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 BERNARDINO OCHINO, 
 
 OF SIENA: 
 
 A CONTRIBUTION TOWARDS THE HISTORY OF 
 THE REFORMATION. 
 
 KARL BENRATH. 
 
 TRANSLATED FROM THE GERMAN 
 
 HELEN ZIMMERN. 
 
 WITH AN INTRODUCTORY PREFACE 
 
 WILLIAM ARTHUR, A.M. 
 
 LONDON: 
 JAMES NISBET & CO., 21 BERNERS STREET. 
 
 1876,
 
 £jebtrat£j& 
 
 COUNT PIERO GUICCIARDINI 
 
 OF FLORENCE.
 
 INTRODUCTORY PREFACE. 
 
 When the work of Dr. Benratli first came into my hands, before 
 completing the reading of it, I said — This is a book that will 
 make its way into our language and into others, and in each new 
 language it will make its way to the favour of many readers. Al- 
 ready it has made its way into English. It is sure to do so into 
 other tongues, and that simply by its force of interest. In the 
 interest of the book, the central force, ever present and ever sensible, 
 is that of an original and picturesque personality ; a personality 
 now gleaming like a meteor among summits, now cast out as the 
 filth and offscouring of the earth, leading us through changing 
 emotions of admiration and compassion, constantly keeping alive 
 curiosity, often awakening surprise. Around this central interest 
 revolve other interests, emerging turn by turn, each with its at- 
 traction for different classes of readers, — a literary interest and a 
 historical one, a polemical and a religious. 
 
 The first notice of the book I saw in print was from Professor 
 Giuseppe de Leva, of the University of Padua. The Italian 
 scholar, though a Catholic, cordially thanked the German one 
 for presenting Italy with this recovered portrait of one of her 
 shining orators and purest ecclesiastics, whose features had for 
 centuries been hidden under the blot with which the Inquisition 
 covers all heresy. The world thought that those features had 
 been effaced, and that they could never be traced again. In the 
 portrait gallery of Italian worthies hung a frame which had
 
 11 INTRODUCTORY PREFACE. 
 
 evidently held a canvass, once esteemed of rare price. But the 
 hand of the Holy Office had smeared over the whole figure, till 
 all that could be traced was a frock and sandals. Men timidly 
 whispered the name of Bra, Bernardino, or the surname Ochino,* 
 and dropped hints about a prodigy of eloquence, and a saint in 
 life, till the virus of the Beformation disordered his spirit. The 
 lives of the notables of his own century contained many allusions 
 to him, all of which gave a strong impression that the figure 
 which had disappeared was bright and commanding. Bembo, 
 writing to Victoria Colonna, said, " He is literally adored here 
 (Venice). There is no one who does not praise him to the skies." 
 Graziani, Bishop of Amelia, wrote, " Everything about Ochino 
 contributed to make the admiration of the multitude overstep all 
 human bounds." Yet though this fame continued augmenting 
 for a long tract of years, and though it was enhanced by the re- 
 pute of many writings, the dishonouring blot of heresy had 
 covered all distinct tracings of the man from the public even of 
 his own country. 
 
 The defaced portrait needed a skilled restorer. A patient 
 German hand was found, impelled by the literary love of a 
 scholar, and the religious love of a true son of the Beformation, 
 guided, moreover, by local knowledge, due to long residence in 
 Borne, and lighted by the disciplined imagination of the histo- 
 rian. After lengthened, silent toil, this workman at last says, 
 My work is done, and lo, the figure of Ochino is before us ! The 
 Protestants of Italy, now counted by thousands, at once hailed it 
 as men hail the recovery of a lost family gem. 
 
 I have spoken of the disciplined imagination of the historian. 
 That indicates the difference between the service rendered by 
 imagination in history and in fiction. In fiction, the author 
 
 * Pronounced Okeeno.
 
 INTRODUCTORY PREFACE in 
 
 being in possession of real lights and shades, colours, postures, 
 and movements, has to fit them to unreal persons and events. 
 In history, that is, the history of past times, the author, having 
 in possession real persons and events, has to surround them 
 with the lights and shadows which he never witnessed, to give 
 them the colours of life, and to show them in actual postures 
 and movements. What is legitimate in fiction is the invention 
 of persons and events, which, though not real, might, under the 
 circumstances, have been so. What is legitimate in history is 
 the presentation of the accessories which, though not seen by the 
 writer, were, nevertheless, there. The writer of fiction invents ; 
 the writer of history, if he knows how to do it, reproduces. For 
 the latter purpose the requisites are, knowledge of things as they 
 appeared, and the faculty of presenting clearly to one's own 
 mind objects not present to the senses. This faculty carries 
 with it that of "making others see" the things seen by the writer. 
 
 As in fiction, ilkgitimate invention creates persons and events 
 which could not have been real, so in history illegitimate ima- 
 gination creates accessories which were not present. The bare 
 bones of events, whether those of a nation's life, a Church's life, 
 or the life of a man, are the most unreal of all things. Bare 
 bones of a skeleton are not a man, but they are, nevertheless, 
 real, for skeletons as such do exist. But naked events, without 
 colour or action, never do occur. They are as unreal as profiles 
 in black, which in nature never were seen, and never could be. 
 Yet some think that when history begins to be life-like, it is 
 turning to fiction. So long as men think so, fiction will be the 
 stronger, for the living, however slender, are stronger than the 
 dead, however solid. 
 
 It required plodding for a long time to set clearly before the 
 mind the facts of a life so long buried as that of Ochino, and it
 
 iv INTRODUCTORY PREFACE. 
 
 equally required the faculty of seeing the forms and hues of the 
 past to give us those glimpses of his surroundings every now and 
 then, which keep us in living company all the way. 
 
 Henceforth it is the lot of Ochino to be known. Germany has 
 his likeness, and is criticising even minute details as to this 
 and that point of authorship, or this and that shade of opinion. 
 We, too, shall be able to subject him to a similar process. Italy 
 will, on one side, execrate, on another side adopt him, but she 
 cannot bury him any more. Italian periodicals already begin to 
 discuss questions as to his extraction. In his company the un- 
 travelled will catch a glimpse of Siena, perhaps nearly as dis- 
 tinct, if they have a skilled imagination, as some people get by a 
 passing visit. Many will refresh and define their impressions of 
 some of the Italian Eeformers, of conventual life in the City of 
 Eome, and of the strange power of pulpit oratory in those days 
 when it was rare, and when this one great preacher was a prize 
 for city councils to contend about from Venice to Naples. 
 
 Ochino's rapid rise to fame and to the head of his own 
 order, his slowly dawning heresy, his suspected years, his journey 
 from the banks of the Adige as far as those of the Arno on his 
 way to Eome to face the Inquisition, his interview with the 
 dying Cardinal Contarini, just returned from Eatisbon (as we 
 persist in calling Eegensburg), after the vain attempt to find 
 common ground for Eome and for the doctrine of salvation by 
 grace through faith alone, his flight, the speech put by the 
 historian of the order into the mouth of the heretic general as he 
 stood on the last peak of the Alps whence his well-beloved Italy 
 could be viewed, and his sketch of life in Geneva as he found 
 that city under the regime of Calvin would, if nothing followed, 
 be interest enough for one book. 
 
 Perhaps, however, for the ordinary English reader, the liveliest
 
 INTRODUCTORY PREFACE. V 
 
 interest will begin when the converted general of the Capuchins, 
 in company with Peter Martyr, crosses the Channel with a 
 fortune of between three and four pounds in books, and in a suit 
 of clothes that cost, at Strasburg, well on to eighteen shillings, 
 and is received by Cranmer into Lambeth Palace. Then he 
 becomes a Prebend of Canterbury, preacher to the Italians in 
 London, and living on a salary of one hundred marks from the 
 privy purse of Edward VI., performs large literary labours. The 
 Tragedy, which work will now again be heard of, was written in 
 our murky air, and was dedicated to our gentle young Tudor. 
 Its author discussed predestination with the Princess Elizabeth. 
 But soon Cardinal Pole, who in Italy at one time had fallen 
 under suspicion of the same tendencies as Ochino, appears no 
 longer as his friend but at the side of Queen Mary, and England 
 is now no ground for a heretic general of a monkish order. 
 
 The six years passed by Ochino in England would seem to 
 have been his happiest. His return to Germany, his brief blink 
 of settled life at Augsburg, forthwith succeeded by the appear- 
 ance of Charles V. before the walls, by the demand for the sur- 
 render of the heretic among the first articles of capitulation, and 
 by his furtive parting from the city, appear to be the beginning 
 of sorrows. His differences with the reformers of Zurich, and 
 the doubts cast on his orthodoxy, deepen the shadows. As to 
 those doubts Dr. Benrath gives us all the light he can procure, 
 which, on the whole, is favourable to the supposition that Ochino 
 had not fallen into the error of which he was accused, without 
 being perfectly decisive. Banished from Zurich, next comes the 
 old man's wandering in Poland. In that distant realm the 
 vengeful form of the Curia once more rises up in the path of the 
 white-headed refugee. Banished again at seventy-seven, on his 
 weary road the plague meets him and carries away from his side
 
 VI INTRODUCTORY PREFACE. 
 
 three of liis children, leaving him with a single surviving child to 
 struggle on in the depth of winter towards some goal to us unknown. 
 We watch him, around whom Italian princes, bishops, and literati 
 in the sunny fatherland had reverently thronged, and whom 
 English magnates had honoured, tottering on with his lone 
 child in friendless paths through snow. All at once, somewhere 
 among the rolling hills of Moravia, ere we can see, the hunted 
 hare falls, and the hounds are called off at last. 
 
 Some historical facts might be culled from the incidental marks 
 attached to this book. The preface is dated in Rome. This is a 
 token of a state of things unheard of in the " Ages of Faith." A 
 German Protestant writing the life of a revolted monk, within a 
 few minutes' walk of the churches which used to overflow when- 
 ever he was to preach, and employing materials gathered in the 
 sacred city ! This at least indicates to any critic, into whose 
 hands this book may in after ages fall, that in 1875 Rome was 
 not under her old regime. The Inquisition was not in force, the 
 Papal power was not supreme, and what that power decks with 
 the fair name of "Catholic Unity," was no longer the law of 
 Rome. Then the book is dedicated to Count Piero Guicciardini, 
 and he is alluded to in the preface as having been a martyr to 
 evangelical principles. This connects one of the historical 
 families of Italy with a Protestant movement in the nineteenth 
 century. "While the fact that the prison and the exile are of the 
 past, and that now Count Guicciardini is enriching the great 
 library of Florence with a collection of books on the movements 
 of the Reformation in Italy, tells that there has been some great 
 change in Tuscany, and that what was bound is bound no more, 
 and what was banished finds itself at home, and what was com- 
 pelled to hide in dens and dungeons can now lift its head in 
 places of honour and of light.
 
 INTKODIXTOUY I'KF.l'ACE. Vll 
 
 I shall be disappointed if this book does not become a favourite 
 with many in the United Kingdom; and also if the pen, to which 
 we owe it, does not enrich our literature with other contributions, 
 tending to feed the faith of men in the word of God, and to re- 
 vive the Spirit which, in the ages that produced Fra Bernardino, 
 reinstated in their due place the commandments of God, and 
 made void the traditions of men whenever and in whatsoever 
 they did violence to those commandments. 
 
 Wm. Aiitiiuii. 
 
 Clapham Common, 
 20th November 187G.
 
 P R I! F A C E. 
 
 "If I were still young," Giacomo Mauzoni wrote to me a year 
 ago, " 1 would trace the development of the general philosophical 
 and theological ideas, which the reformatory movement can 
 in my country during the sixteenth century. I should try to 
 write the history of the doctrine of divine grace, of free will, of 
 justification, and other chief dogmas held during that period." I am 
 a> fully convinced as the gifted editor of the "Lawsuit concern- 
 ing Pietro Carnesecchi," of the importance and scope of this idea. 
 We can only understand a deeply-seated movement, when we con- 
 sider its inmost impelling ideas, when we carefully trace its roots, 
 growth, extent, and the peculiar conditions under which it has 
 developed. That must he the final goal of all historical research, 
 ■and consequently, also, of research in the domain of the History 
 of the Keformation in Italy. But, as yet, on this domain, an 
 essential condition is only in part fulfilled; we still wai 
 more exact knowledge concerning the life of some of the most 
 distinguished representatives of that moment. 
 
 It is to supply this need that the present work was undertaken. 
 It presents to the sympathy of the German public, and also to 
 that of Italy — who saw the reform gaining shape in a succession 
 of her worthiest sons, and yet continued to crush it by lire and
 
 Vlll PREFACE. 
 
 sword — a faithful portrait of a man who, in his own country, was 
 raised to the highest pinnacle of admiration, only to be dragged 
 down into the dust by the hatred of his opponents, and to be 
 overwhelmed by calumnies of every description. A curious cir- 
 cumstance attaches to the power of the Eoman Inquisition ; its 
 sentence not only condemned the living, but, like the most 
 terrible of all tribunals, it has also power to strike the dead. 
 The Inquisition has branded the names of those men who unfurled 
 the banner of the Reformation in Italy ; she has effaced or calum- 
 niated their memory, and has endeavoured, but too successfully, 
 to hinder the diffusion of their writings. The consequences of this 
 are still felt by those who seek a closer acquaintance with the 
 history of Italian reformers. Preparatory works by native 
 scholars, such as we find in all other departments of history; 
 and, though often composed with little critical power, yet fur- 
 nishing valuable materials, are wholly wanting here. Only since 
 the latest political changes in Italy has the name "heretic" 
 begun to lose some of its terror in more liberal circles. 
 
 I have, therefore, been forced to collect the materials for this 
 life of Ochino by independent research in Italian libraries and 
 archives. Whoever knows the peculiar difficulty of such labour, 
 on an uncultivated ground, will more readily excuse the inevit- 
 able gaps that remain. Among existing treatises, the oldest is 
 that of Zaccaria Boverio, in the Chronicles of the Capuchin 
 Order (published about 1630). Unhappily, its accuracy is in 
 inverse proportion to its age. And yet this work has remained 
 the chief Italian source for all futurity ; and wherever we meet 
 an occasional scant mention of Ochino in a later work, it is easy 
 to trace it back to this troubled fountain. It is only lately that
 
 I'KI I'ACK. IX 
 
 Cesare Cantu has treated the Italian portion of Ochino's life in ;i 
 book, whose title (Gli Eretici d' Italia, 3 vols., Turin, 1805-67) 
 sufficiently reveals the standpoint from which he writes. He 
 treats his subject with aversion, but still with order and exact 
 sifting of material. For obvious reasons, he dors not occupy 
 himself with the inner development of Ochino, nor with the 
 solution of the psychological problem, and consideration of the 
 motives that drove him to break with the Eomish Church and 
 fly from Italy. For the facts of his life, Cantu could make use 
 of the short treatise which Bayle's keen intellect has carefully 
 sifted in the " Diet ionna ire Historique et Critique" also the 
 valuable collection which the excellent librarian of Memmingen, 
 J. G. Schelhorn, has incorporated in the third volume of his 
 " Ergotzlichkeiten" . The labours of Niceron, in the " Me 'moires 
 pour servir a F historic des hommes illustres", those of Struve in 
 the " Obscrvationes Selcctae ", the newer writings of M'Crie, in the 
 history of the Italian Reformation ; Jules Bonnet's " Aonio 
 Paleario"; Mrs. Young's "Life and Times of Aonio Paleario", 
 offer very little that is new. For his last years which Ochino 
 spent in Switzerland, and especially for the account of his expul- 
 sion from Zurich, we have an independent and trustworthy ac- 
 count in Ferdinand Meyer's "ZoJcarnergermeinde". For the final 
 development of Ochino's theological opinions, Trechsel's " Lelio 
 Sozini", and Alexander Schweizer's " Centraldogmai" , vol. i., may 
 be compared. 
 
 A difficulty, encountered in all study of the Italian Reforma- 
 tion, is especially increased in our subject, the extreme rarity of 
 contemporary writings relating to it. "We occasionally find in 
 England, Switzerland, and Germany, a tolerably complete col-
 
 X PREFACE. 
 
 lection of Ochino's own works, written at a later period of Ins 
 life. One of the richest, of such collections, is that which, to- 
 gether with the Library of Celio Secondo Curione, has passed 
 over to the ducal library at Wolfenbiittel. On the other hand, 
 among all the great Italian libraries, which otherwise possess the 
 advantage of containing all the literary apparatus for contempor- 
 ary history, there is not one which can offer a collection of 
 Ochino's writings even approaching completeness. The richest 
 collection is probably that of Count Piero Guicciardini at 
 Florence, the same who has permitted me to place his name at 
 the head of this book. A martyr to his evangelical opinions ; 
 driven from his country when last the re -action broke out in 
 Tuscany, this worthy descendant of one of the noblest Florentine 
 families, has employed the period of his exile in laying the 
 foundation for a collection of books, which will, it is to be hoped, 
 contribute to a renewed study of the Italian Reformation in the 
 sixteenth century. With a splendid liberality he has now given 
 this whole collection of several thousand volumes, chiefly treating 
 of that movement, the fruit of twenty years' labour, to the national 
 library of his native city, for general use, and has thus at length 
 formed a nucleus for a more exact study of that time. I have 
 also to thank him for most useful literary assistance in this work. 
 An awakening of interest in these studies, such as Guicciardini 
 has paved the way for, must be of real practical importance in 
 the present state of affairs in Italy. The longing of noble spirits 
 of old has been fulfilled. Ochino's heart-rending cry, " Italy, 
 that the word of truth and of the gospel might be freely taught 
 in thee," has been most marvellously realised by the late changes 
 of fortune in that country. After a dominion of centuries, the
 
 PREFACE. XI 
 
 Inquisition has lost her power, she can no longer retard the 
 religious development of Italy. But after the happily accom- 
 plished political changes in Italy, the need of a new religious 
 revival is the more deeply felt. And therefore we should lahour 
 in the religious domain with the same earnestness that prevailed 
 in that period, and marked the commencement of a new era 
 in all regions of intellectual life, whose fundamental ideas and 
 impulses still dominate our western culture, regarding not only 
 art and science, but also the recognition and representation of 
 the beautiful and the true. It is the mission of our special 
 branch of historical research to prove, with the richer means now 
 offered by the state archives, that in the sixteenth century Italy 
 can show a religious movement which may be worthily ranked 
 with the humanistic and artistic development of that time, both 
 on account of the distinguished importance of its representatives, 
 and on account of the originality and depth of the ideas involved. 
 What has once been born from midst of a people's own being, 
 and taken shape among the best of the land, bears within itself 
 an indestructible fructifying germ of life. Like to those grains 
 of corn which have kept the power of growth for thousands of 
 years, so may the seed of a religious revival in Italy, sown in 
 blood and tears, shoot forth once more to a new life ! 
 
 Karl Beneath. 
 
 Rome, June 1S75.
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 THE CAPUCHIN, 1487-1541. 
 
 Siena, its Situation — Historical Development — Internal Condition — Ochino's Name 
 and Ancestry — He enters a Monastery — He joins the Capuchins — State of 
 the Order in 1534 — Relations to Vittoria Colonna — Preachings in Venice- 
 Impression made by these — Ochino's Appearance and Mode of Life — 
 Bembo's Judgment — Aretino's Praise — Ochino's Relations to the Inhabitants 
 — The Election of 1538 — His Work as Vicar-General of the Order — Increas- 
 ing Success of his Preaching — Naples, Modena, Lucca, Perugia, Siena — 
 Correspondence with the Council of Siena — Ochino elected Vicar-General a 
 second Time ........ 1 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 OCHINO AS A PREACHER. 
 
 State of the Italian Theology at the time of the Renaissance — Pagan ideas prevalent 
 in Rome — Reaction upon the homiletical art — Current styles of preaching 
 — Ochino as a preacher — His nine sermons of the year 1539 — Arrangement, 
 matter, and form — 1. Knowledge of oneself and remorse — 2. How Christ was 
 made man — 3. Of the necessity for His crucifixion — 4. How the believer 
 should act with regard to Christ's crucifixion — 5. The Last Supper — 6. Law 
 and obedience — 7. Homily concerning the disciples' narrative at Emmaus 
 — 8. Sermon on the day of Mary Magdalene — 9. To the scholars of the College 
 at Perugia ........ 31
 
 -XIV CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 CHANGE OF OPINIONS. 
 
 Attempts at Reform within the Catholic Church — The oratory of Divine love at 
 Rome — The Circle at Naples — Valdez ; Vermigli ; the other members — The 
 Doctrine of Justification — Influences without the Circle — Valdez' influence on 
 Ochino — First denunciation and interdiction to preach, 1536 — The Theatines 
 denounce Ochino, 1539 — The Seven Dialogues — Boverio concerning Ochino's 
 "Apostasy" — Ochino's own views with regard to his change of opinions — 
 " Three truths " ....... 56 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 THE CATASTKOPHE — CITATION — AND FLIGHT. 
 
 Ochino in Venice, 1542 — Writing to the Marchesa del Vasto — to Aretino — The 
 Catastrophe — Ochino at Verona — Letter from the Council of Siena — 
 Ochino's Reply — Victory of the Reaction at Eome — The Inquisition — 
 Caraffa's Rules — Ochino's Citation — Intercession of Giberti — The Journey 
 - — The Visit to Contarini — Ochino in Florence — Three Courses — The De- 
 cision — Letter to Vittoria Colonna — Vermigli's Flight — Ochino concerning 
 his Determination — Flight -Boverio's Account — Bullinger's Letter. 92 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 IMPRESSION MADE BY THIS FLIGHT — ATTACKS AND DEFENCES. 
 
 Re-action of Ochino's Flight on the Order — Caraffa's Letter — Giberti's Verdict — 
 Tolomei's Letter — Ochino's Reply — Muzio's Attack — Ochino's Answer "To 
 the Council of Siena " — Paleario vouches for Ochino — Caterino Politi — Giro- 
 lamo di Lucca — Marco di Brescia — Re-action upon the Evangelical Move, 
 ment in Italy ....... 117
 
 CONTENTS. XV 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 GENEVA AND AUGSBURG, 1542-1547. 
 
 Impression mad ■ bj <■ in va— Italian Fugitives — Ochino and Calvin — " Prediche " 
 i. and ii. — The Epistle to the Romans — Ochino leaves Geneva, 1545 — He 
 becomes a Preachi r at Augsburg — Sermons on the Epistles to the Galatians 
 — Dialogue on Carnal Wisdom — Directions for Prayer — The Prayer of 
 Comfort — Concerning the Hopes of a Christian Soul — Political Position of 
 the Evangelii al Murder of Diaz — The Schmalkaldic War — Charles V. he- 
 fore Augsburg — Ochino flies — Ochino takes no part in the Religious Discus- 
 sions in Vicenza . . . . . . .148 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 ENGLAND, 1547-1553. 
 
 The state of Church affairs under Henry VIII. — Edward VI. — Ochino's Appoint- 
 ment and Journey — Progress of Reforms — Ochino Preaches in London — 
 The " Tragedy " — Dedication — Train of Thought — The separate Dialogues 
 — Further Invitations to Foreign Theologians — The Florentine Manuscript 
 — "Prediche" in an English Translation — "Prediche" III.— The Testa- 
 ment of the True Christian — Change of Government .and Flight of 
 Ochino ........ 183 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 BASLE AND ZURICH, 1554-1563. 
 
 The Apologi — Ochino at Basle — "Prediche" IV. — The Evangelicals of Locarno — 
 Their Oppression and Expulsion — Their Emigration to Zurich, 1555 — Ochino 
 accepts the post of Preacher — Dialogues concerning Purgatory — Ochino's 
 Participation in the Communion Dispute — Martyr called to Zurich — Other 
 Italian Fugitives — Sozini — Bullinger's Relation to Ochino and to the 
 Locarno Congregation — "Against the Mass" — "The Labyrinthi" — The 
 l 'atrchijm— "Prediche" V. ..... .217
 
 XVI CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 THE END, 1563-1564. 
 
 Publication of Ochino's Thirty Dialogues, 1563 — The Incident at the Fair of Basle — 
 Statement to the Council of Zurich — The Dialogue on Polygamy — Judgment 
 and Banishment from Zurich — Banishment from Basle — Meeting with Car- 
 dinal Lorraine — Journey to Nuremberg — His Defence — Answer to the Zurich 
 Theologians — Ochino Accused of Atheism, Socinianism, and Antitrinitarian- 
 ism — Examination of these Accusations — Ochino on the Punishment of 
 Heretics — The Fragment — Ochino goes to Poland, 1564 — He Dies atSchlac- 
 kau — Retrospect ....... 265
 
 BERNARDINO OCIIINO. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 THE CAPUCIJf. 
 
 1487-1541. 
 
 Biena, its Situation — Historical Development — Internal Condition — Ochino's Name 
 and Ancestry — He enters a Monastery — He joins the Capucins — State of 
 the Order in 1534 — Relations to Vittoria Colonna — Preachings in Venice — 
 Impression made by these — Ochino's Appearance and Mode of Life — 
 Bembo's Judgment— Aretino's Praise — Ochino's Relations to the Inhabitants 
 — The Election of 1533 — His Work as Vicar- General of the Order — Increas- 
 ing Success of his Preaching — Naples, Modena, Lucca, Perugia, Siena — 
 Correspondence with the Council of Siena — Ochino elected Vicar-General a 
 second Time. 
 
 The wanderer who treads the ancient highroad that leads from 
 Florence to Rome, traversing the Tuscan hills, soon descries from 
 afar a city with its walls, churches, and campaniles overtopped 
 by a slender aspiring watch-tower, that seems to soar into the 
 clouds. The surrounding country is undulating, the hills are of 
 varied forms; the nearer he approaches the more fruitful becomes 
 the soil, the more diversified the foliage. Lovely valleys spread 
 their fragrant beauty at the feet of the proud city, enthroned 
 queen-like on the crest of hills. This is Siena, the old and 
 mighty republic, the fairest among Tuscan towns, richly endowed 
 by nature and situation, more richly still by the memories of its 
 changeful past, where splendour and misery, civic patriotism 
 
 A
 
 2 BERNARDINO OCHINO. 
 
 and selfish ambition blend in a wondrous tissue. It is not the 
 only Italian city that turns the thoughtful beholder's mind back 
 upon the story of bygone days. Venice, with her palaces, trans- 
 ports him, as by magic, amidst the pomp and power of yore, 
 when such wonders of art arose in such abundance from the 
 refractory soil. But this pomp can only fill the heart with sorrow 
 when the eye simultaneously realizes the pitiable decay that has 
 befallen the city under the careless hands of a degenerate posterity. 
 Not such is the impression made by Siena. The traveller 
 enters by the Porta Camollia. 
 
 " Cor magis tibi Sena pandit, " 
 
 is the friendly welcome inscribed over the gate of the hospitable 
 city. Pursuing the long winding street he reaches the heart of 
 Siena, the ancient " Campo," spoken of by Dante, whence radiate 
 the quarters of the city overspreading the bordering hills. To 
 his right and left stand the palaces of the nobles, attesting the 
 solid and refined taste of the Sienese patricians of old. On the 
 shell-shaped Campo the proud and handsome Townhall rears its 
 Gothic front, while higher yet aspires the Watch-tower beheld 
 from afar by the wanderer. It soars eagle-like high above the city 
 for which it has watched so often in troublous times. It com- 
 mands a wide prospect over a fruitful cultivated country ; at its 
 foot nestles the cupola of the marble Duomo, a masterpiece of 
 Italian Gothic, and, as a treasury of painting, the most enduring 
 monument to Sienese genius for art. The cathedral is the glory 
 of the city. But it is also a speaking witness against the towns- 
 people : justly accused by Italy's greatest poet of vanity and 
 arrogance* 
 
 For, according to the plan subsequently abandoned, this 
 spacious building was destined to be merely the transept of a 
 gigantic cathedral ; to this day there remains an incomplete 
 
 * Dante, "Divina Commedia," Inferno, Canto xxix. 121. 
 . . . . Or fu giammai 
 Gente si vana come la Sanese ? 
 Certo non la Francesca si d'assai.
 
 THE CAPUCIN. 3 
 
 aisle, a splendid disconnected fragment, testifying to the lofty 
 spirit of the burghers, to which only the impossible could set 
 bounds. 
 
 At the time of Dante Siena had attained the height of her 
 power. She was acknowledged an independent republic in 1186. 
 Henry VI. had accorded her the right of coinage, and the free 
 choice of her consuls and Podestk, as well as the right of juris- 
 diction over the whole district. The nobles ruled during the first 
 decades subsequent to this emancipation. Divided into Guelphs 
 and Ghibellines, each faction strove to attach the people to itself. 
 Soon, however, as the " popolari " gained strength the continued 
 discord of the nobles awoke in them the desire, and afforded the 
 opportunity, of acquiring influence in the government. In 1277 
 they attained their end, the magistracy of the Xine was intro- 
 duced, a species of popular tribunate, admission into whose body 
 was refus( d to all members of aristocratic families, doctors and 
 notaries, by a fundamental law. At that time the Ghibelline 
 element predominated. In the year 1260 the Sienese, in concert 
 with the Ghibelline fugitives from Florence, had totally defeated 
 the Florentine Guelphs at Montaperto. Nine hundred German 
 Landskneehte, auxiliaries sent from Naples by King Manfred, had 
 contributed to this victory. After the Ghibelline party was thus 
 re-installed in Florence, the two cities formed an alliance. From 
 this time, favoured by circumstances, the prosperity of Florence 
 continued to increase, but while she was rising, her neighbour 
 Siena declined. In the fourteenth century the latter's annals tell of 
 distress and disturbance; the terrible famine of 1329, the lavages 
 of the "Black Death," which in 1348 swept away nearly 70,000 
 victims in the Sienese territory, arrested the prosecution of public 
 buildings such as the Duomo, but not the strife of parties for the 
 supremacy and constitution of the city. In 1355 the Council of 
 Xine was overthrown, its members were banished, and an aristo- 
 cratically constituted council of fifteen (Gentiluomini) substituted. 
 Still Siena was able, sword in hand, to extort new rights and 
 privileges from the German Emperor, Charles IV. (1368). Free-
 
 4 BERNARDINO OCHINO. 
 
 dom was certainly understood in a peculiar sense in those days, 
 for we read that after this victory Siena still acknowledged the 
 Emperor as her "Lord." In common with most other Italian 
 republics, she was disturbed during the latter portion of the 
 Middle Ages by an incessant succession of internal strife, only 
 suspended by occasional wars with her neighbours. But here as 
 elsewhere experience proved that a stringent rule, even the 
 tyranny of an individual, was more favourable to the develop- 
 ment of general prosperity, and thus, when the supremacy was 
 usurped by Pandolfo Petrucci he met with no resistance. This 
 happened at the same time when the Medici had come to power 
 in Florence, and were already casting envious eyes on the 
 territory of the neighbouring republic. Siena was no longer a 
 match for Medicean Florence. After three centuries Cosimo de' 
 Medici avenged the defeat at Montaperto, when he induced 
 Philip of Spain, under whose protection the enervated Sienese 
 had taken refuge, to cede the town, and in 1555 after a desperate 
 resistance, heroically shared by the women, finally united it to 
 his own dominions. This year closes the history of Siena. Her 
 gifted sons have descended from the state of rulers to that of 
 private citizens, but they have faithfully preserved the character 
 of their city, stamped upon her by past centuries of glory. 
 
 In 1530 when Aonio Paleario paid his first visit to Siena, 
 where he was destined later to labour long and successfully, he 
 wrote to his friends at home in terms of ecstasy and yet of de- 
 pression : " Siena is situated on charming hills, the surrounding 
 country is fruitful and produces all things in plenty. But dis- 
 cord arrays its burghers in arms against each other, and all their 
 strength is exhausted in party strife. The nobility, elsewhere the 
 patrons of learning, here live dispersed over the country in their 
 manors and citadels. You need not wonder, therefore, that the 
 muses have fled this town, and that neither poets, philosophers, 
 nor orators are to be found. Yet the intellect of the Sienese is 
 as keen and active as that of the Tuscans generally. The women 
 are of extraordinary beauty. The numerous academies are the
 
 THE C A TUG IN. 5 
 
 cause of the special attention bestowed on the cultivation of their 
 mother tongue from their youth up. But there is a disadvantage 
 in this, connected with the singular flexibility of the Tuscan; it 
 (haws away their minds from the study of ancient languages 
 which require greater labour. For this reason but few people 
 here are thoroughly conversant with ancient literature." * 
 
 Thus the excellent Humanist regarding the Siena of his day. 
 His description is still applicable, only that the political dissen- 
 sions have lost their purpose. The people are vivacious and 
 active, polite and friendly even down to the lowest grades, though 
 not without self-consciousness. They proudly recall a list of 
 famous names that have issued from Siena and her neighbour- 
 hood, in the course of centuries, six popes, fifty cardinals, a 
 goodly number of saints and beatified personages, then men who 
 have made an honoured mark in their country's literature, artists 
 who may vie for richness of thought and delicacy of execution 
 with the masters of any school. Industry and commerce also 
 flourished during the independence of the city, and to this day 
 their vestiges may be discerned in its numerous cloth and 
 silk factories, tanneries, dyeworks, wood carvings, which still 
 enjoy a fair reputation. But formerly Siena's manufactures and 
 the varied products of her art industry, influenced the European 
 markets; they were despatched by the highways leading north 
 and south, and even were exported from the harbours of the 
 Maremma. Yet no other town in Italy evinced such universal 
 literary interest as Siena. The first traces of the academies 
 mentioned by Paleario may, it is asserted, be found in the first 
 half of the fourteenth century. In 1502, a certain Claudio Tolomei 
 founded the " Great Academy," and the name of his family has 
 remained attached to the educational establishment that was 
 united to the foundation in the seventeenth century. Twenty- 
 seven other academies were gradually founded in Siena, and have 
 mostly disappeared, though some few have survived. The Univer- 
 sity dates from the thirteenth century. Even at the end of the 
 
 * Palearii, "Opera" ed Wetstein, p. 410'.
 
 6 BERNARDINO OCHINO. 
 
 sixteenth century, German students frequented Siena, as proved 
 by tombstones in various churches. Together with this literary 
 activity was developed a popular life of a most varied character. 
 Countless holidays and feast-days in honour of the saints and 
 the Virgin, always held protectress of the city * offered welcome 
 opportunities for all manner of public recreations. The " Eozzi," 
 a permanent carnival society, instituted 1531, enacted comedies, 
 wrote and published lyric and satiric poems in the people's 
 dialect. They had their touching customs too. On St. Joseph's 
 day it was customary for the wealthy to invite " a holy family " 
 to dinner, — some poor old man, a woman and a child, who were 
 entertained as honoured guests. But the popular life of Siena 
 attained then, as now, its climax in the horse races, held twice a 
 year in the " Campo." These races originated in the middle 
 ages, the costumes still employed point to the fifteenth century, 
 as also the division of the city into seventeen " contrade," repre- 
 sented in the procession by their banners and escutcheons. 
 
 On such days the extensive " Campo " is beautifully decorated, 
 and filled by thousands who have flocked thither from far and 
 near. No window in the neighbouring palaces is unoccupied ; 
 there is not a vacant place on the Tribunes. Siena's lovely 
 daughters, with their delicately cut features already painted by 
 Duccio, their almost northern fair complexion, and intelligent 
 vivacious eyes, watch the gay-coloured spectacle with intense 
 interest, encouraging by their cheers the able rider who helps his 
 " Contrada " to victory. 
 
 When Paleario wrote his description of Siena's land and people, 
 the independence of the city was rapidly nearing its close, amid 
 the general disturbances that agitated all Italy. But " Siena still 
 believed in her freedom, because she was in the midst of excite- 
 ment." The government was in the hands of the great council. 
 The " Contrade " were represented by their " Capitani." Execu- 
 tive power rested with a committee of three Priors, whom the 
 council elected out of their number. 
 
 * " Sena vetus civitas Virginia " runs the legend on Sienese coins.
 
 THE CAPTION. 7 
 
 Such was the state of affairs in which Bernardino Ocliino, one 
 of the most gifted sons of the Republic, grew up. When Pale 
 first came to Siena, Ochino had already reached the years of 
 manhood, but he was unknown. It is vain to search for his 
 name among the rich correspondence of the first three decades 
 of that century. Soon, however, his talents and his personality 
 were to throw the whole of Italy into a ferment of admiration. 
 
 At the threshold of his career, an old controversy encounters 
 his name. It has been proved that his father's name was 
 Domenico Tommasinij* but, according to the custom of the 
 time, neither he nor his son were thus known. The nickname 
 Ochino took its place. The question, whence this nickname ? is 
 of interest. At first sight it might pass as a diminutive of 
 occhio (eye), and the circumstance that we sometimes meet with 
 Occhino, as well as the Latin form Ocellus,^ lend colour to 
 this hypothesis. It has been assumed J from this that Ochino 
 had unusually small eyes, but this was not the case. On the 
 other hand, Fontanini, in his Biblioteca dell' Eloquenza Italiana 
 (ii., p. 445), had already pointed out that the name Ochino pro- 
 bably originated from the designation of that " Contrada " in- 
 habited by the family, known as the quarter of the geese (Oca ;) 
 and in fact this- name still distinguishes the inhabitants of that 
 " Contrada." The question cannot be definitely decided. Be this 
 as it may, the more usual spelling of Ochino agrees with this 
 derivation, and is also found on those of his writings published 
 under his own supervision. The district of the " Oca " extended 
 on one side to the threshold of the deserted church of St. 
 Domenico, which looks down sombre and silent into the valley 
 beneath, while, on the other side, it dipped down to the copious 
 Ponte Branda of Dante. From the same quarter sprang one of 
 
 * In the ace rant-book of the Treasurer to the Opera del Duomo in Siena, 1540, 
 fol. 122, is noted, under date January 22, " furouo pagate Lire 32 a fra Bernardino 
 di Domenico Tommasini detto Ochino." 
 
 f Balearic, ( tratio pro se ipso, Opera ed., Wetstein, p. 91, Olvmpia Morata, Opera 
 ed. Curione, Bas. 1570, p. 168, et seq. 
 
 * Mancini, MS. communications preserved in the Communal Library of Siena ; 
 also Becci, Memorie della Citta di Siena, 1758, i., p. '222.
 
 8 BERNARDINO OCHINO. 
 
 the most remarkable personages of any age, Catherine, the 
 daughter of the fuller Benincasa, exalted by grateful popes to a 
 place among the saints of heaven, in return for her career of 
 sanctity and self-denial upon earth. The boy grew up within 
 sight of the little house and church that bears her name, and 
 under the influence of the many traditions concerning St. 
 Catherine, that have been specially cherished in the parish, 
 where, to this clay, the mother commends her child, and the girl 
 her lover, to the protection of their local saint. It is not known 
 whether Ochino's relations belonged to the more considerable 
 higher families. In the chronicles of Siena, Tommaso Tommasini 
 is mentioned, who, in 1413, went as ambassador to the Emperor 
 Sigismund. According to an insufficiently authenticated notice 
 in Mancini's History of Siena* Bernardino is said to have been 
 the son of a barber, and page to Pandolfo Petrucci. Another 
 rumour that he was illegitimate is doubted by Mancini on 
 chronological grounds, although he is by no means favourable to 
 Ochino. The annalist of the Capucins suggests a different con- 
 clusion regarding the civic position of Ochino's family, when he 
 exclaims, indignantly, " He has proved himself unworthy his 
 name." -j* He may have been thinking not of Ochino's family, 
 but of his namesake, San Bernardino, who also sprung from 
 Siena, and ever proved himself ready, not only to surrender his 
 own wishes in the service of his neighbour, but even to renounce 
 his own will and better conviction for the purposes of the Eoman 
 hierarchy. 
 
 We possess no other particulars of Ochino's youth. Even the 
 archives of the Sienese library contain nothing beyond the above 
 isolated references. The year of his birth is only ascertainable 
 by a casual remark. J It was in the year 1487. 
 
 In what measure the affairs of the time, whose revolutions 
 
 * MS. at the Communal Library of Siena. 
 
 + Boverius, Annales Ordinis Capucinorum ad ann. 1534 XII. 
 
 J In his address to the ministry at Zurich (Dialogo fra la Prudenza humana et 
 Ochino) Ochino speaks of himself as "an old man of 70." This production dates 
 from the end of 1563.
 
 THE CArUCIN. 
 
 more nearly affect tlie citizen of a small state, influenced the 
 paternal home and himself, the nature of his education, the 
 effect of surrounding circumstances upon him, all this we can 
 only infer by conjectural deductions from his subsequent career. 
 We first encounter him as an individual when the boy has 
 merged into the youth, when the grave question already agitates 
 him, " What must I do to be saved ?" 
 
 Savonarola's discourses in Florence fell in with the time of his 
 early youth. The preacher's thundering words re-echoed through 
 the whole land, until the state silenced them. They had in- 
 flamed thoughtful minds the more, because they expressed the 
 universal despondency induced by the disorganisation of public 
 affairs. Such times are favourable to individual introspection, 
 as well as to the development of monastic life, the form in which 
 Catholicism essays to satisfy this tendency. The disorder of 
 Italian politics grew worse as the sixteenth century advanced; 
 it is consequently not accidental that this period, marked on the 
 one hand by such a mundane colouring, should show on the other 
 a new and unexpected revival of monasticism. By a self-seeking 
 distortion of the scriptural sentence that the sins of the fathers 
 should be visited upon the children, many were sent to monas- 
 teries in tender youth. 
 
 More serious natures entered the cloister of their own accord. 
 The young Ochino was of their number; he joined the Osservanza, 
 two miles outside the gates, — a convent especially favoured and 
 richly endowed by Pandolfo Petrucci. He took this step with 
 the acknowledged intention of gaining heaven by austerity and 
 self-denial. "When I was a young man," he said in later life, 
 " I was under the delusion, which still prevails among those who 
 are under the impious sway of Antichrist, that we could earn our 
 salvation by our own works. I thought that it was our duty, 
 and within our power, to expiate our sins by fasting, prayer, 
 continence, vigils, and such-like, and thus gain Paradise for 
 ourselves, though not without the assistance of God's grace. 
 Impelled by the desire to save my soul, I went about pondering
 
 10 BERNARDINO OCHINO. 
 
 what path I should choose. The religious orders appeared holy 
 to me, for were they not sanctioned by the Eomish Church, 
 which I deemed infallible ? But among them all, the rule of the 
 friars of St. Francis, named the Observants, seemed to me the 
 strictest, severest, and most harsh. Hence I concluded that it 
 must best represent the teachings of Christ, and I entered this 
 order. But I did not find what I had expected. Still, as no 
 better way offered itself to my blinded understanding, I remained 
 in the order until the Capucins arose. When I beheld the severity 
 of their life, I put on their garb, yet not without a severe struggle 
 with my carnal wisdom and my sensuousness. I now deemed 
 to have found what I sought; and I well remember that I turned 
 to Christ with ' Lord, if I do not now save my soul, I know not 
 what more I can do.' Was I not a very Pharisee ? I may say 
 with St, Paul* 'I profited in the Jew's religion above many 
 mine equals in mine own nation.' " 
 
 His residence within the convent-walls thus prepared Ochino 
 for his later religious development, and for this and other reasons 
 he never deemed it pernicious. His retired life preserved him 
 from many temptations. At seventy years of age he could say : 
 " To this day I do not regret having spent a part of my life in a 
 monastery, for there I was preserved from sins into which I 
 should probably have fallen as a layman. Besides, granted that 
 errors are prevalent in the scholastic teaching, and that the 
 pupils waste much time in things that do not lead to salvation, 
 yet many seeds of truth are planted, which may serve to open 
 their minds to a right understanding of the Holy Scriptures." 
 He adds : " I should scarcely have been initiated into contem- 
 plative theology, had I not in the convent been forced to occupy 
 myself seriously with this study." f 
 
 The chronicler of the Capucin order J relates that Ochino 
 quitted the Observants at times " for several years," before his 
 
 * Letter to Muzio ; Appendix, No. 8. 
 
 + Trenta Dialogi, ii. 27, p. 376. See Appendix, No. 47. 
 
 * Boverius Annales, ad ann. 1534, xii.
 
 THE CAPUCDT. 11 
 
 final departure from that order. He went to Perugia, to study 
 medicine, and there he became intimately connected with Giulio 
 de' Medici, afterwards Pope Clement VII. After some years he 
 returned to his order. On both occasions we are left in the dark 
 as to lii.s motives for these proceedings. 
 
 This is the only record which Boverio gives regarding Ochino's 
 youth ; and he clearly gives it with the intention of representing 
 him as an unstable and vacillating character. Such a temporary 
 exit from the cloister was an habitual abuse in those days — bitterly 
 deplored by zealous friends of the Church, and not abolished 
 until the latter half of the century. Ochino's contemporary and 
 avowed enemy, Girolamo Muzio,* however, nowhere mentions 
 this circumstance, and Ochino's own words do not confirm the 
 statement. There is nothing to prove that he ever pursued 
 medical studies, or was on terms of friendship with Clement VII. 
 
 Giulio de' Medici was born in 1478 — nine years before Ochino 
 
 thus they could hardly have met as students in Perugia. In 
 1510, Giulio was nominated Bishop of Embrun, where he did 
 not reside; in 1513, he was made Archbishop of Florence. As 
 Boverio fixes the time of his relations with Ochino before Giulio 
 had attained ecclesiastical preferment, this meeting — if Boverio's 
 account is at all trustworthy — must have taken place before 
 1510. Neither can Ochino's name be found in the matriculation 
 list of the University of Perugia. 
 
 Ochino had already attained the dignity of general among the 
 Observants, after he had, in 1524, filled the post of provincial 
 in the Sienese convent. But, in spite of his conscientious obser- 
 vance of all rules, he had not found the peace and assurance of 
 salvation, sought with such anxiety. This led him to resign his 
 office. He ascribed this step to the relaxed discipline of the 
 order, and desired to pass into the Capucin order — the most 
 austere of all religious bodies — as a simple friar. The Pope gave 
 a hesitating consent, while the Capucins welcomed the eniinen 
 
 * Le Mentite O.hiniane, 1551. Introduction.
 
 12 BEENARDIXO OCHINO. 
 
 recruit with open arms. This was in 1534,* six years after the 
 new order had been recognised by the Pope, which proves that 
 the current opinion that Ochino founded the Capucin order 
 is incorrect. This distinction rather belongs to Fra Matteo 
 Bassi. 
 
 Here the chronicler reappears with a significant remark. 
 Before, he desired to prove Ochino unstable and vacillating; here 
 he accuses him of having left the Observants from excessive 
 ambition. " When the general of the Observants died, Ochino 
 could in no wise compass the honour of his post," writes Boverio. 
 " He hastened to the Pope, with whom he was on good terms, 
 revealed his great desire, and implored his assistance. The Pope 
 was angered, sent him away, and forbade the electors of the 
 order to name him general. When Bernardino saw that all iros 
 lost — the prospect of increased dignity and the favour of the 
 Pope, — he resolved, as a means of regaining both, to enter the 
 Capucin order." Ochino's life and character themselves supply 
 the refutation of this web of accusations and improbabilities. 
 We may expect still worse things from a partisan, who, like 
 Boverio, saw in Ochino "a new Satan and son of darkness," 
 whom God, as a chastisement, had permitted to enter the order 
 for a season. 
 
 At the time of Ochino's entrance into the new order, it was 
 undergoing a dangerous crisis. It endeavoured to revive the 
 soul of St. Francis ; and it had aroused a dispute with the more 
 indolent body, especially the Conventuals and Observants. 
 Neither did the hierarchy regard the new order with favour, 
 dreading the revival in it of the fanatic tendencies of certain 
 branches of the large Franciscan family, which, in the preceding 
 century, had led to evident heresy among the Fraticelli. The 
 Capucins ventured on a master stroke. During the Lent of 1534, 
 Ochino had preached in San Lorenzo in Damaso, attracting gene- 
 ral attention to himself and his order. In the same year all its 
 members were summoned to Rome. They only numbered 150. 
 
 * Flor. Eaymundus, Historia haer. saec. XVI., iii. 5, p. 231.
 
 TI1E CAPUCI2T. 13 
 
 At daybreak, barefooted, they all visited the seven churches 
 sacred to pilgrims, but this demonstration had no effect upon 
 their superiors. The general of the Observants had gained the 
 
 interest of a large number of cardinals, and had caused letters to 
 be written from a distance in which complaints were made 
 against the Capucins. Be contrived that all these should reach 
 the Pope on the same day. He ended his own letter with the 
 words: "Bather dissolve the little order, than permit it to 
 undermine the great one." The enmity of the Observants 
 against the Capucins had lately been increased by numerous 
 secessions, such as Ochino's. 
 
 Clement VII., nevertheless, was reluctant to hastily dissolve 
 the order he had himself confirmed. He hesitated a long time; 
 at length he resolved to expel it from Rome. On 25th April, St. 
 Mark's Day, he commanded " that the Capucins, one and all, shall 
 leave the city this day before the taper that we now kindle shall 
 have burnt down." This unexpected message found the monks 
 assembled at a frugal meal in the Convent of St. Euphemia. 
 They instantly rose, taking nothing with them but their 
 breviaries. Two by two they walked in long procession, pre- 
 ceded by their large wooden cross. They wound their way 
 through the Porta San Lorenzo to the neighbouring church, near 
 to the present cemetery, then owned by the Chapter of the 
 Lateran. Here they were harboured for a time. This step 
 ex uted astonishment and disapprobation in the city. The empty 
 convent had been searched, and nothing had been found save the 
 scanty fare in the dishes, and hard pallets and scourges in the 
 cells. The cellars were guiltless of wine. This clearly proved 
 the calumny of their opponents, and all the common people sided 
 with the Capucins. They formed processions, and paraded the 
 streets for three days; at their head walked a hermit with a long 
 white beard. " Woe for thee," he cried, vehemently, " woe unto 
 thee, Pome ! Thou lovest to harbour harlots and drunkards, 
 thou nourishest dogs — and thou wouldest banish the Capucins." 
 The order also found influential advocacv. Vittoria Colonna
 
 14 BERNARDINO OCH1NO. 
 
 hastened to Eome from Marino, her birthplace, among the Alban 
 hills; here she resided alternately with Eome and Ischia. 
 Catherine Cibo, Duchess of Camerino, also sped to Eome. Both 
 had been favourable to the order since its foundation. They 
 saw in it a healthful reaction from the worluliness of the other 
 religious bodies. Zeal in the cause of the Capucins extinguished 
 hereditary family feuds; an Orsini was seen to unite himself 
 with a Colonna. The Pope relented, asserting besides he had 
 only designed to banish the order from Eome for a time. But 
 the Capucins were not permitted to return in procession, only 
 singly and gradually. This was one of the last acts of Clement 
 VII. ; he died on September 26th of the same year. 
 
 Meanwhile dissensions had arisen within the order. Fra 
 Lodovico of Fossombrone had governed it since 1529. after he had 
 obtained the bull of concession. He was not without merit, and 
 maintained an iron discipline, but he was an obstinate and im- 
 perious man. He did not convene the prescribed chapter 
 meetings of the brethren, and he would not consent to hold the 
 general chapter due for several years. On this occasion Vittoria 
 Colonna again interfered; it is here, for the first time, we see her 
 in personal relation with Ochino. Perhaps the circle of friends 
 already existed, which held its meetings in S. Silvestro on the 
 Quirinal in 1538 under her patronage, as related by Francesco 
 d' Ollanda.* Ochino applied to her in the name of all the 
 brothers, with a petition that she would urge Fra, Lodovico to 
 hold this general chapter. Vittoria consented, but Fra Lodovico 
 evaded her, though she repeatedly invited him to Marino on 
 this account. At length she obtained a direct command from 
 the Pope, and the general chapter was convened in November 
 1535. "What Lodovico had dreaded, came to pass. The brothers 
 elected not himself, but Bernard of Asti, as Vicar-General. 
 They did not even give him the post of General. Among 
 the four Generals was Bernardino Ochino. Though he had 
 
 * Compare Eaczynski, Les Arts en Portugal. Paris, 1846.
 
 THE CArUCIN. 15 
 
 only joined since a year, lie surpassed* all the others in educa- 
 tion and theological erudition. We have the testimony of an 
 opponent that his preaching enjoyed the highest approbation, 
 even in the Holy College.^ 
 
 Early in 1538, Ochino visited Venice for the first time to 
 preach there during Lent. At that time his order had no 
 establishment in that city. A former Minorite, Fra Bonaventura, 
 offered to present the Capucins with a church and dwelling- 
 house, fitted fur a convent. As the Vicar -General consented, 
 and the Senate of the Republic accorded the permission, which 
 they had reserved the right to withhold in the case of new 
 establishments of monastic orders, Ochino founded the first 
 Capucin convent in Venice. S. Maria degli Angeli was the 
 fifth in order of time in the Venetian province ; the others were 
 in Verona, Padua, Mantua and Schio. 
 
 It was important for the young order thus to gain a footing 
 in the mighty Republic, and its chronicler lauds the "splendid 
 city, the spectacle of the world, the mart of the whole earth, the 
 Queen of the Adriatic." Neither had the city cause to repent ; 
 in the course of the same year the Capucins rendered excellent 
 service during a pestilential epidemic. 
 
 It was through Bembo's mediation that Ochino visited Venice 
 in the following year. He had already written to Vittoria 
 Colonna in April 1538. It was necessary to apply early, so 
 that other cities might not be beforehand, since Ochino was in 
 universal request for Lenten preaching. Bembo writes, " At the 
 wish of several citizens of this city, I appeal to your kindness 
 to induce our worthy Fra Bernardino Ochino of Siena to come 
 here in the Lent of next year to preach at the Apostles' Church. 
 All the citizens desire to hear him. I myself should count it as 
 
 * Bovcrius, Annales ad ann. 1535, xvi. Bemardinus divinis et lmmanis Uteris 
 non mediocriti c imlmtus. 
 
 f Muzio, Le Mentite Ocbiniane, fol. 12, 6: . . . . a Roma bavete predicato con 
 tanto favore et con tanto concorso di quel sagro collegio de' Cardinali con ipianto 
 habbia per awentura fatto altro predicatore a' nostri giorni.
 
 16 BERNARDINO OCHINO. 
 
 great happiness to listen to that man and make his acquaintance."* 
 Bembo's anticipations were not disappointed. This is evident 
 from his letter to Vittoria Colonna of March loth, 1530 : " I 
 am not speaking as candidly to you as I did to the venerable 
 Pater, Fra Bernardino, this morning. I opened my heart and 
 mind to him, just as I should have done in the presence of Jesus 
 Christ, to whom also, as I think, that worthy man must needs 
 be dear. It seemed to me I had never discoursed with a person 
 of greater sanctity. I shall not miss a single one of his 
 beautiful, solemn, and edifying discourses, and although my 
 presence is now required in Padua, I have yet resolved to remain 
 here as lonj as he does." 
 
 Equally profound was the impression made by Ochino's 
 preaching upon the multitude. A letter of Bembo's, written 
 from Venice to Vittoria Colonna on the 4th April 1539, testifies 
 to this : " Our Fra Bernardino — from this time I shall call him 
 my own in conversation with you — is literally adored here. 
 There is no one who does not praise him to the skies. How 
 deeply his words penetrate, how elevating and comfortable his 
 discourses ! I will pray to God to order his life in such manner, 
 that it may endure longer for the edification of his fellowmen. 
 For the manner in which he lives will prevent it lasting much 
 longer." A short time previously Bembo had expressed the same 
 fear to the rector of the S. S. Apostoli in Pome : " I beg you to 
 persuade the venerable Fra Bernardino to eat meat, not for the 
 gratification of the carnal appetite, but rather for our comfort, in 
 order that he may remain able to preach the gospel to the glory 
 of the Saviour. He cannot otherwise sustain his labours, not 
 even during Lent, if he does not relax the severe abstinence which, 
 as experience has shown, always causes him disorder of the 
 stomach." Throughout his life Ochino suffered from this 
 infirmity. At this time he was 51 years old, and nevertheless he 
 lived another twenty five years. 
 
 * These and the following letters from the Lettere di M. Pietro Bembo, Tom. 
 iv., Venezia,1552.
 
 THE CAPUCIN. 17 
 
 A powerful and characteristic portrait of the celebrated Capuciu 
 at this period, prefixed to his " Nine Sermons," * has been pre- 
 served to us. The head is bent, the gaze upturned. The hair 
 is shaved, according to the rules of his order, and only a fringe 
 remains. The eye is sunk deep under the brow, the nose is 
 aquiline, the mouth half-open, with an almost painful expression. 
 His beard hangs from the furrowed cheek down to his breast. 
 
 We possess another description of him at the same period of 
 his life, from the pen of Antonio Maria Graziani, secretary to 
 Cardinal Commendone, and afterwards Bishop of Amelia^ 
 " Everything about Ochino contributed to make the admiration 
 of the multitude overstep all human bounds, — the fame of his 
 eloquence; his prepossessing, ingratiating manner; his advancing 
 years ; his mode of life ; the rough Capucin garb ; the long beard 
 reaching to his breast ; the grey hair ; the pale, thin face ; the 
 artificially induced (?) aspect of bodily weakness; finally, the 
 reputation of a holy life. Wherever he was to speak the citizens 
 might be seen in crowds ; no church was large enough to contain 
 the multitude of listeners. Men flocked as numerously as 
 womea When he went elsewhere, the crowd followed after to 
 hear him. Ochino was honoured not only by the common people, 
 but by princes and kings. Wherever he came, he was offered 
 hospitality ; he was met at his arrival, and escorted at his 
 departure, by the dignitaries of the place. He himself knew how 
 to increase the desire to hear him and the reverence shown him. 
 Obedient to the rule of his order, he only travelled on foot — he 
 was never seen to ride, although his health was delicate and his 
 a^e advanced. Even when Ochino was the guest of nobles — an 
 honour he could not always refuse, — he could never be induced, 
 by the splendour of palaces, dress, and ornament, to forsake his 
 mode of life. When invited to table, he eat of only one very 
 simple dish, and he drank little wine ; if a soft bed had been 
 
 * Appendix I. The engraving prefixed to this book is a copy from this original. 
 + Vita Cardinalis Commendoni, ii., cap. 9.
 
 18 BERNARDINO OCHINO. 
 
 prepared for him, he begged permission to rest on a more com- 
 fortable pallet, spread his cloak on the ground, and laid down to 
 rest. These practices gain him incredible honour throughout all 
 Italy." And this description does not proceed from a friend of 
 Ochino's, but rather from a decided opponent. 
 
 Before Ochino had ended his Lenten preaching in Venice, 
 Bembo had expressed his own opinion, and that of all, in a letter 
 to Vittoria Colonna. On the 23d February 1539, he wrote: "I 
 send you an enclosure from our worthy Fra Bernardino, whom I 
 have heard all through Lent with such pleasure that I cannot 
 praise him enough. I must confess I have never heard more 
 useful and edifying sermons than his ; and I no longer wonder 
 that you esteem him so much. He expresses himself quite 
 differently, and in a far more Christian manner, than any others 
 who nowadays occupy the pulpit ; he speaks with much more 
 real sympathy and love, and utters far more soothing and 
 elevating things. Every one is delighted with him. I think 
 that when he leaves us he will carry all hearts with him. For 
 all this we have to thank you, for it is you who have caused him 
 to come here ; as for me, I shall ever be grateful to you." 
 
 Ochino's words were not without effect on persons of a very 
 different mode of thinking. Even Pietro Aretino, from whose 
 mouth praise has usually a doubtful meaning, joins in the 
 universal enthusiasm, and poses himself as converted by Ochino's 
 preaching. He writes from Venice, April 21, 1539, to Paul III.: 
 " Bembo has won a thousand souls for Paradise by bringing to 
 this goodly ecclesiastical town Fra Bernardino, whose modesty is 
 equal to his virtue." He adds : " I have myself begun to believe 
 in the exhortations trumpeted forth from the mouth of this 
 apostolic monk ; and they are the cause that I send this letter, 
 instead of throwing myself in person at the feet of your Holiness, 
 to beg forgiveness for the unwarranted attacks against the Court 
 of Ptome contained in my foolish writings, although everything 
 that I said, by word or writing, was ordained by Heaven itself,
 
 THE CAH7CIN. 19 
 
 that your Holiness might boast of the conversion of an Arctino." 
 This conversion did not last lon< r .* 
 
 Ever since Ochino delivered his first course of sermons in 
 Venice, he felt a preference for this city, and he soon entered 
 into intimacy with its inhabitants. In his first Lenten sermon, 
 in the year 1539, lie addresses it : "Thou, my city, alas! thou 
 remainest ever as thou wast ; and yet I will say this for myself 
 — who have exhorted thee to salvation with such ardour and 
 love, with so much devotion, so many vigils, and all, perhaps, 
 without the smallest result — I am persuaded that, had I spoken 
 so much in Germany or in England, or even among Turks and 
 heathens, I should have found more fruit than here, as may 
 plainly be seen ; and yet I do not renounce the hope of some 
 day seeing good and sincere Christians among ye." Two days 
 later, he says, in his second sermon : " I am grieved, my city, 
 because thou wilt not depart from thy wicked ways. Weeping 
 I implore Christ for your sake, because I love you with my 
 whole heart." When Ochino set up Germany and England as 
 examples to his hearers, the thought was very far from him that 
 in a few years he would be compelled, as a homeless fugitive, to 
 seek shelter and protection in those very countries. 
 
 At that time, Ochino was still at the height of his activity 
 in his own land. He had been appointed apostolic mission- 
 ary by the Pope — an office filled contemporaneously by the 
 gifted Varaglia, who was burned twenty years later at Turin 
 for his belief. He wandered as a preacher from place to place ; 
 while his order increased with marvellous rapidity — a fact largely 
 due to the fame of the great orator. The Vicar-General Bernard 
 of Asti, whom the General Chapter of 153G had re-elected, also 
 
 Another letter of Aretino's may also date from this time. It is in the first 
 volume of the Lettere Volgari di diversi nobilissimi huomini, 1548, sheet 121. It 
 is addressed " Al molto .... apostolicio," — i.e., to Ochino, whose name it was 
 thought needful to suppress in this collection, which first appeared in 1543. This 
 letter was evidently written at a time when the writer had just recovered from a 
 severe illness, and it is full of Wordy flattery, in the manner of Aretino : " Questa 
 eta, priva delle eccellenza sue, parebbe una notte senza stelle," and such like.
 
 20 BERNARDINO OCHINO. 
 
 laboured indefatigably. He was conscientious and zealous, yet, 
 in contrast to his predecessor, Fra Lodovico, he evinced great 
 mildness. He said: "If, at the last judgment, God should 
 accuse me of being too stern and pitiless, I should have nothing 
 to answer Him ; but if he should charge me with too great 
 leniency aud pity, I can always say, « I have learnt mercy from 
 Him whose mercies are infinite.' " Bernard of Asti visited all 
 the convents, staff in hand. In the middle of the year 1538, 
 when he was visiting the Convent of Elijah at Fano, he was 
 seized with serious illness, and thought himself dying. Although 
 his three years of office were unexpired, he convened the General 
 Chapter at Florence in September—" so as not to leave the little 
 ship, threatened by storms, without a helmsman." Ochino had 
 then been four years in the order, during which time he had so 
 distinguished himself on all sides, that his election seemed a 
 matter of course. "Bernardino," writes the chronicler of the 
 order, " was a wise, prudent, and experienced man. Gifted and 
 magnanimous, he was undeterred by the most difficult under- 
 takings. His appearance and his pure life lent credence to his 
 saintly reputation. As he was also an eloquent and impressive 
 orator, no woDder that, at the election, nearly all votes were for him." 
 Ochino was thus placed for three years at the head of his 
 order. His manner of life, and the way in which he filled his 
 office, augmented the admiration entertained for him by the 
 brethren — he governed the order with such discrimination and 
 wisdom, and zeal for the rules ; in all matters he himself set so 
 good an example, " that it seemed as if nothing were wanting to 
 make him a perfect General." The Capucins congratulated 
 themselves on this election. Ochino visited the convents 
 ■zealously, settling all disputes in an amicable manner. He says 
 in his Dialogues : " Strive to enlighten thy own people, to lead 
 them to Christ ; aid them ; censure and amend them, if they are 
 wanting. Try to influence them by word and example, by thy 
 life and thy prayers." * 
 
 * Sette Dialogi, vii. See Appendix 2.
 
 THE CAPUCIN. 21 
 
 For the conscientious observance of rules, lie strove especially 
 to maintain the injunction of poverty. "Walk in the footprints 
 of the saints, and strive to imitate them." His words impressed 
 in the chapter-house as in the church, for his personality and his 
 example gave them an irresistible weight. Under his conduct 
 the order reached unprecedented eminence, and was extending 
 beyond the boundary of Italy. It was probably owing to this, 
 that Ochino, as he mentions in one of his sermons in the year 
 1539,* crossed the frontier and visited the shrine of Baume, 
 near Marseilles. He sent Fra Mariano to Corsica, and others to 
 Piedmont, to found new settlements, and in his own province, 
 near Siena, in Foligno, and other towns, he caused new Capucin 
 convents to be fitted up or built. 
 
 Besides all this, Ochino devoted himself untiringly, and with 
 ever-increasing success, to preaching, the principal duty of his 
 order. During Lent, he not unfrequently preached daily. The 
 desire of the Italian cities to gain him as preacher for this season 
 was so great, that at length, to prevent disputes, the Pope re- 
 served to himself the right of decision. The chronicler of the 
 order states that no church was large enough to contain the 
 number of his listeners. Scaffoldings were erected in the 
 churches, it even came to pass that the tiles were lifted from 
 the roof of the neighbouring houses, that his words might gain 
 access. At Naples, when appealing, as was customary, for a 
 benevolent purpose, five thousand zecchins were collected at the 
 door, an incredibly large sum. The Emperor, Charles V., was at 
 that time in Naples ; in later years he remembered the Capucin. 
 An eye-witness exclaims, with emotion, "Ochino preaches with 
 great power, he can move stones to tears." f Since Savonarola, 
 Italy had had no preacher to equal him. 
 * Nove Prediehe viiL See Appendix L 
 
 t Giannone, Istoria civile del regno di Napoli IV. c. xxxiL 5 : "Nana Gregorio 
 Kosso, testimone di veduta, che in quci giarni di (.huuesima che 1' Imperatore a 
 trattenere in Napoli — poiche parti dentro di quelle — andava spesso a sentirlo in S. 
 Giovanni Maggiore con molto suo diletto, iniperoche, com' e' dice, predicava con 
 ispirito grande che faceva piagnere i sassi." The form "dice " proves that the last 
 words are Rosso's, and not the Emperor's, as many will have it.
 
 22 BERNARDINO OCHINO. 
 
 In 1536, Ochino preached for the first time at Naples, in S. 
 Giovanni Maggiore ; a second time in 1539,* then again in 1540. 
 Providence there brought him into contact with the man whose 
 society was destined to be of momentous importance to his whole 
 later development, namely, Juan Valdez. At Naples, Ochino 
 came forward so successfully, that even an ardent opponent like 
 Tommaso Costo f is forced to praise the warmth and spirit of his 
 preaching, from which wordy scholastic disputes, which others 
 bring into the pulpit, were entirely absent. 
 
 At Modena and Lucca he was also active ; he preached in the 
 Duomo of Modena on the 28th February 1541. The invitation 
 from the Academy to remain during the whole of Lent, he was 
 forced to refuse. Giovanni Guidiccione, the elegant writer and 
 Bishop of Fossombrone, says, in a letter to Annibale Caro, dated 
 1538 : " A few days ago I heard Fra Bernardino of Siena, truly a 
 man of the rarest gifts. He pleased me so much, that I have 
 addressed two sonnets to him, one of which I enclose, the other 
 I will send in my next." J 
 
 Ochino preached in Perugia during Advent 1539, as Giustiniano 
 Nelli, at that time provisional Professor of Medicine at that 
 University, writes to Aretino. " Last Advent we had our Fra 
 Bernardino here ; we often met and spoke of you. He is now 
 preaching at Naples, and I do not yet know whether we shall 
 succeed in persuading him to visit Siena in the course of the 
 year."§ In 1540, Ochino again preached at Perugia. He suc- 
 ceeded, by the power of his eloquence, in appeasing the old 
 disputes between the inhabitants, though only, it must be added, 
 for a short time. They soon broke out again, till the heavy 
 hand of Pope Paul III. put a stop to them and to the freedom 
 of the city for ever. 
 
 * Caracciolo, Collect, hist, de vita Pauli iv. Coloniae 1612, p. 240. 
 
 f Tommaso Costo, Compendio dell' Istoria del Eegno di Napoli. Venice 1591. 
 II. Sheet 152. 
 
 t Lettere volgari i., p. 17. (Venice 1548.) These two sonnets, as well as a 
 third, also addressed to Ochino, are contained in the Opere di Monsignor Giov. 
 Giudiccione, Florence 1867, i., p. 47, ct seq. 
 
 % Lettere all' Aretino, ii. 66.
 
 THE CArUCIN. 23 
 
 This letter of Ghmtiniano Nelli, who, having been born in 
 Siena, proudly names the celebrated Capucin "ours," dates from 
 28th February 1540,* and in fact the Council of Siena had 
 endeavoured in the previous year, when Ochino stopped at his 
 native city en route for Rome, to persuade him to remain lor 
 and preach again. " The whole city beheld him with admiration 
 and pride, not only because he was a Sienese, but also because 
 he was a man of such exalted learning and culture." -J* The 
 council sent four of the most distinguished citizens as deputies, 
 to beg him to defer his departure. In that case they would 
 themselves write his excuses to the Pope. Ochino would seem, 
 therefore, to have been on his way to Rome from Venice, where 
 he had preached on St. Mary Magdalene's Day, April 8th. The 
 resolution of the council, dated June 21st, states that "it would 
 be well and profitable for the salvation of souls, if the aforesaid 
 Fra Bernardino, who this morning preached a salutary discourse 
 in the large council chamber before all the people, might remain a 
 few days and preach in the Duomo or in the Town Hall." Ochino 
 did indeed preach several times in the Duomo. In the following 
 year, they again tried to win him for the Lenten sermons, but he 
 was obliged to tell them that the Pope had reserved to himself 
 the right of decision in this matter. He nevertheless acceded 
 to their wishes in the Advent of 1540. Two letters concerning 
 this matter, addressed by Ochino to the council of his native 
 city, are still preserved in the original, in the rich archives of 
 Siena. The first is dated Eome, 5th September 1540, and reads : 
 " I am sure you will readily believe that I would gladly preach 
 in my own Siena during the coming Lent, which I see from your 
 letter to be your own desire. There is only one hindrance in 
 the way, namely, that he who disposes of me must agree to it. 
 You can refer to me, and say that I should very gladly come to 
 Siena, should His Holiness have no objection. I have told the 
 
 * The letter is dated 2Sth February 1539. Nelli uses the Siena style, according 
 to which the new year was counted from March 1st ; accordingly his letter really 
 dates from February 2Sth 1540. 
 
 t Pecci, Memorie della Citta di Siena, iii., p. 104
 
 24 BERNARDINO OCHINO. 
 
 very Eeverend Monsignor Gbinucci the same thing, and as His 
 Holiness leaves me free to act for every other season, your 
 Eminences may name the time in case you should wish me to 
 come before Lent. In this case I may accept for certain, but I 
 will not desist from making the attempt for Lent, perhaps I may 
 succeed, as I happen to be here. If I can help you in any other 
 way, pray dispose of me. In consideration of the especial 
 affection I feel for you, everything will be easy to me in Christ, 
 for whom I live and hope to die. May He in His grace increase 
 all good things to you. Prater Bernardinus Senensis." * 
 
 The second letter was also from Borne, 27th September, accept- 
 ing for Advent 1540, " I was not able to answer sooner, because 
 the decision of His Holiness had not yet reached me. To-day 
 he has declared himself willing that I should come for Advent, 
 and so I shall try to reach Siena about All Saints' Day. Let us 
 pray to the Lord that my coming may not be in vain. In all 
 else your Eminences may dispose of me, as far as is within my 
 power ; nothing will be so difficult that affection could not make 
 it easy. May the Lord protect you, and increase you in His 
 grace." -f* 
 
 * Molto magnifici signori etc. Non penso vi habi a esser difficile el persuadersi 
 che molto volontieri verrei in questa quaresima a predicare alia raia Siena, sichome 
 per una vostra o visto sarebe intento di vostre signorie : resta solo che da cbi puo 
 comandarmi io non sia impedito : di me potra servirsi nel scrivere che a me el venir 
 sarebe gratissimo pur che sia con volonta di S a S ta . questo medesimo 6 expresso al 
 rev mo Monsignore Ghinucci. et perche del tempo fuor della quaresima S a S to non 
 e solita impedirmi, quando a vostre signorie paresse che io venisse in questo tempo 
 inanti alia quaresima, mi dieno un cenno del quando, che non mancarb col non 
 cessare anchora di tentare per la quaresima, il che sara etiam piu facile di 
 obtenersi per esser 11. et se in altro posso si servino di me che per la singulare 
 affetione li porto mi sara facile tutto in Christo per el qual vivo et spero di morire. 
 resto con pregarlo che vi prosperi sempre con la sua buona gratia in ogni vera 
 
 felicita. 
 
 Da Roma 5 settembris 1540. Delle vostre magnifice Signorie 
 
 Frater Bernardinus Senensis. 
 
 f Molto magnifici signori. Non o piu presto resposto per non essere resoluto di 
 g a gu Ogi s' e" contentata che io per lo advento venghi, cosl mi sforzarb circa a 
 Ognisanti essere a Siena. Preghiamo el Signor ch' el mio venire non sia vano. 
 Resta che vostre signorie in quanto posso mi comandino che non sara cosa tanto 
 difficile che lo amor non me lo renda facile. 
 
 II Signor vi conservi et prosperi nella sua gratia. 
 Da Roma 27 settembris 1540.
 
 THE CAPUCIN. 25 
 
 Before his arrival in Siena, Ocliino had written to the Dom- 
 inican brotherhood, counselling the forty hours' prayer, and 
 urging them to send some of their number, alternately, to tend 
 the sick in the City Hospital. 
 
 "For these sick men are only waited on by hirelings, without 
 self-denying love, and without admonition, that their soul is often 
 more sick than their bodies." The letters which Ochino wrote 
 to Siena, in this matter, are preserved among the archives of the 
 confraternity. * 
 
 Ochino writes in September 1540, to the confraternity, " By 
 your Christian brotherly love, I beseech you to show yourselves 
 willing to perform two works of piety and sanctity, the one is, 
 that ye should encourage one another to sincere penitence, to 
 true confession, to complete satisfaction, with spiritual and 
 bodily almsgiving, to real fasting and ardent prayer. Let 
 each of you consider those things that qualify our souls for 
 the well beloved Christ, throw yourselves humbly at His feet, 
 help your souls to put on the holy virtues of Faith, Charity, and 
 Hope. You may then be sure, that on the great day of judgment, 
 you will find yourselves among the saints in heaven. But 
 because prayer requires a collected mind, so that it may ascend 
 to heaven, to the feet of the Holy Trinity, prepare yourselves 
 worthily in the above manner, and observe the following rules. 
 Then you will set a good example to those who do not know 
 what prayer means, and there are many such." This is followed 
 by directions for the forty hours' prayer, and the proposal to con- 
 clude the whole solemnity with a general procession. 
 
 It may seem remarkable that Ochino should recommend so 
 urgently, an institution which too easily hides the real moaning 
 of prayer, and causes it to degenerate into an outward mechanical 
 observance. Personally, he does not overestimate the worth of 
 this institution, for he says in the same letter, " The best manner 
 to prepare for prayer, has not yet been found." This trait is 
 
 * Compagnia di S. Doinenico, Libro delle Deliberazioni del 1540. Fol. v. 2. 
 Miscellanea di cose Sanesi. MS. in the Communal Library at Siena.
 
 28 BERNARDINO OCHINO. 
 
 characteristic of his standpoint at the time. It was his posi- 
 tion as Vicar-General of the Capucins, that forced him to act 
 thus, for his order believed itself to have effected remarkable 
 results, by this institution, established by Era Giuseppe of Perno, 
 and therefore continued to urge its diffusion * as extensively as 
 possible. 
 
 In a letter dated October, 1540, Ochino again refers to his 
 second request. "The crown is destined, not to him who begins, 
 but to him who perseveres ; this is the teaching of experience. 
 The tree that once bears good fruit, and never again, or that 
 bears sometimes good, and sometimes bad, is cut down and 
 thrown into the fire. As you have granted my first and greatest 
 request, you must not refuse the second. Visit the poor sick, or 
 rather the Lord Jesus Christ himself, in the hospital of S. Maria ; 
 and do it in such wise as may be easiest to each, and in a fixed 
 succession." 
 
 Ochino's labours in his native city had borne good fruit. The 
 council was encouraged to take steps to gain him for another 
 course of sermons in the following year. They applied to Eome, 
 to secure Ochino for Lent, in 1542. Among the letters of the 
 Balie, I found no less than seven, all dated June 5th, 1541, 
 relating to this circumstance. The first is in Latin, and addressed 
 to Pope Paul III., petitioning him to send Ochino, at the above 
 named time, to Siena. The others were addressed to persons 
 from whose influence at the Eoman Court, effectual intercession 
 was hoped ; to the cardinals, San Jaconis, and Santa Croce, to 
 Monsignor Ghinucci, to the Marchese of Aghilera (Angouleme), 
 to Messer Antonio Pranci (Ambassador of the Ptepublic at the 
 Papal Court), and to an " illustrissima et eccellentissima 
 Madama," probably Margaret of Austria, who had always be- 
 friended Siena, and had celebrated her marriage with the grand- 
 son of Pope Paul III., in this city. But the Pope was not to be 
 persuaded, he had already promised this Lent of 1542, to the 
 
 * Boverius, Aimales ad ann. 1556, VII. ; Capucinerum ordo hoc orationis opus 
 summa semper religione prosecutus est.
 
 THE CAPUCIN. 27 
 
 Venetians ; and thus the answers preserved in the archives, only 
 confirm the refusal of the Pope. 
 
 The council thou endeavoured to gain Ochino at least for the 
 Advent of that year. On the Gth November, 1541, they wrote, 
 "The great inclination and sincere affection which our town has 
 always felt, and still feels, for your Reverence on account of your 
 admirable and excelling virtues, impels us strongly to address 
 this letter to you, and to tell you how greatly the whole city 
 desires to hear you. Xo other happiness, however much desired, 
 could give us the same satisfaction as would be afforded us by 
 your presence. Therefore we beg you earnestly and heartily, for 
 the love of Christ, if ever you wished to perform something at 
 once for the weal of our city, and for the glory of God, put all 
 other matters aside at present, even though it may be difficult to 
 you, and come here to preach before Christmas. For all the 
 citizens are firmly convinced, that your preaching will be of great 
 effect, that by your sermons the glory of God will be greatly 
 increased in this city, and that you will thus reap rich gains by 
 the universal welfare and the salvation of souls. We hope, nay, 
 we are firmly convinced, that your reverence, counting the glory 
 of God above everything, and desiring with your whole heart, 
 the good of your native city, as you have always shown us that 
 you willingly accede to our wishes, will allow nothing to prevent 
 you from coming to us. Therefore we say to you only this, as 
 far as in our power lies, we are at your service. The grace of 
 God be with you." 
 
 In spite of this pressing invitation, Ochino was again forced to 
 refuse. He was lying sick, and could not leave the Capucin con- 
 vent near Florence. On 22d November, 1541, he wrote,* "To 
 
 * Molto magnifici signori Priori Governatori e Capitani miei osserv. 
 
 Mi dolgo per la molta affetione et cordiale amor che porto et alle Signorie vostre 
 et alia patria di non poter Boddisfar a quello che per debito me si conviene et a 
 quanto saria el voler di quelle, io non harei gia aspettato che mi avessin fatto 
 istantia di venir costa a predicare, che — qnantunque non sia secondo il nierito di 
 quelle — al primo cenno sarei venuto. ma mi trove- da molti giorni indrieto con un 
 dolor grande di schiena et con altre indispositioni attalche si ben mi forzasse a 
 venir, non potrei predicare. e per questo ho rieusato anche a molti e mi so fermato
 
 28 BEENAED1N0 OCHINO. 
 
 the most noble gentlemen, priors, governors, and captains, — I am 
 sorry, on account of the deep respect and sincere affection which 
 I feel for your Eminences, and my native city, that I cannot do 
 that which I feel is my duty, and which is also your wish. I 
 would not have waited until I received your formal request to 
 preach there, nay, rather I would have come at the first sugges- 
 tion, but I have been suffering for some time from such severe 
 lumbago, and other ailments, that even if I could arise and travel, 
 it would be quite impossible to me to preach. I have been 
 obliged to refuse the same thing to many others, and I must 
 remain here and discharge my writing work, * while I am being 
 treated for my infirmity. I must beg your Eminences to excuse 
 me on account of this hindrance. It is God who has willed this 
 weakness. But I retain my good will towards all,, and I shall be 
 grateful to you if you will preserve to me your protection, to 
 which I commend myself, with my whole heart." 
 
 The years since 1538 had been evil for Siena. The disorders- 
 and insecurity of the city and district had so much increased, 
 that the couriers who carried the post to Eome preferred making 
 a longer round, to passing by Siena. Discontent and dissatisfac- 
 tion were still further augmented by the outbreak of a famine 
 in the following year, which necessitated severe precautionary 
 measures. A lively religious craving awoke. " Throughout all 
 Italy," writes a chronicler of Siena, " a religious movement arose. 
 No city remained untouched by it. In Eome, the Eope com- 
 manded processions and issued indulgences. In Siena, too, 
 public prayers were offered up incessantly, the image of the 
 Madonna, ' the intercessor of the Sienese,' was borne through the 
 
 qui che, tra che curarb il mal, mi verrb rassettando le mie scritture. per questo le 
 S. V. si degneranno per tal impediinento scusanni contentandosi di quanto e voler 
 di Dio per la mia iunperfetione. e di questo e il mio buon volere verso di tutti, e 
 mi faran gratia avermi nella vostra protectione, e cosl a quelle con tutto il core mi 
 fo racomandato. 
 
