772 THE REFORMATION IN FRENCH SWITZERLAND.
but the false trinity of his opponents ; and that the oldest teachers before the Council of Nicsea did not teach that trinity, and did not use the word. Among them he quoted Ignatius, Polycarp, Clement of Rome, Irenseus, TertuUian, and Clement of Alexandria. Calvin refuted his assertion by quotations from Justin Martyr, TertuUian, and Origen. On this occasion he charges him, unjustly, with total ignorance of Greek, because he was embarrassed by a Greek quotation from Justin Martyr, and called for a Latin version.^
In discussing the relation of the divine substance to that of the creatures, Servetus declared that " all creatures are of the substance of God, and that God is in all things." Calvin asked him: " How, unhappy man, if any one strike the pavement with his foot and say that he tramples on thy God, wouldst thou not be horrified at having the Majesty of heaven subjected to such indignity ? " To this Servet replied : " I have no doubt that this bench, and this buffet, and all you can show me, are of the substance of God." When it was objected that in his view God must be substantially even in the devil, he burst out into a laugh, and rejoined: "Can you doubt this? I hold this for a general maxim, that all things are part and parcel of God, and that the nature of things is his substantial Spirit." ^
The result of this first act of the trial was unfavorable to the prisoner, but not decisive.
Calvin used the freedom of the pulpit to counteract the efforts of the Libertine party in favor of Servetus.
§ 152. The Second Act of the Trial at Geneva.
The original prosecution being discharged, the case was handed over to the attorney-general, Claude Rigot, in com-
1 "He could no more read Greek," says Calvin, in the Befutatio, "than a boy learning his A B C." Opera, VIII. 498.
2 Opera, VIII. 496: "ex traduce Dei orta (or, urie partie et portion de Dieu) esse omnia, et rerum naturam esse substantialem Dei spirituin."
§ 152. THE SECOND ACT OF THE TRIAL. 773
pliance with the criminal ordinance of 1543. Thus the second act of the trial began. The prisoner was examined again, and a new indictment of thirty articles was prepared, which bore less on the actual heresies of the accused than on their dangerous practical tendency and his persistency in spreading them.^
The Council wrote also to the judges of Vienne to procure particulars of the charges which had been brought against him there.
Serve tus defended himself before the Council on the 23d of August, with ingenuity and apparent frankness against the new charges of quarrelsomeness and immorality. As to the latter, he pleaded his physical infirmity which protected him against the temptation of licentiousness. He had always studied the Scripture and tried to lead a Christian life. He did not think that his book would disturb the peace of Christendom, but would promote the truth. He denied that he had come to Geneva for any sinister purpose ; he merely wished to pass through on his way to Ziirich and Naples.
At the same time he prepared a written petition to the Council, which was received on the 24th of August. He demanded his release from the criminal charge for several reasons, which ought to have had considerable weight : that it was unknown in the Christian Church before the time of Constantine to try cases of heresy before a civil tribunal ; that he had not offended against the laws either in Geneva or elsewhere ; that he was not seditious nor turbulent ; that his books treated of abstruse questions, and were addressed to the learned ; that he had not spoken of these subjects to anybody but Qilcolampadius, Bucer, and Capito ; that he had ever refuted the Anabaptists, who rebelled against the magistrates and wished to have all things in common. In case he was not released, he demanded the aid of an advocate
1 Articles du procureur-ge'neral in Opera, VIII. 763-766.