The original of tiiis book is in tine Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924067113799 CORNELL UNIVERSITY LlBR 3 1924 067 1 3 799 HISTORY ANABAPTISTS SWITZEELAND. A HISTORY I BY HENRY S. BURRAGE. PHILADELPHIA; Americaj^^ Baptist Publication Society, 1420 CHESTNUT STEEET. Entored, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1882, by tlio AMERICAN BAPTIST PUBLICATION SOCIETY, In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Wusliington. The affairs of Switzerland occupy a very small space in the great chart of European history. But in some respects they are more interesting than the revolutions of mighty kingdoms. Nowhere besides do we ilnd so many titles to our sympathy, or the union of so much virtue with so complete success. — Hallam, Middle Ages, ii. 108. Unstreitig verdienen die Kampfe, welche die Zilricher Wie- dertaufer zur Reformationszeit veranlasst habcn, audi heute noch gewiirdigt zu werden. — Egli, Die Ziiricher Wiedertau/er, s. 91. Sio sehen sich, oin klcinos Ilauflein, der ganzen foindlichon Welt gegeniiber, aber in der Zuversicht, die Waiirheit zu be- sitzen, verachten sie die furchtsameu Ausleger des Wortes Gottes, die nicht gedenken dass Gott heute wie gestern sei, und verkla- ren ihre Aussicht auf Angst und Noth durch den Hinblick auf Christus und die Apoatel, die auf demselben Wcg der Leiden ihnen zur Herrlichkoit vorangegangcn. — Cornelius, Oeschichte des Miinsierischen Aufruhrs, s. ii. 24. PREFACE. Too little attention has been given to tlie Anabaptists of the sixteenth century. No one among us would be satisfied with a history of the Reformation in Germany, prepared by Dr. Eck, or any other of Luther's opponents ; but works concerning the Anabaptists, written by their bitterest enemies, are received by writers of almost every name aa trustworthy history. Books of tliis character are cited as authorities in Anabaptist history. In his As to Roger Williams, Dr. Dexter cites a number of works from which, as he tells ua, the early settlers of New England de- rived their prejudice against the Anabaptists ; and he adds for the benefit of his readers, that if one would " complete his know- ledge of the subject," he would do well to consult the following works : " Catrou's Histoire des Anabaptistes tant en Allemagne, Hollande, qu' Angleterre, etc., Paris, 1615 ; J. Gastius's De Anahaptismi exordia, erroribus, historiis abominandis, confuta- tionibus adjeclis, etc., BasilejB, 1544; Melanchthon's Advermis Anabaptistas judicium, etc., J. H. Ottius's Annates Anabap- tistici, hoc est, Bistoria universalis de Anabaptistarum origine, pi-ogressu, factionibus, et schismatis, etc., Basileaj, 1672; and Kerssenbrock's Geschichte der Wiedcrlduffcr zu Munsier, etc., 1771." ' Cornelius, Professor of History at Munich, in a thought- ful review of the last of these works, says that Kerssenbrock knows only what is evil of the Anabaptists, and only what is ^ As to Roger Williams, 113, note 439. 1* ix X PREFACE. good of their opponents ;i while of the other works that Dr. Dexter mentions, it should be said that they were all written by the opponents of the Anabaptists, and could be of little use to one who desires to "complete'' his knowledge of Anabaptist history. An illustration of the way in which men are misled by these "authorities" we have in the supplementary chapter, which is found in the late Dr. J. P. Thompson's "Church and State." He says; "The Anabaptists of Germany in the sixteenth cen- tury had most of the characteristic features of Mormonism. They claimed to be inspired j they refused to acknowledge the civil government ; they established a theocracy, calling Miinstcr ' Mount Zion ;' they collected tithes and practiced polygamy." Dr. Howard Osgood at once called Dr. Thompson's attention to the errors into which he had fallen in this statement, saying: "I not only question but deny, and ask for some plain and unim- peachable proof, that the Anabaptists of the Reformation ever claimed to be inspired beyond that illumination of the Spirit now believed by all evangelical bodies; that they ever refused to acknowledge the civil government ; that they ever established a theocracy, calling MUnster " Mount Zion ;' that they ever col- lected tithes ; that they ever practiced polygamy or community of wives." It is sufficient to say that Dr. Thompson never fur- nished the plain and unimpeachable proof for which Dr. Osgood called. It should also be remembered that of those who at the time of the Reformation were called — and by many are still called — Anabaptists, some neither advocated nor practiced Anabaptism ; while the doctrinal views which were represented among them * Die Oeschichtsqtiellen d. Bisthums JViiinsfer, li. 68. PREFACE. XI belonged to widely different schools of religious thonglit. In other words, the term Aniibnptist was contemptuously bestowed on all those who were opposed to the union of Church and State, and who conscientiously remained outside of the state-churches. To the history of the Anabaptists of Switzerland as little atten- tion has been given as tb that of the Anabaptists generally ; and, perhaps, even less. The Swiss Anabaptists had a part, however' in the great movement, which, as Dorner says,! extended " through all Germany ; from Swabia and Switzerland, along the Rhine to Holland and Friesland ; from Bavaria, Middle Ger- many, Westphalia, and Saxony, as far as Holstein ;" and though they were apparently defeated, the story of their heroic sufferings should be faithfully recorded. In the preparation of the following pages I have used, aside from official documents, such treatises, doctrinal statements, con- fessions, hymns, and correspondence of the Anabaptists them- selves as could be secured, the source of which will be indicated in the notes. I have also found exceedingly helpful, Zwingli's Werie, Schuler u. Schulthess Ed. Zurich, 1828 ; J. 0. Fusslin's Beytrdge zur Erlauterung der Kirchen- Reformations GcscJiich- ten des Schweitzerlandes, Zurich, 1741; 5 Bjinde, a treasure- house of information in the form of original documents, letters, etc. ; also his Neue u. unpartheyische Kirchen u. Ketzerhistorie der mittlern Zeit, Frankfurt u. Leipzig, 1770; Kessler's (Jo- hannes) Sabbata — diary of the Zwinglian pastor at St. Gall from 1523-1539 — St. Gallen, 1870; H. Bullinger's Reformationsge- schichte, Ed. Hettinger u. Vogeli, Frauenfeld, 1838 ; also his Der Widertoufferen ursprung,/urgang, Seclen, wasen, furnemen, und gemeine jrer leer Artickel, etc., Zurich, 1561 ; G. Arnold's un- ' Dorner Qeschichte der profestantischen Theologie, 132. Xll PREFACE. partheyische Kirchen u Ketzer-Historim, Schaffhausen, 1740 ; Oecolompadius', Ein pesprech etlicher predicanien zu Basel, gehalten mitt etlichen bekenern dea widertouffs, Basel, 1525 ; Handlung oder Acta gehaltner Disputatio und Oepsrdch zu Zoffingen inn Bernnei- Biet mit den Widertouffern, Zurich, 1532 ; J. J. Hottinger's Oeschichte d. Eidgenoasen wdhrend der Zeiten d. Kirchentrennung, Zurich, 1829, but first published 1708- 1729; G. Walser's Neue Appenzeller Chronick,'&i,. Gallen, 1740; J. A. Sturck'a Oeschichte d. Taufe und Taufgesinnten, Leipzig, 1789. Of more recent works I have been aided by the following : H. Schreiber's Taschenbuch ftir Oeschichte u. Alterthum in S'dd- deutschland, Freiburg, 1839-1840, containing a valuable, but unfinished, sketch of Hubmeier ; J. J. Herzog's Das Leben Jo- hannes Oekolampads und die Reformation der Kirche zu Basel, Basel, 1 843 ; J. C. Zellweger's Oeschichte d. Appenzellischen Volkes, St. Gallen, 1850 ; 0. P. Jager's Andreas Bodenstein von Carlstadt, Stuttgart, 1856 ; K. Hagen's Deutschlands literarische u. religiose Verhciltnisse im Ee/ormationszeitalter, Frankfurt, 1868. Of less value are J. Hast's Oeschichte d. Wiedertdu/er, Miinster, 1836 ; H. W. Erbkam's Oeschichte d. protestantischen SeJden im Zeitalter der Reformation, Hamburg u. Gotha, 1848 ; and Karl Hase's Neue Propheten (tlie third part of which is en- titled Das Reich der Wiedertailfer), Leipzig, 1861. The most valuable of recent works concerning the Swiss Ana- baptists are C. A. Cornelius' Oeschichte des llilnsterischen Aiif- ruhrs, Leipzig, of which the first volume appeared in 1855, and the second, entitled Die Wiedertaufe, in 1860 ; and Bmil Egli's Die Ziirieher Wiedertaufer zur Reformationszeit, Zurich, 1878, and especially his Actensammlung zur Oeschichte der Z'drcher Reformation in den Jahren, 1519-1533, Zurich, 1879. The de- PREFACE. Xin sign of Cornelius' masterly work is to show from a Roman Catholic point of view that all reformation of the church must necessarily lead to revolution, and " Revolution," it is understood is to be the title of the third and concluding volume which is promised, but has not yet appeared. It is to be said in favor of Cornelius, however, that he aims to be impartial. He has not only gone back to the sources, but he has endeavored to use them with a just discrimination in reference to their value. His success is worthy of all praise, and in that part of his work which he has already published, he has led the way in subjecting the materials of the history of the Anabaptists to a broader and more scholarly treatment than they have hitherto received from Roman Catholic or even Protestant writers. Bgli, too, who is pastor at Aussersihl, near Zurich, and Privat- Docent in the University of Zurich, has gone back to the sources, and the result is the two works mentioned above. Had his Ac- tensammlung fallen into my hands at an earlier period than it did, I should have been greatly aided in my work. My manuscript wag nearly ready for the press before I was aware of its publica- tion. His Ziiricher Wiedertdufer I found most helpful, and I am otherwise indebted to him for kindly assistance in the prepara- tion of my work. As pastor in the State Church, his point of view, of course, is not one of sympathy with the Anabaptists, and in some places, as it seems to me, he fails to do them justice ; but he is so far in advance of Swiss writers generally, that otlier than words of the highest commendation are almost out of place. His Actensammlung is a work for which he deserves the thanks of all students of the history of the Protestant Reformation. Mention, also, should be made of Heberle's Die Anfange des Anabaplismus in der Schweiz, in the Jahrbacher far Deutsche Theologie, 1858, 2te Heft. ; Keim's Ludwig Hetzer in the Jahr- XIV PREFACE. b'ucher fur Deutsche Theologie, 1856, 2te Heft. ; Heberle's Jo- harm Deiik u. die Ansbreitung seiner Lehre, in the Studien it. Kritihen, 1855, 4te Heft., and Heberle's Johwm Denk u. sein Bilchlein vom Oeselz, in the Studien u. Kritiken, 1851, Iste Heft. Concerning Thomas Miinzer'a relation to the Swiss Anabap- tists, little is to be learned from G. T. Strobel'a Leben, Schri/ten, u. Lehren Ihomd M'lintzer, Niirnberg, 1795, and Seidemann's Thomas Miinzer, Dresden, 1842 j but of especial value is Gre- bel's letter to Miinzer, which Cornelius gives in full in the ap- pendix to the second volume of his Geschichte des Mitnsterisehcn Aufruhrs. Most of the works to which I have referred are in my own library. Piisslin's Beytrdge I obtained from the library of Cro- zer Theological Seminary, a favor for which I return thanks to the courteous librarian, Dr. Blisa. To Dr. Howard Osgood, of Rochester Theological Seminary, I am indebted for the use of Schreiber's Taschenbueh far Oesehiehte u. Alterthum in S'dd- deutschland for 1840, a valuable book, but as rare as it is valua- ble I and especially for manuscripts of Hubraeier's works ; also manuscripts of important documents in reference to Hubmeier and Hetzer. Indeed, Dr. Osgood's assistance has been invalua- ble in many ways, and without it, I should early have abandoned my task. That I have only imperfectly performed tliis task I am well aware. It is my hope, however, that in calling attention to the history of the Swiss Anabaptists, I may be the means of enlist- ing the interest of others in this hitherto unfamiliar department of eliurch history, and so at length of securing a more complete vindication of the character and aims of these Protestants of the Protestant Ueformation in Switzerland. PoKTi.AND, Me., May 6, 1881. OONTEKTS. CHAPTER I. PAGE. Switzerland at the OrBNiNO of the Sixteenth Century 17 CHAPTER II. ZwiNGLI AND THE BeGINNINR OF THE REFORMATION IN Switzerland 40 CHAPTER III. Radical Tendencies in some of Zwingli's Associates 61 CHAPTER IV. Further Development of these Tendencies ... 73 CHAPTER V. Anaiiaptism Instituted . . 93 CHAPTER VI. Rapid Spread of Anabaptism . 109 XV XVI CONTENTS. CHAPTER VII. PAGE. Efforts to Stay the Pkogbess or Anauaptism. . . 121 CHAPTER VIII. Fate of some of the Leaders 147 CHAPTER IX. Statement of the Gbuningen Anabaptists and Death of Denk Ill CHAPTER X. Severer Measures Adopted and Death of Hetzeb 188 CHAPTER XL TuE Work op Extermination Completed 203 CHAPTER XII. Conclusion 218 THE ANABAPTISTS SWITZERLAND. CHAPTER I. SWITZERLAND IN THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY. AT the opening of the sixteenth century the Swiss Confederation comprised thirteen cantons. Of these, Schwytz, Uri, and Unterwalden formed a league as early as 1291. This league was renewed in 1305, the time to which the Tell-legend is as- signed, and was confirmed as a perpetual Confedera- tion in 1318, after the decisive battle of Morgarten, the Thermopylae of Switzerland, in which the Aus- trians, under Duke Leopold, were signally defeated, and the Duke narrowly escaped the vengeance of the hardy mountaineers whom he had contempt- uously assailed in their rocky fastnesses. In 1332, Lucerne joined the Confederation, which was now known as the Four Forest Cantons ( Vierwaldstdtte), a name which is still preserved in that of the beauti- 17 18 THE ANABAPTISTS IN SWITZEHLAND. ful lake which is bounded by them, and is known as the Lake of the Four Forest Cantons ( Vierwald- stdtter-See.) Zurich was added to the Confederation in 1351, Glarus and Zug in 1352, and Berne in 1353. For more than one hundred years after the admission of Berne no other cantons were received into the Con- federation ; and until the close of the last century these original eight cantons enjoyed many privileges not shared by the later members of the Confedera- tion. In 1481, Freiburg and Soleure were added. In 1498, the Emperor Maximilian endeavored to bring the Confederation under the power of the Empire for the purpose of securing the aid of the Swiss in his projected advance into Italy. But the Swiss did not favor his design, and in the war that followed, in which the Tyrolese subjects of Maximilian and the Swabian League bore the brunt, the Swiss were victorious ; and in the following year, for faithful service during the war, Basel and Schaffhausen were added to the Confederation. They were followed by Appenzell in 1513. Thus at the opening of the sixteenth century Switzerland was a free country, a Confederation of thirteen Cantons owing allegiance ' The number was not increased until 1798. The whole number of Cantons at the present time is twenty-two, as followsj SWITZERLAND IN THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY. 19 neither to the German Empire nor to individual lords. Upon the banner which the Confederates bore was inscribed the motto : " Each for all, and all for each." But in their religious affairs the free spirit of the people had not been so strikingly illustrated. It was in the early part of the seventh century that the first efforts were made to convert to Christianity the pagan inhabitants of these mountainous wilds. Columban, an Irish monk from the monastery of Bangor, after a score of years of Christian labor in the Frankish Empire, established himself in 610 in the present territory of Zurich, near Tuggen, on the Limmat, in the hope of bringing the AUemani or Suevi of that region under the power of the gospel of Christ. But his efforts were in vain. The people compelled Columban to withdraw, and with his companions he took refuge in a castle named Arbon, on the southern shore of Lake Constance. A second attempt was made near the ruins of an ancient castle, known as Pregentia (Bregenz), at the eastern end of the lake. Here a church was erected and missionary labor was com- Zurich, Berne, Lucerne, Uri, Schwytz, Unterwaldon, Glarua, Zug, Freiburg, Soleure, Basel, Sohaffhausen, Appenzell, St. Gall, Orisons, Aargau, Thurgau, Tessin, Vaud, Valais, Neuchalel, Geneva. 20 THE ANABAPTISTS IN SWITZERLAND. menced. But the hostile pagans at length drove Columban from this place also ; and in 613 he made his way into Italy, where he founded the monastery of Bobbio, near Pavia. One of his disciples, however, an Irish monk by the name of Gallus, was left behind on account of sickness. After his recovery, instead of following Columban into Italy, he resolved to make an added effort for the conversion of the Pagans, whose con- dition had so deeply stirred his heart. Leaving the castle at Arbon he advanced a day's journey into the wilderness, and came to a spot where he said, " Here will I abide." Upon that spot he erected a monastery, which subsequently received his name, and from which went forth the missionaries who led the ignorant people to renounce their idol worship, and accept the Christian faith. Gallus closed his long and useful life in 640, but the work which he had commenced was carried forward by his disciples, who, inspired by his example, established other centres of religious influence, until at length the whole country was brought under the dominion of the Roman Church.^ This hold upon these hardy mountaineers the Roman Church retained at the opening of the sixteenth century. At that time, however, there ' Neander's Sist. Ohm. Religion and Church, vol. iii.pp. 29-37. SWITZERLAND IN THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY. 21 were influences in operation that soon loosened that hold in some of the Cantons of Switzerland, and prepared the way for the Protestant Reformation. Among these, first of all, was the revival of classical learning. Everywhere the students in the universities caught the spirit of the new era, and so intense was the interest manifested in the study of the humanities, that the scholastic philosophy and theology were more and more neglected. The University at Basel, which was founded by Pius II. in 1459, was at first strongly under the influence of the hierarchical spirit ; but in this revival of classical learning the authorities of the University found it impossible to continue strictly in the old paths. Instruction in the Greek language and literature was given by Andronicus Contoblikas, a learned Greek, possibly one of the many Greek scholars who, in 1453, when Constantinople fell into the hands of the Turks, were obliged to make their way to other lands. In 1474, Reuchlin, afterwards the instructor of Melanchthon, came to Basel. He was then twenty years of age, and with enthusiasm, under the guidance of Contoblikas, he entered upon the study of the Greek and Latin classics. Two years later, at the suggestion of Contoblikas, Eeuchlin began to give instruction in Greek and Latin Grammar, and also to expound some of the 22 THE ANABAPTISTS IN SWITZERLAND. Greek and Latin authors. Crowds of students gathered around him, and the interest in classical studies was greatly increased. It was not long before the representatives of scholasticism in the University assailed Eeuchlin, charging him, in giv- ing instruction in the classical languages and literature, with undermining Christianity. Indeed, so strong was the hostility which was manifested toward Reuchlin, that he was compelled to leave Basel in 1479, and for awhile the spirit of the new era was excluded from the University. In 1502, however, Thomas Wittenbach was added to the faculty of the University as professor of theology. He had studied at Tiibingen, and un- derstood the value of the revival of classical learning in connection with his department. He was accustomed to say to his students that the time was not far distant when the scholastic theology would be set aside, and the old teachings of the church, as laid down in the writings of the church Fathers and in the Scriptures, would reappear. In his teaching he boldly assailed many abuses in the administration of the sacraments, and attacked indulgences. Indeed, on one occasion in a public discussion, he defended the proposition that papal indulgences have no value, and that the death of Christ is the only adequate ransom for the sins of SWITZERLAND IN THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY. 23 men. Zwingli, who in 1502 came to Basel as a teacher of the classics in St. Thomas parish school, became interested in the new professor, and learned from him lessons which, at a later period, bore such abundant fruit in his reformatory work. But of unspeakable importance to the new move- ment in Switzerland was the presence at Basel of Erasmus, who came thither in 1514, at the height of his splendid fame, in order to carry through the press the first edition of the Greek New Testament. The friends of classical learning at once gathered around him. His frequent references to the Scrip- tures, as the foundation to which theology must return, attracted to him the most distinguished of the theologians in Basel, among them Dr. Ludwig Ber, who confessed with sorrow that he had wasted so much of his strength in scholastic instead of biblical studies, and commenced at once to make himself familiar with the Hebrew and Greek lan- guages. Capito, who in 1515 was appointed pro- fessor of theology in the University, and soon after was made rector, also came under the influence of Erasmus, and in his exegetical lectures directed his students to the Scriptures as the source of divine knowledge.' ' The press greatly aided in the new movement. ' Herzog, Das Leben Johannes Oekolampads, Bd. i. 80. 24 THE ANABAPTISTS IN SWITZERLAND. Among the first books published in Basel were the Latin Vulgate, and the writings of the scholastic theologians, Peter Lombard, Thomas Aquinas, and others. The philosophical works of Aristotle, Petrarch, and Eeuchlin followed. A Hebrew gram- mar, by Pollican, was printed in 1503. Later, in 1516, from the press of the celebrated publisher Froben, appeared the edition of the Greek Testa- ment which Erasmus had prepared, and which could not fail among the learned to direct the minds of those who were in search of the truth to the inspired word of God. But while these influences were such as to loosen the hold which the Papal Church had upon a people over which it had long exercised an almost imperial sway, other influences were even more potent in effecting this result. In the fifteenth century Swiss soldiers, who had learned the arts of war and proved their valor in the long struggle for inde- pendence in which they had been engaged, were hired to fight the battles of the Pope upon the plains of Italy. In these campaigns they were brought face to face with the corruptions which at that time characterized the Papacy, alike in head and members ; and on their return to their native mountain valleys, they brought with them, not only such proverbs as, "The nearer Rome, the worse the SWITZERLAND IN THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY. 2-5 Christian," and " He who goes to Eome should leave his religion behind him," but also such reports of the notorious profligacy of those who occupied the highest positions in the Roman See as could not but lessen the reverence of the people for those whose spiritual rule they had so long acknowledged.' Nor was the character of the Swiss clergy such as to make these reports in any way seem im- probable. Some of the parish priests were Italians, ' Hottinger, Gesckichte der Eidgenossen, lete Abth. s. 240. In a note addroseed to his Nuncio at the Diet of Nuremberg in 1522, Pope Adrian VI. said : " We know that in this holy See much corruption has continued to abound during many years, great abuse in all ecclesiastical affairs, as likewise in all that has emanated from our chair, and, in ono word, a defamation in everything. Hence it is no wonder if the disease has transferred itself from the head to the other members — from the Pope to the priests ; therefore we promise, as far as in us lies, to devote all our attention and care towards reforming, first of all our chair, whence perhaps all this evil has originated, in order that as the destruction has issued thence to descend to the inferior grades, the care and renewed enjoyment of health may likewise find their source there." Cardinal Bellarmin bears this testimony : " Annis aliquot antequam Lutherana et Calvinistica hferesis orietur, nulla ferma erat, ut ii testantur, qui etiam tunc vivebant, nulla (inquam) prope erat in judiciis ecclesiasticis severitas, nulla in moribus disciplina, nulla in saoris litteris eruditio, nulla in rebns divinis reverentia, nulla propemodum jam erat religio." Op. T. vi. 296. Ed. Col. 1617. 2 26 THE ANABAPTISTS IN SWITZERLAND. favorites of Roman ecclesiastics, soldiers of the Papal guard even, who had been assigned to posi- tions in tliQ churches of Switzerland for the sake of the revenue which these positions afforded. The immorality of these foreigners was as conspicuous as their cupidity. Among the native parish priests, also, a low state of morals seems to have been the rule. Zwingli, in 1522, with some of his friends, addressed a letter to the Bishop of Constance, and another to the chief officials in the Confederation, asking permission for priests to marry. In the latter he said : " Your lordships have seen already how shameful have been our relations with women — for we will speak only of ourselves — how these have been the scandal and disgrace of many."' Of the ' Alzog, Universal Church History, vol. iii. p. 93, says of Zwingli : " In 1522, he demanded from Hugo Landenberg, Bishop of Constance, in his own name a general permission for priests to take wives : ' Your lordship,' he candidly said, ' very well knows how disgraceful have been my relations heretofore with females (for I would speak only of myself), how these have been tho scandal and ruin of many.' " But Zwingli did not write in his own name merely (see Werke, Schuler u. Schulthess, i. 30). I have not seen a copy of this letter to the Bishop of Constance, and do not know that it has been preserved, but the letter being a joint letter he must have used the first person plural, as in the letter to the prominent officials of the Confederation, from which I have quoted above. It is but just, however, to add, that the statement would have been true if Zwingli had written the SWITZERLAND IN THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY. 27 ten ' who joined Zwingli in this appeal three had already been married without the sanction of the church, and were living, as was the case with many- other parish priests, with their wives in open viola- tion of the rule of the Roman Church. It was the custom of the Bishop of Constance to absolve these priests on the payment of a fine of four guldens for every child born to them. In 1522, he increased this fine from four to five guldens, and his revenue from this source alone is said to have been 7,500 guldens." Indeed, the bishops, for the most part, were more intent on securing the perishable possessions of earth than the everlasting treasures of heaven. They mingled in political afi'airs, and the duties which they owed to foreign princes and to the Confederation not unfrequently clashed. Indeed, so letter in hia own name. Indeed, from Zwingli'a earlier history (see Opera, vii. 54 sq. and Morikofer, Ulrich Zwingli i. 50-52) we have an illustration of the low state of morals among the Swiss clergy. 1 These were Balthasar Traohsel, pastor at Art ; George Stahelin, pastor at Meiningen, hitherto Zwingli'a assistant ; Werner Steiner, of Zug ; Leo Jud, paator at Einsiedeln ; Erasmus Sohmid, canon at Zurich ; Simon Stumpf, pastor at Hongg ; Joat Kilohmeyer, canon at Lucerne ; Ulrich Pfiater, pastor at Uster ; Caspar Qrossman, hospital preacher at Zurich ; John Schmid, chaplain at Zurich. ' Hettinger, Oeschichte der Eidgenossen late Abth. o. 248. 28 THE ANABAPTISTS IN SWITZERLAND. accustomed were the people to see these dignitaries of the church censured at the Diet, slain in the field, and banished from the land as disturbers of the peace, that public opinion in reference to the sanctity and inviolability of their office was greatly diminished.' For letters they cared but little, and this indif- ference was even greater on the part of the lower clergy. The canons of the collegiate church at Zurich, in forwarding a report to the Bishop of Con- stance, said, as a reason why they themselves did not prepare the document, that some of them were unable to write.^ BuUinger says that at a jneeting of all the deans in Switzerland it was ascertained that not more than three could be found, who were familiar with the Bible. The others freely confessed that they had read only the New Testament :' with the rest of the clergy the case was still worse. The ignorance of many of the parish priests extended to the most elementary branches of education. They gave little attention to study, but devoted themselves chiefly to social pleasures. Of the clergy in the Va- lais, only one was found who had heard of the Bible. A yet darker picture is presented when we turn to ' Hottinger, Oeschiohte der Eidgenossen, Iste Abth, b. 2tl-2-li5. Planta, History of the Helvetic Confederacy, vol. ii. p. 122. •* Bullingor, Itcformationeyeschichte, Bd. i. s. 3. SWITZERLAND IN THE SIXTEENTH CENTUEY. 29 the numerous religious houses which in the preceding centuries had been established here and there within the limits of the Confederation. Not one of these preserved its ancient reputation for good morals and sound learning. In all of them there was not a man to be found who, in the impending conflict between the Papacy and the Reform party, could exert any influence whatever. Zurich, early in the eighteenth century, passed an order rebuking the immoralities of the monks, and forbidding their idling about the city, and especially in the nunneries. In Basel the Augustinians were in bad repute, while at Interlaken, at the close of the fifteenth century, it was found necessary to introduce monks from abroad, in order to improve the reputation of the brotherhood, while the nunnery waa closed as if beyond improvement.' The abbot Twinkler, of Cappel, expended vast sums of money for the maintenance of his love of display, and the concealment of his impure life : and he was at length deprived of his office as a wretched econo- mist and a despot. In Wettingen the abbot, John Miiller, craved the help of the Confederation, saying that he and his subordinates needed speedy reforma- tion, not only for the salvation of their order, but of their own souls. A letter of the abbot, John of Craux, written in 1514, explains the decline of the ' Hottinger, Oe$chichte dcr Eidgenossen, let Abth, o. 258. 30 THE ANABAPTISTS IN SWITZERLAND. monasteries on the ground of the immoral life of the monks, and the neglect of visitation. The nunne- ries were as little the abode of purity as the monas- teries. A visitor to some of these nunneries said of that at Frauenthal : " I detest these nuns, and would not like to say what others tell me. Would that they were virtuous, faithful, honorable. They have desired my services as an inspector, because they know I am simple and easily deceived.'' At the nunnery at Gottstadt the nuns were so faithless to their vows that the government of Berne removed the immoral abbess.' It was this state of things, long continued, which aided in preparing the way for a revolt against the papal rule in Switzerland. There were two events, however, which occurred early in the sixteenth cen- tury that greatly aided in hastening this result. One of these was the attempt which was made by the Dominicans in Berne, in 1506, to impose upon the credulity of the people by a pretended miracle. At that time the Dominicans were not on friendly terms with the Franciscans on account of a difference of opinion in reference to the dogma of the immaculate conception, the Franciscans affirming, the Dominicans denying, this dogma. The popular feeling was with the Franciscans, and in consequence their revenues Hottinger, Oescldchle der Eidgenossen, lat Abth. s. 259-261. SWITZERLAND IN THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY. 31 far exceeded those of their jealous rivals. This was not a pleasing thought to the Dominicans ; and act- ing upon the principle that the end justifies the means, some of the most prominent of the brother- hood, including the prior, conceived a plan, by which they hoped to draw the attention of the community from the Franciscans to themselves. John Jetzer, of Zurzach, a weak-minded tailor, had asked to be received into the monastery as a lay brother. His request had hitherto been denied ; but as it was now thought that he could be of service in the execution of the proposed plan, he was admitted to the brotherhood, and became an inmate of the monastery in Berne. The prior and his accomplices began at once to fill Jetzer 's mind with terrors. One of the number, representing a soul from purgatory, appeared to the lay-brother in his cell, and asked his aid in securing deliverance from painful imprison- ment. Subsequently, also at night, Jetzer received a visit from the Virgin Mary, who bestowed upon him three of the Saviour's tears, as many drops of his blood, and a letter addressed to Pope Julius II., who, it was said, had been selected to abolish the festival of the immaculate conception. To the bewildered mind of the lay-brother these were tokens of distin- guished favor, but he was told that far greater honors were in store for him; and the pretended Virgin, 32 THE ANABAPTISTS IN SWITZEELAND. approaching Jetzer's bed in order to make upon his body the five wounda of the Saviour, the distinguish- ing marks of a saint, took his hand and pierced it with a sharp nail. Jetzer shrieked and made so much disturbance that the completion of the work was necessarily postponed. On the following night a soporific was administered to him, and he soon had the full number of wounds with which St. Francis and other saints had been honored. As he awoke -from his stupor the monks crowded around him, looked upon the miraculous wounds, and greeted Jetzer as highly favored of heaven. Then they bore him to a largo room in the monastery which was hung with pictures of the sufferings of Christ. Gazing upon these vivid representations, Jetzer became excited to a still greater degree. He wrung his hands as if he were in the agonies of Gethsemane, bowed his head as if oppressed by the crown of thorns, and sank to the floor as one overpowered in the conflict of death. At times the monks threw open the doors, and the people, attracted by reports of the miracle, crowded the monastery, and gazed upon the wonderful specta- cle which Jetzer presented. " See," they said, " he is suff'ering the Cross of Christ ; " while the monks called the attention of the astonished multitude to the favor thus shown to the Dominican order. The Franciscans were greatly humiliated by this • SWITZERLAND IN THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY. 06 triumph of their rivals ; and thus far the Domini- can plot was a glorious success. But the triumph of the Dominicans was of brief duration. The im- posture was detected by the credulous Jetzer. The Virgin again manifested herself to him, and in her voice Jetzer recognized the voice of his confessor. On the following night the prior took the confessor's place, and he, too, was detected ; also the sub-prior in the role of Catharine of Sienna. The monks, unwilling to lose their hold upon Jetzer, made addi- tional efforts to deceive him ; but skilful as they were in their endeavors, Jetzer's suspicions were now aroused, and he at length was satisfied that he had been imposed upon as before. The monks ilow sought to get rid of him by means of poison, but Jetzer discovered the plot, and having made his es- cape from the monastery, he revealed the facts con- cerning the pretended miracle. In an investigation that followed Jetzer was subjected to the rack, but he told the same story as before : and the four monks who had been most conspicuous in the affair, having been convicted of fraud, were sentenced to death and were burned at the stake May 1, 1509, in the presence of thirty thousand spectators.' The history of this affair, in numberless editions, ' Hottinger, Oeschichte der Eidgenossen, Ist Abth. s. 271--280. Planta, Hist. Helvelic Confederacy, ii, 124. 2* 34 THE ANABAPTISTS IN SWITZERLAND. and in many languages, was scattered throughout Switzerland, and had a powerful influence in calling the attention of the common people to the character of the monks, and in preparing the way for the great uprising against the Eoman Church that so soon fol- lowed. An event of even greater importance in securing this result, however, was the appearance of Bernard Samson, a Franciscan monk, who in August, 1518, entered Switzerland as Apostolic Commissary Gene- ral, having been empowered by the Pope to sell with- in the limits of the Swiss Cantons, at fixed prices, plenary indulgences for all manner of oflfences. With this traffic Samson was already familiar, having from his sale of indulgences under two previous popes, added hundreds of thousands of ducats to the papal treasury. Full of Italian pride, and bent on plun- dering the people, he crossed the Alps by the St. Gothard pass, and commenced the sale of his wares in Uri. Among the poor mountaineers of this Can- ton he made only a biief halt, and then pushed on to Schwytz. At that time Zwingli was pastor and preacher of the church of the Hermitage at Einsiedeln, having been called to this place from Glarua in 1516. At Einsiedeln there was a famous abbey, over whose gate were the words, "Here a plenary remission of sins SWITZERLAND IN THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY. 35 may be obtained ; " and already, during his residence in the place, Zwingli's heart had been stirred by the sight of the crowds of pilgrims who made their way to the abbey allured by the promises of the monks. Light had dawned upon his own soul, and he spoke brave words to the people who had been so grossly misled. But now his heart was even more deeply moved, and with fiery energy he denounced the traffic in which Samson was engaged. "Jesus Christ, the Son of God," he exclaimed, "has said, 'Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.' Is it not, then, most presump- tuous folly and senseless temerity to declare on the contrary : ' Buy letters of indulgence, hasten to Rome, give to the monks, sacrifice to the priests, and if thou doest these things I absolve thee from thy sins '? Jesus Christ is the only oblation, the only sacrifice, the only way ! " Zwingli's warning voice penetrated the mountain valleys of Schwytz, and Samson was compelled to move on. Late in September he appeared in Zug, where a great crowd of poor people, responding to the call of Samson's heralds, pressed around the Papal Commission. "Let those first come who have gold," cried one of Samson's attendants: "the rest will re- ceive attention afterwards." For three days Samson remained in Zug. At times the throng was so great 36 THE ANABAPTISTS IN SWITZERLAND. that many could not get near the cross where the indulgences were sold. Passing through Lucerne and Unterwalden, meeting with increasing success in his mission, Samsoa came at length to Berne. At first he was not permitted to enter the city, but through the efforts of some of his friends the refusal was at length withdrawn, and he opened the sale of his wares in St. Vincent's Church. To the poor he sold indulgences on paper for three cents. For the same thing on vellum the rich paid a crown. To absolve themselves from greater sins some paid hun- dreds of ducats. A celebrated warrior, Jacob de Stein, by the present of the grey steed which he rode obtained an indulgence for himself, his five hundred troopers, and all his vassals in the seigniory of Eealp. On the last Sunday of his stay in Berne, at a service in the church, Samson cried out, "All those who kneel down and offer a short prayer shall be as pure as immediately after baptism ; " and as all kneeled he added, " I deliver from the torments of purgatory and of hell, all the souls of deceased Bernese, no matter when, where, or how they died." In Aargau, Samson found that, on account of his failure to have his credentials approved, the Bishop of Constance had ordered his clergy not to receive him. In Baden, he held mass in the church. After- ward, while accompanying a procession through the SWITZERLAND IN THE SIXTEENTH CENTUEY. 