§ 97. Survey of Calvin’s Activity.
§ 97. Survey of Calvin’s Activity.
Calvin combined the offices of theological professor, preacher, pastor, church-ruler, superintendent of schools, with the extra labors of equal, yea, greater, importance, as author, correspondent, and leader of the expanding movement of the Reformation in Western Europe. He was involved in serious disciplinary and theological controversies with the Libertines, Romanists, Pelagians, Antitrinitarians, and Lutherans. He had no help except from one or more young men, whom he kept in his house and employed as clerks. When unwell he dictated from his bed. He had an amazing power for work notwithstanding his feeble health. When interrupted in dictation, he could at once resume work at the point where he left off.643 He indulged in no recreation except a quarter or half an hour’s walk in his room or garden after meals, and an occasional game of quoits or la clef with intimate friends. He allowed himself very little sleep, and for at least ten years he took but one meal a day, alleging his bad digestion.644 No wonder that he undermined his health, and suffered of headache, ague, dyspepsia, and other bodily infirmities which terminated in a premature death.
Luther and Zwingli were as indefatigable workers as Calvin, but they had an abundance of flesh and blood, and enjoyed better health. Luther liked to play with his children, and to entertain his friends with his humorous table-talk. Zwingli also found recreation in poetry and music, and played on several instruments.
A few years before his death, Calvin was compelled to speak of his work in self-defence against the calumnies of an ungrateful student and amanuensis, François Baudouin, a native of Arras, who ran away with some of Calvin’s papers, turned a Romanist, and publicly abused his benefactor. "I will not," he says, "enumerate the pleasures, conveniences, and riches I have renounced for Christ. I will only say that, had I the disposition of Baudouin, it would not have been very difficult for me to procure those things which he has always sought in vain, and which he now but too greedily gloats upon. But let that pass. Content with my humble fortune, my attention to frugality has prevented me from being a burden to anybody. I remain tranquil in my station, and have even given up a part of the moderate salary assigned to me, instead of asking for any increase. I devote all my care, labor, and study not only to the service of this Church, to which I am peculiarly bound, but to the assistance of all the Churches by every means in my power. I so discharge my office of a teacher, that no ambition may appear in my extreme faithfulness and diligence. I devour numerous griefs, and endure the rudeness of many; but my liberty is uncontrolled by the power of any man. I do not indulge the great by flattery; I fear not to give offence. No prosperity has hitherto inflated me; whilst I have intrepidly borne the many severe storms by which I have been tossed, till by the singular mercy of God I emerged from them. I live affably with my equals, and endeavor faithfully to preserve my friendships."645
Beza, his daily companion, thus describes "the ordinary labors" of Calvin, as he calls them: "During the week he preached every alternate, and lectured every third day; on Thursday he presided in the meetings of Presbytery (Consistory); and on Friday he expounded the Scripture in the assembly which we call ’the Congregation.’ He illustrated several sacred books with most learned commentaries, besides answering the enemies of religion, and maintaining an extensive correspondence on matters of great importance. Any one who reads these attentively, will be astonished how one little man (unicus homunculus) could be fit for labors so numerous and great. He availed himself much of the aid of Farel and Viret,646 while, at the same time, he conferred greater benefits on them. Their friendship and intimacy was not less hateful to the wicked than delightful to all the pious; and, in truth, it was a most pleasing spectacle to see and hear those three distinguished men carrying on the work of God in the Church so harmoniously, with such a variety of gifts. Farel excelled in a certain sublimity of mind, so that nobody could either hear his thunders without trembling, or listen to his most fervent prayers without being almost carried up to heaven. Viret possessed such suavity of eloquence, that his hearers were compelled to hang upon his lips. Calvin filled the mind of the hearers with as many weighty sentiments as he uttered words. I have often thought that a preacher compounded of the three would be absolutely perfect. In addition to these employments, Calvin had many others, arising out of circumstances domestic and foreign. The Lord so blessed his ministry that persons flocked to him from all parts of the Christian world; some to take his advice in matters of religion, and others to hear, him. Hence, we have seen an Italian, an English, and, finally, a Spanish Church at Geneva, one city seeming scarcely sufficient to entertain so many nests. But though at home he was courted by the good and feared by the bad, and matters had been admirably arranged, yet there were not wanting individuals who gave him great annoyance. We will unfold these contests separately, that posterity may be presented with a singular example of fortitude, which each may imitate according to his ability."647
We shall now consider this astounding activity of the Reformer in detail: his Church polity, his theological system, his controversies, and his relation to, and influence on, foreign churches.
Dyer, p. 113, miscalls them Artichokes, because, as he fancies, they took "this plant for their device."
"Es macht einen eigenthümlichen Eindruck," says Kampschulte (I. 365), "Karl V. hier für den Sieg eines Mannes mithätig zu sehen, dessen Wirksamkeit, wie kaum eine andere, dazu beigetragen hat, die Grundlagen seiner Macht zu untergraben."
