I admit, has--well,
obscurities ... But the New shines forth with a pure light."

_Hilarion_--"And yet the Angel of the Annunciation, in Matthew, appears
to Joseph, whilst in Luke it is to Mary. The anointing of Jesus by a
woman comes to pass, according to the First Gospel, at the beginning of
his public life, but according to the three others, a few days before
his death. The drink which they offer him on the Cross is, in Matthew,
vinegar and gall, in Mark, wine and myrrh. If we follow Luke and
Matthew, the Apostles ought to take neither money nor bag--in fact, not
even sandals or a staff; while in Mark, on the contrary, Jesus forbids
them to carry with them anything except sandals and a staff. Here is
where I get lost ..."

_Antony_, in amazement--"In fact ... in fact ..."

_Hilarion_--"At the contact of the woman with the issue of blood, Jesus
turned round, and said, 'Who has touched me?' So, then, He did not know
who touched Him? That is opposed to the omniscience of Jesus. If the
tomb was watched by guards, the women had not to worry themselves about
an assistant to lift up the stone from the tomb. Therefore, there were
no guards there--or rather, the holy women were not there at all. At
Emmaues, He eats with His disciples, and makes them feel His wounds. It
is a human body, a material object, which can be weighed, and which,
nevertheless, passes through stone walls. Is this possible?"

_Antony_--"It would take a good deal of time to answer you."

_Hilarion_--"Why did He receive the Holy Ghost, although He was the Son?
What need had He of baptism, if He were the Word? How could the Devil
tempt Him--God?

"Have these thoughts never occurred to you?"

_Antony_--"Yes! often! Torpid or frantic, they dwell in my conscience. I
crush them out; they spring up again, they stifle me; and sometimes I
believe that I am accursed."

_Hilarion_--"Then you have nothing to do but to serve God?"

_Antony_--"I have always need to adore Him."

After a prolonged silence, Hilarion resumes:

"But apart from dogma, entire liberty of research is permitted us. Do
you wish to become acquainted with the hierarchy of Angels, the virtue
of Numbers, the explanation of germs and metamorphoses?"

_Antony_--"Yes! yes! My mind is struggling to escape from its prison. It
seems to me that, by gathering my forces, I shall be able to effect
this. Sometimes--even for an interval brief as a lightning-flash--I feel
myself, as it were, suspend