All  desired  a  uniform  State,  and  in  process  of
time  came  to  declare  the  rightfulness  of  per-
secuting Catholics,  or  idolaters  as  they  were
called.  Zwingli  even  not  only  wrote  against
the  Anabaptists,  but  demanded  the  strongest
measures  against  them.  Still,  steps  had
been  taken.  The  execution  of  Servetus
awakened  a  thrill  of  resentment,  and  though
it  was  hotly  defended,  the  task  was  not  an
easy  one.  Orthodox  Protestantism  now  took
over  from  mediaeval  politics  the  notion  of  the
Christian  State  or  City  of  God.  The  only
difference  was  that  in  the  Protestant  view  the
real  balance  of  power  was  in  the  hands  of  a
layman,  the  '  godly  prince.'  This,  of  course,
was  not  the  case  with  Presbyterianism.
But  for  Europe  in  general  the  theory  that
seemed  to  rule  was  that  of  Erastus.  Brentz,
however,  laid  down  a  doctrine  of  toleration :
(a)  if  false  beliefs  lead  to  crime,  the  crimes
should  be  punished,  not  the  belief;  (b)
opinions  should  never  be  forcibly  repressed,
for  they  may  turn  out  to  be  true.  To  persecute
is  to  close  the  avenues  to  knowledge.  In
the  religious  peace  of  Augsburg  (1556)  the
doctrine  of  cujus  regio  ejus  religio  was  laid
down.  This,  though  it  is  often  derided,  is
a  real  landmark  in  the  history  of  tolera-
tion. It  definitely  abandoned  in  the  Holy
Roman  Empire  that  Catholic  basis  on  which
it  rested.  It  admitted  a  diversity  of  re-
ligions among  the  States  of  which  it  was  com-
posed.    True,  it  recognised  no     liberty  for


(  598  )


Toleration]


Dictionary  of  English  Church  History


[Toleration


the  individual  (except  that  of  leaving  the
country),  but  in  proclaiming  toleration  for
the  princes,  three  hundred  in  number,  it
symbolised  a  vast  revolution.
