[310] Renée of France, daughter of Louis XII. and of Anne of
Brittany, born at the Castle of Blois the 29th of October 1510, and
died at the chateau of Montargis the 12th of June 1575. United,
from views of political expediency, to one of the smaller princes
of Italy, a vassal of the Bishop of Rome, this princess, endowed
with a strong mind and an excellent spirit, quitted France, in
1528, to follow her husband, Hercules of Esté, to Ferrara; and she
brought along with her to that court a taste for literature, with
free and generous sentiments of belief, which she had inhaled from
her intimate association with Marguerite of Navarre. She received
at Ferrara Clement Marot, who dedicated some of his verses to her,
and also Calvin, who initiated her in the faith of the Reformed,
for which she was honoured to suffer, and which she professed
courageously till her death. This was the origin of the long
correspondence which she maintained with the Reformer, whose letters
recurred from time to time to encourage and confirm her. The letter
which we insert here is, doubtless, one of the earliest in that
series. On the last leaf we have the following words written in
another hand:--
"Against a certain almoner, Master Francis, who made (Madame) go
to mass, and set her against those who would not go, as against
scandalous persons. It treats very fully about things lawful and not
lawful, and how scandals must be avoided."
Instructions on the subject of the Mass, and on the necessity of
avoiding scandal.
GENEVA, [_October_] 1541.
MADAME,--I humbly beseech you that you would take in good part
my boldness in writing these present, deeming that, should you
find therein a too great plainness, it proceeds not so much from
rashness, or from overweening self-conceit, as from pure and true
affection for your service in our Lord. For albeit that I do
acknowledge myself a very unprofitable servant of the Church, it
hath, notwithstanding, been found expedient to employ me in that
station, according to the grace which the Lord has imparted to me;
and it has even occurred to me that there was a need-be for my doing
so, if I wished to acquit myself of my duty, not merely because I
feel myself obliged, in regard to you, to seek, in so far as is
possible for me, and in the way of duty, your welfare and advantage,
howbeit that such motive is alone sufficient to stir me up to
action, but rather that, considering the state and pre-eminence in
which the Lord has set you, it seems to us all, we whom the Lord
by his goodness has called to be ministers of his holy word, ought
to keep in special remembrance, to apply ourselves to the bestowal
of some pains for you, and the more so because, more than most
princely persons, you are able to promote and advance the kingdom
of Christ. I have, besides, observed in you such fear of God and
such disposed faithfulness of obedience, that independently of the
high rank which he has vouchsafed you among men, I do so value the
graces which he hath put upon you, even to such a degree, that I
would think myself accursed should I have omitted the occasions of
any profitable service, in so far as they might be presented to me.
This is certainly what I can say without any feigning or flattery,
but in sincerity of heart, and speaking as in His presence who knows
all our secret thoughts.
Madame, by other worthy persons who have passed through here
at different times, I have been given to understand how Master
François, whom you have appointed preacher to your household, after
having acquitted himself well in preaching, as well at least as
could be expected of him, had persuaded you that it would not be a
bad thing, after having heard mass, to hold some sort of communion,
which must be somehow the Supper of our Lord; this proceeding,
which was not approved of by one of your ladies, who, according to
the knowledge which she had received of God, did not wish against
her conscience to meddle with what she considered to be wrong in
itself, and has been the occasion, on the representation of the
said Master François, to have some way or other turned away from
her the good-will which you have been wont to bear her; so that
matters have reached such a height, that you have intimated that
all those who do as she does, ought not to be supported, inasmuch
as, by their importunity, they give birth to scandals to no purpose
among the faithful. Wherefore, concluding that a thing of so much
importance must not be concealed, seeing that you had been given
to understand that matters were otherwise than they are, according
as it has pleased the Lord to reveal himself to me in Scripture,
I have thought it right to communicate to you what the Lord has
given me of understanding in that matter. But while I have been
in some doubt and hesitation about doing so, I have been given to
understand, on the part of Madame de Pons,[311] that you wished very
much to be more fully instructed, the more so that, besides the many
difficulties which you see, on the other hand, it is very difficult
to come to a satisfactory solution of them. This message has all
the more confirmed me in my purpose to venture to essay the giving
you a faithful exposition so far as I know, in order that afterward
you may judge for yourself, and in so far as you shall have fully
understood God's truth, that you may follow in all obedience, seeing
that your zeal is not of the kind that rebels against it, but
receives the truth in love and with all benign affection. Yet all
this notwithstanding, Madame, before that I begin, I beseech you
not to take up any suspicion of me, as though I did this, having
been put up to it by some persons of your household, or to favour
any one in particular; for I can assure you, before God, that I
do so without having been requested by any one, and only on the
advertisement, as I have already assured you, of persons passing
through this way, who never thought that I could have the means of
any direct communication. On the other hand, I would rather desire
to be cast down into the lowest depths of the abyss, than to twist
about or wrest the truth of God, to make it suit the hatred or to
procure the favour of any creature whatsoever. But what makes me
speak out is, that I cannot bear that the word of God should be
thus to you concealed, perverted, depraved, and corrupted in such
essential things, by those in whom you have some confidence, to whom
you have given authority.
