It is
partly that which keeps Addison from giving the reins to his impulses.
I consider that if it were possible for your nature to change secretly
and for your face to remain unchanged, if you sinned perpetually and
retained your exact appearance, and if Addison did not know you sinned,
you could still be his guardian, while, really, yourself far worse in
every way than him."
"But surely that fights against your theory that the existence of a soul
is proved by such an influence as I possess over Addison?"
"Not at all. I said if it were possible for the body not to express the
soul, if--but that's just the difficulty, it is not possible. The body
manifests the soul. Supposing it were not so, the power of evil, the
devil, if you choose to name it and imply a personal existence for it,
might have hold of the world even more tightly than now. Just conceive,
under such conditions, how you might lure Addison to destruction if you
desired to do so. Looking at you, and seeing the same face in which he
has learned to see what he thinks entire goodness, he would be unable to
believe that any action you could suggest and take part in could be evil.
You could wreck his future with a perfect ease. But, as things are, did
your nature change and become malignant, your face would change too, and
you might quickly cease to exercise a strong influence over Addison.
Pages:
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76