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diff --git a/44118-0.txt b/44118-0.txt index 861b403..0cedd9f 100644 --- a/44118-0.txt +++ b/44118-0.txt @@ -1,4 +1,4 @@ -*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 44118 *** +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 44118 *** ZONES OF THE SPIRIT @@ -6910,5 +6910,4 @@ THE END End of Project Gutenberg's Zones of the Spirit, by August Strindberg - *** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 44118 *** diff --git a/44118-0.zip b/44118-0.zip Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 22363ff..0000000 --- a/44118-0.zip +++ /dev/null diff --git a/44118-8.txt b/44118-8.txt deleted file mode 100644 index c52ab05..0000000 --- a/44118-8.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,7302 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Zones of the Spirit, by August Strindberg - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org - - -Title: Zones of the Spirit - A Book of Thoughts - -Author: August Strindberg - -Commentator: Arthur Babillotte - -Translator: Claud Field - -Release Date: November 6, 2013 [EBook #44118] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ZONES OF THE SPIRIT *** - - - - -Produced by Marc D'Hooghe at http://www.freeliterature.org -(Images generously made available by the Internet Archive) - - - - - -ZONES OF THE SPIRIT - -A BOOK OF THOUGHTS - -BY - -AUGUST STRINDBERG - -AUTHOR OF "THE INFERNO," "THE SON OF A SERVANT," ETC. - - -WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY - -ARTHUR BABILLOTTE - - -TRANSLATED BY - -CLAUD FIELD, M.A. - - -G.P. PUTNAM'S SONS - -NEW YORK AND LONDON - -The Knickerbocker press - -1913 - - - - -INTRODUCTION - - -Seldom has a man gone through such profound religious changes as this -Swede, who died last May. The demonic element in him, which spurred -him on restlessly, made him scale heaven and fathom hell, gave him -glimpses of bliss and damnation. He bore the Cain's mark on his brow: -"A fugitive and a wanderer shalt thou be." - -He was fundamentally religious, for everyone who searches after God -is so,--a commonplace truth certainly, but one which needs to be -constantly reiterated. And Strindberg's search was more painful, -exact, and persevering than that of most people. He was never content -with superficial formulas, but pressed to the heart of the matter, -and followed each winding of the labyrinthine problem with endless -patience. Too often the Divinity which he thought he had discovered -turned out a delusion, to be scornfully rejected the moment afterwards. -Until he found _the_ God, whom he worshipped to the end of his days, -and whose existence he resolutely maintained against deniers. - -As a child he had been brought up in devout belief in God, in -submission to the injustice of life, and in faith in a better -hereafter. He regarded God as a Father, to Whom he made known his -little wants and anxieties. But a youth with hard experiences followed -his childhood. The struggle for daily bread began, and his heavenly -Father seemed to fail him. He appeared to regard unmoved, from some -Olympian height, the desperate struggles of humanity below. Then the -defiant element which slumbered in Strindberg wrathfully awoke, and he -gradually developed into a free-thinker. It fared with him as it often -does with young and independent characters who think. Beginning with -dissent from this and that ecclesiastical dogma, his criticism embraced -an ever-widening range, and became keener and more unsparing. At last -every barrier of respect and reverence fell, the defiant spirit of -youth broke like a flood over all religious dogmas, swept them away, -and did not stop short of criticising God Himself. - -Meanwhile his daily life, with its hard experiences, went on. Books -written from every conceivable point of view came into his hands. -Greedy for knowledge as he was, he read them all. Those of the -free-thinkers supported his freshly aroused incredulity, which as yet -needed support. His study of philosophical and scientific works made a -clean sweep of what relics of faith remained. Anxiety about his daily -bread, attacks from all sides, the alienation of his friends, all -contributed towards making the free-thinker into an atheist. How can -there be a God when the world is so full of ugliness, of deceit, of -dishonour, of vulgarity? This question was bound to be raised at last. -About this time he wrote the _New Kingdom_, full of sharp criticisms of -society and Christianity. - -As an atheist Strindberg made various attempts to come to terms with -the existing state of things. But being a genius out of harmony with -his contemporaries, and always longing for some vaster, fairer future, -this was impossible for him. When he found that he came to no goal, -a perpetual unrest tortured him. His earlier autobiographic writings -appeared, marked by a strong misanthropy, and composed with an obscure -consciousness of the curse: "A fugitive and a wanderer shalt thou be." - -At last his consciousness becomes clear and defined. He recognises -that he is a lost soul in hell already, though outwardly on earth. -This was the most extraordinary period in Strindberg's life. He -lived in the Quartier Latin in Paris, in a barely furnished room, -with retorts and chemical apparatus, like a second Faust at the end -of the nineteenth century. By experiments he discovered the presence -of carbon in sulphur, and considered that by doing so he "had solved -a great problem, upset the ruling systems of chemistry, and gained -for himself the only immortality allowed to mortals." He came to the -conclusion that the reason why he had gradually become an atheist was -that "the Unknown Powers had left the world so long without a sign of -themselves." The discovery made him thankful, and he lamented that he -had no one to thank. From that time the belief in "unknown powers" grew -stronger and stronger in him. It seems to have been the result of an -almost complete, long, and painful solitude. - -At this time his brain worked more feverishly, and his nerves were -more sensitive than usual. At last he reached the (for an atheist) -astounding conclusion: "When I think over my lot, I recognise that -invisible Hand which disciplines and chastens me, without my knowing -its purpose. Must I be humbled in order to be lifted up, lowered in -order to be raised? The thought continually recurs to me, 'Providence -is planning something with thee, and this is the beginning of thy -education.'"