wherefore should we not respect the mother of Christ? With regard
to the ceremonials of Catholicism, indulgence, and all these
additions of the priesthood, I agree with you in wishing to strike
off the heads of all who, in such a manner, degrade God and the
human understanding. But in many respects we are unjust: we so
easily forget the first and greatest commandment, 'Love thy
neighbor as thyself!' We are not tolerant. Among our festivals we
have still one for the Three Kings--it is yet celebrated by the
common people; but what have these three kings done? They knelt
before the manger in which Christ lay, and on this account we honor
them. On the contrary, the mother of God has no festival-day; nay,
the multitude even smile at her name! If you will only quietly
listen to my simple argument, we shall soon agree. You will take
off your hat and bow before the Madonna. Only two things are to be
considered--either Christ was entirely human, or He was, as the
Bible teaches us, a divine being. I will now admit the latter. He
is God Himself, who in some inexplicable manner, is born to us of
the Virgin Mary. She must therefore be the purest, the most perfect
feminine being, since God found her worthy to bring into the world
the Son, the only one; through this she becomes as holy as any
human being can, and low we must bow ourselves before the pure, the
exalted one. Take it for granted that Christ was human, like
ourselves, otherwise He cannot, according to my belief, call upon
us to imitate Him; neither would it be great, as God, to meet a
corporeal death, from which He could remove each pain. Were He only
a man, born of Mary, we must doubly admire Him; we must bow in the
dust before His mighty spirit, His enlightening and consoling
doctrine. But can we then forget how much the mother has must have
influenced the child, how sublime and profound the soul must have
been which spoke to His heart? We must reverence and honor her!