Chapter XVI: Part 16

[846] Oculos in me procacius torquent, ut cujus caput peti gaudarent.
(Zw. Op. iii, 29.)

Zuinglius was not deterred by their menaces. There was one place in Zurich where, thanks to the Dominicans, the light had not yet penetrated; this was the nunnery of Œtenbach. The daughters of the first families of Zurich there took the veil. It seemed unjust that these poor females, confined within the walls of their monastery, should alone be excluded from hearing the Word of God. The Great Council ordered Zuinglius to repair to it, and the Reformer having mounted a pulpit which had hitherto been given up to the Dominicans, preached "on the clearness and certainty of the Word of God."[847] He at a later period published this remarkable discourse, which was not without fruit, and irritated the monks still more.

[847] De claritate et certitudine Verbi Dei. (Ibid., i, 66.)

[Sidenote: ADDRESS OF ZUINGLIUS TO SCHWITZ.]

A circumstance occurred to augment this hatred, and give it a place in many other hearts. The Swiss, headed by Stein and Winkelried, had just experienced a bloody defeat at Bicoque. They had rushed impetuously on the enemy, but the artillery of Pescaire and the lancers of that Freundsberg, whom Luther had met at the door of the hall of Worms, had thrown down both leaders and colours, whole companies falling and disappearing at once. Winkelried and Stein, Mulinen, Diesbachs, Bonstettens, Tschudis, and Pfyffers, were left on the battle-field. Schwitz, especially, had been mown down. The bloody wrecks of this dreadful conflict had returned to Switzerland, spreading mourning at every step. A wail of grief had resounded from the Alps to the Jura, and from the Rhone to the Rhine.

But none had felt a deeper pang than Zuinglius. He immediately sent an address to Schwitz dissuading its citizens from foreign service. "Your ancestors," said he to them, with all the warmth of a Swiss heart, "forgot their enemies in defence of their liberties, but they never put Christians to death in order to gain money. These foreign wars bring innumerable calamities on our country. The scourges of God chastise our confederacy, and Helvetic freedom is on the eve of being lost between the selfish caresses and the mortal hatred of foreign princes."[848] Zuinglius went hand in hand with Nicolas Flue, and renewed the entreaties of that man of peace. This exhortation having been presented to the assembly of the people of Schwitz had such an effect that a resolution was passed to desist prospectively for twenty-five years from capitulation. But the French party soon succeeded in getting the generous resolution rescinded, and Schwitz was thenceforth the canton most decidedly opposed to Zuinglius and his works. The very disasters which the partisans of foreign capitulation brought upon their country only increased the hatred of those men against the bold minister, who endeavoured to rescue his country from all this misfortune and all this disgrace. Thus throughout the confederation a party which daily grew more and more violent was formed against Zurich and Zuinglius. The customs of the Church and the practices of the recruiters being at once attacked, they made common cause in resisting the impetus of Reform by which their existence was threatened. At the same time external enemies multiplied. Not merely the pope but other foreign princes also vowed inextinguishable hatred to the Reformation, because it was aiming to deprive them of those Helvetic halberds, to which their ambition and their pride owed so many triumphs? But the cause of the gospel had still God on its side and the best among the people: this was sufficient. Besides, individuals from different countries exiled for their faith were led by the hand of Providence to give Switzerland their aid.

[848] Ein göttlich Vermanung an die cersamen, etc. eidgnossen zu
Schwyz. (Zw. Op. part ii, p. 206.)

[Sidenote: A FRENCH MONK.]

CHAP. XIII.

A French monk--He teaches in Switzerland--Dispute between
the Monk and Zuinglius--Discourse of the Leader of the
Johannites--The Carnival at Berne--The Eaters of the
Dead--The Skull of St. Anne--Appenzel--The Grisons--Murder
and Adultery--Marriage of Zuinglius.

On Saturday the 12th July there was seen entering the streets of Zurich a monk, tall, thin, stiff, gaunt, clad in a grey cordelier frock, and mounted upon an ass. He had the look of a foreigner, and his bare feet almost touched the ground.[849] He arrived thus by the road from Avignon. He did not know one word of German, but by means of Latin succeeded in making himself understood. Francis Lambert (this was his name) asked for Zuinglius and delivered him a letter from Berthold Haller. "The Franciscan father," wrote the Bernese curate, "who is no less than the apostolic preacher of the general convent of Avignon, has, for nearly five years, been teaching Christian truth: he has preached in Latin to our priests at Geneva, at Lausanne in presence of the bishop, at Friburg, and finally at Berne. His subjects were, the Church, the priesthood, the sacrifice of the mass, the traditions of the Roman bishops, and the superstitions of the religious orders. It seemed to me wonderful to hear such things from a cordelier and a Frenchman--circumstances, both of which, as you know, imply a host of superstitions."[850] The Frenchman himself related to Zuinglius how the writings of Luther having been discovered in his cell, he had been obliged to take a hasty leave of Avignon; how he had first preached the gospel at Geneva, and thereafter at Lausanne. Zuinglius, overjoyed, gave the monk access to the church of Notre Dame, assigning him a seat in the choir near the high altar. Lambert here delivered four sermons, in which he forcibly attacked the errors of Rome, but in the fourth he defended the invocation of the saints and the Virgin.

[849] ... Kam ein langer, gerader, barfüsser Mönch...ritte auf einer
Eselin. (Füsslin Beyträge, iv, 39.)

[850] A tali Franciscano, Gallo, quæ omnia mare superstitionem
confluere faciunt, inaudita. (Zw. Ep. 207.)

[Sidenote: HE TEACHES IN SWITZERLAND.]

