[97] The original letter is without address. But it is generally
believed that it was addressed by Calvin to the widow of the
celebrated William Budé, great-grandson of the secretary to King
Charles V., and one of the most learned personages of the period of
the revival of letters. William Budé having declared in his will
that he wished to be buried without ceremony, this circumstance led
to the supposition that he had died in the faith of the Reformed.
His widow not being able to make free profession of her faith at
Paris, was about to settle at Geneva, on the solicitation of Calvin,
(June 1549.) She was accompanied by her daughter and three of her
sons, Louis, Francis, and John de Budé, who held a distinguished
rank in the republic. The best known of the three brothers is John
de Budé, Sieur de Vérace, the particular friend of Calvin and of
Théodore de Bèze. He was received an inhabitant of Geneva the 27th
June 1549, burgess the 2d May 1555, member of both Councils in 1559,
fulfilled several important missions to the Protestant princes of
Germany, and died in 1589, after having rendered distinguished
services to his new country, and thereby added fresh lustre to his
family, whose descendants still live at Geneva.--Galiffe, _Notices
Généalogiques des Familles Genèvoises_, tom. iii. p. 83, _et seq._
Calvin exhorts this lady to leave France, and retire with her
family to Geneva.
_This 20th .... 1546._[98]
[98] _On the back_, in another handwriting,--"Of 46. I think that
this letter must be to Madame Budé."
MADAME,--Howbeit that I have occasion to praise God for the great
zeal and constancy he has vouchsafed to you, as I have heard
from the bearer, yet, believing that my exhortation might not be
superfluous to you, in the midst of such diversified trials and
conflicts, I was unwilling to forego writing you some words by him,
and, above all, to help you to come to a determination upon the
point on which you are still somewhat doubtful; that is, as to your
retiring hitherward that you may serve God in peace of conscience.
Were it possible for you to discharge your duty where you are, I
would by no means advise you to stir. But I am well aware in what
captivity you are held. If God had given you strength and constancy
to prepare for death, and not to flinch for any fear of the danger
wherein you are, there would be nothing better than to keep that
grace in exercise. But if you feel that the weakness of the flesh
gets the mastery, and hinders you from doing your duty, seeing that
your conscience must needs be troubled and in continual torment,
the only way is to seek a suitable remedy. For it is no slight
perplexity, yea, even agony, to feel ourselves blamable in a matter
of so great moment; yea, and that the evil continues to such an
extent, that we can make no end of offending God. Although many
deceive themselves in this matter, making themselves believe that
it is but a trifling fault to defile themselves with superstitions
which are repugnant to the word of God, and derogate from his
honour, I reckon that his honour, to whom we owe everything, is so
precious to you, that it is felt to be a subject of intolerable
regret to you to offend against it daily, as you are constrained
to do at present. I do not doubt, therefore, but that you have a
special desire to escape out of such wretchedness, and that until
you do, you cannot but be in very great anxiety and sadness.
Consider, now, whether this is not an unhappy condition, thus to
linger for ever. I know, indeed, that there are many who reply to
us, that we here are no more angels than themselves, and that we
offend God even as they do; which is true. But as the proverb says,
"Sickness upon sickness is not health." If, then, we come far short
in other respects, what need is there to increase our condemnation
by adding to the rest this sin which is so grievous; to wit, that of
not giving glory to the Son of God, who became as nothing for our
salvation?
Besides, after you have done your best by dissimulation, to keep
clear of the perils which surround you, you are not a whit better;
for the wicked are very sharp-sighted, and you will never content
them but by an entire renunciation of God; wherefore, you have no
rest for the body any more than for the soul. And after declension
from God, in order to comply with the world, you have derived no
benefit from it, except that you languish as in a trance. You will
ask me if, being come hither, you shall always have assured repose.
I confess that you will not; for while we are in this world, it is
fitting that we should be like birds upon the branch. So it has
pleased God, and it is good for us. But since this little corner
is vouchsafed to you, where you may finish the remainder of your
life in his service, if he so please, or profit more and more, and
be confirmed in his word, in order that you may be more ready to
endure persecutions, if it shall so please him, it is not right that
you refuse it. We have always to take care lest we be the cause of
our own misfortune, and draw it down upon ourselves by not accepting
the means of escape which God presents to us. I know that it is
a hard thing to leave the country of our birth, most of all to a
woman like yourself, of rank, and advanced in life. But you ought to
overcome such difficulties by higher considerations; such as, that
we should prefer to our own country every region where God is purely
worshipped; that we should not desire any better repose for our old
age than to abide in his Church, his dwelling-place and the place
of his rest; that we should prefer to be contemptible in the place
where his name may be glorified by us, to being honourable in the
sight of men, while we defraud him of the honour which belongs to
him.
Concerning the doubts which may come into your mind, it would be too
tedious to reply to them all. But you have always this as a settled
point, that we must refer our many anxieties to the Providence of
God, trusting that he will provide an outlet in cases where we see
none. And in fact it is undoubted, that if we seek him we shall
find him. That is to say, he will be with us to guide our steps,
and to have a care of our affairs, to order them well for us. True
it is, that we shall not cease to be subject to many troubles and
annoyances; but let us pray him that, having been strengthened by
his word, we may have wherewithal to overcome them. And assuredly
you possess many helps, which deprive you of the excuse which many
others have. If it shall please God to lead you hither, you will not
come so bereft of property as to have nothing to live upon, while
there are many poor people who have only burdens without temporal
provision. How many Christian women are there who are held captive
by their children! while our Lord has given you this advantage, that
you have children who not only are ready to aid in your deliverance
from captivity, but also exhort you thereto. You have the liberty
which many wish for, of which you ought to avail yourself, that you
may all the more freely engage in the service of God. Among the
other hindrances that it appears you have, your daughter may be
one, inasmuch as she is still unmarried. But instead of reckoning
that to be a hindrance, it ought rather to serve as a spur the more
readily to decide you. I understand that you love her not merely
with the common love of mothers, but with a peculiar affection. I
beseech you, then, to consider well whether it would be better for
her to be there tied down in marriage, to live in perpetual bondage,
or to be brought by you to a place where she may be free to live as
a Christian with her husband; for you must trust that God will find
out for her a worthy person, who will be a comfort to you as well
as to herself.[99] There is one thing of which it is right that you
should be made aware, in order that nothing may alarm you as new and
unforeseen. It is this, that Satan will stir up many troubles in
order to upset or to delay your pious purpose; but when you shall
have taken your fixed resolve, it will not be difficult for you to
rise above all. Meanwhile, profit by the opportunity, now when it
is offered to you; for as, in matters of conscience, it behoves us
to resolve speedily without seeking advice or long dalliance, it is
also necessary to perform soon what we have decided on, fearing,
because of the frailty which is in us, to grow cold upon our good
intention.
[99] Catharine de Budé married, in 1550, William de Trie, Seigneur
de Varennes, a gentleman of the Lyonnais, a refugee at Geneva on
account of religion.
To conclude, knowing that all my exhortations must be vain and
useless, unless God make them effectual by gaining an entrance to
your heart, I shall beseech him to instruct you with true prudence
to decide upon what shall be most fitting for you to do; to bestow
steadfast constancy upon you in obeying his will; to stretch out the
hand, and be himself your guide; to grant you such grace, that in
leaning upon him, you may perceive his assistance in everything, and
all throughout.
Your servant and humble brother,
CHARLES D'ESPEVILLE.
[_Fr. orig. autogr._--_Library of Geneva_. Vol. 107.]