Protestantism in France From Death of Francis I to Edict of Nantes - James Aitken Wylie

prompt and wise counsel he was guided at more
than one critical moment of his life. What he might
have been as cardinal we do not know, but in his
own profession as a soldier he showed himself a
great reformer and administrator. Brantome says of
the military ordinances which he introduced into
the French army, "They were the best and most
politic that have ever been made in France, and, I
believe, have preserved the lives of a million of
persons; for, till then, there was nothing but pillage,
brigandage, murders, and quarrels, so that the
companies resembled hordes of wild Arabs rather
than noble soldiers."[7]
At an early age Coligny was taken prisoner by
the Spaniards, and to beguile the solitary hours of
his confinement, he asked for a Bible and some
religious books. His request was complied with,
and from that incident dates his attachment to the
Reformed doctrines. But he was slow to declare
himself. He must be fully persuaded in his own
mind before openly professing the truth, and he
must needs count the cost. With Coligny,
Protestantism was no affair of politics or of party,
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