The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1900-02-25

ing less than the erection 81 a true university,
but only n school Of theology was instituted.
and. Of this Theodore B"ia was tho FIRST hend at
rector. IIenCcfOrth IjeIa, who at Lausanne
had been merely PROFESSOR ~ Greek Literature.
became on eNpounder of theology and The CO.
ndiutor Of Calvin In preaching the Cos
pei. II was a. Cnlvin's condiutor that
Bcza. in July. 1900. visited Antoine Of Bour
bon, and his wife Jeanne d'Albrst. Queen
OF Navarro, at Merac In Guyennr, and there
showed himself not only a powerful theoloRIan,
but also a clear sig h'ed man OF affairs. lie slrove
earnestly To dissunde the ttular King Of Navarro
from complying with the command given him by
the Guises in the name Of Francis H. 70 come
northward and u bring with him his younger
brother, the Prince of Condo, in order That tho
latter might have an opportunity 10 clear him
self q the accusation Of which ho was the object
That Condo escaped the fate designed for him
was due 10 no foresight Of his own, hu, 10 an Incl
dent beyond the reach Of human prescience, the
sudden death Of the boy king, Francis H.
lis we'll known that, upon the death of Francis
H., the Guises were temporarily deprived Of power,
and that Catherine De Medici, who desired 10
make the Huguenots a coun'erbalnncing force,
gave orders for a conference at which spokesman
~ Catholicism and Of the so called Reformers
/ shOuiu DS nedIu. In" ConieTpnre tOok pih't AZ
| Poissy in 1901, and tho Professionals OF France
we're represented. not by Calvin himself, but by
| Beza, against whom there existed no inve,erate
| animosi,y among the adherents OF the Ca,holi,
party. Prof. Baird dcyotes nearly fifty pages
u the So called "Colloquy Of Poissy," and the
| space is doubtless justified, both by the importance
Of the meeting In the religious history Of France
| and by the distinction reflected upon Beza him
LII IA, skA .lIpApa yht,h hA lal,rar.l This
address, as the biogrnpher points out, should
I've regarded in the light Of a great State paper
wherein every sentence is Of weight. while every
| position taken in it has a more or less direct bear
ing on the subsequent course Of the French Re
| formatory movement The Reformers did not
secure at Poissy all for which they had hoped:
but on Jan. II, 1852, a royal edict WAS issued.
in which. for the first time, official recognition
was given to the Protestants and permission
was granted them to worship God in gatherings Of
unarmed men and women anywhere outside Of
the walls OF cities.
II they were commanded 70 surrender all the
sdinces Of which they had taken possession stu
hted within city walls, the loss was Of small conse
| ouancc, in view u the Importance Of the cardinal
| concession. especially as the law guaranteed
| them safety and protection on the way to and from
| their places Of worship. The edict, however,
was grossly violated six weeks afterward by fol
lowers Of tho Due dc Guise at the massacre of
Nassy. Within a few weeks afterward, broke
out the FIRST Of the civil wars in which the Hugue
nots became involved. At such a juncture,
Beza could not conscien iously desert the French
rrf1rmorS, and his return 10 the pulpit and lecture
room al Geneva was OF necessity long deferred.
lie was the counsellor Of Condo and Of the Hugue
nots in the first civil war, the conclusion OF which
was fastened by the death Of Francois, Due de
Guise. At the expiration Of hostilities Reza
returned 10 Geneva, and resumed the functions
which. for abou, a year and q half. he had been
compelled TO intermit BY no one was he more
cordially welcomed than by Calvin himself, not
an old man for he whs not yet fifty -four years Of
age-but evidently fast nearing his end. From
the first moment that he sot foot in Geneva, Beza
had held toward the older reformer the rel alton
Of a child ~ his parent Intense admiration for
Calvin's Intellectual endowments had ripened
into love. Calvin, on his part, saw in Beza no
slayish copy Of himself, but a scholar Of greater
polish and wider knowledge Of polite society,
better capable Of dealing with courts, Possessed
Of a stronger ply sical constitution, and, therefore,
having the promise Of being able 90 accomplish
much that was denied 10 his own enfeebled health.
When Calvin died in 1884. il fell 20 Be,a's lot 20
tell the story OF his MASTER life and death. This
he did in a biography prelxed TO Calyin's postum
nous work Commentary on Joshua" About
the same time, Dela gave TO the world the most
notable OF his contributions to Biblical science.
This was an edition OF the Greek text Of the New
Testament, accompanied in parallel columns
by two tIanslations into Latin. the one being
tho text OF the Nulgate, the other an original
translation Of his own. Prof Baird points out
that, In the preparation OF this edition Of the G reek
text Of the New Testament Beza might have
awaited himself Of the help Of a valuable manuscript
OF great antiquity which the fortunes Of war threw
into his hands Ths uncial Ms, known a. the
"Codex Bezr," had apparently long rested In the
library Of the Monastery OF 81 Irennus al Lyons
II was a copy Of the New Testament made in the
middle Of tho sixth century, and comprise. the
Gospel and the Acts Of the Apostles, both In creek
and Latin.
Amid the pillags to which Lyons was sub
iected by Huguenot soldiers in the hrst civil
war, This precious manuscript was luckily saved,
and passed into Bezs's possession. The great
Eelenist must have recognized its value. but
startled, II Is said, by the singularity Of some
OF its readings he madelitue Use Of 1t in the prepare
ton Of his edition. When. after q score Of years,
the decline Of his powers warned him Of the sp-
proach Of the close OF his period Of studious pro-
ductiveness. he presented the manuscript to the
University Of Cambridge, where ii may be still
seen. As a matter Of fact, Beza was chiefly
indebted for his own transcripts Of the Greek
text TO tho edition published by Robert Stevens
(Etienne) in 1850. itself based largely upon one
Of the latter editions OF Erasmus. Prof. Baird,
Of course, does not contend that, in his editions
OF the Greek text, Be7a made all the Use Of his
material which a modern scholar, trained in the
rigorous system now followed, might have de-
rived from the same apparatus. lie deems il
unquestionable, however, that. by his translation
and his notes, Bezs added much TO q clear I'm
Outstanding Of the New Testament. II has been
charged, however, that the value Of his transla-
ton was impaired through the preponderating
influence exercised upon tho Interpretation OF
Scripture by the authors view OF the doctrine
Of predestination.
To Beza, as the successor Of Calvin in Geneva
and its schools, the Protestant propaganda in
France lay near the heart The second and third
religious wars disturbed the dream Of steady
progress In which the Hugueno's had INDUCED. The
disasters Of Jarnac and Moncontour At frst
seemed fatal blows 10 the Protestant cause. Al
such crises II WIS 10 Be7a that the French reiormers
looked for advice and direction. Al his sugges-
ton ENJOYS sent from Geneva laid the pitiable
condition o! llugueno. refugees before the Swiss