discipline  into  poison.     We  should  immediately  and  con- 
stantly from  the  beginning  admonish  them,  that  if  there  are 
any  secret  grudges,  they  should  be  openly  acknowledged : 
that  when  one  brother  is  offended  with  another,  it  is  his  duty 
to  expostulate  with  him,  before  he  proceeds  to  charge  him 
with  a  crime,  so  that  he  may  not  confound  those  two  dis- 
tinct duties.     These   precautions  in  discipline,  as  much  as 
possible,  are  to  be  taken  at  the  threshhold,  so  that  the  door 
of  contention  may  be  closed,  lest  any  creep  in  craftily;  and 
if  they  should  peradventure  overreach,  in  this   way,  their 


OF     CALVIN.  253 

progress  must  be  stopped.     The  discipline  of  the  church  is 
not  only  of  divine  authority,  but  we  find,  by  experience,  that 
it  is  necessary,  and  by  no  means  to  be  neglected  or  omitted. 
Moreover,  we  beseech  that  brother  in  the  Lord,  who  has 
hitherto  dissented  from  you,  as  to  your  order  of  discipline, 
that  he  contend  no  further  in  his  pertinacious   objections. 
He  should  remember,  among  other  things,  what  Paul  re- 
quires in  a  pastor,  and  this  is  not  to  be  accounted  the  last, 
that  he  be  not  av9a8t}?,  that  is,  that  he  be  not  self-ivillecL 
This  also  is  one  of  the  special  virtues  of  a  good  pastor,  that 
he  so  abhor,  with  his  whole  heart,  contentions,  as  never  to 
differ  from  his  brethren,  unless  in  cases  of  the  most  impe- 
rious necessity.     Take  care  also,  lest  those  who  hear  this 
observation  of  ours  should  suspect  him  of  being  zealous  of 
strife,  or  of  opposing  your  articles  from  his  hatred  of  disci- 
pline ;  for  we  would  by  no  means  load  him  with  this  re- 
proach, or  attach  to  him  at  all  the  disposition  of  being  self- 
willed.     We  speak  these  things,  therefore,  with  the  utmost 
simplicity,   because   we  desire   to  consult  his  honour  and 
benefit.  As  much  as  appertains  to  his  objections,  by  which  he 
has  endeavoured  to  overthrow  your  articles  of  discipline,  we 
shall  only  say,  with  his  permission,  that  when  he  calls  the 
brotherly  correction  an  act  of  charity,  from  the  exercise  of 
which  no  one  is  to  be  excluded,  he  appears  to  us  not  to 
have  noticed  that  which  in  the  first  place  was  necessary  to 
be  known,  that  there  are  many  kinds  of  brotherly  correction. 
We  will  omit  others,  and  observe  only  this  about  which  is 
the  controversy,  as  this  has  its  proper  and  distinct  conside- 
ration.    It  is  one  article  of  ecclesiastical  polity.     It  should 
not,  therefore,  be  confounded  with  that  general  correction  of 
morals,  which  is  indifferently  committed  to  all.    We  do  not, 
therefore,  concede  to  him,  that  it  is  a  simple  and  common 
act  of  charity  or  love  ;  forasmuch  as  there  is  a  judicial  board, 
instituted  for  the  purpose  of  order  and  discipline,  which  has 
the  edification  of  the  church  alone  for  its  object.     Neque 
etiam  concedimus  neminem  ah  ejus  obligatione  eximi.    Nor 
22 


254  CORRESPONDENCE 

do  ive  concede,  that  any  one  is  deprived  of  his  privilege,  or 
exempted  from  his  obligation.  Although  this  manner  of 
speaking  is  ambiguous,  as  it  may  be  taken  passively  or 
actively,  yet  in  either  way,  we  deny  that  all  are  bound  by 
this  article,  which  is  specially  designed  for  ministers.  For 
as  those  laws,  which  respect  the  order  of  holding  the  Senate, 
do  not  bind  the  common  people ;  so  it  is  agreed,  that  we 
observe  among  ourselves  the  discipline  to  which  ministers 
alone  are  subject. 

What  the  objector  has  included  in  the  same  proposition, 
"  That  brotherly  correction  is  supported  by  the  precept  of 
God ;"  if  he  understands,  that  any  correction  of  that  kind  is 
contained  expressly  in  the  word  of  God,  this  we  by  no 
means  concede  to  him.  Substantiam  ecclesiasticse  disciplinse 
exprimit  disertis  verbis  scriptura :  forma  autem  ejus  exer- 
cendse  quoniamd  Lomiyio  prxscripta  7ionest,dministris  con- 
stitui  debet  pro  edifcatione.  The  scriptures  express  the  sub- 
stance of  ecclesiastical  discipline  in  plain  words;  but  the  form 
of  exercising  it,  since  it  is  not  prescribed  by  the  Lord,  ought 
to  be  determined  by  the  ministers  for  edification.  For  which 
reason  we  also  deny,  that  the  emendation  of  delinquents  is 
only  to  be  regarded  in  disciplinary  proceedings,  for  respect 
is,  at  the  same  time,  to  be  had  to  public  order  and  common 
edification.  On  this  subject  we  may  take  an  example  from 
the  Scriptures  :  When  Paul  came  to  Jerusalem,  he  was  ad- 
vised by  James  and  the  Elders,  as  he  had  been  evilly  report- 
ed among  the  Jews,  that  he  should  purify  himself  in  like 
manner  and  together  with  them.  Now  it  is  not  to  be  doubt- 
ed, but  that  a  deliberation  among  the  Elders  preceded  this 
advice  ;  and  that  this  consultation  was  held,  Paul  not  being 
present.  But  why  was  this?  Because,  indeed,  the  question 
concerned  not  Paul  merely,  but  the  general  interest  and 
common  edification  of  the  Church.  In  like  manner,  when 
the  brethren  reprehended  Peter,  because  he  had  turned  to 
the  Gentiles,  we  do  not  read  that  any  thing  was  said  to  him 
privately  by  any  individual ;    because  the  matter  was  pub- 


OF     CALVIN.  255 

licly  known  to  many,  it  was. proper,  therefore,  that  the  El- 
ders should  admonish  him  among  themselves.  And  although 
Peter  was  unjustly  accused  in  this  case,  we  do  not,  however, 
read,  that  the  Elders  erred  in  the  manner  of  their  dealing 
with  him  ;  the  error  was  only  in  the  cause  itself;  for  they 
pursued  the  usual  and  ordinary  method  of  discipline. 

The  precept  of  Christ,  which  we  have  in  Matthew  xviii., 
we  receive  concerning  secret  faults,  according  to  the  express 
meaning  of  the  words.  Therefore,  if  a  brother  offend  in 
any  thing,  you  knowing  it,  and  there  being  no  other  wit- 
ness, Christ  commands  you  to  go  to  him  in  private ;  al- 
though he  does  not  forbid  but  that  you  should  do  the  same 
in  a  case  where  there  are  others  who  equally  know  the  facts 
with  yourself.  This  should  be  done,  as  though* you  were 
ignorant  that  others  knew  it ;  and  on  the  ground  that  you 
do  not  think  it  expedient  to  accuse  him  in  the  presence  of 
other  persons.  Christ  adds,  if  you  effect  nothing  in  this 
way,  take  with  you  two  or  three  witnesses.  This,  in  our 
judgment,  is  not  to  be  understood  of  the  witnesses  of  the 
fault,  but  of  the  admonition ;  that  by  this  means  it  may  have 
more  weight.  This,  however,  has  nothing  to  do  with  the  point 
of  pre  venting  the  exercise  of  discipline,  about  which  the  con- 
troversy now  is.  Besides  it  is  not  now  debated,  whether  secret 
faults  are  to  be  publicly  exposed  ;  but  our  inquiry  is,  what 
those  things  are  which  only  beget  some  small  offence,  or 
which  are  not  much  removed  from  occasioning  offence.  Of 
this  kind  we  have  an  example  in  the  reprehension  of  Peter. 
For  neither  did  Paul  refuse  witnesses,  that  he  might  admonish 
Peter  privately,  but  he  did  it  before  the  Church.  Nor  yet 
was  the  matter  known  to  all ;  but  because  danger  threatened, 
he  would  be  before-hand  and  prevent  it. 

The  fifth  proposition  of  the  objector,  we  cannot  receive 
without  exception ;  for  it  declares,  "  that  we  are  proceeding 
correctly,  even  when  we  admonish  a  Presbyter  privately  who 
is  labouring  under  a  notorious  sin."  But  Paul,  in  the  text 
where  he  forbids  an  accusation  to  be  received  against  Elders, 


256  CORRESPONDENCE 

unless  before  proper  witnesses,  would  on  the  other  hand  have 
peccantes  PresbyterioSj  offending  Presbyters  admonished  be- 
fore all,  that  others  also  might  fear.  If  it  is  sometimes  a  duty 
to  admonish  offenders  publicly,  even  Presbyters,  for  whom  a 
greater  respect  is  to  be  had,  and  it  obtains  for  an  example,  it 
certainly  cannot  be  correctly  and  prudently  done,  that  any 
one  should  abstain  from  such  reprehension.  What  shall  we 
say  more?  We  judge  that  we  have  given  all  the  counsel, 
which  the  time  allows,  or  the  case  requires.  But  these  two 
things  are  to  be  always  regarded,  the  first,  that  offenders  be 
not  discouraged,  through  too  much  severity  :  and  the  other, 
that  offences  be  not  connived  at  by  us.  We  wonder  why 
that  brother  added  the  sixth  proposition,  for  it  is  sufficiently 
evident  frbm  the  term  Church,  in  the  words  of  Christ,  that 
he  properly  designated  that  Church  of  which  he  himself  was 
a  member,  and  whose  obstinacy  he  had  denounced.  But 
here  two  things  are  to  be  observed ;  First,  that  when  the  ob- 
stinacy of  a  stubborn  offender  is  published  before  one  Church, 
and  he  contemptuously  leaves  that  Church  and  migrates  to 
another,  he  shall  be  denounced  in  this  also.  The  ancient 
Canons  determine  this,  when  they  prohibit  a  stranger  to  be 
received  to  communion,  unless  he  shall  produce  a  testimony. 
For  where  is  the  communion  of  the  Church,  if  when  con- 
demned by  one  he  is  received  by  another  ?  Where  is  the 
discipline,  if  he  who  despises  one  Church  may  migrate  to 
another,  and  carry  such  pride  with  him  with  impunity  ? 
The  other  point  to  be  observed  is,  that  those  whom  we  es- 
teem to  be  Ministers  of  one  Church  qui  in  iinum  collegimn 
adunati,  who  are  united  in  one  association,  should  constitute 
one  body.  Quorsum  enim  Decanus,  quorsum  alia  omnia, 
nisi  tanquam  unius  corporis  membra  inter  nos  coalescamus  ? 
For  what  purpose  is  a  Leader,  or  Moderator,  for  what  pur- 
pose all  other  things,  unless,  as  members  of  one  body,  we 
are  united  among  ourselves  ? 

We  trust  that  the  author  of  the  propositions  will  receive 
in  good  part  what  we  have  written  in  sincerity.     It  is  the 


OF     CALVIN.  257 

duty  of  us  all,  not  only  to  yield  to  the  truth,  but  to  receive  it 
willingly,  with  extended  hands,  when  it  comes  in  our  way. 
Farewell,  dear  brethren  in  the  Lord.  May  the  Lord  multi- 
ply unto  you  daily  the  spirit  of  wisdom  and  prudence,  for 
the  edification  of  his  Church,  and  may  he  render  your  minis- 
try extensively  fruitful. 

JOHN  CALVIN, 
in  the  name  of  all  the  brethren. 
Geneva,  from  our  meeting,  Nov.  7,  1544. 


LETTER  X.— CALVIN  TO  THE  QUEEN  OF  NAVARRE. 

I  have  received  a  letter  from  a  certain  person,  which  he 
says  was  written  by  him  at  your  request.  By  this  letter  I 
perceive,  that  you  do  not  approve  of  the  book  which  I  pub- 
lished against  the  Libertines.  It  would  grieve  me  extremely 
to  occasion  you  sorrow,  unless  it  might  tend  to  your  salva- 
tion. That  sorroiv  is  not  to  be  repented  of,  as  says  the  apostle,! 
the  cause  of  which  ought  to  lead  any  one  to  repentance.  How- 
ever, I  can  hardly  conceive,  why  this  book  has  excited  so 
much  dissatisfaction.  He  who  wrote  tome  says  the  cause  of 
the  offence  was,  that  the  book  was  written  against  you  and 
your  household.  As  it  respects  you,  I  never  even  thought  of 
attacking  your  name,  or  of  diminishing  that  respect  which  all 
pious  persons  owe  you  ;  not  to  mention  the  royal  dignity  to 
which  the  Lord  has  raised  you,  the  illustrious  family  from 
which  you  descended,  and  finally  the  summit  of  supreme  no- 
bility, which  renders  you  conspicuous  in  the  world.  All 
who  know  me  are  witnesses,  how  much  I  am  a  stranger  to 
that  incivility,  that  would  despise  earthly  powers  and  prin- 
cipalities, and  whatever  else  appertains  to  civil  government. 
I  am  by  no  means  ignorant  of  those  qualifications  with  which 
God  has  endowed  you  ;  and  how  extensively  he  has  used 
your  labours  in  the  defence  of  his  kingdom.  These  things 
afford  me  a  substantial  reason  for  respecting  you  and  defend- 

22* 


258  CORRESPONDENCE 

ing  your  name.  I  wish  you  to  persuade  yourself,  that  those 
persons,  who  are  endeavouring  to  excite  your  resentment 
against  me,  are  neither  influenced  by  a  regard  for  you,  nor 
any  personal  hatred  to  me  ;  but  are  in  this  way  taking 
the  opportunity  to  withdraw  you  from  the  sincere  love  which 
you  have  manifested  towards  the  Church  of  God  ;  and  thus 
to  alienate  your  affections  by  degrees  from  the  solicitude 
with  which  you  have  hitherto  worshipped  Christ  our  Lord, 
and  protected  his  members.  As  to  your  household,  I  do 
not  suppose  you  can  imagine  your  house  to  be  more  digni- 
fied than  that  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  in  whose  family 
there  was  one  who  deserved  the  name  of  a  devil ;  a  servant 
who  sat  at  his  own  table,  and  was  raised  to  the  honour 
of  being  appointed  one  of  the  ambassadors  of  tlie  Son 
of  God.  I  was  not,  however,  so  inconsiderate  as  to  desig- 
nate your  house,  at  the  time  when  I  expressed  the  truth  on 
that  subject,  as  in  the  presence  of  God,  nor  did  I  even  hint 
that  those  whom  I  mentioned  pertained,  in  any  respect,  to 
your  family.  It  may  now  be  inquired,  whether  from  mo- 
tives of  mere  self-gratificalion,  I  treated  of  those  persons  in 
my  discourse  ;  or  whether  I  was  influenced  by  weighty  and 
just  reasons,  and  as  from  mere  necessity,  to  notice  them  as  I 
did  ?  When  you  possess  the  whole  truth  of  this  matter,  I  am 
persuaded,  that  you  will  judge  me  not  only  excusable,  but 
that  my  candour  deserves  your  commendation.  Concerning 
this  sect,  I  am  decidedly  of  the  opinion,  that  there  is  nothing 
among  men  more  pernicious  and  abominable.  It  is  a  burn- 
ing torch,  by  which  all  things  will  be  immediately  enkin- 
dled and  consumed.  It  is  a  most  powerful  contagion,  by 
which  every  thing  will  be  infected,  unless  some  remedy  is 
at  once  applied  to  arrest  its  progress.  Now  as  I  am  called 
of  God  to  this  office,  my  conscience  impels  me  to  resist  this 
pressing  evil  with  all  my  strength.  Besides,  I  am  called 
upon  daily,  by  many  pious  persons,  who  have  not  ceased  to 
implore  my  assistance,  complaining  that  almost  all  the  Neth- 
erlands were  beset  with  that  evil ;  and  saying  that  I  should 


OF     CALVIN.  259 

at  least  exert  myself  to  apply  a  remedy.  Notwithstanding 
these  excitements,  I  restrained  myself  a  whole  year,  hoping 
that  tlie  evil  would  sicken,  and  silently  die  away  of  itself. — 
If  any  one  objects,  that  it  would  have  been  sufficient  for  me 
to  write  against  their  opinions,  and  spare  their  persons,  I 
have  a  reasonable  excuse.  When  I  understood  how  much 
hurt  Anthony  Poquet  was  doing  in  Artois,  Hainault  and  the 
neighbourhood,  and  from  persons  worthy  of  full  credit ;  and 
when  I  was  personally  knowing  that  Quintin  was  wholly  en- 
gaged in  winning  over  the  simple  and  the  credulous  to  that 
irrational  sect,  and  that  these  men  were  incessantly  labour- 
ing to  destroy  the  true  doctrine,  to  plunge  wretched  souls 
into  perdition,  and  to  carry  a  contempt  of  God  through  the 
whole  earth;  I  put  the  question  to  you  for  decision,  whether 
I  could  honestly  have  concealed  these  men  ?  A  dog,  if  any- 
one attacks  his  master,  will  at  least  attempt  to  frighten  him 
by  barking.  Who  would  excuse  me,  if,  when  I  hear  the 
truth  of  God  assailed,  I  should  suffer  my  mouth  to  remain 
closed  ?  I  do  not  believe  that  you  expect  me,  in  order  to 
please  you,  to  prevaricate  in  the  defence  of  the  gospel, 
which  is  committed  to  me.  Do  not,  then,  I  beseech  you, 
take  it  amiss,  if  in  the  discharge  of  my  duty,  being  com- 
pelled by  the  fear  of  God,  I  have  not  spared  one  of  your 
household,  since  I  have  offered  nothing  which  might  in 
the  least  affect  your  reputation.  What  the  author  of  the 
letter  says  in  your  name,  that  such  servants  as  I  am  will  not 
be  very  acceptable  to  you,  I  judge  the  same  of  myself,  and 
acknowledge  that  I  cannot  be  of  any  great  service  to  you ; 
for  neither  have  1  the  ability,  nor  you  the  occasion  of  my 
personal  assistance.  But  yet  a  partiality  of  mind  towards 
you  is  not  wanting,  nor  will  I,  while  I  live,  by  the  grace  of 
God,  be  otherwise  affected  towards  you.  Should  you  even 
be  averse  to  my  respect,  that  will  not  change  my  disposition 
or  affection  towards  you.  As  to  other  things,  every  one 
who  knows  me  can  testify  how  far  my  disposition  is  from 
seeking  access  to  princes,  and  from  being  excited  by  a  love 


260  CORRESPONDENCE 

of  such  honours.  Perhaps,  if  I  had  sought  them,  I  should 
not  have  succeeded  in  obtaining  them.  I  have  reason  to 
thank  God,  that  my  mind  is  wholly  free  from  that  desire. — 
I  am  abundantly  satisfied,  that  \  am  in  the  service  of  that 
Divine  Master,  who  has  admitted  and  retained  me  in  his  fa- 
mily, and  entrusted  me  with  that  office,  which  with  him  is 
of  so  much  weight,  however  it  may  be  accounted  vile  and 
despicable  in  the  eyes  of  men.  I  should  be  the  most  un- 
grateful of  all  mortals,  if  I  did  not  prefer  this  my  condition 
to  all  the  honours  and  riches  of  the  world.  As  to  the  incon- 
stancy of  which  you  accuse  me,  1  assure  you,  confidently, 
that  you  have  been  imposed  upon.  I  have,  indeed,  never 
been  brought  to  this  trial,  that  any  one  should  demand  of  me 
a  confession  of  my  faith.  Should  it  be  demanded  of  me,  I 
have  no  such  confidence  in  myself  that  I  dare  boast ;  but  T 
am  confident,  that  as  God  formerly  supported  me,  so  that  I 
did  not  fear  to  defend  his  word,  in  the  name  of  another^^ 
even  at  the  hazard  of  my  life,  so  in  like  manner  he  will  reach 
out  the  hand  of  protection  to  me,  whenever  his  name  may 
be  glorified  by  my  confession.  By  divine  favour,  I  have  been 
so  consistent  with  myself,  that  no  one  can  accuse  me  of  a  di- 
rect or  indirect  denial  or  recantation  of  the  truth,  which  I 
have  supported.  And  what  is  still  more  than  that,  it  was 
always  in  my  view  an  awful  madness,  which  could  induce 
any  one  to  deny  Christ,  to  preserve  his  life  or  estate  ;  and 
such  were  my  feelings  on  that  occasion,  when  I  was  in  France, 
as  I  am  able  to  prove  by  appropriate  witnesses.  That  it  may 
appear  more  evident  that  those,  who  have  endeavoured  to 
injure  me  in  your  estimation,  have  basely  abused  your 
generous  disposition,  T  will  name  to  you,  as  a  witness,  Cle- 

*  This  undoubtedly  refers  to  the  sermon  which  Cop,  the  Rector 
of  the  University  of  Paris,  preached  on  All  Saints'  day,  which  it 
is  said  Calvin  composed  in  part  at  least.  It  was  the  danger  to 
which  Calvin  was  then  exposed,  that  brought  him  first  acquainted 
with  the  Queen. 


OF     CALVIN.  261 

racus,  from  whom  you  may  most  certainly  ascertain  the  ex- 
treme falsehood  of  the  -calumny,  which  has  been  invented 
against  me,  and  which  is  insufferable,  as  by  it  the  name  of 
God  may  be  blasphemed.  In  myself,  I  am  indeed  nothing ; 
but  since  God  has  been  pleased  to  use  me  as  an  instrument 
in  building  up  his  Church,  I  see,  as  well  as  others,  how  in- 
jurious would  be  the  consequences  of  that  reproach,  if  credit-/ 
ed  against  me,  and  how  it  would  prevail  to  the  disgrace  or 
the  gospel.  Blessed  be  the  Lord,  who  has  not  permitted 
satan  to  contend  against  me  to  that  degree,  but  that  he  has 
supported  me  in  my  infirmity ;  and  never  suffered  me  to  be 
arraigned  for  the  utmost  trial  of  my  faith,  nor  proved  my 
integrity  by  chains.  I  would  wish  your  pardon  for  the 
shortness  of  my  letter,  and  a  certain  perturbation  which  af- 
fects me ;  for  as  soon  as  I  received  your  letter  I  immediately 
began  this  answer,  that  I  might,  to  your  satisfaction,  remove 
the  offence  ;  and  induce  you  to  continue  your  protection  and 
benevolence  towards  the  pious,  according  to  your  former 
munificence.  May  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  protect  you  by 
his  shield,  and  direct  you  by  his  Spirit,  to  pursue  his  voca- 
tion, even  unto  death,  with  a  sincere  zeal  and  prudence. 
Your  most  humble  and  devoted  servant, 

JOHN  CALVIN. 
April  20,  1545. 


LETTER  XI.— CALVIN  TO  MELANCTHON, 

WISHES   HEALTH. 

