efore can be
naught but a consciousness of absolute good, perfectly attainable by
humanity as the 'old man' of Paul is laid off, but not gained,
necessarily, through what we call death."

The silence which followed was broken at length by Miss Wall. "And
what constitutes the 'old man'?" she asked.

"Largely, I think," said Hitt, "the belief that matter is real."

"What?" exclaimed Haynerd, almost rising from his chair. "Matter,
real?"

Hitt laughed. "I stand on my statement," he replied.

Father Waite rose slowly, as if lost in thought. "History shows," he
said, meditatively, "that man's progress has been proportionate to his
freedom from the limitation of ignorance and undemonstrable belief.
And that freedom has come as man's concept of God has grown less and
less material, and more and more spiritual. From the animal nature of
the savage, to whom all is matter, down--or up--to the man of to-day,
to whom mind is assuming ever greater ascendency, man's progress has
been marked by a throwing off of limiting beliefs, theological or
other, in material power and substance. The development of the least
material forces, steam, electricity, the X-ray, has come only as the
human mind has thrown off a portion of its hampering material beliefs.
I am astounded when I think of it, and of its marvelous message to
future generations! For, from the premise that the creator of all
things is spirit, or mind, as you will, comes the corollary that the
creation itself must of necessity be _mental_. And from this come such
deductions as fairly make me tremble. Carmen has told me of the
deductions which her tutor, the priest Jose, drew from the single
premise that the universe is infinite in extent--a premise which I
think we all will accept."

"There can be no question about it," said Hitt, nodding his head.

"Well," continued Father Waite, "that granted, we must likewise grant
its creator to be infinite, must we not?"

"Certainly."

"And that puts the creator out of the matter-class entirely. The
creator must be--"

"Mind," said Carmen, supplying the thought ever-present with her.

"I see no other conclusion," said Father Waite. "But, that granted, a
flood of deductions pours in that sends human beliefs and reasoning
helter-skelter. For an infinite mind would eventually disintegrate if
it were not perfect in every part."

"Perhaps it is already disintegrating, and that's what causes the evil
in the world," hazarded Haynerd.