The peace and satisfaction which were the fruit of the settled order, and even of the beauty of the places in which these great changes had been effected, did not long remain undisturbed. Some foreign doctors came to Geneva, Herman of Liége and Andrew Benoît, the latter also a native of the Netherlands, both of them belonging to that enthusiastic sect, some of whose leaders Calvin had previously encountered in France, and who called themselves the Spirituals.[481] These sectaries had found their way into western Europe, but Germany and the Netherlands were, above all, their proper countries. The German mind has a philosophical and even mystical tendency, which gives rise to a longing to penetrate deeper than the Bible itself into the knowledge of divine things. The central position of Geneva, the important revolution in politics and religion which had just been accomplished there, excited in those sectaries the hope of establishing themselves in the city for the purpose of spreading themselves afterwards over France, Italy, and other countries. These new doctors, from the time of their arrival, had labored to diffuse their opinions, and had gained partisans. Among these were some members of the council.[482] Proud of this first success, they expected to substitute in Geneva their dreams for the Gospel. The claim set up by these Spirituals, of penetrating further into the truth than the reformers did, gave them a certain attractiveness for minds eager for novelties. They boldly announced that they were willing to dispute with the preachers. As early as March 9 they were called before the council, and were invited to communicate in writing the articles which they intended to maintain.[483] Herman and Benoît complied with this request, and delivered their theses to the council. The council took them into consideration on March 13. In calling themselves the _Spirituals_, these men meant to assert that the spirit alone acted in them. Their doctrine was a more or less gross kind of Pantheism. They did not think, in general, ‘that the soul was a substance, a creature having essence; it was merely, in their view, the property which a man has of breathing, of moving, and of performing other vital actions.[484] They said that in place of our souls it is God who lives in us, and does in us all the actions pertaining to life. God became the creature,’ adds Calvin, ‘and the latter was no longer anything.’[485] An assassination having been committed at Paris, Quintin, a leader among the Spirituals, replied to some who asked him who committed it, ’Tis thou, ’tis I, ’tis God, for what thou and I do, ’tis God that does it.’ They had also peculiar ideas respecting Jesus Christ. They did not hold that he had been very man, but made him a kind of phantom, as to his body. They held similar errors about baptism, excommunication, the magistrate, oaths, and other matters. We are not in possession of the articles which they presented to the