Rise and Establishment of Protestantism at Geneva - James Aitken Wylie

conference, mistrusting the sincerity of the Roman
managers, and knowing, perhaps better than any
other man, that an impossible task had been
assigned to them when they were required to
reconcile essentially antagonistic creeds. And yet
many things seemed to prognosticate a prosperous
issue to this the fourth attempt, within the space of
two years, to effect the pacification of
Christendom. First, the position of the emperor's
affairs made it clearly his interest to be on friendly
terms with the princes of the Protestant League. He
was raising armies, expending vast sums, wasting
his years and strength, and taxing his genius in
toilsome expeditions and mighty undertakings, and
yet the perplexities around his throne were
thickening instead of lessening. Verily, he had no
need to court new difficulties. Charles spoke truth,
doubtless, when, by the mouth of Grenville, he
opened the Diet with these words: "When he
perceived how religion had torn and rent asunder
the Empire, and given occasion to the Turk to
pierce almost into the bowels of Germany, it had
been a great grief to him, and, therefore, for many
years past he had, with their own consents, been
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