lives of the Saints.--Now, many Saints had committed acts which
would be crimes in our estimation; but the Church absolves readily
such transgressions when they are committed for the glory of God
and the love of our neighbors. This was a powerful argument; the
Countess made the most of it. Then, either by one of those tacit
understandings, those veiled complaisances in which whoever wears
the clerical garb excels, or through fortunate stupidity, serviable
foolishness, the old nun brought a formidable support to the
conspiracy. They thought she was timid; she showed herself bold,
talkative, violent. This one was not trouble by the hesitations of
casuistry; her doctrine seemed to be an iron bar; her faith never
hesitated; her conscience had no scruples. She found quite natural
Abraham's sacrifice, because she would immediately have killed her
father and mother if she had received an order from heaven to do so;
and in her opinion nothing could displease God if the motive were
laudable. The Countess taking advantage of the sacred authority
of her unexpected accomplice, led her on to make a kind of edifying
paraphrase of this axiom of morality: "The end justifies the
means."

She questioned her:

--"Then, Sister, you think that God accepts all methods and forgives
the act when the motive is pure?"

--"Who could doubt it, Madame? An action condemnable in itself
often becomes meritorious by the thought which inspires it."

And they continued in this way, unraveling God's intentions,
forecasting his judgments, and making Him take interest in things