[1] - -Soon after this he gave up his chemical experiments and took up -alchemy, with a conviction, almost pathetic in its intensity, that -he would succeed in making gold. Although his dramas had already -been performed in Paris, a success which had fallen to the lot of no -other Swedish dramatist, he forgot all his successes as an author, -and devoted himself solely to this new pursuit, to meet again with -disappointment. - -On March 29, 1897, he began the study of Swedenborg, the Northern -Seer. A feeling of home-sickness after heaven laid hold of him, and he -began to believe that he was being prepared for a higher existence. "I -despise the earth," he writes, "this unclean world, these men and their -works. I seem to myself a righteous man, like Job, whom the Eternal is -putting to the test, and whom the purgatorial fires of this world will -soon make worthy of a speedy deliverance." - -More and more he seemed to approach Catholicism. One day he, the former -socialist and atheist, bought a rosary. "It is pretty," he said, -"and the evil spirits fear the cross." At the same time, it must be -confessed that this transition to the Christian point of view did not -subdue his egotism and independence of character. "It is my duty," he -said, "to fight for the maintenance of my ego against all influences -which a sect or party, from love of proselytising, might bring to -bear upon it. The conscience, which the grace of my Divine protector -has given me, tells me that." And then comes a sentence full of joy -and sorrow alike, which seems to obliterate his whole past. "Born -with a home-sick longing after heaven, as a child I wept over the -squalor of existence and felt myself strange and homeless among men. -From childhood upwards I have looked for God and found the Devil." He -becomes actually humble, and recognises that God, on account of his -pride, his conceit, his ὕβρις, had sent him for a time to -hell. "Happy is he whom God punishes." - -The return to Christ is complete. All his faith, all his hope now rest -solely on the Crucified, whom he had once demoniacally hated. - -He now devoted himself entirely to the study of Swedenborg. He felt -that in some way the life of this strange man had foreshadowed his -own. Just as Swedenborg (1688-1772) had passed from the profession -of a mathematician to that of a theologian, a mystic, and finally a -ghost-seer and theosoph, so Strindberg passed from the worldly calling -of a romance-writer to that of a preacher of Christian patience and -reconciliation. He had occasional relapses into his old perverse moods, -but the attacks of the rebellious spirit were weaker and weaker. He -told a friend who asked his opinion regarding the theosophical concept -of Karma, that it was impossible for him to belong to a party which -denied a personal God, "Who alone could satisfy his religious needs." -In a life so full of intellectual activity as his had been, Strindberg -had amassed an enormous amount of miscellaneous knowledge. When he was -nearly sixty he began to collect and arrange all his experiences and -investigations from the point of view he had then attained. Thus was -composed his last important work, _Das Blau Buch_, a book of amazing -copiousness and originality. Regarding it, the Norwegian author Nils -Kjaer writes in the periodical _Verdens Gang_: "More comprehensive than -any modern collection of aphorisms, chaotic as the Koran, wrathful as -Isaiah, as full of occult things as the Bible, more entertaining than -any romance, keener-edged than most pamphlets, mystical as the Cabbala, -subtle as the scholastic theology, sincere as Rousseau's confession, -stamped with the impress of incomparable originality, every sentence -shining like luminous letters in the darkness--such is this book in -which the remarkable writer makes a final reckoning with his time and -proclaims his faith, as pugnaciously as though he were a descendant -of the hero of Lutzen." The book, in truth, forms a world apart, from -which all lying, hypocrisy, and conventional contentment is banished; -in it is heard the stormy laughter of a genius who has freed himself -from the fetters of earth, the proclamation of the creed of a strange -Christian who interprets and reveres Christ in his own fashion, the -challenge of an original and creative mind which believes in its own -continuance, the expression of the yearning of a lonely soul to place -itself in harmonious relations with the universe. - -An especially interesting feature of the _Blau Buch_ is the expression -of Strindberg's views regarding the great poets, artists, and thinkers -of the past and present. He speaks of Wagner and Nietzsche, the two -antipodes; of Horace, who, after many wanderings, recognised the hand -of God; of Shakespeare, who had lived through the experience of every -character he created; of Goethe, regarding whom he remarks, with -evident satisfaction, "In old age, when he grew wise, he became a -mystic, _i.e._ he recognised that there are things in heaven and earth -of which the Philistines never dream." Of Maeterlinck, he says, "He -knows how to caricature