Great Men and Famous Women. Vol. 3: A series of pen and pencil sketches of the lives of more than 200 of the most prominent personages in History
History
Great Men and Famous Women. Vol. 3: A series of pen and pencil sketches of the lives of more than 200 of the most prominent personages in History
Biography
He proceeded to Paris in 1533, which at this date had become a centre of
the "new learning," under the teaching of Lefevre and Farel, and the
influence of the Queen of Navarre, sister of Francis I. The Sorbonne
itself had not escaped the infection. There was a growing religious
excitement 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, and the result was that
Calvin and others were obliged to flee for their lives. After this he
repaired for a short time to his native place, resigned the preferment
he held in the Roman Catholic Church, and for a year or two led a
wandering life, sheltered in various places. We find him at Saintorge;
at Nerac, the residence of the Queen of Navarre; at Angouleme, with his
friend Louis du Tillet; then for a brief while at Paris again.
Persecutions against the Protestants at this time raged so hotly that
Calvin was no longer safe in France, and he betook himself to Basel,
whence he issued, in the year 1536, the first edition of his "Christianae
Religionis Institutio," with the famous preface addressed to Francis I.
The concentrated vigor and intensity of feeling of this address, rising
into indignant remonstrance, and at times into pathetic and powerful
influence, make it one of the most memorable documents in connection
with the Reformation. After completing this great service to the cause
of Protestantism, he made a short visit to Italy, to Renee, 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 Noyon adieu, set out, in company with his younger brother
and sister, on his way to Strasbourg. 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.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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