THE DISPUTATION AT LAUSANNE.
The disputation of Lausanne inaugurates with a certain grandeur the Reformation of the Vaudois. Some look upon it as merely a Bernese project. But that imposing assembly, among whose speakers were all or nearly all the reformers of western Switzerland; at which the great evangelical questions were discussed; and by means of which some of those who were present were converted; is evidence that the Reform was truly the work of God. The Reformation had begun in that country, obscurely and modestly, in some districts on the banks of the Rhone, on the shores of the lake of Neuchâtel, and in others besides. It now announced itself with power, and the mass of the people were going to embrace it. Men discourse much in books about the beautiful. We find true beauty, Christian beauty, evangelical, inward, more veiled perhaps than that of the world, but more pure and more solid, in the doctrine then proclaimed at Lausanne, and often in the manner in which it was set forth, although we have to make allowance for the time. We find it in the Farels, the Calvins, the Virets and other heroic men of that epoch, who lived with God, who were unwearied in their work, and were always ready to give their lives for the truth which they proclaimed. That synod was a beautiful portico erected to lead men into a temple of divine beauty.
PREPARATIONS AT LAUSANNE.
Farel was preparing for the disputation; and on the Roman Catholic side there was much ado to find valiant champions. At Lausanne there was no canon, no priest, no monk who came forward to defend the doctrine by which till that day they had lived. It was necessary to beat to arms elsewhere. They did so; and at the end of September the Dominican Monbouson, Michod dean of Vevey, the vicars Drogy and Berrilly, and others besides, arrived, in the town. Two laymen alone represented Lausanne, the captain of the youth,[392] Fernand de Loys, and the French physician Blancherose. The latter was ‘un homme tenant de la lune’ (something of a lunatic), said the Catholic Pierrefleur, ‘who blends in his discussions medicine and theology, and excites boundless merriment.’ Viret, Marcourt, and Lecomte appeared for the reformed. From Geneva came Chapuis, a former Dominican, then pastor at Compesières, and Jacques Bernard, formerly superior of the Cordeliers. But the man who chiefly attracted attention was Farel, who was accompanied by a young man pale and modest, unknown by sight to most, and who appeared to be his assistant. It was John Calvin. Farel had urged him to come to Lausanne, but Calvin shrank from the thought of speaking in that great assembly. Still he was deeply interested in its proceedings. ‘The Senate of Berne,’ said he, ‘has declared that everyone is at liberty to state his objections freely, without need to fear being disturbed in consequence of it. That is the fittest means of exposing the ignorance of those who set themselves against the Gospel.’[393] These two men had set out in company with the Syndic Porral, and they arrived with many others at the cathedral, in which the disputation was to be held. An amphitheatre had been constructed. The altars, pictures, statues, and rich ornaments of the Romish worship still displayed their magnificence; and even the canons, who were determined to keep silence, but nevertheless wished to do something, had brought out of their hiding-places the image of the holy Virgin and all those of the saints, trusting more, it would seem, to the eloquence of those dumb figures than to their own.