 Dal luogo nro di Firenze, il dl xjj di novembre del D 4 j. 
 
 * As a statement of Carnesecchi's proves, Ochino was occupied in preparing a 
 selection of his sermons for the press. See Processo di Pietro Carnesecchi, edito di 
 G. Manzoni, torn. x. of the Miscellanea di Storia Italiana, p. 374.
 
 THE CAFUCIN. 
 
 streets, and all the religious orders in the city implored, in vai 
 manners, the divine mercy. At night, the confraternity of the 
 Flagellants paraded about, and scourged themselves pub] 
 Many adverse circumstances," he adds, "were united at that time; 
 first, the internal dissensions, which daily grew worse ; then the 
 dread of the Turkish fleet, especially a 3 the fleel of 1 ieror 
 
 and the Venetians had evaded it in no very dignified manner, and 
 Barbarossa was again threatening the coasts of Calabria and 
 Tuscany ; finally, the great dearth, in consequence of which, 
 even in August, corn could scarcely be had for large sums of 
 money." 
 
 Tt was in such a season that Ochino preached in Siena. It is 
 natural that his native city should have longed to hear its son, 
 who knew how to speak so solemnly and effectively, and yet so 
 cheeringly and nobly. All traces of Ochino's labours in Siena 
 are however lost, excepting the few notices contained in the above 
 documents. But it can scarcely be doubted that here also a 
 circle of earnest men assembled around him. One, Aonio Paleario, 
 has already been named. Perhaps he owed to Ochino those 
 religious convictions that led him, in the evening of his life, to 
 the stake of the Inquisition. Lattantio Pagnone may be regarded 
 as a second like-minded friend of Ochino's at Siena ; we shall soon 
 meet him again at Naples. 
 
 Meanwhile, in the autumn of 1541, the Vicar-General's three 
 years of office were drawing to a close. Ochino had already con- 
 vened the fourth General Chapter at Naples at Whitsuntide, to 
 make a new election. The choice could only lie between himself 
 and Bernard of Asti, whose sickness had not proved fatal. Ber- 
 nard of Asti stated beforehand, that on account of bodily weak- 
 ness, he could not accept office. Ochino was, therefore, a second 
 time unanimously elected Vicar-General, and confirmed in Pome. 
 This is trustworthy evidence that, up to this time, no suspicion 
 whatever was harboured against him in high places. Even 
 Boverio says : " Many contend that Ochino had already swerved 
 in his heart from the doctrines of the church. However that may
 
 30 BERNARDINO OCHINO. 
 
 be, so much is certain, that he had not yet shown the slightest 
 token of heresy, either by word of mouth or writing." 
 
 Some writers have named Ochino as Father Confessor to Paul 
 III.* Boverio knows nothing of this, and Ochino himself makes 
 no mention of it. It is scarcely likely that the Pope, even if he 
 were prepared to brave the enmity of all the other orders, would 
 choose a father confessor whose office kept him away from Borne 
 for so large a portion of the year. For, so long as Ochino filled 
 his post as preacher and general of his order, he was obliged to 
 lead a restless, wandering life. Thus we find him in Lent 1536 
 at Naples, 1538 at Venice, in September of the same year at the 
 General Chapter in Florence, in Lent 1539 he preached at Venice, 
 at Siena in June, and he then journeyed to Eome and Naples. 
 He spent Advent of the following year at Siena; on 28th February 
 1541, he preached at Modena, on his way to Milan, and at Whit- 
 suntide of the same year he took part in the General Chapter at 
 Naples. In November 1541 he lay sick at the Capucin con- 
 vent at Florence. He spent Lent of 1542 at Venice, and the 
 following month in the monastery at Verona. 
 
 Besides all this, his activity increased when he a second time 
 entered upon the office of General. All came to him for advice, 
 even concerning matters outside the order. To procure him more 
 leisure, the Pope excused him from the regular observance of the 
 canonical hours. His opponents afterwards brought forward his 
 use of this indulgence as a premonitory symptom of his change 
 of opinions. A brother is said to have remarked : " If you would 
 rule the order without praying, you are like one who rides with- 
 out stirrups. Take heed that you do not fall." Ochino replied : 
 " To do good, is to pray. Who does not cease from doing good, 
 does not cease from prayer." So at least a tradition ran after- 
 wards among the Capucins. 
 
 * Sand, Bibliotheca Antitrinitariorum, Freistadt, 1685, p. 2. Seckendorff Com- 
 raentarii, lib. iii., 131, L.
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 OCHINO AS A PREACHER 
 
 State of the Italian Theology at the time of the Renaissance — Pagan ideas prevalent 
 in Rome — Reaction upon the horailetical art — Current styles of preachhv 
 — Ochino as a preacher — His nine sermons of the year 1539 — Arrangement, 
 matter, and form — 1. Knowledge of oneself and remorse — 2. How Christ was 
 made man — 3. Of the necessity for His crucifixion — 4. How the believer 
 should act with regard to Christ's crucifixion — 5. The Last Supper— 6. Law 
 and obedience — 7. Homily concerning the disciples' narrative at Emmaus 
 — 8. Sermon on the day of Mary Magdalene — 9. To the scholars of the College 
 at Peru<ria. 
 
 The condition of Italian theology at the time of the Eenaissance, 
 forms a remarkable contrast to the development in other intellec- 
 tual provinces at the same period* Scholasticism, into which 
 only such men as Anselm of Canterbury, Peter the Lombard, and 
 Thomas Aquinas, in whom it had become in a manner personi- 
 fied, could breathe a transitory life, had degenerated in the course 
 of the fourteenth, and still more in the fifteenth century, into a 
 cold, fruitless system of subtleties, rude in expression, rich in 
 formulas, but wanting in ideas. It is characteristic of the whole 
 period, that among the fierce controversies of the rival schools 
 (the Dominican Thomists and the Franciscan Scotists), one single 
 doctrine, that of the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin, should 
 have attained a further development. It is no less characteristic 
 of the most recent phase of Catholicism, that this very doctrine 
 should have been the last to be promulgated as an obligatory 
 article of faith, before the declaration of the Papal infallibility. 
 
 * See Tiraboschi, Storia della Letteratura Italiana, vol. vi., 3, 3.
 
 32 BERNAKMNO OCHINO. 
 
 Together with this, a series of questions were eagerly discussed 
 as unimportant as those considered at the time of Alexander of 
 Hales, such as, whether the angels possessed a higher degree of 
 intelligence early in the morning or late in the evening ? In 
 1462, the Minorite Jacopo delle Marche in Brescia contended 
 that the blood of Christ shed at his scourging and crucifixion had 
 no part in his divine nature, and was, therefore, not to be adored. 
 The Dominicans of Brescia furiously assailed the propounder 
 of so heretical an assertion. The matter seemed of importance 
 from the ecclesiastical point of view. Pius II. had it discussed 
 in his presence by celebrated theologians. But at the debate the 
 reasons brought forward by both sides seemed so excellent, that 
 the Pope was forced to command the strife to be abandoned. 
 The question remained undecided. This shows plainly how much 
 the essential part of Christianity had been neglected for such 
 dogmatic subtleties. 
 
 Gifted men like Paolo Cortese had laboured vainly to bring 
 back theology to its old dignity, and, at the same time, to give it 
 that form which the newer development necessitated. Cortese, 
 for whom Tuscany and Modena dispute, was a true son of his 
 humanistic age. He was born just at that time when Greek 
 scholars were emigrating in large numbers to Italy, and kindling 
 zeal for antiquity with youthful vigour in all minds. He was a 
 friend of Giovanni Pico della Mirandola and Angelo Poliziano, 
 and, like them, a Ciceronian, as is proved by his great theological 
 work, the Sentences, in four books. The work is not a mere 
 reproduction of the Sentences of Petrus Lombardus, but a toler- 
 ably independent text-book of comparative dogmatic theology, 
 combining the opinions of the Fathers concerning the chief 
 doctrines of the Church ; occasionally adding the author's own 
 opinions and reasons for holding these, but usually leaving the 
 decision to the reader. In form opposed to the scholastic 
 syllogisms, distinctions, objections, and all the other customary 
 ballast of a distorted logic, its contents cling to traditional 
 ecclesiastical doctrine, and are so far from fundamentally opposing
 
 OCIIIXO AS A PREACHER. 33 
 
 fcljese, that the book could be dedicated to the Pope himself, 
 Julius II. Thirty years after the premature death of the author, 
 the work was re-issued at Basle by Beatus Ehenanus. 
 
 But Cortese remained alone in the path he had struck out. It 
 was not possible to reconquer for theology the place of honour as 
 leader of the general intellectual movement, held by her and her 
 votaries in former centuries. This ill success, but too well 
 grounded in external circumstances, was doubly grave at a time 
 when the sky was already traversed by gleams, announcing the 
 rapid and irresistible approach of an unanticipated and over- 
 whelming convulsion in the domain of thought. 
 
 While the general life of the people, spite of all outward 
 confusion and trouble, was reaching that period of glory to 
 which Italy is indebted for the perfection of her language, the 
 zenith of her art and literature, theology alone withdrew coyly 
 and sullenly behind convent-walls, vaunting a treasure long 
 become fruitless and lifeless in her hands. It was but a natural 
 reaction that the educated of the nation should at last requite with 
 like disdain the disesteem ostentatiously opposed by theology 
 to the whole new development. Still more striking was the con- 
 trast when, towards the end of the fifteenth and beginning of the 
 sixteenth centuries, the humanistic movement found favour and 
 patronage at the Eoman court itself, and the representatives of 
 the hierarchy — to the very Popes — protected arts and sciences 
 with liberal and intelligent partiality. The enthusiasm for the 
 newly-found treasures of antiquity, and the fascination of the 
 newly-revealed beauty, may have been at work, and other motives 
 may have contributed ; but, just in those very circles in which 
 the knowledge of classical antiquity was rejuvenated, not only 
 scholastic theology, but all religious thought and the fundamental 
 elements of the Christian view of life, fell into disesteem. The 
 dismay of the innocent German monk in Piome, at hearing 
 blasphemous words from the officiating priest during holy mass, 
 is only a drastic illustration of what Pier Antonio Bandini 
 expresses more smoothly : " No one was then considered in Eome
 
 34 BERNARDINO OCHINO. 
 
 a gentleman or a good courtier who did not hold, besides the 
 clerical doctrines, his own little private heresy." * 
 
 But when theology, regardless of the favour and disfavour of 
 the higher classes, retired angrily from participation in the 
 intellectual life of the nation, in one particular, at least— that of 
 preaching, she could not do this without perceptible harm to the 
 Church. To this, a particular consideration further contributed. 
 The Catholic cultus had long completed its formal development. 
 In comparison with its symbolical elements, preaching was, of its 
 own accord, retiring into the background. It was a natural con- 
 sequence that it should sink lower and lower in the estima- 
 tion of those even to whom it was entrusted. It was an old 
 complaint that the higher clergy, and after them the lower, 
 had neglected it more and more. Councils and individual Popes 
 had vainly tried to impress the necessity of employing sermons as 
 a means of instructing the mass. As a reaction from this neglect, 
 the preaching confraternities of the thirteenth century arose; 
 and the marvellous influence they attained proves clearly what 
 power dwells in the Word, as long as the instruction of the 
 people in Christian teaching is chiefly dependent on oral influence. 
 These orders, however, were the very least disposed to accomplish 
 the mediation between the new intellectual life and the old 
 formalism in the whole domain of theology, or even in the 
 domain of preaching alone ; although, along with the ecclesiastic 
 and conservative feeling, we may trace among them a more 
 liberal and reformatory tendency. 
 
 The deficiencies that mark the general condition of theology at 
 the time of the Eenaissance were thus specially perceptible in 
 the homiletic branch. It is true that, compared with lay oratory — 
 confined to academic eulogies, laudations, and occasional speeches 
 (all held in Latin) — pulpit eloquence still occupied a favourable 
 position, owing to its theme and the disposition of its hearers. 
 
 * Caracciolo, Vita di Paolo IV., i. 2, c. 1 ; IMS. in the Library Casanatense in 
 Rome and at the British Museum: "In quel tempo non pareva che f usse galantuomo 
 o buon corteggiano colui che non haveva qualche opinionetta erronea."
 
 0CII1N0 AS A PREACHER. 35 
 
 For is not religions thought like to the magnet which, when hid or 
 covered, still retains its power ! We hear of not a few preachers 
 of the fifteenth century having exercised an unbounded influ- 
 ence on the minds of their listeners. Yet when we nowadays 
 take up the sermons of S. Bernardino of Siena, Fra Eoberto of 
 Lecce, Fra Alberto of Sarziano, Fra Michele of Carcano, or 
 Savonarola's much-praised Florentine rival, Fra Mariano of 
 Genazzano, it seems incomprehensible how they should have 
 produced any considerable impression. The taste, susceptibility, 
 and requirements of those times must have been very different 
 from our own. Tiraboschi says of one of the most popular 
 preachers — the Dominican Barletta: "He gained such a reputa- 
 tion by his mode of preaching, that the proverb originated: 'Who 
 does not know how to larlcttise — does not know how to preach.' 
 But woe to the preachers of our time," continues Tiraboschi, " if 
 they wish to form themselves by his example — so foolish and 
 ludicrous are the sermons printed under his name. They can 
 excite to laughter, but can in no way convince the hearer, or 
 speak to his conscience." * The preachers owed a great part of 
 their influence to the fame of sanctity which preceded them. 
 There is not one among them who has not this reputation. By 
 a saintly life was understood, at that time, the severest monastic 
 asceticism and the mortification of the flesh. The people 
 venerated the man who spoke to them from beneath a cowl 
 encircling a pale, emaciated face of renunciation, and gleaming 
 eyes of enthusiasm, and bowed before him as a heaven-sent 
 prophet. 
 
 This subjective consideration can no longer be fully recognised 
 by those who regard these sermons with critical eyes. That 
 time had only one pre-eminence, sacrificed by our all-equalising 
 present — an astonishing variety, rather indeed in the form and 
 detail than in the religious substance of the sermons. On the one 
 hand, in the second half of the fifteenth century, the Servite, 
 Ambrogio Spiera of Treviso, pronounced his famous orations, 
 
 * Tiraboschi vi. 3; 3, 10.
 
 36 BERNARDINO OCHINO. 
 
 which are mere theological treatises in scholastic form, with an ac- 
 cumulation of quotations from the Bible and the Fathers. Others 
 combined with texts quotations from classical authors, and from 
 Dante and Petrarch. This earned them praise from the educated, 
 but was of little use for their real work. " They resemble," said 
 Savonarola, " the singers and pipers in the house of the ruler of 
 the synagogue, who sang and piped songs of mourning, but could 
 not wake the dead maiden. Thus they stand about the dead 
 souls, and try to wake them with their subtle explanations, with 
 beautiful parables or quotations from Aristotle, Virgil, Ovid, 
 Cicero, or with the odes of Petrarch and Dante ; but they make 
 such a music of mourning, that not only they cannot revive the 
 dead souls — they even kill the living ones." * Other preachers 
 besides Barletta descended to colloquialisms, and disdained no 
 means, however coarse and vulgar, of exciting attention and 
 gaining a concourse of hearers. Concerning these, Lorenzo Valla 
 said, referring to their manner of delivery : " We have come to 
 this, that preaching is only screaming and shouting, instead of 
 living action, and that the best ranter is held the most effective 
 preacher." j- Stimulated by the surrounding circumstances, and 
 by the example of Savonarola, arose yet another class of political 
 preachers — some for the Medici, some for the Pope, some for the 
 emperor. 
 
 All this suggests a question which must be at least touched 
 upon. Did the preachers of that time study the Bible, which 
 they quoted ? Was it the source or the test of their religious 
 opinions ? We shall hardly err in returning a negative an- 
 swer. Dogmatic teaching was certainly not sought in the 
 Bible, but rather in the sentences of Petrus Lombardus. And 
 for the necessary apparatus for biblical quotations, a work such 
 as the Biblical Bepertory of Antonio Eampegolo sufficed; a work 
 so incorrect and faulty, that a Pope in later times even placed it 
 
 * Savonarlo Prediche sopra il Salmo, Quam bonus, Israel, Deus, Advent 1493 
 Venet. ed. 1539, fol. 55. 
 
 t Laurentino Valla, Antidoti in Poggium i. 3, p. 375 : Basle, 1543.
 
 OCIIINO AS A PREACHER 37 
 
 on the index of forbidden books, " until it should be improved." 
 But the great circulation which this book, entitled, "Aurea Biblia," 
 also "Figurae Bibliorum" possessed through a whole century, 
 shows how much independent study of the Bible was neglected 
 by the preachers of that time. Scholasticism and its mode of 
 philosophising had stepped into its place; it was for them to distri- 
 bute the discourse according to a conventional scheme. Begarding 
 this, Bembo has well observed : " what am I to do at sermons ? 
 One hears nothing else than the doctor sicbtilis inveigh against 
 the doctor angelicus, and then Aristotle comes in as a third, and 
 pat an end to the dispute." * At that time certainly Bembo was 
 not a Cardinal, and he made these remarks in confidence. But 
 he indicated the more freely his own position, and that of all 
 educated men towards the preaching of his age. 
 
 Yet, spite of all its weak points, preaching still retained a very 
 remarkable influence in the sixteenth century. We have seen 
 the magistrates of the Italian cities vieing for the presence of 
 celebrated orators, trying to gain them for a course of sermons, 
 especially during Lent. And though this may have been more 
 a matter of emulation than one of conviction, still the fact is 
 characteristic. The order of St. Francis retained its reputation in 
 spite of all internal strife, of possessing the most efficient Lenten 
 preachers, and their youngest branch, the Capucins, vied with 
 the rest. 
 
 Even before the " great sea " -f* of privileges was accorded to 
 the order, its right of preaching had been most fully recognised. 
 The parish priests were enjoined to resign their pulpit at any 
 time to a Franciscan monk, and as they evinced little opposition 
 to this command, and as this order was greatly extended all over 
 Italy, and abroad, the exercise of preaching rested chiefly in their 
 hands. 
 
 Such was the state of affairs amidst which Ochino was placed. 
 
 * Told by Ortensio Landi, Parad. II. 29. 
 
 t Mare Magnum was the name triumphantly given by the Franciscans, to a Bull 
 of Sixtus IV. 1474, which accorded to them these extended privileges.
 
 38 BERNARDINO OCHINO. 
 
 Belonging to the holy Franciscan family, he laboured for thirty 
 years in the Italian pulpit. But only a collection of nine 
 sermons* of one of the later years, held 1539, in Venice, has 
 come down to us. These sermons furnish an important source 
 for the knowledge of the state of his religious opinions at that 
 time. It must, however, be borne in mind that they are sermons, 
 in which the intention of moral effect preponderates over the 
 intellectual, and that probably even then circumstances did not 
 permit him to give the full expression of his convictions from 
 the pulpit. 
 
 In arrangement, Ochino's sermons differ but little from others 
 of that time. Only they avoid the scholastic form, they are not 
 always founded on a biblical text ; from the first, his theme is 
 clearly emphasised, and then treated from a practical point of 
 view. We find a pause here and there ; a custom which still 
 holds among Italian preachers, f We often find in the midst, 
 a charitable appeal, now for the modest poor, now for a work 
 of public benevolence, now for poor monks or nuns, j for whom 
 he begs alms. Ochino is liberal of biblical quotations. He 
 gives them first in the Latin translation of the Vulgate, and 
 then literally translated or paraphrased into Italian. In this he 
 also follows the usual custom. 
 
 Ochino's sermons are not free from the faults of his time. Still 
 this did not influence his success, which proves, on the other hand, 
 that Ochino must have possessed the advantages of his con- 
 temporaries as regards delivery in no ordinary degree. There 
 is always a great difference between his sermons and the dreary 
 orations with a philosophic colouring, or those of theatrical Capu- 
 
 * Title, See Appendix 1. On the back of the title-page is a brief granted by Panl 
 III. in 1539, according the printer the sole privilege for the whole extent of the 
 papal dominion. 
 
 t In the 6th sermon, at the end of the introduction, he says : Ma purgatevi bene, 
 prestando grata udienza, et cominciareino. Here and there "ma riposiamci na 
 poco." 
 
 X In the same sermon : Vi raccomando le povere Monache di S. Maria di Grazia 
 fuora di Bressa, donne sante et di buone vita et in gran numero ; vi le recommando, 
 staranno alle porte.
 
 OCHINO AS A TREACHER. 39 
 
 china, IVmudo himself says of him, "How solemn and edifying, 
 how elevating and comforting his preaching ! " His style is popu- 
 lar, but never vulgar, sometimes full of passionate warmth, but 
 always rich in thoughts and images, and far removed from affected 
 pathos. It has the fault, also manifest in his later writings, of a 
 want of conciseness and completeness ; the throng of his thoughts 
 leads him on to parentheses and periods of excessive length. 
 The acute Poggio Bracciolini's censure of Bernardino of Siena, 
 is merited by Ochino also. We shall have occasion to refer 
 to this again, in discussing the third sermon of this collection. 
 We must represent to ourselves the whole weight of Ochino's 
 personality as an active factor, to appreciate the impression made 
 by his sermons. 
 
 The first of the nine sermons of the year 1539, delivered two 
 Sundays before Easter, deals with confession of sins and peni- 
 tence. Ochino is here opposed to the ecclesiastical institution 
 of confession, whose faults and abuses he fully recognises. He 
 does not inveigh against confession as such, but only against the 
 abuse committed by treating it mechanically. He explains the 
 idea which originated it, an idea which he strangely enough 
 deduces from, and confirms by, the authority of Plato. 
 
 "The Apostle Paul," begins Ochino, "distinguishes between 
 two kinds of men in his epistles, a carnal and a spiritual ; an 
 earthly and a heavenly; a natural and a godly. The one is 
 exactly opposed to the other. The carnal man, says Paul, does 
 not comprehend what is godly ; the spiritual man does not value 
 or rejoice in the things of this world, but only in those that are 
 godly and heavenly. He abhors and hates the things of this 
 world, in so far as they are not means to the honour and glory 
 of God. And thus the two men are opposed to one another, 
 inasmuch the one ever strives towards the things that are above 
 him, and the other to the things that are below, and an angry 
 strife is waged betwixt flesh and spirit, as Paul has likewise said : 
 ' But I see another law in my members, warring against the law 
 of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin.'
 
 40 BERNARDINO OCHINO. 
 
 When the soul is inflamed with Divine love, and would be one 
 with God, the material body revolts, and would remain on earth 
 with its wishes and inclinations. The soul sees Christ naked, and 
 therefore esteems riches of no account ; it sees Him scourged, 
 and therefore stands aloof from the pleasures of this world ; it 
 sees Him despised and mocked, and therefore it does not regard 
 or care for mortal glory and honour ; it seems Him abased, and 
 therefore does not strive to be elevated itself; it only desires one 
 thing, that in all things, and above all, honour be rendered to 
 God. But the false Christians have made to themselves a God 
 after their fashion, a worldly, rich, and pomp-loving God, and 
 do not wish that He should hang on a cross. And therefore it 
 must be shown what we should flee and what we should learn, 
 in order that we may love Christ, and ever warm and inflame 
 ourselves in love towards Him. But now let us pause a little 
 moment." 
 
 So far the introduction. Following the biblical word, it de- 
 velops in plain and clear thoughts a thoroughly original spirit. 
 In the following first division, Ochino refers to the necessity, 
 and the most effectual method of the confession of sins. 
 
 " And now, I pray, give me some attention. We would con- 
 vert this carnal man, and therefore thou must first confess thy 
 sins. The beginning of penance is the acknowledgment of sin. 
 If thou hast never acknowledged thy sins, thou canst feel no 
 grief concerning them, and therefore canst not regret them. For 
 if thou dost not know that thou hast fallen out of favour with 
 such or such a master, how then canst thou wish to be restored 
 to favour, how shouldst thou seek ways and means to retrieve 
 that thou hast lost ? But such self-knowledge is not sought by 
 those who only go to confession and communion from habit, or 
 to be held good Christians who do as others do, without the spirit 
 of the God and the perception of His presence, without the love 
 to God, that feels pain at having pained Him." 
 
 " Then there is another sort, who in these latter days (before 
 Easter) would wish to recall their sins more exactly, if only for
 
 OCIIIXO AS A PBEACHEB. 41 
 
 appearance sake. They take a confession-book and read it 
 through carefully several times, to remind themselves in this 
 wise of their sins. Another wishes to do better still, and learn i 
 the list of sins by heart, so that when he comes before his Father 
 Confessor, he can show himself a good Christian by repeating his 
 sins in succession, with certain humble expressions, that make 
 him appear a man that truly fears God. Thus a certain nun, 
 who desired to prove herself a true disciple of Christ, and began, 
 ■ Oh, Father Confessor, I acknowledge that of all others in the 
 convent I am the most haughty, the most careless, and most 
 ungodly,' and so forth, in expressions of exaggerated humility, so 
 that the wise and experienced father saw through her, and 
 answered, ' My daughter, I knew that before ; they have told me 
 that thou wast the haughtiest, most careless, ungodly of all in 
 the convent, and therefore surely thou art not worthy to bear 
 the dress of thy order.' Oh, how the nun flew at him. ' Father, 
 you are too credulous, it is not so bad.' And yet she had just 
 told him the same thing in her confession. That was wrong, 
 for we should tell the truth, neither more nor less. Not that I 
 would utterly condemn the confessional books, but I cannot 
 approve them. For oftentimes they make thee acquainted with 
 matters that before were hidden to thee. Thou hast a book of 
 thine own. If thou lookest through that and studiest it when 
 thou readest it again and again, it will enlighten thee and teach 
 thee, and tell thee what is good and bad ; I mean thine own 
 conscience. Act like unto the woman that lost a penny and 
 sought through the whole house until she found it. If thou dost 
 ransack thy conscience well, so wilt thou find all therein that 
 accuses thee, and that do thou acknowledge humbly, firmly con- 
 vinced, and avowing that whatsoever is good in thee is a gift 
 from God, and does not spring from thine own strength. That 
 is not pleasing to God, who resisteth the proud, but giveth grace 
 to the humble." 
 
 " All good cometh from God, and therefore the proud deceive 
 themselves, as God himself has shown us in Fxodus. He bade
 
 42 BERNARDINO OCHINO. 
 
 Closes stretch forth his hand, white and smooth as it was ; then 
 He commanded him to put his hand into his bosom, and then 
 draw it forth again, and behold, it was leprous. From this we 
 learn that even good works, if they only proceed from ourselves, 
 become defiled and leprous by reason of our sins." 
 
 " Yet another man relies upon himself and thinks : I know 
 that my actions are right, and that I could not will anything that 
 is against God's will. For this, also, Moses sets us an example. 
 He held a dry rod in his hand, cast it to earth, and it became a 
 serpent. Therefore consider, that under circumstances, thy good 
 actions may turn to serpents, because of thy pride, and all thy 
 other sins. Thirdly, God led Moses to a river that was clear and 
 clean, and bade him take of its water and sprinkle it upon the 
 land, and it became as blood. So it may seem to thee that thy 
 riches are honestly earned, but if thou examine carefully whence 
 thy property and all in thine house proceeds, thou mayst per- 
 chance discover that it comes from the blood of the poor, and 
 belongs to others, to whom thou must restore it." 
 
 " And yet another recounts his sins of pomp, vanity, and lust 
 in the confessional, with a glib tongue, and almost does as though 
 he prided himself thereon. The other sins that weigh on his 
 heart he says quite softly, so that the confessor can scarcely hear 
 them. That must not be. If confession is to bear fruit, and be 
 worthy a Christian, thou must search thy conscience carefully, 
 and probe thyself in deep humility. But because we live in such 
 darkness and uncertainty, we can scarcely recognise our misery, 
 and because 'opposita inter se posita magis elucescunt,' the 
 exactest and deepest avowal of sin consists in this, that we re- 
 gard Christ crucified for us in the mirror of pure faith and ardent 
 love. If thou beholdest thy image in Him, thou wilt recognise 
 thy darkness by His light, thy pride by His humility, thy iniquity 
 by His innocence, thy avarice by His generosity, thy presumption 
 by His meekness, thy ingratitude by His countless benefits ; in 
 brief, all virtues and all goodness shine forth in Christ, so filled 
 with love, all misery and sins are recognisable in thyself. Thus
 
 OCHINO AS A PREACH] 43 
 
 thou wilt arrive at a true and exact knowledge of thy faults, and 
 seek in thyself the guilt, since they proceed from thee. To re- 
 pent yet more sincerely, take a scale and lay on the one side 
 God's constant benefits to thee, on the other thy ingratitude ; on 
 the one side His great mercy, that pardons thee so many and so 
 many sins, on the other side thy insensibility ; on the one side 
 His willingness to accord thee His grace ; on the other side thy 
 stubbornness to continue in sin. Those are the scales that will 
 conduct thee to heaven. But the false Christians do not reflect 
 themselves in the crucified Christ ; they desire a Christ after 
 their mannner, rich, proud, and magnificent. But now let us 
 pause a little moment." 
 
 This brings Ochino to the close of his first head. He has 
 emphasised the need for careful self-investigation, and named the 
 contemplation of the crucified, and the comparison of our own 
 being with that of Christ, as the proper means towards this end. 
 It is characteristic that he uses a Latin scholastic formula, and 
 that his exposition of the passages he adduces from the Old 
 Testament is in conformity with the then prevalent allegoric 
 manner. But the whole process of thought is peculiar to him- 
 self ; and just for the reason that he draws from his own personal 
 Christian experience, and speaks with warmth and fire of that he 
 has himself lived through, his speech overcomes the conventional 
 formalism and becomes awakening and animated. 
 
 The second division of the sermon treats of repentance, called 
 forth by the self-consciousness of sin. Ochino draws a sharp 
 distinction between true remorse and the false, that is only rooted 
 in external things. 
 
 " There are some who bewail their sins in confession, not for 
 God's sake, not because they have offended Christ, but because 
 they think, ' I have committed this or that sin, therefore God 
 sends me this visitation,' and that pains them, and they weep 
 because of it. Alas, my beloved, that is not remorse, that is self- 
 love. Or again, another has been guilty of some sin that has put 
 him to public shame, and has lost his good name and position on
 
 44 BERNARDINO OCHINO. 
 
 account of it ; that pains him, and he is ashamed, because he is 
 no longer honoured as before, and therefore he regrets his sins. 
 But that too is not true lamentation, and does not suffice ; for he 
 is only lamenting his loss of reputation. A woman loves her 
 husband so boundlessly that she is deeply grieved for the shame 
 she has brought on him, and would do anything to undo her sin. 
 Alas, neither is that true repentance ; that is not a true, but a 
 mere sensual pain. Another grieves for fear of hell ; another 
 fears to lose paradise ; yet another, lest he be punished in this 
 world. All these are not the pangs of penitence, but those of 
 self-love." 
 
 "No, thou must feel pain because thou hast offended Christ, 
 who loved thee so dearly that He shed His own blood for thee, 
 and who would return yet a million times to redeem thee and 
 wash thee of thy sins. But of this thou dost not think. What 
 more could He do for thee than He has done ? for thee who hast 
 so often offended Him, and offendest Him still by pride, sacrilege, 
 and unchastity, by drinking and gambling, by so many grievous 
 sins that cry to heaven — so many sins, that truly I know not 
 how it will be possible that this poor Italy should not perish 
 utterly ! Truly it is needful that thou shouldst feel this pain for 
 Christ's sake, because thou hast offended all the goodness and 
 love He has shown to us, while we are so ungrateful for His 
 benefits ; it is needful that thou shouldst ever regard that living 
 mirror, even Christ, of which we spoke anon. If thou regardest 
 that with the living eye of the soul, thou wilt put off thy goods 
 and chattels and thy pride, and say with Paul, * I do count all 
 things but dung, that I may win Christ.' If thine eye is thus 
 clear thou wilt echo with Solomon, ' Vanity of vanities, all is 
 vanity ! ' Thy works will not make thee proud, for thou wilt 
 acknowledge that if God's grace did not sustain us we should do 
 that which is evil by our own strength. And therefore thou 
 wilt say with the Prophet Daniel, ' All have transgressed Thy 
 law.' Thou wilt not vaunt thine own virtues, but rather acknow- 
 ledge with Isaiah, ' All our righteousnesses are as filthy rags.'
 
 OCIIINO AS A PREACHER. 45 
 
 And take one who has all virtues, if they are not rooted in 
 charity, they are worth nothing, as Taul says, ' Though I speak 
 with the tongues of men and of angels,' &c. If we had all 
 virtues, yet without charity, they would be false, and, therefore, 
 St. John says, ' If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, 
 and the truth is not in us.' Thus we are all full of sin and 
 unrighteous.'" 
 
 The development of the leading idea of this portion is involved 
 towards the end by the accumulation of biblical quotations. But 
 the definition of sincere repentance is conceived in a deeply 
 Christian spirit, as grief for the interruption of the inner personal 
 relation of the individual to Christ, a grief that regards nothing 
 external, and causes sin to be abhorred, not because of its tang- 
 ible consequences, but because it is itself a disturbing and dis- 
 tracting power. Following the psychological development, the 
 third and fourth divisions deal with resolves for amendment, and 
 trust in God's boundless mercy. The division that follows these 
 and deals with good works is of a special interest in estimating 
 Ochino. 
 
 " It seems to me," he there says, " that in the darkness a small 
 candle in my hand gives more light then a large lamp behind 
 me; and I also think that a little penny which thou thyself 
 givest for thy soul, is more efficient than if thou wert to leave 
 all thou hast for that purpose after thy death. And for this 
 reason, if thou art in Paradise, thou dost not need it ; if thou art 
 in hell, no alms will redeem thee from thence. Thou wilt say, but 
 they can avail in purgatory. Be it so ; but if thou bestowest 
 them during thy lifetime in love and with a living faith, they 
 will even efface thy deadly sins and restore to thee the lost grace 
 of God, and that is the greatest good and the greatest benefit 
 which thou canst attain. Therefore, I recommend to you, as I 
 have been entreated to do, to give plentiful alms to the poor of 
 this city, who are ashamed to beg. That is a good deed, what 
 you give will be justly distributed, and better than you your- 
 selves could have done it.
 
 46 BERNARDINO OCHINO. 
 
 " But now I desire to preach to you about confession, but I 
 deemed this preparation very needful. However, we will add a 
 few words concerning confession — the remainder another time. 
 
 " I will not first prove to thee whether confession is a divine 
 or human institution ; I do not think that necessary, as I sup- 
 pose all who are here in the church are ready and resolved to 
 confess and obey the church. I say only one thing, St. Augustine 
 testifies that many years before the Lateran Council confession 
 already existed, as we find in the chapter ' Omnis,' * where we 
 are bidden to confess our sins at least once a-year. And I am of 
 opinion that it is a divine institution, and one of the divinest, 
 for without it how could the sinner judge himself. 
 
 " I will also tell you Plato's opinion. He holds that every 
 man should have a true and confidential friend to whom he 
 should reveal all his secrets, so that the friend when he sees a 
 fault in him, may reprove him and lead him to amend. From 
 this alone we may see that confession is absolutely necessary." 
 
 The above division is of very obvious importance for the re- 
 cognition of Ochino's religious opinions at that time. The stand- 
 point of the traditional ecclesiastical doctrine is already begin- 
 ning to be at variance with the convictions which had been 
 caused and confirmed in him by his own religious experiences, 
 and by the study of Scripture. At the commencement of his 
 sermon he pointed out the crucified Christ as the only mirror for 
 the recognition of our own weakness; the submission to the 
 ecclesiastical command of confession, which he here requires, 
 does not necessarily exclude the foregoing; but the addition, 
 " how could the sinner judge himself without confession ? " is at 
 variance. We must also notice what reasons Ochino gives for 
 the institution of confession. Besides the quotation from St. 
 
 * Cone. Lat. iv., can. 21 : " Omnis utriusque sexus fidelis postquam ad annos 
 discretionis pervenerit, omnia sua peccata fideliter saltern semel in anno confiteatiur 
 proprio sacerdoti." The dubious expression, "Omnis utrisque sexus fidelis," has 
 evoked the scorn of the Reformation over this barbarous Latin. Calvin Justit., iii. 
 4, 7 : "quod jubent, omnem utrisque sexus— faceti homines excipiunt, hoc praecepto 
 toneri solos hermaphroditas."
 
 OCHINO AS A PBEACHER, 47 
 
 Augustine (unaccompanied by any reference), he strangely enough 
 supports it by a dictum of a Greek philosopher, which, carefully 
 considered, entirely removes the ecclesiastical and hierarchical 
 character of confession. At the same time he avoids all polemics 
 against the ecclesiastical institution as such. It is therefore a 
 perfectly consistent development, when we find Ochiuo represent- 
 ing three years later, relying on this saying of Plato's, that the 
 origin of confession in the ancient Christian Church, as a most 
 natural one, but its subsequent extension as a product of egotism 
 and priestly ambition.* But although, in the year 1539, we 
 already find in Ochino the foundations of an opinion, which, un- 
 less he yielded himself blindly captive to the traditional system, 
 must necessarily lead him in time to break with this system, yet 
 in this sermon, and still more in a following one of the same 
 period, he takes his stand on the side of the Catholic doctrine. 
 
 The sermon properly closes with the foregoing, but there still 
 follows a detailed explanation of St. John, 8th chapter, 4C-59 
 verses, the lesson for the day. He draws]the following character- 
 istic conclusion from the last verse, " But Jesus hid himself and 
 went out of the Temple." 
 
 " What means it that Christ veils and hides Himself ? I think 
 He does it, and rightly so, that He may not see the abominations 
 of false Christians. To-day, when there are only fourteen days 
 until the Passion of our Lord, there is, as yet, no amendment to 
 be seen in you. It is your vanity, your pride, which forces 
 Christ to hide Himself; it is your taverns where all sins find 
 foot and shelter. Oh, how must they have seemed in the Car- 
 nival ? It was for this that Christ hid Himself, and left the 
 Temple. Now, go to Pome, to the Chancery and the Peniten- 
 tiary, and there thou wilt also find that Christ hid Himself, and 
 left the Temple. Go to the dwellings of loose women in that 
 town, — perhaps ten or twelve thousand in number, — even so 
 many hells, where souls are robbed, murdered, and deprived of 
 God's grace ; there thou wilt find that Christ hid Himself, and 
 
 * Compare Prediche di Bernardino Ochino. Basil i. 14 ; appendix, n. 27.
 
 48 BERNARDINO OCHINO. 
 
 left the Temple. Go throughout poor Italy, and thou wilt find 
 how many have perished in thirty or forty years in "battle, for no 
 fault of their own ; how many poor widows and orphans are left ; 
 how many cities have been destroyed ; how many castles levelled 
 to the ground ; how many souls plunged into the pit of hell, which 
 have never once thought of Christ; therefore hath Christ hid 
 Himself, and left the Temple. 
 
 " But thou, Venice, my city, I speak not of myself, but of so 
 many other preachers in this city, who do not, as formerly, preach 
 philosophy and fables, but rather the Word of God, the living 
 and true Christ, salvation and amendment; yet thou still re- 
 mainest as thou wast ; and, for myself, I have striven to lead 
 thee to salvation with such sincerity, devotion, and love, with so 
 many pains and vigils, perhaps without the slightest result. 
 Yet I still hope to see good and sincere Christians, and firmly 
 believe that you will revive to a better life of goodness and sin- 
 cerity. But if you will not reform, I tell you this beforehand, 
 and declare it, that on the day of the last judgment, I will be 
 the one to testify to Christ against you. And all the souls on 
 the left hand, who have not had the opportunity which you have 
 had to reform, will do the same, and therefore I exhort you, and 
 beg you, in the name of Christ, that you endeavour, during these 
 last days, to lead a less luxurious life, and do penance in quickening 
 love, and in the firm resolve to offend Christ no more, as far as 
 in you lies, and though it might cost your life a thousand times. 
 Eeform your old life, and lead a new one, for I testify to you, if 
 you will not be Nineveh, you will be Sodom ; and therefore pre- 
 pare yourselves and strive to amend. May God grant you His 
 grace. Amen." 
 
 These are the words of a prophet who denounces his people for 
 their sins, but, at the same time, raises and comforts them. 
 Where entreaties and fatherly admonitions are of no avail, he 
 shows anger and indignation. A fervent man can only speak 
 thus, when he is not merely impressed by the sanctity of his mis- 
 sion, but is also convinced of the full confidence of his auditors,
 
 OCIIINO AS A PREACHER. 49 
 
 and the decisive influence which his personality has upon 
 them. 
 
 The second sermon of the year 1539 was held on 25th March, 
 the day of the Annunciation. It treats of the incarnation of 
 Christ, its meaning and necessity. Of Christ as the fulfiller of 
 the ancient covenant, he says, " He did not come to save eight 
 souls in the ark, but to redeem mankind. He came, not to free 
 us from Pharaoh's bondage, but Satan's; not to deliver us out of 
 Egypt, but out of the hands of Lucifer. He came, not to over- 
 whelm our enemies in the Eecl Sea, but to drown our sins in His 
 blood. He came, not to precede us in a pillar of fire, but to lead 
 us in His own person. He came, not to strike water from the 
 rock, but to open the hearts of .men by the fulness of His love. 
 ' He came, not to lead us to a distant promised land, but to shelter 
 us at His own bosom. He came, not to build for us a Jerusalem, 
 but to make us heirs of heavenly glory. And, therefore, beloved 
 soul, let us acknowledge and rest assured that the greatest benefit 
 and gift God could confer upon us is the incarnation of Christ." 
 
 In this exposition, with its accumulated antitheses, the alle- 
 goric interpretation, bound up for centuries with the exposition 
 of Scripture, finds expression. 
 
 The third sermon endeavours to prove the necessity for Christ's 
 crucifixion, and its saving power. Concerning the special cause 
 for Christ's death, the persecutions of the pharisaical party, who 
 attained their purpose by His crucifixion, it cannot be overlooked 
 that Ochino allots a disproportionate space in his sermon to the 
 development of the antagonistic opinion. He speaks of it in 
 great detail, and seeks to find its reason before he proceeds to 
 confute it. Such passages remind us of Poggio Bracciolini's 
 judgment of a fellow-countryman : " he blames errors in such a 
 manner that it appears as though he would defend and propagate 
 them." It is a way of treating vexed questions that we shall 
 encounter again later in Ochino. In the evening of life this 
 habit, handled in an exaggerated spirit, brought much sorrow 
 upon him, by causing and provoking misunderstandings. With
 
 50 BEKNAKDINO OCHINO. 
 
 a keen dialectic faculty, and endowed with unusual capability of 
 following foreign trains of thought and opinions, Ochino does not 
 immediately present the finished conclusion, but lets his auditors 
 take part in its development. Thus, in the present instance, he 
 seems to defend the maxim of the Pharisees : " It is better that 
 one man die than that a whole people perish;" and refers it to 
 the crucifixion in such a manner, that it needs the whole weight 
 of the following opposing chain of reasoning to prove the falsity 
 of this maxim, and efface its impression from the minds of his 
 auditors. 
 
 In the same sermon (F. 23, b.), delivered a few days after the 
 first, he once more addresses the inhabitants of Venice. " It 
 grieves me, my city, that thou wilt not quit thy evil ways. I 
 implore Christ for thee with tears, because I love thee from my 
 heart. But I see myself forced to tell you this, that, if you do 
 not mend, I do not truly know what is to come of it. I must 
 depart after Easter, perhaps on the last day of Easter week, and if 
 evil befalls you, it will grieve my heart. For it seems to me you 
 are the model for all Italy. If I look about me, I see no town, 
 no city in Italy not engulpbed in confusion and strife. Your city 
 alone stands upright, and therefore it would grieve me deeply if 
 it should go ill with you. It seems to me as if thou, Venice, 
 representest my native city, ay, all Italy." 
 
 Ochino is far removed from being a political preacher, but as 
 here, so on other occasions, his patriotic grief over the sad con- 
 fusion of public affairs in Italy finds vent. 
 
 On the following day Ochino again entered the pulpit. In 
 continuation of his last sermon, he spoke of the position every 
 individual had to take with regard to Christ's crucifixion. It is 
 not only a false position to regard Christ's death as a folly or a 
 stumbling-block, but also to view it merely as an historical fact, 
 whose details are perused with curiosity, without finding comfort 
 and strength in the contemplation. Neither is it right to degrade 
 it to superstitious uses, as some do, who carry an amulet inscribed 
 with the history of Christ's sufferings and death, and think that
 
 OCITINO AS A PREACHER. 51 
 
 will procure them salvation. " We only assume the right atti- 
 tude towards Christ's death," he continues, "when we regard 
 3 1 i in in His sufferings as an example, ever remembering that we 
 are partakers in the guilt because of our sins." 
 
 The fifth sermon treats of the Lord's Supper. After recounting 
 the history of its institution in detail, he remarks emphatically 
 that partaking of the sacrament from mere habit, or complianee 
 with the precepts of the Church is a practice not only destitute of 
 moral value, hut actually dangerous. It should be received in 
 thankful consciousness, that the holy meal is a token of remem- 
 brance of Christ's death, as well as a pledge of our salvation, and 
 that careful preparation should precede it. 
 
 On this occasion Ochino also touches on the doctrine of tran- 
 substantiation. In the passage in question, a long exposition in 
 the following sermon is of eminent importance with regard to 
 Ochino's position, at the time, towards certain capital dogmas and 
 institutions of the Catholic Church. 
 
 " It might," he says, " be objected, How can you prove that the 
 body of Christ is concealed under this shape ? How could I 
 prove it ! And if I could prove it a thousand times, yet I could 
 not prove it to you, since we are compelled to believe it, whether 
 we wish or no. Crcde ct manducasti, believe and thou shalt eat. 
 Whosoever lias not faith, it avails him little, and he sins in par- 
 taking. And, further, know ye not, ' fides non habet meritum, 
 ubi humana ratio praebet experimentum,' ' faith is without merit, 
 when human reason can furnish the proof.' " 
 
 In the same manner as Ochino here speaks of transubstantia- 
 tion, he deals, in his sixth sermon, with confession, fasting, papal 
 authority, good works, and purgatory. lie points out the gradual 
 evolution that evinced itself in the natural law as condemnation, 
 in the Mosaic as preparation, and in the covenant of the Xew 
 Testament as fulfilment, and he then, for the first time in his 
 nine sermons, addresses himself directly and pointedly to the 
 " heretics." 
 
 " There are so many heretics who say we need not obey the
 
 52 BERNARDINO OCHINO. 
 
 commandments of the Church. Very well — they say next we 
 need not confess. But if I ask them, does that person do ill, who, 
 filled with sorrow for his sin, and craving to rid himself thereof, 
 confesses to another, they are forced to reply, No. It is therefore 
 safer to confess, than not to confess, even if it were not an im- 
 posed duty. Furthermore, they say : We do not need to fast. 
 But if I ask them, does he do ill who fasts in order to subdue his 
 body that it may not resist the soul, longing to repent of its sins, 
 they are forced to reply, No. It is therefore safer and better to 
 fast. Then they say : it is not needful to obey the Pope. Even 
 were this not the case, we should have to follow him when he 
 pronounces Christian, wholesome, and good laws, as we should 
 every government, so long as their ordinances are not contrary to 
 God and our salvation. In the same manner we obey the Pope, 
 whom Christ has instituted as His vicar on earth, only not when 
 in sin. Others say, we need do no good works, because faith 
 alone, and not works, bring us to salvation. In any case it is 
 safer to do good works. Finally they say : There is no purgatory, 
 because no reference to it can be found in Holy Scripture ; I say, 
 reference can be found, even if it is not distinctly stated. Many 
 things are not distinctly stated in Scripture, that yet do exist ; 
 and in any case our opponents should prove by Scripture that 
 purgatory does not exist (!) They say a thousand other follies, 
 that only proceed from the pride, arrogance, and selfishness of 
 their hearts." 
 
 These deductions draw a sharp boundary line between Ochino 
 and the "heretics," regarding the most important Church 
 doctrines. And yet it is just on these points that the editor of 
 Mambrin's Compendium of Neapolitan history,* accuses Ochino of 
 heresy in his sermons preached at Naples, in the years 1536 and 
 1539. He says : " His sermons, and more especially those of 
 1539, were of that kind, that they were filled with double mean- 
 ings and hidden heresy, to the great hurt and offence of his 
 
 * Compendio dell' Istoria del Regno di Napoli di Mambrin Eoseo da Fabriano. 
 Ed. Tommaso Costa. Ven. 1591, fol. 152, b.
 
 OCHINO AS A PBEACHEB. 53 
 
 listeners, even of the simplest, and instilled doubts and scruple in 
 the power of the Pope, and concerning faith and purgatory, and 
 
 other important doctrines." If this impression was made, it was 
 certainly not duo to Ochino's intention, hut rather lay in the very 
 constitution of these traditional doctrines and customs, for which 
 no biblical proof can be adduced. When Ochino saw himself 
 confronted with such teachings, he placed himself on the stand- 
 point of tradition. He even goes further, and demands obedience 
 to their dictates. Indeed, he is so far removed from the wish to 
 uproot them, that he rather brings to prominent light the just 
 and Christian purposes that underlie them, and warns against 
 superstition, misuse, and self-deception in their observance. The 
 charge brought against him by Tommaso Casto, has been ex- 
 tolled by many, and repeated by others. Ochino's subsequent 
 secession from the Romish Church, was too important and grave 
 an event, that endeavours should not have been made to seek 
 evidences of heresy in past events, even at the expense of truth. 
 
 The seventh sermon, delivered at Venice, on Easter Monday, 
 deals with the lesson for the day, the narrative of the disciples 
 at Emmaus, and furnishes curious examples of the current 
 allegoric form of exposition. Ochino sees in the two disciples 
 wandering towards Emmaus, the prototype of those " who have 
 lost Christ, and are now leaving the holy city to seek any little 
 village in the world." In the circumstance that Christ " broke 
 the bread," he sees a warning that we should not rest satisfied 
 with a superficial contemplation of nature, of the study of the 
 Word, of meditation concerning Christ's mission, but should "break 
 the bread," i.e., penetrate into the depths of almighty goodness 
 and grace. 
 
 The eighth sermon fell on the day of Mary Magdalene, and does 
 not therefore belong to the series of Passion sermons. It furnishes 
 a detailed account of the evangelical history of the fair sinner, 
 and deduces the thought that true contentment does not spring from 
 the gratification of sensual desires, nor from the abundance of 
 knowledge, nor from religious revival and emotion, perchance but
 
 54 BERNAEDINO OCHINO. 
 
 transitory, but solely from grateful, unconditional surrender to 
 the pardoning mercy of God. 
 
 The last of the Venetian sermons is of a curious character. It 
 was addressed to the pupils of an ecclesiastical college, and fell 
 on the day of St. Nicholas, the patron saint of the scholars. It is 
 headed with the words of St. Paul (1 Cor. ii. 2). 
 
 Ochino begins by speaking of the innate desire that urges men 
 to learn and investigate, proving its power partly by the precepts, 
 partly by the examples of the philosophers of antiquity. He 
 briefly sketches Aristotle's doctrine of perception, and Plato's 
 ideal theories, and deduces thenee the conclusion, that human 
 wisdom and perception are nothing, if they are without Christ. 
 He continues the same argument, speaking of human jurispru- 
 dence and human theology. This exhausts the trivium of 
 mediaeval education. Of " human theology," Ochino says that it 
 has invented so many distinctions, so many evidences, so many 
 questions, so many tropes, so much confusion, and so many 
 fallacies, that it darkens truth ; and the theology of Christ, the 
 sole spring of true knowledge, has been abandoned. They 
 haughtily reject the bread of Christ, the gospel has to submit to 
 juxtaposition with the metaphysic of Scotus. One follows Egidius, 
 the other Ockham, and ever so many other theologians, who, with 
 all their learning, cannot bring you to the only truth without 
 Christ. Speaking of the cultus of Aristotle, in the philosophic 
 schools of his time, Ochino says : " His commentator, Averroes, 
 writes, there never was one like to him on earth, no one ever 
 strove like he to scrutinise the human soul. And yet he was un- 
 able to proceed by natural light, and to discover the end of the 
 soul, not even whether it was mortal or immortal. Nevertheless, 
 men have more faith nowadays in him, than in Christ. Modern 
 wisdom has become imbued with Aristotle, and treads Christ 
 beneath its feet. In like manner," continues Ochino, " the liberal 
 arts of the quadrivium are without value, without living power, 
 as mere shadows, lacking Christ. The only book that makes us 
 rich in true wisdom, is Christ. But you must concentrate your
 
 OCHINO AS A rREACIIKi:. 5o 
 
 soul upon it earnestly, ardently, to find this precious pearl ; you 
 must incline your head humhly, and cast oil all pride, all con- 
 fidence in your own strength. If the disciples of Pythagoras had 
 to be constant, firm, and sincere, in order to attain the knowledge 
 of their master, in what a higher degree must the disciples of 
 Christ be faithful and constant, sincere and earnest, to receive 
 the doctrine of His love.' ' Christ, the way, will lead you to all 
 truth.' If you would learn peace of soul from this book, reflect 
 yourselves in Christ ; then it will be again evident to you, that 
 He had to die for your sins — and no science can teach that. 
 Through Christ you enter the infallible gate, you recognise the 
 wisdom, might, and justice of God, but also His mercy, long- 
 suffering and love. In the Temple you see Christ disputing, 
 and learn all knowledge from him ; you hear Him speak, and 
 become a good orator yourself ; you see Him in humble goodness 
 abasing Himself to wash the feet of His disciples, even the betrayer's, 
 and all hate and ill-will falls off from you. If but the princes of 
 this world would read in this book, they would abandon all tyranny 
 and robbery, and if you would but do the same, you w r ould put 
 aside all sinful lusts, all detestable failings, and labour in pursuit 
 of every virtue."
 
 CHAPTEE III. 
 
 CHANGE OF OPINIONS. 
 
 Attempts at Kefonn -within the Catholic Church — The oratory of Divine love at 
 Rome — The Circle at Naples — Valdez ; Vermigli ; the other members — The 
 Doctrine of Justification — Influences without the Circle — Valdez' influence on 
 Ochino — First denunciation and interdiction to preach, 1536 — The Theatines 
 denounce Ochino, 1539 — The Seven Dialogues — Boverio concerning Ochino's 
 "Apostasy" — Ochino's own views with regard to his change^ of opinions — 
 " Three truths." 
 
 When Ochino was re-elected Vicar-General of his order, at 
 Naples, in 1541, he hesitated in accepting the dignity. He 
 escaped from the Chapter-house, and for a long while his friends 
 nrged him in vain to acquiesce. At length Bernard of Asti, who 
 came to him with the Definitors, succeeded in gaining his assent. 
 JSTo objections to the election were raised in Eome, but Ochino 
 himself may have felt that the further development of his 
 religious opinions, on the one hand, and a reaction, which began 
 to show itself in the bosom of the Eomish Church, on the other, 
 would not permit him to retain this office for any length of time. 
 Up to the last ten years, there had been sufficient foundation for 
 the hope of an inner and outer reform of the Catholic Church, in 
 the evangelical sense. The attempts made in this direction by 
 order of the stern Pope Hadrian VI., and even of the vacillating 
 Clement VII., had certainly been vain. But Paul III., soon after 
 his accession (1536), had gathered round him a number of 
 excellent prelates, distinguished by their culture and decision of 
 character, and expressly commissioned them to prepare the way 
 for fundamental reforms in the Church. Such men as Contarini,
 
 CHANGE OF OHNIONS. 57 
 
 Caraffa, Sadoleto, and Pole, had subscribed the report of 1537. 
 It is said to have been drawn up by < !araffa.*f" This would have 
 been a decisive turning point, possibly for the whole future, if 
 Paul 111. himself had been in earnest in his reforms. He excused 
 himself towards the reform commission, which he himself had 
 instituted, alleging the difficulty of reforming the Curia. The 
 reform commissioners had made this the first condition of reform, 
 and the Pope pointed to the cry of triumph that would be raised 
 by the Protestants, who, through an indiscretion, had become 
 acquainted with the report as early as 1537. These were the 
 same tactics as he had observed towards the Emperor, alleging 
 the confused state of politics, when pressed to assemble the 
 council that had been so often announced. It is not surprising 
 that Caraffa now entirely altered his plans and his position. A 
 mind of such indomitable strength of purpose, defiant, astute, 
 wedded to the sole aspiration of reconquering for the Church her 
 ancient authority, knows how to find the way. If the desired 
 reform had failed, a violent reaction still remained as a final 
 resource, but before Caraffa had helped it to victory, an event 
 occurred which might have been of decisive importance in the 
 reform of the Church and her relations to the Protestants. This 
 was the diet of Eatisbon. If this report of the nine dignitaries 
 w T as the last official attempt at an internal reform of the Church, 
 before the Council of Trent, the conference of Eatisbon (1541) 
 was the last attempt at a pacific understanding with the Protest- 
 ants. The report was suffered to moulder among the Eoman 
 archives, and Caraffa and his now all-powerful party, no longer 
 sought any result from the conference. The noble Contarini had 
 been sent to Eatisbon, in order to remove him from Eome ; but 
 in spite of the extensive power vested in him, the Curia rejected 
 all the Legate's arrangements in dread lest the Emperor's hands 
 should be dangerously strengthened by a reconciliation with the 
 Protestants. The Legate was pursued at Eome by shameful 
 
 * It is the before named Consilium do Emendanda Ecclesia, Rome, 1537. 
 t Caraffa's biographer, Caraccioli, states this, Vita di Parlo IV. MS.
 
 58 BERNARDINO OCHINO. 
 
 calumnies. It was said he had been bribed, and had sold himself 
 to the Lutherans. His opponents, especially the cardinals of S. 
 Marcello and Caraffa laboured successfully to make his return to 
 Eome impossible. All these machinations took place in Rome at 
 the same time as the Capuchins at Naples were offering for a 
 second time the dignity of Vicar-General to their great orator. 
 
 Various reasons have been assigned for Ochino's hesitation to 
 accept the office. Some see in it a desire to hide his ambition. 
 It is to this day a favourite piece of ecclesiastical tactics, to attribute 
 a change of opinion to the base motive of unsatisfied ambition. 
 But Ochino had reached the highest dignity of the order, and surely 
 his mode of life at this time must have shown the groundlessness 
 of this accusation. Others, and to these the annalist of the order 
 seems to belong, consider his hesitation "asa residue of shame 
 in the soul of a man, already tainted with the poison of heresy, 
 and in whom this great honour causes no satisfaction, but rather 
 disgust." Such a judgment plainly is in so far correct, as it ac- 
 knowledges that the change was already working, that absolutely 
 forced Ochino to pursue another road than that which was consist- 
 ent with the position of General. We are not without the means of 
 tracing this change in Ochino. In order to consider this in con- 
 nection with the spiritual movement of the time, it is advisable 
 to turn our attention to a number of attempts at reform within 
 the Catholic Church in Italy, during the first half of the sixteenth 
 century. 
 
 The demand for reform was not new, " it is as old as the 
 Church," certainly as old as the temporal power of the Church; 
 although often suppressed by force, it has always revived, and 
 through whole centuries we see the noblest men joining in the 
 aspiration of St. Bernard, " Oh that I might, before my death, see 
 the Church of Christ as it was of old." * The councils, especially 
 those of Basle and Constance, had proved themselves incapable 
 of accomplishing this reform. At length it forced its way in 
 Germany, and almost at the same time a number of endeavours 
 
 * S. Bernardi ep. 238, ad papam Eugenium III.
 
 CHANGE OF OPINIONS. 59 
 
 at peaceful reform arose within the Church itself in Italy. 
 Attempts of private individuals, indeed, but in the right place in 
 so far as they strove to realize CaraflVs motto, "to let judgment 
 begin at home." None of these attempts has so well founded a 
 claim on our sympathy, as that of a circle of fifty or sixty pious 
 men, who met in liome under Leo X., as the " Oratory of Divine 
 Love." Among these were representatives of the spiritual and 
 temporal classes, distinguished by learning and virtue; a Con- 
 tarini, Giberti, Sadoleto, Bonafazio de Colle, Paolo Consigliero, 
 Latinio Giovenale, Luigi Lippomano, Giuliano Dati, and also 
 Caraffa. They founded their union on the idea that the amend- 
 ment of the Church must be built upon the amendment and 
 religious renovation of the individual, as also of the members of 
 the spiritual order. They were ready to do as much as lay in 
 their power. It was natural that the members of this oratory, 
 most of whom were servants of the Catholic Church, should 
 strive after a religious renewal in the recognised expressions of 
 religious feeling in their communion. They pledged themselves 
 to visit the churches more diligently, to pray more frequently at 
 sacred spots, to celebrate mass more regularly, in short, to all 
 actions by which Catholicism seeks to awaken and foster the 
 religious sentiment. This " oratory of divine love " was founded 
 in 1523 in Dati's rectory, near to the little church of S. Dorotea 
 in Trastevere, on the incline of the Janiculum, not far from the 
 spot where pious tradition places the martyrdom of St. Peter.* 
 It found imitators in other cities of Italy, even as far north as 
 
 * The church and rectory of S. Dorotea passed into the hands of the Conventuals 
 in the last century. They have dedicated a tablet to the memory of Giuliano I >ati, 
 which mentions the founding of the oratory, and enumerates its most distinguished 
 members. They have also preserved a memorial stone of that period, and set it up 
 in the lowest story of the rectory. The stone is cut in the form of an antiqui 
 sacrificial altar, and bears on one side the inscription, " Julianus de Dathis Pceniten- 
 tiarius et Hector " ; on the other, "I). l>. M. Divo Silvestro ac Divae Dorotheae 
 (sic) manibns Laribusque avitis sacrum an (no) jubilei." The jubilee year is clearly 
 that of 1525. This remarkable stone furnishes by its form and inscription a strik- 
 ing proof of how deeply the classic Pagan reminiscences had penetrated into the 
 opinions of that time. A pious penitentiary and rector dedicates to the manes of 
 the fathers and two saints a sacrificial altar.
 
 60 BERNARDINO OCHINO. 
 
 Verona, and gained unsought the public approbation of Hadrian 
 VI. 
 
 The Oratory of Divine Love, established as a reaction against 
 the pagan and worldly ideas and mode of life that were gaining the 
 upper hand in Eome, did not survive the storms of the capture 
 and sack of the city in 1527. Some of the dispersed members 
 of the Eoman community re-appear some time after in Venice ; a 
 city which, unaffected by the storms of the war, offered almost 
 the only place of refuge in Italy. We are not informed whether 
 Caraffa, Contarini, Priuli, Pole, or the Florentine fugitives, among 
 whom was Antonio Brucioli, the translator of the Bible, joined 
 in a similar manner to re-institute an oratory like that of Borne. 
 Yet during Caraffa's Venetian sojourn, new doctrines, if not 
 attempts at reform, developed in that city and in the towns of 
 its dominions. A letter written to Clement VII. in 1532, and 
 the Compendium of the Inquisitors, consulted by the biographer 
 of Caraffa, furnish information concerning the movement.* In- 
 deed this part of Italy has lately been able to boast that the 
 foundation of the whole reformatory movement, the doctrine of 
 justification, was set forth by one of its countrymen, Pietro 
 Citadelia, in a thoroughly Protestant sense, five years before 
 Luther nailed his theses on the door of the castle church of 
 "Wittenberg.-f- 
 
 A community with similar endeavours to the Oratory of Divine 
 Love in Bome, actuated by the same fundamental ideas, with the 
 same goal before their eyes, existed about 1535 at Naples, but 
 there was a marked difference between them. In Bome it was 
 the priests and spiritual dignitaries who stamped it with their 
 unmistakeable seal ; they were far from seeking to investigate 
 the doctrines and institutions of their Church, much less to 
 examine their authority. In Naples it was the same earnest 
 
 * Both in the Vita di Paolo iv. MS. 
 
 t Compare Atti dell' Instituto di Scienze ed Arti in Padova, April 1869. The 
 work of Pietro Citadelia was found in Venice 1869, and was composed, according to 
 the assertion of the author, in 1512.
 
 CHANGE OF OPINIONS. Gl 
 
 spirit seeking absorption in the Christian life ; but a purer per- 
 ception i f Christian truths, founded on Holy Scripture, was also 
 sou-iit by the like-minded men of all classes, and, to the surprise 
 of their contemporaries, even by noble ladies. 
 
 More recent Catholic historians have assumed that Protestant 
 doctrines were first brought into the kingdom of Naples by the 
 German " Landsknechte," who crowded to the south after the 
 sack of Eome in 1527, to raise the siege of Naples, then hard 
 pressed by Lautrec. The assumption is scarcely credible. Who- 
 ever only evinces his Protestantism by mocking the institutions 
 of the Catholic Church, like those wild hordes in Home by mis- 
 g its votaries and profaning its most sacred rites, will make 
 no religious propaganda, even if, which is hardly probable, he 
 should be master of the language. The only thing this unfor- 
 tunate country could learn from the "Landsknechte" was a 
 contempt for ecclesiastical things, and that it did not need to 
 learn. Whether there is any foundation for this allegation, or 
 whether it was only invented to bring the anti-catholic movement 
 in Naples into discredit by tracing it to such a questionable source, 
 it is certain that the first vestiges of evangelical opinions are not 
 found till ten years later. On February 4th, 1536, Charles V., 
 who was staying for a short time at Naples on his Tunisian 
 expedition, published an edict strictly forbidding intercourse 
 with "heretics," under pain of death and confiscation of goods. 
 
 At that time there was in Naples a Spanish nobleman from 
 CuenQ.a in Castille, whose activity, during many years in the 
 Eeformatory movement, proved of the greatest importance 
 throughout Italy. This was Juan Valdez. It is uncertain 
 whether he was a lawyer, as has been stated, and secretary in 
 the service of the viceroy Don Pedro de Toledo. This much is 
 certain, that he never occupied any spiritual office. A con- 
 temporary has well depicted him as "a noble knight by the 
 grace of Caesar, but a more noble knight by the grace of Christ." * 
 
 * "Cavalliere di Cesare, ma phi honorato e splendido Cavalliere di Christo. 
 Curione, Pasquillus ecstaticus. Geneva 1514, p. 35. Also in the preface to the 
 " Cento e died considerazioni of Valdez." Basle 1550.
 
 62 BERNARDINO OCHINO. 
 
 Everything united in him to insure him an irresistible personal 
 influence; his pale, delicately-cut countenance, "in which was 
 reflected the invisible world, in the contemplation of which he 
 was immersed ; " his frail body, that seemed only to live at the 
 behest of his potent spirit ; his courtly bearing ; the charm of 
 his speech ; and the spotless purity of his life in a dissolute age. 
 Curione says " he seemed appointed by God as a teacher of noble 
 and distinguished men, although he was so good that he served 
 even the humblest and least cultivated with his endowments, 
 and was all things to all men, to gain all for Christ." 
 
 The above-named community of like-minded men soon gathered 
 round him. Intellectual, highly-gifted women belonged to it. 
 Among them Vittoria Colonna, who came over from Ischia, her 
 sister-in-law, Julia Gonzaga, Duchess of Trajetto, the most lovely 
 woman of her time, Costanza d' Avalos, Duchess of Amalfi, and 
 Isabella Manriquez, who, although the sister of a cardinal, after- 
 wards fled across the Alps for her religion's sake. With these 
 was associated an elect band of men, distinguished by adversity 
 of gifts and variety of social position, differing in inclination and 
 character ; but all impelled by the one desire to attain a purer 
 conception of Christianity, and a more perfect representation of 
 it in their own lives. 
 
 Along with Valdez, Vermigli formed the centre of this circle. 
 Pietro Martire Vermigli, a Florentine of noble family, was born 
 in 1500. He was a youth of serious thoughtful nature, who 
 early sought the retirement of the cloister. His father was so 
 strongly opposed to this step, that he threatened to disinherit 
 his only son. In spite of this Pietro entered the Augustinian 
 convent at Fiesole in 1516, and only quitted it to complete his 
 learned education at Padua. The preaching of the young monk 
 attracted as much attention in exterior circles as his extensive 
 knowledge within the order itself. Before his thirtieth year, he 
 was made Abbot of Spoleto, and Eeformator of the Order, and in 
 the exercise of this difficult office he distinguished himself by 
 energetic action, and keen insight, as much as by his classic and
 
 CHANGE of OPINIONS. 03 
 
 theological learning.* Vermigli seemed destined for the highest 
 honours. After filling the office at Spoleto for three years, the 
 chiefs of the order named him Trior of the great Convent of S. 
 Pietro ad Arum at Naples. There he remained until, by the death 
 of Valdez, the community of evangelicals lost their moving spirit. 
 
 In that community at Naples, there were other men who 
 occupied a place in the history of Italian reformation. Giovanni 
 Mollio, a Minorite from Montalcino, who had been expelled from 
 Bologna, although there was no direct proof that he had taught any 
 heresy, was at that time lector and preacher at S. Lorenzo in 
 Naples. lie was afterwards imprisoned and executed by the 
 Inquisition. Benedetto F. Gusano, a Paduan fellow student of 
 Vermigli's, who came to Naples before his friend, and introduced 
 him to that community. Lattantio Bagnone, Ochino's country- 
 men who shared his views. Don Benedetto da Mantova, the 
 author of the excellent tractate " Of the Benefits of Christ's 
 Death." -f- The papal Protonotary, Pietro Carnesecchi, another 
 noble Florentine, destined to be a martyr for the evangelicals 
 before the Inquisition. He had been acquainted with Valdez 
 in Piome during Clement the Seventh's reign. " It was at Naples, 
 however, that I learnt to know him as a theologian," he said, 
 when examined by the Inquisition. 
 
 " Our fleshly friendship grew into a spiritual bond, for all his 
 thoughts and deeds were merged in the study of Holy Scripture 
 and a Christian life. But what attracted me to him, and won 
 my whole confidence, was the circumstance that Bernardino 
 Ochino, who was at that time preaching to admiring crowds, 
 held him in such high esteem."^: Besides the above named there 
 were of the community Giulio da Milano, whom we shall soon 
 meet again in Venice, Giacopo Bonfadio, and Marco Antonio 
 
 * " II Rev m0 Contareno dice miracoli delta dottrina theologica et altre di Den 
 Pietro Martyre," is written in a Roman document of 1540. Compare Liimmer 
 Monumenta Vaticana, Freiburg 1S61, m. 1S4. 
 
 f Concerning the question of the author of this tractate, refer to my exposition 
 of this work in "Revista Cristiaua," Florence 1876, book i. ; also the Letters of 
 Jules Bonnet and Professor da seva, idem, book 3. 
 
 t Estr. del Proc. 51 f.
 
 64 BEKNAKDINO OCHINO. 
 
 Flaminio, the thoughtful friend of Paleario and Carnesecchi, a 
 gentle poetic nature, not unlike the rich youth in the Gospel, 
 who offers to sacrifice all in his enthusiasm and yet shrinks from 
 the decisive deed. Flaminio was the representative of a whole 
 class; the large majority of his noble countrymen recognised 
 the necessity for a thorough ecclesiastical reform in life and 
 doctrine, but allowed themselves to be diverted by numerous 
 personal considerations from openly assuming a clear and decided 
 place in the religious movement. All looked for a leader, but 
 none appeared. Valdez was least of all inclined to promulgate 
 the movement without. The fruit was not yet ripe. Ere it 
 could mature, the bloody hand of the Inquisition had plucked it. 
 Ochino entered into this Neapolitan community. He belonged 
 to it till 1541 ; although often called away by the duties of his 
 profession, he always gladly returned to their meetings, which 
 were sometimes held on the lovely island of Ischia, in the 
 country house of Yittoria Colonna ; sometimes at Naples ; some- 
 times at Caserta. The members sorrowfully recalled these happy 
 hours in later days. " It seems to me," writes Bonfadio, from the 
 shores of Lake Garda, to Carnesecchi, " as if I could hear you 
 sigh for the Chiaja and Posilippo. Florence, we must admit, is 
 a splendid city, but it has not the charm of Naples, its site, its 
 shores, its eternal spring. It seems as if nature swayed an un- 
 disputed sceptre there, rejoicing and smiling in her far-spreading 
 glory. Oh that we were now standing at the windows of the 
 tower we vaunted so often, when we surveyed the lovely gardens, 
 and the wide bosom of the smiling sea." * The Holy Scriptures 
 were read and discussed in this community. Valdez expounded 
 the Psalms and the Epistles of St. Paul. His comprehensive 
 expositions of the Epistle to the Eomans, and the First Epistle 
 to the Corinthians,-}- have been preserved, while his translation 
 
 * Lettere volgari I. fo. 26. Venice 1553. 
 
 + La epistola de San Pablo a los Romanos y la I. a los Corintios. Ambas tra- 
 dnzidas y comentadas por Juan de Valdez : Ref ormistas antignuos Espailoles. Madrid 
 1856. I find the commentary to the Epistle to the Eomans (Ven. 1556) cited in 
 the Spanish Index of Interdicted Books of 1559.
 
 CHANGE OF OPINIONS. 65 
 
 and exposition of the Psalms have been lost. He wrote in 
 Spanish, his friends translated his writings into Italian. One of 
 the most remarkable, the " Christian Alphabet," was suggested 
 by a conversation with Giulia Gonzaga (1536) about a sermon 
 of Ochino's, at which they had both been present.* Valdez cir- 
 culated edifying meditations "|" among the community. These 
 were afterwards printed and are now the chief source for an exact 
 acquaintance with his religious opinions. 
 
 The clearest insight into the actions and endeavours of this 
 community is gained from the confessions extorted by the In- 
 quisition many years after from Pietro Carnesecchi. The doctrine 
 of the sinner's justification before God, which had long been the 
 centre of the reformatory movement on both sides of the Alps, 
 was also the shibboleth here. The question respecting this 
 article " quel benedetto articolo della giustificazione," is always 
 the first put to the accused concerning all the persons about 
 whose life and religious opinions he is to give evidence. Valdez 
 denied that works could contribute towards salvation, he would 
 have this to rest entirely on the mercy of God in Christ. He 
 made the universality of redemption to depend upon the 
 universal working of the Holy Spirit in the heart of man. The 
 faith it evokes, is the form in which salvation for the individual 
 seems to him made possible. It appeared to him self-evident 
 that such a faith could not exist without charity, and the fruits 
 of good works, or without a truly Christian life. Valdez alone 
 
 * The Spanish original seems to have been lost. The translation by Marc' 
 Antonio Magno is printed in vol. 15 of the Kefonnistas Antiguos Espafioles, Lond. 
 1861. Valdez says, with reference to Ochino's sermon, "Madam, Ochino baa 
 awakened in you by his sermon the recollection of what you have already learnt 
 about heaven and hell. He knew how to represent 6o vividly that the fear of hell 
 e heaven, and that the love of heaven makes you fear hell, and in 
 connection with this he shows that you cannot escape hell if you do not adopt and 
 hold Christ's commands and doctrines. The restlessness you speak of feeling was 
 caused in this manner : — You have gained the conviction through his words that 
 you cannot attain the goal without being mocked, misunderstood, and despised by 
 the world. Thus the hope of a future life is at variance with the necessities of 
 bearing the troubles of the present, and it is nothing but self-love which causes 
 this restlessness." 
 
 t Le cento e dieci divine Considerazioni. Basle 1550, Halle 1860. 
 
 E
 
 66 BERNARDINO OCHINO. 
 
 deduced the necessary consequences from such a view of the doc- 
 trine of justification in opposition to the church doctrine of his 
 time. It is probable that they only became gradually evident 
 to many among the community, who still thought themselves 
 good Catholics, when they were in reality Protestants. 
 
 Carnesecchi* says, "I saw the writings of Valdez countenanced 
 by good and learned Catholics. I considered the article of justi- 
 fication by faith to be orthodox and Catholic, for I thought that 
 by resting our salvation upon God's grace and mercy His honour 
 was more exalted, than by an opinion which would make our 
 salvation depend upon our own works." Iu the sentence pro- 
 nounced by the Inquisition upon the unhappy Protonotary, is 
 stated, "From your confession it appears that since 1540 you 
 have believed the following heretical, erroneous, rash, and 
 scandalous propositions : — Justification by faith alone, without 
 works, according to Luther the heresiarch. The assurance of 
 grace and salvation, according to the same. Then, that good 
 works are not necessary for salvation, but that the justified will 
 necessarily accomplish them of himself. Concerning fasts, you 
 have believed that it was no deadly sin not to observe them, only 
 they should not be held in contempt. They are serviceable only 
 for mortification. Then, that we may only believe the word of 
 God in Holy Scripture, that not all councils were assembled in 
 the Holy Spirit, and therefore they may not all be believed. In 
 like manner you have doubted whether the Sacrament of Con- 
 fession was established by Christ, and whether oral confession 
 was de jure divino, according to Scripture, and needful. You 
 have held that the penances imposed by the priest were not 
 necessary, because the merit of Christ has atoned for all the sins 
 in the world." The last part of the sentence runs, — " You have 
 believed in all the errors and heresies which are to be found in 
 the book ' Of the merits of Christ,' and in the false doctrines of 
 your master, Juan Valdez." 
 
 How was it possible that in such a community the burning 
 
 * Estrato del Processo, p. 389.
 
 CHANGE OF OPINIONS. G7 
 
 questions of the Church's degeneracy, both in head and members, 
 and the need for thorough reforms should remain untouched ? 
 But Valdez did not attempt to reform the Church as such, he 
 wished to reform meD. Ecclesiastical forms were indifferent to 
 him, as they had been indifferent to the mystics to whom he 
 owed his conversion. The author of the " Hundred and Ten 
 Pious Considerations" built up his mystically inspired system as 
 a holy sanctuary, into which the initiated alone were admitted. 
 
 The reformatory influence of this group was nevertheless soon 
 to be felt beyond its own limits. 
 
 Catholic writers have said of Valdez that he "murdered more 
 souls than all the Landsknechts together murdered bodies." In 
 a later statement of the Inquisitors it is mentioned that the new 
 doctrine found 3000 adherents in Naples* "Among these 
 especially there were many schoolmasters." Ochino's sermons 
 were discussed as the most important events of the day, disputes 
 arose about the authority and contents of the Holy Scriptures, 
 the doctrine of justification, of faith and good works, the power 
 of the Pope, and purgatory, and these questions were the favourite 
 subjects of conversation, even in the class of artizans. 
 
 "We are the witnesses of a wonderful spectacle," the pious 
 Benedictine, Gian Battista Folengo, wrote from Monte Cassino 
 concerning matters in Naples. " Women, who seem born more 
 for vanity than serious reflection, uneducated men, soldiers, are 
 all so engrossed by the knowledge of the divine mysteries, that 
 wherever anything is heard of perfection in Christian life, it 
 generally proceeds from them. Oh, this is indeed a golden age ! 
 Here in Campania, no preacher is so learned but he may increase 
 in wisdom and sanctity from conversing even with certain 
 worn 2n." f 
 
 * In Caracciolo, Vita di Taolo iv. MS. The passage runs : — " In Napoli 
 
 se ne apprestarono tanti, e particolarmente nidti Masetri di Scuola, che arrivano al 
 numero di tre mila." It is not necessary to refer "che" to the schoolmasters, as 
 Ranke does (Hist. i. p. 93, 6th Ed. 1674), and others have copied after him. How 
 should there have been three thousand schoolmasters in Naples ? 
 
 t Folengo, Commentary to the Psalms, ad Fsaim csix., fol. 348, Basle 1549.
 
 68 BERNARDINO OCH1NO. 
 
 The influence Valdez personally exercised upon Ocbino's 
 opinions was chiefly confined to the general impulse communi- 
 cated by him. Yet in Ochino's writings we meet with thoughts 
 and combinations, whose origin can only be traced to Valdez. 
 He has been reproached for allowing himself to be used by Valdez 
 to spread his ideas from the pulpit. To a certain extent the 
 accusation is merited, as it really did occur that Valdez indicated 
 to him in writing, the theme of his discourse on the following 
 day.* 
 
 But notwithstanding their similarity of aim, the natures of the 
 two men were fundamentally different. Intellect reigned in 
 Ochino above all his gifts and the warmth of his piety ; and from 
 the generalship of his order, to his Protestant ministry, not 
 speculation, but his own religious experience and earnest study 
 of the Holy Scriptures, had been his constant guide. Writings 
 of the German reformers had also found their way into the 
 Neapolitan community, it was there that Carnesecchi became 
 acquainted with Bucer's Commentary on the Gospel of St. 
 Matthew, Luther on the Psalms, and Calvin's Institutions. These 
 were probably also known to Ochino. 
 
 Charles V. left Naples during Lent 1536. The fame of the 
 Capuchin, who attracted hearers from all other congregations, -J- had 
 already excited the envy of the other Lenten preachers. Their 
 conventional manner could not make way against "his new 
 mode," as they called it. They adopted the measures always 
 readiest to hand, they accused Ochino to the viceroy, of secretly 
 spreading Lutheran errors. They were able to appeal to the 
 lately issued imperial edict. Don Pedro, who as a " Spaniard, 
 favoured the scholastics," commanded his " governatore " to ex- 
 amine and report concerning this matter. It is worthy of remark 
 that the complaint was addressed to the temporal governors, and 
 was taken cognisance of by them. There was as yet no spiritual 
 
 * Carnesecchi confirms this Estr. del Processo. 
 
 t Giannone, Istoria civile del Regno di Napoli IV. p. 80, according to Gregorio 
 
 Rosso (Ochino) aura sbancati tutti gli altri predicatori, poiche a gara tutta 
 
 la ( ,'ittii correva a lui.
 
