[i. e., the Reformation.]
war brings with it. Hence it comes that night is unto us instead of vision, that is, that we embrace darkness instead of light. Are we not all blinded to the clear light of truth? And do we not pretend not to see what we really do see? But through whose wiles does this come about? Those of the false prophets, who prophesy for money. Hence it soon follows that the princes also give judgment for bribes. Since, therefore, magistrates ought to strain every nerve to rule rightly, conducting themselves as fathers rather than as masters, and since we yet see them so given over to pleasure and rioting that we can have no hope of our condition being bettered through them, we must supplicate the one and only one who has numbered the hairs of our heads [cf. Mt. 10: 30] to enlighten their minds, made insolent by worldly prosperity, so that they may know God and themselves, and we thereby be able peacefully to abandon this anti-Christian condition due to the Pope. For no other effort is necessary in this matter than abandoning. If we all abandon him, or, even less, if we simply hide our purses so that they cannot discover them, it will be all up with him. Let us pray, I say, that we may all abandon him and follow the banners of God alone, the Lord of all, the Father and Salvation of all. Amen.
[28]. Offence
The Greek word for “offence” [σκάνδαλον, scandal] means not only offence but also insulting treatment, if we are to believe Chrysostom on these words in Matth. 18: 6: “If any one shall offend [scandalizaverit] one of these little ones,” ete. For he takes σκανδαλίζειν for “treat with insult or contempt,” doubtless because whoever is treated with contempt or insult is also offended; and, again, whoever inconsiderately offends is treating with contempt. In explaining σκανδαλίζειν 88 “to treat with contempt” as well as “to offend,” Chrysostom, in my
[Chrysostom’s comment on these words of Christ is: For, as those who]
[honor these little ones for my sake will gain heaven,… so those who]
[dishonor them (for that is to offend them) will suffer the extreme pun-]
[ishment. And if He calls the insult an “offence,” do not marvel; for many]
[spiritless persons have been very much offended (scandalized) from being]
[slighted and treated with contempt.—Homilies on the Gospel according to]
[St. Matthew, Homily 58: 4.]
opinion, shows that he had carefully considered its meaning here. For God wishes His own not to be treated with contempt as well as not to be offended, and He just as little wishes them to be offended as to be treated with contempt. “Offence” [scandalum], therefore, is offence combined with contempt.
I am compelled to speak about this in the last part of this work for the reason that the subject of the book demands it, as well as because certain persons are wrong in regard to both aspects of offence; some, for instance, always wanting special consideration, even when it is impossible for them to receive further offence, since nothing is done to throw contempt upon them; whereas others, as soon as they have beheld the face of liberty, disregarding altogether the question of offence, instead of putting aside things which should be promptly put aside, rudely cast them off with such violent indignation that the noise thereof offends the weak ears of conscientious brethren.
The subject of my book, I say, demands that I speak about offence.
This is because there has been error hitherto not only in teaching (though there it has been most pernicious), but also in ceremonies (and there also it has not been of trifling character, since we have embraced the external elements of this world as things spiritual, vain and empty things as things real and solid). I will speak first of all, therefore, about offence arising from teaching—namely, to what extent we should forbear to teach. We should not forbear to teach. For as soon as you are sent forth, you ought to spread teaching abroad, and not to “confer with flesh and blood,” Gal. 1: 16. Yet in teaching there should be special regard to timeliness, as I said above in introducing the discussion of the Eucharist. For Christ praises that, and Paul, I Cor. 3: 2, boasts that in the beginning he fed the Corinthians with milk. Therefore, no one can begin better or more securely than by following the example of John and Christ and the Apostles, thus: “Ye are very evil, ye have turned aside from the way of God thus and so. Therefore, unless ye change your lives, cruel vengeance hangs over you. God is just, and He will not spare to strike when He has once laid the axe to the root of the tree [cf. Mt. 3: 10]. Repent, therefore, of your sins, and loathe them, and ye will straight-
320 The Works of Huldreich Zwingli way find Him a gentle father whom, unless ye mend your ways, ye will discover to be a stern avenger. He is just, but He is also kind, and loveth His own work; and to show His kindness to us He gave His only begotten Son, that through Him we may have life. Thus life will be your portion. I have warned you to cease to be evil and to become good. Since this will throw you into fresh despair—for who was ever so blameless or righteous that he could venture to trust to his own righteousness?—in order that ye may not wholly perish in this despair, I will show who has appeased the divine justice for us, that ye may not be forced to dread it as inexorable: Christ by His own blamelessness has cleansed away the sins of all. If thou trust in Him, thou shalt be saved, but so that thou put off the old man and put on Christ [cf. Col. 3: 9-10], as I have said often and at length already.” When you have well taught the knowledge of God, man, and Christ, and the Lord has given the increase [cf. I Cor. 3:6-7] (which you will easily judge from its fruits), all the abominations and errors that had risen up against God and been received as the true worship of God will fall away. For when everyone has once been taught that he is a Christian who lives blamelessly and trusts in the blameless one, namely, Christ, whom taking up His cross he follows, he will disregard those fallacious hopes which certain persons have told us to place in sacraments, ceremonies, and created things, and will see that all his hopes are placed in God. Therefore they do unwisely who begin by proclaiming very hard and quite paradoxical things, though these seem mild enough to people who have already made some progress. I will give an illustration. If you make Christianity begin, as was mistakenly done for several centuries, with giving up hope in the saints, you will nullify rather than implant your teaching, even though your soul does strongly urge you to such utterance as, “Ye err in worshipping as gods them that are not gods. Cast all your hopes upon the Lord, not upon a creature. They are impious who put the creature in place of the Creator. Those who invoke the creature put it in the place of God. For to every one God is that through which he trusts that he will be delivered from that which oppresses him or be given that of which he has need.” Since,