Good-by, and if you write to my friend [Hans] Oechsli, greet him for me.
[He was pastor at Burg, just across the Rhine from Erasmus Fabricius.]
A Solemn Warning by Huldreich Zwingli, a Simple Preacher of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, Ad-dressed to the Honourable, Wise, Steadfast, Senior Confederates at Schwyz, That They Should Beware of, and Free Themselves from, the Con-trol of Foreign Lords (may 16, 1522)
[[Ein gottlich vermanung an die ersamen, wysen, eerenvesten, eltisten]
[Eydgnossen zü Schwytz, das sy sich vor fromden herren hütind und entladind,]
[Huldrichi Zwinglii, einvaltigen verkünders des euangelii Christi Jhesu.]
[In Schuler and Schülthess ed., ii.,2, 287-298. In Egliand Finsler ed., i.,]
[165-188. Translated by Walter Lichtenstein, Ph.D., librarian of North-]
[Western University, Evanston, Illinois.]
[Egli in his special introduction to this treatise (i, 155-158) attributes to]
[Erasmus’s Querale pacis theinauguration of that movement against war which]
[is now one of the most civilised agitations of our modern philanthropy. It]
[was the abbot of Kappel, Wolfgang Joner, whoincited Leo Jud, the bosom friend]
[of Zwingli, to translate into German the brochure of Erasmus and it was]
[published by Froschauer, the famous printer of Zurich, in 1521. But though]
[Erasmus was the protagonist, Zwingli is entitled to the honour of an independ-]
[ent follower, and what he says about war is worthy of republication by our]
[Peace Societies, and they are entirely at liberty to use this translation.]
[Zwingli produced a profound though passing impression. Under the in-]
[fluence of his words Schwyz resolved to abstain, for at least twenty-five]
[years, from forming alliances of the kind he condemned, but alas! the power]
[of the French gold was too great and in a couple of months she rescinded her]
[resolution and entered again into the degrading alliance. But the transitory]
[effect of Zwingli’s words is no proof of their weakness. He was a faithful]
[witness to the evils of his times in his country and to-day his exposure of the]
[insensate folly and devilish cruelty of war is good reading. It is nigh four]
[hundred years since he wrote. Happily great progress has been made of]
[late in impressing the common man with the wastefulness and fatuity of]
[war Once war was the amusement of princes, but the common soldier was 130]
the sufferer. He was the loser whichever side won. When this fact is universally, as now it is generally, perceived, then wars will cease and lo! peaceful means wil be found always much more efficient in producing the desired results.] HULDREICH ZWINGLI, a simple and plain preacher » of the gospel of Jesus Christ, send greeting, my obedience, service, and love in Christ our Lord, to the pious, honourable, etc., senior confederates of Schwyz.
Gracious and dear Lords, Amman [Governor], Council, Assembly of Schwyz. Your Honours may wonder how I dare presume to instruct a whole country at once. But this is only done in accordance with the saying of Solomon: ‘Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be yet wiser”’ [Prov. ix., 9], and so I was moved to make known to you my views so that by setting before you a model you may take counsel together all the more diligently, for when weighed down by a sad and painful loss (such as has unfortunately come to you; may God comfort you in your sorrow and guard you from the same in the future. Amen) not everyone is able without advice to find the right way himself. Besides, from your very sorrow there might arise serious quarrels and dissensions among you, by which, however, may God have mercy upon you! the damage will not be made good. In order that by means of the Scriptures and the opinion of worthy men you may be rid of all damage, I have been constrained by that great love toward you, which I have cherished since childhood (for I am a native of the county of Toggenburg and hence feel myself somewhat indebted to you), to make known my views. This I do 1n order that the damage done to such wise men may not result in still greater disaster, and while it is still an easy matter and the disease has not spread we may correct our mistakes. Otherwise it is to be feared that those princes, who have never been able to subdue us
[’ The reference is to the crushing defeat of the French Army by the Im-]
[perial troops in the battle of Bicocca in Italy. The Swiss mercenaries con-]
[stituted part of the French forces and 3000 of them were slain.]
with sword and pike, may do so with soft gold, which may God forbid and may he never deprive you of his counsel and wisdom! Therefore I beg of your wisdom to pardon me for having the presumption to write to you, which I did not in.order to curry favour with any lord, but on account of fear of God and love for a worthy Confederacy. May God’s wisdom shine upon you! I had to have everything completed within three days, the conception, the writing, the printing, for I learned only on Wednesday that the next assembly would be held as early as the coming Sunday. Zürich, May 16, 1522. God be praised!