On the side of the Reformation there was no other preparation but some simple evangelical theses drawn up by Farel, and affixed to the doors of all the churches. They were entitled, ‘Conclusions which are to be discussed at Lausanne, a new province of Berne.’ In the form of ten articles it was declared,—that Holy Scripture teaches no other justification than that which is by faith in Jesus Christ, once for all offered in sacrifice—that it acknowledges no other head, priest, saviour, or mediator of the Church than Jesus Christ, seated at the right hand of God;—that it gives the name ‘Church of God’ only to the assembly of those who believe in their redemption by Jesus Christ alone. The other seven articles established the sacraments of baptism and the Lord’s supper—the ministry of the Word of God—confession made to God—absolution coming from God—spiritual service rendered to God, such as is ordained by the Word, and without the infinite mockeries which pervert religion—the civil magistrate ordained of God to maintain the peace of the Republic—marriage a divine institution for any class whatsoever—and the free use, so it be with charity, of things indifferent.[394]
On Sunday, October 1, all the bells were set a-going, and a great crowd filled the cathedral. But the lords of Berne, in whose presence the disputation was to take place, had not yet arrived. It was a great disappointment. However, the opening took place on Sunday, although the discussion only began on Monday. It was Farel, the senior of the French reformers, the great champion of the Gospel in the district of Geneva, Vaud, and Neuchâtel, that Christian man, at once so learned and so pious, so devout and so active, who made the first speech, in which his design was to prepare the minds of those present for a becoming and Christian conference.[395] He said,—‘While Satan leads the sheep astray in order to destroy them, our Lord seeks to bring them back to his holy flock in order to save them. We shall never attain real unity except by means of the truth. A safe-conduct has therefore been given to all, to go and come, to speak and to hear, as shall seem good to them, for the truth must not be hidden. May it be the truth that wins the day! If I myself were wholly vanquished and put to confusion, while the truth had its triumph, I should count that the greatest gain and the best possible victory. Let all therefore, whether priests or preachers, have respect to the great shepherd Jesus Christ, who gave his body and his blood for the poor people. Let us prefer to be nothing, if only the poor sheep, gone so far astray, may find the right way, may come to Jesus and give themselves to God. That will be better than if we should gain all the world and lose those for whom Jesus died. If any man will exalt himself against Jesus, if any man will light against the faith, it would be better for him if he had never been born. Let us not despise our neighbor. Let us not mock him. Let us not shut the door of the kingdom of heaven and take away the key of knowledge. Let us be free from all hatred and rancor. Let us love all men, pray for all men, do good to all men. Let us visit the poor and the afflicted, that is the true pilgrimage. Those little ones are the images of God, and it is to those images that we ought to resort, to them that we should carry food and candles.... My dear brethren, when you hear the bell ring, present yourselves here in God’s name, in peace and unity, without disturbance or murmuring.’ This was indeed a good and Christian address, and after hearing it the assembly dispersed.
FAREL’S DISCOURSE.
On Monday, October 2, at seven o’clock in the morning, the cathedral was again filled, and ‘as soon as the shrill sound of the bell had ceased, there appeared on the platform the ambassadors of Berne,’ J. J. de Watteville, formerly avoyer,[396] J. de Diesbach, and the baillifs of Yverdon and Lausanne. They were easily recognized by their red and black doublets, skirts, and hose. The council of Geneva had sent as its representative the Syndic A. Porral, a warm friend of Reform. Presidents were chosen from among the men of Berne and Lausanne. Then Farel rose and read his first thesis, which treated of man’s justification before God, developed and proved it.
When he had finished, the vice-bailiff of Lausanne said aloud, ‘If any man has aught to say against these first conclusions, let him come forward and we shall willingly listen to him.’ The canons of the cathedral then rose, who were determined not to carry on but to prevent the discussion, and one of them, Perrini, said, ‘When doubts arise respecting the faith, they must be resolved according to the true sense of the Scriptures. Now, that is lawful only to the Church universal, which is not liable to error. Therefore, we, the provost and canons of this church, do solemnly protest against this controversy, and refer it to the next council.’[397]
This proposal not to proceed was inadmissible. The courageous Farel opposed it. ‘It is nowhere asserted in the Scripture,’ said he, ‘that any particular Church is liable to error and that the universal Church is exempt from it. On the contrary, it is to a particular Church that Jesus Christ addresses the words, Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them. This promise cannot fail. The Canons refrained from accusing by their protest all the early doctors and the holy fathers, for whom they make pretence of so much reverence. We find in fact, in the writings of those ancients, only particular disputations, held for the purpose of examining articles at that time controverted. There are ten such articles in Cyprian, and twenty or thereabouts, in Augustine. If they accuse us, who are now assembled here, how shall they defend their own provincial councils, their monks’ chapters, all their schools and Sorbonnes, in which they hold conferences for the research of truth? Most of those whom they have condemned as heretics were not condemned in a general council, but in some particular assembly. Paul, speaking with reference to churches as they were, scattered in towns or villages, said, Let the prophets speak two or three, and let the other judge. (1 Cor. xiv. 29.)