igious seriousness in such a person as the poem
depicts. But, as I have shown, it is alone enough to prove that the
author is not depicting himself. The poem reflects him more or less
truly in the doctrine of Divine Love, the belief in personal guidance,
and the half-contemptuous admiration with which the speaker regards
those who will mortify the flesh in obedience to a Christ-_man_. But it
belies the evidence of his whole work when, as in Section XVII., it
represents moral truth as either innate to the human spirit, or directly
revealed to it; and we shall presently notice a still greater
discrepancy which it shares with its companion poem.[59]

"_Easter-Day_"[60] deals with the deeper issues of scepticism and faith;
and opens with a dialogue in which the two opposite positions are
maintained. Both speakers start from the belief in God, and the
understanding that Christianity is unproved; but the one accepts it in
faith: the other regards it as, for the time being, negatived.

The man of faith begins by exclaiming, how hard it is to be
(practically) a Christian; and how disproportionate to our endeavour is
our success in becoming so. The sceptic replies that to his mind the
only difficulty is belief. "Let the least of God's commands be proved
authentic: and only an idiot would shrink from martyrdom itself, with
the certain bliss that would reward it." The man of faith, who is
clearly the greater pessimist of the two, thinks the world too full of
suffering to be placed, by any knowledge, beyond the reach of
faith--beyond the necessity of being taken upon trust. And his adversary
concedes that absolute knowledge would--where it was applicable--destroy
its own end. In social life, for instance, it would do away with all
those acts of faith, those instinctive judgments and feelings, which are
the essence _of_ life. But he thinks one may fairly desire a better
touchstone for the purposes of God than human judgment or feeling; and
that, if we cannot know them with scientific certainty, one must wish
the balance of probability to lie clearly on one side.

The man of faith is of opinion that this much of proof exists for
everyone who chooses to seek it. "The burning question is how we are to
shape our lives. For himself he is impelled to follow the Christian
precept, and renounce the world." The sceptic denies that God demands
such a sacrifice, and sees only man's ingratitude in the impression
that He does so. The man of fa