"Brother, you are in error,"[851] immediately exclaimed an animated voice. It was the voice of Zuinglius. Canons and chaplains thrilled with joy when they saw a quarrel rising between the Frenchman and the heretical curate. "He has attacked you," said they all to Lambert: "demand a public discussion." The man of Avignon did so, and at ten o'clock on the morning of the 12th of July, the two chaplains met in the hall of the canons. Zuinglius opened the Old and New Testament in Greek and Latin: he discussed and lectured till two. Then the French monk, clasping his hands, and raising them towards heaven, exclaimed,[852] "I thank thee, O God, that thou hast by this illustrious instrument given me such a clear knowledge of the truth! Henceforth," added he, turning towards the assembly, "in all my distresses I will invoke God only and leave off my beads. To-morrow I resume my journey. I go to Bâle to see Erasmus of Rotterdam, and thence to Wittemberg to see the monk Martin Luther." He accordingly remounted his ass and set out. We will again meet with him. He was the first exile from France, for the cause of the gospel, who appeared in Switzerland and Germany--a modest fore-runner of many thousands of refugees and confessors.

[851] Bruder da irrest du. (Füsslin Beytr. iv, p. 40.)

[852] Dass er beyde Hände zusammen hob. (Füsslin Beytr., iv, p. 50.)

Myconius had no such consolation. On the contrary he saw Sebastian Hofmeister, who had come from Constance to Lucerne, and there boldly preached the gospel, obliged to quit the city. Then Oswald's grief increased. The moist climate of Lucerne disagreed with him. He was wasted by fever; and the physicians declared that if he did not change his residence he would die. Writing to Zuinglius, he says, "There is no place I should like better to be than beside yourself, and no place worse than at Lucerne. Men torture, and the climate consumes me. My disease, some say, is the punishment of my iniquity. Ah, it is vain to speak, vain to act: every thing is poison to them. There is One in heaven on whom alone my hope depends."[853]

[853] Quicquid facio venenum est illis. Sed est in quem omnis spes mea
reclinat. (Zw. Ep. 192.)

[Sidenote: THE COMMANDER OF THE JOHANNITES.]

This hope was not vain. It was towards the end of March, and the feast of the Annunciation was at hand. The evening before there was a great solemnity in commemoration of a fire which in 1540 had reduced the greater part of the town to ashes. Multitudes from the surrounding districts had flocked into Lucerne, and several hundreds of priests were then assembled. Some distinguished orator was usually employed to preach on this great occasion. Conrad Schmid, commander of the Johannites, arrived to discharge the duty. An immense crowd thronged the church. What was the general astonishment on hearing the commander lay aside the pompous Latin to which they had been accustomed, and speak in good German,[854] so that all could comprehend him, enforce with authority and holy fervour the love of God in sending his Son, eloquently prove that external works cannot save, and that the promises of God are truly the power of the gospel. "God forbid," said the commander to his astonished audience, "that we should receive a chief so full of lies as the Bishop of Rome, and reject Jesus Christ.[855] If the Bishop of Rome dispenses the bread of the gospel, let us receive him as pastor, but not as head; and if he does not dispense it, let us not receive him in any way whatever." Oswald was unable to restrain his joy. "What a man!" exclaimed he: "what a discourse! what majesty! what authority! what overflowing of the Spirit of Christ!" The impression was general. To the agitation which filled the town succeeded a solemn silence; but all this was transient. When nations shut their ears against the calls of God, these calls are diminished from day to day, and soon cease. Thus it was at Lucerne.

[854] Wolt er keine pracht tryben mit latein schwätzen, sondern gut
teutsch reden. (Bullinger MS.)

[855] Absit a grege Christiano, ut caput tam lutulentium et peccatis
plenum acceptans Christum abjiciat. (Zw. Ep. 195.)

At Berne, while the truth was preached from the pulpit, the papacy was attacked at the merry-makings of the people. Nicolas Manuel, a distinguished layman, celebrated for his poetical talents, and advanced to the first offices in the state, indignant at seeing his countrymen pillaged by Samson, composed carnival dramas, in which, with the keen weapon of satire, he attacked the avarice, pride, and luxury of the pope and the clergy. On the Shrove Tuesday "of the Lords," (the clergy were at this time the lords, and began Lent eight days before the common people,) all Berne was engrossed with a drama or mystery entitled, "The Eaters of the Dead," which young boys were going to perform in the street of La Croix. The people flocked to it in crowds. In regard to the progress of art, these dramatic sketches of the beginning of the sixteenth century are of some interest; but we give them here with a very different view. We would have been better pleased not to have had to quote squibs of this description on the part of the Reformation, for truth triumphs by other arms. But the historian does not make his facts. He must give them as he finds them.

At length, to the delight of the eager crowds assembled in the street of La Croix, the representation began. The pope is seen clad in gorgeous robes, and seated on a throne. Around him stand his courtiers, his body guards, and a promiscuous band of priests of high and low degree; behind are nobles, laymen, and mendicants. A funeral train shortly appears: it is a rich farmer on the way to his last home. Two of his relatives walk slowly in front of the coffin with napkins in their hand. The train having arrived in front of the pope, the bier is laid down at his feet, and the drama begins:

[Sidenote: THE CARNIVAL AT BERNE.]

FIRST RELATIVE IN A TONE OF DEEP GRIEF.

O noble army of the sainted host,
Take pity on our doleful plight;
Our cousin, our illustrious boast,
From life, alas, has taken flight.

Expence we grudge not; cheerfully we'll pay
For priests, monks, and nuns, in costly array:
Yea, one hundred crowns we'll freely devote
If thereby exemption may surely be bought
From purgatory, that dread scourge,
With which our frightened souls they urge.[856]

[856] Kein kosten soll uns dauern dran,
Wo wir Mönch und Priester mögen ha'n,
Und sollt'es kosten hundert kronen....
(Bern. Mausol., iv, Wirz, K. Gesch., i, p. 383.)

The SACRISTAN, breaking off from the band surrounding the pope, and running hastily to CURATE ROBERT EVER-MORE--

Something to drink, Master Curate, I crave;
A farmer of note now goes to his grave.

THE CURATE.

One!--nay you must tell me of ten:
My thirst will ne'er be quenched till then.
Life flourishes when mortals die,[857]
For death to me brings jollity.