Bernard wrote a letter to Calvin, Feb. 6, 1541 (Herminjard, VII. 23), in which he says: "Veni ergo, venerande mi pater in Christo: noster es perfecto. Te enim nobis donavit Dominus Deus. Suspirant etiam post te omnes …Faxit Dominus Jesus, ut velox adventus tuus sit ad nos! Vale, ecclesiaeque digneris succurrere nostrae. Alioqui requiret de manu tua sanguinem nostrum Dominus Deus. Dedit enim te speculatorem domui Israel quae apud nos est." Calvin answered, March 1, 1541, that he was very reluctant to return to Geneva, but would obey the voice of the Church. Herminjard, VII. 38-40.
March 1, 1541 (from Ulm on his journey to Ratisbon): "Non aliter respondeo quam quod semper solitus sum: Nullum esse locum sub caelo quem magis reformidem, non quia oderim, sed quoniam tot difficultates illic mihi propositas video, quibus superandis sentio me longe esse imparem. Quoties superiorum temporum subit recordatio, facere nequeo quin toto pectore exhorrescam, si cogar me iterum antiquis illis certaminibus objicere. Si mihi cum ecclesia illa tantum esset negocium, animo essem quietiore; certe minus terrerer. Sed vicinos [allusion to Bern] cogita, qui mihi olim tantum molestiae exhibuerunt." Opera, XI. 167; Herminjard, VII. 43.
Dyer (p. 121) and Kampschulte (I. 370) suspect, without any reason, that Calvin, in his repeated refusals, was influenced by the unworthy motive to humble the pride of the Genevese. What more could they do than bombard him with petitions and deputations? And this they did months before he accepted the call.
"Cor meum velut mactatum Domino in sacrificium offero." Oct. 24, 1540. Opera, XI. 100; Herminjard, VI. 339. Henry has appropriately chosen this sentence as the motto for his biography.
Preface to his Commentary on the Psalms (written in 1557), Opera, XXXI. 27.
Annal. 266 sqq.; Herminjard, VI. 331-335.
See the letters signed by Capito, Hedio, Bucer, Sturm, Bedrotus, Grynaeus (probably written by Bucer), October and November, 1540, in Herminjard, VI. 335 and 356 sqq., and the letter of the Council of Strassburg to the Council of Geneva, Sept. 1, 1541, vol. VII. 227.
"Pour gens de bien et de Dieu." Annal. 278.
See the letters of the Council of Geneva to the Pastors of Zürich in Opera, XI. 220 sqq., and in Herminjard, VII. 129 sqq.
The letter is in Latin with a French translation by Viret, Opera, X. 271 Herminjard, VII. 231-233. "Venit tandem ad vos Calvinus, eximium profecto el rarissimum, cui vix secundum, si tamen secundum ultum, organum Christi hodie extat …. Venit ergo, dimissus ratione ea quam noster senatus perscribit, ut nimirum redeat."
Herminjard, VII. 227-230, in Latin and French.
Herminjard, VII. 253-255; Opera, XI. 208.
Opera, XI. 274.
See the correspondence in Herminjard, VII. 242 sqq.
Herminjard, VII. 239. The letter was received at Geneva, Sept. 12. See Herminjard’s note 6 on p. 240.
He says, in the Preface to his Commentary on the Psalms: "I have no intention of showing myself, and making a noise in the world." Kampschulte goes beyond the record when he asserts (I. 380, 381): "Für den Empfang eines Fürsten hätte nicht mehr Theilnahme bewiesen werden können …. Am 13tenSept. hielt er unter dem Jubel der Bevölkerung seinen feierlichen Einzug in Genf." Perhaps he followed here Stähelin, who says (I. 316): "Mit unglaublicher Begeisterung, wie im Triumphe, wurde er von dem Folk und dem Magistrate empfangen." There is no record of such a triumphant public entrance. See Beza and Colladon in the next note. Roget and Merle d’Aubigné (VII. 62 sq.) deny the fact of a popular ovation.
Beza (XXI. 131): "Calvinus XIII. Septembris anno Domini MDXLI Genevam regressus est, summa cum universi populi ac senatus inprimis singulare Dei erga se beneficium serio tum agnoscentis congratulatione." Colladon (XXI. 64): "Calvin fut tellement receu de singulière affection par ce poure peuple recognoissant so faute, et qui estoit affaméd’ouir son fidele Pasteur, qu’on ne cessa point qu’il ne fut arrestépour tousiours."
It was the house of Sieur de Fresneville, between the house of Bonivard, on the west, and that of Abbé de Bonmont, on the east, where Calvin lived from 1543 till his death. But as this house was not ready on his arrival, he lodged for a while in an adjoining house of the abbot of Bonmont, which was rebuilt in 1708 (No. 13 Rue des Chanoines, now called Rue de Calvin) and passed into the possession of Adrien Naville, president of the Société Évangélique. The second house (No. 11) remained a Reformed parsonage till 1700; in 1834 it was acquired by the Roman Catholic clergy, who assigned it to the Sisters of Mercy of Vincent de Paul, but it is now owned by the State. See Th. Heyer, De la maison de Calvin, in the "Mémoires d’Archéologie," IX. 391-408. I have consulted Mr. Ed. Naville and Mr. Ed. Favre of Geneva, who confirmed the above statements.
