‘What about your brother?’
‘Of course, Edward’s hopeless. He’s utterly absorbed in his precious book.’
‘I thought he was going in for law,’ said Sheila.
‘So did I. So did everybody. He got a good first in his Tripos. But he doesn’t really care for law. History’s his great subject.’
‘What’s the book about?’ Sheila was excited by the thought of meeting in the flesh this maker of books.
‘I believe he calls it A History of the Religious Idea, but he’s very reticent about it. It’s a very proud exhibition of ignorance, no doubt.’
‘Hypatia!’ protested Sheila. ‘How very unkind of you!’
Hypatia sniffed.
‘Not at all. You misunderstand me. Edward, you see, is an agnostic. Tout ce que je sais, c’est que je ne sais rien, you know. He professes to know nothing about God and so on, and is just as proud of his ignorance as I used to be of mine.’
‘It must be nice for you to know all about it now,’ said Sheila.