A brilliant idea! Soon we were at it hammer and tongs;
discussing Arius, Alexander, and Athanasius; the Council of
Nicaea, Hosius of Cordova, homo-ousion and homoi-ousion; Eusebius
of Nicomedia, and his namesake of Caesarea.
Without intending any disrespect to these two eminent Fathers of
the Church, the two Eusebius' always reminded me irresistibly of
the two Ajaxes of Offenbach's opera-bouffe. La Belle Helene, or,
later on, of the "Two Macs" of the music-hall stage of the
"nineties." I blessed Mr. Chittenden for having so thoughtfully
provided me with conversational small-change suitable for Abbots.
The Abbot was, I think, a little surprised at my theological lore.
He asked me where I had acquired it, and when I told him that it
was at school, he presumed that I had been at a seminary for
youths destined for the priesthood, an idea which would have
greatly shocked the ultra-Evangelical Mr. Chittenden.
I was very glad that I had passed those three days at La Trappe,
for it gave one a glimpse into a wholly unsuspected world. The
impression of the tremendous severity with which the lives of the
monks were regulated, remained with me.
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