d Christ and taken the biretta, instead of Christ has
that hard master Satan." [1]

[Sidenote: Catholic reform]

The stimulus given by the various attacks on the church, both
Protestant and infidel, showed itself promptly in the abundant spirit
of reform that sprang up in the Catholic fold. The clergy and bishop
braced themselves to meet the enemy; they tried in some instances to
suppress scandals and amend their lives; they brushed up their theology
and paid more attention to the Bible and to education.

But the "Lutheran contagion" continued to spread and grow mightily. In
1525 it was found only at Paris, Meaux, Lyons, Grenoble, Bourges, Tours
and Alencon. Fifteen years later, though it was still confined largely
to the cities and towns, there were centers of it in every part of
France except in Brittany. The persecution at Paris only drove the
heretics into hiding or banished them to carry their opinions broadcast
over the land. The movement swept from the north and east. The
propaganda was not the work of one class but of all save that of the
great nobles. It was not yet a social or class affair, but a purely
intellectual and religious one. It is impossible to {196} estimate the
numbers of the new sect. In 1534 Aleander said there were thirty
thousand Lutherans in Paris alone. On the contrary Rene du Bellay said
that there were fewer in 1533 than there were ten years, previous.
[Sidenote: Protestant progress] True it is that the Protestants were
as yet weak, and were united rather in protest against the established
order than as a definite and cohesive party. Thus, the most popular
and successful slogans of the innovators were denunciation of the
priests as anti-Christs and apostates, and reprobation of images and of
the mass as idolatry. Other catchwords of the reformers were, "the
Bible" and "justification by faith." The movement was without a head
and without organization. Until Calvin furnished these the principal
inspiration came from Luther, but Zwingli and the other German and
Swiss reformers were influential. More and more, Lefevre and his
school sank into the background.

For a time it seemed that the need of leadership was to be supplied by
William Farel. His learning, his eloquence, and his zeal, together
with the perfect safety of action that he found in Switzerland, were
the necessary qualifications. The need for a Bible was at first met by
the version of Lefevre, printed in 1532.