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Title: The Life and Times of Ulric Zwingli
Author: Hottinger, Johann Jakob, 1783-1860
Language: English
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[Illustration: Switzerland]
THE
LIFE AND TIMES
OF
ULRIC ZWINGLI
TRANSLATED FROM THE GERMAN
OF
J. J. HOTTINGER.
BY
THE REV. PROF. T. C. PORTER,
OF FRANKLIN AND MARSHALL COLLEGE, LANCASTER, PA.
* * * * * *
HARRISBURG:
PUBLISHED BY THEO. F. SCHEFFER.
1856.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ** * * * * *
Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1856, by THEO. F.
SCHEFFER, in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United
States for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ** * * * * *
Author's Preface.
"Biographers should not busy themselves so much with deeds, as their
moving causes; with what motives, by what means, for what ends and
under what circumstances they were performed. If we limit ourselves to
a simple detail of facts, our judgment is determined by success; and
upright men are condemned as evil or imprudent, because of the
unfavorable issue of their endeavors. To set forth the views of Zwingli
and the high mark to which he strove to carry everything, were
dangerous--would open a wide door to envy and calumniation, and would
not be permitted by the government of Zurich; since it would be a
violation of the _Landfriede_, various resolutions of the cities and
the Hereditary Union with Austria. Without this, however, the history
of his life would be dry, and posterity would neither admire nor love
Zwingli, but regard him as a thoughtless, foolish man. The unhappy
catastrophe has placed everything in a false light."
The foregoing remarks of Bullinger show with what caution our
forefathers were obliged to speak of Zwingli's political acts. Indeed,
after the battle of Cappel they were looked upon with little favor,
even in the Reformed portion of the Confederacy. Bullinger himself,
Zwingli's successor, was for the moment filled with despondency. He
wrote to his friend, Myconius: "We will never come together again. No
one trusts his neighbor any longer. Surely, surely, we live in the last
times. It is all over with the Confederacy." The passage above-cited
was written perhaps at this juncture. But he soon recovered his
courage. His confidence in God returned with renewed strength, and he
then began that career, which was so active, so noble and so full of
blessing. He continued the work of his illustrious predecessor, and
described it also with a powerful pen and a reverent heart, leaving
behind, for thoughtful readers at least, intimations of what he durst
not wholly reveal to his contemporaries. Three centuries have since
gone by, and unrestricted access to archives and multiplied
investigations have brought to light reports and documents hitherto
unknown. From these materials, the author endeavored, fifteen years
ago, to delineate the life and times of Zwingli. That volume was
designed for those, who study history as a science: the aim of this one
is to present the same results in a popular form. And as our people,
now a-days, pay so much attention to what is written and spoken, let
them hear once more the voice of one of the noblest statesmen of former
ages; let them consider his acts, and ponder over his sad fate. If we
regard him merely as a reformer of the Church, he may perhaps appear to
us surrounded by a brighter glory; but history demands a full
representation, and such a representation exhibits him as a man
"possessed of like passions with ourselves." Yet, just in the
acknowledgement of his own infirmities by Zwingli, and in his
submission with humble faith to a Higher Power, do the unmistakable
features of true religion shine victoriously above that worship of self
which springs only from vain conceit.--May the following work produce
the same conviction in the mind of the reader!
Preface.
The volume, here translated, was published in Zurich in the year 1842,
and may be regarded as the fullest and most reliable history of Zwingli
and his times that has yet appeared; for, in addition to the numerous
works, in Latin and German, which relate to this particular period, the
author has had free access to an immense mass of important and
necessary state-papers, long buried in the archives of the Canton.
Contents.
CHAPTER FIRST. _Page._
Zwingli's youth. His labors in Glarus and Einsiedeln, 7
CHAPTER SECOND.
Zwingli in Zurich. Beginning of the Reformation. Political
and ecclesiastical affairs up to the first Religious
Conference, 53
CHAPTER THIRD.
Religious Conference in Zurich. The government takes the
place of the Bishop for the protection and superintendence
of the National Church, 106
CHAPTER FOURTH.
Danger of the Reformation and Zwingli's battle against them, 164
CHAPTER FIFTH.
Defence of the Old Order. Rise of the New, 203
CHAPTER SIXTH.
Organization of the parties. Breach of the general peace, 258
CHAPTER SEVENTH.
First Campaign. Zwingli and Luther, 283
CHAPTER EIGHTH.
Internal condition of Switzerland after the first campaign.
The Abbot of St. Gall. Political results of the Marburg
Conference, 322
CHAPTER NINTH.
Vain attempts at reconciliation. Exportation of corn
prohibited. Outbreak of War. Battle of Cappel. Zwingli's
death, 370
CHAPTER FIRST
ZWINGLI'S YOUTH. HIS LABORS IN GLARUS AND EINSIEDELN.
Near the source of the river Thur, in Wildhaus, a mountain-village of
the Toggenburg, lived the bailiff Ulric Zwingli, with his wife
Margaretta Meili, in moderate circumstances and universal esteem. Eight
sons and two daughters were the fruit of their marriage. The third of
these sons, born on the first of January 1484, seven weeks after
Luther's birth-day, received the name of his father. A brother of the
bailiff, Bartholomew Zwingli, was chosen by the burghers of Wildhaus,
who a short time before had separated from the mother-church of Glarus,
as the first pastor of the new congregation. The mother also had a
brother of the clerical order, John Meili, abbot of Fischingen. A pious
and friendly man, he loved the children of his sister, as if they were
his own. In the bosom of an honest family, breathing the pure cool air
of a green Alpine region, amid the simple pleasures of a shepherd's
life, the little Ulric grew up vigorously, quick-witted, looking out
into the world with clear eyes, and though somewhat rude like his
countrymen, yet gifted with senses fully alive to the beauties of
nature and the harmonies of voice and instrument.
The early signs of promise, which he gave, were the means of opening
for him the path to scientific culture. His uncle, being made deacon at
Wesen, left Wildhaus in 1487, and took the boy with him. By his help
and that of the teacher at Wesen, he was prepared in his tenth year to
enter the Theodore School at Little Basel, whither he now went, again
supported and recommended, as is probable, by his uncle.
It may not be amiss to introduce some notice of the educational system
of that age.
Lowest in rank appear the German schools. Here and there teachers were
provided for them by the parish-officers, but in other places the
supply was left to accident. Older students, under the name of
_lehrmeister_, traveled around, oftentimes with wives, practising their
vocation and hiring themselves out for longer or shorter periods. Two
well-painted placards of these strolling masters are preserved in the
library at Basel. They exhibit the interior of a school-room. On one
the children are sitting and kneeling on the floor with their books,
whilst the master, rod in hand is teaching a boy at his desk and his
wife a girl in the opposite corner; the other represents a chamber in
which older scholars are receiving instruction. The following
advertisement is written beneath both:
"Whoever wishes to learn to write and read German in the very quickest
way ever found out, though he does not know a single letter of the
alphabet, can in a short time get enough here to cast up his own
accounts and read; and if any one be too stupid to learn, as I have
taught him nothing so will I charge him nothing, be he who he may,
burgher or apprentice, woman or girl; whoever comes in, he will be
faithfully taught for a small sum, but the young boys and girls after
the Ember weeks, as the custom is. 1516."
To all, who were unable to obtain the necessary elementary instruction
at home, or even perhaps in the monasteries, these schools were open.
Children and adults frequently sat on the same bench. Of course, there
was nothing like thorough knowledge among the masters, nothing like a
division into classes, or a comprehensive plan of instruction. Just as
the natural talent of the teacher was greater or less, were the results
better or worse. And yet such was the only education of a large
majority of the burghers. Indeed thousands were destitute even of this.
Boys, designed for a higher training, sons of the wealthy, or of the
poor, who were so fortunate as to meet with encouragement to a noble
effort, passed over into the Latin schools, into one of which we now
see Zwingli enter.
In these schools, found in most of the larger and sometimes also in the
smaller towns, the teachers were usually clergymen, who received
annually a moderate salary and a coat from the public treasury, or
oftener still from the revenues of pious foundations. For their better
maintenance, where the foundation could not give them a full support,
they were permitted to accept school-money and even provisions. The
poor scholars earned this money by singing in companies before houses
on new-year and other holidays.
The course of instruction embraced three branches: Latin Grammar,
Music, (especially the art of singing,) and Logic. The study of the
latter, which ought to teach how to give clear expression to thought,
was for the most part time wasted amid useless subtleties and verbiage.
The reputation of the school depended altogether on the character of
the teacher. As soon as he had made himself master of the prescribed
course, he either added to it new branches, or at least understood how
to render it profitable. But his main endeavor was to stimulate the
youthful mind by his own mental activity. To such a teacher hundreds of
scholars flocked from all quarters.
The following regulations, taken from one at Bruck, will give us some
insight into the state of discipline among schools of this kind.
"The schoolmaster shall take in school at five o'clock in the morning,
in summer, and at six in the winter,[1] give lessons to each one
according to his rank, age and capacity, and explain them well and
mannerly, hearing them at the proper time, and pointing out to the boys
their mistakes and failures, so that by this means they may acquire
skill and honor. After lunch, he shall come to school at eleven
o'clock, except on festival days, and then at twelve, to give lessons
and instruction till four, if that be the usual hour of leaving off
work for the day. In the evenings he shall teach them Latin and
penmanship faithfully and modestly, and keep them as busy as possible,
so that they may get a good and gentle training and be preserved from
idle talk, quarrels, and brawls. He shall charge them to talk little
and use few words, and when in and out of school to speak with each
other in Latin; but with their parents and the people at home they may
talk German. He shall teach them the cantum in verse, antiphonies
(alternate chanting in choirs), intonations (singing along with the
priest), hymns and requiems in various ways, suited to the time and
occasion. He shall earnestly exhort them to behave with decorum in the
church, the choir, the church-yard and the belfry, to abstain from
disputing, shouting, huzzaing and bell-ringing, either in, upon or
around the church, and also not to touch the bells, at peril of being
stripped and flogged soundly from top to toe. When school is out they
shall go together before the charnel-house and each one shall repeat
with devotion a pater noster, an ave maria or the psalm _de profundis_
and then return home quietly. Striking each other with satchels,
pinching, spitting, fighting and stone-throwing, shall be punished by
the rod. The schoolmaster shall beat them with rods, and not with his
fist or staff, and particularly not on the head, lest, on account of
their youth, he might thereby do great damage to the organ of memory."
Thus the rod was formerly the chief means of school-discipline. And
even far into the era of the Reformation a yearly holiday was observed
under the name of "The Procession of the Rods," in which all the pupils
of the schools went out in the summer to the woods, and came back
heavily laden with birch-twigs, cracking jokes by the way and singing:
Ye fathers and ye mothers good,
See us with the birchen wood
Loaded, coming home again;
For our profit it shall serve,
Not for injury or pain.
Your will and the command of God
Have prompted us to bear the rod
On our own bodies thus to-day,
Not in angry, sullen mood,
But with a spirit glad and gay
The greater part of the male students were animated by a wild and
reckless spirit, the result of a fickle roving from town to town. The
pretext for this course was the necessity of hunting up skilful
teachers; but with many it was only love for a career of frolic and
idleness. The oldest and strongest scholars, young men of twenty and
upwards, each of whom had a different plea to urge, set the example. By
the promise of a living free of cost and instruction in the rudiments
they attracted to themselves younger boys, who, as soon as they had
crossed the boundaries of their father-land, were converted into
servants and compelled to beg or steal money and provisions for the
common treasury. Thomas Platter, a native of Valais, when a child, nine
years of age, followed such a wandering student and traveled with him
through Germany as far as the borders of Poland without ever learning
to read, until in his eighteenth year, he received for the first time
better instruction in Schlettstadt and afterwards in Zurich. He has
left us a picture of his student-life in an autobiography, extracts
from which are found in a number of works. It can easily be imagined
how several thousand scholars of this roving cast, who all subsisted on
alms, should frequently meet together in one town. The younger ones,
called _archers_, spent the night in the schoolhouses, and the older
(bacchanalians) in little chambers specially reserved for their
accommodation. In summer they all lay together in the church-yards with
the grass for a bed. Wo to the chickens, the geese and the fruit-trees,
where such a troop passed by! Here one man hissed his dogs on them,
while there another gave them a friendly welcome, and in return for as
much beer as they could drink, obtained information about foreign
countries and stories of their travels. The roughest class of teachers
often joined them in their revels and often others at the head of their
trusty followers sallied out to drive the truants into school, who,
when assailed, retreated to the roofs of the houses, sending down
showers of stones, till the citizens or the watchmen broke in among
them and quelled the riot.
It was Zwingli's good fortune to be saved from such a life of
adventure. George Binzli, his teacher in Basel, was, in the words of an
old writer, an excellent, not unlearned man, of a very amiable
disposition. He took a great liking to Zwingli, who soon stood in the
foremost rank among his school-fellows, a master in debate and the
possessor of an extraordinary talent for music. At the end of three
years he finished his course in the Theodore School, and departed,
cherishing an esteem and gratitude, not lost in after life, toward
Binzli, by whose advice also he now went to Bern, and entered a higher
class under the care of Henry Wœlfli.
At an earlier day Latin was taught chiefly for the purposes of divine
worship, which consisted, for the most part, of chanting and the saying
of masses in this language, to the common people an unknown tongue. A
knowledge of it was derived from stupid manuals, that only furnished
the scholars with a stock of words, which, though not well understood
even by themselves, were stuffed into their sermons, in order to gain
credit for learning with the ignorant multitude.
But after the invention of the art of printing, the most important
works of the ancient Romans, extant only in a few very costly
manuscripts, were given to the world by the press. These, teachers of
ability first took up and studied, and then explained to their
scholars. What a wide contrast between such education and that of a
former period! Here, instead of corrupt monk's Latin, the young men
became acquainted with a highly cultivated, clear, powerful language,
and, at the same time also, with the history of the most celebrated
republic of antiquity, which, to the Swiss, themselves the citizens of
a free country, was full of interest. Wœlfli, we know, followed this
path in his teaching. "From him," says Myconius, the biographer and
friend of Zwingli, "he obtained his first knowledge of the classic
authors (so well preserved through so many centuries), acquired a
flowing, harmonious style, and learned how to distinguish facts and
exercise his judgment upon them." Wœlfli had visited Jerusalem as a
zealous pilgrim, and would often speak of the journey to his scholars,
who also saw that he was busied with the history of his native land and
that every story of the olden time was sacred in his eyes. But to
Zwingli the most pleasant hours were those spent in the practice of
music. With astonishing rapidity he learned to play on all the kinds of
instruments then known. This attracted the attention of the heads of
the Dominicans at Bern. Envious at the greater concourse of people,
that crowded to the Franciscans, these monks sought to raise against
the fallen reputation of their monastery. To secure for themselves
talent, so promising as that of Zwingli, was a thing much to be
desired; but happily for himself and for his father-land, the young man
rejected their offers. A short time after, four of these cursed
hypocrites had to atone by death at the stake for a diversion, just as
cruel as it was horrible, the performing of bloody miracles for the
deception of pious simplicity.
Zwingli had now lived three years in Bern, and was already fully ripe
for the university. With loving remembrances he bade farewell to his
faithful teacher, who was yet to become his pupil and in old age
dedicate a few sad verses to the hero, who fell at Cappel.
At that time the young Swiss chiefly resorted to the universities of
Basel, Paris, Vienna, Cracow and Pavia. That of Vienna was selected for
Zwingli, which he entered in the same year (1490), that saw his country
triumph over the dangers of the Swabian war. He there united himself in
close intimacy with two other gifted fellow-countrymen, Joachim of Waat
(Vadianus) from St. Gall, and Henry Loriti (Glareanus) from Glarus.
Meanwhile he appears to have devoted more attention to general culture
than to such branches of knowledge as might aid him in the exercise of
a particular calling. Above all, philosophy had to be studied; a truly
noble science, if by it be understood the acquisition of truth, as far
as it can be reached by the deductions of human reason. But such was
not the character of philosophy then in vogue. Under the tyranny of a
degenerate church, the powers of the mind, not permitted to unfold in
an element of freedom, were wasted amid trifling and often silly
examinations and questions, conducted with a ludicrous show of
importance. A certain kind of sagacity often displayed itself in their
ingenious replies, and he who could produce the most singular was
regarded by many as the most learned.
It does fall within the scope of this description to hold up to
ridicule opinions, which others esteem holy. Examples, familiar to
those versed in books, are therefore omitted. The dangerous side of
this so-called philosophy did not lie so much in isolated expressions
as in its whole tendency to cripple the spirit and harden the heart, so
that victory might be rendered more sure and easy to the cunning
talker, who strove, not for the cause of truth, but for his own private
advantage. In the school of the clear-seeing, free-speaking Romans
Zwingli soon learned how to sift the scandalous game, carried on under
the banners of wisdom, to distinguish fallacy from truth, and to
despise from the bottom of his soul this false philosophy, the art of
passing off black for white, and of leading both parties by the nose
with the same blinding torrent of words, in brief, the whole brood of
lies and everything belonging to it.
Although it could only have been through the medium of translations or
abridgments, he already seems to have made some acquaintance with the
works of the Greeks. In profound speculation and in matters of art and
taste they were the teachers of the Romans, who, in spite of national
pride, were willing to acknowledge them as such. Even to this day,
their sages, Plato and Aristotle, must be studied by all, who are not
content with a mere superficial knowledge of philosophy. Their
historians entered fully into the character of the persons and of the
times, which they portrayed, and in their poets a loftier inspiration
ruled. One of these, Pindar, is thus described by Zwingli at a later
period: "He is the prince of poets. He has a true, holy, incorruptible
mind. Every expression, that he uses, be it ever so common, he makes
noble. No one can either give to him or take from him without injury.
In him is found a worthy, powerful representation of antiquity. It
lives again before our eyes. His poetry flows like a clear stream; all
is noble, charming, perfect. In a lofty style he discourses of the
gods, and it can be easily seen that he meant thereby the one, divine,
heavenly power. No Grecian author serves so well for the interpretation
of Holy Scripture, especially of the Psalms and Job, which rival him in
sublimity."
The young men turned their attention also to the mysteries of nature,
the discoveries in geography and the illimitable kingdom of worlds,
revealed to us by a glance at the darkened heavens. In after life
Glareanus won for himself considerable fame by his researches in the
department of ancient geography, and Vadianus, when quite an old man,
gathered around him a troop of burghers from St. Gall, full of wonder
and a desire to learn, as they lay encamped, one starry night, on the
summit of the Freudenberg, and spoke to them of the motion of the
heavenly bodies and the laws, that govern them, and strengthened their
hopes of an eternal existence in the immeasurable realms of space.
The three friends, thus closely joined in noble endeavor, lived in
daily, social, intercourse with others, whom hereafter, when the more
earnest days of manly activity have arrived, we shall find arrayed, as
in the cases of Eck and Faber, among the most bitter opponents of
Zwingli.
The morals of that period, as every one knows, were loose and corrupt,
and only too much opportunity was afforded for indulging in pleasures
of every kind, especially in a large city. For young men, left to their
own guidance in the heyday of life, it was difficult to keep within
proper bounds on all sides. But his love of music, that very thing so
severely blamed in after times by hypocritical pietists, was the means
of preserving Zwingli from every thing low and mean. His early
conviction of the value of time taught him to be very sparing of it,
and the lofty ideal, which floated before him and his friends, their
youthful plans of future greatness, kept them unsoiled amid the swamps
of temptation, till at a later period their place was more effectually
supplied by the purer influence of religion.
After a residence of two years abroad the young Switzer came back again
to his native mountains, full of vigor, sound in mind and body, and
amply prepared to enter upon any professional pursuit. He appears to
have remained only a short time at home. The country village was little
suited to the prosecution of his further designs. A situation as
teacher of languages was offered him in the school of St. Martin at
Basel, and he there began his public career in the year 1502. No
intelligence has reached us concerning the nature of his labors. He had
probably only elementary branches to teach; for the university, as
formerly constituted, exerted on the teachers of the foundation-schools
under its control, an influence rather paralyzing than encouraging.
Nevertheless he conscientiously applied himself to his studies and
associated for this purpose with Leo Judæ, who, born two years earlier
than Zwingli at Rappersweier in Alsace, stood faithfully at his side in
all his later course and will yet receive frequent mention in this
history. He also shared with him his love of music.
But now the period had arrived, when in the study of religious
doctrine, the end and meaning of their future life began to dawn upon
the minds of Zwingli and his friend. At the same time a teacher came to
Basel, who was well fitted to waken their love for this science and
give a right direction to their active zeal. That man was Thomas
Wittenbach of Biel, hitherto professor at Tubingen.
The world had then grown weary of the corruption of the clergy, of
their stupid arrogance, of the intolerance, which would restrict the
divine favor to the limits of their narrow earthly horizon, and of the
search after miracles, which was counted faith, although a denial of
true faith, because it would grasp with the hand that which is
spiritual and not to be apprehended, except when a beam of divine grace
is glowing on the altar of a pure heart. Yet only so much the more did
a longing after the communication of clearer light prevail.
It is true indeed that here and there were found pious men, who in
humility and childlike simplicity wrought works of love and edified
their neighbors, by a redeeming activity and a spotless life. But
characters of this kind were suited only to peaceful, not stormy times,
which called for bolder leaders. Enemies must be met on their own
field, the weapons of the understanding used, and the arguments of
science advanced, not in such a way however as to injure simple-minded
faith. This was the manner in which Christ opposed the scepticism of
the Sadducees and the sophistry of the Pharisees, and this is what is
meant by that saying of his, concerning the wisdom of the serpent and
the harmlessness of the dove. High hung this garland; but it was worthy
of the sweat of the noblest.
Wittenbach knew well how to encourage his pupils to enter the lists and
strive after its attainment. Leo Judæ has given authentic testimony to
this effect in a letter to the council of Biel. "From your city,"
writes he, "came forth this man, regarded by the most learned men of
that age as a the phœnix on account of his manifold acquirements.
Zwingli and I enjoyed his instructions at Basel in the year 1505. Under
his guidance, from polite literature, in which he was equally at home,
we passed over to the more earnest study of the Holy Scriptures. His
sagacity discerned clearly beforehand the events of coming years, the
overthrow of the papal doctrine of indulgences and other groundless
dogmas, by which, for many centuries, Rome had held unthinking mankind
in bondage. Whatever of thorough knowledge we possess, we owe it to him
and must remain his debtors as long as we live."
While yet in Basel Zwingli had received the title of _Magister_ (Master
of the Liberal Arts,) but he never made any use of it himself. One is
our master, he was accustomed to say, Christ.
But now, in the twenty-second year of his age, he must leave Basel
also, and enter on the proper business of his life. John Stucki, pastor
at Glarus, died in the year 1506. Recommended probably by his uncle,
perhaps by his friend Glareanus, the young man was chosen for the
important post. The Bishop of Constance consecrated him to the
priesthood and ratified the choice.
Through Rappersweil, where he preached his first sermon; through
Wildhaus, where he read his first mass, he passed on towards the close
of the year, to his new home. Glarus, the chief town of the canton, was
inhabited by an active, intelligent population, full of energy and
independence. The new teacher, who does not intend to act the part of
an unprincipled hireling, must count on finding watchful enemies as
well as friends. There is only one means, by which to maintain an erect
position, under such circumstances, in a firm adherence to duty and
principle, and that is an unfailing support,--trust in a higher power,
which never deserts an honest endeavor. With this resolve, under this
shield, Zwingli began the practice of his calling, not at all anxious
about the judgments of men, nor troubled at the remarks of the
multitude. In him ruled the ardent spirit of vigorous youth, averse to
every thing that smacked of devotional hypocrisy, full of life and
mirth, sometimes verging even on wantonness, and yet so earnest, where
the affairs of science, so profound, where those of faith, and so
conscientious, where those of the congregation entrusted to his care,
were concerned, or those of his country, in whose welfare and honor his
heart was bound up. If on this account he was called a friend of sport;
if Glareanus wrote to him gaily in monk's Latin: "I am coming to you
shortly, and then we will be of good cheer and play on the jews' harp;"
and if Dingnauer, who promised him, that neither envy, nor jealousy,
nor the moroseness of old age, nor gold, nor iron should cripple his
friendship, believed that he must add the warning: "Watch over your
heart, conceal your glowing wishes, lest joy be turned into bitter
vexation;" we yet read, on the other hand, what he himself wrote to
Vadianus at Vienna: "I am now resolved to devote myself to the Greek
language and to be drawn away from it no more. This is not done out of
vanity, for how little does pretension become me! but from the
necessity of a thorough understanding of the Holy Scriptures." We find
also that he wrote off the original Greek text of the Epistles of Paul
in the form of a small book, in order to have it continually with him,
and added in the margin the observations of the most approved
commentators. In the year 1522, we hear him thus speak of the manner,
in which he tried at that time to penetrate into the spirit of these
records: "In my youth I made as much advance in human learning as any
one of my age, and when, six or seven years ago, I devoted my whole
strength to the study of the Holy Scriptures, the philosophy and
theology of the controversialists threw continual difficulties in my
way. At last I came to this conclusion. I thought: Thou must lay aside
all these and get the meaning of God fresh from his own, simple word.
Then I began to implore God for his light, and the Scripture became
much clearer to me, although I read it merely, as I would have read
many commentaries and interpreters." The letters written by him and to
him at this time show us plainly, that those who were committed to his
training, especially young men of promise, crowded around him, full of
love and reverence, and that he never was weary of giving them counsel,
support and recommendation in foreign countries, of watching over their
progress and morals, whilst there, and of rejoicing in every evidence
of talent and noble purpose and helping to turn them to practical
account. Glareanus thanked him for permission to continue his studies
abroad, though obliged to give up a benefice in Mollis, where, "like a
goat-herd," he had to receive a new election every year. The same
friend wrote to him on another occasion: "You are always helping those,
who deserve it." Argobast Strub of Vienna was about to dedicate a
commendatory poem to him, when death surprised the ingenious youth and
the sorrowful Vadianus sent his literary remains to his former teacher
as a pledge of love from the departed one. Peter Tschudi wrote to him
from Paris, "You are like a tutelar god to us;" and his brother
Aegidius in Basel begged him, "Help, that I may be called back to you
again, for with no one have I wished rather to live than with you."
Valentine Tschudi, the cousin of the two first named, was yet more
strongly attached to their beloved master. "Never will I cease," he
expresses himself, "to be thankful for your kindnesses, especially when
a quartan fever troubled me of late, after my return from abroad and
because, on another occasion, when I had left my books behind in Basel,
you, although I would not out of modesty venture to be troublesome,
called me to you, encouraged me, and offered me your books, your
assistance and your influence. And thus your good will toward all
students was extended to me also and that not in a general way, for,
with special regard to my wants, your extensive and varied stores of
knowledge lay at my service." This Valentine Tschudi and Ludwig Rosch,
"a yet unbearded youth of the best kind," Zwingli had formerly
recommended to Vadianus in Vienna for the study of polite literature.
He did a similar favor for his brother Jacob, who "was possessed of
extraordinary gifts," and he charged his friend "to clip, to plane and
to polish the country youth as long as it was necessary, and should he
ever kick at it," he concluded, "you may throw him into prison, until
the fit is over."
Thus did this spirited man endeavor to stir up all around him to
improvement, and exerted the same influence over the older generation
as he did over the young. With the venerable Aebli, who on the first
march to Cappel prevented the shedding of fraternal blood, he formed a
close friendship. Of his own accord he traveled to Basel to become
personally acquainted with the celebrated Erasmus and gained his
undivided esteem, for, at a later period, he wrote to him, "Hail to the
Swiss people, whose character particularly pleases me, whose studies
and morals you and those like you will improve!" And the judge, Falk
of Freiburg, who was, it is true, a violent partisan of that period,
but at the same time a patron of science, offered him, in case he
desired to prosecute his studies for a season in quiet, a beautiful
country-seat, which he possessed in the neighborhood of Pavia, with the
gratuitous enjoyment of its revenues for two years. Nevertheless, it is
possible that he was actuated by the concealed design of winning over a
powerful champion to his own purposes.
With all the activity of his spirit, Zwingli appears, during his
stay in Glarus, to have kept within the limits of the established
church-doctrine in his public discourses. In the exposition of his
closing speech he himself places the first beginning of his attempt at
the reformation of the church in the year 1516, the same, in which he
had already received a call to Einsiedeln. He must first stand firm on
his own feet, before he can begin the attack. Hitherto, the Holy
Scriptures had been his daily and nightly study, and he knew the
greater part of them literally by heart. Before this, he had made his
debut as a political reformer, but of his doings in this sphere, we
will only be able to judge rightly, when we have taken a view of the
relations of the confederates to their neighbors in Upper Italy.
Long before the original articles of the confederacy, the alliance of
the three Forest Cantons of Dec. 9, 1315, were concluded, the highways
over Mt. Gotthard had become the channels of an active commerce between
Germany and Italy. When they were opened for this purpose cannot be
clearly shown, but they were certainly so used in the twelfth century.
The inhabitants of Uri, and partly also those of Schwytz and
Unterwalden supplied the Italian markets with their cattle, and the
mountain-valley of Urseren flourished particularly by means of this
trade. But they had dangerous neighbors in the turbulent Lavinians on
the south side of Gotthard. Here the Swiss and Italians met each other
in hostile attitude at an early period; for the first time, as far as
we know, in the year 1331. The Lavinians had plundered some merchants
on their way to Switzerland, as well as harrassed the people of Urseren
who drove their cattle to Bellinzona. They were supported in this
course by their landlords, the Visconti, Dukes of Milan. Uri called on
Schwytz and Unterwalden for help, and on Zurich also, although it was
not then included in the confederacy. The allies marched out and
pressed on to Faido, spreading universal terror. The General Vicar of
Como mediated a peace; but from that time forth we find the
confederates continually entangled in the affairs of Upper Italy.
Campaigns of a greater or less extent are undertaken, and treaties
struck, broken, and again renewed. The chief business seems to have
been the settlement of boundaries.
Perhaps it would have been better, if all that lay on the further side
of Gotthard and the Bundtner Alps had remained without any direct
communication with Switzerland. There is too wide a difference between
the Italian and the German character. But the struggle to secure for
their chief products an advantageous market had greater weight with the
three shepherd cantons. Sustained by their confederation they soon
endeavored, sword in hand, to extend their boundaries southward, and in
1476 Livinen came under the acknowledged sovereignty of Uri, and in
1500 Bellinzona with the adjoining country under that of the Three
Cantons. In 1503 these changes were confirmed by France, which then had
the upper hand in Lombardy.
This and not as yet a corrupt liking for mercenary service was the
original occasion of the campaigns of the confederates in Italy. The
battles of Arbedo and Gierniko were fought in support of brethren whom
they were bound by oath to help. But by long-continued habit the view,
that what was passing on the other side of Gotthard could not be
indifferent to their own land, took firm root in the minds of the Swiss
statesmen, and therefore it was, that the scandalous game of intrigue
and bribery, begun by Louis XI, by which France aimed at the
destruction of the Swiss national character, had a good opportunity of
unfolding itself on Italian ground, where France under Charles VIII and
Louis XII, contrived to increase her own power, by arraying Switzers
against Switzers. Nevertheless, there were yet, even in the beginning
of the sixteenth century, some among the Swiss soldiers, engaged in the
Italian campaigns, who were animated by motives nobler than a thirst
for gold or plunder. The duty of upholding sworn treaties, and the hope
of working out a lasting peace for a frontier so exposed to invasion
might have prompted the more distinguished, but very often the common
soldiers were only stimulated by a love for weapons streaming with
blood.
The betrayal of Ludovico Sforza, surnamed Il Moro, at Novara, in 1501,
had indeed greatly shaken the confidence, hitherto nearly universal, in
the fidelity and honor of the Swiss; but even at home indignation was
awakened by it, a severe examination instituted, and the chief actor
executed at Altorf. Indeed it seems generally to have roused the better
feelings of the nation. An oath was demanded against the acceptance of
pensions and mercenary service under foreign lords; and a levy was not
only refused to the French ambassadors, who had come into the country
with new bribes, but their safe-conduct even was recalled. Although
such things were enacted by their diet, yet corrupt leaders again
practised their lures, and a crowd of reckless youth again gave ear to
them. But when France, now strongly established in her domination over
Italy by the repeated aid of these deserters, began by degrees to treat
them more coldly, and in the end with contempt even, they appear to
have become more wise. Instead of remaining quiet within their own
borders, they gave free rein to a growing national hatred, which the
Emperor and then the Pope, Julius II, well understood how to turn to
their own profit.
Indulgences, blessings, consecrated gifts from the Papal Chair were
held up before their eyes by their countryman, the cunning, eloquent,
indefatigable Cardinal Schinner, whilst the knightly Emperor reminded
them that it would be nobler to aid a plundered prince to regain what
he had lost than to stand by the haughty robber; and the young Duke of
Milan, son of that Ludovico Sforza, since dead, who was taken prisoner
at Novara and afterwards escaped to Austria, promised them, in return
for their help, the most profitable alliance and the possession of
Lugano and Locarno. And here for once, both private advantage and
public honor seemed to ran together, and hence resulted an expedition,
more numerous and better organized than any former one, not under
foreign banners, but under their own, and led by able and experienced
commanders, the so-called March, to Pavia. This was the first campaign
in which Zwingli was personally present.
In the ardent years of youth the national love of battle glowed even in
his bosom. From the most eminent authors of Greece and Rome he had
learned much of war and the history of war. He himself tells us with
what eagerness he pored over the campaigns of Alexander, narrated by
Curtius, and those of Cæsar, written by his own hand. But he did not
rest content with deeds of arms merely. The nature of the countries and
the character of the people were full of interest to him. He inquired
into the causes of wars, and considered their operations and results.
In a letter to a friend he thus advises, "Read Sallust's description of
the wars of Jugurtha and Cataline's conspiracy. See in the former the
insolence, the artifices and the lust of power of a single aristocrat
and how far the love of money can lead; in the latter, what gifts can
do, and how they can embolden those who are bribed by them. Let Appian
of Alexandria then picture to you the distraction of citizens and civil
war, with banishment and its consequences. He understands well how to
relate briefly every thing that is noteworthy. Whoever begins, can not
lay his book down, until he has finished it."
We are by no means to regard Zwingli as an advocate of war. It appeared
to him a calamity; but as a calamity, which cannot always be avoided,
for which one must be prepared, and that the times of its coming are
determined in the plans of superhuman wisdom.
Holding such views and persuaded that the expedition was lawful--in the
line of right and duty, he now, in 1512, followed the banner of the
Canton Glarus into Italy. According to ancient custom, this was the
duty of the pastor of the chief congregation, for where the banner
waved, there was the highest power of the country. To every one in the
warlike assembly gathered around it, his voice was boldly lifted up. In
order to counsel and to guide, it was necessary, that the most
intelligent should not be wanting there.
In a Latin letter to his friend Vadianus in Vienna, Zwingli himself has
thus narrated the events of this campaign:
"Since an evil report about the Confederates has been spread far and
wide, and since even that, which the result proves to have been just
and innocent, is abused and misrepresented, I have undertaken to give
you a picture, short indeed, but true, of the actual condition of our
affairs. Passing over the terms of a treaty of alliance, concluded
between the Most Holy Vicegerent of Christ, Julius II, and the
Confederates, I would only state, that the King of the French (to whom,
even while attacking the Church of Christ, some one gave the flattering
title, 'Most Christian') wearied out the Venetians by protracted war,
conquered in several hard-fought battles, and captured or laid waste
their towns; and also that he took up arms against the anointed Head of
the Church; set up, under the guidance of a wicked demon, an antipope,
as he is styled, and robbed the Holy See of many large cities, among
which was Bologna, mother of the sciences and nurse of the common law.
When, at the close of the Easter festival, the august King of Spain
beheld the ship of Peter tossing in danger on the threatening waves,
the condition of the Church filled him with sorrow. As quick as
possible he gathered an army and sent it to the aid of the Papal
troops, who since winter had lingered in Middle Italy. Full of valor
and skilled in military science, they approached Ravenna by forced
marches. But the French tyrant also sent out a strong force to meet the
Spaniards and their allies, the Venetians."
"When the enemy came in sight, the Spaniards did not decline battle.
They had with them an engineer, possessed of the talent of an
Archimedes and a Dædalus. He had invented light sickle-wagons, on each
of which stood a small mortar. These they pushed before them. The
French army was commanded by the _Grandmaitre_.[2] In front he placed
the Swabian _landsknechts_; behind these the Gascons, and a large body
of cavalry, on the wings. The most select of these, himself at their
head, formed the corps of observation. At the signal of battle, a
shower of red-hot balls was discharged by the Spanish army. The
_landsknechts_ were startled. 'Why do ye stand?'--the French marshal is
said to have cried out. 'Will ye wait to be shot down? O that I had the
brave Confederates with me yet!--they who at the sight of any enemy
roared like raging lions, fell on him, and pressed into him! Forwards!
Whip them, whom you have often whipped before! Set your swords and
halberds against the balls!' The _landsknechts_ begin to advance. And
now, the Spaniards put fire to the old wheeled-wagons, and, sheltered
by them, press on against the centre. A terrific _melee_ ensues. From
sheer fatigue they must often rest and repair their broken ranks. The
battle lasts from morning till evening. Already the greater part of the
_landknechts_ are killed, and the rest fly. The cavalry also, and the
Gascons waver. Eight thousand victims cover the field. The
_Grandmaitre_ looks toward heaven, gnashes his teeth, and cries out,
'The victory of the Spaniards shall not be bloodless, or I die this
day.' He puts spurs to his horse. His trusty followers come after.
Bravely fighting he falls. But the enemy, who expected no new attack,
are thrown into disorder. The French again press forward, conquer, and
take possession of the city. Night only ends the conflict. Hannibal,
after the victory at Cannæ, spread no greater terror over Rome and
Italy. The fear of the French rule produced universal lamentation.
Comfort and assistance were begged for on all sides. The Confederates,
in view of this state of things, think, what a dangerous example it
would be, if such a raging tyrant were allowed to make war on the
Common Mother of all faithful Christians. They quickly assemble and
resolve with zeal, to put the affairs of the Church and of Italy into a
better condition. A legate of the cardinal (Schinner) makes his
appearance, begging and imploring them by their treaty-obligations to
set out at once; yet he can offer no more than a gold-florin to the
man. It is scarcely credible; but in six days, notwithstanding, 20,000
chosen infantry are brought together, who immediately rush through
Graubunden, over the Adige, and down the narrow defiles to Verona, then
in the possession of the _landsknechts_ and the Gascons. On the
approach of the Confederates they evacuate the city. The Cardinal again
appears in the Swiss army and is received with many marks of honor.
Intelligence reaches us from the Venetians; who soon come up with 800
mail-clad troopers and 500 light-horse. Full of glad anticipation they
behold the imposing array of the Confederates. We advance to a river[3]
(whose name I have not learned) on the other side of which the powerful
French army stands strongly intrenched. The bridge, behind which
Valleggio lies, was defended by three massive towers. The artillery of
the Venetians compels the French to fall back. They take with them what
provision they can raise. The army advances to Pontevico, where the
enemy again makes a momentary stand. Here a castle is built in the
middle of the bridge,[4] up to which point it had been broken down. In
the presence of the foe, but under the protection of the Venetian
cannon, a number of volunteers swim over and fetch back the boats,
which had been carried to the other side. A bridge is quickly
constructed. But by the time the army crossed over, the Frenchmen are
in full flight. Only a few shots from the field-pieces are sent after
them. Conscious that the state of their affairs is desperate, deprived
of the support of the Germans, knowing the enemy with whom they have to
deal, believing themselves secure no where, they take refuge in Pavia
and await the result. The boldest of the Confederate youth had cut off
from them a considerable herd of cattle, on which the army could have
subsisted for a long time. Ulric von Sax, leader of the Confederates,
just as prudent as he was active, resolves to besiege Pavia for a
while, because he thinks it not yet advisable to take it by storm. The
French still endeavor to prevent a passage over the Po.[5] Here an
incident happens almost as incredible as it is amusing. In the French
camp were 800 _landsknechts_, survivors of the defeat at Ravenna. Some
of our men swim over the Po, in order to take measures for the
fastening of a bridge. The _landsknechts_ sally out to prevent this.
All the youth of the Confederate army, skilled in swimming, running,
jumping, cast off their clothes and, halberd in hand, leap into the Po,
to fight with enemies, of whom they say, 'Would that God had given us
such for a daily exercise in the art of war.' In fact, they raised a
warlike laugh as often as they caught a glimpse of the _landsknechts_,
not because they esteemed them cowardly and despicable antagonists, but
because they were found by them on the side of the enemy and beaten
oftener than they conquered. Although the _landsknechts_ saw the naked,
white bodies, they still fled, giving a free passage over the river.
The Confederates now marched on to Pavia, which was surrounded and
taken in a few days in the following manner. Some single combats had
preceded. Six Frenchmen had called out four confederates and were
killed. Two others challenged a chamois-hunter from the Canton of
Glarus. This pleased him. One he shot down with his gun; the other he
attacked with the sword. The French, trusting the walls as little as
their courage, meditate flight and wish to cover it by the
_landsknechts_, whom they address thus, 'You see, brave comrades, be it
chance or be it fate, the luck of war has forsaken France. We must
think of retreat, if we cannot count on victory. Our camp is full of
despair. Your former boldness must expect to-day the most illustrious
trial. Act up to your reputation! We, the heavy and the light armed,
will occupy that part of the city, which stretches along the Mincio,[6]
before the enemy presses in there and cuts off the way of escape. Thus
will we secure the safety of all. If we cannot conquer now, we must try
to keep our lives to do it hereafter, as Demosthenes says. So that no
one may suspect us of treachery we leave with you the artillery, the
pledge of our hope.' The credulous foot-soldiers (_landsknechts_),
trusting their fair speeches, permitted them to march out. But the
French have scarcely placed the Mincio (Ticino) behind them, when they
take to flight and leave the _landsknechts_ in the lurch. As soon as
the citizens of Pavia observe this, they promise, on condition that
they are exempted from pillage, a month's pay to each individual in the
Confederate and Venetian camps. The former thirsted for a contest with
the _landsknechts_, but this desire was yet to cost them much bitter
sweat. The clumsy artillery of the besieging army was drawn up in the
park, outside of the city, under the guard of a hundred picked men,
from different corps. It was not yet noon, when the women and the more
aged citizens, unsuspected by the foot-soldiers, appeared on the walls
and let down scaling ladders over them. The hundred, employed as a
watch in the park, with some others who joined them, hasten up, climb
the walls, and without the knowledge of the rest of the army, try to
penetrate into the heart of the city. But the _landsknechts_ have
artillery, and they only their short weapons and their fiery courage.
Had not the narrow streets checked the former, the Confederates would
all have been slain. They try to conceal themselves for the moment
behind projections and sheltering walls; but then they suddenly rush
out, make themselves masters of two pieces, and turn them against the
enemy, who were thus gradually driven back. And now one of the
combatants mounts the wall, and proclaims victory and the capture of
the city. It is not believed; a stratagem is feared, and it is
forbidden to approach the wall. At last, encouraged by the prolonged
stentorian cry, some venture to climb up. The _landsknechts_ resist in
vain. They become wearied out and are driven into the river. Of 800,
only 50 are taken alive. Meanwhile the Confederates march through the
gate. The Venetian horsemen pursue the fugitives, but can only overtake
a few. Anon, a shout resounds through the city, 'Julius, the Swiss are
conquerors.' On the third day, the garrison of the castle surrenders.
Eight battering-rams, ten culverins, and ten pieces of smaller
artillery are among the trophies. Several had previously belonged to
the Venetians. And now at sight of them they embrace and wet them with
tears and kiss the escutcheon of St. Mark. So much had the disgraceful
loss pained them. The remaining towns send embassies and give in their
adherence to the Cardinal and the Confederates. Even Genoa is conquered
by the Spaniards, and Asti acknowledges, begging for peace with tied
hands, the power of the Holy League. All Italy, the seacoasts of
Liguria, and the Lombards are made free by the Confederates. 'We owe to
them,' they confess, 'what liberated Greece once owed to Titus
Quinctius.' The sound of the trumpet re-echoes through cities, towns,
and villages; and bells ring. Scholars, clergy and preachers proclaim
from the pulpit; 'Ye are God's people. Ye have humbled the enemies of
the Bride of the Crucified.' The army, tarrying some days in Pavia,
suppresses a rebellion, which I pass over, because the matter was
brought to a happy issue. Then messengers hasten to all parts, in order
to bring about a settlement of the affairs of Milan. The Confederate
Diet is assembled in Baden, and the following embassies arrive there:
legates from his Holiness, Pope Julius II, from the Emperor, from the
Cardinal of St. Potentiana (Schinner), legates by proxy of the King of
Spain, from the King of France (these half by stealth), from the Duke
of Savoy, from the Duke of Lorraine, from the Venetians, from the
Milanese; all bent on furthering their own wishes and aims. Here the
foresight and craftiness of men must be studied, how they try to bring
each other into difficulty, in order to prosecute their own advantage
more securely amid the confusion; and how they pretend to desire one
thing, in order to gain the contrary. The Emperor in particular ties
the knot. He had resolved in secret to restore Maximilian, son of the
banished Duke, Ludovico Sforza, to the princely seat. To the
astonishment of all, he comes out with the assertion that Lombardy, as
a fief of the empire, durst receive its ruler from no one but the head
of the empire. This gave little satisfaction to the Confederates. 'The
Emperor,' say they, 'had promised to assist us with cavalry; but he
went no further than fair words. We, the Pope, and the Venetians have
borne the burden of the war. And now, he, who did nothing, comes to
carry off the prize.' Yet it does not break out into an open quarrel.
Another embassy arrives from the Holy Father, Julius, and the
cardinals. It brings to the Confederates the title of honor,
'Liberators of the Church.' Most welcome is this title to them, and
most welcome what is added, 'They may ask what they please, the most
sacred will be granted to them.' The greater part, yea, all ask for the
privilege of bearing the image of the Crucified on their banner; the
men of Glarus wish the risen Savior. In the end the resolution is
passed to bring back Maximilian, the son of Louis, to the throne of his
father. I would have written to you more fully, my dear Vadianus, for
this is not the hundredth part, had not a pressure of business
prevented me. Judge of this hasty letter with indulgence. It has been
the work of not more than three hours."
This, the earliest historical production of Zwingli, that has come down
to us, is translated as literally as possible, in order to show the
opinion then entertained by him, of political and ecclesiastical
relations, his strong youthful spirit, which delighted in the chances
of war, and his study of the military art and history of the warlike
Romans. The latter is seen in the occasional, mostly well chosen,
technical terms, the insertion of short speeches, and the concise,
graphic mode of representation. The defective knowledge of geography
displayed need not be wondered at, since maps, those indispensable
helps, were wholly wanting in that age. In his eyes the Romish church
is surrounded with the highest glory, and its sacred head, the Pope,
worthy of reverence almost divine. He regards the expedition to Pavia
as lawful, exults with national pride in the laurels won, and even the
sight of disorders among the haughty conquerors appears to make only a
transient impression upon him. But with keen glance he discovers the
moving spring of the diplomatic transactions, the elements of discord,
and the quarter, from which the most destructive inroads on the life of
the republic were to be feared.
For two years it had become plain to him, with what danger this impure
game of false statesmanship, this system of bribes, frauds, flatteries,
and intimidations threatened the Confederacy, exposed to it on all
sides. Two poems, written about the year 1510 or 1511, "The Labyrinth"
and "A poetic Fable concerning an Ox and several Beasts," are to be
received partly as pictures of the time, and partly as lessons of
warning. Vigorous, rich in thought, original in conception, but
somewhat rude in language, they exhibit a row of well-drawn single
figures, without light and shade, rather than a group disposed by art,
and owe more to the exercise of the understanding than to the impulses
of the imagination. They deserve to be handed down to posterity only as
the productions of an author, who has done greater things. The second
winds up in the following nervous style:
"Where Bribery can show its face,
There Freedom has no dwelling place.
And such a blessing Freedom is,
That boldly Sparta, as we wis,
Unto Hydarmes gave reply:
'Freedom must stand by Bravery
Sheltered and guarded evermore.'
Amid the bloody ranks of war,
Amid the fearful dance of death,
Let gleaming swords drawn from the sheath,
And sharp-edged spears and axes be
Thy guardians, golden liberty.
But, where a brutish heart is met
And by a tempting bribe beset,
There noble Freedom, glorious boon!
And name and blood of friends too soon
Are cheaply prized and rudely torn
The oaths in the holy covenant sworn."
In Italy, the honorable closing act of the year 1512 now took place. At
the gates of Milan, in presence of the imperial, papal and Spanish
deputies, the burgomaster Schmied of Zurich handed over to the young
duke Maximilian Sforza the keys of his conquered capital, and the
bailiff Schwarzmauer of Zug received him with a Latin oration. It were
well, if the intervention of the Confederates in Italian affairs had
ended here, and a strong national resolve, to keep what they had won,
and leave what is foreign to the care of foreigners, had gained the
ascendency. But already baits were again thrown out by the Pope, the
Emperor and France, and were soon followed by scenes, more stormy, more
disgraceful, more tragic, out of which the battles of Novara and
Marignano rise in bloody trappings.
For several years the eyes of Zwingli had been fully opened to the
destructive influence, which foreign mercenary service exerted on a
free state. Whether he accompanied the banner of Glarus twice, or only
once more into Italy cannot now be accurately determined. Bullinger
alone states that he was present at Novara, confounding probably this
expedition with one of an earlier date. It is certain, however, that he
took part in the campaign of 1515, for, six days previous to the battle
of Marignano, he preached in the square before the town-hall in Monza.
"Had we followed his counsel," says Werner Steiner, who at the side of
his father, the landamman of Zug, listened to the sermon,--"much less
blood would have been shed, and the Confederates saved from great harm."
But dissension reigned in their ranks, which were crippled by French
gold and promises, and they, who did remain faithful, lacked _one_
leader around whom to rally.
The terrific battle of Marignano had ended in a dreadful defeat. Voices
of lamentation, reproach, and repentance met those, who found their way
back to their native land and resounded here and there also from the
pulpit. Zwingli, who himself had been an eye-witness of the whole
calamity, believed it his duty, as teacher in the chief-town of the
little republic, not to keep silent.
Before men of rank and influence, who even in Glarus, though compelled
for the moment to remain quiet, soon gave themselves up again, at first
cautiously but afterwards without shame, to the seductions of renewed
bribery, sticking to that conqueror, who before had rewarded them so
gloriously, and began to further the interests of France, instead of
those of their own country, he unveiled, without fear or restraint, the
ruinous consequences of this scandalous trade, laid bare its secret
hiding places and tricks, and encouraged the better spirit of the
people to a wholesome resistance. But notwithstanding, the cunning
seducers knew how to restrain themselves, and in spite of all, they
gained firmer footing, and although the Perpetual Peace, lately
concluded with France, did not give them all they sought for, they
still received by it a more secure position for further intrigues.
But at length their hatred broke out into open flame against the bold,
troublesome speaker--the preacher, who dabbled in politics--the
fanner's son of a remote district, who had the presumption to attack
the great ones of the land, the old patrician families, and who, though
himself not pure, nevertheless cast blame on others. Full of avarice,
envy and hypocrisy, the proud, the fault-finders and the spiritual
dwarfs met together. They whispered, fanned their rage, shook their
heads, reviled, threatened; in a short time they had no rest, till he
wished himself away; and hence, at a later period, he thus wrote to
Vadianus, "Nothing else could have induced me to change my situation
but the intrigues of the French. I am now at Einsiedeln. I would tell
you what injury the French faction has done me, if I did not think that
you knew it already. I had to take part in affairs, and have suffered
and learned to suffer much evil."
We will now examine the charges, that were brought against Zwingli,
keeping steadily in view the position as to science, character, and
fitness for his calling, which he occupied, when he left Glarus. As the
indispensable fruits of a republican form of government we look for
freedom to be good and true, decision of character, and the
unrestricted development of every nobler feeling and of every kind of
profound knowledge. When it protects and fosters such tendencies, and
makes good its title to an honorable place among other forms. But when
it fails so to do, because of democratic, or aristocratic degeneracy,
it then writes its own condemnation. Zwingli began his labors as a
republican, in whom the citizen was not lost in the priest. And this we
must always bear in mind, so as not to do him injustice, when we see
him working as resolutely in the state as in the church. Whether this
course can be defended in our time does not concern us. It seemed well
in his age, and that it is our business now to describe. The republican
feeling of equality gave him, moreover courage to face every opponent
with boldness, yet always with argument. He honored the old families,
when they practised the old virtues. The man of rank, who sinned
against his country, was in his eyes more worthy of punishment than a
common person. Meanwhile these views found too much sympathy in the
free Canton of Glarus, to allow his enemies to attack him, except in an
indirect way. They harped, therefore, so much the more on the third
charge, that he even, the fault-finder himself, was not innocent.
"Why," say they, "does he rail out continually against French intrigue?
Only because he has sold himself to the Papal interest. Is he not in
close league with Cardinal Schinner? Is he not his spy, his minion,
commissioned by him to distribute the presents of the Pope? Does he not
receive letters, testimonials of honor, from the Nuncio? Yes, he--even
he who calls us takers of bribes, draws a yearly pension from the
Pope."
And certainly it was so, but with this difference--an honorable
intention on his part, and a base one on theirs. The scientific and
practical qualifications of Schinner and his clear insight into the
relations of life were highly esteemed by Zwingli, who looked on him as
a strong champion in the contest against French corruption. And in
truth this son of a poor shepherd in Valais was no common man. By
talent and industry he had raised himself to the bishopric of that
Canton. Defeated by an opposing party he had to flee, but was already
known to the Pope, from whom he received a Cardinal's hat. Of course he
now labored to advance the interests of Rome and the Empire among the
Confederates, but at the time when Zwingli became acquainted with him,
not by such disreputable means, as afterwards. Any separation from the
church was as yet far from the thoughts of the Reformer, although he
already desired the correction of existing abuses. What was more
natural for him than to seek to win over to his assistance those, who
could exert a direct influence in Rome, the Cardinal and the Nuncio?
And indeed, a few years later, when he came out manfully against the
politics of Rome, he yet distinguished between the person of the
Cardinal and his cause, and true to earlier feelings of friendship,
defended the former, as long as it was possible. "They,"--wrote he to
Myconius--"who blame me for yielding too much to the Cardinal, I
suspect are only friends and well-wishers in appearance, and censure me
for that which, though it were not altogether reasonable, ought to be
allowed on the score of friendship. Rather would I err in thinking well
of a bad man, if I did not know him to be bad, than in thinking ill of
a good one." The fifty florins, which he drew yearly on the order of
the Pope, were laid out only in books and scientific helps, needed for
the better exercise of his calling. This pension he gave up of his own
accord at a later day.
The main charge, however, was directed against his moral conduct. Not
merely gloomy hypocrites, habitual fault-finders, who took offence at
every joke, to which his gay humor may have prompted him, and condemned
his love of music and society, but unprejudiced, worthy men also
regretted that his attentions to the women were not always kept within
proper bounds. It were idle to deny, what he himself openly confessed,
when he bewailed the errors of his youth and strove to do them away by
redoubled zeal and faithfulness to duty. Some excuse may be found for
him in the customs of his age. The failings of superiors were then
treated with indulgence, and a transgression of this kind received but
a mild sentence at the bar of public opinion. His honorable dismissal
from Glarus, given to him only with reluctance, shows, also, that in
spite of occasional short-comings, his character was held in general
esteem. Certainly Catholic writers, since then and even in modern
times, have sought to cast a stain on his later work by laying undue
stress on this weakness of the Reformer's youth.[7] The simple question
may be put to them, 'Are not Augustine and Jerome counted among your
most distinguished saints? And yet you know, or ought to know, what
they have confessed--things that Zwingli had never to renounce.'
He was now past his thirty-first year, and in the full vigor of
manhood. His national sympathies, the extent of his knowledge, his
courage and ability were well known to the inhabitants of Glarus and to
many also beyond the limits of the little Canton. As to matters of
faith the struggle was yet going on in his own bosom. Here, on the one
hand, stood the Church, to whose priesthood he had been consecrated,
with her stiff, unbending dogmas, and her stale, lifeless forms, yet
esteemed holy, to touch which was regarded as an unpardonable crime in
the individual; and there, on the other, eternal truth, superior to the
narrow restrictions of human power, raised above decretals and the
decisions of Councils, drawing to herself all noble spirits with an
irresistible charm, of all objects the most worthy of pursuit and
untiring effort--and besides these a third, easily overlooked by the
inexperienced youth--by the thinker in his quiet chamber, but not by
the practical man, who must mingle directly with the people--the
necessity of a higher, a more infallible authority than his own, an
authority acceptable to all good men and acknowledged by all. It was
well for him that he knew how to connect this with the results of his
investigation. Not by ignoring the understanding, not by a cowardly
retreat, where others ventured freely to inquire, not by an assent,
that feared to ask for proof, lest one should cry out, "Wo to the
heretic!"--No! but by boldly examining for himself and using his
reason, he only arrived at the more settled conviction of the truth of
the Holy Scripture and of the divine power of the faith built thereon.
"Take good, strong wine," wrote he to the nuns in Oedenbach, at a later
period, "it tastes good to the healthy, makes him glad of heart,
strengthens him, warms his blood. But he, who lies sick of a distemper,
or fever, and cannot taste it, much less drink it, wonders how those
who are healthy can drink it. The fault is not in the wine, but in the
disease. So the Divine Word is altogether right in itself, and revealed
for the good of men. But he, who cannot bear it, nor understand it, and
will not receive it, is sick. Thus let them be answered, who wickedly
say, God would not have his Word _understood_," (we must subject reason
to faith) "as if God wished to expose us to danger."
In order to attain completely that firm ground, where settled
conviction is the result of the union of faith and knowledge, he could
scarcely have done a wiser thing, than to withdraw into the more quiet
retreat, which was opened for him in the neighboring Einsiedeln.
Far and wide, throughout the Confederacy, and the surrounding
countries, was spread the name and glory of this monastery, which, like
St. Gall and Muri, was subject to the rule of Benedict. It dates its
origin as far back as the ninth century, and was built on that spot,
occupied in the beginning by the hermit's cell of Meinhard, a German
count. A legend of a voice, that fell from heaven, when in the
following century the Bishop of Constance was dedicating a new chapel
there, and of a song of angels repeatedly and distinctly heard, gave
rise to the yearly festival of the "Consecration of the Angels," which,
when it happened on a Sunday, as it did every seventh year, was
celebrated with increased splendor. The story of Meinhard's death and
the discovery of his murderers by means of ravens, who followed them,
survived among the traditions of the people, and the miracle being
accredited by Pope Leo VIII, and the power of granting plenary
indulgences allowed to the monastery, vast crowds of pilgrims were
attracted thither. By their offerings and the donations of the great it
became wealthy. The Abbos enjoyed the rank of a Prince, and the monks,
as a body, were descended from noble families. They were a proud,
irritable race, and could talk as much almost about the history of
their quarrels as of their pious exercises. Conrad of Hohenrechberg,
who, in the beginning of the sixteenth century, stood at their head,
troubled himself little about incense and choral singing, and thought
it a wicked thing in his relations to have forced him to take the cowl.
He took a knightly pleasure in the chase, and his heart leapt at the
sight of a drawn sword. To cunning and hypocrisy his nature was averse.
Whoever was open, simple, and sincerely pious found a friend in him.
For learned men he had a great esteem, but from lack of elementary
knowledge, was not able to follow their investigations. This he
modestly confessed. The reading of the mass he avoided as often as it
was possible, and was free to say, "If Christ be in the bread, then
indeed I know not how highly you prize yourselves; but I, poor monk, am
not worthy to look on him once, and hence decline to offer him. Is he
not there?--wo is me! if I offer bread, instead of God, and suffer the
people to adore it." When disputes ran too high, he sometimes broke
them off with the words, "Why so much talk? Now and at my last hour,
I say with David--_Have mercy, O God, upon me, according to thy
loving-kindness. Enter not into judgment with thy servant._ More I do
not wish to know." He was a diamond, unpolished, it is true, and
carelessly set, but always powerful enough to prevent any interference
in the government of his foundation.
At his side, Theobald of Geroldseck, filled the influential post of
Administrator. Zwingli himself writes of him, "His share of knowledge
is quite moderate, but he knows the value of learning, and particularly
seeks intercourse with those, who are possessed of it." By the aid of
such persons he desired to increase the prosperity of the monastery,
for the advantage and maintenance of whose privileges, he was clothed
with power. He was glad therefore to learn that Zwingli was able to
accept a call, and in fact an agreement was entered into by the
attorneys of the two parties on the 14 April, 1516, at Pfaffikon, on
Lake Zurich, in consequence of which Zwingli undertook the office of
preacher and pastor, in the capacity of vicar to the people's priest at
Einsiedeln, for which boarding at the convent-table, 20 florins at the
quarter-fastings, the revenues arising from the penny-offering and
requiems, and his own share of the confession-fees were guaranteed to
him, and the first complete benefice at the disposal of the
Administrator besides. Nevertheless, at their own urgent request, he
still remained pastor of his congregation in Glarus, and discharged his
duties there by the help of a vicar.
In the summer of the same year, trained as he already was in the school
of the world, he entered into the quiet shades of the cloister. It can
scarcely be expected that he will remain there long. First of all, let
us take a view of monastic life on its most favorable side, as a school
of self-denial, as a place of refuge for more profound study, as a
field for the exercise of practical charity. In all these respects it
has no doubt served valuable ends. And who will deny that, in times
when the will of the strong would endure no restraint, when bloody
revenge was thought to be a duty, and when iron bodies, broken by no
excess, added deeds of violence to deeds of violence, a milder spirit
was awakened in the walls of the cloister, and that pride was humbled
there, and self-will subdued?--that in the _God's peace_, which
protected its environs, the mechanic, as well as the peasant, found
labor and encouragement? And who does not acknowledge the services
rendered by particular monasteries, especially those of the
Benedictines, in the preservation and multiplication of rare
manuscripts--the works of the ancients, that had survived the downfall
of the Western Empire and the irruption of barbarian hordes? And even
in later times, in our own country, who will not freely own his
indebtedness to a Kopp in Muri, a Van der Meer in Rheinau, and the
monks of the neighboring St. Blaise,---a Herrgott, Neugart, Eichhorn,
and the Abbot Gerbert himself, for a knowledge of the diplomacy and
history of the Middle Ages? Who does not honor the Augustines of Mt.
St. Bernard, the Gray Sisters and the excellent schools of particular
monasteries?
But then, on the other side, who will not admit that indolence, false
views of life, narrow-mindedness, hypocrisy, and secret and impure
practices found a home in a multitude of these establishments? In
Zwingli's days, these dark features were most prominent and, we may
even say, altogether prevailed. To prove this, not only Protestant, but
enough of Catholic witnesses also are at hand. It was well for a man of
his spirit and aspirations to spend a few years in the quiet cells of
the cloister for the completion of his theological studies, especially
since he was exempt from the duty of wasting time in empty ceremonial
rites. But after this end was attained, it was easy to foresee that he
would again wish himself beyond the narrow walls.
To this the peculiar character of the monastery of Einsiedeln, as a
far-famed place of pilgrimage, contributed. In general there is little
to admire in the disposition of any one, who does not find his soul
elevated in places hallowed by departed greatness. A noble feeling lay
at the bottom of the expeditions to the Holy Sepulchre during the
Middle Ages, although they partook of all the rudeness of the time that
produced them; and even yet, how many spots are there in the land of
Palestine, that awaken, in the bosom of the traveler, meditations, in
which earnestness and sorrow mingle. On fields of battle, in haunts,
where ruled the leaders and the teachers of mankind, memory works with
double power, and even around graves known only to perishing tradition,
there lingers for some an imperishable charm. No censure therefore on
pilgrimages that spring from such deep impulses!
But when the hand of man ventures to write down in such a place: "Here
is plenary absolution from guilt and punishment," when the mortal will
forestall the eternal judge, and by the fancy of expiation obtained
through such a pilgrimage, the frivolity of the sinner is directly
enhanced and the perpetration of grosser crimes encouraged, when money
rings in the sanctuary, in whose courts a market is opened for relics
and consecrated amulets--who can be angry, if a feeling of indignation
flashes through the mind of the clear-sighted thinker, as well as
through the believing heart of the truly pious?
But Zwingli was now compelled to witness frequent scenes of this kind.
And in what troubled shapes, did not the events of the day, the
delusion of the crowd, and the avarice of those who made again of them,
array themselves, when in the stillness of the evening or the night,
the Gospel opened to him its fountains of light, warmth, and living
sacrifice. No doubt this conviction of the unworthiness of this trade,
carried on with lost men, was confirmed, and the impulse to come out at
once and maintain stout battle against all these powers of darkness,
more and more strengthened. Though somewhat before, yet now more than
ever the feeling, that such a conflict must come, paved his way; the
eyes of thousands were seeking some, who would undertake it, and were
turned with desire to every one, gifted with a resolute spirit; and
many friendly voices told him, that on his efforts the hopes of the
father-land chiefly rested. "This is he"--said JohnŒchslin in Stein
to his friend Fabricius--"of whom I cannot say enough,--he, who towers
above all other Swiss,--he, who has spread around him here a better
civilization." "He"--the German Nesenus wrote to him--"who has humbled
our monks, those spiritual tyrants, has done more for the true doctrine
of Christ, than he who has beaten the ferocious Turks. Go on, my
Zwingli, in the work begun for the blessing of your nation." "You show
us"--is contained in a letter of Rhenanus from Basel--"the true
doctrine of Christ, sketched intuitively, as it were, on a tablet; you
inform us, that Christ was sent into the world for this purpose--to
communicate to us the will of his Father; that he commands us to
despise earth with its riches, its honors, its power, its pleasures and
every thing of this kind, and seek after the heavenly father-land; that
he teaches us peace, unity and all the lovely charities of life
(nothing else is Christianity), as of old, Plato, who is truly worthy
of being counted a great prophet, dreamed of them in his republic; that
he would lift us above a state of abject dependence on country,
parents, kindred, health, and all the blessings of earth, and convince
us that poverty and the other miseries of life are in no wise evil.
These doctrines Christ has confirmed by his life, more glorious than
that of any man. Would that Helvetia had many, who could so exhibit Him
to us! Such alone have power to improve our national character. And our
people are by no means incapable of improvement."
The relation in which Zwingli stood to Geroldseck gave him
encouragement to take a bolder step. Whatever he needed in the way of
scientific help Geroldseck permitted him to buy for the monastery and
was glad to add thus to its treasures. Zwingli was always grateful for
his protection and support, and at a later period, when he had left
Einsiedeln, gave utterance to the following expression, "You have never
looked back, after you laid your hand to the plough. You are indeed the
friend of all scholars, but me you have loved like a father, having not
only admitted me to your friendship, but to the most intimate
confidence of your heart. Go on, as you have begun; stand firmly at
your post. God will in the end lead you to the goal. No one can gain
the crown, who does not fight bravely for it." Most willingly did he
respond to the order of the unprejudiced Administrator, to go, with his
friends, Zink,Œchslin, and Schmied, to the convent under the
supervision of Einsiedeln, there to relieve the nuns from the duty of
singing matins, to recommend to them the reading of the German Bible,
and to grant permission to any, who might wish it, to leave the convent
and marry.[8]
But the most powerful weapon of his spirit was the living word.
Proceeding cautiously, step by step, he as yet only attacked abuses in
Einsiedeln; nevertheless his pulpit discourses made a deep impression,
and already the number of pilgrims began to diminish, yea, many brought
back again the presents, which they had carried away. Reports are still
extant of the sermons preached at the festival of the Consecration of
the Angels, in 1517, and those of Whitsuntide, 1518.[9] The first must
have been bold, and according to the testimony of Hedion, who was
present, the second were "beautiful, thorough, solemn, comprehensive,
penetrating, evangelical, in the power of their language reminding one
of the oldest church-fathers." A part of the monks were scandalized,
but the Abbot and Geroldseck encouraged and protected the orator.
The attention of Rome was drawn to these things; but it did not at all
abandon the hope of winning him back again. A _literal and faithful_
translation of the letter, sent to him from Zurich, on the 14 August
1518, by Antonio Pucei, nuntio of the Apostolic See, is here added:
"Glorious by virtues and merits, commended as well by experience as by
the testimony of your honorable fame, you have found such favor in the
eyes of our Lord, the Pope and the Apostolic See, that we, full of
paternal kindness, keeping in view your person adorned with scientific
culture, graciously purpose, according to the authority granted as by
our aforesaid Lord, the Pope, to confer on you a title of special
dignity. But hereby you perceive in truth, whither our kind disposition
toward you would tend, when we now create you--who are a master of
arts, whom, we, out of regard to merits already alluded to, would
promote and adorn with the title and privileges of a special post of
honor,--you, whom we, if you have fallen in any way under any ban,
suspension, interdict, or other ecclesiastical sentence, or under any
censure or penalty of any court, or of individual men, be its origin
what it may, partaking in the operations of our favor, and turning your
prayer toward us in relation to the matter, we would now absolve and
have known as absolved--you, we now, in the name of our holy Lord, the
Pope and the Apostolic See, in accordance with these presents, create
an _acolyte-chaplain_, by the apostolical authority, granted us by the
most holy Father in Christ, our Lord, the Lord Leo X, Pope by the
decree of God, and exercised by us, and graciously enroll you in the
number and society of the other chosen acolyte-chaplains of our Lord,
the Pope, and the Romish See. At the same time we grant you the
possession and enjoyment of all the privileges, prerogatives, honors,
exceptions, favors, liberties, immunities and indulgences, singly and
collectively, which belong to the other acolyte-chaplains of our Lord,
the Pope and the Apostolic See, or which they in any way hereafter
shall be allowed to possess and enjoy, to be used by you freely and in
a lawful manner, unrestricted by the apostolic constitutions and
commands, or any other kind of impediment whatsoever. Then will you by
aspiring after virtue advance from good to better, and become worthy of
a still higher place in the presence of our Lord, the Pope and
ourselves, and he himself, our Lord, the Pope, and we will thereby be
moved to bestow on you more extensive favors and honors. The present
document is dispatched to bear witness, and we have allowed it to be
ratified by our seal appended thereto."
"An official style," the scientific reader, who looks at this letter
may exclaim; but the people, in whose ranks Zwingli ranged himself,
understood and needed another kind of language. That which the Church
granted to her pliant acolyte-chaplains--freedom from excommunication,
the dwellers in the Alps had sometimes ventured to bestow upon
themselves on their own authority in moments of power. The complicated
sentences and the promises contained in them, in case of fidelity and
submission, made, therefore, little impression upon the Reformer. How
independent he was, in this respect, even at Einsiedeln, appears from
his letter, of 1525, to Valentine Compar, former state-secretary in
Uri. "Observe," says he, "dear Valentine, what I will yet publicly
make known to the people, now living, that I, both before and since the
schism arose, have discoursed and treated with distinguished cardinals,
bishops and prelates concerning errors in doctrine, and warned them to
begin the correction of abuses, or else they would be involved in
greater trouble. Eight years ago at Einsiedeln and then at Zurich I
often proved to the Lord Cardinal of Sion, that the whole Papacy rested
on a rotten foundation, and this always by appealing to the Holy
Scriptures. The noble Sir Diebold von Geroldseck, Master Francis Zink
and Doctor Michael Sander, all three yet living are my witnesses; and
the above-named Cardinal has frequently expressed himself to me in this
way, 'If God restores me again to favor (for he was at that time in
disgrace with the Pope), I would then willingly see the pride and
falsehood of the Roman Bishop exposed and corrected.' And then, he has
not seldom conversed with me about doctrine and the Holy Scripture, and
every time would acknowledge the falsehood and his displeasure at it.
But how he behaved afterwards, need not be told here."
When, therefore, the Bishop of Constance himself, just at this time, in
a pastoral letter to the clergy of his diocese, uttered, in the
strongest terms, complaints of their thoroughly corrupt condition, and
deplored, that "many of them, without regard to shame and the fear of
God, kept lewd women in their houses, and would neither put them away
nor do better, and that others were addicted to gambling and oftener to
be met with in taverns than in their own rooms, wrangled in the
streets, scolded, giving rise to uproar as well as blasphemy against
the Savior, his blessed mother, and all the saints of God, wore weapons
and clothes altogether unsuited to their condition, entered into
unlawful agreements, crept into nunneries and otherwise led abandoned
lives at variance with the priestly character," and acknowledged the
urgent necessity of a remedy, was it a seditious movement, or not
rather a noble effort to help on a good cause, when Zwingli thanked his
chief pastor for this, but at the same time begged him to act as well
as speak?
It is easy to imagine how such a zealous discharge of the duties of his
calling should more and more attract the attention of the public
authorities. Wintherthur was anxious to see him in the place of its
deceased pastor. He had to decline, because the citizens of Glarus were
not willing to release him from his former engagement. In Zurich even,
wither he had come on a visit, the number of his admirers continually
increased. The burgomaster Roist and his brethren-in-arms at Marignano
were acquainted with him since the Italian campaign. To the senator,
Jacob Grebel, he was introduced by his son Conrad, at that time one of
his warmest admirers. The canons Utinger, Erasmus, Schmied and
Engelhart knew and honored his scientific attainments, and even the
hostile disposition, which, then already, some of the most resolute
defenders of every kind of wickedness cherished toward him, might well
have proved a recommendation to all well-disposed people. Thus the way
was prepared for a translation to the scene of his future labors, but
before this, Einsiedeln was yet to see him coming out boldly against
one of the cardinal sins of the Papal Court.
Samson, the auctioneer of writs of indulgence, came to Switzerland, as
Tetzel to Saxony. The shameless trade, carried on by both, in the
pretended remission of sins, is well known. We will not revive these
scandalous scenes, confidently believing, that their repetition in our
age would be impossible. Even Zwingli paused a moment, before he
ventured to attack openly the corrupter of the people, who was backed,
as he asserted, by a commission from the Pope. It was the bishop of his
country, who strengthened him for the undertaking. "Hugo, Bishop of
Constance"--says he in the letter to Compar already quoted from--"has
informed me by his Vicar Johansen Faber, since the Franciscan monk
Samson would sell indulgences amongst us, and since he, the bishop had
learned that I preached against it, and confirmed me therein, he was
willing to stand by me in all fidelity. How could I act otherwise? Had
I not to obey a bishop of Constance, whose vicar wrote to me,--even if
I had not intended to do the same thing before--to make war on the
ensnaring system of indulgences?"
He uttered warnings from the pulpit in Einsiedeln and the natural
result was, the monk found so little encouragement in the neighboring
Schwyz, that he the more quickly passed on to richer and more willing
hearers in Bern.
But now, with this last act, the ministerial labors of the Reformer in
Einsiedeln must be brought to a close. Erhard Battman, people's priest
at Zurich, was elected a member of the monastery of that place and
resigned his post as preacher. The choice of a successor lay with the
canons. A majority of the most influential of them, together with
several officers of state urgently desired that Zwingli should be
chosen. Oswald Myconius, properly Geisshausler, who is since known as
the biographer and friend of Zwingli, became an agent in the matter. He
was born at Luzern, four years later than Zwingli, and had received a
careful education, particularly in the Latin language at Rothweil under
an eminent teacher, and afterwards in the High School at Basel. He
early became acquainted with the accomplished Glareanus and thanked him
especially for his perception of every beautiful and noble tendency in
life, and for an introduction to Zwingli, who once came from Glarus to
Basel on a visit. It was the learned Netherlander Erasmus chiefly,
around whom, all who strove after culture and science with genuine
zeal, united themselves in Basel. Even Art found in this genial man
recognition and encouragement. The celebrated painter Holbein was his
friend, and had furnished spirited illustrations for a book, in which
Erasmus had hit off the various follies of the time with wit and humor.
This memorial is preserved to this day in the library of the city. In
the society of such distinguished men Myconius found his sphere of
knowledge enlarged, his judgment corrected and his will strengthened.
Three beautiful traits appear prominent in his character--Earnestness,
Thoroughness, (by which, not content till he had rightly apprehended
the smallest details, he rose higher, step by step, but ever the more
securely, for thus Platter, afterwards his scholar, has portrayed him
with grateful affection), and then, that which only belongs to pure
endeavor, a Modesty, that is not concerned about its own praises but
only about the propagation of truth, and springing from this and
connected with it, the most cordial esteem and the most devoted
friendship, where he discovered true merit in others, and an
acknowledgment without envy, where he found in them a greater talent
than his own. For this reason he became so intimate with Zwingli and
remained so true to him, through all changes, to the end of his life.
About the same time that his friend went to Einsiedeln, he himself
received a call as teacher in the _foundation school_ at Zurich. Here
he soon gained influence and consideration, and it was owing to his
efforts that the present invitation was extended to Zwingli, who
answered him thus, "See that you tell me of the course of duties, the
persons, who are at the head of affairs, the salary and whatever else
you can find out. On Wednesday I will dine in Zurich and then we can
talk over the matter. I will take no step without your advice.
Congratulate, according to usage, in my name the newly elected Provost
Frei, as one who is a friend to learning."
Myconius confirmed him in his resolution to offer himself as a
candidate for the post; and, some days after, Zwingli laid open his
heart to his friend. "A _fable_"--writes he--"reaches my ears; that
Lorenzo Fable, so the Swabian from Graubuenden is called, has preached
once before your congregation, and is not wholly unacceptable to the
prudent people of Zurich; yet a letter from Michael, the private
secretary of the Cardinal, assures me of the contrary. How, said I to
myself, is it thus true, that the prophet has the least honor in his
own country? Can a Swabian even be preferred to a Switzer, who, on his
own territory, would not be regarded as inferior? Yes, indeed! I see
well how he strives to gain the applause of the multitude by flattery.
I know too that the whole endeavor of the vain man is after that--this
Jack Smoke, as I, with our Glareanus, will call fellows of his kidney.
Keep this scornful effusion of mine to yourself, dear friend, and
continue to work for me, for I will freely confess, the place appears
now doubly desirable, since I know, that he hankers after it. Yes, what
I would otherwise have borne patiently, would now seem a real disgrace.
Indeed I must go against the warning of Paul, who accuses them, that
covet, of worldly-mindedness. Already I had proposed to myself, to
expound the whole Gospel of Matthew, an undertaking hitherto unheard of
in Germany. Let them choose him and they will soon see what he will
bring out of his goose-stall. Take this hasty letter in good part. It
is more warm than prudent."
Myconius answered, that his friendly letter was welcome, and the more
so, because he had given in it a true picture of himself. About Fable
he set his mind at ease. Unfavorable reports of him had since arrived;
and there was no one in Zurich, who did not laud Zwingli's attainments
to the skies. But his life offered another difficulty. A minority at
least found fault with it. A part of them saw in his fondness for music
a worldly disposition; others said that he had not confined himself in
Glarus to good society; and at a very recent date a rumor began to
spread abroad, that he had been guilty of too familiar intercourse with
a daughter of a citizen of that place. A further examination of his
fitness for the office was committed to the Provost Frei and two
members of the canonicate, Utinger and Hofmann. The latter, an aged,
severe man, formerly a zealous preacher against the mischief of foreign
pensions, was particularly anxious to know what might be in the affair.
"Write to me about it"--concludes he--"not, because you need first
prove to me the falsehood of the charge, but because I wish to
contradict those who are ill-disposed."
A letter from Zwingli to the canon Utinger immediately followed, in
which he honorably confessed the crime, yet affirmed that he had not
been the seducer, but the seduced. With shame and anguish he made this
confession, and vowed that, for the future, by daily and nightly
searchings and labors, he would keep himself free from stains of this
sort. "Nevertheless"--continued he--"if such charges are spread abroad
by my enemies, your people must have a poor opinion of me, and if I
should be elected, the preaching of the Gospel must suffer damage. It
is advisable, therefore, for you to consider well beforehand, what the
public sentiment may be, and to listen rather to God than men. Speak
frankly about me, with whomsoever you may find it necessary. Show my
scrawl," (for that it is and no vindication) "to Myconius, and to any
one else you please. I lay my fate in your hands. Whatever the result
may be, withdraw not your love; mine for you always remains."
That, after all this, Myconius and Utinger pushed on matters with
redoubled zeal; that Hofmann came out on his side; that of the
twenty-four canons seventeen cast their votes for him; that in Zurich,
and among all the sons of Zurich in foreign lands, the liveliest joy
prevailed, shows us that the favorable opinion, held of him, did not
suffer much by his confession. It was the same case in the scene of his
former labors. The inhabitants of Glarus, to whom he had gone, towards
the close of December, in order to resign his post, which he had
retained till this time, respected him so highly, that, on the strength
of his recommendation, they passed themselves over to the care of
Valentine Tschudi. At Einsiedeln, Geroldseck acted in the same way. He
chose Leo Judæ, the friend of Zwingli, as his successor in that place.
The guardian power of the monastery, the Council at Schwyz, wrote to
him, "Although we in part regret that you must leave us at Einsiedeln,
yet, on the other hand, we rejoice with you in everything that
contributes to your profit and honor." Through Glareanus the tidings
came from Paris, "All the Swiss youth, who are here, were delighted;
they exulted, particularly the sons of Zurich. What concerns me is,
that I have less reason to wish you happiness than to pity my friends
in Glarus." Thus then, he who was taking leave, stands in his true
image before us, exhibited in his weakness as well as in his
prepondering virtue; no saint--only a man; but a man full of courage
and faith. Well! let us accompany him to the enlarged sphere of that
ministry of his, whose results will endure for ages.
FOOTNOTES TO CHAPTER FIRST:
Footnote 1: Dinner was eaten at ten, or at the furthest eleven
o'clock.
Footnote 2: Gaston of Foix, Duke of Nemours.
Footnote 3: The Mincio.
Footnote 4: Over the Oglio.
Footnote 5: He confounds it with the Adda, which empties into the Po.
Footnote 6: Again a change of names. The Ticino is meant.
Footnote 7: Even in representations designed for _the people_ such
malevolent charges are found. These exaggerations are to be corrected
not by concealment, but by a candid statement of the facts.
Footnote 8: This could scarcely have taken place, as may be supposed,
during his ministry at Einsiedeln.
Footnote 9: He seems to have made his first open attack on the whole
system of pilgrimages in the year 1522, when at the invitation of
Geroldseck, he preached once more at Einsiedeln, since, in this year,
the 14 September fell on a Sunday, the time of the greater festival of
the Consecration of the Angels. The government of Schwyz, which had
hitherto favored it, now first opened its eyes.
