[269] _On the back_, in the hand writing of Calvin: "To Monsieur the
Protector of England.--Sent."
This letter was addressed to the Earl of Somerset after his first
disgrace.--(See the letter of the 22d October 1548, and the Note
p. 275.) Set at liberty, the 6th February 1550, by the favour of
the king his nephew, he resumed his place in the Privy Council, but
losing the title and dignity of Protector. The letter of Calvin is
without any doubt of February or March 1550.
Congratulations on the royal favour shown to the Duke of
Somerset--use to be made of his influence for spreading the
Gospel in England.
_January 1550._
MONSEIGNEUR,--That I have so long delayed to write to you, has been
from no want of good-will, but to my great regret I have refrained,
fearing lest, during the troubles which have been of late, my
letters should be the occasion of annoyance. I thank my God that
he has now afforded me the opportunity which hitherto I have been
waiting for. It is not I alone who rejoice at the good issue which
God has given to your affliction, but all true believers, who desire
the advancement of the kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ, forasmuch
as they know the solicitude with which you have laboured for the
re-establishing of the Gospel in all its purity in England, and that
every kind of superstition might be abolished. And I do not doubt
that you are prepared to persevere in the same course, in so far as
you shall have the means. On your own part, Monseigneur, not only
have you to acknowledge the favour God has shown you in stretching
out his hand for your deliverance, but also to bear his dealing
with you in remembrance, that you may profit by it.[270] I know the
regret which you may well entertain, and how you may be tempted to
render the like to those whom you reckon to have meditated greater
mischief against you than what has come to pass. But you know the
admonition which Saint Paul has given us on that head, that is,
that we have not to fight against flesh and blood, but against the
hidden wiles of our spiritual enemy. Wherefore let us not waste our
energies upon men, but rather let us set ourselves against Satan
to resist all his machinations against us, as there is no doubt
whatever that he was the author of the evil which impended over you,
in order that the course of the Gospel might thereby be hindered,
and even that all should be brought to confusion. Therefore,
Monseigneur, forgetting and pardoning the faults of those whom you
may conceive to have been your enemies, apply your whole mind to
repel his malice who thus engaged them to their own destruction in
setting themselves to seek your ruin. This magnanimity will not only
be pleasing to God, but it will make you the more loved among men;
and I do not doubt that you have such regard to that as you ought.
But if your humane disposition itself impels you to this course,
so much the more may I be confident that you will receive kindly
what I say, knowing that nothing induces me to tender such advice
to you, but the love I bear you, and the care which I have for your
honour and welfare. And besides, it is so difficult a virtue so
to overcome our passions as to render good for evil, that we can
never be too much exhorted to do so. Moreover, seeing that the Lord
has directed the issue so much better than many expected, keep in
mind, Monseigneur, the example of Joseph. It would be difficult to
find in our day such a mirror of integrity. For he, seeing that
God had turned to good the evil which they had plotted against
him, is unwearied in showing himself the minister of the goodness
of God towards his brethren who had persecuted him. This victory
will be more glorious than that which God has already given you,
when he saved and secured your person, and your property, and your
honours. However, Monseigneur, you have also to consider that if
God has been pleased to humble you for a little while, it has not
been without a motive. For although you might be innocent in regard
to men, you know that before this great heavenly Judge there is
no one living who is not chargeable. Thus, then, it is that the
saints have honoured the rod of God, by yielding their neck, and
bowing low their head under his discipline. David had walked very
uprightly, but yet he confessed that it had been good for him to be
humbled by the hand of God. For which reason, as soon as we feel any
chastisement, of whatsoever kind it may be, the first step should be
to retire into ourselves, and well to examine our own lives, that
we may apprehend those blessings which had been hidden from us: for
sometimes too much prosperity so dazzles our eyes, that we cannot
perceive wherefore God chastises us. It is but reasonable that we
should do him at least as much honour as we would to a physician,
for it is his to heal our inward maladies, which are unknown to
ourselves, and to pursue a course of healing, not according to our
liking, but as he knows and judges to be fitting. What is more,
it must needs happen sometimes that he makes use of preservative
remedies, not waiting till we have already fallen into evil, but
preventing it before it comes. God, besides your native rank, having
assigned you a high dignity, has performed great things by your
hand, and which shall possibly be more applauded after your death
than they are duly appreciated during your lifetime. Moreover, he
has caused his name to be magnified by you. Now, the most virtuous
and excellent persons are in greater danger than any others of being
tempted to forget themselves. You are aware, Monseigneur, of what
is written concerning the good King Hezekiah, that after having
performed such memorable actions, as well for religion and the
worship of God as for the common weal of the country, his heart was
lifted up. If God has been pleased to prevent that in you, it is a
special favour he has shown you. Were there no other reason for it,
save that he would be glorified in your deliverance, and that he
would be recognized by you, as well as by all in your person, as the
true protector of his own, that alone ought to be all-sufficient to
you.
