very difficult to persuade the most prominent leaders to use measures
of conciliation. The Zugers distinguished themselves by their wild
passion and energy. In order to increase their influence, they sought
and obtained admission into the old confederation of the Four Forest
Cantons, and they were the first who broached the idea of another
alliance with Austria. At the very time, when Collin was dispatched to
Venice, bailiff Thoss of Zug set out for Genoa, and obtained an
audience of the Emperor, whom he followed to Bologna, where he was
graciously received by the Pope. Bern had informed Zurich of this
occurrence, and expressed her anxiety. Perhaps it was through his
reports, that the Five Cantons were induced to send a delegation to the
Imperial Diet at Augsburg, in the summer of 1530. The delegation
consisted of the _landvogt_ of the canton of Luzern and the son of the
then _schultheiss_, Hug, to whom _Baptista ab Isola_ of Genoa was yet
added. The latter, who probably accompanied Thoss on his return home,
had received from Luzern the rights of citizenship and became the
leader of a troop of Italian auxiliaries, which, in the subsequent war,
the Papal legate enlisted for the Five Cantons. Besides the deputies,
there went thither Captain Sch[oe]nbrunner of Zug, the _schultheiss_
Hebolt of Solothurn and Rennward G[oe]ldin, a distinguished Zuricher,
who, from indignation at the law against desertion, had left his native
city and espoused the cause of the Five Cantons. The abbot of St. Gall
followed. At the Imperial Diet they all sought assistance from the
Emperor, or at least endeavored, for the encouragement of friends and
the terror of foes, to make the impression that they would obtain it.
For this purpose reports of their brilliant reception and the marks of
honor bestowed on them were spread everywhere--how often they had
spoken with the Emperor and his brother--how often they had been
summoned to confer with influential and illustrious men. But, on the
other hand, reports of quite a different character reached Switzerland
from the observers of the Reformed party, of whom an unknown citizen of
St. Gall appears to have been the most active. His long letters, full
of details, were immediately communicated by St. Gall to the allied
cities. Touching the abbot and the embassy of the Five Cantons, he
expresses himself in the following manner: "Kilian, the pretended abbot
of St. Gall, came hither on the 9th of July. I have seen him several
times, and conversed with his chamberlain and his chancellor on the
street, when they saluted me; yet they betrayed nothing. The chancellor
told me, that his gracious lord was here only to receive a fief from
the Bishop of Chur; item, to wait and see also what would be done at
the present Diet and likewise how it would go with others of the
clerical order, as well as himself. Indeed, his case is such, that even
if the just-named abbot had received wise council, he could not, in my
judgment, accomplish anything. The said Kilian lodges with one Fischer,
at a hotel in some obscure street. On the 10th of the present month, he
dined with the Bishop of Constance; and then on the 11th, in front of
the Bishop's chamber, paced up and down, giving vent there to his
sorrow, anguish and misery, and cries to the Virgin, for more than an
hour, before he was admitted; then without doubt the words of the said
bishop gave him comfort; though I hope their scheme will prove a gross
failure, since I, by the help of God, as far as I can learn the issue
of this business, will send My Lords the very earliest information
thereof. Touching the embassy of the cantons: First, the deputies of
Luzern arrived on the 5th day of this month (July). By the command of
the Emperor, they are lodged at a respectable inn, not far from the
court of the Emperor and King. The _vogt_ of the canton has presented
and delivered to the Emperor many letters, without doubt supplications
and apologies for royal treaties and seals broken on compulsion and
other similar things in writing. But I cannot see, that the Emperor can
give them any special attention, till the decree of the Diet, in regard
to the faith and other articles of like nature, are made known. Then,
there are deputies from Zug, but I cannot see, that they do much
business, except to curry favor with the men of Luzern and keep up
appearances, by begging money for the sham-abbot Kilian and offering
him a _placebo_ (_i.e._ delusive promises of help); thus at no cost to
themselves (but I forget--Kilian must undo his purse-strings and be his
own treasurer and steward) they can see the Emperor, King and members
of the Imperial Diet; therefore, if the Emperor, sometime ago, wished
to form an alliance with thorn, which caused them to be regarded as
very distinguished and useful; now, upon near acquaintance, he will
possibly load them with costly gifts and marks of honor. Mark Sittich
(Austrian governor of the frontier-province of Vorarlberg in the Tyrol)
