247
Order.—A letter of exhortation to a friend to induce him to seek. And he will reply, "But what is the use of seeking? Nothing is seen." Then to reply to him, "Do not despair." And he will answer that he would be glad to find some light, but that, according to this very religion, if he believed in it, it will be of no use to him, and that therefore he prefers not to seek. And to answer to that: The machine.
248
A Letter which indicates the use of proofs by the machine.—Faith is different from proof; the one is human, the other is a gift of God. Justus ex fide vivit.[1] It is this faith that God Himself puts into the heart, of which the proof is often the instrument, fides ex auditu;[2] but this faith is in the heart, and makes us not say scio,[3] but credo.[4]
249
It is superstition to put one's hope in formalities; but it is pride to be unwilling to submit to them.
250
The external must be joined to the internal to obtain anything from God, that is to say, we must kneel, pray with the lips, &c., in order that proud man, who would not submit himself to God, may be now subject to the creature. To expect help from these externals is superstition; to refuse to join them to the internal is pride.
251
Other religions, as the pagan, are more popular, for they consist in externals. But they are not for educated people. A purely intellectual religion would be more suited to the learned, but it would be of no use to the common people. The Christian religion alone is adapted to all,
