History of the Great Reformation Part 46

[857] Ferdinando adventurum esse ingentem ex Hispania exercitum.

(Zwinglius, Epp. ii. p. 64; dated 11 May, 1527.)

[858] Inhibita verbi divini propagatio. (Choupard MS.)

[Sidenote: LAUSANNE.]

This new proclamation was the signal of revolt. On the 25th July great crowds a.s.sembled at Aigle, at Bex, at Ollon, and in the Ormonds, crying out, "No more submission to Berne! down with Farel!" From words they soon proceeded to actions. At Aigle the insurgents, headed by the fiery syndic, tore down the edict, and prepared to fall upon the Reformed. These, uniting with prompt.i.tude, surrounded Farel, resolved to defend him. The two parties met face to face, and blood was near flowing. The firm countenance of the friends of the Gospel checked the partisans of the priests, who dispersed, and Farel, quitting Aigle for a few days, carried his views farther.

In the middle of the beautiful valley of the Leman, on hills which overlook the lake, stands Lausanne, the city of the bishop and of the Virgin, placed under the patronage of the Dukes of Savoy. A host of pilgrims, a.s.sembling from all the surrounding places, knelt devoutly before the image of Our Lady, and made costly purchases at the great fair of indulgences that was held in its precincts. Lausanne, extending its episcopal crosier from its lofty towers, pretended to keep the whole country at the feet of the Pope. But the eyes of many began to be opened, thanks to the dissolute life of the canons and priests. The ministers of the Virgin were seen in public playing at games of chance, which they seasoned with mockery and blasphemy. They fought in the churches; disguised as soldiers, they descended by night from the cathedral hill, and roaming through the streets, sword in hand and in liquor, surprised, wounded, and sometimes even killed the worthy citizens; they debauched married women, seduced young girls, changed their residences into houses of ill-fame, and heartlessly turned out their young children to beg their bread.[859] Nowhere, perhaps, was better exemplified the description of the clergy given us by one of the most venerable prelates of the sixteenth century: "Instead of training up youth by their learning and holiness of life, the priests train birds and dogs; instead of books, they have children; they sit with topers in the taverns, and give way to drunkenness."[860]

[859] Histoire de la Reformation Suisse by Ruchat, i. p. 35.

[860] Pro _libros_ sibi _liberos_ comparant, pro studio concubinas amant. (Tritheim Just. Vitae Sacerdotalis, p. 765.) The play upon _libros_ and _liberos_ (books and children) cannot be conveyed in English.

[Sidenote: FAREL AT LAUSANNE.]

Among the theologians in the court of the bishop Sebastian of Montfaucon, was Natalis Galeotto, a man of elevated rank and great urbanity, fond of the society of scholars, and himself a man of learning,[861] but nevertheless very zealous about fasts and all the ordinances of the Church. Farel thought that, if this man could be gained over to the Gospel, Lausanne, "slumbering at the foot of its steeples," would perhaps awaken, and all the country with it. He therefore addressed himself to him. "Alas! alas!" said Farel, "religion is no longer but an empty mockery, since people, who think only of their appet.i.tes, are the kings of the Church. Christian people, instead of celebrating in the sacrament the death of the Lord, live as if they commemorated Mercury, the G.o.d of fraud. Instead of imitating the love of Christ, they emulate the lewdness of Venus; and when they do evil, they fear more the presence of a wretched swineherd than of G.o.d Almighty."[862]

[861] Urba.n.u.s, doctus, magnus, consuetudine doctorum obligatus. (Farel to Galeotto, Neuchatel MS.)

[862] Pluris faciunt miserrimi subulci aspectum quam omnipotentis Dei.

(Farel to Galeotto, Neuchatel MS.)

But Galeotto made no reply, and Farel persevered, "Knock; cry out with all your might," wrote he in a second letter; "redouble your attacks upon our Lord."[863] Still there was no answer. Farel returned to the charge a third time, and Natalis, fearing to reply in person, commissioned his secretary, who forwarded a letter to Farel full of insulting language.[864] For a season Lausanne was inaccessible.

