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.
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