is laboring hard for this. Although, gracious Lords, great plans and
schemes are devised for the persecution of the Common Confederacy, to
wit, the evangelical cities--Bern, Zurich and their allies and
Christian co-burghers, yet are they, in my judgment, only vain, proud
and bragging fools, who busy themselves here, in a restless and violent
manner, in these proceedings against us. On the fourth day of July,
Mark Sittich made loud complaint to the Emperor about the Zurichers,
how they withheld by force what belonged to him. The Zurichers should
be written to on the subject. These things need looking after, and I
now give Mark's scheme and plan of action with the names: Thus, the
Christian cities in the three cantons are to be surprised, assaulted
and taken; namely, by the Duke of Savoy, with the help of Wallis
(_Valais_) and Freiburg proceeding against Bern; item, the Emperor
against Basel and Constance, and Mark Sittich, with squadrons from the
abbacy and over the Rhine, and the hostile countries beyond, against
us. Then the city of Strassburg is to be besieged. In case the cities,
bound by their burgher-oath, send forth troops to aid their comrades,
these troops are to be suddenly attacked upon the road and no one left
to tell the tale.--All this would perhaps take place, if the Turk had
not marched against Vienna. I have good hope in God, our Redeemer, that
these fellows will fail in many, yea more than half their plans.
Therefore, you, my Lords, may be unterrified if such stories reach your
ears, for our Savior does not bless such base designs. And though it
should happen, it will only redound to His honor and glory."
From these and similar reports we may certainly infer, that the
deputies of the Five Cantons, as well as the abbot of St. Gall, did
their utmost in Augsburg, to win over the Emperor and individual
members of the Imperial Diet to their cause, and found also zealous
advocates. Yet no record of any formal resolution passed in their
favor, or a revival of their alliance with Austria, is extant. On the
contrary, they appear to have returned home not altogether satisfied,
and toward the close of the year 1530, their general behavior exhibits
more of despondency than hope, whilst Zurich assumed a still more
hostile attitude; and Zwingli himself was little inclined to oppose it.
Through his efforts, his exhortations, his correspondence, his travels
the Reformed party grew stronger day by day. Zurich was everywhere
ready with her mediation, or protection--with complaints, if the Five
Cantons, with threats, if their subjects endeavored to prevent the
preaching of the Gospel. Here, in the territories, in which the
Catholic states also had a share, a monastery was broken up to-day,
because the mass of its occupants so desired, and sometimes too, as
happened at Katharinenthal, near Diessenhofen, because intimidated by
force and terror, and there to-morrow, in a parish hitherto devoted to
the old faith, the Reformation, after repeated voting, was carried by a
small majority. Of course a preacher was immediately sent thither, and
rarely did they stop, until they had obliged the ejected Catholic
priest to retire. Some time previous, the Thurgovian _landweibel_ (high
sergeant), one of the most powerful props of the Old Faith party, when
passing through Zurich in the retinue of a _landvogt_ from Unterwalden,
had been there thrown into prison and beheaded; and the _landvogt_
Stocker from Zug, on complaint made to Zurich by the Thurgovians, found
himself, through the assistance which the former granted to the people,
compelled to flee the territory. The _landvogt_ Kretz from Unterwalden
met with the same treatment in the Rheinthal, but in this case without
the aid of Zurich. It certainly cannot be denied, that a considerable
portion of the clergy--of the monks, who were ejected from the
Territories in consequence of the Reformation, were men without
knowledge, often without morals and generally of little worth, and that
the three civil functionaries just-mentioned, had, by their harshness,
immorality and acts of violence, stirred up the righteous indignation
of the people; yet the forms, under which Zurich proceeded, were not
those of confederate law, but the offspring rather of an arbitrary
will, whose continued assumption of power tended only to awaken the
most bitter animosity amongst the Five Cantons, and found no approval
with her own party, including even the cities of the Christian
_Buergerrecht_. The good end could not justify the unlawful means. And
still less was this the case, when, in spite of the decided protest of
the other cantons of the protectorate, she allowed herself to make a
one-sided scale of salaries, increasing the revenues of benefices in
the parishes, which had accepted the Reformation, at the expense of the
rest; and compel Catholics, who had resigned these benefices, to call
in Reformed preachers and pay them more, than required by the treaties.