A divine warning by Huldreich Zwingli, a proclaimer of the gospel of Jesus Christ, addressed to the honourable, wise, steadfast, senior confederates at Schwyz, that they should beware and free themselves of the control of foreign lords.
God created man of earth, as is written in the second chapter of Genesis, for no other reason (as it seems to me) than that he might be made humble by having been created out of matter, and that the common mother of all, namely the earth, might prevent her children from striving to raise themselves one above the other and also from quarrelling with each other. For the children see themselves born of one and the same mother and nourished in one and the same manner. Aye, the reason why the heavenly Father caused all men to be descended from one man, Adam, was also for the sake of peace, otherwise he might have filled the whole world at once with people, or created men from stones thrown backward, as the poets tell of Deucalion and Pyrrha. So God also created man in his own image, [Gen. i, 27], so that just as the three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost are one God, who cannot disagree or quarrel with himself, thus also men’s lives might be led in a spirit of concord, peace, and unanimity. This was also a prayer of Christ, for which see the 17th chapter of the Gospel of St. John [John xvii, 11]: “Holy
Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are.”
From all the above it is clear that in his eternal wisdom God not only represented unity in the creation, but also in the regeneration, which Christ gives us. Thus, that though in our carnal birth and origin we be not joined together in harmony, we become one by the spiritual regeneration and renewal in one spirit, in one faith, in one baptism, in one Saviour Jesus Christ, as St. Paul writes in the 4th chapter of his letter to the Ephesians [Eph. iv., 1-6]: “I. therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, with alllowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love, endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. “There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.” Here God admonishes us with great care and pains through the mouth of the captive Paul to unity and peace: for we are one body, of which Christ is the head, and one spirit or soul, for all men are sustained by the one comfort that we all trust in him, by whom we have been called, Jesus Christ, true God and man. We have one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God, who is our Father and whose spirit dwells in us. About all this much more could be said, but let us get nearer to the subject 1n hand.
How does it happen that we Christians who are united by. such powerful agencies have much greater quarrels than unbelievers? And how does it happen that in a Confederacy in which until now a fraternal love prevailed, for the sake of foreign lords violent quarrel has arisen? Answer: Real piety, by which is meant true worship and prayer to Godhas disappeared among us, as St. Paul writes to the Romans [Rom.1., 28-31]: ’ And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient; being
filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful.” From these words of Paul we learn that all these evils which he enumerates arise when we desert God, do not fully recognise Him, do not look up to Him, do not place our whole trust in him, but on the countrary despise Him and regard him somewhat as we would an old sleeping dog. But I shall not now consider the question whose fault it is that we have forgotten him. That matter I shall discuss at the proper time.
Note well, worthy and beloved sirs, that wherever the above mentioned vices appear, God has been previously forsaken. And, vice versa, wherever people forsake God and trust in themselves, the vices named above are bound to follow as a punishment and penalty for the desertion - from God. But whoever places all his hope in God, ascribes to him all good and worthy deeds, estimates nothing higher than the knowledge and love of God, such a one God does not allow to succumb to the numerous vices mentioned by St. Paul. And even where such a man is allowed to fall, God protects him so that the fall may not injure him. This Christ shows us in chapter xv. of the Gospel according to John [John xv., 9, 7.] Continue ye in my love.” And in the same place: “If ye abide in me and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall bé done unto you.” And Peter says [11]. Peter i., 10]: “For if ye do these things, ye shall never fail.” The things referred to would take up too much time to mention, but Peter mentions them just before. And 1. John 11. [I. John iii., 6]: Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth, hath not seen him, neither known him. ”’ But that a lapse cannot injure a truly devout person is proved by the fall of Peter (Matt. xxvi, 69 ff. and parallels]
and of David [II. Sam. xi. and xii.], both of whom humbled themselves after their fall and remained more devout than ever before for the rest of their days. Thus St. Paul writes in the eighth chapter of his letter to the Romans [Rom. viii., 28]: ‘““And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God.” Therefore Peter after his denial of Christ, and David through his scandalous murder of Uriah and adultery with Bathsheba, were led to repentance and reformation.
