(1537—1545.)
The Spaniards who at this epoch distinguished themselves by the purest faith were those who, having been by various circumstances transported into Germany and the Netherlands, were there brought into contact with the Reformation and its most remarkable men. Thus it happens that respecting these we possess the most detailed information. We are,
therefore, called to look in this chapter and the following ones at Spain out of Spain.
While Seville was a great evangelical center in the South, and the foremost town in Spain at the epoch of the Reformation, there were also cities in the north of the Peninsula which were distinguished by some remarkable features, particularly Valladolid and Burgos. The latter town, situated in a fertile country, and once the capital of Castile, gave birth to four young men, who were afterwards noted for their devotion to the gospel, but who spent most of their lives beyond the Pyrenees. These were James, Francis and John de Enzinas, sons of a respectable citizen of Burgos, who had kinsmen of noble rank and high connections, and Francis San Romano, of more humble origin, but whose parents were ‘good honest people.’ His father was alcalde of Bribiesca.
These four young men, almost of the same age, were comrades at Burgos.
f71 For various reasons they quitted the town in their youth. The father of the Enzinas, a man in his way ambitious for his children, and holding firmly by his authority as a father, continued to rule his sons even after they had attained their majority. He sent them to complete their education at the university of Louvain, partly because the course of study there was of a more liberal cast than in Spain, and partly because he had kinsmen settled in the Netherlands, some of whom were at the court and enjoyed the favor of Charles the Fifth. It appeared to him that a fine career was
there open to their ambition, and that they would perhaps ultimately rise to the high position of their father. They were indeed to find a career, but one of a more noble and glorious kind.
The Enzinas, having arrived in the Netherlands before 1540, applied themselves zealously to their studies. They were all of them, and
especially Francis, desirous of discovering all that was true and good, fully determined to communicate to others the truths which they had acquired, filled with courage to defend them against all attacks and with
perseverance to continue in the face of danger faithful to their convictions.
f72 They had the Spanish temperament, depth and fervor of soul,
seriousness and reflectiveness of understanding; and some faults of their nature were corrected by Christian faith. Their language had not only stateliness but thought. The sense of honor did not in them degenerate into pride, as is so often the case; and their religious faith, by the influence of the gospel, was preserved from superstition. They have been known under different names in different countries. Their family name Enzinas, which in Spanish denotes a species of oak, was as usual hellenized in Germany, where they bore the name of Dryander, and was turned into French in France, where they were sometimes called Duchesne.
These three young men had a taste for literature, and made rapid progress in it. While the truly noble and liberal bent of their intellect separated them from the theologians who were virtually imprisoned within the walls of the Scholastic method and doctrine, their naturally religious disposition, the common characteristic of their countrymen, led them to seek out the pious men of their day. Two of these were the means of bringing them over from Roman Catholicism to evangelical Protestantism; both of them conciliatory men, who, though they belonged especially to one of the two categories, maintained at the same time some relations with the other. One of them stood on the Catholic side, the other on the Protestant; but they had both been desirous of bringing about a reconciliation between the Reformation and Catholicism. One of these men was George Cassander, born in 1515, probably in the island of Cassandria, at the mouth of the Scheldt. He was a good scholar, and was a perfect master of languages and literature, law and theology, and taught with great reputation in various universities in the Netherlands. Sincerely pious, he made it the purpose of his life to demonstrate the agreement of the two parties in essential
doctrines and to endeavor to unite them. With this intent he published various works? f72a The emperor Ferdinand at a later time requested him to work for this end. The Enzinas associated themselves with him. An
intimate friendship grew up between them; they had frequent
conversations and wrote to each other when separated. f73 But while the Catholics thought that Cassander conceded too much to the Protestants, the latter, and especially Calvin, complained that he conceded too much to the Catholics. He did, in fact, remain always united with the Roman church, declared that he submitted to its judgment, and openly condemned schism and its authors.
