"Well, not quite, when thou opposest my will," said I; "but dost thou know, there are some people who say that they live without sin."
"That may be, when to contradict the holy Evangels is a mark of perfection," said Marguerite drily.
"Well, what hast thou heard about that in thy listening, Margot?" said I, laughing.
"The first thing I heard perplexed me," said she. "It was of Monseigneur Saint John, who said that he that is born of God doth not commit sin: and it troubled me sorely for a time, since I knew I did sin, and feared lest I was therefore not born of God. But one day, Father Eudes read again, from the very same writing, that 'If any man sin, we have an Advocate with the Father,' and likewise that if we say we have no sin, we are liars. So then I thought, Well! how is this? Monseigneur the holy Apostle would not contradict himself. But still I could not see how to reconcile them, though I thought and thought, till my brain felt nearly cracked. And all at once, Father Eudes read—thanks be to the good God!—something from Monseigneur Saint Paul, which put it all right."
"What was that?"
"Ah! I could not get it by heart. It was too difficult, and very long. But it was something like this: that in a Christian man there are two hearts, of which the one, which is from God, does not sin at all; and the other, which is the evil heart born in us, is always committing sin."
"But, Margot, which of thy two hearts is thyself?"
"Ha! I cannot answer such questions. The good God will know."
"But art thou sure those are not wicked people?"
"Certainly, no. Monseigneur Saint Paul said 'I' and 'me' all through."