[4] Letter without date, and without conclusion, written during the
attack of the plague, under which the minister Geniston succumbed,
that is to say, in September 1545.
Captivity of Farel's brother--ravages of the plague in Geneva.
[_September 1545._]
You will hear sad news; for this person will inform you that your
brother Gautier[5] is lying in fetters, and in imminent peril of his
life. The very thing that I always feared, and that I foretold would
occur, has happened; and in this I regret that I have not proved a
false prophet. But of what avail are such complaints? With regard to
helping him, I do not know how far it is in the power of the Bernese
to do so, nor what, at this time, they may be willing to undertake.
You will know these things better than I. There is no hope of
obtaining any seasonable assistance from Germany, unless by means of
John Sturm, who, however well disposed he may be towards the cause,
is not, so far as things have gone, friendly to your brother. Would
that you had thought better, while there was time, of what it is to
offend a friend who deserved well. Besides, you are not ignorant of
the fact, that there are servile persons who wish, at this time of
the day, to approve their obsequiousness to the princes. Yet, if
you shall be of opinion that it will be useful to attempt something
in that quarter, your influence with Sturm himself is great. You
have, however, your own Bucer, to whom he never ventured to refuse
anything; but it is a long circuit. Let him, therefore, accelerate
the movements of the Bernese, lest the remedy come too late.
[5] Gautier Farel, brother to the Reformer. He was very soon
afterwards restored to liberty, contrary to all expectation.
We are surprised that we have had no announcement regarding
yourself. Viret made me aware of the resolution that had been come
to by the brethren; but, as far as I can gather from his letter,
nothing has been done in the Council. How long, therefore, will the
matter remain in doubt? Here, as you know, we are in great straits:
you are away from us; Matthæus is occupied in the hospital for those
who are suffering from the plague. In the meantime, while we are
calling upon you to come, we have lost our very excellent brother
and most faithful colleague Geniston.[6] What if the others should
likewise be taken away? What if one only should survive, [I myself?]
What if the ministers be shut up by themselves, through the absurd
superstition of our townsmen?--just as lately a large number was
within a little of being so confined. Consider, therefore, these
our difficulties, lest you put us off longer than is right. But
what Viret mentions that your people have added, viz: that you are
conceded to us, on the condition of our being able to bring about
the succession of Toussain, is certainly ridiculous; for what can
we do in that matter, or in what way shall we attempt the business?
The short of it is, we by no means prescribe a definite time, but we
desire you to use your utmost diligence to disengage yourself from
the place where you are, in order that you may forthwith repair to
us unfettered;[7] for we are now sadly in want of your presence, as
you may judge from our condition. The wife of Geniston is, at the
same time, in the death-throes, his little girl is wearing away, and
his little boy is now given over....
[_Lat. orig. autogr._--_Library of Geneva._ Vol. 106.]
[6] The minister, Louis de Geniston, following the noble example
of Pierre Blanchet, cut off by the plague in 1543, had, of his own
accord, offered himself for the service of the hospital set apart
for those afflicted with the plague. He fell under it, a victim of
his devotedness, in September 1545. His wife and two of his children
were carried off a few days afterwards by the scourge, which almost
wholly depopulated several quarters of the city.
[7] There exists (Imp. Lib. _Recueil Hist., de France_, vol. xix.)
a piece entitled _Lepida Farelli Vocatio_. In that letter Calvin
vigorously urges his friend to repair to Geneva, by calling to mind
the religious violence with which he was himself detained there,
by the voice of Farel, at the time of his first entrance into that
city in 1536. "Do you expect that I should thunder as you were wont
to do, when you wished forcibly to draw me hither?" The urgencies
of Calvin were fruitless, and the Church of Neuchatel retained, for
twenty years longer, the services and the indefatigable activity of
Farel.