The people of our time, who do not recognise the fact that God has deserted us on account of our sins, are almost not to be counted, so numerous are they. They do not notice our many sins, for we are in fact free of none of those enumerated by Paul above, nor do these people realise how our physical strength is being undermined. Our forefathers defeated their enemies and won their independence only by means of the strength derived from Godand they always gratefully and lovingly gave God credit for his aid no less than did the children of Israel after their escape from Pharaoh and passage of the Red Sea, when they sang [Exod. xv., 1, 2]: “I will sing unto the Lord, for he hath triumphed gloriously: the horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea. The Lord is my strength and song, and he is become my salvation.” Furthermore, our ancestors did not kill Christians for pay, but fought only for independence, so that their bodies, lives, wives, and children might not be subjected to the wantonness of an insolent aristocracy. God favours such independence, as he proved when he led the children of Israel out of Egypt because the Egyptian kings and people maltreated them. For this read Exodus. Furthermore, later when the Jews demanded a king he informed them of the power and abuses of kings [I. Sam. viii., 10-27], undoubtedly warning them to beware of such rule. See also St. Paul’s letter to the Corinthians [I. Cor. vii, 21]: “But if thou mayest be, made free, use (strive for) it rather.”
Thus God continuously increased the honour and
property of our ancestors in such bountiful fashion that no prince was ever sufficiently strong to defeat them. There can be no doubt that such was not due to human strength, but only possible by means of divine aid and grace. Thus they were assisted wherever they fought for country and liberty: at Morgarten, at Sempach, at Náfels in Glacis where 350 men attacked a force of 15,000 eleven times and finally routed them completely. At this battle there were also thirty men from Schwyz present. Many other localities, where they attacked, and came back joyfully and with honour, have now for nearly two hundred years remained quiet and unmolested.
But now that we begin to be well satisfied with ourselves and on account of things, which are purely from God, think ourselves most intelligent, which unfortunately is decidedly the lot of all human kind; and since we have fattened and become great in temporal riches and honours, now, I say, we draw away from God and pull in another direction [Deut. xxxii, I5]; also 52d Psalm [Psalm hi, 71: “Le, - this is the man that made not God his strength; but trusted in the abundance of his riches, and strengthened himself in his wickedness’ (vanity), which is his great courage and renown. But he is no more than empty air; for nothing righteous, strong, or good is to be found supporting us. We poor human beings desire to be continuously strutting about, which is very distasteful to God, as we can see by II. Sam. xxiv. ΠῚ. Sam. xxiv., 1 ff], where David took a census of the children of Israel in order to see how powerful he was, doubtlessly ascribing all credit for the might of the nation to himself. Therefore God became angry and offered David the choice of three plagues [II. Sam. xxiv., 11 ff], one of which he must select as punishment for having counted the people. David selected the bubonic plague, so that he himself might be stricken. Note that when David wished to brag and count his force, he showed that he desired to know the extent of that power which was not his, but God’s. For this David was severely
punished, so that he might remember the words of Moses, as given in the 32d chapter of Deuteronomy [Deut. xxxii., 30]: “Ηον should one chase a thousand, and two put ten thousand to flight, except their Rock had sold them, and the Lord had shut them up?”
