| Sebastian Castellion (1515-63) politiques outlook in tolerating many religions which were neither novel nor subversive of order, a variety of religious sects asked for no more than toleration for themselves. Yet I know of no case where one sect urged the like for all other sects. Will to Power Utopia envisioned even more diversity of fo rms of worship, if insisting, like Rousseau later, on a minimal profession of faith for everyone. Ibid ., 307). His reputation already established by appearance of the Latin Bibl e, Castellion in 1553 won the chair in Greek at the University of Basel. was willing to say that Christ was the son of the eternal God), and in his rejection of infant baptism. Yet Calvin thought himself en lightened because he had recommended state execution of Servetus with the more instantaneous blade rather than by burning at the stake with small fire, and, if the latter, without having his tongue first cut out, as often then done to prevent dying uttera nces of heresy. In 1553 Servetus was burned at the stake, as the state preferred, but with his tongue in place, as Calvin had advised. While Servetus protested his innocence en route to the stake, once there he did not utter heresies, concluding his lif e with a prayer, "Lord Jesus, son of the eternal God, have mercy on my soul." Concerning Heretics (1555), which came out in Latin and French versions. Castellion, whose name means castellan or castle keeper, used the pseudonym Martinus Bellius and inserted parts attributed to Kleinberg ("small castle") and to Montfort ("mountain fortress"), all of which suggest th at he did not seriously mean to hide his authorship (cf. Buisson, T. II, 12-13). While others suspected different men, Calvin soon locked on the truth that it was by Castellion, a man he came to call by such epithets "that dog," "this monster," "or the w orst plague of our time," while also falsely accusing Castellion of endorsing all of Servetus' teachings. Calvin joined Beza in referring to Castellion as the "chosen instrument of Satan," and Beza on his own added other nasty epithets (Buisson, T. II, 2 51; 255-56). For his part, Castellion would increasingly depict Calvin as a would-be Bishop, Pope, or tyrant. | |
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