Address to King Francis I

I have, in my edition, the "Prefatory Address to King Francis," attached to the copy of Institutes that went to the king. Calvin and other reform-minded Christians had undergone persecution in France (a solidly Catholic state), and so his delivery of the Institutes comes as a sort of appeal for hearing.

His argument, eloquently put, is, "Hear me out--all the accusations made against me (us) have been made without hearing our case!" So extreme are the conservative elements in France, says Calvin, that "even the right to whisper is cut off." I detect in his line of reasoning common roots of what we now call "freedom of speech": that an individual or that individual's beliefs ought not to be demonized by the body politic, but should be assessed based on their own merits. Such assessment means hearing what is said, rather than banning the words of one whose name has been outlawed. All should be free to speak.

~ emrys