1906-7. TEANSACTIONS. 73 



"It is honorable to seem sincere and indeed to be so, pro- 

 vided your mind be so rectified and prepared that you can act 

 quite contrary upon occasion * * * Nor was there ever any 

 prince that wanted lawful pretence to justify his breach of prom- 

 ise. " 



Let me say, however, that in Machiavelli's opinion, deceit 

 was justifiable only when it was necessary in order to save the 

 state. I have my doubts as to whether he would defend it when 

 used to further the ends of a political party, which might find 

 difficulty in distinguishing itself from its opponent. 



The Churches: — Machiavelli's central idea may be said to 

 be that the truth was not sufficient for man's purposes in this 

 world, and he permitted deceit wherever necessary for the preser- 

 vation of the state. And now the charge which I have to make 

 against the churches is that to some extent, and for their own 

 safety, they act upon the same principle. 



I do not refer to the fact that theology has usually been found 

 to be in opposition to the developments of secular thought; for 

 in that the churches were, although mistaken, yet perfectly con- 

 scientious. I refer rather to their present position with reference 

 to the well-established results (I do not say the mooted ques- 

 tions) of the higher criticism. That these results necessitate a 

 thorough revision of orthodox conception of biblical inspiration 

 (I do not say the abandonment of all belief in inspiration) is now 

 beyond all question; but the general pulpit proceeds as though 

 nothing had happened. 



Not long ago I heard a lecture from a professor of one of our 

 theological colleges on the subject of the relation of the higher 

 criticism to public preaching. The lecturer reasoned the matter 

 pro and con, referred to the danger to people's faith, and closed 

 with these five fatal words "moral, say nothing about it. " 



In the church of the Holy Sepulchre, on every Easter Day, 

 the lights which have been then burning for twelve months are 

 put out, and some of the Priests of the Greek Church shut them- 

 selves up in the little chapel, under the central dome of the church, 

 in which the tomb of Christ is said to be ; to these priests fire comes 

 down from heaven, and it is hailed with enthusiasm by the 

 rapturous crowds who crush one another in their eagerness to 

 light their torches at the new flame. When in Jerusalem, I asked 

 the American Consul how these Greek Priests (many of them 

 handsome, intellectual fellows, with faces not unlike the traditional 



