A Latin translation of the catechism appeared at Basel in 1538.[448] This catechism reveals in its first lines the true thought, the real mind of Calvin. We say the real mind, because it is very different from that attributed to Calvin by so many men who are filled with prejudices, and for whom the word _Calvinism_ is like a scarecrow set up on the top of a pole in the fields to frighten timid birds. ‘There is not a man in existence,’ said he, ‘no matter how uncivilized he be, no matter though his heart be altogether savage, that is destitute of the religious sentiment. It is certain that the end for which we were created is to know the majesty of our Creator, and to embrace him when known, and to adore him with all fear, love, and reverence.’[449] Of course this declaration does not show that Calvin was blind to the evil that is in humanity. It does not prevent his declaring that ‘the heart of man, which the poison of sin has penetrated to its inmost depths, sins, not because it is constrained by necessity, but because the will impels him to it.’ Calvin afterwards expounds, with the hand of a master, the three great articles of the Christian Church--the Decalogue, the Apostles’ Creed, and the Lord’s Prayer. But this is not the place for a copy of his exposition. Calvin, at the same time that he provided instruction for the young, interested himself warmly in the character of the men and women who were called to become members of the Church of God. As he longed for a pure Church, his first care was to ascertain the purity of faith and life of those who composed it. The great diversity of religious opinions which then prevailed in Geneva troubled him, for he knew that _every house divided against itself shall not stand_. ‘How,’ said he, ‘can we receive into a Church of the Gospel people who, for all we know, may not have renounced papistical idolatries and superstitions?’[450] The members composing a Church ought, in his judgment, to be united by a bond both holy and strong. As Geneva had to contend against the Goliath of the papacy, her strength must be found in faith and union. Sound doctrine must be imprinted on the hearts of the Genevese, in order that neither mysticism, nor infidelity, nor a fanatical enthusiasm might approach to enfeeble and lead them astray. Christians must ‘lean upon the promises of God with trust and certainty, that they may stand firm against all the artillery which might threaten the destruction of their confidence.’[451]