"You are such an innocent!" responded Philip, still laughing. "Why, my simple little sister, all is fair in politics, as in love and war." "I don't see that 'all is fair' in any of the three. What is right is right, and what is wrong is wrong." "Excellent, my logical damsel! But what are right and wrong? That is the first question. Is there a certain abstract thing called right or virtue? or does right differ according to the views or circumstances of the actor?" "I do not understand you, Philip. To do right is to obey God, and to do wrong is to disobey God. There was no wrong in Adam's and Eve's eating fruit: what made it wrong was God's having forbidden them to touch that one tree. St. Paul says, 'Where no law is there is no transgression.'"[34] "Upon my word, you are a regular divine! But--leaving St. Paul on one side for the present--how, according to your theory, shall we discover what is wrong?" "Just by not leaving St. Paul on one side," answered Celia, smiling; "for the Bible is given us for that purpose." "Very few definite rules are to be found in the Bible, my doctor of divinity." "Quite enough for all of us, Philip." "Pardon me! The very thing, I think, is, that there are not enough. A few more 'thou shalts' and 'thou shalt nots' would be of infinite service. Your view, if I understand it, is to bring the Bible to bear upon every act of life; but how you contrive to do so I can't imagine. Now, look here! I will give you a case, my fair casuist. Would it be right or wrong for me, at this moment, sitting on this sofa, to take a pinch of snuff?" "I must ask you a few questions before I can answer." "Catechize, by all means. 'What is my name?' Philip Eugene. 'Who gave me this name?' Don't recollect in the least. 'What did they do for me?' Why, one of them gave me a gold goblet, and another a set of silver Apostle-spoons:[35] and I am not aware that they did anything else for me." "Philip, Philip!" remonstrated Celia, laughing in spite of herself. "Please don't let us jest upon these serious subjects. I don't want to ask those questions." "Well, I won't jest, my dear. I will be very quiet and grave." "Does your mother object to your taking snuff?" "Not exactly. I don't think she much likes it." "Then your question is answered. If she does not like it, it is--for you--wrong." "Oh! you arrive at your conclusions in that roundabout sort of way? That is rather clever but I will see if I cannot puzzle you yet." "I have no doubt you can, very easily," said Celia. "You may readily propound fifty such cases which I could not answer. You see, those are not my circumstances: and we can scarce expect that God will give us grace to see what is right in difficulties which He does not lay upon us. Do you not think so, Patient?" "I do so, Madam. I have ever found it harder to see the way out when I had hedged up mine own way, than when the Lord, as with Noah, had shut me in."