XVI Preface

...command of Jesus: "Strive to enter through the narrow gate," Luke 13:24. The author uses this biblical imagery to contrast true spiritual discipline with the loud, public fervor of his opponents. — until that point, perhaps their disposition, their vehemence, their efforts to enlarge their following, and the restlessness of their hearts in their undertakings against the good cause — is a worse form of fanaticism Schwärmerey: a derogatory 18th-century term for religious enthusiasm or delusion than they might yet believe or think. — It is like a wild riot, such as that among the worshipers of the Ephesian idol A reference to the riot in Ephesus described in Acts 19:23-41, where the crowd shouted in support of the goddess Artemis without understanding the actual conflict., who in great multitudes and with impetuous cries wanted to defend or prevent a matter that — was completely unknown to them. Whoever does not want to believe what I am writing now; let him wait just a short time. The periodic folly of unauthorized religious reformation will soon have passed away — as several others in our vain century have already passed away — Then those who now cry out so loudly "without having achieved their purpose" will fall silent — A sure proof that they were fanatics. For