The three brothers, endowed with an honest spirit, were resolved to get to the bottom of things. The spirit of Cassander, timid, as they thought, and the inadequacy of the reforms which he allowed to be desirable, displeased them; and they gradually withdrew from him. They looked for better guides, and studied the Holy Scriptures. By public report they heard of Melanchthon, and they began to read and to meditate on his writings. He was their second teacher, more enlightened, more evangelical, and more illustrious than the first. Melanchthon laid open to their understanding in a homines manner the sacred Epistles. He revealed to his reader the grace of Jesus Christ, and this without the asperity and the violent language which are sometimes to be met with in Luther. Melanchthon’s moderation charmed them. They had found their master.
About the close of 1537, Francis Enzinas, then from twenty to twenty- five years of age, was recalled by his family to Burgos. His relative, Peter de Lerma, had just been prosecuted by the Inquisition. It was supposed that the views for which proceedings had been taken against him were to be attributed to his sojourn at Paris. Those inhabitants of Burgos who had sent their sons to foreign universities were alarmed lest; their children and themselves should be subjected to the severities of the Inquisition. This was mainly the cause of the return of Francis to Burgos. ‘At that time,’
says he, ‘I was assailed by earnest remonstrances on the part of my parents, and I began to be looked on with suspicion by many great
persons, because I would not comply with their requirements and give up the studies, the savor of which I had already tasted.’ f74 His aged uncle, Peter de Lerma, was at this time at Burgos. Francis went to see him, and found him unhappy and dispirited, unable to reconcile himself to the
thought of living in a country where a man must either be in agreement with the Inquisition or become its victim.
‘Ah!’ said he, ‘I can no longer remain in Spain. It is impossible for men of learning to dwell in safety in the midst of so many persecutors.’ What though he was now nearly eighty years old? What though he must renounce, if he quitted Spain, all his goods and all his honors? He
determined to seek after another abode in which he might end his days in peace. He would not hear of delay either on account of the season of the year, when storms are most to be dreaded, or on account of the war which was raging beyond the Pyrenees. He was resolved to leave Spain
immediately. Perhaps he was encouraged not to put off his departure by the thought that the younger Enzinas might be of some service to him in carrying out his project. The old man embarked on a vessel which was sailing for Flanders. On his arrival there he betook himself to Paris, where he had formerly resided. During his first stay in the capital of France, De Lerma had been made doctor of the Sorbonne; he now found himself the most aged member of the University. His friends, persuaded that he had been persecuted unjustly, received him with much respect. He spent four years at Paris.
Francis had returned to Louvain. A great thought had by this time taken possession of his mind. His supreme desire was to see Spain converted to the gospel. Now what means so mighty for this end as to give to the land the Word of God, and what a happiness it would be for him to enrich his native country with this treasure! In former ages the Bible had been translated, but the Inquisition had flung it into the flames. Hardly a single copy had escaped; f75 and Spaniards proudly boasted of the fact that their language had never served to dishonor the Book of God by exposing it to profane eyes. Enzinas, in common with others, supposed that the New Testament had never yet been translated into Spanish. He therefore zealously undertook this task. But when he had made a beginning he felt that it was not in the Netherlands that he could conveniently accomplish it. The superstitions prevalent around him, and the annoyances which he had to endure on the part of the fanatical ultramontanes, made him
ardently long to leave Louvain. At the same time he felt the need of a visit to Wittenberg, to talk over his work with Luther and Melanchthon, that he might profit by their larger knowledge. He was already acquainted with
their writings, but he wished for their counsel, and desired an introduction to them.
Enzinas had met Alasco at Louvain in 1536, when the latter, after leaving Poland, had directed his steps to the Netherlands. He had been struck with the aspect, at once serious and gentle, of the Polish noble, and he had admired the air of stateliness and dignity which invested his whole person.
f76 But he had not yet perceived ‘the treasures which lay hidden in the depth of his soul.’ Subsequently, Albert Hardenberg arrived at Louvain.