CHAPTER SECOND
ZWINGLI IN ZURICH. BEGINNING OF THE REFORMATION. POLITICAL AND
ECCLESIASTICAL AFFAIRS UP TO THE FIRST RELIGIOUS CONFERENCE.
Just as Zwingli began his reformation in Switzerland, Martin Luther
made his appearance in the German Empire. Many in those times tried to
disparage the work of Zwingli by asserting that he only took the words
out of Luther's mouth.--Learned men are since divided, some attributing
the first step to the one and some to the other. As far as religion is
concerned the question is of little consequence. The corruption of the
church was the same in Switzerland as in Germany. Both were men of
independent character. Each was developed in his spiritual
peculiarities, according to his own nature and the custom of his
people. But since Zwingli himself has set forth his relation to Luther,
it may be worth our while to listen to his own language: "The great and
powerful of this world have begun to proscribe and render odious the
doctrine of Christ under the name of Luther; so that they, by whom it
is preached, are called Lutherans. Thus it happened also to me. But
before any one in our country ever heard the name of Luther, I had
commenced to preach the Gospel in the year 1516, since I never went
into the pulpit without placing before me the words, read in the Gospel
of the mass for that day, in order to explain them from the Holy
Scripture alone. In the beginning of the year, when I came to Zurich,
no one yet knew anything of Luther, except that a book was published by
him on indulgences, but it taught me little, for I had already been
instructed concerning the fraud of indulgences by a disputation, which
my beloved teacher, Thomas Wittenbach of Biel, held at Basel, although
during my absence. Who then shall give me the nick-name of Lutheran?
And when Luther's little book on the Paternoster appeared, and I had
shortly before explained the same Paternoster in Matthew, I well knew,
that many pious people suspected me of making that book and adding
Luther's name to it. Who then could nick-name me a Lutheran? I point
out this with all the circumstances, so that every one may learn, what
the base intentions of several noblemen are, when they venture to tack
the name of Luther to all, who preach the Gospel, so as thereby to make
the doctrine odious to men, by giving you the name of a man, which is
truly nothing else than a gross blasphemy, and a sure sign of a
corrupt, godless conscience. Luther is, as it strikes me, an excellent
soldier of God, who with great earnestness has looked through the
Scripture as no one has ever done in a thousand years on earth, and
with manly, undaunted spirit, has attacked therewith the Pope of Rome,
as no one has ever done like him, as long as the Papacy has endured,
yet without receiving abuse from others. But of whom is such an act? of
God, or Luther? Ask Luther himself and, I well know, he will say, 'Of
God.' Why then do you ascribe the doctrine of other men to Luther, when
he himself ascribes it to God? Does Luther preach Christ? Then he does
just what I do; although, God be thanked, by him a countless world more
will be led to God, than by me and others, whose measure God makes
greater or smaller, as he will. Nevertheless I will bear no name but
that of my captain, Christ, whose soldier I am, who will give me office
and pay as much as seems to him good. Now, I hope, every body will
understand, why I do not wish to be nicknamed Lutheran; although I
esteem Luther as highly as any man living." He proved by his actions
that he spoke the truth, for when the Papal Bull of excommunication
against Luther was already sent out, though not yet made known, he
strove as far as it was in his power, first by representations to the
acting attorney of the Legate in Zurich, and afterwards, by an
anonymous publication, to hinder it as much as possible. So Zwingli
stood then, acknowledging the high merit of the Saxon Reformer,
supporting him, at his side; but now let us turn back to his national
career.
The destructive influence of foreign mercenary service and pensions on
the character of the people was no less visible in Zurich than in other
States of the Confederacy, and the number of families, who were able to
resist the charms of gold, displayed freely on all sides, was small,
especially in the city. Indeed, the councils and people had, in the
year 1513, executed a solemn oath against "Wages and Bribes," as it was
called, and two years later, at the rumor of a high-handed breach of
it, the people of the lakes rose up and by threats produced the flight
of some of the bribed, and the dismissal and punishment of others; but
the oath was taken on one day, uproar followed on the second, and then
new transgressions on the third. When Zwingli came to Zurich, a
suspicion, that had more or less foundation, rested on some of the
first men in the government. This was increased by the notorious
intrigues of the many foreign embassies, who were present, and
their followers also not seldom helped on the demoralization of the
city. In Bern the state of morals was better than in Zurich. "The
Bernese"--wrote Sebastian Wagner to Zwingli--"appear to me not so
morally corrupt as our people of Zurich. Their dress and their manners
have a certain air of ancient Swiss simplicity." Bullinger also says,
"Before the preaching of the Gospel Zurich was almost like Corinth in
Greece. Much lewdness and frivolity prevailed, because diets were held
there and many strangers flocked in, where the embassies of lords and
princes were staying." George Mangolt of Constance tells us that he
heard Zwingli himself say from the pulpit in the year 1520, that on a
former visit to Zurich "he found so much wickedness there, that he
silently resolved never to become a pastor in that city and prayed God
to prevent it," and some years later, when reform began to gain ground,
one of his friends, Anthony Dublet, wrote to him from Leyden, "I cannot
tell you, what joy possessed me, what comfort stole into my heart, when
I heard, that the first state of the Confederacy, your men of Zurich,
till now, it seemed, born only for war and murder, more beasts than
men, have laid aside their godless avarice joined to a godless cruelty,
and in good faith pledged themselves to the simple Gospel and Christ,
the Lord, the true Mediator. Truly, God is mighty, who can from such
stones raise up children to Abraham!" The number of executions, one of
which occurred nearly every month, was not able to keep down outbreaks
of the lawless spirit, which ruled the nation, and the sentences of the
judges on the bench not seldom bore marks of the rudeness of the age.
In the second year of Zwingli's ministry, a witch was burnt, because
she confessed on the rack, that she had sold herself to the Devil, had
enjoyed connection with him, had ridden on a stick to Schaffhausen, and
to an assembly of wicked spirits on the Heuberg, lamed cattle, and
conjured up a frost and five hail-storms. New saints also were wantonly
manufactured. The journeyman-tailors proclaimed St. Goodman as their
patron, left off work, and went dancing about to the music of a drum.
The authorities were compelled to interfere with sternness. All this
shows the difficulties, that met the Reformer, on the part of the
people, to whom he was sent.
And as it regards the government and the clergy his path was in no
degree smoother. That some of the most distinguished members of the
council were honestly and decidedly national in their feelings cannot
be doubted. There is no evidence to show, that the burgomaster Mark
Roist ever preferred his private advantage before the public weal, and
his son Diethelm also, who sat next his father in the council, was an
acknowledged man of honor. The deputy Rudolph Thumeisen had likewise
maintained an unspotted reputation, and George Berger and Hans
Effinger, even in Italy, among so many degraded characters, proved
themselves incorruptible. Hans Edlebach, the treasurer Werdmueller, the
banneret Schweizer, and of the younger men, Ulric Funk and Lavater,
_landvogt_ at Kyburg, enjoyed universal esteem. But besides these,
there was another party, composed of men, who as the crowd says, meant
well, though they were weak, and not inaccessible to the corrupting
influences of the time, and hence undecided in moments of peril. The
second burgomaster Schmied, his successor, the deputy Walder, and the
senator Jacob Grebel may be pointed out as belonging to this class. On
the other hand, there was yet a third class, who, were ready to desert
any cause, and to help on and take part in any bold, disorderly
proceeding. Accustomed to splendor and good-living, they had been
reduced to poverty by idleness and prodigality, and hence were always
in the market for the highest bidder. And yet by reason of their noble
descent, and their extensive connections they were able to wield a
considerable influence, for most of them were members of the
aristocracy. Among these appear the Gœldins, the Stapfers, the
Landenbergs, some of the branches of Zieglers and the Rahns, and bold
men, like Onofrion Setzstab, who were prepared for any undertaking.
Zwingli could foresee in them all, his deadly, and at a later period
perhaps his powerful enemies.
Among the clergy, the new people's priest was brought into direct
intercourse with the canons, who elected and had control over him.
Although they had his kind wishes, he yet resolved, to act freely
according to his convictions, supported by a feeling of spiritual
superiority. He could scarcely have rejected good counsels from the
trustee Utinger, and the canons Erasmus Schmied, Walder, Bachofen and
some others perhaps, who at the very first extended to him the hand of
friendship. His beginning will appear more difficult when we consider,
that they acted by authority, and whoever, supported by it, ventured to
come out into more decided opposition against him, could be certain of
a strong support. That he therefore had to look for cold respect, but
no hearty co-operation from one portion of the circle of his
ministerial associates, and secret dislike, yea, even burning hatred
from another, might be inferred from the nature of the human passions
and the circumstances of the case.
In this way, his position had already become suspicious to the higher,
and much more to the lower clergy, on account of their general dislike.
The reputation, which had preceded him, made the race of monks tremble,
for by their degeneracy, they had fallen into deserved contempt with
the mass of the people. Still, distinguished patrons, and adherents in
public and private remained true to him. Zwingli could not at least
expect skillful opponents from this quarter. Their gross ignorance left
them at his mercy. But just in the very consciousness of his
superiority lay a temptation, so much the stronger to rash and
premature action, and by this the Reformer was threatened with the
greatest danger. Thus affairs stood in Zurich, when Zwingli began to
teach. He arrived there on the 27 December, 1518, and immediately
presented himself to the convent of the canons. Here he was made
acquainted with the duties of his office. Of the fourteen articles of
direction, the two shortest were those relating to the pulpit. Twice in
a year he had to read aloud longer passages from the Gospels, to preach
on Sundays, to announce the festivals, and to notify the chapter of the
so-called anniversaries, or to see that it was done by one of his two
assistants. The other articles treated of his presence in the choir,
obedience, style of dress, the reading of the mass, baptism, simony
(the selling of benefices or obtaining them by fraud), but especially
the care of the revenues of the chapter. All his duties were detailed
therein with the greatest precision and minuteness. An article was
afterwards added, which made it the duty of the people's priest not to
leave the city during seasons of pestilence.
At this meeting Zwingli declared that he regarded preaching as his
chief business. First of all, the people must be taught to understand
the Holy Scriptures. So it had been in ancient times. But now nothing
was heard, except solitary extracts, and even these in a foreign
language. He did not pass by the remark, that the church thus orders
it, but appealed on the contrary to its oldest statutes, and proved
clearly the modern origin and ruinous consequences of the change.
What he had told the canons, he made known to the congregation on the
first of January, 1519, and on Sunday the second, began to expound the
Gospel of Matthew. It is easy to imagine, that, when he first came out
in this unwonted manner, a large number of hearers would be collected
to-gether; but to retain them, demanded an inward call, combined with a
vast range of knowledge. The applause, which he drew forth, continually
increased, for he knew how to attract both the high and the low. His
sermons were life-pictures; and this gave them their charm, their
power, their practical effect. The doctrine of Christ, designed for all
nations and all ages, is so simple, and can be traced back to such a
few principles, that by a mere repetition, paraphrase, or exclusive
explanation of these only, the most dexterous orator, obliged to appear
so often, must become dull and cold; but infinitely rich, and ever new,
is life surveyed in the light of this same doctrine. The appearance of
Zwingli, not only every week, but almost every day, was, for this
reason, always welcome. Now, when the occasion called for it, there
were representations of the fate of Jesus and of the apostles; and then
again, narratives or pictures from Christian or Jewish, and sometimes
even heathen history, events of the day, and praise or blame, which,
without fear of offence, he wove into his discourses. "Take it not to
yourself, O pious man!" he was accustomed to say. Indeed this mode of
preaching raised an excitement nearly like the press in our times. Yet
one difference between the old and the new teachers of the people is
not to be overlooked. The former employed throughout the rule of the
Gospel, and was concerned for the advancement of religious truth and
not mere party views.
In proportion, meanwhile, as his knowledge of the people of Zurich and
their circumstances increased, his sermons became more direct and
pointed. If any one found fault with them, and it came to the ears of
the preacher, he might be sure of an answer at the first opportunity.
He did not hesitate to speak of them by name, and sometimes gave free
play to his wit. Whatever was done, in convent-walls, bar-rooms, and
even in the hall of the council, contrary to truth, reason and sound
morals, was exposed without mercy from the pulpit. Just then, 1519, the
throne of the German Empire became vacant by the death of Maximilian I.
Intrigues in regard to the choice of a successor kept the diet
assembled in Zurich, in constant employment. Envoys were repeatedly
sent to Italy in the service of the Pope; France attempted once more to
bring about a closer alliance, and towards the north, in spite of all
the dissuasion of the allied powers, whole troops of deserters streamed
to the banner of Duke Ulric of Wirtemberg, who, driven from his own
capital, was engaged in war against the Swabian League. Amid these
circumstances Zwingli took occasion to speak sometimes a word from the
pulpit concerning politics. In this, the Gospel gave him less
countenance, than the example of those Jewish prophets, who formerly
made bold to bring the rule of kings under their examination, warning,
or censure. But the times were no longer the same, and such a
transgression of the bounds marked out by prudence, might well awaken
concern in the bosoms of individual statesmen, who were not deserving
of reproach.
And yet amid all, he still gained firmer footing in Zurich. Every man
of unbiased feeling was obliged to confess, that he was inspired by
religion, and had the welfare of the state as well as the church truly
at heart. Moreover, it could not escape any one, familiar with history,
that only the most decided measures can eradicate deep-seated
corruption. The universal abhorrence of the traffic of indulgences came
to his aid. The miserable Samson, after filling his pockets at Bern,
had ventured to approach Zurich. Both the spiritual and secular
authorities approved of the attacks, which Zwingli made against him. He
was prevented from riding into the city. Even the Diet, to which he
appealed, would have nothing to do with him, and went so far as to give
Felix Grebel, who was setting out for Rome, a commission to lay
complaints of him before the Pope. Immediately the monk received
evidence of Leo's displeasure. "The thirteen cantons of the
Confederacy"--was written to him--"have complained to His Holiness,
that, in the promulgation of indulgences, you have fallen into errors,
which it were out of place here to enumerate. The Holy Father is much
astonished at this, and has given orders, to enjoin upon you in his
name, to be subject in all things to the will of the aforesaid lords of
the Confederacy. You shall remain there, for the execution of your
commission, if they demand it, but in no way oppose them, if they
desire you to return to Italy; for it is the will of the Holy Father,
that you be entirely obedient to these lords, his well-beloved sons, in
all things that can contribute to the welfare of their souls. You will
also show this letter to them."
There was great rejoicing over this conclusion of the matter,
especially on the part of the General-vicar of the Bishop of Constance,
Faber, who had formerly been Zwingli's fellow-student in Vienna, and
had since then kept up a certain intimacy with him. Indeed at Zwingli's
first bold debut the general-vicar seemed to wish it still closer.
"Why"--wrote he to him--"do you make so careful and sparing a use of my
friendship? Why do you seem to mistrust me? Do not doubt! Begun under
favorable auspices, it will last forever." Still later he invited him
to his house, communicated his plans to him, asked his judgment
concerning books, and proclaimed aloud his praise, especially where he
knew that it would reach Zwingli's ears. But the Reformer looked
deeper. Modesty was a prominent trait in his character from youth
upwards. In the one appeared the love of the world, the struggle to
elevate himself by any means in his power, the vain fancy that he could
hood-wink others by the assumption of a mask; in the other, a strong
love for truth. Nevertheless, Zwingli wished to avoid a breach with his
former friend; and now, especially, when he and the bishop seemed not
unwilling to favor further reforms. In reference to this he thus
expresses himself in the letter to Valentine Compar already quoted
from: "I have sent humble and dutiful letters to the Bishop of
Constance, and pointed out to him publicly and privately and in every
way, how he ought to apply himself to spreading abroad the light of the
Gospel; and that it would redound to the honor of the whole race of
Landenberg, if he were the first bishop, who would cause the Gospel to
be freely preached; but I do not know how the weather has changed.
They, who were so prompt before, have given me no answer, either by
mouth, or pen, except, what they have done in general. But this was
unlike the former, because (in consequence of it) the vicar let me
understand orally and by writing, the Bishop would not endure too much
urging from the Pope."
Amid such signs of a storm gathering on all sides, the plague broke out
in Zurich towards the close of the summer of 1519. Spreading in almost
all the neighboring countries, it reached Switzerland from the east,
and penetrated into the secluded vallies of the mountains. Zwingli
received the news of its near approach in a bath at Pfeffers, and,
mindful of his duty as people's priest, immediately hurried back to
Zurich. Seeing the peculiar danger, he sent several young men, who were
living in his house, particularly his young brother Andrew, to their
homes; but he himself unterrified began to discharge the duties of his
office. The result, that was foreseen, followed. He also was laid upon
a bed of sickness.
Not for harmony of rhythm, but for the deep inward feeling, which they
manifest, the verses composed by him, after he had become convalescent,
in two different periods of sickness, are truly remarkable. They show
us the sources of his faith and activity, and a character, which even
in view of what appeared to be his last hour, remained true to itself.
An admirer of Zwingli in modern times, still keeping faithfully to the
thoughts, has altered the language to that of our century, and in this
form they may also be admitted here.[1]
_In the beginning of sickness:_
Lo! at my door Yet, if to quench
Gaunt Death I spy; My sun at noon,
Hear, Lord of life, Be thy behest,
Thy creature's cry. Thy will be done!
The arm that hung In faith and hope
Upon the tree, Earth I resign,
Jesus, uplift-- Secure of heaven--
And rescue me. For I am thine!
_When the disease gained strength._
Fierce grow my pains: In Satan's grasp,
Help, Lord, in haste! On Hell's dark brink,
For flesh and heart My spirit reels,--
Are failing fast. Ah! must I sink?
Clouds wrap my sight No, Jesus, no!
My tongue is dumb, Him I defy,
Lord tarry not, While here beneath
The hour is come! Thy cross I lie.
But his vigorous constitution surmounted the disease. About the end of
autumn signs of convalescence began to appear, and he gave vent to his
joy, at the prospect of restoration to life and activity, in the
following stanzas:
My Father God, Though now delayed,
Behold me whole! My hour must come,
Again on earth Involved, perchance,
A living soul! In deeper gloom.
Let sin no more It matters not
My heart annoy, Rejoicing yet
But fill it, Lord, I'll bear the yoke
With holy joy. To Heaven's bright gate.
Thus sickness did not cause him to waver in his settled convictions,
but filled him, on the contrary, with new courage. Yet the last poem
shows us that a foreboding of a darker fate in the future was by no
means strange to him. Indeed, not long after his recovery, he expressed
himself still more clearly in a similar strain to his friend Myconius.
After a glance at the dangers which surrounded Luther, he continued:
"Whatever may befall me, I, already marked out as a victim, look for
every thing evil from the clergy and the laity. I only pray Christ for
courage to bear all with a manly heart, and that he may crush or
strengthen me, his laborer, as may seem good to him, and, should I even
fall under excommunication, I will think of Hilary, that learned and
holy man, who was banished from Gaul to the deserts of Africa, and of
Lucius, who was driven from the Roman See, and afterwards brought back
with honor. I will not liken myself to such men, who though greater
than I, still endured the greatest evils. But should _one_ glory await
me; may it be, to suffer shame for Christ! Yet, let him, who thinketh
he standeth, take heed lest he fall."
That he could thus express himself to his best friend only by letter
and no more see him in person at his side, belonged to the bitter
trials of his life at this time. Myconius had just then accepted a
call to the highest professorship in his native city Luzern, and
Zwingli found himself deprived of half his support, "like an army"--he
said--"one of whose wings is cut off in the presence of the enemy."
This man, by reason of his moderation, had great influence with the
clergy and the laity, and often became a useful mediator between them
and the impetuous Zwingli. There was no one now to persuade the
Reformer to use milder measures; and the complaints of the canons,
summed up in a letter to his superior, the Provost Frei, only provoked
him to a repulsive answer. These related chiefly to the imposition of
tithes, the main source of revenue to the church, and an unjust burden
in the eyes of the majority of the nation. The people's priest was
expressly pledged by the statutes, to take care of the conscientious
disposition of the tithe, and to insist upon it as a religious duty in
his discourses. "Instead of which"--says the letter of the canons--"he
denies the divine origin of the tax, and seems to regard it as tyranny,
if it be strictly enforced. Is it any wonder that the people stick to
him? He makes us odious to the laity, calls the monks 'theologians of
the cowl,' and whatever he hears bad of them, he talks about it in the
pulpit." It is almost certain, that the Provost, when Zwingli had
conversed somewhat earnestly with him concerning these charges, was
ashamed of the memorial of his subordinates. At least he cherished no
hatred toward his person. On the contrary, some months later, he
exerted his utmost influence to induce the chapter of the canons,
without consulting a higher spiritual court, to simplify their worship
and alter the breviary of the cathedral, "because it is impossible in
this age to keep up any longer the multitude of holidays, ceremonies
and ecclesiastical customs, which have been accumulating for
centuries." In the same manner Zwingli was afterwards, upon his own
request, admitted into the number of the canons.[2]
Thus far in Zurich the external condition of the church remained the
same. The agitation was confined to the souls of men. In the mean time
this was little felt beyond the limits of the canton. Neither the
Confederates, nor the Bishop, nor the Pope, nor his legates found any
occasion to interfere; and now again it was from political events, that
the first general movement took its rise.
The Perpetual Peace was concluded by Francis I, in the hope of paving
the way for a closer alliance with the Confederates. He needed and
sought after their soldiers; he wished to take them away from his
enemies. He, therefore, sent to them some of his men of business, who
were best acquainted with our country and its inhabitants; lavished
gold in abundance, and held in his employ some of the most active Swiss
as recruiting officers. Among these, Albert von Stein, a Bernese, was
the boldest and most indefatigable. He was well known in the canton of
Zurich. He had relations and connexions there. His appearance always
gave rise to an excitement, and in some districts of the country at
least, the youth did not lend an unwilling ear to his voice. When by
the election of Charles V. to the throne of the German Empire in the
year 1519, the French King saw his hopes vanish, he redoubled his
efforts to secure the wished for defensive alliance, and a favorable
hearing first of all in Bern and Luzern. Most other places joined with
them. Only Zurich, Schwyz, Basel, and Schaffhausen stood out against
it. At length, in April 1521, the three latter were also won over. On
the 5th of May, the treaty was subscribed in Luzern by twelve states
and all the places subject to them, and at the same diet the resolution
was passed, to make a last general endeavor, to prevent Zurich from
withdrawing by herself.
It is mentioned by Bullinger and all his contemporaries that Zwingli
spoke out decidedly against this treaty from the pulpit and whenever he
found opportunity; and they seem to infer from the strength and
clearness of papers concerning it issued from Zurich, that he had the
chief hand in their composition. But the Confederates worked against
him with just as much zeal. Not only did envoys from Bern, Luzern, Uri,
Unterwalden, Zug and Solothurn, along with the French ambassador
Lameth, present, in the name of all the others, petitions, expressions
of regard, and even hints at grievous consequences in case of a
refusal, but written letters came also from the rural districts and
congregations, demanding a subscription of the treaty. Albert von Stein
and others like him, were seen traveling repeatedly from place to place
throughout the canton.
Under these circumstances the government resorted to a natural
expedient. It declared that it must first hear the voice of the people,
and then the great council would decide.
Members of the council were sent into all the bailiwicks, to lay before
the assembled commons, first the treaty itself, and then, a written
explanation of its several articles, and ask their patient examination
of it, and also a communication of their views, in writing, to the
government. With the league and its significance to the Confederacy the
more circumstantial history of the country begins. On the contrary, the
real voice of the people ought to be plain to us from the answers of
the commons. The records may be quoted in the true-hearted language of
the time, and a beginning made with Winterthur.
"On notice brought by our worthy lords, the knight Felix Grebel,
Younker Conrad Engelhard and Master Henry Wegmann, who as ambassadors
of our gracious, loving lords, the burgomaster, and the Small and Great
Councils of the city of Zurich, have sufficiently informed, by written
instructions, my lords, the Schultheiss, and the Small and Great
Councils of the city of Winterthur concerning the alliance--it is true:
my lords, the Schultheiss, and the Small and Great Councils, would have
thought advice from them unnecessary, since they have already given it
to our lords, the burgomaster, and the Council of the city of Zurich,
by their deputy and member. But since they could not be excused and
found themselves included with others in the letters of instruction,
they have sat upon the business and framed an answer to be given to the
twelve cantons, in the hope that it may serve to further peace and
unity. And the humble, earnest answer and prayer of my lords, the
Schultheiss and the Small and Great Council, is, that some way may be
devised, so to arrange matters, that our lords, the burgomaster and the
Council of the city of Zurich, may be and remain one with the twelve
cantons and the other Confederates, with the further offer, that, if it
happen so or not, they will none the less act, as becomes pious, honest
people, and place their lives and property at your disposal."
"The four Wards, together with Wipkingen, Seebach, Schwamendingen, and
Oerlikon, also Wiedikon and Wollishofen, give answer to the paper read
before them concerning the French alliance: first of all, that they
thank my lords for their distinguished honor and friendship in laying
open before them their cares and trials; therefore, be it their general
will and opinion, and urgent desire and prayer, that my lords will be
very slow to enter into union and alliances with the French, as well as
other foreign princes and lords, since they would have nothing at all
to do with the French aforesaid. For each honest man can scarcely raise
children enough to send to the French King. Besides, be it also their
desire, that the treaties and what they grant, be maintained among the
Confederates; and thereto, as pious, true people and subjects, they
pledge their lives and property and all else, that God has given them."
"An assembly at Hirslanden and Riespach have with one accord resolved
on the cross, that they fervently, earnestly, and with the highest
zeal, thank our lords of Zurich for their pious, friendly notice, and
for telling them so truly the misery, troubles and dangers of the
alliance with the king, brought about and subscribed to by the twelve
cantons, and therefore, earnestly beseech our lords aforesaid to remain
firm in their honest purpose and intention, and give the go-by to all
princes and lords; then will they also pledge to them their souls,
honor, lives and property without any reserve, since they would have
nothing at all to do with this alliance, as far as lies in their
power."
"A general assembly convened at Zollikon have, with great determination
and unanimity, given answer, that they are well-pleased with the notice
of our lords and their opinion, and that their reason is too weak to
praise enough the pious, honest resolution of our lords; therefore they
pressingly and earnestly pray our dear lords aforesaid to hold fast to
their good resolution and not let themselves be moved therefrom by
anybody, and not enter into this French alliance; then will they all
together and without exception pledge their souls, honor, lives and
property to our lords and stand by them till death."
"A general assembly at Kuessnacht, with one accord make answer: Your
community has been sore wondered at and annoyed by the other
confederates, who have brought themselves and their posterity into a
danger, which will last for a long while, and may result in great
damage to their people and cantons. Yet as for all, so the entire
assembly with one accord, and with the greatest zeal, thank our lords
for the true, friendly commands, brought by our two lords Walter Hans
Berger and Thomas Spruenglin of the Small and Great Council, and also
for the pious, honorable, just and Christian resolution, to suffer
grievance themselves rather than mischief should befall us and our
posterity in the course of time. Therefore, the assembly offer the
earnest and friendly prayer to our lords, that they will stick to their
resolution to give the go-by to all lords, so that they who belong to
them can remain unhampered, and every father also be aided by his sons,
if he has need to use them for himself. In this, the entire assembly
dares to pledge to our lords their lives and property and all that they
have, wishing them also to help to punish their own sons, when they
will not remain true, and act in a rebellious manner. The assembly also
desire our gracious lords, when troublesome persons stray into their
city or canton, and act in an unbecoming way, striving to seduce the
young men, that they will drive them off by authority, to prevent
greater disturbance, which might arise from their overbearing
dispositions."
Meila replied in a similar strain; and Mænedorf likewise.[3]
"A meeting at Stæfa has agreed on this: Because, for several years past
it has unfortunately happened, that many honest people have been lost
and killed, it ought to be plain now, that it came by treachery, and by
means of the same lights, which burn in one confederacy at this day.
Therefore they agree that these lights ought to be put out. For such
cause it is to be feared, if our people unite with the people of the
twelve cantons, that they will be brought to dishonor by them, for it
is the common talk, that the twelve cantons wish to appoint the Duke of
Wurtemberg, and, if it then go well or ill with the Confederates, that
it would be little to the credit of our lords of Zurich and their
honest people (it would not redound to their honor to have separated
themselves). Therefore, they do not the less think, that the alliance
would be neither godly nor right and altogether against the welfare of
the soul, and they beseech our lords to withdraw themselves therefrom,
if they can, and set the hearts of their honest people at rest, when
they can bring it about. Then will they pledge to you their lives and
property as far as they can. The assembly at Stæfa would commend
themselves to your regard, since they more than others will have to
meet with reproaches."
"A general assembly in the department of Grueningen have unanimously
resolved to give this answer to our envoys, saying: Worthy lords, to
come to us for counsel was not needful, for the reason that we own you
as our lords and superiors and willingly esteem you as such. Hence we
ought to be rightly obedient to you in all your plans, and cheerfully
aid you. But since you desire to know our wishes and feelings, great
praise and honor are given on all sides to our gracious, loving lords,
who have hitherto pleased us so well, for their excellent management;
and it gives us great satisfaction, that you have so faithfully
remembered your own, and are not willing, for the sake of money, that
they should be bound; and we beseech you by the Most High God to stick
to your resolution and give the complete go-by to foreign lords, and
foreign wars and foreign money, as clearly shown in the contents of the
paper concerning its removal, sworn to, years ago, in Zurich and all
its dependencies. So we hope it will be adhered to and followed up. But
if any one acts contrary thereto, or has acted, then you, our lords,
well know, what punishment is due to him, and therefore we desire that
you will consider the profit and honor of our country: so will we
pledge to you our lives, honor, goods and everything else, God has
given us, as a true child to his father; and will stand by you, like
pious, honest people. Further, it is our urgent petition, that by some
means you will drive Albert von Stein and others, who serve the French
for pay, from your city and canton, so that honest folk be not
corrupted and good comrades brought to sorrow, for it would not be to
the credit of the city and our lords to have an honest man and his
children stirred up to sedition and led astray. And it is also our
prayer and desire, that our lords warn the several cantons of the
dangers of such an alliance. And to this and all the articles, as here
written, and whatever else it may please our lords to add, the honest
people of this bailiwick, pledge their lives and goods, as poor folks
ought to do to their lords and masters."
"Greifensee is not at all pleased with the alliance, since the up-shot
of it would be, to make the king of France our master instead of our
gracious, loving lords of Zurich."
Duebendorf, Dietikon and Rieden declare themselves in the same way,
thanking, agreeing and resolving; Hœngg likewise, the department of
Old Regensperg and New Regensperg, Neuamt; the Schultheiss, Council and
general assembly at Buelach; the burgomaster, councils and general
assembly of the department of Eglisau; the bailiwicks of Maschwander,
Freiamt and Hedingen; Wædenschweil also, and Richtenschweil with the
addition: "If our dear lords thus hold fast and keep always in the
right way, it is our prayer, though they have heretofore eaten and
drunk with the French, that they still drive them off; and that it be
done by the Councils in the city and in the country, and finally, that
they maintain the hereditary union of His Imperial Majesty, all as they
have written."
Horgen adds this request: "Even though it should result in suffering
and trial to our lords, to expel the foreign and German French from
their city and canton, yet they would then be, neither French nor
Imperial, but good Zurichers and Confederates."
"A general assembly at Thalweil has resolved firstly, that the paper
which has reached them from Luzern is in no wise acceptable, for they
do not believe that such a letter has been prepared honestly and at the
command of delegated ambassadors, lords and rulers, but suspect that it
has been hatched in corners and is chiefly the production of the German
French. Accordingly it is their will and opinion, and very urgent prayer,
that our lords will stick to their praiseworthy design not to enter into
alliances and treaties either with the French or other foreign lords and
ever boldly keep to their honest way--and then, that judgment and
authority be immediately exercised, in the city of our lords, against
certain German French, who travel about here and there, using haughty
and improper language in order to stir up your own and other people--it
is the friendly petition of this whole assembly that my lords will drive
off such seditious characters, and should this not be done, persons can
be found perhaps, who will themselves undertake to drive them off and
restore quiet, for the reason that heretofore and now every disturbance
has arisen from these German French--so will they place body and blood
at the disposal of my lords."
Kilchberg, Altorf, in the upper part of the county of Kyburg, and
Kloten give thanks and vote decidedly in favor of declining.
Upper Winterthur, having heard the paper read, resolved to return this
answer: "Our lords have hitherto acted honorably and well in other
similar affairs, hence, in good hope they will do so in the future, we
confide in our lords as honorable men. Therefore it is their humble
prayer and desire, that, as far as may be, our lords will not separate
themselves from the Confederacy, but continue one with it; so will they
ever act as dutiful subjects and pledge to our lords their lives and
property and whatever else God has given them."
"The bailiff, council and general assembly at Elggau thus answer, that,
not having understanding and skill enough to speak and advise in this
or in matters of much less moment, they leave the business in the hands
of our lords; yet it is their prayer, that our lords hold the
Confederacy in friendship and favor, but none the less will they pledge
to our lords their lives and fortunes."
"The burgomaster, bailiff, council and general assembly at Stein vote
for declining the alliance, since, if it should be accepted, they would
be afraid lest it should prove a great disadvantage and injury to
the inhabitants of Stein and cause them sensible loss if war should
arise therefrom, namely in their tolls, licenses, market-monies,
quarter-dues, pasturing and watches, for lying on the borders they
would have to bear the first brunt, and hence wish our lords to care
for them in the most faithful manner."
Upper and Lower Stammheim and Marthalen leave the business in the hands
of their lords.
"Andelfingen has framed this answer: As our lords have hitherto managed
well for us, they are wise and prudent enough to act in this affair.
Yet finally, they pray that our lords may remain in peace and quiet and
continue one also with the common confederates, and, in case it may be
reasonably effected, that our lords do not separate themselves from the
Confederacy, desiring which, they place at their disposal their lives
and property, and will be found as faithful and obedient subjects."
The opinion of the citizens was altogether the same as that of the
great majority of the country-people. Everywhere the heads of
corporations were commissioned to make this known to the Council, so
that it was resolved in the end, after deliberating a long time yet
with little opposition, to give a decided refusal to the alliance. But
the answer was sent to the twelve cantons and Francis I., couched in
moderate language, that Zurich would honestly hold to the Perpetual
Peace with France, faithfully maintain all the treaties sworn with the
Confederates, and not separate herself from them but place life and
property at their disposal, that she also begged for the continued good
will of France and allegiance to the Confederation on the part of the
Swiss; and yet at the same time was firmly resolved henceforth to
renounce the pensions of princes and foreign alliance, trusting in the
help of God.
From now on every public voice in favor of foreign mercenary service
was compelled to silence, and its avowed or secret promoters hid their
resentment or left the canton. In fact the most notorious among them
threw up their citizenship in Zurich. But the entire party of those,
who remained in their native country, conceived the fiercest hatred
toward Zwingli. "He was blamed," says Bullinger, "most of all for
having prevented the union by his preaching and divided a brave
confederacy. The distinguished pensioners and soldiers, as well as
others, who had heretofore run after him and praised his sermons, now
reviled Zwingli as a heretic. Many, to whom religion had never any
special charms before, now pretended a great interest on its behalf,
saying, they would defend the old, true faith against the heretic
Zwingli, yet the secret of their zeal was not in their faith, but in
the bags of the royal exchequer. Hence there arose among the other
confederates a strong hostility against Zurich and abuse and slander
against Zwingli." Still the cause of the people and the uprightness and
fidelity, which maintains an oath, triumphed in the end.
The ground-pillar of all national prosperity is confidence, faith on
the part of the people in their government, and on that of the
government in the sound and just sense of the people. No constitution
or laws, sacred as they may be in the eyes of the honorable citizen,
no so-called policy, which rests on a system of deceptions, no
rude strength of a dominant party, can ever supply the place of
faith--faith, which alone inspires to nobler action. Hence the
necessity in the state for religion also, which is the same as faith
purified In every wise government therefore it will be a chief concern
that the religion of the people be a sound one, _i.e._ one that will be
justified by its practical results, for in regard to these only can we
look for unanimity of opinion.
Christianity, freed from all the unwarranted additions with which
national prejudice, narrowness and love of spiritual domination have
striven for centuries to disfigure it, has no reason to shun this
trial, out of which it can only come forth more glorious and divine. Of
this Zwingli had been fully persuaded by his zealous study of the Holy
Scriptures. Hew naturally the idea rose in his mind, to make this trial
before the people themselves, who had hitherto been bound in the
fetters of a religion, which addressed them only by authority, instead
of before councils exclusively composed of clergymen and lords! Still
it was a great venture. The weakened eye, when suddenly brought forth
from the darkness, is blinded even by the purest light; the healthy one
alone can endure the splendor of the sun. And yet upon this very power
in a decided majority of his countrymen Zwingli relied, and the
memorials, which we have just read, might have fully convinced him that
sound sense was really at hand. But ought this claim to be preferred in
political matters, and not in ecclesiastical also? Thus much is clear,
that from this time forward Zwingli's endeavors took this direction.
If the bishop would deny him a hearing or condemn him contrary to
justice, he intended to appeal not to ultra-montane Rome, ignorant of
the German language and the German character, but to the judgment of
his own nation, to the decision of an independent government entitled
to act in the case, and the rule should be the Holy Scriptures, an
unassailable code of laws acknowledged by all. And thus the fundamental
idea of the Reformed Church naturally arose, which in its development
has been more clearly defined rather than corrupted,--limited rather
than extended. To follow out and discuss this subject is not our
business; hence we turn back to Zwingli.
He had now preached for three whole years in Zurich, and the agitation,
as we have seen, was certainly great. Still no one had as yet violated
existing church-usages or actually assailed them. No opportunity for
public interference on the part of the temporal and spiritual
authorities had yet occurred. Indeed it was the policy of the Nuncio to
keep in with the influential Reformer, since, as the deputy of a prince
then at war with France, he was proscribed by the other twelve cantons,
and could only hope for protection in neutral Zurich, where he
anxiously sought it.
During Lent in the year 1522 several individuals ventured for the first
time to transgress the episcopal ordinance in regard to the eating of
meat, in a dissimilar manner it is true. Christopher Froschauer, a
printer, having in the course of his business visited the Frankfort
Fair, and become thus acquainted with Luther's writings and a witness
of the spiritual awakening in Germany, had, when compelled by labor
severer than usual, partaken along with his workmen of more
strengthening food than was allowed, yet without concealment on the one
hand and without seeking publicity on the other. For quite different
reasons William Roubli, an outlawed clergyman from Basel, whom Zwingli
himself has styled a rash and foolish babbler, and Hans Gunthelm, an
impudent deserter, had not only done the same with great parade and
loose talk, but had attempted also to induce other families to join
them. Gladly did Zwingli's enemies seize this opportunity to lodge
complaints before the Council. An investigation was held and Froschauer
defended himself with dignity. The Council desired the opinion of the
chapter of canons, the three people's priests in the two cathedrals and
at the church of St. Peter, and thus the battle began in the very midst
of the authorities. The parties were nearly balanced, more talent on
the one side, greater numbers on the other.
The result was an affirmation of the rights of the Pope and the
bishops, and a feeble explanation, which left the government free scope
to act for itself--and it all ended in a simple reprimand to the
transgressors. But Zwingli's opponents were by no means satisfied. They
applied now to the bishop, and a few days after, Melchior Vattli,
suffragan of Constance, John Wanner, cathedral-preacher, and Doctor
Brendlin appeared with an embassy to the chapter of canons. At this
very first interference of the high ecclesiastical dignitaries, the
affair took a direction, which it retained in every step that followed.
"What Zwingli himself has to say in regard to this event deserves
careful attention.[4]
"When"--he writes to his friend, the canon Erasmus Fabricius, then
pastor at Stein--"on the seventh of April the ambassadors, of whose
approach I had already been apprized, had reached Zurich, I wished much
to learn what their purpose might be. But night had set in, before my
faithful assistant, Henry Luethy, came with the news, that the
_notarius_ (as he is called) had an order to summon all the priests to
attend early in the morning in the hall of the convent. I esteemed it a
good omen, that the business was to be opened by a courser so dull and
limping. Scarcely had we assembled on the morrow, when the bishop began
in a fashion, which I will portray further on in the conduct of affairs
before the Council. The whole speech was violent, threatening and
haughty, although he carefully abstained from any personal allusions to
myself and even avoided calling me by name. His declamation over, I
stepped out, thinking it unbecoming and pusillanimous not to neutralize
an address, that might do so much injury, especially because I could
perceive by their smothered sighs, and read in the paleness of their
faces the strong impression it had made on several priests, who shortly
before had been won over to the Gospel and were not yet firm as rocks.
Concisely and boldly I replied to the suffragan, in what sense and
spirit, let the valiant ones, who have heard me, judge. The most
important part of it you will learn meanwhile, when I come to describe
the session of the Council. The speakers withdrew from this wing, as
though he were beaten or put to flight, and hastened to another field
of combat, namely the hall of the Council, where, as some of the
members informed me, they brought it forward, likewise sparing my name,
yet with the declaration, lest I might perhaps be called in, that they
had nothing to do with me. After a short discussion, it was resolved to
have as full a meeting of the Great Council as possible on the
following day, and also to guard against the admission of the people's
priests, as there was no dependence to be placed on them and their
language, so unexceptionable, could not be contradicted. Through the
whole day I tried my utmost to gain admission for us, but in vain. The
burgomasters refused me, falling back on the resolution of the Council.
I was now compelled to retire, but besought Him, who hears the sighing
of the prisoner, that he would not leave the truth helpless, and that
he would protect His Gospel, which he had commissioned me to preach. On
the ninth the Great Council came together. 'It is unfair,' many were
heard to say, 'if the people's priests are not allowed to appear;' but
the Small Council protested, holding firmly to its resolution.
Nevertheless the vote was carried against its protest, and the majority
decided in favor of our presence with the privilege at the same time of
making replies, if we should find it necessary. Thus, as Livy says, the
greater number did not overcome the better; no, the greater _and_ the
better triumphed. Not in the least degree do I permit myself to censure
the Small Council for this; no: I wish only to show how powerless
intrigues are. Now, after the ambassadors had been introduced, they
suffered us also to enter, _the bishops of Zurich_, Henry Engelhart,
doctor and people's priest at the cathedral of the Virgin--Rudolph
Rœschli of St. Peter, and me Ulric Zwingli.
"After the exchange of salutations and the episcopal benediction the
suffragan began with a voice so mild that I never heard a sweeter, so
that if head and heart had only been in unison, Orpheus and Apollo
would have been obliged to yield to him in grace, and Demosthenes and
the Gracchi in eloquence. In vain would I attempt to communicate to you
the discourse entire. It was confused and much too long. Meanwhile I
had noted down the chief points in my tablets. It is greatly to be
deplored--said he--that there are some who teach in a perverse and
rebellious spirit that we are no longer bound to observe human precepts
and ceremonies. Thus not merely the civil laws, but the faith of all
Christendom also must go to the ground. Yet ceremonies are a
_manuduction_ (he employed this word, instead of the German
'introduction,' before men, who did not understand Latin) to virtue.
Indeed ceremonies are a _source_ (he afterwards denied having used the
word) of virtues. We may teach that fasting is superfluous, because
some have dared to separate themselves from other Christians and from
the Church by the eating of meat. We may appeal to the Holy Scriptures
whilst they contain no direct expressions bearing on the subject, go
against the decrees and Councils of the Holy Fathers of the Church,
against most venerable usages, which without the aid of the Holy Ghost
could not possibly have endured so long, for Gamaliel once said: If the
work be of God, it will stand. Then he reminded the Council that
outside of the Church no one can be saved, and as though he had not
talked enough, he came back once more to ceremonies. At last he
concluded with a neat peroration and rose up to retire along with his
companions.
"Sir Suffragan--said I, (I, peasant, ought to have used 'Gracious
Lord')--may it please you and your associates to stay, till I have
justified myself in my own name and in that of my colleagues? He
replied--We have no commission to dispute. I do not intend to dispute
but to utter publicly and freely what I have hitherto taught in
presence of these honest men, before you, learned scholars and
ambassadors present with a commission from the bishop, so that it will
be deemed the more worthy of belief if you yourself are obliged to find
it true; if not, then let the contrary happen. We have not--said the
saffragan--spoken against you, hence there is no need of your
vindication. You have indeed kept back my name; but your speech was
none the less aimed at me. As the combatant in the water said to his
antagonist, you say to me: My blow is not aimed at you, it is aimed at
the fish. For this reason you were not to use my name, because you
could thus charge me, who am called Zwingli, with the greatest crime in
the safest manner. Whilst we were contending in this style, the
burgomaster Roist tried to induce the deputies from Constance to give
us a hearing. The saffragan answered, that he knew very well whither
this thing would lead; that Ulric Zwingli was too violent and rude, so
that he could not meddle with him honorably and keep the path of
moderation. By what then--I asked--have I ever injured you? Or
according to what law must I, an innocent man, zealous for the cause of
Christ, be so heavily and bitterly assaulted, and yet not be allowed to
defend myself? Indeed--or do I deceive myself? I would have ventured to
hope, that the Bishop of Constance, though opposition to the pure
doctrines of the Gospel had found foothold elsewhere, before he took
the words of others instead of mine, would make himself acquainted with
the whole affair, especially through you, whom he has now chosen as his
legates on account of your learning. What would you do if in your
absence I would turn to the Council and refuse to hear you as judges?
And now, since I wish your presence so much, in order to be able to
give in an account, how dare you deny me? The deputies repeated what
they had said before. If I wished to lay anything before the bishop, in
regard to his doctrine, I could write to him. Now--said I--if no
arguments can persuade you to show me this favor, I beg you by our
common faith, our common baptism, for the sake of Christ our Lord and
Saviour, if you durst not listen as ambassadors, do it then as
Christians. Here arose an indignant murmur among the councillors and at
last, being exhorted by the burgomaster, and feeling themselves the
unworthiness of the opposition, they took possession of their former
places."
The people's priest began now by referring to the internal harmony of
Zurich and her peaceful position toward foreign countries. He asked
whether these could be a result of seditious doctrines, and such
especially as were derived from the Gospel, which commands us to render
unto Cæsar the things that are Cæsar's and obey our rulers? He showed
what human ordinances were, and denied that he rejected them without
discrimination. Their beneficial tendency ought to be proven, and they,
who enjoin them, ought to observe them also. He had never encouraged a
violation of the rules of fasting, but rather advised them to be kept,
in order to spare the weak. Yet he esteemed such restraint pharisaical
and in conflict with the letter and spirit of the Gospel. Vattli was
about to make objections, when Engelhart drew out his Greek Testament,
and, having opened it at the beginning of the fourth chapter of the
first epistle to Timothy, handed it to Zwingli. Zwingli translated the
passage. Then the suffragan said nothing on this point, but exhorted
the Council to respect the decrees of the Fathers and their usages, and
not to sunder themselves from the Church. "Do not suffer yourselves to
be persuaded, my dear lords"--replied Zwingli--"that anything permitted
by us can produce such an effect. Among all people, he who does
righteousness and loves God, he who believes the words of Jesus and
follows Him, belongs to his Church."--This was succeeded by many
speeches on one side and the other, which gradually became so warm that
the burgomaster dissolved the meeting. But a unanimous resolution was
passed by the Great Council, to request the Bishop, so to influence the
highest authorities that by means of a council of learned men and
synods an opportunity should be afforded for explanation and reply in
regard to the point in dispute. The people's priests were to be
exhorted meanwhile to enforce obedience to the rules of fasting.
By this important event, happening in the midst of the highest
authorities of the canton, the fire, which had hitherto existed only in
scattered sparks was now suddenly fanned into a clear blaze. The laity
and priests, the bishop, the government and even the Confederates took
steps, which compelled Zwingli, in the course of the same year to
vindicate himself on all sides, to buckle on his armor for the conflict
and declare himself openly.
The canon Hoffman, stirred up by the legation of the Bishop, was the
first to take the field. A good scholar of the old type, pure in his
morals, in former years a frank and fearless orator of the people,
devoted, as was natural for an old man, to the forms in which he had
moved during a long life, he esteemed it a duty to defend them, and
that so much the more, because he was summoned to the task by the other
clergy. He was lacking, however, in two particulars. According to his
own confession he had heard Zwingli but seldom. Still he received as
truth what was reported to him about his sermons, and boasted too much
of his riper experience against a man scarce forty years old. Making
skillful use of these weak points, the armed warrior advanced the more
resolutely against the rusted weapons of his antagonist. The old man
could not maintain his position. At a later period he once more
regained his courage, and certainly it must be said to his honor, that,
though vanquished, he did not shun the knightly combat.
With great bluntness, and not to a limited circle of associates like
Hoffman, the monks poured out their wrath from the convent-pulpits. The
more tasteless, silly, and ridiculous their revilings were, the more
did they expose themselves to the edge of Zwingli's keen argument and
wit. Without mercy he fell upon these people, among whom, as far as the
monasteries of the city are concerned, not a single one is known, to
whose praise anything can be said. We need only read his writings to
see how, dealing blow upon blow, he pursued them into every corner, and
brought out the truth in the clearness of sunlight against their loose
harangues. But then, in the pride of victory he suffered himself to run
perhaps into an extreme, which did not comport well with the
earnestness of the pulpit or of controversy conducted in a dignified
manner, and zealous use was made of this fact to his reproach.[5]
Remarkable phenomena began to develop themselves from this
pulpit-battle against the monks. Hot-headed characters, old and young,
impelled sometimes by a conviction of the truth, but oftener by conceit
and a desire to make a noise in the world, interrupted the awkward
preachers in the midst of their discourses, and accused them of
teaching error and even lies. A tumult arose in the church. It might
easily become a theatre of dishonorable strife. The Council arrested
several of the most violent of these stormers and forbade all such
disorderly behavior in future. Already the monks were in hopes they had
won the day; but Zwingli did not suffer them to escape, and probably at
his suggestion the preachers of the three orders were unexpectedly
summoned to the house of the provost, where with a deputation from the
government, the burgomaster Roist at its head, the three people's
priests, the commander Schmied and all the canons were assembled, and
Zwingli, being called on, began to read aloud from a written document
to each individual, the errors which he had taught. They were greatly
amazed, and denied some things, but admitted others. An attempt was now
made to have the chapter of canons appointed as umpire and mediator,
but Zwingli instantly opposed it with all his might: "I"--said he--"am
bishop and pastor in Zurich; to me the care of souls is committed, and
I have given my oath thereon, the monks not. They should hear me, not I
them. Indeed, if they ever again preach lies, I will mount the pulpit
and rebuke them publicly." Only in the conviction of his own strength
durst he venture to use such language. Only their felt weakness struck
his opponents dumb. Dr. Engelhart and the Commander Schmied also sided
with Zwingli. The Councils saw themselves obliged to follow the men of
learning, and the burgomaster concluded the act with the words: "Yes,
Masters of the Orders, this is also the opinion of my colleagues, that
henceforth vi u must preach the Gospel, Paul and the Prophets, and let
Scotus, Thomas[6] and such stuff lie."
The monks, compelled now to restrain themselves somewhat in the pulpit,
renewed their attacks the more stubbornly in private houses,
confessionals, drinking-gardens and wherever else they could do so with
safety. From Bunden, Constance, Luzern and Schwyz reports of their
calumnies reached him through his friends. Nothing pained him so much
as that he should be charged with distorting the Gospel. "Though I had
firmly resolved"--so he says in a sermon--"not to answer those, who
invented stories as to how many children were born to me this year, and
as to how much money I got from princes and lords, yet I never could
bear that such slander should be believed concerning me. Any one may
say what he pleases about my morals, but blasphemy I will not
tolerate." But then, the best citizens of Zurich roused to the highest
pitch of enthusiasm clung to him, especially the younger generation,
who trooped around him like a body-guard; and besides these, friends
sprang up beyond the canton on all sides, who came out boldly, or
watched over him in secret, were active on his behalf, and sympathized
in his struggles. In Luzern, Myconius and the canon Kilchmeier
advocated his cause even against statesmen and envoys of the
Confederacy with danger to themselves, holding out as long as it was
possible. In St. Gall, the same thing was done by Vadianus, who had
returned from Vienna and settled in his native city; in Constance by
the prebendary Wanner, who, when a member of the Episcopal embassy, had
been won over by the weight of his arguments; in Bern by the
Franciscan, Sebastian Meier, and in Freiburg by the youthful organist
Kother, who expressed his love for him in verses after the manner of a
capuchin-sermon. Martin Sænger, a native of Graubunden, sent him a poem
against his and Luther's enemies, from the fictitious pen of the Abbot
von Pfæffers, with the request that he would revise and prepare it for
publication. He also received an evidence of faithful friendship in an
anonymous letter of a more serious kind, written half in Latin and half
in Greek. "Keep a special guard over thy health and life"--so it
runs--"for it is high time. Verily thou art everywhere begirt by snares
and spies; sharp poison is ready for thee. The knaves durst no longer
rail against thee openly. But in secret they are plotting to mingle
poisonous mushrooms with thy food, as was done for the Emperor
Claudius. Hence take as much care of thyself as possible. If thou art
hungry, then eat at home bread, which thine own maid has baked. Abroad
thou canst eat nowhere with safety. There are persons living within
your walls, who will venture everything to destroy thee. Who they are,
from what oracle I have learned their design, I cannot write thee; but
it utters more truth than that of the Delphian Apollo; yet it were a
gross sin in a priest to give names either by mouth or pen. Thou art
sharp-sighted, and able to guess with ease, whence that has come,
which, out of brotherly love, could not be withholden from thee.
Preserve thyself for thine own sake, for thy followers, for the cause
of Christ, whose Gospel is proclaimed by you with such blessed results.
Whoever I may be, I am thine. Thou wilt find out hereafter." This was
the case. The writer was Michael Hummelberg, preacher at Ravensburg. Of
the same import were the warnings of others, to guard the approaches to
his dwelling, to take care, if he should be called from home, the
breaking of his windows by stones hurled at them, and the attack, which
was actually made one night on his assistant as he was about to go
forth at the feigned call of a sick person, instead of the people's
priest, who was expected by the bandits.
How little power all this had to frighten Zwingli from the course he
had marked out for himself, is seen in a yet bolder step, which he took
the same year--the sending of a petition to the Bishop of Constance in
the Latin language and to the governments of the Confederacy in German,
asking them to approve the marriage of priests. No proof is needed to
show that the noblest endeavor of man is after self-rule, spiritual
purification, the attainment of the supernatural. A few rarely-gifted
individuals press up this steep path with ease; by far the greater
number follow slowly and with toil. Before deliverance from the fetters
of earth, no one achieves a complete victory. This world is a school
not the home of perfection. They, who are nearest the goal, know best
how far they are yet distant from it. The following reflections are
suggested by this subject.
The statesman, zealous for the good of his country, as well as the
thinker, busied with the higher interests of mankind in general, must
both acknowledge in the difference and mutual wants of the sexes, in
their union by marriage, the chief source of all civilization, the
ground-pillar of all domestic, social and political well-being. Far be
it from us to oppose merely natural impulses to purity of heart,
endeavors after improvement, struggles for self-dominion; nay rather,
marriage requires and makes all these the more easy. What victories
over ease and self, what offerings of renunciation do not our duties to
husbands, wives and parents demand? They are only the purer and nobler,
because they spring from love, not compulsion. Still more--it is proved
by all experience, that just in proportion as the marriage tie is
worthily apprehended and held sacred, the heart is at the same time
expanded with love for all men, and the sharing of common joys and
sorrows in our own families teaches us to understand and share those of
others also.
Hence Christianity has declared marriage to be pure and by no means
placed him, who feels called to it by God and nature, below another,
who has the power or inclination to remain independent in order to
labor for the good of his brethren. The latter ought to be highly
esteemed, but the choice left free to each one according to his own
will, or necessity.
This is not the place to quote the passages, in which the Holy
Scriptures speak of marriage, even in the case of preachers of the
Gospel, the shepherds of the congregation. They are too numerous, too
decided, too striking for any one to overthrow or weaken. Laying hold
of these, Zwingli had drawn up the papers just mentioned. Ten of his
associates signed with him the one addressed to the Bishop. Others
approved of the thing, but did not yet venture to avow it openly. The
concluding words of the memorial to the Confederates will here exhibit
the character of the author in the clearest light:
"These and many other reasons, derived from the Holy Scriptures, have
moved us, O honorable Lords, to petition Your Worships in regard to
marriage, which we design to enter into, yea to make known several
among us, who have entered into it, that Your Worships may not be
adverse thereto, seeing the great scandal thus given to all men; seeing
our wounded consciences, with which we daily attend to the
administration of God's Word and the sacraments, though everywhere our
continual weakness is acknowledged and no peace is left to us.
Therefore we exhort Your Worships as our Fathers (for we have all
sprung from one glorious Confederacy, and are yours and of yours); by
God, our Creator, who made us all of _one_ clay, so that we recognize
each other as brethren; by the blood of Jesus Christ, which he shed for
all alike, so that no one can claim for himself more than another; by
the Holy Ghost, who is God, and in all his illuminations and
inspirations has never forbidden marriage to the priesthood, but rather
enjoined it: Take pity on us your true and willing servants, so that,
though it be not sinful for us before God, it may not be shameful for
us before men. And since we have been faithfully devoted to your honor
all our lives long at home and abroad, grant us deliverance from this
disgrace of unchastity, that we may lead honorable lives among you. For
it were indeed unkind, if they, whose honor we have increased, would
not at once place us in an honorable position, not only before friends
and associates, but strangers also. Not in _one_ hour of calamity
_only_, have we shared love and sorrow with you, and ever adhered to
you as good, honest people. We have not been prompted to bring this
before Your Worships by a spirit of wantonness, but by a desire after
pious, conjugal purity. For had it been by wanton desires, these might
have been better gratified by having no wives. We also know well that
troubles, cares and labors attend the married estate. We know well how
very easily we can, any day, abandon the women with whom we have taken
up. Therefore it has not been suggested by wanton desires, but by shame
and love for the souls, committed to our care, that they do not become
eternally polluted. The greater part of us have worn out our children's
shoes, and are nearer 40 than 30 years of age. You should not listen to
those who may cry out and cast up unjustly many things against us on
the other side. 'How dare they marry? Have they not taken an oath of
chastity?' Hear this, gracious Lords! No one has promised chastity in
other words than those I will now write. The Bishop, when about to
consecrate a priest, asks if he will remain pure; the candidate
answers: 'Yes, as far as human frailty can bear and suffer.' See,
gracious Lords! with this condition have we sworn and not otherwise.
This we can prove by the Lord Bishop himself, but there is no need of
it. No one, we hope, will deny it. Since now, neither oath nor promise
binds us, and St. Paul speaks as above quoted, suffer yourselves to be
moved by this public confession, which we make before you, for, were
not the desire of honor so great, we would not have uncovered our
shame."
Whatever may be our opinion of this affair, it must be admitted that
Zwingli did not wish to appear better than he really was. Nothing was
more foreign to him all his life long than hypocrisy. For this we ought
not to honor him, but the Lord and blaster, whose word he proclaimed.
Wholly unconcerned about the reproach it might occasion, the author
took the position we have represented. A noble spirit was never yet
injured by candor; but hypocrisy has ruined millions weaker. Truth no
less than love is a fundamental requirement of the Gospel.
The astonishment, to which this step gave rise on all sides, can
readily be imagined. It was so much the greater, because Zwingli had
purposely provided for a wider circulation of the Latin and German
memorials, and sent copies of them to his friends for gratuitous
distribution. Neither from the Bishop nor the governments did he
receive any answer. The decision in the department of Zurich was very
decided and of the most favorable character as might be expected. From
Luzern, Myconius wrote to him: "Only a few give their approval to your
petitions. Many express neither praise nor blame. They say: 'You
attempt a thing you can never carry out. The Bishop, yea the Pope
cannot grant your request. Only a Council can do it.' The priests are
dissatisfied. How the people think, I do not know. This much only I can
see, that they neither know, nor wish to know anything about the
Gospel. The demon of war has laid hold of them. They are blind to all
that is higher." The prebendary Botzheim of Constance informed Vadianus
that there was a powerful movement among the people. The canon
Kilchmeier at Luzern, and Trachsel, pastor at Art, who had signed with
Zwingli, as well as John Zimmerman of Luzern and the assistant
Bernhardin of Cham put their lives in jeopardy by betrothing
themselves, and were compelled to prepare for flight. Even in Zurich,
though individuals gave Zwingli a firm support, there was yet a wide
gulf between approval and simple permission of public marriage by the
authorities.
Just then the Government of Zurich was obliged to be particularly
prudent in its relations to the other Confederates. An immediate result
of this step of Zwingli was, that ecclesiastical innovations were for
the first time discussed at the diet, in the summer of the year 1522.
Urban Weiss, pastor at Fislispach, in the bailiwick of Baden, though a
member of the Zurich chapter, as he returned from a meeting of his
associates, declared from the pulpit, by their unanimous resolution,
that henceforth nothing should be preached, except it could be proven
by the Holy Scriptures--hence, that the saints ought to be no longer
invoked, that the marriage of priests was in no wise contrary to the
commandments of God, and as soon as it was approved, (and he hoped it
would be shortly), he intended to take a wife himself. The Bishop
complained of him to his superiors at the diet, and new indignation
broke loose in their midst. The pastor would have been led off
immediately to prison, had not several of the clergy in connection with
the congregation prevented it by heavy bail. But, on their return home
the deputies found the petition of Zwingli, and this made the prospects
of the pastor rather worse, so that at the next sitting of the diet, in
the beginning of winter, it was actually resolved to send him to
Constance.
But the Confederates gave matter for serious thought to the Council of
Zurich not by this act alone. In spite of every refusal of the French
alliance, in spite of all the vigilance of the authorities, there were
still seventeen captains in that service, who succeeded by cunning arts
in enticing to themselves several troops of inveterate deserters and
disobedient youth, partly citizens of Zurich and partly of other
places, and leading them to the army, for which so severe a
chastisement was kept in store at Biocca. Justly indignant, the Council
ordered all its officers to bring these seducers captive to Zurich,
whenever they would again enter the canton; only if they came of their
own accord, to answer for their deeds, a safe conduct should be
promised to them. The Confederates declared this proceeding to be a
violation of the compact. Zurich appealed to the fourth article of the
treaty of Stanz, which was certainly in her favor. But the exasperation
increased the more. It rose to a still higher pitch, when Zwingli took
occasion from the defeat at Biocca to address a written exhortation "to
the oldest Confederates at Schwyz, to beware of foreign lords and to
get rid of them." He counted on the aid of his friends there at
Einsiedeln, and the clerk of the court, Balthasar Staffer, was his
devoted adherent, having at an earlier period received assistance from
him during a season of trial in his family. With a perception at once
intuitive and full of power he contrasts in this letter the strength of
even a small nation, that trusts in God and a good conscience, with
the windy boasts of the reigning corruption. "Our ancestors"--says
he--"overcame their enemies and established their liberty, by no other
power, than that of God. For this end they never slew Christian people
for pay, but fought for freedom alone, that their persons, lives,
women, children might not be so painfully subject to a licentious
nobility. Therefore has God multiplied to them on all sides victory,
honor and fortune, so surely, that no lord has ever conquered them,
though never so strong; which, without doubt, is not to be attributed
to human ability, but to the power and grace of God. Yea, when they
defended their fatherland and freedom at Morgarten, Sempach and Næfels,
where three hundred and fifty men attacked fifteen thousand for the
twelfth time in one day and at last beat them, among whom ye good
people of Schwyz had thirty, and in many other places, when they went
to battle and returned home always with joy and honor, then they rested
in peace, stained by no disgrace. But now, since we are lifted up in
our own conceit, and think ourselves wise; since we have become filled
with pride and boasting, though it is nothing but air; how should we
escape not having shame and loss imputed to us by God, though we have
spread our names so far with such vainglory: _We_ have done this; _we_
will do this; _we_ can do this; no one is able to withstand _us_; as if
we had a covenant with death; although a heavy scourging and punishment
passes by, may it not yet come over _us_; since we place our hope in
lying and tricks and are protected thereby--just as if we were iron and
other men gourds; just as if no one could harm us like the heroes, who
saved themselves from the deluge by that enormous pile, the tower of
Babel. It is very certain that our pride is not His gift. He waits
long, and that only, for us to do better. If we do not, then it will be
done unto US as it was done unto Sodom and Gomorrah." This letter
alone, or in connection with other reasons, which may have brought it
about, actually prevailed at Schwyz, after a stormy meeting, over the
national inclination toward the French, and it was resolved for the
next 25 years to reject foreign alliances and pensions; Nidwalden also
joined in the resolution. As may easily be imagined, this greatly
strengthened the hatred against Zwingli. "Thy truly Christian summons
to the people of Schwyz"--writes Berthold Haller from Bern--"is
severely condemned among us, indeed in the highest degree." Embassies
were sent to Schwyz and Nidwalden, to warn them back, and one also to
Zurich with the request, that if they wished always to keep apart, they
would at least abstain from influencing other members of the
Confederacy, and keep careful watch over the seditious libels that
issued from their city. The government remained firm to the principles
laid down for its guidance in political affairs. Transgressors of the
prohibition against desertion and pensions were punished with severity
and even executed; in ecclesiastical measures it was at variance and
wavering.
Zwingli felt more and more, that, though many individuals on all sides
were proud of his course and defended his cause, he yet in reality
stood alone; that many mad-caps, coming out far more rudely than he,
did him more injury by their eccentricities than they gave him help;
that his true friends, unless he continually kept them in breath,
informed them and encouraged them, were in danger of yielding to
faint-heartedness. Even his faithful Myconius wrote to him in such a
moment: "What canst thou do, when the whole world speaks against thee,
yea, opposes thee with all its powers?" When some, who, on account of
his extraordinary acquirements, had ranged themselves among his most
prominent supporters, began to draw back, Vadianus became cooler
and Erasmus put into his scanty and formal letters expressions of
ill-humor. How worthy of all honor did the man stand here, who did not
suffer himself to be bowed by all this!
It was evident to him, notwithstanding that his work, in order to have
stability, needed a firmer basis, that the acknowledgment and
protection of the government of the canton was indispensable to its
success. But the authorities, far more than Zwingli, thought themselves
bound to the existing church-order, and no support from them could be
counted on against the protest of the bishop. Thus the Reformer had
first to come to a clear understanding with them, and the Bishop
himself opened the way. He had carefully abstained from instituting an
examination of the erroneous doctrines said to be preached in Zurich,
after the Council had invited him so to do, and only exhorted the
government in general terms to allow no changes in church matters
amongst them; on the contrary he addressed a pastoral letter to the
collective clergy of his diocese, complaining of manifold heretical
teachings, warning against them, yea, condemning them, as well as a
special admonition at the same time to the convent of canons at Zurich
not to suffer them in their midst. Not less than sixty nine points of
complaint and wishes for amendment were contained in it. When the
letter was read before the assembly every eye was turned toward
Zwingli. "You find yourselves"--said he--"indebted to me for all these
accusations. I desire that they be placed in my hands, so that I can
answer." This was done, and now he was determined to battle for life
and death against the spiritual powers. Hence a glance at their present
condition and influence becomes necessary.
On the 1st of December, 1520, Pope Leo X. died, and on the 9th of
January the Cardinals had elected his successor Adrian VI. But he did
not come to Rome before the 29th of August. Till then, he staid in
Spain as vicegerent of Charles V., who was also king of that country.
The College of Cardinals, empowered to rule in the interim, had pursued
the policy of the deceased Pope in regard to Swiss affairs.
Ecclesiastical matters were kept in the background, and Zurich,
although verging toward revolt, was treated with special favor, because
she not only continued averse to the French alliance, so hated by Rome,
but besides this, faithful to former treaties, had dispatched a body of
troops for the immediate protection of the Papal government. The short
reign of Adrian (he died on the 13th of September, 1523) brought about
no change. On the contrary, even by him, who, as Grand Inquisitor in
Spain, had seized on Luther's collective writings, brilliant offers
were made to Zwingli. Franz Zingg, his friend and the same time
chaplain of the Pope, received a commission to treat with him, and
expressed himself thus scornfully against Myconius: "In Rome everything
will be granted to a bold preacher except the Papal Chair." During the
following year, 1523, two letters from Adrian, addressed to Mark Roist
and Zwingli, were delivered by the legate Ennius. In the first the
burgomaster was assured, that the Pope, fully aware of his public and
private services in behalf of the Roman See, would exhort him to
persevere in his friendly disposition, that he also was mindful of it,
as the legate would detail at large. In the second, to Zwingli, this
passage occurs: "Although our legate is enjoined to conduct our affairs
with your nation in a public manner, yet, because we have a certain
knowledge of thy distinguished merits, and especially love and prize
thy loyalty, and also place particular confidence in thy honesty, we
have commissioned our chosen Nuncio to hand over to thee separately our
letter, and bear witness to our most favorable intentions. We exhort
thee also, reverend and faithful in the Lord, to give all credit to it,
and with the same disposition, in which we are inclined to remember thy
honor and thy profit, to bestir thyself also in our affairs and those
of the Apostolic See, wherefore thou wilt be gladdened by our very
special grace."
It is not to be doubted that Adrian had been informed by his legates of
the condition of the church in Zurich; still we may be allowed to
conjecture at least, why he made another attempt upon Zwingli. Of
German descent and himself a friend and judge of German science,
conscious moreover of an honest purpose, he might perhaps have
cherished the hope, that he would be better able to exert a reconciling
influence upon the Germans than his Italian predecessor. On the Saxon
Reformer, over whom ban and outlawry had already been pronounced, such
a thing was no longer possible; but the Switzer was untouched as yet.
Still the Pope was greatly mistaken in regard to him. It was not the
person but the court, which Zwingli would avoid. Let us hear what he
has to say in regard to the relation in which he stood to the latter,
as it appears in the 'Explanation of the Final Discourse:'
"For three whole years now I have preached the Gospel in Zurich with
earnestness, for which the Papal Cardinals, Bishops and Legates, whilst
the city has not been well spoken of, have often sought to blind me by
their friendship, prayers, threats, and promises of large gifts and
benefices; these I did not wholly reject, having accepted a pension of
50 florins, which they paid me yearly (indeed they would have given me
100, but I would not be enticed); I had declined it in the year 1517,
though they would not stop it till three years after in 1520, when I
refused it in my own hand writing. (I acknowledge my sin before God and
all men; for prior to 1516 I adhered too closely to the authority of
the Pope, and deemed it becoming to receive money from him, although I
always gave the Roman envoys to understand in plain language, when they
exhorted me not to preach anything against the Pope: they should not at
all expect me to suppress a single word of the truth for the sake of
money, on which account they might either take it back or not, as it
pleased them). When now I had laid down the pension, they saw well I
would have nothing more to do with them, and then they made public my
refusal and receipt, both of which stood in one letter, through a
spiritual father, a preacher-monk, for the purpose of driving me off
from Zurich by it. But in this they failed, because the honorable
Council knew well that I had not spared the Pope in my teachings; that
I had not been wrought upon by money; that I had not aided them in
their plans, and now for the second time refused a pension; and also,
since it was the doctrine of former ages, that I could not be convicted
of a violation of honor or my oath. And thus the above-named honorable
Council has acknowledged my innocence.--So each and every one may see,
if I had wished to enrich myself with the gold of foreign lords, I
would not have refused the pension of the Pope, for to receive it from
him would have been disgraceful in the least degree to one in clerical
orders. But I declare it before the Judge of all men, God, that I have
never received pension or wages from prince or lord, or been bribed in
any way. And what I do to-day I do alone, because my office demands it
of me. I pray also that it may aid in checking the evil. For I would be
ever a murderer in the eyes of pious people, if I did not continue to
rebuke it severely. I am ready also at all times to give answer to all
men for my teachings, my writings and my actions, and dare take it on
my soul, that hereafter I will use all diligence to bring the word of
God clearly before all men, yet not I will do it, but God, and
therefore it deeply concerns me that our glorious Confederacy may
remain in existence. Although every one may think of me, as seems good
to him, yet I am conscious of innocence in regard to my teaching and
actions in that whereof my enemies accuse me. Moreover, though I exceed
many men in other faults, yet shall they not injure the truth of God
and a pious government. Let each for God's sake regard in the best
light my simple explanation of the affair of the foreign lords, which I
might have presented with far greater lustre to my reputation, had I
desired it. _For, a few days back, I received a letter from the Pope
and mighty verbal commands, which I have answered by God's grace in a
Christian manner, without being moved_; since I do not doubt, I would
become greater than any other man, if the poverty of Christ were not
dearer to me than the splendor of the Papists. Let every one regard it
in the best light. Since I must look to the wants of many, who have
claims on me elsewhere, I ought not to conceal my innocence of the
thing in my own spirit, but reply, after the example of Paul, in a
becoming manner; for the enemies of Christ often injure his doctrine
through my name, against which they utter falsehood; whom I have
followed now and to whom, as I hope, done no injustice."
With this we have enough about Zwingli's relation to the Papal See.
That he had broken with it decidedly will be inferred from what has
been quoted. By the government also Rome was not particularly feared.
It seemed to set more value on its connection with the Bishop, which
leads us now to take a glance at affairs in Constance.
Since the year 1496 the episcopal chair in that place was occupied by
Hugo of Hohenlandenberg. History has a great deal to tell about his
legations in the name of the Emperor, his treaties with the
Confederates, his synodal constitutions, his ordinances and his
pastoral letters. He was, particularly in his old age, an active,
grasping man, restlessly employed in the maintenance and extension of
his cathedral chapter, especially of its revenues. Scandalous facts
could be adduced to prove the latter. The knowledge of his character
made the Confederate governments shy of him, so that he was not always
successful in his negotiations with them. In regard to scientific
culture he needed foreign support, and when with the beginning of
reform circumstances became more difficult, he was forced to a greater
dependence on his general-vicar.
In the latter, who was at an earlier period Zwingli's friend, we now
find his most bitter and decided enemy. John Heigerlin, son of a smith
in the village of Leutkirch, had, according to the prevailing custom,
assumed the Latin name of Faber (Smith). To the clerical estate, to
which he devoted himself, after completing his studies in Vienna, he
brought talent of no common order, and ambition to turn it to the best
account. First a popular preacher in Linden, and esteemed likewise as
an author, he afterwards accepted a call from the Bishop of Constance,
who, as well as the Diocesan of Basle, wished to have him in his
service. At the same time the degree of Doctor of the Common Law was
conferred on him by the University of Freiburg. With all the better
minds of the age he took a lively interest in the awakening of science,
which immediately preceded the Reformation. He it was, who chiefly
prevailed on the Bishop to declare against the wretched trade in
indulgences, and encouraged Zwingli in his battle against it. Every
improvement was altogether right in his eyes, if it only proceeded from
the priesthood; every light, so long as it remained under its
patronage. But nothing is more foreign to the spirit of caste than the
fundamental idea of the Gospel, and between Christianity as represented
by it and priestdom (by no means to be confounded with churchdom) the
antagonism is irreconcilable. Hence all priestdom is in absolute need
of supplements to the Gospel; it must have tradition; it cannot give it
up without self-destruction. This is not the place to pursue this
observation further; but it could not be wholly overlooked, because
thus only are we able to account for the sudden change of feeling in a
man liberal in other respects. As late as May 1521, he had ridiculed
Doctor Eck, Luther's opponent, and accused him of traveling to Rome to
offer his services to the Pope against Luther, and yet at the end of
the very same year, he himself took the very same road. The extensive
circulation of Luther's writings had stirred him up, because by this
means religious questions were dragged down to the circle of the
people, skillful and unskillful speakers arose among them, individual
princes and governments sought to extricate themselves from the fetters
of the spiritual power, and against all ordinances of the church, which
were not clearly warranted by the Holy Scriptures, a growing
indifference prevailed. He himself also wrote from Rome against Luther.
"You cunningly strive"--he says in his book--"to subject the spiritual
to the worldly, but the Lord will not suffer his anointed (Christos
suos) to go to the ground." He came back to Constance completely
transformed, and his influence was very soon observable here.
In the abduction of the pastor of Fislispach he had a hand, and the
pastoral letter of the Bishop, to which we have alluded, as well as the
address to the Zurich chapter of canons had, according to the universal
opinion, proceeded from him. We saw that Zwingli put off answering the
letter. He took some time for it. But then an ample vindication
appeared. "May your Highness, illustrious Chief Shepherd"---he thus
begins--"pardon, if I trouble you with this paper in your manifold
labors. The Lord procure it a hearing! For six years I have preached
the Gospel, and am now represented to thee not as a dutiful guardian,
but as a robber and destroyer in the sheep-fold. By their continual,
unwearied outcries they have prevailed on you to send an admonition, as
illiterate as it is unbecoming, to the chapter of our convent. Thou
wouldst have done nothing of the kind of thine accord; thou couldst not
have written, of thyself, anything so vain and boasting; thou wouldst
also have made known thy thoughts to us in the German language.
Therefore I send thee this epistle called _Archeteles_, because I hope
it is the beginning and end of my quarrel with thy counsellors." After
this somewhat diffuse introduction follow the sixty-nine points of
complaint, again printed, and an answer appended to each one
separately. As he proceeds in the letter we see his courage and
assurance increase; the style becomes bolder, his judgment more
decided, and the interwoven sallies of wit more cutting, till here
again in a feeling of triumph, and prompted by the lugubrious tone of
the last point of the Bishop, he gives a mock-review of it somewhat in
the manner of the litany:
That we may remain in the unity of our Holy Mother, the Church;--for
this we beseech thee, O Lord, hear us.
That we may obey our Superiors, _i.e._ the pious governments;--for this
we beseech Thee, hear us.
That Thou wilt teach the false bishops humility enough not to think
themselves supreme lords but co-pastors, according to the word of
Peter; for this we beseech Thee.
That Thou wilt enlighten them with thy light, first to acknowledge Thy
true Church itself;--for this we beseech Thee, hear us.
That Thou wilt open for them the fountains of living water;--for this
we beseech Thee, hear us.
From the troubled fountains, which they have dug, out of which no
wholesome water flows;--set us free, O Lord.
From the intolerable burdens, which they have piled upon the shoulders
of christians;--deliver us, O Lord.
Command them to bear and to do what they require from others.
And if they cannot be brought by other means to make Thy yoke easy to
us and Thy burden light--force them to it, O Lord.
From his continued good-will toward Erasmus, Zwingli had sent him a
copy of this production. But the tone of it did not please the elder
and more considerate friend, although he himself in former years had
made sparing use neither of ridicule nor censure. "I adjure thee"--he
wrote--"by the honor of the Gospel, to which, as I know, thou hast
consecrated thy whole heart, as we are all bound to do, that thou wilt
treat serious things in a serious manner, and not forget evangelical
modesty and prudence. Take counsel first from thy learned friends,
before thou makest anything public. I fear thy apology will bring thee
into great danger and be prejudicial to the Gospel." Though Zwingli
felt the warning and returned thanks, it was not able to change his
mind. For directly after the appearance of the Latin _Archeteles_ he
lent a helping hand in the publication of an address designed for the
people, which was still more rough in its language. It consisted of
comments on the above-quoted pastoral letter of the Bishop, and was
edited anonymously and scattered everywhere by the Franciscan,
Sebastian Meier of Bern, and his friends. A single passage, and that
not one of the most severe, may serve to show its spirit:
"Dost thou see, dear Christian, where the shoe pinches them? They
complain that Paul is preached. He pictures them so near to the life,
and points out the office of the true bishop. When we preach up this,
then a sheep can see, that those horned idols are not bishops but
carnival-spectres, and such as the children make on St. Claus' day.
Would to God they were as harmless! Why has it not vexed them that
Aristotle, Cicero, fables, examples, Scotus, Thomas and silly stories
are preached? I will tell thee. It does not injure them in their pomp.
But Paul, who is now by common consent preached in many places, is
consistent with himself, and pierces them in their princely splendor,
voluptuous wantonness, and insatiable avarice. Hence they complain.
Dear younkers, because you deal thus with facts and Paul teaches the
contrary, what shape will you take, if we preach St. Peter? He snatches
off your hoods and shows as well as St. Paul what horned cattle you
are."
It is easy to see that writings like these must have made the breach
incurable, and we durst suppose, that Zwingli himself perceived the
possibility of it, and in such an event was clear in his resolves. The
end of the subordinate relation of Zurich to the Bishop, as well as the
beginning of a changed order, was closely connected with the
_Archeteles_. For the origin and founding of this new church-government
we pass on to the following chapter.
FOOTNOTES TO CHAPTER SECOND:
Footnote 1: [Instead of putting these altered versions into our own
language, we give the poems as found in the English translation of
Merle D'Aubigne's History of the Reformation, because the German of
Zwingli has there been followed, and their original form and spirit
better preserved.--Trans.]
Footnote 2: This was the only means, as a letter, sent by Francis Zink
from Einsiedeln to the government of Zurich, clearly shows, of keeping
him in the city; for it was impossible any longer to pay the two
assistants, whom he was bound to maintain, out of his own salary,
without the pension of the Pope; nevertheless, in order to gain perfect
freedom of speech, instead of accepting the doubling of the Romish
allowance just then promised, he declined receiving from the legate
what had hitherto been paid. Under these circumstances his friend Henry
Engelhart came to his assistance, since, he having also a benefice in
the church of Notre Dame (Frauen-Muenster), resigned his post in the
cathedral, in Zwingli's favor.
Footnote 3: To avoid repetition in the answers, we will hereafter give
those only, which contain something new, or characteristic.
Footnote 4: Only the first and shorter part of Zwingli's Latin letter
is here translated; the second and larger, which, based on numerous
passages of Scripture, contains Zwingli's vindication and belongs more
to theology than history, will be quoted again merely in its leading
features.
Footnote 5: Thus, for example, after some cutting expressions, he uses
the words:
"Very learned Father,
Full and plump,
Open the swollen syllogism.
Or the foul hoof
Must give way."
Footnote 6: Obscure teachers of a former age.
CHAPTER THIRD
RELIGIOUS CONFERENCE IN ZURICH. THE GOVERNMENT TAKES THE
PLACE OF THE BISHOP FOR THE PROTECTION AND SUPERINTENDENCE
OF THE NATIONAL CHURCH.
The breach, between the government of Zurich and those, who, up to this
time, stood at the head of ecclesiastical affairs, was as yet by no
means so decided as in the case of Zwingli. He doubtless wished it
might become so. Public conferences on religious subjects had already
taken place in Germany, and Zwingli himself had conducted such an one,
held between him and Francis Lambert, a Franciscan monk, to a
triumphant issue, though only before a narrow circle and in the Latin
language. But now he determined to venture battle with his enemies
before all the clergy and theologians, and compel them to an open
acknowledgement that his doctrine was in conformity with Scripture.