[311] Anne de Parthenay, daughter of John de Parthenay, Lord of
Soubise, and of Michelle de Sanbonne, governess of Renée of France.
She married Antony de Pons, Comte de Marennes, was instructed by
Calvin himself in the Reformed doctrine, and remained a long time
attached, as dame d'honneur, to the Duchess of Ferrara, to whose
court she was an ornament, both by her virtues and her ability.
Clement Marot addresses her in several of his poems, and the learned
author, Lilio Gregorio Gyraldi, dedicates to her the second book of
his _History of the Gods_.
Touching Master François, to speak soberly, I would to a certainty
put you upon your guard not to confide too unreservedly in his
doctrine. Should I do so, I need have no reason to fear, that mayhap
you may entertain some bad opinion of me, as though I might speak
from hatred or envy of this personage. For I have neither matter
nor occasion of envy in any way toward him; and the hatred which,
up to the present hour, I have felt toward him, is such, that I
have at all times, to the utmost of my power, made it my business
to edify him in well doing. But when I perceive that any one, owing
to an ill-informed conscience, sets himself to overthrow the word
of the Lord, and to extinguish the light of Truth, I could by no
means pardon him, even were he my own father a hundred times over.
As for this same individual, I have been aware, from having long
known him, that whatsoever small understanding of the Scripture
God has vouchsafed him, he has always made subserve his own profit
and ambition, preaching wherever he saw that it would be a help to
gratify his avarice, forbearing to preach wherever he found that
it began to be troublesome to him; and then for all that, as often
as he could procure hearers, persons of credit to countenance him,
and the wealthy to fill his wallet or his purse, who required him
to give glory to God, he has taken the trouble to satisfy them by
almost always selling them his word. On the other hand, again,
wherever he met with any trouble or persecution, he had always his
denial ready to escape from it, to such a degree, that one could not
know in regard to him whether the holy and sacred word of God was
but a sport and mockery; insomuch that he turned it into a farce,
playing at one time one character, and at another the part of
another, according to the pastime he finds in it. As to his life, I
do not touch upon that, except that one could desire that it were
better in a minister of the word. I know, Madame, that the duty of a
Christian man is not to detract from his neighbour; and that is what
I have not wished to do, for had I been desirous to speak ill of
him, I have plenty of other material concerning him which I conceal.
But our Lord does not mean, when we see a wolf, under the colour and
appearance of a pastor, scattering his flock, that we should quail
in silence through fear of speaking evil of him. He rather commands
us to discover the perversity of those who, like the pestilence,
corrupt by their infection, and mar the face of the Church. And as
for myself, neither would I have taken that method here if I saw
any better remedy, taking into account the mortal fury of that sort
of people which I do thereby provoke against myself. For I have not
at this day so fierce warfare with any as with those who, under the
shadow of the Gospel, wear a rough garment outwardly toward princes,
amazing and entertaining them by their finesse and subtilty,
enshrouded in some cloud, as it were, without ever leading them to
the right object. But how could I do otherwise? If I do not address
myself to them, it is because I see their heart to be so divested
of all fear of God, that speaking of his judgment to them, is but
a mere fable or a pleasant tale. But when I describe them such as
they are, to make them aware that they could carry their abuse no
farther, I find that by this method they are more restrained from
further seduction and abuse. This very person I have oftentimes
set about trying to bring back into the good way, so far even as
to make him confess his iniquity; albeit, that impudently he would
excuse himself before men, being convicted in his own conscience
before God. Notwithstanding, with a horrible obstinacy and hardness
of heart, he would persist in saying, that he could not desist from
doing that which he knew to be bad, except that on one occasion,
after having seen some treatise of mine, with grievous imprecations
on himself he protested that he would never assist at the mass,
because it was such a gross abomination. But I know my man so well,
that I scarcely count more on his oath than upon the chattering of
a magpie. Howsoever, Madame, as I would not that he did persevere in
ill-doing, to the great detriment of yourself and of the people of
God, I feel constrained to warn you by my intimation, seeing that
as regarded him, he would not profit by taking advantage of it.
