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Daybreak in France
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secret dungeons. In many countries thousands upon thousands of the
very flower of the nation, the most intellectual and highly educated,
were slain or forced to flee to other lands.
Victories for the Reformation
Such were the means which Rome invoked to quench the light
of the Reformation and to restore the ignorance and superstition of
the Dark Ages. But under God’s blessings and the labors of noble
men whom He raised up to succeed Luther, Protestantism was not
overthrown. Not to the arms of princes was it to owe its strength.
The humblest and least powerful nations became its strongholds.
It was little Geneva; it was Holland, wrestling against the tyranny
of Spain; it was bleak, sterile Sweden, that gained victories for the
Reformation.
For nearly thirty years Calvin labored at Geneva for the advance-
ment of the Reformation throughout Europe. His course was not
faultless, nor were his doctrines free from error. But he was instru-
mental in promulgating truths of special importance, in maintaining
Protestantism against the fast-returning tide of popery, and in pro-
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moting in the reformed churches simplicity and purity of life.
From Geneva, publications and teachers went out to spread the
reformed doctrines. To this point the persecuted of all lands looked
for instruction and encouragement. The city of Calvin became a
refuge for the hunted Reformers of all Western Europe. They were
welcomed and tenderly cared for; and finding a home here, they
blessed the city of their adoption by their skill, their learning, and
their piety. John Knox, the brave Scottish Reformer, not a few of
the English Puritans, Protestants of Holland and of Spain, and the
Huguenots of France, carried from Geneva the torch of truth to
lighten the darkness of their native lands.
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