 CHANGE OF OPINIONS. 60 
 
 tribunal in Naples, and even ten years later, when at Caraffa's 
 instigation an attempt was made to introduce the Inquisition, it 
 failed through the opposition, almost amounting to revolt, of the 
 indignant inhabitants. At a later period they were forced to 
 submit. To be on the safe side, the governor forbade t lie Capu- 
 chin to preach for a time, unless he expressed himself clearly 
 from the pulpit on certain points. " But the Fra," says Giannone, 
 " being a learned and eloquent man, defended himself so stub- 
 bornly (cosi gagliardamente) that he was permitted to continue 
 his Lenten sermons undisturbed. And not only was all suspicion 
 silenced concerning his teaching, he even gained in repute, and 
 the number of his adherents increased. These continued secretly 
 to spread his doctrines after his departure from Naples." 
 
 Ochino's opponents of 1536 have not been named. In 1539, 
 when he delivered another course of sermons at Naples, it was 
 the Theatines who kept watch over the Capuchin. They also 
 detected deviations from the church doctrines, of which they 
 adduced the following among other proofs: Augustine had 
 said, * " God, who created thee without thy co-operation, will not 
 save thee without thy co-operation," but Ochino twists the sense 
 of these words into the contrary meaning, by turning them into 
 a question, " Will not God who has created thee without thy co- 
 operation, save thee also without thy co-operation ? " It is 
 evident that Ochino was right in his reading of Augustine's text, 
 but the real opinions of the great church father had been so 
 entirely lost, that the true rendering of his words was stigmatised 
 as heretical. The order of the Theatines had lately been brought 
 to Naples, by Gaetano of Thiene. They only obeyed the ex- 
 press injunctions of their rule, when they pursued heresy in 
 every form. They kept spies in the church where Ochino 
 preached, and sent reports to Caraffa at Eonie. " Our fathers 
 discovered the heresies at Naples," boasts the Theatine Carac- 
 ciolo, -f- " and in the following manner, Eaniero Gualante, and 
 
 * Augustini Serm. de veris Doin., ch. ii. ract. 91 in Joh. 
 t Vita di Paolo IV. MS.
 
 70 BERNARDINO OCHINO. 
 
 Antouio Cappone, by their intercourse with Valdez and Ochino, 
 had themselves become somewhat defiled with their pitch, but 
 in confession our fathers led them on to relate everything that 
 they knew concerning these secret heresies. By these means 
 our people became aware that Valdez and Ochino were sowing 
 tares in the assemblies of men and women they were in the 
 habit of holding." 
 
 This denunciation on the part of the Theatines was not followed 
 by any decisive steps either in Naples or in Eome. The time 
 was not yet ripe. Caraffa understood how to await the right 
 moment. In the following year Ochino again preached at Naples, 
 and up to 1541 he had not apparently overstepped the boundary 
 between the Catholic doctrines and practices and the new 
 doctrines. Yet as early as 1540, when he preached in Modena, 
 attentive observers had made the suggestive remark, "Fra 
 Bernardino does not preach as he used. He has always Christ 
 upon his lips, and he no longer mentions St. Geminiano." * It 
 was reserved for one of Ochino's Venetian sojourns to bring about 
 the catastrophe that led to his open rupture with the Eomish 
 Church. 
 
 We gain an acceptable insight into the state of Ochino's 
 religious opinions at that time, from his seven dialogues. -f- Ex- 
 cept his " Nine Sermons," this is the only writing which remains to 
 us from the period of his rupture with the Catholic Church. In 
 these conversations his convictions are more clearly and fearlessly 
 represented than in the Venetian sermons. The copy I have 
 consulted belongs to an edition issued in 1542, at Venice, but 
 this is expressly marked as a new one, and if we consider the 
 date of the last dialogue, it seems beyond doubt that the " Seven 
 Dialogues " appeared as early as the year 1539. J 
 
 * Letter of Grillenzoni's, July 3<1, 1512, to cardinal Morone, among his papers 
 in the Vatican secret archives : Gia sono due anni, predict) il grande frate Bernar- 
 dino. Non si vergognano di dire che piii non predicava come soleva. Alcuni alami 
 di' levano che troppo predicava di Christo e che mai non haveva nominate S. Gem- 
 iniano ne fatto di sputa alcuna. 
 
 + Appendix No. 2. 
 
 J Era Catherino Politi refers, in his Kemedio alia Pestilente dottrina di Fra
 
 CHANGE OF OPINIONS. 71 
 
 111 most of these dialogues the conversation is carried on 
 between Ochino and the duchess Catarina Cibo of Camerino. 
 Catarina was a staunch friend of the Capuchins. In 1534 she 
 had already exerted her influence in behalf of the oppressed 
 order, with Clement VII. She was a pious woman, of great 
 culture. Like many of her feminine contemporaries, she knew 
 Latin and Greek, and was versed in dialectics and theological 
 questions. The manner in which she takes part in the conduct 
 of these dialogues, seems designed to make this prominent, and 
 was probably more than mere gallantry on the part of the grave 
 author. 
 
 The first dialogue treats of "love to God." Ochino laments 
 that so few are tilled with love to God, while all love the creature 
 and themselves. " Our bliuduess is so great, that we do not love 
 God, although all things which inspire love are possessed by Him 
 in 1 ^e highest degree. For in Him there is no evil, but rather in- 
 finite goodness. The creature also possesses a certain shadowy, 
 but not real goodness, only such as has been originally imparted 
 by God, and depends on Him. In God alone are perfect, endless 
 wisdom, beauty, truth, power, mercy, love, and charity. He only 
 sends us sorrow because He loves us. He wishes to say to us, 
 ' You have been too dearly bought by my only Son, that I should 
 now permit you to be lost, therefore from time to time I send you 
 visitations, repugnant to your carnal-mindedness.' " Ochino adds, 
 " Since the highest love is thus in God, how could the question 
 arise, whether man should love Him in return 1 At least the 
 question ought to be put thus, whether man can love Him in 
 return ? " 
 
 The dialogue then gives an answer to this question. He care- 
 fully develops the requirements of a true love to God. It is re- 
 markable that he introduces the Platonic definition of virtue, 
 though somewhat superficially conceived. "While all other 
 virtues (folio 2, b) consist in a certain mean which they cannot 
 
 Bernardino Ochino, Rome, 1544, f. 44, a, to an edition issued at Naples. He 
 quotes a passage out of the seventh dialogue almost word for word.
 
 72 BERNARDINO OCHINO. 
 
 overstep without sacrificing the goodness that lies in them, love 
 to God can never be great enough. The greater it is, the better 
 it is. We ought all to love Him boundlessly, to prefer Him to all 
 things else, and never to leave Him, whether for good or for evil, 
 for gain or loss, for joy or sorrow, for honour or shame, but rather 
 we should say with Paul, " What shall be able to separate us from 
 the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord ? " Even the 
 creature turns to God, and loves Him after the manner given to 
 it, though it lacks reason — and man, who is so loved of God, 
 for whose sake He has created all things, and who, endowed with 
 reason can love Him in the highest degree ; he alone reverses 
 the order of things, and not only does not love God above all 
 things, but prefers before Him even the meanest creature, despises 
 Him, and treads Him under foot." 
 
 In what follows, he distinguishes between two kinds of love ; 
 the natural or sensuous, and the free or reasonable. The former 
 as a natural impulse is morally indifferent, the other is of high 
 moral value. 
 
 " By nature (folio 3, a) we are all inclined to love ourselves 
 above all others. All other likings spring from this self love. 
 There is even a natural inclination towards God, which has its 
 origin in the consciousness of dependence upon Him. Such love 
 cannot rise above itself. However high the eagle may fly, he 
 cannot surpass himself, he remains confined to earth. Thus 
 the soul cannot rise above itself, however high it may soar, as 
 long as it lacks the wings of virtue, and is connected with the 
 mean things of this world. I do not speak of this kind of love, 
 which is nothing but self love, or of any sensuous love. Both 
 are rooted in our nature, and are formed without our assistance. 
 They therefore deserve neither praise nor blame in themselves. 
 I speak rather of the free, reasonable love, which we can guide in 
 its tendency, even towards God, by means of which we love Him 
 more than ourselves. On the wings of this love, the soul is able 
 to soar beyond itself. It can love God in such a degree, that it 
 despises and hates itself. If the brave citizen is able to sacrifice
 
 CHANGE OF OPINIONS. 73 
 
 his life for Lis country, mid to renounce for its sake everything 
 dear to him, how much more can the good Christian give up his 
 life for the sake of God and His heavenly country, and love his 
 God more than himself, as did the martyrs and other holy men. 
 And not only these, but every one, even the greatest sinner, can, 
 by means of God's grace, which is denied to none, soar so high 
 here below, as to love God more than himself. If man could 
 not do this, the sinner could not be reconciled to God, and re- 
 cover his forfeited favour. 
 
 "But in our love to God we must beware of falling into that 
 sensuous love, and be devoted to Him — not as a child to his 
 father, but as a slave to his master, because he is useful to him, 
 or because he grants him temporal goods and pleasures. That is 
 carnal love — not sincere, pure, godly, spiritual, and holy love. 
 Others, again, love God for the sake of the honours and dignities 
 they gain by it, and not for His glory. That is not really love to 
 God, but love of self. 
 
 " This kind of love is not difficult, but neither is it right and 
 virtuous. On the contrary, it is culpable. To love God above 
 everything, above ourselves — sincere and pure love only for the 
 sake of His honour and glory — this is certainly repugnant to our 
 carnal minds,— but this is what our reason requires as perfect love. 
 The natural affection follows the natural movements of inclina- 
 tion and repulsion, but the reasonable affection is free. What 
 hinders thee from doing good to him who has done thee harm ? 
 Or, if thou canst not do good to him in deed, why canst thou not 
 do it in thy heart, and say to thyself, If I could do it, I assuredly 
 would ? It is thus with the free love to God. "We can at least 
 give our hearts to Him through Jesus Christ, and say to our- 
 selves, If the occasion arose, I would — provided it were needful, 
 and God willed it — give up my life for His sake. I would 
 endure all pains and privations if I could thus please God." 
 
 A few years later, Ochino proved that he had here spoken not 
 mere words, but his innermost conviction, which he was ready to 
 prove by deeds. He refers the free love to God to the working
 
 74 BERNARDINO OCHINO. 
 
 of the Holy Spirit in the human heart. As he assumes this 
 working to be universal, embracing all men, he requires of each 
 individual to exercise this free love to God. In another passage 
 of the dialogue he refers the reconciliation of man and God, as 
 Valdez does, to the rooting of this free love in his heart. 
 
 The conversation then treats another question. " I now see," 
 says the Duchess (folio 5, b), "that, although difficult, it is yet 
 possible to love God sincerely. But what must I do to fill my 
 heart with love towards Him ? As Christ says, man cannot 
 serve two masters — at least, not if they are at enmity with one 
 another, it is therefore impossible to serve God and the world 
 from the heart. The more we love the world, the more our love 
 to God will be diminished. Therefore, whoever wishes to stand 
 before God with his whole love must leave himself and all 
 creatures behind. He cannot, at the same time, be chained to 
 earth by his love and rise to God. Therefore the soul, as it is 
 only single, must rise to its Creator, and free itself from every 
 other inclination, and leave everything else below." 
 
 Ochino returns an answer we should scarcely have expected 
 from a man who had spent his life in the cowl of the strictest 
 order. " The contempt of this world is the fruit of our love to 
 God, but love to God does not arise from contempt of the world. 
 Therefore we must first love Him, and then despise the world. 
 The Christian is led by the love of Jesus to despise all things — 
 even so far as to hate himself for the sake of the love of God. 
 For this hatred arises out of the love, but not the love out of the 
 hatred. In the foremost place, the comparison we make between 
 God and the world helps to kindle our love towards Him, since 
 the world is nothing, void of all good, and full of all evil." 
 
 As a second road leading to the love of God, the Duchess her- 
 self indicates the knowledge of God. " "We only love what we 
 know — loving without previous knowledge is inconceivable. 
 The desire to know serves that desire which is king in us — 
 namely, the will ; it precedes the will and carries the light, so 
 that it is impossible for the will to arrive where knowledge has
 
 CHANGE OF OPINIONS. 7"> 
 
 not forestalled it. To ray mind, therefore, the best means of 
 loving God well consists in striving to know Him better, and 
 frequently making Him the object of our meditations. We 
 should direct these meditations to the idea that God is single, 
 eternal, necessary, boundless, and everlasting; that He, as Father, 
 is unbegotten, and that lie has begotten the Son, and furnished 
 Him with all perfection; that both by their wills brought forth 
 the Holy Ghost, and gave to Him also all perfection ; that the 
 three Persons are alike in substance, differing only in person, 
 &c." 
 
 Ochino has listened to the exposition of the Duchess without 
 interrupting her. He now takes up the argument. He acknow- 
 ledges the connection between the knowledge of God and love to 
 Him, but makes a certain limit He distinguishes two modes of 
 knowing God — a speculative, and a practical one, and it is only 
 to the latter that he ascribes the power of kindling true 1 »ve to 
 God. 
 
 He says (folio 7, a): "If it were really as you assume, only 
 learned men could really love God. But I believe that a poor 
 old woman is able to love God just as well as the most learned 
 man in the world. Knowing these things about God does not 
 yet lead us to love Him. They are called speculations, and they 
 rather hinder us; for if the soul is occupied with such high 
 matters, it does not direct its strivings towards love, but remains 
 dry and cold. Therefore St. Paul says, in the first chapter of the 
 Epistle to the Eomans, that the wise of this world, although they 
 possessed a certain speculative knowledge of God, did not glorify 
 Him as God, ' neither were thankful, but became vain in their 
 imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.' Thus it 
 is not the speculative, but the practical knowledge of God 
 which leads to love — namely, the thought that God is the highest 
 good ; that He loves us and cares for us ; that He gave up His 
 Son, even to the cross, out of love for us. This knowledge can 
 be easily gained, even by the unlearned, ' for of such is the king- 
 dom of heaven.' "
 
 76 BERNARDINO OCHINO. 
 
 In what follows, Ochino instances the various ways Christ has 
 given us an example to lead us to the perfect love of God — His 
 humility, wisdom, and patience, His obedience, and love for His 
 fellow-men. We recognise the monk when Ochino specially 
 dwells on Christ's extreme poverty, His severe spiritual exercises, 
 His vigils, His abstinence. 
 
 " Whoever passes before his spiritual eye Christ's whole life 
 from His birth to His ascension, and remembers His words, tears, 
 and sighs, His fasts, His abstinence, His journeys and prayers, 
 shame, reproaches, persecution, scourging, and torture, and all 
 His love, must not he be blind, cold, and stubborn if he be not 
 inflamed with love to God ! Fire is kindled by fire, and love by 
 love." 
 
 " There is one thing more I should like to know," interrupts 
 the Duchess (folio 13, a), — "namely, whether enjoying God helps 
 us to love Him ?" 
 
 " Enjoying God," answers Ochino, " does not yet mean loving 
 Him. Enjoyment and true love do not re-act on one another. 
 Enjoyment is rather connected with self-love; the soul that 
 seeks the enjoyment of God does not wish to be His bride, but 
 rather His mistress. God gives enjoyment to the imperfect, as 
 we give milk to lambs, because they cannot digest solid food. 
 Who would not be ready to give up the enjoyment of the world 
 for the enjoyment of Christ ? But there is a more difficult 
 demand, to give up the enjoyment of the world for the sake of 
 the persecution, shame, poverty, and cross of Christ. The true 
 love to God helps a man to care neither for joy nor for sorrow, 
 for praise nor for blame, nor for things that are useful to him, or 
 for such as are harmful to him. Whoever really loves God is 
 not troubled that he has no enjoyments. He only concludes that 
 he is unworthy of them. He does not on this account desist 
 from loving God." 
 
 With this ends the first dialogue. It seems probable that in 
 this and the following dialogues, we have a general sketch of 
 one of those conversations, such as the intimate circle at Rome
 
 CHANGE OF OPINIONS. 77 
 
 and Naples were in the habit of holding. The object is not a 
 dogmatic exposition, but rather mutual encouragement and 
 edification by the discussion of religious questions. In the above 
 dialogues it seems as though Ochino had in his mind those inti- 
 mate meetings, when he says (folio 9, b), " Oh, how helpful it is 
 to the love of God to hear a man speak, who is wholly penetrated 
 by love to llini ! " 
 
 The second dialogue is a short discussion between Ochino and 
 the Duchess " concerning the means of being happy." It is here 
 proved, and illustrated with passages from Plato and Seneca, 
 that true happiness is not in the possession of earthly goods, nor 
 in enjoyment, honour, riches, or knowledge, but that disregarding 
 all these things, a real though necessarily imperfect happiness 
 can be enjoyed in our pilgrimage, a happiness to be sought in 
 ourselves, in the peace the soul finds when it is absorbed in 
 God." 
 
 "Happiness is in ourselves, (folio 16, a). We need not go 
 outside to seek it, our longings are stilled in God, but whoever 
 thinks to satisfy his longings by the things of this world, is like 
 the man who tries to satisfy his thirst by eating salt. Whoever 
 wishes to quench his thirst must go to that spring in which all 
 fresh water is united, clear, pure, and inexhaustible." 
 
 Se ben, qual fiume allui l'oro portante, 
 
 Congregi il riccho avar richezze molte, 
 Et hibbia assai terren buono et frutante 
 
 Et pietre et perle nel mar rosso colte — 
 Hor cbe giovar gli puonno butte quante 
 
 Sel non e per empir sue voglie stolte ? 
 Che mentre il vive mai tal cruccio passa 
 
 Et ogni richezza pel morir si lassa. 
 
 In the third dialogue, the design of dogmatic teaching is still 
 more in the background. It is rather a short system of ethics 
 and morals which is here built up by Ochino. The human soul, 
 with its various faculties, is represented as a kingdom or a court, 
 in which each separate part has its prescribed functions, while 
 all the parts are in turn directed according to the functions of 
 the whole. The dialogue is carried on between a master and a
 
 78 BERNARDINO OCHINO. 
 
 scholar. They are soon agreed in thinking it wholesome and 
 needful to have a fixed rule for self-government. The master, 
 in carrying out the comparison of the soul to the court, desig- 
 nates the will as the ruler, intelligence as his adviser ; and proves 
 that good order can only be maintained in the state by the 
 harmony of these two. 
 
 The fourth dialogue, between Ochino and the Duchess, deals 
 with the marvellous conversion of the thief on the cross. 
 Scholasticism had attempted to penetrate the mystery of this 
 conversion with its little clue, and had involved itself in curious 
 mazes. It was asked, how came it that that one believed in 
 Christ when all others left Him ? that he believed in Him at a 
 moment when Christ was working no miracle ? while His disciples, 
 and the multitude who now mocked him, were around Him when 
 He revealed the power and glory of His Father. The mere 
 asking of these questions is characteristic. It assumes, as the 
 first condition of belief in Christ, an exercise of supernatural 
 power on His part. The answers were even more characteristic. 
 Some declared it was the shadow of the crucified Christ which 
 touched the thief and worked the miracle in him. Others 
 deemed it was the devout gaze of Mary fixed on Jesus that 
 touched him and worked the conversion. Ochino decidedly 
 rejects both explanations with their materialistic bases. In this 
 case, also, belief in Christ is to him a free action, brought about 
 not magically, but psychologically. "The thief looked upon 
 Christ (folio 29, b), he saw Him endure everything without a 
 murmur, and that He even shed His blood with a joyful 
 countenance. He saw the hot tears fall to the ground, and 
 heard the glowing sighs rise to heaven. He heard His words 
 and saw His wonderful patience, His all-embracing love ; it was 
 all this that kindled in him the belief that Christ was in truth 
 the Son of God." 
 
 In the fifth dialogue, Christ is introduced in conversation with 
 the soul. Christ declares the necessity of immediate conversion ; 
 the soul, on its part, deems there is time enough for this, and
 
 CHANGE OF OPINIONS. 70 
 
 excuses itself by saying that such weighty matters should be 
 well considered. 
 
 " This holds good in all important matters of a doubtful nature," 
 Christ answers (folio 34, b), " but when thou art concerned with 
 serving God, there should be no need to consider. Every one 
 should be resolved and ready." " For the moment," replies the 
 soul, "I cannot honourably quit the wicked world. People 
 would say that the world had driven me away, I will rather 
 await a more favourable moment, then all men will see that I 
 leave the world, not from fear, or disgust, but out of love for 
 Thee." "But should this favourable moment never come?" 
 " In any case, I will forsake the world." 
 
 Christ answers : " Whoever depends upon the opinions of men, 
 cannot be happy, and whoever is bound by so many considerations, 
 cannot reach God. To come to me with earthly honours, is the 
 same as to serve two enemies. It is evident that love for the 
 world is stronger in thee than love for me. If thou lovedst 
 truly, the world and all its ties could not hold thee back a single 
 moment. I have not acted thus towards thee. I held all things 
 as nothing for thy sake, and suffered myself to be despised. Do 
 not have so many considerations, make a bundle of all the good 
 and evil the world has, and cast it behind thee. The world has 
 merited no better, time is precious, whoever does not use grace 
 when it is offered him, shows himself unworthy, and the future is 
 uncertain." 
 
 After all this, the soul declares itself ready to break with the 
 world once and for ever. It is ready to give to the world the 
 things of the world, namely, pomp, pride, vanity, ignorance, 
 ingratitude, deceit, falsehood, lust, and covetousness. Christ 
 then says : " I invite thee and expect thee in paradise. If only 
 thou comest to me in truth, I will forgive thee all thy sins. 
 Thou shalt be as a bride dear to my heart, and shalt triumph 
 with me everlastingly." 
 
 In the sixth dialogue, the soul converses with its guardian 
 angel. This conversation is, in many respects, connected with
 
 80 BERNARDINO OCHINO. 
 
 the foregoing. It is entitled " The pilgrimage to Paradise." The 
 soul penitently confesses that it has hitherto neglected to attain 
 complete union with Christ, and has thus lost its whole lifetime. 
 It begs the guidance of its guardian angel to find the right way, 
 and he declares himself willing to lead it. 
 
 "Before thou goestonthy way,"he begins (folio 39,b), "thou must 
 pay all thy debts ; if thou hast anything belonging to thy 
 neighbour, return it to him ; if thou hast slandered him, take 
 back thy words. If thou hast hurt his body or soul, make 
 amends as far as lies in thy power ; if thou hast sown discord 
 between others, try to make peace between them. If by words 
 or example thou hast led others to evil, try to bring them back 
 to the right way, and thus make amends for the harm thou hast 
 done. If there dre cases in which thou art unable to do so, do 
 not be ashamed, but declare openly that thou hast forsaken thy 
 former life and art ready to give back to every man his own. 
 Sell thy possessions, thy goods, thy palaces, and give them to the 
 poor, as Christ said to the young man in the Gospel. Do not 
 load thyself with earthly goods on thy pilgrimage to heaven." 
 " May I not take anything with me ? " asks the soul. " Yes, as 
 much as thou requirest for living." "But I have children, parents, 
 friends, must I leave all these behind ? " " Certainly not, not 
 one of them, rather try to take all of them with thee." "But if 
 they will not ? " — " Then forsake them, even though it were thy 
 own father, and go on in the way, for whoever loves father and 
 mother more than me, is not worthy of me. Strive to enlighten 
 thy kindred, and to lead them to Christ, help them, rebuke them, 
 amend them where they are wanting, work upon them by thy 
 word and example, by thy life and prayers. If thy position or 
 dignities in the world, or thy pleasures hinder ,thee, let them 
 go, for if thou lovest God, but lovest the creature more, every 
 time thou makest a step forwards on the way, thou wilt be 
 making two backwards, and wilt thus never reach the goal. If 
 thou lovest the creature up to a certain point, but God still more, 
 thou wilt make two steps forwards, and one backwards, and thus
 
 CHANGE OF OPINIONS. 81 
 
 advance, though slowly. Only if thou love God alone, wilt thou 
 soon reach the goal." 
 
 The last dialogue is a conversation between Ochino and the 
 Duchess concerning "vows." 
 
 " What must I do," asks the Duchess, " to secure the salvation 
 of my soul, and my highest happiness ?" "You must make a vow." 
 " I do not mean to do that for many reasons." " But if I should 
 show you an order quite after your own heart?" "I might per- 
 haps do it then, but as yet, I do not know one that satisfies me in 
 every respect." " But I know one which will please you, for it is 
 quite perfect, quite divine." "Then it will not do for me." 
 "On the contrary, every one ought to strive after perfection. 
 The members of this order do not change their dwelling, but only 
 their customs, not their clothing, but their lives. They cut off 
 all sinful thoughts and desires instead of their hair. They pray 
 with their hearts and not with their lips. They obey God, and 
 not man." " I should like to be perfect," answers the Duchess, 
 " but it must not give me too much trouble." " You can be 
 gratified in this wish also, for in the whole world there is no 
 lighter order than this." " What is the name of this order ? " asked 
 the Duchess. " It is called the Divine, its name is venerable as 
 the lives of those who belong to it." " Tell me more about it ; 
 perhaps I may feel inclined to enter it." 
 
 " In this order," answered Ochino, " there are no novices, the 
 vows must be taken at once ; only noble souls (spiriti gentili) 
 may enter. If you wish to enter, then indite with all your heart 
 the following vow. You must rise in thought to the throne of 
 the Trinity, to the feet of Christ, and take your vow in presence 
 of the Virgin and all the saints, ever mindful that although you 
 feel yourself weak, you are yet united with God in faith, hope, 
 and charity." 
 
 " The vow. Be it known to all by these presents that I 
 Catherine, Duchess of Camerino, enlightened by God's grace and 
 divine light, in consideration of the great goodness of God, and 
 His love to me, and, on the other hand, of the wickedness of the
 
 82 BEKNAKDINO OCHINO. 
 
 world, and my own sinfulness, have resolved to turn to God with 
 the whole power of my love, now and for ever. I recognise through 
 faith, and declare from my heart with all my senses and faculties, 
 in word and deed, that I believe in one triune God who is single, 
 pure, eternal, immeasureable, unchangeable, all-powerful, who 
 possesses unbounded beauty, wisdom, justice, mercy, charity, 
 truth, and all virtues in the highest perfection. I believe that 
 God created the world out of nothing, that He provides for all 
 things with the greatest care, that he maintains and rules every- 
 thing with the greatest wisdom and goodness, that there can be 
 no fault in His works, that from eternity to eternity He foresees 
 everything, and loves us with boundless, steady, disinterested 
 fatherly love. Further, I believe that He, the eternal Father, to 
 unite Himself with man, gave us His own Son, in His boundless 
 love, who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, and was born of the 
 Virgin Mary. He lived for all, and died on the cross, He descend- 
 ed into hell, to save them that were elect in the beginning, 
 (I Santi Padri), the third clay He rose again from the dead, He 
 ascended into heaven and sitteth on the right hand of the Father. 
 I believe that He poured the Holy Spirit upon the apostles, I am 
 convinced of the truth of His doctrine, and I firmly trust that His 
 mercy will never fail me. I believe that the life of the saints 
 and the Church of Christ is spotless and holy. Finally, I believe 
 all that belongs to the true faith, and if, by my sinfulness, weak- 
 ness, or ignorance, I should err or sin in anything, I now and 
 for ever attribute the fault to myself, and recant. For it is my 
 intention to believe only the truth, now, and at every moment 
 of my life." 
 
 " For the sake of this faith I am ready to make any sacrifice, 
 but knowing from experience my own fickleness, my own weak- 
 ness, I mistrust myself, and place all my hopes upon God. I 
 wish to depend upon Him alone, and expect everything from 
 Him through the merits of Christ, and if, in consequence of my 
 ignorance, weakness or sinfulness, I should ever doubt God, or 
 mistrust Him, or proudly refuse to acknowledge that all good
 
 CHANGE OF OPINIONS. 83 
 
 comes from Him, and all evil from myself, I declare now and for 
 ever, that I should in such case be foolish, blind, and mad, and 
 therefore in advance, I retract and annul all this. If any one 
 shall praise me, I will receive it as though he praised God's work ; 
 if I have any possessions, I will regard them not as mine, but as 
 God's property ; and in my last hour, I will not appear before the 
 throno of the Holy Trinity otherwise than sprinkled with the 
 blood of Christ, and rich through His merits." 
 
 In what follows, the Duchess thanks God for all His benefits, 
 which she declares herself ready to proclaim all her life ; she will 
 try to work upon others, so that they may love and seek God 
 alone. Just as she retracted everything in advance, which might 
 come into her thoughts against divine truth, she here declares 
 that she hates all her sins, that she is ready to bear their punish- 
 ment, although she knows (folio 53, b), that even all the pains of 
 hell conld not atone for her transgressions. Therefore she gladly 
 casts herself into the arms of the Crucified, and hopes to gain, 
 through Him alone, forgiveness of her sins. She will devote her 
 whole life to becoming one with Christ, and in this endeavour 
 she pronounces the following solemn vow : — 
 
 " I promise, in the first place, to live in eternal poverty, that is 
 without love for the creature, and acknowledging that I myself 
 have nothing, and can not do, will, know, or accomplish anything. 
 In the second place, I promise implicit obedience, that is, now and 
 for ever to follow God's commands, and never to strive against 
 them. In the third place, I promise to observe chastity, that is, 
 I will remain unspotted in heart and mind, and never think, wish, 
 or commit anything which displeases God, nor soil my spirit by 
 the thought of creatures, or love to them." 
 
 " Thus, united with God, I promise to serve Him, my Lord, 
 purely and without blame, and to bring others to His service. 
 But because I do not wish to offend God, I declare that none of 
 these promises is binding under pain of deadly sin, except in 
 so far as God Himself binds me. Should it ever happen that I 
 repent me of this vow, that I lose my faith, and become untrue
 
 84 BERNARDINO OCHINO. 
 
 to my promises, I hereby declare, before God and the whole 
 world, that it is not my real will ever to take back what I here 
 promise. Therefore in advance I declare all that as null and 
 void, and I pray God that He may regard it as though it had 
 never been. 
 
 " This is my last wish, and I once more declare that I am a 
 great sinner, and that I set my hope on God alone. I hope to 
 gain salvation through Christ alone, and as witnesses I call upon 
 the Trinity, the Virgin, all the saints, and everything created 
 To attest to this, I, Duchess of Camerino, have signed with my 
 own hand, mdxxxviiii." 
 
 In these dialogues, and especially in the " vow," the funda- 
 mental idea strikes us as essentially Protestant. The idea is the 
 doctrine of justification by the grace of God alone, taught in 
 Valdez' circle. The estimation of "good works" disappears in 
 comparison, and the Catholic system is ignored. Ochino does 
 not draw this inference here, but it forces itself forward. As 
 long as he belonged to the Catholic Church, he acted on the prin- 
 ciple that her institutions possessed a certain disciplinary value, 
 even if they could not be deduced from Holy Scripture. This is 
 clearly shown in his sermons in 1539. He shared these opinions 
 with a large number of his most distinguished contemporaries. 
 It depended on the development of outward circumstances 
 whether they should break decisively with Church authority, as 
 was the case with some few, or maintain their allegiance. 
 
 To return to Ochino, it is evident that the annalist of the 
 Capuchin Order must have found it a hard piece of work to write 
 the chronicle of the years 1541 and 1542. It is not wonderful 
 that he calls this a time of trouble and storms, and he can scarcely 
 find words strong enough to deplore and condemn Ochino's 
 apostasy. He thinks he has found the explanation for this un- 
 exampled event in the following : — " After the close of the general 
 chapter, Whitsuntide 1541, Ochino still remained some time in 
 Naples ; he there formed an intimate friendship with Juan 
 Yaldez, who, himself a heretic, sowed tares in the Lord's field.
 
 CHANGE OF OPINIONS. 85 
 
 He was a man greatly honoured in the city, on account of his 
 knowledge and experience, and it was this which had made 
 Ochino seek his acquaintance. Valdez inspired doubts in his 
 mind concerning the doctrines of the Church. He contrived 
 cunningly to entangle Ochino's reason, urging that the Church 
 had forsaken the groundwork of Holy Scripture, that the power 
 of the Popes and many decrees of the Councils were not scrip- 
 tural, that the doctrines of purgatory and indulgence, and of 
 the invocation and intercession of the saints were false. Then 
 Valdez gave him writings of the German innovators, of Bucer, of 
 Luther, and other theologians who dissented from Church doc- 
 trines. Ochino, who was inclined to novelties, yielded only too 
 soon, he eagerly devoured the heretical writings. In this man- 
 ner, from being a son of the Catholic Church, he became a 
 stranger, an enemy, and ran blindly to destruction." Thus 
 Boverio. He purposely keeps silent concerning the accusation 
 directed against Ochino at Naples in the spring of 1536, and the 
 denunciation of 1539. He also ignores the previous acquaint- 
 ance of Ochino and Valdez, already advanced into intimacy 
 before Carnesecchi left Naples in May 1541, shortly before 
 the death of Valdez.* At any cost, he strives to defend the 
 chapter of his order against the accusation of having elected 
 a heretic for its general. Boverio shows himself unable to do 
 justice to the change in Ochino's own religious opinions, of 
 which we can find the clearest traces in his writings as early 
 as 1539. He cannot even comprehend them. Ochino's stern 
 monkish life seems to him only hypocrisy, his desire for a purer 
 knowledge of Christian things, and his consequent study of Scrip- 
 ture only culpable love of novelty. Boverio counts it as a sin to 
 have read books by " heretics," although they had not yet been 
 forbidden by name in any index. When Ochino, despairing to 
 find peace through abstinence and penance, prayers and vigils, 
 seeks after other means, Boverio accuses him of pride; and 
 when, in the anguish of his soul, and after a severe struggle, 
 
 * Compare Estratto del Processo, pp. 67, 68.
 
 86 BERNARDINO OCIIIXO. 
 
 Ochino at length breaks with his order and the Church, Boverio 
 sees in this step the lowest deep of ingratitude and wickedness. 
 But we are anticipating the termination of that inner strife, not 
 achieved till after years of struggle. He has left a brief account 
 of this transition. In that same letter to Muzio, in which he 
 speaks of himself as having been a true Pharisee, he says : " I 
 had not been long among the Capuchins before the Lord began to 
 open my eyes. He taught me to recognise three things ; firstly, 
 that Christ had done enough for His elect, and had obtained 
 paradise for them, that He alone is our Righteousness ; secondly, 
 that the vows of human institution are not only not binding, but 
 even immoral ; thirdly, that the Eoman Church, although out- 
 wardly brilliant to the bodily eye, is nevertheless an abomination 
 to the eyes of the Lord. All this did the Lord plainly show me. 
 The testimony of Holy Scripture, and of the Holy G-host, also 
 testified to this, and the law fulfilled its mission in me. Thus I 
 was cast down from the height of haughty trust in myself into 
 the depth of despair concerning my own works and powers. I 
 recognised that, under the semblance of doing good, I had really, 
 like Paul, persecuted Christ and His Gospel, and had departed 
 the further from God the more I tried to attain Him by storming 
 Him by works. I was in dire confusion, but I did not remain 
 fixed at this point, for Christ revealed Himself to me in His 
 grace, and when, with Paul, I forsook the trust in my own 
 powers, I gained new confidence in God. I set all my hopes 
 upon Him, and in all things gave myself up to His guidance, 
 since I had only gone astray under my own." 
 
 We have seen that Ochino did not make the struggle that en- 
 grossed his years of manhood easy to himself. So long as he was 
 a disciple of St. Francis, he wished to be so wholly in deeds and 
 doctrine. " No longer satisfied by the traditional life of your 
 order, you had introduced for yourself, and for not a few who 
 followed you, a new mode of life, longer vigils at night, sterner 
 fasts, rougher clothing: you left your feet unshod, and in all 
 things you strove after a yet greater abstinence. You taught all
 
 CHANGE OF OPINIONS. 87 
 
 this when already advanced in years ; it was no excess of youthful 
 zeal." And this testimony proceeds from Cardinal Caraffa, 
 Ochino's bitterest opponent* He himself says, concerning his 
 life in the order : " As long as I was in the order, I confessed 
 my sins daily; sometimes twice a-day. They were certainly 
 foolish matters, that I had broken silence, or spoken useless 
 things, and such like ; but, as far as I can remember, I never 
 confessed that I had not a true and living faith, and yet that was 
 the greatest of all faults." "I anxiously obeyed all natural, 
 moral, ecclesiastical, and evangelical observances, and not only 
 those observances contained in the rules of St. Francis, but every- 
 thing which our fathers had established in the provincial and 
 general chapters. "-f- 
 
 " Lord ! if these things do not save me," Ochino exclaimed at 
 that time, and yet it was all in vain. He had directed the weapons 
 of the righteousness of works against his doubts concerning his 
 own salvation, but these weapons proved blunt, and it was the 
 desperate experience of his manhood, that certainty of salvation 
 and peace of mind are not to be bought or forced. In vain he 
 had " read masses, recited paternosters, ave marias, psalms, and 
 prayers, even more than his rule required. In vain he had chastised 
 his body, worn the roughest clothing, observed fasts, performed 
 works of penance far beyond his vow." He fought a fight like 
 that of the German monk in the convent at Erfurt, who also for 
 the certainty of salvation, " wrestled with the devil," yet always 
 had the worst of it until at last he cast himself into the arms of 
 Divine righteousness to find salvation in the arms of Divine love. 
 In the distress of their conscience both were driven to a deeper- 
 study of Holy Scripture. It was to both a source of consolation 
 and of trust in the boundless mercy of God. 
 
 Ochino has mentioned, as a chief article of faith, " that Christ 
 has done enough for His elect, and has won paradise for them." 
 
 * Letter from Caraffa, printed in del Tufo's chronicle of the Theatines, and also 
 Boverio ad ann. 1542. 
 
 t Dialogi xxx., Basle 1563, ii. S. 306 f., 466 f.
 
 88 BEKNAKDINO OCHINO. 
 
 This places him in the ranks of those who taught the justification 
 of the sinner by God's grace and Christ's merits alone, as it was 
 taught in Valdez' circle and everywhere in Italy where there are 
 any traces of the reform movement. It possessed this practical 
 interest which no other doctrine had in the same degree, it dealt 
 with the inner personal need of salvation of the individual, and 
 his external relation to the whole traditional Church, with its 
 institutions, commands, and pretensions. No wonder that this 
 doctrine became the central point for the Eeformation, both south 
 and north of the Alps. No wonder, therefore, that the deduc- 
 tions from it were often carried to extremes. 
 
 When Ochino wrote his "Seven Dialogues" (1539), his struggle 
 was not completely, though essentially ended. He makes the 
 Duchess say in her vow: "In my last hour I will not appear be- 
 fore the throne of the Holy Trinity, otherwise than sprinkled with 
 the blood of Christ, and rich through His merits, and in no other 
 manner will I enter into paradise." Therefore, she gently casts 
 herself into the arms of the Crucified, and hopes to gain through 
 Him alone forgiveness of her sins. But traditional views appear, 
 when shortly before Ochino mentions the saints, and allows the 
 Duchess to rely upon their merits as well as the merits of Christ. 
 In the " Nine Sermons " of the same year, he made mention of 
 the " heretics' " doctrine of justification. " They say we need do 
 no good work, because it is faith, not works, that saves us." At 
 that time Ochino could find no answer, but only an evasion, "In 
 any case it is safer to do good works." He afterwards called this 
 preaching Christ disguised, and in a mask. "We must remember 
 the narrow ideas of that time concerning good works, according 
 to which they consisted in nothing but fulfilling a number of 
 disciplinary and other ecclesiastical commands, to be able to 
 understand the great intolerable difference between Ochino's con- 
 victions, on the one hand, and the requirements of his position on 
 the other. The Catholic Church never permitted him the free 
 expression of these convictions, least of all in the pulpit where 
 he needed it most, and yet he found the decision to leave it and
 
 CHANGE OF OPINIONS. 89 
 
 his order so hard, that he endured this difference for many years, 
 until the hope of a reconciliation had entirely vanished. In his 
 letter to Muzio, he says, " I had long recognised the truth of the 
 gospel through God's grace, and although I mounted the pulpit 
 day after day, yet I dared not openly proclaim it. You may 
 imagine the constant martyrdom I suffered." 
 
 A second conviction forced upon him, contrary to his former 
 opinions, is this; "that the vows of human orders are not only 
 not binding, but actually immoral." He himself had a long ex- 
 perience in these matters, for very many years he had belonged 
 to the Order of St. Francis. He afterwards expressed himself 
 concerning the motives that caused men to take the vows. 
 " Many enter and leave their own parents, their brothers or 
 sisters, even their children in want ; or, at any rate, their neigh- 
 bours, to whom they could be useful. They shut themselves up 
 in convents, feed themselves fat, and are useless and burdensome 
 to the world. If we could see to the bottom of their hearts we 
 should find that they go into the convent out of despair, want, 
 or cowardice, because they have lost courage to rule themselves ; 
 or, out of laziness, to live in idleness to the sound of bells ; or, at 
 best, to atone for their sins by works and penance, and gain 
 credit in the eyes of God. Oh, we should not find one who en- 
 tered the convent for the glory of God.* 
 
 In the seventh dialogue of 1539, Ochino for the first time 
 expresses his opinion concerning the moral value of orders and 
 vows. He reviews the various professions — those of the mer- 
 chant, priest, and monk, and he considers no one profession 
 holier than another, — all seem to him equal in the eyes of God. 
 How different from the prevalent opinions of that time, expressed 
 in the much-used simile, which Luther also mentions : " The 
 Church is a great ship, in which there is no layman — not even a 
 king or a prince, but only the Pope, with the cardinals, bishops, 
 priests, and monks. Thus they sail towards heaven. But the 
 laymen swim about in the water round the ship ; they hold on to 
 
 * Pred. II., 50. Appendix, n. 28.
 
 90 BERNARDINO OCHINO. 
 
 ropes and cords which the fathers throw out to them out of pity, 
 and on account of their good works, so that they may not be 
 drowned, but remain clinging to the ship, and thus attain heaven." 
 In another passage of the same dialogue, when Ochino invites 
 the Duchess to take the vow of poverty, obedience, and chastity, 
 he plainly shows how he wishes the vow to be rightly under- 
 stood, and why he discards the customary mode of obligation as 
 immoral. He considers the three vows from a general point of 
 view, and he requires their strict observance, as far as they 
 concern the principles of moral life, from every one without 
 exception. With the same decision he rejects the obligation to 
 them under deadly sin. " Because I do not wish to offend God, I 
 do not bind myself to any vow under deadly sin, but I have the 
 firm intention of fulfilling them." With these free and deep convic- 
 tions concerning the moral duty of the individual, far beyond 
 all monkish standards, it is not strange that Ochino should 
 have hesitated a second time to accept the generalship of his 
 order. In spite of the third point in his letter to Muzio, we 
 know that as long as he remained in the Church he served her 
 zealously. " I recognised that the Eoman Church, although out- 
 wardly brilliant to the bodily eye, is nevertheless an abomination 
 in the eyes of the Lord." It was not till circumstances around 
 him, and the further development in him forced him to a deci- 
 sion, and his conscience upbraided him for denying Christ day 
 after day, that he broke the chains that bound him to his Church 
 and his order, though not without a severe struggle. He refers 
 to some of his latter actions when he writes to Muzio: "Although 
 I had many other thoughts in my mind, there seemed to me at 
 that time no mode of life in which I could serve God better than 
 under the mask of a cowl, and in the holiness of walk which could 
 be beheld by others. I resolved to proclaim God's grace and 
 His gospel, Christ and His great merits, with a regard to the 
 superstition in Italy that prevailed then and now, and with 
 respect to the peculiar manner in which I was situated. Thus I 
 began to preach that we are saved by Christ. I saw that the
 
 CHANGE OF OPINIONS. 01 
 
 eyes of Italy were so weak that I should have hurt them 
 grievously if I had let them look full on the great Light, Christ, 
 as it had been revealed to me. The scribes and Pharisees who 
 govern in Italy would have killed me. I therefore thought it 
 better not to reveal the great light of the gospel so suddenly, but 
 gradually showing it, accommodating myself to their weak powers 
 of sight. I arranged my expressions for their dull eyes ; 1 
 preached that we are saved through grace and through Christ ; 
 that He has done enough for us, and has won us Paradise. In 
 doing so, I avoided actually revealing the wickedness which 
 prevails in the dominion of Antichrist. I did not say there is 
 no other merit and indulgence except the merits of Christ, nor 
 any purgatory. But I left these inferences to those who, through 
 God's grace, felt a lively sense of Christ's great merits. Neither 
 did I say, you are under the impious dominion of Antichrist, 
 who has his seat at Eome ; the customs of his Church and yours 
 are rotten from their foundation — not less their doctrines and 
 your human orders. They are all evil, and there is no true order 
 except the order of Christ. You are nothing but idolaters ; and 
 when you make the saints your mediators you offend God, 
 Christ, His mother, and all Paradise. I could not openly 
 proclaim these truths, therefore I kept silence, in the hope that 
 Christ would show me what he wished me to do. But in the 
 narrow circle I revealed the secret to many. Many of these came 
 to me to tempt me, others from covetousness to inform the Pope 
 and the cardinals of the nature of my doctrines. They thus 
 showed themselves enemies of the truth which they had pretended 
 to approve in secret. And again, others joined who, partly from 
 envy, partly for religion's sake, sought to bring the matter to an 
 issue. They contended that I preached heresies — and such 
 poisonous heresy that none could ensnare or catch me in my own 
 words."
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 THE CATASTROPHE — CITATION — AND FLIGHT. 
 
 Ochino in Venice, 1542 — Writing to the Marchesa del Vasto — to Aretino — The 
 Catastrophe — Ochino at Verona — Letter from the Council of Siena — 
 Ochino's Reply — Victory of the Eeaction at Rome — The Inquisition — 
 Caraffa's Rules — Ochino's Citation — Intercession of Giberti — The Journey 
 — The Visit to Contarini — Ochino in Florence — Three Courses — The De- 
 cision — Letter to Vittoria Colonna — Vermigli's Flight — Ochino concerning 
 his Determination — Flight — Boverio's Account — Bullinger's Letter. 
 
 Ochino was agitated by this struggle between bis office and his 
 convictions when he again came to Naples in the beginning of 
 1542, to preach there during Lent. Three editions of his "Nine 
 Sermons "of 1539 had already appeared* They had increased 
 the desire to hear him again. The people nocked to listen as 
 much as ever when he mounted the pulpit of the S. S. Apostoli ; 
 but he seems to have been no longer trusted in Eome. When 
 the Pope gave his consent to Ochino's preaching in Venice, he at 
 the same time sent directions to the Nuntius Fabio Mignanelli 
 to wa,tch the Capuchin carefully. If these directions were not 
 given personally by Paul III., it is possible that the then all- 
 powerful Caraffa may have had a hand in them. It was he who 
 had formerly in Naples caused Ochino to be watched by his 
 Theatines. The spies in Venice did not wish to be appointed for 
 nothing; they reported to the Nuntius a number of Ochino's 
 expressions as heretical. Ochino was called before him — probably 
 in secret ; but this first citation had no consequences. Ochino 
 
 * The edition published by Zoppino in May 1541 calls itself "nuovamente 
 stampata;" in December 1541 another edition appeared at Bindoni and Pasini.
 
 THE CATASTROPHE. 93 
 
 himself said: "It is easy to accuse any one of ambiguity in 
 theological expressions, but it is more difficult to convict him of 
 heresy." At that time, as he himself mentioned afterwards, he 
 expressed himself with particular reticence and prudence. 
 Perhaps the Nuntius would have thought it rash to proceed 
 decisively with this denunciation ; perhaps he wished to await a 
 more favourable time; or he may have desired, if possible, to 
 avoid any public proceeding against the beloved preacher. 
 
 We possess two letters of this period. The one,* dated 10th 
 February 1542, is addressed to the Marchese del Vasto, who was 
 at that time imperial governor of Milan. "If it is an honour 
 to serve under a valiant earthly general, it is a yet greater honour 
 to serve under the General Christ, for He is the most valiant 
 of all. While others conquer by the help of numerous armies, 
 by weapons and arrows, often by cunning and lucky chance, 
 Christ comes alone into the world and takes upon himself the 
 fight without earthly power or favour, armed only with truth, 
 humility, patience and love. In one single fight He hath 
 conquered not only the children of the world, but also the spirits 
 of hell, death, sin, and all God's enemies. Since then Christ is 
 such a glorious General you need not be ashamed of belonging to 
 His brave soldiers, your other friends will celebrate and proclaim 
 your earthly victories, but I will rejoice when you conquer your- 
 self, when you do not make this world's honour your idol, but 
 lift yourself above the world by the power of your soul ; when 
 you do not serve the world, but rather make use of it for the 
 greater honour of God." Ochino knew that he himself was a 
 soldier of Christ. Could he have felt that the hardest trial was 
 at hand ? 
 
 The second letter is among the collection of letters addressed 
 to Pietro Aretino.f Aretino, who was, as he himself expressed, 
 
 * Lettere volgari di diversi nobilissimi Huomini et eccellentissimi Ingegni. 
 Venice 1539, p. 196. 
 
 t Lettere seritte al Signer Pietro Aretino II., 218 0. O. Con. Privilegio 1552. 
 Prom the signature "Era Bernardino, Scapuccino," Tiraboschi (Storia della Letter- 
 ature Italiana, viii. 2, 39) endeavours to read that Ochino already regarded himself
 
 94 BERNARDINO OCHINO. 
 
 " earning his bread with the sweat of his pen," at Venice, had 
 taken up theology for a change. He sent the distinguished 
 preacher a copy of his commentary on Genesis with a letter, 
 which seems to have borne the stamp of artificial modesty. 
 Ochino's clever reply shows that he saw through the writer. " To 
 the noble and wonderfully endowed (miracoloso) Signor Pietro 
 Aretino. I really cannot tell you how pleasant the present of 
 your Genesis was to me, although in my imperfect judgment 
 it promises such rich and valuable fruits from its perusal, and 
 I have so high an opinion of its value, that I do not even know 
 whether my capabilities will suffice to pluck them. I was 
 still more surprised by the great amiability which you have 
 shown me by your letter, especially as you avoid all flattery. 
 Only about yourself you are perhaps a trifle mistaken, you do 
 not seem to know your own worth, and yet it seems to me im- 
 possible that ability should be ignorant of itself. I do not wish 
 to insist on my thanks for fear of increasing my obligations, but 
 humbly and cordially I salute you. Convent of the S. S. Apostoli, 
 March 25th 1542." 
 
 It was probably just at that time that the conflict broke out, 
 whose consequences drove Ochino to that decision which deter- 
 mined his whole life. Shortly before, the Nuntius had condemned 
 the preacher Giulio Terenziano of Milan for alleged heresy. The 
 free republic lent its aid without demur, for just then relations 
 between Venice and the Papal See were very friendly. Giulio 
 was a friend of Ochino's, filled with the same religious convic- 
 tions, and like him a member of Valdez' circle. Ochino mounted 
 the pulpit, and, convinced of the injustice of this step, he allowed 
 no considerations to deter him from openly standing up for his 
 friend and the truth. " What will it lead to, oh ! men of Venice," 
 he exclaimed, " if such things may happen. Oh, queen of the sea, 
 if thou castest the heralds of truth into dungeons and chains, and 
 
 as at heart separate from the order. This idea need not be sought in the form 
 Scapuceino instead of Capuccino, as it occurs (see Appendix) in Ochino's letter to 
 the Council of Siena, Scapuceino is a Sienese provincialism.
 
 THE CATASTROPHE. 95 
 
 condemnest them to the galleys, what resting-place shall remain 
 for the truth ? Oh that it might be freely proclaimed, how- 
 many who are now blind would regain the light ! " 
 
 Ochino was denounced a second time. The Nuntius, indig- 
 nant at his proceedings, forbade him to preach any more. The 
 " Savii " of the Republic, the Committee of the Great Council for 
 Church matters, would scarcely have consented to stronger 
 measures against Ochino, and the Nuntius was not even able to 
 insist on this one, for all the citizens rose up in favour of their 
 preacher. The Nuntius gave way. On the third day Ochino 
 once more mounted the pulpit. lie had promised to refrain 
 from polemics, but the Nuntius sent an account of the events to 
 Rome. Giulio remained in prison, and it was not till some years 
 later that he succeeded in escaping from his dungeon. He fled 
 into the Valtelline and became minister of the Evangelical Con- 
 gregation at Poschiaro. 
 
 After finishing his Lenten sermons, Ochino went to Verona, 
 and took up his lodging in the quiet Capuchin cloister, near 
 where the Adige leaves the town walls. He must more than 
 ever have needed rest, but he did not remain idle. He expounded 
 St. Paul's Epistles to the members of his order ; Brothers flocked 
 from afar to hear him, he was in intimate daily intercourse with 
 the venerable bishop of the city, Matteo Giberti, formerly papal 
 datary and member of the Roman Oratory of Divine Love. 
 
 The Council of Siena again applied to Ochino for a course of 
 sermons. A copy of their letter is preserved among the Sienese 
 archives. "April 28th 1542. Venerable Father, — The grace of 
 God has been active for our city, through the good intentions of 
 the Emperor and the wise government of his representatives, so 
 that the city is now converted from the dissolute ways you knew 
 and often condemned, to an orderly and sober mode of life. Had 
 that spirit been in us that should have been, we should not have 
 hesitated so long before we amended. We are convinced that 
 you will gladly lend your assistance to make the amendment 
 lasting, and we look for greater results from the sermons of your
 
 96 BERNARDINO OCHINO. 
 
 Eeverence than from any other means. Therefore we beg you, 
 in the firm conviction that you will accede, to come as soon as 
 possible, remain among us and strengthen us by your edifying 
 discourses, of which we hope for many in the coming Lent, and 
 we look for this with the more confidence as the Pope gave us 
 his consent when he passed through on his way to Lucca. We 
 trust that your excellent kindness will fulfil this becoming wish, 
 which your whole native city lays before you by our means. 
 Pray to God that He may enlighten us and lead us on the way 
 that conducts to His glory and service. May He grant peace to 
 your Eeverence." 
 
 To this letter Ochino replied : * — " Noble Signors, because the 
 love of country is a right and holy feeling, and the more so when 
 it concerns a universal and public good, I am of opinion that we 
 are bound to love it the more, the nearer we stand to God. As 
 brother of an order I am not excluded from these sweet chains, 
 but rather bound more closely the more charity is increased in 
 me. Accordingly the welfare of my city has filled me with joy, 
 and I have begun to feel proud of her — though always in Christ 
 — I hear so much good of her. I would gladly enjoy this, 
 especially as she once gave me much trouble and the rather be- 
 cause your letter expresses your own wish and that of the whole 
 
 * Alii molto mag ci S ri li S ri Priori et governatori del com(une) et il cap (itano) 
 del popolo della Citta di Siena. Molto magnifici signori. Per essere lo ainor della 
 patria justo et santo et tanto piu quanto e d' un bene universale e pubblico, cognosco 
 che tanto piu siamo obligati a marla quanto siamo a Dio piu proximi. per5 per 
 esser f rate non so excluso da questo dolce vinculo, anzi tanto piu strectamente ligato 
 quanto in me fusse piu charita. unum est che mi so congratulato del felice essere 
 della mia patria et o incominciato a honorarmene, perb in Christo, tanto ne sento dir 
 bene, et desiderarei presentialiter godermene, sichome del contrario le altre volte ne 
 o hauto molestia, et tanto piu quanto per la vostra vedo el desiderio di v e S e et della 
 citta, maxime quando credesse havere a giovare. ma poi so qui a Verona, ad in- 
 stantia del clarissimo dominio veneto o hauto un breve da S a S ta dove mi impone 
 che ritorni in Vinetia et li stia in fin tanto che altro non determina. tal che so im- 
 pedito, et bisogna mi haviate non solo per excusato, ma compassione, et tanto piu 
 quanto el venire mi sarebe piu contento ch' el restare. pregar5 bene el Signore che, 
 essendo suo onore, faci che sua S u osservi la promessa, et io quanto piu presto potr6 
 me ne verro alia mia Siena, pregando dio che la conservi et prosperi nella sua gratia 
 et pace. 
 
 Da Verona alii 20 di majrio 1512.
 
 THE CATASTROPHE. 97 
 
 city, but especially because I think that I can contribute some- 
 thing more to the amendment. But since I have been in Verona 
 I have received, at the instigation of the Venetian Dominion, a 
 brief from His Holiness which commands me to return to Venice, 
 and remain there till further orders. I am therefore prevented, 
 and must beg not only your forgiveness but also your compassion, 
 since I would much rather come than remain here. I will pray 
 to God, whose honour is concerned, that He move His Holiness 
 to keep his promise, then I will hasten as soon as possible to my 
 Siena. May God keep you and further you in His grace and 
 peace. — Verona, May 20, 1542." 
 
 We are not able to determine whether Ochino actually returned 
 for a time to Venice. He was at Verona when soon afterwards 
 he received a citation to Eome. How unexpected this was is 
 evident from the whole tenor of the above letter to the Council 
 of Siena, and from his expressions of his confident hope of 
 preaching- during the following Lent in his native city. 
 
 Meanwhile matters of importance were taking place in Rome* 
 Accounts daily poured in about the spread of the new doctrines 
 throughout Italy. Even the vacillating Paul III. was forced 
 to a decision. One day he summoned Caraffa before him, 
 " How shall we gain the mastery over the heretics, and re- 
 tain Catholics in the faith?" Caraffa hesitated to reply, his 
 own opinion was fixed as early as 1532.-f When he was in 
 Venice he had commissioned the Fra Bonaventure plainly to tell 
 the Pope, "Heretics are heretics, and must be treated as such. If 
 your Holiness lowers himself to write to them, flatter them and 
 treat them with consideration, it is unworthy your Holiness and 
 will only increase their number." But Caraffa had met with 
 resistance from Clement VII. and he feared a similar fate from 
 Paul III., and still more from the College of Cardinals, where he 
 could only count upon one, the Cardinal of Santiago, brother of 
 de Toledo, the Viceroy of Naples. He represented to the Pope, 
 
 * "What fullows is taken partly word for word from the Life of Paul IV. by 
 Caracciolo, MS., lib. iii. t Compare idem, lib. ii. cap. 9. 
 
 G
 
 98 BERNARDINO OCHINO. 
 
 " In Eome are the highest functions of the Church, the highest 
 tribunal of the faith should be here also. It was at Home that 
 St. Peter conquered the father of all heretics, the Magician 
 Simon. From hence, in like manner, must his successors crush 
 all heresies in the bud." Caraffa at length persuaded the 
 Pope ; but there was great opposition among the cardinals. A 
 general council had been so long expected to heal all the wounds 
 of the Church that many of the highest dignitaries began at last 
 to believe themselves that a couucil would work this miracle. 
 Caraffa took this into consideration, proposed to make prepara- 
 tions for the council, and meanwhile to give the Inquisition a 
 trial. He prevailed. On June 21st the bull Licet db initio was 
 issued. Later apologists of Catholicism have tried to give it a 
 softer interpretation. " The Inquisition," says Cantii, " was 
 chiefly instituted to exclude bad books." But in the thirteen 
 paragraphs of the bull there is no mention of bad books, but 
 only of proceedings against heretics and those suspected of 
 heresy. The third paragraph gives the Inquisitors power to 
 proceed not only against heretics, but also " against all who may 
 help them in word or deed, or assist them in any manner, openly 
 or secretly, no matter what their position, and without the con- 
 sent of the existing ecclesiastical courts, even in matters within 
 the jurisdiction of the latter. The Inquisition has power to con- 
 duct the inquiries, to imprison the guilty or suspected, to pro- 
 nounce a definitive sentence and to confiscate their possessions." 
 It was in this unlimited power and in the directness of the pro- 
 ceedings which found only too ready a support in the temporal 
 arm, that the novelty consisted, as well as the guarantee for the 
 successful activity of the Inquisition. Caraffa had framed the 
 following rules as normal : — " Firstly, In matters of faith 
 there must not be a moment's hesitation, but as soon as 
 there is any suspicion or sign of heresy, every means, even 
 violence, must be used to exterminate it. Secondly, There 
 must be no respect of persons, even high clmrch dignitaries or 
 temporal princes. Thirdly, The examination must be carried on
 
 THE CATASTROPHE. 
 
 with the greatest severity, especially against those who try to 
 hide themselves or to place themselves under the protection of 
 Influential friends. But those who confess of their own freewill 
 in;i\ be treated with kindness and paternal benevolence (viscere 
 paterae). Fourthly, Force must be used in its fullest measure 
 against heretics, especially against ( lalvinists. To attract heretics 
 with soft speeches, to be tolerant towards them, and make 
 promises to them, is to lower ourselves before them." In this last 
 rule we recognise the Caraffa who reproached Pope Clement VII. 
 for dealing gently with the heretics. In private conversation he 
 also said, " The Holy Office must strive most of all to punish the 
 great who are heretically inclined, because the welfare of the 
 lower classes depends on their chastisement." 
 
 Ochino was one of the first, perhaps the very first, cited before 
 them. It seemed to him as though the Holy Office had been 
 established for his sake. "Antichrist and his followers," he 
 afterwards wrote, "resolved with Caiaphas that I should die. 
 Six cardinals and dignitaiies were elected to put out every light 
 that might reveal their ruthless robberies. Then I was cited be- 
 fore Antichrist with unusual haste. I must appear in Rome 
 without delay." 
 
 Certainly Caraffa could not have found a more favourable 
 moment for exercising the activity of this new tribunal, but he 
 was obliged to proceed cautiously. The opposition which the 
 Savii of the Republic had shown to the violent proceedings of 
 the Nuntius at Venice would have been repeated at Verona. 
 Especially in this case, when a person of distinguished position 
 in the hierarchy was concerned, who was unusually beloved and 
 greatly respected in all circles, it was necessary if possible to 
 proceed quietly* Ochino himself says, " As I enjoyed such great 
 
 * Boverius, Annales ad. a. 1542. "Pontifex eum Roniam advocandum statuit ; 
 sed cum illius honori et existimationi consultum vellet non in vincula conjici aut 
 publico Romam velut haeresis suspectuin vocari voluit ; sed hunianissime cum eo 
 agens Cardiuale Carpeuse, qui Ordinis Protector erat, accersito, cum eo rem ita 
 gerendam statuit, ut per Ordinis rrocuratorem ac privatas ejus litems Oehinum 
 Koinaui advocandum curet." The last statement is not correct. It was not the
 
 100 BERNARDINO OCHINO. 
 
 respect in Italy, it was feared that I might some day, on small 
 provocation, call forth a great movement, especially as many 
 among the Capuchins, and these their chief preachers, shared my 
 opinions." It did not seem impossible that Ochino might submit, 
 that he might give that promise in a wider sense which the 
 jSTuntius had extorted in Venice concerning the Lenten sermons 
 of the same year, namely to refrain from polemics against eccles- 
 iastical doctrines and actions. "With his peculiar temperament 
 which might easily be excited by harsh treatment to a decisive 
 opposition, it seemed well to use prudence in the matter, and not 
 bring it immediately into publicity. Ochino's character was 
 known at Eome, and it was resolved to proceed with full regard 
 to it. 
 
 The accusation which the Nuntius had brought against Ochino 
 had been followed by further denunciations. Personal motives may 
 have here been at work. The verbose letter Caraffa afterwards 
 addressed to Ochino* scarcely conceals under its affected biblical 
 language, the vexation of the Inquisitor, whose first attempt had 
 failed. The protector of the Capuchin Order, Cardinal de Carpi, 
 agreed with the Pope, that the citation should take place 
 privately. Cardinal Farnese undertook to send Ochino a polite 
 invitation to come to Eome. He was left in the dark concerning 
 the reason of the citation. In the letter it was only stated that 
 it concerned " matters of importance." 
 
 This letter naturally excited mistrust in Ochino.f He had 
 been informed that he had been already denounced as a 
 " Lutheran," who was to be summoned to Eome on his defence, 
 and that members of his order had arrived in Eome as witnesses 
 against him. In spite of this he resolved to obey the summons. 
 He wrote to Farnese, to this effect, only remarking that he would 
 wait till the time of the great heat was passed, which had been 
 
 Procurator of the Order, Bernard de' Asti, but Cardinal Farnese who wrote to 
 Ochino. 
 
 * See Chapter V. 
 
 t Letter of Bishop Giberti to Marchese del Vasto, Sept. 7, 1542. Florentine 
 archives.
 
 THE CATASTROPHE. 101 
 
 expressly permitted to him. He had discussed the matter with 
 Giberti, he had declared that he did not feel himself guilty, but 
 that the ( lardinal's letter did not seem to him honest and straight- 
 forward, since two months before accusations of heresy had been 
 openly brought against him from certain quarters. 
 
 Giberti, the influential friend of the previous Pope, was still in 
 intimate relations with the Romish Court. He applied to friends 
 at Rome, trying to gain a delay, at least until those rumours 
 should be silenced, [f that were impossible, he begged them to 
 obtain a command from the Pope that Ochino should not as 
 usual proceed on toot during the heat, The Pope was glad to 
 be reminded of this, he did not wish to lose too much time, he 
 therefore empowered the Bishop to give the Father this order in 
 his name. He did not consent to Giberti's other proposal. On 
 the contrary, before Giberti received an answer, the Nuntius 
 a messenger from Venice to Ochino with the papal brief that he 
 was to appear at Borne without delay. 
 
 Ochino once more discussed his affairs with the well-inten- 
 tioned and shrewd Bishop. Giberti would not allow any re 
 to hold against strict obedience.* "If you have erred, give the 
 world a real example of humility ami penitence with more than 
 mere words, that will edify the good, and bring you more honour 
 than you think. If you have not erred, all the more must you 
 obey the command. The Pope has been appointed by God as 
 the head of our religion, you must not commit the offence of 
 assuming that he wishes to do you wrong, especially as in simi- 
 lar cases he has already shown himself more inclined to kindness 
 than severity." Ochino, therefore, undertook the journey in the 
 middle of August. It was not till he was on his way that he 
 learnt what the Curia really wanted with him. Giberti gave him 
 a letter to Lodovico Beccadelli, secretary to Cardinal Contarini 
 at Bologna, and also sent a servant with him, who accompanied 
 him as far as Florence. In the letter,-f* Giberti expressed the 
 
 * Ma io volsi admettere r ina in ontrario, se non che dovesse obbedire, 
 
 havendo o no errato, &c. 
 
 f Monumenta di vasia letteratura Bologna, 1797, ff. i. 2, p. 52, note 74.
 
 102 BERNARDINO OCHINO. 
 
 wish that Contarini would also encourage Ochino to show him- 
 self without fear before the tribunal. He writes, " The affairs of 
 our Pater Fra Bernardino will, I trust, have that termination 
 merited by his sincere piety, and which we may expect from the 
 wisdom of the Pope, before whom he is invited to appear. I 
 recommend him to you, and if the Lord Cardinal will assist him 
 in his kindness, everything will be so much easier." 
 
 Beccadelli himself, in his life of the Cardinal,* gives an account 
 of Ochino's visit to Contarini. Contarini had returned a year 
 before from the Eatisbon conference. Appointed as legate for 
 Bologna, he had assumed his office amid the delight of the in- 
 habitants, but soon after he was seized by a painful and incur- 
 able disease. Poison was suspected. We shall hear from Con- 
 tarini's own lips that this rumour had possibly some foundation. 
 The Cardinal lay on his sickbed when Ochino arrived towards 
 evening. He retained the distinguished Capuchin in his own 
 palace, in the hope that he might be able to converse with him 
 more freely on the following day. " But in the night," Becca- 
 delli continues, "his condition grew worse, so that in the 
 morning we could speak with him neither about Fra Bernardino 
 nor about any matters of business." Ochino, being informed of 
 this, wished to depart, but Beccadelli retained him till mid-day, 
 hoping that the Cardinal might then feel better. But as there 
 was no improvement, the secretary was at last persuaded by 
 Ochino to enter the room of the invalid, and express the Capu- 
 chin's wish. Ochino followed close upon him. The Cardinal, who 
 was in a high fever, could only say to him, " Father, you see the 
 state I am in, excuse me and pray to God for me. Buon viag- 
 
 gut! 
 
 Beccadelli thus relates the occurrence. Ochino himself several 
 times referred to this visit to Contarini, and, according to his 
 own account, that which he heard from Contarini on this occa- 
 sion was of decisive importance to his future. How is that pos- 
 
 * First printed in Querini, Epist. Reginaldi Poli, then in Monumenti di varia 
 letteratura.
 
 THE CATASTROPHE. 103 
 
 sible, if the Cardinal laid nothing to him but the above words? 
 
 The matter is important enough to warrant move careful investi- 
 gation. In the tenth treatise of the first volume of his "Pre- 
 diche,"* Ochino says concerning his visit to Contarini, "When I 
 
 lately passed through Bologna, and visited the Cardinal Con- 
 tarini, who was already suffering from the illness of which he 
 afterwards died, he said to me, 'Although at the Diet, I decidedly 
 opposed the Protestant doctrines, yet since my return to Italy, I 
 have been accused concerning certain twelve articles, among 
 which one is so worded that it assumed in a secret manner, 
 veiled under general expressions, the doctrine of justification 
 through Christ.' " Still more striking is the mention of this same 
 visit made by Ochino in a writing directed against the Abbot 
 Marco of Brescia,f he says, "Although I knew that a hard 
 struggle was awaiting me at liome, I still set out thither. I 
 arrived at Bologna ; there I conversed with the Cardinal Conta- 
 rini, and convinced myself that there was not the smallest 
 hope that the doctrine of justification would be received at Eome. 
 Contarini even added that he himself had been in great danger, 
 because it was said that he had not sufficiently exposed the Pro- 
 testants at the Diet. He barely escaped death. He even added, 
 in a low voice, ' If only I have escaped it.' I answered, If 
 they have dealt thus with the green tree, how shall it be with the 
 dry?" 
 
 Ochino' s account has been first impugned by Girolamo Muzio.ij: 
 Muzio refers to verbal statements of Beccadelli, which agree 
 with his written account, and insists that Contarini could not 
 have made the communication regarding the Diet, because he 
 only saw him that morning, and said nothing except those few 
 words of farewell. If this were really the case, Ochino would 
 certainly have been guilty of a serious perversion of truth. But 
 the facts do not stand thus, and this is evident from Muzio's own. 
 
 * See Appendix, n. 3 The Preface dates from October 10, 1542. 
 
 t See Appendix, n. 7. 
 
 £ Le Mentite Ocbiniane, Venezia, 1551, f. 22, b.
 
 104 BERNARDINO OCHINO. 
 
 account. The following is his own statement, — " The Cardinal 
 received Ochino, and told him to retire to rest* till the next 
 morning." He could not have said this to him except during 
 a visit on the preceding evening. We see from this that Ochino 
 had an interview with Contarini, concerning which Beccadelli is 
 purposely silent. It is well known that accusations like the 
 above were brought against the Cardinal, even before he left 
 Eatisbou. We may add that the reproach of agreeing with the 
 Protestant doctrine of justification cannot seem unfounded if we 
 consider Contarini's tract on justification. Contarini's chief ene- 
 mies at Rome were the Cardinals San Marcello and Caraffa. 
 Both sat in the commission before which Ochino had to appear. 
 In spite of this, Ochino continued his journey. Assuming that 
 Ochino had arrived at his final resolution, prudence forbade him 
 to execute it in the Papal dominions, especially as there was a 
 Governor at Bologna, who would have felt no scruple in execu- 
 ting a warrant of arrest from the Curia. Ochino wrote to Giberti 
 several times while on his way. He sent back his servant from 
 Florence to Verona : he had found another companion. 
 
 Ochino was now certain about the Curia's intentions. If he 
 showed himself willing to confess a fault of which he did not 
 feel guilty, to submit and retract, everything would be pardoned. 
 Paul III. had held out to him the hope of the highest ecclesias- 
 tical honours.f It would not have been the first time that a 
 Cardinal's hat hid inclinations and convictions opposed to the 
 Roman Curia. It must now be decided whether there was any 
 foundation for the reproach which the annalist of the Capuchin 
 Order, and others who gladly followed him, brought against 
 Ochino, namely, that unbridled ambition had been the mainspring 
 
 * II Cardinale lo ricevette e gli disse che si andasse a riposare infino alia mattina, &c. 
 
 f Di poi che cominciarono a suspicare di me, Paolo Papa ditto terzo non mancb 
 colla sua prudentia d' usar mezzi per tirarmi alle sue voglie con invitarmi a dignita, 
 Pred. i. 10. Erat Pontifex in Senensem usque adea animo propensus totque in euni 
 singularis benevolentiae signa declaraverat, ut in earn haud pauci opinionem addu- 
 cerentur, quod ab eo in Cardinalium numerum brevi adscribendus esset. Boverius 
 Annales, ad an. 1542.
 
 THE CATASTROPHE. 105 
 
 of his actions. < Ichino's resolution to abandon everything rather 
 than sacrifice his convictions, must furnish the answer. Duri 
 the short period of his residence at Florence, the inner struggle 
 that had agitated him for years, came to a final decision. From 
 an outsider's point of view, there were three possibilities open to 
 him. 
 
 He could go to Rome, prepared to submit to the requirements 
 of the Curia. It is not probable that the great popular preacher, 
 the general of an order, who although still young, yet vied with 
 the oldest in iniluence and consideration, a man only too deeply 
 initiated in the secrets and weaknesses of the Romish hierarchy * 
 would have been forced into finally breaking with the Church, if 
 any means could have been found of keeping him on its 
 side. 
 
 He could go to Eome, secondly, with the intention of defend- 
 ing his convictions, and the teaching of Scripture as opposed to 
 tradition, and with the resolve in no manner to be forced into 
 retractation or denial. What he had to expect in this case could 
 be no longer doubtful after his interview with Contarini, and the 
 intelligence he received in Florence. " I was informed," he says,f 
 "that just as the Synagogue has been honourably buried, they 
 wished to bury me without uproar." 
 
 A third course would be to escape the power of the Curia and 
 the Inquisition by flight. If Ochino decided to follow this course, 
 it was high time. If he had journeyed another day towards 
 Rome, he would have fallen into the hands of emissaries who 
 were watching the Capuchin convent of Porta Camollia, near 
 Siena. Liberty in Siena was rapidly declining. In Florence, 
 also, the Duke had shown himself willing to assist the Curia 
 in similar cases. 
 
 Ochino had only the choice between the two last courses. 
 The thought of retracting and sacrificing the conviction gained 
 
 * He expresses this happily somewhere, " Laloro Religione habisogno di silenzio." 
 
 * Io fui certificate ohe siccome la Sinagoga fu Bepolta honoratamente, cosi senza 
 tumulto volevauo sepelir me, Tret. 10. See Appendix, No. 3.
 
 106 BERNARDINO OCHINO. 
 
 by such hard struggles, seemed to him only a temptation of 
 Satan's. Afterwards his conscience reproached him with having 
 hidden and disguised the truth only too long. He set himself 
 the question : Under existing circumstances am T bound to obey 
 the commands of Eome ? and he gave the following answer : " I 
 know that he who has summoned me thither is no other than 
 Antichrist, whom I am not bound to obey. He is persecuting 
 me to the death, because I preach Christ, His grace, and the 
 Gospel, and everything which glorifies the Son of God diminishes 
 the power of Antichrist's kingdom. Shall I now go to death with 
 a clear conscience, and of my own free will, without hope of fruit, 
 to the grief of all pious men ? I should be tempting God if I 
 exposed myself to death without His special revelation, or being 
 urged by His Spirit. To obey God means to show Him honour, 
 and solemnly to recognise His authority ; but I should be dis- 
 honouring God if I obeyed the Pope, for I should be showing that 
 I regarded him as the rightful vicar of Christ on earth. I should 
 thus be giving great scandal, and displeasing God Himself. Till 
 now Christ has made use of me under this mask of dress and 
 living, so that, with less suspicion, I might preach to superstitious 
 Italy the grace, the gospel, and the great merits of Christ; but 
 now the hour is come w T hen God wills to make use of me in 
 another manner. He wills me to set forth the truth in writing 
 publicly, and without any respect of man; and because I could 
 not do this in Italy, God has driven me into this strait." In an- 
 other place Ochino says : " If I could thereby have done greater 
 service to the cause of the gospel, I would not have shunned 
 death. But I am certain that my death would only have been a 
 triumph for my enemies, and that I am called by the Lord to serve 
 Him yet longer and more. Thirty years I have preached in 
 Italy, but all that has not done the Church of Antichrist so much 
 harm as this one thing, my desertion." 
 
 A letter of Ochino's, written from Orvieto to Vittoria Colonna, 
 presents a faithful picture of his state of mind, and gives us an
 
 THE CATASTROPHE. 107 
 
 insijrht into the struggles by which he was at that time 
 agitated* 
 
 "lam still lingering in the neighbourhood of Florence, tor- 
 mented by doubts. I came hither with the intention of going to 
 Rome, although I had been much dissuaded from doing so; but 
 when, day after day, I received more particular accounts of the 
 manner in which matters were conducted there, I was especially 
 persuaded by Don Fietro Martire and others not to go, for I 
 should be forced either to deny Christ, or to be crucified. I will 
 
 * Xon con piccolo fastidio di mente mi truovo qui fuore di Fioreuze venuto con 
 animo di andai a Roma dove Bono chiamato, benche inanti ch' io fussi qui, da molti 
 ne sia statu dissuaso. ma intendendo ogni «1 i piu cose et il modo col quale proce- 
 dono sono statu particularmente da Don Pietro Martire et da altri molto persuaso 
 di non anilare : perchO in >n potrei Be non negar < ihristo el primo 
 
 non vorei fare, el secondo s\, co la sua gratia, ma quando lui vorra. andar io alia 
 morte voluntariamente, non ho questo spirito hora. Dio quando vorra mi sapra 
 trovar per tutto. Christo m' insegno a fuggire piu volte, in Egitto et alii Samari" 
 tani, et cos'i Paulo, iinmo mi disse che io andassi in altra citta quando in una io non 
 ero ricevuto. dapoi che farei piu in Italia ? predicar sospetto et predicar Christo 
 mascarato in gergo 1 et molte volte bisogna bestemiarlo per satisfare alia supersti- 
 tione del mondo. et non basta, et ad ogni sgraziato kisterebe 1' animo acrivere a 
 Eoma, pontar me : ritorneremo presto alii medesimi tumulti. e scrivendo manco 
 potrei dare in luce cosa alcuna. per questi et altri rispetti eleggo partirmi, et par- 
 tici'larmeute che vedo procedono in modo, che ho da pensare che vorrebbeno infino 
 esaminarmi et farmi rinegar Christo o ammazzarmi. credo se Paulo fosse nel mio 
 essere non pigliarebbe altro partito. posso dir che forse come per miracolo so 
 passato Bologna e non so stato ritenuto per la volonta che ho mostrata di andare, et 
 per la bonta et prudentia del Contareno, siccome ne ho avuto evidenti indicij. di 
 poi ho inteso ch' el Farnese dice che so chiamato perche ho predicato heresie et cosa 
 scandalosa ; il Theatino, Puccio et de 1' altri ch' io non voglio nominarli, dalli avi.-i 
 ne ho havuto, (parlano) in modo che se io avessi crocefisso Christo non so se si 
 facesse tanto rumore. io son tale qual sa V. S., et la dottrina si pun Bapere da chi 
 m' ha udito. immo mai predicai piu reservato et con modestia clie quest' anno, et 
 gia senza udirmi mi hanno pubblicato per uno heretico. ho piacer che da me in- 
 cominciano a riformar la Chiesa. tengono in sino un frate con 1' habito nostro in 
 Araceli che el Capitolo annuale ordin5 che gli fosse cavato F liabito. onde tanti 
 commotione contro di me? penso sia bene cedere a tanto impeto. dall' altra parte 
 pensate se mi e aspro per tutti li rispetti che sapete. considerate so ben che senso 
 repugns a lasciar tutto et a pensare che bi (lira. ( 'hri-to ha permesso et voluto ch' 
 essi mi necessitino cosJ a (jualche buon fine, mi sarebbe stato sopra modo gratissimo 
 parlarvi et havere el vostro giuditio et di Mons. Rmo. Polo o ana lettera nostra ; 
 ma & piu d' un mese che non ho vostre lettere. pregale il Signor per me ho animo 
 servirgli pin che mai con la sua gratia, et salutate tutti. — l>a Firenze alii xxii. di 
 Agosto mdxlii. After a copy in the Biblioteca Communale of Siena.
 
