_Calvin._ ‘Certainly, there is a snake in the grass here. The pope, who holds in abomination all discussion, cannot hear it spoken of without immediately crying “Fire!” in order to prevent it. Only let any one call to mind all the little assemblies held by the pontiffs these twenty years and more, for the purpose of smothering the Gospel, and then he will see clearly what kind of a reformation they would be willing to accept.[58] All men of sound mind see clearly that the question is not only of maintaining the status of the pope as a sovereign and limited episcopacy, but rather of completely setting aside the episcopal office and of establishing in its stead and under its name _an antichristian tyranny_.[59] And not only so, but the adherents of the papacy put men out of their minds by wicked and impious lies, and corrupt the world by numberless examples of debauchery. Not contented with these misdeeds, they exterminate those who strive to restore to the Church a purer doctrine and a more lawful order, or who merely venture to ask for these things.’ _The Pope._ ‘It is impossible to tell in what way to proceed in order to come to any agreement with such people as these, for they are not in agreement even with one another. The Lutherans want one thing, the Zwinglians want another, to say nothing of other sects.’ _Calvin._ ‘This is a malicious fiction. Let the institutions of Jesus Christ and the worship of the early church be re-established; let every thing be cast away that is opposed to these, and which can proceed only from Antichrists, and concord will thus be immediately restored among all who are of Christ, whether they be called by their enemies Lutherans or Zwinglians. If there be any who demand other things than those which I have just spoken of, the Protestants do not count them of their number.’[60] _The Pope._ ‘Even if it were possible to bring about a union, if the Protestants could be brought to obey the holy see, this could not be effected without making many concessions to them.’ _Calvin._ ‘It is needful only to concede what the Lord concedes and commands. Why does man refuse this?’ _The Pope._ ‘If these things were allowed, the consequence would be a breach in the unity of the Church; for such changes would never be accepted in France, nor in Spain, nor in Italy, nor in the other provinces of Christendom.’ [Sidenote: Unity And Diversity.]