In Switzerland from 1516 to 1525 - James Aitken Wylie

truth. He felt how sweetly it works, yet how
powerfully it convinces; and he desired above all
things that the people of Switzerland should repair
to the same fountains of knowledge. They did so,
and hence the solidity, as well as the rapidity, of
the movement. There is no more Herculean task
than to change the opinions and customs of a
nation, and the task is ten times more Herculean
when these opinions and customs are stamped with
the veneration of ages.
It was a work of this magnitude which was
accomplished in Switzerland in the short space of
ten years. The truth entered, and the heart was
cleansed from the pollution of lust, the
understanding was liberated from the yoke of
tradition and human doctrines, and the conscience
was relieved from the burden of monastic
observances. The emancipation was complete as
well as speedy; the intellect, the heart, the
conscience, all were renovated; and a new era of
political and industrial life was commenced that
same hour in the Reformed cantons.
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