Great Christians of France: Saint Louis and Calvin

by François Guizot

In 1559 his work was completed, so far as human work can be completed, but Calvin had almost reached the limit of his strength—I mean his physical strength, for his intellectual and moral powers remained undiminished to the last. His health of body drooped and failed, but his intellect remained clear and his will unshaken. His soul was one of those which lack time on earth for full development, and return again to God without having expended all the store of wealth and power with which at their creation he has endowed them. On the 2d of February, 1564, Calvin gave his last lecture on theology, and on the following Sunday, the 6th, he preached his last sermon. He had an attack of bleeding from the lungs whilst he was in the pulpit, and all speaking in public was after that prohibited. He was still constantly engaged in study or writing, and when his friends urged him to take a complete rest, he said: 'Then you wish that when the Lord comes he shall not find me watching.' On Easter Day, the 2d of April, he was carried to the church and received the sacrament from the hands of Beza. He expressed a wish to be carried to the Hôtel de Ville on the 27th of April, in order that he might once more pay his respects to the Syndics and the Council. But they prevented this by visiting him in a body at his own house. He thanked them 'for having condescended to show him so much more honour than he had any claim to, and begged them to excuse him for having done so much less than he ought to have done, both in public and private life; and he thanked them also for having patiently borne with his great vehemence and other sins, of which he repented, and which he trusted that God had forgiven.' He then with much gentleness offered them very judicious advice as to the government of the republic, 'and having begged them to pardon all his faults, which could never have seemed so great in any eyes as they had done in his own,' he held out his hand to say farewell. Beza says: 'I do not think that any parting could have been more sad for these gentlemen. On account of his office they all looked upon him, and with good reason, as speaking to them from God, and they had an affection for him as for a father, since he had known and trained many of them from their youth upward.' On the 28th of April all the evangelical ministers in the city and neighbourhood were assembled in his room, and Calvin addressed his last counsels and last farewell to them, speaking with solemn and affectionate familiarity, like a chief who takes leave of his companions when he is about to set out on some great enterprise: 'It may seem to you,' he said, 'that I say too much, and that I am not really so ill as I make people think; but I assure you, that although I have often been ill before, I have never felt as I do now, nor have I ever been so weak. When I am moved in order to be placed on my bed, my head swims, and I faint immediately. There is also this shortness of breath, which troubles me more and more. I am in all things unlike other sick people, for when they are near death their mind grows weak and wanders; whilst as for me, it is true that I am as it were benumbed, but it seems as if God intended to shut up all my senses within me and keep them there. And I think that it will be very difficult for me to die, and will cost a great effort, and I may lose the power of speech whilst I still possess all my faculties. But I have given warning of this, and have said what I wish should be done with me, and for the same reason I desire to speak to you before God takes me.' He then reminded them of all the principal incidents in his political and religious career, the struggles which he had been called upon to maintain for the Gospel and the Reformation, and ended by saying: 'Gird yourselves up and take courage, for God has a use for this church, and will maintain it. I tell you God will keep it in safety. … You have elected Monsieur de Bèze in my place: take care that you comfort and support him, for he will have a great responsibility. As for him, I know that his will is good, and he will do what he can. See also that there are no bickerings and no angry words among you; for I know that oftentimes, when taunts are uttered, we see nothing but smiles at the time, but there is great bitterness in the heart. It is all of no use, and moreover there is a want of Christianity in it. You must guard against it, and live in all true peace and friendship. I had forgotten one thing. I beg you to make no changes, and to introduce no novelties. People are always seeking novelty. Not that I am thinking for myself, or speaking from ambition and a desire that what I have begun shall continue, and that people shall cling to it and not seek that which is better, but because all changes are dangerous, and sometimes injurious.'

These last words were preserved by one of the ministers present, who closes his account of the interview by saying: 'He took leave kindly of all his brother pastors, who went up to him one by one weeping, and shook hands with him.' … 'Which caused me such anguish and bitterness of heart,' adds Beza, 'that I cannot recall it now without exceeding sorrow.'

