Now there are many human beings who are of the caterpillar
quality of brain--what are you to do with them? They would not
understand God as manifested in the solar system, but they would try
to please some favourite Saint by good conduct. Is it not better
that they should believe in the Saint than in nothing?"
"I cannot think it well for anyone to believe in a lie," said Aubrey
slowly, taken aback despite himself by Gherardi's sudden gentleness,
"There is a magnificent simplicity in truth;--truth which, the more
it is tested, the truer it proves. Where is there any necessity of
falsehood? Surely the marvels of nature could be explained with as
much ease as the supposed miracles of a Saint?"
"I doubt it!" answered Gherardi smiling, "You must admit, my dear
sir, that our scientific men are a great deal too abstruse for the
majority;--in some cases they are almost too abstruse for
themselves! You spoke just now of the priests of Egypt;--the oracles
of Memphis were clear reading compared to the involved sentences of
some of our modern scientists! Scientific books are hard nuts to
crack even for the highly educated; but for the uneducated, believe
me, the personality of a Saint is much more consoling than the
movements of a star.
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