With this idea he first of all made his hearers familiar in several
sermons. Then, sure of the approval of his design by the majority, he
turned to the Great Council with the prayer, that, in the deliberate
and entire neglect to act on the part of the Bishop, they would appoint
such a public convocation. This gave rise to a lively and earnest
debate. It could not escape the older statesmen how readily results,
not to be foreseen, flow from a violation of forms, whilst others,
looking at events in Germany, the humor of the people, and the growing
in difference toward the ordinances of ecclesiastical courts, trembled
less at the approaching transformation; nay, the boldest and most
decided ardently wished it. In fact, the resolution to grant Zwingli's
petition was at last carried. Besides, the Council could justify itself
with the Bishop by his own inactivity, by his refusal of the just
prayer to institute a synod or convocation of learned men for the
examination of the Reformer's doctrine. Thus he had only himself to
blame, if part of the power, which he might yet have been able to
secure, was already taken from him by the public proclamation of
Zurich, dated January 3d, 1523. The substance of this paper is
contained in the following extract:
"We, the burgomaster and Small and Great Councils of the city of
Zurich, to all the clergy in our diocese our salutation and favorable
regard. Discord and dissension have sprung up among us between the
preachers. Some believe they have proclaimed the Gospel faithfully and
fully; on the contrary others affirm that these same persons sow error,
mislead their hearers, and are heretics, whilst they on their part at
all times and to every one declare themselves ready to be judged by
God's Word. Therefore with the best intentions and for the sake of
God's honor, peace and Christian unity, it is our will that ye
ministers, pastors and preachers, all in general and each in
particular, or even other priests, who may have a mind to speak, to
inveigh against or else to instruct the opposite party, appear before
us on the day succeeding Emperor Charles' day at early council-time at
our council-house, and when ye dispute, to do it with appeal to the
genuine Scripture in the German tongue and language. With all diligence
will we, with the aid of several learned men, note down, whether it
seems good to us, and, if it accord with the Holy Scripture, send each
one home with the command to go on or leave off; so that every one may
not preach from the pulpit without warrant, only what seems good to
him. We will also point out this to our gracious Lord of Constance, so
that your Grace or your deputies, as you wish, may be there also. But
if any one should be so perverse as not to produce the real Divine
Scripture, we will call him to account--of whom we would rather be rid.
We hope God will illumine us with the light of his truth, that we may
be able to walk as children of the light."
Thus it was no longer the Bishop, nor those, who were spiritual lords
heretofore, nor even the Pope, who should declare whether the doctrine
preached in Zurich was that of the church. Whether it agreed with the
Holy Scripture, this alone should be proven, and whether Zwingli or his
opponents had justified themselves as its true interpreters, on that
would the government decide--a view indeed directly opposed to the
Roman Catholic stand-point. It was a real violation of rule in the
Bishop not to lay an interdiction, and, if Zurich still persevered, to
break off all ecclesiastical intercourse with her. But revenues were
due in the Zurich district; worldly relations existed with its
government; these appeared to him to require indulgence. Besides, the
number of faithful adherents was still considerable. Should they be
abandoned? Might not affairs in some unexpected way take a more
favorable turn? Could not the envoys succeed in one thing, if not to
prevent a complete revolt, at least to postpone it? Hence the
resolution of the Bishop to send notwithstanding an embassy to Zurich.
This was composed of John Faber, Fritz von Anwyl, steward of the
Bishop, and Doctor Bergenhaus, to whom was yet added Doctor Martin
Blausch of Tuebingen.
In the mean time Zwingli, who by no means lost sight of the fact that
the government, which was about to assume the place of the Bishop,
ought to show itself worthy of the post by its actions and opinions,
began more earnestly than ever to watch over the improvement and
maintenance of good morals, and with unwearied zeal wove into his
sermons to the Councils exhortations to this effect. These were not in
vain. Ordinances were passed for the better control of the taverns, of
the young people, and the hordes of traveling scholars; singing girls
were banished from the city, and even four members of the Small
Council, who lived in notorious adultery, were excluded from all its
sessions for half a year, in order to reclaim them.
But now Charles' day had come, and universal attention was directed to
the grave assembly about to meet on the next morning. The Council had
sent a letter of invitation to the diet held at Baden on the first day
of the year. This was simply noticed in the recess, without further
action, because the matter was thought to concern Zurich alone. No one
came, with the exception of Doctor Sebastian Hoffmeister from
Schaffhausen, and the Franciscan Sebastian Meier from Bern; the latter,
however, of his own accord, without public commission. A few days
before, Zwingli had compiled and written down in haste, seventy-six
propositions, which contained the sum of what his opponents objected
to, and the substance of his doctrines. He concluded this small paper
with these words: "Let no one undertake to contend here with sophistry
or trifles, but let him come with the Scripture. It is to be regarded
as the judge; by it we may find the truth; or rather it has thus been
found, as I hope and maintain."
It was the second false step of Faber, that, after such a condition
laid down by Zwingli, and approved by the Council, he yet came to
Zurich, or did not from the first emphatically protest against it. The
very practices of the Roman Church, which were most conspicuous and
vulnerable, stood in such direct contradiction to the letter and spirit
of the Gospel, that he, who would defend them from the Holy Scriptures,
even with the greatest skill, was already beaten beforehand. Not only
Zwingli and the more thoroughly instructed of his associates were
convinced of this, but, taught by his preaching, the greater part of
those present also; among whom were a numerous host of youth, ready for
the combat, who had zealously read the Holy Scriptures for themselves.
In their varying looks were seen expectation, confidence, and contempt
of their enemies. The judicial demeanor of the Councils, the confused
behavior of those, who, by their boasting and thoughtless speeches,
betrayed their ignorance, the excitement among the mass of the people
gave the assembly a peculiar expression. "I thought"--says Faber in a
letter describing it--"I had come to Picardy."[1]
Meanwhile, arming himself with as much firmness as possible, he and his
co-deputies took the places assigned them. A hundred and eighty members
of the two Councils had arrived. Of the public teachers, doctors,
canons and the other clergy few were wanting; and the number of
strangers present was also considerable. All the spaces before the open
doors, where anything was to be seen or heard, were filled with
citizens and country people. In a vacant circle, reserved in the
middle, sat Zwingli alone by a table, on which lay copies of the Bible
in different languages.
The burgomaster Roist began: "Very learned and worthy Lords, hitherto
dissension has frequently arisen in the city and canton of Zurich in
regard to the doctrines of our preacher, Master Ulric Zwingli. By some
he is reviled as a seducer of the people, by others as a heretic. The
disturbance among the priests and laity increases, and every day
complaints are laid before my fellow-councilors. From the open pulpit
Master Ulric has offered to justify his doctrine, if it be granted him
to hold a public disputation in the presence of all, both of the clergy
and the laity. We have permitted him to do this in the German language
before the Great Council. We have summoned thereto all the people's
priests and pastors of our Canton, and entreated also the Very Reverend
Lord and Prince, the Bishop of Constance. We thank him particularly for
sending us his worthy legation. So, to whomsoever it is displeasing or
doubtful, what Master Ulric has uttered in the pulpit here at Zurich;
whoever may be able to show, that his preaching and doctrine are
seditious or heretical; let him prove his error to him here present
from the Divine Scripture, so that my fellow-councilors may be relieved
henceforth of the daily complaints about disunion and discord, with
which they are troubled by clergy and laity."
The steward of the Bishop now rose up. "My gracious Lord"--said he--"is
well aware that at present, in all parts of his princely Grace's
diocese, strife and discord, touching doctrines or sermons have sprung
up, and since he never has refused, and does not now refuse, to show
himself gracious, kind and willing, in all that promotes peace and
unity, he has sent us hither as his ambassadors, at the special request
and information of an honorable, wise Council at Zurich, where disunion
chiefly reigns. Having listened to the reasons of this discord, we are
to give them the best advice in the case; nothing else than may redound
to the welfare of an honorable Council at Zurich, as well as an
estimable priesthood. Therefore we are willing, for the sake of peace
and unity, to aid in composing the discord; so that friendship may
continue among a worthy priesthood, till my Lord, together with his
theologians and prelates, has further considered and decided in regard
to the matter."
Thus had the adroit courtier wisely marked out the only position which
the episcopal embassy could maintain with honor. Affirming simply the
power of the Church to judge and her duty to reconcile those at
variance, they ought in no wise to take sides, but rather join with the
government as umpire, and at all hazards, have the last word reserved
for the Bishop. How much humiliation would not Faber have been spared,
if he had not suffered himself to be enticed away from this standpoint
by Zwingli!
The latter now took occasion to say: "Of old has God made known his
will to the human race. Thus speaks the revelation of his word. In and
of itself it is light and clear, but for many years, and still more in
our times, it has become so dimmed and obscured by the additions and
doctrines of men, that the greater part of those, who now call
themselves Christians, know less of nothing than of the Divine will,
and are only occupied with a worship of their own devising and a
fancied holiness resting on outward works. Into such delusion have they
been misled by those, who ought to be their leaders, whilst the truth
lies in the Word of Christ, as we learn it from his Gospel and the
writings of the Apostles. And since some rise up to proclaim this once
more, they are not regarded as Christians, but as corrupters of the
Church; yea, reviled as heretics, of which I also am counted one. And,
although I know, that, for five years now, I have preached in this city
nothing else than the glad message of Christ, this has not yet been
able to justify me, as is well known to my Lords of Zurich. Therefore
have they, and thanks to them for it! instituted for me a public
disputation. I have drawn up a summary in writing, which contains all I
have hitherto taught. That it is in conformity with the Gospel, I hope,
moreover, in presence of our gracious Lords, to prove to the Bishop of
Constance or his deputies. The Spirit of God has prompted me to speak;
He also knows why he has chosen one so unworthy. Well then; in His
name: Here am I."
Still the vicar-general, Faber, did not give up the hope of winning
over a part of the Council at least, by friendly words, warnings, and
promises, and warding off the decisive blow. "My esteemed brother,
Master Ulric Zwingli"--he began--"assures us that he has always
preached the Gospel in Zurich. Indeed I do not doubt it; for what
preacher, called of God, ought not so to do? He wishes also to justify
himself before the Bishop, in regard to his doctrines. The fact is, I
desired him to visit Constance. I would have received him into my own
house, shewn him all friendship, and treated him like a brother. But
hither I have not come, to discuss evangelical or apostolical
doctrines, but to listen, to decide in case of strife, and in general,
to aid in guiding everything toward peace and unity, not rebellion; for
this is the will of Paul as well as the Gospel. But if we are to touch
praiseworthy usages and customs of long standing, then I declare, as
ambassador of my Lord of Constance, that I have a command not to
appear. Such things, in my judgment, belong only to a universal council
of the nations, the bishops, and the theologians; for, what another
place will refuse to receive, cannot be decided here, and hence
divisions would spring up in the Church. It, therefore, is my honest
advice, to postpone, for a while yet, disputations concerning the Papal
or Ecclesiastical Constitutions, now so many centuries old; especially
since my Lord, the Bishop, is informed, that the Estates of the Empire
have determined to hold, within the space of twelve months, a general
council at Nuremberg. For, in the end, who would be the judge in such a
disputation? At the Universities of Paris, Cologne or Louvain[2] only,
could the necessary learning be found."
"And why not"--Zwingli asked in derision--"at Erfurt, or Wittemberg?[3]
Good brethren, the Lord Vicar makes use of much art, to divert you from
your purpose by his rhetorical flourishes. We inquire not how long a
thing may have been in use? We would speak of the truth as it presents
itself in the Divine Law. To this, mere usage ought to give way. We are
told of a Christian assembly, though I hope there is one such here in
this chamber. Where two or three are gathered together in my name, said
our Lord, I am in their midst. There are also _bishops_ enough here
among us; for the overseers and teachers of congregations have been so
styled by the Apostles, not powerful princes, ruling far and wide, as
we have them now-a-days. And wherefore should we need judges, when we
have the Holy Scripture itself here in the Hebrew, Greek and Latin
languages, and scholars, who understand these languages as well as any
at those universities? But even were this not the case, there are at
least so many Christian spirits amongst us, that with the help of God
it should become plain to us, which party interprets the Scripture
truly, and which falsely. And lastly, touching the Nuremberg business,
I may tell you, dear Lords, that I can produce, if necessary, three
letters, received from there very lately, but they contain not one word
about a decree actually published. Pope, bishops, prelates would
indeed, for the most part, be adverse to any meeting of the kind. And
you of Zurich ought to esteem it a great favor and a call of God, that
such a thing has happened among you."
A long pause ensued, till the burgomaster rose up, and once more
exhorted the opponents to come forth. No body stirred. "For the sake of
Christian charity"--said Zwingli--"I beg every one, who thinks my
doctrine erroneous, to speak out his thoughts. I know there are several
here, who have accused me of heresy; I may be compelled to call them
out by name." No one ventured to confront the powerful champion, whose
thorough knowledge they feared, whose attack on the episcopal
ambassador they had just witnessed, and whose unsparing mode of combat
they knew.
"Where now"--cried a voice from the door--"are the boasters behind the
wine-bottle and on the streets? Here is the man for you." It was
Gutschenkel of Bern, one of those knaves, who, because fools by
profession, escape the censure which their unbecoming speeches deserve.
Already it seemed, that with the laughter of Zwingli's friends, and the
inglorious flight of his opponents, the whole thing would come to an
end, when Jacob Wagner, pastor of Neftenbach, by a question cunningly
thrown out, in regard to the offence of the pastor of Fislispach
imprisoned at Constance, induced the Vicar-General to say something
about this man. With an assumed air of pity Faber spoke of his
ignorance, and how he himself, by explaining passages of Scripture, had
brought him to acknowledge his former errors. But these very same
errors Zwingli had also taught, and immediately he challenged Faber to
quote the victorious passages. "Good reason"--replied the Vicar
General--"had the wise man in the Old Testament, when he said: 'The
fool is easily taken in his speech.' I had firmly declared I would not
dispute." This beginning, certainly unexpected by the majority of the
audience, was followed by a prolix homily on the origin of heresies;
the battles of the Pope and Christendom against them; words of Roman
historians on the value of unity; the rareness of the gift of
interpreting languages, of which he himself could not boast; in short,
every thing but that which was demanded. Yet even here Zwingli never
suffered him to wait for an answer, but just as often as the Vicar,
with unwearied volubility renewed his digressions, he brought him back
to the passages demanded. Doctor Sebastian Hofmeister also began to
press Faber, and Leo Judæ likewise. The latter, for a short time back
people's priest at St. Peter's, was again united with his friend
Zwingli in Zurich. Sorely perplexed, the Vicar cried out: "A Hercules
could not stand against two;" but the simple method of defeating them
all, by a quotation of the passages, was still far from his thoughts.
Then rose up his companion. Doctor Martin Blausch, to secure for him a
retreat, if possible; but he also only dwelt on generalities, the
doctrines of the church, fathers, and the right of decision by
the church. "The good Lord fails to speak; the good Lord has not
rightly looked at the words," and similar gibes fell from Zwingli's
lips--proofs rather of confidence in the truth of his cause and
contempt of his opponents, than of the clemency, which lends to victory
a higher worth. After the silencing of the embassy of Constance, the
burgomaster called once more for other combatants, but in vain. Zwingli
had the last word. The crowd dispersed at noon.
The interval was used by the Council for drawing up its decision, which
was published to the meeting, again called together in the afternoon,
and ran thus: "All ye, who, answering our summons for the purposes
assigned, have appeared before us today, we give to understand. A year
is now gone, since an embassy of our gracious Lord of Constance was
here at our council-house, before the burgomaster and the Small and
Great Councils, on business of a similar kind. Then the request was
preferred by us to our gracious Lord, to call together in his diocese
learned men and preachers for the examination of the prevailing
doctrines; so that a unanimous resolution might be passed, by which
every one might be guided. But since, up to this time, perhaps for
obvious reasons, nothing special has been done by him in the matter,
and the dissension among the clergy and laity continually increases,
the burgomaster. Council and the Great Council of the city of Zurich,
have again taken the case in hand; and since now; after the offer of
Master Ulric Zwingli to render an account, no one has risen up, no one
has dared to refute by the Sacred Scriptures the articles he his
furnished, although he has repeatedly called on those who revile him as
a heretic--we, after mature counsel, have decided, and it is our
earnest opinion, that Master Ulric Zwingli shall go on and continue, as
heretofore, to proclaim the Holy Gospel and the real Sacred Scripture,
according to the Spirit of God and his ability. Also, all the other
priests of the people, pastors and preachers, in our city, canton and
dependencies, shall not do otherwise, nor preach, except what they may
be able to prove by the Holy Scripture. Likewise, they shall not
henceforth call each other hard names, nor use other words of reproach.
For they who act personally in this, we will deal with in such a
manner, that they shall see and find that they have done wrong."
"God be praised!"--said Zwingli--"He will have his Word rule in heaven
and on earth, and to you, my Lords of Zurich, he will doubtless grant
strength and power to establish his truth in your canton."
Once more the Vicar General essayed to speak. Now, for the first time,
it became possible for him to read the articles of Zwingli, and of
course he had to find several that were not sustained by the Holy
Scriptures. "Well then--prove it, Sir Vicar General," said Zwingli. It
can be seen in works on church-history, how Faber, with no little
adroitness and a blinding flow of words, endeavored to point out a
contradiction between several of the syllogisms and some points of Holy
Scripture. Perhaps, too, this would have succeeded before hearers less
instructed; but with the greatest ease his superior antagonist shewed
to the assembly, where in one place he tore words from their
connection, in another distorted the plain sense, sought to give the
later expressions of the Fathers a scriptural sound, and even employed
the arts of a lawyer, in which he himself was evidently conscious of
deceit. "You knew"--said Zwingli--"Sir Vicar General, that we,
formerly, at the university, practised in common such dazzling tricks
of logic, and that I am skilled in them as well as you; but it truly
grieves me, that you as a serious man come still armed with such
sophistries."
Anger began to appear in the assembly. The speeches of the opposing
parties became shorter and more bitter. In order to keep them from
degenerating into abuse, the Councils rose. The assembly dissolved, and
the burgomaster Roist took leave of the by-standers with a smile,
saying: "The sword, with which the pastor of Fislispach was stabbed,
would not come out of its sheath to-day."
Faber by his behavior had fallen low in the estimation of the
Zurichers. The monks alone, whose courage again revived, since the
close of the battle, tried among those with whom they associated, to
point out the circumstance, that the Vicar General had kept the last
word, as a sign of victory. He himself also boasted of it in Constance
after his return, and wherever Zwingli's rough manner or vehement
language afforded an opportunity for censure, it was heaped up and
spread on all sides. "In short"--writes Salat of Luzern, clerk of the
court--"Zwingli pours down far too many scornful words on the head of
the Lord Vicar, that excellent man of honor. Now he calls him Sir Hans,
Sir John, Sir Vicary, plucks the vicar-bonnet off, and this times
without number, and without shame. This was his mode of disputing."
Calmly and with a manifest endeavor, as far as it lay in his power, to
form an unbiassed judgment, an old schoolmaster, Erhard Hegenwald, has
described the transaction; and his narrative is the more worthy of
credence, for the very reason that Faber was so provoked by it, that he
attempted to refute it by a statement of his own. The distinguished
air, which he assumed, the haughty treatment of Hegenwald, the
importance, which he strove to give to his trifling mistakes, the
mixture also of unfounded assertions contained in this production
roused the indignation of the young men of Zurich, six of whom, members
then already for the most part of the Great, and afterwards of the
Small Council, joined in the publication of an answer to Faber, which
they entitled "Hawk Plucking." The rude castigation, the biting and
often also tasteless wit, and the entire absence of all the respect,
which they formerly paid to age and official position, sorely wounded
the Vicar General, who, but that it seemed useless, would have
complained of the "libelous little book" to the government of Zurich.
Thus the hostility of Faber toward Zwingli and his friends soon
extended itself to Zurich also. This champion against the doctrines of
the Reformer became a persecutor of all his adherents--an inexorable
judge to those, who fell into his power. In the end he even laughed at
the tears, which the torture of the rack wrung from one of his victims,
and rejoiced to see him burning at the stake.[4]
Zwingli, although satisfied with the decree of the government, that he
should continue unmolested in his way of teaching, was by no means so
with the turn, which the conference took in the afternoon, through
the tricks of Faber and the sort of protest against his syllogisms as
anti-scriptural, with which the Vicar General had left Zurich. He
resolved to append to each one of these points a detailed explanation
and proof, in a work, which is even now considered the basis of his
system of Christian doctrine, as well as his views in regard to
church and state.[5] "Day and night"--he wrote to his friend Werner
Steiner--"do I labor at this work." It consisted of a volume of 300
closely-printed pages, and was finished in five months, amid daily
preaching and a crowd of other business. New and still more violent
enemies were awakened by its appearance, and, although many boasting
promises of a refutation were made, none ever saw the light.
But with the rapid spread of this work the time had come, when the
influence of the Reformer, hitherto confined mostly to Zurich and its
territory, flowed out in all directions beyond these limits. The Zurich
ambassadors had to witness a prelude of this in a riot at Luzern, where
a disorderly rabble, instigated by several deputies of the diet sitting
at that place, carried past their lodging an effigy of Zwingli with
scoffs and curses, and burnt it with all the formalities used by the
Inquisition. Two months later, in June, Caspar Gœldi, who had been
obliged to leave Zurich on account of mercenary service, complained
before a second diet at Baden, that his daughter had willfully eloped
from the convent of Hermatschweil and married one Schuster at
Bremgarten, and the _landvogt_ of Sorgans likewise, that a priest of
that place had taken to himself a wife. Zwingli's sermons became still
more severe against deserters and pensions. "Confederates,"--said
Caspar of Muelinen--"check Lutheranism in the bud. The preachers at
Zurich have already become masters of their rulers, so that they are no
more able to withstand them. A man is no longer safe there in his own
house. The peasantry refuse to pay their rents and tithes, and great
discord reigns in the city and canton." The resolution was carried in
the Recess, to communicate the complaints to all the governments, in
order to agree if possible on a remedy; especially since the pastor had
meddled also in political affairs, and preached among other things:
"Confederates sell Christian blood and eat Christian flesh."
At Zwingli's request, the articles of the Recess were given to him, so
that he might draw up a vindication. This vindication, which was also
laid before the Great Council at Zurich, shows the undaunted courage of
the man, as well as his assurance of being in the path of duty.
"Wise and gracious Lords,"--wrote he--"I believe indeed that complaints
against me are rife; but to show the justice of them is, as I hope in
God, in the power of no one. I will indeed confess, that I earnestly
rebuke the prevailing vices, in chief that of perfidious bribe-taking,
which is in vogue in nearly all courts and countries. But of my Lords,
the Confederates, I have never spoken improperly. I have named them
perhaps, though not rudely; for, from youth up, nothing has been more
foreign to my nature, except when my fatherland has been evil spoken
of. When obliged to rebuke severely and bear down against vices, then I
have mentioned neither Dalmatians nor Englishmen; and this is my
constant custom. Moreover, by no means do I agree with them, who say,
no body ought ever to be called by name from the pulpit. God has never
commanded this; perhaps the Pope has; but none the less am I of
opinion, that we should not make the Word of God hateful by our
rashness. When, during Lent in the past year, I preached about
eating flesh, I uttered these, among other words: Many a one reviles
flesh-eating as evil and thinks that a great sin, which God has never
forbidden; but to butcher and sell human flesh, he thinks no sin. But
in this I called neither Confederates, nor _landsknechts_, by name.
That I said nothing more, the Great Council of Zurich will bear me
witness. In general, for some time back I have had to endure incredible
lies against me; they have caused me little sorrow, for I thought: The
disciple is not above his master; they lied against Christ, hence it is
no wonder, they lie against thee also. Thus my enemies once said of me,
that I abused the mother of God our Lord, Jesus Christ. I answered them
with a suitable little book. Again they say, I have declared that
neither rents nor tithes should be paid. Item, that I have no regard
for Christ's holy body, and have preached an opinion about it so
scandalous, that I will not repeat it, lest the hearts of pious
Christians might be shocked. And much other stuff of the like sort,
they swear I have preached; but all these, saving your Honors'
presence, are pure lies. Then they tell of me that I have had four
children this year; that I wander about the streets at night; that I am
a gambler; that I am hired by pensions from princes and lords; yet
these also, saving your Honors' presence, are pure lies. Now I would
not again set right these points, touching my morals, if they were not
prejudicial to the good city of Zurich; for, since it would be a great
disgrace to so glorious a city, if it suffered such vices even in a
boy, I need not speak of one, who is devoted to God's Word and the
common salvation of men. As to this, wise and gracious Lords, let it be
far from you to put faith in any one, who speaks what he pleases
against others or myself; for the times are perilous. The devil, who is
an enemy of the truth, has used all his arts to cast down and destroy
it. Therefore it is my humble prayer to Your Worships, that, as
heretofore, if they have somewhat to say to me, or any one somewhat
against me, he or they seek me before my Lords at Zurich, where I am a
citizen and a canon; besides a born Toggenburger and a countryman at
Schwyz and Glarus. Bat, as for as regards the doctrine of Christ, I ask
no other protection from any one, than may serve to prevent
interference against the pure word of God; and each and every one shall
see, if God will, that since I laid hold of the Gospel of Christ, I
have never taught anything, whose ground I did not search into
beforehand, as far as God permitted. Understand this my plain, hasty
letter in the best sense; for it is written without deceitful cunning.
Let it also be made public, so that each and every one can see my
innocence. And may Almighty God keep your State in his grace and honor!
Amen."
There is nothing in the records of the Recesses to show, whether this
vindication was really read before the Diet. It is certain, however,
that it was known to the individual members, among whom, as well as
among the States, opinions concerning Zwingli already began to be
divided, and his adherents were treated with far more mildness in Bern,
Solothurn, Basel and Schaffhausen, than in Luzern, Freiburg and the
three Forest Cantons. In Glarus several of the most influential members
of the government continued to keep up a correspondence with him, or a
friendly feeling toward him; indeed, the government of Bern, as early
as June, 1528, issued a decree, that that only, which could be proved
by the Holy Scripture, should be taught in the pulpit; and, at the
close of the same year, the nuns of Kœnigsfeld received permission
to leave the convent, if they desired it.
In this respect, the Council of Zurich had already taken the lead in
the month of June, by doing the same thing for the Sisters at
Œ]denbach. The wealth of this convent was considerable; the nuns,
whose number was rather large, belonged, for the most part, to
distinguished families. It was no easy undertaking, in a time of such
excitement, to keep peace among them, especially because the fiercest
enemies of reform, the Dominican monks, who were devoted to the same
rule of order, had abundant access to them as preachers, as confessors,
and under all possible pretences. The Council, sorry to find this
influence, and tracing it in the quarrels, which already began to arise
in many families, through the instigation of the spiritual sisters,
invited Zwingli to preach in the convent. This had never yet been done
by a so-called secular priest. A part of the nuns refused to hear the
unwelcome speaker. Zwingli therefore printed the discourse, which he
delivered, and sent it to them. Requests were now sent to the
government by one for release from her vows; prayers by another for the
return of their former confessors and preachers. Strife arose in the
convent. Here parents saw with displeasure the resolution of their
daughters to go back into secular life, whilst others were
dissatisfied, because theirs refused to do this. For some time the
Council tried to help matters by rendering access to the convent
difficult, and by obliging Leo Judæ to preach there regularly; but when
the discord was not allayed thereby, permission to leave was granted to
all those who desired to go, with the privilege of taking whatever they
had brought, besides their clothing and furniture. The rest were
allowed to remain in the convent, but were obliged to lay aside the
habit of the order and listen to Leo Judge's preaching. For the
management of the revenues and general control a court of magistrates
was instituted. The number of those, who went back to secular life,
still increased; the aged gradually died off in the convent. Similar
ordinances were passed in relation to the other nunneries in the
territory of Zurich.
It is enough to show, that in these arrangements, the government was
prompted neither by a blind zeal for tearing down, nor a base desire
for the property of the convents. He who looks over the writings of
Zwingli,[6] will soon find, that the Council followed closely the path
marked out by him, and indeed throughout, in the consciousness that
they acted in full harmony with the Holy Scriptures. As another proof
of the bold thinking and fearless language of the Reformer, we will
here quote, if it be only what he says, in the Explanation of his Final
Discourses as to the right disposition of the property of the
suppressed establishments: "The simple-minded shudder at this, because
they think it not right to change the last will of any body; but a
greater fraud lies in this than in other abuses. See: What motive
swayed those, who founded the benefices? Nothing else than because they
were falsely taught, that the mass is a sacrifice. Therefore they
dreamed they were bestowing their possessions on the poor, when they
gave to this object. But now, since we are conscious of the deceit,
that the mass is not a sacrifice, but the food of him, who eats with
faith and spiritual hunger, we may divert the property to the poor, and
withdraw it from idle bellies; yet we do this after their departure.
But here they cry out; See, thus they undertake to do away with
testaments, legacies and last wills! Answer: Here lies the rogue behind
the hedge. Has not every government its own right and custom in the
making of legacies? Who meddles with the appointment of heirs? Who
wishes to act falsely here? You have falsified more than any one else;
for you have tampered with last wills, so that that has been given to
you, which belonged to other lawful heirs, and you have done it by your
parables and false doctrines.[7] Thus what the people have as a civil
right, you claim as a divine right.... See, here we find the real
forgers of wills, who have foisted in their avarice, by pretending that
it was kindly done for the salvation of souls. But they say, if one of
his own free-will gives us his property on his death-bed, is it not
right for us to take it? Answer: no, for thou shouldst have before
given a right Christian understanding to the donor, representing things
thus: Consider not thy temporal property thine own; thou art only a
steward over it. Thou shouldst divide it among the poor, which is
pleasing to God, and shouldst not give it to those, who do not need it.
Thou seest that such property is often used, only to foster pride and
vanity in the temples, even though it is not squandered wantonly. God
has commanded, to give to the poor; do it then; and no one shall be
scandalized, if that which has hitherto been misused, is turned to the
Christian advantage of the poor. For were they who, unknowingly have
contributed to their bellies, still here, they would snatch it again
out of their hands. But no appropriating hand should be laid on it; for
that would be acting the thief, or the robber. The authorities should
wait till the jointures are without a possessor (till the present
incumbents are dead, or have voluntarily relinquished their rights),
and then arrange it with God himself; so that common justice be
maintained and no one led into wickedness."
Why should a people, accustomed to form free judgments on human
affairs, as well as to express their opinions freely concerning them,
oppose with violence such views, founded as they were by Zwingli, at
all points, on the Holy Scriptures? Did not experience also teach that
the Church of Christ has become great in poverty, and straightway been
corrupted by riches? Willingly or unwillingly, the government had to
yield to public opinion, and awaken to a still more lively
consciousness, that, if it would not continually oscillate, without
character, between the old and the new, no escape remained, except in
the way which the welfare and honor of the country pointed out; by
making common cause with the bold and progressive Reformer.
From this feeling, it no longer threw any obstacles in the way of the
public marriage of the clergy in the churches, even that of Leo Judæ,
people's priest at St. Peter's. William Rœubli, then preacher at
Wytikon, anxious to set a striking example, had made a beginning, by
wedding the daughter of a wealthy countryman, amid a concourse of
joyful guests, on the 28th of April, 1523.
A letter came from the Emperor, accompanied by a decree of the Bishop,
in which the prohibition of such marriages, the punishment of those who
broke their monastic vows, as well as a severer watchfulness against
innovating teachers, were strongly enjoined; but it was all in vain.
The Council decided, against the wish of the Bishop, that this
"mandate" should neither be complied with, nor even acknowledged, and
wrote to him; "in the city of Zurich, its courts and its territories,
the Gospel and the Divine Word shall be truly proclaimed, but if any
one thinks that heretical matters and articles are preached, let him
point them out, whereupon fitting action will be taken in the case."
Just in proportion as Zwingli's position became more secure, his views
were transferred to the system of government, and the Reformation
taking hold thus of political life, new embarrassments were prepared
for him by the very men, who originally supported him, and the first
traces of dangerous movements from below upward began already to
appear.
The time was ripe for his great work. Boldness only was needed, to give
the first utterance to that of which the majority were more or less
conscious: The deceit, the abuses that have poisoned our civil as well
as our religious life must be put down. In such moments, the feeling of
deliverance was awakened in every heart: nobler powers, intellectual
activities were stirred up; but mingled at the same time with
hereditary weakness, seductive vices and passions, whose charms he, who
is born of earth, can not wholly resist; and the brave man, who called
the movement into life, had soon to contend less with old enemies,
already half conquered, than with the new ones rising up on all sides.
This was the prospect which unfolded itself to the Reformer, as early
as the year 1523, soon after the first Religious Conference. William
Rœubli, the above-mentioned preacher at Wytikon, Simon Stumpf,
pastor at Hœngg, and even Zwingli's former scholar, friend and
admirer, Conrad Grebel, are known as the first by whom the
congregations were disturbed and seduced into dangerous measures. Among
several points, based on the Gospel as they pretended, none was more
readily seized on by the people than these--that the tithe, according
to the Divine Word, should go exclusively to the benefit of the poor,
and that the taking of interest for money loaned was forbidden. In
fact, deputies from several congregations in the neighborhood of the
city appeared before the Council, on June 22d, with the petition, that,
since the tithe was eleemosynary under the Gospel, and theirs was
uselessly squandered by the canons of the Great Minster, they might be
released from the burden. They were plainly rebuked by the Council in a
scaled letter. It was not right in the government to support error. But
the flame was not in the least smothered by this act; the bait was too
tempting---to free themselves, under the shield of religion, from
a tax, which often before had been resisted. Rude sermons, for and
against the justice of the thing, were multiplied. A book, called
"Chief Articles of Christian doctrine against unchristian Usury,"
written by a Doctor Strauss, and another, entitled "Balaam's
Little Ass," were circulated. It was also asserted that Zwingli
rejected tithes and interest. Grebel even ventured to write to his
brother-in-law, Vadianus, in St. Gall: "You wish for news about the
tithe-business. I can say nothing in accordance with sincerity and the
Gospel, if I do not say, that the people in our world of Zurich defraud
in this matter like tyrants and Turks. 'People of this world' I style
the tyrants of our fatherland, who go by the name of 'the assembled
fathers,' Decimating fathers they ought to be called. Thou art not
perhaps willing to believe me, and yet T see it with my own eyes. _Only
ask Zwingli, who can tell thee everything better than I can._"
Such assertions as this, which were echoing already through the whole
Confederacy, the prayers of his friends and the wishes of the
government induced Zwingli to declare himself publicly on the subject.
This was done in a sermon, which was given to the press under the
title: "On Divine and Human Righteousness."
In earlier moments of enthusiasm over the rich fruits of his struggle,
from a feeling of the wide difference between evangelical freedom and
the pressure of the numerous burdens imposed by a degenerate church, a
word may have escaped him, which, joyfully laid hold of, distorted and
magnified, gave some color to the reproach, that he wished also to
attack civil order and guaranteed rights. This sermon, prepared with
mature deliberation and assured confidence, shows how safe his
standpoint here was, and that his system did not rest on fragments of
knowledge, dark feelings and a mere negative spirit of contradiction,
but was based on a profound understanding of the Holy Scriptures, in
their entire connection.
In seeking to bring the sense of human justice into harmony with the
fulfillment of religious duty, the lower position was assigned to the
citizen, in his relations to the state, where, in order to escape just
punishment, he is obliged to obey; and the higher to the Christian, in
the spiritual kingdom of his Lord and Master, where he is bound to
aspire after the noblest things, in a spirit of faith, love and
freedom. This will be plain from several passages, taken out of this
sermon.
"There are two laws, as well as two kinds of righteousness; a human and
a divine. One part of the law regards the inner man alone, for we must
love God and our neighbor. But no one can fulfill this command; hence
no one is righteous, because God only and He by grace, the pledge of
which is Christ, can make us righteous through faith. The other part of
the law regards the external man alone, and hence we may be outwardly
pious and righteous, and still none the less wicked within. For
example: 'Thou shalt not steal,' is a command for external life and
piety. 'Thou shalt not covet the property of thy neighbor,' is a
command for inward, divine life and righteousness; yet both have
respect to one thing, _taking_. So, if one only does not steal, he is
pious in the eyes of men, but may at the same time be unjust before
God; for he has a stronger desire and temptation perhaps to seize
foreign property, than one who has stolen. He, who does not practise
usury, is pious before men; for he may be restrained by force from
doing it; but nevertheless he is not pious before God; for he must sell
all his goods and give to the poor. Indeed, the rich man is bound to
give to the poor, that is, to God. But, though no man can ever fully
attain this divine righteousness, yet believers have special delight in
conforming to it more and more, and the desire is greater in one than
in another, according as God has kindled his fire in our hearts; for he
works all things in us. Therefore, the divine righteousness ought to be
made known and preached to all men without ceasing, else godliness will
vanish, and all men content themselves with lame, human righteousness,
and all righteousness be turned into an allegory; for then no one would
respect God, but look out only as to how he might be shielded from
punishment before men, as for some time back we have grieved to see
happen in many cases.[8]
"We have now seen, as I hope, how widely the divine righteousness
differs from what is merely human. Although this human righteousness is
not worthy to be called a righteousness, yet we examine it in
comparison with that which is divine; yet has God also commanded it,
because he has seen in our fallen estate, that our temptations and
desires could not follow or do his will. Christ tells us to be obedient
to this human righteousness; for he says: Render unto Cæsar the things
that are Cæsar's. He does not mean to say that the whole world should
obey Cæsar, but only that portion of mankind, which was subject to him.
Had he found the Jewish nation under the king of Babylon, he would have
spoken: Render unto the king of Babylon what is due to the king of
Babylon. We must understand this of every several government. If you
live under the king of France, then render to him what is due to him;
and so on, through the whole catalogue."
After this strict separation of the kingdom of God, revealing itself
only in freedom and love; and national life, founded on law, order and
obedience, he refers interest and tithes to the province of severe
human righteousness. Beyond dispute, it would aid the government in
disposing of this matter; but just as resolutely did he warn against
misuse in the application, against the encouragement of usury, and
against the sanction of unfair contracts by sign and seal; for though
written guarantees must be kept inviolate according to human order, yet
durst you as little forget that the law of kindness and Christian love
toward men is written by God himself in the soul. If wantonly violated,
they are waked up in the end, and help themselves, in spite of records
and parchments. Then you have the decree and your own folly to thank
for it. "This brief opinion"--he adds--"I am ready to maintain by the
Holy Scripture."
"In short"--he concludes--"the Divine Word ought to rule over all men,
be set before them and truly made known; for we are bound to follow it.
But in this, the grace of God through our Lord Jesus Christ alone can
aid our weakness. For the more we discover our guilt, the more we
discover the beauty and the almightiness of God, and the love and
assurance of his grace, which makes us more pious than we can be in any
other way. Besides, though some will be found, who do not release the
ungodly and unbelievers from the duty of living according to God's
Word, yet God has given us also as the lowest command, not that,
living only therein, we may be pious, but that human society may be
upheld and protected, and guardians appointed, who may earnestly look
to it, that the last vestige of human righteousness also be not swept
away. Such guardians are the powers that be, who are no other than they
that bear the sword, whom we call worldly authorities. These
authorities must not indeed trample on the Word of God; for they punish
outward transgressions only, but cannot make righteous or unrighteous
inwardly; for that God alone does in the hearts of men."
The weight of such language, uttered from the pulpit and spread abroad
by the press, bore heavily on those, who derived advantage from the
burdens, which prevailing abuses heaped upon the people. And the canons
of the Great Minster were especially concerned in this. Indeed, some
were found among them, who not only led a life of idleness, but of
debauchery and wanton dissipation, and instead of attending to divine
worship, wont out hunting with falcons, leaping over the hedges of the
farmers, or dared even to hold carousals in the sacristy itself.[9] It
is true, that, since Zwingli's arrival, they had been obliged to
change, in so far as scarcely ever to venture on such things in public,
and, that the number of those, who clearly perceived the need of a
remedy, was increasing; and at last they induced Zwingli, as he had
given advice, before it would be too late, to stretch out a powerful
hand for their reformation.
The result was, a resolution of the monastery to bring the matter to
the notice of the government. The latter met them with joy; and by a
commission from both parties, a revised order was prepared, in
conformity with the progress of religious knowledge and theological
science, as it certainly agreed also with the original spirit of the
foundation, and that of its most distinguished patron, Charlemagne.
In the introduction of a document relating to this subject, drawn up on
the 29th of September, 1523, it runs thus: "The reverend Clergy,
Provost and Chapter of the Monastery of St. Felix and Regula make
known; since, from a good motive, encouraged thereto by the Divine
Word, which lays open everything, they see and acknowledge the
abuses, of which they are not the authors, having received them by
tradition--with the help of God they will exchange them for the better
rules of a good Christian life, and cause them to be practised in
another and better fashion than heretofore. Besides, they find that the
common people, rich and poor, who support them by their toilsome labor,
be it by interest or tithes, have had indeed no pleasure in their
prevailing customs and misusages, but felt great discontent at the
manifold burdens laid upon them." The improvement consisted in the
remission of a considerable sum of dues, which were hitherto drawn for
ecclesiastical purposes; in the establishment of professorships for the
better education of the clergy; in the greater demands made on those,
who wished to come forth as preachers; and in the anxiety manifested
for suitable religious instruction among congregations under the care
of the Canonical Chapter. Among the present canons and chaplains, whose
number, exclusive of the people's priest and his assistants, amounted
to 60, whoever was fitted for such purposes, him they would commission,
but suffered the others, under pledge, of course, to lead a retired
life and attend preaching regularly, to retain their benefices till
death, when their revenues were to be transferred to the hospital and
the poor of that congregation, which paid the tithe to the Chapter.
But affairs had already come to such a pass, that even well-meant and
judicious changes, if not immediately carried out, no longer gave
satisfaction. A wild zeal for innovation also found vent in frequent
brutish expressions and disorderly scenes. If unpopular canons or
chaplains appeared at mass in the church, they were publicly derided;
their chronicles were stolen; leaves were torn from a guide-book for
the celebration of festivals put up in the choir, and then scattered at
the door of the provost's house; and one night the stocks and gallows,
emblems of the temporal jurisdiction of the monastery were partly
destroyed and partly erected in a different place. By others the lamps
in the Church of the Virgin were broken, and the oil spilled, whilst
they mutually sprinkled themselves with the holy water. Similar things
happened in St. Peter's Church. In the country, a priest even ventured
to read mass in slippers and red breeches. They began to call pictures
idols, and the examples of the kings and prophets of the East, who
contended against the idolatry of their age in every possible way, were
arrayed as worthy of imitation before the imaginations of fanatics, who
grew more excited, especially as they became acquainted with the Old
Testament. A production, composed in this spirit by Lewis Hætzer, under
the title of "Decree of God, as to how we ought to deal with Images,"
was at that time widely circulated.
From this disposition of mind proceeded an event, which attracted
attention and aroused indignation throughout the Confederacy, and
prepared trouble for the government in Zurich. Directly before the
city, in Stadelhofen, there stood on a pedestal of stone, an immense
image of the Savior on the Cross, carved out of wood. It was put up by
one family, as a monument of devotion, and was now under the care of a
miller dwelling in the neighborhood. Many passers-by still did
reverence to it. This was a source of great provocation to a number of
enthusiasts, who afterwards went over to the Anabaptists, and
especially to Nicholas Hottinger, a shoemaker by trade, a man not
without culture, possessed of some property, versed in the Scriptures
and of a decided character, which, in connection with his natural
eloquence, gave him great influence over his associates. It is told of
him, that he offered a bucket of wine to the hospital, if he would be
allowed to destroy the images and votive paintings in the Water Church;
and that he intended to give a banquet in honor of Zwingli at
Lindenhof, amid a large assembly of country-people. He had often
rebuked the possessor of the crucifix for not casting away the object
of idolatry; he had even done it in presence of members of the Council,
so that the man at last declared he was tired of the business, and
though he would never do such a thing himself, Hottinger had the
privilege of doing it, as soon as he had made over to him his right to
the image. This was effected, and on a clear day Hottinger came with
his companions. They threw down the crucifix, and even digged out the
pedestal. The wood, they declared should go to the poor.
Although the actors in this scene appealed to the express command of
God; although many approved of the deed, and even a portion of the
preachers spoke in their favor from the pulpit, it was still in the
eyes of others, perhaps of the majority, especially beyond the canton,
an act as rebellious as horrible, yea worthy of death; and they
threatened, in case the perpetrators were not dealt with in this way,
according to their will and confused ideas, such dangerous
consequences, that the government was obliged to cast the so-called
"Idol Stormers" into prison for a while. The result of an
investigation, conducted in common with the three people's priests,
convinced the Council, that the quieting of the people, and the
introduction of rules of law for the abrogation of customs, which were
no longer tenable, could only be looked for, in the way of a
conference, as public and thorough as possible, on the doctrine of
Scripture concerning images and the mass also, as connected with this
subject.
Hence the collective clergy and laity of the canton were invited, in
case they were ready to throw any light on the subject, to appear at
the council-house on the 26th of October. Similar invitations were sent
to the bishops of Constance, Chur and Basel, as well as to the
University at the latter place, to the twelve Cantons of the
Confederacy, and to the city and abbot of St. Gall.
The call of Zurich for the first religious conference, nine months
before, had scarcely been heeded by her sisters of the Confederacy. But
now this actual invitation was received in a different manner. With the
exception of Schaffhausen, no canton, it is true, ventured to comply
with it formally; but from the answers, yet to be quoted, it may be
gathered that, having generally deliberated over the matter, they were
decidedly averse to the proposal. Bern, and, by her advice, Solothurn
also, declined the invitation, with the prayer, that it might not be
taken ill on their part; but as injury as well benefit could grow out
of events of this kind, not to a single canton merely, but to the whole
Confederacy, the general interest ought to have induced them to confer
beforehand in common about the topics to be treated of, as well as
about those who were to be invited to the conference. The invitation
made a disagreeable impression on Luzern. "You inform us"--so runs the
letter from this city--"that quarrels and ill-will about spiritual
things are rife among you. This we are sorry to hear, and still more
sorry that you have not rooted them up long ago, for which neither
right nor might were wanting; and even ha it been so, we as pious
Christians would have willingly lent you aid. Now you invite us to a
conference; but along with our clergy, whom we think pious, we have
found in spiritual and temporal affairs, that such insignificant
assemblies are wholly unfit to deal with matters pertaining to faith.
We do not wish to attack images, far less the mass, upon which our
whole faith is founded. We wish to tread in the footsteps of our
fathers--to stand by that, which we have inherited from them and been
taught by them; for we do not regard them as seducers, but sainted and
pious people. We are willing also to have abuses put away; but by them
to whom it belongs. Therefore we send no one, and beg you to accept our
reasons in the best spirit."
Still more bitter was the refusal of Obwalden: "To serve you we are at
all times ready. But now you invite our learned men to you. Hence we
speak thus: We have no particularly learned people amongst us; only
pious, reverend priests, who expound to us the Gospel and the other
Holy Scriptures, as they were expounded to our forefathers; in which we
will trust as long as we live, unless the Pope or a Council revoke the
doctrine, and are ready to suffer death therefor. We also can not bring
ourselves to believe that the Lord God has given more grace to Zwingli,
than to the dear saints and teachers, who have suffered martyrdom and
death for the faith. We can not see that he leads such a spiritual
life, nay, that he is rather inclined to disturbance, than to peace and
quiet. Therefore we desire to send no one to him, nor to any like him.
Indeed, if we had him, and would find that true, which is told us about
him, we would give him such a reward, that he would never do it again."
Basel, where Zwingli's intimate friendŒcolampadius (Hausschein) was
now a preacher, and in the year following became a professor, returned
no answer. The University looked with disdain on popular theological
conferences, where unlearned men even usurped the seat of judgment, and
the Council found itself embarrassed between the friends of the old
order and the new. Zurich complained of its silence.
The Bishop of Constance, in two successive letters, asked, according to
his former practice, for the reference of such an important point to a
Church Council; he would be pledged, so to speak, "for both his
superiors (the Emperor and the Pope), from the answers and commands
received from them in similar cases." In the same strain wrote the
truly venerable and aged Bishop of Basel, with the addition: "although
we are otherwise inclined with our whole heart to favor you in all
possible things (God knows), because we are not unmindful of the many
deeds of kindness shown to ourselves and our monastery," From the
Diocesan at Chur no reply was received. The Abbot of St. Gall excused
himself on account of the shortness of the time, which did permit him
to obtain instructions. From the city on the contrary, appeared, along
with Vadianus the friend of Zwingli's youth, who three years after rose
to the dignity of burgomaster there, the pastor Benedict Burgauer and
Doctor Schapeler. Doctor Sebastian Hofmeister, the people's priest
Martin Steinlin and Conrad Irmensee, trustee of the monastery of All
Saints, arrived from Schaffhausen.
Of the course, the nature and the results of the theological
investigations, during the three days devoted to this conference,
enough can be learned from church-history.[10] Our task is to describe
the carriage and behavior of the persons engaged in it. They seem to
divide themselves into two main classes of a better stamp, and one of a
worse; the most prominent speakers were Zwingli, Conrad Schmied,
commander of the Knights of St John at Kuessnacht, and Conrad Grebel. A
reckless treatment, an absolute rejection of all, that could not be
proven before the tribunal of Scripture-interpretation conducted by the
natural understanding, marked the character of one class; a sparing of
the weak, cautious progress and a horror of tearing down anything,
before it could be built up again, marked that of the second. Bolder,
springing more from the immediate wants of the age, more politic were
the views of the first; milder, more accordant with nature, better
agreeing with the spirit of Christianity, were those of the second.
Still Zwingli was not lacking in feeling, nor Schmied in understanding
Hence they, and their friends likewise, mutually comprehended each
other and united in their opposition to the third class, in which, under
Grebel's guidance, only the impure elements of stormy passions mingled.
Because there were now only two, though very important, points of
discussion, this conference was more lively and animated than the one
preceding. The decisive action to be taken in regard to images, held in
suspense the multitude of those, whose devotions were made up of
genuflections, faith in miracles, and the observance of external rites,
whilst on the other hand, the thoughtful and sensible turned their
attention rather to the examinations on the mass, which was without
doubt the basis of the prevailing worship. This assembly drew together
a far greater number than the first, held in the beginning of the year,
and in order that digression to irrelevant subjects might not be possible,
and that the management might not be attributed to a faction of Zurichers,
Vadianus and Schapeler of St. Gall, along with Doctor Hofmeister of
Schaffhausen, were chosen as presidents.
Rigidly did they adhere to the rule of order laid down for them by the
burgomaster, to suffer no replies to pass which were not sustained by
the very language of the Bible, and Hofmeister particularly ordered
silence and the disuse of certain expressions, which few in our times
would not admit as substantially true, although according to the nature
of things they could not be proven by the bare letter of Holy
Scripture.
At first, the debate concerning the adoration of images proceeded
without much strife. The unscriptural character of the practice was
universally acknowledged. Only in appearance, or in order to pave the
way for discussion, Gregory Luethy, pastor in Winterthur, raised some
objections, but was supported by no one. The word "idolater," which
they were so ready to use, carried terror on all sides.
The canon Edlebach, whilst granting all such veneration to be
superstitious, was still anxious to preserve at least figurative
representations of noble deeds, because "he thought they charm us to
imitation."--"This is a use"--answered Zwingli--"which is no use to
_me_; bring the Divine Scripture for it. God has forbidden us to be
charmed by any one save Him alone and His Word. Besides, when we have
them, they will be honored and esteemed as helpers. And that is at all
points against Christ and His Word."
The severity of this answer the canon attributed perhaps to the
circumstance, that he was known as a secret adversary of the Reformer,
when one of his friends and admirers also rose up, not indeed for the
defence of images, but to put in a plea for their merciful treatment
and impartial estimation.
This was Commander Schmied. Let us dwell a while upon a character so
full of interest. Son of a countryman from the village of Kuessnacht,
set apart for study on account of his natural gifts, he came to Basel,
where he remained till the ripe age of manhood, and found himself
clothed with academical honors. Then he was chosen people's priest at
Seengen, and unanimously by the Knights of St. John at Kuessnacht for
their commander, in 1519. We know that he here won universal respect,
sought to promote religion and science, and in the spirit, which
animated the founders of this Order of Knighthood, joined a sincere and
active benevolence with courage, honor and morality. Even his external
appearance was dignified and engaging.
As the truth of the Gospel was sacred to him, so the spirit of love
lived in him, that spirit of the Holy Scriptures, which is eternal,
whilst the letter bears the stamp of the age from which it came--the
character of the men, by whom it was written; that spirit makes alive,
whilst the letter kills.
A shrewd observer, having the confidence of the country-people
living under him, he had heard many peculiar expressions about the
much-talked-of image-question, and looked as deep into weak as into
stronger hearts. Why should the nobler end be done away also with the
abuse? How had an elevation to the reign of pure ideas suddenly become
possible for thousands, whose feelings heretofore could only be wrought
upon through the medium of the senses? Was then the zeal so pure, which
glowed in the bosoms of the stormy fanatics, who with axe and hatchet
overthrew without discrimination the ornaments of churches and the
grotesque creations of superstition,[11] and before whose gloomy looks
the most delicate works of art, from which the grandeur of innocence
and the blessedness of love beamed down upon them, found no mercy?
Hence Schmied said: "Let us first put away the idols in our hearts,
through the preaching of the Divine Word, before we begin to rattle on
the outside. Pictures are the staves of the weak, which we dare not
take away, until we have given them strength to walk without. Paul too
did not assail the gods and statues of the Athenians, but strove to
erect in their hearts a temple to the invisible God, convinced that
then idolatry would fall away of itself. In general, we ought not to
provoke anger without necessity; and not everything that happens
amongst us springs from a pure love of the truth. Such things work
injuriously in the Confederacy. We are told the Confederates should not
be our God. But yet they are Christian people, and for that reason we
ought to spare them."
Who, in our times, will not approve of this mild speech? And to what do
the Protestants of this 19th century owe it, that they can hold these
views peacefully? that no faith of the letter drives them to a
renunciation of innocent feelings, to unrighteous, repulsive severity,
and to a stiff and wanton tyranny of creeds, such as meets us in the
17th century? To the progress of science alone--science, which teaches
how to distinguish between the letter and the spirit--science, which
the coward only fears, which he, who knows her not, only can
calumniate.
But how very far in the rear was such science in Zwingli's age!
Philology, history, an enlarged knowledge of nature and geography--what
light have they not since furnished for the explanation of the Holy
Scriptures! With what wonderful rapidity the results of scientific
investigation, universally intelligible, are poured out by an
unfettered press among the multitude! Questions must now be started,
_can not be kept back_, on which nobody then, or at least a very few,
ever thought; and if three centuries ago a knowledge of grammar only
was needed for the interpretation of Scripture, there is now need of
philosophy also.
Still, in a book designed for general information, we cannot enter
deeply into what is scientific. It is enough to shew plainly, that
Zwingli must not be judged by the ideas of our age, if in the
discussion about images he opposed his friend Schmied.
In the noble feelings of the latter he shared, but surpassed Lim, in a
just appreciation of the age and its immediate wants, and in the
logical carrying out of a well-weighed system. Only by holding firmly
to the very language of Holy Scripture could he keep his ground against
his numerous opponents, for only thus far were his hearers able to
follow him. We will see hereafter what difficulties he prepared for
himself, when, instead of clinging to the letter in explaining the
words of the eucharist, he yielded to a freer spirit.
"Well has my lord and brother said"--so Zwingli answered Schmied's
objections--"that we ought to put away the false images in our hearts
by the preaching of God's Word. I hope too that Leo and I have not been
negligent in this; but he has spoken ill, when he calls images 'the
staves of the weak.' Where is there any passage of this sort in the
Holy Scripture? But we are to follow its plain language. And it is
clear as day, that it permits no images, least of all those of gold and
silver, of whose value poverty is deprived."
Hofmeister also thought, that, according to the commission he had
received, he must admonish the commander to contend only with
Scripture. The latter, from respect to the order of the government, did
not prolong the colloquy.
So decided was Zwingli's victory, so general the aversion to meet him,
that a whole troop of those, who were enemies, carpers and boasters
behind his back, now became silent in his presence, when called by
name. The manner in which some tried to get out of the affair was quite
characteristic. This one played the part of an injured man, and growled
out, that no body had a right to ask him as long as he kept his peace;
that one naively declared, that he had believed the old, but now he
must believe the new; a third, that he would teach nothing bad, that he
could understand neither Greek nor Hebrew, and it were well if these
languages had never come into the country; a fourth, that he could not
fight, his sword having been broken off at the hilt; the prior of the
Augustinians said, that he could give answer any moment from the Papal
Decrees, and if he was not able to do it, then he would stand there
like any other "cowled pate;" and the rest in a similar strain.
Thus the fate of images was decided by an easy battle. "This has been
child's play,"--said Zwingli--"but now we come to a more important
matter."
Here again we must be reminded, that it belongs to the province of
theology, not history, to show in what nearer or more remote connection
the doctrine of the mass, as then laid down and practised by the
Church, stands with the declarations of Holy Scripture. It is enough to
remark, that it rests upon the idea, so deeply rooted in the human
spirit, of the duty of sacrifice. But what is true sacrifice? At
bottom, nothing else than offering up to Him, from whom we have
everything and by whom we are. In such offering--in offering at the
same time from the purest love for man, Christ has gone before us all.
That the perpetual presence of his sacrifice, therefore, must
strengthen us in faith and love, we all agree. But then there is a
difference between the sensuous and the spiritual apprehension of the
fact. Zwingli taught that Christ offering himself must not be looked
for in a host made of meal, but in his living image, the helper of the
needy. "He who receives one of these, receives me"--so he himself once
said. This was the plain, practical view, which Zwingli maintained not
only in this Conference, but in his whole system of doctrine also.
This practical view has for centuries now exerted its influence amongst
us, and with whatever reason we may be censured for other things--that
there is a sense of active benevolence amongst us can never be denied.
Here, Zurich, hold firm! Here is thy rock! May thy Church lean on it
with wisdom, in youthful strength! Then need she dread neither time,
nor science, nor Jacobins, nor Jesuists. Religion, that flower of life,
has its root neither in the vague dreams of the rustic, nor in the
naked formulas of the philosopher, but in noble, unpretending acts.
Here the real and the ideal, the beautiful and the time meet for their
eternally necessary mutual strengthening and purification.[12]
Owing to the nature of the subject, the Conference assumed a more
peaceful and scientific cast, and at times became quite familiar. Even
Zwingli, especially after the commander Schmied had again spoken in his
mild, conciliatory manner, confessed to his most persevering opponent,
Steinlin, people's priest at Schaffhausen, that he had learned much
from him, and desired, that, if severe expressions sometimes fell from
his lips, they should not be laid too much to heart. "Many"--said
he--"there are, who catch up only the bitter things said by me, and so
too it happens with that learned gentleman, Martin Luther, whom they
are willing to imitate in naught, save the sharpness of his language,
which nevertheless he often utters out of true, ardent love; but the
pious, faithful heart and its struggles after truth, remain unnoticed."
The earliest traces of a fire, which afterwards broke out
destructively, began to appear first on the evening of the second day.
Mention has already been made of Conrad Grebel, Zwingli's previous
friend and admirer, and also of his father, the councilor Jacob Grebel.
The history of this family, truly told, would be a warning for all, who
expect from the chances of fortune that happiness, which is only to be
found in contentment and a pure conscience. A skillful man of business,
frequently employed in the affairs of Zurich and the Confederacy, the
father had formed extensive connections. His house in Zurich was always
open to the ambassadors of foreign princes and distinguished allies; in
consequence of which his expenses gradually became greater than his
income. His sons and daughters grew up. Their welfare and that of the
family was sought in splendid living. The elder daughter became
prioress of the convent ofŒdenbach; the younger, at a later period,
the wife of Vadianus; she was the most fortunate of the children, the
only one happy till a ripe old age. One of the sons entered the service
of the Archduke Ferdinand as a gentleman of the bed-chamber; the other,
Conrad, lived at Vienna and Paris on sums of money, which the father
knew how to obtain from the Emperor, the King of France, and Duke
Sforza of Milan. His extravagance aided not a little in the ruin of the
family. More and more the father put himself under dangerous
obligations to strangers. He did it too, after the penalty of death had
been affixed to the taking of foreign pensions. Already had one son
been dismissed from the service of the Archduke, and Conrad returned
home in shattered health and burdened with debt. The convent at
Œ]denbach was broken up; the mother tormented by sickness, domestic
calamities and her own passionate disposition, increased the general
misery. Then the bribery of the father came to light, and an old man,
with snow-white hair, he ended his days on the scaffold, in 1526. His
dignified behavior, when led to the block, excited universal pity. Some
months before he had begged the authorities to pardon his ruined son,
the chief cause of his misfortunes.[13] For himself, he would not do
it. What value would a longer life have had in view of such a downfall!
We have anticipated, in order to show the fate of the family in its
connection; the thread of our story now leads us back to Conrad. To no
common abilities he had joined industry and a thirst for learning in
his earlier youth, and knew how to gain the good-will of Zwingli and
Vadianus. Many letters bear witness of the friendly relations in which
he stood toward both; but his character gradually became worse, and he
could not escape the never-failing consequences of debauchery. Not the
body only, but the spirit also, sinks under them. Peace vanishes from
the soul; insight into the sphere of duty and the relations of life
grows dim. Still, at times a nobler feeling awoke within him; he
acknowledged the justice of his sufferings, bewailed his folly and
strove to break loose from his fetters; but then again he would accuse
others, especially his father. How severe and dreadful is the language
which he uses in a letter to Vadianus: "My father would discover my
crime, if the beam in his own eye did not hinder him from seeing the
mote in mine. He does not know what I have had to suffer on his
account, since he first caused me to be fed by the Emperor and then by
the King of France. Had he taught me to get along with a small
patrimony according to the national custom; had he not wished me to
soar higher, as my wings grew, in the track of his other son, then
would I not be troubled, when the betrayers of the fatherland are
cursed, lest my father should be included among them; then would I not,
when such are spoken of, grow now red with shame and now pale with
fear, lest they should say my father was a French hireling; then would
I not be irritated; then would I not be compelled to tremble for a
speedy discovery; then would I not have to think of restitution; then
perhaps had I never bartered my freedom for gold and my honor for
sordid metal. The King flays his people and snatches the food from
their mouths like a wolf, that he may adorn his person and fare
sumptuously, and would have once been able to bring me to God knows
what, if my native city had raised me to honor and dignity. O that it
were granted me, to plunge from this misery into another, or to escape
both, and reach the shore from the wreck in a happier hour! Is this
denied me? then do I set myself against fate and the gods and will
brave the torture, till their wrath is satiated in my grave. Glad am 1
that the plague, which still spared many, during the past autumn, has
broken out here again in the course of this month!"
Thus, Zwingli's labors in Zurich began to stir up base elements, along
with what were truly noble and pure. People, who were lacking in means
to rise, and often justly low in public esteem, now called out likewise
for change, so that their old incapacity, or their old sins, might be
forgotten. The deeper the agitation, the more they hoped to gain. Then
already Grebel was numbered among them; the better spirit had wholly
forsaken him. Others of a like stamp clustered around him. To stand
with Zwingli they would have needed purer morals, more labor of the
mind, and above all self-denial. This would not do for them. They must
outstrip him therefore, in order to gain their end the more quickly.
It has already been remarked, that the first traces of their disturbing
influence appeared at the close of the disputation. Lame, frivolous
were the questions about mere externals in the administration of the
Supper, the form of the bread, the kind, as how it ought to be brought
to the mouth, the time of taking it which Grebel started--difficulties
that he would find everywhere; then, supported chiefly by Simon Stumpf,
people's priest at Hœngg, he impugned the right of the government to
issue ordinances; all evidently designed to produce an excitement, to
rouse the spirit of sect, to make himself a party. With generous
forbearance Zwingli answered him, but here again Conrad Schmied spoke
out against fanaticism and a rage for destruction. He brought the
insurgents to silence, and then proceeded to deliver an ample discourse
on the need of better instruction, which met with general approbation.
His spiritual superiors had hitherto refused, for good reasons, to
inform the people. "The more need"--continued he--"is there, that you,
dear Sirs, should take the work boldly in hand. For money, you have
helped many an earthly prince to his land and his subjects, help then,
for God's sake, Christ our Lord to his dominion and honour."
No one opposed this. Then Zwingli spoke one more, begging all to hold
firm to the Gospel, and never to despond as long as they leaned upon
it. "What is done from the best motives will be misrepresented by
falsehood and slander. Thus it had been said here and there yesterday
evening that we would now degrade the body and blood of Christ into
sleeping-cups. No!"--cried he--"no one certainly wishes to do this."
Tears interrupted his speech and many other were heard to weep. "If God
will"--said Leo Judæ--"we will all stand by the Gospel, and cheerfully
will I, if need be, lay down my life for it. They may kill the body,
but the soul they can not kill. The Scripture ought never to be used
for quarrelling, or display, but for the improvement of our lives, and
if perchance I have spoken too harshly to any one, during the present
Conference, I ask his forgiveness." Zwingli did the same. The
presidents now laid down their office with a petition for Hottinger and
the other prisoners, in which the Abbott of Cappel, the Commander of
Kuessnacht and the Provost of the Great Minster joined.
The issue of this Conference formed a new epoch for Zurich. The
government prudently resolved to do nothing rashly, to change nothing
suddenly. Even images and relics should not be taken from the churches
for a while, yet, where it was possible, covered, locked up, but in no
case injured. He, who wished to read mass, or to assist in the reading,
was permitted once more to do so. The rules of fasting also were to be
observed; but the Great Council had already put forth the declaration,
that in spiritual affairs it would henceforth be the court of decision
with the advice of the people's priest, or _bishops_, as it styled the
pastors of the congregations in a public document.[14] Hottinger, on
account of his rash conduct, was banished from the canton for two
years, and Lorenz Hochruetiner, who with foolish obstinacy had repeated
the act, for life. Several associates of these "Idol Stormers" had to
lay down considerable sums as bail for their peaceful behavior. Simon
Stumpf, people's priest at Hœngg, whose name occurs above, was
obliged to leave the country, till permission for his return could be
granted, "on account of his rough sermons, speeches and other things he
had done."[15]
The most pressing want, just then, was the instruction of the ignorant
_priests of the people_. Hence, by order of the government, Zwingli
prepared a small book, under the title of "Christian Introduction," in
which the chief articles of evangelical doctrine, and founded on these,
a decision against the former dogmas and practices of the Church were
brought together in the plainest possible language. This was placed in
the hands of all the preachers in the canton, with the summons to
adhere to this pattern in their discourses. At the same time it was
sent to the governments of the collective states, to the bishops of the
Confederacy and to the University of Basel, with the request that it
might be tested and refuted, if it contained any points at war with the
Gospel. The government, it is to be observed, had made up its mind to
wait a full half year for refutations, and then, if nothing arrived, to
proceed to the removal of abuses, and the introduction of a new
church-order.
The reformation of the state kept pace continually with that of the
church. No one was more thoroughly convinced than Zwingli, that the
civil was the result of the religious corruption, and _vice versa_.
Soon after the end of the Conference he again delivered a vehement
discourse against the mischief of pensions, traces of this evil being
still apparent and it required no great penetration to perceive, that
it stood in connection with the spirit of fanaticism, which began to
show itself toward the close of the disputation. After this discourse,
on the 21st of December, 1523, the burgomaster and the councils took an
oath against all pensions; on the day before, the entire priesthood had
done the same. Transgressors were threatened with capital punishment.
Meanwhile the Bishop of Constance had sent a very detailed report on
the Introduction, to the Council of Zurich, with the notice, that in
drawing it up he had availed himself of the advice of several
universities. A committee, consisting of nine of the most learned
clergy, four members of the Small and four of the Great Council, were
ordered to give it a careful examination, and on their motion the whole
of it was read aloud in the assembly. As Bullinger informs us, "all
agreed, that there was little ground for it in the Divine Word."
A similar judgment was passed by another committee, appointed to
examine the objections raised against Zwingli, during the present
Conference, by the canon Hofmann and several members of the Chapter.
The opinions of the Confederates were yet to be looked for. But they
had trouble, to come to an understanding among themselves. True indeed,
it was determined to turn a common front against Zurich for her
remarkable innovations; but as to what should be said, the instructions
are very dissimilar. "Let us act in a friendly way," wrote the
burgomaster of Schaffhausen and such was the order from Bern, Glarus,
Basel, Solothurn and Appenzell; but Luzern, Zug, Freiburg and the three
Forest Cantons were in favor of "remaining true to the old faith and
telling Zurich very plainly what ought to be told to her." At last they
agreed to complain against several particular articles, to lay which
before the Great Council deputies appeared in Zurich on the 21st of
March, 1524. The deputy of Schaffhausen, not being authorized to make
special complaint, withdrew from the others, who then made a report, of
which the following is the substance: With pain, we see the increase of
the new, unchristian Lutheran religion in the Confederacy; with pain,
that Zurich abets the mischief. It is clear as day, that disorders only
spring from it. Hence, the _landvogt_ of Baden has been hindered from
throwing several criminals into prison, at Weiningen, where the supreme
court of the duchy sits; at a fire there the peasants laid hold of
sword and spear instead of water-buckets; at Stammheim they insulted
the crucifix and images; at Elggau, a pious clergyman, who remonstrated
with the pastor, was obliged to flee the church and the parish; at
Kuessnacht the tithe has been refused to the Cloister of Engelberg, and
at Wædenschweil the steward of the Knights of St. John has been abused.
The _landvogt_ of Zurich circulates Lutheran books in the free
bailiwicks; a parson has said at Rifferschweil that it is all one to
baptize a man or a block of wood; the priests take wives, and the monks
and nuns abandon the convents. No longer can this be borne, and we pray
Zurich to maintain the old treaties and customs, and then we will
cheerfully aid in rooting out real abuses, the shameful trade in
benefices, the selling of indulgences and the scandalous lives of the
clergy.
Things important and unimportant, true and false, were mingled in this
report. A written answer was required. In this it was easy to show,
that to give information in regard to the scenes at Weiningen belonged
altogether to the lower courts at that place; that the affair at
Stammheim was disapproved of, would be looked into and corrected; that
the priest, who had interrupted the pastor at Elggau in an insulting
manner, whilst preaching would be indebted to their protection for a
safe return to his home; that Kuessnacht had not refused the tithe to
Engelberg, and that the pastor at Rafferschweil had not said that of
which he had been accused. But, in order to justify herself on other
points, it was necessary to enter more deeply into the views of faith
prevalent at Zurich, which was not to be done by a diplomatic
communication through the Secretary of State, but by Zwingli himself,
publicly. This disposed the deputies of the confederates, who on other
accounts were displeased with the Reformer, to an unfavorable reception
of the answer. "That Zurich," so it was said in the Recess at Luzern on
the 1st of April, 1524, "sent in a discourse and sermon from God's
Word, is not necessary to mention here."
The last word of Zurich to the Bishop of Constance met with as little
favor. From all sides reports of an unfriendly character came to the
ears of the government; yea, it began to be rumored, that some of the
states seriously thought of giving back their written treaties to the
Zurichers.
From whom had the government now to seek its most powerful protection?
Only from God and its own people.
To learn whether they could be relied on, information was sought
through their _vogts_ and civil officers. "Faithful and beloved
friends"--so runs the paper, which was sent out to be read
publicly--"you know how we have held conferences in our canton for the
settlement of the dispute. The truth has been revealed, and we would
have had a perfect right to do away all abuses immediately. Still we
did not wish to hurry, and afforded opportunities on all sides to show
us what was better. Our gracious Lord, the Bishop of Constance, has
tried to prove, in a book written by his own hand, that we are guilty,
that we ought to adhere to images and esteem the mass a sacrifice, as
hitherto. We have examined it, compared it with Holy Scripture, and
have only been able to find that we ought to obey God rather than man.
Our brethren of the Confederacy have sent their deputies to lay such
complaints before us. Accept the answer which we sent them.[16] After
this, we heard that they in Luzern gave out, that they would put down
this 'piece of work,' as they call it. We have asked them, _where_ they
intend doing this. They have answered, just where it suits them. Again
it reached our ears, that we were grossly slandered, as to city and
canton, in Luzern. We sent two of our councilors hither with the
request, that they would allow them to vindicate us before the people.
It was not granted. Still they appeared before the Great Council, and
desired that such calumniators might be brought against them. We inform
you of all this, in the hope that you will be of like mind with us in
this Christian business. Remember, how many good, honest men, we, by
the use of God's Word in these times of war, have kept alive and spared
for their wives and children. Heretofore, you have acted faithfully in
this and other matters, like pious people. How much more should we, in
that which concerns the honor of God, the salvation of our souls and
our consciences, keep together, use the Divine Word, and be one in
protecting and defending ourselves. If this happen, then God is with
us, whom no one on earth or in hell can withstand. Therefore take
friendly counsel together, and let us know your resolutions."
Now again, all the answers agree in substance. There was not _one_, in
which the determination to uphold evangelical liberty was not expressed
in strong language. "We testify"--wrote Winterthur--"and have resolved,
as far as in us lies, to be eternally loyal to our gracious Lords of
Zurich, according to our oath, and place at their disposal our honor,
our bodies, our goods and our lives, and are willing to defend the same
by the Holy Word of God;" but it seemed also to be the general wish to
remain in alliance with the Confederates, and, if it were possible, in
peace. Thus the people of Wædenschweil and Richterschweil gave notice,
that they would be neighbors with them at Hœfen and Zugerberg, who
had always dealt with them in friendship and love, as they also did
with them as far as possible. Thalweil also prayed that war would not
be begun for the sake of one or two, be they clergy or laymen. For the
rest they were pleased with the just commands of the Lords and all,
which they heretofore had so excellently managed, for they had always
acted like wise men. Not in the ill-will of the Confederates, but in
their instigation from Zurich, the reasons of the discord were to be
sought--in their instigation by a minority still present in the
Council, who were opposed to the Gospel and addicted to taking
pensions, at least secretly, by perverse clergymen, by the people
of the convents, by unwearied letter-writers and forgers of lies.
"There is talk"--says a memorial from Wiedikon, Albisrieden and
Altstætten--"that all the opposition only comes from our own midst, and
therefore we desire that such base-intentioned persons be looked after,
be they in the Council or elsewhere, and be compelled to keep still and
quiet and cease their contrariety. So will we ever pledge to the noble
city of Zurich life, honor and fortune. We beg our Lords only to hold
bravely to their mandates and the Word of God, and we will faithfully
aid them in using and protecting the same." In like manner the
congregations of Neuamt write: "We have reason to know, that You, our
Lords and Superiors, are not one in the Small and Great Councils, but
are divided in this business, which is a great trouble to us. Therefore
we earnestly pray you to put away all such discord and be united, so
will we also pledge our persons and our property to God's Word and our
Lords."--"Nothing is kept secret"--wrote Buelach--"in Your Small and
Great Council, but everything is continually published through the
whole Confederacy, and this grieves us. We pray you therefore to make
diligent inquiry and expel the babblers, and drive off them who are
opposed to God's Word; then it should be cared for that the entire
country should not be disturbed by them." Eglisau asked for the same
thing with the addition: "If you, dear Lords, are not strong enough to
punish such people, we will help you with our persons and our
property." That from Ruemlang carries the same sense: "Further, it is
our wish and advice, that You, as our Lords and Superiors, will look
after the adversaries of God's Word, both those who sit in your Council
and those who are of the clergy, be they priests or monks, and expel
them from the city and canton, for it is certain that the greatest
displeasure of the Confederates has sprung from this source; and if
You, as our Lords and Superiors, are not strong enough for them, we
will stand by you with our persons and our property, for such things
can be endured no longer." With a hankering side-glance at the fat
possessions of the monasteries, they of the Four Wards wrote: "We have
received the friendly and gracious communication of our Lords with
great thanks, and wish to be among those who pledge person, soul, honor
and property to the Word of God and their Lords and Superiors,
especially to those who mean well, and not to the base, who strive
against God's Word. For the rest, it is our wish, that You, as our
Lords and Superiors, would punish and drive away those wicked ones, who
fight against God's Word, be they in the Council, in the city, or in
the canton, be they clergymen or laymen, for it is certain, that the
displeasure of our Confederates has, for the most part, arisen from
this quarter by their letter-writing and other rebellious acts; and if
you are not strong enough to punish or drive them away, we will aid you
with our persons and our property to drive them off. In the third
place, be it our will and opinion, that you will take care of and drive
away by the help of God's Word, all the soup-eaters, who crowd
together, as is well known, in the monasteries; for if this be not
done, we will see if we also cannot some day obtain such eating and
drinking." And still more fully Riespach and Hirslanden: "It is also
our earnest opinion, whereas numerous and manifold speeches and lies
have hitherto been written and sent off by the clergy and laymen to the
confederates generally and particular cantons and cities, and have been
little inquired into as yet, by which great injury and loss of
reputation may fall upon the city of Zurich and its territory, since
when our people go from home, be it to Luzern, Zug, Baden or other
parts, then they all say: Such reports came from Zurich;--therefore we
wish this business to be better looked into; and if the Gospel is to be
protected, such persons ought to be punished according to their
deserts. We also pray our Lords, that, where there are ill-minded
priests, who will not obey their statutes and always speak and act
against the Gospel, God's Word, all such be thrust from their livings
and the churches supplied with good pastors; for it strikes us that
otherwise we can never hope for peace. Further, we pray our Lords to
sequester the property of the monasteries and the canons, so that it
may go to the aid of the poor, who everywhere sit before our churches;
so that the Confederates and other strangers may not say: 'If they are
such good Christians in Zurich, why do so many poor people sit before
all the churches?' Hence we think that the tithes, which we raise, more
justly belong to the poor than to nonsensical priests, who write here
and there behind the back of the government. Hence it is our urgent
prayer to our gracious Lords of Zurich, that they deliberate on the
above-cited points, and if then it seems better to their wisdom to do
so than to leave it alone, we all and each one in particular will
pledge his soul, honor, body and goods to the city of Zurich, and
esteem you, our dear Lords, as true fathers, as we hope you will find
us good, willing, dutiful and submissive children, even unto death."
The tenor of these answers was sufficient to show the government, that,
even if it wished, it could no longer delay the progress of the
reformation, and that only by action, just as decided as cautious,
would it be possible to prevent an outbreak of the flame, which already
appeared in scattered sparks.
Hence an ordinance of the Council was passed for the removal of the
images in the most quiet way, with forbearance and care. Whoever had
presented any to the churches, or had caused them to be made at his own
cost, could take them home without molestation. If the majority in a
congregation were opposed to their removal, then it was commanded to
wait till they were better informed. All processions were forbidden,
even the pilgrimage to Einsiedeln, in memory of the victory at
Tættweil. The latter, celebrated by a dangerous mingling of both sexes
in a march of several days and in the monastery, was discontinued
accordingly, and this was regarded as an act of hostility. But why
should public thanks to the Supreme Disposer of battles, why should
joyful remembrance of the bravery of their father's cease?
The reform of the clerical foundations and monastic life was very
thorough. Mention has already been made of that in the Chapter of
Canons at the Great Minster. Now, it also voluntarily surrendered its
secular jurisdiction to the government, but guarded itself on the other
hand against the delivery of its rich church-ornaments, which were
likewise demanded by the Council and at length taken. Their value went
to cover a part of the expenses of the Canton, which were greatly
increased by the commotions of the age. At the same time Catherine von
Zimmern, abbess of _Frauminster_, gave up to the burgomaster and
councils, under the assurance that she and the sisters would receive an
adequate support, the convent along with its rights and revenues. The
Chapter of Canons at Embrach, the Cistercians at Cappel and the
Augustinians at Heiligenberg, near Winterthur, asked of their own
accord for a suppression or, a re-organization for a more useful end.
The remaining cloisters were taken under the care of the government.
Toward the Dominicans of the city the greatest severity had to be
shown. They held the richest possessions; and yet, like the
Franciscans, were pledged to poverty by the rules of their order. "On
Saturday, Dec. 3d, 1524,"--Felix Weiss narrates--"the burgomaster and
the councils ordained, that the three men of the monasteries, namely,
the Dominicans, the Augustinians and the Franciscans, should be united,
and the younger portion of them taught trades. If any did not wish to
remain, to these a viaticum was to be given; and to all who desired to
remain in the monastery a comfortable support for life and permission
to die a peaceful death. Thus, on the Saturday aforesaid, in the
afternoon, without notice or warning, the three chief officers and
other members of the council, accompanied by the police of the city,
led the Dominicans all at once to the Franciscans; and directly after
that they went to the Augustinians and summoned them all. They were
obliged to lay down their keys of office in presence of my lords on a
table in the convent-parlor. After a long speech and friendly words,
they again led them over the upper bridge to the barefooted friars; and
thus the rulers of the city, of the Small and Great Councils, honestly
disposed of the people in all the monasteries. Soon after, their
portion was assigned them, so that those who were willing to stay in
the monastery of the Franciscans, would receive lodging and shelter
there and wood enough; besides, to each one 6 shocks of grain, 6
buckets of wine and 32 pounds _Haller_ were promised every year."
Out of the ordinary revenues of the government, aided by the property
of the suppressed monasteries, schools were founded, an alms-house, a
lazaretto for the plague-stricken, and an orphan-asylum. The hospital
was enlarged, and suitable salaries awarded to its spiritual and lay
attendants. Scholastic education was greatly needed, and where
qualified teachers could not be obtained from the city, they were
called from abroad. Thus Myconius was brought back to Zurich. Rudolph
Collin followed him from Luzern. Wiesendanger came from the village of
Dynhart, after him Pellikan from Alsace; all in order to teach the
ancient languages.
Zwingli now resolved to marry, and on the 2d of April, 1524, led Anna
Reinhart,[17] in whom he found the guardian angel of his earthly
existence, before the altar, to take the pledge of fidelity in the
presence of God and the congregation. Henceforth the priests wished to
be, above all, Christians; but to all Christians without exception, the
call has been made according to the language of the Apostle, to become
priests by inward consecration, priests without love of power and
without the spirit of caste.
FOOTNOTES TO CHAPTER THIRD:
Footnote 1: A French province, according to the prevailing opinion in
former times, a strong hold of sectarianism, of heresy so-called.
Footnote 2: All three were then known for their decided adherence to
the old church-order.
Footnote 3: In Erfurt Luther had studied. At Wittemberg he taught.
