Schaff - History of the Christian Church Vol. 8 - Media Sabda Org

147
Zwingli himself was not unwilling to make peace, but only on four
conditions which he sent a day after Aebli’s appeal, in a memorandum to
the Council of Zürich (June 11): 1) That the Word of God be preached
freely in the entire confederacy, but that no one be forced to abolish the
mass, the images, and other ceremonies which will fall of themselves under
the influence of scriptural preaching; 2) that all foreign military pensions be
abolished; 3) that the originators and the dispensers of foreign pensions be
punished while the armies are still in the field; 4) that the Forest Cantons
pay the cost of war preparations, and that Schwyz pay one thousand
guilders for the support of the orphans of Kaiser (Schlosser) who had
recently been burnt there as a heretic.
An admirable discipline prevailed in the camp of Zürich, that reminds one
of the Puritan army of Cromwell. Zwingli or one of his colleagues preached
daily; prayers were offered before each meal; psalms, hymns, and national
songs resounded in the tents; no oath was heard; gambling and swearing
were prohibited, and disreputable women excluded; the only exercises were
wrestling, casting stones, and military drill. There can be little doubt that if
the Zürichers had made a timely attack upon the Catholics and carried out
the plan of Zwingli, they would have gained a complete victory and
dictated the terms of peace. How long the peace would have lasted is a
different question; for behind the Forest Cantons stood Austria, which
might at any time have changed the situation.
But counsels of peace prevailed. Bern was opposed to the offensive, and
declared that if the Zürichers began the attack, they should be left to finish
it alone. The Zürichers themselves were divided, and their military leaders
(Berger and Escher) inclined to peace.
The Catholics, being assured that they need not fear an attack from Bern,
mustered courage and were enforced by troops from Wallis and the Italian
bailiwicks. They now numbered nearly twelve thousand armed men.
The hostile armies faced each other from Cappel and Baar, but hesitated to
advance. Catholic guards would cross over the border to be taken
prisoners by the Zürichers, who had an abundance of provision, and sent
them back well fed and clothed. Or they would place a large bucket of milk
on the border line and asked the Zürichers for bread, who supplied them
richly; whereupon both parties peacefully enjoyed a common meal, and
when one took a morsel on the enemy’s side, he was reminded not to cross
the frontier. The soldiers remembered that they were Swiss confederates,