Later Unitarians in Christianity 181While the existence of this society was still a secret, Lelio Sozini' s
attention was drawn to two men outside il. One was Servetus and
the other was Calvin. Servetus had the courage openly to declare
ms belief in the Divine Unity, whilst Calvin had made himself
known as a force to be reckoned with in the Reformist cirdes of
Europe. Lelio Sozini wanted to meet both of them and decided to
see Calvin first. When Sozini met him, he was utterly disappointed
to find that Calvin was as hide-bound as any Roman Catholic priest.
This feeling soon changed to one of disgust when he discovered
that Calvin himself had helped to have Servetus arrested. From
then on, Sozini relied on the example ofServetus and the inspira
tion of Camillo in his extensive studies of the accepted doctrines of
the established Church. In 1559 Lelio Sozini went to Zurich and
spent the last three years of his life deep in reflection and study. He
died in 1562 when he was thirty-seven years old.
Fausto Paolo Sozini (1539-1604)Fausto Paolo Sozini, Lelio Sozini's nephew, was bom in 1539. His
unde handed down to himall that he had acquired during his short
but usefullife. At the age of twenty-three, young Fausto Sozini, or
Socianus as he became popularly known, became an heir not only
to Lelio' sinheritance, butalso to the light ofCamilloandthe learn
ing of Servetus. His most precious legaey, however, was the great
number of manuscripts and exegetical notes left by his uncle.
Socianus received his early education in Sienna, where he had
been bom. On coming of age, he visited Lyons and Geneva. He
retumed to Italy in 1565.He went to Florence and entered the serv
ice of Isabella de Medeci. He received both position and honour
from her. After her death, he left Italy and settled in Basle. Here,
the young scholar soon attracted the attention of all those who were
interested in the study of theology. He published a book, for pri
vate circulation anonymously, as it was very dangerous to openly
differ from the official teaching of the Trinitarian Church.
His book reached the hands of Blandrata who, as we have al
ready seen, was the court physician in Poland. At this stage,
Blandrata had the courage, vision, ability, and ambition to free the
minds of the common peoplefrom the dogmatic stranglehold which
the established Trinitarian Church had imposed on them. The reli
gious toleration of the rulers of Poland had made the country an