Footnote 4: A writer of that ago says of him, using indeed colors
somewhat dark: "We ought rather to call Faber a cruel judge than a
doctor or bishop. Throughout all Germany and the neighboring countries
his severity is known. Scarcely a hangman in our fatherland has
executed so many as have been condemned by the unrighteous sentences of
Faber." And at the close, in a simple narrative of Hans Huglin of
Lindau, who was burnt as a heretic, we read: "While the poor miserable
man was compelled to groan thus (he had been on the rack), the Vicary
sat there and laughed. When the poor man saw this, he said: O, dear
Sir, why do you laugh at me; I am but an abandoned creature, who am not
worth laughing at. Laugh over yourself, and God forgive you; you know
not what you do. At which words the Vicary, who looked at him still
more wickedly, was ashamed to laugh and grew very red; since which all
the world has pitied the poor man."
Footnote 5: Printed entire under the title of "_Uslegen und Grand der
Schlussreden_," in the first volume of Zwingli's works, edited by
Schuler and Schultheiss.
Footnote 6: Explanation of the Final Discourses, viz, the 26, 27, 33,
64th, et cet.
Footnote 7: He, who is acquainted with history in its sources, knows
that this assertion of Zwingli is by no means maliciously snatched from
the air. It cannot indeed be charged against all convent-property; but,
to illustrate the mode, in which a part at least of such acquisitions
were obtained during the Middle Ages, I will insert here a document,
which was preserved in their archives by our forefathers of Zurich,
_expressly for the information of posterity_, and which, drawn up on
parchment and furnished with the seal of State, is still extant. The
monasteries had plainly fallen off from their original severe rules.
For the better understanding of it, the orthography and punctuation
only are brought nearer to modern style.
"To all, who see this letter or hear it read, we, the Council of
Zurich, whose name are written after, make known, that we saw the
letter of the burghers of Strassburg, entire, true, and sealed with
their public seal, as stands hereafter written. And that we and our
successors after us, if a similar case arise in our midst, may be able
to judge the more correctly, we have, with the leave of our burghers,
willingly, publicly and unanimously written this letter from the heart,
and publicly sealed it with our burghers' great seal, _for a perpetual
and eternal record_.
"To the honorable, the wise and the discreet, the Council and burghers
generally of Basel, of Colmar, of Schlettstadt, of Rheinau, of Naffach,
and after them, all those cities where this letter appears, Nicholas
the younger Zorn, mayor of the city, and the burghers of Strassburg
generally offer their free service with entire friendship. Many things
are done honorably and justly, which in foreign countries are
perverted, because their origin is not rightly understood. Hence we
humbly pray you to receive our address with favor and sympathize with
us, because they have troubled us, for whom we have done very much
indeed. Your Worships, the barefooted friars and the preachers
(Dominican monks) had fallen into the practice of taking legacies in
the world outside of the monasteries, and when a rich man, or a rich
lady, lay on a deathbed, then they ran thither and persuaded him to
give all his property to them, and thus all his heirs were disinherited
and ruined. Then the latter came before us crying and complaining that
they had been disinherited. Many such complaints came before us. The
monks sold also their own property, on condition that it should revert
to them again on the death of the buyer. _This made us think that our
city would in a short time become entirely theirs._ They received also
into their order the children of rich people, without the consent and
knowledge of their friends, in order to get their property. At this
also we have been greatly troubled and many complaints against them
have been brought before us. When this had continued for a long, long
time, and we could bear no longer the manifold complaints of the
burghers; then we went to the preachers and begged them to conduct
themselves so, that such complaints would no more reach us from our
citizens. Then they spake and promised us that what papers the
barefooted friars (Franciscans) would give us, not to do it any more,
they also would give us. We went to the barefooted friars and laid this
matter before them. They answered thus: What Your Worships require us
to promise you, that we are directed by the rules of our order not to
do; even if you had never issued a command, yet had we been forbidden
not to do it. Then spake we: Make us such a paper on it as seems good
to you, that it may stand as a pledge between us. They drew up the
paper as we send you the copy word for word. Then we came to the
preachers (Dominicans) with the paper and they bade us give them a
copy. After that their provincial came, and they did as he told them,
and abused us for this thing beyond measure, four years in succession.
But at last, a complaint was lodged against them for taking the estate
of a lady from the lawful heirs; therefore we begged them again to give
us a paper like that of the barefooted friars, as they had promised to
do. Then they said proudly, that rather than do it they would let their
heads be chopped off with axes. This made us unwilling to have them as
clergymen, since they would not keep their promises. And when we began
to build on the commons of our city before their gates, they ran to our
women and beat our servants with clubs and shovels till one was killed.
At which we became the more wroth and would have torn their gate from
its hinges. This have we written to you and pray, since we need your
counsel and favor in this matter, that you will act a friendly part,
because we lean on you and would do the same for you in an hour of like
need. We also pray you, if we get judges in this affair, who are allied
to you, that you will influence them toward us, so that they will
be favorable to our rights, just as we would do for you in the same
strait."
The names of he Council (at Zurich, as above) are Burkard von
Hottingen, Rudolph von Beggenhoven, Chuon von Tuebelnstein, Henry Vinko
and Jacob from the Mezie, knights, Ruodolf der Muelner, Ruodolf der
Kriek, Ulric der Truebor, Peter Wolfleibsche, Ulric im Gewelbe, Henry
Stoeri and John Pilgrin Burger. This paper was transcribed in the
twelve-hundred and eighty-seventh year, from God's birth on the Monday
after Saint Urban's day, when the indication was the XVth.
Footnote 8: Or in other words: Without religion the state succumbs to
materialism. But the prevalence of materialism is least consistent with
the welfare of a republic. The freest state _ought_ to be the most
religious: the most religious only _durst_ be the most free.
Footnote 9: The assailed could indeed appeal, at least for a partial
justification of their love of the chase, to an article of their
statutes, revised in the year 1346, according to which and others, a
horse, a hound, and a falcon or sparrow-hawk, for hunting, had to be
presented to the chaplain of the foundation, who ministered at the
annual festival in the church of Zollikon.
Footnote 10: Satisfactory explanations of them are given by _Wirz_ in
his Swiss Church History, continued by _Kirchhofer_, Vol. V. p. 139.
Footnote 11: In St. Gall, for instance, forty wagon-loads of the ruins
of wood en images were carried to the swamps and burnt there. "Every
body fell upon the idols. We tore them from the altar, the walls and
the pillars. The altars were beaten down, the idols split to pieces
with axes, or smashed by hammers. You would have thought it a field of
battle. What a noise! what a breaking! what an echoing in the lofty
ceiling!" _Kessler_.
Footnote 12: _For scientific readers_: Neither mysticism and pietism,
nor dogmatism alone are able to sustain the Protestant churches.
Mysticism and pietism yield to more consistent Catholicism; dogmatism,
without symbolical books, which lose their authority where the press is
free, succumbs to philosophy. The simple _eternal_ dogma of Christ
stands: _By its fruit shall ye know the tree._ The time will yet come,
when all who practically reverence this dogma, will form the one,
universal church, and all others, be they marked with the cross or
protests against it, the no-church. For this no revolution is needed,
not even much change in forms. _It will come from within._
Footnote 13: Why? will be seen hereafter.
Footnote 14: In the "Advice concerning Images and the Mass."
Footnote 15: The contradictions in the character and behavior of this
man, who was rather eccentric than morally corrupt, are well depicted
in _Kirchofer's_ Continuation of _Wirz's_ Church History, Part II. p.
222.
Footnote 16: It was publicly read.
Footnote 17: She was the widow of Hans Meier of Knonau, who died in
1520, and had a son by him, named Gerold, whom Zwingli loved like a
father and to whom he dedicated a work on the education of youth.
Little is known of her during her marriage with Zwingli. But a single
short letter is extant, written by her husband from Bern, in which he
asks her to send a cap-pattern to one of her relations there. Solomon
Hess in his Biography thinks that Zwingli read his writings aloud to
her. The author begs leave to doubt this, indeed rather to believe,
that he would have heartily laughed, if the learned stuff was tedious
to her. Mind and heart she certainly had, and he talked with her not
merely about kitchen and cellar; but she probably studied him more in
his actions, than in his works.
CHAPTER FOURTH.
DANGERS OF THE REFORMATION AND ZWINGLI'S BATTLE AGAINST THEM.
In our times we hear such frequent use of the word _radicalism_. What
is its true meaning, according to its derivation? Action, that
penetrates to the roots. We can imagine a _good_ radicalism, which
would tear out by the roots all the evil growth of life, and also a
_bad_, which would uproot all that is good. The first strives to unite,
the second to divide. Experience teaches that neither the one, nor the
other, is continually prosperous. Why? Because new tares and wheat
spring up anew; and again why? Christ has given us the reason: Because
the Lord of the harvest has put off the time of separation. Should
this make us indifferent, and negligent in the cultivation of the
garden?--We would soon feel the merited results in its dreary
desolation. No, it ought to teach us that to every individual his daily
labor is appointed, and to every generation of men its conflict; that
none can so finish its task, or will so finish it, that the succeeding
durst sit down at ease; but that one is the most fortunate which has
foresight enough to separate the good and the worthless plants in their
earliest stages, the better to cherish the former and as much as
possible to keep down the latter. What then is the great, the most
important want of political and social life? It is--education. But mere
instruction is not education. For in that case the best men would come
from the institutions, which are most richly endowed, and yet
experience so often teaches us directly the contrary. Indeed, the most
important part of education, more influential yet than instruction,
without which the latter would be eternally defective, is example. And
here again we are referred to the Word of Christ, which summons us to
look for fruit. This is the doctrine of religion; to call fruit into
life, is the task of the church. Let her see to providing example, and
the school instruction, and let both strive honestly to unite knowledge
with example. Then only can, then only will their influence be
harmonious.
He who pens these remarks is not concerned about the objection, which
may be made: What will example, what will all our endeavor to call into
existence nobler examples avail, if a one-sided training of the
understanding to mock at example and laugh to scorn everything noble in
life, teaches that the highest good is to be sought in base, private
advantage? if all our means of correction, all authority to interfere
be given up? The element of the church is faith--faith in the inward
power of truth and goodness, which does not suffer itself to be
disheartened by results that appear insignificant, or even by the
momentary preponderance of evil. He who has it not, let him not devote
himself to her service. They who have it, let them secure a circle of
operation as free as possible; and this is the course of wisdom for
rulers.
Let us now return to Zwingli, a man in whom such faith and knowledge
were joined, and learn to know him also in his battle with the dangers,
into which his bold undertaking led him.
The public religious conferences had wakened in the city of Zurich a
spirit of inquiry, not, it is true, of that unrestricted kind which
seeks a philosophical basis for the dogmas of faith, according to the
deductions of human reason, but of that higher order, which looks to
their agreement with Holy Scripture. When this was settled,
investigation was at an end; but in the settlement there were peculiar
difficulties. Who would warrant the accuracy of the translation, when
disputes arose? Who would decide whether the obscurer passages should
be understood according to the bare sound of the words, or if a more
spiritual meaning were applicable?--Synods? Church Councils? They were
necessary, indispensable for the maintenance of order in the church.
They could work very beneficially for the improvement and
spiritualization of systems of doctrine. But to surrender to them the
deciding power in matters of faith--that would have been a return to
the abandoned principle of Catholicism. To this prelacy and intolerance
would have been joined inevitably. Or should every individual be left
to decide according to his own caprice? How then could divisions, sects
and endless controversies be avoided?
Here again faith lent her aid, faith in the inward truth of the Divine
Word. It ought to vindicate, it will vindicate itself, the more it is
preached by an educated ministry, which believes in its teachings. In
this conviction Zwingli and his friends found their support and did not
heed the dangers and the temporary confusion, produced by the overthrow
of existing ecclesiastical forms in Zurich.
Just in proportion as the Holy Scriptures became known through the
press and the pulpit, interpreters arose on all sides. Here it was
simplicity, there presumption, and in the majority passion or selfish
projects, which prompted them. By this means the people, a short time
before so sensible and quiet, were evidently disturbed and excited.
Most pernicious dogmas like these--that learning was superfluous, that
Christians ought to own no property, that a nation of brothers needed
no government--they attempted to support by the language of Scripture,
which was distorted, falsely translated, or torn out of its connection.
The general ignorance was too great not to favor the growth of
imposture; and the ambition, avarice and debauchery of numbers afforded
too many opportunities of temptation to cunning seducers, who spared no
amount of travel, writing and dissimulation in order to win adherents
and increase the army of dupes. Now let us consider the most important
facts.
From their eager violation of existing church usages with unholy
parade, and their notorious behavior at the Second Religious Conference
we have become acquainted with several leaders of this disorderly
party, Conrad Grebel, William Rœubli and Simon Stumpf. Two others,
Felix Manz and John Brœdlein, were added; the first of whom by his
scientific culture, and the second by his strength of character, as
well as by his stubbornness and pride, which did not indeed allow of
entire harmony of feeling, soon drew attention, as among the most
dangerous.
Manz, like many others in that dissolute age, the intelligent son of a
clergyman, had acquired a considerable knowledge of the Hebrew
language, little known at that time, and when the want of instruction
in it began to be generally felt, he thought himself specially called
to become a teacher of it. And had a place been immediately created for
him and richly endowed out of the revenues of the newly organized
Chapter of Canons, it is highly probable, at least if Bullinger's
representation of the man be true, that he would have chosen the nobler
path of pure scientific activity. But this was not done, and with
Grebel he appeared at the head of the insurgents. In the house of his
mother at Zurich, in the New Town, he instituted a nightly meeting,
where at first a slight dissatisfaction with the course, which the work
of reform had taken, was expressed only in general terms; but by
degrees more decided projects were matured--to possess themselves, if
possible, with the direction of affairs, and, as they styled it, to
found a new church. To this plan they next sought to win over Zwingli.
Stumpf and Manz, as he himself tells us, had repeated conversations
with him on this subject. They begged him to bring no doctrines into
the pulpit, except such as they would agree upon among themselves
beforehand. "No one"--said Manz still further--"is to be received into
our church, who has not the assurance in himself that he is without
sin."--"And will _you_ belong to it?" asked Zwingli with a stern look.
Manz was silent; but from that time forth, he and his associates began
to calumniate the Reformer everywhere and throw obstacles into his
path.
But the actual outbreak of disturbances was occasioned by Brœdlein.
A year before, whilst pastor at Quarten, in the bailiwick of Sargan, he
had made himself conspicuous. With Rœubli he was among the first of
the clergy, who violated the rules of fasting and the vow of celibacy.
He had done both in the assurance of evangelical right and Christian
liberty; and when the _landvogt_ spoke to him about it, he made answer
not in the most courtly terms: The _landvogt_ ought to punish the lewd
and adulterous persons who swarm in his neighborhood, instead of him
and his virtuous wife. He was bound rather to protect him, and compel
the other clergy to marry. The special sanctity of the priesthood was
at an end. If one steals, then you should hang him, even though he
would anoint his whole body with oil. The tale-bearers had lied about
him like rogues. "Still"--he concluded in a tone somewhat more
moderate--"I build my hopes not on men of this world. That much you
ought to know of me. God has numbered all the hairs of my head, and not
a sparrow falls to the ground without His will, so neither can any one
injure me or my wife, if it be not His will, and therefore, dear
_landvogt_, you need send neither thirty nor a hundred men to fetch
her. If she has sinned against God, then send the smallest child, and
she must come. But if you wish to take, or cause her to be taken from
me by force, then know, that you act against God, divine righteousness
and the Gospel. Yet I will not repel force by force. I once indeed
thought it necessary to do this; but God has commanded me otherwise,
and hence I may not teach it to my brethren."
In fact, the _landvogt_, at the requisition of the ruling cantons,
threw him into prison. How he escaped is not known. After the Religious
Conferences in Zurich we find him as assistant at Zollikon, and here he
seems to have been the first to introduce into Switzerland the
doctrines of the Anabaptists, which elsewhere had caused so much
dissension. Of all, who sought by means of these doctrines to create
discord, to make a show or found a party, we can say, that, without
exception, they were men of narrow minds, or, in worse cases,
hypocrites with dishonorable private aims. Though it cannot be denied,
that in later times respectable men have lived in our country under the
name of Anabaptists, and are even yet to be found, still their moral
worth springs not from their otherwise innocent mode of baptism, but
from their religious exercises, their simple way of living, and the
good examples, which they have before their eyes. Yet here also we
durst not forget, that it is not the part of history to examine
articles of faith, but to keep to events and the external phenomena of
life.
In May, 1424, when the decree of the government was issued for the
abolition of images and the mass, it was told in Zurich, that the
inhabitants of Zollikon, roused by the preaching of Brœdlein, had
broken down the images and altars in the church and even carried away
the baptismal font; that the doctrine had spread among them, that it
was unchristian to baptise children, because no examples of it were
found in the Gospel, although frequent mention was made of the baptism
of adults; that in fact a deluded multitude had desired to be baptised
again; that it had been granted to them by several, who set themselves
up for apostles; that some ran about in the houses preaching,
explaining the Scriptures and administering the Supper; that others,
and those often the most simple, pretended to prophesy; and that in
general an improper and blasphemous game was carried on in religious
matters. They were informed also that Manz and Grebel had appeared
there, and the foolish movement was beginning to spread over the
surrounding country.
Whilst a portion of the people fell in with such follies, disturbances
arose at the same time in the opposite quarter. The majority of the
inhabitants of Meilen would no longer suffer their two priests, who had
married, to enter the church. They broke into their houses, wasted
their wine and provisions, and it was only with difficulty that the
government succeeded in bringing about a sort of compromise between the
shepherds and their flock.
A month later followed the so-called "Storming of Ittingen." The
_landvogt_ in the Thurgau had taken the reformerŒchsli prisoner,
and was conveying him by night to the tower at Stein. He cried out for
help; the watchful citizens of Stein, on the strength of documents,
which gave the right to do this only to them, hurried after, to set him
at liberty. Their neighbors of Stammheim, in the canton of Zurich,
joined them, and the whole country was soon in motion; but the captors
had a considerable start, and the Thur, swollen to the full, prevented
the passage of the excited multitude. In a rage they then fell upon
Ittigen, the hated monastery of the Carthusians. It was plundered, and
set on fire by some one, who was never found out; which act, as is easy
to imagine, awakened the earnest interference of the Confederates.
They who were most deserving of punishment fled. Zurich herself cast
into prison some others, who were suspected, on account of their
prominent place among the insurgents, and not powerful enough to make
resistance. These were Hans Wirth, _sub-vogt_ at Stammheim, with his
two sons, both priests, and Burkhart Ruetiman, _sub-vogt_ at Nusbaumen.
But the Confederates demanded the delivery of the prisoners at Baden
before the court of the ruling cantons, since the criminal act was
committed in the Thurgau, and not in the canton of Zurich. The Council
of Zurich had to comply. But in Baden the prisoners were tried for
other things than the transactions in the Thurgau, put to the rack, and
with the exception of one of Wirth's sons, actually executed. The
sentence was unjust. Not even the most remote personal participation in
the plundering and burning of Ittingen could be proved against them.
For the part they took in the removal of the images at Stammheim, which
chiefly kindled the hatred of the Confederates, they were not
responsible to them. That the government had delivered up these men, so
beloved in the circle of their home, to such a fate, produced a very
unfavorable impression on the inhabitants of the northern part of the
canton, the more so, because the condemned had met death in a brave and
Christian manner, and aided not a little to increase the disorders,
which afterwards prevailed there.
At this juncture the flame broke out in the German provinces lying
beyond the Rhine. Thomas Muenzer, at a later period leader of the Saxon
Anabaptists, had come to Basel in Frickthal, and Waldshut in Cleggau.
In Waldshut he made the acquaintance of the preacher at that place,
Balthasar Huebmeier, who, though a man possessed of an honest will, a
tolerable knowledge of Scripture and great courage, was yet apt to lend
a willing ear to everything new and striking. When preaching at
Regensburg he had raised a riot against the Jews, then founded a chapel
for pilgrims, then turned to the doctrines of Luther, and was just now
as ready to embrace those of the Anabaptists.
Through him Waldshut became for a short time the chief seat of this
disorder, from which, in church and state, such hazardous consequences
were to be feared. First led by Muenzer, and after he had gone to the
Hartz Mountains, by Simon Rœubli, who had been expelled from the
territory of Zurich, Huebmeier set himself up as the apostle of
Anabaptism, and, according to his own confession, rebaptized the
greater part of the inhabitants of Waldshut. The warnings of the
Austrian government, at first mild and then earnest, had no effect upon
them, and the demand for the dismission of the obnoxious preachers was
also in vain. On the contrary, similar fanatics and adventurers of
every sort streamed thither from all sides, and when Austria armed
herself for severe measures, formal resistance was determined on.
Volunteers for this purpose were obtained chiefly from the territories
of Zurich. At the first news of the outbreak the government sent a
courier to demand their return; but after hearing an address from
Rudolph Collin, who, formerly a canon at the Minster, was obliged to
leave the territory of Luzern on account of his adherence to the
Reformation, and had now joined them with upright feelings and an
honest purpose, they declared they would rather die than return home.
And their answer won for them immediately a party in the Council. "We
are attracted"--so they wrote--"to the Christian brethren at Waldshut,
who sigh under oppressive tyranny, not by money, nor for our own
private ends--only for the defence of God's Word and from a regard to
the honor of Zurich. The Spirit of the Lord has called them to arms;
there is no seditious person among them; their captain is Jesus
Christ."
Meanwhile, affairs in Waldshut took a turn, which might have been
foreseen by the prudent. The noise of war drowned the devotions of
piety. It was a matter of indifference, whether psalms or frivolous
songs were sung in the camp. Nay, it fared worse with the former.
Huebmeier himself, at his trial, tells of a supper in the house of a
merchant, where he sat at the side of the captain amid music and
hurrahs. And what the further aims of these pious warriors were is
shown by a letter still extant, written by one of them to the "dear
brother and image in God, Heiny Aberly in Zurich," which contains the
following: "See, that you send us yet forty or fifty well-armed,
Christian fellows; for if there were more of us here, we would then be
a council of affairs against the enemy and _my lords_ (the government
of Zurich); and if we would again be warned home and _then go_, it
would serve to the damage and hindrance of the kingdom of God."
This unholy proceeding was soon detected by Collin and other men of
honor. They returned home, obedient to the renewed summons of the
government. Those who staid behind no longer concealed their plan of
open resistance; and this spreading over the surrounding country
entered also the boundaries of Zurich.
The first news of it was received by the government from the _landvogt_
of Eglisau. The payment of taxes and villanage were refused. A deputy
of the Council was pelted with stones. The rebellion extended more and
more into the mountain regions. A swarm of insurgents fell upon the
monastery of Rueti--the abbot having escaped with the money, jewels and
archives--and rioted and caroused there. In many parishes the alarm was
sounded; the house of the Knights of St. John at Bubikon was surprised
and met a fate similar to that of Rueti. The government with great
difficulty succeeded in producing a momentary calm, by a decree
inviting the excited country people to hand in their demands and wishes
in writing. This was done by the districts of Grueningen, Kyburg,
Greifensee, Eglisau and Andelfingen, and thus it soon came to light in
what close connection these disturbances in Zurich stood with those,
which then, under the name of the Peasant's War, set a great part of
Germany in a blaze. Streams of blood and executions by thousands
suppressed it there. In Switzerland such dreadful scenes could be
prevented.
Still, the complaints, handed in by the districts of Zurich just named,
were closely copied after the twelve articles, which the rebellious
peasants of Germany everywhere demanded of their lords. But if reasons
for rebellion are to be sought in the tyranny of many nobles, as well
as in the confused ideas of the people, then, instead of finding abuses
in Switzerland, in the canton of Zurich, there was less cause for
complaint against the oppression of the people by the government at no
period of her history.
The Council therefore, conscious of an upright purpose and strengthened
by the increase of the city-guilds, took the points of complaint, which
were presented, into consideration. To yield as far as was fair and
just, to hold firmly to all that was sustained by sealed treaties and
documents, was the general leading principle. It is true, another might
have been embraced, that which has been wrought into our existing
political life and immoveably planted there, the principle of entire
equality, and the rather because the feeling that it was not altogether
foreign to the Gospel, was expressed in the memorials of the people.
But the contest for and against this principle could not be carried on
by one government; duty and prudence enjoined a rigid maintenance of
rights guaranteed by documents as long as possible. Upon another field,
that of science, and where the Gospel would be appealed to, theological
science, it must be decided beforehand. On this field Luther and
Zwingli actually carried on the battle and both showed the impropriety
of using passages of Scripture, and of wresting them from their true
meaning, in the affairs of state.
The government of Zurich on her side kept simply to the letter of the
articles received from the different districts. These, agreeing in the
main points, still varied as to special privileges, customs and the
annoyance of some parts of the canton by others.[1] All were examined
and its own answer sent to each district. The reply to the first point,
which was the same to all, ran thus: "Since you have declared, that you
will have no lords for protectors, save God and the city of Zurich, it
needs no answer and is clear of itself, that we will have _one_ God,
and My Lords are only your natural lords and superiors in temporal
affairs, for they have not obtained dominion over you by any kind of
tyranny or warlike power, but bought it freely and with ready money.
Let them then retain it; for we all should give to God what is due to
Him, and to worldly authority what is due to it; and My Lords hope,
that you, their subjects, will also find it so."
Although considerable relief was promised in regard to some of the
points complained of, still the envoys of the Council, who were
appointed to convey the answer into the different districts, nowhere
met with a favorable reception. The universal cry was that nothing
further could be done without an assembly of the people, and on
Whitmonday, June 5th, an announcement was made to this effect, with a
call to the oldest man of every household to appear on the field near
Tœss.
It is not at all necessary, in our day, when such things are so common,
to describe this first convention of the people. The only difference
between it and ours, consisted in this, that no formal resolutions were
drawn up beforehand, and no one undertook, or understood how, to
preside. Hence the mass was broken up into groups of blustering
declaimers or curious spectators, among whom the deputies of the
government went about, pacifying here, instructing there, and again
perhaps using threats; but "We are to be bidden no longer"--resounded
again and again from the incensed multitude--"We wish the cities to get
used to walking; for ourselves we will ride once as lords of the day."
The popular _landvogt_, Lavater of Kyburg, succeeded in persuading
several of the most influential to pacify their friends and neighbors.
But the citizens of Winterthur took the wisest course. They invited the
entire host into their town, entertained them liberally, and thus made
them forget their enterprise for a while.
But the matter was soon taken up again. And for this the inhabitants of
the region between the rivers Rhine and Thur were chiefly to blame. In
closer connection with their German neighbors, and excited at the same
time by grievances suffered in consequence of the Storming of Ittingen,
they meditated a separation from Zurich; in any case they intended to
deal with the government not in the character of subjects, but in that
of an independent party. Meanwhile the government seeing the importance
of the crisis, roused itself for prompt action. First of all, some of
its prominent members were empowered to raise troops and money, and in
general to make all arrangements for defence in the city itself. Then
it was resolved to appeal, as before, to all the districts of the
canton, that still remained peaceful, viz: those on the lake, in
Limatthal, in the free bailiwicks and in the so-called Neuamt, (new
bailiwick). The same mode of proceedure, observed before, was again
employed: a delegation from the Council, their explanations and
inquiries, and a request for a written answer.
Information in regard to all that had occurred was given to the
assembled congregations in the form of a long vindication. They were
again reminded of the endeavors of the government to keep aloof from
every dangerous foreign influence and maintain the Gospel; and then the
points of grievance, handed in by the turbulent districts, and the
answers sent by the government were laid before them: "More than a
thousand florins have My Lords expended already on account of these
people, especially those on the other side of the Thur, and their
disorderly doings. How miserably the assembly at Tœss ended, you
will all have learned by this time, and that a new one, still more
numerous, is announced to meet at Kloten. Our Lords hope, that, if you
are invited, you will not go, but if they desire it, and you do, let it
be only to warn them back to duty; and although we believe everything
good of you, that yet you will inform the government of your mind, the
rather because the people of the lake have been one with the city of
Zurich from time immemorial and esteemed as burghers of the same, and
it is hoped will be so forever."
Of the answers sent in, as far as they are still extant, the most
characteristic may be here quoted:
"To the notice"--wrote _Manedorf_--"which Our Lords have laid before us
concerning a strange convocation in the duchy of Kyburg and several
manors, our answer is: When our Lords agreed, with their whole canton,
to give the go-by to all princes and lords, and thereby spared the
blood of many honest people, then we gave them praise and thanks
therefor, and it is our earnest will and opinion that Our Lords ought
to adhere to that and punish all who transgress their prohibition,
whether for the French or other lords, each one according to his
desert. For this we are willing to pledge person and property, and so
we have already signified to Our Lords. Since they have read before us
the articles and grievances, under which the honest people of the
manors think they lie, we confess that we have no part at all in them.
And since Our Lords have come a second time to learn what our feelings
may be toward them, in regard to the preachings of the Holy Gospel, we
again pray them to keep steadfastly to it, and if any one, whoever he
may be, wishes to oppress them in this, we cheerfully pledge to them
our honor, our lives, our property, and whatever else God has given us.
Thus, it is again our humble prayer and desire that you have the Holy
Gospel, aforenamed, still preached more and more, and hope that by
God's Word many things, of which the poor man now complains, may be
done away. But it seems to us, that selfishness yet prevails, and is
little willing to relieve the common man, and that there are several
preachers, who, after beginning to preach the Holy Gospel, now deceive
themselves. Since then we learn, that Our Lords have banished several
preachers from their territory,[2] although they knew they preached
nothing but the Holy Word of God and what they knew could be proven by
the same, it yet grieves us and it is our humble prayer, that whoever
he may be, preacher or peasant, who is enlightened by God to preach the
Holy Gospel and prove it by Holy Scripture, that you let him do it, so
that this Holy word may come to light; though it strikes us, as above
stated, that several preachers have wilfully deluded themselves.
Further, when Our Lords were concerned, lest war should arise against
the confederates, they sent guns to us everywhere in the canton, but
now demand them back again, which appears strange to us, since just at
this very time they are building bulwarks in the city. If war is to be
feared, then there will be fresh need of the guns; but if you are
building bulwarks against us, then God have pity! But we hope He will
send his grace and peace between us all. Lastly, since Our Lords have
informed us that the people of Kyburg and the manors will assemble
again on next Thursday at Kloten, and perhaps send to us, to learn our
feelings toward them, and that we ought to send thither two honorable
men, who may promote peace and quiet, we answer, that, up to this time,
no one, either from the duchy or elsewhere, has come with a request to
our congregation. But should any one come, then will we act upon his
summons in a proper manner."
"We have"--write the people of _Kilchberg_--"listened to Our Lords'
oral and written notice, long as it is, and entrust this business to
our Lords. They are wise and sensible enough to know what may serve the
interests of the city and of us in the country, and how to order
matters to our well-pleasing, and we will always stand by Our Lords, as
good, honest people. And hence we pray, that, if we should send any one
to Kloten, Our Lords will not take it amiss; because we do it for no
other purpose than to give good counsel and advise them to disperse."
The congregation of _Thalweil_ likewise report, that they "heard the
articles read; that they were long and much of them they could not
understand, and therefore could give but brief answers. Hence they
would let the former answers remain; that they were willing to place
person and property at the disposal of Our Lords, as far as concerns
the fatherland, and they must stand aloof from foreign lords. They
would send to Kloten like they of Kilchberg."
Still more confiding was the answer from _Horgen_: "The congregation of
the people of the bailiwicks deplore that the notice and demand should
be necessary. They also will send no one either to Kloten or elsewhere,
if Our Lords or the Canton desire it, for they wish to speak and to do
their best, always to be obedient to Our Lords and adhere faithfully to
the Word of God. We entrust the matter to Our Lords, who know well what
may be to the praise and honor of them and the city."
In the name of the "honest men of _Hœngg_," the envoys of the
Council were informed, that they would not lay anything to the charge
of others, but whatever their loving neighbors on Lake Zurich and in
the free bailiwicks would agree upon, that would satisfy them also; and
they were ready to place wholly at the disposal of Our Lords, in the
hour of need, their persons and property.
They of _Regensberg_ complained, that several of their neighbors had
threatened, that, if they did not go to Kloten on Thursday, "they would
run through their houses." Therefore they had appointed "two discreet
and honorable men; but still would pledge their person and property to
Our Lords."
The letter from the bailiwick of _Regenstorf_ bears strong marks of a
clerical pen: "Since, in these perilous times, various dissensions have
arisen between you. Our Lords, and some parts of the canton, touching
tithes, interest and other grievances, out of which sundry conspiracies
and meetings have grown and prospered so far, that a part has
subscribed the other article and still subscribes; all which is better
known to you than to us; what will result from it no one can tell; many
fear more evil than good; may God overrule all for the best!--Hitherto
we have abstained from all further progress in these affairs. But now,
since one cries out, 'not so,' and another, 'may be so,' and we have
been invited to a meeting of the Kyburgers, and their deputies, and
have had the seventeen articles shown to us--and since, after all this,
very lately, the honorable Master Jos von Kusen and Master Wegmann were
sent to us by you with friendly greetings, and withheld nothing
touching affairs now current and your labor and trouble therewith, and
explained to us particularly, by word and writing, about the three
communities of Kyburg, Grueningen and Greifensee, and several other
matters, and asked us for our answer--we then resolved with one accord,
that it would be too difficult to communicate such a reply at once, and
therefore desired a postponement till to-day; and now this again is the
will, vote and opinion of our community, assembled anew concerning this
business, that we will still, and so long as you act in a Christian
manner and faithfully, according to the Divine Word, place our lives
and property at your disposal. For although, if we thought to complain
much were fit and proper and would help us, we would lay certain
grievances and articles before you, yet, on the other hand, we remember
the teachings of the holy Evangelists and Apostles--which warn you and
us, and show how one part ought to conduct itself toward the other--and
your diligence, love, concern and labor with and toward us, though we
therein have perceived that you have also slackened somewhat; so, then,
we live in hope that you will continue to act as true fathers are bound
to do toward their sons, masters toward faithful servants and pious
rulers toward their subjects; and establish whatsoever is profitable,
peaceful and Christian, and, on the other hand, that you will blot out
and uproot whatsoever is ungodly, unjust and unfair, and therefore, we
commit the whole business to you, as our loving lords; for such we
esteem you according to the flesh, and in conclusion, pray you take not
our delay amiss."
Our last quotation will be from the memorial of a general assembly in
Freiamt, which contains the following singular passage: "After we
learned from you, our Lords, many articles of the bailiwicks 'beyond
you,' we find in them some things, which please us, and some which do
not. But yet it is our wish to remain as aforetime, and be obedient to
you, our Lords. But as several things have been referred to us by the
other bailiwicks, they ought to be discussed at Metmenstetten, and
arbitrators, who will act for the best, in all these matters sent
thither. We wish to keep free from sedition with our persons and
property, as much as we can, and trust that you will treat us also as
you treat the other bailiwicks. Furthermore, we hope that you will
suffer that article to remain to us, whereby no man may be seized or
ridden over, who has law on his side, as the bailiff's roll shows, and
also, as regards army-service in conjunction with the confederates,
that it may continue as hitherto. How you treat with the cities,[3] it
does not concern us. Touching the clergy, this is our opinion: If we
give to them as heretofore, then they also ought not to deprive us of
anything. They often go away and visit each other, by which we lose the
administration of the several sacraments. And we thought, if we came
before you, Our Lords, you would believe them rather than us; which has
occasioned offence to the whole parish."
By these memorials the government was convinced that in a great part of
the canton, and especially the more wealthy and intelligent portion,
there was still determination enough to support order, and hence it
durst venture to summon deputies from the turbulent districts in
sufficient numbers to a conference before the Great Council. With them
all the preachers of these districts were invited, and the negotiations
took place on 22d of June, 1525; concerning which the protocol
expresses itself substantially in the following manner:
"Whereas, ye deputies from the duchy of Kyburg and the territories of
Eglisau, Greifensee, Grueningen Andelfingen, Buelach, Neuamt and
Ruemlang, together with all the curates and preachers, have sat to-day
before My Lords in behalf of the articles, in which the members of the
several communities have thought themselves to be aggrieved, and
especially in regard to the tithe, and these things have truly come to
light--that heretofore the aforenamed preachers have frequently
preached from the pulpit and elsewhere, and other persons have asserted
in taverns behind their wine, that, according to the divine law and
justice, no one is bound to pay tithes, whereby the common people have
become seditious and strengthened in such a belief--and whereas in
order to reach the bottom of this matter, it has been discussed and
handled in various meetings, and explained at length by Master Ulric
Zwingli, that in the beginning the tithe was laid for a pious purpose,
though afterward perverted and abused, but yet that it was a just debt
and can be fairly complained of by no one--it shall be henceforth the
concern of the government that the whole tithe be restored to its right
channel and applied to the wants of the needy. Because, moreover, the
deputies of the abovenamed communities have made it appear, that these
disorders have sprung from the clergy alone and their inconsistent
preaching, and they have thus been taught and instructed, and hence have
given the whole business into the hands of My Lords; and because they have
framed excuses for themselves from the speeches of these clergy, since
several of them have spoken and preached more for disorder and strife than
brotherly unity, be this answer, after a fair hearing, given to the rebels,
that they at once go home and busy themselves in peaceful affairs, and if
there are any good-for-nothing people in their own dioceses, who wish
to stir up discord, disorder and rebellion, that they drive them off,
so that we may not again witness such improper and wanton doings, as
lately happened at the monasteries of Tœss and Rueti; then will My
Lords, as soon as other business permits, sit upon their articles, and
with the help of Master Ulric Zwingli and other learned and sensible
men, take counsel, and see what, according to the Divine Word, can be
remitted, and what not. But in the meantime, every man must pay
interest and tithes in church and state, according to the decree last
issued." Then this special admonition was directed to the clergy: "That
they shall look well and truly into the Holy Scriptures, busy
themselves with the plain preaching of the Gospel, practice the same,
and strive more after peace than discord; for if they do not so, the
refractory will be punished according to his desert and as opportunity
allows."
By these proceedings the malcontents were silenced for the present, but
the government felt that something more was needed for the restoration
of order. At a time, when the religious movements occasioned new and
unforseen expenses to the State, it could not abandon any of its former
sources of revenue. Hence the tithe-question was clothed with special
importance. All the tithes were not church-property; a part of them
belonged to strangers, to whom the government was bound to give its
protection, and to the same protection the church also had a claim,
which was not done away, but only changed. Besides a mere declaration
on the part of the government, that the tithe must be paid, nothing
more was done. But conviction had to be wrought in the public mind, and
to do this, again devolved on Zwingli.
But before he laid the subject before the people, he endeavored to
settle whatever was unstable and wavering in the opinions of the Great
Council, so that the authorities might proceed the more firmly in their
line of action. Still the belief prevailed among many of the members,
that the tithe was purely a religious affair, and this position was
strongly maintained by the Secretary, am Gruet, who, Bible in hand, met
Zwingli with his own weapons. It is true, that here he could only
appeal to the Old Testament, but this yet held too important a place in
Zwingli's system of doctrines, to suffer the Reformer lightly to reject
its authority for an isolated case. He showed, however, in a long and
spirited debate with am Gruet, before the Great Council and a crowd of
other hearers, that the Levitical priesthood, for whom the tithe had
been introduced into the Old Testament, came to an end with the Gospel;
and by this, according to his view, the question had been brought back
from the sphere of religion into that of civil law. But neither am
Gruet, on the one side, nor the Anabaptists on the other, were disposed
to let him slip with so cheap a victory. Am Gruet would yield nothing,
and in fact the following passage is found in the protocol of the Great
Council, "that neither of the two contending parties has so triumphed
that the other is obliged to yield, and that My Lords are not
displeased with the warning and exposition of their Secretary, but
think he has acted according to his duty and his oath." But the
decisive battle, which now drew near, was first to be fought with the
Anabaptists.
During the interval, Zwingli prepared for the people a detailed
exposition of the rights of the church and state to the tithe, which
the government then used as a general and final decree for the
disturbed districts. The scrupulous payment of the great tithe[4] for
the future was also enjoined upon them in an earnest tone. In regard to
the so-called little tithe, the government promised strict inquiry, the
removal of abuses, and a diminution of it, as far as possible.
In the greater part of the canton, through the cautious language of the
Council, the exhortations of the more sensible, and the conviction,
which won its way into the minds of many, civil order was
re-established. One of the creators of disturbance, Suesstrunk by name,
was indeed put to death by the sword, and the pastor of Westenbach, who
especially distinguished himself by his ill-timed discourses, was
thrown into prison for several days and punished with a fine--acts easy
to be explained, when we consider the severity of punishments in that
age and the grievous losses, which the state suffered by this
insurrection.
Only one district of the Canton was not yet pacified: the territory of
Grueningen. Here the Anabaptists still retained numerous adherents, and
these Anabaptists and their fierce battle with Zwingli are the objects
to which we must now turn our attention.
The Holy Scripture is the great record of the religious education of
the human race. It shows us man primeval in the unconscious innocence
of nature; then the patriarchal era with its simple, uniform manners
along with its untamed passion; and then again the most active
intercourse of nations, the most savage wars, the hierarchical state
and the elective and hereditary monarchy. It gives us lofty poetry in
the Psalms, the grandest didactic poem in the Book of Job, and a
collection of proverbs, the fruit of the ripest experience and
knowledge of life. It makes us acquainted with idolatry in its most
fearful degeneracy, and then, with the adoration of _one_ God and the
conflict, rising to the highest pitch of heroism, against this
degeneracy. But this God is a mere national God, to be known only
within the confined limits of the Jewish state, living personally only
here, in and with the people. We see the consequences of this
contracted view: hate instead of love, stubbornness instead of
docility, stagnation instead of progress. With this first period the
books of the Old Testament close.
Is it possible to understand the Gospel, which now follows, in its
grandeur, truth, purity and love, without a knowledge of the age, which
preceded it? or the prejudices, against which, He, who revealed it, had
to contend? We find varying opinions among those who wrote it--the
stamp of diverse authorship; here Judaistic narrowness, there freer
elevation, homely simplicity, and again deep glow and feeling. We even
find contradictions, historical and chronological, and yet, what unity
in all that is essential--what agreement in all that contributes to
peace in life and comfort in the hour of death; in all that determines
our actions and confers worth upon them! Are there any other writings,
for whose investigation, for whose explanation, so much sagacity, so
much science, so much conscientiousness are demanded? Such are the
questions, which very naturally crowd upon us, when we once more survey
the man, in whom all these qualifications are joined, as he goes forth
to battle with a multitude of others, who possess them only partially
and hence dangerously.
And thus we return again to those disturbers, before alluded to, in the
bosom of the Reformed party, who assailed Zwingli more boldly than any
monk, and whose scientific culture, adroitness, and, in the end,
desperation, prepared for him a far more violent conflict. Conrad
Grebel has already been represented to us as morally and physically
depraved. The higher spirit, which once attracted Zwingli's entire love
to him as a youth, richly endowed by nature, had not yet sunk so far,
that it did not show some clear sparks, and sometimes even break out
into a momentary blaze.
But when he saw that Zwingli penetrated his inmost soul, understood,
pitied and then despised him, he conceived the most intense bitterness
against him, which at last deepened into hatred--hatred that stopped at
no means to secure revenge. Gathering all his strength, nerving all his
powers to their highest pitch, his self-confidence increased; the
various modes of interpretation, which isolated passages of the Holy
Scriptures admit, made it possible for him to maintain, with a
tolerable appearance of truth and certainty, dogmas at variance with
those of Zwingli. The support, which he found from those of like mind,
the followers who adhered to him, awakened in the head of this fanatic
the delusion that he had received a call to be a prophet, and pictured
to him a final victory over Zwingli, or at least placed in view the
crown of martyrdom, in which latter, one and another of them, perhaps,
saw, not without an inward satisfaction, an atonement for the conscious
guilt of their former lives. Here again, the simple presentation of the
facts will furnish proof for this opinion.
"May God and our Lord Jesus Christ grant it!" wrote Martin Luther, in
the beginning of the year 1525, "since a new storm is brewing. I had
almost settled down to rest, thinking the battle over, when all at once
this rises up, and it happens to me as the wise man says: If a man
leave off, then he must begin again. Doctor Andrew Carlstadt has
deserted us and become our bitterest enemy." This defection of
Carlstadt, who wished to proceed in the work of reformation more
thoroughly than Luther, demanding the destruction of images, and
setting very little value on external worship, was spoken of with
praise everywhere, and especially at Waldshut, by Thomas Muenzer,
during his visit to the borders of Switzerland, about the middle of the
year 1524. Muenzer likewise professed these same principles, yea, was
ready, for his part, to go still further than Carlstadt himself. Just
at this time, the fanatical proceedings in Zollikon, before described,
the breaking of the images there and the removal of the baptismal font,
took place. That Grebel and Manz were privy to this, and made frequent
journeys to and from Zollikon, appears with entire certainty from
reports afterward received. With Muenzer they did not become personally
acquainted. Before they could accomplish this, he had traveled back to
Germany; but his influence on Swiss affairs is evident from two letters
sent to him soon after by Grebel and his friends.
"Dear brother Thomas," began one of them, "for God's sake, do not be
surprised, that we address thee without title and urge thee as a
brother to communicate with us by writing in the future, and that we,
uninvited and unacquainted with thee, have ventured to open up a
correspondence. God's Son, Jesus Christ, has prompted and impelled us
to this act of friendship and brotherhood, and to make known the
following points. Moreover thy work in two small volumes, on 'Faith
Feigned,' have encouraged us. Hence, if thou wilt take it kindly, it
shall be a source of good to us, if God will. Thou shouldst also know
that thou along with Carolostadtius art esteemed amongst us as the
purest proclaimer and preacher of the pure Word of God, although ye are
little thought of by the lazy theologians and doctors at Wittemberg. We
are also thus reprobate toward our learned pastors. With them
everything depends on man, everything is done by him, so that they
preach a sinful, pleasant Christ, and good discrimination is wanting to
them, as thou shewest in thy little books, which have beyond measure
instructed and strengthened us poor folks." But then, passing over the
chief point, re-baptism, which had won for them a party in Zurich, and
as a badge of confession, as a banner, had enabled them to keep
together--they thus continue: "Because thou also hast uttered thy
protest against infant-baptism, we trust thou actest not against the
eternal word, wisdom and command of God, according to which we ought to
baptise believers alone, and thou baptisest no child. If thou, or
Carolostadius will not write in full against infant-baptism with all
that belongs thereto, why and how we ought to baptise, then will I,
Conrad Grebel, try my hand and complete what I have begun, against
all who hitherto (except thee) have written on baptism at large and
deliberately, and maintained the senseless, blasphemous form of
infant-baptism; but if God do not prevent then am I, and then will I
and all of us be sure of persecution from the learned and other
people." Grebel also wrote to Luther and informed Muerner of it, in his
second letter, in which, moreover, he warns him not to preach
resistance against princes with carnal weapons. "For if thou must
suffer on account of thy doctrines know indeed that it cannot be
otherwise. Christ must still suffer in his members. But he will
strengthen them and keep them firm unto the end. God grant his grace to
thee and us. For our parsons are also fierce and wrathful toward us,
and call us villains in the open pulpit and _Satannas in angelos lucis
convertos_ (wicked spirits in the garb of angels of light). In time we
will see this persecution pass over us. Therefore pray God for me."[5]
In accordance with this view, Grebel and his friends prudently avoided
stirring up any formal rebellion. And there is nothing at all to show
that they had any direct share in the political movements, which we
have already narrated, although their doctrines concerning the
fraternal communion of Christians and the unscripturalness of tithes
and rents, as they uttered them in general terms, could not but exert
an indirect influence upon them. But in these discourses they always
added exhortations to a resistance merely passive. By this means they
attracted a crowd of followers, persons of excitable feelings and women
especially, just in proportion as the doctrine of martyrdom stood high
in the Catholic church. Indeed it often seemed as if persecution was
only delayed too long for these people. Grebel thus wrote to Vadianus:
"They talk of disturbers. They can be known by their fruits--decrees of
exile and executions by the sword. I do not think the persecution will
be delayed." But neither Zwingli nor the government thought of such a
proceeding. They freely confessed that this would only aggravate the
evil.
First then, because already, at sundry times, whole troops of these
deluded creatures from Zollikon and the neighboring country, had come
into the city, clad in sackcloth and ashes, and girt about with ropes,
and cried out in the public squares: "Wo to Zurich!" and because a
so-called confession of one of their number, a former monk, who usually
went by the name of George Blaurock (Bluecoat) and whom his disciples
hailed as a second Paul, was spread far and wide and made a great
noise, the government ordered a conference to be held with them at the
council-house. The following are the literal contents of Blaurock's
Confession: "I am a door. He who enters by me will find pasture, but he
who enters elsewhere, is a thief and a murderer, as it is written: I am
a good shepherd; a good shepherd lays down his life for his sheep; so I
also give my body and life and soul for my sheep, my body to the tower
and my life to the sword, or fire, or the wine-press, where it will be
pressed out of the flesh as the blood of Christ on the cross. I am a
beginner of baptism and the bread of the Lord, along with my chosen
brethren, Conrad Grebel and Felix Manz. Therefore, the Pope with all
his followers is a thief and a murderer; in like manner, Luther with
all his followers is a thief and a murderer; Zwingli also and Leo Judæ
with all their followers are thieves and murderers, until they make
this same confession also. I have asked my gracious Lords of Zurich,
and still ask them, for leave to dispute with Ulrich Zwingli and Leo
Judæ; I may not obtain it, but yet I await the hour, which my Heavenly
Father has ordained therefor."
This hour came on the 17th of January, 1525. Bullinger, who was
personally present, gives a description, but only a brief one, of the
event. The Great Council, the scholars and the clergy were there; Manz,
Grebel, Blaurock, Rœubli, Ludwig Hætzer, of whose work against
images we have before spoken, were the chief antagonists of Zwingli.
The latter began with an acknowledgment, that for some years he had
himself been of the opinion, that it were better to postpone the
baptism of infants to a more advanced age, but, after mature
reflection, had reached a different conviction, which he thought
sustained by the true sense of the Holy Scriptures, and then he
unfolded this in an extended conversation with the Anabaptists. Whoever
desires a more thorough knowledge of his views on this point will find
them in his work on "Baptism, Re-baptism and Infant Baptism."[6] His
main arguments for the latter were the following: Baptism is the
external sign of admission into the society of Christians. To have
received it once is sufficient. Adults were baptised by the Apostles,
because they who first joined the church were of full age. The Holy
Scriptures contain indeed no example of infant-baptism; but then just
as little can be proven from them, that it was not practised. Mention
of it occurs in the very oldest church-fathers. It took the place of
circumcision, which had been commanded in the Old Testament, and
strengthened the obligations of Christian parents, whilst it became to
the children themselves a pledge and perpetual token of fidelity to Him
who lovingly bade little children even to be brought to Him.
Light triumphed over darkness, science over sophistry, calmness over
passion and stubbornness, the church over the sect, and the friend of
reason and order over the demagogues. But it was a victory known only
to the higher and educated classes; the people remained, and now the
fanatics appealed to them, giving out everywhere, that Zwingli had not
been able to withstand them. They held firmly to the letter, that
resort of all intriguers and wranglers. Meanwhile, the Council
resolved, the next day, that all children should be baptised within a
week, that they, who would not permit it, should be banished from the
canton; and that the congregation in Zollikon should restore the
baptismal font. Grebel and Manz were enjoined to keep the peace. There
was to be no more controversy about baptism, but, if desired, other
articles of faith might be discussed. Rœubli, Brœdlein and Ludwig
Hætzer received an order to leave the district within eight days.
But now resistance began with appeals to the Scripture, that we ought
to obey God rather than men. Rœubli, Brœdlein and Hætzer left the
canton; but the first kept up an exciting correspondence with his
followers, from Waldshut, whither he had betaken himself, and
Brœdlein, from Hallan. The latter wrote: "John, a servant of Jesus
Christ, called to preach the Gospel, to the pious Christians, called of
God, in the Christian congregation at Zollikon. Ye know, dear brethren,
how I proclaimed to you the Word of God faithfully, clearly, simply,
and did not deal with it as treacherous landlords, who pour water into
the wine; ye know, how I have had courage, to live among you, to labor
with my own hands and burden no one; ye know also, that for the truth's
sake I have been driven from you by the will of God; finally, ye know,
how faithfully I have warned you not to fall away from grace. This very
day I call heaven and earth to witness that I taught you the truth.
Abide in it, and ye are God's, and He is yours, and ye are blessed.
Fall away from it, and ye are children of wrath, and God is far from
you; ye are wretched orphans, and will flee before the moth. O how
ardent and joyful have I been, since I came from you! Verily, I have
not wept, but sung. O how glad I will be, if God suffers me to return
to you again! When I had gone some distance, Christ came to us; yea,
Christ in the person of his disciple; for a pious brother of Bern,
Christian by name, traveled with us as far as Kloten, and left us the
next day. Verily, verily, I often slipped on the road, but did not
fall. Verily, verily, when we got over Eglisau, I and Wilhelm
(Rœubli) despaired of our lives. I thought God had forsaken us. We
lost the right path, and wandered about all that day, even among sticks
and bushes. But God had thus willed it. Shortly we came to pious people
and at last to Hallan. I left my wife and children there, and we went
over to Schaffhausen. Verily, we found there our dear brother, Conrad
Grebel. We visited Doctor Sebastian (Hofmeister) and took supper with
him. Verily, he is of one accord with us in the matter of baptism.
Would to God, it stood better with him in other things. We returned
again to Hallan. The day after, Wilhelm went to Waldshut. On the next
Sunday after Candlemas, I preached in Hallan and found a great harvest
there, but few reapers. The people earnestly desired to hear me, and to
this very day desire it. The clergy are as they may be. Antichrist
still rules powerfully among the people. Pray God to enlighten them.
Dear brethren, abide in faith, love and hope. Let no one terrify you.
He who preaches to you any other Gospel, than I have preached, let him
be accursed. Greet one another with the kiss of peace. Beware of every
brother, who acts disorderly and not according to that, which he and
you have learned. Beware of false prophets, who preach for pay. Shun
them. Exhort ye one another and continue in the doctrine, which ye have
received. The peace of God be with you all!"
That a letter of this sort--that the incessant exhortation and
preaching of the leaders of the fanatics, who remained behind, bore
legitimate fruit, was soon apparent from a succession of extravagant
scenes in all parts of the canton. In entire districts the women
particularly rose up. Troops of them streamed together, if any of these
apostles came into the neighborhood, and begged from them re-baptism,
or a sermon. The edicts of the government were praised by some, but
scorned by others; even the clergy assailed them and strife sprang up
in the churches. We have a lively picture of a scene of this kind
in a letter from the Commander Schmied. "In the action taken"--he
writes--"before the congregation at Eck, on account of your edict. My
Lords, Pastor Bodmer, of Esslingen, called for Christian
excommunication, i.e. the overthrow and rejection of your authority in
the matter of baptism. Thereupon Master Laurence told him, that he and
his followers had hitherto prevented Christian excommunication. Then
Pastor Bodmer walked up and said to Master Laurence: You lie like a
vagabond and knave, and if he abused him as a Baptist, he did not speak
like a gentleman. Sir Burgomaster! That such a worthy and Christian man
as Master Laurence should be called a vagabond and knave before his own
church, and that by a Baptist, as was certainly done, is to me
intolerable, and I ask that he may be helped to his just rights, so
that such things occur not again. There was such an uproar in the
church--they all rose up, joined together, pressed forward and crowded
so knavishly through each other, that Master Laurence could not observe
who did it. Then the _subvogt_ commanded peace. Such an outbreak did
this Baptist produce."
This, and reports of a similar character, which were sent in from the
canton, induced the government to place Grebel, Manz, and some dozen of
the most stiff-necked rebels of respectable education in the monastery
of the Augustines, where Zwingli and the two other people's priests of
the city received orders to visit them frequently. It was hoped they
would be finally set right. But what a triumph it was for them, when
they succeeded in puzzling Zwingli with one of his own assertions! He
had said that no one, according to the New Testament, had been baptised
a second time. Did he not know that Paul rebaptised those twelve in
Ephesus, who had already been baptised by John?[7] The report of this
victory over the hitherto invincible champion spread through the canton
with amazing rapidity. "He is fallen," so they cried, "the false
prophet, the great dragon; the Spirit of the Lord is with us. The
Gospel will now be everywhere brought to light. Away with taxes! Away
with the sword! No Christian will wish to be a ruler! We are all
brethren. Sell your goods, lay all together on one heap. Let there be
no poor any longer and no rich!" A second conference before a select
assembly had now but little influence. The matter must be decided
before the people, and Zwingli began to arm himself for the work.
Meanwhile, he grappled with the subject in his sermons. He showed the
difference between the baptism of John and that of Paul, brought out
the antagonism between the letter and the spirit, and unfolded the
consequences of the doctrines of the deluded fanatics, in such a clear,
lively and convincing manner, that a storm of applause resounded
through the church at the close of one of these sermons. The city was
won.
But the canton yet remained. "Zwingli has the advantage in the
protection of the government and the city," they cried. "Those, who are
best able to contend with him, have been exiled, or not permitted to
appear. Had it been otherwise, he must have yielded." Many honest,
well-meaning people believed this; and the following petition, sent
into the government, seems to have sprung from such a belief:
"Honorable, wise, gracious Lords, we are indeed free to confess, that
you have trouble and labor on our account, and on the other hand, that
we are daily involved in great anxiety. Now, we are willing to suffer,
and call upon God to help you and us to peace, which can indeed be
brought about, if Your Worships propose a public conference, and invite
other people to it; let them be those, who have been cast out because
of this business, and others also. Then, whatever is established from
the Word of God, to that we pledge you our bodies and our lives, our
honor and our goods. But if indeed you wish an answer from us, it can
be nothing else, than the public confession, that we have not grace
from God to talk with Master Ulric, so that he can understand us, or
ability to speak straight from the heart.
"Therefore, we pray you, gracious Lords, to permit one or two men at
our cost to enter your city with a sufficient assurance of a safe
return, since they durst not travel every road for the sake of the
Divine Word, because Master Ulric himself has not hitherto shown them
much favor. These shall point out on our behalf all the Scriptures, so
that every man may thoroughly perceive whether he has been right or
wrong in his views of them. Oh God! we desire nothing else than truth
and righteousness, in which by the grace of God we wish to continue
till death. Then, as we have always declared to you, gracious Lords,
we will pledge our bodies and lives to Your Worships and to the Word of
God and Divine righteousness, gracious Lords! Let the matter, for God's
sake, come before a public conference, as in the case of images and the
mass. Believe us truly; we wish to do what is right. May God help us
thereto! We hope and know that the truth of the Divine Word will come
clearly to light, and Your Worships will be content with us. Give us,
therefore, for the sake of God and his mercy, a favorable answer."
Upon this, Zwingli himself requested the government to institute a
public conference, and the order for it was drawn up on Monday,
November 6th, 1525, with a full and free safe-conduct for all those,
who thought themselves in a condition to defend their variant
doctrines. Zwingli, Leo Judæ and Caspar Grossman, people's priests at
the Dominican church, were selected as champions to make reply; and
Wolfgang Joner, abbot at Cappel, the Commander Schmied, Sebastian
Hofmeister of Schaffhausen, and Vadianus of St. Gall, as presidents for
the occasion. The Anabaptists appeared in numbers under their leaders,
Manz, Grebel and Blaurock; many of them had come from distant
countries; the department of Grueningen, at the command of the
government, sent thither twelve deputies. Scarcely had the conference
opened at the Council House, in presence of the Two Hundred and a crowd
of hearers, who filled up all the chamber, when a newly arrived troop
of fanatics pressed in with the cry: "O Zion! O Zion! Rejoice O
Jerusalem!" and threw everything into confusion. To prevent such
disturbances and to obtain more room, the assembly removed to the
church of the Great Minster. Here the battle continued for three days,
from morning till late in the evening. Speech was denied to no one:
access to none, who wished to hear. Public opinion grew more favorable
to the people's priests. On the third day the attacks of the
Anabaptists became weaker; their self-confidence vanished. Only one of
them, who had repeatedly asserted that he could end the contest with
one word, but had still been held back by his associates, who
themselves thought him too wild, broke through at last and placed
himself, with an inflamed visage, and all the motions of a conjurer,
before the people's priest, and cried out: "Zwingli, I conjure thee, by
the living God, to tell us the truth." The latter answered very calmly:
"That shalt thou hear. Thou art as clownish and seditious a peasant,
and as simple as any Our Lords have in the canton." A universal roar of
laughter followed, and the act was closed.
The government then issued a public statement concerning the events of
this controversy, which, along with other things, concluded with the
following words: "After the Anabaptists and their followers have
disputed three days, from morning till evening, in our Council House
and the Great Minster, in our presence and that of a large crowd of men
and women, and every Baptist has spoken all he had to say, without let
or hindrance, it has at last been found from the most powerful
arguments, based upon the Word of God, that Master Ulric Zwingli and
his associates have fairly conquered the Anabaptists, annihilated
re-baptism, and upheld the baptism of infants. It has also been clearly
evident, during the entire conference, that the creators, defenders,
sectarians and wranglers of Anabaptism have played their part in a
wicked, bold, and shameless spirit, in that they, a sect and conspiracy
against the commandment of God, have undertaken and devised means to
bring us over to them, in their contempt of all temporal authority and
planting of disobedience, and destruction of love toward our
fellow-men; for they think themselves better than other Christians and
without sin, as all their words and works, and even their behavior
plainly show." Subjoined was an order forbidding any further cases of
re-baptism on pain of a fine, or threats of severer punishment, if that
did not prove sufficient. Manz, Grebel, Blaurock and the other leaders
of the sect were brought before the Council and earnestly exhorted to
confess their errors, but in vain. They were thrown into the Tower.
Whilst there, means were found to compose an address, which was soon
widely spread and roused up the most stubborn of their followers to new
resistance. Hence, when the _landvogt_ Berger made known the edict of
the government in Grueningen, many of the inhabitants publicly declared
they would not submit to it. He then summoned more than a hundred of
the most zealous men and women to the castle. Here the twelve deputies,
who were at the conference in Zurich assured them with one accord, that
Zwingli had conquered, begged them to renounce their errors, reasoned
with them, along with the _landvogt_, the whole day, and when at last
each was asked for his decision, thirteen yielded; all the others
persevered in their opposition.
Meanwhile, the prisoners in Zurich led the government to hope, that if
their liberty were restored, they would behave peacefully. It was
granted; but immediately they scattered themselves through the canton,
and the flame broke out anew. This was also increased by Hubmeyer, who
after the taking of Waldshut by the Austrians in December, 1525, came
to Zurich as a fugitive, and, having likewise held a conference with
Zwingli, Leo Judæ and Myconius, in presence of the Councils, declared
himself overcome and ready for a recantation from the pulpit of the
Frauminster Church. Instead of which, to the great surprise of the
congregation, he began again to advocate rebaptism. Zwingli, who
occupied the second pulpit, on the opposite side, interrupted him at
once and brought him to silence.[8] He excused himself afterwards by
saying, that he knew not what he did, the devil must have been in him,
and then once more recanted in the Frauminster and the church at
Gossau, in the department of Grueningen.
But now the lovers of order and quiet were everywhere fully aroused.
The government was universally censured for its forbearance, and most
of all in the department of Grueningen itself. The _landvogt_ was
importuned for severer measures. "It is truly a great thing"--he wrote
to the Council--"that you, gracious Lords, have for the third time
caused a conference to be held with these people, who speak openly of
all the conferences and your desire to do justice, in the most insolent
fashion, in spite of your edict, and are not willing to acknowledge
they have done wrong. Hence the magistracy have written and prayed the
Council and advised, that they come together again on Tuesday, to take
the business boldly in hand, for it is publicly declared: 'I hear
indeed, if My Lords only receive five pounds, it matters little what
the Baptists talk or say concerning all the conferences and edicts;
they do no wrong.' In this way great injustice will be done you.
Therefore do not take this amiss from me; for the magistracy with your
assistance would have passed a far different judgment on the Baptists,
and plans would have been formed, which would have produced peace,
quiet and obedience. The fines would have been laid on the great
disturbers, strife-makers, hedge-preachers and baptisers, and not on
poor, simple, miserable men, not on women and children, of whom many
have been deluded; yet these are fined as heavily as the chief actors
in the play. Henceforth the business must be taken in hand boldly; you
will not find me wanting."
In fact the government was now fully alive to the emergency. As soon as
any one was convicted of having repeated baptism, he was seized and
thrown into prison. The prisons became crowded; Manz, Grebel, Blaurock
and fifteen others were confined in the so-called New Tower.[9] Their
sentence was severe: "Nothing shall be given them but bread and water,
and they shall lie on straw and thus be left to die in the Tower. Let
it then be the business of every one to forsake his projects and errors
and be obedient."
The extravagances of the Anabaptists of St. Gall, which were then
carried to the maddest extreme, might really have contributed to the
severity of this sentence. Grebel, during an earlier sojourn there, had
sown the seed, of which these were the ripened fruits. They burnt the
Bible, because it said: "The letter kills." They sported with puppets;
led about dancing apes tied to a string; wept childishly, and were
comforted with apples, and cast off all their clothes, because they
must become like little children, of whom alone was the kingdom of
heaven. Yea, in the end, one of them, Leonard Schucker, desired the
death of his brother, because God had commanded it. He drew his sword
and struck off his head in the presence of his father and all his
sisters.
Thus, at last, the fruits showed, in a more lively manner than all the
learned conferences, what was to be thought of the dogmas of this sect;
and yet the prisoners in Zurich still had secret friends. An
opportunity was given them to escape by night, which they used, and
once more spread through the canton, pretending that the Angel of the
Lord had delivered them from prison, as he formerly had Paul and Silas.
But now the pious jugglery came to a close. A law was passed, that
whoever, belonging to the canton, would hereafter rebaptise an adult,
he should be drowned without mercy. Nevertheless it was done by
Blaurock and Manz, as well as by Filk and Raimann, two natives of the
department of Grueningen They were all apprehended. Blaurock, because a
foreigner, was whipped with rods and banished from the canton; the
other three were drowned in the Limath on the 5th of January, 1525.
They persevered to the last in their stubbornness, or constancy, to
maintain which Manz was even encouraged by his aged mother. Their
behavior left no impression on the people, who were sick of these foul
doings.
The great length of the sentence delivered shows how anxious the
government was to be justified in its acts, and in deed the public weal
seemed, after what had gone before, to demand such an issue. Of
Grebel's end no report has reached us. But to later times has been left
the problem of the thorough instruction of the people, toleration in
matters of faith, contempt where morals, and punishment, sore
punishment, where the sanctity of the law has been invaded.
NOTES TO CHAPTER FOURTH
Footnote 1: In substance, they had reference to the relation of the
people to the government, the tithes, the rate of interest, villanage,
freedom of trade, the property of the monasteries and the right to
choose preachers.
Footnote 2: Rœubli, Stumpf, and Brœdlein, whom we have
mentioned.
Footnote 3: Outside of the Confederacy. In what relation, is not clear
from the connection.
Footnote 4: This included not only the seven articles, (corn, rye,
oats, barley, wheat, wine, hay), but whatever else each district had
paid into the great tithe from time immemorial.
Footnote 5: The subscription of this letter is characteristic: Conrad
Grebel, Andreas Castelberg, Felix Manz, Heinrich Aberly, Johannes
Brœdlin, Hans Oggenfuss, Hans Huiuf, thy countrymen of Hall, and
seven new disciples of Muenzer rather than Luther.
Footnote 6: _Huldreich Zwingli's Werke._ Herausg. von _Schuler_ und
_Schulthess._ Band II. Abthg. 1. S. 230. ff.
Footnote 7: Acts of the Apostles, xix, 3-5.
Footnote 8: Bullinger has a description of the occurrence in his
"Origin of the Anabaptists."
Footnote 9: Called in latter times among the people, The Heretic's
Tower.
CHAPTER FIFTH.
DEFENCE OF THE OLD ORDER. RISE OF THE NEW.
To hold firmly to the existing order of things is not always proof of
evil design, obstinacy or narrowness, as innovators are wont to assert;
it may spring from strength of character, the experience of wisdom,
and, if the existing order be good, even from a conviction of duty. Was
this true of Catholicism? Let us apply the test. In the heart of man
there lies a world full of rest and peace, full of blessed love, full
of confidence in eternal duration and a God of power to uphold and
protect; and this gives us the victory over all the darkness and
plagues of earth. It speaks in living tones in the innocent child. To
children, said Christ, belongs the kingdom of heaven. With growing
years, with the birth of self-consciousness guilt comes to life,
earlier in this one, later in that one, but once to all. It is the
inheritance of earth. The nursery, the school, personal experience, the
history of the world teaches it.
In one alone there was no guilt to be found. How came He? How did he
walk? What need anxiously to inquire, when actions speak? He did not
teach from the pulpit; he wrote nothing; He uttered isolated sentences,
a few parables; He comforted; He healed; He labored only three years,
and three years sufficed to shake the world and to bring peace again to
the world. Who of the gray sages of Greece and Rome did so much? Well
could He say, in his crown of thorns, when the judge asked him: "Art
thou the King of the Jews?"--Thou sayest! And can He, who lives in the
Gospel, since we have it everywhere, need a vicar on earth--a vicar on
a worldly throne, in a gorgeous palace? Has no one ever blushed at the
thought? Catholicism is still here, still stands erect. It must have a
better foundation than a mere untenable assumption.[1] But where can
this be found?
It lies in the power of the senses and in faith in this power. It is
justified of this faith, justified again by all experience. A sound
body, with the senses in full vigor, bears up and sustains the spirit
also. Indeed, the world of sense, like that of the spirit, has a higher
position. Its centre, its life-organ, is the heart, and this same heart
is the field for all the conquests of earth. It was left for
Christianity to reveal this secret.[2] In right relations, and if the
spiritual is the leading element, the creations of art, belonging to
the world of sense, are aids to Christianity. They elevate the spirit
and complete the consecration of divine worship. Whenever this right
relation was observed, the Catholic church grew and prospered. But two
deviations from it, which the Papacy needed and used for the
strengthening of its dominion, weakened and finally in the sixteenth
century brought it nigh to destruction: monkery and the celibacy of the
clergy. Whatever there was of good in the monasteries, derived its
origin from the most ancient times, when, for example, into our own
fatherland Christian men, of scientific culture, Gallus, Collomban and
Siegfried, wandering hither from distant Ireland and Scotland, brought
science and agriculture into regions that lay waste, at a time when the
rule of Benedict, although one of the best, had not yet been introduced
into the oldest monastic foundations, St. Gall and Disentis. But as
soon as this was inoculated upon the life-giving stem, it gradually
degenerated.[3] Just as little was celibacy practised by the clergy of
the Catholic church before the age of Gregory VI. (Pope from
1073-1085). The priests lived like other men, members of families, and
did not stand _over_ the people, but _among_ them and _with_ them. But
monasticism and celibacy rest upon the principle, that the senses are
to be feared, which, like all fear, _except the fear of God_, is
inwardly untrue. This principle is also unchristian. Christianity does
not teach us to fear our senses, but to watch over them, use them and
honor them; for "the body is the temple of the Holy Ghost."
Christianity admits no death, not even that of the body--no
impersonality. Only a rude, broken covering of earth remains behind.
"Destroy this temple," said Christ, "and in three days I will build it
up again." Hence let us take care not to lay unnatural restraint upon
our bodies, lest at the same time we destroy the spirit.
But the Papacy, which strove to produce in the pastor a complete
mortification and in the flock an undue excitement of the senses,
engendered in the former severity and pride, in the latter laxity or
stubbornness, and in this way created an unnatural separation between
the priests and the people, which can not exist along with brotherly
communion, as taught by the Gospel--and thus, because inwardly untrue
and at war with nature, it hastened toward destruction and was already
on the verge of it in the sixteenth century.[4] Why then did it only
partially succumb? Why did it afterwards again rise to greater power?
Every one-sided movement is struggled against in the most active and
even passionate manner by that which it opposes. Its only argument lay,
therefore, in the faults of its assailants, of which it cunningly knew
how to take advantage. We will now see how these faults began gradually
to develope. The facts will speak for themselves.
On the watch, to spy out every weak point, the defenders of the old
order followed the firm course of the courageous Reformer. Nothing
could be discovered before the year 1523. But now came the war on
images, then the burning of Ittingen, then the insurrection of the
peasantry, then the passing of armed Zurichers to and from Waldshut,
endangering the peace with Austria; then the Anabaptists rose from the
very bosom of the new church, and lastly, Zwingli was attacked in the
Great Council by the secretary Am Gruet, touching the matter of tithes,
and again, a second time, in regard to the Lord's Supper--a prelude to
his subsequent controversy with Luther. "Here," cried they, "you have
the fruits." We have seen the best answer to this reproach in the
triumphant victory of Zwingli over all these difficulties. Another path
must be chosen. They began to learn from their antagonist.
"We will take the reformation into our hands," said the most sensible.
At a diet in Luzern, to which Zurich and Schaffhausen were not invited,
a proclamation was drawn up and ratified by nine cantons, of which the
following are the substantial contents: "Since, to our sorrow, it has
come to pass, by the preaching, writing and teaching of Luther and
Zwingli, that our ancient Christian faith is put to scorn, the
ordinances of the Church despised and nothing any longer left;
therefore, in order that men may not live more inclined to evil than to
good, wholly abandoned, without fear and punishment for self-will; in
order that no one may make a creed for his own head and understanding,
and because the Chief Shepherd of the Church is silent amid our cares
and perplexities, and sleeps, we Confederates have thought it necessary
to take care of ourselves, and, until the time arrives when a Council
will allay the discord, set forth the following articles: By no one,
whether clergyman or layman, shall the XII. articles of the Christian
creed be assailed; and just as little shall the Seven Sacraments, as
the Church has ordained them and heretofore held them. No layman shall
go to the Sacrament without confession and absolution; and no one shall
receive it under two forms. No chancre shall be made in the ceremonies,
which, derived from the Word of God, have come down to us from the Holy
Fathers and our worthy ancestors. Because the rules of fasting, based
on reasonable and Christian arguments, have reached us through the Holy
Fathers, we will not suffer the scandal arising from their
transgression to exist amongst us. They shall be observed according to
the order and pleasure of each Canton. We will suffer no reviling of
the Most Holy Virgin. We believe, that She, and the other saints, by
their intercession with God, can protect us and obtain for us grace.
He who speaks to the contrary shall be severely punished according to
the sentence of his lords. No one shall undertake to abuse, carry off,
or break to pieces images, paintings and crucifixes. Whatever of
church-revenues they possess, shall be guaranteed to the houses of God.
And because much discord and perversity have been stirred up by the
preachers, so that this may be done away and the Gospel in its true
meaning preached to us and the common people, as the ancient teachers
have left it behind recorded in many valuable books, it is our serious
intention, that no one shall preach the Word of God, wherever we have
power to rule, unless he has been first examined by his spiritual
ordinary, duly admitted and duly consecrated, and has a credible
certificate of this, as every priest should. No layman shall preach; no
hedge-preacher shall any where be tolerated, but driven off and
punished with severity. Our preachers shall also preach, teach and
instruct without any covetousness and seek naught therein, but the
salvation of souls and their improvement. Item, since wrong views and
contradictions have been groundlessly revived by the Zwinglian or
Lutheran sect, touching purgatory and prayers for the dead, in which
all Christian souls, our ancestors and we ourselves have believed, we
warn all true men not so wantonly to forsake our true faith for the
false sayings of Luther. We wish also that no one preach, write or
speak such things in our territory. He who does so, shall be punished
according to the judgment of his lords. The houses of God, cloisters,
foundations and churches, shall be permitted to retain their rights and
privileges; no violence shall be used against them, nor their dues kept
back, or taken from them without law.
"Item, although it may be true that the Canon Law, many ordinances and
statutes have been framed by the Holy Fathers, teachers, Pope and
Councils with a good design, yet since this Canon Law and these
statutes have been increased by degrees and made more severe; since
many of them are exorbitant and have been misused against us laity, so
as to cause us great injury and ruin; and since in this sad time, when
the wolf has broken into the sheep-fold of Christ, the Chief Watchman
and Shepherd slumbers, we deem it our duty, as civil authorities, to
come to the rescue in some measure; not that we at all wish thereby to
cast off our allegiance, or place ourselves in opposition to the Roman
and universal Christian Church, but only for the suppression and
prevention of further disasters, rebellion and the division of our
Confederacy. But if by a general Christian Council or competent
assembly, to which deputies are invited and are present from our
Confederacy, this schism is removed and unity again restored to the
Church, we will not be sundered therefrom, but act like our
forefathers, as a good, pious, obedient Christian people.
"And therefore, we ordain first, that our people's priests and pastors
shall not addict themselves to avarice, as has too often been the case
heretofore, namely: that they and their curates shall not keep back the
Holy Sacrament from us and ours for the sake of money. Still, it is our
purpose that, whatever from ancient times has been assigned in each
canon to the pastor or sacristan, it shall continue to him and yield
him a fair support; but if any one in the collection thereof is dealt
with severely and dangerously, it shall concern the civil authority, so
that the common man be not overmatched. Item, the priests of every rank
shall conduct themselves in a decent and pious manner, and set a good
example to us laity, for hereafter that will not be endured from them,
which has been hitherto. Every pastor shall also remain with his
parishoners during the death-struggle, and minister to them and comfort
them faithfully, according to the Christian rule, at the risk of losing
his benefice. Since, moreover, there has been great abuse in this, that
a priest has employed two or more curates to perform the duties of his
parish and then taken his leave, we will suffer it no longer, and
henceforth, no priest shall possess more than one parish and cure of
souls, and shall live there himself. Also, no one shall make a secret
agreement with another, at the peril of losing his benefice. Yet, we
make this exception; a pastor may receive several livings in the
foundations and monasteries, where hitherto it has been the custom and
privilege not to reside therein personally, so that the excellent
foundations and monasteries be not curtailed in their privileges. Item,
where a young man has a benefice, or, being still under age, is too
young to become a priest, he may indeed be permitted to enjoy the
benefice, on condition of procuring the services of a fit and worthy
priest in his stead. But, if he reaches the proper age, and does not
then become a priest, or is not capable and virtuous enough for the
office, he shall be deprived of the benefice.
"Item, because several priests have already ventured to take wives, it
is our opinion, that no benefices should be bestowed on them, and they
ought to be forbidden the exercise of their priestly office; and those
persons belonging to the monastic orders, who have left their cloisters
and their order, or have married, ought to be deprived of their
benefices and expelled from their monasteries; still, be it reserved to
each canton and each authority to deal further with them, or show
mercy. Item, in regard to spiritual jurisdiction and excommunication we
have considered and ordered at this time, since matters have gone so
sadly and no one has given them any attention, that no clergyman shall
cite, summon, or call up a layman, and no layman a clergyman, or one of
his own estate, before a spiritual tribunal, except alone in the matter
of marriage, and in what concerns error and dispute about the holy
sacraments, or the monasteries and churches, or the welfare of the
soul, or infidelity. But in so doing, it is our opinion, if it chance
in regard to marriage-affairs and other business, that we laymen might
be summoned and tried before a spiritual court; still, the whole
business shall not come first either before the bishops, or their
officials, or commissaries, or before a spiritual judge, but before
each civil authority, and then after each civil authority has
investigated the matter, it shall then proceed to give judgment and
explanations thereon, or else hand over the business, if they think it
necessary, to the spiritual judge. All judicial proceedings before the
spiritual judge, and especially at Constance, shall be transacted in
German and written out in German, as the custom is in several
bishoprics, so that we laity also may hear and understand what is done.
Item, since between the Sunday, when the Alleluia is omitted,[5] and
Shrove Tuesday, during which season every other person indulges in
worldly pleasures, wedding festivals are forbidden to the common man,
and because this prohibition is remitted for money, it is our order and
opinion, that it be granted without pay. Since we and ours have been
burdened with manifold Romish indulgences, it is our opinion, that from
this time forth no indulgences should be granted for the sake of money,
in any place or corner of our cantons. Furthermore, the Pope and
bishops hold and reserve for themselves alone certain sins and
transgressions, and hence it happens, they will not give the people
absolution without the payment of a large sum, and no dispensation is
granted to any one, even in a case of decent and honorable emergency,
unless it be outweighed with gold--therefore, it is our opinion, that
what may be brought to pass by popes and bishops for gain, shall be
granted to the people and the poor common man, by every pastor without
charge, notwithstanding the power of the Pope and the bishops, until it
be further determined. Every canton also shall and may consult with its
pastors and clergy, and devise a plan, as to how and in what form the
gross abuses of the confessional may be punished. In regard to the
_courtesans_, who invade our livings, it is our plain order and
opinion, that where such Romish knaves come, they shall be cast into
prison and punished in such a manner, as that henceforth we shall be
rid of them. Because the priesthood, in some part at least, have been
guilty of wicked deeds, altogether improper and indecent, which, if
they had been committed by the laity, would have been punished with
death; and these evil-doers, when handed over to the bishops and the
superiors of their orders, have been lightly dealt with and set free,
and because crime and follies increase among them, and give rise to
every kind of discord and disturbance--in order that this evil may be
cured, whoever perpetrates such a crime as to forfeit his life, each
authority, under which such a clergyman has been seized, shall execute
him for that crime, just like a layman, notwithstanding his
consecration."
"Item, because the common people have been greatly disturbed in their
faith by the printers, and the books published by Luther or Zwingli and
their followers, it is our will, that no one shall print or keep such
books for sale in our cities, cantons and territories; and, when they
are seized on a colporteur, he shall be heavily punished; and whoever
has such books for sale and takes them to a merchant, the merchant
shall tear them to pieces, or throw them into the mire, and not be
accountable therefor. But such works as the Old and New Testament, the
Holy Gospels, the Bible and other Christian books of the twelve
Apostles and Saints, their lives and doctrines, may be bought and sold.
