ministers to the former class of people, Christianity to the latter.
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‘’Capability of vision.’’—Throughout the whole of the Middle Ages it was considered the real and distinguishing characteristic of highest humanity to be capable of vision, that is to say, of a profound mental derangement.In truth, the medieval maxims of all loftier natures (of the religious) aim at making man capable of vision.No wonder that this overrating of half-mad, fantastic, fanatical people, so-called me of genius, is continuing its course in our days. “They have seen things which others do not see," certainly; yet this very circumstauce should fill us with caution, not with faith!
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‘’Price of the believer’’—He who attaches so great an importance to being believed in, as to vouchsafe heaven for this belief, nay, everybody, be he even a malefactor on the cross, must have suffered of a terrible doubt an experienced every form of crucifixion : else he would not buy his faithful followers so dearly.
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‘’The first Christian’’—Everybody still believes in the literary activity of the “Holy Ghost," or is subject to the lingering influence of this belief: when we open