Bernd Roeck > Quotes

“According to some, the continuous motion of the heavens was the work of angels. Since the winged creatures consisted almost entirely of air, they performed this labor through the power of their will alone. As late as the seventeenth century, people discussed whether the angels got tired and whether energy was even necessary to keep the celestial dance in motion. Around 1650, one Jesuit theologian calculated the number of angels required for the task at over one thousand.”
― Bernd Roeck, The World at First Light: A New History of the Renaissance

“Yet he created no Byzantine theocracy on Lac Léman, but rather a republic that sought to be pious and pure. The city government’s job was to serve the Church, thereby fulfilling its divine duty. Furthermore, it was to safeguard the moral lifestyle of the congregation entrusted to it. The highest authority in ecclesiastical affairs was the Consistory. Initially, it was composed of the pastors of the city and twelve laymen, known as “elders,” chosen by the city council.96 In Calvin’s view, secular power had no business interfering in church affairs. He considered it a Christian right to resist a government that flouted God’s law.97 This was not a call to revolution. Rather, resistance was the job of elected popular representatives, “lesser authorities.” This doctrine provided theological support to future popular movements against monarchical hybris.”
― Bernd Roeck, The World at First Light: A New History of the Renaissance