"Praised be God, who will cause his holy Word to prevail in heaven and earth!" exclaimed Zwingle. Upon this Faber could not restrain his indignation. "The theses of Master Ulrich," said he, "are contrary to the honour of the Church and the doctrine of Christ; and I will prove it." "Do so," replied Zwingle. But Faber declined his challenge, except it should be at Paris, Cologne, or Friburg. "I will have no other judge than the Gospel," said Zwingle. "Sooner than you can shake one of its words, the earth will open before you."[473] "The Gospel!" sneered Faber, "always the Gospel!......Men might live in holiness, peace, and charity, even if there were no Gospel."[474]
At these words the spectators rose indignantly from their seats. Thus terminated the disputation.
CHAPTER II.
Papal Temptations—Progress of the Reformation—The Idol at Stadelhofen—Sacrilege—The Ornaments of the Saints.
PAPAL TEMPTATIONS.
The Reformation had gained the day; it was now to accelerate its conquests. After this battle of Zurich, in which the most skilful champions of the papacy were dumb, who would be bold enough to oppose the new doctrine? But weapons of a different kind were tried. Zwingle's firmness and republican bearing overawed his adversaries; accordingly they had recourse to peculiar measures to subdue him. While Rome was pursuing Luther with her anathemas, she endeavoured to win over the reformer of Zurich by gentleness. The dispute was scarcely ended when Zwingle received a visit from the captain of the pope's guard—the son of the burgomaster Roust. He was accompanied by the legate Einsius, the bearer of a papal brief, in which Adrian VI. called Zwingle his beloved son, and assured him of "his special favour."[475] At the same time the pope urged Zink to gain over Zwingle. "And what has the pope commissioned you to offer him?" asked Oswald Myconius. "Everything," replied Zink, "except the papal chair."[476]
ZWINGLE'S FIRMNESS—FABER'S HOSTILITY.
There was no mitre, or crozier, or cardinal's hat, that the pope would not have given to bribe the reformer of Zurich. But Rome was strangely mistaken in this respect; all her proposals were unavailing. In Zwingle, the Romish Church had a still more pitiless enemy than Luther. He cared far less than the Saxon reformer for the ideas and ceremonies of former ages; it was enough for him that any custom, however innocent in itself, was connected with some abuse; he fell violently upon it. The Word of God (thought he) should stand alone.
But if Rome understood so imperfectly what was then taking place in Christendom, she found counsellors who endeavoured to put her in the way.