"Had you, or I, or any man, the Christ-power to teach him a disbelief in his sickness, then would he be hale and well. The Great Physician healed all diseases thus, without the aid of drugs, seeking only to implant in the mind of each sufferer the knowledge that he was whole and sound—that is to say, a total disbelief in his malady. How many times do we read the words: 'Thy faith hath made thee whole'? All He demanded of them was faith—or, as I say, a disbelief in their disease."
"Then the cures of Christ were not miracles?"
"No more so than any great and noble work is a miracle."
"And do you," inquired my companion, removing his pipe from his lips, and staring at me very hard, "do you believe that Jesus Christ was the Son of God?"
"Yes," said I, "in the same way that you and I are, and the
Quack-salver yonder."
"But was He divine?"
"Surely a mighty thinker—a great teacher whose hand points the higher way, whose words inspire Humanity to nobler ends and aims, is, of necessity, divine."
"You are a very bold young man, and talk, I think, a little wildly."
"Heterodoxy has been styled so before, sir."
"And a very young, young man."