American fiction -- 20th century; Divorce -- Fiction; Married people -- Fiction; Rich people -- Fiction
yield herself to the spell of the solemn architecture, the new
stained-glass windows, the artistic reredos, and the vested choir of
St. Stephen's--without suspicion or doubt. Her life had lacked the
impulse of art, and in finding it she believed that she had discovered
the secret of a closer approach to God.
She sought by zeal to make atonement to Mr. Prentiss for her past
deficiencies. It did not appear to her essential to recant her errors
formally; indeed, she did not do so to herself, for in respect to
certain dogmas and supernatural claims of the creed she had not
disowned her independence of thought. That which she wished to disown
unmistakably was the coldness of her attitude toward spiritual things;
she wished her rector to realize that heart was predominating over
mind, and that trusting, ardent worship had taken the place of
speculative lip service. A sermon by Mr. Prentiss came in the nick of
time to further this attitude. It was on the essentials of the
religious faith, and he defined them as the spirit of Christian
brotherhood and love through man to God. Although he did not in terms
disparage the importance of the dogmas and traditions of the church,
the impression left on Constance was that he had passed them by as
embodying the antiquated letter, but not the modern temper of Christian
doctrine. To her eager imagination the doubts which had harassed her
in the past concerning the truth of the miracles, and kindred
scriptural deviation, from the natural order of the universe were
reduced to trivial importance. Instead of stumbling-blocks to faith,
they had become objects of secondary interest, to one side of the
high-road along which the Christ-life was leading mankind.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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