FROM THE LIBRARY OF 
 REV. LOUIS FITZGERALD BENSON. D. D. 
 
 BEQUEATHED BY HIM TO 
 
 THE LIBRARY OF 
 
 PRINCETON THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY 
 
 
ULRIC ZWINGLI. 
 
V 
 
 ^ 
 
 •o> 
 
 NOV 19 1931 
 
 THE 
 
 1/ 
 
 MOUNTAIN BOY 
 
 OF 
 
 WILDHAUS 
 
 % £tfe of Hlrk Etomglt. 
 
 BY REV. DAVID VAN HORNE, D.D. 
 
 PHILADELPHIA : 
 
 REFORMED CHURCH PUBLICATION BOARD, 
 
 907 Arch Steeet. 
 
 1884. 
 
 I 
 
COPYRIGHT 
 BY REV. DAVID VAN HORNE. 
 
 1884. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 The four hundredth anniversary of the birth-day of 
 Ulric Zwingli, which occurs on January 1st, 1884, is the 
 immediate occasion for the preparation of this volume. 
 Independent of this fact, however, the life of Zwingli is 
 worthy of careful study; for although many nobles and 
 princes of his times are now forgotten, the Mountain Boy 
 of Wildhaus still maintains a prominent place in history. 
 His is a life which will command attention, and will be 
 more appreciated as men devote themselves to its study. 
 
 In the following pages attention is especially given to 
 the events of the earlier years of his life, in the hope of 
 interesting the young. We trust that this class of readers 
 will find pleasure, and profit, in following the career of one 
 who began life in a humble station, and attained an emi- 
 nence in the world of letters, equalled only by the signal 
 services he rendered to his native country, and the extensive 
 work he wrought for the reformation of the church. In 
 each aspect of his life Zwingli presents a bold and striking 
 figure, well calculated to arrest the attention of American 
 youth ; and one withal, from the study of which, they can 
 gain inspiration for future effort. There was a lofty, intre- 
 pid, and noble spirit planted in this Swiss youth, which 
 always brought him in the fore-front of every conflict, and 
 rendered his career one of incident and danger. 
 
 The recent celebration of the anniversary of Luther's 
 birth-day will naturally suggest a comparison between the 
 
 3 
 
4 PREFACE. 
 
 two Reformers. The cause of the Reformation of the six- 
 teenth century, in which both Luther and Zwingli labored 
 co-ordinately, and, at the first, without any knowledge of 
 each other's views and efforts, sheds a great lustre upon 
 their works and characters. So far from appearing as rivals, 
 they are to be regarded as co-workers in a common cause. 
 Each one worked in his own way, and, by study and prayer, 
 reached his own conclusion. Luther stood forth promi- 
 nently as the Reformer of Germany, a nation with extensive 
 historic connections, which afforded him the support of 
 Electors and Princes, and speedily spread abroad his fame 
 in other countries. 
 
 Zwingli's field of operation, on the other hand, was con- 
 fined chiefly to Switzerland, his native country ; he had only 
 the town-council of Zurich, to defend him, while, for many 
 years, his powerful enemies lay in wait to cut him off. 
 Under these circumstances, the extensive work wrought by 
 the great Swiss Reformer, appears the more remarkable and 
 praiseworthy. Protestantism owes him a greater debt than 
 it has ever yet acknowledged; and hereafter when men 
 begin to search for the first beginnings of a pure Reformed 
 doctrine, and the cultus of nearly the whole Protestant 
 church, they will be led to wonder how it was that the 
 pastor of Zurich anticipated what the future generations 
 would adopt a3 the restored form of primitive Christianity. 
 
 Philadelphia, January 1st, 1884. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. . 
 
 PAGE. 
 WILDHAUS 7 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 BEGINNING LIFE 13 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 GOING TO SCHOOL 23 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 THE YOUNG PEIEST AT GLAEUS 37 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 "WAES AND EUMORS OP WAES 48 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 FOES NEAEEE HOME 58 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 LIFE AT THE HEEMITAGE OF EINSIEDELN • 71 
 
 5 
 
6 C0NTENT3. 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 PAGE. 
 PREACHING TO PILGRIMS AT EINSIEDELN 84 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 A CONFLICT WITH SAMSON 97 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 FROM THE HERMITAGE TO THE CITY 107 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 A NEW STYLE OF PREACHING 117 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 SHADOWS AND SORROWS 130 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 BRAVE EFFORTS FOR REFORM 144 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 DANGER AND DEFENCE 153 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 MEETING WITH LUTHER 164 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 DEATH AT CAPPEL 174 
 
THE MOUNTAIN BOY 
 
 OF 
 
 VILDHAUS. 
 
 A IilFE OF UI.RIC ZWINGLI. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 WILDHAUS. 
 
 Near the source of the majestic river, called 
 by the Swiss and German people, u Father 
 Rhine," there still stands a primitive-looking 
 structure, perched against a spur of Mt. Sentis, 
 known as the home of Zwingli. It is a plain 
 but massive building, erected evidently for endu- 
 rance, and intended as a safe shelter from the 
 roaring Alpine winds which, during the long 
 winter nights, sweep over the place. And here 
 this ancient-looking dwelling has maintained its 
 position, during the long, and eventful, years 
 which have transpired since the days when a 
 bright and promising boy played there nearly four 
 hundred years ago. The building doubtless has 
 been renewed many times ; meanwhile the origi- 
 
 7 
 
8 THE MOUNTAIN BOY. 
 
 nal timbers may have all fallen into decay, and 
 yet the identity of the structure remains, the 
 same general aspect has been preserved, and to 
 this day it is called by the name of Zwingli. 
 
 Not far away from this ancient structure the 
 traveler may see the church-spires of the little 
 village of Wildhaus. This village is rightly 
 named ; for it is a " Wild-house " indeed. Sit- 
 uated far up among the rugged Alps, on the 
 water-shed which divides the waters of the Thur 
 from those of the Rhine, it presents a bold figure 
 in the landscape. Every year many tourists 
 pass through Wildhaus, all of whom are charmed 
 with its mountain prospects, and linger, with 
 pleasure, around the place where the Alp scenery 
 is so magnificent. 
 
 Before we trace the interesting career of the 
 subject of our sketch, let us tarry, for a few mo- 
 ments, here to view the place of his birth. Wild- 
 haus has a sightly situation, and we may be 
 enabled to gain new views of our subject by 
 glancing at its environment. First of all we 
 notice the magnificent mountain called Sentis. 
 This is now in the direct route of modern tour- 
 ists, and therefore we can well afford to give it 
 more than passing notice. Sentis stands just to 
 the north of Wildhaus, and as it rears its snow- 
 
WILDHAUS. 9 
 
 crowned head 8,000 feet above the level of the 
 sea, appears like an ancient sentinel keeping 
 guard over the little village, which clings, like 
 an eagle's nest, to its southern slope. From the 
 summit of Sentis one may look over the greater 
 part of north-east and east Switzerland; em- 
 bracing the lake of Constance, Swabia and Ba- 
 varia, the Tyrolese mountains, the Grisons, and 
 the Alps of Glarus, and of Bern. Just behind 
 the mountain, on the north, lies St. Gaul ; where, 
 in former times, was a noted monastery named 
 after its founder ; who was, according to tradi- 
 tion, originally a missionary from Scotland, or 
 the north of Ireland. He came into this region 
 of country when the whole of Switzerland was 
 a wilderness inhabited by the rude ancestors of 
 the Swiss and Germans, who, before this, were 
 idolaters ; and to whom he taught the truths of 
 the Christian religion. 
 
 It was the seventh century when St. Gaul, in 
 company with the missionary Columban, first 
 appeared in the country. 
 
 Both missionaries labored together in another 
 part of Switzerland for some time, but when, 
 afterward, persecutions arose against their work, 
 Columban went to Italy and labored there. But 
 St. Gaul resolved to continue, and for this pur- 
 
10 THE MOUNTAIN BOY. 
 
 pose came into the region of country surround- 
 ing Mt. Sentis, and, in company with a deacon 
 named Hiltibad, searched for a suitable location 
 in which to establish a mission. At the first 
 Hiltibad was fearful that their work would be 
 in vain; and warned the missionary that he 
 would be in constant danger, for the forests were 
 filled with wolves and bears. But St. Gaul only 
 replied : " If the Lord be for us who can be 
 against us ? He who protected Daniel, when he 
 was in the lion's den, will surely protect me." 
 The two then traveled on together until they 
 came to a place where the river Steinach, as 
 it rushed down from the mountain heights, had 
 hollowed out a deep place, abounding in fish. 
 Here the good deacon, in imitation of the early 
 disciples, cast in his net, and obtained an abund- 
 ant supply of the finny tribe. It was at this 
 place that St. Gaul then resolved to center his 
 work for the cause of God ; and here, afterwards, 
 sprang up the monastery which lasted for many 
 centuries, bearing the name of its famous founder. 
 Standing still upon the summit of Sentis we 
 can see the waters of the lake of Constance be- 
 hind St. Gaul ; and far beyond, in the north- 
 east, may be seen the white peaks of the Tyro- 
 lese mountains. 
 
WILDHAUS. 11 
 
 Turning now to the north, and west, we 
 may see the beautiful valley of the Toggen- 
 burg, down which rushes the rapid Thur. And 
 at the head of the valley, beside the springs 
 which are its perennial source, clinging, as it 
 were, to the side of old Sentis, stands the cottage 
 in which we are now specially interested, where 
 Zwingli was born. Looking beyond this point, 
 only a few miles farther towards the south- 
 west, we note the tranquil waters of the lake of 
 Wallenstadt, or a Wallensee," as it was formerly 
 called. It is twelve miles in length and three 
 in width ; at the east end of it lies the village of 
 Wallenstadt, and at the west end stands the 
 beautiful town of Wesen, also famous in Refor- 
 mation circles, in after times. Still farther 
 northward, and over fifty miles from Wildhaus, 
 stands the stately city of Zurich, where Zwingli 
 in after years wrought his greatest work of re- 
 formation. A little to the south of this, and 
 across the lake of Zurich, stands Einsiedeln, 
 another point made famous by the early labors 
 of Zwingli. And still farther away, on the hori- 
 zon of the south-west, lie the cities of Bern and 
 Basel, where Zwingli once pursued his studies. 
 We only add that to the eastward, a few 
 miles distant from Wildhaus, flow swiftly on- 
 ward the clear blue waters of the upper Rhine. 
 
12 THE MOUNTAIN BOY. 
 
 Thus we notice that the location of our little 
 village is very picturesque and charming. 
 Perched upon the southern face of a lofty moun- 
 tain, which rears its snow-clad summit against 
 the blue Alpine sky ; with chains of lakes and 
 running streams so connected as to form a vast 
 surrounding triangle : reaching from Zurich on 
 the west by the way of the Zurich and Wallen- 
 stadt lakes, to the river Rhine on the east ; 
 thence to the lake of Constance on the north- 
 east, and by another reach of the Rhine back 
 again to Zurich. This vast triangular section 
 of country, framed about with lakes of the 
 utmost picturesqueness and beauty, tied together 
 with silver-threaded rivulets ; with its hoary 
 peak of Sentis in the center, subdivided by the 
 wild, and rapid torrent of the Thur which sweeps 
 away northward through the valley of the Tog- 
 genburg, fed as it is by the fountains at Wild- 
 haus, and the glacier on Mt. Sentis : all this 
 forms a landscape at once bold and beautiful. 
 This was a suitable spot for the birth-place of 
 the great Swiss Reformer ; for here nature has 
 displayed her grandeur in unusual form. And 
 on these Alpine heights God raised up stalwart 
 sons, who, in after times, fought the world's 
 battle of conscience and intellectual freedom. 
 
; 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 
 BEGINNING LIFE. 
 
 lN~a plain, but substantial, dwelling located 
 on the green meadow which stretches along the 
 right hand side of the highway leading out of 
 "Wildhaus towards the east, as has been already- 
 intimated, we recognize the birth-place of the 
 great Reformer. In the latter half of the fif- 
 teenth century there lived here at the border of 
 the village of Wildhaus, surrounded by their nu- 
 merous flock of children, a respectable and pious 
 couple, Huldreich Zwingli and Margaritha, 
 whose maiden name was Meili. Through the 
 esteem in which this man was held by his fel- 
 low-citizens, he had been raised to the honored 
 position of Amman, or Magistrate of the village. 
 
 This honor they had placed upon him as soon 
 as they had obtained the authority, to elect 
 their magistrate, their judges, and their pastor. 
 In former years the people were not allowed 
 this privilege. But after long continued agita- 
 
 13 
 
14 THE MOUNTAIN BOY. 
 
 tion, they had succeeded in wresting the right 
 from the Abbot of St. Gaul, who in former times 
 had despotic authority over all this section of 
 country. In its church government Wildhaus 
 had been under the control of Gams ; but in this 
 relation it had also been freed from foreign rule, 
 and had been raised to the position of an inde- 
 pendent community. In the first exercise of 
 this privilege the people had elected Bartholo- 
 mew Zwingli, the brother of the Magistrate, 
 their pastor. Thus we see that the Zwingli 
 family held a high place in the esteem of the 
 Wildhausers. Besides this, John Meili, a 
 brother of the Magistrate's wife, was the honored 
 abbot of Fischingen. 
 
 The family of the Magistrate consisted of 
 eight sons and two daughters. Ulric, the third 
 son, of whom we are now to hear at length, was 
 born on the first day of January, 1484, seven 
 weeks after Luther's birth-day. Though his fa- 
 ther was the chief man of the village, little Ulric 
 was not to be reared in luxury. The Magis- 
 trate's house was only a plain farmer's dwelling. 
 Rough timbers composed its walls, and its roof 
 was secured by the weight of great stones laid 
 upon it, to keep it in place against the fury of 
 the winds. This house, however, was the home 
 
BEGINNING LIFE. 15 
 
 of a pious couple, and here many happy hours 
 were spent by the children, who shared in the 
 innocent joys of a Christian household. 
 
 The parents lived in freedom and truth with 
 one another. The wife and mother was honored 
 not only by her ten children, but also by the 
 villagers, and by the serving-maids and boys, 
 who dwelt with them, and attended to the wants 
 of the household and cultivated the meadow- 
 land, or followed the herds and flocks, to their 
 pasture on the Alpine heights. It was the cus- 
 tom then, to tell the stories of the olden times 
 to the children during the long winter evenings ; 
 and the father would often sit, with a neighbor, 
 at the fireside, and relate the traditions of the 
 Toggenburg valley. This valley was associated 
 with many events of early Swiss history; when 
 the inhabitants had to secure themselves against 
 the inroads of Charles the Bold, by joining the 
 brave confederates who rolled back the enemy 
 like avalanches from their mountain steeps. 
 
 To these stirring tales, young Ulric was one 
 of the most eager listeners. The stories fell like 
 living sparks of fire on his soul, and in the age 
 of manhood they burst forth into an ardent love 
 of home and native country. 
 
 The following poem of Schiller, will give an 
 
16 THE MOUNTAIN BOY. 
 
 idea of what these stories were like. A brave 
 Knight of Toggenburg, finding that the lady of 
 his choice has entered a convent : 
 
 " Springs upon his steed ; 
 
 Summons every faithful vassal 
 
 From his Alpiue home ; 
 
 Binds the cross upon his bosom, 
 
 Seeks the Holy Tomb." 
 There full many a deed of glory 
 
 Wrought the hero's arm ; 
 Foremost still his plumage floated, 
 
 Where the foemen swarm ; 
 Till the Moslem, terror-stricken, 
 
 Quailed before his name ; — 
 But the pang that wrings his bosom, 
 
 Lives at heart the same. 
 One long year he bears his sorrow, 
 
 But no more can bear ; 
 Best he seeks, but finding never, 
 
 Leaves the army there ; 
 Sees a ship by Joppa's haven, 
 
 Which, with swelling sail, 
 Wafts him where his lady's breathing, 
 
 Mingles with the gale. 
 At her father's castle-portal, 
 
 Hark ! his knock is heard : 
 See ! the gloomy gate uncloses 
 
 With the thunder word : 
 " She thou seek'st is veiled forever, 
 
 Is the bride of heaven ; 
 Yester-eve the vows were plighted — 
 
 She to God is given." 
 
BEGINNING LIFE. 17 
 
 Then his old ancestral castle 
 
 He forever flees ; 
 Battle-steed and trusted weapon, 
 
 Never more he sees. 
 From the Toggenburg descending 
 
 Forth unknown he glides ; 
 For the frame once sheathed in iron 
 
 Now the sackcloth hides. 
 
 There beside that hallowed region, 
 
 He hath built his bower, 
 Where from out the dusky lindens, 
 
 Looked the convent-tower ; 
 "Waiting from the morning's glimmer 
 
 Till the day was done, 
 
 Tranquil hope in every feature, 
 
 Sat he there alone. 
 ******** 
 
 If that form looked forth so lovely, 
 
 If the sweet face smiled, 
 Down into the lonesome valley, 
 
 Peaceful, angel mild. 
 There a corse they found him sitting, 
 
 Once when they returned, 
 Still his pale and placid features, 
 
 To the lattice turned." 
 
 At other times Ulric would listen to the ac- 
 counts given by his pious Grandmother, of still 
 earlier periods, when the godly missionaries first 
 penetrated into the dense forests of that region 
 of country ; men like the holy Felix and Reg- 
 ula, who went through the land, and taught the 
 people the Word and cross. Then again she 
 2 
 
18 THE MOUNTAIN BOY. 
 
 told the stirring Bible stories, the adventures 
 of the patriarchs, or prophets ; or toid of Him 
 who hung upon Calvary's cross that He might 
 be a Saviour to perishing sinners. At such 
 times the little Ulric was always an eager 
 listener ; his beaming eye and heaving breast 
 testified that, in one heart at least, the Word of 
 God was finding a ready response ; a response 
 which should not be completely fulfilled until 
 when, in after years, he should become a true 
 minister of the Gospel of Christ. 
 
 Thus the childhood of Zwingli passed away. 
 In this homely but cheerful dwelling was often 
 heard the sweet strain of some musical instru- 
 ment ; and there during those long winter even- 
 ings, Ulric used to try his hand at the wild 
 Alpine melodies which to this day delight the 
 traveler who may chance to pass through the 
 land. These youthful efforts were the alphabet 
 of that elaborate musical culture, which dis- 
 tinguished him in after years, and enabled him 
 in part to accomplish his great work in the world, 
 in behalf of culture and religion. But beyond 
 this he displayed such gifts, that every one 
 marked his wise and thoughtful spirit, which 
 from the first distinguished him from the other 
 children of the Magistrate's family. 
 
BEGINNING LIFE. 19 
 
 From early years he was a great lover of 
 nature. The language in which God speaks to 
 the inhabitants of the mountain regions seemed 
 to move his young spirit. In after years his 
 friend Oswald Myconius wrote : " I have often 
 thought, in my simplicity, that from these sub- 
 lime heights, which stretch up towards heaven, 
 he has learned something heavenly and divine." 
 
 When the spring opened, each year, the older 
 sons and serving boys, hastened to lead the 
 herds, and flocks, away to the mountain pastures. 
 Usually in the first days of May, as soon as the 
 mountains put on their coats of green, the cattle 
 are driven up, amid the merry tinkling of bells, 
 to the higher pastures, and ever higher and 
 higher, a part of the inhabitants continue to 
 ascend until, at the end of July, the loftiest 
 heights of Sentis are reached. The younger 
 children, who are left at home during the sum- 
 mer-time, to attend to the affairs of the house, 
 and to gather the provender for the cattle during 
 w T inter, sometimes hasten up the mountain steeps 
 to celebrate with their companions, who are 
 tending the flocks, merry pastoral sports, in 
 which the joyous notes of song mix themselves 
 with the simple tone of the Alpine horn. 
 
 As years passed on Ulric would naturally have 
 
20 THE MOUNTAIN BOY. 
 
 more liberty accorded to him, in which he could 
 observe the grandeur and beauty of the outlying 
 Alpine world, and begin to meditate on its mys- 
 teries. And thus there first awoke in his mind 
 the sense of the awful grandeur, and majesty, of 
 God, — a sentiment which in after years was des- 
 tined to give him almost indomitable courage in 
 the great conflicts through which he was to 
 pass. In the solitude of the mountains, broken 
 only by the bells of his pasturing flocks, the re- 
 flective boy mused on the wisdom of God, which 
 reveals itself in all creatures. Inspired by these 
 musings doubtless he was led in after years to 
 compose a work on " The Providence of God." 
 In this work he alludes to the sagacity of the 
 little mice, which he had often watched in child- 
 hood days ; and discourses delightfully on the 
 cunning little harvesters, as they make wagons 
 of each other, and forks, by rolling the hay 
 along, and using each other for hurdles in order 
 to carry the hay to their winter nests. 
 
 Then he rises to higher planes of thought and 
 says : " Do not even the things without sense 
 and intelligence manifest that the power, the 
 goodness, the renewing and sustaining energy 
 of God is present with them ? The earth, for 
 example, the mother of us all, never shuts 
 
BEGINNING LIFE. 21 
 
 ruthlessly her rich treasures within herself; she 
 heeds not the wounds made on her by spade or 
 share. The dew, the rain, the rivers, all moisten, 
 restore, quicken within her that which had been 
 brought to a stand still in growth by drought, 
 and its after thriving testifies wondrously of the 
 divine power. The mountains too, these gigan- 
 tic, rude, inert masses, which give to the earth, 
 as the bones to the flesh, solidity, form, and con- 
 sistency, which render impossible or at least 
 difficult, the passage from one place to another, 
 which although heavier than the earth itself, 
 yet soar far above it, and never sink ; do they 
 not proclaim the imperishable might of Jehovah, 
 and speak forth the whole volume of his majesty ? 
 In those works of God we behold proofs of the 
 divine existence, and of the power, which sustains 
 them all in being, not less than man himself. " 
 
 To one thus familiar with the grandeur of 
 Alpine scenery, from his youth, the love of that 
 which is grand, and beautiful, must have pro- 
 duced a lasting influence on his spirit. And he 
 could doubtless say of his own " Sentis " what 
 Coleridge, in his matchless " Hymn ' says of 
 Mt. Blanc: 
 
 " dread and silent Mount ! I gazed upon thee, 
 Till thou, still present to the bodily sense, 
 
22 THE MOUNTAIN BOY. 
 
 Didst vanish from my thought ; entranced in prayer 
 I worshipped the Invisible alone. 
 
 Yet, like some sweet beguiling melody, 
 
 So sweet, we know not we are listening to it, 
 
 Thou, the meanwhile, wast blending with my Thought, 
 
 Yea with my Life and Life's own secret Joy : 
 
 Till the dilating soul, enrapt, transfused, 
 
 Into the mighty vision passing — there, 
 
 As in her natural form, swelled vast to Heaven!" 
 
 " Thou too, hoar Mount ! with thy sky-pointing Peaks, 
 
 Oft from whose feet the Avalanche, unheard, 
 
 Shoots downward, glittering through the pure Serene 
 
 Into the depth of Clouds, that veil thy breast — 
 
 Thou too, again, stupendous Mountain ! thou 
 
 That as I raise my head, awhile bowed low 
 
 In adoration, upward from thy Base 
 
 Slow travelling with dim eyes suffused with tears, 
 
 Solemnly seemest, like a vapoury cloud, 
 
 To rise before me — Rise, ever rise, 
 
 Rise like a cloud of Incense, from the Earth ! 
 
 Thou kingly Spirit throned among the hills, 
 
 Thou dread Ambassador from Earth to Heaven, 
 
 Great Hierarch ! tell thou the silent Sky, 
 
 And tell the Stars, and tell yon rising Sun, 
 
 Earth with her thousand voices praises God 
 
CHAPTER IIL 
 
 GOING TO SCHOOL. 
 
 The time had now come when little Ulric 
 was to leave the home of his childhood, and go 
 out into the world in search of an education. 
 The school privileges at Wildhaus seem to have 
 been very indifferent. In many parts of the 
 land, in those times, there were no provisions 
 made for the regular instruction of the children ; 
 but in some places there were schools taught by 
 men who had only a smattering of learning, who, 
 of course, could do little more than give the 
 mere rudiments of a primary course of instruc- 
 tion. In some cases older students, under the 
 name of Lehrmeisters, traveled around, often- 
 times with their wives, practising their vocations, 
 and hiring themselves out for longer or shorter 
 periods. An old painting, or two, still preserved 
 in the Museum at Basel, exhibit the interior of 
 a school-room. There the children are seen sit- 
 ting, or kneeling, on the floor with their books, 
 
 23 
 
24 THE MOUNTAIN BOY. 
 
 whilst the Master, with rod in hand, is teaching 
 a boy at the desk, while the teacher's wife is 
 seen teaching a girl in the opposite corner. 
 
 In those schools the children and adults 
 frequently sat on the same bench. Of course 
 there was nothing like thorough knowledge 
 among the masters, nothing like a division into 
 classes, or a regular plan of instruction. Just as 
 the natural talent of the teacher was greater or 
 less, were the results better or worse. And yet 
 such was the only education of a large majority 
 of the people. Indeed thousands were destitute 
 of even this. 
 
 Whipping was generally depended upon in 
 order to preserve order, and to quicken the 
 forces of intellect. The supply of whips was 
 generally to be provided by the scholars them- 
 selves. Once each year a holiday was observed, 
 known as the " Procession of the Rods/' in which 
 the pupils went out into the summer woods, and 
 came back, heavily ladened with Birch-twigs, 
 cracking jokes by the way, and singing : 
 
 " Ye fathers and ye mothers good, 
 See us with the birchen-wood 
 Loaded coming home again ; 
 For our profit it shall serve, 
 Not for injury or pain. 
 
GOING TO SCHOOL. 25 
 
 Your will and the command of God 
 Have prompted us to bear the rod 
 On our own bodies thus to-day, 
 Not in angry, sullen mood, 
 But with spirits glad and gay." 
 
 The course of instruction embraced, usually, 
 three branches only : Grammar ; Music, for 
 which the children should have been extremely 
 grateful ; and Logic, which could not have been 
 of any great profit to their untrained intellects. 
 Indeed the music must have been the redeeming 
 feature of these primitive institutions. And it 
 was what the Swiss children loved above all 
 else. The bright, and quick intellect of little 
 Ulric began to manifest itself very early. His 
 parents noticed, with pleasure, the interest he 
 took in all matters of education. His uncle 
 Bartholomew, who was now the minister of the 
 church at Wesen, had also drawn the attention 
 of his parents to his qualities which would fit 
 him to become a student. And so when he had 
 attained his ninth year his father, one day, set 
 out with him for the village which was some 
 twelve miles distant, where his uncle resided. 
 As this was his first journey away from home 
 it must have been fraught with great interest 
 to the youthful traveler. One who was very 
 
26 THE MOUNTAIN BOY. 
 
 familiar with the locality thus describes the 
 road. u He crossed the grassy summits of the 
 Ammon, avoiding the wild and bold rocks which 
 border the lake of Wallenstadt, and arriving at 
 the village, entered the dwelling of the uncle, 
 his father's brother. " You have put lofty ideas 
 into Ulric's head," said the father to his brother, 
 u and now I have brought him, so that you may 
 try what he can do/' " Right gladly will I 
 measure him," said the uncle. Then turning to 
 the lad he said : " So you will now be a son to 
 your uncle Ulric." And thus informally was 
 the boy installed into his new home. 
 
 When the young scholar began to look about 
 him, he found that his lot was cast in a beautiful 
 spot. Wesen as we have seen lies upon the hill- 
 side at the western end of the beautiful lake of 
 Wallenstadt, which is scarcely inferior to the 
 lake of Lucern in mountainous grandeur. All 
 along its northern side the mountains stand in 
 serried ranks, in places almost precipitous above 
 the deep blue waters. Did Ulric long to climb, 
 once more a mountain steep, for a holiday, he 
 had only to bound away up the steep sides of 
 the u Speer," a romantic peak rising behind the 
 village, and he would have a commanding pros- 
 pect spread out before him. 
 
