Chapter XII.
Calvin Returns To Geneva.
After the banishment of Calvin and Farel, Geneva became a prey to moral and religious disturbances, and political perils which increased in significance from day to day. The Libertines were now in power, and, in a somewhat cynical manner, they put forward their ideas, their immoral doctrines, and their aims. Of the four syndics who called themselves members of the Reformed Church, one refused to be present at the reformed worship, another said that mass was not to be despised, and a third allowed it to be seen that he thought the supremacy of Berne might be advantageous to Geneva. The confession of faith which had been carried four years previously was attacked at a meeting of the Council. Education was not better treated than religion. A college had been established at the request of Calvin, and possessed a principal and professors who were pious and able men, acknowledged as such in Switzerland, and even in France; they were requested to preside at the sacramental tables, and to conform to the Bernese rites which Calvin and Farel had rejected. They also refused to do this, saying moreover that they had been engaged to teach pupils at the college and not to take part in religious services. They received orders to leave the city in three days, they and their families, and had great difficulty in obtaining permission to delay their departure for a fortnight. There were most outrageous displays of licentiousness and violence in the streets of the city, both by night and day. The pious and orderly citizens were alarmed and excited; they protested in vain against the immorality, and demanded that the banished pastors should be allowed to return and explain the motives of their conduct. The Government of Berne was also uneasy as to the state of Geneva, and sent envoys who supported this request. The syndics presented it to the General Council of the citizens, saying: 'Let those who wish the banished ministers to return to the city, that they may explain their conduct and resume their functions, hold up their hands!' Only four persons had the courage to do so, and the crowd immediately rushed upon these friends of the banished men, crying out: 'To the Rhone with the Williamists!' [Footnote 82]
[Footnote 82: William was the Christian name of Farel.]
In the presence of such facts as these, the hopes of the ancient Catholic rulers of Geneva began to revive, and its last bishop, Pierre de la Baume (who had been made cardinal), the Duke of Savoy, and the Pope (Paul III.) prepared themselves for fresh efforts. A conference was established at Lyons, consisting of three cardinals and six archbishops or bishops, the object of which was to seek and put into operation means whereby the ancient Catholic religion might be re-established in Geneva. There was no lack of partisans or agents in Geneva itself. In addition to the danger from the hopes of the Catholics, the city was threatened by the ambition of foreign states, especially by that of Berne, which had many adherents in Geneva. Conspiracy, sedition, trials, and political executions were added to religious dissensions: national independence was in as great danger as the Reformed Church.
Calvin's friends kept him well informed as to the position of affairs, and when he left Geneva he bore in his heart a very deep affection for the city in which he had first planted the banner of his cause. But neither the illusions of affection, nor the sorrows of exile, could blind his judgment with regard to what the conduct of his friends ought to be during their trials; and he unfailingly counselled moderation, patience, prudence, perseverance in their work, and that they should abide in the city where they had so much difficulty in performing it. There was to be no open schism, no voluntary separation, no abandonment of their native and national church, however gloomy the situation of that church might be, and however inefficient the pastors who ministered in the name of Christ. 'We must not,' he said, 'take offence at certain defects of doctrine, for where is the church which is altogether pure and perfect in this respect? It is enough that the grand and essential truths, on which God has founded his church, keep their place and are generally received.'
At the same time that he gave such wise advice, he endeavoured to keep up the courage of the believers, and to raise their hopes: 'Always turn, my beloved brethren, to this consolation; although the wicked strive to destroy your church, although your sins have merited more punishment than you can endure, yet the Lord will put an end to the chastisements which he has inflicted for your good. Consider your enemies; you will see that all their ways lead to confusion, although they may have achieved their desire.' [Footnote 83]
[Footnote 83: Stähelin, ii. 286-290. Gaberel, ii. 304.]
