e began to dawn upon
the minds of Zwingli and his friend. At the same time a teacher came to
Basel, who was well fitted to waken their love for this science and
give a right direction to their active zeal. That man was Thomas
Wittenbach of Biel, hitherto professor at Tubingen.

The world had then grown weary of the corruption of the clergy, of
their stupid arrogance, of the intolerance, which would restrict the
divine favor to the limits of their narrow earthly horizon, and of the
search after miracles, which was counted faith, although a denial of
true faith, because it would grasp with the hand that which is
spiritual and not to be apprehended, except when a beam of divine grace
is glowing on the altar of a pure heart. Yet only so much the more did
a longing after the communication of clearer light prevail.

It is true indeed that here and there were found pious men, who in
humility and childlike simplicity wrought works of love and edified
their neighbors, by a redeeming activity and a spotless life. But
characters of this kind were suited only to peaceful, not stormy times,
which called for bolder leaders. Enemies must be met on their own
field, the weapons of the understanding used, and the arguments of
science advanced, not in such a way however as to injure simple-minded
faith. This was the manner in which Christ opposed the scepticism of
the Sadducees and the sophistry of the Pharisees, and this is what is
meant by that saying of his, concerning the wisdom of the serpent and
the harmlessness of the dove. High hung this garland; but it was worthy
of the sweat of the noblest.

Wittenbach knew well how to encourage his pupils to enter the lists and
strive after its attainment. Leo Judae has given authentic testimony to
this effect in a letter to the council of Biel. "From your city,"
writes he, "came forth this man, regarded by the most learned men of
that age as a the ph[oe]nix on account of his manifold acquirements.
Zwingli and I enjoyed his instructions at Basel in the year 1505. Under
his guidance, from polite literature, in which he was equally at home,
we passed over to the more earnest study of the Holy Scriptures. His
sagacity discerned clearly beforehand the events of coming years, the
overthrow of the papal doctrine of indulgences and other groundless
dogmas, by which, for many centuries, Rome had held unthinking mankind
in bondage. Whatever of thorough knowledge we possess, we owe it to him
and must