CHAPTER XXVII THE PROTESTANT REVOLT IN SWITZERLAND AND ENGLAND I. ZWINGLI AND THE REFORMATION AT ZURICH 256. The The teachings of Zwingli were regarded by some, first dispu- including the bishop of Constance, as dangerous if not Zurich in heretical. In the hope of coming at the truth, the burgo- Zwingii master of Zurich summoned the clergy of the region to defended his a conference in January, 1523. The discussion given teachings J Jf J ° & (1523). below between Zwingli and the vicar of the bishop of Constance admirably illustrates a great contrast between the Protestant and the Catholic points of view. 1 Zwingli offers Then Master Ulrich Zwingli spoke as follows: "Pious to defend his brothers in Christ, you know that now in our time, as also (Condensed ) f° r manv years heretofore, the pure, clear, and bright light, the word of God, has been so dimmed and confused and darkened with human ambitions and teachings that the majority who call themselves Christians know but little of the divine will. But by their own invented service of God, by their own holiness, by external acts founded upon customs and law, they have gone astray ; and the simple-minded have been so influenced by those whom people consider learned guides that they think that such invented external worship is spiritual, although all our true happiness, consolation, and good consist, not in our merits, nor in such external works, but rather alone in Jesus Christ our Saviour. His will and 1 The extracts here given are taken from the report of Hegenwald, a schoolmaster of Zurich and a friend of Zwingli's. For the whole document, see Selected Works of Huldreich Zwingli, edited by S. M. Jackson, New York, 1901. 118