 108 BERNARDINO OCHINO. 
 
 not do the first, the second only with His grace, if He Himself 
 wills it. I feel no call to go to death of my own free will, if it is 
 God's will He will know where to find me. Christ has several 
 times taught us to flee, into Egypt and to Samaria, and also bade 
 us, if we were not received in one city, to flee into another. 
 What more can I do in Italy ? Shall I preach Christ under a 
 mask of jargon, while I am suspected and watched ? while I am 
 even forced at times to blaspheme in consideration of the super- 
 stitions of the world ? If, then, it should please any one to send 
 intelligence to Borne and accuse me there, we should have the 
 same annoyance over again. For these reasons I prefer to leave 
 Italy, entirely and without delay. I can see they are proceed- 
 ing in such a manner that I cannot refrain from the thought that 
 they wish either to force me to deny Christ, or to despatch me. 
 I think that if Paul were in my place, he would make the same 
 decision. I may truly say that I passed through Bologna by a 
 miracle. I was not seized, because I showed the intention of 
 going to Borne, also by the goodness and prudence of Cardinal 
 Contarini, of which I had very clear proofs. I hear, moreover, 
 that Cardinal Farnese says I have been summoned to Borne, be- 
 cause I preached heresies and other scandalous things. The 
 Theatine Cardinal, Puccio, and others whom I will not name, 
 express themselves according to what I hear, in such a manner, 
 that if I had crucified Christ Himself, they could not make more 
 noise. I am the same person your Excellency has known. Any 
 one who has heard me can give an account of my doctrine. I 
 have never preached with more moderation and reticence than 
 during this year, and now I am decried as a heretic unheard. 
 But I am glad that the reform of the Church has been begun 
 with me. At this day they are keeping a monk at Aracoeli, in 
 the gown of his order, who ought to have been unfrocked, ac- 
 cording to the resolution of the General Chapter. Then why is 
 there such great zeal against me ? But I deem it best to yield 
 to these attacks. On the other hand, you can well imagine how 
 hard such a resolution is to me. You will consider how the flesh
 
 THE CATASTROPHE. I". 1 
 
 resists the thought of leaving everything behind, and considering, 
 at the same time, what the world will say. Christ, has permitted 
 thai they should thus persecute me. He wills it for .-Mine good 
 purpose. I should have much liked to speak with you about 
 this, to hear your opinion, or thai of Monsignor Pole, or to rece 
 a letter from you, but I have oot had one for more than a month. 
 Pray to God for me ; 1 am more willing than ever to serve Him. 
 Salute all. Florence, August 22, L5 \2. n 
 
 Just at that time Peter Martyr had come from Lucca. A 
 citation before the Augustine Chapter al Genoa had placed him 
 in a similar position to Ochino, and he had already formed his 
 decision. He had written from Pisa to Cardinal Pole at Viterbo, 
 and communicated his intention of flight. For his companions 
 in the faith at Lucca he had composed a detailed justification of 
 his flight, full of prayers and exhortations to remain steadfast in 
 their convictions. He left this in charge of a friend before he 
 went to Florence. In S. Domenico, near Fiesole, — the s 
 abbey which had received the youth when, in spite of his father's 
 commands, he had taken the cowl — he now, for the last time, 
 took up his abode for a few days * That his advice and example 
 influenced Ochino's decision appears from Ochino's letter to 
 Vittoria Colouna. Boverio was in the right, though he coloured 
 his rhetoric too highly, when he made Martyr say to Ochino : 
 " Unhappy one, whither are you going ? — To Pome ? Do you 
 wish to bring your grey hairs with terror to the grave ? Do you 
 trust the liars who deceptively hold out to you an unexpected 
 dignity, as though we did not know what are their intentions 
 towards you?" If what Boverio adds is true, that Martyr fur- 
 nished his friend with money for his journey, it must have been 
 a personal sacrifice, for his own possessions were scanty. 
 
 Ochino was not in want of advice from other friends, such as 
 Caruesecchi and Flaminio, who happened to be at Florence just 
 then. But such resolutions as this must be taken by each 
 individual for himself. Motives, whose importance he alone 
 
 * Compare Estratto del Processo di Pietro Carnesecchi, p. 375.
 
 110 BERNARDINO OCHINO. 
 
 can feel, give the final impetus. Although later Ochino often 
 had occasion to speak of this resolution to take flight and break 
 openly with the Catholic Church, he never weakly threw the 
 responsibility on others. No one had as much to lose as he ; 
 but, with a perfect consciousness of that which he was here 
 renouncing and what he would gain elsewhere, Ochino made his 
 decision. 
 
 In the above letter Ochino already declared that his position 
 and the variance between his inner conviction and his official 
 situation had become intolerable. " Shall I preach Christ in 
 masked jargon ?" he himself had said while his opponents at 
 Eome did not seem disposed to permit even this much longer. 
 The manner in which his inner struggles were concluded is 
 shown by Ochino in the tenth treatise of the first volume of the 
 " Prediche." * He there says : " Christ knows that for a long 
 while I have given myself to Him with my whole heart, especi- 
 ally when I had to decide whether I should go to Eome or not ; 
 and, through faith, I am certain that He has accepted me as His 
 own. He never forsakes His own, but everything that they do 
 must tend to His honour and glory." And in the preface to 
 these same "Prediche," dated October 10th 1542, he says: "If I 
 could have continued to preach Christ in Italy — I will not even 
 say in full and naked truth, as the Father has given Him to us, 
 but disguised and enveloped as I have striven to do till now, 
 always with the good intention not to alarm the prejudiced, — I 
 would not have gone away. But matters had gone so far, that if 
 I remained in Italy there were only two courses open to me. I 
 must either keep silence — yea, show myself the enemy of the 
 gospel, or suffer death ; and as I would not deny Christ, I have 
 chosen, so as not to tempt God, to leave Italy. When my hour 
 comes God will know where to find me. I well know that when 
 all pious, prudent, and saintly men consider what I have forsaken 
 in Italy, to what calumnies I have exposed myself, and whither 
 I have gone in my already advanced years, they will assuredly 
 
 * Prediche, 10; see Appendix, No. 3.
 
 THE CATASTROPHE. Ill 
 
 recognise that my departure was not caused by human and carnal 
 wisdom, or by sensual desires (for I trust in Christ that my life 
 will prove this); on the contrary, God knows that the carnal part 
 of my being is dissatisfied because Christ has so entirely taken 
 possession of me." 
 
 In the before-mentioned treatise* Ochino takes the opportunity 
 of justifying his decision from another point of view, lie treats 
 the question how man must answer before God's judgment- 
 throne, and distinguishes between the judgment-seats of God — 
 that of justice and that of grace. Man is unable by his own 
 power to justify himself before the one ; he therefore appeals to 
 the other, where, armed with the innocence and truth of Christ, 
 he can be justified. Thus he may fearlessly stand before any 
 just tribunal. "This was the case with me," continues Ochino ; 
 " I only preached, read, and taught holy and evangelical doctrines. 
 This is known to whomsoever has heard me in Italy. Thus 
 armed with pure, innocent, true, and holy doctrine, I would have 
 oladly and fearlessly appeared before the tribunal at Rome, if 
 only it had been a just one. I am ready to prove this. Let a 
 safe place and a Christian tribunal be given me anywhere in 
 Italy, or wherever my accusers may please, and I pledge myself 
 to appear, and to defend, not myself, but Christ and His doctrine 
 preached by me." As a proof that the Soman tribunal was not 
 a Christian one, Ochino appeals to what Contarini had said to 
 him at Bologna. "The doctrine of justification through Christ 
 is one of the fundamental dogmas of the Christian faith, and yet 
 it was condemned in such a man as Contarini by those who 
 would have sat in judgment over me. How should I have fared? 
 They only endured me so long as they thought I held with them 
 I am certain that not even Paul would have appeared before such 
 a tribunal, if he had had the certainty of going to death. He 
 could still appeal unto Caesar; there was no one on earth to 
 whom I could appeal." 
 
 In his letter to Vittoria Colonna, and also in the above- 
 
 * Prediche, 10; see Appendix, No. 3.
 
 112 BERNARDINO OCHINO. 
 
 mentioned preface to the first volume of the Prediche, Ochino 
 refers to Christ's own example, " who several times fled from His 
 enemies to Egypt, to Samaria, and Galilee, and several times hid 
 Himself." Thus also Prediche ii. 25 * " Christ also often retired 
 from public speaking and action, He several times forsook Judea, 
 and fled into Galilee and Samaria. He often hid Himself and 
 fled from death, and by doing so, he occasioned offence to none, 
 for His hour had not yet come." In this treatise he reasons in 
 the following manner : the desire to cause no offence to the weak 
 is enjoined by brotherly love and Christian prudence, but it has 
 its limits wherever truth would be endangered. " It is certainly 
 true that we must not give way to the weak in cases where others 
 would take offence, or where the truth would be stifled. Thus 
 Paul was right in blaming Peter. It is not permitted to give 
 way to the weak in those matters, which are not indifferent, but 
 necessary. Even in indifferent matters we should not give way 
 to the Pharisees. Therefore, if there were any one in Italy, 
 especially a man in authority, who hoped to serve the people, 
 he might give way in indifferent matters, and accommodate him- 
 self to them, like Paul, who associated with Jews like a Jew, 
 with the heathens as a heathen, with the weak as weak, and 
 accommodated himself to all, to win them to Christ. But if this 
 should offend the true Christians in Italy, even though they may 
 be weak, he must no longer give way, but must throw aside all 
 superstition. Like Paul, he must not only not yield to them, 
 but must publicly oppose them, and fight against all, especially 
 those who stand at their head, even St. Peter himself, if he 
 does not walk in the true faith of the gospel. But if he hopes 
 for no result, if he sees that he will be imprisoned and killed, 
 then, if his hour has not yet come, and he does not feel in him- 
 self the impulse to seek death, he may and must retreat with 
 Christ, hide himself, and flee to dwell elsewhere. If, then, 
 Christ Himself did not sin when he did this, and went even 
 among the Samaritans, who were heretics towards the Mosaic 
 
 * Appendix, No. 28.
 
 THE CATASTROPHE. 113 
 
 Law, and if for the same reasons the apostles went among the 
 heathen, this cannol be accounted as sin in me, especially as I 
 have forsaken a godless, Antichristian kingdom, to seek a new 
 home among true and sincere Christians." 
 
 Such were the thoughts which agitated Ochino during his 
 residence in Florence. When he wrote to Vittoria Colonna, his 
 decision was already formed, and lie had resolved to leave Italy. 
 
 In resolving thus, Ochino renounced all that distinguished 
 gifts, untiring zeal, the favour of influential friends, the work of 
 a whole lifetime, had secured for him in outward results. He 
 renounced even more. "An orator losing his country, loses 
 everything," and he renounced everything at a time which he 
 might fairly regard as near the close of his life, when his hair 
 was white, and his body weak from the pain and abstinence of a 
 restless activity, which alike tried body and mind. He was in 
 his lifty-sixth year, the thought of accommodating himself to a 
 different mode of life and unknown language, foreign circum- 
 stances and customs, and leaving his beloved couutry for ever, 
 must have been doubly hard. 
 
 Ochino probably left Florence on the 23d of August. It was 
 the vigil of St. Bartholomew's Day, when the guards surrounded 
 the Capuchin cloister of Porta Camollia, near Siena. But he had 
 already begun his flight. He started from the same Florence 
 that four years previously had witnessed his highest honour, his 
 election as Vicar-General of his order. He went alone. Martyr 
 followed two days later. Ascanio Colonna, Vittoria's brother, 
 had given him a horse and a servant.* He may have avoided 
 Bologna, where the noble Contarini drew his last breath on the 
 24th of August. Florimond Eemond heard from a brother of 
 Ochino's order that the Duchess Rene'e of Ferrara, the courageous 
 patroness of all who were evangelically inclined, furnished him 
 with clothing and other necessaries for the journey .-f- She may 
 
 * Compare Letter of Bullinger to Vadian, Corpus Reformatorum. ed. Baum, 
 Cunitz, Reusa xxxix. n. 441. 
 
 t riorimundus Eaimundus, Historia hares, seculi xvi., iii. c. v. p. 231. 
 
 H
 
 114 BERNARDINO OCHINO. 
 
 have recommended him to Calvin, who had spent some time at 
 her court, and for whom she had the highest regard. As soon 
 as Martyr's flight was known, a warrant of arrest was sent after 
 him, and Duke Cosimo de' Medici was requested to assist in its 
 execution. With regard to Ochino, the Commision of the In- 
 quisition, thinking he could no longer be reached, seem to have 
 abstained. Cardinal Pucci contented himself by writing in 
 September to the Duke, " Ochino has again shown that all is not 
 gold that glitters."* 
 
 Just as there are various and contradictory accounts concern- 
 ing Ochino's earlier and later life, accounts vary about the period 
 of his decision. Grazianit states that he had already fled from 
 Bologna in the night after his visit to Contarini, or rather, as 
 Graziani says, without Ochino's having been able to speak to 
 Contarini. Christoph Sand* relates, on the other hand, that 
 Ochino actually obeyed the citation to Eome, that there, in a 
 sermon on Palm Sunday (!) he severely blamed, in the presence 
 of the Pope, the pomp of the Papal Court, contrasting it with the 
 simplicity of Christ's entry into Jerusalem. After the conclusion 
 of the sermon a Cardinal informed him that the Pope was very 
 indignant with him and advised him to fly. Ochino hastened to 
 Venice. This account, which refers to an unnamed authority, is 
 one of the many inventions which gathered the more thickly round 
 the story of Ochino's life, the further the narrators were removed 
 from the sources of facts. 
 
 From Ferrara Ochino struck across the plain of Lombardy. A 
 brother of his order accompanied him as far as the neighbourhood 
 of Brescia. From a passage at the end of Giberti's letter to the 
 Marchese del Vasto in Milan, it appears that Ochino visited del 
 Vasto on his way. At any rate Giberti thanks the Marchese 
 " for all that he has done and will still do to lead the good father 
 back to the right way." The annalist of the Capuchin Order 
 
 * Archivio Mediceo. Florence cart. 3717. 
 f Historia Cardinalis Comendoni II. cap. 9. 
 
 J Christophorus Sandius, Bibliotheca Antitrinitariorum, S. 3. Appendix ad 
 Nucleum hist., eccL, S. 90.
 
 THE CATASTROPHE. 1 1 5 
 
 knows nothing of any visit of Ochino's to Ferrara. According to 
 him he laid aside the dress of his order in the convent at Flor- 
 ence, in company with three companions, lay brothers of the 
 convent, whom he had persuaded to accompany him. lie took 
 his way through Mantua. The account given by Boverio of 
 Ochino's parting from Italy* is a proof how much the desire to 
 invent and exaggerate preponderated in him over a strict adher- 
 ence to truth. It is by no means undramatic. 
 
 One of his companions, relates Boverio, was Mariano of 
 Ginuziano, a lay brother, formerly as soldier a wanderer in 
 France and Germany, acquainted with foreign tongues, a useful 
 and good-hearted man. Ocliino had won over the reluctant friar 
 by the statement that he felt himself called to proclaim the true 
 doctrine to the heretics beyond the Alps, even at the risk of 
 martyrdom. Two more friars, Fra Ginepro, and Fra Francesco 
 were named as his other comrades. Ochino does not mention 
 these, nor Mariano, but Boverio continues, "On the summit of 
 the Alps, where the eye turns back for the last look at Italy, 
 Ochino pauses. He thinks of all the love and reverence which 
 has been always shown him in all places, and of the high dis- 
 tinctions which have fallen to his lot in his own order. Forgetful 
 of his companions, he bursts into tears and exclaims, ' Oh, my 
 Italy ! blessed above all lands, thou my country, my home, once 
 my joy, now my sorrow, since a sad and eternal banishment 
 separates me from thee. The tokens of honour which thou hast 
 given me are gone, thy people and thy nobles will no longer 
 crowd to hear my voice, and applaud with delightful approval, 
 they will no longer hail me with acclamation as I descend from 
 the pulpit. My departure robs me of all this, and thou, my order, 
 once my refuge, then my beloved child, how much kindness and 
 benefit do I owe thee, how hast thou raised me by marks of 
 honour ! I ought to have requited thy benefits by similar ones, 
 or at least returned my thanks for them, but now my de- 
 parture casts thee into trouble and anxiety, thou didst nourish 
 
 * Boverius, Annates ad. ann. 1542, c. xxxi. to xxxviii.
 
 116 BERNARDINO OCHINO. 
 
 and bring up a son to have in him a Benjamin, a son of joy, and 
 behold he has become a Benoni, a son of sorrow.' " 
 
 Thus far the annalist of the order, who now loses every certain 
 trace of Ochino's life. Even without his coloured rhetorical 
 account, we feel that deep and earnest thoughts must have 
 moved the solitary wanderer in quest of a new home, and a new 
 future on the other side of the Alps. 
 
 Ochino directed his way to Geneva, not, as Boverio supposes, 
 across the St. Bernard, but through Chiavenna and Zurich. 
 Italian fugitives escaping the Inquisition were already flocking 
 to Zurich in large numbers. Bullinger states,* "Among the 
 fugitives was Signor Bernardino of Siena, celebrated for the 
 sanctity of his walk, and for his learning, a venerable old 
 man, with a tall figure and an imposing appearance. He re- 
 mained two days among us, and we conversed about religious 
 matters. He showed us several briefs in which Pope Paul 
 directs him to preach now in Siena,t now in Florence, now 
 in Venice. But when the Pope heard that he was preaching 
 Christ, he cited him to Eome by another brief. Bernardino had 
 already set out boldly on the way, but pious friends at Florence 
 held him back and persuaded him to fly to Germany, represent- 
 ing to him that certain death awaited him at Borne." Bullinger 
 adds, " Prom hence he travelled to Geneva, and will remain at 
 Geneva because he is there nearer to Italy. He lives at his own 
 expense. In Italy he was so greatly revered that he was adored 
 almost like a god." 
 
 * Letter to Vadian, 19th Dec. 1542. Corpus Reformatorum, xxxix., No. 441. 
 f Januensibus praedicare, should read Senensibus, idem.
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 IMPKESSION MADE BY THIS FLIGHT — ATTACKS AND DEFENCES. 
 
 Re-action of Ochino's Flight on the Order — Caraffa's Letter — Giberti's "Verdict — 
 Tolomei's Letter — Ochino's Reply — Muzio's Attack — Ochino's Answer ' ' To 
 the Council of Siena " — Paleario vouches for Ochino — Caterino Politi — Giro- 
 lamo di Lucca — Marco di Brescia/ — Re-action upon the Evangelical Move- 
 ment in Italy. 
 
 The news of Ochino's flight does not seem to have reached Eome 
 till September 1542. Under that date, Seripand, afterwards 
 Cardinal-Legate at the Council of Trent, wrote in his diary, 
 " Bernardinus from the Capuchins to the Lutherans."* A threat- 
 ening storm was gathering over the order. 
 
 Another preacher, Girolamo di Melfi, distinguished like Ochino 
 by the gift of eloquence, had followed the example of the Vicar- 
 General ; he also found a refuge at Geneva. The Inquisition at 
 Verona had already begun its work. The guardian of the Capuchin 
 Convent, Fra Bartolommeo of Cuneo, had been arrested. Others 
 recanted, among them the Vicar at Milan. A strict investigation 
 was decreed for all the convents in the provinces of Milan and 
 Venice. For a time they each had two Provincials of the order 
 instead of one. Boverio has not the candour to recognise the 
 spread and influence of Ochino's opinions within the order 
 in its whole extent. Ochino himself casually remarks that a 
 large number of the brothers thought with him. "Deprived of 
 its father," complains Boverio, " the order lay weeping and cast 
 
 * Documenti inediti sul Concilio de Trento, edited by P. Generoso Calenzio 
 Rome, 1874, III. MS. Seripandi.
 
 118 BERNARDINO OCIIINO. 
 
 down. In all the convents sorrow and grief prevailed at the 
 sacrilege of the apostate, and at the universal misfortune. A 
 voice was heard crying in the wilderness, a voice of sorrow and 
 tears, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be com- 
 forted." In vain the Procurator Bernard of Asti, in accordance 
 with the General Chapter, which was immediately summoned, 
 decreed special penances, prayers and fasts, and flagellations for 
 all the convents. The people pointed at the Capuchins, mocked 
 them as heretics, and refused them the accustomed doles. 
 
 At that time, Pope Paul III. was absent from Rome. This 
 circumstance also proves that Ochino was not cited before him, but 
 before the tribunal of the Inquisition. Paul III. was visiting the 
 proud city of Perugia, conquered by him, and effectually humbled 
 by the strong citadel which bore his name, and which has only in 
 our time been razed to the ground. There he received the news 
 of Ochino's flight. The whole order was denounced. Even the 
 procurator did not escape censure, for it was objected he must 
 have known how matters stood with Ochino, and yet he had been 
 admitted to the General Chapter and the election. The Pope, good- 
 natured, but subject to transports of passion, was greatly enraged. 
 He wished to dissolve the whole order. On his way to Rome, 
 at the opening of the valley where Spoleto lies, he is said to have 
 muttered at the sight of a Capuchin convent high upon a moun- 
 tain : " Soon there will be neither Capuchins nor Capuchin 
 convents." In the consistory at Piome, the Pope first maintained 
 this intention. It seemed to the Observants that the hour had 
 come to avenge themselves upon the new order that had caused 
 them such great losses. They even prepared a dress of their 
 order for every Capuchin at Pome, so firmly convinced were they 
 that these would be forced to enter their community. Sarcasti- 
 cally they greeted them with, " Soon we shall assist at your 
 funeral ! " But the Sacred College decided after long discussions, 
 at which the Cardinal of San Severino warmly defended the 
 order, that it should not be dissolved. Afterwards, it became a 
 firm prop to the hierarchical system, especially in Italy. No
 
 IMPRESSION MADE BY TniS FLIGHT. 119 
 
 other order has been able to win such great influence over the 
 lower classes, and to keep them in such dependence upon Church 
 authority. From a mendicant order it has long since become 
 opulent, but the scrip has remained its badge. To this day its 
 preachers assemble large audiences round their pulpits. 
 
 Boverio asserts that the anger of the Pope was specially in- 
 flamed by an "apology" which Ochino addressed to Paul III., either 
 from Florence or Geneva, which was answered by Cardinal 
 Caraffa. Nothing is known concerning an apology of Ochino's, 
 addressed to Paul III. in the year 1542; and in fact, Caraffa's 
 letter is addressed, not against this, but against the first volume 
 of Ochino's theological treatises, which appeared a short time 
 after his arrival at Geneva.* 
 
 Caraffa might feel called upon, more than any other, to take 
 up his pen against Ochino. It was before him, the inquisitor, 
 that Ochino was to have appeared, and he had long considered him- 
 self personally appointed by Providence to fight against all heresy. 
 Caraffa explains f Ochino's apostasy as having been caused by 
 a triumph of his sensual desires over his former piety. He fully 
 acknowledges Ochino's severe mode of life and his zeal in fulfill- 
 ing the duties of his order. " But all this," continues Caraffa, "has 
 been changed at one stroke. Worldly levity has suddenly seized 
 you, after a wicked change, caused not by the hand of God, but 
 by the envy of the devil, you are now going about in worldly 
 attire, in fine clothing; you mock at holy things, you have done 
 away with fasting, you despise abstinence, you enjoy fat meat 
 without regard of fast days. Your pale countenance, your long- 
 flowing beard, your garment of coarse cloth promised a stern 
 mode of life for the rest of your days, and now you are scented 
 with odours, now you worship sensual desire, now you live the 
 life of a Bacchanal." 
 
 This will suilice to characterise Caraffa's attacks. Hisj in- 
 
 * Appendix, No. 3. 
 
 t Supplemento alia Historia della Religione dei Padri clerici Eegolari. Rome. 
 1616, c. 97.
 
 120 BERNARDINO OCHINO. 
 
 ventions about Ochino's life are the more detestable, when 
 we consider that Ochino was at that time at Geneva, where 
 Calvin's iron hand had established among laymen a much sterner 
 discipline than could be found in Borne among ecclesiastics. 
 Caraffa lays special stress on two points. " In thy tract, which is 
 circulated even here, thou thyself confessest that until now thou 
 hast preached Christ with dissimulation." It was easy for 
 Ochino's opponents to give a false interpretation to this expres- 
 sion, which he also used in his letter to Vittoria Colonna, and 
 Caraffa was not the only one who here proved his acuteness and 
 used Ochino's own words as a weapon against himself. Eightly 
 understood, the expression only referred to the division which 
 had formed itself between Ochino's outward position as member 
 of the Catholic hierarchical system, and his innermost convictions. 
 But his opponents gladly represented the word as a confession 
 of Ochino's, that he had wilfully falsified Christ's image. "What 
 do you say there ? " thus Caraffa attacks him, " Do you not see 
 that you are caught in your own snare ? Do yon think you 
 have been permitted so long to deceive Christian people with 
 impunity, and to preach Antichrist instead of Christ ? So you 
 have set before them the leaven of the Pharisees instead of holy 
 doctrine, and poison instead of milk, and a stone instead of bread." 
 Ochino subsequently answered this reproach. 
 
 The motto prefixed by Ochino to the first part of his "Prediche," 
 inflamed the Cardinal's ire yet more against him. " How darest 
 thou cloak thy disobedience to the Pope, thy flight from the 
 presence of the Lord thy God, while thou didst curse the princes 
 of thy people, with the words of Scripture. ' If they have 
 persecuted me, they will also persecute you.' " This is not meant 
 for you, you seducers, you apostates, you rebels, you drunkards 
 and adulterers, you robbers of the sanctuary, you Christian 
 Epicureans. The wholesome sword rightly kills you, the pious 
 hand of the physician cuts you off from the healthy body." 
 
 It is not known whether this declamatory effusion ever came to 
 Ochino's knowledge. At any rate he did not answer it. Pro-
 
 IMPltESSION MADE BY THIS FLIGHT. 121 
 
 bably lie was also unacquainted with Bishop Giberti's letter to the 
 Marchess del Vasto. Giberti expressed himself concerning 
 Ochino's resolve in the following manner: — "Two things may- 
 have led onr good father to the step; it may have been zeal against 
 what seemed to him the evil government of the Church, but that 
 is no novelty, but has been so from the beginning. Good and 
 evil will always dwell together, and many holy and learned men, 
 whom ( Ichino ought to trust, have in even worse times shown the 
 rulers not hatred, but rather pity, and have followed the only right 
 paths, those of private and writ: en rebuke, and secret tears and 
 prayers. The other motive may have been his doubts of the Pope's 
 good faith, but the character and former proceedings of His Holi- 
 ness do not justify any such suspicion. Besides it is contradicted 
 by the circumstance that the Pope took no steps to have Ochino ar- 
 rested in the Venetian dominions, although he might very easily 
 have done so. Nor did the Governatore of Bologna receive any 
 order to secure him." 
 
 "We have already shown that Giberti, whenever he speaks of 
 the " evil government " of the church, only considers apart of that 
 which drove Ochino to a breach with this church. The real rea- 
 sons for the Curia's moderation in its proceedings against Ochino 
 have already been adduced. 
 
 Meantime Ochino received a letter of Claudio Tolomei's, which 
 although not ingenuous, yet explains certain not unimportant 
 points. Like Ochino, Claudio Tolomei was a native of Siena, where 
 this respected and deserving patrician family still survives. 
 Born in 1492, he spent the greater part of his life at Pome in inti- 
 mate relations with the court. His elegant taste was active in 
 authorship, and he laboured successfully for the purity of the 
 Italian language, lie was afterwards made bishop. At the time 
 of Ochino's flight, he was in the service of the notorious Pier Luigi, 
 the son of Pope Paul III. 
 
 " On my return from the villa to Pome* a few Jays ago," he 
 writes, " I heard some news which seemed to me not only new 
 
 *Lettere di Claudio Tolomei, libri vii. Venice, 1547, p. 189.
 
 122 BERNARDINO OCHINO. 
 
 but even wild, incredible and frightful. I have been told that 
 you have deserted from the Catholic to the Lutheran camp, I 
 know not for what inexplicable purpose, and that you have openly 
 allied yourself to that heretical and detestable sect. The news 
 made me shudder, and I signed and sained myself as the saying 
 is. And yet I was forced to believe the news, as it is confirmed 
 by all, although it seems to me more horrible than if I had been 
 told that doves had turned into serpents, or lambs into panthers. 
 Certainly from an angel of light Lucifer became a devil. For days 
 I have hesitated whether I should write to you, or whether it 
 would not be better to keep silence and to shut up in my breast 
 what I felt and still feel in consequence of your unheard-of apos- 
 tasy. On the one hand it seemed to me that I could effect 
 nothing by writing, since you had so firmly fixed your intentions 
 upon the new sect, and had shown to the world by deeds as well 
 as by words that your resolution was not to be shaken. So I had 
 to fear lest your reply should only shake my own convictions. 
 For I know how learned you are, and how burning is your elo- 
 quence, both might easily entangle me, and bring me to unex- 
 pected danger. On the other hand, I fear lest I should pass an 
 unfounded judgment upon you if I keep wholly silent, for I do 
 not know the cause of your departure, and therefore cannot defend 
 you against all those who accuse you. When I hear how you are 
 spoken of, I become confused and sad, and it is this which has finally 
 induced me to address this letter to you. I pray you, if my desire 
 seems to you well founded, answer me and do your part to lighten 
 the darkness which envelopes this change, for until another light 
 is revealed to me I must believe that your light is not from God." 
 — "Perhaps your answer will be that you left Italy because you 
 were persecuted, that you followed the example of Christ and the 
 saints, who escaped from the hands of their persecutors, and that 
 not seldom those who are accused by the world are excused be- 
 fore God, and they who are despised by the world are honoured 
 by God. But then I do not know whether every one may fly 
 from the commands of his superiors whom he ought to obey.
 
 IMPRESSION MADE BY THIS FLIGHT. 123 
 
 And this was the ease with you. Besides I do not understand 
 what persecution that was, nor what accusation or offence there 
 was to impel you to flight. On the contrary you were valued in 
 Italy, highly honoured, adored almost like a divinity, and as long 
 as you proclaimed the holy name and the true law of Christ, all 
 Italy listened with such deference that you could not have wished 
 to be more beloved and more distinguished. But while you enjoyed 
 so much distinction and honour from the world, you were, as I 
 believe, not less agreeable to God, nay, you were the more 
 agreeable, the more fruit you brought, and the more you instilled 
 constant love to Him in the souls of Christians. Your father and 
 master, St. Francis, to whom the princes and nations showed the 
 highest honours, was none the less so worthy a servant of his God, 
 that he was honoured with the wounds which our Lord Jesus bore 
 upon the cross. 
 
 " But it will be said that in your sermons one thing or another 
 may have been said and then noticed, reported, blamed and accused, 
 as full of unholy uncatholic doctrine. What shall I answer to 
 that ? Either the accusation was founded or not, if not, what had 
 you to fear ? why did you not obey the citation to Rome ? Here 
 in the presence of our just master, who is so well disposed towards 
 you, you might have purified the opinion which was held con- 
 cerning the worth of your life and your excellence, as gold is puri- 
 fied in the fire. When Saint Bernardino, your countryman, and 
 member of your order,* was accused of idolatry, he came to Pi.ome 
 and freed himself of all suspicion. By so doing he increased the 
 fame and lustre of his holiness, and God's people derived the 
 greater fruit from it. The malice of your accusers could not be 
 so great that the power of truth should not be greater, especially 
 when strengthened by the affection felt for you, not only in Home, 
 but in all Italy. 
 
 " If the accusation is well founded, I do not know what to think, 
 
 * S. Bernardino of Siena, who died 1444, belonged as a member, afterwards as 
 Vicar-General, to the Order of Observants, who, like the Capuchins, belonged to the 
 " family " of St. Francis of Assisi.
 
 124 BERNARDINO OCHINO. 
 
 whether you spread false doctrines among the people out of 
 ignorance or wickedness. I must confess the one seems scarcely 
 credible, the other quite incredible. Whichever may have been 
 the cause, in the first case if it happened through ignorance, you 
 ought to have been sincerely grateful to your accusers, for leading 
 you, by their accusation, to a recognition of the truth, and for 
 thus saving you from the darkness of error, that you might return 
 to the light of truth, to Christ himself as the highest truth, and 
 the source, the beginning and the end of all truth. But if you 
 acted from malice, this motive itself was culpable, and I know 
 no excuse for you. 
 
 "Perhaps I shall be told that it was neither ignorance nor malice 
 which prompted you, but rather a higher revelation of divine 
 truths, and that Christ has revealed things to you which he has 
 hitherto kept hidden, as he once enlightened Paul, and converted 
 him from Judaism to the true faith. 
 
 " Christ then taught you the contrary of what he revealed to 
 his apostles and their followers, and just that which he had 
 pointed out to them as falsehood ! He would have changed from 
 the highest truth to an unaccountable falsehood. Clement, 
 Anacletus, Evaristus, Anicetus, and those other great men of 
 God, were then deceived and themselves deceived others! 
 Ignatius, with Christ's name in his heart, had yet received no 
 true doctrine from Christ ! And their countless followers— must 
 we really believe that Irenaeus, Origenes, Cyprian, Athanasius, 
 Didymus, Damascenus, those two great lights of the Church, 
 from Cappadocia, Gregory, and Basil, then Ambrose, Hieronymus, 
 Augustine, Bernard, and so many other saints and admirable 
 teachers of Christ's law— that they all erred ? That they, instead 
 of showing us the light, have enveloped us in darkness ; instead 
 of teaching the truth, have entangled us with lies ? 
 
 "Whoever thinks sensibly cannot believe such falsifications, 
 above all as Christ our Saviour says, ' Where the carcass is, there 
 will the eagles be gathered together.' But there is even more, 
 Christ must have forsaken his Church for a long time, for if our
 
 IMPRESSION MADE BY THIS FLIGHT. 125 
 
 Catholic doctrine before the time of the impious Luther was 
 everywhere believed, and yet it was not truth, then Christ had 
 really forsaken us. The mere thought is terrible. Besides 
 Christ said, ' Behold 1 am with you to the end of the world.' 
 
 "Believe me it is needful that on the troubled and stormy sea of 
 conflicting opinions, there should be a steadfast star, upon which 
 we may gaze, and which may direct us to the right path of the 
 Lord. It has been proved by holy and learned men, that this 
 can be no other than the Church of Borne, which, founded by 
 Christ, commenced by Peter, has been handed down to us by a 
 constant succession of Popes till the present day. And it will 
 not help you if you quote against this authors whom you under- 
 stand and explain in your own manner, for I shall always be 
 mindful of the good and faithful advice of Origen, 'if anyone 
 wishes to show you writings as canonical, in opposition to those 
 which the Church of Christ's people had accepted as such, and he 
 says to you, 'here in this book is the word of truth,' we must not 
 believe him, nor forsake the tradition which has come down to 
 us from the fathers and the whole Church.' 
 
 "I will still give you some advice. If from needless appre- 
 hension you have forsaken Italy, for the safety of your person, 
 which I think is the case, I counsel you stay where you now are 
 and go no further. Do not preach, write, or speak against the 
 Catholic doctrine, but rather in everything that you have said or 
 done submit humbly to the judgment of the Boman Church. 
 Only if you act thus, will your fears, caused by a want of quiet 
 reflection, again vanish. But if you act differently, if you make 
 matters worse from day to day, you will be condemned for stiff- 
 necked stubbornness and heresy. In the first case all Italy would 
 be roused in your favour ; they will wish to have you, they will 
 call you, pray for you ; they will rejoice to obtain for you com- 
 plete forgiveness. But if you persist in the other path, the love, 
 still warm in many hearts, will be extinguished in all, and hatred, 
 contempt, and anger, will enter in its place. 
 
 "I cannot do otherwise than pray to God for you, while I, as you
 
 126 BERNARDINO OCHINO. 
 
 know, in former times often besought you to pray for me, and I 
 again ask God in all humility, that it may please Him to en- 
 lighten and help you. — Eome, October 20th, 1542." 
 
 In the preceding, we have an opinion very different both in 
 form and contents from the passionate declamation of Cardinal 
 Caraffa. Tolomei is a humanist, Caraffa a zealot. Tolomei feels 
 himself still bound to Ochino by the former ties of personal 
 regard, although he greatly deplores the decisive step. Caraffa only 
 employs the remembrance of Ochino's blameless life, as member 
 and Vicar-General of his order, to add new blackness to the more 
 recent calumnies against him. 
 
 But neither does Tolomei's standpoint permit us rightly to judge 
 Ochino's resolve. Entrenched behind the traditional opinion of 
 the " infallible doctrine of the Church," he contents himself with 
 a few general phrases about this, and the reference to a succession 
 of Popes concludes the not very convincing circle. His good 
 intentions are evident from his letter, but still more evident is the 
 weakness which permits individual religious opinions, even when 
 derived from the Bible, no rights as opposed to the traditional 
 doctrines and institutions of the Church, for fear of destroying 
 the outward uniformity, so difficult to maintain. This fear goes 
 so far that it absolutely excludes the principle of individual 
 research, and this sense is forced upon the passage from Origen, 
 although, as the words themselves show, it was never meant to 
 bear it. 
 
 Ochino carefully considers the chief points of this letter in his 
 answer to Tolomei, which has been preserved in a Latin transla- 
 tion by Joachim Camerarius, among the letters of Marcantanio 
 Flaminio.* " I find it difficult to answer your letter, not because 
 the flow of your eloquent words makes it difficult, or the un- 
 answerableness of your reasonings, but because I do not wish to 
 wound, by the zeal of my answer, a man who esteems and is 
 attached to me. Yet I see I must do this, unless I wish to leave 
 my proceeding undefended, and betray my own cause. But as 
 
 * Printed in Sckelhcrn, Ergotzlichkeiten. XI. p. 1145 et seq.
 
 IMPRESSION MADE BY THIS FLIGHT. 127 
 
 your well-meaning interest actually demands an answer, nothing 
 remains but to fulfil your wish, however my answer may be 
 
 received. 
 
 " And now as regards the course of argument in your own letter. 
 I am not surprised (hat my departure has appeared unexpected 
 and extraordinary to you, and others of my acquaintances. 
 But you need not have crossed yourself on that account — the 
 common herd does that, not the cultured man. However, the 
 unexpected announcement may have prevented you from being 
 quite yourself. 
 
 " Two things have greatly disturbed you — my departure from 
 Italy, and my exit from the order. The other tilings which you 
 mention have no weigh;, aud — forgive me for saying so — are idle 
 gossip. 
 
 " You blame my departure, or my flight, as not only precipitate, 
 but as actually unlawful; — precipitate, because there was no 
 reason for it; unlawful, because contrary to dutiful obedience. 
 You say I ought to have been firmer and more courageous; I 
 ought not to have been so bewildered by groundless fears, as to 
 stake my good name and my dignity— nay, the whole happiness 
 of my life, on my departure. But a fear which cares for itself 
 and for others is not culpable ; and, as far as I was concerned, it 
 was certainly not a groundless fear, while, with respect to others, 
 it was only caused by conscientiousness. But should it be 
 blameworthy from any point of view, surely I shall be forgiven 
 by a friend when he considers a certain natural weakness in me. 
 As to my exit from the order, I was driven to this step, not by a 
 passing impression, not by carnal desire, not by a wish for some- 
 thing new, not by youthful emotions, but by long and careful 
 thought concerning that which is written in the Holy Scriptures 
 for the recognition of truth, for a sincere worship of God, and for 
 our hope of salvation. I will merely quote one passage from St. 
 Paul's Second Epistle to the Corinthians : * ' Be ye not unequally 
 yoked together with unbelievers, for what concord hath Christ 
 
 * 2 Cor. xv\ 4.
 
 128 BERNARDINO OCHINO. 
 
 with Belial, and what communion hath light with darkness ?" 
 Perhaps you will accuse me of a wrong application of St. Paul's 
 admonition ; but if you will consider and weigh what is already 
 evident, and what is now beginning to be revealed, you will 
 perceive that I have not without reason referred the apostle's 
 words to my resolution and action. 
 
 " You mention Saints Francis and Bernardino. I regard both 
 as excellent and God-fearing men, who strove to fly from evil 
 and lead pious and virtuous lives. I do not believe in the fable 
 of the stigmata mentioned in your letter. If only superstition 
 had not elevated the name of St. Francis so high, that with his 
 repute the whole fabric must necessarily fall to pieces ! — And we 
 have already seen such things. Bernardino, on the other hand, 
 will only be referred to by such as think that the cloak of sub- 
 mission and obedience can cover all errors. 
 
 " I also believe with the apostolic creed in a ' Holy Catholic 
 Church,' which is the community of God's children, and outside 
 it the everlasting God is not worthily adored — it is not possible 
 to walk the paths of peace to salvation and eternal life. But since 
 this community and union is a universal one, and, as the Greeks 
 say, 'everywhere under the sun,' why, then, does your letter 
 restrict this idea to the Bomish Church. The one excludes the 
 other; the one is the name of the whole, the other of a part. 
 
 " The assertion that the Church is founded upon Peter has 
 long since been proved false ; and if you ask, How comes it, 
 then, that before Luther, — whose name is only introduced to 
 implicate me, — no one has recognised and fought against these 
 errors, I shall answer, All ages have their especial mission in 
 history, according to God's secret purposes ; and whenever any 
 event occurs, we must assume that it was right for it to occur 
 just at that time. However, at all times, men have been aroused 
 and strengthened by God to fight against false doctrine, and to 
 suffer death for the truth. I should be obliged to fill, not a 
 letter, but whole books, if I wished to quote all the examples, 
 and will therefore only remind you of John Huss, and Jerome of
 
 IMPRESSION MADE BY THIS FLIGHT. 129 
 
 Prague. Even large communities have remained, through God's 
 grace, in a wholesome and pure doctrine, like the poor Lyonese, 
 and the so-called Waldenses. Further, you refer to the Popes as 
 successors of St. Peter. But even if we assume that the Apostle 
 Peter was the head, bishop, even Pope of the Romish Church, yet 
 truth and justice are not handed down by succession, but must 
 be found in honesty and virtue. 
 
 "When hoys put on their fathers' armour, we laugh at them, 
 but when they begin to fight with their weapons, we forbid it, 
 and take them away. Thus the Popes may play with the succes- 
 sion, but they must leave untouched the divine authority of the 
 Holy Church, and not use it for the destruction of Christianity. 
 
 " I have not forsaken the Church, but only the impiety and 
 superstition which falsely assumed for itself the title of ' Church ;' 
 and I have forsaken it, not that I may proclaim false doctrines with 
 impunity, and lead a licentious life, but that I may recognise the 
 truth, and practise Christian discipline. I willingly acknowledge 
 that, in a transition state of things, there must always be some 
 error, much self-confidence, and not a little division, and that 
 many will misuse the security of Divine grace, favour, and pity 
 found in the Gospel, for their carnal gratifications. But these 
 faults are found in human weakness ; they are strengthened by 
 the carelessness of those who preside in the Church, who wish 
 to rule without caring for the purity of the divine doctrine, or 
 striving to preserve the holiness of their walk. You rest on the 
 in fallibility of the Church as such, without the Holy Scriptures; 
 that is just as if some one were to pull out the wick of a lamp, 
 that it might give light without pouring in the necessary oil. 
 
 " You conclude with the advice that I should not continue my 
 wanderings, and should keep silence, so as not to cut off the hope 
 of return. This, as the advice of a friend, might have had some 
 influence upon me, had I not entered upon my path after long 
 and careful consideration, but now I have gone so far that only 
 one prayer remains to me, May the everlasting God complete 
 
 that which He has begun, for I have firm conviction that this is 
 
 I
 
 130 BEKNAEDINO OCIIINO. 
 
 God's work, because I sought after nothing but this one thing, to 
 serve the truth, and Christ has proclaimed that He Himself is 
 truth. To Him I commend my Christian pilgrimage, and pray 
 from my heart that He, the Eternal Son of the Eternal Father, 
 would send me the Holy Ghost as leader in all truth, that He 
 will never let me depart from it, and that all my thought and 
 action may henceforth contribute to His honour, and to the glory 
 of His name, as well as to the service of His holy Church. For 
 this I earnestly pray to His mercy ; I recommend to Him my 
 salvation, and that of my countrymen, that they may also be 
 converted to the truth, and, serving God in true piety, may attain 
 salvation through belief in Jesus Christ. And I trust that my 
 prayer is more sincere, earnest, and pious than that prayer of 
 which your letter speaks. I know to whom I address it, and 
 what I am asking for when I pray for enlightenment and help ; 
 but you ! take heed that you do not call that light which is 
 darkness, and that you do not ask God's assistance in things that 
 are directly opposed to Him, — things which He does not help, 
 but rather hinders, does not build up, but destroys, does not 
 love, but hates." 
 
 Tolomei's letter to Ochino was followed by a letter from Muzio. 
 Girolamo Muzio of Capo d'Istria, the birthplace of Vergerio, had 
 changed, in search of adventures, from one service to another ; 
 now secretary, now soldier, now travelling about in Italy, France 
 and Germany. His literary attainments were equally varied ; 
 he was a lyric poet, an historian both secular and ecclesiastical, 
 the author of moral treatises and controversial writings ; a rest- 
 less spirit, ever ready to fight with his pen as he had once done 
 with his sword. He was born in 1496, and early left an orphan. 
 He spent a troublous youth in alternate favour and disgrace. 
 Pope Leo X. made him a knight ; he atoned for the worldliness 
 of his early life, which attained expression in sentimental love 
 songs, by employing his pen in his old age for the defence of the 
 Catholic Church and directing the fiercest attacks against her 
 opponents. He died in Bome at the age of eighty. A true son
 
 IMPRESSION MADE BY THIS FLIGHT. 131 
 
 of his time, lie advanced and retreated along with it. Bora at 
 the period of reviving humanism, he imbibed the classical culture 
 of the age, and his writings are remarkable for their finish and 
 polished expression. At the time of the re-action he was trans- 
 formed into an ever ready champion of the Catholic Church. 
 He fought againsl all; against Vergerio, Betti, Bullinger, and 
 Viret* "not like a profound theologian but like a robust and 
 skilful boxer," as even Tiraboschi says of him. 
 
 Could such a man lose the opportunity of setting a lance in 
 rest against Ochino ? At the time of the latter's flight he was at 
 Nice on a mission for the Marchese del Vasto, who had sent him 
 as negotiator to the Duke of Savoy. The news astonished him 
 also. After a few months he returned to Milan. Ochino's 
 "Prediche," published in Geneva, had just been brought thither 
 and burnt as heretical on the Piazza del Duomo. Muzio was 
 invito.! to write against Ochino. He would have done this with- 
 out a special invitation, although he still remembered with ad- 
 miration the Capuchin's brilliant preaching at Ptome. As material 
 Ochino's letter to Vittoria Colonna was placed at his disposal. 
 It is a stain on the fair character of this lady that she betrayed 
 Ochino's confidence by giving up this letter to his enemies. It 
 seems that she was induced to do this by Cardinal Pole, who saw- 
 that they were both surrounded by spies. Another letter, written 
 to her by Ochino from Geneva, accompanied by a copy of the 
 "Prediche," was given up by her on the 4th of December 1542 
 to Cardinal Cervini, afterwards Marcellus II., and she remarked 
 concerning Ochino, "the more he tries to excuse himself the 
 more he entangles himself. He has forsaken the safe ark of 
 salvation." The Duchess of Camerino, on the other hand, re- 
 mained faithful to him even after his flight, f 
 
 Muzio afterwards published his letter, which was directed 
 
 * Even the titles of his writings are characteristic: — L' Eretico infuriate-, Le 
 Malizie Bettine, Difesa della Mesa contro le bestemmie di Pietro Vireto, and so 
 forth. 
 
 + " Amica di frii Bernardino et ante et post discessum," Estr. del Processo di 
 Pietro Carnesecchi, p. 57.
 
 132 BERNARDINO OCHINO. 
 
 against Ochino, probably towards the end of the year 1542. He 
 especially refers to Ochino's letter to Vittoria Colonna and cen- 
 sures many points in it. Ochino laid great stress in his letter 
 upon Peter Martyr's advice. Muzio, on the other hand, refers 
 him to the example of Christ who would not yield to Peter when 
 he advised Him to flight, but replied, "Get thee behind me, 
 Satan." Muzio seems to have forgotten what an awkward 
 parallel he is drawing between his own Church and the per- 
 secutors of Christ if this comparison is followed out in detail. 
 Muzio insists, just as Tolomei did, that Ochino ought under all 
 circumstances to have obeyed the command of the Pope as his 
 superior. Muzio might have read the answer to this in the tenth 
 of the treatises burnt at Milan.* Muzio blames Ochino for for- 
 saking Italy and his order. He uses the favourite reproach of 
 boundless ambition, and, like Cardinal Caraffa, he employs the 
 confession, " for a long while I have only been able to preach 
 Christ under a mask," to implicate him. In short he mentions 
 no particular to which Ochino had not already replied, or which 
 was not answered decisively in his letter of April 7th, 1543. In 
 dealing with the final resolve formed by Ochino at Florence, we 
 have already imparted the principal contents of this letter. It 
 is a conclusive refutation of the separate points which Muzio 
 dwells on in his letter, especially of the earnest invitation to re- 
 turn penitently into the bosom of the Catholic Church. The 
 close is as follows : — 
 
 " My determination to leave Italy was certainly combated by 
 carnal reason and wisdom. You represented it as difficult for 
 me to leave my country, relations and friends, to forsake my 
 reputation, fame, and good name, and knowingly expose myself 
 to all the calumnies and indignities of the blind world, and 
 especially of the many Pharisees who were ready to burst with 
 envy. I foresaw how favourable the opportunity would seem to 
 them to break out. Carnal wisdom advised me rather to die 
 than to go on living thus despised, but the spirit answered, it is 
 
 * Compare above, p. 106.
 
 IMPRESSION MADE BY THIS FLIGHT. 133 
 
 the highest glory of the Christian to bear this world's shame for 
 and with Christ. Carnal wisdom also represented to me the 
 scandal many would feel ; but I saw that it would only be the 
 scandal of Pharisees, which, if we follow Christ's example, ought 
 not to concern us. Christ was, and still is, a scandal to the 
 world, and if the impious were greatly offended at His death, the 
 pious were greatly edified by it. If the Pharisees had killed me 
 at Home they would none the less have been scandalised about 
 me, therefore it is evident that I could not have avoided giving 
 them offence. 
 
 " After all this I cannot understand how a man of any penetra- 
 tion, or even sound common sense, should not judge that I acted 
 rightly in departing. If I remained in Italy I could no longer 
 employ the dress of my order ; I might not preach nor serve my 
 brothers in Christ. But if I departed I could serve them by 
 writing, and reveal truth with the hope of success. 
 
 " I know what you will now say, ' If it was thus, you did right, 
 but it is not true that we are saved by faith in Christ and not by 
 our works, and it is not true that the vows of human orders are 
 null and impious, or that the Boinish Church is the Babylon of 
 Antichrist.' 
 
 " Well, I have made all that very clear. In the first twenty 
 treatises, which have been published, I have clearly proved that 
 justification is through Christ alone. In the following twenty, 
 which have also been printed, I have shown that the vows of 
 human orders — and these are naught else than the most dis- 
 tinguished members of Antichrist — are ungodly and of none 
 effect, and that there is only one true order on earth, the order of 
 Christ, In the following treatises, which are just now in the 
 press, it is shown how the Church, which you call the Church of 
 Christ, is in reality no other than the Babylon in which Anti- 
 christ, whom you regard as Christ's vicar, bears the sceptre. 
 Therefore, desist from attacking me personally and my just flight, 
 and rather, if you can do it, attack my doctrine. I am ready to 
 defend it with God's help. Truth is mighty ; even if all the
 
 134 BERNARDINO OCHINO. 
 
 devils were to write against me, yet they must be refuted. But 
 you are blind and foolish, you perceive and understand nothing, 
 for the saints knew about Antichrist, even before he was there, 
 and recognised him as such, but you neither recognise that it is 
 he, nor do you recognise his most distinguished members as such, 
 although you have them before your very eyes, at a time when 
 he is opposing Christ with the greatest audacity. Therefore you 
 may not condemn my change, unless you have beforehand sub- 
 dued the invincible truth contained in my treatises. Investigate 
 these more closely and do so in a pure, sincere, and unprejudiced 
 spirit. I know the truth will then convince you. Why are you 
 afraid of reading them if you bear, like a good Christian, the 
 testimony of the Holy Spirit in your heart and stand in the 
 truth ? The light of truth is not so feeble that it may not easily 
 be distinguished. But if you are in darkness, as your letter 
 shows, you should seek the light of truth more zealously, but not 
 flee from it, so that in communion with the other chosen brothers 
 in Christ and children in God, we also may bring our dear 
 heavenly Father praise, honour, and glory, through Jesus Christ 
 our Lord.— Geneva, April 7th 1543." 
 
 Muzio did not answer this letter till some years later* after 
 the first two volumes of Ochino's " Prediche," published at Basle, 
 had fallen into his hands, when, in 1549, he travelled through 
 the city. Out of these he quotes in order fifty dogmatic opinions 
 of the author concerning justification, concerning the authority 
 of the Pope, confession, the mass, &c, and tries to prove them 
 false. At that time Ochino was no longer at Geneva. The 
 billow of changing fortune had borne him over to England. It 
 is not apparent whether Muzio's polemic ever came to his know- 
 ledge. 
 
 Meanwhile, Ochino had addressed from Geneva a letter to the 
 Council of his native city.f Nowhere had his flight made a 
 
 * In the Polemic, Le Mentite Ochiniane del Mutio Justinopolitano. Con Privi- 
 legio del Sommo Pontefice Giulio III. et dello Illustriss. Senato et d' altri Prencipi. 
 In Vinegia appressi Gabriel Giolito de Ferrari e Fratelli. M. D. li. 
 
 t The letter was published separately under date November 3, 15-13.
 
 IMPRESSION MADE BY THIS FLIGHT. 135 
 
 deeper impression than in Siena, where a request had already- 
 been tendered to hear ( >chino preach in the following Lent. Not 
 long ago they had received a letter from him from Verona, a 
 mark of his unchanged; sincere affection, a letter which gave no 
 insight into the straggles, whose result was to appear so suddenly 
 and unexpectedly. 
 
 Ochino may have felt a great need to justify his decisive step 
 to his fellow-citizens. He does this by a confession of his 
 belief concerning " the one fundamental article of living faith, on 
 which all salvation depends." 
 
 " To the very noble Signors of the Council of the City, Siena, 
 Christ our righteousness and our peace ! 
 
 " If 1 have hitherto written to many others, and not yet to 
 thee, oh my city Siena, it is not from want of love, but because I 
 knew how much thou, my kind and affectionate city, hast grieved 
 in the flesh for my departure. My courage failed me to satisfy 
 thee at once, to comfort thee, and expound the truth to thee 
 with spiritual profit. But now, when time has somewhat 
 lessened thy grief, so that thou art better able to distinguish 
 truth with a calm and clear understanding, I have resolved to 
 write to thee, not to excuse my departure, for I have already 
 done that to the honour of God, in many answers that have been 
 printed, and are at thy service ; nor do I write with the inten- 
 tion of showing thee all the truths which the Christian needs for 
 salvation, for that is impossible in a letter which must be brief. 
 For this purpose I have already published several treatises, and 
 will continue to do so with God's grace, if only He will grant me 
 life. I intend to lay before you, most noble signors of the Coun- 
 cil, my confession of faith concerning one single article : The 
 article of living faith, on which all the salvation of the true 
 Church of Christ depends, and the fall of Antichrist's kingdom. 
 And this is just the article for whose sake I am persecuted. 
 
 " It runs thus : I believe and confess with Paul (Rom. viii.) 
 that the sin of our first parents has made man (lead, and power- 
 less to raise himself and be reconciled to God ; yet Christ, our
 
 13G BERNARDINO OCHINO. 
 
 righteousness, sent by His eternal Father, by taking our sins 
 upon Himself, and offering Himself upon the cross, has rendered 
 full satisfaction for us, and has appeased in everything the anger 
 of God. Nay, even more, He has accepted us as children of His 
 heavenly Father, and has made us His heirs, rich in all divine 
 treasures and graces, and all this is through Christ, through the 
 pure grace and mercy of God, without any merit of our own, and 
 without our being able to do anything, which should only, in 
 part, be worthy of snch grace. Not because the elect can open 
 their eyes and recognise God, can approach Him, and accomplish, 
 or try to accomplish holy works in His honour, — not for that 
 reason does God receive them with open arms, and choose them, 
 but because He has chosen them out of mere mercy in Christ. 
 Therefore He calls and attracts them by an inward voice, opens 
 their eyes, gives them enlightenment, grace, and mercy, and 
 suffers them to perform good works to His honour. But the 
 ungodly man, even if he has a free choice to do many human and 
 common works, cannot, unless he is born again in Christ, do 
 any divine or lofty works, being the captive and bondsman of sin. 
 For it is not in his power to do anything for God's honour, 
 whether in whole or in part, because the Divine Spirit, the super- 
 natural enlightenment, faith, hope, and love, and all other virtues, 
 are wanting." 
 
 " But when we are freed from sin by Christ, and are born 
 again through faith, although evil lusts remain in us, yet we 
 have a new heart, and it is of that kind that we no longer serve 
 or obey sin, but rather resist it. Only then are we free, and, 
 through the divine Spirit, we freely perform such works as are 
 agreeable and pleasing to God, and according to which He will 
 reward us. Not that they themselves are worthy of reward, for 
 even the works of the righteous are always imperfect, and never 
 sufficient for God's eternal goodness. But we are not judged for 
 these failings, because we are already members of Christ, and the 
 righteous are rewarded according to their works, in so far that 
 those who perform the best works have a fuller light of divine
 
 IMPRESSION MADE BY THIS FLIGHT. 137 
 
 goodness, and regard with a more living faith the treasuri 
 Chrisl as their own. 
 
 "If we men might boast of our works, then I might truly 
 boast more than many others; like Paul, I have profited in the 
 Jews' religion above many my equals in mine own nation. But 
 now, like the same Paul, I hold all my works and righteousness 
 as filthy rags, and only strive for the one thing, to possess Christ 
 in faith as my own. In Him will I be found rich, not through 
 my own righteousness, but through His. It is an ungodly pur- 
 pose to suffer, and to work with the intention of atoning before 
 God for our sins and obligations, or to attain merit in God's 
 eyes. That would mean that Christ has not done enough for us, 
 but that we are partly saved by our own strength. That 
 diminishes the glory of Christ, which we ought to bring entire 
 before God, and not give in part to man, to whom nothing is due 
 but reproach, disgrace, blame, and shame. 
 
 " I also believe and confess that there never was, and never 
 will be in the world, a more pious and holy order than that of 
 Christ. Its rule is the living faith that in all things we are 
 purified from our sins, through Christ, that we are reconciled to 
 the Father through Him, justified, sanctified, and made children 
 of God, and His rich and happy heirs. He who receives this 
 with the liveliest faith is the best Christian and brother of the 
 order. All other orders in which men strive to justify and purify 
 themselves entirely or partly by their own strength, are ungodly, 
 and the more so, the more they cause men to strive and suffer 
 for this end. For thus they hide the great merit of Chiist. Nay, 
 I go even farther. It is impossible that we should do a really 
 good work, pleasing to God, unless we have this lively faith. 
 For as long as a man thinks he can justify himself before God, in 
 part by his own strength, and to gaiu merit, so long he does not 
 truly work for God's honour. As long as he does not feel the 
 great merit of Christ, and recognise that He is entirely and 
 wholly saved through Him alone, he remains rooted in self-love 
 and conlidence, and works for wages. But when he feels the
 
 138 BERNARDINO OCHINO. 
 
 great goodness of God in Christ, when he knows that he is only- 
 saved through Christ and through grace, then every reason 
 vanishes which induced him to work for his own profit. The 
 great love of God in Christ is fully revealed to him, and he sees 
 himself induced to work, not as a slave, from fear of punishment, 
 or desire of gain, but rather like a son, obeying the impulse of 
 the Spirit, and the love of God's honour. These are the works 
 which are pleasing to God. 
 
 " I also believe and confess that there is one only, universal, 
 holy, and Catholic Church of Christ, and this is the community 
 formed of the elect, and of those who believe in their entire sal- 
 vation through Christ, this is the community which cannot err 
 in the things of salvation, because the Holy Ghost dwells in it. 
 And though the elect should fall sometimes, yet they will not 
 perish, for Christ is with them, and will be with them to the 
 end of the world. Finally, I believe and confess that the elect 
 are saved through Christ, and through pure grace, and not by any 
 works, whether wholly or in part. This is the only faith by 
 which true Christians are distinguished from all other false 
 opinions, religions, and sects. In this faith lies the whole sum 
 of Christianity. This is the only and true Gospel of God, pro- 
 claimed by the prophets in the Old Testament, preached by 
 Christ and Paul, by all apostles and saints. The Holy Scripture 
 is full of this truth, and especially the Epistles of Paul to the 
 Eomans and Galatians. This is the truth of the gospel, for whose 
 sake Christ was crucified and Stephen stoned, for whose sake the 
 prophets of God, the apostles and saints, have been persecuted, 
 imprisoned, scourged, and put to death. 
 
 " This is the faith for whose sake I was forced to leave Italy, 
 and was persecuted to death, dishonoured, and cast out by the 
 Antichristians. But my cause is righteous, and speaks for it- 
 self. If I err in this article, then all have erred from the begin- 
 ning who have been truly saints, even the apostles, especially 
 Paul, nay, Christ Himself, — they all must be cast out, rejected, 
 and accursed. Then you may burn the Gospels, St. Paul's
 
 [MPBESSIOH MAIM! BY THIS FLIGHT. 139 
 
 Epistles, nay, the whole of Scripture, fur then the gospel would 
 be a delusion, the belief in Christ a deception, and religion god- 
 less. 
 
 " And the Holy Scriptures testify to this truth. Search them, 
 humbly bending your hearts before God, and He will enlighten 
 you. 
 
 " I have begun, and hope by ( rod's help to continue, a clear ex- 
 position of those truths most needful to a Christian. 'But,' you 
 will say, ' we are forbidden to read your writings.' That is just 
 the clearest proof that they bring the truth to light. In these 
 treatises the contents are only a digest of the doctrines and words 
 of Holy Scripture; therefore, in forbidding these, the Word of 
 God is forbidden. Observe how ungodly these men are, and are 
 you bound to obey them ? It is just these who openly proclaim 
 in the schools, and from the pulpits, worldly, heretical, and im- 
 pious doctrines, on condition they themselves sustain no injury. 
 
 " I love my country too well to deceive it, how much more my 
 friends, myself, and Christ ! And it is not I alone who believe 
 and declare the true gospel, but the greater part of Christians 
 have now opened their eyes to the truth, and these are the 
 noblest, the most truly cultured minds. If the gospel might be 
 freely proclaimed in Italy, France, and Spain, as it is in Germany, 
 almost every one would accept it, so mighty is truth. Christian 
 books and the preaching of God's true Word may be forbidden, 
 the believers and friends of the gospel may be cruelly persecuted, 
 yet the more they are pursued, imprisoned, burnt, and executed, 
 the more their number increases. You would wonder if you 
 could see the number of those in Italy, France, and other coun- 
 tries, who are secretly true Christians. If this were not the work 
 of God, it would perish, as Gamaliel said. But it increases from 
 day to day." 
 
 Ochino further shows that this doctrine of justifying faith is 
 no new doctrine, but that it was just then flashing like lightning 
 from east to west, and illumining the whole world ; that it was 
 no unsafe doctrine, but rather the safest of all, because it gives
 
 140 BERNARDINO OCHINO. 
 
 God alone the glory. Finally, that in the present state of the 
 Papacy and the Roman Church, that was being fulfilled which 
 Paul had prophesied concerning the coming of Antichrist. Then 
 he concludes with the words, "The truth will conquer, though by 
 the blood of martyrs which is being constantly shed in all coun- 
 tries, and that which Christ predicted will come, that His gospel 
 would be proclaimed through the whole world. Do you not see 
 that now only the carnally minded worship Antichrist for the 
 sake of their own interest ? It was no excuse for the Jewish 
 people, when Christ appeared in the flesh, that they said, ' He is 
 not the Messiah, but a deceiver, and we must not trust Him, but 
 only those who cannot err; we will not be wiser than all others, 
 and because our Synagogue has cast Him out, we must do the 
 same.' Just so those will now find no excuse who do not accept 
 Christ as He shows Himself in spirit and in truth, because they 
 say, ' We will believe what our fathers have taught us, and what 
 the others believe. Our church and our prelates cannot err, so 
 we will not be wiser than they.' 
 
 " On the contrary, they will find much less excuse, because 
 Christ is showing Himself in yet greater clearness, and there are 
 everywhere so many communities, peoples, and noble spirits who 
 have accepted the gospel, and also because the Church of Anti- 
 christ is much more rotten in doctrine and custom than was ever 
 the synagogue of the Jews and their false religion. And it is full of 
 human inventions, hypocrisy, superstition, idolatry, and horrors. 
 
 " Oh, how happy would you be, my Siena, and I for your sake, 
 if you would purify yourself from so many ridiculous, Pharisaical, 
 destructive, foolish, and impious chimers, from people who pro- 
 fess to be your saints, and are only an abomination before God. 
 Oh, that you would accept God's Word and His gospel, as it was 
 proclaimed by Christ and the apostles, and all who followed after 
 Him in truth. Will you not bear any testimony to Christ; you 
 who are blessed with so many noble spirits, will you be the last 
 to recognise Christ ! Open your eyes that you may recognise the 
 Son of God as your righteousness and wisdom, your peace and
 
 [MPRESSION MADE BY THIS FLIGHT. IN 
 
 your salvation, thai you may live for God alone, and offer to Him 
 alone praise, honour, and glory, through Jesus Christ our Lord. 
 Amen." 
 
 In this letter ( Ichino does not say a word in his own personal 
 defence; just as he bade Muzio examine his doctrine, and, if 
 possible, prove it erroneous, here also he states his creed with 
 reference to the eighth chapter of the Epistle to the Romans. 
 With this his cause stands and falls. But he was to have this 
 satisfaction, that while all Italy was silent, or only opened its 
 mouth to condemn him, in his own city, at least, the voice of a 
 noble friend was raised in his defence. This was Aonio Paleario, 
 himself accused in Siena by unworthy adversaries. To strike 
 him more surely he had been attacked by the reproach of heresy 
 — a certain sign that the reaction was now active not only in 
 Eome, but even in wider circles. This heresy was especially 
 sought for in a writing concerning justification through the 
 death of Christ, which Paleario had published in the Italian 
 language in the course of that year. It may have been Sep- 
 tember or October 1542 when Paleario delivered his apology 
 pro sc ipso* Ochino's name was still in the mouth of all men. 
 The bond formed by accord of aims and gratitude for help in the 
 highest matters of life is not so easily broken. How must his 
 fellow-citizens have been moved who had so often sat at the feet 
 of the mighty preacher, and many of whom had accompanied 
 him with sad thoughts across the Alps, when Paleario broke out 
 before them into this complaint : " Is it not the fanaticism of igno- 
 rant men that we have to thank for Ochino's sad fate ? His life was 
 earnest and pure, and yet, unprotected from the passionate attacks 
 of his enemies, he was forced to seek safety in flight; and now — I 
 
 * At any rate, we find that Paleario, when Sadolet visited him at the time when 
 the rumour of Ochino's flight was just known— probably, therefore, at the end of 
 August — was occupied with the composition of this apology. Compare Sadoleti 
 Epist. iv. 2 : Quid, quod ego tibi sum testis, cum in Galliam Legatus profi- 
 ciscerer, me Senas venisse ubi et tibi adfui .... turn primum fuisse rumorem 
 de Ocelli fuga. Quo tempore si tu, cum scribere> istarn orationein, cuius principium 
 milii legisti, eadem vel sperasti vel desiderasti quae omnes qui popularem illain 
 Ocelli eloquentiam noverant — quis te reprehend at ?
 
 142 BERNARDINO OCHINO. 
 
 cannot think of it without sorrow — the greatest of your citizens, 
 driven out of Italy and banished from his native city, is wander- 
 ing far away as a solitary stranger. How many cities, how many 
 distant countries would be proud to call him their own. Happy 
 the people who can bind him to them, and earn the fruit of his 
 virtue and culture. There is no land so savage and barbarous 
 that it could remain unmoved by the power of his eloquence." 
 . . . . " Your looks and your tears," continued Paleario, " tell me 
 plainly enough how much Tuscany, how much the whole of Italy 
 has lost in him. Italy, whose cities had not enough space or 
 applause for the virtues and gifts of a man who is now abandoned 
 to all the privations of exile." * 
 
 In Paleario's later " Complaint against the Popes of Borne," 
 we again find the remembrance of Ochino. Paleario had called 
 the Eomish Inquisition " a dagger drawn against the representa- 
 tives of knowledge." In the "Complaint" he designated the 
 Pope by the name of Antichrist, and referred for this to Ochino's 
 example. " Bernardinus Ocellus, a man of wonderful purity of 
 life, has designated the Eomish Popes as Antichrist ; he taught 
 according to the Gospel and the example of the apostles, that 
 justification comes not by the law but by Christ ; and for this 
 you have driven him out of Italy." It is easy to find in these 
 expressions echoes of Ochino's defence. 
 
 If Paleario thus stood up for him in Siena, another assailed 
 him in the same place with passionate vehemence. This was 
 the Dominican father Caterino Politi, also a native of Siena; 
 The same Fra Ambrosio, who is already known to us as a 
 member of that circle to whom, about the year 1 535, Vittoria 
 Colonna, Michael Angelo, Lattantio Tolomei, and Ochino himself 
 belonged. Fra Ambrosio was one of those enemies of heresy 
 ever ready with their pens, who served the reaction partly 
 because urged by their zeal, partly that they might be raised by 
 it. On 5th January 1544, he sent a short answer to Ochino's 
 letter to the magistracy of Siena.-f- It was followed a year later 
 
 * Palearii Opera, ed. Hallb., p. 103 ; ed. Wetstein, p. 91 et seq. 
 t The original in the archives of Siena.
 
 IMPRESSION MADE BY THIS FLIGHT. 143 
 
 by an extensive polemic. The title was " Remedy against the 
 Pestilential Doctrine of Fra Bernardino Ochino,"* and it attacks 
 single passages out of Ochino's first "Prediche," and out of his 
 letter to the magistracy of Siena, in order to refute them. The 
 vulgar tone to which the Dominican condescends speaks for 
 itself when (on folio 4G), the German reformers, and among them 
 Ochino, are called "scum of the devil." After a long pause 
 Ochino replied. 
 
 At first, he said, he meant to leave Politi's attack unanswered, 
 but the consideration of the friends of the Evangelical cause 
 whom lie had left behind in Italy had at length determined him 
 to take up his pen. If Politi, like so many others, attached to 
 Ochino's confession — that he had "preached Christ in a mask" in 
 Italy — the reproach of duplicity and heresy, he must answer 
 him : " I keep to this, for in the first place I myself was masked 
 as long as I wore the dress of the order, and if this was double- 
 faced and heretical preaching, the same reproach falls upon the 
 Saints Francis and Dominic, and upon all who have preached in 
 the dress of the order. Further, I confess that I preached a 
 Christ who was Himself masked — that is, not clearly as I now 
 preach Him, and this was because I was among people whose 
 eyes were too weak to bear so strong a light. But if I was 
 double-faced and heretical, the same reproach falls on Christ and 
 the apostles, because they, obedient to his own orders, did not 
 proclaim His glorification before His resurrection. In like 
 manner was Paul double-faced and heretical, because for a time 
 he preached Christ to the Jews under the mask of the Mosaic 
 customs, out of consideration for the judgment of the weak." 
 Ochino also answers to the reproach brought by Politi, as by so 
 many others, that boundless ambition was the motive-power of 
 his actions. " You say it was ambition which induced me to 
 leave Italy, but I say you should not assume to yourself the 
 
 * Rimedio alia pestilentc dottrina di Frate Bernardino Ochino. Epistola respon- 
 siva diretta al Magistrate de Siena. Frate Arnbrosio Cathariuo Politi, Senese de 
 l'Ordine de ' Predicatori, Autore. 1544.
 
 144 BERNARDINO OCHINO. 
 
 right of judging hearts. Besides that, you well know that, were 
 I ambition itself, I might have been satisfied with the eminence 
 I had reached. Was it I, nay, rather was it not men like you, 
 who insisted, out of envy, that I should be summoned to Eome ? 
 If the Observants or the Capuchins could really have brought 
 anything against me, they would have filled the whole world 
 with it in their anger at my flight, and you, my countrymen, 
 would have been at their head. But since I have passed through 
 this trial, the world may consider me as entirely justified, since 
 those who try to set me down can bring nothing against me, 
 except that they blamed the object of my preaching and my 
 departure from Italy." Two other answers of Ochino's to 
 polemics directed against him from Italy belong to the time of 
 his residence at Geneva. 
 
 Under date 9th December 1542, the Servite and Magister 
 Girolamo, of Lucca, had composed an open letter against him, for 
 whose circulation in Italy and the South of France copies were 
 made.* Like Tolomei, he reproached him with having forsaken 
 the bosom of the Church without any reason. "ISTo one," he 
 says, " hindered you from preaching Christ as the Saviour of the 
 world. Certainly you would not have been permitted to proclaim 
 blasphemous doctrines — to refuse to man all power of contribu- 
 ting to his own salvation ; to represent him as a lifeless stone — a 
 block, incapable of doing the slightest thing by its own will." 
 Girolamo here touched the principal question, that of justifica- 
 tion, but only to avoid it. Ochino therefore answered him that 
 it had never been in his thoughts to represent man as a mere 
 stone or block ; that he recognised for him a field of free activity, 
 but in no way the means of entirely or partly attaining salvation 
 by his own strength. "You say," continues Ochino, "that I 
 have fallen from the height upon which I stood. Well ; but I 
 should have perished if I had not thus fallen. I have fallen in 
 the eyes of those who take nothing into account but the empty 
 smoke of honours and dignities. I have fallen from the height 
 
 * See Appendix, No. 6.
 
 IMPRESSION MADE BY THIS FLIGHT. 145 
 
 to which not my ambition, but the superstition of men, had 
 raised me. I have fallen in the eyes of the world, but I do not 
 therefore cease to stand before my God; nay, lie has saved me 
 from that slippery and dangerous height, that I might stand the 
 more firmly in the kingdom of His Son Jesus Christ." * 
 
 In the second letter, which is directed against an attack of the 
 Benedictine abbot Marco of Brescia, Ochino especially refutes 
 the idea of the absolute Papal primacy, which Marco had made 
 the starting-point of his attack. "Is it Peter," answers Ochino, 
 ''who reigns in the hearts of the faithful through the Holy Ghost ? 
 Is it he who sits at the right hand of God ? You unite the 
 Church with Peter," he exclaims, "but only by first separating 
 it from Christ." Further on in his letter Ochino mentions that 
 he had also directed a letter of defence to the Council of Venice, 
 and it appears that Marco's attack referred especially to the 
 wording of this. Ochino concludes with the words: "Mourn 
 rather for your own blindness and misery, and that of your people, 
 and leave me and my Lord in peace. In His service I am happy 
 and blessed." 
 
 If Ochino's departure was for him the only means of attaining 
 inner peace and calmness of soul, it was an irreparable loss for 
 the evangelical movement in Italy. Only a short time before, a 
 Cardinal had said at Roine,*}* " Lutheranism would be at an end 
 in Italy, if Ochino would decidedly declare against it, but he will 
 not." So great was his reputation in the circles pervaded by 
 
 * The answer to Girolamo's Latin letter, and the following, directed against 
 Marco of Brescia, are, besides the "Tragedy," afterwards published in England, 
 the only writings composed by Ochino in the Latin tongue. In the Life of 
 Cardinal Commendoni, Graziani says of Ochino, "he scarcely understood Latin." 
 Others have copied this from him. How little this is founded is proved by several 
 ppendix. The above passage reads: "Quod multos arguere dicis 
 me iion super firmam petram fuisse fundatum quia ceciderim, felicem vero casum et 
 optabilem, qui mild salutis pqrtus quodammodo fuit ! IVrierain enim nisi sic 
 cecidissem. Cecidi, fateor in eorum conspectu, qui nihil nisi inanes honorum et 
 dignitatum fumos sapiunt vel indicunt. Cecidi ex alto fastigio, quo me non mea 
 quidem ambitio sed hominum superstitio extulerat. Mundo denique cecidi sednon 
 propti stare Deo, quin potius ex Iubrica ilia et caduca altitudine me 
 
 detraxit, nt firmus in regno Christi sui starem." 
 
 f Co] : an Responsio ad Marcum Brixiensem. Sue Appendix, No. 7. 
 
 K
 
 146 BERNARDINO OC1IINO. 
 
 reformatory ideas ! And now the religious movement lost in one 
 day two of its most distinguished supports, Ochino and Martyr. 
 This loss was doubly fatal, because just at that moment the re- 
 action had penetrated triumphantly into Rome, and had already 
 thrown its first victims into chains. Martyr had justified him- 
 self for his flight in an especial address to his friends in Lucca, 
 — the little community he had collected around him a year ago. 
 Ochino, although his personal influence was much more exten- 
 sive, yet had no especial congregation. Year after year his words 
 had sounded through all the cities of Italy, and he addressed his 
 justification to his whole nation. Had he had a congregation of 
 his own, perhaps for its sake he might not have avoided the 
 martyr's death. In one of the later " Prediche " * he expressed 
 himself on this subject : " Christ has taught us a remedy against 
 persecution, — namely, flight, and he himself, as well as Paul and 
 the other apostles, several times resorted to it. But consider 
 well, that you may not fly unless you are convinced that your 
 flight will tend to the honour of God. For instance, if you 
 are producing little fruit there where you happen to be, but can 
 be of much use beyond, then be certain that God suffers you to 
 be persecuted to induce you to depart. But it is different if you 
 are entrusted with the care of others' souls, and you perceive 
 that many would be offended at your flight, — I do not mean the 
 offence of the Pharisees, about which, according to Christ's ex- 
 ample, we need not trouble ourselves, but the offence of weak 
 Christians. If in this case you perceive that your sheep would 
 be scattered, and fall a prey to the wolves; and if, on the other 
 hand, you recognise that many would be edified by your firm- 
 ness, and confirmed in the faith, then you must not depart. 
 Thus you must well consider and weigh everything, and then do 
 that which tends to the greater glory of God, without the slightest 
 consideration of your own person. And if God's honour requires 
 you to stay, and you, from selfishness or worldly considerations, 
 
 * Prediche iv. 40, Basle edition. Appendix, No. 34.
 
 IMPRESSION MADE BY THIS FLIGHT. 147 
 
 wish to fly, be convinced that you are no good shepherd, but a 
 hireling. If you were a good shepherd, you would, following 
 Christ's example, stake your own life, so as not to prove a 
 stumbling-block to your own people, and that you might keep 
 them in the faith."
 
 CHAPTEE VI. 
 
 GENEVA AND AUGSBURG, 1542-1547. 
 
 Impression made by Geneva —Italian Fugitives — Ochino and Calvin — -"Prediche" 
 i. and ii. — The Epistle to the Romans — Ochino leaves Geneva, 1545— He 
 becomes a Preacher at Augsburg — -Sermons on the Epistles to the Galatians 
 — Dialogue on Carnal Wisdom — Directions for Prayer — The Prayer of 
 Comfort — Concerning the Hopes of a Christian Soul— Political Position of 
 the Evangelicals — Murderof Diaz — The Schmalkaldic War — Charles V. before 
 Augsburg — Ochino flies — Ochino takes no part in the Religious Discussions 
 in Vicenza. 
 
 "In Geneva, where I am at present residing," writes Ochino 
 in October 1542,* "excellent Christians are daily preaching the 
 pure word of God. The Holy Scriptures are constantly read and 
 expounded, and openly discussed, and every one may propound 
 what the Holy Spirit suggests to him, just as, according to the 
 testimony of Scripture, was the case in the early Church. 
 Every day there are public edifying prayers. On Sundays the 
 Catechism is explained, and the young and ignorant taught. 
 Cursing and swearing, unchastity, sacrilege, adultery, and impure 
 lives, bawds and harlots, all of which have prevailed in many 
 places where I have lived, are unknown here. The people do 
 not know what rouge is, and they are all clad in a seemly 
 fashion. Games of chance are not customary. Benevolence is 
 so great that the poor need not beg. The people admonish each 
 other in brotherly fashion, as Christ prescribes. Lawsuits are 
 banished from the city; nor is there any simony, murder, or 
 party spirit, but only peace and charity. On the other hand, 
 there are no organs here, no noise of- bells, no showy songs, no 
 * Prediche i. 10. See Appendix, No. 3.
 
 GENEVA AND AUGSBURG, 1542-1547. 149 
 
 burning candles and lamps, no relics, pictures, statues, canopies, 
 or splendid robes, no farces, or cold ceremonies. The churches 
 are quite free from all idolatry." 
 
 Such was the impression produced by the serious spirit in 
 Geneva upon Ochino. Calvin had returned a year before. He 
 had once more introduced the discipline in Church and manners 
 practised before his banishment. The ecclesiastical ordinances 
 had been unanimously accepted on the 2d of January 1542, in 
 the assembly of the citizens entitled to vote. These ordinances 
 were upheld with iron rigour. A second time Geneva showed 
 to the astonished world a resolve for amendment, and a deep 
 social revolution, which is explained, though it is not the less to 
 be admired, by the fact that the number of citizens who had a 
 right to vote was only two thousand, and the whole number of 
 inhabitants scarcely fifteen thousand. 
 
 It is not known on what day Ochino entered Geneva. His 
 residence is first mentioned in a letter written by Calvin to Viret, 
 which is undated, but may, doubtless, be referred to the early 
 part of October 1542. " We have here," writes Calvin, " a fugi- 
 tive Italian, an old man of venerable appearance. He was 
 greatly respected in his own country. He is living here at his 
 own expense. If he can learn the language, he will, 1 hope, be 
 of great service to us." * 
 
 What Ochino has said above about the mode of life at Geneva, 
 is the most striking refutation of the calumnies in Caraffa's letter.t 
 It was also a decisive answer to all the attempts which were then 
 made to bring him back to the bosom of the Catholic Church. 
 
 * Corpus Reformatorum, xxxix. ed. Eaum, Cunitz, Eeuss. Joannis Calvini Opera, 
 vol. xi., No. 426 ; for the following letters compare Nos. 431 and 450. 
 
 t A passage out of Jacob Lingai as' Ti atise De Vita et Moribus, atque rebus 
 gestis haereticoriun sui temporis, Paris 1581, p. 27, mil serve to characterise the 
 disgraceful calumnies which were afterwards circulated by Ochino's enemies con- 
 cerning his life. "Quid plura dicam de miserrimo Bernhardino ? Ut uno verbo 
 dicam, is intra paucos dies gumma inopiarerum et sui officii negligentia coactusest, 
 cum sua meretrice (!) more mulierum aliorum vestimenta lava re ef quascunque 
 vilissimas ac sordidissimas artes exercere." So writes a Doctor of the Sorbonne, 
 concerning Ochino's residence at Geneva.
 
