Calvin's introduction to the letter from the divines at Zurich.

'When Servetus had satiated himself, in venting his spleen in the most opprobrious terms, our most excellent senate, in order to form the more certain judgment how to proceed against him, in a way as little obnoxious to reflection as possible, sent to have the advice of four of the Helvetic churches, that of Zurich, of Berne, of Basil, and of Schaffhausen, and consulted their pastors concerning the whole case. That Servetus might not have the least shadow of pretence to complain, that he was undone by the multitude of articles concerted against him; we chose to drop his last reproaches, rather than take that to ourselves, which we might lawfully have done. Besides, our readers will readily acknowledge that we have so far studied brevity, as not only to keep ourselves free from false glosses, but that we have handled matters more sparingly than what the nature of them would in reality bear us out in; and that we contained ourselves within the limits of a just exposition. For that the truth might come before the judges with the utmost simplicity and clearness; we only briefly touch

upon the main heads, that it might evidently appear that we proceeded no further than the necessity of our office constrained us to. When therefore our reverend brethren had, according to their own, singular piety, and their distinguished affection for the church of Christ, diligently perused and considered the whole affair of Servetus, they wisely returned this for an answer; that the whole book was a detestable monster, made up of innumerable errors. In short, they all with one heart and one voice gave it as their opinion, that the errors, for the sake of which Servetus made such loud complaints of the cruel injustice done him, were censured by us with no less faithfulness than justice. Thinking therefore it would be superfluous to insert the answers of each church singly; I content myself, lest I should be thought to affect prolixity, only to give to the public, the epistle from the church at Zurich, which may serve as a specimen of the others, from which it contains nothing different; and in it you may see the faith of all the rest: nor am I at all afraid that the other churches will take it amiss that their epistles are suppressed, as if they had not equal honor done to them; for the vain-glorious applause of the world

they had not the least in view; and I am well assured that this testimony of their holy agreement will be of much more account with them, than if each of them had had their sentiments made public by themselves. I should rather ask pardon of my Zurichian brethren, for publishing that to the world which they wrote to a few. But because the common good of the church, which with them is of the greatest weight, doth require it, they will, I hope, easily excuse my presumption.'

LETTER FROM THE ZURICH DIVINES.

'To our most honored Lords the Syndics; and to the most august senate of the republic of GENEVA, health and happiness.'

We have by this express, received your excellencies letters; together with Servetus' book, and the articles taken out of it, signed mutually by your preachers, our venerable, and dear brethren and by Michael Servetus. And because your piety demanded from us, that we should carefully examine, diligently consider, all those things, and give our judg ment upon them; we with all due deference to your lordships, will lay before your excellencies (with the assistance of God) our sentiments

concerning this whole affair, of the unity and trinity of God, of the mystery of the Son of God, and what we judge concerning the controversy, and writings of the ministers of your church, and of Servetus, with all the brevity and perspicuity possible. We make no manner of scruple to acknowledge the adorable mystery of the unity and trinity of God blessed for ever, to have existed from the beginning of the world: that this was firmly believed by all the saints, and faithfully handed down to be believed by posterity, and openly declared in the scriptures by prophets truly inspired by the holy Ghost. This main principle of true theology has been so sufficiently confirmed by the oracles of God, established by such evident signs, and so unanimously received by the catholic and orthodox church, as well of the old as of the new testament, that it has been always looked on as a great piece of wickedness so much as to call it in question. We therefore acknowledge with the holy and universal church of God, that the essence of God is one, that there are three persons distinct, not confused; for the Father testified from heaven of his own Son, This is my beloved Son (says he) in whom I am well pleased. He is the Son to whom the Father bore that testimony, and the

holy Ghost appeared in the form of a dove, three distinct divine persons indeed in one essence. There arose, it is true, before the council of Nice, Praxeas, Noetus, and Sabellius, who were called by the ancients Patripassians, who to preserve the unity of God confounded the distinction of persons. But they were learnedly and irrefragably confuted by the watchful. guides of the church, and the adorable mystery of the trine unity of God was defended by the scriptures, 'and preserved in the church. From whence it is certain, that the guides of the church, in the Nicene council, delivered no other creed to us than that which the catholic and orthodox church retained from the times of the apostles, yea even of the prophets. Since therefore that Spaniard Servetus, often calls the co-eternal trinity of God a three headed monster, and a certain tripartite Cerberus, since he calls the trinity imaginary gods, illusions, and three spirits of Demons, he does most wickedly and horridly blaspheme the eternal majesty of God. And in that he calls Athanasius, Augus tin, and other excellent servants of God, and illustrious lights of the church, trinitarians, and so of course atheists, (for so he styles all who acknowledge a trinity) he doth not only most unworthily revile these, but the whole body of