XXVII
INTERMEZZO—ANDANTE
The Royal Route.
O SCIENCE! How true thou art! How true thou strivest to be! Yet, what is not claimed in thy name, when few are the golden gems picked up upon the limited shore of this single world! We learn of thee, O Science! through thee! by thee! but ever when we ask of thee the Bread of Life, thou givest us a stone; and when we ask for a fish, thou givest us a serpent. From the beginning it has been so. Know thyself, O Science! thy finite place. Learn even as a little child sitting at the feet of Infinite Knowledge.
O Philosophy! How noble thou art, to seek the truth in all things as they are; ignoring nothing in nature, in any province of thought, word or deed—in Science or Religion. But thou revealest nothing. Thy intellect is finite—not infinite; thy standpoint mortal—not immortal. Thou art god-like—but not God.
O Religion! Thou Voice of the Mind of Nature! of Our Almighty-Father, Creator; accepting all of Truth in Science and Philosophy; yet, ever speaking of a higher and better life, here and hereafter. How many untruths have been spoken in Thy name, even spoken as ex cathedra, taking Thy name in vain; yet, verily none can escape Thee, Thyself, O Thou Holy Spirit of Truth in Love, in the heart of Humanity—Immanuel, God with us!