“Is your vessel then so very speedy?”
“It is as speedy as God pleases.”
“What do you know about it? It goes like Abbot Budoc’s mule. It is a regular old tub. Are you forbidden to make it speedier?”
“My son, clearness adorns your words, but they are unduly over-confident. Remember that this vessel is miraculous.”
“It is, father. A granite trough that floats on the water like a cork is a miraculous trough. There is not the slightest doubt about it. What conclusion do you draw from that?”
“I am greatly perplexed. Is it right to perfect so miraculous a machine by human and natural means?”
“Father, if you lost your right foot and God restored it to you, would not that foot be miraculous?”
“Without doubt, my son.”
“Would you put a shoe on it?”
“Assuredly.”