Part 23 out of 29 this man [a minister of the Gospel who was
going to explain life to him] is going to tell me why he isn't a
pessimist. Oh, he'll do it, but he won't tell the truth; he
won't make it short enough." Yet he was always patient with any
one who came with spiritual messages, theological arguments, and
consolations. He might have said to them: "Oh, dear friends,
those things of which you speak are the toys that long ago I
played with and set aside." He could have said it and spoken the
truth; but I believe he did not even think it. He listened to
any one for whom he had respect, and was grateful for any effort
in his behalf. One morning he read aloud a lecture given in
London by George Bernard Shaw on religion, commenting as he
read. He said: "This letter is a frank breath of expression [and
his comments were equally frank]. There is no such thing as
morality; it is not immoral for the tiger to eat the wolf, or
the wolf the cat, or the cat the bird, and so on down; that is
their business. There is