Why might not then God also punish us, since we are continuously boasting of our power in some such fashion: we have done this; we shall do so and so; we can act thus; no one can withstand us? Just as if we had made a covenant with death and with hell, therefore as Isaiah says in his 28th chapter [Isaiah xxviii, 15]: “when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, it shall not come unto us: for we have made lies our refuge and under falsehood have we hid ourselves.” Just as if we were made of iron and other people were pumpkins. Just as if no one could injure us, like those heroes, who wished to guard themselves against the Deluge by means of the enormous tower of Babel, as you may read in the eleventh chapter of Genesis [Gen. xi, 1-9]. Yea, he will certainly not let our pride go unpunished, and if he has shown much patience, it has been in the hope that we might reform. If we do not better our conduct, it shall happen to us as it did to Sodom and Gomorrah and to those who would not reform until the Deluge came, as Peter writes in his second letter [II. Peter ii., 4 ff].
Some time ago there were several among us who were so childish as to forget themselves and God and allowed their greed to mislead them, so that the devil, the enemy of all good men, sent just as he did the serpent to the first man, so sent in our time the pious people, who said to us: Men and heroes, why do you remain in this country and among these hills? Why do you hold on to this rough country? Serve us, we shall pay you well. Your name and possessions will become great in the land, and your might will become known to all men and will be feared by them. Just so the serpent said to Eve [Gen. iii., 5]: ”Ye shall be as gods.” Solomon warns in Proverbs xi. to beware
of such promises [Prov. xi, 9]: The hypocrite with his mouth destroyeth his [friend] neighbour.” And Christ also says [Matt. vii, 16]: “Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? ” By which Christ means to say that these people, mentioned above, attach themselves only to those from whom they expect to continue to derive much profit. Hence they treated a foolish Confederacy in such a fashion, seeking merely their own gain, that without regard to our native country we cared more for maintaining their power and empire than we did for protecting our own homes, women, and children (of this good man beware). And how we have suffered from all this! Within the memory of man we have sustained greater losses at Naples, Novara, and Marignano in the service of these lords than we had since the Confederacy has existed; and while when waging our own wars we have always been victorious, in foreign service we have always been badly defeated.
But it is to be feared that all these evils are counter- - balanced in the minds of people to whom selfish aims are more important than the common weal. Nevertheless the commonwealth is suffering more and more, and is increasing daily in direct proportion to the spread of greed, incontinence, wantonness, and disobedience. Our only hope consists in a complete reversal of our behaviour and a realisation of the danger which we are running into.
The greatest danger that we are risking is the divine anger, as expounded in the second chapter of Micah [Micah 1., 2, 8, 9, 3]: “And they covet fields and take them by violence; and houses, and take them away: so they oppress a man and his house, even a man and his heritage.” And later: “Ye pull off the robe with the garment from them that pass by securely as men averse from war. The women of my people have ye cast out from their pleasant houses.” “Therefore, thus saith the Lord: Behold, against this family (people) do I devise an evil, from which ye shall not remove your necks; neither shall ye go haughtily: for this time
is evil.” These words of the prophet, which show the ravages of war and the threat of the divine anger, are sufficiently clear. Everyone should think well of what war might mean to him if he were done to as he did to other Christians. Let us suppose that foreign mercenaries invaded the country, devastated your meadows and fields and vineyards, led away your cattle, gathered together your household effects to take away; had previously killed your sons in the act of protecting themselves and you; insulted and outraged your daughters; kicked your good wife, while she was on her knees, begging them to have pity on her beloved ones; and dragged you, pious old man, out of your hiding-place in your own house and killed you in the presence of your wife, regardless of your trembling and honourable age and the lamentations of your wife; and finally reduced your house and home to ashes: if all this happened and the heavens did not open and pour down fire, and the earth were not cleft asunder to swallow such rascals, you would say there is no God. But if you did all these things to another, you would maintain that such is the right of war. But let us see who is regarded a brave soldier, as judged by the deeds of war seen by the Greek poet Euripides who says in Hecuba: “In war he is regarded as evil who does no wrong, and who does not consider man the same as a frog.” But unfortunately in war many gather great wealth, disregarding the anger of the Lord, which is foreshadowed so terribly in the fifth chapter of Isaiah [Isaiah v. 8, 9]: “Woe unto them that join house to house, that lay field to field, till there be no place, that they may be placed alone in the midst of the earth. In mine ears said the Lord of hosts, Of a truth many houses shall be desolate, even great and fair, without inhabitant.” Furthermore, we must not let ourselves be shaken in our belief by the statement that war is a means of divine punishment, and that therefore there must be someone to make war upon someone else. In the Old Testament many wars are described. Verse 608.
