In the Fire of the Forge — Volume 06 by Georg Ebers
page 13 of 60 (21%)
page 13 of 60 (21%)
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enjoined upon his disciples, and the old jugs were often filled with new
wine, which he, Benedictus, never tasted, and which the saint rejected as poison. He was no longer young and strong enough to let his grief and indignation rage like a purifying thunderstorm amidst these abuses. But Heinz Schorlin! If this youth of noble blood, equally gifted in mind and person, whom Heaven itself had summoned with lightning and thunder, devoted himself from sincere conviction, with a heart full of youthful enthusiasm, to his sacred cause--if Heinz, consecrated by him, and fully aware of the real purposes of the saint, who, also untaught and rich only in knowledge of the heart, had begun a career so momentous in consequences, announced himself as a fearless champion of St. Francis's will, then the St. George had been found who was summoned to slay the dragon, and with his blood instil new life at last into the monasteries of Germany, then perhaps the fresh prosperity which he desired for the order was at hand. The larger number of its recruits came from the lower ranks of the people. Sir Heinz Schorlin's example would perhaps bring it also, as an elevating element, the sons of his peers. So, bathed in perspiration, and often on the point of fainting, he followed Heinz through the dust of the highway. Often, when his strength failed, and he sat down by the roadside to take breath, his soul-life gained a loftier aspiration. After Heinz rode by without seeing him he continued his way until his feet grew so heavy that he was forced to sit down beside the road. Then |
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