I  will  briefly  mention  for  what  reason  this  noble  and  pious 
youth  has  undertaken,  at  my  request,  this  visit  to  you.  I 
published  a  small  book  in  the  vulgar  tongue,  in  which  I 
reproved  the  hypocrisy  of  those  who,  although  enlightened 
by  the  true  gospel,  still  continued  to  attend  the  service  of 
the  Papists,  which  they  know  to  be  full  of  sacrilege  and 


262  CORRESPONDENCE 

anathema.  You  would  wish  me,  perhaps,  to  moderate 
somethmg  of  this  precise  severity.  But  what  just  occasion 
I  had  for  this  you  will  be  able  to  judge,  when  you  have 
weighed  and  well  considered  the  subject.  Perceiving  that 
many  complained  of  my  severity,  especially  those  who  ap- 
peared to  grow  wise  in  their  own  opinion,  in  proportion  as 
they  took  more  diligent  care  to  preserve  their  lives  ;  I  com- 
posed an  Apology,  which  wounded  their  sensibility  more 
painfully  than  the  former  treatise.  Many,  who^esteem  re- 
ligion only  as  they  do  philosophy,  affect  severely  to  despise 
my  reproof.  All  those,  however,  who  seriously  fear  God, 
have  at  least  advanced  so  far  in  knowledge,  as  to  begin  to 
be  dissatisfied  with  themselves.  But  as  the  question  appears 
to  them  perplexed,  they  still  hang  in  doubt  until  they  shall 
be  confirmed  by  your  authority,  and  that  of  Luther.  I  ap- 
prehend that  they  consult  you,  because  they  hope  that  your 
opinion  will  be  more  agreeable  to  their  wishes.  But  what- 
ever may  be  their  intentions,  as  I  am  persuaded,  that  from 
your  singular  prudence  and  sincerity,  you  will  faithfully 
give  them  salutary  counsel,  I  readily,  according  to  their  re- 
quest, engaged  to  send  a  man  to  you  on  this  business.  But 
as  I  considered  it  to  be  a  matter  of  consequence,  that  you 
should  know  my  opinion,  and  the  reasons  which  induced  me 
to  embrace  it,  I  immediately  translated  the  two  books  into 
the  Latin  tongue.  And  although  I  may  appear  to  have 
done  this  improperly,  yet  I  ask  you,  by  our  mutual  friend- 
ship, not  to  refuse  the  trouble  of  reading  them.  Your  judg- 
ment, as  it  ought  to  be,  is  of  such  weight  with  me,  that  it 
would  give  me  great  unhappiness  to  undertake  to  defend 
that  on  this  subject  which  you  could  by  no  means  approve. 
I  know,  indeed,  that  from  your  great  moderation,  you  allow 
many  things  to  others,  which  you  would  not  permit  to  your- 
self. We  must,  however,  inquire,  what  is  lawful  for  us  ? 
lest  we  loosen  where  the  Lord  binds.  I  do  not  ask  you  to 
agree  with  me  ;  that  would  be  too  great  effrontery ;  or  to 
depart,  on  my  account,  from  the  free  and  plain  exposition  of 


OF     CALVIN.  263 

your  opinion.  All  I  ask  is,  that  you  would  not  neglect  the 
perusal  of  the  books.  Indeed,  I  wish  that  we  so  entirely 
agreed,  that  there  should  not  be  even  the  appearance  of  a 
disagreement  in  a  single  word.  It  is  your  duty  to  precede 
me,  rather  than  have  any  regard  to  what  might  meet  my  ap- 
probation. You  see  how  familiarly  I  address  you,  nor  am  I 
at  all  anxious  lest  it  should  exceed  the  limits  of  friendship ;  | 
for  I  well  understand  how  much  freedom  is  permitted  me, 
from  your  singular  good  will  towards  me.  I  apprehend  there 
will  be  somewhat  more  difficulty  in  treating  with  Luther. 
As  far  as  I  learn  from  reports,  and  the  letters  of  some  of  my 
friends,  the  mind  of  that  man,  being  as  yet  scarcely  pacified, 
will  be  fretted  by  the  most  trifling  cause.  On  this  account, 
the  letter  which  I  have  written  to  him  the  messenger  will 
show  to  you  ;  so  that,  after  perusing  it,  you  can  regulate  the 
whole  business  according  to  your  own  prudence.  You  will 
provide,  therefore,  that  nothing  is  attempted  rashly,  and 
without  due  consideration,  that  may  have  an  unfavourable 
termination ;  which  I  am  confident  you  will  faithfully  accom- 
plish, by  your  uncommon  address. 

I  have  not  been  able  as  yet  fully  to  ascertain  what  contro- 
versies are  agitated  among  you  in  Germany,  nor  what  has 
been  their  issue  ;  excepting  that  an  atrocious  libel  has  been 
published,  which,  like  a  fire-brand,  will  enkindle  fresh 
flames,  unless  the  Lord,  on  the  other  hand,  restrain  their 
minds,  already,  as  you  know,  beyond  measure  heated.  But 
for  what,  and  why  are  these  controversies  excited  ?  When 
I  consider  how  ill-timed  these  intestine  controversies  are,  I 
am  almost  lifeless  with  grief.  A  merchant  of  Nuremberg, 
passing  through  this  city,  lately  showed  me  an  apology  of 
Osiander,  which  greatly  mortified  me  for  his  sake.  For 
what  purpose  could  it  answer,  to  abuse  the  Zuinglians,  with 
foul  language,  at  every  third  line  ;  to  treat  with  so  much  in- 
humanity Zuinglius  himself;  and  not,  indeed,  even  to  spare 
that  holy  servant  of  God,  (Ecolampadius,  whose  meekness  I 
wish  he  would  half  imitate  ?     Osiander  would,  in  that  case. 


264  CORRESPONDENCE 

be  far  higher  in  my  estimation.  I  do  not,  by  any  means, 
ask  him  to  suffer  in  silence  his  reputation  to  be  traduced 
with  impunity.  I  only  wish  he  would  abstain  from  re- 
proaching those  men,  whose  memory  ought  to  be  honoured 
by  every  pious  person.  While  I  am  displeased  with  the 
petulance  of  the  writer,  by  whose  mournful  ditties  he  com- 
plains that  he  has  been  defamed  ;  I  lament  his  want  of  mo- 
deration, discernment,  and  discretion.  How  great  is  the 
pleasure  which  we  are  affording  to  the  papists,  as  if  we 
were  devoting  our  labours  to  their  cause !  But  I  shall  un- 
reasonably increase  your  sorrow,  by  the  recital  of  evils 
which  you  cannot  remedy.  Let  us  mourn  then,  since  it  he- 
comes  us  to  be  afflicted  with  the  troubles  of  the  church  ;  but 
let  us  still  sustain  ourselves  with  this  hope,  that  although 
we  are  oppressed  and  tossed  by  these  m,ighty  waters,  we 
shall  not  be  overwhelmed. 

All  the  brethren  in  France  have  their  minds  much  elevated 
in  the  strong  expectation  of  a  council.  There  is  no  doubt 
but  that  the  king  himself,  at  least  in  the  beginning,  had  a 
desire  and  determination  to  convoke  one.  For  cardinal 
Tournon,  on  his  return  from  the  emperor,  persuaded  Francis 
that  Charles  had  the  same  intention.  At  the  same  time,  he 
advised  the  king,  in  the  name  of  the  emperor,  to  send  for 
two  or  three  of  you  to  meet  him  ;  hoping  that  by  flattery,  or 
by  some  other  means,  he  might  extort  from  you  separately, 
what  he  could  not  obtain  from  you  in  a  council.  The  em- 
peror promised  that  he  would  pursue  the  same  course.  This 
was  their  object,  that  you  being  bound  by  previous  declara- 
tions to  them,  would  be  less  able  to  vindicate  the  cause, 
when  you  should  come  to  serious  disputation  in  the  assem- 
bly. Having  despaired  of  conquering  us,  by  an  open  and 
correct  management  of  the  cause,  they  see  no  shorter  and 
surer  method  of  succeeding,  than  by  keeping  the  princes  in 
fear  of  punishment ;  that  they  may  hold  their  libertj^  as  if 
conquered  and  bound,  in  subserviency  to  their  purposes. 
As  this  advice  pleased  the  king,  Castellanus  refused  to  allow 


OF     CALVIN.  265 

the  French  divines  to  dispute  with  you,  unless  they  should 
be  first  well  instructed  and  prepared.  You  were  men  accus- 
tomed to  this  kind  of  battle,  and  could  not  be  so  easily  over- 
come. They  must  take  care  lest  the  king  be  betrayed 
through  the  ignorance  of  his  divines,  and  expose  his  whole 
kingdom  to  ridicule.  The  ambition  of  the  king  gave  the 
preference  to  this  advice.  Twelve  were  elected  to  dispute 
at  Melun,  on  the  various  controverted  points,  and  were  or- 
dered to  refer  their  decisions  to  the  king.  They  promised, 
under  oath,  to  keep  the  transactions  in  silence.  But  I  cer- 
tainly know,  though  they  be  silent,  that  they  aim  entirely  at 
suppressing  the  truth ;  and  however  they  dissemble,  as 
though  they  were  seeking  some  kind  of  reformation,  it  is  un- 
questionably a  fact,  that  they  are  agitating  this  one  point 
alone :  How  the  light  of  the  true  doctrine  may  be  buried, 
and  their  own  tyranny  established.  I  am  persuaded  that  the 
advice  of  cardinal  Tournon  was  providentially  frustrated; 
lest  some  of  our  brethren,  unguarded  and  unsuspecting, 
should  be  ensnared.  You  remember  that  the  same  artifices 
were  made  use  of  against  you  by  Bellai.  But  if  we  turn  unto 
the  Lord,  all  their  assaults  and  machinations  will  be  vain. 
Farewell,  most  excellent  man  and  respected  friend.  May 
the  Lord  be  always  present  with  you,  and  long  preserve  you 
in  health  for  his  church.     Yours, 

JOHN  CALVIN. 
January  18, 1545. 

[The  following  letter  is  on  the  same  general  subject  with 
a  part  of  the  preceding ;  and  is  therefore  here  inserted  in 
connection  with  that.] 

CALVIN  TO  MELANCTHON. 

I  wish  that  my  sympathy  in  your  grief,  while  it  distresses 
me,  might  in  some  measure  relieve  you.  If  the  fact  is  as 
the  brethren  of  Zurich  say,  they  certainly  had  a  just  cause 

23 


266  CORRESPONDENCE 

for  writing.  With  what  rashness  your  Pericles  (Osiander,) 
continues  to  thunder  1  Especially  as  his  cause  is  only  the 
worse  for  it.  We  all  owe  much  to  him,  I  confess ;  and  1 
should  be  willing  to  have  him  possess  the  chief  magistracy, 
if  he  only  knew  how  to  govern  himself.  We  must,  how- 
ever, always  take  heed,  in  the  church,  how  much  deference 
we  pay  to  men.  The  work  is  done,  when  any  one  has  more 
power  than  all  the  rest ;  especially,  if  this  one  has  nothing 
to  check  him  in  making  all  possible  experiments.  In  the 
present  deranged  state  of  things,  we  perceive  how  difficult 
it  is  to  quiet  the  disturbances.  If  we  all,  however,  exercised 
that  disposition  which  ought  to  guide  us,  some  remedy  per- 
haps might  be  found.  We  are  certainly  transmitting  to  pos- 
terity a  pernicious  example,  by  consenting  to  abandon  our 
liberty,  rather  than  to  disquiet  the  mind  of  one  man  with 
some  trifling  mortification.  His  passions  are  vehement,  and 
he  is  subject  to  violent  paroxysms.  He  also  boasts  of  this 
vehemency,  in  proportion  as  we  all  indulge  him,  and  suffer 
every  thing  from  him.  If  this  example  of  insolent  domina- 
tion manifests  itself,  at  the  very  opening  of  the  reformation 
of  the  church,  what  will  shortly  take  place,  when  things 
shall  have  fallen  into  a  still  worse  condition  1  Let  us  weep, 
therefore,  for  the  calamity  of  the  church  ;  let  us  not  suppress 
our  grief  in  our  own  breasts  ;  but  venture  at  length  to  give 
our  lamentations  a  free  circulation.  What  if  you  were,  by 
the  permission  of  God,  reduced  to  the  extreme  necessity  of 
having  extorted  from  you,  a  fuller  confession  concerning  this 
subject?  I  acknowledge,  indeed,  that  what  you  teach  is 
perfectly  true ;  and  that,  by  your  mild  manner  of  teaching, 
you  have  endeavoured  hitherto  to  recall  others  from  conten- 
tion ;  and  I  commend  your  prudence  and  moderation.  But 
while  you  avoid  this  subject,  (consubstantiation,)  as  some 
dangerous  rock,  lest  you  incur  the  displeasure  of  some,  you 
leave  many  in  suspense  and  perplexity,  who  require  of  you 
something  more  decisive,  in  which  they  may  acquiesce.  It 
is,  however,  a  dishonour  to  us,  as  I  remember  to  have  said 


OF     CALVIN.  267 

to  you  before,  that  we  do  not  consigiiare,  ratify^  at  least 
with  ink,  that  doctrine,  which  so  many  pious  persons  have 
delivered  to  us,  testatmn,  sealed  with  their  own  blood. 
Perhaps  God  will  now  open  to  you  the  way  for  a  full  and 
firm  explanation  of  your  mind,  on  this  subject;  that  those 
who  depend  on  your  authority,  whom  you  know  to  be  very 
many,  may  no  longer  remain  in  doubt.  I  do  not  say  this 
so  much  to  awaken  as  to  console  you.  For  unless  I  hoped 
that  something  of  this  kind  wonld  arise  from  this  turbulent 
and  overbearing  insurrection,  I  should  be  affected  with  a 
grief  much  more  severe.  However,  we  must  quietly  wait 
for  such  a  termination  as  the  Lord  will  please  to  grant.  In 
the  mean  time,  let  us  preserve  our  course  with  unyielding 
resolution. 

I  give  you  many  thanks  for  your  answer,  and  also  for  the 
singular  kindness  with  which  you  have  treated  Claudius,  as 
he  informs  me.  From  your  kind  and  generous  reception  of 
my  friends,  I  am  enabled  to  form  an  opinion  of  your  dispo- 
sition towards  me.  I  give  sincere  thanks  to  God,  that  on 
the  chief  heads  of  that  question,  (as  stated  in  the  preceding 
letter,)  concerning  which  we  were  consulted,  our  opinions 
have  so  entirely  agreed.  For  although  there  is  a  very  small 
difTerence  about  some  particulars,  yet  as  to  the  substance  of 
the  matter,  we  perfectly  coincide, 

JOHN  CALVIN. 

June  28, 1445. 


LETTER  XIII— X  CALVIN  TO  THE  PROTECTOR  OF 
ENGLAND. 

Although  God  has  endowed  you,  most  noble  Lord,  for 
your  station,  with  the  fortitude,  prudence  and  other  virtues, 
which  the  magnitude  of  the  office  demands  ;  yet  as  you  ac- 
knowledge me  to  be  a  servant  of  his  Son,  whom  you  account 
yourself  to  prefer  before  all  things  else,  I  have  pursuaded 


268  CORRESPONDENCE 

myself  that  you  would  receive  it  kindly,  that  I  should  write 
to  you  in  his  name.  I  propose  to  myself  nothing  more,  than 
that  you  should  continue  to  advance  his  glory,  by  pursuing 
the  work  you  have  begun,  until  you  have  brought  his  king- 
dom to  the  most  desirable  state,  of  which  it  is  capable  on 
earth.  In  perusing  this  letter  you  will  perceive,  that  I  have 
produced  nothing  of  my  own,  but  have  transcribed  from  the 
Scriptures  whatever  you  have  here  for  your  benefit.  When 
I  consider  the  singular  greatness  to  which  you  are  rai-sed,  I 
am  fully  sensible,  with  how  much  difficulty,  my  littleness 
will  find  access  to  you.  But  as  you  do  not  despise  the  doc- 
trine of  that  Master  to  whom  I  am  devoted,  and  as  you  con- 
sider it  a  distinguished  privilege  to  be  in  the  number  of  his 
disciples,  I  need  not  apologize  in  many  words,  believing 
that  you  are  sufficiently  prepared  to  receive  whatever  mani- 
festly comes  from  him.  We  certainly  have  reason  to  thank 
God  our  Father,  that  he  has  been  pleased  to  use  your  labours, 
in  so  great  a  work,  as  that  of  restoring  his  pure  and  sincere 
worship  in  the  kingdom  of  England ;  in  causing  that  the 
doctrine  of  salvation,  chiefly  by  your  means,  should  be  pub- 
licly and  faithfully  announced  to  all,  who  will  deign  to  open 
their  ears;  in  strengthening  you,  with  so  great  resolution 
and  constancy,  to  persevere  undismayed,  through  so  many 
difficulties  and  insults  ;  and  that  he  has  hitherto  assisted  you 
with  his  powerful  hand,  followed  with  his  blessing  and  pros- 
pered your  counsels  and  labours.  These  are  so  many  argu- 
ments with  the  pious  for  glorifying  his  holy  name.  But 
seeing  that  the  adversary  is  perpetually  exciting  fresh  oppo- 
sition, and  that  the  matter  itself  is  of  the  most  peculiar  and 
difficult  undertaking,  to  allure  men,  who  are  by  nature  ad- 
dicted to  falsehood,  to  a  peaceable  submission  to  the  truth  of 
God ;  and  also  that  there  are  other  causes  which  delay  this 
progress,  especially  those  deep-rooted  superstitions  of  Anti- 
christ, which  are  with  extreme  labour  overcome  in  the  minds 
of  many ;  it  appeared  to  me,  that  you  personally  needed  to 
be  confirmed  by  pious  exhortations  in  this  so  arduous  under- 


OF     CALVIN.  269 

taking;  and  I  doubt  not  but  you  have  found  yourself  the 
benefit  of  this  from  experience.  I  shall  on  this  account  be 
more  free  and  full  in  my  observations.  As  I  hope  that  my 
advice  will  answer  your  wishes,  so  I  conclude  that  you  will 
take,  in  good  part,  my  exhortation ;  and  although  it  should 
be  unnecessary,  yet  that  the  zeal  and  solicitude  which 
prompted  me  in  this  business  will  meet  with  your  approba- 
tion. Moreover,  the  present  perilous  situation  of  affairs, 
which  you  yourself  acknowledge,  furnishes  a  still  stronger 
reason,  why  my  endeavours  should  be  still  more  acceptable 
to  you.  Wherefore,  I  intreat  you,  most  noble  Lord,  to 
attend  patiently  to  the  few  remarks  which  I  have  determined 
to  submit  to  your  consideration.  I  hope  that,  in  return  for 
your  attention  to  them,  they  will  afford  you  that  assistance, 
which  will  enable  you  more  vigorously  to  pursue  the  holy 
work,  for  the  completion  of  which  God  is  pleased  to  use  you 
as  an  instrument.  I  doubt  not  but  that  those  great  tumults, 
which  have  occurred  for  some  time  past,  have  given  you 
much  trouble  and  anxiety,  especially  since  many  took 
offence,  who  were  provoked  in  a  great  measure  by  the 
reformation  of  religion.  It  cannot  be,  I  say,  but  that  the 
observation  of  these  things  must  excite  in  you  various  emo- 
tions, whether  you  reflect  on  your  own  apprehensions  about 
them,  or  turn  your  attention  to  the  clamours  of  the  wicked, 
or  the  consternation  of  the  good.  This  rumour  spread  to  so 
great  a  distance  deeply  affected  me,  until  I  understood  that 
assistance  from  the  Lord  began  to  be  manifested.  But  since 
that  fire  is  not  yet  extinguished,  and  it  is  an  easy  matter  for 
the  adversary  again  to  rekindle  it,  place  before  your  eyes  the 
memorable  example  of  the  pious  king  Hezekiah,  which  we 
have  so  expressly  related  to  us  in  the  Scriptures.  Having 
abolished  the  superstitions  from  Judea,  and  established  the 
pure  worship  of  God  according  to  his  law,  he  was  suddenly 
overtaken  with  so  oppressive  a  war,  that  he  was  considered 
by  many  as  lost  and  ruined  beyond  recovery.  Thus  the 
Scriptures  appositely  bring  those  things  together,  that  while 
23* 


270  CORRESPONDENCE 

he  was  wholly  engaged  in  restoring  the  true  worship  of  God 
to  its  phice,  the  issue  of  liis  hibour  was  in  appearance  most  un- 
favourable to  him.  He  evidently  had  every  reason  to  hope,  that 
while  he  was  so  heartily  engaged  in  building  up  God's  king- 
dom, he  should  secure  the  most  perfect  tranquillity  of  his 
own.  All  pious  princes  and  governors  of  provinces,  should 
apply  this  example  to  themselves,  that  they  may  proceed 
more  courageously  in  abolishing  all  idolatry,  and  in  procuring 
lawfully  the  true  worship  of  God,  as  their  duty  demands ; 
and  moreover  that  they  may  understand  that  their  faith  is  to 
be  subjected  to  similar  trials  through  many  temptations.  Thus 
the  Lord  permits,  indeed  thus  he  wills,  both  to  manifest 
their  constancy,  and  prepare  them  to  raise  their  eyes  above 
tliis  world.  In  the  mean  time,  the  adversary  will  thrust 
himself  in  the  way ;  and  though  unable  openly  to  destroy 
the  true  doctrine,  he  will  not  cease  to  plot  its  ruin  by  sophis- 
try and  cunning.  To  this  purpose  is  the  admonition  of 
James,  that  while  we  observe  the  endurance  of  Job,  we 
should  consider  the  end  of  the  Lord.  In  the  same  manner 
terminated  the  trid  of  the  pious  king  liezekiah,  with  whom 
the  Lord  was  present,  and  in  his  gieatest  straits  gave  him, 
on  that  account,  a  far  more  signal  victory.  Wherefore, 
since  his  hand  is  not  shortened,  nor  his  support  of  the  truth 
less  near  his  heart  than  in  former  ages,  you  must  not  despair 
of  his  aid,  by  whatever  tempests  you  may  be  tossed. 

That  the  greater  part  of  men  resist  the  gospel,  and  direct 
all  their  exertions  to  prevent  its  progress,  should  be  no  mat- 
ter of  surprise.  Such,  indeed,  has  been  the  unceasing  in- 
gratitude of  the  world,  that  they  turn  their  backs  upon  God 
when  he  calls  them,  and  kick  against  him  when  lie  purposes 
to  put  his  yoke  upon  them.  Men,  by  nature,  are  enslaved 
to  hypocrisy,  and  cannot  bear  to  be  brought  to  the  light  of 
the  gospel,  which  would  reveal  their  pollution  and  guilt; 
nor  to  be  rescued  from  the  darkness  of  their  superstitions, 
under  the  shade  of  which  tliey  sleep  in  quiet  repose.  It  is 
not  a  new  thing  for  mankind  to  make  opposition,  when  the 


OF     CALVIN 


271 


attempt  is  made  to  bring  them  back  to  the  obedience  and 
worship  of  God.     We  should  not,  therefore,  be  negligent  or 
timid  in  the  discharge  of  our  duty.     For  when  they  have 
gone  to  the  extremes  of  disorder,  and  have  exhausted  their 
rage,  they  are  confounded  at  once,  and  necessarily  fall  by 
their  own  extravagance.     As  it   respects    God,  surely   all 
these  ragings  and  foamings  of  men  are  held  by  him  in  deri- 
sion, as  it  is  expressed  in  the  second  Psalm.     'I'herefore, 
winking  at  their  outrages,  he  will  be  silent,  as  if  he  treated 
the  matter  with   indifference ;  but  at  length  they  will  be 
repressed  by  his  power.     Armed  with  the  same  power,  we 
shall  sustain,  by  his  invincible  protection,  all  the  efforts  of 
Satan  against  us  ;  and  we  shall,  in  the  end,  perceive,  in  every 
deed,  that  the  gospel,  as  a  messenger  of  peace,  brings  recon- 
cihation  with  God,  and  tends  to  establish  peace  among  men, 
as  the  Lord  testifies  by  Isaiah.  When  the  kingdom  of  Christ 
shall  be  established  by  his  instruction,  it  shall  come  to  pass, 
that  they  shall  beat  their  sivords  into  jdout^h-shares^  and 
their  spears  into  pruning- hooks.  Is.  ii.  4.    In  the  mean  time, 
although  seditions  and  tumults,  excited  against  the  gospel, 
arise  fiom  the  wickedness  and  obstinacy  of  men,  yet  it  be- 
comes us  to  look  to   ourselves,  and  conclude,  that  God  is 
thus  punishing  us  for  our  own  sins,  although  it  is  evident, 
that  he  uses  as  instruments  those  who  are  the  very  servants 
of  satan.     It   is  an  old  objection,  that  the  gospel  was  the 
cause  of  all  those  evils  which  afflict  the  human  race.     And 
indeed  it  is  evident  from  history,  that  from  the  time  in  which 
the  Christian  religion  began  to  be  spread  through  the  world, 
there  was  scarcely  a  corner  which  was  not  afflicted  with  ex- 
treme evils.     The  constant  commotions  of  wars  arose  like 
some  conflagration,  by   which  all  things  were  consumed ; 
floods  prevailing  on  the  one  hand,  and  on  the  other   pes- 
tilence and    famine ;    here   the    end    of  government,    and 
there  the  inversion  of  all  order,  as  if  the  world,  absolutely 
conspiring  against  itself,  was  broken  to  pieces  and  dissolved. 
The  same  has  happened  in  this  age,  since  the  gospel  began 


272  CORRESPONDENCE 

to  come  forth  from  the  darkness  with  which  it  was  covered. 
The  face  of  things  exhibited  a  miserable  appearance ;  com- 
plaints were  every  where  circulated,  that  we  were  born  in 
a  most  unhappy  period ;  and  there  were  few  who  did  not 
faint  under  so  great  a  pressure  of  difficulties.  But  while 
we  feel  these  wounds,  we  ought  to  advert  to  the  hand  that 
inflicts  them,  and  to  the  cause  of  their  infliction ;  what  this 
is,  is  by  no  means  obscure,  nor  difficult  to  be  perceived.  It 
is  certain,  that  the  word  of  God,  by  which  we  are  led  in  the 
way  of  salvation,  is  an  incomparable  treasure.  Let  us  then 
examine  it  ourselves,  with  as  much  reverence  as  it  is  offered 
to  us  by  its  author,  and  it  will  be  received  by  us.  When 
that  is  accounted  vile  with  us,  which  with  him  is  of  great 
moment,  who  will  not  acknowledge,  that  it  is  perfectly  just 
with  him,  to  punish  in  return  our  ingratitude  ?  Let  us  hear 
the  declaration  of  Christ,  Luke  xii.  47.  That  servant  which 
knew  his  LorcTs  will  and  did  it  not,  shall  be  beaten  with 
many  stripes.  Since  therefore  we  are  so  negligent  in  obey- 
ing the  will  of  God,  the  knowledge  of  which  is  an  hundred 
fold  more  abundant  with  us  than  in  former  ages,  it  should 
not  appear  strange,  that  his  indignation  should  be  more 
vehemently  enkindled  against  us,  who  of  all  men  are  the 
most  inexcusable.  And  since  we  do  not  labour  to  have  the 
good  seed  grow  and  be  fruitful,  it  is  just  that  briars  and 
thorns  should  be  cherished  among  us  by  the  artifice  of  the 
adversary,  by  the  prickings  of  which  we  may  be  vexed. 
And  lastly,  as  we  do  not  render  to  the  Creator  that  which  is 
justly  due  to  him  from  us,  it  is  right  that  we  should  expe- 
rience the  obstinacy  of  men  against  ourselves. 

