“‘Why not, Father? Do you think I was a madman to do so?’
“‘Surely.’
“‘Why? Is there not happiness in knowledge?’
“‘Knowledge of evil?’
“‘Knowledge of all things that exist in life. I have never sought for evil specially; I have sought for everything. I wished to bring everything under my observation, everything connected with human life.’
“‘But human life,’ I said more quietly, ‘passes away from this world. It is a shadow in a world of shadows.’
“‘You say that,’ he answered abruptly. ‘I wonder if you feel it—feel it as you feel my hand on yours.’
“He laid his hand on mine. It was hot and dry as if with fever. Its touch affected me painfully.
“‘Is that hand the hand of a shadow?’ he said. ‘Is this body that can enjoy and suffer, that can be in heaven or in hell—here—here—a shadow?’
“‘Within a week it might be less than a shadow.’