GOING TO SCHOOL. 27 
 
 It is likely that the school which Ulric at- 
 tended, in Wesen, was of the poor grade already 
 mentioned. It is thought that the teacher only 
 received as compensation what the scholars could 
 beg for him in the streets, where they sang their 
 school songs under the windows of the houses. 
 Here the mountain boy of Wildhaus, as he may 
 have been called, came in contact with boys who 
 were guilty of deception and falsehood. From a 
 child he had, what all noble natures have, a hor- 
 ror at the thought of lying. He once said in 
 after years : " Lying ought to be more severely 
 punished than theft. Hypocrisy is worse than 
 stealing. Falsehood is the beginning of all evil. 
 Man most resembles God by being true. Glo- 
 rious is the truth, full of majesty, commanding 
 the respect of the wicked." 
 
 His uncle soon perceived that the Wesen 
 school could do nothing more for Ulric. The 
 scholar was already too far advanced for his 
 teacher ; some more advanced school must be 
 found for him. After consultation with his 
 parents, it was resolved to send him away to 
 Basel. It was a great way from home to be 
 sure ; an hundred miles at least ; and only slow 
 methods of travel were known in that day. 
 
 Basel and Geneva are the gateways to Swit- 
 
28 THE MOUNTAIN BOY. 
 
 zerland. The one stands at the north-west 
 angle, where the majestic Rhine issues forth 
 from the glacier-fed springs and clear blue lakes, 
 which ever supply his mighty current. The 
 other stands on the less majestic Rhone, which 
 opens a gateway through the mountains to 
 France and the Mediterranean Sea. 
 
 To this day Basel is noted for its schools ; 
 even for its schools of theology. But when 
 Ulric arrived there, the fame of the city, in this 
 respect, was already well established, for its 
 University, founded in 1464, was then resorted 
 to from all parts of the west, by the youth 
 who sought a liberal education. Besides this, 
 Basel was noted for its publishing interests, 
 which, at that time, were just beginning to be 
 appreciated at something like their true value ; 
 the printing-press had then only been lately 
 invented, and all learned men understood what 
 a great advantage would result from having the 
 printed texts of classical, and other works, used 
 in the higher instruction given at the univer- 
 sities. 
 
 And then there were a number of learned 
 men, like the Wessels, and Wittenbachs, and 
 above all, Erasmus of Rotterdam, who were 
 engaged in giving instruction, in the higher 
 
GOING TO SCHOOL. 29 
 
 grades of learning, at Basel. However, the 
 mounta ; n-boy of Wildhaus is yet too young to 
 avail himself of these advanced teachers ; and 
 so he is sent to the Theodore school, an institu- 
 tion presided over by Gregory Binzli, an excel- 
 lent, not unlearned man, of a very amiable 
 disposition. He took a great liking to Zwingli, 
 who soon stood in the foremost rank among his 
 school fellows, a master in debate, and the 
 possessor of an extraordinary talent for music. 
 Learned discussions, much in vogue in that day, 
 among the doctors of universities, had descended 
 even to the children of the schools. Uiric took 
 part in them, and in contest with the pupils of 
 other schools, frequently bore off the prize. 
 His signal success in these efforts, it is said, 
 aroused the jealousy of his seniors ; and his 
 teacher, perceiving that his school was not 
 adapted to the capacities of his pupil any longer, 
 after three years, sent him home, with the ad- 
 vice that he should be sent to a more advanced 
 school. 
 
 Ulric was now about 13 years of age. He 
 was bright and vivacious, and his musical tal- 
 ents began to develop themselves in an extraor- 
 dinary degree, and to excite universal admira- 
 tion. It could not be expected that his parents 
 
30 THE MOUNTAIN BOY. 
 
 would now arrest him in his course of study ; 
 and give him charge once more of their herds 
 and flocks at Wildhaus. A conference was held 
 between them and his uncle Bartholomew, as 
 before, the result of which was that the lad was 
 sent to school at a city nearly as far distant 
 from home as Basel was. 
 
 Preparations began at once to be made, and 
 not many days had passed ere the mountain-boy 
 was on his way towards the city of Bern, 
 whither his parents had now resolved to send 
 him. 
 
 The city of Bern is said to have been founded 
 in the year 1191, by Berthold Vth, who gave it 
 the name " Baren," in German signifying a 
 bear, because he had killed a bear on the spot. 
 It is situated on the banks of the Aare, which, 
 in the winding course it follows at this point, 
 encompasses the promontory on which the city 
 stands, on three sides. The modern city has an 
 imposing appearance from a distance, and a 
 nearer view discloses one of the best and most 
 regularly built towns in Europe, as it is the 
 finest in Switzerland. 
 
 At almost every point the traveller sees 
 something at Bern to remind him of the origi- 
 nal bruin, which was slain here so many years 
 
GOING TO SCHOOL. 31 
 
 ago. At one point lie will suddenly come upon 
 two granite columns, formed by the sculptor to 
 represent gigantic bears in the act of rearing, 
 and ready to seize their prey. In another place 
 bruin is seen, equipped with shield, sword, ban- 
 ner, and helmet. A whole troop of bears go 
 through a performance en the dial of the town- 
 clock, two minutes before every hour. Images 
 of bears are for sale at all the market stalls ; 
 and a stranger is apt to think that Bruin must 
 be the patron saint of the city. 
 
 The people of Bern seem to have been a mer- 
 ry race from the beginning. The scenery sur- 
 rounding it is delightful ; the windings of the 
 Aare give it picturesqueness, and a wild beauty, 
 and in the distance one may see the ever 
 majestic Alps. 
 
 When young Zwingli came hither he entered 
 the school of Henry Lupulus. His teacher was 
 noted for his correct knowledge of the ancient 
 Classics, and he soon infused a spirit of research 
 and study in this direction, on the part of his 
 pupil, Ulric, who was only too well pleased to 
 pursue the studies marked out for him by his 
 teacher. He was very proficient here, as he had 
 been at Basel. The teacher had made a pilgrim- 
 age to Jerusalem, and was accustomed to speak 
 
32 THE MOUNTAIN BOY. 
 
 of Palestine to his pupils, as of a land of peculiar 
 interest, because of its sacred associations. 
 Under Lupulus Ulric acquired a flowing style 
 in writing and speaking. He became a good 
 scholar, not in the corrupt monks' Latin, but 
 learned the highly cultivated, clear, powerful 
 language, which had come down from classical 
 times. He learned to speak Latin, he afterward 
 said, better than he spoke his native tongue. 
 He also became familiar with the history of 
 the most celebrated Republic of antiquity, which, 
 to the Swiss, themselves the citizens of a free 
 country, was full of interest. 
 
 Ulric also zealously applied himself to music ; 
 and learned to play on all the instruments then 
 known, including the lute, with which he ac- 
 companied his singing. This attracted the 
 attention of the Dominican friars, who were 
 anxious to have him enter their order, that they 
 might profit by his musical talents, and thus 
 offset their rivals, the Franciscans. But the 
 eye of God watched over the lad, and preserved 
 him from the snares of these corrupted monks. 
 His father and uncle heard of the danger which 
 impended over him, and they recalled him home, 
 to send him elsewhere. He was now prepared 
 for the high school, and they accordingly de- 
 
GOING TO SCHOOL. 33 
 
 cided to send him to Vienna, where a celebrated 
 school was established. 
 
 At this school the mountain-boy formed the 
 acquaintance of two Swiss students, Joachim 
 Von Watt, called Vadian, and Henry Loreti, 
 who was sometimes called Glareanus, because 
 he came from Glarus. The three Swiss youths, 
 united in the bonds of close friendship, devoted 
 themselves, with great success, to the investiga- 
 tion of the sciences, and also continued the 
 study of the classics. 
 
 Ulric remained here for two years, laying in 
 rich stores of learning ; when he was called , 
 home by his father about the year 1502. The 
 desire to prosecute his studies, and also to apply 
 the results of his industry, led him shortly after- 
 wards to proceed to Basel once more. There 
 he became a teacher in the school of St. Martin, 
 and taught Latin with great success. Soon after 
 this he placed himself under the instruction of 
 the learned Thomas Wittenbach. His fellow- 
 student, and intimate friend here, was one Leo 
 Juda. The two young men devoted themselves 
 to the study of the higher branches of learning 
 with unwearied assiduity. Their eminent teach- 
 er was not only well versed in the ancient lan- 
 guages, but he added to this a profound ac- 
 3 
 
34 THE MOUNTAIN BOY. 
 
 quaintanee with the Holy Scriptures. Out of 
 the barren deserts of school-wisdom, destitute 
 of all water, it was this excellent man's habit to 
 lead his pupils to the living sources of God's 
 word, and teach them to draw water from thence 
 for themselves, and their flocks. " The time is 
 not far distant," said Wittenbach, " when the 
 scholastic theology will be swept away, and the 
 old doctrine of the church established in its 
 room, on the foundation of the Bible. Absolu- 
 tion is a Eomish cheat ; the death of Christ is 
 the only payment for our sins/' Such a seed- 
 corn as this, found in the heart of Zwingli, so 
 receptive of the true, a soil in which its roots 
 struck vigorously, shot up strongly, and bore 
 noble fruit at an after day. 
 
 After hard study, the recreation of the two 
 friends was vocal and instrumental music. 
 Leo poured forth a fine treble, while Zwingli 
 accompanied him on any one of the instruments, 
 of which he was the acknowledged master. 
 Thus were the graver labors of study relieved 
 with a recreation at once useful and delightful, 
 which afterwards did them good service in the 
 pastorate. 
 
 Soon after this Zwingli was honored with the 
 degree, " Master of Arts," which he accepted, 
 
GOING TO SCHOOL. 35 
 
 more out of deference to the prejudices of men, 
 who weigh the learning by the title, than from 
 any sense of its intrinsic worth. He at no time 
 made use of the degree, being wont to say, 
 " One is our Master, even Christ." 
 
 But while he cared little for the titles that 
 men honor, as expressive of high attainments, 
 he honored learning itself. He was enthusiastic 
 in his studies of the classics ; delighted in the 
 poems of Hesiod, Homer, and Pindar, on the 
 latter two preparing notes in the way of a com- 
 mentary. He studied closely Cicero and Demos- 
 thenes, that he might learn of oratory and poli- 
 tics ; and he also loved the wonders of nature as 
 reported by Pliny, Thucydides, Sallust. Livy, 
 Caesar, Suetonius, Plutarch, and Tacitus, were 
 all familiar to him. He has been blamed for his 
 devotion to these great authors; as he thought 
 that he discerned in them not mere human vir- 
 tues, but the influence of the Holy Spirit. God's 
 dealings, he thought, in olden times were not 
 limited to the Holy Land, but extended to all 
 the earth. u Plato, also," said he, " drew from 
 a source divine ; and if the Catos, Camillus, and 
 Scipios, had not been deeply religious, could they 
 have acted so nobly as we know they did ?" 
 However, when the Word of God was afterward 
 
36 THE MOUNTAIN BOY. 
 
 opened to him in all its fullness, these early 
 student views were greatly modified, and then 
 he could truly say : " One is our Master, even 
 Christ." And here ends the story of Zwingli's 
 student life. He was always a student; he 
 never relaxed his efforts for an extended cul- 
 ture. And no fact is more surely established 
 than that Zwingli was not only one of the best 
 scholars of his time j but also that he excelled in 
 love of justice and truth. 
 
CHAPTER" IV. 
 
 THE YOUNG PKIEST OF GLARUS. 
 
 It is sometimes difficult for us to realize that, 
 400 years ago, there was no Protestant church 
 in existence, and that there were but few persons 
 then living, who thought that the church could 
 be reformed. Since the days of Constantine 
 the Great, who was Emperor of Rome and of 
 all the east, and who came to the height of his 
 power, at the time when the Council of Nice 
 was held, A. d. 325 ; and declared that Chris- 
 tianity was the religion of the State, the church 
 of Rome had held almost complete sway over 
 the various nations of Western Europe. The 
 north-Rhine peoples who overran the Italian 
 States in the fifth and sixth centuries, were them- 
 selves captured by the religion of their captives, 
 and embraced the Christian faith, acknowledging 
 the Pope of Rome as their supreme Pontiff, and 
 vieing with each other in their readiness to 
 carry out his behests. For centuries this con- 
 
 37 
 
38 THE MOUNTAIN BOY. 
 
 dition of things lasted, until now, in the fifteenth 
 century, when Luther and Zwingli were born, no 
 other form of Christianity was ever thought of, 
 beside that which looked to the Pope, as the 
 Vicar of Christ on earth, and obediently placed 
 the neck under his heavy yoke. 
 
 The church, through its great prosperity, and 
 almost universal sway, had become very corrupt. 
 The Pope, it was thought, had power to pardon 
 sins. The ministers were all called priests, and 
 it was their chief duty to exhort the people to 
 be loyal to the Pope, and the Cardinals, and 
 other dignitaries ; and to come regularly to the 
 confessional, and acknowledge to the priest what 
 sins they were guilty of, when he would pro- 
 nounce their full pardon. The priests were not 
 allowed to marry; and on this account great 
 abuses had crept into the church ; and it was 
 well known that there was great impurity pre- 
 vailing among the monks and nuns, who lived 
 in the convents and monasteries. It is true 
 that pure-minded persons like John Huss, in 
 Bohemia, and Savonorola in Italy, and Wyclifle 
 in England, and others had arisen from time to 
 time, and testified against the abuses existing 
 in the church ; but they were only told to re- 
 cant, and when they refused to do this, they 
 
THE YOUNG PRIEST OF GLARUS. 39 
 
 were put to death. And so the reign of the 
 Pope had become a reign of terror ; and though 
 the Popes were often very evil men, yet they 
 were to be obeyed, even at the perils of suffer- 
 ing a martyr's death. 
 
 Zwingli became a priest in the Romish church. 
 The reader will not be surprised at this, when 
 he remembers that this was the only course 
 open, at that time, to any one who sought the 
 office of the ministry. When there was but one 
 outward organization, to which all the ministers 
 and the people were obedient, the candidate for 
 the ministry must seek permission to preach, 
 through its authority. Zwingli was ordained 
 to the priesthood, by the Bishop of Constance 
 in 1506, one year previous to the ordination of 
 Luther at Erfurth, in Saxony. 
 
 During this year Zwingli received a call to 
 be the pastor of the church at Glarus. He 
 accepted the call, and at once made preparations 
 to enter upon his charge. His invitation was 
 the more acceptable because he was elected by 
 the free votes of the community. He was 
 encouraged with the thought that he had well 
 improved the season of preparation. God had 
 preserved him against gross declensions, despite 
 the general wickedness and corruptions of the 
 
40 THE MOUNTAIN BOY. 
 
 time. " I acknowledge myself/' are his words, 
 " to be a great sinner before God, but I have 
 not lived immorally, and on no occasion has dis- 
 cipline been exercised upon me." With a heart 
 overflowing with gratitude for the divine direc- 
 tion, he exclaimed, u God has granted me, from 
 the age of boyhood, to devote myself to the 
 acquirement of knowledge, human and divine." 
 And he resolved again to be true and upright 
 in every situation in life in which the hand of 
 the Lord might yet place him. 
 
 It was near the close of the year 1506, when 
 the young priest, who had now reached his 
 twenty-second year, set out from his childhood 
 home at Wildhaus where he had been spending 
 a short time with his parents, for his new charge 
 at Glarus. He had gone over once more the 
 haunts of his childhood plays. He had looked 
 up to the heights of Sentis and recalled the 
 solemn thoughts of his early years, when he 
 used to think that the very mountains reflected 
 the presence and power of Jehovah. And on 
 the preceding Sabbath he had said his first 
 " Mass " in the little church at Wildhaus, in the 
 presence of his father's family, < thus formally 
 announcing to his old friends his determination to 
 give himself to the work of the ministry for life. 
 
THE YOUNG PRIEST OF GLARUS. 41 
 
 The solemn service concluded, the young 
 Parson bade farewell to his father's household, 
 and set out again from Wildhaus, and crossed 
 the Ammon to Wesen, as he had done thirteen 
 years before. How different life appeared to 
 him now that he had mingled with the world, 
 and penetrated the mystery that ever enshrouds 
 the cloister and the academy to the aspiring 
 youth ! Instead of being the untutored moun- 
 tain-boy who visited his uncle Bartholomew, on 
 the former occasion, he now comes to him as 
 one who has passed honorably through the 
 ordeal of hard study, and is admitted to equal 
 honors with himself. 
 
 Wesen was the market town of the people who 
 dwelt at Glarus. It was only seven and a half 
 miles distant, in a southerly direction, and thus 
 only some twenty miles from Wildhaus. Hav- 
 ing preached at Eapperschwyl, a town situated 
 on the lake of Zurich, he went on towards Glarus. 
 From Wesen he pursued his way along the 
 banks of the Linth, by a path which here winds 
 between high and rocky mountains, to his place 
 of destination, which was the chief town of the 
 canton. 
 
 Before Zwingli could enter on his sacred 
 office, he was destined to have a painful ex- 
 
42 THE MOUNTAIN BOY. 
 
 perience of the system of corruption under which 
 his country groaned. One Henry Goeldli, the 
 descendant of an aristocratic house, who was at 
 that time " Master of the Horse " to the Pope, 
 and a boon companion of his holiness, appeared 
 with a papal letter of investiture for the place, 
 although he was already in the possession of 
 several livings. The community of Glarus 
 maintained their right of election with success ; 
 yet Zwingli was obliged to indemnify the papal 
 intruder with a sum of money, for renouncing 
 claims that were totally groundless. 
 
 Zwingli now devoted himself to his chosen 
 pursuit. His charge was situated in a beautiful, 
 though narrow, valley. All around were the 
 lofty summits of the Alps. The village lay at 
 the north-east base of the precipitous and impo- 
 sing " Vorder-Glarnisch " over seven thousand 
 six hundred feet in height ; and at the south- 
 east of the " Wiggis/' the barren grey summits 
 of which formed a striking contrast to the fresh 
 green of the valley. The "Haustock," ten 
 thousand feet in height, formed the back-ground 
 to the south, and at the west was the " Schild," 
 over seven thousand five hundred feet in height. 
 Thus as the mountains were round about Jeru- 
 salem, so were there mountains, and much 
 
THE YOUNG PRIEST OF GLARUS. 43 
 
 higher ones, around Glarus. The people at 
 Glarus were hardy mountaineers. Some of 
 them dwelt on the mountain side, and mined 
 the slate and prepared it for market. Others 
 dwelt in the narrow valley and prepared the 
 celebrated Swiss cheese so highly prized in 
 many places to this day. Among these people 
 Zwingli was now to labor. He was profoundly 
 sensible that the servant of God, in the care of 
 souls, must apply himself unremittingly to 
 serious study, if he would guard his soul against 
 the inroads of a low worldliness, and if he would 
 proclaim the truth to his hearers, with living 
 conviction. 
 
 "What idea Zwingli entertained of the pastoral 
 office, appears from the course he marked out 
 for himself, and steadily pursued. " He becomes 
 a priest," writes his friend Myconius/' and con- 
 trary to the usual way of priests, he yields him- 
 self to his studies, especially to that of theology- 
 Now he first rightly apprehends how much he, 
 who is intrusted with the instruction of the 
 people in divine truth, ought himself, before all 
 things, to be furnished with theological know- 
 ledge, and then to possess eloquence also, that he 
 may be enabled to exhibit everything both truly 
 and profitably, agreeably to the capacities of his 
 
44 THE MOUNTAIN BOY. 
 
 hearers. To these studies he applied himself 
 with a diligence of which there had been no pre- 
 vious example in many years." 
 
 The diligence of Zwingli must have been re- 
 markable, for beside the care of the church in 
 the village, he had three other congregations, 
 comprising nearly a third part of the canton. 
 Yet with all his other duties he was unremitting 
 in his devotion to his studies. The Eoman 
 classics he continued to read with diligence, 
 chiefly that they might be useful to him in his 
 acquisition of truth, and in the cultivation of his 
 oratorical powers. "As for truth itself, he went 
 for it," says Myconius, " and drew it, with 
 untiring industry, out of the perennial stream 
 of God's word. Although he knew Holy Scrip- 
 ture, as yet only in the Latin version, he passed 
 among his fellow priests for one who had a pro- 
 found knowledge of the Bible. He well knew, 
 however, and deeply felt, how small was the 
 title he had to such a distinction. He was 
 ambitious to excel in public speaking, and to 
 this end he persevered in his study of the Latin. 
 The great orators of antiquity, those masters of 
 eloquence, whom he regarded as unrivalled, 
 were ever present to him, and the desire burned 
 within him to work, with the power of oratory, 
 
THE YOUNG PRIEST OF GLARUS. 45 
 
 in Switzerland, and in the cause of divine truth, 
 yet greater wonders than these had ever wrought 
 by their eloquence in Italy. 
 
 He now labored to establish a Latin school in 
 Glarus, and to befriend many poor students who 
 began, or continued their education there. He 
 soon gathered around him a noble band of young 
 men, whom he led on to the pursuit of an educa- 
 tion, and to a high standing in the community, 
 who might otherwise have missed their oppor- 
 tunity for improvement altogether. Among his 
 scholars was his younger brother James, whose 
 education he superintended with brotherly affec- 
 tion. As soon as the students were prepared 
 for the high school he sent them away either to 
 the high school at Vienna, where the friend of 
 his youth Vadian had risen to the rank of pro- 
 fessor and rector j or to Basel where Glarean, 
 also his friend, taught the high school, the ex- 
 cellent man boarding the students himself, that 
 he might the better watch over their education 
 and morals. 
 
 But wherever his students went, they bore, 
 engraved on their hearts, the memory of their 
 first master, and maintained with him a corres- 
 pondence of which the following is a specimen.. 
 Peter Tschudi wrote him from Paris : " Thou, 
 
46 THE MOUNTAIN BOY. 
 
 art to us like a guardian angel ;" and his brother 
 wrote from another place : " Help, help me, that 
 I may be recalled to thee, for nowhere do I like 
 so well to dwell as near thyself.'' Their cousin, 
 Valentine Tschudi, and Zwingli's successor at 
 Glarus, wrote : " Can I ever cease to be grateful 
 to thee for thy great benefits ?" " On every 
 occasion that I return to my home, and lately 
 in an especial manner, when I was four days 
 suffering under fever, and again, when I left my 
 books behind me in Basel, and when in my 
 timidity I feared to be burdensome to thee, thou 
 gavest me thy books, thy help, thy services. 
 Ah ! the whole benevolence of thy soul over- 
 flowed to me, and it was not in any general way 
 that the rich treasures of thy learning were 
 placed at my disposal, but with a special regard 
 to my peculiar circumstances and necessities." 
 Testimonies like these bear witness to the great 
 kindness of heart which characterized the young 
 pastor at Glarus. While evidences are also at 
 hand to prove his undoubted abilities. The 
 learned Erasmus wrote to him from Basel : "All 
 hail ! say I, to the Swiss people, whom I have 
 always admired, whose intellectual and moral 
 qualities yourself, and men such as yourself, are 
 training." 
 
THE YOUNG PRIEST OF GLARUS. 47 
 
 Doubtless this opinion of Erasmus was formed 
 during the visit which Zwingli made to Basel 
 in 1514. All the men of learning assembled 
 round the scholar from Rotterdam, who seems 
 at once to have selected Zwingli as the man who 
 promised to be the glory of Switzerland. This 
 visit had a great influence upon the youthful 
 pastor of Glarus ; for here he met Myconius, and 
 John Hausschein, afterwards called Oecolampa- 
 dius, w}io was pastor of Basel, and a man of 
 great learning also, and in sympathy with the 
 reformatory views, held by the few advanced 
 minds in the little coterie. It was at this time 
 that Erasmus said : " We must seek but one 
 thing in Holy Scriptures, namely, Jesus Christ." 
 Zwingli returned to his mountain home, greatly 
 strengthened by this conference, and filled with 
 new views of the important duties of his pas^ 
 torate. 
 
 With reference to the feelings with which he 
 discharged these duties, he afterward wrote : 
 " Young as I was, the office of the priesthood 
 filled me with greater fear than joy, for this was 
 ever present to me, that the blood of the sheep 
 who perished through any neglect or guilt of 
 mine, would be required at my hands." 
 
CHAPTEE V. 
 
 WARS AND RUMORS OF WARS. 
 
 ¥e are now to be introduced to other scenes 
 in the life of Zwingli, quite different from those 
 we have hitherto considered. It might be in- 
 ferred that the life of the young priest at Glarus 
 would be uneventful, being confined chiefly to 
 those cares that commonly mark the experience 
 of the country curate. Such however was not 
 to be the case with Zwingli. Though he was a 
 student from choice and inclination, yet the 
 times in which he lived, and the interests of his 
 country, called him forth from his limited sphere 
 of operations in Glarus to participate in the 
 stirring events of war. 
 
 The remote cause of this remarkable change 
 in the life of the young pastor, was the influence 
 of a noted dignitary of the Eomish church 
 named Cardinal Schinner. He was a man of 
 extraordinary powers, who had raised himself 
 48 
 
WARS AND RUMORS OF WARS. 49 
 
 from the condition of herd-boy, to be Bishop 
 Prince of the land, and a Cardinal of the Church. 
 It is related that when he was a poor boy, at- 
 tending the school at Sion, in the Valais, he was 
 one day singing in the streets, for his bread, 
 when an old man called him to him, and said : 
 " Thou shalt become a bishop and a prince." 
 The boy was filled with a burning ambition from 
 that hour, and determined to fulfill the prophecy, 
 if possible. He attended school at Zurich and 
 Como, and thus became proficient both in 
 German and Italian; and after ordination to 
 the priesthood, rose rapidly in the estimation of 
 churchmen, and soon attained distinction. 
 
 Humor had it that he was sent to Rome to 
 obtain a bishopric for one who had been selected 
 for that office ; but with a tricky heart, he asked 
 the appointment for himself, and the Pope 
 granted it, so that the messenger went home as 
 the bishop of Sion. A man who could perform 
 an act like this was sure to be engaged in unholy 
 schemes thereafter; and when Louis XII, of 
 France, was at war with the Popes Julius II, 
 and Leo X, Schinner knew that each party 
 would be glad to retain the Swiss in his service. 
 Accordingly he offered his services to Louis, 
 and named his price. The king remarked : " It 
 4 
 
50 THE MOUNTAIN BOY. 
 
 is too much for any one man." ° I will show 
 him," replied the bishop of Sion, in a passion, 
 " that I am a man worth purchasing at any 
 cost." From that time he engaged to act with 
 the Pope Julius II, who received his advances 
 with joy. 
 
 By the year 1510, Schinner had succeeded, 
 by his arts, in attaching the Swiss to the in- 
 terests of the papacy ; so that these hardy moun- 
 taineers, for absolution, some deceitful promises, 
 and but a scanty pay, lent themselves as tools 
 to forward the ambitious plans of the Popes. 
 There was scarcely a man of weight in the 
 country, whom this man had not gained over to 
 the papacy, by the glittering bait of some post 
 of honor, or other favor. 
 
 The noble form of the talented pastor of Gla- 
 rus, standing high in the esteem of his people, 
 caught the eye of the artful bishop. Zwingli 
 on account of his poverty, had not been able to 
 purchase books sufficient to meet the demands 
 of his thirst for knowledge ; here was a capital 
 opportunity to take him in the papal toils. 
 Schinner hastened to inform him that the Pope 
 had set apart an annual sum of fifty florins, in 
 order that he might freely pursue his studies. 
 In return, Zwingli's talents and energies were 
 
WARS AND RUMORS OF WARS. 51 
 
 to be devoted to the Pope. Had he acceded to 
 this condition, the mountain boy of Wildhaus 
 might well have climbed the ladder of papal 
 promotion as high as the herd-boy of Wallis, 
 the bishop prince and Cardinal, had done. 
 