[857] Je mehr, je besser! Kämen doch noch Zehn! (Ibid.)

THE SACRISTAN.

Ah! could it shorten mankind's breath!
I'd ring a merry peal for death!
No other trade succeeds so well
As tolling out life's parting knell.

THE CURATE.

But does the bell of death the portals draw
Of heaven's wide gate? I cannot, may not say;
What boots it? to my house it brings
Both fish and flesh, and all good things.

THE CURATE'S NIECE.[858]

Tis well: I, too, anon will claim my share.
This day this soul must pay to me my fare--
A robe, white, red, and green, a flowered damas,
A pretty kerchief likewise for my eyes at mass.

[858] The German is _Pfaffenmetze_--a term more expressive, but not so
becoming.

[Sidenote: THE CARNIVAL AT BERNE.]

Cardinal HIGH-PRIDE adorned with a red hat, and close by the pope:--

If death brought us no heritage,
Would we cause die in flower of age,
On battle-plain,
Such heaps of slain,
Roused by intrigue, by envy fired?[859]
Yes, Rome with Christian blood grows fat!
Therefore I hoist this scarlet hat,
To tell the trophies thus acquired.

[859] Wenn mir nicht wär' mit Todten wohl,
So läg nicht mancher Acker, voll, ac.
(Bern. Mausol. iv, Wirz, K. Gesch. 1. 3.)

BISHOP WOLF-BELLY.

In papal rites I'll live and die,
And clothe me in silk embroidery;
In foray or chace I'll take my pleasure,
And eat and drink in ample measure;
Had I been priest in days of yore,
A peasant's dress I then had wore.[860]
We once were shepherds, but now we reign kings,
For a shepherd I'll pass 'mong the lambkins poor things....

[860] Wenn es stünd, wie im Anfang der Kilchen,
Ich trüge vielleicht grobes Tuch und Zwilchen. (Ibid.)

A VOICE.

When? When shall this be?

BISHOP.

When the wool of the flock shall be gathered by me.
We truly are wolves, yet we're shepherds of sheep,
They must feed us, or death is the best they shall reap.
His Holiness forbids to marry;
This yoke the wisest ne'er could carry--
But then! when priests do cross the score,
The scandal only swells my store,
And makes my train extend the more.
Nought I refuse, e'en farthings tell,
A monied priest may have a belle.
Four florins a-year will wipe it away;
Does an infant appear?--again he must pay.
On two thousand florins I reckon each year,
Were they chaste, I should starve on a pittance I fear.[861]
Then hail to the pope; on my knees I adore
And swear in his faith to live evermore;
His church I'll defend, and till death I avow,
He alone is the god before whom I will bow.

[861] The German is very strong.
So bin Ich auf gut Deutsch ein Hurenwirth, etc. (Ibid.)

[Sidenote: THE CARNIVAL AT BERNE.]

THE POPE.

The people now at length believe
That priests can all their sins reprieve
At pleasure--that to them is given
Full power to shut or open heaven.
Preach loudly, every high decree,
Of him, the conclave's majesty.
Then, we are kings, the laity slaves:
But if the gospel standard waves
We're lost; for no where does it say,
Make sacrifice, let priests have pay.
The gospel course for us would be,
To live and die in poverty.
Instead of steeds to mark my state,
And chariots on my sons to wait,
A paltry ass must needs supply[862]
A seat for sacred majesty.
No, I cannot take such legacy,
I'll thunder at such temerity;
Let us but will--the world will nod,
And nations adore us as God.
Slighting their rights I mount my throne,
And partition the world among my own;
Vile laity must keep far aloof,
Nor dare to enter our blest roof,
To touch our tribute, or our gold.
Holy water e'en let them hold.

[862] Wir möchten fast kaum Eselein ha'n. (Bern Mausol. iv, Wirz, K.
Gesch. i, 383.)

We will not continue this literal translation of Manuel's drama. The agony of the clergy on learning the efforts of the Reformers, and their rage against those who threaten to interfere with their irregularities, are painted in lively colours. The dissolute manners of which this piece gave so vivid a representation were too common not to strike the spectator with the truth of the picture. The people were excited. Many jibes were heard as they retired from the play in the street of La Croix; but some who took the matter more seriously, spoke of Christian liberty and papal despotism, and contrasted the simplicity of the gospel with the pomp of Rome. The contempt of the people was soon displayed in the public streets. On Ash Wednesday, the indulgences were promenaded through the town amid satirical songs. In Berne, and throughout Switzerland a severe blow had been given to the ancient edifice of the papacy.

[Sidenote: WALTER KLARER. JAMES BURKLI.]

Sometime after this representation, another comedy was acted at Berne, but there was no fiction in it. The clergy, council, and corporation had assembled in front of the Upper Gate, waiting for the skull of St. Anne, which the famous knight, Albert of Stein, had gone to fetch from Lyons. At length Stein appeared, holding the holy relic wrapt in a covering of silk. As it passed, the Bishop of Lausanne knelt down before it. This precious skull, the skull of the Virgin's mother, is carried in procession to the church of the Dominicans, and, amid the ringing of bells, enters the church, where it is placed with great solemnity on the altar consecrated to it, behind a splendid grating. But amid all this joy, a letter arrives from the abbot of the convent of Lyon, where the relics of the saint were deposited, intimating that what the monks had sold to the knight was a profane bone taken at random from the burying ground. The trick thus played off on the illustrious city of Berne filled its citizens with deep indignation.

The Reformation was making progress in other parts of Switzerland. In 1521, Walter Klarer, a young man of Appenzel, returned to his native canton from the university of Paris. Luther's writings fell into his hands, and, in 1522, he preached the evangelical doctrine with all the ardour of a young convert. An innkeeper, named Rausberg, a wealthy and pious man, and a member of the council of Appenzel, opened his house to all the friends of truth. Bartholomew Berweger, a famous captain, who had fought for Julius II and for Leo X, having at this time returned from Rome, began forthwith to persecute the evangelical ministers. One day, however, remembering how much vice he had seen at Rome, he began to read the Bible, and to attend the sermons of the new preachers; his eyes were opened, and he embraced the gospel. Seeing that the crowds could not be contained in the churches, he proposed that they should preach in the fields and the public squares, and, notwithstanding of keen opposition, the hills, meadows, and mountains of Appenzel, thenceforward often echoed with the glad tidings of salvation.

