The Henson Journals

[195]

3rd Sunday after Easter, April 25th, 1915.

265th day

I celebrated at 8 a.m. and I preached to the soldiers at 10 a.m. There were more of them than usual, and they coughed horribly to my discomfiture! Knowling preached an admirable sermon at Mattins, taking for his text the phrase 'The life which is life indeed'. I suspect that part of the charm of his preaching is his naïve acceptance of the traditional Christian view. He knows no persecution save that of the Roman Emperors: the French Revolution is for him simply an apocalypse of Satan: this War is simply conflict between Christianity & Paganism resurrected in Prussia. Hence his simplicity, fervour, & eloquence. The 'other side' has no existence for him. He ignores it quite honestly because he cannot see it. I attended Evensong, and afterwards wrote letters to Carissima, Olaf & others.

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