XI. The diet now entered upon its third phasis, and as the time of tentatives had been followed by that of menaces; now that of arrangements was to succeed the period of menaces. New and more formidable dangers were then to be encountered by the Reform. Rome, seeing the sword torn from its hands, had seized the net, and enlacing her adversaries with "cords of humanity and bands of love," was endeavouring to drag them gently into the abyss. [Sidenote: THE MIXED COMMISSION.] At eight o'clock in the morning of the 16th August, a mixed commission was framed, which counted on each side two princes, two lawyers, and three theologians. In the Romish party, there were Duke Henry of Brunswick, the Bishop of Augsburg, the Chancellors of Baden and Cologne, with Eck, Cochlœus, and Wimpina; on the part of the Protestants, were the Margrave George of Brandenburg, the Prince Electoral of Saxony, the Chancellors Brück and Heller, with Melancthon, Brenz, and Schnepf.[754] [754] P. Urkundenbuch, ii. p. 219. They agreed to take as basis the Confession of the Evangelical states, and they began to read it article by article. The Romish theologians displayed an unexpected condescension. Out of twenty-one dogmatical articles, there were only six or seven to which they made any objection. Original Sin stopped them some time: at length they came to an understanding; the Protestants admitted that Baptism removed the guilt of the sin, and the Papists agreed that it did not wash away concupiscence. As for the Church, they granted that it contained sanctified men and sinners; they coincided also on confession. The Protestants rejected especially as impossible the enumeration of all the sins prescribed by Rome. Doctor Eck yielded this point.[755] [755] Die Sünd die man nicht wisse, die durff man nicht beichten. (F. Urkunden, ii. p. 228.) There remained three doctrines only on which they differed. The first was that of Penance. The Romish doctors taught that it contained three parts: contrition, confession, and satisfaction. The Protestants rejected the latter, and the Romanists clearly perceiving that with satisfaction would fall indulgences, purgatory, with other of their doctrines and profits, vigorously maintained it. "We agree," said they, "that the penance imposed by the priest does not procure remission of the guilt of sin: but we maintain that it is necessary to obtain remission of the penalty." [Sidenote: ROMISH DISSIMULATION.] The second controverted point was the Invocation of Saints; and the third, and principal one, was Justification by Faith. It was of the greatest importance for the Romanists to maintain the meritorious influence of works: all their system, in reality, was based on that. Eck therefore haughtily declared war on the assertion that faith alone justifies. "That word _sole_," said he, "we cannot tolerate. It generates scandals, and renders men brutal and impious. Let us send back the _sole_ to the cobbler."[756]