It appears that the house of the Sieur de Fréneville, who had quitted Geneva, could not be made ready the same day. The reformer was, therefore, received in the house of Aimé de Gingins, abbot of Bonmont, who, although he had been elected bishop by the chapter, in 1522, had not been accepted by the Pope, but in the absence of the bishop, was discharging almost all his functions. This house had been the scene of one of the most striking passages of the Reformation; the appearance of Farel before Messeigneurs the abbot and the Genevese clergy, in 1532. Of smaller size than that which now occupies its site, it had a garden, from which, as well as from the house itself, were seen stretching far away to the north-east the lake, its shores, the Jura, and rich tracts of country. Calvin was alive to the enjoyment of this smiling landscape, these beautiful waters, these stern mountains. That straight line of the Jura, pure and severe, is it not a type of his work? When, a little while after, he was looking for a house for Jacques de Bourgogne, Seigneur of Falais, who desired to settle near him, he mentioned to him a dwelling situated doubtless near his own, from which he would have, he said, ‘as fine a view as you could wish for in the summer.’ In winter the north wind made this exposed situation less pleasant, but the view was still very fine, and the storms which raged on the lake would doubtless sometimes appear in Calvin’s eyes to be in harmony with those which agitated the city. Subsequently, perhaps in 1543 or 1547, certainly before 1549, Calvin quitted this house for the adjoining one, that of M. de Fréneville, which the State had just bought; and in this he continued to reside, so far as appears, to the end of his life.[[102]] One of the chief pleasures of Calvin on his arrival was that of meeting Viret again.
What He Had Acquired At Strasburg.
The reformer came back to Geneva an altered man. Three years, four months, and twenty days had elapsed since his departure; and his sojourn in Germany had exercised a marked influence on him. Strasburg had given him what Geneva could not offer. He had in him by nature the stuff of which great men are made. But during these three years his ideas had been widened, and his character had been completed. He had entered into a wider sphere. Intellectual life at Geneva was almost exclusively Genevese; at Strasburg it was Germanic, and, at least in the case of a few, European. It was important that the reformer of the Latin race should be thoroughly acquainted with the reformers of the Germanic race, and that there should be between them some spiritual fellowship. Even if there must be independence with respect to their work, there ought at the same time to be unity. There was no town in Europe better fitted than Strasburg to furnish a thorough knowledge of the reformation of Luther and of that of Zwinglius. The doctors of this city, it is well known, held constant intercourse with Wittenberg and Zurich, and endeavored to bring about a union between them. Calvin, in this town, ran no risk of getting Germanized. His was one of those powerful natures which do not lose their native impress. Moreover, French refugees were numerous there, and amongst these he found his first sphere of labor. All the faculties of the Genevese reformer had gained something by this contact with Germany. His general information had been enlarged, his knowledge had become deeper and richer, his soul had attained more serenity, his heart was more kindly and tender, his will at once more regulated, stronger, and more steadfast. He knew that the future had battles in store for him; they would find him more gentle, more apt for endurance, but at the same time resolved to remain immovable on the rock of the Word, and to conquer by the truth. Strong by nature, he was now more completely invested with that divine panoply of which St. Paul speaks.[[103]] He was fitted not only to feed a little flock, but to form a new society, to organize and to govern a great church. He was returning to Geneva simple and humble as before, and nevertheless a superior man.
Calvin having arrived from Strasburg on September 13, went to the Town Hall, and was received by the syndics and Council. Some hearts had, no doubt, been beating high in anticipation of this interview; and the reformer himself did not set out to it without emotion. When he came to Geneva, in 1534, he was twenty-seven years of age, rather young for a reformer. He was now thirty-two, the age of our Saviour at the time of his ministry. He could already speak with authority; nevertheless, it might be said of him as of St. Paul—his bodily presence is weak. He was of middle stature, pale, with a dark complexion, a keen and piercing eye, betokening, says Beza, a penetrating mind. His dress was very simple, and at the same time perfectly neat. There was something noble in his whole appearance. His cultivated and elevated spirit was at once recognizable; and although his health was already feeble, he was about to devote himself to labors which a man of great strength might have shrunk from undertaking. Amiable in social intercourse, he had won all hearts in Germany; he was now to win many at Geneva.[[104]]
On presenting himself before the Council, Calvin delivered to the syndics the letters from the senators and pastors of Strasburg and Basel. He then modestly apologized for the long delay which he had made. He had intended to vindicate his own conduct and that of his colleagues who were banished with him three years and a half before; but the very warm reception given him in the town, and by the magistrates, showed him that Geneva had quite got over the prejudices of that period. A vindication would have involved recalling to mind painful facts and ungracious sentiments; and this was not the business which he had to do at this moment. His Christian heart, his intelligent mind, joined to counsel him otherwise—to forget. He therefore did not vindicate himself either before the Senate or before the people.
