travail,--is jealous of the Lion (Zurich) and acts very unfairly towards him; but in the end she will have done with her tricks and take the manly resolution to bear away the victory." Certainly the Bernese government would have reason for anxiety in regard to the growing preponderance of Zurich in the _Buergerrecht_, if Zwingli could be supported in it both by Strassburg and the _Landgrave_; but its reluctance no doubt was just as much owing to its peculiar policy, which was always less concerned about the infusion of philosophical or theological principles into the national life, than about the maintenance of existing treaties and friendly relations as far as possible with all the Confederates. The Anabaptists were still very active in Germany, but more so in Switzerland. In the countries favorable to the Reformation, the people were more violent, excited and difficult to rule and satisfy. Freedom of inquiry, of thought, had been applied to political as well as theological matters. If it was boldly proclaimed from the pulpit: 'The kingdom of the Pope is not of God, because he lays upon us unnatural restraint, loads our consciences and makes us carry unnecessary burdens,' the transition was easy to the question: 'Shall the rule of the prince draw the skin over our ears at his own caprice?' Only two remedies for this evil were available in monarchical countries; either wisdom and moderation on the part of the princes themselves--a paternal government, according to the demands and in the spirit of the Gospel--or, where the rulers, as was yet frequently the case, were not qualified or able to achieve this, a revival of the doctrine of passive obedience--subjection in worldly things, as Luther maintained it. It is clear, that to uphold this doctrine in a republic was a more difficult task, and we have already shown, that Zwingli could not be numbered among its advocates. On the political arena the difference between his reformation and that of Luther began to grow more and more visible, and so hateful did the former become, that the _Landgrave_ of Hesse even was obliged to come back again toward Luther, and exhort Zwingli to greater prudence and caution, especially after a saying of Erasmus had found its way to the ears of the nobles, that the design was to bring in democracy under the cloak of the Gospel.