"That is not without common sense, my father," I said, "for in this way the sorcerers may be made to become learned and experienced in their art, in the hope of lawfully acquiring property, according to your rules, in the faithful service of the public.

"You seem to me to be mocking," said the priest, "it is not good, for if you speak in this way in a society where you are not known, there may be people who will be offended by your speech, and will accuse you of ridiculing religious things.

"It is not difficult for me to defend myself against this accusation, my father, because I hope, if I take the trouble to understand the true meaning of my words, there will not be a single one that does not prove the exact opposite, and perhaps in our conversations there will be some opportunity to clarify this in detail.

-Wow! "You're not laughing any more," said the priest.

"I confess to you," I said, "the suspicion that I wanted to laugh at sacred objects would be very sensitive to me, as it would be extremely unjust.

"I said it jokingly," replied the priest, "but let us speak more seriously.

"I am quite disposed to it; If you will, my Father, it's up to you. But I confess that I was surprised that your fathers extended their solicitude to all kinds of positions to such an extent that they even wished to determine the lawful income of sorcerers.

"It is impossible," said the priest, "to write for too many, nor to deal with too many cases in detail, nor to repeat the same thing too often in different books. You can be well convinced of this by means of an excerpt from the book of one of the most authoritative among our fathers. You can judge him well, for he is now our father provincial. Here is how the venerable Father Sello argues in the eighth book of On the Hierarchy (Chapter 16, § 2): "We know," he says, "that a certain man, taking with him a considerable sum of money, went to return it at the request of his confessor, and stopped on the way with a bookseller; To the question: "Is there anything new?" (Pete Quid Wow?), he showed him a new book on moral theology; leafing through it carelessly and without any thought, he came across his case and learned that he was not obliged to return the sums; So, freed from the burden of the reproaches of his conscience, and still feeling the pleasant weight of his purse, he returned home much relieved: abjecta scrupuli sarcina, retento auri pondere, levior domum repetiit.

Well, tell me after that, isn't it useful to know our rules? Will you laugh at them now, and will you rather agree with Father Szello's pious reflection on such a happy accident: "Coincidences of this kind are the essence of God: in God is the action of his providence, in the guardian angel the action of his guidance, and in those to whom they occur, the action of their predestination. God willed from eternity that the golden chain of their salvation should depend on such and such an author, and not on a hundred others who say the same thing; therefore it does not happen that they catch their eye. If he had not written, this one would not have been saved. Let us adjure by the grace of Jesus Christ those who condemn the multitude of our authors, not to envy their books, which were acquired for them by the eternal election of God and the blood of Jesus Christ." These are the beautiful words with which this learned man so thoroughly proves his proposition: "How useful is the multitude of writers who write on moral theology: quam utile sit de theologia morali multos scribere."

- Отец мой, — сказал я ему, — я отложу до другого раза изложение моего мнения насчет этого места; и я теперь же скажу вам только одно: если ваши правила столь полезны и так важно распространять их, то вы должны продолжать наставлять меня в них, потому что, уверяю вас, тот, кому я посылаю их, показывает их очень многим. Не то, чтобы у нас было намерение применить их на деле, но мы действительно убеждены, что людям полезно хорошенько познакомиться с ними.

- Да ведь вы видите, что и я не скрываю их, и для продолжения в следующий раз могу побеседовать с вами о тех сладостях и удобствах жизни, которые отцы наши разрешили, чтобы сделать спасение приятным и набожность легкой, дабы после того, как вы усвоили себе относящееся к отдельным положениям, вы смогли бы изучить то, что обще для всех, и чтобы таким образом у вас не было ни в чем недостатка для полноты сновидений.

Поговорив еще подобным образом, добрый патер простился со мной.

P. S. Я все забывал сказать Вам, что есть несколько изданий Эскобара. Если будете покупать, то берите лионское, где в начале помещено изображение агнца на книге с семью печатями, или же брюссельское 1651 г. Так как это последнее издание, то они лучше и полнее прежних лионских изданий 1644 и 1646 годов[156].