Hee was borne in Noyon, an auncient
and famous towne of Picardie, the
yeare .1509. the tenth of Iuly, of an honest
house and of a reasonable wealth, his father
was named Gerard Caluin, a man of good
vnderstanding and counsell, and therefore
greatly desired in the houses of noble men
dwelling in those partes: by reason wherof
his saide Sonne was the better and more liberallye
brought vp, at his fathers charges
notwithstanding, in company with the children
of the house of Mommor, with whom
also he was in co~panie at ye schole at Paris.
Hee was alway of a singuler good wit, and
aboue all other things of a very good conscience,
enimy to vices, and greatly giuen to
the seruice of God as men did then call it: in
such sort as his minde was wholy to deuinitie,
which was also an occasion that he was
prouided of a benefice in the Cathedrall
Churche of Noyon. Yet was his father alwayes
minded that hee shoulde studie the
Lawes, and he also on his part hauing alredie,
by ye meane of a cosin and frinde of his,
named Maister Peter Robert, otherwyse
Oliuentanus, who afterwarde tourned ye Bible
out of Hebrue into French and imprinted
it at Neufchastle, tasted some thing of
the pure Religion, began to withdraw himselfe

B.iiij.

from Popishe superstitio~s: which was
the cause that beside the singuler reuerence
that he had towarde his father, he did agree
to go to Orleaunce to the same ende, where
there did then reade an excellent ma~ named
Peter de l'Estoille, who was afterwarde President
of the Court of Parliame~t in Paris,
vnder whom he did so profite in short space,
that he was not accompted a scholer, but
as an ordinarie Doctour, as oftentimes hee
was rather in deede a teacher than a hearer,
and he was offered to proceede Doctor without
paying anye thing, which thing also he
did refuse. And bicause that the vniuersitie
of Bourges was then also famous by the
meane of that excellent Lawyer Andre Alciat
which then did reade there, hee woulde
him. In the meane time he exercised himself
also see and heare in holye letters, with such
fruite and profite, that all those whose
heartes it had pleased GOD to touche,
giuing them to vnderstande what the differences
were that were then moued concerning
matters of Religion, did not onlye
beare towarde hym singuler affection,
but had him forthwith in great admiration
for the learning and zeale that was in hym.
Among other with whome he did frequent
and companye, then at Bourges there
was an Almaigne an excellent personage a
Professor of the Greeke tongue, named
Melchior Volmar, whom I doe so much the
more willingly remember, bicause it is very
he that was my faithfull gouernor and teacher
all the time of my youth, for the which
cause I will praise God all the dayes of my
lyfe. Thys good man seyng Caluin not
to be well instructed in the Greeke tongue,
caused him to studie the same, wherin he did
greatly helpe him, as he himselfe hath witnessed,
dedicating to him hys Co~mentaries
vpon the seconde Epistle of S. Paule to the
Corinthians, and did him the honor to call
him his Maister & instructer. In this meane
time his father died, which was the cause yt
he left ye studie of the Lawes, and returned
to Noyon, and then to Paris: where notwithstanding
his youth, hee was not long
vnknowen, nor without honor, by all such
as had anye feeling of the truthe: hee of hys
parte dyd then resolue to dedicate hymselfe
wholye to GOD, and did trauaile
wyth great profyte in suche sorte, that being
in Paris in the tyme of the Rector named
Monsieur Copus, there happened a seditio~
whereupon hee was sent to the Court to be
preferred, where he was knowen and very
well receiued of all those that had any pure
affection and sounde iudgement in those affayres:
In the ende seyng the miserable
estate of the Realme of Fraunce, hee determined
to absent himselfe and to be where he
might liue more quietly & according to his
conscience. He then departed out of Frau~ce
in the yeare .1534. and in the same yeare he
caused to imprint at Basil his first instructio~
as an Apologie, dedicated to Frau~ces ye first
Frenche King of that name, in the behalfe
of the poore faithfull that were persecuted,
whom they did most falsely name Anabaptistes,
to excuse them towarde the Princes
Protestantes, of the persecutions that they
then vsed against them. He passed also into
Italie, where he saw my Lady ye Duchesse
of Ferrare, yet at this day liuing, thankes
be to God, who when shee had seene & heard
him, forthwith iudged of him as hee was,
and euer after vntyl his death, did loue and
honor him as an excellent Organe of the
Lorde. In hys returne from Italie ye which
he had but seene, he passed in a happie time
thorow this towne of Geneua, which not
long before had receiued the Gospell by the
preaching of M. William Farell, and dyd
meane nothing lesse than to tarry there, but
to passe thorow it and to go to Basil, or else
to Strasbourgh. But the Lord being euen
then willing to prepare away to his so great
goodnesse as his pleasure was to bestowe
vpon his Church by the meane of him, did
put in the heart of the sayde Farel to staye
him: which thing was very harde for him to
doe, in such sort that after many requestes
& desyres he was fayne to vse adiurations.