his own fairest creations"; and accuses Oscar -Wilde of want of originality. Regarding Hegel, he notes with pleasure -that at the end of his life he returned to Christianity. With deep -satisfaction he writes, "Hegel, after having gone very roundabout ways, -died in 1831, of cholera, as a simple, believing Christian, putting -aside all philosophy and praying penitential psalms." In Rousseau he -recognises a kindred spirit, in so far as the Frenchman, like himself, -hated all that was unnatural. "One can agree with Rousseau when he -says, 'All that comes from the Creator's hand is perfect, but when it -falls into the hands of man it is spoilt.'" - -The _Blau Buch_ marks the summit of Strindberg's chequered sixty years' -pilgrimage. Beneath him lies the varicoloured landscape of his past -life, now lit up with gleams of sunshine, now draped in dark mists, -now drowned in storms of rain. But Strindberg, the poet and thinker, -has escaped from both dark and bright days alike; he stands peacefully -on the summit, above the trivialities, the cares, and bitternesses of -life, a free man. He is like Prometheus, fettered to the rock for -having bestowed on men the gift of fire, but liberated after he has -learnt his lesson. In his calm is something resembling the dignity of -Goethe's old age. As the latter sat on the Kickelhahn, looking down -on Thuringia, and saw the panorama of his life pass before him, so -Strindberg takes a retrospect in his _Blau Buch_. It is the canticle of -his life, a hymn of thankfulness for the recovered faith in which he -has found peace. At its conclusion he thus sums up: - -"Rousseau's early doctrine regarding the curse of mere learning should -be repondered." - -"A new Descartes should arise and teach the men to doubt the untruths -of the sciences." - -"Another Kant should write a new Critique of Pure Reason and -re-establish the doctrine of the Categorical Imperative, which, -however, is already to be found in the Ten Commandments and the -Gospels." - -"A prophet should be born to teach men the simple meaning of life in a -few words. It has already been so well summed up: 'Fear God, and keep -His commandments,' or 'Pray and work.'" - -"All the errors and mistakes which we have made should serve to instil -into us a lively hatred of evil, and to impart a fresh impulse to good; -these we can take with us to the other side, where they will bloom and -bear fruit. That is the true meaning of life, at which the obstinate -and impenitent cavil, in order to save themselves trouble." - -"Pray, _but_ work; suffer, _but_ hope; keeping both the earth and the -stars in view. Do not try and settle permanently, for it is a place of -pilgrimage; not a home, but a halting-place. Seek the truth, for it is -to be found, but only in one place, with the One who Himself is the -Way, the Truth, and the Life." - - ARTHUR BABILLOTTE. - - -[Footnote 1: Strindberg's _Inferno_.] - - - - -CONTENTS - -THE HISTORY OF THE BLUE BOOK - -A BLUE BOOK-- - - The Thirteenth Axiom - The Rustic Intelligence of the "Beans" - The Hoopoo, or An Unusual Occurrence - Bad Digestion - The Song of the Sawyers - Al Mansur in the Gymnasium - The Nightingale in the Vineyard - The Miracle of the Corn-crakes - Corollaries - Phantasms which are Real - Crex, Crex! - The Electric Battery and the Earth Circuit - Improper and Unanswerable Questions - Superstition and Non-Superstition - Through Faith to Knowledge - The Enchanted Room - Concerning Correspondences - The Green Island - Swedenborg's Hell - Preliminary Knowledge Necessary - Perverse Science - Truth in Error - Accumulators - Eternal Punishment - "Desolation" - A World of Delusion - The Conversion of the Cheerful Pagan, Horace - Cheerful Paganism and its Doctrine of Hell - Faith the Chief Thing - Penitents - Paying for Others - The Lice-King - The Art of Life - The Mitigation of Destiny - The Good and the Evil - Modesty and the Sense of Justice - Derelicts - Human Fate - Dark Rays - Blind and Deaf - The Disrobing Chamber - The Character Mask - Youth and Folly - When I was Young and Stupid - Constant Illusions - The Merits of the Multiplication-Table - Under the Prince of this World - The Idea of Hell - Self-Knowledge - Somnambulism and Clairvoyance in Everyday Life - Practical Measures against Enemies - The Goddess of Reason - Stars Seen by Daylight - The Right to Remorse - A Religious Theatre - Through Constraint to Freedom - The Praise of Folly - The Inevitable - The Poet's Sacrifice - The Function of the Philistines - World-Religion - The Return of Christ - Correspondences - Good Words - Severe and not Severe - Yeast and Bread - The Man of Development - Sins of Thought - Sins of Will - The Study of Mankind - Friend Zero - Affable Men - Cringing before the Beast - _Ecclesia Triumphans_ - Logic in Neurasthenia - My Caricature - The Inexplicable - Old-time Religion - The Seduced become Seducers - Large-hearted Christianity - Reconnection with the Aërial Wire - The Art of Conversion - The Superman - To be a Christian is not to be a Pietist - Strength and Value of Words - The Black Illuminati - Anthropomorphism - Fury-worship as a Penal Hallucination - Amerigo or Columbus - A Circumnavigator of the Globe - The Poet's Children - Faithful in Little Things - The Unpracticalness of Husk-eating - A Youthful Dream for Seven Shillings - Envy Nobody! - The Galley-slaves of Ambition - Hard to Disentangle - The Art of Settling Accounts - Growing Old Gracefully - The Eight Wild Beasts - Deaf and Blind - Recollections - Children are Wonder-Children - Men-resembling Men - Christ is Risen - Revolution-Sheep - "Life Woven of the Same Stuff as our Dreams" - The Gospel of the Pagans - Punished by the Imagination - Bankruptcy of Philosophy - A Whole Life in an Hour - The After-Odour - Peaches and Turnips - The Web of Lies - Lethe - A Suffering God - The Atonement - When Nations Go Mad - The Poison of Lies - Murderous Lies - Innocent Guilt - The Charm of Old Age - The Ring-System - Lust, Hate, and Fear, or the Religion of the Heathen - "Whom the Gods Wish to Destroy" - The Slavery of the Prophet - Absurd Problems - The Crooked Rib - White Slavery - Noodles - Inextricable Confusion - Phantoms - Mirage Pictures - Trifle not with Love - A "Taking" Religion - The Sixth Sense - Exteriorisation of Sensibility - Telepathic Perception - Morse Telepathy - _Nisus Formativus_, or Unconscious Sculpture - Projections - Apparitions - The Reactionary Type - The Hate of Parasites - A Letter from the Dead - A Letter from Hell - An Unconscious Medium - The Revenant - The Meeting in the Convent - Correspondences - Portents - The Difficult Art of Lying - Religion and Scientific Intuition - The Freed Thinker - _Primus inter pares_ - Heathen Imaginations - Thought Bound by Law - _Credo quia (et-si) absurdum_ - The Fear of Heaven - The Goat-god Pan and the Fear of the Pan-pipe - Their Gospel - The Deposition of the Apes - The Secret of the Cross - Examination and Summer Holidays - Veering and Tacking - Attraction and Repulsion - The Double - Paw or Hand - The Thousand-Years' Night of the Apes - The Favourite - Scientific Villainies - Necrobiosis, _i.e._ Death and Resurrection - Secret Judgment - Hammurabi's Inspired Laws Received from the Sun-God - Strauss's Life of Christ - Christianity and Radicalism - Where are We? - Hegel's Christianity - "Men of God's Hand" - Night-Owls - Apotheosis - Painting Things Black - The Thorn in the Flesh - Despair and Grace - The Last Act - Consequences of Learning - Rousseau - Rousseau Again - Materialised Apparitions - The Art of Dying - Can Philosophy Bring any Blessing to Mankind? - Goethe on the Bible - "Now we Can Fly Too! Hurrah" - The Fall and Original Sin - The Gospel - Religious Heathen - The Pleasure-Garden - The Happiness of Love - Our Best Feelings - Blood-Fraternity - The Power of Love - The Box on the Ear - Saul, afterwards Called Paul - A Scene from Hell - The Jewel-Casket or his Better Half - The Mummy-Coffin - In the Attic - The Sculptor - On the Threshold at Five Years of Age - Goethe on Christianity and Science - _Summa Summarum_ - - - -Zones of the Spirit - - - - -THE HISTORY OF THE BLUE BOOK - -(_Prefixed to the Third Swedish Edition_) - - -I had read how Goethe had once intended to write a _Breviarium -Universale_, a book of edification for the adherents of all religions. -In my _Historical Miniatures_ I have attempted to trace God's ways -in the history of the world; I included Christianity in my survey by -commencing with Israel, but perhaps I made the mistake of ranging other -religions by the side of Christianity, while they ought to have stood -below it. - -A year passed. I felt myself constrained by inward impulses to write -a fairly unsectarian breviary; a word of wisdom for each day in the -year. For that purpose I collected the sacred books of all religions, -in order to extract from them "sayings" on which to write. But the -books did not open themselves to me! The Vedas and Zend-Avesta were -sealed, and did not yield a single saying; only the Koran gave one, but -that was a lion! (see "Faith the Chief Thing, ff.). Then I determined -to alter my design. I formed the plan of writing apothegms of simply -worldly wisdom regarding men, and of calling the book _Herbarium -Humane._ But I postponed the work since I trembled at the greatness of -the task and the crudity of my plan. Then came June 15, 1906. As I took -my morning walk, the first thing I saw was a tramcar with the number -365. I was struck by this number, and thought of the 365 pages which I -intended to write. - -As I went on, I entered a narrow street. A cart went along by my side -carrying a red flag; it was a powder-flag. The cart kept parallel -with me and began to disturb me. In order to escape the sight of the -powder-flag, I looked up in the air, and there an enormous red flag -(the English one) flaunted conspicuously before my eyes. I looked down -again, and a lady dressed in black, with a fiery-red hat, was crossing -the street in a slanting direction. - -I hastened my steps. Immediately my eyes fell on the window of a -stationer's shop; in it a piece of cardboard was displayed, bearing the -word "Herbarium." - -It was natural that all this should make an impression on me. My -resolution was now taken; I laid down the plan of my powder-chamber, -which was to become the _Blue Book_. A year passed, slowly, painfully. -The most remarkable thing that happened was this. They began to -rehearse my drama, the _Dream Play_, in the theatre; simultaneously, -a change took place in my daily life. My servant left me; my domestic -arrangements were upset; within forty days I had six changes of -servants--one worse than the other. At last I had to serve myself, lay -the table and light the stove. I ate black broken victuals out of a -basket. In short, I had to taste the whole bitterness of life without -knowing why. - -One morning during this fasting period I passed by a shop window in -which I saw a piece of tapestry which attracted and delighted me. I -thought I saw my dream-play in the design woven on the tapestry. Above -was the "growing castle," and underneath the green island over-arched -by a rainbow, and with Alpine summits illumined by the sun. Round it -was the sea reflecting the stars and a great green sea-snake partly -visible; low down in the border was a row of fylfots--the symbol -_Swastika_, signifying good-luck. That was, at any rate, my meaning; -the artist had intended something else which does not belong here. - -Then came the dress-rehearsal of the _Dream Play_. This drama I wrote -seven years ago, after a period of forty days' suffering which were -among the worst which I had ever undergone. And now again exactly forty -days of fasting and pain had passed. There seems, therefore, to be -a secret legislature which promulgates clearly defined sentences. I -thought of the forty days of the flood, the forty years of wandering in -the desert, the forty days' fast kept by Moses, Elijah, and Christ. - -My journal thus records my impressions: - -"The sun shines. A certain quiet resigned uncertainty reigns within me. -I ask myself whether a catastrophe will not prevent the performance -of the piece, which perhaps ought not to be played. In it I have, at -any rate, spoken men fair, but to advise the Ruler of the Universe -is presumption, perhaps blasphemy. The fact that I have laid bare -the comparative nothingness of life (with Buddhism), its irrational -contradictions, its wickedness and lawlessness, may be praiseworthy if -it teaches men resignation. That I have shown the comparative innocence -of men in this life, which of itself involves guilt, is not indeed -wrong, but...." - -Just now comes a telephone message from the theatre: "The result of -this is in God's hand." "Exactly what I think," I answer, and ask -myself again whether the piece ought to be played. (I believe it is -already determined by the higher powers what the issue of the first -performance will prove.) - -I feel as though it were Sunday. The "White Shape" appears outside on -the balcony of the "growing castle." - -My thoughts have lately been occupied with death and with the life -after this. Yesterday I read Plato's _Timæus_ and _Phædo_. At present -I write a work called _The Island of the Dead_. In it I describe -the awakening after death, and what follows. But I hesitate, for I -am frightened at the boundless misery of mere life. Lately I burned -a drama; it was so sincere, that I shuddered at it. What I do not -understand is this: ought one to hide the misery, and flatter men? -I _wish_ to write cheerfully and beautifully, but ought not, and -cannot. I conceive it as a terrible duty to be truthful, and life is -indescribably hideous. - -Now the clock strikes eleven, and at twelve o'clock is the rehearsal. - -The same day at 8 P.M. I have seen the rehearsal of the _Dream Play_, -and suffered greatly. I received the impression that this piece ought -not to be played. It is presumptuous, and certainly blasphemous (?). I -am disturbed and alarmed. - -I have had no midday meal; at seven o'clock I ate some cold food out of -the basket in the kitchen. - -During the religious broodings of my last forty days I read the Book -of Job, saying to myself certainly at the same time that I was no -righteous man like him. Then I came to the 22nd chapter, in which -Eliphaz the Temanite unmasks Job: "Thou hast taken pledges of thy -brother for nought, and stripped the naked of their clothing; thou hast -not given water to the weary to drink, and thou hast withholden bread -from the hungry.... Is not thy wickedness great and thine iniquities -infinite?" - -Then the whole comfort of the Book of Job vanished, and I stood again -forlorn and irresolute. What shall a poor man hold on to? What shall I -believe? How can he help thinking perversely? - -Yesterday I read Plato's _Timæus_ and _Phædo._ There I found so much -self-contradictory wisdom, that in the evening I threw my devotional -books away and prayed to God out of a full heart. "What will happen -now? God help me! Amen." - -The stage-manager visited me yesterday evening. We both felt, in -despair.... The night was quiet. - -_April 16, 1907_.--Read the proof of the _Black Flags_,[1] which I -wrote in 1904. I asked myself whether the book was a crime, and whether -it ought to be published. I opened the Bible, and came on the prophet -Jonah, who was compelled to prophesy although he hid himself. That -quieted me. But it is a terrible book! - -_April 17_.--To-day the _Dream Play_ will be performed for the first -time. A gentle fall of snow in the morning. Read the last chapter of -Job: God punishes Job because he presumed to wish to understand His -work. Job prays for pardon, and is forgiven. - -Quiet grey weather till 3 P.M. Then G. came with a piece of good news. - -Spent the evening alone at home. At eight o'clock there was a ring at -the door. A messenger brought a laurel-wreath with the inscription: -"Truth, Light, Liberation." I took the wreath at once to the bust of -Beethoven on the tiled stove and placed it on his head, since I had so -much to thank him for, especially just now for the music accompanying -my drama. - -At eleven o'clock a telephone from the theatre announces that -everything has gone well. - -_May 29_.--The _Black Flags_ come out to-day. I make very satisfactory -terms with the publisher regarding the _Blue Book_ (and I had thought -it would not be printed at all). So I determined to remain in my house, -which I had determined to leave on account of poverty. - -_August 20_.--I read this evening the proofs of the _Blue Book_. Then -the sky grew coal-black with towering dark clouds. A storm of rain -fell; then it cleared up, and a great rainbow stood round the church, -which was lit up by the sun. - -_August 22_.--I am reading now the proofs of the _Blue Book_, and I -feel now as though my mission in life were ended. I have been able to -say all I had to say. - -I dreamt that I was in the home of my childhood at Sabbatsberg, and saw -that the great pond was dried up. This pond had always been dangerous -to children because it was surrounded by a swamp; it had an evil smell, -and was full of frogs, hedgehogs, and lizards. Now in my dream I walked -about on the dry ground, and was astonished to find it so clean. I -thought now that I have broken with the _Black Flags_ the frog-swamp is -done with. - -_September 1_.--Read the last proofs of the _Blue Book_. - -_September 2_.