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Butler, Samuel, 1835-1902

"Erewhon Revisited"

Therefore, my friends, I again say, 'Let there be no mistake.'
Each stone that goes towards the uprearing of this visible fane, each
human soul that does its part in building the invisible temple of our
national faith, is bearing witness to, and lending its support to, that
which is either the truth of truths, or the baseless fabric of a dream.
"My friends, this is the only possible alternative. He in whose name we
are here assembled, is either worthy of more reverential honour than we
can ever pay him, or he is worthy of no more honour than any other
honourable man among ourselves. There can be no halting between these
two opinions. The question of questions is, was he the child of the
tutelary god of this world--the sun, and is it to the palace of the sun
that he returned when he left us, or was he, as some amongst us still do
not hesitate to maintain, a mere man, escaping by unusual but strictly
natural means to some part of this earth with which we are unacquainted.
My friends, either we are on a right path or on a very wrong one, and in
a matter of such supreme importance--there must be no mistake.
"I need not remind those of you whose privilege it is to live in
Sunch'ston, of the charm attendant on the Sunchild's personal presence
and conversation, nor of his quick sympathy, his keen intellect, his
readiness to adapt himself to the capacities of all those who came to see
him while he was in prison.


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