And then to the philosopher there falls a darker tinge upon the whole
matter, when he considers that the evil impulses, to yield to which is
sin, are in themselves deliberately implanted in man by his Creator, or
at least not apparently eradicated; and that many of those whose whole
life has been darkened, embittered, and wrecked by sin, have incurred
their misery by yielding to tendencies which in themselves are, by
inheritance, practically irresistible.

What room is there, then, in these latter days, when reason and science
together have dispelled the darkness of superstition, have diminished
the possibility of miraculous occurrences, have laughed empirical
occultism out of the field, for the priest?

There is no room for him if there lingers in the depth of his mind any
taint of the temptation to serve his own ends, or to exalt himself or
his order, by trading on the fears of irrational and credulous
humanity. Against such priestcraft as this the true priest must array
himself, together with the scientist, the statesman, the physician.
Against all personal and priestly domination all lovers of liberty and
God must combine. Theirs is the sin of Simon Magus, the sin of Hophni,
the sin of Caiaphas; the sin that desires that men should still be
bound, in order that they may themselves win worship and honour. It is
the deadliest and vilest tyranny in the world.

But of the true priesthood there is more need than there ever was, as
the minds of men awaken to the truth; for in a world where there is so
much that is dark, men need to be constantly encouraged, reminded, even
rebuked. The true priest must leave the social conscience alone, and
entrust it to the hands of statesmen and officials. His concern must be
with the individual; he must endeavour to make men realize that
tranquillity and security of heart can only be won by victories over
self, that law is only a cumbrous and incomplete organization for
enforcing upon men a sense of equality; and he must show how far law
lags behind morality, and that a man may be legally respectable yet
morally abominable. The true priest must not obscure the oracles of
God; he must beware of, teaching that faith is an intricate
intellectual process. He must pare religion to the bone, and show that
the essence of it is a perfectly simple relation with God and
neighbour. He must not concern himself with policy or ceremony; he must
warn men against mistaking aesthetic impulse for t