The Great Controversy The Great Controversy | Page 232

Long before the persecution excited by the placards, the bold and
ardent Farel had been forced to flee from the land of his birth. He
repaired to Switzerland, and by his labors, seconding the work of
Zwingli, he helped to turn the scale in favor of the Reformation. His later
years were to be spent here, yet he continued to exert a decided influence
upon the reform in France. During the first years of his exile, his efforts
were especially directed to spreading the gospel in his native country.
He spent considerable time in preaching among his countrymen near the
frontier, where with tireless vigilance he watched the conflict and aided
by his words of encouragement and counsel. With the assistance of other
exiles, the writings of the German Reformers were translated into the
French language and, together with the French Bible, were printed in
large quantities. By colporteurs these works were sold extensively in
France. They were furnished to the colporteurs at a low price, and thus
the profits of the work enabled them to continue it.
Farel entered upon his work in Switzerland in the humble guise of
a schoolmaster. Repairing to a secluded parish, he devoted himself
to the instruction of children. Besides the usual branches of learning,
he cautiously introduced the truths of the Bible, hoping through the
children to reach the parents. There were some who believed, but the
priests came forward to stop the work, and the superstitious country
people were roused to oppose it. “That cannot be the gospel of Christ,”
urged the priest, “seeing the preaching of it does not bring peace, but
war.”—Wylie, b. 14, ch. 3. Like the first disciples, when persecuted in
one city he fled to another. From village to village, from city to city,
he went, traveling on foot, enduring hunger, cold, and weariness, and
everywhere in peril of his life. He preached in the market places, in
the churches, sometimes in the pulpits of the cathedrals. Sometimes
he found the church empty of hearers; at times his preaching was
interrupted by shouts and jeers; again he was pulled violently out of
the pulpit. More than once he was set upon by the rabble and beaten
almost to death. Yet he

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