From the intolerable burdens, which they have piled upon the shoulders of christians;--deliver us, O Lord.
Command them to bear and to do what they require from others.
And if they cannot be brought by other means to make Thy yoke easy to us and Thy burden light--force them to it, O Lord.
From his continued good-will toward Erasmus, Zwingli had sent him a copy of this production. But the tone of it did not please the elder and more considerate friend, although he himself in former years had made sparing use neither of ridicule nor censure. "I adjure thee"--he wrote--"by the honor of the Gospel, to which, as I know, thou hast consecrated thy whole heart, as we are all bound to do, that thou wilt treat serious things in a serious manner, and not forget evangelical modesty and prudence. Take counsel first from thy learned friends, before thou makest anything public. I fear thy apology will bring thee into great danger and be prejudicial to the Gospel." Though Zwingli felt the warning and returned thanks, it was not able to change his mind. For directly after the appearance of the Latin Archeteles he lent a helping hand in the publication of an address designed for the people, which was still more rough in its language. It consisted of comments on the above-quoted pastoral letter of the Bishop, and was edited anonymously and scattered everywhere by the Franciscan, Sebastian Meier of Bern, and his friends. A single passage, and that not one of the most severe, may serve to show its spirit:
"Dost thou see, dear Christian, where the shoe pinches them? They complain that Paul is preached. He pictures them so near to the life, and points out the office of the true bishop. When we preach up this, then a sheep can see, that those horned idols are not bishops but carnival-spectres, and such as the children make on St. Claus' day. Would to God they were as harmless! Why has it not vexed them that Aristotle, Cicero, fables, examples, Scotus, Thomas and silly stories are preached? I will tell thee. It does not injure them in their pomp. But Paul, who is now by common consent preached in many places, is consistent with himself, and pierces them in their princely splendor, voluptuous wantonness, and insatiable avarice. Hence they complain. Dear younkers, because you deal thus with facts and Paul teaches the contrary, what shape will you take, if we preach St. Peter? He snatches off your hoods and shows as well as St. Paul what horned cattle you are."
It is easy to see that writings like these must have made the breach incurable, and we durst suppose, that Zwingli himself perceived the possibility of it, and in such an event was clear in his resolves. The end of the subordinate relation of Zurich to the Bishop, as well as the beginning of a changed order, was closely connected with the Archeteles. For the origin and founding of this new church-government we pass on to the following chapter.
FOOTNOTES TO CHAPTER SECOND:
Footnote [1] [Instead of putting these altered versions into our own language, we give the poems as found in the English translation of Merle D'Aubigne's History of the Reformation, because the German of Zwingli has there been followed, and their original form and spirit better preserved.--Trans.]
Footnote [2] This was the only means, as a letter, sent by Francis Zink from Einsiedeln to the government of Zurich, clearly shows, of keeping him in the city; for it was impossible any longer to pay the two assistants, whom he was bound to maintain, out of his own salary, without the pension of the Pope; nevertheless, in order to gain perfect freedom of speech, instead of accepting the doubling of the Romish allowance just then promised, he declined receiving from the legate what had hitherto been paid. Under these circumstances his friend Henry Engelhart came to his assistance, since, he having also a benefice in the church of Notre Dame (Frauen-Muenster), resigned his post in the cathedral, in Zwingli's favor.
Footnote [3] To avoid repetition in the answers, we will hereafter give those only, which contain something new, or characteristic.