Page:The Ball and the Cross.djvu/289

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A Museum of Souls
279

families, and every one of them thinks he is God the Father. Oh! you may talk about the ugliness of science, but there is no one here who thinks he is Protoplasm.”

“They naturally prefer a bright part,” said MacIan, wearily. “Protoplasm is not worth going mad about.”

“At least,” said Turnbull, savagely, “it was your Jesus Christ who started all this bosh about being God.”

For one instant MacIan opened the eyes of battle; then his tightened lips took a crooked smile and he said, quite calmly:

“No, the idea is older; it was Satan who first said that he was God.”

“Then, what,” asked Turnbull, very slowly, as he softly picked a flower, “what is the difference between Christ and Satan?”

“It is quite simple,” replied the Highlander. “Christ descended into hell; Satan fell into it.”

“Does it make much odds?” asked the freethinker.

“It makes all the odds,” said the other. “One of them wanted to go up and went down; the other wanted to go down and went up. A god can be humble, a devil can only be humbled.”

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