37 churchyard, he cried out, as if he saw already the souls of the dead released from purgatory, " Look, see them fly ! " One of the crowd mounted the tower to the belfry, and throwing out of the window a lot of old feathers he shouted, "Look, see them fly!" and Samson, followed by the derision of the multi- tude, left the place. He next appeared at Bremgarten, and was wel- comed by the magistrf^te, and one of his preachers who had made the acquaintance of Samson at Baden. But Henry BuUinger, the pastor and dean of the church, and the father of the well-known historian, refused to recognize Samson. When the latter showed his letters from the Pope, Bullinger replied that he could not open his church to him upon these letters, as they had not been approved by the Bishop of Con- stance. " The Pope is above the Bishop," said Sam- son : " therefore it is in the highest degree fitting in you not to deprive your flock of so great grace." But Bullinger could not be intimidated. "I will not grant your request," he said, " if it costs me my life." Samson was in a rage, and cried out, " Brute, inas- much as you put yourself in opposition to the Pope, I pronounce against you the greater excommunica- tion, and I will not absolve you until you have atoned for your rashness by the payment of three hundred ducats." Bullinger, as he was leaving the room. 38 THE ANABAPTISTS IN SWITZERLAND. said, " I know what I have done, and will answer for it where it is fitting. I care nothing for you and your excommunication." " Impudent brute I " shouted Samson, "I am going soon to Zurich, and I will complain of you there to the deputies of the Canton." Bullinger turned and defiantly added, " You will find that I have preceded you." Zwingli, who in December, 1518, had been trans- ferred from Einsiedeln to the Cathedral in Zurich, was informed of Samson's purpose as revealed in his threat to Bullinger, and attacked indulgences even more vehemently than at Einsiedeln. " No man," he said, " can remit sins. Christ, who is very God and very man, alone has this power." Samson was told that Zwingli was preaching against indulgences. " I am aware," he said, " that Zwingli will speak against me, but I will stop his mouth." Bullinger was as good as his word, and reached Zurich in advance of the enraged Samson. On his arrival — it was late in February, 1519 — he had a consultation with Zwingli and the principal men in the city, and the result was that when Samson ar- rived in the suburbs of Zurich a few days after, he was informed by the deputies of the Canton that his presence was not desired there. Claiming that ho had a message to communicate to the Diet in the name of the Pope, the monk was finally permitted to SWITZERLAND IN THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY. 39 snter the city ; but when it was found that his plea was a false one he was told that he must withdraw his bann of excommunication against the Dean of Bremgarten, and leave the Canton. Not long after, Samson recrossed the St. Gothard, bearing with him the silver and gold he had plundered from the Swiss, and he and his shameful traffic, thanks to the firm- ness of Zwingli and his friends, were heard of no more.' The popular feeling thus awakened was increased by the publication of Luther's tract on Indulgences, which with other tracts of the German Reformer was published by Froben, in Basel, in 1519, and widely scattered among the Swiss people. Not only, there- fore, in the ever-widening circle of scholars who had caught the breath of the new era, but also among the common people, voices were now heard denouncing the tyranny and extortion of immoral ecclesiastics, and calling for the correction of abuses which already had been too long endured. 1 Hottinger, Oeschichle der Eidgenossen, let Abth. b, 287-292. CHAPTER II. ZWINGLI AND THE BEGINNING OF THE REFORMATION IN SWITZERLAND. In entering upon his labors in the Cathedral at Zurich, Zwingli commenced an exposition of Mat- thew's Gospel. " The history of Jesus," he said to the canons of the Cathedral, " has been too long kept out of the public view. It is my purpose to lecture on the whole of the Gospel according to Matthew, drawing from the fountains of Scripture alone, sound- ing all its depths, comparing text with text, and put- ting up earnest and increasing prayers that I may be permitted to discover what is the mind of the Holy Spirit." Crowds flocked to listen to these expositions, and as the people retired from the Cathedral they said one to another, " We never heard the like before." In the following August, " the great death," as the plague was called, visited Zurich. At that time Zwingli was at Bad PfiifFers, near Ragatz, where he had sought needed relaxation. On receiving the sad intelligence he hastened to Zurich to minister to the 40 ZWINGLI AND THE EEFORMATION. 41 necessities of his people. While thus engaged he was himself seized by the dreadful scourge, and at length it was reported that he was dead. "Alas ! " exclaimed Hedio, ' then a preacher in Basel, " the deliverer of our country, the trumpet of the gospel, the magnanimous herald of truth, is stricken with death in the flower and springtide of his age." But life was not extinct. Zwingli had only approached the gates of death : and when it was known that his recovery was assured, there was devout thanksgiving, not only on the part of the Reformer's friends in Zurich, but also on the part of the friends of reform throughout Switzerland. The tidings were brought to Basel by a student from Lucerne. John Faber, the Vicar of the Bishop of Constance, subsequently Zwin- gli'a most determined opponent, wrote to him : " Oh, my beloved Ulrich, what joy I feel at learning that you have been saved from the grasp of cruel death I When you are in danger the Christian commonwealth is threatened. The Lord has been pleased to urge you by these trials to seek more earnestly eternal ' Hedio was a native of Eslingen, in Baden. He was educa- ted at Freiburg and Basel. At Basel he came more and more under the influence of Capito. As preacher at St. Theodore's and afterwards at St. Martin's, he proclaimed with increasing boldness evangelical truth. He was later a coadjutor of Bucer and Capito in Strasburg, where he died in 1552. 42 THR ANABAPTISTS IN SWITZERLAND. life." When at length Zwingli again appeared in the Cathedral pulpit, and resumed his exposition of the Scriptures, ever increasing crowds greeted him, and ■welcomed his words as glad tidings of great joy. Great waa the outcry of the priests and monks at the progress of the new movement. They vehemently defended indulgences, and threatened to close Zwin- gli's mouth. Said one of the monks, " He who med- dles with Greek is a Lutheran, and the man who gives himself up to Hebrew is a Jew." Another said that the theology of Dun Scotushad accomplished more for Christianity than the Apostle Paul. Still another uttered a curse on the book publishers who were send- ing out all kinds of books without consulting the Pope and without fear of the Inquisition. Oapito, in a letter written at Basel in April, 1520, says, " The cause advances continually. The theologians and monks labor for us. They utter severe threats against Luther, but his principles have already pene- trated so deep that no power of theirs can destroy them." At this time, in order to accept an appoint- ment at the court of the Archbishop of Mayence, Capito removed from Basel. This was a temporary check to the new movement. But in the following year, with the appearance in Basel of William Keub- lin from Rottenburg on the Neckar, the reform spirit was revived. Reublin was appointed pastor at ZWINGLI AND THE REFORMATIOtT. 43 St. Albans. There he interpreted the Scriptures in a masterly manner, ' and so great was the interest which his sermons awakened, that his hearers were numbered by thousands. The Romanists were alarmed, and denounced Reublin to the bishop as a heretic, and the bishop asked the Council for his re- moval. The people protested, insisting that Eeublin preached nothing that was not sustained by the Scriptures. But the members of the Council were not ready to break with the Church of Rome, and Reublin was ordered to leave Basel. All who had supported him were denourtced as heretics, and the line between the Romanists and the Reformers in that city was more clearly drawn. But in Zurich, where Zwingli was continually growing in popular favor, there was progress m the reform movement. In the year 1520, the Oouacil issued an order directing all pastors and preachers throughout the Canton to declare the pure word of God. In the same year, the deputies of the Confede- ration enacted a statute in which foreign priests who had bought ecclesiastical positions in Switzerland, or had been assigned to such positions through the in- fluence of the Pope or any of his subordinates, were forbidden to remain within the limits of the Confede- 1 Plerzog, Das Leben J. Oekolampads, Bd. i, 91. 44 THE ANABAPTISTS IN SWITZERLAND. ration. ' Only gradually, however, did Zwingli break with the Clmrcli of Kome. In 1521, he first assailed the Pope ; shortly after he attacked the rules concerning the church fasts ; and a little later he uncovered the evils connected with the celibacy of the clergy. Among those who were attracted to Zwingli by these earnest efforts in behalf of church reform, and the glowing fervor of his evangelical spirit was Con- rad Grebel, ^ a son of Jacob Grebel, ^ one of the most distinguished men in Zurich, and a member of ' Bullinger, liefoiinationsgeschichte. i. 32. '' The facta in reference to Qrebel's earlier years are to be ob- tained from MSS. in the library at St. Gall, and from copies in the similar collection of MSS. in the library at Zurich. For a summary see Hottinger, Oeschichte d. Eidgenossen 1,464-466. ' Hottinger, Oeachichte d. Eid. i, 464, note 101, says he seems to have been one of the most prominent of the members of the Council. Besides Conrad, he had a son Leopold, who was with Conrad at the University of Vienna, and subsequently en- tered the service of the Archduke Ferdinand ; also a daughter, Agathe, (in a letter to Vadian dated July 15, 1520, Conrad calls her Euphrosyne, possibly a cloister name) who was prioress ot Oedenbach ; and a second daughter, Martha, who became the wife of Vadian. Morikofer, in his life of Zwingli (Leipzig 1807) says that there were four daughters, of whom Martha was the eldest. Oct. 30, 1526, Jacob Grebel was beheaded at Zurich for receiving, in the name of his son, money from foreign princes, especially from the King of Prance, contrary to law. His family position and connection availed nothing. Bernhard Weisen, in ZWINGLI AND THE REFORMATION. 45 the Zurich Council. The year of Conrad's birth is unknown, but it was in the last decade of the fifteenth century. In 1515, we find him at the University of Vienna, where he received pecuniary assistance from the Emperor Maximilian I. In the summer of 1518, with his distinguished instructor and brother- in-law. Dr. Joachim von Watt ' of St. Gall, (better his Beschrcibung dcr Olaubens Aenderung in dem Schweitzcrland [Fiisslin Beytrtige etc., iv, 71 ] says : " In 1526, on Tuesday before All Saints, Oct. 30, Jacob Grebel, a member of the Zurich Coun- cil, was beheaded at two o'clock in the afternoon. He had a heavy snow-white beard, and snow-white hair, for he waj more than sixty years of age.'' BuUinger, (Reformationsgeschichte i, 373), says many lamented his death, for he w.^B otherwise an honorable and highly esteemed man. See also Zwingli's Werhe 1,568,-note. Concerning the results of Jacob Grebel's trial. (See Hottinger, Oeschichie d. Eidgenossen. ii. 453-456.) ' Dr. Joachim von Watt belonged to a wealthy family in St. Gall. He was born December 31, 1484. In 1502, leaving the cloister school of his native town, he made his way to Vienna, where, in the University, he devoted himself to scientific studies, and later to medicine. It was at this time that he made the acquaintance of Zwingli, with whom he continued a, warm friend, until Zwin- gli's death. He was at length made a professor in the University, and afterwards ita rector and vice-chancellor. On his return to his native town in 1518, he wa-i received with distinguished consideration. In 1520, he was made a member of the Council, and in 1526, he was made Burgomaster. He was the personal friend of the prominent Reformers, and was in Constant corres- pondence with them. Zwingli said he knew not his like in Switzerland. He died April 6, 1551. 46 THE ANABAPTISTS IN SWITZEELAND. known as Vadian, from his Latin name Vadianus), Grebel returned to Switzerland. But he remained at home only a short time, and then made his way to 1 Paris, in order to avail himself of the instruction of Glarean, a Swiss scholar, who had achieved distinc- tion at the French capital, especially in the depart- ment of mathematics. Under his direction Grebel for awhile devoted himself to classical and scientific studies. But by reason of his father's withholding the stipend which the French King, Francis I, had granted to him, he was soon brought into financial straits, so that he left Glarean in the spring of 1519. Later, on account of the pest which was raging in Paris, Grebel withdrew to Melun, where he spent the remainder of the year, returning to Paris about the first of January 1520. Of late, it seems, he had not been free from the excesses of a wild student life. These increased his financial embarrassments. Mean- while his appeals to his father for aid only brought back threatening letters, which with his unhappy position greatly embittered the heart of the proud- spirited young scholar. In a letter to Vadian, October, 6, 1519, he gives expression to a feeling of degrada- tion because of his enforced dependence upon foreign bounty ; and says that if his father had taught him to live at a moderate expense with money of his own earning, according to the Swiss custom, he would ZWINGLI AND THE REFORMATION. 47 have been spared the taunts of his associates, and the answering blush of shame. ' Early in July, 1520, Grebel returned to Zurich. From his parents, doubtless, through the kind offices of his brother-in-law, Vadian, he received an affec- tionate welcome, and past differences were allowed to be forgotten on both sides. During his student-life, in Vienna, Grebel had corresponded with Zwingli, and the acquaintance was now renewed. He also spent not a little of his time at St. Gall, with Vadian. In August, 1521, he was in Basel, and there he re- mained several months in the society of the Reform- ers and engaged m literary work.' In December he was again in Zurich, and not long after he con- tracted a marriage, in which, on account of the bride's social position, he further incurred the disapprobation of his parents. Heberle ' says it was this love affair that drew Grebel to Basel. It is worthy of notice, however, that notwithstanding this ill-advised marriage as his parents thought, Grebel still retained the affectionate regard of Vadian. It was at this time, also, that 1 Jahrbiicher fiir Deutsche Theologie, 2te, Heft. ». 227. ^ Ursin writes to Vadian, from Basel, October 1, 1521 : " Ded. hoc negotii Grebelio adolescent! omnibus modis egregio, atque in omnes mire ofEcioso." ' Tahrbiicher fiir Deutsche Theologie, 1858, 2te Heft. s. 228, 229. 48 THE ANABAPTISTS IN SWITZERLAND. Grebel became intimately associated with Zwingli in the great work upon which the Zurich Reformer had now so earnestly entered. His accession to the re- form party was the occasion of devout thanksgiving. Grebel was not a theologian, it is true, but he pos- sessed talents of a very high order, had long enjoyed tho best educational advantages at the principal cen- tres of intellectual life, was familiar with the ancient languages, and withal was a man of noble impulses and a consuming zeal.' Nothing is clearer than at this time Zwingli held Grebel in the highest esti- mation. Writing to his friend Myconius, at Lucerne, August 26, 1522,'' referring to certain candidissimos et doctissimos adolescentes, he mentions Grebel first. His future he could not but regard as one of rapidly brightening promise ; and possibly he was animated by the hope that in Grebel he would find one who 1 " Wohl war er von Natur fiir Bauftere und edlere Empfind- nngen geachaffen, und wie aehr sein Herz der Hingebuug und Ehrerbietung fahig geweaen, beweist nichts deutlicher ale die aus- dauernde und vaterliche Liebe, welober Vadian den Jungling werth gehalten hat." {Cornelius, Oeschichte Des Mliiisterischen Au/ruhrs. ii. 19.) Heherle, Jahrbiicher /. Deutsche Theologie, 1858, 2t6 Heft. 8. 230 says : '■ Unatreitig war Grebel ein Jungling von reicher Begabung und einer fiir sein Alter nicht gewohnlichen Gelehrsamkeit, zugleich wusste er eicli durch grosae Qefiilligkeit bei seinen Bekannten zu empfehlen.'' ^ Zwingli, Opera vii. ». 218. ZWINGLI AND THE EEFOEMATION. 49 would yet be to him what Melanchthon was to Luther. Grebel at once took a prominent position in the Zurich movement for church reform. Macrinus, in a letter to Zwingli, dated October 15, 1522, asks him to salute Grebel, adding, " I hear he has become a dis- tinguished patron of the gospel.'" In fact, Grebel even went beyond Zwingli in his assaults upon the church party. The monks, especially, complained bitterly of the treatment which they received in their discussions with him ; and the Zurich magistrates, unwilling to defend Grebel's severe denunciations, summoned him before them, as early as July 7, 1522, and admonished him to restrain his zeal, and to avoid further collisions of this kind. ' A like admonition was received at the same time by Nicholas Hottinger, Henry Aberli and Bartholomew Baur, all laymen, of whom as associates of Grebel we shall hear more at a later period. In two other of Zwingli's associates somewhat of the same spirit was soon manifested, especially in the matter of church fasts. One of these was William Reublin, who, as we have seen, was compelled to leave Basel on account of his bold advocacy of reform. ' Zwingli, Opera vii. s. 232. ' FuBslin, Beytrage, iv. b. 39. 3 50 THE ANABAPTISTS IN SWITZERLAND. On leaving Basel he at once made his way to Zurich, was kindly received by Zwingli, and through his in- fluence was soon established as pastor in the neigh- boring village of Wytikon. ' The other was Simon Stumpf, a Franciscan by birth. As early as 1519 he was in correspondence with Zwingli. Afterward he was engaged in circulating Luther's writings in Switzerland. Near the close of 1522 he also made his way from Basel to Zurich, and shortly after he received an appointment as pastor at Hongg, a vil- lage in the vicinity of Zurich. Zwingli seems to have made no effort to check these radical tendencies. Indeed the principle he had adopted, namely to reject in doctrine and practice whatever the Scriptures do not enjoin — the opposite 1 Here he married April 28, 1523, and his was the first public wedding of a priest in Switzerland. Other priests had been se- cretly married, and two years before John Haller, pastor at Arnsoldingen, had married, but the ceremony was performed at Zurich so as to excite little attention. Hottinger, Oeschichte d. Eidgenossen, i. s. 379, says : " In uppigem Baumgarten unter den BlUthen und dem Hauche des Friihlings wurde seit Hunderten vou Jahren wleder die erste Hochzeit einos Schweizerischen Qeislliohen gefeiert." Bernard Weiss, Fiisslin Beytriige iv. s. 45, says, " Wie wol die Braut in jungfriiulichen Kleidern und Zierden bekleidet war, und wie man so in einem hiibschen Baumgarten, da alle Bilume vol Blust waren, zimbiss ass, wiire lang zu schrei- ben." ZWINGLI AND THE REFORMATION. 61 of the principle wliich was adopted by Luther, who would retain whatever is not contrary to the Scrip- tures — was favorable to the development of these tendencies. This principle Zwingli made very pro- minent in the discussion which he held with the old church party, January 29, 1523, known as the First Zurich Discussion. It was a notable assembly. Prelates and nobles, learned doctors from the uni- versities, parish priests, and men of high station in civil life — six hundred in number — crowded the Council Hall in Zurich. So weak, however, as yet was the cause of the Reformation in Switzerland, that from the other Cantons no one was present except Sebastian Hofmeister, who represented Schaffhausen. CEcolarapadius, who had recently ta.ken up his resi- dence in Basel, and had expressed to Zwingli his sympathy with the reform movement, would have been present had not a letter from Zwingli reached him too late. The burgomaster. Max Roust, presided, and at the outset stated the object of the assembly. Complaints, he said, had been made in reference to Zwingli's teaching and preaching. By some he was called a heretic ; by others he was charged with misleading the people. Zwingli had often expressed a desire to defend himself against these accusations in a public assembly, and therefore the Council had appointed 52 THE ANABAPTISTS IN SWITZERLAND. this meeting in which any one was at Hberty to state his objections to Zwingli's position. Up rose Fritz von Anwyl, Grand Master of the Episcopal Court at Constance, who said that the Bishop of Constance was represented in the assembly by Dr. Bergenhaus, the Vicar-General Faber, and Dr. Martin Blanche of Tiibingen. Zwingli was sitting at a table on which he had placed copies of the Scriptures in the Hebrew, Greek, and Latin tongues. All eyes were now turned to- ward him as he stood up to address the assembly. In all ages, he said, God had manifested himself as an almighty, faithful Father. But his creatures, follow- ing the devices of their own hearts, had departed from him. God, however, had been merciful, and given to them the light of his word. " But in our time that light has been darkened. Men confess Christ with the mouth, but their hearts are far from him. What is needed is the pure gospel, and though," he added, " for five years I have preached in Zurich the holy gospel, the glad tidings of Christ, the divine Scriptures, not with man's wisdom but in demonstra- tion of the Spirit, yet by many I am denounced as a heretic, a liar, a seducer." On this account he had asked the Council to call an assembly ; and that all might know what his teachings were he had pre- pared certain theses which he was ready to defend. ZWINGLI AND THE REFORMATION. 53 He closed with these words : " Now, then, in the name of God, here I stand." Dr. Faber, as the representative of the Bishop of Constance, then took the floor. " I am not come, " he said, " to oppose evangelical or apostolic doctrine, but to listen, and in case of differences to aid in establish- ing harmony. But if there are those who wish to have a discussion, it must be elsewhere, in a General Council, or a Council of bishops and learned men of the Universities. The Bishop of Constance has been informed that a General Council will be held at Nuremberg within a year. The questions to be dis- cussed should be brought, too, before the Universi- ties at Paris, Cologne, or Freiburg." There was laugh- ter at this remark, and Zwingli interrupting asked, "Why not Erfurt, or Wittenberg?" Faber an- swered, "Luther would be too near," and he added, " ' ab aquilone panditur omne malum ! ' But, as I have already said," he continued, " I am here to listen not to discuss ; " and he sat down. Zwingli again took the floor. " We are told," he said, " to bring these matters before a General Coun- cil, or a Council of bishops. To that I reply, Here in this room is a Christian Council. Indeed, the Sa- viour says, ' Where two or three are gathered in my name there am I in the midst of them.' But the Vicar-General asks, ' Where are the judges ? ' Here, 54 THE ANABAPTISTS IN SWITZERLAND. in the Holy Scriptures, which cannot lie. We have the same in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin. In this city of Zurich, God be praised, we have more men learned in these languages than in any one of the Universi- ties mentioned by the Vicar. Yes, in this room there are Christian hearts so enlightened by the Spirit of God, that they can tell who is in agreement with the Scriptures ; " and turning to his Zurich friends he said, " Call on God with humble hearts. He will not deny you divine assistance." There was a great stillness in the hall as Zwingli sat down, and as no one rose to speak, the burgomas- ter at length broke the silence, saying, " If there is any one who has anything to say, let him step for- ward." But no one responded to the invitation. Zwingli then again arose, and said, " For the truth's sake I ask those here who have found fault with my preaching to state their objections. If they do not, I will call them out by name. I trust, how- ever, that of their own accord they will rise and state the grounds of the charge that I am a heretic." But no one rose. Some one rose near the door and cried out, "Where are now those* fellows who in the streets talk so boldly? There is Zwingli ; you can talk behind his back, but not to his face ;" and again there was laughter. A second and third time Zwingli asked those who ZWINQLI AND THE REFORMATION. 55 had called him a heretic to appear against him ; but still there was no response to his challenge. Then he called upon Jacob Wagner, Pastor at Neftenbach, (a village between SchafFhausen and Winterthur), who referred to a mandate issued by the Bishop of Constance during the year against evangelical preach- ing, and also to the arrest of the pastor at Fislisbach (a village between Baden and MeUingen), who had been thrown into prison at Constance for disobeying the mandate. " He is our brother," said Wagner, "and I wish to know what attitude I am to take in reference to this mandate." The Vicar-General, in reply, said that he was not at Constance when the mandate was issued, but un- doubtedly it was intended to promote the peace of the diocese. As to the Pastor of Fislisbach, he was a good, simple-hearted man, unlearned and not a gram- marian. In an interview, Faber had proved to him that the invocation of saints is scriptural, and the pastor had retracted his errors. Zwingli then arose and addressed the Vicar-Gene- ral : " Show us," he said, " the place in the Scriptures where it is written that we are to invoke the saints as our advocates ? Here are Bibles in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin. If there are such passages, I will also retract with the imprisoned pastor, and in my ignorance seek instruction." 56 THE ANABAPTISTS IN SWITZERLAND. " I have already said," answered Faber, " that I am not here to discuss; but in reply to what Zwingli says, I will add, that in past centuries there have been heretics, Novatians, Montanists, Sabellians, Ebionites, etc., who have rejected the invocation of saints, purgatory, etc. But Councils and Popes have condemned them, and it seems strange that any one should regard their teachings with'?ii§favoi'." As to Zwingli's appeal to the Scriptures, he thought that interpretation was no slight gift of God. He himself was not acquainted with Hebrew, had only a little knowledge of Greek, but understood Latin pretty well. It is not enough, however, to be able to read the Scriptures, but one must understand aright what he reads. Zwingli in his reply said there was no need of smooth words. He would like to know with what passages of Scripture the Vicar-General had silenced the imprisoned pastor at Constance, and secured his retraction. " Show us the chapter in which the invo- cation and intercession of saints are taught. We will then look at it, and see if the doctrine is there." Faber did not deign to reply, but, referring to Councils, he remarked that they had never sanctioned the marriage of priests. Zwingli considered the Scriptural testimony on this point, and refOTred to times in the history of the Church when the marriage ZWINQLI AND THE REFORMATION. 67 of the priests had been allowed. The Vicar-General replied, " Not since the time of Tertullian, also the Council of Nicaea, therefore, not for 1200 years." Thereupon one of the Council replied : " But they have been allowed mistresses." This remark dis- turbed the Vicar-General, and he soon sat down. After a few more words from Zwingli, Dr. Sebas- tion Hofmeister, of Schaffhausen, said he had been driven from Lucerne on the charge of heresy, be- cause he had preached against the invocation and intercession of saints. He also, would like to have the Vicar-General give the passages from the word of God with which he had won his victory over the im- prisoned pastor at Constance. But Faber would not give his Scripture proof. " Whatever others may say or believe," he said, " I believe firmly in the intercession of the mother of God. Others may believe what they will." " Sir,'' replied Zwingli, " our inquiry is not how we may invoke the saints, or what is your belief. We simply wish you to show us the Scripture pas- sages, as we have asked again and again." Still the Vicar-General was silent. Then Leo Jud arose. He said he had been called to St. Peter's Church in Zurich, and in his preaching should teach that Christians should call upon Christ. Accordingly he wished to know if he was in error. " Show us the 3* 58 THE ANABAPTISTS IN SWITZERLAND. place," he exclaimed, " where it is written that we are to invoke the saints." " Must I fight against two ? " said Faber. " That were difiicult for the strong Hercules, as the proverb goes. My dear sir, I have nothing to do with you." " But I have to do with you," answered Leo. " I do not know you," said Faber. Zwingli interrupted, and reminded the Vicar-Gene- ral that the passages in reference to the invocation of saints were in order. Faber first appealed to the litany and canons of the church. He then quoted Luke 1: 42, " Blessed art thou among women." But Zwingle reminded him that the question was not in reference to the sanctity and honor of Mary, but concerning invocation, inter- cession. Faber made no reply and sat down. Dr. Martin Blanche of Tubingen then arose. What had been ordained by the Councils, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, he said, should be re- garded by the Christian church as the Gospels; for their Councils thus guided cannot err. Christ himself says, " Who hears you hears me." And yet it is said that the invocation of saints, a custom observed by Christians for many hundred years, is not founded upon the Scriptures ! Zwingli, in reply, reminded the learned Doctor that it would not be difficult to show that the Coun- ZWINGLT AND THE REFORMATION. 59 cils have erred. Evangelical truth we are to hold, but what ia aside from that, whether ordained by popes or Councils, is not binding. At the afternoon session, the Council declared that inasmuch as no one had shown that Zwingli was a heretic he should be allowed to teach the Scriptures according to the Spirit of God, and that all the other pastors and preachers in the Canton should preac^h only what was in accordance with the Holy Scrip- tures. " God be praised," said Zwingli, " who will cause his word to rule in. heaven and on earth." Fa- ber could not restrain his rage. " Gentlemen," he cried out, " the theses of Zwingli seem to me to be wholly contrary to the honor of the church, and the divine teachings of Christ: and I will prove it." " That do," added Zwingli. " We will gladly listen." " We learn from Luke 9 : 50," said Faber, " that he who ia not against us is for us. Fasts, confession, the mass, etc., are not against God, but for his honor, and therefore they are not to be despised and re- jected." " But are not these customs of the church against God ? " said Zwingli. " God is best pleased with our obedience to his commands. He honors God who keeps his word, and lives according to his will." The Vicar-General at length said that at one of the Universities, Paris, Cologne, or Freiburg, as Zwingli 60 THE ANABAPTISTS IN SWITZERLAND. might chose, he would prove Zwingli's theses to be false. Zwingle replied that he was ready to meet his opponent anywhere, but he would have no judge but the Scriptures. " But," said Dr. Martin Blanche, " you understand the Scriptures in one way, and another in another. There must be judges, in order to decide who has given the right interpretation." Zwingli answered that he would give to no man a place above the Scriptures. " But what shall he do," asked a priest, " who has so small an income as not to be able to buy a Testament?" " There is no priest so poor," answered Zwingli, " who, if he really wishes a Testament, may not have one. A pious citizen, or some other person, will buy him one or furnish him with money to buy one." Faber again spoke, saying that Zwingli's theses were contrary to the Scriptures, and untrue. This, he said, he could prove in debate or in writing. " Why not now and here ? " cried Zwingli. As the assembly broke up the Burgomaster of Zu- rich said : " The sword with which the pastor of Fis- lisbach was slain sticks in its scabbard," meaning, says Bullinger, that the Vicar-General had not produced the Scriptures with which he claimed to have proved to his prisoner at Constance the error of his position. Zwingli had won an easy and decisive victory. ' ' Zwingli'a Werke, Schuler u. SchuUhess ed., s. 105153. CHAPTER III. RADICAL TENDENCIES IN SOME OF ZWINGLl'S AS'iO- CIATES. The principle so firmly and successfully maintained by Zwingli in this discussion, that all questions are to be decided by the Scriptures alone, was at once seized by Zwingli's radical associates, and applied in ways that Zwingli had not foreseen. The payment of tithes and rents, one of the chief causes subse- quently of the Peasants' War, ' was a burden which the common people had endured with growing impa- tience. In their study of the New Testament Reub- 2 Articles 2 and 8 of the Twelve Articles which were circula- ted through Switzerland and Germany were as follows : 2. Only the great tithe [the legal tithe of corn], as ordained in the Old Testament, shall be paid in future ; and after the mainte- nance of the minister is provided for, the remainder shall be for the maintenance of the village poor, and a little laid by for times of war. But we will no longer pay the small tithes ; " they are unjust tithes of man's invention,'' for " the Lord God created beasts for man's free use.'' 8. Rents are so high that they ruin the peasants. They shall be regulated afresh according to reason. These articles are to be found in Zimmermann's AUgemeint Oeschichte des grossenBauernkrieges 2te Theil, s. 100-105. 61 62 THE ANABAPTISTS IN SWITZERLAND. lin and Stumpf found no trace of these grievances, and they assailed them aa vigorously as Zwingli had assailed the invocation of saints. " We ask nothing," they said, " but what was promised by the apostles. We are supported in our demands by the Scriptures." The question was one of general interest. April 8, 1523, Berthold Haller, of Berne, wrote to Zwingli : " The nobles, who delight so much in tithes and rents, are especially hostile to the gospel; therefore I greatly desire that you will give me your view of Matthew 5 ; 42, in order that I may satisfy the oppo- nents as well as the friends of the gospel. I know what some authorities say, but I cannot be satisfied until you ,have given me your opinion fully.'' Zwingli gave expression to his views upon this sub- ject in his sermon on Divine and Human BigMeoxis- ness, which he preached June 24, 1523. " While we are to render to every man what is his due," he said, " the magistrates should make it their duty to see that no injustice is done in the matter of tithes and rents. If injustice is done, a remedy should be pro- vided." ' But words like these did not satisfy the more radi- cal of the reform party. Grebel, in a letter to Va- dian, July 13, 1523, said : " In the matter of tithes, ' Zwingli, Opera, vii. s. 287. " Zwingle, Werke, i. s. 452-455. RADICAL TENDENCIES. 63 in and around Zurich, tyranny is practiced. Tliose who take them I will call the tyrants of our father- land." ' and so in many places public meetings were held, in which the grievances of the much enduring peasantry were discussed. ZoUikon, Riesbach, Fiil- landen, Hirslanden, Unterstrass, and Wytikon asked for relief. Rsublin and Stampf were especially pro- minent in these meetings. Their words found ready ^ entrance to the hearts of the common people, who ^ hailed with delight a gospel which laid hold of the ^ burdens that weighed so heavily upon them ; and it soon came to pass, especially in places where the pas- tors were in sympathy with the oppressed, that many of the peasants would pay neither tithes nor rents. Other questions were soon raised which widened still further the breach between Zwingl* and the more radical of the Zurich Reformers. One of these questions had reference to the use of images in the churches. It was claimed that this was not only a departure from the simplicity of the gospel, but con- trary to the word of God. A small tract by Ludwig ' Zwingli, Werke, ii. s. 373. The learned editors of Zwingli's works, Schuler u. Schultheas, say: "Da Zwingli fiir Irrtlium erkliirto dass dor Zehuten eine gottliohe Eineetzung sey, mochte Grebel ihn fiir einen Gegner deaselben in dieser Zeit halte^n ; aber Zwingli unterschied zwisohen gottlicher Einsetzung und burger- licher Schuld." Werke, ii. a. 373. See alao Ileberla, Jarbiicherfilr Deutsche Theologie, 185S, ii. Heft. 8. 