[216] Peronne de Pisseleu, wife of Michel de Barbançon, Seigneur
de Cany, one of the personages of most importance in Picardy. This
lady, instructed in the Reformed faith by Laurent de Normandie,
lieutenant of the king at Noyon, and the friend of Calvin, had for
a long time to endure the severity of her husband, who afterwards
came at a later period to be a partaker of like faith.--_Bèze, Hist.
Eccl._, tom. ii. p. 244.; De Thou, lib. xxv. Madame de Cany, sister
of the Duchess d'Etampes, favourite of the late king, had possessed
an unbounded influence at court, which she always used for generous
purposes. Her ordinary residence was the Château de Varanues,
situated on the Oise, near to Noyon.
Exhortation to a courageous and honest profession of the truth.
_This 8th January 1549._
MADAME,--I would not have taken the liberty to write to you, if a
man, whom I ought to trust among all others, had not emboldened me
to do so, by assuring me that my letter would be agreeable to you.
That is, Monsieur de Normandie, who, feeling himself obliged to you
for the kindness you had shewn him, had a special desire to do you
service, so far as he had the means, and besides, has such a care
of your salvation as he ought to have who knows that you have loved
him, as partaker of a common Christian faith. On this account he has
induced me to write to you, thinking that not only you might take
pleasure in my letters, but that they might perhaps be profitable
for you, as well for your consolation in present extremity, as to
exhort you to perseverance so needful in the midst of such manifold
temptations. And would to God I might have more ample opportunity of
compliance with his request. But seeing that it is his pleasure that
we should be separated by so great a distance, which does not permit
more frequent communication between us, I beseech you, Madame, to
take what I do write as a testimony of the earnest desire which I
have to promote your salvation. If, because of the confession you
have made of your Christianity, murmurs and threatenings rise up
against you, you must bear in mind to what we are called, which is,
that notwithstanding all sorts of contradiction on the part of the
world, we must render to the Son of God the homage which belongs to
him. These indeed should be to you as so many warnings to prepare
yourself for greater things, for neither great nor small ought to
seek exemption from suffering in the cause of our Sovereign King,
in which his honour is as much involved as our salvation. Above
all, since himself has begun by shewing us the way, who among us
shall dare to refuse to follow him? Where is the greatness, or
the elevation, that can bestow greater privilege upon us than
on himself? And more than that, if we can appreciate the honour
he confers upon us in making use of our service to maintain his
so precious truth, we shall hold it to be a peculiar advantage,
rather than be annoyed on account of it. True it is, that the
human understanding cannot apprehend that; but, seeing that the
infallible wisdom of God pronounces, that those who are persecuted
for the testimony of the Gospel are most happy, at all hazards we
must needs acquiesce in that judgment. And indeed, who are we that
_we_ should maintain the cause of God? Where is our sufficiency for
it, seeing that we are altogether inclined to falsehood? How should
we be witnesses for his truth, unless by his own special gracious
permission? On the other hand, seeing that we deserve on account
of our sins to suffer all shame of face and ignominy, every sort
of misery and torment, yea were it even a hundred thousand deaths,
if that were possible, have we aught to complain of, ought we not
rather to rejoice, when, forgetting our faults, he wills that we
should suffer for his name? Therefore, inasmuch as we are so froward
and carnal that we cannot reach such elevation, let us beg of this
gracious God that he would please to imprint in our hearts that
which naturally we find so strange. Furthermore, let us take to
ourselves the example of the Apostles, who counted the reproach of
the world as a great honour, and even gloried in it. In short, let
us never think that we have fully received the truth, if we do not
prefer, above all worldly triumphs, to fight under the banner of our
Lord Jesus, that is to say, to bear his cross.
Even so, Madame, consider, I beseech you, if hitherto you have taken
pains to serve and honour so good a master, how you can strive more
earnestly than ever to arm yourself against opposition, to take
courage against all difficulties in order to surmount them; for,
since the worldly often manifest invincible constancy in the pursuit
of their vanities, patiently enduring so many labours, troubles,
and dangers, it would be too shameful were we to grow weary in the
midst of the way of salvation; albeit that this is by no means all
that is required of us, that we shew ourselves steadfast in the
midst of persecutions; for, even if there were no enemies to make
open war upon us, we find enough of aversion and indisposedness
in ourselves and all around, to hinder us in making our calling
sure, which all those who have a true zeal to devote themselves to
God, experience more fully than any one could tell them. Inasmuch,
then, as I hold you to be of the number, I entreat you to exercise
yourself continually in the doctrine of renouncing the world yet
more and more, in order to come nearer to our Lord Jesus, who has
once for all purchased us to separate us unto himself. I mean the
world, such as we carry it within ourselves, before we are made
again after his likeness. And seeing that our whole nature, inasmuch
as by the corruption of the plague it has been depraved, is enmity
against God, the kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ cannot be duly
established, until all which is ours has been beaten down; and not
only the open vices which are condemned of men, but also even our
own reason and wisdom. I am aware that I do not speak to you of any
new thing, and that by the grace of God you have long ago begun
to follow in the way of the holy heavenly calling. But the study
of holiness is one of which we must avail ourselves even to the
end. And as I have ample cause to praise God for the graces he has
bestowed on you, and whereby he magnifies himself in you, by making
his own glory to shine forth therein; in also looking to the frailty
which we all feel, I think it no superfluous trouble to exhort
you to follow on, as indeed you do. And even as it is becoming in
Christians to submit in all humility to receive the admonitions
which are addressed to them in the name of God, even that the most
learned should gladly submit to be taught, I hope that you will
receive the whole with a benign and kindly heart. Believe me, when
I hear that God has wrought so powerfully in you, and that he has
vouchsafed you such commendable qualities, I am incited all the more
to desire that he would increase his work in you, until he has quite
finished it; and this it is that has constrained me more freely to
declare to you my desire and affection.
In conclusion, Madame, having humbly commended me to your kind
favour, I entreat our good Lord to have you in his holy protection,
to guide you by his Holy Spirit in all strength and prudence, to
vouchsafe you grace to promote his honour, until he gather us all
unto himself.
Your servant and humble brother,