an intimate friend who had never concealed anything from us--who had
discoursed with us on all subjects; science, literature, philosophy,
theology, love, poetry, happiness, the world to come and all that of
which it most imports us to have accurate knowledge." Let us then see
the man as reflected in his writings.

First of all he reveals himself as a man profoundly animated by
religion. He is not a Huysmanns or a François Coppée, a Brunetiere,
a Paul Bourget, forsaking the religious teachings of his youth only to
embrace them in mature life. Never for a moment did he deflect from the
Catholic doctrine, though his studies led him to the consideration of
the most subtle arguments raised against it. He was indeed the defender
and champion of faith, having no sympathy for a mind which would lose
itself in seeking the solution of the incomprehensible mysteries of
religion. So he has Virgil say:

"Insensate he who thinks with mortal ken
To pierce Infinitude which doth enfold
Three persons in one substance. Seek not, then,
O Mortal race, for reasons, but believe
And be content, for had all been seen
No need there was for Mary to conceive.
Men have ye known who thus desired in vain
And whose desires, that might at rest have been,
Now constitute a source of endless pain.
Plato, the Stagerite, and many more
I here allude to. Then his head he bent,
Was silent and a troubled aspect wore."
(Purg., III, 34.)