Epistolae

The present volume contains the first eighty-five letters to and from Calvin (with introductions and annotations in English) and five appendices. Twenty of the letters were written before Calvin was first employed in Geneva. The letters written after his arrival mark a watershed - it would appear that as a minister under the aegis of Farel, he was strongly influenced by the older and more experienced reformer. Various topical events are mentioned: a murder in Basel, the conflict with Caroli, Calvin putting in a good word for Sinapius's marriage, Bucer's warning not to act only according to his own love or hatred, the fierce discussion with Du Tillet about Calvin's vocation, Farel's and Calvin's banishment from Geneva, Bucer's advice not to join forces again with Farel (whereas one can hardly imagine Bucer without his co-worker Capito), and Calvin's hint in a letter to Du Tillet that this advice could be right. The previous edition of Calvin's correspondence was completed in 1879. The editors of the present edition have made grateful use of the results of more than 125 years of research to bring this new edition to fruition.