In answer to the first part of the argument let us hear what Christ says according to the 18th chapter of Matthew [Matt. xviii., 7]: “Woe unto the world because of offences! for it must needs be that offences come; but woe to that man by whom the offence cometh!” Thus many deserve to be punished and God inflicts war upon them; but woe unto them who wage the war! God punishes the evil by the hands of the evil, as may be seen by a perusal of the 29th chapter of Ezekiel [Ezek. xxix., 17-21], in which is described how God punished the city of Tyre by the hand of Nebuchadrezzar, and then later punished these same Babylonians, though they had been, in accordance with the divine will, the means of punishing the children of Israel by captivity and imprisonment which is known to this day as the Babylonian captivity. Concerning this all see the 51st chapter of Jeremiah [Jer. li., 1-5]: “Behold, I will raise up against Babylon, and against them that dwell in the midst of them that rise up against me, a destroying wind; and will send unto Babylon fanners, that shall fan her, and shall empty her land: for. in the day of trouble they shall be against her round about. Against him that bendeth let the archer bend his bow, and against him that lifteth himself up in his brigandine, and spare ye not her young men; destroy ye utterly all her host. Thus the slain shall fall in the land of the Chaldeans, and they that are thrust through in her streets. For Israel hath not been forsaken, nor Judah of his God.” We see that God takes away victory in the same manner that he grants it. The former he does whenever a people wish to gain an advantage by their own unaided strength or seek to abuse their power. No nation has ever become great by war that has not ultimately been cast down by war. This is proved by the history of Israel, Sparta, Athens, Persia, Macedonia, Assyria, Medea, and finally by Rome, whose empire was greater and more powerful than that of any other. But what are they other than the conquered now? All the people they ever conquered could easily turn the tables now. In answer to the second part of the argument, I say: The
children of Israel waged war either against sinful races, who would not permit them to enter the promised land, or, after they had arrived at their goal, against such as would not leave them in peace. These wars of the Jews merely symbolise the spiritual war that we born in Christ and resurrected ought to wage against vice and unbelief, as St. Paul says in the 10th chapter of his first letter to the Corinthians [I. Cor. x., 11]: “Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples; and they are written for our admonition.’ Or to put it another way: God used them as agents to punish the wicked. But that does not mean that the agents in such cases are good. God can turn evil to good. So I hope that our present misfortunes are sent by him for our improvement. When words no longer avail, the rod must be used; and if this also does not help, the headsman must finally be called in. Where God punishes there is still hope for grace, as Solomon tells us [Prov. iii.j 11, 12]. Let us see to it that we learn to fear and know that such boasting, pride, and warfare, as we have been guilty of, do not please him, as is written in the 147th Psalm [Psalm cxlvii.,, 10, rr]: “He delighteth not in the strength of the horse: he taketh not pleasure in the legs of a man. “The Lord taketh pleasure in them that fear him, in those that hope in his mercy.” He inveighs against those who believe that everything depends upon their advice and counsel: Isaiah in the eighth chapter [Isaiah viii., 9, 10]: ’ Associate yourself, O ye people, and ye shall be broken in pieces; and give ear, all ye of far countries: gird yourselves, and ye shall be broken in pieces: Take counsel together, and it shall come to nought; speak the word, and it shall not stand.” In short [Prov. xxi., 30]: “There 1s no wisdom nor understanding nor counsel against the Lord.” So much concerning the first danger which is incurred by carrying on war and depending upon one’s own counsel, thus sinning against God and making no headway, but calling down divine punishment, accompanied by disgrace and misfortune.
