6i
he will see that mere illusion
were
the things
that seemed so real, and
he will be fortified
against
the new trials
that await him.
But unfortunate
indeed is he who cannot
thus endure.
It is useless for
him to say, " I don't
like
the Atlantic;
I will
go back to the fireside."
Once
take one step on the path, and there
is
no return.
You will re-
member
in Browning's
" Childe Roland to the dark Tower came":
For mark ! no sooner was I fairly
found
Pledged
to the plain,
after a pace or two.
Than, pausing
to throw
backwards
a last view
O'er the safe road,
'twas gone:
grey plain all round.
Nothing but plain
to the horizon's
bound.
I might go on ; naught else remained
to do.
And this
is universally
true.
The statement
that the Probationer
can
resign
when
he chooses
is in truth
only for those
who
have taken the
oath but superficially.
A real Magical
Oath cannot
be broken:
you think
it can,
but it can't.
This is the advantage of a real Magical Oath.
However
far you go around,
you arrive
at the end just
the same, and
all you have done by attempting
to break
your
oath
is to involve
your-
self in the most frightful
trouble.
It cannot
be too clearly
understood
that such
is the nature of things:
it does
not depend
upon
the will of any persons,
however
powerful
or