233, 234. 64 THE ANABAPTISTS IN SWITZERLAND. Hetzer, i which appeared September 24, 1523, is worthy of notice in this connection. Hetzer was a native of Bischofszell in Thurgau. It is not known whether he received his education at the University of Frei- burg or that of Basel; but at one or the other of these seats of learning he became well versed in classical and Hebrew literature — studies which at a later period bore fruit in his translation of the Old Testament-prophets into the language of the com. mon people. On the completion of his University studies Hetzer received an appointment as Chap- lain at Wadenschwyl, on the road from Zurich to Einsiedeln, and opposite Eapperschwyl. Afterwards he was transferred to Zurich. He seems early to have become interested in the reform movement, though his name comes before us first in the appear- ance of his tract against the use of images, which he entitled, Fin Erteil Gottes.' The tract consists of two ' Concerning Hetzer see Keim. Ludwig Hetzer, Ein Beitrag zur Oharacteristik der Sektenbewegungen in der Me/ormationszeit . Jahrbiicher fiir Deutsche Theologie, 1856, 2te. Heft. » The title of the tract in full is as follows; Em Urteil Oottei unsers eegemahels, viie man sich mil alien gotzen und bildnussen halt- en sol, uss der h^ligen gschrifft gezogen durch Ludwig Hdtzer. The tract contains twenty pages, and was printed at Zurich by Chris- topher Froschauer under data of Sept. 21, 1523. Referring to this tract, Leo Jud, at the second Zurich Discussion said ; " Es ist ein biichle iukurzon tagen hie usgongen in dem druck, darin RADICAL TENDENCIES. 65 parts. In the first part, Hetzer gives quotations from the Pentateuch, the historical books of the Old Testament, the Psabns, and the Prophets, without word or comment. His aim is simply to set forth the teaching of the Scripture in reference to idol worship and idol worshippers. In the second part he reviews the arguments in favor of the use of images advanced by the old church party : 1, the Old Testament is no longer binding on Christians ; 2, Not the images but the saints are worshipped ; 3, Images are the books of the common people; 4, they lead to meditation, and so make men better. In closing the discussion Hetzer appeals to the " Papists " to produce a single passage in the Scriptures to show that images are good for anything else than to be thrown into the fire The tract had a rapid and wide circulation. Three editions were printed before the end of the year, and a Latin translation followed in 1524. Hetzer 's tract was not the occasion of the move- ment against the use of images, but it gave it force. It was at this time, at the end of September, 1523, that Nicholas Hettinger, with a band of image breakers, destroyed the great cross' that stood just genugsamlioh mit klarer gottlicher geechrift die bilder verworfen werdend." Zwingli Werke. s. u. s. Ed. i. 8. 4V4. ' Nun war zu StadelhofTen uff Dorf vor der Stadt Zurich an dem ort, da jetzt ein Brunnen vor Herr Burgemeister Miiller's 66 THE ANABAPTISTS IN SWITZERLAND. before the upper gate of the city. This deed, and the destruction of the images in a few of the churches around Zurich, stirred up the church party, and a loud outcry was raised against the emboldened icono- clasts. Plainly they had gone too far. But the peo- ple generally were with Zwingli when he said, they had done nothing wrong in itself, but were guilty of an offence against the magistrates, Hottinger and his associates were arrested and thrown into prison, and the case was brought before the Great Council, in which on account of conflicting views it was decided to postpone the punishment of the guilty parties until the principles involved had been more fully dis- cussed. Meanwhile' Zwingli had published a tract calling attention to some objections to the mass-canon. It was not intended for popular use, like Hetzer's tract against images, but was written in Latin for his as- sociates in the ministry, and for scholars, who were interested in the reform movement. The changes which it advocated were not radical enough for Gre- bel and his friends. In their view these were half- niiwen Haus und Garten etandt, ein gro33 schoti geschnitzt und uffgericht Crucifix, daliin usa andacht vom Anthoni Stadler dem Bchi£fmacher uffgesetzt.'' BuUinger, Reformationsgeschichte, i. B, 127. I The preface is dated August 29, 1523. For the tract sea Zwingli, Opera, iii. 83. RADICAL TENDENCIES 67 way measures, and they insisted that the mass should be abolished altogether. Zwingli replied to their criticisms in a brief apology, ' October 9, 1623, but he failed to satisfy them in reference to the wisdom of his course. With a view to a settlement of the controversy in reference to the use of images and the sacrifice of the mass, the Zurich Council now ordered a Second Dis- cussion, which was held October 26-28, 1523. Prominent members of the old church party were invited, but declined to appear. Accordingly, the discussion was between the friends of reform alone, of whom more than nine hundred were present. Among those who participated in the discussion was Dr. Balthasar Hubmeier,' pastor at Waldshut. A native of Friedberg, near Augsburg, in Bavaria. He was born near the end of the 16th century. Un- der the celebrated Dr. John Eck, Luther's antagonist at Leipzig, he studied philosophy and theology at the University of Freiburg where he was matriculated May 1, 1503. When Eck removed to Ingolstadt, Hubmeier accompanied him, and in 1512, probably through Eck's influence, he received an appointment as preacher and professor of theology in the Univer- ' See Zwingli, Opera, iii. b. 117. ' Concerning Hubmeier see Schreiber, Taschmhuch filr Oesch- ichte u. Allerthum in S'iddeuischland, 1839. 68 THE ANABAPTISTS IN SWITZERLAND. sity at that place. In 1516, he was called to the Ca- thedral in Regensburg, where his sermons attracted great attention. While in Regensburg, by means of Luther's writings, he became interested in the reform movement, and not long after, resigning not only the very honorable position which he held, but the most flattering prospects of preferment in the Romish Church, he made his way to Schaffhausen, and through the influence of friends in that place soon received a pastorate at Waldshut, a neighboring town. There his piety, learning, and eloquence were highly appre- ciated, but the field was a limited one, and when in the autumn of 1522, in the progress of the work of reform, he was recaUed to Regensburg to take the pastorate of one of the churches, he accepted the in- vitation, and on his return to that place, November 10, he was cordially welcomed by all classes of people But his stay in Regensburg was a brief one. In March, 1523, we find him again in Waldshut. Not long after he visited Zwingli at Zurich, and conferred with him in reference to the reformation of the church, and especially in reference to infant baptism.' From. Zurich he proceeded to St. Gall, probably for a conference with Vadian. While at St. Gall he preached in the church of St. Magnus. He also preached to a large crowd in the open air, and with 1 Schreiber Taschenbuch, 1839, 25. KADICAL TENDENCIES. 69 such power that his hearers followed him to his inn, urging him further to unfold to them the word of God. This he did standing at a window, while the people thronged the street below. He soon returned to Waldshut, carrying with him the friendship of Vadian, and in October following was summoned with others to the Second Discussion at Zurich. At this Second Discussion Grebel and Stumpf rep- resented the radical wing of the reform party. ' The views of Zwingli and those who were in agree- ment with him did not satisfy them. Moreover, while the appeal was to the Scriptures as the supreme authority, they found that the decision after all was with the Council. Thus at the close of the second day, when Grebel desired that the priests should be instructed in reference to the mass, Zwingli replied that the Council would decide as to the course which they should pursue. At once Stumpf cried out : " You have no authority to leave the decision with them. The decision is already given. The Spirit of God decides. Should the gentlemen of the Council give a decision contrary to the word of God, implor- ing Christ for his Spirit, I will teach and act against it." Hubmeier spoke on both of the topics under dis- cussion. Concerning images he showed that they are ' Hetzer acted as Scribe and took no part in the discussion. 70 THE ANABAPTISTS IN SWITZERLAND. forbidden in the Scriptures, and that God not only is displeased with the worship of images, but with those who make them (Deut. 27: 16) ; and that his command is that the images shall be burned with fire (Deut. 7: 25) while all the people say Amen. " Amen ! " shouted some of his hearers. Concerning the mass, Hubmeier appealed to what he called " the clear word of God." The passages were cited, and he added, " Christ does not say, ' This offer,' but ' This do.' " In closing his address he said, " I may err, for I am a man ; but a heretic I am not." ' The mandate of the Council,' which appeared November 17, was as unsatisfactory to Grebel and his friends as was the discussion itself The immediate removal of the images was not required, and as to the mass, each priest was left free to celebrate it or not. It was provided, however, that the views of the Council should be laid before the bishops of Constance, Chur, and Basel, also the University of Basel, with the promise that after six months the matter should be finally settled. ' A wise prudence, doubtless, • For a full account of the Second DiecuBsion see Zwingli Werkc i. B. 461-540. » Fusslin, Beytrage, ii. s. 43-46. '"Sein Qrundsatz war Schonung, das heisst er brachte nur solche Fragen zu iiffentlichen Besprechung, fiir deren evangolisclie Liisungerdie Mehrheit zu gewinnen hoffen duifte, und liess Bie erac dann zur Entscheidung kommen, wann er wirklichder Mehr- RADICAL TENDENCIES. 71 was manifested in these moderate measures : but to the radical reformers the course thus marked out was simply a call to halt. And this they would not heed. It is better, they said, to take counsel of God than of men. Especially was it an occasion of dissatisfaction with them that the churches in and around Zurich, which had broken away from the grasp of Rome, should thus be made dependent upon the State. " It stands ill with the gospel in Zurich," wrote Grcbel to Vadian, " and Zwingli no longer acts a shepherd's part." From this time the reform party was hope- lessly divided, and the earnestness with which Zwingli assailed the radicals in a tract' published November 17, and which with the mandate was sent to all the jjas- tors in the Canton for the purpose of securing uni- formity of opinion and action in reference to images and the mass, is an indication that the radicals were even at that time neither few in numbers nor wanting in influence. Hettinger was now banished from the Canton for two years, and Laurence Hochriitiner, one of his asso- ciates, was banished for life. Hettinger went into Baden, where in several places he proscribed the use of heitsicher geworden war,'' CorneliuB, Oeschichle des JirUnsteruchen Aufruhrs, ii. s. 18. ' Ein kuTze chruienliche Ynleilung. See Zwingli, WerJce, i. b. 543-565. 72 THE ANABAPTISTS IN SWITZERLAND. images and the sacrifice of the mass. ' Hochriitiner, who was a native of St. Gall, returned to his early home. ' Hottinger was at length arrested at Coblenz and brought to trial, but the court, instead of passing sentence upon him, deliv- ered him to the Swiss deputies assembled at Lucerne, who ap- pointed a committee to investigate the case. Hottinger re-assert- ed his opposition to the mass, images, and the invocation of saints, and announced his purpose to abide in this faith, although the whole world should call him a heretic. Upon this confession he was condemned and sentenced to be beheaded. When the sen- tence was declared Hottinger began to speak of God and redemp- tion through Christ. The Laudamman of Uri, Jacob Troger, said, " We are not here to be preached to. There is no need of this ta'k. Away with him ! " The Landvogt Fleckenstein said, " We will take off his head, and if it grows on again, we will accept his faith.'' Hottinger replied : " It is in accordance with the will of God. May he pardon all those who are hostile to me, and lead me to death. To the Lord on the cross it was said, ' Come down from the cross, and we will believe thee.' " He then addressed the people concerning salvation by the cross of Christ alone. Many wept as they listened. " Weep not for me," said Hottinger " but for yourselves. Repent and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ." At the place of execution he addressed his judges and prayed for their forgiveness. Turning to the people he said, •' If I have wronged any man I ask his forgiveness, as I also forgive every one.'' Then commending his spirit to the Lord Jesus Christ, he laid his head upon the block, and the sentence was executed. He was the first of the Swiss martyrs. BuUinger, lieformations- (/eschichte, i. a. 145-151. CHAPTER IV. FURTHER DEVELOPMENT OF THESE TENDENCIES. In the developmeufc of these radical tendencies in the movement for church reform, Simon Stumpf, Pastor of the church at Hongg, was especially pro- minent ; and not long after the Second Discussion, by reason of the zeal with which he proclaimed the views of the new party, he was dismissed from his pastorate by the Zurich Council. His people earn- estly entreated that he might be permitted to remain. But the Council would not recede from the position it had taken, and as Stumpf continued to preach, a decree of banishment was issued December 25, 1523, and Stumpf went into Germany. ' It was by Stumpf that the idea of a church, com- posed of believers only, according to the New Testa- ment model, was first suggested to Zwingli. The suggestion seems to have been made in the summer, or more probably in the autumn, of 1523, certainly previous to the Second Discussion. The idea was unquestionably derived from a study of the New Testament. Whether it was original with Stumpf or ' Fiisslin, BeytrSge, ii. 8. 43. 4 73 74 THE ANABAPTISTS IN SWITZERLAND. not is unknown. That at this time, however, this idea was cherished only among those who had separated from Zwingli in the work of reform, is certain. These men had made the Bible the supreme authority in matters of faith and practice. Having separated from the Church of Eome, they naturally asked, What should take its place ? They turned to the Scriptures for an answer. There they learned that the apostolic churches were composed of those only who were the avowed followers of Christ, and that a union of believers and unbelievers, as in the Romish Church, or the new State Church, had no warrant in the sacred word. That such an idea should have had its origin and advocacy among these radicals is a witness to the profound religious spirit from which it proceeded. ' They made much of the necessity of personal godliness ; and to restore primitive Chris- tianity, as they found it in the New Testament, was the end toward which they devoutly pressed." " Let him who will stand with Christ," said Grebel, " stand at his side." And this he urged upon Zwingli. But his words were powerless. Zwingli would have no Donatist church, consisting of saints alone, he said. ' In support of his position he appealed to the words of ' CorneliuB, Oeschichte dea Munsterischen Aufrahrs, ii. s. 22. » Corner, Oeschichie d. prot. Theologie, s, 293. FURTHER DEVELOPMENT. 75 Christ. " He that is not against us, is for us ; " also to the parable of the tares and the wheat, claim- ing that such a separation as was proposed would not be in harmony with the teaching of the parable. Besides, if they were now to separate the tares from the wheat, what would remain for the angels to do at the end of the world ? Subsequently, Felix Mantz endeavored to win Zwingli to the new view. Like Grebel, Mantz was a native of Zurich, a son, though not by marriage, of a canon of the Cathedral. He was a man of scholarly tastes, and had given particular attention to the He- brew language, which he had studied under Ceporinus (Jacob Wiesendanger). He had been associated with Zwingli from the commencement of church reform in Zurich, it would seem ; ' but at this time he was in full sympathy with Grebel. In his inter- view with Zwingli, urging the importance of purity in the church, Mantz appealed to the testimony of Paul, and maintained that fornication, adultery, cov- etousness, and the like should not be allowed among Christians. He would have Zwingli take this posi- tion, and give notice to this effect. "You do this," answered Zwingli, " and exclude from the church those who have these vices." " It is not in my power," added Mantz : " I am not bishop, like Zwingli." ■ Bullinger, Reformalionsgeschichle, i. s. 30. 76 THE ANABAPTISTS IN SWITZERLAND. And SO the breach between the radicals and Zwin- gli widened daily. Grebel and his associates came together frequently for the study of the Scriptures and mutual edification. In their study they were not long in discovering that there is no scriptural foun- dation for infant baptism, and they assailed the prac- tice as a human invention. Zwingli, as he himself confesses, had at one time entertained the view that it would be better not to baptize children until they were somewhat advanced in years.' Like Luther, he thought at first that faith before baptism was indis- pensable. In conversation with Grebel, Hubmeier, and others, Zwingli had frequently taken this posi- tion. ^ But in his opposition to the radicals he was led to abandon it. There was another consideration that influenced him. " He saw that the setting aside of infant baptism was the same as setting aside the National Church, exchanging a hitherto national re- formation of the church for one more or less Donatist. For if infant baptism were given up, because faith was not yet there, then there only remained as the right time for it the moment when living faith and » See Werke, ii. s. 2-15. ' Egli, Die Zaricher Wiedertdufer, s. 17, saya : " Zwingli und die andorn Pradicanton begriffen diesen Eifer anfaiigs nicht, bia aio morkten, dasj ea auf die Wiedertaufe ala auf eiii Abzoiohou der angestrebtcn Rondurkirclie abgeaelien aei." FURTHER DEVELOPMENT. 77 regeneration were certain. And then baptism would become the sign of fellowship of the regenerate, the saints, who bind themselves together as atoms out of the world." » In March, 1524, the pastor atRifferschwyl preached a sermon in which he referred to- infant baptism as " a useless thing. One might as well baptize a cow or a calf," he said. In the same month Grebel wrote to Vadian : ^ " Those who understand the teaching of the Scriptures in reference to baptism refuse to allow their children to be baptized." About the same time, at Wytikon, William Eeublin began to preach against infant baptism, and not a few among his people were won to the new doctrine. At length, during the summer, ' the leaders of the radical party expressed a desire to discuss the subject with the Zurich pastors. The desire was granted, and the discussion was held in private, with witnesses for both parties. Two ses- sions were held without any practical result. At last, early in August, the members of the Council summoned before them two men from Wyti- kon who had refused to have their children baptized. At the examination that followed, the accused replied that they had acted according to the teachings of ' Corner^ Oeschichte d. prot. Theologie, a. 293, 294, ^Zwingli, Werke, ii. 8. 231. 9 Zwingli, Werke, ii. s. 261. 78 THE ANABAPTISTS IN SWITZERLAND. Reublin, The latter was arrested and imprisoned,' and a commission was appointed to examine him in reference to his teachings, and report to the Oouncil. It was also ordered that those who had unbaptized children should have them baptized, or submit to a fine of a silver mark. At the same time the two from Wytikon were summoned before the Council, three others from Zollikon, a village near Zurich, also heads of families, who had refused to have their children baptized, were ordered to present themselves for examination by the Oouncil. When asked, why they had not had their children baptized, they replied that children ought not to be baptized until they were old enough to exercise personal faith, and ap- pealed to the word of God as their authority for tak- ing this position. At the close of the examination they were threatened with punishment if they per- sisted in their obstinacy, but the threats of the Council were of no avail, and the children remained unbaptized. On his return to Waldshut, after the Second Zurich Discussion, Hubmeier had devoted himself zealously to the work of church reform. The old church party, however, was not inactive, and, not long after, a request for the removal of Hubmeier from his pas- torate was made to the Waldshut authorities. Sub- Fiiaalia. Beytrlige, ii. a. 64-67. FURTHER DEVELOPMENT. 79 sequently it was urged by some that Hubmeier should be given up to Austria, Waldshut being within the imperial jurisdiction. The opposition to Hubmeier on the part of his Romanist opponents was at length so strong that he deemed it best to ask to be relieved of the duties of his office. This request having been granted, Hubmeier left Waldshut, August 17, 1524, and proceeded to Schaffhausen, accompanied by a guard of Waldshut citizens as far as the boundaries of the Canton, where he was met by horsemen from Scahaffhusen, who conducted him to their city. Here he found an asylum, not in a private house it is thought, but in a cloister. His enemies, however, followed him, and the Coun- cil of Schaffhausen was earnestly implored to arrest and imprison him, or to deliver him into the hands of the Emperor. Hubmeier accordingly appealed to the Council for justice, and declared himself ready to submit his case in a discussion. In communicating his views, he addressed three letters ' to the Coun- cil. In the second of these letters, with implicit con- Idence in the triumph of the truth, he offered to meet his opponents, together with the pastors of Lu- jerne, Appenzell, Uri, and Baden, and discuss the • Ein ernslliche Ohristenliche erbietung an einen Ersamen Rati ze Schaffhv^en, durch doctor Baldazar Iluhmor von fridberg, Pfarrern ze Waldshut, bestehen. Die Warheit ist untodtlich. 1524. 80 THE ANABAPTISTS IN SWITZERLAND. points at issue between them. " If I am wrong," he said " let me be punished. If, however, these pastors are wrong, I ask only that they may be brought to a knowledge of their error, and left unpunished," and he closed his letter with these noble words : " Divine truth is immortal, and although for awhile it may be arrested, scourged, crowned, crucified, and buried, it will, nevertheless, on the third day rise victorious, and rule and triumph forever and ever." In a third letter to the Council, Hubmeier repeated his request for a discussion. He was unwilling he said, to be condemned . unheard ; and, still confident of the rightfulness of his position, he wrote : " I am ready to give all men an account of my doctrine, my belief, and my hope, as for two years I have preached the same. If I have spoken the truth, why am I assailed and others for my sake ? If I have erred and taught what is false, I call upon all Christians to testify to the same, and from the Scriptures to show me again the right way." The appeal closed with these words : " I entreat all believers in Christ to unite with me in prayer to God that he will impart to me his grace and strength, and bestow upon me a brave, unterrified, princely spirit, to the end, that I may rest upon his holy word, and in a true Christian faith may commend my spirit into God's hands, through our Lord Jesus Christ, his only begotten Son." FURTHER DEVELOPMENT. 81 It is tliouglit by Schreiber * that flubmcier, dur- ing this residence in Scliaffhausen, wrote hia tract entitled, " Concerning Heretics, and those who Burn them," ^ in which he maintains that the burning of heretics cannot be justified from the Scriptures. Christ taught that the wheat and the tares are to grow together. The burning of curious books he holds is not unchristian according to Acts 19 : 19. " It is a small thing to burn innocent papers," he adds, " but to point out errors, and to confute them with the Scriptures, that is art." Meanwhile there was a change in the state of affairs in Waldshut. As the imperial government was making strenuous efforts to support the old church party there, Waldshut called upon its friends for help, and issued an address " To all believing Christians." " We are decried," says the address, " on account of new doctrine. This is done throi!igh ill-will. We hear of no new doctrine, and know of none ; but hear 1 Taichenbuch fiir Oeschichie u. Alterthum in Siiddeuischland 1839, 8. 63. ' Von Ketzern und iren Verbrennem. Vergleichung der Oe- sckri/ften^ zusammengezogen durch Doctor Balthazeren Fi-idhcrgem, Pfarrtm zu Waldshut, zu Qefallen Bruder Anlhonin, Vicari zu Conslanz, dem ausserlesenen Thorwdckter on ain Posaunen. Die Warheit ist untodtlich. Anno 1523. Jar. 4* 82 TUE ANABAPTISTS IN SWITZERLAND. only the doctrine of Ohrist aa taught by himself and his apostles, by his command. . . . It is said that at Waldshut Luther's doctrine is preached. We know not who Luther is, and we know not his doctrine. Without doubt he is a man as we ; if he speaks or writes the truth, it is not his own truth, but Christ's. Christ we know, and daily from his holy word we learn more concerning him. We are not baptized in the name of Luther, or any other man, but of Christ ; in his name we bend the knee, not in the name of Luther ; in his name we must be saved." A special appeal was made to the Council of Zurich where an armed force was at once raised for the assistance of the " Christian brethren at Waldshut," who were "suffering under the heavy hand of tyranny." This force entered Waldshut by night during the first week in October, but in a few days, there being no immediate need of their services, many of the Zurich soldiers returned to their homes. Toward the end of October, Hubmeier again ap- peared in Waldshut, and was received with great joy by the people. One of the first things he did after his return was to challenge the old church party, in- cluding his earlier friend and instructor, Dr. John Eck, to a discussion ; and to the challenge he ap- pended twenty-six theses in Gorman and Latin.' The theses in both Latin and Gorman were published in the FURTHER DEVELOPMENT. • 83 But the discussion did not take place. Eck had more pressing matters on hand ; and Hubmeier was soon busily engaged in the work he had laid down when he withdrew from Waldshut. It was while Hubmeier was in Schaffhausen that we find Grebel and his friends in correspondence with Miinzer ' and CarLstadt. There is a reference Latin editioa, from the press of Froschauer in Zurich, bearing date of November 4, 1524. ' Thomas Munzer was born at StoUberg, at the foot of the Hartz Mountains, toward the close of the 15th century. Seide- mann ( Thomas Miinzer,) thinka it was about the year 1490. In reference to his early years, his education, and the place where he studied, information is wanting By some it is thought that he took his University course at Wittenberg. Others find evidence that he was not a stranger in Leipzic, and think he may have pursued his studies there. Melanchthon confesses that he had a good knowledge of the Scriptures. That Munzer took the Univer- sity degree of Master of Arts, we know from letters in which he is addressed by this title. For several years he devoted himself to teaching, first at Aschersleben, then at Halle. From Halle he went to Frohsa, near Aschersleben, where he held a minor eccle- siastical position. Later, about the year 1518, he was a teacher in the St. Martin's Gymnasium, in Brunswick. Afterwards we find him residing with Hans Pelt, a clergyman, probably a resi- dent of Aschersleben. About New Year's Day, 1519, he was in Leip- zig. Early in the same year he was made chaplain and confes- sor of the nuns in the cloister, Beutitz, near Weissenfels. There in his opposition to the Romish doctrine of transubstantiation, as Luther tells us, Miinzer was accustomed at the morning mass to 84 THE ANABAPTISTS IN SWITZERLAND. to this correspondence in a letter which Grebel ad- dressed to Vadian, September 3, 1624, in which he mentions the fact that he was then writing to Carlstadt and was about to write to Miinzer, both of whose tracts against Luther — his "Protestation," and his " getiehten Glawben" — Grebel had just received and read. He also proposed, he said, to write to Luther, and was busy preparing a theological work. omit the words at which the transformation is said to be effected. Indeed, as a Eeformer he was already in advance of Luther, though on friendly terms with him, and interested in the course upon which he had entered. At the discussion which Luther had with Eck, at Leipzig, commencing July 24, 1519, Munzer was pro- bably present, and it was not without Luther's knowledge, that in the following year Miinzer was called to Zwickau, where at first he became a preacher at St. Mary's, and afterwards at St. Catherine's. There he boldly denounced the monks, and at length, abandoned by the Wittenberg Reformers on account of his radical views, he took his place with the Zwickau Prophets, not that he shared their views in any great degree, but because he was in sympathy with them more than wiln Luther or his associates. In 1521, he went into Bohemia "to speak the divine message oi love and liberty." January 21, 1522, he was in Nordhausen, where he remained, it is thought, until the close of the year. At Easter, 1523, he was at Alstedt, near Eisenach, where he had re- cieved an appointment as preacher, and where shortly after he was married to a nun who had renounced her vows, a step in which he was followed by Luther two years later. His first work, in which also he had in Luther a successor, was to set aside the Latin liturgy, and to arrange for a free church service, wholly in FURTHER DEVELOPMENT. 85 Grebel's letter to Miinzer was dated Septembers, 1524, and was signed not only by Grebel, but by Andrew Castelberg, Feliz Mantz, Hans Ockenfuss, Bartholo- mew Baur and Henry Aberli. Castelberg was a bookseller of Ohur in Graubiinden, the Canton of the Grisons. Hans Ockenfuss was a tailor in Zurich, and was one of those, who, in the previous year, were engaged with Hottinger in the destruction of the great cross that stood outside of the upper gate of the city.* The letter has been preserved,' and is ex- ceedingly creditable to the Swiss radicals. At the outset, Grebel makes mention of Munzer's tracts and says that he and his associates have been greatly rejoiced to find one in agreement with themselves, one who ventures to show evangelical preachers their lack in reference to vital points, and exhorts him fearlessly to preach the divine word. He also, at the same time, notices some matters in which he and his friends differ from Miinzer." We understand," he writes, " that you have translated the mass-service the language of the people. Crowds from the country around came to hear him preach. In the summer of 1524, he denounced image worship so vehemently that some of his hearers soon found afield for iconoclastic labors. ' Fiisslin, " Beylrage ii. e. 38. ' See Cornelius, Oeschichte d. Mdnsteritchen Aufruhrs,'u.B. 210- 247. 86 THE ANABAPTISTS IN SWITZERLAND. and introduced new German hymns. This is not well, since we do not find in the New Testament any teaching, or example, in reference to singing. If Miinzer and Oarlstadt are supported by tithes and rents, Grebel exhorts them to give up their livings. " You know," he said, " how a shepherd should be supported. We expect much of Jacob Strauss,* and others like him whom the Wittenberg doctors lightly esteem." He also regrets that Miinzer had set up tables of the law. " For this," he says, " we find no Scripture nor example in the New Testament. In the Old Testament there was the outward repre- sentation, but in the New the writing is on the fleshly tables of the heart." He expects him farther to hold the word of God, and make a Christian church with the help of Christ and his people, as laid down in Matthew 18. As to the sword, it is not to be used to defend either the gospel or those who receive it. Concerning Miinzer's view in reference to baptism, they desired further information. Concerning the view held by himself and his companions, Grebel says, " From the Scriptures we learn that baptism signi- fies that by faith and the blood of Christ our sins have been washed away, that we have died to sin, and walk in newness of life ; that assurance of salvation is 'He was a proachorin Eisenach, and an opponent of the tithe system. FURTHER DEVELOPMENT. 87 tlirougb the inner baptism, faith, so that the water does not confirm and increase the faith, as the Wit- tenberg theologians say, nor does it save." Concern- ing infant baptism, Grebel adds : " We believe that the Scriptures teach that all children, who have not arrived at the knowledge of good and evil, are saved by the sufferings of Christ." Infant baptism, there- fore, is declared to be a blasphemous offence against all Scripture, and in reference to his own practice, * which was to baptize every two or three months those born in this interval, Miinzer received the fol- lowing delicate hint, though of course unintentional ; " Since you have expressed yourself against that infant baptism, we hope you do not sin against the eternal word, wisdom, and command of God, accord- ing to which believers only are to be baptized, and you decline to baptize infants." In conclusion, the Zurich radicals beg Miinzer and Carlstadt to regard them as brethren, and to write to them. The messenger who was to c-arry the letter was delayed, and Grebel added a second letter, ' in which he informed Miinzer that he had written to Luther, and that Andrew Castelberger had written to Carl- stadt. He also referred to a tract of Luther's against 1 Stated in conversation with OekolampadiuB, at Basel late in the autumn of 1524, Herzog. Das Lebcn J. Oekolampads i. a. 302. 2 Cornelius, Oeschichte des Miinsterischen Anfruhrs, ii. B. 247. bo THE ANABAPTISTS IN SWITZERLAND. Miiiizer, probably the " Letter to the Saxon Princes concerning the Factious Spirits," which had reached Zurich since the first letter was written. Referring to himself and his companions, Grebel says that they were denounced from the pulpits as devils appearing as angels of light ; and that they anticipated greater persecution. " Pray for us," he adds. This letter was not signed by the same persons as the other. Instead of Baur we find John Brodli' and Hans Huiuf of Halle, who, it is thought, was the medium of communication between the radicals in Saxony and those in Switzerland. In a postscript, it is stated that copies of these let- ters were not retained, and as the letters themselves, in Grebel's hand-writing, are among the Vadian manuscripts in the library at St. Gall, it is probable either that for some reason they were not sent, or that they failed to reach Miinzer, and so were re- turned to their author. Indeed, at the time when the letters were written Miinzer was no longer in Alstedt. The situation there had become unfavorable for his plans, and about the middle of August, 1624, he had removed to Mtihlhausen. But there, also, opposition ' Brodli or Brodlein, who, according to the custom of the time, translated his name into Latin, and called himself Paniculus, comes before us first in 1523, as pastor at Quarton on Lake Wal- lenfltadt. He was now an assistant to the pastor at ZoUikon. FURTHER DEVELOPMENT. 89 was soon manifested, and September 27, three weeks after the date of Grebel's first letter, Miinzer was ordered by the Council of the city to leave the place. What he had learned concerning the Swiss radicals, doubtless, led him to make his way into Switzerland. He went by way of Nuremberg and Basel. In Basel he had an interview with Oecolampadius in which the expression of his views was characterized by modera- tion. ^ Miinzer tarried only a short time in Basel, but made his way to the village of Griessen in Klett- gau, where he spent eight weeks, probably the months of October and November, as we know from the Muhlhausen Chronicle ' that he returned to Miihl- hausen, December 15. Here, Bullinger says, ' Miin- zer was visited by Grebel, Mantz, and others, but no record of the conference has been preserved. Nor do we find that the leaders of the Swiss radicals had any subsequent dealings with him. As Grebel's let- ter shows, he and his associates were not in agree- ment with Miinzer in reference to baptism. They did not believe in the use of the sword as did he. Doubtless, they now found that in purpose they and the Saxon Reformer differed widely. Miinzer's aims were social and political chiefly. He would right the • Herzog Dae Leben J. Oekolampads, i. b. 301-303. ' Schmidt, Zeitechr. fiir Oeschichtswusenschaft, iv. b. 368. ' lieformationsgeschichte, i. e. 224. 90 THE ANABAPTISTS IN SWITZERLAND. wrongs of the oppressed peasants, and with this end in view he had brought with him certain " articles," ' probably the celebrated Twelve Articles,' into which the demands of the peasants had been compressed. But Grebel and his friends, who were also in sympa- thy with the oppressed peasants, would bring about a better state of things, not by revolution, but by re- storing primitive Christianity : and so, believing in different methods of accomplishing the great end they had in view, they seem to have separated with- out forming a closer alliance, and took the different paths they had already marked out. Carlstadt, » with whom Grebel had also been in ' Seidemann, Thomas Miinzer, a. 152. ' Zimmermann, Allgemeine Oeschichte dea grossen £aua-n- krieges, 2te Theil, a. 109, ia of the opinioh that the Twelve Articles were written by Miinzer. ' Andrew Rudolph Bodeastein, commonly known as Carlstadt from his birth-place, was some years older than Luther. Con- cerning the place of his education, it ia only known that it waa at some University outaide of Germany. He was Baccalaurem bib- licvA when he came to Wittenberg in 1504. In 1508, he received a minor ecclesiastical position in Wittenberg. In 1510, he was made « Doctor of Theology ; and, in 1513, he was elected Professor of Theology in the University. He visited Rome in 1515, where he remained a year. Returning to Wittenberg, he vehemently attacked Luther at tlie beginning of his reformatory work, but afterward became one of his most ardent supporters. Dorner, Oeschichte d. prot. Theologie,a. 123, says, " By means of his treatise. FURTHER DEVELOPMENT. 