But  to  address  myself  to  you  more  immediately.  Most 
noble  Lord,  there  are,  as  I  understand,  two  sorts  of  seditious 
persons,  who  have  risen  up  against  the  King,  and  the 
government  of  the  kingdom.  Some,  who  are  passionate 
and  hasty,  would  introduce  af attav,  confusion,  every  where 
under  the  name  of  the  gospel ;  and  others  have  become  so 
hardened  in  the  superstitions  of  Antichrist,  that  they  cannot 


OF     CALVIN 


273 


endure  their  removal.  Both  of  these  classes  deserve  to  be 
restrained  by  the  civil  power,  which  God  has  committed  to 
your  hands ;  since  they  rise  up  not  only  against  the  king, 
but  against  God  himself,  who  has  placed  the  king  on  the 
throne,  and  appointed  you  the  protector  of  his  person  and 
majesty.  Your  first  and  main  object  must  be  to  provide, 
as  far  as  may  be,  that  those  who  have  some  relish  for  the 
gospel,  and  have  determined  to  devote  themselves  to  it,  may 
receive  it  with  humility  and  reverence  of  mind,  renouncing 
their  own  wills,  and,  as  their  duty  requires,  giving  up  them- 
selves entirely  to  God.  For  thus  it  becomes  them  to  con- 
sider, that  the  Lord,  by  these  emergencies  would  awaken 
them,  that  they  may  profit  more  seriously  by  his  word  than 
they  have  hitherto  done.  Those  fanatics,  who  would  wish 
to  change  the  world  into  a  licentious  freedom,  are  expressly 
raised  up  by  satan,  that  through  them  the  gospel  may  be 
reproached;  as  if  it  were  the  cause  of  rebellion  against 
rulers,  and  introduced  into  the  world  unrestrained  licentious- 
ness. It  is  the  duty  of  the  pious  to  mourn  the  pernicious 
labours  of  these  wicked  men,  and  patiently  implore  of  the 
Lord,  that  he  would  send  that  light,  which  will  sooner  or 
later  most  certainly  dissipate  this  darkness.  The  Papists, 
while  they  labour  to  defend  the  filthiness  and  abominations 
of  their  Romish  idols,  betray  more  and  more  their  open 
hatred  of  the  benefits  of  Christ  and  all  his  commandments, 
which  extremely  afflicts  those  who  have  a  particle  of  pure 
zeal  remaining.  Wherefore,  let  the  pious  acknowledge, 
that  these  things  are  appointed  of  God,  as  so  many  scourges 
to  chastise  them,  because  they  do  not  bring  forth  the  legiti- 
mate fruits  of  the  gospel.  Let  the  principal  and  only  expe- 
dient, applied  to  quiet  these  commotions,  be  the  true  con- 
formity to  the  image  of  Christ  in  those  who  have  professed 
his  name ;  and  so  let  them  testify,  that  pure  Christianity 
abhors  all  confusion  of  every  kind.  Let  them  prove,  by 
their  uniform  modesty  and  temperance,  that  they  are  govern- 
ed by  the  word  of  God,  so  that  they  may  by  no  means  be 


274  CORRESPONDENCE 

accounted  lawless  and  unruly.  Thus  will  their  righteous 
and  holy  life  shut  the  mouths  of  the  impious.  The  Lord, 
being  appeased,  will  remove  the  rod  of  correction,  and  in- 
stead of  the  punishment  which  he  inflicts  on  the  despisers  of 
bis  word,  he  will  follow  the  repentance  of  his  people  with 
the  most  assured  blessing.  It  becomes  the  nobility  and 
magistrates  especially  to  be  first  in  giving  this  example,  and 
foremost  in  submitting,  with  fear  and  reverence,  to  the  yoke 
of  Christ,  the  Son  of  God  and  supreme  Lord  of  all.  These, 
I  say,  must  exhibit  the  sincere  faith  and  obedience  of  body 
and  of  soul,  that  He  may  in  return  repress  the  pride  and  rage 
of  those,  who  unjustly  magnify  themselves  against  their 
rulers.  It  is  the  highest  concern  of  the  princes  of  this  age, 
to  govern  their  subjects  in  such  a  manner,  as  to  prove  that 
they  are  themselves  in  subjection  to  Christ,  and  to  give  all 
diligence,  that  his  authority  may  extend  itself  over  all,  from 
the  highest  to  the  lowest.  Wherefore,  I  ask  of  you,  most 
noble  Lord,  through  Christ  himself,  and  that  singular  aflfec- 
tion  with  which  you  embrace  the  kingdom  of  your  nephew, 
which  is  exhibited  in  a  luminous  manner,  in  all  your  conduct, 
to  exercise  all  your  combined  influence  and  vigilance,  that 
the  truth  of  God  may  be  preached  with  the  fullest  authority 
and  efficacy  ;  and  that  fruits  worthy  of  the  celestial  seed  may 
be  produced.  That  this  may  be  effected,  withhold  not  your 
hand  from  pursuing  the  full  and  entire  reformation  of  the 
Church,  which  you  have  begun. 

That  you  may  more  easily  apprehend  my  thoughts,  I  will 
reduce  the  whole  to  three  heads  : — First,  concerning  the  true 
method  of  correctly  teaching  the  people.  Second,  concern- 
ing the  extirpation  of  those  abuses  which  have  hitherto  been 
retained.  Third,  concerning  the  correction  of  vices  most 
perfectly,  and  endeavouring  to  prevent  the  growth  of  scan- 
dals and  luxury,  on  account  of  which  the  name  of  the  Lord 
is  blasphemed.  As  it  respects  the  first  head,  there  is  no  oc- 
casion that  I  should  dwell  long  upon  the  detail  of  doctrines. 
Concerning  these  there  is  much  reason  that  I  should  give 


OF     CALVIN 


275 


thanks  to  God,  by  whom  you  are  so  illuminated  in  the  know- 
ledge of  the  pure  doctrines,  that  you  take  care  that  these 
should  be  publicly  taught.  You  are  not,  I  say,  to  be  taught 
by  me,  the  faith  of  Christians,  and  the  doctrines  which  are 
maintained  by  them  ;  since  the  true  faith  has  been  restored 
and  published  by  you  in  a  meeting  of  the  church.  But  if 
any  one  would  have  a  summary  of  the  worship  of  God,  it 
may  be  reduced  to  this — That  we  have  one  God,  the  go- 
vernor of  our  consciences:  for  the  direction  of  these  we 
must  make  use  of  this  law  alone  for  the  rule  of  devotion,  lest 
we  bring  to  his  worship  any  of  the  vain  traditions  of  men : 
he  must  moreover  be  worshipped  by  all,  according  to  his 
own  nature,  with  the  whole  mind  and  heart.  But  since 
there  is  nothing  in  us  except  a  miserable  corruption,  which 
occupies  both  our  senses  and  affections,  we  must  acknow 
ledge  the  entire  abyss  of  iniquity,  and  dread  it  when  acknow- 
ledged. In  this  manner,  having  obtained  a  true  knowledge 
of  our  state,  as  being  in  ourselves  broken,  wounded,  lost,  de- 
prived of  all  dignity  and  wisdom,  and  finally  of  any  power 
to  do  good,  we  must  at  last  flee  to  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
the  only  fountain  of  all  blessings,  to  partake  of  whatever  he 
offers,  and  principally  that  incomparable  treasure  of  his 
death  and  passion,  by  which  method  alone  we  may  become 
entirely  reconciled  to  God  the  Father.  Purified  by  the 
sprinkling  of  his  blood,  we  shall  be  assured  that  none  of 
those  stains  will  remain  in  us,  which  would  cover  us  with 
shame  before  his  celestial  throne.  We  shall  be  persuaded 
of  the  efficacy  of  his  perpetual  sacrifice,  by  which  we  have 
sealed  to  us  the  gratuitous  remission  of  sins,  and  on  which 
we  must  fasten  as  the  refuge  and  anchor  of  salvation.  Being 
sanctified  by  his  Spirit,  we  shall  be  consecrated  in  obedience 
to  the  righteousness  of  God ;  and  confirmed  by  his  grace,  we 
shall  come  off  more  than  conquerors  over  satan,  the  world, 
and  the  flesh.  Being  members  of  his  body,  we  shall  not 
doubt  but  that  God  will  number  us  in  the  family  of  his 
children ;  and  we  shall  address  him  with  entire  confidence 


276  CORRESPONDENCE 

by  the  legitimate  and  endearing  name  of  Father.  This  is  the 
design  of  the  true  doctrine,  which  is  ever  to  be  preserved 
and  heard  by  all  in  the  church  of  God,  that  all  may  sincerely 
aim  at  this  mark ;  and  that  each  individual  gradually  with- 
drawing himself  from  the  world,  may  raise  himself  to  Christ 
his  head,  who  is  in  heaven,  by  perseverance,  prayer,  morals 
and  habits. 

But  as  the  Lord  has  been  pleased  to  spread  so  abundantly 
about  you  his  most  precious  light,  which  had  so  long  been 
buried  under  the  darkness  of  Antichrist,  I  will  add  but  a 
few  words  more.  What  I  have  said  only  pertains  to  the 
form  of  teaching,  in  order  that  the  proper  method  of  instruct- 
ing the  people  may  be  followed.  For  example,  they  must 
be  pricked  to  the  quick,  that  each  one  may  be  sensible  of 
the  words  of  the  apostle,  the  ivord  of  God  is  quick  and 
powerful,  and  sharper  than  any  two  edged  sword,  pierc- 
ing even  to  the  dividing  asunder  of  soul  and  spirit, 
and  of  the  joints  and  marrow  ;  and  is  a  discerner  of  the 
thoughts  and  intents  of  the  heart.  Heb.  iv.  12.  This,  I  say, 
I  inculcate  more  expressly,  because  I  fear  that  there  are  but 
few  lively  preachers  in  the  kingdom ;  and  that  the  greater 
part  have  recourse,  in  recitalionis  modum,  to  the  method  of 
reading.  I  perceive  also  some  cause  of  that  scarcity  among 
you ;  and  as  you  have  not  in  your  power,  sound  and  well 
qualified  pastors,  that  defect  must  be  supplied  in  its  proper 
manner.  You  must  also  beware  of  unstable  and  rash  men, 
who,  in  a  change  of  things,  are  carried  far  beyond  all 
bounds,  and  prate  forth  their  own  dreams  for  the  word  of 
God.  Nothing  of  this  kind  should  hinder  the  establishment 
of  the  institution  of  Christ  for  preaching  the  gospel.  The 
instituted  preaching  must  not  be  dead,  but  animated,  and 
effectual  for  instruction,  exhortation,  and  reproof,  as  the  apos- 
tle testifies  to  Timothy,  2  Tim.  iii.  so  that  if  an  unbeliever 
enter  the  meeting  of  the  faithful,  it  should  affect  him  in  such 
a  manner  that,  pierced  by  the  hearing  of  the  word,  he  may 
give  glory  to  God,  as  the  same  apostle  elsewhere  shows,  1 


OF     CALVIN.  277 

Cor.  xiv.  You  cannot  fee  ignorant  of  what  this  apostle 
teaches  concerning  the  power  and  energy  which  those  should 
possess,  who  are  desirous  to  approve  themselves,  as  sound 
and  well  qualified  ministers  of  the  word.  He  would  have 
them  free  from  those  ornaments,  and  that  species  of  elo- 
quence, by  which  men  display  themselves,  for  admiration, 
in  the  theatre.  In  their  discourses,  the  power  of  the  Spirit 
should  so  lucidly  manifest  itself,  as  to  act  powerfully  on  the 
minds  of  the  audience.  No  precaution  should  be  used,  to 
prevent  that  Spirit  from  maintaining  its  liberty  and  constant 
vigour  in  the  ministry  of  those  whom  the  Lord  has  endowed 
with  his  gifts,  for  the  edification  of  his  church.  It  is  indeed 
necessary  to  watch  over  those  unstable  and  wandering 
minds,  who  would  take  too  much  liberty  to  themselves. 
The  door  must  be  shut  against  curious  innovations.  The 
only  means  to  be  used  for  this  purpose,  is  to  have  a  sum- 
mary of  doctrine  received  by  all,  which  they  may  follow  in 
preaching.  To  the  observance  of  this,  all  bishops  and  clergy 
should  be  bound  by  oath,  that  no  one  might  be  admitted  to 
the  ecclesiastical  office,  unless  he  promises  to  keep  inviolate 
the  unity  of  doctrine.  Let  there,  besides,  be  published  a 
plain  formula  or  Catechism,  for  the  use  of  children,  and 
those  who  may  be  more  ignorant  among  the  people.  Thus 
the  truth  will  be  rendered  more  familiar  to  them  ;  and  at  the 
same  time  they  will  learn  to  distinguish  it  from  impostures 
and  corruptions,  which  are  so  apt  to  creep  in  by  little  and 
little  upon  the  ignorant  and  careless.  It  becomes  you  to  be 
fully  persuaded,  that  the  church  of  God  cannot  be  without  a 
Catechism ;  for  therein  the  true  seed  of  doctrine  is  to  be  con- 
tained, from  which  at  length  the  pure  and  seasonable  harvest 
will  be  matured,  and  from  this  the  seed  may  be  multiplied 
abundantly.  Wherefore,  if  you  expect  to  build  an  edifice  of 
this  kind,  which  shall  stand  long,  and  be  safe  from  destruc- 
tion, give  all  care  that  each  child  should  be  instructed  in  the 
faith,  by  the  Catechism  published  for  that  purpose ;  that 
they  may  learn  briefly,  and  as  their  capacities  will  admit,  in 

24 


278  CORRESPONDENCE 

what  consists  true  Christianity.  The  usefulness  of  the  Ca* 
techism  will  not  be  confined  merely  to  the  instruction  of 
children.  The  consequence  will  also  be,  that  the  people, 
being  taught  by  it,  will  be  better  prepared  to  profit  by  the 
ordinary  preaching  of  the  word ;  and  also  if  any  one  puflfed 
up,  should  introduce  any  new  opinions,  he  may  be  detected 
by  an  immediate  appeal  to  the  rule  of  the  Catechism.  As  to 
the  formula  of  prayers  and  ecclesiastical  ceremonies,  I  very 
much  approve,  that  a  proper  one  should  exist,  from  which 
the  pastors  should  not  be  permitted  to  vary,  in  the  exercise  of 
their  office ;  and  which  might  consult  the  simplicity  and  ig- 
norance of  some  persons,  and  also  establish  a  more  certain 
agreement  of  all  the  churches  among  themselves.  This 
would,  moreover,  put  a  check  upon  the  instability  and  levity 
of  those  persons  who  might  attempt  innovations,  and  it  would 
have  the  same  tendency  as  I  have  before  shown  the  Cate- 
chism would  have.  Thus  ought  to  be  established  a  Catechism, 
the  administration  of  the  sacraments,  and  the  public  formula 
of  prayers.  But  the  expediency  of  this  polity  in  the  church 
must  not  tend  to  prevent  or  diminish,  in  any  manner,  the 
original  energy  of  preaching  the  gospel.  As  to  this,  it  i§ 
the  more  incumbent  upon  you,  to  provide  proper  and  zealous 
preachers,  who  may  penetrate  the  recesses  of  the  heart  by 
the  sound  of  the  word  of  the  gospel.  For  there  is  danger, 
that  the  fruit  of  the  Reformation  now  begim  will  be  greatly 
diminished,  unless  attended  with  the  most  efficacious  and 
zealous  preaching  of  the  word.  It  is  not  in  vain  said  of 
Christ,  He  shall  smite  the  earth  with  the  rod  of  his  mouth, 
and  with  the  breccth  of  Ms  lips  shall  he  slay  the  wicked.  Is, 
xi.  4.  This  is  doubtless  the  true  means  by  which  he  con- 
quers us,  when  by  the  power  of  his  word  he  destroys  and 
casts  out  whatever  in  us  is  repugnant  to  his  glory.  Hence 
the  gospel  is  called  the  kingdom  of  God.  Wherefore, 
though  the  edicts  and  civil  establishments  of  Christian 
princes  are  of  great  weight,  in  promoting  and  confirming  the 
authority  of  Christianity,  yet  God  has  determined,  in  an  ap- 


OF    C  A  L  V  i  N  .  279 

propriate  manner,  to  exert  his  special  power,  by  the  spiritual 
sword  of  his  word,  which  he  has  committed  to  tlie  pastors 
to  be  handled  in  the  church. 

I  proceed  to  the  second  head,  concerning  the  abolishing 
and  rooting  out  entirely  of  the  abuses  and  corruptions,  intro- 
duced by  satan,  in  former  ages,  into  the  church  of  God.  It 
is  evident,  that  the  Christianity  of  papacy  is  spurious  and 
counterfeit;  and  will  be  condemned  in  the  judgment  of  God 
at  the  last  day,  as  it  is  so  manifestly  repugnant  to  his  word. 
If  it  is  your  intention  to  withdraw  the  people  from  this  gulph 
you  must  follow  the  example  of  the  apostle.  In  treating 
of  the  restoration  of  the  Lord's  Supper  to  its  proper  use,  he 
enjoins  them  to  be  united  in  removing  those  additions  which 
had  crept  in  among  them:  I  have  received,  he  says,  of  the 
Lord,  that  which,  also,  J  delivered  unto  you.  1  Cor.  xi.  23. 
Hence  we  may  deduce  this  general  principle,  that  when  we 
enter  upon  a  lawful  reformation,  which  may  be  acceptable  to 
God,  we  must  adhere  to  his  pure  and  uncorrupted  word ; 
for  all  those  mixtures,  engendered  in  the  human  mind,  which 
remain,  will  be  so  many  manifest  pollutions,  tending  to  with- 
draw men  from  the  right  use  of  those  things  which  God  has 
instituted  for  their  salvation.  Religion  cannot  be  said  to  be 
restored  to  its  purity,  while  this  sink  of  pollution  is  only 
partially  drawn  off,  and  a  frightful  form  of  Christianity  is 
embraced  for  the  pure  and  original  faith.  I  speak  thus  defi- 
nitely, as  I  understand  that  many  think  far  otherwise ;  that 
abuses  must  be  tolerated  and  untouched,  while  they  would 
only  direct  the  grossest  corruptions  to  be  removed.  In  op- 
position to  this,  experience  teaches,  that  the  human  mind  is 
a  soil  fertile  in  false  inventions,  and  that  when  sowed  even 
with  the  smallest  grain,  as  if  all  its  powers  combined,  it 
yields  an  immense  increase.  The  method  which  the  Scrip- 
ture points  out  is  far  different.  David,  speaking  of  idols,  said, 
/  will  not  even  take  up  their  names  into  my  lips,  Psal.  xvi. 
4,  that  he  might  show  how  odious  they  were  to  him.  When 
we  reflect  how  grievously  we  have  sinned  against  God  in  this 


280  CORRESPONDENCE 

manner,  by  remaining  in  ignorance,  we  ought  to  be  the  more 
deeply  impressed,  with  the  necessity  of  removing  our  stand- 
ing as  far  as  possible  from  all  the  fermentations  of  satan. 
What  else  were  all  those  ceremonies,  but  so  many  allure- 
ments to  entice  and  ensnare  the  miserable  souls  of  men  in  evil, 
as  if  they  were  established  for  this  very  purpose?  When  we 
speak  concerning  caution,  men  must  certainly  be  admonished, 
lest  they  dash  against  those  rocks  which  the  sins  of  their 
past  life  have,  in  this  respect,  disclosed  to  them.  Who  does 
not  see,  unless  wholly  hardened,  that  nothing  can  be  obtain- 
ed by  this  unhappy  caution  ?  Whatever  of  this  nature  is 
left  untouched  will  operate  like  a  strong  leaven,  to  confirm 
them  more  resolutely  in  the  evil,  and  serve  as  an  interposing 
veil,  to  prevent  the  reception  of  the  proposed  doctrines,  ac- 
cording to  their  purity  and  importance.  I  confess  readily, 
that  there  should  be  moderation  ;  and  that  extremes  in  re- 
forming ceremonies  would  not  be  useful.  Nor  is  too  much 
simplicity  to  be  adopted,  as  the  order  of  worship  is  to  be  ac- 
commodated to  the  benefit  and  capacity  of  the  people.  But 
I  am  not  less  decided  in  affirming,  that  strict  attention  is  to 
be  given,  lest,  under  this  pretext  of  expediency,  any  of  the 
inventions  of  satan  or  antichrist  should  be  tolerated.  Those 
expressions  of  Scripture,  in  the  history  of  many  of  the  Kings 
of  Judah,  are  here  in  point.  That  ivhen  they  took  away  the 
idols,  they  did  not  cut  them  off  ivholly  by  the  roots.  They 
were  condemned  because  they  did  not  altogether  destroy 
those  high  places,  which  we  should  call  chapels,  dedicated 
to  their  foolish  devotions. 

Since,  therefore,  most  noble  lord,  God  has  conducted  you 
thus  far,  endeavour,  I  beseech  you,  to  deserve  the  name  of 
the  reformer  of  his  true  church  ;  and  to  render  this  age, 
under  the  king,  your  nephew,  correspondent  to  the  age  of 
the  most  pious  Josiah.  Take  heed  to  have  every  thing  in 
religion  established  in  its  proper  place,  so  that  the  king  may 
have  no  other  solicitude  but  to  preserve  the  well  regulated 
order.     I  will  produce  one  example  of  those   corruptions 


OF     CALVIN.  281 

which,  like  leaven,  will,  in  some  measure,  sour  the  whole 
service  of  the  Lord's  Supper.  I  understand  that  with  you, 
in  the  celebration  of  the  Eucharist,  prayers  for  the  dead  are 
recited.  I  am  not  however  sufficiently  informed,  that  this  is 
designed  as  an  approbation  of  the  Popish  purgatory.  Nor 
am  I  ignorant,  that  the  ancient  custom  of  making  mention  of 
the  dead,  to  declare  the  communion  of  all  believers  in  one 
body,  may  be  adduced  as  a  vindication  of  it.  But  this  in- 
vincible argument  remains,  that  the  Supper  of  the  Lord  is 
so  wholly  an  ordinance  that  it  is  a  crime  to  pollute  it  by  any 
additions  of  men.  Besides,  when  we  call  upon  God,  we  are 
not  to  indulge  our  own  passions,  but  to  follow  the  rule  of  the 
Apostle,  that  the  word  of  God  be  our  foundation.  Rom.  x. 
But  that  commemoration  of  the  dead,  which  embraces  a 
veneration  or  commendation  of  them,  does  not  correctly  an- 
swer to  the  true  and  legitimate  institution  of  prayer ;  and  is 
therefore  an  assmnentum,  addition,  which  should  not  be  al- 
lowed at  the  Lord's  Supper.  There  are  some  other  things 
perhaps  not  equally  to  be  condemned,  but  of  such  a  nature  as 
cannot  be  excused,  as  the  Chrism,  and  the  ceremony  of 
Unction.'^    The  Chrism  is  indeed  the  frivolous  invention  of 


*  Chrism — Oil  consecrated  by  the  bishop,  and  used  in  the  Ro- 
mish church  in  the  administration  of  baptism,  confirmation,  ordi- 
nation, and  extreme  unction.  This  last  is  called,  in  that  church, 
a  sacrament;  and  the  oil  is  applied  to  the  eyes,  ears,  nostrils, 
mouth,  hands,  feet,  &c.  of  persons  supposed  to  be  near  death. — 
When  the  oil  is  applied  to  those  parts,  this  prayer  is  used.  "  By 
this  holy  unction,  and  his  own  most  pious  mercy,  may  the  Al- 
mighty God  forgive  thee  whatever  sins  thou  hast  committed,  by 
the  eyes,  by  the  hearing,  smelling,  tasting,  &c.  «&c."  It  is  not 
considered  so  essential  to  salvation  as  baptism,  and  is  not  adminis- 
tered to  children  who  are  not  capable  of  actual  sin.  Lexici  Theo- 
logici  novi,  &c.  p.  1756  and  1757.  By  this,  the  spiritual  infirmi- 
ties and  actual  sins  are  supposed  to  be  taken  away,  as  original  sin 
is  by  baptism. 