Going Forward.
He felt the need of going forward and not backward. ‘We must not take our eyes from the brow and fix them in the back,’ he said one day. ‘I go straight to the mark.’ ‘As for myself,’ said he at this memorable sitting of September 13, ‘I offer myself to be a servant of Geneva forever.’ He meant really and truly to serve, but in the truest and most beautiful sense of the word. To Farel he wrote (September 16)—‘Immediately after offering my services to the Senate, I declared that no church could subsist except by establishing a well-constituted government, such as the Word of God prescribes, and such as was adopted in the early church.’[[105]] He next touched delicately on some points in order to make it clear to the Council what he desired. ‘However,’ he continued, ‘this question is too extensive for discussion on this occasion. I request you to nominate some of your body to confer with us upon this subject.’ The Council named for that purpose four members of the Little Council, the former syndic, Claude Pertemps; the former secretary, Claude Roset; Ami Perrin, and Jean Lambert; and two members of the Great Council, Jean Goulaz and Ami Porral, both ex-syndics.[[106]] These six laymen, in co-operation with Calvin and Viret, were to draw up articles of a constitution for the church. The other three pastors appeared willing to go with their two colleagues. We do not see, however, that the Council offered to its conqueror its homage with almost grovelling submissiveness.[[107]] There was agreement, there was respect on the part of the Council, but there was no humiliation; and we cannot admit that Calvin considered his right of lordship over Geneva as an article of faith which God himself had proclaimed.[[108]] At this sitting he called himself servant, and not lord; and the only reservation which has to be made is that he would always consider himself before all a servant of God. The Council afterwards resolved to return thanks to Strasburg for having sent Calvin, and at the same time to request that he might be allowed to settle permanently at Geneva. Calvin himself no longer hesitated; and this appeared in the courage with which he set about the organization of the church. Geneva and Calvin were henceforth inseparable, as much so as the city and the river which flows by and waters it. The council likewise adopted certain resolutions respecting the person and the family of the reformer. It gave orders (September 16) to send for his wife and his household, and for this purpose bought three horses and a car. Next, his salary was fixed, and ‘considering,’ said the Council (October 4), ‘that Calvin is a man of great learning, a friend to the restoration of Christian churches, and is at great expense in entertaining visitors, it is resolved that he shall receive an annual salary of five hundred florins, twelve measures of wheat, and two bossots of wine.’[[109]] On the same day it was ordered that some cloth should be bought, with furs, to make him a gown.[[110]]
Calvin’s Colleagues.
And now the work must be begun. Calvin saw the difficulties of the task. He did not put his trust in himself; he hoped above all for the help of God; but he desired also the co-operation of his brethren. Three days after his appearance before the Council he wrote to Farel: ‘I am settled here as you wished. The Lord grant that it may turn out well! For the present I must keep Viret. I will not on any account permit him to be taken from me.’ He wished also to have Farel with him. He thought that the presence of these two as his colleagues was essential to success, and he spared no effort to secure them.[[111]] ‘Aid me here,’ he said to Farel, ‘you and all the brethren with all your might, unless you mean to have me tortured for nothing.’ But, whatever distrust he felt of himself, he had no doubt of the victory. ‘When we have to contend against Satan,’ he continues, ‘and when we join battle under the banner of Christ, he who has invested us with our armor and impelled us to the fight will give us the victory.’[[112]]
But although he attributed the victory to God he knew that he himself must fight. This observation applies to his whole life. Of all men in the world Calvin is the one who most worked, wrote, acted, and prayed for the cause which he had embraced. The co-existence of the sovereignty of God and the freedom of man is assuredly a mystery; but Calvin never supposed that because God did all he personally had nothing to do. He points out clearly the twofold action, that of God and that of man. ‘God,’ said he, ‘after freely bestowing his grace on us, forthwith demands of us a reciprocal acknowledgment. When he said to Abraham, “I am thy God,” it was an offer of his free goodness; but he adds at the same time what he required of him: “Walk before me, and be thou perfect.” This condition is tacitly annexed to all the promises: they are to be to us as spurs, inciting us to promote the glory of God.’ And elsewhere he says: ‘This doctrine ought to create new vigor in all your members, so that you may be fit and alert, with might and main, to follow the call of God.’[[113]] Never, perhaps, did Calvin exhibit his great capacity for action more remarkably than at the epoch of which we are treating. It is certainly a mistake to assert that ‘Calvin regarded himself, by virtue of the Divine decree, as little more than an instrument in the hand of God, without any personal co-operation.’[[114]] What! could Calvin, who far more than Pascal was the conqueror of the Jesuits, have said as they did: Sicut baculus in manu! This Calvin is the man of Roman or infidel tradition, but not the man as he appears in history.