[Sidenote: MURDER AND ADULTERY.]

The reformed doctrine, ascending the Rhine, made its way as far as ancient Rhætia. One day, a stranger from Zurich crossed the river, and waited on the saddler of Flasch, the frontier village of the Grisons. Christian Anhorn, the saddler, listened in astonishment to the language of his visitor. "Preach," said the whole village to the stranger, who was called James Burkli. He accordingly took his station in front of the altar. A number of persons arrived, with Anhorn at their head, and stood round to defend him from a sudden attack while he preached the gospel. The rumour of this preaching spread far and wide; and, on the following Sunday, an immense crowd assembled. Shortly after, a great proportion of the inhabitants of the district desired to have the Lord's Supper dispensed to them according to its original institution. But one day the tocsin suddenly sounded in Mayenfield; the people ran in alarm; and the priests, after pointing out the danger which threatened the Church, hastened at the head of the fanatical population to Flasch. Anhorn, who was working in the field, astonished at hearing the sound of bells at so unusual an hour, hastened home and concealed Burkli in a deep hole dug in his cellar. The house was by this time surrounded; the door was forced open, and the heretical preacher everywhere searched for in vain. At length the persecutors withdrew.[863]

[863] Anhorn, Wiedergeburt der Ev. Kirchen in den 3 Bündten. Chur,
1680. Wirz i, 457.

The Word of God spread over the extent of the ten jurisdictions. The curate of Mayenfield, on returning from Rome, to which he had fled infuriated at the success of the gospel, exclaimed, "Rome has made me evangelical," and became a zealous reformer. The Reformation soon extended to the league of "the House of God." "Oh!" exclaimed Salandronius to Vadian, "if you but saw how the inhabitants of the mountains of Rhætia cast far from them the yoke of the Babylonish captivity!"

Shocking disorders hastened the day when Zurich and the neighbouring districts were to shake off the yoke. A married schoolmaster wishing to become a priest, obtained his wife's consent, and they separated. The new curate was unable to keep his vow of celibacy, but not to outrage his wife's feelings quitted the place where she lived, and, having taken up his residence in the diocese of Constance, formed a licentious connection. His wife hastened to the place. The poor priest took compassion on her, and dismissing the person who had usurped her rights, took back his lawful spouse. The procurator-fiscal forthwith drew up a charge against him: the vicar-general began to move; the council of the consistory deliberated ... and the curate was ordered to abandon his wife or his benefice. The poor wife left the house weeping bitterly, and her rival returned in triumph. The Church declared itself satisfied, and thenceforth let the adulterous priest alone.[864]

[864] Simml. Samml. vi.--Wirz, K. Gesch. i, 275.

[Sidenote: THE MARRIAGE OF ZUINGLIUS.]

Shortly after a curate of Lucerne eloped with a married woman, and lived with her. The husband went to Lucerne and taking advantage of the priest's absence brought away his wife. While returning they were met by the seducer, who immediately attacked the injured husband, and gave him a wound of which he died.[865] All good men felt the necessity of re-establishing the divine law, which declares _marriage honorable in all_.[866] The evangelical ministers had taught that the law of celibacy was of merely human origin, imposed by Roman pontiffs in opposition to the Word of God, which, when describing a true bishop, represents him as a husband and father. (1 Tim. iii, 2 and 4.) They saw at the same time, that of all the abuses which had crept into the Church none had caused more numerous vices and scandals. They considered it not only as a thing lawful but as a duty in the sight of God to withdraw from its authority. Several of them at this time returned to the ancient practice of apostolic times. Xylotect was married. Zuinglius also married at this period. No lady was more respected in Zurich than Anna Reinhard, widow of Meyer of Knonau, the mother of Gerold. From the arrival of Zuinglius she had been one of his most attentive hearers: she lived in his neighbourhood, and he observed her piety, modesty, and fondness for her children. Young Gerold, who had become as it were his adopted son, brought him into closer connection with his mother. The trials already endured by this Christian woman, who was one day to be the most cruelly tried of all the women whose history is on record, had given her a gravity which made her evangelical virtues still more prominent.[867] She was now about thirty-five years of age, and her own fortune amounted only to four hundred florins. It was on her that Zuinglius, on looking out for a companion for life, turned his eye. He felt how sacred and intimate the conjugal union is. He termed it "a most holy alliance."[868] "As Christ," said he, "died for his people, and gave himself to them entirely, so ought husband and wife to do and suffer every thing for each other." But Zuinglius, when he took Anna Reinhard to wife, did not immediately publish his marriage. This was undoubtedly a culpable weakness in a man otherwise so resolute. The light which he and his friends had acquired on the subject of celibacy was not generally diffused. The weak might have been offended. He feared that his usefulness in the Church might be paralysed if his marriage were made public.[869] He sacrificed part of his happiness to these fears--fears to which, though respectable perhaps, he should have been superior.[870]

[865] Hinc cum scorto redeuntem in itinere deprehendit, adgreditur,
lethiferoque vulnere cædit et tandem moritur. (Zw. Ep. p. 206.)

[866] Hebrews, xiii, 4.

[867] Anna Reinhard, von Gerold Meyer von Knonau, p. 25.

[868] Ein hochheiliges Bündniss. (Ibid.)

[869] Qui veritus sis, te marito non tam feliciter usurum Christum in
negotio verbi sui. (Zw. Ep. p. 335.) Who feared that Christ would not
use you as a husband so advantageously in the ministry of his Word.

