ioo THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



prisoner prevailed in the court ; the Swiss churches, which on a simi- 

 lar occasion had decided against Calvin, were appealed to for advice, 

 and the proceedings were postponed. It is pitiful to see how Calvin 

 had set his heart on the condemnation of Servetus. He interfered with 

 the course of justice by threatening the weakest among the judges, 

 by stirring the feelings of his party in the council ; he denounced and 

 vilified his opponent from the pulpit in no measured terms, exposing 

 his opinions in their most glaring and repulsive aspects ; lie tampered 

 with the ministers of the Swiss churches ; he formulated new and more 

 elaborate articles of accusation, and to these, besides his own, had the 

 signatures of thirteen of his fellow-ministers appended in one word, 

 he left no stone unturned to wreak his revenge. He wanted Servetus's 

 death ! The arguments and authorities piled against him by Calvin 

 were so many, and the proceedings became so intricate, that Servetus 

 was forced to request that he might be furnished with books, and have 

 pen, ink, and paper, supplied, in which to epitomize his defense. The 

 jailer was directed to give him the books he wanted, and a single sheet 

 of paper ! 



On this "famous" sheet, Servetus, after demonstrating that civil 

 tribunals are incompetent to decide on questions bearing on religion 

 only, and that heretics were either to be brought to reason by argu- 

 ment, or punished by banishment, and not by prison, concludes : 



"Secondly, my lords, I entreat you to consider that I have committed no 

 offense within your territory ; neither, indeed, have I been guilty of any else- 

 where : I have never been seditious, and am no disturber of the peace. During 

 all the time I passed in Germany, I never spoke on such subjects" (his theological 

 views), "save with (Ecolampadius, Bucer, and Capito; neither in France did I 

 ever enter on them with any one. I have always disavowed the opinions of 

 the Anabaptists, seditious against the magistrate, and preaching community of 

 goods. Wherefore, as I have been guilty of no sort of sedition, but have only 

 brought up for discussion certain ancient doctrines of the Church, I think I ought 

 not to be detained a prisoner, and made the subject of a criminal prosecution. 



" In conclusion, my lords, inasmuch as I am a stranger, ignorant of the cus- 

 toms of this country, not knowing either how to speak or to comport myself in 

 the circumstances under which I am placed, I humbly beseech you to assign me 

 an advocate to speak for me in my defense." 



If a shadow T of justice had ruled the trial, this petition would have 

 met with success ; but the court took no notice of it. " Skilled in lying 

 as he is," said the attorney-general, Calvin's tool, "there is no reason 

 why he should now demand an advocate." 



After the sitting of September 1st, in compliance with a wish pre- 

 viously expressed by the court, Calvin, surrounded by a staff of min- 

 isters, proceeded to the jail to visit the prisoner. Calvin having then 

 opened upon him with a bigoted lecture, the consequences are easily 

 imagined: the interview' ended as it could only end with increased 

 irritation on both sides. From this time (and we cannot but excuse 

 the man), Servetus became more intemperate and aggressive on Cal- 



