Other Eyes Than Ours by Ronald A. Knox

Author:Ronald A. Knox
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Catholicism, Literature & Religion
Publisher: Methuen & Co., Ltd.
Published: 1926-03-15T06:00:00+00:00

140 OTHER EYES THAN OURS

matter to an old bachelor like me what becomes of my things. But, take it on the average, wouldn’t it make for the happiness of parents not to know what becomes of the heirs they leave their property to ? And even one’s friends, whom one trusts more because one chose them for oneself—how much do they really care for us when we’re gone ? And as for knowing what happens to them, why, isn’t it bad enough in this life to see your friends making fools of themselves ? And yet here you can sometimes interfere to stop it; you can interfere—sometimes. But your spirits who’ve crossed over, what can they do to help ? And if they can do nothing to help, why plague them with knowledge of our failures ? Do they really want to know ? ” “ But that’s all so—so dreadfully depressing,” said the bewildered lady. ” M. I’Abbe, surely in your Church you make allowances for this natural instinct which we have, which most of us have, to be remembered by our dead ? Surely you encomage your people to believe that the spirits have not ceased to care ? ” ” But you must not make a Modernist of me,” protested the Abbe, his cheek dimphng half in pity, half in amusement. “You see, it is not our business to encourage people to believe this and that, because it will make them happier to feel just so ! We only know that some things are true : and those things (we say) you must believe because they are true, whether you like it that they should be true or not. But what do I know ? The holy Saints in heaven, oh yes; we know that they see us because the Scripture tells us so, and also it is the tradition of our Church. But the holy Souls in Purgatory, of them we know nothing;

ON THE ADVANTAGES OF IGNORANCE 141

perhaps they hear what comes to us, perhaps not. And for those others, I think they do not know; though perhaps Mr. MinshuU will not agree with me.”

“ It seems to me,” said Mr. Scoop, wrinkling up his eyes, ” that whatever knowledge the dead may have about you, you Cathohcs care precious little what knowledge you have about them.”

” Why yes,” drawled the Abbe. ” We have only to wait such a httle while, and we shall know, we shall know. And to me it is very extraordinary, Mr. Scoop, that you people who are so certain that the soul is immortal, should be in such a hurry to know what goes on over there beyond Death. For there at least we shall all go, and it is not a long time, this Hfe, if there is aU eternity over there.”

“You must consider tiiis, Mrs. Haltwhistle,” said Mr. Scoop : “ to us children of the new age the constitution of things is not fixed; it is still perfectible.

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