Huldrych Zwingli

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ At the age of twenty-two Zwingli was ordained by the bishop of Constance (1506) , preached his first sermon at Rapperswyl, and said his first mass among his own people at Wildhaus. In the same year he was elected parish priest of Glarus, in spite of the pope's nomination of Heinrich Goldli, an influential pluralist of Zürich, whom Zwingli found it necessary to buy off at an expense of more than a hundred gulden. The Holy See, much dependent at that time on its Swiss mercenaries in the pursuit of its secular ends, expressed no resentment on this occasion. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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 to Œcolampadius, 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. ”

“ To the town of Einsiedeln in the canton of Schwyz came Huldreich Zwingli in the year 1516 as a Catholic priest. Slightly younger than Luther, he was well born, had received an excellent university education in Vienna and in Basel, and had now been in holy orders about ten years. He had shown for some time more interest in humanism than in the old-fashioned theology, but hardly any one would have suspected him of heresy, for it was well known that he was a regular pensioner of the pope. ”

“ Every man is by temperament and training a radical or a conservative, and a party on the whole agreed in policy has always its Left and its Right wing. Zwingli had the experience common to all leaders: whatever he did or left undone, some were certain to accuse him of going too fast, while others would assert that he was going far too slow; to one he would seem to be destroying the very foundations of the faith, while another would complain of him as only a half-hearted reformer after all. ”

“ But it is evident that his views have undergone a great transformation since his coming to Waldshut—he is now an evangelical, in the fullest significance of the term. Once for all he has taken his stand on the principle that for him the voice of Scripture is the only voice of authority, and consequently the only voice that he will obey.
A careful reading of the account of the disputation [19] confirms the idea that Zwingli did not at any time differ so much in doctrine from Grebel and Hübmaier, as in policy. He was in favour of proceeding slowly with the reform in Zürich, for many reasons. ”

“ It was in Zürich that the reformatory activity of Zwingli became perfected and bore fruit; but it was in his solitary cell at Einsiedeln, when he knelt and cried to God for “an understanding of the word,” that the first beams of the light of the new day arose for him. “God does not grow old!” ”

“ Zwingli's plan was to move suddenly against the enemy; to force them to give up the Austrian alliance and their rule in the Common Lands, to renounce pensions, and to allow free preaching in their own territory. The Five Cantons, hoping to the last for Austrian help, were badly prepared: the troops of Luzern had gone to the Free Bailiwicks, but those of the other four Cantons moved from Zug towards Zurich. Hans Oebli, the Landam-mann of Glarus, hurried up to mediate; and, as he was a friend of Reform, his voice, in spite of Zwingli's plea for war, prevailed. ”

“ Zwingli felt that his position was hard enough in Zürich without the interference of such men as the Waldshut preacher to encourage his opponents and make his task still harder. He would have been a remarkable man if he could have retained a friendly feeling for one who was thus giving him a great deal of trouble. Hübmaier did not intervene in person for a time, but through the press he made himself felt continually. Many of the Zürich radicals were men of learning and ability ”

“ Luther was in high glee when news of Zwingli’s death reached him.
[384]
He said: “God knows the thoughts of the heart. It is well that Zwingli, Carlstadt, and Pellicanus lie dead on the battle-field, for otherwise we could not have retained the Landgrave, Strasburg and other of our neighbours [true to our doctrine] . Oh, what a triumph is this, that they have perished! God indeed knows His business well.” [1272] —“Zwingli died like a brigand,” he said later, when scarcely a year had elapsed since his death. “He wished to force others to accept his errors, went to war, and was slain.” ”

“ Zwingli was among the slain, and his body was treated disgracefully as that of a traitor. His stepson, Gerold Meyer, Diebold von Geroldscok, Abbot Joner of Kappel, and others of his friends, perished with him.
The remaining Zurich troops and allies came up (October 24) with the Catholic troops on the Gubel near Zug and were defeated in an engagement more serious than the first. Zurich lay open to its enemies: the Emperor might now have intervened with effect. ”

“ It is notable as the first adequate life of Zwingli by an English-speaking author . . . portrays the man, the accomplished scholar, social reformer, ardent patriot, the theologian, so far in advance of his time as to stand alone in the faith that all infants would be saved. ”

“ Œcolampadius, 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. ”

“ The Swiss Diets were besieged by agents of the Powers. A French party was to be found in every town, and a papalist anti-French party was created by Matthäus Schinner, Cardinal of Sion, in the service of Julius II. Zwingli's interest in politics was great; politics and patriotism* inspired his earliest German poems,—the Labyrinth, and the Fahle of the Ox and the Beasts; his position in Glarus made him a valuable ally for the papal party in a parish where the French were strong ”

“ 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. ”

“ I say that these two (who are minded in their hearts to live together always in conjugal fidelity) are surely married before God.”
He had never succumbed to the temptations of the flesh, and had kept his body and soul pure; and for that very reason he could sympathise with and help by his sympathy those who had fallen. Zwingli, on the other hand, had deliberately contracted this illicit alliance after he had committed himself to the work of a Reformer. The action remains a permanent blot on his character, and places him on a different level from Luther and from Calvin. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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 ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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 and Œcolampadius 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. ”

“ He was a scholarly man, bluff and kindly in his ways, and an impressive orator. The Swiss were corrupted by their employment as mercenary soldiers, hired by France, by the Pope, or by the emperor. Of the demoralizing influence of this practice, Zwingli became deeply convinced; and his exertions as a Church reformer were mingled with a patriotic zeal for the moral and political regeneration of Switzerland. Mainly by his influence, Zurich separated from the jurisdiction of the bishop of Constance, and became Protestant in 1524. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”