The answer came at last in his low clear voice, speaking more into the fire than to Edgar, the eyes still fixed and far away—'"And here we offer and present unto Thee ourselves, our souls and bodies, to be a reasonable, holy, and lively sacrifice."'
'What do you mean? what's that?' said Edgar, half startled, half angry.
'It comes after the Holy Communion,' said Lance, quite as much shocked by the novelty with which the familiar sound struck on his brother's ears.
'Oh! a pious utterance that only a tête exaltée takes literally.'
'I should not join in it if I didn't mean it,' muttered Lance, in the most brief matter-of-fact way.
'Then why aren't you living barefoot on bread and water in a hermitage?'
'Because that's not my duty. It would not be reasonable.'
'There's great force in that word,' began Edgar, with a little scoff in his tone, but altering it into one of more earnestness. 'Now, Lance, I want to understand your point of view. How does that formula hinder you?'
'Because,' said Lance, much against his will, 'it wouldn't be making my soul and body a reasonable sacrifice, to turn the training I had for God's praise into singing love songs to get money and fame.'
'Why do you assume that beauty and delight of any sort is not just as pleasing to God as your chants and anthems?'