In vain did the Five Cantons raise a voice of protest at all the
sittings of the general Diet; in vain did they send embassies with
complaints and prayers for redress to the other states. Zurich pushed
forward, secure of support from the majority of the people in the
Territories.
But more yet was in reserve, and principally through Zwingli's
influence. He too sank under the weakness of our common humanity; as
Luther and Calvin in solitary moments, as Borromoo and Francis de
Sales, as the Apostles themselves. _One_ alone never yielded, and
proved by that very fact, that He had come from God. A writing of the
Reformer, still extant, its margin covered with corrections,
improvements and additions--signs of great mental agitation--shows
incontestibly, that with him also, in hours, when his feelings may have
been embittered by the unworthy attacks to which he saw himself more
and more exposed, hatred had prevailed over love, passion over calmness
of spirit, and earthly policy over the guidance of faith. It has this
heading: "What, in the dealings of the Five Cantons, there is need for
Zurich and Bern to ponder over." It affords us a deep glance into his
inner life, and reveals to us the plans with which he was occupied; and
whilst the cold-blooded reader, who sees in history only the results of
human struggles, and declares those most successful, where the most
comprehensive means have accompanied the grandest designs, may read
these with admiration of Zwingli's political sagacity, he, on the other
hand, who measures all things by the rule of the Gospel, will be
obliged to condemn them.
Any one, who derives his knowledge of the history of that period from
original sources, and has read the numerous bills of complaint, handed
in, even at the recesses of the general Diet, by the people of the
Common Territories, and the results of the investigations, which, in
most cases, proved them to be just and well-founded, can imagine the
indignation which Zwingli's view of the case called forth. But to an
honest will other means of redress stood open, before resort to such
extreme measures--to plans that would shake the Confederacy to its very
foundations. But indeed, it is almost certain, that these plans were
never formally laid before the authorities of Zurich and made the
subject of official deliberation. They may have been communications to
a narrow, confidential circle of friends, drawn up more as a frank
confession of his own political faith, than with any hope that their
complete execution was so easily possible in the coming age. Still,
they afford us the necessary key to a right understanding of the part
played by him in the affairs of the Confederacy, during the last two
years of his life, and hence we cannot omit here the main ideas. "In
ancient times," so he writes, "Zurich and Bern united as confederates
with the Four Forest Cantons, Luzern, Uri, Schwyz, and Unterwalden. The
power of both parties was then equal and they held faithfully together,
but the burden of the wars against their enemies on all sides was
great. The cities were the bulwarks; they had not the mountains, the
passes, for their defence. As their territory increased, the greater
injuries fell upon them and the greater costs. With fairness they could
have demanded a change in the relative proportion of right in the
federal councils. But Zurich and Bern were content with some
insignificant grants, respecting the division of booty according to the
number of soldiers, which the treaty of Stanz allowed them; and the
Cantons still kept twice as many votes as the cities, although the
latter, yea even sometimes one of them performed as much as all the
former put together. This produced arrogance among those who, in the
beginning, were modest. _They_ were the governors of the common
bailiwicks; _they_ acted often without consulting the cities. _They_
have strengthened themselves in our times by the admission of a fifth
canton. _They_ concoct everywhere their schemes, before the meetings of
the federal diet; for _them_ the fruit must ripen, where they did not
sow. Shall the two cities endure this any longer? They are confronted
with the federal league, in opposition to the treaty of Stanz, which
guarantees their rights, their number of votes at the diet, in relation
to the Territories; but every claim, privilege or power, is dissolved
or broken, according to divine and human law, when they are misused.
