experienced at your hands in the Thurgau, Sargans, Baden and the County
of Toggenburg. Because, up to this time, we have been everywhere
deprived of our rights, we now send this last message to you and all
the Confederates. The deputies shall especially inquire, whether, in
the future, you and your adherents will keep the federal compact and
_Landfriede_ with us, let a majority be a majority, act fairly, and
whether deeds will go hand in hand with your promises. If this happen,
then we will pledge ourselves also to do all that becomes honest
Confederates. But if you, Confederates of Zurich, and whoever agrees
with you in these affairs, will not desist from your undertaking, nor
return to the federal compact and _Landfriede_, do not conceal it, so
that we, on our side, may know what to do. And, if you are neither
willing to do the former, nor make known to us the latter, then shall
our deputies appeal to our dear Confederates of Glarus, Freiburg,
Solothurn, Schaffhausen and Appenzell in the following manner:
"Dear Confederates, you have now heard how we have been treated, since
the conclusion of the _Landfriede_. You know, moreover, how, just
lately at a General Diet in Baden, when we paid down the money required
by that treaty, Zurich and her adherents gave us a promise to abide
faithfully by the federal compact and the _Landfriede_, and
particularly to respect and obey the majority in the bailiwicks, as far
as worldly affairs are concerned. How they have kept this promise, we
leave you to judge. Though we do not now know, what may be done by
others, we yet feel bound to uphold the _Landfriede_, which we indeed
have never violated, but always observed, for you are aware how
urgently we were solicited to pay over the money alluded to, lest
further disturbance might arise therefrom--and hence we demand and
exhort you, by our federal compact and the _Landfriede_, of which you
yourselves are parties, to aid and support us in teaching the Zurichers
and their adherents, that they must observe these treaties, according
to their plain letter, and let a majority be a majority, as they are
bound to do by all law, human and divine, and that you proceed therein
with such earnestness, as becomes good Confederates; for we will no
longer endure any more violence of this sort. If no improvement takes
place, we will seek out ways and means, to protect ourselves from
injustice and abide by our own people. In this may the Holy Trinity aid
us! Now, we desire from you a final answer, whether you will help us to
our rights. If not, we will attend no more sessions of the General
Diet, and with the best feelings do not conceal it from you."
Of all the charges made by the Five Cantons, Zurich applied none to
herself. She had never violated nor attacked their rights in worldly
things, even in the remotest manner. How could she then pledge herself
to restore these rights? The whole dispute had arisen from an
incorrect, forced interpretation of the _Landfriede_ by the Five
Cantons. The governments did not stand opposed to each other in
religious matters, and the freedom of the Gospel or its limitation was
not to be decided by a majority of the ruling powers in the
Territories. The _Landfriede_ itself guaranteed the former; _therefore_
Zurich maintained, that she stood here also on perfectly legal ground;
and, in respect to the governorship of St. Gall, had acted likewise in
the spirit of this _Landfriede_, so that, if the Luzernese governor was
not willing to comply with the conditions of Zurich, it was not her
fault.
From these declarations of the parties, it is evident that the task of
mediator was not an easy one. A new event occurred, to render it still
more difficult. At the north-eastern extremity of Lake Como, stood the
strongly-fortified mountain-castle of Musso. It was then occupied by
Jacob Midicis, a bold and skillful adventurer, who had played an active
part in the earlier Italian wars. Supported by his hired bands, he
frequently sailed forth from his hiding-place, to the great disturbance
of his neighbors in Valtlin and Graubuenden. He even ventured to
interrupt the commerce of Graubuenden with Milan, and surprised and
murdered two envoys, sent with complaints to the Duke, on their return
home. Yet more dangerous plans of his, in union with the Austrian
authorities, against the Reformed Confederates, were talked of, and the
report received some color of truth from the increasing preparations
for war, as well as an attack at Morbagnio, upon the Graubuendners, who
had marched out to secure their possessions, and whom, after a stout
defence, he compelled to retreat. An appeal was now made to the
Confederates for armed assistance. They all promised, and dispatched
5,000 men; the Five Cantons only persevered in refusing to furnish
their quota.