 Zwingli has this to say regarding his accept- 
 ance of this offer : "I confess here, before God 
 and all the world, my sin " (in drawing the 
 above annual sum, which he did accept, and use 
 conditionally) : " for before the year 1516, I 
 hung mightily on the Roman power, and thought 
 it highly becoming in me to take the money, 
 although I told the Romish ambassadors in clear 
 and express terms, when they exhorted me to 
 preach nothing against the Pope, they were not 
 to fancy that I, for their money, should withhold 
 one iota of the truth, so they might take back, 
 or give it, as they pleased." The Popes and the 
 Cardinal had more at heart the success of their 
 policy than the victory of the truth, and so they 
 left Zwingli alone for the present, with the little 
 stipend which he expended in the purchase of 
 books at Basel. 
 
 . In the meantime Cardinal Schinner and the 
 Pope threw off all disguise , and began to re- 
 cruit soldiers in Switzerland for the campaign 
 against the King of France, who was making 
 
52 THE MOUNTAIN BOY. 
 
 inroads on the papal territory in Italy. Eight 
 thousand Swiss were persuaded by the Cardinal 
 to enlist for the campaign. They crossed the 
 Alps, and were marshalled with the papal 
 army; but receiving scant pay, and being 
 worsted by the French, they retreated in- 
 gloriously to their own mountain home. They 
 brought with them evil and dissipated habits, 
 which resulted in licentiousness, violence and 
 general disorder. The citizens arose against 
 their magistrates, the children against their 
 parents, the lands were allowed to go uncultiva- 
 ted, and the shepherds neglected their herds 
 and flocks. Luxury and beggary increased, the 
 most sacred ties were severed, and the confed- 
 eracy seemed in danger of dissolution. 
 
 Zwingli could not help noticing the peril. In 
 order to counteract the evil influences resulting 
 from mercenary warfare he wrote and published 
 a poem entitled "The Labyrinth;" and another 
 entitled : "A Poetic Fable concerning an Ox 
 and several Beasts." He described the mazes 
 of a mysterious garden, where Minos had con- 
 cealed the Minotaur, a monster half man and 
 half bull, whom he feeds with the blood of the 
 Athenian youth. He interpreted the Minotaur 
 as the sin, the irreligion, and the foreign service 
 of the Swiss which devour their children. 
 
WARS AND RUMORS OF WARS. 53 
 
 A brave man, Theseus, undertakes to deliver 
 his country. He meets, first, a lion with one 
 eye ; it is Spain and Arragon. Next he meets 
 a crowned eagle, with open throat ; it is the 
 Empire ; then he encounters a cock with crest 
 erect; it is France. But the hero overcomes 
 them all; and at last delivers his country. 
 Had the warning been heeded, it would have 
 been well for the Swiss, but so great was the 
 infatuation that the protest was unheeded, and 
 great loss was the consequence. 
 
 Another campaign was undertaken by Schin- 
 ner in the early part of 1513, to cross the Alps 
 and drive the French out of Lombardy. As the 
 banner of Glarus was unfurled in this expedition, 
 Zwingli was appointed, by an order of the magis- 
 tracy, and in conformity with an old Swiss 
 custom, to follow the army as a field preacher. 
 At one sweep Lombardy was cleared of the in- 
 vaders, and the Duke Maximilian Sforza rein- 
 stated in his hereditary dominions, the duchy 
 of Milan. After the fortunate issue of this cam- 
 paign, a papal embassy, presented by the hands 
 of Zwingli, the proud victors in the war, with a 
 richly gilt sword and a ducal hat, emblazoned 
 with pearls and gold, over which the Holy 
 Spirit hovered, in the form of a dove. At the 
 
54 THE MOUNTAIN BOY. 
 
 same time, the honorary title was bestowed 
 upon them of " Deliverers of the Church I* 
 The present was very welcome to the victorious 
 Confederates, as well as the words which accom- 
 panied it : " They may ask what they will, the 
 holiest shall not be denied them." The greater 
 part begged that they might be permitted to 
 carry the image of the crucified Eedeemer on 
 their banners : the men of Glarus desired to 
 carry that of the risen Saviour. 
 
 A second time, in 1515, the Swiss army once 
 more crossed the Alps to fight against the 
 French army, and Zwingli as before, accom- 
 panied them as field preacher. On this occa- 
 sion it was the policy of the French monarch to 
 cast the seeds of disunion in the Swiss ranks, 
 by bribing some of the leaders. He succeeded 
 in dividing the Swiss host, and in inducing a 
 part of it, by a treaty the terms of which were 
 in the highest degree disgraceful to the Swiss, 
 to return home. Zwingli, who penetrated the 
 false game that was playing, and perceived the 
 mischief that brooded over his country, raised 
 his voice loudly against the treaty, in a sermon 
 which he preached to the army, in the square 
 at Monza, on the 7 th of September. He ex- 
 horted the assembled warriors to be true to 
 
WARS AND RUMORS OF WARS. 55 
 
 each other — to union and watchfulness in the 
 presence of their dangerous foe. " Had they 
 followed him," said his friend Steiner, who 
 shared the dangers of the campaign with him, 
 "much mischief would have been prevented." 
 But the warning of their chaplain was unheeded; 
 the treaty was signed, according to the terms of 
 which, a part of the Swiss withdrew. 
 
 A short time afterward the remnant of the 
 army under the fiery exhortations of Cardinal 
 Schinner, imprudently joined in a skirmish with 
 the French. In this skirmish the battle of 
 Marignano took its origin, in which the Swiss, 
 on the first day, maintained the field with a 
 tremendous loss ; but on the second day, being 
 attacked by the French with fresh forces, they 
 were beaten after a desperate stand, and forced 
 to retreat on Milan. Zwingli himself, accord- 
 ing to the reports of eye witnesses, displayed 
 striking proofs of personal courage, both by 
 word and deed. His intrepid but serious be- 
 havior, as well as his sermons, breathing at once 
 zeal in behalf of the truth, and love for his 
 native country, won for him the hearts of all 
 the better confederates. 
 
 It has been regretted by many that Zwingli 
 was led to accompany the Swiss army into Italy. 
 
56 THE MOUNTAIN BOY. 
 
 It is indeed to be regretted that war has not 
 yet ceased from the earth. But the causes of 
 the war in Zwingli's time lay far beyond his 
 reach and influence, and the only question left 
 for him to decide, was whether he would con- 
 form to the ancient custom of his country, and 
 go with the soldiers from his own charge as 
 their chaplain, or whether he would remain at 
 home and continue his denunciations against the 
 evils of a war engaged in with a mercenary 
 spirit. 
 
 It was represented to him also that this war 
 was undertaken to reclaim the ancient posses- 
 sions of the church in which he was a minister. 
 Lombardy had been the home of the church for 
 centuries, and the foe who threatened her was a 
 civil power, which simply sought its own advan- 
 tage without reference to the question of prin- 
 ciple. France was no friend to the Swiss ; and 
 as long as the church of Eome was the accepted 
 church of Switzerland, so long would there be a 
 foundation for her to call upon the Swiss for 
 aid. 
 
 To blame Zwingli for accepting the chaplaincy, 
 at this time, and also subsequently, when he 
 went with the troops from Zurich to the field of 
 Cappel, would be like condemning the ministers 
 
WARS AND RUMORS OF WARS. 57 
 
 * 
 
 who acted as chaplains in our own late civil war. 
 War can only be justified when it is a necessity. 
 And when engaged in it should be from good 
 motives, either in self-defence, or to protect the 
 weak and helpless. Zwingli preached a great 
 deal on the subject, both before and after these 
 campaigns, and in all his utterances he clearly 
 distinguishes between the mercenary spirit of the 
 soldier who is a hireling merely, and that of the 
 patriot who fights in defence of his native land. 
 This is well set forth in the poem alluded to 
 above, in which he represents the confederacy, 
 under the symbol of an ox, which was led astray 
 by artful cats, though warned by faithful dogs, 
 and by that means lost his liberty. 
 
 " Where bribery can show its face, 
 There Freedom has no dwelling-place. 
 Freedom must stand by Bravery, 
 Sheltered and guarded evermore. 
 Amid the bloody ranks of war, 
 Amid the fearful dance of death, 
 Let gleaming swords drawn from the 6heath, 
 And sharp-edged spears and axes be, 
 Thy guardians golden Liberty. 
 But, where a brutish heart is met, 
 And by a tempting bribe beset, 
 There noble Freedom, glorious boon ! 
 And name and blood of friends too soon, 
 Are cheaply prized ; and rudely torn 
 The oaths in holy covenant sworn/' 
 
CHAPTER VI. 
 
 FOES NEARER HOME. 
 
 One advantage, at least, came to Zwingli 
 from his visit to Italy. While at Milan he 
 found time, after having attended to the wounded 
 soldiers, to visit the library, and while there he 
 came upon an old " Mass-book/' used in the 
 time of St. Ambrose. It differed materially 
 from the one that was then put into the hands 
 of all the priests by the church, to be invariably 
 used by them in the conduct of public worship. 
 This led him to the following train of reasoning : 
 " Either Bishop Ambrose, from whom the mass- 
 book emanated, has made changes in the exist- 
 ing one, without his being visited with censure, 
 or the Eomish ritual has taken its present shape 
 since his time. In either case, it is evident that 
 the liturgy of the mass is the work of man, and 
 subject to change. The Word of God alone is 
 eternal and unchangeable." 
 
 One day Zwingli happened to be in the par- 
 58 
 
FOES NEARER HOME. 59 
 
 sonage of his friend parson Adam at Mollis, in 
 company also with the pastor of Wesen, and his 
 former teacher at Basel, George Binzli. Zwingli 
 found another liturgy, two hundred years old, 
 in which a sentence occurred which showed that 
 at that time, both the bread and the cup had 
 been given to the laity, though that custom was 
 now discontinued. He called attention to this 
 fact, and commented upon it. The inquiring, 
 and investigating spirit of Zwingli led him to 
 examine into the authority of the church for 
 himself; he had always been an independent 
 thinker. 
 
 In the year 1513 he began the study of the 
 Greek language, in order that he might be able 
 to read the New Testament in the original. He 
 acquired the language without any assistance, 
 and in a short time. He extended his reading, 
 in the Greek, to the writings of the Fathers, 
 that he might learn their comments on the 
 Bible. He said that he read the Fathers, u as 
 one asks a friend what he means." And Myco- 
 nius adds : " He perceived however that the 
 Holy Spirit alone can give the true meaning of 
 the Word which he himself has indited; and 
 he looked up to heaven, for direction, wrestled 
 with God in prayer, that he would bestow upon 
 
60 THE MOUNTAIN BOY. 
 
 him the inestimable blessing of bis Holy Spirit, 
 and it was granted to him, ever more and more, 
 to pierce into the sense of the "Word." 
 
 The Word of God now became his daily com- 
 panion. In his studies he compared one passage 
 with another, and interpreted the darker by the 
 plainer, so that it was apparent to every one 
 that heard him commenting on a difficult pas- 
 sage, that not man, but the Spirit himself was 
 his teacher. We cannot help admiring the zeal 
 of Zwingli in the study of the Scriptures, 
 especially when he devoted himself to the study 
 of the Greek, without assistance, and with only 
 the poor lexicons and grammars of that day, in 
 order that he might understand the teachings 
 of the New Testament. Such was his devotion, 
 that he wrote in 1513 : " Nothing can again 
 withdraw me from the study of the Greek." 
 
 One circumstance particularly, shows how 
 zealous he was in his studies. He copied, with 
 his own hand, in Greek characters, all the 
 Epistles of St. Paul, that he might carry them 
 about with him, and be able to consult them at 
 all times. The manuscript was presented to the 
 library of Zurich in 1563, by Anna Zwingli, the 
 last of the Reformer's descendants. It consisted 
 of forty- three sheets, in pocket form, with large 
 
FOES NEARER HOME. 61 
 
 margins which are filled with notes in a very- 
 small hand, and was designed evidently for a 
 pocket edition. 
 
 Zwingli's spiritual life was greatly quickened 
 at this time also. He read a poem of Erasmus 
 his learned friend, whom, he had met at Basel, 
 in which the Saviour is represented as complain- 
 ing that men do not seek all good from him, 
 who is the source of all good, the Comforter, the 
 Guardian of the soul. He then thought, he 
 says : " Why do we seek help of the creature ?" 
 His sermons now became more impassioned and 
 earnest. Myconius says that he : " Now began, 
 after the example of Christ, to denounce, from 
 the pulpit, certain base vices, which were ex- 
 tremely prevalent, especially the taking of gifts 
 from princes, and baleful mercenary wars ; for 
 he saw clearly that the doctrine of divine truth 
 would never find an entrance until these sources 
 of iniquity were closed. He proclaimed evan- 
 gelical truth, without making any allusion to 
 Eomish errors, or with a very slight reference 
 to them. He wished truth first to make its 
 way to the hearts of his hearers, for, thought 
 he, if the true be once comprehended, the false 
 will be easily detected as such." 
 
 But these utterances, as might be supposed, 
 
62 THE MOUNTAIN BOY. 
 
 stirred up a tide of opposition against the young 
 pastor. The custom of enlisting as soldiers for 
 pay still went on, and the plain rebukes, though 
 greatly deserved, were very unwelcome. Ene- 
 mies began to circulate reports adverse to his 
 character. They said that he had received 
 pecuniary rewards himself; no doubt in refer- 
 ence to the little stipend, formerly accepted by 
 him, for the purchase of books. They tried to 
 fasten upon him the charge of frivolity; no 
 doubt citing his fondness for music, which taste 
 never deserted him. When weary with the 
 work of the pastorate, or of his profound studies, 
 he would again resort to the recreation of his 
 student life. Taking up the lute, harp, violin, 
 flute, dulcimer, or hunting-horn, he would pour 
 forth gladsome sounds, as in days of old at 
 Wildhaus, or when at school at Basel, when he 
 used to make his room, or the apartment of some 
 friend, rins; as;ain with the airs of his beloved 
 country, accompanying them with his own songs. 
 Whatever may have been the precise form 
 which the opposition took, the animating impulse 
 was an unworthy one, and yet it made the 
 burden of the pastorate heavy to be borne. At 
 last the opposition took the form of a charge of 
 heresy. Notwithstanding his wise moderation 
 
FOES NEARER HOME. 63 
 
 in general, he bad laid himself, in some measure, 
 liable by agitating the cause of reform, both in 
 matters pertaining to the church and state. In 
 this he had only done that which was his bounden 
 duty, nevertheless it furnished the pretext 
 desired by his opponents. 
 
 These foes nearer home, than were the Car- 
 dinals or the French, will at last see the bold 
 and learned minister, departing to a new field 
 of labor. But before we follow him to his sec- 
 ond charge, it will be well for us to ask whether 
 Zwingli was an independent Reformer at this 
 time, or was a mere imitator of other men; (e.g. 
 of Luther,) who labored in other parts of Ger- 
 many and Switzerland. That he had laid the 
 foundation for (his work while in Glarus cannot 
 be doubted. His discovery that the church fa- 
 thers did not agree among themselves ; that the 
 form of the Mass had been changed ; and that the 
 Scriptures alone are the sure rule of faith and 
 practice, were the entering wedges that would 
 lead him very soon to break away from the tra- 
 ditions and the abuses existing in the church. 
 
 It was about the year 1516, that Zwingli 
 arrived at the views here presented, which he 
 afterwards reduced to writing as follows : " We 
 see, thought I, the whole of mankind striving, 
 
64 THE MOUNTAIN BOY. 
 
 their lives long, after the attainment of future 
 bliss, not perhaps directed to this pursuit so 
 much from any natural impulse as from the in- 
 stinct of self-preservation implanted in us by 
 the Author of our being at our creation ; yet 
 the opinions are very various as to how this 
 great end is to be obtained. If we go to the 
 philosophers, we find them disputing on this 
 subject in a manner which makes us turn away 
 from them with a feeling of disgust. If we seek 
 for a solution of the problem from the Chris- 
 tians, we find here even a greater diversity of 
 opinion than prevails among the heathen, for 
 some are striving to reach the goal in the way 
 of human tradition, and by the elements of this 
 world (Col. 2 : 8) i. e., by their own and human 
 opinions, while others are relying entirely on 
 God's grace and promises : both the one and 
 the other, however, are equally urgent that 
 those who come to them for consolation, should 
 adopt their sentiments. 
 
 While I was reflecting on this diversity of 
 opinion in the earthen vessels, and praying to 
 God that He would show me an outlet to the 
 state of uncertainty it produces, He says, il Fool, 
 dost thou not remember the Word of the Lord 
 abideth forever ?" Hold to this. And again, 
 
FOES NEARER HOME. 65 
 
 u Heaven and earth shall pass away, but My 
 word shall not pass away." What is human 
 perishes ; what is divine, is unchangeable. And, 
 " in vain they honor Me, teaching for doctrines 
 the commandments of men/' For this cause I 
 put every thing aside, and came to the point, 
 that I would rely on no single thing, on no 
 single word, so firmly as on that which comes 
 from the mouth of the Lord. 
 
 I now began to weigh with myself, whether 
 there were no means by which one might recog- 
 nize what was human and what divine. Then 
 the passsage occurred to me, all is clear in the 
 light, in that light, to wit, which says : u I am 
 the Light of the World, that lightens every 
 man that cometh into the world ;" and again, 
 " believe every spirit, but try the spirits, 
 whether they be of God." Seeking for the 
 touchstone of truth, I find none other but that 
 stone of stumbling and the rock of offence to all 
 who, after the manner of the Pharisees, set their 
 own commandments in the place of God's. I 
 now began to test every doctrine by this test. 
 Did I see that the touchstone gave back the 
 same color, or rather, that the doctrine could 
 bear the brightness of the stone, I accepted it ; 
 if not, I cast it away. And if any one brought 
 5 
 
66 THE MOUNTAIN BOY. 
 
 forward any other doctrine or threats, I said : 
 " we ought to obey God rather than men." From 
 this time his watch -word was : " The "Word of 
 God the only reliable rule of Faith and Life ; 
 and Christ our only Salvation/' 
 
 Surely this was good Protestant doctrine ; 
 and in attaining it Zwingli did not consult with 
 flesh and blood, but with the Word of truth. 
 Afterward his enemies said that he had bor- 
 rowed from Luther. And to this he felt con- 
 strained to make the following reply : "I began 
 to preach the Gospel before a single individual 
 in our part of the country ever heard the name 
 of Luther. This was in 1516. Who called me 
 a Lutheran then ? When Luther's exposition of 
 the Lord's Prayer appeared, it so happened that 
 I had shortly before preached from Matthew 
 on the same Prayer. Well, some good folks, 
 who everywhere found my thoughts in Luther's 
 work, would hardly let themselves be made to 
 believe that I had not written this book myself; 
 they fancied that, being afraid to put my name 
 to it, I had set that of Luther instead. 
 
 Who then called me a follower of Luther ? 
 Then, how comes it that the Romish Cardinals 
 and Legates, who were at that very time at Zu- 
 rich, never reproached me as Lutheran, until 
 
FOES NEARER HOME. 67 
 
 they had- declared Luther a heretic, which, how- 
 ever, they could never make him ? When they 
 had branded him a heretic, it was then for the 
 first time they exclaimed, I was Lutheran ; 
 although Luther's name was entirely unknown to 
 me during these two years that I kept to the 
 Bible alone. But it is part of their cunning policy 
 to load me and others with this name. Do they 
 say : " you must be Lutheran for you preach as 
 Luther ;" I answer, I preach too as Paul writes, 
 why not call me a Pauline ? nay ; I preach the 
 Word of Christ, why not much rather call me a 
 Christian ? In my opinion, Luther is one of God's 
 chosen heralds and combatants, who searches the 
 Scriptures with greater zeal than has been done 
 by any man on earth for the last thousand years. 
 11 Therefore, dear Christians, let not the name 
 of Christ be changed into the name of Luther, for 
 Luther has not died for us, but he teaches us to 
 know Him from whom alone our salvation comes. 
 If Luther preaches Christ, he does it as I do ; 
 although, God be praised for it, an innumerable 
 multitude, much more than by me, and by 
 others, have been converted to God through 
 him, for God metes out to every man as He will. 
 For my part, I shall bear no other name but 
 that of my Captain, Jesus Christ, whose soldier 
 
68 THE MOUNTAIN BOY. 
 
 I am. No man can esteem Luther higher than 
 I do. Yet I testify before God and all men, that 
 I never, at any time, wrote to him, or he to me, 
 nor has anything been done to open up a corres- 
 pondence, between us. I have purposely abstain- 
 ed from all correspondence with him, not that I 
 feared any man on this account, but because I 
 would have it appear how uniform the Spirit of 
 God is, in so far that we, who are far distant from 
 each other, and have held no communication, are 
 yet of the same mind, and this without the 
 slightest concert. But I will not be so bold as to 
 place myself by the side of Luther, for each of us 
 works according to the ability given us of God." 
 The candor and modesty of this language is 
 worthy of the greatest admiration. Particularly 
 is this noteworthy when it is remembered that 
 Zwingli was unexcelled in the classics, a constant 
 reader of Plato, Aristotle, Cicero and Seneca; 
 Valerius Maximus he committed to memory, and 
 Pindar he placed next to the sacred poets. From 
 his hand-made copy of the New Testament in 
 Greek, before mentioned, he had learned the Epis- 
 tles of St. Paul, so as to quote them freely from 
 memory ; and yet so far is he from boasting, 
 that he seems quite willing to have his brother, 
 in Saxony, receive the greater honor and praise. 
 
FOES NEARER HOME. 69 
 
 Mosheim, who is supposed to favor Luther in 
 his writings, says, in his History, Vol. III., p. 
 39 : " The extensive learning and uncommon 
 sagacity of Zwingli, were accompanied with the 
 most heroic intrepidity and resolution. It must 
 even be acknowledged, that this eminent man 
 had perceived some rays of the truth before 
 Luther came to an open rupture with the church 
 of Rome." On this, Dr. Maclaine, the editor, 
 in English, of Dr. Mosheim's History, remarks : 
 " It is well known that Zwingli, from his early 
 years, had been shocked at several of the supersti- 
 tious practices of the church of Eome ; that so 
 early as the year 1516, he began to explain the 
 Scriptures to the people, and to censure, though 
 with great prudence and moderation, the errors 
 of a corrupt church ; and that he had very 
 noble and extensive ideas of a general reforma- 
 tion, at the very time that Luther retained 
 almost the whole system of popery, indulgences 
 excepted. Luther proceeded very slowly to that 
 exemption from the prejudices of education, 
 which Zwingli by the force of an adventurous 
 genius, and an uncommon degree of knowledge 
 and penetration, easily got rid of." 
 
 But Zwingli himself sounds the true key-note 
 to this whole subject, where he says : u I began 
 
70 THE MOUNTAIN BOY. 
 
 before a single individual, in our part of the 
 country, even heard the name of Luther, to 
 preach the gospel." Christoffel, Zwingli's biog- 
 rapher, says that the two Eeformers began their 
 work of reformation at about the same time; 
 and this we think is the truth of the matter ; 
 they began their respective labors for the eman- 
 cipation of human hearts, and intellects, at 
 nearly the same time, without any knowledge 
 of each other's convictions or efforts. The full- 
 ness of time had come, when God would purge 
 the church of her corruptions and errors, and 
 he called these two great and good men, with 
 many others, to begin the work of Reform. 
 
 Christoffel beautifully adds : " The Spirit of 
 God moved Luther, at one time like the awful 
 tempest roaring in a forest of German Oaks ; at 
 another like the Zephyr soft and gentle, scarcely 
 agitating the leaves. On the soul of Zwingli, 
 the Spirit of truth arose in calm majesty like 
 the sun, slowly and majestically climbing the 
 blue cerulean over some Swiss mountain ; he 
 stood immovable in the storms that surrounded 
 him, like one of his native mountains when the 
 tempest swathes it round with its girdle of 
 horrors, or the avalanche leaps from its side 
 into the abysses beneath." 
 
CHAPTER VII. 
 
 LIFE AT THE HERMITAGE OF EINSIEDELN. 
 
 Westward from Glarus, and behind the 
 Waggithal mountains, in a romantic valley, lay 
 the village and Cloister of Einsiedeln. We are 
 to follow Zwingli to this place which becomes 
 the center of his reformatory work for some two 
 years, before he enters upon his pastorate at 
 Zurich. Feeling that his mission was now 
 accomplished at Glarus, and acting on the advice 
 of the Master : " When they persecute you in 
 one place, flee to another," he was casting about 
 him, as to what course he ought now to pursue, 
 when Providence opened the way for his engage- 
 ment at Einsiedeln. 
 
 The name of the place suggests its history ; 
 the German word " Einsiedelei," signifies life of 
 solitude — hence a Hermitage, or Cloister. Such 
 an institution has been in existence here from 
 the days of Charlemagne. According to tradi- 
 tion, one Meinrad, Count of Sulgen on the 
 
 71 
 
72 THE MOUNTAIN BOY. 
 
 Nectar, built a chapel on the " Etzel," a pass 
 some eight miles to the northward, and on the 
 way to lake Zurich, about the middle of the 
 ninth century. His reputation for sanctity, 
 attracted such vast numbers of devotees to 
 his cell, that he was compelled to quit it, 
 and retire to Einsiedeln, where he founded 
 the Abbey, in honor of a miraculous image of 
 the Virgin Mary presented to him by Hilde- 
 garde, Abbess of the church of Notre Dame at 
 Zurich. He was assassinated in 861, and his 
 murderers were discovered by two ravens which 
 the holy man had tamed, and which hovered 
 about the men wherever they went, croaking and 
 flapping their dusky wings until the miscreants 
 reached Zurich. The attention of the people 
 was attracted by this singular circumstance, and 
 the result was that the men were arrested, tried, 
 and immediately executed. 
 
 The reputation of St. Meinrad increased so 
 rapidly after his death, that a Benedictine AVbey 
 was founded on the spot where his cell had 
 stood. The legend relates that when the Bishop 
 of Constance was about to consecrate the church, 
 on the fourteenth of September, 948, heavenly 
 voices announced to him at midnight that the 
 Saviour himself, surrounded by his angels, had 
 
LIFE AT THE HERMITAGE OF EINSIEDELN. 73 
 
 already performed the ceremony. A bull of 
 Pope Leo VII. confirmed the miracle, and 
 accorded plenary indulgences to all who should 
 perform the pilgrimage to "Our Lady of the 
 Hermits." The offerings of the crowd of 
 worshippers were a source of great wealth to 
 the Abbey. The Emperor Eudolph of Haps- 
 burg created its Abbot, Prince of the Empire in 
 1274, and this dignitary lived in almost regal 
 magnificence, exercising supreme authority over 
 an extensive district. 
 
 At the time when Zwingli was about to leave 
 Glarus, Conrad of Rechberg was the Abbot of 
 Einsiedeln, a man of generous impulses, and of 
 great independence of character. He was a 
 pious, excellent, upright man under whose 
 monk's cloak beat as warm and generous a 
 heart as ever throbbed under a coat of mail. 
 In his youth he had been forced to join the 
 monks, by selfish relatives, who paid him visits, 
 now that he had risen to be Abbot- Prince of 
 Einsiedeln. These visits were often made with 
 the view of obtaining some favor in the gift of 
 the Abbot. It is characteristic of the man that 
 on one occasion he said to them : " You have 
 stuck a cowl upon my head to my soul's risk 
 and peril, and I must be a monk, while you ride 
 
74 THE MOUNTAIN BOY. 
 
 about as country squires. But, my good people, 
 since you have made a poor monk of me, don't 
 come here begging anything, but just return 
 the road by which you came." 
 
