Their  efforts  had  little  visible  effect,  and  their  via  media
between  the  stubborn  defenders  of  Scholasticism  on  the


12  INTRODUCTION

one  hand  and  more  thorough  Beformers  on  the  other,  was
found  to  be  an  impossible  path  to  persevere  in;  but  it
must  not  be  forgotten  that  they  did  much  to  prepare
France  for  the  Reformation  movement  which  they  really
inaugurated;  nor  that  William  Farel,  the  precursor  of
Calvin  himself  in  Geneva,  belonged  to  the  "group  of
Meaux."

If  Humanism  influenced  the  "  group  of  Meaux,"  who
were  the  advance  guard  of  the  French  Beformation,  it
manifested  itself  no  less  powerfully  in  the  training  of
Calvin,  who  in  1536  unconsciously  became  the  leader  of
the  movement.  He  was  one  of  the  earliest  and  most
enthusiastic  students  of  the  band  of  ''royal  lecturers"
appointed  by  Francis  i.  to  give  France  the  benefits  of  the
New  Learning.  He  had  intimate  personal  relations  with
Bude  and  Cop,  who  were  allied  to  the  **  group  of  Meaux,"
and  were  leaders  among  the  Humanists  in  the  University.
