Certainly no Romish hierarchy can so successfully exclude heretical books, as social enactment excludes those of Unitarians from our orthodox circles.
The bookseller dares not to exhibit their books on his counter: all presume them to be pestilential: no one knows their contents or dares to inform himself.

But to return.

My friend's wife entered warmly into my new views; I have now no doubt that this exceedingly distressed him, and at length perverted his moral judgment: he himself examined the texts of the Old Testament, and attempted no answer to them.
After I had left his neighbourhood, I wrote to him three affectionate letters, and at last got a reply--of vehement accusation.

It can now concern no one to know, how many and deep wounds he planted in me.

I forgave; but all was too instructive to forget.
For some years I rested in the belief that the epithet "_secular_ punishment" either solely denoted punishment in a future age, or else only of long duration.