Item, whereas it is very plain that the poor common man who has been
everywhere subjected to restrictions of a hard and severe character, by
clerical prelates and convents, as well as by noble and plebeian
judges, in their restraints on marriage, their lowering of prices,
their rents and other feudal claims and privileges, and especially
among our bailiwicks and dependencies, which now highly grieves and
surprises us Confederates, and because, according to the terms of the
federal compact no one canton can break off from the others in its
rights, claims and privileges, and as in our bailiwicks collectively
abuses and grievances have been very much practised against the common
people, by the monasteries, nobles and judges, therefore, be it hereby
resolved, that we take measures to alleviate and pass judgment therein,
so that the poor common man may not be burdened by the lowering of
prices, and heavy ground-rents, and so severely bound, but that favor
and a remedy may be discovered. Item, in regard to the restraints on
marriage, that is, when a man takes a wife, and a woman a husband,
beyond the jurisdiction of his feudal lord, and the lord undertakes to
punish him therefor, it is our will and ordinance, that no one be so
punished, seeing that marriage is a sacrament, and every one should be
free in such a case. But whoever desires a partner, and is able to pay
a ransom, and procure his or her liberty, it shall not be refused, but
granted for a reasonable sum of money. Should the lord be too severe,
it shall be the duty of the magistrate, in every place and corner,
where it occurs, to mediate therein and settle it according to
equitable principles. Item, it shall be the bounden duty of every
convent to hand in to the authorities a faithful account of its
revenue, outlay, possessions and all its business. Item, although the
clergy have hitherto been free and exempt from all burdens and
incumbrances, and have so overawed the secular authorities with the ban
of excommunication, that they never dared to lay upon them taxes,
fines, school-money, customs, tolls, licenses, fees and other burdens,
yet as there is no foundation for this custom in the Holy Scriptures,
it having been introduced among simple Christian people by spiritual
laws of their own invention, so that they might not be loaded with the
same burdens; therefore, it is the will and purpose of our Lords and
rulers, that all priests, whether secular or belonging to the monastic
orders, shall share in all these, so that the common people may
continue obedient to the civil authorities, according to the Christian
rule; none of them shall oppose this, and it shall also be sent
everywhere in the city and canton. And, finally, we Confederates
reserve the right to add to, to take from, and to alter the articles
here drawn up, if, in the meantime, anything better be discovered, even
as our Confederacy stands responsible toward God and the world, and may
be praiseworthy, useful and honorable."
This long document, which Bullinger alone has preserved entire, we here
present with slight abbreviation, because it exhibits, in a manner more
lively than any description could, the position in the state then held
by the church, wherever the Reformation had not yet taken deep root.
Great defects were acknowledged by all the governments, and the will
was at hand to apply the remedy. But points of faith must be left
untouched. Hence, these were summed up in the introduction. On the
contrary, no special reverence is shown for the Pope and the higher
position assumed by the clergy; indeed, in several essential
particulars, a decided purpose is expressed to hold them in check, and
if necessary even to resist them. There is room to conjecture, that if
these articles had been carried into practice, they would have exerted
a powerful influence against the Reformation, so far, perhaps, as to
have confined it to Zurich, and even in the end to have suppressed it
here.
But the impossibility of this soon appeared. The Great Councils of
Bern, Solothurn and especially Basel durst no longer venture to enforce
the general enactments against the married clergy, for the maintenance
of rules of fasting and for the preservation of purgatory among the
doctrines of faith, whilst on the other side, wherever they still had
firm footing, the priesthood opposed all the articles, which would set
limits to their greediness and love of power. Hence the general
resolutions were not carried out, and only showed the more strongly the
inward weakness of the Papacy.
But already, before this time, the first inconsistency, to which
Zwingli himself was obliged to submit, came to the aid of his
opponents. He had declared that the Gospel was able to endure any
trial; that to prove the right and utter the results of his examination
should be free to every one, and as he claimed this right in full
measure for himself, he, for his part, denied it to no other man. Yet
the State did this, and Zwingli fell in with the measure. As early as
January, 1523, the following ordinance was published: "Masters Ulric
Zwingli and Henry Utiger of the Canons, and Master Henry Walder and
Master Binder of the Councils, are appointed to inspect everything
which shall be printed in the city of Zurich, and the printer shall be
informed and command given him, to undertake to print nothing without
their knowledge and approval." Thus, the censorship of the press,
which, till now, had only been exercised by the bishops and the Pope,
was introduced by the State, by a republican state, and at a time when
this state was subjecting the exclusive, established faith, to every
kind of investigation. Whence this inconsistency? It did not spring
from the Reformer, but only from the unavoidable necessity of his age,
in which the capability of judging had not yet penetrated the mass of
the people.[6]
This was immediately perceived and made use of by the Papacy. Her
skillful orators did not in the least blame the censorship of the press
in Zurich, but thought it very judicious; but, "why then," asked they,
"do you attack us for restrictions and watchfulness, when you
yourselves cannot do without them? To-day you declare faith shall be
free, that it can sustain any trial, and to-morrow suppress the
writings of those who will not prove it in your way. Truly, like us,
you need an authoritative creed. Only with us the old Church gives the
command, with you the new Zwingli. This is very far from being a
sufficient reason to induce us to go over to your party." What adequate
reply can be made? In fact the time had not yet come, when the
Reformation could stand by its own strength; the distinguished man
alone sustained it. In this, lies the reason why Zwingli was
indispensable to Zurich--in this the secret of his power in the State
as well as the Church.
Also aware of this, the defenders of the Old Order were more and more
convinced, that its maintenance or new establishment in the
Confederacy, could only become possible, if they succeeded in putting
Zwingli to silence, and for the attainment of this end they mustered
all their powers. Hence, an offer from Doctor Eck, of Ingolstadt, known
through his earlier famous disputation with Luther, and mentioned
before in the beginning of this work, to come personally to Switzerland
and do battle with the Reformer, was very welcome to the leaders of
this party. As soon as Zwingli heard of it, he wrote to this champion
and invited him to Zurich: here he could attack him and point out to
his hearers, who needed it most, the errors of their teacher. "It is
time," he concludes, "for me to leave off, if I have been a false
prophet. But rather would I find out a way, if there be time, to
prevent thee from deceiving the poor people with thy imposture. May God
have pity on thee, take away thy stony heart and give thee one so warm,
that one can write to thee with joy!" The Council of Zurich also sent
an invitation to Eck, along with a letter of safe-conduct, pledging him
a safe passage through the canton, coming and going. Eck declined it
with the remark, that he must appear wherever the diet would appoint.
The latter, after manifold negotiations with the bishops, after a final
weighing of the different views of the governments themselves,
resolved, in March of the year 1526, to accept the offer of Eck, to
whom the general-vicar Faber had joined himself, and assemble a
religious conference at Baden, in the middle of October. To these
preparatory consultations and to the sessions of the diet Zurich had
not been invited for a long time. In vain had she complained of it. But
now she received a cold letter, almost hostile in its tone, from her
sister-confederates, of which the following are the essential contents:
"It cannot be concealed from you, that for a good while there has been
much talk of a disputation. Transactions of this sort have not at all
been displeasing and repugnant to your feelings heretofore. Well! Now
we are to act for a final restoration of peace. Require Zwingli and his
associates to appear here along with your deputies, and thus show
yourselves as those, who would willingly suffer discord, ill-will and
disturbance to be put away, and themselves be taught what is better."
It is easy to imagine, that, on such an invitation, Zurich found the
matter worthy of more mature consideration before she could accept.
The government had undoubtedly begun and proceeded, without heeding the
frequent prayers and warnings of her Confederates, in a thorough work
of reformation within the limits of her own canton; beyond these she
had neither exercised, nor sought to exercise, a direct ecclesiastical
influence. What she had done, was in strict accordance with her rights;
no law of the Confederation had been violated by her. And yet the
confederates continued to assume more and more the attitude of judges
over her. When the deputies from the Zurich Council appeared in the
midst of the diet, at the close of the discussion in regard to the
conference at Baden, they were excluded, called in again, if they
thought fit to come, not asked for their opinion, and simply informed
of what had been determined without their assistance, and what they
were now expected to carry into execution. In the same form, a
knowledge of these decrees was a second time communicated to the
government. The doctrines of Zwingli were styled heretical beforehand,
and he was charged with being the author of sedition; then it was
resolved: "It is not our will that any changes be made in the faith,
and, as dutiful members, we have no thought of sundering ourselves from
the Holy Church; but in order that Zwingli may be obliged to leave off
his seditious teachings in our Confederacy, and the common people in
some measure redeemed from error and rendered peaceful, we make
arrangements for the disputation."
After such a declaration, what was the part demanded of the free state
of Zurich? That she should appear in the circle of her confederate
sisters in the attitude of a poor sinner; take back whatever she had
established after mature trial; seize the Reformer and arraign him
before an inquisition, by which he had already been prejudged as a
heretic. And then what anxiety, what memories connected themselves with
Baden, the place of the conference? It stood in close dependence on the
most embittered cantons. The majority of its own citizens were hostile
to the Reformation. Here, a short time before, the blood of the men of
Stammheim and Burkhard Ruetiman had been shed by an unrighteous
sentence, out of mere religious hatred and in violation of pledges;
from thence, the same year, Nicolas Hottinger, of whom we have already
spoken, had been delivered up to Luzern, to fall by the sword, in spite
of all the intercessions of the Zurich government. The principles of
the Romish Church in regard to those, whom she esteemed heretics, were
well known. It had been openly declared by several, and believed by
many, that they were not bound to keep faith with such persons. Just
about this time, (December 11, A. D. 1525), Pope Clement VII., to whom
the Zurichers had sent the Secretary Am Gruet, to collect the arrears
due for military services, wrote thus: "If you do not forsake your new,
ungodly errors, how can you expect us to satisfy these claims, lawful
as they may be, without going counter to righteousness and the fear of
God, since that cannot be justly allowed to heretics, which they have
inherited from their forefathers?" In Freiburg, Zwingli's writings were
burnt, and his effigy in Luzern. Several states had given orders to
seize him, wherever he could be found. His brother-in-law, Leonard
Tremp, wrote to him from Bern: "As you value your life, take care you
go not to Baden; for no safe-conduct will be observed in your case;
that I know." Can the government of Zurich be blamed for not wantonly
exposing the man, in whose existence the entire development of its
political and religious life was closely bound up?
And yet, when we see how the Messiah, whose Gospel the Reformer
proclaimed, delivered himself up to the unjust judges; when we read his
declaration: "Whoso loveth his life shall lose it;" when we hear Martin
Luther say, as he began his journey to Worms; "And, if there were
as many devils there, as tiles on the houses, I will yet go," and
see him step forth courageously before the wrathful monarch and the
empire;--indeed we might almost wish that Zwingli had not declined the
challenge to battle, nor given his enemies occasion to triumph, and cry
out to all the world that he did not dare to defend his own cause.
Œ]colampadius, who, sent by his government, had appeared there with
unflinching courage, wrote to him from Baden: "Elsewhere than here, on
the field of battle, we cannot meet these our opponents with befitting
energy. Mere writing is not sufficient. Thou wilt expose thyself to
danger, as is the case with us all. Yet perhaps thou knowest more than
I. Do as thou thinkest best for the Gospel of Christ, to whom our life,
as much or as little of it as still remains, alone belongs."
Not for one moment did Zwingli falter in the path, which he had marked
out for himself. Though his faith continued firm and strong till the
hour of his death, still there lay also in his character a spirit of
worldly prudence, which rendered intolerable the thought of becoming a
sacrifice to the craft of his opponents, who, instead of honoring his
courage, would rather perhaps have laughed at him as a credulous dupe,
in their joy over the success of their unworthy plan. The author of
this work will neither justify, nor blame him on this account. His duty
is, to present a faithful picture of the great man, leaving the reader
to form his own judgment. But let us hear a few passages touching this
point, from a long letter of his to the government of Bern, which had
urged Zurich to accept the invitation to take part in the Conference:
"I beseech you, wise and pious Lords, in the most pressing manner, to
have my answer to your letter, which was sent to my Lords, but had
reference to myself, read aloud and weighed with earnest and mature
consideration; for I am not all opposed to, but in favor of a
disputation. It is only the place that I cannot abide, and these are my
reasons: No place stands open to me, since the cantons of Luzern, Uri,
Schwytz, Unterwalden and Zug have the supremacy; for the aforenamed
cantons have called me a heretic, summoned me to appear before them,
rejected my doctrines, burnt my books and reviled me without any
hearing whatever. It is a manifest pre-judgment. They themselves
confess, that the disputation was only planned, in order to silence
Zwingli. This is also a pre-judgment. As the aforenamed cantons have
commanded me to be taken prisoner, how could I trust their
safe-conduct? In the safe-conduct itself there is a proviso, that every
one must behave agreeably to that safe-conduct; a common article where
there is no danger; but it would not be enough for me at Baden; for
just as soon as I would say: 'The Pope is Antichrist'--just so soon
would they cry out against me, that I had forfeited my safe-conduct.
Then, the Five Cantons, along _with Faber and Eck_, have made
arrangements beforehand, behind our backs, in regard to the
disputation, which ought to be impartial; and they have permitted the
most scandalous writings of Faber and Eck against me to be sold freely,
nay, to be hawked about at the Diet, whilst they would neither hear nor
look at my answers. For these and other reasons, I would give a
friendly caution to my gracious, loving Lords, to believe no one, who
pretends that I wish to avoid the disputation. I do not; but only the
place. Besides, there are three most excellent articles altogether
omitted in the safe-conduct, viz: that the Bible alone should be the
source and ground of argument; that no judge should be placed over
God's Word; and finally, that the controversy should be carried on
freely, and without interruption, on all points in dispute. But,
indeed, there is no need to speak of safe-conduct or articles, whilst
they will hold the disputation at Baden. I will not _baden_ (bathe)."
Œ]colampadius now headed the Reformed party at the Conference, in
Zwingli's stead. Berchthold Haller, preacher at Bern, joined him. They
two, and several others of like mind, kept up the battle for sixteen
days, against Eck, Faber, the not unlearned but extremely passionate
Doctor Murner of Strassburg, preacher at Luzern, and their friends, who
were present in great numbers. Meanwhile Zwingli was not idle. Every
evening a report of the proceedings was brought to him from Baden, for
inspection, counsel and advice. According to his own statement, he did
not see his bed for nearly three weeks.Œcolampadius and his friends
had to contend with no despicable antagonists, in the presence of
hearers, the majority of whom were prejudiced against them. And the
difficulty was increased by the fact that Eck and Faber, to whom it was
assigned to draw up theses for dispute, cunningly enough passed over
the perplexing points touching the Church, the power of the Pope, the
celibacy of the clergy, the rules of fasting and the like, but pushed
into the foreground, on the contrary, as the most important, those
touching the Muss, because they could assail the view of Zwingli and
Œ]colampadius on the Lord's Supper in part with Luther's own
arguments. A letter from Erasmus against this view also came to their
aid, which was, according to a report, extant in the university of
Paris, read at Baden with great applause, and did the more injury to
the Reformers, the higher the opinion of Erasmus was prized by liberal
theologians.
Amid all this,Œcolampadius knew how to keep his ground manfully.
His quiet demeanor and moderation served him no less than his learning,
in which he was scarcely inferior to Zwingli himself. One of the
Catholic party is said to have cried out, whilst he was speaking: "O if
the long, yellow man were only on our side!" His external appearance,
as, clad in simple clothing, he appeared in a rough-hewn, unadorned
pulpit, was only the more dignified in contrast with the richly carved
throne on which Eck, Faber and their distinguished friends sat in
silken robes, puffed up, and hung around with golden chains and
crosses. At the close of the Conference, the latter declared the
victory theirs. This decision was likewise ratified by the four
presidents, the majority of the deputies of the Diet and by far the
greater number of the attendant scholars and clergymen. Only ten of the
latter came out, over their own signatures, in favor of
Œ]colampadius, and with him against the justness of the theses put
forth by Eck and Faber. Berchthold Haller, along with several others,
retired before the termination of the Conference. Before the assembly
broke up, Thomas Murner appeared, by permission of the presidents, and
read aloud forty propositions, which he had posted up as the errors and
blasphemous assertions of Zwingli, on the church-doors at Baden, and
declared himself ready publicly to prove as such against him; but since
the challenged party had staid away in a cowardly fashion, he could, in
accordance with all law, human and divine, proclaim him, this tyrant of
Zurich, and his followers, dishonorable, perjured, sacrilegious and
God-forsaken people, of whose company every honest man ought to be
ashamed, and shun them as persons unclean and ripe for damnation.
Zurich had to endure this, which was reported to her, and a haughty
letter from the deputies of the Twelve Cantons besides. Much was said
in it about Zwingli's lies; he was accused of ridiculing the
Confederates, of making seditious speeches, and of a never-ceasing
hostility. They were now tired of this disorder, and if the government
of Zurich would not banish the everlasting disturber, they then would
be compelled to make known to their subjects in city and canton the
injury they suffered,--to appear before the bailiwicks, so that the
honest people might become acquainted, not with Zwingli's little book
and slanderous invectives alone, but the reply of their Confederates
also. What would come out of this, the Council of Zurich might consider
in their wisdom.
Meanwhile, the tidings, that a victory was gained, spread on all sides,
"We thank the Most High"--wrote the deputies of the Twelve Cantons from
Baden to Duke William of Bavaria--"that Your Princely Grace sent over
to us the highly-renowned Doctor Eck; for truly he has defended,
_according to the Holy Divine Scriptures_, his Christian theses--the
chief points, which the Lutheran or Zwinglian deluding, heretical sect
have ventured to assail and pervert--so bravely and with such skill,
that undoubtedly good will come of it; and it will be admitted by every
sensible man, possessed of a good conscience, that truth and victory
are on our side--with our old, undoubted Christian faith." Reports of
the triumph of the Catholics reached Zwingli from his friends also.
Comander, pastor in Chur, told him of letters received there, and of
the alarm of all the friends of reform. George Mangolt wrote from
Constance: "Every day letters arrive here from Baden. O how the Papists
rejoice! They say thatŒcolampadius is overthrown; that he has been
vanquished in three points already, and will be completely so in a few
days; that he is like a child--as soon as he is laid hold of with a
little more earnestness than usual he begins to tremble, yea, even to
weep." Indeed, great hopes were built on the issue of the Conference by
all the friends of the Old Order. Zurich appeared to stand alone,
deserted by all her sister-confederates. Berchthold Haller was
intimidated;Œcolampadius, though he did not yield, looked into a
dark future, for he could number as many enemies as friends in Basel.
Under these circumstances, everything depended on Zurich, and
especially the firmness of Zwingli.
After taking earnest counsel, it was resolved to send the following
declaration to all the Twelve Cantons: "We have examined your letter
touching ourselves and our preachers, and are filled with great
surprise, grief and regret. We and our preachers are attacked therein
with haughty, sharp, and violent words, although in our own opinion we
are innocent. We had indeed thought that the many things, which he and
we have sent to you from pen and press, would have been honorably
considered and well received by you and your advisers. Nevertheless,
Master Ulric will vindicate himself. But to you, dear Confederates,
because you desire an answer from us at the next Annual Reckoning, we
send what follows: We have violated no treaty, given ear only to the
Divine Word, and invited any one to prove us in error. No one has come
to do this. It is well known how we have been excluded from the Diet,
and how, without consulting us and in the face of our protest, the
Conference was transferred to Baden. You ask us to prohibit Master
Ulric Zwingli from publishing books and writings against you, because
it is contrary to our treaties, and yet it is clear to you and all men,
that Doctor Eck and Faber, and their adherents, have issued sundry
little books and writings for the dishonor, shame and derision of us
and our preachers, which were carried, sent over and circulated at the
Diet, and in many other places, far and near, with boastful pomp and
rejoicing, and have been read and listened to with evident relish; and
truly it ought and must deeply pain and grieve us, as pious, honest,
faithful Confederates, that such strange, foreign, slanderous and
wicked people, who, beyond doubt, wish not only to lessen and obstruct
the profit, honor, piety and welfare of our glorious Confederacy, but
according to their race and nation, under a false show of good, to
obliterate and utterly destroy it, should receive almost more respect,
confidence and esteem than we. And yet, God knows, we have never had
any higher wish than to live on friendly terms with you, our dear
Confederates, and assist in all things, which might serve to the
praise, profit, honor and welfare of the United Confederacy; and as
formerly, in the pressure of war and other secular affairs, we
faithfully pledged to you our persons, honor and property, like good,
honest Confederates, and poured out our blood, so would we now do,
without looking back, as our pious forefathers, when our country calls
for it. If then, you had written, that you wished to appear before our
congregations, we indeed would have made no objections; but since it is
contrary to treaties and old, praiseworthy custom and usage to do so
without our consent, we hope you will follow them. If complaints only
were to be made, truly we would have more reason to urge them than you.
What hard and unbecoming speeches are not we and ours compelled to
hear, when we meet you and yours in market-places, for buying and
selling! And did not that foreign monk. Doctor Murner of Luzern, for
the first time, at this Diet, publish against us a little book, full of
scandal and lies, and go to the furthest lengths of malice, when out of
an envenomed, envious heart, he defamed and abused us and ours in the
highest degree, in the presence of natives and foreigners, after the
disputation held at Baden, and all with such knavery, that, amid many
pious, honest men, who heard him, there was little displeasure, and yet
no one called him to order? Indeed it were much better if we sought to
put away such people, who bring no honor or profit to either party.
Heretofore matters proceeded very differently at the Diet, when we
conversed together about that which might promote the honor, the
happiness and the welfare of our Confederacy, and lived in old
friendship, brotherly fidelity and love."
The answer of Zwingli, who was the most aggrieved, was thought to be
more rude and independent: "That I"--he wrote--"have reviled the Twelve
Cantons, is, honorable Lords, unjustly charged against me; but that I
would expose the practices of Faber, who can justly blame me for that?
Faber himself could not stand, if he would visit me in the place, where
we have pledged sufficient security to Eck and him. That more words of
scandalous abuse stick in me than words of Holy Writ and truth, I must
allow you to say. You, the Five Cantons, have proclaimed me a heretic
before all the conferences or disputations, which cannot be made out,
though I should not stand up to answer you. If there be real, genuine
desire to learn the Word of God in truth, we must not attempt it with
_courtesans_, the whole Papacy and such dishonest people, who like Eck
have spoken so scandalously in regard to an estimable Confederacy. That
I have often been blamed by you for lying, falsehood and deceit, I must
likewise commend to God. But I do indeed think, if this letter of your
deputies were read at home before the Twelve Cantons, the smaller
number would be pleased with it. Pardon me, dear Lords, I also know in
part how things went at the Diet."
"Since then, it is your opinion, that my Lords ought to thrust me aside
and the like, I tell you, they are too pious for that; because they
know well that you first assailed me and so often, that I was obliged
on their account to write, for the preservation of God's Word, their
honor and my own. It seems to me, that your faith is but ill kept
toward my Lords and me; (forgive me, gracious Lords) though heretical
opinions are tolerated in the pulpits of several cantons, I must keep
silence in mine, and their honest people, when they do business among
you, are often and disgracefully abused, and there is no punishment or
redress."
"Finally, you say, if my Lords do not cast me off, you will take
occasion to make known at Zurich, before the city and the canton, what
you have suffered from them and me; to which I answer: If the Articles
of Confederation would permit, I would be willing that you, my Lords,
and I should freely explain how matters have been going, not only
before the communities of my Lords, but before all the people of the
entire Confederacy. But since this may not be, do you keep to the
Articles of Confederation and your own communities, and leave the
communities of my Lords in peace; for if you were to come before them,
there is no doubt they would give you in their simplicity, in all honor
and fairness, as good and earnest answers as my Lords themselves. In
regard to these things, gracious Lords, O that for God's sake you were
willing to go into yourselves and not always act in a passion!"
Of course, language of this kind was not just calculated to calm the
minds of his opponents, and could not but wound deeply the pride of the
Five Cantons, who were implacable enough without it. It appeared the
more intolerable to them, because they regarded themselves as
conquerors, yea if they could only agree, in a certain measure, the
second authors and founders of the Old Confederacy, that held fast to
the faith and customs of their ancestors. Nearly all the Confederate
deputies in Baden happened to belong also to the friends of the Old
Order, and particularly the ambassador from Bern, Caspar von Muelinen.
Their agreement in opinion gave assurance to the cantons, who now
undertook to publish the acts of the disputation. It is probable that
this was not done without the consent of the remaining deputies, with
the exception perhaps of Adelberg Meier. Leaving Basel out of view, in
Bern, Glarus, Schaffhausen, Appenzell and partly even in Solothurn, the
confidence in the Five Cantons was not so strong as among the deputies
of these states at the Diet, and when they brought home a report of the
proceedings in Baden, a very decided feeling was manifested among the
councils and people. Our attention must now be directed chiefly to
Basel and Bern.
In Basel, the higher classes, with but few exceptions, were unfavorable
to the Reformation. The bishop and the chapter of the Cathedral
exercised considerable influence. The University also, in the greater
part of its members, was not the least inclined to the new dogmas and
forms.Œcolampadius, who, a short time before, had become a
professor there, stood nearly isolated among his colleagues, especially
since Pellican (Conrad Kuersner), former teacher of the Hebrew
language, his tried friend and companion in the faith, had accepted
a call to Zurich. Erasmus, startled from his proud and comfortable
ease--summoned from his student's chamber, whence he was accustomed to
lord it over the learned world, to conflicts before turbulent
assemblies of the people, began to exhibit more and more dislike toward
this revolutionary agitation. When he metŒcolampadius, to whom he
had before shown much good-will, on the street, he turned away from him
with an aversion, which he did not strive to conceal. It is true, he
disdained also to take part in the dark doings of the monks, those
heresy-hunters of the Roman See; but appears to have seen, not without
pleasure, the quarrel, then already rising between the Reformers
themselves, touching the doctrine of the Lord's Supper, and used it so,
as to decide in favor of no party, read lectures to all, and maintain
as long as possible his former superior position over against them. His
correspondence, indeed, all his connection with Zwingli had ceased. But
the latter had to experience something still more severe in the
behavior of Glareanus, the first and warmest friend of his youth. As
late as the first Religious Conference in Zurich he had expressed to
Zwingli his joy and approval of the result, and for a time took his
part with Erasmus. Now he turned away from the Reformers more decidedly
than the old theologian himself, became more and more violent in his
enmity to them and their cause, and like Erasmus, though two months
earlier, left Basel, which had become hateful to him, in order to
settle as an academical teacher in the still Catholic University at
Freiburg, in the Breisgau.[7] In the Small Council there was a
minority, few in numbers, with Adelberg Meier at their head, in favor
of reform; in the Great Council the number was larger, but also a
minority. Among the burghers, on the other hand, the party of
Œ]colampadius increased daily. To this, his behavior at Baden, which
drew praises even from his opponents, contributed no little. The
fluctuating opinions, in regard to the doctrine of the Lord's Supper,
had caused him, previous to the Conference at Baden, to make known his
view on the subject in a special work. The Council forbade its
publication, because nothing so stirred up the passions of men like
this. But now, since the matter had been publicly handled by him, in
the Religious Conference, there was no longer any reason to keep it
back from the press. Sent forth by one of the most famous professors in
the University, contradicted by none of his colleagues,[8] it came to
be looked upon in a certain measure as a confession of faith on the
part of the faculty. At the same time, also,Œcolampadius, to the
great annoyance of his adversaries, succeeded in obtaining the
introduction of church-singing in German; for the government, in
accordance with the feeble advice of Erasmus, in answer to the question
as to how it should act amid the zeal for innovation breaking out on
all sides, adopted vacillating measures; to-day it suffered the
departure of individual monks and nuns from their cloisters; to-morrow,
in order to make such cases less frequent, it denied the rights of
citizenship to those who had gone out, and rendered the practice of any
worldly calling difficult; now it ratified episcopal laws, and then
arbitrarily abolished festival-days; in one church it supported the
celebration of the mass, in another allowed it to be abolished, so that
Basel was as good as given up by the Five Cantons. They refused the
Council there permission to examine the acts of the Religious
Conference at Baden before their publication, and on the 13th of July,
1526, resolved, in connection with Freiburg and Solothurn, to keep the
oath of confederation as little with Basel as with Zurich and St. Gall.
So determined were the Five Cantons, especially since the Conference
at Baden, only to acknowledge in the future those of their
Confederate-sisters as such, who would adhere along with them to the
former doctrines of the church. What authority they arrogated to
themselves in this respect over the others, is plainly visible in their
behavior toward Bern. Notwithstanding her repeated requests, the acts
of the Baden Conference were not communicated to her; her conduct was
subjected to severe censure, and it was resolved to send thither a
delegation to confirm the alliance by an oath; but only after the Great
Council and the consulting deputies of the districts had declared
solemnly beforehand, that Bern would not desert the Five Cantons in
matters of faith, yea, would even recall her former grant in favor of
the free interpretation of the Scriptures. Indeed, she was obliged to
draw up a sealed declaration to this effect. But with that even the
Five Cantons were not satisfied. "A command"--so it is enjoined in the
letters of their Conference at Luzern--"shall be given to our envoys at
the swearing of the treaty as to what more shall be said to our
Confederates at Bern, _which they shall indeed hear_." What this may
have been will become intelligible to us, when we have taken a nearer
view of the religious and political condition of Bern, as it then was.
From the earliest period of the Confederacy down, a mutual friendship
had existed between Bern and Zurich. In the old wars against Zurich,
when all the Confederates appeared in hostile array against her, Bern
had stood out for a long time; and at great sacrifice, had endeavored
to bring about a reconciliation, and was the first to reach out again
the hand of peace. She thankfully acknowledged the true help, which
Zurich had afforded her in the Burgundian wars. Not seldom was she
solicited to act as mediator, in disputes, which Zurich had with her
own subjects, and always discharged her commission with kindness and
honor. In the quarrels also with other states, arising in consequence
of the reforms in Zurich, she took no part in the hostile measures
contrived against her, and the insults offered to her ambassadors; on
the contrary, did all she could to preserve peace. But a short time
before the Conference at Baden, she had publicly declared: "Though our
dear Confederates of Zurich should not be willing to accept the
proposals of compromise drawn up by us, we have still unanimously
resolved neither to separate from them nor from our other allies, but
faithfully to adhere to all sworn treaties." This was the disposition
of the canton; this the policy of the government, which, among all the
Swiss states, was the least inclined perhaps to enter into religious
polemics and ecclesiastical movements. Political and warlike interests
prevailed with it; with the people, those of a material nature. Become
wealthy by agriculture, rejoicing in ease and prosperity, they felt
little need of subjecting their faith to trial, and had just as little
occasion to defend it at any great sacrifice. In spiritual matters they
stuck to their leaders, whose contrary views, especially since the
Conference at Baden, began to show a bolder antagonism. And yet it was
rather the external form than the inward substance, which they
regarded; the usages of the church, rather than the dogmas, which they
assailed; the dominion rather than the teachings of the priests,
against which they rose up. The mode of conflict was also different.
Teachers were closely watched; great caution enjoined on the preachers;
attacks on points of faith not suffered either in the pulpit or in
disputations; and yet, on the other hand, fully as much freedom of
speech prevailed in private life as in Zurich: the nuns of gentle birth
in Kœnigsfeld left their convent and married without hindrance, and
even the head of the priestly order, Provost Nicholas von Wattenweil,
had taken to wife Clara Mai, a Dominican sister of the Convent in the
Island. Amid storms of applause, the Banneret Manuel had allowed a play
to be performed publicly in the Street of the Cross by a young burgher,
in which the church authorities, the cardinals, the traffic of
indulgences and various ceremonies were held up to ridicule. The powers
then ruling had no special esteem for the Pope, and would not tolerate
the supremacy of any bishops, but just as little also the commanding
influence of a reformer. Such a state of things could not last long in
any case, but the very means, by which the Five Cantons hoped to
prevent the breach, led directly to it. These were their assumptions of
guardianship; their legations; their letters and strictures, on every
ordinance of the Council in Bern, which they did not like; the conduct
of their envoys at the swearing of the treaty in that place; their
request that the deputies of Zurich sent for this purpose might not be
admitted to witness the ceremony; their private conferences, to which
Bern also was not invited; their incessant appeals to that sealed
promise, which had been extorted only under the protests of many and to
the dissatisfaction of a large portion of the people, and lastly, their
threats to appear before the Bernese districts. Yet it was Thomas
Murner, who finally brought the matter to an issue. If Eck and Faber
were undoubtedly fitted by their noble external appearance--their
scientific and worldly training, to gain influence among the higher
classes, so was the barefooted monk not less the man, to work upon the
multitude: to inspire some with enthusiasm and rouse up others to
anger. We have seen with what dogmatical, cunning and rude language he
assailed, at Baden, not only Zwingli, but the Zurichers, and all the
adherents of the Reformer, to the great displeasure of many, especially
the Bernese. The publication of the Acts of the Disputation was now
committed to this man, by the government at Luzern. In compliance with
truth, it must be said, that he was guilty of no falsification; for the
printed copy agrees accurately with the manuscripts of the four
secretaries, which are still extant; but they would not believe this in
Basel or Bern, without comparing the documents, on account of the
violent assertions contained in other writings which he then published.
Among these, everything else was eclipsed by the so-called Libel
Almanac, whose appearance, with its vulgar wit, its coarse language and
its blood-thirsty spirit, was demanded by party-hatred. The almanac of
the Zurichers gave rise to its publication, because they had omitted
the names of the saints. Instead of these, those of the Reformers and
their most prominent adherents were now introduced under opprobrious
epithets, with printed caricatures alongside. It was issued in
Luzern--tinder the eyes of the government--and widely circulated. And
as the preachers and other respectable men of Bern were not spared in
it, the government demanded satisfaction--indeed united with that of
Zurich for this purpose. These two states were thus drawn nearer and
nearer together. The former appeared at the conferences instituted by
the latter in opposition to those of the Five Cantons, and when, on
Easter Tuesday of the year 1527, the election for the Councils arrived,
the friends of reform carried the day by a decisive victory. Some of
the most violent of their opponents were ousted from both Councils, and
several others, among whom was Caspar von Muelinen, before mentioned as
deputy at Baden, were obliged to go back from the Small to the Great
Council; but the question was put to all the districts of the Canton,
whether, in order to please the Five Cantons, they would adhere to that
forced resolution to alter nothing in matters of religion, which would
only lead to difficulty, and since it had been published, had produced
nothing but hate and discord? The number of persons in city and canton,
who were decidedly in favor of it, was small, and hence the ordinance
was issued by both Councils, that the free preaching of the Gospel
should be restored, exercised and protected, but that no changes should
be allowed in the use of the sacraments and churchly customs, except by
general consent and approbation.
But whilst these things were taking place in Bern, another storm was
brewing among the enemies of the Reformation at Zurich. Notwithstanding
all that had gone before, some were still found here, who secretly drew
pensions, and these in unison with the discontented clergy, formed a
dangerous party, whose hopes were newly revived by the result of the
Conference in Baden. To them Zwingli's opponents in the other cantons
silently turned, and the Reformer was threatened with a new battle. Let
us hear his own description of it, in a letter to his friends in Basel
and Strassburg: "For some time back, a great deal of movement, a
bustling and joyful assembling has been observed in the troop of our
Catilinarians,[9] as soon as the cause of the Gospel met with any
difficulty in the way. It was clear as sunlight that these people would
attempt the same thing, as those whose infamous deeds cannot be unknown
to you, who have read the writings of Cicero and Sallust. I confess,
that, when their speeches and actions more and more plainly betrayed
their plans hitherto concealed, I, on my part, began to sound the alarm
of treason. I succeeded also, in spite of the boldness and hypocrisy
with which they came out against me, in intimidating their fortress, in
undermining their walls. They believed that they had been unobserved. I
gave them to understand that this was not the case, and that I myself
could perhaps make a disclosure. It happened thus. I found myself,
without their knowledge, in possession of a certain letter, and had
gleaned besides something here and there. Hereupon the better portion
of the people, who desired to put an end to intrigues, succeeded so far
that a dictatorship was instituted, not indeed after the fashion of the
Romans, in the person of a single individual, but a commission of
twelve men, who received authority to apprehend and try. The
investigation begins. Much comes to light, some things important and
some not. Now, Grebel, the father of Conrad, the leader of the
Anabaptists, is beheaded. He, who stood in the highest consideration
amongst us, had received from the Emperor, the King of France and the
Pope more than 1000 gold-florins under pretence of benefits bestowed on
his son. Several escaped, for the gates were negligently guarded; one
on a cart, concealed under a load of rubbish and dung. Another, a
hunchbacked man, was put to the rack. The dictatorship and
investigation still continue. As for me, I exhort some to take example
from such a result, and others to aid in rooting up the evil."
The hatred of the defeated party, their friends and their followers,
may easily be imagined. But for once there was no prospect of a speedy
revenge. Several attempts on their behalf were made in the canton
without success. To Buelach, where something had been undertaken in
favor of the criminals, the government wrote: "We hear that you venture
to hold meetings on account of the punishments we have inflicted on the
disobedient and invite others thither. This sounds badly in face of
your solemn pledges, to give the go-by to all foreign lords. Cease from
such intrigues, or we will take the matter in hand for you with such
earnestness and boldness, that, with the help of God, we will become
your masters, and not you ours." Respect for the Reformer grew; his
influence began to spread widely, even, beyond the limits of the
canton.
After the narration of these events, we turn back again to the affairs
of Bern. The power of this state, the ideas, which were entertained of
the sagacity of its rulers, made it evident, that, just as the case was
decided here, so would it be in a good portion of the Confederacy. And
now, within the walls of Bern, Zurich and the Five Cantons had to fight
their next battle. They did it first by embassies; but whilst the
Zurichers deported themselves with modesty, the Five Cantons used
rough, domineering language, which found no approval even from those,
who otherwise were not well inclined toward the Reformation. But the
Bernese felt more and more sensibly the inconvenience arising from the
discord, which passed over from the sphere of religion into that of
their politics. Both parties longed for a decision. The proposal to
hold a religious conference of their own, met with growing favor. Both
parties counted on victory. The opponents of the Reformation grounded
their hopes on the issue of the Conference at Baden, and on the aid
promised them by Conrad Treger of Freiburg, Provincial of the
Augustines, who had some reputation for learning. Haller and his
friends turned their eyes to Zwingli. They did not rest until the
Council, which at first intended to restrict the invitation to the
Conference to narrower limits, had extended it to the whole
Confederacy. In the most anxious letters Haller entreated the Reformer
not to remain away. He Bent the theses drawn up by him and his
colleague, Francis Kolb, to Zwingli for revision, with the request to
have them printed in Zurich. The town-clerk of Bern did the same thing,
in the name of the Council. Zwingli promised, sent books and advice,
and spread the Bernese letters of invitation also among his friends in
Germany. "We have," Haller had written, "the wolf by the ears, but only
between door and hinge, and do not know how to deal with him.
Therefore, there is some hope among all good Christians here that thou
wilt come. Thou knowest what is now laid on Bern, and what great
scandal, scorn and shame would at once fall upon the Gospel and us, if
we should not prove sufficient for the task. The burgomaster Roist,
when he was last here, gave us to hope, that he would also come.
Have no fear of way-laying, our government will provide for your
safe-conduct. Believe me, many call for you. But others prophesy that
my Lords will not make much out of the disputation, and the last
disappointment will be greater than the first. Stand by me, or rather
undertake it thyself. I have written toŒcolampadius, but do not
know whether he will come; he has answered that he would like Zwingli
to support us. _Summa_; He has bathed, (_gebadet_), thou shouldst lead
the bear-dance."[10]
Zurich had heard the resolution of the Bernese with great joy.
Immediately a public safe-conduct was made out for all travelers to
Bern, and attendance at the Conference recommended to all belonging to
the canton, especially to the priests, who had not yet joined in the
Reformation; but Zwingli, who had urgently begged for permission, was
commanded to go thither, and the learned Pellikan and Collin, along
with the preacher Megander, to assist him, all at the expense of the
government.
What anxiety, on the other hand, this disputation created among the
Five Cantons, appears from their attempts to prevent it. Immediately
after the resolution of Bern was made known to them, by her public
proclamation, they called together a conference in Luzern, at which
also Freiburg, Solothurn and Glarus were represented. A letter of
warning was there resolved on. The Five Cantons believed, moreover, it
should be drawn up, less in the name of their governments than in that
of the Confederacy. From that very moment, when they began to fear,
lest other states would likewise venture to unite with Zurich, their
strenuous efforts were directed to the preservation at least of a
majority of votes in the General Diet. In this they could not fail.
They were sure of Freiburg, they counted on Solothurn, but Glarus they
endeavored to secure by the same means which had proved abortive with
Bern. Here, however, they seemed to succeed better. In fact, the
general assembly of the canton handed over at their request a sealed
promise not to separate themselves in matters of faith. In this posture
of affairs, they held immoveably firm to the opinion, that whatever
seven or eight out of thirteen states thought fit, should be considered
the decision of the Confederacy. But our whole earlier history shows
how varying the practice was in this respect, how single cantons, how a
united minority of them often refused to acknowledge the resolutions of
the majority; how differently the very Articles of Confederation
themselves, and their right to enforce obedience were explained, or
stretched, to suit particular cases. But, if ever it was their design
to justify the political liberty of each individual member of the
Confederacy, then surely it must be so in matters of religion, which
are nowhere touched on in the letter of these Articles, whilst the
dominion of one over the consciences of the others, is far less in
harmony with their spirit.
So had Zurich looked upon the matter from the beginning. So was it now
regarded by Bern, with a more decided purpose not to surrender the
principle involved. From this time forth two parties began to form
themselves in our country, who were diametrically opposed in their
views of the nature and obligations of the Articles of Confederacy. The
question at first by no means took the same shape as it did in later
times: Shall only _one_ ecclesiastical system, or several, be allowed
within the limits of a single state? much less that which it now holds
in America: Shall the state not concern itself at all about the
religious creed of its citizens? Religion and politics, church and
state were then thought to be inseparably bound together. Only this was
asked: Shall a single state choose its own ecclesiastical system, or be
suffered to change it by its own sovereign authority? or has it no such
right? Must law be given to it perpetually from without, by a power
which stands over it, which even has its head on the other side of the
Alps? The Five Cantons, who adhered to the latter view without
faltering, were not willing to maintain it merely within their own
limits, but wished to have it uttered and acknowledged as a fundamental
principle of the Confederacy, and the minority to submit to the
majority in its application.
This shows itself plainly in the contents of a letter sent by them to
Bern, directly before the Religious Conference held there. "Truly," so
it runs, "with no less fear than wonder have we, dear Confederates,
received your notice of a conference. What can have induced you to make
such a move--you, who not two years ago would have esteemed an
undertaking of that kind contrary to all honesty. Christian order and
law, and a breach of old usages and sworn treaties? and so we esteem
it. Whence comes it? Ah, God mend it! only because you have given too
long a rein to your seditious, wicked preachers. They have persuaded
you to this thing, in order to color somewhat, and in some measure to
plaster over with a deceitful show their defeat at Baden, where by the
might and splendor of the truth, by the Holy Scripture itself, they
were struck to the earth as blind men. Remember what you and yours
swore together with us, for which you gave us sealed documents, yet in
our possession. Therefore, we beseech you, in the most pressing and
earnest manner: Abandon your project. Lot us know, whether you will do
this. On Sunday before New Year the deputies of the VIII. Cantons will
be in Luzern. On that day we will look for your answer to this effect.
But if all this warning is of no avail, then we desire you to summon
your bailiwicks on a certain day previous to the disputation, and give
us notice of that day in due time. Then will our Lords and Superiors
send their embassy to you, and speak with you and yours, not otherwise
than becomes propriety, and is necessary and convenient for us; and, if
God will, you and yours, us and ours will be preserved from great
misfortune and harm. Meanwhile, perhaps, rude speakers may exhort you
not to suffer yourselves to be lorded over by. several cantons, ruled,
taught, and compelled to believe what may be pleasing to them.
"Ah, dear Confederates! Neither our Lords and Superiors, nor we, ever
had any disposition to rule and lord it over you. We bring and compel
you to receive no new faith. What is our desire and thought? Only that
you and we may remain with each other, dwell peaceably together and
rule as your and our forefathers did in the old, true, Christian faith.
In this your ancestors and yourselves, your canton and your people have
reached great honor. In this did you become Confederates. In this have
your ancestors and ours, you and we gained many honorable victories.
God be praised therefor! With such a faith, and with the universal
Christian Church we desire to remain, and pray God from the heart that
He would prevent you by His grace from separating, not alone from us
Eight Cantons, but much more from all Christendom."
Yet this letter, although made out in the names of the Eight Cantons,
was not signed by Glarus and Solothurn; not by Glarus, because there
also public opinion was rising up more and more in favor of Zwingli's
reforms, which obliged the deputies to be very guarded; not by
Solothurn, because she hesitated about expressing herself so strongly
to her neighbor Bern, to whom she was bound by so many ties. Its
imperious language, though couched in soothing terms, was ill suited to
prevail with Bern. It roused there a feeling of proud independence, and
how deep a wound it made, appears from the answer:
"You begin your letter to us with reproaches of dishonor. Faithful,
dear Confederates, we had expected better things of you. What we did
was done for the Christian purpose of honoring God. We hope that
treaties have in no wise been violated thereby; but, indeed, we would
commend to your consideration, whether the insolent and haughty letter
of your envoys be in accordance with them. You conjecture that our
preachers have been the occasion of this Conference, in order to repair
their injuries at Baden, and color over their defeat. Dear
Confederates, you should not deem us such persons as ever to rest upon
any class of men the ground and assurance of our true, primitive,
Christian faith. Still less can we discover that we have given them too
long a rein, because you are ill pleased that we suffer the uncorrupted
Word of God to be preached and spread every where amongst us. Far be it
from us to cut ourselves off from the Christian Church, whose head is
Christ himself; much rather would we do, what becomes good Christians,
defend and protect her. And since you remind us of our sealed document,
although we are obliged to give neither you nor others an answer
concerning it, yet we freely admit that we swore on that day an oath,
on account of faith, not of the Confederacy, but in no wise pledged
ourselves to you or others to believe what you or they believe. That
your forefathers and ours entered into the Confederacy and took oaths
of friendship in the same faith we do not deny. But what they at the
same time held in their hearts is known to God alone. Had they become
so well acquainted with the treachery of Antichrist as you and we, they
would hardly have remained so long in error. Since then you invite us
to summon our bailiwicks, so that your envoys may appear before us and
them, know ye, that such a step is not in accordance with the Articles
of Confederation, and we therefore desire you to abstain from it. And
since you suppose there are rude people amongst us, who say they do not
wish to be lorded over by other cantons, nor ruled, nor compelled to
believe--there is truth in it. We are just as unwilling to go beyond
the Articles of Confederation, when asked by you, as you would be, if
asked by us; we will, by no means, suffer or permit this. Finally, we
understand that unfriendly missives against us have been printed in
Luzern, and it cannot be forgotten by you, what was formerly decreed at
the Diet on this account. We pray you, therefore, to put a stop to it,
else we shall be obliged to print replies. This is what we send you in
way of answer to the letter of your envoys, so that henceforth you may
know how to negotiate in the matter, and guard against such insolent,
disgraceful writing."
The Five Cantons responded to this provoking language by unfriendly
measures. They refused their subjects permission to go to Bern, and
denied a safe-conduct to travelers who passed through their boundaries.
The government of Luzern, excited to the highest pitch of hostility by
the passionate Doctor Murner, did not prevent him from attacking Bern
and her government in the most unmeasured style in various libelous
writings, issued by a printing-house of his own. All this increased the
hatred toward that state and the favorable inclination toward Zurich.
Here collected, in the meantime, all those persons from Eastern
Switzerland and the neighboring parts of Germany, who intended to be
present at the conflict in Bern. On New Year's evening fifteen hundred
and twenty-eight were entertained at the chamber of the Canons by the
government of Zurich. The day following, preachers and scholars, more
than a hundred in number, they set out, surrounded by a troop of armed
men to command respect, for it had been rumored that in the free
bailiwicks, where the Five Cantons swayed the majority of the rulers,
they would be threatened with danger. They reached Bern on the third
evening, where alsoŒcolampadius and the theologians of Strassburg,
Bucer and Capito, had already arrived. Religion had put science in
motion. From the union of both, politics were to receive their
direction. The events in Bern were to determine the fate of
Switzerland. Statesmen as well as scholars acknowledged this. The city
had neglected nothing in order to make clear its honor, its rectitude
and its hospitality. The government had exhibited firmness on all
sides. To the Emperor himself, who in a very earnest tone had issued a
positive command to abolish the Conference, it had been replied
respectfully, but decidedly, that the preparations had already gone too
far to permit this.
On the sixth of January the business was opened in the church of the
Franciscans. Of splendid accommodations for one party and mean ones for
the other, as at Baden, there was nothing to be seen. Several times
were the opponents of the Reformers requested to assist each other.
"You see"--said the _landvogt_ Manuel, who was appointed to summon the
speakers according to the rules--"how _they_ confess the articles to be
good, and faithfully keep together; therefore, I pray and warn you once
more, for God's sake, to bring into one place your opposing speakers,
and assist each other by counsel, writing and speaking. This our
gracious Lords will accept with great gratitude as a favorable token of
your good-will."
Into the particulars of the Conference it is not needful to
enter here. The whole story and the result are pictured for us in a
report, still extant, from the pen of a zealous Catholic, who was an
ear-and-eye-witness: "What I have so often said," writes Jacob of
Muenster, priest at Solothurn, to a lawyer in Mayence--"has been
clearly exhibited at this heretical gathering. We are going downwards,
only by our own indolence, and because the head's of our church do
nothing for science. Several of our adherents in Bern, hitherto members
of the government, had implored the bishops even with threats, to send
hither learned men, able to cope with the heretics. No one came; no one
sent. At last appeared a certain Augustinian brother. They call him
Provincial Conrad Freger. He brought with him skill in talking, but of
true eloquence and science I could not discover a trace. When proof
from the Scripture was demanded, he traveled off. I found nothing in
him but a barefaced monk, although others looked for a prodigy. Still
more boisterously did a certain Dominicaster beat about him with
passages of Scripture for several days, but in the end showed that he
understood no Greek. The best among them was the schoolmaster of
Zofingen. They call him The Letter. What he quoted from the writings of
the Fathers, in defence of the church, was worth hearing. He knew more
than all the others put together; yet sufficient power was lacking in
him also. Thus must we mourn over our want of skill and contempt of
science. Oh, if Erasmus had only been present! But I should tell you
something about the heretics. My bile was stirred up--hence, only a
little. They did not appear to me so sure of their cause, that we could
not have frightened them, if we did not gain a victory, by able
speakers, versed in the Scriptures, which, however, we must confess,
are not with us in everything. I often saw them not agreed as to the
answer to be given; one often putting anxious questions to the other,
often whispering to him. Several were only encouraged and roused up by
the pertinacious vehemence of Zwingli. This beast is in fact more
learned even than I had thought. The saucyŒcolampadius may
understand the Prophets and the Hebrew language better, and perhaps
equal him in Greek, but falls far behind him in fertility of mind,
power, and clearness of representation. How Capito should be rated I
could not discover. Bucer spoke more. And, if he had the same learning
and knowledge of the languages asŒcolampadius and Zwingli, he would
be far more dangerous, so graceful is his gesture and manner, and so
pleasant his speech. Thus we stood, wretchedly equipped against the
most skillful heretics. Here roared a little mass-priest one moment,
and there again another. Alas! they were taught choral singing and
nothing else. Honor to that schoolmaster Letter! and yet he himself has
not gone beyond the letter. And what was now the issue? Our decided
overthrow. How easy it could have been prevented, had our bishops only
turned their attention more to humane studies than to base wenches.
Thou wilt ask: Is there no longer any hope of mastering this extension
of heresy? It is certainly slim. The Luzernese, at the head of the Five
Cantons, have taken all possible pains to do this, more, in fact, than
all the bishops together; but from our weak defence, the belief has
been impressed on the multitude, that we have nothing to defend, and
the majority has overcome the better minority. Now the Zurichers can
have their own way with them. Thou knowest what cunning they possess
and what immoveable constancy."
After the German Conference, which lasted eighteen days, a shorter one
followed in the Latin language, for the priests of the bailiwicks of
Ælen and Granson. William Farell, a learned Frenchman, who for some
time had been laboring for the Reformation with the most unwearied
zeal, in Western Switzerland, had to do with opponents still more
ignorant than those which fell to his German friends. This part of the
proceedings was so sadly lacking in earnestness and dignity, that the
details of it were not suffered to appear in the Acts of the
Conference, which were immediately put to press and published by the
government of Bern. Zwingli also exerted a powerful influence upon the
city in general, by two sermons. It is narrated, that, during the
delivery of one of them, a priest threw off the mass-robe, which he had
already put on, with the words: "If the mass does not rest on firmer
grounds, I will never celebrate it again." With gratitude the
government of Bern gave a liberal recompense to the foreign scholars
and ambassadors and an escort until they had passed beyond their
borders. Two weeks after the Conference, appeared their detailed
ordinance touching the re-organization of the church-system. In it they
cut themselves loose from all former connection with the bishops:
"Since you"--so they say--"in spite of all prayers and invitations have
staid away from the Disputation, and since you indeed shear the poor
sheep, but have not pastured them, we deprive you of your selfish
trade, and neither we, nor they who come after us, wish to be bound in
any way to you or your successors." All deacons and pastors are
released from their oath to them, and required henceforth to give it to
the government. He who refuses, is to be banished. In regard to the
mass, images and monasteries, they will be dealt with as in Zurich.
Living benefactors of ecclesiastical institutions are allowed to take
back their gifts. For the rest, account shall be afterward rendered to
the government. Yet, it is expressly added: "Not that we wish to
appropriate such gifts to our own use, as they are still to be called
_gifts of God_, but so to dispose of them that our honor and justice
will stand clear before God and the world." Finally, the rules of
fasting and celibacy were abolished, but self-government was demanded
for the freedom restored. On this point the document speaks thus: "And
as we have heretofore punished, in the rate of ten pounds, those who
have eaten flesh and eggs on forbidden days, so will we henceforth fine
at the same rate all who take more than their nature can bear, pouring
it down after the ninth sleeping-cup, and those who drink on and
carouse; when they are guilty of it frequently, heavier punishment is
reserved, to be laid on each one according to circumstances."
From what has just been narrated, we see the influence exerted by
Zwingli upon Bern. Let us now take into consideration the reaction of
Bern upon Zwingli. When he began his great work in Zurich, the path of
its development could scarcely have been marked out before his eyes. He
little thought of political commotion. Even the mischief arising from
desertions and pensions, which he only fought against on account of
their evil effects on religion and morals, could be prevented without
change either in the government of the several states, or in the
ground-work, nature or language of the Articles of Confederacy. The
refusal of Zurich to take part in the French Alliance awakened
displeasure, it is true, among her sister-cantons, but even this was
followed by no direct disturbance of her relations with them. Now came
the division of the bishopric, already an influential step. A new
principle was introduced into the ecclesiastical, which was so closely
interwoven with the political life. But this principle was rejected by
all the other states up to the Conference of Baden. The Five Cantons
and the party belonging to the old faith hoped from this Conference so
glorious an acknowledgment of it in the others, that even Zurich would
be obliged to submit. It happened otherwise. Bern also fell away from
the principle of the Five Cantons. A new idea of the Confederacy began
to form itself in opposition to the old; but even here again some
difference prevailed. The ecclesiastical reform in Zurich had been
effected by appealing to the people and with their aid. By it and
through it, also, the democratic tendency in political life attained
the victory. Toward the close of the year 1527, no more traces of the
activity of a Secret Council are to be found; all business of any
importance had to be brought from the Small before the Great Council,
from whence the people were generally informed of it, and not seldom
asked for their opinion. In particular emergencies, indeed, the Great
Council clothed some of its members with dictatorial power, but only
for a few weeks and under public accountability. But the more
democratic the form of political life becomes, just so much the more
indispensable are culture and the religious elevation of the people.
The strengthening of a sense of right demands as a necessary
counterpoise, an exalted sense of duty. Thus state and church go
together, indissoluble in their mutual relations, in consequence of
which every commotion in the sphere of one, reacts inevitably on that
of the other; but whilst the authority of the state rests upon law and
its severe administration, the power of the church ought to be grounded
only upon conviction, faith, freedom and love, for these are the
requirements as well as the fundamental doctrines of the Gospel. In a
democracy the law must be a most complete defence against the wicked;
the Gospel the basis of all improvement. As the principles of the
church and of the state differ in this way, so do they also in the mode
of their use. This difference was clearly apprehended by Zwingli. We
see it above. The ecclesiastical and political reforms of Zurich had
shaped themselves according to these principles. In all religious
matters, conviction was first sought; in all political, proof that the
letter of the law would justify or demand it, was sufficient. Whatever
may be the relation of the church to the state in other forms of
government, this must continue the most suitable for a democracy. Bern,
on the other hand, was never democratic. It is true, indeed, that even
here ecclesiastical reform was only possible by the removal of some of
the most influential heads of the aristocracy, which, however, did not
succumb as completely as in Zurich, so that even the friends of the
Reformation and of Zwingli, who form the middle class, worked their way
into the government, accepted partly from necessity and partly of their
own accord, aristocratic forms and principles. The closer the
connection between Bern and Zurich now became, the less could a
reaction of the former upon the latter be prevented. The commercial
city was rather disposed to treat with her subjects, the knightly to
issue her commands. In Zurich the Great Council had, through Zwingli's
influence, become the ruling authority; in Bern, as might be expected
from her character, it was always the Small. As long as the Reformation
was confined to Zurich, the ecclesiastical tendency predominated; in
proportion as it passed over to Bern, Basel and other states, the
political gained the upper hand. The question, whether the Church or
the Holy Scriptures ought to decide in matters of faith, was scientific
and historical; that, as to how the Articles of Confederation should be
interpreted; what was the limit of the Diet's authority, and for what
single states might resist a majority of the others, belonged to the
sphere of public law. By the accession of Bern to Zurich, and the
common position, which they had now to assume and maintain against the
Five Cantons, Zwingli was obliged to take up this question touching the
Confederacy, to give counsel, to mingle in politics, to tread the
slippery path with one foot, as it were, whilst the other remained on
the firm foundation of religious principle. The consequences of this
vacillating course are apparent, from the beginning of the year 1528
onward, in the striking change manifest in his mode of dealing with the
affairs of his own canton. The same man, who hitherto had done homage
to the principle of absolute publicity, who expected in favor of
Christianity, as he found it in the Holy Scriptures and drew it
thence, a more lively acknowledgment from the sound sense of the
people than from learned craftiness; from the uncorrupted feelings of
men than philosophical arrogance, to whom Christianity was the most
elevated--the only worthy religion for a nation; who, therefore, had to
look to the people for the maintenance of his reformatory measures;
this same man began now to employ all the arts of a politician, for the
upholding and spread of these same measures of reform--a bold
undertaking, altogether too bold--one that compelled him to play a
double part, in which superhuman effort he at last fell a bloody
sacrifice. As we proceed, this will become more clear and evident from
authenticated facts.
At the time, when Zurich yet stood alone among her sister-confederates,
shortly after the Conference of Baden, when her repeated vindication,
her fourth complaint against exclusion from the public councils in
direct violation of treaties resounded unheard, and her letters to the
Five Cantons were no longer read, and threats multiplied, the
neighboring imperial city of Constance found herself in a like forsaken
condition. There also, through the preaching of Ambrosius Blaarer, a
friend of Zwingli, and others, the reformation of the church had made
such active progress, that the bishop and the majority of the canons
withdrew in anger to Ueberlingen and Mœrsburg, and the Emperor
caused the city to feel the weight of his displeasure; but the Council,
devoted to the new order of things, looked around beyond the walls for
support in case of need. The necessity appeared the greater, because
the suspicion prevailed among many of the citizens that Austria, sure
of the secret approval of the head of the Empire, would use the
favorable moment to take possession of a place so well situated on the
frontier. The behavior of the Archducal Vicegerent, Marcus Sittich von
Ems, strengthened the suspicion. His troopers rode up close to the
gates of the city. He himself looked about in the neighborhood for a
spot, as he said, on which to pitch a camp. In these straits Constance
turned toward Zurich and sought a defensive alliance with her. After
long negotiations, conducted in secret, this was at last concluded on
the 25th of December, 1527, a few days before the Zurichers set out to
the Conference at Bern. They carried the news thither. Bern also, in a
certain measure by storm, was won over as a party. As early as the 6th
of January, 1528, the very day on which the Religious Conference was
opened, the majority of the Great Council expressed their willingness
to take the matter in hand. The name given to the Alliance, the
Christian _Buergerrecht_, (Citizen's rights), was easy to understand,
not so its spirit. In the ancient treaties the Five Cantons had
surrendered the privilege of contracting other alliances without the
common consent of all the states; the three original cantons,
therefore, could not permit any deliberation among separated cantonal
authorities. Zurich, on the contrary, and Bern, at the time of their
accession to the Confederacy, had reserved this privilege in writing.
As a natural consequence, the ties of the Federal Compact were viewed
somewhat differently by its members. To the original cantons they
appeared closer; to the cities, especially Zurich, less restrictive.
This conflict of opinion had contributed not a little to the duration
and violence of the old Zurich War, in the preceding century. Now it
revived again, and that at a most unpropitious moment. In the
_Buergerrecht_, stipulations were certainly made in regard to the
Emperor and Empire, as well as the Confederates, so that the
obligations under which the two cities had come toward them, seemed to
be ratified on the face of it; but this same _Buergerrecht_ spoke also
of the possibility of warlike expeditions, the division of whatever
might be conquered, and the privilege of enlarging and extending itself
to other cities and territories. Here lay the manifest germ of a new
confederacy, resting on new foundations, and the subsequent movements
of Zwingli, since expressions incontestibly show that he, more perhaps
than any statesman in Zurich, had thought of such an issue. The further
the Reformation advanced, the more did it appear to him an affair of
historical developement, the author of new conditions in political
life; but to these very changes, many of those, who were favorable to
the new religious views, showed themselves decidedly averse; for to
them the federal compact, under its existing forms, was a thing to be
kept inviolably sacred. The time had come when a two-fold choice was
placed before him; either of his own accord to retire altogether from
the sphere of politics and, plant himself upon purely religious ground,
where he might be unassailable; or else to become more completely a
politician, _i.e._ the soul of a faithful band of the most resolute and
able members of the government, who, now in a narrow circle and in
profound secrecy, prepared and paved the way for the most important
business, such as that for which Zwingli himself, at an earlier period,
had demanded the greatest possible publicity. The embarrassment into
which his retreat would throw the heads of the government, his
unrivalled skill in doing business, the hope, that he might cherish, of
seeing his political plans succeed as well as his reforms in the
church, his own conviction of their necessity in order to uphold the
religious movement, and his peculiar position as the citizen of a free
state, who could not, as a man of science, be overlooked in the
ordering of his country's affairs--all this together drew him toward
the second and more dangerous path.
Although, we observe with concern, that he now takes this path;
although a foreboding of the fruitless struggles, which he thus
prepared for himself, is awakened within us, there is also at the same
time a growing admiration of the power displayed by him, and his
persevering activity, not only in the field of politics, but in his
vocation as a teacher, preacher, and theological writer, which he yet
fulfilled with undiminished fidelity. He, who feels such strength
within, durst aim at the very highest. Not in blind hatred of the
existing order, would he destroy it: out of party-spirit, pride, or
lust for dominion: a noble image of a father-land not split asunder,
but made young again, reviving in fuller vigor under new forms, hovered
before his soul. Heart and head had contributed to its outlines; nor
was its realization, by means of a sincere and general effort, beyond
the range of possibility. Can it then be imputed to him as a crime,
that so few comprehended his ideal, that the time was not ripe for it?
In Bern, meanwhile, the negotiations touching the Christian
_Buergerrecht_ were actively carried on by the government during the
Religious Conference, in spite of the opposition, as it appears, of a
party averse to the Alliance. Roist and the town-clerk, Mangolt, sent
information of this to Zurich in several letters. They spoke of
consultations with intimate acquaintances, with trusty friends, and of
the confidential but unofficial communications of the latter. Zwingli
also, busy as he was during the session of that Diet, aided the Zurich
Council by drawing up two opinions for the removal of certain doubts on
the part of Schwytz. After a happy issue in ecclesiastical as well as
political matters, Zwingli ascended the pulpit once more and took his
leave: "Understand now"--so he concluded his discourse--"the liberty,
which Christ gives you, and abide therein according to the word of the
Apostle. You know under what a yoke our consciences groaned, and how we
were led from one false hope to another; from one law to another. But
now you see that freedom and hope rest upon knowledge and trust; upon
confidence toward God through Jesus Christ, His only-begotten Son.
Never suffer yourselves to be robbed of freedom and the salvation of
your souls. Nothing requires so much courage as this. And as our
forefathers, thanks be to God! stood up everywhere bold and unterrified
in defence of personal liberty, much more should we stand fast in those
things, which give us peace of conscience here and make us eternally
joyful hereafter; not doubting that God, who has enlightened and drawn
you, will also draw our dear neighbors, the other Confederates, in his
own good time, so that we in true friendship, to which right knowledge
is in no wise opposed, may become more harmonious than we ever were
before. May God, who has created and saves us all, bestow this upon
them and us!"
Whilst concord between Zurich and Bern appeared to be restored and
their union made stronger than ever, the news of the prevailing
alliance was received in Luzern with the liveliest indignation. At a
Diet held there, to which he had come on other business, a Bernese
ambassador, William von Diessbach, was called to account by the Five
Cantons. It is very probable he affirmed that his Lords had a right to
make the treaty.--Amid outbursts of displeasure, the session was
immediately raised, but after his departure it was again opened. "The
Devil take the old faith;" said the Bernese upon the street, "it is no
longer tenable." This saying, reported to the sergeants of the Council,
increased their wrath. The parties were separated. To organize and
strengthen themselves was a natural consequence.
FOOTNOTES TO CHAPTER FIFTH:
Footnote 1: No one will think ill of a Protestant for believing that
the Catholic church could exist in greater spiritual unity, worth and
security under national bishops, primates and patriarchs, without a
Pope.
Footnote 2: For scientific readers: But how near an approach did not
the Greeks and Romans already make to it? The old proverb: _Mens sana
in corpore sano_, shows a recognition of the equal position of the
world of sense and the world of spirit, as well as their reciprocal
necessity. This saying is likewise the key to all philosophy; the clue
to reconciliation between spirit and matter, consciousness and guilt,
freedom and necessity, self-determination and determination from
without.
Footnote 3: The so-called "Scottish Cloisters," to which old St. Gall
especially belonged, were zealous in the culture of science. Benedict
himself held it in low esteem. The peculiar monasticism, which took its
rise from the fanatics of the Thebaid, was, moreover, only a reaction
against the preponderance of the sensuous element in Hellenism.
Footnote 4: From Pope Gregory VII., we may date especially the
unnatural schism between church and state, which are not two separate
elements, but spring from the same root and are filled with the same
living power. From this time forward, the Hohenstaufens were obliged to
fight against the church, and Adrian and Innocence made war upon the
state. Afterwards they strove with equal ill-success to reconcile the
parts, which stood over against each other in proud independence. But
is a healthy existence conceivable without religion, or an active
religion without life? The state would become a philosophical
abstraction; the church a deceptive mist-image. The universal church
(without form) stands _over_ the state; the established church (with
form) _in_ the state. The universal church is only visible in its
fruits; the established church in its external arrangement, which it
must receive from the state, or subject to its approval. The universal
church is unchangeable, eternal; the established church variable,
accidental.
Footnote 5: The seventh Sunday after the day of the Holy Three Kings,
in old almanacs, is styled, "Alleluia Niederlag" from an ordinance of
Alexander II., that on this day, neither the Hallelujah, nor any other
song of praise durst be sung.
Footnote 6: Concerning the relation of Zwingli to his age, the author
published an article in the Swiss Monthly Chronicle for the year 1819,
from which, as the periodical was confined to a narrow circle, he
ventures to insert here a short extract. "The great man goes in advance
of his age. His bold, firm step wins for him a host of trusting and
powerful adherents. Prudence hesitates; fear trembles; and the
evil-will refuses to follow him. Self-interest, justly in dread of
every blazing up of the truth, mingles in the drama with cunning art; a
separation ensues; and he who would bring peace to all the world, has
brought a sword; but still completes his work, if he suffer for it, or
is so happy as to fall. By the sacrifice of himself the hero becomes a
saint. Eyewitnesses of his labors, noble enough to admire him, able
enough to support him, but not strong enough to take his place, guard
with loving hearts his memory and his words; the solitary staff for a
race, which had the desire, but not the requisite maturity, to take
into itself the entire spirit of the illustrious dead. More and more
was the letter now anxiously guarded, and in it the living, creative
spirit was securely and faithfully handed down to a more enlightened
age. And this age was first able to understand the great man fully, to
prize his services and value his doctrine. It is surprising that
centuries ago any one should think, as it delights in thinking; it
honors the noble of former times as its spiritual kindred; but let it
beware of pride, for if he were to rise again amid the means, the
experience, the knowledge of this age, he would soon hasten in advance
of it also, as they ever do, who regard not that, which one generation
of men style truth, but the eternal fundamental truth of all ages; who
have not pious feeling alone--not wisdom alone; to whom alone it is
revealed, by whose earnest and constant endeavor it is attained, to be
wise and good at the same time."
Footnote 7: It may not be uninteresting to many readers to learn
something of the after fate of this man, who occupies so prominent a
place in the foregoing history. His last letter to Zwingli, as far as
known, is dated February 14th, 1523, and his last to Myconius,
September 4th, 1524. In these already he complains of the restless
agitation in Basel, rising up in hostility to every more moderate view:
"It is my conviction," he writes, "that at present obstacles are thrown
in the way of the sciences as well as of the Gospel, by none more than
by those who made us believe, they would have swallowed both. Yet one
durst not complain aloud; for that old, 'Leave me my Christ untouched,'
has lately become a litany among them.'" Now more than ever his life
was devoted to the study of Grecian and especially Roman antiquity; for
theology and church history he never had any great affection. In the
beginnings of the Reformation he looked chiefly at the victory of
science, the revival of the study of the languages, the need of a more
thorough investigation of the classical ages, and was, therefore,
favorable to it. But as soon as this Reformation ventured forth from
the narrow circles of the academical lecture-room, the student's
chamber and the polite world, to move in which had become a matter of
necessity to him, upon the theatre of public life, and appeared under
democratic forms; as soon as unlearned advocates for it rose up beside
the educated and strove for approval and influence with the people,
wounding his refined taste by their rude manners and their rough
language, he began to grow uneasy. He feared directly the opposite of
what he had first hoped for, the final overthrow of all thorough
scientific culture. Of the great transformation wrought in the life of
the church and the people, with its beneficial results for religion and
politics, he had no sense, because he never traveled beyond his Roman
and Grecian studies. The bitterness of his feelings found vent in
subtle and sometimes malicious scorn. Even in presence of his scholars
and house-companions, whose number, as he always kept a boarding house,
was seldom under twenty, he allowed himself to callŒcolampadius
"_Œ]codiabolos_" (House-devil), or "_Schlampadius_." It can readily
be imagined that when this became known it created a dislike toward him
among his former admirers, and especially among the young. He received
an unequivocal proof of it, when passing through Zurich. Having arrived
there with wet garments, he asked his host for the loan of a dry coat
that he might walk out. The latter assured him, perhaps maliciously,
that he had only a yellow one to spare, which he durst not offer him.
In spite of the strange color Glareanus put it on; but scarcely had he
appeared on the street, when he saw himself surrounded by a troop of
mocking school-boys, to whom he had probably been betrayed. "Ay! ay!
Glareanus, how you are tricked out! We must learn your verses," and
similar things were shouted in his ears. On his return, the landlord
met him with the words: "Out of the mouths of children and sucklings
hast thou prepared praise for thyself." His opinion of the age became
more and more gloomy. His secret grudge against it is particularly
visible in his letter to Ægidius Tschudi, who, like him, had remained
true to the Catholic confession. "The young men of the present day," he
wrote in 1550, "resemble those of Sodom and Gomorah. Drunkenness,
perfidy, ungodliness, dishonoring of the holy have overpowered all
their natures. Never was the world so corrupt as now." And yet, at that
very time, he had often so many hearers in Freiburg, that, instead of
the usual lecture-room the _Aula_ (the hall for examinations and
celebrations) had to be given up to him. He continued to exercise his
chosen calling with unwearied activity, until he closed his eventful
life in the seventy-fourth year of his age. It is remarkable that,
notwithstanding his dislike to the Reformation, the General Inquisition
at Madrid, as late as the year 1667, included him among "the authors of
cursed memory, whose works, published or yet to be published, are
forbidden without exception."
Footnote 8: The polemical treatise of Erasmus on this same subject
appeared earlier; besides, Erasmus was not actually a teacher in the
University.
Footnote 9: Adherents of Cataline, a Roman, whose criminal tampering
with the dregs of the people, whose attempt at their head to
revolutionize Rome, and whose defeat by Cicero the consul then in
power, are pictured in a graphic manner by the historian Sallust.
Footnote 10:Œcolampadius had played the hero at the Conference of
Baden, he had _gebadet_; Zwingli should now do the same at Bern, in
whose coat of arms the bear occupied a prominent place.--_Translator_.
CHAPTER SIXTH
ORGANIZATION OF THE PARTIES. BREACH OF THE GENERAL PEACE.
Not only was the reciprocal relation of the states within the
Confederacy changed by the conclusion of the _Buergerrecht_; but that
of the entire nation toward foreign countries was just as much altered.
Early in the beginning of February, 1528, a letter of the Emperor,
written from Spire, reached Luzern, with complaints about this
alliance; very similar ones were received from the authorities of the
Austrian Government at Ensisheim and Inspruck, and still a fourth one
from the captains of the Swabian League. "Constance," such was their
general drift, "is not at all competent to conclude a treaty of this
kind without the consent of the Emperor, nor have the Confederate
Cities any right to enter into it. It is not impossible that it may yet
be the occasion of war, and the damage resulting may be ascribed to
their own folly by the Confederates." This warning was very acceptable
to the deputies of the Eight Cantons. It was immediately communicated
to the Zurichers. "You see," was the language of the accompanying
letter, "whither the necessity of finding allies for the maintenance of
your superstition must lead you. Do not hope that we will stand by you
in case of war. It is not our doing; we, who wish to uphold the laws,
regulations and customs of our fathers, will not be accused of
disturbing the peace of the Empire. We exhort you, by virtue of our
Confederation, to abstain from unlawful alliances." But neither
Zurich and Bern, on the one hand, nor Constance on the other, were
moved by all this. "We have," answered they, "strictly examined our
Confederate Charter, our Imperial Privileges, the Hereditary Union with
Austria--all necessary documents, and have nowhere been able to find,
that we have transcended law or privilege. And Constance is just as
little subject to Austria or the Swabian League, as we. Why do they
then wish to interfere? Our _Buergerrecht_ was devised not for
disturbing the peace of the Empire, but to aid in preserving it."
Agreement became more and more difficult. The Five Cantons, already
standing in hostile attitude toward Zurich and Bern, sought to persuade
Glarus, Freiburg and Solothurn to a closer, special union "for the
maintenance of the old, true Christian faith, the holy seven sacraments
and particularly the office and sacrifice of the mass, with all good
Christian rules, benedictions and usages, as handed down from our
forefathers, nothing excepted"--for the suppression of every innovation
in the Common Territories, and armed succor, if either there or on
their own soil an attack is made on that faith, whose support and
defence should be the highest duty, higher even than the preservation
of the Confederacy. From Freiburg they received an unconditional
assent; from Glarus and Solothurn, where the friends of Reform were
increasing in number, one with provisos attached. Wallis (_Valois_)
also joined the alliance. More anon. The time had come, when the Five
Cantons began likewise to look beyond the limits of the Confederacy.
Austria was the nearest to them. Zurich and Bern had sought foreign aid
in order to carry out their innovations more securely, why should they
refuse the same for the preservation of the old faith, for upholding
the unity of the church. Through the bishops of Chur, especially
through their friends in Graubuenden, they hoped to obtain access to
the authorities of the Archducal government in Inspruck. Meanwhile
these projects were kept secret for a long time within a narrow circle
of those who could be trusted. They first came to light, when, in the
summer of 1528, a second alliance in addition to the Christian
_Buergerrecht_ was concluded between Zurich and Bern, who were moved
thereto, as they said, by the violent suppression, on the part of the
Eight Cantons, of all attempts at Reform in the Common Territories.
"Since," so it is recorded in the original documents relating to this
matter, "our dear Confederates of the Eight Cantons are not only
offended and show themselves averse to us and our adherents in our
Christian enterprise, but have even taken occasion specially to pledge
and bind themselves to remain true to the old faith, as they call it,
and have attempted to seduce several of ours from their Christian
enterprise and respect and obedience to us, promising them help,
counsel, encouragement and succor against us, all for the suppression
of the Divine Word and of the duty, which our people owe to us, it is
not only becoming in us, but our great necessity demands it, so that
the Divine Word and evangelical truth may not in any measure be kept
down by outrage and violence, but that we and ours may be allowed to
remain in the free enjoyment thereof without any fear or terror of
man."--And thus one measure of mistrust and dislike continually
provoked another still more hostile. There was less and less
concealment in the efforts of each to strengthen their party.
Any one acquainted with the history of Switzerland knows what ties of
relationship, of agreement in their manners and mode of living, and
neighborly intercourse existed from the most ancient times, between the
inhabitants of Obwalden and those of the Haslithal and a part of the
Bernese Oberland. Their friendship was kept alive by popular festivals
celebrated in common, and also by the reverence which was paid,
especially in the interior of Switzerland, to Saint Beatus, who, as the
first promulgator of Christianity in that region, dwelt in a cave on
the shore of lake Thun, called by his name, and received canonization.
Numerous pilgrimages were made thither from the Five Cantons. The
rumor, that the relics of the saint, exhibited there on such occasions,
had been cast into the lake by order of the Bernese government,
awakened universal indignation. But this was not true. Two deputies of
the Council had taken possession of them in order to carry them to
Interlachen and bury them afterward. In complaints against the
abolition of their pilgrimages, the inhabitants of the Bernese Oberland
joined with their neighbors of Unterwalden. Pastoral races are very
tenacious of old customs. If these be taken away their respect for law
is often shaken at the same time. The government of Bern had to
experience this. Between the two lakes of Thun and Brienz lay, under
the lordly supervision of Bern, the wealthy Augustinian cloister of
Interlachen. Its domain extended over a great part of the surrounding
country and through the mountain-valleys of Lauterbrunnen and
Grindelwald. The monks of that period were in good repute neither for
their learning nor their morals. The Provost himself Nicholas Trachsel,
was destitute both of external and internal dignity. And when the
doctrines in regard to the uselessness of monkery, the unscripturalness
of spiritual lordship, and the rights of Christian liberty now began to
spread among the people subject to the foundation, they immediately
applied them to deliverance from all dependence; from the duty of
paying rents and tithes. If the one, said they, is an invention of man,
so is the other. If we are to receive the Gospel, which teaches liberty
among brethren, then will we also become our own masters, an
independent canton like Unterwalden and Uri. The Provost, who did not
know how to resist them, fled with a few friends to Bern, where, for a
decent maintenance, he surrendered the monastery along with its domains
and privileges into the hands of the Council. Under sanction of the
Great Council, an agreement was quickly made by the government with the
assembled convent; its seal, documents, revenues and jewels were
brought to Bern; an officer was sent thither, and the whole converted
into a bailiwick. But the people belonging to the monastery, who
asserted that they ought to have had a voice in the change, at once
preferred a complaint. When the government tried to postpone
investigation, a violent insurrection broke out, which found sympathy
even in some parts of their own district. New hopes were excited among
the friends of the Old Order by this uprising of the malcontents, with
whom the inhabitants of the Haslithal and other Oberlanders also
joined, at the instigation of their neighbors in Obwalden. The Council
was in great perplexity. Some of its own members secretly rejoiced--but
only the most violent. With others, who also were little favorable to
the Reformation, the sense of duty, which demanded the sacrifice of
personal inclination to the interests of the state, predominated. From
this class chiefly, a commission was chosen to examine on the spot the
grievances of the malcontents and negotiate with them. They succeeded
in restoring political order by lessening their rents, tithes and other
taxes; by remitting more than 50,000 pounds of outstanding dues, and a
promise of increased support for the poor and sick; but to allay the
religious excitement was a far more difficult task.
Here, for the first time, the two religious parties appeared in arms
against each other. The occasion was given by a split among the
Oberlanders themselves--division in a matter, where no majority could
decide. In the Haslithal the Reformation had found resolute adherents.
They and the preachers sent hither from Bern were a source of daily
vexation to their fellow-citizens of the old faith, who surpassed them
in numbers. The latter sought advice from their neighbors of Obwalden,
who, on their part, very willingly came forward and tried to gain over
their allies to the support of the Oberlanders. In this they were not
unsuccessful. Even the ruling authorities of the Five Cantons exhorted
them to hold fast to the old religion in public or in private, and
hinted at coming events and help just at hand. Under the pretext of
looking once more upon the bones of Saint Beatus, the Abbot of Uri, the
_landamman_ and several prominent Zugers came to Interlachen. Ought not
the wicked attempt of the innovators to commit them to the earth be
prevented? Captain Schœnbrunner of Zug, asserted that he had
concealed at least part of the relics in his cap and thus saved them.
"Come to us in future," they now said, "as we heretofore made
pilgrimages to you. St. Beatus lies with us." The public mind became
more and more disturbed in the Haslithal. One Sunday in June, some of
the leaders, instigated by persons from Obwalden, called together a
general assembly of the people. The question was started whether the
mass should be restored; and it was decided in the affirmative by a
vote of one hundred and fifty one, against one hundred and eleven.
Dispatches immediately went forth to Obwalden and Uri for priests, and
several were conducted by the country people of the Five Cantons, yea,
by the very magistrates, with drums and fifes to Hasle and Brienz; and
mass was again celebrated amid great rejoicing. What should the
government do? It was a perilous undertaking for them to carry out
changes in worship against the decided will of a majority of the
people. Some members of the Council declared their opposition to it.
The mass, they thought, might be permitted, without bringing back
episcopal power and foreign church-rule. But the Great Council firmly
rejected every such compromise. Copies of the treaties, by which they
had come under the dominion of Bern, were sent to the inhabitants of
the Haslithal, and appeals made to their duty of submission to the
highest authorities of the Canton, even in ecclesiastical affairs. It
was all in vain. The adherents of the old faith, stirred up by their
new priests, determined to yield under no circumstances. They asked
help from Obwalden; they ventured to appear before the deputies of the
Five Cantons, assembled at Beckenried, with a similar request. But no
resolution was passed in their favor; even Uri and Zug came out
strongly against any interference incompatible with the federal laws.
