e few months of her
intimacy with her mistress. Winifred had had a scientific
education. She had known many clever people. She wanted to bring
Ursula to her own position of thought.

They took religion and rid it of its dogmas, its falsehoods.
Winifred humanized it all. Gradually it dawned upon Ursula that
all the religion she knew was but a particular clothing to a
human aspiration. The aspiration was the real thing,--the
clothing was a matter almost of national taste or need. The
Greeks had a naked Apollo, the Christians a white-robed Christ,
the Buddhists a royal prince, the Egyptians their Osiris.
Religions were local and religion was universal. Christianity
was a local branch. There was as yet no assimilation of local
religions into universal religion.

In religion there were the two great motives of fear and
love. The motive of fear was as great as the motive of love.
Christianity accepted crucifixion to escape from fear; "Do your
worst to me, that I may have no more fear of the worst." But
that which was feared was not necessarily all evil, and that
which was loved not necessarily all good. Fear shall become
reverence, and reverence is submission in identification; love
shall become triumph, and triumph is delight in
identification.

So much she talked of religion, getting the gist of many
writings. In philosophy she was brought to the conclusion that
the human desire is the criterion of all truth and all good.
Truth does not lie beyond humanity, but is one of the products
of the human mind and feeling. There is really nothing to fear.
The motive of fear in religion is base, and must be left to the
ancient worshippers of power, worship of Moloch.

We do not worship power, in our enlightened souls. Power is
degenerated to money and Napoleonic stupidity.

Ursula could not help dreaming of Moloch. Her God was not
mild and gentle, neither Lamb nor Dove. He was the lion and the
eagle. Not because the lion and the eagle had power, but because
they were proud and strong; they were themselves, they were not
passive subjects of some shepherd, or pets of some loving woman,
or sacrifices of some priest. She was weary to death of mild,
passive lambs and monotonous doves. If the lamb might lie down
with the lion, it would be a great honour to the lamb, but the
lion's powerful heart would suffer no diminishing. She loved the
dignity and self-possession of lions.

She did not see how lambs could love. Lambs could onl