"If I
understand your news, sir, it means that they persuaded the poor soul to
confess her guilt, and so put herself safe in the hands of God!"
"And is not that to come between God and the sinner?"
"Doubtless, sir--in order to bring them together; to persuade the sinner to
the first step toward reconciliation with God, and peace in his own mind."
"That he could take without the intervention of the priest!"
"Yes, but not without his own consenting will! And in this case, she would
not, and did not confess without being persuaded to it!"
"They had no right to threaten her!"
"Did they threaten her? If they did, they were wrong.--And yet I don't
know! In any case they did for her the very best thing that could be done!
For they did get her, you tell me, to confess--and so cast from her the
horror of carrying about in her secret heart the knowledge of an unforgiven
crime! Christians of all denominations hold, I presume, that, to be
forgiven, a sin must be confessed!"
"Yes, to God--that is enough! No mere man has a right to know the sins of
his neighbour!"
"Not even the man against whom the sin was committed?"
"Suppose the sin has never come abroad, but remains hidden in the heart, is
a man bound to confess it? Is he, for instance, bound to tell his neighbour
that he used to hate him, and in his heart wish him evil?"
"The time micht come whan to confess even that would ease a man's hert! but
in sic a case, the man's first duty, it seems to me, would be to watch for
an opportunity o' doin that neebour a kin'ness.
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