 150 BEKNAKDINO OCHINO. 
 
 Calvin again writes to Viret, October 1542: " They have tried, 
 by all possible representations, to draw our Bernardino away 
 from us, but he remains firm, nay, he has once and for ever cut 
 off from Antichrist the possibility of attracting him ; for, at the 
 conclusion of a little volume of theological treatises, he has 
 openly and decisively declared himself one of us. He is sought 
 after by many Italians. We have already two other preachers 
 here. Whoever knows Ochino, is convinced that Christ's king- 
 dom has no small gain in him. The better I learn to know the 
 man, the more I honour him. But he does not disguise the fact 
 that my encouragement has helped and aided him. The city has 
 already permitted him to preach as often as he likes." 
 
 On 14th of February he writes to Melancthon, "We have 
 Bernardino Ochino of Siena here, an excellent and distinguished 
 man, who by his departure has set all Italy in no small excite- 
 ment. He commissions me to salute you and the rest." Ochino 
 had also been recommended to Calvin and the rest by Paleario, 
 in the memorable letter addressed by him to the Swiss and Ger- 
 man reformers, "I recommend to you our brother Bernardino 
 Ochino, what you do for him, you do for Christ." 
 
 Calvin mentions in his letter to Viret that other Italians had 
 followed Ochino's example, and sought refuge in Geneva. In 
 fact at that time a congregation was "formed by the already 
 present Italian element, and that newly arrived.* Probably the 
 wish, or rather the need, of mounting the pulpit was awakened 
 more keenly in Ochino after all the experiences he had lately 
 
 * The establishment of the Italian congregation at Geneva took place in October 
 1542, according to Corpus Eef. xxxix., n. 438. The "universi fratres ecclesise 
 Venetiarum, Vicentise, Trevisii," in December 1542, thanked the servants and 
 members of the Church at Geneva for receiving the fugitive brothers with such 
 great kindness. In the Eegistres du Conseil of 23 Oct. 1542, we read : — "Bernar- 
 dino de Sesna est homme scavant et desire prescher publiquement la parol de Dieu 
 en langue Italienne. Eesolu qu'il luy soyt bailie" place de prescher a St. Pierre en 
 la chapelle du Cardinal pour un peu de temps et d'empuys pourra estre mis a St. 
 Germain. Et semblablement pour aulmosne a este aduise de donner a ancien com- 
 pagnons six escus soleil desqueulx presentement Ton luy delivrera dix florins." 
 Soon afterwards the Council made him a present of some white wine. Compare 
 Am&le'e Eoget, Histoire du Peuple de Geneve, 1873, ii. 53.
 
 GENEVA AND AUGSBUKG, 1542-1547. 151 
 
 gone through. Ee therefore made use of the permission of the 
 ( '.uiii.il, and preached seVeral times in the Chapel of the Cardinal 
 of Ostia. We cannot ascertain for certain whether he undertook 
 any definite office in the congregation, tie devoted himself 
 almost exclusively to literary labours, the only pursuit which still 
 insured him some influence upon his own country. He published 
 in swift succession several small volumes of theological treatises, 
 as well as the before-named epistles to Muzio, Girolamo of 
 Lucca, Marco of Brescia, the Council of Siena, &c. He lived in 
 retirement upon the money Ascanio Colonna had given him at 
 parting, and Bullinger reports, in a letter to Vadianus, December 
 ID, 1542, that the same Colonna had sent him a further sum by 
 a messenger. The council accorded him a modest addition. 
 With the preachers of Geneva, Lausanne and Neufchatel, he re- 
 mained in friendly relations. Farel especially in his letters to 
 Calvin, seldom fails to add a message for Ochino. 
 
 His relations with the Genevese theologians were not without 
 inlluence upon Ochino's theological opinions. This is evident 
 from his treatises composed at that time, which we shall con- 
 .■ as a whole, and especially from the position he occupies in 
 regard to predestination. In another important opinion Ochino 
 found accord and confirmation among the Genevese. It was only 
 after a Inn- and painful struggle that he tore himself away from 
 his order and his church. " He has forsaken the ark of salva- 
 tion," Vittoria Colonna then said of him, and thousands echoed 
 and either mourned or blamed his resolve. Ochino himself 
 felt the contrary conviction, that he had forsaken the Romish 
 Church so as to serve God more purely, that by so doing he was 
 not separated from Christ, but rather more closely united to him. 
 The doctrine of the "invisible church" did not without reason 
 occupy so prominent a place at the time of the Reformation. It 
 was necessary to destroy the artificially nourished notion that 
 Christianity and the Eomish Church were identical, and every 
 individual who, in the consciousness of his own personal re- 
 sponsibility, was about to take the final step, saw himself con-
 
 152 BERNARDINO OCHINO. 
 
 fronted with this decisive question. Ochino writes to Tolornei, 
 " I also believe in a holy, universal Christian Church, but just 
 for this reason I cannot permit the idea to be confined to the 
 Church of Eome." To the council of his native city he writes, 
 " I also acknowledge a holy and Catholic Church of Christ, the 
 community of the elect, who believe they are justified through 
 Christ alone. This is the only infallible church, infallible be- 
 cause the Holy Spirit works in it." 
 
 Ochino remained in friendly relations with Calvin. Calvin 
 was careful and anxious to permit the expression of no opinions 
 on religious matters opposed to his own. He therefore satisfied 
 himself about Ochino's opinions as soon as the latter showed 
 his intention of remaining in the city. He writes to Pellicanus, 
 April 19, 1543, " Because I do not trust the Italian spirits, I have 
 conversed fully with Ochino about single points of our faith, and 
 I did this in such a manner, that he could not have disguised it 
 from me if his opinions had in any matter been different from ours. 
 I then saw and can most positively declare that Ochino agrees 
 with us in every particular. I feel myself bound to give this 
 testimony to the pious and holy man, that he may not lie under 
 the smallest unmerited suspicion, for he possesses distinguished 
 learning, and his mode of life is exemplary." * Thus Calvin. It 
 is only malice when the latest Italian historian of Ochino's life 
 passes over his residence at Geneva with these words : — " But 
 Ochino, who did not agree with the universal Christian Church, 
 how could he submit to the individual opinions of a Calvin ? " -J- 
 And it is an entire distortion of facts when the same writer adds, 
 " He was thus soon at variance with Calvin, in so much that he 
 was cast out of the church community of Geneva, and banished 
 from the city." A remark made by Calvin, some years later, 
 about Ochino, will suffice to prove this an invention. Calvin 
 writes in his work, "De Scandalis " (p. 96), published in 1550 : — 
 " What monks could Germany point to in our time who might 
 
 * Corpus Ref. xxxix., No. 462. 
 
 t Cantil. Gli Eretici d' Italia, ii. p. 62.
 
 GENEVA AND AUGSBURC, 1542-1547. 153 
 
 have been compared without boasting to a Luther, Bucer, and 
 Oecolampadius for learning and purity of life? Whom could 
 Italy place beside a Bernardino Ochino or Peter Martyr Y< r- 
 migli?" It is true that Ochino left Geneva, but not till he 
 dwelt there three years, and his departure seems to have been 
 unexpected, since only a few months before the Council of 
 Geneva had assigned him a residence.* His motive cannot be 
 referred to disputes with Calvin, since even at a distance Ochino 
 kept up his relations with him,"f - and some years afterwards 
 again visited Geneva. Even before the end of Ochino's residence 
 at Geneva there was a weighty testimony to his theological 
 opinions in the "Prediche," which he there published. Seven 
 little volumes of these were printed between October 1542 and 
 the end of the year 1544. They were especially meant for cir- 
 culation in Italy, a purpose duly accomplished, although, accord- 
 ing to Ochino's own statement,! every one was there considered a 
 heretic who was found in possession of his writings. Milan, 
 where Muzio declares that he can find no copy,§ preserves to 
 this day the original editions of the Geneva " Prediche " in its 
 great public library. 
 
 We have seen that Ochino in his letter to Muzio names three 
 capital points whose recognition had driven him to a breach with 
 the Romish Church. The attainment of salvation through Christ 
 alone, the immorality of vows, and the rottenness of the hier- 
 archy. This three-fold experience had taken such deep root in 
 him, and so entirely governed all his thoughts, that he arranged 
 in this manner the subjects of the first three volumes of his 
 "Prediche." It is not really sermons that are contained in these 
 writings, but rather discussions of a theological nature, which 
 were also composed with a view of justifying his resolution be- 
 fore the wdiole world. They were not meant for the pulpit. 
 This circumstance alone shows how little credence is due to the 
 
 * Reg. du Conseil., 7th April 1545. Compare Corpus Ref. xl. p. G78. 
 
 t Lettres de Calvin a Jacques de Bougoyne. Amsterdam 1774, p. 36 and 108. 
 
 X Responsio ad Hieronymuni Lucensem. Appendix, No. 6. 
 
 § Le Mentite Ochiniane, folio 6.
 
 154 BERNARDINO OCIIINO. 
 
 assertion in Midland's Biographie Universelle (Art, Odiino) that 
 after his flight Ochino had the sermons, which he had preached 
 before, newly printed, but that he had greatly altered and 
 falsified them according to his later opinions. The character of 
 the subject naturally caused Ochino in his Genevese " Prediche " 
 to return to several points already touched upon in the " Nine 
 Sermons," or in the "Seven Dialogues" of 1539, and we may 
 find some interesting parallels which will help us to a more exact 
 understanding of his own development. 
 
 The first three volumes published at Geneva afterwards 
 appeared at Basle in a single volume. This edition which also 
 contains Ochino's preface of October 10th, 1542, is not so rare as 
 the Geneva edition, and it is the one to which all the following 
 quotations will refer. Those passages from the preface which 
 justify Ochino's flight have been already given. The preface 
 concludes with these words, doubly touching from the mouth of 
 an orator, — " Now, my Italy, I can no longer speak face to face 
 with thee, but I will write to thee and in thy own tongue, so 
 that every one may understand it. I comfort myself with the 
 thought that Christ has willed this, so that all other consider- 
 ations may fall away, and only the one desire, for truth, may re- 
 main to me. And because the justification of the sinner through 
 Christ is the beginning of the whole Christian life, let me com- 
 mence with this, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ." 
 
 What is justification through Christ ? To this the first treatise 
 is an answer. Justification through Christ is not the capricious 
 unrighteous act of a partial judge who excuses the evil doer 
 and ignores the charges against him, out of mere reluctance to 
 impose the merited punishment. But neither is it like the 
 act of a righteous judge, who rejects the charges against the 
 accused because they are unfounded, and acquits him because he 
 acknowledges him free from guilt. For we sinners are never in 
 this position before God. In this world there are also rulers 
 who sometimes forgive the penitent for the sake of his peni- 
 tence, but it is not in this manner that God has determined
 
 GENEVA AND AUGSBURG, 1542-1547. 1 55* 
 
 to justify us, although He could do so. He will not save us 
 without satisfaction ; still less can we justify ourselve a 3 though 
 we could in anyway render this satisfaction, for then the offence 
 of the cross would have lost its meaning and Christ would have 
 died in vain. Finally, we must not say we are justified partly 
 by Christ and partly by our own works. Numerous statements 
 of St. Paul and St. Augustine disprove this. We must found 
 our whole justification upon Christ, and not, like the Galatians, 
 partly upon our own works. This is the very heresy for 
 which Paul blamed them, that they did not give God alone the 
 honour in Christ. It is only an evasion to say, that although 
 our works are neither good nor deserving by themselves, God 
 will accept them as such for Christ's sake. Does not the same 
 Paul say in his Epistle to Titus that our works are impure until 
 we have attained justification through Christ? and St. Augustine, 
 in his book " On the City of God," calls them actually sins, be- 
 cause they were not done in the first place for God's honour. 
 That would mean that God regards our sins as virtues and 
 rewards them as such. Christ does not only justify us by 
 mediating for us, but by a much richer, higher, happier and 
 diviner means. He takes away our sins and fills us with His 
 Spirit, and thus we live, yet now not we, but Christ lives in us. 
 
 In spite of this careful treatment of the doctrine of justification 
 in this and other passages, yet in one particular, from the point 
 of view of the Church dogma, we miss Ochino's decisive penetra- 
 tion. Anselm's theory of justification through Christ's suffering 
 and death is reflected in his opinions, but its one-sided rugged- 
 ness was entirely opposed to Ochino's whole nature. Ochino 
 wishes to rest his salvation, not upon the appeasement of God's 
 anger, but upon His boundless love. The living faith which the 
 Holy Spirit works in man, is to him, if not the reason and cause 
 of salvation, at least the form in which salvation becomes effective. 
 Bather than sacrifice God's all-embracing love, Ochino bears the 
 reproach, and leaves unanswered the riddle, " Why then has not 
 God given this faith to all men ? "
 
 156 BERNARDINO OCHINO. 
 
 From Ochino's fundamental idea of justification without man's 
 own assistance by God's grace alone, which we have already seen 
 set forth with great distinctness in his letter to the council of 
 Siena, is now developed the further treatment of its nature and 
 operation in the succeeding essays. The second treatise deals 
 with its irrevocable certainty. Do you think, he there says, that 
 at the last judgment, Christ will say to you, "you are con- 
 demned for having trusted too firmly in me and in God's good- 
 ness?" We have the whole of Scripture on our side, and we have 
 only to humble ourselves before God, and to beg Him to give us 
 a living faith in His mercy. The third treatise, in characterising 
 the opponents of this doctrine, distinguishes three chief classes ; 
 the heathens, Jews, and false Christians, and referring to the 
 latter, Ochino especially answers the objection that entire con- 
 fidence in salvation through Christ leads to nothing but the 
 disdain and neglect of works and moral life. "No, whoever 
 has a living faith in Christ, a heart-felt sense of His great benefits, 
 will embrace Him with such passionate love that in one day he 
 will do more good than he could in a thousand years without 
 that faith. For faith is mightier than both fear and hope. 
 Therefore whoever preaches faith, preaches love, confidence, 
 humility, patience, and all the Christian virtues. For these all 
 spring from a living faith in our justification through Christ. 
 He also preaches love for our neighbour, pity, charity, prayer, 
 penitence, and all good works. For it is faith alone which urges 
 to these. Christ did not die upon the cross that we might remain 
 idlers, loiterers, and sinners, but rather to raise up a people well 
 pleasing to God, zealous of good works." 
 
 We can only carefully examine a few of the following treatises, 
 and it is the twelfth which next calls our attention, inasmuch it 
 recalls the relations of Ochino to that circle of Juan Valdez, to 
 which he was indebted for the whole new direction of his ideas. 
 In the " Seven Dialogues " of 1539 there were already several 
 points of contact with Valdez' " pious considerations." Mysticism 
 was for Ochino, as for many others before and after him, a form
 
 GENEVA AND AUGSBURG, 1542-1547. 157 
 
 in which his religious opinions disguised themselves, until they 
 were strengthened to force their way to a greater freedom. The 
 twelfth treatise hears unmistakable evidence that its author had 
 before him a work belonging to the most important productions 
 of the Italian Reformation, which faithfully reflects those 
 opinions developed in the circle of Valdez. This was the tractate 
 lost for centuries, but recovered in our time ; " Concerning the 
 merits of Christ's death on the cross." The fourth chapter deals 
 with " the workings of a living faith and the union of the soul 
 with Christ." This union of the soul with Christ is represented 
 by the emblem of marriage. Two are united in one flesh, the 
 husband has the right of possession over the whole dower which 
 the wife brings into marriage, and likewise, the wife may regard 
 all her husband's possessions as her own. "In like manner," con- 
 tinues the tract, " God has united His Son to the believing soul ; 
 and although she has no possession except sin, yet God's Son has 
 taken her for His beloved bride, with sin for her dower. Christ 
 now says, the dower of my bride — all her sins, God's anger 
 against her, the merit of punishments,— all belongs to me, and 
 I do with it what pleases me. I' throw it into the fire of my 
 crucifixion and destroy it. And in like manner the bride says, 
 the kingdom aLd possessions of my beloved are mine. I am 
 queen and ruler of heaven and earth ; His holiness, innocence, 
 righteousness, godliness — all His virtues belong to me; and 
 therefore I also am innocent, righteous, and godly as He is." 
 The same line of thought, partly expressed in the same words, 
 may be found in Ochino's twelfth treatise. It is remarkable that 
 he treats much more thoroughly the practical part— the good 
 fruits of a Christian life, which result from such a union. "Then," 
 hesays, "the children of this union — that is, the good works— begin 
 to grow. Whoevei stands in Christ, and Christ in him, he brings 
 forth good fruit. And as the love between husband and wile is 
 so great that it forsakes father, mother, and all else, so also is the 
 spiritual love between the believing soul and Christ," 
 
 In one of the following treatises (14), Ochino asks the ques-
 
 158 BERNARDINO OCHINO. 
 
 tion, how man may combat his sinful desires ; and in pointing 
 out Christ as the only mirror and example of good, he refers to 
 confession, its origin and meaning. He says : " It was natural 
 that, in the earliest days of the Church, many should repair to 
 the most experienced and pious in the community to seek for 
 advice and comfort in troubles of conscience. Hence the custom 
 gradually grew up of confessing all sins to the heads of the 
 Church ; and hence arose the ecclesiastical institution of confes- 
 sion, which, since Innocent III., has become obligatory upon all. 
 The claims of a right to forgive sins, or to pronounce the forgive- 
 ness of sins in God's place, were principally founded upon two 
 passages in the Bible. The first of these passages (Matt, xviii. 
 18), 'Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in 
 heaven : and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed 
 in heaven,' does not refer to a confession of sins, as the context 
 shows, but to the right of the apostles to decide concerning the 
 readmission of the relapsed into the Church." 
 
 " Our adversaries," continues Ochino, " rely still more firmly 
 on the second passage : ' Eeceive ye the Holy Ghost. Whosoever 
 sins ye remit they are remitted unto them, and whosoever sins 
 ye retain they are retained.' This saying, understood in its full 
 bearing, means this : Christ gives to the apostles and their 
 successors the power to proclaim the decisive truth that salvation 
 is of Christ alone ; that no one's sins will be forgiven who does 
 not believe in Him, however numerous the good works he may 
 perform. It is the seal set by Christ upon His relations with the 
 apostles, and the highest authority which He could impart to 
 them — that He revealed to them this Divine secret, and bade 
 them spread it abroad. Christ's word has nothing to do with the 
 ecclesiastical institution of confession." 
 
 Since Ochino dealt with the same subject in one of his sermons 
 before the time of his flight,* we may draw an interesting com- 
 parison between the two. He then considered it unnecessary to 
 
 * In the "Nove Prediche" of 1539.
 
 GENEVA AND AUGSBUEG, 1542-1547. 159 
 
 find a proof in tradition, or in a biblical exegesis for confession. 
 1 1 1'lc, on tin' other hand, lie refutes the chief passages which are 
 brought forward. There he touched but slightly on the manner 
 in which confession had arisen by purely human means, without 
 deducing from tl lis any inference for its dogmatic signification. 
 Here he carefully points out the course of its development, and 
 on this account denies its right to be held an ecclesiastical insti- 
 tution established by Christ or the apostles. Finally, he had then 
 quoted the book concerning true and false penance, attributed 
 to Augustine, as genuine, while here he has come to the right 
 conclusion — that the book was not written by Augustine.* 
 
 In the sixteenth treatise, Ochino traces the historical develop- 
 ment of indulgences, as he had traced that of confession in the 
 fourteenth. " In the earliest days of the Church," he says, "in 
 which stern discipline was kept up, canonical punishments were 
 established as a public chastisement for breach of morals. The 
 biads of the congregations, who imposed the punishments, also 
 retained the power to mitigate, change, or remit them altogether 
 or in part. From this, in course of time, sprang the practice of 
 indulgence. It rests upon the entirely unchristian, untenable 
 assertion that the Pope has the right of disposal over certain 
 treasures of good works, which have been accumulated by Christ 
 and the saints." These, and similar treatises, concerning matters 
 of conscience reserved to the decision of the Popes, concerning 
 purgatory and good works, conclude the first volume of the 
 " Prediche." " Let us then," Ochino exhorts the reader, " put off 
 the old Adam and his useless garments, and put on the Lord 
 Jesus Christ, His grace, His virtues, and His merits, that we may 
 be able in all sincerity to give God the honour." In his letter to 
 Muzio, Ochino had also set forth the contents and purport of 
 these first twenty treatises, " I have openly proved in them justi- 
 fication through Christ, I have laid low human satisfaction and 
 
 Et se mi si dicesse : Delia confessione parl& pure S. Agostino vel libro Delia 
 vera et falsa penitentia— respondo, eke quel libro non e suo, imperocche 1' alleo-a 
 Agostino in suo favore." This remark is in the 17th chapter.
 
 160 BERNARDINO OCHINO. 
 
 human merits, also indulgence and purgatory, and all the "odless 
 blasphemies in the doctrine of Antichrist, opposed to grace and 
 the gospel. Concerning the contents of the second volume * lie 
 remarks, " I have clearly proved that the vows of orders are not 
 binding and impious, and that there is in the world only one true 
 order, the order of Jesus Christ." This is the same idea we have 
 already met with in Ochino's last dialogue of 1539. Caterino 
 Politi was not wrong in already scenting heresy in this trea- 
 tise.f 
 
 Separately considered, the " Prediche " in the second volume 
 deal partly with the relation between law and liberty, partly with 
 vows, both those of orders and others, which are closely considered 
 from the point of view of moral worth. "Before the Fall (28th, 
 ' Concerning Christian Liberty ') man was free from all evil. It 
 was sin that first made him a slave, but we have regained liberty 
 through Christ, and those who are born again are free from all 
 harms, not that they will meet with none, but because they will 
 recognise them as sent by God for their good, and as a token of 
 His love. They are free from suspicion and fear, for faith teaches 
 them that God is with them, and that the creatures are vain 
 shadows, who can only act in so far as God gives them power. 
 Finally, they are free from idle cares, troubles, and hopes, an- 
 xious thoughts and wishes, for faith shows them that God regards 
 them with an especial care. They only want what is pleasing to 
 God, for their will is dead for itself, and lives only in God. This 
 is true freedom, to be absorbed with one's whole being, into the 
 highest freedom which is in God." 
 
 The third volume of the "Prediche," | containing nine treatises, 
 was in the press when Ochino addressed his letter to Mu^io, 
 April 7th, 1543, "They are to prove that what you consider the 
 true Church of Christ, is nothing but the true Babylon, in which 
 Antichrist himself wields the sceptre." The first of these trea- 
 
 * Basle Edition, i. 21-41. Appendix, No. 27. 
 t Compare above, p. 70. 
 i Basle Edition, i. 42-50.
 
 GENEVA AND AUGSBURG, 1542-1547. lGl 
 
 tises deals with the alleged infallibility of the Romish Church. 
 Here he employs the idea of the invisible Church, not under 
 
 this designation, but under the name of "Christ's Church," and 
 it is to this alone that he attributes infallibility. He bri 
 forward numerous contradictions in the doctrines of various 
 Popes, to prove the untenability of the assertion that the Eomish 
 Church is infallible. " But if you ask me what is the Church of 
 Christ, L answer, the word Church has a double meaning, some- 
 times it means the community of those who have a living faith 
 and the spirit of Christ. It is this Church to which the Apostles' 
 Creed refers, and which is called 'holy.' St. Paul designates it as 
 the 'Church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth' 
 (1 Tim. iii.). On the other hand, the expression 'Church' is also 
 used for the community of the baptized, whether they are good 
 or bad, as the Holy Scripture represents it in the parable of the 
 thrashing-floor, where grain and chaff are mixed, or the field where 
 good and bad seed grow, or the net in which all manner of things 
 are drawn to light. It is only the Church in the first sense 
 which cannot err, whether it be called Roman, or Venetian, or 
 French. Wherever true Christians are assembled, there is the 
 Church of Christ." In the three following volumes of his "Pre- 
 diche," as they were afterwards published, collected into the 
 second volume, Ochino deals with other themes. The polemic 
 impetus is no longer in the foreground, the contents of the trea- 
 tises are more of a speculative than of a practical kind. Ochino 
 avoid- the scholastic manner throughout, for he is not addressing 
 himself to the learned, but to those who had hitherto sat at his 
 feet in Italy, eagerly listening to his living words. The existence 
 in nature of God, His revelation in nature, in the Holy Scriptures, 
 in Christ, the person and the work of Christ, these are the sub- 
 jects first treated in the fourth volume.* Ochino assumes God's 
 existence as a postulate of human knowledge, he considers God's 
 nature as alone perfect, single, immutable, boundless. This na- 
 ture is only evident to him in as far as it shows itself active in 
 
 * Basle Edition, ii. 1-22. Appendix, No. 28.
 
 162 BERNARDINO OCHINO. 
 
 the world in which God shows His qualities, namely, His omni- 
 potence, wisdom, goodness, justice, and truth. "Nature is a 
 ladder to the knowledge of God, but the ladder is not without 
 danger, since the things of sense draw away the mind from the 
 pure contemplation of God. The ladder is also long and difficult 
 to climb, and at last it only leads to a knowledge of a small por- 
 tion of the Divine nature." 
 
 In the seventh treatise, Ochino encounters the question how 
 we may read Holy Scripture to the best use. " If you would 
 converse with God in holy calm, retire from all worldly thoughts, 
 and, Like Mary, direct your eyes to this one thing, to look upon 
 God. Beware of the reproach which fell upon Martha, bend 
 your head, leave pride, stubborness, conceit, and falsehood, and 
 yield your judgment and natural light prisoner to God's word." 
 
 After a further development of the leading idea that God has 
 revealed Himself most perfectly in Christ, the treatises (eleven 
 to twenty-two) deal with Christ's person and work. It would 
 lead us too far, if we attempted to reproduce even the most essen- 
 tial part of this rich material, which is always accompanied by 
 quotations from the Holy Scriptures. But one thing we must 
 refer to, and that is, the seriousness Ochino requires for a worthy 
 consideration of Christ's sufferings. " There are some who are of 
 opinion that the whole fruit of considering Christ's sufferings is 
 to shed a tear, and feel sensuous pity for Him. They, therefore, 
 prefer to think of circumstances likely to call forth their tears ; 
 and the more any one weeps, the more pious he is held. But I 
 insist that there is much sin hidden in this sensuous excitement ; 
 it is blameworthy in the highest degree when a soul, instead of 
 seeking God's honour alone, goes about trying to attain a sensuous 
 excitement through Him, and this with a crucified Christ. The 
 daughters of Israel wept over Christ from a natural pity, and yet 
 they were not well-pleasing to Him. You should rather consider 
 in the crucified One, with a living faith, the boundless love of 
 God, who has given to us miserable and ungrateful men this only 
 and beloved Son, to make us His children and heirs, to adorn us
 
 GENEVA AND AUGSBURG, 1542-1547. 163 
 
 with all virtues, and to bless us in the highest degree." In all 
 these treatises we find the idea expressed by Ochino in the 
 seventeenth : " We do not attain paradise through the observance 
 of Divine ordinances, but Christ has won it for us on the cross. 
 It is no wages for servants, but an inheritance for children. God 
 does not sell it to us as a trader, but He gives it us as a father. 
 It is sufficient for us to have a living faith, a faith we cannot 
 attain through our own understanding and strength, because it is 
 a gift of God. And even if it were our own work, we should not 
 be saved because our faith deserved salvation, but through Christ 
 alone." 
 
 Some of the following treatises plainly denote the influence of 
 opinions which Ochino had found among the Geneva theologians, 
 especially concerning the doctrine of predestination. This ques- 
 tion had certainly been discussed in Valdez' circle,* and it is 
 characteristic of Ochino that he only approaches this doctrine 
 from the point of view that man is incapable of doing even the 
 slightest thing for his salvation. In the twenty-seventh treatise, 
 Ochino deals with the common objection that the doctrine of 
 predestination, whatever its scientific value, is not adapted for 
 public discussion. " Shall we then hide what Paul has preached ? 
 shall we take offence at the words of the Holy Spirit, which are 
 written only for the sake of our salvation ? And I believe that 
 the doctrine of predestination is an important part in the evan- 
 gelical doctrine. But whoever, through the consciousness of 
 belonging to the elect, should keep back from good, or, through 
 the contrary consciousness, should be attracted to evil, would be 
 a slave, and no free man." This treatise, in the further develop- 
 ment of ideas, shows the connecting link by which Ochino had 
 been easily led to accede to Calvin's opinions. " It is Satan," 
 says Ochino, " disguised like an angel of light, who is labouring 
 to persuade us that our salvation depends in part on ourselves." 
 Already, in 1539, from the pulpit at Naples, he had, like 
 Augustine, denied the sinner all co-operation in his salvation, 
 
 * Compare Valdez' " Divine Considerationi," xlv.
 
 164 BERNARDINO OCHINO. 
 
 and here lie repeats it, "Be content with the knowledge 
 that your salvation rests in God's hand. God has taken it 
 into His own hand, because He does not trust us ; He knows 
 that even if we had already paradise in our hands, we should 
 let it fall again." Ochino did not follow Calvin's terrible 
 deduction concerning the incisive doctrine of predestination to 
 wrath. Perhaps he does not express himself clearly ; he will not 
 sacrifice God's love to save His omniscience. He concludes, " Let 
 who will consider Christ as the Judge, I only want Him as the 
 Saviour. Look around upon those who believe their salvation 
 lies in their own hand, they are full of self-love and self-confi- 
 dence, full of conceit and faults. And yet they are so blind and 
 foolish, that they only will have the paradise of- justice, and not 
 the paradise of mercy." 
 
 No less than fourteen " Prediche " deal with the doctrine of 
 predestination in its nature and consequence. A discussion (41) 
 concerning the nature and extent of free-will is appended to 
 them. Afterwards Ochino examined this question more carefully 
 in a special work A comprehensive account of his opinions 
 about the freedom of the will, will therefore find its most suit- 
 able place in the discussion of his " Labyrinthi." * 
 
 The treatises of the sixth volume f are throughout of a prac- 
 tically elevating character. They deal with the government and 
 harmony of the world,, they show man ought to be led by God, 
 and to follow Christ in spirit and in truth. Then how, in all 
 cases where we have to decide important matters, we may with 
 certainty recognise God's will. Ochino may have looked back 
 upon his own resolve to fly from Italy when he said : " To know 
 what God really wishes you to do, the best means is prayer, and 
 prayer for enlightenment concerning that which His will requires 
 of you, for our natural light and our wisdom do not suffice us. 
 Then you may also seek advice from enlightened friends, but not 
 with the intention of submitting slavishly to their judgment, but 
 only to weigh their counsel, and then to decide as God directs 
 
 * See chap. viii. t Basle edition, ii. 52-63. Appendix, No. 28.
 
 GENEVA AND AUGSBURG, 1542-1547. 165 
 
 you through His Spirit. Keep your eye directed to God's honour, 
 without consideration of your own well-being. In doubtful cases 
 always choose what tends to the greater honour of God. Consider 
 what a saint would have done if he had been in your position; 
 consider where the inward voice urges you, and then decide in 
 the firm belief that thus it is God's will. Then lie will make 
 use of you for His honour, and if troubles meet you, yet you must 
 not repent of your choice, for it is God's will that you should 
 meet with trials." " The Spirit of God," he concludes, " must be 
 our rule, which we would rather obey than all men and angels, 
 than our own wisdom, even as the example of the leper (Luke 
 xvii.) teaches us, rather than the literal words of Christ Himself." 
 The reason which made Ochino refer in this place to the example 
 of the leper who was healed, is explained by a passage from the 
 sixth sermon of the year 1539 (folio 52, a.) He there says: 
 " When Christ met the lepers, He bade them all 'go, show your- 
 selves unto the priests,' and it came to pass that as they went 
 with a living faith, they were cleansed ; and one of them, when 
 he saw that he was healed, did not obey Christ, did not go to the 
 priests, but turned back to give thanks to Christ. And Christ 
 said to him, ' There are not found that return to give glory to 
 God, save this stranger.' " Ochino concludes from this that we 
 ought sometimes rather to obey the divine Spirit, the inward 
 voice, which urges us to good, than the literal precepts of Christ. 
 This is a striking example of a subjective and spiritualistic ten- 
 dency in Ochino, also found in Valdez and the mystics, and which 
 may have been partly confirmed by the number of religious ex- 
 periences collected by Ochino in the early period of his develop- 
 ment. In the struggle that decided his whole life, he did, in 
 fact, follow his inner voice as a divine inspiration ; and though 
 the decision led him into want and trouble, — though it brought 
 him dangers and losses of all kinds, still, on the other hand, it 
 restored to him the peace of soul he had lost in the conflict 
 between his office and his conviction. 
 
 While the fourteen following "Prediche" deal carefully with
 
 166 BERNARDINO OCHINO. 
 
 prayer, — they are collected under the one title of Detailed Dis- 
 cussions concerning Prayer, — the two last, that end the series, 
 are of a polemic nature, and are directed against the worship of 
 images and relics, as well as against the Papacy of the Romish 
 Church. The last, "the image of Antichrist," was published 
 separately at Geneva in a French translation * 
 
 To these dogmatic and paraenetic discussions of Ochino's was 
 added, towards the end of his stay at Geneva, a larger exe^etic 
 treatise, a detailed exposition of the Epistle to the Eomans, pub- 
 lished in 1545.f "No other of the biblical writings," says 
 Ochino, in the introduction, " sets forth the truth so strikingly, 
 that the natural strength of man, even the law as given by Moses, 
 does not suffice to the attainment of salvation, but that our justifi- 
 cation lies in Christ alone. It, therefore, seemed to me that it 
 would be of great use if this epistle were carefully read and 
 rightly understood, and because the enemies of the gospel have 
 made it like all other biblical writings, unattainable, because it is 
 in Latin, I here explain it in the language of the people, so that 
 my Italy may no longer be without so rich a treasure." Ochino's 
 commentary was, however, soon after translated into Latin; a 
 German translation also appeared.]. 
 
 The very purpose of these treatises excludes the possibility of 
 an abstract, erudite treatment. The great truth of " the merits 
 of Christ," as St. Paul has indelibly traced it in the Epistle to 
 the Eomans, was to penetrate to the heart of all. The readers 
 were to learn humbly to recognise, with the apostle, their own 
 weakness, and then to be elevated with him to a certainty 
 of salvation. This was the object Ochino had in his mind. 
 How deeply he considers the fundamental idea in the Pauline 
 doctrine of salvation ; how he makes it his own has been already 
 
 * Appendix, No. 13. The Spanish index of prohibited books of 1559 notices 
 " Imagen del Antechristo, copuesta primieramote en Italiano y despues traducida 
 en Romece pur Alaso de Penafuerte," also " Predichas de B. Ochino en qualquier 
 lengua." 
 
 "t Appendix, No. 16. 
 
 } Appendix, Nos. 17 and 18.
 
 GENEVA AND AUGSBURG, 1542-1547. 1G7 
 
 shown in his letter to the Council of Siena, where Ochino sets forth 
 the eighth chapter of the Epistle to the Romans as the founda- 
 tion of his belief. He only occasionally speaks against doctrines 
 or institutions of the Catholic Church, as in the explanation to 
 chapter i., 23d verse: "To God alone be glory; it is His 
 dishonour if we worship pictures and images in His stead. But 
 if our adversaries pretend that these pictures and images are not 
 worshipped by them, but only God Himself — as far as He is 
 represented in them, I call upon my own experience as witness 
 against them. And if it is a sin to worship God in the form of 
 the sun, it is still more idolatry to worship Him in a statue. 
 He wills to be worshipped in nothing else but in Christ ; He is 
 His only temple." Ochino gives the whole epistle in an Italian 
 translation, and adds his comments to the separate verses. At 
 the commencement of each chapter the connection with the pre- 
 ceding and the contents are briefly indicated. 
 
 When Ochino says in the preface, " My Italy must no longer be 
 without so rich a treasure," this is not to be understood as though 
 in his time there had been no translation of the Epistle to the 
 Romans into Italian. As early as 1471 a translation of the Bible 
 had appeared at Venice from Jenson's press, of which Domenico 
 Cavalea was probably the author, and which was one of the first 
 and most brilliant productions of the Venetian art of printing. 
 In the same year the Abbot Niccolo de ' Malermi also published 
 his Italian Bible at Venice, and up to 1541 it had gone through 
 different editions ; one of these (that of 1525,) was furnished 
 with theological and moral commentaries. Antonio Brucioli, in 
 1530, had also published a translation of the New Testament, 
 and this had seen five editions before the year 1544. Brucioli 
 had himself printed the whole Bible at Venice in 1538; at the 
 same time, the translation of Sautes Marmochini of Florence was 
 appearing there. Four years later this was followed by a new 
 Italian edition of Era Zaccaria's New Testament. Even be- 
 fore Ochino's commentary on Romans was printed, the sixth 
 volume of Brucioli's great commentary, containing the Pauline
 
 168 BERNARDINO OCHINO. 
 
 Epistles, had appeared, But Brucioli writes his commentary as 
 a learned man who had studied the Fathers, and carefully sets 
 forth their opinions in connection with St. Paul's. Ochino 
 writes as one who recognises in the apostle's words what he him- 
 self has experienced, and what he wishes to impress upon the 
 minds of all. Brucioli thinks that he may add at the end of his 
 commentary, which is dedicated to Duke Cosimo de ' Medici, 
 the following assurance : " In no case have I departed from the 
 opinions held and approved by the holy doctors of the Church ; 
 and there is nothing in my explanation which would not be 
 approved by the Holy Mother Church, to whose judgment I 
 submit in all things." Ochino, on the other hand, had broken 
 with the same Church, because, according to his idea, she had 
 forsaken the pure teaching of the gospel, and especially St. Paul's 
 doctrine of justification. From this point of view his work was 
 certainly the first in the Italian tongue, especially as all the 
 other translations mentioned, besides Brucioli's, were merely 
 renderings of the Vulgate. In many important passages Ochino's 
 translation follows that form of the text re-established by 
 Erasmus, and already made public in his first edition of the 
 New Testament in 1516. It is possible that, besides the Greek 
 original, Ochino may have had before him Erasmus's Latin, and 
 perhaps even Brucioli's Italian, rendering. 
 
 About the middle of August 1542, Ochino left Geneva. Calvin 
 gave him introductions to Myconius at Basle, and to Madame de 
 Ealais at Strasburg. "The bearer of this letter," he writes to 
 Myconius, " Bernardino of Siena, is a man of great reputation in 
 Italy, and deserves to be honoured everywhere. Although I do 
 not doubt that for the sake of his name you would receive him 
 with all the respect his unusual piety and learning deserve, this 
 I wish to add — my own especial recommendation. Therefore let 
 him feel that he is loved by all Christ's servants, though I am 
 sure you would do this without my asking you." * 
 
 Xystus Betulejus, in his preface to his commentary on Lactan- 
 
 * Corpus, Kef. xl., No. 678.
 
 GENEVA AND AUGSBURG, 1542-15 17. 1G9 
 
 tins,* dated August 1545, mentions Ochino's residence at Basle. 
 Ochino fir -i stayed with Sebastian Castellio. He may have 
 made his acquaintance at Geneva. Castellio had lived at Basle 
 since 1544. At first he had made a scanty living by private 
 lessons and literary labours, and years after lie was made 
 professor of the High School. He always remained in friendly 
 relations with Ochino, and translated several of his writings into 
 Latin. 
 
 Ochino's stay at Basle was short. On August 29th Bucer 
 writes to Calvin from Strasburg: "I wish we could show Signor 
 Bernardino the distinctions he merits, his presence is a great 
 pleasure to us."f At Strasburg, Ochino met his faithful friend, 
 Peter Martyr, who like him had belonged to Valdez' circle, and 
 had at the same time formed his resolution of leaving Italy. 
 Alter a successful flight, they had just missed each other at Zurich. 
 A day before Martyr's arrival, Ochino had continued his journey 
 to Geneva, while Martyr went to Basle, and after a short stay 
 there, was called to a chair of Hebrew at the Strasburg University. 
 Before this time, Ochino had been corresponding with Bucer. 
 The MSS. of Uflfenbach's collection in the city library at Hamburg, 
 contain extracts from a letter of Bucer's J to Ochino, dated April 
 11th 1545. The letter relates to the reconciliation between the 
 Wittemberg and Swiss theologians concerning the doctrine of the 
 Lord's Supper. Bucer took great interest in this matter. It appears 
 that Curioni had intimated that Bucer had retracted his own 
 opinion for the sake of peace. Bucer emphatically denies this, 
 and after clearly setting forth his own opinion, adds, "Luther 
 and his friends would have agreed to this. At Basle, the Swiss 
 churches had framed a statement in accordance with it, but this 
 the Zurichers afterwards rejected. Believe me, my father, Luther 
 will not renounce the idea that Christ's own body and blood are 
 offered and partaken of in the bread and wine, that the bread and 
 wine are more than mere empty symbols. He does not determine 
 
 * P. 476, he calls him "purioris tbeologiae Professorem." 
 t Corpus Ref. xl. No. 689. J Vol. lis. in fol. No. 41
 
 170 BERNARDINO OCHINO. 
 
 how the change takes place. I have done nothing but suggest 
 the explanation found in John vi. ; 1 Corinthians x., which has 
 also been accepted by the Fathers." 
 
 Ochino did not remain long in Strasburg. In October 1545, 
 he was at Augsburg. Perhaps he had been induced to go there 
 by Betulejus, who occupied an influential position in the city. 
 The council of the city decided October 20th, that "Frater 
 Bernardino Ochino, together with his brother-in-law and his 
 sister, shall be permitted to reside here, and that, should he re- 
 quire money, he may apply to your council for the same."* Here 
 for the first time Ochino is no longer alone, but accompanied by 
 his brother-in-law and sister. The wording of the council's re- 
 solution cannot help us to decide the question whether he himself 
 was married or no. In a conversation with Paul Knibb, (1564) 
 which we shall mention later (chap ix.), Ochino said that his 
 eldest daughter had married about two years ago.j" Prom this 
 we may assume that he himself was already married when he 
 came to Augsburg, or that he must have married shortly after. 
 
 A post as preacher to the Italian congregation at Augsburg, with 
 a salary of two hundred gulden, was conferred upon Ochino by the 
 council, in Dec. 1545. The decree runs: "On the proposition of the 
 Burgomaster, it is decided that Signor Bernardino, Italian preacher, 
 is to be summoned and requested to accept office for some years 
 in service of your masterships. In return, he shall receive every 
 quarter fifty gulden. — Decretum in Senatu, December 3rd, 1545." 
 
 Thus three years after his flight, Ochino had found an assured, 
 if modest, livelihood in a foreign land. The number of Italians 
 resident at Augsburg was large. The Fuggers' commercial 
 activity extended beyond the Alps throughout the whole of Italy, 
 and many an Italian, forced to fly from his fatherland, in conse- 
 quence of the growing reactionary movement, sought refuge in 
 
 * This document and the following, are found in Schelhom " Ergotzlichkeiten 
 iii. S. 1 1 4, 1 f. 
 
 *t "Narrare coepit (Ochinus) nuptias filiae et morbum suum, quae ante biennium 
 aut amplius acciderunt. "Knibb to Bullinger Easter 1564. Simmber's collection, 
 Zurich. MSS.
 
 GENEVA AND AUGSBURG, 1542-1547. 1 > I 
 
 the powerful imperial city. Ochino wrote in his polemic against 
 Politi (Appendix, No. 23): "lam receiving from the Senati 
 Augsburg as much as I require to live respectably. All people 
 are friendly to me, so that I could wish for nothing better." 
 
 Besides his work as preacher, Ochino continued his literary 
 labours. Castellio's Latin translation of his Exposition of the 
 Romans, was published under his eyes at Augsburg* as well as a 
 German translation. "f In 1545 the first twenty Geneva "Prediche," 
 translated by Josef I Ioechstetter, were published at Neuburg on 
 the Danube.^ These were followed by a collection of sermons on 
 the Epistle to the Galatians, delivered by Ochino in Italian, and 
 then translated into German, and printed at Augsburg by 
 Valentin Othmar in 154G.ij The work is similar to that on 
 Romans, but the exposition of important passages is more detailed. 
 In fact, it bears the stamp of a homiletic treatment before the 
 congregation. The following is an example of the manner in 
 which Ochino treats his subject. In Gal. ii. 1-2, it is written, 
 " Then fourteen years after I went up again to Jerusalem with 
 Barnabas, and took Titus with me also. And I went up again by 
 revelation, and communicated unto them that gospel which I 
 preach among the Gentiles, but privately to them which were of 
 reputation, lest by any means I should run, or had run in vain." 
 Ochino here remarks, " Oh Paul, thou art contradicting thyself. 
 Thou hast said above that thy gospel was so certain that thou 
 didst not ' confer with flesh and blood,' and now thou sayest that 
 thou didst confer with those of reputation. Is it possible that 
 seventeen years after thy conversion thou shouldst doubt the 
 truth of the gospel, and yet wouldst not humble thyself so much 
 as to confer with the other apostles. How couldst thou preach 
 sincerely in the Spirit that about which thou thyself wast in 
 doubt ? Bu1 Paul in these words appeases all such doubts, when 
 he says that by revelation from God he went up after fourteen 
 years to Jerusalem, and here it is remarkable that the other 
 
 * Appendix, No. 18. f Appendix, No. 21. 
 
 X Appendix, No. 19. § Appendix, No. 20.
 
 172 BERNARDINO OCHINO. 
 
 apostles, and especially the three first, James, Peter, and John, 
 were sent to preach to the Jews, and because the Jews were slow 
 to forsake the ceremonies of the Mosaic Law, for a time they bore 
 with their weakness, in order that they might gently lead them 
 to Christ, and they permitted them to be circumcised, and to keep 
 their feasts and customs. But Paul being especially sent to 
 preach the gospel to the Gentiles who did not observe the Mosaic 
 customs, it was not necessary to speak with them about these. 
 Now when the false apostles in Galatia saw that the Christians 
 in Jerusalem were observing the Mosaic customs in presence of 
 the apostles, and observed the contrary in the congregations 
 taught by Paul, they ran about everywhere trying to destroy what 
 Paul had built up, affirming that Paul was no true apostle, but 
 was opposed to the true apostles. But in order to avert this evil, 
 God commanded Paul to go up to Jerusalem, and to confer with 
 the apostles concerning the joyful and pure gospel he preached 
 without the Mosaic ceremonies." 
 
 A letter of Ochino's to Bullinger, written during the early part 
 of his residence at Augsburg, has been preserved at Zurich. He 
 recommends the bearer, Johannes Haller, to Bullinger, and greets 
 the theologians in that city, especially the venerable Pellican, 
 with the greatest cordiality.* Several smaller writings preserved 
 in a German translation, also owe their existence to Ochino's 
 residence at Augsburg, and in the first place the " Dialogue 
 between Carnal Wisdom and a spiritual or believing Christian." -f- 
 It is a compendium of polemics in the form of a dialogue, and 
 being very short, it only touches on the ehief point of the con- 
 troversy between the Catholic and Protestant doctrine. 
 
 Carnal Wisdom determines to make one more attempt upon 
 the believer, who represents Ochino, and to continue to importune 
 him, although he refuses to have anything to do with her. She 
 hopes she may still succeed in misleading him. She pretends that 
 she makes this attempt out of pity for him. " Look there, he is 
 
 * I found a copy of this in Simniler's collection. 
 + Appendix, No. 25.
 
 GENEVA AND AUGSBURG, 1542-1547. 173 
 
 sitting again as usual in his closet, alone, and happy in his silly 
 faith, as though his misery were not his own, and his unhappy 
 state of no consequence." "Oh, I hear thy voice already," 
 exclaims the believer, " thou wouklst disturb my quiet peace." 
 " Yours is a blessed and quid peace, forsooth," Carnal Wisdom 
 scornfully replies, " is it possible that you do not know the evil 
 that has befallen you? It has all come because you would not 
 be ruled by my advice. Consider what has befallen you for the 
 sake of your gospel, remember the confidence, belief, considera- 
 tion, honour, and fame, you formerly enjoyed, and then consider 
 how you have now become an abomination to almost all the 
 world." " If I were to please man," replies Ockino, "I should be 
 no servant of Christ ; since the world has always hated Christ, it 
 must always hate his members. The testimony of God, and my 
 good conscience, and the judgment of really spiritual and wise 
 men, are much more to me than what the blind and foolish mass 
 may say. Therefore from day to day I become calmer and 
 happier. Whoever is united with Christ in a living faith, is rich 
 in poverty. He remains in his country even when in banishment, 
 he enjoys respect when ke is despised, peace when he is per- 
 secuted, he is patient in troubles, and blessed in all tribulation. 
 Christ makes all troubles sweet and pleasant to those who are 
 united with Him." We cannot consider the treatment of each 
 separate controversial doctrine. Justification, purgatory, indulg- 
 ence, fasts, and confessions are dealt with in succession. Con- 
 cerning confession he says, " Your false Christians are forced to 
 confess, once a year, according to the Pope's command. They 
 confess to their priest, but the true Christians confess according 
 to the Divine law. They always acknowledge themselves sinners 
 before God. The former search their conscience so that tkey may 
 call their sins to mind and recount them to the priest, but we 
 search our conscience that we may feel shame, and remind our- 
 selves that our sins are countless. You think your sins will be 
 forgiven you by anxious introspection, wearisome repetition, 
 skams, indulgence, and works of penance. But we sincere
 
 174 BERNARDINO OCHINO. 
 
 Christians believe that they will only be forgiven us by God's 
 mercy, and for the sake of Chriat's death, which He, out of love, 
 suffered on the cross." Similarly he discusses the celibacy of 
 priests, vows, dispensations, excommunication, worship of pictures 
 and saints, the mass, and the power of the Popes. " It is because 
 you hate the Eoman Church," returns Carnal Wisdom, " that you 
 speak so ill of her." But you must know that although St. 
 Peter's bark has been tossed about by severe and troublesome 
 storms, yet it is not possible to sink it." " I only hate the sins 
 and the false, erroneous, pestilential doctrine of the Anti- 
 Christian kingdom, but by no means persons, nor do I attack the 
 Church of Christ, but only the one directly opposed to her, and I 
 am certain that Christ will attain the victory. The time has 
 come when His Church will be renewed, not only in outward 
 customs and observances, but also in doctrine. It will once 
 more become the true, pure, and holy Church of the apostolic 
 time, perhaps in even greater perfection, and I am certain, 
 although the whole world should oppose it, and should try every 
 means to obscure and extinguish this living; and shining- lio-ht, 
 God in His mercy has given us, they cannot accomplish this, but 
 that from day to day it will be found larger, more burning, 
 clearer, and brighter. Let us pray to the Lord God, through 
 Christ, that He would grant this unto us. Amen." 
 
 " Some short directions for the exercise of prayer " are attached 
 to the dialogue. These have been already separately published,* 
 and were afterwards incorporated in Italian in the collection 
 of " Prediche." 
 
 " Every day you should try to have a little time to yourself 
 alone, then go to a quiet place apart, drive all temporal thoughts 
 as much as possible from your mind, and think that you have 
 the Lord Christ before your eyes, and that you are speaking to 
 Him from your heart just such words as though He were bodily 
 present. For if that were the case, I have no doubt you would 
 have much to say to Him, and if you keep silence from rever- 
 
 * Appendix, No. 22.
 
 GENEVA AND AUGSBURG, 1542-1547. 175 
 
 ential awe, it is really as though you were praying. Among 
 other things I should wisli you to say to Him, — ' Oh, Lord, be- 
 cause until this day I have let myself be governed by my own 
 blind prudence, I have lived in the vilest manner, I have trodden 
 a false and crooked path ; because through Thy grace I now 
 recognise this, I come to Thee for help ; and now I give Thee, 
 from the depth of my heart, my temporal goods and honours, my 
 children, parents, friends, health, life, soul, and everything that 
 is mine. Do Thou use sweet or bitter remedies, whichever Thou 
 regardest as needful for my disease. I resign myself entirely to 
 Thee ; deal with me according to Thy divine will, so long as I 
 may become blessed through Thee. I have no fear to give my- 
 self up entirely to Thy rule, although I know that Thou never 
 leavest Thy people in idleness, but exercisest them in all virtues 
 that they may become perfect. I am certain that Thou lovest 
 me, I know it through the great love shown when Thou wast 
 offered up for me. Therefore, although I should know, that Thou 
 wouldst deal with me, as with Job, yet I would give myself up 
 entirely into Thy hands, because I know that it is for my salva- 
 tion, and this, not for one day alone, but always and irrevocably. 
 Therefore, if I should ever repent of having given myself to Thee, 
 as I might do in the affliction Thou sendest me, yet do not 
 cease, Christ, from doing Thy will upon me, and do not re- 
 gard my self-confidence. For when Thou hast once accepted me 
 as Thine own, I desire that Thy work should be completed, that 
 Thou mayest thereby be glorified. It is true that I desire to 
 serve Thee, but because this is not in my own power, and comes 
 through Thee alone, and out of pure grace, I will attempt to 
 secure my salvation through grace and not through the law, and 
 will trust to no good work that might be worthy of Thee, and that 
 I might accomplish by myself, without Thy Spirit, but I will re- 
 member that if Thou shouldest forsake me I should still be froward. 
 " ' Oh, Lord, how could I ask for salvation for the sake of my 
 own righteousness, since I have none ? but I come to Thee for 
 mercy. Oh, Lord, reveal Thy honour, show Thy wondrous good-
 
 176 BERNARDINO OCHINO. 
 
 ness by redeeming and making blessed one who is still an enemy 
 to Thee. This will be a miracle above all miracles. It is Thy 
 most glorious and wondrous work, a work belonging to Thee alone. 
 Take account of my many sins and show the whole world Thy 
 power and how inexhaustible are the treasures of Thy mercy. I 
 know that Thou art able to make me blessed. And since Thou hast 
 shown me Thy love in wondrous fashion by Thy sufferings, even 
 more than by omnipotence, I ought even less to doubt Thy will 
 than Thy power. I know that my sins have neither extinguished 
 nor lessened Thy love to me, but have rather made it livelier and 
 greater. I know Thou canst do all that Thou wiliest, and all that 
 Thou wiliest is just and good. Ways and means of making me 
 blessed are not wanting to Thee, and it is easy to Thee since 
 Thou hast but to regard Thyself and not me, and to consider what 
 Thou hast done and suffered for my sake. Ah, do not despise 
 him who has cost Thee so much, but if Thou shouldst still con- 
 demn me I should grieve for my own loss, but not the less would 
 it grieve me to remember that all the pains Thou hast had for 
 my sake had been in vain, and that Thy tears, Thy sweat and 
 blood, were lost on me, and that Thou shouldst not triumph. 
 Yet I feel in my heart Thou art saying to me that I am blessed 
 through Thee. My desire is only that I should no longer live in 
 myself but in Thee alone. I come to Thee, Lord, obedient to 
 Thy loving call, I know Thy mercy is so great that I may hope 
 in spite of my sin. Hitherto I have not known Thee, and there- 
 fore not loved Thee, and though there is no excuse for me, yet I 
 compare myself to the Jews who crucified Thee, whom Thou 
 didst excuse to Thy Father from the cross, saying, They know 
 not what they do. Do Thou excuse me thus to Thyself and Thy 
 Father. Have mercy, Lord, upon this sinner, who comes to 
 Thee as his only refuge.' " 
 
 The last of the short Augsburg tractates is entitled, "Of the hope 
 of a Christian temper"* (fol.o). "My hope is so great and certain, 
 that I can find no cause to fear or to doubt that Thou, my God and 
 * Appendix, No. 26.
 
 GENEVA AND AUGSBURG, 1542-1547. 177 
 
 Lord, hast rejected me. I know that my trust will never put me 
 to shame, for although my sins and transgressions are great and 
 innumerable, none the less do I trust Thy holy promises— that 
 Thy grace and goodness are infinite, unfathomable, and far greater 
 
 than my sins. Besides this, 1 see and feel my sins are already 
 blotted out and purified in Christ, not only sufficiently, but in 
 full and overflowing measure. Therefore, I know Thou hast 
 fully atoned lor them, and wilt punish me no more." 
 
 " Oh, 1 now perceive that Thou art my only Lord and God, 
 that 1 am loved so greatly and inexpressibly by Thee, and this 
 through Christ, who has reconciled and atoned for me. Oh, what 
 a gracious and firm Friend my heart and conscience have now 
 found, now that f know and am certain that Thou art no longer 
 angered with me ; that Thou no longer reckonest my misdeeds ; 
 that, instead of a stern Judge, Thou hast become a merciful, 
 gracious God. From the beginning Thou hast counted me 
 among Thy elect, Thou hast accepted me as a son and brother in 
 Christ, Thou hast given me all things through Him, even Him- 
 self with all His merits, and Thou hast given me part in the 
 Divine inheritance ; — Should I still doubt my salvation ? Daily 
 1 learn from Thy gracious Word that all the promises of Thy 
 grace have been fulfilled to me through Christ; — Should I still be 
 wanting in love to Thee ? God's Holy Spirit, in which is neither 
 falsehood nor guile, daily speaks and testifies in my innermost 
 heart that I am a chosen child of God, that Thou lovest me, that 
 Thou hast an especial care for me, that Christ has saved me, and 
 that He — the Holy Spirit — has become a pledge of salvation to 
 me; — Should I not then believe in Him?" 
 
 (Folio 5). " If the sons of Jacob, when they came to Egypt, 
 found their brother Joseph friendly, mild, and kind, in spite of 
 the harm they had done him ; if the prodigal son, as soon as he 
 returned to his father, full of penitence for his misdeeds, was 
 pardoned from that hour, how much more may I trust in Thy 
 mercy and goodness, Thou my merciful God and Father, when 
 I cry to Thee in believing hope ! I know that Thou wilt regard 
 
 M
 
 178 BERNARDINO OCHINO. 
 
 and receive me far more kindly than Joseph received his brothers, 
 or the father the prodigal son, for Thou art the fountain of all 
 goodness and mercy, whence flow the wholesome tears of recon- 
 ciliation over every poor, lost sinner who recommends himself to 
 the arms of Thy mercy with sincere faith and undoubting hope. 
 I know that Thou wilt endow me with greater good and mercy 
 than I could ask or demand of Thee, for the shepherd never 
 rejects his lamb lost out of the fold when it returns to him ; as 
 soon as he misses it he leaves all the rest, seeks it and calls it 
 until he finds it, and when he has found it he puts it joyfully 
 upon his shoulders, calls his friends, and says, Rejoice with me, 
 for I have found my sheep which was lost." 
 
 Further on, Ochino writes : " Lord, it is poverty which 
 calls forth benevolence, and the greater the transgression the 
 greater the need of pardon. Now, since my wretchedness and 
 transgressions are greater than it is possible to express, so that 
 they exceed the limits of mercy, I may hope that Thou wilt show 
 still greater mercy towards me, so that my transgression may be 
 exceeded by Thy grace, my stubbornness by Thy goodness, and 
 all my faults of ingratitude by Thy love, for Thou art mercy 
 itself." .... "And since we expect nothing from a fountain of 
 honey but sweetness and pleasantness, nothing but kindness, 
 mildness, love, goodness, grace, and mercy can flow from Thee, 
 who art the only source of all grace and goodness. There are 
 times when I do not recognise all this grace and goodness, yet the 
 hope of my salvation sustains me day by day ; in it I live ; in 
 Thy mercy I trust, Lord, and I beg of Thee that in this hope 
 I may never be confounded." 
 
 In these writings we perceive an inward piety, blissful certainty 
 of salvation, and indestructible hope. And yet it is a serious, 
 almost sombre, background from which this personal confidence 
 stands out. In the first tract, Carnal Wisdom addresses the 
 believing Christian : " I see such a battle preparing for you that 
 ye will not know whither to fly." 
 
 In fact, sad times were in store for the Protestants in the
 
 GENEVA AND AUGSBURG, 15-42-1547. 179 
 
 Empire. The League of Schmalkalden, which, though an incom- 
 plete work, was yet hailed as a support to the Evangelical cause, 
 began to endanger it in a double manner, not less by inner dis- 
 sensions than by the arbitrary proceedings at the founding of 
 new churches, and by a requisition against the Supreme Court of 
 Imperial Judicature that almost amounted to a withdrawal from 
 the Imperial union. Both fell in a time, when, owing to the 
 peace of Crespy, the Emperor found himself in a position to give 
 his whole attention to German affairs, and when Emperor and 
 Pope had just been reconciled through the mediation of Cardinal 
 Alessandro Farnese at "Worms in 1545. The Emperor appeared 
 to give credence to the sincerity of the Papal promises. However 
 this may have been, their common interest caused them to act in 
 common. The two important matters were mutually arranged ; 
 the Emperor pledged himself to take arms against the Schmal- 
 kaldian confederates; the Pope, on the other hand, promised that 
 he would at length call the Council so often promised, and that 
 he would assist the Emperor with money, " even if he should 
 have to sell his own crown."* In December 1545, the Council 
 at Trent was opened. In the following year, not long after 
 Luther's death, the war broke out in Germany. 
 
 The tragic end of the pious Spaniard, Juan Diaz, which filled 
 all Protestant Germany with horror, in the spring of 1546, may be 
 regarded as a painful prelude to the war. A short time before 
 we find Ochino in connection with Diaz. They may have become 
 friends at Geneva, where Diaz also resided for a time. He was 
 invited by his abandoned brother Alfonso to accompany him to 
 Italy, to labour in the Evangelical cause, which was the pretext 
 used to persuade him. From Neufchatel he had applied for 
 advice to Ochino and the preacher Wolfgang Musculus at Augs- 
 burg. Both warned him against heeding his brother's allure- 
 ments. On March 22d, Diaz answers : " My Father, I have 
 
 * Verbatim. On January Sth, 15 16, Ocliino wrote to Bucer : "The Pope will 
 sell the Church property to obtain money for the war against the Lutherans. " Com- 
 pare Seckendorff Commentarii, Lib. iii. 131, i.
 
 180 BERNARDINO OCHINO. 
 
 received your letter and Dr. Musculus's. My best thanks for 
 your friendly and Christian advice, especially for the exhortation 
 that I should take counsel with Christ my Saviour — close my 
 eyes to the world, and open them to Him alone. Hitherto I am 
 undecided, but to-morrow, or the day after, Dr. Bucer will 
 arrive, and I will carefully discuss the matter with him. I 
 recommend myself to your prayers and those of Dr. Musculus, 
 whether the Lord bids me stay here or go away. It is incredible 
 how many weighty reasons, I might almost say means of com- 
 pulsion, my brother uses towards me. I trust in Christ. I hope 
 soon to visit you and Dr. Musculus." He was not destined to 
 see his Augsburg friends again. Two days after, the terrible 
 fratricide took place. 
 
 Four months afterwards the civil war broke out in Germany. 
 The result favoured the Emperor beyond all his expectations. 
 " In the autumn of 1546 he already saw the whole of Upper Ger- 
 many in his hands. Cities and princes vied in their submission. 
 The moment seemed at hand when the Protestant party in Ger- 
 many might be subdued, and the whole North be once more 
 made Catholic." The Protestants built their last hopes on 
 Augsburg, but alone she was no match for the Emperor. That 
 which Carnal Wisdom had prophesied to the believer, was ful- 
 filled. "You will not know whither to fly." But Ochino had 
 answered, " I have Christ my refuge, he never drives any one from 
 Him who flies to Him. He receives in His arms those who are 
 tossed about by the world. Yet I am certain that Christ will 
 conquer, that He will carry away the glory, and the more the 
 whole world resists Him the greater will be His triumph, glory 
 and fame." However, it appears that this tract was written 
 before the commencement of the war. " There are very few of 
 you," says Carnal Wisdom, "and yet you hope to conquer." 
 "That is a sign' that we trust in God." "Do you not seethe 
 whole world against you ? " " It is enough for us that we have 
 the merciful God on our side." "Ah, I see it is your intention 
 not to take arms, but to sit still and let God work for you." " It
 
 ( ; ENEVA AND AUGSBURG, 15-42-] 5 IT. 181 
 
 is our intention to employ first spiritual anus, then, if necessary, 
 real weapons." If any one came to kill you, and you had no way 
 of escape but to murder him, what would your conscience advise 
 in such a case ? " "I answer thus. According to the divine law, 
 which forbids murder, I ought rather to suffer death, for we are 
 forbidden to do evil that good may ensue, unless at that moment 
 God should send me an especial spirit to direct me otherwise, as 
 it happened to Elijah, when he called down fire from heaven and 
 caused everything to be consumed. But this is not the case with 
 the princes and dignitaries, for since, on the one hand, by means 
 of righteous laws, they may punish and even execute, by their 
 servants, murderers, assassins, and other evil-doers, for the glory of 
 God and the maintenance of their position in Christian quiet and 
 peace, so they have also the right and power, not only to defend 
 themselves by their soldiers, but even to punish, chastise, and 
 kill those who dare draw away mankind from Christ by force, 
 injustice, and impious means." "Yes, if you were all agreed, you 
 might have some hope, but you are divided into so many sects, 
 that it is impossible you must perish." 
 
 Carnal Wisdom had prophesied but too truly what afterwards 
 took place. On January 23d, 1547, the Emperor's army marched 
 upon isolated Augsburg. The city surrendered without any 
 resistance. Among the Emperor's demands this was one of the 
 first ; that Sebastian Schertlin, the brave commander of horse, 
 and Bernardino Ochino, should be given up to him. 
 
 The Emperor Charles V. may still have remembered the 
 Capuchin, who, eleven years before, had preached with such un- 
 paralleled results during his own residence at Naples, but within 
 these years were crowded together the most stirring memories of 
 Ochino's life. There at Naples, in the midst of his own nation, 
 he was approaching the pinnacle of his glory — here at Augsburg 
 he was labouring in a modest circle in a foreign country, a 
 fugitive, who had at length found a resting-place, and who was 
 now once more driven towards an uncertain future. 
 
 The city did not deliver the deserving and honoured man into
 
 182 BERNARDINO OCHINO. 
 
 the hands of his enemies. During the night the Council caused 
 him and the brave Schertlin to escape. Francesco Stancaro of 
 Mantua accompanied Ochino to Constance, and thence for a short 
 period to Zurich. Here he met Calvin, who chanced just then 
 to have arrived there.* From Zurich Ochino went to Basle.-}- 
 
 If we may trust the editor of the JBibliotheca Antitriniiaria, 
 Christopher Sandius, Ochino would hare belonged to those who 
 at that time (1546) "met together in the Venetian dominion for re- 
 ligious conversations, in which doubt was thrown upon the doctrines 
 of the Trinity, the atonement of Christ and other similar beliefs." £ 
 It is always advisable to exercise caution in receiving any state- 
 ments made by Sandius about the spread of antitrinitarian opi- 
 nions, and we must reject the above assertion as far as Ochino is. 
 concerned. It is not likely that after Ochino left Italy in 1542 he 
 ever saw his country again, and certainly not in 1546, when he had 
 to exercise his duties as preacher at Augsburg. We are accu- 
 rately acquainted with his opinions concerning the doctrine of 
 the Trinity and the atonement from his earlier and contemporary 
 writings, and it is evident from these that in 1546, at any rate, he 
 was far from doubting either the one or the other doctrine. 
 
 * Corpus. Ref. xl., Calvin to Musculus, 21st April 1547: — Tigurf in Bernardinura 
 incicli qui dimidia fere hora antea appulerat. Calvin speaks of a journey which he 
 undertook at the end of January. 
 
 f " Er ist aber gen Constanz entronnen und durch Zurich gen Basel gereiset," 
 Hettinger, Helvet. Kirchengesch, iii. p. 776. 
 
 t Bibl. Antitr, Freistadt (Amsterdam), 1684, p. 18.
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 ENGLAND, 1547-1553. 
 
 The state of Church affairs under Henry VIII. — Edward VI. — Ocliino's Appoint- 
 ment and Journey — Progress of Reforms — Ochino Preaches in London — 
 The "Tragedy" -Dedication — Train of Thought — The separate Dialogues 
 — Further Invitations to Foreign Theologians — The Florentine Manuscript 
 — "Prediche" in an English Translation — "Prediche" III. — The Testa- 
 ment of the True Christian — Change of Government and Flight of 
 Cchino. 
 
 While the Emperor's army was marching victoriously against 
 Augsburg, and humbling this stronghold of German Protestant- 
 ism, an event was taking place in England, destined to be of 
 decisive importance for the religious development of the country, 
 in the Protestant sense. This was the accession of Edward VI. 
 Henry VIII. had already introduced the new doctrine, but after 
 his own manner, without genuine religious conviction, as a 
 means of breaking with Eome when Eome had become obnoxious 
 to him, rather than a national movement as in Germany. 
 
 The change came as the command of a despotic ruler, who 
 only assumed the semblance of executing the will and decisions 
 of Parliament. Doubtless " he had the whole nation with him 
 when he laid the axe to the mediaeval hierarchical system in 
 England," but only in principle. But when the separation from 
 Eome had been accomplished, when men perceived what in- 
 numerable relations had been dissolved and destroyed, when at 
 Cromwell's instance the monasteries had been dissolved, spiritual 
 possessions confiscated, and the popular veneration for relics 
 no longer permitted ; then every one of these steps cost the
 
 184 BERNARDINO OCHINO. 
 
 king some adherents, and the number of the discontented in- 
 creased more and more. It is needful to bear this in mind, to 
 understand the surprisingly rapid reaction that took place under 
 Mary Tudor. 
 
 Henry VIII. had himself experienced the evil consequences of 
 his reforms. Under his very eyes the reaction had been gaining 
 a new influence at the Court, ever since 1540, and in those days 
 the Court was everything. Bishop Gardiner was its chief repre- 
 sentative. He was sufficiently pliable and submissive to retain his 
 influence over the king, and to use it for the overthrow of Crom- 
 well. The state of religious feeling had really not changed 
 among the people, and the lower clergy, who, ignorant and un- 
 cultured, still clung to the ancient forms. Mediaeval barbarisms 
 still reigned in the universities, whence the spirit of a new life 
 ought to have emanated and spread over the country. The whole 
 kingdom was in a state of ferment. Just then Henry VIII. died. 
 His suspicious nature had not allowed him to appoint one person 
 as guardian and adviser of his nine-year-old son, but he had en- 
 trusted the regency to the whole council. But the ambitious 
 Edward Seymour, Lord Hertford, who, as uncle to the young 
 king, stood nearest to him, contrived to be named Lord Protector 
 by the same council. In this capacity he exercised for some 
 years an almost dictatorial sway over England. His rule was 
 not without effect on political and clerical affairs. The goal of 
 his political labours, zealously pursued by him, was to obtain a 
 united kingdom of Great Britain: in ecclesiastical matters this 
 was also his endeavour, he aimed at establishing one single form 
 of public worship, based on the Protestant creed. 
 
 It seemed as though a new future was opening to Protes- 
 tantism. For the first time in a great kingdom it came to the 
 people from above, not merely superficially, but witli inner con- 
 viction and inclination, and thus penetrated into the very being 
 of the nation. The very decided step of the Lord Protector, who 
 seemed to incorporate in his person the Protestant principle, broke 
 the influence of the reaction at the court, with the commencement
 
 ENGLAND, 1547-1553. 185 
 
 of the young king's reign. As long as Edward VI. lived it never 
 again reared its head. Even the fall of Seymour, or Duke of 
 Somerset, as he was now entitled, could make no difference in 
 Church matters. Under the protectorate of the Duke of 
 Northumberland the reforms continued, accompanied by the 
 lively persona] interest of the king. The young Edward was 
 brought up with great care, and instructed in God's Word. His 
 was a gentle, pious nature, early matured, and he was sincerely 
 attached to the new doctrine. There is no better proof of the 
 serious views of life already held by the boy than the motto 
 written by him on the MS. translation of the tract, "Of the merits 
 of Christ," still preserved at Cambridge, " Live to die ami die to 
 live again."* Not only his uncle, but Archbishop Cranmer, 
 influenced the direction taken by the education and opinions of 
 the young king. Cranmer zealously assisted in the Church 
 reforms, he Avas a practical man, and recognised what was 
 required. His first step was to invite a number of distinguished 
 foreign theologians to settle in England, so as to form a new race 
 of clergy. Among them in the first rank we find Peter Martyr 
 and Bernardino Ochino. Melancthon, who had received a 
 similar invitation, did not respond. 
 
 Martyr had been called as professor to the Strasburg University 
 in 1542, his learning and personal cpualities gained him great 
 affection from his hearers, and the esteem of his fellow citizens. 
 A year after, the council granted him the right of citizenship. In 
 154G, Martyr settled in a home of his own, he married a French- 
 woman from Metz, who had lied to Strasburg on account of her 
 religion. The city was a refuge for German Protestants, but only 
 until she submitted herself to the Interim. It is not known whether 
 Ochino resided with his friend in the interval before he received 
 at Easle the summons to England. An attempt had been made 
 to obtain a post for him at Geneva. Calvin writes to Viret, 
 under date April 6th, 1547, "Our brother (Bucer ?) has written 
 to me about Bernardino, but I have not had the matter publicly 
 
 * In Babington's edition. Cambridge 1855.
 
 186 BERNARDINO OCHINO. 
 
 discussed, because just at present the Council cannot give him a 
 residence. It would be absurd to invite him to return, without 
 being able to offer him anything. But as the matter can be 
 delayed a little while, I would rather wait till your arrival." * 
 Nothing came of this, and it is scarcely likely that Ochino visited 
 Geneva this time. He set out for England from Basle. His 
 wife did not accompany him, but followed him after he had 
 passed some little time in England. 
 
 Sir John Abell had been commissioned by Cranmer to invite 
 the two theologians. The conscientious table of expenses laid 
 before the council by Abell.f furnishes interesting information 
 concerning the time and circumstances of the journey. To begin 
 with, Ochino was newly equipped. It is written down exactly 
 what Abell spent for cloth to make a cloak, coat, trousers, and 
 cap, also what he paid the tailor, and what he spent on lining 
 materials. The whole suit cost a little over eleven gilders. Abell 
 had the cloak lined with fur, and paid for that three gilders, three 
 farthings. As it was not customary to travel long distances 
 unarmed, he bought Ochino a dagger, sword, and belt when pass- 
 ing through Strasburg. At Cranmer's express desire he took care 
 that the needful literary materials were bought for both, for 
 Martyr, the Basle editions of Augustine, Cyprian, Epiphanius, 
 costing 13J gilders, while no less than 4(H gilders were spent on 
 Ochino's books. This large sum leads us to conclude that Ochino 
 had very little literary property at Basle. Unfortunately the 
 detailed bill for books, which Abell enclosed for Cranmer, is no 
 longer forthcoming. 
 
 The books were packed at Basle, and sent by ship by way of 
 Antwerp. The travellers, for whom Abell had provided horses 
 and two servants, took the road across country from Strasburg. 
 They reached London on December 20, having left Basle on 
 November 4. On the bill there was a small item for " Potycary 
 
 * Corpus Eef, xl. No. 892. 
 
 t Now in the Bodleian library, Cod, Ashm, 826,3; Printed in the '-Archaeologia," 
 vol. xxi. p. 571.
 
 ENGLAND, 1547-1553. 187 
 
 ware." No wonder a journey and sea-voyage at this time of y 
 told on the travellers. On their arrival in London, they dismissed 
 their guides. A few more articles of clothing were bought for 
 Ochino and Martyr and for the servants. Two of the horses 
 were sold, the others entrusted to the servants, who returned to 
 Strasburg. 
 
 Cranmer entertained the companions at Lambeth Palace. 
 Martyr was immediately earned professor of theology at Oxford. 
 Before' the departure from Basle and Strasburg, a most important 
 Church question had been decided. On November 4th, 1547, 
 Parliament introduced the celebration of the communion in both 
 kinds, besides various other reforms. As usual, when religious 
 questions are discussed in political assemblies, this measure had 
 called forth much opposition, which spread to the lowest classes 
 of the people. Martyr complains of this in a letter to Bucer. 
 Two things, he say-, hinder the swift progress of the gospel. On 
 the one hand the obstinacy and large number of its opponents, 
 who lead the common people and oppose the reformation with 
 incredible sophistry ; on the other, the unhappy quarrels about 
 the Lord's supper which have bioken out among the Protestants 
 themselves, even in Parliament. "We have overcome transub- 
 stantiation, but now they are disagreed about the manner of 
 Christ's presence." 
 
 As in Augsburg, so now in London. Ochino was appointed 
 preacher to those Italians who sojourned in the city as exiles, or 
 for commercial pursuits. Curione of Basle had introduced him 
 to Sir John Cheke, one of King Edward's tutors, sending him at 
 the same time his Commentary on Cicero's "Philippics." "All 
 other information will be given you by the venerable Bernardino 
 Ochino."* Ochino was appointed prebendary of Canterbury 
 without being obliged to reside in that city. He seems to have 
 always lived in London, where, after some time, a church was 
 
 * This letter bears date September 5, 1547. Caelii Secundi Curionis Selectarum 
 Epistolarum Ubri ii., p. 287, "Iveliipia quae brevitas literarum non fert, a sapien- 
 tissimo sene Bernardino Ocello cojjnoscas."
 
 188 BERNARDINO OCHINO. 
 
 found for his congregation. He received his salary of a hundred 
 marks out of the king's privy purse.* A letter of Ochino's (De- 
 cember 1548) to Wolfgang Musculus at Augsburg, whom he had 
 invited, in Cranmer's name, to settle in England, mentions the 
 presence of his wife and little daughter. In England a son was 
 born to him. 
 
 Besides his professional employment, Ochino was active as an 
 author. " As far as I can tell, Bernardino has never lived more 
 happily, and worked more successfully than just now. He 
 spends all his leisure hours in literary labours, and he himself 
 says that he works with greater energy and success than ever 
 before." Thus wrote Dryander to Bullinger in 1549, and from 
 the same year dates one of Ochino's most important and influen- 
 tial writings. This was a polemic writing against the Papacy, 
 so massive and concentrated, and yet so masterly in plan, and 
 so excellent in execution, that it may take rank beside the most 
 distinguished productions of the German Beformation literature. 
 The English literature of the period has nothing resembling it. 
 Ochino did not compose the " Tragedy "-f- in English. It was 
 written in Latin, and Dr. John Ponet, afterwards Bishop of Win- 
 chester, translated it into English. The work is very rare in 
 England, which is natural, since it had to survive the time of the 
 reaction. The contemporary church development gave the work 
 a special importance, and its strokes are the more effectual from 
 its being based upon a careful knowledge, gained through per- 
 sonal experience, of the Boman court and hierarchy. The pre- 
 face is addressed as a dedication to the young king, in whose 
 person the Protestant endeavours found their highest representa- 
 tive. 
 
 " Although God, in His mere goodness, hath given to your 
 majesty most rich treasures, most large kingdoms, special grace, 
 and love of all people, most high nobility of blood, most singular 
 
 * Strype, Cranmer Memorials, 1694, p. 400. 
 
 + Appendix, 29. All the following quotations from the Tragedy have been 
 transcribed with orthographical corrections from the copy of this rare work, pos- 
 sessed by the British Museum. — Translator.
 
 ENGLAND, 1547-1553. 189 
 
 ornaments both of the body arid of the mind, yet, neverthel 
 all these things ought not nor cannot be compared to that be 
 which Ee hath showed unto you, in giving unto you, in such a 
 dark world, and in so tender age, such (dear lighi of Christ, that 
 albeit in this world He was poor, low, despised, and crucified, 
 and your Maj > high, and in so great honour, and 
 
 all kinds of felicity, yet not only you acknowledge and take Him 
 for your Lord and Master, hut also you love Him, and that in 
 such son, that for the love which you hear unto I lira, yon have 
 such a godly hatred unto His enemies, that, following the blessed 
 memory of your father, first with the favour of Cod, and then 
 with the advice of your most dearest nncle, the Lord Protector, 
 and of other your trusty and faithful councillors, you have 
 driven out of your realms and dominions him who, among all 
 the wicked, hath the highest place, and is most adversary to 
 Christ, and therefore is he, and may worthily be called Antichrist. 
 Now remaineth nothing behind, hut that with Him you drive 
 away also (as you have begun) his lies, errors, hypocrisy, simony, 
 robbery, superstition, idolatry, ami all wickedness. And yet, for 
 as much as many (such as be blind, and do take him for their 
 god on earth, whereas they ought most highly to commend your 
 Maji »ur godly proceedings), peradventure will speak evil 
 
 of so excellent an act, I thought it my part, for the duty that I 
 owe to Cod, and to your Majesty, to show unto such men the 
 beginning of this, their papacy, and how it increased and came 
 into so high estimation among the blind people, so that they, 
 perceiving their weak, false, ruinous, and devilish foundation, 
 may leave their faith which they have in him, and give glory to 
 God and to your Majesty." 
 
 Thus the preface. The representation of the rise and fall of 
 the Papacy extends through nine separate conversations in the 
 Tragedy. The most heterogeneous persons take part in them, — 
 Lucifer and Peelzebub, Christ and Gabriel, Pope Boniface III. 
 and his servants, King Henry VI1L, Edward VI. and his coun- 
 cillors. They are broadly sketched, and with unusual dramatic
 
 190 BERNARDINO OCHINO. 
 
 power. The idea of setting up the Papacy in the place of pure 
 Christianity as a means of overthrowing Christ's kingdom, ori- 
 ginates with Lucifer, and is by him suggested to the Bishop of 
 Rome, Boniface III. Boniface obtains from the Emperor Phocas, 
 who is led by his own personal interest, outward authority over 
 the whole Church. The inner authority, including the recog- 
 nition of the highest personal supremacy in matters of doctrine, 
 is obtained by Boniface from a Council by cunning and force. 
 The idea of the Bomish Primate is now entirely realised. The 
 devils triumph. Then Christ resolves that the reaction against 
 the Papacy, confined hitherto to a few elect, shall become more 
 general. He inspires Henry VIII. with the idea that the Pope 
 is no other than Antichrist. The king is confirmed in this 
 conviction by a conversation on the subject with a Papist on the 
 one hand, and the Archbishop of Canterbury on the other, but it 
 is reserved to his son to accomplish a positive religious renova- 
 tion, with the help of his councillors. 
 
