"Else, why is a man who suddenly deserts his family to become a soldier
called a villain, while the man who deserts those who depend on him to
become a monk is called a saint?"
It is very unfortunate the boys should come to me with their religious
perplexities, because I am so perplexed myself, I have no idea how to
answer them. I generally advise them to ask Eva.
This time I could only say, as our grandmother had so often said to
me,--
"You must wait till you are older, and then you will understand." But I
added, "Of course it is quite different: one leaves his home for God,
and the other for the world."