The discussion being finished, Adrian and de Kalmance had to pronounce judgment. For this purpose they went to the king. They were seriously embarrassed, and without being undecided were in a great difficulty. ‘Sire,’ they said, ‘all that Szantai has maintained is founded on the Holy Scripture, and he has demonstrated the truth of it; but the monks have uttered only words without meaning. Nevertheless, if we publicly assert this, we shall be everywhere decried as enemies of religion, and then we are ruined. If on the other hand we should condemn Szantai, we should be acting against our own consciences, and we could not escape the judgment of God. For this reason we entreat Your Majesty to devise some plan which will furnish us a way of escape from this twofold danger.’ The king understood the difficulty of their position and promised to do all that he could for them. This was in the morning. Ferdinand was almost as much embarrassed as the two judges. In vain he reflected on this difficult case; he found no solution. He acknowledged that the Protestants had a right to be protected in their religious liberty; and he felt that it was dangerous to exasperate so considerable a number of his subjects. But what would Rome and the clergy say if he granted an amnesty to Szantai? About three o’clock in the afternoon, word was brought to him that several bishops, prelates, and monks desired to speak to him. Disquieted by their defeat, they wished to put pressure upon the mind of the prince. ‘Sire,’ said the bishop of Grosswardin, ‘we are the shepherds of the Church, and we are bound to take care of our flock. For this reason we have demanded that this heretic should be seized and condemned, in order that those who are like him, alarmed by his example, may cease to speak and to write against the Roman doctrine. But Your Majesty has done the very reverse of that which we asked; you have granted a religious conference to this wretched man, who has thus had an opportunity of inducing many to take his poison. Assuredly the Holy Father will not be pleased with this. There is no need of a discussion. The Church has long since condemned these brigands of heretics, and their sentence is written on their foreheads.’