d that Protestantism
is being shattered upon the dead Christ, while Catholicism evolves by
virtue of the living Christ. But now I speak to the statesman, not,
indeed, to implore him to protect the Catholic Church, which would be
a misfortune, but to tell him that though the State may not be either
Catholic or Protestant, neither may it ignore God, and you dare to
ignore Him in more than one of your schools, in those you call high, and
this in the name of freedom of science, which you confound with freedom
of thought and of speech; for thought and speech are free to deny God,
but the negation of God neither partakes nor can partake of the nature
of science, and you are bound to teach science alone. You are well
acquainted with that petty statesmanship which forces you to a private
compromise with your conscience, in order to obtain in secret some
favour from the Vatican, in which you do not believe, but you are ill
acquainted with that grand statesmanship which upholds the authority
of Him who is the eternal principle of all justice. You work harder to
destroy it than the atheistic professors themselves; for, after all, the
atheistic professors have but little power; you statesmen, who sometimes
talk of your belief in God, you undermine His authority far more deeply
than those professors, by the bad example of your practical atheism.
You who imagine you believe in the Godhead of Christ are, in reality,
prophets and priests of the false gods. You serve them, as the
idolatrous Hebrew princes served them, in high places, in the presence
of the people. You serve, in the high places, the gods of all earthly
lusts."

"_Bravo_!" interrupted the Minister, who was well known for the
austerity of his life, his domestic virtues, and his carelessness
concerning money. "You amuse me!"

And he added, turning to his friend:

"It was really not worth while."

"Understand me well!" Benedetto continued. "Yes, you also are one of
these priests. Do I then speak of ordinary revellers? I speak of you and
of others like you, who esteem yourselves honest men because you do not
plunge your hands into the coffers of the State, who esteem yourselves
moral men because you do not give yourselves up to the pleasures of the
senses. I will tell you two things: All the while you are worshipping
pleasures which are still more sinful. You make false gods of yourselves
unto yourselves; you worship the pleasure of contemplating yourselves in
all your p