第43章

Ernestwasverymuchimpressed。

“Asformencuringthemselves。”continuedPryer，“theycannomorecuretheirownsoulsthantheycancuretheirownbodies，ormanagetheirownlawaffairs。Inthesetwolastcasestheyseethefollyofmeddlingwiththeirowncasesclearlyenough，andgotoaprofessionaladviserasamatterofcourse；surelyaman’ssoulisatonceamoredifficultandintricatemattertotreat，andatthesametimeitismoreimportanttohimthatitshouldbetreatedrightlythanthateitherhisbodyorhismoneyshouldbeso。WhatarewetothinkofthepracticeofaChurchwhichencouragespeopletorelyonunprofessionaladviceinmattersaffectingtheireternalwelfare，whentheywouldnotthinkofjeopardisingtheirworldlyaffairsbysuchinsaneconduct？”

Ernestcouldseenoweakplaceinthis。Theseideashadcrossedhisownmindvaguelybeforenow，buthehadneverlaidholdofthemorsettheminanorderlymannerbeforehimself。Norwashequickatdetectingfalseanalogiesandthemisuseofmetaphors；infacthewasamerechildinthehandsofhisfellowcurate。

“Andwhat。”resumedPryer，“doesallthispointto？Firstly，tothedutyofconfession——theoutcryagainstwhichisabsurdasanoutcrywouldbeagainstdissectionaspartofthetrainingofmedicalstudents。Grantedtheseyoungmenmustseeanddoagreatdealwedonotourselveslikeeventothinkof，buttheyshouldadoptsomeotherprofessionunlesstheyarepreparedforthis；theymayevengetinoculatedwithpoisonfromadeadbodyandlosetheirlives，buttheymuststandtheirchance。Soifweaspiretobepriestsindeedaswellasname，wemustfamiliariseourselveswiththeminutestandmostrepulsivedetailsofallkindsofsin，sothatwemayrecogniseitinallitsstages。Someofusmustdoubtlesslyperishspirituallyinsuchinvestigations。Wecannothelpit；allsciencemusthaveitsmartyrs，andnoneofthesewilldeservebetterofhumanitythanthosewhohavefalleninthepursuitofspiritualpathology。”

Ernestgrewmoreandmoreinterested，butinthemeeknessofhissoulsaidnothing。

“Idonotdesirethismartyrdomformyself。”continuedtheother，“onthecontraryIwillavoidittotheveryutmostofmypower，butifitbeGod’swillthatIshouldfallwhilestudyingwhatIbelievemostcalculatedtoadvancehisglory——then，Isay，notmywill，ohLord，butthinebedone。”

ThiswastoomuchevenforErnest。“IheardofanIrish-womanonce。”hesaid，withasmile，“whosaidshewasamartyrtothedrink。”

“Andsoshewas。”rejoinedPryerwithwarmth；andhewentontoshowthatthisgoodwomanwasanexperimentalistwhoseexperiment，thoughdisastrousinitseffectsuponherself，waspregnantwithinstructiontootherpeople。Shewasthusatruemartyrorwitnesstothefrightfulconsequencesofintemperance，tothesaving，doubtless，ofmanywhobutforhermartyrdomwouldhavetakentodrinking。Shewasoneofaforlornhopewhosefailuretotakeacertainpositionwenttotheprovingittobeimpregnableandthereforetotheabandonmentofallattempttotakeit。Thiswasalmostasgreatagaintomankindastheactualtakingofthepositionwouldhavebeen。

“Besides。”headdedmorehurriedly，“thelimitsofviceandvirtuearewretchedlyill-defined。Halftheviceswhichtheworldcondemnsmostloudlyhaveseedsofgoodinthemandrequiremoderateuseratherthantotalabstinence。”

Ernestaskedtimidlyforaninstance。

“No，no。”saidPryer，“Iwillgiveyounoinstance，butIwillgiveyouaformulathatshallembraceallinstances。Itisthis，thatnopracticeisentirelyviciouswhichhasnotbeenextinguishedamongthecomeliest，mostvigorous，andmostcultivatedracesofmankindinspiteofcenturiesofendeavourtoextirpateit。Ifaviceinspiteofsucheffortscanstillholditsownamongthemostpolishednations，itmustbefoundedonsomeimmutabletruthorfactinhumannature，andmusthavesomecompensatoryadvantagewhichwecannotaffordaltogethertodispensewith。”

“But。”saidErnesttimidly，“isnotthisvirtuallydoingawaywithalldistinctionbetweenrightandwrong，andleavingpeoplewithoutanymoralguidewhatever？”

“Notthepeople。”wastheanswer：“itmustbeourcaretobeguidestothese，fortheyareandalwayswillbeincapableofguiding