The~ he was co~tented to stay, not to preach,
but to reade Diuinitie, and this came to
passe in the yeare .1536. in the beginning of
September. When hee was in this sort declared
Doctor in thys Churche by lawfull
election and auctoritie, hee then framed a
briefe forme of Confession and Discipline to
giue some shape to thys new erected Churche.
Hee made also a Cathechisme which
may be wel called one of his excelle~t works,
and hath yelded maruellous fruite, beyng
so well framed, that it was afterwarde turned
out of Frenche into Hebrue to winne ye
Iewes, into Greeke & Latin for ye scholes,
also into Italian, Dutch, Englishe, Scotish
and Fle~mishe, & also Spanishe, for all these
nations. These prosperous beginnings dyd
greatly mislike Satan & his, who failed not,
as it was an easy matter to doe in the first
change of ye estate of Religio~ to set himself
against the proceding of the Gospel. Albeit yt
it was receiued wt an oth by all those of this
town. Maister Caluin on ye other side as he
was in deede of a noble minde, withstoode
firmely & constantly with Maister Farel, ye
seditious persons, hauing also on his side an
other good ma~ named Conraht, a Minister also
of this Church, being blinde of his bodily
eyes, but could wel see wt the eyes of his spirite,
whom also ye said Caluin had brought
fro~ Basil, where he did remaine bicause of
the great persecutions, yt were in Fraunce:
The ende was such, yt the Lord being minded
euen at once to take his seruant out fro~
the presse, & to purge this Towne of certain
seditious perso~s which did abuse ye name of
ye Gospel, to pla~t his name else where, & last
of al to frame his serua~t by certain experie~ce
of things which did afterward stand him in
great steade: it was ordeined ye greater part
of ye Cou~sel not being the best yt the forenamed
should depart ye town wtin .24. houres,
bicause yt they wold not minister ye Supper
of the Lord in a Citie yt was the~ so troubled
and stirred. Whe~ thys was declared to the
said Caluin, his aunswere was yt if hee had
serued me~, he should haue bene ill reco~penced,
but he serued him, who in steade of euil
recompe~cing his serua~ts, did alwayes giue
the~ more than they deserued. And he might
iustly so say: for he had folowed the example
of S. Paule, in seruing of the Church vpon
his own charges & cost. He then departed to
the great griefe of all the good, first to Basil,
& then to Strasbourgh, wher being receiued
as a treasure, by those excellent me~ M. Martin
Bucer, Capito, Hedio, and others, who at ye
present did shyne as precious Pearles in ye
Church of God, hee there erected a French
Church, & therin did establish Ecclesiastical
discipline in such sort, as ye Almaignes could
neuer yet attaine vnto, for their Churche,
euen to this very daye: he did also reade Diuinitie
wt great admiration of euery man, &
then he began to write vpon S. Paule, dedicating
his Co~mentarie vpon the Epistle to
the Romaines to M. Simon Grinee, who
was accompted to be the best learned of the
Almaigne nation, & was his great friende:
he had also this grace among others, that
hee brought to the faith a great number of
Anabaptists which were sent vnto hym out
of all partes, and among others one named
Iohn Stordeur of Liege, who within short
tyme after dying of the Plague at Strasbourgh,
he tooke his widow to wyfe, whose
name was Idelleto de Bure, a verye graue and
honest woman, with whome hee liued afterwarde
verye quietly, vntyll our Lorde
tooke hir away to himself, the yeare .1548.
