[470] No date. Printed with this designation: _D. Agneti Anglæ_.
But the text of the letter itself proves that it is addressed to an
Italian lady named Agnès. We find a person of this name among the
members of the Reformed Church of Ferrara. _Opera Olympiæ Moratæ_.
Edit. of 1580, p. 115. Is it not to this lady that is addressed the
message of the Reformer, the date of which ought apparently to be
placed in 1553, the time of the dispersion of the Evangelical church
formed in the capital of the Dukes of Este?
He exhorts her to withdraw, by a voluntary exile, from the
persecution and idolatry reigning in Italy.
[1553.]
Though I knew, noble lady, that you would have need of an
interpreter to understand my letters, yet some friends have
encouraged me to write to you, or rather they have warmly pressed
on me the accomplishment of that duty. But for that purpose I have
made choice of the Latin language, because I was confident that you
would find about you many persons to translate it into Italian,
whereas the knowledge of French is unknown, or very rare among you.
And first of all, that my letter may not fail in its effect, I must
entreat you not to refuse it a favourable reception. This request I
am sure I shall obtain of you, if you reflect on the object I have
in view. Moreover the persons, by whose recommendation I write,
pledge themselves that of your own accord and willingly you will do
what I ask of you. Nor indeed would it be consistent with your piety
to slight a person whom you acknowledge to be one of the servants
of Christ, especially when he speaks from zeal for your salvation.
And indeed I have just reason to begin with congratulating you,
for I hear that you have embraced the faith of the gospel in such
a manner that nothing is dearer to you than the pure worship of
God; a singular zeal for which ought to predominate in the minds
of all those who have truly tasted the sweetness of that grace
which is offered to us in Christ. For to that end the Son of God
has manifested himself, and daily lays before us his treasures,
that, renouncing the allurements of the world, we should meditate
on the life which is in heaven. To that end also, God regenerates
us by the incorruptible seed of his doctrine, that our whole life
may bring forth the fruits of justice corresponding to his holy
adoption. Many indeed in these days impiously make a mock of Christ,
seeking in his doctrine a cloak for their licentiousness. But we
see in what terrible ways God punishes these acts of sacrilege. It
is to me, however, a subject of rejoicing, that you on the contrary
have concentrated all your thoughts on this point: namely, by
holiness of life to add lustre to the gospel. And hence it appears
that the gospel has struck deep and lively roots in your heart.
But because, in the present day, the world abounds in numberless
seductions, it behoves you not only to be animated with a right
frame of mind to hold on your Christian course, but also to be armed
with invincible courage to carry on your warfare under Christ your
heavenly leader. For at the present day impiety has gained such
ground, and especially among you the tyranny of Antichrist rages
to such an extent, that you cannot, without much peril and many
struggles, offer to God an unpolluted worship. Of which thing you
are yourself the best witness; and in this the strength of your
piety shines out most conspicuously, not only that you do not, like
too many, indulge in the prevailing vices, but because, in your
wisdom, you see to how wretched a slavery you are condemned in your
own country, you had rather submit to a voluntary exile than remain
entangled among the defilements which contaminate you. Now since
God has roused you up to this point, I conceive that it is also
incumbent on me to add a new impulse to your zeal, and further this
holy resolution of yours. If, where you now are, it were in your
power not to defraud God of that obedience which is due to him, I
should persuade you to remain rather than abandon your country, to
seek a far-distant and foreign land, by a tedious journey, at great
expense, and with immense inconvenience. But when the threats and
terrors of the enemies of Christ do not permit you to make such
a profession of your faith as becomes you, the infirmity of the
flesh is also an impediment to you; so that I have no hesitation in
advising and urging you to make your escape as speedily as possible
from these deadly entanglements. And even if I had been silent,
it is impossible that the goads of your own conscience should not
incessantly stimulate you to look out for a remedy. Meanwhile you
must be on your guard not to cut yourself off from an opportunity of
departure, by spinning out the time uselessly in deliberations. No
doubt, in so arduous a matter, nothing is to be attempted rashly;
but if the will of God do not appear obscure to you, you cannot,
without serious wrong, long agitate, with an irresolute purpose,
first one point and then another. Resolve then seriously that what
God has enjoined is to be immediately executed, and, at the same
time, without procrastinating, make ready for your journey. Nor let
the vain and flattering fallacies with which most persons impose on
themselves delay you, but let this reflection be ever present to
your mind, that the confession of our faith is too precious a thing
in God's sight, to permit us to consider it as a slight offence
to wallow in impure superstitions. Add to this, that at present,
like a famished sheep, you are wandering out of Christ's fold and
pastures in a barren desert. Nor does it escape me how difficult
and painful a thing it is for you to emigrate from your country, to
live on a foreign soil far away from your kinsfolk, at your advanced
age not only to change your habitation, but forego all those little
comforts, of which it were hard and cruel, even in the prime of
life, to be deprived. To all this I have but one consideration to
oppose, but which, I trust, you will deem amply sufficient. It is
this: if we have had a due foretaste of the life which is in heaven,
there is nothing upon earth of such importance as to abate our
ardour in the pursuit of the heavenly blessing. Moreover, the Son of
God, not only because we owe him such a debt of gratitude, but also
because he is possessed of supreme power, deserves that we should
prefer his honour to all the honours, delights, riches, and comforts
of the world. And were it permitted us to inhabit a place where God
is worshipped, and his name invoked in purity, it were far better
to live in exile there, than to live at ease in our own country,
from which Christ, the sovereign of heaven and earth, is banished.
Even if no necessity compelled you to quit the nest, yet you were
no daughter of God, if this earthly life did not seem to you a
pilgrimage. But now when the sacrilegious tyranny of Antichrist
expels you from it, and God calls you with a loud voice to go forth;
let not the condition of your peregrination seem painful to you,
till the time when at last he shall bring us all together into his
eternal inheritance. Noble and illustrious lady, for whom I shall
always cherish an esteem, farewell. May the Lord direct you by the
Spirit of his wisdom, increase your fortitude and constancy, and
shelter you by his protection.
[_Calvin's Lat. Corresp._ Opera, tom. ix. p. 80.]