On the 16th of May the religious discussion was brought to a close; and May 31, the Protestants presented a memorial to the Emperor, in which they refer to nine articles in particular, which they could not accept on any consideration. They treated of the Church, the Sacrament, the enumeration of particular sins in Confession, of Satisfaction, of the Unity of the Church and Ordination, of the Saints, the Mass, Secret Masses, and the Celibacy of the Priesthood. We may easily understand that the Emperor, who was very desirous of a union, was not at all satisfied with such a conclusion. As he believed that very much depended upon Luther in this matter, he even sent a deputation to him. It was composed of Prince JOHN of Anhalt, MATTHIAS VON SCHULENBURG, and ALEXANDER ALESIUS. They arrived in Wittenberg on the 7th of June, and conferred with him a few days. But they did not find a hearing here; for Luther's motto was the word, once expressed in a letter to the Elector: "It is impossible to reconcile Christ and the serpent." They therefore returned to Ratisbon without effecting their purpose. Melanchthon expressed himself in a very decided and clear manner in regard to the Ratisbon book, in an address to the States. He says of the _rejected_ articles: "I will not accept one of them, nor patch at them any more." Of the _omitted_ articles, to which Confirmation and Extreme Unction belong, he said: "We would not contend much about these, if we could agree in other points." He then speaks of the articles which were looked upon as _agreed upon_, while they were nevertheless not _agreed_ upon. He here had many objections to make to the book in reference to Justification, the state of Grace, Sin, and the like. He concludes his opinion in these beautiful words: "I cannot and will not accept this book, and pray God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, that he would grant good counsels and help to us all, and that he would guard and rule his Church, which he has redeemed by his Son unto eternal life, and which he still wonderfully preserves. However, in order that each and every one may know what I believe, I wish to declare by this, that I hold the doctrine of our Church, as it is contained in our Confession and Apology, and that, with the help of God, I intend to abide by it. I also thank God that he has again illuminated his Church, and would not wish to give any occasion to darken the pure doctrine again." But the Catholics rejected the book also; Eck called it an insipid book, and expressed himself against it in the most decided manner.