[427] This letter is without a date, but from the allusion to the
very dangerous illness of Farel, it must have been written in the
month of April 1553.
Assurances of respect and fraternal affection.
_April 1553._
A letter was shown me lately at Farel's, addressed to himself, in
which you informed him that you were gradually recovering from a
very severe and all but fatal illness. The life of our brother
Farel was at that time despaired of; so much so, that on my return,
I declared everywhere that he was dead. We have now to offer our
sincere thanks to the Lord, who has restored both of you to us and
to his Church. I was very glad to find from your letter, three days
ago, that you are quite recovered. Although, to speak the truth,
the reading of it would have filled me with more joy, had I not
ascertained that it was written to prevent me from entertaining
any hostility towards you. Certainly such a thing never entered my
mind; nor do I think that Ulmius had any reason for saying so. He
came twice to me. We conversed together for a long time on various
matters, freely and familiarly. Mention was made of yourself, and
the whole of your colleagues, but not a syllable escaped me, so far
as I know, calculated to convey an unfavourable opinion of you. On
desiring him, however, as he was leaving me, to present my regards
to you, I omitted Bibliander, inasmuch as he was openly professing
hostility towards us.[428] When Ulmius[429] seemed to regard this
with incredulity, and turned away from it as if from an unlucky
omen, I briefly explained to him the cause of it:--that having been
tormented here by a vile and perfidious character, I led myself to
think that we were sure of support from you; that the issue was not
what I had expected; that, notwithstanding, our brotherly regard
for one another remained unchanged, and no token, certainly, of
alienation had been given by you. I added, moreover, that myself
and my fellow-ministers, while we had not been so fully supported
by you as we could have wished, were nevertheless inclined to put a
favourable construction on it. Also, that Bibliander was throwing
out threats about being engaged on a work against my doctrine, and
that he went babbling about concerning it, in some violent way or
other, among all without distinction. Our conversation at length
concluded, by my saying,--"Bibliander may write what he chooses; I
shall not consider him worthy of a reply."
[428] Theodore Bibliander, professor of Theology at Zurich. Of an
ardent and irritable nature, he could not bear to be contradicted,
and it is even told of him that he challenged to a duel the
celebrated Peter Martyr, one of his colleagues, owing to some
disagreement on the doctrine of predestination. The Seigneurie of
Zurich dismissed the warlike theologian.--_Hist. de la Suisse_, tom.
xii. p. 87.
[429] Is this John ab Ulmis of whom we read in numerous letters to
Bullinger?--_Zurich Letters_, first series, vol. ii. pp. 377, 458.
But, to return to yourself, most excellent and venerable brother,
as I would be very far indeed from estimating you by the character
of that man, so I was never led to believe that you entertained
any hostility towards me whether publicly or privately. If that
individual kept up a great deal of offensive babbling, and was, as I
have said, boasting about his book, there was really no reason why I
should disguise the matter, or make any hesitation about it, for the
thing was notorious; and while I am accustomed to say nothing about
it to others, I did not think that I required to be silent on it to
Ulmius and a select few. This, therefore, I have in the first place
to testify to you--and I solemnly declare it--that, so far am I from
regarding you as an enemy, I desire to remain bound to you for ever
by all ties of brotherly attachment; and, confidently assured that
it will be so, I hail you in no other manner than as a loving and
inseparable companion in the work of the Lord. In the next place, I
wish you to believe that I never either wrote or spoke anything but
what was loving and honourable of that man who has publicly earned
so much distinction in the Church, and has been ever my friend in
private. If, therefore, you have been vexed at all by this matter,
let your mind be hereafter at ease.[430]