you. There is a work for you there to do. Christian pastor, see that a small church is built in that neglected by-place, and you may live to see that "dark corner" a city on a hill. FRANKLIN'S MONUMENT. The newspapers announce that some man of wealth is about making arrangements to erect a monument in memory of Dr. Franklin. The writer of the following lines deems such a movement is derogatory to the honor of Franklin-implying as it does the apprehension that Franklin may be forgotten.] BY JAMES AIKEN. AYE! build his monument; but make it not The mighty fame of Franklin !-what is 't like? On which to lean when weary! Kind-hearted soul! Go get some sticks and prop the azure sky, And its blue fragments, though they are made of nothing, Build Franklin's monument! I'll tell you How! Build Franklin's monument! Why look ye, friend, In thundertones which echo round the world, Waking the nations to the morn of Freedom! Beauty and grandeur blended into one! High above all, and pointing to the sky, What see'st thou? Why Ben Franklin's monument! I almost fancy 'tis old Ben himself, LIFE AND TIMES OF ZWINGLI.* Too little, we are sorry to say, is known in this country by the majority of readers concerning the eventful career of Ulric Zwingli, the compeer of Luther, the fearless champion of truth, and the religious warrior of the Reformation. Hitherto our means of information in regard to him have been extremely limited, being confined, for the most part, to several extremely meagre and defective biographies, written by men differing from him in doctrinal points, and totally deficient in that sympathy of thought and feeling which is absolutely necessary, in order that his motives and his course be presented to the reader in a proper light, that a just estimate of his character may be formed. The lucid narrative of D'Aubigne, on the Reformation, it is true, gave us a more complete and authentic sketch of him than any we before possessed; but still, the necessity of a life, well written, sufficiently comprehensive, and relieved from all foreign and extraneous matter, was felt to be a desideratum. Germany has long had several valuable biographies of him, but for want of a translator, their contents have remained inaccessible to most American readers. The book we have placed at the head of this article, we are happy to say, obviates this deficiency, and we are placed in possession of the best and most reliable history of this great man and his times, that has thus far made its appearance. Professor Porter, well known as the translator of numerous valuable works from the German, among which we may mention a most excellent and graceful version of that masterpiece of German literary art, the "Herman and Dorothea" of Goethe, has accomplished an undertaking for which we thank him most heartily. In this article we shall attempt to give the reader a general idea of the work, quoting liberally therefrom as our purposes may demand, although well aware how imperfect such an attempt must necessarily be. Ulric Zwingli was born on the first day of January, 1484, in the small village of Wildhaus, of parents in moderate circumstances, but pious. inclinations. So far as can be ascertained at this distant day, the creed of the old Arabian philosophers, who maintained that the advent of every great man was heralded by some wonderful supernatural manifestation, was not verified at the birth of the Swiss reformer. Neither the heavens nor the earth gave mysterious signs that a child was born who in his manhood should wield a spiritual power which caused monarchs to tremble, and kingdoms to totter, and whose mighty influence, increasing day by day, will yet give the final blow that is to overthrow the spiritual ascendancy of that church, whose corruptions and wickedness form so foul a blot upon the religious nature of the human family, that the purification of ages seems almost unable to obliterate the stain. Although partaking somewhat of the nature of the rugged Alpine region in which he lived, the youthful Zwingli early displayed a lively THE LIFE AND TIMES OF ULRIC ZWINGLI. Translated from the German of J. J. Hottinger, by Prof. T. C. Porter, of Franklin and Marshall College, Pa. pp. 421. appreciation of the beauties of his mountain home, and a taste for learning, which placed him far in advance of his young associates. It was his fortune to have two uncles who had embraced the clerical profession, and to their early instructions it is doubtless owing that his own inclinations were directed towards the church. So far had he progressed in his studies, by the assistance of these relatives, that in his tenth year he was prepared to enter the grammar-school at Basle. Our author gives us a most lively and interesting picture of the manner in which instructions were imparted at that day, which it would afford us much pleasure to quote did our space permit, but we must hasten on to the stirring times that awaited the school-boy of Wildhaus. To an extreme fondness for scientific studies, Zwingli added an ardent love of the classics. The Greek and Roman authors were a source of constant pleasure: the matchless odes of the fiery Pindar were his particular study and delight; "and no author," he was accustomed to say, "serves so well for the interpretation of the holy scriptures, especially of the Psalms and Job, which rival him in sublimity." Besides giving his mind the necessary mental discipline, to the. study of the early classic historians, may be ascribed those political views which had so important a bearing upon his after life. His sound judgment and sagacity well qualified him to detect the intrigues and corruptions that were practiced by those in authority during the palmy days of Greece and Rome, and the lessons thus taught him went far in molding his religious as well as his political career. To his or attainments he added an extraordinary talent for music, and his iciency in this department was a source of constant remark. From Basle he went to Bearn; three years of constant study at this place qualified him to enter the University of Vienna, which he accordingly did in 1499. A residence of two years at this renowned seat of learning put him in possession of such attainments as would insure him success in whatever direction his inclinations might lead him. Shortly after leaving the university he accepted the situation of teacher of languages in a school at Basle. This was in 1502, at which time his public career may be said properly to commence. It was at this time that Zwingli was first led to think of the church as a profession. Hitherto his devotion to his studies had been so constant as to leave him little leisure to look about him, but now the errors and corruptions which he saw existing everywhere around him in the church, induced him to turn his efforts in that channel, hoping by a bold and upright course to bring about the reformation which was so