appearance in the German Empire. Many in those times tried to
disparage the work of Zwingli by asserting that he only took the words
out of Luther's mouth.--Learned men are since divided, some attributing
the first step to the one and some to the other. As far as religion is
concerned the question is of little consequence. The corruption of the
church was the same in Switzerland as in Germany. Both were men of
independent character. Each was developed in his spiritual
peculiarities, according to his own nature and the custom of his
people. But since Zwingli himself has set forth his relation to Luther,
it may be worth our while to listen to his own language: "The great and
powerful of this world have begun to proscribe and render odious the
doctrine of Christ under the name of Luther; so that they, by whom it
is preached, are called Lutherans. Thus it happened also to me. But
before any one in our country ever heard the name of Luther, I had
commenced to preach the Gospel in the year 1516, since I never went
into the pulpit without placing before me the words, read in the Gospel
of the mass for that day, in order to explain them from the Holy
Scripture alone. In the beginning of the year, when I came to Zurich,
no one yet knew anything of Luther, except that a book was published by
him on indulgences, but it taught me little, for I had already been
instructed concerning the fraud of indulgences by a disputation, which
my beloved teacher, Thomas Wittenbach of Biel, held at Basel, although
during my absence. Who then shall give me the nick-name of Lutheran?
And when Luther's little book on the Paternoster appeared, and I had
shortly before explained the same Paternoster in Matthew, I well knew,
that many pious people suspected me of making that book and adding
Luther's name to it. Who then could nick-name me a Lutheran? I point
out this with all the circumstances, so that every one may learn, what
the base intentions of several noblemen are, when they venture to tack
the name of Luther to all, who preach the Gospel, so as thereby to make
the doctrine odious to men, by giving you the name of a man, which is
truly nothing else than a gross blasphemy, and a sure sign of a
corrupt, godless conscience. Luther is, as it strikes me, an excellent
soldier of God, who with great earnestness has looked through the
Scripture as no one has ever done in a thousand years on earth, and
with manly, undaunted spirit, has attacked therewith t