What I have told you about him is so certain, that I do not wish
you to give credit to it until you have first of all found out by
experience that it is true; for if you pay attention, you will see
at a glance that he preaches the word of God only in so far as he
wishes to gratify you, in order to catch benefices or other prey,
and in the meantime not to displease any one who can do him hurt.
Now, Madame, having done with this personage, I come to the present
matter. He gives you to understand that the mass is neither so
wicked nor abominable, but that it is allowable to say it, and to
the faithful to hear it, so that those who make this a matter of
conscience are the disturbers of the Church, stirring up scandals
among the weak, whom we are commanded to strengthen. As regards the
first point, I doubt whether I ought to stop to argue it, inasmuch
as I reckon that you are so fully resolved, already, that the mass
is a sacrilege, the most execrable that one can imagine, that I
fear to make myself appear ridiculous to you in taking the pains to
prove to you a thing about which you can be nowise in doubt. And,
besides, the small compass of a letter cannot comprise that which
is enough to fill a large book. Yet, notwithstanding, I will touch
briefly upon it, and, as it were, in a cursory way, in order that
you may not have any doubt. In so far as the mass is a sacrifice,
appointed by men for the redemption and salvation of the living and
the dead, as their canon bears, it is an unbearable blasphemy by
which the passion of Jesus Christ is quite overthrown and set aside,
as if it were of no effect whatever. For that we say, the faithful
have been purchased by the blood of Jesus, have obtained thereby
the remission of their sins, righteousness, and the hope of eternal
life, that belief must imply so far that the blessed Saviour, in
offering up himself to the Father, and presenting himself to be
sacrificed, has offered himself an eternal sacrifice by which our
iniquities have been purged and cleansed, ourselves received
into the grace of the Father, and made partakers of the heavenly
inheritance, as the Apostle declares very fully in the Epistle to
the Hebrews. If, then, the death of Jesus be not acknowledged as
the only sacrifice which has been once made for all, in order that
it might have an eternal efficacy, what more remains except that it
be effaced entirely, as being altogether ineffectual? I know well,
that these liars, to cover their abomination, say, that they make
the same sacrifice which Jesus has made; but from that statement
there arise several blasphemies. For that sacrifice could be made by
no one except by himself. And the Apostle says,[312] that if he is
now sacrificed, it follows, that he must suffer still. Therefore,
you can see, that one of two things must here take place: either
to acknowledge the horrible blasphemy of the mass, and to detest
it; or, in approving it, to trample under foot the cross of Jesus.
How much it is contrary to the Supper of Christ, I leave you to
consider with yourself, after that you have read in Scripture the
words of institution.[313] But the crowning desecration which
they commit, is the idolatry which they perpetrate by adoring a
creature instead of God, a thing which is altogether inexcusable.
