partition of Africa in the
political sphere; the spread of Humanitarian religion in the spiritual
sphere. Over against this must be placed the increased centralisation of
the Church. By the wisdom of her pontiffs, over-ruled by God Almighty,
the lines had been drawing tighter every year. He instanced the
abolition of all local usages, including those so long cherished by the
East, the establishment of the Cardinal-Protectorates in Rome, the
enforced merging of all friars into one Order, though retaining their
familiar names, under the authority of the supreme General; all monks,
with the exception of the Carthusians, the Carmelites and the Trappists,
into another; of the three excepted into a third; and the classification
of nuns after the same plan. Further, he remarked on the more recent
decrees, establishing the sense of the Vatican decision on
infallibility, the new version of Canon Law, the immense simplification
that had taken place in ecclesiastical government, the hierarchy,
rubrics and the affairs of missionary countries, with the new and
extraordinary privileges granted to mission priests. At this point he
became aware that his self-consciousness had left him, and he began,
even with little gestures, and a slightly raised voice, to enlarge on
the significance of the last month's events.

All that had gone before, he said, pointed to what had now actually
taken place--namely, the reconciliation of the world on a basis other
than that of Divine Truth. It was the intention of God and of His Vicars
to reconcile all men in Christ Jesus; but the corner-stone had once more
been rejected, and instead of the chaos that the pious had prophesied,
there was coming into existence a unity unlike anything known in
history. This was the more deadly from the fact that it contained so
many elements of indubitable good. War, apparently, was now extinct, and
it was not Christianity that had done it; union was now seen to be
better than disunion, and the lesson had been learned apart from the
Church. In fact, natural virtues had suddenly waxed luxuriant, and
supernatural virtues were despised. Friendliness took the place of
charity, contentment the place of hope, and knowledge the place of
faith.

Percy stopped, he had become conscious that he was preaching a kind of
sermon.

"Yes, my son," said the kind voice. "What else?"

What else?... Very well, continued Percy, movements such as these
brought forth men, and the Man of t