 As might be expected from the character of 
 the man, he held very independent views of the 
 outward forms of worship, which in that day 
 were honored as the grounds of salvation. He 
 was once reproached by the visitors of the church 
 for neglecting to say mass. He replied : "Al- 
 though I am master here in my own convent, 
 and could send you away with a very short ans- 
 wer, yet I will tell you plainly what I think of 
 the mass. If the Lord Jesus Christ be really in 
 the host (wafer), I know not how very highly you 
 esteem yourselves ; one thing I know, that I a 
 poor monk, am not worthy to look upon Him, 
 not to speak of offering Him up in sacrifice to 
 the eternal God. If, however, He be not present 
 there, woe's me, if I hold up bread to the people 
 before the Lord our God, and call upon them to 
 worship bread. I shall, if God will, so act and 
 so preside over my God's house that I may be 
 able to answer to myself before Him and the 
 world. As I have no need of you, please to re- 
 turn the way you came ; you are dismissed." 
 
 He was also impatient of doctrinal discussions ; 
 
LIFE AT THE HERMITAGE OF EINSIEDELN. 75 
 
 and once when Leo Juda was discussing some 
 subject, at table, with the administrator of the 
 Abbey, he exclaimed : u Let me put an end to 
 your disputings : — I say with David, — ' Have 
 mercy upon me, God ! according to thy loving- 
 kindness : Enter not into judgment with thy 
 servant !' — and I want nothing more." In fact 
 Abbot Conrad was more fond of the chase, and 
 of his fine breed of horses than he was of the 
 discussions of the priests ; yet he was an upright 
 man, and his bluntness, was but the utterance 
 of candor in an age when the church needed re- 
 formation. 
 
 As he was now advanced in years, he had 
 appointed Baron Theobald Geroldseck admin- 
 istrator of the Abbey. He was of a mild 
 character, sincerely pious and fond of learning. 
 He thought to elevate the standing of his in- 
 stitution by calling around him a company of 
 learned men; and hearing that Zwingli was 
 about to leave Glarus, he invited him to Einsie- 
 deln. Accordingly an agreement was entered 
 into on the 14th of April, 1516, in consequence 
 of which Zwingli undertook the office of preacher 
 and pastor, assistant to the people's priest. 
 Zwingli was not moved to leave Glarus for hope 
 of temporal gain, for in his new capacity he was 
 
76 THE MOUNTAIN BOY. 
 
 to receive only 20 florins at the quarter fastings, 
 a trifle from the penny collections, and confes- 
 sional, with the promise of a full pastorate in 
 the future, while he enjoyed a free seat at the 
 common table. 
 
 He was moved to take the place therefore 
 partly because of the French opposition already 
 mentioned, at Glarus; but more particularly 
 with the hope that he would here have more 
 time for study and conference with learned men, 
 and be able to exercise a greater influence upon 
 his fellow-men. When it was known that he 
 was to leave Glarus, the greater portion of his 
 people were filled with sorrow and regret. His 
 enemies no longer spoke against him ; and his 
 friends gathered around him with the greatest 
 enthusiasm. The people insisted that the pasto- 
 ral relation should not be severed, and in hope 
 that he might again return, his official standing 
 was continued for some years, while the pastoral 
 work was done by his vicar or assistant. 
 
 It was under these circumstances, therefore, 
 that Zwingli wended his way down the narrow 
 valley of the Linth, through which he had 
 passed ten years before, when he came to re- 
 ceive this, his first charge. Arriving at the 
 shore of Zurich lake, his way ran southward, 
 
LIFE AT THE HERMITAGE OF EINSIEDELN. 77 
 
 over the Etzel pass, where once stood the hat of 
 the hermit Meinard, and from thence down the 
 mountain side to the romantic green valley of 
 the Alpbach, where stood the stately buildings of 
 the Abbey, which, for a time would be his home. 
 Here Zwingli was received with open arms 
 by Geroldseck, who with Francis Zink, and John 
 Oechslin, were afterwards bound to him with 
 the ties of a most intimate friendship. In this 
 company, with time for study, conference and 
 meditation, he made rapid advances in the 
 divine life. His friends knew how to appreciate 
 his scholarship, and soon imbibed his views 
 touching the need of reformation in the church. 
 He brought with him the settled conviction that 
 the "Word of God is the only sure directory for 
 faith and practice, and Christ the only way of 
 salvation. He experienced in his own heart 
 how precious and dear that saying is : " Jesus 
 Christ came into the world to save sinners." 
 To his friends he gave the advice, that they 
 should study the Fathers as he had done, for 
 the better understanding of the Holy Scrip- 
 tures ; yet he added : " With God's grace, the 
 day will soon come, that neither Jerome, nor 
 any other, will be an authority in matters of 
 faith, but the Bible alone." 
 
78 THE MOUNTAIN BOY. 
 
 The fruit of his teachings soon began to ap- 
 pear. Geroldseck announced to the nuns in the 
 cloister of Fahr ; that instead of daily drawling 
 over the mass-songs in their usual heedless 
 manner, they were to read the New Testament 
 in the German tongue ; at the same time, that 
 those who felt themselves burdened by their 
 vows, had liberty to return to their relatives. 
 Those who remained were to lead, true to their 
 vows, a virtuous and holy life. Accordingly, 
 many of the nuns returned to their homes. 
 
 At this time also, Zwingli made good use of 
 his little pocket edition of the New Testament, 
 which he had previously written out with his 
 own hand, as already stated, in the Greek 
 characters. Daubigne says : " He learnt by 
 heart the whole of the Epistles ; then the re- 
 maining books of the New Testament; and 
 after that portions of the Old." Unlike Luther 
 who came to his true religious experience by a 
 shock, Zwingli seems, from the first, to have 
 found light from his gradual, and growing 
 acquaintance with the Scriptures. His former 
 extravagant fondness for the classical authors, 
 was now absorbed in his glowing admiration for 
 inspired writings ; and even the writings of the 
 Fathers became less esteemed by him, except as 
 
LIFE AT THE HERMITAGE OF EINSIEDELN. 79 
 
 they served to throw light upon the pages of 
 inspiration. 
 
 This period was to Zwingli what the life in 
 the wilderness was to John the Baptist, or the 
 sojourn of the prophet in Horeb was to Elijah, 
 or, considered in an earthly point of view, what 
 the forty days of fasting and temptation were to 
 our Saviour. Here, in the Abbey, Zwingli had 
 leisure to pursue those investigations which lay 
 so near to his heart, and here he gave himself 
 to study and prayer. He also prepared himself 
 with care for the pulpit. He studied first of all, 
 in the original, the section which the church pre- 
 scribed to be read in Latin. He then commented 
 upon the passage according to its sense, and made 
 the practical application of it, without suffering 
 himself to be fettered, in the least degree, either 
 by the dogmas or the prejudices of the church. 
 
 According to his own statement, Zwingli 
 dated his conversion from the time he read the 
 poem of Erasmus, to which allusion has already 
 been made. In reference to that event he thu3 
 wrote in 1523 : " I shall not withhold from you, 
 dear brethren in Christ, how it was I arrived at 
 the conviction and firm faith, that we require 
 no other mediator but Christ, and that none 
 but Christ alone can mediate between God and 
 
80 THE MOUNTAIN BOY. 
 
 man. I read, eight or nine years ago, (1514 ?) 
 a poem of Erasmus, in which the complaint is 
 made, that men do not seek all good from Him, 
 who is the source of all good. Thereon I re- 
 flected, why do we seek help of the creature." 
 That was the dawn of his true religious ex- 
 perience, and now at Einsiedeln, his convictions 
 were deepened, and so his became the path of 
 the just, " as the shining light, that shineth, 
 more and more, unto the perfect day.'' 
 
 But as the light of God was shining upon his 
 path it revealed to him the fact that a dark and 
 dangerous superstition had spread itself over the 
 Abbey of Einsiedeln. The tradition of that an- 
 gelic consecration of the Cloister, in the tenth cen- 
 tury when, at midnight, heavenly voices announc- 
 nounced to the Bishop, that the Saviour himself 
 with his retinue of saints had already consecrat- 
 ed it, still held its power over the minds of the 
 people. The image of the Virgin, said to have 
 been presented to the monk Meinard, by the 
 Abbess at Zurich, was exhibited within the shrine 
 of the Abbey church, and believed to perform 
 wonders for those who brought offerings, and 
 prayed before it. They were taught that they 
 would be forgiven and saved through Mary's in- 
 tercessions. 
 
LIFE AT THE HERMITAGE OF EINSIEDELN. 81 
 
 Over the gateway of the magnificent abbey, 
 where every pilgrim would not fail to see them, 
 were inscribed in golden letters, these words : 
 11 Hie est plena remissio omnium peccatorum a 
 culpa et poena." i. e., u Here is full remission 
 for the guilt and penalty of all sin." Daubigne 
 says : "A multitude of pilgrims, from all parts 
 of Christendom, flocked to Einsiedeln, that they 
 might obtain this grace for their pilgrimaga. 
 The church, the abbey, the whole valley, was 
 crowded on the occasion of the festival of the 
 Virgin, with her devout worshippers. But it 
 was especially on the grand festival of the 
 angelic u Consecration," that the crowd thronged 
 the hermitage. Long files to the number of 
 several thousands of both sexes, climbed the 
 steep sides of the mountain leading to the ora- 
 tory, singing hymns, or counting the beads of 
 their chaplets. These devout pilgrims forced 
 their way into the church, believing themselves 
 nearer to God there than anywhere else." 
 
 We need not be surprised to learn that the 
 spirit of Zwingli was stirred within him at this 
 sight. He was now compelled to witness frequent 
 scenes of this kind. It was not an easy matter 
 to antagonize such an extensive custom of pil- 
 grimage, and false devotion, as that which waa 
 
82 THE MOUNTAIN BOY. 
 
 firmly seated in Einsiedeln at that time. And 
 Zwingli was to receive his living, in part, from 
 the proceeds of this extensive patronage result- 
 ing from the attendance of the thousands of per- 
 sons, from all parts of the land, at the annual 
 festivals. The reader has by this time learned 
 enough of the character of Zwingli, however, to 
 infer that no prestige of past custom, no thought 
 of his personal interests would hinder him from 
 speaking out plainly against these abuses. The 
 extent of the evil, and the power of superstition 
 in its aid, with which Zwingli had to contend, 
 and which he successfully arrested, may be in- 
 ferred from the fact, that after his death, these 
 pilgrimages to Einsiedeln were renewed, and 
 are continued till this very day. 
 
 In 1798 the greater part of the treasures were 
 carried away by the French, but the monks had 
 rescued the image of the Virgin, and kept it in 
 the Tyrol ; and when danger was past, they re- 
 turned with it to Einsiedeln again. Since that 
 time, pilgrimages to this shrine have been re- 
 sumed. In 1710 the number of pilgrims 
 amounted to 260,000 ; it is now said to average 
 150,000 annually. On nigh festivals an immense 
 crowd flock hither from all parts of Switzerland, 
 from Bavaria and Swabia, the Black Forest, 
 
LIFE AT THE HERMITAGE OF EINSIEDELN. 83 
 
 Alsace, Lorraine, and even more distant regions. 
 The greater proportion belong to the poorer 
 classes, many of whom are paid for their pious 
 services by the rich, who thus perform an act 
 of devotion by deputy. With the exception of 
 Loreto in Italy, Compostella in Spain, Mariazeil 
 in Styria, Einsiedeln attracts more pilgrims 
 than any other shrine. Like Delphi and Ephe- 
 sus, in their day, this shrine has gathered its 
 thousands of pilgrims, from generation to gen- 
 eration. Over seven hundred workmen are 
 daily employed in making relics to sell to the 
 pilgrims, by one establishment; which traffic 
 like that of Demetrius, who made silver shrines 
 for Diana at Ephesus brings " no small gain to 
 the craftsmen." Acts 19 : 24. 
 
CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 PREACHING TO PILGRIMS AT EINSIEDELN. 
 
 The modern tourist who visits Einsiedeln, 
 will find a large open space between the houses 
 and the church, in which stands a black marble 
 fountain, surmounted by an image of the Virgin, 
 from which the pilgrims are wont to drink. 
 Under the Arcades, which form a semicircular 
 approach to the church on the right and left, 
 as well as in the square itself, there are numer- 
 ous stalls for the sale of missals, images of saints, 
 rosaries, medals, crucifixes, and similar articles. 
 Within the church itself, in the nave, and sepa- 
 rated from the rest of the building stands the 
 chapel of the virgin, of black marble. This is 
 the Sanctum Sanctorum, to which pilgrims pay 
 particular reverence. A grate protects the 
 front, through which, illuminated by a solitary 
 lamp, a small image of the Virgin and Child is 
 visible, richly attired, and adorned with crowns 
 of gold and precious stones. 
 84 
 
TEEACHING TO PILGRIMS AT EINSIEDELN. 85 
 
 Judging from the existing power which this 
 shrine has over the minds of the more credulous 
 members of the church of Rome; and remem- 
 bering that in the days of Zwingli this supersti- 
 tion of the pilgrimage was at its height, we can 
 imagine what a task lay before him if he should 
 lift up his voice in opposition to the custom 
 which so delighted the pilgrims, and brought in 
 such large revenues to the Abbey. "We must 
 also bear in mind the fact, that in this year of 
 1516, there was no general movement of reform, 
 of which tidings had come to this part of Swit- 
 zerland. It was not until the following year 
 that Luther broke away from the papacy, by 
 nailing his ninety-five theses to the church door 
 in Wittemberg. If, therefore, Zwingli attacks 
 the abuses of the pilgrimages, he does so with- 
 out any evidence that he will receive any sym- 
 pathy whatever, except from the little circle of 
 his intimate friends. But on the other hand he 
 knows that his Abbot, bluff old Conrad, has no 
 heart in the miserable system, and he knows 
 that right, and truth, are on his side. 
 
 Zwingli was not a blind enthusiast; he felt 
 the gravity of his position, just as much as Lu- 
 ther did at the Diet of Worms. He had ju^t 
 as much at stake as Luther had, i. e., his life. 
 
86 THE MOUNTAIN BOY. 
 
 And he thus wrote : " Once for all, the spirit 
 must be so consecrated to God, that it may hang 
 inseparably on right, truth, and God, even to 
 the los3 of outward means, and life itself; once 
 for all the die must be cast, and death looked 
 steadily in the face, for the truth's sake, and the 
 soul nerved against every attack of the flesh, 
 the world, and Satan." He accordingly raised 
 his voice against the delusions here practiced 
 under his eyes. Says Christoffel : " His soul 
 indeed, burned with a holy indignation at the 
 dishonor done to the name of God, and the 
 Saviour. He grieved for a people who, instead 
 of finding forgiveness for their sins, entangled 
 themselves faster and faster in the net of Satan." 
 The same author gives an excellent account 
 of Zwingli's preaching at Einsiedeln. " God," 
 the preacher cried, " is everywhere present, and 
 wherever we call upon Him, in spirit and in 
 truth, He answers us in the words, Here I am!" 
 Those then, who bind the grace of God to par- 
 ticular localities, are altogether foolish and per- 
 verse ; nay, it is not only foolish and perverse 
 so to do, but anti-Christian, for they represent 
 the grace of God as more easily to be obtained, 
 and cheaper, in one place than in another, which 
 is nothing bui to limit the grace of God, and 
 
PREACHING TO PILGRIMS AT EINSIEDELN. 87 
 
 take it captive, not letting it be known how free 
 it is. God is in every part of the earth where He 
 is called upon, present and ready to hear our 
 prayers, and to help us. Wherefore St. Paul 
 says : ' I will therefore — that men pray every- 
 where .... In like manner also the women,' 
 1st Timothy, 2 : 8, 9, ' that is, we are to know 
 that God is present, and hears us, when He is 
 called upon, and that He is not more gracious 
 in one place than in another.' " 
 
 Of course the utterances of Zwingli suffer 
 much through the medium of a translation, but 
 the truths he proclaims, are unmistakeable, and 
 they must have fallen with startling effect upon 
 the ears of that people, who had been accus- 
 tomed only to hear the efficiency of the absolu- 
 tion, to be obtained just there, and the miracu- 
 lous power of the image of the Virgin, extolled. 
 Zwingli continued : " Christ calls such people as 
 bind God to this, or that place, false Christians, 
 that is Anti-Christs. ' There shall arise false 
 Christs, and false prophets and deceive many,' 
 Matt. 24 : 24. God, who else is a hypocriti- 
 cal Christian but the Pope, who exalts himself 
 in the place of Christ, and says he has his power ; 
 so he binds God to Rome, and other sanctuaries. 
 Thus they bring money in enormous quantities 
 
88 TEE MOUNTAIN BOY. 
 
 to enrich holy places, which in case of need, 
 might well be applied to our temporal advan- 
 tage. And just in such places is more wanton- 
 ness and vice perpetrated than anywhere else. 
 He who ascribes to man the power to forgive 
 sins blasphemes God. And great evil has 
 sprung from this source, so that some whose 
 eyes the Popes have blinded, have imagined 
 they had their sins forgiven by sinful men. In 
 this manner God Himself has been hid from 
 them. To ascribe to man the power to forgive 
 sins is idolatry ! What is idolatry, but the as- 
 cription of the divine honor to man, or the giv- 
 ing to the creature that which is God's." 
 
 Surely this was a bold utterance for any priest 
 to make ; evidently he takes the risk of suffer- 
 ing what Huss suffered, that is death. But he 
 is not through yet ; he refers to the fact men- 
 tioned in the Scriptures that the people at Lys- 
 tra, would do sacrifice to Paul, and Barnabas as 
 gods, to which they replied : " Sirs, why do ye 
 these things ? We also are men of like passions 
 with you. . . Turn unto the living God." " What 
 think you, the Virgin Mary would say, if she 
 were to witness this, that men sought from her, 
 that which alone is God's to give? Think you 
 not that she would say : ' senseless, deluded 
 
PREACHING TO PILGRIMS AT EINSIEDELN. 89 
 
 men, all the honor I have conies from God! 
 He has been gracious to me, and made me a 
 Virgin, and the mother among all women. But 
 I am no goddess, nor any source of blessing ; 
 God alone is that Fountain, who has ordained 
 that all good should come to you through My 
 Son. By attributing to me that which alone is 
 God's, ye poor mortals attempt to change the 
 power and government of God. For verily 
 since the beginning of the world, He has given 
 to no creature such a power as that any should 
 flee to it for succor as if it were God. I am no 
 god, therefore seek not from me that which is 
 
 God's alone to give." " The greatest 
 
 honor of Mary is her Son ; it is likewise her 
 greatest honor that we rightly know Him, and 
 that we love Him above all things, and that we 
 manifest our eternal gratitude to Him for His 
 act of mercy in redeeming us. If ye will honor 
 her then, follow her purity, and her steadfast 
 faith." 
 
 This was the burden of Zwingli's preaching, 
 at the festival of the angel-consecration, in 1517, 
 and at Pentecost, 1518, before great crowds of 
 pilgrims. Great was the impression it made 
 upon the pilgrims. Some fled in terror from 
 the scene, others hovered between the faith of 
 
90 THE MOUNTAIN BOY. 
 
 their fathers and the doctrine that was to give 
 them peace ; others turned to Christ with their 
 whole hearts, and returned to their homes bear- 
 ing back with them the tapers, and gifts intend- 
 ed for the image of the Virgin. On their way 
 they met many other pilgrims, on their way to 
 the shrine, to whom they related what had ta- 
 ken place ; and the doctrine of Zwingli, that : 
 " Christ Alone saves us, and He saves every- 
 where." Pilgrims, as they heard this, turned 
 back without bringing their pilgrimage to a 
 close. The fame of Zwingli, the bold and un- 
 compromising advocate of truth, resounded 
 through the towns and villages of Switzerland, 
 Suabia, and Alsace. " In truth," says Daubigne, 
 " an universal astonishment took possession of 
 men's minds at the sound of the eloquent priest's 
 sermons." 
 
 Many learned men were drawn to Einsiedeln, 
 to hear this new prophet in the wilderness, 
 among whom was Dr. Hedio, then the preacher 
 at Basel ; who heard Zwingli preach at the 
 Pentecost festival, 1518, from Luke 5: 24, 
 " The Son of man hath power on earth to for- 
 give sins." Hedio was so deeply affected by the 
 discourse that he afterwards begged Zwingli to 
 receive him into the number of his friends, or at 
 
PREACHING TO PILGRIMS AT EINSIEDELN. 91 
 
 least to let him be the shadow of one. Of the 
 sermon he wrote : " It was beautiful, fundamen- 
 tal, dignified, comprehensive, searching, truly 
 evangelical, reminding one, in force of language 
 and of spirit, of the old fathers of the church.'' 
 Hedio longed to go to the preacher and open 
 his heart to him ; he lingered about the Abbey 
 without daring to make advances, restrained, as 
 he tells us, by a sort of superstitious fear. 
 Mounting his horse, he slowly departed from the 
 hermitage, looking back on a spot which held 
 so great a treasure, with the warmest regrets. 
 
 The number of pilgrims was now greatly di- 
 minished; that great stream which had been 
 flowing to this spot for centuries, bearing with 
 it the choicest gifts of the people, seemed to be 
 suddenly checked. And it is recorded that the 
 effect of Zwingli's preaching was, at one time, 
 so great that the monks left their cells on the 
 occasion of an anniversary festival, and the ab- 
 bey was deserted for a considerable time. 
 
 It was to be expected that a part of the monks, 
 at least, would be indignant at the course pur- 
 sued by Zwingli. This was indeed the case ; 
 many of the monks were scandalized, but the 
 Abbot, and Geroldseck protected and encouraged 
 the orator. And Zwingli did not confine his ef- 
 
92 THE MOUNTAIN BOY. 
 
 forts to the pulpit ; to Cardinal Schinner he said : 
 " Every one knows that, the faith and practice 
 of Christians have, by a gradual declension, 
 departed very widely from sound evangelical 
 doctrine, and it is undeniable that, some very 
 great reformation of laws and manners is abso- 
 lutely necessary. If we do not give vent to the 
 water, the dam will be broken in by force." 
 
 To the papal legate Zwingli said : " I have 
 both by word and deed witnessed to mighty 
 cardinals, prelates, and bishops, of the errors 
 in doctrine that are abroad, and warned and 
 counselled them to remove abuses,, or that they 
 themselves would perish in a more dreadful 
 revolution. I have told Cardinal Von Sitten at 
 Einsiedeln, (in 1519) ; and afterwards, in plain 
 language, that the papacy has a false foundation 
 and maintained it by unanswerable passages of 
 Holy Writ. And he replied, that if he was re- 
 stored to power, he would see to it that the ar- 
 rogance and fraud of the Bishop of Rome be 
 brought to light, and put an end to. To another 
 legate he said : " I am resolved from hencefor- 
 ward to preach the pure Gospel to the people, 
 without regard to the statutes of men, whereby 
 without doubt, the papacy will not be a little 
 shaken." 
 
PREACHING TO PILGRIMS AT EINSIEDELN. 93 
 
 The natural inference would be, after reading 
 all this, that the dignitaries of the church would 
 proceed to silence the bold preacher. But it 
 did not suit their purpose, to put him under 
 banns at present. They needed his help against 
 the French enlistments ; and they hoped to gain 
 him back again to the papacy. Thus they pur- 
 sued a directly opposite course from that pur- 
 sued against Luther. As Zwingli was more 
 moderate in his course, although equally as 
 firm, he gave less offence to men's minds than 
 the Saxon monk ; he trusted to the power of 
 truth for the results. Far from denouncing in 
 wholesale terms, the dignitaries of the church, 
 he continued long on friendly terms with them. 
 They treated him with respect on account of 
 his learning and talents, and also on account of 
 the influence which they foresaw such a man 
 would be likely to have in a republic. 
 
 Daubigne says : " Rome sought to intimidate 
 Luther by solemn judgments ; and to win Zwin- 
 gli by her favors. Against one she hurled ex- 
 communications ; to the other she cast her 
 gold and splendors. They were two different 
 methods for attaining the same end, and sealing 
 the daring lips which presumed, in opposition to 
 the Pope's pleasure, to proclaim the Word of 
 
94 THE MOUNTAIN BOY. 
 
 God in Germany and Switzerland. The last 
 device was the most skillfully conceived, but 
 neither was successful. The enlarged heart of 
 the preachers of the Gospel were show r n to be 
 above the reach of vengeance, or seduction. 
 
 Zwingli was now the recipient of a new honor 
 from the Pope ; he w T as created Acolyte-chaplain 
 of the papal-chair. The grand document of in- 
 vestiture ran as follows : " Distinguished by his 
 virtues and great merits, he deserves, in the 
 eyes of the Pope and the holy apostolic chair, a 
 recognition of his great learning, and some dis- 
 tinguished mark of paternal approbation." He 
 was counselled to go on improving, and advan- 
 cing from good to better, and by his merits to 
 incline the Pope, and the Legate, to grant far- 
 ther testimonies in his favor. The ladder was 
 thus planted at the feet of the Reformer, by 
 which he might mount to the highest honors 
 the world had to bestow ; but Zwingli chose the 
 crown of thorns and the cross of Christ, before 
 worldly glory. He gave up even the little sti- 
 pend allowed him, for the purchase of books, 
 and thus turned away from all the earthly 
 profits, which now might so easily have been his. 
 
 The promised reforms under Cardinal Schin- 
 ner, and others, were not carried out ; so Zwingli 
 
PREACHING TO PILGRIMS AT EINSIEDELN. 95 
 
 appealed to Landenburg, then Bishop of Con- 
 stance, to stay the corruption of the Church in 
 his own diocese, and recommend to his clergy 
 the preaching of the pure Gospel. But the 
 Bishop showed as little will, or power, in the 
 cause of church reform, as the Pope and his car- 
 dinals, although he had previously maintained 
 strong language on the subject of the degener- 
 acy of the church. Zwingli sent his message in 
 a letter. The Bishop read it, and only tossed it 
 aside with the remark : " Convent preachers are 
 not my advisers, when the holy father orders a 
 reform, it will be time enough to begin it." 
 
 Still Zwingli persevered in his good work, 
 with frankness and earnestness, always testi- 
 fying for the truth and looking for a better 
 time to come. On one occasion when he was 
 walking through the romantic valley at the 
 Hermitage, with his friend Capito, he said: 
 " The papacy must fall." To which the friend 
 replied : " The sooner the better.'* And yet 
 Capito himself, in after time, lost heart under 
 the discouragements of the bitter opposition, 
 while Zwingli, with the cheerfulness character- 
 istic of him, persevered to the end. 
 
 The freedom of the church was not to be won 
 by any faint-hearted reformers ; only those who 
 
96 THE MOUNTAIN BOY. 
 
 set their hearts as a flint, as did Luther and 
 Zwingli ; who persevered, when all around was 
 discouraging to common men, won the true re- 
 former's crown. They made mistakes, it is true ; 
 they were not infallible ; they may have been 
 saddened, and often pained, at the apparent in- 
 difference of those who should have stood with 
 them, but with each defeat they rose to higher 
 planes of action ; and when, at last, they fell 
 asleep in death, others arose who faithfully 
 carried on the issue, until victory was achieved. 
 Their names stand written on the fair pages of 
 history, which record the acts of the great and 
 good. And as Coleridge beautifully writes : 
 
 " Goodness and greatness are not means, but ends. 
 Hath he not always treasures, always friends, 
 The good great man ? Three treasures-love, and light, 
 And calm thoughts, equable as infant's breath ; 
 And three fast friends more sure than day or night — 
 Himself, his Maker, and the angel Death?" 
 
CHAPTER IX. 
 
 A CONFLICT WITH SAMSON. 
 
 One day in the month of August, 1518, 
 there appeared upon the St. Gottard pass a 
 strange-looking procession. It was a sort of 
 caravan, or resembled, more nearly, a band of 
 strolling actors. In advance went two men, 
 making a proclamation, and directing the atten- 
 tion of the people, who looked on with amaze- 
 ment, to the interests that were to be presented 
 to them by the character who had charge of the 
 enterprise. The individual who was thus her- 
 alded came on apace. He was a monk from 
 Italy, of the Carmelite order, barefooted and 
 covered with dust. His name was Samson, 
 and he had in his custody an immense quan- 
 tity of papers, which, he took care to explain, 
 contained the signature of the Pope. These 
 papers, or certificates, were called indulgences. 
 
