rersity of Ca; 
 outhern Re{ 
 Library Facij
 
 Ex Libris 
 C. K. OGDEN
 
 MEMOIRS 
 
 LIFE AND WRITINGS 
 
 JOHN CALVIN.

 
 MEMOIRS 
 
 or THE 
 
 LIFE AND WRITINGS 
 
 bi 
 
 JOHN CALVIN; 
 
 COMPILED FROM THE NARRATIVE OF 
 
 THEODORE BEZA, 
 
 AND OTHER AUTHENTIC DOCUMENTS. 
 
 ACCOMPANIED WITH 
 
 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES 
 
 OF THE 
 
 Heformation, 
 
 BY 
 
 JOHN MACKENZIE. 
 
 TAKE ESPECIAL CARE, BEFORE YOU AIM YOUR SHAFTS AT CALVINISM, THAT YO 
 KNOW WHAT IS CALVINISM , AND WHAT IS NOT. BISHOP HORSLES 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 PRINTED FOR WILLIAMS AND SMITH, STATIONERS' COURT ; 
 
 SOLD ALSO BY THOMAS CONDER, BUCKLERSBURY ; 
 
 MAXWELL AND WILSON, SKINNER STREET; 
 
 AND BYFIELD AND SON, CHARING CROSS,
 
 
 11 /.I A3 VLHOl, 
 
 PRINTED EY J. DENNETT, 
 IfaiHer Lave, Hntf>en.
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 THE great importance of biography, as a 
 medium of public instruction, appears to be 
 very generally admitted. Curiosity, a principle 
 of active and extended influence, ever in quest 
 of gratification, cannot be too early supplied 
 with interesting and instructive objects, by an 
 acquaintance with which intellectual attain- 
 ments, and moral improvement, may be happily 
 promoted. To render biography conducive to 
 these ends, it is obviously necessary, that genuine 
 and attainable excellence of character be care- 
 fully attended to in the selection of subjects; 
 as the exhibition of spurious morality, or unat- 
 tainable perfection, must necessarily defeat the 
 moral effect of the most alluring narrative. 
 Excellence of character, arising from a great 
 variety of causes, must be estimated chiefly by 
 its moral influence; and it is principally under 
 this view, that the enlightened biographer will 
 chuse to pourtray the subjects of his history. 
 As genuine religion forms the basis of public
 
 VI PREFACE. 
 
 morality, as well as of private virtue, it is 
 certain that national prosperity and individual 
 happiness must be wholly indebted for their 
 maturity to such an association. To expect 
 elevation of character, either national or in- 
 dividual, upon any other principle, is to seek 
 (in the expressive language of the highest 
 authority) to rf gather grapes of thorns, and 
 figs of thistles." 
 
 How far these views of biography are just 
 in themselves, or have been illustrated in the 
 following work, it is not for the author to 
 determine. The great variety of opinion exist- 
 ing on the character and sentiments of the 
 subject of these Memoirs, renders an attempt 
 to illustrate them compatible, at least, with the 
 general ends of Biography. Entertaining the 
 highest veneration for the character which he 
 has attempted to pourtray, the author has aimed 
 at clearing it from those aspersions, which have 
 their foundation in ignorance and malevolence. 
 
 While he has thus been anxious to vindicate 
 an injured name, it will, he trusts, be apparent, 
 that he has not been influenced by blind par-
 
 PREFACE. Vll 
 
 tiality or sectarian zeal. So far as he is ac- 
 quainted with his own motives, he feels no 
 hesitation in avowing, that they are such as he 
 wishes to carry with him, unaltered, to the grave. 
 If an attempt to rescue a great character from 
 the fangs of calumny, and to vindicate the 
 doctrines of the glorious reformation, should 
 expose the author to the shafts of opprobious 
 censure, he will be abundantly compensated by 
 the verdict of an approving conscience, and the 
 sanction of discriminating readers. 
 
 When it is considered that the public is not 
 in possession of any detached Life of Calvin, in 
 English, there can be no doubt but that such a 
 work, executed with care and impartiality, 
 must be considered a desideratum in Evangelical 
 Biography. 
 
 With respect to the arrangement of the 
 several parts, the author has adopted that 
 which appeared to him, upon the whole, the 
 most eligible. 
 
 It will be sufficiently obvious to every in- 
 telligent reader, that the materials for the. 
 
 a4
 
 Vlll PREFACE. 
 
 work have been derived from the most authentic 
 sources, most of which are acknowledged. In 
 addition to the Narrative of Beza, the author 
 has- to confess considerable obligations to a 
 living author, Monsieur J. Senebier, of whose 
 excellent work, entitled, fc Histoire Litterairg 
 de Geneve/' he has made considerable use. 
 
 Confident that the general principles main- 
 tained in the following pages require no apology, 
 the author commends them to His blessing, 
 whose glory they are intended to promote, and 
 who alone can render them really and exten- 
 sively useful. 
 
 J. M. 
 
 Huntingdon, Nov. 1S09.
 
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 SUBSCRIBERS. xi 
 
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 aoiv 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 INTRODUCTION V 
 
 SECTION I. 
 Birth and education of Calvin to his journey to Italy 27 
 
 SECTION II. 
 
 Calvin's settlement at Geneva to his confutation of 
 Bohec 42 
 
 SECTION III. 
 Examination of Calvin's conduct to Servetus 76 
 
 SECTION IV. 
 Calvin's conduct to Bertelier to his founding a college 96 
 
 SECTION V. 
 
 Calvin presented with the freedom of the city of 
 Geneva to his last illness 109 
 
 SECTION VI. 
 
 Calvin's will his character, by Morus 129 
 
 Character of Calvin as an author, and extracts from his 
 Institutes 167
 
 XVI CONTENTS. 
 
 HISTORICAL APPENDIX, 
 
 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES OF 
 
 Wickliffe, John 
 
 Huss, John 
 
 Jerome, of Prague 
 
 Erasmus, Desiderius 
 
 Luther, Martin 
 
 Melancthon, Philip 
 
 Cranmer, Thomas 
 
 Knox, John 
 
 Bcza, Theodore 
 
 .
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 To those persons who are adequate'.' 7 impressed 
 with the advantages resulting from the glorious 
 Reformation, a brief sketch of its history will 
 not fail to prove interesting. Nor will the les- 
 sons of practical wisdom which such a subject 
 affords, be overlooked by the intelligent reader, 
 who will so distinguish principles., and discrimi- 
 nate character, as to derive ample improvement 
 from the varied scene which may pass in review 
 before him. 
 
 Dark and dreary as was the night of super- 
 stition, during which, luxurious priests revelled 
 in wanton profligacy ; its termination, decreed 
 by Infinite Goodness, slumbered not. The means 
 by which the reign of spiritual tyranny was 
 to be overthrown, did not indeed form the sub- 
 ject of prophesy ; nor could the most penetrat- 
 ing mind have developed their certain issue. 
 The indignation of individuals excited by par- 
 ticular abuses, appears however to have proved 
 essentially useful in demolishing the hoary pile 
 of corruption ; as in the instances of Wickliffe* 
 
 B
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 and of Luther in particular. Disgusted with 
 the shameless profligacy of the Mendicant 
 orders, and with the conduct of the Popes their 
 patrons, Wic'kliffe threw off all restraint, and 
 despising the superstition of the times, exhorted 
 the laity to study the scriptures, which he trans- 
 lated into English. 
 
 Persecution against reputed heretics, now 
 raged with tremendous fury. John Huss, and 
 Jerome of Prague, men of exalted piety, and 
 considerable distinction in Bohemia, had made 
 themselves many enemies among the clergy, by 
 their disinterested and spirited remonstrances. 
 Huss, in particular, had exasperated the see 
 of Rome, by his attempts to detach the uni- 
 versity of Prague from the papal jurisdiction 
 of Gregory XII. Summoned to appear before 
 the council of Constance, and furnished with a 
 safe conduct from the Emperor Sigismund ; the 
 process against him was precipitated with all 
 the ardour of ecclesiastical zeal. On the 6th 
 day of July 1415, he was led to the fatal pile, 
 where he suffered death with an heroic con- 
 stancy, worthy of the cause which he had 
 espoused. 
 
 Prompted by a generous solicitude to sup- 
 port his persecuted friend, Jerome hastened to 
 the council. Terrified, however, by the prospect
 
 SKETCH OF THE REFORMATION. 8 
 
 of a cruel death, he was induced to make some 
 concessions ; but soon recovering his fortitude, 
 he professed anew the opinions which he had 
 for a moment abandoned, and illustrated their 
 sublime efficacy in the flames, in which he ex- 
 pired on the 30th of May 1416. 
 
 The principles of these heroic men, im- 
 mortal as their spirits, survived the flames which 
 had destroyed their bodies ; nor was the cry 
 from under the altar unheard. Their blood 
 proved indeed " the seed of the church," and 
 produced the fruits, of which Britons now so 
 richly partake. 
 
 The dawn of the sixteenth century, serene 
 and mild, predicted a day of tranquillity ; nor 
 had the Roman pontiffs, apparently, any cause 
 to apprehend those storms which were about to 
 burst upon them. The Waldenses, Albigenses, 
 and Beghards, together with the Bohemians, 
 were ec vanquished, though unsubdued." The 
 strong man armed kept Ms goods in peace, 
 little suspecting that a stronger than he was 
 about to dispossess him. The causes, however, 
 which contributed to the overthrow of Anti- 
 christ, were various and irresistible. Amongst 
 these, the revival of learning in Europe, and the 
 sudden appearance of a number of men of 
 genius, served like so many constellations to
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 cheer and illumine the night of ignorance and 
 of superstition. The colloquies of Erasmus in 
 particular, as they contained a great deal of 
 pungent satire against the monks, excited their 
 warmest indignation, and induced them to say 
 that ee Erasmus laid the egg, which Luther 
 hatched." The operation of learning in coun- 
 teracting abuses sanctioned by antiquity, was, 
 however, very gradual, as it had to contend, not 
 only with the ignorance which identifies the 
 utility of a custom with its antiquity, and thus 
 consecrates abuses; but, also with a legislative 
 authority, ever upon the alert against every 
 thing exploded under the name of innovation, 
 possessed also of affluence to bribe, and power 
 to punish. 
 
 Julius II. dying in the year 1512, he was 
 succeeded in 1513, by Leo X. of the family de 
 Medici. Leo, though of a milder disposition 
 than his predecessor, was equally indifferent 
 about the interests of real religion. A man 
 of letters, and a man of pleasure, his time was 
 divided between conversation with men of let- 
 ters, and pleasure ; though the latter engrossed 
 by far the larger proportion. He was remark- 
 able for prodigality, luxury, and imprudence, 
 nor has this holy father escaped the charge 
 of impiety and atheism. He is not, however, 
 to be accused of neglecting the object so dear
 
 SKETCH OF THE REFORMATION. 5 
 
 to all his predecessors., that of aggrandizing the 
 holy see. He took, therefore., the utmost care 
 that nothing should be transacted in the council 
 of the Lateran, which Julius left sitting, that 
 had the remotest tendency to the reformation 
 of the church. He \vent indeed still farther, 
 and in a conference with Francis I. king of 
 France, at Bologna, engaged that monarch to 
 abrogate the Pragmatic Sanction, and to sub- 
 stitute another body of laws, under the title 
 of the Concordate, which was received by his 
 subjects with the utmost indignation and re- 
 luctance. 
 
 To those who are acquainted with the entire 
 influence of superstition over the minds which 
 it once pervades, and the ingenious policy of 
 interested priests in supporting and propagating 
 it ; the overthrow of the papal hierarchy, and 
 the establishment of principles of the most con- 
 trary genius, effected without the intervention 
 of external volence, must appear to be the 
 result of a presiding Providence, which fre- 
 quently illustrates its potent energy, by accom- 
 plishing events the most important, by the 
 agency of means the most apparently inadequate. 
 So degraded, indeed, was Christianity at this 
 period, that, though the reformers pretended to 
 no miraculous assistance, it is evident that the 
 same hand which first planted Christianity,
 
 6 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 superintended the reformed faith from its early 
 rise to its perfect maturity. 
 
 Immense as were the revenues of the pon- 
 tificate., the prodigality, luxury, and magnifi- 
 cence of Leo, exhausted the coffers of the 
 church. Money heing indispensable to the 
 voluptuous state and splendid projects of the 
 pontiff, recourse was had to the never-failing 
 expedient of a sale of indulgences, or remittances 
 from the pains of purgatory.* The right of pro- 
 mulgating" these indulgences in Germany, as 
 well as a share of the profits arising from them,, 
 was granted to Albert, archbishop of Magde- 
 burg, who employed a Dominican, of the name 
 of John Tetzel, to proclaim in Germany the 
 
 remission of all sins, past, present, and to come, 
 
 
 
 * " According to the doctrine of the Romish church, all 
 the good works of the Saints, over and above those which 
 were necessary towards their own justification, are deposited, 
 together with the infinite merits of Jesus Christ, in one inex- 
 haustible treasury. The keys of this were committed to Saint 
 Peter, and to his successors the popes, who may open it at 
 pleasure, and by transferring a portion of this superabundant 
 merit to any particular person, for a sum of money, insjkon- 
 vey to him either the pardon of his own sins, or a release for 
 any one in whose happiness he is interested, from the pains 
 of purgatory. Julius II. had bestowed indulgences on all who 
 contributed towards building the church of St. Peter, at 
 Rome ; and as Leo was carrying on that magnificent and ex- 
 pensive fabric, his grant was founded on the same pretence." 
 
 See Robertson's Hist, of Charles V. vol. ii. p. 106.
 
 SKETCH OF THE REFORMATION. 7 
 
 to those who were rich enough to purchase 
 those famous privileges. Assisted by the 
 monks of his order, Tetzel executed his com-, 
 mission with more zeal than discretion ; though 
 by disposing of the indulgences at a low price, 
 they carried on a lucrative trade amongst those 
 who possessed more money than understanding. 
 The princes and nobles felt indignant at this 
 method of draining the wealth of their vassals, 
 in order to replenish the treasury of an extrava- 
 gant pontiff. Even the common people were 
 shocked at the behaviour of Tetzel arid his 
 associates, who consumed in drunkenness and 
 debauchery, those sums which ignorance had 
 appropriated to the purchase of eternal hap- 
 piness. 
 
 An obscure monk at Wittemberg, disgusted 
 with the pretensions and conduct of Tetzel, 
 formed the resolution of checking his career. 
 Martin Luther, a name for ever to be revered 
 by every protestant, challenged Tetzel in ninety- 
 five propositions, to defend himself and his pon- 
 tifical employers, whom he censured as accom- 
 plices in these impositions on the people. Tetzel 
 appeared immediately in the field, and attempted 
 to refute Luther's propositions in two academical 
 discourses, which he delivered on occasion of 
 his promotion to the degree of doctor in 
 divinity.
 
 8 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 Leo X. who at first beheld this controversj 
 with indifference, was at length roused by the 
 Emperor Maximilian I. who informed him what 
 fatal divisions it was likely to produce in Ger- 
 many. Acting upon this information, he sum- 
 moned Luther to appear before him at Rome, 
 and there to plead the cause which he had 
 undertaken to support. This summons, the 
 effects of which, had it been complied with, it 
 is not difficult to calculate, was superseded by 
 the cautious policy of Frederick the Wise, 
 Elector of Saxony, who asserted that the cause 
 of Luther belonged to a German tribunal, and 
 ought to be decided by the ecclesiastical laws 
 of the empire. The pontiff, in compliance with 
 the wishes of Frederick, ordered Luther to 
 justify his conduct before Cardinal Cajetan, his 
 legate, at the Diet of Augsburg. A more im- 
 prudent step could not have been taken by the 
 court of Rome, as Cajetan being a Dominican, 
 and the friend of Tetzel, was of all others the 
 most unlikely to bring the controversy to a 
 favourable issue. 
 
 Luther, however, obedient to the pontiff's 
 summons, repaired to Augsburg, where he had 
 three interviews with the legate, who assumed 
 so high a tone as to produce in the mind and 
 conduct of the reformer, only disgust and in- 
 dignation. Under the iafluence of these feel-
 
 SKETCH OF THE REFORMATION. 9 
 
 ings, Luther departed suddenly from Augsburg, 
 having appealed from the present decisions of 
 the pontiff, to those which he should form when 
 better instructed. 
 
 Mortified by the total failure of Cajetan's 
 commission, Leo appointed a new legate. This 
 person was Charles Miltitz, a Saxon knight 
 belonging to his court. Eminent for prudence, 
 penetration, and address, he was admirably 
 qualified for the management of so critical a 
 commission. With the intention of securing 
 the influence of Frederick, Leo dispatched 
 Miltitz into Saxony with the golden consecrated 
 rose, (the highest mark of distinction which 
 the pontiffs were used to bestow upon their 
 favourite princes,) and instructed him to com- 
 pose the differences between Luther and Tetzel, 
 and to effect a reconciliation between him and 
 the court of Rome. The legate in his first 
 conference with Luther, succeeded so far as to 
 persuade him to write a submissive letter to 
 Leo, in which he promised to observe a pro- 
 found silence with reference to the subjects in 
 debate, on the condition that the same obliga- 
 tion should be imposed upon his adversaries. 
 A second conference took place in the castle 
 of Liebenwerd, and a third the year following, 
 at Lichtenberg. From the moderation which 
 prevailed on these occasions, great hopes were
 
 10 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 entertained of an amicable adjustment of the 
 differences in discussion. But the imprudent 
 arrogance of the court of Rome, blasted these 
 fair blossoms, and renewed the controversy with 
 increased asperity. 
 
 A public dispute which took place at this 
 time, between Eckius, a zealous champion in 
 the papal cause, and Carlostadt, a convert to 
 the sentiments of Luther, proved eminently 
 serviceable. The controversy itself turned upon 
 the powers and freedom of the human will ; 
 and was followed by another between Luther 
 and Eckius, concerning the authority and supre- 
 macy of the Roman pontiff. One of the effects 
 (not unfrequently the result of disputation) was 
 an increase of bitterness on the part of Eckius, 
 who from that period meditated the destruction 
 of Luther. 
 
 Among the spectators of this ecclesiastical 
 combat was Phijip Melancthon, professor of 
 Greek at Wittemberg, an intimate friend of 
 Luther, as well as a promoter of his views, 
 To the learning and influence of Melancthon, 
 the Reformation must be allowed to be con- 
 siderably indebted ; though it is equally certain 
 that the natural timidity of his disposition, and 
 his excessive veneration for the great, prevented 
 his improving that influence to its proper extent.
 
 SKETCH OF THE REFORMATION. 11 
 
 While the cause of Antichrist was thus 
 visibly on the decline in Germany, it received a 
 mortal wound in Switzerland from Ulric Zuin- 
 gle, a canon of Zurich, a man who united with 
 an extensive fund of learning, a spirit truly 
 heroic. Disgusted by the sale of indulgences, 
 entrusted to the ministry of an Italian monk, 
 whose name was Samson, he commenced a re- 
 solute opposition against him, attended with con- 
 siderable success. The effect of his exertions 
 was so great as to discredit the pope's supremacy 
 throughout the greater part of Switzerland. 
 
 The cause of the Reformation was still 
 farther promoted by an imprudent step which 
 Leo X. at the instigation of the Dominicans, 
 was induced to take. Overcome by their im- 
 portunity, he issued out a bull against Luther, 
 dated the 15th of June 1520, in which forty- 
 one pretended heresies, extracted from his writ- 
 ings, were solemnly condemned ; and he was 
 required within sixty days to retract his errors, 
 and to solicit mercy from the offended pontiff, 
 on pain of excommunication. 
 
 Foreseeing the inevitable effect of this rash 
 measure, Luther prudently withdrew from the 
 communion of a church which he had long con- 
 sidered as essentially corrupt and erroneous, and 
 by putting the church of Rome out of his com-
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 munion, deprived the pontiff's subsequent ex- 
 communication of all force and meaning. In 
 the presence of an immense multitude of people 
 of all ranks, he committed to the flames both 
 the bull that had been issued against him., and 
 the decretals and canons, relating to the pope's 
 absolute jurisdiction. In about a month after 
 this magnanimous step had been taken by the 
 Saxon reformer,, a second bull was issued out 
 against him, by which he was expelled from 
 the communion of the church, for having in- 
 sulted the majesty of the Roman pontiff.* 
 
 The death of Maximilian I. making way for 
 his grandson Charles V, to succeed him in the 
 empire, Leo X. urged upon him the necessity 
 of punishing Luther in the most exemplary 
 manner; while Frederick the Wise, employed 
 his influence with Charles, to shield him against 
 the thunder of the Vatican. Indebted to the 
 exertions of Frederick for his elevation to the 
 empire, Charles had gratitude enough to satisfy 
 the elector's demands. He resolved, therefore, 
 that Luther should appear before a diet to be 
 assembled at Worms, in order to secure him a 
 public hearing, before any urgent steps were 
 taken against him. The conduct of Luther 
 before this assembly, was marked with equal 
 
 * See Mosheirn's Eccl. Hist. Cent. XVI. sect. i. p. 322,
 
 SKETCH OF THE REFORMATION. 
 
 modesty and firmness. On his return from 
 Worms, he was surprized by some emissaries 
 of the elector, disguised in masks, who con- 
 veyed him to the castle of Wartenburg, where 
 he employed his involuntary leisure in compos- 
 ing works, which contributed greatly to the 
 success of the cause in which he had em- 
 barked. 
 
 The death of Leo occurring at this period, he 
 was succeeded in the pontificate by Adrian VI. 
 a native of Utrecht. Adrian, it appears, was 
 possessed of more honesty than was consistent 
 with the policy of that age; and was therefore 
 warmly censured for his concessions on the sub- 
 ject of the corruptions of the church. Dying, 
 however, in the course of a year, he was suc- 
 ceeded by Clement VII. a man as remarkable 
 for a reserved character as Adrian had been for 
 his frankness. The success of Luther, rapidly 
 progressive, excited the attention of almost 
 every nation, while it prompted to that freedom 
 of investigation, which is the best friend of 
 truth. The divisions which, however, crept in 
 among the reformers on the subject of the 
 manner in which the body and blood of Christ 
 were present in the Sacrament of the Lord's 
 Supper, by diverting their energy from their 
 original object, proved productive of the most 
 unfavourable effects.
 
 14 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 Finding that Luther gained continual and 
 important accessions of strength, the papists 
 turned their attention to a species of warfare, 
 upon which they placed more dependance, than 
 upon that of argument; and intimated their 
 intention of making war upon the Lutheran 
 party. But this malicious purpose was pro- 
 videntially defeated by the existing troubles 
 of Europe. The result of the diet assembled 
 at Spire, proved much more favourable to the 
 friends of the Reformation ; the German princes 
 refusing to execute the sentence that had been 
 pronounced at Worms against Luther and his 
 followers. 
 
 But the advantages resulting from the first 
 diet of Spire were very limited in their duration,, 
 as, in a new diet assembled in the year 1529, in 
 the same pjace, every change in the doctrine, 
 discipline, or worship of the church of Rome, 
 was declared unlawful, until a general council 
 should be assembled for the purpose of adjust- 
 ing the disputed points. This decree being 
 considered intolerable by the Elector of Saxony, 
 the Landgrave of Hesse, and the other members 
 of the diet, who favoured the Reformation; 
 they entered a solemn protest against it on the 
 19th of April, and appealed to a future council. 
 From this circumstance arose the denomination 
 of PROTESTANTS, which has ever since been
 
 SKETCH OF THE REFORMATION. 15 
 
 given to those who renounce the communion 
 of the church of Rome. 
 
 An attempt to bring to a termination the 
 disputes -which had produced such divisions in 
 the empire, was now made by Charles, who was 
 returning to Germany with the intention of be- 
 ing present at the approaching diet at Augs- 
 burg. As the emperor remained hitherto unin- 
 formed with reference to the peculiar senti- 
 ments of the reformers, the Elector of Saxonjr 
 ordered Luther and his friends to commit to 
 writing the principal articles of their religious 
 system, and the grounds of their dissent from 
 the church of Rome. Luther, therefore, de- 
 livered to the Elector of Torgaw, seventeen 
 articles, which were afterwards called the 
 Articles of Torgaw. These articles were ex- 
 tended by Melanchton, in a manner which 
 illustrated the elegance and perspicuity of his 
 mind; and afterwards formed the confession of 
 Augsburg. 
 
 The alarm which Clement VII. expressed 
 with reference to the spread of the Lutheran 
 tenets, was by no means unfounded, as some 
 of the most considerable provinces in Europe 
 had cast off the Roman yoke. Soon after 
 Luther's rupture with Rome, one of his dis- 
 ciples whose name was Olaus Petri, proclaimed
 
 16 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 religious liberty in Sweden. The exertions of 
 this missionary were powerfully seconded by 
 Gustavus Vasa Eriscon, a prince of extraor- 
 dinary public spirit. In the year 1527, the re- 
 formed religion obtained at once a complete 
 triumph, and a permanent establishment. 
 
 Denmark also, received the light of the 
 Reformation so early as the year 1521. For 
 this advantage it appears to have been indebted 
 to Christian or Christiern II. who expressed an 
 earnest desire to have his subjects instructed in 
 the principles of Luther. His sole object, how- 
 ever, in favouring the principles of the Reform- 
 ation, was the gratification of his ambition in 
 destroying the influence of Rome in his do- 
 minions, and rendering himself supreme in 
 church and state. Upon the deposition of 
 Christiern, the cause of the Reformation found 
 a more enlightened friend in the person of hig 
 uncle Frederick, Duke of Holstein and Sleswick, 
 who was placed on the throne of Denmark. 
 The glorious work of effectually destroying 
 superstition, was however reserved for 'Chris- 
 tiern III. a prince of distinguished piety and 
 prudence. 
 
 In the kingdom of France, the Reformation 
 dawned auspiciously under the patronage of 
 Margaret, Queen of Navarre, sister to Francis I.
 
 -SKETCH OF THE REFORMATION. 17 
 
 the formidable rival of Charles V. The situa- 
 tion of the friends of the Reformation was,, how- 
 ever, extremely precarious. Sometimes reposing 
 in the shade of royal protection, at others ex- 
 posed to the scorching rays of persecution, they 
 had nothing to confide in but their principles, 
 which, however, yielded them solace and support. 
 
 About this time the famous Calvin, whose 
 life will form the principal subject of the fol- 
 lowing pages, began to excite the attention of 
 the public, and to attract the favourable notice 
 of the Queen of Navarre. His zeal exposed 
 him to various perils, from which he was 
 rescued by the good offices of his illustrious 
 friend, the Queen of Navarre. With the inten- 
 tion of digesting and elucidating the principles 
 of the friends of the Reformation, he published 
 his Christian Institutions, to which he prefixed 
 that famous dedication to Francis I. the object 
 of which was to soften the rigour of that prince 
 against his protestant subjects. 
 
 Charles V. having arrived at Augsburg on 
 the 15th of June 1530, the diet was opened 
 with great solemnity on the 20th day of the 
 same month. On the 25th of June, Christian 
 Bayer, Chancellor of Saxony, read, in presence 
 of the emperor and the princes assembled, the 
 celebrated confession which has since been dis-
 
 18 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 tinguished by the denomination of the Augs- 
 burg Confession. The creatures of the Roman 
 pontiff who were present, employed John Faber, 
 afterwards Bishop of Vienna, to compose a re- 
 futation of the confession. The arguments em- 
 ployed by Faber were soon refuted in the most 
 satisfactory manner by Melanchton, who after- 
 wards extended his answer,, and in the year 1531, 
 published it under the title of A Defence of the 
 Confession of Augsburg. 
 
 A severe decree being issued out against the 
 protestants on the 19th day of November, by 
 the express order of the emperor; the Elector 
 of Saxony and the confederate princes formed 
 an alliance at Smalcald, for the purpose of de- 
 fending themselves vigorously against the en- 
 croachments of Rome. Into this confederacy 
 they invited the kings of England, France, and 
 Denmark, with several other states and re- 
 publics. 
 
 \ 
 
 Two remarkable events which occurred at 
 this period, produced respectively the most im- 
 portant results, with reference to the Reform- 
 ation. In the year 1533, a certain number of 
 anabaptists settled at Munster, a city in West- 
 phalia, where, under the pretext of being 
 invested with a divine commission, they at- 
 tempted to lay the foundations of a new govern-
 
 SKETCH OF THE REFORMATION. 19 
 
 ment, or a holy and spiritual empire. Having 
 succeeded in overturning all the political insti- 
 tutions in Munster, they proceeded to erect a 
 new republic, the administration of which they 
 committed to John Bockholt, a taylor, and a 
 native of Leyden. -Their triumph, like that of 
 the wicked in general, was short, for in the 
 year 1535, the city was besieged and taken by 
 the Bishop of Munster; when this fanatical 
 king, and his associates, were put to death in 
 the most ignominious manner. While it is im- 
 possible to contemplate the conduct of these 
 fanatics, without feeling the glow of indignation; 
 it is important to guard against a disposition to 
 transfer our disgust to those who are distin- 
 guished by the same denomination in the present 
 day. Justice, however, requires us to confess,, 
 that they are as far removed from every thing 
 offensive in the conduct of the fanatics of Mun- 
 ster, as they are agreed with them on the article 
 of baptism. It would indeed be equally just 
 to reproach the present Americans, on the 
 ground of the character and circumstances of 
 their remote ancestors. 
 
 The cause of the Reformation received upon 
 the whole, a considerable accession of strength 
 from the ambiguous support of Henry VIII. 
 King of England, who was the principal agent 
 in delivering his dominions from papal juris-
 
 20 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 diction. Professing to entertain some scruples on 
 the subject of his marriage with Catharine of 
 Arragon, aunt to Charles V. and being really 
 enamoured of an illustrious virgin whose name 
 was Anna Boleyn, he earnestly sought a divorce 
 from the former,, in order to render legitimate 
 his passion for the latter. With this view he 
 applied to Clement VII. alledging conscientious 
 scruples as the ground of his wish to obtain a 
 divorce. Clement, perplexed between the fear 
 of offending the emperor by conforming ta 
 Henry's wishes, and the dread of incurring that 
 monarch's displeasure by refusing to comply 
 with them, had recourse to procrastinating 
 evasions, as the only method of conduct which 
 he could pursue with safety. Tired with the 
 tardy measures of the Roman pontiff, Henry 
 had recourse to a measure suggested by the 
 famous Thomas Cranmer, a secret friend of 
 Luther and his cause, who was afterwards 
 raised to the see of Canterbury. The advice 
 of Cranmer, was to demand the opinions of the 
 most learned universities in Europe, on the 
 subject of Henry's scruples. The greatest part 
 of the universities declared the marriage with a 
 a brother's widow unlawful. Catharine was 
 divorced, and Anna conducted to the royal bed. 
 Henry, renouncing the jurisdiction of the court 
 of Rome, was declared by the parliament and 
 people supreme head, on earth, of the church
 
 SKETCH OF THE REFORMATION. 21 
 
 of England; and the power and authority of 
 the pope were completely overturned. It de- 
 serves,, however, to be carefully considered,, 
 that while Henry withdrew himself from the 
 tyranny of Rome., he considered the title of 
 Head of the English church, as vesting virtually 
 in himself the enormous power which had been 
 previously exercised by the Roman pontiffs. 
 Hence, during the reign of this despot, the 
 face of religion was ever changing, in con- 
 formity to the caprice of its new chief. The 
 influence of Cranmer, the favourite of Henry, 
 served, however, to counteract the vehemence 
 of this inconstant monarch, and to dispel the 
 mists of ignorance. 
 
 On the death of Henry, which took place 
 in the year 1547, he was succeeded by Ed- 
 ward VI. a prince of elevated genius and 
 exemplary piety. Deeply interested in the pros- 
 perity of the Reformation, he addressed a par- 
 ticular invitation to Martin Bucer, and to Paul 
 Fagius, that, under the auspices of their learn- 
 ing and piety, his subjects might be confirmed 
 in the pure truths of Christianity. His reign 
 was, however, too short to accomplish his gener- 
 ous purposes. In the year 1553, he was removed 
 from his affectionate subjects, and succeeded by 
 his sister Mary, a furious abettor of the papacy. 
 Among other victims, the learned and pious
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 Cranmer was sacrificed to her cruelty. A. stop 
 was, however, put to these dreadful cruelties by 
 her death, in the year 1558 ; and being succeeded 
 by Elizabeth, the protestant cause revived and 
 flourished. During her reign, that form of 
 religious doctrine, and ecclesiastical discipline 
 which still subsists in England., was established 
 as the national religion. 
 
 In Scotland the seeds of the Reformation 
 were early sown by several noblemen of that 
 nation, who had resided in Germany during 
 Luther's disputes with the court of Rome. 
 But the most distinguished opposer of the papal 
 jurisdiction, was John Knox, a disciple of 
 Calvin, whose talents and fortitude qualified 
 him eminently for the labours and dangers of a 
 reformer. This determined character quitted 
 Geneva for Scotland, in the year 1559, and by 
 means of preaching and private exhortations, 
 imbued the minds of his countrymen with so 
 entire a disgust for the superstitions of Rome, 
 as to induce them to aim at nothing less than 
 the extirpation of popery in all its forms. The 
 form of worship and discipline which had been 
 established at Geneva, by the ministry of Calvin, 
 was universally adopted, and continues to the 
 present day, notwithstanding many efforts to 
 introduce into that kingdom the episcopal hie- 
 rarchy of the church of England.
 
 SKETCH OF THE REFORMATION. 23 
 
 In Ireland the cause of the Reformation was 
 greatly promoted by George Brown, a native 
 of England, and' a monk of the Augustin order, 
 who was created Archbishop of Dublin, in the 
 year 1535. Encouraged by the conduct of 
 Henry VIII. he purged the churches of his 
 diocese from various superstitions, and by his 
 influence, caused the king's supremacy to be 
 acknowledged in that nation. 
 
 In the Belgic provinces the yoke of Rome 
 was shaken off with an impetuosity that was 
 perhaps rather excessive. To the heroic con- 
 duct of William of Nassau, seconded by the 
 exertions of England and France, this state 
 owed its deliverance from the Spanish yoke. 
 
 The eyes of several persons in Spain were 
 opened to the truth, not merely by the con- 
 troversies between Luther and the court of 
 Rome ; but by means also of those very divines 
 who had been selected by Charles V. to com- 
 bat the sentiments of the reformers. These 
 Spanish doctors instead of refuting, having im- 
 bibed the opinions of Luther, propagated them 
 on their return home. 
 
 The spirit and conduct of the reformers 
 having been censured by an elegant historian, 
 as tinctured with enthusiasm; the judicious
 
 24 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 translator of Mosheim has been at the pains to 
 repel the accusation in an appendix, in which 
 he triumphantly proves that the reformers pos- 
 sessed precisely that spirit which was necessary 
 to the successful prosecution of their object; 
 while it was at the same time at the farthest 
 possible remove from enthusiasm. Having 
 instanced in the person of several of the re- 
 formers the truth of his assertion, he concludes 
 by a description of the manner in which Calvin 
 promoted the noble cause which he had 
 espoused. 
 
 ee As to Calvin, every one/' observes this 
 writer, <e who has any acquaintance with history, 
 knows how he set out in promoting the Re- 
 formation. It was by a work composed with a 
 classic elegance of style, and which, though 
 tinctured with the scholastic theology of the 
 times, breathes an uncommon spirit of good 
 sense and moderation. This work was the 
 Institutes of the Christian Religion, in which 
 the learned writer shews, that the doctrine of 
 the reformers was founded in scripture and 
 reason. Nay, one of the designs of this book 
 was to shew, that the reformers ought not to be 
 confounded with certain fanatics., who, about 
 the time of the Reformation, sprung from the 
 bosom of the church of Rome, and excited 
 tumults and commotions in several places. The
 
 SKETCH OF THE REFORMATION. 25 
 
 French monarch, Francis I. to cover with a 
 specious pretext his barbarous persecution of the 
 friends of the Reformation, and to prevent the 
 resentment of the protestants in Germany, with 
 whom it was his interest to be on good terms, 
 alledged, that his severity fell only upon a sect 
 of enthusiasts, who, under the title of anabap- 
 tists, substituted their visions in the place of the 
 doctrines and declarations of the holy scrip- 
 tures. To vindicate the reformers from this 
 reproach, Calvin wrote the book now under 
 consideration ; and though the theology that 
 reigns in it be chargeable with some defects, yet 
 it is as remote from the spirit and complexion 
 of fanaticism, as any thing can be. Nor indeed 
 is this spirit visible in any of the writings of 
 Calvin that I have perused. His Commentary 
 upon the Old and New Testament, is a pro- 
 duction that will always be esteemed, on ac- 
 count of its elegant simplicity, and the evident 
 marks it bears of an unprejudiced and impartial 
 enquiry into the plain sense of the sacred writ- 
 ings, and of sagacity and penetration in the 
 investigation of it."
 
 MEMOIRS 
 
 OF THE 
 
 LIFE OF CALVIN. 
 
 SECTION I. 
 
 Birth and Education of Calvin. His applica- 
 tion to the study of the law Reasons for 
 quitting that profession Publication of his 
 Institutes Journey to Italy. 
 
 JOHN CALVIN,* the celebrated reformer., was 
 born at Noyon, a town in Picardy, on tbe 
 10th of July 1509. Undistinguished by the 
 splendor of family consideration, it was reserved 
 for him to give dignity and perpetuity to a 
 name, which had hitherto occupied an humble 
 but respectable rank in society. His father, 
 
 * The circumstance of a trifling alteration in the name 
 of our reformer, which it appears was Cauvin, having been 
 maliciously perverted by some of his enemies, we shall pre- 
 sent our readers with a justification of it in the words of the 
 celebrated Mr. Drelincourt. " In reality," saith he, " the 
 change of a letter in Calvin's name is very inconsiderable, or 
 rather, signifies nothing at all, for being to turn Cauvin into 
 Latin, if one would give it an air and termination suitable to 
 the genius of the language, how can one turn it otherwise than 
 by Calvinus; for as all good authors call that in Latin, Calvus,
 
 28 LIFE OF CALVIN. 
 
 whose name was Gerard, a sensible and prudent 
 man, had gained the esteem and friendship of 
 all the neighbouring gentlemen, and particularly 
 of the family of Montmor, a family of the first 
 distinction in Picardy. John Calvin was brought 
 up with the children of this family, and though 
 his education was very expensive to Gerard, he 
 bore it with great cheerfulness. He even wished 
 his son to accompany them to Paris, and to 
 pursue his studies with them under Marturin 
 Cordier, regent of the College de la Marche ; 
 a man illustrious for his erudition and integrity, 
 and as his talents were particularly adapted to 
 the instruction of youth, he spent his life in 
 tuition at Nevers, at Bourdeaux, at Neuf 
 Chatel, at Lausanne, and at Geneva, where he 
 died in the eighty-fifth year of his age, and in 
 the same year as Calvin, 
 
 On quitting the College de la Marche, Calvin 
 removed to that of Montaign, the tutor of which 
 was a learned Spaniard. Here he advanced so 
 
 which the Picards call Cauve, and the Frenchmen Chauve, so 
 instead of Cauvin in Picard, and Chauvin in French, the Latin 
 must have it Calvinus. Now this godly man's first work being 
 written in Latin and he thereby known by the name of Calvinus, 
 if, after that when he wrote in French, he had used any other 
 name than that of Calvin, the work might have been taken for 
 another man's, to the no small damage of the reader and 
 printer." 
 
 Defense de Calvin par Drelincourt, p. 202,
 
 HIS BIRTH AND EDUCATION. 29 
 
 rapidly in his studies, that he soon entered upon 
 philosophy. But as he had from his youth dis- 
 covered considerable piety, and an extreme horror 
 at vice, frequently censuring the excesses of his 
 companions., Gerard thought that he should be 
 following the inclinations of his son in conse- 
 crating him to theology. He therefore procured 
 for him, in the year 1529, a benefice in the cathe- 
 dral church at Noyon, and the rectory of Pont 
 L'Eveque, where he was born. Here Calvin, 
 though unordained, preached frequently. It is 
 probable that in this instance the father com- 
 plied with his son's inclination in opposition to 
 his own wishes, as we find him so soon after 
 changing his conduct with respect to his future 
 destination. 
 
 How mysterious are the ways of Providence ! 
 How little probable did it appear from Calvin's 
 present situation and prospects (a member and a 
 minister of the church of Rome), that he should 
 be an instrument appointed to overthrow that 
 pile of corruptions ! Two reasons, however, 
 concurred in influencing our reformer's future 
 character and conduct ; they were dissimilar 
 indeed in their nature, but tended equally to 
 one point, that of inducing him to quit his 
 ministry in the church of Rome. His father 
 resolved to make him study the law, convinced 
 that it was the most certain method of acquiring
 
 SO LIFE OF CALVIN. 
 
 riches and honour. Calvin having been in- 
 structed in the true religion by one of his re- 
 lations., named Pierre Robert Qlivetan,* and 
 having carefully perused the scriptures, began 
 to be disgusted with the doctrines of the church 
 of Rome, and resolved to renounce her com- 
 munion. Thus, either to comply with his 
 father's wishes, or his own inclinations, he quit- 
 ted the study of theology, for that of the law, 
 and removed to Orleans, where he made such 
 progress in that science under Pierre de l'Etoile,f 
 the most celebrated of all the French civilians, 
 that he was considered rather a master than a 
 scholar. In the absence of the professors, he 
 frequently supplied their place, and acquired so 
 much esteem in the university, that they offered 
 to present him with a doctor's degree. 
 
 This period of the life of Calvin, illustrates 
 strikingly the importance of early habits of ap- 
 plication, as laying the foundation for future 
 eminence and usefulness. Without entering 
 upon the unprofitable question whether origi- 
 nality of mind be intuitive or acquired, it will 
 certainly be more useful to remember, that all 
 the illustrious instances of superior powers, 
 
 * Author of a French translation of the Bible, printed at 
 Neuf Chatel. 
 
 f Pierre de 1'Etoile was afterwards president of the parlia- 
 ment of Paris.
 
 HIS STUDY OF THE LAW. 31 
 
 have been as remarkable for early industry and 
 extensive acquirements, as they were eminent 
 for distinguished rank in the literary world. 
 Milton,, Locke., Sir Isaac Newton,, Boyle, Bacon, 
 Addison, and Johnson, are characters highly 
 illustrative of this remark. What they would 
 have been, independently of their severe appli- 
 cation and rich acquirements, we are not capa- 
 ble of conceiving ; but that they would have 
 occupied a much lower station in the republic 
 of letters is absolutely certain. The importance 
 of literature to the cause of Christianity is, 
 perhaps, greater than some of its sincerest 
 friends are willing to admit.* It is true, in- 
 deed, that in the first promulgation of the 
 gospel, it triumphed gloriously over the learn- 
 ing and the prejudices of its opposers, but it 
 
 * " All persons in every age and nation competent to read 
 the best classics with facility and intelligence, have unanimously 
 considered an acquaintance with them as highly conducive, if 
 not absolutely necessary to the formation of a just taste and 
 habit in composition, to the complete knowledge of the human 
 character, to the most advantageous study of the holy scrip- 
 tures, and to the due appreciation of the glorious gospel. 
 The apostate emperor, that bitter and subtle enemy of our 
 faith, calculated judiciously on the tendency of his machi- 
 nations, when he forbade the Christians to teach in their 
 schools, the heathen poets, moralists and historians. It would 
 be well if all modern friends of the Gospel, were as perspi- 
 cacious as Julian was, in discerning the connection of ancient 
 learning and the great cause of revealed truth." 
 
 Vide Eclectic Review for Mdj-ch 1 807.
 
 32 LIFE OF CALVIN. 
 
 will be allowed that it was then accompanied 
 with influences which have since been with- 
 drawn ; and that in many subsequent periods, it 
 has been illustrated and enforced by the genius 
 and eloquence of many of its abettors. Nor is 
 learning less indebted to pure Christianity : 
 this might easily be shewn by a comparative 
 view of its state before and after the Reform- 
 ation, upon which the learning and piety of 
 Calvin had evidently so happy and decided an 
 influence. 
 
 In the midst of his various employments, 
 our reformer was a diligent student of the holj 
 scriptures,, and obtained so clear an insight into 
 their meaning, that many persons whom GOD 
 had inspired with a desire to be instructed in 
 the true religion, applied to him for inform- 
 ation, and were equally impressed with his zeal 
 and his knowledge. He was at this time so 
 diligent a student, that after having supped 
 lightly, he continued reading until midnight, 
 and in the morning was employed while in bed, 
 in reviewing what he had read the night before. 
 There is no doubt but that these late studies 
 contributed to his extensive erudition, and his 
 remarkable memory; but they also materially 
 injured his health, and brought on that weak- 
 ness of stomach with which he was afflicted all 
 his life, and which at length shortened his days.
 
 REASONS FOR QUITTING THE LAW. 33 
 
 Andre Alciat, one of the most celebrated 
 civilians of his age, having rendered famous 
 1* Academic de Bourges, Calvin wished to at- 
 tend his lectures. During his residence there, 
 he formed an intimate friendship with Melchior 
 Wolmar, professor of Greek ; a man of con- 
 siderable merit, and an excellent tutor ; who 
 taught Calvin Greek, an obligation which he 
 acknowledged, by dedicating to him his Com- 
 mentary on the Second Epistle to the Corin- 
 thians. 
 
 With his laborious studies he associated aa 
 incessant perusal of the scriptures, and some- 
 times preached in a small town in Berri, named 
 Ligneres, with the consent, and frequently be- 
 fore, the seigneur of that department. 
 
 His father dying while he was at Bourges, 
 he was obliged to abandon the study of the 
 law, and to return to Noyon. At Paris, which 
 he visited shortly afterwards, he published his 
 Commentary on Seneca's Book on Clemency, an 
 author, the purity of whose sentiments were in 
 perfect unison with the morals of Calvin ; and 
 whom he always read with pleasure. He was 
 then only twenty-four years of age; but, not- 
 withstanding his youth, he became soon known 
 and esteemed by those who were devoted to 
 true religion. Amongst the persons with whom
 
 34? XIFE OP CALVIN. 
 
 he formed an acquaintance at this period, was 
 a merchant, who was afterwards burned for his 
 attachment to the gospeL named Estienne de la 
 For^e, of whom he frequently spoke with com 
 mendation. Of this person he makes mention 
 in his fourth chapter of the book which he 
 wrote against the libertines. 
 
 During his residence at Paris, renouncing 
 the pursuit of all other sciences, he consecrated 
 himself to theology and to GOD ; to the inex- 
 pressible satisfaction of the reformed., who 
 secretly held their assemblies there. 
 
 No sooner had he formed this design, than 
 an occasion offered for the display of his zeal. 
 Nicolas Cop, rector of i* Academic de Paris,* 
 having on a public occasion spoken freely 
 against public errors in religion, and given 
 offence to the parliament, was summoned to 
 appear at court. On his journey he was in- 
 formed that he would be imprisoned. He con- 
 sequently returned immediately, and quitting 
 the kingdom, retired to Basil. 
 
 Calvin, being an intimate friend of Cop, wa 
 obliged also to take flight. After his depar- 
 ture, Marin, the bailiff, one of the most cruel 
 
 * SOB of William Cop, physician to the king, bora at 
 
 fcuft,
 
 RECEPTION AT PARIS. 35 
 
 persecutors, went to his room iu the College de 
 Fortret, intending to take him prisoner ; but 
 not finding him, seized his papers and books, 
 amongst which were found several letters from his 
 friends, which exposed them to extreme danger ; 
 so great was their aversion to the Romish 
 church. But the Queen of Navarre, a princess 
 of uncommon merit, having sent for Calvin, 
 treated him with great respect, listened to him 
 with pleasure, and made use of her influence 
 with the king, Francis I. her brother, to ap- 
 pease the tempest which had arisen against 
 the reformed. 
 
 What an apparent ignorance of the genius 
 of Christianity and of human nature, have per- 
 secutors invariably discovered ! Taking our 
 estimate of Christianity from their exhibition 
 of it, we should be ready to suppose that its 
 predominant quality was hatred, and its ultimate 
 object, extermination. How ignorant of human 
 nature must they be, who are not instructed in 
 this most obvious truth, that, opposition only 
 strengthens opinions, and confirms prejudices; 
 that it is equally incapable of subduing truth, 
 and of suppressing error. 
 
 Having quitted Paris, Calvin retired to 
 Xaintonge, where, at the request of a friend, 
 he composed some formularies of sermons and
 
 56 tIPE OF CAtYItf. 
 
 Christian exhortations, which he induced the 
 rectors to use as homilies, in order to excite the 
 people to pursue their enquiries into the truth. 
 About this time he took a journey to Nerac, 
 to visit Jacques Le Fevre d'Estaples, who had 
 been tutor to the children of Francis I. and 
 who, to avoid the persecutions of the Sorbonne, 
 had retired to that town under the protection of 
 the Queen of Navarre. The good old man 
 rejoiced to see him, and predicted that Calvin 
 would one day be a powerful instrument of 
 establishing the true religion in France. 
 
 He did not, however, remain long at Nerac, 
 but went from thence to Paris. Yet, as he had 
 many enemies there, who had meditated his de- 
 struction, he was obliged to remain concealed. 
 The providence of GOD appears, however, to 
 have conducted him to Paris at this time. For 
 Michael Servetus began about this period to 
 broach his blasphemies against the Holy Trinity; 
 and as he appeared to desire an interview with 
 Calvin, the latter attended at the time and place 
 appointed, though at the risk of life. But he 
 waited for him in vain ; Servetus had not suf- 
 ficient courage to meet him. 
 
 The following year was disgraced by many 
 cruelties inflicted upon several pious characters. 
 Gerard Rufi, docteur de Sorbonne, and Coraud,
 
 PERSECUTION AT PARIS. 37 
 
 ft monk of the order of St. Austin, who, under 
 the patronage of the Queen of Navarre, had 
 many years laboured with considerable success 
 to establish the knowledge of the truth in Paris, 
 were torn from their pulpits, and dragged to 
 prison. The king, Francis I. being influenced 
 by the catholics, was so highly incensed by 
 some writings which had been published against 
 the Mass, and which had even been posted up 
 on the door of the Louvre, that after a pro- 
 cession and public prayers, at which he assisted 
 with his three sons, bareheaded, carrying a 
 torch in his hand, in expiation of this crime; 
 he commanded, that in the middle of the four 
 most frequented parts of the city, eight of the 
 reformed should be burned alive ; and swore that 
 he would not spare his own children, should 
 Jhey be infected with that execrable heresy. 
 
 What a disgusting picture of bigotry, and 
 fanaticism are we here presented with ! and 
 how strikingly does it prove the folly of so 
 identifying a national religion with Christianity, 
 as to make a separation from its pale, the test 
 of heresy ! In this view, how much more de- 
 testable is the papal, than the pagan persecu- 
 tion ! With respect to the pagan religion, the 
 first Christians were innovators, as it regarded the 
 yery substance and essence of their mythology 
 find worship. They not only declared their
 
 38 LIFE OF CALVIN. 
 
 worship as superstitious ; but denounced their 
 belief as absurd, and their morality as corrupt. 
 The protestants, on the other hand, innovated 
 chiefly in the circumstantials of religion. For 
 though no intelligent protestant will allow the 
 church of Rome to be a true church of Christ, 
 every candid protestant will admit that in her 
 fundamental articles she recognizes the dis- 
 tinguishing doctrines of Christianity. The plain 
 language of the papal persecution, therefore, 
 holds out the absurd idea, that it is more im- 
 portant to be agreed in the circumstantials than 
 in the fundamentals of religion ; and that uni- 
 formity of opinion is more important when it 
 respects the drapery of her disciples, than their 
 character. 
 
 Considering the deplorable state to which 
 his brethren were reduced, Calvin, after having 
 printed at Orleans, an excellent work, entitled 
 La Psychopannychie, which he composed against 
 those who believed that the souls of the just, 
 separated from their bodies, sleep until the 
 resurrection; he resolved to quit the kingdom. 
 
 Accompanied by the young man with whom 
 he resided at Xaintonge, he proceeded to Basil 
 by the way of Lorraine. Near Metz, a serious 
 calamity befe him Being plundered by a 
 servant who fled with one of the horses, he
 
 PUBLICATION OP HIS INSTITUTES. 39 
 
 must have been reduced to considerable diffi- 
 culty, had not the other servant providentially 
 had ten crowns,, which defrayed their expences 
 to Strasbourg, from whence they proceeded 
 comfortably to Basil. There he formed a close 
 friendship with Simon Grinee, and with Wai- 
 fang Capito, and applied himself to the study 
 of the Hebrew language. 
 
 Though he wished at this time to remain in 
 obscurity, as appears by a letter written to him 
 by Bucer, he was, notwithstanding, constrained 
 to publish his Christian Institutes, to serve as 
 an apology for his persecuted brethren. For as 
 Francis I. was desirous of the friendship of the 
 protestant princes of Germany, and knew that 
 they would disapprove of the murder of his 
 protestant subjects, he affirmed that he had only 
 put to death the anabaptists, who, far from 
 making the word of God the rule of their faith, 
 gave themselves up to their disordered imagi- 
 nations, professing a contempt for magistrates, 
 sovereign authorities. 
 
 Calvin, who could not bear to see the true 
 religion thus calumniated, thought it necessary 
 to publish his Institutes, which he dedicated to 
 Francis I. addressing him in such an admirable 
 manner, that, if that prince could have been 
 persuaded to peruse it, the church of Rom?
 
 LIFE OF CALVIN. 
 
 might then have received a mortal wound. For 
 the king differed in many respects from those 
 who succeeded him; his taste and his judgment 
 were exquisite; he loved learning and literary 
 men; nor did his inclination lead him to hate, 
 persons of the reformed religion. 
 
 Whilst Calvin was finishing this work, he 
 learned that Italy cherished in many places 
 ideas favourable to the reformation ; he there- 
 fore flew to the celebrated Duchess de Ferrare, 
 the daughter of Lewis XII. whose genius and 
 accomplishments made her known to all the 
 learned, and towards whom the wisest of the 
 reformers turned with attention, because her 
 sentiments were not very remote from theirs. 
 This princess, who was acquainted with Cal- 
 Tin's merit, received him with distinction, and 
 Calvin confirmed her in her principles. She 
 conceived also for him an esteem which she 
 retained through life, and expressed to him in 
 a great variety of letters. Notwithstanding 
 this protection, the Inquisition, aroused by the 
 name of Calvin, pursued him to the court of 
 the duchess, and obliged him to fly. It was 
 no doubt at this time, that he arrived at the 
 town of Piedmont in which he at first preached 
 the reformation with success, but from whence 
 he was afterwards driven by intolerance. This 
 fact is attested by a pillar, of eight feet in
 
 HIS TREATMENT IN ITALY. 41 
 
 height, still existing, erected to immortalize 
 the arrival of Calvin at Aost, and his banish- 
 ment from thence. Hanc Cah'ini fuga erexit 
 anno MDXLI. Religionis constantia reparavit 
 anno MDCCXLI. This monument appears to 
 have been erected in 1511, but the event which 
 it celebrates took place towards the end of 1535, 
 pr the beginning of 1536.* 
 
 * Histoire Litteraire de Geneve, par J. Seaebier.
 
 1IFE OF CALVIK. 
 
 SECTION II. 
 
 Calvin's settlement at Geneva His banishment 
 Return to Geneva Labours Acquain-> 
 tance and public dispute with Castallio 
 Letter to Luihei Is accused of teaching 
 false doctrine Procures the release of Ami 
 Perrin Confutes Bolzec publicly. 
 
 ON quitting Italy, Calvin returned to France, 
 with Anthony, his only remaining brother ; but 
 on account of the persecutions which then ran 
 high, he soon resolved to return to Basil or 
 Strasbourg. But the direct road being then 
 impassable on account of the war, he was com- 
 pelled to go through Geneva. He had then no 
 intention of stopping there, but the event soon 
 made it evident that he had been conducted 
 thither by a secret determination of Providence. 
 This was in the month of August 1536. The 
 reformed religion had been wonderfully esta- 
 blished there by Guillaume Farel, and Pierre 
 Viret. Farel had been instructed, not in a 
 convent as some have supposed, but in the 
 school of Jacques Le Fevre d'Estaples. Calvin, 
 not willing to pass through Geneva without 
 paying his respects to them., made them a
 
 SETTLEMENT AT GENEVA. 
 
 on which occasion Farel earnestly entreated 
 him to stop at Geneva, and help him in the 
 labour to which God had called him. But 
 perceiving that Calvin was not to be prevailed 
 upon., he said, cc You have not any other pre- 
 text to refuse me, than the attachment which 
 you profess for your studies ; but I warn you 
 in the name of Almighty God, that if you do 
 not share with me the holy work in which I am 
 engaged, he will not bless your designs, since 
 you prefer your repose to Jesus Christ." Cal- 
 vin, subdued by this appeal, submitted to the 
 wish of the seigneurs, and of the Consistory of 
 Geneva, by whose suffrages and the consent of 
 the people, he was received to the charge of the 
 ministry, in the month of August 1536. 
 
 This year was remarkable for a close alliance 
 contracted between Berne and Geneva; and for 
 the establishment of religion in Lausanne, after 
 a conference between the protestants and the 
 catholics, at which Calvin presided . He was 
 also engaged in a defence of the reformed, who 
 were attacked by the anabaptists, against whom 
 he employed scripture and argument with so 
 much success, that he expelled that sect entirely 
 from Geneva. In the same year he was obliged 
 to plead his cause at Berne, against Caroly, 
 who had accused him of Arianism.
 
 44 LIFE OP CALVIN. 
 
 Geneva was at this time very far from being 
 in a state of tranquillity. The true religion 
 was indeed established, and the faith of the 
 church of Rome was abolished. But many 
 atrocious crimes were still committed, which 
 had long reigned, and which the example of 
 the clergy had contributed to maintain. The 
 principal families were at variance, on the 
 ground of dissentions which had originated 
 during the war of Savoy, and which time had 
 not been able to extinguish. Farel and Calvin, 
 deeply afflicted by these disorders, made a re- 
 presentation to the council, to induce them to 
 attempt the correction of the public morals. 
 They preached with energy against the vices 
 of the times : as truth always appears severe to 
 those who are conscious of being guilty, the 
 warmth of their zeal was complained of, 
 Coraut was forbidden to preach, a.id being dis- 
 obedient to the injunction, was imprisoned. 
 Farel and Calvin were hated by those who pre- 
 ferred their vices and their pleasures to good 
 order, to the advancement of religion, and to 
 the good of their country ; they therefore 
 united their efforts to get rid of those vigilant 
 ministers. 
 
 But besides these divisions, there was another 
 evil which afflicted the church of Geneva. la
 
 BANISHMENT FROM GENEVA. 45 
 
 some regulations respecting ecclesiastical dis- 
 cipline, she was not perfectly agreed with the 
 church of Berne. For the Genevese celebrated 
 the Lord's Supper with leavened bread, and 
 judging that the baptismal fonts were not neces- 
 sary to the administration of baptism, they had 
 removed them from their places of worship. 
 They had also abolished all the feasts, except 
 Sunday. The church of Geneva having been 
 required, at a synod held at Lausanne, to re- 
 establish the use of the baptismal fonts and the 
 feasts which she had abolished, and the minis- 
 ters of Geneva wishing to be heard before they 
 were condemned, it was resolved that all these 
 differences should be settled in a synod to be 
 held at Zurich. 
 
 The syndics, who were at the head of the 
 Beditious, profiting by these divisions, assem- 
 bled the people, when, the majority being under 
 their influence, they procured an order from 
 the council, by which these three faithful 
 ministers were commanded to leave the town 
 in three days. This order being communicated 
 to Calvin, " Certainly/' said he, " if I had 
 served men, I should have been ill recompensed; 
 but, I have served a Master who, far from not 
 rewarding his servants, pays them what he doe 
 not owe them."
 
