Balmy would interpret the assertion here made
about the Professors, and what statement he would connect with his own
Erewhonian name; but he had restrained himself.
The more he saw, and the more he heard, the more shocked he was at the
mischief he had done. See how he had unsettled the little mind this
poor, dear, good gentleman had ever had, till he was now a mere slave to
preconception. And how many more had he not in like manner brought to
the verge of idiocy? How many again had he not made more corrupt than
they were before, even though he had not deceived them--as for example,
Hanky and Panky. And the young? how could such a lie as that a chariot
and four horses came down out of the clouds enter seriously into the life
of any one, without distorting his mental vision, if not ruining it?
And yet, the more he reflected, the more he also saw that he could do no
good by saying who he was. Matters had gone so far that though he spoke
with the tongues of men and angels he would not be listened to; and even
if he were, it might easily prove that he had added harm to that which he
had done already. No. As soon as he had heard Hanky's sermon, he would
begin to work his way back, and if the Professors had not yet removed
their purchase, he would recover it; but he would pin a bag containing
about five pounds worth of nuggets on to the tree in which they had
hidden it, and, if possible, he would find some way of sending the rest
to George.
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