[863] Pulsare, vociferari perge, nec prius cessa quam, &c. (Ibid.)

[864] Naeniis totas implevit et conviciis. (Ibid.)

After having thus contended with a priest, Farel was destined to struggle with a monk. The two arms of the hierarchy by which the Middle Ages were governed had been chivalry and monachism. The latter still remained for the service of the Papacy, although falling into decay. "Alas!" exclaimed a celebrated Carthusian, "what an obstinate devil would fear to do, a reprobate and arrogant monk will commit without hesitation."[865]

[865] Quod agere veretur obstinatus diabolus, intrepide agit reprobus et contumax monachus. (Jacob von Juterbock; de Negligentia Prelatorum.)

[Sidenote: FAREL AND THE MONK.]

A mendicant friar, who dared not oppose the reformer in a direct manner at Aigle, ventured into the village of Noville, situated on the low grounds deposited by the Rhone as it falls into the lake of Geneva. The friar, ascending the pulpit, exclaimed, "It is the devil himself who preaches by the mouth of the minister, and all those who listen to him will be d.a.m.ned." Then, taking courage, he slunk along the bank of the Rhone, and arrived at Aigle with a meek and humble look, not to appear there against Farel, whose powerful eloquence terribly alarmed him, but to beg in behalf of his convent a few barrels of the most exquisite wine in all Switzerland. He had not advanced many steps into the town before he met the minister. At this sight he trembled in every limb. "Why did you preach in such a manner at Noville?" demanded Farel. The monk, fearful that the dispute would attract public attention, and yet desirous of replying to the point, whispered in his ear, "I have heard say, that you are a heretic and misleader of the people." "Prove it," said Farel. Then the monk "began to storm," says Farel,[866] and, hastening down the street, endeavoured to shake off his disagreeable companion, "turning now this way, now that, like a troubled conscience."[867] A few citizens beginning to collect around them, Farel said to them, pointing to the monk, "You see this fine father; he has said from the pulpit that I preach nothing but lies." Then the monk, blushing and stammering, began to speak of the offerings of the faithful (the precious wine of Yvorne, for which he had come begging), and accused Farel of opposing them. The crowd had now increased in number, and Farel, who only sought an opportunity of proclaiming the true worship of G.o.d, exclaimed, with a loud voice, "It is no man's business to ordain any other way of serving G.o.d than that which He has commanded. We must keep his commandments without turning either to the right hand or to the left.[868] Let us worship G.o.d alone in spirit and in truth, offering to him a broken and a contrite heart."

[866] Commenca de se tempester; in the narrative he gives of this adventure to the nuns of Vevay. (Neuchatel MS.)

[867] Tournant maintenant de ca, maintenant de la, comme fait la conscience mal a.s.suree. (Ibid.)

[868] Il n'appartient a personne vivante d'ordonner autre maniere de faire service a Dieu, que celle qu'il a commandee. Nous devons garder ses commandemens, sans tirer ni a la dextre, ni a la senestre.

(Neuchatel MS.)

The eyes of all the spectators were fixed on the two actors in this scene, the monk with his wallet, and the reformer with his glistening eye. Confounded by Farel's daring to speak of any other worship than that which the holy Roman Church prescribed, the friar was out of his senses; he trembled, and was agitated, becoming pale and red by turns.

At last, taking his cap off his head, from under his hood, he flung it on the ground, trampling it under foot, and crying: "I am amazed that the earth does not gape and swallow us up!"[869]......Farel wished to reply, but in vain. The friar with downcast eyes kept stamping on his cap, "bawling out like one out of his wits:" and his cries resounding through the streets of Aigle, drowned the voice of the reformer. At length one of the spectators, who stood beside him, plucked him by the sleeve, and said, "listen to the minister, as he is listening to you."