 As soon as he arrived in a village he made his 
 proclamation : that " for the required amount of 
 7 97 
 
98 THE MOUNTAIN BOY. 
 
 money " he would dispose of these indulgences to 
 any one who would purchase them. Strange as 
 it seems to us now, the poor people, who made 
 their living by hard toil, and frequent exposure 
 to the rigorous climate of Switzerland, who fol- 
 lowed the life of the herdsman, or the farmer, 
 crowded around this man, and began to pour 
 their hard-earned money into his coffers. And 
 what was it that they hoped to gain by this in- 
 vestment? The complete pardon of all their 
 sins. In their haste to secure the coveted prize, 
 they contended with one another as to who 
 should be first to part with his little pittance, 
 saved up for the needs of the coming winter, 
 and hand it all over to the agent of the Pope. 
 Let us not smile at their eagerness or their 
 convictions. Postered in poverty and ignorance, 
 they had been trained up from childhood to the 
 belief that authorized men could absolve them 
 from the guilt and penalty of sin. They are 
 rather to be pitied than blamed for their readi- 
 ness to give even their last penny for such a 
 boon. Many pilgrims went to Eome each year 
 that they might receive these certificates ; and 
 now, the better to accommodate their needs (for 
 many of them were too poor to make a pilgrim- 
 age to Eome), the Pope kindly sent forth his 
 
A CONFLICT WITH SAMSON. 99 
 
 commissioued agent to dispose of these indulgen- 
 ces at their very doors. Why should they not, 
 therefore, show their appreciation of this favor 
 by patronizing the wares ready to hand ? 
 
 The purchaser had a double advantage of- 
 fered him : he might secure the pardon of his 
 own sins, and also deliver the souls of his de- 
 ceased friends from the pains of purgatory. The 
 money thus obtained was named Peter's Pence, 
 and was devoted to the cost of building the 
 great St. Peter's Church at Pome. It was the 
 ambition of Pope Leo X, then seated in the 
 papal chair, to erect a structure that would out- 
 shine all other churches in its size and magnifi- 
 cence. And when the funds ran short he sent 
 forth these agents, as other popes had done be- 
 fore him, and thus he realized a handsome in- 
 crease. The passage of four centuries since 
 has made this traffic seem very odious to us ; 
 but at that time it was only a brave man that 
 dared to raise an objection. 
 
 Samson made his way towards the canton 
 where Einsiedeln was situated, known as the 
 Schwitz. Here he began to proclaim : " I can 
 forgive all sins ; heaven and hell stand under my 
 dominion ; and I sell the merits of Jesus Christ 
 to each and every one who is willing to pay in 
 
100 THE MOUNTAIN BOY. 
 
 ready money for an absolution/' Wherever he 
 came Samson erected a red cross in one of the 
 churches as the sign of his office, which he al- 
 leged was equally efficacious with the cross 
 upon which the Saviour suffered. He caused his 
 arrival, and his business, and the time of his stay 
 to be announced from the pulpits, and then 
 proceeded with his traffic. The rich were taxed 
 in proportion to their wealth, and obliged to 
 pay high prices for the pardons, and the 
 poor were urged to keep in the background 
 lest they crowd out the wealthy patrons. 
 
 At last the tidings of these doings reached the 
 ears of Zwingli. On the next Sabbath he openly 
 attacked the whole system. He said : a Jesus 
 Christ, the Son of God, has said, ' Come unto 
 me all that labor and are heavy laden, and I 
 will give you rest.' It is audacious folly and 
 shameless impudence to say : ' Bun to Rome, 
 buy a ticket of absolution, give this to the 
 monks, that to the priests ; if you do so, then I 
 pronounce you free from all sin ! ' No ; Jesus 
 Christ is the only sacrifice, the only gift, the 
 only way." This bold utterance was not with- 
 out effect ; it only needed one to stand out in 
 opposition to such a traffic, when many others 
 would take heart to decry it. But there must 
 
A CONFLICT WITH SAMSON. 101 
 
 always be a first one, like Luther, who opposed 
 this same abuse under Tetzel in Saxony, and 
 here again Zwingli, in Switzerland. If the 
 soldiers at Concord fired a shot that was heard 
 around the world, these two Beformers, without 
 arms, inaugurated a revolution that never has, 
 and never can, go backward. 
 
 From that time forward Samson found diffi- 
 culty in the prosecution of his errand in the 
 Schwitz. He hastily withdrew from the canton 
 and retreated to points where the clarion voice 
 of Zwingli had not yet penetrated. And yet the 
 influence followed him, and seriously hindered 
 the success of his efforts. The people throughout 
 the canton began to say : u Samson is a cheat and 
 a robber/' He feared an uproar, dreaded to meet 
 Zwingli, and left hurriedly for another canton. 
 
 Samson turned back, first to Zug, where he 
 continued his traffic, and then no doubt thinking 
 it safe to place a considerable distance between 
 Zwingli and himself, for the present, he went on 
 to Lucerne. From Lucerne he went to Ober- 
 land, and arrived at length in the vicinity of 
 Bern. But before speaking of his doings there, 
 we will mention an incident connected with his 
 visit to the Schwitz. 
 
 There was a citizen there of good standing, 
 
102 THE MOUNTAIN BOY. 
 
 who had patronized the monk to such an extent 
 that he became suddenly reduced, with his fam- 
 ily, to extreme poverty. In his extremity he 
 applied to Zwingli, stating that he was unable 
 to satisfy his hunger and that of his children. 
 Now it might be presumed that many would 
 upbraid him with his folly in giving away his 
 living; for the worthless indulgences. Not so 
 with Zwingli ; his was too true a Christian heart 
 to permit him to adopt such a course. Daubigne 
 says : " Zwingli could give when Eome would 
 take, and he was as ready to do good works as 
 he was to oppose those who taught that they 
 were means by which we are saved. He daily 
 supplied Stapfer with support. "It is God," 
 said he, intent on taking no credit to himself, 
 " it is God who begets charity in the believer, 
 and gives at once the first thought, the resolve, 
 and the work itself." The grateful man never 
 forgot his friend in need, and four years after 
 this, when he was the honored Secretary of the 
 Canton, he turned to Zwingli, seeking that 
 which alone can supply the wants of the soul, 
 and said : u Since it was you who once supplied 
 my temporal wants, how much more may I ex- 
 pect you may point me to that which shall sat- 
 isfy the famine of my soul." 
 
A CONFLICT WITH SAMSON. 103 
 
 The authorities at Bern were not disposed to 
 admit Samson within their city. But through 
 the good offices of some who were friendly to 
 him, he at last succeeded in spreading his wares 
 in St. Vincent's Church. He was encouraged 
 at his success in getting a hearing, and became 
 very bold in his proclamation. To the rich he 
 said : u Here are indulgences on parchment for 
 one crown." And to the poor he said : " There 
 are absolutions on common paper for three half- 
 pence only." One incident at Bern is related 
 that seems hardly credible. It is the case of 
 Jacob Von Stein, a knight of high standing, 
 who came galloping up to the place where Sam- 
 son was engaged one day, and asked for absolu- 
 tion for himself, his five hundred followers, his 
 ancestors, and his whole family. The horse on 
 which the knight was seated pleased the monk, 
 and a bargain was soon made, whereby the 
 wholesale indulgence was granted, and the horse 
 was led away to the monk's stable. Samson 
 played the part of a giant here indeed, and 
 forced an aged man, who was very worthy, and 
 greatly respected by all, to fall upon his knees 
 before him, and ask his pardon, for having let 
 fall a word in criticism of the system of indul- 
 gences. 
 
104 THE MOUNTAIN BOY. 
 
 The Bernese, as we remarked above, seem to 
 have been a merry people, and it may be, on 
 this account that Samson reserved his greatest 
 deed, at this place, till the last. The monk took 
 his place upon the high altar in the church, and 
 had Henry Lupulus (Wolf), Zwingli's former 
 teacher, for his interpreter. " When the wolf 
 and the fox come abroad together," said a good 
 man to another minister, " the wisest plan for 
 you is to gather your sheep and geese, with all 
 speed, into a place of safety." To such remarks 
 Samson paid no heed, if,, indeed, he heard them ; 
 but in a loud voice he called out : " Fall on 
 your knees, repeat three paternosters and three 
 Ave-Marias, and you will instantly be as pure as 
 you were at the moment of your baptism." 
 The people fell on their knees, and Samson cried 
 out : u I deliver from the torments of purgatory 
 and hell the souls of all the people of Bern who 
 have departed this life, whatsoever may have 
 been the manner or the place of their death." 
 To us such a scene would be shocking in the ex- 
 treme. Such a great change has the Reforma- 
 tion produced in the thought of the world that, 
 we may hope, such conduct may never be re- 
 peated. 
 
 Samson had been very successful at Bern, 
 
A CONFLICT WITH SAMSON. 105 
 
 and went away with a well -filled treasury, and 
 presenting quite a different appearance from the 
 poor display he made when he first came over 
 the St. Gottard pass. He came as far as Baden, 
 and forming a procession he marched around 
 the graveyard. While thus engaged he cast 
 his eyes toward heaven, while his aids chanted 
 the hymn for the dead ; and pretending that he 
 saw the liberated souls flying up from the 
 churchyard toward heaven, he cried out : " Be- 
 hold, they fly ! " A rude but effective rebuke 
 was administered to him, by a man in the neigh- 
 borhood, who climbed up in the church steeple 
 and ripping open a pillow of feathers let them 
 scatter downward through the air, exclaiming : 
 " Behold, they fly ! " This had the effect of 
 bringing his traffic into ridicule, and greatly 
 angered the monk. He was only prevented 
 from taking vengeance on the man by hearing 
 that he was, at times, disordered in his intellect. 
 Afterward he appeared at Bremgarten, where 
 the Bev. Dean Bullinger, whose son afterward 
 became a noted reformer, opposed his objec- 
 tional mission. No sooner had he settled him- 
 self at the hotel than Bullinger came to him 
 and forbade the sale of indulgences within his 
 charge. " Here are the Pope's bulls," said 
 
106 THE MOUNTAIN BOY. 
 
 Samson, " open your church to me." As he did 
 not have the authority of the bishop of that 
 canton, Bullinger said : " I will suffer no one 
 under the color of such letters to squeeze the 
 purses of my people." Samson said : " The 
 pope is above the bishop. I charge you not to 
 deprive your flock of so marvellous a grace." 
 The Dean replied : " Were it to cost me my life, 
 I will not open my church. Samson then be- 
 came fiercely angry, and said : " In the name 
 of the Pope I pronounce against thee the 
 greater excommunication, nor will I grant thee 
 absolution until you have paid three hundred 
 ducats." But the Dean was true to his position 
 and said : "I am prepared to answer for myself 
 before my lawful judges. As for thee and thy 
 excommunication, I have nothing to do with 
 either." The position of Zwingli was beginning 
 to have a wholesome effect in many parts of 
 Switzerland, and in the end was destined to 
 drive Samson back again over the Alps, but 
 not until they had come into close quarters once 
 more in the new field wherein our Eeformer is 
 now to be stationed. 
 
CHAPTER X. 
 
 FROM THE HERMITAGE TO THE CITY. 
 
 The time had now arrived when Zwingli was 
 to take his departure from the usually quiet re- 
 treat of Einsiedeln. His work at this point, 
 had been attended with great success ; he had 
 here challenged the grave abuses which had 
 crept into the church, and for the time, had 
 turned backward that tide of deluded pilgrims 
 who, year by year, for ages past had swept over 
 the Etzel-Pass, to worship, " Our Lady of the 
 Eremites. " He had here forged one sentence, 
 which the Christian ages should ever repeat as a 
 sufficient answer to all theories of religious wor- 
 ship at the shrine of some reputed saint : " Christ 
 alone saves us, and He saves everywhere. 1 ' 
 
 Here also he had given the true watchword 
 against the pardon of pope and priest, in the 
 words of Christ Himself : " Come unto me all 
 ye that labor, and I will give you rest." He 
 had made many enemies it is true, but he had 
 
 107 
 
108 THE MOUNTAIN BOY. 
 
 also made many true friends, and he had the 
 witness in his bosom that he had discharged his 
 duty. 
 
 About this time a vacancy occurred in the 
 Cathedral church at Zurich. The rising repu- 
 tation of Zwingli led his friends to suggest his 
 name for the place. But no sooner was his 
 name proposed than his enemies, of the papacy, 
 began to make opposition, and to thrust forward 
 candidates of their own views. Attached to the 
 cathedral itself was a college of canons, connect- 
 ed with which, was a school placed under the 
 care of Oswald Myconius, Zwingli's friend. The 
 teacher used his utmost endeavor to have Zwin- 
 gli appointed. What a blessing it would be, 
 thought Oswald, to Zurich, to have this man to 
 fill the place ! Zwingli's manners and appear- 
 nce were prepossessing ; he was already re- 
 marked for his eloquence, and distinguished 
 among all the confederated Swiss for his 
 brilliant genius. 
 
 Myconius spoke of him to the provost of 
 the chapter, Felix Frey, w 7 ho was favorably 
 disposed. Other men of authority were con- 
 sulted, and many signified their willingness 
 to vote for the late pastor at Einsiedeln. And 
 a number of citizens, who had heard Zwingli's 
 
FROM THE HERMITAGE TO THE CITY. 109 
 
 eloquent discourses, on the occasion of the pil- 
 grimages, spoke in his favor. 
 
 But the opposition were active also, and 
 brought forward one Lorenzo Fabel, a Suabian, 
 and a strong advocate of the papacy, and had 
 him officiate at Zurich as a candidate. But his 
 record as to morality was not good, and gave 
 rise to objections on the part of many. All 
 Zurich was astir with interest regarding the 
 matter. Myconious wrote to Zwingli of Fabel, 
 and said that the man was what his name im- 
 ported a Fable. And on receipt of the tidings 
 that the Suabian was actually elected, Zwingli 
 wrote to his friend : " True it is then, that no 
 prophet is honored in his own country, since a 
 Suabian is preferred before a Swiss." But the 
 report was without foundation ; the previous 
 bad conduct of the man had prevented his elec- 
 tion, and Zwingli might yet be chosen. 
 
 Among the objections raised against Zwingli, 
 by his opponents was that there were rumors 
 against the character of the man dating from 
 his pastorate at Glarus. It seems likely that 
 these rumors were set afloat in order to offset 
 the well known licentiousness of Fabel. When 
 Zwingli was written to on the subject, he frank- 
 ly replied that he had been tempted, and in the 
 
110 THE MOUNTAIN BOY. 
 
 impulse of youth had been led away into improper 
 conduct at one time, which he had sincerely re- 
 pented of, and for which he hoped he was for- 
 given. And we can the more readily excuse a 
 weakness, on the part of Zwingli, when we 
 remember the rude customs of the times, and 
 the teachings which, for many generations, had 
 been tolerated by the church of Rome. The 
 result of the exciting canvas for the pulpit at 
 Zurich was that Zwingli received seventeen, out 
 of twenty-four votes, and was declared elected. 
 
 When it was known that he was to leave 
 Einsiedeln, his friends, the Abbot and Gerold- 
 seck, with the little coterie that had gathered 
 about him, and had hung upon his teachings 
 with joy, became very sad at the thought of 
 parting from him, and yet they rejoiced that 
 such a wide field would now be opened to him, 
 and wished him all success. Even the Council 
 of Schwitz, transmitted to him an address, in 
 which they styled him " their reverend, learned, 
 and very gracious Master, and worthy friend." 
 And they added :." Although we are, in part, 
 grieved by your departure from among us, yet, 
 on the other hand, we rejoice with you in all 
 that ministers to your honor and advantage." 
 
 Nor were these the only marks of apprecia- 
 
FROM THE HERMITAGE TO THE CITY. Ill 
 
 tion bestowed upon him. The people at "Win- 
 terthur had, a short time before this, invited 
 him to become their pastor ; and his former 
 flock at Glarus wished him to return to them. 
 He did make them a visit before entering upon 
 his new field of labor. He resigned the honor- 
 ary pastorate which they had persuaded him to 
 retain hitherto, and had the pleasure of seeing 
 his friend Dingauer, whom he had recommended 
 to them, chosen as his successor. In like man- 
 ner he was asked to name a successor at Einsie- 
 deln, and recommended Leo Juda, and he was 
 warmly welcomed there. Thus was his charac- 
 ter vindicated by those who had been near to 
 him during his entire ministerial life, from the 
 charge of his enemies, who opposed his election 
 at Zurich. 
 
 Having thus taken a friendly leave of his 
 former friends, he turns his face towards his 
 new field of labor. He goes with the kind re- 
 membrance of many affectionate hearts, and 
 with a record that time can never efface. Once 
 more he climbs the heights of the Etzel, and the 
 blue waters of lake Zurich, stretch out before 
 him, at the farther end of which, lies the city 
 he is now to enter as his future home. It was 
 a December morning ; a gray fog hung upon 
 
112 THE MOUNTAIN BOY. 
 
 the hilltops, while the sun's rays were glinting 
 along the icy, and snow crowned, mountain peaks 
 in the distance. In the struggles of the morn- 
 ing sun, with the cloudy vapors, he beheld, says 
 Christoffel : " an image of that conflict with the 
 powers of darkness which he himself was now 
 hastening to wage." And as he sailed on over 
 the waters of the lake, these were the thoughts 
 which filled his mind, and which he reduced to 
 writing : " As the heaven, peaceful and clear, 
 encircles with its blue canopy high over head, 
 the whole earth, though lightnings and tempests 
 be beneath ; thus the truly wise man, the Chris- 
 tian, rises above all storms and tempests. If 
 you weigh all, you will find that the principle 
 of good is stronger than that of evil, and that in 
 the end, virtue overcomes vice. True wisdom 
 obtains the mastery over iniquity ; for at the 
 moment when this has reached its culminating 
 point, the divine power seizes it and hurls it 
 into the abyss. Herein God shows His power." 
 The lake of Zurich is a lovely sheet of water, 
 lovely even in that land of charming inland seas, 
 and lofty mountains. It is twenty-five and a 
 half miles long, and two and a half wide. It is 
 the shape of a crescent ; or rather like one of 
 those long winding horns on which the Swiss 
 
FROM THE HERMITAGE TO THE CITY. 113 
 
 are accustomed to play their wild melodies, 
 which ring among the mountain peaks, with 
 many playful echoes, as the herdsmen follow 
 their cattle up to the lofty summits, when sum- 
 mer suns have worn away the past winter's 
 snow. The indented shores, the cultivated slopes, 
 the orchards, and farm houses, with here and 
 there a pretty hamlet set down by the water's 
 edge, form the outlines of a pleasing landscape 
 Lake Zurich is fed by the Linth, the 
 stream which, it will be remembered, flows down 
 from Glarus to the lake of Walienstadt ; and so, 
 by the ancient bed of the Maag, these waters 
 flow on towards Zurich, which stands at the 
 farther, or northern end. The outlet of the lake, 
 Zurich is the river Limmat, abroad, clear, flow- 
 ing stream, which speeds on its way northward 
 to the Ehine, bearing with it, in its swift pas- 
 sage along the streets of Zurich, and down 
 through fertile valleys beyond, the pure waters 
 of the Glarus hills. And so, we may add, the 
 reformer who began his great work at Glarus, 
 is now on his way to bring the glad- tidings of a 
 free Gospel to Zurich ; whence it will flow out 
 through many valleys, and by many mountain- 
 sides, into various other lands, to make glad the 
 hearts of the people. 
 8 
 
114 THE MOUNTAIN BOY. 
 
 Zwingli entered Zurich on the 27th day of 
 December and went immediately to the hotel 
 of " The Hermits/' where for the present he 
 tarried, and where he was waited upon by many 
 of the citizens who would bid him welcome in 
 the name of the Lord. Not all, however, were 
 thus kindly disposed. Many feared his uncom- 
 promising sternness, as he had been represented 
 to them in no favorable light. He went at 
 once to a meeting of the Chapter, where he re- 
 ceived the following instructions : " You will 
 use your utmost diligence in collecting the 
 revenues of the chapter, not overlooking the 
 smallest item. You will exhort the faithful, both 
 from the pulpit and from the confessional, to pay 
 all dues and tithes, and to testify, by their of- 
 ferings, the love which they bear to the church. 
 You will be careful to increase the amount that 
 arises from the visitation of the sick, from 
 masses, and in general from all ecclesiastical or- 
 dinances. As to the administration of the sa- 
 craments, preaching, personally watching over 
 the flock, these are all among the duties of the 
 priest. But for the performance of these you 
 may employ a vicar to act in your stead, espe- 
 cially in preaching. You are to administer the 
 sacraments only to persons of distinction, and 
 
FROM THE HERMITAGE TO THE CITY. 115 
 
 when especially called upon. You are not 
 allowed to administer them indiscriminately to 
 people of all ranks." 
 
 We may well imagine, from our previous ac- 
 quaintance with this man, who was reared 
 among God's grandest works in nature, and 
 who has now been made free from the servile 
 bondage of the Eomish priesthood, and brought 
 into " the glorious liberty of the children of 
 God," through Christ, that he will not be bound 
 to a mere office of getting money from the peo- 
 ple. His nature was totally averse to such em- 
 ployment. His spirit was too noble, too free, 
 too generous to allow himself to be made a mere 
 collector of revenues, as were the sordid priests 
 of the age. Besides, he was a minister of God's 
 word. He felt the force of that utterance of 
 St. Paul : " Woe is me if I preach not the Gos- 
 pel." We will see how he will reply to this 
 wonderful challenge with which he is confronted 
 upon his first entrance into Zurich. 
 
 Zwingli, with that grace which made him a 
 distinguished man wherever he came, at first 
 courteously tendered his thanks for the honor of 
 his election to the vacant office. He then gave 
 them plainly to understand that it was his firm 
 and decided intention to preach the history of 
 
116 THE MOUNTAIN BOY. 
 
 Jesus Christ, our Redeemer, according to the 
 Gospel of Matthew, that the people might not, 
 as hitherto, to the great dishonor of the name of 
 God, and Him after whom they are called, know 
 Christ by name only, while they were ignorant 
 of the whole history of His life and redemption. 
 He would, therefore, take up the whole of the 
 Gospel of Matthew, and preach it, verse by 
 verse, and chapter by chapter without regard to 
 the commentaries of men, by which he would 
 not be bound, but give the sense according to 
 the light received in answer to prayer, and by a 
 diligent study of the originals. This he would 
 do to the praise and glory of God and His only 
 Son, for the salvation of souls and their upbuild- 
 ing in the true faith. 
 
 This was indeed a noble position, and canons 
 Utinger, Englehard, Walder and others rejoiced 
 at it, but Provost Frey and the canon Hoffman 
 were excited with alarm and grief. All felt 
 themselves on the eve of great events. Hoff- 
 man arose and said that he hoped the election 
 they had made would be followed by no bad re- 
 sults. Such an exposition of the Scriptures 
 would, in his opinion, do more harm than good, 
 and others warned the new priest against inno- 
 vations which could result in nothing but evil. 
 And here the matter rested for the time. 
 
CHAPTER XL 
 
 A NEW STYLE OF PREACHING. 
 
 The visitor to Zurich is everywhere im- 
 pressed with the air of antiquity which spreads 
 itself over the place, while at the same time he 
 notes the thrift and enterprise which mark its 
 modern aspect. It contains over twenty-one 
 thousand inhabitants, and is the most flourish- 
 ing Swiss town in its silk and cotton manufac- 
 tories, and other industries, while at the same 
 time it is the literary centre of Swiss-Germany. 
 The literary activity dates from the time of 
 Zwingli, who is still regarded as the great man 
 of early Swiss history, as Luther is regarded in 
 Germany. Relics of Zwingli have been care- 
 fully preserved and are shown to the modern 
 visitor with great courtesy, as well as honest 
 pride, by its worthy citizens. 
 
 Close beside the Limmat, which divides the 
 city into two parts, stands the building now used 
 as the Town library though it was called the 
 
118 THE MOUNTAIN BOY. 
 
 " Water Churcli " formerly, because it was sur- 
 rounded by the current of the river. Here one 
 is shown a letter which Zwingli wrote to his 
 wife, his Greek New Testament, written out 
 with his own hand, and many other mementoes 
 of his life and works. Only a few steps away, 
 resting on a terrace against the slope, stands 
 the Cathedral, or " Minster," as it is called, 
 where Zwingli preached. The building fronts 
 the north, and hence has its side toward the 
 river, which is only a few rods distant, while in 
 its rear stands the old structure, once used as a 
 cloister, but since the Reformation as a school, 
 now occupied by the public school, and swarming 
 with children and youth. It was in this build- 
 ing that Myconius taught, who had been so effi- 
 cient in securing the post of honor for Zwingli. 
 The old Cathedral looks majestic and 
 venerable as it towers above the surrounding 
 structures, with its round-topped towers at 
 either corner, and its broad doors opening on 
 the terrace below. Within, it is massive in its 
 style of architecture, but very plain. The pul- 
 pit stands at the side, against one of the heavy 
 columns, just at the entrance to the choir, which 
 is now stripped of every vestige of ornamenta- 
 tion, and is seated with pews, as is the rest of 
 
A NEW STYLE OF PREACHING. 119 
 
 the church. Deep galleries run along either 
 side, adding to the great capacity of the struc- 
 ture, but giving it a heavy and rather sombre 
 look. The place probably wears essentially the 
 same appearance that it did in the time of 
 Zwingli, after the images had been removed, ex- 
 cepting the changes which the passing years 
 have wrought upon its ancient, gray walls. 
 
 In this building Zwingli first made his ap- 
 pearance on his thirty-sixth birthday, January 
 1st, 1519. The church was filled by a nume- 
 rous assembly, attracted by the reputation of 
 the preacher and the desire to hear the new 
 Gospel of which he was the acknowledged expo- 
 nent. Without a lengthy and ornate introduc- 
 tion, but as if weightier matters engaged his 
 thought, the preacher said : " It is to Christ 
 that I wish to guide you, — to Christ, the true 
 spring of salvation. This divine Word is the 
 only food that I seek to minister to your hearts 
 and souls." He then repeated his resolution, 
 which he had already expressed to the canons, 
 that he intended to expound the Gospel of 
 Matthew, in connection with other passages of 
 Scripture, commencing on the morrow, which 
 would be the Christian Sabbath. 
 
 His external appearance made a fine impres- 
 
120 THE MOUNTAIN BOT. 
 
 sion. For, according to Bullinger, he was a 
 fine-looking man in form and figure, and he was 
 now in the flower of his manhood. " Let one," 
 says Hagenbach, " only look at his portrait ; let 
 him observe this energetic, well-compacted 
 head, this marked physiognomy, as if stone- 
 carved, this expansive forehead, this full, clear eye, 
 this compressed mouth, with the well-rounded 
 lips." Lavater reads in this cast of countenance 
 " earnestness, reflection, manly resolution, con- 
 centrated energy, a far- seeing, penetrating un- 
 derstanding." Christoffel adds : "To a power- 
 ful frame of body he added a well-modulated, 
 deep-toned voice. In preaching he had an 
 agreeable delivery, highly appropriate to the 
 subject. His language was simple, popular and 
 dignified ; in exposition it was clear and per- 
 spicuous, in administering discipline serious and 
 fatherly, in warning urgent, coming home to the 
 soul, in comforting, warm and affectionate. 
 
 On the following day the preacher again ap- 
 peared, and, agreeably to his promise, took up 
 the first chapter of St. Matthew's Gospel. A 
 still larger assemblage was present. The nave 
 of the u Minster," the aisles, the capacious gal- 
 leries were all filled to their utmost capacity, 
 and every eye was fixed upon the man who was 
 
A NEW STYLE OF PREACHING. 121 
 
 to begin a new work in their midst. The 
 preacher opened the Gospel, the book that had 
 so long been sealed, and read the first page. 
 This long catalogue of names became as a por- 
 trait gallery under the skilful tongue of the 
 speaker. The patriarchs, the prophets, the line 
 of human ancestry leading up to Christ, all 
 passed in review before the delighted audience, 
 and when the service was concluded all ex- 
 claimed in astonishment and delight: "We 
 never heard the like of this before." It was a 
 noted occasion, and many hopes were indulged 
 that a great work would be wrought in Zurich, 
 by the ministry thus auspiciously begun. 
 
