Sophron and Neophilus, or The School of Wisdom

( ❧ ) o ( ❧ )

let him, without any further explanation, believe him on his mere word.

Neophilus. From what you say, friend, I conclude that you do not at least deny the unknown author of our Horus a love of truth and honesty of heart, and therefore judge him and his book more mildly than the greater part of those with whom I have spoken about him thus far. They insist on making him out to be a deceiver and a misanthrope who, under the mask of the most sincere zeal for truth and the most earnest, cold-blooded investigation thereof, hides the blackest malice and, out of pure spite, seeks to rob the world of all belief in revealed religion religion based on divine revelation rather than reason alone.

Sophron. I do not easily allow myself such harsh judgments against any human being. And as far as our unnamed author is concerned, I would not know where one would find reasons to believe him capable of such a high degree of malice and misanthropy, which would be required