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"Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass or a tinkling cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing: And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity it profiteth me nothing. Charity suffereth long and is kind; charity envieth not, vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil, rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. Charity never faileth, but whether there be prophecies they shall fail, whether there be tongues, they shall cease, whether there be knowledge it shall vanish away. And now abideth faith, hope, and charity, these three, but the greatest of these is charity."

But the greatest of these is charity! What words are these which I have just quoted? Christians, of all countries, of all sects, and of all communions! do you recognize in them the religion of your hearts? You do, or you are but hypocrites, and no true friends to the gospel.

O ye senseless fanatics! who have dared for ages, to divide, inflame, and overturn the world; to arm son against father, and brother against sister, for the sake of opinions, not necessary to their happiness, or at best of little importance. Ye persecutors, who beneath the veil of a religion, whose essence is charity, have believed that homage was to be rendered to your Creator, by immolating human victims on his altars, and committing the most horrible atrocities. Ye, who make religion consist in vain ceremonies, and the gospel a rampart for the defence of your base interests, come forward before the tribunal of charity, and if it be yet possible, let this admirable sentence penetrate your hearts. "Now abideth faith, hope, and charity; these three, but the greatest of these is charity!" Try every action of your life by this sentence of the apostle. And as the pilot has ever before his eyes the compass to direct his course through the ocean, let this sublime picture of charity be the invariable rule of your actions and opinions, and the very soul of your whole conduct. Far from me be those useless distinctions of sects and parties, by which some would excuse the sin of intolerance, and the fury of fanaticism: for me, there exist neither Protestants, nor Catholics, nor Lutherans, nor Calvinists, nor Moravians, nor Anabaptists; I own to no other title, than that of Christian; no other religion than that of Christianity. Every man who practices its duties is my brother, whatever may be his particular opinions. It would be easy to demonstrate that this reasoning is derived immediately, from the fundamental maxims of the gospel; and the evils which a contrary belief have occasioned, prove that it is of the greatest importance. No true Christian can deny this, since it is confirmed by every line of his code. But who is a true Christian? He who lives in charity; / he who practises it as did St. Paul. This is the true touchstone of our religion. He who shrinks from this test bears it not, is not a Christian. "He is nothing," to use the words of the Apostle.

It is upon these principles that I beg all that I have advanced in the history of the Vaudois may be judged. If I have expressed myself warmly against their enemies, it is only when they have violated the first duties of Christianity; then I neither wish or ought to spare them, for truth, in the judgment of an honest man, is one and immutable. He ought to purchase it, to use the words of the gospel, to publish and defend it, at the price of all he has in the world. I have nothing to do with Catholicism, but with the excesses which Catholics have committed. If I have anathematized the ministers of the Inquisition, it is because so execrable an establishment does not exist under heaven. The sun may well have withdrawn his light in horror, when he first illuminated the dark and bloody walls of this abominable tribunal! And they dare to assert that it is established for the propagation of the Christian faith. What a horrible blasphemy is this! We may ask of the most ardent partizans of the Propaganda,* whether Jesus had recourse to an Inquisition? if the Apostles used such a means of extending their doctrine, or proving the faith of their brethren? Did the first preachers use tortures to force men to adopt their creed? Did not Jesus, himself say to those who remained with him, when others fled—"And ye! will ye also go away?"** Is this the expression of a persecutor? or can the infernal rules of the Inquisition be founded upon the feelings which dictated this question?

* The College of Propaganda fide, in Rome, is synonymous

with the Italian Inquisition.

** John, chap. vi. ver. 67.

Nay! is there in the whole of the sacred Scriptures, one single line or word which can excuse persecution for the sake of religion? If there is, let it be produced, and I will on the instant make full reparation to this host of executioners and fanatics. But if the precepts of Christianity tend to recommend to us the love of God and of our brethren, it follows that the Inquisitors and their adherents, have been Christians in name only, and that their conduct has tended to the discredit of true religion and greatly injured the cause of Christ; for light and darkness are not more different than a true Christian, and a bigoted fanatic. I have more than once remarked, in the course of my history, that we should rather accuse the Inquisition, than the House of Savoy of the atrocities committed on the Vaudois. If the latter deserves censure, it is for want of courage to oppose the perfidious and criminal instigations of this bloody tribunal. The frightful tyranny of Rome, at that time, may be considered as an excuse; and our history will show to what excesses the anti-christian policy of that proud court was led. And as the picture of such cruelty is disgusting, it will be pleasing to turn from it to the mildness which reigns in the present government. …

