Father Damien, an Open Letter to the Reverend Dr. Hyde of Honolulu by Robert Louis Stevenson
page 14 of 19 (73%)
page 14 of 19 (73%)
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But the clean Dr. Hyde was at his food in a fine house.
Damien was HEADSTRONG. I believe you are right again; and I thank God for his strong head and heart. Damien was BIGOTED. I am not fond of bigots myself, because they are not fond of me. But what is meant by bigotry, that we should regard it as a blemish in a priest? Damien believed his own religion with the simplicity of a peasant or a child; as I would I could suppose that you do. For this, I wonder at him some way off; and had that been his only character, should have avoided him in life. But the point of interest in Damien, which has caused him to be so much talked about and made him at last the subject of your pen and mine, was that, in him, his bigotry, his intense and narrow faith, wrought potently for good, and strengthened him to be one of the world's heroes and exemplars. Damien WAS NOT SENT TO MOLOKAI, BUT WENT THERE WITHOUT ORDERS. Is this a misreading? or do you really mean the words for blame? I have heard Christ, in the pulpits of our Church, held up for imitation on the ground that His sacrifice was voluntary. Does Dr. Hyde think otherwise? Damien DID NOT STAY AT THE SETTLEMENT, ETC. |
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