Calvin then goes on to inform his friend of the affair of Berthelier, and the permission he had received from the Council to present himself at the Lord’s Supper, and continues: ‘Knowing the brazen face of the man who, with every occasion given him, has still stood in my way; and believing that he would be disposed to vanquish me if he could, I declared to the Council that I would not administer to him, and said that I would sooner die than prostitute the bread of the Lord by giving it to dogs or such as made a mockery of the Gospel, and trod the ordinances of the Church under foot. You have not understood aright what I said. Do not imagine that anything is changed. Something more may possibly be attempted at the next meeting of the Council. May the Lord lead the perverse to desist from their efforts! For my part, it is certain that I will never suffer the discipline sanctioned by the senate, and the decree of the people, to be set aside. If I am prevented from discharging the duties of my office, I may have to yield to force, but I will never renounce the liberty I possess; for, that abandoned, my ministry would be in vain. I am not made of such stubborn stuff, however, as not to feel sorely distressed when I think of the future scattering of this flock; but whilst I have the power, I shall do all I can to hold them in the right way. Do you with your prayers come to our aid, and entreat that Christ may keep to himself his flock of this place. Things go on no better in France. Wherever there is the pretext, they do not spare bloodshed. Three are condemned to death at Dijon, if they be not already burned; and the danger is that the commotions we hear of in Scotland will add fuel to the fires. Seven or eight youthful persons have been thrown into prison at Nemours, and in several other French towns many more have met with a like fate. Farewell! The letter which Calvin wrote about the same time to Sulzer, pastor of Basle, also deserves a place here, as showing the pains he took to influence the minds of his friends in his own favour and against Servetus.