"Sir Suffragan--said I, (I, peasant, ought to have used 'Gracious Lord')--may it please you and your associates to stay, till I have justified myself in my own name and in that of my colleagues? He replied--We have no commission to dispute. I do not intend to dispute but to utter publicly and freely what I have hitherto taught in presence of these honest men, before you, learned scholars and ambassadors present with a commission from the bishop, so that it will be deemed the more worthy of belief if you yourself are obliged to find it true; if not, then let the contrary happen. We have not--said the saffragan--spoken against you, hence there is no need of your vindication. You have indeed kept back my name; but your speech was none the less aimed at me. As the combatant in the water said to his antagonist, you say to me: My blow is not aimed at you, it is aimed at the fish. For this reason you were not to use my name, because you could thus charge me, who am called Zwingli, with the greatest crime in the safest manner. Whilst we were contending in this style, the burgomaster Roist tried to induce the deputies from Constance to give us a hearing. The saffragan answered, that he knew very well whither this thing would lead; that Ulric Zwingli was too violent and rude, so that he could not meddle with him honorably and keep the path of moderation. By what then--I asked--have I ever injured you? Or according to what law must I, an innocent man, zealous for the cause of Christ, be so heavily and bitterly assaulted, and yet not be allowed to defend myself? Indeed--or do I deceive myself? I would have ventured to hope, that the Bishop of Constance, though opposition to the pure doctrines of the Gospel had found foothold elsewhere, before he took the words of others instead of mine, would make himself acquainted with the whole affair, especially through you, whom he has now chosen as his legates on account of your learning. What would you do if in your absence I would turn to the Council and refuse to hear you as judges? And now, since I wish your presence so much, in order to be able to give in an account, how dare you deny me? The deputies repeated what they had said before. If I wished to lay anything before the bishop, in regard to his doctrine, I could write to him. Now--said I--if no arguments can persuade you to show me this favor, I beg you by our common faith, our common baptism, for the sake of Christ our Lord and Saviour, if you durst not listen as ambassadors, do it then as Christians. Here arose an indignant murmur among the councillors and at last, being exhorted by the burgomaster, and feeling themselves the unworthiness of the opposition, they took possession of their former places."