CALVIN. 



821 



who strengthened the inclination for innovations al- 

 ready awakened in him by Olivetan. In 1532 he re- 

 turned to Paris, and resigned his benefices. In the 

 same year he published a Latin commentary upon the 

 two books of Seneca, De dementia, in which he called 

 himself by his Latinized name, Johannes Calvin its, 

 and was obliged, in 1533, to flee from Paris, because 

 his friend Michael Cop, rector of the university, was 

 persecuted on account of a discourse in favoui of the 

 new doctrine, in which he was suspected of having 

 participated. C. took refuge in the house of Du Tit- 

 let, a canon at Angouleme, with whom he quietly 

 pursued his studies, and began to collect the materials 

 for his Christian Institution, which appeared two years 

 afterwards. Thence he went to Nerac, to queen 

 Margaret of Navarre, the sister of Francis I., who, not 

 so much from a decided inclination for the new doc- 

 trine, as from love for science, afforded refuge to se- 

 veral learned men, who were obliged to leave France 

 on account of their opinions. C. was very well re- 

 ceived by her, and here became acquainted with se- 

 veral men, who, at a future time, were useful to his 

 party ; returned to Paris, but, in 1534, was again 

 obliged to leave France. 



He retired to Bale, where he published his Chris- 

 tian Institution, as the confession of faith of those who 

 were persecuted in France, and condemned to the 

 stake ; in which it was his design to free them from 

 the calumny, which had been circulated from political 

 motives, that they were rebels and Anabaptists, and 

 had nothing in common with the Lutheran doctrine. 

 It would be difficult briefly to relate how he went far- 

 ther than Luther in regard to the doctrine of free 

 will, of imputative justice, and the merit of good 

 works ; but it is more easy to display the bold conse- 

 quences which he drew from his doctrines. He at- 

 tacked not only the supremacy of the pope, but even 

 the authority of general councils ; he does not recog- 

 nize the character of a bishop or a priest any more 

 than that of a visible head of the church ; he permits 

 no vows but those of baptism, and no sacraments but 

 those of baptism and the Lord's supper ; even these he 

 does not regard as indispensable to salvation. The mass 

 is to him a profanation, and the honours paid to the 

 saints idolatry. This work, Institutio Christiana Religi- 

 onity appeared afterwards in French, and almost every 

 year was published by him with emendations and ad- 

 ditions. The most complete edition was published 

 by Robert Stephens, in 1559. The prefixed Prcefatio 

 ad Christianissimum regem, qua hie ei liber pro con- 

 fessione fidei qffertur, could not, however, put an end 

 to the religious persecutions in France ; since Francis 

 I., although far from being actuated by religious fan- 

 aticism, was influenced, by political views, to continue 

 them. 



Calvin then went to Italy, to preach his doctrine 

 there, and met with a favourable reception from the 

 duchess Renata of France, the daughter of Louis 

 XII., and wife of Ercole d'Este, who subsequently 

 professed her belief in his doctrines. But he was 

 obliged to save himself by a hasty flight from Aosta, 

 where he was discovered. He returned to Paris 

 about the middle of the year 1536. Since, however, 

 he could not live there in security, he resolved to go 

 to Bale, and took the road through Geneva, where, a 

 year before, the new doctrine had been introduced by 

 a formal decree of the government, and Farel was 

 very active in effecting its establishment. With him 

 C. united himself, and, soon after, undertook a course 

 of theological instruction, to which he devoted himself 

 exclusively, while he left the pulpit to Farel. They 

 attempted to reform the manners of the inhabitants ; 

 but this enterprise, in which they had connected 

 themselves with an equally zealous, but less able 

 preacher, drew upon them a crowd of powerful ene- 



mies, by whom they were at last overthrown. The 

 cause of this was the following : the Genevan church 

 made use of leavened bread in the eucharist, and had 

 removed the baptismal font from the church, and, 

 moreover, abolished all holy-days, except the Sabbath. 

 These innovations were not approved by the synod 

 of Lausanne. The magistracy of Geneva required 

 Farel and C. to comply with the decision of the 

 synod, and commanded them, on their refusal, to 

 leave the city in three days. This happened in April, 

 J 538. They went to Berne ; and, since the exertions 

 of the magistracy of Berne and of the synod of Zuricli 

 could not effect their recall, C. went to Strasburg, 

 where Luther's doctrine had been introduced by 

 Bucer ten years before. Bucer received him very 

 kindly, and caused him to be appointed professor of 

 theology. At the same time, he obtained permission 

 to erect a French church, which, on account of the 

 great number of fugitives from France, was very 

 impoitant. Notwithstanding the great esteem in 

 which he was held here, his views were still directed 

 to Geneva ; the inhabitants of which he exhorted, in 

 two letters, to remain true to the new doctrine, when 

 cardinal Sadolet invited them to return into the bo- 

 som of the church. Here, also, in 1 540, C. published 

 his work on the Lord's supper, in which he sought to 

 refute both the opinion of Luther, who took this 

 sacrament in the literal sense, and that of Zuinglius 

 (q. v.), who understood it typically. In a conference 

 held at Zurich in 1549, he first declared himself, un- 

 conditionally, in favour of the opinion of the latter. 



At last, in 1541, his friends in Geneva succeeded 

 in effecting his recall; a particular deputation be- 

 sought the magistracy of Strasburg to restore him to 

 his former flock. But, as C. was appointed a deputy 

 to the diet at Frankfort, and was afterwards obliged 

 to be present at the conference at Ratisbon, he was 

 not able to return to Geneva till September of the 

 same year. He now laid before the council the draft 

 of his ordinances respecting church discipline, which 

 were immediately accepted, and published in Novem- 

 ber. In pursuance of the provisions of these, a con- 

 sistory was formed, composed half of clergymen, half 

 of laymen, in order to watch " over the support of 

 the pure doctrine," and over morals. This tribunal 

 called every body, without exception, to account for 

 their slightest words and actions, and referred cases, 

 where ecclesiastical censure was not sufficient, to the 

 council, with an opinion upon them. Thus Calvin 

 made himself director of the conduct, as well as of 

 the opinions, of the Genevans. His spirit governed 

 exclusively in the council as in the consistory, and 

 the judges never hesitated to punish every one who 

 set himself in opposition to him. Thus a magistrate 

 was deposed and condemned to two months' imprison- 

 ment, " because his life was irregular, and he was 

 connected with the enemies of Calvin." James Gruet 

 was beheaded, " because he had written profane let- 

 ters and obscene verses, and endeavoured to overthrow 

 the ordinances of the church." Opinions were judged 

 with equal severity. It is well known, that Michael 

 Servetus, on his passage through Geneva, in 1553. 

 was arrested, and, on Calvin's accusation, was burnt 

 alive, because he had attacked the mystery of the 

 Trinity in a book which was neither written nor 

 printed at Geneva. Numerous other similar examples 

 might be adduced, to prove the blind and fanatical 

 zeal which he had infused into the magistracy ot 

 Geneva, for the support of good morals, and of what 

 he esteemed sound doctrine ; and, by this means, he 

 succeeded in putting a check upon innovations, and 

 upon the spirit of inquiry, and in introducing a cha- 

 racter of austerity among his adherents. He also 

 proposed alterations in the civil legislation of the 

 Genevans, and in the form of their government, in 