They talked together about John Alasco, and Hardenberg expressed himself with all the warmth of a friend. ‘How can I name to you,’ he said,
‘all the gifts which God has bestowed on him, his eminent piety, his pure religion, the sweetness and the benevolence of his disposition, his
wonderful acquaintance with all the liberal sciences, his aptitude for
languages?... In these respects he surpasses all other men.’ f77 These words of Hardenberg kindled in the heart of Enzinas a warm love for Alasco; and ere long, he says, the little spark became a great flame. f78 He would fain have gone to him in all haste; but he was detained at Louvain by
insuperable obstacles. He attempted to write to him; but when he read over his letter, abashed and anxious, he threw it away. At last he set out;
but when he had reached Antwerp he found himself compelled to go back to Louvain. Not long after his return he heard that Alasco’s wife was there. She was, as we have seen, a native of this town. Francis hastened to her dwelling. He saw the wife and the daughter of his friend; he almost fancied that he saw the friend himself. He availed himself of the
opportunity to write to the man for whom he had conceived one of those great and intense affections which are sometimes found in healthy natures.
He wrote to Alasco as a soldier who stands near his captain. It appears that his parents had destined him for a military career, and he knew the almost inflexible will of his father. He had had conflicts to go through. A Spanish noble, doubtless for the purpose of encouraging him to enter upon the career which his father had chosen, had presented him with a beautiful and antique sword. ‘Although,’ wrote the young soldier of Christ to Alasco, ‘I should see the whole world taking up arms against me, because in spite of the advice of respected men I dedicate myself to study, I would not slight the gifts which God in his goodness, and without any deservings on my part, has given me. I will strive like a man to propagate the truth
which God has revealed to us. But for this purpose I must fly far from this Babylonish captivity, and betake myself to some place where piety is not proscribed, and where a man may devote himself to noble studies. I have decided to go to Wittenberg, to the university which possesses so many learned professors, where knowledge of such various kinds is to be found, and which enjoys the approbation of all good men. I think so highly of the knowledge, the judgment, and the gift of teaching of Philip
Melanchthon, that for his sake alone, to enjoy the conversation and the instruction of so great a man, I would fly to the ends of the world. f79 Aid me in my project. This you may do by giving me letters to facilitate my access to Luther, Melanchthon, and other scholars, and to obtain for me their kindly regard.’
This was not all. Enzinas delivered to Alasco’s wife, as an act of homage to her husband, the antique and valuable sword presented to him by a Spanish noble. ‘You will say to me,’ he adds, ‘‘What would you have me do with a sword?’ I know that you are armed with a better, one which penetrates deeper than any other, the Word of God. But I send you this as a token of the love that I bear to you, and of the respect that I feel for the gifts which God has given you.’ This letter is dated May 10, 1541.
Francis Enzinas was not able to go immediately to Wittenberg. He had to undertake a journey to Paris in the summer of 1541, partly to see his elder brother then residing there, and partly to attend on his aged uncle, Peter de Lerma, who was now drawing near to his end. The young man was thus with his aged kinsman on two most solemn occasions — his departure from Spain, and his death. Francis found him weakened, but still enjoying the use of his fine faculties. He went frequently to see him, and they had long and confidential interviews. The suavity of the old man, and his seriousness unmixed with severity, charmed and delighted Francis, f80 who from infancy had always loved and honored his relative, and now esteemed it a privilege to testify to the last his respectful affection. His parents wrote to him from Burgos to take the greatest care of his aged uncle. He therefore went daily to see him, and his visits made glad the heart of the old man. Suddenly, in the month of August 1541, Peter de Lerma
exchanged the miseries of this world for the joys of the life eternal. f81 The patriarch of eighty-five and the youth of twenty-five were together at this solemn moment. Life was just beginning for Francis at the time when it
was ending for his uncle; and the former, like the latter, was to experience all its burdens. As the sole representative of the family, he gave the old man honor and reverence till his death. f82
At Paris, Francis had found, as we have stated, his elder brother James, who had gone thither by his father’s command to complete his studies;
and it is possible that this interview may have been the real purpose of his journey. James had, like his brother, a noble and independent mind, a sensitive conscience, and a pure and innocent nature which unsuspectingly showed itself as it was. This openness of character exposed him to great danger. To these qualities he added a very refined taste, which enabled him to appreciate instinctively the works of intellect and the productions of art. James was already convinced of the great truths of the gospel, but his faith was strengthened during his stay at Paris; and he exerted a beneficial influence on some of his fellow-countrymen who were studying there at the same time.
