And it was by reason of his conduct in this respect that he had ended by being venerated as a saint--he who denied everything, who had become a mere empty sepulchre.

For a long time his falsehood had never disturbed him, but it now brought him acute suffering.

It seemed to him that he would be acting in the vilest manner if he delayed placing his life in accord with his opinions.

The thought of it all quite rent his heart.
The question was a very clear one.

By what right did he remain the minister of a religion in which he no longer believed?
Did not elementary honesty require that he should quit a Church in which he denied the presence of the Divinity?
He regarded the dogmas of that Church as puerile errors, and yet he persisted in teaching them as if they were eternal truths.