Lord of the World | Page 2

developed to their logical issues. Patriotism, he said, was a relic of barbarism; and
sensual enjoyment was the only certain good. Of course, every one laughed at him. It was
said that without religion there could be no adequate motive among the masses for even
the simplest social order. But he was right, it seemed. After the fall of the French Church
at the beginning of the century and the massacres of 1914, the bourgeoisie settled down
to organise itself; and that extraordinary movement began in earnest, pushed through by
the middle classes, with no patriotism, no class distinctions, practically no army. Of
course, Freemasonry directed it all. This spread to Germany, where the influence of Karl
Marx had already---"
"Yes, sir," put in Percy smoothly, "but what of England, if you don't mind---"
"Ah, yes; England. Well, in 1917 the Labour party gathered up the reins, and
Communism really began. That was long before I can remember, of course, but my father
used to date it from then. The only wonder was that things did not go forward more
quickly; but I suppose there was a good deal of Tory leaven left. Besides, centuries
generally run slower than is expected, especially after beginning with an impulse. But the
new order began then; and the Communists have never suffered a serious reverse since,
except the little one in '25. Blenkin founded 'The New People' then; and the 'Times'
dropped out; but it was not, strangely enough, till '35 that the House of Lords fell for the
last time. The Established Church had gone finally in '29."
"And the religious effect of that?" asked Percy swiftly, as the old man paused to cough
slightly, lifting his inhaler. The priest was anxious to keep to the point.
"It was an effect itself," said the other, "rather than a cause. You see, the Ritualists, as
they used to call them, after a desperate attempt to get into the Labour swim, came into
the Church after the Convocation of '19, when the Nicene Creed dropped out; and there

was no real enthusiasm except among them. But so far as there was an effect from the
final Disestablishment, I think it was that what was left of the State Church melted into
the Free Church, and the Free Church was, after all, nothing more than a little sentiment.
The Bible was completely given up as an authority after the renewed German attacks in
the twenties; and the Divinity of our Lord, some think, had gone all but in name by the
beginning of the century. The Kenotic theory had provided for that. Then there was that
strange little movement among the Free Churchmen even earlier; when ministers who did
no more than follow the swim--who were sensitive to draughts, so to speak--broke off
from their old positions. It is curious to read in the history of the time how they were
hailed as independent thinkers. It was just exactly what they were not.... Where was I? Oh,
yes.... Well, that cleared the ground for us, and the Church made extraordinary progress
for a while--extraordinary, that is, under the circumstances, because you must remember,
things were very different from twenty, or even ten, years before. I mean that, roughly
speaking, the severing of the sheep and the goats had begun. The religious people were
practically all Catholics and Individualists; the irreligious people rejected the supernatural
altogether, and were, to a man, Materialists and Communists. But we made progress
because we had a few exceptional men--Delaney the philosopher, McArthur and Largent,
the philanthropists, and so on. It really seemed as if Delaney and his disciples might carry
everything before them. You remember his 'Analogy'? Oh, yes, it is all in the
text-books....
"Well, then, at the close of the Vatican Council, which had been called in the nineteenth
century, and never dissolved, we lost a great number through the final definitions. The
'Exodus of the Intellectuals' the world called it---"
"The Biblical decisions," put in the younger priest.
"That partly; and the whole conflict that began with the rise of Modernism at the
beginning of the century but much more the condemnation of Delaney, and of the New
Transcendentalism generally, as it was then understood. He died outside the Church, you
know. Then there was the condemnation of Sciotti's book on Comparative Religion....
After that the Communists went on by strides, although by very slow ones. It seems
extraordinary to you, I dare say, but you cannot imagine the excitement when the
Necessary Trades Bill became law in '60. People thought that all enterprise would stop
when so many professions were nationalised; but, you know, it didn't. Certainly the
nation was behind it."
"What year was the Two-Thirds Majority Bill passed?" asked Percy.
"Oh! long before--within a year