risen and that
left no place for sound doctrine in France induced him to make the
attempt at the same time to acquaint the king with the real character of
the Protestants and their belief. He assured Francis that the book
contained nothing more nor less than the creed for the profession of
which so many Frenchmen were being visited with imprisonment,
banishment, outlawry, and even fire, and which it was sought to
exterminate from the earth. He drew a fearful picture of the calumnies
laid to the charge of this devoted people, and of the wretched church of
France, already half destroyed, yet still a butt for the rage of its
enemies. It was the part of a true king, as the vicegerent of God, to
administer justice in a cause so worthy of his consideration. Nor ought
the humble condition of the oppressed to indispose him to grant them a
hearing; for the doctrine they professed was not their own, but that of
the Almighty himself. He boldly contrasted the evangelical with the
papal church, and refuted the objections urged against the former. He
defended its doctrine from the charge of novelty, denied that
miracles--especially such lying wonders as those of Rome--were necessary
in confirmation of its truth, and showed that the ancient Fathers, far
from countenancing, on the contrary, condemned the superstitions of the
day. He refuted the charge that Protestants forsook old customs when
good, or abandoned the only visible church; and in a masterly manner
vindicated the Reformation from the oft-repeated charge of being the
cause of sedition, conflict, and confusion. He begged for a fair and
impartial hearing. "But," he exclaimed in concluding, "if the
suggestions of the malevolent so fill your ears as to leave no room for
the reply of the accused, and those importunate furies continue, with
your consent, to rage with bonds and stripes, with torture,
confiscation, and fire, then shall we yield ourselves up as sheep
appointed for slaughter, yet so as to possess our souls in patience, and
await the mighty hand of God, which will assuredly be revealed in good
time, and be stretched forth armed for the deliverance of the poor from
their affliction, and for the punishment of the blasphemers now exulting
in confidence of safety. May the Lord of Hosts, illustrious king,
establish your seat in righteousness and your throne with equity."[398]

[Sidenote: Has no effect in allaying persecution.]

[Sidenote: Calvin achieves distinction.]

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