 46 LIFE OF CALVIN. 
 
 Farel retired to Neufchatel, and Calvin to 
 Strasbourg, where Bucer, Capito, and Hedio 
 engaged the council of that town to appoint 
 him professor of theology, and pastor of a 
 French church, into which he introduced his 
 ecclesiastical discipline. 
 
 Not long after this unjust banishment, Calvin 
 extinguished a greater evil, which would proba- 
 bly have been attended with the worst conse- 
 quences, had not this illustrious exile applied a 
 prompt remedy to it. Jacques Sadolet, Bishop 
 of Carpentras, was a man of considerable 
 eloquence, which he employed only to oppose 
 the truth. His morals being regular, the pope 
 made him a cardinal, with a view to give a 
 currency to the false doctrine taught in his 
 church. The cardinal, seeing that the people 
 of Geneva were deprived of such excellent 
 pastors, thought this a favourable opportunity 
 to attract them to the Romish religion, with 
 which view he wrote a long letter wherein 
 he employed all his address and talents to over- 
 throw the reformed religion, and to establish 
 his own. There was at this time no person in 
 the town capable of answering him, and if this 
 letter had been written in French, it is probable 
 that it would have created considerable dis- 
 turbances amongst a people so much divided
 
 HIS ATTACHMENT %O GENEVA. 47 
 
 and so ill disposed as they were at this time. 
 But Calvin., forgetting all the injuries which 
 he had sustained,, evinced that the love which 
 he had professed for that church was not 
 diminished ; and answered the cardinal with so 
 much eloquence and spirit, that he abandoned 
 his project entirely. 
 
 This was not,, however, the first expression 
 of tenderness which Calvin had shewn for the 
 Genevese ; for he discovered the interest which 
 he took in all their afflictions,, by addressing to 
 them several letters from Strasbourg, wherein 
 he exhorted them to repentance, to peace, 
 charity., and the love of God ; teaching them 
 to hope that a bright light would soon dissipate 
 the fatal darkness in which they were enveloped. 
 The event justified the prediction. At this 
 time he republished his Christian Institutes, 
 with many additions, and dedicated them to 
 his intimate friend Simon Grinee ; he published 
 also a piece on the Lord's Supper, highly ad- 
 mired by the wisest and the best of men. 
 
 He was also useful in reclaiming many ana- 
 baptists who were brought to him from various 
 parts, and amongst others Paul Volse,* who 
 died a minister of Strasbourg, and Jean Storder 
 
 * It was this person to whom Erasmus dedicated his book 
 of the Christian Soldier.
 
 48 LIFE OF CALVIlf. 
 
 Liegeois, whose widow., Calvin afterwards mar- 
 ried, by the advice of Bucer ; she was a person 
 of extraordinarv merit. 
 
 / 
 
 Such were the occupations of Calvin, until 
 the year 1541, when the Emperor Charles V. 
 convoked a diet at Worms, and afterwards at 
 Ratisbonne, to settle the differences which had 
 arisen in Germany. Calvin, by desire of the 
 ministers of Strasbourg, assisted at the diet, in 
 which he proved useful to the churches, and 
 particularly to those of France, and highly 
 pleased Philip Melancthon, who always spoke 
 with applause of Calvin, calling him the Theo- 
 logian. He also acquired the esteem of Gaspar 
 Cruciger, minister of Wittemberg, who wished 
 to confer with him in private, and having 
 learned his opinion on the Lord's Supper, de- 
 clared his entire approbation of it. 
 
 The faction which had procured the banish- 
 ment of Calvin being overthrown, the Genevese 
 were anxious to recall him. In the year 1540, 
 they wrote to him at Strasbourg, to offer him 
 the employment of which they had deprived 
 him, but he replied that he could not now dis- 
 pose of himself, that he belonged to Strasbourg, 
 and that he wished to be replaced at Geneva by 
 Viret. The council then sent Ami Perrin, one 
 of the elder syndics, to Strasbourg, to entreat
 
 RETURN TO GENEVA. 49 
 
 the magistrates to restore Calvin to Geneva; 
 being supported by the cantons of Zurich,, of 
 Berne, and of Basil, they complied with his 
 request. Calvin was then gone to Worms and 
 to Ratisbonne, whither he had been sent by 
 the German reformers, to assist at the assemblies 
 held there, relative to religion, where he 
 learned what was taking place at Geneva ; but 
 he still resisted the offers which they made him. 
 At length, solicited afresh by the council and the 
 ministers of that town, encouraged by Bucer, 
 informed that the council had revoked his 
 banishment, on the 1st of May 1541, and long- 
 ing to be useful to his enemies, he tore himself 
 from his church at Strasbourg, (who gave him 
 leave of absence for two years,) left Ratisbonne, 
 and set out for Geneva. 
 
 Upon his arrival he was congratulated by 
 the acclamations of the people ; he then pre- 
 sented to the council, the letters of the magis- 
 trates of Strasbourg. The Genevese, charmed 
 at repossessing him, wrote to Strasbourg to 
 obtain his final release. Strasbourg at length 
 relinquished Calvin to the reiterated entreaties 
 of Geneva ; bestowing upon him his citizenship, 
 and wishing to continue to him the emoluments 
 he had received, which, however, he refused, 
 though he went to a very diminished income at 
 Geneva, 
 
 E
 
 50 tits OF 
 
 Firm to his principles, because he thought 
 them the basis of the public weal,, he applied 
 himself immediately upon his return to Geneva", 
 to prevent the corruption of morals, and pro- 
 jected an ecclesiastical police, which he submit- 
 ted to the council. He revised the ecclesiastical 
 ordinances with some magistrates, who were 
 appointed to assist him. These laws were pre- 
 sented to the general council, who sanctioned 
 them on the 20th of November 1541. It was 
 evident how far Calvin was from wishing to 
 give too much power to the ecclesiastical bodj, 
 so well was the ecclesiastical authority balanced 
 by the civil. This tribunal of morals, called the 
 Consistory, was originally composed of laics, 
 and ecclesiastics, but, the number of the former 
 was then most considerable. This body, re- 
 spectable for the importance and delicacy of its 
 constitution, had no power to inflict corporal 
 punishments ; but merely to refer the more im- 
 portant cases to the council, with its own judg- 
 ment on the evidence. The prosperity of Geneva 
 long remained the happy fruit of these wise 
 laws, which contributed powerfully to main- 
 tain the purity of the ancient morals. They 
 contributed -greatly to the lustre and preservation 
 of the republic ; and it might easily be proved, 
 that one of the causes of the misfortunes of 
 Geneva was the diminution of the influence of 
 those laws upon individuals. Rome was lost
 
 HIS LABOURS 51 
 
 when the voices of the censors could no longer 
 be heard; and Sparta fell with the credit of 
 those who were charged with the care of watch- 
 ing over the public morals, and of making 
 virtue respected. 
 
 Shortly after his return he composed a 
 catechism in Latin and in French,, divided into 
 questions and answers. This work, which 
 proved highly useful to the church, was so 
 well received by different nations, that it was 
 not only translated into many living languages, 
 such as the German, the English, the Scotch, 
 the Flemish, the Spanish, and the Italian, but 
 also into Hebrew and into Greek.* 
 
 Notwithstanding the relief which Calvin 
 continually received from Farel and from Viret, 
 it is not easy to conceive how he sustained his 
 various labours ; especially if we consider that 
 he was the subject of several violent and con 
 tinual disorders. During a fortnight in each 
 month, he preached every day ; gave three 
 lectures in theology every week ; assisted at all 
 the deliberations of the Consistory, and at the 
 meetings of the pastors ; met the congregation 
 every Friday; instructed the French churches 
 by the frequent advices which they solicited 
 
 * It was translated into Hebrew by Emmanuel Treraellius, 
 and into Greek by Henrie Etienne.
 
 52 LltfE OF CALVIN. 
 
 from him ; defended the reformation against 
 the attacks of its enemies., and particularly those 
 of the French priests ; was forced to repel his 
 numerous antagonists, by various books which 
 he composed for that purpose; and found 
 time to publish several other works, which, by 
 their solidity and depth, are calculated for the 
 instruction of every age. 
 
 But these occupations formed only a part 
 of the labours of this great man: the council 
 charged him with many painful and difficult 
 commissions, and he w r as obliged to undertake 
 long and frequent voyages. The council, who 
 knew that he was an excellent civilian, as well 
 as theologian, consulted him habitually in all 
 important concerns. He w r as particularly em- 
 ployed in framing the edicts and legislative acts 
 of the town, which were completed and ap- 
 proved in the year 1543 : by his reputation and 
 his eloquence he prevented the usual troubles 
 of a rising government; and inspired confidence 
 amongst the different bodies of the state : they 
 knew the extent of his talents ; they respected 
 his integrity, and reposed confidently in the 
 inviolable attachment which he ever manifested 
 for justice and truth. 
 
 Whilst Calvin was concluding this labour 
 of legislation he repaired to Strasbourg, to
 
 REFUTES THE POPE. 53 
 
 defend religion against Caroly; but could not 
 obtain permission to dispute publicly against 
 that eccentric man, who had retired thither. 
 
 In the year 1543, he presented the church 
 of Geneva with a liturgy ; together with 
 directions as to the manner of celebrating the 
 JLord's supper,, and baptism. 
 
 At this time Charles V. appeared anxious 
 for a general council, in which affairs relating 
 to the catholic and reformed religions might be 
 discussed ; but this plan far from pleasing the 
 pope, excited his warmest indignation. Nor 
 was it indeed likely that his holiness should be 
 so unconversant with the interests of a splendid 
 and secular hierarchy, as not to know that its 
 most' formidable enemy was a spirit of free 
 enquiry and ample discussion ; following, there- 
 fore, his apparent interest, he preferred the 
 convenient asylum of infallibility. Paul III. 
 \vas not, however, ashamed to publish his senti- 
 ments on this plan ; but Calvin abundantly re- 
 pelled the arguments of the pontiff, at the diet 
 assembled at Spire. In another work which 
 appeared at this time, he proved the necessity 
 of a reform of the church. 
 
 A great name is a signal for calumny to the 
 envious ; they unite in order to destroy it. It
 
 54 LIFE OF CALVIN. 
 
 is true that Calvin often made himself enemies 
 by saying cutting truths ; his zeal exasperated 
 him against those who either attacked truth 
 or wounded virtue : perhaps a consciousness of 
 superiority rendered him severe upon those who 
 disturbed him by ill-founded attacks, or un^ 
 reasonable obstinacy. 
 
 Calvin became acquainted with Castallio in 
 the year 1539,, at Strasbourg. In a translation 
 of the Bible into Latin, he had attempted to 
 make the ancient Hebrew writers speak in the 
 language of Cicero, and even endeavoured to 
 make them sometimes breathe the tender verses 
 of Ovid ; this version Calvin highly blamed, as 
 well as several sentiments which it contained. 
 Castallio, whose pride was wounded, asked 
 permission of the council to dispute publicly 
 with Calvin on the descent of Jesus Christ into 
 hell, which they refused ; but, from a love of 
 truth, and a respect for liberty of thinking, he 
 was allowed to commence that dispute before 
 the assembly of ministers ; it lasted a long while 
 without any success. Castallio at length be-* 
 came so highly irritated, that he attacked 
 Calvin in a sermon; and so grossly insulted the 
 ministers of Geneva, that the council deposed him 
 from the ministry. Castallio retired to Basil, 
 where he persisted in his singularities, and in his 
 hatred of Calvin, until the time of his death.
 
 DISPUTES WITH CASTALLIO. 55 
 
 The Sorbonne finding themselves supported 
 by P. Liset, first president of the parliament 
 of Paris, whose memory is execrated by all 
 good characters, undertook to draw up some- 
 articles of faith ; and though it was not difficult 
 to detect the falsity of the dogmas which they 
 contained, they were, notwithstanding, approved 
 by the timid and the ignorant. This induced 
 .Calvin to publish a piece, in which mingling the 
 subtlety of raillery, with the solidity of reason- 
 ing, he clearly displayed the errors of the Sor- 
 
 Amongst other enemies by whom the church 
 was attacked, was Albert Pighius, whom Calvin 
 withstood and refuted, notwithstanding his 
 numerous avocations. Pighius being a pro- 
 found sophist, thought, that though Calvin 
 was a formidable adversary, it would not be 
 difficult to vanquish him; and that he could 
 thus signalize himself, and obtain a cardinal's 
 hat, as the price of his victory. But Calvin 
 repelled the attacks of Pighius with so much 
 vigour, that he found himself disappointed of 
 the recompense which he had anticipated, and 
 reaped from his temerity only shame and con- 
 fusion. Melancthon, to whom Calvin dedicated 
 his work, to testify the esteem in which he held 
 it, wrote several letters which were afterwards 
 published., and which may serve to undeceiv?
 
 56 LIFE OF CALVIN. 
 
 posterity with respect to the calumnies which 
 have been thrown upon those illustrious men. 
 A letter which Calvin wrote to the church of 
 Montbelliard is a sufficient answer to those who 
 accuse him of severity in the exercise of eccle^ 
 siastical discipline. 
 
 To refute the errors of the Anabaptists., and 
 of the libertines, who had revived the most 
 detestable heresies of antiquity, he composed 
 a work which it is impossible to read with 
 attention without being shocked at their de- 
 testable doctrines. This work, however,, dis- 
 pleased the Queen of Navarre ; for though she 
 was not infected with their errors, she was so 
 fully persuaded of the merit of Quintin, and of 
 Pocquet, the most famous leaders of that sect, 
 whom Calvin had named in that work, and 
 had so great a regard for them, lhat it was 
 impossible to attack them without deeply 
 wounding her. 
 
 Calvin having learned that she supported 
 those sectaries, wrote to her with such address 
 and prudence, that, preserving the respect which 
 was due to her, as well on account of her 
 dignity, as of several kindnesses which she had 
 bestowed upon the church; he addressed her 
 with a boldness and freedom worthy a cou- 
 rageous servant of God; and represented to her
 
 ASSISTS THE VAUDOIS. 57 
 
 the impropriety of defending such persons. 
 Thus he maintained the dignity of his ministry, 
 and his labours were so successful, that that 
 execrable sect which had begun to spread in 
 France, was confined to Holland and the neigh- 
 bouring countries. 
 
 During this year, the plague made the 
 greatest ravages in Geneva. Affected by the 
 afflictions of his fellow citizens, and alarmed at 
 the corrupt state of morals, which made him 
 apprehensive of still more fearful evils, Calvin 
 thundered from the pulpit against their vices : 
 he also engaged the council to enact severer 
 laws against fornication and adultery. In the 
 midst of the distress which he felt at the view 
 of this exterminating scourge, which was de- 
 priving Geneva of its citizens, he experienced 
 some consolation from the succours which he 
 procured for the Vaudois, who had escaped the 
 massacres of Merindol, and of Chabriere; hav- 
 ing obtained for them a sum of money from the 
 town of Strasbourg, and from the German 
 princes. It was not in his own power to give 
 any thing himself, because he possessed no- 
 thing ; but, as he never asked for himself, so 
 he always conscientiously distributed the liber- 
 ality of his benefactors to those who were un- 
 fortunate.
 
 58 LIFE OF CALVIN. 
 
 The controversy respecting the Supper of 
 our Lord was at this time renewed ; Osiander, 
 a vain and proud man of an ardent spirit, hav- 
 ing rekindled the fire of discord which seemed 
 entirely extinguished., Calvin did all in his 
 power to terminate this difference, and with this 
 view wrote several letters. But Osiander re- 
 fused to listen to the wise counsels of Calvin, 
 and of Melancthon. 
 
 A Genevese of the name of Troillet, who, 
 though young, was consummately artful, after 
 having counterfeited the hermit in France, 
 returned to Geneva. As Calvin was remarkable 
 for his penetration into characters, he soon 
 developed this man, notwithstanding the pains 
 which he took to conceal his vices under false 
 appearances. Calvin at first reproved him pri- 
 vately, with great mildness. But finding that 
 his charitable counsels were useless to him, and 
 that his audacity and his insolence encreased 
 daily, he undertook to reprove him publicly. 
 But this hypocrite, far from profiting by these 
 reproofs, endeavoured to avail himself of the 
 protection of those, whose vices Calvin was 
 accustomed to condemn. One of the pastors 
 having recently died, he had the effrontery to 
 aim at succeeding him. Calvin opposed him, 
 grid having shewn the contrariety of such con*
 
 CONDEMNS THE NICODEMITES. 59 
 
 duct to the word of God, he obtained, by per- 
 mission of the council, the enforcement of the 
 rules of the church. 
 
 There were also at this time certain persons 
 who, having renounced the protestant faith 
 through dread of persecution, flattered them- 
 selves that there was no harm in remaining 
 in the external communion of the church of 
 Rome, provided they embraced the true religion 
 in their hearts. And because Calvin who con- 
 demned so pernicious a sentiment, was con- 
 sidered by them as carrying his severity to an 
 extreme, he shewed clearly that his opinion was 
 in unison, not only with those of the fathers of 
 the church, but also with the doctrine of the 
 most learned theologians of the age, such as 
 Melancthon, Bucer, and Martyr, as well as 
 the ministers of Zurich ; and so completely 
 extinguished that error, that all pious persons 
 censured the Nicodemites ; a name given to 
 those who defended their dissimulation by the 
 example of Nicodemus, 
 
 The introduction of the following letter in 
 illustration of the solicitude of Calvin for the 
 purity of the reformed worship, needs no 
 apology. The justness of the sentiments, the 
 perspicuity of the reasoning, and especially
 
 LIFE OF CALVIN. 
 
 the veneration which it discovers for the illus- 
 trious character to whom it was addressed, 
 must recommend it to the approbation of every 
 intelligent protestant. 
 
 ee To the truly excellent 
 
 " Doctor of the Christian Church, 
 
 " MARTIN LUTHER, 
 (f My highly honoured Father in 
 
 tf JESUS CHRIST. 
 
 (e Finding those Frenchmen who had been 
 restored from the darkness of popery to the 
 light of the true doctrine made no alteration in 
 their confession of faith ; but that they continued 
 to sully themselves with the profanations of the 
 papists, as if they had no relish for the true 
 doctrine; I could not refrain from reproving 
 such extreme stupidity, with that vehemence 
 and asperity which I believe they deserved. 
 For can we call that faith, which, buried at 
 the bottom of the soul, never discovers itself by 
 any confession ? Or ought we to call that 
 religion which disguises itself under the mask 
 of idolatry? I do not here undertake a 
 thorough discussion of the question: I have 
 already explained myself sufficiently in two 
 small works which I have composed on that 
 topic. And if you will take the trouble to
 
 LETTER TO LUTHER. 61 
 
 glance at them, you will better understand my 
 opinion on that question, and upon what reasons 
 it is founded. Some persons who previously 
 slept in great security, buried in profound 
 slumbers, being roused by the perusal of them, 
 have begun to consider what they ought to do. 
 But because it is very hard to the flesh, either 
 to neglect its own interests, so far as to endanger 
 life; or so to irritate the minds of others as to 
 become the object of public hatred ; or to 
 abandon our property and our country, and 
 thus to condemn ourselves to a voluntary banish- 
 ment : it happens but too frequently that these 
 difficulties prevent a constant and firm resolu- 
 tion. They allege also other reasons, which 
 indeed appear plausible, but which, however, 
 prove sufficiently, that their sole design is only 
 to seek pretexts to conceal the irresolution 
 which agitates their minds. They desire to have 
 your judgment, for which they entertain a just 
 veneration, and which will have great weight 
 to deliver them from these uncertainties, and to 
 confirm them in their duty. They have, there- 
 fore, entreated me to send you an express, 
 which may bring back your conclusion on this 
 subject. This office I could by no means refuse 
 to their solicitation, both because I thought it 
 important for them to be upheld by your 
 authority, that they might not ever float in
 
 62 LIFE OF CALVIS. 
 
 these uncertainties, and that I myself felt dis- 
 posed to solicit this help. Thus, my highly 
 honoured Father in the Lord, I conjure you by 
 Jesus Christ, to bear with this importunity, 
 both for their sakes and mine ; and to read for 
 your entertainment, in your leisure hours, the 
 letter addressed to you in their name, and my 
 two small books; or to employ somebody to 
 read them, who shall report the principal par- 
 ticulars to you ; and to take the trouble in the 
 second place to explain to us in an answer of 
 three words, your opinion on this subject. It 
 is contrary to my inclination to divert you from 
 those great and various affairs which occupy 
 you, and to give you this trouble. But I am 
 firmly persuaded that according to your uniform 
 equity, seeing that necessity urges me to make 
 this request, you will easily forgive the liberty 
 I take, and the trouble which I give you. 
 Would to God that I were permitted to fly hence, 
 that I might enjoy, at least for a few hours, 
 your conversation ! I should receive much more 
 pleasure, and it would be much more advan- 
 tageous to confer with you personally on this, 
 and on various other subjects. But I hope, 
 that what may not be granted to us on 
 earth, will soon be given to us in the king- 
 dom of God. Adieu, most illustrious man ! 
 most excellent minister of Jesus Christ, and my
 
 filS ZEAL AGAINST IMMORALITY. 63 
 
 highly honoured Father. I beseech the Lord 
 to govern you by his Spirit unto the end., for the 
 common good and edification of his church.'* 
 20th Jan. 1545. 
 
 Institution de la Religion Chrestienne. Tr adult 
 par Charles hard. p. 145. 
 
 The vigour with which Calvin attacked the 
 vicious and their vices, brought upon him a 
 thousand inconveniences from those who ex- 
 posed themselves to the effects of his zeal and 
 vigilance. A woman whom he had reproved 
 publicly, called him a wicked man. Calvin 
 avenged himself by obtaining her pardon of the 
 council, who had imprisoned, and intended to 
 punish her. 
 
 The following year proved no less unfavour- 
 able to Calvin's repose. He was now obliged 
 to cheer the drooping spirits of the Genevese, 
 whom the designs of Charles V. against the 
 reformed religion had alarmed. But, besides 
 the cares which the fear of all these evils oc- 
 casioned him, he was deeply afflicted at the 
 state of Geneva ; and the general and daring 
 profligacy of its inhabitants. 
 
 At the head of these persons, was a man 
 named Ami Perrin, who, by the suffrages of 
 the people had been made capitaine general.
 
 LIFE OF CALVIN. 
 
 This man knowing that neither his accomplices 
 nor himself could thrive whilst the laws were 
 maintained with vigour, and Calvin thundered 
 against their vices and their disorders, dis- 
 covered this year what he had long projected; 
 and because his pernicious designs were no 
 sooner developed than they were crushed by 
 the seigneurs, he remained some time quiet: 
 but this was only with a view to a more public 
 attack : for shortly afterwards one of the seig- 
 neurs, instigated, as it has been supposed, by 
 two ministers who were given to wine, and who 
 had good reasons to fear the severity of the 
 laws, accused Calvin of teaching false doctrine. 
 But, far from being injured by the malice of 
 his enemies, he was fully justified from this 
 calumny, his accuser being condemned as in- 
 famous, and the two ministers deposed. 
 
 While Calvin was called to contend against 
 those whose love of independence, and whose 
 violent passions removed them far from decency 
 and virtue, which he wished to establish in 
 Geneva, he triumphed over their cabal by his 
 firmness and his courage; nor did he ever 
 favour those whom rank and fortune seemed to 
 authorize to follow their inclinations. He sum- 
 moned the wife of a principal citizen before 
 the Consistory for having blasphemed in a pri- 
 vate house; she was condemned to a pecuniary
 
 RELEASE OF AMI PERR1N. 65 
 
 punishment. Ami Perrin himself, whose life 
 was very disorderly, was excommunicated, de- 
 prived of his place of counsellor, and con- 
 demned to two month's imprisonment; but, 
 although this man had always encouraged the 
 enemies of Calvin, and been the cause of all 
 the troubles which he had experienced from the 
 government, Calvin nevertherless employed his 
 eloquence and his interest to procure the repeal 
 of his sentence, and had the Christian satis- 
 faction to see his mortal enemy released from 
 prison, and restored to his employment. 
 
 Germany was at this time reduced to the 
 greatest extremity, her towns having either 
 surrendered to the emperor, or been taken by 
 force, she beheld the sudden ruin of a work, 
 which had been the labour of many years. 
 Happy, indeed, were they whom death had 
 prevented from being spectators of that dreadful 
 desolation. It is not to be doubted that these 
 calamities deeply afflicted Calvin, since it is 
 certain that when the churches enjoyed a pro- 
 found peace, he took as great an interest in 
 those that were most remote, as if they had 
 been committed to his care. Besides which, it 
 was impossible for him to learn that those 
 illustrious characters, Melancthofi, Bucer, and 
 Martyr, his dearest friends, were exposed to 
 the most imminent perils, without being pene-
 
 66 LIFE OF CALVIN. 
 
 trated with the profoundest grief. Great, how- 
 ever, as were his afflictions, he supported them 
 with heroic courage, and though persecuted by 
 the wicked, his constancy and his virtue re- 
 mained unshaken. 
 
 In the year 1547, and on the 26th of July, 
 Jacques Gruet was beheaded. Gruet was one 
 of those men whom vice and public disorders 
 rendered famous : impatient under the restraints 
 of the laws, he had the audacity to affix against 
 the pulpit of the cathedral, a libel against 
 the reformed Genevese, and particularly the 
 reformers and ministers. Being immediately 
 apprehended, and his papers and letters ex- 
 amined, they were fonnd to contain several 
 violent passages against Calvin ; as well as a 
 petition which he wished to present to the 
 General Council against the ecclesiastical disci- 
 pline; the object of which was to suppress the 
 bounds which it imposed upon those who led a 
 vicious life. A paper was also found containing 
 objections against the authority of the sacred 
 books, the spirituality and immortality of the 
 soul, and the last judgment. His sentence con- 
 demns him for having spoken with contempt 
 of religion ; for having maintained that laws, 
 human and divine, were the work of caprice ; 
 for having written impious letters and licentious 
 songs; for having maintained that fornication
 
 DEATH OF GRUET. 67 
 
 \vas not criminal \vhen both parties consented ; 
 for having attempted to overthrow the eccle- 
 siastical institutions, and the authority of the 
 Consistory ; for having threatened the reformers 
 and the ministers ; for having spoken disrespect- 
 fully of them, and particularly of Calvin ; for 
 having written letters calculated to irritate the 
 court of France against Calvin, and to engage 
 the King of France to write to the council 
 against him ; and finally for having threatened 
 the council itself. The reasons of this condem- 
 nation, judging from the sentence itself, de- 
 monstrate that the death of Gruet was the effect 
 of his impiety, and of his threats against the 
 government. 
 
 During these troubles, Calvin composed a 
 work entitled L'Antidote, against the doctrine 
 contained in the first seven sections of the 
 Council of Trent: and wrote also to the church 
 of Rouen, to fortify her against the artifices 
 and the errors of a certain monk of the order of 
 St. Francis, who was endeavouring to infect 
 that church with the heresy of Carpocrates.* 
 
 * Carpocrates was a heretic of the second century, who 
 flourished at Alexandria about the year 130. He revived 
 the Gnostic heresy, to which he added the antinomian doctrine, 
 that actions are indifferent, as the passions are planted in 
 human nature by God himself. His son Epiphanius taught the 
 same opinions. Mosheim.
 
 68 LIFE OF CALVIN. 
 
 Undiverted by these foreign cares, he con- 
 tinued his ordinary occupations, and composed 
 his excellent Commentaries on the Epistles of St. 
 Paul. As many persons entertained a high 
 opinion of judicial astrology, he justly exposed 
 it in an elegant work which he published on 
 the subject. Having received an obliging letter 
 from Brentius, who was exiled at Basil, he 
 consoled him with much tenderness. And it 
 were to be wished, that Brentius had ever pre- 
 served the sentiments which he expressed at 
 that time, and had not broken the bonds which 
 attached him to Calvin. He also wrote to 
 Bucer, who was in England, and after exhort- 
 ing him to avow more openly his opinion on 
 the Supper of the Lord, he renewed the assur- 
 ances of a sincere and ardent friendship. To 
 the Duke of Somerset, Protector of England, 
 he sent such useful and important advice, as, 
 had it been followed, would have saved the 
 British church from many calamities. 
 
 The church of Geneva, though surrounded 
 by afflictions, increased rapidly, and Calvin re- 
 ceived with every mark of tenderness, those 
 who were banished from their country on 
 account of their attachment to the gospel. God, 
 likewise, so eminently blessed the labours of 
 his servant, that the faction of the seditious was 
 almost entirely subdued. He stood, indeed, in
 
 UNION OF ZURICH AND GENEVA. 69 
 
 great need of this relief, for he now met with a 
 severe trial in the loss of his wife ; a person 
 of singular virtue and merit. But though 
 extremely affected by this affliction, he en- 
 dured it with a constancy and resignation be- 
 coming his exalted character. 
 
 The churches of Saxony not being united 
 respecting the nature and use of indifferent 
 things, consulted Calvin, who frankly gave his 
 opinion on the subject ; and as Melancthon was 
 accused (though unjustly) of too much indif- 
 ference on this subject, he wrote to him re- 
 specting it. 
 
 While God was on the one hand chastising 
 the German churches with the scourge of dis- 
 cord, he manifested his compassion to the 
 churches of Switzerland; for Calvin and Farel 
 having made a visit to Zurich, composed all 
 the differences which had arisen among them 
 on the subject of the sacraments. Articles 
 were agreed upon by the consent of the churches 
 of Switzerland, and those of the Grisons ; and 
 this agreement united the church of Zurich 
 
 and that of Geneva in the closest bonds. 
 
 * 
 
 About this time Calvin wrote two letters, 
 replete with profound erudition, to Loelius
 
 70 LIFE OF CALVIN. 
 
 Socinus; who died at Zurich, after a long 
 residence there.* 
 
 The year 1550 was remarkable for the tran- 
 quillity which the churches enjoyed., and the 
 regulations which were made at Geneva. For 
 the Consistory came to a resolution, that the 
 ministers should not confine their instructions to 
 public preaching, but that at certain seasons of 
 the year, they should visit private families, ac- 
 companied by an elder, to explain the Christian 
 doctrines, and induce individuals to give an 
 account of their faith. These private visits 
 were so useful to the church, that it is not easy 
 to calculate the fruit which they produced. 
 
 * " Loelius Socinus was born at Sienna, in 1525, and de- 
 signed by his father for the profession of the law, but having 
 embraced the principles of the reformation, he deemed it ex- 
 pedient to quit Italy in 1547. After passing through several 
 countries, he settled at Zurich; where he was suspected of 
 Arianism, and received a remonstrance from Calvin on the 
 subject. Socinus profited by the hint, but more by the fate 
 of Servetus, and retired to Poland ; from thence he went to 
 Venice, and afterwards returned to Zurich, where he died in 
 1562. He was the author of the sect of Socinians, having 
 gathered many followers who embraced his opinions, which 
 were, that Christ was only a man, that the Holy Spirit is 
 nothing more than an attribute, and that the doctrines of 
 original sin, atonement, and divine grace, have no foundation 
 in scripture." Boyle,
 
 FACTION REVIVED. 71 
 
 The Consistory gave directions also,, that 
 the celebration of the birth of Christ should be 
 deferred until a few days after Christmas ; and 
 that no days should be observed but Sunday. 
 And because these changes offended many per- 
 sons, Calvin wrote a piece on the subject, which 
 he addressed to his old and faithful friend, 
 Lauren de Normandie. 
 
 The following year was not so happy as the 
 two preceding ; for, besides the death of Bucer, 
 and that of Jacques Vadian, Consul of St. 
 Gal, persons of singular virtue and profound 
 erudition, which deeply afflicted Calvin and the 
 whole church ; the faction of the seditious, 
 which had been long silent, revived suddenly, 
 and occasioned inconceivable evils and dis- 
 orders ; for they not only asserted, that, the 
 right of citizenship ought not to be bestowed 
 upon strangers, who took refuge in Geneva; 
 but, in order to affront Calvin, having met him 
 in the street as he was returning from preach- 
 ing, they forced him into the middle of the 
 road, and attempted to throw Raimond, his 
 colleague, over the bridge of the Rhone. They 
 afterwards excited a tumult at the church of 
 St. Gervais, because the minister, (following a 
 rule which had been made on sufficient grounds,) 
 had refused to give the name of Baltazap, to a 
 child whom they had brought for baptism.
 
 72 LIFE OF CALVIN. 
 
 Calvin, not being able to remedy these evils, 
 bore them with Christian resignation and invin- 
 cible patience. 
 
 But farther troubles awaited Geneva; the 
 immediate cause of which was a man, named 
 Hierome Bolzec; who, having quitted the 
 habit, retained the spirit and the inclinations 
 of a monk. This man, after having affronted 
 the Duchesse de Ferrare, was banished from 
 her court ; and having taken the degree of 
 doctor of medicine, retired to Geneva. But, 
 not succeeding in the profession which he had 
 embraced, he aspired to the reputation of a 
 celebrated theologian. With this view he 
 corrupted the doctrine of predestination, by 
 a false and absurd dogma, which he was bold 
 enough to maintain in the public congregation. 
 Calvin endeavoured, at first with all possible 
 mildness, to shew him his mistakes, and by 
 private conversation, to recover him from his 
 errors. 
 
 On the 15th of August, Bolzec publicly 
 asserted his sentiments in reply to a sermon 
 which had been preached on the subject of pre- 
 destination : his confidence was increased, by 
 supposing Calvin to be absent, as he did not see 
 him in his usual place. For as the service was 
 commenced when he arrived, he remained
 
 CONFUTES BOLZEC PUBLICLY. 73 
 
 amongst the crowd. No sooner had Bolzec 
 concluded his discourse, than Calvin arose, 
 and though he spoke without premeditation,, he 
 excited the esteem and admiration of all who 
 heard him ; for he alledged so many passages 
 of scripture, and so many testimonies from St. 
 Austin ; refuted him by so many unanswerable 
 reasons, and convicted him with so much force 
 and evidence, that, notwithstanding the effron- 
 tery of this unfrocked monk, he was covered 
 with confusion. A magistrate present ordered 
 him to be sent to prison ; and he was afterwards 
 brought to trial. Jacques de Bourgogne inter- 
 ceded for him. Bolzec appealed to the judg- 
 ment of the neighbouring churches; he was 
 afterwards ordered to be set at liberty upon 
 finding security; but not procuring any, he re- 
 mained in prison, and was finally banished on 
 the 18th of December. 
 
 Bolzec retired to a neighbouring town, 
 where he caused great disturbances, and having 
 been twice driven from the canton of Berne, 
 he repaired to France, and there used all his 
 efforts to obtain the charge of the ministry, 
 expressing a sincere repentance, and an anxious 
 desire to be reconciled with the church of 
 Geneva. But persecution being again revived 
 in France, he resumed the study of medicine,
 
 74 LIFE OP CALVIN. 
 
 and renouncing the protestant religion, be- 
 came a catholic. 
 
 The ministers of Geneva, in a public as- 
 sembly, having illustrated and established the 
 doctrine of predestination, approved of the 
 work which Calvin had written on the subject. 
 But though the ministers of the principal 
 churches unitedly inculcated the doctrine, there 
 were not wanting some in the canton of Berne, 
 who said that Calvin made God the author 
 of sin, notwithstanding this impious senti- 
 ment had been clearly refuted by Calvin, in 
 a book which he had written expressly against 
 the libertines. 
 
 Castallio was at this time teaching Pela- 
 gianism at Basil, though he attempted to 
 disguise his object under the most specious ap- 
 pearances. This controversy continued several 
 years, in the course of which the hermit already 
 mentioned, opposed Calvin. Unable to procure 
 an appointment to the ministerial office, he had 
 embraced the profession of the law, and was 
 become the advocate of the seditious. Finding 
 
 o 
 
 himself supported by the profligate, he re*- 
 quested a public dispute with Calvin before the 
 council, where the subject was debated with 
 considerable warmth. But as Calvin rested
 
 TRIUMPH OF TRUTH. 75 
 
 his sentiments upon the authority of reason and 
 of scripture., and his adversary was armed with 
 impudence alone, the issue of the dispute was 
 eminently favourable to our reformer : the 
 truth triumphed over error, and the writings 
 of Calvin were recognized as orthodox by the 
 suffrages of those who had condemned him.
 
 76 LIFE OF CALVIN. 
 
 SECTION III. 
 
 An examination of the Reformer's conduct in 
 the affair of Servetus. 
 
 WE are now arrived at a most delicate part 
 of the history of this illustrious reformer ; the 
 part which he confessedly took in the punish- 
 ment of Servetus. 
 
 The history of Servetus, so often referred 
 to, and so little understood, merits the minute 
 attention of all who are sufficiently impartial 
 to weigh the opposing interests and circum- 
 stances which mark this tragical transaction. 
 The blemishes, real or pretended, of the re- 
 former, having been maliciously employed to 
 discredit the reformation itself, it becomes of 
 no small importance to elucidate this point of 
 history, and to clear Calvin from the injurious 
 imputations which have been falsely thrown 
 upon him. 
 
 It has been confidently pretended, and 
 boldly asserted, that Calvin had, through life, 
 nourished an implacable hatred against Servetus,
 
 HIS CONDUCT TO SERVETUS. 
 
 and that the Genevese theologian had employed 
 all his efforts to satiate it in the blood of the 
 unhappy Spaniard; that he denounced him to 
 the magistrates of Vienna., and occasioned him 
 to be arrested on the day after his arrival at 
 Geneva. Things advanced with an air of con- 
 fidence are readily believed, and it is scarcely 
 suspected that they may be false. Bolzec, 
 however, the mortal enemy of Calvin,, who 
 wrote the life of that illustrious man merely to 
 blast his memory, and who was cotemporary 
 with the facts which he relates ; and Maim- 
 bourg, equally known by his partialities and his 
 falsehoods, have never dared to advance those 
 things which modern historians have not been 
 ashamed to risk. Bolzec 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 him his work entitled 
 Restitutio Christianismi, which he printed at 
 that time ; and that Calvin, indignant., declined 
 all acquaintance with him."* 
 
 * " Restitutio Christianismi, hoc est totius ecclesiae aposto- 
 licae ad sua limina vocatio: in integrant restitute cognitioce
 
 78 LIFE OF CALVIN. 
 
 It is evident that Calvin did not betray the 
 secret of Servetus, and that he did not occasion 
 his arrest at Vienna, since he wrote to Viret 
 and to Farel, that, if that heretic came to 
 Geneva, lie would take care that he should be 
 capitally punished. The ideas of Calvin in- 
 cluded in this revolting sentence, were the ideas 
 of all persons and of all sects : they constituted 
 the spirit of the laws, and of the public admini- 
 stration of the times. 
 
 Disputes are frequently the source of intoler- 
 ance; we easily learn to hate those who try 
 to convince us that we are wrong : this was not, 
 however, the case with Calvin ; he bore with 
 Servetus as long as there was any hope of re- 
 claiming him. Servetus began with employing 
 injurious expressions of the grossest kind. It 
 is certain that he had rendered himself odious 
 to all who knew him, and that the ideas of 
 most persons agreed with those of Calvin on 
 the punishment which he merited. It is evident 
 
 Dei, fidei christianae, justificatiouis nostrae, regenerationis, Bap- 
 tismi, & Coeuae Domini rnanducatiouis; restitute denique nobis 
 regno ccelesti, Babylonis impi& captivitate soluto, & anti- 
 Christo cum suis penitus destructo." This book is extremely 
 scarce ; all the copies were burned at Vienna and at Frauk- 
 fort: it has been long doubted whether there were any re- 
 maining, but it appears certain that Doctor Mead possessed 
 a copy, which found its way into the library of the Duke de la 
 Valiere.
 
 HIS CONDUCT TO SERVETUS. 79 
 
 from the letters of Farel, and of Viret, that 
 they did not blame the conduct of Calvin in 
 this affair. Bucer was not ashamed to write, 
 that, (f Servetus deserved something worse than 
 death/' The excellent, the gentle Melancthon 
 approved the punishment of Servetus : writing 
 to Calvin, he remarks; f( In my opinion your 
 magistrates have acted justly, in putting to death 
 a blasphemer, convicted by due process of law." 
 Farel expressly says that, Cf Servetus deserved 
 a capital punishment." And Beza defended 
 the sentence. All these celebrated men enter- 
 tained the same opinion on the subject ; and as 
 no personal hatred of Servetus can be imputed 
 to them, it is at least as unjust to accuse 
 Calvin of it. 
 
 But Calvin, it is said, abused the confidence 
 of Servetus ; he sent to Vienna the letters which 
 he had received from him, to which he added 
 his work entitled Restitutio Christianismi, 
 of which Servetus had made him a present. 
 This accusation is mysterious; is it to be be- 
 lieved that Calvin, whose name was execrated 
 in all catholic countries, could expect from 
 their magistrates any attentions to his com- 
 plaints, or any regard to his letters?* But, 
 
 * The extreme improbability of the correspondence here 
 alluded to, may be inferred from the character of the in- 
 dividual to whom Calvin is said to have applied. " All
 
 80 LIFE OF CALVIN. 
 
 supposing Calvin could have been capable of 
 such an absurdity, is it to be imagined that he 
 could have kept silence during seven years ; 
 
 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 ardcnte), which was properly an inqui- 
 sition, and ordered all the tribunals of the kingdom to pro- 
 secute 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. Behold the man they want to make a corres- 
 pondent 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 enemy ; as it would appear by the loud 
 fits of laughter they make the cardinal fall into, upon re- 
 ceiving this letter. 
 
 " But, supposing that this reformer had been capable 
 of such extravagant folly, how can we imagine that the car- 
 dinal, ' 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; that the calumny came originally from Ser- 
 vetus; and that Bolzec knew nothing of the matter, but 
 from uncertain reports. ' I have no occasion,' says Calvin 
 ' 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 Servetus 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, if it was by deliberate 
 malice he had forged such lies to bring the hatred of many
 
 HIS CONDUCT TO SERVETUS. 81 
 
 that he would not have persecuted him sooner ; 
 that he would not have sent to the places where 
 Servetus resided, the letters which he had re- 
 ceived, and the work which he possessed; it 
 is evident, however, that Calvin had corres- 
 ponded with Servetus seven years, and the 
 famous letter of Calvin which Uttembogaert 
 saw in the library of the King of France, 
 shews that Calvin was then perfectly acquainted 
 with his character, and that he had seen his 
 
 upon me, or whether fear made him suspicious ; only I de- 
 mand 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, Ser- 
 vetus, has had more favour from the papists than I ; if this 
 had been objected to me with justice, and that I had pub- 
 lished it in order to have him punished by any person what- 
 soever, I would not have denied it, and I don't think it could 
 have turned to my dishonour.' This I am confident is suf- 
 ficient to satisfy reasonable men; above all, if we add to 
 it, what Calvin had said immediately before the passage I have 
 cited. ' A report flies about that I had endeavoured to have 
 had Servetus apprehended in a popish country, viz. at Vienna ; 
 upon which a great many say, that I have not behaved dis- 
 creetly, 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 private dealing with the 
 pope's satellites? It is very credible, 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 mortal enemy, as with their 
 own companion.'" 
 
 18
 
 82 LIFE OF CALVIN. 
 
 famous work. te Servetus lately wrote to me., 
 and accompanied his letter with a large volume 
 of his extravagant opinions, with a Hectoring 
 boast, that I should see extraordinary and un- 
 heard-of things : if I were willing he would 
 come hither ; but I was unwilling to give my 
 promise; for if he should come, I would 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 judgment of it, and of the 
 punishment which he thought its author de- 
 served; 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 there- 
 fore evident that if Calvin endeavoured to keep 
 Servetus from Geneva, to induce him to avoid 
 the punishment with which he threatened him, 
 he could not possibly think of inflicting it upon 
 him elsewhere ; which would have been at- 
 tended with considerable difficulty, if not abso- 
 lutely impossible. 
 
 * " Servetus nuper ad me scripsit, & litteris adjunxit 
 magnum volumen suorum deliriorum cum thrasonic& jactanti 
 me stupenda ac inaudita visurum: si mihi placeat, hue se 
 venturum recipit; sed nolo fidem meam interponere; nam 
 si venerit, mod6 valeat inea autoritas, vivum exire nunquam 
 patiar."
 
 HIS CONDUCT TO SERVETDS. 83 
 
 But what end could Calvin's letters to the 
 magistrates of Vienna have answered ? Calvin 
 was assured that Servetus was known to be the 
 author of the work entitled Restitutio Chris- 
 tianismi, since it bore the name of Villanovanus. 
 Servetus was well known by this name : it was 
 therefore useless for Calvin to send them intelli- 
 gence which was public : 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 Vienna 
 against Servetus, takes no notice of any inter- 
 position on the part of Calvin : it condemns 
 Servetus for his printed work, on the report 
 of the Doctors in Theology, consulted on the 
 occasion, on the ground of the errors contained 
 in that work; and, finally, on the confessions 
 of that unhappy man. It is true that the 
 magistrates of Vienna, having learned that 
 Servetus corresponded with Calvin, demanded 
 his letters with all writings relating to him; 
 but the demand was made to the Council of 
 Geneva, who complied with their request.
 
 LIFE OF CALVIN. 
 
 From these circumstances it appears that Calvin 
 had no share in sending the letters of Servetus, 
 and that they had no influence upon the decision 
 of Vienna, as no mention is made of them. 
 
 Happily, those persons \vho take pleasure 
 in calumniating others seldom consider all the 
 circumstances of the facts which they wish to 
 impose, but discover the imposture by the im- 
 possibility of harmonizing what they invent, 
 with what is real. Thus the report that Calvin, 
 instructed of the escape of Servetus from the 
 prison of Vienna, caused him to be arrested 
 two or three days after his arrival at Geneva, 
 stands self-corrected ; as it is certain that he 
 left Vienna before the execution of the sen- 
 tence which condemned him to be burnt in 
 effigy on the l?th of June: supposing him to 
 have been a fortnight in reaching Geneva, he 
 must have arrived there in the beginning of 
 July, at the latest : he was not, however, 
 arrested until the 13th of August. It is absurd 
 to say that he concealed himself in other places; 
 for to what other places could he have gone ? 
 His safety required him to quit those in which 
 the Romish religion was established, lest the 
 clamours of Vienna should have reached them ; 
 and Geneva was the first place in which he 
 could hope for an asylum. It is, therefore, 
 evident that Servetus, far from having been
 
 HIS CONDUCT TO SERVETUS. 85 
 
 arrested upon his arrival at Geneva., must have 
 resided there at least six weeks. 
 
 The laws of Geneva requiring that the 
 accuser and the accused should enter the prison 
 together., Calvin directed the process to be made 
 hy Nicolas de la Fontaine, his secretary and a 
 student in theology. Calvin confesses that this 
 was done with his knowledge. De la Fontaine 
 made himself a prisoner, requiring the detention 
 of Servetus, and produced forty articles upon 
 which he demanded that Servetus should be 
 examined. Servetus was shortly afterwards 
 found guilty. The lieutenant-criminel under- 
 took the process at the instance of the pro- 
 jcureur-general., and the student was liberated. 
 
 The principal accusations 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 hav- 
 ing 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. 
 Servetus did not deny the truth of the principal 
 accusations, but whilst in prison called the 
 Trinity a Cerberus, a three-headed monster ; he 
 also grossly insulted Calvin, and was so fearful 
 that death would be the punishment of heresy
 
 LIFE OF CALVIN, 
 
 at Geneva, 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 procureur- 
 general replied to him in about eight days, and 
 no doubt did it very ill. Servetus was con- 
 demned upon extracts from his books, De Tri- 
 nitatis Erroribus, and In Ptolemeum Commen- 
 tarius; from the edition of the Bible which he 
 had published in 1552; from his book Restitutio 
 Christianismi ; and from a letter which he had 
 written to Abel Paupin, a minster of Geneva.* 
 
 * A copy of the sentence pronounced against Servetus will 
 not be uninteresting to the reader. "We Syndics, judges 
 of all criminal causes in this city, having witnessed the process 
 made and instituted against you, on the part of our lieutenant 
 in the aforesaid causes, instituted against yoa, Michel de Ville- 
 neuve, in the kingdom of Arragon, in Spain, in which your 
 voluntary confessions in our hands, made and often reiterated, 
 and the books before us produced, plainly shew that you, Ser- 
 vetus, have published false and heretical doctrines ; and also 
 despising all remonstrances and corrections, have, with a per- 
 verse inclination, sown and divulged them in a book published 
 against God the Father, the Son, and the 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 
 obstinately employed yourself in infecting the world with your 
 heresies and stinking heretical poison ; a case and crime of 
 heresy grievous and detestable, and deserving of corpora! 
 punishment. For these and other just reasons moving us,
 
 HIS CONDUCT TO SERVETUS. 87 
 
 The enemies of Calvin exult in this affair, 
 and, for once, with the appearance of reason : 
 but their 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 Vienna claimed Servetus, 
 who being left at liberty to return to his ancient 
 judges, preferred the chance of a more favour- 
 able judgment at Geneva, to the certainty of 
 suffering the capital punishment pronounced 
 against him at Vienna, where he had been 
 condemned to be burned. 
 
 To the Council of Geneva justice ought 
 to be done with respect to this transaction, 
 
 and being desirous to purge the Church of God from such 
 infection, and to cut off from it so rotten a member, having 
 had good participation of counsel with our citizens, and having 
 invoked the name of God that we may make a right judg- 
 ment, 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 definitive sentence, which we here give by this writing, 
 you, Michael Servetus, are condemned to be bound and led to 
 Champel, and there fastened to a stake and burned alive with 
 your 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 who might commit the same tilings; and 
 we command you our lieutenant to put this our sentence into 
 execution. Read by the seigneur syndic D'Arlord."
 
 88 LIFE OF CALVIN. 
 
 though we may blame the principles of its 
 jurisprudence : they neglected nothing to dis- 
 cover the truth : they multiplied their inter- 
 rogatories : they employed 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 credible ? They were unanimous in exhorting 
 the Council to punish the wicked man, and to 
 put it out of his power to increase heresy. If 
 Calvin may be supposed to have influenced the 
 Council of Geneva, shall he domineer at his 
 pleasure over Four Councils, of four different 
 states, and all the persons who were consulted by 
 them in forming their judgments ? Shall the 
 fury imputed to him render so many magistrates 
 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 evident that Calvin was 
 the author of that atrocity, and that he laboured 
 with ardour to accomplish it. 
 
 On the 27th of October, Servetus was con- 
 demned to be burnt alive; and the sentence 
 was executed on the same day. 
 
 Some general observations on the conduct 
 of the Council, and that of Calvin, may serve 
 to silence those persons who are disposed to
 
 HIS CONDUCT TO SERVETUS. 89 
 
 fancy themselves considerable, because they 
 have calumniated a state, and a great man. 
 
 In the first place let it be remembered that 
 the fate of Servetus was approved by the 
 majority of celebrated ecclesiastics amongst the 
 reformed of those times ; and that those who 
 are not mentioned, did not think of blam- 
 ing it: it was also sanctioned by the churches 
 of Switzerland, who even recommended it. 
 Let it be farther remarked, that Castalio, the 
 avowed enemy of Calvin, was the only person 
 who had the courage to espouse the cause of 
 Servetus, and of the heretics, in a Dissertation, 
 in which it is considered, cc By what right, or 
 with what advantage, heretics may be re- 
 strained, or capitally punished." And let it 
 be observed, he was afraid to put his name 
 to it, though he resided at Basil, and there- 
 fore took the name of Belli us. From this 
 circumstance it is evident, that the doctrine 
 which he so properly defended was generally 
 condemned by the public tribunals, and that 
 it exposed its defenders to severe penalties. 
 
 It had long been the custom at Geneva to 
 proceed with violence against heretics: in the 
 year 1536, several persons were deprived of 
 their freedom who did not embrace the received 
 doctrine : from the year 1541, the Consistory
 
 90 LIFE OF CALVIN. 
 
 possessed the right of forcing the magistrates 
 and the people to continue faithful to the holy 
 doctrine, and to observe good morals. In 1558, 
 Gentilis escaped death only by a retractation, 
 though it was known to be feigned ; and Calvin, 
 in a letter which he wrote at that time, ob- 
 served; " Servetus by a recantation might have 
 averted his punishment : I would have it at- 
 tested that my hostility was not so deadly ; but 
 that by humility alone, had he not been deprived 
 of his senses, he might have saved his life ; but 
 I know not how to account for his conduct 
 without supposing him to have been seized with 
 a fatal insanity, and to have plunged himself 
 headlong into ruin."* From this fragment it 
 appears that Servetus might have retracted ; 
 that Calvin wished him to do it ; that he was 
 grieved that the retractation was not made : it is 
 also evident that the Council furnished him with 
 occasions of so doing; that they descended to 
 theological conversations, in which they en- 
 deavoured to instruct him ; but he persisted in 
 defending his opinions in a blasphemous manner; 
 so that if Servetus was condemned, it was 
 because he was not afraid of exposing himself 
 
 * " Mutando mentem pcenas a se avertere potuisset Ser- 
 vetus : hoc testatum volo me non ita capitaliter iufestum quiu 
 iicitum fuerit vel sola modestia, nisi mente privatus foret, 
 vitam redimere; sed nescio quod dicam, nisi fatali vesanii 
 fuisse correptum, & se precipitem jaceret."
 
 HIS CONDUCT TO SERVETUS. 91 
 
 to it, since he was acquainted with the ex- 
 istence of the laws which threatened him, and, 
 independently of those laws, could not have 
 been brought to trial ; but, as the Council could 
 not violate them to absolve him, neither could they 
 change them to mitigate his punishment : these 
 laws equally opposed the desire of the Council 
 to commute the punishment into banishment, 
 and the efforts of Calvin to render it less cruel. 
 
 The civil and ecclesiastical jurisprudence of 
 the tribunals with respect to heresy, was un- 
 doubtedly grossly inconsistent with the spirit 
 of Christianity, and the principles of equity. 
 But if we could transport ourselves into that 
 age, and contemplate the circumstances in 
 which Calvin was placed, divesting our minds 
 of prejudice, we should no doubt perceive that 
 the sentence was that of the civil judges, and 
 that they strictly followed the ordinary course 
 of the law ; that Calvin followed the judgment 
 of all the ecclesiastics of his time, and com- 
 plied with the sanguinary laws of every country 
 in Europe against heretics. 
 
 It cannot, however, be denied, that in this 
 instance Calvin acted contrary to the benignant 
 spirit of the gospel. It is better to drop a 
 tear over the inconsistency of human nature, 
 and to bewail those infirmities which cannot
 
 92 LIFE OF CALVIN. 
 
 be justified. He declares fnat he acted con- 
 ^scientiously, and publicly justified the act. 
 Oanmer acted the same part towards the poor 
 Anabaptists in the reign of Edward VI. This 
 doctrine they had learnt at Rome,, and it is 
 certain, that, with a very few exceptions., it 
 was at this time the opinion of all parties.* 
 The apostles John and James would have called 
 down fire from heaven ; Calvin and Cranmer 
 kindled it on earth. This 3 however, is the only 
 fault alledged against Calvin ; but, ff Let him 
 that is without sin cast the first stone." 
 
 ee It ought, however," says a sensible writer, 
 " to be acknowledged, that, persecution for 
 
 * The atithgr of the Memoirs of Literature, says, " If the 
 religion of Protestants depended on the doctrine and conduct 
 of the Reformers, he should take care how he published his 
 account of Servetus : but as the Protestant Religion is entirely 
 founded on Holy Scripture, so the defaults of the reformer 
 ought not to have any ill influence on the reformation. The 
 doctrine of non-toleration, which obtained in the sixteenth 
 century, among some Protestants, was that pernicious error 
 which they had imbibed in the Church of Rome : and, I be- 
 lieve, I can say, without doing any injury to that church, that 
 she is, in a great measure, answerable for the execution of 
 Servetus. If the Roman Catholics had never put any person 
 to death for the sake of religion, I dare say that Servetus had 
 never been condemned to die in any protestant city. Let us 
 remember, that Calvin, and all the magistrates of Geneva in 
 the year 1553, were born and bred up in the Church of Rome : 
 this is the best apology that can be made for them." 
 
 Biographia Evangelica, Vol. ii. p. 42.
 
 HIS CONDUCT TO SERVETUS. 93 
 
 religious principles was not at that time peculiar 
 to any party of Christians,, but common to all, 
 whenever they were invested with civil power. 
 It was a detestable error ; but It was the error 
 of the age. They looked upon heresy in the 
 same light as we look upon those crimes which 
 are inimical to the peace of civil society ; and, 
 accordingly, proceed to punish heretics by the 
 sword of the civil magistrate. If Socinians did 
 not persecute their adversaries so much as 
 Trinitarians, it was because they were not 
 equally invested with the power of doing so. 
 Mr. Lindsay acknowledges, that Faustus So- 
 cinus himself was not free from persecution 
 in the case of Francis David, superintendant 
 of the Unitarian Churches in Transylvania. 
 David had disputed with Socinus on the 
 invocation of Christ, and died in prison in con- 
 sequence of his opinion, and some offence taken 
 at his supposed indiscreet propagation of it 
 from the pulpit. " I wish I could say," adds 
 Mr. Lindsay, (C that Socinus, or his friend 
 Blandrata had done all in their power to pre- 
 vent his commitment, or procure his release 
 afterwards." The difference between Socinus 
 and David was very slight. They both held 
 Christ to be a mere man. The former, how- 
 ever, was for praying to him ; which the latter, 
 with much greater consistency, disapproved. 
 Considering this, the persecution to which
 
 94f LIFE OF CALVIN. 
 
 Socinus was accessary was as great as that of 
 Calvin; and there is no reason to think, but that 
 if David had differed as much from Socinus 
 as Servetus did from Calvin, and if the civil 
 magistrates had been for burning him, Socinus 
 would have concurred with them. To this it 
 might be added, that the conduct of Socinus 
 was marked with disingenuity ; in that he 
 considered the opinion of David in no very 
 heinous point of light ; but was afraid of in- 
 creasing the odium under which he and 
 his party already lay, among other Christian 
 Churches. 
 
 It was the opinion that erroneous religious 
 principles are punishable by the civil magis- 
 trate, that did the mischief, whether at Geneva, 
 in Transylvania, or in Britain ; and to this, 
 rather than to Trinitarianism or to Unitarianism, 
 it ought to be imputed.* 
 
 * See Calvinistic and Socinian Systems, examined and 
 compared, by Andrew Fuller. 2d Edit. p. 146.
 
 HIS CONDUCT TO BERTELIER. 95 
 
 SECTION IV. 
 
 Calvin's intrepidity in refusing the sacrament 
 to Bertclier Persecution of Far el Calvin's 
 behaviour to the persecuted protestants 
 Character of Gentilis Reflections on in- 
 tolerance Calvin the means of founding a 
 College. 
 
 BERTELIER,, a man of an abandoned character, 
 having been suspended from the communion 
 of the Church , petitioned the Seigneurs to ter- 
 minate his suspension. In consequence of the 
 clamours of those who maintained that the 
 Consistory usurped the authority of the magis- 
 trates, the Council granted him permission to 
 communicate. 
 
 Perrin and his faction pleased themselves 
 with the expectation that Calvin would either 
 disobey the orders of the Seigneurs, and thus be 
 treated as a criminal against the state ; or that 
 if he obeyed, the authority of the Consistory, 
 which repressed their disorders, might be easily
 
 96 LIFE OF CALVIN. 
 
 overthrown. But Calvin, having received notice 
 of this resolution two days before the adminis- 
 tration of the Supper, discovered the most 
 intrepid courage on the Sunday following; 
 when, after having preached with energy 
 against those who despised the sacred mysteries, 
 <c I will," declared he, cc imitate the example of 
 St. Chrysostom, and, like him, rather expose 
 myself to death, than give holy things to the 
 profane, who have been declared unworthy to 
 partake of the body of Jesus Christ." Wicked 
 and unruly as were the enemies of Calvin, these 
 words had such effect upon them, that Perrin 
 sent some one secretly to Bertelier, to desire 
 him not to approach the table of the Lord, and 
 they partook of the holy mysteries in the most 
 devout and edifying manner. 
 
