whether I think that we (the Church of Rome) do truly follow that Gospel, I must own that I have doubts upon the matter."
We are informed here, also, through Cardinal
Bonpré, of what Marie Corelli means by Paulism.
Ministers of religion, he declares, should literally
obey all Christ's commands:
"The Church is a system,—but whether it is as
much founded on the teaching of our Lord, who
was Divine, as on the teaching of St. Paul, who
was not divine, is a question to me of much perplexity. . . .
I do not decry St. Paul. He was
a gifted and clever man, but he was a Man—he was
not God-in-Man. Christ's doctrine leaves no place
for differing sects; St. Paul's method of applying
that doctrine serves as authority for the establishment
of any and every quarrelsome sect ever
known. . . . I do not think we fit the Church
system to the needs of modern civilization . . .
we only offer vague hopes and dubious promises to
those who thirst for the living waters of salvation
and immortality."
Cardinal Bonpré that night has a vision of the end
of the world, and in his agony at the spectacle he
cries: "Have patience yet, Thou outraged and
blasphemed Creator! Break once again Thy silence
as of old, and speak to us! Pity us once again,
ere Thou slay us utterly! Come to us even as
Thou camest in Judea, and surely we will receive
