"The word Trinity," he writes, "is not to be found in Scriptures. The Son and the Holy Ghost are no more than so many forms or aspects of Deity. . . . To believe," he continues, "suffices, it is said (to salvation); but what folly to believe aught that cannot be understood, that is impossible in the nature of things, and that may even be looked on as blasphemous! Can it be that mere confusion of mind is to be deemed an adequate object of faith?" Speaking of the Holy Ghost, Servetus forgot what is due to a subject that has engaged the serious thoughts of so many pious and learned men. He saw some portions of the Catholic Christian dogma so unreasonable as to be unable to refrain from ridiculing them. Yet the idea of God to which Servetus had attained is unquestionably pure and grand—the only one, in fact, as we see the subject, that can be reasonably held by a true idealist. He also deals heavy blows at the doctrine of justification by faith, the leading feature of Luther's theology, in terms neither complimentary nor respectful to its author; nor less roughly dealt with is the leading Calvinistic theory of predestination and election.
The book seems to have caused a considerable stir both in Germany and Switzerland, to have found proselytes in Italy, and to have been read by every one of liberal education. Some of the antagonistic Reformers themselves could not forbear being strongly impressed with it. Œcolampadius, writing to Martin Bucer, July 18, 1531, says: "Read the book, and tell me what you think of it; as the writer does not acknowledge the coeternity of the Son, I can in no wise approve of it as a whole, although it contains much that is good." Melanchthon writes to a friend, "I read Servetus a great deal." He does not agree with the author, but "I have little doubt," he continues, "that great controversies will one day arise on this subject as well as on the distinction of the two natures in Christ."
"The Reformers of the sixteenth century," Dr. Willis says, "went little way in freeing the religion of Jesus of Nazareth from the accretions which metaphysical subtilty, superstition, and ignorance of the laws of Nature, had gathered around it in the course of ages. Their business, as they apprehended it, was to reform the Church—the task Servetus had set himself, in the end, was to reform religion, with little thought of a church, in any sense as it was conceived in his clay either by papists or Protestants." How could a book in this direction be welcome to the Reformers? It was too far in advance of their ideas; Servetus's dialectics were too stringent, and his arguments too conclusive against them.
After writing a splendid letter to Œcolampadius, for which we regret to have no room, he quitted Switzerland, whither he had returned after the publication of his book at Hagenau; and here he seems to have again taken up his quarters for some weeks or months, to write and superintend the printing of the "Two Dialogues on the