 Leaving Calvin to his repose, these seditious 
 persons turned their rage against Farel. Hav- 
 ing visited Geneva, and thinking that his age 
 and the important services which he had ren- 
 dered to the Church might give him considerable 
 authority, he censured them severely in one of 
 his sermons. But they complained loudly that 
 Farel had done them a serious injury, and he 
 was no sooner returned to his church, than they 
 procured him to be cited to Geneva, to give 
 an account of his conduct.
 
 PERSECUTION OF FAREL. 97 
 
 Farel in complying with this order,, exposed 
 himself to considerable danger ; for the fac- 
 tion was extremely incensed against him, and 
 theatened to throw him into the Rhone ; but a 
 bold and courageous young man having warned 
 Perrin, that if Farel, the common father of the 
 city, suffered any ill treatment, his person 
 should no longer be safe ; and others well dis- 
 posed having joined him, the seditious were so 
 dismayed, that they asked pardon for their 
 behaviour ; after which, Farel having received 
 audience, was fully justified. 
 
 This year proved, upon the whole, pro- 
 pitious to the church ; the principal thing, 
 however, which afflicted it was the death of 
 Edward, King of England ; a prince of extra- 
 ordinary virtue and piety, universally lamented 
 by the whole reformed world. The troubles 
 of Geneva did not, however, hinder Calvin 
 from prosecuting his studies; for it was in the 
 midst of these confusions that he composed his 
 Commentary on St. John. 
 
 Calvin was at this time occupied with the 
 care of the numerous strangers who had been 
 obliged to quit England, some of whom had 
 retired to Vezel, others to Embden, and the rest 
 to Francfort, and who all frequently solicited 
 his advice. 
 
 H
 
 98 LIFE OF CALVIN. 
 
 The great labours in which he was engaged 
 for the interests of the church, appear in the 
 number of letters which he wrote to different 
 princes, to induce them to embrace the reform- 
 ation; and to the persecuted protestants, to 
 exhort them to suffer death courageously, with 
 which they were threatened ; and to others to 
 support their confinements and chains with 
 constancy. 
 
 The harmony which, after much contention, 
 prevailed on the subject of the supper of the 
 Lord, was now interrupted by Joachin Vest- 
 phal, who having sounded the tocsin, was fol- 
 lowed by Heshusius, who was afterwards made 
 a bishop. This obliged Calvin to publish a 
 work on the subject, which, whilst it mortified 
 his enemies,, proved highly useful and accept- 
 able to the friends of truth. 
 
 The destruction of the faction which had so 
 long annoyed our reformer, was accelerated by 
 the disclosure of a conspiracy against the State, 
 made by some drunkards concerned in it, in 
 consequence of which, some were condemned 
 to a capital punishment, and others quitted 
 the city. . 
 
 These troubles being appeased, Calvin was 
 not left without occasion for the exercise of his
 
 PERSECUTION IN ENGLAND. 
 
 virtue, as he took great pains to promote the 
 establishment of the churches of Poland; and 
 England was afflicted with a most cruel perse- 
 cution, in which many persons were put to 
 death, and amongst others, those glorious 
 martyrs and illustrious bishops, John Hooper, 
 Nicholas Ridley, Hugh Latimer, and Thomas 
 Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury. The 
 afflictions of England affected him deeply: he 
 also did his utmost to comfort his brethren who 
 were persecuted in France, and to inspire with 
 Christian courage the five generous martyrs who 
 were burned at Cambrav. 
 
 / 
 
 Matthieu Gribald, a celebrated lawyer who 
 had revived the opinions of Servetus at Geneva, 
 having escaped from Tubingue, was taken at 
 Berne, and after renouncing his heresies, in 
 order to escape the danger which threatened 
 him, he was no sooner set at liberty than he 
 openly supported Gentilis, of whom an account 
 will be given in its place He afterwards died 
 of the plague, which probably spared him a 
 more ignominious death. 
 
 In the neighbourhood of Geneva arose a 
 faction composed of ministers, who were ex- 
 tremely bitter against Calvin, and who acted 
 under the influence of Bolzec. These persons, 
 though of infamous characters, thinking to 
 
 H*
 
 100 LIFE OF CALVIN. 
 
 acquire reputation by attacking so illustrious 
 and formidable an adversary, accused him of 
 making God the author of sin. These calumnies 
 not being new, Calvin at first despised them ; 
 but finding himself at length compelled to 
 justify himself, solicited permission to repair to 
 Berne, accompanied by envoys from the re- 
 public, and to maintain the cause of truth 
 there. This being consented to, he acquitted 
 himself with such complete success, that Cas- 
 tallio and Bolzec were banished with infamy 
 from the territory of Berne. 
 
 Shortly after his return from Berne, he was 
 attacked with a tertian fever, which seized him 
 while he was preaching, and obliged him to 
 leave the pulpit. This circumstance gave rise 
 to many false reports which were so acceptable 
 to the Roman Catholics, that those of Noyon 
 made a solemn procession, to return thanks to 
 God for the death of Calvin. This was cer- 
 tainly one of the least suspicious eulogies of 
 Calvin, and shews, the enemies themselves be- 
 ing judges, his importance in the cause of the 
 reformation. In the month of August in this 
 year, Calvin set out for Francfort, with the 
 design of terminating the troubles which the 
 disputes about the Lord's supper had given rise 
 to there. The council thought it necessary to 
 send a guard with him.
 
 PERSECUTION IN FRANCE. 101 
 
 Having returned to Geneva, though he 
 found himself indisposed, he did not, however, 
 remit his usual labours; but continued his 
 Commentary on the Psalms, which he gave to 
 the public the year following, accompanied 
 with an admirable preface. He also undertook 
 to defend the truth against Westpbal. 
 
 The news of the dreadful persecution of the 
 protestants in Paris deeply affected Calvin : 
 having assembled for the purpose of celebrating 
 the Lord's supper, they were discovered, when 
 eighty of them were seized ; .the greatest part 
 of whom were imprisoned, after being charged 
 with various injuries, and cruelly treated; 
 amongst whom were several ladies of the first 
 quality. The courtiers who influenced the 
 king, had awakened his anger against the 
 protestants, and raised this storm against them. 
 Besides which, the state of the kingdom was 
 unfavourable to them; for this affliction befel 
 them soon after the French had been defeated 
 at Saint Quintin ; on which account they 
 assembled at night, not daring to meet in the 
 day ; which gave rise to those idle tales which 
 Demochares and their enemies published against 
 them ; accusing them of the same crimes with 
 which the pagans endeavoured to blacken the 
 first Christians. For besides pretending that the 
 protestants were the cause of all the afflictions
 
 102 
 
 LIFE OF CALVIN. 
 
 of the State,, they had procured false witnesses 
 to testify, that after having extinguished the 
 lamp which lighted them, they prostituted 
 themselves to every kind of abomination : and 
 notwithstanding the utter improbability of this 
 report, there were not a few weak enough to 
 give credit to it. 
 
 But the rage of their enemies did not termi- 
 nate here ; for twenty-one of these unhappy 
 persons were condemned to be burned alive. 
 And as only seven of them were executed at a 
 time, this dismal spectacle was exhibited to the 
 public at three different periods. The first who 
 suffered this cruel punishment discovered the 
 most admirable constancy, particularly a lady 
 of quality and two young men. 
 
 This storm was at length appeased, either 
 by the calumnies of their enemies being de- 
 tected, or by the king's being influenced by the 
 earnest intercession of the German ambassadors, 
 whom Calvin had engaged to intercede for his 
 brethren of that kingdom. 
 
 Whilst France was thus agitated, the re- 
 public of Geneva happily contracted a per- 
 petual alliance with that of Berne, contrary to 
 the expectations of the exiles of that city ; but 
 the joy which that alliance afforded them was-
 
 THE ERRORS OF GENTILIS. 103 
 
 damped by several unpleasant occurrences ; for 
 besides the rekindling of persecution in France, 
 the heresy of the Tritheists was at this time 
 revived by Valentin Gentilis. 
 
 Shortly after the death of Servetus, Gentilis, 
 a man possessed of an ardent and penetrating 
 mind, though more subtle than solid, meeting 
 with the work of Servetns, and Calvin's re- 
 futation of it, easily perceived that neither the 
 ideas nor the specious reasonings of Servetus to 
 colour the heresy of Paul of Samosata, nor the 
 confusion of persons in the Trinity taught by 
 Sabellius ; nor the sentiments of Arius, respect- 
 ing the divinity of our Lord Jesus Christ, 
 could be made to harmonize with the word 
 of God. 
 
 Perceiving farther, that what the scriptures 
 teach with regard to three persons in one 
 essence, is above our conceptions ; instead of 
 submitting to the wisdom of God, he en- 
 deavoured to persuade himself that every truth 
 must be necessarily intelligible. Having, there- 
 fore, attributed the principal authority, and as 
 it were the monarchy, to the person of the 
 Father, whom he called the only sovereign and 
 independant God ; he considered the essence 
 of the divinity to be communicated to the 
 other persons in such a manner as to make not
 
 104 LIFE OF CALVIN. 
 
 only three persons, but three distinct essences : 
 that is to say., three Gods eternal., almighty and 
 immense. To maintain this heresy, he perverted 
 the scriptures, and the authority of the Council 
 of Nice, of Ignatius, Tertullian, Ireneus, and 
 Lactantius; and rejected all the orthodox 
 divines who have embraced the doctrine of the 
 Council of Nice. 
 
 At first he proposed his opinion privately, 
 and amongst other persons, to Jean Paul Alciat 
 Milanois, and to Georges Blandrata, a phy- 
 sician,, professing only to examine the reasons 
 which might support, and those which might 
 overthrow it. But the Consistory of the Italian 
 church, having been informed that this senti- 
 ment was spreading throughout the town, con- 
 voked an extraordinary assembly, at which, in 
 the presence of a certain number of seigneurs, 
 chosen for the occasion, and of all the ministers 
 and elders, the reasons alledged in support of 
 that doctrine were refuted by Calvin ; this con* 
 ference induced all the Italians to sign the 
 orthodox doctrine, with the exception of six, 
 who shortly afterwards, at the solicitation of 
 their friends, signed it also, although they did 
 not approve of it, which soon became evident. 
 Valentin Gentilis at first refused to subscribe 
 the proposed formulary; he, however, complied 
 afterwards, but continued to dogmatize against
 
 THE RIGHT OF PRIVATE JUDGMENT. 105 
 
 the received doctrine, on which account he was 
 committed to prison, where he held a dispute 
 with Calvin, on the 15th of July, who answered 
 him in writing. Being convicted of perjury 
 and of voluntary heresy, he was condemned to 
 be beheaded. Having, however, abjured his 
 heresies, his sentence was commuted for an 
 ignominious punishment, to which he submitted 
 on the 2d of September. 
 
 When it is considered that the right of 
 private judgment was the leading principle 
 implied and acted upon in the reformation, it is 
 scarcely possible to read these repeated instances 
 of intolerance without regretting the inconsis- 
 tency of the protestant churches. No privilege 
 appears to have been more variously contested 
 than that of the right of private judgment; a 
 privilege, founded in the nature, and responsi- 
 ble circumstances of man, and recognized by 
 the impartial spirit and high authority of 
 Christianity. The individual right, as well as 
 the right of communities, is frequently claimed 
 and acted upon by those, who are prepared to 
 resist the same claim when asserted by others, 
 whom interest makes it convenient to oppose. 
 To say that the reformers possessed this right, 
 and were justified in employing it in the 
 establishment of the reformation, and that their 
 protestant brethren were not entitled to the
 
 106 LIFE OF CALVIN. 
 
 same privilege, is an assumption which no 
 friend to religious liberty can consistently allow. 
 It is true that the reformation had chiefly to do 
 with the worship and discipline of the church, 
 though not exclusively ; and that the heresies 
 of the protestants were doctrinal : but if the 
 right of private judgment be allowed in one 
 instance,, it must be admitted in all ; since the 
 New Testament knows of no limitation or ex- 
 ception, but considers every man as exclusively 
 responsible to God, and rests the right and the 
 exercise of it upon that responsibility. In 
 unison with which principle, we must under- 
 stand the words, <f One is your master, even 
 Christ." If there could possibly be any dif- 
 ference with respect to the importance of the 
 exercise of the right, it must apply to doctrinal 
 subjects, which, on account of their extensive 
 importance, require the utmost freedom of in- 
 vestigation, and the most unbiassed deter- 
 mination; but though the application of the 
 right is in these circumstances pre-eminently 
 important, the right itself is independant of any 
 considerations of a comparative nature. The 
 denial of the exercise of this rational and 
 Christian right, seconded by influence sufficient 
 to prevent it, would necessarily have the effect 
 of throwing us back again into the darkness 
 and barbarity of the middle ages. With the 
 papists, an opposition to this privilege was part
 
 A NEW COLLEGE FOUNDED. 10? 
 
 of a policy by which a corrupt hierarchy was 
 long supported. This principle, enforced by 
 secular authority and superstitious awe, would 
 have rendered the reformation impossible. A 
 slight acquaintance with the history of perse- 
 cution might be sufficient to teach its abettors 
 not only its incompetency to enforce conviction, 
 but its uniform tendency to strengthen op- 
 position, and con firm prejudices. But it should 
 seem that there is connected with the act 
 of persecution, a certain undefinable pleasure, 
 which is at once the luxury and reproach of a 
 bigoted and malignant mind. The real ground 
 of persecution, whatever specious forms it may 
 assume, is the native depravity of human 
 nature ; in decidedly wicked characters, it 
 selects for its object vital Christianity ; but 
 where it unhappily obtains amongst religious 
 persons, it must certainly be ascribed to ill- 
 regulated zeal, and a mistaken apprehension 
 of the genius of Christianity. 
 
 Calvin being convinced that the best me- 
 thod to preserve the purity of religion, was 
 to enlighten men's understandings, used his 
 utmost exertions to found a college, in which 
 youth might be well instructed. In the year 
 1556, he proposed the establishment of one; 
 but foreign affairs prevented the council from 
 attending to the object at that time ; at length,
 
 108 LIFE OF CALVIN. 
 
 in the year 1559, he had the satisfaction of 
 seeing his \vishes accomplished, a college 
 being founded, and furnished with enlightened 
 teachers ; an academy was also erected, which 
 acquired the esteem of foreigners by the 
 celebrity of its professors. Calvin desired that 
 Theodore Beza should be the principal rector 
 of this promising academy, and was con- 
 tented himself to be the chief professor of 
 Theology.
 
 RECEIVES THE FREEDOM OF GENEVA. 109 
 
 SECTION V. 
 
 Calvin presented with the freedom of the city 
 of Geneva Revises and re-publishes his 
 Institutes in Latin and in French Re- 
 plies to several heretics Though greatly 
 afflicted by disease is unremitting in his 
 exertions Is carried to the church and 
 receives the sacrament from the hands of 
 Beza. 
 
 IT is difficult to conceive that it was only in 
 this year., 1559, that Calvin was presented with 
 the freedom of the city ; no citizen, however, 
 had ever earned so well this honourable title as 
 he had done bv his services ; few have so well 
 
 / 
 
 deserved it, or rendered it so celebrated. 
 
 Calvin was this year attacked with a quartan 
 ague,, which laid the foundation of his subse- 
 quent illness., and death; for though he re- 
 covered his health eight months afterwards, 
 he was so much reduced, as never again to be 
 perfectly restored. 
 
 During his illness, though his physicians 
 and his friends conjured him to be careful
 
 110 LIFE OF CALVIN. 
 
 of his health and to remit his usual labours, he 
 continued to dictate and to write several let- 
 ters. And though so continually occupied,, that 
 he could not fulfil all the duties of his charge, 
 he used to remark that idleness was extremely 
 irksome to him. It was at this time, however, 
 that he revised and republished his Institutes, 
 in Latin and in French ; and corrected his 
 Commentary on Isaiah, in such a manner as to 
 render it a new work. 
 
 At this period, two of the most powerful 
 monarchs of Europe terminated their differences 
 by an alliance. This peace would probably 
 have been fatal to the protestant churches, had 
 not a divine Providence counteracted the de- 
 signs of the catholics, who had obtained an 
 entire influence over Henry II. and who abused 
 his compliance to excite a persecution against 
 the protestants. With this view they induced 
 that prince to publish several severe edicts 
 against them, and to imprison some of the 
 counsellors of the parliament of Paris, who 
 were suspected of favouring their cause ; and 
 inspired him with the design of destroying the 
 New Sect, a name by which they were then 
 called. 
 
 But while the church was overwhelmed 
 with consternation, and engaged in imploring
 
 DEATH OF HENRY II. Ill 
 
 divine succour with all imaginable ardour, 
 Henry II. was mortally wounded at a tourna- 
 ment,, by one of his captains of the guards ; 
 who, by his orders, had a few days before 
 arrested the counsellors ; this event changing 
 the face of affairs, the reformed were delivered 
 from a danger which appeared inevitable. 
 
 After the death of Henry II. Calvin was 
 accused of having raised a conspiracy against 
 Francis II. although he had disapproved of the 
 enterprize, and employed his efforts to subdue it. 
 
 Stancarus Mantoiian began at this time to 
 teach, that Jesus Christ was mediator only 
 with respect to his humanity, accusing those of 
 Arianism, who thought him mediator in respect 
 of his divinity, and asserting that they made 
 the Son less than the Father. Melancthon and 
 Martyr wrote against this sentiment, and Calvin 
 refuted it briefly ; foreseeing at the same time, 
 what afterwards happened, that to avoid the 
 errors of Stancarus, many persons would be in 
 danger of falling into those of the Tritheists; 
 he, therefore, expressly cautioned them to be 
 upon their guard with respect to Blandrata, 
 and his party, and instructed them to maintain 
 that Jesus Christ was mediator according to 
 both his natures, without multiplying the 
 divinity .
 
 112 LIFE OF CALVIN. 
 
 The Vaudois of Bohemia having deputed 
 two persons to wait upon Calvin, to ask his 
 advice on several points of religion, he received 
 them with great affability, answered all their 
 questions, and exhorted them earnestly to join 
 the reformed churches. 
 
 After the death of Francis II. Charles IX. 
 wrote in 1561, to the Council of Geneva, to 
 complain of their receiving into the town, the 
 enemies of France, and fostering those public 
 disturbers. Calvin was accordingly summoned 
 with his colleagues oefore the council; and 
 admitted that the pastors had sent into France 
 several pious men, to regulate the churches 
 there, which the had been solicited to do ; but 
 that -they were too deeply occupied about the 
 advancement of religion to be employed in 
 sowing troubles in the kingdom ; and that he 
 was ready with his colleagues, to answer their 
 accusers before the king. Charles acknow- 
 ledged apparently the innocence of Calvin, and 
 his colleagues, for nothing farther was heard 
 upon the subject. 
 
 Soon afterwards Calvin replied to Tileman 
 Heshusius; and published a work shewing the 
 blasphemies with which the work of Gentilis, 
 against the creed of Athanasius, was filled. 
 He also published at this time his work on
 
 REPLIES TO A WORK OF BALDWIN. 113 
 
 Daniel, which he dedicated to the churches 
 of France ; and while in his Commentary he 
 appears the intepreter of the prophet, in his 
 dedicatory epistle he appears himself almost a 
 prophet, predicting the tempests which were 
 shortly to arise, though the conference then 
 held at Poissy gave reason to expect the entire 
 destruction of the catholic religion. 
 
 The disputes in which Calvin was interested 
 were not yet finished : in, 1561, a fresh discussion 
 arose between him and Baldwin, who had pub- 
 lished during the conference of Poissy, a book 
 of Cassander's, under the title, DC Officio pit ac 
 publicee tranquilitatis vere amantis in hoc re- 
 ligionis studio. To this work Calvin replied; 
 a controversy ensued, in the course of which, 
 a warmth of temper was betrayed on both sides, 
 which reflected no honour on the disputants ; 
 but which is far from being singular in theo- 
 logical controversies. 
 
 Calvin was at this time exceedingly afflicted 
 by the state of the protestants in France ; for 
 after having obtained an edict, which put an 
 end to the sufferings to which they had been 
 long exposed, and which granted them the free 
 exercise of their religion, the artifices of their 
 enemies succeeded in withdrawing the King of 
 Navarre from the protestant interest, and the 
 
 i
 
 114 LIFE OF CALVIN. 
 
 Due de Guise had made a cruel slaughter in 
 Vassi, and had begun a civil war which long 
 desolated that kingdom. 
 
 His disorders were now visibly increasing 
 daily, and it was evident that he was making 
 rapid advances towards a better world. His 
 afflictions., however weighty, never dejected 
 him. His usual duties of visiting the sick and 
 afflicted,, of preaching, and giving theological 
 lectures, were punctually discharged ; and 
 knowing that the churches of France were not 
 only openly attacked, but secretly defamed to 
 the German princes ; he drew up their confes- 
 sion of faith, which was presented to the Diet 
 of Francfort. 
 
 On the 19th of December, Calvin being 
 confined to his bed with the gout, and the wind 
 having been unusually high for two days, made 
 use of the following expressions to some friends 
 present : ef I have thought I heard an alarming 
 noise all night, and I could not help thinking, 
 that it was occasioned by a great number of 
 drums. I cannot understand it. We shall 
 certainly soon hear of some important event. 
 Let us beseech God to have pity upon his 
 church." This was thought very remarkable, 
 when soon after, by news brought from France 
 it appeared that on the same day a bloody
 
 HIS EXERTIONS UNDER AFFLICTION. 115 
 
 battle was fought between the king's army, 
 and that of the Prince of Conde. 
 
 The disorders of Calvin, which were now 
 rapidly on the increase, rendered his exertion? 
 at this period almost incredible; for notwith- 
 standing his reduced state, he could never be 
 induced to remit in the slightest degree, his 
 ordinary occupations. If at any time his weak- 
 ness prevented his attendance upon his public 
 duties, he never failed to dictate or write a 
 great variety of letters, in answer to persons 
 who consulted him from various parts of 
 Europe. Amongst his numerous avocations at 
 this period, are the exhortations which he gave 
 on the subject of the holy Trinity ; his answers 
 to the deputies of the Synod of Lyons : the Com- 
 mentaries which he composed in French and 
 in Latin, upon the Books of Moses ; as well as 
 his Commentary upon the Book of Joshua, 
 w r hich he began this year, and finished a little 
 before his death. 
 
 The year 1564, the first of his eternal 
 felicity, occasioned a deep and lasting grief to 
 Geneva. On the 2d of February he delivered 
 his last sermon, and on the same day, his last 
 theological lecture. His asthma depriving him 
 of the use of his voice, he abstained from all 
 the functions of his charge, He was, indeed.
 
 116 LIFE OF CALVIN. 
 
 sometimes carried to the congregation, but 
 seldom spoke. 
 
 In a letter which he wrote to the physicians 
 of Montpellier, he gives an account of the 
 maladies which his various labours of body, 
 and of mind had brought upon him. For, 
 besides being of a dry and feeble temperament 
 and strongly inclined to consumption, he slept 
 very unsoundly. During ten years at least he 
 ate no dinner, taking no nourishment until 
 supper time. He was subject to a head-ach, 
 the only remedy for which was fasting; on 
 account of which, he remained sometimes 
 thirty-six hours without eating, He was also 
 frequently attacked by the hemorrhoides, which 
 were brought on partly by his efforts in preach- 
 ing, and partly by the excessive use of aloes; 
 and five years before his death he was seized 
 with a spitting of blood. He was no sooner 
 cured of the quartan ague than he was attacked 
 by the gout; he was afterwards afflicted with 
 the cholic, and a few months before his death, 
 with the stone. The physicians exhausted their 
 art upon him, and no man ever observed their 
 instructions with more regularity. But as to 
 what relates to the labours of the mind, he 
 had so little respect to his health, that the most 
 violent head-achs never prevented his appear- 
 ance in the pulpit in his turn.
 
 HIS EXERTIONS UNDER AFFLICTION. 117 
 
 Afflicted,, however, as he was by so many 
 maladies., he was never known to pronounce a 
 word unworthy of a Christian,, or even of a 
 man of constancy and courage. In his greatest 
 agonies,, lifting his eyes to heaven, he was 
 accustomed only to repeat the words, " How 
 long, O Lord?" When in health, he fre- 
 quently made use of these words, with reference 
 to the calamities of his brethren in Jesus Christ, 
 whose afflictions were much more painful to 
 him than his own. When importuned not to 
 dictate or write, during his illness, " W r ould 
 you," said he, "that when the Lord comes, 
 he should surprise me in idleness?" 
 
 On the 10th of March, being dressed and 
 >seated before the table at which he was ac- 
 customed to write, he was visited by Beza and 
 other friends ; upon seeing them, he leaned 
 his head upon one of his hands, apparently 
 meditating, and addressed them in a low voice, 
 but with a cheerful and open countenance ; 
 saying, " I return you my thanks, my very dear 
 brethren, for all the care you take of me ; I 
 hope you will soon be relieved from it, and 
 that in a fortnight I shall assist in your assembly 
 for the last time. For I think that after that 
 time, the Lord will remove me from this 
 world, and raise me to his Paradise."
 
 118 LIFE OF CALVIN. 
 
 On the 24th of March, he assisted at the 
 assembly as he had predicted, and when it was 
 concluded, he remarked that God had given 
 him some respite ; and having taken up the 
 New Testament, he read some of the marginal 
 annotations, and asked his colleagues their 
 opinions on what he had read ; for he had 
 undertaken the revision and correction of those 
 notes. 
 
 Being fatigued with the exertions of the 
 day, he was worse on the morrow. On the 
 27th, heing carried to the council, he walked, 
 supported by two men, to the hall in which the 
 seigneurs were assembled; where, being un- 
 covered, he thanked them for all the favours 
 which he had received from them, and par- 
 ticularly for the proofs of affection which they 
 had shewn him in his last illness ; " For I feel," 
 said he, ec that I shall not again have the honour 
 of appearing in this place." Having with much 
 difficulty made this speech, he took his leave of 
 them weeping. 
 
 Though extremely reduced, he was carried 
 to the church, on the 2d of April, when he 
 heard the whole of the sermon, and received 
 from the hands of Beza, the Lord's supper; 
 and feeble as was his voice he joined in singing
 
 RECEIVES THE SACRAMENT. 119 
 
 the psalms. His countenance was so cheerful 
 and serene, that the congregation were de- 
 lighted with the sight of their pastor's great 
 joy, and entire resignation. 
 
 It is not easy to conceive a more interesting 
 scene; on the one hand an illustrious reformer, 
 and venerable pastor, anticipating the resplen- 
 dent crown of righteousness awaiting him ; and 
 though willing to abide in his earthly taber- 
 nacle for the sake of his beloved flock, having 
 also a desire to depart and to be w r ith Christ : 
 on the other hand, a devoted people,- grateful 
 to their spiritual benefactor, for his laborious 
 exertions,, and edifying example : willing to 
 resign him to the society of the blessed above, 
 and thankful for his apparent meetness for it.
 
 120 LIFE OF CALVIN. 
 
 SECTION VI. 
 
 Calvin's will His farewell address to the 
 syndics His composure in the prospect 
 of death His death Burial, epitaph, and 
 character. 
 
 THE will of the Geaevian reformer, made on 
 the 25th of April, and which contains an 
 epitome of his sentiments and experience, can- 
 not fail to be interesting to the reader, and is 
 here inserted verbatim. 
 
 THE WILL OF JOHN CALVIN. 
 
 ec In the name of God. To all whom it may 
 concern; be it known that in the year 1564, 
 and on the 25th day of the month of April, 
 I, Pierre Chenelat, citizen and sworn notary 
 of Geneva, having been called in by John 
 Calvin, minister of the word of God, in the 
 church of Geneva, and citizen of the said 
 Geneva; who, being indisposed in body, but 
 of sound and disposing mind, hath declared to 
 me his wish to make his last will and testament ; 
 desiring me to write what he should dictate
 
 HIS WILL 
 
 and pronounce; which at his said request I 
 have done, and written what he hath dictated 
 to me, and pronounced word by word, .without 
 omitting 1 , or adding any thing thereto, accord- 
 ing to what followeth. In the name of God. 
 I, John Calvin, minister of the word of God, 
 in the church of Geneva, finding myself so 
 much reduced by various maladies, that I can- 
 not but think, that God will shortly 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 
 pity on me, whom he hath created and placed 
 in this world, he hath delivered me out of the 
 thick darkness of idolatry, into which I was 
 plunged ; and hath brought me into the light 
 of his gospel, and made me a partaker of the 
 doctrine of salvation whereof I was most un- 
 worthy. And he hath not only gently and 
 graciously borne with my faults and sins, for 
 which I deserved to be rejected of him and 
 cast out, but hath vouchsafed to use my 
 labours in preaching and publishing the truth 
 of his gospel. And I declare it is my wish 
 and intention to continue in the same faith 
 and religion, having no other hope or refuge 
 but in his gratuitous adoption of me, upon 
 which is founded all my salvation : embracing
 
 LIFE OF CALVIN. 
 
 the grace which he has given me in Jesus 
 Christ, and accepting the merit of his death 
 and passion, that so all my sins may be buried : 
 and beseeching him so to wash and cleanse 
 me in the blood of that great Redeemer which 
 was shed for all poor sinners, that in his image 
 I may appear before his face. I declare also, 
 that, according to the measure of grace be- 
 stowed upon me, I have endeavoured to teach 
 his word in its purity, as well in sermons as in 
 writings, and endeavoured faithfully to expound 
 the holy scriptures : and that in all the dis- 
 putes which I have had with the enemies of 
 truth, I have never used either craftiness or 
 sophistry, but have fairly maintained the truth. 
 But alas ! my zeal, if it deserve the name, 
 has been so cold and unworthy, that I feel 
 myself highly indebted in all, and through all : 
 and if it were not for his infinite bounty, all 
 the zeal I have discovered would appear light 
 as smoke, and the graces which he has bestowed 
 upon me would only render me more guilty. 
 So that my only refuge is, that He being the 
 Father of mercy, I trust he will be and appear 
 the Father of so miserable a sinner. Further, 
 I desire that my body after my decease, may be 
 interred in the customary manner, awaiting the 
 day of a blessed resurrection. With respect 
 to the property which God hath given me to 
 dispose of, I name and appoint as my only heir,
 
 HIS WILL 
 
 my well-beloved brother Antony Calvin ; nomi- 
 nally leaving to him only the cup which I 
 received from Monsieur de Varennes, begging 
 him to be content therewith, which I am per- 
 suaded he will be; knowing that I have no 
 other motive than that what little I leave may 
 descend to his children. Further, I leave to 
 the college, ten crowns, and to the purse for 
 poor strangers, the same sum. Also to Jane, 
 daughter of Charles Castan and of my half 
 sister on the paternal side, the sum of ten 
 crowns. Further, to Samuel and to John, sons 
 of my said brother, my nephews, each forty 
 crowns. And to my nieces, Ann, Susanna, and 
 Dorothy, each thirty crowns. As to my nephew 
 David, as he hath proved but light and tri- 
 fling, I bequeath to him only twenty crowns, for 
 chastisement. This is in sum, all the property 
 which God hath given me, as far as I am able 
 to ascertain it in books, furniture, and other 
 things. Should it, however, prove more, I 
 desire it may be distributed between my nephews 
 and nieces aforesaid, not excluding my nephew 
 David, should God give him grace to be more 
 circumspect. But, I believe that with respect 
 to this, there will be no difficulty, especially 
 when my debts are paid, which I have given in 
 charge to my brother, upon whom I can de- 
 pend ; naming him executor of this testament,
 
 124 LIFE OF CALVIN. 
 
 with Laurent de Normandie, giving them full 
 powT and authority to make an inventory of, 
 and to sell my goods, to procure money in order 
 to comply with the contents hereof. Dated 
 this 25th of April 1564. So be it. 
 
 " JOHN CALVIN." 
 
 " On the morrow,, being the 26th day of 
 April 1564, the said John Calvin did also direct 
 me to assemble Theodore de Beza, Raymond 
 Chauvet, Michael Cop, Louis Enoch, Nicolas 
 Colladon, Jacques de Bordes, ministers of the 
 word of God in this church, and also Henry 
 Scringer, professor of arts, all citizens of 
 Geneva, in the presence of whom he hath de- 
 clared, that he desired me to write from his 
 words, the said will in the form and words 
 above; desiring me to read it in his presence, 
 and that of the said witnesses, which I have 
 also done word by word. This being done, he 
 hath declared this to be his last will and 
 testament, desiring that it might be faithfully 
 observed*. In further approbation of which, he 
 hath requested the aforenamed witnesses to 
 subscribe it with me : which hath also been 
 done on the day and year aforesaid, at Geneva, 
 in the street called the Canons, in his own 
 house. In proof of which, I have affixed the 
 common seal of our highly honoured seigneurs
 
 ADDRESS TO THE SYNDICS. 125 
 
 and superiors,, and my seal manual as cus- 
 tomary. 
 
 (Signed) {f P. CHESELAT." 
 
 Having thus made his will, he signified to 
 the four syndics his wish to address them once 
 more in their assembly, to which he hoped to 
 be carried on the morrow. But they informed 
 him that they would visit him, and conjured 
 him to be careful of his health. The next day, 
 being all present at his house, after the usual 
 compliments, and Calvin having told them that 
 he had long wished to address them, and to 
 express the last proof of his affection for them, 
 and his attachment to the interests of the State, 
 but that he had not been willing to do it until 
 he was assured of the near approach of death. 
 " I thank you," said he, "my highly honoured 
 seigneurs, for all the honours you have done 
 me, however unworthy I have been of them ; 
 and for the proofs of affection which you have 
 given me, bearing with my weaknesses, and mv 
 deficiencies, with long patience. And though 
 in the duties of my charge I have been exposed 
 to various struggles, and have endured numerous 
 attacks, I know that these things have not 
 happened by your fault, but by the secret 
 orders of divine Providence, who exposes his 
 children to various tribulations. But, because 
 I have not acquitted myself of my duty as I
 
 126 LIFE OF CALVIN. 
 
 ought to have done, I earnestly entreat you to 
 consider not so much what I have done, as 
 what I intended to do. For I can declare with 
 sincerity, that I have felt a deep concern in the 
 interests of your republic, and that if I have 
 not discharged all the duties of my charge, I 
 have at least used my utmost endeavours to 
 promote the welfare of the public. 
 
 " If I were not indeed to acknowledge that 
 the Lord has made use of my ministry for the 
 good of his church, and that by the help of 
 heaven, my labours have not been useless to 
 you; you might with justice accuse me of dis- 
 simulation. But as I am convinced that what 
 I have done is trifling, compared to what the 
 Lord required of me, I beseech you earnestly 
 to excuse my faults and my short comings. 
 
 " I thank you, however, for the indulgence 
 which you have shewn me in bearing with 
 mildness and with charity all my transports 
 of anger, which I hope God will pardon, as 
 well as all my other sins. Finally, I declare 
 before God, that I have not rashly or without 
 due conviction, taught you the doctrine which 
 you have heard from me; but that I have 
 purely and sincerely preached to you the word 
 of God, according to the charge which he 
 hath given me of it. And as I should have
 
 ADDRESS TO THE SYNDICS. 
 
 provoked his anger, if I had acted otherwise, 
 so I am persuaded that my labours, and the 
 pains which I have taken to instruct you, have 
 not been displeasing to him. And I make this 
 declaration before God, and in your presence, 
 so much the more willingly, as I do not doubt 
 that Satan, after his usual manner, will raise 
 up many light, wicked, and ambitious spirits, 
 to corrupt and change the pure doctrine which 
 I have published to you." 
 
 Having represented to them the infinite 
 blessings with which God had loaded them ; 
 f{ There is no one," added he, ec who can better 
 than myself inform you from how many dangers 
 the powerful and merciful hand of the Lord 
 hath delivered you. You see the happy state 
 in which you now are. Whether, therefore, you 
 are in prosperity or in adversity, keep this truth 
 constantly in view, that it is God alone who 
 preserves cities and kingdoms, and that he 
 requires homage from them, in acknowledg- 
 ment that they depend entirely upon himself. 
 Remember that David, that illustrious king, 
 confesses that it was at a time when he enjoyed 
 a profound peace, that he experienced so dan- 
 gerous a fall, from which he would never have 
 arisen, if the Lord by a singular favour had 
 not stretched out his hand. What ought not
 
 128 LIFE OF CALVIN. 
 
 weak and infirm men, therefore, to fear, since 
 so powerful and pious a prince has fallen ? 
 
 " You must, therefore, humble yourselves 
 exceedingly before God, if you desire that he 
 would give you grace to live in his fear, and to 
 put your whole trust in his all-sufficient help. 
 Conducting yourselves thus, you may be per- 
 suaded that you will experience his protection, 
 as you have done hitherto, and that you will 
 remain firm and unshaken, although your sal- 
 vation hangs upon a slender thread. If, there- 
 fore, the Lord prosper your designs, be careful 
 that you do not exalt yourselves like the pro- 
 fane, but with deep submission, render unto 
 him the humblest thanks for all the good he is 
 doing for you. And when you find yourselves 
 in adversity, when even death shall surround 
 you on all sides, fail not to hope in him who 
 has power to raise the dead ; and consider that 
 God only smites you to excite your zeal, and to 
 teach you to hope in him alone. 
 
 tc If, however, you are anxious that God 
 would preserve you in the happy state in which 
 you now are, be careful not to defile by your 
 vices, the holiness of the church in which he 
 hath placed you. For he is the only sovereign 
 God, the King of Kings, and the Lord of
 
 ADDRESS TO THE SYNDICS. 129 
 
 Lords., who loads with good things, and with 
 honours, those who honour him; but who 
 abases and covers with contempt those who 
 despise him. Serve him, therefore, according 
 to the precepts which he hath given you ; have 
 nothing so much at heart as to obey his divine 
 will, and seek daily to acquire some new degree 
 of virtue and of perfection : for whilst we are 
 in this world we can never accomplish all the 
 duties which God has enjoined upon us. I 
 know the morals and the inclinations of each 
 of you, and I know that you stand in need 
 of exhortation ; no man is so perfect as not to 
 have many faults. Examine yourselves, there- 
 fore, carefully, and ask of God those qualities 
 and virtues which you yet need. 
 
 (C We all know what vices reign in the 
 assemblies of those who govern the states ; some, 
 neglecting the public good, mind only their 
 private interests ; others are only anxious to 
 gratify their passions ; some make a bad use 
 of the gifts of Heaven; while others filled 
 with vanity and a good opinion of themselves, 
 wish to impose their advice upon all the world. 
 
 ff I conjure the aged, not to envy young 
 persons the graces with which God hath 
 adorned them; and the young to discover in 
 their whole conduct great modesty and humility.
 
 130 LIFE OF CALVIN. 
 
 Be not discouraged.^ neither trouble one another. 
 Avoid all kinds of animosities and bitterness. 
 For nothing is more likely to prevent the exe- 
 cution of designs for the public good. 
 
 " To be defended from all these evils, each 
 one must be satisfied with the condition in 
 which he is placed, and all acquit themselves 
 generally with fidelity in the employment com- 
 mitted to them. I entreat you also to be care- 
 ful, that neither favour nor hatred have any 
 influence upon your judgments in civil pro- 
 cesses; and to take care that neither fraud, 
 solicitations, nor any other oblique means have 
 any influence against right and just reason*. 
 Should you be tempted to support the bad 
 cause through interest, resist it vigorously; 
 considering him who hath raised you ta this 
 dignity, and asking of him the succours of his 
 Holy Spirit. Finally, as I have been the sub- 
 ject of many weaknesses and imperfections, 
 which I confess before God, and before his holy 
 angels, and before you, highly honoured seig- 
 neurs, I once more beseech you to excuse and 
 pardon them." 
 
 Having finished this discourse, he besought 
 God to load them with his favours, and to 
 conduct them by his Holy Spirit, for the ad- 
 vantage of the republic; and having shaken
 
 EXHORTATION TO THE MINISTERS. 131 
 
 hands with them all, bade them farewell ; the 
 seigneurs, who considered him their common 
 father, could not separate from him without 
 tears, or without discovering the deepest 
 distress. 
 
 On the 28th of April, all the ministers of 
 the town, and those of the country, being 
 assembled in his room, according to his desire, 
 he addressed them in the following discourse: 
 fc I exhort you, my brethren, to discover after 
 my death, the same zeal in the exercise of your 
 charge, which you have hitherto shewn ; and 
 never to lose courage : being persuaded that 
 the Lord will defend this church, and this re- 
 public from all the dangers with which they 
 are threatened. Suffer not divisions and enmities 
 ever to destroy that mutual charity which ought 
 to reign amongst you. Think continually of 
 what you owe to the flocks of which you are 
 the pastors ; and let nothing separate you from 
 them. I know that those who wish to desert 
 them will not want pretexts to colour their 
 infidelity; but a fatal experience will one day 
 convince them, that the Lord cannot be mocked. 
 
 " When I first arrived in this city, the 
 gospel was indeed preached, but disorder and 
 confusion were so universal, that every body 
 made Christianity to consist in the overthrow
 
 132 LIFE OF CALVIN. 
 
 of the laws ; and I suffered many indignities 
 from several base persons, whose insolence I 
 endeavoured to repress. However, though 
 naturally extremely timid, God banished from 
 my heart all fear, and gave me so firm and 
 intrepid a courage, that I resisted all the at- 
 tempts of the wicked, and was invincible to all 
 their attacks. 
 
 " When I returned from Strasbourg, I con- 
 fess that it was with extreme reluctance, that I 
 yielded to the earnest prayers of this church ; 
 because I thought that all my cares would pro- 
 duce no fruit. For I was ignorant of the 
 designs of Divine Providence; and I perceived 
 that I was engaging in an enterprize full of 
 difficulties, which to me, appeared insurmount- 
 able. But, having begun this holy work, and 
 continuing to apply to it all my exertions, I 
 found at length, that God poured his benedic- 
 tions upon my labour. 
 
 " Persist then constantly in the vocation 
 with which you are called ; preserve the order 
 and the rules which are observed in this 
 church : do all that depends upon you to re- 
 tain this people in their duty ; for you are not 
 ignorant of the great number of the wicked 
 and the rebellious. You perceive that this 
 church is not now in a low condition ; and
 
 LETTER TO FAREL. 
 
 you will draw upon yourselves the judgments 
 of God, if it should ever be destroyed by your 
 negligence. Finally,, I declare to you, my 
 brethren, that I have always been united to you 
 by a sincere friendship ; that if during this 
 affliction you have felt any effects of my grief, 
 I entreat your pardon, and return you a thou- 
 sand thanks for having borne with my defects 
 so long a time." 
 
 Calvin having been informed by a letter 
 from Farel, that though he was eighty-four 
 years of age, and loaded with infirmities, he 
 had resolved to visit him ; he replied, e( I wish 
 you perfect health, my very dear brother, and 
 since God intends you should remain in this 
 world after me, remember ever our union, 
 which hath produced so many advantages to the 
 church, and the fruit of which we shall gather 
 in heaven. 
 
 " I beg, however, that you would not on 
 my account expose yourself to the fatigue of a 
 journey. My respiration is difficult, and I am 
 about to breathe the last gasp, happy to live 
 and die in Jesus Christ, who is gain to all his 
 children in life and in death ; I bid you, and all 
 my brethren, my last adieu. 
 
 " At Geneva, May 2, 1564."
 
 134 LIFE OF CALVIN. 
 
 This letter did not, however, prevent the 
 venerable old man from paying his last at- 
 tentions to Calvin ; after having seen and con- 
 versed with him, he returned the next day to 
 Neufchatel. 
 
 From this time to the period of his death 
 he was incessantly employed in prayer to God. 
 It was, indeed, in a low voice,, interrupted by a 
 shortness of breath., with which he was op- 
 pressed; but his sparkling eyes, constantly 
 directed towards heaven, and the serenity of 
 his countenance, discovered the ardour of his 
 petitions, and his confidence in the mercy of 
 God. In his most violent pains he frequently 
 repeated those words of David; " I was dumb, 
 Lord, because thou didst it." And sometimes 
 those of Isaiah; cc I mourn like the dove." 
 And frequently, lifting up his heart to God, 
 he would exclaim, " Lord thou bruisest me,, 
 but I suffer with patience, since it is thy hand 
 that hath done it," 
 
 To admit all the persons who wished to 
 express their regret at the prospect of losing 
 him, the door*of his chamber must have been 
 open night and day. But as he spoke with 
 difficulty, he requested that his friends would 
 be contented to pray to God for him, and spare
 
 COMPOSURE IN THE PROfcPECT OF DEATH. 135 
 
 themselves the trouble of visiting him. On 
 being visited by his intimate and highly valued 
 friend, Beza, he informed him,, that he made 
 it a matter of conscience not to divert him in 
 the smallest degree from the duties of his 
 charge, so much had he the interests of the 
 church, and the glory of God, at heart. In this 
 state he continued until the 19th of May, ex- 
 hibiting a perfect resignation, and comforting 
 his friends. And, as on this day they were 
 accustomed to partake of a meal together, in 
 token of their intimate friendship, he was 
 anxious that they should sup in the hall of his 
 house; and being carried thither from his cham- 
 ber, he made use of these words on entering : 
 " I am come to see you, my brethren, and to 
 seat myself at table with you for the last time." 
 He then offered up the usual prayer, ate a little, 
 and discoursed in a manner worthy of his piety, 
 and of his zeal ; and when his weakness obliged 
 him to retire to his chamber, looking at the 
 company with a smile, ec This wall," said he, 
 ' f will not prevent my being united with you 
 in spirit." 
 
 What he had predicted happened ; for until 
 this day, however weak, he had never failed to 
 rise, and to be placed before his table. But 
 after this night he remained confined to his
 
 136 LIFE OF CALVIN. 
 
 bed, so thin and exhausted, that breath only 
 remained, though his face was not much 
 altered. 
 
 On the day of his death, which was the 
 24th of May, he appeared to speak with less 
 difficulty, and more strength. But it was the 
 last effort of nature. About eight o'clock 
 in the evening, the signs of death appeared 
 suddenly in his face ; he continued speaking, 
 however, with great propriety, until his last 
 breath, when he appeared rather to fall asleep 
 than die. 
 
 Thus was this great light of the protestant 
 church extinguished. On the day following, 
 the whole city was plunged into the most in- 
 conceivable grief. For the republic regretted 
 the wisest of its citizens; the church its faith- 
 ful pastor ; the school its incomparable master ; 
 and all bewailed their common father, the 
 source of their joy and consolation. Many 
 ran in crowds to his room, and could scarcely 
 be persuaded to separate themselves from his 
 body. There were also several strangers, and 
 amongst them, the ambassador of England, 
 whom the reputation of this great man had 
 drawn to Geneva ; who, not having been able to 
 see him living, earnestly entreated to see his
 
 HIS BURIAL^ AND EPITAPH. 137 
 
 remains; their request was immediately com- 
 plied with. 
 
 But to avoid the calumnies of the enemies 
 of the church,, by thus satisfying univeral 
 curiosity; on the day following, which was 
 Sunday, about eight o'clock in the morning, 
 his body was covered and enclosed in a wooden 
 coffin, and at two o'clock in the afternoon he 
 was conveyed, without any pomp, to the com- 
 mon burying place, called Plein Palais. All 
 the seigneurs, ministers, and professors, and 
 almost all the inhabitants of the town, attended 
 at the funeral ceremony with expressions of the 
 deepest grief. No inscription was put upon his 
 tomb, because he had expressly forbidden it ; 
 but an epitaph was written by Beza, at once 
 simple and expressive, and which is thu* 
 literally rendered: 
 
 The terror of Rome, and of vice. 
 Which still dreads his virtue, 
 Here lies the illustrious CALVIN ; 
 While the good bless, 
 The wicked tremble at him. 
 
 Chaste humility, his faithful companion, 
 
 Furnished the model 
 
 Of this humble monument, 
 
 Without pomp or ornament.
 
 138 LIFE OF CALVIN. 
 
 If the curiosity which conducted thee hither, 
 
 Meets with nothing gratifying, 
 
 Know, traveller, that a name so venerable, 
 
 Enriches more a tomb, 
 
 Than marble of the highest polish.* 
 
 Calvin was fifty-four years old when he 
 died, half of which time he spent in the 
 labours of the ministry. He was of the middle 
 size, a pale face, brown complexion, and bril- 
 liant eyes, which announced the penetration 
 and vivacity of his mind. Neat and modest 
 in his habits, as well as moderate in his eat- 
 ing, he had no less horror of luxury than of 
 impurity. He ate, indeed, so little, that during 
 several years he partook of only one meal a 
 
 * Cy git Calvin, ce grand honime, 
 Qui flit la terreur de Rome. 
 Le vice presque abbatu, 
 Redoute encore sa vertu. 
 Les gens de bien la benissent; 
 Et les medians en freraissent. 
 
 De ce chetif monument 
 
 Sans pompe, & sans ornement, 
 
 La sainte humilite, sa compagne fiddle, 
 
 A fourni le modele. 
 
 Si le desir curieux 
 
 Qui te conduit en ces lieux 
 
 N'y voit rien de remarquable 
 
 Scache, passant, qu'un nom si venerable, 
 
 Enrichit mieux un tombeau, 
 
 Que le niarbre le plus beau.
 
 HIS CHARACTER. 139 
 
 day, on account of the weakness of his stomach. 
 He slept but little. His memory was so 
 tenacious., that he remembered persons whom 
 he had only seen once,, after the lapse of a 
 considerable time ; nor did he ever forget 
 the smallest thing connected with his charge,, 
 though oppressed with innumerable occupations. 
 Whilst he was engaged in composing any work., 
 though interrupted by important duties for 
 several hours, he would resume his work, with- 
 out reading again what he had already written. 
 He was so prudent and judicious, that no 
 person ever repented having followed his ad- 
 vice. Though his manners were grave and 
 serious, his conversation was remarkably sweet 
 and interesting. He bore with the defects of 
 others with admirable prudence for, as on the 
 one hand he never oppressed the consciences 
 of weak persons with terror, or threw them 
 into confusion by censures too severe ; so on 
 the other hand, he never encouraged sinners 
 in their vices, by excusing or nattering them. 
 A friend to truth, sincerity, and candour, 
 especially in religious concerns, he was the 
 declared enemy of dissimulation and obstinacy. 
 
 Being of a bilious Jiabit he was easily ex- 
 cited to choler, a susceptibility considerably 
 increased by a studious and laborious life. 
 He had, however, learned to moderate it so
 
 140 LIFE OF CALVIN. 
 
 effectually., that he never used any expressions 
 unworthy of a pious man; nor was anything 
 capable of moving him but the conduct of 
 rebellious and undisciplined persons. 
 
 No person could be more disinterested than 
 Calvin : his goods,, his books,, and his money 
 did not produce the sum of one hundred and 
 twenty-five crowns ; he, however,, refused, dur- 
 ing his sickness, twenty-five crowns, which the 
 council wished to present him with ; as well as 
 the share of emoluments due to him; bethought 
 he ought not to receive them, because he was 
 incapable of fulfilling the duties of his ap- 
 pointments. 
 
 Calvin gave many proofs of his attachment 
 to Geneva ; his life, principally devoted to the 
 good of that republic, was a perpetual demon- 
 stration of it; but he furnished a peculiar and 
 striking instance of it in the month of May 
 1559, when a siege was apprehended ; every 
 body worked in repairing the fortifications of 
 the town ; the professors of the academy, the 
 pastors, as well as literary characters, after 
 the example of Calvin, undertook to complete 
 one of the bastions of the place. 
 
 Though Galvin was sufficiently attached to 
 his own opinions, he respected those- of others ;
 
 HIS CHARACTER. 141 
 
 and though fixed in his sentiments, he knew 
 how to esteem and commend those who did not 
 hold, and even those who condemned them. 
 It is well known that he was thoroughly de- 
 cided on predestination, grace, and the sacra- 
 ments; he, however, translated into French, 
 the Sum of Theology, by Melancthon, in 1546, 
 and had it republished in 1551. Yet Me- 
 lancthon was considerably more reserved than 
 Calvin on the first article ; and called absolution 
 a sacrament. Calvin, notwithstanding, wrote 
 a preface for that work, and acknowledged in 
 it, that Melancthon had said all that was neces- 
 sary to salvation, and that he had only omitted 
 what persons may be ignorant of without 
 danger ; he even described with energy the dis- 
 putes so ill managed on those subjects, saying, 
 that " They were perplexed and confused, and 
 produced no fruit of profitable instruction/' 
 He concluded his reflections, which were just, 
 by a handsome eulogy on Melancthon, and 
 exhorted his readers to imitate that great man 
 in moderation, docility, and piety. 
 
 The above instance will be considered bv 
 
 j 
 
 the impartial reader, as characteristic of a 
 great and liberal mind. The importance of 
 unity of sentiment with regard to the funda- 
 mental doctrines of the gospel, can never be 
 too earnestly maintained ; but it becomes every
 
 142 LIFE OF CALVIN. 
 
 man to examine whether in the distribution of 
 importance to particular truths,, his decision be 
 in unison with scripture authority and example : 
 or, in other words,, whether he regulate the 
 importance of every article., not by the rank 
 assigned to it in his particular system, but by 
 the relative importance which it occupies in the 
 holy scriptures. The truths, which, in the New 
 Testament are represented as important to be 
 believed in order to salvation,, are few and 
 obvious, and easily distinguished from what 
 may with propriety be denominated speculative 
 theology. An attention to this simple dis- 
 tinction would prevent numerous mistakes and 
 disputes, the general effect of which is equally 
 injurious and disgusting. Uniformity of senti- 
 ment on the subordinate points of religion, is 
 plainly impossible, from the state of society, nor 
 will the chimera ever be pursued by any but 
 fanatical bigots, or interested communities. 
 Truth is the friend of Christ, but we should 
 ever remember, that his sheep are also dear to 
 him. If in defending our doctrines, we aban- 
 don moderation and Christian charity, we shall 
 convey an impression that they are incompatible 
 with zed for truth, though it is their union 
 alone which constitutes the true Christian.* 
 
 * " Men may differ from each other in many religious 
 opinions, and yet all may retain the essentials of Christianity; 
 men may sometimes eagerly dispute, and yet Eftt differ much
 
 HIS CHARACTER. 143 
 
 A remarkable and pleasing trait in the 
 character of Calvin must not be omitted : 
 Bucer loudly blamed the vehemence of Calvin ; 
 Calvin knew it; he wrote to him expressly to 
 acknowledge his fault, fc My struggles are not 
 greater/' said he, ec against my vices, which 
 are very great, and numerous, than against 
 my impatience ; and my efforts are not wholly 
 useless ; I have not, however, yet been able to 
 conquer that ferocious animal." " What 
 modesty!" says Vossius.* 
 
 It is important to remark, that the con- 
 sideration which Calvin enjoyed in Geneva, 
 did not place him above the laws. His works 
 were liable to the same censure as those of 
 other writers, and he was frequently compelled 
 to correct them in the manner thought most 
 desirable. Does not this clearly prove, that 
 Calvin, instead of directing despotically the 
 opinions of his superiors and his equals, often 
 sacrificed his own to those which were pre- 
 scribed to him ? 
 
 from one another : the rigorous persecutors of error, should, 
 therefore, enlighten their zeal with knowledge, and temper 
 their orthodoxy with charity, that charity, without which 
 orthodoxy is vain ; charity that thinketh no evil but hopeth 
 all things, and endureth all things," 
 
 Dr. Samuel Johnson. Life of Sir Thomas Browne, p. 58, 
 
 * Epist. praestaut Theol. p. 817.
 
 144 LIFE OF CALVIN. 
 
 M. Gaillard, an historian distinguished for 
 accuracy and eloquence, attributes to Calvin 
 the wars which religion gave rise to in France : 
 but of this he furnishes no proof; on the con- 
 trary, it is certain that he sought peace with 
 ardour ; that he would have established it 
 universally; that he exhorted all those who 
 attempted to interrupt it ; that he wrote in 
 the same strain to all who consulted him ; and 
 that he solicited money of the German princes 
 for the persecuted protestants in France; his 
 correspondence, printed, and in manuscript, 
 leaves no doubt with respect to his pacific 
 intentions. 
 
 We have already seen that he was zealous 
 and indefatigable in the pursuit of truth ; 
 active and courageous in the propagation of it ; 
 pure in his morals, correct in his conduct, and 
 disinterested in all his actions. Superior to 
 trifling considerations of vanity, he despised 
 luxury, honours, and pleasures; his vices arose 
 out of the extremity of his virtues : he instantly 
 became indignant whenever he saw truth and 
 piety prostrated at the feet of the wicked : an 
 enemy of all dissimulation, he expressed himself 
 with frankness; and as he was naturally violent, 
 his manner was harsh and painful ; but he never 
 spared himself: he acknowledged his faults; 
 he displayed them unveiled., and frequently
 
 HIS CHARACTER. 1 i5 
 
 treated himself with the same severity which he 
 shewed to others. It is certain that if Calvin 
 did not gain the friendship of all who knew 
 him, he at least commanded their esteem. 
 
 In the ecclesiastical history of M. L'Abbe 
 Berault De Bercastel ; it appears that, that 
 historian has assembled whatever can be ima- 
 gined of an atrocious nature, to render the 
 character of a great man odious, whom he did 
 not know; to calumniate those virtues which 
 he could not dispute ; and to lower those talents 
 which he was compelled to admit. But it is 
 not difficult to account for the Reformer not 
 being a favourite of the Abbe. 
 
 Calvin surpassed all the leaders of his day, 
 by his superior intellect : he was even the 
 reformer of the Romish church, which he 
 induced to suppress many crying abuses, au- 
 thorized by her silence : he contributed to deliver 
 mankind from the yoke of superstition, and to 
 give them just views ,of despotism over con- 
 science : by forcing the clergy to study and to 
 reason, he favoured the progress of science and 
 philosophy. But it was in Geneva, especially, 
 that he unfolded the energy of his soul; where 
 he was at once the light of the church, the 
 oracle of the laws, the support of liberty, the 
 restorer of morals, the fountain of literature 
 
 L
 
 146 LIFE OF CALVIN. 
 
 and of the sciences. To him the Genevese are 
 indebted for the virtues which have so long 
 rendered them celebrated,, and the sciences 
 which they cultivate with so much success. 
 To the composition of the edicts, civil and 
 political, which have ensured the prosperity 
 of the republic during so many years, he 
 devoted much of his time ; so that Montesquieu 
 has remarked with propriety, that, " The 
 Genevese ought to bless the moment of the 
 birth of Calvin, and that of his arrival within 
 the walls of Geneva." 
 
 Calvin was acquainted with all the great 
 men of his age, who were distinguished either 
 by their rank, or the part which they were theu 
 acting in Europe ; as is evident from the 
 large collection of his letters in the library 
 of Geneva ; from those which are found in the 
 library of the King of France, under the 
 numbers 8585, and 8586, of the Latin manu- 
 scripts; as well as from the manuscripts of 
 M. Dupuy, No. 102; there are also a great 
 number in the library of the Due de Saxe 
 Gotha ; they were afterwards collected by 
 Theodore de Beza, who sold them with his 
 library to George De Zastrissel. Those 
 which are printed are very generally known, 
 and there are few libraries without some of 
 them.
 
 HIS CHARACTER. 147 
 
 It has frequently been asked,, why Calvin 
 was usually styled Maitre Jehan Calvin ? * It 
 has been thought that he took this title as 
 doctor in law ; others suppose he was called 
 so, according to the Swiss custom, by which 
 the pastors are presented to the people by the 
 title of Master or Doctor ; but then all the 
 ministers who had studied in law, would have 
 adopted the same honour, this usage, however, 
 was not adopted by the colleagues and suc- 
 cessors of Calvin. 
 
 It is not to be wondered at, that so many 
 good qualities and great virtues excited so 
 many enemies, if we reflect, not only upon 
 sacred, but upon profane history, and con- 
 sider the adventures of the most famous heroes 
 of pagan antiquity. Nor will it be thought 
 strange, that so valiant a defender of holy 
 doctrine, a man who had so extreme an horror 
 of vice, and so ardent a love of virtue, should 
 be attacked so vigorously by enemies from 
 without and from within. 
 