[870] Biographers, most respectable historians, and all the authors
who have copied them, place Zuinglius' marriage two years later, viz.,
in April 1524. Without going at length into the reasons which satisfy
me that this is a mistake, I will merely indicate the most decisive
proofs. A letter from Zuinglius' friend Myconius, 22nd July, 1522,
says, "_Vale cum uxore quam felicissime_." "All happiness to you and
your wife." Another letter from the same friend, written towards the
close of this year, has the words, "_Vale cum uxore_." The contents of
the letters prove that they are correctly dated. But what is still
stronger is, a letter of Bucer, from Strasburg, at the time when the
marriage was made public, 14th April, 1524, (the date of the year is
wanting, but it is clearly 1524.) This letter contains several
passages which show that Zuinglius had been for some time married. In
addition to the one given in the previous note, we quote the
following:--"Professum _palam_ te maritum legi. Unum hoc desiderabam
in te." I read that you openly professed to be a husband. This was the
only thing in you I regretted the want of. "Quæ multum facilius quam
_connubii tui confessionem_. Antichristus posset ferre." These things
Antichrist could bear more easily than _the confession of your
marriage_.--"Αγαμον ab eo, quod cum fratribus ... episcopo
Constantiensi congressus es, nullus credidi." That you were unmarried
I did not believe from your disputes with the friars ... the Bishop of
Constance. "Qua ratione id _tam diu celares_ ... non dubitarim,
rationibus hue adductum, quæ apud virum evangelicum non queant omnino
repudiari" ... etc. On what account you concealed it so long ... I
doubt not you were influenced by reasons which ought not to be
entirely rejected by a Christian man. (Zw. Ep. p. 335.) In 1524, then,
Zuinglius did not marry, but publish his marriage contracted two years
before. The learned editors of the letters of Zuinglius ask, "Num
forte jam Zuinglius Annam Reinhardam, clandestino in matrimonio
habebat?" May not Zuinglius have already been secretly married to Anna
Reinhard? p. 210. This seems to me not a matter of doubt, but a well
ascertained historical fact.

[Sidenote: HOW TRUTH TRIUMPHS.]

CHAP. XIV.

How Truth triumphs--Society at Einsidlen--Request to the
Bishops--to the Confederates--The Men of Einsidlen
separate--A Scene in a Convent--A Dinner by Myconius--The
Strength of the Reformers--Effect of the Petitions to
Lucerne--The Council of the Diet--Haller at the
Town-House--Friburg--Destitution of Oswald--Zuinglius
comforts him--Oswald quits Lucerne--First severity of the
Diet--Consternation of the Brothers of Zuinglius--His
Resolution--The Future--The Prayer of Zuinglius.

Meanwhile still higher interests occupied the friends of truth. The Diet, as we have seen, urged by the enemies of the Reformation, had ordered the evangelical preachers to desist from preaching the doctrines which troubled the people. Zuinglius felt that the moment for action had arrived, and with the energy which characterised him, called a meeting of the ministers of the Lord, the friends of the gospel, at Einsidlen. The strength of Christians is neither in carnal weapons, nor the flames of martyrdom--it is in a simple but unanimous and intrepid profession of these great truths to which the world must one day be subjugated. In particular, God calls upon those who serve him to hold these heavenly doctrines prominently forth in presence of the whole people without being dismayed by the clamour of adversaries. Those truths are able of themselves to secure their triumph, and as of old with the ark of God, idols cannot stand in their presence. The time had come when God willed that the great doctrine of salvation should be confessed in Switzerland. It was necessary that the gospel standard should be planted on some eminence. Providence was going to draw humble but intrepid men out of unknown retreats that they might bear a striking testimony in presence of the nation.

[Sidenote: MEETING AT EINSIDLEN.]

Towards the end of June and the beginning of July, 1522, pious ministers were seen proceeding in all directions towards the celebrated chapel of Einsidlen on a new pilgrimage.[871] From Art, in the canton of Schwitz, came its curate, Balthasar Traschel; from Weiningen near Baden, curate Staheli; from Zug, Werner Steiner; from Lucerne, canon Kilchmeyer; from Uster, curate Pfister; from Hongg, near Zurich, curate Stumpff; from Zurich itself, canon Fabricius, chaplain Schmid, the preacher of the hospital, Grosmann, and Zuinglius. Leo Juda, curate of Einsidlen, most cordially welcomed all these ministers of Jesus Christ to the ancient abbey. Since the time when Zuinglius took up his residence in it, this place had been a citadel of truth, and a hotel of the just.[872] In like manner had thirty-three bold patriots, resolved to break the yoke of Austria, met two hundred years before in the solitary plain of Grutli. The object of the meeting at Einsidlen was to break the yoke of human authority in the things of God. Zuinglius proposed to his friends to present earnest addresses to the cantons, and to the bishop, praying for the free preaching of the gospel, and at the same time for the abolition of compulsory celibacy, the source of so many irregularities. The proposal was unanimously adopted.[873] Ulric had himself prepared the addresses. That to the bishop was first read. It was dated 2nd July, 1522, and signed by all the evangelists we have mentioned. The preachers of the truth in Switzerland were united in cordial affection. Many others besides sympathised with the party at Einsidlen: such were Haller, Myconius, Hedio, Capito, Œcolampadius, Sebastian Meyer, Hoffmeister, and Wanner. This harmony is one of the finest traits in the Swiss Reformation. These excellent persons always acted as one man, and remained friends till death.

[871] Thaten sich zusammen etliche priester. (Bullinger MS.)

[872] Zu Einsidlen hätten sie alle Sicherheit dahin zu gehen und dort
zu wohnen. (J. J. Hottinger, Helv. K. Gesch., iii, 86.)

[873] Und wurden eins an den Bischoff zu Constantz und gmein
Eidtgnossen ein Supplication zu stellen. (Bullinger MS.)

[Sidenote: ADDRESS TO THE BISHOP.]