 This is, in brief, the train of thought embodied in this remark- 
 able production. Ochino may have chosen Pope Boniface III., 
 (607) because since Platina * the founding of the Eomish primacy 
 had been dated from him. Newer historical researches refer us 
 back a hundred and fifty years, to Leo I. In the "Tragedy," 
 Ochino reveals no mean learning. It leaves an impression that 
 the controversy progressed but little in this department since his 
 time. The introduction to the first dialogue is very dramatic, 
 and reminds us of Job and Faust. Lucifer has assembled his 
 " dear faithful brothers " in hell, and addresses them : " Foras- 
 much as I know, how much profit ariseth of the labours and 
 pains that ye take in the world, be ye well assured that I could 
 not have willed you to assemble here together in hell in this 
 present, were there not some great profit to our commonwealth 
 arising of the same that moved me so to do. Ye know right well 
 how your enemy, God, strives to prevent us from ruling mankind. 
 
 * Compare Platina ; Historia de Vitis pontificum perjucunda, (Yen. 1504) vita 
 Bonifacii III.
 
 ENGLAND, 1547-1553. L91 
 
 Ye know how he hath sent Hia Son into the world to destroy that 
 we have builded, whal shall we do to hinder this? After long 
 consulting and devising, there is now come into my head a very 
 handsome imagination, whereby we may destroy the kingdom of 
 Christ, ami establish our kingdom for ever. If we attempt to 
 oppress the members of Christ with persecution and tyranny, it 
 will avail ns nothing, for if it be that we kill one Christian man 
 (as (hi- fable is of the cutting off of one of the heads of hydra, the 
 serpent), there springeth as it were]of the ashes of him a hundred 
 immediately in his place. God sent His Son into the world, and 
 I will send my son into the world, who, for the destruction and 
 condemnation of mankind, shall so announce himself, that he shall 
 take upon him to be made equal with God. He shall make a 
 new kingdom, replenished with idolatry, superstition, ignorance, 
 error, falsehood, deceit, in the which kingdom all kinds of abomina- 
 tion shall be committed, and notwithstanding that, yet shall Chris- 
 tian men think that to lie a spiritual kingdom, most holy and most 
 godly, the ,-upreme head of this kingdom shall be a man which 
 is not only sinful and an abominable robber and thief, hut he shall 
 be sin and abomination itself. And yet for all that, shall he be 
 thought of Christian men, a god in earth, and his members being 
 most wicked, shall be thought of men most holy." Beelzebub 
 remarks that the idea is excellent, but impracticable. "For 
 who would believe that the Christian man could be brought 
 to this point to believe that the kingdom of the devil is the 
 kingdom of God." Lucifer answers, "Let us make use of the colour 
 of the same Christ. I will stir up the chief captains of my 
 kingdom, that they may so, by craft and diligence, shadow and 
 cover superstition and idolatry with a lair face, and beauty of 
 feigned holy ceremonies, that men shall be made so drunken and 
 so amazed with this outward pomp and show, that they them- 
 selves shall not be able to discern truth from falsehood. Moreover, 
 I have determined so to extol and set up the carnal man, in this 
 my kingdom, that I shall be able to cast down Christ out of his 
 place, and bury his great benefits. And although the principal
 
 192 BERNARDINO OCHINO. 
 
 heads of this kingdom be full of darkness, of ignorance, of heresy, 
 error, fraud and lies, yet shall they shamelessly take upon them 
 the usurpation of authority, to make new and wicked articles of 
 the faith, wresting the Holy Scriptures to their crooked purpose, 
 and yet they shall think themselves to be in a great clearness of 
 light and truth. "0 Lord," he exclaims joyfully, " what a number 
 of mischiefs and abominations shall be committed in this king- 
 dom, by reason of the wicked and sinful decrees which shall be 
 made of governors of the same ! I will cause them to be most 
 cruel tyrants, under a pretence of a zeal to the house of God. As 
 far as my wit will serve me, I think the Bishop of Borne the most 
 meet instrument to bring about the thing we intend. Because 
 that Eome is the head city of the world. Furthermore, it is not 
 unknown unto you, that by reason of the manifold heresies which 
 we have sown in Africa, and in the east parts of the world, what 
 a number of bishops have fled to Eome. The bishop of Eome 
 entertaineth all men very friendly, in so much that they will be 
 very glad to give him their voice. The monks shall also help 
 him, who of late days have arisen, and begin to be taken for 
 spiritual, religious, and holy men, though they be never so vicious." 
 Beelzebub still doubts ; " When I consider how short the life of 
 man is, it seems to me a thing impossible that one man in so 
 short a space should bring to pass so many mischiefs." Lucifer 
 replies : " Brother, we think that ye be very dull, for this name of 
 Antichrist is not the proper name of any one man, but is a common 
 name to many, for notwithstanding that it is a fit name for all them 
 that be contrary and enemies to Christ, yet above all, it agreeth 
 to those bishops of Eome, which usurp tyranny, lordships, and 
 dominion above all other bishops. Now all the difficulty and 
 hardship of this business standeth in finding that same bishop of 
 Eome who dareth give the first adventure to be called head of 
 all bishops. If we may once obtain this at one of their hands, 
 the rest will easily follow willingly; and daily will they find out 
 new ways for the establishment of their dominion. Therefore, 
 let us all go now out of hand, and every man prepare himself to
 
 ENGLAND, 1547-1553. 193 
 
 do his endeavour according to hia calling, and I, as your chief 
 captain, will first prove a foremost attempt to persuade this goodly 
 imagination of mine to Boniface, the bishop of Rome, ami 1 doubt 
 not but that i shall obtain present favour of his carnal wisdom." 
 
 The second dialogue is held between Boniface III. and Dr. 
 Sapiens, the private secretary of the Emperor Phocas. In the 
 interval, Lucifer lias I to the Pope the idea of a prim- 
 
 acy. Boniface represents to himself the delightful prospect of 
 absolute power in the Church, and tries to win Dr. Sapiens to his 
 side. lie protests he is only actuated by love for the Church, 
 and that self-seeking is far from him. At the same time he refers 
 to his already distinguished position, which facilitates the execu- 
 tion of his plans, and he speaks of the benefits that would accrue 
 to the Emperor in political matters from a concentrated church 
 government. He does not leave the secretary until he has 
 extorted a promise that the emperor shall be informed of all he 
 lias said. When Sapiens is left alone.he exclaims : — 
 
 " Oh Lord God, that there can be so much ambition and desire 
 of honour hid in the heart of a man. It is no marvel that he 
 entertains so friendly all strangers that come to Rome. The 
 primacy would not strengthen the Church, as he declares in his 
 hypocrisy, but it would shortly decay and undo it. It is not 
 many years gone, since John, Bishop of Constantinople, attempted 
 the same enterprise, that he might be made the universal bishop, 
 and namely Gregory the First, this man's predecessor, did with- 
 stand him. This I dare be bold to say that neither Africa nor 
 Greece, neither the rest of the Churches of the East, will ever 
 consent hereunto, and so shall the seamless coat of Christ be 
 torn in many parts. I see plainly that this matter is a thing 
 most pernicious and hurtful, yet because I have made promise I 
 will see what the emperor will say to it, and perhaps Boniface 
 will see me well rewarded." 
 
 Meanwhile Boniface is tormented by uncertainty, until Sapiens 
 reappears and announces the favourable termination of affairs. 
 The proposal is welcome to the emperor. It appears to him a
 
 194 BERNARDINO OCHINO. 
 
 means of confirming his own power, but he also hypocritically 
 declares that he only consents for the greater glory of God, and 
 the good of the Church. 
 
 Thus Boniface is appointed, by the Emperor Phocas, head of 
 the whole Christian Church. In the third dialogue the Eomish 
 people and the Eomish Church discuss the matter. "If it be true," 
 says the Eomish people, " the emperor hath done a thing most 
 foolish and most abominable. He hath begun to brood in his 
 bosom such a young adder as will shortly shoot up into a mighty 
 dragon, and will at length dig out his own eyes. There will a 
 time come when it shall be needful for the emperor, if he will 
 have his crown, he shall ask it at our bishop's hands." The 
 Eomish Church, on the other hand, is delighted at the new dig- 
 nity. She declares herself ready to meet any doubts or questions 
 of the Eomish people, the more easily as she is now herself in- 
 fallible. 
 
 The People. — "Tell me in good faith, had ye never a beginning?" 
 
 The Church. — "Yes, without question, my mother is the Church 
 
 of Jerusalem, for even as ye know right well, that the Virgin 
 
 Mary is both the mother and daughter of Christ, even so am I 
 
 myself the daughter and mother of the Church at Jerusalem." 
 
 The People. — " how blind w T as 1, now I perceive how the 
 matter standeth ; as the Virgin Mary is the carnal mother of 
 Christ, and also Christ's daughter spiritually, so be you the spirit- 
 ual daughter of the Church of Jerusalem, and the carnal mother 
 of the same Church and all other." 
 
 The Church. — " That one prerogative the emperor himself hath 
 <iiven unto me. Thou shalt be richest of all other, for I will sell 
 my churches and bishoprics to them that will give most money, 
 and so shall the spoil of all other provinces come immediately to 
 Eome." 
 
 The People. — " Then will ye commit simony." 
 The Church. — " I told thee afore, I cannot err." 
 The People. — " Had not then the mystical body of the Church a 
 head before now."
 
 ENGLAKD, 1547-1553. 195 
 
 The Church. — "Oh, Christ was the head, and lie shall yet 
 remain." 
 
 The Romish people considers the emperor's care for the Church 
 quite unnecessary, and among other considerations urges the 
 following : — " By your saying he cannot at one time be a pope 
 and a man, for then might he at one time err and not err. He 
 might err as a man, and not as a pope. How is it then possible 
 that there have been heretical Bishops of Rome ? " 
 
 The Romish Church, driven into a corner, declares that the pope 
 is only pope in so far as lie decides infallibly, or more clearly, in 
 so far as he does not disclose himself to be a heretic (!) Here she 
 abruptly breaks off, because she is "too much occupied with an in- 
 finite number of matters, of ceremonies, suits and controversies, to 
 discuss the matter any longer." 
 
 In the fourth dialogue the Pope reappears. He first converses 
 with man's judgment, then with the people of Eome. Boniface, 
 delighted with the assistance of the mighty, who hope for profit 
 from the change, but also concerned on account of the opposition 
 which he expects from the Oriental Church, asks man's judgment 
 for advice. 
 
 "Say that it is Christ Himself who hath ordained you to be 
 supreme head of the Church. If ye contend earnestly that it is 
 Christ who hath put you in this place, ye shall both be delivered 
 from hanging upon the emperor, and your authority, being by 
 this means established, shall extend into all the coasts of the 
 earth." 
 
 " How should I persuade so manifest a vanity to the world ? " 
 
 " If there could be one iota found in the Holy Scripture where- 
 upon we might lean for a proof, that Paul the apostle was 
 ordained of God to be supreme and universal head of the Church, 
 it would be easy for you to maintain the same thing, for it is 
 evident by the Word of God that Taul was sometime at Piome, 
 though he were then a prisoner. But there will be too many 
 writings against this. Therefore let us attempt it with Peter. 
 We shall easily persuade the credulous people that Christ be-
 
 196 BERNARDINO OCIIINO. 
 
 fore He forsook His Church, before ever Paul belonged to it, 
 must have provided for it. I have written certain epistles in 
 the name of those Christian men, which were at Eome in the 
 time of the beginning of the Church, wherein there is oft men- 
 tion made of Peter, as though he had been at Eome, and not only 
 a Bishop of this city, but also Pope. But if the emperor shall 
 say that it was he, and not Christ, who made you Pope, our 
 answer shall be, that he has fulfilled the command of Christ." 
 
 The Romish people now appears, and addresses Boniface, " I 
 have heard from the Church that Phocas has made you Pope." 
 
 " That is not true," says Boniface. 
 
 " But the Church, who told it to me, is infallible." 
 
 " Only in so far as it is taught by me. Ye know right well 
 that, according to the doctrine of Paul, a woman must be subject 
 to her husband. Rather we now, being Bishop of Rome, have 
 received of Christ, by succession and inheritance, this high 
 pontifical dignity, bequeathed by Peter, Bishop of Rome." 
 
 " I hear news now I never heard before, namely this, that 
 Peter was ever at Rome. I have been always, and am to this 
 day, exceeding quisitive and curious in searching of news. My 
 study is to know what is done everywhere. How then should 
 such a man have preached the gospel here, and I should not 
 have heard of it? Therefore he could not have been Bishop of 
 Rome." 
 
 " Thou must be circumspect and wise, when it shall chance 
 thee to reason of this matter, for the day may come when we 
 shall call thee forth to be a witness of it." 
 
 " What ! would ye have me lie ? " 
 
 " We absolve thee of this fault, and this dare we be bold to 
 say, that great honour and profit shall arise to thee by the 
 increasing of our dignity." 
 
 " Being demanded when Peter came first, shall I say before 
 Paul or after ? Shall I say that he was here once, and that he 
 was Bishop for a time, or to the end of his life ? " 
 
 Finally, the Romish people points to the difficulties which will
 
 ENGLA.ND, 1547-1553. 197 
 
 i from the statement that both apostles were there at the 
 same time, but she adds, "I, as a good child of your Holiness, 
 will always show myself obedient and ready to 1 yon." 
 
 This brief exposition forces upon us the thought, that the idea 
 of a primacy, as hi ', requires a keystone, and this can 
 
 consist in nothing else than the recognition of the Tope's per- 
 sonal infallibility. Let us once n; i >w the main points of 
 Ochino's i ttation. The idea of the primacy originates from 
 carnal n accomplished by aid of temporal power, 
 while both praties strive to cloak their transgressions by a 
 semblance of care for the well-being of the Church. Meanwhile 
 his indebtedness for the primacy to the emperoi burden- 
 some to the Tope, and pernicious too, since it restricts the bounds 
 of his empire. Therefore, contrary to the better instincts of the 
 people and of the Church, he pretends to have received the 
 primacy not from the emperor but from Christ. Being now at 
 variance with the Church (Tradition), he cuts the difficulty by 
 the new statement that the Pope's authority is above that of the 
 Church, and that the Church is only infallible when it agrees 
 with the Pope. This is the complement without which the idea 
 of the primacy remains incomplete. Boniface III. is not troubled 
 by the rock on which, as the "llomish people" point out, this 
 assumption must necessarily split. This lies in the fact that, 
 considered from the standpoint of the Catholic dogma, there 
 have been notoriously heretical Popes, just as in our day the 
 representatives of infallibility have either ignored or evaded the 
 question raised regarding Honorius. It has been reserved to 
 these latter days to witness, after centuries of 1: , the 
 insertion of Papal Infallibility as keystone of the Catholic 
 edifice. 
 
 It is now Boniface's intention that all the assumptions of the 
 
 Papacy shall be recognised and ratified before the whole world. 
 
 He therefore convenes a general council, which assembles at 
 
 Rome under his own eyes. When Ochino was writing the 
 
 'y," the council called by Paul III. was nominally sitting,
 
 198 BERNARDINO OCHINO. 
 
 But after a year, during which nothing worthy of mention had 
 been accomplished, the council had been transferred from Trent 
 to Bologna, and at Bologna its labours ceased entirely. The idea 
 seemed abandoned. Probably Ochino only thought of the past 
 in his description of the council in the fifth dialogue of the 
 " Tragedy." What would be his amazement if he could see at 
 this day, after the lapse of more than three centuries, his own 
 picture realised, feature by feature, in the Vatican Council ! 
 
 The fifth dialogue, in which this imaginary council is described, 
 is the most extensive and important of all, and extends over a 
 third of the book. We can only reproduce portions. Lepidus, 
 the Pope's chamberlain, relates the controversies which the 
 ambassadors, from all parts of the world, have carried on in 
 presence of the Pope and the emperor. First the ambassador 
 from Constantinople declared the surprise of Christianity at the 
 new primacy, which could not be established by any passage in 
 Scripture. He is interrupted by the Pope's advocate, who bears 
 the characteristic name of Master Falsidicus, and is referred 
 ostentatiously to the passage in Matthew xvi. 18, "Thou art 
 Peter, and upon this rock will I build my Church." But the 
 ambassador replies, and adds in proof .many passages from Scrip- 
 ture, "Christ only is that proved, excellent, sure, and corner 
 stone. Christ's words all refer to Simon's firm faith, and have a 
 meaning for all other sincere believing Christians." 
 
 His opponent advances other passages from Scripture, by which 
 the doctrine of Peter's primacy and the succession are supposed 
 to be proved. The ambassador tries to show that Peter received 
 no power which was different in degree or kind from that of the 
 other apostles. He continues : " Would ye know what Christ 
 meant by these words to make Peter the foundation and head of 
 his Church ? When He said : To thee will I give the keys of 
 the kingdom of heaven, He meant that he and his successors and 
 priests should preach the gospel, and witness to it how the faith- 
 ful shall be forgiven their sins, but the unbelievers shall not be 
 forgiven, that they should be appointed by Christ to guard His
 
 England, 1547-1553. L99 
 
 sacraments, that they should admonish the erring, and amend 
 them by love and gentleness, and finally, that those sinners who 
 are stiff-necked and cause scandal, shall be removed out of the 
 community of the Church." 
 
 Master Falsidicus angrily interrupts the Ambassador from 
 Constantinople : "You in the East are full of heresies and sects, 
 and most of all require a visible head of the Church." Next 
 appears the Ambassador for Antioch. He considers the biblical 
 refutations disposed of, and commences with the ecclesiastical. 
 His opponent, a second counsel for the Pope, Master Pseudo- 
 logus, acknowledges that Peter's residence in Eome cannot be 
 proved from the Bible. The Ambassador claims the honour for 
 Antioch of having had the apostle as its Bishop. " The tradition 
 which declares that Peter came to Eome in the second year of 
 the Emperor Claudius (42 A.D.), and that he was Bishop there 
 for twenty-five years, is false; for Paul himself wrote to the 
 Galatiana that he came to Jerusalem seventeen years after he 
 was converted, and that then he found Peter there." Pseudo- 
 logus then brings forward certain epistles written by Clement of 
 Eome. The Ambassador objects: "These epistles of yours be 
 nothing else but feignings of your own, without authority, full 
 of vanities and lies." He then shows that these epistles rest 
 upon the pretended Itinerarium dementis, which book was 
 notoriously forged, since it makes mention of dioceses and 
 bishoprics, historically proved not to have existed in the time of 
 Clement, 
 
 After the ecclesiastical test is thus disposed of, the Ambassador 
 from Jerusalem comes forward, and objects that if there is any 
 mention of a primacy, it ought to belong to his city, because 
 ,1 auics was next Bishop in Jerusalem after Christ, therefore this 
 honour belonged more justly to him than to Peter. The Ambas- 
 sador from Alexandria now puts in a protest : "What need for 
 so many words ! If the Bishop of Eome is Pope in the manner 
 he pretends, then all the Fathers and all the Councils are hereti- 
 cal, because they nowise acknowledged him as such." A third
 
 200 BERNARDINO OCHINO. 
 
 Counsel for the Pope then came forward, and tried to silence his 
 opponents. This was Master Gooplan, who said, " The Pope has 
 assumed this dignity, not to do you harm, or to rule tyranically 
 over you, but rather to enrich you with benefices, titles, honour, 
 privileges, immunities, and jubilees." " Until you can prove the 
 primacy by unanswerable arguments, we w T ill never assent that 
 he shall be our Bishop and supreme Head," replied the Alexan- 
 drian Ambassador. A fourth Counsel for the Pope, Master 
 Thrasybristus, now arose. The Pope was now growing impatient, 
 since the discussions were taking a turn so contrary to his inten- 
 tions, although so many Bishops were being entertained at Eome 
 at his expense, and daily receiving all manner of distinctions, 
 choice dishes, and excellent wines. It was therefore resolved to 
 settle the matter without further delay. 
 
 When Thrasybristus stood up thus suddenly and angrily, it 
 was evident to all that he could contain himself no longer. 
 With an angry voice he exclaimed, "What need we have so 
 many words for the defence of our Popeship, seeing there hath 
 been brought strong reasons enough, insomuch that a blind man 
 may see the truth of them. Wherefore, because these our reasons, 
 our pleasures, our gentleness, and fair promises, cannot content 
 them, our most holy Father must use his large and endless autho- 
 rity." Then, turning to speak to the Pope, he said, " You, most 
 holy Father, be the supreme Head of the Church of Christ, and 
 therefore be ye above all men and angels, reasons, holy Scrip- 
 tures, authorities, yea, and above the whole world. There is no 
 man may judge you, or else command you, for it is come to pass, 
 now ye be Pope, and, being Pope, ye cannot err. Therefore only 
 say thus : ' We be Pope, and we will be Pope, and it is enough.' 
 Your power and authority is so great, that if you were not Pope 
 (if yet ye once pronounced these words, we will be), ye should be 
 out of hand." Then looking fiercely at the Ambassadors, he said, 
 " If ye will be rebels to his Holiness, ye shall feel the lightnings 
 and thunderbolts of his excommunications and cursings fly in the 
 air, even to the furthest country of the East, and then shall ye
 
 ENGLAND, 1547-1553. 201 
 
 know whether he be Pope or no. Moreover, we shall have the 
 emperor's help and favour joined to our strength, so that all 
 we, coupled in one, will defend the Toil's authority with our 
 
 sword." 
 
 "Then all the ambassadors rose at once to answer this saying 
 with one accord, but there was a sign made to the Pope's chap- 
 lain, that he should do as he was bidden, and straightway he 
 in with a loud voice the hymn "Te Deum Laudamus," the 
 noise whereof filled the air up to the stars, and all the rest fol- 
 lowed them, crying, IIo, Victoria, Victoria, Victoria. And even 
 at the very same instant rang all the hells in Rome. The I 
 himself was, by and bye, caught with men's hands, and borne 
 upon their shoulders, and so they carried home the most holy 
 Father to his place with a great pomp and triumph." 
 
 The sixth dialogue leads us back to the assembly of hell. 
 Lucifer congratulates himself and his retinue that the birth of 
 Antichrist has been successful beyond all expectation. "The 
 only thing now needful is to give him great dignity and exten- 
 sive power, so that he may seem a god upon earth. For this 
 purpose he must make the following dispositions in his kingdom : 
 Whoever denies the Pope's power shall be burned alive with 
 long torment. We will forbid men that they shall not have the 
 Holy Scripture in their hands; moreover,, we will cause all the 
 books to be burned, as many as shall seem to make anything 
 against our Popehood. There shall be no schools nor university 
 which shall not be hurted and infected with this Antichrist of 
 ours, but the lower people shall remain entirely ignorant. 1 will 
 bring to pass that images, pictures, and relics shall be worshipped, 
 and that with as striking a kind of superstition as may bo. We 
 will introduce indulgences, and concerning justification we will 
 teach that man can obtain it by his own power, with the assist- 
 ance o( the Church. Confession and absolution, purgatory and 
 transubstantiation, mass and celibacy, will be very linn props of 
 the new kingdom." 
 
 Beelzebub and the rest agree to all this; there is only one
 
 202 BERNARDINO OCHINO. 
 
 objection. " Wherefore I fear me lest when Antichrist shall die, 
 and come down hither to hell, that as he passeth us in wicked- 
 ness, so he will be above us in dignity." Lucifer is forced to 
 acknowledge that there is something in this. 
 
 The seventh dialogue leads us to heaven, to a conversation 
 between Christ and the Archangels Michael and Gabriel. Christ 
 says sorrowfully : " Mine angels, see ye not how a mortal man on 
 earth, being most vicious, and abomination itself, with no small 
 injury and contempt of God, adventureth to settle himself in the 
 holy place, and to boast himself to be my vicar. See you not 
 how, under that pretence, he hath crucified me again, and buried 
 me again, with all my greater benefits and gospel, and my grace] 
 See you not how he hath defiled and infected the holy Church, 
 my well-beloved spouse, whom I myself have redeemed, washed, 
 and cleansed with mine own proper blood ?" 
 
 Michael. — "We see altogether, and marvel truly very much 
 how ye could suffer (now above four hundred years) such horrible 
 abominations." 
 
 Christ. — "Although the judgments of God be, for the most 
 part, hid from the knowledge of human creatures, yet must they 
 be taken to be, as they be indeed, righteous and holy." 
 
 Michael. — " We take the unkindness of man to have deserved 
 these great mischiefs." 
 
 Christ. — " There may be many causes, but the chief is that he 
 would make his glory more notable ; and you know that during 
 the reign of this Antichrist not one of the elects have perished, 
 in spite of evil examples, mischiefs, promises, flatterings, slanders, 
 persecutions, and torments. But their malice hath rather made 
 mine honour more glorious, in that their virtue hath been tried 
 as gold in the furnace, and those that be false Christians by this 
 proof be declared to be hypocrites. But I will overthrow the 
 kingdom of Antichrist ; I will destroy the tyrannical dominion 
 which Antichrist hath wrongfully used in the simple consciences 
 of men, and afterwards will 1 take away from him his temporal 
 power, even as the world hath taken him for a god in earth this
 
 ENGLAND, 1547-1553. 203 
 
 long space, so will I now cause the world to acknowledge him to 
 be the most wicked tyrant that ever was or ever shall be amoi 
 men. And to thee, Gabriel, who hast so often carried out God's 
 commands, so shalt thou now go to Henry VIII., King of England, 
 in whose heart thou shalt print and persuade that, all delays 
 set apart, he drive this cruel tyrant out of his realms and 
 dominions." 
 
 (ial iriel declares himself to be delighted, and Christ con- 
 tinues : — 
 
 " Ye shall understand that Henry VIII. shall deliver his 
 dominion from the tyranny of this mischievous robber, and he 
 shall not utterly cleanse it from idolatry and superstition, whose 
 roots be further entered into the hearts of men, than that they 
 can be pulled nut again at the first pluck. For he shall not live 
 long after this valiant enterprise attempted, but I will give 
 him a son named Edward VI; and because he shall be one 
 even after mine own heart — endowed with sundry godly gifts, as 
 one that shall love me unfeignedly, and shall perceive how many 
 and divers ways he is bound to God — he shall not abide this 
 great and rank enemy of mine. Therefore, following his father's 
 steps, he shall purge all his kingdoms and dominions from all 
 the superstition and idolatry of Antichrist. I will be always 
 with him, neither shall he want of my favour, grace, and defence 
 at any time, and he shall have a Christian Protector, whom I 
 will use as a mean and instrument — a very fit messenger betwixt 
 me and the king, to perform this my purpose, whom I will give 
 unto him, — a very valiant man, both in nobleness and in upright- 
 ness of mind, and a singular lover and friend of right religion ; 
 by whose wisdom and purity I will have mine Edward to be 
 instructed and brought up, even from his childhood, that all the 
 days of his life he may have continual war with all things that 
 shall displease Cod. This chosen instrument of mine shall be 
 the first that shall bend his spear against the forenamed, mine 
 unpardonable enemy ; whose wonderful example, most worthy to 
 be followed of all other, the rest of the princes of Christendom
 
 204 BERNARDINO OCHINO. 
 
 shall be astonished to behold, and shall apply themselves to 
 follow his enterprise, being encouraged by his worthy virtue, 
 neither shall it be needful for him to use any violence whereby 
 to purge his kingdom of these mischiefs, lies, heresies, supersti- 
 tions, simonies, and betraying of souls. For all these things, 
 though they be very heinous, shall vanish away suddenly and be 
 brought to nothing at the coming of the light of my word, which 
 he shall always use, as a continual, burning light, both in this 
 and in all other his doings. Happy, therefore, shall you English- 
 men be, in that ye shall frame all affairs earnestly to God's 
 glory, to the salvation of His chosen elects, and my worthy 
 triumph." 
 
 Doubts arise in the mind of Henry VIII. whether the Pope is 
 really the successor of Christ, or rather Antichrist. 
 
 In the eighth dialogue he discusses the question, first with a 
 Papist, then with the Archbishop of Canterbury. The Papist 
 declines all discussion about the Pope's dignity and position as 
 needless and harmful. " All that has long been settled by the 
 councils. Shall we think ourselves wiser than the countless 
 number of learned and pious men who have believed the Pope to 
 be Christ's vicar ?" "But," replies the king, "your divines be 
 not afraid to dispute whether God be or not." " It is lawful to 
 dispute whether God be or not, because the reasons which be 
 brought for it be so' strong, clear, and pithy, that after such dis- 
 putation men remain much more assured." "Then you your- 
 selves grant that the Popeship be a doubtful thing ? . . . And 
 if the Pope is Christ's successor, how are we to understand the 
 sinful life of so many Popes, and their avarice and ambition?" 
 As the king receives no explanation from the Papist, he turns 
 to the Archbishop, who confirms him with ecclesiastical and 
 biblical proofs in the idea that the Pope is nothing but 
 Antichrist. 
 
 Henry VIII. finally declares : " This fellow is the very right 
 Antichrist;" and when the Papist hints that by forsaking the 
 Papal cause he will lose his title— " Defensor fidei," he replies:
 
 England, 1547-1553. 205 
 
 1 Nay, we will be called the destroyers of the false faith of Anti- 
 christ, and maintainers of the true faith of Chri 
 
 In the ninth and la t dialogue, Edward VI. has assembled 
 his councillors. He wishes to have their advice how to carry on 
 his father's work, and destroy the dominion of Antichrist, not 
 only outwardly but in its roots, in its idolatry and superstition, 
 and its influence upon the conscience of his subjects. The 
 councillors declare their joyful concurrence with the king's 
 intentions. They remind him that this warfare had been 
 already undertaken by several of the Emperors — by Henry IV., 
 Henry V, Frederick I, Frederick II., and Lewis IV, — but they 
 could not conquer Antichrist because they themselves feared his 
 thunderbolts and excommunications, and because they did not 
 strive to overcome his dominion in the hearts of men. To this 
 Edward replies : " We cannot do this with the sword, but only 
 with God's word. Let us seek the most faithful servants of the 
 word, men who are gifted with enlightenment and knowledge of 
 Scripture, with eloquence and candour, and who are able and 
 willing to imprint Christ in their hearts. And if we cannot find 
 enough such men within our own dominions, they must be 
 sought for, wheresoever they may be found. Good learning 
 must be made search of and promoted forward, good wits must 
 be nourished and provoked to learning and study, that the 
 heavenly philosophy of Christ may reign always in our kingdom. 
 Then surely shall we not be ashamed when we shall be never so 
 much excommunicated of the wicked Itomish robber, but we 
 shall laugh to scorn his cursings and blessings altogether, not 
 setting a straw by the whole rabble of the rest of his wickedness, 
 his absolutions, dispensations, privileges, bulls, and pardons." 
 
 "Your Majesty's example," reply the Councillors, "will be of 
 great iniluence in the country ; and since the gospel is of great 
 power, it will be gladly received in the whole country without 
 exciting any tumults, since in itself it forbids them." 
 
 " We know right well," says Edward, " that a sick body cannot 
 be cleansed without some commotion and stirring of the body
 
 206 BERNARDINO OCHINO. 
 
 and members ; and even as he should not be a good father, who, 
 having a son sick, that he could make whole again with some 
 medicine, yet durst not minister the same unto him, so should 
 not we be a good king if, when we shall see our people sick of a 
 spiritual disease, we should suffer them to perish eternally for 
 fear of a commotion." 
 
 The councillors conclude : " Wherefore let us do all our 
 endeavour, that it, being purged of all false and superstitious 
 injunctions and man's traditions, may be ministered to the 
 people, pure, simple, and sincere, as it is of itself. And as con- 
 cerning the articles of the faith, the Word of God ought to be 
 sufficient, except we will seem wiser than God Himself. And as 
 touching works, the law that God Himself hath made shall be 
 sufficient, whereunto Christ's interpretation must be annexed. 
 And as for prayer and invocation, what shall we rather allow 
 than the Lord's Prayer, which the Son of God has Himself 
 taught us ? We will therefore do all our diligence, first to put 
 away all such things as may be a hindrance to the going forward 
 of the gospel ; and having always God's honour before our eyes, 
 and the health of souls, we will pray that He will grant unto us 
 that pureness and earnestness of spirit that we may set forth 
 His glory and serve Him in holiness, and that we may, through 
 Jesus Christ our Eedeemer, give all praise, glory, and honour to 
 God, the Father everlasting. Amen." 
 
 In this last dialogue, when Ochino makes the king say, " If 
 we cannot find enough such men within our dominions, they 
 must be sought for wheresoever they can be found," he refers to 
 the steps taken by Cranmer,. to which he himself owed his 
 residence in England. It has never injured a country to become 
 a place of refuge for exiles on account of religious opinions. 
 Just at the time when the ecclesiastical reaction, which, as we 
 have seen, had been gaining ground in Eome since 1 540, raised 
 its head higher and began to cross the Alps, there were not 
 wanting men of Protestant opinions who were inclined or com- 
 pelled to seek an asylum and field of action on that island where
 
 ENGLAND, 1547-1553. 207 
 
 alone a living reformatory activity was being developed. Besides 
 Ochino and Mmtyr, other Italians, like Tremellio, came at Cran- 
 mer's invitation. Frame sent Valerand Poulain from Lille, and 
 Pierre Alexandre from Aries. Castellio was also invited from 
 Basle, but could not come, neither could Curione, Bibliander of 
 Zurich, or Wolfgang Musculua of Augsburg. The worthy Pole, 
 John Laski, was for a time councillor to the Archbishop of 
 Canterbury, and resided with him. In 1550 he was named 
 Superintendent of the Foreign Congregations in London. When 
 Strasburg submitted to the Interim (February 12th, 1549), 
 Bucer and Fagius resolved to leave the city secretly, and to make 
 use of England's hospitality. All remained either at Oxford and 
 Cambridge, or as preachers, until the storm of the reaction under 
 Queen Mary drove them away. Before that time Bucer and 
 Fagius were already dead at Cambridge. 
 
 About 1548 or 1549, a tract was published containing a series 
 of the most violent personal invectives against Paul III. Con- 
 temporaries and others have named Ochino as its author, and it is 
 ascribed to him by some at the present day. It was printed at the 
 time, but like many other writings of the Eeformation, the im- 
 pression has been entirely lost. Only one copy has been preserved 
 in M.S., which may be found in the Laurentian Library at Flor- 
 ence.* It is a comprehensive public letter to Pope Paul IFXy 
 The author endeavours to prove from the immoral liie led by the 
 Pope before his Pontificate, and from his avarice, nepotism, and 
 the astrological superstition he shared with not a few contem- 
 poraries, that Paul III. was unfitted to be the vicar of Christ and 
 Head of His Church. At the conclusion, the letter addresses 
 "the princes of Christendom," and invites them to overthrow the 
 unworthy Tope, and restore to the Church its freedom. Sleidan 
 mentions this work,-f- and gives an extract which proves its 
 identity with the MS. found at Florence. In adding, " Although 
 
 * I have published this M.S. " Lettera di Fra Bernardino (sic. ) a Papa Paolo III." 
 in the August and September numbers of the Pi vista Cristiana (Florence IS 74), and 
 must refer to this for a critical analysis. 
 
 f Sleidanus, De Statu Keligionis Caroli V. temporibus, ad an. 15 49.
 
 208 BERNARDINO OCHINO. 
 
 the tract has been published in Ochino's name, still it is thought 
 to have been composed by others," he is doubtless in the right, 
 and the contemporary Giovanni della Casa, did not attribute it to 
 Ochino, but to another distinguished representative of the evan- 
 gelical movement in Italy, Pier Paolo Vergerio. The statement 
 of Eaynaldus in his continuation of Baronius' Annals, may also 
 refer to this production. " Paul III. complaimed to the emperor 
 by his Legates, against certain calumnious writings circulated in 
 the name of the Apostate Bernardino Ochino. He represented 
 that the Imperial Majesty would suffer equally from the fury and 
 levity of this heretic, and from his unworthy proceedings." * 
 
 As a means of making Ochino known to his new countrymen 
 from another point of view, the publisher, John Day, issued in 
 1550 a selection of the "Prediche," translated by Anna Cook, 
 afterwards wife of Sir Nicholas Bacon. For the " Certayne 
 Sermons " f are merely twenty-two treatises selected from the 
 Basle edition of the "Prediche," Ochino mentions in a later work J 
 that the Princess Elizabeth, after she had read some of the trea- 
 tises on Predestination, summoned the author to discuss with him 
 obscure points in this doctrine. The penetration she evinced, and 
 her lively interest, caused Ochino, ten years later, to dedicate to 
 her the detailed inquiries into predestination and freewill collected 
 under the name of the Labyrinth. 
 
 Meanwhile the third volume of Ochino's " Prediche " appeared 
 at Basle.§ These, like the preceding volumes, are not dated, 
 but we can ascertain the date from another source. The cata- 
 logue of books which the Sorbonne declared heretical, || and 
 which bears date October 6th, 1551, mentions this third volume 
 with an exact statement of the title. We know from Girolamo 
 Muzio that this volume was not yet published in 1549. In the 
 autumn of 1549, when passing through Basle, on his way from 
 
 * Raynaldus, Continuatio Annalium Baronii, ad. a. 1549. 
 t Appendix, No. 31. J Preface to "Laberinti," see Appendix, No. 42. 
 § Appendix, No. 32. 
 
 II Du Plessis d' Argentre : Collectio Judiciorum de novis erroribus, Paris 1728, 
 vol. ii. p. 178.
 
 England, 1547-1553. 209 
 
 Brussels to Rome, he asked for newly published books, and 
 thereupon the bookseller handed him the first two volumes of 
 Ochino's rrediche. It has been already shown that these first 
 two volumes embrace the first six pamphlets of the Geneva 
 Prediche, and that there was still a seventh remaining. This 
 Ochino placed at the beginning of the third (Basle) volume. In 
 the preface he writes : — " Faith, Hope, and Charity form a kind 
 of indissoluble Trinity, therefore, since I have already published 
 a number of considerations on Faith, I will now add others on 
 Hope and Charity." In these words he indicates the arrange- 
 ment of the volume. 
 
 The first treatise deals with an idea we have already encoun- 
 tered in Ochino's dialogues of the year 1539, the influence which 
 the knowledge of God exercises upon piety. He endeavours to 
 prove that since all good springs from enlightenment in Divine 
 matters, and is contained by belief in God, so all evil springs 
 from ignorance of God, and obduracy towards His goodness. The 
 second treatise deals with the conception of belief, treating it 
 from its Protestant point of view, that the justification of the 
 sinner comes through faith alone. "Faith is not a dim light 
 about God's nature, or some careless or superficial opinion, but 
 rather a shining light, a certain consciousness of the soul, that 
 God is so mighty, so wise, and so precious, that He is able and 
 willing to save thee. Faith is the firm conviction worked in us 
 by the Holy Spirit, that we are God's children. Faith is a Divine 
 ladder, by means of which we climb to a knowledge of super- 
 natural things to which human wisdom could not lead us. It 
 unites us with God, and makes us His children and heirs, but 
 whoever has not himself felt and tasted it, to him thou wilt speak 
 of it as thou wouldst tell a blind man of colours." 
 
 In the treatises on Hope, it is first shown that despair is im- 
 moral and unchristian. There are two kinds of despair which 
 make man doubt his own powers, his own insight, wisdom, 
 and goodness, and the help of the creature, and therefore place 
 all his hopes upon God. This is a Divine and pious despair, but
 
 210 BERNARDINO OCHINO. 
 
 the other is devilish and ungodly, when man, mistrusting, doubts 
 God's help. That is one of the greatest sins we can commit, for 
 whoever despairs of God, has ungodly notions concerning Him, 
 he either thinks there is no God, or that, if there is one, He can- 
 not, or will not help him, that He does not love him, has not 
 chosen him, that He is partial, inimical, and cruel. There is no 
 sin more displeasing to God than this despair, for we shall find, 
 if we consider them carefully, that all God's works from the he- 
 ginning of the world have been directed towards raising our 
 hopes and drawing us towards Him, so that we might not despair." 
 In considering the story of salvation, with its main events, from 
 this point of view, Ochino finds its crown and conclusion in the 
 death of Christ, " which we make vain and useless, if we despair 
 of God's mercy." 
 
 The dogmatic results of this third volume of the Prediche are 
 unimportant, but it is rich in practical deductions, some of which 
 are entirely original. The third treatise contains a remarkable 
 discussion with God. "It has often given me no small satisfaction 
 to dispute in the spirit with Christ and with God, and I do not 
 know wherefore such disputations should be blameworthy. I 
 know well that God can have no absolute obligation towards 
 His creatures, because He has never received any advantage 
 from them. He does not, and cannot need us, because in Him- 
 self He possesses all perfection, and pours out His goodness 
 upon the creature. Even the goodness of saints places God 
 under no obligation, since it comes from God's grace, and does 
 not originate in themselves. Therefore, the holier the saints, the 
 more are they under obligation to God. In this conviction I turn 
 to God and say to Him : Lord, Thou mightest truly have left 
 us uncreated, and without the slightest token of Thy love, but 
 since Thou hast freely chosen to love us, and with so great a love, 
 that Thou hast given us Thy only Son upon the cross, this same 
 love obliges and urges Thee daily to give us new proofs of Thy 
 grace, which may correspond to so great a love. Thou must save 
 us now, because Thou hast thus resolved in Thy mercy, and in
 
 ENGLAND, 1547-1553. 211 
 
 Christ. But we arc the more certain to attain all this, because 
 Thou hast given us Thy Holy Spirit as a pledge. If Thou 
 shouldest say to me : ' Thou art not worthy of my grace,' I 
 should answer : It is so indeed, but if Thou wouldest only give 
 Thy grace to those who are worthy of it, Thou wouldest find no 
 one. Even the soul of Christ, before Thou hadst created it, was 
 not worthy of the treasures with which Thou, in pure grace, 
 didst endow it. Thou didst not endow Christ because He lived 
 so virtuously, but it was because Thou hadst endowed Him that 
 He lived a holy and glorious life worthy of Thee. What more 
 should I say ? In Christ Thou hast given me all things, even 
 Thyself, therefore am I certain that Thou wilt also save me." 
 
 Among the treatises on Hope, there is one (xxxiii.) upon the 
 penitent thief, which repeats the contents and partly the words, 
 of the fourth dialogue of the year 1539. The treatises on Love, 
 which end the third volume, also remind us of the first of these 
 dialogues. The question, What is true love to God ? is answered 
 in the following manner, (xxxvi.), " True love to God is the desire 
 in the elect to glorify God which springs from a lively conscious- 
 ness of His goodness. From this desire spring acts of love and 
 joy in all that tends to God's honour, and a desire to increase 
 daily in the knowledge of God's goodness. But since this desire 
 is of a spiritual nature, it is not found in the carnally minded, 
 but only in those who have been born again and become spiritual 
 through Christ. Only these can truly love God, and the more 
 faith they have, the more they love Him." Concerning love to 
 man, he says, (xxxvii.), "If we love our fellow creatures, only 
 because they are related to us, or because they resemble us, this 
 is natural, and has no moral value. If we love them only for the 
 sake of their beauty, our love is lascivious ; if we love them for 
 the sake of advantage, it is covetous ; if for the sake of outward 
 honours that we expect from them, it is ambitious. We can only 
 feel true, pure, sincere, and spiritual love, when we love the 
 creature for the glorification of God, only so far as it tends to His 
 honour. This is the love of which Paul says that it seeketh not
 
 212 BERNARDINO OCHINO. 
 
 its own. Keeping its eyes always directed towards God, it 
 destroys what is human, and changes the creature into the Divine 
 being, so that he can no longer regard himself as such, bat can 
 only see and love himself in God." 
 
 In many passages in these treatises we again meet with the 
 subjective bias displayed in Ochino's earlier writings. Thus in 
 the 78th treatise concerning the right to use arms, "Our relations 
 to our fellow creatures must, under all circumstances, be deter- 
 mined by the consideration of God's honour, not by the apparent 
 well-being of our neighbour. It is therefore possible that we 
 may wish him poverty, exile, and other transitory evils, even 
 death itself, and yet love him. It is even possible that God 
 might command us to take away our neighbour's property, or to 
 kill him. But if in so acting we felt no special impulse from 
 God's voice, or if we followed selfish interests, and did not seek 
 God's honour before all things, we should be committing a 
 grievous sin." Ochino recognises the danger of leading his con- 
 clusions to this point, and therefore continues, " Thence it follows 
 that only good Christians, who bear in them a clear enlighten- 
 ment concerning God's will, may take up arms without sin and 
 fight against their fellow creatures." That which holds about 
 killing others, may be also referred to the question, whether, 
 under certain circumstances, it is permitted to man to kill him- 
 self. He had already said in the 5. 5th treatise, " We must act 
 towards ourselves as towards our neighbours, therefore when God 
 commands us not to kill, He forbids us to kill ourselves as well 
 as others." And in another passage of a later work, Ochino 
 again returns to this question. " How if any one inspired by 
 God should kill himself ? In this case he would not be commit- 
 ing a sin, just as Samson did not sin when he brought on his 
 own death." * 
 
 At the end of the third volume is appended a remarkable tract. 
 
 * Catechismo (Appendix, No. 45) p. 91. Prechsel, who treats this passage in 
 "Lelio Sozini and the Antitrinitarians of his time," 1844, p. 217, draws the infer- 
 ence ; " Ochino declares suicide (?) to be permissible and right, when a man feels the 
 certainty within himself that he is inspired by God. "
 
 ENGLAND, 1547-1553. 213 
 
 "How a Christian ought to make his last will and testament. I, 
 N.,by God's grace, in perfect soundness of mind, make the follow- 
 ing testament, and bequeath first of all my being and substance 
 to God, with bhe gifts, graces, and benefits, that I have had of 
 Him. From Him alone I have my salvation through Christ. 
 I thank Him for this through Christ. He has given me my soul 
 and preserved it to me, wherefore I return it to Him as His 
 property, with a firm and certain faith that He will recognise it 
 as His own, not on account of my merits, but only through His 
 goodness and mercy, and for Christ's sake, who died for me upon 
 the cross. He will receive it in Christ, and I may say with Him, 
 Lord, into thy hands I commend my spirit. 
 
 " Now because God has laid all my sins upon Christ, who, in the 
 fulness of His Son, has taken them for His own, I bequeath them 
 to Him, and in their place I put the innocence, righteousness, 
 wisdom, holiness, and all the virtues, merits, and benefits of 
 Christ, which the Father has given me in Him. And since my 
 body, being dust, must return to dust, though in the firm hope of 
 resurrection through Christ on the Judgment Day, let it be buried 
 in Christian fashion, but modestly, and without any pomp. Alas, 
 pride has been my companion till death, it need not accompany my 
 body to the grave, and stand there in the form of a splendid 
 monument, decorated with armorial bearings. "While others leave 
 orders that they shall be prayed for after their death, that alms 
 are to be given and good works performed, so that they may be 
 delivered the sooner from Purgatory, I desire just the contrary. 
 No one is to do such a work for my benefit, for through faith I 
 am certain that without going through Purgatory I shall reach 
 Paradise. I will not do Christ so great an injury as to believe 
 that He has not made satisfaction for all my sins upon the cross, 
 but if any one wishes to pray for me, or do good for me, let him 
 do it now while I am still living, and may daily increase in god- 
 liness and the grace of God. 
 
 " Further, I bequeath, not as a favour, but as a duty, a part of my 
 possessions, not to the monks, but to the real poor, since my
 
 214 BEKNAEDINO OCHINO. 
 
 property is not miue, but God's. Let them thank Him for it, 
 and for this new proof that God is their Father who cares for 
 them, and let them bring Him fresh thanks and praise. 
 
 "Further,! leave so much to my servants, but let them remember 
 that the goods I bequeath come from God, so that they may use 
 them for His honour. I thank them for all the services they 
 have done me with the intention of convincing me daily more 
 and more of God's great goodness. 
 
 " Further, I bequeath a sum to my friends, as a token of my 
 friendship and gratitude, so that they may be the more encouraged 
 to love their brothers in Christ. 
 
 " I bequeath to my relatives a part of my possessions, not 
 because they are kindred in the flesh, but in the spirit, and because 
 they are brothers in Christ. But let them always remember that 
 God is the rightful Lord of these possessions, and that they may 
 not dispose of them otherwise than is pleasing to Him. 
 
 " My wife, as long as she lives, may enjoy the interest of my 
 property. I do not demand of her that she shall remain a widow, 
 but only that she shall continue in the faith, and in spiritual 
 union with Christ. If the spirit of Christ lives in her, and she 
 remains mistress over all fleshly desires, not only my goods, but 
 all the goods of the world, will serve her with profit, and will 
 tend to the pleasures of all creatures, and to God's honour. Let 
 her always remember that, even though she is deprived of me, 
 yet she is not forsaken, as long as Christ lives in her heart, to 
 whom she was betrothed, through faith, even before she married 
 ma 
 
 "My children shall inherit the rest of my possessions, but 
 under the condition that they shall not use them otherwise than 
 for God's honour. That was the condition under which I re- 
 ceived them from God. I leave Christ as their guardian, defender, 
 and helper ; He alone has the power to defend, preserve, and save 
 them, they would be doing a grievous wrong, not only to me, but 
 also to God and Christ, if they in their need were to seek another 
 mediator before God, than Christ Himself.
 
 ENGLAND, 1547-1553. 215 
 
 "Finally, I leave to them God as their father, they owe Him 
 their existence and preservation, all the good they have comes 
 from Him, and upon Him alone they may build their hopes, and 
 depend upon Him. They may fear, love, and honour Him only, 
 and use the creature for His glory. Naked I came into this life, 
 and naked I leave it, and as T, who was once youmj and strong 
 like them, am now weak and old, the same will once happen to 
 them, let them therefore remember that this life is nothing but a 
 three days' tragedy. May they never desire, for the sake of this 
 vain, uncertain and transitory shadow, to risk our true, heavenly, 
 rich, blessed, and eternal inheritance, but let them always open 
 their eyes to truth, and give their Father praise and honour 
 through Christ. Amen." 
 
 During the reign of Edward VI, it seemed as though Protes- 
 tantism in England were to be spared the pains and struggles it 
 had endured in Germany, but which had led to its strengthening 
 and concentration. So long as Edward lived, the reform ad- 
 vanced slowly and steadily, though not without opposition. But its 
 prospects depended too much and too exclusively upon the iso- 
 lated inclination of the leading circles, and the most educated in 
 the nation, so that a change in the government might have a 
 serious effect, and lead to its entire subversion. What had been 
 feared occurred. In July 1553 the king died, having scarcely 
 reached his fifteenth year. The Protestantism of the country 
 was, at that time, not strong enough for self-defence. "The 
 Protestant rule had to be followed by a Catholic reign of terror, 
 before the Church of England could become a thing of the 
 nation." A detailed consideration of the reaction under Mary 
 Tudor does not belong to our limits. The conditions of the 
 country were changed at one blow. First of all, the foreign 
 theologians were banished, and the native preachers were thrown 
 into the Tower, or burnt, unless they preferred to follow the 
 example of the foreigners, and fly. Since 1554, Cardinal Reginald 
 Pole, Legate for England, had been assisting Bloody Mary in her 
 persecutions. We know his former relations to Ochino. It was
 
 216 BERNARDINO OCHINO. 
 
 unnecessary for him to proceed with violence against Ochino and 
 Martyr, since both had already fled before his arrival, but he 
 disgraced himself by the significant step of causing the body 
 of Martyr's wife, buried at Oxford, to be exhumed from its quiet 
 grave, and cast into unconsecrated ground. 
 
 For a third time Ochino was driven from his centre of activity. 
 Six years before he had hopefully crossed the channel. He now 
 returned to the continent with a heavy heart. He had com- 
 pleted his sixty-sixth year, and, besides all his other cares, there 
 was the maintenance of his family. It appears he first went by 
 way of Strasburg to Basle. According to a somewhat untrust- 
 worthy notice, he then arrived at Geneva on the day after the 
 burning of Servetus (October 27, 1553).* In August 1554, the 
 pious Olympia Morata wrote from Heidelberg, where she had 
 found a refuge after countless troubles, to her sister Vittoria :*j- " I 
 hear that Bernardinus Ocellus, a man of tried Christian temper, 
 has been obliged to flee from England to Geneva. The times 
 are such that, whoever wishes to be a Christian, must every- 
 where bear his cross." 
 
 * Contra libellum Calvini, in quo ostendere conatur, haereticos jure gladii coer- 
 cendos esse, 1554-6. 
 
 + Olympiae Fulviae Moratae Opera, Bas. 1570, p. 178.
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 BASLE AND ZURICH, 1554-1563. 
 
 The Apologi— Ochino at Basle— " Prediche " IV.— The Evangelicals of Locarno — 
 Then- Oppression and Expulsion — Their Emigration to Zurich, 1555 — Ochino 
 accepts tile post of Preacher — Dialogues concerning Purgatory — Ochino's 
 Participation in the Communion Dispute — Martyr called to Zurich — Other 
 Italian Fugitives — Sozini — Bullinger's Belation to Ochino and to the 
 Locarno Congregation — "Against the Mass" — "The Labyrinthi "— The 
 Catechism—" Prediche" Y. 
 
 We mentioned in the former chapter that Ochino was supposed 
 to have arrived at Geneva on the day following Servetus' execu- 
 tion, and that he did not disguise his disapproval of the measure. 
 This is said to have made him unpopular at Geneva. However 
 this may he, Ochino remained long enough in this city to pub- 
 lish his Apologies.* They are dedicated to the " most noble and 
 honourable knight, Signor Eiccardo Moricini," who was now 
 suffering banishment for his endeavours to promote the Reforma- 
 tion under Edward VI., and consist of a collection of anecdotes, 
 which direct their sting with more or less severity against the 
 authority of the Pope, purgatory, masses for the dead, the lives 
 of the Church dignitaries, nuns, and monks. Sometimes they 
 relate occurrences at the Council of Trent, or point out the rela- 
 tion of the religious orders to one another. Ochino may have 
 drawn upon his own former experience, and upon a tradition 
 nourished with secret satisfaction, even in the most Catholic 
 circles. These Apologies were evidently written at the time when 
 
 * Appendix, No. 33.
 
 218 BERNAEDINO OCHINO. 
 
 Julius III. was occupying the Papal throne, 1550-1555. For in 
 the fifteenth the question is discussed how this Pope will de- 
 mean himself towards the Emperor; and in the twenty-ninth 
 Apology it is mentioned that the meetings of the Council of 
 Trent had been interrupted under this Pope. This took place 
 April 28, 1552. In our time, anecdote is no longer employed as 
 a weapon in literary warfare ; but in the time of the Pteforma- 
 tion it was used for various purposes. In the preface addressed 
 to Moricini, Ochino writes : " It is suitable to the follies of our 
 opponents, it is entertaining, characteristic, and easily under- 
 stood, and it stamps itself on the memory. ... I dedicate these 
 Apologies to you, because your eye is keen, and your judgment 
 ripe, and you are more able than other men to penetrate the husk 
 of these stories, and to appreciate what is concealed beneath it." 
 Such collections are of no small value to the student, since they 
 throw a light on the peculiar character of the time, from a point 
 of view not easily accessible. We give three examples : — 
 
 "Julius III. wrote to the Emperor that he ought to be satisfied 
 with being Emperor and name special rulers over Milan, Naples, 
 and Sicily. The Emperor replied, he would do so as soon as the 
 Pope would content himself with being head of the Church and 
 give the bishopric of Ptome to another." — (Ap. 11). "Some one 
 was asked how the Papacy had begun, and how it had grown 
 and reached so great a height ? This was the answer : The 
 Emperor Phocas planted, the Frankish kings watered, and Satan 
 gave the increase ; and now the despised will uproot it, the 
 simple will bind it in bundles, and Christ will burn it with His 
 Spirit." — (Ap. 26). "Concerning the great perfection of the 
 Carthusians. The Carthusian monks excel all other orders in 
 zeal ; from fear of losing their brotherly love they keep it under 
 lock and key, and do not even let it penetrate into the sick-room, 
 so that no harm may come to it. Poverty (La Poverta) is not 
 admitted into the convent because it is a woman ; from fear of 
 losing their Chastity they keep it always hidden ; that they may 
 not sin against Obedience they remain in their cells, where no
 
 BASLE AND ZURICH, 1554-1563. 219 
 
 one gives them any orders. They sleep the whole day long, so 
 as to keep the command of silence ; they confine patience in the 
 convent-prison, and they are only patient as long as they are 
 there. They take their meals alone to be more frugal, and so 
 
 that they may keep humility very low they tread it under foot." 
 — (Ap. 65). Several translations of Ochino's Apologies have 
 been published. Castellio's Latin version has not come under 
 my notice. The German version is not rare. Besides the 
 Apologies published at Geneva in 1554, it contains a large 
 collection of similar anecdotes also attributed to Ochiuo. Chris- 
 toph Virsung translated them and dedicated them to the Palatine 
 Otto Heinrich* In the preface he begs that the contents, not the 
 bulk of the book, be regarded. "Since it is written in such a 
 manner of mingled godly and serious rebuke, that not only such 
 as hold the Papacy an abomination, but also those who hold it 
 in great honour and dignity, will have no dislike to it, but read 
 it gladly." This collection, when complete, contains five books, 
 with nearly five hundred apologies. But there is another edition 
 that contains only four books, and it is this which has been 
 translated into Dutch f (Dordrecht 1607). Finally, a collection 
 of seventy-eight apologies, also in a Dutch translation, was 
 published at Amsterdam in 1691. J It was a great pleasure to 
 Protestant Germany and Holland to have a laugh at the expense 
 of their powerful enemy. 
 
 It appears that Ochino returned from Geneva to Basle, where 
 he may have left his family. A testimonial, furnished by the 
 Council of Basle, dated June 17, 1555, speaks of a long time 
 spent by Ochiuo in their city. During this period he visited 
 Chiavenna. A few years earlier, Ochino, at Cranmer's desire, 
 had offered a post in England to Marnardo, the preacher a-t Chia- 
 venna. "We learn from a letter to Bullinger, July 13, 1554, that 
 Ochino made a short stay at Chiavenna, perhaps to seek a post 
 
 there for himself. § 
 
 * Appendix, No. 33, a. f Appendix, No. 33, b. J Appendix, No. 33, c. 
 
 § Compare Ferdinand Meyer, Die evangelische Gemeinde in Locarno : Zurich, 
 1836; p. 297, note 79.
 
 220 BEENARDINO OCHINO. 
 
 We think that the fourth volume of the Prediche* may be 
 referred to the time of this sojourn at Basle. Like the first three 
 volumes, it was published without name or date. We cannot 
 doubt that it was published at Basle, and there are many reasons 
 for believing that it appeared just about this time, 1554 or 
 1555. In the first place, Ochino, when living without an office 
 or professional occupation at Basle, had most leisure for preparing 
 his collection for the press. Secondly, Virsung, in his preface to 
 the Apologies, mentions that he had formerly designed to trans- 
 late the four books of Ochino's " Prediche," — a proof that the 
 fourth volume must already have been published. Finally, in 
 his preface to the fourth volume, Ochino mentions with regret 
 that he is forced to go away so suddenly, and to leave the MS. 
 for the press, while he would have wished to revise it once more. 
 This departure from Basle can be no other than Ochino's journey 
 to Zurich, to fill the post offered to him there. This occurred in 
 June 1555. 
 
 Among the treatises of this fourth volume there is one con- 
 cerning God's likeness in man (4), very similar to the first of 
 Juan Valdez's " Pious Considerations," and also to the first 
 chapter of the tract " Concerning the merits of Christ." 
 Although we are unable to treat separately the other Prediche of 
 this volume, it seems of importance to consider this treatise with 
 respect to the development of religious ideas during the Italian 
 Reformation, and carefully to trace these similarities. Valdez's 
 "Pious Considerations" had been published in 1550, by Curione, 
 at Basle. To the former members of the Neapolitan circle it was 
 a valuable bequest from the departed. Ten years earlier, when 
 it was circulated in manuscript among the members of this circle, 
 the author of the tract " Concerning the merits of Christ " had 
 made use of it,-j* and among other things he had taken from it 
 the idea of man as the image of God, and the development of 
 
 * Appendix, No. 34. 
 
 + Compare Benefizio, cap. i. (Cambridge, 1855, f. 2, with Consid. i. (new 
 edition, Halle, 1860, p. 1-3); Benefizio, cap. iv. (f. 19, b) with Consid. xiii. (p. 35- 
 41).
 
 BASLE AND ZURICH, 1554-15G3. 221 
 
 this idea. Ochin<> here does the same. "At the creation, man 
 received a share of the Divine wisdom, truth, beauty, and right- 
 eousness, lie was innocent, loving, painless, and immortal, and 
 gifted with all other Divine privileges. He lost all these when 
 God forsook him in consequence of sin. But he receives the 
 likeness 1" G-od again when lie is horn again through Christ, and 
 becomes a temple of ( rod in the spirit. This is what Paul means, 
 Eph. iv. 23, and Col. iii 10." This is precisely the train of 
 thought contained, to the minutest particulars, in the first of 
 Valdez's " Pious Considerations." 
 
 After all the storms and changes of his life, Ochino was not 
 destined to spend the evening of his days in peaceful privacy. 
 He was once more called to a sphere of public duty, similar to 
 that he had filled in Augsburg and London. In June 1555, 
 deputies from Zurich offered him the post of pastor to the Italian 
 congregation lately founded there. The fortunes of this congre- 
 gation are of such great and varied interest for the history of the 
 reform movement in Italy, that it appears needful to give a 
 detailed account of its origin. 
 
 At the northern end of Lago Maggiore, where the mountains 
 rise highest, and their cliffs descend most steeply into the lake, 
 lies an ancient town, Locarno, once the richest and most powerful 
 on its shores, but now overshadowed by its neighbours. Its 
 white houses are pleasantly reflected in the deep blue waves. 
 The undulating uplands around, and even the steep precipices, 
 are carefully cultivated. Laurels, pomegranates, fi: i, vines, 
 chestnuts, walnuts, and brushwood tell that northern and 
 southern climes meet here to reward the industry of the inhabi- 
 tants. It was a princely recompense when Duke Maximilian 
 Sforza presented to the Swiss Confederates the district of Locarno, 
 as well as Lugano and Duomo d' Ossolo, in return for their 
 victorious aid in 1513. Locarno counted four hundred families ; 
 among the noble houses were the Orelli and I)uni, and, above all, 
 the Muralti, with their proud motto, Our castle may be assaulted, 
 but never stormed. Even the patrician families occupied ( them-
 
 222 BERNARDINO OCHINO. 
 
 selves with trade and agriculture. The rich timber-produce of 
 the forests, and the salt from Bavaria and Tyrol, were brought 
 across the lake and down the Ticino in Lombardy, while corn 
 from the plains, silk and woollen wares, were carried in return 
 across the mountains. When the Swiss communities received 
 the dominion of Locarno, it was ruling over twenty parishes. 
 Under the new rulers a governor was appointed every two years, 
 elected from each of the communities alternately. 
 
 Messengers were despatched annually across the mountains 
 from the ruling cantons, to receive the accounts of the chief 
 magistrate, and settle difficult disputes. But the Swiss govern- 
 ment did not prove advantageous to Locarno. Very soon, complaints 
 were made during the yearly investigations. In the messengers' 
 statement of 1532, they complained : " The governors release 
 rogues and thieves for money, and take the money for themselves." 
 Attempts to prevent this were useless, the evil was too deeply 
 rooted. Ten years later, a Swiss decree from Baden complains 
 roundly : " There is an outcry that, in certain places, there are 
 private persons who wish to be magistrates, they buy their 
 magistracies with presents and rents, also with trousers, blouses, 
 and other such things from common men, so that their magistracy 
 costs them about a thousand gilders." Ecclesiastical affairs were 
 also in a bad way, Locarno belonged to the Bishopric of Como ; 
 everywhere in Italy, and here also, there was complaint that 
 benefices were given to minors, and to people who were not even 
 priests, and could not celebrate mass. Most of the livings were 
 presented by the governors, but the Bishop exercised the spiritual 
 jurisdiction. Cantu, in his History of the City and Bishopric of 
 Como, states that it was an event almost unknown for a pastor 
 to explain Holy Scripture to his congregation, or otherwise to 
 instruct them in Divine matters. Preaching was left to the 
 monks, especially to the Mendicant Orders. Ignorance, super- 
 stition, and immorality had gained ground in a terrible degree. 
 
 From time to time, zealous and disinterested magistrates were 
 appointed, but even these could not stem the mischief. On
 
 BASLE AND ZUEIOH, 1554-1563. 223 
 
 August 20th, 1530, the worthy Werdmiiller, m-1k.hi the Zurichera 
 had appointed governor, wrote to Zwingli : " There is no one 
 preaching here, they could not do it even if they wished. There 
 is one man living here, well versed in Scripture, to whom I have 
 lent your Latin pamphlet. This parson reads the Testament 
 often, and says that all his life he will preach Paul's Epistles." 
 However, at that time, there were as yet no traces of Protestant 
 opinions in Locarno. 
 
 The reaction that succeeded (in 1542) in introducing the 
 Inquisition, evinced its influence in Milan, before all other Italian 
 cities. Catholic writers boastfully narrate that the first tribunal 
 after that at Borne was erected here. The Imperial governor, 
 the same Marchese del Vasto with whom Ochino was still in 
 friendly correspondence, in Lent 1542, willingly offered his aid, 
 and his secretary, Girolamo Muzio, placed himself at the disposal 
 of the Inquisition as spy. In January 1543, Ochino's Genevese 
 writings were publicly burnt by the hangman on the Piazza del 
 Duomo, at Milan. Many who had bought the books were forced 
 by threats to surrender them. 
 
 At this time, Giovanni Beccaria, to whom the first dissemina- 
 tion of evangelical opinions in the city may be ascribed, was 
 active at Locarno. He was priest and master at the school. "A 
 learned humanist, who knew the foundation of true Christian 
 religion from the writings of the Eeformers, but did not dare to 
 acknowledge them openly." * He worked secretly for many 
 years, he initiated his pupils, especially his favourites, Lodovico, 
 Ponco, and Taddeo Duno, in evangelical doctrines. He encoun- 
 tered no opposition from the governor Baldi of Glarus, who held 
 the post from 1542 to 1544. On the contrary, Baldi sent to 
 Zurich for Bibles, and distributed them among the educated. We 
 have the testimony of Beccaria's enemies, that he was the centre 
 of this movement. " This rogue," says a Catholic, " was the first 
 to sow the first sect at Luggarnus." It was not the temporal 
 
 * Taddeo Duno, History of the Locarno persecution, MS. at Zurich. I have 
 published it in the " Rivista Cristiana," Florence, 1S73, folio 3 and i.
 
 224 BERNARDINO OCHINO. 
 
 power, but the Milanese Inquisition which took the initiative in 
 crushing this movement. The jealousy of the neighbouring 
 Lugano furnished the desired impulse. In 1546, Fra Cornelio, a 
 Sicilian monk, preached first in Locarno. He openly spoke of 
 " the enemies of Christ's cross, who only confess Him, that they 
 may empty the bags of the poor, and deny Him in their walk, 
 and in His Church." Fra Cornelio was denounced to the Inquisi- 
 tion, condemned, and imprisoned. This gave the Luganese an 
 opportunity to denounce the Locarnese in their yearly statement 
 of 1547 ; because the monk had there preached the same doctrines 
 with universal approbation. The governor, a zealous Catholic, 
 Feer of Lucerne, made the complaint his own. In the yearly 
 statement of 1549, the Catholic envoys resolved to cause the 
 true, ancient, Christian faith to be preached by a Dominican, Fra 
 Lorenzo. Lorenzo's sermons, full of threats and insults, called 
 forth great opposition at Locarno, and in August 1549, there was 
 a disputation, as was there customary, but its only result was to 
 enrage the Catholic magistrate still further against the evan- 
 gelicals. Beccaria made a timely escape to Zurich, to seek 
 protection there for his companions in the faith. But at that 
 time the five Catholic Cantons in the confederacy were all power- 
 ful ; and when religious matters were discussed in the assembly, the 
 evangelicals were forced to content themselves with ineffectual 
 protests. Thus the Catholic Cantons laid a heavier hand, year by 
 year, upon the helpless body of the Locarnese evangelicals. They 
 imposed severe punishments on all who did not keep the fasts, 
 who did not attend mass, and confess. Some few who were re- 
 garded as representatives, were banished with their families. In 
 vain the oppressed turned to the Evangelical Cantons imploring 
 help. It could not even avail them that, in June 1554, a new 
 governor, Johannes Bauchlin of Zurich, was appointed, personally 
 inclined to the evangelicals, for he was forced to carry out the 
 disgraceful article of the Baden decree of November 18th. "In 
 Luggarno, all persons who have adopted the new religion shall 
 forsake it, but if among these persons there are some who are not
 
 BASLE AND ZURICH, 1554-15G3. 225 
 
 willing to forsake it, the same shall leave the state of Luggarus 
 between this day and Shrove Tuesday next, with their bodies and 
 possessions, and they sh;ill no Longer have any dwelling or main- 
 tenance there. This term La granted on account of the present 
 cold, winch is such that they could not cross the mountains safely 
 with wife and child, but during this time they shall not practise 
 or further the new religion, hut shall keep quiet under pain of 
 punishment. And after this, the old religion shall continue at 
 Luggarus, and if any one attempts to act against it, the five 
 Cantons shall punish him." 
 
 This decree, against which the Evangelicals protested vainly by 
 threatening war, was a more disgraceful defeat than that of CappeL 
 In spite of all former experiences, so hard a blow had not been 
 expected by the Protestants of Locarno. In January 1555, the 
 messengers arrived at Locarno to execute the command. The 
 Evangelicals presented them a confession of faith in procession, 
 the men walked in front, the women followed in pairs, leading or 
 carrying their children. They once more vainly implored mercy. 
 "They would have moved a stone to compassion," writes Rauchlin, 
 " but these people were only moved to laughter." 
 
 Zurich had been unable to prevent the Baden decree, for 
 which another pretext had been sought in disturbances that had 
 taken place dining the disputation at Locarno in 1549, and were 
 considered a breach of the peace. However, the Canton offered 
 shelter to the exiles. Among the two hundred and four persons 
 who had openly avowed evangelical doctrines in January, there 
 were ninety three who determined to set out at the decisive 
 moment (March 3d). " Nos patriae fines et dulcia linquinius 
 arva," quotes Taddeo Duno, in remembrance of this migration in 
 which he himself took part. They halted for two months at 
 lioveredo, above Bellinzona, where a valley branches off towards 
 the St. Bernard pass. This was to give rest to the women and 
 children. Here they were joined by twenty Evangelicals from 
 Locarno, who were driven by their consciences to join the com- 
 munity. Early in May they all crossed the mountains, still
 
 22 G BERNARDINO OCHINO. 
 
 covered with deep snow. They gratefully praised the merciful 
 hand of God which had clearly protected their journey when they 
 fled from Egyptian bondage. On the 12th May they entered 
 Zurich, where the exiles were received with hearty affection. 
 Already in March, when some messengers sent forward from 
 Eoveredo had arrived in the city, the Council decreed " if they 
 shall desire a preacher in their own language, they shall be 
 helped to one, with the assistance of M. Heinrichen " (Bullinger). 
 After a discussion with the heads of the most distinguished 
 families of the community, the Committee for Church matters, 
 proposed to appoint Beccaria, " the Apostle of Locarno," as 
 preacher. The Council agreed. " But his doctrines and fitness 
 must first be tried, and he must promise the other servants of the 
 Church to keep strictly to the customs and doctrines of the 
 Zurich Church, and he must take an oath to the Synod." At 
 that time such measures were a matter of course. The Council 
 was to procure efficient dwelling, and pay for the preacher, and 
 the service was to be held at St. Peter's. They added, " It is 
 assumed that the men and women will learn enough of our 
 language, during three or four years, to be satisfied with our 
 preachers, and thus save us this expense." 
 
 A few days later Beccaria arrived at Zurich, and declined the 
 office of preacher. He pleaded that he was too weak in these 
 matters, too uneducated and unpractised to accept such an office. 
 Shortly after, he was named teacher to the children, who received 
 weekly instruction. In the second place the Committee had 
 surwested Bernardino Ochino, because he was resident at Basle, 
 
 DO * 
 
 had neither office or profession, had formerly preached at 
 Augsburg and in England, and written much in the Italian 
 language, and was an old and honoured man for whom the 
 Luggarnese had an especial veneration. The Council consented 
 to summon him. 
 
 Meanwhile the Locarnese congregation was being constituted. 
 They elected four elders, with Martino Muralto at their head. 
 Soon after, the number was increased to six. Muralto was com-
 
 basle and zuricii 1554-1563. 227 
 
 missioned to bear Ochino the invitation, and to escort him. 
 Muralto was to be accompanied by Lelio Sozini, a Sienese, who 
 had resided in Zurich since 1544. The Council of Basle had 
 already been requested to persuade Ochino to accept the office. 
 The proposal was wholly unexpected, and he accepted it joyfully. 
 The Council of Basle then wrote the before-named testimonial, 
 that he had m>\v resided with them for some time, as a God-fear- 
 ing, Christian man, leading a good, honourable, and blameless life. 
 Three days after Ochino's arrival (June 23d) he preached his first 
 sermon. His family joined him shortly after. One of the 
 Locarnese, Filippo Appiano, went for them, and brought them 
 to Zurich on the 8th of July. The former bailiff's house of the 
 Riitli Convent was assigned to Ochino as a dwelling. One of 
 his Basle friends, Martin Borrhaus, wrote to Bullinger at that 
 time, "Ochino has traversed the wide sea of life in all directions, 
 he will soon reach the port through which we enter the heavenly 
 home. Let us wish him joy, he is so pious, and his work here 
 below has been hitherto so full of troubles." 
 
 Ochino had already attained his sixty-eighth year when he 
 entered on this new office. So far as human foresight extended 
 but a brief span of life remained to him. This was the only cir- 
 cumstance which the Locarnese regretted in their election. 
 Ochino manifested his zeal in the arrangement and conduct of 
 congregational matters. The meetings of the elders were held 
 in his house. Fraternal gifts of considerable value were sent to 
 the congregation by the Evangelical Cantons, two thousand 
 gilders from Berne, and smaller contributions from Biel, JSTeuf- 
 chatel, Lausanne, and Basle. The collection of MSS. in the city 
 library at Zurich contains a number of letters expressing thanks 
 for these gifts. The representatives of the Italian congregations 
 at Geneva addressed a letter, dated August 1st, to "The beloved 
 and honoured brethren of the Locarnese congregation at Zuricii 
 and their excellent pastor, Signor Bernardino Ochino," in which 
 they expressed their joy that God had delivered the brethren 
 also out of the land of bondage, and added the wish to enter into
 
 228 BERNARDINO OCHIKO. 
 
 as friendly relations with them as already existed between them- 
 selves and the evangelical congregations at Cbiavenna and the 
 Valtellina. In their reply (September 1st) the representatives of 
 the Italian Church at Zurich expressed their gratitude for this 
 brotherly sympathy, and testified to the affectionate reception 
 they had met with, praised the zeal of their venerable pastor, and 
 declared that they also desired a firm union with the other Italian 
 evangelical congregations. 
 
 The administration of the congregational property was en- 
 trusted to the elders. Not a few among the emigrants required 
 assistance in the shape of gifts or loans of money until they were 
 able to support themselves in the foreign city. Assistance was 
 criven to companions in the faith who journeyed through the 
 city, Lombards, Valdenses, Frenchmen, and one Scotch student, 
 Buchanan, whom the Inquisition had expelled penniless from 
 Padua. In a touching letter to the pastor of Aarau, Ochino 
 recommended to his care a number of Sicilians, who had fled to 
 Geneva with their wives and children. He writes in the name 
 of the elders, under date February 3d, 1556, "The faithful pastor 
 of Chiavenna has earnestly recommended to us these poor sheep, 
 rescued from the jaws of wolves. They come from Messina, and 
 have fled hither for the sake of the gospel. Our congregation 
 has given them shelter for a few days, half dead with their long- 
 journey and the cold. They are now going to Geneva, and have 
 begged us to send people with them who know the way and will 
 be able to help them. They have also asked for recommenda- 
 tions to the pastors of those places which they will pass through 
 on their journey." * 
 
 * Seniores Ecclesiae Locarnensium pio et sincero Pastori Ecclesiae Argoviae. 
 
 Oviculas istas ex luporum faucibus ereptas Messana Siciliae urbe pro Christi 
 Evangelio profugas nobis diligentissime commendavit Ecclesiae Clavensis fidelis 
 minister. Eos rerum omnium egenos, longo itinere ac frigore semianimos pro sua 
 tenuitate nostra Ecclesia dies aliquot bic sustentavit. Cum autem a nobis essent 
 Genevam versus dimittendi, rogarunt nos ut naitteremus ex nostris qui et itineris 
 duces essent et gestandis infantibus adessent, praeterea ut piorum Ecclesiis in 
 itinere occurrentibus etiam quam diligentissime commendarentur. Id quod hbent- 
 issimo anirno facimus, apud te praesertim, reverende Cbristi minister, qiu alios 
 hujus gentis nostris Uteris commendatos benigne acceperis atque long tenignius
 
 BASLE AND ZUEICH, 1554-1563. 229 
 
 In January of the same year an event had occurred at Zurich 
 which had caused no small excitement in the whole city. Ulrich 
 Zwingli, son of the great reformer, had been appointed assistant 
 at the cathedral, lie was summoned before the Burgomaster to 
 defend himself concerning the publication of a pamphlet on 
 Purgatory. This pamphlet appeared to the Council to be too 
 severe, and calculated to excite the indignation of the Catholic 
 confederates, who had not yet forgotten the "Antichrist," a 
 polemical tract composed by Rudolf Gualther. The assistant 
 was commanded to cause the remaining copies to be given up to 
 the Council by the printers, the brothers Gessner, and the copies 
 already sent to Frankfurt were to be returned. " What times are 
 ours ! what has become of our faith!" wrote Stumpf, afterwards 
 chief pastor. Neither did the preachers keep silence, but con- 
 demned the Council's proceedings from the pulpit ; nevertheless 
 the Council adhered to this measure. 
 
 Ulrich Zwingli had not written this pamphlet, he had only 
 translated it into German. Ochino was the author of the Italian 
 original printed at Zurich, and Taddeo Ikmo had made a Latin 
 translation, which, also published at Zurich, had escaped cen- 
 sure.* Zwingli had amplified the title of the German edition, 
 so that it read, "Dialogue concerning Purgatory, in which the 
 foolish and false reasons of the Papists for maintaining Purgatory 
 are refuted." It may have been this addition which provoked 
 the interference of the Council. Zwingli had also added three of 
 Ochino's "Apologies," directed against the doctrine of Purgatory. 
 Ochino had already attacked this doctrine in the Prediche of 
 
 dimiseris ac deduci curaveris. Cum auterc sciamus, tibi ante omnia curae esse, ut 
 viva Christi nembra pro tua virili juves ac foveas : arbitramur apud te non opus 
 esse diligentiori commendatione. Mud obnixe rogamus ut — si modo fieri possit — 
 istuc conducatur equus vehendis infantibus Bernam usque ; sin minus, mandavimus 
 Bajulo isti ut Bernam usque progrediatur. Agnosce nobiscum, carissime frater, €t 
 complectere Christum in istis exulem, egentem, nudum peregrinum et famelicum ; 
 auditurus in extremo die cum piss omnibus : Venite, benedicti Patris mei etc. 
 
 Salutat te tuasque oves nostra Locarnensium Ecclesia ac vobis omnibus continuum 
 fidei atque carit itis incrementum a Deo patre nostro precatur. 
 
 Vale, Tiguri III. Februarii 1556. 
 
 * Compare Appendix, Nos. 35 to 37.
 
 230 BERNARDINO OCIIINO. 
 
 1543, it was also one of the first whose emptiness had been 
 recognised in the circle of Valdez. There was no other doctrine 
 which called forth so strong and universal an opposition at the 
 time of the Preformation. Its origin sufficed to condemn it ; the 
 remarkable circumstance could not escape observation, that an 
 old heathen, mythical idea of the purification of the departed by 
 cleansing fire had been employed by the Catholic Church to 
 strengthen its influence upon timid natures, and to form an inex- 
 haustible source for gaining money. 
 
 The dialogue concerning Purgatory is carried on between 
 Theodidactus and five monks in turn. Theodidactus has been 
 imprisoned for denying this doctrine, and he knows that he must 
 suffer death if he continues to deny it. " As yet no alchemist 
 has discovered the art of converting silver into gold with real fire, 
 but the priests daily transform not only lead into gold, but even 
 pen, ink, and paper, as their indulgences clearly show, and this 
 with the pretended fire of Purgatory. Although the priests and 
 monks have many fat and rich benefices, yet they have no such 
 rich revenues as that which they derive from Purgatory, their most 
 fruitful domain. The Pope wears the triple tiara, not merely to 
 show that he is lord over Asia, Africa, and Europe, but even 
 more, that he may show himself lord over the future life, hell, 
 purgatory, and paradise. Now, since I deny Purgatory, I have 
 attempted to destroy the richest of his three crowns, therefore 
 his servants will perform their office upon me. If I had denied 
 hell or paradise I should not have so greatly displeased him." 
 