The second danger that threatens us from the princes and warfare in their behalf is that ordinary justice and equity wil disappear. Thus an old proverb says [Cicero, Pro Milone, cap. iv., $10]: silent leges inter arma, which means that where armed forces are in control ordinary law 15 suspended. The word martial law is merely a euphemism for force. Useitas you will, turn it and twist it as you please, it signifies force. It is said that the disobedient must be brought to reason by force of arms if they will not submit to the law. Answer: Since you raise objections derived from secular matter, I shall reply 1n human fashion: Yes, if in war one only injured the disobedient, or war were only waged to make one’s own people obey proper demands, we could put up with it. But how do you explain the fact that you take money from a foreign lord to aid him wantonly destroy, damage, and ravage countries innocent of all guilt? Aye, help lords who ought not to be waging war at all, such as bishops, popes, abbots and other clergymen-——all for the sake of money? But if instead of speaking in human fashion, we spoke as Christians, we would say that in any case it does not become us to wage war. In accordance with Christ’s teachings [Matt. v., 39, 44, 45], we should pray for them which despitefully use us, and persecute us, and if someone smites us on one cheek we ought to turn him the other also. Thus we may be children of the heavenly Father. Concerning this no more just now.
Furthermore, these lords do harm, because by their gifts they lead men, however wise they be, from the path of reason and righteousness, just as Moses teaches in the sixteenth chapter of Deuteronomy [Deut. xvi, 19]: ”for a gift doth blind the eyes of the wise, and pervert the words of the righteous.” Oh! what thoughts may not come to us in this connection! Undoubtedly this thought, that many a good man among us has become blinded, so that he devotes all his energy and eloquence to further the praise and interests of some lord, so that the simple-minded, misled by his sweet but harmful words, might be induced
to follow hislead. Itis also greatly to be feared, that many of these people support and help each other, be it in court, in the council, or in the parish, in such fashion that many a worthy transaction will be subject to falsification and distortion. Of this we are warned in the fifth chapter of Isaiah [Isaiah v., 20]: Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness.” If some say that we need some lord for we are a poor people in a bleak country, it must be admitted that such is true for those who are not satisfied with simple fare and raiment, for what they want must of course originate somewhere. But if people did not try to stretch higher than the ceiling allows there would be no call for all these words. Julius Caesar after he had conquered the Helvetians (from whom we in this Confederacy are to a large extent descended) commanded that they till their land again, because it was fertile’. How can that be that this land 15 no longer fruitful, but was so fifteen hundred and fifty years ago? Yes, our country has more, finer, and braver people thàn any land on the face of the earth, and there is enough produced to nourish us if we wil only be content. No, the trouble with us is that we are so blinded by the money of the princes that we think little of the loss of our own flesh and blood, as long as only the prince is satisfactorily served. We care little also for the government, regardless of the fact that disobedience increases and law and order are disregarded; regardless that in time all protection of the upright and all punishment of the guilty will cease. It will come about as a result of all this that the mercenaries will gain control of the government and abuse it in any way that they may wish. Also they will compel us, though we hold ourselves not to be responsible, to say that we are doing something, and we shall be blinded so that we shall not be able to recognise our com-
[”The exact command was that the Helvetians should return to their]
[lands, be supplied with grain for food, and rebuild the towns and villages]
[which they had burnt.—Caesar, Bell. Gall., I, chap. xxviii.]
