an, the wisest
sage--indeed more easily; for it was the very complexity of affairs, of
motives, of wealth, that entangled the soul and prevented it from
realizing its freedom.

Christ lived His human life on these principles; and sank from danger
to danger, from disaster to disaster, and having touched the whole
gamut of human suffering, and disappointment, and shame, died a death
in which no element of disgust, and terror, and pain was wanting.

And from that moment the deterioration began. At first the great secret
ran silently through the world from soul to soul, till the world was
leavened. But even so the process of capturing and transforming the
faith in accordance with human weakness began. The intellectual spirit
laid hold on it first. Metaphysicians scrutinized the humble and sweet
mystery, overlaid it with definitions, harmonized it with ancient
systems, dogmatized it, made it hard, and subtle, and uninspiring.
Vivid metaphors and illustrations were seized upon and converted into
precise statements of principles. The very misapprehensions of the
original hearers were invested with the same sanctity that belonged to
the Master Himself. But even so the bright and beautiful spirit made
its way, like a stream of clear water, refreshing thirsty places and
making the desert bloom like the rose, till at last the world itself,
in the middle of its luxuries and pomp, became aware that here was a
mighty force abroad which must be reckoned with; and then the world
itself determined upon the capture of Christianity; and how sadly it
succeeded can be read in the pages of history; until at last the pure
creature, like a barbarian captive, bright with youth and beauty, was
bound with golden chains, and bidden, bewildered and amazed, to grace
the triumph and ride in the very chariot of its conqueror.

Let me take one salient instance. Could there, to any impartial
observer, be anything in the world more incredible than that the Pope,
surrounded by ritual and pomp, and hierarchies, and policies, should be
held to be the representative on earth of the peasant-teacher of
Galilee? And yet the melancholy process of development is plain enough.
As the world became Christianized, it could not be expected to give up
its social order, its ambitions, its love of power and influence.
Christianity uncurbed is an inconvenient, a dangerous, a subversive
force; it must be tamed and muzzled; it must be robed and crowned; it
must be given