Page:Balthasar Hübmaier.djvu/353

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The Moravian Anabaptists
271

labours disappeared as utterly as the wake of a vessel in the ocean. Shall we, therefore, declare that they lived and laboured in vain? Did such as Hübmaier give their lives for naught? Not so. Hübmaier's contribution to the gradual progress of the truth, to the slow emancipation of man, to the final triumph of religious and civil liberty, was not only considerable but lasting. His name, his example, and his teachings were long cherished by the brotherhood; and when his name and example had faded from recollection, his teachings lived on. In an age of credulity and superstition he stood for the gospel proclaimed by the Apostles. Among people groaning under the exactions of an effete feudalism and oppressed by despotic and selfish princes, he advocated justice and mercy on the part of rulers, sobriety and obedience on the part of subjects. At a time when intolerance and persecution were universal, his was the voice of one crying in the wilderness for restoration of the God-given right of every man to study the Scriptures for himself, and to follow whithersoever they might lead.

"TRUTH IS IMMORTAL"