 Calvin was accused of being a heretic ; but 
 was not Jesus Christ treated in the same man- 
 ner by the Jewish priests ? He was banished 
 from Geneva, but he was afterwards recalled. 
 And though this had not been the case, did not 
 * Master John Calvin. 
 L2
 
 148 LIFE OF CALVIN. 
 
 the apostles, St. Athanasius and St. Chrysostom, 
 suffer the same treatment ? Other attempts 
 were made to blacken his reputation by various 
 calumnies. He has been accused of being 
 ambitious,, and of attempting to play the pope, 
 amongst those of his own persuasion. What ! 
 shall he be accused of ambition who chose for 
 his sphere of action, the republic and the church 
 of Geneva, which may justly be called the 
 seat of poverty ! Shall it be said that he 
 was avaricious ! he whose effects, after having 
 even sold his library at a high rate, did not 
 produce three hundred crowns ? In order to 
 refute this calumny, " My death," said he, 
 with great justness, " will shew how much 
 they are deceived, who persuade themselvei 
 that I am rich." 
 
 An instance of disinterestedness which does 
 equal honour to his moral and religious 
 character, and amply refutes the absurd charges 
 of ambition and avarice, which have been 
 brought against him, deserves to be generally 
 known. It was related at Geneva, by Deodati, 
 to the first Lord Orrery, who flourished under 
 the reign of Charles I. 
 
 " Eckius being sent by the pope, legate 
 into France, upon his return resolved to take 
 Geneva in his way, on purpose to see Calvin;
 
 HIS CHARACTER. 149 
 
 and if occasion were, to attempt reducing him 
 to the Roman church. Therefore, when Eckius 
 was come within a league of Geneva, he left 
 his retinue there, and went, accompanied but 
 with one man, to the city, in the forenoon. 
 Setting up his horses at an inn, he enquired 
 where Calvin lived ; whose house being shewn 
 him, he knocked at the door ; and Calvin 
 himself came to open it to him. Eckius 
 inquiring for Mr. Calvin, he was told he was 
 the person. Eckius acquainted him that he 
 was a stranger ; and having heard much of his 
 fame was come to wait upon him. Calvin 
 invited him to come in; and he entered the 
 house with him ; where., discoursing of many 
 things concerning religion, Eckius perceived 
 Calvin to be an ingenuous learned man, and 
 desired to know if he had not a garden to 
 walk in: to which Calvin replying he had, 
 they both went into it; and there Eckius 
 began to inquire of him, why he left the 
 Roman church; and offered him some argu- 
 ments to persuade him to return ; but Calvin 
 could by no means be persuaded to think of it. 
 At last, Eckius told him that he would put 
 his life in his hands ; and then said he was 
 Eckius, the pope's legate. At this discovery, 
 Calvin was not a little surprized ; and begged 
 his pardon that he had pot treated him with 
 the respect which was due to his quality.
 
 150 LIFE OF CALTIN. 
 
 Eckius returned the compliment ; and told him 
 if he would come back to the Roman church, 
 he would certainly procure for him a cardinal's 
 cap. But Calvin was not to he moved by 
 such an offer. Eckius then asked him what 
 revenue he had ; he told the cardinal he had 
 that house and garden, and fifty livres per 
 annum, beside an annual present of some wine 
 and corn, on which he lived very contentedly. 
 Eckius told him, that a man of his parts 
 deserved a greater revenue ; and then renewed 
 his invitation to come over to the Romish 
 church, promising him a better stipend if he 
 would. But Calvin, giving him thanks, assured 
 him he was well satisfied with his condition. 
 About this time, dinner was ready, when he 
 entertained his guest as well as he could, 
 excused the defects of it, and paid him great 
 respect. Eckius, after dinner, desired to know 
 if he might not be admitted to see the church, 
 which anciently was the cathedral of that city. 
 Calvin very readily answered that he might; 
 accordingly, he sent to the officers to be ready 
 with the keys, and desired some of the syndics 
 to be there present, not acquainting them who 
 the stranger was. As soon, therefore, as it was 
 convenient, they both went towards the church ; 
 and as Eckius was coming out of Calvin's 
 house, he drew out a purse, with about one 
 hundred pistoles, and presented it to Calvin;
 
 HIS CHARACTER. 151 
 
 but Calvin desired to be excused : Eckius told 
 him he gave it to buy books, as well as to 
 express his respect for him. Calvin,, with 
 much regret, took the purse : and they pro- 
 ceeded to the church, where the syndics and 
 officers waited upon them; at the sight of 
 whom, Eckius thought he had been betrayed, 
 and whispered his thoughts in t' e ear of 
 Calvin, who assured him of his safety. There- 
 upon they went into the church ; and Eckius 
 having seen all, told Calvin he did not expect 
 k.. find things in so decent an order, having 
 been told to the contrary. After having taken 
 a full view of every thing, Eckius was return- 
 ing out of the church ; but Calvin stopped 
 him a little, and calling the syndics and officers 
 together, took out the purse of gold which 
 Eckius had given him, telling them that he 
 had received that gold from this worthy 
 stranger, and that now he gave it to the poor ; 
 and so put it all into the poor-box that was 
 kept there. The syndics thanked the stranger ; 
 and Eckius admired the charity and modesty 
 of Calvin. When they were come out of the 
 church, Calvin invited Eckius again to his 
 Jiouse ; but he replied that he must depart ; so 
 thanking him for all his civilities, offered to 
 take his leave. But Calvin waited upon him 
 to the inn, and walked with him a mile out
 
 152 LIFE OF CALVIN. 
 
 of the territories of Geneva, where,, with great 
 compliments, they took a farewell of each 
 other."* 
 
 With regard to idleness, of which he has 
 been accused, it is only necessary to glance at 
 his works,, to he convinced that no slander was 
 ever more barefaced. 
 
 Dr. Hoyle, who wrote under the patronage 
 of Archbishop Usher, mentioning Calvin, says, 
 cc What shall I speak of his indefatigable in- 
 dustry, almost beyond the power of nature; 
 which, paralleled with our loitering, will, I fear, 
 exceed all credit ? It may be the truest object 
 of admiration, how one lean, worn, spent, and 
 wearied body could hold out. He read, every 
 week of the year through, three divinity lectures ; 
 every other week, over and above, he preached 
 every day : so that (as Erasmus said of Chry- 
 sostom) I know not whether more to admire 
 his constancy, or theirs that heard him. Some 
 have reckoned his yearly lectures to be one 
 hundred and eighty-six, and hfs yearly sermons 
 two hundred and eighty-six. Every Thursday 
 he sate in the presbytery. Every Friday, when 
 the ministers met to consult upon difficult texts, 
 
 * See the State Letters and Memoirs of the Right Hon. 
 Roger Boyle, p. 4, 5.
 
 HIS CHARACTER. 153 
 
 he made as good as a lecture. Besides all this, 
 there was scarce a day that exercised him not 
 in answering, either by word of mouth or 
 writing, the doubts and questions of different 
 churches and pastors, yea, sometimes more 
 at once; so that he might say with Paul 
 the care of all the churches lieth upon me. 
 Scarcely a year past wherein, over and above all 
 these former employments, some great volume 
 in folio, or other, came not forth."* 
 
 A striking instance of the placability of 
 Calvin, is too interesting to be suppressed. 
 His piercing eye had unmasked the hypocrite, 
 Troillet; he had also deprived him of the 
 ministerial character to which he aspired. But 
 when the sources of life exhausted in Troilletj, 
 had weakened his hatred, and he perceived 
 death approaching with slow and certain steps, 
 he wished to be reconciled, and sent for Calvin, 
 who ran to him, forgave him, comforted him, 
 and received his last adieu, which was one 
 of gratitude. 
 
 The last moments of Calvin, were, perhaps, 
 the finest of his life; he bade farewell to the 
 republic like a father, who is about to leave a 
 beloved family : to its chiefs, to all its citizens, 
 lie gave wise counsels; he anticipated the 
 * Biographia Evangelica, Vol. ii. p. 57.
 
 154 LIFE OF CALVIN. 
 
 regrets which his death was about to occasion ; 
 and saw the tears which it would cause to flow. 
 His tomb was simple, and without distinction; 
 but he was honoured with the mourning of the 
 country which had adopted him. She owed 
 indeed to him, in part, her liberty and her 
 happiness : his inflexible severity repressed 
 licentiousness, and established virtue, without 
 which, the wisest laws speak in vain; he also 
 revived internal union, which enabled them to 
 defend themselves against the common enemy. 
 If the man may sometimes blame him, the 
 citizen ought ever to bless him. 
 
 The just and eloquent character given of 
 the illustrious subject of these Memoirs., by 
 Alexandre Morus, rector of the academy of * 
 Geneva, shall close the account. 
 
 te As the sun when he arises with a glorious 
 light, extinguishes by his presence all the stars 
 which, during the darkness of the night, held 
 the empire of the heavens in the absence of 
 that great luminary, and scattered, though 
 feebly, the grateful light which they had bor- 
 rowed from him ; thus, when the sun of righter 
 ousness appears in the beauty of his divine 
 rays, he extinguishes by his infinite lustre, all 
 those lesser lights of the saints with which the 
 church is adorned on earth. Not that he de-
 
 HIS CHARACTER. 155 
 
 prives them of the rank which they hold in the 
 heavens, but they are incapable of appearing 
 in his presence. That divine sun reigns alone 
 in the majesty of day, but the men whom he 
 has sanctified by his grace, fail not to keep 
 their station in the night. And we ought to 
 contemplate them who live in this age of dark- 
 ness, and to consider them as stars, which shed 
 light to guide our steps into the way which 
 leads to a blessed immortality. Let us, how- 
 ever, be upon our guard, lest we offer an 
 insult to the sun of righteousness, by compar- 
 ing with him those inferior lights which we 
 see darken, disappear, and die away in his 
 presence. Let us ever recollect, that whatever 
 fire or light holy souls possess is derived from 
 that eternal sun, and contemplate God, rather 
 than man, in those great personages who edify 
 the church. I have thought it necessary, 
 gentlemen, to use this precaution, especially 
 on this day, in which I am about to pourtray 
 that bright star whose rising has restored to us 
 light after darkness; I mean John Calvin, an 
 illustrious personage, if ever there existed one ; 
 whose memory deserves to be had in perpetual 
 veneration. I am about to represent to you, 
 the great wonders which God has accomplished 
 by his ministry. As you have honoured this 
 assembly with your personal attendance, give 
 me also the attention of your mind. I beseech
 
 156 LIFE OF CALVIN. 
 
 you, inhabitants of Geneva,, since your own 
 interests are involved. I entreat you., noble 
 and illustrious strangers, since I am about to 
 address you on tbe interests of God, and the 
 great things which he hath done to promote 
 his glory. 
 
 ef I have often considered , that as we can- 
 not, without criminality, make the greatest 
 of men the companions and colleagues of Jesus 
 Christ; so it is necessary, on the other hand, 
 to guard against the opposite extreme, of bury- 
 ing their memory in an eternal oblivion. This 
 would be to despise the rich inheritance of 
 their pains and labours which we enjoy; and 
 to bury their name in silence, without testifying 
 our gratitude by the slightest remembrance, 
 I therefore conjure you, my illustrious hearers., 
 with all the ardour which I possess, and to 
 the full extent which religion will permit, to 
 venerate the name of the great Calvin : let 
 him live in your remembrance, let him inflame 
 your hearts ; let him be revered in the senate ; 
 let him be honoured in the church ; let your 
 academy and your schools crown him daily with 
 fresh praises and applauses ; let your citizens 
 have his triumphs continually in their mouths ; 
 let your youth respect him ; let his memory, 
 victorious over calumny, be venerated by the 
 whole earth ; let him descend from our children
 
 HIS CHARACTER. 157 
 
 to their children's children,, to the most remote 
 posterity, that future ages may celebrate with 
 immortal praises the precious recollection of the 
 greatest man,, whom Providence ever raised up 
 to relieve the church of Geneva. 
 
 rc Your ancestors, however, have not erected 
 statues to him in your public places, nor built 
 a chapel to his honour, nor raised a monument 
 to his memory. So little consideration did they 
 pay to his remains, that they contented them- 
 selves with simply throwing earth upon his 
 body, and with so little distinction from their 
 common practice, that we now seek in vain for 
 the spot where his bones rest ; a little moss 
 and turf serving him for a mausoleum. Those 
 wise men judged correctly, that, extaordinary 
 virtue (to speak according to the ancients) 
 consecrated itself by its own merit, which 
 renders it sufficiently venerable, without any 
 addition. It despises foreign ornaments, and 
 requires no attire but its own. In a word, the 
 proper recompense which is due to him, is not 
 to engrave his image upon marble or brass, and 
 then to place it upon some superb edifice, as 
 a magnificent theatre ; but to impress it deeply 
 upon the hearts of men, with sentiments of 
 profound and pious veneration, and to hear his 
 just praises celebrated in every age. For 
 this reason they were not willing to honour the
 
 158 LIFE OF CALVIN. 
 
 V 
 
 ashes of Calvin with those splendid attentions, 
 of which ambition is so profuse with respect 
 to others. 
 
 ff Let u s, however, always remember, that 
 the best and most solid praise which we can 
 possibly bestow, consists in imitating him whom 
 we praise. Thus, let not those who hear me 
 this day, be satisfied with simply forming an 
 abstract idea of this man of God ; let them 
 represent this model in the actions of their 
 lives ; let them not so much stop at the person 
 of Calvin, or the picture which they have 
 drawn of him, as to be prevented from con- 
 templating the Original, Jesus Christ, to whom 
 we are bound to refer the whole glory of our 
 discourse. 
 
 ef Recall, I entreat you, my illustrious 
 auditors, to your remembrance, the great and 
 extraordinary labours which exercised the 
 indefatigable spirit of our Hercules, and left 
 him scarcely a single moment of repose, though 
 his pale and meagre body pleaded loudly for 
 relaxation. What the most robust of men 
 would not have dared to undertake in an age, 
 that great genius happily executed in a few 
 years ; though the state of his health con- 
 demned him frequently to languish on a bed 
 of infirmity. It has therefore been a subject
 
 HIS CHARACTER. 159 
 
 of surprize to many persons, that, during the 
 short time which God lent him to the world, 
 he should have written and published so great 
 a number of works, so voluminous, and on 
 so great a variety of subjects. But if those 
 persons would consider, not so much the num- 
 ber and size of his works, as the solidity and 
 erudition, the choice and arrangement of sub- 
 jects, the beauty and purity of language, and 
 other excellent qualities which appear in every 
 line of his works ; they would be less surprised 
 that he has written so much, than that he has 
 written so well. Besides which, if those per- 
 sons would pay attention, not so much to the 
 extraordinary things which he has written, as 
 to those which he has done, they would per- 
 ceive that his great soul, overwhelmed with a 
 multiplicity of concerns, which followed each 
 other like waves of the sea, knew no other 
 relief from his labours, than a change of 
 occupation. 
 
 " Let them farther contemplate the storm of 
 persecutions which assailed him, and those 
 atrocious calumnies which constantly pursued 
 him, and I doubt not that they will rise from 
 simple admiration, into wonder. For where is 
 the Argus (if I may be permitted to borrow 
 names from heathen fables), who is alone equal 
 to so great a variety of occupation ? Who
 
 160 LIFE OF CALVItf. 
 
 could alone arrange them with so much 
 wisdom, and execute them with so much suc- 
 cess. How many modern Augean stables has 
 he not cleansed ? What Centaurs has he, not 
 overthrown? How extraordinary then must it 
 appear, that the same person who assisted with 
 so much assiduity, at the holy assemblies ap- 
 pointed for the decision of ecclesiastical affairs, 
 and the examination of the doctrine of the 
 preachers, should be constantly present in the 
 Consistories, established for the regulation of 
 morals ? preach daily in the temple ? teach 
 daily in the school ? be consulted at all times 
 on the necessities of the republic ? receive and 
 entertain a crowd of visitors, from whom his 
 house was scarcely ever free ? and be under 
 the necessity of sending every day various dis- 
 patches to all the countries of Christendom ? 
 
 " We may, indeed, form a better concep- 
 tion of it than others. We, who sail in the 
 same vessel ; ive, whose hand is upon the same 
 rudder; tve, who sustaining at the most, only 
 a hundredth part of the weight of his labour, 
 seek companions to share it with us. We, who 
 notwithstanding this relief, complain continually 
 of the weight of the burden which oppresses 
 us. This certainly arises from our not pos- 
 sessing either his shoulders or his strength. 
 Would to God that we might at least imitate his
 
 HIS CHARACTER. 161 
 
 ardour, his application, and his diligence ! For 
 what is there so difficult, that a great assiduity 
 \vill not overcome ? What obstacles is it not 
 capable of surmounting? We are called stu- 
 dious, but, compared with him, we are idle. 
 I have myself been attached to study through 
 life (if I may be permitted to speak of myself). 
 I am occupied exclusively with the functions 
 of my charge. I add a good part of the night 
 to the labours of the day ; and without wish- 
 ing for other praises, I dare to pretend to that 
 of diligent. Notwithstanding this, whenever 
 I think of Calvin, I confess that I am ashamed 
 of my idleness, and blush at possessing a mind 
 so ingenious in flattering my negligence. Calvin 
 certainly had not chosen without reason, those 
 expressive words which formed his device; 
 Sincerely and Promptly. We may, perhaps, 
 have another opportunity to speak of the first. 
 It is sufficient for our present subject to re- 
 mark now, that he has shewn us the second 
 in its highest perfection, in that w r onderful 
 promptitude, and incredible diligence which hr 
 discovered in all his actions. 
 
 cc Considering these things, can it be said 
 that Calvin lived only a short time, when all 
 the time that he lived may, with the strictest 
 propriety, be called life ? For neither ambition, 
 
 M
 
 162 LIFE OF CALVIN. 
 
 avarice, voluptuousness, nor idleness, which 
 rob men of their best days, shared any part 
 of his life. Even sleep interrupted him but 
 little, the other necessities of the body still less. 
 He lived longer than those persons who pass 
 a long succession of years, either in doing 
 nothing, or in acting contrary to their duty. 
 He lived longer than those who, in a soft and 
 shameful idleness, rather squander than use 
 life. These sort of people die long before 
 their last day. He lived a longer life than 
 those who pass their eighty or hundred 
 years in eating, drinking, and sleeping, with- 
 out study, but not without vice ; and who may 
 be said to be dead and buried while they are 
 alive. What advantage I ask, do they derive 
 from so many years passed in slothfulness and 
 effeminacy ? Life is long when it is husbanded 
 and improved. It must be measured by action, 
 and not by time. It is to be valued by its 
 weight, and not by its duration. For, indeed, 
 a single day of the life of a wise man who fears 
 God, is of more value than the lengthened life 
 of an ignorant and vicious man. Calvin, there- 
 fore, lived a long time, though he was taken 
 from the world in the midst of his course, since 
 he never suffered a single hour to escape un- 
 employed ; but possessed the address of ex- 
 tending the narrow boundaries which God had
 
 HIS CHARACTER. 163 
 
 allotted him, and of arresting the course of 
 what is, in its own nature, the most rapid of 
 
 all things. 
 
 ff We have, therefore, in the person of 
 Calvin, a rich model, not only of a profound 
 and sublime knowledge of divine mysteries, 
 and an inimitable beauty of composition, but 
 also of assiduous labour and prodigious dili- 
 gence. 
 
 tf Nor could he behold, without the most 
 lively grief, the vices of his flock, any more 
 than he could permit them in himself. ' If 
 c you desire,' said he, ' to have me for your 
 ' pastor, correct the disorders of your lives. If 
 e you have with sincerity recalled me from my 
 e exile, banish the crimes and debauchery which 
 e prevail amongst you. I certainly cannot be- 
 ' hold, without the most painful displeasure, 
 ' within your walls discipline trodden under foot, 
 f and crimes committed with impunity. I can- 
 ( not possibly live in a place so grossly immoral. 
 < Vicious souls are too filthy to receive the 
 c purity of the gospel, and the spiritual worship 
 ' which I preach to you. A life stained with 
 ' sin is too contrary to Jesus Christ to be 
 ' tolerated. I consider the principal enemies of 
 c the gospel to be, not the Pontiff of Rome, nor 
 ( heretics, nor seducers, nor tyrants, but such 
 
 If?
 
 164 LIFE OP CALVIN. 
 
 ' bad Christians ; because the former exert their 
 f rage out of the church,, while drunkenness, 
 { luxury, perjury, blasphemy., impurity., adul- 
 c tery, and other abominable vices overthrow my 
 f doctrine and expose it defenceless to the rage 
 ' of our enemies. Rome does not constitute the 
 f principal object of my fears. Still less am 
 ' I apprehensive from the almost infinite multi- 
 e tude of monks. The gates of hell, the princi- 
 f palities and powers of evil spirits, disturb me 
 ( not at all. I tremble on account of other 
 
 * enemies, more dangerous ; and I dread abund- 
 ( antly more, those carnal covetousnesses, those 
 
 * debaucheries of the tavern, of the brothel, and 
 e of gaming ; those infamous remains of ancient 
 f superstition, those mortal pests, the disgrace 
 ' of your town, and the shame of the reformed 
 f name. Of what importance is it to have 
 { driven away the wolves from the fold, if the 
 c pest ravage the flock ? Of what use is a dead 
 ' faith without good works ? Of what im- 
 e portance even truth itself, where a wicked 
 f 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 bitter - 
 c ness of my afflictions in a new exile, or let the 
 ' severity of the laws reign in the church. Re- 
 c establish there the pure discipline. Remove 
 ' from within your walls, and from the frontiers 
 f of your state, the pest of your vices, and con-
 
 HIS CHARACTER. 165 
 
 ' demn them io a perpetual banishment.' In 
 these terms spake Calvin in the council, when 
 he was recalled by the very suffrages which 
 had banished him. A convincing proof of the 
 extreme hatred which he bore to all descrip- 
 tions of vices. 
 
 " Since,, therefore, it is evident that Calvin 
 has no equal for depth of doctrine, for elo- 
 quence, for erudition, and for diligence ; since 
 he was ever ardent in detecting, and in censur- 
 ing, every kind of vice, and exemplary in 
 practising all the virtues which he recom 
 mended ; since he was never known to fail, 
 either in sweetness of rpanners, or in greatness 
 of courage under trials, or in patience while 
 suffering under injuries; since he was ever 
 admirable for prudence joined with charity, 
 gravity united with affability, severity accom- 
 panied with benignity, and modesty, which 
 seemed to dispute the victory with all his 
 other virtues ; since, finally, neither imposture, 
 nor envy, nor Antichrist are able to oppose 
 any thing which does not defeat itself, what 
 remains but that we congratulate our Geneva 
 upon her happiness in having possessed Calvin, 
 recollecting that it is to his cares that she is 
 principally indebted for the truth of her Latin 
 anagram !
 
 166 LIFE OF CALVIN. 
 
 (e Respublica Genevensis 
 Gens sub coelis vere pia.,* 
 
 and that it is to his labours that she is chiefly 
 indebted for the glory of her device, expressed 
 in an emblem in the middle of the name of Jesus 
 the Sun of Righteousness, 
 
 Apres les tenebres la lumiere^f 
 Abridged from another, 
 
 Apres les tenebres,, j'espere la lumiere^ 
 
 which had been used., as if by a prophetic spirit, 
 during the preceding ages." 
 
 * The Republic of Geneva. 
 A people the most pious under heaven. 
 
 f After darkness, light. 
 
 J After darkness, I hope for light. 
 
 Panegyrique De Jean Calvin prononce a Geneve, par 
 M. Alexandre Morus, Recteur De L'Academie.
 
 MEMOIRS 
 
 OF THE 
 
 WRITINGS OF CALVIN. 
 
 SECTION I. 
 
 Character of Calvin as an author and commen- 
 tator Testimonies to liis excellence from 
 Papists and Protestants Account of his 
 Christian Institutes. 
 
 "WE have already pourtrayed the subject of 
 the present Memoirs, in the character of an 
 illustrious reformer, and shewn the influence 
 of his labours in promoting the revival of pure 
 Christianity. We have seen united in his 
 person, the most entire disinterestedness, the 
 most ardent zeal, and active energy co-operat- 
 ing to the diffusion of knowledge, virtue, and 
 happiness ; it remains that we now consider him 
 as an author, and it will be abundantly evident, 
 that few persons have better deserved the tribu- 
 tary praises of posterity under this character, 
 than Calvin. 
 
 When we consider the extent and variety 
 of his works, the importance of the subjects,
 
 168 WRITINGS OF CALVIN. 
 
 and the practical tendency of his writings, we 
 shall be disposed to assign him a very high 
 rank in the class of useful and important 
 authors. Indebted to no temporary, or local 
 circumstances for the impression and popularity 
 of his works; their interest, uninfluenced by 
 the fluctuation of circumstances and opinions, 
 remains undiminished. What Dr. Johnson 
 says with so much justice of Watts, is equally 
 true of Calvin: " Few men have left behind 
 such purity of character, or such monuments 
 of laborious piety."* 
 
 His character as an author, must be ascer- 
 tained from the multiplicity and variety of his 
 works, rather than from any single perform- 
 ance ; it would, indeed, require volumes to 
 review all his works, which were published 
 in Latin, at Geneva, in twelve volumes, 
 folio. 
 
 But the most important view of the writ- 
 ings of Calvin, and that which is most con- 
 genial with the spirit of the present work, is 
 rather an exhibition of his theological senti- 
 ments, than a critical review of his composi- 
 tions ; which, were it practicable, would, in 
 all probability, be less interesting, and certainly 
 less profitable. 
 
 * Johnson's Lives of the Poets. Life of Watts.
 
 HIS CHARACTER AS AN AUTHOR. 169 
 
 Under the investigation of Calvin's merits 
 as an author,, it would be unpardonable to 
 omit the consideration of his style. 
 
 The dignity and majesty of his eloquence 
 were so eminent., that those who had the 
 greatest aversion to his pretended heresy,, were 
 constrained to admire in his writings the exact 
 purity of the Latin tongue, and to confess 
 that his latinity was worthy of the Augustan 
 age. Hence,, those who are willingly blind., 
 refuse to acknowledge that the mighty energy 
 by which he replaced Geneva under the yoke 
 of Jesus Christ, and recalled multitudes of 
 other people to the practice of a purer and 
 more evangelical worship., was the effect of the 
 finger of God, as undoubtedly it was. They 
 ascribe it, on the contrary, to the soft and 
 persuasive eloquence which he possessed in so 
 eminent a degree. Thus a determined partisan 
 of popery, has not been ashamed to use these 
 words : 
 
 " And thou, Calvin, the scourge of the thrice 
 
 dignified kingdom, 
 Who in thine own language, eclipsest the 
 
 Roman name."* 
 
 * " Et toy, Calvin, le fleau du regue a triple etage, 
 Qui perds le noin Romaiu par son propre langage."f 
 t Barclai.
 
 170 WRITINGS OF CALVIN. 
 
 In this verse he pretends only to praise the 
 eloquence of Calvin : eloquence indeed ! but 
 an eloquence divine, supported by the gran- 
 deur and weight of its subjects, full of nerve 
 and energy ; an eloquence, neither gay and 
 comic, like that with which Terrence has 
 enriched his fables ; nor stately and brilliant, 
 like that which Virgil has employed to sing the 
 battles and adventures of his heroes; nor 
 delicate and artificial, like that with which 
 Cicero enchained the Romans, fastening them 
 to his lips ; but, an eloquence like that of the 
 apostle of nations. An eloquence by which 
 this new Paul shook the foundations of superb 
 Rome, and recovered from the tyranny of the 
 Vatican, the empire of Europe. Calvin imitated 
 St. Paul, as St. Paul imitated Jesus Christ. 
 Animated with an apostolic spirit, he despised 
 the flowers and brilliancies of human eloquence, 
 and all the pompous equipage of the rhetoric 
 of the age. His strain, flovying with soft and 
 sober majesty, seemed to be adapted to sacred 
 things alone. 
 
 He had already displayed some sparks of 
 this light, when not having yet ef chosen the 
 good part," he employed some of his leisure 
 hours, in enriching with notes, the books 
 which Seneca has composed on Clemency, and 
 dedicated to the most cruel of emperors. la
 
 HIS CHARACTER AS AN AUTHOR. 171 
 
 this essay, he announced what might be ex- 
 pected in future. His Commentaries display 
 a style,, free, but exact, agreeable and majestic ; 
 simple and energetic., but pure and polished ; 
 modest, but rich; brilliant, but natural; deriving 
 all its beauties from their proper sources. So 
 that Seneca appears risen from the dead. 
 
 The vivacity and energy of his genius, are 
 conspicuous in his attacks upon the enemies 
 of truth. With what evidence and solidity 
 he establishes his reasonings ! How nobly he 
 enriches his subjects, while at the same time 
 there is neither any affectation, nor any smell 
 of the lamp. His stream of mind appears to 
 be perpetual ; and pursues its course with 
 equal beauty and fertility. Whoever wishes 
 to be acquainted with the force and beauty 
 of his style, will find an excellent specimen 
 in his answer to Cardinal Sadolet. The dedi- 
 cation of his Institutes to Francis I. is also 
 universally admired.* 
 
 * " I have ever thought that the three celebrated Pre- 
 faces, that which the President de Thou wrote for his History, 
 that which Casaubon has prefixed to his Polybius, and that 
 which Calvin has addressed to Francis I. King of France, 
 in favour of his Christian Institutes, must be considered as 
 the masterpieces of our age. And in placing that of Calvin 
 in the first rank, it appears to me that not only the sub- 
 limity and grandeur of the subject, but also the excellence 
 and beauty, the force and solidity, the purity and elegance 
 of the composition, oblige me to give it this preference/* 
 
 Panegyrique J)e Cahiu par M. Alexandre Morus.
 
 
 WRITINGS OF'CALflN. 
 
 It is no small honour to Calvin, that the 
 circumstance of being; born in the later ages of 
 Christianity, detracts nothing from his repu- 
 tation. Should we here be opposed by the 
 names of Austin and of Chrysostom, we may 
 safely reply., that if Calvin had been born in 
 the age of the fathers, he would have been 
 one of the most eminent. Abating that vener- 
 ation which is excited by antiquity, our author, 
 it is apprehended, will not suffer by a com- 
 parison with these illustrious fathers. To say 
 nothing of the errors into which the ancient 
 fathers have fallen, it is sufficiently evident, 
 that with respect to an extended apprehension 
 of the mysteries of divine truth, Calvin has 
 surpassed them all. 
 
 Should this praise be charged with being 
 exaggerated, we refer for a corroboration of it, 
 to a comparative view of the writings of the 
 respective authors. St. Chrysostom has ex- 
 plained the Psalms. St. Austin has also writ- 
 ten upon them. Calvin, after them, has com- 
 posed Commentaries upon them. To this 
 comparison we refer the claims of Calvin, per- 
 suaded that every candid mind will instantly 
 perceive the superiority of the reformer ; and, 
 that the preface to his Commentary on the 
 Psalms is alone worth their whole works. 
 What father of the church has left behind him 
 so complete an explication of all the books of
 
 HIS CHARACTER AS AN AUTHOR. 173 
 
 sacred scripture., with the exception only of 
 the closing Book of the Revelations ? ff Joseph 
 Scaliger, who scarcely thought any man worth 
 his commending, could not forbear admiring 
 Calvin ; and he praised him, among other 
 things, for not commenting on the Revelations ; 
 while he owned him far the happiest of all the 
 commentators in apprehending the sense of the 
 prophets."* And Pasquier says, ef Calvin was 
 a good writer, both in Latin and French, and 
 our French tongue is highly obliged to him 
 for enriching it with so great a number of fine 
 expressions, "f 
 
 The great Thuanus, in his admirable 
 history, though a Papist, speaks highly of his 
 eloquence. cc Calvin," says he, ff was endued 
 with great acuteriess and force of genius, and 
 with a wonderful faculty of eloquence ; a very 
 celebrated divine among the Protestants." 
 
 A testimony from the judicious Hooker, 
 highly honourable to the character and elo- 
 quence of Calvin, cannot fail to gratify those 
 readers who are happy enough to be acquainted 
 with his Ecclesiastical Polity ; a work, which, 
 whatever judgment may be formed with respect 
 to its general positions, will never fail to be 
 admired, while any taste for the sublime and 
 * Bayle. f Biographia Evan^elica.
 
 174 WRITINGS OF CALVltf. 
 
 beautiful in composition continues to influence 
 the public mind. Alluding to the return of 
 Calvin to Geneva after his exile, he remarks, 
 e< Besides, it was not unlikely but that his 
 credit in the world might many ways stand the 
 poor town in great stead ; as the truth is, 
 their minister's foreign estimation hath been 
 the best stake in their hedge. But whatever 
 secret respects were likely to move them, for 
 contenting of their minds, Calvin returned, 
 as he had been another Tully, to his own 
 home/' 
 
 In Dr. Mosheim's Ecclesiastical History the 
 following paragraph and note are added to the 
 original text of Mosheim, by his translator, 
 the highly respectable editor, Dr. Maclaine. 
 ef To escape the impending storm, he retired to 
 Basil, where he published his Christian In- 
 stitutions; and prefixed to them that famous 
 dedication to Francis I. which has attracted 
 universally the admiration of succeeding ages, 
 and which was designed to soften the unre- 
 lenting fury of that prince against the Pro- 
 testants."* 
 
 * " This paragraph, relating to Calvin, is added to Dr. 
 Mosheim's text by the translator, who was surprised to find 
 in a History of the Reformation, such late mention made 
 of one of its most distinguished and remarkable instruments; 
 a man whose extensive genius, flowing eloquence, immense
 
 TESTIMONIES TO HIS EXCELLENCE. 175 
 
 Salmeron has copied, in his Commentaries, 
 several passages from Calvin, without citing 
 or changing them. Melancthon calls Calvin 
 
 The Theologian. 
 
 He received the praises of all the great men 
 of his age. It is well known that Albert 
 Pighius, who had undertaken the refutation 
 of the Christian Institutes of Calvin, became 
 a Calvinist in one of his principal doctrines. 
 
 Papjre Masson, a declared enemy of the 
 Protestants, De Thou Pasquier Balzac, Staple- 
 ton, and Father Simon, consider Calvin a very 
 learned man, and a great Theologian. Nor 
 was he held in less veneration by the brightest 
 ornaments of the church of England. Witness 
 the exalted testimonies given of him by Bishop 
 Andrews, Bishop Bilson, Mr. Hooker, Bishop 
 Morton, Bishop Stillingfleet, and many others, 
 cited by Dr. John Edwards, in his Veritas 
 Redux. 
 
 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 observed, 
 
 learning, extraordinary penetration, indefatigable industry, 
 and fervent piety, placed him at the head of the reformers ; 
 all of whom he surpassed at least in learning and parts."
 
 176 WRITINGS OF CALVIN. 
 
 that " Joseph Sealiger said 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."* It appears also, 
 that f< Scaliger preferred Calvin's Commentary 
 on Daniel, to all others,, and that he used 
 commonly to say, solus Calvinus in Then- 
 logicis."^ Guy Patin tells us, that " John 
 de Monluc, Bishop of Valence, used to say 
 that Calvin was the greatest divine in Europe." 
 
 When we consider that he has written 
 Commentaries on the whole of the scriptures, 
 the Book of Revelations excepted, we shall 
 easily imagine that they form by far the most 
 considerable part of his works. These Com- 
 mentaries will ever be held in esteem by im- 
 partial readers, for the elegant simplicity, im- 
 partial enquiry, and profound piety which 
 characterise them. In a style admirably adapted 
 and expressive, he expands without enfeebling, 
 illustrates without lowering, and enforces with- 
 out revolting the sense of the sacred text. 
 Deeply impressed with the dignity and excel- 
 lency, the divine authority and various uses 
 
 * Biographia Britannica. 
 
 f Histoire Litteraire de Geneve par Jean Seuebier.
 
 TESTIMONIES TO HIS EXCELLENCE. 177 
 
 of the inspired writings,, he investigates their 
 contents with a disciplined understanding, and 
 an obedient heart. His mind revolted not at 
 the mysterious sublimity of a doctrine, when 
 he had evidence that it came from God. No 
 command appears tyrannical, because he vener- 
 ates the authority which enjoins it; no precept 
 irksome, because his heart, constrained by the 
 love of Christ, dictates the enquiry cc Lord, 
 what wouldst thou have me do?" Superior 
 to all considerations of a party nature, his 
 expositions are truly liberal, and he is not 
 afraid to meet the real sense of a passage. 
 Having in view nothing less than the edification 
 of the Church Universal, his Commentaries 
 breathe a comprehensiveness of design, resem- 
 bling the liberality of the sacred \vritings 
 themselves. It is not, however, to be denied, 
 that his views on discipline and doctrine were 
 fixed and decided; but it is equally evident 
 that, in comparison with the general interests 
 of genuine Christianity, he allowed himself to 
 feel no concern about the disputed points of 
 religion. 
 
 It requires but little penetration to perceive 
 that the great object of Calvin, in all his Com- 
 mentaries, was the simple illustration of the
 
 178 WRITINGS OF CALVIN. 
 
 sacred text. Disavowing all authority but that 
 of the Scriptures, and calling no man Master 
 on earth, his investigations were conducted 
 with that spirit of free enquiry and inde- 
 pendence,, which is essential to the character 
 and excellence of the commentator. Forming 
 his system from the Bible, he felt no diffi- 
 culty with regard to apparently conflicting 
 passages of sacred writ ; which he was not at 
 all concerned to reconcile with a previously 
 assumed system. 
 
 Though Calvin was extensively known and 
 read as a Commentator, the work which did 
 him most honour, and procured him the 
 greatest celebrity, was his " Christian Institu- 
 tions;" a work written in defence of the 
 Protestants, and intended by its author to be 
 a complete system of theology. 
 
 The Inquisitions at Rome, and in Spain, 
 condemned this work : but it met with great 
 acceptation, and has not only appeared in 
 French, but also in High Dutch, Low Dutch, 
 Italian, Spanish, and English. And the fol- 
 lowing celebrated distich contains the character 
 which it bore among his contemporaries of the 
 reformed religion.
 
 ACCOUNT OF HIS INSTITUTES. 179 
 
 " Piaster apostolicas, post Christ! tempora, 
 
 chartas. 
 Huic peperere libro saecula nulla parem."* 
 
 The sentiments of Calvin being very im- 
 perfectly understood, even by Calvinists them- 
 selves, it may perhaps answer an useful purpose 
 to lay before the public, a view of genuine 
 Calvinism. 
 
 This object, it is apprehended, will be best 
 accomplished, by laying before the reader 
 some copious extracts from the tc Christian 
 Institutions/' which contain an arranged 
 statement of this Reformer's views on the doc- 
 trines and discipline of Christianity. It is a 
 just character of this work, that nothing 
 calculated to recommend a book, is wanting: 
 
 J o 
 
 to it. The perspicuity so much required of 
 authors, is here as great as it can possibly be. 
 There is nothing to embarrass the reader. 
 Every thing is explained with perfect evidence. 
 Whether it be necessary to establish holy 
 doctrines, or to refute error, Calvin accom- 
 plishes it with a depth and solidity, united 
 with a vivacity and address inimitable. The 
 comparisons which he employs are beautiful 
 
 * That is, " Since the ascension of Christ, no age has 
 produced a book of equal worth, if we omit the writings 
 of the apostles." 
 
 * 9
 
 180 WRITINGS OF CALVIN. 
 
 and majestic,, and at the same time so lively 
 and ingenious, that they give a palpable evi- 
 dence to his explanations and persuasions. The 
 descriptions with which his work abounds,, are 
 not less just than magnificent, always adapted 
 to the subjects he is treating, and the situations 
 which they occupy. His transitions are every 
 where easy and natural.* 
 
 This incomparable work is divided into four 
 books. The first book containing eighteen 
 chapters, treats Of the knowledge of God the 
 Creator. The second, Of the knowledge of God 
 as he hath declared himself our Redeemer in 
 Jesus Christ seventeen chapters. The third, 
 Of the manner of participating of the Grace 
 of Jesus Christ, of the fruits which we derive 
 from it, and the effects which it produces 
 twenty-five chapters. The fourth and last, 
 treats Of the external means or helps which God 
 employs to invite us to Jesus Christ his Son, 
 and to retain us in his communion twenty 
 chapters. 
 
 * Epitre Dedicatoire, par Charles hard.
 
 EPITOME OF THE INSTITUTIONS. 181 
 
 SECTION II. 
 
 On the knowledge of a God This knowledge 
 greatly corrupted. 
 
 ON the knowledge of a God, the subject with 
 which this incomparable work commences, we 
 meet with the following judicious remarks: 
 " By the knowledge of a God, I understand 
 a knowledge which not only enables us to con- 
 ceive that there is a God, but which also 
 teaches us whatever it is important for us to 
 know, with reference either to our own interest 
 or to his glory. For to speak correctly, we 
 cannot say that God is known where there is 
 neither piety nor religion. I am not here 
 speaking of that peculiar knowledge, by means 
 of which, men, lost and condemned in a state 
 of nature, are led to God, as to their Redeemer 
 in Jesus Christ. I speak merely of that primi- 
 tive and simple knowledge, to which the natural 
 order of the world would lead us, had Adam 
 continued in his integrity. For although in 
 this universal wreck of human nature, no per- 
 son knows God, either as a father, or as the 
 author of salvation, or in any sense propitious,
 
 182 EPITOME OF THE INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 or appeased, unless Jesus Christ intervene as 
 Mediator to render him favourable to us, and 
 to reconcile us to him; nevertheless,, to know 
 God as our Creator., and as that being who 
 sustains us by his influence,, who governs us 
 by his providence,, who preserves us by his 
 goodness., and who loads us with his blessings ; 
 to know him,, I say, thus, is a very different 
 thing from embracing the blessing of recon- 
 ciliation, as it is offered to us through Jesus 
 Christ in the gospel. 
 
 " And as our mind is incapable of rising to 
 the knowledge of a God, without ascribing to 
 him some kind of worship, it is not, however, 
 sufficient to know in general, that it is he alone 
 who deserves to be adored and served, if we 
 are not besides firmly persuaded that he is the 
 source of all good, so as not to seek any thing 
 separately from him. Thus, I think that we 
 ought not only to believe that God, having 
 created the world, sustains it by his power, 
 rules it by his wisdom, preserves it by his 
 goodness, and is especially engaged in govern- 
 ing the human race with equity, in supporting 
 them by his mercy, in taking them under his 
 protection ; but we must also be persuaded that 
 there is not a single spark of light, of wisdom, 
 of justice, of power, of rectitude, or of truth 
 to be found any where but in him, or proceeding
 
 ON THE KNOWLEDGE OF A GOD. 183 
 
 from him, and of which he is not the cause. 
 Which should instruct us to expect them all 
 from him alone,, to solicit them all at his hands, 
 and to return him our unfeigned thanks when 
 we have received them. I consider piety as a 
 mingled reverence and love of God, to which 
 we are led by a knowledge of the favour which 
 we have received from him. If men do not, 
 indeed, feel and acknowledge that they owe 
 every thing to God, that they are tenderly 
 preserved by his paternal care, and that he is 
 the author of all good, so that they need not 
 seek any thing out of him; if they do not make 
 all their felicity to consist in him alone, they 
 will never render him a willing obedience, nor 
 will they ever frankly and heartily submit 
 to render unto him the service which is his 
 due."* 
 
 How differently is this interesting subject 
 here treated, from the manner in which philoso- 
 phers have speculated upon the being and per- 
 fections of a God. For this pre-eminence in 
 clearness and interest, our author was certainly 
 indebted to revelation, an authority to which he 
 bowed with the most implicit reverence, and 
 a source of information which has enlightened 
 
 O 
 
 and enriched the Christian world with know- 
 * Instil, lib. i. cap. 2.
 
 EPITOME OF THE INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 ledge on subjects of the last importance to the 
 present and perpetual interests of mankind. 
 
 That the knowledge of a God is naturally 
 imprinted in the mind of man., is maintained by 
 our author, in the following- words : " Lest 
 any should cloak themselves under a vain pre- 
 text of ignorance, God hath engraved on the 
 hearts of all men, some knowledge of himself, 
 with which he continually refreshes the memory 
 hy new sparks of light, which he causes to 
 shine there from time to time ; that all men, 
 without exception, may be condemned by their 
 own testimony, for not having honoured and 
 served him by consecrating their lives in obe- 
 dience to him. If ignorance of a God were 
 any where to be found, we should naturally 
 expect to meet with it amongst those barbarous 
 nations, entirely removed from honesty, from 
 civilization, and from humanity itself; nor 
 could we produce an example more appropriate 
 or precise. However, as Cicero, that ancient 
 Pagan author, so celebrated for his eloquence, 
 remarks, e There is no nation so barbarous, nor 
 any people so savage, upon whose minds it is not 
 forcibly impressed, that there is a God/ And 
 those who, in every thing else appear to differ 
 in no respects from beasts, do not, however, 
 fail to retain some seeds of religion. So exten-
 
 ON THE KNOWLEDGE OF A GOD. 185 
 
 sively hath this common and natural prepos- 
 session pervaded the minds of all men. 
 
 " Thus., since from the beginning of the 
 world there never was any country, town, or 
 family that could dispense with religion., does 
 it not amount to a tacit confession of the whole 
 human race, that the belief of a Divinity is 
 engraved on the hearts of all reasonable crea- 
 tures. Idolatry itself, into which men have 
 fallen, is an authentic testimony to this truth. 
 For we know with what reluctance man stoops 
 and humbles himself to place other creatures 
 above himself. Since, then, he rather submits 
 to serve and to adore wood and stone, than to 
 pass for an impious person or an atheist, it 
 follows evidently, that the impression is lively 
 and strong, that it can never be effaced, and 
 that it would even be easier to extinguish the 
 most natural affections, than the sentiment of 
 piety and of religion/ 5 * 
 
 While it is true that the excellency of an 
 
 */ 
 
 argument, or the goodness of a cause, ought 
 never to be concluded from the numbers by 
 which they may happen to be supported; it 
 is nevertheless certain, that in some cases, 
 universal consent furnishes the strongest pre- 
 sumptive evidence of the truth and importance 
 * Instit. lib. i. cap. 3.
 
 386 EPITOME OF THE INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 of general principles. Thus, the various wor- 
 ship of the heathen nations, uncongenial indeed 
 with the dictates of reason, and incompatible 
 with the more luminous institutions of the 
 gospel., contains an implicit acknowledgment 
 of the responsibility of all intelligent beings, 
 and of the existence and operation of natural 
 conscience, which in the absence of revelation, 
 is considered by the apostle as the present law, 
 and future rule of judgment of the heathen. 
 It is possible, and indeed to a high degree 
 probable, that the rites and ceremonies of most 
 heathen nations, owe their origin to the in- 
 stitutions of the Mosaic dispensation, of which 
 they are only corruptions gradually introduced; 
 but their adoption and continued use, as they 
 include the recognition of a Supreme Being, 
 and a sense of human responsibility, while 
 they illustrate the congeniality of these truths, 
 with the undisguised feelings of the human 
 mind, contain also the authority of a sanc- 
 tion, as well as the evidence of an unsuspicious 
 consent. 
 
 But while the existence of this sentiment, 
 being universal, is too obvious to be denied, 
 it is equally evident that it exists under a most 
 degraded form ; a truth which our author 
 asserts in the following expressive words : " As 
 experience shews us on the one hand that
 
 ON THE KNOWLEDGE OF A GOD. 1ST 
 
 there is in the heart of all men a seed of 
 religion, which the Divinity hath scattered 
 there with his own hand., so it teaches us also 
 on the other hand, that scarcely one person 
 in a hundred encourages this divine seed in 
 his soul, to make it germinate there. For 
 while some are bewildered in the follies of 
 superstition, and others abandon God with a 
 formal design and deliberate malice, from 
 various motives; all wander and retire from 
 the true knowledge of him. This is also the 
 reason why we meet with no legitimate., or well 
 regulated piety."* 
 
 In the sixth chapter our author contends, that 
 in order to arrive at the knowledge of God as 
 a Creator, we must make the scriptures our 
 guide ; in illustration of which, he employs the 
 following reasoning. cf Although that light 
 which is so universally diffused, is more than 
 sufficient to remove every pretext for the in- 
 gratitude of men ; it is, notwithstanding, neces- 
 sary, that a more powerful help intervene to 
 lead us suitably even to the Creator. It is not, 
 therefore, in vain, that that God, in order to 
 make himself known in a saving manner, hath 
 added to the works of creation, the light of 
 his word, aad that he hath indulged with this 
 
 * Instil, lib. i. cap. 4.
 
 188 EPITOME OF THE INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 prerogative, those whom he determined to treat 
 with more familiarity than others. Having 
 elected the Jews, in order to make of them 
 a peculiar people consecrated to his service,, 
 he enclosed them in a fold, lest they should 
 wander after the manner of other nations. 
 Thus, whether God manifested himself to the 
 ancient fathers, by means of oracles, or of 
 heavenly visions, or employed men by whose 
 ministry he suggested what they were to convey 
 by tradition to their posterity, it is absolutely 
 certain that he impressed upon their minds so 
 firm a belief of his doctrine, that they were 
 fully convinced, that what was revealed or 
 preached to them, came from heaven alone. 
 But, that his doctrine might ever continue in 
 the world, and be maintained in its purity 
 in all ages, he appointed that those oracles 
 which he had from the beginning committed 
 to the tradition of men, should be at length 
 reduced to writing, and enclosed in the scrip- 
 tures as in a sacred cabinet, in which the 
 precious deposit might be preserved entire, in 
 the midst of those changes and confusions 
 which are continually taking place through- 
 out the universe. With this view he caused his 
 law to be published amongst the Israelites, to 
 which he afterwards added the writings of the 
 prophets, as so many interpretations of his will.
 
 ON THE KNOWLEDGE OF A GOD, 189 
 
 <f If we consider how inconsistent and 
 variable is the mind of man, how easily he 
 falls into forgetfulness of God, how great is 
 his natural inclination to embrace all sorts 
 of errors, and how strong his passion for new 
 and false religions, it will be evident how 
 necessary it is that God should have public 
 and authentic registers, in which the whole 
 of his salutary doctrine might be contained, 
 lest it should be either buried in forgetfulness, 
 or overturned by error, or corrupted by the 
 audacity of men."* 
 
 * Irotit. lib. i. cap. 6.
 
 190 EPITOME OF THE INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 SECTION III. 
 
 Of the State in which Man was weated. 
 
 THE state in which man was originally created, 
 is a subject which has given rise to a great 
 variety of speculation and controversy; and it 
 must strike every impartial person, that in the 
 management of this interesting enquiry, barren 
 speculation, and in some instances a tendency to 
 levity, have been too apparent in many writers, 
 who have, notwithstanding, professed to limit 
 their enquiries by ultimate views of scripture 
 authority. The manner in which our author 
 pursues the subject, is in unison with his grand 
 and comprehensive views of scripture truth in 
 general. Those who study theology with a 
 reference to practical improvement, will be 
 gratified with the useful manner in which this 
 great theologian treats so interesting a subject. 
 " We must now speak/' says he, c( of the 
 creation of man ; First, because man is the 
 most noble and excellent master-piece of the 
 wisdom and goodness of God : and secondly, 
 because, as we have already said, we can have 
 no true and solid knowledge of the Divinity,
 
 OF THE CREATION OF MAN. 191 
 
 if the knowledge of ourselves be not recipro- 
 cally connected with it. Now this knowledge 
 of ourselves is twofold, and consists in know- 
 ing., First, the manner in which we were 
 originally formed; and, Secondly, into what 
 misery we fell, after the lapse of our first 
 father. For, indeed, we should derive little 
 advantage from OUF creation, if in that sad and 
 fatal ruin into which we have precipitated 
 ourselves, we were not to perceive the corrup- 
 tion and deformity of our nature. We shall, 
 however, now consider the state of innocence in 
 which we were created. 
 
 (C Previously, however, to the examination 
 of that miserable condition to which man is 
 subjected by his revolt, it is essential to know 
 what he was when first created. And here it 
 will be proper to use caution, that in repre- 
 senting too minutely the natural evils of man,, 
 we do not impute them to the author of his 
 nature. For impiety will endeavour to shelter 
 itself under the pretext, that all evil proceeds 
 in some manner from God. Those persons 
 even, who wish to pass in the world for re- 
 ligious characters, and who speak of the 
 Divinity in more respectful terms, attempt thus 
 to excuse their sins. They alledge the cor- 
 ruption of their nature, without considering 
 that they tarnish by this means, though in an
 
 192 EPITOME OF THE INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 indirect manner,, the honour of God, whose 
 glory would be covered with reproach., if in 
 the nature which he gave originally to man 
 there had been any vice or imperfection. 
 
 (f We must, however, remark, that Adam 
 was formed of the earth, to keep him from 
 indulging pride, and rising above his condition. 
 For since we inhabit houses of clay, and are 
 but dust and ashes, how apparent is the 
 folly of boasting of the excellency of our 
 nature."* 
 
 * Instit. lib. i. cap. 15.
 
 ON THE IMMORTALITY OF THE SOUL. 193 
 
 SECTION IV. 
 
 On the Immortality of the Soul. 
 
 ON the immortality of the soul, a doctrine, 
 which, while it confers upon a future state all 
 its interesting attractions, diminishes in propor- 
 tion, the temporary and evanescent gratifi- 
 cations of the present state ; our author uses 
 the following just and expressive language. 
 tc That there are in man two different parts, 
 a soul and a body, is evident beyond the 
 smallest doubt. By the word Soul I under- 
 stand, an immortal, but created essence, the 
 most noble and excellent part of human nature, 
 and which the scriptures sometimes call Spirit. 
 For though these two names when joined 
 together have a different signification, the 
 word spirit, when used separately, has the 
 same import as that of soul. As when Solo- 
 mon, speaking of death, says, e Then shall the 
 spirit return unto God who gave it.' And 
 Jesus Christ, by commending his spirit to God 
 his Father, (as well as Stephen to Jesus Christ,) 
 intends simply, that when the soul quits the 
 prison of the body, God is its guardian and 
 depositary.
 
 194 EPITOME OF THE INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 ce As to those who imagine that the soul 
 is thus called spirit, because it is simply a 
 breath, or a vigour divinely infused into the 
 body, without having in itself any substance, 
 the truth of the thing itself, and the scriptures 
 at large, evidently shew how grossly they 
 impose upon themselves. The conscience, by 
 distinguishing between good and evil, corres- 
 ponding to the judgment of God, furnishes a 
 certain and infallible proof that the spirit is 
 immortal. For how should a simple motion, 
 without essence, penetrate even to the tribunal 
 of God, and alarm us on account of the con- 
 demnation which we have merited ? Can the 
 body be susceptible of the fear of a spiritual 
 punishment? Who does not perceive that 
 such a sentiment belongs to the soul alone ? 
 From whence it follows clearly, that the soul 
 is neither without essence, nor a particular 
 subsistence. 
 
 cc Secondly, the knowledge which we have 
 of God, testifies that the soul which rises above 
 the world, must be immortal. For can a 
 feeble inspiration without subsistence, a vigour 
 capable of becoming extinct and of vanishing, 
 be considered as capable of rising to the source 
 of life ? Indeed, so many rare and excellent 
 qualities, with which the human soul is orna- 
 mented, and which clearly shew that there
 
 ON THE IMMORTALITY OF THE SOUL. 195 
 
 are, I know not what characters of divinity 
 deeply impressed upon it, are also evident 
 testimonies of its immortality. For the instinct 
 of brutes is limited to their bodies, or extends 
 no farther than the objects which present them- 
 selves to their sensuality. But the activity of 
 the human spirit, which traverses heaven and 
 earth, penetrates into the secrets of nature, 
 and after having embraced all the varieties 
 of the universe in its understanding and memory, 
 disposes each of them in its order, and accord- 
 ing to its rank, and ascertains things future, 
 from those which are passed, shews evidently 
 that there is in man a secret and hidden quality 
 distinct and different from his body. By our 
 understanding, we conceive of God, and of 
 angels, who are spiritual and invisible sub- 
 stances, which in no respect applies to the 
 body. We distinguish what is right, just, 
 and honest, from what 'is not so, which our 
 corporal senses are incapable of; the mind 
 must, therefore, be the seat where this intelli- 
 gence resides. Even sleep itself, the emblem 
 of death, is an express witness of the immor- 
 tality of the soul. For it not only suggests 
 thoughts and conceptions of what has never 
 taken place, but affords also presentiments and 
 presages of things yet to come. I briefly touch 
 these subjects, which profane writers have set 
 off with magnificence, and exquisite eloquence;
 
 196 EPITOME OF THE INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 but it is sufficient simply to indicate them to 
 Christian readers. 
 
 " Besides which., if the soul, separated 
 from the body, had no subsistence, the scrip- 
 tures would not teach us as they do, that we 
 dwell in houses of clay, and that man at death 
 is unclothed of mortality, and will receive at 
 the last day, that which is due to the good or 
 bad actions done in the body. Now these pas- 
 sages, and others of the same kind, which are 
 very numerous, not only distinguish the soul 
 from the body, but in attributing to him the 
 name of man in general, they also declare the 
 soul to be the principal part. St. Paul, exhort- 
 ing the faithful to cleanse themselves from all 
 filthiness of flesh and of spirit, refers without 
 hesitation to two subjects, in which the pol- 
 lutions of sin reside. St. Peter also, calling 
 Jesus Christ the ShephWd and Bishop of Souls, 
 would have spoken unadvisedly if there were 
 no souls towards whom he exercised such a 
 function. 
 
 " What he says also of the salvation of our 
 souls, would be ill founded, as well as what 
 he commands us f As strangers and pilgrims, to 
 abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against 
 the soul/ The same remark applies to what 
 we read in the Epistle to the Hebrews, that,
 
 ON THE IMMORTALITY OF THE SOUL. 197 
 
 pastors watch for our souls as they that must 
 give account, which would in no respect be 
 suitable, if souls possessed no existence proper 
 to them. 
 
 " This is more fully and more clearly ex- 
 pressed in those words of Jesus Christ, in 
 which he commands us to fear him, who, after 
 having killed the body, is able also to cast soul 
 and body into hell. Add to this, that, if souls 
 delivered from the fetters of the body, had no 
 subsistence after that separation, it is with 
 great impropriety that Jesus Christ represents 
 the soul of Lazarus as enjoying repose and 
 felicity in Abraham's bosom; and on the con- 
 trary, that of the rich man as plunged in the 
 torments of hell. But not to insist any longer 
 upon a thing so little doubtful, I shall only add 
 that St. Luke places it amongst the errors of 
 the Saduceans, that they believed, that there 
 was no resurrection, nor angel, nor spirit."* 
 
 * Instit, lib. i. cap. 15.
 
 198 EPITOME OF THE INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 SECTION V. 
 
 The sentiments of Calvin on the Moral Law. 
 
