, 1877-10-07


'.servetu. aut GAVIN \ Study Of an Important
Epoch In the Early History Of the Reformation
By X Willis, n. D. London: Henry s. King j.
Co.. 1S71.)
hands OF q Protestant community may we'll he
taken to mark turning-point in the history OF
the Reformation. 1t is well known that re-
Neious federation was 10 part Of the official
doctrine OF the early Rcformers- The wicked
ness Of heresy, and tho authority OF the Church
to punish It. conld he no less after the Church
was reformed than before. \ lew enlightened
persons. such as Erasmus, who were in tact toe
enlightened to do the rough work Of
AL ecclesiastical revolution. had attained
TO something like modern ideas Of tolera
ton. Bnt as 4 rule, ideas Of this kind
spread very slowly, ami even The limited
kind Of tole:at,on which satisfied ortaodo1 Prot
estantism was rather thrust by circumstances
upon Reformed Princes and clergy than adopted
of free will. How narrow the limits we're may
bc read in the state Of English law in the last
century, state Of things Of which some eS-,
traordinary vestiges still remain nonnaly alive
Nonconfor1nists not denying the Trinity were
together with Jews, who were Oh footlng OF
underlined practical tolcraton> subject only to
various civil disabilities. Papistswcre subicctto
additional and much more stringent disabilities
Persons denying the Trinity or the Christian re-
ligion generally were subject to imprisonment
anu heavy disabilities, amounting for i repeated
offcnse to total loss Of civil rights. The civil
laws Of other Protestant countries practically
.ecuired-somc, nc believe, at this cay re-
ouire-cyery citizen to belony. in name At least,
to one Of certain number o1 rcco9-
ntzcu comnaunions. Seryetus would have been
in no danger OF capital punishment in England
at any time after the Kestoratlon' but hc would
have been tneorct1ea'is l1aoie, tlll Hcar tuI t'u
Of George ILLS reign, to very serious penalties
lie WAS something very different from mere
nonconformlst, aud even the m!icest u tue Nc
formers had been moved to very s1rong IAN
guagc BY his doctrines. SO much Is to be re-
nlcmbercd, both in fairness 10 his prosecutors
and to explain the Importance OF his lie and
death in the general history oi reholous toleFa-
tion. 1t so fell out that Inc proceedings taAen
against Scryetus by the rulers OF Gcnesa, Cai-
vim being, as Dr.. Willis abundaatly shows, the
real mover aud leader throughout, eSh1bted
this kind OF prosecution IN Il specially oalous.
light; and the execution OF man whom cftho,
do1 Protestants were BY their prlnclp!es pound
to condemn, and did condemn, as hereto of the
very worst kind gave rise to scandal which
/ brought out in clear and 2yowed expression
the rising conviction OF PTotcstants that
Churches who had renowned the claim OF in
fallibility could not takc Upon themselves f tne
risk OF burning men alive Tor matters ot opinion:
That heretics should not. nc punished At ali
seemed at that time too Wild 4 proposition TO pe
seriously maintained. More th2n . century
later the " "1ractatns lneoloS;co-r u
Spinoza was furiously assailed by thcologlans OF
every complexion Tor a1hru1ng- with every pos,
siblc reservation in favor ot legal anu mural
order-that relig1ous opihlon, Us sueI, Is not u
proper subject for the censuFe o1 nn,i'an tr1-
bunas Inc nri siep 10 ~ hnrsti: au ~ b
suffered to live In SO lar Us the s2cri1cc OF
Servetus contributed TO that emo. lawns
wishes that he might be OF sooa example were
fulfilled, though Ill a sense very o1ae1ent 1fol1
what he desired.
The opinions for which ScrEetus G sGnereu stl
were not in themselves OF aklno 70 call 1ortE
modern sympathics. DC was so'ne'ninS lalolS
than I'LL Ar1a!', hcla very pccu!iar thcu.s y.
the Incarnation, and opposed infant Daptlsn'
this last point. as Dr. Ills observes, was llkciy
to be specially da1nagIns ono, ascrcatai1C some
sort OF assoclatlon--ho"eFcr uniouhoeo ~ 1act
with the c1traVaeances OF Tue -An4oapt1ste.
culture when learned and vlrtuous men could
persuade themselves that It WAS o1 fltal 1Hl-
poEtancc whether the term fcrson' IN the theo-
logical sense, was to be understood Us meaning
h3fposfass or disposition: but 50 It Is tnat tue
Substitution Of disposition or dile7lsation for
Avpostasis was one Of Se7vetus' capital errors.
In addition to these WeEhtlcr matters, servetus
somewhere has. Dr.. Willis tells US tor did he
find it in some older canonlst =, the curious con-
ham was the first known Instance OF the :. .lnno-
inmate contract" facio ut 1aclas 4 concelt sur
passed. however, by our countrynan AsE1!l'
who proved that the covenant in question salts
fed all the forms OF English conveyancing'
Even in medicine Seryetus was not wholly sci
cnti6c: lis practice wa. so largely tempered
With astrologv as to bring him into serious
trouble in Paris. 1t is singular Instance o.
the irony Of fate that the one passaee w "ns1l
he has earned genuine though tardy scientific
fame, and in which Harvcy's great discovery IS,
in part. anticipated, long lay burled III Ing
sChristianisni Restitutio, 1.-The tneoiosleal
work which was the ground OF the cohoell'na.lu.
pronounced at GcneSa anu WINCH natlomn s;,;.
had found thelr Na5 aoEoau ~ ,hct, L hat whch
WAS necessarily preserved bv the Geneyese au-
thortioe themselves for the purposes Of the