to know that a priest, even the best of them,
is worthless.

"Freed from an official religion, the Brazilian people have really made
progress in spite of the hopelessness of Romanism that perverts all
things and resorts to ail sorts of schemes to preserve its former easy
position.

"We, pirates? Ah! deceivers. Then we, who present ourselves loyally
without subterfuge, proclaiming the divine truths, speaking logically,
without artifices or superstitions, are pirates? You noble priests are
noble specimens of Christian culture, I must confess! You are such good
things that France has already horsewhipped you out of the country, and
Spain, whose knightly race is regaining the noble attributes
obliterated by the iron yoke of Romanism, is about ready to apply to
you the same punishment.

"There is no doubt that the priest is losing ground every day. All
their manifestations of hate and satanic fury are easily explained.

"One easily recognizes the true value of the explosion of vicious
egotism found in the official organ of the diocese of Olinda. The
priest this time lost his calmness and let escape certain rude phrases
as if he were yet in the good old times when he could imprison and burn
at his pleasure. Console yourselves, reverend lord priests, everything
comes to an end, and the ancient period of darkness and obscurity
exists no more in Brazil."

What is the net result of such religious life as we have been
portraying? The common and more ignorant people accept without very
much questioning the teachings and practices which we have explained.
The better educated people, especially the men, have lost confidence in
the priesthood. Scarcely an educated man can be found who believes in
the moral uprightness of the priest. The chief hold the Church has upon
the better classes is a social and not a religious one. Births,
marriages, deaths, alike are great social events, and upon such
occasions, because it is custom to have a priest, the better classes of
people even call in the services of the priests, in whom they have no
confidence. The effect upon the beliefs of these better classes is most
distressing. Spiritism, materialism and atheism are rampant, and one
could well believe that these people set adrift without spiritual
guides are in a worse condition than if they were still devout
believers in the ancient practices of the Roman church. They are far
more difficult to reach because they have imbibed the philosoph