 As time passed on the impression was deep- 
 ened. The preacher continued his explanation 
 of the Gospel, and, prepared by faithful study 
 and earnest prayer, he went on to apply it to 
 the practical affairs of life and to the deep-seated 
 errors of the human heart. At the same time 
 he magnified the glory and majesty of God the 
 Father, taught that He alone was to be wor- 
 shipped in spirit and in truth ; and showed that 
 all men, without distinction, could obtain salva- 
 tion in none other but in Christ. At the same 
 time he warned against every kind of supersti- 
 tion, of will-worship and hypocrisy. With up- 
 
122 THE MOUNTAIN BOY. 
 
 lifted voice lie preached repentance and amend- 
 ment of life, the exercise of Christian charity 
 and fidelity. lie attacked with resolution the 
 vices most spread among the people ; he preached 
 earnestly against inordinate expense in eating 
 and drinking, and the wearing of fine clothes ; 
 against oppression of the poor, against merce- 
 nary wars, and the taking of gifts or bribes in 
 the shape of pensions. Herein he spared neither 
 pope nor emperor, king nor duke, princes nor 
 nobles, not even the confederates themselves. 
 
 All his discourses rested on the foundation of 
 God's Word, which he explained and expounded 
 as he went along, and it was pervaded by the 
 conviction that, in the end, and by the help of 
 God, truth and righteousness would gain the 
 day over lying, error, hypocrisy and vice. This 
 description comes from his contemporaries, one 
 of whom adds : " All his comfort was in God, 
 in whom he trusted, and in whom he rejoiced. 
 He exhorted the town of Zurich to place their 
 trust in Him." 
 
 That Zwingli was a stern and gloomy pro- 
 phet, who never presented the consolations of 
 the Gospel, who never dwelt upon the love and 
 tenderness of Christ, is a great mistake. Fear- 
 less as he was in attacking vice in every form, 
 
A NEW STYLE OF PREACHING. 123 
 
 he always had regard to the intellectual and 
 spiritual deficiencies of his hearers. He once 
 said of his own course: " Christ praises, very 
 highly, the faithful steward who gave to the 
 household of his Lord their meat in due sea- 
 son. Matt. 24 : 45. I strive to set before me 
 the duty of dividing the word of God so that 
 there may be the greater fruits. We do not 
 plow and sow in winter, but in spring. So I 
 sought to adapt my words to the condition of 
 my hearers, giving each his portion of meat in 
 due season. I pointed them to the mercy of God 
 revealed in Jesus Christ. Thus I fed them with 
 milk, for they were not able to receive the strong 
 meat of the word, till some of them who were 
 most bitter against me, at first, in the end, gave 
 themselves to the Lord." 
 
 The fact alluded to here is only what we might 
 expect from the earnest, eloquent, and tender 
 manner in which Zwingli preached. One year 
 after he began his ministry here, it is said, 
 two thousand persons had given their hearts to 
 God. He himself adds : " They felt in their 
 hearts how sweet the Lord is, and that every 
 one who knows Him aright must cry out with 
 the disciples, ' Lord to whom shall we go ? 
 Thou hast the words of eternal life.' Or as in 
 
124 THE MOUNTAIN BOY. 
 
 the words of Solomon, " I held him and would 
 not let him go." For he who has learned to 
 know God aright, and has been led heme by His 
 hand, like a strayed child, can never leave Him ; 
 and though by the force of bodily pains the 
 mouth were brought to deny him, yet the heart 
 would still adhere to him, for it knows that God 
 alone is its salvation through Jesus Christ. 
 And I tell those this day who preach the word 
 of God, and who preach it so as to draw salva- 
 tion from it alone, that the trust in the one 
 living and true God will go on to increase while 
 the trust in the refuges of lies will decrease and 
 decay ; and since man must put his whole confi- 
 dence in God, and in Him alone, I had rather 
 yield somewhat to human weakness than that 
 the doctrine of Christ were altogether put 
 aside." Here we see the ripest Christian expe- 
 rience portrayed, blended with tender pity for 
 the errors of the weak and ignorant. 
 
 Christoffel remarks the admirable union in 
 Zwingli of heroic courage and firm resolution, 
 with a tender delicacy of feeling toward the 
 weak. The man who was so firmly founded in 
 the word of God that he could say : "lam sure 
 that this is the mind of God ; and though you 
 threaten me with all the malice of Eome, with 
 
A NEW STYLE OF PREACHING. 125 
 
 all the fire of Aetna, or of hell itself, I shall not 
 budge from it," could yet admit to a boy who re- 
 called to his mind a false expression he had 
 made use of in the pulpit, that he was wrong, 
 saying to the critical youngster, u We can learn 
 much from boys when they are sharp and atten- 
 tive." In this manner Zwingli soon won the 
 love of many hearts, and his influence over them 
 was always salutary, for he brought to them 
 not only fresh instruction, but he led them to 
 the feet of the Saviour, and there they found 
 rest to their souls. 
 
 At the hearing of his first sermon there were 
 men who before this had entirely withdrawn 
 themselves from all religious service, on the 
 ground that the sermons delivered there lacked 
 the one thing needful, which the preacher had 
 not himself learned — the truth. These men said : 
 " God be praised, here is a preacher of the 
 truth indeed ; he will be our Moses, and will 
 lead us out of Egypt." Myconius, as usual, is 
 quite carried away by his friend's eloquence, 
 and says : " Never had there been seen a priest 
 in the pulpit with such an imposing appearance 
 and commanding power, so that you were irre- 
 sistibly led to believe that a man from the apos- 
 tolic times was standing before you." 
 
126 THE MOUNTAIN BOY. 
 
 The fact that such a distinguished preacher 
 was at the Minster drew vast crowds to hear 
 the word of God. And as many farmers at- 
 tended the market on Fridays who were unable 
 to attend on Sunday, Zwingli preached on that 
 day from the Psalms, as he continued to do 
 from the Gospels on Sunday. These discourses 
 had a marked effect upon these people from the 
 surrounding districts ; and many of them carried 
 the seeds of divine truth back with them to their 
 distant homes. This led the Town Council of 
 Zurich to issue a mandate to the parish priests, 
 curates and others, in town and country: " That 
 they should freely and everywhere preach the 
 Holy Gospels and the Epistles, and that they 
 all should speak the same language, as the 
 Spirit of God should direct them, and they were 
 only to teach that which they could prove from 
 the Bible. But as for the doctrines and com- 
 mandments that were of man's institution, they 
 should let them alone." It was due to this fact, 
 no doubt, that many of the more earnest and 
 worthy priests of the canton came into accord 
 with Zwingli, and, imbibing his spirit, began to 
 preach Bible truth. 
 
 But along with this pleasant picture we 
 must present the fact that many opponents 
 
A NEW STYLE OF PREACHING. 127 
 
 were to be found on every side, and besides 
 grave troubles afflicted the affairs of government 
 in the Cantons, in which it was the duty of Zwin- 
 gli, as " Folk-Preacher," to take part. He was 
 constantly found among the people, visiting and 
 conversing with them freely everywhere, trying 
 to follow the example of the Divine Master, of 
 whom it was said : " The common people heard 
 him gladly, and He went about doing good." 
 
 The sociability of Zwingli contributed not a 
 little to his popularity. He frequented the 
 places where the civic companies or trading 
 bodies held their meetings, explaining to the 
 people the leading articles of the Christian faith, 
 or holding familiar conversation with them. 
 He treated all with equal respect, and it was 
 charged against him by his enemies that " He 
 invited the country folks to dinner, walked with 
 thern, talked to them about God, and often put 
 the evil one in their hearts and his own wri- 
 tings into their pockets." 
 
 He still loved music, but indulged in it with 
 moderation, notwithstanding which his enemies 
 named him the " Evangelical lute-player and 
 piper." Faber, who was formerly his friend, 
 reproved him for his love of music. He replied : 
 11 My dear Faber, thou knowest not what music 
 
128 THE MOUNTAIN BOY. 
 
 is. I do not deny that I have learned to play 
 the lute and violin, and other instruments, and 
 at worst they serve me to quiet little children 
 when they cry ; but as for thee thou art too 
 holy for music ; and dost thou not know, then, 
 that David was a cunning player on the harp, 
 and how he chased the evil spirit out of Saul ? 
 Oh ! if thy ears were but awake to the notes of 
 the celestial lute, the evil spirit of ambition and 
 greediness of wealth, by which thou art pos- 
 sessed, would in like manner depart from thee." 
 The Reformer composed the music of several of 
 his Christian lyrics, and it is to be hoped that 
 some one will discover and publish these manu- 
 scripts as a contribution to our reformation his- 
 tory, in which field there is abundant material 
 which will richly repay the successful collector. 
 It belongs to this part of our work to speak 
 of Zwingli's system of labor, also. From sun- 
 rise till ten o'clock he employed himself in read- 
 ing, writing, or translating ; the Hebrew espe- 
 cially during that portion of the day occupied 
 much of his attention. After dinner he gave 
 audience to those who had any communication 
 to make to him, or stood in need of any of his 
 advice ; he walked out in company with his 
 friends and visited his people. At two o'clock 
 
A NEW STYLE OF PREACHING. 129 
 
 he resumed his walk. He took a short turn 
 after supper and then began writing letters, 
 which often engaged him until midnight. He 
 always read and wrote standing, and never al- 
 lowed the customary allotment of his time to be 
 disturbed, except for some very important cause. 
 In all this we can plainly see how well Zwin- 
 gli was adapted to be the forerunner of the Pro- 
 testant pastor, how nearly he hit upon the 
 spirit, life, and conduct of the minister of a free 
 Gospel, going out and in among his people, not 
 clad in priestly robes, and bearing himself with 
 a lofty ecclesiastical dignity, but as one of their 
 own number, like them responsible to God for 
 his conduct, he led the way toward heaven. He 
 was also remarkably cheerful in spirit. No ca- 
 lamity at this time ever daunted him. His 
 speech was ever hopeful, his heart ever stead- 
 fast. He sat alternately at the poor man's 
 scanty board, and the banquet table of the 
 great, as his Master had done before him, and 
 everywhere he strove to advance the cause of 
 Christ. 
 
 9 
 
CHAPTER XII. 
 
 SHADOWS AND SORROWS. 
 
 When the warm days of July and August 
 approach, and the melting snow and ice swell 
 the streams which pour down the ravines of the 
 Alps, great clouds of vapor often arise and hide 
 their lofty summits from the sight. These 
 clouds are wafted onward by the summer breeze, 
 and cast their shadows upon the long grassy 
 slopes which lie between the mountains and the 
 lakes. Their dusky forms may stand for those 
 shadows which are now to fall upon the eventful 
 experience of Zwingli. 
 
 First among the troubles w r hich came upon 
 him at this time was the approach of the monk 
 Samson, from whom we lately parted at Brem- 
 garten, towards Zurich. Partial success in his 
 sale of indulgences had made him bold, and in 
 his controversy with Dean Bullinger he had re- 
 solved to appeal to the deputies of the Confed- 
 eration at Zurich for permission to continue his 
 130 
 
SHADOWS AND SORROWS. 131 
 
 trade throughout the cantons. Both parties 
 came on to test the issue before the deputies ; 
 and as Zwingli saw the gradual progress of the 
 bold monk, he again lifted up his voice against 
 the whole system by which Samson was getting 
 great gains. The latter when on his road to 
 Zurich said : " I know that Zwingli will speak 
 against me, but I will stop his mouth." 
 
 Zwingli knew well the blessedness of the sense 
 of sins forgiven, but he knew also that only 
 Christ could forgive them. He said : " When 
 Satan attempts to terrify me, crying aloud : 
 1 Lo ! this and that thou hast left undone, 
 though God has commanded it!' — the gentle 
 voice of the Gospel brings me instant comfort, 
 for it whispers : ' What thou canst not do, and 
 of a truth thou canst do nothing, that Christ 
 does for thee, and does it thoroughly/ ' Yes, 
 when my heart is wrung with anguish by rea- 
 son of my impotency, and the weakness of the 
 flesh, my spirit revives at the sound of these joy- 
 ful words ; Christ is thy sinlessness ! Christ is thy 
 righteousness ! Christ is the Alpha and the 
 Omega ; Christ is the beginning and the end ; 
 Christ is all ; He can do all ! All created things 
 will disappoint and deceive thee ; but Christ, the 
 sinless and the righteous, will accept thee.'" 
 
132 THE MOUNTAIN BOY. 
 
 Eeferring again to Samson, he said: " No 
 man has power to remit sins — except Christ 
 alone, who is very God and very man in one. 
 Go if thou wilt, and buy indulgences. But be 
 assured, that thou art in nowise absolved. They 
 who sell the remission of sin for money, are but 
 companions of Simon the magician, the friends 
 of Balaam, the ambassador of Satan." When 
 Samson at last with the effrontery of his craft 
 arrived at an inn in the suburbs of Zurich, and 
 while he had his foot in the stirrup ready to 
 mount his horse and ride into the city, he was 
 accosted by messengers from the council, who 
 while courteous as they thought becoming to- 
 wards an agent of the Pope, intimated to him 
 that he might forego his intention of appearing 
 in Zurich. The seller of pardons replied : " I 
 have somewhat to communicate to the Diet, in 
 the name of his Holiness. 
 
 This, Daubigne says, was only a stratagem. It 
 was determined, however, that he should be ad- 
 mitted ; but as he spoke of nothing but his bulls, 
 he was dismissed, after having been forced to 
 withdraw the excommunication he had pro- 
 nounced against the Dean of Bremgarten. He 
 departed in high-dudgeon ; and soon after, the 
 Pope recalled him to Italy. A cart, drawn by 
 
SHADOWS AND SORROWS. 133 
 
 three horses, and loaded with coin, obtained un- 
 der false pretences from the poor, rolled before 
 him over those steep roads of the St. Gottard, 
 along which he had passed eight months before, 
 indigent, unattended, and encumbered by no 
 burden save his papers." 
 
 But a far greater conflict awaited Zwingli 
 than this in connection with his patriotic efforts. 
 It has been remarked already that, even when at 
 Glarus, he had taken strong grounds against the 
 foreign military service, which had been so 
 long the bane of Switzerland. As the evil con- 
 tinued he could not be silent, and perform his duty 
 to his people. And it was the more necessary 
 for him to take a deep interest, and an active 
 part in the affairs of state, since in Switzerland 
 the Government was in the hands of the people. 
 
 " No nation," says Seebohm, " was so ab- 
 solutely without a central authority as the 
 Swiss. Each canton was as independent of the 
 others, for most purposes, as the petty feudal 
 states of Germany. When Machiavelli com- 
 plained of the divisions of Italy preventing its 
 becoming a nation, he warned the Italians of the 
 danger of a country being ' cantonized ' like 
 Switzerland. But there was this difference be- 
 tween a Swiss canton and a petty feudal state. 
 
134 THE MOUNTAIN BOY. 
 
 In the Swiss canton there was no feudal lord; 
 the people governed themselves. It was not a 
 feudal lordship, but a little republic of communes 
 or villages of the primitive Teutonic type, in 
 which the civil power was vested in the commu- 
 nity. If therefore in a Swiss canton the civil 
 power took to itself the ecclesiastical power 
 hitherto held by the Pope, that power vested in 
 the people, not, as in other countries, in the 
 prince or king." 
 
 The political troubles of the Swiss were re- 
 newed in 1520 and still more in 1521, by the 
 intrigues of the Pope, and by the efforts of 
 Francis I., king of France, and the emperor 
 Charles V., to secure their aid in the wars 
 which these rival princes waged against one 
 another. Francis finally succeeded, in a Diet 
 of the confederates held at Lucerne, on the third 
 of May, 1521, in concluding a treaty of alliance 
 with all the cantons except Zurich. Zwingli 
 was now active, as he had need to be, to prevent 
 his people from engaging in this unseemly strife. 
 He said : " Next to my concern for the word of 
 God, the interests of the Confederacy lie nearest 
 my heart. For the longing desire of my heart, 
 and the great object of my teaching, has been 
 the preservation of the Confederacy, that it 
 
SHADOWS AND SORROWS. 135 
 
 might remain, as handed down to us from our 
 fathers, true to itself, and free from service un- 
 der foreign masters, and that the members of it 
 might live together in peace and friendship." 
 
 Zwingli lifted up his voice energetically against 
 this evil of foreign service. tl Our fathers," said 
 he, "conquered their enemies, and won their 
 freedom, relyiog on no other arm but the arm of 
 the Almighty, and they were ready at all times 
 to recognize His intervention in their behalf." 
 This he could say with confidence, for the Swiss, 
 in ancient times began their battles with pray- 
 er, and when they gained a victory, they fell 
 on their knees, and thanked God for His help. 
 The preacher then pointed out the dangers 
 that would come to them again from engaging 
 in foreign service. They would be in danger of 
 God's judgments; their laws would be trampled 
 upon ; idleness would again characterize the re- 
 turned soldiers ; selfishness would be paramount, 
 and strife among brethren would be sure to fol- 
 low. In consequence of these wise counsels 
 Zurich resolved to observe a strict neutrality, 
 and to adhere to the treaty of perpetual peace 
 made between all the cantons in 1516. 
 
 Nevertheless some three thousand soldiers en- 
 listed under the influence of the Pope, professedly 
 
136 THE MOUNTAIN BOY. 
 
 to protect trie territory of the church, but really 
 to fight for Charles V. When the troops were 
 well on their way to Italy the secret of their 
 destination leaked out, and an express was 
 sent to recall them, but on condition that they 
 were not to be employed against the French, 
 they were allowed to proceed. The united 
 forces of the Pope and the Emperor triumphed 
 over those of France ; and the Swiss returned 
 without either laurels or booty. The greatest 
 dissatisfaction now was cherished by the other 
 cantons towards Zurich ; and Zwingli, who had 
 strenuously resisted the whole movement, was 
 blamed most of all. He was never forgiven by 
 the other cantons, and their enmity was not sa- 
 tiated even with his death. 
 
 Zwingli had enfeebled his health by over- 
 work, and made a journey eastward to the cele- 
 brated baths of Pfaffers, about this time, that he 
 might rest and receive the benefit of the water 
 of the hot springs. The place was not calcu- 
 lated to cheer the spirit of the reformer, what- 
 ever the water might do for his health. The baths 
 were situated in the frightful gorge formed 
 by the impetuous torrent of the Tamina. 
 Daniel, the hermit, named it the " infernal 
 gulf;" and well he might, for the limestone cliffs 
 
SHADOWS AND SORROWS. 137 
 
 are from 500 to 800 feet in height, while the gorge 
 is only from 30 to 50 feet wide, through which 
 rushes the roaring waters of the river. Itis said 
 that the bath-house, now located in the gorge, en- 
 joys sunshine in the height of summer from 10 
 till 4 o'clock, but in the building where Zwingli 
 lodged it was necessary to burn torches at midday. 
 This was the ancient seat of a monastery, and 
 many were the stories told of fearful spectres 
 which might be seen there gliding to and fro 
 amidst the darkness. This gloom is mentioned by 
 many writers as a preparation of Zwingli for 
 coming trouble. 
 
 Trouble soon came in the form of news 
 that the plague had broken out in Zurich. 
 Zwingli hastened to return that he might per- 
 form a pastor's part in this trying emergency. 
 The " Great Death/' as it was called, swept on 
 from the east over the deep chasm of Tamina, 
 where Zwingli was, and, as a great shadow of 
 destruction, fell upon nearly all the towns and 
 villages of Switzerland, late in the summer of 
 1519. During the time of its frightful ravages 
 it swept away no fewer than 2,500 souls in 
 Zurich. After sending away a number of young 
 men who were students in his house, among 
 whom was his brother Andrew, Zwingli began 
 
138 THE MOUNTAIN BOY. ' 
 
 his faithful work among the sick and dying of 
 his flock. As he went forward with his du- 
 ties many watched him with admiration, but 
 with solicitude as well, for they knew not what 
 moment the fell destroyer might lay him 
 low. 
 
 A friend in Basel, Conrad Brunner, wrote : 
 "I rejoice greatly that thou standest untouched 
 and unharmed by the arrows of death which are 
 flying around. But my joy will not be free of 
 anxiety so long as thou daily exposest thyself to 
 great peril by visiting the sick of the plague. 
 Forget not, while bringing consolation to others, 
 to take care of thine own life." With heroic 
 courage he visited the sick and the dying with- 
 out intermission, and supplied them with the 
 rich consolations of the Gospel. In his sermons 
 he raised the sinking hearts of his terrified con- 
 gregation with the promises of the word of life, 
 and pointed them to Christ, who quickens the 
 weary and heavy ladened. Many among his 
 people also trembled for the life of their faithful 
 pastor, as they saw him moving about amidst 
 the thickly-flying darts of death, himself bear- 
 ing around the cup of salvation. 
 
 The anxiety of friends was but too well 
 founded, for at the end of September he was 
 
SHADOWS AND SORROWS. 139 
 
 also smitten with the pestilence. The grief of 
 his people was great when they realized that 
 their pastor was stretched upon a bed of sick- 
 ness, perhaps of death. Friends of evangelic 
 truth at a distance were also deeply moved at 
 the tidings. Dr. Hedio wrote to him : " We 
 were deeply afflicted when we heard that this 
 murderous disease had seized you also, for who 
 would not grieve if the deliverer of his country, 
 if the trumpet of the Gospel, if the courageous 
 herald of the truth should be stricken down in 
 the prime of life, high in hope, and in the 
 midst of his usefulness." The feelings of his 
 own soul during his sickness the Reformer 
 poured forth in the following hymn, of which we 
 furnish a new version as nearly as possible in the 
 meters and language of the original German : 
 
 Lord, hear my anxious pleading, 
 0, help me in this strait; 
 Upon my door is knocking, 
 The doleful hand of death. 
 Thou, Lord, for him in conflict 
 The might of mercy hast ; 
 Stay, Christ, ! stay beside me, 
 And help me to the last. 
 
 My Father, if it be Thy will, 
 O grant me saving grace, 
 And make this cup pass from me, 
 Nor hide me from Thy face. 
 
140 THE MOUNTAIN BOY. 
 
 Send comfort to my spirit, 
 E'en while my pains increase ; 
 This is my hour of anguish, 
 From tossings no release. 
 
 Thou art, Lord, my Maker, 
 And I Thy creature am, 
 As clay in hand of potter 
 I'm fashioned by Thy hand. 
 At length in holy stillness 
 My soul with Thee shall rest, 
 Thy will shall be my pleasure 
 Be it in life or death. 
 
 The disease gained ground. His friends in 
 deep affliction beheld the man on whom the 
 hopes of Switzerland and the church reposed, 
 ready to be swallowed up by the grave. His 
 bodily powers and natural faculties were for- 
 saking; him. His heart was smitten with dis- 
 may, yet he found strength sufficient left him to 
 turn to God and to cry : 
 
 Hear, my God, 'tis Thee I seek, 
 
 My malady increases; 
 
 The sharpness of my pain exceeds, 
 
 My heart is pierced with grieving. 
 
 To Thee, my Comforter, I flee, 
 
 Haste, Lord, to help and strengthen me, 
 
 Bring comfort, blessed Jesus. 
 
SHADOWS AND SORROWS. 141 
 
 Yes, Saviour, from Thy presence sweet 
 Comes help to them that trust Thee ; 
 In faith they clasp Thy pierced feet 
 And joyful rest upon Thee ; 
 On Thee, for aye, their hope is set, 
 Their treasure Thou, they ne'er forget 
 When earthly good doth perish. 
 
 Surely I see with griping hand 
 
 The evil One approaching, 
 
 And him, though weak, I must withstand, 
 
 He shall not thus o'erthrow me. 
 
 For while my faith is strong and fast 
 
 Thou, Lord, wilt make my courage last, 
 
 By fear of hell unshaken. 
 
 Great was the consternation that prevailed 
 throughout the city. The friends of the papacy- 
 thought that it would be dreadful if he were 
 not reconciled with Eome, but no one seems to 
 have disturbed him with this subject. The be- 
 lievers cried to God night and day, earnestly en- 
 treating that He would restore their faithful 
 pastor. The alarm had spread from Zurich to 
 the mountains of Toggenburg. Even there the 
 plague had been ravaging. Seven or eight per- 
 sons had fallen a prey to it in Wildhaus, one of 
 them a servant of Zwingli's brother Nicholas. 
 No tidings were received from the P^eformer. 
 His brother Andrew wrote : " Let me know 
 
142 THE MOUNTAIN BOY. 
 
 what is thy state, my beloved brother. The 
 Abbot and all our brothers salute thee." It 
 would seem that Zwingli's parents were already 
 dead, since they are not mentioned here. But 
 that glimmering spark of life, which had been 
 left unquenched, began now to burn more 
 brightly. Though laboring still under great 
 bodily weakness his soul was filled with a 
 deep impression that God had called him to re- 
 place the candle of his word on the deserted 
 candlestick of his church. The plague had re- 
 linquished its victim. With strong emotion 
 Zwingli now exclaimed : 
 
 Restored, through Thy great mercy, 
 
 My God, I'm well again ; 
 
 My joyful lips do praise Thee, 
 
 I sing in gladsome strain. 
 
 Since Thou hast been my Helper, 
 
 And life Thou didst restore, 
 
 My soul shall ever bless Thee 
 
 And, daily, more and more. 
 
 Had death securely bound me, 
 I would from earth be free, 
 And even now be standing, 
 My blessed Lord, by Thee. 
 Now must I bide my summons 
 And wait for death again, 
 Prepared for work or suffering, 
 Prepared for greater pain. 
 
SHADOWS AND SORROWS. 
 
 143 
 
 Yet, since Thou thus hast willed it, 
 I joyful journey on, 
 With true and willing spirit, 
 Till pilgrimage is done. 
 Through pain and strife I'm pressing, 
 To Thee, Lord, I come- 
 To yonder blissful haven, 
 To my eternal home. 
 
CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 BEAVE EFFORTS FOR REFORM. 
 
 The Cathedral Church of Zurich, known by 
 the name of ' the Minster/ was a very ancient and 
 well-endowed institution. When Zwinedi be- 
 came its pastor, in 1519, its council consisted of 
 twenty-four canons, to whom were added a 
 number of chaplains. All these in former times 
 lived upon the revenues of the foundation, but 
 performed no other service than to sing in the 
 choir during canonical hours. The whole labor 
 of preaching and of the care of souls was left to 
 the one pastor, called people's priest, and his 
 two assistants. The burden of this great charge 
 lay upon Zwingli, and earnestly did he labor to 
 fulfil his duty. 
 
 When the Reformer arose from his sick bed, 
 snatched as it were from the very jaws of 
 death, he manifested even greater zeal than be- 
 fore. Notwithstanding the fact that his ene- 
 mies continued on his track, he won the afiec- 
 144 
 
BRAVE EFFORTS FOR REFORM. 145 
 
 tions of the people to such a degree that in 1521 
 he was elected to canonship by the chapter. 
 He might now, agreeably to the old custom, 
 have retired from active life and passed the re- 
 mainder of his days in dignified leisure ; but he 
 retained his pastorship, and continued to per- 
 form all its duties, as before, though his seat in 
 the council gave him a voice and vote in its de- 
 liberations, and more freedom in his work. 
 
