“At the back of orthodox religion, so far as I can see, there's always the idea of reward—what you can get for being good; a kind of begging for favours. I think it all starts in fear.”
She was sitting on the sofa making reefer knots with a bit of string. She looked up quickly:
“I think it's much deeper than that.”
Ashurst felt again that wish to dominate.
“You think so,” he said; “but wanting the 'quid pro quo' is about the deepest thing in all of us! It's jolly hard to get to the bottom of it!”
She wrinkled her brows in a puzzled frown.
“I don't think I understand.”
He went on obstinately:
“Well, think, and see if the most religious people aren't those who feel that this life doesn't give them all they want. I believe in being good because to be good is good in itself.”
“Then you do believe in being good?”