24* 


282  CORRESPONDENCE 

those  who,  through  ignorance,  were  not  contented  with  the 
institutions  of  the  Lord,  and  who  persuaded  themselves,  that 
the  Holy  Spirit  mustb^  represented  in  baptism  by  the  use  of 
oil,  as  if  the  sign  of  water  was  not  sufficient  for  that  pur- 
pose. Extreme  Unction  emanated  from  the  inconsiderate 
zeal  of  those  who  were  desirous  of  emulating  the  Apostles, 
although  not  endowed  with  the  gift,  which  they  possessed. 
When  the  Apostles  made  use  of  oil,  in  healing  the  sick,  it 
was  for  the  purpose  of  testifying  the  miracle  of  the  cure  by 
that  visible  sign.  But  when  the  gift  of  miraculous  powers 
ceased,  the  use  of  that  external  anointing  should  also  have 
been  laid  aside.  All  those  things  should  be  abolished  at  once, 
that  nothing  might  be  imposed  on  the  church  of  God,  which 
is  not  conformable  to  his  word,  and  which  would  not  apper- 
tain to  its  edification.  But  so  it  is,  the  weak  must  be  indulged, 
that  they  may  be  confirmed  by  degrees,  and  advanced  to  more 
excellent  things.  However,  the  work  of  reformation  is  not 
to  be  delayed,  to  satisfy  the  foolish  in  things  which  may 
please  their  fancy,  unless  supported  by  other  substantial  rea- 
sons. I  know  that  many  have  been  prevented  from  proceed- 
ing farther  in  this  work  from  these  considerations ;  that  they 
feared  a  greater  change  would  not  be  borne  ;  and  that  re- 
spect must  be  had  to  the  progress  which  others  had  made, 
with  whom  peace  was  to  be  cherished  by  passing  over  many 
things.  This  should  certainly  have  an  influence  in  the  af- 
fairs of  this  life,  in  which  we  are  permitted  to  give  up  our 
own  rights,  so  far  as  the  desire  and  love  of  peace  demand. 
But  the  rule  will  not  hold  as  to  the  discipline  of  the  Church, 
which  is  spiritual,  and  in  which  nothing  is  lawful  thai  is  not 
according  to  the  word  of  God.  It  is  not  at  the  pleasure  of 
any  mortal,  to  conform  things,  in  this  business,  to  gratify 
some  and  favour  others,  in  opposition  to  the  will  of  God. 
Nothing  is  more  displeasing  to  him,  than  that  human  pru- 
dence should  presume  to  oppose  its  calculations,  either  to 
moderate,  abolish  or  retract  any  thing  in  religion,  different 
from  what  his  sovereign  pleasure  demands.    Unless  then  we 


OF     CALVIN.  283 

are  willing  to  displease  him,  we  must  shut  our  eyes  at  once 
against  all  the  desires  of  the  flesh.  And  as  to  the  dangers, 
which  may  appear  to  threaten  us,  we  must  labour  to  avoid 
them  as  much  as  in  us  lies,  in  that  way  only  which  is  law- 
ful and  right.  The  promise  of  the  Lord  is,  that  he  will  be 
present  with  us,  while  we  press  forward  in  the  right  path. 
This  one  thing  remains,  that  we  strenuously  discharge  our 
duties,  and  commit  the  event  to  him.  The  only  reason  why 
the  wise  men  of  this  world  are  so  often  frustrated  in  their 
expectations  is,  that  the  Lord  departs  from  them,  inasmuch 
as  they  distrust  his  aid,  and  turn  themselves  to  those  artful 
means  which  God  does  not  approve.  If  we  would  have  the 
power  of  God  to  protect  us,  let  us  uprightly  follow  what  he 
commands ;  and  especially  we  must  lay  down  this  funda- 
mental principle,  that  the  reformation  of  the  church  is  the 
peculiar  work  of  his  hands  ;  and  that  men,  in  all  their  en- 
deavours, should  give  themselves  up  to  be  governed  entirely 
by  him.  And  what  is  of  more  consideration  is,  that  the 
Lord  commonly,  both  in  reforming  and  preserving  his  church, 
works  in  a  manner,  which  attracts  admiration  by  wholly  sur- 
passing all  human  apprehension.  He  will  therefore,  on  no 
account,  permit  the  work  of  the  reformation  of  the  church 
to  be  conducted  after  the  model  of  our  understandings,  or 
that  what  is  heavenly  should  be  composed  after  the  form  of 
the  wisdom  of  this  world.  I  would  not,  however,  exclude 
that  upright  prudence,  the  use  of  which  is  of  great  import- 
ance in  this  business,  lest  improper  methods  be  adopted,  and 
the  preponderance  be  too  great  on  the  one  hand  or  the  other, 
even  while  we  all  might  wish  to  benefit  the  cause.  But  I 
would  have  religious  concerns  directed  by  the  prudence  of 
the  spirit,  and  not  of  the  flesh ;  that  we  should  inquire  at 
the  mouth  of  the  Lord,  pray  that  our  understandings  may  be 
guided  by  his  commands,  and  that  he  alone  would  lead  and 
direct  us  in  all  things.  In  doing  this,  we  shall  easily  destroy 
the  various  temptations  which  might  delay  us  in  the  midst 
of  our  course. 


284  CORRESPONDENCE 

Therefore,  most  noble  lord,  as  you  have  happily  entered 
upon  the  entire  restoration  of  the  Christian  religion,  in  the 
kingdom  of  England,  not  depending  on  your  own  strength, 
but  on  the  powerful  hand  of  God,  who  has  hitherto  strength- 
ened and  wonderfully  established  you,  so  determine  to  pro- 
ceed with  the  same  confidence.  And  certainly,  since  the 
Lord  supports,  by  his  providence,  so  many  kingdoms  which 
oppose  him,  he  will  much  more  regard  those  which  are  root- 
ed in  him,  and  desire  with  all  their  efforts  to  take  him  for 
their  supreme  Lord. 

I  proceed  to  the  third  head,  concerning  suppressing  vices 
and  preventing  scandals.  I  doubt  not,  but  that  you  have 
correct  laws  and  commendable  regulations,  adapted  to  pre- 
serve the  people  in  good  morals.  But  the  great  atafia,  con- 
fusion,  which  I  observe  in  the  world,  compels  me  to  address 
you  on  this  subject  also ;  that  you  may  apply  yourself  to 
such  measures  as  may  hold  the  community  in  subjection  to 
good  and  honourable  discipline.  In  the  first  place,  you 
should  maintain  the  honour  of  God,  in  punishing  those 
crimes,  the  prosecution  of  which,  with  men,  is  usually  ac- 
counted unnecessary.  For,  while  theft,  murder  and  robbery 
are  most  severely  punished,  because  they  tend  to  injure  men, 
fornication,  adultery,  drunkenness  and  blasphemies  of  the 
name  of  God,  are  justified  as  things  allowable,  or  not  de- 
serving great  severity.  But  God  has  pronounced  far  other- 
wise concerning  these  things.  He  shows  how  precious  his 
name  is  in  his  sight,  while  it  is  cast  out  and  trodden  under 
foot  with  men.  Nor  can  it  be,  that  he  will  permit  such  hor- 
rid wickedness  to  go  longer  unpunished.  We  learn  from  the 
Scripture,  that  for  a  single  reproach  against  God,  of  the  pro- 
fane kings  Benhadad  and  Sennacherib,  a  dreadful  judgment 
from  him  almost  wholly  overwhelmed  both  them  and  their 
armies.  As  it  respects  adultery,  what  a  shame  it  is,  that  we, 
who  bear  the  name  of  Christians,  should  be  far  more  indif- 
ferent in  punishing  it  than  the  Pagans  themselves ;  and  that 
crimes  of  this  kind  should  be  passed  over  with  a  jest.     Is 


OF     CALVIN 


285 


the  sacred  union  of  marriage,  the  living  image  of  our  most 
holy  union  with  the  Son  of  God,  to  be  thus  trifled  with  and 
polluted  with  impunity  ?  Shall  the  most  indissoluble  of  all 
human  contracts  be  so  perfidiously  violated  ?  Besides,  forni- 
cation, if  we  regard  the  Apostle,  is  to  be  accounted  as  sacri- 
lege, since  our  bodies,  which  are  the  temples  of  God,  being 
thus  manifestly  polluted,  are  most  basely  cut  off  from  the 
Spirit  of  God,  and  from  Christ  himself.  Hence  he  adds, 
that  fornicators  and  drunkards  do  not  belong  to  the  kingdom 
of  God  ;  and  expressly  interdicts  believers  from  all  commerce 
with  them.  From  this  it  follows,  that  such  persons  ought  by 
no  means  to  be  tolerated  in  the  church  of  God.  If  these 
evils  are  wholly  passed  over,  they  will  draw  down  the  di- 
vine scourge,  with  which  the  whole  earth  is  shaken;  for 
when  it  is  so,  that  men  pardon  one  another  such  enormous 
crimes,  they  summon  against- themselves  the  vindictive  hand 
of  God.  If  you  wish,  my  lord,  to  avert  the  wrath  of  God, 
I  beseech  you  to  give  the  most  attentive  care,  on  your  part, 
to  suppress  the  commission  of  these  sins ;  and  to  cause  that 
those  who  profess  Christianity  may  express  and  demonstrate 
the  integrity  of  their  profession,  by  a  course  of  life  corres- 
pondent to  their  holy  vocation.  For,  as  the  doctrine  is  like 
the  soul  to  animate  the  church,  so  discipline  and  the  correc- 
tion of  vices  ought  to  hold  the  place  of  those  nerves,  which 
cherish  and  preserve  the  body  pure  and  vigorous.  The 
bishops  and  curates  should  be  especially  attentive,  lest  the 
Lord's  Supper  be  polluted,  by  the  admission  of  those  who 
are  in  ill  repute  on  account  of  their  scandalous  lives.  But 
it  is  above  all  your  duty,  since  God  has  raised  you  to  your 
station,  for  the  purpose  of  taking  care,  that  all  the  subjects, 
each  one  in  his  place  and  calling,  apply  their  labours,  and 
fulfil  their  respective  duties,  that  the  established  order  may 
be  legitimately  preserved. 

I  will  not,  my  lord,  extend  the  prolixity  of  my  letter,  by 
excuses,  nor  by  asking  your  pardon  for  the  freedom  with 
which  I  have  opened  to  you  the  sentiments  of  my  heart. 


286  CORRESPONDENCE 

Your  prudence  will  discern  the  sincerity  of  my  intentions, 
and  your  knowledge  of  the  Scriptures  will  enable  you,  with 
facility,  to  ascertain  the  source  from  which  I  have  drawn  the 
preceding  advice.  I  have  no  apprehension  that  you  will  be 
disgusted,  or  account  me  too  importunate,  for  having  shown, 
as  clearly  as  my  slender  capacity  would  allow,  my  affection- 
ate desire  that  you  may  extensively  glorify  the  name  of  God. 
For  this  I  supplicate  him  daily,  and  entreat  him,  that  he 
would  enrich  you  with  his  accumulated  gifts ;  confirm  you 
by  his  Holy  Spirit  with  true  and  invincible  constancy ;  pro- 
tect and  support  you  against  all  adversaries  ;  cover  you  and 
yours  with  his  shield ;  and  so  prosper  your  administration, 
that  the  king  may  have  reason  to  celebrate  his  praise  for 
having  provided,  in  his  tender  years,  so  able  a  protector  of 
himself  and  his  kingdom.  I  close  my  letter,  most  humbly 
wishing  you  health  and  prosperity. 

Your  Excellency's  most  devoted, 

JOHN  CALVIN. 
Geneva,  October  22, 1548. 


LETTER  XIV.— CALVIN  TO  MELANCTHON. 
It  was  a  saying  of  the  ancient  satirists,  Si  natura  negat, 
facit  indignatio  versurrif  If  nature  refuses,  sorrow  will 
make  verses.  It  turns  out  far  otherwise  with  me.  My  present 
grief  is  so  far  from  giving  me  animation,  that  it  almost 
makes  me  speechless.  Not  only  the  power  of  utterance  fails 
me,  in  expressing  the  feelings  of  my  mind,  but  I  am  oppress- 
ed, and  almost  silenced  by  the  consideration  of  the  subject 
concerning  which  I  am  about  to  write.  You  must  then  ima- 
gine me  rather  to  sigh  than  to  speak.  How  greatly  the  ad- 
versaries of  Christ  rejoice  at  your  controversy  with  the  Mag- 
deburgenses,*  is  too  evident  from  their  mockery  and  sneers. 

*  Matthias  Flacius  Illyricus  left  Wittemberg,  and  went  to  Mag- 


OF     CALVIN.  287 

Those  writers  certainly  afford  a  foul  and  detestable  spectacle 
to  God,  and  his  angels,  and  to  the  whole  church.  In  this 
business,  my  Philip,  even  if  you  were  without  fault,  it  would 
be  the  duty  of  your  prudence  and  equity,  to  devise  some  re- 
medy to  heal  the  evil,  or  at  least  to  afford  some  relief  for 
mitigating  its  severity.  But  pardon  me,  if  I  do  not  wholly 
exculpate  you  from  blame.  From  this  you  may  be  able  to 
conjecture,  how  severe  judgments  others  pass  upon  you,  and 
what  unfavourable  and  scandalous  observations  they  make 
about  you.  Permit  me,  therefore,  my  Philip,  to  perform  the 
duty  of  a  true  friend,  in  freely  admonishing  you  ;  and  if  I 
deal  with  you  somewhat  more  sharply,  do  not  impute  it  to 
a  diminution  of  my  former  respect  and  affection  for  you. 
Although  that  will  not  be  strange  or  unusual  to  you,  I  am, 
however,  more  apt  to  offend  by  a  rustic  simplicity,  than  to 
use  adulation  in  favour  of  any  man.  I  have  experienced 
that  nothing  is  more  acceptable  to  you  than  ingenuousness, 
and  therefore  I  labour  under  less  anxiety,  lest  you  should 
take  it  ill,  even  if  any  thing  should  justly  displease  you,  in 
my  reproof.  I  wish,  indeed,  that  all  your  conduct,  without 
exception,  could  be  approved  of  by  me  and  others.  But  I 
accuse  you  now  to  your  face,  that  I  may  not  be  obliged 
to  assent  to  the  declarations  of  those  who  condemn  you  in 
your  absence.  This  is  the  sum  of  your  defence,  Modo  re- 
tineatur  doctrinas  puritas,  de  rebus  externis  non  essepertina- 
citer  dimicandum.  Only  let  the  purity  of  doctrine  be  pre- 
served, and  we  will  not  pertinaciously  contend  about  exter- 
nal forms.  Now,  if  what  is  every  where  asserted  for  fact  is 
true,  you  extend  neictral  and  indifferent  things  much  too 
far-  You  know  that  the  worship  of  God  is  corrupted  a  thou- 

deburg,  in  April,  1549,  where  he  began  writing  against  the  Wit- 
temberg  Divines,  (Melancthon,  &c.)    This  was  the  first  introduc-  . 
tion  to  that  religious  war,  which  opened  the  door  for  many  evils, 
the  termination  of  which,  says  Bucholtzer,  in  1610,  we  have  not 
yet  seen.    Bucholtzer  Chronologia,  anno  1549. 


288  CORRESPONDENCE 

sand  ways  among  the  papists.  We  have  removed  the  most 
intolerable  corruptions.  Now,  the  impious,  that  they  may 
finish  their  triumph  over  the  subjected  gospel,  command 
them  to  be  restored.  If  any  one  refuses  to  admit  them,  will 
you  ascribe  it  to  obstinacy?  It  is  well  known  how  far  this 
would  be  from  your  moderation.  If  you  have  yielded  too 
much  fo?  accommodation,  you  cannot  be  surprised  if  many 
impute  it  to  you  for  a  fault.  Besides,  some  of  those  things, 
which  you  account  indifferent,  are  manifestly  oj)posed  to  the 
word  of  God.  Perhaps  others  urge  some  things  with  too 
much  precision  ;  and,  as  is  usual  in  controversies,  represent 
others  as  odious,  in  which  there  is  not  so  much  evil.  But, 
if  I  understand  any  thing  of  divine  truth,  you  have  yielded 
too  much  to  the  papists  ;  both  because  you  have  loosened 
those  things  which  the  Lord  has  bound  by  his  word,  and 
because  you  have  given  them  an  opportunity  perversely  to 
insult  the  gospel.  When  circumcision  was  still  allowable, 
do  you  see  Paul,  because  some  malicious  and  cunning  men 
had  laid  snares  for  the  liberty  of  the  pious,  obstinately  deny- 
ing that  that  ceremony  was  given  to  them  of  God  ?  Does 
he  not,  therefore,  boast  that  he  had  not  yielded  to  them,  even 
for  an  hour,  that  the  truth  of  the  gospel  might  remain  entire 
with  the  Gentiles?  Gal.  ii.  4,  5.  Our  adversaries  do  not, 
at  this  day,  trouble  us  about  circumcision;  but,  lest  they 
should  leave  us  any  thing  sound,  they  endeavour  to  infect, 
with  their  polluted  leaven,  all  the  doctrines  and  exercises  of 
religion.  You  say  that  the  Magdeburgenses  contend  only 
concerning  the  linen  robe.  To  what  this  might  tend,  I  do 
not  know,  for  the  use  of  the  linen  robe,  with  many  foolish 
ceremonies,  has  been,  I  conceive,  retained  hitherto,  both 
among  yourselves  and  among  them.  But  it  is  true  that  aU 
honest  and  religious  persons  complain,  that  you  have  coun- 
tenanced those  gross  corruptions,  which  evidently  tend  to 
vitiate  the  purity  of  the  doctrines,  and  to  weaken  the  stability 
of  the  church.  As,  perhaps,  you  have  forgotten  what  I  for- 
merly said  to  you,  I  will  now  recall  it  to  your  mmdy  That 


OP     CALVIN.  289 

ink  is  too  clear  to  us,  if  ive  hesitate  to  testify  those  things 
by  our  hand-writing,  which  so  many  martyrs,  from  the 
commo7i  fiock,  daily  seal  with  their  blood.  I  said,  indeed, 
the  same,  when  we  appeared  to  be  much  farther  from  these 
assaults.  Since,  then,  the  Lord  has  drawn  us  out  on  the 
field  of  battle,  it  becomes  us  to  contend  the  more  courage- 
ously. Your  station,  you  know,  is  diJETerent  from  that  of 
most  others.  The  trepidation  of  a  general,  or  the  leader  of 
an  army,  is  more  ignominious  than  even  the  flight  of  com- 
mon soldiers.  All  will  condemn  the  wavering  of  so  great  a 
man  as  you  are,  as  insuff"erable.  Give,  therefore,  in  future, 
a  steady  example  of  invincible  constancy.  By  yielding  a  lit- 
tle, you  have  excited  more  complaints  and  lamentations  than 
the  open  desertion  of  an  hundred,  in  an  inferior  station, 
would  have  produced.  Although  I  am  firmly  persuaded, 
that  you  would  never  be  compelled,  by  the  fear  of  death,  to 
turn  aside  in  the  least  from  an  upright  course ;  yet  I  suspect 
that  possibly  another  kind  of  fear  might  exercise  your  mind. 
For  I  know  how  much  you  dread  the  impeachment  of  barba- 
rous harshness.  But  you  should  remember,  that  the  ser- 
vants of  Christ  should  never  regard  their  reputation  more 
than  their  lives.  We  are  not  better  than  Paul,  who  proceeded 
quietly  through  reproach  and  dishonour.  It  is,  indeed, 
severe  and  painful  to  be  judged  as  obstinate  and  tempestuous 
men,  who  would  wreck  the  whole  world,  rather  than  conde- 
scend to  some  moderation.  Your  ears  should  long  since 
have  become  seasoned  to  these  reproaches.  You  are  not  so 
unknown  to  me,  nor  am  I  so  unjust  to  you,  as  to  suppose 
that  you  are  eager,  like  ambitious  men,  for  popular  applause. 
I  doubt  not,  however,  but  that  you  are  sometimes  discou- 
raged by  reflections  like  these  ; — What! — Is  it  the  part  of  a 
prudent  and  considerate  man,  to  divide  the  church  on  ac- 
count of  some  minute  and  almost  frivolous  things  ?  May 
not  peace  be  redeemed  by  some  indifferent  inconvenience  ? 
What  madness  it  is,  so  to  defend  every  thing  to  the  utmost, 
as  to  neglect  the  substance  of  the  whole  gospel!    When 

25 


290  CORHESiPONDENCE 

these  and  such  like  arguments  were  formerly  made  use  of 
by  artful  men,  I  thought  with  myself,  that  you  were  more 
influenced  by  them  than  was  right ;  and  I  now  ingenuously 
open  my  mind  to  you,  lest  that  truly  divine  magnanimity, 
with  which,  otherwise,  you  are  richly  endowed,  should  be 
impeded  in  its  operation.  The  reason  of  this  my  earnest- 
ness is  well  known  to  you  ;  that  I  would  sooner  die  a  hun- 
dred times  with  you,  than  see  you  survive  the  doctrine  which 
you  preach.  I  do  not  say  this,  apprehending  any  danger, 
lest  the  truth  of  God,  made  known  by  your  ministry,  should 
ever  perish,  or  because  1  distrust,  in  any  manner,  your  per- 
severance ;  but  because  you  will  never  be  solicitous  enough 
in  your  watchfulness,  lest  the  impious  artfully  take  that  op- 
portunity of  cavilling  at  the  gospel,  which  they  will  seize 
from  your  flexible  disposition.  Pardon  me  for  unloading 
into  your  bosom  these  miserable  although  unavailing  sighs. 
Farewell,  most  distinguished  man,  always  sincerely  respect- 
ed by  me.  May  the  Lord  continue  to  guide  you  by  his  Spirit, 
to  support  you  by  his  grace,  and  defend  you  by  his  shield. 
Salute  my  friends,  if  there  should  be  any  with  you.  You 
have  many  here,  who  respectfully  salute  you  ;  for  many,  for 
the  sake  of  avoiding  idolatry,  have  fled  from  France  into 
voluntary  exile  in  this  city.  JOHN  CALVIN. 


LETTER  XV.— CALVIN  TO  BUCER, 

WISHES   HEALTH. 

Although  your  letter  contained  a  mixture  of  good  and  bad 
news,  it  however  gave  me  great  satisfaction.  I  wish  I  could, 
in  some  measure  at  least,  alleviate  the  sorrow  of  your  mind, 
and  those  cares  wilh  which  I  perceive  you  are  distressed. 
We  all  beseech  you,  again  and  again,  not  to  wear  yourself 
out  without  advantage.  It  is  not,  indeed,  consistent  with 
your  piety,  nor  becoming,  nor  at  all  wished  by  us,  that  you 


OF     CALVIN.  291 

should  be  cheerful  and  joyous,  while  there  are  such  great 
and  multiplied  causes  for  mourning.  You  ought,  however, 
as  much  as  possible,  to  preserve  yourself  for  the  Lord  and 
the  church.  You  Jiave,  indeed,  run  a  long  race ;  but  you 
know  not  how  much  still  remains  to  you.  Perhaps  I,  who 
have  advanced  but  a  small  distance  from  the  goal,  am  nearer 
the  end  of  my  race.  The  direction  and  termination  of  our 
course  are  in  the  hand  of  God.  That  I  may  be  still  more  ac- 
tive, amidst  the  dangers  which  threaten  me  on  every  hand,  I 
make  use  of  the  numerous  deaths,  which  are  daily  taking 
place  before  my  eyes.  In  England,  you  are  exercised  with 
battles,  while  in  this  city  we  cherish  dilatory  fears.  I  hope, 
however,  that  your  internal  commotions  are  settled,  as  report 
says,  that  you  have  a  truce  with  the  French.  I  wish  the  con- 
ditions of  a  lasting  peace  could  be  established ;  for  we  see 
the  fencing  master,  who  is  exciting  the  two  kingdoms  against 
each  other,  laughing  in  idleness,  and  watching  the  fortune  of 
both,  that  he  may  attack  the  victor,  with  all  his  strength,  and 
spoil  the  conquered  without  labour  or  bloodshed ;  thus  tri- 
umphing over  both,  he  will  seize  them  as  his  prey.  But  con- 
sidering the  corrupt  counsels  which  govern  France,  I  despair 
of  this  peace.  They  fear  the  emperor  beyond  measure  ;  but 
while  they  proudly  despise  others,  they  are  not  aware  of  his 
cunning.  The  Lord  is  surely,  by  this  blindness,  punishing 
their  atrocious  cruelty  against  the  pious,  which,  as  I  under- 
stand, daily  increases.  I  wish,  as  impiety  gathers  strength, 
and  waxes  more  violent  in  France,  that  the  English,  by  a 
rival  spirit  of  emulation,  would  contend  for  the  substance  and 
purity  of  Christianity,  until  they  see  every  thing  established 
among  them  according  to  the  perfect  rule  of  Christ. 

