CXXII.—To Bullinger.

New appeal to the Seigneurs of Zurich, in favour of the Waldenses of Provence—Luther's invectives against the Swiss Reformer—remarkable judgment in regard to his character—his injustice pardoned in consideration of the eminent services rendered by him to the cause of Christ.

Geneva, 25th November 1544.

You will receive from this brother who has delivered to you my letter, a crown-piece and two silver testons; for this, if I remember correctly, was the amount that remained. Excuse me, I pray you, for not having sent it sooner. As for the reason why this brother has been sent to you, by those of Neuchatel, he will himself tell you. There is, in my opinion, no difficulty, or very little, indeed, if any, in the case. But the perverseness and importunity of one individual compel them to be troublesome both to you and to ourselves. They have in their meeting a man belonging to that class of doctors, from which, hitherto, not a single good man has ever yet come forth, one who has never ceased from time to time to pester them with some troublesome affair or another. There are two causes which urge him on in this course. For he seems born to contradict, and because he is not so very highly esteemed by others as he rates himself, it is after this fashion that he takes his revenge. Had he been in our Church, he would easily have been restrained. For we had a means of breaking him in quite ready at hand. But where he is, he has the Prince's deputy by whom he is countenanced. For it is thus, that men of this sort of pretension secure and fortify themselves with defences, so as to work mischief with impunity. That you would, all of you, do of your own accord what I am now about to ask, I am well aware. Nevertheless, I would entreat of you, that in so sacred a cause you may reach forth a helping hand to the brethren; that is, that you would support them by your authority, and train them by a right method that they may bridle up that Ishmael. This much have I written, not because it might be supposed to be needful, but rather to please our brother.

There is another affair, besides, in which I wish very specially to implore your aid. There are brethren in Provence, for whom you are aware that we have always taken much pains.[447] Nor were they any way undeserving that we should do so; for they are a people so harmless, and withal so piously disposed, that their peace and safety ought to be the peculiar care of all good men. It is now three years bypast, since they were so far advanced as to have presented to the Parliament of Aix a confession of faith, pure and simple as we could have set it forth ourselves. And besides, that you may not suppose that such a step was taken from some sudden impulse, which might immediately have evaporated, whenever they have been called to account concerning it they have constantly stood firm to their profession. In the meantime, however, they were cruelly harassed. After they had been exposed for some time to the savage tyranny of their enemies, they obtained at length of the King that he would appoint a commission, who might hear evidence and report truly upon the whole case. The King commissioned two persons, whose duty was to make inquiry; he wished to take the entire cognizance of the cause to himself, and so to pronounce an award. The tenor of the commission was, that the persons who were to be sent were to inquire particularly, and take special knowledge concerning their doctrine and morals, both in public and private. This the brethren have no dread or anxiety about. For they have so conducted themselves toward all around them as to have an unexceptionable testimony to their sterling worth, even from their adversaries.[448] As for their doctrine, they are about to present their confession of faith, clear and sincere, to the King as he has required, which document comprises, and that distinctly, far more points than can be alleged against them. At this present time, both the bishops, the royal officers, and even the parliament itself, are striving with all their might to set aside the royal commission; if it be quashed, they will then be exposed to the fury of lions and wolves, that they may spend their rage upon them. Indeed, their adversaries are mainly desirous that they may have full license to discharge all their fury upon these wretched people. If the commission be received and acted upon, even in that event they will not have escaped the danger. For in three small towns,[449] and in very many of the villages, they profess the pure doctrine of the Evangel. In one little town they have thoroughly cleansed the parish church from all its defilements, and there they celebrate the Supper and Baptism in the same manner as we do. The more immediately the danger is impending over them on either side, they are all the more on that account to be succoured by us; in this their wonderful steadfastness, especially, to which should we be found wanting, we would be chargeable with the basest cowardice. You must also take into account that it is not their cause alone which is here concerned; but either a way will be opened by their destruction to the cruel persecution of the godly throughout the whole kingdom, or, according to this method, he will assault and break up the Evangel. What can we do, therefore, but strain every nerve that these godly brethren may not, through our short-coming in duty, become the victims of such cruelty, and that the door may not for a long time be shut against Christ? I have desired beforehand to warn you of the likelihood of this coming to pass, that if sooner or later they fly to you, you may have inclined the hearts of all your friends to render them all the help they can. One or other of these two things will have to be done, either the King must be sought unto, that he may allow them to enjoy the benefit which has been already granted, or his anger must be appeased, if it shall have begun to wax hot against them.

I hear that Luther has at length broken forth in fierce invective, not so much against you as against the whole of us.[450] On the present occasion, I dare scarce venture to ask you to keep silence, because it is neither just that innocent persons should thus be harassed, nor that they should be denied the opportunity of clearing themselves; neither, on the other hand, is it easy to determine whether it would be prudent for them to do so. But of this I do earnestly desire to put you in mind, in the first place, that you would consider how eminent a man Luther is, and the excellent endowments wherewith he is gifted, with what strength of mind and resolute constancy, with how great skill, with what efficiency and power of doctrinal statement, he hath hitherto devoted his whole energy to overthrow the reign of Antichrist, and at the same time to diffuse far and near the doctrine of salvation. Often have I been wont to declare, that even although he were to call me a devil, I should still not the less hold him in such honour that I must acknowledge him to be an illustrious servant of God. But while he is endued with rare and excellent virtues, he labours at the same time under serious faults. Would that he had rather studied to curb this restless, uneasy temperament which is so apt to boil over in every direction. I wish, moreover, that he had always bestowed the fruits of that vehemence of natural temperament upon the enemies of the truth, and that he had not flashed his lightning sometimes also upon the servants of the Lord. Would that he had been more observant and careful in the acknowledgment of his own vices. Flatterers have done him much mischief, since he is naturally too prone to be over-indulgent to himself. It is our part, however, so to reprove whatsoever evil qualities may beset him, as that we may make some allowance for him at the same time on the score of these remarkable endowments with which he has been gifted. This, therefore, I would beseech you to consider first of all, along with your colleagues, that you have to do with a most distinguished servant of Christ, to whom we are all of us largely indebted; that, besides, you will do yourselves no good by quarrelling, except that you may afford some sport to the wicked, so that they may triumph not so much over us as over the Evangel. If they see us rending each other asunder, they then give full credit to what we say, but when with one consent and with one voice we preach Christ, they avail themselves unwarrantably of our inherent weakness to cast reproach upon our faith. I wish, therefore, that you would consider and reflect on these things rather than on what Luther has deserved by his violence; lest that may happen to you which Paul threatens, that by biting and devouring one another, ye be consumed one of another. Even should he have provoked us, we ought rather to decline the contest than to increase the wound by the general shipwreck of the Church. Adieu, my much honoured brother in the Lord, and my very dear friend. Salute reverently in my name all the brethren in the ministry. May the Lord preserve you, and more and more increase his own gifts in you. My colleagues very kindly salute you.

[Calvin's Lat. Corresp.—Opera, tom. ix. pp. 239, 240.]