 In his conversation with the first monk, a Carmelite, the 
 passages from the Bible are first discussed, which are to this day 
 cited by Catholics as a proof of the existence of Purgatory. 
 Referring to the chief passage, taken from 2 Maccabees xii. 43 
 and following verses, which mentions that Judas sent money to 
 the high priest, that the prayers of the priesthood might secure 
 admission into heaven for those who had fallen in battle, Theo- 
 didactus replies: "The books of the Maccabees are apocryphal, 
 and not to be placed on a level with Holy Scripture, as has been
 
 BASLE .vx i) zrun'ir, 1554-1."!;;;. 231 
 
 declared by the Jewish canon of the Old Testament and by the 
 Synod of Laodicea. Jerome says the same thing in his preface 
 
 to Proverbs, and so does St. Augustine. But even if wo might 
 rank these books with the canonical writings, it docs not follow 
 that Judas thought and acted rightly, and that we must follow 
 his example, just because it is recorded in Holy Scripture, for 
 then I should have to commit murder and adultery with David, 
 and crucify Christ with the Synagogue, and deny Him with 
 Peter." The second passage brought forward to support the 
 doctrine is 1 Corinthians iii. 15. "Here it is easy to show that 
 when St. Paul says, "If any man's work shall be burned, he 
 shall suffer loss, but he himself shall be saved, yet so as by fire," 
 he did not in any way refer to the later notion of Purgatory. I 
 feel convinced that by " fire " Paul meant the troubles of the 
 present lite, in which the elect and their works are tried as by 
 fire, and it is thus that Augustine explains it." 
 
 After the Carmelite, a Franciscan comes forward against Theo- 
 didactus. He casts the reproach upon the Protestant opinions, 
 which in our own time we have heard from Mahler, that they let 
 the souls of the elect go into heaven stained with sin. Theodidactus 
 replies that it is not we, but Christ who has made satisfaction for 
 us. He refers to the example of the thief on the cross, who, 
 when lie was converted, was immediately received into Paradise, 
 and as Christ treated him, so does He treat all the elect. In vain 
 the Franciscan tries to base the doctrine upon a shade of differ- 
 ence between venial sins and mortal sins. Theodidactus replies 
 that no sin is so great that it cannot find forgiveness through 
 Christ; that there is none so small that it can be forgiven without 
 faith in Him. 
 
 The third representative of the traditional ideas is a Benedic- 
 tine. He tries to maintain Purgatory by the authority of the 
 Church and the decrees of Councils. But Theodidactus replies : 
 " The Church of God never believed in it, but only the Church 
 of Antichrist, and even this did not always so believe, but 
 only after a long time."
 
 232 BERNARDINO OCHINO. 
 
 He justly insists that the theology of the Old Testament knows 
 nothing of it ; that the apostles and early Christians, although 
 they wept for the death of Stephen, never prayed for the deliver- 
 ance of his soul. Neither did the ancient Church know anything 
 of Purgatory. St. Augustine writes in the fifth book against the 
 Pelagians, that there are two places prepared for those who 
 depart this world — the kingdoms of heaven and hell. Lastly, 
 the Benedictine refers to apparitions of the departed, which 
 testify to the existence of Purgatory. Theodidactus refutes him 
 with the dilemma : " Either these are evil spirits, then there is 
 nothing to be expected from them but lies and deceit ; or if they 
 are good spirits, still the apostle's words must hold, ' For though 
 an angel from heaven preach any other gospel unto you than 
 that we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.' " 
 
 The fourth monk, a Dominican, attempts to prove the existence 
 of Purgatory from the Pope's power over the same. Theodidactus 
 replies : " Since I have proved that there is no Purgatory, it is 
 evident that the Pope can have no power over it." The monk 
 tries to show a moral influence in the doctrine, and says : " The 
 belief in Purgatory prompts the friends and relations of the 
 departed to do good works." But Theodidactus replies : " There 
 is no good work without faith, but you overthrow faith because 
 you always start from the idea that Christ has not made satisfac- 
 tion for us. But you ought to preach faith instead of Purgatory 
 — the glory of God alone." 
 
 In conversation with the first four representatives of the doc- 
 trine, Theodidactus has refuted all the proofs brought forward to 
 show the existenceof Purgatory. He now attempts to give the 
 fifth monk, an Augustinian, a positive proof that there is no 
 Purgatory. He refers to passages in the Old and New Testa- 
 ments, and to the whole Pauline doctrine of justification, to 
 show that Christ's satisfaction for believers was complete and 
 not partial, and he calls to witness the Fathers Augustine, Jerome, 
 and Cyprian. In conclusion, he sums up the noxious conse- 
 quences of the doctrine : Firstly, the doctrine of Purgatory hides
 
 basle and zuricii, 1554-1563. 233 
 
 God's law, for it represents it as so incomplete as though we men, 
 in spite of our blindness and carnal desires, could not only fulfil 
 the law, but even do more than the law required of us; secondly, 
 
 it annuls Christ and His gospel, fur it encourages the idea that 
 we must make satisfaction for our sins and the punishment 
 incurred thereby, as though Christ had not done enough for us; 
 thirdly, Purgatory blasphemes God's mercy and torments the 
 conscience; fourthly, all manner of deceptions and countless 
 evils spring from this doctrine — masses for the dead, vigils, 
 offerings for the dead, pilgrimages, merits of saints, indulgences, 
 jubilees, and such like; fifthly, this doctrine encourages an 
 immoral life in those who believe that they can buy remission 
 for their sins with money." Here the Franciscan interrupts : 
 "Do you not see that he is stiff-necked? let us depart; the 
 Venerable Legate will faithfully execute his office." 
 
 Ochino's Dialogue concerning Purgatory was the first fruit of 
 an extensive literary activity during his time of office at Zurich. 
 At the time of its appearance, an extensive work was in print, 
 a contribution of Ochino's to the dispute respecting the Com- 
 munion, rekindled by the Hamburg pastor, Joachim Westphal. 
 The question of the Last Supper, once vigorously discussed by 
 German and Swiss reformers, had rested for a time after the 
 Wittenberg Concordia (1536), and the Zurich Consensus (1549). 
 Over-zealous followers of Luther rekindled the strife with vehe- 
 mence. Westphal was at their head, and he published two 
 writings in the years 1552-1553* Calvin replied first in 1554, 
 then early in 155G. When he published his second defence, 
 Martyr wrote to him from Strasburg (February 16, 1556). 
 " There are many who would like to stop this dispute, for the 
 sake of peace ; but since it has broken out again without our 
 fault, we may not leave the truth without defence. As long as 
 it is not firmly established, in regard to the doctrine of the 
 Lord's Supper, there is an important doctrine wanting in the 
 
 * Farrago Confus-anearum et inter se dissidentium opinionum de Coena Domini, 
 Magdeburg, 1552.
 
 234 BERNARDINO OCIIINO. 
 
 Church, and peace cannot be hoped for." In a letter written at 
 the same time to Bullinger, Martyr expressed the hope that 
 Ochino, a man experienced in such matters, would take part in 
 defending the reformed. 
 
 Ochino had anticipated this wish. His reply to Westphal 
 had appeared at Zurich in January 1556.* Taddeo Duno had 
 translated it into Latin. This appears from his postscript to the 
 Dialogue concerning Purgatory. 
 
 In the preface, dated January 1, Ochino says that false 
 opinions adopted during youth are not easily removed from the 
 mind ; and this especially holds good of religious opinions. It 
 had happened thus with the Lutheran Church, instead of going 
 consistently forward in the doctrine of Christ's presence in the 
 Sacrament, the Lutherans, to the joy of their opponents, had 
 remained stationary on the Catholic ground. To the objec- 
 tion that it was incredible that God, who had given this same 
 Luther so clear an insight into spiritual matters, should have 
 suffered him to err in this important point, Ochino replies by 
 a remarkable reference to a gradual development of this re- 
 former's religious opinions. " We cannot and may not question 
 that God has given us, in Luther, a shining light of evangelical 
 truth in our dark age. Still, we must not forget that Martin was 
 once a great Papist, and that he was only driven into opposition 
 to indulgences by the proceedings of those who exaggerated the 
 follies of the Papacy in too senseless, sinful, and tyrannical a 
 manner. It is evident, from his writings, that when Martin 
 already perceived that the Papal indulgences were vain lies and 
 deceits, he did not yet understand that Christ is our only justifi- 
 cation. Even after the completion of his work " On the Church's 
 Babylonian Captivity," although he was greatly occupied by his 
 correspondence and other duties, yet he never neglected his 
 " Ofricium," as the Papists call it, but daily kept his Prima, Tertia, 
 and Sexta, his Nona and Vespera, his Completorium and Matu- 
 tinum, so firmly were his early abuses rooted in him. Therefore 
 
 * Appendix, No. 38.
 
 basle and zueich, 1554-1563. 235 
 
 we cannot wonder if lie did not immediately recognise the truth 
 that Christ's body is not present in the bread, nor His blood in 
 the wine. Did he not once say to a friend who is still living, 
 with reference to this doctrine: 'How could I believe that the 
 Church has erred in this ?' although he well knew that she has 
 certainly erred in other important matters." Ochino then ad- 
 dresses his congregation : " We have a special reason to thank 
 God for His grace, that He has freed us in this as in other 
 matters from engrained superstition; have we not been saved, 
 like Jonah, not from the belly of the whale, but from that of 
 the devil ? Without the cross no one can be a good soldier of 
 Christ. I say this, that we may pray the more fervently for the 
 enemies of Christ, and, as far as in us lies, instruct them in the 
 truth and in Christian love." 
 
 In the work itself, Ochino successively refutes three polemical 
 tracts of Westphal. Besides the two we have already named, 
 there was a short collection of Augustine's sayings about the 
 doctrine of the Last Supper.* He had yet a fourth tract before 
 him, specially directed by Westphal against a certain " Sacra- 
 mentist," but Ochino does not attempt to refute this, as the per- 
 son attacked would answer for himself. Who is this " Sacra- 
 mentist?" Doubtless Calvin, whose first defence had been 
 answered by an angry invective of Westphal's in July looo.-f 
 
 The exegetical part of the dispute is concerned with 
 the words, " This is my body." Westphal insisted that these 
 words must be literally and not figuratively understood. This 
 was the rampart behind which Luther entrenched himself at 
 Marburg, when he wrote the is upon the table before him. 
 Zwingli had already answered John vi. 54 by John vi. 63. 
 Ochino did the same. He defended the reformed doctrine of the 
 
 * Collectanea Sententiaruindivi Aurelii AugustinideCoena Domini. Eatisponae, 
 Sept. 1554. 
 
 f The fourth tract of Westphal's is entitled, Justa defensio adversus cuiusdam 
 Sacramentarii falsain criminationern. Frankfurt, July 1555. Calvin answered 
 it in January 1556 : Secunda defensio piae et orthodoxae de Sacramentis fidei 
 contra J. Westphali calumnias.
 
 23G BERNARDINO OCHINO. 
 
 Lord's Supper and its celebration against the reproach that it 
 was empty of spiritual meaning, and denied that there was any- 
 magical power belonging to the words of the ceremony in them- 
 selves, even though, according to Westphal's opinion, there was 
 only a kind of mystic, unreal transubstantiation. Westphal in- 
 sists that it is only the partaking of Christ's body which guaran- 
 tees to the believer the glorification and resurrection of his own 
 body. But Ochino replies : " To live in Christ, in a living faith, 
 this alone makes us members of Christ, and secures for us a 
 blessed immortality." 
 
 The verbal and written discussions which took place in count- 
 less localities, are not a very creditable memorial of the Protes- 
 tantism at the time of the Eeformation, but they are very 
 characteristic of this particular period. Let us examine Ochino's 
 treatment of the chief point of this dispute more closely. Ochino 
 had already proved that there are numerous figurative expressions 
 in the Holy Scriptures, and from this he had assumed the right 
 to regard the above as such, if the verbal interpretation should 
 prove untenable. Westphal denies the lawfulness of the figura- 
 tive conception ; but since he cannot prove from the context 
 that this reading is unlawful, he takes refuge with the orthodox 
 ecclesiastical writers, and he first brings forward a passage out of 
 the 60th homily of Chrysostom. Ochino, however, shows that 
 this passage contains nothing but a general exhortation never to 
 doubt God's Word, even when its contents seem foolish to our 
 apprehension. It was just the same with the two passages 
 quoted from Cyril, of Alexandria's Commentary to John vi., but 
 Westphal reasons in a circle. " We must acknowledge," he says 
 (p. 63), "that God's Word is not only true, but also clear, and 
 can have no other meaning but that in the words themselves." 
 Ochino answers him by quoting expressions of Christ's, which 
 apparently have not this literal meaning, thus, John vi. 70, and 
 Matt. xvi. 23, where Judas and Peter are designated as " Satan." 
 Westphal now comes forward with a new discovery. "When 
 Christ said that His body was broken, it could only refer to the
 
 BASLE AND ZDBICH, 1554-15H3. 237 
 
 body contained in the bread, since not a bone of Christ's real 
 body was broken." Ochino replies to this, that it revolts him to 
 enter into such hair-splitting of words, and, in fact, the subtleties 
 of this Protestant scholastic are as far removed from true Chri - 
 tianity as those abortions of mediaeval Catholicism, which we 
 have before encountered. 
 
 At the conclusion of his first tract, Westphal had said that 
 the pernicious blasphemies of the Sacramentarians deserved to 
 be suppressed by the authority of the rulers, instead of by liter- 
 ary controversy ; in fact, at the time when Westphal's book 
 appeared, the Hamburg Senate really forbade the admission 
 into the city of Anabaptists and Sacramentarians. This decree 
 of the Senate's was promulgated with regard to the reformed 
 fugitives from England. In October 1553, a troop of these, 
 numbering one hundred and seventy, had arrived penniless at 
 Copenhagen, under Laski's leadership, but had found no shelter 
 there. How painful must have been the remembrance in Ochino's 
 mind caused by the sad fate of these people ! He replies that 
 this manner of thinking is unchristian, that Westphal's preten- 
 sion of submitting the faith of his fellow Christians to human laws, 
 whether they were decrees of Councils, or of the Augsburg Con- 
 fession, proved that in his heart Westphal was Popish, since, 
 disobeying the requirements of Christian love, he casts poison and 
 gall upon his opponents, and attacks them with most abusive 
 names. Ochino was appealing for a toleration for which the 
 times were not yet ripe. 
 
 The dogmatic discussion about the Sacrament is continued 
 through Westphal's two other polemics, without calling forth new 
 points of view in Ochino's replies. Quitting the subject, we will 
 now quote a number of Ochino's characteristic expressions about 
 the most distinguished representatives of the Swiss Eeformation, 
 and about Johann Laski and Martyr. Ochino says of Zwingli: 
 " His doctrine of the Sacrament is sincere, true, and pure. This is 
 evident from God's Word, which he does not forsake by a hairs- 
 breadth, and also from the fact that the more it has been attempted
 
 238 BERNARDINO OCII1NO. 
 
 to suppress this doctrine, the more it has spread in Italy, France, 
 and England. Martin had his Duke as follower and protector, 
 and had no opponents except the Papists, but Zwingli, trusting in 
 God's protection alone, had to contend against foes from without 
 and from within." Speaking of all the Zurich ministers he says : 
 " You yourself can say nothing of them, but that they have always 
 been faithful servants of Christ, and have practised mutual love. 
 They have always valiantly defended their faith and the truth, 
 peacefully but firmly. What sort of man Calvin is, is best shown 
 by his Church. What zeal dwells in him is evinced by the per- 
 secutions he has undergone. His great learning is set forth in his 
 works. He has always laboured to establish union among the 
 various Churches and confessions. Laski's piety and learning 
 are universally recognised. God, by his means, has opened out 
 much entrance for the truth in England, but afterwards a fugitive 
 from England he suffered and still suffers much for the sake of his 
 convictions. If I have hitherto kept silence concerning my Martyr, 
 it is not to be wondered at, for my praise would seem suspicious 
 since he is himself an Italian, and it is superfluous, because his 
 writings and his share in the Oxford disputation concerning the 
 Sacrament, have won him a great and universal reputation." 
 
 In 1553, a short time after Ochino's flight, Peter Martyr had 
 also been forced to leave England and to return to Strasburg. 
 There he lived without any office. He was unable to recommence 
 his former relations. The doctrine of the Sacrament had also 
 caused disputes at Strasburg, his colleagues had accepted the 
 Lutheran view, while Martyr made no secret of his continued 
 agreement with the Swiss. In the spring of 1556 he simultane- 
 ously received an invitation to Heidelberg from the Palatine Otto 
 Heinrich, and one to Zurich from the Council. During his first 
 residence at Zurich, when he arrived after his flight from Italy, 
 on the day after Ochino's departure, the theologians had received 
 him with great kindness, and with Bullinger especially he had 
 entered into friendly relations. A chair of Hebrew at the Uni- 
 versity was now vacant by the death, on April 6, of the venerable
 
 BASLE AND ZURICH, 1554-15G3. 239 
 
 rellicanus, "who, during his whole life had not been angry for three 
 days and had never been sad." This chair was unanimously offered 
 to Martyr. Bullingei communicates the news to his friend, under 
 date May 1. lie says: "There are countless reasons which 
 ought to decide you to accept. Firstly, the unanimous election 
 certainly inspired by God, besides you will be delivered from the 
 enmity and contentiousness of your colleagues, and you will be 
 among men who love you and dislike all cpiarrels. Here you 
 will find your did friend and brother Bernardino, you will find an 
 Italian congregation to which there is probably no second in the 
 whole of Germany. You will be near your own country, if you 
 wish to communicate with it, you can do so easily from here. 
 Yon will receive a sufficient income. No great exertions will be 
 expected from you, but consideration will be shown for your in- 
 creasing years. If illness or failing strength should prevent your 
 fulfilling your office, you will continue to receive the wdiole salary 
 till your death. I hope that you will refuse the call to Heidel- 
 berg. You learned in England what it means to serve a prince, 
 and yet the gracious Edward was a young man, but the Palatine 
 is old, and stands with one foot in the grave. You know how 
 many changes the death of a prince may cause, neither is it un- 
 known to you that the princes of the empire greatly depend upon 
 the Emperor's desires, and that now this, now that, may be 
 changed in the German churches at his command, but with us 
 you will be among a free people, who have nothing to do with 
 the Emperor and the unstable diets." * 
 
 Martyr decided for Zurich. When once settled there he re- 
 fused all offers which were made to gain him for other places, as 
 well as the proposal to accept the office of preacher to the Italian 
 congregation at Geneva after the death of Celso Martinengo. He 
 also refused a pressing invitation to return to England, where 
 Elizabeth's accession had inaugurated a better time for Protes- 
 tantism. "When Martyr left Strasburg the Council gave him this 
 testimony, " He has shown himself a man of rare virtue and 
 
 * May 1, 1556. MSS. at Zurich.
 
 240 BERNARDINO OCHINO. 
 
 piety, of excellent gifts, and extraordinary learning. He was 
 beloved by us all, not only on account of the above mentioned 
 qualities, but also for the kindliness and peacefulness he has 
 always shown." In a similar manner he lived and worked at 
 Zurich. He remained united with Ochino by the truest friend- 
 ship until death. The Locarnese community received him "like 
 a second father." They elected him as an exceptional addition to 
 the established number of their elders. When Ochino was pre- 
 vented from preaching, he took his place. Probably he did this 
 during the severe illness in 1560, which Ochino's Zurich friends 
 feared would end his life. Meantime he had another oppor- 
 tunity of interposing in Ochino's behalf. In the dialogue con- 
 cerning Purgatory, Theodidactus represents to the Franciscan 
 the doctrine of justification through Christ in this manner, 
 " Christ has made satisfaction for us all. Not because His 
 work, His life, and sufferings, were by themselves an infinite 
 merit, — for He owed everything to God, therefore also complete 
 obedience — but because God in His grace has decreed to accom- 
 pany Christ's work by this satisfaction for the sake of mankind." 
 This reminds us of an opinion concerning justification met with 
 in Ochino's Geneva " Prediche," an opinion for which Ochino, in 
 the person of Theodidactus, when speaking to the Franciscan, 
 refers to Duns Scotus, the teacher of that same order, wh( 
 taught that Christ's merits and works are of infinite benefit, not 
 because this quality belongs to them of themselves, but because 
 the Father, out of pure mercy, has accepted these works as an 
 infinite benefit. This conception of Ochino's had called forth 
 misunderstanding in the Valtellina, he was accused of regarding 
 Christ's work too lightly, nay, it was even reported that he had 
 said that the doctrine of Christ's merits was nothing but folly. 
 Besides Duns Scotus, who, as a scholastic philosopher, bore little 
 authority with Protestants, Ochino might have appealed to 
 another, who enjoyed undisputed respect. This was no less a 
 person than Calvin, who a short time before had given exactly 
 the same answer to a question of Lelio Sozini's. Lelio had
 
 BASLE AND ZURICH, 1554-1563. 241 
 
 thought it a contradiction that justification was set forth on the 
 one hand as though it came from the free grace of God, but on 
 the other as though it were gained by Christ's merits. To this 
 Calvin answered* "This apparent contradiction does not exist. 
 The free -race of God and the merits of Christ are not opposed, 
 rather the free grace of God, and the merits of Christ stand on 
 one side and the sin of mankind on the other. For the merits of 
 Christ have only become a merit for us because God's grace lias 
 made them so." When once the people of the Valtellina sus- 
 pected Ochino of heresy, and had spread the report, the preacher 
 at Soglio, Michael Angelo Fiorio, applied on this subject to 
 Martyr, for at that time people were more jealous of the words 
 of the creed than a superficial consideration would lead us to 
 think compatible with their own fundamental ideas. Martyr 
 discussed the matter with Ochino, who refuted the accusation. 
 He sent a public explanation to Augusto Mainardo, the preacher 
 at Chiavenna, and a letter f to Friedrich von Salis, the worthy 
 protector of the Reformation in the Grisons. This gave satis- 
 faction. 
 
 In the circle of Italians at Zurich, and in friendly relations 
 with Ochino, there were at that time several persons who occupy 
 a place in the history of the Reform movement in Italy. The 
 Roman, Francesco Betti, was a fugitive in Ochino's house. 
 Ochino dedicated his Dialogue concerning Purgatory to Fran- 
 cesco Lismanino, formerly Provincial of the Minorites in Poland, 
 who resided for a time at Zurich, and who is said to have been 
 led to forsake Catholicism through Ochino's "Precliche." The 
 
 * 5th Jui : lajvini Epp. et Resp. p. 197. Regula vulgaris est, quse sub- 
 
 alterna sunt, non pugnare. Ergo nihil obstat, quconinus gratuita sit hominum 
 justificatio ex mera Dei misericordia et simul interveniat Christi meritum. Atque 
 ideo nostris operibus tarn gratuitus Dei favor quam Christi obedientia opponitur. 
 Nam Christus nonnisi ex Dei beneplacito aliquid mereri potuit sed quia ad hoe 
 ordinatus est, ut iram Dei sacrificio suo placaret suaque obedientia delen t trans- 
 gressiones nostras. In suimna, quando ex sola Dei misericordia quae hune nobis 
 constituit salutis modum, dependet meritum Christi, non minus apte quam ilia 
 humanis omnibus justitiis opponitur. 
 
 t Printed in De Porta Historia Reformationis, Eccl. Raetic. Chur. 177" ii 
 p. 392. 
 
 Q
 
 242 BERNARDINO OCHINO. 
 
 Marchesa Isabella Manriquez, who had belonged to the circle 
 of Valdez, also came to Zurich with her son, whom she had 
 educated in the house of Beccaria. In 1558 she had been forced 
 to fly from Italy. After a short residence in Wurternberg she 
 came to Zurich. How highly she was regarded by Ochino is 
 evident from the preface to his work concerning Christ's corporal 
 presence in the Sacrament, which he dedicated to her, when in 
 the following year she left Zurich for Chiavenna. "Hitherto* I 
 have been unwilling to dedicate the theological treatises, which I 
 have published from time to time, to any single person. My 
 intention was that all should read them and prolit by them. 
 But I dedicate the present treatises to you, and I do this for a 
 particular reason. Everyone in Italy has already learnt to know 
 the unusual gifts with which God has endowed you ; your 
 wisdom, your uprightness, your generosity, and fearlessness. As 
 soon as your eyes were opened to the truth, and as soon as you 
 recognised the errors and superstitions of the Bomish Church, 
 you immediately tried to serve and help the true Church of 
 Christ. When discovered and pursued you forsook everything 
 to remain near Christ. Strong in spirit, though weak in body ; 
 rich, not in earthly, but in heavenly goods, you came over here 
 to give new proofs of your patience and stedfastness, and every- 
 one who had the good fortune to know you here is aware how 
 much others have been edified by your word and example. 
 Therefore you ought before all to thank God for the benefits He 
 has shown us in the death of Christ, by remembering His death 
 in the circle of the elect. It is these considerations that have 
 prompted me to dedicate this writing to you." 
 
 Among the Italian residents at Zurich, Lelio Sozini had inter- 
 course with Ochino, though no particulars have been preserved 
 to us. Lelio f belonged to a distinguished Sienese family. He 
 was born in 1525. He studied law, and then the Holy Scrip- 
 tures. He devoted himself to them with such zeal that he did 
 
 * Disputa, &c. Appendix, No. 41, Preface. 
 
 t Compare Trechsel, Lelio Sozini, Heidelberg, 1S44, p. 37, et seq.
 
 1LE and Zurich, 1554-1563. 243 
 
 not shrink from learning the original languages, even Arabic. 
 When twenty-one, he left Siena and went to Venice. The in- 
 terest lie brought with him, and the opinions that there influ- 
 enced him, may have completed his breach with the Catholic 
 Church. It is possible that while at Venice he may have taken 
 part in the religious controversies at Vicenza in 1546. It could 
 nut have been for long, for in the following year he left Italy, 
 and, after a stay at Chiavenna, he travelled in Switzerland, 
 France, and England. Perhaps he may already then have made 
 Ochino's acquaintance. At any rate, when lie arrived at Basle, 
 on his journey home, he sent a letter of Ochino's as an enclosure 
 to Zurich, on July 19th, 1549.* When he arrived at Zurich in 
 the autumn of the same year, Bullinger received him with 
 fatherly care. In all discussions and theological considerations, 
 he and his colleagues assisted the young Sozini, who was natur- 
 ally sceptical and pensive. Lelio also entered into close rela=- 
 tions with Calvin. In 1552, an important matter summoned 
 him to Siena. At the same time, when Ochino was forced to tiy 
 from England, Lelio was returning to Switzerland. The assertion 
 that he was present at Servetus' execution, October 27, 1553, is 
 false, since at that time he was still at Padua. But he was bold 
 enough not to conceal his disapproval of the proceeding, and, in 
 consequence, the Geneva theologians persisted in attributing to 
 him the polemic against the punishment of heretics by the 
 sword of authority, composed under the name of Martin Bellius. 
 In 1555, he was in relations with Ochino, when the Locarnese 
 congregation sent him with Muralto, to fetch the preacher from 
 Basle. Sozini, nevertheless, did not take up his residence finally 
 at Zurich, in the spring of 1558, after he had returned from a 
 journey to the Conference at Worms ; he set out for Poland, and 
 from there, by way of Vienna, to Italy, there to witness the com- 
 plete triumph of the religious reaction. In 1559 he returned to 
 Zurich, and there he spent his last years in the strictest retire- 
 ment, until, in May 1562, death overtook him in the prime of life. 
 
 * Trcchsel, Lelio Sozini, Supplement, viii. 3, p. 434.
 
 244 BERNARDINO OCHINO. 
 
 Martyr's residence at Zurich had helped to bring Bullinger 
 and Ochino into closer relations. Bullinger stood sponsor to 
 one of his children, and Ochino, like all the other members of 
 the Zurich ministry, was consulted by the council of theologians 
 in practical matters, — as in 1559, when the ministry resolved 
 affirmatively the question whether the Marchese Galeazzo Carac- 
 cioli, who had fled from Italy to Geneva, whose wife had refused 
 to follow him, might be permitted to enter into a new union. 
 The Locarnese congregation, during the first years after their 
 migration, found a kind protector in Bullinger. The generosity 
 which the Zurich municipality had shown in their reception 
 of the Locarnese, was soon followed by the petty envy of 
 individuals. Complaints were first made secretly, and then 
 publicly, in a memorial to the Council, that the presence of 
 the strangers was detrimental to the inhabitants, since they 
 carried on trades outside the guilds, competed with the 
 dealers, and, contrary to the law, had acquired property in the 
 city by the purchase of houses. These complaints, although, 
 on closer examination, they proved unfounded or exaggerated, 
 yet contributed to impair mutual good feeling. It is true the 
 Senate, to whom the matter was referred in 1558, decreed "that, 
 in consideration of the causes which have brought the Locarnese 
 hither, and that they have hitherto led orderly, respectable, and 
 quiet lives, they shall be held in honour, and shall not be denied 
 Christian charity, but shall continue to be treated with brotherly 
 kindness." Still, a number of restrictions were imposed upon 
 their trades and industry, which may be explained by the illiberal 
 conditions of that time, which were especially prevalent at Zurich. 
 In the course of the next year, some of the emigrants left Zurich, 
 but the greater part remained. The industrious and enterprising 
 Locarnese merchants and weavers introduced new branches of 
 industry into the city, and thus, in the course of time, they richly 
 recompensed the substantial sacrifices which the hospitality of 
 the Zurichers had once made for their sake. 
 
 Ochino's name is repeatedly mentioned in the correspondence
 
 BASLE AND ZUK1CH, 1554-1563. 245 
 
 between Bullinger and the other Zurich theologians, ami th 
 English Protestants who, after a long residence at Zurich, had 
 returned to their country during the reign of Elizabeth.* They 
 never omitted hearty greetings to B imardino. John Fox desires. 
 Ochino to collect everything he knows about Italian martyrs for 
 his history. Jewel sends five gold pistoles, which have been 
 entrusted to him for Ochino, and, under date November 16th, 
 1559, he expresses the wish that Ochino may regain the preben- 
 dary of Canterb hit, of which he has been deprived in coTbtuma- 
 ■■iani, April 1554.-f* It would appear, however, from later letters, 
 that this prospect was not fulfilled. In a letter to Martyr, of 
 January 6th, 15G0, Thomas Sampson says: "I hear that Bernar- 
 dino is in great repute with the Queen. I wish he would write 
 to her, and exhort her to remain firm in our cause, where the 
 Gospel of Christ is concerned. She has need of such counsellors." 
 At that time the question was being discussed, whether the 
 setting up of a crucifix, with burning tapers upon the altar, espe- 
 cially at the celebration of the Communion, was to be reckoned 
 among indifferent things. Sampson himself would rather resign 
 office than permit it. When Sampson's letter reached Zurich, 
 Ochino was suffering from his before-named illness. He pro- 
 mised, nevertheless, to write to the Queen as soon as he was 
 restored to health. 
 
 After this illness of the year 1560, Ochino devoted himself 
 with especial zeal to the completion of a series of extensive writ- 
 ings. At first he published that work respecting Christ's corporal 
 presence in the Sacrament, whose dedication to Isabella Mauri- 
 quez has been already mentioned. It is easy to find a connec- 
 tion in these treatises concerning Communion and Mass with the 
 polemics against Westphal. A particular circumstance, notwith- 
 standing, seems to have led Ochino to treat this subject in a 
 more detailed manner. A short time after Elizabeth's accession 
 
 * In MS. at Zurich, printed in the Zurich letters of the Parker Society, Cam- 
 bridge 1S42-1345. 
 
 t Compare Cranmer Memorials, London, 1691, p. 326.
 
 246 BERNARDINO OCHINO. 
 
 to the throne, Martyr had completed his comprehensive polemic 
 against Bishop Gardiner, concerning the Eucharist * It is pos- 
 sible that the contents may, for some time, have been a subject 
 of friendly discussions between Martyr and Ochino, and this 
 may have prompted the latter to treat the subject himself in a 
 popular form. Ochino's workf was published without any date, 
 but the dedication to Isabella Manriquez leads us to conclude 
 that it was composed in 1560. In 1561, a Latin translation by 
 Castellio appeared at Basle.]: The book, at whose contents we 
 can only glance, is divided into two parts. The first treats of 
 the question of Christ's bodily presence in the Sacrament, and con- 
 troverts the Catholic and the Lutheran doctrine of transubstan- 
 tiation. It concludes with a discussion of the question, how the 
 different views of the Lutheran and the reformed doctrines may 
 be reconciled in a Christian manner, without any violence to 
 conscience. Ochino seeks this union in a wider aspect. On page 
 151, he says, "The contention about the doctrine of the Last 
 Supper had been kindled in our time by literary means, with a 
 violence hitherto unknown. Some write with understanding, 
 and set forth the undefiled Scriptural doctrine ; others write with 
 a virulence, which manifests that the false impressions of former 
 times are still active in them. Others, again, try to hold their 
 footing in both stirrups, and therefore write in so lofty, or in so 
 obscure a style, that no one can understand them. In this Sup- 
 per, which is to unite us all, no one will show so much charity 
 as to give way in the smallest thing. And yet there is one way 
 of uniting all in Christ, and this is to show that man can be 
 loved, justified, and saved by God, no matter whether he believes 
 or not in Christ's bodily presence in the Sacrament." In thus 
 boldly ranking the much-disputed point of the Sacrament among 
 non-essentials,§ Ochino does not disguise from himself that this 
 
 * Defensio doctrinae veteris et; apostolicae de sacrosancto Eucharistiae Sacra- 
 mento adversus Stephani Gardineri . . . librum. 
 
 t Appendix, No. 41. t Appendix, No. 44. 
 
 § More exactly, p. 160, " Raccogliendo adunque il tutto, dico ; che pu5 un huomo. 
 esser eletto, amato, grato, giusto, santo et salvo, senza, credere die il corpo di 
 Christi sia o non sia nel pane et ii suo sangue nel vino."'
 
 basle and zuricii, 15541563. 247 
 
 would cause offence to many, especially at this time, when those 
 who were in the heat of the discussion were so jealous of the 
 very letter. " I well know that the ignorance and superstition 
 of many will In 1 hurt at I his assertion, but I also know that, in 
 spite of this, truth will hold its own against all God's enemies." 
 Ochino was not mistaken, and yet it required centuries of de- 
 velopment and experience in the Protestant Church before the 
 originally antagonistic views had become reconciled and united 
 on common ground. It was not till the third centenary jubilee of 
 the Reformation that the parties united in brotherly love on this 
 Sacrament. Luther, at Marburg, had only consented to this 
 with reserve. The second part of Ochino's writing consists of 
 six treatises concerning, or rather against, the Mass of the 
 Catholic Church. We must not be surprised at Ochino's treating 
 the Communion and the Mass in succession. In his polemic 
 against Westphal, he had already asserted that Luther's special 
 doctrine of the Sacrament was but a remnant of Papistry. This 
 is the fundamental idea, remarkable in all the polemics of the 
 Swiss against the Germans. They fear that Papistry will again 
 penetrate into the Protestant Church by the door thus left open. 
 The form and the animated representation in this second part of 
 ( K'.hino's writing, remind us of his Tragedy. On page 192, he 
 says, " Scarcely was the Mass born from Satanic seed, and from 
 the bosom of the Eomish Church, before an astrologer cast its 
 horoscope thus : it will receive more money and valuables than 
 all the princes of the earth taken together; and if it had not to 
 nourish countless idlers, it would soon collect all the treasures of 
 the earth. It will obscure the glory of all other human institu- 
 tions, even the glory of the Gospel and Christ's kingdom, but its 
 end will be miserable, and its death will concur with the destruc- 
 tion of the whole Papacy." Thus runs the horoscope. The devil 
 hits on the best name for the Mass. Lucifer is long in doubt 
 how to name it in opposition to the true Communion, whether 
 Altare di Satana, as opposed to Mensa del Signore, or Disunione 
 as opposed to Communione, or Disgrazia as opposed to Eucha-
 
 248 BERNARDINO OCH1NO. 
 
 ristia, or Crocifissione di Christo as opposed to the free Sacrifizio 
 di Christo. Finally, he decides for a name which cannot reveal 
 its true nature, and names it Missa. Then fools may think it 
 has been sent into the world by God. He appoints Carnal Policy 
 as godmother, and she undertakes the education of the Mass. 
 Carnal Policy disfigures the original celebration of holy Com- 
 munion in such a manner that it may be impossible to recognise in it 
 Christ's Last Supper. In the following treatise, the Mass is sum- 
 moned before God's judgment-seat, and condemned as unchristian 
 and immoral. Ochino represents all this in detail. He had to treat 
 of all the superstitions connected with the celebration of the 
 Communion, from the representation of the change of the ele- 
 ments, by means of the priest himself, to the popular opinion 
 which attributes various effects to the Mass, according to the 
 different altars at which it is celebrated. Thus, the altar of San 
 Gregorio releases souls from purgatory, San Piocco liberates from 
 the plague, San Antonio of Padua discovers lost things, and the 
 Holy Ghost finds a beautiful wife, or a handsome husband. 
 (P. 238). He concludes : " According to all this, the Mass ap- 
 pears thoroughly heretical and blasphemous. It would be vain 
 to try and reform it, because it is incorrigible." 
 
 In this exposition, Ochino encounters a practical question which 
 was much discussed at that time, concerning the evangelically 
 minded who had remained in Italy. Shall it be permitted to 
 those who have recognised the errors of the Catholic Church, and 
 especially the Mass> to accommodate themselves to its customs, 
 so that they may live undisturbed amid their Catholic fellow- 
 citizens ? This was a question to which Tertullian and other 
 Church Fathers, in regard to the heathen customs of their time, 
 had already replied with a decisive negative. Now it reappeared 
 in a similar light. This question had penetrated deeply into 
 Ochino's own life, and he had already given his answer by his 
 own departure from Italy. Neither does he hesitate here to reply 
 in the negative. 
 
 " Participation in the mass is no indifferent action for a
 
 BASLE AND ZURICH, 1554-1563. 249 
 
 Christian, since it implies the recognition of the Antichri 
 kingdom, but if abstaining from it is followed by persecution, then 
 let everyone regard God's voice in himself. If God wishes him to 
 stay, he must do so, but if God's voice tells him that his time is 
 not yet come, then lie may ily. Did not Christ fly when His time 
 had not yet come, and did not the apostles, and many pious men 
 follow His example?" "By prayer thon wilt learn what is God's 
 will in such matters, but if He urge thee to fly He does not do so 
 that thou mayest lead a dissolute life, not that thou shouldst 
 consider thyself perfect, when delivered from the tyranny, super- 
 stition, and idolatry of Antichrist, and participating in the preach- 
 ing and communion of a reformed and truly Christian Church, 
 for all such outward things can also be done by hypocrites. Nor 
 does the Lord call thee, that living in security thou shouldst lose 
 the zeal which thou hadest when among Papists, and so become 
 lukewarm and indolent. Neither must thou imagine that by thy 
 mere departure thou hast already taken a great step, that thou 
 hast already reached the summit, when peradventure thou hast not 
 yet climbed the first rung, but He has called thee that thou mightst 
 arm thyself with faith and other Christian virtues, so that one 
 day thou mayest come forth as a valiant warrior against the 
 Papists, and shed thy blood for His sake." " Since forty years 
 many Churches have been reformed, and all think themselves 
 perfect, especially in doctrine, and yet they are so different that 
 each single one condemns as heretical all the other Churches 
 which do not accept its doctrines" (p. 258). " And if thou hast 
 departed from the Papists, and hast united thyself in living faith 
 to one of these churches, it is natural that, like the apostles, thou 
 canst not keep silence concerning that which thou hast seen and 
 experienced in the spirit. But if thou speakest of it, they will 
 denounce thee as ignorant, childish, and heretical, and letters full 
 of calumnies will fly about in all directions, so that thou wilt 
 either have to go forward again, or to lead a fruitless and trouble- 
 some life " (p. 259). 
 
 It is evident from Ochino's words how deeply he had been
 
 250 BERNARDINO OCHINO. 
 
 wounded by the attacks against misunderstood passages in his 
 writings. The above remarks, purposely kept general, were not 
 to escape distortion, for the reproach afterwards made to him at 
 Zurich * could scarcely refer to any other passage. He was said 
 to have declared that there are errors in all Churches, therefore 
 the adherents of the Eomish Church need not forsake it, even 
 when they recognise its errors. A simple comparison shows that 
 Ochino's expressions had been distorted into a meaning exactly 
 contrary to that which they were intended to bear. But more 
 fundamental differences of opinion were developed by and bye. 
 
 Under date December 29th, 1561, the Zurich theologians, with 
 Bullinger, Gaulther, Wolff, and Martyr at their head, drew up a 
 iud^ment concerning twelve theses in which Zanchi, an Italian 
 refugee, who had been denounced at Strasburg, expressed his 
 opinions concerning predestination and other doctrines. The 
 Zurichers occupied the standpoint of unconditional predestina- 
 tion. Ten years before, Calvin in his controversy with Bolsec, had 
 failed in obtaining a similar judgment. The revolution in favour 
 of unconditional predestination, may be ascribed to Martyr's 
 profound influence. Ochino was not one of those who signed the 
 judgment of 1561, yet he had been greatly occupied by this 
 fundamental doctrine of reformed Protestantism, even when at 
 Geneva, and as early as the time of his flight from Italy. We 
 have seen the point of view from which Ochino approached this 
 doctrine, he had always retained it, nor had the theories of 
 original sin and predestination led him to doubt individual power, 
 and thus to recognise the human will as unfrec, that is incapable 
 of good, but on the other hand, his personal experience of the 
 subjection of the will led him to the doctrine of predestination. 
 The " Labyrinthe," -f- in which he gives a connected discussion of 
 this question, is a remarkable work. In the first part, he shows 
 with great acuteness, that both the assertion and the denial of 
 free will lead into four separate and rpparently inextricable 
 labyrinths. In the second part, he tries to solve these contra- 
 dictions. The result is, " that human freedom is to be regarded 
 
 * Compare Meyer ii., p. 167. t Appendix, No. 42.
 
 basle and zuricii, 1554-15G3. 251 
 
 as a postulate of practical reason, and its subjection as a postulate 
 of religious consciousness." The idea of its subjection must be 
 taken in its theological sense, namely, as the inability of man to 
 do even the smallest thing for his salvation.* Then v\ - e shall 
 understand Ochino's conclusion, "whoever believes that his actions 
 are not free, easily lulls into the abyss of moral indolence. Who- 
 ever believes that he is free, becomes liable to spiritual pride. 
 There is only one way of avoiding both. Strive after good 
 with all your power, as though convinced of your freedom, and 
 at the same time, give God the glory in all humility, as though 
 convinced of your impotence." 
 
 This work, first published at Basle, in Italian, and then in 
 Castellio's Latin translations is dedicated to Queen Elizabeth, 
 who greatly respected Ochino, as Sampson has testified. In his 
 preface he says : " Bernardino Ochino wishes Queen Elizabeth of 
 England salvation through God our Father, and our Lord Jesus 
 Christ. The question whether man has free will or no, is one of 
 the most difficult, because we meet with the most serious objec- 
 tions, whether we affirm or deny it. Inasmuch as I have observed 
 that many, in considering these questions, have only involved 
 themselves and others in a greater bewilderment, I have lon< r 
 been endeavouring to find a way to overcome these difficulties. 
 God has at length accorded me His grace, and as I well remember 
 that, when I was in England, your Majesty read some of my 
 treatises on predestination, and when you consulted me about 
 them, you gave me many proofs' of the comprehensiveness and 
 acuteness of your intellect, and of your desire to examine the 
 deep things of God, I therefore conceive that you, before all 
 others, will reap fruit from my exposition. I have accordingly 
 dedicated this work to you." 
 
 Ochino's "Labyrinthe" are the following :f — "Whoever affirms 
 
 * It is thus that Luther understands the "Servum Arbitrium " when he says : 
 It would be much better not to use the expression fret vjill at all ; to do nothing 
 without grace, that means to have no free will. 
 
 f Compare Alex. Schweitzer : Die Protestantischen Centraldogmen in ihr^r 
 Entwickelung innerhalh der reformirten Kirche, I. p. 297 et seq. ; whose exposition 
 we have followed as much as possible.
 
 252 BERNARDINO OCHINO. 
 
 the freedom of the will is involved in the first, he is forced to 
 confess that his will, which he thinks free, is yet determined and 
 attracted by surrounding circumstances, and impelled by affec- 
 tions. If he strives to avoid this difficulty by the assumption 
 that his will is able to resist outward influences, he entangles 
 himself in the second labyrinth, he becomes aware that he still 
 depends upon God for that which the will is in itself, and also for 
 all his actions, for he is not able to oppose God's decrees. We 
 can only save ourselves from this labyrinth, by the assumption 
 that our expressions of will only receive a relation to God's will 
 at the moment when they become an accomplished action. But 
 by this assumption we are involved in a third labyrinth, since 
 the Holy Scriptures plainly say that God knows all our thoughts 
 beforehand. Whoever thinks to escape these three labyrinths, 
 will still be involved in the fourth. If he thinks that his will 
 suffers no necessity through circumstances and affections, nor 
 even from God's unchangeable decrees, nor from God's infallible 
 prescience, let him think of the Divine prophecies which em- 
 brace so many distinct things, and must be fulfilled. Thus 
 Christ's life and death were almost entirely determined by these, 
 but if Christ was not free, how then should we be ? 
 
 " But if, on the other hand, we declare that we are not free, 
 we shall again meet with four labryinths : The first consists in 
 this, that we must necessarily assume either that the sin we com- 
 mit is no sin, and not displeasing to God, or that God Himself is 
 sinful and wicked, for in this case God would have denied us the 
 necessary power to withstand evil. If we think to escape this 
 labyrinth, we must also extricate ourselves from a second ; God 
 cannot justly punish me for my sin if it was not in my power 
 not to sin, if I have no free will. If I were to escape this 
 labyrinth I should still fall into a third, I should not know 
 wherefore God had created me and placed me in the world, since, 
 if I am not free, He cannot wish to try and develope me. 
 Finally, I should be involved in a fourth labyrinth. I know 
 that God is wise, and does nothing without reflection, and every-
 
 BASLE AND ZURICH, 1554-1563. 253 
 
 thing for a certain reason. Besides this He calls all men to 
 Him, not only the elect, but also the reprobate, but He would be 
 unwise in so doing if we were not free to follow." 
 
 How then is it possible to escape from these labyrinths? The 
 chapters 11 to 18 successively answer this question. First con- 
 concerning the four labyrinths which confuse the doctrine of 
 free will. 
 
 " However dependent we may be upon God, and though we are 
 only shadows compared with Him, yet He has bestowed upon us 
 a nature invested with higher powers by contrast with the lower 
 animals. Certainly we are dependent upon Him in the manner 
 of our actions, and our affections are moved involuntarily, as the 
 senses can only judge concerning colour, form, &c, according to 
 their capabilities. Even the understanding cannot judge in- 
 voluntarily, but it is possible for it to think now this, now that, 
 just as with our eyes we may behold first one thing and then 
 another. There is thus a certain kind of freedom. But the will 
 is not absolutely free in loving and hating. It is governed by 
 the nature of things, established by God, but it cannot resist its 
 natural inclinations. When a man is born again through Christ, 
 he then begins to be really free, to do works for God's honour, 
 and to love Him. But he sins if he does not do this with his 
 whole heart. We may thus escape the first labyrinth by the 
 assumption that man is free in outward, civil, and moral things, 
 where he is not driven by mere brute passions, but rather may 
 govern himself in various ways. We must think concerning the 
 second labyrinth that God's will is the rule of all that is good, 
 and that He finds nothing outside His will, therefore whatever 
 God wills is always good in itself. God is absolutely free, 
 although He cannot do evil or good at pleasure, for the power of 
 sinning is no part of freedom. This is the manner in which we 
 escape from the labyrinth that we are not free, because God has 
 decreed everything beforehand. God in establishing everything by 
 His eternal wise decrees, has also willed that man should be re- 
 latively free. Thus, nothing is decreed concerning the separate
 
 254 BERNARDINO OCHINO. 
 
 movements of our hands, while the general maintenance of our 
 power springs from God. We escape the third labyrinth that we 
 are not free because of God's prescience, by the statement that 
 God only foresees what we are going to do. It depends upon man 
 whether the action God foresees is sinful or innocent action. We 
 may find a similar means of escape from the fourth labyrinth. The 
 prophecies of the law, its promises and threats, are only con- 
 ditional; but evangelical predictions concern that which God 
 hath promised in His free grace, independently of man's actions, 
 therefore firmly and absolutely. Christ died necessarily, but not 
 from compulsion. His mind could not swerve from His Father's 
 will. 
 
 " The four labyrinths of the subjection of the will may also be 
 escaped. The first in this manner. God cannot desire sin, God 
 Himself cannot sin, because He cannot act contrary to His own 
 will. If God does not prevent our sinning, this is no sin in 
 Him, since He does not stand under the law which bids you pre- 
 vent sin. God does not make sin any more than He makes 
 darkness, since it is only emptiness and absence of good. There- 
 fore we cannot say that God desires sin, but only He does not 
 here desire the light of faith, He never withdraws light or grace 
 before the withdrawal has been deserved. Therefore sin is 
 always our own fault. The second labyrinth, that God may not 
 punish sin if we are not free, is avoided by God's absolute 
 omnipotence, so that He may take all gifts from all men, and 
 may place all the blessed in hell and all the damned in heaven. 
 No wrong would be done us if we were all condemned for Adam's 
 sin alone. The third labyrinth, that if we are not free we should 
 not know why we are here, since neither our election or rejection 
 depends upon ourselves, or can be altered by us — is avoided 
 when we consider that the means of leading a pious life are given 
 to the elect, and they may make use of these, always remember- 
 ing that without God's protection it is impossible to resist sin, 
 and also that by doing good and enduring evil, they are to be an 
 example in this world. Finally, we escape from the fourth
 
 BASLE AND ZURICH, L554-1563. 255 
 
 labyrinth, that God is unwise in calling us if we are not at 
 liberty to follow, when we bear in mind that God's call always 
 desires a response. Ee summons all men to Him by the works 
 of nature, by the visitations of their lives, and by His word and 
 spirit. He does not call the elect to work out their election, 
 which has already taken place, nor that they should make them- 
 selves righteous, or increase their own righteousness, which is 
 clone by Him alone, nor that by their own actions they may fit 
 themselves for grace, and thus in a measure deserve it. But He 
 calls them, before they receive faith, to do good to the poor, to 
 pray, to hear sermons, means which Clod almost always uses for 
 endowing them with grace. In all these things man has a cer- 
 tain freedom, if he neglects them it is his own fault, if he does 
 them he must still not glory in them. If faith has been given 
 to you, you are at liberty to do, not only works of civil justice, 
 but also spiritual works to God's honour. You have therefore 
 not been called in vain. The doing comes from God, the neglect- 
 ing from yourself, even the rejected have not been called in vain, 
 but for some certain reason. It is true, that when they are grown 
 up, God does not always give them powerful inner calls, for He 
 does not owe it them and they do not merit it. Still He often 
 calls them away from sins into which they would have fallen 
 without the call, even when they do not follow. He does not 
 call in vain, since they become the more inexcusable." 
 
 Thus far the " Labyrinthe." 
 
 What is Ochino's intention in this composition? Does he 
 only wish to bring together the much discussed opinions con- 
 cerning hereditary sin, predestination, grace, and rejection, and 
 show how they mutually undermine each other] Does he only 
 wish to give a brilliant example of his acuteness, and to leave 
 the reader in a mood which answers a question of so much 
 practical importance by the ancient sceptical confession — I only 
 know that I know nothing ? 
 
 It is the difficulty of this problem itself which causes such 
 vacillation in Ochino and others. " It drives the thinker back-
 
 256 BERNARDINO OCHINO. 
 
 wards and forwards, now to a denial of the libcnim arhitrium, 
 now to a disputed affirmation, now to attribute omnipotence to 
 Providence, now to fancy it restricted, so that evil may not also 
 be attributed to it, now to particularism, then again to universal- 
 ism, now to an absolute decree, then again to a conditional 
 one." * 
 
 We must always remember that Ochino did not destine this 
 book for the use of his congregation, nor for weak minds, and 
 unenlightened characters, and that since he comes forward as a 
 critic of certain doctrines, it must be permitted him, under certain 
 circumstances, only to disclose the contradictions, and declare 
 himself incapable of solving them. However, since he was here 
 dealing with fundamental doctrinal ideas, it would at that time 
 have been extremely remarkable. But Ochino cannot have 
 meant this, the above expositions do not end this writing, after 
 he has given a wide field to the conflicting opinions, he himself 
 attempts, at the conclusion, not to reconcile them, but to over- 
 come them by setting up a higher standard. The last chapter is 
 devoted to this attempt. 
 
 " Even the wisest in the world have come to recognise that in 
 truth they know nothing. How then should we men, who can- 
 not even penetrate natural things, be able to understand super- 
 natural ? I confess before God and the whole world, that I only 
 know so much of God's supernatural things as He Himself has 
 revealed to me, and I thank Him for this recognition of my own 
 ignorance. All that we pretend to know of Divine things, 
 beyond and without revelation, is nothing but mere dreams and 
 imaginations. God has not revealed everything to man which he 
 is capable of understanding, but only that which it is necessary 
 to his salvation to know, and all this is contained in the Holy 
 Scriptures. Concerning the freedom or subjection of the will, 
 nothing is revealed to us. These expressions do not even occui 
 in the Holy Scriptures, from this we infer that it is not necessary 
 
 * Alex. Schweitzer, concerning Bullinger's Oratio, quae moderatio servanda sit 
 in negotio providentiae, praedestinationis, gratiae, et liberi arbitrii.
 
 BASLE AND ZURICH, 1554-15G3. 257 
 
 for our salvation to know whether we are free or not, and further, 
 this is certain, if man dues not know whether he is free or not, 
 and yet firmly strives after good for the glory of God, as though 
 he were sure of his freedom, he will in this case make a more 
 laudable use of his free-will, and one better pleasing to God, than 
 if he had known that he was free. Whoever believes that he is 
 not free, falls into the abyss of moral indolence, but whoever 
 believes that he is free, becomes exalted in his own conceit. The 
 only certain way of avoiding both, since we are uncertain concern- 
 ing both, is on the one hand to strive with all our power after 
 good, as though we knew that we were free, and on the other to 
 give God alone the glory, as though certain of our subjection. 
 This is the only sure way of coming to God, the way which also 
 the saints in their simplicity have entered, without ever thinking 
 whether they were free or no. Would it not then be foolish to 
 forsake this certain mode of salvation, and to venture ourselves 
 upon the stormy sea of Divine predestination, foreknowledge, 
 and the relations of human freedom, with evident danger of our 
 salvation ? Would it not be foolish to consider whether we are 
 free or no before obeying God ? Besides this, if we think we 
 are free, we must accuse Augustine of heresy, and if we are not 
 free, then we must accuse Chrysostom and the Greeks, but I 
 declare that we are not constrained to believe either the one or 
 the other. Life is so short, that unless we neglect our own salva- 
 tion, and the great merits of Christ, we cannot occupy ourselves 
 much with such matters, which do not contribute to our edifica- 
 tion, but only sow strife, hatred, and dissension. And the gospel 
 is a sustenance of the Spirit so easily corrupted, that idle 
 doctrines can cause it much harm. Whoever has a preference 
 for such things shows that he has never tasted it in perfection." 
 
 It is conceivable that in spite of this edifying conclusion, 
 Ochino's writing caused misunderstanding and misconstruction. 
 The point of view from which he tried to overcome the combat- 
 ing opinions concerning free-will, is of practical value, but still it 
 is really no other than that of the "sceptical Academicians,"
 
 258 BERNARDINO OCHINO. 
 
 which always appeared to Calvin the most dangerous enemy of 
 his work. The task of later and modern Protestantism was 
 different, but in reference to that time we must recognise that 
 the exaggerated Augustinianism, the harsh decisiveness of the 
 Servum Arhitrium, were needed to establish the work of 
 ecclesiastical reform upon a sure foundation. In the heat of the 
 strife it often appears to the combatant as though everything 
 were against him, which he does not immediately recognise to be 
 really for him. 
 
 Ochino's " Labyrinth i," therefore, called forth attacks. In a 
 later work, he himself complains : " I am supposed to have said 
 that man can be saved whether he is free or no, while I really 
 said, he could be saved whether he thought himself free or no. 
 Further, I am supposed to have said that God does not will us 
 to know whether we are free or not, while I really said, God does 
 not will to make this an article of faith, whose acceptance 
 should be necessary to salvation, for had He wished this, He 
 would have revealed it to us, as He has done all other necessary 
 truths." * 
 
 If we now attempt to trace the relations in form and contents 
 of the "Labyrinthi" to the collective opinions of Ochino as they 
 are gradually developed in his works, w 7 e shall, however much 
 we may emphasise the conciliatory conclusion of the work, be 
 forced to join the Zurich theologians in a certain surprise. It is 
 evident that new opinions have awakened in Ochino, and are 
 striving for adjustment. His intellect, which had bowed with 
 full conviction to the formulas in which the early reformed 
 Protestantism carefully hid the newly found religious treasures, 
 was beginning to feel these formulas oppressive chains, and was 
 striving after a wider field of action. The Eeformation of the 
 sixteenth century, where it touched the domain of doctrine, had a 
 thoroughly positive, and sternly conservative character, and it 
 would scarcely have gained its wonderful results if it had not from 
 the first established itself on the old ecclesiastical foundation, which 
 
 * Dialogi xxx. 1. p., 132. (Appendix, No. 47.)
 
 basle and Zurich, 1554-15G3. 250 
 
 opponents were also forced to acknowledge, and on which alone 
 reconciliation with them was possible. But scarcely is the 
 existence of the new doctrines and new Churches assured, than 
 the germs which lie in Protestantism itself, such as the principle 
 of the sole authority of Holy Scripture in matters of faith, which 
 had first been used as a defence against opponents, began to 
 extend their influence within the new Churches themselves. It 
 was then that the manifold theological agitation began within 
 Protestantism, a movement which continues to the present day. 
 This is not the place to trace more closely this agitation of three 
 centuries' duration, but we may indicate that as early as the 
 middle of the sixteenth century, there were certain men who 
 held opinions at variance with those received by the contemporary 
 Church, opinions which, in the course of time, were partly ab- 
 sorbed in the general theological conscience. Such a man was 
 Sebastian Castellio, who attacked the sternly Calvinistic opinions 
 in several dialogues (concerning Predestination, concerning 
 Election, concerning Free- Will) as well as in some essays, and 
 on this account suffered the most violent persecutions. Such a 
 man was also Ochino, and this we see, especially from his latest 
 work, the Thirty Dialogues, written towards the end of his life. 
 If a personal influence is to be sought which led him to this path, 
 we might find it in his intercourse with Castellio, and in his re- 
 lation to Lelio Sozini, so much younger than himself, and there 
 can be no doubt that Ochino's residence at Basle, before he ac- 
 cepted the office of minister to the Locarnese congregation at 
 Zurich, was of decisive importance in this direction. The 
 historically dramatic interest in his personality is diminished at 
 this point, and does not re-appear until re-awakened a short time 
 before his death, by his tragical catastrophe. But the interest 
 in his inner development increases more and more, and it would 
 be far greater in consideration of the important change witnessed 
 by the last ten years of his life, if the state of affairs, and the 
 considerations of his environment, and his own office, had not 
 forced Ochino rather to cloke than openly to declare his opinions
 
 260 BERNARDINO OCHINO. 
 
 in his principal work in this direction, the Thirty Dialogues to 
 be considered subsequently, whenever his views came into conflict 
 with the contemporary Church doctrines. 
 
 Only one part of the Italian edition of the " Labyrinthi " bears 
 on its title-page the real name of the author ; the other part was 
 published under a fictitious name, Padre Don Serafino d 
 Piacenza, and Pavia was named as the place of publication. The 
 Basle printer may have tried to deceive the vigilance of the 
 Inquisition, while he circulated the book in Italy. The same 
 was done with other works at that time. 
 
 Ochino had destined another work for the narrow circle of 
 his own congregation, which probably appeared at Basle in 1561, 
 at the same time as the " Labyrinthi." The " Catechism, or 
 Christian Instruction in the Form of a Dialogue," * is dedicated 
 to the Locarnese congregation. It was to be a lasting bequest 
 from the author. In the preface, Ochino says : " I feel that my 
 life is hastening to its close, but I should wish, even after my 
 death, to be of use to my beloved congregation, to whom I have 
 hitherto dedicated my powers. Therefore I have set forth, in a 
 short space, what the life of a true Christian should be. I have 
 omitted whatever is not needful for salvation, I only wish to point 
 out the direct way which leads to heaven. Eead the book 
 diligently, and act accordingly for God's honour and your salva- 
 tion." 
 
 There is nothing in the arrangement of Ochino's Catechism 
 to distinguish it from similar contemporary writings. He treats 
 successively the five main doctrines, namely, the Ten Com- 
 mandments, the Apostolic Symbol, the Lord's Prayer, Baptism, 
 and the Lord's Supper. Ochino, under the name of " Illuminato," 
 carries on the conversation with a " Ministro." The latter asks : 
 " Does it appear to you that man has an existence or not ? " 
 " Certainly it appears to me that I exist, but perhaps I am mis- 
 taken." The Ministro replies quite in the Cartesian spirit, 
 almost three generations before Descartes, " It is impossible that 
 
 * Appendix, No. 45.
 
 BASLE AND ZUBICH, 1554-1563. 261 
 
 it should appear to one who does not exist, as though he existed."* 
 " But what, then, is the purpose of human existence ?" "To love 
 God, to proclaim His goodness, love, righteousness, truth, mercy, 
 wisdom, and power, to lead our fellow-men to Him, to love and 
 praise Him, and to worship Him alone. Man honours Him first 
 by keeping His commandments, as they were once revealed to 
 the people of Israel, and then renewed through Christ." A de- 
 tailed exposition of these commandments occupies half the hook. 
 It is impracticable to extract even the most salient portions from 
 this rich paraenetic material. 
 
 The second commandment gives him an opportunity to inveigh 
 against the worship of images in the Catholic Church, and in 
 discussing the fifth, Ochino refers to the adoration of saints. 
 " Why does it say, honour thy father and thy mother, and not 
 also thou shalt adore the saints ? " In treating the seventh 
 commandment, lie says of the sincerity of marriage, " It is so 
 holy and divine, that if all who do not possess the gift of con- 
 tinence, should he united in it, and live chastely as the state of 
 marriage requires, the world would he free from countless sins of 
 unchastity." In treating of the ninth commandment, Ochino 
 entirely condemns lies, even white lies. " I believe that every 
 lie is a sin, because it is opposed to truth and therefore to God. 
 Neither may one do evil that good may follow. God would not 
 be the true God if He could not govern the world without these 
 lies. He has forbidden them without exception." It is remark- 
 able in this decided rejection of every species of untruth, that 
 here also the subjective trait, so often met with in Ochino, 
 penetrates, and threatens to confuse the principal. In his 
 attempt to make the voice of conscience, which is God's voice in 
 man, recognised as judge over all our thoughts and actions, with- 
 out exception, and to establish as the sole test of the worth of 
 every action, the motive whence it springs, Ochino transgresses 
 the true mean, when he says, " The Egyptian mid-wives, the harlot 
 
 * E impossible, che a cbi non e, gli paja d' essere. Peri) ch' ei ti par' essere, 
 biso<:na dire che tu sia. P. L
 
 262 BERNARDINO OCHINO. 
 
 Bahab, and Jacob before his father, sinned with their lies, un- 
 less the Divine voice prompted them." Judging from Ochino's 
 own stand-point, it required only one more step to recognise that 
 an inner voice, which prompts a breach of truth, cannot be 
 
 divine. 
 
 In connection with the Apostle's Creed, concerning which he 
 does not determine whether or no it originated from the apostles 
 themselves, Ochino sets forth the chief points of the Christian 
 faith. He conceives the idea of faith itself, in the depth and 
 extent we have already witnessed in the " Prediche." Concern- 
 ing the divine humanity of Christ, Ochino expresses himself in a 
 manner according with the ecclesiastical dogmas of his time.* 
 
 We also encounter the idea of the invisible Church, to which 
 alone Ochino wishes to see the name Church of Christ applied. 
 He says (p. 194), "Although the Church has many branches, 
 there is one universal Church of Christ, which comprehends all 
 others, and whose head is Christ Himself. It is called the 
 universal, not because these true Christians exceed all others in 
 number, but because all the elect belong to it, wherever and 
 whenever they live and have lived, so that from the beginning to 
 the end of the world there has been and will be this one Church 
 alone." Concerning the prayers appended by Ochino to the 
 following section, we can only say that they are prayers to be 
 spoken before and after meals, on retiring, and on waking, during 
 preparation for the Lord's Supper, and as expressions of gratitude 
 after its celebration. We are induced to give a more detailed 
 
 * P. 159. Christo e unigenito figliulo di Dio in quanto eke intra gli eletti e sommo. 
 Profeta et unico maestro nostro ; lui solo e il nostro gran Sacerdote, supremo Re - 
 de' Re et capo nostro. E unigenito poi in quanto eke lui solo gu concetto per lo Spirito 
 Santo. Dipoi e unigenito in quanto eke Dio a lui solo ka dato spirito senza misura, 
 in lui sono tutti li tesori della divina sapientia, kavendo perfettissimamente tutte le 
 virtu et gratie. II padre suo dunque 1' ka avickito come se non kavesse altri figlinoh 
 eke lui et gli fusse unigenito. Habbiamo ancke il testiuionio di Ckristo, il quale 
 domandando il cieco nato ae credeva nel figkuol di Dio, et esso domandando cki fusse 
 il figkuol di Dio, disse, lo sono. E necessaiio adunque eke crediamo eke e figlinol 
 di Dio et di piu, eke e Dio, atteso eke San Giovanni disse eke il verbo era Dio. 
 II sinuil fece San Tommaso quando disse a Ckristo, Signor mio et Dio mio. (Cf. 
 Rom. ix. ; 1 Jokn i. ; Heb. i.)
 
 basle and zuricii, 1554-1563. 203 
 
 account of his notion of baptism, by the reproach Trechsel has cast 
 upon him regarding this* In discussing the Catechism, he lays 
 down as Ochino's opinion, that "he who receives baptism, shows 
 by this that he is already justified by faith in Christ's blood." 
 This is not accurate, for Ochino only says, that whoever worthily 
 receives baptism, shows by this that he believes in Christ. 
 Trechsel adds, " One can imagine that such an idea of baptism 
 would lead, as a natural consequence, to the rejection of the 
 baptism of infants, and in fact Ochino seems to feel this con- 
 sequence, but he saves himself by a bold inconsistency. He dis- 
 tinguishes two purposes of baptism, one is a dedication to God, 
 whether performed by ourselves or through others, and this is 
 fulfilled in the baptism of infants, as well as in that of adults. 
 The second purpose is a public confession of faith, and this must 
 naturally be wanting with children." Trechsel's remarks are 
 severe. Let us see whether they are justified. 
 
 It is true that Ochino distinguishes, and rightly, a double pur- 
 pose in baptism. Baptism was one thing to the jailor at Philippi, 
 and another to the children in the house of Cornelius at Csesarea. 
 But, even when speaking of the baptism of converted adults, 
 Ochino denies any mysterious working.-f The difference is, to 
 him, merely one in form ; the Illuminato does not acknowledge a 
 qualitative difference between the act of baptism in the one and 
 the other case. \ Ochino himself defines the double purpose of 
 baptism in the following manner (p. 284) : " In the first place, it 
 
 * Die Protestantischen Antitrinitarier vor Faustus Sozin, ii. 184-1. 
 
 f 111. Ma io non so vedere come il battesimo habbia la proinessa della remis- 
 sion de peccati, imperocche quando 1' adulto si vuol battezzare, bisogna, prima che 
 si battezzi che habbia viva fede in Christo come e gia provato, Pert) bisogna credere 
 che per Christo gli son stati gia perdonati i peccati. Non si battezza adunque ac- 
 ciocche gli sieno perdonati, ma per protestare che gia vivamente cio' crede; talche' 
 la promessa e' fatta a chi crede e non a chi si battezza. 
 
 £ M. Che gli adulti non si battezzano per haver la fede ma perch e 1' hanno pcio' 
 in battezzarsi protcstaiH) d' hawrla, non puo' negarsi. Ma non e cosi de' fanciuUini, 
 imperocche essi per mezzo del battesimo ricevano la fede. 111. Se fusse come dici, 
 doverebbono i fanciullini battezzarsi subito che sono nati, anzi subito che appar la 
 testa . . . ma non fanno cosi, per tor la superstitione da quelli che credano che il 
 battesimo giustifichi e salvi.
 
 264 BERNARDINO OCHINO. 
 
 serves to consecrate and dedicate us to God; and we do this on 
 our own account if we are adults, but by means of others if we 
 are still children. This object is the same in adults and children, 
 but the second purpose is, that we may give a public testimony of 
 our faith, and this can only be accomplished by adults, and not 
 by children* It does not appear from this that infant baptism 
 should lose its value as a pious custom. 
 
 Shortly after the appearance of the Catechism, the fifth and 
 last volume of Ochino's Prediche was published in 1562. This 
 contains fifty treatises, in which some subjects and questions are 
 discussed afresh, already met with in previous collections. The 
 contents of the treatises are general ; they concern the nature of 
 God, Christ's person and work, the teaching of the Bible, the 
 Holy Spirit and prayer, and throughout they move in the same 
 groove of thought already met with in similar writings of 
 Ochino's. However, the desire not merely to repeat what is said 
 before, caused Ochino to pursue remote ideas in some passages, 
 or to set up paradoxical antitheses ; thus the thirteenth Predica 
 discusses the question : " What was the greatest bjnefit which 
 God conferred upon Christ?" and the answer is: "That He 
 caused Him to be despised by the world." The twelfth Predica 
 asks : "Was it well that Christ had to die while still young?" 
 Answer : " Undoubtedly, because God had thus ordained it." 
 
 * 111. E da sapere che per due cose e ordinato il battesimo, la prima accio' ci con- 
 sacriamo e dedichiamo a Dio per noi medesimi se siamo adulti o per altri se siamo 
 senza giuditio. E questo e essenziale a tutti quelli che si battezzano, siano adulti 
 o no'. La seconda e di protestare la fede che habbiamo, e questa e essensiale sola- 
 mente agii adulti, imperocche esse fanciullini non possano protestare d' haver fede, 
 anzi ne quelli che gli presentano, atteso che non sanno se 1* hanno, anzi ne se mai 1' 
 havranno.
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 THE END, 1563-1564. 
 
 Publication of Ocbino's Thirty Dialogues, 1563— The Incident at the Fair of Basle — 
 Statement to the Council of Zurich — The Dialogue on Polygamy— Judgment 
 and Banishment from Zurich — Banishment from Basle — Meeting with Car- 
 dinal Lorraine — Journey to Nuremberg — His Defence — Answer to the Zurich 
 Theologians — Ochino Accused of Atheism, Socinianism, and Antitrinitarian- 
 ism — Examination of these Accusations — Ochino on the Punishment of 
 Heretics — The Fragment — Ochino goes to Poland, 1564 — He Dies atSchlac- 
 kan — Retrospect. 
 
 Schellhokn, the diligent historian of Ochino's life and writings, 
 when he arrives at this last period, says: "Hitherto I have had 
 much pleasure in gleaning my materials, but I grieve that I must 
 conclude with unwelcome tidings. His last work occasioned him 
 the saddest fate ; it caused him to be deprived of his pastorate, 
 to be driven from Zurich, and afterwards from Basle, with four 
 children, during a severe winter. He was forced to fly to the distant 
 kingdom of Poland, and thence to Moravia. He had been tossed 
 about the world hither and thither like a ball. He had already 
 reached his seventy-sixth year, and was suffering from the 
 troubles and infirmities of age, — this man, who had been equipped 
 with such exceptional endowments, and had hitherto brought the 
 Pieformed Church so much honour."* 
 
 The work to which Schellhorn refers is Ochino's Thirty Dia- 
 logues, published by Perna at Basle in 1563. The tract on 
 Purgatory, then the Labyrinthi and Catechism had already, as 
 
 * Ergotzlichkeiten aus der Kirchenhistorie und Literatur, 1764, iii., 1175.
 
 2G6 BERNARDINO OCHINO. 
 
 we have seen, called forth misrepresentation and displeasure in 
 circles in and beyond Zurich. Bullinger, Gualther, and Wolf 
 had already remonstrated amicably with the author in February, 
 1563. They had requested him to publish no more books that 
 had not been previously approved by the Zurich deputies, for in 
 this case no one would dare to attack them. They meant this as 
 food advice. Ochino afterwards most emphatically denied their 
 having added that the inhabitants of Zurich were directly for- 
 bidden to publish anything, even out of their own city, without 
 approval of the censors.* " Had I known this," he said, " I 
 should not have acted contrary to the law." Nor is there any 
 mention of other than native printing presses in the " customs 
 and institutions of the Zurich Church," published in 1559, a 
 document to which Ochino especially refers, f When the three 
 theologians addressed themselves to Ochino, his Dialogues were 
 already in the press. He had sent the MS. to Basle eight months 
 previously. At that time Martyr was still living. We cannot 
 doubt that he was informed of this work. A short time after its 
 publication, Beza wrote to Bullinger that it was full of unprofit- 
 able speculations and distortions of Scripture passages. So he had 
 been told ; he himself had scarcely glanced at the book, j For a 
 time Bullinger took no notice of the matter. It was not till the 
 Zurich Council received a direct complaint that he attempted 
 any further proceeding.§ 
 
 * E ben vero che il Bulingiero insiemo col Gualtero e col Volfino, havendo gik io 
 fatto stampare in Basilea un Catechismo dellamessa et quattro laberinti, et per 
 esservi stati alcuni che ingiustamente alcune cose che erano in quegli dannavano, 
 m' esortarono a non stampare piu altri libri, se prima non fossero approvati dai 
 Deputati loro, imperoche poiche fossero stati approvati, non vi sarebbe chi ardisse 
 di dannargli. Ma non mi dissero gia che ci fosse la legge della proibitione. E Dio sa 
 s' egli e cosi. La causa poi perche cio non m' esplicassero io non la so. Ne mi 
 esortarono puntb in nome de' Consoli o del Se ato, che haverei ubbidito, ma come 
 da loro. Dialogo della Prudenza humana et Ochino. See Appendix, No. 49. 
 
 t De ritibus et institutis Ecclesiae Tigurinae opusculum. Published by Ludwig 
 Lavater, 1559, fol. 24 b, Typographiae. Non liberum est cuivis, quidquid velit, in 
 lucem edere ; sed constituti sunt librorum censores ex senatoribus et ministris, qui 
 curent ne edantur libelli famosi aut cum vera fide ac honestate pugnantes. 
 
 X 5th June 1563. In the Simmler's collection at Zurich. 
 
 § The following is extracted from Meyer, Locarnes, ii., 168, et seq., which con-
 
 THE END. 267 
 
 During the fair at Basle, in the autumn of 15G3, it happened 
 that Johannes Wagmann, and other Zurich merchants, entered 
 into a religious discus-ion with a nobleman from the Margravate 
 Boh'lu, in the Ot Tairm, at the public table. One man said, re- 
 ferring scornfully to the position of Nuremberg, in the quarrel 
 about the Lord's Supper: "The Nurembergers, they have a deli- 
 cate faith, they let every one believe what he likes." " That is 
 true," said another; "they have no very deep convictions; they 
 may still incline to whatever side they please." "But from 
 Zurich have come sects which are mischievous and heretical," 
 remarked Kraft, The Zurichers contradicted him with one ac- 
 cord. They exclaimed : " You are doing our magistrates an in- 
 justice. No heresy is taught among us, and we should like to 
 know from you what form it has taken. Prove it to us." Kraft 
 replied : "A book is being circulated, which was printed at Zurich. 
 It was Bernardino Ochino, who lives in Zurich, who sent it to 
 press. In this book there are such shameful and scandalous 
 things, that it is unchristian to endure such a person." He re- 
 ferred to many things concerning polygamy, which Ochino had 
 tried to justify, out of the Old Testament. He continued to re- 
 peat : " Wherever such things are permitted, there is knavery 
 and heresy." The listeners were staggered. " For the sake of 
 our oath and our honour," they said, " we are bound to announce 
 this to our Lords." " I will take you to the printers," continued 
 Kraft, " where it was printed in Latin. Nearly six hundred 
 copies have been sent out and sold, a large number have gone to 
 Wittcinberg. But wdien the magistrates of Basle heard these 
 things, they forbade the printer to sell or distribute the pamphlets 
 until further notice." On his return to Zurich, Wagmann ac- 
 quainted the Burgomaster Miiller by letter with the occurrence 
 at Basle, lie had caused his account to be signed by the nine 
 persons who were present. 
 
 The school committee commanded that the book should be 
 
 tains the graphic and faithful statement of the burgher Johannes Wagmann ti- 
 the Council. Simmler's collection.
 
 268 BERNARDINO OCHINO. 
 
 sought, and commissioned Bullinger, Gualther, and Wolf to 
 make a report concerning it. This took place on the following 
 day, November 22d. In the report to the honourable Council,* 
 the three theologians censured two things especially; that 
 Ochino should have publicly discussed matters of so objection- 
 able and dangerous a character in such evil times, and that he 
 had not sufficiently defended monogamy. They say, " Ber- 
 nardino introduces a person who complains of his wife who is 
 barren and sickly. Although the complainant could rid himself 
 of her by force, yet he fears God, who has suggested to him that 
 he should rather take another beside this one." Now he asks 
 Bernardino whether it was right, and whether he should do it. 
 Bernardino answers, that it is not right, and he shall and may 
 not do it, for God has given two together into wedlock. Here- 
 upon the defender of polygamy brings forward many reasons for 
 it, and after a long dispute Bernardino says, " Since I cannot 
 overcome you with the Old Testament, I will try what I can do 
 with the New." But the opponent insists further, and tries to 
 prove that in this particular case polygamy is neither contrary 
 to nature nor to God's commands, nor to the imperial law, and 
 that there is no canon of the Councils, nor passage of the Fathers 
 which forbids many wives. Bernardino makes some reply to 
 this, but his opponent brings a stronger argument, and at the 
 conclusion, when he asks what he must now do, Bernardino 
 answers, that he is to be satisfied with his single marriage, and 
 take no more wives, since that was unlawful, but he should beg 
 that God would give him the grace of continence. Thereupon 
 he asks, What if He does not give him that grace ? This is Ber- 
 nardino's answer, " Then do whatever God urges you, so long as 
 you know for certain that God is urging you. That which we 
 do by God's inspiration is no sin." 
 
 So ran the report concerning the contents of the offensive 
 Dialogue. Ochino had provided it with an especial preface. "To 
 all men who think they have reason to complain of their wives, 
 
 * Simmler's Collection, Zurich MS.
 
 THE END. 2 GO 
 
 and to all women who complain of their husbands, Bernardino 
 Ochino wishes patience through Jesus Christ. While holy 
 matrimony is of itself honourable, right, estimable, happy, laud- 
 able, and well-pleasing to God, and is useful, necessary, whole- 
 some, and fruitful for us, yet on the other hand there are bound 
 up with it many dangers, difficulties, and troubles. When 
 oppressed by such, many husbands and wives have been driven 
 
 to negled I remedies and thoughtlessly to make a bad choice. 
 
 If they had recognised the truth they would not have done this. 
 I have therefore thought it useful to set forth this matter more 
 closely, and to show what he, who has met with such visitations, 
 should do to please God, and what he should not do, that he may 
 not displease God. I trust that all these will read this book and 
 will thus learn to distinguish good remedies from bad ones. But 
 where no remedies will avail, I exhort all to patience, so that in 
 all things praise, honour, and glory may be brought to our 
 heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ our Lord." 
 
 It seems advisable, besides the statement of the three theo- 
 logians, especially to mention some things in the Dialogue. It 
 is the 21st in the collection. Although from the beginning 
 Ochino condemns polygamy as directly opposed to the idea of 
 marriage, yet he is forced to admit to his opponent Telipoly- 
 gamus that there is no direct prohibition in the Old Testament. 
 When Telipolygamus replies that the mere fact of God's having 
 given Adam only one wife was not sufficient to establish the 
 principle, Ochino turns the same argument against him, saying, 
 that neither may the examples of polygamy like Abraham, 
 David, and others, be considered binding for the decision of the 
 question as a principle, and for our present practice. "You may 
 say what you will," he continues (p. 192), "polygamy is immoral, 
 and is dire< tly opposed to holy matrimony." Finally, Ochino is 
 forced to confess, " Since I cannot overcome you by the words of 
 the Old Testament I will attempt it with the New," and it was 
 this that the three theologians brought forward. But he adds, 
 "In the ancient Covenant men were on a lower stage of perfec-
 
 270 BERNARDINO OCHINO. 
 
 tion, and many things were permitted to them which are not 
 permitted to us, for our carnal desires must be much more sub- 
 dued." Besides other passages in the New Testament, Ochino 
 tries to make use of the much quoted passage (1 Tim., 3d chap. 
 2 v.), " Paul wishes a bishop to be the husband of one wife," 
 therefore he forbids polygamy. But his opponent draws the 
 contrary conclusion, " If Paul wishes this to refer especially to 
 bishops, so that they may not be diverted from their duties by 
 the increase of worldly cares, we may conclude that he permits 
 polygamy to those who are not bishops." Ochino points out in 
 vain that in the above passage actual polygamy was not in 
 question, but that the apostle would not permit the bishop to 
 enter into a second marriage after the death of his wife. Here, 
 as in several other passages, Telipolygamus keeps to the words 
 of the text, and therefore forces Ochino to repeat* again and 
 again, "You may say what you will, polygamy is immoral." 
 This removes the question from the domain of biblical doctrine, 
 to that of general moral ideas, and in the second part of the 
 Dialogue Telipolygamus makes incisive attacks from this stand- 
 point. He will not acknowledge the consensus nationum against 
 polygamy, he insists that neither in the laws of the Empire, nor 
 in the decrees of the Councils, nor the works of the Fathers, can 
 any absolute interdiction be found. Ochino replies, " The whole 
 world considers polygamy forbidden, no one can have several 
 wives without grievously offending the universal moral conscience. 
 God also wills us to obey authority, and this is so opposed to 
 polygamy that it punishes it with death." 
 