The affrighted monk, believing himself already half-dead, started violently and cried out: "Oh, thou excommunicate! layest thou thy hand upon me?"

[869] Hors de sens, trembloit, s'agitoit, palissoit, et rougissoit tour a tour. Enfin tirant son bonnet de sa tete, hors da chaperon, il le rua a terre, jettant et mettant son pied sus, en s'ecriant: "Je suis esbahi comme la terre ne nous abyme!" (Ibid.)

The little town was in an uproar; the friar at once furious and trembling, Farel following up his attack with vigour, and the people in confusion and amazement. At length the magistrate appeared, ordered the monk and Farel to follow him, and shut them up, "one in one tower and one in another."[870]

[870] L'un en une tour, et l'autre en l'autre. (Neuchatel MS.)

On the Sat.u.r.day morning Farel was liberated from his prison, and conducted to the castle before the officers of justice, where the monk was already present. The minister began to address them: "My lords, to whom our Saviour enjoins obedience without any exception, this friar has said that the doctrine which I preach is against G.o.d. Let him make good his words, or, if he cannot, permit your people to be edified." The violence of the monk was over. The tribunal before which he was standing, the courage of his adversary, the power of the movement which he could not resist, the weakness of his cause--all alarmed him, and he was now ready to make matters up. "Then the friar fell upon his knees, saying: My lords, I entreat forgiveness of you and of G.o.d. Next turning to Farel: And also, Magister, what I preached against you was grounded on false reports. I have found you to be a good man, and your doctrine good, and I am prepared to recall my words."[871]

[871] Lors le frere se jeta a genoux, disant: Messeigneurs, je demande merci a Dieu et a vous......Et aussi, Magister, ce que j'ai preche contre vous a ete par de faux rapports, &c. (Neuchatel MS.)

Farel was touched by this appeal, and said: "My friend, do not ask forgiveness of me, for I am a poor sinner like other men, putting my trust not in my own righteousness, but in the death of Jesus."[872]

[872] Je suis pauvre pecheur comme les autres, ayant ma fiance, non en ma justice, mais a la mort de Jesus. (Ibid.)

One of the lords of Berne coming up at this time, the friar, who already imagined himself on the brink of martyrdom, began to wring his hands, and to turn now towards the Bernese councillors, now towards the tribunal, and then to Farel, crying, "Pardon, pardon!"--"Ask pardon of our Saviour," replied Farel. The lord of Berne added: "Come to-morrow and hear the minister's sermon; if he appears to you to preach the truth, you shall confess it openly before all; if not, you will declare your opinion: this promise in my hand." The monk held out his hand, and the judges retired. "Then the friar went away, and I have not seen him since, and no promises or oaths were able to make him stay."[873] Thus the Reformation advanced in Switzerland Romande.

[873] Puis quand le frere fut parti, depuis ne l'ai vu, et nulles promesses ni sermens ne l'ont pu faire demeurer. (Ibid.)

[Sidenote: OPPOSITION TO THE GOSPEL.]

But violent storms threatened to destroy the work that was hardly begun. Romish agents from the Valais and from Savoy had crossed the Rhone at St. Maurice, and were exciting the people to energetic resistance. Tumultuous a.s.semblages took place, in which dangerous projects were discussed; the proclamations of the government were torn down from the church-doors; troops of citizens paraded the city; the drum beat in the streets to excite the populace against the reformer: everywhere prevailed riot and sedition. Thus on the 16th February, Farel ascended the pulpit for the first time after a short absence, some Papist bands collected round the gate of the church, raised their hands in tumult, uttered savage cries, and compelled the minister to break off in his sermon.

[Sidenote: THE CONVERTED MONK.]

