768 THE REFORMATION IN FRENCH SWITZERLAND.
and that it is one of its most sacred duties to punish attacks made on the Divine majesty.
"From the time Servetus was convicted of his heresy," says Calvin, " I have not uttered a word about his punishment, as all honest men will bear witness ; and I challenge even the malignant to deny it if they can." ^ One thing only he did : he expressed the wish for a mitigation of his punishment.2 And this humane sentiment is almost the only good thing that can be recorded to his honor in this painful trial.
§ 151. The First Act of the Trial at Geneva.
Servetus was confined near the Church of St. Pierre, in the ancient residence of the bishops of Geneva, which had been turned into a prison. His personal property consisted of ninety-seven crowns, a chain of gold weighing about twenty crowns, and six gold rings (a laige turquoise, a white sapphire, a diamond, a ruby, a large emerald of Peru, and a signet ring of coralline). These valuables were surrendered to Pierre Tissot, and after the process given to the hospital. The prisoner was allowed to have paper and ink, and such books as could be procured at Geneva or Lyons at his own expense. Calvin lent him Ignatius, Polycarp, TertuUian, and Irenseus. But he was denied the benefit of counsel, according to the ordinances of 1543. This is contrary to the law of equity and is one of the worst features of the trial. He was not subjected to the usual torture.
The laws of Geneva demanded that the accuser should become a prisoner with the accused, in order that in the event of the charge proving false, the former might undergo
^ Opera, VIII. 461 : '^ Ex quo convictus est, me nullum de poena verhtim fccisse, non solum boni omnes viri mihl testes erunt sed mails etiam concede ut proferant si quid habent." Servetus complained of hard treatment in prison, but for this the Council and the jailer alone were responsible.
2 In his letter to Farel, Aug. 20, 1553: " Sper-o capitale saltern judicium fore; pcenoe vera atrocitatem remitti cupio."
§ 151. THE FIRST ACT OF THE TRIAL. 769
punishment in the place of the accused. The person employed for this purpose was Nicolas de la Fontaine, a Frenchman, a theological student, and Calvin's private secretary. The accused as well as the accuser were foreigners. Another law obliged the Little Council to examine every prisoner within twenty-four hours after his arrest. The advocate or "Speaker" of Nicolas de la Fontaine in the trial was Germain Colladon, likewise a Frenchman and an able lawyer, who had fled for his religion, and aided Calvin in framing a new constitution for Geneva.
The trial began on the 15th of August and continued, with interruptions, for more than two months. It was conducted in French and took place in the Bishop's Palace, according to the forms prescribed by law, in the presence of the Little Council, the herald of the city, the Lord-Lieutenant, and several citizens, who had a right to sit in criminal processes, but did not take part in the judgment. Among these was Berthelier, the bitter enemy of Calvin.
Servetus answered the preliminary questions as to his name, age, and previous history more truthfully than he had done before the Catholic tribunal, and incidentally accused Calvin of having caused the prosecution at Vienne. It is not owing to Calvin, he said, that he was not burnt alive there.
The deed of accusation, as lodged by Nicholas de la Fontaine, consisted of thirty-eight articles which were drawn up by Calvin (as he himself informs us), and were fortified by references to the books of Servetus, which were produced in evidence, especially the " Restitution of Christianity," both the manuscript copy, which Servetus had sent to Calvin in advance, and a printed copy.^
The principal charges were, that he had published heretical oi)inions and blasphemies concerning the Trinity, the person
1 The articles are given in full by Rilliet, and in Opera^ "VIII. 727-731. Calvin mentions forty articles in a letter to Farel (Aug. 20), but they are reduced to thirty-eight by the notation.