Taking these considerations into view, let us look well to it,
since we can neither speak nor hear such things without grievously
offending God by communicating in such abominations. For how can
we pretend that we are not justly reproved for having consented
to such iniquities, since we do receive them with greater honour
and reverence than we do the word of God? If you wish to know how
far that is pleasing to the Lord God, he declares by his prophet
Ezekiel, in the 20th chapter, where he tells the people of Israel,
that they love to practise open idolatry like the Gentiles, that
they made mention of his name along with the name of their idols, as
wishing to compass their own ends contrary to his statutes, by which
he was to be served in worship, and by setting up their own foolish
inventions, by which they were made to fall away from his word; on
the other hand, the Prophet telling them that he will scatter all
those who swear by his name, avouching him as their God, while,
at the same time, they witness against themselves in adoring some
other than him alone. Should some one object, that externals in
religion are quite indifferent, that what is required is only that
the heart within should be upright, to that our Lord answers, that
he will be glorified in our body, which he has purchased with his
blood, that he requires the confession of the mouth, and that all
our prayers should be consecrated to his honour, without being any
way contaminated or defiled by anything displeasing to him. But,
because this would be too long to treat of here, as it ought to
be, you can have recourse, for your more full information, to the
treatise, where I hope that you will find reasons enough to satisfy
you. The scandal still remains, which your almoner says troubles the
consciences of the weak, when any one esteemed a believer holds the
mass in such horror that he would not in any way come in contact
with it, that he neither wished to find it here nor to meet with it
elsewhere.[314] But he does not consider that, in reference to those
things which are either commanded or forbidden of God, although it
might offend the whole world, we must not go beyond his ordinances.
That which is commanded us, to support and strengthen our weak
brethren, by doing nothing which may wound or offend them, refers
to lesser things of no great consequence, which are of themselves
indifferent and permitted of our Christian liberty, as the whole of
Scripture bears. Besides, all those commands about not scandalizing
our neighbour, tend to his edification in welldoing, as St. Paul
points out in the 15th of the Romans. It follows, therefore, that
we must not seek to please him in those things which do not tend to
edification, but to destruction. And thence we have the doctrine
of St. Paul in the First Epistle to the Corinthians, chapters
viii. and x., where he says, that if by any external action of
ours our neighbour is built up in wrong-doing, albeit on our part
there may have been no violation of conscience, yet that we sin
against God and destroy our brother. As is here the case: we know
the mass to be cursed and execrable; we assist thereat to content
the ignorant; those who see us assisting at it conclude that we
approve by so doing, and they then follow our example. St. Paul
counts that a great crime, although we make no difficulty about it.
Wherefore, Madame, I do beseech you not to permit that under the
name of scandal any one should beguile you; for there is not a more
pernicious scandal in this world than when our Christian brother, by
our example, is entrapped in ruin and driven forward into error. If
we would avoid all scandal we must cast Jesus Christ behind us, who
is the stone of offence at which the most part of the world trips
and stumbles. And even thus has he been a scandal to the Jews and
Israelites to whom he was sent, as always a large portion of that
nation has been offended and stumbled in the worship of their God.
We must, therefore, hold fast by this rule, that, in reference to
things which are either commanded or forbidden of God, it is mainly
requisite in the doing or forbearing that he may not be baulked of
his due obedience, though we should offend the whole world. But
since it is so, that Christ and his Evangel are a scandal to the
evil-disposed and malignant, we must expect, if we would follow
him, that they must always be a scandal to us. As for things which
are free and indifferent, that is to say, which, according to our
opportunity, we can either do or omit the doing of, we ought to suit
ourselves to the convenience of our Christian brethren, in order
that our liberty may be subject to choice; and even in doing so,
regard must be had so to support their infirmity as that they may be
built up in God; for if, by our example, we lead them on and draw
them in to do what they consider to be wrong, we are the means of
their destruction. There are few, indeed, who have had experience
of the truth of God, who do not know in some measure the iniquity
of the mass. When they well know what sort of a thing it is, it
is impossible that they should not desire to flee from it. While
they scruple and are in doubt about it, whenever they perceive that
we communicate, they follow our example, without caring for being
further resolved in the matter. Here is the worst scandal that can
happen them, seeing that their consciences are wrung unto death. If
what I hear is true, that he would have you to believe that affair
to be of so small importance that German Churches make no question
at all about it, that is, that those of one persuasion let alone
and permit the other to have the mass, in this he inflicts a great
damage and injury upon the Churches of God, in charging them with a
practice which you will acknowledge to be false whenever you shall
be pleased to make inquiry for yourself. For not only among all
the Churches which have received the Evangel, but in the judgment
of private individuals, this article is quite agreed on, that the
abomination of the mass must not continue. And to that effect
Capito, who is one of those who set themselves to moderate the zeal
of others in these matters, has written a book of late, which he
has dedicated[315] to the King of England, wherein he teaches that
it is the duty of Christian princes to abolish in their country
such execrable idolatry, if they wish to do their duty as might be
expected of them. There is, in short, in our day, no man of any
renown who is not quite agreed on that point.