I  have,  as  you  wished,  and  as  the  present  state  of  aflfairs 
required,  endeavoured  to  exhort  the  Lord  Protector.  It 
will  be  your  duty  to  insist,  by  all  means,  if  you  can  obtain 
an  audience,  which  I  am  persuaded  you  may,  that  the  cere- 
monies which  savour  in  the  least  of  superstition  should  be 
abolished  from  the  public  service.    This  I  expressly  recom- 


292  CORRESPONDENCE 

mend  to  you,  that  you  may  free  yourself  from  that  reproach, 
with  which  you  know  many  have  unjustly  loaded  you;  for 
the  adviser  of  public  measures  is  always  considered  as  their 
author,  or  at  least  approver.  This  suspicion  is  so  strongly 
fixed  in  the  mind  of  some,  that  you  will  not  easily  erase  it 
with  your  utmost  exertions.  Some  maliciously  calumniate 
you,  without  any  cause.  This  is  an  evil  in  some  measure 
without  remedy,  and  you  will  not  be  able  wholly  to  escape 
its  influence.  Care  must  be  taken  to  give  no  cause  of  suspi- 
cion to  the  ignorant,  nor  any  pretext  for  calumny  to  the  wick- 
ed.    I  regret  very  much,  that  N is  so  troublesome  to 

you  without  cause.  I  could  wish  him  to  learn  some  humani- 
ty. I  more  easily  pardon  him,  as  he  appears  to  be  carried 
away,  not  so  much  by  his  perverseness,  as  by  a  blind  im- 
pulse to  be  observed.  You  cannot  conceive  how  atrociously 
he  abuses  us  and  our  innocent  and  absent  friends.  He  in- 
veighed especially  against  Viret,  who  was  undeservedly  op- 
pressed by  the  iniquity  of  some,  and  the  perfidy  of  others. 
He  violently  pursued  him,  as  he  would  the  most  abandoned 
betrayer  of  the  church.  He  would  certainly  accustom  him- 
self to  mildness,  if  he  observed  the  noxious  intemperance  of 
his  too  fervid  zeal  and  immoderate  austerity.  This  indigni- 
ty you  must  receive,  with  other  evils,  with  your  accustomed 
equanimity.  The  church  of  Zurich  would  not  approve  his 
cause.  On  this  subject,  I  disagree  with  you,  as  you  think  we 
injure  our  adversaries.  You  suppose  that  they  never  so 
grossly  blundered,  as  to  imagine  that  the  body  of  Christ  was 
extended  every  where.  But  you  forget  what  Brentius  among 
others  has  written,  that  Christ,  when  he  lay  in  the  manger, 
was  glorious  in  heaven,  etiam  secundum  corpus,  even  bodily. 
That  I  may  speak  more  openly,  you  know  that  the  doctrine 
of  the  Papists  is  more  modest  and  sober,  than  that  of  Ams- 
dorf^  and  his  followers,  who  were  as  infatuated  as  the  priest- 


Nicholas  Amsdorf  died  in  1541.     He  was  a  rigid  adherent  of 


OF     CALVIN.  293 

ess  of  Apollo.  You  know  how  inhumanly  Melancthon  was 
treated,  because  he  maintained  some  moderation.  These  de- 
liriums necessarily  drew  with  them  idolatry.  For  what  pur- 
pose is  the  sacrament  of  Luther  to  be  adored,  unless  that  an 
idol  might  be  erected  in  the  church  of  God  ?  I  have  earnest- 
ly desired,  that  all  these  things  might  be  buried.  I  have  con- 
stantly insisted  also,  with  the  greatest  firmness  among  our 
neighbours,*  that  they  should  abstain  from  all  invectives.  To 
satisfy  them  I  have  not  hesitated  to  condemn  all  those  er- 
rors, without  calling  them  by  name,  to  which  I  could  by  no 
means  give  my  assent.  Concerning  the  word  place,  you 
certainly  appear  to  argue  with  too  much  subtilty.  The  ob 
scurity  more  severely  offends  others,  which  they  say  you  art- 
fully and  designedly  used.  I  am  confident,  however,  that 
in  this  respect  they  err.  But  I  do  not  see  why  you  so  dili- 
gently avoid  what  we  teach,  since  Christ  is  said  to  have 
ascended  into  heaven;  by  which  expression  we  understand 
distances  of  places  to  be  expressed.  We  do  not  dispute 
whether  there  is  a  place  in  celestial  glory,  but  whether  the 
body  of  Christ  is  in  this  ivorld.  Since  this  question  is 
clearly  determined  by  the  Scriptures,  I  do  not  hesitate  to 
embrace  it  for  an  article  of  my  faith.  And  yet,  as  you  will 
find  it  in  our  book,  it  was  granted  to  the  moroseness  of  some, 
not  without  opposition ;  for  I  had  tempered  the  expressions 
otherwise.  As  this  formula  which  we  had  used  contained 
nothing  but  what  I  thought  was  true,  religion  did  not  require 
that  it  should  be  given  up  for  others.  You  piously  and  pru- 
dently wish,  that  the  eff"ect  of  the  sacraments,  and  what  God 
confers  through  them,  should  be  explained  more  clearly  and 


Luther,  and  extravagantly  asserted,  that  good  works  were  an  im- 
pediment to  salvation^  He  was  distinguished  for  his  opposition  to 
the  Papists,  and  his  controversy  with  Melancthon,  who  laboured 
to  check  this  violent  man,  and  to  set  the  truth  about  good  works 
in  a  proper  light.  Rees'  Cyclopedia. 
*  The  Helvetic  churches,  Zurich,  &c. 
25* 


294  CORRESPONDENCE 

copiously  than  many  will  endure.  The  fault  does  not  lie 
with  me,  that  some  things  were  not  more  distinctly  illus- 
trated. Let  us  lament  and  still  submit  to  those  things  which 
we  are  not  permitted  to  correct.  You  will  have  inclosed  in 
this  letter,  a  copy  of  the  writing  which  they  remitted  to  me. 
The  two  points  which  you  feared  they  would  reject,  they 
willingly  embraced.  If  others  had  followed  the  mildness  of 
Bullinger,  I  should  have  easily  obtained  every  thing  I 
wished.  It  is  well,  however,  that  we  agree  in  the  truth, 
and  hold  unitedly  the  chief  doctrines  of  religion.  If  you  had 
accommodated  your  Theses  a  little  only  in  two  points,  you 
would  have  rendered  them  most  appropriate.  You  should 
have  stated  distinctly,  that  Christ  is  bodily  separated  from 
us  who  are  in  this  world,  by  the  distance  of  places :  You 
should  have  rejected  decidedly  all  the  inventions,  by  which 
the  minds  of  men  are  hitherto  drawn  into  superstition; 
and  expressly  vindicated  the  glory  of  the  Holy  Spirit  and 
of  Christ,  so  that  their  efficacy  should  not  be  transferred  to 
the  ministers,  or  the  elements. 

The  commencement  of  the  conference,  for  establishing  the 
union  of  opinion,  presented  nothing  but  despair.  The  light 
suddenly  shone  forth.  The  most  eminent  members,  on 
their  part,  were  desirous  to  communicate  with  other  churches. 

AVe  cheerfully  consented.     The  dissension  of  N must 

be  borne  with  an  equal  mind.  Farel  will  write  you  a  co- 
pious letter.  Viret  does  not  presume  to  write.  You  cannot 
conceive  how  unjustly  he  is  treated.  He  salutes  you  most 
affectionately,  and  begs  you  to  excuse  him.  My  colleagues 
salute  you  with  respect.  There  is  nothing  new  here,  except 
that  Zurich  and  Bern  have  cut  off  all  hopes  of  a  league  with 
France.  Farewell,  most  beloved  man,  and  my  much  re- 
spected father  in  the  Lord, 


OF     CALVIN.  295 


LETTER  XVI.— THOMAS  CRANMER  TO  CALVIN, 

SALUTEM  PRECATUR. 

As  nothing  tends  more  to  separate  the  churches  of  God 
than  heresies  and  diflferences  about  the  doctrines  of  rehgion, 
so  nothing  more  effectually  unites  them,  and  fortilEies  more 
powerfully  the  fold  of  Christ,  than  the  uncorrupted  doctrine 
of  the  gospel,  andunion  in  received  opinions.  I  have  often 
wished,  and  now  wish,  that  those  learned  and  pious  men, 
who  excel  others  in  erudition  and  judgment,  would  assemble 
in  some  convenient  place,  where  holding  a  mutual  consulta- 
tion, and  comparing  their  opinions,  they  might  discuss  all 
the  heads  of  ecclesiastical  doctrine,  and  agree  not  only  con- 
cerning the  things  themselves,  but  the  forms  of  expression, 
and  deliver  to  posterity  some  work,  with  the  weight  of  their 
authority.  Our  adversaries  are  now  holding  their  council  at 
Trent,  that  they  may  establish  their  errors.  And  shall  we 
neglect  to  call  together  a  pious  synod,  that  we  may  be  able 
to  refute  their  errors,  and  to  purify  and  propagate  the  true 
doctrines  ?  They,  as  I  hear,  are  making  decrees  rts^t  ttji 
a^to%at^sia.^j  about  the  worship  of  the  bread.  We  ought 
therefore  to  make  every  effort,  not  only  to  fortify  others 
against  this  idolatry,  but  that  we  also  ourselves  might  agree 
on  the  doctrine  of  this  sacrament.  How  much  the  dissen- 
sions and  variety  of  opinions,  about  this  sacrament  of  union, 
weaken  the  church  of  God,  cannot  escape  your  prudence. 
Although  these  differences  may,  in  some  places,  be  removed, 
yet  I  wish  an  agreement  in  this  doctrine,  not  only  about  the 
things  themselves,  but  also  about  the  words  and  forms  of 
expression.  You  have  my  ardent  wishes,  concerning  which 
I  have  written  to  Melancthon  and  Bullinger,  and  I  beg  you 
to  deliberate  among  yourselves,  in  what  manner  this  synod 
can  most  conveniently  be  assembled.     Farewell, 

Your  most  beloved  brother  in  Christ, 

THOMAS,  of  Canterbury. 

Lambeth,  March  20, 1552. 


296  CORRESPONDENCE 


LETTER  XVIL— CALVIN  TO  CRANMER,  ARCHBISHOP  OF 
CANTERBURY,  wishes  health. 

Illustrious  Sir, — You  prudently  judge,  that  in  this  confused 
state  of  the  church,  no  remedy  more  appropriate  can  be 
applied,  than  that  pious  and  resolute  men,  exercised  in  the 
school  of  God,  should  meet  among  themselves,  and  publicly 
profess  their  agreement  in  the  doctrines  of  religion.  We  see 
by  how  many  arts  satan  is  endeavouring  to  destroy  the  light 
of  the  gospel,  which  has  arisen  by  the  wonderful  goodness 
of  God,  and  is  extending  its  beams  in  every  direction.  The 
mercenary  parasites  of  the  pope  do  not  cease  their  railing, 
to  prevent  the  preaching  of  the  pure  word  of  Christ.  Licen- 
tiousness so  much  prevails,  and  impiety  has  so  increased, 
that  religion  is  but  a  little  removed  from  public  mockery. 
Those  who  are  not  the  professed  enemies  of  the  gospel  are 
even  now  affected  by  that  lascivious  impudence,  which  will 
shortly,  unless  counteracted,  produce  among  us  the  most 
shameful  confusion.  It  is  not  merely  among  the  ignorant 
class  of  men,  that  this  feverish  and  foolish  curiosity  and  im- 
moderate impudence  reign;  but  what  is  more  shameful, it  is 
much  too  prevalent  among  the  order  of  pastors.  It  is  too 
well  known,  with  what  delusive  madness  Osiander  deceives 
himself,  and  fascinates  some  otliers.  The  Lord,  indeed,  as 
he  has  done  from  the  beginning  of  the  world,  can  wonder- 
fully, in  ways  unknown  to  us,  preserve  the  unity  of  the  true 
faith,  and  prevent  its  destruction  from  the  dissensions  of 
men.  It  is  his  will  however,  that  those  whom  he  has  ap- 
pointed to  watch  should  by  no  means  sleep  ;  as  he  has  de- 
termined, by  the  labours  of  his  ministering  servants,  to  purge 
the  pure  doctrine  in  the  church,  from  all  corruptions,  and  to 
transmit  it  unblemished  to  posterity.  It  is  especially  your 
duty,  most  accomplished  Prelate,  as  you  sit  more  elevated 
in  the  watch-tower,  to  continue  your  exertions  for  effecting 
this  object.     I  do  not  say  this,  to  stimulate  you  afresh ;  as 


OF     CALVIN. 


297 


you  have  already,  of  your  own  accord,  preceded  others,  and 
voluntarily  exhorted  them  to  follow  your  steps.  I  would 
only  confirm  you  in  this  auspicious  and  disftinguished  labour 
by  my  congratulation.  We  have  heard  of  the  delightful 
success  of  the  gospel  in  England.  I  doubt  not,  but  you 
have  experienced  the  same  trials,  which  Paul  met  with  in 
his  time  :  that  the  door  being  opened  for  the  pure  doctrine, 
many  adversaries  suddenly  rise  up  against  its  reception.  I 
know  you  have  among  you  many  advocates,  capable  of 
refuting  the  falsehoods  of  the  adversary ;  but  still,  the  wick- 
edness of  those,  who  exert  all  their  arts  to  make  disturbance, 
proves  that  the  most  intense  sedulity  of  the  good  will  neither 
be  too  ardent  nor  superfluous.  I  know  moreover,  that  your 
purpose  is  not  confined  to  England  alone ;  but,  at  the  same 
moment,  you  consult  the  benefit  of  all  the  world.  The  gene- 
rous disposition  and  uncommon  piety  of  his  Majesty,  the 
king,  are  justly  to  be  admired,  as  he  is  pleased  to  favour  this 
holy  purpose  of  holding  such  a  council,  and  offers  a  place 
for  its  session  in  his  kingdom.  I  wish  it  might  be  effected, 
that  learned  and  stable  men,  from  the  principal  churches, 
might  assemble  in  some  place,  and,  after  discussing  with 
care  each  article  of  faith,  deliver  to  posterity,  from  their 
general  opinion  of  them  all,  the  clear  doctrines  of  the  Scrip- 
tures. It  is  to  be  numbered  among  the  evils  of  our  day,  that 
the  churches  are  so  divided  one  from  another,  that  there  rs 
scarcely  any  friendly  intercourse  strengthened  between  us  ; 
much  less  does  that  holy  communion  of  the  members  of 
Christ  flourish,  which  all  profess  with  the  mouth,  but  few 
sincerely  regard  in  the  heart.  But  if  the  principal  teachers 
conduct  themselves  more  coldly  than  they  ought,  it  is  prin- 
cipally the  fault  of  the  princes  who,  involved  in  their  secular 
concerns,  neglect  the  prosperity  and  purity  of  the  church ; 
or  each  one,  contented  with  his  own  security,  is  indifferent 
to  the  welfare  of  others.  Thus  it  comes  to  pass,  that  the 
members  being  divided;  the  body  of  the  church  lies  disabled. 
Respecting  myself,  if  it  should  appear  that  I  could  render 


298  CORRESPONDENCE 

any  service,  I  should  with  pleasure  cross  ten  seas,  if  neces- 
sary, to  accomplish  that  object.  Even  if  the  benefit  of  the 
kingdom  of  England  only  was  to  be  consulted,  it  would  fur- 
nish a  reason  sufficiently  powerful  with  me.  But  as  in  the 
council  proposed,  the  object  is  to  obtain  the  firm  and  united 
agreement  of  learned  men  to  the  sound  rule  of  Scripture,  by 
which  churches  now  divided  may  be  united  with  each 
other,  I  think  it  would  be  a  crime  in  me  to  spare  any  labour 
or  trouble  to  effect  it.  But  I  expect  my  slender  ability  to 
accomplish  this  will  furnish  me  with  sufficient  excuse.  If  I 
aid  that  object  by  my  prayers,  which  will  be  undertaken  by 
others,  I  shall  discharge  my  part  of  the  business.  Melanc- 
thon  is  so  far  from  me,  that  our  letters  cannot  be  exchanged 
in  a  short  time.  Bullinger  has  perhaps  answered  you  before 
this.  I  wish  my  ability  was  equal  to  the  ardency  of  my  de- 
sires. But  what  I  at  first  declined,  as  unable  to  accomplish, 
I  perceive  the  very  necessity  of  the  business  now  compels 
me  to  attempt.  I  not  only  exhort  you,  but  I  conjure  you, 
to  proceed,  until  something  shall  be  effected,  if  not  every 
thing  you  could  wish.  Farewell,  most  accomplished  Pre- 
late, sincerely  respected  by  me.     May  the  Lord  go  on  to 

guide  you  by  his  Spirit,  and  bless  your  holy  labours. 

Geneva. 


LETTER  XVIII— CALVIN  TO  CRANMER,  ARCHBISHOP  OF 
CANTERBURY,  salutem  digit. 

Since  we  can  by  no  means  expect  at  this  time,  what  we 
so  much  desired,  that  the  principal  doctors,  from  those 
churches  which  have  embraced  the  pure  doctrines  of  the 
gospel,  should  assemble,  and  from  the  word  of  God  publish 
a  definite  and  luminous  confession  concerning  all  the  points 
now  controverted ;  1  very  much  approve.  Reverend  Sir,  of 
your  design,  that  the  English  should  maturely  determine 
their  religion  among  themselves  ;  that  the  minds  of  the  peo- 


OF     CALVIN.  299 

pie  may  no  longer  remain  in  suspense  about  unsettled  doc- 
trines, or  rites  less  determined  than  they  ought  to  be.  It  is 
especially  your  business,  and  that  of  all  those  who  have  the 
government  in  their  hands,  to  unite  your  exertions  to  effect 
this  object.  You  see  what  your  station  requires,  and  more 
imperiously  demands  of  you,  in  return  for  the  office  which 
you  hold  by  his  favour.  The  chief  authority  is  in  your 
hand,  confirmed  both  by  the  greatness  of  the  honour,  and 
the  long  established  opinion  concerning  your  prudence  and 
integrity.  The  eyes  of  the  better  part  are  turned  upon  you, 
that  they  may  follow  your  motions,  or  grow  torpid  under 
the  pretext  of  your  negligence.  I  wish  they  had  followed 
you  as  a  leader  more  than  three  years  since,  and  avoided  the 
present  numerous  contests  for  removing  gross  superstitions. 
I  confess  indeed,  that  since  the  time  the  gospel  has  seriously 
flourished  in  England,  the  acquisitions  have  been  great. 
But  if  you  consider  how  much  remains  to  be  done,  and  how 
much  delay  there  has  been  in  many  things,  you  will  hasten 
to  the  goal,  as  if  a  great  part  of  your  course  was  yet  to  be 
finished.  I  do  not  give  you  this  admonition  to  assiduity  in 
the  work,  lest  you  should  indulge  yourself  as  though  it  was 
accomplished ;  but  to  speak  freely,  I  greatly  fear,  and  this 
fear  is  constantly  recurring  to  my  mind,  that  so  many  au- 
tumns will  be  past  in  delaying,  that  the  cold  of  a  perpetual 
winter  will  succeed.  The  more  you  advance  in  years,  the 
more  vigorously  you  ought  to  excite  yourself  to  action  ;  lest 
leaving  the  world  in  this  confused  state  of  things,  great 
anxiety  should  distress  you  from  a  consciousness  of  negli- 
gence. I  call  it  a  confused  state  of  things  /  for  the  external 
superstitions  have  been  so  imperfectly  corrected,  that  the 
innumerable  remaining  suckers  unremittingly  germinate. 
Indeed  I  hear  that  of  the  corruptions  of  popery  such  a  mass 
remains,  as  not  only  to  obscure,  but  almost  destroy  the  pure 
and  genuine  worship  of  God.  At  the  same  time,  the  spirit 
of  all  ecclesiastical  discipline  is  breathless,  at  least  the 
preaching  of  the  gospel  does  not  flourish  as  it  ought.  Sound 


300  CORRESPONDENCE 

religion  certainly  will  never  prevail,  until  the  churches  are 
better  provided  with  qualified  pastors,  who  may  seriously 
discharge  the  office  of  teachers.  That  this  may  not  take 
place,  satan  opposes  his  secret  arts.  But  I  understand  that 
one  manifest  obstacle  is,  that  the  revenues  of  the  church  are 
exposed  for  pillage.  This  is  truly  an  intolerable  evil.  Be- 
sides this  waste,  which  is  too  gross,  another  evil,  not  much 
lighter,  is  that  idle  fellows  are  fed  upon  the  public  income  of 
the  church,  that  they  may  chant  their  vespers  in  an  unknown 
tongue.  I  say  nothing  more,  as  it  is  more  than  absurd,  that 
you  should  be  an  approver  of  these  reproaches  which  are  in 
open  opposition  to  the  legitimate  order  of  the  church.  I 
doubt  not  but  these  things  often  occur  to  your  mind,  and  are 
suggested  to  you  by  that  best  and  most  excellent  man,  Peter 
Martyr,  whose  advice  it  gives  me  pleasure  to  hear  that  you 
use.  The  many  arduous  difficulties,  with  which  you  have 
to  struggle,  appeared  to  me  a  sufficient  reason  for  my  ex- 
hortation. Farewell,  excellent"  prelate.  May  the  Lord  long 
preserve  you  safe  ;  enrich  you  more  and  more  with  the  spirit 
of  prudence  and  fortitude,  and  bless  all  your  labours.  Amen. 


LETTER  XIX.— CALVIN  TO  MELANCTHON. 

Nothing  could  be  more  agreeable  to  me  at  this  time  than 
the  reception  of  your  letter  of  the  month  before  last.  To 
my  great  labours,  which  sufficiently  perplex  me,  there  is 
scarce  a  day  which  does  not  add  some  fresh  cause  for  grief 
or  anxiety.  I  should  soon  faint  under  the  load  of  evils, 
with  which  I  am  oppressed,  if  the  Lord  was  not  pleased  to 
alleviate  their  severity  by  his  remedies  ;  among  which  this 
is  not  a  small  one,  in  my  estimation,  that  I  know  you  are  in 
usual  health,  as  much  so  as  your  age  and  delicate  constitu- 
tion will  admit ;  and  that  your  letter  has  convinced  me,  that 
your  love  for  me  is  not  at  all  diminished.     I  have  been  told, 


OF     CALVIN.  301 

that  you  were  so,  much  offended  at  some  of  my  too  free 
admonitions,  which  however  ought  to  have  produced  a  very 
different  effect,  that  you  tore  my  letter  to  pieces  before 
several  witnesses.  The  person  who  related  this  was  not 
indeed  worthy  of  much  credit;  but  as  it  appeared  to  be 
confirmed  by  various  signs  for  a  long  time,  I  was  at  length 
constrained  to  suspect  that  some  part  of  it  might  be  true. 
From  your  letter  I  have  now  learned  most  fully,  that  our 
union  still  remains  unimpaired ;  which  certainly  ought  to  be 
forever  sacred  and  inviolable,  as  its  origin  was  from  a  simi- 
lar affection  for  piety.  It  is  our  highest  interest,  that  the 
friendship  which  God  has  consecrated,  by  the  tokens  of 
his  authority,  should  be  cherished  with  confidence  and  con- 
stancy even  until  death ;  as  in  this  friendship  the  church  is 
deeply  concerned.  You  see  how  many  eyes  are  turned 
upon  us.  The  wicked  will  captiously  seize  from  our  dif- 
ferences a  handle  for  their  reproaches;  and  the  weak  among 
us  will  be  disturbed  even  by  our  most  trivial  opposition. 
It  is  of  consequence  also,  that  posterity  should  have  no 
grounds  to  suspect  that  there  was  any  incipient  discord  be- 
tween us.  It  would  be  extremely  absurd,  after  having  been 
compelled  to  separate  from  all  the  world,  that  we  should,  at 
the  very  threshhold,  break  away  from  each  other.  I  know 
and  freely  confess,  that  I  am  far  from  being  equal  to  you ; 
still  I  am  not  ignorant  of  the  elevation  to  which  God  has 
raised  me  among  his  people ;  and  there  is  no  reason  that  I 
should  dissemble  with  you  my  opinion,  that  our  friendship 
cannot  be  violated  without  a  great  injury  to  the  church. 
Even  if  we  had  no  other  reason,  estimate  from  your  own 
sensibility,  how  distressing  it  would  be  to  me,  to  be  cut  off 
from  the  man  whom  I  affectionately  love  and  revere ;  and 
whom  God  has  rendered  conspicuous  to  his  whole  church, 
by  magnificently  adorning  him  with  singular  gifts,  and  ap- 
pointing him  prime  minister  for  the  management  of  the 
chief  concerns  of  his  kingdom.  It  is  certainly  a  wonderful 
and  uncommon  stupidity,  that  we  should  despise  so  easily 
26 


302  CORRESPONDENCE 

that  sacred  tinion  between  us,  which  would  become  the 
celestial  angels  to  bear  to  each  other  on  earth.  In  the  mean 
time,  the  adversary  continues  to  prepare  on  every  hand  the 
causes  of  discord.  From  our  negligence,  he  takes  occasion 
to  accumulate  his  materials ;  and  will  soon  provide  his  iji- 
struments  for  enkindling  and  fanning  the  fires. 