--Came across tramcar 365, which I had not seen since I -began to write the _Blue Book_ on June 15, 1906. - -_September 12_.--The _Blue Book_ appears to-day. It is the first clear -day in summer. I dreamt I found myself in a stone-quarry, and could -neither go up nor down. I thought quite quietly, "Well, I must cry for -help!" - -The German motto to-day on the tear-off calendar is: "What is to be -clarified must first ferment." - -To-day I got new clothes which fitted. My old ones had been too tight -to the point of torture. - -My little daughter visited me. I took her home again in a chaise. - -_September 14_.--The whole day clear. Towards evening, however, about -a quarter to six, the sky became covered with most portentous-looking -clouds, with black outlines like obliquely hanging theatre-flies. -Afterwards these were driven out by a storm over the sea. - -This evening my _Crown Bride_ was performed. Thus, then, the _Blue -Book_ had appeared. It looked well with its blue and red binding, which -resembled that of my first book, the _Red Room_, but in its contents -differed as much from it as red from blue. In the first I had, like -Jeremiah, to pluck up, break down, and destroy; but in this book I was -able to build and to plant. And I will conclude with Hezekiah's song of -praise: - -"I said, in the noontide of my days, I shall go to the gates of the -grave: - -"My age is departed, and is removed from me as a shepherd's tent: - -"I have rolled up like a weaver my life; he will cut me off from the -loom. - -"From day even to night wilt thou make an end of me. - -"Like a swallow or a crane, so did I chatter; I did mourn as a dove: -mine eyes fail with looking upward. - -"Lord, I am oppressed; undertake for me. - -"What shall I say? He hath both spoken unto me, and himself hath done -it. - -"Behold, it was for my peace that I had great bitterness; - -"Thou hast in love to my soul delivered it from the pit of corruption. - -"The living, the living, he shall praise thee, as I do this day. - -"The father to the children shall make known thy truth." - - * * * * * - -I saw beforehand what awaited me if I broke with the _Black Flags_. But -I placed my soul in God's hands, and went forwards. I affix as a motto -to the following book, "He who departeth from evil, maketh himself a -prey." - -The strangest thing, however, is that from this moment my own Karma -began to complete itself. I was protected, things went well with me, -I found better friends than those I had lost. Now I am inclined to -ascribe all my former mischances to the fact that I served the _Black -Flags_. There was no blessing with them! - - -[Footnote 1: A _roman à clef_ in which Strindberg fiercely attacks the -Bohemians and emancipated women of Stockholm.] - - - - -A BLUE BOOK - - -=The Thirteenth Axiom=.--Euclid's twelfth axiom, as is well known, -runs thus: When one straight line cuts two other straight lines so that -the interior angles on the same side are together less than two right -angles, these two lines, being produced, will at length meet on that -side on which are the two angles, which are together less than two -right angles. - -If that is a self-evident proposition, which can neither be proved, nor -needs to be proved, how much clearer is the axiom of the existence of -God! - -Anyone who tries to prove an axiom, loses himself in absurdity; -therefore, we should not attempt to prove the existence of God. He who -cannot understand what is self-evident in an axiom belongs to the class -of people of a lower degree of intelligence. One should be sorry for -such dullards, but not blame them. - -The first point in the definition of God, is that He is Almighty. -Thence it follows that He can abrogate His own laws. But since we do -not know all His laws, we do not know when He employs a law which is -unknown to us, or suspends a law which is known to us. - -What we call miracles, may happen according to strict laws which we do -not know. We must therefore take care, when confronted by unusual or -inexplicable occurrences, to see that we make no mistakes. These draw -down upon us the contempt of our fellow-mortals who are gifted with -keener intelligence. - -=The Rustic Intelligence of the "Beans."=--The miller turns -his mill and the seaman trims his sails according to the force and -direction of the wind. They do not see the wind, but they believe in -its existence, since they observe the results produced by it. They are -wise people who use their intelligence. - -Intelligence ("ratio"), or rustic intelligence, is an excellent faculty -whereby to grasp what is perceptible by the senses, even when it is -invisible. Reason is a higher faculty wherewith one may grasp what is -not perceptible by sense. But when the rationalists try to comprehend -the highest things with their rustic intelligence, then they see light -as darkness, good as evil, the eternal as temporal. In a word, they see -distortedly, for they see by the light of nature. Just as the rustic -intelligence is indispensable when one goes to market, deals with -coffee and sugar, or draws up promissory-notes, even so is the use of -reason necessary when one wishes to approach what is above nature. - -Voltaire and Heine are counted among the greatest rationalists because -they judged of spiritual things by rustic intelligence. Their arguments -are therefore interesting, but worthless. - -And the most interesting fact about both these men is, that they -discovered their errors, declared themselves bankrupt, and finally used -their reason. But there the "Beans" can no longer follow them. - -"Beans" is a classical name for the Philistines who worshipped Dagon, -the fish-god, and Beelzebub, the god of dung. - - -=The Hoopoo, or An Unusual Occurrence.