boastful and boisterous assumptions . The discussion continued eighteen days . At its close the papists with great confidence claimed the victory . Most of the deputies sided with Rome , and the Diet pronounced the Reformers vanquished and declared that they , together with Zwingli , their leader , were cut off from the church . But the fruits of the conference revealed on which side the advantage lay . The contest resulted in a strong impetus to the Protestant cause , and it was not long afterward that the important cities of Bern and Basel declared for the Reformation .
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