At the same time there was another power that was a trifle stronger than both of us put together. That was the Church. I do not wish to disguise that fact. I couldn't, if I wanted to. Well, it was a curious country, and full of interest.
Inherited ideas are a curious thing, and interesting to observe and examine.
I had mine, the king and his people had theirs. In both cases they flowed in ruts worn deep by time and habit, and the man who should have proposed to divert them by reason and argument would have had a long contract on his hands. The way I was looked upon was odd, but it was natural. Well, to the king, the nobles, and all the nation, down to the very slaves and tramps, I was just that kind of an elephant, and nothing more. There you see the hand of that awful power, the Roman Catholic Church.