[312] Heb. ix. 25, 26.
[313] 1 Cor. xi. 23-26.
[314] _In the margin_, handwriting of Calvin,--"After having
understood the will of God, give advice."
[315] This is the title of that work, "De Missa Matrimonio et Jure
Magistratus in Religione. D. Wolfgango Capitone, auctore." The
Dedication to Henry VIII., "Summum in terris Ecclesiæ Anglicanæ
Caput," is of 15th March 1537.
Well, then, Madame, seeing that it has pleased the Lord God, of his
goodness and infinite compassion, to visit you with the knowledge
of his name, and to enlighten you in the truth of his holy Evangel,
acknowledge your calling to which he has called you. For he has
drawn us forth out of the depths of darkness, where we were detained
captives, in order that we may follow uprightly the light of his
word, without declining either to the one side or to the other, and
that we seek more and more to be instructed by him, so that we may
profit more abundantly in that holy wisdom wherein he has made some
beginning among us; and, above all, to look to it carefully that we
do not restrain his Spirit, as do those who shut their eyes and ears
to the evident plain truth, being content to remain ignorant of that
which the Lord would have them know and understand. It is not thus
that he would have us to do, out of mere dread that the Lord will
punish such contempt and ingratitude; but rather we ought to study
to profit continually in the school of this good Master, until we
shall have attained perfection in his doctrine, which will be when
we are free from this downweighing and earthly coil of the flesh,
praying, with good David, that he would instruct us in the doing of
his will. Surely, if we go forward advancing therein with zealous
affection, he will so guide us that he will not let us go astray
out of the right path. And although there are still some remains
of ignorance in us, he will vouchsafe a more full revelation, when
there is need for it, seeing that he knows the right season better
than do we. The main point is to understand how his holy doctrine
ought to become fruitful, and so bring forth fruit in us, and that
is when it so transforms us by the renewal of our heart and mind,
that his radiant glory, which consists in innocence, integrity, and
holiness, relumes the soul within us. If it be not thus with us, we
take the name of God in vain when we glorify ourselves by making our
boast that we know the Evangel. I do not say this to admonish you to
do what you do not do at present, but on purpose that the work of
God, which is already begun in you, may be confirmed from day to day.
But only, as I have already at the commencement, I beseech you to
pardon my simplicity. Should it be your pleasure to have more full
instruction in this argument, and especially how a Christian person
ought to govern himself in regard to scandals, I will attempt, so
far as the Lord shall enable me, to satisfy you. In the meantime,
I send you an epistle[316] upon the subject, as you will see, if
you think it worth your while to devote some hours to it at your
leisure; and besides that, a little tract,[317] which I have put
together lately, which, as I hope, by reason of its brevity, may
serve as a help to consolation, inasmuch as it contains full enough
doctrine.[318] [That the Lord may have a care over you in this
your infirmity, and that he would manifest in you the efficacy of
his Spirit in such a way that you may be as much honoured in his
household as he has elevated you in station and dignity among men.]
[_Fr. autogr. minute._--_Library of Geneva._ Vol. 196.]
[316] This was the letter of Calvin to Louis Duchemin, intituled,
"De fugiendis impiorum illicitis sacris, et puritate Christianæ
Religionis. Genevæ, 1537. 8vo." That letter, translated into French,
has been inserted in the _Recueil des Opuscules_, edit. 1566, in
fol., p. 57.
[317] De la Cène de nostre Seigneur.
[318] The conclusion of this letter is wanting in the original
French, and we restore it here from the Latin translation inserted,
(_Calv. Epistolæ et Responsa_, edit. d'Amsterdam, p. 93.) A near
approximation to the date of that piece is supplied by the passage
relative to Capito:--"Et de cela Capito qui est l'ung de ceux qui
taschent fort à modérer les choses, a naguères inscript un livre."
The dedication of this book to Henry VIII. is of the 15th March
1537; the death of Capito happened in December 1541; and the letter
of Calvin to the Duchess of Ferrara, _written from Geneva_, between
the two events, places the date, without doubt, in October 1541,
after the return of the Reformer to that town.