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17
to crush that of his fellow-creature. Subjugation of the
will is really a dangerous hypnotic practice. It is not
justiiied. by the pretext that it is for the good of the
victim. If you rob a man of his most valuable property
this act is not exonerated by your statement that you
did so in order to prevent him from mis-using it. The
iron discipline of the Church of Rome may produce the
negative result of sometimes precentinij sin ; it does not
engender the far greater result of eradicating all wish io
commit it.
That is, however, the principal thing.
The ancient Therapeuts professed the maxim that no
religion is higher than truth. They were not forbidden
to read so-called " dangerous " writings. No index
limited their mental horizon to the narrow fields of any
particular .sect. No ! All the world was laid open to
their mental inspection. They studied not only their own
secret books, but also the revelations granted to other
nations, and saw the Divine unity in them all.
But the main difference between the Therapeuts and
Catholic monks lies in the inspiring motive for all their
actions. It is expressly stated in the Catholic catechism
that the obtention of salvation is the greatest object to
which a human being can devote his attention. The
Roman monk gives up the joys of earth in order io
purchase the bliss of heaven
The Therapeuts had no desire of reaping personal ad-
vantages in payment of their virtue. Their one desire
was to prepare the earth for the coming of the Messiah.
Their thoughts did not dwell on their own ixltimate fate.
They knew that heaven is a state and not a locality. Their
wish was not to conquer a distant heaven, but to share
with ofthers the heaven they carried in their own breasts.
The Roman Church hails the so-called conversion of the
Emperor Constantine as an immense spiritual victory.
It was in reality the gi’eatest disaster that ever befell
the Church of Christ.
•During the first centuries of the Christian era, the
followers of Jesus were exposed to all sorts of hardships.
Those only who followed the narrow path were admitted
into the bosom of the Church. When Christianity wii
transformed into a State religion, which it became mov?
or less compulsory to embrace, then the Holy Dove fled
in dismay from the desecrated temples.
The Emperor Constantine was one of the most infa-
mous men that ever disgraced this globe. The list of
his victims includes his father-in-law, his sister’s hus-
band, his nephew, his former friend, his brother-in-law.
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