=--Johann was one day on -his travels, and came to a wood. In an old tree he found a bird's nest -with seven eggs, which resembled the eggs of the common swift. But the -latter bird only lays three eggs, so the nest could not belong to it. -Since Johann was a great connoisseur in eggs, he soon perceived that -they were the eggs of the hoopoo. Accordingly, he said to himself, -"There must be a hoopoo somewhere in the neighbourhood, although the -natural history books assert that it does not appear here." - -After a time he heard quite distinctly the well-known cry of the -hoopoo. Then he knew that the bird was there. He hid himself behind -a rock, and he soon saw the speckled bird with its yellow comb. When -Johann returned home after three days, he told his teacher that he had -seen the hoopoo on the island. His teacher did not believe it, but -demanded proof. - -"Proof!" said Johann. "Do you mean two witnesses?" - -"Yes!" - -"Good! I have twice two witnesses, and they all agree: my two ears -heard it, and my two eyes saw it." - -"Maybe. But _I_ have not seen it," answered the teacher. - -Johann was called a liar because he could not prove that he had seen -the hoopoo in such and such a spot. However, it was a fact that the -hoopoo appeared there, although it was an unusual occurrence in this -neighbourhood. - -=Bad Digestion.=--When one adds up several large numbers, one owes -it to oneself to doubt the correctness of the calculation. In order to -test it, one generally adds the figures up again, but from the bottom -to the top. That is wholesome doubt. - -But there is an unwholesome kind of doubt, which consists in denying -everything which one has not seen and heard oneself. To treat one's -fellow-men as liars is not humane, and diminishes our knowledge to a -considerable degree. - -There is a morbid kind of doubt, which resembles a weak stomach. -Everything is swallowed, but nothing retained; everything is received, -but nothing digested. The consequence is emaciation, exhaustion, -consumption, and premature death. - -Johann Damascenus[1] had passed through several years of wholesome -doubt, proving the truths of faith by systematic denial. But when, -after minutely checking his calculation, he had become sure of their -asserted values, he believed. Since then, neither fear of men, love -of gain, contempt, or threats could cause him to abandon his dearly -purchased faith. And in that he was right. - -=The Song of the Sawyers.=--As Damascenus wandered in Qualheim, -he came to a saw-mill. Outside it, on the edge of a stream, sat two -men, and sawed a steel rail with a double saw. They accompanied their -sawing with a rhythmic chant in two voices, and somewhat resembled two -drinkers quarrelling. - -"What are you singing about?" asked Damascenus. - -"About faith and knowledge," answered one. And then they recommenced. -"What I know, that I believe; therefore knowledge is under faith, and -faith stands above it." - -"What do you know then? What you have seen with your eye?" - -"My eye sees nothing of itself. If you were to take it out, and lay it -down here, it would see nothing. Therefore, it is my inner eye which -sees." - -"Can I then see your inner eye?" - -"It is not to be seen. But you see with that which is itself invisible. -Therefore, you must believe on the invisible! Now you know." - -"Yes, yes, yes, but, but, but.... Have you seen God?" - -"Yes, with my inner eye. Therefore, I believe on Him. But it is not -necessary for you to see Him, in order for me to believe on Him." - -"But knowledge is the highest." - -"Yes, but faith is the highest of all." - -"Do you know what you believe?" - -"Yes, although you don't know it." - -"Prove it." - -"By two concurring witnesses? Here in this district alone I can collect -two million witnesses. That must be sufficient proof for you." - -"But, but, but, but" ... And so on. - - -[Footnote 1: Strindberg gives himself this name, probably in allusion -to his mystery-play, _To Damascus_ (1900).] - - -=Al Mansur in the Gymnasium.=--Damascenus came into a large -gymnasium, which at first he thought was empty. But presently he -noticed that men stood along the walls with their backs turned towards -him, so that he only saw their perukes and red ears. "Why do they stand -and look at the wall, and why do they have such red ears?" he asked his -teacher. - -"They are ashamed of themselves," answered the teacher. "During their -lifetime they were regarded as very clever fellows, but now they have -discovered their stupidity." - -"What is stupidity?" - -"He is stupid, in the first place, who is unpractical. These have -practised gymnastics all their lives, but never used the strength which -they have gained. Furthermore, he is stupid who finds it difficult to -comprehend simple propositions, self-evident propositions or axioms; -for instance, the axiom of the existence of God. He is also stupid who -cannot understand a logical proof; he who cannot accept reasonable -premises, can draw no correct inferences. But the height of stupidity -is, not to be able to accept an explanation founded on fact. When the -Apostles told Thomas that Christ, the Son of God, was risen from the -dead, he could not receive the new truth, because it was beyond his -horizon. Such a man is usually called thick-headed, is he not?" - -Damascenus did not answer, but his ears grew red, for he saw behind on -the spring-board a man whom he thought he recognised by his broad neck -and small ears. - -"What are you looking at?" asked the teacher. - -"Who is the man there?" - -"He was, or was called Al Mansur, the Victorious, because he lost all -battles but one--the battle with himself. By the Greeks he is called -Chrysoroas, or 'Golden Stream'; by the Romans, John of Damascus." - - -=The Nightingale in the Vineyard.