"Here you see," said Zurich to the mediators, "their fidelity to the
federal compact; here you perceive with whom they have secret
intercourse--here, whether we were wrong in powerfully opposing the
hypocrites." But it soon transpired, that Austria was not at all
concerned in this affair, and rather disapproved the action of Medicis;
and the Five Cantons sought to justify their inactivity by the
necessity of defending their own borders in such critical times.
The states of the Confederacy, favorable to peace, now supplied the
place of Schaffhausen, who had taken a decided stand with the cities of
the _Buergerrecht_, by calling in the French embassy. The latter
immediately turned to Zwingli himself. "Dear highly esteemed man," they
wrote to him, "we have once before expressed our urgent wishes to thee,
and thou hast not answered us. Very lately the King sent one of his
nobles to us with another earnest command to do all in our power in
aiding to restore and strengthen peace and concord between the
Confederates. In this spirit we addressed ourselves to the deputies (of
the cities of the _Buergerrecht_) present at Aarau. Since we learn that
they will soon assemble again in Zurich, we write to thee also. We beg,
we implore thee, if, as we doubt not, the peace and welfare of Helvetia
are near to thy heart, to do all in thy power to prevent any hostile
act against their Confederates from these men, whom we honor and
esteem, and aid in bringing about a reconciliation. Indeed this is very
urgent, for reasons which make it necessary, but which we have not now
time to communicate, they are so many; and if thou knowest them
thyself, thou wouldst esteem thyself happy in such a work, and must
hereafter in the opposite case unavoidably condemn thyself; and that
thou canst produce either the one or the other, of that we are
convinced. If you push it to a war, not six months will go by before it
will take such a turn, that the Zurichers will be sorry enough for what
we now know and foresee. We pray thee think over the contents of this
letter; perceive therein a proof of our sincere regard; inform us what
can be done on your part to give the business a happy direction. For
ourselves, nothing will gain us greater thanks from the King. On the
contrary, if war breaks out among you, the victorious party must in the
end be just as much weakened as the other. And beforehand already, must
they, who should be afraid to cause it, be forsaken by their friends,
because the latter, engaged to other allies also, must condemn such
cruel, reckless and passionate conduct."
Zwingli did not suffer himself to be moved by this letter, and
Zurich likewise persevered in carrying out her fundamental principle,
to do everything for the freedom of the Gospel, even where she did not
rule alone, or had but a small share of the sovereign authority--to do
it also in the way of armed interference, if negotiation did not
suffice. In vain did the advocates of peace redouble their labors; in
vain did the warnings of Bern become more and more pressing. The
governor-general Frei still prolonged his official term at Wyl, stirred
up the people of the abbacy and conducted their affairs. A bill of
purchase for the monastery was made out by the city of St. Gall, and a
release of the Toggenburgers from all allegiance to the abbey for the
sum of 15,000 florins, which was ratified by Zurich, and through her
exertions by Glarus also, in spite of protests from Luzern and Schwyz.
