Ernestwasverymuchimpressed。
“Asformencuringthemselves。”continuedPryer，“theycannomorecuretheirownsoulsthantheycancuretheirownbodies，ormanagetheirownlawaffairs。Inthesetwolastcasestheyseethefollyofmeddlingwiththeirowncasesclearlyenough，andgotoaprofessionaladviserasamatterofcourse；surelyaman’ssoulisatonceamoredifficultandintricatemattertotreat，andatthesametimeitismoreimportanttohimthatitshouldbetreatedrightlythanthateitherhisbodyorhismoneyshouldbeso。WhatarewetothinkofthepracticeofaChurchwhichencouragespeopletorelyonunprofessionaladviceinmattersaffectingtheireternalwelfare，whentheywouldnotthinkofjeopardisingtheirworldlyaffairsbysuchinsaneconduct？”
Ernestcouldseenoweakplaceinthis。Theseideashadcrossedhisownmindvaguelybeforenow，buthehadneverlaidholdofthemorsettheminanorderlymannerbeforehimself。Norwashequickatdetectingfalseanalogiesandthemisuseofmetaphors；infacthewasamerechildinthehandsofhisfellowcurate。
“Andwhat。”resumedPryer，“doesallthispointto？Firstly，tothedutyofconfession——theoutcryagainstwhichisabsurdasanoutcrywouldbeagainstdissectionaspartofthetrainingofmedicalstudents。Grantedtheseyoungmenmustseeanddoagreatdealwedonotourselveslikeeventothinkof，buttheyshouldadoptsomeotherprofessionunlesstheyarepreparedforthis；theymayevengetinoculatedwithpoisonfromadeadbodyandlosetheirlives，buttheymuststandtheirchance。Soifweaspiretobepriestsindeedaswellasname，wemustfamiliariseourselveswiththeminutestandmostrepulsivedetailsofallkindsofsin，sothatwemayrecogniseitinallitsstages。Someofusmustdoubtlesslyperishspirituallyinsuchinvestigations。Wecannothelpit；allsciencemusthaveitsmartyrs，andnoneofthesewilldeservebetterofhumanitythanthosewhohavefalleninthepursuitofspiritualpathology。”
Ernestgrewmoreandmoreinterested，butinthemeeknessofhissoulsaidnothing。
“Idonotdesirethismartyrdomformyself。”continuedtheother，“onthecontraryIwillavoidittotheveryutmostofmypower，butifitbeGod’swillthatIshouldfallwhilestudyingwhatIbelievemostcalculatedtoadvancehisglory——then，Isay，notmywill，ohLord，butthinebedone。”
ThiswastoomuchevenforErnest。“IheardofanIrish-womanonce。”hesaid，withasmile，“whosaidshewasamartyrtothedrink。”
“Andsoshewas。”rejoinedPryerwithwarmth；andhewentontoshowthatthisgoodwomanwasanexperimentalistwhoseexperiment，thoughdisastrousinitseffectsuponherself，waspregnantwithinstructiontootherpeople。Shewasthusatruemartyrorwitnesstothefrightfulconsequencesofintemperance，tothesaving，doubtless，ofmanywhobutforhermartyrdomwouldhavetakentodrinking。Shewasoneofaforlornhopewhosefailuretotakeacertainpositionwenttotheprovingittobeimpregnableandthereforetotheabandonmentofallattempttotakeit。Thiswasalmostasgreatagaintomankindastheactualtakingofthepositionwouldhavebeen。
“Besides。”headdedmorehurriedly，“thelimitsofviceandvirtuearewretchedlyill-defined。Halftheviceswhichtheworldcondemnsmostloudlyhaveseedsofgoodinthemandrequiremoderateuseratherthantotalabstinence。”
Ernestaskedtimidlyforaninstance。
“No，no。”saidPryer，“Iwillgiveyounoinstance，butIwillgiveyouaformulathatshallembraceallinstances。Itisthis，thatnopracticeisentirelyviciouswhichhasnotbeenextinguishedamongthecomeliest，mostvigorous，andmostcultivatedracesofmankindinspiteofcenturiesofendeavourtoextirpateit。Ifaviceinspiteofsucheffortscanstillholditsownamongthemostpolishednations，itmustbefoundedonsomeimmutabletruthorfactinhumannature，andmusthavesomecompensatoryadvantagewhichwecannotaffordaltogethertodispensewith。”
“But。”saidErnesttimidly，“isnotthisvirtuallydoingawaywithalldistinctionbetweenrightandwrong，andleavingpeoplewithoutanymoralguidewhatever？”