There was still another last farewell about which Calvin was anxious. He wished to take leave of his old friend Farel, who twenty-eight years previously had induced him to stay at Geneva, and thus had decided the work of his life; and for whom he entertained an affection, which was perhaps the deepest and most tender feeling he ever knew. On the 2d of May he received a letter in which Farel, hearing of his illness, announced his intention of visiting him. Calvin immediately dictated the following answer: 'Fare thee well, my very dear and good brother! and since it pleases God that you shall remain behind me, live in the memory of our union, the fruit of which awaits us in heaven, for it has been profitable to the church and to God. I will not have you fatigue yourself for me. I draw my breath with very great difficulty, and from hour to hour I expect breath will fail me. It is enough that I live and die in Christ, which is gain to those that are his, both in life and death. I commend you to God, together with our brethren who are in your parts.' Nevertheless Farel arrived; came on foot, say some, from Neufchâtel to Geneva, in spite of his seventy-five years of age. The two friends supped together, just those two. Farel preached on the morrow, and then returned at once to Neufchâtel, saying in his heart, as he said a few days later in a letter to Fabri: 'Why was I not taken in his place, and many years of health granted him for the service of the church and of our Lord Jesus Christ? Praises be to God a thousand times for his inestimable grace in allowing me to meet this man and detain him, against his will, at Geneva, where he has begun and completed more than any tongue can tell!' After the departure of Farel, Calvin only saw some of his colleagues, the Genevese ministers, for a few moments. They were to dine together in his house on the 19th of May; he remained in his own chamber, which was quite close to the dining-room, and said, 'with the most joyous face in the world,' says Beza: 'The wall that is between us will not prevent my being with you in spirit.' Both by day and night many persons, some of whom had travelled a great distance, came to Calvin's door, asking to see him or at least to have tidings of him. Beza says: 'On the 27th of May, 1564, he seemed to speak with less difficulty and more vigorously; but this was a last effort of nature, for towards night-time, about eight o'clock, all the signs of approaching death suddenly set in. I was sent for immediately, and ran to the house, together with some of my brethren, but I found that he had already given up the ghost. He had died peacefully, without any last struggle, had been able to speak clearly to the very last moment, and had been in full possession of his judgment and all his senses; he had not moved either hand or foot, and so he looked asleep rather than dead. Thus, in an instant, our sun set on that day; and the greatest light of this world, and the glory of the church, was withdrawn and taken back into the heavens. We may well say that in our time it has pleased God to show us in one single man both how to live and how to die.'

'On the following day and night,' says Beza, 'there was great lamentation throughout the city, for the people mourned for the prophet of the Lord; the poor flock in the church wept for the loss of their faithful pastor; the academy deplored its true head, and all in common bewailed their beloved father and their chief comforter next to God. He was placed in a simple wooden coffin, and about two hours after mid-day, in accordance with his own wish, was carried in the usual manner, without any pomp or ceremony, to the public cemetery called Plain Palais. There he lies to this very day, waiting for the resurrection which was his own constant hope, as he taught us to make it ours. I say that all was done quite simply, according to the custom of our church in the burial of any person whatsoever; so that a few months later, when certain new students who had come to the college went, one day, to the cemetery to visit Calvin's tomb, they found that they were mistaken. They expected to see some lofty and magnificent monument, and there was only a simple mound of earth, and it was just like all the other graves. And this may serve as an answer to those who have long accused us of making an idol of Calvin.'

In the registers of the Consistory, under date of the 1st of June, 1564, a cross follows the name of Calvin, †, and by the side of it are these words, 'He went to God on the 27th of May in this year.'

Men are called great and obtain a place in history under different titles. With some it is exalted station, and glory, and great power during their lifetime which makes them great; with others the importance and permanence of their works; with others again it is moral elevation of nature and beauty and purity of life. The greatness of Calvin arises from all these sources; he is great by reason of his marvellous powers, his lasting labours, and the moral height and purity of his motives. When Pope Pius IV. heard of his death, he said: 'The strength of that heretic consisted in this, that money never had the slightest charm for him. If I had such servants, my dominions would extend from sea to sea.' It is true that Calvin's disinterestedness was a very prominent characteristic, but it was by no means his chief or only one. He was never influenced or governed by any interest, any desire, any personal pleasure other than the triumph of his faith, and the success of his labours for a moral as well as a religious reformation. Although he took a leading part in a great revolution, he had neither revolutionary ideas nor passions. He was essentially a lover of order, he knew the conditions as well as the claims of power, and had received from nature the gift of exercising authority. Upon principle he neither recognised nor admitted the claims of liberty, either in human nature or human society. In his eyes man was God's instrument and not a 'fellow-worker with God,' as St. Paul says. God, as he thought, had preordained the destiny of every man, and of the whole human race. The mission of the civil powers was therefore to recognise and carry out the law of God in all its precepts and towards all its subjects, in private as well as in public life, both in the family and in the state. But, in point of fact, and in spite of his doctrines on free-will and predestination, Calvin contributed largely to the progress of liberty in the Christian world, for he both claimed and used it in opposition to the religious and civil tyrants of his period. He separated Church and State, but he united laymen and ecclesiastics in the government of the religious society, and he placed the soul of man not under the direction of a priest but under the direct influence of the law of God made known in the Scriptures. As a moral philosopher he was inaccurate and inconsistent, but he was strictly consistent in the practical application of his theories to his own conduct and his duties towards his fellow-men. He honoured men but did not trust them; had an ardent desire for their moral welfare, but did not dare to leave their part in its accomplishment in their own hands; and he obtained the devoted affection of the best men and the esteem of all, without ever seeking to please them.

Earnest in faith, pure in motive, austere in his life, and mighty in his works, Calvin is one of those who deserve their great fame. Three centuries separate us from him, but it is impossible to examine his character and history without feeling, if not affection and sympathy, at least profound respect and admiration for one of the great reformers of Europe and of the Great Christians of France.

Guizot.
Val Richer, 1869.