In the Thurgau, Zwingli succeeded in applying the revenue, arising from
fines in the lower courts, to purposes of charity, against all
opposition of the magistrates, who had hitherto appropriated them to
their own use. All this increased continually the number of his enemies
and the complaints at the confederate assemblies, and among the
advocates of peace. The language of the Five Cantons became more
threatening; the subjects of Zurich, whom business led into the
interior, were obliged to hear words of bitter reviling, and were even
personally attacked; one of them had his horse killed in Ægeri. Much
was reported about the rude speeches and rough manners of certain
prominent individuals. By all this, on the other hand, Zurich sought to
justify her conduct, and in fact the displeasure of the remaining
cities of the Christian _Buergerrecht_ was kindled anew against the
Five Cantons, who were not able to quell the growing barbarity of many
of their subjects; a proof of general corruption in morals, just where
the greatest boast was made of ancient simplicity. The Reformer
meanwhile had aided in establishing synods in the Thurgau, in
Toggenburg and in St. Gall, and was frequently present at their
sessions. Everywhere he saw the resolution of a majority of the people
to fight, if necessary, for the Gospel. His presence inspired
confidence and respect. In St. Gall he was honored by a musical
festival, projected by one of his numerous friends, and in other places
he preached to great crowds with general applause. Zurich should be
true to herself, was his continual exhortation, and must persevere to
the end. In order, therefore, to exert a new and powerful influence
upon the cities of the _Buergerrecht_, Zurich invited them to hold a
conference; which, with all in attendance, was opened on the 6th of
March. A detailed list of the vile calumnies to which influential
leaders in the Five Cantons had given currency was presented, the
declared resolution of Zurich not to suffer them any longer, and the
petition for aid to prevent and punish them in the future. Bern
regretted the calumnies, and acknowledged that Zurich had sufficient
reason to be angry, but pointed to the mighty preparations for war,
which the enemies of the Reformation were making in the Empire and
Italy. The Five Cantons may be well aware of this, had perhaps received
secret promises of assistance, and hence their leaders behaved more
rudely of late. Then the guilt of this abuse, though so provoking in
and of itself, should not be charged upon the cantons as a whole, but
only upon certain individuals. Besides, the present scarcity of
provisions should be thought of, and the very last means for peace
exhausted, before arms should be resorted to. Hence her deputies
proposed to send an embassy to the Five Cantons, from the collective
cities of the _Buergerrecht_, even without Zurich, if she did not see
fit to join it. Earnest expostulation and at all events a hint about
prohibiting the export of provisions, in case a hearing were refused,
could not remain without its due effect. Basel said that sending
embassies and letters were useless. The overbearing disposition of
these people, as well as their rudeness, was well known.--Deputies
could easily meet in such a way as would only widen the breach. Let us
once more call a Diet at Baden and bring up there our common
complaints. Together we will demand a speedy remedy. If they promise,
it is well; if not, our honor is preserved, though we break asunder.
Schaffhausen and St. Gall expressed the same opinion, and Bern likewise
fell in with the invitation.
Meanwhile, the latter had not been wrong in her conjecture. There were
yet many undoubtedly in the Five Cantons, who were neither guilty of
such rough sayings and doings themselves, nor approved of them in
others. Indeed, the majority of the rulers saw well that their
position, hitherto not unfavorable, would be endangered thereby; and
willingly would they have put away all such things, had it been
possible to change the nature of the people. Hence their deputies, to
secure whose attendance Bern had made great exertions, appeared in the
General Diet at Baden with a tolerable degree of modesty.
They desired a copy of the complaints of Zurich, answered them as they
were brought forward, point by point, as far as they could do this
beforehand, declared the willingness of their lords to punish yet more
severely after due investigation, and excused their people by the fact
that they also were obliged to hear many a bitter speech among the
Reformed, and one rude word begets another. Their faith too had been
frequently assailed by the preachers, the mass spoken of with contempt,
and they themselves called 'blood-sellers' and 'money-eaters,' in the
pulpit. The sooner the cities would find out that such things were also
punishable, the more ready would they on their side be to deal likewise
with the unruly, and if their sentences would sometimes be less severe
than the cities had expected, they were at liberty to treat the
perpetrators according to their own pleasure, whenever they came within
their jurisdiction. At this juncture, the neutral cantons earnestly
exhorted the one party to fulfill its promises, and the other to be
satisfied with them. But when the deputies of the Five Cantons wished
to speak yet about the state of the Territories, the Zurichers declared
that they had no authority to touch upon these things, and so they
parted, Zurich and the Five Cantons; neither put in a right position,
nor brought nearer to each other.
