Roman Catholic religion is not a faith at all, but simply a
continuation of the Roman Empire, and everything is subordinated to
this idea--beginning with faith. The Pope has seized territories and an
earthly throne, and has held them with the sword. And so the thing has
gone on, only that to the sword they have added lying, intrigue, deceit,
fanaticism, superstition, swindling;--they have played fast and loose
with the most sacred and sincere feelings of men;--they have exchanged
everything--everything for money, for base earthly POWER! And is this
not the teaching of Anti-Christ? How could the upshot of all this
be other than Atheism? Atheism is the child of Roman Catholicism--it
proceeded from these Romans themselves, though perhaps they would not
believe it. It grew and fattened on hatred of its parents; it is the
progeny of their lies and spiritual feebleness. Atheism! In our country
it is only among the upper classes that you find unbelievers; men who
have lost the root or spirit of their faith; but abroad whole masses of
the people are beginning to profess unbelief--at first because of
the darkness and lies by which they were surrounded; but now out of
fanaticism, out of loathing for the Church and Christianity!"

The prince paused to get breath. He had spoken with extraordinary
rapidity, and was very pale.

All present interchanged glances, but at last the old dignitary burst
out laughing frankly. Prince N. took out his eye-glass to have a good
look at the speaker. The German poet came out of his corner and crept
nearer to the table, with a spiteful smile.

"You exaggerate the matter very much," said Ivan Petrovitch, with rather
a bored air. "There are, in the foreign Churches, many representatives
of their faith who are worthy of respect and esteem."

"Oh, but I did not speak of individual representatives. I was merely
talking about Roman Catholicism, and its essence--of Rome itself. A
Church can never entirely disappear; I never hinted at that!"

"Agreed that all this may be true; but we need not discuss a subject
which belongs to the domain of theology."

"Oh, no; oh, no! Not to theology alone, I assure you! Why, Socialism is
the progeny of Romanism and of the Romanistic spirit. It and its brother
Atheism proceed from Despair in opposition to Catholicism. It seeks to
replace in itself the moral power of religion, in order to appease the
spiritual thirst of parched humanity and save it; not by Christ, but