The affair was regarded in a different light by Obwalden, and, under
the name, it is true, of an embassy to mediate between the parties in
the valley, a delegation was sent thither, accompanied, however, by
twenty-eight young men adorned with fir-twigs, the defiant badge of the
old party. Instead of reconciliation they brought fiercer quarrels. The
friends of the Reformation were roused, when they ventured to call them
heretics. Deputies from both sides now hastened to Bern, with prayers
for succor from one and a declaration from the other, that they were
willing to obey in all things, except matters of faith, which neither
the Confederation nor the government, but the Church alone, had a right
to touch. In this emergency, where they ought to issue commands, but
where those commands could not be executed, was a source of uneasiness
to the most skillful statesmen. Meanwhile this much was clear, that a
protest must be uttered against every interference from abroad. The
_schultheiss_ of Erlach, along with two members of the Small and three
of the Great Council, went to Sarnen. All save Councillor Wagner
belonged to the lukewarm friends of the Reformation. It was hoped that
their language would, for this reason, be less offensive in Obwalden.
The _schultheiss_, in his address, kept wholly within the limits of a
political consideration of the question. But when, among various
cutting remarks, it was cast up to him, that the very Articles of
Confederation, to which he appealed, and which were formerly, by reason
of the common, venerable faith of their pious forefathers, sworn to in
the names of the Saints, had been first brought into contempt by Bern
and violated by her antichristian innovations: "The Articles of
Confederation," said Erlach, "do not touch upon religion, and grant
full liberty in regard to it."--"Well!" replied the old _landamman_,
Halter, "if you yourselves say, that the Articles of Confederation do
not touch upon religion, then they cannot be violated even by our
intervention in matters of faith; and if your people or others appeal
to us for sympathy or succor, where true Christianity, as we have
received it from our old fathers, is concerned, we will pledge our
persons and property for its maintenance, and still keep our honor
towards you." The more clearly the Bernese tried, after this, to
exhibit the distinct peculiarities and rights of church and state
before the assembly at Hasle, the more did they fall, perhaps to the
injury of their cause, into that confusion of ideas, which is
altogether unavoidable, when we do not know how to discriminate between
Christ's kingdom of faith and love, resting only on his Gospel,
intended both for this world and the other, whose very element is
freedom, and a government under tyrannic forms established by men in
his name. As a true knowledge of the first lies at the foundation of
the visible church, it alone can exert a beneficial influence upon the
life of the state; yea, without this influence nothing worthy of being
so called can possibly exist. The opposite, found in the latter, leads
only to discord.
But for such a discrimination of ideas that age was not at all
prepared. Prejudiced opinion and passion triumphed.--A multitude of
excited people, from all the vallies of the Oberland, streamed into
Hasle. "We ourselves," said they, "desire to uphold the faith, the
faith of the church, and be separate from the government. On this faith
only have we sworn allegiance; if it be taken away, our obligations are
dissolved. We will fall in with the Confederates, who hold fast to the
old pledges." Before the eyes of the _schultheiss_ and his companions,
in direct violation of the law, leaders were chosen, the ministers of
Grindelwald, Æsche and Gsteig driven out of their houses with their
families, mass-priests placed in their stead, the adherents of the
government threatened and compelled to fly, reports of the help
promised by their neighbors circulated on all sides--indeed, after
several weeks of agitation and violence, the greater part of the
Oberlanders, assembled at Interlachen, swore under no circumstances to
separate themselves from the real Catholic church, to seek justice from
none but the Seven Cantons of the Old Confederacy; to suffer no persons
to be punished except under their sentence; to keep possession of the
cloister and its domains, and to render mutual aid with their persons
and property.
Bern was thrown into great embarrassment. Berchthold Haller wrote to
Zwingli: "The Small Council has lost its head; it is given up by us
Evangelicals. We have to hunt up the members at their country-seats;
the vintage serves as an excuse for their absence and neglect of duty.
Those of the Great Council murmur, lament and rave; but even they can
find no remedy. They try by adjournments and tricks to avoid the
necessity of sending out troops. Meanwhile the power of Antichrist
increases everyday." But the impotence was not so universal as
represented by the timid preacher. Courage revived; the Confederates
were written to for a faithful examination of affairs and help in the
hour of need, and a vanguard was sent to Thun; but the march of the
entire army was delayed, because the soldiers were not to be trusted in
all cases. This was to be expected. Conflicting religious views and the
boldly proclaimed resolution of the Oberlanders to risk everything for
their party, might seem to those, who had favored the Reformation more
from necessity than inward conviction, no sufficient reason to take up
arms against them. Something else had to be added to justify the
expedition. But it did not last. Even the lukewarm were compelled to
acknowledge that determined action had become just as much a duty as a
necessity. The insurgent Oberlanders themselves, though united for the
maintenance of the old faith, were no wise so in reference to their
position toward the government. Among a portion of them the feeling of
loyalty was not wholly extinct. They did not wish to separate
themselves from the state of Bern, nor refuse obedience in political
matters. It was otherwise with the more violent, who, for the time
being, had the upper hand. These latter desired a formal breach with
the government. They continued to believe in the possibility of forming
an independent canton of the Confederacy, under a constitution and laws
of their own making. Moreover, they hoped, should their Catholic
neighbors lend them aid, to secure and increase at the same time their
real power; and in the youthful heads of Obwalden especially such hopes
had found sympathy. In fact, eight hundred men set out for the
Oberland, and that under the banner of the canton, which was carried by
a grandson of the friar Nicholas von Flue, and six hundred men of Uri
were ready to follow them In spite of the disapprobation of their own
Council. This rash proceeding was a breach of the General Peace,
according to the spirit and letter of the Articles of Confederation,
and the Bernese government had henceforth a perfect right to resist it
by arms in the most energetic manner. And so it happened. Under the
command of the Schultheiss Von Erlach, five thousand men provided with
artillery and all, necessary supplies marched out. From the very
moment, when the power of the government was displayed, the confidence
of its friends increased and the courage of its enemies sank. Many of
the Oberlanders, who were in Interlachen, saw the arrival of the men of
Obwalden with concern, knowing their cause would be rather endangered
than promoted by them. They began to rue the step they had taken, and
quietly to desert the ranks of the insurgents. A hurried embassy from
Basel, the inhabitants of the country around Sarnen, and even a
deputation from Luzern showed the men of Obwalden that their invasion
was a breach of the Federal Compact, with good effect upon the more
considerate. Cold weather was approaching, and the rain poured down in
torrents; they became fearful, if they did not speedily return home, of
finding the mountain-passes blocked up with snow, and hence the Bernese
advanced without resistance, whilst the enemy retreated and in the end
dispersed. The more peaceable and better-thinking people of the Five
Cantons expected this turn of affairs, yea even wished it. "Then the
peasants," so writes Captain Shœnbrunner of Zug in his journal,
which is still extant, "went back again to their Lords of Bern, which
was not improper; for it is natural for every man to cleave to his
own."
The punishment that followed was truly severe: the restitution of all
property stolen or destroyed, payment of costs, the acceptance of the
Reformation, the surrendry of their banners with the seal of the
canton, and the abrogation of all privileges and immunities, formed the
chief items. The oath of unconditional obedience had to be sworn on
their bended knees.--"Then," we are told by a contemporary, "the
horse-guards were sent into all the insurgent villages, and especially
into the valley of Grindelwald to apprehend the real authors of the
mischief, the ringleaders and the pillagers. Then were the houses of
the rebels ransacked, and their cattle, goods and possessions, and
whatever property belonged to the Unterwaldeners in the canton were
taken and confiscated to the city of Bern, though afterward through
pity much was given back again to women and children. Hereupon some
arrived from Halse, Brienz, Grindelwald, Habkeren and Rinkenberg in
chains. These they sent with the others, who were captured on the
ascent at Oberhofen, to Thun, and thence to be dealt with according to
their deserts, well guarded to Bern." A number of the parties most
deeply implicated escaped punishment by fleeing to Obwalden. Among
these was a certain Hans im Sand, an aged, wealthy and, in other
respects, estimable man. He afterward crossed over the Bruenig by
stealth to visit his family, and was then betrayed, condemned and
beheaded. In accordance with the barbarous custom of the age, his widow
was obliged to pay the executioner, who went himself to get his wages.
At the earnest request of those, who had remained faithful, part of
their privileges were gradually restored, first to the inhabitants of
the Haslithal and then to the people of the monastery. Most of the
captives were set free through the prayers of friends or by giving
bail. On the other hand, the brother of the Provost of Interlachen and
two more of the principal rebels were executed, and Christian Kolb, who
had everywhere stirred up the insurgents to excess and violence, was
not only slain but quartered.
After this victory, the government of Bern addressed itself to the
establishment of the Reformation in the entire canton as well as to its
more rapid diffusion in all parts of the Confederacy. St. Gall, where
the mass and images had already been laid aside, now joined the
Christian _Buergerrecht_. In Basel, the middle class took a still
bolder stand against the more aristocratic party belonging to the old
faith. The Council was divided and cramped; one burgomaster stood
opposed to the other. Now the deputies of the cantons and now those of
the cities appeared with attempts at mediation. The churches re-echoed
with the mutual recriminations of the mass priests and the preachers.
Œ]colampadius wisely continued to speak in favor of peace, but he
could not bring it about; for the time for anything like compromise had
gone by. Crowds of armed men broke into the churches by force, altars
were overthrown, pictures and images dashed to pieces, dragged into the
streets and burned: the Small Council was compelled to exile twelve of
its members, and the Great Council to increase its number by the
admission of four associates from each guild. A committee, appointed by
them and armed with full authority, succeeded in restoring quiet. The
introduction of the Reformation into the whole canton followed these
events. In Glarus also, Schaffhausen, Appenzel and Graubuenden the new
party gained strength every day. Even Solothurn no longer stood firm in
the old faith, especially since Berchthold Haller had been called
thither as a preacher.
In all directions, with unremitting zeal, by his counsel, by his
writings, by his correspondence, Zwingli wrought upon the government of
Zurich, which committed to him the drawing up of its opinions, and, as
appears from the protocols, usually gave him a voice, during the latter
years of his life, in the most important deliberations of a political
nature. When the thorough measures, which he wished and demanded, met
with resistance from those, who were yet averse to church-reforms, he
procured, by means of a fiery sermon, about the close of the year 1528,
the passage of a law compelling the members of Small and Great
Councils, man for man, to declare and avow their faith, and accept
preaching and the Lord's Supper in the Evangelical mode. Some were
excluded from the Small Council, who would not make this promise.
Equally clear, from his correspondence, is the great attention bestowed
by him on events occurring outside of the fatherland; the proceedings
of the Imperial Diet, the mandates of the Emperor, and the measures of
Austria. Even before the treaty of the _Buergerrecht_ was ratified with
Constance, he received hints from different quarters in regard to
secret negotiations carried on between the authorities of the Austrian
government and the Five Cantons. The apprehensions might perhaps be
exaggerated. But they struck him as important. Hence he did not strive
to conceal the possibility of war; and a historical work, which would
give a full portrait of so great a character, durst not suppress the
fact, that previous to the Conference in Bern he had prepared for such
an emergency a very elaborate plan of defence, which is still extant in
his own hand-writing.[1] He, who would censure him for this, should
not, on the other side, forget the courageous spirit which, at a time,
when Zurich stood almost alone in the Confederacy, still, relying only
upon the truth and justice of the cause to be defended, thought it
possible to maintain the battle against such overwhelming odds as then
existed. In this feeling the pamphlet was thrown off, from the
beginning of which we make the following extract: "The author has
pondered over this counsel for the honor of God and the good of
Christ's Gospel, so that wickedness and injustice may not get the upper
hand and put down the fear of God and innocence. In the first place, it
should be proclaimed in all parishes in the city and canton, that all
men earnestly beseech God never to let us counsel or act contrary to
His divine will; and also, if it be consistent with that divine will,
to remove all victory from our enemies and bring forth the honor of His
Word, as well as grant us grace to live in accordance with his will. Of
course this work should begin at home; for there is need to let all the
people in the city and canton know with what violence and treachery
some of the Confederates have acted toward us, all which has been borne
with a patient. Christian spirit, in hope of a change for the better;
that now no choice is left but to defend ourselves in a knightly
fashion, or else to renounce God and His Word; and that it is the
determination of the good city of Zurich to lose everything: state,
goods, town, country, body and life, rather than abandon the truth she
has professed. Each and every district ought to be commanded, in case
any one is not willing thus seriously and honestly to stand by the Word
of God, the city and the canton, to notify him in the beginning, that
he must go off in three days under suitable conditions. But whoever has
courage enough to pledge soul, honor, life and property to God's Word
and the city of Zurich, to him shall be said that you have received
such and such counsels, and that you yourselves act wholly for God, and
will protect yourselves and Him from all harm." These counsels now
follow. They furnish proofs of his knowledge of foreign and domestic
relations as well as the arts of political life and stratagems of war.
He afterward shows how they ought to conduct themselves toward the
Emperor, France, other neighbors, every canton of the Confederacy,
their allies and the common territories. He unfolds the advantages of
striking the first blow, of surprises in war; he enters even into the
nature and use of various kinds of weapons. But then, he concludes:
"These crude and smoke-stained plans I have hastily brought together
for the sake of certain violent and dishonest persons, who, beyond all
propriety and in the teeth of the Federal Compact, threaten the good
city of Zurich with war. Still, I have an undoubting hope that Almighty
God will not let the pious people of the Confederacy suffer for the
treachery of a few, nor permit us thus to sit in judgment on each
other. I have prayed from the bottom of my heart, that he will defend
his city in some other way than the one here pointed out, and cause the
pious, common people to dwell peacefully together in one Confederacy."
How deeply concerned he was in guiding the ship of state is clear from
the fact, that in this same sketch he even designates the individuals,
who might be safely entrusted with the command of the different
batalions as well as with seats in the council of war, adding, it is
true: "But a muster can hurt nobody." From such labors he hurried off
to write letters to theologians, to study the Holy Scriptures, to mount
the pulpit, to draw up ecclesiastical regulations and formulas of
worship. Only such a man was able to carry out the Reformation in a
free state. Instead of condemning him, we must keep this steadily in
view, and be careful not to form our judgment according to the ideas of
the nineteenth, but of the sixteenth century.
Over against this activity of the Reformed, that of the Catholic party
now developed itself in silence, but with no less energy. This became
manifest at the close of the year 1529. At the same time the adherents
of the Reformation had already gained so great a preponderance in
Glarus, that there, as in Bern, the sealed promise, given to the Five
Cantons, of fidelity to the old faith could no longer be upheld as a
law of the land. A number of parishes in the Thurgau and the valley of
the Rhine had applied to Zurich for Evangelical preachers. In spite of
the _landvogt_ of the Five Cantons, who had gone to prevent them, they
made their appearance there, and the church-regulations of Zurich were
introduced under the very eyes of the Catholic envoys. The
Toggenburgers also, through the undeniable influence of Zwingli, rose
up against the ecclesiastical supremacy of their liege-lord, the Abbot
of St. Gall. He sick and deserted by a portion of the members of his
convent had been carried to Rorschach, whilst the burghers of the city
began more freely to exercise a control and gradually to assume the
command in the monastery, and even in the cathedral. In Graubuenden, the
Abbot of St. Lucien, one of the most powerful supports of the Bishops
and the Catholic party, had been executed for bribery and criminal
intrigues, and in Schænnis, in the very presence of a threatening
embassy from Schwyz, the wooden images of the Saints were brought out
into the street. "See," cried the excited youth to them, "here is the
road to Schwyz; here to Glarus; here Zurich. Choose which you will
take; you have a safe-conduct. If you cannot travel you must burn."
When the Catholic rulers wished to avenge this outrage, the burghers of
Wesen sought aid from Zurich, which, because she had no jurisdiction in
that region, was denied them.
If the Reformation should continue to spread in this way, what was left
for the Five Cantons, except to throw open at last their own territory
for its entrance, or, surrounded by opponents, to see themselves
overwhelmed in case of war, and reduced, perhaps, to the most fearful
want by the obstruction of commerce? Under these circumstances many,
whose ideas of affairs were just, gradually yielded, and what had for a
long time been secretly hoped for by a few, an alliance with their
powerful neighbor, Austria, who likewise remained loyal to the faith,
found increasing favor among the rulers of the people. On the 14th of
February, 1529, deputies of the Five Cantons met the Austrian
authorities at Feldkirch. Whether they had invited them thither, as a
historian of Luzern informs us, or whether, as said by several
reporters of the opposite party, one of whom was himself present as a
spy, the suit of the Austrian counsellors at first foiled through the
great coldness with which it was received by the Confederates, can
scarcely be ascertained now. The records afford no proof for either
view. In the meantime, a draught of a mutual treaty was made, which, if
approved by the Archduke Ferdinand, King of Hungary and Bohemia, as
well as by the Councils and parishes of the Five Cantons, was to be
published and ratified as a definitive alliance in Waldshut. This took
place in April, and in the same month King Ferdinand himself handed
over a copy of the document to the Diet of the collective states
assembled in Baden, with the explanation that the alliance was intended
neither to aggrieve, nor attack or injure, but simply to protect the
old, true faith, to uphold peace and order, and was open to every
Christian government, which desired to enter it. At the same time,
the Zurichers and Bernese must have clearly seen, that it was a
counter-part, and a suspicious one, of the Christian _Buergerrecht_. On
the side of the Reformed only one imperial city came forward, whilst on
that of the Catholics stood the mightiest of the neighboring states,
and that with articles capable of a far wider application than any in
the Christian _Buergerrecht_. They commenced by declaring, that every
reform in matters of faith, yea even the representation of the
necessity of such a thing was interdicted in the territories of the
allies, and that whosoever "would undertake to raise up and form new
lawless sects among the people," he should be taken by the magistracy,
supported of course by the allies, and punished "in honor, body and
life, or according to the form laid down for that crime." What was now
to be done in the territories held by Zurich and Bern in common with
the Five Cantons? Could the former permit the inhabitants, who wished
for reform and sought aid for its introduction, to be punished by the
_vogts_ (bailiffs) perhaps with fire and sword, merely because their
religious convictions were not those of a part of their rulers? Then
the possibility of a war, even within the limits of the Confederacy,
was expressly provided for, and in that event the Austrian quota was to
be 6,000 foot-soldiers, 400 horsemen and a supply of artillery. Other
associates beyond the Confederacy had likewise permission to join the
alliance and "march against the enemy and rebels within, in full force
and at their charges." Finally, what was afterward regarded as an act
of special injustice to the cities of Zurich and Bern and the chief
cause of the unhappy turn of the religious war, the prohibition of the
necessaries of life was made also a principle of this alliance, a
lawful mode of fighting, and preferred and recommended in case strife
should break out.
As soon as the two cities had received certain information that the
alliance was concluded, before the documents were yet delivered to the
Diet by King Ferdinand, they instituted a convention of the collective
cantons, not embraced in the alliance. All, with the exception of
Freiburg, were present at it. A resolution was now passed to send an
embassy to Luzern and into the Five Cantons, praying for the
abandonment of a connection, which would necessarily shake the
Confederacy to its very foundations. This embassy of the seven states
was joined by delegates from the allied cities of St. Gall, Chur,
Muehlhausen and Biel.
But the animosity of the parties had already grown to such a height
that little was to be hoped for from conciliatory measures. Still many
were found on both sides, who continued to favor peaceful counsels and
desire a dispassionate, and, above all, a national discussion of the
questions at issue. Some months previous to this, the Council at Zug
had written to that of Zurich: They were not willing to believe in the
rumor of hostile intentions against the Zurichers and designs of
pillage among the peasantry on the further side of Lake Zurich: then
the letter proceeds--"for we have observed with great pleasure, what
friendly intercourse exists between our people and yours, who lie
together on the borders. So would we also act toward you, and spare
neither day nor night to bring about peace, reconciliation and unity."
Bern discovered a similar kind disposition among her Catholic neighbors
in Entlebuch "Every day"--it was written to the bailiff and commons of
that place--"the people of the Emmenthal speak of the friendly manner
in which you have behaved toward them, and how you lately cast into
prison one who defamed us. For this, accept our hearty thanks. And
although much may have been said to you, how we perhaps intended to
compel you or others to embrace the new faith, as it is called, we
freely declare that we never thought of such a thing, and would do it
on no account, for faith is the gift of God alone; but if any one would
force us from our resolution, we must defend it, as those who are bound
always to give an answer for our faith according to the Holy
Scripture." In Luzern itself, even among individual members of the
government, a friendly feeling was still found by the envoys of Zurich,
who in the beginning of the year were sent thither to lay complaints
against Thomas Murner. They wrote from this city to the Council at
Zurich: "It is the common talk at Luzern that the peasantry, who border
on us and the Bernese, are so well content with their neighbors, that
there is nothing like it, and they say together that they will have no
war with each other, but mutually agree to pledge their persons and
their services and not trouble themselves about religion." This was
also confirmed by Von Knonau, the Zurichan _landvogt_.
Relying on this spirit, which still survived, at least among a portion
of the people even in the other Catholic cantons, a full statement was
drawn up, to be laid by envoys before the Councils, and if permitted,
before the general assemblies (_landgemeinen_) of the Five Cantons. "No
doubt," so it ran, "there is still, dear Confederates, many a good
honest man among you, who may justly consider what injury, reproach and
danger to us all and our common fatherland must spring from such an
alliance, and into whose hands and power we will fall--those namely,
who have never favored, but always hated us, and even taught their
children to hate us from the cradle. Indeed, many a dwelling will
become desolate, if they, who began this, persevere in their
undertaking. But how can they do it, when we, on our part, yet desire
to remain your true and faithful Confederates; to adhere to our
treaties and oaths with you, and to prove to you our friendship, love
and duty without stint of life or property? And since many and various
slanders, about our two cities Zurich and Bern, have circulated among
you, as though they had made a special agreement to arm themselves
against you with artillery, guns, ships, marchings and other warlike
devices, placed the bell over you and used foul words to your
disparagement; O do not lend a ready ear to such fables! for indeed
such a thing has never entered our heart or mind, much less have we
ever attempted to do it."
The reception of the embassy was of a more friendly character in
Schwyz, and that before a full meeting of the general assembly. They
heard the message calmly. A written answer was promised and given not
without cordiality. This, however, may have been partly due to the
secretary.
The event in Zug was not quite so peaceful. Open discord reigned among
the counselors, a majority of whom were zealous advocates of the
alliance. Admission to the general assembly (_landsgemeine_) was not
granted to the deputies. We are told in their report: "They pretended
they had an excitable population, and were concerned lest our presence
would create great confusion; for they were much more passionate and
intolerant in the assemblies than the councils." In Altorf a difference
was made between Zurich and Bern; between the decided cantons and those
that were more accommodating.--The former were thanked; the latter, and
Zurich especially, were charged with interfering in matters of faith,
where they had no business so to do. Of the new faith, they said:
"Would to God it were buried!" Then an attempt was made, as had been
done before by Schwyz, to maintain it as a principle in the government
of the Common Territories, that even in ecclesiastical affairs the
majority of votes among the ruling cantons should decide. Of all the
points at issue this was the most difficult. Over it the strife
continually broke out anew.--Proudly and piously spoke the Luzerners:
They would follow their forefathers in everything, in adherence to the
Federal Compact, and in love, but only when it did not deviate from the
faith. Seditious persons now try to undermine this, as once the serpent
sneaked around our first parents in Paradise. From such poison they
would preserve their children and children's children. They had been
prompted to do what they now did, in the face of censure, by the
intrigues, embassies and negotiations of other cantons among
themselves, in the territories as well as with foreigners, the defiance
with which their just complaints had been met and the arming of the
Zurichers. In Obwalden a very hostile disposition at last revealed
itself. Here a bitterness of spirit had been left behind by the
unsuccessful inroad into the Haslithal, which was essentially increased
by the claims of Bern for indemnification, the sojourn of fugitive
Oberlanders and the execution of Hans im Sand, who had enjoyed special
favor in Obwalden. With all their efforts the mediating cantons had not
yet been able to restore peace, but only to prevent the outbreak of a
second war. The deputies of Obwalden and those of the Reformed cities
still gave each other short words and exchanged sullen looks, when they
met at the Federal Diet. But in Sarnen the most unfriendly reception
awaited the embassy of the Confederates. Only the envoys of those
cantons, which had not yet spoken out decidedly for the Reformation,
were treated with a certain moderation, and notified that the sharp
language, which must be used, had but a partial reference to them. Then
the Federal Compact was revoked with all apostates from the true faith,
and pity expressed that it had not been done before. They and the other
Forest Cantons were the true, old Confederates, they had won the prize
of liberty, they had admitted the rest of the cantons into the
Confederacy. Why should these now wish to be their masters? But the
Emperor, Austria, France, Savoy and Wallis (_Valais_) will indeed help
them to prevent it. A written answer was refused. On the other hand
they got a sight of the escutcheons of Zurich, Bern and Basel painted
on a gallows in the house of the secretary of state (_landschreiber_)
and when they complained of it, the excuse was, it meant nothing,--a
foolish fellow had daubed it there.
Great was the exasperation at this news, particularly in Zurich. Now
openly and earnestly they set about arming themselves, refused peace
beforehand without the humiliation of Obwalden, and called upon Bern by
letters and an embassy not to make the least abatement in its unsettled
grievances against that district, but rather to insist with redoubled
zeal on satisfaction and the fullest indemnity. Indeed, Zwingli wished
to go yet further. He had expressly desired, in the Privy Council, by
which all the more important business of state was again disposed of,
that no peace would be concluded with Obwalden, if she would not
renounce all pensions, abandon the alliance with Austria and give up
all the bailiwicks for a term of office. But Bern was by no means so
ready for war. In the Council, jealousy or mere political shyness of
the often hasty interference of Zurich, appears to have given new
animation to the party opposed to her. "We are," wrote Haller to
Zwingli, "as unsound as ever in our government; and though we now at
Easter possess the Small and Great Councils, yet we are fearful that
nothing good will be done here, because all those, who have hitherto
shown themselves hostile to the word of God, are returning to power,
and if that happen, then you may expect nothing else from us, than that
nothing good will be undertaken." Under seal of the strictest silence
he communicated to him the fact, that in eight days at furthest no more
than a crown would be found remaining in the public treasury. "If the
Oberlanders knew this," he added, "do you suppose they would leave us
unmolested?" It appears also, when Zurich became still more urgent, and
earnestly declared she would not suffer it, but prevent it by force of
arms, if necessary, that the new _landvogt_ of Baden, an Unterwaldner,
entered the city on horseback about the time of the election of public
officers, and an embassy from Bern with prayers for more peaceful
deliberation and more moderate councils, uttered the assurance that she
was less inclined than ever to such a course. "In the opinion of my
Lords," said its spokesman, "it would be better yet to prevent by
friendliness an unpleasant issue. They are not willing to begin war
before they know more certainly the disposition of their people, who
are ready for an outbreak, now when the sun shines, but when it rains,
their courage falls. A part of our peasantry have concluded a formal
treaty with their neighbors of Luzern not to injure one another. We
would not compel them to do so. You know very well that the Word of God
enjoins nothing else but peace and quiet. True, dear Confederates and
Christian townsmen of Zurich, you yourselves at first desired to
accomplish everything by kindness. Indeed, faith cannot be administered
at the point of the spear and halberd. And then remember, the Emperor
has not so much to do, that if we attempt anything, he cannot march out
against us. Then we have the Wallisers (people of the canton of
_Valais_) with us, who are waiting, and if we would undertake anything
with the Confederates, they would march homo again in an hour, even if
they had to leave their beds; and who could hinder them? Lastly, there
is the negotiation with the Duke of Savoy not yet settled, and we know
not where we are. Therefore, we pray you, for the sake of Christ's
passion, not to be so violent."
But this language availed nothing; for on the same day dreadful tidings
arrived. Jacob Kaiser, surnamed the Locksmith of Utznach, the place of
his birth, had a benefice and settlement given him at Neftenbach, in
the canton of Zurich. Now he received a call as a preacher to
Oberkirch, in Gaster. Before he resigned his former charge, he
sometimes visited his new parish. Being much hated by the Schwyzers,
because when pastor at the Ufnau he had declared himself strongly
opposed to image-worship, the bailiff (_vogt_) in Utznach, which was
under the dominion of Schwyz and Glarus, caused him to be apprehended,
as he journeyed through, and brought to Schwyz.[2] This was done in
pursuance of an order, which all the bailiffs of the Five Cantons had
received, to keep an eye on innovating preachers in the Territories,
and seize them, and hand them over to justice. Like an earlier victim
in Schwyz, another in the Thurgau, and three preachers delivered to the
Bishop at Mœrsburg, by Catholic bailiffs of that place, Kaiser was
condemned to die at the stake. In vain did Zurich intercede for him; in
vain did she write more earnest letters; in vain did she send the
treasurer Edlebach to Schwyz. On the day of his execution the Schwyzers
answered: "The territory of Utznach belongs not to you it is a property
bought by us and our Confederates of Glarus. For what we do there you
have no right to call us to account. And if the parson is so dear to
you as you say in your letter, then you should have kept him at home,
and not suffered him to come among our people. This would have been
most agreeable to us, and certainly much better for him." Such scorn
and the flames of the faggot were decisive. War was determined on.
FOOTNOTES TO CHAPTER SIXTH:
Footnote 1: It is printed at large in _Escher_ and _Hottinger_, fuer
Schweizerische Geschichte und Landeskunde. Bd. II. S. 263 ff.
Footnote 2: So it is expressed in the verbal process of the Privy
Council; that he was once pastor at Schwerzenbach in Greifensee,
Bullinger informs us.
CHAPTER SEVENTH.
FIRST CAMPAIGN. ZWINGLI AND LUTHER.
Two primal forces live and move in man, the one more in this
individual, the other more in that one; they both spring from above:
Feeling and Understanding. Original, childlike Feeling _is_ the inner
law; but it does not know itself. The awakening Understanding _seeks_
the law, but finds it not; for around them and between them settle the
mist of earth, the smoke and vapors of passion. Power is needed to work
their way up out of the mist; a celestial sun to scatter it. That sun
is Love. In Love, as well as in Power, God has revealed himself. Only
in the loving act, in revelation, are Feeling and Understanding able to
find each other, to understand each other, and then also first to
understand themselves. Now, and in this way alone, does growth in true
knowledge begin. With it disunion, discord is no longer possible; all
discord, even that which is internal, springs from want of knowledge.
The error is most lamentable, when Feeling fears the Understanding, and
the Understanding hates Feeling. This it is, which can lead to war for
religion. No war for religion is permitted to end with the overthrow of
one of these. God will not have it so; for he has created Feeling and
Understanding as immortal, mutually completing sisters. Did Zwingli not
know this? Was he perchance a man of a one-sided understanding,
imprisoned in mist, who sought knowledge in his own strength, but for
this very reason was never able to discover the truth? Did he desire to
subject Feeling to the Understanding, to subdue faith to the yoke of
the letter--of the letter, which men invented to express _their_
thoughts, whilst the Spirit, who proceeds from the Father, does not
reveal himself in _words made of letters_, but in _the Word_ of Love,
the loving act? They tried it, who came after him, who were not able to
comprehend him; but they have been shamefully wrecked with their ever
swelling formulas of confession. The church of Zurich under Zwingli,
and then under the _antistes_ Klingler (1688-1713)--what a sad
contrast! Yet here is not the place to speak of it.
Faith, that feeling of the Divine will, of the Divine revelation,
transformed into knowledge, had struck its roots as deep into the
nature of Zwingli as into that of Luther. Who can doubt it, when he
reads thus in his Explanation of the Christian Faith, as preached by
him, which in the year of his death was dedicated to the King of
France: "Faith must be the source of our works. If it go before, then
the work is acceptable to God. If it be wanting, then all that is done,
is false, and hence not only displeasing to God, but an abomination.
Therefore Paul says: 'Everything, which is not of faith is sin.' Now
faith comes only from the Spirit of God; hence they, who have faith,
look to the will of God as to a perfect rule. For this reason, not only
those works, which are done contrary to the law of God, are blameable,
but those also which are done without regard to it. Whatever is done
thus without the law, _i.e._ with no regard to the Word and will of
God, is also not done of faith; what is not done of faith is sin, and
sin God abhors. Thus it comes, that even if any one performs a work
which God has commanded, giving alms, for example, but without
faith,[1] such a work is not pleasing to God; for when we go back to
the source from whence the almsgiving springs, which is not done of
faith, then we find that it has proceeded either from vain-glory, or a
desire to receive more in return, or from some other bad motive. And
who is not convinced that such a work is unacceptable to God?"[2]
After such expressions of the Reformer every one will be readily
convinced, that Zwingli wished to create no controversy, to achieve no
victory of the understanding, which only regulates and analyzes, at the
expense of pious feeling.[3] That war, which can only be called
religious, because the parties themselves very wrongly believed they
served religion thereby, was not allowed by Christianity, as it came
from the hands of its founder, not by the Church established by Him,
not by the unity of this Church, unity in her Master and Exampler
abiding yet in the Gospel and the hearts of all true believers. It was
actually of a political more than of a religious nature; for a Church
which exercises temporal authority, whose heads rule over land and
people, set up compulsory dogmas of faith and deliver to judgment
those, who do not submit to them, is also a political, a worldly power.
Or ought we regard the nuncios, who drive along in carriages drawn by
four horses, to be received by the thunder of cannon, as apostles, when
Christ would send them forth, staff in hand, without money, without
change of raiment?
Proceeding from this stand-point, Zwingli saw in the war, which he
himself undoubtedly advised, only a political conflict. On the one side
appeared to him, imbued as he was with the idea of a purely spiritual
kingdom of God and Christ, a worldly power defending itself not by the
lawful, yea, necessary weapons of science and sound judgment, but by
anathemas and the flames of the faggot, and on the other, those who
wished to attain and defend liberty, without which neither a religion
of the heart nor of the head, nor a faith matured to conviction by the
agreement of both, was possible. With this feeling he wrote to his
friend in Bern: "The peace, about which many now talk so much, is war;
the war, which I wish, peace. There can be no security either for the
truth, or her worshippers, till the ground-pillars of tyranny be
overthrown. Do not lose confidence in me, because I must say this.
With God's help I will prove myself worthy of it." But, even if the
question, according to the judgment of the Reformer, was fairly one of
an external, political nature, when logically carried out, it would
take the form of opinion in some, or of principle in others. Yet never
will such questions be solved by weapons of iron. The blind iron
usually wounds the principle for which it was drawn out, and its
defender first. "Put up thy sword in its sheath," said Christ to Peter,
"for they, who take the sword, shall perish by the sword;" and for
Zwingli it was a prophetic word. Only for material interests, lying
equally before the eyes of all the world; only when the duty of
fighting against the violation of national treaties or human laws, or
else for upholding them, does true policy take up the sword, and in
this respect the statesmanship of Bern seems more prudent; yea, more in
harmony with the Federal Compact, than that of Zurich. But there are
moments in the lives of nations, when prudence will no longer avail,
and energetic action, even passionate endeavor, becomes a necessity. In
such cases each one has to appeal to his own conviction of duty, and
his justification lies in his willingness to sacrifice himself
therefor. Over the corpse of the noble victim, the censuring voice of
posterity is silent.
He, who accompanies the Reformer with undiminished sympathy along his
path, which from this time forth becomes more and more slippery, will
find the truth of what has been said. The grand achievement, which he
desired, perhaps rather anticipated--the formation of a strong league
in the midst of Europe, controlling extremes; a league of concord, and
yet of the free developement of individual members in their peculiar
customs and forms of government; united by the spiritual bond of a
common faith, of a common _submission to the Gospel_, embraced with a
pure mind and _carried out in practice_; satisfying the understanding
and contenting the heart; one in _its aim_ of worshipping God; diverse
in _its mode_, according to the usage and wants of the country;
tolerating philosophical as little as dogmatical dictators; repudiating
alike the Propaganda and the Jesuits; a league whose members are not
exclusive like Jews, but helpful like Christians--the nineteenth
century can see it realized, if in its free presses a manly openness is
able to triumph over wholesale robbery and keep down human
devilishness, as well as the spirit of hypocrisy.
On the 1st of June, a secret council was held in Zurich, to consider
the outrage of the Schwyzers. Some wished to prohibit the exportation
of provisions, others to revoke the treaties, and a third party to
declare war without delay. The last course was adopted by the Great
Council on the 3d of June, and the tidings sent to Schwyz in the
following language: "Our greeting first! Pious, circumspect, wise,
should our good friends and faithful, dear Confederates be! Your
haughty and defiant letter we have received and considered, and though
you accuse us therein of not keeping covenant with you, we think we
have done it as faithfully and better than you have heretofore; than
you, who have persecuted, unjustly punished, given into other hands,
violently and unrighteously dragged beyond the jurisdiction and laws,
which belonged to us as well as you, miserably tortured and killed many
an honest man merely for asserting his faith and maintaining the honor
of God, by which we and our people, who are pious, honest Christians,
if God will, have also been greatly and severely injured, reviled
and shamefully abused, as to our honor and old, praiseworthy customs;
ill-treated in a wanton manner without cause, surrounded, beaten,
defied, and a pious priest under our protection, whom it became us to
save, pounced upon beyond your jurisdiction, carried off in a scornful,
unjust fashion, before God and to our great displeasure, burned to
death for adhering to God's Word, since you had no other charge against
him. Because now you have always suffered such outrages and injuries to
pass by without punishment, because you have despised all our warnings
and embassies, publicly transgressing in many instances the Articles of
Confederation, and because we see that no justice can be hoped for from
you, we are obliged, in order to rescue and maintain the Divine truth,
its honor and ours, to chastise you for such wantonness, injustice and
violence with our own hand, in the strength of God, and intend also,
with as much strength and grace as God gives us, to take vengeance on
you without mercy. But we have warned you of it and kept our honor.
Thus you can understand the motives of our action; you yourselves
desired nothing else, since you have provoked us to this course by your
violence and gross injustice." In consequence of the threatened passage
of the bailiff (_vogt_) of Unterwalden that way to Baden, Bern was
written to: That the friendly exhortation to moderate measures had
come too late. They had certain intelligence that Unterwalden intended
to escort her _landvogt_ to Baden with an armed force. Bern must not
permit this according to her own solemn declaration. And she is
there strongly besought to join the Zurichers, now promptly rising in
self-defence.
But Bern, for some time back, had been endeavoring, principally through
Luzern, to bring Unterwalden into a more peaceful humor. She had not
yet put any troops under arms, and had received information from the
Five Cantons that they too would not be the first to do it. Hans
Edlebach, who was sent to Lenzburg, to hasten the march of the expected
contingent, had to suffer bitter reproaches from the _landvogt_ and the
Bernese residing there: Was it prudent to begin war during such a
famine? Was it like a Confederate, not to suffer the law first to take
its course? Was it fair dealing toward Bern, to rise up against every
warning, and without giving her notice beforehand? Zurich may now bring
to an end alone what she has commenced alone. To this the Zurichers
wrote in reply: "We would sooner have expected death, than that your
aid should have failed us up to this time; what guilt will rest upon
you, if calamity overtake us?" But Zurich was in no wise hindered by
this delay, and the declaration of the Bernese immediately following,
that though they would now march out, it was only for the support of
their ally and not to encourage the war. One division of troops was
sent to Bremgarten and Muri: another placed at the west end of the lake
to hold Schwyz in check, whilst another marched under Jacob Werdmueller
to the country lying around Rapperschweil, so that the Toggenburgers,
the people of Gaster, and the evangelical portion of the Glarners might
be encouraged to join them. To his countrymen of Toggenburg Zwingli was
particularly favorable. "Dear comrade," he wrote to his friend
Werdmueller, "I hope the Toggenburgers will not fail, yet hasten to
communicate with the town-clerk of Lechstensteg; for a general assembly
to consult about affairs was held on Wednesday, the 9th day of June.
Take care and keep the advice secret. If you act against Toggenburg,
you must not speak of taking possession of the country, for they will
not suffer such a thing, having some time since made themselves free by
their military power." Less consideration was shown toward the Thurgau.
Lavater, the bailiff (_vogt_) of Kyburg received orders to occupy the
territory for Zurich, with the reservation of the rights of Glarus, and
notify the inhabitants that the Five Cantons would be allowed no share
in the government without their own consent, which was an open
violation of existing treaties, and founded on the right of conquest.
The chief force, consisting of 4,000 picked men, well armed and
provided with numerous guns, marched under George Berger to the borders
of Zug. Berger had served in Italy with honor. He maintained severe
discipline in the army. Idle women, who usually followed the Swiss
expeditions in great crowds, were not suffered here. On the other hand,
in spite of the scarcity just then prevailing, an abundant stock of
provisions was furnished; a good spirit prevailed among the soldiery.
It was a long time since Zurich had displayed such power. From the
steps of the senate-house the burgomaster Walder exhorted the departing
troops to discipline and a fearless defence. Commander Schmied was
appointed army-chaplain. Without a summons from the government Zwingli
rode along, a halberd on his shoulder. The report of the outbreak,
Zurich's declaration of war, communicated to the Four Cantons by
Schwyz, set them also in motion. Flying appeals went out at the same
time from Zug. First, volunteers hastened thither; then came the
militia of Schwyz, of Uri, of Unterwalden--the latter well armed and
particularly eager for war. Messengers were despatched to Waldshut and
Feldkirch for Austrian aid.
The Zurichers halted at Cappel. A declaration of war was also made
against the Five Cantons. It resembled that against Schwyz, but with an
additional reference to the doings of the Unterwaldners and to the
Austrian alliance. On the morning of the 9th it was sent to Zug, and
directly after the Zurichan force, strengthened by new accessions, took
up the line of march. They had not yet crossed the boundaries of the
canton, when the _landamman_ Æbli came up against them from Baar. He
was a man of irreproachable character, a leader of the people in his
canton, esteemed and beloved by the Confederates, trained in the school
of life, keeping in view the wants of the present, but both by
education and disposition unfitted for scientific and religious
controversy. As related by Bullinger, who was an eye-witness, this man
begged "the Lords of Zurich with tearful eyes; begged them as strongly
as he could, for God's sake and that of the whole Confederacy, to stay
quiet where they were without actual operations and approach, till he
would return again in the course of a few hours; for he had good hopes,
by the aid of other honorable, honest people, who also were in a fair
way to separate, with the help of God's grace, to make an honorable
peace, which would redound to the good of the Confederacy; besides,
great bloodshed would be avoided and no poor widows and orphans made;
for this, he trusted in the Holy Gospel, which teaches us peace, love
and unity. Moreover, he had also found a moderate, friendly opinion in
the Five Cantons, that it would be a great calamity, if one Confederate
would wretchedly kill the other, when their forefathers so often and
closely pledged together their persons, property and blood; and a like
opinion existed here among those, who had suffered much pain and injury
in war. We ought not, said he, grant such pleasure to the foes and
enemies of our common country. He, therefore, most earnestly plead only
for some hours to do his best to prevent the sad dismemberment of the
Confederacy."
Discordant views prevailed amongst the Zurichers. Yet the majority were
won over by this true-hearted, patriotic speech. After a short
deliberation, the leaders declared themselves ready to halt, and a
courier was dispatched to Zurich for instructions. But Zwingli
approached the _landamman_, who had formerly been one of his most
intimate friends in Glarus, with the words: "Dear _amman_, thou wilt be
obliged to account to God for this peace. Now, whilst our enemies are
in our power and unprepared you give them good words. Thou believest
them, and holdest back. Hereafter, when they are prepared, they will
not make peace with us; who then will separate us?" "Dear comrade,"
replied the _amman_, "I trust in God. He will make all right. Act
always for the best."
The brief truce, which now followed, was diligently used by both
parties. The Catholics brought together their chief force in the
country of Baar. Auxiliaries from Wallis (_Valais_), Livinen and the
valley of the Esch joined them. Their little army swelled to eight
thousand. That of the Zurichers was strengthened from the Thurgau and
St. Gall. A third just as important, that of the Bernese aided by
Basel, Biel and Muehlhausen, under the _schultheiss_ Von Diesbach, had
reached Bremgarten. Full thirty thousand men, unlike in view and
disposition, stood under arms. The Confederate policy was in the camp
of the Bernese. "We will attack the aggressor," said they, "wherever he
comes from. We will suffer no war, till all lawful remedies are
exhausted." They had written the same to Zurich, where hurrying envoys
from Glarus, Appenzel, the Three Cantons, Solothurn and Freiburg
arrived every hour with plans for a settlement of the difficulties.
Bern had also convoked at Aarau, a Diet for the whole Confederacy. Even
from Strasburg the Mayor Sturm had come as a mediator. A spirit of
peace began to pervade the opposing camps. Besides, many were anxious
to return home. They thought of their agricultural labor, which in the
month of June was particularly needful. The necessity for shedding
blood had not yet stirred the feelings of the multitude. Neighbors of
the different confessions still held intercourse with each other. The
out-posts had agreed not to injure each other; one party looked on the
peaceful sports of the other at the ring and the hurling of stones.
That beautiful feature of old Swiss cordiality was manifested, when
milk was brought from one side, bread from the other, and the hostile
warriors, with jokes over the limits to be guarded, ate the common food
from _one_ vessel. It drew an exclamation of surprise from the Mayor of
Strasburg, who witnessed it.
According to old usage, when the militia had marched out, the Council
of Zurich gave over to the commons-at-war (_kriegsgemeine_) the
instruction of the negotiators at the Diet in Aarau. There was one man
particularly to whom this was little pleasing, who apprehended evil
results--Ulric Zwingli. Should all the fruits of his earnest endeavor,
all the hopes for evangelical freedom, involved in this breach, be
lost? He feared a too ready compliance. "Gracious, loving Lords," he
wrote, "our messengers come in again this moment. I observe indeed how
the matter stands. They now give good words, and pray and beg. But do
not be misled, and regard no wry faces, but command us, beforehand, to
act with earnestness, not to surrender our advantage, but to accept
only a solid peace; for no one can give better words than these people,
and when we are out of the field, they will return in one month and
attack us. For God's sake act boldly. By my life, I desire not to
mislead you, nor give way myself. One cannot write everything. Stand
fast in God. Yield nothing to wry faces, till the right is established.
God be with you. In haste, in haste!"
After this he did his utmost in the camp at Cappel, so that the
treasurer, Rudolph Thumeisen, the deputy to Aarau, was instructed to
demand positively, liberty to preach the Gospel everywhere in the
Territories, the abrogation of the Alliance with Austria, the
abjuration of all pensions and the punishment of those, who would
propogate and dispense them, the costs of the war and indemnification
for the children of the martyred Jacob Kaiser. Meanwhile in Aarau the
continuance of the armistice only was determined on, and the
prosecution of the negotiations by arbitrators in the vicinity of the
camps transferred to Steinhausen, in the canton of Zug.
It had been previously said, that the commons-at-war (_landsgemeinden_)
should themselves hear the complaints and arguments of the opposing
parties. The leaders and deputies of the army of the Five Cantons made
the beginning in the camp of the Zurichers. An eye-witness, Kessler of
St. Gall, has given the following graphic picture of the event. It is
here told in his own words: "Now, at the request of the Five Cantons,
it was appointed, that, on the next Monday, a committee should come
over from their camp into ours, in order to interrogate each other as
well as the friendly arbitrators. So a high scaffolding was raised upon
barrels in the field before Cappel. On this was placed the banner of
Zurich, with all the ensigns and officers then encamped at Cappel, and
around the scaffolding stood the common soldiers. After the committee
of the Five Cantons, thirty in number, had been conducted over by the
Zurichan trumpeter, the umpires approached; one rose after the other on
the scaffold, speaking to the array and exhorting them to hold fast the
purpose to submit on both sides to a friendly and moderate treaty of
peace, seeing not only the sorrow, the misery and the great damage and
ruin, that must accrue to us from this present misunderstanding, if it
should come to the shedding of blood; but on the other hand, also, the
great joy that would arise among our foreign hereditary enemies; and
that nothing else can at last result from it, but that we, weakened by
our own discord, will be the more easily conquered and ruled by those
enemies, for whom, when united, we were always strong enough. Besides,
the great dislike of the people of Germany and other countries, during
our campaigns there, must be considered; and if our poor widows and
orphans are left, what scanty crusts of bread will be doled out to
them. Therefore, we implore you, for God's sake, to make peace with
each other like faithful, pious Confederates, who, in times past, have
fought and suffered so much together. Hereupon, Captain Escher of
Zurich stood forward, and disclosed in general and special to the
deputies of the Five Cantons the cause and articles of the war now
declared against them, reviewing with sharp words their unkind,
shameful and scandalous doings so long persisted in, but which could
henceforth be no longer endured or suffered, consistently with justice
and honor. After this, the deputies, gentlemen and captains of the Five
Cantons rose up; among the first _schultheiss_ Hug of Luzern; and each
gave answer to the articles and the accusation touching his Lords.
Nevertheless, something should be done. They desired that every effort
should be made to bring about a lasting peace, lest, as was before said
by the arbitrators, we might be compelled to murder and destroy each
other. But so far as might be, they desired a just settlement,
promising to abide thereby. Then it was proposed to retire a little out
of the crowd to a particular spot; and the captains and the commons
conferred among themselves, and decided that a committee of the same
number as theirs should be sent into the camp of the Five Cantons, to
disclose to the common soldiery, the business, which had not yet
reached them. There were present also Master Ulric Zwingli, Master
Conrad Schmied, the Commander, chosen preachers from the city and
canton of Zurich, men wholly inclined to purge the Confederacy from all
unfairness, unrighteousness and pride, and restore piety and honor.
When his turn came, Master Ulric spake very plainly, that they who were
there might understand, declaring that the cold apology of the Five
Cantons and their appeals to the law, which before this had been little
regarded by them, reminded him of condemned criminals, who when led to
punishment cried out for justice, in order to prolong their lives. Then
he spoke of the sin, the danger and the injury springing from the
pensions, undeservedly taken from kings and princes, countries and
people, and addressed the aforementioned _schultheiss_, Hug, by name:
It is well known what he is and has been for years, and whence he has
been enriched by so many thousand crowns; they are earnestly exhorted
to put it away, else peace, quiet and unity would never be seen in the
Confederacy."
With milder words Escher sought to allay the rising discontent of
the deputies of the Five Cantons, who, after a notice that the
leaders of the Zurichers should remember to appear also before their
commons-at-war, withdrew and were honorably conducted out of the camp.
Rain in torrents, as it fell abundantly during this summer, poured down
on the following day, the fifteenth of June. The overflowing of the
Loretz prevented any meeting. On the sixteenth, with clearing skies and
glad sunshine, fifteen of the most prominent Zurichers, to whom several
people from the country were added, rode over into the camp of the Five
Cantons.
Here also, as with the Zurichers, the reception took place amid warlike
display and the thunder of cannon. The leaders affirmed that more than
12,000 men were under arms. They stood well drawn up; defiance in every
face. The Unterwaldners were particularly well armed, partly with bows
and partly in heavy coats of mail. Hans Escher opened the discussion,
glad of the opportunity to represent in its true light the
misapprehended cause of Zurich before so large an assembly of
Confederates. First, he read aloud a detailed list of grievances,
published by the government itself. "All this," he then continued, "we
would have borne for the sake of the common peace, but when your rulers
concluded an alliance with yon power, which your own forefathers have
always considered their most dangerous enemy, and which is now, perhaps
more than ever, ours, how could we keep quiet any longer? Still, we
were not the first to march out. The Unterwaldners took up arms before,
to place their _vogt_ in Baden. Our troops, when they came to Muri,
found a meal prepared for them. Yet we do not wish to deal in mutual
crimination to our own injury, but rather to favor the liberty, which
we have inherited from our fathers, or what is the welfare of all,
according to the Gospel to which we adhere, the restoration of the old
Confederate pledges, which, as we ask them from you, we are also
willing and ready to give to our Confederates." The country-people
supported the speech of the citizen. Upon many of the hearers the
impression was evidently good, for a general belief prevailed among the
Catholics, that the country-people of Zurich had only submitted to the
Reformation with reluctance. Others, on the contrary, thought the
grievances in the paper of the Zurich Council exaggerated. "When have
we refused you justice?" said they. "How often have you appealed to us
in vain?"--"Yes," rejoined the treasurer Funk, an active young man, and
one of Zwingli's warmest adherents--"we know your ways of doing
justice. That unhappy pastor made an appeal and you referred him to the
executioner." The rash word was spoken. "Funk! you had better been
silent," one of his companions called out to him. A fearful tumult
arose; the troops put themselves in motion. The more considerate
warned the Zurichers to retire without delay, and secured them by a
detailed escort.
The negotiation continued in Steinhausen and the Zurichan camp. The
issue lay in the hands of the Bernese. Without them, Zurich was no
longer able to carry on the war. The favorable moment had passed. Time
had been given to the Five Cantons to gather and strengthen their army.
The sight of their collective force raised the courage of individuals.
In numbers they were not inferior to the Zurichers; surpassed them
rather. And then, they beheld an abundance of provisions in the
Zurichan camp, whilst in theirs, and at home in their vallies, want and
famine prevailed, on account of the prohibition against importation.
The assurance of this accessible and needful booty whetted their thirst
for combat. To know that the power of deciding lay with the present
leaders of the Bernese, made the prospect intolerable to Zwingli. He
found in the _schultheiss_ Diesbach, their general, a lukewarm friend
of the Reformation, and in him and most of the others advocates, rather
than opposers, of pension-taking. The latter practice found such
special favor among the Bernese Counsellors, that even Nicholas Manuel,
otherwise one of the most powerful heads of the Evangelical party,
declared before the assembly of the Zurichan leaders in the camp at
Cappel, that Zwingli's demand on the Five Cantons for the abolition
of pensions need expect no support from Bern. This drew angry words
from the Reformer: "Well then! we can put the question to the whole
commons-at-war; we can also send an embassy to Bern herself, to learn
how the city and canton think. I know it and can prove it by writings,
which I promise to produce, that that people, as well as ours,
abhor pensions. Who maintain them? Some great families, who live by
them."--"It will come to this," replied Hans Escher, "we must first put
questions everywhere; the councils of leaders are no longer of any
account; one has just as much to say as another; squire and knight,
common man and captain; now, let all, for my sake, cry out at once;
then at least we will be done with the matter; if we ourselves cannot
strike because of discord, then let the others strike." Zwingli
confessed that he had gone too far, and smothered his chagrin. He had
hoped for a victory of principles, but now saw only the possibility of
a temporary compromise, achieved by political arts. The men, from whom
there was nothing to hope in support of the Reformation, in one canton,
and everything to fear in regard to the others, stood at the helm and
saw their power continually secured by foreign influence and foreign
gold. He beheld the times coming, when the old Adam would again awaken
in Zurich herself. Earlier or later, the seed sown, so he foreboded,
must be again stifled and the tender fruit sunk under the rank growth
of sprouting weeds.
Meanwhile the arbitrators in Steinhausen did all they could, and when
Bern used just as decided language against the Five Cantons as against
Zurich, then a treaty was formed, with which the statesmen of the
latter canton said they would be satisfied. First of all, the
Territories were to be left to their own free choice in matters of
religion; to declare for one system or the other. The alliance with
King Ferdinand was to be abolished and its documents annihilated.
Doctor Murner was to be arraigned before the Confederates in Baden, to
answer for defamation of Zurich and Bern. These were the chief
articles. What the Five Cantons should pay as costs of the war, and
indemnification to the surviving family of Jacob Kaiser, was left to
the arbitrators to determine afterward. But Zurich and Bern were
expressly empowered, if the conditions binding on the Five Cantons were
not fulfilled, to continue the interdict against the exportation of
provisions, until they would comply. It was simply uttered as a wish
that the Five Cantons would also abolish pensions.
The leaders of the armies communicated the rough draft of the treaty to
their several governments. In Bern it was received with universal joy.
"We permit you," wrote the government to her members in the field, "to
omit, in the affair of the Unterwaldners, whatever might waken strife
anew, be it so far only as is consistent with our honor. It is hoped,
being now again united, as was necessary, we will be able to bestow a
glance on our foreign enemies. Henceforth no more strangers, be they
Burgundians, Netherlanders, Austrians, Lorrainers or others should be
allowed to threaten our borders with impunity. We should, after the
manner of our fathers, defend ourselves. Sound the Five Cantons and
tell us, if they would refuse to arm." Just this, meanwhile, was the
most difficult point. Under various pretexts they tried to put off the
delivery of the deeds of the Austrian alliance. Then Zurich ordered
those of her militia, who were already prepared for a return home, to
stay, and called back others, who had marched off. The arbitrators
begged. The Bernese threatened; the Banneret, Peter im Haag, said: "If
the document be not produced immediately, we will fetch it in
procession." At last, on the 25th of June, about 2 o'clock in the
night, it was brought to Cappel. What further happened, is related by
Thomas Platter, an eye-witness, in these words: "As every one was now
up, they came together into a room, and the _amman_ of Glarus took the
document; for he had all along been the chief umpire. He gave it to a
scribe to open; it was terribly broad and long; the like I have never
seen, and I think it had nine seals on it; one large one, that was
golden. Then the scribe began and read a long preface of titles, such
as one reads on the square at Basel, on St. John's day; after that, the
Five Cantons, also, under the titles by which they are known. They had
made a league. Then the _amman_ struck his hand upon the document and
said: 'It is enough.' Then one behind me, who was doubtless a Zuricher,
cried out: 'Read the thing through, that we may hear how traitorously
they would have dealt with us.' The _amman_ turned to him and spake:
'How read it through? You must hack me into little pieces first, before
I will suffer it.' Therewith he laid the document together and said:
'You are alas! without this, too highly exasperated against each other;
take a little knife, first cut off the seals, and then slit the
parchment into long strips, give it to the scribe in a little cap, that
he may throw it into the fire.' What became of the seals I do not
know."
Joyfully the Zurichers marched to their homes; Zwingli with anxiety in
his heart. He gave utterance to it in the following verses, which he
also set to music:
Now mount the chariot, O Lord,
We know not where to go.
Thy hand must now uplift the sword
And smite the haughty foe.
God, for thy honor and our land
Blast Satan's progeny,
And teach thy faithful flock to stand
Ever more firm in Thee.
To bitter strife, O put an end!
And waken love anew;
Kind hearts to parted brethren send,
Old feelings warm and true.
The _Landfriede_ (General Peace) was concluded; quiet appeared to be
restored in the Confederacy. Then a foreign country laid claim to the
Swiss Reformer. In the spring of 1529, the majority of the princes and
cities, assembled at the Imperial Diet in Spire, endeavored to check
the progress of the Reformation in Germany, by stringent resolutions.
Conflicting doctrines in regard to the Lord's Supper especially, should
not be allowed. No more ecclesiastical innovations were to be permitted
until approved at an ecumenical council. The states of the Empire,
which were already inclined to the Gospel, entered protests against
this compulsory act, and received thence the name of Protestants. The
most active of these Protestants was the _landgrave_ Philip of Hesse.
Resolved to carry through the rising opposition, even against the
Emperor himself if necessary, he directed his chief attention to the
maintenance and establishment of concord among the Protesters
themselves. Although the Confederates, from the nature of their special
compacts (_buende_) and their struggles after national independence,
had actually more and more torn lose from connection with the German
Empire, they were still always formally counted as belonging to
it,--indeed, said so themselves, whenever it suited their advantage.
But, just before the election of the then reigning Emperor, the Diet,
in the name of the collective cantons, wrote a complimentary letter to
the Electoral Princes, under cover of the privilege due to them as
members of the Empire. Now also the resolutions of the Imperial Diet
were communicated by the Emperor, and a demand made upon them for their
execution. It is easy to imagine that the Protestant Princes would
strive likewise to gain them over to their party. Philip of Hesse
especially, looked toward Zurich and Zwingli. Early in April, he had
addressed him from Spire. He desired a personal interview. At the same
time it might serve to heal the dispute between the Saxon and Swiss
Reformers, which had taken a disagreeable turn, and contributed more
than anything else to make the cause of the Gospel suspicious in the
eyes of the Catholics, yea, even hateful to them. The chief obstacle in
the way of an understanding lay in the manner of seeking it--by a
general formula, a declaration drawn up in words, though the Gospel
itself did not contain such a thing. Few in that age had the sound
judgment of the later _landgrave_ William of Hesse, who, in the year
1566, wrote to Bullinger: "What Christ, the Chief Schoolmaster, has not
seen fit to explain, we men should not undertake to explain for
ourselves." _That_ Christ, offering himself up in love, would continue
to live in all the members of his church to the remotest ages, and so
declared at the last breaking of bread and pouring out of wine in the
circle of his disciples, must be clear to every reader of the Gospel.
_Whether_ and _how_ he continues to live in them, deeds only can show:
the confession of the heart, not that of the lips, which Christ himself
does not require of us.
But when, in spite of this, such a thing was required, it was
necessarily apprehended in a plainer sense by some of the Reformers,
and in a more profound one by others, according to the individual
peculiarities; at the same time it was regarded as more free or more
binding according to the spirit of the nations and the governments,
which they represented. This will best appear from the history viewed
in its connection.
It has already been intimated in this work that the mass, in view of
its significance and determining power, forms the ground-work of the
_cultus_, or form of worship in the Catholic Church. Yet Catholic
writers themselves have admitted and publicly expressed it, that, long
before the Reformation, dangerous ideas concerning the mass prevailed
among the people, which, fostered designedly by the clergy, and even by
the Popes, led to great abuses, being employed, through the founding of
masses for souls, to entice immense sums of money from pious
superstition. We may suppose, that the Reformers turned their attention
chiefly to these abuses, and first of all were obliged to attain for
themselves a right view of the design of the Lord's Supper. According
to the doctrine of the Catholic Church, the bread and wine were
changed, by the consecration of the priest, into the real body and
blood of Christ, so that thus, by the transaction of the mass, the
personal Christ was once more sacrificed, as it were, and in this way
the redemption of mankind by the sufferings and death of Christ
dwelling in mass, was, in a certain measure, daily renewed, for the
salvation of all the living, or even the departed, for whom mass was
founded.
This mode of representation was unanimously rejected by the Reformers;
but in order to prove it invalid, they had to resort to explaining the
words of the Gospel, and here they began to diverge more and more from
each other. We all know, that Christ simply expressed himself thus:
"Take, eat; this is my body, broken for you; do this in remembrance of
me;" that after supper he also took the cup, saying: "This cup is the
New Testament in my blood; as oft as ye drink of it, do it in
remembrance of me." Zwingli, with his searching glance, his methods of
examination, strengthened by the study of the lively, vigorous authors
of antiquity, his penetration into the spirit of language and his
dislike to everything contrary to the course of nature, ordained by God
himself, soon arrived at a mere allegorical exposition of these words,
and understood by the expression, _This is_, simply, _This signifies_.
But he did not entertain this view alone. Before he ventured to utter
it publicly, a Dutch jurist, Cornelius Horn, had actually done it.
Zwingli caused his work to be printed in Switzerland, and promoted its
circulation. In the Conference at Zurich touching the mass, he for the
first time came out openly as an advocate of this view; but he did not
satisfy the bulk of his hearers. The not unlearned under-clerk, Joachim
am Gruet, opposed him, even attacked him, in a second Conference before
the Councils and scholars, with tolerable success, and availed himself
of the objection, against the reference of the Reformer to a multitude
of Scripture passages, where Christ in parables likewise made use of
the word "_is_," plainly instead of "signifies," that they were only
parables, whilst the Supper was a transaction so solemn, that such an
arbitrary, audacious mode of interpretation could in no wise be
admitted. How Zwingli was at first embarrassed by this objection, and
how he afterward succeeded in refuting it, he may tell us in his own
language.
"Undoubtedly," says he in one of his works,[4] "no easy task was before
me, namely, to cite an example for my mode of interpretation, derived
from no parable. I began to think over it, to look for it everywhere;
in vain! I could find nothing. The 13th of April was at hand;[5] I tell
the truth; (willingly would I keep silent, for I well know many will
make a mock of it; but it is God's finger; my conscience constrains me
to speak), early in the morning, before the break of day, I dreamed
that I, yet full of chagrin, was once more attacked in battle with the
under-clerk, and so beaten that I could discover no way of escape, and
my tongue refused to do its office. This anguish tormented me in an
incredible manner, as such things do in dreams, during the deceitful
night. (I wish to tell it only as a dream, although it concerns me
much; although that is important enough for me; which I have learned,
thanks be to God! through whose power alone anything is possible). As
by the stroke of an enchanter's wand, I saw a comforter stand before
me, (whether he was white or black, I cannot say; I relate a dream).
'Wherefore, thou awkward one,' he asks, 'dost thou not oppose him with
the passage in the twelfth chapter of the second book of Moses? It _is_
the Lord's passover.' I awoke, sprang out of bed, looked at the
passage, thought over it and preached from it in the morning before
the congregation, and, as I hope with sufficient power. The sermon
swept the mists from the eyes of all those, who, on account of the
above-mentioned difficulty, had not been able to obtain a clear view,
and three days after, on the festival of the resurrection, such a
passover of the Lord was celebrated, as I have never yet seen, and the
number of those, who hankered after the flesh-pots of Egypt was less
than any one would have ventured to hope."
In the beginning, Luther also had looked at this mode of
interpretation, but discovered in the bias of his mind greater
difficulties, to which others of an external nature were added. As
early as the year 1524, he had written to the "Christians at
Strassburg:" "This I confess--if any one had been able to assure me
five years ago that there was nothing in the Sacrament but bread and
wine, he would have done me the greatest service. I then endured such a
severe temptation and so struggled and writhed, that I would willingly
have been delivered, for I plainly saw that by it I could have dealt
the heaviest blow against the Papacy; but I am fast and cannot get out.
The text is too powerful here and will not suffer itself to be wrested
of its meaning by words." The thing, which had especially awakened his
dislike to the Zwinglian view, and which he does not here tell us, was
the circumstance, that, before Zwingli had yet expressed himself
publicly in regard to the Lord's Supper, Doctor Carlstadt had come out
in Saxony with a still bolder interpretation, by which he attempted to
break up the connection of Christ's own words of institution in such a
way, that half of them lost all their meaning. In a violent work, that
met with approval in many places, he then spread abroad this
interpretation. This Carlstadt was to Luther a glowingly-hated stone of
offence, which everywhere laid in his way. Whilst Luther was in the
Wartburg, he had headed the furious image-stormers in Wittemberg. He
now made his home in Orlamuend, where he supplanted the preacher,
disregarded all the ordinances of the Elector, and excited the people
to such a degree, that when Luther went into the country, at the
command of the Prince, to restore order, he was pelted with dirt and
stones, and pursued with the cry: "Drive off, in the name of a thousand
devils, and break your neck!" Deprived of his situation, after such
doings, Carlstadt went to Strassburg, and then to Switzerland.
Meanwhile, his writings were forbidden by the Council at Strassburg.
Zwingli, on the other hand, declared this to be unjust, because
Carlstadt's writings contained neither godless nor fanatical errors.
Henceforth Luther began to transfer his hatred against Carlstadt more
and more to Zwingli, although the latter, in his work, "On true and
false Religion," only excused Carlstadt's interpretation, but in no
wise approved, rather assailed it; and whenŒcolampadius also issued
his treatise on the Lord's Supper, Luther came out openly in the most
passionate letters against the Swiss Reformers. "For myself," says
he, in one of them, "I confess, that I do not think Zwingli a Christian
with all his doctrines, for he holds and teaches no part of the
Christian faith rightly, and has become seven times worse than when he
was a Papist, according to Christ's judgment: 'The last state of that
man shall be worse than the first.' I make such a confession, that I
may be without blame before God and the world, because I have no share
in Zwingli's doctrines, nor will have to all eternity!"[6]
To allay this strife was the task which the _landgrave_ Philip of
Hesse, proposed to himself. This Prince, then in his twenty-fifth year,
a man of scientific culture, an indefatigable ruler, beloved by his
people and feared by his more powerful neighbors, on account of his
decided and enterprising character, was the soul of the Protestant
party. To the Elector of Saxony, who, possessed of more prudence and
timidity, stood along with him at its head, he wrote: "Rather would I
give up body and life, land and people, than abandon God and his Word."
At his court lived Duke Ulric, of Wuertemberg, an exile, driven from
his country by the Emperor, and the Swabian League, but undaunted,
eager for war, and continually busied with plans for recovering his
princely seat. At an earlier period he had spent some time in
Switzerland and became personally acquainted with Zwingli, and through
him the _landgrave_ was also brought into connection with the Reformer.
Thinking clearly and feeling dearly; imbued also with the spirit of the
Holy Scriptures, he thought, if stubbornness did not prevent it, a
mutual understanding was yet possible, and resolved to spare no pains
in order to attain it. Zwingli andŒcolampadius willingly consented
to his proposal of a Conference. They only wished it to be held in
Strassburg, because Zwingli especially despaired of receiving
permission from the Zurich Council for the dangerous journey to
Marburg, the residence of the _landgrave_, and so long an absence. The
consent of the Saxons was more difficult to obtain. Melancthon from
timidity, and because he did not wish to break fully with the
Catholics, reconciliation with whom he thought yet possible, and Luther
from dislike avoided the Conference; the former even privately
requested the Elector not to permit them to go. "It is not well," he
said, "for the _landgrave_ to have much to do with the Zwinglians; he
has taken, moreover, a greater liking to them, than is necessary; for
the matter has come to such a point, that acute people, like the
_landgrave_, regard it with the deepest interest, and the understanding
seizes readily upon what it comprehends, especially if men of learning,
who can give the matter from Holy Scripture, are inclined that way, and
we know that many scholars now adhere to Zwingli."
It is clear that the Swiss were regarded by the Saxons as radical
stormers, unprincipled innovators, who, amid their mountains and their
republican affairs had forgotten all respect for law and order. "I am
sick;" wrote Melanchton to one friend, "an indescribable anguish of
soul torments me; I can scarcely breathe. Thou knowest wherefore. The
Elbe has fearfully overflowed its banks. Even in Hesse I saw a great
stone torn out of the side-walk of a church by the might of the floods,
as though done by the contrivances of art. Still other signs happen.
Christ defend us!" and to another: "Rather would I die, than live to
see this Zwinglian affair pollute our just cause." Luther spoke thus
against the _landgrave_ himself: "I know well what the devil is after.
God grant I may be no prophet; for if it were not a false trick, but a
real purpose among them to seek peace, they would not attempt it in
such a glorious fashion through great and mighty princes; for we, by
God's grace, are not so savage and wild, that they could not long ago
have tendered to us, as they yet can, the humble endeavors for peace,
of which they boast; but I know that I will not basely give way to
them. I cannot; because I am so fully persuaded that they err, and are
themselves, moreover, unsettled in their opinions." At last, Melanchton
made the proposal to invite some Papists to the Conference as
witnesses, though in fact rather to pave the way for their final
consent; and for a long while yet, both he and Luther wished to have
Œ]colampadius as an opponent, and protested against the appearance of
Zwingli.
But such spectres were not visible to the _landgrave_ Philip. He was
one of those princes, who, conscious of their own power and of love to
their people, by whom in turn they are beloved, can look without fear
even on republican affairs; a man in whom faith lived, and who without
hesitation, therefore, suffered the spirit to live; and, acting thus,
hoped, with youthful assurance, to calm down the violent combatants by
his influence, if he could only get a personal interview with them.
This appears best from his own words: "Dear Master Erhard," so he wrote
some years after this period, to another of the zealots in the
Eucharistic controversy, the Wuertemberg preacher, Erhard Schnepf, "I
hear that you will not leave Blarer (preacher at Constance) unmolested
in the confession, with which Luther and Philip (Melanchton) are still
satisfied, but press upon him with sophistical language, and have made
many persons anxious lest you would break down more than you build up,
which I myself do not yet accuse you of, but should it happen, it will
grieve many a pious man. Hence, it is my prayer, that you will proceed
gently; be no disputer of words, but a promoter of faith, love and good
works, and not, as the old proverb says, 'raise a spoon and break a
bowl;' for you might have a zeal, when you have reached a sure
understanding, to press it upon others and yet not reach the heart; and
besides, to speak humanly, do great injury to the Gospel; as, for
example, many pious people might be brought thereby to persecution and
ruin, when the matter was not even worth talking about. Therefore
proceed wisely, that you may not become a partaker of such blood and
such destruction. It will not do to plunge thus into matters. The
Apostles acted prudently; they did not thus reject people for trifling
errors. I point this out to you, as one, who heartily desires you to
treat of things, that will promote the cause of the Gospel, unity, and
love also. Understand yourself, and do not go further than God allows.
Let not the old Adam lord it over the new. You have not been preaching
long. It is needful to exhort you. Adieu."
Guided by such a noble endeavor to restore harmony among the
Protestants, he pursued his mark with unwearied zeal, and obtained the
consent of the Elector of Saxony, (who now required his learned men to
attend the Conference), and at length that also of Luther and
Melanchton, who, under date of July 8th, 1529, wrote to him as follows:
"Since Your Princely Grace has received our two letters, and still
insist upon our coming to Marburg, in the confident hope that concord
will result from it, we wish with a cheerful and ready mind to
contribute our part thereto, and by God's grace, if sound and well,
will appear at Marburg on the day appointed. The Father of all mercy
and unity grant His spirit that we may come together not in vain--for
profit and not injury. Amen. Christ be Your Princely Grace's Governor
and Guide!"
Zwingli also, when Philip had repeated the invitation to Marburg and
pledged himself for the security of the journey, set out. He ventured
to say nothing to the government; had even entreated the _landgrave_ to
confine his request to the Privy Council. On the first day after his
departure, he began a letter to the Council, in which he apologises for
not communicating the request to them, and says in addition: "It was
not done with any intention to slight your Worships, but in order to
discharge my duties with greater fidelity to you, since I foresaw you
would not grant me permission, because of the interest you take in my
welfare; for the distance by the route we go is 60 miles,[7] and the
place strange to us on account of its religion, though secure enough,
being in the territory of the _landgrave_, and the learned there all
hostile to us, and our number is only three. So also friends, in whom
we could confide, are few, from Zurich until very far down the Rhine.
Yet it would not be right for me to remain away, since by this the
whole plan would be frustrated, and many excellent men of the
opposition brought thither on a fruitless journey. Then it would be
interpreted, as if we were afraid of a friendly conference. Therefore,
I pray your Worships, in the most humble manner, not to take my going
off amiss, for I was loth to hear others despise you; and remember too
that my staying away might result in injury to the truth and the
disparagement of your good name. Otherwise you may hope in God, that
we, by His aid, will give a faithful, undaunted support to the truth
and bring no scandal on our church." He then apologized likewise for
the departure of Collin, the professor of the Greek language, whom he
had taken with him asked, since Basel had granted a member of the
Council toŒcolampadius, that the same might be done for his
assistance; and nominated the treasurer, Ulric Funk, on account of his
cleverness and knowledge of the Latin language, who, as soon as he had
received permission, hastened to join him. Immediately after his
departure from Zurich, his enemies crept out of their hiding-places.
Nonsensical reports were circulated. "He has run away with a party of
rogues," said some; the "Devil has carried him off," said others. In
Basel they metŒcolampadius and the deputy of the Council, Rudolph
Frei. The plan was, that from thence he should proceed along with
Œ]colampadius by water to Strassburg. He asked for a moderate advance
of money; because riding "on a hired horse cost a great deal," he would
be obliged to buy one at Strassburg, which would leave him little for
the expenses of the journey, and then, being compelled to borrow, would
"become a laughing-stock." "To my wife," he concluded, "let Master
Stall tell as much of the matter as a woman ought to know, for when I
left her, I said no more than that I was going to Basel on business."
In Basel, where he tarried nearly two weeks, he preached to a great
concourse of people. The time was also employed by him in political
negotiation. This imperial city desired then admission into the
Christian _Buergerrecht_ on the same terms as Constance. The mayor,
Sturm, likewise invited to the Conference by the _landgrave_, along
with Bucer and Hedio, was an experienced statesman, and not without
influence at the Imperial Diet. He had connections in France. Reports
had been received concerning the reconciliation of the Emperor with the
Pope, against whom he had been carrying on war, and his arrival in
Italy and the general sweeping measures toward the Protestants, to be
apprehended from this combination of spiritual and temporal power. They
were communicated confidentially to the Zurichers. Some of them Zwingli
wrote down. The most important he sent to the Privy Council with the
postscript: "This comes from the real cabinet of art." "Were it not
wicked," he again wrote from Strassburg, "we might encourage the
Venetians to withstand them so boldly, that the Emperor would be
finished in Italy, and not able to escape over the mountains." On the
18th of September they left the city and, by a circuitous route, which
they had to choose for safety, reached Marburg on the 29th. The day
after, the Saxon scholars, Luther, Melanchton, Justus Jonas, from
Wittemberg, and several others, made their appearance. From Nuremberg,
came Andrew Osiander; from Swabian Halle, John Brenz; from Augsburg,
Stephen Agricola; all likewise invited by the _landgrave_. In an humble
letter, signed "Your Princely Grace's obedient servant and poor little
worm," Carlstadt also begged for admission, but received a polite
refusal. The entire company was lodged in the castle. A Latin poem
written by Professor Curicius conjured them to begin the Conference
with such calmness, and prosecute it with such dignity, that the world
may know the Spirit of God had presided over it.
Strangers from various countries had arrived in considerable numbers;
but no one received admittance, except those who were invited; the Duke
of Wuertemberg, the Count of Fuerstenberg, several courtiers, the
professors of the University and the Hessian preachers. Zwingli's
request, that the proceedings should be written down by secretaries
under oath, and the Latin language used, was declined by the
_landgrave_; likewise the wish of Luther and Melanchton, for the aid of
respectable Papists. Immediately after his arrival, Luther had received
a visit of courtesy fromŒcolampadius, Bucer and Hedio; Zwingli
remained without a greeting from the side of his opponents. Justus
Jonas studied physiognomy and manners. He pretended "to see in Zwingli
a certain tincture of rustic arrogance; inŒcolampadius a
wonderfully mild nature; in Hedio, no less humanity and liberal
culture; in Bucer, under the mantle of sagacity and penetration,
fox-like cunning."
On the 20th of September, the _landgrave_ first joined his guests at
the supper-table. Here he expressed the wish that on the following
morning Luther would hold a special conversation withŒcolampadius
and Zwingli with Melanchton. He hoped by thus placing a vehement
character over against a gentle one in each case, to render the after
approach of the chief combatants more easy perhaps. The Saxons were the
complainants. They accused the Swiss of errors in various points. But
everything soon gave way to the doctrine of the Lord's Supper. For
three hours Luther tried his fortune withŒcolampadius, and
Melanchton with Zwingli for six. Agreement continued impossible. Yet
Luther sent the news in a letter, that the conflict had been carried on
in separate chambers, in a friendly tone.
On the morning of the 2d of October, at six o'clock, the discussion
began in the presence of from 50 to 60 persons, invited or admitted, in
the Hall of the Knights. At a special table, opposite to Zwingli and
Œ]colampadius, sat Luther and Melanchton; in their immediate
neighborhood, the _landgrave_, surrounded by his courtiers; the others
rather behind. Feige, the chancellor of state, opened the Conference in
the name of the Prince, with an address. After unfolding the pure,
successful, grand beginning of the Reformation, he then continued: "but
now, some of the leaders themselves, animated by a schismatic spirit,
have hurried on too rashly, and been so far misled, that they, who were
bound ever to remain faithful at the head of the cause, and, by their
common power and mutual support, sweep away every vestige of error,
have now not only deserted their post, but even attacked each other, to
the great joy and delight of the enemy. Therefore, if they cannot find
sufficient reasons for concord in the Gospel itself, and their duty to
promote the welfare of the Church they ought not to give their
bitterest enemies occasion to rejoice and exhibit so sad a spectacle of
disunion. His Princely Grace wishes to prescribe neither aim nor
measure to this Conference; but would remind the members, that wherever
similar transactions have taken place, men of true learning, even if
they had written somewhat roughly and severely against each other
before, had then laid aside wrath and bitterness, so the unlearned
might the better perceive, that they sought truth and love more than a
mere defence of their own opinions with sharp and quick words. Those
who now take this course, cannot fail to win praise and thanks, whilst
the others, who do not like unity, but obstinately persist in a
delusion once embraced, from which all heresies spring, will thereby
give an undoubted proof, that the Holy Spirit does not reign in their
hearts, and has never been among them with his gifts. His Princely
Grace hopes that the present Conference will have a happier
termination, and closes with the gracious desire, that the very learned
Masters will understand and receive all this in the best spirit." On
their side thanks were now given to the _landgrave_ for his trouble,
and a promise made, to carry on the discussion without any bitterness,
in a respectful and friendly manner; but, although unity should be
sought with the most ardent zeal, this at the same time could not be
effected at the expense of divine and revealed truth, and Christ's
words would be preferred before all others.
After this, the discussion was commenced by Luther's writing on the
table with chalk, these words in the Latin language: "_Hoc est corpus
meum_" (This is my body). With great mildness and learning
Œ]colampadius now unfolded his view, which Luther, however, in spite
of every challenge, refused to contradict, falling back always upon the
verbal expression. "Beloved sirs," said he, "as long as these words
stand, I cannot really get over them, but must confess and believe,
that the body of Christ is there."--Springing up, Zwingli asked: "Is He
indeed _there_, Doctor, corporeally there? _There_ also in the
sacrament, is He daily broken anew? In what then do you differ from the
Papists?" The scene became more lively; Luther's replies more bitter.
He complained that Zwingli wished to trip him, to give his words
wantonly another meaning than he had intended. The latter controlled
himself somewhat, brought up passages of Scripture for explanation,
came forward with remarks on the grammar, with interpretations of the
Church Fathers and carried the discussion even into the sphere of
philosophy and physics. In no way did Luther permit himself to be
caught; turned back always to the letter, and declared, that he would
do it; that we durst not in this case deviate therefrom, because the
Lord had so expressed himself; and unconditional faith must transcend
all doubt; and "if the Lord God placed crab-apples before me and
commanded me to take and eat, I durst not ask, wherefore?" "God
commands us to eat neither dirt nor crab-apples," said Zwingli.--When
it came to such sharp words, the _landgrave_ interposed somewhat, or
one of the others present,Œcolampadius occasionally relieving his
friend, and Melanchthon Luther. For two whole days the discussion
lasted, with a diminishing prospect of agreement. The Saxons were
evidently irritated by Zwingli's unconstrained behavior and bold
language. He gave them plainly to understand, that he feared in Luther
a sort of new Pope. "I will not have it," once dropped from the lips of
the latter, "Must you then have everything just as you wish?" asked
Zwingli.
It had become clear to the _landgrave_ that a mutual understanding was
impossible, and still more clear, when the Mayor of Strassburg rose up
with a complaint, that Luther had also charged the preachers of his
city with teaching error. This accusation should not be permitted to
lie against them; he could not return home with such news. Bucer and
Hedio themselves desired Luther to speak out decidedly, and prove
wherein they taught falsely; but he would not do it, nor testify that
they were true pastors. "I am," said he, "neither your lord nor your
judge; you wish neither me nor my doctrines; our spirit and yours do
not accord; therefore I will give you no testimonial. You also do not
need it, for you boast everywhere, you have learned nothing from us.