The land of Palestine is an example. In eternity was it promised to the
children of Israel. In eternity were they driven out from it, when they
transgressed the commandment of God. Rome brought into subjection Alba
Longa and the Sabines, from whom she herself had sprung, because they
did not keep the peace and act fairly as neighbors. In history such
examples are innumerable, and it is God's Word that says: 'Put away the
evil from among you." Moreover, it is highly necessary for our
union to lessen their power, or to separate from them. For years back,
neither discipline nor order has been found in their midst. And where
these fail, no government can stand. If it be said, they have their own
rights, their own power, their own government, which must be left to
them, and though these all be abused, we have no right to say anything,
then the answer is: No compact can exist contrary to justice, and if
the one party overlooks this, falls away from it, then the other should
hold them to it, yea, compel them, and if the Five Cantons are
henceforth lost to all sense of right, then it is "certain, that they
must be punished and will be uprooted." So the eleven tribes of Israel
slew the twenty five thousand Benjamites, and so the Romans punished
the Carthaginians, until they brought them into complete subjection.
"Two things only are now to be considered--_when_ and _how_ we shall
punish them. _When?_ Truly it is best to attack them _at once_.
"France will remain neutral; the Emperor is entangled in the affairs of
Germany; they can obtain no help either from Confederates or
foreigners, are ill supplied with guns and other necessaries, and
besides, there are also many good people among them, whose hearts are
more with us than with them. Only, do not begin with prohibiting the
export of provisions; this will not suffice, and prove rather injurious
to ourselves. 'By destroying the bailiwicks (_vogteien_), by annulling
the federal compact, and by invading their territory, we must force
them to obey;' and if the latter will not do, because it seems too
dreadful, then let us immediately lay hold on one of the other means.
"_How so?_ The best is, for our two cantons in concert to seize on the
bailiwicks, indeed to hold back their rights from each of the others,
who have share in the government of the Territories. Then it may be the
most advisable to divide the bailiwicks. But the division is not to be
made according to the number of the ruling powers; their method is not
to be established by a majority of votes; for, in that case, Zurich and
Bern would be shamefully cheated, since the majority has always been on
the side of the Five Cantons. No! if justice is to be done, let the
ruling powers be broken into three equal parts--Zurich and Bern to
form two, and the rest one. Indeed if real power, influence and
importance were taken into account, Zurich and Bern would be entitled
to six-sevenths. Fairness requires the division to be made according to
the proportion of two to one. And this can and will happen, if both
cities are united, if, in the prosperity of the one, the other seeks
hers also, and desires no increase for herself without the increase and
advantage of her neighbor. Each shall endeavor also to form alliances
with foreign cities lying near; yet not alone, but in common, ever
going hand in hand, pledging friendship for friendship, and neutrality
for neutrality. In all the other cantons, sensible people shall be
informed, what great injury may result to them from the continual
mismanagement of the Five Cantons at home and abroad. Hence it will
follow, that the other cantons will also let the Five drop; for their
power now, since the introduction of artillery into all wars, is so
small, that no danger need be apprehended from them. Then too, the
cities are better armed than they, and will accordingly gain, if their
power is broken or diminished. Moreover, the ignorance of the Five
Cantons, in everything that belongs to government, is a reason why we
must separate from them; for, if brothers keep house together, and one
of them does nothing and only squanders, then they must divide, or the
spendthrift will bring them all to poverty.
"But, that they cannot govern, is proved by all their proceedings in
the German and French bailiwicks. In the French cantons they have
ruined the bailiwicks by taking bribes for sentences and appeals and
doing it so scandalously, that no honest man can see or hear it without
great pain. It is fast coming to a rupture also in the German
bailiwicks. Thither they send, either haughty and avaricious _vogts_,
or those of loose character, who rob, break every thing to pieces, and
so behave that every one grows tired of them, and if a separation does
not take place, the general indignation will in the end be transferred
to the _vogts_ of the cities also; for already have several of the
latter been imprisoned for following their shameful example. These
riotous fellows drink, gamble and live with lewd women, to the great
scandal of honest people. In short, if we be not divided from them, or
their power be not so diminished, that they must stand in dread of
Zurich and Bern, then surely a schism will be created among the
cantons, as terrible as that between the Guelfs and Ghibelines in
Italy. _Summa summarum_: He, who cannot be master shall be a miserable
slave. This is written down hastily, in order that both cities may see
what is the most pressing want of the time, and the more bravely lay
hand to the work. No one should indicate the author, but say: God grant
grace!"