In proportion as the immorality increased and the dangers became more apparent, a powerful reaction took place among the citizens of Geneva; the Libertines lost credit, and orderly and pious men resumed the position they had formerly held. The idea gained ground rapidly that the best remedy for all evils would be to recall Calvin and Farel, and openly to submit to their authority. A bookseller, one of Calvin's friends, was the first to inform him of the existence of this feeling. Calvin wrote immediately to Farel: 'Do what you can to prevent the thing from making progress, for I will not return. I would a thousand times rather die than allow myself to be nailed again to that cross, where my blood would flow daily from a thousand wounds. Certainly I rejoice at the tidings, but who knows if these men are truly converted and united together in the Lord? Unless it is so, this peace will be very soon broken again.' The idea of recalling Calvin made rapid progress at Geneva. On the 21st of September, 1540, the Council of State requested Ami Perrin, one of his faithful adherents, to find the means of inducing him to return. On the 20th of October the General Assembly voted that 'in order to promote the increase and advancement of the Word of God it was decreed to seek and send for Master John Calvin, who is a very learned man, to be the evangelical minister in this city.' On the 22d a pressing official letter was addressed to him: 'Seeing that our people wish for you, we will deal with you in such a manner that you shall have good reason to be contented.' An appeal was also made to the magistrates of Strasburg to induce them to release Calvin from his engagements. At first they hesitated, for Calvin was not only an ornament to their city, but an honoured and useful representative in their transactions with the German Diets and Conferences. At that period Calvin had just set out for the Diet of Worms, and it was at Worms that the letter from Geneva was delivered to him. He wrote at once in answer to it, in very affectionate terms: 'If only in return for the kindness and courtesy which in every way you show me, I should not do my duty unless I made every effort in my power to comply with your request. But I cannot leave my vocation in Strasburg without the advice and consent of those whom our Lord has put in authority there.'
From October 1540 to April 1541, four successive messengers carried the entreaties of the Genevese to Strasburg, or wherever else Calvin was to be found. The people of Strasburg seemed inclined, although with regret, to consent to his leaving them. They had just sent him again to the Diet of Ratisbon, but they were struck by the importance of Geneva as the home and centre of the Reformation in France and Italy, and were willing to give up their own advantage to the general interest of the common cause. But Calvin himself was greatly perplexed: 'I knew well,' he wrote to Farel, 'that you would urge me to comply with the request; but if you had seen my anguish when this message reached me, you would have had pity on me. I was scarcely in possession of my senses. When I recall the life that I led in that place, I tremble to the very depths of my soul at the thought of returning. At that time I had often the greatest difficulty in stifling the desire of flight which would rise within me; but I felt that my hands and feet were bound to that city by the will of God. And now that his grace has set me free, shall I of my own will return thither and plunge again into an abyss of which I know the horror and the danger so well? … Nevertheless the more I am inclined to recoil with terror from this task, the more I distrust myself. I therefore leave the thing to take its own way, and entreat my friends not to urge me in either direction. In any case I will never forsake the church of Geneva, which is dearer to me than my life. I am not seeking my own advantage, nor do I wish to make vain excuses; but I must see the will of God clearly in this matter, in order that I may walk in safety, and with his blessing.' This is a remarkable instance of the manner in which a noble nature may be attracted and yet alarmed by a great and difficult undertaking, and of the mingled eagerness and apprehension with which it may be approached.
But Calvin's hesitation was overcome by the urgent entreaties of the Genevese, and the advice of his most intimate friends. M. Bernard, one of the pastors who had remained in Geneva after his departure, wrote to tell him that on a day in February 1541, when he was in the pulpit, he saw that his hearers were deeply grieved at the destitution of the Church, and that he exhorted them to pray to the pastor of pastors, Jesus Christ, and implore him to put an end to this state of things; and, when he had spoken thus, every one thought of Calvin, and his name was on every tongue: 'As for me,' he continued, 'I blessed God that the stone which the builders had rejected had become the chief stone of the corner. Come to us, then, revered brother in Christ; you belong to us, for the Lord has given you to us. Come! for the Lord would require our blood at your hands, because it is you whom he has established as a shepherd over the house of Israel, which is among us.' On the 1st of May, 1541, the General Council formally revoked the decree of exile which had been pronounced in 1538, stated that 'Calvin and Farel were good men and men of God, and approved of all that the Council had done or might do to induce Calvin to return.' They had ceased to urge Farel's return, because Neufchatel had explicitly refused to part with him. Calvin yielded: 'I thought the matter over conscientiously and with reverence, and when I saw that it was my duty I gave way, and consented to return to the flock from which I had been, as it were, torn away. But, as the Lord is my witness, I submitted with sorrow, tears, great solicitude, and anxiety. Not my will, O God, but thy will be done! I offer my heart as a sacrifice to the Lord.'