But the former and Zwingli, in chief, were not at all inclined to be
satisfied with what was done. They saw increasing danger in the
continued postponement of all active interference. His sermons became
warlike. Help must be extended to the oppressed in the Five Cantons;
the multitude of those, who desired the freedom of the Gospel, but from
whom it was withheld in the most unjust and violent manner, against the
plain meaning of the _Landfriede_. "There is no longer any safety,"
said Zwingli in the pulpit, "till the Reformation is thoroughly carried
out. Its enemies would long ago have given way, had we only banished
from our own midst all lukewarm, indifferent persons, and all secret
traitors. Against these we must now proceed with untiring zeal and
unfaltering purpose, even in the cities of the _Buergerrecht_. Our
allies must be brought to support us in this, and not drag us down with
them into the abyss through their culpable negligence." A deputation
was now sent thither, composed of members of the Council, who visited
Bern, Basel, Schaffhausen and St. Gall, and communicated an enlarged
list of grievances, the warnings that had arrived from abroad, and a
review of the conduct of the Five Cantons in the affair with the tyrant
of Musso, in which they were accused of breach of covenant and a desire
to bring about the ruin and destruction of the city of Zurich, as well
as the dismemberment of a glorious Confederacy. "We can no longer, in
any way, keep quiet and yet justify ourselves before our own people. We
can, may, and will no longer let the matter drop, but undertake
everything, which the high and serious nature of the case demands,
everything which may be needful for the maintenance of Divine truth,
and the deliverance of all who adhere to the same." The answers of the
collective cities were asked for with all possible dispatch.
They arrived after a few days. Bern wrote in a grave and moderate tone;
she greatly deplored the continued disturbances of the peace; yet,
"since matters had come so far, and out of regard to their dangerous
course," she prayed Zurich for this time to use no violence against the
Five Cantons, but remain quiet till the next _Buergertag_ (diet of the
cities) in Aarau; to which she had summoned her, Basel, Schaffhausen,
St. Gall, Biel and Constance. She said also, she was now compelled to
declared positively, that if her Confederates and Christian co-burghers
of Zurich should ever employ any actual force, they need count on no
help from her; and might shape their plans accordingly. Basel and
Schaffhausen showed far more sympathy, but likewise wished for a
general consultation before further steps were taken. St. Gall begged
Zurich to try peaceful measures once more; and if in vain, she then
pledged herself to abide true to her obligations.
Zurich promised to attend the appointed diet, but did not suspend the
preparations for war, which she had already begun. Her deputies, the
burgomaster Roist, the banneret Schweizer and Jost von Knosen, appeared
in Aarau with binding instructions. They were to surrender nothing,
hear no more plans of mediation, and consent to no longer delay of
punishment. Bern persevered just as decidedly in protesting against any
breach of the peace. By the urgent solicitation of the others, the
Zurichers were at last prevailed on, to give the decisive answer in
their own city, whither the collective deputies now went with them, in
order to lay the matter before the Council itself. They were already
agreed among themselves in no case to go further than consent to
proclaim and execute, in common with Zurich, a decree against the
export of provisions, as proposed by Bern, and that only when all other
milder measures were exhausted.
With one accord they began to entreat the Council to lay aside all
warlike preparations, not wantonly to disturb the internal peace,
whilst danger threatened from without, not to carry bloodshed into the
rural districts, where so many innocent people were yet living, not to
destroy the ripening harvest, the only hope of the poor, of so many
widows and orphans; but Zurich vehemently resisted and would not give
way in the least. Once before, said the Councils, against our
convictions, in order to please others, we consented to a peace, which
has only resulted in our greater injury. Shall we now do it again, and
let slip out of our hands the advantage which we at this moment
possess? To wait till the Emperor, till Austria comes to their aid, or
perchance lends secret support to Medicis--to hope for truth and
faithfulness among those, to whom nothing could be more welcome than
our total destruction? The proposal also to lay an injunction on the
export of provisions found no favor in the beginning. This remedy was
thought more hateful than war itself. An honorable war was not contrary
to the Word of God; but it would be unchristian to cut off bread from
the mouths of the guilty and the innocent--thus completely destroying
the old, the sick, pregnant woman, child and those otherwise oppressed
by the tyranny of the Five Cantons. Bern endeavored to show the
contrary, and the others joined her. Bloody deeds once done could no
more be recalled, whilst the enemy at any moment could put an end to
the want occasioned by the prohibition, by simply giving satisfaction.
At last Zurich submitted, although, as it runs in the record,
"reluctantly and sadly, only for the honor and pleasure of the allies."
