their homes . Soon the parents came to hear the Bible explained , until the schoolroom was filled with attentive listeners . New Testaments and tracts were freely distributed , and they reached many who dared not come openly to listen to the new doctrines . After a time this laborer also was forced to flee ; but the truths he taught had taken hold upon the minds of the people . The Reformation had been planted , and it continued to strengthen and extend . The preachers returned , and through their labors the Protestant worship was finally established in Geneva .
The 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 labor 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
233