The men of Einsidlen were aware that it was only by the power of faith that the members of the Confederation, divided by foreign enlistments, could become one body. But their views were carried higher. "The celestial doctrine," said they to their ecclesiastical head, in the address of 2nd July, "that truth which God the Creator has manifested by his Son to the human race now plunged in evil, has been long veiled from our eyes by the ignorance, not to say the malice of certain men. But God Almighty has resolved to re-establish it in its primitive condition. Join yourself to those who demand that the multitude of the faithful return to their head, who is Christ.[874] For our part we have resolved to promulgate his gospel with indefatigable perseverance, and at same time with such wisdom that none can complain.[875] Favour this enterprise; astonishing, perhaps, but not rash. Be like Moses on the march at the head of the people coming out of Egypt, and overthrow the obstacles which oppose the triumphant progress of truth."

[874] Et universa Christianorum multitudo ad caput suum quod Christus
est redeat. (Supplicatio quorundam apud Helvetios Evangelistarum. Zw.
Op. iii, 18.)

[875] Evangelium irremisso tenore promulgare statuimus.... (Ibid.)

After this warm appeal, the evangelists met at Einsidlen came to celibacy. Zuinglius had no longer any demand to make on this head for himself, having already one answering the description given by Paul of what a minister's wife ought to be, _grave, sober, faithful in all things_. (1 Tim. iii, 2.) But he thought of his brethren, whose consciences were not yet like his, emancipated from human ordinances. He sighed moreover for the time when all the servants of God might live openly and without fear in the bosom of their own family, _keeping their children_, says the apostle, _in subjection, with all gravity_. (1 Tim. iii, 4.) "You are not ignorant," said the men of Einsidlen, "that hitherto chastity has been deplorably violated by the priests. When on the consecration of the servants of the Lord he who speaks for all is asked, 'Are those whom you present righteous? He answers--They are righteous. Are they learned? They are learned. But when he is asked--Are they chaste? he answers: As far as human weakness permits.'[876] Everything in the New Testament condemns licentiousness: every thing in it sanctions marriage." Then follows the quotation of a great number of passages. "Wherefore," they continued, "we implore you by the love of Christ, by the liberty which he has purchased for us, by the misery of so many weak and wavering souls, by the wounds of so many ulcerated consciences, by every thing human and divine; ... allow that which was rashly done to be wisely repealed, lest the majestic edifice of the Church fall with fearful uproar, and drag boundless ruin after it.[877] See with what storms the world is threatened. If wisdom interpose not it is all over with the priesthood."

[876] Suntne casti? reddidit: Quatenus humana imbecillitas permittit
(Ibid., iii, 18.)

[877] Ne quando moles ista non ex patris cœlestis sententia
constructa, cum fragore longe perniciosiore corruat. (Ibid., 24.) Lest
one day that edifice, not built according to the view of the heavenly
parent, fall with a much more dreadful crash.

[Sidenote: DEPARTURE FROM EINSIDLEN.]

The petition to the Confederation was of greater length. The band of Einsidlen addressing the confederates, thus conclude: "Honoured Sirs,--we are all Swiss, and you are our fathers. There are some among us who have shown themselves faithful in combat, in plague, and other calamities.[878] It is in the name of true chastity that we speak to you. Who knows not that we could satisfy sensual appetite far better by not submitting to the laws of a legitimate union? But it is necessary to put an end to the scandals which afflict the church of Christ. If the tyranny of the Roman pontiff would oppress us, fear nothing, brave heroes! The authority of the Word of God, the rights of Christian liberty, and the sovereign power of grace, guard around us.[879] We have the same country, we have the same faith, we are Swiss, and the valour of our illustrious ancestors always manifested its power by an indomitable defence of those oppressed by injustice."

[878] Amica et piu paraenesis ad communem Helvetiorum civitatem
scripta, ne evangelicæ doctrinæ cursum impediant, etc. (Zw. Op. i,
89.)

[879] Divini enim verbi auctoritatem, libertatis Christianæ et divinæ
gratiæ præsidium nobis adesse conspicietis. (Zw. Op. i, 63.)

Thus in Einsidlen itself, in this old rampart of superstition, which is still, in our day, one of the most famous sanctuaries of Roman superstition, Zuinglius and his friends boldly raised the standard of truth and freedom. They appealed to the heads of the State and the Church. They fixed their thesis, like Luther, both on the gate of the episcopal palace and on that of the national council. The friends met at Einsidlen parted calm, joyful, full of hope in that God to whom they had committed their cause. Some passing near the battle-field of Morgarten, others over the chain of the Albis, and others again by different valleys or mountains, all returned to their posts. "There was truly something grand in these times,"[880] says Henry Bullinger, "in men thus daring to put themselves forward, rallying around the gospel, and exposing themselves to all dangers. But God defended them so, that no evil reached them: for God preserves his people at all times." It was indeed something grand, it was a great step in the progress of the Reformation, one of the brightest days of religious revival in Switzerland. A holy confederation was formed at Einsidlen. Humble and courageous men had seized the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God, and the shield of faith. The gauntlet was thrown down, and the challenge given, not by a single man, but by men of different cantons, ready to sacrifice their lives. It only remained to await the battle.

[880] Es wass zwahren gros zu denen Zyten. (Bullinger MS.)

[Sidenote: SCENE IN A CONVENT.]

Everything announced that it was to be fierce. Five days after (7th July), the magistracy of Zurich, wishing to give some satisfaction to the Roman party, summoned before them Conrad Grebel and Claus Hottinger, two of those extreme men who seemed desirous to go beyond the bounds of a wise Reformation. "We forbid you," said Burgomaster Roust, "to speak against the monks or on controverted points." At these words, a loud noise was heard in the chamber, says an ancient chronicle. God was so manifestly in favour of the work, that people were everywhere anticipating signs of his interposition. All present looked around in astonishment, without being able to discover the cause of this mysterious circumstance.[881]

[881] Da Hess die Stube einen grossen Knall. (Füsslin Beytr. iv, 89.)