91 correspondence, was banished from Saxony in Sep- tember, 1524. Not long after, a messenger dispatched by him. Dr. Gerhard Westerburg of Cologne, ap- peared in Zurich. He brought a letter and a pack- age of tracts from Oarlstadt, and during his stay of six days gave the Grebel party a full account of Carl- stadt's contest with Luther at Jena. Soon we hear of Oarlstadt at Basel, whence, during the first half of October, he proceeded to Strasburg, carrying with him six or seven tracts which he had printed in Ba- sel, and of which the larger number had reference to the Lord's Supper. In one of these tracts he dis- cussed infant baptism, which he would have set aside. These writings attracted great attention, as they were widely circulated, and were hailed with especial delight by Grebel and his friends. The Zurich Coun- cil forbade their sale, though Zwingli advised a dif- ferent course, and even asked that nothing should.be done to hinder their circulation. Latcpj'iwhen Cafi- lAheUiu de canonieii scripturis (August, 1520) he, in elo.queht words, contributed not a little to enforfce the dutaf ofMiltilversal acquaintance with the Scriptures, and-tftiis to prepare the way for Luther's translation." On th?' appeaiSanoe xrf'the Zwickau pro- phets in Wittenberg, in December, 1521, Oarlstadt was not only ready to welcome, them, but to'^dmit their claims. He laid aside the title oL Doctor J'and gave himself the name of " Neighbor An- drew." But he seems to have adopted more moderate views, and at the beginning of 1523 he was still lecturing in the University. 92 THE ANABAPTISTS IN SWITZERLAND. stadt was in Zurich, he called on Zwingli, but the chief purpose of his presence in the place was to make the acquaintance of his new " brethren." A friend of Miinzer and Carlstadt, Martin Cella- rius, well known as an associate of the Zwickau pro- phets, was in Zurich about this time, certainly pre- vious to 1525. He avoided a conference with Zwingli, it is said, but had repeated interviews with the radi- cals, and was in agreement with them in their oppo- sition to infant baptism, oaths, etc. The year 1523 waa one of great literary activity with Carlatadt. In September, he left Wittenberg for Orlamunde, where he re- mained preaching until he was compelled to give up his pastorate there in the Bummer of 1524. In Auguat, he was in Terra. In Sep- tember, he returned to Orlamunde, and waa banished September 17. At the end of September or early in October, he left Orla- munde, went first to Rothenburg on the Tauber, and then to Straa- burg. See Jager, Andreas Bodensiein von Carldadt, Stuttgart, 1856. 1 Cellariua waa a native of Stuttgart. He made the acquaint- ance of Molauchthon at Tubingen, and followed Lim to Witten- berg. When the Zwickau propheta appeared in Wittenberg he waa among their opponents. But it happened to him, aa later to Bernhard Rothman in Miinster, that^ he aoon went over to the opposite party. When compelled, with Stubner, to leave Wit- tenberg, he went to Kemberg. In 1525, he went into Prusaia where he waa imprisoned for a short time He was then full of hope concerning the apeedy establishment of the New Jerusalem. In later years, he returned to the views of the Reformers, and in 1536 he waa made professor of philosophy, afterward of theology, at Basel in Switzerland. Ho was learned in the Hebrew, Syriao, and Chaldoe languages. His death occurred in 1560. CHAPTER V. ANABAPTISM INSTITUTED. Hitherto, in his sermons and addresses, Zwingli had referred to the radicals in terms that could not be misunderstood. He now was even more direct in his assaults upon them. In a tract ' published in December, 1524, he denounced their views as those of men who were rather puffed up by their conceits in reference to the gospel, than inflamed by love. Before the appearance of this tract Grebel received information, concerning Zwingli's purpose ; and, De- cember 15, he wrote to Vadian that as soon as the tract appeared he would send him a copy. Vadian replied, December 28, urging Grebel to moderate his zeal and maintain friendly relations with Zwingli ; but to a like exhortation from the same source Grebel had already replied that he must be true to his con- victions of duty, and such was his opinion still. Zwingli's tract soon appeared, and made still wider the breach between the conservative and radical Re- formers. At this time the matter of infant baptism ' Welche Ursach gehen zu Aufruhren. 93 94 THB ANABAPTISTS IN SWITZERLAND. waa prominent in the thoughts of both parties, and conflict was not unfrequently the result. Megander, one of the Zurich preachers, waa defending the prac- tice in a sermon, when Jacob Hottinger interrupted him. At ZoUikon, Brodli had a heated discussion with an assistant from the Cathedral in Zurich. About New Year's Day, 1625, Grebel's wife gave birth to a daughter. A week after, Grebe Iwrote to Vadian : " The child's name is Rachel : she has not yet been baptized in the Romish bath." Indeed, so strong now was the opposition to infant baptism, that it was thought best by the Council to have the subject considered in a public discussion. A call was accordingly issued for such a discussion on Tuesday, January 17, 1525, in the Council Hall in Zurich. ' Before the discussion, however, Grebel addressed a letter to the Council in which he ex- pressed a desire that the discussion should be in writing, and on the basis of the Scriptures ; but the members of the Council withheld their assent. The call for the discussion waa announced from the Cathedral pulpit in Zurich on the Sunday that preceded the meeting. It was said that among others Hubraeier would be invited. It is believed, however, that he waa not. It is certain that had he appeared ' Egli, Actensamlung z. Oesch. d. Zurcher Reformation, 270, Nr. 618, ANABAPTISM INSTITUTED. 95 he would have taken a place with the opposition ; for only a day before the discussion, in a letter to Oeco- lampadius, ' he expressed very decidedly his objec- tions to infant baptism. " I believe, yes, I know," he said, " that Christianity will not prosper unless bap- tism and the Lord's Supper are brought back to their original purity." The prominent leaders of the opponents of infant baptism at the discussion were Grebel, Mantz, and Eeublin. Andrew Oastelberger and Hans Brodli also were present, and two others, Ludwig Hetzer and George Blaurock, who had recently united their for- tunes with those of the radical party. Hetzer, as we have seen,was present as a friend of Zwingli at the Sec- ond Zurich Discussion, in October, 1523. He remained in Zurich, still on friendly terms with Zwingli, though sympathizing more and more with the radicals, until the middle of June following, when he made his way to Augsburg, bearing with him a letter of introduc- tion from Zwingli to Frosch, one of the paators in that city, commending him aa an exceedingly learned young man. His translation of Bugenhagen's Com- mentary on the Ten Epistles of Paul, which he pub- lished about this time, he dedicated to Andrew Rem, a wealthy and influential citizen of Augsburg, through ' Zwingli, Werke, ii. s. 338. 96 THE ANABAPTISTS IN SWITZERLAND. whom he made many valuable friends. But there were many adversaries in Augsburg, and late in the year he made his way back to Zurich, whore, though he revisited Zwingli, and recounted his Bavarian ex- periences, he threw himself into the radical move- ment. Of Blaurock, we read for the first time in connec- tion with this discussion of January 17, 1525. 01 his previous life, we only know that he had been a monk. On account of his oratorical gifts, he was called the second Paul ; and such was his fiery ardor and his great executive ability, that he henceforth held a prominent position in the radical party. " In- fant baptism," he said, " is an invention of men, and whatever is from men is from the devil." Without doubt, Blaurock had joined the party only a short time before the discussion, otherwise he would have made himself known. He was not a man who would re- main, or could be kept, in the background. BuUinger, the historian, was at that time a school- master at Oappel, and his account of the discussion' is that of an eye-witness. The opponents of infant baptism, he says, maintained that infants can neither exercise faith nor understand what baptism signifies : that baptism is to be administered to believers only, ' Jieformalionsrjeschichte, i. o. 238. ANABAPTISM INSTITUTED. 97 to those to whom the gospel -has already been preached, who comprehend it, desire to be baptized, and hence- forth to walk in newness of life. Such is the teach- ing of the Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles. In his reply, Zwingli used the arguments he had previ- ously brought forward. Infant baptism, he said, takes the place of circumcision. In 1 Corinthians 7: 14, Paul speaks of the children of Christian parents as holy, (di-ia). The Council listened to these and like arguments and decided that the victory was with Zwingli. On the following day ' a mandate was is- sued requiring those who had unbaptized children to have them baptized during the following week, or be banished. " It was also ordered that in Zollikon the font which had been thrown down in the preceding summer should be repaired, and that inquiry should be made concerning the guilty parties. Three days later, January 21, they directed their attention to the lead- ers of the radical party. Grebel and Mantz were or- dered to abstain from further discussion, while their associates who were not natives of the Canton, name- ly, Reublin, pastor at Wytikon, Brodli, assistant at Zollikon, Ludwig Hetzer, and Andrew Castelberger, were required to leave the country within the week • Egli, Actensammlung, z. Oesch. d. Ziircher Reformation, 275, Nr. 621, also 622. ' Fusslin, Beytrage, i. 8. 189-201. 5 98 THE ANABAPTISTS IN SWITZERLAND. following." Keublin and Brodli went to Scliaffhau- sen and Waldshut; Hetzer returned to Augsburg. Castolbeigor, on account of illnesa, was allowed to remain in Zurich one month, but was forbidden to hold religious meetings." This last injunction was not without significance. It waa in these private gatherings especially that the seeds of the radical movement had been sown. Here the " brethren " assembled for mutual edification. The exercises were of the most familiar character. After a season of prayer, the Scriptures were read, Grebel and Mantz translating from the original He- brew and Greek for the benefit of those who were unacquainted with the ancient tongues. The mean- ing of the sacred word was then unfolded under the guidance, as it was believed, of the Holy Spirit. Many of the " brethren " were from the humbler classes of society ; but that amiong them there were soon de- veloped not a few who were mighty in the Scriptures, we may easily conceive. The decision of the Council with reference to those who had neglected to have their children baptized failed to secure submission to the repudiated ordi- nance. The parents had acted from convictions of ' Fiiselin, Beylrage, iv- u. 251, 252. Egli, Actensammlung , 278, Nr. 624. ' Egli, Aclensaininlung, 279, Nr. 039. ANABAPTISM INSTITUTED. 99 duty wliich they were unwilling to surrender. " Wo must obey God rather than men," they said. Ac- cordingly, February 1, a second mandate followed, requiring the magistrates to arrest and imprison those pastors who refused to comply. It was also enacted that, unless severe illness prevented, child- ren should be brought to the church for baptism as soon as they were born. Thus infant baptism, which hitherto had been a law of the church, became an ordinance of the civil power." It is at this time that we find the first reference to anabaptism in the history of the reform movement in Switzerland. Very naturally those who denied the validity of infant baptism were led to consider their own duty in reference to the Scriptural command concerning baptism. At one of the meetings of the " brethren " at Zurich, according to a Moravian chronicle,' all bowed in prayer before God that he would grant them power to fulfill the divine will Blaurock, thereupon, arose and asked Grebel to bap- tize him upon his confession of faith. Again he feU upon his knees, and Grebel baptized him. All the rest present were then baptized by Blaurock. The celebration of the Lord's Supper followed. At the house of Rudolph Thomam, at Zollikon a like scene ' Egli, Actensammluny, 281, Nr. 631, 632. " Cornelius Oeschichle des Miinstcrischen Aufruhrs, ii. d. 26, 27. 100 THE ANABAPTISTS IN SWITZERLAND. was enacted not long after. There was a meeting of the " brethren " there. After they had long read and conversed together, John Brubbach of Zurich arose and wept aloud, saying that he was a great sinner, and desiring the others to pray for him. Here- upon Blaurock asked him if ho desired the grace of God. He replied, ' Yes.' Then Mantz rose and said, " Who will forbid me to baptize this person ?" ' No one,' replied Blaurock. He then took a dipper of water and baptized him in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Then Hottinger rose and desired baptism, and Mantz baptized him." ' In other assemblies in and around Zollikon similar cases occurred, and the spread of anabaptism was both rapid and extensive. As yet no question in reference to the act of bap- tism seems to have been raised, and Grebel and his associates administered the ordinance as they had been accustomed to see it administered in the churches. It has indeed been claimed that anabaptism was instituted at an earlier period in the radical move- ment in Switzerland. In all the public discussions, however, in matters pertaining to baptism, mention was made only of opposition to infant baptism. It is true that Zwingli, writing a little more than two ' Fiibslia, Bcylriiijc i. 3. 200. Soo also Egli, AcUnsammlung , 2S2, 284, Nr. 630. ANABAPTISM INSTITUTED. 101 years later, says/ that the report of the first re- baptism was received a few days after the Second Zurich Discussion, accordingly in the summer of 1524 ; but the statement is connected with events which evidently belong to a later date. So, also, when Bullinger ^ in his account of the discussion of January 17, 1525, represents the opponents of in- fant baptism as saying : " Infant baptism is of iio value, and one must be rebaptized," he seems, as Heberle' suggests, to have given expression to views which only a little later were generally adopted by the radicals. The mandate of February 1 was at once enforced, and in Zollikon twenty-four of those who had refused to have their children baptized — and together with Mantz and Blaurock, it would seem — were arrested and thrown into the Augustinian cloister. At the exami- nation that followed, many facts of interest in refer- ence to the movement were placed on record, and have been preserved. February 7, the imprisoned Anabap- tists, with the exception of Mantz and Blaurock, were required to take a common oath to pay the costs of their imprisonment, and a fine of one thousand gul- 1 Zwingli Werke, iii. s. 363. ' lieformationstjcschichte, i. s. 238. ■'' JahrbUcher fiir Deutsche Thcologie, 1858, s. 270. 102 THE ANABAPTISTS IN SWITZERLAND. den.' On the following day tliey were released and returned to Zollikon. Mantz, at bis examination, refused to abandon his Anabaptist views, and said he should continue to baptize. If the members of the Council could not allow him this privilege, they could banish him. He also stated, it is claimed, that there was more behind baptism [anabaptism] which was not yet dis- closed. One would neither hear nor know anything of baptism than that at last it would overthrow the magistracy. ^ Fiisslin says it is clear from these words that the leaders of the Anabaptists designed to overthrow the magistracy. This interpretation is contrary to Mantz's testimony at a subsequent examination,'' at which he insisted that he meant in what he had said concerning the magistracy that no Christian could be a magistrate, and that no one should inflict capital punishment, since from the Scriptures it could not be shown that it is permitted. Blaurock said he was the first to be baptized; that Zwingli did violence to the Scriptures, and falsified the same more than the Pope; and he offered to make '■ Fiisslin, Seylrage ii. b. 336-337. Egli, Actensammlung, 2S6 Nr. 637. " Fiisslin Beytrdge ii. a. 312, 313. Egli, Actensammlung, 2S'J' Nr. GiG. G. " Fiisslin, Beytrllge, i. a, 251, 255. ANABAPTISM INSTITUTED. 103 his statement good before the Council. A decision both in the case of Mantz and Blaurock was announced February 18. The former was to be released after obtaining bail and payment of the costs, and he was informed, that if he should be arrested again, he would be thrown into the tower and kept on bread and water until he retracted. ' Blaurock was to be released after taking an oath. Mantz's sentence was confirmed February 25, but neither he nor Blaurock seem to have been released. But peace was not restored. The opposition which the radicals encountered only inflamed their zeal. Suddenly a crowd of men, as if prepared for a jour- ney, made their appearance in Zurich. Halting in the market-place, they preached the necessity of con- version, of a new life of holiness and brotherly love The old dragon and his heads, meaning Zwingli and his associates, they addressed in the language of pro- phecy, foretelling the destruction of the city if the people still refused to listen to the voice of the Lord. "Wo, wo to Zurich," they cried; and the wail that went up from the market-place was echoed through all the streets of the city. Shortly after there was a groat gathering of the Anabaptists in ZoUikon. Blaurock preached morn- ' Fiisslin, Bcylriigc, ii. a. 343, Egli, Actensammlung, 289. Nr. -iGG. 104 THE ANABAPTISTS IN SWITZEELAND. ing and afternoon, and then baptized. Here Blau- rocli met Henry Aberli in Jacob Hettinger's house. " Brother Henry," said Blaurock, " blessed be God that we all believe in Jesus Christ, and in that faith abide. Brother Henry, are you convinced that the Lord Jesus Christ suffered for us, and that what is written concerning him is true ? " He answered "Yes," and Blaurock sprinkled him with a handful of water, saying, I baptize thee, etc.i Meanwhile Grebel had made his way to Schaff- hausen. There, with the banished Brodli and Eeub- lin, we find him in friendly intercourse with Dr. Se- bastian Hofmeister. It was at this time, so far aa we can ascertain, that the customary mode of bap- tism was first called in question by the Swiss Ana- baptists. Kessler says : ] '' Wolfgang Ulimann,* on the journey to Sohaffhausen, met Conrad Grebel, who instructed him so highly in the knowledge of Anabaptism that he would not be sprinkled out of a dish, but was drawn under and covered over with ' Egli, Die Zuricher WiederUiufer, s. 27, Actensammlung, b. 297, Nr. 674. ^ Salbata, i. s. 266. ' Tlie Bon of a prominent man in St. Qall, he had withdrawn from the monastery in Chur, and rotarned to his homo, whoro he commenced to learn a trade. For awhile ho was of groat asaist- anco to Kessler, tlio evangelical pastor in St. tiall, hut hy the in- fllionco of Ilochriitinor he was won to the Anahaptist ranks. ANABAPTI3M INSTITUTED. 105 the waters of tlie Rhine." ' March 18, Ulimann re- appeared in St. Gall. About the same time Grebel seems to have returned to Zurich. ' When it became known to the Council in Zurich that aiiabaptism had again been administered in Zol- likoD, the arrest of the guilty parties was ordered, and, March 11, a mandate was issued imposing a fine of a silver mark on those who had been baptized since the examination in the Augustinian cloister, and ' The Independent, in its issue of March 30, 1882, questioned the correctness of this translation in so far as the statement that Grebel " instructed Ulimann bo highly in Anabaptism " is con- cerned. The original is as follows : " Wolfgang Uliman, . . . ist er uff der faHzu Schaffhaussen an den Oanradt Orebel gestossenund by ihm in so hoche erkanlnus des widerlouffens hommen, das er nitt woU milt ainer schiissel mitt wasser allain begossen, sunder gantz nackend und Moss, hinuss in dem, Bhin von dem Orebel under ge- triickt und bedecht werden." As the Independent questioned the correctness of the translation given above, a copy of the original vpith the translation, and the Independent's objection to the same, was sent to Prof W. D. Whitney of Yale College. In reply ho wrote : " Whether, in the dialect of your quotation by may have more of its ordinary English sense than the proper one of Ger- man bei is more than I can say ; but as you do not claim it, I presume that is not tho case. In default of that, the matter ap- pears to bo one of deduction from the circnmetancos of the case and, so far as I know and can judge them, your view seems to me the more natural and plausible one, and the objection made to it somewhat forced." It would be difficult for any one to believe ■ that Ulimann instructed himself 5* 106 THE ANABAPTISTS IN SWITZERLAND. threatening those, who should thenceforward allow themselves to be baptized, with banishment.' Offi- cers were sent to Zollikon to publish the mandate, and it was rigorously enforced. Of those who were ar- rested some renounced anabaptism, and returned to their homes. Others were steadfast. Ruotsch Het- tinger said, " What God had placed in his heart no man could take away." Gabriel Giger of St. Gall, whom Grebel, a little while before, had baptized in Mantz's house in Zurich, said, " What God commanded he would do." Among those who refused to submit were Jacob Hettinger, Mantz, and Blaurock. A let- ter has been preserved, written by one of the pris- oners in the name of his associates, and addressed to the " brethren." This imprisonment, it said, was a trial by God whether they would remain steadfast in him. The brethren at home should also remain firm and fear neither tyranny nor the sword, since Christ with his truth was with them. When they came to- gether they should implore God to send them one who would teach and baptize. In addressing the letter, the writer added the request that his wife would send him a copy of the hymn "Christ is arisen."' On every side the prayer was heard, " God, give us ' Egli, Actensammlung , s. 205, Nr. 0G3. * Egli, Die Ziiricher Wlcdcrldufor, s. 2U, Actensammlung, 300, Nr. 671. ANABAPTISM INSTITUTED. 107 fearless prophets, who will faithfully preach thine everlasting word without admixture of human reason." March 20, Grebel, Mantz, Blaurock, and some others, were summoned before the three Zurich pas- tors, Zwingli, Myconius and Leo Jud, and six mem- bers of the Council, and a second discussion was held, though with no better results than at the first. As separatists they were exhorted to renounce their views, and the threat was added that these views would no longer be tolerated. Some agreed to recant. A few who lived outside of the Canton were banished. The rest, fourteen men and seven women, were thrown into prison, and kept on bread and water. On Wednesday, April 5, 1525, they escaped. ' Two were rfecaptured. The rest made their way to places where the Anabaptists were strong in numbers, es- pecially to Gossau and Griiningen. It was a com- mon report, as tidings of their escape spread through the land, that an angel had given them deliverance. And so the Anabaptists wore scattered abroad. As they went they carried with them the gospel which they had received. They believed with Grebel, that the Papacy could best be assailed by Anabap- tism. Accordingly, in lonely cottages in the valleys ■ Egli, Adensammlung, 307, Nr. G91. 108 THE ANABAPTISTS IN SWITZERLAND. and along the mountain slopes, tlie people were quietly summoned together. The Bible was read, its divine lessons were earnestly and tenderly unfolded, and sin- ners were urged to flee from the wrath to come. It was a new gospel to thousands, and multitudes with tears of repentance asked the privilege of confessing their faith in Christ, retiring to some mountain stream to exclaim with the Eunuch, " See, here is water ; what doth hinder me to be baptized ? " The solemn ordi- nance was administered, and coming forth from the water both the convert and the bearer of the glad tidings " went on their way rejoicing." CHAPTER VI. EAPID SPREAD OF ANABAPTISM. We have now traced the history of the develop- ment of Auabaptism in Switzerland. Zwingli.as we have already seen, early foresaw the tendency of the radical movement. As Fiisslin says : ' " The Ana- baptists insisted upon discipline, or the exclusion of manifestly unworthy members from the fellowship of the church. They fancied that a pure church could be established, in which there were no sinners. Zwingli, on the other hand, had a horror of such an idea, partly because he thought this altogether too much like the fancy of the Monastic orders of the Papacy, and partly because he regarded it as impos- sible that the church here upon earth should be so per- fect as to include only pure and unspotted members." In their conflict with Zwingli, however, the Ana- baptists had an immense advantage in the fact that in his controversy with the Romanists he had stoutly maintained the authority of the Scriptares in matters of faith and practice. Standing on this rock, Zwin- ' Beytriige, i. s. 216, note. 109 110 THE ANABA.PTISTS IN SWITZERLAND. gli had won his greatest victories. And here it was that the Anabaptists now stood. Not in vain had they received their training in the school of the sturdy Bieformer. They had another advantage in the fact in that, going from house to house, from village to village, many of those whom they addressed had already by their own study of the Scripture become convinced that infant baptism had no warrant in the sacred word ; and they had only to appeal to the consciences of such hearers to win them to the newly erected standard. Moreover, it was now the time of the Peasant War. The Anabaptists of Switzerland declined, it is true, to unite their fortunes with this movement for politi- cal reform. The grievances of the common people they acknowledged, but they would not aid in the endeavor to right them by the sword. Their view of the independence of the churches, however, and of the limits of the powers of the magistrates, as well as the general distress of the people under the tyranny of their oppressors, prepared the way in many hearts for the words' of those who preached a gospel of hope for the children of toil and want. Bat most of all the religious spirit of the Anabap- tists aided them in the spread of the doctrines which they preached. In their own quaint language they had left Egypt with its lusts, and had set their faces RAPID SPREAD OF ANABAPTISM. Ill toward the Oaricaan of their hopes. They made much of their Christian experience. Then, too, many of them had sacrificed friends and possessions for the Kingdom of God's sake, counting it a privilege that they were permitted, not only to believe on Christ, but also to suffer in his behalf. Their only hire was souls ; and they knew of no greater joy than that which they had in seeing others, especially the weary and heavy laden, made the partakers of like precious faith ; and to this end they labored with an interest that never flagged. The influence of the Anabaptist exiles was soon discoverable in many places. In Schaffhausen, on the northern border of the Swiss Confederation, whither Grebel, Brodli, and Eeublin had made their way early in 1525, not much was accomplished. It was proposed that a public discussion should be held in which the views of the Anabaptists and their op- ponents should be presented ; but on account of the influence of Zwingli, and the Zurich Council, as it is supposed, the discussion was not held. But at Waldshut, which was on the opposite bank of the Rhine, lower down, and within the jurisdiction of Austria, the situation was more hopeful for tho Anabaptist cause. Hubmeier, as we have already seen, had declared his agreement with the radicals in the matter of infant baptism. In the letter to 112 THE ANABAPTISTS IN SWITZERLAND. Oecolampadiua, dated January 16, 1575, to which we have ah'eady referred, he explained his position, and also gave the following account of his practice at Waldshut. " Instead of baptism," he said, " I call the members of the church together, and when the child is brought in I expound in the German language the passage in Matthew 19, ' Then were there brought unto him little children, etc' After- ward, when the child has been named, the congrega- tion, kneeling, pray for the little one, commending it to Christ, and imploring his grace upon it. If, how- ever, the parents are weak, and desire that the child be baptized, I baptize it, becoming weak to the weak, until they shall be better instructed. At the same time I do not yield my own views in the smallest point." ' Thither, therefore with a heart full of hope, Reub- lin came early in April, 1525. Hubmeier, with others, listened to his words, but did not at once take a place at Reublin's side. Some of the citizens, however, eagerly accepted the new doctrines, and were baptized. Hubmeier soon followed, being baptized with one hundred and ten others at Easter, by Reub- lin. " The accession of such a man to the Ana- baptist ranks was an important event. Hubmeier Zwingli, Wcrke, ii, s. 33t). '' Fusalin, Beytriir/c i, a. 21V. EAPID SPREAD OF ANABAPTISM. 113 was not only a brilliant preacher, but a trained theologian, and a writer of acknowledged ability and reputation. Moreover, Waldshut was strongly attached to him. It was through his influence that the Reformation had won so decisive a victory there, and now, when some of the citizens of Waldshut manifested hostility to the^ Anabaptist movement, he had only to threaten to leave the place, and all op- position ceased. A church was at once organized, of which Hubmeier, who had resigned his former charge, was made pastor; and during the Easter fes- tival he baptized more than three hundred of- his former flock. Eeublin now visited Hallau, in the neighborhood of Schaffhausen, and assisted Brodli who had already set up the Anabaptist standard there. Two letters written by Brodli to the brethren in Zollikon have been preserved. There is no date to these letters, but their contents show that they were written at this time. In one of these letters Brodli reminds his brethren that while he was with them he faithfully preached the gospel, supporting himself by the labors of his hands, in order that he might not be burden- some to them, and that he was driven away from Zollikon on account of the truth, yet according to the will of God. Referring to his labors in Hallau, he says he finds a great harvest, but few reapers. 114 THE ANABAPTISTS IN SWITZERLAND. Antichrist rules among tlio people. " Pray for thena," he asks, "that they may be enlightened." And he closes with those words : " Dear brethren, stand fast in faith, love, and hope. Let no man ter- rify you. If any man preaches to you another gos- pel than I have preached, let him be accursed. If it is possible, send a brother to me, who can tell me how it stands with you, for I greatly desire to know. Greet one another with a kiss of peace ; withdraw from every brother, who walks disorderly, and not as he and you have been instructed. Beware of false prophets, who preach for hire. Shun them, exhort one another, and abide in the doctrine which you have received. The peace of God be with you all." Two weeks later Brodli writes again to the breth- ren in Zollikon. " My heart is troubled on your account, and I am pained at the report that some of you have fallen away from the holy faith, and tho word of God, which was made known unto you, and in accordance with which you were baptized ; also that others, who were imprisoned, have denied the sign of baptism, and have accepted that which clearly, as you know, is contrary to the word of God. Christ shows in the gospel what a curse are temporal possessions if they prove a hindrance I am told that some among you have shunned the cross and concealed yourselves, which astonished me. RAPID SPREAD OP ANABAPTISM. 115 William [Reublin] has boon witli me, and departed, and where he now is I do not know. He is troubled in Christ in your behalf, as I am. Be sure and send me the Bible. Stand fast in the faith. Let no man terrify you ; so will God who is strong, strengthen you. Oh, how strong, I hear, was my brother Mantz, and George [Blaurock], bat especially Mantz. God be praised. Conrad Grebel is cast down, but in Christ. William has been with me recently. I ex- pect you to abide in the word and faith which you have received."' The victory in Hallau was soon complete, the en- tire church receiving baptism at the hands of Brodli and Reublin. The officials in the place had previ- ously sent to Zollikon to inquire in reference to the standing of Brodli. The messengers reported that Brodli had conducted himself there in a manner be- coming his office. When it lyas known in Zurich that Brodli was preaching in Hallau, the Burgomas- ter and Council sent a communication to the Burgo- master and Council of Schaffhausen in which they uttered a note of warning.' The letter was dated April 4, 1525. It seems, however, to have had no immediate influence.' I Fiisslin, Beytrdge, i, B. 201 — 227. Egli, Actensammlung, 302, 303, Nr. 674. '' Cornoliua, Oeschichte dea Miinsterischen Aufruhrs, ii, s. 249. ' Wo hear no more of Brodli, and only know that he died a 116 THE ANABAPTISTS IN SWITZERLAND. In St. Gall, the success of the new movement was equally marked and even more important. Much preparatory work had been done in preceding years, beginning at the close of 1523, when Laurence Hoch- riitiner was banished from Zurich on account of his participation in the destruction of the great cross which stood before the upper gate of the city. In returning to his native place he brought with him the radical views which he had adopted at Zurich, and soon gathered around him a party, which became stronger and stronger during the following year. Kessler, the pastor of the church, was at that time, by request, expounding the Epistle to the Eomans. When he reached the sixth chapter, and was consid- ering the significance of the ordinance of baptism, martyr's death somewhere in 1528. See Cornelius, Oeschichte des Miinste'i-ischen Aufruhrs, ii, 59. Eeublin, later, waa in Strasburg. Then he went into Swabia, where he was active in organizing small Baptist churches. He seems to have labored a short time in Herb, Routlingen, and Esslingen. Then we find him in Ulm, and still later in Augsburg. Afterwards he seems to have gone into Moravia. He labored awhile at Austerlitz. January 8, 1531, he founded a new church at Auspitz, in which an attempt was made to separate the pure from the impure elements, and wliich became one of the most prominent of the Moravian churches. But at length Eoublin himself was excommunicated as a false brother. In Cornelius, Oeschichte des Miinsterisclicn Aufruhrs, ii, s. 253-259, there is a letter written by Eeublin to Pil- gram Marbeck, dated Auspitz, January 26, 1531. RAPID SPREAD OF ANABAPTISM. 117 Hoclirutiner interrupted him, saying, " I infer from your words that you are of the opinion that children may be baptized." "Why not?" asked Kesslor. Hochriitiner appealed to Mark 16 : 16, " He that be- lieveth and is baptized shall be saved," and added that to baptize a child was the same as dipping in water any irrational creature. ' Wolfgang Ulimann, on his return to St. Gall, after his baptism at Schaffhausen by Grebel, gave a new impulse to the Anabaptist movement. Grebel soon followed — probably late in March, 1526 — and on Palm Sunday, April 9,' he baptized a large num- ber in the Sitter River.* The St. Gall Anabaptists now withdrew from the churches, leaving them al- most empty, and held religious services in private houses, and in the open fields. In a short time the 1 Kessler, Sahbata, a. 261. ' Uliruana Bubsequently went into Moravia. ' Kessler, Sahbata, a. 267. *With Qrebol, manifestly, imraorsion had now taken tlie place of sprinkling. Dr. Howard Osgood, of Rochester Theological Seminary, who waa at St. Gall in 1867, says : "A monntain stream, sufficient for all sprinkling purposes, flows through the city ; but in no place is it deep enough for the immersion of a person, while the Sitter River is between two and three miles away, and ia gained by a difficult road. The only aolution of this choice was, that Orebel aought the river, in order to immerse can- didatea.'' 118 TUE ANABAPTISTS IN SWITZERLAND. Anabaptist Church numbered eight hundred mem- bers. Prominent among those who aided in this work was Hippolytus Eberli, familiarly known as Polt, a man of lowly birth, but well instructed in the Scriptures, and with popular gifts as a speaker, which made his labors very effective. Abov ; all, he was a man of earnest piety, and of deep religious experience.' He left St. Gall a week after Easter, and returned to his home in Schwytz where he was soon arrested and thrown into prison. May 29, with a priest who also had renounced Romanism, he was burned as an Ana- baptist heretic. Both, says Bullinger,^ were stead- fast unto the end, and died calling upon the name of the Lord Jesus. Among those who were in St. Gall in those event- ful days was the famous John Denk, whose name is a conspicuous one in the history of the Anabaptists of Southern Germany. He was not at that time openly an Anabaptist, but it is not impossible that he was in secret communication with them.' His great talents were recognized by Vadian, then the Burgo- master of St. Gall. But his stay in St. Gall was brief, for in the summer or autumn of that year we ' Walaer, Appemellcr Chronik, a. 439. ^ RcforniationsgescUiclUe, i, s. 289. ' Studien unci Kriliken, 1851, a. 137. RAPID SPREAD OF ANABAPTISM. 119 find liim in Augsburg, actively employed in advancing the Anabaptist cause tliorc. Attracted by the new movement, crowds from Ap- penzell and other places in the country around, flocked to St. Gall. Many of these strangers — some say as many as 1500, and one writer * 2200, from Appen- zell — became converts to the new faith ; and return- ing to their homes carried with them the glad tidings they had received. Some were men in humble life, but freely they had received and freely they would give ; and with apostolic zeal they made their way to the villages and scattered hamlets of secluded moun- tain valleys, and told what great things the Lord had done for their souls. Others had served as parish priests, or evangelical pastors, and now, like Paul of old, they preached the faith they once sought to de- stroy. In Appenzell, the Anabaptists had three places where meetings were held. The largest was at Teufen, with a second at Herrisau, and the third at Brunnen. In all of these places the services were under the open sky, while the converts were baptized in the neigh- boring brooks and streams. In Teufen, the Ana- baptists became so numerous that the pastor of the Zwinglian church, Jacob Schurtanner, was deposed, and Hans Krusi, an Anabaptist teacher from St. George, was elected pastor in his place. Not long ' Walser, Appenzeller Chronik, s. 438. 