This, moreover, every man can see for himself, and we would not have
such disciples."
"No!" exclaimed the _landgrave_ with warmth, "you shall not separate in
such a fashion, my Lords. You must draw up certain points, acceptable
to both, and give them your common signature, so that an evidence, at
least, of your external agreement is at hand, if that which is internal
cannot be reached. Confer among yourselves how and as long as you
please; but before this I cannot suffer you to depart." The theologians
came together, and on the 4th of October produced fifteen articles on
the chief doctrines, which were signed by Luther, Melanchton, Jonas,
Osiander, Brenz, and Agricola, on the one side, andŒcolampadius,
Zwingli, Bucer and Hedio on the other. The last words of it ran thus:
"and although we have not been able now to agree, as to whether the
true body and blood of Christ are corporeally present in the bread and
wine, yet one party ought to exercise Christian charity toward the
other, as far as each conscience can possible allow it, and both
parties ought to beseech Almighty God fervently, to lead us by His
Spirit to a right understanding. Amen."
In conclusion, the _landgrave_ exhorted them to part as brethren. "Then
Zwingli said," as Bullinger narrates, "there were no people on earth,
with whom he would rather be united than the Wittenbergers, and he
would cheerfully acknowledge Luther and his friends as brethren.
Œ]colampadius, Bucer and Hedio had also the same feeling; but Luther
was by no means willing to acknowledge them as brethren in return, and
said: It took him by surprise, that they would call him brother, whose
doctrine on the sacrament they esteemed false; they could not
themselves think much of their own." In regard to the same event, he
wrote to Jacob Probst of Bremen: "They promised with many words, they
would yield this much to us, that the person of Christ was really,
though spiritually, present in the Holy Supper, if we would only esteem
them worthy of the name of brother, and in this way feign a
reconciliation. Zwingli begged it with tears in his eyes before the
_landgrave_ and all present, whilst he added: 'There are no men with
whom I would rather be united than with the Wittenbergers.' With the
greatest zeal and as urgently as possible they endeavored to appear in
harmony with us and never could endure my saying: 'You have another
spirit than we.' As often as they heard it they were inflamed. Finally,
we granted so much, that it might stand at the conclusion of the
article, not indeed that we were brethren, but that we would not
withdraw from them our love, which is due even to an enemy. So now, the
shame rests on them, that they would not receive the name of brother
and must separate as heretics; meanwhile we agreed, in our
controversial writings, no more to make war on each other, in the hope
that the Lord would open their hearts. Thou canst tell this
confidentially. As a preacher of Christ, who is the Truth, I write the
truth. By it thou canst quietly oppose all liars and disturbers. They
behaved toward us with incredible humanity and compliance. But, as it
now appears, all was show, in order to bring about a hypocritical
concord and make us the partners of their errors. O how cunning Satan
is! But Christ is still wiser. He has preserved us. I am no longer
surprised, if they lie shamelessly. I see that they could not do
otherwise, and am glad of it; for they have reached this point under
the guidance of Satan, that they betray themselves not merely by their
secret intrigues, but openly before all the world."
Sad of heart, the _landgrave_ left Marburg before Luther and
Melanchton. Since concord was not to be restored among the theologians,
it became so much the more necessary to secure a closer connection of
the governments. He held various consultations on this subject with
Zwingli, Sturm and several of their associates. The political
consequences flowing from the Conference, will be detailed in the next
chapter; concerning those of a religious and scientific nature, this
much may be yet said:
The enemies of the combatants alone derived gain from it. Their hatred
against the Reformation appeared now to be wholly justified. "Here you
have," said they, "the effects, when children tear loose from the
Everlasting Mother. They now turn against themselves the intellectual
weapons, so highly bepraised, which they have used against us. What
others are left for them against us, save those of iron?" Now, to these
neither Luther nor Melanchton would have recourse. But Zwingli tried
it, and--fell. The Reformation seemed about to go backward. Paralyzing
formulas took the place of the living Gospel: first, the Augsburg
Confession; then, the Helvetic, and for others again, the XXXIX
Articles of the Episcopal Church of England. Protestant Popes rose up
beside the Catholic, who, from this time forth, wore his triple crown
with greater security. It is true, indeed, that Zwingli also handed in
a confession of faith at the Imperial Diet, but only in defence, not to
force it upon others. He expressly said, in the letter to the Emperor,
which accompanied it: "I _alone_ deliver it, without encroaching on the
rights of my people." According to his view the Gospel only is
unassailable. Whatever of true or false man adds to the interpretation
of the Divine law, he does it on his own responsibility. With this view
tolerance and love, as well as progressive science, are possible; all
others lead to stiffness and intolerance, and such was the result then
on all sides. Or is it perchance an evangelical spirit, which breathes
in Calvin's article: "That the heretic should be punished with death,"
and in the funeral pile of Servetus? Were the rack-chambers of Queen
Elizabeth[8] much more Christian than the dragonades of Louis XIV., and
did Ireland live more happily under the yoke of a High Church forced
upon her, than Spain under the Inquisition? Were the persecutions begun
at the Synod of Dort, justified by the anathemas, with which the
Council of Trent disgraced itself?
All have erred. Instead of kindling new passions, the call of our age
goes forth, to unite rather in a common acknowledgment of sin. This is
the confession in which all can again find themselves; but the Gospel
is the light that shows the way to reconciliation. What is there yet to
hinder it? Two enemies, and in two verses a spirited poet (Goethe) has
thus portrayed them:
Thou must reign through victory,
Or a servant kneel and lose,
Suffering or triumph choose,
Th' anvil or the hammer be.
This is the one; the principle of the absolutist, in a spiritual or
worldly mantle; and the other, the principle of the demagogue in the
Jacobin's cap, as well as in the Jesuit's garb, forms the counter-part:
'Tis foolish to wait for improvement in fools;
Ye children of prudence, make them your tools.
Of such wisdom the Gospel knows nothing; it demands fraternal
assistance and love, and does not permit rank without humility,
requiring from those, who stand in the highest places, subordination
under God. Perhaps (for who can fathom the ways of Providence?) the
adherents of the above-named principles will yet again reach out the
hand of friendship to each other. Then will begin the last, severest
battle; but the Gospel must triumph, for the Church of Christ, under
her _one_, _Divine_ Head, perpetually revealing himself in history and
the power of love, is founded upon a rock; then also will all _human_
order be custom refined by science and ennobled by art and nature, a
unity in substance, with endless diversity in form--the adversary of
all revolutions.
FOOTNOTES TO CHAPTER SEVENTH:
Footnote 1: Which, according to the Gospel and Zwingli's views
elsewhere unfolded, (see M. Huldr. Zwingli's Schriften im Auszug v.
_Usteri_ und Vœglin, Bd. I. Abth. 2, S. 387,) is one with Love.
Footnote 2: For the German translation of this passage from the Latin
of Zwingli, the author was indebted to the above-mentioned work of
_Usteri Vœglin_.
Footnote 3: All activity of the understanding is in its nature
formal. Hence in order to pass over into reality, if it would become
more than an exercise of the mind, which can be endlessly prolonged, it
needs positive material. As soon as it transcends the positive and
enters the region of so-called pure ideas, the dominion of the
intellect, it runs into nothing, becomes a negation. The natural
consequence of this _dominion_ of the intellect, of which many now
dream, is the popular doctrine: "Let us eat and drink, for to-morrow we
die." To this the very wisest legislation of all nations has given too
little attention.
Footnote 4: _De Eucharistia_. Zwingli's Works, by Schuler and
Schultheiss, _Latinorum scriptorum pars prima_, p. 341.
Footnote 5: Thursday of Passion-week, 1525.
Footnote 6: Martin Luther's Works, edited by Pfizer, p. 600.
Footnote 7: Equal to 270 English miles.--_Translator_.
Footnote 8: Lingard's History of England, Vol. VIII. Ch. 3 and 6.
CHAPTER EIGHTH.
INTERNAL CONDITION OF SWITZERLAND AFTER THE FIRST CAMPAIGN.
THE ABBOT OF SAINT GALL. POLITICAL RESULTS OF THE
MARBURG CONFERENCE.
Zwingli's absence had lasted seven weeks, from the 3d of September to
the 19th of October, 1529. On his return home, he did not find the
country in that peaceful condition, which the well-disposed and the
short-sighted had hoped for from the conclusion of the _Landfriede_
(General Peace), and his arrival in no wise tended to lessen the
agitation. The _Landfriede_ granted the choice of their own
ecclesiastical system to the inhabitants of the Common Territories.
Where the mass had been abolished and images burned or carried away,
according to its letter, they who did these things could not be
punished, either in person, standing or property; but just as little,
on the other hand, in places where they still existed, could those who
preached a different doctrine enter, until invited by a majority of the
parishioners. Special conferences between cantons were interdicted, in
so far as they had reference to the affairs of the Confederacy, but
allowed to those who were authorized to transact business for the
_Buergerrecht_ and alliances of like character. The following
injunction was issued by the deputies of all the Thirteen Cantons: "In
order that we may not be again plunged into disunion and greater
discord, through reviling and recrimination, all and every one shall be
specially forbidden, on pain of severe punishment, to deal in
unbecoming scandal, wanton, useless and injurious words of shame,
abuse, filth and insult, scornful expressions, disparagements and
taunts, such as human ingenuity knows how to devise; no one shall any
longer venture to pick at, assail or blacken his neighbor with
slanders, books of libel, prints, sayings, songs, verses and other
means of provocation; but each one shall suffer his neighbor to remain
quiet, undisturbed and in every way unmolested in the enjoyment of
peace." The summer of the following year was fixed upon as the time of
payment for the indemnity to cover the additional expenses incurred by
the war and the support of the surviving relatives of the pastor
Kaiser, who was burned at the stake, and authority was given to the
Reformed Cities to stop the export of provisions into the Five Cantons,
in case of refusal. In regard to the rents, tithes and revenues of the
monasteries and clerical foundations, they could either continue as
heretofore, be allowed under changed conditions, or abolished
altogether. Every one of these articles contained material for a
future explosion. It was impossible to comply with them fully, because
on the one side a conviction of their justice or expediency was
wanting, and on the other they were considered as far too lax in their
requirements--because individual cases usually occurred in such a shape
that their conditions were not applicable in every particular, and
finally, because the embers of passion still glowed in the bosoms of
those who were in power; and among the leaders of both parties, the
desire of carrying out their own ecclesiastical system or political
plans outweighed their interest in the welfare of their common
fatherland.
Since Catholic bailiffs ruled in the Territories, who could blame them
for watching anxiously over those communities, in which the mass and
images were still retained, and for striving to prevent the entrance of
Reformed preaching, the influx of Zwinglian doctrines and writings? But
who, on the other hand, could take umbrage, if individual members of
congregations, in the wish to hear at least the new doctrines,
endeavored to win over their neighbors and friends, and thus gain a
majority, in order to call in a preacher? Such persons generally turned
to Zurich, where they found support, whilst the bailiffs made complaint
of it at the meetings of the Diet or to the Five Cantons; nor did they
complain the less also of their fierce invectives, mutual strife and
immunity from punishment. Here the will to punish was wanting; there
the power, especially if the offenders belonged to the distinguished
classes, as they frequently did. But the circumstances of the abbot and
monastery of St. Gall afforded the chief material for a new quarrel;
and these it will be necessary now to describe in detail.
The monastery of St. Gall, from its very origin, played an important
part in the history of our fatherland; in the first centuries by its
scientific reputation as a renowned and influential seminary of
learning, and afterward on account of its increasing possessions, its
political influence and the rank of its abbot as a prince of the
empire. The abbot ruled over that tolerably extensive district, lying
between Wyl and Roschach, on Lake Constance, under the title of the
"Old Province," and also, from the year 1469, over the County of
Toggenburg, under that of the "New Province." The abbacy of St. Gall
constituted the first and most considerable of the so-called Allied
Cantons; its deputies appeared at the sessions of the Diet, and its
armed soldiery marched out with the other confederates in their wars.
The County of Toggenburg enjoyed no mean privileges; it had the
choosing of its own general council (_landrath_), the right of
appointing lower courts, subject, it is true, to the sanction of the
abbot, and for the protection of these privileges stood under one
common law with the states of Schwyz and Glarus, to which, at a later
period, the abbot also was admitted for the security of its rights. He
had also formed an alliance with the four states, Zurich, Luzern,
Schwyz and Glarus, on behalf of his possessions, by which these cantons
were pledged to protect him and his abbey, with all his subjects, in
their rights and liberties. For this service, half the fines accruing
in the territories of St. Gall were paid over to them, and the
dependants of the abbot were bound to obey their call in time of war.
For the exercise of these rights and the performance of their duties,
the Four Cantons, each every two years in succession, placed a
governor-general at Wyl, who was _ex-officio_ a member of the abbot's
privy council, and took rank immediately after him.
This position had been filled, from the beginning of the year 1529, by
Jacob Frei, a member of the Zurich Council. The abbot, Francis
Geissberg, now for a long time an invalid, found it entirely beyond his
power to make any effectual resistance to the attacks, by which he saw
himself and his monastery threatened from the city of St. Gall, his own
subjects and the Preformed Confederacy. Every day the doctrine of the
unscripturalness of clerical dominion gained ground, and penetrated
even among the brethren of the convent, a part of whom threw off their
monkish garments. The majority, however, remained firm to their vows.
The abbot, already far gone in dropsy, had himself conveyed to
Roschach, where, in a fortified castle, he was more secure than in a
cloister standing open to invasion from the burghers of St. Gall.
There, on the 21st of March, he died, and this was the moment that
Zurich and the city of St. Gall had waited for, to take measures
against the monastery itself, but principally against its political
rights. Meanwhile eleven of the monks, one month before, had pledged
themselves under a solemn oath, even on compulsory removal from the
cloister, to renounce none of the rights of the convent, but rather to
uphold them in every possible manner. For six days, the death of the
abbot was kept secret even in Roschach, and his food carried into him
as though he were yet alive, whilst the monks assembled in
Rapperschweil and there elected one of their number, Kilian German, in
his stead. The news of this action awakened the liveliest displeasure
among the Zurichers, who had relied on the power of the burghers of St.
Gall to prevent it. But priestly cunning triumphed, and German
afterward succeeded in obtaining an acknowledgment, first from two
cantons of the protectorate, Luzern and Schwyz, and then with much
trouble from Glarus also. Three months later, the election was ratified
by Pope Clement the VII., and proofs of consideration and offers of any
amount of help received from Austria.
The new abbot, a man of talent, descended from a branch of the
distinguished family of the Toggenburgers, as soon as the choice had
fallen on him, made known his purpose plainly, not to rest until he and
his convent had come again into full possession of their rights; until
the religious usages were restored, and divine worship celebrated after
the old mode in the church of the foundation. But just as plainly did
Zurich and St. Gall declare that this should not be. The subjects of
the monastery were now roused up by Zurich, and many in Toggenburg
began to hope even for complete deliverance from all foreign rule.
Reconciliation had become impossible. In a letter of advice, drawn up
by Zurich and St. Gall, it is expressly said: "Matters have come to
this pass, that either our Lords, together with our confederates and
christian fellow-citizens of St. Gall and the entire population of the
abbacy (_Gotteshauschente_), to whom our Lords have pledged life and
property, for the ministry of the Divine Word, or else Sir Kilian, the
pretended abbot, must bend and break."
In this business Zwingli took a very active part. His plans in relation
to it were so comprehensive that he did not look for entire approval in
Zurich herself. Not only were the lawful claims of the two cantons,
Luzern and Schwyz, to a share in the deliberations on the affairs of
St. Gall, wholly set aside, but Glarus also was not to be heard, except
in so far as she agreed with Zurich in the fundamental principle laid
down by him. This principle, that all spiritual lordship is
unscriptural, and therefore unjust--a principle, which he was ready to
avow, defend and prove clearly on the field of science, he carried
over, as already shown, into the sphere of politics and wished to apply
it to a treaty made in times, when men knew nothing of it, and with
parties, who did not even yet recognize it. Hence an opinion drawn up
by him has this heading: "Advice how the deputies ought to treat,
either with or without the deputies of Glarus, so that the monastery of
St. Gall, its abbot and its monks may be surprised, overcome and put up
at auction with their monkhood and lordship, and knocked down to the
Four Cantons." On the margin is added: "Not to be read before the
burghers" (Great Council).
It was then proposed, in plain language, to send full orders to the
governor-general to call together the subjects of the abbey everywhere
in their several parishes, and announce to them that Zurich was
resolved, as far as lay in her power, to prevent the acknowledgment of
the abbot elect and the choice of any successor; since there could be
no concord between monkery and the Gospel--that she had no desire to
invade the rights of the Four Cantons in their character of common
wardens, and hence would act not merely in her own name, but in
conjunction with Glarus, in case the latter were willing, with the
proviso also of a full report to the other two cantons, "until God
would make them of the same mind"--and, that it was just as much her
intention to respect the rights of the people of the abbacy, with whom
"she would cheerfully sit down, hear their grievances and judge therein
with moderation and dispatch, as is becoming in such affairs, meanwhile
pledging person and property not to suffer them to be injured or
oppressed, so far as life and property can reach. Let it be known too
in what a friendly and brotherly manner Zurich and Glarus have ever
behaved toward their subjects, and that up to this time their rule has
never been dreaded. Letters and seals should also be prepared, which,
if God please, no one shall break in all coming time. All this done,
the serious question should be put to the people of the abbacy, whether
they will agree to break up the monastery, and if so, it shall be done
promptly and peacefully, unless resistance is offered." It appears,
however, that this was not anticipated, for several other doubtful
points are added to the opinion, with the express injunction: "These
must not be made known to the people of the abbacy, until the business
is finished." But if peaceful measures did not suffice to carry out the
plan, compulsion was to be used: "If any one wishes to fight, an appeal
for help shall be made to our confederates of St. Gall and the people
of the abbacy, and with God's favor the places shall be taken by force
of arms." As soon as they are taken, Luzern and Schwyz shall be written
to, and the proceeding justified on the score of necessity, the
hostility of the abbot against Zurich, and the urgent need of the
people of the abbacy. Meanwhile those monks, who can be caught, shall
be thrown into prison, a thorough search made, inventories drawn up,
and "if the treasure cannot be found, the monks who know anything about
it, shall be further questioned upon oath, until the whole truth come
to light. When everything is finished and sealed before the government
at Zurich, the people of the abbacy shall take the oath of allegiance,
whilst Toggenburg is silenced by hopes of greater freedom." In fine,
the opinion gives it as the aim of all these counsels, "that the monk
may no longer be a stallion to beget more of his kind, but bridled,
harnessed and taught to obey the rein."
This plan was certainly radical, but not evangelical. It was not
possible that Luzern and Schwyz; not possible that the Catholic cantons
generally, could suffer these violations of Confederate faith, and of
sealed treaties to pass by unheeded. And Glarus, although the majority
of her people sympathized in Zwingli's views of the unscriptural
character of spiritual lordship, and were by no means favorable to the
abbot and his rule, nevertheless felt hurt by the arbitrary action of
Zurich and the air of guardianship which she assumed even toward her.
Bern also was far from sharing in the unbridled zeal of her sister city
on the Limath, whose intervention in the affairs of St. Gall was not
the least among the reasons, that held her sword in the scabbard,
during the first campaign, in the summer of the year 1529. But then
Zurich endeavored to defend the steps she had taken against the abbot
by the articles of the _Landfriede_; this treaty, it was said, would
secure the city of St. Gall from punishment for what she had permitted
in regard to the monastery, for its occupation, the disorders which had
ensued, and the removal of the images from the churches, as well as
confirm and guarantee peace to those parishes in Toggenburg, where the
preaching of the Gospel and a synodical rule had been introduced by the
advice of Zwingli. The political relations, both of the people of the
abbacy and of the Toggenburgers remained in an unsettled state. Had the
Five Cantons known it, they never would have approved of conditions, by
which the abbot could be deprived of his territorial rights.
During the campaign he had fled to Bregenz and Ueberlingen, carrying
along the archives and jewels of the monastery. With his conventuals,
who had found refuge at Einsiedeln in Schwyz, he kept up a constant
correspondence. Through his relatives he secured a devoted party in
Toggenburg, and, by means of the monies at his command, adherents in
various parts of Switzerland to undertake and further his cause. After
the conclusion of the _Landfriede_ (General Peace) he ventured to
return home again, and even rode through a portion of the Zurichan
territory in disguise. Zwingli's stay in Marburg was of great service
to him. He furnished the different parishes in Glarus with his
authentic titles. There was a powerful movement amongst the people, but
the Reformed majority triumphed in the end. The deputies to a
conference of the four protectorate cantons at Wyl received a
commission to act in harmony with Zurich; but numbers of the opposite
party withdrew reluctantly from the assembly, lamenting "that old
letters and seals had no more value, since many a Saint Friedli[1] hung
miserable, naked and bare on the rolls of parchment."
At this conference of the protectorate cantons held at Wyl, the abbot
wished to conduct his cause in person. Zurich, to whom his absence was
all-important, sent an order to the governor-general secretly to fill
the castle with a garrison of trusty men. Kilian, learning this and
fearing an ambuscade, staid away; but the people of the abbacy appeared
before the deputies of the cantons with a petition, which showed that
they knew how to carry out the doctrine of the unscriptural character
of spiritual lordship to a further extent than was pleasant even to
Zurich herself. "Accordingly, since the Holy Word of God does not
direct or oblige us, we do not wish henceforth to have this or any
other abbot; and because we are without court or council, and so
exposed to outrage that no one scarcely is safe, we desire permission
to have a chief-bailiff, a court, a council and similar officers _of
our own_, so that crime may be punished, the peaceful and good
protected, evil-doers suppressed, and a happy life led; for, as we pay
rents and tithes we ought not to be left without law; and that you may
see we do not ask for anything unreasonable, aged persons can yet be
found, who remember that such a chief-bailiff and council, as we now
desire, formerly existed among the people of the abbacy."
None of the Four Cantons was at all willing to grant this petition. The
deputies of Luzern and Schwyz simply defended the rights of the abbot,
complained to the Zurichers of the tyrannical proceeding of their
governor-general and requested the removal of the garrison from the
castle. Zurich and Glarus endeavored to quiet the people of the abbacy
by promising to send home a report and afterward to communicate the
views of their governments. The resolution now passed by the privy
council of Zurich plainly unfolds its policy in this affair.--"Whereas
you, our worthy deputies," so it reads, "cannot but see and regard the
petition of the people of the abbacy as a desire, under show of a good
spirit, to obtain the liberty of the flesh, to shake off authority, to
lay hold of the rein with their own hands and appropriate to themselves
power and rule, and the administration of the higher offices; and as
you also cannot presume, that either you or we of the two cantons
(Zurich and Glarus) have a right to act in this matter without the
knowledge and approval of the other cantons; you will perceive that it
is not advisable to grant them, just at this time, a chief bailiff,
judge, council and high courts of dignity and appeal; we are only able,
in order that they may have no reason to complain about justice and
law, to allow them now, in the beginning, to fill the lower courts, as
they have come down from antiquity, with honest, upright, sensible and
God-loving men, but the principal posts of government, the high
offices, to which sovereignty pertains, must continue as they are,
until it is seen what course the abbot and the two cantons, who support
him, will take." It was then proposed, to place the chief power in the
hands of the governor-general for the interim, to associate with him
for this purpose able men, and appoint them a court of appeal in
judicial cases; but for the final settlement of affairs, to call
together a second conference of the four protectorate cantons, and
should Luzern and Schwyz refuse to take part in it, to signify to them,
that they were determined to proceed without them. "It is then to be
presumed," continues the letter of advice to the deputies, "if they
thus see, that the abbot cannot be restored, they will quietly agree
with us of the two cantons to take charge of the government. But should
they persevere in their opposition and attempt to use any force on
behalf of the abbot against our purpose and that of the honest people,
it will then be our duty to curb force with force, until honest people,
perchance our Confederates of Bern and others shall interpose and help
to make a treaty of peace. And then indeed it will be discovered, whose
shall be the rule and authority, and who shall be lord or servant, and
thereby the desire for self-government among the people of the abbacy
shall be broken and every thing rightly settled, ordered and secured by
charter, how and in what form, henceforth, court, law, dignities,
offices and all authorities shall be held, and how and what grievances
shall be redressed for the honest people."
Zurich acted from this time forward, in accordance with these
views, and at the close of the year, after Luzern and Schwyz had
repeatedly declined to take part in a second conference, she issued, in
connection with Glarus, an ordinance, of which the following is the
substance: "Henceforth the governor-general is the chief ruler of the
abbey-territory. As heretofore he shall be appointed for a term of two
years by each of the four protectorate cantons in succession. He shall
take an oath to favor the Divine Word and protect the same. Only then
are his subjects bound to obey him. This governor is to be supreme
judge, instead of the imperial bailiff. The high court shall consist,
besides him, of twelve men, of whom he has the selection of four, and
the territory of the other eight. In conjunction with these, or a
majority of them, he shall appoint also the officers of the territory.
The parishes shall be left free to choose their own preachers, who,
however, must be examined and approved, either at Zurich, St. Gall or
Constance. Only with the consent of the governor and the twelve can
they be removed, or suspended from office. Rents, tithes and other
lawful taxes, which are to be applied according to a former resolution,
shall be paid over to a receiver, appointed by the city of St. Gall,
who shall render a faithful account of the same. Whatever unchristian
burdens have been laid upon the poor inhabitants by superstition or
monkish rule, shall be abolished, and in order that the honest people
may be the better able to help the poor in these dear times, the two
cantons cheerfully authorize them to appropriate the ornaments and
jewels of the churches to this more christian purpose."
In vain did the abbot protest against these arrangements; in vain did
he threaten to look out for other protectorate cantons; in vain did he
beg for active interference on the part of Luzern and Schwyz. Still
discouraged by the untoward issue of the first campaign, they advised
him to yield for a while, in hope that affairs would take a more
favorable turn, and indeed thought it best that he should withdraw for
a time. This he did, and went to Ueberlingen, where, in the beginning
of the year 1530, amid much rejoicing, he found the object of his
desires.
The proceeding of Zurich against the abbot and the monastery was
carried on mainly by Zwingli; and that with increased zeal since his
return to the fatherland. More and more, after the Marburg Conference,
did he display the character of a politician--sometimes daring in the
choice of his means. Thus he was to show himself to be only a man; and,
as the most influential statesmen are very often obliged to do, as a
vehement man; forever striking must the contrast remain between the
greatest of all ages and all countries, and Him, who was indeed tempted
in all things like as we are, but who alone was never overcome.
Without doubt the Savior of the world directed his attention to
political life, and Christianity and politics are in no wise
antagonistic. On the contrary, it is the aim of Christianity to elevate
and ennoble even earthly relations; it is the true religion of the
people. No saying is so misunderstood, so entirely twisted from its
real meaning, as that uttered by Christ: "My kingdom is not of this
world." This earth, the theatre of divine love and power, is
represented as a vale of tears--a welcome doctrine to all secular and
spiritual lords, who, through its spread, have only the less opposition
to fear against their iron rule; and, only the more secure in the
enjoyment of their state, agree in making it truly an abode of sorrow
to millions of their subjects. There is no doubt that Christianity
teaches us to bear and suffer; no doubt that it says: "Whosoever shall
smite thee on the right cheek, turn to him the other also," and
"whosoever shall compel thee to go with him one mile, go with him
twain;" no doubt that it teaches the duty of submission to rulers, and
has no sympathy with rebellion and self-aid, by resort to arms; yet far
more strongly and impressively does this same Christianity speak to
magistrates and rulers, and tell them? that men are not born lords and
slaves, but brethren, and that they are the greatest who are the
servants of all. Christianity wishes no forms of government, nor will
it make them lawful, yea necessary, whilst overgrown wealth may find
out means to chain down despairing poverty, by which reckless
debauchery may riot in palaces, whilst in the hut, hard by, the
restless laborer cannot earn bread enough to prolong his miserable
existence. It will have the right to moderate enjoyment purchased by
self-control and self-denial, and the capability to govern proven by
the capability and practice of obedience; along with greater rights it
places greater duties; with greater advantages it invariably connects
greater burdens--and whilst it enjoins submission to God as an equal
duty upon all, it does not make order in the state rest upon parchments
or voluminous codes of laws, upon standing armies or public prisons,
but upon the law written in the heart, upon love and a sense of duty.
Whether the time has ever arrived in any single country for such a
transformation of politics, such a religious consecration of the forms
of public life, is quite another question. That it did not exist in the
days of Christ, that the seed was then only planted in the earth, to
spring up afterward, when watered by the noblest blood, he himself has
acknowledged and declared; but that the hour will yet come, when the
grain of mustard-seed will grow up into a great tree and overshadow all
the earth with its branches, he has also proclaimed; and happy the
rulers, happy the law-givers, who have power to understand their great
mission in the light of true Christianity. Why was the first appearance
of the Reformers hailed with such universal joy, their annunciation of
the Gospel with such hosannas, by the people? Because the presentiment
had been awakened in millions of hearts that the day of freedom was
dawning and the hour of their deliverance from spiritual and corporeal
bondage had arrived. But what could liberty do for minors, who had been
neglected for centuries, for the uneducated, for congregations without
schools and incapable of comprehending the better religious
instruction, which made but slow progress from the lack of qualified
teachers? Fanatics, like the leaders of the Anabaptists, took hold of
their excited minds and caused Luther and Zwingli to tremble at the
consequences of their own boldness. The bands which were loosened, were
partly drawn tighter again by Luther in monarchical Germany, in that he
adhered the firmer to belief upon authority[2], and by Zwingli in
republican Switzerland, in that, from the man of the people, he became
the man of the government. Moreover the necessary enthusiasm among the
people died away, till an hour of later trial, and it became an easier
thing for the active enemies of the Reformation to awaken repentance in
some, produce indifference in others, and win over individuals by means
of promises. To the subjects of the abbot they used language like this:
"What do you gain by casting off allegiance to your former sovereign,
when you only get a severer one in his stead? Far more seldom does an
ecclesiastical government call out its people to war; it gives a more
efficient support to the poor; it does not lessen, nay rather increases
the number of holidays; preaches no austere and gloomy morality; is
patient and long-suffering, provided only no attack be made upon the
faith." There were not a few, who lent open ears to such appeals. At a
conference between their deputies and those of the Glarners at Wyl, the
Zurichers were obliged to feel this. Envoys came also from Luzern and
Schwyz, and the newly reviving party of the old faith rallied around
them. Then arose a tumult among the latter, and for a moment the danger
was so great that the Glarners meditated flight, but the Zurichers
ordered an alarm to be sounded. The people ran in from all sides, and
the majority was found favorable to the Reformation, at least not
hostile to Zurich. This soon appeared in their language and behavior. A
treaty was now concluded between the parties, and the provisional
government of the Zurich captain acknowledged and guaranteed by a
permanent garrison of trusty soldiers in the castle. But Luzern and
Schwyz renowned their complaints before a conference of the Five
Cantons, and it was resolved to appeal to Bern with a full
representation of the faithless conduct of Zurich in the affair of St.
Gall, and an earnest protest against it. Two skillful orators, the
_schultheiss_ Golder of Luzern, and Joseph Amberg of Schwyz, were
commissioned to do this. They behaved with great propriety and
moderation, promising, on their part, a careful guard over their own
people, and a strict observance of the _Landfriede_: "Dear
Confederates," so they said at the close of their speech, "we place in
your hands our fate, as well as our rights. Both we believe have been
grossly violated by the conduct of Zurich. If we are wrong, then point
out to us the rule; if the men of Zurich, then will you not be willing
to support them in it; but believe not us alone, hear also the men of
Zurich; believe not them alone, hear us also. Indeed! we only desire to
abide by sealed treaties." Haller, who immediately reported it to
Zwingli, did not conceal from him the fearful impression, which this
speech made upon public opinion. "They have not," he added with
anxiety, "yet deceived us; but they will." But it was not merely the
affair of St. Gall, which began to awaken discord in the relations
between Zurich and Bern. There was something far more important still.
And here it becomes necessary to give a general sketch of the political
views, which Zwingli had brought back from Marburg.
The Emperor Charles V., after an absence of several years in Spain,
returned to Italy in the summer of 1529. In Genoa, where he landed, he
was met by an embassy from the _landgrave_ Philip and the German
Estates who had signed the Protest against the resolutions of the
Imperial Diet of Spire. This they were commissioned to hand over to him
with respectful representations. But so ill was it received, that the
envoys for a time were concerned for their personal safety. Audacious
in the highest degree must this step of a few princes and cities have
appeared to the head of the Empire, to him, who, not many years before,
had humbled, by the defeat of Pavia, the mighty King of France, whose
sons he still held in a Spanish prison as hostages for the father, who
was set at liberty--him, who had caused the Pope even to feel his
power, but was now reconciled to Rome, and offered his aid for the more
energetic suppression of all ecclesiastical innovations in Germany.
Surrounded by Spanish counsels, by the clergy of that nation and
Italians, he was busily engaged in forming various plans for future
action, and only lingered yet in Italy, until he could be crowned Roman
Emperor, by Clement II., which event occurred at Bologna on the 24th
of February, 1530. Meanwhile reports, warnings of the coming tempest
having reached Germany and Switzerland, produced an active
correspondence between the Protestant princes, the _landgrave_ Philip,
Duke Ulric of Wurtemberg and the authorities of the more important
cities. A personal interchange of opinions took place at Marburg, and
the danger which threatened the free preaching of the Gospel and the
Reformation was acknowledged on all sides, even by Luther and
Melanchthon; but as in the doctrine of the Lord's Supper, so now also,
on the field of politics, Luther and Zwingli stood decidedly opposed to
each other, and so little did the former share in the bold views of the
latter, that the enterprising _landgrave_ wholly despaired of an
understanding with Luther, and communicated his plan of resistance
against the Emperor first of all to a narrow circle, composed of
Zwingli, Sturm and a few trusty friends of like mind.
The Saxon Reformer had, it is true, approved of the protest, made by
the princes and cities favorable to the Gospel, against the resolutions
of the Imperial Diet at Spire, but to go further, to offer actual
resistance, he regarded as unlawful. He saw in Charles the consecrated
head of the Empire, to take up arms against whom appeared to him
rebellion. It had first to be proved to him by lawyers, better
acquainted with the Imperial Constitution than he, that the individual
Estates of the Empire had full authority to preserve their independence
in spiritual matters, in every possible way, and then only did he yield
a reluctant consent to the league afterward formed among the
Protestants at Schmalkald. He was strongly opposed to inviting the
Swiss to take part in it, until they were reconciled to his view of the
Lord's Supper. More genial than Zwingli, trained to implicit obedience
in the monastery, in earlier life a hard student of the church-fathers;
whilst the Switzer in those years, when the most vivid and lasting
impressions are made, had devoted his attention to the history of the
ancient republics, the study of Roman and Grecian authors; Luther,
although he publicly and resolutely condemned the severity and
arbitrary conduct of princes, and warned them with boldness and power,
was yet far more inclined to the doctrine of passive resistance against
evil, the disarming of the enemy by innocent suffering, submission to
every existing form of government, even though unjust and tyrannical--a
doctrine which lies in the spirit of the Gospel, and was not only
preached but practised by Christ himself, and confirmed by his own
example. It is worth our while to hear the two Reformers on this
fundamental point. Their peculiar views of it have naturally influenced
their judgment in political matters.
"It is the law of Christ," says Luther, "not to resist evil, not to
grasp the sword, not to defend ourselves, not to revenge ourselves, but
to give up life and property, that he may take, who will. For we have
yet enough remaining in our Lord, who will not forsake us, since he
hath so promised. Suffering, suffering--the cross, the cross is the law
of Christ; this and nothing else. Will ye thus fight and not agree to
let the coat go with the cloak, but try to get back the cloak again,
though you should wish rather to die and leave the body, than not to
love your enemies and do them good? O ye easy Christians! Dear friends,
Christians are not so common, that they can be gathered in a heap; a
Christian is a rare bird! Would to God the most of us were only good,
pious heathen, observing the natural, to say nothing of the Christian
law! Christians are not to fight for themselves with the sword or
harquebusses, but with the cross and patience; even as their general,
Christ, does not wield the sword, but hangs upon the cross. Hence their
victory does not lie in conquest and dominion or power, but in defeat
and weakness, as St. Paul says: 'The weapons of our warfare are not
carnal, but in God,' and again, 'His strength shall be made perfect in
our weakness.' According to the Scripture, it is not proper for any
one, who will be a Christian, to set himself up against the authority,
which God has placed over him, be it just or unjust; but a Christian
should suffer violence and wrong, especially from his sovereign; for
although Imperial Majesty does wrong and violates duty and oath, his
imperial sovereignty is not thereby abolished, nor the allegiance of
his subjects, as long as the realm and the Electoral Princes regard him
as Emperor and do not depose him. Yet though an emperor or prince break
all the commandments of God, he still remains an emperor and prince,
and is bound to God by oath in a higher, and then to man in a lower
degree. Were it right to resist Imperial Majesty when it does wrong,
then we might do so in all cases, and remain without any authority or
any obedience in the world, since every subject could use this
argument, that his sovereign broke the laws of God. How then shall we
act? Thus shall we act: Let it be granted to Imperial Majesty, that no
prince or lord shall defend us against him, but that the land and
people lie open to the Emperor as his own, and God commands this, and
no one should desire otherwise of his princes and lords. Every one
should then stand for himself and maintain his faith at the risk of his
body and his life, and not drag the princes into danger with him, or
trouble them with petitions for aid, but let the Emperor do with his
own as he will, so long as he is Emperor. But if the Emperor desire,
beyond that, though the land and people lie open to him, to compel the
princes also to attack, besiege, slay and banish their subjects for the
Gospel's sake, and the princes know that in this the Emperor is wrong,
and against God, then it falls back upon their own faith, for they
should not obey the Emperor, in what they do not approve, nor help him,
nor become partners of his sin; it is enough that the land and people
are left unprotected and the Emperor unhindered, and they should say:
If the Emperor wishes to persecute our subjects, as they are also his
own, he may act according to his conscience; we are not able to prevent
him. But we will not help him in it, nor approve of his course; for we
must obey God rather than man."[3]
In regard to the impropriety of all individual resistance to authority,
Zwingli agreed with Luther, and just as severely condemned everything
that bore the character of riot or rebellion; but entertained, on the
other hand, far more liberal views concerning the rights of the people,
in their collective capacity, against their rulers; and here, supported
by passages from the Old Testament, whilst Luther relied exclusively on
the New, he developed a theory (an assemblage of propositions), which
must have no doubt appeared suspicious to the German Reformers, living
as they did under monarchical forms of government, and indeed, just as
readily as his freer exposition of the words of the Lord's Supper,
might have called forth that saying of Luther: "You have quite another
spirit than we."
"Where a prince is overbearing and a wanton spendthrift," so he writes,
"and the people undutiful and devoted to their own advantage, there
tumults break out. But this also does not happen without that Divine
Providence, which has numbered all the hairs of our heads, and by
which the wantonness of the tyrant and the recklessness of the people
are alike controlled. A seditious people are led only by wild passions;
by rage and fury, not by reason. Rulers should then take care not
to give occasion to the people to rebel. If they are truly wise and
God-fearing, if they practice justice and equity, then God will not
give them up to the wrath of the multitude; for He is mightier than
they and does not forsake them, who trust in him and serve him. And we
must warn the people also not to plunge themselves into ruin by
sedition. Tumults are generally excited by those who aspire after
honors and riches. Now, that it may not seem as if Christians care more
for the human than the divine, they should obey even tyrants in things,
that only oppress the body, and pay taxes to them, so that the Gospel
may not be reviled on their account. A whole nation, on the other hand,
can and should, in a lawful manner, with moderation and the fear of
God, resist the unjust power of the tyrant, and if they do it not, then
will they be punished by God along with the wicked prince. And how we
may deal with such rulers, is shown by the clear example of Saul, whom
God repudiated, although he had chosen him at first. Indeed if such
wanton kings be not thrust away, the whole nation will be punished for
it. Hence, when Manasseh, King of Judah, had done the most wicked
abominations, 'thus saith the Lord God of Israel, Behold I am bringing
such evil upon Jerusalem and Judah, that whosoever heareth of it, both
his ears shall tingle.' In short, if the Jews had not suffered their
King to riot thus unpunished, God had not punished them. We must pluck
out the offending eye and cut off the diseased hand and foot. How this
is to be done, it is easy to observe. Not by death-blows, wars,
tumults, but by quite other means, for God hath called us to peace.
Does the king or the lord of the common hand choose to do evil? then
let the common hand put him away, or be punished with him. Has he been
elected by a small number of princes? then let those princes know that
his wicked life can be borne with no longer, and he must be deposed.
But here the difficulty arises: the tyrant may rush forth and murder
them. That matters not; it is far more glorious to be put to death for
well-doing, according to God's will than afterward to be slain with the
guilty by the hand of God. But canst thou not endure the way, nor
venture on it? then suffer with the wanton tyrant and be punished at
last along with him, and still the hand of God is stretched-out and
threatening. Is the tyrant chosen by no one? Has he inherited the
kingdom? I do not know what reason such kingdoms have to spare him; for
suppose the born-king is a child or a fool, still they must take him as
their lord. But how can he rule? It must follow, that he is not,
according to the common proverb of a king's son, either a fool or a
king, but both together, a fool and a king. Moreover, the kingdom must
be governed by other wise ones. Were it not better then to make a wise
man king? for 'wo to thee, O land, when thy king is a child!' They
describe a tyrant as one who rules by his own power and after his own
notion. Thus, I do not know whence it comes, that thrones are
hereditary, unless from the common consent of the people. If now there
be a tyrant, this or that individual should not undertake to kill him;
a tumult would arise and the kingdom of God is 'righteousness, peace
and joy in the Holy Ghost.' But if the entire mass of the people with
one accord, or the greater part of them, though they may be far from
anarchy, depose the tyrant, then God is with them."[4]
Now, in Zwingli's eyes the Emperor was a tyrant of this very stamp,
especially since his reconciliation and close alliance with the Pope.
From this he augured the worst results--the suppression of the
Reformation and the freedom of the Gospel, all political liberty and
even the subjugation of the Confederacy itself. "The Emperor," says he
in a communication to his intimate political associates, "arrays friend
against friend, or foe against foe, and then thrusts himself in between
as a mediator, though all the while a partisan, ever intent on
upholding the Papacy, and promoting, first of all, his own power and
interests; and if he make war in Germany, he will do all he can to
marshal the Castellan of Musso[5] against the Confederacy, the Bishops
of Constance against the city of Constance, the Bishop of Strassburg
against the burghers of Strassburg, the Five Cantons against Zurich,
the abbot of St. Gall against the city, Duke George of Saxony against
Duke John, to usurp his position as electoral prince, the Bishops on
the Rhine against the _Landgrave_ of Hesse, and similar enemies
everywhere against the Evangelical Cities--and then he will march into
Germany as a mediator, and with fair but hypocritical words befool the
cities and lords, till they submit to him." To provide and arm against
such plans he regarded as lawful, yea as an imperative necessity,
desired a European alliance for this purpose, and publicly censured
those who remained careless and inactive. "Ruined or lazy," he wrote to
Conrad Zinck of Constance, a member of the Council, "are they, who look
on idly and never trouble themselves about raising up a force
sufficient to make the Emperor feel, that he will labor in vain to
restore the dominion of Rome, occupy the Free Cities and conquer us
Helvetians. Rouse Linden; rouse your neighbors to action. He is a fool
who builds upon the friendship of a tyrant. Long ago Demosthenes
observed, that nothing is so hated by such a despot, as the freedom of
the cities." Ever since the Marburg Conference, his connection with the
_Landgrave_ Philip was very intimate. Their correspondence, relating
more to politics than to articles of faith, was carried on partly by
signs mutually agreed upon, the name Pharoah being used for that of the
Emperor. Indeed Zwingli went a step further than the German prince
himself. He seriously thought of the possibility of removing Charles,
and even wished it. "So great," he wrote to Jacob Sturm of Strassburg,
"is the wickedness and perversity of the Emperor, that I believe the
whole world should join together to rid itself of such a burden, in any
way possible," and to the _Landgrave_ Philip, in a style full of dreamy
hope: "Our kind, gracious Lord causes me to write thus freely like a
child, to Your Grace, for I am confident in God, that he has appointed
Your Grace to great things, which I may indeed think of, but not
speak."
Such being the disposition of the Reformer, it was not to be expected,
that after his return from Marburg he would confine himself to the
sphere of theology, or even to political affairs within the limits of
the Confederacy. More and more did he accustom himself to look beyond
the boundaries of the fatherland, and gradually induced a portion of
the Zurich statesmen to do the same. In Marburg already, the
fundamental features of a close alliance, to check the growing
preponderance of the Emperor, was agreed upon. The _Landgrave_
undertook to advocate the cause among his own princes; Zwingli among
the Free Cities in Southern Germany, by means of influential clergymen
and councillors, of whom he counted a considerable number among his
correspondents. Through Switzerland a bridge was sought to Italy. The
powerful republic of Venice was to hold the Emperor in check there, at
least to aid in preventing the employment of all his forces against
Germany; but a progress so daring, so foreign to the peaceful and
cautious policy of the Cantons, as set forth by Zurich herself, some
years before, when the defensive alliance was concluded with France,
could not but awaken suspicion and discord among the Confederates;
hence it could only be discussed in the most confidential circles.
Whether any one in the government of Bern knew anything about it, is
uncertain. That it should be attempted is indeed almost incredible, did
we not remember, how very easy it is for great minds, encouraged by
former results, to persuade themselves that everything is possible to
their own powers. In what a narrow circle the resolution to send an
envoy to Venice was passed is evident from the fact, that he was not a
statesmen who was appointed, but Professor Collin, Zwingli's intimate
friend, and the companion of his journey to Marburg, a man of no
political experience, yet one who, in various walks of life, as canon,
tradesman, partisan and public teacher, had tried his fortune, and
proved himself useful in all; and who, besides dexterity and boldness,
was also possessed of a thorough knowledge of the Italian language.
Provided with credentials, somewhat ambiguous in their form,[6] he set
out from Zurich alone; on the 11th of December, put to flight luckily
two robbers, who attacked him on the plain of Brescia, and was
introduced to the Doge and Council in Venice on the 28th of the same
month. In his report to the Privy Council of Zurich may be found his
address on that occasion. He represented himself as a deputy of the
Council of Zurich in agreement with the cities of the Christian
_Buergerrecht_, communities living jointly under free constitutions,
like that of Venice. Natural and common interests bound them to resist
a universal, all-devouring monarchy, such as the Emperor aimed at. He
expressed the wish that Venice would enter into correspondence with
Zurich, who would act for the other allied cities, to communicate to
them what happened in Italy on the side of the Emperor, or what
transpired of his dangerous schemes. He excused the sending of a
solitary, youthful, undistinguished man, to such an enlightened
republic by the necessity of the case, the desire to avoid notice,--to
conceal the movement toward a close alliance between two free states
from the watchful glance of the Emperor and his assistants.
But Venice herself had just then concluded a treaty of peace with the
Emperor. This was disclosed to the deputy, and a reply made to his
offer in very general terms, so that the distrust, which a mission of
such doubtful appearance awakened in the minds of the Doge and the
Senate, could not escape his notice. He was strictly questioned as to
what Confederate cities composed this _Buergerrecht_, what opposed it,
and what remained neutral. Everything was written down. The ceremonies
with which he was dismissed, and a present of twenty crowns show also
that no great importance was attached to the embassy. Far otherwise did
they receive the ambassadors, who in former years had appeared before
them in the name of the whole Confederacy. Although an attempt was made
to keep the matter secret, it yet became known, and produced
indignation among those who were not privy to it, and chagrin at the
sorry roll which such crooked dealings obliged them to play. Zwingli
alone and his princely confidents were not discouraged. "The
transaction with the Venitians," he wrote to Duke Ulric of Wuertemberg,
"is greatly despised, but, as I observe from your letter, may yet turn
to our advantage. For with my cousin (the _Landgrave_) there is no lack
of devotion in person and property, as you can in some degree learn
from his letters. Therefore he is willing to aid as much as possible
toward a settled understanding, especially on account of the Venitians;
for we may depend very much on the wheel of fortune to bring about,
what we never have been able to accomplish hitherto with great cunning.
Time and opportunity are gone; they will not wait. The raging hand also
is not idle; he prepares one grave after another." Pursuing his design
with unshaken resolution, Zwingli hoped in the end to make it
intelligible to the Swiss cities, who had formed the Christian
_Buergerrecht_, that the alliance must be increased, in order to array
against the great powers pledged for the destruction of liberty, great
ones for its maintenance. In fact, at the close of the year, Strassburg
was also admitted into the _Buergerrecht_; but when this city along
with Zurich and Basel proposed that it should be extended likewise to
the _Landgrave_ of Hess, Bern raised difficulties, and at last refused
consent, with the remark, that she could not justify before her own
subjects the admission of so remote a prince. Zwingli was highly
displeased. "Bern always," he wrote to a friend, "sends _bears_ to
negotiate," and to another: "The Bear is lying in the pains of
travail,--is jealous of the Lion (Zurich) and acts very unfairly
towards him; but in the end she will have done with her tricks and take
the manly resolution to bear away the victory." Certainly the Bernese
government would have reason for anxiety in regard to the growing
preponderance of Zurich in the _Buergerrecht_, if Zwingli could be
supported in it both by Strassburg and the _Landgrave_; but its
reluctance no doubt was just as much owing to its peculiar policy,
which was always less concerned about the infusion of philosophical or
theological principles into the national life, than about the
maintenance of existing treaties and friendly relations as far as
possible with all the Confederates.
The Anabaptists were still very active in Germany, but more so in
Switzerland. In the countries favorable to the Reformation, the people
were more violent, excited and difficult to rule and satisfy. Freedom
of inquiry, of thought, had been applied to political as well as
theological matters. If it was boldly proclaimed from the pulpit: 'The
kingdom of the Pope is not of God, because he lays upon us unnatural
restraint, loads our consciences and makes us carry unnecessary
burdens,' the transition was easy to the question: 'Shall the rule of
the prince draw the skin over our ears at his own caprice?' Only
two remedies for this evil were available in monarchical countries;
either wisdom and moderation on the part of the princes themselves--a
paternal government, according to the demands and in the spirit of the
Gospel--or, where the rulers, as was yet frequently the case, were not
qualified or able to achieve this, a revival of the doctrine of passive
obedience--subjection in worldly things, as Luther maintained it. It is
clear, that to uphold this doctrine in a republic was a more difficult
task, and we have already shown, that Zwingli could not be numbered
among its advocates. On the political arena the difference between his
reformation and that of Luther began to grow more and more visible, and
so hateful did the former become, that the _Landgrave_ of Hesse even
was obliged to come back again toward Luther, and exhort Zwingli to
greater prudence and caution, especially after a saying of Erasmus had
found its way to the ears of the nobles, that the design was to bring
in democracy under the cloak of the Gospel.
Meanwhile the Emperor Charles had arrived in Germany and opened the
Imperial Diet at Augsburg in person, in the summer of 1530. Here they,
who were supposed to favor Zwingli's views, were in very ill repute.
"On all sides," Jacob Sturm wrote to him, "we are suspected, as though
we were hatching with foreign nations some marvellously dangerous plot
for the overthrow of the Emperor and the Empire; yea, we are regarded
as open rebels. Thou knowest how thoroughly false this is; yet there
are some who, therefore, wish also to hear nothing about our articles
of faith, because, they say, the report goes;[7] that some of us have
boasted, that we have provisions, arms and soldiers enough, not only to
repel force with force, but also to invade the territory of our
neighbors. There are those who affirm that we have already portioned
out among ourselves the ecclesiastical principalities, before the
victory, and I know not what other follies. In short, the Papists, and
even those who otherwise have declared themselves for the Gospel, act
against us here, openly and secretly, so that our destruction would be
decided on, if it only depended on them. If the Lord himself does not
pity us, does not stand by innocence and truth, then will our mighty
and raging foes yet devour us alive. No one defends us more than the
_Landgrave_, and even he does not venture to do it publicly, but only
to advocate our cause in narrower circles. To us, ears and access are
completely closed; we are crippled in all our members. From an appeal
in person, or from thy servants here, whom thou couldst entrust with
the Gospel, there is nothing to hope; should circumstances meanwhile
take a more favorable turn, I will send you word." And yet the
_Landgrave_ of Hesse, in a special conference with the Emperor, had
fearlessly defended himself and his friends, without however giving
among them the name of Zwingli, a confession of faith from whose hand
had just then reached Augsburg, and was viewed with the greatest
displeasure. The ingenious Switzer had woven into it some passages of a
political nature, which, though cautiously done, in his opinion, could
not but produce an unfavorable impression in the Imperial Court, as it
then stood. It contains among other things: "I well know that the
ruler, chosen or appointed in a lawful manner, occupies the place of
God, no less than the priest; but as the priest should be a minister of
heavenly wisdom and goodness, to defend the faith and bring errors to
light, so also should the ruler be a minister of divine goodness and
justice; goodness, in that he listens to and cares for his subjects
with fidelity and self-sacrifice, like God; justice, in that he holds
in check the impious and wicked and protects the innocent. If he does
this, then he preserves a quiet conscience, and has indeed nothing to
fear; if he does it not, and thus surrounds himself with fear and
terror, I cannot think that his conscience will be idle, only because
he has been chosen, or placed there, constitutionally. Yet, for my
part, I believe that a Christian should obey such a tyrant until the
opportunity is offered, of which Paul speaks: 'Canst thou make thyself
free? then delay not.' But this opportunity will be pointed out to him
by God alone, not by man, and that not doubtfully, but as clearly and
plainly, as when Saul was rejected and David chosen his successor." It
is easy to see, that, amid the universal excitement then prevailing,
language like this, so unusual in documents laid before the Imperial
Diet, as well as him who employed it, would be styled dangerous. More
than ever did Charles and his brother Ferdinand, King of Hungary,
withdraw their favor from the Reformed party and incline toward the
Catholics. But just in proportion as Zwingli was convinced, that the
number and hatred of his enemies in the German Empire were increasing,
his own earlier dislike to France and fear of an alliance with her,
appear to have essentially diminished. Already, in the secret political
conferences held at Marburg, he directed his attention to that country,
and it may indeed have been through a French channel, that a portion of
the news concerning the transactions of the Emperor in Spain and Italy,
especially with the Roman See, reached there. Still the French monarch,
Francis I., was not at all friendly to the Reformation. In his own
kingdom he tried to keep it down by force. His queen, a sister of
Charles V., did much to strengthen this feeling. Just at that time
letters from her brother at Augsburg, full of bitter complaints against
the spirit of the Protestants, so hostile to all civil and
ecclesiastical rule, were received in France. But what the King was not
willing to suffer in his own dominions, he beheld not without secret
pleasure in those of his envied and hated rival, for so he always
considered the Emperor, in spite of all ties of relationship. Out of
policy, therefore, in order to weaken the power of Austria, he
supported the German Protestants; and out of policy his envoys in
Switzerland, Dangerant, _seigneur de Boisrigault_ and Maigret,
_seigneur de Villequoy_, sought access even to Zwingli. With Maigret it
appears to have been equally a matter of spiritual interest; for he was
inclined to the Gospel and in after life became a decided Huguenot.
We have seen how Zurich, as well as the other cantons, was formerly
kept back from entering into a closer alliance with France chiefly
through Zwingli's efforts. It is remarkable to observe now a total
change in his views. Let us not condemn him unjustly, but hear him once
more tell his own story. The true picture of the event will show that
apparent inconsistency only sprang from an abiding enthusiasm, in
behalf of the one great idea, to which he had consecrated his life.
"The ambassadors of the King of France," he writes to Jacob Sturm,
"have asked me for an opinion, as to how the power of the Emperor might
be broken, or circumscribed, which I have written out in Latin; I had
refused it twice, and only when they applied the third time, sent it to
them with the knowledge of the Privy Council. It is now (Feb. 28th,
1530) the seventh day since Collin was despatched with it to the French
embassy. I cannot tell whether my paper will be sent along with the
messenger to the King or not." This document was in the form of a
letter, addressed to the cities of the Christian _Buergerrecht_. "It is
a known fact," so it begins, "that in former centuries no kings and no
people offered a more steady resistance to the overgrown power and
tyranny of the Roman Emperor than the most Christian kings of France
and the people of Helvetia. Through them, not only their own liberties,
but those also of other princes, nations and cities have been
maintained. Hence this alliance of powers--the greater one of France
and the lesser of the Confederates (which latter are not able by
themselves to sustain so great a war) cannot be dissolved without
injury to the cause of universal freedom. This the kings of France have
always kept in view. And, although at present the Five Cantons continue
to stand aloof from the cities of the Christian _Buergerrecht_, and
this in fact does not the less grieve the King of France, than if (God
forbid!) his two sons were at variance, still he preserves the feelings
and the policy of his ancestors, who valued the friendship and
attachment of no people more than that of the Confederates. Hence, if
he cannot effect a treaty with all Switzerland, on account of the
above-mentioned schism, he is yet at least willing to conclude one with
the cities of the Christian _Buergerrecht_, as well as those cantons,
which are not distant in their views, namely, with Glarus, Solothurn,
Appenzel and the Toggenburgers; and it shall be of such a character,
that even the Zurichers, who would not join the one concluded several
years ago, can no longer have any reason to stand aloof, because it
contains no articles contrary to the Divine law. For this purpose it
shall also be submitted beforehand to the theologians and preachers of
the Gospel in the Confederacy, since it is the dearest wish of the most
Christian King himself, that the Gospel shall be maintained in its
purity." The chief articles proposed by Zwingli are the following:
Twenty years for the duration of this alliance, whose special duty it
shall be to defend the Christian religion, and that against every man
who may assail it, without exception. If one of the two parties is
disturbed, because it has received the Gospel or for other reasons,
then the other shall send aid at the first call; should it, on the
contrary, make the attack, then authority is given, to help only, if
the reasons of the attack be found lawful. The troops of the cities in
the service of the king shall be paid by him. If they desire help, then
the king shall send whatever of cavalry and guns the treaty calls for,
at his own cost. The articles of the Perpetual Peace, already existing
with France, are to continue likewise in full force.
In a private letter sent to his near acquaintance, Maigret, along with
this scheme, Zwingli also proposed, if the King would consent, to open
the alliance to the _Landgrave_ of Hesse, who, though "a young man, was
yet prudent far beyond his years, magnanimous and resolute," and said
there would be no reason either to regret the admission of the Duke of
Wuertemburg, "who, though driven from his country, was living in exile,
but with a stout heart, and possessed of uncommon abilities, in union
with ripe experience; and I may do much also among other cities near
the borders of Switzerland. This I now say to thee, only in
confidence."
It is evident that the Reformer had made himself familiar with the idea
that his scheme would not be presented to the King in such a form.
Indeed, how could the ambassadors have dared even to send it? The very
form of the scheme--Zwingli venturing to speak in the name of the King,
and demand, moreover that the public act, to be issued by him and the
council of his own canton, should be first subjected to the censorship
of certain preachers--would very probably have appeared to Francis
extremely arrogant. For the Gospel he cared nothing. His heart was set
upon Lombardy, for the possession of which he had already waged two
wars with Charles. But to carry out his plans there, he needed the aid
of the Swiss, and hence the allusion to a division amongst them in the
scheme would have ensured it an unfavorable reception. Some days
afterward, Zwingli received written notice from both the ambassadors,
that the time had not yet come to entertain propositions of this
nature. Dangerant used such ambiguous language as to leave it doubtful
whether he anticipated similar communications in the future, or wished
to ridicule the whole affair. Maigret, who was well-disposed, remained
in constant intercourse with the Reformer, and, at a later period,
seems to have made a generous use of a sojourn of several months in
France, to kindle there a more friendly feeling on his behalf, of which
indeed there was great need.[8] He it was, who, after his return to
Switzerland, exhorted Zwingli to develope the substance of his
religious doctrines in a personal letter to the French King, in the
hope, that by this means much of the prejudice of that monarch against
them might be removed. The Reformer consented. In June of the last year
of his life, the writing was finished and sent to Paris, where it is
still extant in the Royal Library, a striking monument of firm faith,
as well as noble candor. As before, against the Emperor, he also speaks
against the French King in regard to political matters. Here we can
only quote the beautiful passage, which, though little apprehended in
that age, and even violently censured by Luther, shows in the most
vivid manner, how for he stood above his century, and how thoroughly he
was penetrated by the conviction that Christianity is designed to be
the universal religion--the kingdom of God, which must embrace all, who
have an honest will. "I believe," says he, "that the souls of the
faithful in Christ, as soon as they have torn themselves loose from the
earthly hull, rise to heaven, enter into closer union with the Godhead
and enjoy an eternal happiness. Here, most Christian King, thou durst
hope, if only like a David, a Hezekiah, a Josiah, thou hast made a wise
use of the power, which God has entrusted to thee, to see Him in his
essence, his form, in his almightiness and goodness, to become the
partaker of the fruits of his blessing, not scantily, but to full
satisfaction; yet not to that satiety which produces disgust, but that
which, in blissful fulness, like the streams that roll everlastingly
down to the sea and out of the pores of the earth renew themselves
again, water the landscape, cover it with smiles and adorn it with a
rich growth of flowers. The happiness, which we enjoy, will be without
end, can never be exhausted, for no weariness comes there; it is ever
new and ever the same. Then durst thou also hope to be taken yonder
into the communion, the society, the confidence of all, who, from the
beginning of the world, have led holy, wise, believing, steadfast,
brave and righteous lives. There wilt thou find the two Adams, the
saved and the Savior, Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Judah,
Moses, Joshua, Gideon, Samuel, Phineas, Elijah, Elisha, Isaiah, and the
God-bearing Virgin of whom he prophesied, David, Hezekiah, Josiah, John
the Baptist, Peter and Paul; there also Hercules, Theseus, Socrates,
Aristides, Antigonus, Numa, Camillus, the Catos and the Scipios; there
Louis the Pious, and thy forefathers, the Louises, Philips, Pepins, as
many of whom as walked by faith. In fine, never has there been a noble
man, never has there existed a pure spirit, a true heart from the
beginning of the world till its end, whom thou wilt not find there,
enjoying communion with the Father."
Let us now turn back to the Five Cantons. The _Landfriede_ had operated
to their prejudice, as compared with their Reformed Confederates. Still
they strove in general to enforce its provisions, but according to that
interpretation, which, at the conclusion of the treaty, they had put
upon certain ambiguous articles. Special conferences among themselves,
and with other co-religionists were not at all abandoned; but neither
was this the case on the side of the Reformed. Yet when they met for
the transaction of private business, the voice of moderation,
especially in the beginning, was not seldom heard. Thus, at a meeting
in Altorf, toward the end of August, 1529, Uri declared with warmth,
"that, if any one of the Five Cantons were attacked contrary to the
Peace, she would pledge life and property for its defence, but that in
several cantons unbecoming language was used, and sundry markings done
with badges (fir-twigs upon their hats), which was improper and a
violation of the _Landfriede_; this they wished to maintain, and hence
did not approve of such things, and it is their friendly request,
that every canton will see it put away from among its people, though
they have done it; for if war should come on account of such reasons
above-named, she would promise nothing, and would feel bound to render
no aid; the Emperor in the meantime should not be written to." A month
later, at a another conference in Brunnen, Zug, in whose midst vehement
passions were still alive, was warned in a similar strain, and "the
deputy told of the unbecoming words which they used, that they should
be put away, lest confusion might arise therefrom;" and again at
Brunnen, in the beginning of the year following, it was resolved, that
"words of reviling and abuse be put away, since they can lead to
nothing good." They, who were guilty of these offences, were, for the
most part, proud, insolent partisan leaders, dreaded on account of
their lawless character and warlike propensities, or else, head-strong
young men, sons of politicians and distinguished councillors, and hence
it was the more difficult to apply a remedy. The Zurichers declared
themselves little satisfied with fines, or the imprisonment of some
poor fellow or obscure hot-head, dragged out of an ale-house, when, on
the other hand, in a large company, in presence of distinguished
members of the Reformed party, a man like Captain Shœnbrunner of Zug
was allowed to read, with ill-concealed malice, a dirty libel in which
Zwingli was accused of unnatural excesses and a loathsome disease; but,
on complaining bitterly of this, they only received the answer: "Our
Lords have told Henry Shœnbrunner, that his conduct does not please
them." It was not the abusive language of an obscure individual, which
created such a stir, but that of an influential man, one who, a short
time before, had been sent to the Imperial Diet at Augsburg and there
honored with a personal interview by King Ferdinand, the Emperor's
brother.
But, as among the Reformed, so also among the Catholics, it was found
very difficult to persuade the most prominent leaders to use measures
of conciliation. The Zugers distinguished themselves by their wild
passion and energy. In order to increase their influence, they sought
and obtained admission into the old confederation of the Four Forest
Cantons, and they were the first who broached the idea of another
alliance with Austria. At the very time, when Collin was dispatched to
Venice, bailiff Thoss of Zug set out for Genoa, and obtained an
audience of the Emperor, whom he followed to Bologna, where he was
graciously received by the Pope. Bern had informed Zurich of this
occurrence, and expressed her anxiety. Perhaps it was through his
reports, that the Five Cantons were induced to send a delegation to the
Imperial Diet at Augsburg, in the summer of 1530. The delegation
consisted of the _landvogt_ of the canton of Luzern and the son of the
then _schultheiss_, Hug, to whom _Baptista ab Isola_ of Genoa was yet
added. The latter, who probably accompanied Thoss on his return home,
had received from Luzern the rights of citizenship and became the
leader of a troop of Italian auxiliaries, which, in the subsequent war,
the Papal legate enlisted for the Five Cantons. Besides the deputies,
there went thither Captain Schœnbrunner of Zug, the _schultheiss_
Hebolt of Solothurn and Rennward Gœldin, a distinguished Zuricher,
who, from indignation at the law against desertion, had left his native
city and espoused the cause of the Five Cantons. The abbot of St. Gall
followed. At the Imperial Diet they all sought assistance from the
Emperor, or at least endeavored, for the encouragement of friends and
the terror of foes, to make the impression that they would obtain it.
For this purpose reports of their brilliant reception and the marks of
honor bestowed on them were spread everywhere--how often they had
spoken with the Emperor and his brother--how often they had been
summoned to confer with influential and illustrious men. But, on the
other hand, reports of quite a different character reached Switzerland
from the observers of the Reformed party, of whom an unknown citizen of
St. Gall appears to have been the most active. His long letters, full
of details, were immediately communicated by St. Gall to the allied
cities. Touching the abbot and the embassy of the Five Cantons, he
expresses himself in the following manner: "Kilian, the pretended abbot
of St. Gall, came hither on the 9th of July. I have seen him several
times, and conversed with his chamberlain and his chancellor on the
street, when they saluted me; yet they betrayed nothing. The chancellor
told me, that his gracious lord was here only to receive a fief from
the Bishop of Chur; item, to wait and see also what would be done at
the present Diet and likewise how it would go with others of the
clerical order, as well as himself. Indeed, his case is such, that even
if the just-named abbot had received wise council, he could not, in my
judgment, accomplish anything. The said Kilian lodges with one Fischer,
at a hotel in some obscure street. On the 10th of the present month, he
dined with the Bishop of Constance; and then on the 11th, in front of
the Bishop's chamber, paced up and down, giving vent there to his
sorrow, anguish and misery, and cries to the Virgin, for more than an
hour, before he was admitted; then without doubt the words of the said
bishop gave him comfort; though I hope their scheme will prove a gross
failure, since I, by the help of God, as far as I can learn the issue
of this business, will send My Lords the very earliest information
thereof. Touching the embassy of the cantons: First, the deputies of
Luzern arrived on the 5th day of this month (July). By the command of
the Emperor, they are lodged at a respectable inn, not far from the
court of the Emperor and King. The _vogt_ of the canton has presented
and delivered to the Emperor many letters, without doubt supplications
and apologies for royal treaties and seals broken on compulsion and
other similar things in writing. But I cannot see, that the Emperor can
give them any special attention, till the decree of the Diet, in regard
to the faith and other articles of like nature, are made known. Then,
there are deputies from Zug, but I cannot see, that they do much
business, except to curry favor with the men of Luzern and keep up
appearances, by begging money for the sham-abbot Kilian and offering
him a _placebo_ (_i.e._ delusive promises of help); thus at no cost to
themselves (but I forget--Kilian must undo his purse-strings and be his
own treasurer and steward) they can see the Emperor, King and members
of the Imperial Diet; therefore, if the Emperor, sometime ago, wished
to form an alliance with thorn, which caused them to be regarded as
very distinguished and useful; now, upon near acquaintance, he will
possibly load them with costly gifts and marks of honor. Mark Sittich
(Austrian governor of the frontier-province of Vorarlberg in the Tyrol)
is laboring hard for this. Although, gracious Lords, great plans and
schemes are devised for the persecution of the Common Confederacy, to
wit, the evangelical cities--Bern, Zurich and their allies and
Christian co-burghers, yet are they, in my judgment, only vain, proud
and bragging fools, who busy themselves here, in a restless and violent
manner, in these proceedings against us. On the fourth day of July,
Mark Sittich made loud complaint to the Emperor about the Zurichers,
how they withheld by force what belonged to him. The Zurichers should
be written to on the subject. These things need looking after, and I
now give Mark's scheme and plan of action with the names: Thus, the
Christian cities in the three cantons are to be surprised, assaulted
and taken; namely, by the Duke of Savoy, with the help of Wallis
(_Valais_) and Freiburg proceeding against Bern; item, the Emperor
against Basel and Constance, and Mark Sittich, with squadrons from the
abbacy and over the Rhine, and the hostile countries beyond, against
us. Then the city of Strassburg is to be besieged. In case the cities,
bound by their burgher-oath, send forth troops to aid their comrades,
these troops are to be suddenly attacked upon the road and no one left
to tell the tale.--All this would perhaps take place, if the Turk had
not marched against Vienna. I have good hope in God, our Redeemer, that
these fellows will fail in many, yea more than half their plans.
Therefore, you, my Lords, may be unterrified if such stories reach your
ears, for our Savior does not bless such base designs. And though it
should happen, it will only redound to His honor and glory."
From these and similar reports we may certainly infer, that the
deputies of the Five Cantons, as well as the abbot of St. Gall, did
their utmost in Augsburg, to win over the Emperor and individual
members of the Imperial Diet to their cause, and found also zealous
advocates. Yet no record of any formal resolution passed in their
favor, or a revival of their alliance with Austria, is extant. On the
contrary, they appear to have returned home not altogether satisfied,
and toward the close of the year 1530, their general behavior exhibits
more of despondency than hope, whilst Zurich assumed a still more
hostile attitude; and Zwingli himself was little inclined to oppose it.
Through his efforts, his exhortations, his correspondence, his travels
the Reformed party grew stronger day by day. Zurich was everywhere
ready with her mediation, or protection--with complaints, if the Five
Cantons, with threats, if their subjects endeavored to prevent the
preaching of the Gospel. Here, in the territories, in which the
Catholic states also had a share, a monastery was broken up to-day,
because the mass of its occupants so desired, and sometimes too, as
happened at Katharinenthal, near Diessenhofen, because intimidated by
force and terror, and there to-morrow, in a parish hitherto devoted to
the old faith, the Reformation, after repeated voting, was carried by a
small majority. Of course a preacher was immediately sent thither, and
rarely did they stop, until they had obliged the ejected Catholic
priest to retire. Some time previous, the Thurgovian _landweibel_ (high
sergeant), one of the most powerful props of the Old Faith party, when
passing through Zurich in the retinue of a _landvogt_ from Unterwalden,
had been there thrown into prison and beheaded; and the _landvogt_
Stocker from Zug, on complaint made to Zurich by the Thurgovians, found
himself, through the assistance which the former granted to the people,
compelled to flee the territory. The _landvogt_ Kretz from Unterwalden
met with the same treatment in the Rheinthal, but in this case without
the aid of Zurich. It certainly cannot be denied, that a considerable
portion of the clergy--of the monks, who were ejected from the
Territories in consequence of the Reformation, were men without
knowledge, often without morals and generally of little worth, and that
the three civil functionaries just-mentioned, had, by their harshness,
immorality and acts of violence, stirred up the righteous indignation
of the people; yet the forms, under which Zurich proceeded, were not
those of confederate law, but the offspring rather of an arbitrary
will, whose continued assumption of power tended only to awaken the
most bitter animosity amongst the Five Cantons, and found no approval
with her own party, including even the cities of the Christian
_Buergerrecht_. The good end could not justify the unlawful means. And
still less was this the case, when, in spite of the decided protest of
the other cantons of the protectorate, she allowed herself to make a
one-sided scale of salaries, increasing the revenues of benefices in
the parishes, which had accepted the Reformation, at the expense of the
rest; and compel Catholics, who had resigned these benefices, to call
in Reformed preachers and pay them more, than required by the treaties.
In vain did the Five Cantons raise a voice of protest at all the
sittings of the general Diet; in vain did they send embassies with
complaints and prayers for redress to the other states. Zurich pushed
forward, secure of support from the majority of the people in the
Territories.
But more yet was in reserve, and principally through Zwingli's
influence. He too sank under the weakness of our common humanity; as
Luther and Calvin in solitary moments, as Borromoo and Francis de
Sales, as the Apostles themselves. _One_ alone never yielded, and
proved by that very fact, that He had come from God. A writing of the
Reformer, still extant, its margin covered with corrections,
improvements and additions--signs of great mental agitation--shows
incontestibly, that with him also, in hours, when his feelings may have
been embittered by the unworthy attacks to which he saw himself more
and more exposed, hatred had prevailed over love, passion over calmness
of spirit, and earthly policy over the guidance of faith. It has this
heading: "What, in the dealings of the Five Cantons, there is need for
Zurich and Bern to ponder over." It affords us a deep glance into his
inner life, and reveals to us the plans with which he was occupied; and
whilst the cold-blooded reader, who sees in history only the results of
human struggles, and declares those most successful, where the most
comprehensive means have accompanied the grandest designs, may read
these with admiration of Zwingli's political sagacity, he, on the other
hand, who measures all things by the rule of the Gospel, will be
obliged to condemn them.
Any one, who derives his knowledge of the history of that period from
original sources, and has read the numerous bills of complaint, handed
in, even at the recesses of the general Diet, by the people of the
Common Territories, and the results of the investigations, which, in
most cases, proved them to be just and well-founded, can imagine the
indignation which Zwingli's view of the case called forth. But to an
honest will other means of redress stood open, before resort to such
extreme measures--to plans that would shake the Confederacy to its very
foundations. But indeed, it is almost certain, that these plans were
never formally laid before the authorities of Zurich and made the
subject of official deliberation. They may have been communications to
a narrow, confidential circle of friends, drawn up more as a frank
confession of his own political faith, than with any hope that their
complete execution was so easily possible in the coming age. Still,
they afford us the necessary key to a right understanding of the part
played by him in the affairs of the Confederacy, during the last two
years of his life, and hence we cannot omit here the main ideas. "In
ancient times," so he writes, "Zurich and Bern united as confederates
with the Four Forest Cantons, Luzern, Uri, Schwyz, and Unterwalden. The
power of both parties was then equal and they held faithfully together,
but the burden of the wars against their enemies on all sides was
great. The cities were the bulwarks; they had not the mountains, the
passes, for their defence. As their territory increased, the greater
injuries fell upon them and the greater costs. With fairness they could
have demanded a change in the relative proportion of right in the
federal councils. But Zurich and Bern were content with some
insignificant grants, respecting the division of booty according to the
number of soldiers, which the treaty of Stanz allowed them; and the
Cantons still kept twice as many votes as the cities, although the
latter, yea even sometimes one of them performed as much as all the
former put together. This produced arrogance among those who, in the
beginning, were modest. _They_ were the governors of the common
bailiwicks; _they_ acted often without consulting the cities. _They_
have strengthened themselves in our times by the admission of a fifth
canton. _They_ concoct everywhere their schemes, before the meetings of
the federal diet; for _them_ the fruit must ripen, where they did not
sow. Shall the two cities endure this any longer? They are confronted
with the federal league, in opposition to the treaty of Stanz, which
guarantees their rights, their number of votes at the diet, in relation
to the Territories; but every claim, privilege or power, is dissolved
or broken, according to divine and human law, when they are misused.
The land of Palestine is an example. In eternity was it promised to the
children of Israel. In eternity were they driven out from it, when they
transgressed the commandment of God. Rome brought into subjection Alba
Longa and the Sabines, from whom she herself had sprung, because they
did not keep the peace and act fairly as neighbors. In history such
examples are innumerable, and it is God's Word that says: 'Put away the
evil from among you." Moreover, it is highly necessary for our
union to lessen their power, or to separate from them. For years back,
neither discipline nor order has been found in their midst. And where
these fail, no government can stand. If it be said, they have their own
rights, their own power, their own government, which must be left to
them, and though these all be abused, we have no right to say anything,
then the answer is: No compact can exist contrary to justice, and if
the one party overlooks this, falls away from it, then the other should
hold them to it, yea, compel them, and if the Five Cantons are
henceforth lost to all sense of right, then it is "certain, that they
must be punished and will be uprooted." So the eleven tribes of Israel
slew the twenty five thousand Benjamites, and so the Romans punished
the Carthaginians, until they brought them into complete subjection.
"Two things only are now to be considered--_when_ and _how_ we shall
punish them. _When?_ Truly it is best to attack them _at once_.
"France will remain neutral; the Emperor is entangled in the affairs of
Germany; they can obtain no help either from Confederates or
foreigners, are ill supplied with guns and other necessaries, and
besides, there are also many good people among them, whose hearts are
more with us than with them. Only, do not begin with prohibiting the
export of provisions; this will not suffice, and prove rather injurious
to ourselves. 'By destroying the bailiwicks (_vogteien_), by annulling
the federal compact, and by invading their territory, we must force
them to obey;' and if the latter will not do, because it seems too
dreadful, then let us immediately lay hold on one of the other means.
"_How so?_ The best is, for our two cantons in concert to seize on the
bailiwicks, indeed to hold back their rights from each of the others,
who have share in the government of the Territories. Then it may be the
most advisable to divide the bailiwicks. But the division is not to be
made according to the number of the ruling powers; their method is not
to be established by a majority of votes; for, in that case, Zurich and
Bern would be shamefully cheated, since the majority has always been on
the side of the Five Cantons. No! if justice is to be done, let the
ruling powers be broken into three equal parts--Zurich and Bern to
form two, and the rest one. Indeed if real power, influence and
importance were taken into account, Zurich and Bern would be entitled
to six-sevenths. Fairness requires the division to be made according to
the proportion of two to one. And this can and will happen, if both
cities are united, if, in the prosperity of the one, the other seeks
hers also, and desires no increase for herself without the increase and
advantage of her neighbor. Each shall endeavor also to form alliances
with foreign cities lying near; yet not alone, but in common, ever
going hand in hand, pledging friendship for friendship, and neutrality
for neutrality. In all the other cantons, sensible people shall be
informed, what great injury may result to them from the continual
mismanagement of the Five Cantons at home and abroad. Hence it will
follow, that the other cantons will also let the Five drop; for their
power now, since the introduction of artillery into all wars, is so
small, that no danger need be apprehended from them. Then too, the
cities are better armed than they, and will accordingly gain, if their
power is broken or diminished. Moreover, the ignorance of the Five
Cantons, in everything that belongs to government, is a reason why we
must separate from them; for, if brothers keep house together, and one
of them does nothing and only squanders, then they must divide, or the
spendthrift will bring them all to poverty.
"But, that they cannot govern, is proved by all their proceedings in
the German and French bailiwicks. In the French cantons they have
ruined the bailiwicks by taking bribes for sentences and appeals and
doing it so scandalously, that no honest man can see or hear it without
great pain. It is fast coming to a rupture also in the German
bailiwicks. Thither they send, either haughty and avaricious _vogts_,
or those of loose character, who rob, break every thing to pieces, and
so behave that every one grows tired of them, and if a separation does
not take place, the general indignation will in the end be transferred
to the _vogts_ of the cities also; for already have several of the
latter been imprisoned for following their shameful example. These
riotous fellows drink, gamble and live with lewd women, to the great
scandal of honest people. In short, if we be not divided from them, or
their power be not so diminished, that they must stand in dread of
Zurich and Bern, then surely a schism will be created among the
cantons, as terrible as that between the Guelfs and Ghibelines in
Italy. _Summa summarum_: He, who cannot be master shall be a miserable
slave. This is written down hastily, in order that both cities may see
what is the most pressing want of the time, and the more bravely lay
hand to the work. No one should indicate the author, but say: God grant
grace!"
God indeed does grant grace to every thing, which, out of a pure
knowledge of it, happens according to his will, and falls back upon it.
And God did grant grace to every manly, true, loving word of the
Reformer, uttered in behalf of spiritual freedom, to the unmasking of
hypocrisy and abominable priestcraft--grace to every thing that he did
and suffered, to bring back faith in the Word of God to the only
foundation, upon which it rests unshaken, purity of heart and will, and
the personal experience of the blessing, which springs from all truly
evangelical conduct. For this Zurich thanks him, and is bound so to do,
as long as she exists. But God is also just. No departure from the
right path can be long continued without injurious consequences, and
least of all in the strongest and most highly gifted. The deviation
from those plans, perhaps the greatest error of his life, and all that
was done in the spirit of them--the servant of the Gospel, which
requires kindness, patient correction of a straying brother, and in
civil life the sacred observance of treaties, he and Zurich must mourn
over.
FOOTNOTES TO CHAPTER EIGHTH:
Footnote 1: The image of St. Fridolin, in the cantonal seal of
Glarus.
Footnote 2: Belief, at the command of the church, even without
personal conviction.
Footnote 3: Luther's Works by Pfitzer. p. 795, 796, 829, 830.
Footnote 4: Zwingli's Works in the edition of Usteri and Vœgelin.
Vol. II. Part 2. pp. 453, 455, 456.
Footnote 5: A powerful and dangerous enemy of the Reformed party in
Switzerland, especially in Graubuenden, and he occupied the strongly
fortified castle of Musso on the northern shore of Lake Como.
Footnote 6: On this point Collin himself says in his report: "The
credentials could neither be read nor understood, for they were very
badly written and in the most confused style; but I let them understand
enough to satisfy them."
Footnote 7: A confession of faith, from the four cities, Strassburg,
Constance, Memmingen and Lindau, which was especially presented to the
Imperial Diet at Augsburg, but neither received nor read, like the
so-called Augsburg Confession drawn up by Luther and Melanchton, and
signed by the German Princes, even the _Landgrave_ Philip, at least
during any session of the Estates of the Empire.
