To abdicate in order to reign seems to be the motto of monasticism. In the convent, they suffer in order to enjoy. They take out a letter of credit on death. They discount in earthly night the light of heaven. In the convent hell is endured in advance of the heirship to paradise. The taking of the veil or the frock is a suicide recompensed by eternity. Mockery on such a subject does not seem to us to be in place. Everything there is serious, the good as well as the bad. The just man frowns, but never sneers at it We can sympathize with indignation, but not with malignity. CHAPTER VIII. FAITH, LAW. A few words more. We blame the Church when it is steeped in intrigues. We scorn the spiritual when it is not in accord with the temporal; but we honor the thoughtful man wherever we find him. We bow to the man who kneels. A faith of some kind is necessary to man. Alas for him who believes nothing! We are not necessarily idle because we are absorbed. Labor may be invisible as well as visible. To reflect is to labor; to think is to act. The folded arms labor, the clasped hands work. The gaze directed to heaven is a labor. Thales stayed immovable for four years. He founded philosophy. In our opinion, monks are not drones, and hermits are not idlers. To think of the future life is a serious business. Without withdrawing at all from the position which we have just taken, we believe that a continual reminder of the tomb is good for the living. On this point the priest and the philosopher agree. _We must die._ The Trappist Abbé replies to Horace. To mix with his life some presence of the tomb is the law of the wise man; and it is also the law of the recluse. Here recluse and wise man agree. There is such a thing as material growth; we are glad of it. There is also such a thing as moral grandeur; we insist upon it. Thoughtless and hasty spirits say: "What is the use of these figures motionless by the side of mystery? What purpose do they serve? What good do they do?" Alas! In presence of the darkness which envelops us, and which awaits us, not knowing what will become of us in the dispersion of all things, we answer, "There is no work more sublime, perhaps, than that which these souls are doing." And we add, "There is, perhaps, no work more useful." Those who always pray are needed for those who never pray. In our opinion, it all depends on the amount of thought that enters into the prayer. Leibnitz in prayer, this is grand. Voltaire in adoration, this is sublime. _Deo erexit Voltaire._ We are on the side of religion against religions. We believe in the worthlessness of supplications and the sublimity of worship.