“We!” said the Cardinal—­“Yes, we! that is, ourselves;—­the Church—­ we think, when we hear of heresies and blasphemies that it is we who are ‘suffering for righteousness’ sake,’ but in our egotism we forget that we are not suffering at all if we are able to retain our faith!  It is the very heretics and blasphemers whom we condemn that are suffering—­suffering absolute tortures—­perchance ’for righteousness’ sake’!”

“Dare we call a heretic ’righteous’?” enquired the Archbishop—­“Is he not, in his very heresy, accursed?”

“According to our Lord, no one is accursed save traitors,—­that is to say those who are not true.  If a man doubts, it is better he should admit his doubt than make a pretence of belief.  The persons whom we call heretics may have their conception of the truth,—­they may say that they cannot accept a creed which is so ignorant of its own tenets as to condemn all those who do not follow it,—­inasmuch as the very Founder of it distinctly says—­’If any man hear my words and believe not, I judge him not; for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world.’  Now we, His followers, judge, but do not save.  The atheist is judged by us, but not rescued from his unbelief; the thinker is condemned,—­the scientist who reveals the beauty and wisdom of God as made manifest in the composition of the lightning, or the germinating of a flower, is accused of destroying religion.  And we continue to pass our opinion, and thunder our vetoes and bans of excommunication against our fellowmen, in the full front of the plain command ’Judge not, that ye be not judged’!”

“I see it is no use arguing with you,” said the Archbishop, forcing a smile, with a vexation the smile could not altogether conceal,—­ “You are determined to take these sayings absolutely,—­and to fret your spirit over the non-performance of imaginary duties which do not exist.  This Church is a system,—­founded on our Lord’s teaching, but applied to the needs of modern civilization.  It is not humanly possible to literally obey all Christ’s commands.”

“For the outside world I grant it may be difficult,—­but for the ministers of religion, however difficult it may be, it should be done,” replied the Cardinal firmly.  “I said this before, and I deliberately maintain it.  The Church is a system,—­but whether it is as much founded on the teaching of our Lord, who was divine, as on the teaching of St. Paul, who was not divine, is a question to me of much perplexity.”

“St. Paul was directly inspired by our Lord,” said the Archbishop—­ “I am amazed that you should even hint a doubt of his apostleship!”

“I do not decry St. Paul,” answered Bonpre quietly—­“He was a gifted and clever man, but he was a Man—­he was not God-in-Man.  Christ’s doctrine leaves no place for differing sects; St. Paul’s method of applying that doctrine serves as authority for the establishment of any and every quarrelsome sect ever known!”