 THE sentiments of Calvin, with reference to the 
 law,, having in modern times been considerably 
 perverted ; it may answer a useful purpose to 
 produce his own words on the subject; 
 which, as they will appear decidedly opposed 
 to the Antinomian heresy, will deprive its 
 abettors of the sanction of his name. On the 
 dignity and use of the law, no writer can have 
 more just sentiments, as will fully appear by 
 extracts from his writings on the subject. 
 
 fc It will not be difficult," he observes, ff to 
 judge, to what end the law ought to be referred, 
 which is that of a perfect righteousness; that 
 man may take the purity and holiness of God 
 for the rule of life. For God has so pour- 
 trayed his nature in the law, that if any person 
 were to accomplish all that it commands, his 
 life would be an image of the Divinity. On 
 which account, Moses, desirous of impressing 
 the minds of the Israelites with the remem- 
 brance of the commandments of God, thus
 
 SENTIMENTS ON THE MORAL LAW. 199 
 
 addresses them: t And now, Israel, what doth 
 the Lord thy God require of thee, but, to fear 
 ; the Lord thy God, to walk in all his ways, and 
 to love him, and to serve the Lord thy God 
 with all thy heart, and with all thy soul?' 
 Nor did he fail to repeat the same thing when- 
 ever he wished to shew them the tendency of the 
 law. The end, therefore, of the law, is s to 
 unite man by holiness of life to his Creator; 
 and, as Moses in another place expresses it, to 
 induce him to cleave unto him. The perfection 
 of this holiness consists in two things, which 
 have been already noticed; that we love the 
 Lord our God with all our heart, with all our 
 soul, and with all our strength and our neigh- 
 bour as ourselves. The first implies then, that 
 our soul be filled with the love of God ; from 
 whence will naturally flow charity towards our 
 neighbour. In this sense I understand the 
 apostle, where he says, that the end of the 
 commandment is charity out of a pure heart, 
 a good conscience, and faith unfeigned. Where 
 we see that a good conscience and faith, that is 
 to say, piety, and the fear of God, is placed in 
 the first rank, from whence springs charity. 
 
 ' c It is, therefore, absurd to imagine that 
 the law teaches only the rudiments of righteous- 
 ness, and gives men only the first elements, 
 without directing them to the perfection of
 
 200 EPITOME OF THE INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 good works ; since it is not possible to desire a 
 higher perfection than that which is compre- 
 hended in this passage of Moses, and that of St. 
 Paul. And indeed, he who is dissatisfied with 
 such teaching, what more excellent or more 
 perfect aim can he have, since the instruction 
 of the law forms man to the fear of God, to 
 the spiritual worship of his majesty, to the 
 observance of his precepts, to the rectitude of 
 his justice, to the holiness of his ways, to 
 purity of conscience, to sincerity of faith, and, 
 indeed, to all the duties of charity. And this 
 reason confirms the explanation which we have 
 given, in reducing to the commandments of the 
 law, all the duties which respect piety or 
 charity. So that those who stop at I know not 
 what dry and barren elements, as if the law 
 taught the will of God only by halves, do not 
 thoroughly understand, according to the testi- 
 mony of the apostle, the end to which it 
 refers.* 
 
 " It is easy to perceive what we ought to 
 learn from the law ; that, God being our 
 Creator, stands related io us as our Lord and 
 our Father ; on which account we ought to 
 render the glory, reverence, love, and fear, due 
 unto him ; that we are riot at liberty to follow 
 the wanderings of our mind, and the disorderly 
 * Instil, lib. ii. cap, 8.
 
 SENTIMENTS ON THE MORAL LAW. 201 
 
 propensities of our hearts, \vherever they would 
 lead us ; that we depend so entirely upon God, 
 that we ought to devote ourselves exclusively 
 to what is pleasing unto him ; that righteous- 
 ness and integrity are ever acceptable unto him; 
 that, on the contrary, iniquity and inj ustice are 
 held in abomination by him. So that, if we 
 would not by an impious and profane ingrati- 
 tude, revolt from our Creator, we must 
 throughout the whole of our days, love righte- 
 ousness, and apply ourselves to the performance 
 of its duties. Nor can man excuse himself 
 under the pretext of incompetency, and of being 
 a miserable debtor, - unable to make any pay- 
 ment. For it is by no means proper to measure 
 the glory of God by the faculties of our nature; 
 since whatever we may be, God is ever like 
 himself, always the friend of righteousness, as 
 he is always the enemy of iniquity. Whatever 
 he requires of us, since he can require nothing 
 unjust, it is evident that we are under a neces- 
 sity of obeying him by a natural obligation, 
 and that our incapability proceeds from no other 
 cause than our vicious corruption. 
 
 " When by means of the teachings of the 
 law, we have arrived at this knowledge, we 
 must then, under the conduct of this legal 
 doctrine, descend into ourselves. From which 
 we shall derive two advantages. First, by
 
 202 EPITOME OF THE INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 comparing the righteousness of the law with 
 our own lives, we shall perceive that we are 
 infinitely distant from satisfying the will of 
 God ; and that we are consequently unworthy 
 of being of the number of his creatures, and 
 especially of deserving to bear the glorious 
 title of his children. Farther, by considering 
 our powers, we shall be convinced, not only 
 that they are insufficient to fulfil the require- 
 ments of the law, but absolutely null and 
 incapable of such an effect. From whence 
 proceeds necessarily a jealousy of ourselves, 
 followed by terrible inquietudes. For, con- 
 science is no sooner convinced of sin, than the 
 judgment of God immediately presents itself, 
 and the judgment of God felt, is always ac- 
 companied with a frightful horror of death. 
 Besides, the conscience convinced of its weak- 
 ness, and of the insufficiency of its forces, 
 naturally falls into despair. From these emotions 
 springs a profound humility and extreme alarm; 
 so that the man dismayed at the idea of eternal 
 death, which he sees ready to burst upon him, 
 on account of his injustice, and his crimes; has 
 recourse to the mercy of God alone, as to the 
 only door of salvation; and, feeling that it is 
 not in his power to pay what he owes to the 
 divine law, cast down and despairing in him- 
 self, he lives only to seek elsewhere the help 
 be stands in need of.
 
 SENTIMENTS ON THE MORAL LAW. 203 
 
 " But Jehovah,, not satisfied with having 
 shewn the reverence which is due to his justice., 
 in order to inspire our hearts with love towards 
 it, and hatred towards iniquity; has farther 
 added to his commandments, promises and 
 threatenings. For as the eyes of our under- 
 standing arc so blinded, that the beauty of 
 virtue alone is unable to attract them ; this 
 heavenly Father, full of bounty and of clemency, 
 resolves according to his paternal indulgence, 
 to lead us to desire and to love him, by the 
 sweetness of the rewards which he proposes to 
 us. He informs us, therefore, that he will 
 recompense virtue ; and, that he who will obey 
 his precepts, shall not labour in vain. On the 
 contrary, he declares not only that he execrates 
 injustice; but that it cannot escape his ven- 
 geance, because he has resolved to punish the 
 contempt shewn to his majesty. And to incite 
 by all possible means, he promises to all those 
 who shall keep his commandments, the blessings 
 of the present life, and the eternal felicity of 
 Paradise. But, on the other hand, he also 
 threatens with temporal calamities, and the 
 punishment of eternal death, those who shall 
 have violated them. For the promise, (referring 
 to the statutes and judgments of the Lord) 
 ef Which if a man do, he shall live in them;" 
 and the threatening also, which answers to it, 
 " The soul that sinneth, it shall die;" evidently
 
 20! FPITOME OF THE INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 belong to a death, and to future blessedness 
 which will never end ; and wherever the good- 
 will, or the anger of the Lord is mentioned, 
 eternal life is included in the first, and eternal 
 perdition under the other. 
 
 fc In the law we meet with a large enume- 
 ration of temporal blessings and curses. In the 
 punishments denounced, the Lord discovers a 
 sovereign purity; since he cannot suffer iniquity 
 without punishing it. In the promises, besides 
 discovering his love for justice, since he does 
 not abandon it without satisfaction, he farther 
 discovers in them, a wonderful indulgence and 
 benignity. For being indebted to his majesty 
 for all that we have, as well as for what we 
 are, does he not with justice demand all that he 
 requires of us, as a debt due to him. Now does 
 the payment of such a debt deserve a reward ? 
 God, therefore, abates from his right, when he 
 proposes any recompense for our obedience. 
 
 " With respect to the utility which the 
 promises themselves afford us, we have already 
 spoken in part. It will be sufficient to shew at 
 present, that the promises of the law, in a 
 peculiar manner recommend righteousness to 
 us, in order to shew us with certainty, how 
 agreeable to God is the observance of it. And 
 that punishments, on the other hand, are placed
 
 SENTIMENTS ON THE MORAL LAW. 205 
 
 before us in order to induce us to execrate 
 injustice; lest the sinner,, plunged in vicious 
 pleasures, become intoxicated with their sweet- 
 ness., to a forgetfulness that the judgment of the 
 lawgiver is preparing his eternal perdition."* 
 
 Having contrasted the spiritual legislation 
 of Jehovah, with that of human governments, 
 and shewn the spirituality and extent of the 
 divine law, as reaching to the thoughts of the 
 heart, and requiring an angelic purity ; our 
 author justifies his exposition, by producing 
 the example of Jesus Christ, as a teacher of the 
 same sentiments. fe When we say/' he observes, 
 tc that the sense of the law is such, we are far 
 from introducing an arbritrary intep relation ; 
 we only follow Jesus Christ the faithful inter- 
 preter. As the pharisees had imbued the people 
 with the pernicious opinion, that they fulfilled 
 the law, provided they did not violate it by 
 external actions ; the divine Saviour did not 
 fail also to censure so dangerous an error, when 
 he said, that to look with immodesty upon a 
 woman, is to commit adultery; and that those 
 who hate their brethren, are murderers. For 
 he declares those persons liable to the punish- 
 ment of the judgment, who have only conceived 
 anger in their hearts ; (hose, who, by murmuring, 
 testify that they have received an offence, 
 * Instit. lib. ii. cap. 8.
 
 206 EPITOME OF THE INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 punishable by the council ; and those who by 
 imprecations., or by injuries openly discover 
 their ill will, worthy of the torment of hell 
 fire. 
 
 f Those who have not made these obser- 
 vations, have imagined that Jesus Christ, by 
 preaching such a doctrine, is to be considered 
 only as a second Moses, introducing the gospel 
 law, to supply the deficiencies of the Mosaic. 
 From whence springs the common maxim 
 respecting the perfection of the evangelical law, 
 that it is in this respect superior to what it was 
 under the Old Testament, which is, on many 
 accounts, a _ very pernicious error. The refu- 
 tation of this error is sufficiently easy; because 
 such persons have thought that Jesus Christ 
 made some addition to the law ; whereas he 
 merely expounded it; entirely re-established it, 
 and demonstrated its extent, by purging it from 
 the falshoods with which the scribes and 
 pharisees had obscured it, and from the leaven 
 of their traditions, with which they had cor- 
 rupted it."* 
 
 The above quotations from Calvin, on the 
 
 subject of the moral law, sufficiently 7 evince 
 
 how remote he was from the Antinomian 
 
 heresy; and how little they are acquainted with 
 
 * lustit. lib. ii. cap. 8.
 
 SENTIMENTS ON THE MORAL LAW. 207 
 
 his writings, who charge them with an Anti- 
 nomian tendency. That many persons calling 
 themselves Calvinists, have carried his senti- 
 ments to an extreme, from which that holy man 
 would have revolted with indignation, is 
 abundantly certain ; but, " Men of sense will 
 consider that principles are not therefore to be 
 rejected, because they have been abused."* 
 With the exception of Antinomians, all parties 
 are agreed in the belief of the general truth, 
 that, ef Without holiness no man shall see the 
 Lord;" their definitions of holiness are, indeed, 
 various, and many of them defective ; but they 
 all include a recognition of the scripture de- 
 claration of the relative importance of holiness. 
 The Aritinomian, alone, furnishes an instance 
 of contradiction to the whole spirit of Christi- 
 anity. Religion, considered with reference to 
 heaven, stands only in the relation of a mean to 
 an end. The scriptures afford us very little 
 positive information with respect to heaven 
 itself; but the general inference deducible from 
 their description is, obviously, that, whether it 
 be a state or a place, its element is purity. It 
 is, therefore, the great object of Christianity to 
 form its happy subjects, cc Meet for the inherit- 
 ance of the saints in light." Light is the 
 known emblem of purity, and as such is applied 
 
 * Bishop Hurd's Introduction to the Study of the Pro- 
 phecies.
 
 208 EPITOME OF THE INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 to the Divine Being, of whom we read, <f God 
 
 fa 
 
 is light, and in him is no darkness at all." But 
 if we were to jurge of the future heaven of 
 Antinomians by their sentiments and conduct; 
 we should scarcely expect to find them associated 
 with " The spirits of just men made perfect." 
 Under the influence of genuine Christianity, the 
 mind not only respects the authority of its pre- 
 cepts, but acquires a supreme attachment to 
 them. Cf O how I love thy law/' is the un- 
 disguised expression of the heart, nor would 
 the real Christian, if it were possible, wish to 
 be dispensed from the authority of the moral 
 law, as a rule of life. Knowing that it re- 
 quires an obedience, which it is his privilege to 
 yield, while he admires its sublime morality, he 
 respects its solemn requisitions.* The error of 
 
 * " The believer beholds the law not in the hands of 
 Moses, and as surrounded with the flames of Sinai but in 
 the hands of that Prince of Peace, who is King of Zion. He 
 sees that the dear, the adorable, the ascended Jesus ; having 
 fulfilled its high demands, as a covenant, and released him 
 from its awful curse ; now employs it as an instrument of his 
 benign government, for the good of the redeemed, and the 
 glory of his own eternal name. As in the hand of Christ, it 
 is a friend and guide, pointing out the way in which the 
 Christian should walk, so as to express his gratitude to God 
 for his benefits, and to glorify the Redeemer. It shews him 
 also, how imperfect his own obedience is ; and so is a happy 
 mean of keeping him humble at the foot of sovereign grace, 
 and entirely dependent on the righteousness of his divine 
 Sponsor." 
 
 Booth's Death of Legal Hope, fyc. p. 124.
 
 SENTIME'NTS ON THE MORAL LAW. 209 
 
 those, who, because the law is a ministry of 
 death in its operation on the guilty, contend 
 that it is no longer a rule of life to believers 
 under the gospel dispensation, is treated by our 
 author with suitable severity. fc Some ignorant 
 persons," says he, " hardily reject Moses in 
 general and without exception, and wish to 
 dispense with the two tables of the law, be- 
 cause they imagine it is by no means suitable 
 for Christians to attach themselves to a doctrine 
 which contains a ministry of death. Moses 
 has fully declared, that although the law can 
 only engender death in the sinner, it is never- 
 theless highly advantageous to the faithful. 
 For, being at the point of death, he uttered 
 that solemn protestation to the people : f Set 
 your hearts unto all the words which I testify 
 unto you this day ; which ye shall command 
 your children to observe to do, all the words 
 of this law, for it is not a vain thing for you : 
 because it is your life/ 
 
 " If no one can deny that there is in the 
 law a perfect model of righteousness, we must 
 of necessity conclude one of two things ; either, 
 that we ought to have no rule for the regu- 
 lation of our lives, or, that we must abide by 
 this ; since there cannot be many models of 
 righteousness, but one, alone, perpetual and im- 
 mutable. What David, therefore, says of the 
 
 p
 
 210 EPITOME OF THE INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 righteous man, that, c In the law doth he 
 meditate day and night,' is not to be under- 
 stood of any particular age., but to be extended 
 to the end of time. Nor are we to be sur- 
 prised that it requires of us a holiness more 
 perfect than we can arrive at, while we are 
 imprisoned in these bodies. For when we are 
 under grace, it no longer executes towards us 
 the office of a rigid exactor, whom we cannot 
 satisfy, without paying all his demands ; but, 
 by exhorting us to perfection, to which it calls 
 us, it performs the part of a faithful guide, who 
 shews us the end at which we must aim with 
 all our powers, during the whole of our lives ; 
 and to which it is no less useful for us to aspire, 
 than it is agreeable to our duty to perform. It 
 will be sufficient if in this contention we perse- 
 vere, since the whole of life is a race, at the 
 end of which the Judge will graciously reward 
 us, notwithstanding our imperfections. 
 
 ec The law, therefore, being an exhortation 
 to believers, not by binding their consciences by 
 the fear of its curse, but by awakening and 
 by soliciting them ; by censuring their vices, 
 and their defects ; many persons, desirous on 
 that account of representing our deliverance 
 from its curse, maintain, that the law is abro- 
 gated as it respects believers. (I am now 
 speaking of the moral law.) ' It is not/ say
 
 SENTIMENTS ON THE MORAL LAW. 
 
 they, ' that it ought not ever to command them 
 what is right and just ; but it is no longer 
 what it was before to them ; that is to say, it 
 no longer confounds and dismays their consci- 
 ences by the terrors of its condemnation. The 
 apostle Paul, indeed, teaches with sufficient 
 clearness, in his Epistles, such an abrogation 
 of the law. Jesus Christ also taught the same 
 truth, as appears from his declaration that he 
 came not to destroy the law ; which he would 
 not have made, if he had not been accused of 
 wishing to abolish it, and if this opinion had 
 not been common and familiar amongst the 
 Jews. Nor would they have had that idea, 
 had it not been founded upon some pretext. 
 So that it is to be supposed, that the opinion 
 which they had formed of Jesus Christ, pro- 
 ceeded from a false interpretation of his doc- 
 trine, as it is, indeed, the custom of most men to 
 mutilate the truth, in order to give currency to 
 their errors. 
 
 " That we may not fall into the like mistake, 
 it will be necessary to distinguish carefully, 
 between what is abrogated of the law, and 
 what still remains in force. When the Lord 
 Jesus says, c Think not that I am come to 
 destroy the law and the prophets. I am not 
 come to destroy, but to fulfil. For verily I say 
 unto you, till heaven and earth pass, one jot or
 
 212 EPITOME OF THE INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law till 
 all be fulfilled/ he clearly shews by such 
 language, that the obedience and reverence due 
 to the law are not in the least diminished by his 
 coming, and that for the best of reasons,, since 
 he came to enforce its rights, by removing its 
 transgressions. The doctrine of the law, there- 
 fore, remains unaltered by the gospel of Jesus 
 Christ, which in no respect prevents its dispos- 
 ing us to good works of every kind, by teach- 
 ing, reproving, and correcting us."* 
 
 Various are the reasons which might be 
 assigned for the perpetuity of the law as a rule 
 of life to believers ; but it is hoped that the 
 just and conclusive reasonings above quoted, 
 will be of sufficient weight to convince the im- 
 partial reader, of the folly and wickedness of 
 those, who, under a pretext of honouring the 
 character and work of Jesus Christ, pour the 
 most daring contempt upon the legislation of 
 Jehovah. But, if the sentiment opposed be 
 dishonourable to the gospel of Jesus Christ, it 
 is big also with the most mischievous effects to 
 society. It is possible that men may be better 
 than the principles which they profess ; but 
 the instances are so few, and the tendency of 
 Antinomian sentiments in particular, is so uni- 
 form, that we are justified in denouncing the 
 * Instil, lib. ii. cap. 7.
 
 SENTIMENTS ON THE MORAL LAW. 213 
 
 character as hateful to God,, and dangerous in 
 the highest degree to society. But let such 
 persons learn what that meaneth., ef Shall we 
 continue in sin that grace may abound ? God 
 forbid!"
 
 EPITOME OF THE INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 SECTION VI. 
 
 On the Doctrine of Election. 
 
 IN the train of sin, and amongst the chief of 
 our woes, experience requires us to include 
 ignorance; and there is indeed., scarcely any 
 crime which does not stand in some connection 
 more or less remote with it. If this ignorance 
 were merely natural., it would be some extenu- 
 ation; but, it is, on the contrary, evident, that 
 it is wilful and perverse. (C Light is come into 
 the world, but, men choose darkness rather than 
 light." It is to this fact that infidelity must be 
 referred, since the evidence, external and in- 
 ternal, in favour of the Christian revelation, is 
 so complete, that it requires abundantly more 
 credulity to remain an infidel, than is imputed 
 to those who embrace Christianity. The in- 
 spiration and authority of the scriptures being 
 once admitted, the mind becomes disposed to 
 exercise an implicit faith with regard to the 
 detail of its contents, and, instead of trying 
 scripture truths at the bar of reason, submits 
 the understanding to the authority of faith. 
 The prevailing enquiry will of course be, what
 
 ON THE DOCTltlNE OF ELECTION. 215 
 
 doctrines are revealed., and with what view ; nor 
 will it revolt such an enquirer that the reasons 
 of the doctrine are less distinctly revealed than 
 the doctrine itself. Before a disciplined under- 
 standing, and an obedient heart, theological 
 difficulties vanish and subside. The rejection 
 of a doctrine, on the ground of not being able 
 to comprehend it, is a modest way of putting 
 ignorance in the chair, and constituting it the 
 judge of truth. Whereas, the very circum- 
 stance of not being able to comprehend a doc- 
 trine, is in some instances, a presumptive proof 
 of its truth. When we consider how many 
 things in the natural world, baffle the most 
 acute investigation, shall we be surprised, if, in 
 Christianity, a world of miracles, the same 
 character of ignorance accompany us there ? 
 The opposition made to particular doctrines, 
 while it developes the depravity of human 
 nature, illustrates the truths opposed. Those 
 sentiments which pay the least deference to 
 human nature, and require the most implicit 
 acquiescence, contain internal evidence of their 
 authority. No doctrine, perhaps, has been op- 
 posed with more violence and virulence, than 
 the doctrine of election ; though the thing itself 
 is nothing other than an illustration of that 
 sovereignty, which, when it is displayed in the 
 course of providence, commands a general ac- 
 quiescence. It is not difficult, however, to
 
 216 EPITOME OF THE INSTITUTION?. 
 
 account for the unpopularity of this doctrine, 
 which so entirely excludes human merit; a 
 circumstance alone sufficient to excite the in- 
 veterate opposition of the ignorant, but arrogant 
 pharisee. The application of rules of human 
 conduct to the Divine Being,, has proved a 
 fruitful source of misconceptions, with regard 
 to the plans and operations of Jehovah ; the 
 presiding character of whose dispensations, is, 
 sovereignty. When it is recollected that human 
 nature is universally depraved, and, " That in 
 a way of justice none of us should see salva- 
 tion," the divine choice of some, to what is 
 undeserved by all, will excite the less surprise, 
 especially in those persons who are the most 
 deeply sensible of their own unworthiness of so 
 distinguishing an act of royal favour. It is, 
 indeed, true, that this doctrine has been abused 
 to the most licentious purposes ; but it is 
 allowed, even by Dr. Priestley, (whom no one 
 will suspect of partiality to it,) that, " The 
 doctrine of a general and most particular provi- 
 dence, which is so leading a feature in every 
 scheme of predestination, brings God so much 
 into every thing, that an habitual and animate^ 
 devotion is the result."* 
 
 The doctrine of election being the distin- 
 guishing peculiarity of Calvinism, the reader 
 * Doc. of Necessity, p. 162.
 
 ON THE DOCTRINE OF ELECTION. 217 
 
 will no doubt be pleased to see it stated and 
 defended in the words of the great Reformer. 
 ec The covenant of grace/' he observes, " not 
 being equally preached to all the world, nor 
 received by all in the same manner where it is 
 preached, affords a display of the mysterious 
 conduct of God in this diversity, since it can- 
 not be doubted but that it subserves his good 
 pleasure. As it is evident that this takes place 
 by the Divine will, that salvation is offered to 
 some, and that others are excluded from it, 
 so it gives rise to the most interesting questions, 
 which can only be resolved by instructing the 
 faithful in what they ought to believe concerning 
 election and divine predestination. A subject 
 which to many persons appears involved, and 
 of difficult comprehension, because they can see 
 no reason why God, out of the common mass 
 of mankind, should select some to predestinate 
 them to salvation, and others to predestinate 
 them to death. It will, however, appear in the 
 sequel, by testimonies from the scriptures, that 
 they embarrass themselves for want of good 
 sense and discernment. Besides which, we shall 
 discover in that obscurity which alarms them., 
 how far this doctrine is not only useful, but 
 also pleasant and delightful, on account of the 
 excellent fruits which we derive from it. 
 Never shall we be persuaded in a proper 
 manner, that our salvation arises out of the
 
 218 EPITOME OF THE INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 gratuitous mercy of God, if we possess not at 
 the same time the knowledge of his eternal 
 election. For by not adopting indifferently the 
 whole world to the hope of salvation ; but by 
 giving to some, what he refuses to others, he by 
 this comparison of his grace, renders it more 
 estimable and more illustrious."* 
 
 " I acknowledge that the profane and im- 
 pious have in this doctrine, found subject matter 
 for criticism and raillery ; but if we fear their 
 audacity, we must be silent on the principal 
 articles of our faith, since there is scarcely any 
 one which they have not polluted with their 
 blasphemies. A rebellious and obstinate spirit 
 will discover no less insolence, upon hearing 
 that in the one essence of God there are three 
 persons, than that God, when he created man, 
 foresaw what would happen to him. Nor will 
 such a person fail to laugh and jeer, when told 
 that the world has been created little more than 
 five thousand years. Perhaps he will enquire 
 why the power of God lay so long dormant 
 and inactive ? Nor can any thing, indeed, be 
 offered, without being exposed to such profane 
 raillery. 
 
 ec The sentiment which some believers enter- 
 tain, that, this dispute is dangerous, because it 
 * Instit, lib. iii. cap. 21.
 
 ON THE DOCTRINE OF ELECTION. 219 
 
 is contrary to exhortations, is calculated to 
 shake our faith, and troubles and subdues the 
 mind; is a vain and frivolous allegation. St. 
 Austin confesses that it was on these grounds 
 he was reproved for preaching too freely 
 the doctrine of predestination, which he also 
 abundantly refutes, as indeed he might easily 
 do. As there are opposed to the doctrine 
 which we shall establish, various absurdities, 
 it will be proper to solve them in their respec- 
 tive order. I desire only in general, to have 
 this article granted to me; that as we ought 
 not to endeavour to discover what God has 
 resolved to conceal from us, so neither ought we 
 to neglect what he has fully revealed to us ; lest 
 he should on the one hand tax us with too great 
 curiosity, or on the other accuse us of in- 
 gratitude. 
 
 <f I suppose there is no person of any piety, 
 who will absolutely deny that predestination, by 
 which God hath chosen some men to the hope 
 of salvation, and has adjudged others to eternal 
 damnation. But many persons involve this 
 doctrine in difficulties, and especially those who 
 pretend to found it upon the divine prescience. 
 Both of these things we establish, that God 
 foresees all, arid that he disposes of all, but we 
 maintain that it confounds every thing to sub- 
 ject the predestination of God to his prescience.
 
 220 EPITOME OF THE INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 When we attribute a foreknowledge to God, we 
 mean that all things have ever been and remain 
 eternally before his eyes. So that with respect 
 to his knowledge, nothing is future nor passed ; 
 all things are present to him, and so present, 
 that he does not only imagine them by repre- 
 senting to himself their ideas, like those things 
 which present themselves to us through the 
 medium of the imagination, when our souls 
 retain them in our memory; but he beholds 
 and contemplates them as though they were 
 really before his eyes. That prescience extends 
 through the circuit of the world, and over all 
 creatures. We call predestination the eternal 
 decree of God, by which he hath resolved in 
 his council what he would do with every man 
 in particular. 
 
 tc God hath not only given testimony to the 
 doctrine of individual predestination, but hath 
 also afforded us a pattern of it in the race of 
 Abraham. For he hath therein clearly shewn,, 
 that it belongs to him to ordain the destiny of 
 every people, according to his own good plea- 
 sure. e When the Most High/ says Moses, 
 f divided to the nations their inheritance, when 
 he separated the sons of Adam, he set the 
 bounds of the people according to the number 
 of the children of Israel. For the Lord's 
 portion is his people: Jacob the lot of his
 
 ON THE DOCTRINE OF ELECTION. 221 
 
 inheritance/* He elsewhere speaks more ex- 
 pressly, saying, ' The Lord did not set his 
 love upon you, nor choose you because ye were 
 more in number than any people (for ye were 
 the fewest of all people); but because the Lord 
 loved you, and because he would keep the oath 
 which he had sworn unto your fathers, hath the 
 Lord brought you out with a mighty hand.' 
 The same assertion is often repeated. ' Behold 
 the heaven and the heaven of heavens is the 
 Lord's thy God, the earth also with all that 
 therein is : only the Lord had a delight in thy 
 fathers to love them, and he chose their seed 
 after them, even you above all people, as it 
 is this day.' 
 
 fe He also shews them elsewhere, that the 
 love of God is the cause of the protection with 
 which they were favoured. This the faithful 
 unanimously confess. f He hath chosen us for 
 his inheritance, the excellency of Jacob whom 
 he loved.' For to that gratuitous love they 
 attributed all the excellency with which God 
 hath crowned them, because they are well 
 assured, not only that they have not acquired 
 by any merit the advantages which they possess, 
 but that the holy patriarch Jacob himself did 
 not possess sufficient virtue to derive, either to 
 himself or to his successors, so high a pre- 
 * Deut. xxxii. 8 9. 

 
 EPITOME OF THE INSTITUTION*. 
 
 rogative. The prophets also mention their 
 election, in order to reproach them, and to 
 cover them with confusion, for having so basely 
 fallen by their ingratitude. 
 
 ee But what reply will they make, who pre- 
 tend to limit election to the dignity of men, or 
 to the merit of their works ; they see that one 
 nation alone is preferred to all the rest of the 
 world ; they hear from the mouth of God him- 
 self, that he was not induced by any consider- 
 ation to be more inclined towards a despicable, 
 and afterwards a miserable and a rebellious 
 people, than towards others. Will they plead 
 against God, that he intended to propose to us 
 such an example of his mercy? but their mur- 
 murings and their contradictions will not hinder 
 the execution of his work. By throwing their 
 blasphemies, like so many stones, against heaven, 
 they will never wound his justice; they will 
 only return upon their own heads. The 
 Israelites, you perceive, are led to this principle 
 of gratuitous election in their thanksgivings to 
 God, f It is he that hath made us, and not w r e 
 ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep 
 of his pasture.' The negative employed is by 
 no means superfluous, it is added that we may 
 exclude ourselves; that we may not only learn 
 that God is the author of all the blessings 
 which render us acceptable, but that he was
 
 ON THE DOCTRINE OF ELECTION. 223 
 
 self-induced in the communication of them, 
 since he could find nothing in us worthy of 
 such liberality. 
 
 fe To this doctrine the song of the whole 
 church is responsive. e O God, our fathers 
 have told us what work thou didst in their days, 
 in the times of old. For they got not the land 
 in possession by their own sword, neither did 
 their own arm save them ; but thy right hand 
 and thine arm, and the light of thy countenance, 
 because thou hadst a favour unto them/ It is 
 to be remembered, that the land of Canaan is to 
 be considered as a visible symbol of the secret 
 election of God, by which they were adopted. 
 The words of the prophet David, contain the 
 same idea. ' Blessed is the nation whose God 
 is the Lord : and the people whom he hath 
 chosen for his own inheritance/ Samuel ani- 
 mates the righteous of his day, by the same 
 consideration to entertain a good hope; f For 
 the Lord will not forsake his people, for his 
 great name's sake ; because it hath pleased the 
 Lord to make you his people/ "* 
 
 From the above considerations, it must 
 appear to every impartial and reflecting mind, 
 that, in the dispensations of providence from the 
 
 * Instit. lib. iii. cap. 21.
 
 EPITOME OP THE INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 earliest ages, a perpetual illustration of the 
 divine sovereignty hath been furnished, calcu- 
 lated to illustrate the character of Jehovah, as 
 an independant being, deriving all his motives 
 from himself. That the greatest and the best 
 of beings should also be an absolute Sovereign, 
 is a proposition so obvious, that it were trifling 
 to attempt the illustration of it. The sove- 
 reignty of God admitted, (and it is presumed 
 few persons, if any, calling themselves Christians, 
 will dispute it,) furnishes a reply to all objec- 
 tions against the doctrine of election, as incon- 
 sistent with the character of Jehovah; election 
 being only an act of that sovereignty so ad- 
 mitted. But, if such an act of sovereignty be 
 philosophically just, it is also divinely attested. 
 The election of the Jewish nation to be a 
 distinct people from the rest of the world, and 
 to an admission to exclusive privileges; may be 
 considered as a specimen of the style and manner 
 of the great Supreme, whose majesty places him 
 above all enquiry and censure, though his good- 
 ness condescends to reveal a part of his ways; 
 but, how little of him is known ! 
 
 Those who bound their enquiries by the 
 decisions of scripture, will attend with candour 
 and impartiality to testimonies in favour of this 
 doctrine deduced from thence.
 
 ON THE DOCTRINE OF ELECTION. 225 
 
 The cause of election, as stated in the scrip- 
 tures, appears to be the uninfluenced good 
 pleasure of God, irrespectively of all qualities 
 and circumstances in the subjects of that choice. 
 That works, either past or future, are of no 
 consideration on this subject, our author proves 
 with sufficient evidence, by observing, that, 
 <f Wherever the good pleasure of God reigns, 
 works of whatever kind, can be of no consider- 
 ation. It is true that in this passage the apostle 
 does not pursue the antithesis, which must, 
 however, be understood, as he himself elsewhere 
 explains it. ( He hath saved us,' says he, f and 
 called us with an holy calling, not according to 
 our works, but according to his own purpose 
 and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus 
 before the world began.' And I have also 
 shewn, that the words already handled, ( That 
 we might be holy and without blame/ ought to 
 remove all scruples from our mind. For if we 
 say that he hath elected us because he foresaw 
 that we should be holy, we shall reverse the 
 apostle's order. We ma}-, therefore, reason, 
 thus, with entire confidence: Since God hath 
 elected us in order that we might be holy, it 
 was not, therefore, because he foresaw that we 
 should be so. For these two things are opposed 
 to each other, that the faithful derive their 
 holiness from election, and that nevertheless, it 
 was in the view of that holiness that they wen*
 
 226 EPITOME OF THE INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 elected. The subterfuge to which they always 
 have recourse, ought here to be disregarded; 
 that although God does not bestow the favour 
 of election to preceding merits, he confers it, 
 nevertheless, on account of future merits. For 
 when the apostle says that the faithful were 
 elected that they might be holy, he thereby 
 signifies that all the holiness which they may 
 possess, derives its origin from election. And 
 how. can it ever be made to agree, that those 
 things which take their rise from election, and 
 which election itself produces, should influence 
 God to the act, and be the cause of it ? 
 
 ee The apostle confirms what he had said 
 more strongly yet, when he adds that, God hath 
 elected us according to his good pleasure, 
 which he had purposed in himself. For that is 
 equivalent to saying that he considered nothing 
 out of himself, to which he had any regard in 
 forming this resolution. He, therefore, adds, 
 that the source of our election ought to be 
 referred to this end ; that we might be to the 
 praise of the grace of God. Nor does the 
 grace of God merit to be celebrated in our 
 election, unless that election be gratuitous. 
 This it cannot by any means be considered, if 
 God is influenced in the choice of his people, 
 by the consideration of their works respectively. 
 Thus, what Jesus Christ said to his disciples
 
 ON THE DOCTRINE OF ELECTION. 227 
 
 is equally true as applied to the faithful in 
 general. e Ye have not chosen me, hut I have 
 chosen you.' By which expression, he not only 
 excluded all previous merits, but farther signi- 
 fied that they possessed nothing in themselves 
 on account of which they deserved to be elected, 
 unless he had anticipated them by his mercy. 
 In which sense we must understand the 
 expression of Paul, ' Who hath first given 
 to him, and it shall be recompensed unto 
 him again?' where he endeavours to shew 
 that the goodness of God anticipates men in 
 such a sense, that it finds nothing in them, 
 either past or future, calculated to attract his 
 good-will. 
 
 < Let us, however, attend to what the 
 Supreme Master and Teacher himself pro- 
 nounces on this subject. Perceiving in his 
 hearers so great a hardness of heart, that his 
 preaching appeared to be almost useless to 
 them, to prevent the abuse which the weak 
 might make of it, he exclaims, ' All that the 
 Father giveth me shall come to me ; and this is 
 the Father's will which hath sent me, that of 
 all which he hath given me, I should lose 
 nothing.' Let it be well remarked, that when 
 we are placed under the protection of our Lord 
 Jesus Christ, it proceeds from the gift of the
 
 EPITOME OP THE INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 Father, as its principle and source. Some 
 persons may contend, perhaps,, that God ac- 
 knowledges in the number of his people, those 
 only who voluntarily give themselves to him by 
 faith. But Jesus Christ insists simply upon 
 this point, that although the whole world 
 should be shaken by the numerous revolts 
 which take place, that the council of God 
 remains still firmer than the heavens, that 
 election shall never fail. We see in the gospel 
 that the elect belonged to their heavenly Father 
 before he gave them to his only Son. If it be 
 asked, whether they naturally belonged to him, 
 it is replied, that he constitutes those his who 
 were far from him, by attaching them to himself. 
 The words of Jesus Christ are too clear to be 
 obscured by any gloss whatever. ' No man can 
 come to me, except the Father which hath sent 
 me draw him. Every man, therefore, that hath 
 heard and hath learned of the Father, cometh 
 unto me.' Our divine Saviour having said 
 that the disciples who had been given to him 
 were the possession of his father, adds towards 
 the close, f 'I pray not for the world, but for 
 them which thou hast given me, for they arc 
 thine.' From whence, therefore, does it pro- 
 ceed, that, the world in general does not belong 
 to its Creator, if it is not because grace delivers 
 from the curse and wrath of God. a few persons 

 
 ON THE DOCTRINE OF ELECTION. 229 
 
 who otherwise would have perished, and leaves 
 the world in that perdition to which it was 
 destined ? 
 
 f< Farther, though Jesus Christ places him- 
 self, as it were, between his Father and his 
 people, he nevertheless attributes to himself the 
 right which he possesses, in common with the 
 Father, to choose whom he pleases. ' I speak 
 not of you all/ says he, ' I know whom I have 
 chosen/ Should it be asked, from whence he 
 chose them, he elsewhere informs us that it was 
 out of the world, which he excludes from his 
 prayers, when he recommends his disciples to his 
 father. It deserves, however, to be well ob- 
 served, that when he says he knows them whom 
 he hath elected, he designates a certain number 
 of mankind, not distinguishing them from the 
 rest for the virtues or qualities which they 
 possess, but on account of their being separated 
 by the heavenly decree. From whence it fol- 
 lows, those who belong to the election of which 
 Jesus Christ is the author, are not superior to 
 others in themselves. Where he elsewhere 
 places Judas amongst the elect, though he was 
 indeed a devil, it refers merely to his office. 
 The apostleship was indeed a mirror of the 
 favour of God, as St. Paul frequently ac- 
 knowledges respecting himself; it did not, 
 however, include the hope of eternal salvation.
 
 230 EPITOME OF THE INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 Judas, therefore, by exercising his ministry 
 with perfidy, was indeed worse than a devil ; 
 but those whom Jesus Christ hath united to his 
 own body, he will never suffer to perish, 
 because he will ever execute what he hath pro- 
 mised to maintain their salvation ; that is to 
 say, he will display a divine power, greater than 
 any in the world."* 
 
 Having thus irrefragably established the 
 authority of the doctrine upon scripture evi- 
 dence, our author proceeds to adduce the 
 testimonies of Bernard and Austin, and replies 
 with great solidity of argument, to the various 
 calumnies usually directed against it. But it 
 would comport neither with the design of the 
 present work, nor probably with the reader's 
 inclination, to follow the arguments,, however 
 judicious, by which he repels the objections 
 alledged against the tendency of the doctrine. 
 It is evident that the doctrine itself stands 
 closely connected in the scriptures with personal 
 holiness; which is there enjoined upon the 
 ground of the distinguishing love of God 
 through Jesus Christ; and though good works 
 have no influence on the decree of election, 
 they are considered as the objects of pre- 
 destination, as the individual is the subject of 
 election. An habitual exemplification of the 
 * Instil, lib. iii. cap. 22. 

 
 ON THE DOCTRINE OF ELECTION. 231 
 
 Christian character in all its parts, being the 
 only genuine evidence of election, no man is 
 entitled on the ground of self-complacency, 
 to write his own name in the Lamb's book 
 of life.
 
 232 EPITOiME OF THE INSTITUTIONS, 
 
 SECTION VIL 
 
 On the Doctrine of Reprobation. 
 
 WREN it is considered what odium has been 
 attached to the Calvinistie system, on the 
 ground of its including the doctrine of repro- 
 bation., it cannot., surely, be thought irrelevant 
 to the object of the present undertaking, to 
 insert the statement of Calvin, with reference to 
 that subject. 
 
 " Let us now speak," says he, " of the 
 reprobate, referred to by St. Paul.* For as 
 Jacob was received into favour without having 
 merited any thing by his good works ; so Esau 
 was rejected of God, before he was stained with 
 a single crime. If we look towards works, we 
 offer an insult to the apostle, as if he had not 
 seen what is so evident to us. And that he did 
 not include them is apparent, since he princi- 
 pally urges this article, that, though they had 
 done neither good nor evil, the one was chosen 
 while the other was rejected. From whence he 
 * Romans, ix. 1 3.
 
 ON THE DOCTRINE OF REPROBATION, 
 
 infers, that the foundation of divine predes- 
 tination is not to be found in works, Besides, 
 in reply to the question, whether God be unjust 
 in acting thus ? he does not intimate that God 
 treated Esau according to his deserts. This, 
 however, is precisely what he ought to have 
 said, as it would have been the most clear and 
 natural defence of the equity of God. But he 
 gives an entirely different solution, asserting 
 that God creates the reprobate, in order to 
 shew forth in them the glory of his justice. 
 By adding, indeed, that he shews mercy to- 
 whom he pleases, and hardens whom he will, 
 we see how he imputes both these actions to the 
 good pleasure of God. If, therefore, we can 
 alledge no other reason wherefore God conde- 
 scends to honour his people with his mercy, 
 than because it pleases him; neither can we 
 assign any other, wherefore he rejects others, 
 than his own will. For when it is said, that 
 God hardens, or that he shews mercy according 
 to his good pleasure, it is intended to teach us 
 to seek no other cause than his will alone.* 
 
 " But when men hear these things asserted, 
 they are incapable of restraining their intemper- 
 ance and audacity, but break out into tumults, 
 as though a trumpet were sounded for the 
 assault. Many persons, under the pretext of 
 * lustit. lib. iii. cap. 22.
 
 234 EPITOME OF THE INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 supporting the interests of the glory of God, 
 and of preventing any unjust blame from being 
 thrown upon him., consent to the doctrine of 
 election,, but deny that he reprobates any. But 
 this subterfuge is puerile and absurd, since 
 election cannot subsist unless it be opposed to 
 reprobation. It is admitted that God separates 
 those whom he adopts to salvation, it is, there- 
 fore, grossly impertinent to say, that those who 
 are not elected, obtain by chance, or by their 
 own industry, what is bestowed from above on 
 very few persons. God, then, reprobates those 
 whom he leaves, and for no other reason, than 
 because he chooses to exclude them from the 
 inheritance which he has destined for his 
 children. Nor is the audacity of men to be 
 endured, which is not to be repressed by the 
 authority of the word of God, when it relates 
 to the incomprehensible council of God, which 
 even angels adore. We have also just heard, 
 that this hardening is as much in the hand of 
 God, as his mercy. We have seen, indeed, that 
 St. Paul does not give himself the trouble, like 
 some great doctors, to exonerate God by lying 
 for him ; he merely shews that a vessel of clay 
 is not permitted to dispute with him that made 
 it. Farther, those who cannot endure the 
 thought that God should reprobate any, how 
 will they extricate themselves from that sentence 
 of Jesus Christ ? ' Every plant which my
 
 ON THE DOCTRINE OF REPROBATION. 235 
 
 heavenly Father hath not planted, shall be 
 rooted up.' They admit, that all those whom 
 the Father has not condescended to plant in his 
 field as sacred trees, are manifestly destined to 
 perdition. If they deny this to be a mark of 
 reprobation, there is nothing so clear that 
 they will not obscure. Though they cease not 
 to murmur, let our faith be constrained within 
 the boundaries of sobriety, and listen to the 
 caution of St. Paul ; not to complain of God, 
 if ' willing to shew his wrath, and to make his 
 power known; he endure with much long 
 suffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruc- 
 tion : and make known the riches of his glory 
 on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore 
 prepared unto glory.' Let readers attentively 
 observe this circumstance, that St. Paul, in 
 order to cut off all murmurs and calumnies, 
 attributes a sovereign empire to the wrath and 
 power of God, since it is equally unjust and 
 unreasonable to profess to investigate the secret 
 judgments of God, which swallow up all our 
 
 powers by their unfathomable depth. 
 
 / 
 
 ee The conduct of God in inflicting upon 
 the reprobate the punishment due to them, and 
 in bestowing upon his elect the grace which 
 they did not deserve, may be easily defended 
 against all accusation, by the similitude of a 
 creditor, who has an unlimited right over his
 
 236 EPITOME OF THE INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 debt, to remit it to the one, and to enforce the 
 payment from the other, according to his own 
 pleasure. The Lord may., therefore, shew 
 favour to whom he will, because he is merciful, 
 and not to all because he is just; in bestowing 
 upon some what they do not deserve, he shew r s 
 that his favour is gratuitous ; in not bestowing 
 it upon all, he shews what all deserve/'* 
 
 An opinion equally singular and erroneous 
 having been adopted and acted upon by several 
 ministers of reputedly Calvinistic sentiments; 
 that, because salvation is restricted to the elect, 
 the preaching of the gospel ought also to be 
 exclusively addressed to them ; a brief refut- 
 ation of so absurd an hypothesis, can require 
 no apology. 
 
 How this sentiment can be reconciled with 
 the commission given by the risen Redeemer to 
 his disciples, to preach ec repentance and re- 
 mission of sins in his name among all nations-, 
 beginning at Jerusalem," f those who maintain 
 it have yet to shew. That the disciples, if they 
 understood the doctrine of election, could have 
 any grounds for supposing Jerusalem sinners to 
 be objects of that decree, is a supposition too 
 glaringly absurd to be countenanced by any 
 reflecting mind. So entirely hopeless a task as 
 
 * Instit. lib. iii. cap. 23. t Luke xxiv. 47.
 
 ON THE DOCTRINE OF REPROBATION. 237 
 
 that of preaching to persons, some of whose 
 hands were yet reeking with the blood of their 
 Master, would have required nothing less than 
 that divine commission which they received,, to 
 inspire them with courage and success. But, 
 upon the principle of these spurious Calvinists, 
 they acted completely out of character,, in call- 
 ing those sinners to repentance, and the re- 
 mission of their sins ; and ought even to have 
 disobeyed the divine and benevolent command. 
 The Saviour's command to the eleven to " Go 
 into all the world and preach the gospel to 
 every creature/' must be equally unintelligible 
 upon so singular a principle ; unless we are to 
 understand ff every creature " to be a term de- 
 scriptive of the elect, in which case, the whole 
 world must have been in an elect state which 
 is absurd. 
 
 If it be urged, that, being <f dead in tres- 
 passes and sins," sinners are naturally incapable 
 of believing and obeying the gospel call ; so 
 were the inhabitants of Jerusalem, where the 
 first Christian church was planted. The rule 
 of conduct for rational agents being the re- 
 vealed will of God, and not his decrees ; 
 wherever a divine appointment is interposed, 
 implicit acquiescence and prompt obedience 
 become the duties of all professing Christians.
 
 EPITOME OF THE INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 As well might Ezekiel have refused to prophesy 
 to the dry bones., on the ground of the extreme 
 improbability of any effect resulting from his 
 obedience ; but complying with the divine ap- 
 pointment, a stirring amongst the dry bones, 
 which became at length animated into a great 
 army, illustrated the divine power, while it 
 explained the positive command. 
 
 But the spirit of the objection, not only at 
 variance with evangelical sentiment., offends 
 equally against the authority under which it 
 takes shelter. How little claim persons who 
 advocate this sentiment really possess to be con- 
 sidered Calvinists, will appear from the fol- 
 lowing quotation from the leader under whom 
 they choose to arrange themselves : " But to 
 what end (some will reply) do exhortations 
 tend ? I answer, if men obstinately despise them, 
 they will be witnesses to convict them when 
 they appear before the tribunal of God. They 
 even now strike the evil conscience For though 
 they ajfect to despise, they are unable to dis- 
 prove them. But what shall tbe poor sinner 
 do, it will be replied, since the melting of heart 
 necessary to obey, is not afforded to him ? To 
 which I reply, how vain is it for him to seek 
 such excuses, since he cannot impute the hard- 
 ness pf his heart to any one besides himself.
 
 ON THE DOCTRINE OF REPROBATION. 239 
 
 "" Should any one ask why they are warned 
 of their duty ? Why are they not rather left to 
 the conduct of the Holy Spirit ? Why are they 
 solicited by exhortations, since they can only 
 comply with them, so far as the Spirit enables 
 them ? Why are they corrected when they have 
 departed from the right way, since they err and 
 fall by a necessary and inevitable infirmity of 
 their nature ? This is briefly our answer ; O 
 man, who art thou that wouldest impose laws 
 upon God ? If he choose to prepare us by 
 means of exhortations to receive that very grace, 
 to obey those exhortations which are addressed 
 to us, what hast thou to object to this conduct 
 of the Lord, and what is there in it which 
 thou canst justly contemn?"* 
 
 The importance of pointed addresses to the 
 consciences of sinners, may be ascertained from 
 the great utility of such works as Baxter's 
 ec Call to the Unconverted/' and Doddridge's 
 :c Rise and Progress of Religion in the Soul ;" 
 works that have, perhaps, beyond all writings 
 merely human, promoted the salvation of im- 
 mortal souls. 
 
 * Instit. lib. ii. cap. 5. 5.
 
 240 EPITOME OF THE INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 SECTION VIIL 
 
 On Original Sin, 
 
 BUT if the doctrine of election be objected to, 
 on the ground of difficulties supposed to attach 
 to it,, though easily separable from it, the 
 scripture doctrine of original sin, with all its 
 humiliating results, can scarcely be supposed to 
 excite any feelings but those of pride and 
 indignation, and that sort and degree of oppo- 
 sition which such a state of mind naturally 
 induces. The admission of the doctrine is, 
 however, necessary to an accurate understand- 
 ing of many parts of scripture, particularly 
 the Epistle to the Romans, in which the apostle, 
 assuming the fact as incontrovertible, employs 
 it as a ground of reasoning and instruction. 
 Adam is indeed considered, in sacred writ, as 
 standing in the relation of a federal head to 
 his posterity, to whom Christ is also opposed as 
 the covenant head of his people. It is not to be 
 denied that the subject has its difficulties, 
 which, to unenlightened reason, may appear 
 insuperable ; but, the man who derives his
 
 ON ORIGINAL SIN. 241 
 
 religious views immediately from the scrip- 
 tures, will admit the mysterious doctrine in 
 the simplicity of faith,, and the silence of ac- 
 quiescence. 
 
 With a view to obviate some of the more 
 popular objections, our author furnishes us with 
 a clear definition of terms, in the following 
 words : " My design/' says he, cf is not to 
 examine all the definitions of those persons 
 who have treated on the subject. I will only 
 mention one, which appears to me more 
 congenial with the truth than the rest. We 
 say then, that original sin is a corruption and an 
 hereditary malignity of our nature, which, being 
 diffused throughout the soul, renders us ob- 
 noxious to the wrath of God, and produces in 
 us those works which the scriptures call works 
 of the flesh. 
 
 fc We must, therefore, observe the two 
 following things. First, that we are so cor- 
 rupted in all our powers, as, on account of this 
 corruption, to be justly liable to condemnation 
 before God, to whom nothing can be agreeable 
 but righteousness, innocence, and purity. Nor 
 can it be alledged that this obnoxiousness to 
 punishment is caused by another's fault ex- 
 clusively, as if we were answerable for the sin 
 of our first father, without being ourselves 
 
 R
 
 EPITOME OF THE INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 guilty. When we assert, that by the sin of 
 Adam we are made responsible at the tribunal 
 of God, we by no means pretend to say that we 
 are to bear the punishment of his crime, how- 
 ever innocent we may be, and without having 
 deserved it ; but we merely say, that being 
 universally enveloped in the curse by his dis- 
 obedience, he hath subjected us all to this 
 punishment. Nor hath the punishment alone 
 fallen from him upon us ; the infection and cor 
 ruption communicated by him to us, and to 
 which punishment is due, dwell in us also. 
 On which account, St. Austin, though he some- 
 times calls original sin the sin of another, to 
 shew more evidently that it is transmitted to us 
 by a carnal propagation, maintains, notwith- 
 standing, that it belongs to us individually. 
 The apostle also expressly asserts that death 
 hath passed upon all, for that all have sinned ; 
 that is to say, because all are involved in 
 original sin, and infected with its stains and 
 pollutions. On which account, even infants are 
 subjected to this condemnation, not simply for 
 the sin of another, but for their own also. For 
 although they have not yet brought forth the 
 fruit of iniquity, the seed of it is, nevertheless, 
 hidden in them; and what is still worse, their 
 whole nature is only the seed of sin and of 
 corruption, which consequently renders them 
 odious in the sight of Deity.
 
 ON ORIGINAL SIN. 243 
 
 Cf The other point which remains to be con- 
 sidered,, is,, that this corruption of our nature 
 is never idle, but produces incessantly new 
 fruits,, those carnal works of which we have 
 been just speaking, like a furnace continually 
 emitting flames, or a spring sending forth 
 streams. Those who have therefore "defined 
 original sin, as the privation of original righte- 
 ousness, with which man ought to be clothed, 
 have in these words comprised the substance 
 of that sin; but in my opinion have not suf- 
 ficiently expressed its force and its efficacy. 
 For our nature is not only devoid of all good, 
 but is also so fruitful of evil as never to re- 
 main inactive. 
 
 <c It is on this account I have observed, 
 that since the defection of Adam, all the powers 
 of man have been subject to sin. For it was 
 not simply the inferior part of the soul or 
 sensuality which inclined him to evil; that 
 unhappy impiety to which we have alluded, 
 took possession also of the highest and most 
 excellent faculty of his mind, as pride gained 
 and penetrated into the most intimate and most 
 profound part of his heart. From whence it 
 appears how absurd is the conceit of those 
 persons, who restrict the corruption which pro- 
 ceeds from that impiety to sensual appetites, or 
 denominate it a source, a principle of latent fire 
 
 ft 3
 
 244 FPITOME OF THE INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 which excites to the commission of sin, that part 
 only of the soul which they call sensuality. 
 St. Paul not only commands 'us to mortify 
 sensual appetites, but is desirous that we may 
 be renewed in the spirit of our mind. Hence 
 it appears that, that part of the soul in which 
 its excellence is most conspicuous, is so wounded 
 and corrupted, that it not only simply stands in 
 need of a cure, but of being created anew. 
 
 " Those who have the audacity to attribute 
 to God the cause of their sins, under the pretext 
 that we assert, that men are naturally corrupted, 
 would do well to consider the grounds on which 
 they rest, and whether it is not a great crime in 
 them to contemplate the work of God in their 
 corruption, instead of seeking it in the nature 
 which Adam received before his transgression. 
 Let us ever remember to impute our ruin to the 
 depravation of our nature, and not to nature 
 itself, lest we accuse God, the author and pre- 
 server of our being, as though our misery pro- 
 ceeded from him. It is perfectly true that this 
 mortal evil is deeply rooted in our nature. But 
 it is certain that this evil hath occurred through 
 sin superinduced. We ought, therefore, to 
 complain of ourselves alone. This the scrip- 
 tures particularly inculcate. e Lo, this only 
 have I found/ says the preacher, f that God 
 hath made man upright ; but they have sought
 
 ON ORIGINAL SIN. 245 
 
 out many inventions.' From whence it appears 
 clearly, that it is to man alone that his ruin 
 must be imputed, since, having received by the 
 favour of God a natural uprightness, he hath 
 by his own folly fallen into vanity. 
 
 ff We assert, therefore, that man is naturally 
 corrupted. Not that this corruption springs 
 from the foundation of his nature, but we ex- 
 press ourselves thus, in order to shew that it is 
 rather a quality superadded to human nature, 
 than a property of its substance, which hath 
 from the beginning belonged to it. We, how- 
 ever, call this corruption natural^ in order that 
 no one may imagine, that it is acquired or 
 contracted by example or evil customs ; since 
 we all take possession of it from our birth, by a 
 successive and hereditary right. This we do 
 not assert without authority. It is on this 
 account that the apostle designates mankind, by 
 nature, the children of wrath/'* 
 
 * Instit. lib. ii. cap. 1.
 
 246 EPITOME OF THE INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 SECTION IX. 
 
 On Free-will. 
 
 HAVING thus established the fact of the entire 
 depravity of human nature, our author naturally 
 proceeds to discuss the question of free-will, 
 which has given rise to so much controversy in 
 the Christian world, and which is far from being* 
 settled at the present day. The sentiments of 
 Calvin on this subject, being appreciated only 
 through the medium of modern Calvinists, who 
 without any acquaintance with the works of 
 their venerable founder, have adopted his 
 general sentiments without examination, and 
 maintained them in many instances upon dif- 
 ferent grounds than those upon which he pro- 
 fessedly rested them ; a few extracts will, 
 perhaps, serve the double purpose of correcting 
 the mistakes too prevalent on the subject, and 
 of doing j ustice to our author. 
 
 " Having shewn/' he observes, " that the 
 tyranny of sin, since it subdued Adam our first 
 father, has not only been extended over all men, 
 but has also taken possession of their whole
 
 ON FREE-WILL. 247 
 
 souls, we are now to enquire whether, since we 
 have been thus engaged in this miserable 
 slavery., we have entirely lost our liberty, or 
 whether we retain any portion of it, and of 
 what strength it is. But the more easily to 
 throw light upon this question, it is necessary 
 to propose an end to which we may refer the 
 whole dispute. The best means to avoid error 
 is to consider attentively the dangers which 
 present themselves on either side. When man 
 discovers himself to be destitute of all good, he 
 immediately takes occasion to become careless. 
 For being told that he has no ability in himself 
 to do good, he takes no pains to endeavour so to 
 do, as though he had no concern in it. On 
 the other hand, if any thing good be attributed 
 to him, immediately a false confidence is ex- 
 cited, and he robs God of a part of the glory 
 which is his due. In order to avoid these 
 equally dangerous rocks, we must, in my 
 opinion, take the following course. In con- 
 vincing man, that in him there dwelleth no 
 good thing, and that he is on all sides sur- 
 rounded, thus to speak by a miserable indigence, 
 we should at the same time teach him to aspire 
 both to the good of which he is destitute, and 
 to the liberty of which he is deprived, and that 
 he should attend more earnestly to those duties 
 than if he believed that he was enriched with 
 goodness, and endowed with extensive ability.
 
 EPITOME OF THE INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 ec With respect to the first, which consists 
 in making him feel his poverty and his misery, 
 many persons entertain douhts which they need 
 not. It is true that man ought not to be de- 
 prived of any thing belonging to him; but it is 
 infinitely important to deprive him entirely of 
 vanity and false glory. The scriptures, when 
 they speak of the excellent dignity with which 
 man was adorned at his creation, refer it to his 
 having been created in the image of God. By 
 which they clearly shew that he was not in- 
 dependantly rich, and that all his opulence and 
 blessedness was derived to him through the 
 communion which he enjoyed with God, and 
 by the participation of his favours. 
 
 ff It is, besides, no less useful to us, than 
 it is necessary to support the glory of God un- 
 diminished, to deprive us of all the praise of 
 virtue and of wisdom. To walk and to fight 
 depending upon our own strength, what is it, 
 but to lean upon a reed which will break under 
 us ? On which account, Austin so frequently 
 remarks, ' That those who defend free-will, 
 while they are endeavouring to establish its 
 rights, rather overthrow than support it.' "* 
 
 Having thus introduced the subject, our 
 author proceeds to quote the sentiments of the 
 
 * In Evangel. Joan, tract 22. Instit. lib. ii. cap. 2.
 
 ON FREE-WILL. 249 
 
 ancient philosophers, as well as those of the 
 fathers of the Christian church, in which, how- 
 ever, we shall not follow him, as the object of 
 the present work is rather to display the senti- 
 ments of the reformer, than to treat any par- 
 ticular subject fully. Those who are inclined 
 to pursue this question at length, will see it 
 discussed in a masterly and convincing manner, 
 by the celebrated Jonathan Edwards, in his 
 work on the Freedom of the Will, in which the 
 subject is treated with the acumen of a Locke, 
 and the piety of a Watts. 
 
