(Vol. vii., p. 501.)
The question put by C. D., respecting the existence of letters said to have
passed between Archbishop Cranmer and Calvin, and to exist in print at
Geneva, upon the seeming sanction given by our liturgy to the belief that
baptism confers regeneration, is a revival of an inquiry made by several
persons about ten years ago. It then induced M. Merle d'Aubigne to make the
search of which C. D. has heard; and the result of that search was given in
a communication from the Protestant historian to the editor of the
_Record_, bearing date April 22, 1843.
I have that communication before me, as a cutting from the _Record_; but
have not preserved the date of the number in which it appeared[2], though
likely to be soon after its receipt by the editor. Merle d'Aubigne says, in
his letter, that both the printed and manuscript correspondence of Calvin,
in the public library of Geneva, had been examined in vain by himself, and
by Professor Diodati the librarian, for any such topic; but he declares
himself disposed to believe that the assertion, respecting which C. D.
inquires, arose from the following passage in a letter from Calvin to the
English primate:
"Sic correctae sunt externae superstitiones, ut residui maneant innumeri
surculi, qui assidue pullulent. _Imo ex corruptelis papatus audio
relictum esse congeriem, quae non obscuret modo, sed propemodum obruat
purum et genuinum Dei cultum_."
Part of this letter, but with important omissions, had been published by
Dean Jenkyns in 1833. (_Cranmer's Remains_, vol. i. p. 347.) M. d'Aubigne's
communication gave the whole of it; and it ought to have appeared in the
Parker Society volume of original letters relative to the English
Reformation. That volume contains one of Calvin's letters to the Protector
Somerset; but omits another, of which Merle d'Aubigne's communication
supplied a portion, containing this important sentence:
"Quod ad formulam precum et rituum ecclesiasticorum, _valde probo ut
certa illa extet, a qua pastoribus discedere in functione sua non
liceat_, tam ut consulatur quorumdam simplicitati et imperitiae, quam ut
certius ita constet omnium inter se ecclesiarum consensus."
Another portion of a letter from Calvin, communicated by D'Aubigne, is
headed in the _Record_ "Cnoxo et gregalibus, S. D.;" but seems to be the
one cited in the Parker Society, vol. ii. of _Letters_, pp. 755-6, notes
941, as a letter to Richard Cox and others; so that _Cnoxo_ should have
been Coxo.
The same valuable communication farther contained the letter of Cranmer
inviting Calvin to unite with Melancthon and Bullinger in forming
arrangements for holding a Protestant synod in some safe place; meaning in
England, as he states more expressly to Melancthon. This letter, however,
had been printed entire by Dean Jenkyns, vol. i. p. 346.; and it is given,
with an English translation, in the Parker Society edition of _Cranmer's
Works_ as Letter CCXCVII., p. 431. It is important, as proving that Heylyn
stated what was untrue, _Eccles. Restaur._, p. 65.; where he has said,
"Calvin had offered his assistance to Archbishop Cranmer. But the
archbishop knew the man, and refused his offer." Instead of such an offer,
Calvin replied courteously and affectionately to Cranmer's invitation; but
says, "Tenuitatem meam facturam spero, ut mihi parcatur ... Mihi utinam par
studii ardori suppeteret facultas." This reply, the longest letter in their
correspondence, is printed in the note attached to Cranmer's letter (Park.
Soc., as above, p. 432.; and a translation of it in Park. Soc. _Original
Letters_, vol. ii. p. 711.: and there are extracts from it in Jenkyns, p.
346., n.p.). D'Aubigne gave it entire; but has placed both Calvin's letters
to the archbishop before the latter's epistle to him, to which they both
refer.