direction of my master. I drew myself back from a man who sinned as a heretic, and in my heart I pronounced the judgment in Titus 3: 10, 11: A man that is an heretic, after the first and the second admonition, reject; knowing that he that is such, is subverted, and sinneth, being condemned of himself."" After Calvin left, and some hours before his execution, Servetus smote upon his breast and invoked God with tears, calling upon Jesus Christ for pardon, and recognizing him as his Saviour. "The unfortunate man could not, however," says Farel," be prevailed upon to confess that Christ is the Eternal Son of God, but only that he is the Son of God because of his miraculous conception."

The council was in session the whole morning, in order either to receive the retraction which they hoped Servetus would give, or to read to him the sentence that had been passed. He was brought before them, and the staff broken over him. When the sentence of the judge was read, he fell down at the feet of the magistrates and besought, that they would put an end to his life by the sword, in order that he might not through great pain be driven to desperation, and thus lose his own soul. If he had sinned he had done it unintentionally, his desire had been to promote the glory of God. Farel interposing told him that he must in good faith confess his misdeeds, before he could hope for mercy. Servetus answered, that " he suffered unjustly and was led as a victim to slaughter, but he prayed to God, that he would be merciful to his persecutors." Farel felt so strongly that this was mere mockery in one who would act the part of martyr, that he could not silently endure it. He accordingly threatened Servetus if he continued in that strain, that he would leave him, and give him up to the judgment of God. Servetus was afterwards silent and no longer attempted to justify himself. This deeply affected the excitable Farel, and he now besought the council with tears to mitigate the severity of his punishment. But the council were so firmly convinced of his wickedness, that they remained immovable, and replied that the sentence could not be changed.

The hour for the execution having nearly arrived, Servetus might be seen with Farel and many others, descending with hesitating steps from the council-house, and proceeding towards the place of execution, on the Hill Champel, at a little distance from the city. Several times while on the way, he exclaimed," O God, save my soul! Jesus, Son of the eternal God, have compassion upon me." But he could not be persuaded to call upon

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the eternal Son of God. When they arrived in sight of the pile of oak-wood, which had been hastily prepared for the execution, Servetus threw himself upon the ground, and remained for some minutes in silent prayer. In the mean time Farel addressed the assembled multitude, saying: "You see what power Satan has when he takes possession of any one. This man is eminently learned, and perhaps supposed that he acted rightly, but he is now possessed by a devil, which may also hap pen to you." Servetus then rose up, and Farel urged him to speak to the people. Deeply sobbing, he exclaimed, "O God, O God!" When asked by Farel if he had nothing else to say, hẻ replied, "What else can I speak than of God." After saying to him that if he had any will to make, a notary was present, and inquiring if he had any messages to send to near friends, Farel again asked him if he would not request the people to imploré God for him.1 He finally was prevailed upon to make this request of those about him.2 Farel then once more urged him to call upon the eternal Son of God, which he would not do; yet he did not again repeat his own belief, which Farel, in accordance with the spirit of the times, believed to be a special interposition of providence, whereby " Satan was hindered from uttering his blasphemies."

Whilst they were placing Servetus upon the pile, Farel admonished the people to pray for the unfortunate man, that the Lord would have mercy upon a creature lost and condemned, unless he was turned from his sad errors.-Unfortunately for Servetus, and as if to entirely thwart the wishes of Calvin and the other clergy, that he should die an easy death, the executioner of Geneva was less skilled in his terrible work, than those of many other places in that age. The pile was constructed of green oak wood covered with leaves, and Servetus was fastened upon it with the manuscript and a printed copy of his Restitutio tied to him. As soon as this had been done, the wretched man requested that his sufferings should be ended as speedily as possible. The fire was brought and soon enveloped its victim, who shrieked so piteously that the whole assembled multitude was exceedingly moved. And in consequence of the slow progress of the fire, persons from the crowd brought bundles of wood and threw

1 See Mosheim Gesch. des. M. Servet. S. 449.

This seems to have been urged by Farel, because Servetus had said, that the church at Geneva were without a God, and prayed to the devil.

them upon it. When the fire had well nigh accomplished its work, with a powerful voice the miserable man cried out : Jesus thou Son of the eternal God, have mercy upon me." Thus, by the form of this petition, as was supposed, proclaiming with his last breath, the dogma, which more than any other had been the means of his wretched end, this ill fated man passed to receive an unerring sentence before a higher tribunal.—Sad indeed is the whole scene from the first examination before the council, until the fire had gone out upon Champel. But we do not see, if there must have been such a trial, how in the circumstances, it could have been conducted more fairly and kindly, both on the part of Calvin and the council. It is true, an advocate was refused Servetus, but it does not appear that it was from any illwill to him. The whole examination, we suppose, was considered rather as a discussion or arbitration. The object was first to find what Servetus' views were, and then to attempt by argument to induce him to retract. Surely there was little occasion for an advocate in such a process.

Calvin's Defence of the Execution of Servetus.

