Page 34 - 08 Luther Before the Diet
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the Holy Scriptures. “Custom,” he said, “has
no force in our Switzerland, unless it be
according to the constitution; now, in matters
of faith, the Bible is our constitution.”—Ibid.,
b. 11, ch. 13.
The contrast between the two disputants was
not without effect. The calm, clear reasoning
of the Reformer, so gently and modestly
presented, appealed to minds that turned in
disgust from Eck's boastful and boisterous
assumptions.
The discussion continued eighteen days. At
its close the papists with great confidence
claimed the victory. Most of the deputies
sided with Rome, and the Diet pronounced
the Reformers vanquished and declared that
they, together with Zwingli, their leader,
were cut off from the church. But the fruits of
the conference revealed on which side the