without hauing had any childe: at the same
very time there were holden in Almaigne
certaine imperiall assembles or diets for the
matter of Religion, at Woormes and at
Ratisbone, in the which Caluin was chose~
for one of the chiefe by the aduise of all the
Diuines of Almaigne, where he did so behaue
himselfe yt his renoume became great
euen among the very enimies, and Phillip
Melancthon among others, did euen then
receiue him into singuler friendship which
did alwayes laste afterwarde, and did then
call him ordinarilye the Diuine, in token of
singuler honor. In the meane time ye Lord
did execute his iudgements at Geneua, punishing
certaine which beyng in the place of
Syndique .1538. were the cause of the banishement
of Caluin and Farel, in such sort
as one of them beyng gyltie of a sedition, &
thinking to saue himself thorow a window,
did all burst himselfe, an other of them hauing
committed a murder, was by order of
iustice beheaded, the other twaine being co~uinced
of certain vntrouth against the state
of the towne, fledde awaye and were condemned
in their absence. When the towne
was purged of this froth, they began then
to bewayle Caluin, & he was desyred thither
againe by sundry Ambassades fro~ Geneua,
and by the intercession of the Lordes of Zuriche,
to ye Lords of Strasbourgh, who made
great difficultie. On ye other side Caluin seing
how he profited in Strasbourgh, would
in no wyse co~sent therunto, albeit to declare
the good wyll that he bare to the towne, the
yeare .1539. a whole yeare after hys banishment,
hee maintained the cause therof or rather
of the truth of God against the Cardinal
Sadolet, in a large and learned Epistle
which is printed among the reast of hys
workes. In the ende he was threatened with
the iudgements of God if he did not obey to
that vocation, in such sorte that to the great
sorrowe of the Lordes of Strasbourgh, and
especially of Maister Bucer and his companions,
he was licenced to be at Geneua for
a certaine time. But when he came thither
and was receiued of singuler affection by
those poore people which acknowleged their
fault, & hauing a great desire to heare their
faithful Pastor, they helde him there continually:
wherunto in the ende the Lordes of
Strasbourgh consented, vpo~ condition that
he should be alwayes a Bourgeois of their
towne. They would also yt he should haue
had alwayes ye reuenue of a Prebend which
was appointed vnto him for hys stipende of
his reading. But as he was a man clearely
voide of all greedinesse of the goodes of thys
worlde, so coulde they neuer bring to passe
that hee woulde receiue so much as the value
of one Denier thereof. And in this sorte
he was againe established at Geneua, the
yeare .1541. the .13. of September, where
forthwith hee framed an order of Ecclesiasticall
Discipline, which hath alwayes since
continued there firmely, albeit Satan and
hys adherentes haue employed all theire
forces to abolishe it. Now hee that woulde
here declare particulerly all the trauayles &
paines that thys excellent personage hath
endured since by the space of .23. yeares as
well within as without, hee shoulde haue
matter sufficient to fil a great volume. For
if euer there were towne furiously assayled
by Satan, and valiantly defended during ye
tyme, it was Geneua, the honor belongeth
to God, but it ought and may lawfullye be
said yt Caluin hath bene ye instrume~t of hys
vertue & power. If there be questio~ of vigilance,
Satan & his could neuer take him vnprouided,
but either he hath warned ye flocke
before hande, or else preserued it in ye place.