Footnote 8: In a letter, written from France, by a German, in the year
1530, to the Privy Council of Strassburg--in order to urge them, by a
delegation of skillful speakers, to the French Court, in the name of
the German Protestants, to secure the entrance of the Reformation
there, and to send along, if possible, a learned theologian--it is
expressly stated: "Zwingli,Œcolampadius, or Carlstadt should be
sent by no means, for they are too much hated, on account of the
Sacrament; others, except Lutherus, may come; yet, as before said one
of the delegation should be able to speak French, in order to deliver
the address before the King."
CHAPTER NINTH
VAIN ATTEMPTS AT RECONCILIATION. EXPORTATION OF GRAIN PROHIBITED.
OUTBREAK OF WAR. BATTLE OF CAPPEL. ZWINGLI'S DEATH.
The more rapid the advance of Zurich, the slower that of Bern became.
She could count less on the support of her own subjects than the
former. In the Oberland, the fire yet glowed beneath the ashes;
discontent prevailed among the mass of those, who were punished on
account of the rebellion of 1528. With that rude people, the
Reformation, hastily carried out, and not as yet rooted in their minds
and hearts, had tended to weaken the bonds of allegiance. Signs of war
appeared also in the west. Geneva, with whom she had formed a defensive
alliance, was threatened by the Duke of Savoy, and not fully relying on
her own citizens, called on Bern for help. The Government delayed, but
finally asked the Confederates for their usual contingent. The Five
Cantons refused it; and Zurich also, concerned for her own safety,
hesitated about marching an army to such a great distance. Urged by the
repeated demands of Geneva, Bern at last sent out 5,000 men, who passed
through the Pays de Vaud, burning and pillaging, to the great terror of
the inhabitants, and in the end became troublesome in Geneva itself,
through their want of discipline. A treaty with Savoy, concluded at St.
Julien, restored peace for a while; but the lack of zeal manifested by
Zurich, in not coming to the succor, could not but dampen the sympathy
of the Bernese in her affairs.
Two new events occurred, to make her condition only the more critical.
The biennial term of the governor-general of St. Gall expired with the
close of the year 1530. A Luzerner was to take the place of the
retiring Zuricher. Before she would give her consent to the change,
Zurich demanded of him a public avowal, in favor of the Reformation,
and an oath to protect the people of the abbacy. Luzern entreated her
to dispense with such an avowal, and be content with that oath, by
which he was pledged to maintain the _Landfriede_, on the ground that
this of itself would serve to protect the Reformation, wherever
introduced by a majority of votes. Zurich persisted in her demand. She
wished all others to put the same construction on the _Landfriede_ that
she did. In consequence of this, the governor-general Frei not only
refused to leave Wyl, but marched also at the head of an armed troop of
the abbey-people, beyond the limits of his jurisdiction, to compel two
parishes in the Rheinthal, where strife had arisen, to accept the
Reformation. Vainly had Bern, on complaint of the Five Cantons,
implored Zurich to keep faith and admit the Luzernese governor-general,
on the strength of the pledge required by the _Landfriede_, thus giving
his administration a trial. No escape being left for the Five Cantons,
except an appeal to the Confederates, a General Diet was assembled in
Baden, on the 8th of January. The unanimous instruction of the Five
Cantons at this Diet shows the position which they were resolved to
maintain, as well as what was expected from their federal associates.
"We had hoped," so said their deputies in accordance with their
commission, "that all our Confederates had been sufficiently convinced
by deeds, of our firm purpose to uphold the peace and all treaties. But
to us of the Five Cantons, in general, and each in particular, such
manifold injury has been done, since the treaty of the _Landfriede_, so
many innovations exacted, and so many attacks made upon our rights,
that to detail all this would be an endless and perplexing task.
Something, however, shall be presented, to show that we do not complain
without reason.
"In the first place, we have to speak about the governor-generalship of
St. Gall. The place fell by right, on last St. Catharine's day, to our
Confederates of Luzern; but you, Confederates of Zurich, prevented the
governor from entering on his office, brought up new articles, which
you required him to receive beforehand, and demanded an oath to the
peasants; and when we justly complained, you sent in return detailed
missives, without any color of law, (which may be examined, if
necessary), and formally refused in the end to respect our rights. We
are highly aggrieved that any canton in our Confederacy should lose all
regard to justice, and that 'new contrivances should be found for
twisting and glossing over our covenants and treaties,' so that no one
may be bound to let law be law. Of such 'glossing over,' our
forefathers knew nothing; in their time also everything went better
than now. Then, too, our Confederates of Schwyz have been denied
justice in another case. But, though you may think, Confederates of
Zurich, that you have good reasons for acting thus, it yet does not
become you to be yourselves the only judges of the validity of these
reasons.
"Moreover, the government of the Territories has already been often
discussed here in Baden. We believe, that the present resolutions would
be valid; as soon as passed by a majority of the ruling cantons. For if
the majority of votes is of no avail among those possessed of equal
rights, how can treaties ever exist? Leagues and covenants are then
made in vain. From rulers we become servants, if we must do that only
which is commanded by a majority of one or two cantons. Indeed, in this
way, we would by force and against law be driven out of all the
bailiwicks, in which our forefathers won their share honorably and
honestly, by the sword or by other means; and should we brook this from
those who call themselves our friends and Confederates? God forbid! and
with His help we will not suffer it.
"Touching that which you, in connection with Glarus and Wallenstadt,
did there against our rights, an impartial court has been appointed
according to your own request; but you have threatened, that if the
judges do not decide in your favor, you will compel them so to do. Your
governor in St. Gall, instead of taking leave, at the expiration of his
term of office, has stirred up the people of the abbacy and led them
into the Rheinthal, where neither you, nor yours, nor the governor have
any right to act without us. There he has surprised and maltreated two
poor congregations, because the majority have resolved to remain true
to the Old Faith. Who can live with such friends, that do them more
harm than enemies? Though we have suffered much from you hitherto, yet
is our manhood unextinguished. We are lovers of peace. God is with
such. He grants victory to the despised, and truly, he has not yet
denied it to us.
"We do not wish at this time to relate minutely all that we have
experienced at your hands in the Thurgau, Sargans, Baden and the County
of Toggenburg. Because, up to this time, we have been everywhere
deprived of our rights, we now send this last message to you and all
the Confederates. The deputies shall especially inquire, whether, in
the future, you and your adherents will keep the federal compact and
_Landfriede_ with us, let a majority be a majority, act fairly, and
whether deeds will go hand in hand with your promises. If this happen,
then we will pledge ourselves also to do all that becomes honest
Confederates. But if you, Confederates of Zurich, and whoever agrees
with you in these affairs, will not desist from your undertaking, nor
return to the federal compact and _Landfriede_, do not conceal it, so
that we, on our side, may know what to do. And, if you are neither
willing to do the former, nor make known to us the latter, then shall
our deputies appeal to our dear Confederates of Glarus, Freiburg,
Solothurn, Schaffhausen and Appenzell in the following manner:
"Dear Confederates, you have now heard how we have been treated, since
the conclusion of the _Landfriede_. You know, moreover, how, just
lately at a General Diet in Baden, when we paid down the money required
by that treaty, Zurich and her adherents gave us a promise to abide
faithfully by the federal compact and the _Landfriede_, and
particularly to respect and obey the majority in the bailiwicks, as far
as worldly affairs are concerned. How they have kept this promise, we
leave you to judge. Though we do not now know, what may be done by
others, we yet feel bound to uphold the _Landfriede_, which we indeed
have never violated, but always observed, for you are aware how
urgently we were solicited to pay over the money alluded to, lest
further disturbance might arise therefrom--and hence we demand and
exhort you, by our federal compact and the _Landfriede_, of which you
yourselves are parties, to aid and support us in teaching the Zurichers
and their adherents, that they must observe these treaties, according
to their plain letter, and let a majority be a majority, as they are
bound to do by all law, human and divine, and that you proceed therein
with such earnestness, as becomes good Confederates; for we will no
longer endure any more violence of this sort. If no improvement takes
place, we will seek out ways and means, to protect ourselves from
injustice and abide by our own people. In this may the Holy Trinity aid
us! Now, we desire from you a final answer, whether you will help us to
our rights. If not, we will attend no more sessions of the General
Diet, and with the best feelings do not conceal it from you."
Of all the charges made by the Five Cantons, Zurich applied none to
herself. She had never violated nor attacked their rights in worldly
things, even in the remotest manner. How could she then pledge herself
to restore these rights? The whole dispute had arisen from an
incorrect, forced interpretation of the _Landfriede_ by the Five
Cantons. The governments did not stand opposed to each other in
religious matters, and the freedom of the Gospel or its limitation was
not to be decided by a majority of the ruling powers in the
Territories. The _Landfriede_ itself guaranteed the former; _therefore_
Zurich maintained, that she stood here also on perfectly legal ground;
and, in respect to the governorship of St. Gall, had acted likewise in
the spirit of this _Landfriede_, so that, if the Luzernese governor was
not willing to comply with the conditions of Zurich, it was not her
fault.
From these declarations of the parties, it is evident that the task of
mediator was not an easy one. A new event occurred, to render it still
more difficult. At the north-eastern extremity of Lake Como, stood the
strongly-fortified mountain-castle of Musso. It was then occupied by
Jacob Midicis, a bold and skillful adventurer, who had played an active
part in the earlier Italian wars. Supported by his hired bands, he
frequently sailed forth from his hiding-place, to the great disturbance
of his neighbors in Valtlin and Graubuenden. He even ventured to
interrupt the commerce of Graubuenden with Milan, and surprised and
murdered two envoys, sent with complaints to the Duke, on their return
home. Yet more dangerous plans of his, in union with the Austrian
authorities, against the Reformed Confederates, were talked of, and the
report received some color of truth from the increasing preparations
for war, as well as an attack at Morbagnio, upon the Graubuendners, who
had marched out to secure their possessions, and whom, after a stout
defence, he compelled to retreat. An appeal was now made to the
Confederates for armed assistance. They all promised, and dispatched
5,000 men; the Five Cantons only persevered in refusing to furnish
their quota.
"Here you see," said Zurich to the mediators, "their fidelity to the
federal compact; here you perceive with whom they have secret
intercourse--here, whether we were wrong in powerfully opposing the
hypocrites." But it soon transpired, that Austria was not at all
concerned in this affair, and rather disapproved the action of Medicis;
and the Five Cantons sought to justify their inactivity by the
necessity of defending their own borders in such critical times.
The states of the Confederacy, favorable to peace, now supplied the
place of Schaffhausen, who had taken a decided stand with the cities of
the _Buergerrecht_, by calling in the French embassy. The latter
immediately turned to Zwingli himself. "Dear highly esteemed man," they
wrote to him, "we have once before expressed our urgent wishes to thee,
and thou hast not answered us. Very lately the King sent one of his
nobles to us with another earnest command to do all in our power in
aiding to restore and strengthen peace and concord between the
Confederates. In this spirit we addressed ourselves to the deputies (of
the cities of the _Buergerrecht_) present at Aarau. Since we learn that
they will soon assemble again in Zurich, we write to thee also. We beg,
we implore thee, if, as we doubt not, the peace and welfare of Helvetia
are near to thy heart, to do all in thy power to prevent any hostile
act against their Confederates from these men, whom we honor and
esteem, and aid in bringing about a reconciliation. Indeed this is very
urgent, for reasons which make it necessary, but which we have not now
time to communicate, they are so many; and if thou knowest them
thyself, thou wouldst esteem thyself happy in such a work, and must
hereafter in the opposite case unavoidably condemn thyself; and that
thou canst produce either the one or the other, of that we are
convinced. If you push it to a war, not six months will go by before it
will take such a turn, that the Zurichers will be sorry enough for what
we now know and foresee. We pray thee think over the contents of this
letter; perceive therein a proof of our sincere regard; inform us what
can be done on your part to give the business a happy direction. For
ourselves, nothing will gain us greater thanks from the King. On the
contrary, if war breaks out among you, the victorious party must in the
end be just as much weakened as the other. And beforehand already, must
they, who should be afraid to cause it, be forsaken by their friends,
because the latter, engaged to other allies also, must condemn such
cruel, reckless and passionate conduct."
Zwingli did not suffer himself to be moved by this letter, and
Zurich likewise persevered in carrying out her fundamental principle,
to do everything for the freedom of the Gospel, even where she did not
rule alone, or had but a small share of the sovereign authority--to do
it also in the way of armed interference, if negotiation did not
suffice. In vain did the advocates of peace redouble their labors; in
vain did the warnings of Bern become more and more pressing. The
governor-general Frei still prolonged his official term at Wyl, stirred
up the people of the abbacy and conducted their affairs. A bill of
purchase for the monastery was made out by the city of St. Gall, and a
release of the Toggenburgers from all allegiance to the abbey for the
sum of 15,000 florins, which was ratified by Zurich, and through her
exertions by Glarus also, in spite of protests from Luzern and Schwyz.
In the Thurgau, Zwingli succeeded in applying the revenue, arising from
fines in the lower courts, to purposes of charity, against all
opposition of the magistrates, who had hitherto appropriated them to
their own use. All this increased continually the number of his enemies
and the complaints at the confederate assemblies, and among the
advocates of peace. The language of the Five Cantons became more
threatening; the subjects of Zurich, whom business led into the
interior, were obliged to hear words of bitter reviling, and were even
personally attacked; one of them had his horse killed in Ægeri. Much
was reported about the rude speeches and rough manners of certain
prominent individuals. By all this, on the other hand, Zurich sought to
justify her conduct, and in fact the displeasure of the remaining
cities of the Christian _Buergerrecht_ was kindled anew against the
Five Cantons, who were not able to quell the growing barbarity of many
of their subjects; a proof of general corruption in morals, just where
the greatest boast was made of ancient simplicity. The Reformer
meanwhile had aided in establishing synods in the Thurgau, in
Toggenburg and in St. Gall, and was frequently present at their
sessions. Everywhere he saw the resolution of a majority of the people
to fight, if necessary, for the Gospel. His presence inspired
confidence and respect. In St. Gall he was honored by a musical
festival, projected by one of his numerous friends, and in other places
he preached to great crowds with general applause. Zurich should be
true to herself, was his continual exhortation, and must persevere to
the end. In order, therefore, to exert a new and powerful influence
upon the cities of the _Buergerrecht_, Zurich invited them to hold a
conference; which, with all in attendance, was opened on the 6th of
March. A detailed list of the vile calumnies to which influential
leaders in the Five Cantons had given currency was presented, the
declared resolution of Zurich not to suffer them any longer, and the
petition for aid to prevent and punish them in the future. Bern
regretted the calumnies, and acknowledged that Zurich had sufficient
reason to be angry, but pointed to the mighty preparations for war,
which the enemies of the Reformation were making in the Empire and
Italy. The Five Cantons may be well aware of this, had perhaps received
secret promises of assistance, and hence their leaders behaved more
rudely of late. Then the guilt of this abuse, though so provoking in
and of itself, should not be charged upon the cantons as a whole, but
only upon certain individuals. Besides, the present scarcity of
provisions should be thought of, and the very last means for peace
exhausted, before arms should be resorted to. Hence her deputies
proposed to send an embassy to the Five Cantons, from the collective
cities of the _Buergerrecht_, even without Zurich, if she did not see
fit to join it. Earnest expostulation and at all events a hint about
prohibiting the export of provisions, in case a hearing were refused,
could not remain without its due effect. Basel said that sending
embassies and letters were useless. The overbearing disposition of
these people, as well as their rudeness, was well known.--Deputies
could easily meet in such a way as would only widen the breach. Let us
once more call a Diet at Baden and bring up there our common
complaints. Together we will demand a speedy remedy. If they promise,
it is well; if not, our honor is preserved, though we break asunder.
Schaffhausen and St. Gall expressed the same opinion, and Bern likewise
fell in with the invitation.
Meanwhile, the latter had not been wrong in her conjecture. There were
yet many undoubtedly in the Five Cantons, who were neither guilty of
such rough sayings and doings themselves, nor approved of them in
others. Indeed, the majority of the rulers saw well that their
position, hitherto not unfavorable, would be endangered thereby; and
willingly would they have put away all such things, had it been
possible to change the nature of the people. Hence their deputies, to
secure whose attendance Bern had made great exertions, appeared in the
General Diet at Baden with a tolerable degree of modesty.
They desired a copy of the complaints of Zurich, answered them as they
were brought forward, point by point, as far as they could do this
beforehand, declared the willingness of their lords to punish yet more
severely after due investigation, and excused their people by the fact
that they also were obliged to hear many a bitter speech among the
Reformed, and one rude word begets another. Their faith too had been
frequently assailed by the preachers, the mass spoken of with contempt,
and they themselves called 'blood-sellers' and 'money-eaters,' in the
pulpit. The sooner the cities would find out that such things were also
punishable, the more ready would they on their side be to deal likewise
with the unruly, and if their sentences would sometimes be less severe
than the cities had expected, they were at liberty to treat the
perpetrators according to their own pleasure, whenever they came within
their jurisdiction. At this juncture, the neutral cantons earnestly
exhorted the one party to fulfill its promises, and the other to be
satisfied with them. But when the deputies of the Five Cantons wished
to speak yet about the state of the Territories, the Zurichers declared
that they had no authority to touch upon these things, and so they
parted, Zurich and the Five Cantons; neither put in a right position,
nor brought nearer to each other.
But the former and Zwingli, in chief, were not at all inclined to be
satisfied with what was done. They saw increasing danger in the
continued postponement of all active interference. His sermons became
warlike. Help must be extended to the oppressed in the Five Cantons;
the multitude of those, who desired the freedom of the Gospel, but from
whom it was withheld in the most unjust and violent manner, against the
plain meaning of the _Landfriede_. "There is no longer any safety,"
said Zwingli in the pulpit, "till the Reformation is thoroughly carried
out. Its enemies would long ago have given way, had we only banished
from our own midst all lukewarm, indifferent persons, and all secret
traitors. Against these we must now proceed with untiring zeal and
unfaltering purpose, even in the cities of the _Buergerrecht_. Our
allies must be brought to support us in this, and not drag us down with
them into the abyss through their culpable negligence." A deputation
was now sent thither, composed of members of the Council, who visited
Bern, Basel, Schaffhausen and St. Gall, and communicated an enlarged
list of grievances, the warnings that had arrived from abroad, and a
review of the conduct of the Five Cantons in the affair with the tyrant
of Musso, in which they were accused of breach of covenant and a desire
to bring about the ruin and destruction of the city of Zurich, as well
as the dismemberment of a glorious Confederacy. "We can no longer, in
any way, keep quiet and yet justify ourselves before our own people. We
can, may, and will no longer let the matter drop, but undertake
everything, which the high and serious nature of the case demands,
everything which may be needful for the maintenance of Divine truth,
and the deliverance of all who adhere to the same." The answers of the
collective cities were asked for with all possible dispatch.
They arrived after a few days. Bern wrote in a grave and moderate tone;
she greatly deplored the continued disturbances of the peace; yet,
"since matters had come so far, and out of regard to their dangerous
course," she prayed Zurich for this time to use no violence against the
Five Cantons, but remain quiet till the next _Buergertag_ (diet of the
cities) in Aarau; to which she had summoned her, Basel, Schaffhausen,
St. Gall, Biel and Constance. She said also, she was now compelled to
declared positively, that if her Confederates and Christian co-burghers
of Zurich should ever employ any actual force, they need count on no
help from her; and might shape their plans accordingly. Basel and
Schaffhausen showed far more sympathy, but likewise wished for a
general consultation before further steps were taken. St. Gall begged
Zurich to try peaceful measures once more; and if in vain, she then
pledged herself to abide true to her obligations.
Zurich promised to attend the appointed diet, but did not suspend the
preparations for war, which she had already begun. Her deputies, the
burgomaster Roist, the banneret Schweizer and Jost von Knosen, appeared
in Aarau with binding instructions. They were to surrender nothing,
hear no more plans of mediation, and consent to no longer delay of
punishment. Bern persevered just as decidedly in protesting against any
breach of the peace. By the urgent solicitation of the others, the
Zurichers were at last prevailed on, to give the decisive answer in
their own city, whither the collective deputies now went with them, in
order to lay the matter before the Council itself. They were already
agreed among themselves in no case to go further than consent to
proclaim and execute, in common with Zurich, a decree against the
export of provisions, as proposed by Bern, and that only when all other
milder measures were exhausted.
With one accord they began to entreat the Council to lay aside all
warlike preparations, not wantonly to disturb the internal peace,
whilst danger threatened from without, not to carry bloodshed into the
rural districts, where so many innocent people were yet living, not to
destroy the ripening harvest, the only hope of the poor, of so many
widows and orphans; but Zurich vehemently resisted and would not give
way in the least. Once before, said the Councils, against our
convictions, in order to please others, we consented to a peace, which
has only resulted in our greater injury. Shall we now do it again, and
let slip out of our hands the advantage which we at this moment
possess? To wait till the Emperor, till Austria comes to their aid, or
perchance lends secret support to Medicis--to hope for truth and
faithfulness among those, to whom nothing could be more welcome than
our total destruction? The proposal also to lay an injunction on the
export of provisions found no favor in the beginning. This remedy was
thought more hateful than war itself. An honorable war was not contrary
to the Word of God; but it would be unchristian to cut off bread from
the mouths of the guilty and the innocent--thus completely destroying
the old, the sick, pregnant woman, child and those otherwise oppressed
by the tyranny of the Five Cantons. Bern endeavored to show the
contrary, and the others joined her. Bloody deeds once done could no
more be recalled, whilst the enemy at any moment could put an end to
the want occasioned by the prohibition, by simply giving satisfaction.
At last Zurich submitted, although, as it runs in the record,
"reluctantly and sadly, only for the honor and pleasure of the allies."
But Zwingli was so highly displeased with the resolution, that,
according to Bullinger's narrative, he censured it even in the pulpit.
"He who is so bold," said he, "as to call another 'liar,' to the face,
must let word and blow go together. If he does not smite he will be
smitten. Ye men of Zurich, have cut off the supply of provisions from
the Five Cantons as evildoers. Then ought ye now to follow the blow,
and not leave the innocent poor to starve. But since you sit still, as
though you had not sufficient reason for the punishment, you will
oblige them to beat and punish you, and this too will be done."
Immediately after the passage of the act, on the 21st of May, Bern
issued her declaration to the Five Cantons, in the following words:
"Although, at the time of its ratification, it was everywhere published
and forbidden by the _Landfriede_, that one party should attack the
faith of the other, or do them injury in person, honor or property, or
revile or abuse them; although we, on our side, have obeyed, and
punished our people in case of transgression, and although your
deputies, a short while ago at Baden, gave pledge that the same would
be done by you; nevertheless it has never been done. We, our neighbors
and our subjects, contrary to all justice, in defiance of the federal
compact and sworn treaties, have been reviled as rogues, heretics,
villains, in every insulting manner, and accused of scandalous crimes,
by you and yours; of which we gave you notice in writing, in March of
this year. We have borne it with patience, overlooked it, and urgently
exhorted you to punish the evil-doers according to their deserts. It
has never been done, and we must believe that you yourselves take
pleasure in it. Indeed we would have more than enough of right and
authority to proceed against you at once; but, that the innocent, the
widows and the orphans may be spared, we have chosen a milder remedy,
which we are permitted to use by the _Landfriede_ itself, in case you
refuse to obey its stipulations. Therefore, from the coming Whitsunday,
neither you nor yours shall approach our lands and territories in any
manner, or carry away from them anything, by which man must live, until
you have punished, according to the weight and magnitude of their words
and deeds, according to their desert, in person, honor and property,
the insolent, wanton revilers and abusers, whom we have pointed out to
you, and whom you will soon discover for yourselves; till you once go
earnestly to work, and have put away such unmanly and unchristian
doings, so that we and ours may remain secure in the presence of you
and yours; for such downright injustice, such words of scandal and
shame, we are no longer able to endure. Take your measures
accordingly." On the 27th of May, followed the declaration of Zurich
still more ample in its details and more severe.
What Zwingli had correctly, and what the well-meaning advocates of
peace still more correctly anticipated, became more and more evident
from day to day. The cities of the _Buergerrecht_ who had mutually
pledged themselves "to persevere together and not lay aside the
prohibition, except by the common consent and knowledge of all," could
neither retreat nor advance. It did not, as they hoped it would, rouse
up every power, hurry along the cautious and irresolute and unite them
all together. Instead of this, it gave them time for reflection, time
to consider the matter on all sides; censures were heard; the feelings
were appealed to, especially pity, which found eloquent advocates in
the frontier districts. On the other hand, the exasperation of the
Catholics increased from week to week, and overpowered gradually those
who were hitherto peacefully inclined, and as want penetrated their
abodes, even the secret friends of the Reformation. "It is barbarous.
Our forefathers never dealt thus with each other. If individuals have
sinned, is it fair that innocent woman and children should suffer for
it?" Skilfully was this disposition made us of, by those particularly,
who were conscious of their own guilt. They did everything to represent
the measure in its most hateful light. "No giving way, till the
prohibition is raised," was heard in all parts of the country,
resounded from every quarter against the advocates of peace, who still
did not relax their efforts, but wrote letters, and traveled from place
to place with unwearied zeal. Courage rose with the pressure of want.
"We must go and fetch the food, which is so inhumanly denied us." So
far from opposing, their Reformed neighbors frequently aided them in
these attempts. Provisions were concealed in bales of goods, which were
allowed to cross the line, and very often the Bernese authorities were
deceived by their own subjects to the advantage of the needy. And we do
not find, that, when discovered, such proofs of brotherly compassion,
and perhaps even of a secret leaning toward the old system, were
severely punished by them.
On the other hand, the prohibition, once declared, was sternly carried
out by Zurich. With the rest, it was only form; with her, reality. By
an embassy to Glarus she induced the _Landsgemeine_ (commons) of that
canton, with a majority, it is true, of only about thirty votes, to
adopt it as a principle, and as soon as this was accomplished, she
demanded of Wesen and the inhabitants of the Territory of Gaster,
subjects of Glarus, but at the same time also of Schwyz, to execute the
prohibition against the latter. At this, Bern was highly displeased,
and wrote to Zurich: "We beg you to consider how hard it is for a
subject to refuse provisions to his lord, and therefore to act
moderately and not be too rash, remembering how willingly you would
receive it from your own, if they were to deny you saleable
commodities; think well over the matter." This remonstrance had little
effect upon Zurich, and henceforth the hateful features of a measure,
which she had originally opposed with all her power, and only adopted,
because no other way of escape stood open, became more and more
visible.
At this juncture, envoys from Freiburg, Solothurn and Appenzell, along
with the two ambassadors of France, appeared again in Zurich with
offers of aid in new negotiations for peace. The Frenchmen declared,
that the people of the Five Cantons had asked for their intercession,
and although their statement before the Council was ill-received, on
account of certain allusions to the passionate behavior of Zurich as
not strictly evangelical, still the latter consented to attend another
General Diet of the Confederacy, to be held at Bremgarten, because
Zurich and Bern refused to appear in Baden, which they blamed for an
offensive partiality toward the Five Cantons. The meeting took place on
the 14th of June. It was attended by all the States, by deputies from
the city of Chur, from the Three Leagues (the Grisons), from Wallis
(_Valais_), from Rothweil, from the _landgraviate_ of the Thurgau and
the nobility there, and from the district of Sargan, as well as by the
French ambassadors, and those of the Duke of Milan, and the Countess of
Neuenberg. Gervasius Schuler and Henry Bullinger preached sermons in
favor of reconciliation and concord; but how could the negotiations
proceed, when the Five Cantons demanded the raising of the prohibition,
before a single word should be spoken? To own thus publicly that they
were wrong, and had acted hastily, was too much even for Bern, and
hence she united with Zurich in requiring, before any promise to raise
the prohibition could be made, a declaration on the part of the Five
Cantons, that they would abide by the _Landfriede_, so interpreted,
that the free preaching of the Gospel would be secure not merely in the
Territories, but in districts also immediately under the rule of its
adversaries. By this means the breach became yet wider, and the humor
in which the deputies of the Five Cantons took their leave, led those
of the burgher-cities to look for speedy and dangerous results. Before
parting they consulted over the most urgent measures. Zurich affirmed,
there were certain indications, that the Five Cantons were arming and
would appear on the frontiers under pretext of carrying away grain, but
at the same time with the determined purpose of making a formal
invasion. It would be prudent to anticipate them; at any rate to
appoint leaders and a place of rendezvous for soldiers at once, and to
agree upon a plan for a campaign in case of necessity. The deputies,
with the exception of those from Basel and St. Gall, said that they had
no authority for going so far. If Zurich were attacked, the Bernese
thought she should "not be too ardent, and overshoot the mark, but wait
for an advantage and not make assault, until well assured, though
obliged to restrain one hamlet, or two or three together, and then she
should hasten to inform us and the other Christian co-burghers of it,
and then we of Bern will send quickly such a number of people as we
think advisable, and with the rest, because we have to keep an eye on
the Wallisers, will press against the Luzerners and Unterwaldners, so
that the Five Cantons will be compelled to keep themselves apart."
Meanwhile the advocates for peace were unwearied in their efforts.
Already a second meeting in Bremgarten was appointed, and the French
ambassadors, on the 4th of July, addressed Zurich and Bern once more.
"Some days ago," they wrote, "several respectable men from the Five
Cantons were with us, not, it is true, in an official capacity. They
gave us a lively picture of the distress in their country, and exhorted
us to beg you to exercise that charity toward them, which is due from
one Christian to another. They assured us, that by a voluntary raising
of the prohibition, you would so win upon the heart of the Five
Cantons, that any reasonable demand of yours would readily be granted,
and the most obstinate even would be obliged to give way. Therefore,
mighty lords, we have consented, for the honor of God, for the sake of
the King, and in obedience to that precept of the Gospel, which you
profess: 'Love not your friends only, but your enemies also', urgently
to beseech you: Do away with this misery! Remember, that they are your
Christian brethren, your neighbors; that they speak your own language;
that you are one nation, friends, kinsmen--were united in old times,
and must be again in the future. Show love and mercy toward them, as
you would wish them to do toward you. Withhold not from them that
blessing, which God has bestowed on you. Regard not the words of abuse,
nor anything else, by which they have injured you. Thousands among them
are innocent of these things; as was indeed abundantly shown in
Bremgarten. Truly you will follow the command of God, you will act as
the Gospel teaches; in future generations it will bring you honor. Wise
and beloved lords, we write in haste before the Diet meets again. We
wish to put an end to the famine as speedily as possible. Fulfil our
prayers, and we pledge you our King will remember the favor and repay
it gladly, as far as in him lies."
It is not surprising, that upon a portion of the councils at least,
some effect should be produced by such appeals, and no less by the
reports concerning the disposition of their own people, which reached
them from time to time. One of these was communicated to Zurich by the
commander of Hitzkirch, Albert von Muelinen. It related to an event,
that occurred in a popular assembly at Lenzburg. The government of Bern
had called it together, partly to correct false rumors by a special
deputation, and partly to explain the reasons of the prohibition and
exhort the people to perform their duty in case of need. When now they
were formally enjoined so to do, one cried out: "Where is it written in
the Gospel that we must deny food to our neighbor?" another: "We will
have no war for religions' sake; if they are not willing to believe in
God, let them stick to the devil!" Another wished a delegate to be sent
to Bremgarten, and others still referred to a declaration of the
government made at the opening of the Reformation, that it should begin
and end in peace. The resolute behavior of the Bernese deputies was
scarcely able to prevent an actual outbreak on the part of the
malcontents.
Under such circumstances, the inactivity of some, the perplexity of
others, and the ill-humor of a third class, rendered Zwingli's
situation more difficult from day to day, as the number of those, who
blamed him with all the evil, and pointed him out as an unceasing
author of mischief, continued to increase even in Zurich. Fierce was
the anger of the Nobles' Guild, because six of its members, accused of
hostility to the Reformation, had been obliged, chiefly through his
exertions, to withdraw, part from the Great and part from the Small
Council. The majority of the millers and bakers also opposed him,
because they attributed the fact, that the authorities had of late
become far more strict in their supervision, to his preaching. "For,
from the most ancient times," Bullinger, who narrates this, adds,
"preachers have had to bear the blame, when obliged to preach against
anything done contrary to the Word of God." To the burgher of the town,
it was pretended by his enemies, that he was seeking the favor of the
country-people, in order by their aid to keep down the cities; to the
country-man, who, in the present condition of things, saw his cottage,
his undefended property, the life and fortune of his family in
continual peril, that he alone stood in the way of peace with the Five
Cantons. Intrigue, mistrust, disunion reigned in the Council itself. It
became more and more difficult to find suitable persons to execute
important missions. Several of the most experienced statesmen
endeavored to withdraw. The well-meaning sighed over the inextricable
confusion.
Matters had already come to such a pass, that a feeling of his own
forsaken condition took hold of the Reformer himself. "Hence he came,"
as Bullinger informs us, "before the Council and burghers, on the 26th
of July, and told how he had now preached the Gospel for eleven years,
and warned them with the fidelity of a father, and thoroughly and often
and abundantly pointed out, amongst other things, what evil would ensue
to them and the Common Confederacy, if the Five Cantons, _i.e. the crew
of pensioners_, should get the upper hand. All this had no effect upon
them. It could easily be seen that there were yet those in the Council,
who did not disdain the wages of blood, and were the best friends of
the Five Cantons and enemies to the Gospel. Further, the city had
managed ill and could expect little good to come of it. And because she
would not follow him and the truth, and he was continually blamed for
every disaster that happened, he would now bid them farewell." He said
this with tears, according to the testimony of Werner Steiner, one of
his friends, and then left the council-house.
The alarm was general; much was said here and there. At last the two
burgomasters and several of the most prominent members were
commissioned to persuade him to retract his resolution. The meeting
took place about noon of the same day. Zwingli asked time for
reflection; and on the 29th of July appeared again before the Council
to say that he would not abandon the post, in which the city had placed
him until death. The effect of this declaration was soon manifest in
the reviving spirit of the Council. None of its members were permitted
to resign, and on the 6th of August the following ordinance was
published: "That for some time past manifold discord, anger and
contrariety have arisen in the Councils and among the burghers, so that
certain individuals have frequently refused to execute the business and
commands imposed upon them, and thereby encouraged others to purpose
the same, is well known to us; and we desire that every one, be he of
the Small or of the Great Council, when entrusted with an embassy, on
horseback or otherwise, will dutifully perform it, unless he make oath
that he could not do so, without the sacrifice of his life. If any fail
in this duty, he shall be arraigned, and an inquiry held as to the
proper punishment."
Zwingli, seeing the chief danger in the vacillation of Bern and her
lack of energy, resolved, since, just at that time, another meeting in
Bremgarten had been brought about by the advocates of peace, to use all
his personal influence with Jacob von Wattenwyl and Peter im Haag, the
Bernese deputies there. He entered the city at night-fall, accompanied
by Peter Collin and Werner Steiner. The consultation took place
immediately, in the house of Bullinger and in his presence. They all
agreed that it was now too late to recall the prohibition, except the
Five Cantons would first yield. Such a step of weakness would only
render them more overbearing. But to carry it out, and yet remain at
peace, was still more doubtful. The oppressed would rise up, and then
all the injury, resulting from the invasion, and every kind of
reproach, would be heaped upon them. Whether Zwingli gave any further
counsel, is not stated in Bullinger's narrative. He simply adds, "the
Bernese promised to do their best." At all events, the Reformer
departed with a heavy heart. As if conscious that he would never meet
again on earth the friend, who went with him as far as the city-gate,
he took leave of him with weeping eyes, repeating three times the
words: "God keep thee, dear Henry, and be thou faithful to the Lord
Christ!"
This scene occurred on the night of St. Laurence's day, and just at
that time, according to Bullinger, the famous comet of 1531 first
became visible. Zwingli gazed at it from the churchyard of the Great
Minster. "What can it portend?" was the question put to him by the
abbot George Mueller of Wettingen, in accordance with the belief of the
age. "It will cost me, my George, me and many an honorable man his
life. The truth and the Church will suffer calamity, but God will not
forsake them!" In the pulpit he spake in a similar strain: "Thou wilt
not punish pride, Zurich. Well then! thou wilt be punished thyself; a
hedge of thorns will bristle about thy head. The chain is forged, which
will twist my neck and that of many a pious Zuricher. Still, God will
maintain His Word, and pride will have its fall."
It seems that he was already familiar with the thought of an early
death. Indeed, who knows if he did not desire it? What could vindicate
him in the face of his accusers and enemies raging on all sides, like
perseverance to the end, like death in defence of his cause, the
freedom of that Gospel, from which alone he could hope for a better
future, the regeneration of his fatherland, of humanity? He may indeed
at this crisis have glanced back over his past life, and examined
himself, whether he was as blameless as he was steadfast, whether the
good spirit had not forsaken him. A clear conscience could bear witness
that he had never sought anything, save the truth and the welfare and
honor of his country. Perhaps in solitary moments the question may have
come up before him: "Art thou equally content with all the means which
thou hast employed?"
This was the serious question. The answer could be more or less
satisfactory, just as the Reformer understood the mission of his life.
"The years of our life are three score and ten, and by reason of
strength they may be four score." As a rule, the half of this period
may be devoted to active duties. He, then, who does not shrink from
laying before the world the results of honest research and conviction;
he who breaks a path and removes obstacles, that stand in the way of
others; he who wishes not only to sow but to reap, to behold the rich
fruits of his labor, can neither be idle nor reflect too long, in every
case, about the choice of means. These are often, in and of themselves,
by no means blameless, and yet the only ones by which the end can be
speedily attained; for usually adversaries are to be dealt with who are
not all scrupulous themselves. They must be beaten by their own
weapons. Such in all ages, has been the policy of men, especially those
whom history calls great. The Jesuits were neither the first, nor the
only politicians who adopted the maxim, that the end sanctifies the
means; although they perhaps have given it the most damnable
application. If a man is fully bound by his calling to act with
promptness and decision, if the present generation, or his fatherland,
suffers or gains by his action, then his task is doubly difficult, and
cases may be supposed, where he is not left free to choose between
means that are censurable and those that are praiseworthy, but only
between those that are less censurable and those that are more so. Such
is the unenviable position of the statesman; and it will thus continue,
until public life is so transformed, that fair and pure measures will
suffice for its maintenance; in other words, until the visible
revelation of the kingdom of God here below, which Christ proclaimed,
which he foresaw, and for which he himself scattered the seed in the
earth.
This kingdom of God is that of universal freedom, truth and love. It is
built only upon a faith not imposed, upon a personal conviction. Hence,
to promote it is a very different mission, one that belongs to the
preachers of the Gospel. They should employ none but the purest means,
since their aim is altogether pure and holy. Whether its coming will be
slow or rapid, is not for us here to consider. They are to seek
greatness not by ruling and domineering, but by serving and waiting,
like their Divine Exemplar. He who labors in His service, before whom
"a thousand years are as one day," full of unshaken trusty leaves it to
Him, to fix the time when His harvest shall be ripe. To-day the seed
falls among thorns; to-morrow it drops into a fertile soil, and in the
end fruit, sixty and a hundred-fold, will not be wanting. But then a
laborer in this kingdom, since it often has to do with the wants and
wishes of governments, or the peculiarities of states, will be drawn by
necessity to take part in secular affairs, to exert a direct influence
upon political life; yet he durst not swerve from those fundamental
principles, which must guide his course; he cannot sacrifice the higher
calling to the lower. That in the bosom of the Reformer, along with the
peaceful review of all his labors and sufferings for evangelical
liberty, such a consciousness may have awakened, in the last year of
his life, some regret in regard to certain events in his political
career, is quite probable from the deep seriousness and melancholy,
which we observe in him at this period, as well as from the fervor with
which he cast himself into the arms of the Supreme Disposer of all
human destinies. He was not at all angry, when reminded of the duty of
forbearance and love, whenever he perceived that the exhortation came
from a heart that wished him well. To the end of his life he continued
on friendly terms with Valentine Tschudi, his successor in Glarus, who,
though cherishing all honor toward his former beloved teacher, did not
approve of his frequent rough manner of proceeding, and without fear
reminded him of the patience and mildness required by the Gospel. At
this very time, when Zwingli was powerfully urging the use of
compulsory measures against the Five Cantons, Tschudi wrote to him:
"There is an old proverb, dearest teacher, 'So many heads, so many
minds.' If from this source discord often arises about trifles, need we
wonder, should it become yet more violent, where the most important
matters are concerned? In a time, when the most learned are at their
wits' end, I do not believe, like many others, that we should fan their
passions into a general blaze by always accusing our enemies, but that
the more care should be taken, lest we slide from the common foundation
of our faith--love. Here only can we stand firm; all else is wavering,
dependent on accidental circumstances, as all earthly things are. I
cannot understand, how, though the old building be so rotten, we can
erect a new one, solely on the foundation of the letter, without love,
without the communion of saints. How many congregations did there not
formerly flourish in Asia, in Africa, in Greece? What became of them,
when their leaders quarrelled, when under the mask of science, ambition
arose, and like Icarus, would soar with waxen pinions toward the sun?
Human science is one thing; wisdom, kindled by the breath of God,
another; and that is love. I see this love forsaking even the most
learned, and in its stead appear indifference toward God; contempt of
authority, a trampling upon law and judgment, a life of ungovernable
passion. Exert your utmost strength, honored teacher, to prevent it
from vanishing altogether. The mere knowledge of the Word cannot
protect us, if every one is allowed to interpret it as he pleases, if
the spirit of concord, the Holy Spirit does not dwell in them, who use
it. The generosity, which breathes through your last letter, and of
which in earlier days I received so many proofs, deserves my warmest
thanks. It may easily happen, that I will yet be obliged to take refuge
with one of my friends; for some are angry at my slow progress, and
others at my slight disposition, to apologize for the old order. But I
cannot abstain from aiding the weak and comforting distressed
consciences. I will rather endure reproach for too much lenity, than
render the breach incurable by untimely violence. Little salvation as I
expect from ceremonies and external acts, I look for just as little in
science also, until the spirit of concord return to our bosoms, and its
peaceful culture be made possible. Indeed drag-chains even can become
indispensable to the wagon, when it rolls in its rushing course down
toward the abyss. God be with us! May his Spirit lead us into a secure
haven! Do all that in thee lies, to attain this end."
But what could Zwingli do in the circumstances by which he was
surrounded? To hold back the wagon, or to guide it, was no longer in
his power. A higher Hand had already seized the reins, to direct it
according to a plan, which, though dark and mysterious to the men of
that age, succeeding generations, who are able to see all the events in
their connection, have learned to admire for its wisdom. We again draw
near one of those periods in the lives of nations, when everything must
be ventured for the cause of truth and liberty, the rights of
conscience preserved by death, past errors atoned for by a glorious
expiation, and the censure of posterity disarmed by the magnitude of
the sacrifice.
The Reformer continued firm as a rock. About the end of August he wrote
to Conrad Som of Ulm, after giving some notice of the appearance of the
comet: "I stand unshaken prepared for everything, seeking my help in
God." He heard without alarm, how people in one place were terrified by
monstrous births, and how in another reports were afloat concerning
portentous signs, a shield and banner seen in the sky; ships manned by
spirit-warriors crossing Lake Luzern; and the shooting of guns by
night, that wakened from slumber the neighbors on the Reuss. Ulric
Meier, _vogt_ of Schenkenberg, wrote to him a long letter, telling how
the inhabitants of an entire parish, he himself, the preachers and a
proprietor of that district, had seen blood ooze from the earth, after
a stormy night, more dreadful than any he had ever before witnessed; he
gave him this accurate information, so that he might not believe, if
others should tell him yet worse things; and had written moreover to
the government of Bern. Whether God had spoken, or whether it was
delusion or magic, may perhaps be discovered hereafter. But why should
stories like these, which undoubtedly produced a fearful commotion in
the trembling multitude, daunt him, who was fixed in his faith, his
action, his purpose--reconciled even to the assurance of an early
death? One thing alone could cause him pain--the thought of leaving
behind his wife and children, a growing family, destined perchance to
feel the consequences of every change of fortune. He desired for them
an easier life, than he had led; that they might not sink before their
time beneath a load of trouble and toil. "Spare your young folks," he
wrote to Berchtold Haller and Megander of Bern; "they, who are now
fairer than milk, redder than roses, should not stalk along pale,
withered, bloodless, with corpselike faces, slain in their bloom by the
unnatural severity of excessive toil? My shoulders are not granted to
you all. I trust in God, such times will not last forever. Spare
yourselves also. The future needs you; for what will remain, if all the
good die?"
In such a mood he beheld the last effort of Zurich. It was the 9th of
September, 1531. From all quarters came in reports of warlike
preparations and movements in the Five Cantons. Schwyz and Uri at last
consented to join the others in an attempt to carry off the food denied
them, by force of arms; the Catholic _landvogt_ in the free bailiwicks
had already seized on a wagon of salt at Bremgarten. A troop of
auxiliaries, obtained by Luzern through the mediation of the Nuncio and
paid by the Pope, was known to be on the march from Italy. In a long
manifesto, addressed to the Confederates, and especially her own
subjects in city and country, the government enumerated her just
grievances against the Five Cantons, replied, as far as she was able,
to their complaints against Zurich, offered once more to accept the
_Landfriede_, in the sense in which she understood and could only
interpret it, and to raise the prohibition, as soon as the insolent
calumniators were punished, absolved herself, if this were not done,
from all the consequences, and concluded with these words: "We live in
the firm and assured hope, that you, our dear subjects, will be equally
concerned with us about the above-named scandal, abuse, contempt and
despising of our faith and of the Divine Word, and other injuries done
us, contrary to the federal compact and the _Landfriede_, and that you
will honestly and fairly fulfill, as a loyal people, the offers and
promises you have made us; moreover, do not doubt that we, your lords
and rulers, will act toward you in all honor, friendship, fidelity,
love and kindness, and not forsake you in the hour of need; because we
are not seeking our own advantage, but the honor of God, and after
that, of the Common Confederacy, of our city and canton, and then the
honor, fame, profit and welfare of you all." Rudolf Lavater, _landvogt_
of Kyburg, was appointed commander-in-chief, called into the city and
full authority given to him, the banneret Schweizer and Tœnig,
captain of the artillery, to admit, if they saw fit, others into their
council, to call out the soldiery, and to march to battle, as soon as
they found it necessary; in short, to do everything needful "to protect
and save the interests and honor of the canton." A commission to this
effect was handed over to Lavater. But with that effort all power
seemed to be exhausted. As if with the commission all responsibility
had been shifted from their shoulders to those of others, neither
firmness, promptitude, nor unanimity were to be found in the Councils.
Indeed there existed traces of actual treason. Scarcely did an order go
forth from one side to the rural districts, before it was followed by a
countermand from the other. Troops, who were summoned, received on the
way notice to return home. Unwilling to see himself frustrated at
every point, Lavater retired, for a while, to Kyburg. The inhabitants
of the frontiers toward Zug and Luzern, were partly intimidated and
partly incensed by a flood of disparaging reports, which were sent
thither. Petitions from Bern, not to be too rash, not to make the
first attack, were continually arriving. These were supported by a
majority of the members of both Councils, who, paralyzed by fear, by a
criminal regard to their own private interests, or buoyed up by a
haughty self-confidence, affected to consider the step taken by the
adverse party as a mere show, or as greatly exaggerated by public
rumor. A hearing was granted to the ever-busy advocates of peace, whose
numbers were now swelled by a delegation from Strassburg; and through
their entreaties and promises, every decisive measure was postponed.
Meanwhile, the courage of the Five Cantons so increased, in view of the
helplessness of their opponents, that early in October, their deputies
assembled in Brunnen, in order to take final action. Here the treaties
were first read, and then all were questioned, upon oath, by the
bailiff Richmuth of Schwyz, whether they had been so violated by Zurich
and Bern, that war could be lawfully declared against them. It was
decided unanimously in the affirmative, and on the 9th of October,
after a long explanation of all the motives that prompted them to this
course, the campaign was begun.
On the same day, 600 Luzerners and 50 volunteers from each of the other
cantons reached Hochdorf, and from thence, strengthened by 400 men from
the upper free bailiwicks, advanced to Hitzkirch. From the latter
place, the commander Von Muelinen fell back upon Bremgarten, and sent
call after call to Zurich for aid. On the 10th, the chief force of the
Five Cantons, each division under its own _landamman_ and
_schultheiss_, advanced to Zug, where they waited for the approach of
the Zurichers. They brought with them a challenge against Zurich, to
the following effect:
"We, the captains, bannerets and commons-at-war of the Five old
Christian Cantons make known to the Councils and commons of Zurich, by
this our letter: For a long time now, as regards our fair and honorable
rights and desires, contrary to sworn treaties and the _Landfriede_
concluded between us, contrary to Christian discipline and unity,
contrary to Confederate loyalty, love and friendship, and contrary to
all natural law and equity, have we been violently deprived and
dispossessed of our just rights in the government of St. Gall and the
bailiwick in the Rheinthal, not by you and your adherents only, but by
our own people also, whom in defiance of God, honor and law, you have
seduced from their allegiance. Not satisfied with the attempt to create
disunion amongst us by cunning and intrigue, to drive us from our old,
true Christian faith, you pretend that we are not willing to hear the
Word of God, nor to suffer the Old and New Testaments to be read, and
therefore call us ungodly, malicious sellers-of-flesh and perfidious
reprobates; and because we do not attach ourselves to your newly
invented religion, you refuse to sell us provisions, and undertake to
crush us by hunger, and not us alone, but to destroy the very child in
its mother's womb. You grudge us this, though God gives it, and it has
not grown up as yours, nor upon your soil; for what good, honest people
would gladly send us, you will not suffer to pass through your
territories, which is an open and wanton violation of the federal
compact and the _Landfriede_. And though we have made every reasonable
offer for the sake of peace, quiet, and the perpetuation of our common
Confederacy, and for this end appealed for aid to the other cantons,
yet neither have you acknowledged our rights, nor has any one shown a
disposition to help us, and for a long time now we have been obliged to
suffer and endure this oppression and injustice; and since there
appears to be no end to overbearing and violence, and we can look for
neither right nor fairness, we are driven to complain to God's worthy
Mother, to all the heavenly host, and to all good men, who love justice
and equity. If we and ours were to suffer such scandal, shame,
contempt, blasphemy and arrogance any longer, we would stand recreant
before God and the world. Wherefore, for the honor of religion and
truth and the glory of God's Holy Name, we are forced, by the aid of
Heaven, to put down such crime and tyranny, compelled to take
vengeance; and so much and so far as God gives us power, grace and
strength, will we chastise you by the edge of the sword and no longer
abide such haughty oppression and constraint; and we hereby boldly
proclaim, that, against you and your abettors, we will uphold our own
honor and that of our allies."
This decided movement on the part of the Five Cantons produced the
greatest confusion in Zurich. The commander elect, the head of the
board of war, was absent; the Councils were wavering and split into
factions, the majority of the people without confidence or sympathy;
and Zwingli, although calm, to the last moment true to the call of
duty, full of unshaken faith in the justice of his cause, and certain
that a better future would dawn upon his fatherland, had yet no hope
for the present; none for a speedy victory; none for himself. Four days
before his death, he said in the pulpit: "Our only true possession is
the friendship of God, from whom, neither death nor any earthly power
can sunder us;" and then again: "They achieve the most glorious
victory, who are actors and not spectators merely. Hence, courage amid
the perplexities and dangers through which the holy cause of the Gospel
must be upheld! May others enjoy the fruit of our labors! We will find
rest in Heaven."
In such a frame of mind, he was not surprised by the reports of his
friend Bullinger, abbot of Cappel, whom Lavater had sent to the Five
Cantons as a trusty spy. These were of the same tenor and spoke of the
fixed determination of the enemy, the first step already taken, and the
distress and prayers for help on the frontiers. At his request, or by
order, of the government, Lavater returned to Zurich on the 9th of
October; but just as the character of the news varied, an immediate
dispatch of troops was talked of in the Council, or its order already
communicated, recalled. Nothing was done that day, but to send several
members to Bremgarten and Cappel, to reconnoiter. A restless night was
passed; new warnings had arrived. On the morning of the 10th, the
pastor of Rifferschweil and the landlord of the Albis made their
appearance; the one an eyewitness of the flight of the people before
the invading Catholics, the other, a messenger from the deputies of the
government, with pressing entreaties to hasten the departure of the
army. The Small and Great Councils were called together, but the
meeting was by no means full. Perplexity, hesitation, and even secret
joy at the confused state of affairs kept a portion of the members at
home. Lavater had also summoned to the senate-house Zwingli, the
banneret Schweizer, William Tœnig and Hans Dæniker, to whom the
conduct of the baggage train was committed. They all agreed, that the
alarm should be sounded immediately, and first in the more remote
districts, so that their inhabitants might assemble under the banner
simultaneously with those who dwelt nearer. They notified the
councillors of their resolution, but again found opposition among them.
In vain did Lavater appeal to his commission. The dispatch of some 100
men, under George Gœldli, was only effected about noon, and that
with the injunction, to venture on nothing decisive, but to secure a
good position. The artillery, which ought to have gone with them, was
not fully underweigh until evening. At last, as night set in, about
seven o'clock, permission was given to sound the alarm, which was now
done very irregularly throughout the canton, varying in proportion as
they, who were appointed to the service, were well-disposed, or had,
perchance, here and there, received secret counter-orders. About
midnight Peter Fuessli reached the summit of the Albis with the
artillery, for the draught of which he had found it difficult to
procure teams. According to his narration, the alarm was sounded in
several "_kilchhœrenen_" (parishes); commotion reigned in nature.
Tschudi tells us of an earthquake on that night, "which mightily shook
the canton, even mountain and valley." On the morning of the 12th,
about six o'clock, the banner was hung out of the senate-house. But the
commander-in-chief had to wait some time before any soldiers collected
around it. There was nothing like regular division into companies or
mustering beforehand. Whoever had courage to come as a volunteer,
placed himself in the ranks. They were scarce 700 men, all told,
councillors, clergy, and gray haired fathers in part, along with fiery
youths; and so they hurried off, for word was brought, that Gœldli
had already engaged the enemy on the other side of the mountain.
Zwingli also, responding to the summons of the Council, of his own
accord joined the departing troops. He had taken leave of his wife and
children and of his friends in such a way, that, as Bullinger remarks,
"they perceived he expected never to return home again." Even his horse
seemed to have a foreboding of evil. He shied, as Werner Steiner
relates, and as many saw with terror, backwards. Too sagacious not to
observe that he must encounter contradictory measures, the lukewarmness
of allies, and secret treachery, which he more than once predicted; too
manly to retire now in the hour of need; too full of confidence in God,
not to believe that He would protect His own Gospel, though it should
for the moment call for its martyrs, he acknowledged the duty of
abiding by his Zurichers, whose temporal and eternal welfare he desired
from the bottom of his heart, in the defence of their native soil, even
unto death; of proving by his own blood, that it was no mere selfish
ambition or love of revolution, which had prompted him to speak and
act, as in their blindness, his raging enemies had asserted. Not in
sullen stupefaction, not in a fit of frenzy or of recklessness did he
march forth, but with the earnestness of a man, who knows what may
happen, and, not girding himself with his own hands, relies on the arm
of Him, who is best acquainted with the human heart, and pardons the
multitude of our errors, if only redeemed by faith, love, and a spirit
of self-sacrifice. A Winterthurer, Hans Maaler, who rode one rank
behind him, narrates that he heard him pray for himself and especially
for the church of Christ with great fervency.
On the summit of the mountain the wearied soldiers were obliged to rest
for a while. From the valley below, the thunder of cannon was
distinctly heard in the neighborhood of Cappel. But how few in numbers,
how motley was the host that here assembled once more around the
banner! A part, consisting of the heavy-armed and the aged, were still
climbing upward, and the artillery, again delayed for want of horses,
lingered far behind. There was little to encourage a prudent general to
venture rashly, with such fragments of an army, from ground, which he
could hold even with these, down into the open field; at least, whilst
he could count with certainty on a considerable increase in the course
of a few hours, and could employ the interval in the most needful
instruction and arrangement of his troops. There was reason also to
hope, from the tenor of the commands, which he had received, that
Gœldli, as soon as he could no longer defend himself at a distance
with his cannon, would rather fall back upon the mountain. It was,
therefore, military experience, and not cowardice, which led William
Tœnig to advise a halt, till the arrival of those in the rear. But
Zwingli, whose thoughts dwelt only upon his last duty, and the distress
of his neighbors, attacked by an invading force and anxiously waiting
for help, immediately replied: "I will go down to the good people in
God's name; to die with them, or to aid in their deliverance." Lavater,
already perhaps despairing of success, but resolved to maintain his
reputation for personal courage, likewise spoke in favor of haste,
whilst the gray-haired banneret, Tœnig, withdrew his proposal to
halt. "I am as stout as you," said he, "and you will find it so." The
event soon proved his saying true.
It was three o'clock in the afternoon, when the banner reached Cappel.
Only a few of the most active entered the battle-field with it. The
rest of the soldiers followed in great disorder. For some time,
Gœldli and his men, strengthened by the inhabitants of the
surrounding country, had sustained, with trifling loss, the fire of the
enemy's artillery, and answered it with their own. Just as Lavater,
Zwingli and the other leaders came up, a pause ensued, in consequence
of a council of war in the hostile camp, which resulted in a change of
position. The Zurichers also met to deliberate. The challenge of the
Five Cantons was produced by Gœldli and handed over to Zwingli. It
was now evening. A renewal of the battle was no longer anticipated.
Peter Fuessli proposed that the cannon on hand should be removed to a
hill, lying somewhat in the rear, and a secure position taken behind
it. The others, though differing in opinion, went along with him to
look at the spot; but just at this most unfavorable moment, when
deprived of their best leaders, the Zurichers saw themselves threatened
by the enemy, who were close upon them. For whilst the Catholic
captains were discussing their affairs to little purpose, and their
main forces lay in the back-ground, the _vogt_ Jouch of Uri had slipped
unperceived with a number of marksmen into a little grove, which
commanded the flank of the Zurichan army. Volunteers from the Five
Cantons, Unterwalden especially, advanced in front. Against these, all
of the Zurichers, who were most eager for the fray rushed, without
waiting for orders, and never dreaming of an ambuscade. Then an
irregular conflict arose. Lavater, Zwingli and the greater part of
their companions returned to take their place in the ranks, as soon as
they heard of it. At this very moment, the rest of the Catholics
pressed forward, and all at once Jouch and his marksmen opened fire.
The peril of the Zurichers was manifest. "How is it, Master Ulric,"
said Leonhard Burkhard, a member of the baker's guild, who were not
friendly to the Reformer, "are the turnips salted? Who shall eat them?"
"I," said he, "and many an honest man here with me, in God's hand,
whose we are living and dead." "And I along with you, though it cost me
my life," added the former. He too fell a victim. Lavater, seizing a
lance, marched to the thickest of the fight. "Remember" cried he, "the
honor of God and Zurich; quit yourselves like men." The banneret
Schweizer did the same, and Zwingli, requested by Bernhart Spruengleir
to encourage the soldiers, spoke with a loud voice: "Fear not; if we
suffer, it is for God's sake. Call on Him. He will strengthen us and
ours." In fact he inspired in the bosoms of the noblest among them
courage to remain true to their convictions unto death, and leave
behind for future generations an example of duty fulfilled and honor
saved.[1] After a short and furious struggle, the half of the Zurichers
present lay stretched upon the field of battle; the fourth part of whom
either expired immediately, or afterward died of their wounds. Zwingli
whilst in the act of speaking to a soldier falling at his side, was
struck with such violence by a stone (as appeared from the deep dinge
in his helmet, which was brought to Luzern as a trophy of war) that he
also sunk down. In this prostrate condition he was stabbed a number of
times in his legs. "The body they can kill; the soul not." These are
said to have been his last words. Around him lay eighteen others of the
most distinguished of the clergy--among them, Diebold von Geroldseck,
who had formerly called him to Einsiedeln, Wolfgang Joner, abbot at
Cappel, and the commander Conrad Schmid in the midst of 39 men of
Kuessnacht. Seven members of the Small and nineteen of the Great
Council had fallen. Besides these, there were sixty-five burghers of
the capital, eleven of Winterthur, and 410 men of the canton. The
banner, defended by Schweizer till he fell, was saved by the heroic
exertions of Hans Kambli, Adam Ræf and Ulric Denzler. By nightfall the
Catholics had achieved a decided victory. They refrained from pursuit,
and, collecting on the meadows near the houses, knelt down to offer up
a prayer of thanksgiving. Many of them then sallied forth, torch in
hand, to visit the scene of carnage, but with different ends in view;
some to secure the clothing and the weapons of the slain; others,
inspired by revenge or fanaticism, to deal a finishing stroke on those
of the wounded, against whom they bore a grudge; but many also,
prompted by the nobler motive of comforting and bringing help where it
was yet possible. Salat of Luzern thus gloried in his fanaticism:
"Some, when asked, as they lay struggling in the agonies of death,
whether they wished to confess and receive the holy sacraments,
answered. Yes! and were thus preserved, according to Christian usage,
and died as good Christians. Others, when so asked, made the sign of
No! These were then left to die like _infidel dogs_, or finished,
perchance, by a stab or blow, _so that they might the sooner he led off
to the Devil, as they were fighting on all fours_." Bullinger praises
the humanity of the enemy in the following words; "On the contrary,
there were not a few among the Five Cantons, who deeply deploring this
sad business as a great misfortune, treated the captive Zurichers in a
friendly manner, caused their wounds to be bound up, and placed them
beside their campfires; for the night was cold, and a heavy frost lay
upon the ground. They regretted that the prohibition of the export of
provisions (without which the common people could not have been induced
to take up arms) had been laid, and that such great injury had resulted
from it, and honest Confederates set in hostile array against each
other. A party of those who were searching through the field of
battle, came upon Zwingli. He lay with his face to the earth. They
turned him around and asked him, like the others, to confess. He
repeatedly shook his head, by way of denial. 'Die then, stiff-necked
heretic!' cried Captain Vokinger of Unterwalden, and gave him his
death-blow. The news that his body was found, soon spread among the
Catholics. Numbers went out to look at it--among them, Bartholomew
Stocker of Zug, who had known and esteemed the Reformer in his
lifetime. He often afterward said, that 'in the form and color of his
face he did not appear to be dead, but alive, and, to his great
surprise, looked just as he did when he preached.' Hans Schœnbrunner,
formerly, the head of the convent at Cappel, could not refrain from
tears. 'Whatever thy faith was,' said he, 'I know that thou wert an
honest Confederate. God be merciful to thy soul!' But rage prevailed
among the majority, who demanded that the body should be divided into
five pieces, and one sent to each of the Five Cantons; others wished it
to be burnt. _Schultheiss_ Golder and the _amman_ Thoss exhorted them
to leave the dead rest, and judgment to God. They were overpowered by
loud cries, and withdrew. At the tap of the drum an inquisition was
proclaimed, sentence passed and the corpse quartered by the executioner
of Luzern, burned, and its ashes mixed with those of a dead hog." What a
religion, that could fancy such frenzy would be pleasing to God!
Terrible beyond description was the effect produced by the fearful
reports, which now reached Zurich, blow after blow. Some, like Anna
Reinhart, who received in succession the sad tidings of the death of a
husband, a son, a son-in law, a brother, and a brother-in-law,
submitted with Christian resignation.--Others acknowledged in the
calamity a judgment upon their own sins, on account of the too little
respect paid to the rights of their Confederates, the violation of
treaties and the forcible introduction of reforms, which can only rest
upon a sure basis, when the result of conscientious persuasion. These
views were uttered in louder or softer tones. The most vulgar, cowardly
and passionate gave vent to their secret hatred against certain
individuals. But then also, not a few were found, who, instead of
giving way to despondency, encouraged their neighbors, called for
redoubled exertions and cast themselves into the breach. The government
was roused. Directly after the receipt of the first news, then about
midnight, and again in the morning, Bern was written to for speedy aid
and the collective cities of the Christian _Buergerrecht_ for an
auxiliary force. As Lavater did not appear for a time, other leaders
were sent to the heights of the Albis, in order to collect the
fugitives and place them in the ranks of the new troops, who were
coming up. It would have been yet possible to recover everything and
wipe out the disgrace of defeat, by resolution and concord. Of the
former there was enough; of the latter not. Indeed, the army of Bern,
which approached, was strong in numbers. It had set out on the same day
in which the battle of Cappel was fought, but under a leader, the
_schultheiss_ Diessbach, who, swayed by his personal dislike to the
Reformation, wavered in his purpose and did not push forward with zeal
and activity.
The Zurichers, with ranks swollen by the arrival of several thousand
solders, were encouraged by Lavater, again in their midst, and the
governor-general Frei, next him in command, to descend from the Albis
and hazard another battle. They earnestly begged the Bernese to march
up rapidly through the free bailiwicks and lend them support. The Five
Cantons, threatened thus in front and rear, would be compelled either
to fight, or to retreat. Diessbach refused. Even when Zurich, at his
request, withdrew her troops from the Albis, forsook her own canton and
joined the Bernese at Bremgarten, he still hesitated. The united
forces, now exceeding in number those of the Catholics, occupied five
days in advancing the distance of a few miles, where they again
encamped. Frei could no longer endure such treasonable inaction. On his
own responsibility, aided by the men of Basel, Schaffhausen, and St.
Gall, he pressed on by night to the Gubel. The Bernese slept without
concern. But the Gospel of Christ is not to be upheld by swords and
lances. A second time Zurich was beaten, and her brave captain fell
among the slain.
And yet the Catholics did not gain all they desired. Their faith, as
well as their former just position in the Confederacy, were now
secured, and the unnatural prohibition against the export of provisions
done away; but the Reformation still survived, and their victories did
not give them power sufficient to crush again the liberty of the
Gospel, where it had taken root, or to limit Zurich in her territorial
rights. This, however, they attempted to do, and directly after the
defeat at Cappel invited all the parishes on the further side of the
Albis, together with the entire population on the left shore of the
lake, to abandon Zurich, swear allegiance to them and give hostages for
their fidelity in the future; in return for which, they promised to
guarantee their original liberties and "receive and treat them, as
faithful, loving subjects should be by a mild and paternal government."
In case of refusal, they were to be dealt with in "a hostile and
warlike manner," without mercy. The offer was unanimously rejected, and
information sent to the Council of Zurich, which was repeatedly
assured, that they were resolved to abide by the Gospel till death. The
latter government also remained unshaken, even by the new disaster at
the Gubel; indeed, now for the first time, exhibited a degree of
courage and activity, that was not looked for. And although the Duke of
Wuertemburg had been informed that "the trade of our city is nearly
ruined," orders were sent, only four days after the defeat at Cappel,
to the Zurichan allies, who were still engaged in the siege of the
castle Musso, on the borders of Graubuenden: "Persevere, do not break
up, nor let our affairs trouble you, but prosecute the war boldly and
earnestly, and give the enemy no rest till he surrenders." This reply
was also made, when the Council of Bern, in contrast with the sluggish
leaders of her army, referred the mediators, sent from Solothurn,
Appenzell and Neunburg, to Zurich with the declaration that without her
consent their could be no talk of peace: "It shall never be forgotten,
but told to our children and children's children." Her town-clerk was
authorized, the very day after the battle on the Gubel, to inform the
soldiers on the Italian frontiers: "We are ready to pledge hide and fur
and all that God has given us, not to abandon the field, till the
religious rights of the bailiwicks are secured." Word was sent to the
camp at Baar: "We wish to know what happened at the defeat on the
mountain, who was to blame and who was innocent. You should remember
every day the disgrace of our city of Zurich and seek means to recover
our lost honor." Continually and repeatedly were the Bernese captains
and the government exhorted to prosecute the war with greater vigor;
and when the latter, in order to justify her irresolution, referred to
the armed preparations on the Rhine and on her western borders, against
which she was obliged to guard, when she communicated the fact that the
Archduke Ferdinand had, immediately after receiving the news of the
disaster at Cappel, sat more than half a day in council and, leaving
the Imperial Diet, ridden off to Inspruck, the indignant reply was
made. "We can get nothing more out of it than this, that all our
friends are on the other side of the Rhine, and your reports and ours
in no wise agree; and since these things are not half so dreadful as
represented to you, we beg you not to be frightened at such bug-bears,
but come manfully to our aid." The _Landgrave_ of Hesse, who had
offered money and a thousand men, and the Duke of Wuertemberg, who had
placed at their disposal all his heavy guns at Hohentwiel, were warmly
thanked; but as there was less lack of men than of concord in the camp,
it was resolved to decline this foreign assistance, which could
scarcely have been used.
In the camp itself undoubtedly lay the chief causes of the crippled
condition of affairs, the confusion and the unfortunate results. Not
only did a continual strife prevail between the Bernese and Zurichan
commanders, but the latter stood isolated among his own people. He
himself felt that he had lost the confidence of his troops, and
although he could point to undeniable proofs of his bravery in Italy,
and of his undaunted spirit and presence of mind in the popular
rebellion at Tœss, and although he was among the last to leave the
battle-field of Cappel, and that only when all resistance had become
impossible, yet an inner voice perhaps whispered to him, that among the
glorious band, who had there laid down their lives, the name of the
chief commander should not have been wanting. Intimidated and
perplexed, he attempted no decisive measures. "Of Lavater many said,"
so Bullinger tells us, "that he was frightened, and durst no longer
talk among and with the people. The constrained position of the general
had its effect upon the army. Several of the cowardly and faithless
began to desert, rain set in, and provisions grew scarce. In spite of
every entreaty, to protect at least the Zurichan frontier, the army of
Bern retreated to Bremgarten." "Why do you hesitate to follow?" said
the ensign Hugi of Solothurn. "You shut your eyes on your own
necessities, as your fathers before you in the old Zurich war. As they,
so you are at variance; as they, so you have lost the hearts of your
Confederate brethren; you have no power to make further resistance, and
yet you will not give way."
And in fact the government did not consider it just then consistent
with honor and duty. It was resolved not to entertain the proposals for
peace made by the mediators; because one of the conditions of the
Catholics was, that in the Territories it should be decided by a new
vote whether they would return to the old or continue in the new faith.
Bern also assented to this course. But now an army of 4,000 men from
the Five Cantons, among whom were the lawless foreign mercenaries of Ab
Isola, rushed upon the cottages and hamlets of the unprotected
territory of Zurich, overran the left shore of the lake, and ravaged as
far down as Thalweil. Terror seized the canton. Many fled to the city;
all the roads were filled with weeping-women and children, mingled with
lowing herds, and the alarm-bells resounded on every side. The councils
were called together and the troops still lying at Bremgarten summoned
by their honor and oath to hasten up without delay. They obeyed, but in
vain were the Bernese, first by the treasurer Eddlebach and then by the
burgomaster Roist and two associate councilmen, conjured by everything
which they held sacred, this once to come to the rescue of their old
confederate-sister, only to enter the city for its immediate
protection, whilst the Zurichers would fight without the walls. The
cold answer was, that they would think over the matter, and write to
the troops at Zofingen and the government at Bern. Not all of
Diessbach's army shared this feeling with him. Jacob Mai thrust his
sword at the bear in the banner, as though he would rouse him up to
action. The field-chaplain Kolb spake thus to the assembled soldiery:
"Your forefathers in a like case would have swum through the Rhine to
attack the enemy; at the slightest call they marched to battle; the
Gospel itself does not move you." These words were uttered with
impunity; but yet they produced no effect. The men of Solothurn, Basel,
Schaffhausen, Biel and Muehlhausen also joined the Bernese. Captain
Friedbolt of St. Gall alone declared, that by order of his superiors,
he would place life and property at the disposal of Zurich, and a small
troop from Bischoffzell followed him. The majority of the Thurgovians
and Toggenburgers, who were still encamped with the Zurichers, returned
to their homes.
Meanwhile, the Catholics retired again before the Zurichers, marching
up the left shore, with a reinforcement of 1,000 Graubuendners, ferried
over from the right shore of the lake. The army under Hans Escher, who
had succeeded Lavater in the chief command, encamped above Horgen on
the heights of the Zimmerberg. Zurich now stood unsupported, except by
her confederates of Graubuenden and a few from St. Gall. The rural
districts were sighing for peace, and the Five Cantons began also to
desire it. The absence of all the able-bodied men increased the
distress at home, which was already great enough by reason of the
famine; the inclemency of an early winter gave few charms to a life in
the field, and the hamlets on the frontier, crowded with soldiers,
began to feel the pinchings of want. Under these circumstances a letter
was addressed by the Five Cantons to the "Parishes general and special,
who are subject to Zurich," requesting them to conclude a special peace
with the Catholics, in case the capital would refuse to do so. This
produced a great excitement. Deputies from various parts of the canton
appeared before the government, with the earnest prayer, that some
means might be devised to prevent further invasion and relieve them
from the burdens of the war, which had now became almost intolerable.
After a long and violent struggle, the peace-party triumphed in the
Council. Negotiations were opened; but the decision on the side
of the Zurichers, according to ancient custom, was transferred to
the commons-at-war, to whom the Council sent several of its most
influential members as deputies.
Whilst the latter were assembling, the leaders of the Catholics
deliberated over the conditions to be proposed. Their views were
conflicting. Several of the most violent asserted that now the time had
come to compel the city and canton of Zurich to return to the old
faith, and that the restoration of the mass should be made an
indispensable condition of peace.--Zurich, the _schultheiss_ Golder
declared, would never consent to this. He was supported in his opinion
by the _landammen_ Froger and Toss. And they even succeeded in securing
for the inhabitants of the Territories, with the exception of the free
bailiwicks and the burghers of Rapperschweil and Wesen, the privilege
of retaining the Reformation, provided all those, who henceforth might
wish to return to the mass, should be permitted to do so. One solitary
voice objected to this liberality. Ægidius Tschudi deplored the result.
"The counsel was pernicious," said he, "and a great injury to the true
Catholic faith, to which God had given the victory. Accordingly,
neither the _schultheiss_, nor they who followed him, namely, _amman_
Froger of Uri and _amman_ Toss of Zug, and several others, lived many
years afterward."
Meanwhile the consultation was opened in the Zurichan camp by Escher,
with the exhortation neither to be too fearful, nor yet too passionate.
He said that the position of Zurich was critical, but not at all
desperate; and that God would undoubtedly defend his Gospel, in which
we should persevere to the last extremity. So to do was the unanimous
resolution. But then opinions varied as to what should be done in
regard to the Territories. Several persons, and among whom Sergeant
George Mueller was prominent, made strong appeals to the sacred duty,
which bound them to act for the people of the Territories, who had been
summoned to a common resistance and assured of protection and help, as
they would for their own. Others, on the contrary, endeavored to uphold
the right of the Five Cantons to name conditions of peace in this case.
But the following speech of an aged _amman_, Suter of the Horgerberg,
had the greatest influence in bringing matters to a conclusion.
"Our general has spoken for a long time, and exhorted us not to be in a
hurry to make peace. This perhaps might suit our Lords in the city.
They have less to lose than we. Their support and revenues are sure,
but our houses and hamlets are exposed to destruction. We have now been
beaten twice by the enemy, and suffered a great defeat. It is easily
seen that luck is against us. And there is no use to comfort ourselves
because we have an abundance of supplies and provisions and our enemies
none. For the greater their need, the greater will be their desire to
injure us. Necessity drives them. It has already stirred up fury and
revenge amongst them, and wrought great mischief, not only that we have
violated the federal compact and the _Landfriede_ toward them, but also
that we have denied them the right to take away provisions; hence God
is now angry at us and fights himself against us. We cannot rely on the
aid of the Bernese. What good has all their force done us? We have not
yet been able to prevail on them, in spite of every prayer and
entreaty, to defend the city of our Lords, whilst we of the Horger are
willing to incur the risk of danger, notwithstanding, they can lie
there in security, since our Lords have commanded us to encamp against
the main body of the enemy. The Bernese marched up very slowly to the
battlefield of Cappel, and helped us very little, and they would not
consent to send their troops to the Zugerberg. Remember the old saying,
handed down from our forefathers: 'the men of Zurich will suffer loss
rather than dishonor; the men of Bern dishonor rather than loss.' When
we of Zurich undertake anything, we stake our all upon it, and look for
success or failure; but the Bernese are just the reverse, sharing the
victory with us in every enterprise, without putting their own skins in
danger.[2] Some one has said, 'A loss should bring a man to his
senses.' Since then we have experienced loss upon loss, we certainly
ought to stop and think."
After this the negotiations were prosecuted vigorously on all sides.
The commander-in-chief, with a numerous guard, went over to the leaders
of the Five Cantons; a second meeting was held the next day and a
treaty of peace concluded, of which the following are the chief
articles: The Reformation shall be guaranteed in Zurich and all her
immediate dependencies, as well as in those parts of the Territories,
where it has already been received; yet all those, who may wish to
return to the mass, or to prove by a new vote, which is the prevailing
party, shall be at liberty to do so. Church property was to be divided
according to the census. Zurich pledged herself to abstain from any
further intervention, where she had no claim to rule. The Christian
_Buergerrecht_ and the first _Landfriede_ were abrogated. The few
remaining articles were devoted to damages, or the restitution of
property, which had been seized. During the formation of the treaty the
name of "Confederates" was once more heard. And now, after its
conclusion, the deputies dismounted from their horses and knelt down in
prayer. Then Captain Escher stepped up to the _schultheiss_ Golder and
the bailiffs of the Five Cantons, and offered his hand to each of them.
Tears stood in every eye. They gave each other their canteens to drink
from, took a friendly leave and returned to their respective camps.
But then a hard destiny, fines, punishments, the oppression of
soldiers, quartered upon them, and a partial loss of their rights, were
looked for by the inhabitants of Rapperschweil, the people in Caster
and the free bailiwicks, and especially the cities of Bremgarten and
Mellingen. Zurich had attempted to do what she could, at least for the
latter, and invited them, through Rudolph Stoll, to send deputies to
her negotiation with the Five Cantons. They refused to do it, relying
on the protection promised by the Bernese, a part of whose forces were
yet lying in their neighborhood. But these retired, as soon as the
Catholics turned against them with serious purpose, and prepared for
action, after the conclusion of the peace with Zurich. Urgently and
sadly did the two cities beg the Bernese not to leave them helpless--to
make some proposals at least in their behalf. The _schultheiss_
Mutschli rode to Aarau after the commander Diessbach. He could
remember, he there said to him, that it was only with reluctance, and
after repeated orders from Zurich and Bern, that Bremgarten had
prohibited the sale of provisions to the Five Cantons--that the
vengeance of the enemy was sure, and their destruction very probable.
Thus also spoke the people of Mellingen, as well as those of the free
bailiwicks. "We do not treat you in this manner willingly," answered
Diessbach, "but under the pressure of necessity. Act according to
circumstances; Bern must take care of her own rights." Then Mutschli
turned away with the words: "Jeremiah, the prophet, has spoken: 'Cursed
be he who trusts in an arm of flesh!' This has been fulfilled to us
this day. You cast us off in our misery. How can we then ever respect
your claims? God in Heaven judge between us!" Once more they came to
Zurich with prayers for succor, and immediately five deputies were
dispatched to the Catholics at Muri, to intercede in their behalf. "You
shall ride night and day," so they were instructed, "and not give over
till the oppression of the people is removed, and you have obtained
peace for them." But the Five Cantons remained inexorable, and the best
that Zurich could do for her forsaken allies was to open her own gates
for the reception of the most needy. Richly did one of these fugitives
repay her for that act of kindness. In Henry Bullinger, the canton
found the most worthy successor of her reformer. His talent, his
mildness of character, his wise limitation of himself to what belonged
directly to his calling, appeased the wide-spread discontent with the
clergy, especially those from abroad, to whose instigations the late
confusion and disaster were attributed; whilst on the other hand, his
ample stores of knowledge, his unshaken firmness, where duty was
concerned, and his unwearied zeal maintained the freedom of the Gospel
and the cause of the Reformation, as far as could be in the midst of
the general exhaustion. Meanwhile there was no hindrance to the return
of the old estate to the limits of the canton and outside of it.
Numerous altars were restored. The Catholic church and her priests
awoke to renewed activity. Into the desolate cells of St. Gall, Muri,
Einsiedeln, Wettingen, Rheinau, Katharinenthal, Hermatschweil and
Gnadenthal marched back their exiled, or fugitive occupants, and in the
feeling of victory, arose to new and stronger power. And now, what does
this history teach? What does it teach every succeeding generation?
That in all centuries wisdom and mildness, as well as rashness and
violence, are the same. The former are a blessing to the nations, full
of light and warmth; the latter only lead to unfruitful reactions.
Whatever the Reformers did and said for the liberty of the Gospel has
remained and borne rich fruits. All attempts on the other hand, to help
this liberty to a triumph, in the way of violence, have only wrought
injury. So, too, in our times, no good is to be hoped for from _any_
party, whether under civil or ecclesiastical form, the inspiring soul
of which is not the divine breath of love. The stronger the
independence of the individual and the power of national feeling rise
along with the everywhere growing freedom of the press, that engine of
reformation in the hands of the Almighty, the more indispensable does
it become for those who would lead others, to win them over by
conscientious persuasion. But he alone can produce any permanent
impression, who along with the free, true and loving word unites the
power of his own example. Thinkers, indeed, might be willing to listen
to the former, but the latter, speaks more clearly than any mere
doctrine ever can, to the very heart of the people. Henceforward, naked
power can establish nothing. No longer can the strong mind (and this is
the character of the coming age) rule the world; only the strong and
good will be able to show, _how God rules it_; but the princes and
nations, who recognize this the soonest, shall become the wisest, and
they also will attain the greatest power.
FOOTNOTES TO CHAPTER NINTH:
Footnote 1: The author did not think it necessary to give here all the
particulars of the battle. A fuller description of it may be found in
his larger work: "_Geschichte der Eidgenossen wæhrend der Zeiten der
Kirchentrennung_." II. 373, ff. Gelzer has a still more circumstantial
account in a special work, "_Die Schlacht bei Cappel_." Zurich,
Schultheiss. 1831. But the most accurate, including the minutest
details, even to the names of all who were killed, and everything that
could be collected from contemporaneous reports, is contained in
Bullinger's Chronicles, which were published a few years ago.
Footnote 2: On the contrary, in the civil wars between the two
religious parties during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, the
Bernese "put their skins in danger," whilst the Zurichers did not;
though with just as little success, at least in the first.
*** End of this LibraryBlog Digital Book "The Life and Times of Ulric Zwingli" ***
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