John Calvin, The Bachelor

Here are a few quotes from The Humanness of John Calvin by Richard Stauffer, that give a glimpse of John Calvin’s single years (he was 31 when he married).

Teasing:

“We know that in the course of the Frankfort Conference of 1539, at which representatives of the two confessions had gathered for discussion, during a meal Melanchthon made fun of Calvin, who had been rather pensive, by saying ‘he was dreaming of getting married’. This pleasantry was perhaps not without basis.” (p.34)

On Celibacy and A Different Take On Being Dedicated More Completely To The Lord:

“‘I am inclined to be hostile to the celibate even though I am not married and don’t know if I ever will be. If I should take a wife, it would be in order to dedicate myself more completely to the Lord, being greatly freed from many worries.” (p.33)

On What He Was Looking For

“on May 19, 1539, Calvin revealed in a letter to his friend Farel that he was looking for a wife. ‘Remember well what I am looking for in her. I am not of the crazy breed of lovers, who, striken by the beauty of a woman, love even her faults. The only beauty which captivates me is that of a chaste, kind, modest, thrifty, patient woman, who I might finally hope would be attentive to my health’. “

Discouragement

” ‘I fear that if you want to attend my wedding, you may not come until much later. I have not yet found a wife, and I am asking myself whether I should search any more’ “

Who He Eventually Found

“Farel wrote Fabri telling him about the marriage of Calvin with an ‘upright and honest’ and ‘even pretty’ woman…He married Idelette de Bure, the widow of an Anabaptist citizen of Liege who had returned to the Reformed faith shortly before his death.”