The maker of the Presbyterian creed caused the fugitive Servetus to be
arrested for blasphemy. He was tried. Calvin was his accuser. He was
convicted and condemned to death by fire. On the morning of the fatal
day, Calvin saw him, and Servetus, the victim, asked forgiveness of
Calvin, the murderer. Servetus was bound to the stake, and the faggots
were lighted. The wind carried the flames somewhat away from his body,
so that he slowly roasted for hours. Vainly he implored a speedy death.
At last the flames climbed round his form; through smoke and fire his
murderers saw a white, heroic face. And there they watched until a man
became a charred and shriveled mass. Liberty was banished from Geneva,
and nothing but Presbyterianism was left.