[270] During his disgrace, which was regarded as a public calamity
by the friends of the Reformation in England and throughout Europe,
the Duke of Somerset had sought consolation in reading and in pious
meditations. He translated into English a work on Patience, to which
he added a preface containing the expression of the most elevated
sentiments. He received also exhortations from Peter Martyr, and
shewed himself no less constant in his attachment to the Gospel,
than resigned to the loss of fortune and credit.--See Burnet,
_History of the Reformation_, vol. ii. p. 184; vol. iii. p. 209,
fol. London.
It remains, Monseigneur, that since he has thus given you the upper
hand, you do render homage to him for this benefit, as is due.
If we are recovered out of a dangerous sickness, we ought to be
doubly careful, and to honour this merciful God, just as if he had
bestowed a new life upon us. You may not do less in your present
circumstances. Your zeal to exalt the name of God, and to restore
the purity of his Gospel, has been great. But you know, Monseigneur,
that in so great and worthy a cause, even when we have put forth all
our strength, we come very far short of what is required. However,
if God, in thus binding you to himself anew, has meant, in this way,
to induce you to do better than ever, your duty is to strive to
the uttermost and with all your energy, so that so holy a work as
that which he has begun by you may be carried forward. I doubt not
that you do so; but I am also confident, that knowing the affection
which induces me to exhort you thereunto, you will receive all my
solicitation with your wonted benignity. If the honour of God be
thus esteemed by you above all else, he will assuredly watch over
you and your whole household, to pour out his grace there more
abundantly, and will make you know the value of his blessing. For
that promise can never fail,--_Those who honour me, I will render
honourable_. True it is, that those who best do their duty are
oftentimes troubled the most by many violent onsets. But this is
quite enough for them, that God is at hand to succour and relieve
them. Now, although it is enough for you to look to God and to feel
the assurance that your service is pleasing to him, nevertheless,
Monseigneur, it is a great comfort to you to see the king so well
disposed that he prefers the restoration of the Church, and of pure
doctrine, to everything else, seeing it is a virtue greatly to
be admired in him, and a peculiar blessing for the kingdom,[271]
that in a youth of such tender age the vanities of this world do
not hinder the fear of God and true religion from ruling in his
heart. This also ought to be a great help and confirmation, that
you discharge the principal service which he desires and asks, in
serving our heavenly King, the Son of God.
[271] The young King Edward VI. Instructed by the most able masters,
this prince gave early proof of a strong mind and of a lively piety.
When scarcely fourteen years of age, he set forth in a discourse,
of which a fragment has been preserved, the plan of the Reformation
in England. He drew up with much care a journal of events which
happened during his reign. He composed, besides, a collection of
passages of the Old Testament condemning idolatry and image-worship.
This collection, written in French, was dedicated by the young
King to the Duke of Somerset, his uncle.--Burnet, _History of the
Reformation_, vol. ii. pp. 224, 225.
Monseigneur, having very humbly commended me to your kind favour,
I beseech our good Lord, that, upholding you in his holy keeping,
he would increase in you yet more and more the gifts of his Holy
Spirit, for the furtherance of his own glory, so that we may all
have whereof to rejoice.
Your very humble servant,