 For a time, in connection with his other 
 duties, he pursued the study of the Hebrew 
 language, under an able teacher, and as before 
 in the case of the Greek, he soon made rapid 
 progress. He was thus enabled to read the 
 Old Testament in the original. A deeper seri- 
 ousness now manifested itself in the spirit of the 
 Reformer, due no doubt to his late sickness, but 
 more especially to the need that he discerned 
 for reformation in the church. He was hardly 
 yet fully recovered, for in November he wrote : 
 " The sickness has enfeebled my memory and 
 prostrated my spirits. I often in preaching 
 loose the thread of my discourse. My whole 
 frame is oppressed with languor, and I am little 
 better than a dead man." But he soon rose to 
 strength again, and though ' faint was still pur- 
 suing.' 
 
 10 
 
146 THE MOUNTAIN BOY. 
 
 There were three monasteries in Zurich, and 
 as Zwingli, and those who stood with him af- 
 firmed that the pure word of God should only 
 be proclaimed to the people, the monks in these 
 monasteries fearing that their calling might be 
 overthrown, petitioned the council to forbid any- 
 one to preach against their customs, on the 
 ground that it would disturb the community. 
 The council granted their petition, and a violent 
 contest followed in the pulpits between the Re- 
 formers and the monks. The council referred 
 the matter to a committee, and after a stormy de- 
 bate the presiding officer exhorted them not to 
 preach anything that might cause disturbance. 
 
 Zwingli solemnly declared : " I cannot ac- 
 cept this command. I will preach the Gos- 
 pel free and without limitation, as was for- 
 merly resolved upon. I am bishop and par- 
 son of Zurich. To me the care of souls is en- 
 trusted. I, not the monks, have taken the 
 oath. They must yield and not I. If they 
 preach lies I will come up to the very pulpit of 
 their cloisters and contradict them. I, for my 
 part, if I preach anything contrary to the Holy 
 Gospel am willing to subject myself to the cen- 
 sure of the chapter, nay, of every citizen, and 
 let myself be punished for it." This bold stand 
 
BRAVE EFFORTS FOR REFORM. 147 
 
 decided the council, and they granted to Zwingli 
 and his friends permission to preach in the chapels 
 of the convents. Truth had thus again conquered. 
 Soon after this an event occurred which gave 
 the enemies of reform an opportunity to attack 
 Zwingli. Early in 1522 he stated in a sermon 
 that feasts appointed by the church, in which 
 certain meats were forbidden to be eaten at cer- 
 tain times, a release from which could only be 
 obtained by donations to the church, had no 
 foundation in the word of God, but were di- 
 rectly contrary to it. He said : " Many think 
 that to eat flesh is improper, nay a sin, although 
 God has nowhere forbidden it, but to sell human 
 flesh in slaughter and carnage they hold to be 
 no sin at all." Reports of this sermon were 
 carried by the monks to the Bishop of Con- 
 stance, who sent a delegation to Zurich on April 
 7th, 1522, who set themselves to gain a secret 
 meeting of the authorities and have Zwingli 
 condemned. Though they tried to prevent it, 
 the council decided that the pastor should be 
 present at the conference. The bishop's am- 
 bassadors were very smooth and polite in 
 speech, while they hinted that contentious and 
 dangerous men taught that human institutions 
 and rites are no more to be regarded, and this 
 
148 THE MOUNTAIN BOY* 
 
 would undermine the church. Zwingli replied 
 that Zurich was more peaceable than any other 
 town in the confederacy. He added : " For my 
 part, one may fast the whole year, if he have not 
 enough in the forty days ; only I hold that 
 fasts should not be imposed on any one by the 
 threat of excommunication, but that every one 
 should be left to use his own liberty in the mat- 
 ter." The mission returned, having entirely 
 failed in its object. 
 
 On May second the bishop sent to all the 
 clergy a warning against the new views, with- 
 out naming Zwingli, but covertly striking at 
 him. The Reformer availed himself of a pamph- 
 let published at Bern and directed against the 
 bishop, which he circulated through the com- 
 munity. On May 24th the bishop made a third 
 attack by a letter prepared by his vicar Fabel, 
 and directed to the council at Zurich warning 
 them against the poison of new teachers. Zwin- 
 gli answered this in a pamphlet of his own, en- 
 titled u The Beginning and the End," so named 
 because he wished it to be final on the subject 
 on his part. He spoke respectfully of the 
 bishop, but ascribed his course to evil advisers, 
 whom he advises him to dismiss, and, continu- 
 ing, answers the letter sentence by sentence. 
 
BRAVE EFFORTS FOR REFORM. 149 
 
 Matters now began to assume a serious as- 
 pect. A Diet was assembled at Lucerne in May, 
 at the instance of the bishop, for the purpose of 
 applying stringent measures. A complaint was 
 at once lodged against the adherents of the new 
 doctrine and the preacher of Zurich. A motion 
 was immediately passed : " In the name of the 
 confederacy to instruct the priests, whose sermons 
 produce disunion and disturbance among the 
 people, to desist from such preaching." Sorely as 
 this action annoyed Zwingli he did not allow him- 
 self to be discouraged by it, or to relax his zeal for 
 the cause of Christ. He heard in the brewing storm 
 a call to uphold the sacred banner of the truth. 
 
 Accordingly he called together at Einsiedeln 
 a number of the evangelical clergy in the month 
 of June, 1522, and laid before them two peti- 
 tions for their signatures, one in German to the 
 Diet, the other in Latin to the Bishop of Con- 
 stance. The petitions were different in form, 
 but in substance the same, and prayed : u That 
 the preaching of the Gospel might not be for- 
 bidden, and that it might be permitted to the 
 priests to marry." w Little as was the influ- 
 ence," says Christoffel, u which this petition ex- 
 erted on those to whom it was addressed, it still 
 produced great effects among the lower orders of 
 
150 THE MOUNTAIN BOY. 
 
 clergy and the people. It became a banner 
 around which the friends of divine truth and of 
 the rights of conscience leagued in one covenant, 
 that disappointed all the schemes of combined 
 iniquity. On the fifteenth of August of this 
 year the chapter of the canton of Zurich which 
 comprised the clergy from the sources of the 
 Linth to the junction of the Limmat with the 
 Beuss, met and made the great spiritual move- 
 ment of the times a chief topic of debate. By 
 Zwingli's influence this assembly unanimously 
 adopted the following resolution: " To preach 
 nothing but what is contained in the Word of 
 God." From this time on his watchword was : 
 " We must obey God rather than man." 
 
 The resolution passed at Einsiedeln relating to 
 the marriage of the priests, and which was for- 
 warded with the petition to the bishop and the 
 Diet, prepares the way to speak of Zwingli's 
 marriage. This event has a great deal of ro- 
 mance surrounding it, as well as danger. It is 
 generally dated on April 12, 1524, though sup- 
 posed by some to have taken place at an earlier 
 period, but not published on account of the 
 troublous nature of the times, which rendered 
 the marriage of a priest a cause of stumbling 
 and offence to many. 
 
BRAVE EFFORTS FOR REFORM. 151 
 
 Zwingli became acquainted with Anna Rein- 
 hardt through his interest in her son, Gerold 
 Meyer, who came to his study in Zurich upon 
 some errand during 1521. Zwingli appears to 
 have formed a strong attachment to this youth, 
 and by a sort of natural consequence became at- 
 tracted to the excellent qualities of the mother. 
 She had married young, above her station in 
 life, to John Meyer von Knonau, a young no- 
 bleman in the neighborhood of Zurich, where 
 his father's castle was situated. The elder 
 Meyer was highly incensed when he heard of 
 his son's marriage to Anna, and disinherited 
 him. After a few years of wedded life Anna's 
 husband was removed from her by death. 
 Thus in the year 1513 she was left a widow 
 with the care of three children, one son and two 
 daughters. She thought only of the education 
 of her children, for which purpose no means 
 were at hand. 
 
 The grandfather was inexorable, seeming to 
 have no interest whatever in his destitute grand- 
 children, until one day he happened to be near 
 the fish-market in Zurich, when he saw little 
 Gerold at play. The beauty of the child at- 
 tracted his attention, and he inquired whose 
 boy it was. Upon being told that it was his 
 
152 THE MOUNTAIN BOY. 
 
 son's he was moved to deep feeling. He 
 brought the widow and her children to his 
 wealthy home and rejoiced in their companion- 
 ship 
 
 The pastor of Zurich, now convinced that the 
 Scriptures nowhere forbid the marriage of 
 Christian ministers, but on the other hand en- 
 courage this ordinance that the minister may be 
 the head of a Christian household, sought the 
 hand of the young widow and they were joined 
 in marriage. She proved to be in every way 
 worthy of his choice, but she had great sorrows 
 to bear in after time, even greater than those 
 she had experienced in her earlier years. 
 
 Their family consisted of four children : The 
 eldest daughter, Eegula married Zwingli's suc- 
 cessor, Ealph Gwalter, and died in 1565. The 
 youngest daughter, Anna, died early. William, 
 the eldest son, died in 1541, while a student of 
 theology at Strassburg ; and Ulric, the younger 
 son, became afterward, a professor of theology 
 at Zurich. With him the male line of the He- 
 former became extinct. 
 
CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 DANGER AND DEFENCE. 
 
 All thoughtful men knew that a grave issue 
 was at hand, when the year 1523 dawned upon 
 the reformation in Switzerland. The Diet 
 which was composed of the delegates from the 
 various cantons opposed to the reforms intro- 
 duced by Zwingli in Zurich had met in Lucerne 
 the May previous, and sent forth an ominous 
 warning, which was followed by threat after 
 threat, from the same quarter. Even as dark 
 clouds roll athwart the sky, and gleams of light- 
 ning flash out from the storm-center, while as 
 yet it is far distant from the spectator ; so 
 Zwingli saw the front of the coming tempest, 
 and knew that every shaft of death was pointed 
 at his heart. But while he knew all this, only 
 too well, his conscience would not suffer him to 
 relax his efforts for needed reformation. 
 
 In the month of August previous, all the 
 pastors in Zurich had given up their pensions. 
 
 153 
 
154: THE MOUNTAIN BOY. 
 
 During the same month a convention had been 
 held at Kapperschwyl, in which 38 parishes 
 were represented, and all these proposed to 
 stand together in defence of the truth. These 
 pastors resolved unanimously to preach only 
 what they could prove by the word of God. 
 One of them, pastor Weiss, was soon afterward 
 imprisoned at Constance, for rejecting the invo- 
 cation of the Virgin Mary, and for refusing 
 longer to obey the rule of celibacy. He escaped 
 with his life, but other pious men were less 
 favored. 
 
 There was a strong desire on the part of 
 many godly persons, expressed at this time, for 
 the removal of all images from their churches. 
 Zwingli was favorable to this change, but he 
 exhorted to patience, and delay, until there was 
 a stronger public sentiment to sustain the move- 
 ment. But a citizen of Stadelhofen, named 
 Hottinger, rebuked the miller of that place for 
 keeping a cross with the image of the Saviour 
 upon it beside the highway, where many per- 
 sons paid it reverence. The miller replied : " If 
 you are empowered to remove it, I leave you to 
 do so." Hottinger construed this as permission; 
 and proceeded, with others, to take the image 
 down. Great excitement followed; the parti- 
 
DANGER AND DEFENCE. 155 
 
 sans of Rome clamored for his blood, and the 
 men were arrested. Zwingli took the ground 
 that they had not committed sin against (rod by 
 this act. But that they should be justly pun- 
 ished for having resorted to violence without 
 the sanction of the magistrate. Hottinger was 
 set at liberty, but he was afterward arrested at 
 Baden, brought before the Diet in Lucerne in 
 March 1524, condemned to death, and beheaded. 
 His last words were : " Into Thy hands I com- 
 mend my soul, ! my Lord and Eedeemer, 
 Jesus Christ ! Have mercy on me and receive 
 me unto Thyself." Thus died Nicholas Hot- 
 tinger, the first martyr of the Reformed Church. 
 The feeling in favor of abolishing the images 
 kept increasing however, and one day a pastor 
 of St. Peter's Church in Zurich observing a 
 number of poor people before the church door 
 said to one of his colleagues : " I should like to 
 strip those wooden idols, and clothe those poor 
 members of Jesus Christ/' A few days after, at 
 three o'clock in the morning, the saints and their 
 fine trappings were missing. The council sent 
 the pastor to prison, although he protested that he 
 had no hand in removing them. Threats were 
 now multiplied on the part of the papal cantons 
 against Zurich, and fierce controversies followed. 
 
156 THE MOUNTAIN BOY. 
 
 The magistrates undecided as to the course 
 they ought to pursue, sent word to the bishops 
 of Constance, Basel and Coira, to despatch a 
 joint commission to Zurich. But it was the 
 policy of these bishops to keep silent for the 
 present, and the deputies did not appear. The 
 council assembled, and canon Hoffman stepped 
 forward to defend the Pope, and denied that the 
 body had power to take action in the case. 
 Zwingli claimed that the council could regulate 
 matters of worship within its territory, and 
 said : " Hong and Kussnacht, two villages in 
 the neighborhood of Zurich, are more of a church 
 than all the bishops and popes put together." 
 Thus, says Daubigne, " did Zwingli assert the 
 rights of Christians in general, whom Eome had 
 stript of their inheritance. Here we see the 
 beginnings of the Presbyterian system. He 
 was engaged in delivering Zurich from the juris- 
 diction of the bishops of Constance— he was 
 likewise detaching it from the hierarchy of 
 Eome; and on this thought of the flock, and 
 the assembly of believers, he was laying the 
 foundation of a new church order to which other 
 countries would afterwards adhere." 
 
 At this time also the question of the mass 
 was violently agitated. Zwingli had taught 
 
DANGER AND DEFENCE. 157 
 
 from the pulpit that the customs of the mass 
 were a departure from the teachings of Scripture, 
 and from the practice of the early church. But 
 he counselled against hasty and unauthorized 
 action in the premises. He therefore requested 
 that a conference be called at Zurich for the 
 free discussion of the questions then agitating 
 the church. Accordingly the meeting was 
 called for January 28th, 1523, for which the 
 Reformer prepared his celebrated 67 theses. 
 They were ably formulated, and even yet stand 
 as the bulwarks of protestantism. They teach 
 that : " Jesus Christ is the only way of salvation 
 for all who have been, are, or shall be." Chris- 
 tians are all the brethren of Christ, and they 
 have no " fathers '' upon earth. No compul- 
 sion in cases of conscience should be used, unless 
 the seditious disturb the peace of others. 
 Christ offered Himself upon the cross for our 
 sins, therefore the mass, or Lord's Supper, is not a 
 sacrifice, but a commemoration of a sacrifice, and 
 a seal of the redemption He has procured for us. 
 On the 26th of October another conference 
 was held in Zurich, at which over nine hundred 
 people were present. The discussions of this 
 body hastened the cause of reform, but the rash- 
 ness of a few misguided men who, afterwards, 
 
158 THE MOUNTAIN BOY. 
 
 would proceed, with great violence, was wisely 
 restrained, or else a religious war would have 
 been, at once, inaugurated. As it was, the ima- 
 ges were generally removed from the churches in 
 Zurich, in some cases it may be, with undue vio- 
 lence. 
 
 We who sit in safety in our free churches, 
 are wont to criticise every extravagance which 
 marked the work of the reformation. But we 
 should ever remember that in all movements of 
 this kind, fanatics will arise, who, with other in- 
 discreet persons, will often bring reproach upon 
 the cause which they champion, but misrepresent 
 in spirit. Zwingli had ever to contend with this 
 difficulty even as Luther did in Germany. He 
 did not, at once, discard the mass for the time 
 was not ripe for it ; but he modified its celebra- 
 tion August 1523, and finally substituted the 
 Lord's Supper for it in 1525. 
 
 The Anabaptists as they were called, because 
 they rebaptized those who had been baptized 
 in infancy, arose during the time of Zwingli and 
 brought sore afflictions upon themselves and 
 others. At first they baptized by sprinkling, 
 but subsequently immersed the candidates in the 
 rivers. In connection with this they taught 
 that warfare should be at once begun ; and 
 
DANGER AND DEFENCE. 159 
 
 many pretended to have supernatural visions, 
 and others affirmed that they were inspired with 
 the Holy Ghost. Great extravagances were 
 practiced, which in some cases resulted in the 
 loss of life; as when in Thuringia one fanatic told 
 another that he must behead him, for the Lord 
 had commanded it ; the second obeyed and cut 
 off the head of the one making the proposal, 
 with a sword. 
 
 Zwingli greatly deplored all fanaticism, coun- 
 selled against it, and used moderation with his 
 firmness in removing abuses. But the papal 
 cantons charged every thing of this kind to his 
 account, and nursed their wrath against him, 
 and only waited their opportunity to cut him 
 off. As they could not attack him directly in 
 his stronghold they fell upon his friends, in the 
 surrounding districts, and hastened to persecute 
 them. Pastor Oechslin, Zwingli's friend when 
 at Ensiedeln, who was now settled at Burg, be- 
 came very obnoxious to the papists. The bishop 
 tried to expel him from his charge, but his 
 people sustained him and refused to let him go. 
 At last the magistrate was ordered to take him 
 by force. He was attacked in his own house, 
 dragged out of his bed at midnight, and hurried 
 off to prison. The whole community was 
 
160 THE MOUNTAIN BOY. 
 
 aroused; the church bell was rung in alarm, 
 and many persons spent the night at the river's 
 side, over which the prisoner had been carried. 
 As a result of this outrage some misguided per- 
 sons were led to take vengeance ; and during 
 the agitation a band of disorderly men took 
 possession of a convent, when, by some means it 
 caught fire, and was burned to the ground. 
 
 The Romanists held Diet after Diet, and at 
 last charged four men named Rutiman, John 
 Wirt and his two sons with the crime. The 
 sons of Wirt were pastors, and the offence was 
 never proved against them, and they constantly 
 affirmed their innocence. The Romish cantons 
 called upon Zurich to give them up ; and at last, 
 in an evil hour, and contrary to Zwingli's 
 earnest entreaty, the four men were marched off 
 to Baden. A farcical trial was held, and three 
 of the men were beheaded amid scoffs and jeers. 
 
 The fire of persecution was now burning 
 fiercely. Threats came with the report of 
 every Diet that was held by the Romanists. 
 Affairs were indeed desperate. And each new 
 volley was aimed at Zwingli, who was acknow- 
 ledged on all sides to be the leader of the Re- 
 formed. No wonder that at times he became 
 discouraged. He said that he was hated and 
 
DANGER AND DEFENCE. 161 
 
 attacked because lie had preached Christ, and 
 had besought the church to abolish the abuses. 
 All the cantons made a league against Zurich 
 except Bern. The threats of war were about to 
 be fulfilled ; and the papal cantons fearing that 
 they would not have force enough to cope with 
 the brave Zurichers, made an alliance with 
 Austria by which the latter would furnish troop 
 and horse, if needful. 
 
 This brought on the u First war of Cappel." 
 All the cantons were in a state of confusion, and 
 in certain parts violence was used against the 
 Reformed. A minister of the Gospel named 
 James Keyser, while on his way to a preaching 
 appointment, was seized as he was passing 
 through a piece of forest, hurried off to the can- 
 ton of Schwitz, and burned at the stake. This 
 aroused Zwingli. The Romanists were already 
 recruiting soldiers at Zug, ostensibly with the 
 object of attacking Zurich. Zwingli said it was 
 time to arise for defence. Recruiting began 
 in Zurich ; and when the men were ready to 
 issue forth in defence of their rights, Zwingli 
 brought out his old armor that he had worn 
 during the campaigns in Italy, and went forth 
 with them. 
 
 The little army of Zurich took its way over 
 
162 THE MOUNTAIN BOY. 
 
 the Albis, and came to a halt at Cappel, within 
 its own territory. The army of Zug advanced 
 to meet them ; and when it seemed certain that 
 blood must be shed, negotiations were under- 
 taken, which resulted favorably ; and on June 
 26th, 1529, while the two armies confronted 
 each other a treaty was formed, and war was 
 averted. The conditions were that the Gospel 
 should be preached freely throughout the whole 
 confederacy ; that all alliances against it should 
 be null and void ; that the images should be left 
 to the choice of the people ; the five cantons 
 were to pay the expense of the war ; and Schwitz 
 should pay a thousand florins to the children of 
 the martyred Keyser. 
 
 The soldiers, now rejoiced, and fraternized, 
 ate and drank together, and said we are all 
 Swiss, we are brethren. Thankful that for the 
 present at least, war was averted, Zwingli re- 
 turned to his home ; but he still had fears that 
 at some future time when they should be better 
 prepared the papal cantons would renew the 
 attack; and his fears were to be sadly realized. 
 
 During the time that Zwingli was waiting for 
 the negotiations to cease, which were to avert 
 war for the time, he composed the following 
 hymn, setting it to music ; and in this form it 
 
DANGER AND DEFENCE. 163 
 
 was often sung by the Swiss. We furnish the 
 free paraphrase of another hand, in which 
 form it could very well be sung in English : — 
 
 Do Thou direct Thy chariot Lord, 
 
 And guide us at Thy will ; 
 Without Thy aid our strength is vain 
 
 And useless all our skill. 
 Look down upon Thy saints below 
 When prostrate laid beneath the foe. 
 
 Beloved Pastor, who hast saved 
 
 Our souls from death and sin : 
 Uplift Thy voice, awake Thy sheep ; 
 
 That slumbering lie within 
 Thy fold ; and curb, with Thy right hand, 
 The rage of Satan's furious band. 
 
 Send down Thy peace and banish strife, 
 
 Let bitterness depart ; 
 Revive the spirit of Thy grace 
 
 In each true Christian's heart ; 
 Then shall Thy church forever sing 
 The praises of her heavenly King. 
 
CHAPTER XV. 
 
 MEETING WITH LUTHEB. 
 
 While peace temporarily spread her mantle 
 over Switzerland, and the Reformed religion 
 was unmolested at Zurich, its central seat, 
 Zwingli was invited to meet with the great Re- 
 former of Saxony, Martin Luther, for a compa- 
 rison of their views respecting the Lord's Sup- 
 per. Zwingli, anxious that every difference 
 between the Reformers might be removed, ac- 
 cepted willingly the invitation of Philip, land- 
 grave of Hesse, to meet at his castle at Marburg 
 for a friendly conference. The council of Zurich 
 discouraged Zwingli from attempting the jour- 
 ney, for fear that he would be slain ; but he 
 persevered in his resolution, and set out unat- 
 tended for Basel, where he met his friend CEco- 
 lampadius, with whom he went on to Marburg. 
 
 Luther seems to have consented rather reluc- 
 tantly to the invitation, having doubts as to the 
 issue of the conference. Myconius says that 
 164 
 
MEETING WITH LUTHER. 165 
 
 Zwingli and QEcolampadius misunderstood Luther 
 from the beginning in presupposing that he held 
 the gross view, that we eat the body of Christ 
 j ust as we eat common food, a view which Lu- 
 ther himself repudiated ; but on the other hand 
 Luther was so bitterly opposed to both of them, 
 because he supposed that they recognized in the 
 sacrament nothing but empty signs, without the 
 real presence of Christ. There is much truth in 
 this statement, no doubt ; and their differences 
 were only those that earnest men, situated as 
 they were, might reasonably be expected to en- 
 tertain. 
 
 The conference began on October 2d, 1529, 
 in the castle, which stands on a commanding 
 height overlooking Marburg. Many interested 
 friends were present, but the discussion was 
 mainly conducted by Zwingli and (Ecolampadius 
 on one side, and Luther with Melanchthon on 
 the other. When they met in the common hall 
 Luther took a piece of chalk and wrote upon the 
 table cloth the words, in Latin : " This is my 
 body." Zwingli maintained that the meaning of 
 that Scripture was : " This signifies my body." 
 The discussion turned on the meaning of the 
 little word " is," and neither one seemed able to 
 bring the other over to his view. Luther kept 
 
166 THE MOUNTAIN BOY. 
 
 repeating the words, u This is my body," and 
 Zvvingli kept asking him if he meant that Christ's 
 body and blood were locally there, in the bread 
 and wine. The latter claimed that Christ spoke 
 in the same sense that He used in the words : ° I 
 am the vine ;" that there is a figure of speech in the 
 passage, as in the expressions : " John is Elias," 
 " The rock was Christ." Luther admitted that 
 there are figurative expressions in the Bible like 
 those mentioned, but he insisted that the words, 
 11 This is my body," were to be received literally. 
 
 There was but little hope of an entire agree- 
 ment between the reformers, for they differed, 
 just where a difference has ever since existed 
 between good men, in their views of the Lord's 
 Sapper. Zwingli brought forward the words of 
 our Saviour in John 6th, and 63 : "The flesh pro- 
 fiteth nothing ; the words that I speak unto you, 
 they are spirit, and they are life." He also quoted 
 the words of the Creed : " He ascended into 
 heaven." Also, that He was to be like His 
 brethren in all things, sin excepted ; and added : 
 " He therefore cannot be in several places at 
 once." 
 
 Zwingli farther quoted, in Greek, the words : 
 " Made himself of no reputation, and took upon 
 him the form of a servant." Luther interrupted 
 
MEETING WITH LUTHER. 167 
 
 him with : " Pv,ead it to us in Latin or in Ger- 
 man, not in Greek." Zwingli said : u Pardon 
 me ; for twelve years past I have made use of 
 the Greek Testament only." Luther continued : 
 " Most dear sirs, since my Lord Jesus Christ 
 says, ' This is my body,' I believe that His body 
 is really there." " How, then," asked Zwingli, 
 " can you avoid re-establishing popery ? You 
 say Christ's body is there ; but if it is in a place, 
 it is in heaven, whence it follows it is not in the 
 bread." Luther said : " I have nothing to do 
 with mathematical proofs. As soon as the words 
 of consecration are pronounced over the bread, 
 the body is there, however wicked be the priest 
 who pronounces them/' 
 
 It was evident, at last, to all that were pre- 
 sent, that a full agreement was not to be hoped 
 for; and the reformers on both sides were ex- 
 horted to shake hands and separate in friendship, 
 agreeing to differ in their views of the doctrine 
 under discussion. Zwingli came forward and 
 frankly, as his habit was, held out his hand, 
 which, at first, Luther refused to take. This 
 brought tears into the eyes of Zwingli, who had 
 not expected such conduct on the part of Luther; 
 and the Landgrave added his earnest exhorta- 
 tion that they should separate as friends. Ac- 
 
168 THE MOUNTAIN BOY. 
 
 counts differ as to the final result in regard to 
 the hand shaking. Daubigne says: "Luther 
 then advanced towards the Swiss, and said, 'We 
 consent, and I offer you the hand of peace and 
 charity.' The Swiss rushed in great emotion 
 towards the Wittenbergers, and all shook hands." 
 
 Some resolutions of concord were then drawn 
 up, the last words of which are as follows: 
 " And although we have not been able now to 
 agree, as to whether the true body and blood of 
 Christ are corporeally present in the bread and 
 wine, yet one party ought to exercise Christian 
 charity towards the other, as far as each con- 
 science can possibly allow it, and both parties 
 ought to beseech God fervently, to lead us by 
 His Spirit to a right understanding. Amen." 
 
 The following, given by Hottinger, as a letter 
 written by Luther to a friend, also throws light 
 upon this historic interview : " They," the 
 Swiss, " promised with many words, they would 
 yield this much to us, that the person of Christ 
 was really, though spiritually, present in the 
 Holy Supper, if we would only esteem them 
 worthy of the name of brethren, and in this way 
 feign a reconciliation. Zwingli begged it with 
 tears in his eyes before the Landgrave and all 
 present, while he added : l There are no men 
 
MEETING WITH LUTHER. 169 
 
 with whom I would rather be united than with 
 the Wittenbergers.' They never could endure 
 my saying : * You have another spirit than we.' 
 Finally we granted so much, that it might stand 
 at the conclusion of the article, not indeed that 
 we were brethren, but that we would not with- 
 draw from them our love, which is due even to 
 an enemy." That Luther himself was pained at 
 the result of the interview is evident from ano- 
 ther statement made, as Christoffel informs, us in 
 writing, on his departure from Marburg : " I 
 crawled liked a worm in the dust, and so tor- 
 mented was I, by the devil, that I thought never 
 more to have seen nor wife, nor child ; I, the 
 comforter of distressed souls, was without com- 
 fort." 
 
