the trouble once for all,
he came to Germany and opened a Diet at Augsburg [Sidenote: June 20,
1530] to which were invited not only the representatives of the various
states but a number of leading theologians, both Catholic and Lutheran,
all except Luther himself, an outlaw by the Edict of Worms.

The first action taken was to ask the Lutherans to state their position
and this was done in the famous Augsburg Confession, [Sidenote: June
25] read before the Diet by the Saxon Chancellor Brueck. It had been
drawn up by {117} Melanchthon in language as near as possible to that
of the old church. Indeed it undertook to prove that there was in the
Lutheran doctrine "nothing repugnant to Scripture or to the Catholic
church or to the Roman church." Even in the form of the Confession
published 1531 this Catholicizing tendency is marked, but in the
original, now lost, it was probably stronger. The reason of this was
not, as generally stated, Melanchthon's "gentleness" and desire to
conciliate all parties, for he showed himself more truculent to the
Zwinglians and Anabaptists than did Luther. It was due to the fact
that Melanchthon [Sidenote: Melanchthon] was at heart half a Catholic,
so much so, indeed, that Contarini and others thought it quite possible
that he might come over to them. In the present instance he made his
doctrine conform to the Roman tenets to such an extent that (in the
lost original, as we may judge by the Confutation) even
transubstantiation was in a manner accepted. The first part of the
Confession is a creed: the second part takes up certain abuses, or
reforms, namely: the demand of the cup for the laity, the marriage of
priests, the mass as an _opus operatum_ or as celebrated privately,
fasting and traditions, monastic vows and the power of the pope.

But the concessions did not satisfy the Catholics. A Refutation was
prepared by Eck and others, and read before the Diet on August 3.
Negotiations continued and still further concessions were wrung from
Melanchthon, concessions of so dangerous a nature that his
fellow-Protestants denounced him as an enemy of the faith and appealed
to Luther against him. Melanchthon had agreed to call the mass a
sacrifice, if the word were qualified by the term "commemorative," and
also promised that the bishops should be restored to their ancient
jurisdictions, a measure justified by him as a blow at turbulent
sectaries but one also most {118} perilous to Lutherans