9. The Swiss Reformer. 179
Zwingle ' s labors at Einsiedeln had prepared him for a wider field, and this he was soon to enter. After three years here, he was called to the office of preacher in the cathedral at Zurich. This was then the most important town of the Swiss confederacy, and the influence exerted here would be widely felt. The ecclesiastics by whose invitation he came to Zurich were, however, desirous of preventing any innovations, and they accordingly proceeded to instruct him as to his duties.
“ You will make every exertion,” they said,“ to collect the revenues of the chapter, without overlooking the least. You will exhort the faithful, both from the pulpit and in the confessional, to pay all tithes and dues, and to show by their offerings their affection to the church. You will be diligent in increasing the income arising from the sick, from masses, and in general from every ecclesiastical ordinance.”“ As for the administration of the sacraments, the preaching, and the care of the flock,” added his instructors,“ these are also the duties of the chaplain. But for these you may employ a substitute, and particularly in preaching. You should administer the sacraments to none but persons of note, and only when called upon; you are forbidden to do so without distinction of persons.” 248
Zwingle listened in silence to this charge, and in reply, after expressing his gratitude for the honor of a call to this important station, he proceeded to explain the course which he proposed, [ 177 ] to adopt.“ The life of Christ,” he said,“ has been too long hidden from the people. I shall preach upon the whole of the Gospel of St. Matthew,... drawing solely from the fountains of Scripture, sounding its depths, comparing one passage with another, and seeking for understanding by constant and earnest prayer. It is to God ' s glory, to the praise of His only Son, to the real salvation of souls, and to their edification in the true faith, that I shall consecrate my ministry.” 249 Though some of the ecclesiastics
248 D ' Aubigné, b. 8, ch. 6. 249 D ' Aubigné, b. 8, ch. 6.