The Way of All Flesh · Chapter
LXV explained
Ernest Pontifex, recovering from illness in prison, grapples with the realization that most people care little for truth and that belief in error often seems more expedient than belief in truth.
What happens
Ernest Pontifex, recovering from illness in prison, grapples with the realization that most people care little for truth and that belief in error often seems more expedient than belief in truth. He rejects the logical conclusion that it might be better to believe falsehood, affirming instead that instinct and faith—not reason—are the ultimate guides. He resolves to combat the hypocrisy of the Church of England, fantasizing about converting the Archbishop of Canterbury, but is rebuffed by the prison chaplain, Mr. Hughes, when he attempts to debate Christian evidences.
Themes in this chapter
Hypocrisy of Victorian Morality
Ernest condemns the Church of England's leaders—bishops, archbishops, and clergy—for professing belief in miracles they do not truly accept, calling them traitors to truth who prioritize respectability over honesty.
Religion and Doubt
The chapter centers on Ernest's crisis of faith: he rejects the supernatural basis of Christianity, yet concludes that faith and instinct, not reason, are the ultimate foundations for life.
Self-Discovery and Authenticity
Ernest's recovery prompts a personal reckoning with his own beliefs, leading him to embrace a faith grounded in instinct rather than institutional religion, and to seek a more authentic way of living.
Characters to notice
- Ernest Pontifex
Lying ill in prison, Ernest reflects on truth, faith, and the hypocrisy of religious authorities; he attempts to debate Christian evidences with the chaplain but is dismissed.
- Mr. Hughes
The prison chaplain who kindly listens to Ernest's practical concerns but brushes aside his theological objections, refusing to engage in debate.
Key passages
“He saw that belief on the part of the early Christians in the miraculous nature of Christ’s Resurrection was explicable, without any supposition of miracle.”
Ernest realized that early Christians could have believed in the Resurrection without it actually being a miracle.
Ernest applies rationalist criticism to the central Christian miracle, showing his loss of faith.
“Instinct then is the ultimate court of appeal. And what is instinct? It is a mode of faith in the evidence of things not actually seen.”
Ernest concludes that instinct, a form of faith in unseen things, is the final arbiter of truth.
Ernest resolves his philosophical crisis by embracing instinct as a foundation, echoing religious faith but without supernatural content.
“If he could only manage to sprinkle a pinch of salt, as it were, on the Archbishop’s tail, he might convert the whole Church of England to free thought by a coup de main.”
Ernest fantasizes that if he could cleverly convince the Archbishop of Canterbury, the entire Church of England would embrace free thought.
Ernest's naive ambition to reform the Church from the top down reveals his youthful arrogance and idealism.