"Cinq cens florins, douze coppes de froment et deux bossot de vin." Annal. 284. Five hundred florins of Geneva were equivalent to about four thousand francs at the present standard of value. This is the estimate of Franklin and of Merle d’Aubigné, VII. 69. Galiffe (Quelq. pages d’Hist. p. 89, as quoted by Kampschulte, I. 388, note 3) estimates Calvin’s annual income at 9 to 10,000 francs of our money ($2000). A syndic at that time received only 100, a counsellor 25 francs, according to the same authority.
Herminjard, VII. 289, note: "On paya au voiturier, Emoz Daiz, pour 22journées 7florins, 4sols."
Reg. du Conseil, vol. XXXV. 324, quoted in Annal. 282, and by Herminjard; Calvin’s letter to Farel, Sept. 16, 1541, in Opera, XI. 281, and Herminjard, VII. 249-250.
"Quod bene vertat Deus, hic retentus sum, ut volebas. Superest ut Viretum quoque mecum retineam, quem a me avelli nullo modo patiar. Tuae quoque omni unique fratrum partes me hic adjuvare, nisi vultis me frustra excruciari, ac sine commodo esse miserrimum." Herminjard, VII. 249.
Merle d’Aubigné, VII. 70.
Comments on 2 Cor. 7:1; Gen. 17:1.
"Diese milde, versöhnliche Haltug nach seiner Rückkehr bildet eines derschönsten Blätter in der Geschichte Calvin’s." So says Kampschulte (I. 390), but he unjustly diminishes the praise by adding: "Noch höher würde die Nachwelt sein Verdienst anschlagen, wenn er sich selbst desselben weniger bewusst gewesen wäre." How could he be unconscious of his intention? And he spoke of it not boastingly, but modestly, like Paul.
Herminjard, VII. 293; Opera, XI. 299; Bonnet-Constable, I. 269.
"Tanti enim mihi est publica pax et concordia, ut manum mihi injiciam: atque hanc laudem mihi adversarii ipsi tribuere coquntur."
Herminjard, VII. 439; Bonnet-Constable, I. 291.
Registers, Oct. 25 and 27, Nov. 9 and 20, 1541; and Jan. 2, 1542. Opera, X. 15; XI. 379; XXI. 287, 289, 290. The Régisters du Conseil of Jan. 2, 1542 (vol. XXXV. f. 449), record as follows: "Ordonnances sus léglise: lesquelles hont estépassépar petit grand et général conseyl touteffoys hont estes corrigés, et avant quil soyent mys àlimprymerie Resoluz que en ung conseyl extraordinaire lesdictes ordonnances soyent vehues [vues] affin que telle quest passe par le général ne soyt changé." Annal., XXI. 289 sq.
They said that they would rather go "au diable" than to the pest-house.
That Calvin offered himself is asserted not only by Beza (XXXI. 134), but also by Roset and Savion. See Bonnet, I. 334, note. Castellio, who was not a minister, though he wished to become one, also offered his services, but changed his mind when the lot fell on him.
Bonnet-Constable, I. 334.
Kirchhofer, Leben Farels, II. 33.
Herminjard, VII. 437 sq.; Opera, XI. 376 sq.; Bonnet-Constable, I. 289 sq.
Herminjard, VII. 453; Opera, XI. 384; Bonnet-Constable, I. 297.
Bonnet-Constable, I. 351; Opera, XI. 516. The last sentence, "as far as Italy," is confirmed by a most grateful letter of evangelical believers in Venice, Vicenza, and Treviso, "to the saints of the Church of God in Geneva," dated Venice, 8 Id. December, 1542. See Opera, XI. 472-474.
643 Beza (XXI. 169): "Ut ... inter dictandum saepe aliquot horas interturbatus statim ad dictata nullo commonefaciente rediret."
644 Beza (XXI. 160): "Per decem minimum annos prandio abstinuit, ut nullum omnino cibum extra statam coenae horam sumeret, ut eum mirum sit phthisim effugere tam diu potuisse." Farther on (fol. 169) Beza says of Calvin: "Victu sic temperato, ut a sordibus et ab omni luxu longissime abesset: cibi parcissimi, ut per multos annos semel quotidie cibum sumpserit, ventriculi imbecillitatem causatus." Sometimes he abstained for thirty-six hours from all food. At the advice of his physician, he ate an egg and drank a glass of wine at noon.
645 Responsio ad Balduini Convicia (Geneva, 1562), in Opera, vol. IX. 561-580. Baudouin was an able lawyer, but a turncoat in religion. He died in 1573. On this personal controversy see Responsio, etc., Opera, VIII. 321 A, and Henry, vol. III. 549 sqq. Luther had a similar experience with John Agricola (Eisleben), his pupil and trusted friend, who publicly attacked him, and stirred up the Antinomian controversy.
646 Who came to Geneva occasionally, the former from Neuchâtel, the latter from Lausanne.
647 Vita Calv. in Opera, XXI. l32.