The council of Berne thereupon decreed that the parishioners of the four mandemens should a.s.semble. Those of Bex declared for the Reform; Aigle followed their example, but with indecision; and in the mountains above Ollon, the peasants not daring to maltreat Farel, set their wives at him, who rushed upon him with their fulling-clubs. But it was especially the parish of the Ormonds which, calm and proud at the foot of its glaciers, signalized itself by its resistance. A companion of Farel's labourers, named Claude (probably Claude de Glontinis), when preaching there one day with great animation, was suddenly interrupted by the ringing of the bells, whose noise was such that one might have said all h.e.l.l was busy pulling them. "In fact,"

says another herald of the Gospel, Jacques Comralis, who chanced to be present, "it was Satan himself, who, breathing his anger into some of his agents, filled the ears of the auditors with all this uproar."[874] At another time, some zealous Reformers having thrown down the altars of Baal, according to the language of the times, the evil spirit began to blow with violence in all the chalets scattered over the sides of the mountains; the shepherds issued precipitously like avalanches, and fell upon the Church and the Reformers. "Let us only find these sacrilegious wretches," cried the furious Ormondines; "we will hang them,--we will cut off their heads,--we will burn them,--we will throw their ashes into the Great Water."[875] Thus were these mountaineers agitated, like the wind that roars in their lofty valleys with a fury unknown to the inhabitants of the plains.

[874] Sed Sathan per ejus servos, voluit aures auditorum ejus sono cymbali implere. (Neuchatel MS.)

[875] Quo invento suspenderetur primum, deinde dignus comburi, alterius capitis obtruncatione, novissime in aquis mergeretur.

(Neuchatel MS.)

Other difficulties overwhelmed Farel. His fellow-labourers were not all of them blameless. One Christopher Ballista, formerly a monk of Paris, had written to Zwingle: "I am but a Gaul, a barbarian,[876] but you will find me a man pure as snow, without any guile, of open heart, through whose windows all the world may see."[877] Zwingle sent Ballista to Farel, who was loudly calling for labourers in Christ's vineyard. The fine language of the Parisian at first charmed the mult.i.tude; but it was soon found necessary to beware of these priests and monks disgusted with Popery. "Brought up in the slothfulness of the cloister, gluttonous and lazy," says Farel, "Ballista could not conform to the abstemiousness and rude labours of the Evangelists, and soon began to regret his monk's hood. When he perceived the people beginning to distrust him, he became like a furious monster, vomiting waggon-loads of threats."[878] Thus ended his labours.

[876] Me quantumvis Gallum et barbarum. (Zw. Epp. ii. p. 205.)

[877] Absque ullo fuco, niveum, et aperti fenestratique pectoris.

(Ibid.)

[878] Quam beatus hic venter incanduit! quot minarum plaustra! Solent tales belluae, &c. (Neuchatel MS.)

[Sidenote: STATE--RELIGION.]

Notwithstanding all these trials, Farel was not discouraged. The greater the difficulties, the more his energy increased. "Let us scatter the seed everywhere," said he, "and let civilized France, provoked to jealousy by this barbarous nation, embrace piety at last.

Let there not be in Christ's body either fingers, or hands, or feet, or eyes, or ears, or arms, existing separately and working each for itself, but let there be only one heart that nothing can divide. Let not variety in secondary things divide into many separate members that vital principle which is one and simple.[879] Alas! the pastures of the Church are trodden under foot, and its waters are troubled! Let us set our minds to concord and peace. When the Lord shall have opened heaven, there will not be so many disputes about bread and water.[880]

A fervent charity--that is the powerful battering-ram with which we shall beat down those proud walls, those material elements, with which men would confine us."[881]

[879] Ne in digitos, ma.n.u.s, pedes, oculos, nares, aures, brachia, cor quod unum est discindatur, et quae in rebus est varietas, principium non faciat multiplex. (Ibid.)

[880] An allusion to the controversies on anabaptism and the real presence. Non tanta erit super aqua et pane contentio, nec super gramine, solutaque obsidione. (Neuchatel MS.) The sense of these latter words is obscure.