120 TUB ANA.B\PT[3T3 IN SWITZERLAND. after Krusi appeared in St. George. There he was arrested, then taken to Lucerne, where he was tried and burned at the stake.' 1 Walsor, Appemeller Ohronik, a. 440. Zollwegor, Qeschichte des Appenzellischen Volkes, iii, s. 181. CHAPTER VII. EFFOETS TO STAY THE PROGRESS OF ANA.BAPTISM. In May (at least the preface is dated May 27, 1525) appeared Zwingli's Vom Touf, Widertouf, und Kindertouf} It was addressed to the Burgomaster, Council, and church at St. Gall, and was called forth by the rapid progress of Anabaptist views in and around St. Gall. It seems that after Grebel's depar- ture. Anabaptists from Zollikon made their way thither and continued the work so auspiciously begun. Something, it was thought, must be done to stay this tide of Anabaptist success. Accordingly, in response to the earnest request of Vadian and the Council, Zwingli prepared this work, in which, in opposition to the Anabaptists, he gave expression to his views on the three points mentioned in the title. It was in this work that Zwingli made the confession that at an earlier period in the reform movement he [himself had believed it would be better to defer the baptism of infants until they were well advanced in years.' lie also admitted that good had been accomplished by I Wcrli, ii. 230-303. ' Wcrhc, ii. m. 215. 6 121 122 THE ANABAPTISTS IN SWITZERLAND. the discussions on this subject. " It is now seen," he Scald, "that the pouring of water cannot wash away sins, as has hitherto been maintained without Scripture warrant." But he defended infant bap- tism as taking the place of circumcision, and de- nounced Anabaptlsm as unscriptural, charging those who practiced it as crucifying Christ afresh. A copy of this work soon fell Into the hands of Hubmeler, and he at once prepared a reply, which appeared under date of July 6. It was entitled. Concerning the Christian Baptism of Believers, and bore the motto which Hubmeler had adopted, " Truth is immortal." In this work Hubmeler main- tained that baptism presupposed faith. Infant bap- tism, therefore, had no place In the gospel system. To the question whether It is forbidden in the word of God to baptize Infants, he replied, " Yes, for the command Is to baptize those who believe. To bap- tize those who do not believe, therefore, is forbidden. For example, Christ commanded his apostles to preach the gospel. In so doing the doctrines of men were forbidden." This reply was widely circulated, and attracted much attention. Berthold Haller, evange- lical pastor in Berne, wrote, that by it many were led to embrace Anabaptist views. A tract of no less interest, Hubmeler finished July 1, 1525, and therefore, only a few days before the EFFORTS TO STAY ITS PROGBESS. 123 appearance of his tract, Concerning the Christian baptism of Believers. It was entitled The Sum of a Perfect Christian Life, and was addressed to Hubmeier's " dear brethren and sisters," in the churches in Regensbiirg, Ingolstadt, and Friedberg. ' Hubmeier begins with a confession that he has sinned against God, not only in life, but in preaching false doctrines, especially in what he had taught con- cerning infant baptism, vigils, festivals, purgatory, the mass, indulgences, pilgrimages, etc. With Paul, however, he says he did it ignorantly, having been deceived by the teachings of the Church of Rome. For this he had besought and, as he believed, received pardon from God. Having made this confession, Hubmeier exhorts his brethren to ascertain whether the teaching of their preachers is in accordance with God's teaching It is not enough, he says that these preachers offer to pledge their souls for you, for Christ has told us that "if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch." After this introduction Hubmeier proceeds to • Ain Sum ains gantzen Chriatenlichen lebens, Durch Baldasaren Frydborger Predicant, yelz zu Waldshutt verzeichnet, an die drey Kirche Eegfepurg, Ingoldstat, nn Fridberg, seynen lieben herren briederti, und schwestern in got dem herren. Sonderlich ain bericht don kinder Toufif Und das Nachttmal belangent. MDXXV. 124 THE ANABAPTISTS IN SWITZERLAND. the development of hia theme. In order to a Christian life, he says, there must be a change in the natural man, who is by nature sinful, and with no remedy in himself by which the wounds that sin has made can be healed. The Samaritan, that is Christ, must come, who brings with him healing balms, namely oil and wine, and pours them into the sinner's wounds, saying, " Believe the gospel, which teaches that I am the physician who has come into the world to make sinners whole. I am the one In- tercessor, making reconciliation and peace with God our Father. Whosoever believeth in me hath ever- lasting life, and shall not come into condemnation." With such comforting words the sinner is brought to himself, and is led to accept Christ as his Saviour and to enter upon the new life. When a man by faith has received this new life he confesses it before the church of which he is made a member according to the rule of Christ; that is, he shows to the church that, instructed in the Scriptures, he has given himself to Christ to live henceforth according to his will and teaching. He is then baptized, making in baptism public confession of his faith, namely, that he has a gracious and merci- ful God and Father in heaven, through Jesus Christ, and that henceforth he is under obligations to lead a new life. In baptism, also, ho testiiiea that should EFFORTS TO STAY ITS PROGRESS. 125 he in any way bring dishonor to the name of Christ, he will submit to the discipline of the church as in- culcated in Matthew 18. In other words, in bap- tism he confesses that he is a sinner, but that Christ by his death has pardoned his sins, so that he is accounted righteous before the face of God, his Hea- venly Father ; that henceforth he will live according to the word and command of Christ; and that, not in his own strength, but in the strength of God the Father, and of his Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Persecution, the cross, and all kinds of tribula- tions may follow, for the world hates the light, and loves darkness. The old Adam, that is the sinful nature, comes into conflict, too, with the spiritual man. The former with his lusts must be slain, and the new man must bring forth good fruit, exercising himself day and night in all those things which manifest brotherly love and the praise of God. A true Christian life, then, has its beginning in the word of God. Confession of sin follows, and par- don for the same through faith. This faith is not passive, but active in all good works. Those only are good works, however, which God enjoined, and of which he will call for an account in the day of judgment. Thankfulness should follow. In this connection Hubmeier speaks of the Lord's Supper. As Christ and his disciples were together 126 THE ANABAPTISTS IN SWITZERLAND. in the upper chamber he took bread and said : " Take, eat ; this is my body, which is 'broken for you ; this do in remembrance of me." In hke man- ner also he took the cup, and gave to his disciples, saying, " This is my blood which is shed for you for the remission of sins ; this do in remembrance of me." Plainly the bread is not the body of Christ, but a memorial of the death of Christ. Likewise the wine is not the blood of Christ, but a memorial of the great truth that his blood was poured out on the cross, for the remission of sins. We are not to for- get, that Christ died for us. Thus Paul writes to the Corinthians : ' For as often as ye eat this bread [notice ho says bread, and it is broad], and drink this cup [notice it is wine that is drunk], ye do shew the Lord's death till he come.' He is not there, then, but he will come at the judgment, in great majesty and glory, visibly, as the lightning cometh out of the East and shineth even unto the West." In conclusion, Hubmeier exhorts his " dear friends and brethren '' to take to their hearts what he haa said, and to act in accordance with the clear, simple word of Christ, by which we must be saved. Christ says, " Whosoever shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in hea- ven. But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in EFFORTS TO STAY ITS PROaRESS. 127 heaven." " Fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul ; but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell." He that hath ears to hear, let him hear the condem- nation of God upon those who deny his word. Meanwhile, at St. Gall, Vadian had become arous- ed to the necessity of active measures against the Anabaptists, if the Zwinglian Church iu that place was to be preserved. Infant baptism was an abuse {Mis- brauch) he was willing to admit ; but the work of reform should proceed gradually, and in an orderly manner. * Grebel earnestly entreated him neither to give to other places an example of persecution, nor to stain his hands with innocent blood. But Vadian declined to depart from the course he had marked out, and June 5, he laid before the Council his objection to the Anabaptist movement. ' The Ana- baptists replied on the following day. Soon after, a copy of Zwingli's new tract, Vom Touf, was received by one of the evangelical pastors ' Cornelius, Oeschichte des MiiTisterisckcn Aufruhrs, ii. 8. 37. 3 Keasler, Sabbaia, b. 274, states Vadian's objection aa follows; " Der widertouffer ordnung und bruch ze predigen were an un- ordonlicher freilel wider dor ttpostol brucb und ler, und un alien christenlichen beruff, uss aigner wal fiirgenommen.'' But tbe apostle's " custom and doctrioo " were the especial claim of the Anabaptists, and wo can well infer what their reply must have been. 128 THE ANABAPTISTS IN SWITZERLAND. in St. Gall, who announced in a sermon that in the evening he would read it, and give the Anabaptists an opportunity to show in what it did not agree with the Scriptures. In the evening, the burgomaster, councillors, and others assembled in the St. Lawrence Church, and the reading of the tract was commenced. Soon Wolfgang Ulimann arose and with a loud voice cried out : " I pity the poor people here present, mis- led by such a book. Stop reading. Give us God's, not Zwingli's, words." The burgomaster ordered that the reading should proceed, saying that the Anabap- tists might afterward present their objections to Zwingli's position. An Anabaptist replied that they were expecting a letter from Grebel ; when that ar- rived they would give their answer. " At your meetings," said the burgomaster," you are ready enough to speak without Grebel ; speak here also." It was then said that Grebel's letter had already been received, and that it was addressed to the burgomas- ter and Council. " We will read it," said the speaker ; " and listen to what Conrad Grebel has to say against Zwingli." But as the letter was addressed to the burgomaster, the latter demanded that it should be placed in his hands. Much discussion followed, and at length the Anabaptists withdrew, saying, " Yoa have Zwingli's, wo have God's word." ' Kessler, Sabbata, d. 275. EFFORTS TO STAY ITS PROGRESS. 129 A decree of the Council of St. Gall was now issued forbidding the Anabaptists to administer either bap- tism or the Lord's Supper, under penalty of imprison- ment or banishment. Those who permitted them- selves to be baptized were subjected to a fine. In order to carry out the decree a special force of two hundred men was organized, and sworn to support the magistrates. Only one man declined to take the oath, and he was compelled to leave the place with his family. The suppression of the Anabaptists in St. Gall by the civil power then commenced. ' Early in July, we find Grebel at Baretschwyl, a vil- lage about half way between St. Gall and Rapper- schwyl on Lake Zurich, and in what was called the Griiningen district. From Baretschwyl, with Marx Bosshart of Zollikon as a companion, Grebel made a missionary tour among the neighboring villages. Here he found the common people in sympathy with the peasants, who, in different parts of Central Eu- rope had raised the standard of revolt. Early in the year, they had adopted articles, probably like those adopted by the friends of political reform in other places ; and near the end of April, not receiving the satisfaction they demanded, they had made an attack on the cloisters at Ruti and Bubikon. The pastors ' CorneliuB, Oeechichte des Miinsterischen Aufruhrs, ii, b. 37. 130 THE ANABAPTISTS IN SWITZERLAND. at Diirnten, Hinwyl, Egg, Gossau, and Hombrechti- kon, villages in thia district, were prominent in this uprising. " We are all free," they said, " one as the other, and are the slaves of no man. All have one master, that is God." Grebel seems not to have been in any way connected with these efforts to se- cure political and social reform ; but the condition of things, which was the result of this movement, he recognized as favorable for his own purposes, and accordingly seized the opportunity thus presented. It is inferred that at this time Grebel and his com- panion visited Winterthur. * Hinwyl became an important Anabaptist centre. Here Grebel had a discussion with the pastor of the Evangelical Church. When the latter appealed to the mandate of the Council enjoining infant baptism, Grebel exclaimed, " Are you a man ? You should listen neither to the Council nor any human being, but do that which God commands." * August 2, Marx Bosshart, who had been arrested for holding public preaching services and disturbing the peace, was fined by the Council one mark, and was put under bonds to the amount of one hundred pounds to abstain from such acts in the future. I Egli, Adensammluwj, 303, Nr. 708. ' Egli, Die Ziiricher Wiederldu/er, a. 42: Acteiisammlung, 310, Nr, 797. EFFORTS TO STAY ITS PROGRESS. 131 About the same time, Arbogast Finsterbacb, Hans Miiller and Gebhart Strasser, all belonging in Ober- winterthur, fell under suspicion as Anabaptists on account of a visit to Zollikon. Finsterbach, A^ho was Boashart's brother-in-law, was compelled to give bail to the amount of one hundred pounds. Then all three having paid the costs of their examination, were released.* The great activity of the Anabaptists at this time comes before us in many notes taken at the trial of those who had been arrested for disobeying the mandate of the Zurich Council. George Schad con- fesses that on the preceding Sunday he had baptized forty persons from Zollikon, Hongg, and Ktissnacht ; John Brichter had baptized more than thirty ; and others a less number. ' But the work of suppression went on, and the pri- sons continued to bear witness to the sufferings of those who from time to time fell into the hands of the officers of the Council. A glimpse of some of these we find in the records which the Zurich archives pre- serve. Some of these prisoners were strangers in the Canton. September 20, George Berger, the bailiff of the Griiuingen district, sent to the Council ' Egli, Actensammlung, 372, Nr. 792. ' Egli, Actemammlung, 374-6, Nr. 795. 132 THE ANABAPTISTS IN SWITZEELAND. an account of Ulrich Teck and Jacob Gross, Anabap- tists from Waldslmt, whom he had arrested. He had asked them why they ventured to baptize with- in the limits of the Canton, contrary to the mandate of the Council They rephed that it was not against God ; and with many and apt words they presented their case. He had told them, also, that inquiries in reference to them had been made in Waldshut, and he asked them why they were sent into exile. They said that it was because they had stood together against the enemy, according to the will of God. They were ready to work on fortifications, to pay fines and taxes, but not to bear arms. ' A week later Felix Aberli was taken from the New Tower and thrown into the Wellenberg to be kept on bread and water and denied the visits of his friends. Subsequently he was relieved by the in- fluence of some citizens of Berne. '^ Meanwhile Felix Mantz was in Chur preaching the new doctrines. But the hand of the civil power was soon laid upon him ; for in July he was arrested there, and surrendered to the Zurich Council. In a letter to the Zurich Council concerning Mantz, the Council at Chur said : " We have had among us for a long time one who calls himself Felix Mantz. The ' Egli, Actmsammlung, 391, 2, Nr. 824. » Egli, Aclenaammlung, 392, Nr, 827. EFFORTS TO STAY ITS PROGRESS. 133 same has been the occasion among us of much dissen- sion on account of the rebaptism of adults, and preach- ing in private houses, and we ordered him to leave the city. Afterward he returned and did as before, notwithstanding the public announcement Avhich we caused to be made in the church, forbidding Ana- baptism on pain of life and loss of honor and posses- sions. On this account, we arrested him, and re- tained him in custody some days. But as he was a stubborn and refractory man, we again released him from prison, and sent him to you, as he belongs to your jurisdiction, with the friendly request that you will keep him with you, and we be free of him, and our people remain in peace, and that we may not be compelled, should he return hither, to adopt severer means in reference to him. ' When Mantz reached Zurich he was thrown into prison. Of the work he accomplished at Chur, we get a glimpse in a letter from a prominent official to Zwingli, dated August 8, 1525, in which it is said that the Anabaptists had in their ranks all the people in the place who were best instructed in the word.^ Oecolampadius, at Basel, had given considerable attention to the objections that had been urged by ' FiisBlin, Beytrage, i. s. 269-278. ' Omnes oplime inatitutos verbo ad partes Buas traxerunl de- pravatos. Zwingli Opera, B vii. P. 1. 400. 13 i THE ANABAPTISTS IN SWITZERLAND. tliQ Anabaptists against infant baptism. At first, he admitted their force, and he even went so far as to express the wish that infant baptism might be set aside. * Gradually the principles of the Anabap- tists took root in Basel and the surrounding country. Especially was the influence of Hubmeier felt. Oeco- lampadius now saw that he had gone too far, and un- der the influence of Zwingli he soon publicly arrayed himself against the Anabaptists. It was thought best that there should be a discussion in reference to infant baptism, and such a discussion was held in Oecolampadius' house some time during the month of August. ^ A report of this discussion,' prepared by Oeco- lampadius and printed at Basel, bears the date of Sep- tember 1, 1525. Herzog ^ says that the names of the Anabaptists who participated in the discussion are not given. This is true of Oecolampadius' report : But a report has also been preserved which was pre- pared by Hubmeier and printed at Nicolsburg in ' Herzog, Daa Leben J. Oekolampads, i, e. 505. '' August 8, 1525, Oeoolampadina wrote to Berthold Haller, but made no reference to the discuasion. Oecolampadiua' report, aa is said above, bears date of September, 1825. • Ein gesprech ellicher predicanten zu Basel, gehaltcn mitt etlich- en hekenern desWidertouffa. * Das Leben J. Oekolampads. i, b. 307. EFFORTS TO STAY ITS FR0GEES3. 135 1527, ' in which Hubmeier appears as the representa- tive of the Anabaptists. It is evident from the verbal uniformity of these two reports in part that Hubmeier had the report of hia opponent before him as he wrote. The Anabaptists, says Oecolampadius, opened the discussion, giving God thanks that such a meeting had been arranged. They had responded to the call in brotherly love, and it waa their prayer that the Holy Spirit might be present. Oecolampadius, in entering upon the discussion, claimed that the doc- trinal views of the Anabaptists were new. Hub- meier answered that this was an old cry. " It was objected to the teachings of Christ that they were new. The Athenians spoke of Paul's doctrine as new. The important point in reference to these views is, are they right ? If they are, why are we assailed ? If they are not right, let it be shown from the Scriptures, and then punish us." Eeferring to infant baptism, Oecolampadius said, " I know from the historians, that infant baptism has never been forbidden from the time of the apostles to the present day." He then cited the church Fathers — Augustine, Cyprian, Origen — to show that infant 1 Von dem khindertauff. EcolampadixLs Thomas Augxistiniancr LeesmaUler, H. Jacob Immelen, H. Vuolffg, Wdssenhurger , Ballh. HiibmoT von Fridberg. Nlcolspurg 1527. 136 THE ANABAPTISTS IN SWITZERLAND. baptism was practiced in early times. Hubmeier reminded Oecolampadius that the word of God is the rule in such a matter. " Either," he said, " you must show clearly from the Scriptures that infant baptism is of God's planting, or it must be rooted up." It was also claimed that as the apostles spoke of the baptism of whole households, these must pro- bably have contained infants ; and that baptism takes the place of circumcision. There was also the usual reference to the passage, " Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not." As Oeco- lampadius presented the different points, assisted at times by his associates, Jacob Imeli, Wolfgang Wis- senburger and Thomas Geyerfalk, Hubmeier skill- fully replied, pressing his opponents for clear Scrip- ture proofs. After the discussion the Anabaptists claimed that the victory was with them, and Her- zog * says : " From what has come down to us con- cerning this discussion, the claim is not a matter of surprise. The only direct consequence of the whole affair was to confirm the Anabaptists in their posi- tion." Early in October Blaurock was in Hinwyl, and he presented his claim, as a messenger of God, to de- clare the word. The bailiff of Griiningen, who hap- ' Daa Leben J. Oekolampada, i, 8. 312. EFFORTS TO STAY ITS PROGRESS. 137 pened to be in the neighborhood, appeared at the church, and called on the people to aid him in arrest- ing Blaurock. But no one volunteered, and no one would obey his orders. So, taking the matter into his own hands, he seized the unresisting preacher, placed him upon his servant's horse, and bore him off in triumph, many of Blaurock's friends accompany- ing. On the way, the bailiff discovered another Baptist assembly at Bezholz, and halting in his march he ordered those present to abandon their heretical doctrines. They replied that they desired first to be confronted by the Scriptures. Grebel was arrested, while Mantz, who had been released from prison only the day before, October 7,' escaped,^ he was rearrested, however, three weeks later.' The excitement was great in the Griiningen dis- trict, and it seemed best that a public discussion should be held, at which both radicals and conserva- tives should be largely represented. The Zurich Council accordingly issued a call for such a discus- sion at Zurich, November 6. The prominent men of both parties were present, except Hubmeier, who was expected, but did not appear. The meeting was • Egli, Actensammlung, 394 N. 8{!4. ' Egli, Die Ziiricher WiedertSufer, b. 45, Actensammlung, 395, Nr. 837. ' Egli, Actensammlung, 400, Nr. 850. 138 THE ANABAPTISTS IN SWITZERLAND. hold in the groat Council Hall, and with open doors ; but the crowd was so great that the assembly ad- journed to the Cathedral. The discussion was di- rected to these points. ' 1. The children of Chris- tians are not less God's children than those of Jews. 2. Baptism takes the place of circumcision. 3. Ana- baptism has no warrant in the Scriptures, and those who allow themselves to be rebaptized crucify Christ afresh. "When Zwingli and hig associates appealed to the covenant which God made with Abraham, of which circumcision was the sign, and drew from it the infer- ence that God had made a like covenant with Chris- tians, of which baptism was the sign, the Anabaptists demanded the passage, or passages, in the New Testa- ment in which infant baptism was as clearly com- manded as the circumcision of infants in the Old Testament. They granted that the covenant which God made with Abraham was continued in the New Dispensation, and was in this respect an eternal covenant. Christians are therefore the people of God, yet before his baptism no one enters into this covenant relation. When Zwingli cited Mark 10 : 14, as a proof that Christ himself had said concerning children. " Of such is the kingdom of heaven," the ' BuUinger, Heformationigeschichte, i, a. 295. EFFORTS TO STAY ITS PROGRESS. 139 Anabaptists callod attention to tho word " such," and claimed that it meant such as have the childlike spirit. As to the point that baptism takes the place of circumcision, the Anabaptists called attention to the fact that circumcision was enjoined upon one sex only ; while baptism was for both sexes. When Zwingli said that circumcision and baptism were alike in this, that both were outward signs of recep- tion into the family of God, the Anabaptists granted this reference to circumcision, claiming, however, that this privilege was not conditioned first of all upon circumcision, but upon Abrahamic descent. With Christians such descent counted as nothing. Their participation in the divine blessing was de- pendent upon their faith in God, of which baptism is the sign and confirmation. It is necessary therefore, that one should have faith and knowledge, which are wanting in infants. Inasmuch, then, as among the Israelites one might without faith and knowledge belong to the people of the covenant, among Chris- tians this was not possible ; accordingly, between the two no parallel could be drawn. In discussing the third point, one party asked for proof that only adults are to be baptized, and the other that the ordinance of baptism is to be extended to infants. The Anabaptists appealed to the fact 140 THE ANABAPTISTS IN SWITZERLAND. that the Scriptures insist upon instruction before baptism. To this it was replied that in Matt. 28, instruction was enjoined after baptism. ' During the discussion Zwingli said that the Ana- baptist were separatists. The Anabaptists replied that this name had not been given to them alone ; and that they had as good a right to separate from the fellowship of Zwingli, as he had to withdraw from the fellowship of the Pope. The discussion on the third day seems to have become general, the common people taking part as well as the leaders ; and at length the assembly broke up in confusion. Both parties claimed the victory. The Anabaptist leaders, Grebel, Mantz, and Blau- rock, with others, were now summoned before the Council and called upon to retract their errors. But all appeals in this direction were in vain, and they were remanded to prison. Grebel, Mantz, and Blaurock were loaded with chains ; ' the others were less severely dealt with. Opposition to the Council, it was evident, was no longer to be tolerated. November 5, the day before the discussion opened, Zwingli wrote the preface to his reply to Hubmeier's tract Concerning the Christian Baptism of Be- ' Concerning tho discussion see Starck, Oeschichie der Taufe, b. 176-178. ' Starck, Oeschichie der Taufe, a. 179. EFFORTS TO STAY ITS rROGRESS. 141 lievers. The reply ' was marked by bitterness, not merely in Zwingli's reference to Hubmeier's views, but to Hubmeier himself, for whom hitherto he had had only words of hearty praise. Hubmeier, who was still at Waldshut, penned a reply, which was completed November 30, but was not printed (for reasons that will hereafter appear) until the fol- lowing year, and in another land. The Anabaptists in the Griiningen district, who returned to their homes after the Zurich Conference, November 6-8, were reminded by the Council, in a communication, '' that they had been defeated in the recent discussion, and that they had promised that if they should be better informed out of the Scrip- tures, they would readily acknowledge it. This they had not done, and the Council now wished to know whether they would stand by them in their effort to secure the obedience of the obstinate Anabaptists and their adherents, or whether they intended to give the latter their aid. It was the purpose of the Council, it was stated in closing, " to root out " the Anabaptists, and the Griiningen people were ex- horted to show their good will to the Council in this and other things. But evidently the latter did not consider that the Anabaptists were defeated in the re- > Zwingli, Werke. Bd. ii. abt. i. 343-369. ' FusBlin, Beytroge, ii. b. 286-292. 142 THE ANABAPTISTS IN SWITZERLAND. cent discussion. Certainly, they were not inclined to heed the injunctions of the Council, and at Hinwyl showed their opposition to the Zwinglian pastors, who at length called upon the Council for instructions as to the manner in which he should act. ' The Council replied November 18, in a communication addressed to the churches in the district ; and on the same day, ' Grebel, Mantz, and Blaurock were for- mally sentenced to imprisonment in the New Tower, to be kept on bread and water, and to be denied the visits of their friends so long as the Council saw fit. Margaret Hettinger, of Zollikon, was sentenced to imprisonment in the Wellenberg, while the Anabap- tists who lived beyond the borders of the Canton, viz : Ulrich Teck of Waldshut, Martin Ling of Schaffhausen, and Michael Sattler ' of Staufen, in Breisgau, were banished. Throughout the district an order wa.s circulated that the Baptists had had a sufficient hearing, and that further opposition to the • Egli, Actensammlung, 404, Nr. t!56. ' Egli, Die Z'dricher Wuderitiufer, a. 48. ' Sattler was afterward in Strasburg, May 21, 1527, at Eothen- burg, on the Neckar (Fusslin, BeytrSge. ii, s. 374-378,) bis tongue waa torn out, his body was lacerated with red hot tongs, and then burned. His wife was drowned in the Neckar (Fusslin, Bey- trdgcii, B. 3S1). Battler's character was such that the Straaburg evangelical pastors, after his death, did not hesitate to call him a martyr of Christ (Rohrich, Reformation in Elsass. i,B. 332). The EFFORTS TO STAY ITS PEOGEESS. 143 magistracy would be regarded as unjustifiable, insist- ing also on obedience to the Council, and inviting the Anabaptists to a special assembly on Thursday, November 21, for a formal recantation, so that here- after the obedient might not suffer with the disobe- dient. ' But the injunction was not generally heeded. The assembly met, and continued from noon until midnight ; but of more than one hundred Anabaptists who were present only thirteen recanted.^ The Governor advised severer measures, and his ad- vice was adopted ; but in the discharging of the new duties imposed upon them the officers found them- selves greatly perplexed. One of them said he knew not which way to turn. November 30, the Council of Zurich issued the fol- Beventh hymn, tho Anabaptist collection, Auss Bundt, is by Sat- tlor, and has the ring of a martyr spirit : " Doch fdrcht euoh nicht vor solchem mann, Der nur den leibgetodten kan. Bonder foroht mehr den treuen Gott, Der beydes zu verdammen hat. Christe hilff da deinem Volck, Welchs dir in aller treu nachfolgt. Dass es durch deinen bittern Todt, Erloset wird auas aller noht. ' Egli, Actensammlung, 406, Nr. 864. ' Fiisslin, Bcytrage, iii, 207. Egli, Actensammlung, 409, Nr. 870. 14i THE ANA.BiPTrST3 IN 3WITZERLA.ND . lowing mandate,* to the inhabitants of the Griin- ingen district : " Ye doubtless know, and have heard from many persons, how, that for a long time past, certain men, who appear to be learned, have vehemently arisen, and without any support from the Holy Scriptures, have pretended, and preached among simple and pious men, (who are otherwise well instructed in the love of God and of their neighbor, and live in peace with one another), and without the permission and con- sent of the church have proclaimed, that infant bap- tism is not of God, but has sprung from the devil, and therefore ought not to be practiced. They have also invented a rebaptism ; and many, even unlearned in the Holy Scriptures, taken with their vain talk and so far persuaded, have received this rebaptism, esteeming themselves better than other people. Whence have arisen and grown up discord, disobe- dience, contention, devourings, strifes against love, in places, and among men who formerly lived in unanimity. Therefore have we imprisoned, and pun- ished for their good, some of the authors of Anabaptism and their disciples, and have twice, at their desire, or- dained conferences, or discussions, on infant-baptism and rebaptism. And notwithstanding that they were in all cases overcome, and some of them have been ' Bullinger, ItcJormation&yescldchU, i, b. 296-298. EFFORTS TO STAY ITS PROGRESS. 145 let go unpunished, because they promised to abstain from rebaptism ; and others have been banished from our jurisdiction and bounds; yet have they, disre- garding their promise, again come among you, and have sown their false doctrine against infant baptism among the simple people. Whence has arisen a new sect of Anabaptists. Therefore, we have imprisoned these Baptists, and punished their followers for their own good. " And as some of the Anabaptists among you called for a conference, or discussion, we agreed thereto, in addition to the conferences already held, and sum- moned all who would defend Anabaptism, to appear before us on Monday after All Saints' day. " But when the Anabaptists, Conrad Grebel, Felix Mantz, George Blaurock, and their followers had dis- cussed for three whole days, from morning to night, with Ulrich Zwingli, Leo Jud, and Caspar Grossman and others who defended infant baptism, in our Coun- cil Hall and the Cathedral, in our presence and in the presence of many men and women, each one of the Anabaptists having expressed his views without hindrance, it was found, by the sure testimonies of Holy Scripture, both of the Old and the New Testa- ments, that Zwingli and his followers had overcome the Anabaptists, annihilated Anabaptism, and estab- lished infant baptism. 7 146 THE ANABAPTISTS IN SWITZERLAND. " Moreover, in the same discussion, it clearly ap- peared that the authors of Anabaptism, by whom these gatherings and sects were first raised, and for which they strive, were actuated in this afiair by a bold and shameless mind, and not by a good spirit, intending to gather around them a separate people and sect, contrary to God's command, in contempt of the civil magistrate, to the planting of every kind of disobe- dience, and to the destruction of Christian love to neighbors. For, as we have already said, they I'e- gard themselves as without sin and better than their fellow Christians, as their words, actions, and life clearly testify. " Therefore, we ordain, and it is our earnest pur- pose that henceforth all men, women, boys, and girls abstain from Anabaptism, and practice it no longer, but baptize the young children. For whoever shall act contrary to this order, shall, as often as he dis- obeys, be punished by a fine of a silver mark ; and if any shall prove disobedient, we will deal with him farther and punish him according to his deserts with- out further forgiveness. Let each act accordingly. " And all this we confirm by this writing which bears our city seal, and given on St. Andrew's Day, Anno Domini, 1525." CHAPTEE VIII. FATE OF SOME OF THE LEADERS. In the summer and autumn of 1525 the storm was gathering around Waldshut. Zurich supportedWalds- hut, in its opposition to Austrian rule, so long as Hubmeier and his people were in agreement with Zwingli; but when it became apparent that dif- ferences had arisen, Zurich at once withdrew its sup- port. A clearer view of these differences was had in a tract which Hubmeier finished November 30, the day on which the Zurich Council issued its mandate to the people in the Griiningen district, and which had reference to Zwingli's recent work on Baptism. It is in the form of a dialogue between Zwingli and Hubmeier, in which the utterances of Zwingli are taken, as Hubmeier affirms, from Zwingli's published writings. For reasons that will soon appear, the tract was not printed until the following year, and then at Nicolsburg in Moravia. * ' Ein geoprech Ballhasar Hubmora von Fridberg, Doctors, auf Mayster Vlrichs Zwingleus zu Ziiroh Tauffbuchlen voa dem Kindertauff. Die Warhayt ist untodlich. Nicolspurg, 1526. 147 148 THE ANABAPTISTS IN SWITZERLAND. In this tract, with good judgment and dialectic skill, Hubmeier meets the objections which Zwingli and his friends were accustomed to bring against the position of the Swiss Anabaptists. The following passages illustrate the spirit and ability manifested by Hubmeier in this dialogue. " Baptism," he says, " is the ordinance of Christ. It is not enough that one believes in Jesus, he must confess him openly. He who confesses Christ before men, Christ will confess before his Father. Tlie di- vine order is, first, the preaching of the word ; second, faith ; and third, baptism. " ZwiNGLi. Those people who now sufiPer them-, selves to be rebaptized intend to establish a church composed of sinless persons. " Hubmeier. You do us injustice. If we say wo have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. " Z. You reject infant baptism, in order that you may set up Anabaptism. " H. You have not produced a single passage to prove that infant baptism is baptism. You should remember what you said in opposition to Faber,' namely, that all truth is clearly revealed in the word of God. If now infant baptism is a truth, show us the Scripture in which it is found. If you do not, ' At the First Zurich Discussion. FATE OF SOME OF THE LEADERS. 