176 THE SWISS REFORMATION.
§ 45. ZwingKs Last Theological Labors. His Confessions
of Faith.
During these fruitless political negotiations Zwingli never lost sight of his spiritual vocation. He preached and wrote incessantly ; he helped the reform movement in every direction ; he attended synods at Frauenfeld (May, 1530), at St. Gall (December, 1530), and Toggenburg (April, 1531) ; he promoted the organization and discipline of the Reformed churches, and developed great activity as an author. Some of his most important theological works — a commentary on the prophecies of Isaiah and Jeremiah, his treatise on Divine Providence, and two Confessions of Faith — belong to the last two years of his life.
He embraced the opportunity offered by the Diet of Augsburg to send a printed Confession of Faith to Charles V., July 8, 1530.1 But it was treated with contempt, and not even laid before the Diet. Dr. Eck wrote a hasty reply, and denounced Zwingli as a man who did his best to destroy religion in Switzerland, and to incite the people to rebellion.^ The Lutherans were anxious to conciliate the emperor, and repudiated all contact with ZAvinglians and Anabaptists.^
A few months before his death (July, 1531) he wrote, at the request of his friend Maigret, the French ambassador at Zurich, a similar Confession addressed to King Francis I., to whom he had previously dedicated his " Commentary on the True and False Religion " (1524).^ In this Confession he
1 Batio Fidei, etc., printed in Opera, vol. IV. 3-18, and in Nieraeyer's Collectio Confessionum (1840), pp. 10-35. For an analysis see Schaff, Ch. Hist., vol. VI. 721-723, and A. Baur, Zwingli's TheoJogie, II. (543 sqq.
2 Zwingli sent an answer to the German princes assembled at Augsburg, dated Aug. 27, 1530. Opera, IV. 19^1.
3 The Anabaptists are condemned (damnant) in Art. IX., the Zwinglians are disapproved (improbant) in Art. X., of the Augsburg Confession. See Melanchthon's Judicium de Zwinglii doctrina, written at Augsburg, July 25, 1530, in " Corpus Reform," II. 222 sq.
* Christ ia/ice. Fidei brevis et clara Expositio, in Zwingli's Opera, vol. IV. 42- 78, and in Niemeyer's Collectio, pp. 36-77. For a summary, see Schaff, Creeds of Christendom, I. 368 sq., and Baur, I.e. II. 754-776.
§ 45. ZWINGLfs LAST THEOLOGICAL LABORS. 177
discusses some of the chief points of controversy, — God and his Worship, the Person of Christ, Purgatory, the Real Presence, the Virtue of the Sacraments, the Civil Power, Remission of Sin, Faith and Good Works, Eternal Life, — and added an Appendix on the Eucharist and the Mass. He explains apologetically and polemically his doctrinal position in distinction from the Romanists, Lutherans, and Anabaptists. He begins with God as the ultimate ground of faith and only object of worship, and closes with an exhortation to the king, to give the gospel free course in his kingdom. In the section on Eternal Life he expresses more strongly than ever his confident hope of meeting in heaven not only the saints of the Old and the New Dispensation from Adam down to the Apostles, but also the good and true and noble men of all nations and generations.^
This liberal extension of Christ's kingdom and Christ's salvation beyond the limits of the visible Church, although directly opposed to the traditional belief of the necessity of water baptism for salvation, was not altogether new. Justin Martyr, Origen, and other Greek fathers saw in the scattered
1 " Deinde sperandum est fore lit videas sanctorum, prudentium, Jidelium, constantixim, fortium virtuosontm oninhnn, quicnnque a condito mundo fuerunt, sodalitatem, ccetum et contuhernium. Hie duos Adainos, redemptum ac redemptorem : kic Abelum, Enochum, Noachum, Ahrahamum, Isaacitm, Judam, j\Josen, lositam, Gedeonem, Samuelem, Pineam, Eliam, Elisceum, lesaiam ac deiparam Virginem de qua ille prcecinuit, Davidem, Ezekiam, Josiarn, Baptistam, Petruni, Paulum : hie Hercidem, Theseum, Socratem, Aristidem, Antiyonum, Numum, Camillum, Catones, Scipiones : hie Ludovicum pium nntecessoresque tuos, Ludovicos, Philippos, Pipinos, et quotquot in fide hinc migrarunt maiores tuos videbis. Denique non fuit vir bonus, non erit mens sancta, non est fidelis anima, ab ipso mundi exordia usque ad eius consummationem, quern non sis isthic cum deo visurus. Quo spectacido quid Icetius, quid amoenius, quid denique honorificentius vel cogitari poterit ? Aut quo iustius omnes animi vires intend imus qua m ad huiuscemodi vitce lucrum'?" (Opera, IV. 65.) The selection of examples might have been more judicious, or better be omitted altogether. It was this passage that so shocked Luther's churchly feelings that he called Zwingli a heathen. Werke, XXXII. 399 sq. " Bossuet," says Michelet (X. 311), "cite ce passage pour en rire. Mais qui a uii. camr le retiendra a jamais." There are few Protestant divines vvlio would not agree with Zwingli as regards the salvation of unbaptized infants and pious heathen.