, and rise out of
beliefs of sickness, discord, and death, into an unalterable
consciousness of good only."

He had made a beginning when he strove to realize that man is not
separated from God; that God is not a far-off abstraction; and that
infinite mind is, as Carmen insisted, "everywhere."

"It is only the five physical senses that tell us evil is real," he
reflected. "Indeed, without their testimony we would be utterly
unconscious of evil! And I am convinced that their testimony is
specious, and that we see, hear, and feel only in thought, or in
belief. We think the sensations of seeing, hearing, and feeling come
to us through the medium of these senses as outward, fleshly
contrivances, which in some way communicate with the mind and bridge
the gulf between the material and the mental. In reality, we do but
see, hear and feel _our own thoughts_! The philosophers, many of them,
said as much centuries ago. So did Jesus. But--the human mind has been
mesmerized, simply mesmerized!"

These things he pondered day by day, and watched to see them wrought
out in the life of Carmen. "Ah, yes," he would sometimes say, as
spiritual ideas unfolded to him, "you evolve beautiful theories, my
good Jose, and you say many brave things. But, when the day of
judgment comes, as it did when Juan brought you the news of the
revolution, then, alas! your theories fly to pieces, and you find
yourself very human, very material, and your God hidden behind the
distant clouds. When the test comes, you find you cannot prove your
beliefs."

Yet the man did not often indulge in self-condemnation, for somehow he
knew his ideas were right. When he realized the character and specious
nature of evil, and realized, too, that "by thy words thou shalt be
justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned," he knew that the
stirring up of evil by good, and the shaking of the ancient
foundations of carnal belief within his mentality, might mean fiery
trials, still awaiting him. And yet, the crown was for him who should
overcome. Overcome what? The false opinions of mankind, the ignorant
beliefs in matter and evil. For what, after all, is responsible for
all the evil in this world of ours? What but a false concept of God?
"And if I keep my nose buried forever in matter, how can I hope to see
God, who is Spirit? And how can I follow the Christ unless I think as
he thought?" he said.

But it was in the classroom with Carmen that he always received his