But indignation was carried to its greatest height in convents. Every meeting held in them, whether for discipline or festivity, witnessed some new attack. One day, when a great festival was celebrated in the convent of Fraubrunn, the wine having got into the heads of the guests, they began to shoot the most envenomed arrows at the gospel.[882] What especially excited the rage of these priests and monks was the evangelical doctrine--that in the Christian Church there ought to be no sacerdotal caste above believers. Only one friend of the Reformation, a simple layman, Macrin, schoolmaster at Soleure, was present. He at first shunned the contest by changing his seat to another table. But at last, no longer able to endure the furious invectives of the guests, he stood up boldly, and exclaimed, "Yes, all true Christians are priests, and offer sacrifice according to the words of St. Peter, '_You are a royal priesthood_.'" At these words, one of the most intrepid bawlers, the dean of Burgdorff, a tall, stout man, with a stentorian voice, uttered a loud laugh. "You little Greeks and school rats! You a royal priesthood!... Beautiful priesthood!... Mendicant kings!... priests without prebends and benefices!"[883] And instantly all the priests and monks fell with one accord on the impudent laic.

[882] Cum invalescente Baccho, disputationes, imo verius jurgia....
(Zw. Ep. i, 230.) With the progress of the wine disputes, nay, rather
brawls, began.

[883] Estote ergo Græculi ac Donatistæ regale sacerdotium. (Ibid., p.
230.)

But it was in Lucerne that the bold step of the men of Einsidlen was to produce the strongest sensation. The Diet had met in this town, and complaints arrived from all quarters against the rash preachers who were preventing Helvetia from quietly selling the blood of her sons to the stranger. On the 22nd July, as Oswald Myconius was entertaining canon Kilchmeyer, and several other friends of the gospel, at dinner, a boy, sent by Zuinglius, knocked at the door.[884] He was the bearer of the two famous petitions from Einsidlen, and of a letter from Zuinglius, which requested Oswald to circulate them in Lucerne. "My advice is, that the thing be done quietly, by degrees, rather than all at once; but, for the love of Christ, it is necessary to forsake everything, even wife."

[884] Venit puer, quam misisti, inter prandendum.... (Ibid., p. 209.)

[Sidenote: STATE OF MATTERS AT LUCERNE.]

Thus the crisis approached in Lucerne: the shell had fallen, and could not but burst. The guests read the petitions. "May God bless this beginning,"[885] said Oswald, looking up to heaven, and then added, "This prayer must, from this moment, be the constant occupation of our hearts." The petitions were forthwith circulated, perhaps with more ardour than Zuinglius had requested. But the moment was singular. Eleven individuals, the flower of the clergy, had placed themselves in the breach: it was necessary to enlighten men's minds, to fix the irresolute, and gain over the most influential members of the Diet.

[885] Deus cœpta fortunet! (Ibid., p. 210.)

Oswald, in the midst of this labour, did not forget his friend. The young messenger had told him of the attacks which Zuinglius had to endure from the monks at Zurich. Writing him the same day, he says, "The truth of the Holy Spirit is invincible. Armed with the shield of the Holy Scriptures you have remained conqueror, not in one combat only, nor in two, but in three, and the fourth is now commencing.... Seize those powerful weapons which are harder than diamond! Christ, in order to protect his people, has need only of his Word. Your struggles give indomitable courage to all who have devoted themselves to Jesus Christ."[886]

[886] Is permaneas, qui es, in Christo Jesu.... (Zw. Ep. p. 210.)

At Lucerne, the petitions did not produce the result anticipated. Some pious men approved of them, but these were few in number. Several, fearing to compromise themselves, were unwilling either to praise or blame.[887] "These folks," said others, "will never bring this affair to a good end!" All the priests murmured, grumbled, and muttered between their teeth. As to the people, they were loud against the gospel. A rage for war was awakened in Lucerne after the bloody defeat of Bicoque, and engrossed all thoughts.[888] Oswald, who was an attentive observer of these different impressions, felt his courage shaken. The evangelical future which he had anticipated for Lucerne and Switzerland seemed to vanish. "Our people," said he, uttering a deep sigh, "are blind to the things of heaven. In regard to the glory of Christ, there is no hope of the Swiss."[889]

[887] Boni qui pauci sunt, commendant libellos vestros; alli non
laudant nec vituperant. (Ibid., p. 210.)

[888] Belli furor occupat omnia. (Ibid.)

[889] Nihil ob id apud Helvetios agendum de lis rebus quæ Christi
gloriam possunt augere. (Ibid.)

[Sidenote: KILCHMEYER. HALLER. MEYER.]

Wrath prevailed, especially in the Council and the Diet. The pope, France, England, and the empire, all around Switzerland, was in agitation after the defeat of Bicoque, and the evacuation of Lombardy by the French under Lautrec. Were not political interests at that moment complicated enough before these eleven men came with their petitions to mingle religious questions with them? The deputies of Zurich alone were favourably disposed to the gospel. Canon Xylotect, afraid for his own life and that of his wife, (he had married into one of the first families in the country,) had refused, with tears of regret, to repair to Einsidlen and sign the addresses. Canon Kilchmeyer had shown greater courage. He, too, had everything to fear. "Condemnation threatens me," he writes to Zuinglius, on the 13th August; "I await it without fear...." As he was writing these words, an officer of the council entered the room, and cited him to appear next day.[890] "If they put me in irons," said he, continuing his letter, "I claim your help; but it will be easier to transport a rock from our Alps than to move me a finger's breadth from the word of Jesus Christ." The regard which was deemed due to his family, and the resolution which they had taken to let the storm fall upon Oswald, saved the canon.

[890] Tu vero audi. Hæc dum scriberem, irruit præco, a Senatoribus
missus... (Zw. Ep. 213.)

