The History of Christianity / Consisting of the Life and Teachings of Jesus of Nazareth; the Adventures of Paul and the Apostles; and the Most Interesting Events in the Progress of Christianity, from the Earliest Period to the Present Time.

by John S. C. Abbott

Naturally, Calvin was impatient and irascible. In one of his letters to Bucer, he writes,—

“I have no harder battles against my sins, which are great and numerous, than those in which I seek to conquer my impatience. I have not yet gained the mastery over this raging beast.”

Calvin died the 27th of May, 1564, in the fifty-fifth year of his age. He was of middle stature, pale countenance, brilliant eyes, and was extremely abstemious in his habits of living. For many years, he partook of but one meal a day. In the will which he dictated a short time before his death, he called God to witness the sincerity of his faith, and rendered thanks to him for having employed him in the service of Jesus Christ.

Philip Melancthon was alike distinguished for his native force of character, his intellectual culture, his piety, and his amiability. He was born in the palatinate of the Rhine, on the 16th of February, 1497. In early boyhood, his progress in study, especially in the acquisition of the ancient languages, was very extraordinary. At the age of thirteen, he entered the University at Heidelberg. Here he so distinguished himself by his scholarship, that in one year he took the degree of bachelor of arts, and became tutor to several of the sons of the nobility. In 1512, when fifteen years of age, he repaired to the University of Tübingen, where he devoted himself with great assiduity to the study of theology. At the age of eighteen he received the degree of master of arts, gave lectures on the Greek and Latin authors, and published a Greek grammar. His erudition and eloquence gave him such celebrity, that, when twenty-two years of age, he was invited to Wittenberg as professor of the Greek language and literature. Here he warmly embraced the cause of evangelical truth as advocated by the reformers. His sound judgment, rich classical taste, ardent piety, and fervid imagination, gave a peculiar charm to every thing which proceeded from his pen. Bringing these qualities into alliance with the energy, impetuosity, and enterprise of Luther, he contributed greatly to the spread of the doctrines of the Reformation. His mild spirit in some degree softened the rigor of Luther, and his writings were universally admired by the Protestant world. Associated with Luther, he drew up the celebrated “Confession” of Augsburg in 1530. This, with the “Apology” for it which he subsequently composed, gave him renown through all Europe.

“He was nowhere more amiable than in the bosom of his family. No one who saw him for the first time would have recognized the great reformer in his almost diminutive figure, which always continued meagre from his abstemiousness and industry. But his high, arched, and open forehead, and his bright, handsome eyes, announced the energetic, lively mind which this slight covering enclosed, and which lightedup his countenance when he spoke. In his conversation, pleasantries were intermingled with the most sagacious remarks; and no one left him without having been instructed and pleased. His ready benevolence, which was the fundamental trait of his character, embraced all who approached him. Open and unsuspicious, he always spoke from the heart. Piety, a dignified simplicity of manners, generosity, were to him so natural,that it was difficult for him to ascribe opposite qualities to any man.”[209]

For nearly half a century, Melancthon was one of the most prominent actors in that tremendous conflict between the Papal Church and Protestant reform which then agitated all Europe. Few men have been so universally and ardently loved. Notwithstanding the vehemence of Luther’s character, and the mildness of Melancthon’s spirit, the friendship between these two remarkable men continued unabated through life. From all parts of Europe students flocked to Wittenberg, lured there by the mental and moral attractions of Melancthon.

It is recorded of this illustrious man, that, in the commencement of his ministry, he fancied that no one could resist the glad tidings of the gospel. With powers of eloquence which fascinated thronging audiences, he depicted the love of God, the joys of heaven, the companionship of angels,—all offered to the repentant sinner without money and without price; but the multitudes who listened with delight to his glowing descriptions and his powerful appeals scattered from the church with no disposition manifested to give their hearts to the Saviour, or to consecrate their lives to his service. At length, the preacher, around whose pulpit the incense of popular applause was continually ascending, was heard to say in bitterness of lamentation, “Old Adam is too strong for young Melancthon.”

This great and good man died at Wittenberg on the 19th of April, 1560, in the sixty-third year of his age.

Martin Luther has generally been regarded as the father of the Reformation. He was certainly one of the greatest menof the sixteenth century. He was the son of very poor parents, his father being a miner; and was born at Eisleben, Nov. 10, 1483. Martin’s childhood was simply such as was to be expected in the home of poor but very religious parents. At the age of fourteen he was sent to school at Magdeburg; but his destitution was so great, that he often obtained a few pence, which contributed essentially to his support, by singing in the streets. Still he made rapid progress in study; and, being taken under the care of a maternal relation, at the age of eighteen he entered the University of Erfurt. Here the closeness of his application and his attainments soon attracted the attention of his teachers.

The Bible at that time was a sealed book to the laity. Luther, to his great delight, found a copy in the Latin language in the library of the university. He studied it with the utmost diligence, and became so interested in its contents, that he resolved to devote himself to the study of divinity. The sudden death of a friend at this time, who fell dead at his side, so impressed him with melancholy emotions, that he decided to withdraw from the world, and immure himself in the glooms of the cloister. Accordingly, he entered the monastery of the Augustines at Erfurt in the year 1505, and patiently submitted to all the rigors and penances imposed upon him by his superiors. But he was tortured with a sense of sin: none of his self-inflicted sufferings appeased his conscience. His mental agitation threw him into severe and dangerous illness. He felt that he had no good works upon which he could rely as atonement for his many infirmities, and his good sense enabled him to contemplate with thorough disgust the traffic in indulgences.