“Notthepeople。”wastheanswer：“itmustbeourcaretobeguidestothese，fortheyareandalwayswillbeincapableofguidingthemselvessufficiently。Weshouldtellthemwhattheymustdo，andinanidealstateofthingsshouldbeabletoenforcetheirdoingit：perhapswhenwearebetterinstructedtheidealstatemaycomeabout；nothingwillsoadvanceitasgreaterknowledgeofspiritualpathologyonourownpart。Forthis，threethingsarenecessary；
firstly，absolutefreedominexperimentforustheclergy；secondly，absoluteknowledgeofwhatthelaitythinkanddo，andofwhatthoughtsandactionsresultinwhatspiritualconditions；andthirdly，acompacterorganisationamongourselves。
“Ifwearetodoanygoodwemustbeacloselyunitedbody，andmustbesharplydividedfromthelaity。Alsowemustbefreefromthosetieswhichawifeandchildreninvolve。IcanhardlyexpressthehorrorwithwhichIamfilledbyseeingEnglishpriestslivinginwhatIcanonlydesignateas’openmatrimony。’Itisdeplorable。
Thepriestmustbeabsolutelysexless——ifnotinpractice，yetatanyrateintheory，absolutely——andthattoo，byatheorysouniversallyacceptedthatnoneshallventuretodisputeit。”
“But。”saidErnest，“hasnottheBiblealreadytoldpeoplewhattheyoughtandoughtnottodo，andisitnotenoughforustoinsistonwhatcanbefoundhere，andlettherestalone？”
“IfyoubeginwiththeBible。”wastherejoinder，“youarethreepartsgoneontheroadtoinfidelity，andwillgotheotherpartbeforeyouknowwhereyouare。TheBibleisnotwithoutitsvaluetoustheclergy，butforthelaityitisastumbling-blockwhichcannotbetakenoutoftheirwaytoosoonortoocompletely。Ofcourse，Imeanonthesuppositionthattheyreadit，which，happily，theyseldomdo。IfpeoplereadtheBibleastheordinaryBritishchurchmanorchurchwomanreadsit，itisharmlessenough；butiftheyreaditwithanycare——whichweshouldassumetheywillifwegiveitthematall——itisfataltothem。”
“Whatdoyoumean？”saidErnest，moreandmoreastonished，butmoreandmorefeelingthathewasatleastinthehandsofamanwhohaddefiniteideas。
“YourquestionshowsmethatyouhaveneverreadyourBible。Amoreunreliablebookwasneverputuponpaper。Takemyadviceanddon’treadit，nottillyouareafewyearsolder，andmaydososafely。”
“ButsurelyyoubelievetheBiblewhenittellsyouofsuchthingsasthatChristdiedandrosefromthedead？Surelyyoubelievethis？”saidErnest，quitepreparedtobetoldthatPryerbelievednothingofthekind。
“Idonotbelieveit，Iknowit。”
“Buthow——ifthetestimonyoftheBiblefails？”
“OnthatofthelivingvoiceoftheChurch，whichIknowtobeinfallibleandtobeinformedofChristhimself。”
Theforegoingconversationandotherslikeitmadeadeepimpressionuponmyhero。IfnextdayhehadtakenawalkwithMrHawke，andheardwhathehadtosayontheotherside，hewouldhavebeenjustasmuchstruck，andasreadytoflingoffwhatPryerhadtoldhim，ashenowwastothrowasideallhehadeverheardfromanyoneexceptPryer；buttherewasnoMrHawkeathand，soPryerhadeverythinghisownway。
Embryominds，likeembryobodies，passthroughanumberofstrangemetamorphosesbeforetheyadopttheirfinalshape。ItisnomoretobewonderedatthatonewhoisgoingtoturnoutaRomanCatholic，shouldhavepassedthroughthestagesofbeingfirstaMethodist，andthenafreethinker，thanthatamanshouldatsomeformertimehavebeenamerecell，andlateronaninvertebrateanimal。Ernest，however，couldnotbeexpectedtoknowthis；embryosneverdo。
Embryosthinkwitheachstageoftheirdevelopmentthattheyhavenowreachedtheonlyconditionwhichreallysuitsthem。This，theysay，mustcertainlybetheirlast，inasmuchasitsclosewillbesogreatashockthatnothingcansurviveit。Everychangeisashock；
everyshockisaprotantodeath。Whatwecalldeathisonlyashockgreatenoughtodestroyourpowertorecogniseapastandapresentasresemblingoneanother。Itisthemakingusconsiderthepointsofdifferencebetweenourpresentandourpastgreaterthanthepointsofresemblance，sothatwecannolongercalltheformerofthesetwoinanypropersenseacontinuationofthesecond，butfinditlesstroubletothinkofitassomethingthatwechoosetocallnew。
But，toletthispass，itwasclearthatspiritualpathologyI
