J. H. Merle D'Aubigné - History of the Reformation in Europe in the Time of Calvin (Vol. 1-8)

All Saints' Day, 1533, having arrived, the university assembled with great pomp in the Mathurins' church; many were impatient to hear Cop, whose conduct in the case of the Queen of Navarre had made him an object of suspicion to the Sorbonne. A great number of monks, and especially of Franciscans, took their places and opened their ears. There were however scattered about the church many steadfast friends of the Gospel, who had come to be present at the assault and perhaps witness the triumph of their faith. Among them, and on a bench apart, sat a young man of humble appearance, calm, modest, and attentive to all that was said. Nobody suspected that it was he (Calvin) who was about to set the university, and indeed all France, in commotion. The hour having come, all the dignitaries, professors, and students fixed their eager eyes upon Cop as he rose to speak. He pronounced the opening address 'in a very different fashion,' says Theodore Beza, 'from what was usual.' There was a simplicity and life in his delivery which contrasted strongly with the dryness and exaggeration of the old doctors. The discourse is of importance in the history of the Reformation; we shall give it, therefore, in part, all the more because it has lain unknown until this hour among the manuscripts of the library of Geneva, and is now first presented to the christian public. 485

=COP'S INAUGURAL DISCOURSE.=

'Christian philosophy is a great thing,' said the rector; 'a thing too excellent for any tongue to express and even for any mind to conceive its value. The gift of God to man by Jesus Christ himself, it teaches us to know that true happiness which deceives nobody, making us believe and comprehend that we are truly the sons of God.... The brightness of the splendour of this wisdom of God eclipses all the glimmerings of the wisdom of the world. It places its possessors as far above the common order of men, as that order is itself above the brutes. 486The mind of man, opened and enlarged by the divine hand, then understands things infinitely more sublime than all those which are learnt from our feeble humanity. How admirable, how holy must this divine philosophy be, since, in order to bring it to men, God was willing to become man, and, to teach it to us, the Immortal put on mortality! Could God better manifest his love to us than by the gift of his eternal Word? What stronger and tenderer bond could God establish between himself and us than by becoming a man such as we are? Sirs, let us praise the other sciences, I approve of it; let us admire logic, natural philosophy, and ethics, in consideration of their utility; but who would dare compare them with that other philosophy, which explains what philosophers have long been seeking after and never found ... the will of God? And what is the hidden will that is revealed to us here? It is this: The grace of God alone remits sins.487 ... The Holy Ghost, which sanctifies all hearts and gives eternal life, is promised to all christians. 488If there is any one among you who does not praise this science above all other sciences, I would ask him, what will he praise? Would you delight the mind of man, give him repose of heart, teach him to live holy and happily? Christian philosophy abundantly supplies him with these admirable blessings; and, at the same time, it subdues, as with a wholesome rein, the impetuous movements of the soul. 489Sirs, since the dignity and glory of this Gospel are so great, how I rejoice that the office with which I am invested calls upon me to lay it before you to-day!'

This appeared a strange exordium to a great number of hearers: What! not a word about the saints whom all catholics glorify on this day?... Let us wait, however, and see.

The rector then announced that according to custom he would explain the Gospel of the day, that is, the beatitudes pronounced by Jesus on the mountain. 'But first of all,' he said, 'unite with me in earnest prayer to Christ, who is the true and only intercessor with the Father , in order that by his fertilising Spirit he may enlighten our understandings, and that our discourse may praise him, savour of him, be full of him, and reflect his image, so that this divine Saviour, penetrating our souls, may water them with the dew of his heavenly grace !' 490

Then the rector explained the happiness of those who are poor in spirit , who mourn , who hunger and thirst after righteousness .

=THE DISCOURSE CAUSES A SENSATION.=

The university had never heard the like. An admirable proportion was observed throughout the address; it was academical and yet evangelical—a thing not often seen. Calvin had discovered that tongue of the wise which useth knowledge aright. But the enemies of the Gospel were not deceived. Through the thin veil with which he had covered the grandeur of divine love, they discovered those heights and depths of grace which are a source of joy to the true christian, but an object of abhorrence to the adversary. There was an indescribable uneasiness among the auditory. Certain of the hearers exchanged glances, in this way indicating to one another the passages which seemed to them the most reprehensible. University professors, priests, monks, and students—all listened with astonishment to such unusual language. Here and there in the congregation signs of approbation might be observed, but far more numerous signs of anger. Two Franciscans, in particular, were so excited that they could scarcely keep their seats; and when the assembly broke up they were heard expressing their indignation in loud terms: 'Grace ... God's pardon ... the Holy Ghost ... there is abundance of all that in the rector's discourse; but of penance, indulgences, and meritorious works ... not a word!' It was pointed out to them that the rector, according to custom, had ended his exordium with the salutation which the angel had addressed to Mary; but that, in the opinion of the monks, was a mere form. The words being in Scripture, how could the rector refuse to pronounce them? Had he not besides begun by saying that Christ is the only true intercessor, verus et unus apud Patrem intercessor ?... What is left then to Mary, except that she is the mother of the Saviour? The Sorbonne was filled with anger and alarm.... To select the day of the festival of All Saints , in order to proclaim that there is only one intercessor! Such a crime must not remain unpunished. If Cop wished to produce a sensation, the monks will produce one also! The two Franciscans having consulted with their friends, their opinion was that the university was not to be trusted. Consequently they hastened to the parliament and laid the rector's heretical propositions before it.

Cop and Calvin had each retired separately, and been visited in their respective apartments by many of their friends. Some of them did not approve of these great manifestations; they would have wished the evangelicals to be content with a few small conventicles here and there in retired places. Calvin did not agree with them. In his opinion there was one single universal christian Church, which had existed since the time of the apostles, and would exist always. The errors and abuses abounding in christendom, profane priests, hypocrites, scandalous sinners, do not prevent the Church from existing. True, it is often reduced to little more than a small humble flock; but the flock exists, and it must, whenever it has the opportunity, manifest itself in opposition to a fallen catholicism. The reformers themselves, though it is frequently forgotten, maintained the doctrine of a universal Church; but while Rome counts among the number of signs which characterise it 'a certain pomp and temporal possessions,' 491the evangelical doctors, on the contrary, reckon persecution and the cross as a mark of the true Church. Cop and Calvin were to make the experiment in their own persons.