In this capital he did not find everything answering to his expectation. The processors were mostly bigots, who had a very small stock of knowledge, but nevertheless assumed a consequential air, although the little
philosophy which they possessed made them really less intelligent than if they had had none at all. The students had little good-breeding, nor did they show any desire for really liberal researches. James Enzinas was deeply moved by the heroism of the martyrs, and the cruelty of their executioners made him shudder. One day a very young man named Claude Lepeintre, about twenty years of age, was conducted to the Place
Maubert, to suffer there the last penalty. He had resided three years at Geneva, serving, it appears, an apprenticeship to a goldsmith, In that city he had found the gospel. After his return to Paris, his native place, ‘he had endeavored to impart to his friends the knowledge of eternal salvation.’
Some people of the house in which he carried on his trade as a goldsmith
‘could not endure the sweet savor of the gospel of the Son of God,’ and therefore took him before the criminal judge, who condemned him to be burnt alive. He appealed to the parliament, which, as Claude refused to recant, added that he should forthwith have his tongue cut out. Without change of countenance the pious young Christian presented his tongue to the executioner, who seized it with pincers and cut it off. It is even added that with it he struck the martyr several blows on the cheek. He was then
placed in a car to be taken to the stake. Several evangelical Christians, students and others, such as James Enzinas, his friend the advocate Crespin, and Eustace of Knobelsdorf, would not leave him till his death.
His martyrdom was described by all three of them. While on his way to the Place Maubert he was subjected, say these eye-witnesses, to
‘numberless insults which they cast at him. But it was wonderful to see his self-possession and constancy, and how he passed on with a light heart. It might have been thought that he was going to a banquet.’ He alighted of his own accord from the car, and stood by the post to which they bound him by coiling chains about his body. The crowd excited against him assailed him with outcries and insults; but he bore them with unspeakable calmness. His tongue having been torn out, he could not speak; but his eyes were steadily fixed on heaven, as on the abode which he was about to enter, and whence he looked for help. The executioner covered his head with brimstone, and when he had finished showed him with a threatening air the lighted torch with which he was going to set fire to the pile. The young martyr made a sign that he would willingly suffer this death. ‘This youth,’ says Knobelsdorf, one of the eye-witnesses,
‘seemed to be raised to a more than human elevation.’ ‘This most happy end,’ says another witness, Crespin,’ confirmed those who had begun to have some sense of the truth, to which the Lord gave before our eyes a true and living testimony in the person of Claude.’ f83
James had employed his leisure hours in composing in Spanish a catechism which he thought adapted to impress on the minds of his countrymen the great truths of the gospel. Confirmed in his faith by the martyrdom of Claude Lepeintre, weary of his Paris life, and anxious to publish his work, he went to Louvain and thence to Antwerp. This town offered facilities for printing it, and the ships bound for Spain easily conveyed the books when printed into that country. Francis, on his return from Paris, stayed for some time in Belgium, and next went to Wittenberg where freedom of studies, was possible, and where Melanchthon was to be found.
John Enzinas, the youngest of the three brothers, was also a lover of the gospel; but he led a more peaceful life than the elder ones. He had chosen the medical profession, and had settled in Germany. He became a
professor at the university of Marburg, and acquired a certain reputation by his works on medicine and astronomy, and by the invention of various