If wee shal speake of integritie, he is yet vnborne,
yt hath sene him co~mit any fault in his
office, or to yelde, be it neuer so little, for any
man liuing, or to haue varied in doctrine or
life, nor neuer misreported man. If we shall
speake of labour & paine, I beleue yt his like
is not to be founde, beside yt he preached co~tinually
euery daye in the weeke, and most
commonly, and as often as he was able, hee
preached twice euery Sonday: hee did reade
diuinitie three times in a weeke: hee made
declaration in ye Consistorie or as it were a
whole lesson euery Friday, in conference of
the Scripture which we call Co~gregation,
& did continue this order thorowly wtout interruption
vntill his death, & in dede neuer
did fayle so much as once, except it were by
extreme sicknesse. Further, who is able to
recite his trauailes ordinarie and extraordinary,
I knowe not if any man of our tyme
hath had more to heare, to aunswere, and to
write, nor matters of greater importaunce.

C.j.

The onely multitude and number of hys
bookes and writings are sufficient to astonishe
any man that shall se them: but much
more those that shall reade them. And that
which maketh hys labours more wonderfull,
is that hee had a bodye so weake of nature,
and so lowe brought with watchings
and ouermuch sobrietie, yea and being subiect
to so many diseases, that all men yt had
sene him, would haue thought yt he coulde
not haue lyued at all. And notwithstanding
this, hee neuer left of day nor night his trauaile
in the workes of the Lorde: & he coulde
not endure to heare ye requestes and exhortations
of hys friendes which they daylye
made vnto him, to the ende that he shoulde
take some rest. I wyll alledge onely two examples.
The yeare .1559. beyng assayled
and maruellously greued with a feuer quartane,
he did notwithstanding, in the chiefest
of hys sicknesse, set forth the laste edition of
his Christian Institution, and did translate
it thorowe oute into Frenche. Likewise in
his last sicknesses, which were the stone, the
goute, ye Hemorrhodes, a Phthysike feuer,
shortnesse of wynd, beside his ordinarie disease
of the Miegrame, he did him self translate
wholly that great volume of his Commentaries
vpon the foure laste Bookes of
Moyses: examined the translation of ye fyrst:
made this booke vpo~ Ioshe, and did peruse
the greatest part of the translation and annotations
of the Newe Testament, in sort
that he neuer ceased from writing but only
eyght dayes before his death, hys voice beginning
to fayle him. Beside hys innumerable
paines and his charges, in all the mischiefes
and perilles, wherein this poore Citie
hath bene, assayled within by many mutinous
and desperate Citizens, tormented
without a hundred thousand wayes, threatned
by the greatest Kings and Princes of
Christendome, bicause it was alwayes a refuge
and defence for all the poore children of
God afflicted in Fraunce, Italie, Spayne,
Englande, and else where, it was so that
Caluin bare alwaye the greatest burden: to
be short he myght well saye with S. Paule,
who is he yt is troubled & I do not sorrowe?
And it was not without cause yt euery ma~
had his refuge to him: for God had adorned
him with so wyse and good councell, that
neuer man repented him of the following
of it, but I haue knowe~ many fal into great
and extreme inconueniences which would
not beleue him. Thys hath bene founde so

C.ij.

by many experiences and proofes, namely
in the seditions that happened the yeare .48.
54. and .55. to breake and disorder the discipline
of the Church, where he thrust himself
naked in among ye swordes drawne, and wt
hys presence & wordes he so frayed the most
desperate mutines of them, yt they were enforced
to prayse God. The lyke was in the
conspiracie Catilinarie, which was the verye
yere .55. to haue murdred all the French, by
ye Captaine of ye towne named Amied Perrin
and his conspirators, which coniuration carying
with it a maruellous number of dau~gers
and trauayles, in the ende, the Lorde
of hys great grace, by the wysedome of hys
seruaunt brought it to that passe yt it is now
at: to wyt, to the greatest quietnesse and felicitie
yt euer this Citie did knowe. As touching
his ordinary life & dyet, euery man ca~
witnesse that it was so temperate, that ther
was neuer excesse in it, no more was there
of nigardise, but a commendable meane, sauing
that he had alwayes to small regarde
to his health, being co~tented for the space of
many yeares wt one repast in .xxiiij. houres,
and neuer receiuing any thing betwene his
meales in such sort yt all that euer the Phisitians
could persuade him vnto in ye point,
was yt about half a yere before his last sicknesse,
he did take at times about noone a litle
wine and would soupe of an egge, ye causes
were the weakenesse of his stomack, and ye
Miegrame, for the which he saide hee coulde
neuer find any remedy but a co~tinual dyet,
in suche sort as I haue knewen him oftentimes
to eate no meate in two dayes. Being
of so smal a dyet, he slept very little: & for
the more parte he was co~strained to warme
him vpon his bedde, whereon also hee hath
made the greatest number of his bookes, being
continually happily occupyed in spirite.