mon interests, and we shall not be allowed to consider and act in accordance with our rights and preferences. Understand me correctly: If a prince engages in negotiations with a council or community, and though it is not proper to offer pay or gifts, the transaction is concluded satisfactorily only by means of secret bribes; if then later on it becomes known that corruption was prevalent and it is realised that there was malfeasance in office and the like, I maintain that in such a case we owe the lord in question nothing, and in fact we are entitled to punish him for such deceit in accordance with human laws. And do not be surprised by this statement, the same is to be found even in canon law, and even if the pope himself acts as described above, nothing is due him. Read the chapters [in the Corpus Canonici] entitled “De Fraude, ” De Falsariis,” “ De Prodi-tione,” and you will find in the papal writings themselves confirmations of my statements. Your Excellencies will see from this that I spoke the truth, though I was bitterly reproached for having said that I wished a hole were made in the agreement with the pope and the messenger had been given something to carry home on his back. That seemed to everyone a very unjust way to proceed. But I spoke as I did on account of the aforesaid reasons, for I knew that the pope had been secretly bribing and therefore nothing was due him. The same principle should apply in the case of every other lord. If it is found that he has gained his ends fraude egisse, 7.e., by fraud, one owes him no more than the Romans did Jugurtha, who by means of bribes sought to have the murder of his own brothers entirely disregarded, of which he boasted openly when leaving Rome, saying: Oh this venal city! A merchant could attain anything he pleased if he only had enough money”; and in fact Jugurtha could have proved the truth of his own words if the upright Metellus Numidicus had not defeated and overthrown him on several occasions and thus seriously injured his cause; for too long a period had Jugurtha bred treachery in Rome by means of his money.
And finally he fell into the hands of the Romans. Thus, in accordance with the proverb, “ deceit turns upon its own creator,” and it is well thus when someone attempts to commit treachery and does something behind the back of upright people.
The third danger is that evil ways are brought home and perpetuated by foreign money and wars. This we certainly can all notice, for our people have never come home from foreign wars without bringing new clothes for themselves and their women folk; also they have introduced new kinds of food, have become accustomed to larger quantities of drink, and employ new forms of swearing and cursing; in short, whatever sinful our people see, they readily learn, so that it is to be feared that unless we cease following foreign lords even more serious vices will be introduced. Furthermore, the bearing of women is made less modest and satisfactory. A woman is weak by nature and eager to have new and pretty things in the shape of ornaments, dresses, and jewels, as is proved by Dinah, who from mere curiosity went into the land of Shechem and there was defiled, as is told in the 34th chapter of Genesis [Gen. xxxiv., 1, 2]. And does it not seem that if something glittering is offered to a woman she will at least be moved thereby, if not even ruined? It is also to be feared that in time much manly strength may be lost, though this has not been noticed so far. Easy life weakens and makes cowardly, for no one wishes to give up comfort and luxury. Who has a love—one says—does not like to die. Hannibal, the most dangerous enemy of the Romans (except covetousness, which was the worst enemy of the Romans and proved their undoing), could not be conquered until he allowed the soldiers to become effeminate. But after he had been at Capua for a winter and permitted the soldiers to disport themselves in wantonness and lust, in the next spring Hannibal began to be defeated, and it was generally said that Hannibal had led an army of men to Capua and The winter of 216-215 B.C.
was taking a crowd of women away. What do you suppose finally results from all these golden undervests, rings, and silken clothing? Hector reproached his brother Alexander bitterly that he had always lived so luxuriously, maintaining that it had led to his flight from his enemy Menelaus. The fourth danger is that the gifts of the great lords will breed hate and deceit among us. For envy is the companion of good fortune, so that wherever great comfort prevails, envy immediately is created. And the envy grows apace, whenever one has much more than another. But when want prevails one honest man is as good as another, and the lowest often fight more bravely for their country than the upper classes. And after envy comes also the discord and disgust of those who say: You go ahead, you do this or that; if you gather more money, you ought to gather more of the blows also. In short, war of pious men and money is a school for all sins and a mother which bears us in old age (provided we attain it at all) only bad consciences.