149 the Vicar will complain that you have used against him a sword, which you now lay aside. " Z. Should it be granted that every one may adopt such views as he pleases, and not ask the church concerning them, error will increase. " H. We should consult the Scriptures, not the church. Now show us the passage in the Scriptures in which God requires us to baptize infants ? Tile church is built upon the word, and not the word upon the church. " Z. You say that we must have all things common. " H. I have always said in reference to communi- ty of goods, that one man should have regard to oth- ers, so that the hungry may be fed, the thirsty re- ' ceive drink, and the naked be clothed ; for we are not lords, but stewards. There is certainly no one who says that all things should be common. " Z. Those who are opposed to infant baptism hold that no one can be saved without water baptism. " H. You do us injustice. We know that salva- tion is conditioned neither on baptism nor on works of mercy. Condemnation is the result not of a neglect of baptism, but of unbelief alone. " Z. The thief on the cross believed, and on the same day was with Christ in Paradise ; yet he was not baptized with outward baptism. " H. The man who has the excuse of the thief on 150 THR ANABAPTISTS IN SWITZERLAND. the cross will have the favor of God though unbap- tized. When this excuse, however, is wanting the word of Christ holds true, that whosoever does not believe is condemned ; also those other words, ' He who believeth and is baptized shall be saved.' " Z. Those opposed to infant baptism say that bap- tism is such a sign that no one should receive it until he knows that he can live without sin. " H. Ah, my Zwingli, say this to those who hold such a view, and do not condemn the innocent with the guilty. " Z. I will prove that we are all sinners. " H. Hold ! There is no need of proof. We know this from the First Epistle of John, chapters 1 and 5 ; also from Psalms, 14, 51. " Z. Since no man arrives at perfection of faith upon earth, you must affirm that when a man begins to be instructed he is to be baptized in water. " H. We are content with this statement. Yet by beginning to be instructed is meant that the man recognizes his sinfulness and believes in the forgive- ness of his sins through Jesus Christ. " Z. We are ready to admit that John first gave instruction, and afterward baptized, but no one can deny that those who were thus instructed also had their untaught children baptized. " II. my Zwingli, how can you say this in op- FATE OF SOME OF THE LEADERS. 151 position to the paasago in Matthew 3, which shows that those whom John baptized confessed their sins ? " Z. But that passage says that all Judea, and the region about Jordan, and Jerusalem, went out to him' and were baptized by him in Jordan. Here one may say that if the whole multitude went out, we should expect that there were children who went out also. " H. Might not one also say we should expect that Annas, Caiaphas, Pilate, and Herod went out and were baptized ? It matters not what we think or expect. We must be governed by the Scriptures. " Z. The opponents of infant baptism, if I under- stand them, ascribe too much to water-baptism. " H. We ascribe nothing whatever to water-bap- tism. It is an ordinance instituted by Christ, and by the apostles, and received by believers. I appeal to the Scriptures. Let them decide. " Z. Our Anabaptists here found a reason why they should be rebaptized. They say either our first bap- tism was Romish baptism, or we do not know whether we were baptized or not. " H. You do us injustice. We had not been bap- tized, and the believer should be baptized. Other- wise we make the words of Christ of no effect. . . . . . . We know of no anabaptism, and are not He- mero-Baptists. " H. God enjoins baptism, yet upon those instruc- 152 THE ANABAPTIST3 IN SWITZERLAND. ted in his word, believers. Where then is infant baptism ? " Z. Why do you make a distinction among men ? Are children people or not ? If they are men or people, you must allow them to be baptized. " H. This argument is as good for the Turks as for the children of Christians. The Turks are people also." Near the close of the tract we find these theses, which Hubmeier says he will maintain with God's help against all opponents : 1. No element or outward thing in this world can cleanse the soul, but faith purifies the hearts of men. 2. It follows that baptism cannot wash away sin. 3. If therefore it cannot wash away sin, and yet is from God, it must be a public testimony of inward faith, and an outward pledge to lead henceforth a new life as God gives grace. 4. Whether the children of Christians, and the children of the Old Testament, are children of God, we leave to him who knows all things, and do not make ourselves judges. In December, 1525, Waldshut fell into the hands of Austria. Tho Anabaptists fled, among them Hub- meier, who, passing by Zurich, soon appeared in the FATE OP SOME OF THE LEADERS. 153 Grtiningen district. He was received with great en- thusiasm by the Anabaptists. They were familiar with his tracts in opposition to Zwingli, and they saw in him, not only a brother in the faith, but a prophet mighty in word and deed. His lips, however, were sealed, and he was safe only as all knowledge of his place of retirement was kept from the officers, who were ready to seize any non-resident Baptist, and send him across the borders. And so, in disguise, Hubmeier made his way to Zurich, where about New Year's Day, 1526, he found a refuge, at first in the house of Henry Aberli, an Anabaptist, and then at the Green Shield, a public house kept by a woman and her daughter, who had been baptized by Aberli a week or two before,' and to whom, on the night of Hubmeier's arrival in Zurich, Aberli conducted Hubmeier. There he remained from Friday until Monday, when, his presence in the city having been discovered, he was arrested by order of the Council, and kept under guard (libera eustodia) in the City Hall. A few days after, Zwingli, Engelhard, Leo Jud, • Aberli, who was arrested, wae fined January 15, fifteen pounds for disobedience of the mandate against baptism, and five pounds more for every one whom he had baptized, to be paid before his release from prison. The woman and her daughter were fined five pounds each. Egli, AcUnsammlung, 428, 9, Nr. 910. 7* 154 THE ANABAPTISTS IN SWITZERLAND. Myconius, Sebastian Hofmeister, and Megander had an interview with Hubmeier, and there was some discussion between Zwingli and Hubmeier in refer- ence to infant baptism. In a letter ' to Peter Gyno- rans, written in September, 1526, Zwingli gives an account of this conference, and says that at length, Hubmeier, of his own accord, offered to recant his Anabaptist errors, and indeed wrote his recantation ■yvith his own hand. Bullinger's "^ testimony is of like import. Hubmeier himself, in one of his tracts published a few months after, referring to his treat- ment at Zurich, says he offered to discuss with Zwingli, and, if found in error, he declared his willing- ness to be punished by sword, fire, or water ; while if Zwingli was in error he only asked that the Zurich preacher should recognize his error and henceforth teach the truth. But his offer was rejected. " They compelled me [or endeavored to compel me], a sick man, just risen from a bed of death ; hunted, exiled, and having lost all I had, to teach another faith." ' ' Zwingli, Opera, vii. i. abt. 536. ' Eeformationsgeachichte, i. 6. 304. " Mann wolt mioh ye als einen kranoken raenaohen, der aller erst von dom todbett auffgestanden, verjagt, vertribenn, und allea was ich gehabt verloren, durch den Henoker eincn anndern glau- ben leeren. Ein gesprech Ballhasar Ilubmors von Pridberg, Doc- tors, AuJ MaysUr Vlrichs Zwingletis zu Ziirch TauffhiichUn, von clem Kinderlauff. Nicolspurg. 1526. FATE OF SOME OF THE LEADERS. 165 This view is supported by Faber, the represeutative of the Bishop of Constance at the first Zurich discus- sion, who says Hubmeier was subjected to the rack until he consented to make a public recantation. * Arrangements were at once made for an impres- sive scene. According to Zwingli and BuUinger, Hubmeier was brought into the Cathedral for a pub- lic renunciation of his former errors. The vast edi- fice was crowded with people whom this novel occa- sion had called together. First there was a sermon by Zwingli. Then Hubmeier ascended the pulpit, but instead of retracting his Anabaptist views, to the amazement of all he declared his opposition to infant baptism, and defended rebaptism. A tumult waa at once raised, the address was suddenly brought to a close, and Hubmeier was removed to a cell in the Wellenberg, where, as Faber says, cruel imprison- ment followed until the weary sufi'erer was willing to renounce Anabaptism as heresy. It waa at this time, probably, that the written recantation was secured from him, and April 6, he waa brought into the Cathedral to read it in public. Afterward, by request of the bailifi' of the Griiningen district, the recantation was repeated at Gossau. ' See his tract, Ursach warumh der Widerleuffer Patron unnd erster Anfenger, Doctor Balthasar Hubmayer zu Wienn auff den Zchendten tag Mdrlz, Anno 1528, verbrennt sey. 156 THE ANABAPTISTS IN SWITZERLAND. This written recantation has been preserved. ' In it Hubmeier says that hitherto with other Anabaptists he had held that believers only should be baptized ; but now Zwingli had called his attention to the covenant which God made with Abraham and • his seed, and also to circumcision, as a sign of the cove- nant, and had shown him how baptism takes the place of circumcision. He also refers to the arguments of Leo Jud, Sebastian Hofmeister, and Myconius. Moved by all these, at last, he says, he has surren- dered his previous opinion that children ought not to be baptized, and confesses that he had erred concern- ing Anabaptism. He had never said, however, that a Christian should not hold a civil oiSce, but had al- ways maintained that the more of the spirit of Christ one possessed the better he would rule as a magis- trate. Pie had never said that all things should be common. He held, however, that those who have an abundance should not see their neighbors suffer, but should share with the hungry, the thirsty, and the naked. As to baptism, he had not baptized any in the Canton of Zurich. He had never said he was without sin, but had always confessed that he was a poor sinner, conceived in sin, and would remain a sin- ner until death. Since now Augustine, and many ' Egli Acltnsammluruj, 4'19, Nr. 940. Soo alao, JS), Nr, 911. FATE OF SOME OF THE LEADERS. 157 others after him to that time, had erred concerning baptism, he asked that he might be forgiven, as God forgives our sins ; and, calling attention to his severe illness and poverty, he made the additional request, that he should not be delivered into the hands of his enemies, referring to the Austrians. From Hubmeier's subsequent life, however, it is evident that in this recantation, so far as his views in reference to baptism are concerned, he did violence to his unshaken convictions. What he had feared came to pass. During his prison hours he composed, in the form of prayers, his Twelve Articles of Faith, of which the following are the closing words : " holy God, almighty God, immortal God, this is my faith. I confess it with heart and mouth, and have testified it publicly before the Church in baptism. I faithfully pray thee, graciously keep me in it until my end ; and should I be forced from it out of mortal fear and timidity, by tyranny, torture, sword, fire, or water, I now appeal to thee. my compassionate Father, raise me up again by the grace of thy Holy Spirit, and suffer me not to de- part without this faith. This I pray thee from the bottom of my heart, through Jesus Christ, thy most beloved Son, our Lord and Saviour. Father, in thee do I put my trust ; let me never be ashamed." It would seem as if his enemies were pressing him for IDO THE ANABAPTISTS IN SWITZERLAND. a recantation as he penned these words. Tyranny, torture, and shameful treatment forced him at length to yield, and he made the retraction for which his enemies had so persistently clamored. ' After his ' Soma have doubted whether Hubmeier made a recantation at Zurich. In hia excellent article on Hubmeier in the Baptist Re- view for April, 1881, Rev. W. W. Everts, jr., givea (pp. 214-15) Hubmeier's recantation aa foUowa : " I Balthazar Habmeyer, of Friedberg, openly confeaa, under thia my own hand, that I have underatood the Scriptures which treat of baptism to declare no- thing but thia : First preaching, then believing, and finally bap- tizing. I had been firmly committed to these ideas, but Master Ulrich Zwingli has been instructing me that the covenant entered into by Qod with Abraham and his seed took the place of the baptism of to-day. Thi3 I have not tried to settle. It has been alleged by others that charity ought to be the judge and standard of Scripture. Thia I have so recalled to mind as to result in the confession that I was in error. I was not the first one baptized, neither have I baptized any one in Zurich. I have not objected to a Chriatian government, nor have I favored communism. I do not claim to be sinless ; I ask for pity on my sickness, adver- sity, exile, and poverty." In this, Mr. Everts follows a Latin form of the recantations found, I believe in Ottius's Annates Anabaptistid. But the original, of greater length, and stronger in its expression of recantation, ia in the German lan- guage. It is in the Zurich archives, and I am assured by Egli, the scholarly author of the Ziiricher Wiedertdufer, that Dr. Strickler, who has charge of the Zurich archives, is positive that it is in Hubmeier's handwriting, A copy of this original I have before me, and also the record of the Zurich Acts concerning Hub- meier's recantation, which says that Hubmeier offered to renounce FATE OF SOME OP THE LEADERS. 169 return from Gossau he remained awhile in conceal- ment at Zurich, and then, his request having been granted that he should not be delivered into the hands of the Austrians, he was suffered secretly to leave the Canton.' He made his way to Constance, and thence, probably in July, 1526, to Nicholsburg in Moravia .* his errors concerning Anabaptism and to make the recantation whenever desired. See Acteneammlung, 437. Nr. 911. ' Application for Hubmeier's surrender was made by Austria, but the Council of Zurich declined to accede to it as contrary to the custom. Fusslin, Beytrdge, iv. b. 253. ' At Nicholsburg, Hubmeier established an Anabaptist Church, which became the centre of the Anabaptist movement in Moravia. Here most of Hubmeier's works were written and published. Bat his enemies did not lose sight of him. Near the close of 1527 he was arrested and delivered into the hands of Austria. For a while he was imprisoned in the Castle Qritzenstein, Vienna. During his imprisonment he was visited by Dr. Faber, and Dr. Marx Beck, who endeavoured to win him back to the Church of Rome. But Hubmeier was immovable, and he was condemned to be burnt at the stake, March 10, 1528. At the place of burn- ing he offered the following prayer : " my gracious God, grant me patience in my suffering. My Father, I thank thee, that to- day thou wilt lift me from this valley of sorrows. With joy I die that I may come to thee, Lamb of God, that taketh away the sin of the world. My God, into thy hands I commend my spirit." Three days after, his faithful wife, who accompanied him to Vienna, was brought to the bridge over the Danube, and thrown into the river with i heavy stone attached to her neck. Calvary 160 THE ANABAPTISTS IN SWITZERLAND. Meanwhile Grebel, Mantz, and Blaurock,wlio were still in prison, resolutely refused to renounce Ana- baptism. Early in March, 1526, they had an exa- mination, but they stood firm, saying they chose to die rather than to deny the faith they professed. Mantz declared that the Scriptures alone had made mttheilungen a%i3 demAntiquariate, i, B. 114-118, in his list of Hub- meier'a writings, gives twenty four titles. How they were re- garded by the Eomish Church may be inferred from the fact that in the acts of the Council of Trent, the works of Hubmeier were condemned with those of Luther, Calvin, Zwingli, and Schwenk- feld. His name also, in four different forms — Balthasar Paci- montanus, Balthasar Hubmeier, Balthasar Hilcemerus and Balt- harus Isubmarus — is found in the index of Prohibited Books, which was published by Bernard of Sandoval, Archbishop of Toledo. To his great talents and attainments, aa well as to the purity of liis character, early and later writers boar witness. Ha- gen, Deulchsland' s literarische und religiose Ve7-hdltnisse in Reforma- tionszeitalter, iii., a. 233, saya no unworthy motive was discoverable in any of hia acta. The original sourcea of information for the life of Hubmeier are his own writings, Zwingli's Werke, Bul- linger's Jicformationsgeschichte, and FabeWs Ursach. Of recent works, mention should be made especially of Schreiber's Taschen- buch fiir Oeschiclde und Alierihum in Suddeutschland, Freiburg, 1839, 1840 (but unfinished) ; Fr. X. Hoaek'a, Balthasar Hubmeier a pocatkowe novokrestenslva na Morave, Berne, 1867. [Balthasar Hubmeier and the origin of the Anabaptists in Moravia, Brunn 1867 ; Cornelius', Der Miinsterischen Au/ruhrs, Leipzig, 1855, 1860; and Egli's Die ZuHcher Wiedcrliiu/cr zur Jicfurmalionszcit, Zurich 1878. FATE OF SOME OF THE LEADERS. 161 him an Anabaptist. Infant baptism, said Blaurock, is an invention of men, and what men invent is of the devil.' As the latter desired to have a discus- sion with Zwingli and Leo Jud, his request was granted, and the discussion continued three hours, but was unsatisfactory to both parties. Referring to his preaching at Zollikon, Blaurock said he thought his Heavenly Father had sent him there.' All of the prisoners, though we know not on what ground, (ex- cept in ca.se of Rudolph, Uli, Margaret, and Elizabeth Hotting§r, who recanted,) seem to have been re- leased shortly after this examination. The following were condemned to imprisonment, March 7 : Felix Mantz, George Blaurock, Conrad Grebel, Uli Hottinger of Zollikon, Ernest "Von Glatz of Silesia, Anthony Roggenacher of Schwytz, John Hottinger, Rudolph Hottinger, John Ocken- fuss, Karl Brennwald, Fridli Abyberg of Schwytz, ' The Bevere language of the Anabaptists in reference to infant baptism was no severer than that of Lntherans and Zwinglians in roforenco to the mass, and other ceremonies of the Romish Chnrch. ' The misfortunes of the Grebel family are noteworthy. Tho other son was removed from his position at tho Court of tho Archduke Ferdinand. Agathe, Prioress of the Convent of Oeden- bach, lost her position vfhen the Convent was closed. Martha, the beloved wife of Vadian, had a long and happy life. See Hot- tinger Oeschichle der Sidgenossen, i. 8. 465, note 100. 162 THE ANABAPTISTS IN SWITZERLANIJ. John Heingarter of St. Gall, Agtli Ockenfuss, Eli- zabeth Hottinger of Hirslanden, Margaret Hottinger of Zollikon, Winbrot Vonwiler of St. Gall, Anna Mantz, and the landlady at the Green Shield. It is in the record of this examination, accordingly, early in March, 1526, that we find the last men- tion of Grebel's name in the history of the move- ment for Church reform in Switzerland. He died, probably not long after, we know not when nor where, of the pest. ' He had neither the great talents nor the great learning of Hubmeier. Mantz excelled him in his knowledge of the Hebrew tongue, and he lacked the fiery eloquence of Blaurock. But he pos- sessed qualities which are essential to leadership, and his leadership was recognized by Zwingli and the Zurich Council, as well as by his brethren. Egli * well says that a good biography of Grebel would be a valuable contribution to the literature of the Re- formation. At the beginning of 1526, Heini Rein, Jacob Schaufelberger and Jacob Kalch, who had been re- leased from the prison in Griiningen, made their way into Appenzell, in order to preach. With other Ana- baptists, who belonged outside of the district, they ' Actcnsammlung, 413, Kr. 933. ' Die Ziirichcr WiederlUufer, a. 92. FATE OF SOME OF THE LEADERS. 163 were arrested and imprisoned. As they would not take an oath to leave the district, it was directed that they should be kept on bread and water until further orders from the Cantonal authorities.* Mantz, after his release, went to Schaffhausen, but not being allowed to remain there, as it appears, he proceeded to Basel, where for awhile he found a refuge. In private houses in Basel, and in the fields and forests around, he preached, using his He- brew Bible, as he interpreted to his hearers the sa- cred word, and many were led by him to embrace Anabaptist views. But it was not long before he was arrested, and forbidden to preach further. At the same time, probably, he was ordered to leave the Canton. Some of his followers, also, were arrested. They had done nothing, they said, that is contrary to the laws of God. He is to be obeyed rather than men. And they asked, why they should not be permitted to establish a church of their own. At Therwyler, a village in the neighborhood of Basel, an Anabaptist so commended himself to the pastor of the village, that he received permission to preach. Many from Basel and the country around came to hear him ; and his words, clear and penetrating, and ' Letter from Appenzell of January 11, 1526, in the archives of the Cathedral in Zurich. 164 THE ANABAPTISTS IN SWITZERLAND. Bpoken with earnestness and evident sincerity, made a profound impression upon his hearers. But his lips were soon sealed. Of those who were arrested with Mantz, some retracted and were released from imprisonment ; the rest were banished.' Toward the end of January 1526, the bailiff of the Gruningen district asked the Zurich Council that ho might be allowed to adopt yet severer measures against the Anabaptists within his jurisdiction. "One must use a firm hand," he said. " With such persons lenity is of no account." Hitherto the friends of the imprisoned Anabaptists could visit their suffering brethren. It was now decreed that such visits must be discontinued, that the prisoners should be kept on bread and water, and that even in case of sickness there should be no mitigation of the punishment, but the sufferers should be kept in the tower, there to die ' unless they retracted their errors. March 7, it was decreed that whoever should administer re- baptism should be arrested, and if condemned, he - Herzog, Das Leben J. Oekolampads. ii, b. 76, 77. ' In the order as originally written the word8"and rot " fol- lowed the words '\to die," but a pen was drawn through them. See Egli, Die ZUricher Wiedertaufer, a. 55, and Hottinger, Oesch. d. Eidgenossen, 2Abth. b. 41, 42. Zwingli, in announcing this deci- sion to Vadian (March 7, 1526), says " pane et aqua delicientur> donee autspirilura reddant, aut manus." FATE OF SOME OF THE LEADERS. 165 should be drowned without mercy. • "If any one asks with what kind of justice this was done," says Fiisslin,' " the Papists would have an answer. They would say, according to papal law heretics must die. There is no need to inquire further. The maxim is applicable here. What the Papacy condemns, is condemned. But those who hold to evangelical faith renounce the pope and papal authority, and the question now arises, with what propriety do they compel people to renouiice their views or reli- gion, and in case of their refusal inflict upon them ' FiiBBlin, Beytrdge, i., b. 270, 271. Egli, Aciensammlung, 545, Nr. 973. The worda, " Qui mersus fuerit, njergatur " are evidently wrongly attributed to Zwingli in Bome references to the adoption of this edict. They were probably taken from a sentence in his jaienchus contra Catabaptistas {Opera iii, s. 364 ) : Decrevit clarissi- muB SenatuB post earn coUationem, quae nimirum dicima fuit post alias sive publioas sive privatas, aquis mergere, qui merserit bap- tism eum qui prius emerserat." Hubmeier wrote to Zwingli bit- terly denouncing this edict. In his defence of himself, Zwingli claimed that ho had often begged the magistrates to show lesa severity to the AnabaptistB. Fiisslin says the Heretic Tower was nothing less than a dark tower where the prisoners, as Hubmeier says, saw neither sun nor moon ; but the rooms of the tower, on account of the air and view, were as pleasant as any other place in the city, ("sondern dieGemacherdeB Thurms waren der Luft undAussicht halberso angenehm alsirgend ein OrtinderStadt.")! See Starck, Oeschichte der Taufe, s. 184. ' Fiisslin, Beytrdge, i, a. 274-277- 166 THE ANABAPTISTS IN SWITZERLAND. capital punishment?" It was otherwise in Germany. The Landgrave, Philip of Hesse, and the Elector of Saxony would not consent to any such violent pro- ceedings. The fault in Switzerland, Fiisslin says, was not the fault of the Reformers, as such matters were left to the civil magistrates. " Did these," ho adds, " stretch their authority too far, and did one or another of the Reformers allow himself by zeal to be so far carried away that he was negligent in this matter, or strengthened the magistrates in their pro- ceedings, we do not boast of the same, nor of them. If the Anabaptist principles had been separated from whatever was of a seditious nature, and this last alone had been punished, none would have found occasion for fault." But nothing is plainer than that the principles of the Swiss Anabaptist, contained no- thing of a seditious nature. Grebel and his asso- ciates declined to follow Miinzer. The charge was made against Mantz at Schaffhausen that he had said there should be no magistracy, * but he denied this at his examination, and said that his position was this, that no Christian could be a magistrate, and that no one should punish with the sword." Gre- bel at his examination in Zurich, said, "he had ' FiisBlin, Beytrdge, i, s. 237 and 242. ' Fiisslin, Bcytriige, i. a. 254. FATE OF SOME OF THE LEADERS. 167 never taught tliat obedience should be refused to the magistrates. ' But notwithstanding the severity of these new measures the Anabaptists continued to hold their meetings, now in the fields, now in the forests, as op- portunity ofiered. Deprived of their leaders, they had the services of brethren who could best supply the places of those who had hitherto been their instruc- tors in the word. But these new leaders soon fol- lowed Grebel, Mantz, and Blaurock to prison. One Sunday in May, 1526, at a meeting in a forest be- tween Bubikon and Wetzikon, two of these brethren, Jacob Falk and Henry Rieman, were arrested by the bailiflF of the Griiningen district. They confessed that they had been baptized, and that, although they knew the penalty was death, they had baptized others, and would do so again. At the trial that followed it was expected that the judges would condemn Falk and Rieman to death by drowning; but an old law was pleaded in their behalf, and until the hearing of this could be determined, they were placed in the bailiff's custody.' November 19, 1526, the Council at Zurich con- firmed the edict of March 7, that Anabaptism should ' FiisBlin, Beylrdge, i, s. 249. ' Egli, Die Ziiricher Wiederidufer, b. 58. 168 THE ANABAPTISTS IN SWITZERLAND. be punished by drowning.' The bailiff of the Griin- ingen district thought it best not to mention this fact, lest the Anabaptists should be alarmed and he be una- ble to make some arrests he had planned. Mantz ' and Blaurock were seized by him on December 3, in a forest, and on December 13 he sent them with two other Anabaptist prisoners to Zurich. Mantz re- ceived his sentence, January 5, 1527. Since he had embraced Anabaptism, he was bold, and had become one of the leaders in the Anabaptist movement ; since he could not be induced to retract his errors, but in spite of the edict and of his oath clung to these errors, separating himself from the Christian Church, and laboring to organize a sect ; since, fur- ther, he rejected the magistracy, opposed the death penalty, to the destruction of the common Christian peace, — he should be delivered to the executioner, who should bind his hands, place him in a boat and throw him bound into the water, there to die.' In an early record * we find the following exhorta- • FiiBslin, Beytrage, i, a. 271. Egli, Adensammlung 614, Nr. 107. > Hotlinger, Oesckichle d. JEidgenossen b. 243, note 156, says, lie was in St. Gall after leaving Basel, was imprisoned there, but was released Oct. 12, 1526. ' Fusslin, Beytrage, iv, a. 259-265. Egli, Actensammlung, 529, 30, Nr. 1109. ' The Bloody Theatre, or Martyr's Mirror oj the Baptist Churches, Ilansord Kuollys Society's Publications, vol. i, a. 12-14. FATE OF SOME OF THE LEADERS. 169 tion which Mantz left for the comfort and admoni- tion of his brethren : " My heart rejoiceth in God, who giveth me much understanding, and guideth me that I may escape eternal and endless death. Therefore I praise thee, Christ, Lord of heaven, that thou succorest me in my affliction and sorrow, which the Saviour God hath sent me for an example and a light, who hath called me before my end is come, to his heavenly Kingdom, that I might have eternal joy with him, and love him in all his judgments, which shall endure both here and hereafter in eternity, without which no- thing avails or subsists. Therefore are there so many, who not having this are deceived with a vain opinion. But, alas ! now-a-days, we find men who boast themselves of the gospel, speak much of it, teach and publish it, to be full of hatred and envy ; who have in them no divine love, whose deceit is known of all the world, even as we have been told, that in these last days, they that come to us in sheep's clothing are ravening wolves, who hate the godly in earth, and hmder the way to life and to the true sheep-fold. Thus do the false prophets and hypo- crites of this world ; with the mouth they curse, and with the same mouth likewise pray, whose life is dis - orderly ; these call upon the magistrates to put us to death, and herewith they destroy the being of Christ. 8 170 THE ANABAPTISTS IN SWITZERLAND. But I will praise the Lord Christ, who hath all pa- tience with us. He instructeth us with his divine grace; he showeth, after the nature of God, his Heavenly Father's love to all men, which none of the false prophets can do. "Herein must we observe the difference; the sheep of Christ seek to honor God. This they choose. They suffer not themselves to be hindered by gain or temporal good, for they are in the keeping of Christ. The Lord Christ forces no man into his glory ; but the wilUng and ready alone enter, who come thereto by true faith and baptism. When a man bringeth forth the true fruits of repentance, for him is pur- chased and procured, by Christ, through grace, the heaven of everlasting joy, by the shedding of his in- nocent blood, which he so willingly poured out. Thereby he showeth us his love, and endueth us with the might of his Spirit ; and he who receiveth and exerciseth this, groweth and becometh perfect in God. "Love to God, through Christ, will alone endure and profit, no boasting, railing, or threatening. There is nothing but love with which God is pleased. He who can show no love shall find no place with God. The true love of Christ shall oast off the enemy. It is set before him who will be an heir with Christ, that he must be merciful, even as his Heavenly Father FATE OF BOMB OF THE LEADERS. 171 is merciful. Christ never accused any one, as the false teachers now do ; whence it appears that they have not the love of Christ, nor understand his word. Yet they will be shepherds and teachers. But at last they must tremble, when they find that eternal pain will be their reward, if they do not amend. " Christ never hated any, and his true servants likewise hate no one, continuing thus to follow Christ in the right way, as he has gone before them. This light of life they have before them, and rejoice to walk therein ; but those who are full of hatred and envy, who thus wickedly betray, accuse, smite, and wrangle, cannot be Christians. These are they who as thieves and murderers run before Christ, and under false show steal innocent blood. Thereby may men know them, they take no part with Christ, for through malice, as the children of Belial , they annul the command of Jesus Christ ; as Cain slew his bro- ther Abel when God accepted his oifering. " Herewith I will finish my discourse, and request all the pious to meditate on the fall of Adam, who followed the serpent's counsel, and being disobedient to God, the punishment of death followed him. So shall it also befall those who receive not Christ, but oppose him ; who love this world and have no love to God. With this I conclude. I will abide close to 172 THE ANABAPTISTS IN SWITZERLAND. Christ and confide in him ; he knoweth all my dis- tresses, and can help me out of them. Amen." The sentence was forthwith carried into execution. " As he came down from the Wellenberg to the fish- market," says Bullinger, ' " and was led through the shambles to the boat, he praised God that he was about to die for his truth ; for Anabaptism waa right, and founded upon the word of God, and Christ had foretold that his followers would sufler for the truth's sake. And the like discourse he urged much, discussing with the preacher who attended him. On the way, his mother and brother came to him, and exhorted him to be steadfast ; and he persevered in his folly, even to the end. When he was bound upon the hurdle and was about to be thrown into the stream by the executioner, he sang with a loud voice : ' In manus tuas, Domine, commendo spiritum meum.' ' Into thine hands, Lord, I commend my spirit ;' and herewith was drawn into the water by the executioner, and drowned." Capito, writing to Zwingli from Strasburg, Janu- ary 22, 1577, said : " It is reported here, that your Felix Mantz has suffered punishment, and died gloriously ; on which account the cause of truth and piety, which you sustain, is greatly depressed."' ' Reformationsgeschichte, i. 8. 382. 2 Zwingli, Opera, viii. s. 16. Hio eat rumor, Feliceum Mansium FATE OF SOME OF THE LEADERS. 173 On the 27th, Capito renewed his request : " I greatly desire to know," he said, " how it happened in the case of the unhappy Felix Mantz, whether he suffer- ed punishment on account of violated public faith, or on account of the obstinacy of his views concerning religion ; and with what firmness he came to the end of life." * Zwingli's reply, so far as I am aware, has not been preserved. But as if to answer Capito's in- quiry in reference to Mantz's attitude in the face of death, the learned editors of Zwingli's works, Schu- ler and Schulthess, have added in a note, " Animi magnitudine mortem obiit." That Zwingli complied with Capito's request, however, is certain ; for April 8, 1527, in a letter to Zwingli, Capito refers to Zwin- gli's narrative of the affair. It is seen, he says, how the hand of God was manifested throughout, and how the Council was compelled to usurp the part of ajudge.' tuum pleium Bupplioio, et mortem obiise magmfice, quo nomine pietatis ao teritatis caussa, cujua partes tu agis, sit magnopere de- gravata." ' Zwingli, Opera viii, 30. "Magnopere Bcire oupio, quidnam cnm infelice Ftlice Manzio acciderit, an ob violatam fidem publicam, an propter pervicaciam eentiendi contra religionem plexus sit, et qua constantia vitam finierit. ' Zwingli, Opera viii, 44. " Historia Mansii dencripta est per Te deligenter et vere, quam in istum geri ao fieri Domino visum est, et nos perspicimus satis, quam coacte Senatus judicis partem tandem usurpaverit." 174 THE ANABAPTISTS IN SWITZERLAND. The death of Mantz, a man of deep piety, and scholarly attainments, was a heavy blow to the Ana- baptist cause in Switzerland. Messengers carried the sad tidings from village to village, from hamlet to hamlet, among the most secluded mountain valleys. Everywhere the brethren were cast down. Since Grebel's death and Hubmeier's banishment, they had naturally looked to Felix Mantz as their future leader. And now, he too waa taken from them. But though cast down they were not destroyed. Mantz's ■ dying testimony, and the heroic manner in which he accepted martyrdom, impressed deeply all hearts, and awakened the desire to imitate his noble example.* Blaurock, Mantz's fellow prisoner, was also sentenced to death by drowning, but inasmuch as he was not a citizen of the Canton, a milder punishment • Auss Bundt, das ist etliche schone Christenliche IMder, wie die in der Oe/iingnuss zu Passau in dem Schloss von den Schweizer- Briidem und andem reehtgliiubigen Christen hin und her gedicht- et warden. " Dia Oberkeit sie ruffen an Dasa sie una solle todtea Dauu Chriat hat aie verlan." Did thay aiug, using these words of one of Mantz'a hymns ? thay could add with their martyr leader, Christum den will ioh preiain, Der alia gdult erzeigt Thut una gar freundlich weiaen Mit seiner gnad geneigt." FATE OF SOME OF THE LEADERS. 175 was deemed sufficient in his case, and on the same day on which Mantz was executed, according to the decree of the Council,' Blaurock's hands were bound, his body was stripped to the waist, and as he passed along the street from the Fishmarket to the Nieder- dorf Gate he was beaten with rods until the blood flowed from the wounds thus made. Blaurock en- dured his sufferings not less heroically than Mantz. At the gate an oath that he would not return was demanded of him by the officers who had con- ducted him thither ; but he refused, saying that to take an oath is forbidden by God. On ,this account, he was taken back to the Wellenberg to await the further decisiou of the Council. Blaurock soon con- cluded to take the oath, ' it is said ; but as he left Zurich he shook the dust from his blue coat and his shoes as a testimony against his persecuting adver- saries.' About this time Simon Stumpf, formerly pastor at ' Egli, Adensammlung, 650, N. 1110. ' FiissHn in the Preface to vol. iv, of hia Beylrdge, b. 56, says that Zwingli took occasion from this to reproach the Anabaptists by asking why they suffered Bliurock to remain in their fellow- ship since he had broken one of the most prominent rules. " With- out doubt," adds FUsslin, " he did not consider that every sect willingly pardons the wrong doing of its members when they are not voluntary but compulsory.'' .' Bullinger, Reformationsgeschichte, i. s. 382. 176 THE ANABAPTISTS IM SWITZERLAND. Hongg, but against whom December 25, 1523, the Zurich Council issued a decree of banishment on account of his radical views, and who meanwhile had been in Germany, returned and resumed his labors among the brethren. This fact was-soon made known to the Council, and an order was issued April 25, 1527, requiring Stumpf to dispose of his possessions within fourteen days and leave the Canton on penalty of death.' ' Egli, IHe Ziiricker Wiedertdufer, b. 63, Actensammlung, 540, Nr. 467. CHAPTER IX. STATEMENT OF THE GEUNINGEN ANABAPTISTS AND DEATH OF DENE. Meanwhile the Council of Zurich was making every effort to secure the execution of Falk and Rie- man, the Anabaptist preachers whom the magistrates of Griiningen had refused to deliver into the Coun- cil's hands, but had retained in their own prison. A commission waa appointed to consider the matter and in accordance with its proposition, the Council, falling back upon an existing agreement between the two Cantons, determined to appeal to Berne as an umpire, in case Falk and Rieman should not be im- mediately executed in accordance with the edict. In vain the Griiningen magistrates endeavored to, prevent this action. It was the purpose of the Coun- cil, they were told, to destroy the Anabaptist heresy root and branch. But it waa soon found that perse- cution increased rather than diminished the member- ship of the Anabaptist Churches. The Council ac- cordingly decided to have a conference at Zurich in September, to which delegates from Berne, Basel, Schaffhausen, Chur, Appenzell, and St. Gall were in- 8* 177 178 THE ANABAPTISTS IN SWITZERLAND. vited. A correspondence, also, was commenced with Augsburg and Constance in reference to the Ana- baptists.