This is the order yt this excellent seruant of
God did continuallye obserue, forgetting
himself to serue God & his neighbour in his
vocation & charge: yet coulde hee not so doe
but yt Satan did rayse vp against him al the
shamefullest slaunders of ye worlde, but yt is
no newes, for it is the rewarde yt the world
in all ages hath giuen to those that woulde
drawe them from perdition. I wyll not
aunswere those that doe call him Heretique
and woorse than Heretique, whereupon
they haue forged a name of Caluinistes
for hys Doctrine maketh aunswere on
the contrarye more than sufficientlye.
Some haue charged hym wyth ambition,

C.iij.

but if they be able in anye point to proue it,
I am content to be co~demned. Is there any
man that hath folowed greater simplicitie
in the expositio~ of the Scriptures, and hath
more wherewith to set hymselfe forthe if
hee woulde haue profaned the Scriptures
with subtile and vaine ostentations? Hee
would rule all, saye they. O villaine & false
shamelesnesse: what preheminence did hee
euer seeke? & if he had sought it, who coulde
haue kept him from it? with whom did hee
euer striue for the first or the seconde place,
when men haue not giuen vnto him that
which the giftes and graces that God had
giuen him did require? when hath hee bene
seene alter, be it neuer so little? when hath it
bene sene that euer hee did abuse his charge
and his auctoritie towarde the simplest in ye
world? when did he take in hande any thing
without the aduise or against the opinion of
hys companions? To be short, what difference
was there euer betweene him and vs,
but that he did excell vs all in all humilitie
among other vertues, and also in that hee
tooke more paine than all we did? was there
any man more simplye apparelled or more
modest in al respectes? was there any house
considering the estate of the man, I doe not
saye lesse sumpteous, but more slenderlye
furnished with moueables? And if men wil
not beleue mee and ten thousand witnesses
with mee, at the least let them beleue the
slender wealth of hys brother & onely heire,
and also the inuentorie of all his goods, and
it shall be founde that all that euer hee lefte
behinde him accompting also hys bookes
which were dearely solde bicause of his precious
memorie, to all men that were learned
doth not exceede the value of two hundred
crownes. These maye also aunswere
these shamelesse euill reporters who haue
talked so largely, that the one sorte sayd hee
was a Usurer, the other that he was a very
bancker: a matter so worthie of scorne and
so falsely raysed, that anye man that euer
did knowe him, wyll neuer require aunswere
to such an vntrouth. He was so couetous
that hauing in the whole sixe hundred
Florines for his stipende, which doth not al
amount to three hundred liures tournois,
yea he sought to haue lesse, & the accomptes
of this Seigniorie can witnesse it. Hee hath
bene so couetous of thys worldely goodes,
that being in fauour, yea & honored both of
Kings, Princes & Lordes of many nations,
and hauing dedicated his workes to them,

C.iiij.

I know not and I think I should haue knowen
it if it had bene otherwise that euer he
receiued of them to hys vse the value of .xx.
