The collection was completed with the assistance of Theodore Beza, the
great theologian, and the demand for the books was so great that the
printers could not supply them quickly enough. Ten thousand copies were
sold at once,--a vast number for the times.
But Marot was not happy in Geneva with Calvin and the Calvinists, as we can
well understand. Beza, in his "History of the French Reformed Churches"
said, "He (Marot) had always been bred up in a very bad school, and could
not live in subjection to the reformation of the Gospel, and therefore
went and spent the rest of his days in Piedmont, which was then in the
possession of the king, where he lived in some security under the favor of
the governor." He lived less than a year, however, dying in 1544.
These psalms of Marot's passed through a great number and variety of
editions. In addition to the Genevan publications, an immense number were
printed in England. Nearly all the early editions were elegant books;
carefully printed on rich paper, beautifully bound in rich moroccos and
leathers, often emblazoned with gold on the covers, and with corners and
clasps of precious metals,--they show the wealth and fashion of the owners.
When, however, it came to be held an infallible sign of "Lutheranisme" to
be a singer of psalms, simpler and cheaper bindings appear; hence the dress
of the French Psalm-Book found in New England is often dull enough, but
invariably firm and substantial.
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