. Is it not notable that in _The Labyrinth_ the thread of Ariadne
is not religion, but reason? His religious ideal, as shown by his
notes on St. Paul, was at this time the Erasmian one of an ethical,
undogmatic faith. He interpreted the Apostle by the Sermon on the
Mount and by Plato. He was still a good Catholic, without a thought of
breaking away from the church.

[Sidenote: October, 1516-December, 1518]

From Glarus Zwingli was called to Einsiedeln, where he remained for two
years. Here he saw the superstitious absurdities mocked by Erasmus.
Here, too, {151} he first came into contact with indulgences, sold
throughout Switzerland by Bernard Samson, a Milanese Franciscan.
Zwingli did not attack them with the impassioned zeal of Luther, but
ridiculed them as "a comedy." His position did not alienate him from
the papal authorities, [Sidenote: September 1, 1516] for he applied
for, and received, the appointment of papal acolyte. How little
serious was his life at this time may be seen from the fact that he
openly confessed that he was living in unchastity and even joked about
it.

Notwithstanding his peccadillos, as he evidently regarded them, high
hopes were conceived of his abilities and independence of character.
When a priest was wanted at Zurich, [Sidenote: January 1, 1519] Zwingli
applied for the position and, after strenuous canvassing, succeeded in
getting it.

Soon after this came the turning-point in Zwingli's life, making of the
rather worldly young man an earnest apostle. Two causes contributed to
this. The first was the plague. Zwingli was taken sick in September
and remained in a critical condition for many months. As is so often
the case, suffering and the fear of death made the claims of the other
world so terribly real to him that, for the first time, he cried unto
God from the depths, and consecrated his life to service of his Saviour.

[Sidenote: 1519]

The second influence that decided and deepened Zwingli's life was that
of Luther. He first mentions him in 1519, and from that time forth,
often. All his works and all his acts thereafter show the impress of
the Wittenberg professor. Though Zwingli himself sturdily asserted
that he preached the gospel before he heard of Luther, and that he
learned his whole doctrine direct from the Bible, he deceived himself,
as many men do, in over-estimating his own originality. He was truly
able to say that he had formulated some {152} of his id