But Zwingli was so highly displeased with the resolution, that,
according to Bullinger's narrative, he censured it even in the pulpit.
"He who is so bold," said he, "as to call another 'liar,' to the face,
must let word and blow go together. If he does not smite he will be
smitten. Ye men of Zurich, have cut off the supply of provisions from
the Five Cantons as evildoers. Then ought ye now to follow the blow,
and not leave the innocent poor to starve. But since you sit still, as
though you had not sufficient reason for the punishment, you will
oblige them to beat and punish you, and this too will be done."
Immediately after the passage of the act, on the 21st of May, Bern
issued her declaration to the Five Cantons, in the following words:
"Although, at the time of its ratification, it was everywhere published
and forbidden by the _Landfriede_, that one party should attack the
faith of the other, or do them injury in person, honor or property, or
revile or abuse them; although we, on our side, have obeyed, and
punished our people in case of transgression, and although your
deputies, a short while ago at Baden, gave pledge that the same would
be done by you; nevertheless it has never been done. We, our neighbors
and our subjects, contrary to all justice, in defiance of the federal
compact and sworn treaties, have been reviled as rogues, heretics,
villains, in every insulting manner, and accused of scandalous crimes,
by you and yours; of which we gave you notice in writing, in March of
this year. We have borne it with patience, overlooked it, and urgently
exhorted you to punish the evil-doers according to their deserts. It
has never been done, and we must believe that you yourselves take
pleasure in it. Indeed we would have more than enough of right and
authority to proceed against you at once; but, that the innocent, the
widows and the orphans may be spared, we have chosen a milder remedy,
which we are permitted to use by the _Landfriede_ itself, in case you
refuse to obey its stipulations. Therefore, from the coming Whitsunday,
neither you nor yours shall approach our lands and territories in any
manner, or carry away from them anything, by which man must live, until
you have punished, according to the weight and magnitude of their words
and deeds, according to their desert, in person, honor and property,
the insolent, wanton revilers and abusers, whom we have pointed out to
you, and whom you will soon discover for yourselves; till you once go
earnestly to work, and have put away such unmanly and unchristian
doings, so that we and ours may remain secure in the presence of you
and yours; for such downright injustice, such words of scandal and
shame, we are no longer able to endure. Take your measures
accordingly." On the 27th of May, followed the declaration of Zurich
still more ample in its details and more severe.
What Zwingli had correctly, and what the well-meaning advocates of
peace still more correctly anticipated, became more and more evident
from day to day. The cities of the _Buergerrecht_ who had mutually
pledged themselves "to persevere together and not lay aside the
prohibition, except by the common consent and knowledge of all," could
neither retreat nor advance. It did not, as they hoped it would, rouse
up every power, hurry along the cautious and irresolute and unite them
all together. Instead of this, it gave them time for reflection, time
to consider the matter on all sides; censures were heard; the feelings
were appealed to, especially pity, which found eloquent advocates in
the frontier districts. On the other hand, the exasperation of the
Catholics increased from week to week, and overpowered gradually those
who were hitherto peacefully inclined, and as want penetrated their
abodes, even the secret friends of the Reformation. "It is barbarous.
Our forefathers never dealt thus with each other. If individuals have
sinned, is it fair that innocent woman and children should suffer for
it?" Skilfully was this disposition made us of, by those particularly,
who were conscious of their own guilt. They did everything to represent
the measure in its most hateful light. "No giving way, till the
prohibition is raised," was heard in all parts of the country,
resounded from every quarter against the advocates of peace, who still
did not relax their efforts, but wrote letters, and traveled from place
to place with unwearied zeal. Courage rose with the pressure of want.
"We must go and fetch the food, which is so inhumanly denied us." So
far from opposing, their Reformed neighbors frequently aided them in
these attempts. Provisions were concealed in bales of goods, which were
allowed to cross the line, and very often the Bernese authorities were
deceived by their own subjects to the advantage of the needy. And we do
not find, that, when discovered, such proofs of brotherly compassion,
and perhaps even of a secret leaning toward the old system, were
severely punished by them.