all events; and, in truth, I can find no other 'faith' than what is
somehow or other attached to a 'book,' which has been any thing
influential. The Vedas, the Koran, the Old Testament Scriptures,--
those of the New,--over how many millions have these all reigned!
Whether their supremacy be right or wrong, their doctrine true
or false, is another question; but your faith, which has been
book-faith and lip-service par excellence, has done nothing that I
can discover. One after another of your infidel Reformers passes
away, and leaves no trace behind, except a quantity of crumbling
'book-faith.' You have always been just on the eve of extinguishing
supernatural fables, dogmas, and superstitions,--and then
regenerating the world! Alas! the meanest superstition that crawls
laughs at you; and, false as it may be, is still stronger than you."

"And your sect," retorted Fellowes, rather warmly, "if you come to
that, is it not the smallest of all? Is that likely to find favor
in the eyes of mankind?"

"Why, no," said Harrington, with provoking coolness; "but then it
makes no pretensions to any thing of the kind. It were strange if it
did; for as the sceptic doubts if any truth can be certainly attained
by man on those subjects on which the 'rational' or the 'spiritual'
deist dogmatizes, it of course professes to be incapable of
constructing any thing."

"And does construct nothing," retorted Fellowes.

"Very true," said Harrington, "and therein keeps its word; which is
more, I fear, than can be said with your more ambitious spiritualists,
who profess to construct, and do not."