It is for the Vaudois youth that I have undertaken this work, though I trust that those of more mature age may find it both interesting and instructive: it will recall to their minds anecdotes of their ancestors, which their fathers have often repeated to them; and their deepest feelings must be excited at the recollection of their forefathers, who have fallen beneath the axe of fanaticism for the sake of the gospel. The families of Mondons, Arnauds, Legers, Janavels, and many others still existing will read with emotion the exploits of their virtuous ancestors; their children will pronounce with reverence these names which have been an honour to our country; they will learn to repeat the most remarkable passages of our history. Enjoying from their earliest years the light of the gospel, their zeal will be inflamed by the sublime sentiments such examples inspire; and their first ambitious desires will be to imitate them. How well Shall I be rewarded for my labour, if such be the effect of this work; the most ardent wish of my heart will have been accomplished, and I shall not have lived in vain.

Here let me repeat what I have said in my prospectus. The history of the Vaudois occupies, perhaps, the most interesting point of time in Christian history. Confined amidst the mountains of Piedmont, adjoining Dauphiné, they have there preserved the Christian doctrine and worship in evangelical purity and simplicity, whilst the most profound darkness covered the rest of Europe. It is from the Apostles or their immediate successors, that they have received the gospel, and from that time their faith has never changed; it is now the same as it was before the reformation. The existence of these few thousand Vaudois is therefore most interesting to all Christian nations. Many authors have written before me, but their works are scarce, and their style often nearly unintelligible, from their antiquity; nor do any of their works contain a complete history. Those to whom I have alluded in my prospectus, are Perrin, Gilles, Leger, Arnaud, and Boyer.

Perrin wrote the "Histoire des Vaudois et Albigeois," printed at Geneva, 1618, 2 vols. 12mo. The work only carries down the annals of the Vaudois to 1601, and it is now extremely rare; it contains many valuable documents, which would be sought for in vain elsewhere, as the author was allowed to examine the manuscripts of the Synod of the Vallies. He was a minister of the church at Lyons.

P. Gilles, pastor of the Vaudois church at La Tour, is the author of "Histoire Ecclesiastique des églises reformées recueillies en quelques vallées du Piémont autrefois appellées églises Vaudoises," chez de Tournes, 1648, 1 vol. 4to.; this comprises the period from 1160 to 1643; containing interesting annals of the persecutions in the author's time; but the style is still less agreeable than that of Perrin.

Jean Leger's history is entitled "Histoire generate des églises évangeliques de Piémont ou Vaudoises," printed at Leyden, 1669, 1 vol. folio, goes as far as A.D. 1664; it is full of learning and piety, giving many facts to be found no where else; and the interest is increased from the circumstance of his having himself taken an important part in the events he describes. Still he enters into those tiresome details, for which the taste of that age is so much to be blamed.

The work of Henri Arnaud is the "Histoire de la rentrée glorieuse de nos ancetres dans leur patrie," in 1 vol. 8vo. without date. The event he relates occurred three years after the expulsion of the Vaudois, that is in 1690. This is a most precious and interesting little work, for the author himself was at the head of his countrymen, and the vivacity and force of his narrative render it very attractive to the lovers of truth, though it must be confessed that his style, as he says himself, in his dedication to Queen Anne, is wanting in that polish which is so much admired in these times. This work was originally composed in two parts, of which the latter must have contained an account of the war between Piedmont and France, in which the Vaudois were actively engaged; this last part was unhappily never printed, and the manuscript remains undiscovered; any information respecting it would be very important to the completion of the third part of my work. Henri Arnaud died in Wirtemberg, where this manuscript probably would be found.

The last of the Vaudois histories is by Boyer, under the title of Abrégé de l'Histoire des Vaudois, 1 vol. 12mo., La Haye, 1691; it goes down to 1690, and though written with judgment, is defective in many points, both in the historical parts, and with regard to the doctrine and manners of the Vaudois.

* The author here states his obligations to Mons. Certon of

Rotterdam, pastor of the reformed church, and to some

others, from whom he had received manuscripts. He then gives

some other particulars, not interesting to the general

reader, and proceeds as above.—T.