I  will  relate  what  has  taken  place  in  this  church,  to  the 
great  grief  of  all  the  pious.  A  year  has  already  elapsed 
since  we  have  been  troubled  with  these  contests.  Some 
unprincipled  men  raised  a  controversy  with  us  concerning 
the  gratuitous  election  of  God,  and  the  miserable  servitude 
of  the  human  will ;  and  for  exciting  a  public  tumult,  they 
found  nothing  more  plausible,  in  their  opposition  to  us,  than 
the  pretext  of  your  name.  When  they  had  ascertained, 
that  we  were  promptly  prepared  to  refute  whatever  spe- 
cious devices  they  threw  out,  they  invented  this  artifice,  by 
which  they  expected  to  overpower  us,  unless  we  would 
publicly  separate  from  you.  But  we  observed  such  mode- 
ration, that  they  wholly  failed  in  extorting  from  us  what 
they  had  so  artfully  pursued.  My  colleagues  then  with 
me  declared,  that  we  adhered  to  the  same  scope  in  doc- 
trines, as  that  by  which  you  were  guided.  Not  a  word 
was  dropped  in  the  whole  dispute,  but  what  was  justly 
respectful,  and  tended  to  establish  confidence  in  you.  It 
was,  however,  the  fact,  that  I  was  severely  pained  with  the 
silent  thought  that  after  our  death,  corrupt  men  will  be  fur- 
nished with  occasion  of  troubling  the  church,  as  often  as 
they  please,  while  they  bring  into  controversy  the  opposite 
opinion  of  those,  who  should,  for  the  sake  of  example,  have 
professed  one  and  the  same  thing,  in  the  same  words. 

That  Osiander  has  withdrawn  himself  from  us,  or  rather, 
by  a  violent  assault,  made  his  escape,  is  neither  a  matter  of 
surprise  nor  much  regret.  You  long  since  experienced,  that 
he  was  one  of  those  wild  animals  which  can  never  be  tamed. 
From  the  day  I  first  saw  him,  I  always  considered  him  as 
disgraceful  to  the  cause;  and  I  detested  him  as  a  man  of 


OF     CALVIN 


303 


profane  disposition  and  corrupt  morals.  Whenever  he 
wished  to  praise  sweet  and  generous  wine,  he  had  these 
words  in  his  mouth — "  I  am  who  I  am" — or — '*  This  is 
the  Son  of  the  living  God" — which  betrayed  a  manifest 
mockery  of  God.  Hence  I  have  often  been  more  asto- 
nished, that  even  your  general  moderation  should  cherish 
such  a  brutal  man :  especially  I  was  so  when  I  read  in  a 
preface  of  yours  that  passage  where  you  praise  him  ex- 
travagantly, even  after  the  specimen  he  gave  us  of  his 
insanity  at  Worms.  But  let  him  go;  he  ought  to  be 
most  perfectly  cut  off  from  us.*  There  are  some  others 
whom  I  should  prefer  to  have  retained.  But  I  will  omit 
all  these  things.  It  is  no  small  grief  to  me,  that  our 
method  of  teaching  is  manifestly  observed  to  be  too  dis- 
cordant. I  am  not  ignorant,  that  if  we  yield  to  human  au- 
thority, it  would  be  more  reasonable  for  me  to  accede  to 
you,  than  for  you  to  conform  to  my  opinion.  But  we  are 
not  to  be  guided  by  human  authority ;  nor  is  this  even  to 
be  wished  from  the  pious  ministers  of  Christ.  We  are 
bound,  on  all  hand,  to  seek  conformity  to  the  pure  truth  of 
God.  Now  I  candidly  confess,  that  religion  prevents  me 
from  acceding  to  you  on  this  point  of  doctrine ;  as  you  ap- 
pear to  me  to  dispute  too  metaphysically  concerning  the 
freedom  of  the  will :  and  in  treating  of  election,  you  have 
no  object,  but  to  accommodate  yourself  to  the  common  ap- 
prehension of  mankind.  For  it  cannot  be  attributed  to  an 
oversight,   that    a    man    of   your   acuteness,   caution,   and 


*  Mosheim  states,  that  arrogance  and  singularity  were  the  prin- 
cipal lines  in  Osiander's  character.  Melancthon,  in  his  letter  to 
Calvin,  calls  him  a  Gorgon,  who  had  dangling  vipers  for  hair,  and 
petrified  others  by  his  aspect.  He  treated  Melancthon  with  the 
grossest  language  of  satire  and  illiberality.  Melancthon's  letter  to 
Calvin  is  dated  Oct.  1, 1552.  Osiander  died  Oct.  17,  but  Calvin  had 
not  heard  of  his  death  when  he  wrote  the  above  letter  in  November. 


304  CORRESPONDENCE 

thorough  knowledge  of  the  Scriptures,  should  confound  the 
election  of  God,  with  those  promises  which  are  common  to 
all — qux  sunt  universse.  Nothing  is  more  evident,  than 
that  the  preaching  of  the  word  is  promiscuously  common  to 
all  persons ;  but  that  the  Spirit  of  faith  is  given  by  special 
privilege  to  the  elect  alone.  The  promises  are  common  to 
all  without  exception.  How  then  does  it  come  to  pass, 
that  their  efficacy  does  not  equally  manifest  itself  in  all? 
Truly,  because  God  does  not  reveal  his  arm  to  all.  Nor 
does  this  point  require  proof  with  those  who  are  tolerably 
versed  in  the  Scriptures,  since  the  promises  offer  the  grace 
of  Christ  equally  to  all,  and  God  invites,  by  an  outward  call, 
whosoever  will,  to  salvation ;  yet  faith  is  a  special  gift,  ft 
appears  to  me  that  this  whole  question,  although  embarassed 
and  intricate,  is  clearly  explained  in  a  work  I  have  lately 
published.*  The  question  is  so  plain,  that  no  one  of  sound 
understanding  will  believe,  that  your  disagreement  is  from 
the  conviction  of  your  own  mind.  At  the  same  time,  it  in- 
creases my  anxiety  and  sorrow,  because  I  know  that  on  this 
point  you  almost  entirely  differ  from  yourself.  For  I  hear, 
when  you  received  the  formula  of  our  union  with  the  church 
of  Zurich,  taking  a  pen  you  erased  the  sentence,  which  cau- 
tiously and  soberly  distinguishes  the  elect  from  the  repro- 
bate. This  was  totally  different  from  your  usual  moderation, 
not  to  say  more.  I  do  not,  therefore,  ask  you  to  make  even 
the  attempt  to  read  my  treatise,  as  I  apprehend  it  would  be 
useless.  I  wish  we  might  have  an  interview  to  converse  on 
these  things.  I  know  your  candour,  frankness,  and  mode- 
ration;  and  your  piety  is  manifested  to  the  world  and  to 
angels.  I  trust,  therefore,  that  this  whole  matter  would  be 
easily  explained  between  us.  If  an  opportunity  should  offer, 
I  should  be  highly  gratified  in  visiting  you.     But  if  what  you 

*  Calvin's  Treatise,  concerning  the  eternal  election  of  God  was 
published  in  1551.     See  Tract.  Theol.  Cal.  p.  593. 


OF     CALVIN.  305 

fear  should  happen,*  it  will  be  a  great  consolation  to  me,  in 
this  wretched  and  mournful  state  of  affairs,  to  see  and  em- 
brace you  before  our  departure  from  this  world. 

We  are  far  from  enjoying  that  tranquillity  which  you  sup- 
pose. In  this  city,  there  are  many  labours,  difficulties,  and 
tumults.  Our  enemies  are  in  sight,  from  whom  new  dangers 
threaten  us.  We  are  only  five  hours'  journey  from  Burgundy. 
One  may  come  in  less  than  an  hour  from  the  French  do- 
minions to  the  gates  of  Geneva.  But  as  nothing  is  more 
happy  than  to  fight  under  the  standard  of  Christ,  these  diffi- 
culties must  not  deter  you  from  visiting  us.  In  the  mean 
time,  you  will  do  me  a  favour,  by  informing  me  of  your 
situation,  and  the  general  condition  of  your  church.  Fare- 
well, illustrious  man,  and  sincerely  respected  brother.  May 
the  Lord  protect  you  with  his  shield,  direct  you  with  his 
Spirit,  and  bless  your  holy  labours.  My  colleagues  and 
many  pious  and  discreet  men  respectfully  salute  you.  Yours, 

JOHN  CALVIN. 
Geneva,  Nov.  29,  1552. 


LETTER  XX,— CALVIN  TO  SIR  JOHN  CHEKE. 

I  have  hitherto  deferred  writing  to  you,  most  excellent 
Sir,  lest  I  should  appear  to  seek  something  for  which  I  had 
no  inclination.  Most  of  the  friendships  of  the  world  are 
specious,  and  influenced  by  ambition  and  vanity.  Few 
cherish  sincerity ;  and  few  deserve  our  confidence,  whose 
probity  has  not  been  tried.  I  have  already  often  ventured  to 
write  to  the  king,  to  whom  I  have,  with  other  servants  of 
Christ,  found  access,  by  your  care,  under  providence.  For 
having  hitherto  omitted  to  write  to  you,  I  have  a  ready  ex- 
cuse.    I  apprehend  that  those,  at  whose  request  I  wrote  to 

*  Calvin  here  alludes  to  an  apprehension  which  Melancthon  had 

of  being  driven  into  exile. 

26* 


306  CORRESPONDENCE 

him,  would  imagine  that  I  had  not  sufficient  confidence  in 
them,  if  I  entrusted  the  delivery  of  my  letter^  to  others  ;  be- 
sides, there  was  no  such  familiarity  between  us,  as  would 
warrant  me  in  giving  you  that  trouble.  If  I  have  erred  in 
this,  you  will  be  pleased  to  impute  it  to  my  modesty,  rather 
than  my  negligence.  I  have  long  since  been  induced  to 
esteem  you  highly,  from  the  fame  of  your  eminent  piety  and 
distinguished  learning.  This  one  circumstance  is  sufficient 
to  conciliate  to  you  the  minds  of  all  good  men,  that  while 
England  has  a  king  of  the  most  amiable  disposition,  you 
have,  by  your  labour,  formed  him  to  such  a  maturity  of  vir- 
tue, beyond  his  age,  that  he  has  extended  his  hand  to  the 
troubled  and  most  afflicted  church,  in  these  unhappy  times. 
Surely  the  Lord,  in  dignifying  you  with  this  honour,  has  not 
only  bound  those  to  you  who  reap  the  immediate  fruit  of 
your  labours,  but  all  those  who  desire  the  church  of  God  to 
be  restored,  or  the  remnants  of  it  to  be  collected.  In  testi- 
fying the  esteem  for  you,  which  I  have  silently  cherished 
with  myself,  I  am  persuaded  that  I  shall  not  render  you  an 
unpleasant  service.  In  the  splendour  of  your  fortune,  you 
have  no  occasion  for  my  personal  assistance;  and,  being 
contented  with  my  humble  condition,  I  would  not,  for  my 
own  sake,  lay  any  additional  burden  upon  you  ;  but  I  would 
have  a  mutual  good  will  cherished  between  us  in  this  tran- 
sitory life,  until  we  shall  enjoy  substantial  blessedness  in 
heaven.  In  the  mean  time,  let  us  labour  to  adorn,  and,  as 
much  as  in  us  lies,  to  extend  and  support  the  kingdom  of 
Christ.  We  see  the  numerous,  open  and  infectious  enemies, 
whose  fury  is  daily  increased  and  inflamed.  And  of  the 
number  of  those,  who  have  given  their  names  to  the  gospel, 
how  few  labour  with  integrity  to  maintain  the  glory  of  God  ? 
How  much  coldness,  or  rather  how  much  slothfulness,  pre- 
vails among  most  of  the  chief  niien ;  and  finally,  how  great 
is  the  stupidity  of  the  world  ?  Your  willing  exertions  re- 
quire no  foreign  excitements,  and  I  trust  you  will  take  in 
good  part  those  things  I  have  suggested,  as  proper  for  each 


OF     CALVIN.  307 

one  assiduously  to  apply  to  himself.  But  this  I  expressly 
ask  of  you,  that  if  at  any  time  you  shall  judge,  that  his  ma^ 
jesty  the  king  may  be  excited  by  my  expostulations,  you 
will  be  pleased  to  advise  and  give  counsel  as  the  case  may 
require.  Farewell,  most  excellent  and  highly  respected  man. 
May  the  Lord  guide  you  by  his  power,  &:c. 

JOHN  CALVIN. 
Geneva,  February  13,  1553. 


LETTER  XXL— CALVIN  TO  MELANCTHON, 

SALUTExM   DIGIT. 

Your  letter,  my  dear  sir,  gave  me  great  satisfaction,  not 
only  because  every  thing  that  comes  from  you  is  dear  to  me, 
but  because  from  it  I  understand,  that  the  affection  with 
which  you  embraced  me,  at  our  first  acquaintance,  still  re- 
mains fixed  in  your  heart.  And  especially,  as  you  commend, 
with  a  sufficient  eulogy,  my  endeavours  to  expunge  the  im- 
pious heresy  of  Servetus.  From  this  letter  1  learn  also,  that 
you  were  not  offended  by  the  plainness  and  freedom  of  my 
admonitions.  I  wish,  however,  that  you  had  treated  more 
fully  on  the  subject  on  which  I  wrote.  I  will  not  importu- 
nately urge  you ;  but  as  far  as  you  can  with  peace,  I  exhort 
you,  again  and  again,  to  examine,  at  least  with  yourself, 
those  things  about  which  I  wrote  you.  For,  in  this  way,  I 
trust  you  will  endeavour,  that  some  more  definite  form  of 
teaching,  concerning  the  gratuitous  election  of  believers, 
than  heretofore,  may  be  agreed  upon  between  us.  About 
the  ivorship  of  the  bread,  I  have  long  since  known  the  secret 
opinion  of  your  mind,  which  you  do  not  dissemble  in  your 
letter.  But  your  too  great  tardiness  displeases  me,  by  which 
you  not  only  cherish,  but  augment  the  madness  of  those 
whom  you  see  pursuing  daily,  with  such  petulance,  the  de- 
struction of  the  whole  church.  It  may  not  seem  easy  to 
you  to  restrain  those  violent  men,  yet  I  think  it  would  be  a 


308  CORRESPONDENCE 

light  matter,  if  you  would  boldly  attempt  it.  You  know 
that  our  duties  do  not  depend  upon  the  hope  of  success,  but 
in  the  most  desperate  cases  we  must  do  precisely  what  God 
requires  of  us.  Your  excuse  does  not  appear  a  sufficient  one 
to  me,  that  those  malevolent  men  would,  from  your  appear- 
ing openly  in  the  cause,  take  the  probable  means  of  over- 
whelming you.  For  what  can  the  servants  of  Christ  accom- 
plish, unless  they  disregard  hatred ;  pass  by  with  indiffe- 
rence unfavourable  reports,  casting  off  the  fear  of  dangers, 
and  whatever  obstacles  the  adversary  may  throw  in  their 
path ;  and  overcome  by  invincible  constancy  ?  It  is  certain, 
should  they  even  become  violently  mad  against  you,  nothing 
awaits  you  more  severe  from  them,  than  that  you  should  be 
compelled  to  leave  that  place.  This,  in  my  opinion,  you 
ought,  for  many  reasons,  to  wish  for.  But  as  extremities  of 
every  kind  are  to  be  feared,  it  is  your  duty  to  resolve  at 
once,  what  you  owe  to  Christ ;  lest  in  suppressing  an  inge- 
nuous profession  of  the  truth,  you  afford  unprincipled  men,  by 
your  silence,  a  patronage  for  its  destruction.  In  order  to 
restrain  their  violence,  I  have  again  summed  up,  in  a  short 
compendium,  the  chief  points  of  doctrine.  All  the  Helvetic 
churches  have  subscribed  it.  The  church  of  Zurich  ap- 
proved of  it  most  decidedly.  I  now  anxiously  expect  your 
opinion,  and  I  wish  very  much  to  know  what  the  divines 
of  Germany  may  think  or  say  of  it.  But  if  those  who 
traduce  us  with  such  hostility  do  not  desist  from  their  disor- 
derly conduct,  we  will  endeavour  to  make  the  world  hear 
our  complaints.  Farewell,  most  excellent  man,  always  re- 
spected by  me  above  others.  May  the  Lord  govern  you 
with  his  Spirit,  protect  you  with  his  hand,  and  sustain  you 
with  strength ;  and  may  he  hold  us  in  a  holy  union  until  he 
brings  us  together  in  his  heavenly  kingdom. 

JOHN  CALVIN. 
March  5, 1555. 


OF     CALVIN. 


309 


LETTER  XXIL— CALVIN  TO  MARTYR,  salutkm  dicit. 

What  I  promised  to  write,  concerning  the  secret  commu- 
nication which  we  have  with  Christ,  I  shall  not  perform  so 
fully  as  you  expected.  Although  the  subject  is  of  great  im- 
portance, yet  I  think  it  may  be  sufficiently  defined  between 
you  and  myself  in  a  few  words.  Of  that  communication 
which  the  Son  of  God  hath  with  our  nature,  by  assuming 
our  flesh  that  be  might  become  our  brother,  I  shall  say  no- 
thing. But  I  shall  treat  of  that  which  emanates  from  his 
divine  power,  and  communicates  life  to  us,  so  that  we  are 
made  to  grow  together  into  one  body  with  him.  At  the 
same  time  that  we  receive  Christ  by  faith,  as  he  offers  him- 
self in  the  gospel,  we  are  made  truly  members  of  him,  and 
life  flows  unto  us  from  him  as  a  capite,  from  the  head.  In 
no  other  way  does  he  reconcile  us  to  God,  by  the  sacrifice 
of  his  death,  but  as  he  is  ours,  and  we  are  one  with  him. 
So  I  interpret  the  passage  of  Paul,  where  he  says,  the  faith- 
ful are  called  into  his  xowmviav,  fellowship.  1  Cor.  i.  9. 
Nor  does  the  word  fellowship,  or  partnership,  appear  to  me 
sufficiendy  to  express  his  mind.  He  would  designate  that 
sacred  oneness  by  which  the  Son  of  God  would  engraft  us 
into  his  body,  that  he  might  make  us  partakers  of  his  fulness. 
We  so  draw  life  from  his  flesh  and  blood,  that  we  may,  with 
propriety,  call  them  our  food.  How  that  is  done,  I  confess, 
is  very  far  above  the  comprehension  of  ray  understanding. 
I  rather  humbly  admire,  than  labour  to  comprehend  this  | 
mystery.  But  this  I  confess,  that  by  the  divine  power  of 
the  Spirit,  life  is  poured  from  heaven  upon  the  earth.  For 
the  flesh  of  Christ  does  not  give  life  of  itself,  nor  would  its 
efficacy  reach  us,  but  by  the  incomprehensible  operation,  of 
the  Spirit.  It  is  the  work  of  the  Spirit,  that  Christ  dwells 
in  us,  supports  and  nourishes  us,  and  performs  all  the  func- 
tions of  a  head.  I  preclude  in  this  way  all  approach  to  the 
gross  inventions  about  the  intermixture  of  substances.     It  is 


310  CORRESPONDENCE 

sufficient  for  me,  that  while  the  body  of  Christ  remains  in 
celestial  glory,  life  flows  from  him  to  us,  as  the  root  trans- 
mits the  nourishment  to  the  branches.  Many  of  the  ancient 
fathers,  especially  Hilary  and  Cyril,  I  perceive,  were  carried 
away  much  too  far.  I  do  not  so  exactly  follow  their  hyper- 
boles, but  that  I  will  always  ingenuously  oppose  myself  to 
their  authority,  when  it  is  made  to  patronize  error.  While 
they  contend  that  Christ  is  consubstantial,  ofioovaoovj  with 
the  Father,  because  it  is  written,  /  and  the  father  are  one; 
the  Arians  retort,  what  is  presently  added,  that  they  also 
may  be  one  in  us.  Thus  are  they  taken  in  their  own  igno- 
rance, and  they  have  recourse  to  this  miserable  subterfuge, 
that  we  are  of  the  same  essence  with  Christ.  This  being 
confessed,  they  were  of  necessity  involved  in  many  other 
absurdities.  But  that  these  new  fabricators  may  not  produce 
against  us  the  authority  of  the  fathers,  it  will  be  sufficient 
for  me  to  say  that  I  do  subscribe  to  them,  that  I  may  not 
willingly  draw  them  into  the  controversy. 

I  now  come  to  the  second  communication,  which  I  con- 
sider as  the  effect  and  fruit  of  the  former.  For  after  Christ, 
by  the  internal  operation  of  the  Spirit,  has  subdued  and 
united  us  to  himself  in  his  body,  he  continues  to  us  a  second 
operation  of  the  Spirit,  by  which  he  enriches  us  with  his 
gifts.  If,  therefore,  we  are  strong  in  hope  and  patience,  if 
we  soberly  and  temperately  abstain  from  the  enticements  of 
this  world,  if  we  earnestly  endeavour  to  conquer  the  lusts  of 
the  flesh,  if  our  zeal  for  righteousness  and  piety  strengthens, 
if  we  are  delighted  and  elevated  with  the  meditation  of  a 
future  life  ;  this,  I  say,  proceeds  from  that  second  communi- 
cation, by  which  Christ,  who  does  not  idly  dwell  in  us, 
proves  the  efficacy  of  his  Spirit  in  manifest  gifts.  Nor  is  it 
absurd  that  Christ,  when  we  are  united  to  his  body,  should 
communicate  to  us  his  Spirit,  by  whose  secret  operation  he 
was  first  made  ours;  since  the  Scripture  often  attributes 
both  these  effects  to  his  agency.  But  although  the  faithful 
come  to  this  communion  at" the  very  time  of  their  vocation ; 


OF     CALVlN.  311 

yet  in  as  much  as  the  life  of  Christ  increases  in  them,  he 
daily  offers  himself  to  be  enjoyed  by  them.  This  is  the 
communication  which  they  receive  in  the  Lord's  Supper.  I 
should  explain  this  more  fully  to  any  one,  whom  I  wished 
to  instruct ;  but  to  you  I  have  summed  it  up  briefly,  merely 
that  you  might  see  that  we  are  of  the  same  opinion.  Fare- 
well, most  distinguished  man,  always  respected  by  me  in 
the  Lord.  Salute  Sturmius,  Zanchus  and  other  friends  affec- 
tionately. May  the  Lord  always  guard  you,  guide  you  by 
his  Spirit,  and  follow  you  with  his  blessing. 

JOHN  CALVIN. 

Geneva,  August  8, 1555. 


LETTER  XXIII.— CALVIN  TO  MELANCTHON. 

Most  distinguished  man, — You  indeed  observe,  with  cor- 
rectness and  sagacity,  that  the  only  object  of  our  adversaries 
is  to  exhibit  themselves  to  the  public.  But,  however,  I 
hope,  and  it  is  credible,  that  their  expectation  will  be  greatly 
disappointed.  Should  they  still  bear  off  the  applause  of  the 
whole  world,  we  must  be  more  anxiously  diligent  to  seek 
the  approbation  of  our  heavenly  Judge,  under  whose  eyes 
we  contend.  What  ?  Will  the  holy  assembly  of  angels, 
who  excite  us  by  their  presence,  and  point  out  the  way  of 
strenuous  exertion  by  their  example,  permit  us  to  be  sloth- 
ful, or  move  with  a  delaying  step  ?  What  the  whole  com- 
pany of  the  holy  fathers  ?  Will  they  not  stimulate  us  to 
exertion?  What,  moreover,  the  church  of  God,  now  in  the 
world  ?  When  we  know  that  she  is  fighting  for  us  by  her 
prayers,  and  is  animated  by  our  example,  will  her  assistance 
avail  nothing  with  us  ?  Let  these  be  my  spectators,  I  will  be 
contented  with  their  approbation.  Though  the  whole  world 
should  hiss  me,  my  courage  shall  not  fail.  Far  be  it  from 
me  to  envy  these  flashy  and  boisterous  men  the  glory  of  a 
laurel,  in  some  obscure  corner,  for  a  short  time.  I  am  not 
ignorant  of  what  the  world  applaud  as  praise-worthy,  or 


312  CORRESPONDENCE 

condemn  as  odious.  But  it  is  the  whole  of  my  concern,  to 
follow  the  rule  prescribed  by  my  Master.  Nor  do  I  doubt 
but  that  this  ingenuousness  will,  on  the  whole,  be  more 
pleasing  to  the  pious  and  faithful,  than  that  soft  and  comply- 
ing method  of  instruction,  which  argues  an  empty  mind. 
The  obligation  which  you  acknowledge  yourself  under  to 
God  and  his  church,  I  beseech  you  to  discharge  with  all 
diligence.  I  do  not  insist  upon  this,  for  the  purpose  of  free- 
ing myself,  and  loading  you  with  a  great  part  of  their  hatred. 
By  no  means.  I  would  rather,  if  it  could  be,  from  my  love 
and  respect  for  you,  receive  on  my  own  shoulders  whatever 
load  may  already  oppress  you.  It  is  your  duty  to  consider, 
although  1  did  not  admonish  you,  that  you  will  with  diffi- 
culty discharge  that  obligation,  unless  you  promptly  deli- 
ver from  hesitation  those  pious  men,  who  are  looking  up  to 
you  for  instruction.  Moreover,  if  that  proud  and  blustering 
man,  on  the  banks  of  the  Danube,  does  not  arouse  you  to 
exertion,  all  will  justly  accuse  you  of  sloth  and  indifference. 
Farewell,  most  excellent  and  sincerely  respected  man.  May 
Christ,  the  faithful  Shepherd  of  his  people,  be  always  present, 
guide  and  defend  you.  Amen.  Salute  Camerarius,  and 
other  friends  at  Wiltemberg,  in  my  name. 

