THE CREATION AND FALL violently and self-interest less violently, but no less certainly; mere forgetfulness was deadlier than all. The nature of man still bore witness to God’s purpose and God’s law — but a witness that grew ever fainter ; the fragments remained of the first revelation — but ever more broken and shapeless; the little company of the Chosen People clung to certain fundamental truths — 'the oneness of God, for instance, and the certainty of a Saviour to come— but only under pres^ sure of endless reminders from God and with heaven knows how much weariness and backsliding. And there came a time when the whole of the threefold gift almost seemed to have perished from the earth. The Xife man had lost in one great catastrophe; the Truth man had frittered away. Men were bom into the world without the Supernatural Life: with a nature hopelessly at war within itself. They could still, from the universe about them, reason to the existence of God. But even in this their reasoning was accompanied by a horde of errors, and they could have no certain knowledge of God’s purpose or God’s law. Chaos was upon them: their foot was upon a road whose end they did not know — a road which could only be travelled with aids which they did not p>ossess and could not for themselves obtain. And, be it repeated, Heaven was closed to man. This is something different from having lost the Supernatural Life. For an individual might, by God’s grace, regain the Supernatural Life: and yet because he was a member of a fallen race^ he could 43