Rome made many a blunder in the old days of
barbarity and ignorance--but now we have a thousand forces put into
our hands instead of one or two,--forces to terrorise--forces to
compel!--and the power of Rome wielded by the Popes of the days to
come, shall be indeed a power irresistible!"
He stood enrapt,--his hand upraised, his eyes flashing, then
recalling himself, turned abruptly on Gherardi with an impatient
gesture.
"You can repeat all this," he said sarcastically, "in your next
eloquent discourse with Aubrey Leigh! It will save you the trouble
of thinking! His influence with the English masses will be but a
brief phenomenon,--the blind and brutal stupidity of the people he
seeks to serve will soon dishearten and discourage him, and then he
will come to us through his wife, and his conversion will be a
triumph worth winning,--a step in the right direction. And now to
other matters. These papers," and he sat down at the table once
more, "are, I think, sufficiently in order to be placed before His
Holiness. But you may as well look through them with me first. Later
on, the affair of Cardinal Bonpre will occupy all our time . . ."
"It is an 'affair' then?" asked Gherardi, "The 'saint' is in
trouble?"
"All 'saints' get into trouble!" answered Moretti, "It is only
sinners who receive honour! Cardinal Bonpre has made the fatal
mistake of reading Jesus Christ's Gospel instead of Church Doctrine!
His creed is Love,--his duty, as I have just explained to you, if he
would be a faithful son of the Church, is Hate!"
"Love forms no part of your nature then?" asked Gherardi, hardly
knowing why he put the question, yet curious as to the answer.
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