SERVETUS. 



of the church, condemned in private the reigning fuper- 

 ftitions, to which, however, they readily conformed in 

 pubh'c. Whether Servetus was inftrufted by any of thefe, 

 or whether his own opinions were the refult of inveftigation, 

 cannot be afcertained : it is certain, that he did not think 

 it prudent to divulge them in France, and therefore re- 

 tired to Germany, where a much greater liberty of con- 

 fcience was allowed and aflVrtcd, and where feveral princes 

 fecretly favoured the bold attacks on the popedom. He 

 went through Lyons and Geneva to Switzerland, and fixed 

 his refidence at Bafil in the year 15^0. Here he was on 

 a footing of friendly intimacy with CEcolampadius, with 

 whom he often converfcd about various religious topics, but 

 to whofe peculiar opinions he would not yield, in the 

 fmalleft degree, any notions which he had previoudy 

 adopted. The unbending difpofition with regard to mat- 

 ters of fmall moment, alienated many perfons from Servetus 

 who had formed a high opinion of his talents and integrity. 

 While he was at Bafil, he put into the hands of a book- 

 feller a manufcript, " De Trinitatis Erroribus," which 

 was printed in the year IJ31. Servetus now went to 

 Stralburg, in which city he became acquainted with two 

 reformers, viz. Capito and Bucerus. Here he fearched 

 for opportunities to communicate his religious tenets to his 

 new acquaintances, and here he learned that his work had 

 excited a confiderable fenfation among people of all dalles. 

 He was aware that he had, in many refpefts, treated the 

 fubjeft too imperfedly ; and had made ufe of exprefiions 

 that were liable to give offence; he accordingly, in the fol- 

 lowing year, endeavoured to foften the unfavourable ini- 

 preffion, and to avert a ftorm that feemed threatening to 

 fall upon him, by publiihing a work entitled " Dialogorum 

 de Trinitate Libri duo," in which he explained and de- 

 fended his opinions. The confequences of this fecond piece 

 was, that many were exafperated againft the author, wliile 

 a few adopted his doftrines and fpread them abroad. CEco- 

 lampadius requefted his friend Bucer to inform Luther, 

 that Servetus'! book had been publifhed without their 

 knowledge, in order that it might not be fuppofcd they 

 had given any countenance to the propagation of the offen- 

 five tenets. And Melanchthon, in fpeaking at this time of 

 Servetus, fays, " He wants neither acutenefs nor cunning 

 in difputing, but I cannot allow him energy. He has, 

 moreover, as it appears to me, confufed imaginations, 

 neither is he able fnfficiently to explain his thoughts with 

 prccifion. He unqueilionably fpeaks like a madman about 

 juftification ; about the Trinity, -r?ji rr,; -r^txao-:, you know 

 that I have been always apprehenfive that fimilar things 

 fooner or later would break out. Good God ! what trage- 

 dies will this queltion excite among potlerity." 



The circumllances of Servetus being low, he engaged 

 for fome time with the Frellons, eminent bookfellers" at 

 LyoHS, as correftor of the prefs. From Lyons he went 

 to Paris, where he iludied phyfic under the celebrated 

 Sylvius, Fernehus, and other profelTors ; and, as we (hall 

 have occafion to remark hereafter, he carried into that 

 fcience the fame penetrating fpirit and love of improvement 

 which dillinguilhed him in theology. He graduated at 

 Paris, and being invelled with this honour, he delivered 

 public leftures in geography and fome branches of mathe- 

 matics, while he followed the profeffion of a phyfician. 

 At Paris he quarrelled with the faculty, and wrote an 

 " Apology," which was fuppreffed by the pariiament. 

 After quitting that capital he praclifcd phyfic at Charlieu, 

 near Lyons, whence, at the invitation of the archbifhop of 

 Vienne, he removed to that city, and had apartments near 

 3 



the palace. He had, previoufly to this, -u/a. in i^4iy 

 fuperintended the printing of a Latin Bible at Lyons, to 

 which he added marginal notes, under the name of Villa- 

 novanus. 



During this time, Servetus was in conftant correfpond- 

 ence with Calvin, with whom he difcufied various pomts of 

 controverfy, and to whom he opened himlelf freely and 

 without referve concerning his particular notions, and con- 

 fulted him refpefting his writings. Calvin afterwards made 

 a bafe ufe of this confidence, by aftually producing his let- 

 ters and manufcripts as matter of accufation againft him on his 

 trial. It muft not, however, be concealed, that Calvin does 

 not appear to have encouraged Servetus to this expofition of 

 his fentiments, for he frequently fent him iii reply angry 

 and fevere letters. In 1553, Servetus publifhed his matured 

 theological fyftem under the title of " Chriftianifmi Reihtu- 

 tio." Confcious of the danger to the author of fuch a 

 work in a Catholic country he concealed his name, but 

 Calvin took care that the magillrates of Vienne fliould be 

 informed of it. He was in confequence thrown into prifon, 

 and his death would have added an example to the num- 

 berlefs cruelties of Roman Catholic perfecutions, had he 

 not made his efcape. His effigy and his books were con. 

 demned to the flames. Seri'etus, purpofing to go to Naples 

 to praftife in his profefiion, im.prudentty went through 

 Geneva. Calvin, who was acquainted with the plans of the 

 traveller, and who was on the watch to entrap him, gave 

 information to the magillrates the moment he arrived within 

 the gates of the city. He was accordingly feized, thrown 

 into prifon, and a charge of blafpheniy and herefy was 

 preferred againil him by Calvin's own fervant. In order 

 to enfure conviction and condemnation, no lefs than thirty- 

 eight articles of accufation were brought againil him, for 

 which not only his lad work, but all his other writings were 

 ranfacked. As a proof of the malice and unfairnefs with 

 which he was treated, it is mentioned that one of the charges 

 was extrafted from his preface to an edition of Ptolemy's 

 Geography, publifhed twenty years before, in which he 

 had aflerted, that Judea had been falfely extolled for its 

 beauty and fertility, fince modern travellers had found it 

 to be fterile and unfightly. That no doubt might be left 

 whence the profecution came, one of the main articles 

 againft the prifoner was, that in the perfon of Mr. Calvin, 

 minifter of the word of God in the church of Geneva, he 

 had defamed the doftrine preached in it, uttering all ima- 

 ginable injurious and blafphemous words againil it. 



Servetus, in the firft examination, repelled with firmnefs 

 every accufation, though he avowed that he publifhed in 

 Germany his book " De Trinitatis Erroribus ;" in France 

 his " Reftitutio Chriftianifmi," together with Ptolemsus, 

 and the edition of Pagnini's bible. At the fecond examin- 

 ation, he acknowledged, when urged to confefs the truth, 

 fome of the articles brought againft him in regard to his 

 publications, denied others, and hefitated to explain him- 

 felf more plainly upon others. But when he was again 

 queftioned, " why he had flandeied Calvin, and lacerated 

 the Chrillian doftrine ?" he protefted that Calvin had been 

 the aggrelfor, and that if he had recriminated it was done in 

 felf-defence ; which plea was deemed by his judges as an 

 aggravation of his offence. 



The magillrates of Geneva were, however, fenfible that 

 many eyes were upon them in this extraordinary proceed- 1 

 ing, with refpeft to one who was no fubjetl of their's, nor | 

 a refident in their city, nor could he be acculed of having 

 committed any offence in their territory, and within their 

 jurifdiftion. He was, in truth, kidnapped in his pafl'age. 



Moreover, 



