city had already declared for the Reformation when Calvin , after various wanderings and vicissitudes , entered its gates . Returning from a last visit to his birthplace , he was on his way to Basel , when , finding the direct road occupied by the armies of Charles V , he was forced to take the circuitous route by Geneva .
In this visit Farel recognized the hand of God . Though Geneva had accepted the reformed faith , yet a great work remained to be accomplished here . It is not as communities but as individuals that men are converted to God ; the work of regeneration must be wrought in the heart and conscience by the power of the Holy Spirit , not by the decrees of councils . While the people of Geneva had cast off the authority of Rome , they were not so ready to renounce the vices that had flourished under her rule . To establish here the pure principles of the gospel and to prepare this people to fill worthily the position to which Providence seemed calling them were not light tasks .
Farel was confident that he had found in Calvin one whom he could unite with himself in this work . In the name of God he solemnly adjured the young evangelist to remain and labour here . Calvin drew back in alarm . Timid and peace-loving , he shrank from contact with the bold , independent , and even violent spirit of the Genevese . The feebleness of his health , together with his studious habits , led him to seek retirement . Believing that by his pen he could best serve the cause of reform , he desired to find a quiet retreat for study , and there , through the press , instruct and build up the churches . But Farel ' s solemn admonition came to him as a call from Heaven , and he dared not refuse . It seemed to him , he said , " that the hand of God was stretched down from heaven , that it lay hold of him , and fixed him irrevocably to the place he was so impatient to leave ." -- D ' Aubigne , History of the Reformation in Europe in the Time of Calvin , b . 9 , ch . 17 .
At this time great perils surrounded the Protestant cause . The anathemas of the pope thundered against Geneva , and mighty nations threatened it with destruction . How was this little city to resist the powerful hierarchy that had so often forced kings and emperors to submission ? How could it stand against the armies of the world ' s great conquerors ? Throughout Christendom , Protestantism was menaced by formidable foes . The first triumphs of the Reformation past , Rome summoned new forces , hoping to accomplish its destruction . At this time the order of the Jesuits was created , the most cruel , unscrupulous , and powerful of all the champions of popery . Cut off from earthly ties and human interests , dead to the claims of natural affection , reason and conscience wholly silenced , they knew no rule , no tie , but that of their order , and no duty but to extend its power .
The gospel of Christ had enabled its adherents to meet danger and endure suffering , undismayed by cold , hunger , toil , and poverty , to uphold the banner of truth in face of the rack , the dungeon , and the stake . To combat these forces , Jesuitism inspired its followers with a fanaticism that enabled them to endure like dangers , and to oppose to the power of truth all the weapons of deception . There was no crime too great for them to commit , no deception too base for them to
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