" All
which was not false, if not true. I could not help observing to O'Brien,
when he returned home and told me what had passed, "that I thought,
considering what he had expressed with respect to white lies and black
lies, that he had not latterly adhered to his own creed."
"That's very true, Peter; and I've thought of it myself, but it is my
creed nevertheless. We all know what's right, but we don't always follow
it. The fact is, I begin to think that it is absolutely necessary to
fight the world with its own weapons. I spoke to Father M'Grath on the
subject, and he replied--'That if anyone, by doing wrong, necessitated
another to do wrong to circumvent him, that the first party was
answerable, not only for his own sin, but also for the sin committed in
self-defence."
"But, O'Brien, I do not fix my faith so implicitly upon Father M'Grath;
and I do not much admire many of his directions."
"No more do I, Peter, when I think upon them; but how am I to puzzle my
head upon these points? All I know is, that when you are divided between
your inclination and your duty, it's mighty convenient to have a priest
like Father M'Grath to decide for you, and to look after your soul into
the bargain."
It occurred to me that I myself, when finding fault with O'Brien, had,
in the instance of both the letters from Lord Privilege, been also
guilty of deceit. I was therefore blaming him for the same fault
committed by myself; and I am afraid that I was too ready in consoling
myself with Father M'Grath's maxim, "that one might do evil that good
might come.
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