Crownes. Also he had the sacred woorde of
God in such reuerence, that he had rather to
dye than to vse it as a bayte to Ambition or
auarice. Hee did dedicate hys bookes to priuate
persons, acknowledging some benefite
or friendship, as he did a very learned & singuler
Co~mentarie vpo~ the booke of Seneca
concerning the vertue of Clemencie & gentlenesse,
which he wrote in Parris, being of
the age of .24. yeares, & did dedicate it to one
of the Lordes of Monmor, wyth whom hee
had bene brought vp, not at theire charges
notwithstanding. The like hee did with his
Commentaries vpon ye Epistle of S. Paule
to the Romanes, being dedicated to Simon
Grinee: vpon the first to the Corinthians, to
the Lord Marques Caraciol: vpo~ the second
to the Corinthians, to Melchior Uolmar his
Maister that taught him the Greeke: vppon
ye first to ye Thessalonia~s, to Mathurin Cordier,
his gouerner in the colledge of S. Barbara
at Parris in his first youth: vpon the second,
to Benet Tertor his Phisitian: vppon the
Epistle to Tite, to his two singuler friends
& companions in ye worke of ye Lord, Maister
William Farel & M. Peter Uiret: and the
booke of offences to Lawrent of Norma~die
his auncient & continuall friend. As concerning
ye others which hee did dedicate to certaine
Kings, Princes, or co~mon wealthes,
his meaning was to encorage the one sorte
to perseuer in ye defence of ye childre~ of God,
& to stirre vp the others to the lyke. Wherefore
also when he saw yt such men did ye contrary,
he made not straunge to put out their
names & to put in others, which onely came
to passe in two of his Prefaces. This be said
as touching this crime of auarice. Others
on ye other side haue reported him to be prodigall
& a player, but it was as true as ye report
of those yt charged him wt fornicatio~. As
concerning prodigality & the fruites therof,
hys bookes wyll well declare euen to ye ende
of the world, of his pastimes, & of the shamelesnesse
of such lyers. As co~cerning whoredome,
it is maruell yt any ma~ durst so farre
to stray, as to forge yt euil report, were it not
that it is a thing accustomed against ye most
excellent seruants of God. But he is yet
vnborne that euer did suspect him of whom
we speake in any place whersoeuer he vsed:
hee liued about nine yeares in Mariage verye
chastely, when hys wyfe was deade,
hee continued in wydowerhead aboute the
space of .xvj. yeares, euen to hys death.
In all that time who is he that euer perceiued
the least token that might be of so vnworthie
an acte in him? And what woman
was there so villaine and shamelesse yt durst
to beholde without shame a forehead so reuerende
and shewing to all men that did
beholde it, all puretie and fredome? Who
hath bene a more rigorous enimy to whordome
than he? It is true that the Lord hath
exercised him touching this matter toward
such as touched him neare. There hath yet
worse happened in the house of Iacob and
Dauid, than to him of whom wee speake,
and in a more straunge sorte. But what did
Satan in this behalfe gaine of the faithfull
seruaunt of God, but only shame & rebuke
to himselfe in the later daye before the seate
of the So~ne of God? And now to them that
hee had stirred vp, to rayse such sclaunder,
Whoredomes, Adulteries, and incestes, are
accompted for pastimes and exercises of the
wicked ones, in sort, that one of the greatest
faultes that they finde with the reformed
Churches, is yt there whoredome and adulterie
is punished: In the meane while if
there be any such fault or offence founde among
vs, albeit that it be extremely punished,
they accuse vs with open mouth. In
so doing, if they sayde truth, what other
thing doe they than blame vs in that that
we resemble the~? But without entring any
further into this discourse, it muste needes
bee, will they or no confessed yt the theeues
do not haunt where ye Magistrates & Pote~tates
are: but to exercise such thi~gs it were
more meete to dwell among the~ where such
offence is a vertue. But to returne to my
purpose, it shal be well founde yt this faithfull
seruant of God hath shewed to all the
worlde a singuler example, in condemning
this villaine and stincking vice, as well in
them as in others: for when there were any
found faultie, he had no regarde at al wtout
accepting of persons, but to GOD and hys
Church: and I say nothing in thys, but that
which all such as did knowe hym well wyll
testifie before God.