Meantime the Friburg ambassadors in Geneva were preparing the way for him. They demanded aloud, what he proposed to do in secret. Being admitted to the Council on the 23rd May, they said: 'We accuse all who were in the Molard at the time of Wernli's death, including the syndic of the guard and the commander of the cavalry.' They spoke haughtily, and required immediate satisfaction. A whole section of the population—the most innocent in this affair, even the party which had been attacked—was to be criminally prosecuted! It was a monstrous demand. However, the Friburgers spoke loud, and many of the huguenots were dejected. The Council, being divided and intimidated, made answer at last that they would authorise the lieutenant and the procurator-fiscal 'to arrest all whom Messieurs of Friburg accused.' Thus the plot was in a fair way: liberty and Reform had, however, a moment's respite.[742]
=DECLARATION OF RELIGIOUS LIBERTY.=
Two ambassadors from Berne, Councillor Sebastian de Diesbach and Banneret John de Weingarten, arrived at Geneva, and had conferences with the men of both parties. Their ideas gradually became clearer, and truth sprang out of the conflict of opinions. They saw that this position of affairs, which seemed an inextricable chaos, had one possible solution, namely, liberty. 'We have seen and heard everything,' said Diesbach; 'the only means of enjoying peace is to permit every one to follow the movements of his conscience, so that no one be constrained.[743] Let the mass and feast-days and images remain for those who like them; but let the preaching of the Gospel be granted to those who desire it, and let one of the seven parish churches be assigned them for that purpose. Let no one be ridiculed for going to mass. Let every one abide in his own free-will and choice.[744]... Moreover, as the Old and New Testaments are the foundation of our faith, and as those who follow the Gospel cannot exist without reading them, let the booksellers be permitted to sell publicly the Holy Scriptures and any other books of piety.' Thus 'liberty for all' was the great salutary principle then proclaimed in Geneva. This theory, which gives honour to God and independence to man, was not generally admitted until two or three hundred years later. But we take note of the epoch when the right was first proclaimed. It is sometimes asserted that the idea of liberty for all only appeared in the 18th century, and that it was put forward for the first time by the free-thinkers of England, France, and Holland. It is not so: religious as well as political liberty asserted their just and holy claims at Geneva more than three centuries ago. Switzerland and the Reform are the first in the field. These principles were so simple and so true that the Council was convinced; in the face, however, of formidable adversaries, they feared their own weakness. The syndics replied to the Messieurs of Berne: 'Stay with us to help us!' The 27th of May, 1533, deserves a mark of honour in the annals of religious liberty.
[729] Council Registers of 4th and 25th May.
[730] 'Justa Nemesi gloriosus ille miles fœdo ictu,' &c.—Spanheim, Geneva restituta, p. 60.
[731] La Sœur J. de Jussie, Le Levain du Calvinisme, p. 63.—Council Registers of 4th and 5th May.—Roset MS. Chron.
[732] Council Registers of 4th and 5th May, 1533.—La Sœur J. de Jussie, Le Levain du Calvinisme, pp. 63-64.—Gautier MS.
[733] La Sœur J. de Jussie, Le Levain du Calvinisme, p. 64.
[734] Ibid.—Council Registers of 2nd July, 1533.—Froment, Gestes de Genève, p. 59.
[735] La Sœur J. de Jussie, p. 65.