274 THE REFORMATION IN FRENCH SWITZERLAND.
infinite number of fine expressions (em-ichie d'une infinite de beaux traits), though I could have wished that they had been written on a better subject. In short, a man wonderfully conversant with and attached to the books of the Holy Scriptures, and such, that if he had turned his mind in the proper direction, he might have been ranked with the most distinguished doctors of the Church."
Jacques Auguste de Thou (Thuancs, 1553-1617).
President of the Parliament of Paris. A liberal Roman Catholic and one of the framers of the Edict of Nantes.
From the 36th book of his Historia sui Temporis (from 1543-1607).
"John Calvin, of Noyon in Picardy, a person of lively spirit and great eloquence {d'un esprit vif et d'une grande eloquence)} and a theologian of high reputation among the Protestants, died of asthma, May 20 [27], 1564, at Geneva, where he had taught for twenty-three years, being nearly fifty-six years of age. Though he had labored under various diseases for seven years, this did not render him less diligent in his office, and never hindered him from writing."
De Thou has nothing unfavorable to say of Calvin.
TESTIMONIES OF LATER FRENCH WRITERS.
Charles Drelincourt (1595-1669).
" In that prodigious multitude of books which were composed by Calvin, you see no words thrown away; and since the prophets and apostles, there never perhaps was a man who conveyed so many distinct statements in so few words, and in such appropriate and well-chosen terms (en des mots si propres et si bien choisis). . . . Never did Calvin's life appear to me more pure or more innocent than after carefully examining the diabolical calumnies with which some have endeavored to defame his character, and after considering all the praises which his greatest enemies are constrained to bestow on his memory."
Moses Amtraut (1596-1645).
" That incomparable Calvin, to whom mainly, next to God, the Church owes its Reformation, not only in France, but in many other parts of Europe."
Bishop Jacques Benigne Bossuet (1627-1704).
From his Histoire des Variations des Eglises Protestantes (1688), the greatest polemical work in French against the Reformation.
" I do not know if the genius of Calvin would be found as fitted to excite the imagination and stir up the populace as was that of Luther, but after the
1 Or, as quoted from another edition by the Strassburg editors (XXI. 11) : " personnage d'un grand esprit et jnerveilleusement eloquent (admirabili facundia prmditus)." A French translation of the Historia appeared in 1734.
§ 68. TRIBUTES TO THE MEMORY OF CALVIN. 275
movement had commenced, he rose in many countries, more especially in France, above Luther himself, and made himself head of a party which hardly yields to that of the Lutherans. By his searching intellect and his bold decisions, he improved upon all those who had sought in this centurj' to establish a new church, and gave a new turn to the pretended reformation.
" It is a weak feeling which makes us desirous to find anything extraordinary in the death-beds of these people. God does not always bestow these examples. Since he permits heresy for the trial of his people, it is not to be wondered at that to complete this trial he allows the spirit of seduction to prevail in them even to the end, with all the fair appearances by which it is covered ; and, without learning more of the life and death of Calvin, it is enough to know that he has kindled in his country a flame which not all the blood shed on its account has been able to extinguish, and that he has gone to appear before the judgment of God without feeling any remorse for a great crime. . . .
" Let us grant him then, since he wishes it so much, the glory of having written as well as any man of his age; let us even place him, if desired, above Luther; for whilst the latter was in some respects more original and lively, Calvin, his inferior in genius, appears to have surpassed him in learning. Luther triumphed as a speaker, but the pen of Calvin was more correct, especially in Latin, and his style, though severe, was much more consecutive and chaste. They equally excelled in speaking the language of their country, and both possessed an extraordinary vehemence. Each by his talents has gained many disciples and admirers. Each, elated by success, has fancied to raise himself above the Fathers ; neither could bear contradiction, and their eloquence abounds in nothing more largely than virulent invective."
Richard Simon (1(338-1712).
One of the greatest critical and biblical scliolars of the Roman Catholic Church.
From his Critical History of the Old Testament (Latin and French).
" As Calvin was endued with a lofty genius, we are constantly meeting with something in his commentaries which delights the mind (quo animus rapitur) ; and in consequence of his intimate and perfect acquaintance with human nature, his ethics are truly charming, while he does his utmost to maintain their accordance with the sacred text. Had he been less under the influence of prejudice, and had he not been solicitous to become the leader and standard-bearer of heresy, he might have produced a work of ne greatest usefulness to the Catholic Church."
The same passage, with additions, occurs in French. Simon says that no author "had a better knowledge of the utter inability of the human heart," but that "he gives too much prominence to this inability," and "lets no opportunity pass of slandering the Roman Church," so that part of his commentaries is " useless declamations" (de'clamations inutiles). " Calvin displays more genius and judgment in his works than Luther; he is more cautious, and takes care not to make use of weak proofs, of which his adversaries might take advantage. He is subtle to excess in his reasoning, and his com-