* But though they had been deprived of their leaders the brethren were bold in defending their views. Here is a document, " belonging to this period, which the Anabaptists of the Griiningen district laid before the civil authorities, and in which, in opposition to the accusations of the magistrates, they justified the baptism of believers alone. " At his baptism by John, Christ calls baptism righteousness, and as the publicans before they were baptized by John must show repentance, he called it a counsel of God ; therefore, infants should not be baptized, because they neither need repentance nor know aught of righteousness or the counsel of God. Further, Christ says after his resurrection, ' He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved ; he that be- lieveth not shall be damned.' Here, again, he means the baptism of believers, not of children. He does not, however, at the same time include children in this condemnation, for he is not speaking of them, but to those who know good and evil ; and as for the rest he says, 'Suffer little children to come unto me,' 1 Egli, Actcnsammlung, 557, Nr. 1247 ; also 560, Nr. 1262. 'Fusnlin, Beytrage, iii, s. 319-329, Egli, Actcnsammlnng , 547, Nr. 1201. GRtJNINaEN ANABAPTISTS AND DEATH OF DENK. 179 etc. If now Ohrisfc calls baptism a ' counsel of God ' and ' righteousness,' and it is his, therefore God's, command, then mark, humble believer, how the false prophets mislead you, and the wise and ingenious, as they say, ' Baptism is nothing, it is only an external form, nothing but water, and signifies nothing.' " Peter baptized three thousand souls, who repent- ed and gladly received his word. There is also in this passage a proof against infant baptism ; and we may call attention to the fact that the three thousand would have had their children baptized (of which we read nothing) if it had b'een the custom. Likewise we find in the Acts of the Apostles that Philip bap- tized the Eunuch, because he believed with all his heart. " The twelve disciples of John, who were baptized by Paul at Ephesus in the name of Christ, had before received the baptism of John to repentance. This, therefore, was not enough. The twelve men were not sufficiently instructed in the Christian faith. So infant baptism is not enough, but is a false devilish doctrine. " Against infant baptism is the testimony of Paul, that we by baptism are buried into Christ's death, and with him should walk in a new life. Infants can neither yield their members to ' unrighteousness,' nor 'walk in newness of life.' 180 THE ANABAPTISTS IN SWITZERLAND. " Believers are those who walk in the will of the Spirit, and bring forth the fruits of the Spirit ; they are the company and body of Christ, the Christian Church. To this, therefore, the Anabaptists belong. " Zwingli, the false prophet, since he can find no proofs in the New Testament, turns back to the Old, and appeals to the covenant with Abraham. But this covenant was made by God with the Jews, and not with the Gentiles. Why then do the preachers baptize our children, whose descent is from the Gen- tiles, not from the Jews ? Besides, the girls as well as the little boys were included in the promise, although they were not circumcised like the latter. ".According to the words of Christ and Paul, the law haa an end with Jesus, and the gospel begins. So shall we also be found in the new life, and no longer in the old ; and seek no other way, no other door, than Christ ; otherwise we are thieves and rob- bers. If, however, it is said, infants are included in the promise, it is the promise of Christ which is meant, that says, ' Of such is the kingdom of hea- ven.' He, therefore, who, instead of being satisfied with this promise, turns to infant baptism, is making another door, and is therefore a thief and a robber. " If now the members of the Zurich Council desig- nate the baptism of Christ as Anabaptism, the com- mon people will be convinced that the reverse is the GRUNINGEN ANABAPTISTS AND DEATH OF DENK. 181 fact, and that infant baptism is really Anabaptism. Now we desire that you will leave us alone with the truth ; if, however, this may' no.t be, we are ready for the sake of the truth to suffer through the grace and power of God." In August, possibly in September, Jacob Gross, of Waldshut, was imprisoned at Briigg, in the Canton of Berne, having preached Anabaptism in the sur- rounding country and baptized many. He was of- fered his liberty if he would take an oath not to re- sume his labors in the Canton ; if he refused, he was threatened with death by drowning. Gross at length accepted a release on the terms proposed, and made his way into the Griiningen district, where, by night, in a barn, probably at a preaching service, he was arrested, about the middle of September, as it would seem, but was set at liberty on his promise to leave the district.' Throughout the year 1627, Anabaptists . from Waldshut made the country between that place and Zurich, known as Unterland, their field of labor. In Biilach, Haslen, and vicinity the people were inclined to accept Anabaptist views, and the meetings held by the brethren were largely attended. ' A certain lEgli, Actensammlung, 5G3,Nr. 1275, also 5G4, Nr. 1277, 1278. ' Egli, Actensammlung, 569, Nr. 1307. 182 THE ANABAPTISTS IN SWITZERLAND. Hindermann and Elsi Spillinann of Dallikon, and Jacob Frei of Watt, on account of their attendance upon these secret services conducted by Anabaptists from across the border, were imprisoned, but were released with a warning not to attend such meetings in the future, but to go to church ; and, imposing a fine upon them if they should neglect this warning, they compelled them to swear to bring or report Anabaptists from across the border to the bailiffs. ' December 15, 1527, the Council issued a decree to the bailiffs, directing them to seize and imprison in the Wellenberg .those who withdrew from the churches and attached themselves to field preachers, and not to release them without first having paid a fine of five pounds.^ It is at this time that a name already mentioned suddenly reappears in the history of the Anabaptists of Switzerland, only, however, to be again mentioned and as suddenly to disappear forever. John Denk, who was at St. Gall in 1525, and who at that time was suspected of being in secret communication with Anabaptists, appeared in Augsburg ' in the summer or autumn of the same year, where he openly espous- ' Egli, Actensammlung, 581, Nr. 1335, ' Egli, Actensammlung, 582, Nr. 1338. " Studkn u. Kritiken, 1851, erste Heft. s. 138. (JoUann Denk unci sein Biichlin vom OescU, by lleberle). QEUNINaEN ANABAPTISTS AND DEATH OF DENK. 183 ed the cause of the Anabaptists, and aided in making Augsburg the centre of the movement in Swabia. In the autumn of 1526, not later certainly than November, he left Augsburg ' and made his way to Strasburg, where with Hetzer, and subsequently at Worms, he was engaged in a translation of the prophetical books of the Old Testament, which was published in Worms in the first half of the following year (the preface is dated April 3, 1527), and accord- ingly nearly five years before Luther's translation appeared. This translation was received with so much favor that within four years twelve editions at least were printed.^ In July, 1527, Denk was. again in Augsburg; but at the close of the month, by way of Ulm and Nurem- berg, where he found that persecution awaited him if he remained, he proceeded to Basel, in which place he had once lived in friendly intercourse with Oeco- lampadius, and with whom he hoped now to find an asylum. August 3, 1527, just before Denk's arrival, Basel had forbidden Anabaptists to remain in the city ; ' but Denk, in a letter, frankly laid his views before Oecolampadius, and asked for himself what he was willing to accord to all men, religious freedom. ' Studien u. Kritiken, 1851, e. 140. '•' Jahrbikher fiir d. Theologie, B. 1856, 265. " Herzog, Das LebenJ. Oekolampads ii. s. 307. 184 THE ANABAPTISTS IN SWITZERLAND. " God is my witness,'' he wrote," that I am favorable to one sect only, to the followship of the saints wher- ever found. For that it is with you alone, I do not believe. . . . Not to have a home is a grief to me. Yet it grieves me yet more that my zeal does not bring corresponding fruit. No other fruit, however, do I seek, than that very many with one heart and mind may glorify God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, whether they be circumcised or baptized or neither. For I am wholly of a different view from those who bind the Kingdom of God to the cere- monies and elements of the world, although I do not deny that I myself for a long time fell into a like error. If you believe that you can endure these principles in any way, will you take the pains to ob- tain for me permission to remain here." In closing, Denk begs his old friend to lose sight of the days of their alienation, and to give him again a place in his heart. In what esteem he held him, he would learn from the confidence which he had manifested in this letter, and which he was ready to manifest even in a greater degree. " I seek to escape from exile," he said ; " but if I should not succeed, I do not think I shall repent of this letter unless, which God forbid, you should use it in order to glorify yourself, and to destroy another."' » Studien u. Kritiken, 1855, b. 873, 874. GEiJNINGEN ANABAPTISTS AND DEATH OF DENK. 186 Whether the permission asked for by Denk was obtained, we do not know, but he remained in Basel, and saw Oecolampadius frequently. Bullinger says, " He discussed much and long with Oecolampadius, who greatly desired his conversion." It has been claimed that Denk was converted, or, in other words, renounced his Anabaptist errors. Indeed, a tract which he wrote in Basel in explanation of his views, and which was published after his death, was sent out under the title, Metraction of John Denk} Th is tract, so far as I am aware, has not been pre- served ; but the extracts from it which have come down to us' do not justify either the report or the title. Thus, concerning separation and sects, Denk, in Article Six, says : " Those who walk in the footsteps of Christ, I re- joice in and love, wherever I find them. But with those who will not hear me, and yet will not keep silent, I cannot have much fellowship, for I do not discover in such the mind of Christ, but a perverted mind, which will force me to abandon my faith, and compel me to adopt its own, whether it be right or not. And even if right, zeal may be very commend- able, but unwise. For it should be known that in ' It is thought to have been published by Oecolampadine. See Heberle, Studien u. Kritiken, 1855, B. 876. ' AjcuoXd, Kirchen u. Eeizer Historie, i.e. 1305 — 1307. 186 THE ANABAPTISTS IN SWITZERLAND. matters of faith everything should be free, voluntary, and without compulsion. Therefore, I separate my- self from some, not that I regard myself better and more righteous than they, but even if I were lacking in many things, that I may seek freely and unhinder- ed the costly pearl, ai^d having found it may hold it at peace with every man in so far as it is possible for me. From all others, persecution and the fear of persecution have separated me. My heart, however, is not separated from them, especially from any one who feara God. Yet with error and unrighteousness I will have no fellowship (if God will) in so far as my knowledge extends. With this consciousness I await joyfully and unterrified the judgment of Jesus Christ, however much on account of weakness I may fear before men. On this account I do not justify myself, but know, and indeed acknowledge, that I am a man who has erred, and may still err." In Article Seven, concerning ceremonies, Denk thus gives expression to his views : " In themselves ceremonies are not useful, and he who thinks thereby to obtain anything, whether through baptism or the breaking of bread, is super- stitious. A believer is free in outward things, yet according to his ability he will make every effort that the honor of God may not be diminished by him, and that the love of his neighbor may not be wickedly GE.UNINGEN ANABAPTISTS AND DEATH OF DENK. 187 despised. He who makes ceremonies burdensome is not much of a gainer thereby ; for should one lose all ceremonies, he would not suffer any injury, and indeed it is better to want them than to misuse them." That any one should find in these words a rejection of Auabaptism ' is amazing. They are rather noble witnesses to the lofty Christian spirit of the man, as all must confess. And it is worthy of notice that Arnold, ° having presented these quotations from Denk's Explanation adds : " These are Denk's own words. From them it may be seen whether he can be regarded as godless and damnable, and whether his followers may be regarded as diabolical or devilish." He who joyfully and unterrified awaited the judg- ment of Jesus Christ was called to meet his judge sooner than he had anticipated ; for in a short time after his arrival in Basel he died, like Grebel, of the pest. The date of his death is unknown ; but December 2, 1527, Zwingli received a letter from Berthold Haller in Berne, in which he said : " Denk, Apollo of Anabaptism, whom Oecolampadius some- times visited, died at Basel of the pest." ' ' BuUinger, Wiedertduffer F. 8. 65. ' Kirchen u. Ketzer Hislorie, i, o. 1307. Zwingli, Opera viii. s. 123. CHAPTER X. SEVERER MEASURES ADOPTED, AKD DEATH OF HET- ZBR. The Reformation was not established in Berne until early in 1528. At the great discussion between the Protestants and Romanists in that city, January 5, 1526, some Anabaptists were present who were not satisfied with a reformation which should go no far- ther than Zwingli had marked out, and who com- plained of a lack of earnest preaching of repentance on the part of evangelical preachers. They were not invited to the discussion, and having been arrested they were imprisoned in a cloister until after the dis- cussion closed, when a special meeting was held, at which the Anabaptists were exhorted to renounce their errors. These exhortations, however, were fruitless, and the Anabaptists were banished from the city and Canton.' The effects of the edict of December 16, 1527, were soon visible, especially in Unterland. Here, as we have seen, the Anabaptists from Waldshut had ' Erbkam, Geschichte d. prot. Sekten, e. 543. BuUinger, Re/orma- iionsgeschichte, i. o. 436. 188 SEVERER MEASURES ADOPTED. 189 sown seeds which were at length bearing fruit in many hearts. In no other part of Switzerland were the Anabaptists now so numerous as in this region. A picture of the situation we have in an account which the pastor of Biilach, Huldreich Eollenburtz, placed on record in reference to the Anabaptists in this parish.' " Some Waldshut Anabaptists," he wrote, " are making an uproar in Biilach, as formerly in Nerach and Stadel.. Many of their followers have not been to church for more than six months. When I preach, they also have a preaching service, insisting that they alone preach the true gospel. They also refuse to come to the Lord's Table." Another view of the situation is given in the court records, in which we have the testimony of the Anabaptists who were arrested in accordance with the provisions of the recent edict. " The parties of the State Churches," it was said, "did not live in conformity with their teachings." ^ Some were drunkards, some were avaricious, some were unchaste, some were addicted to gambling. Indeed, so much was urged against the morals of the clergy that it was found necessary to adopt measures to bring about a better state of 'Egli, Die Ziiricher Wiedertdufer, b. 71. Actensammlung, 587, Nr. 1358. ' Egli, Actensammlung, 589, Nr. 1360. 190 THE ANABAPTIST3 IN SWITZERLAND. things ; and an edict, with thia end in view, waa issued, April 8, 1528.' May 14, 1528, a new and stronger edict against the Anabaptists was issued by the Basel Council. In , it, not only was Anabaptism denounced, but attend- ance upon private religious services, in or near the city, in forests or in the fields, waa forbidden; and all were commanded to be content with the proclama- tion of the sacred word in the State Churches. Adults who allowed themselves to be rebaptized, parents who refused to have their children baptized until they were advanced in years, and all who attended private religious assemblies, and entertained and supported those who preached, at these assemblies, were threa- tened with severe punishment in life and possessions. This ordinance waa especially intended for the sup- pression of the Anabaptist movement in the country around Basel, to which the influence of the Anabap- tists seemed at that time to be restricted. But it failed, and soon we again hear of Anabaptists in the city. In the course of the summer some men and women were imprisoned in Basel, and they sacrificed life rather than surrender their faith. Arrests af- terward were made in the surrounding country." ' Egli, Die Ziiricher Wiederldufer a. 72-75. Actensammlung , 597, Nr. 1383. '' Herzog, Das Lcben J. Oekolampads, ii. ». 55, 80. SEVEEER MEASURES ADOPTED. 191 Meanwhile, for more than fifteen months the Grlin- ingen Anabaptists had endured the sufferings of a cruel imprisonment. The Council of Zurich had now determiiled to make an end of Anabaptism in that district if possible, and to establish firmly thS State Church. Accordingly these prisoners were brought forth — the record is under date of August 11, — in the expectation evidently that they would retract, and influence their brethren to abandon their Ana- baptist views. But they had received no new light during their long imprisonment, and they all stood firm in ■ their determination not to yield. " Infant baptism," they said, " is an abomination in the sight of God; anabaptism is God's command. The preachers falsify the word of God, especially in refer- ence to baptism. They are now the false prophets, against whom Christ uttered a warning." One of the prisoners said, he should, fear for his poor soul if he denied the word of God. Another said, he did not care to hear his pastor preach, because he jtersecuted the Anabaptists. A third did not care to hear the word of God in the church, much as he enjoyed it when he read it elsewhere.' At the same examination, it would seem, Jacob Talk said he did not go to church, because the Scriptures tell us to "beware of false prophets." All lamented that they were ever in fa- ' Egli, Actcnsammlung, 636, Nr, 1469. 192 THE ANABAPTISTS IN SWITZERLAND. vor of infant baptism. One of these prisoners had lain a half year in the dungeon sick, and was swollen from head to foot, so that he had to be carried to the place where the examination was held ; yet he pre- ferred to die with his companions in the dungeon rather than to live without in the caatle. As they confessed that they had exhorted each other to hold out, sick or well, they were placed in separate prisons in Zurich, where they were kept for fourteen days on bread and water." Falk and Rieman were again exam- ined, the question of j urisdiction having been settled by Berne in favor of Zurich.^ The former said he would continue to baptize, strengthened by the Son of God, who had redeemed him and had not forsaken him. September 5, both were sentenced to death. Falk re- fused to give the names of those he had baptized. He would not be the cause of persecution and death to his brethren, no one had strengthened and comforted him, except the Son of God, who had redeemed him and would not forsake him.' They were taken to a little fishing hut in the middle of the river Limat,' says Bullinger, " where they were drawn into the water and drowned." ° 1 Aciensammlung, 641, Nr. 1486. 2 Egli, AcUnsLmmlung, 637, Nr. 1473. » Egli, Aciensammlung, 632, Nr. 1458. .* Egli, Aciensammlung, 640, Nr. 1473. ^ Beformationsgeschichte, ii, s. 14. SEVERER MEASURES ADOPTED. 193 Of the others, some retracted, and were released on their promise to recognize infant baptism, and also to pay the cost of their entire imprisonment, for which they gave bail. Those who refused were- given farther time for reflection, and were kept meanwhile on bread and water in the tower.' Much as had been, accomplished in suppressing Anabaptism in. the Griiningen district, it was not yet destroyed. The pastor at Hinwyl informed the Council that in his parish there were those who had not been inside of the church for two years. The magistrates made a like report. Early in December, accordingly, the Council issued an additional edict instructing the magistrates to ex- ercise renewed watchfulness in their work of ex- tirpation, with the added warning that, if they proved unfaithful, they themselves would be pun- ished.^ So thoroughly did they attend to their duties, in consequence of this admonition, that in the following year the oiEcial correspondence fur- nishes only two brief letters to show that any Anabaptists were now to be found in the Griinin- gen district. It will be remembered that among those who were required to leave Zurich after the Discus- ' Egli, Actensammlung, 642, Nr 1467. ' Egji, Actensammlung, 647-8, Nr. 1521. 194 THE ANABAPTISTS IN SWITZERLAND. sion of January 17, 1525, was Ludwig Hetzer. He went first to Augsburg, and became connected with the radical party in that city, but early in September, if not before, he was compelled to leave the place, and we find him not long after in Basel, where he was kindly received by Oecolampadius, who gave him literary employment, and by whom he was subsequently commended to Zwingli, at Zurich, whither he went to carry through the press a work of Oecolampadius on the Lord's Supper, which he had translated into the German language. That at this time Hetzer was not in full sympathy with the Anabaptist movement is evidenced not only from the fact that he was present at the Dis- cussion in Zurich, November 9, 1525, as a spectator only; but also from the fact that in the preface to his translation of Oecolampadius' work he ex- pressly denies that he was an Anabaptist, though he admits that he rejected infant baptism. Re- turning to Basel, he devoted himself to a transla- tion of Malachi into the German from the Latin of Oecolampadius. This translation was published at Basel in the following summer, the preface bear- ing date of July 15, 1526.' ' Dcr Prophet Malachi mit ausslegung Joan Ecolampadii, durch jn im latein beschriben, mitjleyss vcrdeutschi durchLudwig Hdtzer. It was printed by Thomas Wolif, and on the title-page is found Iletzer's motto, "0 God, release the imprisoned." SEVEEER MEASUEES ADOPTED. 195 LaLo in the summor Hotzor appeared in Stras- burg, whore he fully connected himself with the Anabaptist movement, and where, as in Worms later, he devoted himself to its furtherance. At Stras- burg he commenced a translation of Isaiah. Here, also, he made the acquaintance of Denk, who came to Strasburg in the autumn, probably in October or Novenaber, 1526, and with whom Hetzer became associated in the translation of the Old Testament." In July, 1527, Hetzer visited Nuremberg and Augs- burg with Denk. The latter, as we have seen, toward the end of July left Augsburg and made his way to Basel, where he soon died. Hetzer seems to have remained in and around Augsburg until April, 1528, when he was again banished. Now that so many doors were closed against him, whither should he direct his footsteps if not to the home of his youth ? And so he went to Bischofs- zell, a small village not far from St. Gall and Con- stance. Here he is supposed to have devoted him- self to the preparation of one or two theological works, and it is thought that he visited Vadian at St. Gall. In the summer of 1628, or later, we find him in Constance, where there was a small circle ' Of this translation Luther, in 1527, wrote; " Prophetas ver- naoula donates Wormatia non contemno, nisi quod Germanismus, obscurior est, forte natura illius regionis. Fecerunt diligentiam quia autem omnia attingat?" De Wette, iii. 172. 196 THE ANABAPTISTS IN SWITZERLAND. of Anabaptists, which had been kept small by im- prisonment and banishment. All the other Ana- baptist loaders were now dead. A way was soon to be discovered in which the career of Hetzer, also, could be brought to an end. Anabaptism, in Constance, was not punishable by death, as in the Canton of Zurich. Hetzer might be arrested as an Anabaptist, but the Council could do no more than to imprison or banish him. Tow- ard the end of October, possibly six weeks later, Hetzer was arrested and thrown into prison, where he remained until early in the following year. On the 3d of February he was brought before the magistrate, Jacob Zeller. So far as the record shows, Hetzer was the only witness. In the scanty report of the trial which is found in the city archives at Constance, it is said that Hetzer made a frank confession. He had married Anna, the wife of George Regel, of Augsburg, but not until after Kegel's death. He had received from her a ring in confirmation of the marriage, and many times he had received money from her. He had also another wife, Appolonia, the maid of Anna Kegel. He had persuaded Anna Eegel that thiswaa not wrong, but in accordance with the will of God.^ ' Arohivea of C'onatanoe, city records for the years 1529 and 1530. SEVERER MEASURES ADOPTED. 197 It is admitted by Keim' that, as the record stands, Hetzer had done nothing which, in accord- ance with the laws of Constance at that time, waS punishable with death ; but he adds that Hetzer's crime seemed to the natural feeling so abnormally- immoral, so systematically and fundamentally shame- less, that the death penalty was invoked. And so, having been adjudged guilty, he was condemned to death; but so mucb consideration was shown to him, that at the request of his friends it was de- cided that he should be executed by the sword. It is a fact worthy of notice that in the corre- spondence between Zwingli and his friends at Con- stance, as it appears in Zwingli's works, there is not a line that refers to this matter. What we know concerning the affair, aside from the court record, is taken for the most part from a letter of John Zwick to Ambrose Blaurer, written February 6, 1529, the day after Hetzer's execution, and also from an account of Hetzer's last moments by Thomaa Blaurer. According to Blaurer, Hetzer received the an- nouncement of his sentence with indescribable joy. During the day, as if he had been appointed to some high honor,- he was visited by a throng of ' JahrbUcher fiir Deutsche Theologie, 1856, s. 282. 198 THE ANABAPTISTS IN SWITZERLAND. people of every rank in society, — members of the Council, clergymen, citizens, without reference to party or religion, — and with all, except the city pastors, Zwick and Metzler, he talked freely. " He conducted himself well and with propriety," says John Zwick ; " God be praised on his behalf." The night that followed was not passed in sleep. The friends of the condemned were with him, and at his request psalms and hymns were sung. During the night Hetzer referred to his translation of the Scriptures, and gave expression to the satis- faction he derived from the service he had rendered in translating the Old Testament into the language of the common people. " He addressed us all as his dear brethren," says Zwick. " In the morning he constrained us all to pray with him. The room was very full indeed. He now prayed to God with a seriousness such as I have never seen or heard. After that he gave an exhortation to us preachers, and mingled with it a few words on infant baptism, that we should not enforce it, as if we must whether or no baptize the children, but suffer it to be quite free. He spoke also very briefly and in a very desultory manner on some other points, but after such a sort that no one could reprove him. Would to God we had in print what he said to us I Oh, it is very well to dispute of many things when we SEVERER MEASURES ADOPTED. 199 have not much else to do, but when death draws near thea all disputing is at an end." When he was led to the Council Chamber, where his sentence was publicly declared, Hetzer expressed his satisfaction, and asked only that the Burgomaster would regard tenderly his loved ones, and also the poor prisoners, with whose wretched condition he had become acquainted during his own imprisonment. Then he was delivered to the executioner. A few earnest words to the people followed. On his way to the place of execution he referred to his companions who had already obtained the martyr's crown. Mantz, Hut, Langenmantel, Sattler, and Hubmeier. At the Upper Market he addressed the people. " Con- stance," he said, " ought not to have God's word in the mouth only, but exhibit it in the life. Therewith he offered up a fervent prayer, so that many of the people wept with him, and throughout the whole of his progress he was cheerful and unap palled." At the block Hetzer opened his Hebrew Psalter, requested the people to kneel with him, and then in a clear, loud voice he translated the 25th Psalm. At the 15th verse as he read, " For he shall pluck my feet out of the net," he looked down to the cords with which he was bound, while the people with sobs re- peated the words after him. At the close of the Scripture reading, Hetzer offered the Lord's Prayer, 200 THE ANABAPTISTS IN SWITZERLAND. concluding his supplication with "Through Jesus Christ, the Saviour of the world by his blood.' As the headman approached, ho prayed that God would not leave him. " God will not forsake thee," said one who heard his prayer. For a moment only was the weakness of the flesh manifest as the color mounted to his cheeks. Then he knelt, laid his head upon the block, and unterrified received the fatal stroke. "A nobler and more manful death," says John Zwick, " was never seen in Constance. He suffered with great- er propriety than I had given him credit for. They who knew not that he was a heretic and an Anabap- tist could have observed nothing in him. Very many of the opposite party who were present thought he would have said something on account of our doctrine and against the preachers; but not a word. We were all with him to his end, and may the Almighty; the eternal God, grant to me and to the servants of ' It has been said that Hetzer rejected the atonement of Christ and we are referred to one of his hymns : Ja spricht die "Welt, es ist nicht noth, dass ich mit Christo lyde ; ' Er litt doch selbs fyr mich den tod nun zech ich uf sin kryde, Er zalt fyr mich daselb gloub ich ; hiemit ista usgerichtet. Bruder min I Es ist ein Schyn, der Tyfel hats erdichtot. Referring to these lines, Fiiaslin (Kirchen u. Kctzerhistorie) says : " He punishes only the fools, who convert Cliristian faith into carnal security, and think Christ has done enough for them, and that tliey can live as they please.'' SEVERER MEASURES ADOPTED. 201 his word like mercy in the day when he shall call us home." Thomas Blaurer closes his account of Het- zer's last moments with these words : " No one has with so much charity, so courageously laid down his life for anabaptism as Hetzer. He was like one who spoke with God and died."' And yet we are asked to believe that Hetzer was immoral in heart and life ! Let those believe it who can. Certainly adulterers and the friends of harlots are not wont to spend their last hours on earth in such tranquil communion with God, or to die as triumphant a death. Of the charge of polygamy ■which was brought against Hetzer by some early writers, Fiisslin,^ after an examination of the evidence upon which the charge rests, says that it has no weight whatever ; that Hetzer neither approved nor practiced polygamy. Concerning the charge of immo- rality, he says all that is known is that " a certain Eeglingerin and a certain Appele" were the occasion of anguish and unrest to Hetzer in his last hours. The source of this remark, as he tells us, is John Zwick's letter to which we have already referred. > The letter of John Zwiok will be found in A Martyrology of the Churches of Christ, published by the Ilanserd Kuollya So- ciety; i. p. 97-100. See also Jahrhiicher f. Deutsche Theologie, 1856, 2t6 Heft ; B. 285-287. ' Neue und unparthr.yischc Kirchcn u. Kdzcrhistoric, iii. s. 2G9. 9* 202 THE ANABAPTISTS IN SWITZERLAND. And this is all that John Zwick says on this point : " The room was full of people, who sing psalms the whole night through ; for he himself sought as much as possible thereby to overcome some of his temp- tations. Hard, hard conflicts did he have concerning Keglingler, and afterwards also on account of Appelen. He was not, however, in the least fantastical, like many Baptists." This is certainly a very slight foundation for so grave a charge. On the other hand, Hetzer's previous character is not to be forgotten. Until within two years before his death he was the trusted friend and companion of such men as Zwingli and Oecolampadius. In the letters of Oapito to Zwingli, written in Strasburg in ■ 1527, while Hetzer was living there, and after he became an Anabaptist, there is not even a hint of Hetzer's impurity, although Oapito bitterly assails Hetzer's views. Furthermore, Hetzer's writings are a witness to the purity of his character. He loved the word of God, and ever insisted upon loyalty to its commandments. I cannot but think, therefore, that the Moravian Chronicle is right in saying that Hetzer was condemned for " the sake of divine truth," as it is certainly right in saying that he " nobly" bore witness to divine truth " by his blood."' ' A Marlyrology of the Churches of Christ, i. p. 101. CHAPTER XL THE WORK OF EXTERMINATION COMPLETED. Blaurock, who was banished from Zurich at the time of Mantz's execution, we find early in 1529 in Basel, where, at a public discussion, he, with nine other Anabaptists, met Oecolampadius. The latter, at the outset, endeavored to show that from the time of Cyprian infant baptism had been practiced. The Anabaptists replied that if we are to go to the Church Fathers for our arguments in support of infant baptism, why not allow the Romanists to do the same in sup- port of the mass, which Protestants repudiate as having no warrant in the Scriptures. Oecolampadius then asked where in the Scriptures infant baptism is forbidden. The Anabaptists replied by asking Oecolampadius to show from the Scriptures that in- fant baptism was instituted for children. The result of the discussion was that both parties, as usual, claimed a victory. Certainly, the Anabaptists made an impression upon many of the citizens, some of whom were baptized." ' Starck, Oeschichte dcr Taufc, a. 202. There has been some discussion recently in reference to the 203 204 THE ANABAPTISTS IN SWITZERLAND. Oecolampadius now advised the Council not to allow these obstinate Anabaptists to remain in the city. In accordance with this advice, the Council issued an edict April 1, in which it was ordered that all adults who allow themselves to be rebaptized, or who teach Anabaptism and forbid infant baptism, and all those who do not intend to have their children baptized, and who give their support to the Anabap- tist movement, should from that time be arrested and imprisoned, and kept on bread and water until they were willing to retract their errors publicly. If this practice of immersion by the Anabaptists of Switzerland. Atten- tion has already been directed to the immersion, early in 1525, of Wolfgang Ulimann in the Ehine at Schaffhaueen, and of the con- verts of St. Gall a few weeks later. I find no-further examples in the records. But the fact that the Senate of Zurich subsequently decreed (Zwingli, Opera, iii. s. 364) that anyone immersing a candidate in baptism — qui merserit baptismo — should be drowned, is a significant hint. Kessler {Sabhata, i. s. 270) tells us that at St. Gall the Anabaptists had a " Taufhaus'' or baptistry. Sicher, a Romanist eye-witness (Arx, Oeschichte d. Stadt, St. Oallen, ii. s. 501) says ; " The number of the converted [at St. Gall] increased so that the baptistry could not contain the crowd, and they were compelled to use the streams and the Sitter Eiver.'' John Stumpf, in his Oemeiner Loblicher Eydgenossenschaft, who during the per- iod under survey lived in the vicinity of Zurich, and was familiar with the history of the Anabaptist movement, says that gener- ally the early Anabaptists of Switzerland worp " rebaptized in rivers and streams." WORK OF EXTERMINATION COMPLETED. 205 were done and they should again fall into the same errors, they were to be regarded as apostates and suffer death by the sword. It was also ordered that those who forsake the State churches, and attend the meet- ings of the preachers in the fields and forests,or in other secluded places, should be regarded as Anabaptists, even though they had not been rebaptized, and they should be treated as such.i The Anabaptists were in- this way scattered through the country around, and by their missionary labors many converts were won. The fact became known to the magistrates in Basel and they sent officers to arrest the missionaries and their converts. Many of them were secured and thrown into the prisons in Basel. Of nine of the more prominent, three re- tracted. The others refused, and wete banished. " Nothing," says Starck," could exceed the steadfast- ness with which they endured all this. They de- clared publicly that their sufferings had come upon them for the sake of the people, and on this account they were willingly endured. Formerly, when they were engaged in all kinds of wrong-doing, no one per- secuted them ; now, however, when through baptism they had received forgiveness of sins, and were living godly lives, they were persecuted in all places." ■ BuUinger, lieformationsgeschichle, li. B. 100, 101. ' Geschichte der Taufe, a. 204, 206 THE ANABAPTISTS IN SWITZERLAND. Some of the baaished at length returned, and yet severer measures were adopted by the magistrates. G;istius tells ua that at Homberg, a castle belonging to the city of Basel, some of the imprisoned Baptists were kept. "All of them were immersed in a stream by the guard three times in one day, because they despised the oath tendered to them. Although tortured, they could not be constrained to leave the country, nor to renounce their opinions, often quoting the words of the Psalmist, ' Thou shalt dwell in the land.' One of them, when' about to be drowned by the executioner in the mountain torrent which crossed the meadow, addressed the minister of the church who had been for many years his friend. He ex- horted him to give up his ecclesiastical benefice ; for never, until then, could he sincerely preach the gospel. While the words were issuing from his mouth the prisoner was precipitated into the abyss of waters from the trunk of the tree on which he sat bound." ' Blaurock seems to have made his way into the Canton of Appenzell ; for April 16, 1529, the Council addressed a letter to the Council at Zurich ' asking information concerning him. He had previously been banished from the land, it was said; but he had returned and resumed his labors, preaching and ' Gastius, de Anab. Exordio, 210-214. " Egli, Adensammlung, s. 660, Nr. 1558. WORK OF EXTERMINATION COMPLETED. 