THE OATH REFUSED BY MANY.
Calvin might well rejoice in having obtained results so large in so short a time; and his colleagues rejoiced with him. The aged Courault, persecuted in France, had been compelled to take refuge in Basel; and Calvin, knowing that although deprived of sight, ‘he was clear-sighted with the eyes of the mind,’ had called him to Geneva. Courault was happy to find himself a witness in that city of the triumph of the Reformation, which had been so rudely assailed in his native country. Farel, on his part, saw that God was crowning the work that had cost him so much labor. He displayed at all times unwearied zeal and heroic courage; and his continual prayers in behalf of the Reformation were so fervent, that those who heard them felt themselves lifted up to heaven, says Beza. Farel had cast the seed into the ground, and had seen the stalk spring up. Now, to the time of sowing succeeded the time of harvest. The ear had appeared, the grain was formed in the ear, and another laborer, a robust harvestman, had come to cut the wheat and bind the sheaves. But this excited no envy in him. On the contrary, his Christian soul acknowledged with thanksgiving the precious gifts bestowed on Calvin. The superiority of his intellect, the extent of his acquirements, the accuracy of his judgment, and his faculty for organization, filled the old pioneer with admiration and respect. He was delighted to see a constantly increasing auditory thronging into the cathedral to hear Calvin expound the Holy Scriptures. Thenceforth the old man sat almost a disciple at the feet of the young doctor. On all subjects he desired Calvin’s opinion, and he looked on him as the man chosen of God to complete the Reformation. Calvin on his part gave to Farel the honor which was due to him. ‘After you had begun to build up this Church of Geneva, with great labor and danger,’ he said, ‘I came in unexpectedly in the first instance as conductor, and afterwards I remained as your successor, to carry on the work which you had well and happily begun.’ This cordial relation between Calvin and Farel, in spite of the difference of their ages, is among the most beautiful instances of the kind in history. Calvin subsequently extolled what he called their sacred friendship and union, and said affectionately, ‘You and I are one.’[472] There was between them, says Calvin on another occasion, a good understanding and a friendship which, consecrated by the name of Christ, was profitable to his Church.
The school, placed under the direction of Saunier, likewise flourished. Lessons began at five o’clock in the morning.[473] The pupils were instructed ‘in the three most excellent languages, Greek, Hebrew, and Latin, in addition to the French, which, in the opinion of the learned, is by no means to be despised.’ Mathurin Cordier, formerly Calvin’s teacher, soon devoted himself to this task. Numerous scholars, attracted to Geneva by the great work which was being achieved there, came from Basel, Berne, Bienne, Zurich, and other places, to study there. These messmates lived at the College, with Saunier, whose house was ordered in a Christian manner. ‘Daily, before they sat down to meat, one of them read aloud a chapter of the Bible and all the rest listened. While seated at the table, they each repeated a sentence of Holy Scripture.’[474] Thus were fashioned the strong men of the sixteenth century. The system which excludes from the school the Bible and even religion, that is to say, the regenerative and training element, will never form the like.
DISCIPLINE.
The reformers, whose intercourse with each other was pleasant and refreshing, enjoyed in addition the approval of the majority of the people, and particularly of the magistrates. Receiving so much encouragement in their ministry, they were brave, active, and unwearied in their calling. Far from being weighed down with their great task, they appeared rather to grow stronger under the burden; and this is a distinctive mark of great men. If any difficulty arose, if any village were in need of a preacher, Farel and Calvin applied with confidence to the council, which usually acceded to their request, and acted even with generosity.[475] When a good citizen pointed out, February 13, that Calvin had not yet received anything, the council decreed to present him with six écus.[476] The next day, Farel, with his brother and Saunier, applied for the grant of citizenship; it was resolved that they should receive it free of charge. Calvin did not become a citizen of Geneva till a later period. Nor was he the only one who deferred that matter. Other celebrated Frenchmen declined the citizenship of Geneva, their city of refuge, on the ground that they could not renounce France. That love for the old country was probably one of the motives which led Calvin to put off for three-and-twenty years becoming a citizen of the city of which he was the very soul. On February 27 they presented to Saunier thirty measures of wheat; and, on June 6, six écus to Courault. The gifts were not large, but every age has its own measure.
The council, which concerned itself about the wants of the ministers, watched likewise, in conformity with the constitution, over the wants of the Church and the purity of morals. Letters were written, February 7, at the request of Farel, to Besançon and to Neuchâtel, respecting Olivétan’s Bible.[477] The lay magistrates were severe. On the 23d of the same month, a player and sharper, who was cheating the people out of their money, was sentenced to be exposed for an hour, with his fraudulent cards hung round his neck. The ‘grand Francois,’ guilty of impurity, had to give as a fine a halter, eighteen feet long, such as is used for tying up cattle. A man and woman guilty of adultery, were banished, June 1, for a year. On March 13 the council, intruding even into the spiritual domain, determined to make arrangements about the Lord’s Supper and other things.[478]
Thus Geneva took an important place both as a Church and a school. Foreigners resorted to it, or sent their children there. The beauty of its situation formed also a powerful attraction. Of all descriptions of Geneva, the following is doubtless one of the most ancient. ‘Do not imagine,’ said Saunier, ‘that Geneva is some frightful, almost uninhabitable town, in the midst of barren and solitary rocks. The streets, with a few exceptions, are broad and in good condition, and there are several large public places. Encircled by a continuous chain of mountains, it has nevertheless on all sides a tract of level country extending round it in the form of a great theatre. As for the lake, it is difficult to say in what respect it is of most value to the city, whether for profit, for defence (parement), or for beauty. The water is not at all muddy or turbid, but to the very bottom is clear as fine glass, so that people take a wonderful pleasure in looking at it. To sum up, the said town is situated on the frontiers of three great countries, to wit, Gaul, Germany, and Italy, as it were a place marked out (députée) for gatherings of merchants.’[479] Geneva was going to be marked out for other gatherings. ‘Already Mathurin Cordier,’ says a contemporary, ‘a man more skilful in training schools in the French tongue than any man of our time has been, brought with him a large number of learned men.’[480] We have already spoken elsewhere of the arrival of young Englishmen at the foot of the Alps, for the sake of enjoying intercourse with Calvin. Saunier’s description shows that the reformers were not unobservant of the beauties of nature. They loved them, and contemplated them at Geneva in the height and perfection of their majesty.
CHAPTER V.
CALVIN CONTENDS WITH FOREIGN DOCTORS, AND IS ACCUSED OF ARIANISM.