With thoughts that wandered through Eternity,
life assuredly was sweet; and to lose it not only for no crime, but for the avowal of what he believed to be holy truth, was hard indeed. To Servetus existence was not summed up in ministering to mere material wants and putting off and on at eve and morn; it meant doing in the knowable, speculating in that which transcends the known, furthering knowledge of the world we live in, striving after congruous conceptions of the Almighty Cause of the good, and ministering to the ill that befals—a truly noble life!
But Calvin could no more forgive Servetus his constancy and consistency than he could endure his theological divergences and his personal insults. ‘Could we but have had a retractation from Servetus as we had from Gentilis!’ exclaims he, upon another occasion. Strange! that men in whom the religious sense is strong should still be blind to the truth that if there be sincerity in the world, they, too, who feel strongly though divergently on religion, must be as truly religious and sincere as themselves; and that convictions in the sphere of faith—those garments of the soul—cannot be put off and on at pleasure, like the garments of the body!
It were needless to say that Calvin’s refutation, or shall we say condemnation of Servetus, is full and complete, if it be not at all times of the complexion which unimpassioned weighing of the argument, considerate appreciation of the purpose, and truthful interpretation of the language of an opponent would have secured. Both of the forms in which the book appeared were well received by the public; the ‘Déclaration pour Maintenir la Vraye Foy’ having been extensively read by those who were not masters of the Latin; the ‘Fidelis expositio Errorum’ by those who were. Bullinger, it appears from what Calvin says, must formerly have urged him on to severity; and, as we have just seen, now shows himself anxious to have his friend appear in defence of what had been done. Writing immediately after the publication of the book, he congratulates the writer on his work; the only fault he has to find with it being the terseness of the style, which leads at times to obscurity, and its brevity. Calvin, in reply, excuses himself for the conciseness of his language and the modest length of his work. But his letter, in so far as it relates to our subject, is too important not to have a place in our narrative.
Your last letter, Calvin says, was duly delivered by our excellent brother Tho. Jonerus. I was from home at the time, so that I could not show him the hospitality he deserved, but it so fell out that the Lord in my absence provided for him in a way that could not have been bettered.... I have always feared that in my book my conciseness may have occasioned some obscurity; but I could not well guard against it. I may say, indeed, that with the end I had in view other motives led me to the brevity you speak of. In writing at all it was not only my principal but my sole object to expose the detestable errors of Servetus. It seemed to me that the subjects handled were best discussed in the plainest terms, and that the impious errors of the man should not be overlaid by any lengthy or ornate writing of mine. I, therefore, say nothing more of the severity of the style on which you animadvert. I have, indeed, taken every possible pains to show the common reader how without much trouble the thorny subtleties of Servetus may be exposed and refuted. I am not blind to the fact, however, that though I am wont to be concise in my writings I have felt myself more bound to brevity here than usual. But so it be only allowed that the sound doctrine has been defended by me in sincerity of faith and with understanding, this is of far more moment than any regrets I may feel for having been forced on the task. You, however, for the love you bear me, and led by the candour and equity of your nature, will judge me favourably in what I have done. Others may construe me more harshly; say I am a master in severity and cruelty, and that with my pen I lacerate the body of the man who came to his death through me. Some, too, there are, not otherwise evilly disposed, who say that the world is silent as to what was done, and that no attempt is made to refute my argument on the punishment of heresy, through fear of my displeasure. But it is well that I have you for the associate of my fault, if, indeed, there be any fault; for you were my authority and instigator. Look to it, therefore, that you gird yourself for the fight....
Jo. Calvin.
Geneva, November 3, 1554.
This interesting letter[111] seems to show that Calvin had already conceived misgivings of his conduct in the affair of Servetus. When John Calvin condescends to seek support beyond himself, and to charge a friend with having egged him on to the deed whose memory seems now to rankle in his mind, he must have felt less sure than was his wont that all he did was well done
This even-handed justice
Commends the ingredients of our poison’d chalice
To our own lips; (and tells us) we but teach
Bloody instructions, which, being taught, return
To plague the inventor.
Self-reliant as he was, and ready else to take on himself the responsibility of his acts, we yet see that he, the strong man among the strong, now felt the want not only of sympathy and approval, but of some one to share the ‘fault, if fault there were,’ in a relentless pursuit and terrible deed. When he would thus associate Bullinger with himself in his pitiless persecution of the ill-starred Servetus, Calvin must refer to the letter he had had from the Zürich pastor of September 14, as well as to the one in which the reply of the Church of Zürich to the Council of Geneva is couched—reply of which there need be no question Bullinger was the writer. Of all the ministers of the Swiss Churches Calvin, we believe, had the highest respect for Bullinger, who, as he did not always truckle to him, fell out of favour at times, but only to come back anon with heartier consideration than before.
Melanchthon, too, whom we have found taking more notice of the work on Trinitarian Error than any of the other Reformers, would seem to have gone on to the end of his life increasing in hostility to its author. He, indeed, shows little of the mildness with which he is commonly credited whenever in later years the name of Servetus meets him. Writing to Calvin in October 1554, a year consequently after the death of Servetus, and when he had probably read the ‘Apologia de Mysterio Trinitatis,’ addressed to him, and printed at the end of the ‘Christianismi Restitutio,’ Melanchthon congratulates the Reformer ‘for all he had done in bringing so dangerous a heretic to justice.’ ‘I have read your able refutation of the horrible blasphemies of the Spaniard; and for the conclusion attained give thanks to the Son of God who was umpire in your contest. The Church, too, both of the day and of the future, owes you thanks, and will surely prove itself grateful.’[112]
Calvin’s more intimate friends and partisans, with few exceptions, approved of his zeal in vindicating the honour of God, as they said, and treading out, as they imagined, the threatening spark of heresy kindled by Servetus. Later admirers and adherents, again, unable to condone his deed, attempt to find, and flatter themselves that they do find, excuse for him in the ruder and sterner temper of the times in which he lived. But we own, regretfully, that with all we know, we cannot follow them in this. Calvin was not only a man of the highest intelligence, he was also possessed of a carefully cultivated mind. An admirable scholar, deeply read in the humanities, and familiar with history, he had in earlier life, and in face of the persecution for conscience’ sake beginning under Francis I., manfully raised his voice for toleration. He had even gone out of his way, as we have seen, and spent his money in republishing Seneca’s ‘Treatise on Clemency,’ with added comments of his own, by way of warning, beyond question, to his sovereign against the fatal course on which he saw him entering.