must do it, or your Church will perish, not by violence—we don’t do that nowadays—but by neglect and inanition.’
‘Then you simply throw up, reject, and scout the notion that there may be such things as eternal and immutable verities, of which the Catholic Church is the depositary, Mr Bristley?’ said the prelate, with a sneer on his face which plainly showed his own opinion of that convenient doctrine.
‘There is and can be but one such verity in the universe, Cardinal Power, and that is Divine Order. The Catholic Church the depositary of it, you say? That is just what we want to see her. However, I am not discussing verities with you, Cardinal Power, but expediency. You have to take the plunge, in order that your Church may live, not because it is the truth. Secular education of the masses is already overtaking you, it is close on your heels, shortly it will tread upon them, then it will grip you by the throat and hurl you to the ground. You must agree with it quickly while you are in the way; wrestle with it and conquer it you cannot. Be wise in time; listen to the counsels of impartial bystanders. I am an impartial bystander, because I know that woman-worship must triumph before the world is much older, whether it be your Church or some other that is destined to be its champion. My reason for urging you to take it up, is that I see the many advantages you possess over other competitors, and what a crying pity it would be that you should turn tail and leave your inferiors to carry off the prize. I have said enough at the outset, I think, to show you that the apparent hold which Catholicism is regaining here and in other non-Romish countries, is nothing more than the hold which all sects, old and new, are gaining through the spread of tolerance, and of the freethought which you miscall infidelity. Working on your present lines, then, all you can
