Well, if in these statements he is supposed to prove his
madness, I consider a doubt must be set upon everyone's sanity. For
his words are an exact description of the present period of the
world's existence and its attitude towards the Gospel of Christ,--
'NO MAN IS FOUND WORTHY TO LOOSE THE SEALS OF THE BOOK OR TO LOOK
THEREON.' But I am not going to talk to you about the seven seals.
They adequately represent our favourite 'seven deadly sins,' which
have kept the book closed since the days of the early martyrs;--and
are likely to keep it closed still. Nor shall I speak of our
unworthiness to read what we have never taken the trouble to rightly
understand,--for all this would be waste of time. It is part of our
social sham to pretend we know the Gospel,--and it is a still
greater sham to assume that we have ever tried in the smallest
degree to follow its teaching. What we know of these teachings has
influenced us unconsciously, but the sayings in the Gospel of Christ
are in very truth as enveloped in mystery to each separate
individual reader as the oracles of the ancient Egyptians were to
the outside multitude. And why? Merely because, to comprehend the
teaching of Jesus we should have to think,--and we all hate
thinking.
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