(1 John V. 3). Since God declared the practice of
his law to be easy, and himself practised it in human
form, as did also his disciples, how dared I speak of
the impossibility of obedience without the aid of a
supernatural power?

If one bent all his energies to overthrow any law,
what could he say of greater force than that the law



MY RELIGION. 15

was essentially impracticable, and that the maker of
the law knew it to be impracticable and unattainable
without the aid of a supernatural power? Yet that
is exactly what I had been thinking of the com-
mand, " Resist not evil." I endeavored to find out
how it was that I got the idea that Jesus' law was
divine, but that it could not be obeyed ; and as I
reviewed my past history, I perceived that the idea
had not been communicated to me in all its crude-
ness (it would then have been revolting to me) , but
insensibly I had been imbued with it from childhood,
and all my after life had only confirmed me in error.