 Pursuing the subject, our author observes, 
 <c That sentence of Chrysostome has ever pleased 
 me, that the foundation of our philosophy is 
 humility. The discourse of Austin still more, 
 where he uses these expressions ; c As Demost- 
 henes, the celebrated Greek orator, being asked 
 what was the first rule of eloquence, replied, 
 that it was action, and when asked what was the 
 second, and what the third, gave still the same 
 answer, that it was action : So/ saith he, ' if 
 you ask me what are the precepts of the Chris- 
 tian religion, I will reply that the first, the 
 second, and the third are Humility.' By this 
 humility he by no means intends a disposition 
 of soul, which simply prevents a man, upon the 
 supposition of some good quality, from becom- 
 ing proud ; but a virtue which makes him truly
 
 250 EPITOME OF THE INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 feel what he is ; arid which compels him to 
 acknowledge, that the only asylum which is 
 open to him, and to which he can repair, is 
 to humble himself before his Creator. 
 
 te Let us not, therefore, enter into a contest 
 with the Divine Being on the subject of our 
 rights, as though what we attributed to him 
 constituted our indigence For as our meanness 
 contrasted shews his grandeur, so the confession 
 which we make of it has ever his mercy for its 
 remedy. I do not, indeed, desire that man 
 should concede to God any part of his rights, 
 without being previously convinced of his im- 
 becility; and that in order to be formed to a 
 true humility, he should divert his attention 
 from his own faculties ; but I demand only that, 
 disengaging himself from that fond love which 
 he bears towards himself, and from that ambition 
 which is so natural to him ; from his passions I 
 say, by which he is but too much blinded, he 
 will contemplate himself in the faithful mirror 
 of scripture. 
 
 ff With what has been commonly alledged 
 from St. Austin, I am far from being dissatisfied, 
 as I have already intimated; which is, that the 
 natural gifts of man have been corrupted by sin, 
 and that the supernatural are entirely abolished. 
 By supernatural gifts must be understood, the
 
 ON FREE-WILL. 251 
 
 light of faith, the uprightness of the heart, with 
 reference to a heavenly life and eternal felicity. 
 Man, then, having abandoned the kingdom of 
 God, has been deprived of the spiritual gifts, 
 with which he was furnished for his salvation. 
 From whence it follows that he hath been so 
 banished from the kingdom of heaven, that all 
 the faculties and powers which belong to the 
 blessed life of the soul are extinguished, until 
 recovered by regeneration ; such as love to God, 
 charity towards our neighbour, the desire to 
 live in holiness and righteousness. Now all 
 these being restored to us by Jesus Christ, and 
 as they cannot be attributed to our nature, since 
 they are foreign to us, it must necessarily be 
 concluded that they were abolished in us. On 
 the other hand, the light of the mind, and up- 
 rightness of heart, we are deprived of; and 
 therein consists the corruption of our natural 
 gifts. For though we still retain a portion of 
 judgment and of intelligence, conjoined with 
 the will, we can by no means say that our 
 understanding is perfect, weak and plunged into 
 thick darkness as it is ; nor that our will is pure 
 and holy, since its malice and rebellion are but 
 too well known to us. Thus reason, by which 
 man conceives and judges of things to dis- 
 tinguish good from evil, being a natural gift, 
 could not possibly be entirely extinguished, but 
 became weakened and corrupted in part, so
 
 252 EPITOME OF THE INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 there appeared no longer any thing but gloomy, 
 terrific ruins. 
 
 tc In this sense St. John says that, ' The 
 light shineth in darkness, and the darkness 
 comprehended it not;' where he clearly ex- 
 presses these two things, that in the nature of 
 man, however perverse and corrupt : sparks of 
 light shine, which discover him to be a reason- 
 able animal, distinguished from the brutes by 
 being endowed with intelligence ; but that these 
 sparks are, however, smothered by a dense 
 ignorance, from which it is incapable of separat- 
 ing itself to produce any good effect. The will 
 also being inseparable from nature, is equally 
 incapable of being annihilated ; but is also be- 
 come so entirely the slave of base affections, 
 that it is incapable of desiring any thing really 
 good." 
 
 That the light of the understanding is not 
 absolutely extinguished our author proceeds to 
 explain, by shewing that an application of the 
 mental powers to any specific object, is not 
 unattended with utility and pleasure. Applied 
 to things terrestial, such as laws, civil, political, 
 and O2conomical; mechanics, philosophy, and 
 the various arts called liberal, the understanding 
 usefully employed, promotes individual and 
 social happiness, by ameliorating the condition
 
 ON FREE-WILL. 253 
 
 of society, by illustrating the principles, and 
 enforcing the obligations of distributive justice. 
 Man being a social animal, is impelled by a 
 natural inclination to promote the prosperity 
 of society. Upon this principle, human nature 
 appears pervaded with a general impression that 
 all human societies ought to be governed by 
 certain laws, the principles of which are en- 
 graved in the human mind. Nor is the op- 
 position made by individuals to existing laws_, 
 to be construed into an exception to this general 
 principle ; since it demonstrates only the ascend- 
 ancy of the passions over the judgment, and 
 discovers that they hate in their heart, what 
 they approve in their understanding. The 
 variety of opinions discoverable on the legislation 
 of particular governments and individuals, as it 
 includes a recognition of the importance of 
 some form of government, discovers only the 
 imperfection of the light of nature which is far 
 from indicating the last and most perfect form 
 of government, which should exclude all pos- 
 sibility of exception, and all inducement to 
 opposition. 
 
 As human nature is in general distinguished 
 from the brute creation by understanding ; the 
 inferior animals by instinct, from inanimate 
 beings ; so there is also a variety of endowments 
 amongst rational beings, calculated, by dis-
 
 EPITOME OF THE INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 playing the sovereignty of the Divine Being in 
 those instances of diversity, to repress the 
 tendency to pride,, which is unhappily so general, 
 and so much to be regretted. The endowments 
 of individuals are, by Divine Providence, adapted 
 to the stations which they occupy, and the 
 duties which they are called to the discharge 
 of. But in this diversity we are furnished with 
 various evidence of an impress of divinity; 
 surrounded, indeed, by much acquired darkness 
 and imperfection ; but still indicative of the 
 original greatness, and perpetual responsibility 
 of every human agent. 
 
 But, if we enquire into the capabilities of 
 human reason, with reference to seeking of the 
 kingdom of God, or comprehending heavenly 
 wisdom, we shall soon perceive a miserable 
 deficiency, which admits of one only remedy 
 divine illumination. ec Heavenly wisdom/' ac- 
 cording to our author, " consists in knowing 
 the three following things : First, what is the 
 nature of God; Secondly, what the nature of 
 his favour and good-will towards us which in- 
 cludes our salvation, and, finally, what rule we 
 ought to follow, in order to conform our lives 
 to his law. With regard to the two first 
 articles, and especially the second, the most 
 subtle, vivacious, and enlightened persons, are 
 totally blind. I do not deny but that in the
 
 ON FREE-WILL. 
 
 books of the philosophers we meet with beauti- 
 ful and exquisite sentences respecting the 
 Divinity, written with a great deal of ingenuity 
 and elegance ; but there always appears so much 
 inconstancy, and so little firmness, that it is easj 
 to perceive their imaginations were wild and 
 confused. It is true, as we have already re- 
 marked, that God hath given them some glimpse 
 of his majesty, that they might not cover their 
 impiety with a vain pretext of ignorance. But 
 they have so seen objects, as not to be conducted 
 thereby to pursue truth much less have they 
 arrived at it. These persons, with their pre- 
 tended illuminations, may, I conceive, be well 
 compared to a man, who, finding himself at night 
 in the middle of a field, in a thunder storm, 
 sees by the flashes of lightning a considerable 
 extent round about him, but it is only instan- 
 taneous. So that all this light is of no use to 
 conduct him, since it disappears so suddenly, 
 that before he is able to advance a step, he is re- 
 plunged into darkness ; thus is it wholly impos- 
 sible for him to recover his road by such a help. 
 Besides, those sparks of truth which shine oc- 
 casionally in the books of the philosophers, by 
 what clouds of errors are they not encompassed ? 
 Let us, therefore, conclude that human reason 
 can never by its own strength discover truth ; 
 that it can never of itself comprehend who is
 
 256 EPITOME OF THE INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 the true God,, and in what relation he will 
 stand to us. 
 
 " St. Paul is remarkably clear in treating 
 this subject. Having assumed that the wisdom 
 of man is full of folly arid of vanity,, he thus 
 concludes the subject. ' But the natural man 
 receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God : 
 for they are foolishness unto him ; neither can 
 he know them, because they are spiritually 
 discerned.' Who then is .this natural man, 
 unless it be him who prides himself on the light 
 of nature? But, naturally, such a man under- 
 stands nothing in spiritual things. Wherefore ? 
 Is it owing to idleness, which, engrossing his 
 mind, makes him neglect to acquire the know- 
 ledge of it ? By no means ; for should he 
 employ his utmost strength and intelligence, he 
 would still fall short of it, for it must be 
 spiritually discerned, saith St. Paul, since it is 
 by a spiritual judgment, disentangled from car- 
 nal passions, that we ought to judge thereof. By 
 which he intends, that, being hidden and im- 
 penetrable to the understandings of men, they 
 have been discovered and manifested to us by 
 
 if 
 
 the revelation of the Spirit. So that all the 
 mysteries of the wisdom of God are but folly 
 to man, until he becomes enlightened by his 
 grace.
 
 ON FREE-WILL. 257 
 
 <{ What he denies, however,, to men, he at- 
 tributes to God in another place., beseeching 
 him to bestow upon the Ephesians the spirit 
 of wisdom and of revelation. By these words 
 \ve learn, that whatever wisdom or revelation 
 the world contains is a gift of God. What 
 farther does he say ? ' That he would enlighten 
 the eyes of their understanding/ They are 
 therefore, blind, since they stand in need of a 
 new illumination. What does he farther add ? 
 *" That ye may know what is the hope of his 
 calling, and what the riches of the glory of his 
 inheritance in the saints.' He who presumes 
 upon having more intelligence than he really 
 possesses, is so much the blinder, as he does not 
 perceive his own blindness. 
 
 ee But we must now consider that other 
 faculty of the soul, the will, in which free-will 
 properly consists, if indeed there be any in man. 
 For we have already seen that the choice de- 
 pends rather upon the will, than the understand- 
 ing. And first, lest what hath been taught by 
 the philosophers, and commonly received, should 
 serve to establish the uprightness of the human 
 will, that is, that all creatures desire that good 
 which is suitable to them ; let it be observed, 
 that the force of free-will ought not to be 
 considered with reference to that desire or 
 appetite which proceeds rather from a pro-
 
 258 EPITOME OF THE INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 pensitj of nature than the deliberation of the 
 mind. The schoolmen even confess that the 
 action of free-will consists in the application 
 of reason to two opposing claims. By which 
 they mean, that the object of the appetite 
 ought to be submitted to the choice of the will, 
 and that deliberation ought to precede choice. 
 If we examine., indeed,, the nature of that desire 
 which man feels naturally after good, we shall 
 find that he possesses this in common with 
 animals., who all desire their own advantage, 
 and who, when any image of advantage strikes 
 their senses, pursue it with all their might. 
 The question, then, whether man is incited by a 
 natural feeling to desire his good, has nothing to 
 do with free-will, which, to be truly free, ought 
 to discern the good which it desires by the light 
 of reason ; and, having distinguished it, to make 
 choice of it ; and having chosen it, to pursue the 
 enjoyment of it. 
 
 cc But in order to remove every difficulty, 
 we must here be on our guard against two false 
 conclusions into which we may fall. For the 
 word appetite does not signify the proper motion 
 of the will, but only a natural inclination. 
 Secondly, the word good is not to be under- 
 stood as meaning righteousness and virtue, but 
 those things which all creatures desire, as being 
 suitable and proper to the preservation and
 
 ON FREE-WILL. 259 
 
 convenience of their being'. To which it must 
 be farther added, that though man passionately 
 desires to obtain what is good and suitable for 
 him,, he nevertheless does not pursue it, nor 
 apply himself to search after it. For there is 
 no person who does not desire eternal happiness, 
 and to whom it would not be gratifying; but 
 no one aspires after it, until he is excited to it by 
 the Holy Spirit. Since then this natural desire 
 by no means proves that man possesses a free- 
 will, as the inclination which inferior creatures 
 have, to tend to the perfection of their nature, 
 by no means proves that there is any freedom in 
 them ; we must now consider whether the will 
 of man, with reference to other things, is so 
 corrupted that it can only produce evil ; or 
 whether any portion of it remain entire, from 
 whence any good desires may proceed. 
 
 ef Those who assert that by the original 
 favour of God we are capable of willing effec- 
 tually, appear to imply that there is in the soul 
 a faculty capable of aspiring voluntarily to that 
 which is good, but that this faculty is so weak 
 as not to be able to rise to a firm and solid 
 affection, or to excite man to exert himself to 
 obtain the enjoyment of it. Nor is there any 
 doubt but that the schoolmen have commonly 
 followed this opinion, which they have taken 
 from Origen, and other ancient doctors, so that 
 
 2
 
 260 EPITOME OF THE INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 when they consider man simply with respect to 
 his nature, they represent him to us in the 
 language of St. Paul : f For the good that I 
 would, I do not; but the evil which I would 
 not, that I do.' But in this way they over- 
 throw the whole argument which the apostle 
 maintains in that passage where he speaks of the 
 Christian struggle, (which he treats more briefly 
 in the Epistle to the Galatians,) that the faith- 
 ful experience continually in themselves, the 
 flesh lusting against the spirit, and the spirit 
 against the flesh. Now they have not the spirit 
 in a way of nature, but by the grace of re- 
 generation. That the apostle is speaking of 
 those who are regenerated is clear ; for having 
 said that there was no good thing in him, he 
 adds in explanation, that he is speaking of his 
 flesh. On which account he declares that he 
 does not commit the evil, and says that it is sin 
 which dwelleth in him. What is the import of 
 the qualification, f In me, that is in my flesh ?* 
 It is certainly as though he had said, There 
 dwells no good thing in me of myself, seeing 
 that nothing good is to be found in my flesh. 
 From whence arises the apology; It is no more 
 1 that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. 
 Which is true of the faithful alone, who are 
 aiming at doing good, with reference to their 
 minds. Besides, the conclusion which he adds, 
 manifestly shews this, ' I delight in the law
 
 ON FREE-WILL. 261 
 
 of God after the inward man. But I see another 
 law in my members,, warring against the law 
 of my mind.' Who could experience such a 
 combat but -the person who., regenerated by the 
 Holy Spirit, still feels the remains of sin in his 
 flesh? On which account., St. Austin having 
 sometimes explained this passage of the nature 
 of man,, retracted afterwards his explication, as 
 false and ill founded. 
 
 " If we once allow^ indeed, that man pos- 
 sesses the smallest inclination to that which is 
 good, without the grace of God, how shall we 
 answer the apostle, who denies that we are 
 capable of even thinking a good thought?* 
 What shall we reply to Jehovah, who declares 
 to us by the mouth of Moses, that every ima- 
 gination of the thoughts of his heart was only 
 evil continually ? f Since, then, they have im- 
 posed upon themselves by the false interpretation 
 of a passage, we must not be influenced by their 
 fancy. Let us rather listen to what Jesus Christ 
 addresses to us in his gospel, that whosoever 
 committeth sin is the servant of sin. But we 
 are all sinners by nature; it follows, therefore, 
 that we are all naturally under the yoke of sin. 
 That if man be altogether subjected to the 
 dominion of sin, we must necessarily conclude, 
 that the will, which is one of his principal 
 * 2 Cor. iii. 5. f Gen. vi. 5.
 
 EPITOME OF THE INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 faculties,, is also captive, and bound by the 
 strongest fetters. What St. Paul also asserts, 
 that it is God who worketh in us, both to will 
 and to do of his good pleasure, is not to be 
 maintained upon the supposition of our will 
 preceding the grace of the Holy Spirit. Far 
 be from us then, the opinion of all those, who tell 
 us of I know not what preparations and dis- 
 positions in our nature, to embrace that which is 
 good. I confess that believers, after the ex- 
 ample of David, beseech God to dispose their 
 hearts to obey his law ; but it is to be remem- 
 bered, that the very desire to pray proceeds from 
 God : which may easily be gathered from the 
 words of that holy prophet. For, beseeching 
 God to create in him a new heart, he does not 
 even attribute the beginning of such a creation 
 to himself. Let us, therefore, rather receive 
 what St. Austin addresses to us. c God,' saith 
 he, f hath prevented thce in all things. Pre- 
 vent then his anger but how ? Confess that 
 you have received all from him ; that all the 
 good which you possess proceeds from him, and 
 all the evil from yourselves. Nothing,' saith 
 he, ' belongs to us but sin.' "* 
 
 * Instil, lib. ii. cap. 2.
 
 ON JUSTIFICATION. 263 
 
 SECTION X. 
 
 On Justification. 
 
 FROM the preceding quotations on the subject of 
 Free-will, \ve can scarcely fail to be convinced 
 that man, degraded and rendered utterly im- 
 potent by the fall, must be absolutely indebted 
 to foreign assistance for his recovery and 
 elevation. To a mind adequately impressed 
 with this conviction, the question, ee How shall 
 I be just with God?" will not fail to recur 
 with exquisitely painful interest, until answered 
 by an accurate and comprehensive view of the 
 doctrine of justification, derived from the in- 
 fallible source of truth. When it is considered 
 that the law of God enjoins universal and 
 perpetual obedience, it must be evident that a 
 single transgression must for ever preclude the 
 possibility of being justified by a broken cove- 
 nant; since to condemn is all the law can do, 
 whose reiterated language is, fc the soul that 
 sinneth it shall die." It is evident, therefore, 
 that such a righteousness as can alone be 
 available for justification, can never proceed 
 from the law of Moses (as the apostle asserts),
 
 264 EPITOME OF THE INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 unless the same law which makes sin, and 
 threatens the guilty with punishment,, can at the 
 same time be supposed to abate its claims and 
 tolerate iniquity, which, as it supposes it to be 
 mutable,, is absurd. To conceive of the Divine 
 Being as enacting a law illustrative of the im- 
 mutable holiness of his nature, and to suppose 
 him to surrender the execution of its penalties 
 on the ground of a partial obedience to its pre- 
 cepts^ is an implication that either the law is 
 excessive in its demands, or that the supreme 
 legislator is merciful at the expence of his 
 justice; the former of which arraigns the wis- 
 dom, and the latter the equity of Him who is 
 infinite in counsel, and essentially just. The 
 nature and importance of justification, clearly 
 illustrated by the apostle, in the fifth chapter of 
 his Epistle to the Romans, and in the first verse, 
 furnish us with convincing evidence on the 
 interesting subject. That justification is a 
 gratuitous act of God, placing us in a state 
 of salvation, in consideration of the righteousness 
 of Jesus Christ, is evident from the connection of 
 the words, which by a very unhappy division 
 of chapters, are separated from the premises 
 from which they are an inference. The formal 
 ground of justification, as stated in the scrip- 
 tures, appears to be the righteousness of Jesus 
 Christ, received by faith ; consequently, all those 
 passages which speak of justification by faith,,
 
 ON JUSTIFICATION. 265 
 
 must be considered as standing in direct op- 
 position to works, as forming 1 any meritorious 
 ground of acceptance with God ; and as con- 
 taining an implied sense, that it is not by means 
 of faith as a meritorious principle, that faith 
 justifies; but as it is the appropriation of a 
 gracious provision, adapted to the feelings of 
 an enlightened conscience. 
 
 te It is necessary," says our author, " to 
 explain this subject, and so to consider this 
 article of justification by faith, as to be im- 
 pressed with its being one of the principal 
 points of the Christian religion, that we may 
 apply ourselves to the examination of it, with 
 all the attention and precision of which we are 
 capable. For as we have no foundation upon 
 which to rest our salvation, unlsss we know in 
 what light God views us, and his will concern- 
 ing us ; neither can we without this knowledge 
 have any support upon which we can place the 
 reverence and piety which are due to him. Let 
 us, therefore, enquire into the meaning of those 
 expressions To be justified before God ; to be 
 justified by faith; or, to be justified by works. 
 
 {C As iniquity is abominable in the eyes of 
 God, it is impossible for man to find favour in 
 his sight as a sinner, or while he is considered 
 under that character. For wherever sin is
 
 266 EPITOME OF THE INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 found, the wrath and vengeance of God are to 
 be found also. He is,, therefore, justified, who 
 is not considered as a sinner, but a righteous 
 person ; and who, on that ground, is qualified 
 to stand before the tribunal of God, where 
 sinners must appear with confusion. For ex- 
 ample, if a man wrongfully accused, appear 
 before the tribunal of an equitable judge, and 
 be absolved and declared innocent after due 
 examination, it must of course be said that he is 
 justly cleared, and that he is justified from the 
 crime of which he was accused. We say also 
 that man is justified before God, when being 
 separated from the number of sinners, God is 
 the witness and asserter of his righteousness. 
 Thus we say man is justified by his works, 
 when his life exhibits such purity and holiness 
 as merit to be approved before the tribunal 
 of God r as a perfect righteousness ; or when by 
 the innocence and perfection of his works, he 
 can satisfy his judgment. On the contrary, he 
 is said to be justified by faith, who, excluded 
 from the righteousness of works, receives by 
 faith, the righteousness of Jesus Christ; and 
 who, clothed in that divine righteousness, ap- 
 pears in the presence of God, not as a sinner, 
 but as a righteous person. We say, then, in a 
 word, that our justification is a gratuitous 
 acceptation, by which God, receiving us into 
 his favour, considers us as just; and we shall
 
 ON JUSTIFICATION. 267 
 
 also maintain., that this acceptation consists in 
 the imputation of the righteousness of Jesus 
 Christ.* 
 
 * The coincidence of thought between our reformer and 
 an illustrious British divine, on this subject, is so remarkably 
 striking, that I avail myself with pleasure of so respectable a 
 testimony to the unadulterated evangelical doctrine of justifi- 
 cation by faith alone. 
 
 " St. Paul," he observes, " commendeth the excellency of 
 the evangelical dispensation from hence, that it entirely doth 
 ascribe the justification of men to God's mercy and favour 
 excluding any merit of man, any right or title thereto, 
 grounded upon what man hath performed ; consequently, ad- 
 vancing the glory of God, and depressing the vanity of man. 
 If," saith he, " Abraham were justified by works, he had 
 whereof to boast, for that to him, who worketh, wages are 
 not reckoned as bestowed in favour, but are paid as debt ; so 
 would it be, if men were justified by works, they might claim 
 to themselves the due consequences thereof, impunity and 
 reward; they would be apt to please themselves, and boast 
 of the effects arising from their own performances ; but if, as 
 the gospel teacheth, men are justified freely (gratis) by God's 
 mercy and grace, without any regard to what they formerly 
 have done, either good or bad, those who have lived wickedly 
 and impiously (upon their compliance with the terms proposed 
 to them) being no less capable thereof, than the most righteous 
 and pious persons ; then where is boasting ? It is excluded ; 
 then surely no man can assume any thing to himself; then all 
 the glory and praise are due to God's frank goodness; the 
 purport of which reasoning (so often used) doth imply, that 
 a man's justification signifieth his being accepted or approved 
 as just, standing rectus in curia, being in God's esteem, and 
 by his sentence absolved from guilt and punishment, the which 
 cannot otherwise be obtained, than from divine favour de- 
 clared and exhibited in the gospel; according as St. Paul 
 otherwhere fully speaketh : * To the praise of the glory of his
 
 268 EPITOME OF THE INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 " The scriptures furnish us with many evi- 
 dent testimonies to confirm what we have now 
 advanced. I will only alledge a few,, in which 
 the subject of justification is expressly treated. 
 When St. Luke relates, that, all the people 
 that heard him, and the publicans., justified 
 God ; and Jesus Christ declares that wisdom is 
 justified of all her children; the word,, justify, 
 in those passages, cannot possibly signify that 
 men confer righteousness upon God, which ever 
 resides essentially and perfectly in him, though 
 all the world should conspire to deprive him 
 of it ; or that they can render the doctrine 
 of salvation just, since it is so in itself; but 
 both methods of speaking imply, that those 
 whom the evangelist mentions, attributed to 
 God, and to his word, the glory and praise due 
 to them. On the other hand, when Jesus Christ 
 reproaches the pharisees with f justifying them- 
 selves before men,' he is not to be understood as 
 meaning that they aimed at the acquisition of 
 righteousness by doing good ; but that from an 
 ambitious motive they aimed at procuring the 
 reputation of being righteous, though they were 
 entirely devoid of righteousness itself. 
 
 grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the Beloved ; in 
 whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness 
 of sins according to the riches of his grace.' " 
 
 Vide A Sermon an Justification by Faith, by 
 Isaac Barrow, D,D>
 
 ON JUSTIFICATION. 
 
 <e With regard to the subject in hand, St. 
 Paul observes, that God in the scriptures, fore- 
 seeing that he would justify the heathen through 
 faith, preached before the gospel, unto Abraham, 
 saying, c In thee shall all nations be blessed.' 
 How are we, therefore, to understand this ex- 
 pression, unless it be that God considers them 
 as righteous through the medium of faith ? 
 Thus, where it is said that God ' might be just 
 and the justifier of him which believeth in 
 Jesus/ what meaning can we attach to the ex- 
 pression, unless it be, that by means of faith he 
 delivereth sinners from that condemnation which 
 they deserve by their impiety ? which he ex- 
 presses still more clearly afterwards, where he 
 exclaims, ' Who shall lay any thing to the 
 charge of God's elect ? It is God that justifieth. 
 Who is he that condemneth ? It is Christ that 
 died, yea, rather that is risen again, who is even 
 at the right hand of God, who also maketh 
 intercession for us/ For it is equivalent to 
 saying, who shall accuse those whom God ab- 
 solves ? Who shall dare to condemn those whom 
 God undertakes to defend ? To justify is, there- 
 fore, no other than to absolve him who is ac- 
 cused, and to free him from condemnation as 
 though his personal innocence had been acknow- 
 ledged. Thus, since God justifies through the 
 intervention of Jesus Christ, he absolves us not
 
 270 EPITOME OF THE INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 * 
 
 on the ground of our personal innocence,, but 
 by imputing to us the righteousness of his Son; 
 so that we are accounted righteous in Jesus 
 Christ, although not so in ourselves. 
 
 tf But farther, to abandon a dispute about 
 the word, if we consider with attention the 
 thing itself, as represented to us in the scrip- 
 tures, there can be no diiliculty. For St. Paul 
 makes use of the word acceptance, when he 
 intends to shew that God justifies us. e We 
 are/ says he, e predestinated unto the adoption 
 of children by Jesus Christ to himself accord- 
 ing to the good pleasure of his will, to the 
 praise of the glory of his grace wherein he hath 
 made us accepted in the beloved/* The apos- 
 tle's meaning here is synonimous with what he 
 expresses in other passages; that God justifies 
 us freely by his grace. In the fourth chapter 
 of the Epistle to the Romans, he asserts prim- 
 arily that we are just because God accounts us 
 so by his grace ; after which he makes our 
 justification consist in the remission of sins. 
 f Thus/ says he ' David also describeth the 
 blessedness of the man unto whom God im- 
 puteth righteousness without works, saying, 
 Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, 
 and whose sins are covered, Blessed is the man 
 
 * Ephes. i. 5.
 
 ON JUSTIFICATION. 271 
 
 to whom the Lord will not impute sin. It is 
 evident that he there speaks, not of a detached 
 part of our justification, but of our justification 
 entire. He asserts also that the prophet David 
 expresses it, by pronouncing those happy who 
 have obtained the gratuitous pardon of their 
 faults. From whence it appears evidently,, that 
 he considers as two opposite points, being justi- 
 fied, and being considered as guilty. But there 
 is no passage more express in proof of my 
 assertion, than that in which he teaches, that 
 the foundation and essence of the gospel con- 
 sists in reconciling us unto God, because God is 
 willing to receive us into his favour, by not 
 imputing to us our sins. Let the reader ex- 
 amine carefully the whole text of the apostle. 
 For he immediately adds, that Jesus Christ, 
 who knew no sin, was made sin for us ; express- 
 ing thereby the method of our reconciliation, 
 and understanding, consequently, nothing by the 
 word to reconcile, but, to justify. Nor can his 
 expression in another place be maintained, unless 
 we are considered just before God in Jesus 
 Christ, and out of ourselves."* 
 
 Not to pursue our author in his refutations of 
 the wild reveries of Osiander, whom he opposes; 
 let us listen to the language in which he cele- 
 
 * Instil, lib. iii. cap. 11.
 
 EPITOME OF THE INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 brates the praise of this illustrious doctrine, as 
 it secures and promotes that peace of conscience, 
 which passes all understanding, and includes the 
 pledge and antipast of celestial bliss. 
 
 <e If we enquire," says he, ef how the con- 
 science may become tranquil, and rejoice before 
 God, we shall find that it is not possible for 
 peace and joy to reign there, unless God of his 
 pure mercy confer upon us his own righteousness. 
 What Solomon observes in his Proverbs, ought 
 ever to be impressed upon our minds. ' Who 
 can say, I have made my heart clean ? I am 
 pure from sin.'* There is certainly no man 
 whose heart is not crowded with impurities. 
 Let the most righteous and the most perfect 
 examine their conscience and their conduct. 
 What must be the issue of such a process ? 
 Dare they quietly take their repose, as though 
 they had gained their cause by pleading against 
 God, and had henceforth nothing to transact 
 with him ? On the contrary, if they are esti 
 mated according to their works, will they not 
 be rent by dreadful torments, while they ex- 
 perience that they carry about with them the 
 cause of their condemnation ? The conscience, 
 as it respects God, must either enjoy peace with 
 him, without fearing his judgment, or be id 
 
 * Prov. xx. 9,
 
 ON JUSTIFICATION. 273 
 
 perpetual alarms, and as it were, besieged by 
 inconceivable terrors. We, therefore, make no 
 progress while disputing about righteousness, 
 unless we establish such an one, upon the firm- 
 ness of which our souls may rest and be sup- 
 ported before the tribunal of God. 
 
 " It is, therefore, not without reason that 
 the apostle urges this argument, whose words 
 I abundantly prefer to my own. ' If they 
 which are of the law be heirs, faith is made 
 void, and the promise made of none effect.'* 
 He infers, that faith becomes useless and void, 
 if righteousness respects the merits of our 
 works, or depends upon the observance of the 
 law. 
 
 <f The ground of assurance is explained by 
 this apostle, and stated to be the love of God 
 shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost 
 which is given unto us.f As if he had said, 
 our souls can never be in a calm and tranquil 
 state, unless we are firmly persuaded that we 
 are acceptable to God. Whence personating 
 believers universally, he exclaims, f Who shall 
 separate us from the love of Christ ? J J For 
 until we have reached this haven, the least 
 storm will be sufficient to alarm us, every 
 
 * Rom. iv. 14. f Rom. v. 5. I Rom. viii. 35. 
 T
 
 274 EPITOME OF THE INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 gust of wind will make us tremble; but when 
 God shall espouse our cause as our shep- 
 herd, we shall walk with confidence through 
 darkness, and even through the shadow of 
 death/'* 
 
 * Instit. lib. iii. cap. 13,
 
 ON THE PERSEVERANCE OF THE SAINTS. 275 
 
 SECTION XI. 
 
 On the Perseverance of the Sai?its. 
 
 AGAINST the doctrine of the final perseverance 
 of the saints, an opposition has been raised and 
 perpetuated, not merely on a presumption of 
 the erroneous nature, but also the dangerous 
 tendency of the sentiment. How far it hath 
 deserved such treatment, may be ascertained 
 from the following view of the doctrine itself. 
 
 " It is affirmed, that those whom Jesus 
 Christ hath enlightened with the knowledge 
 of himself, and introduced into the bosom of 
 his church, are received, are taken under his 
 protection ; and of all whom he receives, it is 
 farther said, that the Father hath committed 
 them unto him, and given him the charge of 
 them, to conduct them to eternal life. What 
 more can be desired ? Jesus Christ proclaims in 
 his gospel, that the Father hath placed under 
 his protection, all those whose salvation he hath 
 decreed.* Do we wish to know whether God 
 is careful about our salvation? let us examine 
 * John vi. 37. and xvii. 6 12.
 
 276 EPITOME OF THE INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 his word,, and enquire if he hath not entrusted 
 it to Jesus Christ, whom he hath appointed to 
 be the saviour of all who are entrusted to him. 
 If we doubt whether Jesus Christ hath placed 
 us under his protection, he anticipates the doubt 
 by representing himself as our shepherd, and 
 declaring that he will receive us into the num- 
 ber of his sheep, if we will hear his voice. Let 
 us, then, embrace him, since he presents himself 
 to us with so much benignity and anticipates 
 our reception. Doubtless he will place us in 
 the number of the sheep of his flock, and 
 guard us in his fold. 
 
 " But to this it may be objected, that we 
 ought to be solicitous with respect to what may 
 happen to us; and that when we contemplate 
 futurity, our infirmities admonish us to be con- 
 tinually solicitous. For, as St. Paul says, the 
 people of God are ' called according to his 
 purpose.' Jesus Christ also informs us that, 
 though ' many are called, few are chosen.' St. 
 Paul himself, in another place, cautions us 
 against security ; f Wherefore/ says he, e let 
 him that thinketh he standeth, take heed lest he 
 fall.* Experience, indeed, teaches us that our 
 faith and calling are but of comparatively little 
 consequence, unless perseverance, which is not 
 universally bestowed, be joined to them. To 
 this I reply, that Jesus Christ hath delivered
 
 ON THE PERSEVERANCE OF THE SAINTS. 277 
 
 us from this uneasiness and perplexity. For 
 there can be no doubt but that his promises 
 relate to futurity. c All that the Father giveth 
 me, shall come to me ; and him that cometh to 
 me, I will in no wise cast out. This is the 
 Father's will, which hath sent me, that of all 
 which he hath given me I should lose nothing, 
 but should raise it up again at the last day.'* 
 f My sheep/ saith he, elsewhere, f hear my 
 voice, and I know them, and they follow me. 
 And I give unto them eternal life, and they 
 shall never perish, neither shall any pluck them 
 out of my hand. My Father which gave them 
 me is greater than all : and none is able to 
 pluck them out of my Father's hand.'f 
 
 " By declaring, also, that every plant not 
 planted by his heavenly Father, should be rooted 
 up, he teaches that, on the contrary, it is not 
 possible that those who have taken deep root in 
 God, should be rooted up. In unison with 
 which are those words of the apostle John : 
 ' They went out from us, but they were not 
 of us : for if they had been of us, they would, 
 no doubt, have continued with us.' It was on 
 this ground that the apostle Paul exulted so 
 boldly over life and death, over things present 
 and things to come. Which could only be 
 founded upon the certain persuasion of his per- 
 * John, vi. 37. 39, 40. f John, x. 27 2p.
 
 278 EPITOME OF THE INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 severance. And he doubtless addresses himself 
 to the whole body of the elect, in the following 
 expression : f Being confident of this very thing, 
 that he which hath begun a good work in you, 
 will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.* 
 David, also, feeling his faith shaken by the 
 violence of temptation, leans upon this prop; 
 1 The Lord/ saith he, ( will perfect that which 
 concerneth me: thy mercy, O Lord, endureth 
 for ever ; forsake not the works of thine own 
 hands/ Besides which, it is not to be doubted 
 that Jesus Christ, praying for the elect, be- 
 sought for them what he requested for St. Peter, 
 ' that their faith might not fail/ From whence 
 we conclude that they are out of danger of fall- 
 ing into apostacy, since the Son of God having 
 prayed on their behalf, that they might remain 
 firm and constant, was not denied his petition. 
 What does Jesus Christ, therefore, intend to 
 teach us here ? Certainly, that our eternal sal- 
 vation is secured, by the circumstance of our 
 having been once given to Jesus Christ. 
 
 " But it occurs daily (it will be said), that 
 those who appear to belong to Jesus Christ, fall 
 away and revolt. And that even in the passage 
 where he declares, that none whom the Father 
 had given him could be lost, he excepts the son 
 of perdition. This is true; but it is on the 
 other hand certain, that those persons have never
 
 ON THE PERSEVERANCE OF THE SAINTS. 279 
 
 adhered to Jesus Christ with that confidence 
 of heart, upon which we assert the assurance 
 of our election to be founded. ' They went 
 out from us/ as we have just heard from St. 
 John, 'but they were not of us : for if they 
 had been of us, they would, no doubt, have 
 continued with us.' I do not deny but that 
 they may have the same marks of their calling 
 as those of the elect ; but I cannot allow them 
 that firm and solid foundation of election which 
 I enjoin the faithful to seek in the word of the 
 gospel. Let not these examples, therefore, 
 make us uneasy, nor prevent our tranquil repose 
 upon the promises of the Lord Jesus, in which 
 lie expressly declares, that the Father hath given 
 him all those who have received him with a 
 genuine faith, and that none of them shall 
 perish, since he is their guardian and protector. 
 We shall speak elsewhere of Judas. 
 
 fe As to what relates to St. Paul, he by no 
 means absolutely prohibits all kinds of confi- 
 dence, but a certain carnal indolence, and con- 
 tempt of o.ther men ; an indolence which ex- 
 tinguishes humility, overthrows the respect and 
 reverence which we owe to God, and which 
 leads men to forget his benefits. For in that 
 passage he is addressing the Gentiles, whom he 
 teaches that they ought not to insult the Jews, 
 under the pretext, that they having been re-
 
 280 EPITOME OF THE INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 jected, they had been substituted in their place. 
 The fear which he requires is not a fear which 
 should induce consternation., but a fear which., 
 instructing us to revere with humility the grace 
 of God, abates in no degree the confidence 
 which we feel in him, as we have elsewhere 
 explained it. 
 
 <f Add to this, that he is not addressing his 
 discourse particularly to individual believers, 
 but in general to the sects which then existed 
 amongst men. For the church was at that 
 time divided into two parties, and envy and 
 pride being the cause of that divorce, St. Paul 
 admonishes the Pagans, that if they were put in 
 the place of the holy people, peculiarly conse- 
 crated to God, such a circumstance ought to 
 furnish them with a motive to fear and modesty. 
 Besides, there were many of them filled with 
 vanity, whose pride and presumption it was 
 necessary to overthrow. We have also seen 
 already, that our hope must be extended to 
 futurity, and even beyond death ; and that no- 
 thing is ntore opposed to the nature of hope, 
 than to be in doubt and uncertainty with respect 
 to what may happen to us in futurity."* 
 
 The above quotations will, no doubt, con- 
 vey to the mind of the reader, an accurate 
 * Instit. lib. iii. cap. 24.
 
 ON THE PERSEVERANCE OF THE SAINTS. 281 
 
 conception of the real sentiments of our au- 
 thor. The importance of those sentiments will 
 justify, it is hoped, the extent of the quo- 
 tation adopted, and supersede the necessity of 
 an apology. 
 
 A considerable degree of interest having 
 been excited on the subject of the doctrinal 
 sentiments of the church of England, it would 
 perhaps appear a real defect in a work of this 
 description, to decline all notice of ithe subject. 
 To the writer of the present work, the coin- 
 cidence of the articles and liturgy of the church 
 of England, with the leading truths of Cal- 
 vinism, appear so evident, that nothing more 
 can be necessary in his opinion, than a simple 
 and unprejudiced comparison, to establish the 
 conviction. 
 
 By those who are acquainted with ecclesi- 
 astical history, it will also be recollected, that 
 Calvin revised the English liturgy ; and that 
 upon his suggestion, several important alter- 
 ations were made in it. That he corresponded 
 with Cranmer, and that on doctrinal senti- 
 ments, there existed an entire uniformity of 
 sentiment between the English and foreign 
 reformers. Differing widely as did Cranmer 
 and Calvin, on the subject of ecclesiastical
 
 282 EPITOME OF THE INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 discipline, it must be obvious to every one, 
 that the instances in which the judgment of 
 Calvin was consulted, must relate to doctrine 
 chiefly, if not exclusively. To denominate the 
 articles of the church of England, Arminian, 
 is an instance of the grossest absurdity, as they 
 were drawn up long before Arminius was born. 
 To persons disposed to investigate the subject 
 fully, the writer would earnestly recommend, 
 Toplady's Historic Proof of the Calvinism of 
 the Church of England, in which work the 
 fact is absolutely demonstrated. 
 
 The coincidence of Calvinism with our 
 common Christianity, being so intimate, as to 
 subject its assailants to the charge of criminal 
 ignorance ; the earnest caution of an eminent 
 divine, lately deceased, who was grieved to 
 observe with what ff little knowledge of the 
 subject some adventured to write against Cal- 
 vinism," deserves the serious attention of every 
 enquirer after religious truth. ef 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 
 it is of late become the fashion to abuse under 
 the name of Calvinism, you can distinguish 
 with certainty between that part of it, which 
 is nothing better than Calvinism, and that
 
 ON THE PERSEVERANCE OF THE SAINTS. 283 
 
 \vhich belongs to our common Christianity, 
 and the general faith of the reformed churches ; 
 lest when you mean only to fall foul of Cal- 
 vinism,, you should unwarily attack something 
 more sacred and of higher origin."* 
 
 * Bishop Horsley's Last Charge.
 
 HISTORICAL APPENDIX; 
 
 CONTAININS 
 
 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES 
 
 REFORMERS. 
 
 No. I. 
 
 WICKLIFFE (John), the first divine who had 
 the courage to attempt a reformation of religion, 
 and who is on that account called the morning 
 star of the reformation, was born about the 
 year 1324, in the parish of Wycliff, near Rich- 
 mond, in Yorkshire. Educated at Oxford, first 
 in Queen's, and afterwards in Merton College, 
 he became a Probationer Fellow of the latter. 
 Having acquired the reputation of considerable 
 learning, he was, in 1361, chosen Master of 
 Baliol-hall, and in 1365, constituted Warden 
 of Canterbury College, by Simon de Islip, its 
 founder ; from which situation he was, how- 
 ever, ejected by the regulars, together with 
 three Secular Fellows. Conceiving their pro- 
 ceedings arbitrary, he appealed to the pope, 
 who, instead of affording him redress, confirmed
 
 286 HISTORICAL APPENDIX. 
 
 the ejectment. Previously disgusted at the 
 enormities of the See of Rome, his enmity thus 
 became confirmed. His credit in the university, 
 however,, still continued, and having taken the 
 degree of Doctor in Divinity, he gave public 
 lectures, in which he exposed with severity, the 
 abuses of the Mendicant orders. It was about 
 this time that he published a defence of Ed- 
 ward III. against the pope, who had claimed 
 the homage to which King John had so meanly 
 submitted. On this account, Wickliffe was in- 
 troduced at court, and appointed one of the 
 ambassadors to Bruges, in 1374, where they 
 met the pope's nuncios, with a view to settle 
 various ecclesiastical affairs, relative to the 
 authority of the Roman pontiff. The king in 
 the mean time presented Wickliffe to the rectory 
 of Lutterworth, in Leicestershire, and in 1375, 
 he obtained a prebendary in the church of 
 Westbury, in Gloucestershire. Hitherto Wick- 
 liffe continued to expose the corruptions of the 
 church of Rome unmolested, but in 1377, a bull 
 was dispatched to the Archbishop of Canter- 
 bury, and to Courtney, Bishop of London, re- 
 quiring them to secure the heretic, and to lay 
 him in irons ; the pope at the same time wrote 
 to the king, to interest him in the prosecution, 
 and to the university of Oxford he sent a bull, 
 commanding them to deliver him up. Happily 
 before the arrival of these bulls, Edward III.
 
 WICKLIFFE. 287 
 
 being dead, WicklifFe, protected by John, Duke 
 of Lancaster, uncle to Richard II. as well as 
 by the queen-mother, and supported by the 
 citizens of London, eluded the persecution of 
 Gregory IX. who died in 1378. Uninjured by 
 the attempts, and undismayed by the threats of 
 his enemies, this intrepid reformer presented to 
 parliament, in the year following, a paper 
 against the tyranny of Rome ; and published a 
 book On the Truth of the Scriptures., intended 
 to prepare the public mind for an English 
 translation of them, in which he had made 
 considerable progress. 
 
 In the year 1381, he published Sixteen Con- 
 clusions, in the first of which he attacked the 
 absurdity of transubstantiation. At his living 
 of Lutterworth, he finished his translation of 
 the Bible. This version is a literal translation 
 from the Latin vulgate. In 1383, he was struck 
 with the palsy ; a repetition of which termi- 
 nated his life in December 1384. His body 
 was interred in his own church, where it rested 
 in peace, till the year 1428, when by an order 
 from the pope, his bones were taken up and 
 burnt. In addition to a great variety of pub- 
 lished works, he left behind him a prodigious 
 number of manuscripts ; a list of which may be 
 seen in Bishop Tanner's JBibliotheca Britanico-
 
 288 HISTORICAL APPENDIX. 
 
 Hibernica. Some of them are in the Bodleian 
 library, others in the British Museum, &c. 
 
 Considering the times in which Wickliffe 
 lived, he must be considered a very extra- 
 ordinary man. Struck with the absurdities 
 of the church of Rome, he had the honesty and 
 courage to make an open avowal of his convic- 
 tions. Nor does it appear that he was at all 
 intimidated by the strength and malice of his 
 inveterate enemies. Well aware that the pros- 
 perity of the Latin church must ever bear a 
 proportion to the ignorance of the multitude, 
 and that a knowledge of the scriptures would 
 most effectually expose the villanies of priest- 
 craft, he bestowed upon his countrymen the 
 most patriotic gift the Bible in their own 
 tongue. A little more support would, probably, 
 have enabled him to establish his opinions, 
 which were evidently the foundation of the 
 reformation.* 
 
 * See Biog. Brit. Art. Wickliffe.
 
 HUSS. 289 
 
 No. II. 
 
 Huss (John) was born in Bohemia, in the year 
 1376,, and educated at Prague, where he 
 entered into orders, became rector of the uni- 
 versity, and confessor to the queen. Meeting 
 with some of Wickliffe's writings, in which the 
 errors of popery were exposed, he entered 
 warmly into the views of that great reformer, 
 and commenced a reformation in the university 
 of Prague, in which he was vigorously opposed 
 by the archbishop, who issued two decrees, the 
 effect of which was, the more abundant spread- 
 ing of the new doctrines. The archbishop's 
 measure having entirely failed, the pope granted 
 a bull for the suppression of the new heresy; 
 cited Huss to appear personally at Rome, and 
 excommunicated him for disobedience. Huss, 
 however, continued in the highest reputation, 
 both on account of his extensive erudition and 
 his powerful eloquence ; a reputation which 
 was farther supported by the blameless sanctity 
 of his manners, and the purity of his doctrine. 
 Undismayed by persecution, he continued to 
 declaim with vehemence against the vices of the 
 clergy, in which he was supported by the wise 
 and good, who were disgusted with the en- 
 
 u
 
 2UO HISTORICAL APPENDIX. 
 
 croachments of an ambitious priesthood. The 
 testimony of a Bohemian Jesuit to the character 
 of our reformer, must be equally gratifying and 
 unsuspected. ee He was more subtile/' he ob- 
 serves, ff than eloquent ; but the gravity and 
 austerity of his manners, his frugal and ex- 
 emplary life, his pale and meagre countenance, 
 his sweetness of temper, and his uncommon 
 affability towards persons of all ranks and con- 
 ditions, from the highest to the lowest, were 
 much more persuasive than any eloquence 
 could be/'* 
 
 In the propagation of his principles he was 
 honoured by the support of Wenceslaus, King 
 of Bohemia, until the year 1414, when he was 
 summoned to appear before the council assem- 
 bled at Constance. Furnished with a safe con- 
 duct, by the Emperor Sigismund, promising to 
 preserve him in going to and returning from the 
 council, Huss, in the full consciousness of inno- 
 cence, repaired to the tribunal of judges, who r 
 acting upon the generous principle that, " no 
 faith is to be kept with heretics," first de- 
 graded, and afterwards burnt alive this illus- 
 trious martyr, in July 1415. The treatises 
 which he wrote were printed together, at 
 Nuremburg, in 1558. 
 
 * See Bohus Balbinus, Epitom. Rer. Bohem. lib. iv. cap. T, 
 p. 431.
 
 JEROME, OF PRAGUE. 
 
 No. III. 
 
 JEROME., of Prague, so called, from the place 
 of his birth, in Bohemia, was neither a monk 
 nor clergyman, but received a learned edu- 
 cation. Having embraced the opinions of John 
 IIuss, he began to propagate them in the year 
 1408. With the intention of supporting his 
 friend IIuss, he repaired to Constance. In- 
 timidated, however, by the prospect of a cruel 
 death, at which nature revolted, he retracted his 
 opinions; but on the 26th of May, 1416, he 
 condemned his former recantation, and re- 
 asserted his real opinions. The testimony of the 
 celebrated Poggio Bracciolini (a Roman catho- 
 lic), to the eloquence and firmness which our 
 reformer displayed on his trial, as it must 
 necessarily be considered impartial, cannot fail 
 of proving interesting to every protestant reader. 
 " Soon after my return," he observes, " from 
 Baden to Constance, the cause of Jerome of 
 Prague, who was accused of heresy, came to a 
 public hearing. The purport of my present 
 letter is to give you an account of this trial, 
 which must of necessity be a matter of con- 
 siderable interest, both on account of the im- 
 portance of the subject, and the eloquence and
 
 292 HISTORICAL APPENDIX. 
 
 learning of the defendant. I must confess that 
 I never saw any one who in pleading a cause, 
 especially a cause on the issue of which his own 
 life depended, approached nearer to that stand- 
 ard of ancient eloquence, which we so much 
 admire. It was astonishing to witness with 
 what choice of words, with what closeness of 
 argument, with what confidence of countenance, 
 he replied to his adversaries. So impressive 
 was his peroration, that it is a subject of great 
 concern, that a man of so noble and excellent a 
 genius should have deviated into heresy. On 
 this latter point, however, I cannot help enter- 
 taining some doubts. But far be it from me, to 
 take upon myself to decide in so important a 
 matter. I shall acquiesce in the opinion of 
 those who are wiser than myself. 
 
 " Do not, however, imagine that I intend to 
 enter into the particulars of this cause. I shall 
 only touch upon the more remarkable and inter- 
 esting circumstances, which will be sufficient to 
 give you an idea of the learning of the man. 
 
 ef Many things having been alledged against 
 the prisoner, as proofs of his entertaining 
 heretical notions, and the council being of 
 opinion, that 4he proof was sufficiently strong 
 to warrant further investigation, it was ordered 
 that he should publicly answer to every par-
 
 JEROME, OF PRAGUE. 
 
 ticular of the charge. He was accordingly 
 brought before the council. But when he was 
 called upon to give in his answers, he for a long 
 time refused so to do ; alledging, that he ought 
 to be permitted to speak generally in his de- 
 fence, before he replied to the false imputations 
 of his adversaries. This indulgence was, how- 
 ever, denied him. Upon which, standing up in 
 the midst of the assembly ' What gross in- 
 justice is this !' exclaimed he, ' that though 
 for the space of three hundred and forty days, 
 which I have spent in filth and fetters, deprived 
 of every comfort, in prisons situated at the most 
 remote distances from each other, you have 
 been continually listening to my adversaries and 
 slanderers, and will not hear me for a single 
 hour ! The consequence of this is, that on the 
 one hand, every one's ears are open to them, 
 and they have for so long a time been attempt- 
 ing to persuade you that I am a heretic, an 
 enemy of the true faith, a persecutor of the 
 clergy ; and on the other hand, I am deprived 
 of every opportunity of defending myself: you 
 have prejudged my cause, and have in your 
 own minds condemned me, before you could 
 possibly become acquainted with my principles. 
 But/ says he, ' you are not gods, but men ; 
 not immortals, but mortals ; liable to error, and 
 subject to imperfection. We are taught to 
 believe that this assembly contains the light
 
 294 HISTORICAL APPENDIX. 
 
 of the world, the prudent men of the earth. 
 You ought, therefore, to be unremittingly care- 
 ful not to do any thing rashly, foolishly, or 
 unjustly. I, indeed, who am pleading for my 
 life, am a man of little consequence ; nor do I 
 say what I do say through anxiety for myself 
 (for I am prepared to submit to the common lot 
 of mortality) but I am prompted by an earnest 
 desire, that the collective wisdom of so many 
 eminent men may not, in my person, violate the 
 laws of justice. As to the injury done to 
 myself, it is, comparatively, of trifling conse- 
 quence ; but the precedent will be pregnant 
 with future mischief.' These and manv other 
 observations he made with great eloquence; 
 but he was interrupted by the murmurs and 
 clamour of several of his auditors. It was 
 decreed, that he should first answer to the 
 charges exhibited against him, and afterwards 
 have free liberty of speech. The heads of the 
 accusation were accordingly read from the desk. 
 When, after they had been proved by testimony, 
 he was asked whether he had any remarks to 
 make in his defence; it is incredible with 
 what skill and judgment he put in his answers. 
 He advanced nothing unbecoming a good man ; 
 and if his real sentiments agreed with his pro- 
 fessions, he was so far from deserving to die, 
 that his principles did not even give just ground 
 for the slightest offence. He denied the whole
 
 JEROME, OF PRAGUE. 295 
 
 impeachment., as a fiction invented by the 
 malice of his enemies. Among others, an article 
 was read, which accused him of being a de- 
 tractor of the apostolic see, an oppugner of the 
 Roman pontiff, an enemy of the cardinals, a 
 persecutor of prelates, and an adversary of the 
 Christian clergy. When this charge was read, 
 he arose, and stretching out his hands, he said 
 in a pathetic tone of voice, ' Fathers ! to whom 
 shall I have recourse for succour? Whose 
 assistance shall I implore ? Unto whom shall I 
 appeal in protestation of my innocence ? Unto 
 you ? But these my persecutors have pre- 
 judiced your minds against me, by declaring 
 that I entertain hostility against all my judges. 
 Thus have they artfully endeavoured, if they 
 cannot reach me by their imputations of error, 
 so to excite your fears, that you may be induced 
 so seize any plausible pretext to destroy your 
 common enemj', such as they most falsely 
 represent me to be. Thus, if you give credit 
 to their assertion, all my hopes of safety are 
 lost/ He caused many to smart by the keenness 
 of his wit, and the bitterness of his reproaches. 
 Melancholy as the occasion was, he frequently 
 excited laughter, by turning to ridicule the 
 imputations of his adversaries. When he was 
 asked what were his sentiments concerning the 
 sacrament, he replied, that it was by nature 
 bread ; but that at the time of consecration.
 
 296 HISTORICAL APPENDIX. 
 
 and afterwards, it was the true body of Christ, 
 &c. according to the strictest orthodoxy. Then 
 some one said., ' But it is reported that you 
 have maintained, that there remains bread after 
 
 consecration' c True/ said Jerome, ' there 
 
 remains bread at the baker's.' When one of the 
 order of preaching friars was railing against 
 him with uncommon asperity, he said to him 
 ' Hold thy peace, hypocrite.' When another 
 swore by his conscience, { This,' said he, e is a 
 very safe mode of deceiving/ One man, who 
 was particularly inveterate against him, he never 
 addressed, but by the title of ass or dog. As 
 on account of the number and importance of the 
 articles exhibited against him, the cause could 
 not be determined at that sitting, the court 
 was adjourned to another day, on which the 
 proofs of each article of impeachment were 
 read over, and confirmed by more witnesses. 
 Then he arose and said, f Since you have at- 
 tended so diligently to my adversaries, I have a 
 right to demand that you should also hear me 
 with patience.' Though many violently ob- 
 jected to this demand, it was at length conceded 
 to him that he should be heard in his defence. 
 He then began by solemnly praying to God, so 
 to influence his mind, and so to inspire his 
 ipeech, that he might be enabled to speak the 
 advantage and salvation of his soul. He then 
 proceeded thus f I know,, most learned judges.,
 
 JEROME, OF PRAGUE. 29? 
 
 that many excellent men have heen most un- 
 worthily dealt with, overborne by false wit- 
 nesses, and condemned by the most unjust 
 judgments.' Illustrating this position by par- 
 ticular instances, he began with Socrates, who 
 was unjustly condemned by his countrymen, 
 and who could not be persuaded by the dread 
 of the most formidable evils, imprisonment and 
 death, to avail himself of an opportunity which 
 was presented to him of escaping out of custody. 
 He then proceeded to mention the captivity of 
 Plato, the torments endured by Anaxagoras and 
 Zeno, and the unjust condemnations of many 
 other Gentiles the banishment of Rutilius, the 
 unmerited death of Boetius, and of others^ 
 mentioned in the writings of that author. He 
 then passed on to the instances which are re- 
 corded in the Jewish history and in the first 
 place, he observed, that Moses, the deliverer 
 and legislator of the Jews, was frequently 
 calumniated by his own countrymen, as a 
 seducer and contemner of the people. He also 
 instanced Joseph, who was sold to slavery, in 
 consequence of the envy of his brethren, and 
 afterwards imprisoned under a groundless sus- 
 picion of incontinence. Besides these, he enu- 
 merated Isaiah, Daniel, and almost all the 
 prophets, who were calumniated and persecuted, 
 as despisers of God, and sowers of sedition. 
 He also alluded to the trial of Susannah, and of
 
 298 HISTORICAL APPENDIX. 
 
 many others, who., notwithstanding the integrity 
 of their lives., perished by unjust sentences. 
 Coming down to the time of John the Baptist 
 and our Saviour, he observed, that all are agreed 
 that they were unjustly condemned, upon false 
 charges, supported by false witnesses. He next 
 quoted the case of Stephen., who was put to 
 death by the priests ; and reminded the assembly 
 that all the apostles were condemned to die, as 
 seditious movers of the people, contemners of 
 the gods, and workers of iniquity. He main- 
 tained, that it was a most scandalous thing that 
 one priest should be unjustly condemned by 
 another ; that it was still more scandalous, that 
 a college of priests should be guilty of this 
 crime ; and that it was most scandalous of all, 
 that it should be perpetrated by a general 
 council. Nevertheless, he proved from history, 
 that these circumstances had actually occurred. 
 Upon these topics he enlarged in so impressive 
 a manner, that every body listened to him with 
 fixed attention. But as the weight of every 
 cause rests upon the evidence by which it is 
 supported, he proved, by various arguments, 
 that no credit was due to the witnesses who 
 deposed against him, especially as they were 
 instigated to give evidence against him by 
 hatred, malevolence*, and envy. He then so 
 satisfactorily detailed the causes of the hatred 
 which he imputed to his prosecutors, that he
 
 JEROME, OF PRAGUE. 299 
 
 almost convinced his judges of the reasonable- 
 ness of his objections against their testimony. 
 His observations were so weighty, that little 
 credit would have been given to the depositions 
 of the witnesses for the prosecution, in any 
 other cause except in a trial for heresy. He 
 moreover added, that he had voluntarily come 
 to the council, in order to defend his injured 
 character, and gave an account of his life and 
 studies, which had been regulated by the laws 
 of duty and of virtue. He remarked, that holy 
 men of old were accustomed to discuss their 
 differences of opinion in matters of belief, not 
 with a view of impugning the faith, but of 
 investigating the truth that St. Augustine and 
 St. Jerome had thus differed in opinion, and had 
 upon some points even held contrary sentiments, 
 without any suspicion of heresy. All the au- 
 dience entertained hopes, that he would cither 
 clear himself by retracting the heresies which 
 were objected to him, or supplicate pardon for 
 his errors. But he maintained that he had not 
 erred, and that therefore he had nothing to 
 retract. He next began to praise John Huss, 
 who had been condemned to the flames ; calling 
 him a good, just, and holy man, a man who had 
 suffered death in a righteous cause. He pro- 
 fessed that he himself also was prepared to 
 undergo the severest punishment with an un- 
 daunted and constant mind, declaring that he
 
 300 HISTORICAL APPENDIX. 
 
 submitted to his enemies, and witnesses who had 
 testified such shameful falsehoods ; who would,, 
 however, ou some future day, give an account 
 of what they had said;, to a God who could not 
 be deceived. When Jerome made these decla- 
 rations, the assembly was affected with the 
 greatest sorrow ; for every body wished, that a 
 man of such extraordinary talents should repent 
 of his errors and be saved. But he persisted in 
 his sentiments, and seemed to court destruction. 
 Dwelling on the praises of John Huss, he said, 
 that he had entertained no principles hostile to 
 the constitution of the holy church; and that he 
 only bore testimony against the abuses of the 
 clergy, and the pride and pomp of prelates : for 
 that since the patrimony of the church was 
 appropriated first to the poor, then to strangers, 
 and lastly to the erection of churches, good men 
 thought it highly improper that it should be 
 lavished on harlots, entertainments, dogs, splen- 
 did garments, and other things unbecoming the 
 religion of Christ. It may be mentioned as one 
 of the greatest proofs of Jerome's abilities, that 
 though he was frequently interrupted by various 
 noises, and was teazed by some people, who 
 cavilled at his expressions, he replied to them 
 all, and compelled them either to blush, or to 
 be silent. When the clamour incommoded him, 
 he ceased speaking, and sometimes reproved 
 those who disturbed him. He then continued
 
 JEROME, OF PRAGUE. 301 
 
 his speech, begging and entreating them to 
 suffer him to speak, since this was the last time 
 they would hear him. He was never terrified 
 by the murmurs of his adversaries, but uni- 
 formly maintained the firmness and intrepidity 
 of his mind. It is a wonderful instance of the 
 strength of his memory, that though he had 
 been confined three hundred and forty days in a 
 dark dungeon, where it was impossible for him 
 to read, and where he must have daily suffered 
 from the utmost anxiety of mind ; yet he quoted 
 so many learned writers in defence of his 
 opinions, and supported his sentiments by the 
 authority of so many doctors of the church, 
 that any one would have been led to believe, 
 that he had devoted all the time of his imprison- 
 ment to the peaceful and undisturbed study 
 of philosophy. His voice was sweet, clear, and 
 sonorous ; his action dignified, and well adapted 
 either to express indignation, or to excite com- 
 passion, which, however, he neither asked or 
 wished for. He stood undaunted and intrepid, 
 not merely contemning, but, like another Cato, 
 longing for death. He was a man worthy to be 
 had in everlasting remembrance. I do not com- 
 mend him for entertaining sentiments hostile to 
 the constitution of the church ; but I admire 
 his learning, his extensive knowledge, the 
 suavity of his eloquence, and his ability in 
 reply. But I am afraid that all these endow-
 
 302 HISTORICAL APPENDIX. 
 
 ments were bestowed on him by nature., in 
 order to effect his destruction. As he was 
 allowed two days for repentance,, several learned 
 men, and amongst the rest, the Cardinal of Flo- 
 rence, visited him, with a view of persuading him 
 to change his sentiments, and turn from the error 
 of his ways. But as he pertinaciously persisted 
 in his false notions, he was condemned as guilty 
 of heresy, and consigned to the flames. No 
 
 - * / Cj 
 
 stoic ever suffered death with such constancy 
 of mind. When he arrived at the place of 
 execution, he stripped himself of his garments, 
 and knelt down before the stake, to which he 
 was soon after tied, with wet ropes and a chain. 
 Then great pieces of wood, intermixed with 
 straw, were piled as high as his breast. When 
 fire was set to the pile, he began to sing a hymn, 
 which was scarcely interrupted by the smoke* 
 and flame. I must not omit a striking circum- 
 stance which shews the firmness of his mind. 
 When the executioner was going to apply the 
 fire behind him, in order that he might not see 
 it, he said, ' Come this way, and kindle it in my 
 sight, for if I had been afraid of it, I should 
 never have come to this place. 5 Thus perished 
 a man, in every respect exemplary, except in 
 the erroneousness of his faith. I was a witness 
 of his end, and observed every particular of its 
 process. He may have been heretical in his 
 notions, and obstinate in persevering in them ;
 
 JEROME, OF PRAGUE. 303 
 
 but he certainly died like a philosopher. I 
 have rehearsed a long story, as I wished to 
 employ my leisure, in relating a transaction 
 which surpasses the events of ancient history. 
 For neither did Mutius suffer his hand to be 
 burnt, so patiently as Jerome endured the burn- 
 ing of his whole body ; nor did Socrates drink 
 the hemlock, so cheerfully as Jerome submitted 
 to the fire."* 
 
 While it is impossible to read the above 
 account without admiring so sublime a character 
 as that of Jerome, it will not be easy to with- 
 hold a portion of our esteem from his amiable 
 biographer. The feeling with which he relates 
 the tragic story, evinces a heart which bigotry 
 and superstition had in vain assailed ; a heart in 
 which fair charity presided, and influenced 
 every feeling. It is, indeed, highly probable, 
 that the interest which he took in the illustrious 
 sufferer's cause was blended with disgust at the 
 corrupted state of the pontifical court, and the 
 profligacy of the clergy, which he had reproved 
 with freedom. Nor had he escaped the severity 
 of repoof for his exposure of the vices of the 
 clergy. So great, indeed, was the influence 
 of priestcraft and superstition, that his friend 
 Leonardo Aretino was apprehensive, lest ad- 
 
 * See the Life of Poggio Bracciolini, by the Rev. W. 
 Shepherd, chap. ii. p. 78 9.
 
