The World Well Lost Author:Eliza Lynn Linton Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER III. UNDER THE TULIP-TREE. Derwent and Muriel remained sitting under the tulip-tree where their mother had left them, discussing that mother's new ... more »philosophy. Derwent, full of the high-strung ideas of the godliness of honour and the degradation of moral weakness natural to his youth and true to one of his temperament, refused to receive it in any sense, as he said to his sister disdainfully; and he bombarded her with quotations, both Latin and English, to prove that he was right, and that his mother and the theory of forgiveness were alike wrong. But Muriel, whose womanly pity rose to that justice which stands higher than legality, said she thought that it might be the best thing under certain conditions. ' It is not to love honour less but mercy more,' she said, in answer to the quotation with which he finally sought to overwhelm I could not love thee, dear, so much, Loved I not honour more. ' We have all so much to be forgiven that we cannot afford to condemn others; we condemn ourselves if we do.' ' But forgiven what ?' Derwent answered. ' You cannot class a few childish misdemeanours with grave crimes, nor rank unimportant faults and shameful dishonour as things to be judged by the same standard.' ' Perhaps there is not so much difference between them if we take into consideration the power to resist and the force of the temptation. Wrong-doing lies in wilful yielding to temptation more than in the thing that is done,' was her sensible reply. ' Muriel! let me beg of you not to make yourself the apologist of wrong-doing or of wrong-doers,' cried Derwent, assuming his elder-brother air of authority; ' it pains me more than I can bear. It is what you said to me just now—sacrilege to hear your lips defend evil—sacrilege ten times over !' ' Well,...« less