I pass over other histories of the Vaudois, in English and Dutch, as well as other references to them in more general works, as for instance, Gekendorf in his history of the reformation, Ruchat Basnage, &c. &c. as they are probably derived from the above sources, and are only more or less carefully compiled. …

Though I must not repeat here the evidences of the antiquity of the Vaudois, I cannot refrain from remarking that it is from the vallies of the Vaudois that the first sparks of that reformation have arisen, which has drawn back a great part of Europe to the purity of the gospel. It is extremely probable, that Calvin himself was of Vaudois origin, for there are still several families of this name in the vallies, from whence we believe his to have emigrated to Picardy. It is certain, that in the preface which this great reformer prefixed to the first French bible ever published; he acknowledges himself bound by the ties of kindred to the translator, one of our most celebrated "barbes," or pastors, named Olivetan, which makes it probable that Calvin had obtained from the Vaudois the doctrine which he afterwards preached at Geneva, and elsewhere. It is equally certain, that long before the reformation there were many persons who followed the doctrine of the Vaudois in Germany, Hungary, Bohemia, &c.; indeed the Vatïtiois of this last country, as well as those of Alsace, sent their youth into our vallies to be educated as pastors. It is known also that the celebrated Lollard who laboured with such zeal to diffuse the Vaudois doctrines in England, was not only a native of our vallies, but preached in them for a length of time with great success.* We may also assert that it is by means of the Vaudois that the reformation was introduced in the United Provinces.

* The Lollard tower in London takes its name from one of the

disciples of Lollard, who in the age of intolerance was

confined there.

The Vaudois of Provence, Languedoc, and Dauphiné also, originally sprang from our val-lies, and when their numbers had increased greatly at Lyons, they were persecuted by the Archbishop of that city, Jean de Belle Maison, about 1180, and retired into Picardy, under Peter Valdo, where they received the name of Picards. Here Philip Augustus, king of France, resolving to extirpate them, caused 300 gentlemen's houses to be razed to the ground, because the owners had embraced the tenets of the Vaudois. Forced again to leave their newly found country, these Picards, or Vaudois of Lyons, (also called poor of Lyons,) retired principally into the United Provinces of Holland, and there spread the knowledge of the truth. It was in the Low Countries that the Vaudois first took the name of Walloons, and that the first confession de foi (articles of belief) was drawn up by the celebrated martyr Guido Brez. This confession was first printed in 1561, addressed to Philip II. of Spain, in 1562; it was confirmed by the synod of Anvers, 1585, and finally adopted by that of Dordt. The above is sufficient to prove that the Vaudois church is the parent of all those which have arisen in Protestant Europe, and particularly of the churches of the United Provinces, as well Dutch as Walloon. Why do the Roman Catholics and the Protestants mutually hate each other? Why do they look upon each other with harshness and severity? It is, because instead of going to the source of their religion, the gospel itself, they content themselves with examining those streams, of which the waters have been rendered impure, by the admixture of human opinions: it is because they appeal to the confessions of faith of the heads of their sect or party, instead of seeking what really constitutes the essence of the Christian faith, and what ought to be the rule of our faith and practice, by means of the specific declarations of Jesus Christ and his apostles. It is because they generally adopt self-interest for their guide, instead of shielding themselves under that universal spirit of charity, without which there can be no real Christianity, and because they entirely forget that religion does not consist in words, but in virtue.

The nature of my employments, and the interest of the great cause which I serve, have often called forth my reflections on the evils it has been my task to describe; and however earnestly I have searched for remedies, as well as for the discovery of their origin, my meditations have continually brought me back to the same point. Let it be remembered that it is a Vaudois who speaks, a Vaudois, who, like his countrymen, absolutely recognizes no other religion than that of Christianity, and who believes that the unhappy distinctions of Catholics, Lutherans, Reformed, Calvinists, &c. &c., have done a thousand times more harm to the cause of the gospel, than all the manouvres of the wicked and unbelieving.

The thing is evident as to natural religion, for in examining history, we find that in no case has any one ever attempted to prescribe rules of belief to others, but that each receives what nature hath taught him, and nothing more.

Nor is there more obscurity in the point, as to revealed religion; not that religion of which opposing sects have given such different descriptions, but that which is to be found in the beautiful lessons of Jesus and his apostles. It is from these alone, we must judge of Christianity. And every one who is willing to undertake this important examination, without prejudices, will allow that nothing is more simple, more easy, than Christianity; and that the great truths which form its basis, are clear enough to be within the reach of the most confined understandings.

We must therefore conclude that many of the opinions which have so long sown discord, and still continue to produce dissensions among Christians, are by no means founded on points essential to Christianity; nay, the traces of several of them are scarcely to be found in the sacred writings.