 304 HISTORICAL APPENDIX. 
 
 miration of the talents, and sympathy with tho 
 sufferings of a reputed heretic, should subject 
 him to the imputation of a love of heresy. He, 
 therefore, sent him the following admonition: 
 <( I received the day before yesterday, by the 
 medium of Barbaro, your letter on the subject 
 of the execution of Jerome, of Prague. I very 
 much admire its elegance ; but you seem to give 
 a more ample testimony to the merits of the 
 heretic, than I could wish. You take care, 
 indeed, frequently to put in proper caveats; but 
 upon the whole, you shew too great an affection 
 for his cause. I must advise you henceforth to 
 write upon such subjects in a more guarded 
 manner." 
 
 <f The cold caution of Leonardo," says Mr. 
 Shepherd, fc may be a quality conducive to the 
 ensurance of personal safety ; but the generous 
 warmth of Poggio lays an irresistible claim to 
 the applause of every ingenuous mind."* 
 
 * See the Life of Poggio Bracciolini, by the Rev. W, 
 Shepherd, chap. ii. p. 90-
 
 ERASMUS. 
 
 305 
 
 No. IV. 
 
 ERASMUS (Desiderius), an illustrious writer, 
 was born at Rotterdam, in the year 1467. At 
 nine years of age, he was sent to Deventer, in 
 Gelderland, where he made a rapid progress in 
 his studies. During his residence at Deventer 
 his mother died of the plague, and the death 
 of his father occurring soon after, our orphan 
 was left to the care of three guardians, who 
 determined upon bringing him up to a religious 
 life, that they might appropriate to themselves 
 his patrimony. Pursuing this base object, they 
 removed him from convent to convent, until -in 
 the year 1486, he took the habit among the 
 canons regular at Stein, near Tergou. Dis- 
 gusted with the monastic life, he cheerfully 
 accepted an invitation from the Archbishop of 
 Cambray, to reside with him. During his 
 abode with this prelate, he was ordained 
 priest ; but in 1496, he went to Paris, where he 
 supported himself by giving private lectures. 
 Visiting England in 1497, he met with a liberal 
 reception from the most eminent sholars of the 
 age, and applied to the study of the Greek 
 language, of which he was before ignorant. 
 In 1503, we find him at Lou vain, where he 
 
 x
 
 306 HISTORICAL APPENDIX. 
 
 studied divinity,, under. Dr. Adrian Floient, 
 afterwards Adrian VI. Not long after this, he 
 again visited Engjand, for which country he 
 discovered a great regard. In 1506, he took 
 his doctor's degree at Turin, from whence he 
 repaired to Bologna, where he continued some 
 time. Removing afterwards to Venice, he re- 
 sided with the famous Aldus Manutius. From 
 Venice he went to Padua, and to Rome, where 
 many inducements were offered him to set- 
 tle ; but having received an invitation from 
 Henry VIII. he set out for England, where he 
 arrived in 1510. Fisher, Bishop of Rochester, 
 having invited him to Cambridge, he was ap- 
 pointed Lady Margaret's Professor of Divinity, 
 and Greek Professor. In 1514, he appears to 
 have been at Basil, preparing his New Testa- 
 ment am} Epistles of Jerome for the press,, 
 which were published in 1516. This appears 
 to have been the first time the New Testament 
 was printed in Greek. The reformation, now be- 
 gan under Luther, received an effective, though 
 by no means decided support from the pen 
 of Erasmus. fc His reputation and authority 
 were so high in Europe at the beginning of the 
 sixteenth century, and his works were read with 
 such universal admiration, that the effect of 
 these deserves to be mentioned, as one of the 
 circumstances which contributed considerably 
 towards Luther's success. Erasmus, having
 
 ERASMUS. 307 
 
 been destined for the church,, and trained up in 
 the knowledge of ecclesiastical literature,, ap- 
 plied himself more to theological inquiries than 
 any of the revivers of learning in that age. 
 His acute judgment and extensive erudition 
 enabled him to discover many errors, both in 
 the doctrine and worship of the Romish church. 
 Some of these he confuted with great solidity 
 of reasoning, and force of eloquence. Others 
 he treated as objects of ridicule, and turned 
 against them that irresistible torrent of popular 
 and satirical wit, of which he had the com- 
 mand. There was hardly any opinion or prac- 
 tice of the Romish church which Luther en- 
 deavoured to reform, but what had been pre- 
 viously animadverted upon by Erasmus, and 
 had afforded him subject either of censure or 
 of raillery. Accordingly, when Luther first 
 began his attack upon the church, Erasmus 
 seemed to applaud his conduct : he courted 
 the friendship of several of his disciples and 
 patrons, and condemned the behaviour and 
 spirit of his adversaries. He concurred openly 
 with him in inveighing against the school 
 divines, as the teachers of a system equally un- 
 edifying and obscure. He joined him in en- 
 deavouring to turn the attention of men to the 
 study of the holy scriptures, as the only standard 
 of religious truth.
 
 308 HISTORICAL APPENDIX. 
 
 ff Various circumstances, however,, prevented 
 Erasmus from holding the same course with 
 Luther. The natural timidity of his temper; 
 his want of that strength of mind which alone 
 can prompt a man to assume the character of a 
 reformer ; his excessive deference for persons in 
 high station ; his dread of losing the pensions 
 and other emoluments,, which their liberality 
 had conferred upon him ; his extreme love of 
 peace, and hopes of reforming abuses gradually, 
 and by gentle methods., all concurred in deter- 
 mining him, not only to repress and to moderate 
 the zeal with which he had once been animated 
 against the errors of the church, but to assume 
 the character of a mediator between Luther 
 and his opponents. But, though Erasmus soon 
 began to censure Luther as too daring and 
 impetuous,, and was at last prevailed upon to 
 write against him, he must, nevertheless, be 
 considered as his forerunner and auxiliary in 
 this war upon the church. He first scattered 
 the seeds, which Luther cherished and brought 
 to maturity. His raillery and oblique censures 
 prepared the way for Luther's invectives and 
 more direct attacks. In this light, Erasmus 
 appeared to the zealous defenders of the Romish 
 church in his own times. In this light he must 
 be considered by every person conversant in the 
 history of .that period."* 
 
 * See Robertson's History of Charles V.
 
 ERASMUS. 309 
 
 The want of sufficient strength of mind to 
 enable him to take a prominent station among 
 the reformers., is admitted by Erasmus himself. 
 (f Luther/' says he, ec has given us many a 
 wholesome doctrine, and many a good counsel. 
 I wish he had not defeated the effect of them by 
 intolerable faults. But if he had written every 
 thing in the most unexceptionable manner, I 
 had no inclination to die for the sake of the 
 truth. Every man hath not the courage re- 
 quisite to make a martyr ; and I am afraid,, 
 that if I were put to the trial I should imitate 
 St. Peter."* 
 
 Dying at Basil, in the year 1536, he was 
 buried in the cathedral of that city. The in- 
 habitants of Rotterdam erected a statue to his 
 memory,, in the great square of that city. His 
 works were edited at Ley den, in 1706, in ten 
 volumes, folio, by Le Clerc. 
 
 * Epist. Erasmi in Jortin's Life of Erasm. vol. i. p. 2/3.
 
 310 HISTORICAL APPENDIX. 
 
 No. V. 
 
 LUTHER (Martin), the great reformer, was born 
 at Isleben, in Saxony, of poor parentage, in the 
 year 1483. In 1501, he was sent to the uni- 
 versity of Erfurt, where he studied philosophy 
 and the civil law. Walking one day in the 
 fields with a fellow student, his companion was 
 struck dead with lightning. This circumstance 
 made so deep an impression upon the mind of 
 Luther, that, resolving to retire from the world, 
 he entered a monastery of the order of St. 
 Augustine, where he led a studious and con- 
 templative life, " He soon acquired," says 
 an elegant historian., " great reputation, not 
 only for piety, but for his love of knowledge 
 and his unwearied application to study. He 
 had been taught the scholastic philosophy and 
 theology, which were then in vogue, by very 
 able masters; and wanted not penetration to 
 comprehend all the niceties and distinctions with 
 which they abound : but his understanding, 
 naturally sound and superior to every thing 
 frivolous, soon became disgusted with those 
 subtile and uninsttuctive sciences, and sought 
 for some more solid foundation of knowledge 
 and of piety, in the holy scriptures. Having
 
 LUTHER. oil 
 
 found a copy of (he Bible, which lay neglected 
 in the library of his monastery, he abandoned 
 all other pursuits, and devoted himself to the 
 study of it with such eagerness and assiduity, 
 as astonished the monks, who were little accus- 
 tomed to derive their theological notions from 
 that source. The great progress which he 
 made in this uncommon course of study, aug- 
 mented so much the fame, both of his sanctity 
 and of his learning, that Frederick, Elector of 
 Saxony, having founded an university at Wit- 
 temberg on the Elbe, the place of his residence, 
 Luther was chosen, first to teach philosophy, 
 and afterwards theology there ; and discharged 
 both offices in such a manner, that he was 
 deemed the chief ornament of that society. 
 
 " While Luther was at the height of his 
 reputation and authority, Tetzcl began to 
 publish indulgences in the neighbourhood of 
 Wittemberg, and to ascribe to them the same 
 imaginary virtues which had, in other places, 
 imposed on the credulity of the people. As 
 Saxony was not more enlightened than the other 
 provinces of Germany, Tetzel met with pro- 
 digious success there. It was with the utmost 
 concern that Luther beheld the artifices of those 
 who sold, and the simplicity of those who 
 bought, indulgences. The opinions of Thomas 
 Aquinas and the other schoolmen, on which
 
 312 HISTORICAL APPENDIX. 
 
 the doctrine of Indulgences was founded, had 
 already lost much of their authority with him ; 
 and the scriptures, which he began to consider 
 as the great standard of theological truth, 
 afforded no countenance to a practice, equally 
 subversive of faith and of morals. His warm 
 and impetuous temper did not suffer him long 
 to conceal such important discoveries, or to 
 continue a silent spectator of the delusion of his 
 countrymen. From the pulpit, in the great 
 church at Wittemberg, he inveighed bitterly 
 against the irregularities and vices of the monks 
 who published indulgences; he ventured to ex- 
 amine the doctrines which they taught, and 
 pointed out to the people the danger of relying 
 for salvation upon any other means than those 
 appointed by God in his word. The boldness 
 and novelty of these opinions drew great atten- 
 tion, and being recommended by the authority 
 of Luther's personal character, and delivered 
 with a popular and persuasive eloquence, they 
 made a deep impression upon his hearers. En- 
 couraged by the favourable reception of his 
 doctrines among the people, he wrote to Albert, 
 Elector of Mentz, and Archbishop of Mae;de- 
 berg, to whose jurisdiction that part of Saxony 
 was subject, and remonstrated warmly against 
 the false opinions, as well as wicked lives of the 
 preachers of indulgences; but he found that 
 prelate too deeply interested in their success to
 
 LUTHER. 313 
 
 correct their abuses. His next attempt was to 
 gain the suffrage of men of learning. For this 
 purpose he published ninety-five theses, contain- 
 ing his sentiments with regard to indulgences. 
 These he proposed, not as points fully established, 
 or of undoubted certainty, but as subjects of in- 
 quiry and disputation; he appointed a day on 
 which the learned were invited to impugn them, 
 either in person or by writing; to the whole he 
 subjoined solemn protestations of his high re- 
 spect for the apostolic see, and of his implicit 
 submission to its authority. No opponent ap- 
 peared at the time mentioned ; the theses spread 
 over Germany with astonishing rapidity ; they 
 were read with the greatest eagerness ; and all 
 admired the boldness of the man, who had 
 ventured, not only to call in question the pleni- 
 tude of the papal power, but to attack the 
 Dominicans, armed with all the terrors of in- 
 quisitorial authority. 
 
 ee The friars of St. Augustine (Luther's own 
 order), though addicted with no less obsequi- 
 ousness than the other monastic fraternities to 
 the papal see, gave no check to the publication 
 of these uncommon opinions. Luther had, by 
 his piety and learning, acquired extraordinary 
 authority among his brethren ; he professed the 
 highest regard for the authority of the pope : 
 his professions were at that time sincere; and as
 
 314 HISTORICAL APPENDIX. 
 
 a secret enmity, excited by interest or emula- 
 tion, subsists among all orders in tbe Romish 
 church, the Augustinians were highly pleased 
 with his invectives against the Dominicans, and 
 hoped to see them exposed to the hatred and 
 scorn of the people. Nor was his sovereign, 
 the Elector of Saxony, (the wisest prince at that 
 time in Germany,) dissatisfied with this ob- 
 struction which Luther threw in the way of 
 the publication of indulgences. He secretly 
 encouraged the attempt, and flattered himself 
 that this dispute among the ecclesiastics them- 
 selves, might give some check to the exactions 
 of the court of Rome, which the secular 
 princes had long, though without success, been 
 endeavouring to oppose. 
 
 te Many zealous champions immediately 
 arose to defend opinions on which the wealth 
 and power of the church were founded, against 
 Luther's attacks. In opposition to these theses, 
 Tetzel published counter theses, at Francfort on 
 the Oder; Eccius, a celebrated divine of Aus- 
 burg, endeavoured to refute Luther's notions ; 
 and Prierias, a Dominican friar, master of the 
 sacred palace, and inquisitor-general, wrote 
 against him with all the virulence of a scholastic 
 disputant. But the manner in which they 
 conducted the controversy, did little service to 
 their cause. Luther attempted to combat in-
 
 LUTHER. 315 
 
 diligences by arguments founded in reason,, or 
 derived from scripture; they produced nothing 
 in support of them, but the sentiments of school- 
 men,, the conclusions of the canon law, and the 
 decrees of popes. The decision of judges so 
 partial and interested,, did not satisfy the people, 
 who began to call in question the authority 
 even of these venerable guides, when they found 
 them standing in direct opposition to the dic- 
 tates of reason, and the determinations of the 
 divine law. 
 
 te Meanwhile, these novelties in Luther's 
 doctrines, which interested all Germany, excited 
 little attention, and no alarm in the court of 
 Rome. Leo, fond of elegant and refined plea- 
 sures, intent upon great schemes of policy, a 
 stranger to theological controversies and apt to 
 despise them, regarded with the utmost indif- 
 ference, the operations of an obscure friar, who, 
 in the heart of Germany, carried on a scholastic 
 disputation in a barbarous style. Little did he 
 apprehend, or Luther himself dream, that the 
 effects of this quarrel would be so fatal to the 
 papal see. Leo imputed the whole to monastic 
 enmity and emulation, and seemed inclined not 
 to interpose in the contest, but to allow the 
 Augustinians and Dominicans to wrangle about 
 the matter with their usual animosity.
 
 316 HISTORICAL APPENDIX. 
 
 ec The solicitations, however, of Luther's 
 adversaries, who were exasperated to a high 
 degree by the boldness and severity with which 
 he animadverted on their writings, together 
 with the surprising progress which his opinions 
 made in different parts of Germany, roused at 
 last the attention of the court of Rome, and 
 obliged Leo to take measures for the security 
 of the church against an attack that now ap- 
 peared too serious to be despised. For this end, 
 he summoned Luther to appear at Rome, within 
 sixty days, before the auditor of the chamber, 
 and the inquisitor-general, Prierias, who had 
 written against him., whom he empowered 
 jointly to examine his doctrines, and to decide 
 concerning them. He wrote, at the same time, 
 to the Elector of Saxony, beseeching him not 
 to protect a man whose heretical and profane 
 tenets were so shocking to pious ears ; and 
 enjoined the provincial of the Augustinians to 
 check, by his authority, the rashness of an arro- 
 gant monk, which brought disgrace upon the 
 order of St. Augustine, and gave offence and 
 disturbance to the whole church. 
 
 ef From the strain of these letters, as well as 
 from the nomination of a judge so prejudiced 
 and partial as Prierias, Luther easily saw what 
 sentence he might expect at Rome. He dis-
 
 LUTHER. 317 
 
 covered, for that reason, the utmost solicitude 
 to have his cause tried in Germany., and before 
 a less suspected tribunal. The professors in the 
 university of Wittemberg, anxious for the safety 
 of a man who did so much honour to their 
 society, wrote to the pope, and after employing 
 several pretexts to excuse Luther from appear- 
 ing at Rome, intreated Leo to commit the 
 examination of his doctrines to some persons 
 of learning and authority in Germany. The 
 elector requested the same thing of the pope's 
 legate at the diet of Ausburg; and as Luther 
 himself, who, at that time was so far from 
 having any intention to disclaim the papal 
 authority, that he did not even entertain the 
 smallest suspicion concerning its divine original, 
 had written to Leo, a most submissive letter, 
 promising an unreserved compliance with his 
 will ; the pope gratified them so far as to 
 empower his legate in Germany, Cardinal 
 Cajetan, a Dominican, eminent for scholastic 
 learning, and passionately devoted to the Roman 
 see, to hear and determine the cause. 
 
 cc Luther, though he had good reason to 
 decline a judge chosen among his avowed 
 adversaries, did not hesitate about appearing 
 before Cajetan ; and having obtained the 
 emperor's safe-conduct, immediately repaired to 
 Ausburg. The cardinal received him with
 
 318 HISTORICAL APPENDIX. 
 
 decent respect, and endeavoured at first to gain 
 upon him by gentle treatment ; but thinking it 
 beneath the dignity of his station to enter into 
 any formal dispute with a person of such in- 
 ferior rank, he required him, by virtue of the 
 apostolic powers with which he was clothed, to 
 retract the errors which he had uttered, with 
 regard to indulgences, and the nature of faith ; 
 and to abstain, for the future, from the publi- 
 cation of new and dangerous opinions. Luther, 
 fully persuaded of the truth of his own tenets, 
 and confirmed in the belief of them by the 
 approbation which they had met with among 
 persons conspicuous both for learning and piety, 
 was surprised at this abrupt mention of a re- 
 cantation, before any endeavours were used to 
 convince him that he was mistaken. He had 
 flattered himself, that in a conference concern- 
 ing the points in dispute with a prelate of such 
 distinguished abilities, he should be able to 
 remove many of those imputations with which 
 the ignorance or malice of his antagonists had 
 loaded him ; but the high tone of authority 
 that the cardinal assumed, extinguished at once 
 all hopes of this kind, and cut off every pros- 
 pect of advantage from the interview. His 
 native intrepidity of mind, however, did not 
 desert him. He declared, with the utmost 
 firmness, that he could not, with a safe con- 
 science, renounce opinions which he believed to
 
 LUTHER. 319 
 
 be true; nor should any consideration ever in- 
 duce him to do what would be so base in itself, 
 and so offensive to God. At the same time, he 
 continued to express no less reverence than 
 formerly for the apostolic see; he signified his 
 willingness to submit the whole controversy to 
 certain universities which he named,, and pro- 
 mised neither to write nor to preach concerning 
 indulgences for the future, provided his adver- 
 saries were likewise enjoined to be silent with 
 respect to them. All these offers Cajetan dis- 
 regarded or rejected, and still insisted peremp- 
 torily on a simple recantation, threatening him 
 with ecclesiastical censures, and forbidding him 
 to appear again in his presence, unless he re- 
 solved instantly to comply with what he had 
 required. This haughty and violent manner 
 of proceeding, as well as other circumstances, 
 gave Luther's friends such strong reasons to 
 suspect, that even the imperial safe-conduct 
 would not be able to protect him from the 
 legate's power and resentment, that they pre- 
 vailed on him to withdraw secretly from Aus- 
 burg, and to return to his own country. But 
 before his departure, according to a form of 
 which there had been some examples, he pre- 
 pared a solemn appeal, from the pope ill- 
 informed at that time concerning his cause, to 
 the pope when he should receive more full 
 information with respect to it.
 
 320 HISTORICAL APPENDIX. 
 
 <c Cajetan, enraged at Luther's abrupt re- 
 treat, and at the publication of his appeal, 
 wrote to the Elector "of Saxony., complaining of 
 both; and requiring him., as he regarded the 
 peace of the church, or the authority of its 
 head, either to send that seditious monk a 
 prisoner to Rome, or to banish him out of his 
 territories. It was not from theological con- 
 siderations that Frederick had hitherto counte- 
 nanced Luther ; he seems to have been much 
 a stranger to controversies of that kind, and to 
 have been little interested in them. His pro- 
 tection flowed almost entirely, as hath been 
 already observed, from political motives, and 
 was afforded with great secresy and caution. 
 He had neither heard any of Luther's discourses, 
 nor read any of his books; atid though all 
 Germany resounded with his fame he had never 
 once admitted him into his presence. But upon 
 this demand which the cardinal made, it became 
 necessary to throw off somewhat of his former 
 reserve. He had been at great expence, and 
 had bestowed much attention on founding a 
 new university, an object of considerable im- 
 portance to every German prince; and foresee- 
 ing how fatal a blow the removal of Luther 
 would be to its reputation, he, under various 
 pretexts, and with many professions of esteem 
 for the cardinal, as well as of reverence for the 
 pope, riot only declined complying with either
 
 LUTHER. 321 
 
 of his requests, but openly discovered great 
 concern for Luther's safety. 
 
 ff The inflexible rigaur with which Cajetan 
 insisted on a simple recantation, gave great 
 offence to Luther's followers in that age, and 
 hath since been censured as imprudent, by 
 several popish writers. But it was impossible 
 for the legate to act another part. The judges 
 before whom Luther had been required to ap- 
 pear at Rome, were so eager to display their 
 zeal against his errors, that without waiting for 
 the expiration of the sixty days allowed him in 
 the citation, they had already condemned him as 
 an heretic. Leo had, in several of his briefs 
 and letters, stigmatized him as a child of 
 iniquity, and a man given up to a reprobate 
 sense. Nothing less, therefore, than a recan- 
 tation could save the honour of the church, 
 whose maxim it is, never to abandon the 
 smallest point that it has established, and which 
 is even precluded, by its pretentions to infalli- 
 bility, from having it in its power to do so. 
 
 ff Luther's situation, meanwhile, was such 
 as would have filled any other person with the 
 most disquieting apprehensions. He could not 
 expect that a prince so prudent and cautious as 
 Frederick, would, on his account, set at defiance 
 
 y
 
 322 HISTORICAL APPENDIX. 
 
 the thunders of the church, and brave the papal 
 power, which had crushed some of the most 
 powerful of the German emperors. He knew 
 what veneration was paid, at that time, ta 
 ecclesiastical decisions ; what terrors ecclesi- 
 astical censures carried along with them, and 
 how easily these might intimidate and shake a 
 prince who was rather his protector from policy, 
 than his disciple from conviction. If he should 
 be obliged to quit Saxony, he had no prospect 
 of any other asylum, and must stand exposed to 
 whatever punishment the rage or bigotry of his 
 enemies could inflict. Though sensible of his 
 danger, he discovered no symptoms of timidity 
 or remissness, but continued to vindicate his 
 own conduct and opinions, and to inveigh 
 against those of his adversaries with more 
 vehemence than ever. 
 
 ee But as every step taken by the court of 
 Rome, particularly the irregular sentence by 
 which he had so precipitately been declared a 
 heretic, convinced Luther that Leo would soon 
 proceed to the most violent measures against 
 him, he had recourse to the only expedient in 
 his power, in order to prevent the effect of the 
 papal censures. He appealed to a general 
 council, which he affirmed to be the repre- 
 sentative of the .catholic church, ajid superior
 
 LUTHER. 
 
 323 
 
 in power to the pope, who, being a fallible man, 
 might err., as St. Peter, the most perfect of his 
 predecessors, had erred. 
 
 tc It soon appeared that Luther had not 
 formed rash conjectures concerning the inten- 
 tions of the Romish church. A bull, of a date 
 prior to his appeal, was issued by the pope, in 
 which he magnifies the virtue and efficacy of 
 indulgences, in terms as extravagant as any of 
 his predecessors had ventured to use in the 
 darkest ages ; and without applying such palli- 
 atives, or mentioning such concessions,, as a 
 more enlightened period, and the disposition in 
 the minds of many men at that juncture, seemed 
 to call for, he required all Christians to assent to 
 what he had delivered, as the doctrine of the 
 catholic church, and subjected those who should 
 hold or teach any contrary opinion, to the 
 heaviest ecclesiastical censures. 
 
 ' e Among Luther's followers, this bull, which 
 they considered as an unjustifiable effort of the 
 pope, in order to preserve that rich branch of 
 his revenue which arose from indulgences, pro- 
 duced little effect. But, among the rest of his 
 countrymen, such a clear decision of the sove- 
 reign pontiff against him, and enforced by such 
 dreadful penalties, must have been attended 
 with consequences very fatal to his cause, if
 
 334 HISTORICAL APPENDIX. 
 
 these had not been prevented in a great measure 
 by the death of the Emperor Maxim ilian, 
 whom both his principles and his interest 
 prompted to support the authority of the holy 
 see. In consequence of this event, the vicariat 
 of that part of Germany which is governed by 
 the Saxon laws, devolved to the Elector of 
 Saxony ; and under the shelter of his friendly 
 administration, Luther not only enjoyed tran- 
 quillity, but his opinions were suffered, during 
 the inter-regnum which preceded Charles's 
 election, to take root in different places, and to 
 grow up to some degree of strength and firm- 
 ness. At the same time, as the election of an 
 emperor was a point more interesting to Leo, 
 than a theological controversy, which he did not 
 understand, and of which he could not foresee 
 the consequences, he was so extremely solicitous 
 not to irritate a prince of such considerable 
 influence in the electoral college as Frederick, 
 that he discovered a great unwillingness to pro- 
 nounce the sentence of excommunication against 
 Luther, which his adversaries continually de- 
 manded with the most clamorous importunity. 
 
 " To these political views of the pope, as 
 well as to his natural aversion from severe 
 measures, was owing the suspension of any 
 further proceedings against Luther for eighteen 
 months. Perpetual negociations, however, in
 
 LUTHER. 325 
 
 order to bring the matter to some amicable 
 issue, were carried on during that space. The 
 manner in which these were conducted having 
 given Luther many opportunities of observing 
 the corruption of the church of Rome ; its 
 obstinacy in adhering to established errors ; and 
 its indifference about truth, however clearly 
 proposed or strongly proved, he began to utter 
 some doubts with regard to the divine original 
 of the papal authority. A public disputation 
 was held upon this important question, at 
 Leipsic, between Luther and Eccius, one of his 
 most learned and formidable antagonists; but it 
 was as fruitless and indecisive as such scholastic 
 combats usually prove. Both parties boasted 
 of having obtained the victory; both were con- 
 firmed in their own opinions; and no progress 
 was made towards deciding the point in con- 
 troversy. 
 
 ff Nor did this spirit of opposition to the 
 doctrines and usurpations of the Romish church 
 break out in Saxony alone ; an attack no less 
 violent, and occasioned by the same causes, was 
 made upon them about this time in Switzerland. 
 The Franciscans being entrusted with the pro- 
 mulgation of indulgences in that country, exe- 
 cuted their commission with the same indis- 
 cretion and rapaciousness which had rendered 
 the Dominicans so odious in Germany. They
 
 326 HISTORICAL APPENDIX. 
 
 proceeded, nevertheless, with uninterrupted suc- 
 cess, till they arrived at Zurich. There Zu- 
 inglius, a man not inferior to Luther himself in 
 zeal and intrepidity, ventured to oppose them; 
 and being animated with a republican boldness, 
 and free from those restraints which subjection 
 to the will of a prince imposed on the German 
 reformer, he advanced with more daring and 
 rapid steps to overturn the whole fabric of the 
 established religion. The appearance of such a 
 vigorous auxiliary, and the progress which he 
 made, was, at first, matter of great joy to 
 Luther. On the other hand, the decrees of the 
 university of Cologne and Louvain, which pro- 
 nounced his opinions to be erroneous, afforded 
 great cause of triumph to his adversaries. 
 
 <f But the undaunted spirit of Luther ac- 
 quired additional fortitude from every instance 
 of opposition ; and pushing on his inquiries 
 and attacks from one doctrine to another, he 
 began to shake the firmest foundations on which 
 the wealth or power of the church were estab- 
 lished. Leo came at last to be convinced, that 
 all hopes of reclaiming him by forbearance 
 were vain ; several prelates of great wisdom 
 exclaimed no less than Luther's personal ad- 
 versaries, against the pope's unprecedented 
 lenity in permitting an incorrigible heretic, who., 
 during three years had been endeavouring to
 
 LUTHER. 327 
 
 subvert every thing sacred and venerable,, still 
 to remain within the bosom of the church ; the 
 dignity of the papal see rendered the most vigor- 
 ous proceedings necessary ; the new emperor, it 
 was hoped, would support its authority ; nor 
 did it seem probable that the Elector of Saxony 
 would so far forget his usual caution, as to set 
 himself in opposition to their united power. 
 The college of cardinals was often assembled, 
 in order to prepare the sentence with due deli- 
 beration, and the ablest canonists were consulted 
 how it might be expressed with unexceptionable 
 formality. At last, on the 15th of June, 1520, 
 the bull, so fatal to the church of Rome, was 
 issued. Forty-one propositions, extracted out 
 of Luther's works, are therein condemned as 
 heretical, scandalous, and offensive to pious 
 ears ; all persons are forbidden to read his 
 writings, upon pain of excommunication ; such 
 as had any of them in their custody are com- 
 manded to commit them to the flames ; he him- 
 self, if he did not, within sixty days, publicly 
 recant his errors, and burn his books, is pro- 
 nounced an obstinate heretic ; is excommuni- 
 cated, and delivered unto Satan for the destruc- 
 tion of his flesh ; and all secular princes are 
 required, under pain of incurring the same, 
 censure, to seize his person, that he might be 
 punished as his crimes deserved
 
 328 HISTORICAL APPENDIX. 
 
 <e The publication of this bull in Germany 
 excited various passions in different places. 
 Luther's adversaries exulted, as if his party and 
 opinions had been crushed at once by such a 
 decisive blow. His followers, whose reverence 
 for the papal authority daily diminished, read 
 Leo's anathemas with more indignation than 
 terror. In some cities, the people violently 
 obstructed the promulgation of the bull ; in 
 others, the persons who attempted to publish it 
 were insulted, and the bull itself torn in pieces, 
 and trodden under foot. 
 
 te This sentence, which he had for some 
 time expected, did not disconcert or intimidate 
 Luther. After renewing his appeal to the 
 general council, he published remarks upon the 
 bull of excommunication ; and being now per- 
 suaded that Leo had been guilty both of im- 
 piety aiid injustice in his proceedings against 
 him, he boldly declared the pope to be that man 
 of sin, or Antichrist, whose appearance is fore- 
 told in the New Testament; he declaimed 
 against his tyranny and usurpations with greater 
 violence than ever; he exhorted all Christian 
 princes to shake off such an ignominious yoke ; 
 and boasted of his own happiness in being 
 marked out as the object of ecclesiastical in- 
 dignation, because he had ventured to assert the
 
 LUTHER. .')29 
 
 liberty of mankind. Nor did he confine his 
 expressions of contempt for the papal power to 
 words alone ; Leo having, in execution of the 
 bull; appointed Luther's books to be burnt at 
 Rome, he, by way of retaliation, assembled all 
 the professors and students in the university of 
 Wittemberg, and with great pomp, in the pre- 
 sence of a vast multitude of spectators, cast the 
 volumes of the canon law, together with the 
 bull of excommunication, into the flames ; and 
 his example was imitated in several cities of 
 Germany. The manner in which he justified 
 this action was still more offensive than the 
 action itself. Having collected from the canon 
 law some of the most extravagant propositions 
 with regard to the plentitude and omnipotence 
 of the papal power, as well as the subordination 
 of all secular jurisdiction to the authority of 
 the holy see ; he published these, with a com- 
 mentary, pointing out the impiety of such tenets, 
 and their evident tendency to subvert all civil 
 
 government. 
 
 
 
 " Such was the progress which Luther had 
 made, and such the state of his party, when 
 Charles arrived in Germany. No secular prince 
 had hitherto embraced Luther's opinions ; no 
 change in the established forms of worship had 
 been introduced; and no encroachments had 
 been made upon the possessions or jurisdiction
 
 330 HISTORICAL APPENDIX. 
 
 of the clergy ; neither party had yet proceeded 
 to action; and the controversy., though con- 
 ducted with great heat and passion on both 
 sides,, was still carried on with its proper 
 weapons, with theses, disputations, and replies. 
 A deep impression, however, was made upon 
 the minds of the people ; their reverence for 
 ancient institutions and doctrines was shaken ; 
 and the materials were already scattered, which 
 kindled into the combustion that soon spread 
 over all Germany. Students crowded from every 
 province of the empire to Wittemberg; and 
 under Luther himself, Melancthon, Carlostadius, 
 and other masters then reckoned eminent, im- 
 bibed opinions,, which, on their return, they 
 propagated among their countrymen, who list- 
 ened to them with that fond attention which 
 truth, when accompanied with novelty, naturally 
 commands, 
 
 ff During the course of these transactions, 
 the court of Rome, though under the direction 
 of one of its ablest pontiffs, neither formed its 
 schemes with that profound sagacity, nor exe- 
 cuted them with that steady perseverance, which 
 had long rendered it the most perfect model of 
 political wisdom to the rest of Europe. When 
 Luther began to declaim against indulgences, 
 two different methods of treating him lay before 
 the pope; by adopting one of which, the at*
 
 LUTHER. 331 
 
 tempt, it is probable, might have been crushed ; 
 and by the other, it might have been rendered 
 innocent. If Luther's first departure from the 
 doctrines of the church had instantly drawn 
 upon him the weight of its censures, the dread 
 of these might have restrained the Elector of 
 Saxony from protecting him, might have de- 
 terred the people from listening to his dis- 
 courses, or even might have overawed Luther 
 himself; and his name, like that of many good 
 men before his time, would now have been 
 known to the world only for his honest, but 
 ill-timed effort to correct the corruptions of the 
 Romish church. On the other hand, if the 
 pope had early testified some displeasure with 
 the vices and excesses of the friars who had 
 been employed in publishing indulgences; if he 
 had forbidden the mention of controverted points 
 in discourses addressed to the people ; if he had 
 enjoined the disputants on both sides to be 
 silent; if he had been careful not to risk the 
 credit of the church by defining articles which 
 had hitherto been left undetermined, Luther 
 would, probably, have stopped short at his first 
 discoveries : he would not have been forced, in 
 self-defence, to venture upon new ground, and 
 the whole controversy might possibly have died 
 away insensibly; or being confined entirely to 
 the schools, might have been carried on with as 
 little detriment to the peace and unity of the
 
 332 HISTORICAL APPENDIX. 
 
 Romish church, as that which the Franciscans 
 maintain with the Dominicans, concerning the 
 immaculate conception ; or that between the 
 Jansenists and Jesuits, concerning the operations 
 of grace. But Leo, by fluctuating between 
 these opposite systems, and by embracing them 
 alternately, defeated the effects of both. By 
 an improper exertion of authority, Luther was 
 exasperated, but not restrained. By a mistaken 
 exercise of lenity, time was given for his 
 opinions to spread, but no progress was made 
 towards reconciling him to the church ; and 
 even the sentence of excommunication, which at 
 another juncture might have been decisive, was 
 delayed so long, that it became at last scarcely 
 an object of terror. 
 
 " Such a series of errors in the measures of a 
 court, seldom chargeable with mistaking its own 
 true interest, is not more astonishing than the 
 wisdom which appeared in Luther's conduct. 
 Though a perfect stranger to the maxims of 
 worldly wisdom, and incapable, from the im- 
 petuosity of his temper, of observing them, he 
 was led naturally by the method in which he 
 made his discoveries, to carry on his operations 
 in a manner which contributed more to their 
 success, than if every step he took had been 
 prescribed by the most artful policy. At the 
 time when he set himself to oppose Tetzel, he
 
 LUTHER. 333 
 
 was far from intending that reformation which 
 he afterwards effected ; and would have trem- 
 bled with horror at the thoughts of what at last 
 he gloried in accomplishing. The knowledge 
 of truth was not poured into his mind all at 
 once, by any special revelation; he acquired it 
 by industry and meditation, and his progress, 
 of consequence, was gradual. The doctrines 
 of popery are so closely connected, that the ex- 
 posing of one error conducted him naturally to 
 the detection of others ; and all the parts of 
 that artificial fabric were so united together, 
 that the pulling down of one, loosened the 
 foundation of. the rest, and rendered it more 
 easy to overturn them. In confuting the ex- 
 travagant tenets, concerning indulgences, he 
 was obliged to inquire into the true cause of 
 our justification and acceptance with God. 
 The knowledge of that, discovered to him by 
 degrees, the inutility of pilgrimages and pen- 
 ances ; the vanity of relying on the intercession 
 of saints ; the impiety of worshipping them ; 
 the abuses of auricular confession ; and the 
 imaginary existence of purgatory. The detec- 
 tion of so many errors, led him of course to 
 consider the character of the clergy who taught 
 them ; and their exorbitant wealth, the severe 
 injunction of celibacy, together with the in- 
 tolerable rigour of monastic vows, appeared to
 
 334 
 
 HISTORICAL APPENDIX. 
 
 him the great sources of their corruption. 
 From thence., it \vas but one step to call in 
 question the divine original of the papal power, 
 which authorised and supported such a system 
 of errors. As the unavoidable result of the 
 whole, he disclaimed the infallibility of the 
 pope,, the decisions of schoolmen or any other 
 human authority, and appealed to the word of 
 God as the only standard of theological truth. 
 To this gradual progress Luther owed his suc- 
 cess. His hearers were not shocked at first by 
 any proposition too repugnant to their ancient 
 prejudices, or too remote from established 
 opinions. They were conducted insensibly from 
 one doctrine to another. Their faith and con- 
 % 7 iction were able to keep pace with his dis- 
 coveries, To the same cause w r as owing the 
 inattention, and even indifference with which 
 Leo viewed Luther's first proceedings. A 
 direct or violent attack upon the authority of 
 the church, would at once have drawn upon 
 Luther the whole weight of its vengeance ; but 
 as this was far from his thoughts, as he con- 
 tinued long to profess great respect for the 
 pope, and made repeated offers of submission to 
 his. decisions, there seemed to be no reason for 
 apprehending that he would prove the author 
 of any desperate revolt ; and he was suffered to 
 proceed, step by step, in undermining the con-
 
 LUTHER 335 
 
 stitution of the church, until the remedy ap- 
 plied at last, came too late to produce any 
 effect." 
 
 The diet at Worms,, assembled in the year 
 1521,, in the course of its proceedings, which 
 were conducted with the slow formality com- 
 mon to such assemblies, naturally took into 
 consideration the state of religion at that period. 
 Had Charles's dominions been confined to Ger- 
 many, it is highly probable that he would have 
 patronised a man who had so vigorously asserted 
 the privileges and immunities for which the 
 empire had so long contended with papal 
 rapacity. Alarmed, however, by the dangerous 
 schemes which Francis I. was forming against 
 him, and considering the pope's friendship of 
 supreme importance, he resolved to treat Luther 
 with marked severity, as the most effectual 
 method of ingratiating himself with Leo. Under 
 the influence of these views he discovered a 
 willingness to listen to the papal legates in 
 Germany, who contended that the diet ought 
 instantly to condemn a man whom the pope had 
 already condemned and excommunicated. The 
 members of the diet were not, however, to be 
 precipitated into a measure so unjust and un- 
 precedented. They, therefore, required Lu- 
 ther's personal appearance, and wished him to 
 declare whether he adhered or not to those
 
 336 HISTORICAL APPENDIX. 
 
 opinions which had subjected him to church 
 censure. The emperor, as well as all the 
 princes through whose territories he had to 
 pass,, readily granted him a safe-conduct; and 
 Charles wrote to him., requiring his attendance 
 on the diet, and assuring him of ample protec- 
 tion. " Luther did not hesitate one moment 
 about yielding obedience, and set out for 
 Worms, attended by the herald who had 
 brought the emperor's letter and safe-conduct. 
 While on his journey, many of his friends, 
 whom the fate of Huss, under similar circum- 
 stances, and notwithstanding the same security 
 of an imperial safe-conduct, filled with solici- 
 tude, advised and intreated him not to rush 
 wantonly into the midst of danger. But Lu- 
 ther, superior to such terrors, silenced them 
 with this reply: c I am lawfully called/ said 
 he, f to appear in that city, and thither will I 
 go in the name of the Lord, though as many 
 devils as there are tiles on the houses, were 
 there combined against me.' 
 
 ec The reception which he met with at 
 Worms, was such as he might have reckoned a 
 full reward of all his labours, if vanity and the 
 love of applause had been the principles by 
 which he was influenced. Greater crowds as- 
 sembled to behold him, than had appeared at 
 the emperor's public entry; his apartments
 
 LUTHER. 337 
 
 \vere daily filled with princes and personages 
 of the highest rank,, and he was treated with all 
 the respect paid to those who possess the power 
 of directing the understanding and sentiments 
 of other men ; an homage, more sincere, as well 
 as more flattering, than any which pre-eminence 
 in birth or condition can command. At his 
 appearance before the diet, he behaved with 
 great decency, and with equal firmness. He 
 readily acknowledged an excess of vehemence 
 and acrimony in his controversial writings, but 
 refused to retract his opinions, unless he was 
 convinced of their falsehood ; or to consent to 
 their being tried by any other rule than the 
 word of God. When neither threats nor en- 
 treaties could prevail on him to depart from this 
 resolution, some of the ecclesiastics proposed to 
 imitate the example of the council of Constance, 
 and by punishing the author of this pestilent 
 heresy, who was now in their power, to deliver 
 the church at once from such an evil. But the 
 members of the diet refusing to expose the 
 German integrity to fresh reproach by a second 
 violation of public faith ; and Charles being 
 no less unwilling to bring a stain upon the be- 
 ginning of his administration by such an igno- 
 minious action, Luther was permitted to depart 
 in safety. A few days after he left the city, a 
 severe edict was published in the emperor's 
 name, and by authority of the diet, depriving 
 
 z
 
 338 HISTORICAL APPENDIX. 
 
 him, as an obstinate and excommunicated crimi- 
 nal,, of all the privileges which he enjoyed as a 
 subject of the empire, forbidding any prince to 
 harbour or protect him,, and requiring all to- 
 concur in seizing his person as soon as the term 
 specified in his safe-conduct was expired. 
 
 " But this rigorous decree had no consider- 
 able effect, the execution of it being prevented, 
 partly by the multiplicity of occupations which 
 the commotions in Spain, together with the 
 wars in Italy and the Low Countries, created to 
 the emperor; and partly .by a prudent precaution 
 employed by the Elector of Saxony, Luther's 
 faithful and discerning patron. As Luther, on 
 his return from Worms, was passing near Al- 
 tenstein, in Thuringia, a number of horsemen in 
 masks, rushed suddenly out of a wood, where 
 the elector had appointed them to lie in wait for 
 him, and surrounding his company, carried him, 
 after dismissing all his attendants, to Wartburg, 
 a strong castle not far distant. There the 
 elector ordered him to be supplied with every 
 thing necessary or agreeable, but the place of 
 his retreat was carefully concealed, until the 
 fury of the present storm against him began ta 
 abate, upon a change in the political situation 
 of Europe. In this solitude, where he remained 
 nine months, and which he frequently called his 
 Patmos, after the name of that island to which
 
 LUTHER. 339 
 
 the apostle John was banished, he exerted his 
 usual vigour and industry in defence of his 
 doctrines., or in confutation of his adversaries, 
 publishing several treatises,, which revived the 
 spirit of his followers,, astonished to a great 
 degree,, and disheartened at the sudden disap- 
 pearance of their leader. 
 
 \ 
 
 ff During his confinement, his opinions con- 
 tinued to gain ground, acquiring the ascendant 
 in almost every city in Saxony. At this time, 
 the Augustinians of Wittemberg, with the ap- 
 probation of the university, and the connivance 
 of the elector, ventured upon the first step 
 towards an alteration in the established forms 
 of public worship, by abolishing the celebration 
 of private masses, and by giving the cup as well 
 as the bread to the laity, in administering the 
 sacrament of the Lord's supper. 
 
 " Whatever consolation the courage and 
 success of his disciples, or the progress of his 
 doctrines in his own country, afforded Luther in 
 his retreat, he there received information of two 
 events which considerably damped his joy, as 
 they seemed to lay insuperable obstacles in the 
 way of propagating his principles, in the two 
 most powerful kingdoms of Europe. One was, 
 a solemn decree, condemning his opinions, pub- 
 lished by the university of Paris, the most
 
 340 HISTORICAL APPENDIX. 
 
 ancient, and at that time, the most respectable 
 of the learned societies in Europe. The other 
 was the answer written to his book, concerning 
 the Babylonish captivity, by Henry VIII. of 
 England. That monarch, having been educated 
 under the eye of a suspicious father, who, in 
 order to prevent his attending to business, kept 
 him occupied in the study of literature, still 
 retained a greater love of learning, and stronger 
 habits of application to it, than are common 
 among princes of so active a disposition and 
 such violent passions. Being ambitious of ac- 
 quiring glory of every kind, as well as zealously 
 attached to the Romish church, and highly 
 exasperated against Luther, who had treated 
 Thomas Aquinas, his favourite author, with 
 great contempt, Henry did not think it enough 
 to exert his royal authority in opposing the 
 opinions of the reformer, but resolved, likewise, 
 to combat them with scholastic weapons. With 
 this view he published his treatise on the Seven. 
 Sacraments, which, though forgotten at present, 
 as books of controversy always are, when the 
 occasion that produced them is past, is not 
 destitute of polemical ingenuity and acuteness, 
 and was represented by the flattery of his 
 courtiers to be a work of such wonderful 
 science and learning, as exalted him no less 
 above other authors in merit, than he was dis- 
 tinguished among them by his rank. The pope,
 
 LUTHER. 
 
 to whom it was presented with the greatest 
 formality in full consistory, spoke of it in such 
 terms, as if it had been dictated by immediate 
 inspiration ; and as a testimony of the gratitude 
 of the church for his extraordinary zeal, con- 
 ferred on him the title of Defender of the Failli, 
 an appellation which Henry soon forfeited in 
 the opinion of those from whom he derived it, 
 and which is still retained by his successors, 
 though the avowed enemies of those opinions, 
 by contending for which he merited that 
 honourable distinction. Luther, who was not 
 overawed, either by the authority of the univer- 
 sity, or the dignity of the monarch, soon pub- 
 lished his animadversions on both, in a style no 
 less vehement and severe, than he would have 
 used in confuting his meanest antagonist. This 
 indecent boldness, instead of shocking his con- 
 temporaries, was considered by them as a new 
 proof of his undaunted spirit. A controversy 
 managed by disputants so illustrious, drew more 
 general attention ; and such was the contagion 
 of the spirit of innovation, diffused through 
 Europe in that age, and so powerful the evi- 
 dence that accompanied the doctrines of the 
 reformers on their first publication, that, in 
 spite both of the civil and ecclesiastical powers 
 combined against them, they daily gained con- 
 verts, both in France and in England.
 
 HISTORICAL APPENDIX. 
 
 ff During Luther's confinement in his re- 
 treat at Wartburg, Carlostadius, one of his dis- 
 ciples, animated with the same zeal, but pos- 
 sessed of less prudence and moderation than his 
 master, began to propagate wild and dangerous 
 opinions, chiefly among the lower people. En- 
 couraged by his exhortations, they rose in 
 several villages of Saxony, broke into the 
 churches with tumultuary violence, and threw 
 down and destroyed the images with which they 
 were adorned. Those irregular and outrageous 
 proceedings were so repugnant to all the elec- 
 tor's cautious maxims, that, if they had not 
 received a timely check, they could hardly have 
 failed of alienating from the reformers, a prince, 
 no less jealous of his own authority, than afraid 
 of giving offence to the emperor, and other 
 patrons of the ancient opinions. Luther, sensi- 
 ble of the danger, immediately quitted his 
 retreat, without waiting for Frederick's permis- 
 sion, and returned to Wittemberg. Happily for 
 the reformation, the veneration for his person 
 and authority was still so great, that his ap- 
 pearance alone suppressed that spirit of extrava- 
 gance which began to seize his party. Carlo- 
 stadius and his fanatical followers, struck dumb 
 by his rebukes, submitted at once, and declared 
 that they heard the voice of an angel, not of a 
 man.
 
 LUTHER. 343 
 
 " Before Luther left his retreat, he had 
 begun to translate the Bible into the German 
 tongue,, an undertaking of no less difficulty than 
 importance, of which he was extremely fond, 
 and for which he was well qualified. He had a 
 competent knowledge in the original languages ; 
 a thorough acquaintance with the style and 
 sentiments of the inspired writers; and though 
 his compositions in Latin were rude and bar- 
 barous, he was reckoned a great master of the 
 purity of his mother tongue, and could express 
 himself with all the eloquence of which it is 
 capable. By his own assiduous application, 
 together with the assistance of Melancthon, and 
 several other of his disciples, he finished part 
 of the New Testament in the year 1522; and 
 the publication of it proved more fatal to the 
 church of Rome, than that of all his own 
 works. It was read with wonderful avidity and 
 attention by persons of every rank. They were 
 astonished at discovering how contrary the pre- 
 cepts of the Author of our religion are, to the 
 inventions of those priests who pretended to be 
 his vicegerents ; and having now in their hand 
 the rule of faith, they thought themselves 
 qualified, by applying it, to judge of the 
 established opinions, and to pronounce when 
 they were conformable to the standard, or when 
 they departed from it. The great advantages 
 arising from Luther's translation of the Bible,
 
 344 HISTORICAL APPENDIX. 
 
 encouraged the advocates for reformation, in 
 the other countries of Europe, to imitate his 
 example, and to publish versions of the scrip- 
 tures in their respective languages. 
 
 cc About this time, Nuremberg, Francfort, 
 Hamburg, and several other cities in Germany, 
 of the first rank, openly embraced the reformed 
 religion, and by the authority of their magis- 
 srates, abolished the mass, and the other super- 
 stitious rites of popery. The Elector of Bran- 
 denburgh, the Dukes of Brunswick and Lunen- 
 burgh, and Prince of Anhalt, became avowed 
 patrons of Luther's opinions, and countenanced 
 the preaching of them among their subjects. 
 
 " The court of Rome beheld this growing 
 defection with great concern ; and Adrian's first 
 care, after his arrival in Italy, had been to 
 deliberate with the cardinals, concerning the 
 proper means of putting a stop to it. He was 
 profoundly skilled in scholastic theology, and 
 having been early taken notice of on that ac- 
 count, he still retained such an excessive ad- 
 miration of the science to which he was first 
 indebted for his reputation and success in life, 
 that he considered Luther's invectives against 
 the schoolmen, particularly Thomas Aquinas, as 
 little less than blasphemy. All ithe tenets of 
 that doctor appeared to him so clear and irre-
 
 LUTHER. 345 
 
 fragable, that he supposed every person who 
 called in question or contradicted them, to be 
 either blinded by ignorance, or to be acting in 
 opposition to the dictates of his own mind. Of 
 course, no pope was ever more bigoted or in- 
 flexible with regard to points of doctrine, than 
 Adrian ; he not only maintained them as Leo 
 had done, because they were ancient, or because 
 it was dangerous for the church to allow of 
 innovations; but he adhered to them with the 
 zeal of a theologian, and with the tenaciousness 
 of a disputant. At the same time, his own 
 manners being extremely simple, and uninfected 
 with any of the vices which reigned in the court 
 of Rome, he was as sensible of its corruptions 
 as the reformers themselves, and viewed them 
 with no less indignation. The brief which he 
 addressed to the diet of the empire, assembled 
 at Nuremberg, and the instructions which he 
 gave Cheregato, the nuncio whom he sent 
 thither, were framed agreeable to these views. 
 On the one hand, he condemned Luther's 
 opinions with more asperity and rancour of ex- 
 pression than Leo had ever used; he severely 
 censured the princes of Germany, for suffering 
 him to spread his pernicious tenets,, by their 
 neglecting to execute the edict of the diet at 
 Worms, and required them, if Luther did not 
 instantly retract his errors, to destroy him with 
 fire, as a gangrened and incurable member, in
 
 S46 HISTORICAL APPENDIX. 
 
 like manner as Dathan and Abiram had been 
 cut off by Moses., Ananias and Sapphira by the 
 apostles,, and John Huss and Jerome., of Prague, 
 by their ancestors. On the other hand., he, with 
 great candour, and in the most explicit terms, 
 acknowledged the corruptions of the Roman 
 court to be the source from which had flowed 
 most of the evils the church now felt or 
 dreaded ; he promised to exert all his authority 
 towards reforming these abuses, with as much 
 dispatch as the nature and inveteracy of the 
 disorders would admit; and he requested of 
 them to give him their advice with regard to 
 the most effectual means of suppressing that 
 new heresy which had sprung up among them. 
 
 <e The members of the diet, after praising 
 the pope's pious and laudable intentions, ex- 
 cused themselves for not executing the edict 
 of Worms, by alledging that the prodigious 
 increase of Luther's followers, as well as the 
 aversion to the court of Rome among their 
 other subjects, on account of its innumerable 
 exactions, rendered such an attempt not only 
 dangerous, but impossible. They affirmed, that 
 the grievances of Germany, which did not 
 arise from imaginary injuries, but from im- 
 positions no less real than intolerable, as his 
 holiness would learn from a catalogue of them 
 which they intended to lay before him, called
 
 LUTHER. 347 
 
 now for some new and efficacious remedy ; and, 
 in their opinion, the only remedy adequate to 
 the disease, or which afforded them any hopes 
 of seeing 1 the church restored to soundness and 
 vigour, was a general council. Such a council, 
 therefore, they advised him, after obtaining the 
 emperor's consent, to assemble without delay, in 
 one of the great cities of Germany, that all who 
 had right to be present might deliberate with 
 freedom, and propose their opinions with such 
 boldness, as the dangerous situation of religion 
 at this juncture required. 
 
 ff The nuncio, more artful than his master, 
 and better acquainted with the political views 
 and interests of the Roman court, was startled 
 at the proposition of a council ; and easily fore- 
 saw how dangerous such an assembly might 
 prove, at a time when many openly denied the 
 papal authority, and the reverence and sub- 
 mission yielded to it visibly declined among all. 
 For that reason he employed his utmost ad- 
 dress, in order to prevail on the members of the 
 diet to proceed themselves with greater severity 
 against the Lutheran heresy, and to relinquish 
 their proposal concerning a general council to 
 be held in Germany. They perceiving the 
 nuncio to be more solicitous about the interests 
 of the Roman court, than the tranquillity of the 
 empire, or purity of the church, remained in^-
 
 348 HISTORICAL APPENDIX. 
 
 flexible,, and continued to prepare the catalogue 
 of their grievances, to be presented to the pope. 
 The nuncio, that he might not be the bearer 
 of a remonstrance so disagreeable to his court, 
 left Nuremberg abruptly, without taking leave 
 of the diet. 
 