 Daubigne gives the following reflection, on 
 the close of the conference : "If Luther had 
 yielded, it might have been feared that the 
 church would fall into the extreme of rational- 
 ism; if Zwingli, that it would rush into the ex- 
 treme of Popery. It is a salutary thing for the 
 church that these different views should be en- 
 tertained; but it is a pernicious thing for indi- 
 viduals to attach themselves to one of them, in 
 such a manner as to anathematize the others. 
 If it is maintained that a wicked priest operates 
 
170 TEE MOUNTAIN BOY. 
 
 this real presence of Christ by three words, we 
 enter the church of the Pope. Luther appeared 
 sometimes to admit this doctrine, but he has 
 often spoken in a more spiritual manner; and 
 taking this great man in his best moments, we 
 behold no more than an essential unity and a 
 secondary diversity in the two parties of the 
 reformation." It is pleasant to look at the 
 matter in this light, and here we leave the sub- 
 ject of the controversy, only adding a word as 
 to Zwingli's real views of the Sacrament as we 
 find them expressed in his writings. 
 
 In the eighteenth article of his famous sixty- 
 seven theses, he says : " Christ offered Himself 
 once, and is forever a permanent compensative 
 sacrifice for the sins of all believers : Whence 
 we conclude that the mass is not a sacrifice, but 
 a commemoration of a sacrifice, and a seal of the 
 redemption which He has procured for us." In 
 the confession which he sent Francis I, shortly 
 before his death, he writes: "We believe that 
 Christ is truly present in the Lord's Supper; 
 yea, we believe that there is no communion 
 without the presence of Christ." And again : 
 "We believe that the true body of Christ is 
 eaten in the communion in a sacramental and 
 spiritual manner by the religious, believing, 
 
MEETING WITH LUTHER. 171 
 
 and pious heart, as also St. Chrysostom taught." 
 Zwingli also compared the sacrament to a wed- 
 ding ring which seals the marriage-union ; and 
 he make3 the act of communing, a confession of 
 the believer's faith, and an expression of grati- 
 tude for blessings received. In this he has been 
 instrumental in voicing the sentiment of the 
 whole protestant church, nearly. Calvin indeed 
 emphasized the reality of the spiritual presence 
 of Christ at the supper; but had he been spared 
 to see the time of Calvin, Zwingli would, with- 
 out doubt, have adopted his more elaborate 
 definition, for their views were not conflicting. 
 
 The conference at Marburg was now ended, 
 and Zwingli returned in safety to his home, to 
 resume his arduous duties. The pen of the re- 
 former wrought marvellously. His published 
 books give evidence of the industry with which 
 he labored. They consist of four folio volumes 
 containing the following works, — Articles of 
 Faith. — An Exhortation, to the whole State 
 of Switzerland. — A Supplication to the Bishop 
 of Constance. — Of the Certainty and Parity of 
 God's Word. — On the Fathers. — Institution for 
 Youth. — A Good Shepherd. — Of Justice, Divine 
 and Human. — Of Providence. — A Treatise on 
 Baptism — On Original Sin. On True and False 
 
172 THE MOUNTAIN BOY. 
 
 Religion. — An Epistle to the Princes of Ger- 
 many. — On the Lord's Supper. — On Christian 
 Faith. — Commentaries on Genesis, Exodus, Isa- 
 iah, Jeremiah, and The Psalms from the Hebrew 
 and Latin. His works on the New Testament 
 are, History of our Saviour's Passion. — Notes 
 on the four Gospels, the Epistles to the Romans, 
 Corinthians, Philippians, Colossians, Thessalo- 
 nians and Hebrews; the Epistle of James, and 
 the first Epistle of John. For the most part 
 they were written in German, and afterwards 
 translated into Latin. 
 
 We can but wonder how, amid all his other 
 duties, he found time to produce this vast amount 
 of literature. He once complained: "No man 
 is more unfortunately situated than I for writing 
 books. It is owing to the evil nature of the 
 times. For it drags me out, who would rather 
 keep silence and lie concealed, and compels me 
 to write, while it obstinately refuses me leisure 
 to do the work ; and the years requisite for the 
 employment of the file." He sees the hand of 
 Providence in all this, however, and would be 
 willing to have all his works pass into oblivion, 
 if he could only get the Holy Scriptures into 
 general circulation, and use. During all this 
 time he preached incessantly, besides attending 
 
MEETING WITH LUTHER. 173 
 
 conferences at Bern and elsewhere in which the 
 chief labor of formulating the doctrines of the 
 Eeformed fell upon him. At the same time, he 
 went forward with his pastoral work in Zurich, 
 received a multitude of visitors, and attended 
 to the training of his own children. 
 
 His heart was with his family, while his mind 
 was at work for the cause he had espoused. 
 This we see from a letter which he wrote while 
 at Bern. " Grace and peace from God, dearest 
 wife. I praise God that he hath given you a 
 happy recovery. He will grant us grace to bring 
 up our children according to his will. Pray to 
 God for me, and for us all. Greet for me all our 
 children, especially comfort Margaretha in my 
 name." This shows us what a kind heart dwelt 
 in Zwingli. Christoffel says: "This man, who 
 investigated with such penetration, and zeal, the 
 sacred depths in which truth conceals itself from 
 the unconsecrated eye ; who wrought in the vine- 
 yard of the Lord with the lofty ardor of an 
 apostle — this man we often find, in his hours of 
 recreation, at the cradle of his little one, sing- 
 ing children's songs to the accompaniment of the 
 lute, or some other instrument, which he knew." 
 
 This love to his family should endear him to 
 every heart. 
 
CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 DEATH AT CAPPEL. 
 
 A glance at almost any picture, representing 
 the city of Zurich, will afford the reader a view 
 of the water-front, where the strong current of 
 the Limmat sweeps onward towards the Rhine. 
 A few steps away from the quay which borders 
 the right bank, and, as already described, rest- 
 ing on the side of the terrace, stayed by the 
 ancient buttresses built before the Reformation 
 period, stands the cathedral in which Zwingli 
 preached. A little farther from the river bank 
 we may see the house in which he lived. It is 
 a plain, but substantial structure, having its 
 gable towards the church, with two stories and 
 attic, in the latter of which there are two win- 
 dows, while in each of the lower stories there 
 are four windows ; so that, by this mark, tho 
 house is easily identified. A large and pleasant 
 garden adjoins the house on the south side, 
 giving the place a home-like, and inviting, ap- 
 174 
 
DEATH AT CAPPEL. 175 
 
 pearance. Here it was that Zwingli dwelt in 
 joy, with his household, delighting to entertain 
 the many guests, who came to him for temporal 
 and spiritual comfort. 
 
 Many were the afflicted pastors that fled to 
 this refuge, when the persecutions grew threat- 
 ening and the outlook for the Eeformed was 
 gloomy, and the heavy hand of the enemy lay 
 upon them. Those who came, like poor ATyconius, 
 who before this had been thrust out of Lucerne, 
 were sure of a hearty welcome, and besides 
 were refreshed and encouraged by the cheerful- 
 ness of the great Reformer, who, up to the time 
 of which we are now about to write, was noted 
 for his wonderful courage and hope. He used 
 to say : " Whoever is filled with the Spirit of 
 God, is ever on the alert to do something for 
 the benefit of his fellow-men, is unwearied in 
 every good work, and rather is fearful that he 
 may do less than he ought. "We must there- 
 fore be active and fervent in our labors, not 
 sleepy nor slothful; we must not withdraw 
 from the divine calling, nor take holiday, but 
 be ever on the alert, and bear a ready hand to 
 the work." 
 
 This injunction to be diligent in labor, the 
 Reformer himself fully exemplified in his own 
 
176 THE MOUNTAIN BOY. 
 
 life. Of naturally a strong physical constitu- 
 tion, frugal in diet ; as in his youth still using 
 milk and the other products of the dairy, as 
 his chief articles of food, he was enabled to 
 undergo great strains of labor and anxiety. 
 When in 1526, CEcolampadius, and Haller were 
 disputing with Dr. Eck, in the council at Ba- 
 den, Zwingli who, remained in Zurich, did not 
 retire to bed for six weeks, being occupied the 
 whole night, in preparing answers to the charges 
 of the papists. Only the strong frame of a 
 mountaineer could support nature under the 
 heavy pressure that lay upon him. His home 
 was indeed his castle; there he found loving 
 hearts and helpful counsel, and from thence he 
 went forth, with renewed strength, to his ap- 
 pointed work, in the pulpit, the council, and 
 the pastorate. 
 
 But as we have intimated, a change in the 
 posture of affairs at Zurich was now at hand. 
 The treaty made with the five papal cantons at 
 the first war of Cappel was extremely distaste- 
 ful to the latter. They saw that the Reforma- 
 tion was steadily gaining ground. Zwingli, its 
 great leader, was indefatigable in his efforts, and 
 was winning many hearts not only in Zurich, 
 but also in Bern, and in St. Gaul, and in the 
 
DEATH AT CAPPEL. 177 
 
 regions surrounding the Toggenburg. It was 
 evident that the five cantons were preparing for 
 another warlike demonstration. The Reformed 
 looked to a union of those who were favorable 
 to their views. Zwingli was especially in accord 
 with this plan. 
 
 Slanderous reports were now freely circulated 
 throughout the land by the papists, and this 
 was done while the treaty was in full force that 
 no abusive language should be used. It was 
 said : ' Zwingli is a thief, a murderer, an arch- 
 heretic,' and that it was the duty of the five 
 cantons to sweep away the entire body of Re- 
 formers from the face of the earth. Against the 
 pastor of Zurich the fierceness of the intended 
 persecution was aimed. One pensioner said : 
 " I shall have no rest, until I have thrust my 
 sword up to the hilt in the body of this impious 
 wretch." Threats were followed by deeds of 
 violence. The five cantons pursued all among 
 those who loved the Word of God. They flung 
 them into prison, imposed fines upon them, 
 brutally tormented them, and mercilessly ex- 
 pelled them from their country. It was evident 
 that this state of affairs could not last much 
 longer. 
 
 The Bernese and Zurichers, now acting in 
 12 
 
178 THE MOUNTAIN BOY. 
 
 concert, while casting about them for some 
 means to check these outrages, were reminded 
 that, at a former time, the five cantons had 
 established a blockade against the Keformed. 
 They now resolved to turn the tables, and close 
 up their markets against the foe, until they 
 allowed the Word of God to be freely preached, 
 according to the treaty. Against this course 
 Zwingli was strongly opposed. He believed 
 that by this means many worthy people would 
 suffer hardship, that the five cantons would only 
 be aggravated to adopt more extreme measures 
 and that thus the difficulties of the situation 
 would be greatly increased. He was rather in 
 favor of active measures ; for even making a 
 declaration of war, and pushing the issue, that 
 he now saw was inevitable, to a conclusion at 
 once. 
 
 But the pastor of Zurich, whose advice in 
 matters of religion had been so widely honored, 
 found that he had entered a different field when 
 he assumed to give counsel in matters of state. 
 The measures of the blockade having been 
 agreed upon, it became his duty to announce 
 the fact from his pulpit. Daubigne says : " On 
 the following Sunday Zwingli appeared in his 
 church, where an immense crowd was waiting 
 
DEATH AT CAPPEL. 179 
 
 for him. His piercing eye easily discovered the 
 dangers of the measure, in a political point of 
 view, and his Christian heart deeply felt all its 
 cruelty. His soul was overburdened, his eyes 
 downcast. After the regular services were 
 concluded, he proceeded to read the resolutions 
 which had been adopted, declaring that the 
 Waldstetters were to be excluded from their 
 markets. But he immediately added his pro- 
 test : ' Men of Zurich ! you deny food to the 
 five cantons, as to evil-doers : well ! let the blow 
 follow the threat, rather than reduce poor inno- 
 cent creatures to starvation. If, by not taking 
 the offensive, you appear to believe that there is 
 not sufficient reason for punishing the Wald- 
 stetters, and yet you refuse them food and drink, 
 you will force them, by this line of conduct, to 
 take up arms, to raise their hands, and to in- 
 flict punishment upon you. This is the fate that 
 awaits you.' " A sad but true prophecy, as the 
 sequel proved, and one that would involve the 
 Eeformer in its painful result. 
 
 The difficulty of enforcing the orders given 
 for the blockade may be easily imagined. What- 
 ever indignities the five cantons had heaped 
 upon the Eeformed, it was unwise in them to 
 adopt this expedient for defence. The forest 
 
180 THE MOUNTAIN BOY. 
 
 cantons, Lucerne, Zug, Schwitz, Uri, and Unter- 
 walden were bound in firm bonds to the inter- 
 ests of the papacy. Their territory lay between 
 that of Zurich and Bern; the effect of the 
 blockade therefore was to hem them in and cut 
 off their supplies, which they usually obtained 
 from the larger towns, like Zurich, Bern, and 
 Basel, all of which under the influence of 
 Zwingli and others, had embraced the Eeformed 
 faith. The union of Zurich with Bern was 
 cemented by the conference which had been 
 held in the latter city early in the year 1528, 
 which lasted for eighteen days, and in which 
 Zwingli distinguished himself, both in the part 
 he took in the learned discussions, and in the 
 two famous sermons which he preached on the 
 occasion. From that time onward the Bernese 
 acted with Zurich; but in the matter of the 
 blockade, the greatest burden of defence would 
 fall upon the latter, while the former had been 
 the means of bringing it about. 
 
 The measures of the blockade were now en- 
 forced; the Reformed closed their markets 
 against the five cantons, allowing them to re- 
 ceive neither corn nor wine, salt, iron nor steel, 
 until they should allow the Gospel to be preached 
 among them without persecution. When the 
 
DEATH AT CAPPEL. 181 
 
 wagons of the people of the five cantons, were 
 driven towards the large towns, they were 
 stopped at the border of the canton, unloaded, 
 upset, and turned into barricades for soldiers. 
 The year previous had been one of great scarcity 
 in the forest cantons, and the Sweating-sickness 
 had broken out among the people; and now, worst 
 of all, their supplies were cut off by the very 
 cantons against whom they had held a bitter 
 grudge, since the peace of Cappel. The people 
 of Schwitz, appeared openly with pine-branches 
 in their hats, the old form of a declaration of 
 war. Their allies were everywhere taking down 
 their halberds and sharpening them for their in- 
 tended bloody work. Recruiting went briskly 
 forward, forces were mustering, and tidings were 
 borne by each new comer to Zurich, that the war 
 would soon begin. 
 
 And what preparations are the people making 
 for defence ? Life went on as usual at Zurich ; 
 the people seemed to be at ease, and the council 
 payed no heed to the alarming tidings which 
 came to them 'from beyond the mountains. 
 Zwingli went forward with his daily labors. He 
 preached at the regular hours; he visited the 
 sick, and neglected none of his usual duties. 
 The early morning hours he devoted specially 
 
182 THE MOUNTAIN BOY. 
 
 to prayer and the study of the Scriptures, till 
 the hour arrived which summoned him into the 
 church to preach, or to give the lecture in the 
 hall of the Academy. In the evening, as usual, 
 he was engaged with his extensive correspond- 
 ence ; now encouraging the people of St. Gaul, 
 who had taken a noble stand for the truth, cast- 
 ing out all the images from their houses of wor- 
 ship ; or writing to those who sought spiritual 
 counsel and comfort. But the spirit of former 
 days had fled from him. The sound of music is 
 now seldom heard in his apartments. He pores 
 over the gloomy Prophecies of Jeremiah, as if 
 he found something in those lamentations suited 
 to the distracted condition of his own times and 
 country. 
 
 One night he went out, with some friends, to 
 confer with Parson Bullinger at Bremgarten. 
 During this nocturnal conference, three town 
 councillors were stationed as sentinels before 
 the parsonage. Before daylight Zwingli took 
 his way homeward ; his mind was filled with a 
 presentiment of his approaching death. Bathed 
 in tears, he said at parting: "0 my dear 
 Henry, may God protect you. Be faithful to 
 our Lord Jesus Christ and His church." And 
 so they parted. The advice seemed most timely, 
 
DEATH AT CAPPEL. 183 
 
 in view of the fact that Bullinger became his 
 successor in Zurich. The Reformer once, in 
 those days, gave vent to his feelings in his pul- 
 pit, in the following language : " I see that the 
 most faithful warnings cannot save you ; you 
 will not punish the pensioners of the foreigner. 
 They have too firm a support among us ! A 
 chain is prepared — behold it entire — it unrolls 
 link after link — soon they will bind me with it, 
 and more than one pious Zuricher with me. . . 
 It is against me they are enraged ! I am ready ; 
 I submit to the Lord's will. But these people 
 shall never be my masters 1 " 
 
 The Zurichers still continuing passive, Zwingli, 
 after a long struggle with himself, and earnest 
 prayer, handed in his resignation to the council, 
 stating that he had labored among them for 
 eleven years, but that he could not now arouse 
 them to a sense of their common peril, and 
 therefore asked them to relieve him of his pas- 
 torate. This they refused to do ; and the Re- 
 former, with his characteristic sense of honor, 
 would not voluntarily leave them in the time of 
 trial. A messenger now arrived from Lucerne, 
 with the tidings that the standard of battle had 
 been planted in the great square. This was the 
 rallying point for all the soldiers of the five 
 
184 THE MOUNTAIN BOY. 
 
 cantons. A hasty proclamation was sent forth 
 to the effect that the attacks made upon the 
 treaties, the discord sown throughout the Con- 
 federation, and especially the refusal to sell them 
 provisions, was the cause of the warfare. Hardly 
 had the messengers, bearing these despatches, 
 departed, before the army was put in motion. 
 Upon entering the free districts, the soldiers en- 
 tered the churches and observed that the images 
 had been removed ; this aroused their anger, 
 and they pillaged and plundered without limit, 
 especially in the houses of the pastors. At the 
 same time, the division that was to form the 
 main army marched upon Zug, thence to move 
 upon Zurich. 
 
 The Zurichers were under a complete delu- 
 sion ; the members of the council simply said, 
 when the first news of the war came, that the 
 five cantons were only making a little noise to 
 frighten them. But when the enemy appeared 
 at Zug refugees hastened to Zurich with their 
 woful tidings. Now the whole city was 
 aroused. A straggling -army was- hastily 
 brought together ; a few energetic men pushed 
 on to the old battle field, on the border line of 
 their territory, at Cappel. This had been the 
 seat of an ancient convent, hence the name 
 
DEATH AT CAPPEL. 185 
 
 Cappel, or Chapel. Citizens with members of 
 the council were seizing their arms ; a reign of 
 terror had commenced, and a sudden attack 
 upon the defenceless city was feared. It was 
 needful that men should go on towards Cappel, 
 that the blood-thirsty cantoners might be turned 
 back. A horse, ready saddled, stood pawing 
 the ground, and champing his bit, in front of 
 the Parsonage in Zurich. He is to bear his 
 master away to the battle-field. At the orders 
 of the council, and in keeping with the old 
 Swiss customs, he must attend the little army 
 as chaplain, that he may cheer up the men, and 
 give comfort to the dying. We have seen that 
 Zwingli was without any hope that the expedi- 
 tion would be successful. He went forth from 
 a sense of duty, under the presentiment that he 
 would never see his dear wife and children on 
 earth again. 
 
 Poor Anna Zwingli, had a double portion of 
 sorrow to bear that day. Her early life had 
 been filled with sadness, but in later years, she 
 had been happy in the home of her husband, 
 with her little ones growing up around her. 
 But to-day that sweet cup of domestic bliss is 
 embittered by fears and anxious forebodings. 
 Her husband, her son Gerold, and her brother 
 
186 THE MOUNTAIN BOY. 
 
 are all hastening away to the battle-field, she 
 will never see them more until they meet in 
 the land where there are no partings. Zwingli 
 took down his armor from the wall ; he bade 
 his w 7 eeping wife and children farewell, and as 
 if riding to his martyrdom, as he was, without 
 enthusiasm, without hope, he followed, with the 
 little army, along the windings of the Sihl, up 
 towards the top of the Albis. 
 
 When on the way, if any one spoke to 
 Zwingli, he w r as found firm in faith : he did not 
 conceal the presentiment that he should never 
 see his church or family again. There was but 
 little enthusiasm on the part of the troops 
 either. It w ? as rather the march of a funeral 
 procession than of an army, except that all was 
 disorder and confusion. Along the whole route, 
 some ten or twelve miles distance from Zurich, 
 messengers came running in breathless haste 
 urging them to come to the assistance of their 
 brethren. 
 
 When they were half way to Cappel, and 
 climbing up the steep side of Mt. Albis, they 
 heard the report of the first shot fired by the 
 enemy. It had passed over the convent of 
 Cappel ; and was the signal for immediate action. 
 This nerved the men to renewed effort; they 
 
DEATH AT CAPPEL. 187 
 
 pushed on, overburdened with armor, dragging 
 the artillery, panting, fainting, leaning against 
 the trees for a moment's rest, and appearing to 
 be stragglers rather than soldiers. 
 
 Once on the summit, they paused a moment 
 to take breath, and look down into the region 
 where the battle was already raging ; to many 
 of them it was to be a field of death. 
 
 Here the little army halted for counsel ; some 
 were for delaying until more recruits should 
 come in. But the advanced guard of the Zu- 
 richers, were already engaging the enemy, 
 within their sight, having only a handful of 
 men while the enemy were present in over- 
 whelming numbers. Zwingli said : " How can 
 we stay calmly upon these heights, while we 
 hear the shots that are fired at our fellow- 
 citizens ? In the name of God I will march to- 
 wards our warriors, prepared to die in order to 
 save them." This is indeed a critical moment ! 
 that some Frederic the Wise were here to 
 bear this man of God hence, even as he bore 
 Luther away to the castle of Wartburg ! Bat 
 this was not to be ; there was one life that all 
 that army of the Cantons had been marshalled 
 to extinguish, and the hour of their triumph 
 was at hand. 
 
188 THE MOUNTAIN BOY. 
 
 The tide of battle soon swept over the place 
 where the Reformer, and the troops of Zurich, 
 were passing. From a dense piece of woods, 
 near at hand, the enemy poured forth a mur- 
 derous volley which swept down many Zurichers 
 before it. Soon after this the Reformer, while 
 he was bending over a fallen countryman to 
 give him Christian comfort, was struck on his 
 helmet by a stone, with such force that he was 
 thrown to the ground. In this fact we see the 
 importance of Zwingli having armor upon his 
 person. Though lie carried weapons of the old 
 Swiss pattern, he did not use them. The chap- 
 lains in those times, wore armor, as chaplains 
 now w T ear uniforms. He soon summoned up 
 strength to rise again, when he received a fatal 
 stroke from a spear. He again fell and ex- 
 claimed : " What evil is this ? They can kill the 
 body, but they cannot kill the soul." These 
 were his last words. 
 
 Night spread her mantle over the scene of 
 carnage. Some prowling soldiers, discovered 
 Zwingli lying near a pear tree, against which 
 his body partly leaned : his hands were firmly 
 clasped, his lips moved in prayer, while his 
 eyes were directed heavenward: "Will you 
 confess, shall we fetch a priest ?" they cry to 
 
DEATH AT CAPPEL. 189 
 
 him. He only shakes his head. "Then call 
 upon the mother of God, and the blessed saints, 
 in your heart," they cry. The dying man 
 heeds them not. The soldiers uttered a volley 
 of oaths over the fallen man, saying : " No doubt 
 you are one of those heretics of Zurich." One 
 man, being anxious to know who he was, and as 
 it was already growing dark, stooped down, 
 raised his head and turned it toward the camp- 
 fire, which had been kindled near by, and then 
 dropping it heavily, exclaimed, u I think it is 
 Zwingli " ! An officer, named Captain Bockin- 
 ger, from Unterwalden, a papist, and a pensioner, 
 upon hearing the name Zwingli, hurried to the 
 spot. He said : " Zwingli ! that vile heretic, 
 that rascal, that traitor ! Die then, obstinate 
 heretic ! " and suiting the action to the word, he 
 struck him with his sword, inflicting a fatal 
 wound. 
 
 Thus on October, 12th, 1531, the spirit of that 
 noble man took its flight to that God whose ser- 
 vice had been, for years past, his delightful em- 
 ploy. The morning dawned. The victors spread 
 themselves upon the field to gloat over the havoc 
 they had wrought. They found the remains of 
 many noble men who had died in the vain at- 
 tempt to turn away danger from their homes. 
 
190 THE MOUNTAIN BOY. 
 
 Some twenty pastors of the Eeformed lay 
 stretched upon the field, among the slain. At 
 last the conquerers reached the pear-tree where 
 lay the lifeless body of Zwingli. " Immediately 
 the drums beat to muster ; the dead body was 
 tried, and it was decreed that it should be quar- 
 tered for treason against the Confederation, and 
 then burnt for heresy. The executioner of Lu- 
 cerne carried out the sentence. Flames con- 
 sumed Zwingli's disjointed members ; the ashes 
 of swine were mingled with his : and a lawless 
 multitude rushing upon his remains, flung them 
 to the four winds of heaven." Some kind- 
 hearted Reformers, it is said, have planted 
 young pear-trees on the spot where Zwingli fell ; 
 as each successive tree grew old, therefore, a 
 new tree was ready to take its place, and a 
 ° Zwingli pear-tree," is found here at the pre- 
 sent time. Also a metal plate is inserted in the 
 rock near by, and at the road-side, bearing a 
 German and Latin inscription, descriptive of 
 Zwingli's death. Yet he has a better monument 
 than this in the affection of many Christian 
 hearts. 
 
 After some time of warlike demonstration 
 between the two armies, following that bloody 
 contest on the 12th of October, negotiations 
 
DEATH AT CAPPEL. 191 
 
 were entered into looking to a final peace. On 
 the 16th of November, the following articles 
 were adopted. " The Reformation shall be 
 guaranteed in Zurich, and all her immediate 
 dependencies, as well as in other places where it 
 has been received ; yet all those, who may wish 
 to return to the mass, or to prove by a new 
 vote, which is the prevailing party, shall be at 
 liberty to do so. Church property was to be 
 divided according to the census, and Zurich 
 pledged herself to abstain from any farther in- 
 tervention, where she had no claim to rule." 
 And so ended the second war of Cappel. 
 
 Poor Anna Zwingli, when the tidings were 
 borne to her of her husband's death, sank down 
 upon her knees, and with her weeping children 
 around her called upon the God of the widow, 
 and the fatherless. Her son, her brother, and 
 her brother-in-law had also been slain. But 
 she knew where to turn in her overwhelming 
 affliction ; she trusted in Christ. 
 
 Zwingli was not forty-eight years of age 
 when he thus laid down his life for his coun- 
 try, and for his faith in God. He still lives, in 
 the affection of all those who long to see the 
 human mind freed from the bonds of ignorance, 
 and the soul freed from the shackles of spiritual 
 
192 THE MOUNTAIN BOY. 
 
 despotism. Wherever the religion of Protest- 
 antism is spread over the earth, there will 
 men admire the learning, the loftiness of soul, 
 the courage and the piety of Ulric Zwingli. 
 
 " Servant of God, well done ! 
 
 Rest from Thy loved employ ; 
 The battle fought, the victory won, 
 Enter Thy Master's joy ! 
 
 The voice at twilight came ; 
 
 He started up to hear ; 
 A mortal arrow pierced his frame ; 
 
 He fell, but felt no fear. 
 
 His spirit with a bound 
 
 Left its encumbering clay : 
 His tent, at sunrise, on the ground 
 
 A darkened ruin lay. 
 
 The pains of death are past, 
 
 Labor and sorrow cease, 
 And life's long warfare closed at last, 
 
 His soul is found in peace. 
 
 Soldier of Christ, well done ! 
 
 Praise be Thy new employ ; 
 And while eternal ages run, 
 
 Rest in Thy Saviour's joy ! "