 In reference to the arguments upon which the opposite party 
 rely, especially in the second part of the Dialogue, Schelhorn has 
 pointed out in the most convincing manner that Ochino in bring- 
 ing them forward, has committed an unfortunate plagiarism, 
 " that he has ploughed with Neobuli's steer."-}- "It was a mis- 
 fortune for him," says Schelhorn, " that Hulderici Neobuli's Dia- 
 
 * Pages 192, 210, 217, 225. 
 
 f Schelhorn, Ergotzlichkeiten iii., p. 2140.
 
 THE END. 271 
 
 logue, as to whether it be agreeable or opposed to the divine, 
 natural, imperial, and spiritual law to have more than one wife 
 at a time, had fallen into his hands, and that he was impressed 
 by it." Such questions were eagerly discussed at that time, 
 when institutions were overthrown, which ibr centuries had been 
 held indestructible truths ; and Luther's lamentable compliance 
 in the case of the Landgraves of Hesse, with which, however, 
 Protestantism itself had nothing to do, gave rise during a long 
 period, to many doubts concerning the exclusive morality of 
 monogamy. Ochino has here entwined with his exposition 
 similar doubts to those expressed in the above pseudonymous 
 writing, in so detailed and lively a manner, that finally he 
 can only refer to the principle ; monogamy is the only moral 
 relation between man and woman. "We here meet with a 
 similar treatment of disputed questions to that in one of 
 Ochino's sermons, where the development of the opposite opinion 
 received a disproportional extension. But the opponent will 
 not be satisfied with the prohibition from the point of view of 
 principle. "What advice do you now give me?" he says. "I 
 advise you to take no other wife, but rather to pray to God that 
 he may give you continence." " But if he does not give it me?" 
 "He will give it you, if you ask him in faith." "But if he 
 neither gives me the gift of continence, nor of faith to ask for 
 it ? " " Then do whatever God urges you. If you are quite cer- 
 tain that the suggestion comes from God you will not sin, for 
 whoever obeys God cannot sin. Farewell, I will pray for you." 
 
 This conclusion cannot satisfy the reader. Here we again meet 
 with the subjective trait in Ochino's groove of thought, which 
 we have several times encountered. It is conceivable that in in- 
 dividual cases such a principle might not disturb the moral 
 harmony of the peison, nay, rather that it might found and estab- 
 lish it more firmly, but the moment when it comes forward with 
 the demand to be acknowledged as universal principle it is neces- 
 sarily exposed to misconstruction and blame. Ochino himself by 
 no means desires to overthrow by his conclusion what he has
 
 272 BERNARDINO OCHINO. 
 
 hitherto represented. On the contrary, he replies to Telipoly- 
 gamus : " You assume what is never the case, that it is possible 
 to be urged to polygamy by God." * But when he finally answers 
 in the manner quoted above, he wishes to lay down as a principle, 
 that in this as in all other cases, the final decision lies in the 
 conscience of the individual, enlightened by the prayer of faith. 
 
 The theologians who reported to the Zurich Council concerning 
 this Dialogue, did not mention, that like the rest of the work, it 
 was published in Latin, and therefore not destined for the general 
 reader. Ochino afterwards adduced this circumstance in his Justi- 
 fication,^ and also pointed out, that three years previously Peter 
 Martyr (now dead) had himself discoursed on this subject at 
 Zurich on three consecutive days. This removed one reproach 
 made by the theologians, that Ochino should not have dealt with 
 so difficult and ticklish a question. But the other reproach remains, 
 that he did not sufficiently mark out his own position, and refute 
 the opposite reasons with sufficiently strong counter reasons. 
 Not even one of the Zurich opponents dared to suggest that it was 
 personal motives that urged Ochino either to defend polygamy or 
 to combat it insufficiently. He was in the seventy-seventh year 
 of his life, and before the publication of the work, his wife had lost 
 her life by an unfortunate fall. What was there to prevent him, if 
 he thought good, from giving his four young children a second 
 mother ? His mode of life had always been exemplary, even 
 after his death Bullinger testified to this. " He has lived among 
 us for a number of years, and the congregations give him the 
 warmest testimony." J Even the three theologians say in their 
 report to the Council, " We are sincerely grieved that this aged 
 man, who came here when seventy years old, and who had before 
 then won a great name, should be involved in this trouble." 
 
 The Council proceeded without due regard. At the same sitting, 
 without even hearing the accused, they pronounced judgment 
 
 * Tu id ponis, quod nunquam fit, videlice aliquem divinitas ad bigamiam vocari. 
 + Appendix, No. 49. 
 
 X Boxhorn, Historiae universalis ad. a. 1552., p. 74. (Leyden 1G52. ). Bullin- 
 ger's statement dates from the year 1568.
 
 THE END. 273 
 
 upon Ochino. The resolution was unanimous. It was thus 
 reported in the protocol of November 22d: "At this ray Lords 
 expressed great regret, and (hey dismissed Ochino, and banished 
 him from their city and domains, and they commanded the Burgo- 
 master Muller, the Knight Andreas Schmidt, Standardbearer, and 
 the Knights Conrad Escher and Hansen Goldli to announce this 
 to Ochino." The Commissioners cited Ochino before them, on 
 the afternoon after the sitting. They communicated the sentence 
 to him. Ochino tried to justify himself, and to prove that the 
 reproaches which had been made to him rested upon misunder- 
 standing and calumny. In vain ; the decree of the Council was 
 final, and it is evident that they meant it to be so from a letter to 
 the Council of Basle, which was resolved upon at this same 
 sitting, in which they informed the " pious, prudent, honourable, 
 wise, and especially friendly and faithful confederates " of the 
 circumstance. After setting forth Wiigmann's account of the 
 event at Basle fair, and stating the sentence against Ochino, this 
 letter continues : " We now beg you, our faithful confederates, in 
 all friendship, that you will immediately, and without delay, 
 insist that all the copies of this work, printed by your citizen 
 Petro Perna, should be placed in your hands, and also, if any of 
 your citizens have bought these books, let them bring them to 
 you, and do you keep them, so that no more may be issued, nor 
 come among the common people." * 
 
 A contemporary declares that the preachers had invited Ochino 
 to make a public recantation, or, at least, a satisfactory explana- 
 tion, but that he refused.-!* The archives do not mention this; it 
 could only have been a step taken privately, and could therefore 
 have no iniluence upon the course of events. The Burgomaster 
 commanded the three theologians to continue their perusal of the 
 dialogues, and to point out what was dangerous and erroneous. 
 Meyer rightly remarks, J "Neither could this investigation have 
 
 * Simmler's collection, Zurich MS. 
 t Simmler vita Bullingeri, p. 39. 
 £ Meyer ii., p. 174, et 6eq.
 
 274 BERNARDINO OCHINO. 
 
 any influence upon the result of the matter. It was evidently 
 only decreed so as afterwards to find reasons for the hasty and 
 stern decrees of the Council, for we cannot deny that this matter 
 was conducted with great haste ; in fact, the whole course of the 
 business justifies the supposition that it was not merely just in- 
 dignation at the objectionable opinions, more or less cloaked by 
 Ochino, at his disobedience (!) to the laws of the country, at the 
 shame incurred by the city of Zurich and the Evangelical Church 
 before the whole world, that urged the majority of the Council to 
 so precipitate a step. Many were impelled by a secret dislike to 
 the Italians, and a desire to prevent the coming of such strangers, 
 by the abolition of the Italian service." Ochino himself says,* 
 referring to the judgment passed upon him : " The state in which 
 it left me may well be imagined. My neighbours were weeping 
 in sympathy. One of the Council hinted to the members of my 
 congregation that they must not visit me if they did not wish to 
 displease the Council. But they did not suffer themselves to be 
 deterred by human considerations. They were with me day and 
 night, to comfort and help me. Certainly not one of the Zurich 
 preachers, who even visit a murderer condemned to death, came 
 near me. There was a rumour spread about in the town that I 
 was trying to introduce polygamy, and that I was full of heresies, 
 so that my friends begged me not to go out, except in the dark." 
 When cited before the Commissioners to hear the sentence, 
 Ochino had added two points to his defence. He begged for a 
 dismissal in writing, and also for the permission to remain with 
 his four children at Zurich till the end of the winter. The 
 former request was granted, the other was refused. A fortnight, 
 at the most three weeks, was allowed him as a favour. It was 
 written in his dismissal :*f" "When a few days ago we heard, and 
 ourselves learned, that he, Ochino, of his own will and pleasure, 
 contrary to our commands and decrees (which he well knew, and 
 had also been sufficiently warned beforehand), had composed the 
 
 * Dialogo, Appendix, No. 49, Schelhorn Ergotzlichkeiten iii., p. 2023. 
 + Siminler's collection, Zurich MS.
 
 THE END. 275 
 
 Thirty Dialogues in two hooks, in some of which ho disputes of 
 many unnecessary and dangerous matters concerning marriage 
 and other subjectSj and introduces articles which are contrary to 
 our religion, since he has sent such books to he printed at another 
 place, without our knowledge, and secretly; aud since this, has 
 caused public scandal, and much evil has been spoken of us on 
 tins account, we have felt much regret and displeasure, and have, 
 therefore, deposed Ochino from the office he had hitherto held, 
 and have banished him from our city and domain, Zurich. On 
 November 24th, 1563." 
 
 Two days before his departure, Ochino sent Dr. Martino 
 Muralto to Bullinger, to bid him farewell* and to beg him for 
 letters of recommendation to his friends at Basle. Bullinjrer 
 answered : " I am sorry for Bernardino, for the sake of his age 
 and his children, especially my godchild. But since he has 
 allowed himself to be stirred up by other troublesome people, 
 and has spread abroad evil doctrines and scandals under his name, 
 which hitherto commanded respect, our Lords could no other 
 than they have done. The articles have not yet all come before 
 our Lords, but they will be brought before them; therefore tell 
 him that I cannot agree with his dogmas, and that I consider 
 them erroneous, noxious, scandalous, and that I never could have 
 believed that he would promulgate the like, after his confession 
 of faith, aud the oath he had taken to the authorities; and since 
 he has vexed the Locarnese Church, and ours also, I will give 
 him no assistance, for I could not do this with a good conscience, 
 or without endangering my honour. Neither should I like to 
 recommend to any one a man whom I consider troublesome, and 
 thus cause trouble to other people." 
 
 "Do you think he may remain at Basle ?" asked Muralto. "I 
 cannot say," replied Bullinger ; " but this I know, that at Basle 
 there are also disturbances on his account, and that inquiries are 
 being made, and the sooner he goes the better it will be for him, 
 for his cause will be worse the longer it lasts." Ochino did not 
 
 * The following in Meyer ii., p. 176.
 
 276 BERNARDINO OCHINO. 
 
 await the end of the three weeks granted him. On December 2d, 
 1563, he departed quite quietly before sunrise, as his friends had 
 advised him. He went to that same city of Basle, from which, 
 eight years previously, the Commissioners of the Locarnese had 
 fetched him, with all ceremony, to undertake his office. But 
 there, also, he did not remain. It must be recorded to the dis- 
 grace of this and other Protestant cities, that they would not even 
 grant this man a refuge. The Basle Council was even more im- 
 patient than the preachers there. According to a letter of Wolf- 
 gang Weissenburg's to Bullinger * dated from Basle, December 
 18th, the preachers wished to intercede for him, on the condition 
 that he would give a written explanation of the scandalous and 
 wicked articles. Ochino had declared himself willing, since this 
 was required, to give his judgment in writing, if only he might 
 be permitted to spend the winter with his children at Basle. 
 But the Council, who were informed of the matter, and prejudiced 
 by the letter from Zurich, returned a negative answer. They 
 said that Bernardino had disgraced the city, since he had sent 
 forth his false and shameful doctrines from Basle. He must 
 now leave the city without delay. He should only be tolerated 
 at Basle if he had previously been reconciled to the authorities 
 and Church at Zurich. Weisseuburg adds that the printer was 
 also to be indicted. " I do not know how he will answer, for it 
 appears that he published it unrevised, and without permission, 
 by his own authority. Sebastian Castellio, an Italian, who trans- 
 lated the dialogue into Latin, is very ill with a fever. If he 
 should recover, he will also have to answer for himself." Castellio 
 had to answer before a higher Judge ; he died December 23d, 
 mourned by few, harshly judged by many ; but grateful pupils 
 erected a worthy monument to his memory, j 
 
 * Simmler's collection, Zurich MS. 
 
 t When already on his deathbed, he wrote a defence against the reproaches made 
 to him at Basle, on account of his share in Ochino's publication : ' ' Quod ad accusa- 
 tionis partem secundam attinet, videlicet quod Bernardini Ochini Dialogos transtu- 
 lerim, non puto id mihi fraudi esse debere. Transtuli enim — sicut et aha eiusdam 
 opera transtuleram — non ut iudex sed ut translator et ex eiusmodi opera ad alendam 
 familiam questum facere solitus, et typographus librum se dixit obtulisse, cumque
 
 THE END. 277 
 
 Iii the circumstance mentioned by Weissenburg, that the 
 printer had printed the Dialogues by his own authority, lies 
 Ochino's formal justification, also towards the Council of Ba 
 and its regulations for the censorship. Ochino had sent the MS. 
 to Perna, towards the middle of 1562. He was to have it trans- 
 lated into Latin by Castellio, and to print it. According to cus- 
 tom, Perna handed in Ochino's MS. to the pro-rector of the 
 University, the younger Basilius Amerbach. It does not dis- 
 tinctly appear from the proceedings whether, at that time, he 
 belonged to the Basle censors. Being ignorant of Italian, he 
 gave the MS. to Curione, and it was returned by him to Perna; 
 it was Tenia, therefore, who was guilty of acting contrary to the 
 censorship. As soon as the printing was ended, he had pushed 
 the sale of the work with great rapidity, so that he could now 
 declare to the Council that he no longer possessed a single copy. 
 We do not know whether he met with the threatened punish- 
 ment, nor what was its extent. On December 23d, Weissenburg 
 wrote to Bullinger: "The printer Perna is daily awaiting his 
 sentence ; although he has been several times summoned before 
 the Council, he has not yet received it, because the Council had 
 enough to do with other matters." 
 
 Banished from Basle, and rejected by Miihlhausen, Ochino 
 
 bent his steps to Nuremberg. There he was permitted to spend 
 
 the winter, but not even this city would accord him a permanent 
 
 residence. Bullinger writes to Fabritius at Chur, "A trustworthy 
 
 person writes to me from Nuremberg that Ochino lies hidden 
 
 ■, that he is writing against us, and is going to Poland, since 
 
 he is not permitted to remain at Nuremberg."* Ochino had 
 
 taken the road by Sehaffhausen. He arrived there by chance on 
 
 the same day as the Cardinal of Lorraine, who was travelling 
 
 from Trent t<> France. It is characteristic that Ochino's meeting 
 
 with the Cardinal, who was personally known to him, was in- 
 
 secundum Baaileensia institute fuisse censura approbatum. " At the end of the 
 tractate, contra libellum Calvini, quo ostendcro conatur, haereticos iure gladii coer- 
 cendod t'.~sv.\ 
 
 * March 17th, 1564. MS. in Simmler's Collection, Zurich. Bullinger had
 
 278 BERNARDINO OClilNO. 
 
 terpreted to his disadvantage by his adversaries. They said 
 Ochino had told the Cardinal the cause of his banishment, had 
 given him his Dialogues, and declared himself willing to prove 
 twenty-four errors in the Eeformed Church, and that the Car- 
 dinal answered that four were already too many. In the Life of 
 Bullinger,* Simmler mentions this story as a mere rumour, and 
 Weissenburg does the same in a letter to Bullinger. Beza*f 
 mentions it as certain truth. He speaks of a hundred instead of 
 twenty-four errors, and says that Ochino placed himself and his 
 services at the Cardinal's disposal, and offered to return to the 
 Catholic Church. We need scarcely point out how improbable 
 it is that such a proposal would have been rejected by the Car- 
 dinal if it had been made. BulliDger investigated the matter. 
 In January 1564 he received this answer from Jacob Euge, the 
 preacher at Schaff hausen : £ — " I have not been able to receive 
 any exact account about the supposed conversation between the 
 Cardinal and Bernardino. The Cardinal arrived here on the 17th 
 of December, he did not remain for the night but proceeded to a 
 little village in the neighbourhood, from whence he continued 
 his journey next morning. To this place I went, and inquired 
 of the innkeeper whether an old man with white hair had visited 
 the Cardinal that evening. He could give me no information. 
 I inquired also at the inns in the town whether Ochino had 
 lodged there, but the innkeepers could tell me nothing." Yet the 
 presence of Ochino must have been easy to ascertain, as he tra- 
 velled with four children. If we compare the date given by 
 Euger, December 17th, with that borne by a former letter of 
 Weissenburg's to Bullinger, December 18th, it becomes evident 
 that the pretended conversation could certainly never have taken 
 place in Schaffhausen. According to Weissenburg, Ochino was 
 
 already warned this same Fabritius, at the end of December, that it was rumoured 
 Ochino was going into the Valtellina. Thereupon it was resolved at Chur that 
 he should not be permitted to pass through the Grisons. The caution was un- 
 necessary ; Ochino did not come. 
 
 * Folio 39 b. t Epistolae, Geneva 1573, p. 11. 
 
 £ Fuessliu, Epist. Reform. Eccl. helv., p. 463.
 
 THE END. 279 
 
 still at Basle on the 18th of December, and it was not yet known 
 exactly where he was going. Ochino himself, in a conversation 
 with Paul Knibb* decidedly denied, not the meeting itself, but 
 what had been related concerning the alleged conference, namely, 
 
 that he had said he would be neither a Bullingerian nor a Cal- 
 vinist, nor a Papist, hut simply a Christian. In his zeal against 
 Ochino, Beza allowed himself to be led into still more flagrant 
 misrepresentations. 
 
 Ochino employed the interval of quiet, afforded him by his 
 stay at Nuremberg, in composing a defence for himself, directed 
 against the ministry at Zurich. f "Carnal Wisdom," already 
 encountered in one of the Augsburg Dialogues of 1546, whispers 
 to him, " You have fallen into danger, poverty, and shame, be- 
 cause you would not allow yourself to be guided by me. It is 
 time that you should open your eyes and acknowledge the great- 
 ness of your error in rejecting my advice." Ochino replies, "Yon 
 are blind in spiritual matters, and therefore I, to you, seem 
 miserable. But you are mistaken. In truth, I am happy, not 
 only because I have been counted worthy to suffer for Christ's 
 sake, but also because, though old and weak and surrounded by 
 enemies, I have been preserved through the wonderful guidance 
 of God. During this last persecution I felt that the more the 
 world east me out the nearer did God draw me to Himself. 
 Never have I so tasted His love as now, when in the evening of 
 my days he has tried me so severely. Nor have I ever felt the 
 love of my friends so deeply as during this banishment, You 
 are in error therefore, when, judging from outward appearances, 
 you regard me as unfortunate." Carnal Wisdom replies, " If 
 God cared for you especially, then you might certainly be in 
 some degree blessed, but you imagine to yourself what is not the 
 case. In the next place it was not zeal for the glory of Cod that 
 prompted you to write your Dialogues." Carnal Wisdom then 
 
 * Knibb to Bullinuar, Easter 1564, MS. iu Siinniler's Collection, 
 t Dialogo. Appendix, No. 49. Schelhorn Las given what was probably the hist 
 edition of this pamphlet in the Ergotzliehkeiten, iii., pp. 200'J-^(Joj.
 
 280 BERNARDINO OCHINO. 
 
 brings forward the two accusations levelled against Ocbino by 
 the Zurich theologians in their statement respecting the twenty- 
 first Dialogue, namely, that first it was not allowable to discuss 
 such dangerous subjects publicly, and secondly, that Ochino had 
 not defended Monogamy so forcibly as he ought to have done. 
 To the first charge Ochino replies by referring to the example of 
 Martyr. "With respect to the second, he says, "Polygamy is 
 impious, immoral, and contrary to Holy Scripture. It follows 
 therefore that all arguments in its favour, not only those put for- 
 ward by my opponent, but all arguments that could ever be 
 adduced, are powerless and sophistical. Truth, by its own 
 strength, will resist them, and can only be the gainer by the 
 struggle. The Word of God itself clearly lays down that a man 
 ought not to have more than one wife. Now, as God does not 
 contradict Himself, it will be impossible for the adversary to 
 prove from the Word of God that polygamy is sanctioned by it. 
 I have brought forward all the reasons against it which it is 
 customary to bring, more reasons, indeed, and stronger than have 
 been given by others." Carnal Wisdom now applies itself to a 
 reflection of a more general nature. " Shall I prove to you that, 
 in your other Dialogues also, you are opposed to the opinions of 
 the Reformed Church ? " This Ochino does not deny, but claims 
 for himself unconditionally the right' to search after truth. " The 
 true Churches of Christ," he replies, "cannot complain of me, be- 
 cause I carefully examine such doubts as may present them- 
 selves. But if the arguments of some, which I reproduce in the 
 Dialogues, prove weak, and the counter arguments strong, I am 
 not to blame for this, for I cannot overcome good arguments. 
 The fault lies with those who desire that errors should be de- 
 fended in the name of truth." Ochino then reverts to his per- 
 sonal concerns. He speaks, not without some self-consciousness, 
 of his activity hitherto, his blameless life, and his fulfilment of 
 the duties of his office at Zurich. " All this," he continues, " has 
 not been taken into consideration. I have been rejected in my 
 seventy -seventh year when in ill health, with four young
 
 THE END. 281 
 
 children, ami in mid-winter. I have been condemned unheard. 
 When [ was summoned before the commissioners to hear my 
 sentenee, 1 excused myself and represented the simple truth to 
 
 them. They then showed some compassion towards me and 
 assuivd me repeatedly of their regret, and that on the following 
 Wednesday the matter should be discussed again in Conned. I 
 am nol aware it* they have done so, but be that as it may, the 
 sentenee has not been altered. The little that I possessed they 
 have sold, or, shall I say squandered ? If they bring forward, as 
 an excuse, that I knowingly transgressed the law, which declares 
 the approval of the Zurich Censorship necessary even for books 
 that appear elsewhere, — this is a lie, as 1 was in ignorance of this 
 decree. Even the three theologians, who requested me in the 
 spring to have no more books published out of Zurich without 
 the approval of the Council, made this communication to me as 
 a piece of advice only, not in the name of the authorities. And 
 I never thought that Bullinger was Pope in Zurich, and that not 
 his decrees only, but his private wishes must needs be obeyed." 
 He subjoins a series of charges against Bullinger — attacking him 
 as overbearing and striving after too high a position ; as regard- 
 ing foreigners, Italians especially, with spite; as distrusting 
 learned men, for fear lest they should refute him; and finally, as 
 having persecuted Ochino himself, personally, ever since he had 
 received the appointment at Zurich. Such attacks can only be 
 accounted for by recalling Ochino's miserable condition, and the 
 deep wounds which the feelings of the injured man had received. 
 The irritated mood induced by the memory of his wrongs is quite 
 out of harmony with the resignation to God's will, expressed in 
 the commencement of the Dialogue. We shall return to the 
 separate points of doctrine, in which he represents the Zurich 
 theologians as in error, when we discuss the remaining Dialogues 
 of the Basle edition. 
 
 Ochino caused his defence to be circulated in the Valtellina, 
 probably in MS. copies only, one of which, sent from Chur on 
 March 20th, came into Lullinger's hands. Fabritius wrote with
 
 282 BERNARDINO OCHINO. 
 
 it,* " Let it be translated into Latin, so that you may acquaint 
 the Senate of Nuremberg with it as soon as possible. It has not 
 yet been printed." Bullinger wrote back under date, March 24th : 
 " I return Ochino's Dialogue. He has portrayed himself so plainly 
 in its pages, that those who did not know him before, must now 
 have their eyes opened." -f- Before the end of the month, a reply 
 appeared from the ministry at Zurich. J It was intended to 
 justify the proceedings of the Council against Ochiuo, once more 
 giving a detailed account of the whole affair, "in order that all 
 who have heard of it may now perceive that the old man was 
 unworthy of the leniency (!) shown to him by the Council of 
 Zurich." This pamphlet is written in Latin, and first relates 
 the incidents of the Basle fair, and afterwards Ochino's accu- 
 sation and condemnation at Zurich. The abstract § relating to 
 Ochino's remaining Dialogues, and which the three theologians 
 had also handed over to the Council, is here in the main part 
 reproduced. Upon how susceptible an age Ochino's utterances 
 had fallen, appears from the circumstance that he was reproached 
 on such grounds as the following, by the authors of the "Spongia ". 
 " In the Twenty-seventh Dialogue," they say, " he introduces a 
 certain Eusebius, who relates that he has visited all the reformed 
 Churches trying to discover one in which he could remain, but 
 has not succeeded in finding one in which he can live according 
 to the dictates of his conscience." " It is with me," he says, " as 
 with Noah's dove, who returned to the ark when she could find 
 no resting place. In like manner do I, now that no stainless 
 Chinch can I find, return to Hungary, hoping there, by God's 
 help, to found a Church myself, which shall be free from all the 
 
 * Letter in Simmler's Collection. 
 
 t Letter in Simmler's Collection. 
 
 X Spongia adversus aspergines Bernardini Ochini qua verae causae exponuntur, 
 ob quas ille ab Urbe Tigurina fuit relegatus. Printed with Hottinger's Hist. Eccl. 
 Novi Testamenti, torn ix., p. 475 ff, and with Schelhorn's Ergotzlichkeiten, iii., p. 
 217 ff. 
 
 § Short abstract of certain offensive, distorted, and erroneous doctrines of 
 Bernardino Ochino, taken out of the two volumes of his Thirty Dialogues. 
 Simmler's Collection, Zurich.
 
 TUB END. 283 
 
 defects that have so displeased me in other Churches." They 
 say, besides, that in the same Dialogue Ochino wrongfully 
 blames the custom of bowing at the name of Jesus, kneeling 
 during prayers, and uncovering the head upon entering Church, 
 
 and, on the other hand, praises and recommends monasticism 
 and scholasticism. This last is only a distortion of the passage 
 already quoted to prove that Ochino rightly appreciated the 
 influence his conventual education had exercised on his sub- 
 sequent development. 
 
 The manifold accusations directed against Ochino, first by the 
 two written expositions of the Zurich theologians, afterwards by 
 other opponents, Catholic and Protestant, may be divided, so far 
 as they regard his theological opinions, into three principal 
 groups. In discussing these, we shall have occasion to enter 
 into a closer examination of the more important among the 
 Thirty Dialogues. 
 
 The charge of impiety is brought against Ochino in the 
 most wanton and inconsiderate manner. To those who are ac- 
 quainted with Ochino's life and opinions, any special refutation 
 of this calumny would be superfluous. It appears that the origin 
 of this accusation must be referred to his contemporary, 
 Cardinal Hosius, who wrote : " I believe that for the last hundred 
 years no more pernicious heretic has existed than Bernardino 
 Ochino, who even dared to throw doubts upon God's existence, 
 and on I lis care for the fortunes of mankind." * Hosius repeated 
 the same charge in a letter which he wrote in 1584 to Nicolaus 
 Radziwil, of Cologne. Accusations such as these may account 
 for Ochino's name having been mentioned in connection with 
 the notorious work "De tribus Impostoribus ". The origin of the 
 idle saying that there have existed on earth three chief impostors, 
 Moses, Christ, and Mohammed, may be traced back as far as the 
 twelfth century. It is significant that a professor of the 
 Parisian School of Theology, Simon Tornacensis, was reported to 
 
 * Stanislai Resli Vita card. Hosii, Eomae 1587. P. 234 ff. The date of the 
 letter is not ffiven.
 
 284 BERNARDINO OCHINO. 
 
 be the author. Subsequently it was attributed to the Emperor 
 Frederick II. by his enemies. A pamphlet with this title (1201) 
 which did not appear till the sixteenth century, was attributed 
 to various persons — by most to Pietro Aretino, by others to 
 Boccaccio and William Postel. Later, we find Ochino referred 
 to as the probable author, but there is no authority for this 
 statement beyond the malignant tradition current about him. 
 
 The first traces of another tradition which would rank Ochino 
 among the Socinians, we have already found- in the statement 
 that he took part in the Vicentine conferences of 1546, but this 
 is proved chronologically to be incorrect. Similar accusations 
 were brought against Ochino, when, in 1555, he published his 
 Dialogue on Purgatory. He was reported to have depreciated 
 the work and merit of Christ. We have seen how Ochino justi- 
 fied himself against such reproaches, and his writings give us a 
 clearer insight into his views at the time. Already in his 
 Geneva Prediche he had ceased to found the certainty of 
 salvation unconditionally upon Anselm's theory of satisfaction 
 through the death of Christ. It is in accordance with the 
 fundamental characteristics of his whole being, and also with 
 his personal religious experience, that, in his later writings, he 
 lays more stress upon the subjective idea in the Atonement, the 
 unconditional self-surrender of the individual to God, through 
 faith in His mercy and love. That salvation is based upon the 
 vicarious sacrifice of Christ, is an idea which thus naturally falls 
 into the background. The process which the general sentiment 
 of Protestantism has slowly been undergoing during the course 
 of centuries we find prefigured, and, to a certain extent, worked 
 out in the development of Ochino. The " Thirty Dialogues ", 
 taken together with Ochino's earlier writings, afford sufficient 
 material for us to determine his own position, with regard to 
 those questions relating to Christ's Person and Work, which were 
 discussed at that time with such violent party spirit. It becomes 
 evident that, towards the close of his life, doubts began to arise 
 in his mind concerning those formulas offered as the solution of
 
 THE END. 285 
 
 such questions by the Protestant dogmatism of the time. The 
 peculiar form of the " Dialogue", in which he composed his last 
 work, makes it the more difficult clearly to ascertain his own 
 opinion in particular cases. Thus Trechsel * makes it a reproach 
 to him "thai he himself did uot always hold the opinion which 
 he puts forward in his name, and which he seems to defend, see- 
 ing that hi' makes his opponent far stronger than himself, and 
 bring forward arguments which he is either unable or unwilling 
 to refute by stronger ones. The three Zurich theologians had 
 made a similar reproach, and the remark, indeed, is not without 
 foundation. But we may a>k whether it were really a matter of 
 reproach to Ochino, that he gave such a part to his opponent in 
 the Dialogue. This question really relates to the form, and will 
 be answered in the affirmative by those only who feel no doubt 
 concerning what is dogmatically iixed, whatever the form in 
 which it may be brought forward. 
 
 The preface to the first part of the Thirty Dialogues is addressed 
 to the Earl of Bedford. Ochino says : " I believe there is nothing 
 in Holy Scripture so salutary and so necessary for us to know, as 
 the fact that Jesus is the true Messiah; for whosoever believes 
 this sees in Jesus the highest innocence, love, and power, a striv- 
 ing and a direction of mind which serve the purposes of religion 
 exclusively, and combine to the fullest extent all gifts and ad- 
 vantages. It is thus that Moses and the prophets prophesied 
 concerning Him. ' He that believeth in me shall not taste of 
 death, but shall have eternal life.' When I considered how 
 blessed was this knowledge, how Divine its fruit, I felt myself 
 impelled to write down some dialogues upon it. And as I know 
 how piously and how faithfully you are devoted to Jesus, I dedi- 
 cate this book to you, in the hope that its perusal may make 
 Christ yet nearer and dearer to you than before." We must con- 
 fine our notice of this extensive work to the shortest limits, but, 
 as a specimen, we give the train of thought in the first Dialogue. 
 Ochino is conversing with a Jew, Jacob, concerning the Messiah- 
 
 * Trechsel, Lelio Sozini, p. 233.
 
 286 BERNARDINO OCHINO. 
 
 ship of Jesus. Ochino asks, " Why do you not believe that Jesus 
 is the Messiah?" "Because of the superstitious histories and 
 teaching that we find in your Church, the worship of images, 
 prayers to the saints, the doctrines of transubstantiation and con- 
 fession. Did not Jesus institute all these?" "If it were so," 
 Ochino retorts, "you would be in the right, but such is far from 
 being the case." " AVhy, then, do you not observe the Divine 
 ordinances of circumcision, and the Sabbath-day ?" asks the Jew. 
 " Circumcision was a sign, till the coming of Christ, but now it 
 is replaced by Christ's institution of baptism. The true celebra- 
 tion of the Sabbath consists in doing good, and exalting the glory 
 of God, and the object of Sunday is, that we may hear God's 
 word in common." " Against the Messiahship of Christ," inter- 
 poses Jacob, " we have also the words of the Prophet Malachi, 
 when he says, in the fourth chapter, that ' Elias must first come, 
 before Messiah shall appear. For Elias has not yet come.' " " But 
 that was John the Baptist. That Jesus was, indeed, the true 
 Messiah, appears also from this, that the Jewish people, for 
 fifteen hundred years, have endured so severe a punishment for 
 rejecting Him. This is proved also by Jacob's blessing (Gen. 
 xlix.), ' The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, until Shiloh 
 come ;' but, since the coming of Jesus, the sceptre has been 
 taken away from him. As the fruit succeeds the flower, so has the 
 gospel succeeded the law. Only the moral law remains of the 
 old covenant ; the ceremonial law binds us no longer. In Jesus 
 have all the prophecies of the prophets been fulfilled. His own 
 witness of Himself, His deeds and His resurrection, constitute an 
 incontrovertible proof that He is the Messiah." "All this," re- 
 plies the Jew, evasively, " will not oblige me to recognise Jesus 
 as the Messiah. I should only he convinced by a proof that 
 mankind, through Him, are saved and made blessed, for this 
 alone corresponds to the idea of Messiah. But it is evident that, 
 after the coming of Jesus, the world and men have been no better 
 or happier than they were before." " You are making," Ochino 
 replies, " unwarranted demands upon the Messiah. He was not
 
 THE END. 287 
 
 to come in order to release us from outward sufferings, and 
 render us rich and powerful, but to found for us a heavenly 
 kingdom." Such was God's design, which Jesus has carried 
 out. When you say that matters in this world are no hetter 
 than they were before Christ appeared, and conclude from this 
 thai Messiah is not yet come, you an- thinking to yourself of an 
 earthly Messiah. But He is to be a spiritual Messiah, and I will 
 prove it to you out of Moses and the prophets. The proof fol- 
 lows in the second Dialogue. It is certainly shown there that 
 a number of passages in the Old Testament, which have been, 
 and are to this day, traditionally regarded as relating to the 
 M( ssiah (among others the often-quoted passage, Job xix. 25), 
 neither contain, nor are intended to contain, any prophecies on 
 the subject. Still, the whole of the second Dialogue, and also 
 those that follow, leave on the reader the impression they pro- 
 duced on the theologian Wolff, when he says, "When Ochino is 
 disputing against Jewish opinions, he is incomparable."* With 
 regard to the further question, as to whether Ochino, in his later 
 development, is justly or unjustly counted among the Socinians, 
 his contemporaries were as little able to agree as posterity. 
 Mosheim-f- also declares the question an open one ; but the fact 
 did not escape his keen penetration that, " in certain points, 
 Ochino's views were bolder and more advanced than his contem- 
 poraries would allow."J It has already been observed that a 
 gradual change was wrought in Ochino's opinions, which is signi- 
 ficant, and even typical of the development of general theological 
 thought in modern times. And it cannot be denied that the 
 reason for this must be sought in the fact that the Socinians' 
 views respecting redemption, though forcibly expelled from the 
 doctrine of the Church, have gradually crept in again with greater 
 or less modifications. 
 
 * Schelhorn Ergotzlichkeiten, p. 1192. 
 
 f Instit. hist. eccl. aut. et rec, p. 812: non satis apertum est, jurene an injuria 
 Socinuinis annumeretur. 
 
 X Ibid, p. 78S : Audacius quam haec aetas ferebat et secus quam Helvetonun 
 Tbeologos de multis rebus virum sentisse libri ejus demonstrant.
 
 288 BERNARDINO OCHINO. 
 
 We are enabled to give a more decided answer to a third tra- 
 ditional idea, connected with the former, and which places 
 Ochino among those who contest the Trinity. For this we must 
 consider two of the Dialogues of 1563, the 19th and 20th. The 
 ministers of Zurich, in their refutation, say of these Dialogues, 
 " On the subject of the holy mystery of the Trinity, the Divinity 
 of our Lord Jesus Christ and of the Holy Ghost, the casuistry 
 exhausts all the arguments of the worst heretics, and defends 
 their iniquitous and blasphemous opinions far better and more 
 forcibly than it afterwards attacks and refutes them. May we 
 not then assert that Ochino, instead of defending the orthodox, 
 universal doctrine, recommends rather the impure doctrine of the 
 adversary ? He has terribly confused and distorted certain plain 
 passages of Scripture, bearing witness to the Divinity of Christ as 
 the Son of God." The "Short Abstract" handed over to the 
 Council by the three theologians makes a similar statement, 
 almost in the same words. 
 
 The Dialogues are dedicated to Prince Mcolaus Eadiziwil, but 
 the prince complained later in a letter to Calvin that he never 
 received them. Probably they had been intercepted to prevent 
 them from penetrating into Poland. In the preface Ochino de- 
 clares that he had been urged by dear friends to write these Dia- 
 logues, and that certain groundless accusations directed against 
 him had also prompted him to the undertaking. Concerning the 
 treatment of the subject, he lays down as a rule that passages of 
 Holy Scripture only are conclusive, but not the opinions of the 
 Fathers of the Church, nor those of the later dogmatists, nor even 
 the decrees of the Councils. The nineteenth Dialogue bears the 
 following title, " Concerning the Holy Trinity. It is shown in 
 the same that there exist three Divine Persons; Father, Son, 
 and Holy Ghost, differing in themselves, but consubstantial and 
 alike eternal. The passages and arguments which it is customary 
 to bring forward against this are here refuted." Ochino discourses 
 with a spirit — the Spirit of doubt, always ready to hand with 
 objections, whilst Ochino himself represents the traditional
 
 THE END. 280 
 
 doctrine adopted also by the Reformers. The conversation is 
 connected with the Dialogues of the first book. "Dost thou 
 believe," says the Spirit, "thai Jesus is the Messiah?" "Yes." 
 "And also that lie is the Son of God ?" "Yes; firstly, because 
 H<>, as man, received Bis being from (rod; secondly, because He 
 Mas the greatest Prophet, Priest, and King; thirdly, because He 
 waa begotten by the Holy Ghost, and not after the manner of 
 men ; and lastly, He is the Son of God through participation in 
 His divinity, wisdom, might, beauty, goodness, justice, mercy, 
 and all other divine perfections. But this is not to say that God 
 is so contained in Christ that He cannot at the same time be 
 everywhere, since He is infinite and fills heaven and earth." 
 Ochino quotes a number of biblical passages in proof of this. 
 The Spirit asks, moreover, " Dost thou then believe that Christ 
 is God's only begotten Son ? " " Yes." " But the Scriptures 
 speak of many sons of God." " Christ," retorts Ochino, " is only 
 begotten in this wise, that He alone among the elect is the 
 highest Prophet, Priest, and King, that He alone was conceived 
 by the Holy Ghost, that to Him alone has God given of His 
 Spirit without measure, that in Him alone lie hidden all treasures 
 of divine wisdom and knowledge, that He alone has been without 
 sin. If we go more closely," he continues, "into the question of 
 the Trinity we must consider two points, — first and chiefest, if 
 such a thing exists at all ; and secondly, whether faith in the 
 same is necessary to salvation." The first question is discussed 
 in the nineteenth, the second in the twentieth Dialogue. The 
 existence of a Divine Trinity may, Ochino shows* be proved on 
 speculative grounds from our conception of God. For to perfec- 
 tion belong the powers of generation and production ; but in God 
 there are two productive principles, wisdom and will, therefore 
 in Him there are two produced, — in all three persons. To this 
 the adversary objects, " This perfection would therefore be want- 
 ing in the two persons produced, or at least in the Holy Ghost ; 
 besides, why should not the Father, instead of two, have produced 
 
 * Compare Trechsel. Ibid., p. 236 ff.
 
 290 BERNARDINO OCHINO. 
 
 innumerable Hypostases?" Ochino cannot entirely parry the first 
 objection ; to the second he gives this striking answer (p. 24), 
 "All these sons and spirits would have been indistinguishable 
 from one another, therefore identical, therefore after all but one 
 Son and one Spirit." The opponent raises a similar objection. 
 "There would have been this difference between the Son and 
 Sjfirit, that one would have been brought forth before the other." 
 Ochino parries this objection also, " As the Father has begotten 
 both of necessity, and from all eternity, no reason can be found 
 for assigning to either a priority in time." The adversary then 
 brings his attack to bear upon the most difficult part of the 
 whole dogma : how it can be possible to conceive, together with 
 the Unity of the Divine Being, the Trinity of the Hypostases ? 
 The scholastic theology, and afterwards the doctrine of reformed 
 Protestantism, had attempted to solve this problem by dis- 
 tinguishing three relations, called in their barbarous Latin, — 
 Paternity, Filiation, and Spiration ; these three relations were to 
 denote the peculiarities of the separate divine Hypostases. In 
 opposition to this it is remarked (p. 32), " If these relations are 
 real, paternity must, by the act of production, pass over to 
 the Son, paternity and filiation on the Holy Ghost. A further 
 objection raised is this. The idea of communication excludes 
 co-eternity, just as the idea of the Son's being sent by the Father 
 excludes the equality of the former with the latter ; yea, when 
 Christ declares, ' The Father is greater than I,' if we assume the 
 three persons to be equal, we are led to the absurd deduction 
 that the Father is greater, not only than the Son, but also than 
 Himself." To these objections Ochino is unable to give a satis- 
 factory answer. At length he takes refuge in saying "that the 
 dogma is in itself one of extreme difficulty, but that it is derived 
 from the Holy Scriptures." " The Trinity is hardly susceptible 
 of discussion ; we should regard it with reverence and faith, and 
 not overstep the limits which God has set to his revelation there- 
 of. I am satisfied with the belief that there are three Divine 
 Persons and but one Divine Being, as I will prove to you clearly
 
 THE END. 201 
 
 out of IToly Scripture." But before Ochino passes on to the 
 Scriptural proofs, the adversary briefly sets forth a string of other 
 theories about the nature of God, more or less Bharply opposed 
 to the Church doctrine just discussed. " The testimonies of Boly 
 Scripture," he remarks, " are to he estimated, not according to their 
 number, but according to their clearness and power of conviction. 
 In explaining them we may employ such means only as the 
 Bible itself affords as, and on no account call the authority of 
 councils to our aid. In any case it is to be regretted that belief 
 in the Trinity, according to the Church's doctrine, has been so 
 strongly impressed upon Christians, that they scarcely dare to 
 raise a discussion on the subject. But if any one goes so far as 
 to deny it, not only do his words remain without fruit, but he 
 himself is regarded as a heretic and a fool, and is persecuted and 
 burnt. Yet, perhaps, it is quite as necessary that this doctrine 
 should be tested afresh from the Scripture, as that of the bodily 
 presence of Christ in the Lord's Supper. How different were 
 Luther and Zwingli They did not shrink from attacking 
 ancient errors, and who knows whether they might not have 
 ventured to touch upon the doctrine of the Trinity, if God had 
 d them for this, or if they had pondered it more nearly, or if 
 they had not been deterred by the burden of such an under- 
 taking" 
 
 Hereupon follows the discussion of the appropriate texts. It 
 occupies no less than 90 pages (48-138), extends over all those 
 passages which are usually brought forward as proofs of Christ's 
 Divine nature, His part in the creation, the eternity and pre- 
 exist ''nee of the "Logos", and the unity of Christ with God, and 
 what can be gathered from His own sayings, His miracles, and 
 forgiveness of sins through Him. 
 
 Ochino is sometimes able to uphold the traditional explana- 
 tion, but some passages the adversary refutes by overwhelming 
 arguments. Still, at the close, Ochino is far from regarding his 
 cause as lost. "Although Christ," he says (p. 130), "nowhere 
 has said 'I am God', yet He often expressed Himself in a
 
 292 BERNARDINO OCHINO. 
 
 manner which clearly manifests His Divinity." "I might," he 
 adds (p. 138), "quote other Scriptural passages, but those already 
 adduced will suffice, and if all the passages do not irrefragably 
 prove the Divinity of Christ, yet from many it may most cer- 
 tainly be inferred, and the remainder are calculated to confirm us 
 in the truth." Ochino expresses himself in a similar manner 
 after briefly discussing certain passages relating to the personality 
 of the Holy Ghost. 
 
 This, however, only brings to an end the first question. The 
 second, whether belief in the Trinity is necessary to salvation, is 
 treated in the twentieth Dialogue. The adversary gives a 
 negative, Ochino an affirmative reply. The adversary chiefly 
 insists that the doctrine of the Trinity has no practical import, 
 that it contributes nothing to our knowledge of God's goodness, 
 nor incites us to love Him more fervently. Ochino holds the 
 contrary opinion — that the value of the doctrine lies in its 
 practical import, that it shows forth God's goodness and love in 
 a remarkable and fundamental manner, but that it is desirable, 
 just on this account to disregard scholastic subtleties and, be- 
 lieving, to reverence the mystery of the Trinity. " It is enough," 
 he says (p. 183), " to believe that the Word has been since the 
 beginning made flesh, as the Scripture certifies. But how 
 this took place I do not know, because God has not revealed it 
 unto me in His Word, and He has not revealed it to me because 
 it was not necessary for my salvation." It is quite evident from 
 what has been quoted, that although in this Dialogue Ochino 
 makes himself the representative of the traditional Church 
 doctrine of the Trinity, which he defends against the shrewd 
 objections of the " Spirit ", he is nevertheless convinced of the 
 necessity for a revision of this doctrine. He does not clearly 
 indicate, but leads us rather to infer the point where this revision 
 is required ; it must proceed from the religious import of the 
 idea, expressed by the doctrine in question. It is this practical 
 religious import alone which in Ochino's eyes constitutes a 
 sufficient test of its value. " Whatever lies beyond," he says,
 
 THE END. 293 
 
 "is of evil, for it is idle, speculation which contributes nothing 
 towards kindling a pure love of God in our hearts, or incren 
 our reverence and gratitude to Him." 
 
 From all this it becomes quite explicable how Ochino's ex- 
 pressions, such as these, should have met with the most violent 
 opposition from his adversaries. Tt is more astonishing that they 
 should have extended the same opposition to statements in which 
 questions of dogma are not touched upon, as for instance, the 
 Tw< ntieth Dialogue, which treats of the punishing of heretics 
 with death. This Dialogue is dedicated to King Sigismund II. 
 of Poland. "I have been induced," he says in the preface, "to 
 agitate this question, because in the present day many are in 
 doubt whether it be right or wrong to punish heretics with 
 death. And as I have heard that a door is opened to the gospel 
 in your kingdom, and as I fear lest Satan should sow heresy in 
 it, I wish to assist 3 T ou in exactly recognising what is your duty 
 with regard to this, and therefore dedicate the following Dialogue 
 to you." The Dialogue is a conversation between Pope Pius IV. 
 and Cardinal Morone. It may have been the sad condition of 
 the evangelical party in his own country which prompted Ochino 
 to select these personages. Pius IAVs predecessor had been Paul 
 IV., that same Caraffa who was the originator of the Inquisition 
 in Italy. Caraffa had kept the vow of his youth. Raised, when 
 tar advanced in years, to the Papal Chair, which he occupied 
 from 1555 to 1559, he forcibly suppressed every movement of 
 lorn within his religious jurisdiction. He became the cruel 
 reinstater of the " Unity of Faith " in Italy. Better days appeared 
 to have dawned under his successor, but it was only the calm 
 before the storm, which burst in even greater fury under Pius V., 
 the • Fra Michele dell' Inquisizione." 
 
 < lardinal Morone had himself in his time been cited before the 
 tribunal of the Inquisition. He was accused of heresy, and of 
 associating with heretics, and also on account of the circulation 
 of the pamphlet "Concerning the .Merit of Christ". But the 
 proofs were insufficient, and thus Morone, after a long imprison-
 
 294 BERNARDINO OCHINO. 
 
 ment, was, in 1560, released from the Castle of St. Augelo at 
 Eome. In the Dialogue in question the Cardinal emphatically 
 maintains the principle that those who have erred in matters of 
 doctrine should be led back to the right way, but that they 
 should not be put to death whether they err knowingly or 
 io-norantly. The Pope's reference to certain passages of the Old 
 Testament, which seem to prescribe the punishment of death for 
 those who have fallen away from the faith, Morone refutes by 
 declaring that we, as Christians are bound, indeed, to obey the 
 moral law, but not the ceremonial law of the Old Covenant. He 
 adduces the example and sayings of Christ, which commend for- 
 bearance and mercy, especially the parable of the tares among 
 the wheat. " It is evident from this that we ought not to put 
 heretics to death, for, seeing that they live mingled among the 
 elect, and it is difficult to distinguish them apart, the punish- 
 ment might fall also upon one of the elect." Yet, in the course 
 of the Dialogue, Morone so far concedes to the Pope as to allow 
 that cases of obstinate blasphemy are conceivable, in which 
 no choice would remain to the community but to inflict death 
 for example's sake. Ochino, certainly, by giving a list of twelve 
 conditions, all of which must exist, narrows this concession, until 
 the liability to capital punishment becomes merely nominal. 
 The thoughts here expressed by Ochino, and the standpoint he 
 represents, have, in the course of time, become common-places, 
 but they far transcended the general intellectual level of his 
 own time. The period of the Eeformation did not allow of 
 the principle of religious toleration to be reduced to practice, it 
 cast the seed into the ground, but long development was, and is 
 still required to rear the tree itself. We may say of Ochino, 
 what has been said of his friend Castellio : " He was, in his age, 
 the representative of the free and tolerant spirit, which has only 
 in late times prevailed and become no longer dangerous." * 
 
 It is probable that another of Ochino's Dialogues belongs also 
 to the year 1563. This was either left unfinished, or, in any 
 
 * Henry, Life of Calvin, ii., p. 383.
 
 Till'. KND. 295 
 
 case, has only come down to us as a fragment.* This i< a con- 
 versation upon tin- idea of ain, ami is carried on between the 
 soul and moral philosophy, scholastic theology, and "Divine 
 theology" in turn. The Dialogue is designed to show : 
 
 neither moral philosophy nor scholastic theology is capable of 
 giving a true idea of sin, hut Divine theology has power to do 
 this. Unfortunately, at the very point when the soul is about 
 to converse with the latter, the Dialogue breaks off. It exists 
 only in MS. There is a copy in the possession of Count Guicciar- 
 dini, at Florence. A closer comparison of this fragment, with 
 the Twenty-ninth of the Thirty Dialogues, shows that we have 
 in the former a further development of the thoughts contained 
 in the latter; thus the date we have assigned to the composition 
 above is presumably the correct one. AVe may take this oppor- 
 tunity of stating that the Cantonal Library of Zurich contains a 
 printed Dialogue in the Italian language, carried on between 
 " Fedele " and " Ministro ", supposed to be written by Ochino, and 
 which treats of the authority of Holy Scripture, of salvation 
 through the " Popish religion ", and the vows of holy orders. 
 It is full of sharp polemics, directed against the traditional 
 Catholic views. If this Dialogue, which bears no indication of 
 time or place, nor the name of the author, be rightly ascribed to 
 Ochino, it must belong to the latter part of his residence at 
 Zurich. 
 
 In February or March 1564, Ochino made a journey from 
 Number- to Frankfort-on-the-Maine. He had a small sum of 
 money to draw — perhaps a debt owing from his bookseller. Paul 
 Knibb, a scholar and a friend of Bullinger's, visited him there, 
 and we are indebted to his above-mentioned detailed account of 
 the conversation for some interesting particulars. When Knibb 
 entered the parlour of the inn, Ochino was occupied in dictating 
 to a scribe a writing in Italian against the Church of Zurich, 
 complaining of his cruel sentence, evidently his letter of defence 
 against the Zurich ministry. The conversation first turned upon 
 * Appendix, No. 8.
 
 296 BERNARDINO OCHINO. 
 
 the publication of the Thirty Dialogues. "I did not expect," 
 said Ochino, " that they would proceed thus against me, for I did 
 no more than set forth the different conflicting opinions. Besides, 
 the doctrine of the Zurich and Geneva theologians cannot claim 
 to be infallible ; even their chief representatives, Peter Martyr 
 and Calvin, were long in doubt respecting important questions." 
 Ochino then touched upon the report, circulated by his enemies, 
 of his conversation with the Cardinal of Loraine, and innumerable 
 other incidents of the latter time. Then he sat down to dinner. 
 But sorrow overmastered him. He burst into tears, exclaiming, 
 " Oh, Bullinger, Bullinger, had any one told me a month ago 
 that thou wouldst act thus, I should have replied to him, ' Thou 
 sayest false;' and yet," he added, "in spite of all the misery that 
 has come upon me and my children, I am happier now than ever. 
 Now only am I become a true Apostle. Nevertheless, I would 
 gladly return to Zurich, and be reconciled to them, but I know 
 that what has once been decreed must be maintained, and that I 
 should not be received there again." 
 
 Ochino, indeed, made no attempt to obtain permission to return 
 to Zurich. As he was denied a permanent residence in Nurn- 
 berg, he went to Poland. Already, when in Basle, he appears to 
 have expressed his intention of going there. In the meantime, 
 the Eoman Curia had been apprised of Ochino' s expulsion from 
 Zurich. His old enemies in Eome exulted. On the 5th of 
 February 1564, Cardinal Borromeo wrote from there to Cardinal 
 Commendone, at that time Legate in Poland.* " We hear from 
 Switzerland that the Zurichers, and, after them, the people of 
 Basle, have expelled from their territory that pernicious apostate, 
 Bernardino Ochino of Siena, who, as you know, sowed tares in 
 that city. They have done this because he has published writ- 
 ings of such a nature, that they excite disgust in heretics them- 
 selves. As we are informed that this wretched man intends to 
 betake himself to the kingdom of Poland, his Holiness thinks fit 
 
 * Cypriam Tabularium Ecclesise Rom., saec. xvi., p. 347. It is there erroneously 
 stated that the letter was addressed to Hosius.
 
 THE END. 297 
 
 that you should acquaint his Majesty with the life and noxious 
 character of this individual See to it that he is not received in 
 Poland so that lie may not spoil what is good in the land, and 
 sow greater dissensions in the kingdom." In spite of this, Ochino 
 was not refused admission into Poland. He preached at Cracow 
 to his Italian companions in the faith; he spoke of the trials 
 which had fallen to his share. For his utterances we have, un- 
 fortunately, no testimony, beyond that of a professed adversary* 
 which ran hardly be esteemed reliable. 
 
 But the man " who had been tossed about the world like a 
 ball " was to find no rest in Poland. There can be no doubt that 
 it was principally owing to the Papal legate that a royal edict 
 appeared in the middle of 1564, forbidding all foreigners, not 
 being Catholics, to reside in the land. Commendone had been 
 unable directly to execute the commands of the Curia, and this 
 made him all the more eager in insisting that Ochino should now 
 be banished. 
 
 It was in vain that some of the nobles interfered. They inter- 
 ceded for him with the king, and begged for an exception to be 
 made in favour of this old, infirm, pious, quiet man, and that he 
 should be allowed to remain. But the king was not to be moved. 
 " The law must be obeyed," said he. So for the last time Ochino 
 went into exile. On the way he was struck down by the plague 
 at Pinczow. It carried off three of his children ; he himself re- 
 mained alive. Wearied to death, he bade his friends and com- 
 panions in the faith a last farewell on Advent Sunday. There 
 we lose every trace of him. At the close of the year 1564, he 
 died in solitude at Schlackau, in Moravia. This man, once so 
 highly honoured, shared the fate of those who dared to advance 
 beyond the narrow limits of the age they live in, and to take 
 their own path. No outward sign, no memorial tablet or grave- 
 stone remains of him in the place where he died ; no tradition 
 relates what became of the last of his children who was spared 
 by the fatal disease. All remembrances of his last days have 
 
 * A. M. Graziani Vita Card. Commendoni, p. 134.
 
 29(S BERNARDINO OCHINO. 
 
 been effaced, and his end is so entirely shrouded in darkness, that 
 hostile tradition has ventured to invent for him, on his death- 
 bed, one of its favourite stories of final recantation. But as the 
 scene of this has been laid at Geneva, and the story represents 
 him as having been murdered by the enraged disciples of Calvin, 
 it sufficiently refutes itself. These arbitrary inventions are not 
 requisite in order to maintain interest in the vicissitudes of his 
 life. There is something deeply tragic in being compelled, by 
 the conflict between his opinions and the requirements of his 
 office, to sacrifice everything when in the fulness of his strength, 
 and the height of his activity, that he might obtain peace of con- 
 science. "No sooner had he created for himself new circles of 
 activity in foreign countries, than an implacable fate drove him 
 thence far away," — from Augsburg, from England, from Zurich, 
 — nay, when wearied to death, he was not even allowed to find 
 rest for his head among his friends in Poland. And all the while 
 his powerful mind was unceasingly active, as at first in his native 
 land, so also abroad — ever ready to draw his sharp sword to fight 
 against Antichrist; and when, at the close of his life, he looked 
 back with tears upon his long path of sorrows, he was still able 
 to say, for the consolation of his friends, " I have had to suffer 
 many things, but that is spared to none of Christ's disciples and 
 apostles. But that I have been enabled to endure all things, 
 shows forth the might of the Lord."
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 OCHINO'S WRITINGS 
 
 A.— BEFORE HIE FLIGHT. 
 
 1. 1541— Prediche nove pre- dicate dad Reverendo Padre Frate Bernar- 
 dino » Kliino Senese Ge- nerale dell' ordine di frati Capuzzini nulla incli- ta 
 Citta di Vinegia del mdxxxix. La prima la Domenica di passione. La 
 
 tdail Martedi. La terza il Venerdi. La quarta il sa bato dopala detta 
 Domenica di passione, avan- ti la Domenica dell' Olivo. La quinta il Lune- 
 disanto. La sesta il Giovedi santo. La settima il Lnnedi di Pasqua. 
 La ottava il di della Mad- dalena. La nona il di S. Nicolo alii Scolari in 
 Perugia. Nuovamente date in luce, e co- grandissiina diligenza stampate 
 mdxli. With Ochino's portrait. 8°, 83f<>l. At the end: In Vinegia, per 
 Niccolo d' Aristotile da Ferrara, detto il Zoppino. Ne gli anni del nostro 
 Signore mdxli; Del Mese di Maggio. 
 
 2. 1542.— Dialogi sette del Eleverendo Padre Frate Bernardino Ochino 
 Senese Generale di frati Capuzzini dove si contiene. Nel primo dell' 
 inna- morarsi di Dio, nel secondo il modo di diventar feli- ce, nel terza di 
 conoscer se stesso, nel quarto del la- trone buono nel quinto del pelegnin- 
 
 o per an- dar al paradiso, nel sesto de la disputa di Christo con 
 1' annua. n>l Bettamo et ultimo della divina professione con un spirituale 
 testamento. Nuo- vamente Btampata, el historiata. Con il Privili 
 mdxli. With Ochino's portrait. 8°, 55 fol. At the end: Stampata in 
 Vinetia per Nicolo d' Aristo- tile detto il Zoppino. L' anno MDXXXXII. 
 
 B.— GENEVA. 
 
 3. 1542. — Prediche di Bernardino Ochino da Siena. Si me persecuuti 
 sunt, el voa persequentur sed, Omnia vincit Veritas. 1542, die x Octobris. 
 
 i.; .1 2 M 3. Gem va. 
 
 4. 1543.— Sermones Bernardini Ochini Se- nensis. Joan 12.— Nisi 
 granum frumenti cadens in terra mortuum fuerit, ipsum solum manet : si 
 autem mortu- um fuerit, mulsum Enictum affert. 25 Jannarii 1543. On 
 thereversi of the Htl page; Mat. H>. Si patremfamiliaB vocaverunt Beel- 
 zebub, quanto magia dome Bticos cms .' 8 , Sign.; a 2 — k 5. Geneva. 
 
 5. 1543. — Sermones D. Bernardini Ochini Senensis. (Paint). 2 Thess. 
 2. — Dominus Jesus interticiei Anticbristum Bpiritu oris sui et destruet 
 illu- stratione adventus sui; 1543. Reverse; MEatth. vii.— a fructibus 
 eorum cogno- scetis eos. 8°, tii'jit.; a 2 — h 4. CI n
 
 300 APPENDIX. 
 
 6. 1543. — Epistola Magistir Hie- ronimi Lucensis ad Bernar- dinum 
 Ochinum Se-nensem. Cum responsione eiusdem Bernardini. Geneve. 
 Per Johannem Girardum. 1543. 8°, 55 p., Sign.; a 3 — d 2. Geneva. 
 
 7. 1543. — Responsio Bernardini Ochi- ni Senensis ad Mar- cum Brixi- 
 ensem Ab- batem Ordinis San- cti Benedicti. (Palm). Luc. 21. — Dabo 
 vobis os et sapientiam, cui non po- terunt resistere omnes ad- versarii 
 vestri. 1543. 8°, Sign.; A 2— C 5. Geneva. 
 
 8. 1543. — Bernar- dini Ocbini Senen. Respon- sio ad Mutium Justino- 
 politanum, qua rationem red- dit sui discessus ab Italia. Super omnia vincit 
 Veritas. 1543. 8°, Sign.; a 3— a 5. Nominally ■printed in Venice. 
 
 9. 1543.— Sermones Bernardini Ochini Se- nensis. (Palm). Pressa 
 valentior. Matt. 2. — Omnis qui confitebitur me coram hominibus, con- 
 fitebor et ego eum co- ram patre meo qui in caelis est. 1543. Reverse ; 
 Matt. 8. — Qui erubescit de me et de verbis meis, in gene- ratione ista 
 adultera, et Filius hominis erubescit de eo quando venerit in gloria patris 
 cui cum angelis sauctis. 8°, Sign.; A 3 — B 5. Geneva. 
 
 10. 1543. — Epistola di Bernardino Ochino, Alii mol- to Magnifici 
 Signori, li Signo- ri di Balia della Citta di Siena. (Palm). Pressa 
 valentior. Stampato in Geneva. 1543. Die prima Novembris. 8°, Sign.; 
 A 2—B 3. Geneva. 
 
 11. 1543. — Sermones Bernardini Ocbini, Se- nensis. Joan 5. — Quo- 
 modo vos potestis credere qui gloriam ab invicem accepistis, et gloriam que 
 a solo Deo est, non que ritis ? Stampato in Geneva. 1543. Die tertia 
 Novembris. Reverse; Joan 12. — Diiexerunt eum gloriam ho- milium, 
 magis quam gloriam Dei. 8°, Sign.; a 2 — g 5. Geneva. 
 
 12. 1543? (cp. No. 10 and 8). — Epistre aux magnifiques seigneurs de 
 Siene par Bernardin Ocbin du dit lieu, aux quels il rend raison de sa foy 
 et doctrine, avec une autre epistre a Mutio Justinopolitain par la quelle 
 il rend aussi raison de son departement d'ltalie et du changement de son 
 estat; translated de la langue Italienne. o. 0. 8°, Sign.; a — s. Geneva. 
 
 13. 1544. — Sermones Bernardini Ochini Se- nensis. (Palm). Pressa 
 valentior. Jac. iiii. — Petitis, et non accipitis, eo quod male petatis. 1544. 
 Die 15 Martii. Reverse; Joan iiii. — Venit bora, et nunc est, quan- do veri 
 adoratores adorabunt Pa- trem in spiritu et veritate. 8", Sign.; A 2 — 12. 
 Geneva. 
 
 14. 1544. — L'image de l'Antechrist ; compose en langue Italiene par 
 Bernardin Ochin de Siene, translate' en francoys. (Hand with drawn 
 sword.) L'Agneau qui a este occiz vaincra. 1544. 8°, 16 p., Sign.; A 2 
 — A 5. Geneva. 
 
 15. 1544. — Bernardini Ochini senensis Sermo ex Italico in Latinum 
 ci inversus Coelio Secundo Curione interprete : Quid sit Christum iusti- 
 ficari, turn qui iustificationis modus. In Appendix to Araneus seu de Pro- 
 cidentia Dei, p. 170 — 184. Basil, 1544. 
 
 16. 1544. — Sermones de Fide Bernar- dini Ochini Senensis. (Palm). 
 Pressa valentior. Luc. 18. — Veniens filius hominis, putas in- veniet fidem 
 in terra? 1544. Beverse; Joh. 17. — Post tenebras speio lu- cem. 8°, 
 Sign.; a 2 — o 5. Geneva. 
 
 17. 1545. — Exposi- tione di Bernar- dino Ochino di Siena, sopra la 
 Epistola di S. Paolo alii Romani. (Palm). Pressa valentior. Rom. 10. 
 — Finis legis, Christus ad salu- tern omni credenti. 1545. Geneva. 
 
 C— AUGSBURG. 
 
 18. 1545. — Bern- hardini Ochini Senensis expositio Epistolae divi Pauli
 
 APPENDIX. 301 
 
 ad Romanoa, de [tali- co in latinum translata. Auguatae v*inde- licorum. 
 8°, Sign.; .1 2 6, Augsburg. Philipp Ulha/rt. 
 
 lit. L645. XX. Predige Bern- hardini von Siena : dargnne die flirnemb- 
 aten ick chriBtlicha Glaubens, Nemlich, von der Rechtferti 
 
 durch Christum, und was daran banget, von im beschrieben aeien : 
 Jumassen, wie Ena zuvor vngeuer- lich im Welschland gepredigi bat. 
 Ainem yeden Christen nil allain rriitzlich zuwissen, Bonder auch trostlich 
 zuaehen, wrie das liecht Gottlichs worts allenthalben Beliglich aufgeet. 
 Psalmo cxii. ; den Aufrichtigen gehel das Lichi ant im finsternus, von dem 
 gnedigen, barnherzigen und gerechten. Neuburgi Danubii, Anno 
 Domine mdxlv. 8°, Title-page with marginal designs. Sign.; .12 — Y 5. 
 through s< »i ral editions, and was i reased 
 
 to 26. 
 
 20. 1546. Espositione di Messer Bernardino Ochino Bopra la Epistola 
 di Paulo ai Galati. Impresso ni'l mdxlvi. o. o. 8°, 95 iwwwtin 
 
 21. 1546.— Auaalegung der Epistel S, Pauls zun Romern, durch den 
 hochgelehrten Eerrn Bernhardinum Ochinum von Sena in Welach-Landen 
 
 iriben, yetzun auss dem Latein in Hochdeutsch fleyssig verdoll- 
 metschet. L546. Augspurg, Philipp Dlhart, 8 , hilly*. 
 
 22. L546. Predigen vber die Epistel Pauli zu den Galatern, von Bern- 
 hardino Ochino von Se- nis zu Augspurg offent- lich in Welsch ge- predigt 
 und ver- teutscht. Getruckt zu Augspurg durch Valentin Othmar. 
 mdxlvi. 8°, Title-page with marginal designs. 
 
 -','>. 154t>. — Riposta di Messer Bernardino Ochino alle false calumnie et 
 impie biastemmie di frate Ambro- sio Catharino. Impresso nel mdxlvi. 
 o. 0. 8°, 40 nun a inlh red pages. 
 
 24. 1546 ? — Ain christlichs schones und trostlichs Bett (Gebet), in dem 
 mit wuu- derbaslicher Kurtze, die gantz saligkeit und ge- rechtigkeit, wie 
 die mit Verleugmiss vnd zunichtma- chung sein selber vnd, aus einiger 
 Genad Got- fces durch Christum Jesum, der mensch erlange, gar trostlich 
 vnd reinlich begriffen ist, aampt ainer recht- ten, waren geschriffgeler ten 
 Biblischen vnd christlichen Bergcht. Durch Bernhardinum Ochinum von 
 Senis in Welsch beschri- ben vnd verteutscht. Getruckt zu Augspurg 
 durch Philipp I'rhart. 
 
 25. 154G. — Ain Geaprech der flai- achlichen vernunfft vnd aina Gaiat- 
 lichen oder glaubigen Chrsten- menschen, Von den hendlen, so aich zu 
 diser unserer zeii zutragen, von Bernhardino Ochino von Senis in Welsch 
 beschri- ben, und verteutscht. Mehr ain kurtze Anlaitung, wie man sich 
 im Gebet iiben aolle. (This "instruction" is the tl pra/yer" mentioned 
 
 r 24). Getruckt zu Augspurg, durch Philipp Dlhart. 8°, Sign.; A II. 
 — D in. 
 
 26. 1547. — Von der Hoffnung aines Christlichen Gemiits. Wie die- 
 selbige jr vnzweyfeiche gewiasen- Bchafft, durch den Glauben der Allmach- 
 tigkait, Weisshait, Giite, und Barmhertzigkait Gottes in Christo be- 
 atendigklich yebe. Durch den Gottaaligen vnd Hochge- Lerten Eerren 
 Bernhardino Ochino, kurtz verschmer Zi-it in Italienischer Bprach, im 
 selbs vnd andern gutherzi- yen zu trost gestellt. Getruckt zu Augspurg, 
 durch Philipp Dlhart. 1547. 8 , Sign.; A II.— B III1. 
 
 D.— BASLE and ENGLAND. 
 
 27. (Before 1549).— Prediche di Bernardino Ochino da Siena. Novella- 
 mente ristampate et con grand diligenza rivedute et corrette. Con la sua
 
 302 APPENDIX. 
 
 Tavola nel fine. 8°, o. 0. (Basle), o. T. Sign.; a—z, A—D. Contains 
 the Geneva " Prediche," enumerated under 3, 4, 5. Another slightly different 
 edition of this collection exists. 
 
 28. (Before 1549). — La seconda par- te delli predi- che, di M. Bernardino 
 Ocliino Senese, diligentemente corrette. Con la sua tavola in fine. 8°, 
 o. 0. (Basle), o. T. Sign.; aa — zz, AA—KK. Contains the Geneva 
 "Prediche," enumerated under 9, 11, 12, besides the letters mentioned under 
 8 and 10. There is also another slightly different edition of this collection. 
 
 29 a. The beginninge and endinge of all popery or popish Kyngdome. 
 Done at the charges of Gualter Lynne. With many wooden cuts. 4°. 
 (Ames, Typogr. Ant. of Great Britain, Dibdin'a Edit. 1816, 1, in., 559 n.) 
 
 29 b. 1549. — A Tragoedie or Dialoge of the vniust vsur- ped primacie of 
 the Bishop of Rome and of all the iust abo- lishing of the same, made by 
 Master Bernardine Ochine, an Italian, and translated out of Latine into 
 Englische by Master John Po- net, Doctor of divinitie, never printed 
 in any language. Anno Do. 1549. 8°, 116 fol. Imprynted at London 
 for Gwalter Lynne, dwelling on Somers Kaye by Bellinges Gate. Cum 
 privilegio ad imprimendum solum. Anno Do. 1549. 
 
 30 a. 1548. — Sermons of the ryght famous and excellent Clerke, Master 
 Bernardine Ochine, bor- ne withine the famous vniversyte of Siena in 
 Italy, nowe also an exyle in this life, for the faithfull testimo- ny of Jesus 
 Christ. Psalm cxvii. — I wyll not dye but lyve ande declare the workes of 
 the Lorde. Imprinted at Ippeswich by Anthony Skoloker. Dwellyng in 
 S. Nicholas Paryshe. Anno 1548. Cum privilegio ad imprimendum solum. 
 8°, 32 sheets, a ii. — d iiii. 
 
 30 b. 1550. — Certayne Sermons of the ryghte famous and excellente 
 Clerke Master Bernardine Ochine Borne within the famous universitie of 
 Siena in Italy, nowe also an ex- yle in thys life, for the faithful testimony 
 of Jesus Chryste. Faithfully translated into Englishe. Psalme 118. — I 
 wyll not die but lyve and declare the workes of God. Imprinted at 
 London by Jhon Day : dwelling over Alders- gate beneth S. Martins. 
 These books are to be sold at hys shop in Chepesyde, by the Little Lonndnit 
 at the sygne of the Resurrection. Cum privilegio ad imprimendum solum 
 Per septennium. 
 
 30 c. ? — Fourtene Sermons of Barnardine Ochyne concerning the pre- 
 desti- nacion and elecion of god ; very expedi- ente to the settynge forth of 
 hys glo- rye among hys creatures. Trans- lated out of Italian in to oure 
 natyve tounge by A(nna) C(ook). It is good to hyde the kinges secretes ; 
 but to declare and praise the workes of god, it is an honorable thing. — To. 
 xij. I will say to the north, let go, and to the southe, kepe not backe. . . 
 — Es. xliii. To the ryght worshipful and worthyly beloved Mother the 
 Lady F. hyr humble daughter. Imprynted at London by John Day. 
 
 31. 1551 ? — La terza parta delle Pre- diche di M Bernardino Ochino 
 nelle qualli si tratta della Fede, Speranza et Carita, tanto di- vinamente 
 quanto si possa da ogni pio Christiano desiderare, a uti- lita di quelli i 
 quali cercano intendere la verita del- lo Evangelic Con la sua Tavola al 
 fine. 8°, o. 0. (Basle), o. T. Sign.; Aaa—Zzz, AAa—LLl. There is 
 also another slightly different edition of this collection. 
 
 32. ?— A Sermon declaring how we are Iustified by faith. Imprinted at 
 London by Willia~ hyl at the signe of the grene hyl, and there to be soulde. 
 Reverse of title-page: What is too (sic!) be: iustifyed by Cliriste and the 
 way howe we are iustifyed and reprouynge error concernyng it. Trans- 
 lated out of Latin into Englyshe by E. T. This Writing is no other than 
 the Sermon of Ochino translated by Curione mentioned under n. 15.
 
 APPENDIX. 303 
 
 E.— BASLE and ZURICH. 
 
 33. 1554. — Apologi m ■] I i quali si acuoprano li abusi Bciocheze, u 
 
 stitio ni, errori, idolatrie ei impieta della sinagoga del Papa el | Imente 
 
 de suoi pieti, mo- aaci e [rati. Opera insierae utile el dilectevole. Palm). 
 Pressa valentior. mdliiii. 8°, o. 0. (Geneva). Sign.; A 2- // 4 ; 60 
 Fol. Tmpropt rl/y paged. 
 
 :;.". a. Enlarged German edition of the "Apologie;" Dea hochge- lehrten 
 liinl Gottsaligeo mans Bernardini Ochini von Sends fuuff Bucher siner 
 Apologen. Darin werdeh die Missbrauch, Thorheiten ; Aberglauben, 
 trrthumben, Gotzendienst und ,u r "f '- losigkeiten der Papiatischen Sj nagaga, 
 bod derlich der I 'fallen, Munich und der Bruder eroffnet, lieblich, dar- bey 
 auch autzlich /.u lesen. Durch Christoff Wirsung vordeutscht. Apologus 
 i\(lt wol im schertz, Licht doch dem Babsttumb ab des hertz, .miu.ix. 8°, 
 o. 0. 
 
 33 /', c. Dutch editions of the " Apologia" Dortrecht 1607 (4 books), and 
 Amsterdam lii'.il (78 Apologie). 
 
 34. L555? — La quarta parte delle predi- che di M Bernardino Ochino, 
 dod niai piu stampate, nel- le quab: ecu mirabile ordine si tratta dell' 
 anima, et di divesse cose utile et necessarie. Come dalla sum Tavola potrai 
 
 re in fine. Psalm xliiij.— Per tuo amore siamo da ognihoradati 
 alia morte et reputati come pecore del macello. 8°, o. 0. (Basle), o. T. 
 s;<ni.; A laa VY;nj. 
 
 35. 1556. — Dialoga del Pur- gatorio di Mes- ser Bernardino Ochino di 
 Siena, Pastore della Chresa de Locarnesi in Zuricho. A gl' Hebrei Cap ix. 
 — Per che il sangue de tori, e de bee- chi a la cenere della giovenca sparsa 
 Bopra quei che son macchiati, li santi- Ilea alia purificatione della carne, 
 qua- to maggiormete il sangue di Christo, il quale per lo spirito eterno ha 
 offer- to se stesso immacculato a Dio, purgark la nostra la conscietia da 1' 
 opere mor- te, per servire a Dio vivente? mdlvi. 8°, Sign.; A 2 — P. 
 (Zurich). 
 
 30. 1556. — Bernar- dini Ochini Senen- sis viri doctissimi De Purgatorio 
 dialogus Ad lectorem Opus est lector velut ex authoris praefatiuncula 
 cogno- sees non tarn utile quam iucundum lectu: ab ipsa primum authore 
 [talica Lingua scriptum, posteavero a quodameius studioso vir<> in Latinum 
 tra slatum. Vale. Hebr. !t. 8°. Tiguri apud Gesneros. Tht 
 mslator, Taddeo Duno, is dated Dec. 6th, 1555. 
 
 37 a. L556. — Dialogus Das ist, Ein Gesprach von dem Fagfheur, in 
 welchem der Bapstleren torech- tigen vnd falschen grund, das Fagfheur 
 zu erhalten, widerlegt werden. Beschri- ben inn Italianischer spraach von 
 dem nrolgeleersten Flerren Bernhardino Ochino von Senen, yetzl aber auff 
 das einfelti- gesl verteutscht. Joannis am 5 cap. . . . Getruckl zu Zurych 
 by Andrea und .la- cobo den Gessnern, gebruder. mdlv. 8°. 17 t pages. 
 
 37 6. Idem, "Getruckt zu Mulhusen im oberen Elsass durch Hans 
 Schirenbrand und Peter Schmid." 8°. 135 pages, 
 
 38. L556. Syncerae ei verae doctrinae de Coena Domini ■ per 
 Bernardinum Ochinum Locarnensium Ecclesiae pastorem contra librostrea 
 Joachhni Westphali Maml>ui'L, r ensis Kcdesiae praedicatoris. Tiguri apud 
 Gesnerum L556 mense Januario. 8°. 
 
 39. I.i.i'.i. Dialogue touchanl Le Purgatoire traduit en francoys, imprime 
 par Antoine Cercia 1550. 8°, o. O. 
 
 40 ((. 1561. — Sermons de B. Ochin en francoys. Nbuvellement mis en 
 lumiere a L'honneur de Dieu, profii et utilite" de tous fideles Chrestiens 
 desirans viure selon la Loy du Seigneur et ses saincts commandements. 
 S. Paul 5 Chap, aux Thessal. Deut. 8 Chap.
 
 304 APPENDIX. 
 
 40 b. Sermons (22) tres utiles de Bemardin Ochin traduits en francoys. 
 Geneve, 1561. 
 
 40 c. Sermons de Bemardin Ochin traduits en francoys. Lyon, Vasco- 
 
 san, 1561. 
 
 41. 1561. Disputa di M. Bernardino Ochi- no da Siena mtorno alia 
 
 presenza del Corpo di Giesu Christo nel Sacramento della Cena. Non mai 
 per 1' addietro stampata. In Basilea mdlxi. 8°, 287 P. 
 
 42. 1561? — Prediche di M. Bernardino Ochino Senese, nomate Laberinti 
 del libero o uer seruo Arbi- trio, Prescienza, Predestinatione et Liberta 
 diuina et del modo per vscirne. Non mai per F adietro stampate. In 
 Basilea. 8°, 260 P. . . 
 
 43. 1561?— Labyrinthi, Hoc est, de Li- bero aut servo Ar- bitrio, de 
 divina Praenotio- ne, Destinations, et Libertate Dispu- tatio. Et quonam 
 pacto sit ex iis Labyrin- this exeundum. Authore Bernardino Ochino 
 Senensi. Nunc primum ex Italico in Latinum translati. Basileae apud 
 Petrum Pernam. 8°, 2 Fob, 261 p. 1 Fol. 
 
 44. 1561? — Bernar- dini Ochini Se- nensis Liber de Cor- poris Christi 
 prae- sentia in Coenae Sacra- mento. In quo acuta est tractatio de Missae 
 ori<nne at que erroribus ; itemque altera de Conciliatio- ne controversiae 
 inter reforma- tas Ecclesias. Cui adiunximus eiusdem auctoris Labyrin- 
 thos de Divina Praenotione, et liber- ro seu seruo hominis Arbitrio. 
 Omnia nunc primum ex Italico in Latinum sermonem translata. Basileae. 
 8°. 4 Fob, 301 P., 1 Fol. 
 
 45. 1561. — II Cate- chismo, o vero Institutione Christia- na di M. Ber- 
 nardino Ochino da Siena, in forma di Dialogo. Interlocutori, il Ministro 
 et Illuminate Non mai piu per 1' adrietro stampato. In Basilea mdlxi. 
 8 C , 2 Fol, 313 P. 
 
 46. 1562. — La Quin- ta parte delle prediche di M. Ber- nardino Ochino, 
 non mai prima stampate. Con la sua Tavola degli articoli et capi- che in 
 quelle si contengono. In Basilea mdlxii. 8°, 365 P. 
 
 47. 1563.— Bernar- dini Ochini Se- nensis Dialogi xxx. in duos libros 
 divisi, quorum primus est de Messia continetque Dialogos xvni. Secundus 
 est cum de rebus va- riis turn potissimum de Trinitate. Quorum argumenta 
 in secunda utriusque libri pagina inuenies. Basileae mdlxiii. Per Petrum 
 Pernam. 8°, Vol. I. 440 P.; Vol. IT. 518 P. 
 
 48. 1563? — Fragment of a dialogue on sin. MS. in the Bibl. Guicciardini._ 
 49 1564.— Dialogo. Favellatori: Prudenza humana e Ochino; bei 
 
 Scheihom, Ergotz. Ill, P. 2009 ff. 
 
 50. A Dialogue of Polygamy, written originally in Italian, rendered into 
 English by a Person of quality. London, Gaifeild. 1657. Bound up 
 with this is: A Dialogue of Divorce, between Ochinus and Meschinus, which 
 it is easy to see was not written by Ochino. 
 
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