§ 117. THE lord's supper. 693
to Lavater (Bullinger's son-in-law) that he then for the first time understood the Swiss, and would never again oppose them ; but he struck out the clause of the " Consensus " which confined the efficacy of the sacrament to the elect.
But while the "■ Consensus " brought peace to the Swiss Churches, and satisfied the Melanchthonians, it was assailed by Westphal and Hesshus, who out-luthered Luther in zeal and violence, and disturbed the last years of Melanchthon and Calvin. We shall discuss this controversy in the next chapter.
The Calvinistic theory of the Eucharist passed into all the Reformed Confessions, and is very strongly stated in the Heidelberg Catechism (1563), the chief symbol of the German and Dutch Reformed Churches.^ In practice, however, it has, among Presbyterians, Congregationalists, and Baptists, largely given way to the Zwinglian view, which is more plain and intelligible, but ignores the mystical element in the holy communion.
1 Questions 76, 78, 79. Comp. Westminster Confession, ch. XXIX. 7, and Westminster Larger Catechism, qu. 170.
CHAPTER XV.
THEOLOGICAL CONTROVERSIES.
§ 118. Calvin as a Controversialist.
Calvin was involved in several controversies, chiefly on account of his doctrine of predestination. He displayed a decided superiority over all his opponents, as a scholar and a reasoner. He was never at a loss for an argument. He had also the dangerous gift of wit, irony, and sarcasm, but not the more desirable gift of harmless humor, which sweetens the bitterness of controversy, and lightens the burden of daily toil. Like David, in the imprecatory Psalms, he looked upon the enemies of his doctrine as enemies of God. "Even a dog barks," he wrote to the queen of Navarre, " when his master is attacked ; how could I be silent when the honor of my Lord is assailed? "^ He treated his opponents— Pighius, Bolsec, Castellio, and Servetus — with sovereign contempt, and called them '•'• nehulones^^ nugatores, canes, porci, bestioe. Such epithets are like weeds in the garden of his chaste and elegant style. But they were freely used b}-- the ancient fathers, with the exception of Chrysostom and Augustin, in dealing with heretics, and occur even
1 This characteristic expression he uses repeatedly ; for instance, in the work on the Necessity of Reforming the Church, in Opera, VI. 503 : " Cam's, si (jnam suo domino violentiam inferri viderit, protinus latrabit : nos tot sacrilegiis violari sacrum Dei nomen taciti aspiceremus? Et xibi esset illud : Opprobria exprobantium tibi ceciderittit super me (Ps. 69:9)?" And, again in the same book (fol. 507), with the addition, that a dog would rather risk his life than be silent.
■^ In applying the epithet nebulo to Castellio, he translates it by the French un brouillon, which means a confused and turbulent fellow (not a scamp). Schweizer renders it Wirrkopf (I. 212).
§ 119. CALVIN AND PIGHIUS. 695
in the Scriptures, but impersonally.^ His age saw nothing improper in them. Beza says that " no expression unwortliy of a good man ever fell from the lips of Calvin." The taste of the sixteenth century differed widely from that of the nineteenth. The polemical writings of Protestants and Ilomanists alike abound in the most violent personalities and coarse abuse. Luther wielded the club of Hercules acrainst Tetzel, Eck, Emser, Cochlffius, Henry VIH., Duke Henry of Brunswick, and the Sacramentarians. Yet there were honorable exceptions even then, as Melanchthon and Bullinger. A fiery temper is a propelling force in history ; nothing great can be done without enthusiasm ; moral indignation against wrong is inseparable from devotion to what is right ; hatred is the negative side of love. But temper must be controlled by reason, and truth should be spoken in love, " with malice to none, with charity for all." Opprobrious and abusive terms always hurt a good cause ; self-restraint and moderation strengthen it. Understatement commands assent ; overstatement provokes opposition.