Berthold Haller, probably because he was not a Swiss, had not signed the petitions. But full of courage, he, like Zuinglius, expounded the gospel according to Matthew. A vast crowd filled the cathedral of Berne. The word of God operated more powerfully on the people than Manuel's dramas. Haller was summoned to the Town House; the people accompanied their good-natured pastor, and remained around the spot. The council was divided. "This concerns the bishop," said the leading men. "The preacher must be handed over to my lord of Lausanne." The friends of Haller trembled at these words, and told him to withdraw as quickly as possible. The people flocked round, and accompanied him to his house, where a great number of burghers remained in arms prepared to make a rampart of their bodies in defence of their humble pastor. The bishop and council were overawed by this energetic demonstration, and Haller was saved. Haller was not the only combatant at Berne. Sebastian Meyer at this time refuted the pastoral letter of the Bishop of Constance, and in particular the formidable charge, "that the gospellers teach a new doctrine, but that the old doctrine is the true." "To be wrong for two thousand years," said Meyer, "is not to be right for a single hour; otherwise the heathen ought to have adhered to their belief. If the most ancient doctrines must carry the day, fifteen hundred years are more than five hundred years, and the gospel is more ancient than the ordinances of the pope."[891]

[891] Simmi. Samml. vi.

[Sidenote: MYCONIUS PERSECUTED.]

At this period the magistrates of Friburg intercepted letters addressed to Haller and Meyer by a canon of Friburg, named John Hollard, a native of Orb. They imprisoned, then deposed, and at last banished him. John Vannius, a chorister in the cathedral, shortly after embraced the evangelical doctrine; for in the Christian warfare one soldier no sooner falls than another takes his place. "How could the muddy water of the Tiber," said Vannius, "subsist beside the pure water which Luther has drawn from the spring of St. Paul." But the chorister's mouth was also closed. Myconius wrote to Zuinglius, "Scarcely will you find in Switzerland men more averse to the gospel than the Friburghers."[892]

[892] Hoc audio vix alios esse per Helvetiam, qui pejus velint sanæ
doctrinæ. (Zw. Ep. p. 226.)

Lucerne ought to have been stated as an exception. This Myconius knew. He had not signed the famous petitions, but his friends had if he had not, and a victim was required. The ancient literature of Greece and Rome began, thanks to him, to shed some light in Lucerne; numbers arrived from different quarters to attend the learned professor, and the friends of peace were charmed with sounds sweeter than those of halberds, swords, and cuirasses, which alone had hitherto resounded in the warlike city. Oswald had sacrificed everything for his country. He had quitted Zurich and Zuinglius; he had lost his health; his wife was pining;[893] his son was in childhood; if even Lucerne rejected him he could nowhere hope for an asylum. But no matter; factions have no pity, and the thing which ought to excite their compassion stimulates their rage. Herbenstein, burgomaster of Lucerne, an old and valiant warrior who had gained a distinguished name in the wars of Suabia and Burgundy, followed up the deposition of the teacher, and wished to banish, from the canton, with himself, his Greek, his Latin, and his gospel. He succeeded. On coming out of the Council, after the sederunt at which Myconius had been deposed, Herbenstein met the Zurich deputy, Berguer. "We are sending you back your schoolmaster," said he to him ironically, "get a good lodging for him." "We won't let him sleep in the open air,"[894] immediately replied the courageous deputy. But Berguer promised more than he could perform.

[893] Conjux infirma. (Ibid. p. 192.)

[894] Veniat! efficiemus enim ne dormiendum sit ei sub dio. (Ibid., p.
216.) Let him come, we will see to it that he do not sleep in the open
air.

[Sidenote: OSWALD PERSECUTED.]

The news given by the burgomaster were but too true, and were soon intimated to the unhappy Myconius. He is deposed and banished, and the only crime laid to his charge is that of being a disciple of Luther.[895] He looks all around but nowhere finds a shelter. He sees his wife, his son, and himself, all three feeble and sickly, exiled from their country, and Switzerland, all around agitated by a whirlwind, which breaks and destroys every thing that stands in its way. "Here," said he then to Zuinglius, "is poor Myconius banished by the council of Lucerne.[896]... Whither shall I go? I know not.... Assailed yourself by these furious storms how could you shelter me? I cry then in my distress to that God who is the first in whom I hope, who is ever bountiful, ever kind, and who never calls upon any to seek his face in vain. May He supply my wants!"

[895] Nil exprobrarunt nisi quod sim Lutheranus. (Ibid.)

[896] Expellitur ecce miser Myconius a Senatu Lucernano. (Ibid., p.
215.)

Thus spoke Oswald, and he was not obliged to wait long for a word of consolation. There was one in Switzerland inured to the battles of the faith. Zuinglius drew near to his friend, and comforting him, thus expressed himself, "The blows by which men attempt to overthrow the house of God are so violent, and the assaults which they make upon it so frequent that not only do the wind and rain beat upon it, as our Saviour predicted, (Matt. vii, 27,) but the hail and the thunder.[897] Had I not perceived the Lord guiding the ship I should, long ere now, have cast the helm into the sea, but I see him amid the tempest, strengthening the tackling, arranging the yards, stretching the sails, what do I say? commanding the very winds.... Should I not then be a coward unworthy of the name of a man if I abandoned my post and fled to a shameful death? I confide entirely in his sovereign goodness. Let him govern, transport, hasten, retard, precipitate, arrest, break down, let him even plunge us to the bottom of the abyss, we fear nothing.[898] We are vessels which belong to him. He can use us as he pleases, for honour or disgrace." After words thus full of faith Zuinglius continues. "As to your case this is my opinion. Present yourself before the council, and there deliver an address worthy of Christ and of yourself, that is to say, proper to touch and not to irritate men's hearts. Deny that you are a disciple of Luther, declare that you are a disciple of Jesus Christ. Let your pupils surround you, and let them speak, and if all this does not succeed, come to your friend, come to Zuinglius, and consider our home as your own fireside."

[897] Nec ventos esse, nec imbres, sed grandines et fulmina. (Zw. Ep.
p. 217.)

[898] Regat, vehat, festinet, maneat, acceleret, moretur, mergat!...
(Ibid.)

[Sidenote: OSWALD PERSECUTED.]