God indeed does grant grace to every thing, which, out of a pure
knowledge of it, happens according to his will, and falls back upon it.
And God did grant grace to every manly, true, loving word of the
Reformer, uttered in behalf of spiritual freedom, to the unmasking of
hypocrisy and abominable priestcraft--grace to every thing that he did
and suffered, to bring back faith in the Word of God to the only
foundation, upon which it rests unshaken, purity of heart and will, and
the personal experience of the blessing, which springs from all truly
evangelical conduct. For this Zurich thanks him, and is bound so to do,
as long as she exists. But God is also just. No departure from the
right path can be long continued without injurious consequences, and
least of all in the strongest and most highly gifted. The deviation
from those plans, perhaps the greatest error of his life, and all that
was done in the spirit of them--the servant of the Gospel, which
requires kindness, patient correction of a straying brother, and in
civil life the sacred observance of treaties, he and Zurich must mourn
over.
FOOTNOTES TO CHAPTER EIGHTH:
Footnote 1: The image of St. Fridolin, in the cantonal seal of
Glarus.
Footnote 2: Belief, at the command of the church, even without
personal conviction.
Footnote 3: Luther's Works by Pfitzer. p. 795, 796, 829, 830.
Footnote 4: Zwingli's Works in the edition of Usteri and V[oe]gelin.
Vol. II. Part 2. pp. 453, 455, 456.
Footnote 5: A powerful and dangerous enemy of the Reformed party in
Switzerland, especially in Graubuenden, and he occupied the strongly
fortified castle of Musso on the northern shore of Lake Como.
Footnote 6: On this point Collin himself says in his report: "The
credentials could neither be read nor understood, for they were very
badly written and in the most confused style; but I let them understand
enough to satisfy them."
Footnote 7: A confession of faith, from the four cities, Strassburg,
Constance, Memmingen and Lindau, which was especially presented to the
Imperial Diet at Augsburg, but neither received nor read, like the
so-called Augsburg Confession drawn up by Luther and Melanchton, and
signed by the German Princes, even the _Landgrave_ Philip, at least
during any session of the Estates of the Empire.
Footnote 8: In a letter, written from France, by a German, in the year
1530, to the Privy Council of Strassburg--in order to urge them, by a
delegation of skillful speakers, to the French Court, in the name of
the German Protestants, to secure the entrance of the Reformation
there, and to send along, if possible, a learned theologian--it is
expressly stated: "Zwingli, [OE]colampadius, or Carlstadt should be
sent by no means, for they are too much hated, on account of the
Sacrament; others, except Lutherus, may come; yet, as before said one
of the delegation should be able to speak French, in order to deliver
the address before the King."
CHAPTER NINTH
VAIN ATTEMPTS AT RECONCILIATION. EXPORTATION OF GRAIN PROHIBITED.
OUTBREAK OF WAR. BATTLE OF CAPPEL. ZWINGLI'S DEATH.
The more rapid the advance of Zurich, the slower that of Bern became.
She could count less on the support of her own subjects than the
former. In the Oberland, the fire yet glowed beneath the ashes;
discontent prevailed among the mass of those, who were punished on
account of the rebellion of 1528. With that rude people, the
Reformation, hastily carried out, and not as yet rooted in their minds
and hearts, had tended to weaken the bonds of allegiance. Signs of war
appeared also in the west. Geneva, with whom she had formed a defensive
alliance, was threatened by the Duke of Savoy, and not fully relying on
her own citizens, called on Bern for help. The Government delayed, but
finally asked the Confederates for their usual contingent. The Five
Cantons refused it; and Zurich also, concerned for her own safety,
hesitated about marching an army to such a great distance. Urged by the
repeated demands of Geneva, Bern at last sent out 5,000 men, who passed
through the Pays de Vaud, burning and pillaging, to the great terror of
the inhabitants, and in the end became troublesome in Geneva itself,
through their want of discipline. A treaty with Savoy, concluded at St.
Julien, restored peace for a while; but the lack of zeal manifested by
Zurich, in not coming to the succor, could not but dampen the sympathy
of the Bernese in her affairs.
