Practically every great discovery since the Revival we owe to men who,
by their very desire for truth, were forced into opposition to the
tremendous power of the Church, which always insisted that people should
'just trust,' and take the mixture of cosmogony and Greek philosophy,
tradition and fable, paganism, Judaic sacerdotalism, and temporal power
wrongly called spiritual dealt out by this same Church as the last word
on science, philosophy, history, metaphysics, and government."

"Stop!" cried Eleanor. "You make me dizzy."

"Nearly all the pioneers to whom we owe our age of comparative
enlightenment were heretics," George persisted. "And if they could have
been headed off, or burned, most of us would still be living in mud caves
at the foot of the cliff on which stood the nobleman's castle; and kings
would still be kings by divine decree, scientists--if there were any
--workers in the black art, and every phenomenon we failed to understand,
a miracle."

"I choose the United States of America," ejaculated Evelyn.

"I gather, George," said Phil Goodrich, "that you don't believe in
miracles."

"Miracles are becoming suspiciously fewer and fewer. Once, an eclipse of
the sun was enough to throw men on their knees because they thought it
supernatural. If they were logical they'd kneel today because it has
been found natural. Only the inexplicable phenomena are miracles; and
after a while--if the theologians will only permit us to finish the job
--there won't be any inexplicable phenomena. Mystery, as I believe William
James puts it may be called the more-to-be-known."