In consequence of the execution of Servetus, much hatred was exhibited towards Calvin and the council of Geneva. Pamphlets in prose and verse were issued against them. They were reproached with establishing a new inquisition. Even if Christ should come to Geneva, it was said, he would be crucified. There was a pope there, as well as in Rome. At the same time the clergy preached against Servetus, and in justification of the course pursued in his punishment. But others contended that heretics should be confined in prison, or banished, or be allowed to go entirely free. Calvin did not for a time show that he took any notice of this ebullition of hostile feeling. He considered his opponents to be, as they really were at the time, although right in principle, enemies of good order who were best answered by silence. He did not think it important, he said, " to refute calumnies invented to asperse him by factious, foolish or malicious men or drunkards." But this feeling of hostility spread so much, that Bullinger urged him to defend the position, that it was the duty of magistrates to punish heretics. The danger of disunion

in the church, which Calvin had labored so much to prevent, finally influenced him to publish, in French, his Work against Servetus. He first endeavored to show that magistrates were

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under obligation to punish with death not those who were simply errorists, but those who wickedly and obstinately persisted in heresy and blasphemy. Even Servetus with all his boasted love of freedom, as appears from his Restitutio, defended this same principle. In the second place, Calvin showed, from his life, his relation to himself, his trials before the civil authorities of Vienne and Geneva and from his works, that Servetus was justly denominated an irreclaimable heretic and a blasphemer, and consequently deserving of the punishment which he had received. All the Genevan preachers, fifteen in number, signed this writing and it was published.

This work caused much dissatisfaction, even among some who were not favorers of Servetus. It was objected that it was too brief for the difficulty and obscurity of the subject, and Calvin himself says in a letter to Bullinger, that his efforts to make the subject clear in so short a space are not entirely, satisfactory. Some also reproach him for making Servetus' character a subject of remark after his death. A passage in a letter to Bullinger shows that he was far from any feeling of hatred or ill will to Servetus in this matter. "But I count it fortunate, that I have you as a partaker with me in this sin, if indeed it be a sin, for you are the proper author and instigator of it." Answers appeared to this work from various quarters, and the Libertines made use of the excited state of feeling for attempting to crush the influence of their enemy, but their efforts, as is well known, were fruitless.

The Voice of the Age in reference to the Execution of Servetus, and upon Toleration.

It has already been mentioned that the Swiss churches virtually recommended the course pursued by the council of Geneva. They seem to have believed that Servetus was possessed by Satan; and they accordingly desired to free themselves from the reproach of participation in his errors. The clergy of Zurich in their letter, after enumerating some of the proofs of the "pestilential errors and insufferable blasphemies" of Servetus, say: "We therefore judge that you need to exercise great faith and diligence in opposing this man, especially as our churches are reported abroad as being heretical and as favoring heretics. Surely the holy providence of God has, in the present case, afforded you an opportu

1 Hoc crimen [i. e. obstinate wickedness and blasphemy] est morte simpliciter dignum et apud deum et apud homines.

nity of freeing both yourselves and us from the vile suspicion of this crime, if you shall be vigilant, and promptly take care, that the contagion of his poisonous errors spread no further by his means." The letter from Schaffhausen is perhaps even more decided: "We doubt not," they say, "that you, in the exercise of your distinguished prudence, will suppress his attempts, in order that his blasphemies may not, like a cancer, feed upon the members of Christ. For what else is it, to oppose his ravings by long arguments, than to be insane with one who is insane." But neither the opposition of the churches to him, nor that of the clergy and council of Geneva, was founded merely on his defence of dogmas, which they considered heretical. Laelius Socinus at Zurich was suffered to defend nearly the same dogma which was made most prominent in Servetus' trial, without molestation. If Servetus had only attacked the doctrine of the Trinity by arguments, he would have been answered by arguments; and without danger of persecution by the Protestants, he might have gone on defending it, until called to answer for his belief by him whose character he had impugned. Argument was not that which Calvin and his contemporaries opposed by the civil tribunal. It was insult and ribaldry, and that too, against the Most High, whose character they would defend in the midst of a perverse and rebellious generation. It cannot be denied that Servetus had done all in his power to provoke the feeling of the Christian church. It has been well said that "if ever a poor fanatic thrust himself into the fire, it was Michael Servetus."2

It has also been stated that the civil law, which had been in operation at Geneva from the time of the emperor Frederic II, required the punishment of heretics. This law, it should also be mentioned, was not repealed until long after the time of Calvin. The spirit of the Catholic church at this time is too well known to need any comment. Their whole course is stained with innocent blood. The year of Servetus' death is signalized by the triumph of a great number of martyrs in France. In May of that year, five students, who had gone from Geneva to proclaim the truth in different places in France, were burned. The condemnation of Servetus at Vienne was delayed by the Catholics, only by the want of proof that he was really the author of the work im

See the letters from which these extracts are made, as well as those from the other churches, in Calvin, Opp. Omn. ed. Amst., Tom. IX. Epistolae, p. 72 sq.

S. T. Coleridge, quoted in the Bib. Repertory, Vol. VIII. p. 94.