JOHN  CALVIN. 

Geneva,  August  22, 1555. 


LETTER  XXIV.— CALVIN  TO  BULLINGER,  S.  D. 

It  is  known  that  unfavourable  rumours  are  industriously 
propagated  about  us,  by  the  artifice  of  those,  who  wish  to 
screen  themselves  by  rendering  us  every  where  odious.  On 
this  account,  you  will  render  us  a  favour,  if  you  will  take 
care,  that  an  abridgment  of  what  I  now  write  be  stated  to 
your  most  illustrious  senate.  And  also,  if  it  will  not  be  too 
much  trouble,  I  wish  that  you  would  send  this  part  of  my 
letter  to  our  brethren,  the  ministers  of  the  church  of  Schaff- 
hausen,  that  they  may,  among  their  people,  exculpate  this 


OP     CALVIN.  313 

city   from  unfounded  calumnies.     The  whole  affair  stands 
thus : — 

In  the  senate  were  two  men,  wicked  and  malicious  to  the 
highest  pitch  of  impudence.  They  were  both  of  them  poor 
and  hungry.  One  is  called  Perrin,  the  other  Vandellius. 
The  former,  being  captain-general  of  the  city,  had,  by  pro- 
posing impunity  to  all  crimes,  conciliated  to  himself  the  very 
refuse  of  the  wicked.  When  any  crimes  were  committed 
by  the  obstinate,  the  lewd,  and  the  dissolute,  he  immediately 
patronized  them,  that  the  penalty  of  the  laws  should  not  be 
enforced.  The  other  was  his  faithful  coadjutor  in  all  these 
things.  They  bound  to.  their  purpose  a  part  of  the  senate 
by  their  flatteries.  They  afFrightened  into  submission  to 
them  some  sordid  creatures,  who  could  not  hold  their  office 
but  by  their  favour.  Their  family  connections  espoused 
their  cause,  merely  on  account  of  their  relationship.  In  this 
manner,  their  power  in  the  upper  senate  had  grown  so 
strong,  that  scarce  any  dared  lo  resist  their  inclinations.  In 
fact,  for  several  years,  the  legal  decisions  have  been  entirely 
in  their  power;  and  their  scandalous  breaches  of  justice 
have  been  abundantly  manifest.  The  city  not  only  saw  this, 
but,  by  their  means,  we  were  evilly  reported  among  our 
neighbours,  and  among  foreigners.  Very  many  openly  op- 
posed them,  as  they  were  often  vexed  and  torn  to  pieces  by 
their  atrocious  improbities.  If  any  one,  however,  who  de- 
spised their  power,  exposed  their  crimes,  they  were  prompt 
to  take  their  revenge.  They  readily  passed  over  whatever 
was  said  by  their  equals.  By  the  continuance  of  these  things, 
many  contracted  habits  of  servitude  to  their  measures.  All 
the  edicts  lay  dead  upon  the  records.  No  one  who  was 
favoured  by  these  men  had  any  thing  to  fear  from  the  laws, 
or  from  siiame.  The  judges  and  the  prefect  of  the  city  were 
annually  chosen  entirely  by  their  will.  Their  outrage  was, 
however,  at  length  carried  to  such  an  excess,  that  the  people 
themselves,  after  having  elected,  by  their  suffrages,  I  know 
not  what  refuse,  the  very  basest  dregs,  became  alarmed  at 

27 


314  CORRESPONDENCE 

their  own  disgrace.  This  was  confessed  by  all  on  the  last 
year,  that  if  the  election  had  been  given  up  to  the  enemies  of 
the  city,  they  could  not  have  called  into  office,  from  the  mob 
itself,  men  more  disgraceful.  But  now,  as  formerly,  if  the 
upper  senate  transgress  their  will,  the  council  of  two  hun- 
dred are  in  the  habit  of  bringing  relief  to  their  crimes  and 
corruptions.  For  these  men  contrived  to  throw  into  this 
body  many  of  the  lowest  characters ;  some  of  whom  were 
turbulent  and  blustering  young  men,  and  others  were  base 
and  dissolute  in  their  manners.  And  lest  their  power  should 
fail  them,  disregarding  the  order  of  the  number,  they  forcibly 
introduced  into  the  multitude,  all  those  persons  whom  they 
supposed  to  be  devoted  to  their  interest.  This  licentiousness 
at  length  became  so  extensive,  that  certain  persons  obtruded 
themselves  into  the  senate,  without  any  election  by  that  body. 
This  was  the  faction  who,  seeing  the  judicatory  of  the  church 
opposed  to  them,  and  their  unbridled  impunity  in  all  crimes 
exposed,  excited  a  contest  with  us  concerning  excommuni- 
cation, that  they  might  destroy  the  last  remains  of  discipline. 
They  desisted  not  from  turning  every  thing  upside  down, 
till  with  great  difficulty  we  obtained,  that  at  least  advice 
should  be  asked  of  the  Helvetic  churches.  But  as  your  an- 
swer destroyed  the  hopes  and  purposes  of  the  wicked,  our 
condition  was,  from  that  circumstance,  a  little  more  quiet. 
Still,  however,  they  were  watching  for  new  opportunities,  and 
having  dismissed  all  shame,  they  attempted  to  break  down  all 
restraints.  But,  as,  it  was  troublesome  to  us  to  be  in  continual 
agitation,  we  ventured  to  importune  them  to  determine  some- 
thing that  might  be  depended  upon  as  an  established  order 
of  things.  In  this  thing  the  Lord  wonderfully  frustrated 
their  purposes.  For  in  the  promiscuous  suffrages  of  the  mul- 
titude, we  had  the  majority.  Soon  after  this,  the  assembly 
was  held  for  the  election  of  Syndics,  at  which  a  most  unex- 
pected change  of  public  opinion  appeared.  At  this  time, 
the  wicked  became  openly  outrageous,  for  they  saw  them- 
selves once  more  reduced  to  order.     They  now  rashly  un- 


OF     CALVIN.  315 

dertook  and  attempted  many  things,  to  destroy  the  govern- 
ment. We  were  satisfied  barely  to  restrain  or  defeat  their 
exertions  without  tumult.  But  as  it  was  no  secret,  that 
they  were  anxious,  beyond  measure,  for  a  revolution,  the 
senate  determined  to  oppose  the  best  defence  against  their 
licentious  rage.  Of  the  French,  who  had  resided  here  for 
a  long  time,  w^hose  probity  was  well  known,  a  number, 
perhaps  about  fifty,  were  admitted  to  the  right  of  citizen- 
ship. The  faction  perceived  how  much  stronger  this  addi- 
tion would  render  the  hands  of  the  good.  They  deter- 
mined, therefore,  to  leave  no  stone  unturned,  to  defeat  this 
counsel.  The  business  was  discussed  among  themselves  in 
the  streets,  and  the  wine  shops,  and  also  in  the  houses  of 
some  individuals.  When  they  had  drawn  over  certain  per- 
sons to  their  purpose,  they  began  to  rise  not  only  in  com- 
plaints, but  in  open  threats.  By  secret  collusion,  the  pre- 
fect of  the  city  was  induced,  with  a  large  but  base  and 
shameless  train,  to  enter  the  council-room,  and  denounce 
the  senate  if  they  proceeded.  A  great  part  of  this  mob 
was  made  up  of  sailors,  fishermen,  kitchen  servants,  butch- 
ers, vagrants,  and  persons  of  such  like  condition ;  as  if  the 
city  could  not  defend  its  rights  without  such  patriots.  The 
senate  answered,  in  a  dignified  manner,  that  they  had  at- 
tempted no  innovation;  but  had  proceeded  in  the  order 
sanctioned  by  the  most  ancient  usage  of  the  city ;  that  it 
was  an  insufierable  indignity,  to  endeavour  to  destroy  the 
ancient  customs,  to  force  from  the  order  of  citizens  those 
who  had  for  a  long  time  honourably  dwelt  among  them, 
and  finally,  to  attempt  to  wrest  from  the  senate  the  authority 
which  had,  from  the  remotest  antiquity,  been  committed  to 
their  hands.  But  as  the  senate  thought  best  to  proceed 
without  violence,  they  off'ered  pardon,  for  this  time,  to  the 
public  conspirators.  They  however  severely  reproved  the 
prefect,  for  using  his  influence  in  behalf  of  so  abandoned 
men,  in  so  unjust  a  cause.  The  senate,  at  the  same  time, 
decreed  to  convoke  the  council  of  two  hundred.     When 


316  CORRESPONDENCE 

they  were  assembled,  the  authority  of  the  upper  senate  was 
sanctioned;  and  it  was  determined,  that  they  might  hence- 
forward admit  as  citizens  such  of  the  French  residents  as 
they  should  judge  proper.  But  before  the  lower  senate 
had  decreed  this  last  clause,  the  violent  fury  of  these  fel- 
lows burst  forth  in  such  a  manner  as  to  prove,  that  they 
were  determined  to  cast  themselves  headlong,  into  all  ex- 
tremities, as  in  a  desperate  case.  It  was  now  the  city  was 
almost  brought  to  a  general  slaughter,  in  a  nocturnal  tumult. 
The  day  before  that  on  which  it  happened,  a  dinner,  free  of 
expense,  was  given  to  many  of  those  unprincipled  men. 
The  leaders,  however,  feasted  in  a  different  place.  Van- 
dellius  bore  the  expense  of  the  dinner,  and  Perrin  of  the 
supper.  Their  runners  were  flying  about  in  all  directions. 
Many  unfavourable  omens  were  observed.  The  steady  in- 
habitants were,  not  without  cause,  concerned  for  them- 
selves. It  is  the  custom  in  this  city,  after  the  watches  are 
stationed  at  the  gates,  that  the  captain  of  the  watch  goes 
the  round  to  examine  the  sentries.  Each  senator  performs 
this  office  in  his  turn.  The  watch  of  this  night  being  sta- 
tioned in  the  centre  of  the  city,  they  heard  an  outcry  at  a 
small  distance.  In  that  quarter,  behind  the  merchants'  shops, 
some  one  being  struck  with  a  stone,  cried  out  that  he  was 
killed.  The  watch  ran  together  instantly  to  discharge  their 
duty.  Two  brothers  encountered  them,  who  were  of  the 
company  of  Perrin  and  Vandellius  ;  men  of  the  lowest 
class,  being  butchers,  who  had  supped  on  free  cost  at  the 
same  table.  From  this  circumstance  it  became  evident, 
that  this  outcry  was  made  by  agreement,  otherwise  two 
men  only  would  not  have  dared  to  attack  the  watch  who 
were  armed.  They  both  indeed  confessed  this  to  be  the 
fact,  to  the  judges,  and  to  many  others,  and  to  me  also  in 
private.  But  yet,  when  they  were  taken  to  punishment, 
they  denied  that  this  outcry  was  made  as  the  signal  for  a 
mob.  They  were  however  convicted,  by  so  many  proofs, 
that  their  impudence  was  of  no  avail.     They  did  not  at  all 


OF     CALVIN.  317 

deny,  that  on  the  same  day,  between  the  dinner  and  supper, 
they  accompanied  Perrin,  of  their  own  accord,  to  a  neigh- 
bouring village ;  that  while  they  were  on  their  way  there, 
mention  was  made  of  five  hundred  armed  men,  who  were 
to  be  called  from  some  other  place,  to  guard  the  city ;  that 
when  the  same  subject  was  introduced  at  the  afternoon's 
xepast,  Perrin,  when  the  mechanics  came  in,  repressed  the 
conversation,  commanding  silence,  schwick,  schwick,  in 
German ;  and  that  as  this  village  was  without  the  jurisdic- 
tion of  Geneva,  he  said  that  an  asylum  and  support  were 
there  prepared  for  any  who  should  commit  any  capital  crime 
in  the  city. 

Upon  the  apprehension  of  those  two  men,  (the  tumult  in- 
creasing) one  of  the  Syndics,  who  lived  near  the  place,  ap- 
peared with  lighted  torches,  and  the  staff  which  was  the 
badge  of  his  office.  The  reverence  of  this  people  was 
always  so  great  for  this  sacred  staff,  that  by  its  appearance 
the  greatest  mobs  were  dispersed,  and  when  slaughter  was 
threatened,  the  violence  was  restrained  by  its  influence. 
One  of  these  brothers,  with  a  drawn  sword,  encountered 
the  Syndic.  The  Syndic,  relying  on  the  badge  of  his 
authority,  seized  him,  that  he  might  commit  him  to  prison. 
Many  of  the  factious  flew  to  his  assistance.  Every  light 
was  extinquished.  They  declared,  that  they  would  not 
suffer  their  good  companion  to  be  carried  to  prison.  Perrin 
came  at  this  moment.  He  at  first  dissembled  attempts  to 
pacify  them,  and  seized  the  staff  of  the  Syndic,  whispering 
in  his  ear,  it  is  mine  and  not  yours.  The  Syndic,  though 
a  man  of  small  stature,  would  not  give  it  up,  but  struggled 
boldly,  and  with  all  his  strength.  While  these  things  were 
going  on,  a  clamour  was  raised  in  every  direction,  through 
all  the  streets  of  the  city,  as  it  would  seem,  in  a  moment ; 
the  French  are  in  arms — the  city  is  betrayed  by  treachery-^ 
the  house  of  the  senator,  the  prefect  of  the  watch  is  filled 
with  armed  men, — It  was  thus  these  emissaries  tumultu- 
ously  assembled  those  whom  they  knew  to  be  on  their  side, 
27* 


318  CORRESPONDENCE 

Perrin,  as  soon  as  he  believed  his  band  sufficiently  strong, 
began  to  vociferate,  the  Synidical  staff  is  ours-— for  I  hold 
it.  This  was  not  answered  by  a  single  testimony  of  ap- 
plause, although  he  was  surrounded  by  the  conspirators. 
Thus  it  is  evident,  that  they  were  restrained  by  some  provi- 
dential influence.  Confounded  with  shame,  and  equally 
terrified,  Perrin  by  degrees  recovered  himself.  But  falling 
upon  another  Syndic,  a  kinsman  of  his  by  marriage,  he 
forcibly  seized  his  staff.  He  complained  that  the  rights  of 
the  city  were  violated  in  the  attack  made  upon  him,  and 
called  for  assistance.  As  the  mob  had  the  superiority  in 
arms,  no  one  raised  a  finger,  or  moved  a  step,  at  the  Syn- 
dic's complaint.  But  a  certain  reverence  again  prevented 
the  vilest  from  applauding  this  act  of  Perrin.  At  length, 
forced  by  fear,  he  privately  returned  the  staff.  At  this 
time,  many  of  the  conspirators  were  in  arms.  One  voice 
resounded  every  where — the  French  must  be  killed — they 
have  betrayed  the  city.  But  the  Lord  watched  over  these 
unhappy  exiles,  and  so  held  them  in  sleep  that  they  heard 
none  of  these  horrid  outcries ;  or  so  supported  them  that 
they  did  not  fear  the  threatened  danger.  None  of  them  left 
their  houses.  And  thus,  by  the  interposition  of  God,  the 
purpose  of  the  wicked  was  defeated,  as  no  one  offered  him- 
self to  the  combat.  For  they  had  determined,  as  was  after- 
wards well  known,  if  any  attacked  them,  to  defend  them- 
selves ;  that  some  being  slain,  they  would  proceed  in  battle 
array  against  others,  as  if  the  sedition  had  been  raised 
by  us.  They  not  only  threatened  those  who  had  taken 
up  their  residence  here,  but  they  exclaimed,  that  their 
patrons  also  should  be  slain,  and  that  punishment  should 
be  inflicted  upon  the  senate.  In  this  affair,  you  may  see 
the  clemency  of  our  senate,  who,  when  the  authors  of  this 
nefarious  uproar  were  apprehended  and  convicted,  not  only 
spared  their  lives,  but  abstained  even  from  moderate  chas- 
tisements, so  that  they  were  not  indeed  corrected  by  whip- 
ping.    The  Syndics,  having  ordered  the  senate  to  be  con- 


OF     CALVIN.  319 

voked,  ran  quickly  from  one  part  of  the  city  to  the  other. 
The  Nvicked,  however,  relying  upon  their  multitude,  not 
only  to  elude  and  despise  their  authority,  but  also  to 
abuse  them  with  insults,  left  very  small  hopes  of  a  re- 
medy. However,  by  divine  interference,  beyond  all  our 
expectations,  the  violence  of  the  tempest  began  to  moderate 
by  degrees.  The  next  day  it  was  decreed,  that  inquiry 
should  be  made  concerning  the  public  violence.  The  Syn- 
dics took  up  three  days  in  examining  the  witnesses.  That 
no  one  should  say,  he  was  pressed  to  a  false  testimony, 
they  assembled  the  council  of  two  hundred ;  and  while  the 
testimonies  were  recited,  the  conspirators  themselves  sat 
among  the  judges.  As  it  appeared  that  any  one  was  con- 
cerned in  the  crime,  or  laboured  under  unfavourable  suspi- 
cions, he  was  ordered  to  leave  the  senate  room,  as  he  could 
not  with  integrity  give  his  opinion.  But  Perrin,  seeing  his 
wickedness  would  be  detected,  with  three  others,  made  his 
escape  by  flight.  The  lower  senate,  justly  exasperated  at 
the  indignity  of  this  outrage  upon  good  order,  decreed  that 
the  crime  of  this  conspiracy  ought  to  be  severely  punished. 
They  exhorted  the  upper  senate,  who  have  the  power  of 
passing  sentence,  strenuously  to  exact  exemplary  punish- 
ment. The  fugitives  were  summoned  by  the  principal 
sheriff,  and  then  by  a  public  crier,  according  to  custom; 
and  this  was  done  by  the  sound  of  trumpet  for  fifteen  days. 
By  their  letters,  they  declared  that  they  would  not  appear, 
unless  the  public  faith  was  pledged  for  their  security.  But 
it  would  have  been  very  absurd,  to  absolve,  by  a  law  as 
privileged  persons,  those  criminals  who  ought  to  defend  their 
cause  in  chains.  On  the  appointed  day,  five  were  con- 
demned. But  before  the  judges  pronounced  sentence,  they 
recited,  in  a  public  assembly,  the  crimes  of  those  whom 
they  were  obliged  to  hold  convicted,  since  they  refused, 
when  summoned,  to  appear  and  defend  their  innocence 
upon  trial.  Then  they  produced  the  confession  of  those, 
who  were  punished,  and  who  are  still  in  prison.     It  is  very 


320  CORRESPONDENCE 

evident,  that  they  are  too  dangerous  and  too  wicked,  to  be 
permitted  to  escape  by  any  subterfuge.  Yet  they  are 
shameless  enough  to  persist  in  spreading  opprobrious  re- 
ports ;  that  they  are  oppressed  by  unjust  hatred ;  that  they 
defended  the  rights  of  the  city  against  the  French;  and 
that  the  senate  was  devoted  to  the  French.  As  if  the  coun- 
cil of  two  hundred,  by  whose  previous  judgment  they  were 
sentenced,  were  not  the  people.  As  if  they  were  driven 
from  the  city  by  force  of  arras.  As  if  the  people,  believing 
them  to  be  the  patrons  of  their  liberties,  would  quietly  per- 
mit them  to  be  oppressed  with  such  severe  injuries.  But  so 
true  is  it,  on  the  other  hand,  that  by  their  flight,  all  the 
tumults  were  composed ;  the  cloudy  and  tempestuous  atmos- 
phere, which  they  had  drawn  over  the  city,  was  dispersed ; 
the  laws  resumed  their  force,  and  tranquillity  was  restored  to 
the  people.  Those  persons  who  came  to  entreat  for  them, 
at  their  request,  saw  most  evidently,  that  the  city  was  no 
longer  divided  by  discord,  nor  disturbed  by  contentions;  and 
that  the  punishment  decreed  against  them  was  approved  by 
the  deliberate  opinion  of  all.  Possessed  of  the  most  con- 
summate impudence,  they  not  only  extenuate  the  crimes 
which  they  have  admitted,  but  with  futile  cavils,  boast  that 
those  crimes  were  made  up  out  of  nothing.  It  is  by  no 
means  difficult  to  confute  these  assertions.  They  declare 
it  is  not  probable,  that  when  they  had  a  large  mob  under 
their  power,  they  should  rush  to  arms  without  a  strong 
guard.  As  if  it  was  a  rare  and  unfrequent  example,  that 
the  wicked  are  blinded,  and  thrown  headlong  by  their 
madness.  And  certainly,  whatever  they  may  pretend,  it 
was  manifest  madness  that  drove  one  in  a  back  yard,  to 
knock  down  a  man  with  the  stroke  of  a  stone,  from  whence 
the  outcry  began.  The  same  infatuation  also  induced  the 
two  brothers  to  make  an  attack  upon  the  watch,  who  were 
armed  with  drawn  swords.  And,  moreover,  that  they  should 
petulantly  contemn  and  mock  the  authority  of  the  syndics,  to 
disobey  whom  was  always  a  capital  crime,  is  an  evident 


OF     CALVIN.  321 

proof,  not  merely  of  sudden  fury,  but  of  audaciousness  be- 
fore conceived,  and  among  themselves  long  determined  upon. 
Whence  originated  this  unanimous  outcry  among  them  all, 
that  the  city  was  betrayed  by  the  French,  unless  they  had 
conspired  together  for  this  very  purpose?  Unless  they  had, 
by  special  agreement,  given  out  this  watch-word,  how  could 
it  be  that  in  the  most  distant  parts  of  the  city,  this  outcry, 
made  up  of  nothing,  should  be  joined  in  at  the  same  mo- 
ment ?  How  came  it  to  pass,  that  the  wife  of  that  same 
Vandellius  ran  to  the  doors  of  all  those  whom  she  supposed 
to  be  of  their  party,  accusing  the  French  of  treason?  But 
this  is  what  one  of  Perrin's  followers  confessed,  who  was 
more  intimate  with  him  than  any  one  else,  that  those  two 
leaders  of  sedition,  four  or  five  days  before,  conversed  about 
it  between  themselves.  "  Why,"  said  Perrin,  *'  do  we  re- 
main idle,  when  we  shall  shortly  be  punished  for  our  cow- 
ardice ?  It  is  now  three  years  since  the  enemies  have  con- 
spired together  to  effect  our  ruin.  They  placed  me  first  on 
the  list.  W^e  must,  therefore,  be  hand  in  hand  with  them. 
A  specious  pretext  is  now  offered  us.  We  will  say  that  it 
is  not  for  the  interest  of  the  republic  to  grant  to  so  many 
rights  of  citizenship.  We  shall  obtain  nothing  from  the  up- 
per senate  or  the  two  hundred.  We  will  appeal  to  the  peO' 
pie,  Ad  populum  provocabimus.  The  multitude  will  unite 
with  us  against  the  will  of  the  syndics.  We  will  suborn  the 
men  of  our  party,  to  raise  a  tumult.  There  will  be  no  diffi- 
culty in  taking  ofT  our  enemies  ;  only  let  us  be  daring,  and 
the  victory  is  ours."  This  intimate  of  Perrin,  who  is  al- 
most the  very  shadow  of  the  man,  repeated  this  testimony 
four  times. 

Let  those  men  deny  that  they  were  justly  condemned,  who 
proposed  to  butcher  in  the  midst  of  the  assembly  of  the  peo- 
ple, and  in  the  holy  place,  two  of  the  syndics,  some  of  the 
senators,  and  some  of  the  most  worthy  and  innocent  of  the 
citizens.    I  say  nothing  of  myself,  as  they  take  it  for  granted 


322  CORRESPONDENCE 

that  I  am  their  enemy.  What  Perrin  said,  about  my  con- 
spiring their  ruin,  is  not  worthy  of  an  answer. 