Two new events occurred, to make her condition only the more critical.
The biennial term of the governor-general of St. Gall expired with the
close of the year 1530. A Luzerner was to take the place of the
retiring Zuricher. Before she would give her consent to the change,
Zurich demanded of him a public avowal, in favor of the Reformation,
and an oath to protect the people of the abbacy. Luzern entreated her
to dispense with such an avowal, and be content with that oath, by
which he was pledged to maintain the _Landfriede_, on the ground that
this of itself would serve to protect the Reformation, wherever
introduced by a majority of votes. Zurich persisted in her demand. She
wished all others to put the same construction on the _Landfriede_ that
she did. In consequence of this, the governor-general Frei not only
refused to leave Wyl, but marched also at the head of an armed troop of
the abbey-people, beyond the limits of his jurisdiction, to compel two
parishes in the Rheinthal, where strife had arisen, to accept the
Reformation. Vainly had Bern, on complaint of the Five Cantons,
implored Zurich to keep faith and admit the Luzernese governor-general,
on the strength of the pledge required by the _Landfriede_, thus giving
his administration a trial. No escape being left for the Five Cantons,
except an appeal to the Confederates, a General Diet was assembled in
Baden, on the 8th of January. The unanimous instruction of the Five
Cantons at this Diet shows the position which they were resolved to
maintain, as well as what was expected from their federal associates.
"We had hoped," so said their deputies in accordance with their
commission, "that all our Confederates had been sufficiently convinced
by deeds, of our firm purpose to uphold the peace and all treaties. But
to us of the Five Cantons, in general, and each in particular, such
manifold injury has been done, since the treaty of the _Landfriede_, so
many innovations exacted, and so many attacks made upon our rights,
that to detail all this would be an endless and perplexing task.
Something, however, shall be presented, to show that we do not complain
without reason.
"In the first place, we have to speak about the governor-generalship of
St. Gall. The place fell by right, on last St. Catharine's day, to our
Confederates of Luzern; but you, Confederates of Zurich, prevented the
governor from entering on his office, brought up new articles, which
you required him to receive beforehand, and demanded an oath to the
peasants; and when we justly complained, you sent in return detailed
missives, without any color of law, (which may be examined, if
necessary), and formally refused in the end to respect our rights. We
are highly aggrieved that any canton in our Confederacy should lose all
regard to justice, and that 'new contrivances should be found for
twisting and glossing over our covenants and treaties,' so that no one
may be bound to let law be law. Of such 'glossing over,' our
forefathers knew nothing; in their time also everything went better
than now. Then, too, our Confederates of Schwyz have been denied
justice in another case. But, though you may think, Confederates of
Zurich, that you have good reasons for acting thus, it yet does not
become you to be yourselves the only judges of the validity of these
reasons.
"Moreover, the government of the Territories has already been often
discussed here in Baden. We believe, that the present resolutions would
be valid; as soon as passed by a majority of the ruling cantons. For if
the majority of votes is of no avail among those possessed of equal
rights, how can treaties ever exist? Leagues and covenants are then
made in vain. From rulers we become servants, if we must do that only
which is commanded by a majority of one or two cantons. Indeed, in this
way, we would by force and against law be driven out of all the
bailiwicks, in which our forefathers won their share honorably and
honestly, by the sword or by other means; and should we brook this from
those who call themselves our friends and Confederates? God forbid! and
with His help we will not suffer it.
"Touching that which you, in connection with Glarus and Wallenstadt,
did there against our rights, an impartial court has been appointed
according to your own request; but you have threatened, that if the
judges do not decide in your favor, you will compel them so to do. Your
governor in St. Gall, instead of taking leave, at the expiration of his
term of office, has stirred up the people of the abbacy and led them
into the Rheinthal, where neither you, nor yours, nor the governor have
any right to act without us. There he has surprised and maltreated two
poor congregations, because the majority have resolved to remain true
to the Old Faith. Who can live with such friends, that do them more
harm than enemies? Though we have suffered much from you hitherto, yet
is our manhood unextinguished. We are lovers of peace. God is with
such. He grants victory to the despised, and truly, he has not yet
denied it to us.