Curious History

...if he had been satisfied in Geneva with the Church and the Public—or rather, if the Public and the Church had received from him the satisfaction that was to be expected—he surely would not have left. For reason and conscience should have obligated him not to abandon such a large and significant flock to follow the calling of a small Walloon ChurchFrench-speaking Protestant churches in the Dutch Republic, primarily serving refugees from the Spanish Netherlands and France. in Middelburg, had he not felt, on one hand, that his usual extravagances, his unbearable pride, and his bold ventures against both his colleagues and his sovereign Magistrate had made him an object of loathing. On the other hand, he hoped that his schismatic design would succeed with greater results in these Provinces, fueled by the foolish imagination he had regarding the incompetence of the Ministers serving the Walloon Churches of this country, compared to his own high and pastoral capacity.

Thus, as soon as he set foot in the country, it was immediately seen that his first steps were irregular, making it clearly known that his entire goal and all his designs tended only toward tearing things apart. Instead of going straight to ZeelandA western province of the Netherlands where Middelburg is located. to the Church that had called him and which awaited him impatiently, he took the path of a schoolboy playing truant—though he believed he was taking the path of the great Masters and notable Inspectors. He wished to see the principal cities of the country in the two Provinces of Holland and Utrecht, and to give this fine conso-

-lation to the people: letting himself be heard in the most famous Churches of our language. But what do we think was his design in these sermons, delivered with such eagerness? It was to work principally toward these three things:

First, to discredit the Pastors in the eyes of their flocks, whom he accused of negligence and of failing to put their hands to the Reformation, saying plainly from the pulpit that if he were in their place, he would act in quite another way, just as Absalom said at his father’s Court: O, that I were made judge in the land! original: "O que ne m'établit-on pour Juge au Pays", 2 Sam. 15:4.

Secondly, he worked to make the wealthiest and most significant members of the Churches hateful to the simple commoners, inveighing with very heated rhetoric against the luxury of their furniture, their ornaments, and their clothes. This "good man" knew well that nothing more greatly flatters the ears of the common people, and that there is nothing the less well-off hear more willingly, than censures against those whom they cannot equal in such matters.

Thirdly, his goal was to preach the Fifth MonarchyA radical 17th-century belief that the four biblical world empires (Babylon, Persia, Greece, Rome) were ending, to be replaced by the thousand-year reign of Christ. of the ChiliastsMillenarians; those believing in a literal 1,000-year reign of Christ on Earth., as a subject very well suited to raising the standard of rebellion, making himself a party leader, and soon marching at the head of a troop of mutineers to rebuild the ruins of the Kingdom of MünsterA reference to the 1534-1535 Anabaptist rebellion in Münster, Germany, which ended in a violent siege and became a historical warning against religious radicalism. and rouse the people against their legitimate Magistrates. What is more, as...