 Cf The secular princes accordingly, for the 
 ecclesiastics, although they gave no opposition, 
 did not think it decent to join with them, drew 
 up the list (so famous in the German annals) of 
 an hundred grievances, which the empire im- 
 puted to the iniquitous dominion of the papal 
 see. This list contained grievances much of the 
 same nature with that prepared under the reign 
 of Maximilian. It would be tedious to enu- 
 merate each of them ; they complained of the 
 sums exacted for dispensations, absolutions, and 
 indulgences; of the expense arising from the 
 law-suits carried by appeal to Rome; of the 
 innumerable abuses occasioned by reservations, 
 commendams, and annates ; of the exemption 
 from civil jurisdiction which the clergy had 
 obtained ; of the arts by which they brought all 
 secular causes under the cognizance of the 
 ecclesiastical judges ; of the indecent and profli- 
 gate lives which not a few of the clergy led ; 
 and of various other particulars, many of which 
 have already been mentioned among the circum- 
 stances that contributed to the favourable re-
 
 LUTHER. 349 
 
 ception, or to the quick progress of Luther's 
 doctrines. In the end they concluded, that if 
 the holy see did not speedily deliver them from 
 those intolerable burdens, they had determined 
 to endure them no longer, and would employ 
 the power arid authority with which God had 
 entrusted them, in order to procure relief. 
 
 fe Instead of such severities against Luther 
 and his followers as the nuncio had recom- 
 mended, the recess or edict of the diet con- 
 tained only a general injunction to all ranks of 
 men to wait with patience for the determinations 
 of the council which was to be assembled, and 
 in the mean time, not to publish any new 
 opinions contrary to the established doctrines 
 of the church ; together with an admonition to 
 all preachers to abstain from matters of con- 
 troversy in their discourses to the people, and to 
 confine themselves to the plain and instructive 
 truths of religion. 
 
 ec The reformers derived great advantage 
 from the transactions of this diet, as they 
 afforded them the fullest and most authentic 
 evidence that gross corruptions prevailed in the 
 court of Rome, and that the empire was loaded 
 by the clergy with insupportable burdens. 
 With regard to the former, they had now the 
 testimony of the pope himself, that their in-
 
 350 HISTORICAL APPENDIX. 
 
 vectives and accusations were not malicious or 
 ill-founded. As to the latter, the representatives 
 of the Germantic body, in an assembly where 
 the patrons of the new opinions were far from 
 being the most numerous or powerful., had 
 pointed out as the chief grievances of the 
 empire,, those very practices of the Romish 
 church against which, Luther and his disciples 
 were accustomed to declaim. Accordingly, in 
 all their controversial writings after this period, 
 they often appealed to Adrian's declaration, 
 and to the hundred grievances, in confirmation 
 of whatever they advanced concerning the dis- 
 solute manners, or insatiable ambition and rapa- 
 ciousness of the papal court. 
 
 {f At Rome, Adrian's conduct was con- 
 sidered as a proof of the most childish simplicity 
 and imprudence. Men trained up amidst the 
 artifices and corruptions of the papal court, and 
 accustomed to judge of actions not by what 
 was just, but by what was useful, were 
 astonished at a pontiff, who, departing from the 
 wise maxims of his predecessors, acknowledged 
 disorders which he ought to have concealed; 
 and forgetting his own dignity, asked advice 
 of those, to whom he was entitled to prescribe. 
 By such an excess of impolitic sincerity, they 
 were afraid that, instead of reclaiming the 
 enemies of the church, he would render them
 
 LUTHER. 351 
 
 more presumptuous, and instead of extinguishing 
 heresy, would weaken the foundations of the 
 papal power, or stop the chief sources from 
 which wealth flowed into the church. For this 
 reason, the cardinals and other ecclesiastics of 
 greatest eminence in the papal court, industri- 
 ously opposed all his schemes of reformation, 
 and by throwing objections and difficulties in 
 his way, endeavoured to retard or to defeat the 
 execution of them. Adrian, amazed on the one 
 hand at the obstinacy of the Lutherans, dis- 
 gusted on the other with the manners and 
 maxims of the Italians, and finding himself 
 unable to correct either the one or the other, 
 often lamented his own situation, and often 
 looked back with pleasure on that period of his 
 life when he was only Dean of Louvain, a more 
 humble but happier station, in which little was 
 expected from him, and there was nothing to 
 frustrate his good intentions. 
 
 " Clement VII. his successor, excelled Adrian 
 as much in the arts of government, as he was 
 inferior to him in purity of life, or upright- 
 ness of intention. He was animated not only 
 with the aversion which all popes naturally bear 
 to a council, but having gained his own election 
 by means very uncanonical, he was afraid of an 
 assembly that might subject it to a scrutiny which 
 it could not stand. He determined, therefore,
 
 352 HISTORICAL APPENDIX. 
 
 by every possible means to elude the demands 
 of the Germans., both with respect to the calling 
 of a council, and reforming abuses in the papal 
 court, which the rashness and incapacity of his 
 predecessor had brought upon him. For this 
 purpose, he made choice of Cardinal Cam- 
 peggio, an artful man, often entrusted by his 
 predecessors with negociations of importance, as 
 his nuncio to the diet of the empire assembled 
 again at Nuremberg. 
 
 ec Campeggio, without taking any notice of 
 what had passed in the last meeting, exhorted 
 the diet in a long discourse, to execute the edict 
 of Worms with vigour, as the only effectual 
 means of suppressing Luther's doctrines. The 
 diet, in return, desired to know the pope's in- 
 tentions concerning the council, and the redress 
 of the hundred grievances. The former, the 
 nuncio endeavoured to elude by general and 
 unmeaning declarations of the pope's resolution 
 to pursue such measures as would be for the 
 greatest good of the church. With regard to 
 the latter, as Adrian was dead before the cata- 
 logue of grievances reached Rome, and of con- 
 sequence had not been laid before the present 
 pope, Campeggio took advantage of this cir- 
 cumstance to decline making any definitive 
 answer to them in Clement's name ; though, at 
 the same time, he observed that their catalogue
 
 LUTHER. 353 
 
 of grievances contained many particulars ex- 
 tremely indecent and undutiful, and that the 
 publishing it by their own authority was highly 
 disrespectful to the Roman see. In the end, he 
 renewed his demand of their proceeding with 
 vigour against Luther and his adherents. But 
 though an ambassador from the emperor,, who 
 was at that time very solicitous to gain the 
 pope, warmly seconded the nuncio, with many 
 professions of his master's zeal for the honour 
 and dignity of the papal see, the recess of the 
 diet was conceived in terms of almost the same 
 import with the former, without enjoining any 
 additional severity against Luther and his party. 
 
 <f Before he left Germany, Campeggio, in 
 order to amuse and sooth the people., published 
 certain articles for the amendment of some dis- 
 orders and abuses which prevailed among the 
 inferior clergy ; but this partial reformation, 
 which fell so far short of the expectations of 
 the Lutherans, and of the demands of the diet> 
 gave no satisfaction and produced little effect. 
 The nuncio, with a cautious hand, tenderly 
 lopped a few branches ; the Germans aimed a 
 deeper blow, and by striking at the root, wished 
 to exterminate the evil. 
 
 " Luther's famous marriage with Catharine 
 a Boria, a nun of a noble family, who having 
 
 A A
 
 HISTORICAL APPENDIX. 
 
 thrown off the veil, had fled from the cloister, 
 was very far from being- approved. Even his 
 most devoted followers thought this step in- 
 decent., at a time when his country was involved 
 in so many calamities; while his enemies never 
 mentioned it with any softer appellation than 
 that of incestuous or profane. Luther himself 
 was sensible of the impression which it had 
 made to his disadvantage ; but being satisfied 
 with his own conduct, he bore the censure 
 of his friends., and the reproaches of his adver- 
 saries, with his usual fortitude. 
 
 " This year the reformation lost its first 
 protector, Frederick, Elector of Saxony; but 
 the blow was the less sensibly felt, as he was 
 succeeded by his brother John, a more avowed 
 and zealous, though less able patron of Luther 
 and his doctrines. 
 
 " The dissentions between the pope and 
 emperor proved extremely favourable to the 
 progress of Lutheranism. Charles, exasperated 
 by Clement's conduct, and fully employed in 
 opposing the league which he had formed 
 against him, had little inclination, and less 
 leisure to take any measures for suppressing the 
 new opinions in Germany. In a diet of the 
 empire held at Spires, the state of religion came 
 to be considered, and all that the emperor re-
 
 LUTHER. 
 
 ,355 
 
 quired of the princes was, that they would wait 
 patiently, and without encouraging innovations, 
 for the meeting of a general council, which he 
 had demanded of the pope. They, in return, 
 acknowledged the convocation of a council to 
 be the proper and regular step towards reform- 
 ing abuses in the church ; but contended, that a 
 national council held in Germany would be 
 more effectual for that purpose than what he 
 had proposed. To his advice, concerning the 
 discouragement of innovations, they paid so 
 little regard, that even during the meeting of 
 the diet at Spires, the divines who attended the 
 Elector of Saxony and Landgrave of Hesse- 
 Cassel thither, preached publicly, and adminis- 
 tered the sacraments according to the rites of 
 the reformed church. The emperor's own ex- 
 ample emboldened the Germans to treat the 
 papal authority with little reverence. During 
 the heat of his resentment against Clement, he 
 had published a long reply to an angry brief 
 which the pope had intended as an apology for 
 his own conduct. In this manifesto, the emperor, 
 after having enumerated many instances of that 
 pontiff's ingratitude, deceit, and ambition, all 
 which he painted in the strongest and most 
 aggravated colours, appealed from him to a 
 general council. At the same time he wrote to 
 the college of cardinals, complaining of Cle- 
 ment's partiality and injustice; and requiring 
 
 AA2
 
 3b6 HISTORICAL APPENDIX. 
 
 them., if he refused or delayed to call a council, 
 to shew their concern for the peace of the 
 Christian church, so shamefully neglected by its 
 chief pastor, by summoning that assembly in 
 their own name. This manifesto., little inferior 
 in virulence to the invective of Luther himself, 
 \vas dispersed over Germany with great industry, 
 and being eagerly read by persons of every 
 rank, did much more than counterbalance the 
 effect of all Charles's declarations against the 
 new opinions." . 
 
 After experiencing those varieties of oppo~ 
 sition and success which naturally accompany 
 the introduction of new principles and insti- 
 tutions, and having, under the vigorous measures 
 of its founder, attained to a happy degree of 
 stability, the reformation sustained a heavy loss 
 from the death of Luther, in the year J546. 
 " Having gone, though in a declining state 
 of health, and during a rigorous season, to his 
 native city of Eysleben, in order to compose, by 
 his authority, a dissension among the Counts of 
 Mansfield, he was seized with a violent inflam- 
 mation in his stomach, which in a few days put 
 an end to his life, in the sixty-third year of his 
 age. As he was raised up by Providence to be 
 the author of one of the greatest and most 
 interesting revolutions recorded in history, there 
 is not any person perhaps, whose character has
 
 LUTHER. 35? 
 
 been drawn with such opposite colours. In Ills 
 own age,, one party., struck with horror and in- 
 flamed with rage, Avhen they saw with what a 
 daring hand he overturned every thing which 
 they held to be sacred, or valued as beneficial, 
 imputed to him not only all the defects and 
 vices of a man., but the qualities of a demon. 
 The other, warmed with the admiration and 
 gratitude, which they thought he merited as 
 the restorer of light and liberty to the Christian 
 church, ascribed to him perfections above the 
 condition of humanity., and viewed all his actions 
 with a veneration bordering on that which 
 should be paid only to those who are guided by 
 the immediate inspiration of Heaven. It is his 
 own conduct, not the undistinguished censure 
 or the exaggerated praise of his contemporaries, 
 that ought to regulate the opinions of the 
 present age concerning him. Zeal for what he 
 regarded as truth, undaunted intrepidity to 
 maintain his own system, abilities, both natural 
 and acquired, to defend his principles, and un- 
 wearied industry in propagating them, are 
 virtues which shine so conspicuously in every 
 part of his behaviour, that even his enemies 
 must allow him to have possessed them in an 
 eminent degree. To these may be added, with 
 equal justice, such purity and even austerity of 
 manners, as became one who assumed the 
 character of a reformer ; such sanctity of life as
 
 358 HISTORICAL APPENDIX. 
 
 suited the doctrine which he delivered., and such 
 perfect disinterestedness as affords no slight pre- 
 sumption of his sincerity. Superior to all 
 selfish considerations, a stranger to the ele- 
 gancies of life, and despising its pleasures, he 
 left the honours and emoluments of his church 
 to his disciples, remaining satisfied himself in 
 his original state of professor in the university 
 of Wittemberg, with the moderate appointments 
 annexed to these offices. His extraordinary 
 qualities were allayed with no inconsiderable 
 mixture of human frailty and human passions. 
 These, however, were of such a nature, that 
 they cannot be imputed to malevolence or cor- 
 ruption of heart, but seem to have taken their rise 
 from the same source with many of his virtues. 
 His mind, forcible and vehement in all its oper- 
 ations, roused by great objects, or agitated by 
 violent passions, broke out, on many occasions, 
 with an impetuosity which astonishes men of 
 feebler spirits, or such as are placed in a more 
 tranquil situation. By carrying some praise- 
 worthy dispositions to excess, he bordered some- 
 times on what was culpable, and ,was often 
 betrayed into actions which exposed him to 
 censure. His confidence that his own opinions 
 were well founded, approached to arrogance ; 
 his courage in asserting them, to obstinacy ; and 
 his zeal in confuting his adversaries, to rage and 
 scurrility, Accustomed himself to consider
 
 LUTHER. 
 
 359 
 
 every thing as subordinate to truth, he expected 
 the same deference for it from other men, and, 
 without making any allowances for their timidity 
 or prejudices, he poured forth against such as 
 disappointed him in this particular, a torrent of 
 invective, mingled with contempt. Regardless 
 of any distinction of rank or character when 
 liis doctrines were attacked, he chastised all his 
 adversaries indiscriminately, with the same rough 
 hand ; neither the royal dignity of Henry VIII. 
 nor the eminent learning and abilities of Eras- 
 mus, screened them from the same gross abuse 
 with which he treated Tetzel or Eccius. 
 
 " But these indecencies of which Luther 
 was guilty, must not be imputed wholly to the 
 violence of his temper. They ought to be 
 charged in part on the manners of the age. 
 Among a rude people, unacquainted with those 
 maxims, which, by putting continual restraint 
 on the passions of individuals, have polished 
 society and rendered it agreeable ; disputes of 
 every kind Mere managed with heat, and strong 
 emotions were uttered in their natural language, 
 without reserve or delicacy. At the same time, 
 the works of learned men were all composed in 
 Latin, and they were not only authorized by 
 the example of eminent writers in that language, 
 to use their antagonists with the most illiberal 
 scurrility ; but in a dead tongue, indecencies
 
 360 HISTORICAL APPENDIX. 
 
 of every kind appear less shoeking than in a 
 living language, whose idioms and phrases seem 
 gross, because they are familiar. 
 
 *' In passing judgment upon the characters 
 of men, we ought to try them by the principles 
 and maxims of their own age, not by those 
 of another. For although virtue and vice are 
 at all times the same, manners and customs vary 
 continually. Some parts of Luther's behaviour, 
 which to us appear most culpable, gave no dis- 
 gust to his contemporaries. It was even by 
 some of those qualities, which we are now apt 
 to blame, that he was fitted for accomplishing 
 the great work which he undertook. To rouse 
 mankind, when sunk in ignorance or super- 
 stition, and to encounter the rage of bigotry 
 armed with power, required the utmost vehe- 
 mence of zeal, as well as a temper daring to 
 excess. A gentle call would neither have 
 reached, nor have excited those to whom it 
 must have been addressed. A spirit more amia- 
 ble, but less vigorous than Luther's, would have 
 shrunk back from the dangers which he braved 
 arid surmounted. Towards the close of Lu- 
 ther's life, though without any perceptible 
 diminution of his zeal or abilities, the infirmities 
 of his temper increased upon him, so that he 
 grew daily more peevish, more irascible, and 
 more impatient of contradiction. Having lived
 
 LUTHER. 361 
 
 to be a witness of his own amazing success ; to 
 see a great part of Europe embrace his doc- 
 trines ; and to shake the foundation of the 
 papal throne, before which the mightiest mo- 
 narchs had trembled., he discovered, on some 
 occasions, symptoms of vanity and self-applause. 
 He must have been, indeed, more than man, if, 
 upon contemplating all that he actually ac- 
 complished, he had never felt any sentiment 
 of this kind rising in his breast. 
 
 " Some time before his death he felt his 
 strength declining, his constitution being worn 
 out by a prodigious multiplicity of business, 
 added to the labour of discharging his minis- 
 terial function with unremitting diligence, to 
 the fatigue of constant study, besides the com- 
 position of works as voluminous as if he had 
 enjoyed uninterrupted leisure and retirement. 
 His natural intrepidity did not forsake him at 
 the approach of death ; his last conversation 
 with his friends was concerning the happiness 
 reserved for good men in a future life, of which 
 he spoke with the fervour and delight natural 
 to one who expected and wished to enter soon 
 upon the enjoyment of it. The account of his 
 death filled the Roman catholic party with ex- 
 cessive, as well as indecent joy, and damped the 
 spirit of all his followers ; neither party suffici- 
 ently considering that his doctrines were now so
 
 362 HISTORICAL APPENDIX. 
 
 firmly rooted, as to be in a condition to flourish 
 independent of the hand which first had planted 
 them. His funeral was celebrated by order of 
 the Elector of Saxony, with extraordinary pomp. 
 He left several children by his wife, Catherine a 
 Boria, who survived him. Towards the end 
 of the last century, there were in Saxony, some 
 of his descendants in decent and honourable 
 stations." 
 
 No. VI. 
 
 MELANCTHON (Philip), whose support, though 
 deficient in that energy which distinguished 
 other reformers, promoted to a considerable 
 degree, the cause of the reformation ; was born 
 in 1497, at Bretten, in the palatinate of the 
 Rhine. At the university of Heidelberg, he 
 made a remarkably rapid progress in his studies, 
 and removing from thence to Tubingen, he con- 
 tinued his studies six years in that situation. 
 Being afterwards made Professor of Greek at 
 Wittemberg, he formed a close intimacy with 
 Luther, whose attempts to deliver pure and 
 primitive theology from the jargon of the
 
 MELANCTHON. 363 
 
 schools, met with his cordial approbation, if not 
 with his vigorous co-operation. In 1527, he 
 was appointed by the Elector of Saxon} r , to visit 
 the churches in his territories ; but his greatest 
 labour was that of drawing up the confession 
 of faith, called the Ausburg Confession. In 
 drawing up this confession, he shewed a due 
 regard to the counsels of Luther. The judg- 
 ment and the taste of Melancthon were equally 
 conspicuous in this performance, in which the 
 most accurate statements were expressed in a 
 style at once plain, elegant, and perspicuous. 
 The extreme caution and timidity which he 
 invariably evinced, exposed him not unfre- 
 quently to the pointed censure of Luth^v, in 
 whose estimation we may suppose decision of 
 character to have held an important rank. la 
 the year 1539, Melancthon assisted in the con- 
 ferences at Spires, and in his journey thither, 
 visited his mother, a pious woman, who asked 
 him what she should believe, and how she should 
 pray amid these religious disputes, at the same 
 time repeating her simple creed and form of 
 devotion : ' Continue/ said her son, ' to believe 
 and to pray as you do at present, and do not 
 trouble yourself about controversies.' He dis- 
 tinguished himself in the conferences held at 
 Ratisbon, in 1541, and 1548. Rewrote,, also, a 
 censure of the interim, and all the papers pre- 
 sented at those conferences.
 
 364 HISTORICAL APPENDIX. 
 
 " His greatest enemies/' says Mosheim, 
 tc have borne testimony to his merit. They have 
 been forced to acknowledge, that the annals 
 of antiquity exhibit very few worthies that may 
 be compared with him ; whether we consider 
 the extent of his knowledge in things human 
 and divine,, the fertility and elegance of his 
 genius, the facility and quickness of his com- 
 prehension., or the uninterrupted industry that 
 attended his learned and theological labours. 
 He rendered to philosophy and the liberal arts 
 the same eminent service that Luther had done 
 to religion., by purging them from the dross 
 with which they had been corrupted ; and by 
 recommending them, in a powerful and per- 
 suasive manner, to the study of the Germans. 
 He had the rare talent of discerning truth in all 
 its most intricate connections and combinations, 
 of comprehending at once the most abstract 
 notions, and expressing them with the utmost 
 perspicuity and ease. And he applied this 
 happy talent in religious disquisitions with such 
 unparalleled success, that it may safely be 
 affirmed, that the cause of true Christianity 
 derived from the learning and genius of Me- 
 lancthon, more signal advantages and a more 
 effectual support, than it received from any of 
 the other doctors of the age. His love of peace 
 and concord, which was partly owing to the 
 sweetness of hi* natural temper, made him
 
 MELANCTHON. 365 
 
 desire with ardour that a reformation might be 
 effected without producing a schism in the 
 church., and that the external communion of the 
 contending parties might be preserved uninter- 
 rupted and entire. This spirit of mildness and 
 charity, carried perhaps too far, led him some- 
 times to make concessions that were neither 
 consistent with prudence, nor advantageous to 
 the cause in which he was engaged. It is, 
 however, certain, that he gave no quarter to 
 those more dangerous and momentous errors 
 that reigned in the church of Rome, but main- 
 tained, on the contrary, that their extirpation 
 was essentially necessary, in order to the re- 
 storation of true religion. In the natural com- 
 plexion of this great man there was something 
 soft, timorous, and yielding. Hence arose a 
 certain diffidence of himself, that not only made 
 him examine things with the greatest attention 
 and care before he resolved upon any measure; 
 but also filled him with uneasy apprehensions 
 where there was no danger, and made him fear 
 even things that, in reality, could never happen. 
 And yet, on the other hand, when the hour 
 of real danger approached, when things bore 
 a formidable aspect, and the cause of religion 
 was in imminent peril, then this iirnorous man 
 was converted, all at once, into an intrepid hero, 
 looked danger in the face with unshaken con- 
 stancy, and opposed his adversaries with invin-
 
 366 HISTORICAL APPENDIX. 
 
 cible fortitude. All this shews, that the force 
 of truth and the power of principle had 
 diminished the weaknesses and defects of Me- 
 lancthon's natural character., without entirely 
 removing them. Had his fortitude been more 
 uniform and steady, his desire of reconciling all 
 interests, and pleasing all parties less vehement 
 and excessive, his triumph over the superstitions 
 imbibed in his infancy more complete, he must 
 deservedly have been considered as one of the 
 greatest among men."* 
 
 This amiable and learned man died at Wit- 
 temberg, in 1560. His works were printed at 
 Wittemberg, in four vols. folio, 1601. 
 
 * See Mosheim's History of the Reformation, Cent. XVI.
 
 CRANMER. 36? 
 
 No. VII. 
 
 CRANMER (Thomas), the most illustrious arch- 
 bishop that ever filled the see of Canterbury, 
 was the son of Thomas Cranmer, Esq. and 
 of Agnes, daughter of Laurence Hatfield, of 
 Willoughby, in Nottinghamshire. He was 
 born at Aslacton, in that county, July 2, 1489. 
 Having been educated in grammar-learning, he 
 \vas admitted at the age of fourteen, into Jesus 
 College, in Cambridge, of \vhich he afterwards 
 became a Fellow. After he was Master of Arts, 
 he married a gentleman's daughter, named Joan, 
 by which he lost his fellowship. His wife 
 dying in child-bed within a year, he w r as again 
 admitted Fellow of Jesus College. In 1523, 
 and the thirty-fourth year of his age, he was 
 made Doctor of Divinity, Reader of the Theo- 
 logical Lecture in his own college, and one of 
 the examiners of those that took the degrees in 
 divinity. The immediate cause of his subse- 
 quent elevation in the church, was the opinion 
 which he gave in the matter of the king's 
 divorce. Cranmer having delivered an opinion 
 favourable to a divorce, his majesty approving- 
 it, said, <c that that man," meaning Cranmer, 
 " had the sow by the right ear." Being im-
 
 368 HISTORICAL APPENDIX. 
 
 mediately sent for to court, and made the king's 
 chaplain, he was ordered to write upon the 
 subject of divorce, and furnished with books 
 for that purpose. Having finished his book, 
 and brought several over to his opinion, he was 
 presented to a living, and made Archdeacon 
 of Taunton. In 1530, he was sent into France, 
 Italy, and Germany, to discuss the affair of the 
 king's marriage. During his residence in Ger- 
 many, he married at Nuremberg, a second wife, 
 named Anne, niece of Osiander's wife. Upon 
 the death of Archbishop Warham, in August 
 1532, Cranmer was nominated for his successor, 
 but refused to accept of the dignity, unless he 
 could receive it without the pope's intervention. 
 It was he that pronounced the sentence of 
 divorce between King Henry and Queen Cathe- 
 rine, at Dunstable, May the 23d, 1533; he 
 likewise married him to Anne Boleyn, and con- 
 firmed her marriage on the 28th following. In 
 the same year he was consecrated Archbishop 
 of Canterbury, by the Bishops of Lincoln, 
 Exeter, and St. Asaph. Being threatened with 
 excommunication by the pope, on the ground 
 of his sentence against Queen-Catherine, he ap- 
 pealed to a general council, and in the ensuing 
 parliaments contended against the pope's supre- 
 macy. A zealous promoter of the reformation, 
 he procured the Bible to be translated into 
 English, and recommended by royal authority.
 
 CRANMER. 36i) 
 
 The next step which he took, was to forward 
 the dissolution of the monasteries, which formed 
 one of the greatest obstacles to a reformation. 
 In 1540., he was one of the commissioners ap- 
 pointed for inspecting the state of religion, and 
 explaining some of its principal doctrines. The 
 result of their commission was, the book en- 
 titled, " A necessary Erudition of a Christian 
 Man/' In 1541, he gave orders for taking 
 away superstitious shrines ; and in 1542, pro- 
 cured the " Act for the Advancement of true 
 Religion, and the Abolishment of the contrary." 
 Upon the death of Henry, he was one of the 
 executors of his will, and one of the regents of the 
 kingdom. On the 20th of February, 1545-6, 
 he crowned King Edward VI. to whom he had 
 been godfather. Soon after he caused the 
 homilies to be composed, of some of which he 
 was the author ; he likewise encouraged the 
 translation of Erasmus's Paraphrase on the 
 New Testament. In the year 1549, he ordained 
 several priests and deacons, according to the 
 new form of ordination in the Common Prayer 
 Book; which, through the archbishop's care, 
 was now finished and settled by act of parlia- 
 ment. In 1552, he and some others compiled 
 the* Articles, and caused them to be enjoined by 
 the King's authority. His solicitude was not, 
 however, confined to the church of England, 
 but extended to those protestant foreigners who 
 
 B B
 
 370 HISTORICAL APPENDIX. 
 
 fled to England, for whom he procured churches/ 
 and employed his influence with the crown. 
 Upon the accession of Mary to the throne, he 
 was ordered to appear before the council, and 
 bring an inventory of his goods ; with which he 
 complied on the 27th of August, when he was 
 commanded to keep his house. Being again 
 summoned before the council on the 13th of 
 September, he was ordered to be at the Star- 
 chamber the next day, when he was committed 
 to the Tower ; partly for setting his hand to the 
 instrument of the Lady Jane's succession; and, 
 partly for the offer which he had recently made 
 of justifying, openly, the religious proceedings 
 of the late king. Some of his friends, anxious 
 for his safety, advised him to escape, which, 
 however, he absolutely refused to comply with. 
 Attainted at Guildhall, and found guilty of 
 high treason, the fruits of his archbishopric 
 were sequestered. Upon his humble appli- 
 cation he was pardoned the treason, though it 
 was resolved that he should be proceeded 
 against for heresy. In April 1554, he was, with 
 Ridley and Latimer, removed to Oxford, with a 
 view to a public disputation with the papists, 
 which took place there; and on which occasion, 
 the modesty and convincing arguments of the 
 protestant bishops were overborne by the 
 ignorant and impudent clamours of the papists. 
 Two days after these disputations were closed.
 
 CRANMER. S71 
 
 Cranmcr and his associates were brought before 
 the commissioners, and asked whether they would 
 subscribe to the doctrines of popery ; which they 
 unanimously refused, and were condemned as 
 heretics. His " Defence of the True and Catholic 
 Doctrine of the Sacrament of the Body and 
 Blood of our Saviour Christ/' was ordered to 
 be burnt, by the convocation which met this year. 
 The sentence pronounced against him at Oxford, 
 by Weston, being void in law, on account of 
 the pope's authority not being yet re-established 
 in England, a new commission was sent from 
 Rome, for his trial and conviction. After ap- 
 pearing before the commissioners at St. Mary's 
 church, Oxford, where he defended himself 
 against the charges of blasphemy, perjury, in- 
 continency, and heresy; he was cited to appear 
 at Rome within eighty days. On the 14th of 
 December, the pope dispatched his letters exe- 
 cutory to the king and queen, and to Bonner 
 and Thirlby, Bishops of London and Ely, to 
 degrade and deprive him. In these letters, 
 Craiuner was declared contumacious, for not 
 appearing at Rome within eighty days, accord- 
 ing to his citation ; though he was all the while 
 detained a close prisoner. However, upon the 
 arrival of the letters, Bonner and Thirlby, with 
 Dr. Martin and Dr. Storey, the king and 
 queen's proctors, proceeded to Oxford to de- 
 grade him. When they came, however, to take 
 **
 
 372 HISTORICAL APPENDIX. 
 
 off his pall,, which is a solemn vesture belong- 
 ing only to an archbishop, " Which of you/' 
 said he, fe hath a pall, to take off my pall?" 
 implying at once their inferiority and their 
 incompetency to degrade him. The pageant 
 of this mock degradation being ended, they 
 remanded him to prison, from whence he sent 
 letters to the queen, giving her a circumstantial 
 account of what had passed. 
 
 Hitherto the archbishop had evinced no 
 small degree of wisdom and fortitude in his 
 sufferings ; but the period was now arrived 
 in which he illustrated the frailty of human 
 virtue, by taking a step which proved the great 
 blemish of his life. Influenced by flatterieSj 
 promises, and the fear of death, he signed a 
 recantation, wherein he renounced the protestant 
 religion, and again embraced all the absurdities 
 of popery. From the testimony of the in- 
 dustrious Mr. Strype, it appears that he was 
 subtilly drawn into this measure by the papists, 
 who persuaded him to subscribe six different 
 papers; the first being expressed in ambiguous 
 terms, capable of a favourable construction, the 
 five following were added as explanations of it. 
 This recantation being immediately printed was 
 dispersed about with the greatest industry. Un- 
 satisfied with this humiliation, the sanguinary 
 queen resolved to glut her revenge in the
 
 CRANMER. 
 
 373 
 
 destruction of the archbishop. She therefore 
 sent for Dr. Cole, Provost of Eton, and gave 
 him instructions to prepare a sermon for the 
 dreadful occasion. On the 24th of February, 
 a writ was signed for the burning of Cranmer. 
 The 21st day of March being the day appointed 
 for the fatal catastrophe, he was brought to St. 
 Mary's church, and placed on a temporary stage, 
 opposite to the pulpit where Dr. Cole was to 
 preach. During the harangue, Cranmer dis- 
 covered great perturbation ; frequently lifting 
 up his hand and eyes to heaven, and pouring out 
 floods of tears. At the close of the sermon,, 
 when Cole desired him to make a public pro- 
 fession of his faith, he first prayed with the 
 greatest fervour ; then exhorted the people to 
 detach their minds from the world, to obey the 
 king and queen, to love each other, and to 
 abound in charity. He then made a confession 
 of his faith, beginning with the creed, and 
 concluding with these words; " And I believe 
 every word and sentence taught by our Saviour 
 Jesus Christ, his apostles and prophets, in the 
 Old and New Testament. And now," added 
 he, ec I come to the great thing that so much 
 troubleth my conscience more than any thing I 
 ever did or said in my whole life; and that is 
 the setting abroad a writing contrary to the 
 truth which I thought in my heart, and written 
 for fear of death, and to save my life if it
 
 374 HISTORICAL APPENDIX. 
 
 . ' " "i 
 
 might be; that is, all such bills and papers 
 which I have written or signed with my hand 
 since my degradation, wherein I have written 
 many things untrue. And forasmuch as my 
 hand offended, writing contrary to my heart, 
 my hand shall first be punished; for, may I 
 come to the fire, it shall be first burned. As 
 for the pope, I refuse him as Christ's enemy and 
 antichrist, with all his false doctrine. And as 
 for the sacrament, I believe as I have taught in 
 my book against the Bishop of Winchester." 
 Thunderstruck by this unexpected declaration, 
 the popish crowd admonished him not to dis- 
 semble. " Ah !" replied he, with tears, re since 
 I lived hitherto, I have been a hater of false- 
 hood, and a lover of simplicity, and never 
 before this time have I dissembled." Upon this 
 they pulled him off the stage with the utmost 
 fury, and hurried him to the place of his 
 martyrdom, opposite Baliol College; where he 
 put off his clothes in haste, and standing in his 
 shirt, and without shoes, was fastened with a 
 chain to the stake. Some persons pressing him 
 to adopt his former recantation, he replied, 
 extending his right hand, " This is the hand 
 that wrote it, and therefore it shall first suffer 
 punishment." Fire being applied, he thrust his 
 right hand into the flame, and held it there un- 
 moved, till it was consumed, crying with a loud 
 voice, ' f This hand hath offended ; " and frequently
 
 CRANMER. 
 
 375 
 
 repeating, " This unworthy right hand." At 
 length the fire ascending, he expired with his 
 eyes raised to heaven, repeating more than once, 
 ff Lord Jesus receive my spirit." Such was the 
 end of the celebrated Thomas Cranmer, equally 
 honourable to himself and disgraceful to his 
 enemies. Though the character of the arch- 
 bishop was, in many respects, truly amiable, 
 there were several parts of his conduct which 
 were highly censurable. Mr. Gilpin, in his 
 elegant Life of Archbishop Cranmer, pub- 
 lished in 8\o. in 1784, remarks, that, " The 
 character of Archbishop Cranmer hath been 
 equally the subject of exaggerated praise, and 
 of undeserved censure." The most indefensible 
 parts of the archbishop's character were, the 
 readiness with which he concurred in some of 
 the unjustifiable proceedings of Henry VIII. 
 and the instances in which he appears to have 
 been influenced by intolerant principles. 
 
 Of two instances of persecution in which 
 Archbishop Cranmer was concerned, Mr. Gilpin 
 gives the following account : " Joan Bocher 
 and George Paris were accused, though at 
 different times, one for denying the humanity 
 of Christ; the other for denying his divinity. 
 They were both tried, and condemned to the 
 stake : and the archbishop not only consented to 
 these acts of blood, but even persuaded the
 
 376 HISTORICAL APPENDIX. 
 
 aversion of the young king into a compliance. 
 ( Your majesty must distinguish/ said he,, in- 
 forming his royal pupil's conscience,, e between 
 common opinions, and such as are the essential 
 articles of faith. These latter we must on no- 
 account suffer to be opposed.' " Mr. Gilpin 
 justly observes, that cc Nothing even plausible 
 can be suggested in defence of the archbishop 
 on this occasion ; except only that the spirit 
 of popery was not yet wholly repressed.'* 
 
 It does not appear that the archbishop en- 
 deavoured to promote the death of Lambert; 
 but, as Mr. Gilpin observes, " It were to be 
 wished he had rid his hands of the disputation 
 likewise/'* 
 
 * See Biographia Britannica, Art. Cranmer. Gilpin's Life 
 of Archbishop Craumer, &c.
 
 KNOX. 377 
 
 No. VIII. 
 
 KNOX (John), the Scotch reformer, was born 
 at Giffard, in East Lothian, of an ancient 
 family, in 1504. He received his education at 
 the university of St. Andrews, where he early 
 discovered a considerable taste for learning: 
 his inclination, however, led him to the study 
 of theology, in which he made the most rapid 
 proficiency. In 1548, he visited France, and 
 soon after landed in England, where he was well 
 received, and made chaplain to Edward VI. 
 who also offered him a bishoprick, which he 
 declined from conscientious motives, being averse 
 to episcopacy and the common prayer. The 
 boldness of his public discourses, and the 
 warmth of his zeal, while they exposed him to 
 the hatred of the great, rendered him the 
 favourite of the people : but as they do not 
 dispose of places, he, with several Englishmen, 
 sought an asylum in Geneva, from the san- 
 guinary measures of Queen Mary, in 1553, or 
 1554; but he soon quitted that city for Franc- 
 fort, whither he was invited by some English- 
 men, who had embraced the reformation ; he 
 did not, however, remain long with them, as he 
 thought it his duty to renounce the rites of the
 
 378 HISTORICAL APPENDIX. 
 
 English church : he, therefore, returned to 
 Geneva in the month of March, from whence 
 he departed in August, for Scotland., where he 
 had the satisfaction of finding that the reform- 
 ation had made considerable progress during his 
 absence. The English church at Geneva, im- 
 pressed with a sense of the value of his ministry, 
 earnestly requested his return in 1556 : but his 
 enemies triumphed in Scotland, and upon his de- 
 parture, they condemned him to be burned. 
 The affairs of the reformed in Scotland taking 
 speedily a favourable turn, their principal 
 leaders, who well knew the importance of the 
 councils of Knox, and his influence over the 
 public mind, recalled him; Calvin also en- 
 couraged him to obey the call, and to promote 
 the welfare of the church. Knox complied in 
 the month of October 1557: prudence, how- 
 ever, induced him to revisit Geneva in 1558, 
 things having reached that point in Scotland, 
 which precluded the possibility of useful exer- 
 tion. It was at this period that he published 
 a book against Queen Mary, and that the re- 
 public presented him with the freedom of the 
 city. 
 
 Shortly after the ascension of Elizabeth to 
 the throne, Knox returned to England, where 
 he was not unmindful of his countrymen; he 
 had the address to fix the Scotch reformation
 
 KNOX. 379 
 
 upon a solid basis,, by means of the treaty of 
 Leith, concluded in the month of July 1560. 
 He even succeeded in establishing an ecclesi- 
 astical discipline,, similar to that which prevailed 
 in Geneva; and the superintendance of the 
 reformed religion throughout the district of 
 Edinburgh,, was committed to his care. 
 
 In 1561, the queen arrived from France in 
 Scotland., and caused the mass to be celebrated 
 in her chapel : Knox made the pulpits ring with 
 his fears, and inspired the public with them ; 
 he declaimed loudly against the luxury and 
 profligacy of the court ; censured the queen's 
 marriage with a papist ; and demanded the exe- 
 cution of the treaty of Leith. Knox became 
 of course, the object of the hatred and of the 
 threats of the great ; but nothing could alter 
 his character., nor even inspire him with that 
 prudence which is the offspring of wisdom and 
 of gentleness. In 1565, the pulpits were shut 
 against him, on account of his having spoken 
 too vehemently against Lord Darnley ; and in 
 1571, he consented to return to Edinburgh, only 
 upon the condition that he should be at liberty 
 to speak with freedom against whatever he 
 thought contrary to the good of the state, and 
 even against those who had the command of the 
 castle. While one cannot help honouring the
 
 HISTORICAL APPENDIX. 
 
 purity of his motives, it is not so easy to justify 
 the whole of his conduct.* 
 
 The character of this eminent reformer has 
 been so well pourtrayed by our British Livy, 
 that no apology can be necessary for inserting 
 so elegant, spirited, and impartial a testimony. 
 " Zeal, intrepidity, disinterestedness/' says he, 
 gf were virtues which he possessed in an eminent 
 degree. He was acquainted, too, with the learn- 
 ing cultivated in that age ; and excelled in that 
 species of eloquence which is calculated to 
 rouse and to inflame. His maxims, however, 
 were often too severe, and the impetuosity of 
 his temper, excessive. Rigid and uncomplying 
 himself, he shewed no indulgence to the in- 
 firmities of others. Regardless of the distinc- 
 tions of rank and character, he uttered his 
 admonitions with an acrimony and vehemence, 
 more apt to irritate than to reclaim. This 
 often betrayed him into indecent and undutiful 
 expressions, with respect to the queen's person 
 and conduct. Those very qualities, however, 
 which now render his character less amiable, 
 fitted him to be the instrument of Providence 
 for advancing the reformation among a fierce 
 people, and enabled him to face dangers, and to 
 surmount opposition, from which a person of a 
 
 * See Histoire Litteraire de Geneve, tome premier.
 
 KNOX. 381 
 
 more gentle spirit would have been apt to 
 shrink back. By an unwearied application to 
 study and to business, as well as by the fre- 
 quency and fervour of his public discourses, he 
 had worn out a constitution naturally strong. 
 During a lingering illness, he discovered the 
 utmost fortitude, and met the approaches of 
 death with a magnanimity inseparable from his 
 character. He was constantly employed in acts 
 of devotion, and comforted himself with those 
 prospects of immortality, which not only pre- 
 serve good men from desponding, but fill them 
 with exultation in their last moments."* 
 
 This eminent Scotsman died at Edinburgh, 
 in 1572, and was interred with great ceremony. 
 The Earl of Morton, who attended his funeral, 
 pronounced the following eulogium upon him : 
 There lies He who never feared the face of man. 
 
 * See Dr. Robertson's History of Scotland, book VL
 
 382 HISTORICAL APPENDIX. 
 
 No. IX. 
 
 BEZA (Theodore), a distinguished reformer, was 
 born at Vezelay, in the year 1519, and afforded 
 early proofs of those superior qualities., which 
 are at once the earnest and the source of true 
 elevation of character. 
 
 Beza became the early charge of his uncle 
 Nicolas, counsellor of the parliament of Paris, 
 and had the benefit of the instructions of Mel- 
 chior Wolmar, under whom he made such rapid 
 advances, that, in the course of seven years he 
 had read the best Greek and Latin authors, at 
 which period he also received his first ideas 
 of the reformation ; which did not, however, 
 make a deep impression upon him then. 
 
 Upon Wolmar's quitting France, Beza be- 
 gan to study for the bar, at Orleans ; from the 
 disgust with which the study of jurisprudence 
 inspired him, he sought relief in the perusal 
 of the poets, and the composition of verses. In 
 1539, he took his degree, and repaired to Paris. 
 One of his uncles, gratified by his attainments, 
 procured for him two benefices, worth seven
 
 BEZA. 383 
 
 hundred crowns, and promised him a third, of 
 the value of five thousand. 
 
 By the death of his brother, Beza became 
 the heir of his family. Surrounded by riches 
 and pleasures, he abandoned himself to the 
 fascinations which they presented. In the midst 
 of these scenes of gaiety and of intemperance, 
 the wholesome instructions of Wolmar recurred 
 to his mind with authority and impression, and 
 quitting Paris, he retired to Geneva, in the year 
 1548, accompanied by his friend, John Crispin. 
 
 Upon his arrival at Geneva, he embraced 
 the reformation, and publicly espoused the per- 
 son to whom he had long been attached ; in- 
 fluenced by gratitude, he soon after visited his 
 respected master, Wolmar. 
 
 He had no sooner returned to Geneva, than 
 the senate of Berne appointed him Professor 
 of Greek, in the academy of Lausanne,, where 
 he composed in French verse, a drama, entitled 
 .Abraham sacrifiant, which procured him con- 
 siderable reputation. At the request of the 
 French refugees, he explained the Epistle to 
 the Romans, and those of Peter ; at the 
 same period, he projected the edition of the 
 New Testament, which he presented to the 
 public in the year 1556.
 
 384 HISTORICAL APPENDIX. 
 
 At the pressing solicitation of Calvin, Beza 
 undertook to finish the work of Marot upon 
 the Psalms, and to translate into French verse, 
 those which the poet had left unfinished ; this 
 undertaking he executed with success : the 
 French churches adopted them universally,, and 
 they were printed with the permission of the 
 King of France, in 1561. 
 
 The occupations of this laborious man were 
 not always equally useful or honourable to 
 himself; in 1554, he published a book, De 
 H&reticis a Magistrate gladio puniendis, in 
 answer to Faustus Socinus, and especially to 
 Sebastian Castalio, who had, in the year 1554, 
 printed a work, entitled De H&reticis gladia 
 non puniendis. Castalio had in this work, 
 urged some of the principal arguments in 
 favour of tolerance ; the fate of Servetus in- 
 duced him to write that work, to which Christian 
 charity affixed her seal. Beza's apology for 
 the council of Geneva in the affair of Servetus, 
 was strictly in unison with the spirit which 
 predominated throughout Europe ; let us, how- 
 ever, congratulate ourselves upon being born in 
 an age in which intolerance is become revolting, 
 and its apology a mark of infamy. 
 
 Beza was employed, in the year 1 558, with 
 Farel and Jean Bude, to solicit the protestant
 
 BEZA. 
 
 385 
 
 princes of Germany to use their intercession 
 with the King- of France, in behalf of those 
 Frenchmen who had embraced the reformation, 
 and who were at that time cruelly persecuted. 
 It was on this occasion that the Genevese theo- 
 logian enjoyed the satisfaction of meeting at 
 Francfort, the pious, the amiable Melancthon. 
 
 On his return, Calvin persuaded Beza to 
 apply for his release to the senate of Berne, 
 who reluctantly complied with his request. 
 Beza immediately repaired to Geneva, in order 
 to cultivate the society of his friend, whose 
 wisdom and prudence he closely copied. With 
 a view to attach so useful a person to the re- 
 public, the council presented him with his free- 
 dom, in the month of April, 1559 ; in the month 
 of May, he was admitted one of the pastors, and 
 in June, appointed Professor of Theology, and 
 principal of the academy which had been 
 recently founded. 
 
 Held in the highest consideration throughout 
 Europe, some French noblemen endeavoured to 
 attract him to the court of the King of Navarre, 
 with a view to his disseminating the principles 
 of the reformation there : the Prince of Conde, 
 and the King of Navarre himself, applied to the 
 council of Geneva to spare him. He departed, 
 and was received with respect by those exalted 
 
 c c
 
 386 HISTORICAL APPENDIX. 
 
 characters, who, while they honoured religion, 
 reflected the highest honour upon themselves; 
 and who believed they were contributing most 
 effectually to the happiness of the people, by 
 diffusing among them that truth, the value of 
 which they had themselves experienced. 
 
 From some of Beza's letters to Calvin,, it 
 appears that he met with a very flattering* recep- 
 tion from the King of Navarre and the Prince 
 of Conde ; he observes also, that Catherine 
 talked to him with interest about Calvin, his 
 afflictions, and his works. Beza displayed a 
 noble courage in informing that princess of the 
 cruelties exercised against the protestants ; he 
 had even a conversation at St. Germains, on the 
 23d of August, with the Cardinal de Lorraine, 
 in the queen's apartment, which appeared to 
 justify the warmest hopes of an amicable re- 
 union; they were, however, lamentably disap- 
 pointed at the conference of Poissy, which was 
 opened on the 4th of September, by a French 
 discourse pronounced by Beza, and which was 
 universally admired. 
 
 The unfavourable result of the conference 
 of Poissy did not prevent the adoption of a 
 similar attempt to harmonize the contending 
 parties. The queen, who felt the importance 
 of terminating these contests, endeavoured to
 
 BEZA. 
 
 387 
 
 procure another conference between the catholic 
 doctors, and the protestant divines ; but the 
 discussion terminated in a manner similar to that 
 of Poissy. 
 
 Whilst these attempts at union by means 
 of controversial discussion were being made, 
 the protestants were massacred at Vassy, and 
 a civil war, with all its horrors, became inevi- 
 table. Beza, affected by the death of the 
 forty-five protestants who, unarmed, had been 
 assassinated, in defiance of the laws which pro- 
 tected them, and which secured to them the 
 privileges of public worship, followed the 
 Prince of Conde in all his marches, cheered 
 him by his letters when in prison, and re-ani- 
 mated the protestants, who were dispirited by 
 their defeats. Deeply attached to his unhappy 
 countrymen, he refused to quit them until 1563, 
 after the signing of the peace. 
 
 Returning to Geneva, Beza resumed his 
 functions of professor and of pastor. In 1564, 
 he was deeply afflicted by the death of Calvin, 
 who had proved constantly his friend and coun- 
 sellor. Beza succeeded to the employments 
 of his colleague, and learned to merit his 
 credit and reputation. 
 
 What extraordinary men are we pourtray-
 
 388 
 
 HISTORICAL APPENDIX. 
 
 ing ! Whilst others have been ambitious of 
 command, without possessing any title to it, 
 these men appear to have avoided it, though 
 possessed of interest to secure, and of talents to 
 exercise it. Farel invites Calvin to Geneva, 
 though certain of being eclipsed by the talents 
 of his friend ; Calvin refuses to become rector 
 of the academy, and procures the appointment 
 for Beza ; Beza, in his turn, refuses the presi- 
 dency of the ecclesiastical assembly which Cal- 
 vin had possessed ; declaring that such a dis- 
 tinction was well adapted to the superior talents 
 of him who had preceded him, but that he 
 ought not to aspire to it; adding, farther, a 
 recommendation that the appointment might be 
 made annual: his request was complied with; 
 but he was chosen Principal Moderator (the 
 name given to the president) : he was thus 
 annually confirmed in this character. 
 
 The war being rekindled in 1567, Beza 
 assisted the reformed churches of France, by 
 his counsels and his prayers ; in 1568, he 
 furnished an asylum for many of the French 
 who fled from persecution. In addition to the 
 grief which he suffered on account of the 
 afflicted state of France, he experienced a 
 farther trial in the loss of his brother and of his 
 brother-in-law, by the plague ; but having been 
 called into France by some family arrangements.
 
 BEZA. 389 
 
 he had the satisfaction to snatch from a convent, 
 one of his sisters, who had entered into it. 
 
 These multiplied occupations and frequent 
 interruptions did not prevent Beza from edify- 
 ing the church by his sermons, instructing a 
 great number of students by his lectures, and 
 carrying on an extended correspondence: -his 
 celebrity in France was so great, that he was 
 consulted on all important affairs. The Queen 
 of Navarre, the princes, and especially the 
 admiral, entreated the council, in 1571, to 
 permit Beza to preside at Rochelle, in a general 
 synod of all the reformed churches in France. 
 The confession of faith of the churches of 
 France was then confirmed ; it was also signed 
 by the Queen of Navarre, by Henry IV. and by 
 the Prince de Conde; two copies were taken, 
 one of which was deposited at Rochelle, the 
 other in the archives of Geneva. 
 
 After the execrable massacre of St. Bartho- 
 lomew's day, in which seventy thousand protes- 
 tants were murdered, Beza exerted himself to 
 support those of the French whom the fear of 
 death and the love of religion banished from 
 France; he interested in their behalf the 
 princes of Germany, and several foreigners of 
 rank; he also founded a French hospital in 
 Geneva: Beza placed the funds which he had
 
 390 HISTORICAL APPENDIX. 
 
 accumulated for this purpose, in the hands of 
 the ecclesiastical assembly, who committed to 
 him the principal direction. 
 
 Endowed eminently with a public spirit, 
 and supplied with that persevering energy which 
 surmounts all obstacles, the valuable life of 
 Beza ranked high among his contemporaries as 
 a public blessing; and secured for him an im- 
 perishable monument in the gratitude of pos- 
 teriiy. At the advanced age of eighty-six, he 
 terminated, with serenity and confidence, a life 
 of piety and of faith, and entered into the joy 
 of his Lord.
 
 INDEX. 
 
 KJi 
 
 ANABAPTISTS, Calvin's attack on the - - 55 
 
 Appendix, historical - - - 285 
 
 Baldwin, Calvin's reply to - - 113 
 
 Bertelier, Calvin's conduct toward - 6 
 
 Beza (Theodore), his birth and education 3S2 
 
 ' ' publishes several works 383 
 
 presented with the freedom of Geneva - 385 
 
 succeeds Calvin at Geneva - 387 
 
 exertions in the Reformation 388 
 
 death 390 
 
 Bolzec, confutation of, by Calvin - 73 
 
 Bucer, death of - /I 
 
 Calvin, his birth and education - 27 
 
 ' application to the study of the law - 3O 
 
 reasons for quitting that profession - 33 
 
 publishes his Commentary on Seneca - - ib. 
 
 arrival and reception at Paris - 34 
 
 publishes his Institutes 39 
 
 his journey to Italy - - 40 
 
 settlement at Geneva - 42 
 
 banishment - 45 
 
 removal to Strasburg - 46 
 
 . attachment to Geneva - - 47 
 
 .' re-publishes his Christian Institutes - - ib. 
 
 assists at the diet of Eatisbonne 48 
 
 returns to Geneva - 49 
 
 revises the ecclesiastical Ordinances 5O 
 
 composes a Catechism - 51
 
 392 INDEX. 
 
 Page 
 
 Calvin, his labours - - 51 
 
 refutes the Pope - 53 
 
 acquaintance and public disputes with Castallio 54, 57 
 
 repels the attacks of Pighius - 55 
 
 attacks the Anabaptists T 56 
 
 assists the Vaudois ----- 57 
 
 condemns the Nicodemites 59 
 
 letter to Luther - 6O 
 
 . zeal against immorality - 63 
 
 accused of teaching false doctrines - 64 
 
 procures the release of Ami Perrin 65 
 
 composes his work L' Antidote - 67 
 
 composes his Commentary on St. Paul 68 
 
 faction revived against 7 1 
 
 publicly confutes Bolzec - 73 
 
 examination of his conduct to Servetus 76 
 
 refuses the sacrament to Bertelier gQ 
 
 behaviour to the Protestants 97 
 
 i composes his Commentary on St. John - il. 
 
 attacked with a fever 100 
 
 the means of founding a college 107 
 
 . presented with the freedom of Geneva 109 
 
 attacked with a quartan ague - ib. 
 
 re-publishes his Institutes - 110 
 
 refutes Stancarus Mantoiian 111 
 
 replies to several heretics - 112 
 
 __ . Tileman Hesusius ib. 
 
 5s sumjnoned before the council of Geneva ib. 
 
 . replies to a work of Baldwin's - 113 
 
 attacked with the gout 114 
 
 . unremitting in his exertions 115 
 
 , carried to the church - - 118 
 
 .. receives the sacrament - - - - 11.9 
 
 his last will - 120 
 
 farewell address to the Syndics - ] 25 
 
 exhortation to the ministers 131 
 
 letter to Farel - 133 
 
 composure in the prospect of death - 134
 
 INDEX. 393 
 
 Pag. 
 
 Calvin, bis death 130 
 
 burial ----- - 137 
 
 ' < epitaph ------- . 
 
 character - 138 
 
 ditto, by Morus - - - 154 
 
 writings, memoirs of - 167 
 
 testimonies to the excellencies of - - 173 
 
 character as an author - ... 168 
 
 account of his Institutes - - - - 173 
 
 epitome of ditto - - - - - 181 
 on the knowledge of a God - it. 
 
 on the creation of Man - - 1QO 
 
 on the immortality of the soul - - 123 
 
 on the moral law - - - - .198 
 
 on election - - ... 214 
 
 on reprobation ----- 232 
 
 ... on original sin - - 24O 
 
 on free will ----- 246 
 
 ' on justification ----- 263 
 . "' on perseverance .... 275 
 Castallio, his acquaintance with Calvin - 54 
 
 - public dispute with ditto - - 54, 74 
 Catharine a Bora, Luther's marriage with - - 353 
 Charles V. his accession to the throne - - 1 2 
 
 his arrival at Augsburg - 17 
 
 Clement VII. his accession to the papal see - - 13 
 
 Cranmer (Thomas), his birth and education - - 367 
 
 procures the translation of the Bible - - 368 
 
 committed to the tower - - 370 
 1 found guilty of high-treason - il>. 
 
 death - - 374 
 
 Denmark, progress of the Reformation in - 16 
 
 Edward III. Wickliffe's defence of - - 286 
 
 Election, on the doctrine of - - 214 
 
 . England, progress of the Reformation in - - 19 
 
 persecution in - 99
 
 39* INDEX. 
 
 Pagre 
 
 Erasmus (Desiderius), his birth and education 305 
 
 publishes his New Testament - 305 
 
 his death and burial ... 399 
 
 Farel, persecution of-- - - - - gQ 
 
 Calvin's letter to - - 133 
 
 France, progress of the Reformation in - - - 16 
 
 persecution in - 101 
 
 Free-will, on - 246 
 
 Geneva, plague in------ 57 
 
 " union of Zurich and - (jg 
 
 Gentilis, character of 103 
 
 errors of - H,. 
 
 God, on the knowledge of-- - - -181 
 
 Gruet, death of--- - - _ _ QQ 
 
 
 Henry VIII. his attack on Luther - 340 
 
 Hesusius, reply of Calvin to - - 112 
 
 Huss (John), his birth and education - 289 
 
 cited to appear before the Pope - H. 
 
 excommunicated - j^ 
 
 -> summoned to appear at Constance - - 290 
 
 condemned and burnt alive - H,. 
 
 Introduction . ! 
 
 Intolerance, on-- - - _ . _ IQQ 
 
 Ireland, progress of the Reformation in -22 
 
 Jerome (of Prague), his birth and education 291 
 
 1 embraces the opinions of John Huss ib. 
 
 ' recants - ... j# t 
 
 renounces his recantation - ib. 
 ' his trial and defence - - 292 
 
 condemned and burnt alive - - 302 
 
 Judgment, the right of private - 105 
 
 Justification, on - - * 263
 
 INDEX. 595 
 
 Pag 
 
 Knox (John), his birth and education - - 377 
 
 zeal for the Reformation - - 3/8 
 
 character - - 38O 
 
 death - -381 
 
 Leo X. his accession to the papal see - 4 
 Luther (Martin), Calvin's letter to - - 60 
 his birth and education - 31O 
 
 - account of his labours - - ib. 
 
 summoned to appear before- Cajetan - 317 
 
 required to recant - 318 
 
 refuses, and leaves Augsburg - 319 
 
 condemned as a heretic - - - 321 
 
 summoned before the diet at Worms - 335 
 
 seized and carried prisoner to Wartburg - 333 
 
 his spirited reply - - - 341 
 
 returns to Wittemberg - - 342 
 
 publishes his New Testament - 343- 
 
 effect of his writings at Rome - 344 
 
 marriage with Catharine a Bora - 353 
 
 death - 356 
 
 ' character - - - - - j&. 
 
 Mantolian, the doctrines of 111 
 
 Man, on the creation of 1 90 
 
 Melancthon (Philip), his birth and education - 362 
 
 support of Luther - - 363 
 
 character of, by Mosheim - 364 
 
 death - 366 
 
 Moral law, on the - - - 198 
 
 Nicodemites, Calvin's condemnation of the - 59 
 
 Paris, persecution in - 37 
 
 Pighius, confuted by Calvin 55 
 
 Perrin, release of 65 
 
 Perseverance, on 275 
 
 Pope, refutation of the - - 53 
 
 Protestants, Calvin's behaviour to the 97
 
 396 INDEX. 
 
 Page 
 
 Reprobation, on the doctrine of - - 232 
 
 Scotland, progress of the Reformation in 22 
 
 Sin, on original - - - - - 24O 
 
 Servetus, Calvin's conduct toward 76 
 
 sentence against - 86 
 
 death of - 88 
 
 Soul, on the immortality of the - - > }Q3 
 
 Truth, triumph of - -75 
 
 Vadian, death of - - - 71 
 
 Vaudois, assisted by Calvin 57 
 
 Vassy, massacre at - 386 
 
 Wickliffe (John), his birth and education - - 285 
 
 publishes a defence of Edward III. - 286 
 
 his Truth of the Scriptures - 287 
 .. Sixteen Conclusions - - tl. 
 
 death and burial - - - t. 
 
 Zurich, union of Geneva and 69 
 
 THE END, 
 
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