What then are the fundamental articles of our faith, of which the belief is necessary to the character of a true Christian? Read the discourses of Jesus and the apostles to their converts, and you will have a full answer to the question. (See the quotations at the end of the Preface.) These articles of belief are but few in number, and if every Christian had religiously observed them, we should not see so many sects attacking one another, or the disciples of the mildest of masters, hate, persecute, and massacre each other, in the most barbarous manner. Such are the dreadful consequences a trifling error may produce in such a case. Such is the essence of the Christian faith, and the opinions which have been added to it, are not only useless, but dangerous. Every Christian must render an account of his belief to God alone, and it is his duty to found that belief solely of the express declarations of the gospel, without attending to the subtleties with which men have endeavoured to obscure them. The most crafty theologian cannot find one single line in the holy scriptures, which could give to any person or council upon earth, a right to impose a formula of belief on others. This pretended right which the court of Rome, and after it, so many reformed churches have wished to exercise, is no other than a manifest usurpation, and not only of the rights of man, but of God himself, who is our only judge, since to him alone we must all give an account of our faith. The gospel is the sole immutable rule of faith, and the Supreme Being has left to each person its explication, according to his talents and advantages; since it was not his object, as some have supposed, merely to propose to us such and such truths for our belief, but to render us more mild, humane, modest, and virtuous; and consequently more happy. It is for this reason that St. Paul does not hesitate to place charity, which he calls the union of all virtues, above faith, which is but a single act of the mind, without any merit whatever, unless it influences our sentiments and our conduct. "And now abideth" (says the apostle) "faith, hope, and charity, these three, but the greatest of these is charity."

Such have ever been, and still are the principles of the Christians of our vailles; the gospel is their sole and immutable judge; they have paid no attention to the sects which have arisen around them; nor has any one of them attempted to impose upon is brother his own belief, as the rule of his faith. The words heresy and orthodoxy are almost unknown to them; nor do they know what a dogma is, for they find not this word in the holy scriptures, and their first rule is to adhere closely to them both in words and deeds.

It is true that the Vaudois have departed more or less from their former simplicity, since the reformation; they have been forced to use the books of the reformed, and to send their youth to be educated in foreign colleges. They use, for example, the catechism of Osterwald, because there is no means of printing others, in the country; but I hope once more to bring to light the catechism which our ancestors used in the twelfth century, the original of which is in the library of Cambridge. By substituting it for that of Osterwald, we should return to the usages of our ancestors. To complete the desired change, it would only be necessary to establish a small college or seminary in the vallies, for the education of those who are intended for the church. I have now only to intreat that it may not be taken amiss if I have laid so little stress on the Reformation. As a Vaudois I cannot consider it of that importance, which it is of in the eyes of the reformed, but I consider it as a revolution of the greatest interest, both from its civil and religious effects, and that whatever were the intentions of some of the reformers, they merit the title of benefactors of the human race. We owe to them in great part, the progress of science, reason, and philosophy, as well as the first foundations of civil and political liberty, so nearly allied to religious independence. Without them the whole of Europe might still have groaned beneath the Papal yoke. But though they merit our gratitude, let not that gratitude degenerate into idolatry, or allow of their opinions being placed on an equality with the gospel. Luther, Calvin, Wickliffe, Zwingle, OEcolampadius, &c. were but men capable of being deceived like ourselves. Let us listen to their lessons, but remember that our sole legislator is Jesus, and that we are wanting in respect and gratitude to him, if we take any other title than that of Christians. Whoever thou mayest be, reader, into whose hands this book may fall, let me recommend to you the interests of the most consoling of all doctrines, of that doctrine by which we are told that true religion is this—"to visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep ourselves unspotted from the world." Allow me to exhort you to search for the knowledge of this divine religion, only in the sacred writings, which ought alone to be the rule and invariable compass of our course. Thus you will bring back all the Christian sects to the standard of the gospel, and inflame all hearts with that charity and philanthropy which form the essence of Christianity. Thus you will render this simple but useful maxim more dear to all mortals;—To do unto others as we would they should do unto us.

By this means you will destroy all factions, because each member of a state will be happy, that all those who are not enemies of the government, should thus enjoy the same privileges. By this means you will contribute to restore to Christianity all its splendour and its power; you will be the benefactors of your family, of your country, of the world. The wicked man, the bigot, and the false devotee, will hate, nay, even persecute you; but you have only to retire beneath the shadow of your own conscience, to render all their machinations abortive. The calm satisfaction which this will afford you, will amply make amends for the momentary pangs which calumny and injustice may excite in your breasts, and if ever mankind shall recognise true merit, it is to you alone they will erect statues.

Utrecht, 4th October, 1794.