"Entirely. And human concepts of Him have been many and varied. But
that worst of Old Testament interpreters of the first century, Philo,
came terribly close to the truth, I think, when, in a burst of
inspiration, he one day wrote: 'Heaven is mind, and earth is
sensation.' Matthew Arnold, I think, likewise came very close to the
truth when he said that the only God we can recognize is 'that
something not ourselves that makes for righteousness.' And, as for
evil, up in the United States there are some who are now lumping it
all under the head of 'mortal mind,' considering it all but the 'one
lie' which Jesus so often referred to, and regarding it as the
'suppositional opposite' of the mind that is God, and so, powerless.
Not a bad idea, I think. But whether the money-loving Yankee will ever
leave his mad chase for gold long enough to live this premise and so
demonstrate it, is a question. I'm watching its development with
intense interest. We in the States have wonderful, exceptional
opportunities for study and research. We ought to uncover the truth,
if any people should."
He fell into thoughtfulness again. Josè drew a long sigh. "I wish--I
wish," he murmured, "that I might go there--that I might live and work
and search up there."
The explorer roused up. "And why not?" he asked abruptly. "Look here,
come with me and spend a year or so digging around for buried Inca
towns. Then we will go back to the States. Why, man! it would make you
over. I'll take you as interpreter. And in the States I'll find a
place for you. Come. Will you?"
For a moment the doors of imagination swung wide, and in the burst of
light from within Josè saw the dreams of a lifetime fulfilled.
Emancipation lay that way. Freedom, soul-expansion, truth. It was his
God-given privilege. Who had the right to lay a detaining hand upon
him? Was not his soul his own, and his God's?
Then a dark hand stole out from the surrounding shadows and closed the
doors. From the blackness there seemed to rise a hollow voice,
uttering the single word, _Honor_. He thrust out an arm, as if to ward
off the assaults of temptation. "No, no," he said aloud, "I am bound
to the Church!"
"But why remain longer in an institution with which you are quite out
of sympathy?" the explorer urged.
"First, to help the Church. Who will uplift her if we desert her? And,
second, to help this, my ancestral country," replied Josè in deep
earnestness.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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