The last danger is that it is to be feared that we may fall into the power of princes, either of those who are in alliance with us or into the power of those who are our enemies. For what is not all to be feared when pride, lack of energy, envy, and discord prevail everywhere? And if we should reach a stage where we are measured by a standard with which we have measured others, we could not bewail sufficiently our lot, but would say like Jeremiah in the ninth chapter [Jer. ix., 1]: Oh that my head were waters, and mine eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people.” May God forbid that it should happen to us as to the Israelites, who would heed no warning until finally they were in captivity and stealthily sat by the rivers and bemoaned their fate [Psalm cxxxvii., 1].
Therefore, pious, wise, faithful, beloved men of Schwyz, I call upon you by the suffering and redemption of our
[Iliad, 111., 39 ff.]
Saviour Jesus Christ, by the honour shown by the Almighty to our worthy ancestors, by the exertion and hardships that they underwent for the sake of our liberty, beware while there is still time; of the money of these clerical lords, which will destroy us and do not follow those who say: It cannot be done; the Confederacy still stands; the display of temper which has arisen is only such as occurs often in a quarrel between husband and wife or in a quarrel among brothers and is not due to any feeling of enmity. Furthermore, we have as many inhabitants as ever; may God protect them! And everything can be easily adjusted if you go about it in good faith and sensibly. At your side you will have our good people of Zurich, the city as well as the countryside, whom I surely hope that in future no lord will be able to induce to make any of these dangerous and harmful agreements. May God confirm them in their good intentions! Furthermore, you have your worthy dependents whose honesty also causes them to shrink from foreign lords. And if you will only walk again in the footsteps of our God-fearing ancestors, I have no doubt that a united Confederacy will be behind you. For if we do not change our present habits, I fear me that we shall suffer severely; yea, I can say in the words of Christ that as others have perished so shall we also perish. See the I3th chapter of St. Luke, where it was told him of some whom Pilate had slain while they were sacrificing, whereupon Jesus said [Luke xiii. 1-3]: Suppose ye that those Galileans were sinners above all the Galileans, because they suffered such things? I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.” What shall we think, except that a large part are to blame? since we cannot hope that Christ will say in the same way that he does not refer to us. “Therefore we should see to it that we reform. For if Christ cited a foreign people as an example to show the Israelites that they must reform, how much more are we, who are warned by the harm done to our own flesh and blood, in need of reform? otherwise the rest
will come true [Luke xiii., 3]: ’ except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.” Do not worry about the loss of riches. Those are worthless riches in order to obtain which one must perish. Such wealth is nothing more or less than bait by which people are caught like birds in a trap. Nor must you worry about lack of foreign assistance, but say with St. Paul [Rom. viii 31]: “If God be for us, who can be against us?” Our forefathers were worse off in this respect than we and still got along. The fortifications at Arth and Náfels are no longer needed, the Rhine is a sufficient defence. All such fortifications are useless, unless God protects his people, which, however, he promises to do, saying [Hosea i., 7]: “But I will have mercy upon the house of Judah (those who recognise God), and will save them by the Lord their God, and will not save them by bow, nor by sword, nor by battle, by horses, nor by horsemen.” Bethink yourselves of the beginnings of our Confederacy, how he helped our simple ancestors in exactly the manner related above. Just as he said to the children of Israel [Lev. xxvi, 3 ff]: “If ye walk in my statutes, and keep my commandments and do them,… I will give peace in the land. And ye shall chase your enemies, and they shall fall before you by the sword. And five of you shall chase an hundred, and an hundred of you shall put ten thousand to flight,” etc. [Lev. xxvi, 14 ff]: “But if ye will not hearken unto me, and will not do all these commandments; and if ye shall despise my statutes,… I will set my face against you, and ye shall be slain before your enemies: they that hate you shall reign over you and ye shall flee when none pursueth you.” See you what he promises and what he threatens? He will surely keep his word; he does not lie. If we do not follow him, when he is warning us quietly and gently, the time will come when we shall be ashamed on account of our pride. All God-fearing people should call earnestly upon the Lord that he may answer our prayers and cause us to improve. It does not matter that there are many who resist; God is more powerful
← 13. X. Letter to Erasmus Fabricius · Contents · 15. XII. Petition of Certain Preachers of →