confessthatIdonotknowmyselfwhatspiritualpathologymeans——
butPryerandErnestdoubtlessdidwasthegreatdesideratumoftheage。ItseemedtoErnestthathehadmadethisdiscoveryhimselfandbeenfamiliarwithitallhislife，thathehadneverknown，infact，ofanythingelse。HewrotelongletterstohiscollegefriendsexpoundinghisviewsasthoughhehadbeenoneoftheApostolicfathers。AsfortheOldTestamentwriters，hehadnopatiencewiththem。“Doobligeme。”Ifindhimwritingtoonefriend，“byreadingtheprophetZechariah，andgivingmeyourcandidopinionuponhim。Heispoorstuff，fullofYankeebounce；itissickeningtoliveinanagewhensuchbalderdashcanbegravelyadmiredwhetheraspoetryorprophecy。”ThiswasbecausePryerhadsethimagainstZechariah。IdonotknowwhatZechariahhaddone；I
shouldthinkmyselfthatZechariahwasaverygoodprophet；perhapsitwasbecausehewasaBiblewriter，andnotaveryprominentone，thatPryerselectedhimasonethroughwhomtodisparagetheBibleincomparisonwiththeChurch。
TohisfriendDawsonIfindhimsayingalittlelateron：“PryerandIcontinueourwalks，workingouteachother’sthoughts。Atfirstheusedtodoallthethinking，butIthinkIamprettywellabreastofhimnow，andratherchuckleatseeingthatheisalreadybeginningtomodifysomeoftheviewsheheldmoststronglywhenI
firstknewhim。
“ThenIthinkhewasonthehighroadtoRome；now，however，heseemstobeagooddealstruckwithasuggestionofmineinwhichyou，too，perhapsmaybeinterested。YouseewemustinfusenewlifeintotheChurchsomehow；wearenotholdingourownagainsteitherRomeorinfidelity。”ImaysayinpassingthatIdonotbelieveErnesthadasyeteverseenaninfidel——nottospeakto。
“Iproposed，therefore，afewdaysbacktoPryer——andhefellineagerlywiththeproposalassoonashesawthatIhadthemeansofcarryingitout——thatweshouldsetonfootaspiritualmovementsomewhatanalogoustotheYoungEnglandmovementoftwentyyearsago，theaimofwhichshallbeatoncetooutbidRomeontheonehand，andscepticismontheother。ForthispurposeIseenothingbetterthanthefoundationofaninstitutionorcollegeforplacingthenatureandtreatmentofsinonamorescientificbasisthanitrestsatpresent。Wewant——toborrowausefultermofPryer’s——aCollegeofSpiritualPathologywhereyoungmen“IsupposeErnestthoughthewasnolongeryoungbythistime“maystudythenatureandtreatmentofthesinsofthesoulasmedicalstudentsstudythoseofthebodiesoftheirpatients。Suchacollege，asyouwillprobablyadmit，willapproachbothRomeontheonehand，andscienceontheother——Rome，asgivingthepriesthoodmoreskill，andthereforeaspavingthewayfortheirobtaininggreaterpower，andscience，byrecognisingthatevenfreethoughthasacertainkindofvalueinspiritualenquiries。TothispurposePryerandIhaveresolvedtodevoteourselveshenceforthheartandsoul。
“Ofcourse，myideasarestillunshaped，andallwilldependuponthemenbywhomthecollegeisfirstworked。Iamnotyetapriest，butPryeris，andifIweretostarttheCollege，PryermighttakechargeofitforatimeandIworkunderhimnominallyashissubordinate。Pryerhimselfsuggestedthis。Isitnotgenerousofhim？
“Theworstofitisthatwehavenotenoughmoney；Ihave，itistrue，5000pounds，butwewantatleast10，000pounds，soPryersays，beforewecanstart；whenwearefairlyunderweighImightliveatthecollegeanddrawasalaryfromthefoundation，sothatitisallone，ornearlyso，whetherIinvestmymoneyinthiswayorinbuyingaliving；besidesIwantverylittle；itiscertainthatIshallnevermarry；noclergymanshouldthinkofthis，andanunmarriedmancanliveonnexttonothing。StillIdonotseemywaytoasmuchmoneyasIwant，andPryersuggeststhataswecanhardlyearnmorenowwemustgetitbyajudiciousseriesofinvestments。Pryerknowsseveralpeoplewhomakequiteahandsomeincomeoutofverylittleor，indeed，Imaysay，nothingatall，bybuyingthingsataplacetheycalltheStockExchange；Idon’tknowmuchaboutityet，butPryersaysIshouldsoonlearn；hethinks，indeed，thatIhaveshownratheratalentinthisdirection，andunderproperauspicesshouldmakeaverygoodmanofbusiness。