The  senate  have  not  as  yet  pronounced  sentence  against 
VandeUius.  But  his  guilty  conscience  has  driven  him  from 
the  city.  From  these  facts  it  will^  be  manifest,  that  in  this 
great  tumult,  the  same  moderation  has  been  regarded,  as  is 
usual  in  the  most  quiet  state  of  affairs ;  and  that  nothing 
has  been  done  against  those  wicked  men,  either  artfully  or 
without  due  consideration.  If  you  were  here,  you  would 
say,  that  our  senate  have  proceeded  with  too  much  forbear- 
ance and  remissness.  But  it  is  better  to  err  on  this  side 
than  on  the  other,  lest  any  one  absurdly  complain,  that  it 
was  cruel,  and  done  in  the  heat  of  passion.  God  grant  that 
the  remembrance  of  so  great  a  deliverance  may  awaken  us  to 
unremitting  gratitude,  and  bind  us  with  diligent  assiduity 
to  the  duties  of  our  office.  When  I  began  to  write  this  let- 
ter, I  had  no  expectation  of  its  being  carried  by  our  brother 
Othoman.  For  although  he  had  spoken  of  his  journey,  he 
was  then  uncertain  whether  he  should  go  directly  to  Zurich, 
and  I  had  determined  to  procure  another  messenger.  It  hap- 
pens Avell,  and  affords  me  much  pleasure,  as  he  will  be  able 
to  explain  more  fully  any  circumstance  which  I  may  have 
expressed  with  too  much  obscurity,  from  endeavouring  to  be 
concise.  You  have  twice  exhorted  me  to  patience  in  my  sta- 
tion ;  but  I  think  I  have  borne  very  patiently  so  many  indig- 
nities, and  passed  them  in  silence,  that  while  I  restrained  my 
passions,  I  appeared  to  be  wanting  in  resolution.  I  wish 
by  my  silence,  and  apparent  indifference,  I  could  have  paci- 
fied those  who  do  not  cease  to  hate  me,  nor  to  rage  against 
all  our  good  citizens.  But  although  they  are  the  more  en- 
raged on  account  of  my  moderation,  I  am*  determined  to  pur- 
sue one  steady  course.     I  am  happy  to  hear  that  N 

has  obtained  an  office  in  which  he  may  be  useful.  May 
the  Lord  grant  him  grace  to  discharge  its  duties  with  faith- 
fulness. Salute,  in  my  name,  your  fellow  ministers,  your 
wife  and  family.     Farewell,  illustrious  man  and  respected 


OF     CALVIN.  323 

brother.    May  the  Lord  continue  to  direct  you  by  his  Spirit, 
and  bless  your  labours.  Yours, 

JOHN  CALVIN. 
Geneva,  June  15,  1555. 


LETTER  XXV.— JOHN  CALVIN  TO  SIR  WILLIAM  CECIL, 

SECRETARY  TO  TlfE  QUEEN  OF  ENGLAND. 

For  writing  to  you  familiarly,  most  accomplished  man,  I 
shall  not  make  a  long  apology,  although  I  am  personally  un- 
known to  you.  Relying  on  the  testimony  of  some  pious  per- 
sons, who  have  declared  to  me  your  generosity  of  heart,  I 
trust  that  you  will  be  disposed  to  receive  my  letter  with  plea- 
sure ;  especially  when  you  shall  discover  from  the  perusal 
my  intention  in  writing.  Since  the  awful  darkness  which 
had  almost  stupified  the  minds  of  pious  men  is  dispersed, 
and  the  clear  light  has  suddenly  shone  forth  beyond  all  hope, 
it  is  reported  that  you,  possessing  distinguished  favour  with 
her  majesty  the  queen,  have  endeavoured  diligently  to  re- 
move the  profligate  superstitions  of  Popery,  which  had  ac- 
cumulated through  four  years  in  England,"^  so  that  the  sin- 
cere doctrines  of  the  gospel,  and  the  pure  and  entire  worship 
of  God,  again  flourish.  I  have  now  therefore  to  exhort  you 
freely  and  openly  to  commence  your  warfare  for  Christ. 
This  one  thing  however  remains,  that  what  you  do,  you 
should  proceed  to  do  with  the  greatest  activity  and  most  in- 
vincible constancy.     Your  holy  labours  should  neither  be 


*  This  period  embraces  the  persecuting  reign  of  queen  Mary, 
who  succeeded  Edward  VI.  October,  1553,  and  died  November, 
1558.  Cecil  was  first  promoted  by  the  duke  of  Somerset,  and  be- 
came a  distinguished  lawyer ;  and  by  his  moderate  and  temporiz- 
ing conduct,  during  Mary's  bloody  reign,  he  escaped  punishment, 
and  continued  in  England,  till,  on  the  accession  of  Elizabeth,  he 
was  made  secretary  of  state. 


324  CORRESPONDENCE 

broken  by  any  troubles,  difficulties,  contests  or  terrors,  nor 
even  in  the  least  degree  retarded.  I  doubt  not,  indeed,  but 
that  obstacles  sometimes  encounter  you ;  and  that  dangers 
rise  full  before  your  eyes,  which  would  dishearten  the  most 
resolute,  unless  God  should  sustain  them  by  the  most  won- 
derful power  of  his  Spirit.  This  is  the  cause,  for  the  defence 
of  which  it  is  not  lawful  for  us  to  decline  the  most  arduous 
labours.  During  the  time  that  the  public  place  of  execution 
was  appropriated  for  burning  the  children  of  God,  you  your- 
self remained  silent  among  others.  At  least  then,  since 
greater  liberty  is  restored  by  the  singular  and  incredible  fa- 
vour of  God,  it  becomes  you  to  take  courage ;  and  if  you 
was,  during  that  period,  too  timid,  you  may  now  compensate 
that  loss  by  the  ardour  of  your  zeal.  I  know  very  well  that 
a  preposterous  haste  is  injurious;  and  that  many  retard  their 
progress  by  an  inconsiderate  and  precipitate  zeal,  with  which 
they  would  leap  in  a  moment  to  the  end  of  their  race.  But 
on  the  other  hand,  it  is  faithfully  to  be  considered,  that  to 
maintain  the  whole  truth  and  pure  devotion  of  the  gospel,  is 
the  work  which  God  assigns  us,  and  which  must  not  be 
slothfully  undertaken.  From  the  present  state  of  things,  you 
are  better  able  to  judge,  what  steps  are  proper  to  be  pursued, 
and  what  degree  of  moderation  is  to  be  exercised.  But  you 
will  remember,  that  all  delay,  with  however  specious  colours 
it  may  be  covered,  ought  to  excite  your  suspicion.  One  fear, 
I  conjecture,  is  from  popular  tumults,  since  among  the  no- 
bles there  are  many  who  would  kindle  up  the  fire  of  sedition  ; 
and  if  the  English  become  tumultuous  among  themselves, 
their  neighbours  are  at  hand,  who  anxiously  watch  for  what- 
ever opportunity  may  offer  for  their  purpose.  But  as  her 
most  serene  majesty  has  been  wonderfully  raised  to  the 
throne,  by  the  hand  of  God,  she  cannot  otherwise  prove  her 
gratitude,  than  by  shaking  off  all  delays  by  her  prompt  alac- 
rity, and  surmounting  all  impediments  by  her  magnanimity. 
Since  it  can  hardly  be  otherwise,  but  that,  in  the  present  tur- 
bulent and  confused  state  of  things,  her  attention  should  be 


OF     CALVIN.  325 

suspended  among  important  affairs,  her  mind  perplexed  and 
sometimes  wavering ;  I  have  ventured  to  exhort  her,  that, 
having  entered  the  right  course,  she  should  persevere  with 
constancy.  Whether  I  have  done  this  prudently  or  not,  let 
others  judge.  If,  by  your  endeavours,  my  admonition  pro- 
duces the  desired  effect,  I  shall  not  repent  of  having  given 
her  that  counsel.  Consider  also,  most  illustrious  sir,  that 
God  has  placed  you  in  that  degree  of  favour  and  dignity 
which  you  hold,  that  you  might  be  wholly  attentive  to  this 
concern,  and  stretch  every  nerve  to  the  accomplishment  of 
this  work.  And  lest  slothfulness  by  any  means  creep  upon 
you,  let  it  now  and  then  come  into  your  mind  of  what  great 
moment  are  these  two  things :  First,  in  what  manner  that 
religion,  which  was  miserably  fallen  away ;  that  doctrine  of 
salvation,  which  was  adulterated  by  abominable  falsehoods  ; 
that  worship  of  God,  which  was  polluted  with  defilements, 
may  recover  their  lustre,  and  the  Church  be  cleansed  from 
this  abomination?  Secondly,  how  the  children  of  God 
among  you  may  be  free  to  invoke  his  name  in  sincerity ; 
and  how  those  who  are  dispersed  may  be  again  collected  ? 
Farewell,  most  excellent  man,  sincerely  respected  by  me. 
May  the  Lord  guide  you  by  his  Spirit,  protect  and  enrich 
you  with  all  good  gifts.  JOHN  CALVIN. 

Geneva,  January  29,  1559. 


LETTER  XXVI— CALVIN  TO  OLEVIANUS  * 

As  it  may  perhaps  be  of  some  assistance  to  you,  I  will 


*  Gaspar  Olevianus,  of  Treves,  first  studied  jurisprudence ;  but 
in  attempting  to  save  from  drowning  some  rash  young  men,  who 
had  upset  their  boat,  he  fell  into  extreme  danger,  and  made  a  vow, 
that  if  God  would  deliver  him,  he  would,  if  called  to  it,  preach  the 
gospel.  He  escaped,  and  began  first  to  read  the  Commentaries 
of  Calvin ;  he  then  went  to  Geneva,  and  studied  theology  under 

28 


326  CORRESPONDENCE 

give  you  a  summary  of  our  mode  of  government  in  this 
church. 

1.  The  ministers  are  chosen  from  our  college.  A  passage 
of  Scripture  is  given  them,  by  the  interpretation  of  which 
they  exhibit  a  specimen  of  their  abilities  ;  then  an  examina- 
tion is  held  upon  the  principal  heads  of  doctrine  ;  after  this 
they  preach  before  us,  as  though  they  were  in  the  presence 
of  the  people.  Two  senators  are  also  present.  If  their  quali- 
fieations  are  approved,  we  present  them  to  the  senate  with 
the  testimony.  It  is  in  the  power  of  this  body  not  to  admit 
them,  if  they  judge  them  to  be  unqualified.  If  they  are  re- 
ceived, (as  they  have  been  always  hitherto,)  their  names  are 
published  coram  populo,  in  presence  of  the  people;  and  any 
one  who  knows  any  thing  against  them  is  at  liberty  to  ob- 
ject to  them  within  eight  days.  Those  who  are  approved 
by  the  tacit  suffrages  of  all,  we  recommend  to  God  and  to 
the  church. 

2.  We  baptize  infants  only  at  public  meetings ;  because 
it  is  absurd  that  this  solemn  reception  of  them  by  the  church, 
should  have  only  a  few  witnesses.  The  parents,  unless  some- 
thing prevents,  are  directed  to  be  present,  that  they  may  an- 
swer in  the  covenant  together  with  the  fdej us soribus,  sure- 
ties,* No  one,  however,  is  admitted  as  a  surety,  unless  of 
the  same  religious  profession  with  us.  Excommunicated 
persons  are  also  prohibited  this  honour. 

3.  No  one  is  admitted  to  the  holy  supper  of  Christ,  be- 


the  instruction  of  that  eminent  divine.  In  1560,  he  was  professor 
at  Heidleberg,  in  the  University  of  Wisdom,  from  which  place  he 
wrote  to  Calvin  for  the  laws  of  the  Genevese  Consistory.  The 
above  letter  is  the  answer  of  Calvin.  Olevianus  died  minister  of 
Herborn  in  Germany,  1587,  aged  57.  Melehior  Adams,  in  Vita 
Oleviani,  p.  596. 

*  St.  Augustine,  who  died  A.  D.  430,  says  that  this  custom  was 
adopted  in  the  church,  on  account  of  infant  slaves  presented  by 
their  masters ;  of  infants  whose  parents  were  dead ;  and  of  those 


OF     CALVIN.  327 

fore  making  a  public  profession  of  his  faith.  For  this  pur- 
pose, we  have  annually  four  examinations,  at  which  the 
youth  are  interrogated,  and  the  proficiency  of  each  one  is 
known.  For  although  at  the  catechism  on  each  Lord's  day, 
they  begin  before  to  give  some  testimony,  yet  it  is  not  law- 
ful for  them  to  come  to  the  holy  table,  until  it  is  known,  by 
the  opinion  of  the  minister,  that  they  have  made  some  tolera- 
ble proficiency  in  the  principal  doctrines  of  religion.  As  it 
respects  those  who  are  older,  we  repeat  annually  the  inspec- 
tion of  each  family.  We  distribute  among  ourselves  the 
different  parts  of  the  city,  so  that  we  can  examine  in  order 
every  ward.  The  minister  is  accompanied  by  one  of  the 
church  elders.  At  this  time  the  new  inhabitants  are  exami- 
ned. Those  who  have  been  once  received,  at  the  Supper^ 
are  omitted  ;  except  that  we  examine  whether  their  families 
are  in  peace  and  good  order;  whether  they  have  contentions 
with  their  neighbours ;  whether  they  are  given  to  intempe- 
rance ;  and  whether  they  are  indifferent  and  slothful  in  at- 
tending public  worship. 

4.  For  the  discipline  of  morals,  this  method  is  observed ; 
twelve  church  elders  are  annually  chosen  ;  two  from  the 
upper  senate ;  the  other  ten  from  the  council  of  two  hun- 
dred,  either  natives  or  naturalized  citizens.     Those   who 


whom  their  parents  abandoned.  In  all  ordinary  cases,  parents  an- 
swered for  their  children.  Wall's  Hist.  Bap.  vol.  i.  In  the  re- 
formed churches,  as  there  was  no  commandment  from  God  for 
sureties  at  baptism,  they  made  no  rule  to  bind  parents  to  have 
them,  except  in  cases  where  one  or  both  parents  were  Papists,  or 
when  children  of  Saracens,  or  of  the  gypsies,  were  offered.  So 
also  it  was  required,  that  a  mother,  or  a  woman,  in  presenting  a 
child,  should  have  a  surety,  to  secure  the  religious  education  of 
the  child.  The  Presbyterian  and  Congregational  churches  now 
consider  the  church,  which  receives  a  child,  to  be  the  surety,  to- 
gether with  the  parent  or  presenting  person,  for  the  religious 
education  of  the  child.     See  Quick's  Synod,  vol.  i.  p.  45. 


328  CORRESPONDENCE,     dcc. 

honestly  and  faithfully  perform  their  duty  are  not  removed 
from  office,  unless  when  occupied  by  other  concerns  of  the 
republic.  After  the  election,  before  they  take  their  seats, 
their  names  are  published  to  the  people,  that  if  any  one 
should  know  them  to  be  unworthy,  he  may  declare  it  in 
season. 

5.  No  one  is  summoned  to  the  ecclesiastical  tribunal,  un- 
less by  the  general  opinion  of  all  the  board ;  therefore  each 
one  is  asked,  whether  he  has  any  thing  to  offer  ?  No  one 
is  summoned,  unless  he  has  refused  compliance  with  private 
admonitions,  or  brought  scandal  on  the  church  by  an  evil 
example.  For  instance,  blasphemers,  drunkards,  fornicators, 
strikers,  quarrellers,  dancers,  who  lead  in  balls,  and  such 
like,  are  called  before  the  Censura  Morum.  Those  who  com- 
mit lighter  offences  are  dismissed  with  the  correction  of  mild 
reproof.  Greater  sins  are  reproved  with  sharper  severity ; 
for  the  minister  excludes  them,  at  least  for  a  short  time,  from 
the  Supper,  until,  upon  their  asking  forgiveness,  they  are  re- 
conciled to  the  church.  If  any  one  obstinately  despises  the 
authority  of  the  church,  unless  he  desist  from  his  stubborn- 
ness before  a  year  is  past,  he  is  thrown  into  exile  by  the  se- 
nate for  a  year.  If  any  one  proves  more  perverse,  the  senate 
takes  up  the  cause  and  inflicts  the  punishment.  Those  who, 
for  the  sake  of  redeeming  their  lives  from  the  papists,  hav^e 
abjured  the  doctrines  of  the  gospel,  or  attended  mass,  are  or- 
dered to  appear  before  the  church.  The  minister  from  the 
pulpit  sets  forth  the  matter.  Then  the  excommunicated  per- 
son falls  on  his  knees,  and  humbly  implores  forgiveness. — 
Such  is  the  procedure  of  the  consistory,  that  it  in  no  way 
interferes  with  the  course  of  civil  jurisdiction.  And  that  the 
people  may  not  complain  of  any  unreasonable  rigour,  the 
ministers  are  not  only  subject  to  the  same  punishments,  but 
if  they  commit  any  thing  worthy  of  excommunication,  they 
are  also  at  the  same  time  deposed.        JOHN  CALVIN. 

Geneva,  November  5, 1560. 


CATALOGUE 

OF 

JOHN  CALVIN'S  WRITINGS. 

Commentaries  in  Latin  and  French. 

Commentaries  on  Genesis. 

On  the  other  Four  Books  of  Moses,  in  the  form  of  a  Harmony. 

On  Joshua. 

On  the  Psalms. 

On  Isaiah. 

On  Jeremiah. 

On  the  twenty  first  Chapters  of  Ezekiel. 

On  Daniel. 

On  the  twelve  minor  Prophets. 

On  the  three  Evangelists,  in  the  form  of  a  Harmony. 

On  John. 

On  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles. 

On  the  Epistles  of  Paul. 

On  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews. 

On  the  Canonical  Epistles  of  Peter,  John,  James,  and  Jude. 

Published  Sermons,  which  were  taken  down  when  delivered. 

Three  Homilies  concerning  the  Sacrifice  of  Abraham. 
Sermons  on  Deuteronomy. 
Sermons  on  Samuel. 
Sermons  on  Job. 
Sermons  on  the  Decalogue. 
Sermons  on  the  119th  Psalm. 
Sermons  on  Hezekiah's  Song. 
Sermons  on  the  last  eight  Chapters  of  Daniel. 
Sermons  on  the  beginning  of  the  Harmony  of  the  three  Gospels. 
Sermons  on  the  10th  and  11th  Chapters  of  the  1st  Corinthians. 
Sermons  on  the  Galatians. 
Sermons  on  the  Ephesians. 
Sermons  on  the  Epistles  to  Timothy  and  Titus. 
Sermons  on  Ihe  Birth,  Passion,  Death,  Resurrection,  and  Ascen- 
sion of  Jesus  Christ. 
Four  Sermons  treating  on  subjects  very  useful  for  our  times. 
29 


330 

Sermons  on  the  Providence  of  God  and  Eternal  Election,  made  to 
the  congregation. 

Sermon  on  a  passage  in  the  Epistle  to  the  Galatians,  and  an  ex- 
planation of  the  last  article  of  the  Lord's  Prayer,  made  to  the 
congregation. 

Sermons  which  have  not  been  printed. 

Sermons  on  Genesis. 

Sermons  on  the  first  18  Chapters  of  the  1st  of  Kings. 
Sermons  on  many  of  the  Psalms. 
Sermons  on  Isaiah. 
Sermons  on  Jeremiah. 
Sermons  on  Ezekiel. 

Sermons  on  seven  of  the  minor  Prophets. 
Sermons  on  the  Harmony  of  the  three  Evangelists. 
Sermons  on  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles. 
Sermons  on  the  two  Epistles  to  the  Corinthians. 
Sermons  on  the  two  Epistles  to  the  Thessalonians. 
Sermons  on  some  Chapters  of  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews. 
A  short  explanation  of  the  Book  of  Joshua,  made  to  the  congre- 
gation. 
Lectures  on  the  Psalms,  from  the  37th  to  the  last. 

Catalogue  of  other  printed  works. 

Commentaries  on  Seneca,  concerning  Clemency,  in  Latin. 
Congratulation  to  the  Rev.  Mr.  Gabriel  Saconay,  Precentor  of  the 

Church  at  Lyon — French. 
Answer  to  a  certain  Dutchman. — French. 
Answer  to  Anthony  Cathalan. — French. 


The  following  Works  are  written  in  Latin  and  French. 

The  Institutes  of  Religion. 

Psychopannychia,  a  Treatise  against  the  error  of  those  who  be- 
lieve the  Soul  sleeps  from  Death  until  the  Resurrection. 

Two  Letters,  one  on  attending  Mass,  and  the  other  on  the  Duty 
of  a  Christian. 

Answer  to  Cardinal  Sadolet's  Letter. 

Treatise  on  the  Lord's  Supper. 

Song  of  Victory,  sung  to  Jesus  Christ. 

Catechism. 

Form  of  administering  the  Sacraments,  public  Prayer,  Form  of 
Marriage. 

An  Answer  to  Pighius. 

Remarks  on  the  fatherly  Admonitions  of  Paul  III.  to  the  Empe- 
ror Charles  V. 

Antidote  against  the  Articles  of  the  Sorbonne. 


Calvin's   ^,7ri tings.  331 

On  the  Necessity  of  Reforming  the  Church. 

On  the  Errors  of  the  Anabaptists  and  Libertines. 

On  the  Reliques  of  Saints. 

On  avoiding  Superstitions. 

Answer  to  the  Nicode mites. 

Antidote  against  the  Council  of  Trent. 

The  true  way  of  securing  the  Peace  of  the  Church,  and  its  Re- 
formation, in  Answer  to  the  Interim. 

An  Exhortation  against  Judicial  Astrology. 

Harmony  of  the  Sacraments. 

Treatise  on  Scandals. 

On  the  Eternal  Predestination  and  Providence  of  God. 

Defence  of  the  Trinity  against  Servetus. 

Three  Exhortations  to  Westphal. 

Against  Heshusius  and  Stancar. 

Against  Valentin  Gentilis. 

An  Answer  to  the  Calumnies  of  Castellio. 

A  brief  Answer  to  other  Calumnies  of  Castellio. 

Answer  to  a  Changeling  Mediator, 

Answer  to  Baldwin. 

Exhortation  to  the  faithful  in  Poland. 

A  Letter  for  strengthening  this  Exhortation. 

Confession  of  Faith  in  the  French  Reformed  Churches,  various 
Letters,  Answers,  Exhortations,  Advices,  in  one  volume,  folio. 


CHRONOLOGICAL  TABLE 

OF  THE 

POPES  AND  SOVEREIGNS  OF  FRANCE,  ENGLAND 
AND  GERMANY, 

DURING  THE  LIFE  OF  CALVIN. 


POPES. 

Julius  II.  died  March,  1513. 

Leo  X.        created  March,  1513,  December,  1521. 

Adrian  VL            January,  1522,  October,  1523. 

Clement  VIL     December,  1523,  October,  1534. 

Paul  III.                October,  1534,  November,  1549. 

Julius  III.            February,  1550,  April,  1555. 

Marcellus  IL             April,  1555,  May,  1555. 

Paul  IV.                    June,  1555,  September,  1559. 

Pius  rv.                January,  1559,  December,  1565. 


332  CHRONOLOGICAL     TABLE. 


KINGS  OF  FRANCE. 

Lewis  XII.  died  1515. 

Francis  I.  crowned  1515,  1547. 

Henry  II.  1547,  1559. 

Francis  II.  1559,  1560. 

Charles  IX.  1560,  1574. 

KINGS  AND  QUEENS  OF  ENGLAND. 

Henry  VIII.  crowned          1509,  died  January,  1547. 

Edward  VI.        February,  1547,  July,  1553. 

Mary,                   October,    1553,  November,  1558. 

Elizabeth,            January,    1559,  March,  1603. 

EMPERORS  OF  GERMANY. 

Maximilian, died  1515. 

Charles  V.  of  Spain,  crowned  1519,  resigned  1556. 

Ferdinand  I.  succeeded  him,  and  died  1564. 


PRINCIPAL  REFORMERS, 

COTEMPOR  ARIES  WITH  CALVIN. 

Ulrick  Zuinglius,  died 1531. 

John  QEcolampadius, 1531. 

Martin  Luther, 1546. 

Philip  Melancthon, 1560. 

Wolfgang  Capito, 1541. 

Martin  Bucer,         -        -        .         ....  I55I. 

Henry  Bullinger, 1575. 

Thomas  Cran-mer, 1556. 

William  Farel, 1565. 

Peter  Viret, 1571. 

John  Alasco, 1560. 

Jerome  Zanchius, 1590. 

Peter  Martyr, 1562. 

Theodore  Beza, 1605. 

John  Knox, 1572. 


THE  END. 


Princeton  Theological  Seminary-Speer  Library 


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DATE  DUE 


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