Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 04.djvu/82

CALVIN. 60 CALVIN. cathedral clmrph of Xoyon. This he held as a means of support durini; the period of liis edu- cation, and even for some short time after he iiad entered upon liis reformins career. Calvin was educated in circumstances of ease, and even of aflluence. The noble family of ilontmor, in the neifrhborhood, invited him to share in the studies of their children: he was in some meas- ure adopted by them, and when the family went to Paris, in his fourteenth year (1523), he ac- companied them, and participated in the bene- fits of the higher instruction which was there attainable. He was entered as a pupil in the Coll&ge de la Marche, under the regency of ^Mathurin Cordier, better remembered, perhaps, by his Latin name of C'orderius. It was under this distinguished master that Calvin laid the foundation of his own wonderful mastery of the l^atin language. Not long afterward he left him for the strictly ecclesiastical college of Mon- taigu, in the same university. During this early period he was distinguished by the great activity of his mental powers and the grave severity of his manners. His companions, it is said, sur- named him the 'Accusative.' Probably at first his father intended that he should study theologv", and in 1527 got him the curacy of Saint Martin de Martheville (near Vermans, Aisne) in addition to that of the chapel, which, however, Calvin resigned in 1529, in favor of his younger brother, and the same year exchanged the curacy for another, that of Pont rEv6que, where his father had been born. Hut in 1528 his father changed his mind and determined that he should become a lawyer. He therefore sent him, with the view to his studying law, to the University of Orleans, then adorned by Pierre de I'Etoile, one of the most famous jur- ists of his day, and afterwards president of the Parliament of Paris. At Orleans he continued the same life of rigorous temperance and earnest studiousness for which he was already noted. Bcza says that, after supping nioderateh', he would spend half the night in study, and devote the morning to meditation on what he had ac- quired. His undue habits of study seem to have laid thus early the foundation of the ill health which marked his later years. It was while a law- student in Orleans that he became acquainted with the Scriptures and received his first im- pulse to the theological studies which have made his name so distinguished. A relative of his, Pierre Robert Olivetan, was there engaged in a translation of tlie Scriptures; and this had the efi'ect of attracting Calvin's attention, and awakening within him .the religious instinct which was soon to prove the master-principle of his life. We cannot say as yet that his ti-a- ditionary opinions were unsettled or that he had eml)raced with any decision the Protestant oj)in- ions that were spreading everywhere; but the seeds of the new faith were now hcyoiul doubt sown in his heart, and from this time, although he still continued for a while longer to pursue his legal studies, his main interests appear to have been religious and theological. From Or- leans he went to Hourges (IS.IO), where he ac- quired a knowledge of Greek, under the tui- tion of a learned German, Melchior Wolmar, whose spiritual instructions influenced him. He began here to preach the reformed doctrines, and passed into the ranks of Protestantism, under the slow but sure growth of his new convictions, ratlier tlian under the agitation of any violent feeling. Here, as everywhere, his life presents a marked contrast to that of Luther. The deatli of his father in 1531 left him free to follow his inclinations, which were for theo- logical and classical studies. He pioceeded to Paris, which at this date had become a centre of tlie 'new learning.' under the teaching of Le- fevre and Farel. and the influence of the Queen of Navarre, sister of Francis L, and there he pub- lished, at his own expense, in 1532, his first book, a commentary on Seneca's essay On Mercy. But reformed notions in theology were in the air. The Sorbonne itself had not escaped the infection. There was a growing religious ex- citement in the university, in the Court, and even among the bishops. This, however, was not to last. The King was soon stirred up to take active measures to quell this rising spirit. Cal- vin was himself converted to the new views, and when his friend, Nicholas Cop, had been elected to the rectorship of the L'niversity of Paris, he wrote the inaugural oration (1533) for him and took for his theme the necessity of there being a reformation of the Church and of theology on the basis of the New Testament. The result was that Calvin and Cop Avere obliged to flee for their lives. The story is that Calvin narrowly es- caped, having descended from his window by means of his sheets, and fled, under the guise of a vine-dresser, a friend of his, in whose clothes he concealed himself. After this he repaired for a short time to his native place, resigned the preferment he held in the Roman Catholic Church, and for nearly three years led a wander- ing life, sheltered in various places. We find him at Saintonge: at Ncrac, the residence of the Queen of Navarre; at Ansoulcme, with his friend, Louis Tillet; then for a brief period, while in Paris again, strangely enough expecting a meeting with Servetus, who had expressed a desire to see and confer with him. Persecution against the Protestants at this time raged so hotly that Calvin was no longer safe in France; and he betook hiinself to Basel, where he pre- ])ared the first edition of the hi.ilituic.i of the Christian Reliyion (1530), with the famous preface addressed to Francis I. The concen- trated vigor of this address, its intensity of feel- ing, rising to indignant remonstrance, and at times to a pathetic and powerful eloquence, make it one of the most memora1)le documents in con- nection with the Reformation. It is throughout a noble defense of the righteous character of the reformed doctrines, and their support alike in Scripture and in history. The energetic deci- siveness and moral zeal of the future teacher and legislator of (Jencva speak in every page of it. After completing this great service to the cause of Protestantism, he went for a short time to Italy, to visit Ren^e, the Duchess of Ferrara. Finally, he revisited his native town, sold the paternal estate, which had devolved to him on the death of his eldest brother, and, bidding it adieu, set out. in company with his younger brother and sister, on bis way to Strassburg. The direct road being rendered dangerous by the armies of Charles V., which had penetrated into France, he sought a circuitous route through Savoy and Geneva. The result of this journey was memorable for the cause of the Reformation. Arrived in Geneva