III. THE SEARCH FOR TRUTH
—
I CANNOT hope to have every one accept my message as the truth, even if it be true. Let us assume, for the sake of the argument, that it is the very truth itself; that I wrote with the eloquence of an angel, adduced the most convincing arguments, proved my case perfectly for most men—there would still be many who would criticize and find fault and reject, for the possession of the truth may involve sacrifice of cherished opinions.
There are men who love reasonings about the truth; they delight in scientific processes of thought, but they have somehow lost sight of the object of their thought, truth itself, and the common sense that ought to characterize the search. Their critical faculty has become so highly developed that it is excessively exacting in its demands; it is critical beyond use or reason. It cannot see the end or aim of their endeavor, but loses itself in the processes of the study.
