Page 4 - 08 Luther Before the Diet

majesty of God. The history of the brave

deeds achieved upon his native mountains

kindled his youthful aspirations. And at the

side of his pious grandmother he listened to

the few precious Bible stories which she had

gleaned from amid the legends and traditions

of the church. With eager interest he heard of

the grand deeds of patriarchs and prophets,

of the shepherds who watched their flocks on

the hills of Palestine where angels talked

with them, of the Babe of Bethlehem and the

Man of Calvary.

Like John Luther, Zwingli's father desired an

education for his son, and the boy was early

sent from his native valley. His mind rapidly

developed, and it soon became a question

where to find teachers competent to instruct

him. At the age of thirteen he went to Bern,

which then possessed the most distinguished