207 baptizing. He was doubtless again banislied, for not long after this he appeared in the Tyrol, where at Olaussen, in the same year, ' he was burned at the stake, and tested the truth of the words of one of his own hymns, in which, referring to the Lord, he says : " Wio er dann eelbst gelifctea hat, Als er am Creutz gehangen, Also ea jetzt den frommen gaht, Sie leiden grossen zwangen." ' In the Regensburg district, north of Zurich, the Anabaptists still showed some strength. One of the officers of the district reported that his efforts to have the people attend church had not been attended with much success. The Anabaptists still refused to partake of the Lord's Supper in the churches, urging as an excuse that they would thereby " eat damnation " ; and at Watt, where their numbers seem to have been the greatest now, they secretly observed at Easter the Lord's Supper among themselves."^ April 27,Gros3-Jacob, John, Felix, and Henry Frei, Felix Schwartz, John Wagner, Conrad Stein, and Eudolph Schmid, on account of their continual adhe- rence to the " Anabaptist Sect." before release from ' Cornelius, Geschichte des Munsterischen Aufruhrs, ii. 8. 59. ' Auss Bundi, Lied v. 25 stanza. " Egli, Aclcnsammlung, s. 661, Nr. 1560. 208 THE ANABAPTISTS IN SWITZEELAND. prison under reprimand were fined a silver mark for holding private meetings, not appearing at the Lord's Supper at Easter, and for disobedience of the mandate in spite of repeated warnings. Gross- Jacob as the ringleader was fined two marks.^ In Appenzell the Anabaptists were still numer- ous, especially in Teufen. At a discussion which was held at that place in October, 1529, about four hundred Anabaptists were present, but the result seems not to have been satisfactory. Zwingli thought that the magistrates in Appenzell dealt too tenderly with the Anabaptists, and sought through the Coun- cil of Zurich to induce them to suppress the hated sect. January 10, 1530, the matter was presented to the Appenzell delegates who were present at the Diet in Zurich.^ But the Anabaptists in Appenzell received a heavier blow a little later. Wolfgang Ulimann, who had united his fortunes with the Anabaptists in Moravia, returned to his native land, in order to induce his brethren in the fold to leave their mountain homes and go with him to a country where the means of life were more abundant, and where they would be be- yond the reach of religious persecution. They lis- tened to his words, and with hearts full of hope many lEgli, Actensammlung, 663, Nr. 1561. ' Zellweger, Oeschichte d. Appenzellischen Volkes, iii. s. 183, 184, WOEK OF EXTERMINATION COMPLETED. 209 gathered together their earthly possessions and set oat with hini on their long journey. When they reached Waldsee, however, Truchsess fell upon them and seized their persons and their property. Ulimann and all of the men who refused to give up their Anabaptist views were beheaded. The women, who were equally steadfast, were drowned. Those who retracted, together with the children, were compelled to return to their old homes.' In the Griiningen district Anabaptism seems to have been very effectually suppressed. John Muller, of Medikon, is the last of the brethren there of whom we have any record. He had been thrown into prison, and at the close of 1529, he was ex- amined, and an attempt was made to extort from him a promise to attend church. He asked the priv- ilege of consulting with his friends, and urged the Council to act upon the precept of the Saviour. " Whatsover we would that men should do unto you, do ye even so to them." Subsequently Muller, in a letter to the Council, called the attention of his per- secutors to some other passages of Scripture. " Do not burden my conscience," he wrote, " since faith is a free gift of God, and as the Scripture shows, not every man's possession. It is not born of the will of I Kessler, Sabhata, ii. s. 253. 210 'the anabaptists in SWITZERLAND. tlie flesh, but of the will of God. For as many as are led of the Spirit, they are the sons of God. And every good gift cometh down from above, from the Father of lights. ' No man cometh unto me except the Father draw him.' The secret of God is concealed, like a treasure in the field, which no man can find unless the Spirit of th e Lord reveal it unto him. So, I beseech you, ye servants of God, to leave me free in the matter of faith." * Miiller seems to have made an attempt to escape from prison, and having been unsuccessful he excused himself to the magistrates in these words : " Dear friends, be not surprised that I attempted to break out, for necessity compelled me thereto." This is the same man of whom the bailiflF wrote in August, 1528, that he was a pious man, Anabaptistically inclined ; and later that aside from his Anabaptist views, he was " a fine, pious fellow."' He was released early in 1530 on his promise to re- cognize infant baptism and attend a parish church. In the district north of Zurich the work of persecu- tion still went on. Whole families were thrown into prison, in order to destroy the nests of Anabaptism, as it was said ; and they were kept in prison until they retracted and promised to attend the State churches, while their leader, Conrad Winkler, was ' Egli, AclensamnUung, G94, Nr. 1635. ' Egli, Die Ziiricher Wiedertdufer, s. 83, 87. WORK OF EXTERMINATION COMPLETED. 211 condemned to die, and was drowned, January 20, 1530.' He was tlio fourtb martyr wliicli the records of Zurich reveal. Bernard Weesen, who was a resi- dent of Zurich at this time, and who fell at the battle of Cappel, says that Winkler was put to death " for having rebaptized, against express command, so many people that he did not know the number. He leaped up, struck his hands together as if he rejoiced at his death ; and immediately before he was thrust under [water] he sang with clear voice one or two verses of a psalm." ' Among those who refused to retract was John Bruppacher of Zumikon. He was at length sub- jected to the rack and examined in reference to the views of the Anabaptists, and also concerning their leaders. He said that he had never heard that Ana- baptists teach that there should be no magistracy; or that in case they should be successful, they would overthrow the same. At Basel he had not seen Winkler, Blaurock, and other Anabaptists. He had thought and believed that preachers at present do not rightly declare the divine word. February 9, it was ordered by the Council that he should be kept on ' Egli, Die ZUricher Wledertdufer, b. 89. He had been especially successful in hia labors in Baden and Basel, see Egli, Adcnsamm- lung, 691, ii. Nr. 1631, 695, Nr. 1657. ^Fiisslin, Bcyiriige, iv. s. 121. 212 THE ANABAPTISTS IN SWITZERLAND. bread and water, sick or well, in the New Tower until he recanted.^ An added effort for the suppression of Anabaptists was made by the Zurich Council, March 26, 153,0. " "We are determined," said its members, " not to tolerate Anabaptists within our borders. There must be no fellowship with them whatever." And it was ordained that all the inhabitants of the Canton, and all in any way allied with them, especially all supe- rior and inferior officers, magistrates, etc., should seize the brethren, wherever discovered, and deliver them to the Council, to be punished according to the law by death. Those who should aid them, or abstain from giving information concerning them, or from arresting them, should be punished according to their deserts, and without any favor, for violating the oath they had taken to sustain those in author- ity.^ In Basel, in the summer of 1530, a few renounced Anabaptism under the pressure of persecution ; but the many seem to have remained steadfast. Those who were put to death only strengthened the faith of the brethren. For one of the condemned, Oeco- lampadius besought the clemency of the judges. 1 Egli Actmsammlung, 696, Nr. 1642. ' BulUnger, Beformationageschichte, ii. s. 287, Egli, Actensamm- lung, 710, Nr, 1656. WORK OF EXTERMINATION COMPLETED. 213 Thoy had given a just decision, he said, but he had been moved by the earnest appeal of the prisoner, and desired that his life might be spared. The judges referred the case to the Council, and the man was remanded to prison. After some six months he received his pardon, on the understanding that he would retract ; and he was taken to his home where he repeated the story which others had told before, that since he had become interested in virtue and religion he had suffered persecution, while so long as he lived in wickedness no one molested him.' By a new decree, issued by the Basel Council, No- vember 13, 1530, the Anabaptists, and those who shared their views concerning the magistracy, and gave them shelter, were threatened with imprison- ment ; if they would not retract, they should be banished ; if they returned, or fell away after retrac- tion, they should be dipped in water (geschwemmt) and sent away, with the threat that should they return they would be drowned.' Zwingli was killed at the battle of Oappel, Octo- ber 11, 1531. If there were those who entertained the hope that the Anabaptists in the Canton of Zu- rich would now find the hand of persecution lighter than heretofore, they were doomed to disappointment. 1 Herzog, Das Leben J. Oekolampads, ii. b. 188, 189. ' Herzog, Das Leben J. Oekolampads, ii. o. 307. 214 THE ANABAPTISTS IN SWITZERLAND. The work of extirpation still went on. In March, 1532, several Anabaptists were brought to trial,' and March 23, George Karpfis and Hans Herzog were put to death by drowning, the fifth and sixth and last of the Zurich martyrs.^ In some of the other Cantons Anabaptism still flourished. In April, 1531, there was a discussion at Berne, in which two Anabaptists participated, one of whom, Phistermaier, was at length induced to re- cant. In the following year the number of the breth- ren in the Cantons of Berne, Appenzell, and Solo- thurn greatly increased, and the severer measures which had been so successful in the Canton of Zurich were, with some modifications, enacted and enforced in these Cantons. Anabaptists were banished, and if they were afterward found within the Canton limits, they were dipped in water, and at length drowned. "But these severer measures for awhile, as in the Can- ton of Zurich, only increased the number of the Ana- baptists. Many who beheld their steadfastness in persecution were convinced that there was that in their religion which others did not possess ; and the members of the Council of Berne were at first in doubt whether to continue in force the edicts against 1 Egli, Actensamml'ung.lSl, 782, 784, Nr. 1819,1820, 1821,1826. ' Egli, Die Ziiricher Wiedertdufer s. 91, Adensavwibtng, 786, Nr. 1829. WORK OF EXTERMINATION COMPLETED. 216 the Anabaptists, inasmuch as persecution increased rather than diminished the membership of the hated sect.' In 1532, a discussion was held at Zoffingen in Aargau, at which were present a large number of Anabaptists, to whom a safe conduct was given. The more prominent of tlie opponents of the Ana- baptists were Berthold Haller, Casper Megander, Se- bastian Oeconomus, and George Stahelin ; of the Anabaptists, Martin Weniger, John Hotz, Michael Ott, Simon Lantz, and Christian' Brugger. The dis- cussion ^ was continued from the first to the ninth of July, but was fruitless in result, except that it was followed by new edicts for the suppression of Anabaptism.^ These edicts, as in all the Cantons, were rigidly enforced, and the ■ Anabaptist churches rapidly dis- appeared. At times, and here and there, a voice was heard pleading for liberty of conscience. Indeed, in June 1535, " the ordained servants of the Church at Zurich, preachers, readers, and assembled pastors of the land," deemed it necessary to vindicate their ' Starck, Oeschicte der Taufe,B. 217. ^ Handlung oder acta gehallner Disputatio und Oesprach zu Zoffingen inn Bemner Biet mit denWidertduffem. Zilrich,Christof- fcl Froschaucr, 1532. ' Bullingcr, Dcr Wicdcrldnffern Ursprung, a. 15. • 216 THE ANABAPTISTS IN SWITZERLAND. position. ' " There are those," they said, " who tell us that the magistrates ought not to punish in body or in estate those who mislead others, or are misled by others ; since first, the apostles did not do so, and second, faith is the gift of God and it cannot be given or taken away by force." These points they combat- ed, concluding as follows : "Let those who will recant be pardoned. Those who relapse should be punished as evil-doers in ac- cordance with divine, secular, and imperial edicts."' The edicts of the secular power in Switzerland have already been noticed. The imperial edict, which was enacted at the Diet of Spires, was dated April 23, 1629, and was as follows : " Therefore we decree that every Anabaptist and rebaptized person, of whatever age or sex, be put to death by sword, or fire, or otherwise. All preachers and those who abet and conceal them, all who persist in Anabaptism, or relapse after retraction, must be put to death. In no case must they be pardoned." But the supression of Anabaptism in Switzerland was due more to the loss of the leaders^ of the movement than to the multiplication of such edicts, 1 Fiiaslin, Beytrdge. iii, s. 191-201. * " What extraordinary men these leaders must have been," says Egli, " we learn especially from their followers, of whom many, as Hans Miillor of Medikon, possessed more than usual gifts." Die Ziirkhcr Wiedertdu/cr, s. 92. WORK OF EXTERMINATION COMPLETED. 217 liowever ruthlessly enforced. Grebel, Hubmeier, Mantz, Dank, Hetzer, and Blaurock had no succes- sors, and the growing numbers of the brotherhood, at any period of their history, did not make good this loss. Though henceforth, in the records of the magistrates, we read occasionally of Anabaptists, the State Church had conquered, and secure in its victory continued to guide the work of the Refor- mation in Switzerland in accordance with the plan Zwingli had marked out." • The result of the Reformation in Switzerland ia thus stated by Planta (History of the Helvetic Confederacy, ii. pp. 165, 16G) ; " Four of the Cantons and among them the two principal (Zurich, Berne, Basel, and Schaffhausen), had adopted the Re- formation ; seven (Lucerne, Schwytz, Unterwalden, Zug, Freiburg, and Soleure) remained firmly addicted to the faith of their an- cestors ; and two (Appenzell .and Claris) admitted both religions into their country as well as their senates. Of the three and twenty subject districts, only Morat and Granson became wholly Protestant, sixteen retained their former creed, and five became mixed. Among the allies of Geneva, Neuchiitel, Berne, Miihl- hauaen, and the town of St. Gallon renounced the doctrines of Rome; wliile the diminutive republic of Gerson, and the abbey of Engelberg, persisted in their former worship. In the Grison leagues, after great disturbances and many fluctuations, both creeds were at length admitted by public authorit}'. The Re- formation had at one time made a considerable progress in the Valais, the Valtelline and the Italian Bailiwicks, but Popery at last provailnd ; and at Locarno tlioso who refused to adhere to the est.ablished doctrines were compelled to quit the country, on which occasion no less than sixty families, among whom were several of considerable note, withdrew to Zurich, and contributed essentially to promote both the commerce and manufactures of that already prosperous city." 10 CHAPTER XII. CONCLUSION. We have thus reviewed the history of the develop- ment and decline of Anabaptism in Switzerland. It had its origin, as we have seen, in the general movement for reform, of which Zwingli was the recognized leader. His cautious conservatism, manifested at an early stage of the movement, was an abomination to his radical associates, who, hav- ing adopted the principle that the Scriptures are of supreme authority in matters of faith and practice, turned continually to the sacred word for divine direction, with the desire to know and do th e will of God. They accordindly refused, at the word of Zwingli or of the magistrates, either to halt, or even to move more slowly, and pressed on as if guided by a heavenly voice, saying : " This is the way, walk ye in it." They were not perfect men, it is true. They had the faults of radicals generally. They insisted oftentimes in making haste when haste was not necessary. Some of them were not free from 218 CONCLUSION. 219 doctrinal errors.' A few were fanatical in spirit, and were guilty of wild excesses. It is to be remembered, however, that all who were opposed to the State Church were classed with the Anabaptists ; and that aa Cornelius says.^ "All these excesses were condemned and opposed whenever a large assembly of the brethren afforded an opportunity to give ex- pression to the religious consciousness of the Baptist membership." Thus, when it was found there were some who affirmed that there is such a thing aa the freedom of the flesh as well as of the spirit, the brethren assembled in conference at Schleitheim, in the Schaff- hausen district, February 24, 1527, reminded them that those only are Christians who have crucified the flesh with its lusts; and admonished the scattered children of the light everywhere to exclude the un- worthy, and to prevent the entrance of false brethren into the churches. In fact, it was the purity and piety of the Anabaptists that aided greatly in the rapid spread of their doctrines. Bullinger records ' In the preface to vol. ii. of his Beytrdge, FUsslin says : " There was a. great difference between Anabaptists and Anabaptists. There were those among them who held strange doctrines, but this cannot be said of the whole sect. If we should attribute to every sect whatever senseless doctrines two or three fanciful fellows have taught, there is not one in the world to which we could not ascribe the most abominable errors." ' Oachichte Det Miineterischen Aufruhrs, ii, fl. 67. 220 THE ANABAPTISTS IN SWITZERLAND. this testimony as the general verdict of the pious among the common people : " One may say what he will of the Baptists. I see nothing in them but earnestness, and I hear nothing of them except that they will not take an oath, will not do any wrong, and aim to treat every man justly. In this it seems to me, there is nothing out of the way." ' And yet these were the men and women who were driven from their happy homes to wander in the fields and forests as sheep without a shepherd, or were thrown into foul dungeons, and there left to endure the gnawings of hunger and the pains of a lingering imprisonment, or were led from prison to death as martyrs for the truth. Their memory should be dear to us, and we should give them the place they deserve among those who have suffered for conscience' sake. Yet he would greatly err who should suppose that the Anabaptist movement in Switzerland was afailure. As Egli says : ^ " Anabaptism apparently suffered defeat, but in fact it accomplished much." And he adds : " It was from the beginning a ferment in the development of Church and State, and in Unterland [the district between Zurich and the Ehine] through the efforts for an improvement in discipline and morals, led to the most important results. Even 1 Dcr Wicdcrlauffcren Ursprung, a. 10. ^ Die kmricher Wiedcrtiiufer a. 93. CONCLUSION. • 221 although its direct influenco upon the ritual for bap- tism, the ordinance of the Lord's Supper, and the Synod with its censorship of morals, upon the publica- tion of mandates pertaining to morals, upon the exclu- sion of church music, etc., may not be fUlly estab- lished, still Zwingli would not have given attention to church discipline for a long time had not his op- ponents compelled him to do so. How many ideas of the Baptists a later age has justified, or will yet justify, though perhaps in another form, we may not now here farther inquire." This is a noteworthy concession, and prepares us for Egli's added remark : " Unquestionably the principles from which the Baptists proceeded mani- fest a powerful grasp of original Christian ideas.'' Among these principles are the following : 1. That the Scriptures are the only authority in matters of faith a.nd practice. 2. That only personal faith in Christ secures salva- tion ; therefore, infant baptism is to be rejected. 3. That a church is composed of believers only who have been baptized on a personal confession of faith in Jesus Christ. 4. That each church has the entire control of its affairs, without interference on the part of any exter- nal power. 5. That while the State may demand obedience in 222 THE ANABAPTISTS IN SWITZERLAND. all things not contrary to the law of God, it has no I'ight to set aside the dictates of conscience, and com- pel the humblest individual to surrender his religious views, or to inflict punishment in case such surrender is refused.' Every human soul is directly bound to its God. One man shares equal rights with every other. All of these principles are accepted by the Baptist churches to-day. But they have obtained a wider recognition. In churches whose creed still solemnly inculcates infant baptism, we find that this fruitful source of evil from the third century is almost wholly ignored. At the present time, also, other than Bap- tist churches insist upon a regenerated church mem- bership, the independence of the churches, religious liberty, and the separation of Church and State. In so far, succeeding ages have justified the principles of the Swiss Anabaptists, and it can hardly be doubted that the ages that shall follow will justify yet others. Certainly, not in vain did the Anabaptists of Swit- zerland adopt these principles, and sacrifice so much in maintaining them. THE END. INDEX. J\^LZOG, Universal Church His- tory, quoted, 26 Appeczell, added to the Con- federation, 18 Anabaptists in, 119 persecution of Anabaptists in, 208 Anabaptism, discussed at Zurich, 106 first reference to Anabap- tism in connection with the reform movement in Switzerland, 99 prohibited in the Griinin- gen district, 144-146 prohibited under penalty of death, 164 rapid spread of, 100 Anabaptists, attitude towards the Papacy, 107 character of the Anabap- tists at Chur, 133 did they practice immer- eion 7 203, note flight from Waldshnt of the, 152 Fusslin on the, 109 great activity of the, 131 imprisoned at Zollikon, 101 letter of prisoners to the " brethren," 106 loss of leaders, 216 name, how applied, 11 Peasants' War not partici- pated in by, 110 persecuted in Basel, 190 persecuted in Zurich, 107, 143 persecution increased the numbers of, 214 political designs of, 102 some 80 called never prac- tised Anabaptism, 10 sources of information on, 11 statement of theGruningen, 178-181 suppression in the Grilnin- gen district of the, 209 Arbon, Castle of, Qallus at, 20 gASEL added to the Confede- ration. 18 Anabaptista imprisoned and put to death in, 190 edicts against the Anabap- tists in, 190, 204 University at, 21 Baur, Bartholomew, 49, 85 Beck, Dr. Marx, 159. note Bellarmin, Cardinal, on Cor- ruption in the Church, 25 Bergenhaus, Dr.. 52 Berger, George, 131 Ber, Dr. Ludwig, 23 Berne, Anabaptists in, 188 joins the Confederation, 18 Bible, ignorance of, in Switzer- land, 28 Blanche, Dr. Martin, 52, 58, 60 Blaurer, Ambrose, 197 Blaurer, Thomas, his account of Ludwig Hertzer's last mo- menta, 197, 200 Blanrock, George, 95 arrested at Hinwyl. 137 arrested at Zollikon, 101 censures Zwingli, 102 cruelly beaten at Zurich and banished, 175 discusses infant baptism with Oecolampadius at Basel, 203 224 INDEX. discussiona with Zwingli and Leo Jud, 161 in chains at Zurich, 140 martyrdom of, 207 oratorical gifts and zealof,96 refuses to renounce Ana- baptism, 106, 115 under sentence, 142 Bliss, Dr. G, R,, lihrarian of Crozor Theological Semi- nary, 14 Bodenstein, Andrew Eudolph. See Carlstadt. Books, early, published in Ba- sel, 24 Bosshart, Marx, 129 arrested, 130 Brennwald, Karl, 161 Brichter, John, 131 Brodli (or Brodlein), John, 88 at the discussion at Zolli- kon, 94, 95 banished from Zurich, 97 labors at Hallau, 113, 115 letters to the brethren at Zollikon, 113, 114 martyrdom of, 115 note Brubbach, John, 100 Brugger, Christian, 215 Bruppacher, John, subjected to the rack, 211 Bubikon, peasants attack Clois- ters at, 129 Bucer, 41, note Bullinger, Henry, resists Ber- nard Samson at Brem- garten, 37 Bullinger. the historian, 28 on a discussion at Zurich, 196 on the Anabaptists, 219 (jANTONS, the Four Forest, Capito, assails Hetzer's views, but not his character, 202 letter on the progress of reformation principles, 42 letter to Zwingli concerning Mantz's martyrdom, 172, 173 professor at Basel, 23, 41 note Carlstadt, 84, 87, 90 banished from Orlamunde, 91 his tracts, 91 Castelberg, Andrew, 85, 87, 95 banished from Zurich, 97 Catrou, his History of Anabap- tists in Oermany, Sol- land and England, 9 Cellarius, Martin, 92 Ceporinus, (Jacob Wiesendan- ger), 75 Columban, driven from the coun- try, 20 the first Christian mission- ary in Switzerland, 19 Confederation, the, confirmed in 1318, 17 enacts a statute foibidding foreign priests to remain in the country, 43 motto of, 18 war with Emperor Maxi- milian, 18 Constance, Bishop of. See Lan- deuburg, Hugo Contoblikas, Andronicus, Greek professor at Basel, 21 Corneliua, on the Anabaptists, 219 on Korssenbroick's work, 9 Craux, John of, the abbot, 29 ])ENK, John, 118, 182 alleged retraction of, 185, 187 death of, 187 engaged at Worms in trans- lating the prophetical books of the Old Testa- ment, 183 letter to, and discussions with, Oecolampadius in Basel, 185 INDEX. 225 Dexter, Dr., oitesworks on Ana- iiaptists, 9 Dominicans, the, 30 their pretended " miracle," 30 Donatiat, 74, 76 Dorner on Swiss Anabaptists, 11 J;BERLI, HippolytuB (Poet). his martyrdom, 118 Eck, Dr. John, 67, 82 Egli, Paster at Aussersihl, 13 on the Anabaptist movement in Switzerland, 220-222 Elector of Saxony, the, 166 Engelhard, 150 Erasmus, at Basel, 23 Everts, W. W. Jr., on Hubmeier, 158, note pABER, Dr. John, concerning Hnbmeier's Recantation, 155 letter to Zwingli of, 41 opposes Zwingli at the 1st Zurich Discussion, 53, sq. visits Hubmeier in prison, 159, note Falk, Jacob, imprisonment, 167, 177 trial and martyrdom, 191, 192 Ferdinand, Archduke, 44, note Finsterbach, Arbogast, 131 Fleckenstein, Landvogt, at sen- tence of Nicholas Hottin- ger, 72 Four Forest Cantons, Lake of the, 18 Franciscans, the, 30 Francis I. of France, 46 Freiburg added to the Confede- ration, 18 Hetzer perhaps educated at, 64 Frei, John, Felix, and Henry, imprisoned and fined, 207 Friedburg, near Augsburg, birth- place of Hubmeier, 67 Froben, publisher, 39 Fusslin on the Anabaptists, 109 on the persecutions, 165, 166 QALLUS, an Irish monk, the associate and successor of Columban, 20 Qastius, title of his work, 9 his account of persecutions and martyrdom, 206 Geyerfalk, Thomas, 136 Giger, Gabriel, 106 Glarus joins the Confederation, 18 Glatz, Ernest von, 161 Grebel, Agathe (Euphrosyne), prioress of Oedenbach, 44, note, 161, note Grebel, Conrad, 44 abandons sprinkling for im- mersion, 117 admonished to restrain his zeal, 49 agreement with Stumpf, 74 arrested, 137 at SchafThausen, 104 at 2nd Zurich Discussion, 69 at Zurich, 105, 115 complains of Zwingli, 70 correspondence with Miin zer and Carlstadt, 83 in chains, 140 letter concerning magis- trates, 166 letter concerning tithes, 62 makes a missionary tour, 129 on infant baptism, 77 replies to Zwingli's tract Vom Touf, 128 steadfastness and death, 160, 161 and note, 162 under sentence, 142 view of baptism, 86 visits Miinzer, 89 writes to the Council, 94, 95 Grebel, Jacob, 44 beheaded, 45 226 INDEX. Qrebel, Leopold, 44, note Grebel, Martha, wife of Vadiau, 44, note, 161, note Gross, Jacob, 132, 181 imprisoned and fined, 207 Grossman, Caspar, 27, note Griiningen District, additional edicts against the Ana- baptists, 193 Anahaptists suppressed, 209 mandate of tne Zurich Council concerning Aaa- baptism to the inhabi- tants of the, 144-146 statement of the Griiningen Anabaptists, 178-180 Gynorans, Peter, letter of Zwin- gli to, 154 JJALLAU, an entire church baptized at, 115 Haller, Bernard, his letter to Zwingli concerning tithes and rents, 62 letter to Zwingli, 187 Haller, Berthold, pastor in Berne, 122, 215 Haller, John, 50 Hedio, 41 Hergarten, 162 Herzog, Hans, his martyrdom, 214 Heretic Tower, Zurich, 165 note Hetzer, Ludwig, at 2nd Zurich Discussion, 69, note banished from Zurich, 97 connects himself fully with the Anabaptists, 195 imprisoned at Constance, 196 literary labors in Basel and Zurich, 194 martyr death of, 197-201 tract against images by, 64, 65 translation of Bugenhagen's commentary by, 95 trial and alleged crime of, 196, 197, 201, 202 Hindermann, , 182 Hinwyl, an important Anabap- tist centre, 130 Hochriitiner, 71, 104 Hofmeister, Dr. Sebastian, 51, 57, 104, 153 Hottinger, Elizabeth, 161, 162 Hottinger, Jacob, 106 Hottinger, John, 161 Hottinger, Margaret, 142, 161, 162 Hottinger, Nicholas, 49, 85, 94 destroys great cross at Zu- rich, 65 banished from Zurich, 71 trial and execution of, 72, note Hottinger, Rudolph, 161 Hottinger, Ruotach, 106 Hottinger, Uli, 161 Hotz, John, 215 Hubmeier, Dr. Balthasar, born at Friedburg, near Augs- burg, 67 at 2nd Zurich Discussion, 69 ■ baptism of, 112 circumstances of his recan- tation, 155, 156, 158, note Concerning Heretics, a tract by, 81 Concerning the Christian Baptism of Believers, a tract by, 122 discussion with Oecolampa- dius on infant baptism, 134-136 driven from Waldshut he seeks asylum in Schaff- hausen, 78, 79 establishes an Anabaptist Church at Nicholsburg, 159, note flight from Waldehut to Zurich, whore he is ar- rested, 152, 153 letter to Oecolampadius on the ordinances, 95 INDEX. 227 letter on infant baptiBm, 112 martyrdom of, 159, note martyrdom of the wife of 159, note noble appeal to the Council by, 80 organizeB a church, and baptizes more than 300 believers at Waldshut, 113 returns to Waldshut and challenges Eck to a dis- cussion, 82 The Sum of a Perfect Chris- tian Life, a tract by, 123 -127 tract in reply to Zwingli's work on baptism, 147- 152 treatment of at Zurich, 154 Twelve Articles of Faith by, 157 writings and character of, 160, note Huiuf, Hans, 88 Hut, ., 199 TMAQE-BREAKERS, at Zu- rich, 65 Iraeli, Jacob, 136 Imperial Edict against the Ana- baptist*, 216 Indulgences, Luther's tract on, 39 sale of, by Bernard Sam- son, 34 Infant baptism a civil ordinance in Zurich, 99 JETZER, John, subject of a pretended miracle, 31 Jud, Leo, 27, note, 57, 64, note, 106, 153, 161 Julius II., Pope, 31 ;g^ALCH, Jacob, 162 Karpfis, George, his martyr- dom, 214 Keim, on Ludwig Hetzer's trial, 197 Kilchmeyer, Jost, 27, note Krusi, Hans, pastor at Teufifen, 119 his martyrdom, 120 Kersenbrock, his History of the Anabaptists of Munster, 9 JjAKE of the Four Forest Can- tons, 18 Landenberg, Hugo, Bishop of Constance, 26, 27, 36 Landgrave, Philip of Hesse, 166 Langenmantel, 199 Lantz, Simon, 215 Leopold of Austria, defeat of, 17 Ling, Martin, 142 Lucerne joins the Confederation, 17 Luther, doctrinal principles of, 50 how regarded by the Swiss Evangelicals, 82 relations to Munzer of, 83 tract against Miinzer by, 87 tract on indulgences by, 39 ]\JACRINDS, 49 Mantz, Anna, 162 Mantz, Felix, 75, 85, 95 arrested at Chur and impri- soned at Zurich, 132, 133, 140 arrested at Zollikon, 101 labors in Basel, 163 last exhortations to the bre- thren, 168-172 martyrdom of, 172 re-arrested and condemned to death, 168 refuses to renounce Ana- baptism, 106, 115 steadfastness of, 160, 161 under sentence, 142 views concerning the ma- gistracy, 102, 166 228 INDEX. Marbeck, Pilgram, 116 Maximiliani Emperor, hie war with the Confederation, 18, 45 Megander, Caspar, 94, 154, 215 Melanchthon, on MUnzor, 83 Mercenaries, 24 Metzler, , 198 Miracle, a pretended, at Berne, 30-33 Monks burned for a false mira- cle, 33 (see priests) their immorality rebuked by a civil ordinance, 29 Morgarten, battle of, 17 Miiller, Hans, 131 Miiller, John, the abbot, 29 Miiller, John (or Hans), of Medikon, 209, 210, 216, note MUnzer, Thomas, 83 affiliates with the Zwickau prophets, 84 author, probably, of the Twelve Articles, 89 his aims social and political chiefly, 89 meets Oecolampadius, 89 Melanchthon on, 83 ordered to leave Muhlhau- sen, 88 preceded Luther as a re- former, 83 reformini» work of, 84 Myconius, 48, 106, 150 NUNS, faithless and immoral, 29, 30 Nuremberg, 25, 53 QCKENFUSS, Agtli, 162 Ockenfuss, Hans, 85 Ockenfuss, John, 161 Oecolampadius, 51, 89 advises the Council at Basel to proceed against the Anabaptists, 204 beseeches the clemency of the judges, 212 discusses infant baptism with Blaurock, 203 discussion on infant baptism with Hubmeier, 133-136 his works translated by Ludwig Hetzor, 194 kindly receives Hetzer, 194 letter from Hubmeier, 15, 112 Oeoonomus, Sebastian, 215 Osgood, Dr. Howard, obliga- tions of author to, 14 on facilities for immersion at St. Gall, 117 on immersion at St. Gall, 117, note reply to Dr. J. P. Thomson, 10 Ott, Michael, 215 . PEASANTS' WAE, causes of 61 aq. not engaged in by the Ana- baptists, 110 Zimmerman's history of, 61, note Pelt, Hans, 83 Pfister, Ulrich, 27, note Phistormaier, , 214 Planta, on the results of the Reformation in Switzer- land, 217, note Polt. See Eberli, Hippolytus Priests, illiteracy of, 28 immorality of, 26, 29 married, 27 (see monks) B,EFORMATION, the, influ- ences preparatory to, 21, 34 results of, in Switzerland, 216, note Regel, Anna, 196 Regel, George, 196 Rem, Andrew, 95 Roin, Heini, 1G2 Reublin, William, assails the payment of tithes, 61, 63 banished from Zuricli, 97 INDEX. 229 baptizes Hubmeier and olliera at Waldnhut, 112 denounced as a heretic and dismissed from Basel, 43 his arrest and imprison- ment, 78 his excommunication, 116, note preaches against infant bap- tism, 77 settles at Wytikon and is publicly married, 50 Eeuchlin at Basel, 21 Rieman, Henry, imprisoned, 167, 177 martyrdom of, 192 Bififerachwyl, pastor's opinion of infant baptism, 77 Eoggenacher, Anthony, 161 Borienburtz, Iluldreicn, 189 Roman Church established in Switzerland by Gallus, 20 its corruptions, 24 Bothman, Bernnard, 92 Bouet, Max, presides at First Zurich Discussion, 51 Buti, cloisters at, attacked by peasants, 129 gAMSON, Bernard, and his sale of indulgences, 34 sq. excluded from Zurich, 38 Sattler, banished from Zurich, 142 his death by torture, 142, note Sohad, George, 131 Schaffhauseu, added to the Con- federation, 18 represented by Hofmeister at First Discussion at Zu- rich, 51 Scliaufelberger, Jacob, 1G2 Schmid, Erasmus, 27, note Schmid, John, 27, note Schwytz, in league with Uri and UnterwalJen, 17 Soleure added to the Confedera- tion, 18 Spillmann, Elsi, 182 Spires, Imperial Edict of the Diet of, 216 Stahelin, George, 27, note, 215 Starck on the steadfastness of certain Anabaptists un- der persecution, 205 Stein, Jacob de, 36 Steiner, Werner, 27, note St. Gall, success of the Anabap- tists in, 117 Anabaptists persecuted in, 129 Strasser, Gebhart, 131 Strauss, Jacob, 86 Stubnor, 92 Stumpf, Simon, 26, note, 50 assails the payment of tithes, 62, 63 at the Second Zurich Dis- cussion, 69 banished from Zurich under penalty of death, 176 dismissed from his pastorate and banished, 73 his doctrine of a converted church membership, and of the supreme authority of the Bible, 73 sq. XECK, Ulrich, 132, 142 Tell- Legend, the, its anti- quity, 17 Teufen, Anabaptist success in, 119 Thermopylee of Switzerland, the 17 Thomam, Rudolph, 99 Thompson, Dr. J. P., on Ana- baptists of Germany, 10 Trachsel, Balthasar, 27, note Truchsoss, 209 Twelve Articles, the, 89 Twinkler, the Abbot, 29 TILIMANN, Wolfgang, his bap- tism, 104, 204 labors at St. Gall, 117, 128 230 INDEX. martyrdom of, at Waldeee, 209 Unterwaldeu, leagued with Soh- wytz and Uri, 17 Uri, leagued with Schwytz and unterwalden, 17 yADIAN. See Watt, Dr. J. von Valai8, ignorance of the clergy in, 23 Vonwiler, Winbrot, 162 ■^yAGNER, Jacob, 55 Waldsee, martyrdoms at, 209 Waldshut, Anabaptists' succesa in, 111-113 appeals for help in defense of the truth, 81 falls into the hands of Aus- tria, 152 Watt, Dr. Joachim von, (Va- dian), 45 writes to Grebel, 93 opposes the Anabaptists, 127 mas. at St. Gall, 88 Weesen, Bernard, on the mar- tyrdom of Winkler, 211 Weiss Bernard, 50, note Weniger, Martin, 215 Westerburg, Dr. Gerhard, 91 Whitney, Prof. W. D., on a question of translation, 105 Wiesendanger, Jacob (Cepori- nua), 75 Winkler, Conrad, his martyr- dom. 210 Wiaaenburger, Wolfgang, 136 Wittenbacn, Thomas, theologi- cal professor at Basel, 22 7ELLER, Jacob, magiatrate, 196 Zimmermann, extract from hia Oeneral History of the Great Peasants' War, 61, note Zofingen, discussion at, 214 ZoUikon, Anabaptists imprison- ed at, 101 Zug joins the Confederation, 18 Zurich, Anabaptists sorely per- secuted, 209 discussion on infant bap- tism, 137-141 first discussion at, 51 images broken, 65 infant baptism publicly dis- cussed, 94, 95 joins the Confederation, 18 mandates of the Council prohibiting Anabaptism, 144-146 order rebuking the immo- rality of the monks, 29 raises an armed force for the assistance of Christian brethren at Waldshut, 82 repels the Monk Bernard Samson, 38 the Council requires parents to have their children baptized under penalty of banishment, 97 Second Discussion, 67 Zwick, John, his account of Ludwig Hetzer's last mo- ments, 198, 200, 201 Zwingli, a teacher at Basel, 23 at the First Zurich Discus- sion, 51 sq. defends infant baptiam, 122 denounces the sale of indul- gences, 35 discussion with Blaurock, 161 growing breach between Zwingli and the radicals, 75 sq. has an interview with Hub- meier, 153 killed at the battle of Cap- pel, 212 lectures on Matthew's Gos- pel, 40 letter asking permission for priests to marry, 26 INDEX. 231 letter to Peter Gynorann, 154 principle of doctrine and practice, 50 public diBcussion of infant baptism in Zurich, 137- 141 reply to Hubmoier'a tract Concerning the Christian Baptism of Believers, 140 stricken with " the great death," 41 tract denouncing the radicals by, 93, 106 tract on the Mass-Caiwn by, 66 transferred from Einsideln to Zurich, 38 view of infant baptism by, 76,97 Vom Touf, Widertouf, und Kinderlouf by, 121 This preservation photocopy was made at BookLab, Inc. in comphance with copyright law. 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