much needed. The Bishop of Constance ordained him to the ministry in 1506, and shortly afterwards he entered upon the discharge of his duties as pastor to the congregation in Glarus, the principal town in the Canton of St. Gall. Here were first enunciated those truths from which the Roman church never has, and let us hope, never will recover. Zwingli now devoted himself entirely to the arduous duties of his new calling. Henceforth to study and expound the scriptures was to be the chief aim of his existence. Discarding the verbiage and hollow philosophy which ignorant commentators and ambitious controversialists had thrown around the Bible, he sought by a thorough and accurate examination of the Holy Scriptures, in the original tongue, to acquire their true meaning and spirit. Not only did he thus labor for his own improvement, but the circle of young friends whom he had gathered around him, were stimulated by his example, and encouraged by his friendly and unostentatious aid, to pursue a similar course. He lived to obtain the reward which these exertions so well deserved. In the trying times of his after life, the friends to whom he had imparted his own firm and heroic spirit, rallied around him to a man, and were prepared with strong arms and resolute hearts to sustain their leader in the fierce conflict of faith that gathered over them. The disposition of Zwingli seems to have been of a most amiable and attractive character. Every one with whom he was brought into contact, was drawn into still closer bonds of fellowship and love by the quiet humor and geniality of his nature, and so strong was his desire to know all in whom he thought he recognized a kindred spirit, that he left no means untried to gain their friendship: this it was that induced him, soon after his installation at Glarus, to travel to Basle for the purpose of obtaining the friendship of Erasmus. Before Zwingli was much known in the religious world, he had already taken an active part and was well known in politics. A nature as ardent as his could not stand aloof and quietly contemplate the political questions that were agitating the Swiss Confederacy at that time. If the study of the classics had taught him to hate the corruptions that had crept into the administration of governmental affairs, they had no less stimulated and roused the slumbering warlike spirit within him, and we accordingly find him following the banner of his Canton to the field, in the war that was then existing between the Pope and the French. Although it may appear somewhat singular to us, to find the minister accompanying the warlike hosts to the field of conflict, yet we find it to have been the general custom in those days, and so well did the chaplain of Glarus acquit himself in his Italian campaign, that the Pope granted him a pension as an acknowledgement of his valuable services. He espoused the cause of his countrymen with his whole soul, and incited every one to do likewise. To a wavering friend he writes thus: "Read Sallust's description of the wars of Jugurtha and Catiline's conspiracy. See in the former the insolence, the artifices and the lust of power of a single aristocrat and how far the love of money can lead; in the latter, what gifts can do, and how they can embolden those who are bribed by them. Let Appian of Alexandria then picture to you the distraction of citizens and civil war, with banishment and its consequence." The earliest historical production of Zwingli extant is a most graphic account of this campaign in Italy, written in Latin, an admirable translation of which is given in the work before us. It bears the stamp of sincerity, and shows how strongly he was impressed with the justness of the cause in which he had participated. Notwithstanding the manifold duties that demanded his constant care and attention, Zwingli also cultivated at this time the graces of polite literature. Many of his poems, written at this period, are still in existAs a specimen of his vigorous and lucid style, and also to show how thoroughly republican he was in all his thoughts and feelings, we append the following extract, from a poem called a "Poetic Fable:" ence. "Where Bribery can show its face, Let gleaming swords drawn from the sheath, Thy guardians, golden Liberty! But, where a brutish heart is met, And by a tempting bribe beset, There noble Freedom, glorious boon! And name and blood of friends too soon Are cheaply prized and rudely torn The oaths in holy covenant sworn." It cannot be supposed, that the bold and unusual course of conduct Zwingli marked out for himself, could be pursued without attracting the attention of the dignitaries of the church. The universal favor and esteem in which he was held by all who knew him, excited the jealousy of preachers less fortunate than himself, and the peculiar dogmas he advocated, so utterly at variance with the usually received cultus of the Church, furnished them with a powerful weapon to bring him into discredit with the Apostolic See. Nor did they neglect to avail themselves of this potent means to secure his discomfiture. The Roman Church at that time as now, regarded with extreme suspicion and jealousy every attempted innovation on any of its established doctrines, and accordingly his enemies found willing ears to receive these rumors of his heterodoxy. Neither were the accusations brought against him altogether of a religious character. Far from it. Numberless other charges were laid to his account. His participation in politics was held up in a condemnatory light, and so it may even appear to some in our own day; but let such persons look at his conduct in connection with the times, and let them not judge him from a stand-point in the latter half of the nineteenth century. His private life was also rudely, and to some extent, justly assailed. He tells us himself his early years were marked by many indiscretions, of which he was heartily ashamed in after life. These united accusations at length rendered his stay at Glarus, were they were chiefly circulated, very unpleasant. He was only waiting for an opportunity to change the scene of his labors, and it was not long delayed. He accepted the situation of people's priest in the Monastery of Einsiedeln, one of the most famous institutions of the kind in Switzerland. Zwingli's removal to this place, forms a memorable era in his life. This convent it appears, was a place of much resort to persons from abroad. It possessed the privilege of granting plenary indulgences, which attracted multitudes of all classes; it was a sort of Mecca, and its fame was almost as wide spread as that of its Arabian namesake. The iniquities that Zwingli saw practiced here, stimulated him to still further efforts at reform. The whole history of the Roman Church shows no darker blot, than the cursed traffic in indulgences. It stimulated the commission of every crime, by holding out the means of imme |