=--Johann went with his teacher -through a vineyard, at the season when the vines were flourishing -and exhaling their delicious perfume, which resembles that of the -mignonette. "Do you notice the fine scent?" asked the teacher. "Oh yes; -it is the scent of the vines." "Can you see it?" "No, it is invisible." -"Then you can believe in what is invisible, as well as enjoy it. You -are, then, on the way." - -A nightingale was singing in a pomegranate tree. "Can you see her -notes?" asked the teacher. "But you are delighted by them. Similarly, -I delight in the invisible God through His way of revealing Himself in -beauty, goodness, and righteousness. Do you think God cannot reveal -Himself, like the nightingale, by invisible but audible tones?" "Yes, -certainly." "Then you believe in revelations?" "Yes, I am obliged -to." "You believe that God is a Spirit?" "Yes." "Then you believe in -spirits?" "That is an incorrect inference. I believe in one Spirit." -"Have not men spirits or souls in their bodies?" "Certainly." "Then -you believe in spirits, _i.e._ in the existence of spirits?" "You are -right; I believe in spirits." "Don't forget that the next time one asks -you. And don't be afraid when the Lord of Dung comes and threatens you -with the loss of bread, honour, wife, and child." - - -=The Miracle of the Corn-crakes.=--One summer evening the teacher -went with Johann through the clover-fields. There they heard a sound, -"Crex! crex!" "What is that?" asked the teacher. "The corn-crake, of -course." "Have you seen the corn-crake?" "No." "Do you know a man who -has seen it?" "No." "How do you know, then, that it is it?" "Everyone -says so." "Look! If I throw a stone at it, will it fly up?" "No, for it -cannot fly, or flies very badly." "But in autumn, it always flies to -Italy! How does that happen?" "I don't know." "What do the zoologists -say?" "Nothing." "Do you believe that it flies over the Sound, runs -through Germany, and wanders over the Alps or through the St. Gothard -Tunnel?" "They say nothing about it." "Well! Brehm calculates there -are a pair of larks to every acre of field and meadow; if we reckon -that there are a pair of corn-crakes to every two acres, then there -are in our country in spring five million corn-crakes. The female lays -from seven to twelve eggs during the summer, so that in autumn in our -country there are five-and-thirty million corn-crakes. Ought they not -to be visible when they fly over the Sound?" "I cannot explain it. A -bad flyer cannot fly over the Sound. Is it possible that they go round -by the Gulf of Bothnia?" "No, for they have rivers to cross, and one -would see their flight like that of the lemmings. Besides, in England -there are seventy million corn-crakes every autumn, and they cannot -go by land." "Then a miracle happens." "What is a miracle?" "What one -cannot explain, but has no right to deny." "Then the flight of the -corn-crakes is a miracle; it must take place according to unknown -natural laws or be supernatural?" - - -=Corollaries.=--The teacher said: "The bee is a little creature, -but gives plenty of honey. The corn-crake is a little bird, but it has -shown us that some of the most ordinary natural occurrences cannot be -explained by known natural laws, and must therefore be regarded, for -the present, as supernatural, and for the rest, be taken on faith. - -"You have never seen the corn-crake in fields or meadows, but you -believe that it is there. If now a sportsman came, who had shot the -bird, you would be more quickly convinced that the bird does appear in -the district, even though the sportsman were a liar. - -"But the fact that millions of birds not accustomed to flying cannot -fly over great spaces of water or Alpine glaciers, does not explain the -autumn flight of the corn-crakes. - -"Since this cannot be explained on natural grounds, it is -supernatural. We must accordingly admit that we believe sometimes on -the supernatural, or on miracles. - -"From this proved thesis you can deduce the corollaries for yourself if -you possess the faculty of drawing inferences." - - -=Phantasms which Are Real.=--The teacher asked: "Can one see a -phantasm?" - -"What is a phantasm?" - -"There are in optics real images which can be caught on a screen. An -image reflected in a flat mirror cannot be caught upon a screen, and is -therefore a phantasm. Can you see your image in a flat mirror?" - -"Yes." - -"Then you can see a phantasm, or an unreal image. The eye, therefore, -is a skilful instrument, which can make the unreal real. One might thus -be tempted to believe in ghosts." - -"What are ghosts?" - -"They are phantasms, or unreal images which the eye can take in at -certain distances. Great and credible men, such as Luther, Swedenborg, -and Goethe, have seen ghosts." - -"Goethe?" - -"Yes; in the eleventh book of _Aus meinem Leben_ he relates how he met -the image of himself upon a country road. 'I saw, that is to say, not -with the eye of the body, but of the spirit,' he adds. Do you consider -Goethe's testimony credible?" - -"Yes." - -"Well, such sights are not seen every day, just as the hoopoo is not -seen every day. But that does not give one any right to doubt that they -are seen." - - -=Crex, crex!=--The pupil asked: "What is chance?" - -"It means something accidental, irregular, illogical in the occurrence -of an event. But the word is often misused by those who see, but do not -understand. For instance, if after an evil deed you are systematically -persecuted by misfortune, that is no chance. Firstly, because the -misfortunes appear regularly, but chance is irregular. Secondly, -because the punishment follows logically on the evil deed, and chance -is illogical. It is therefore something else." - -"Yes, it must be so. But what is it that causes me to fail in all my -undertakings, to meet in the streets only enemies, to be cheated in all -the shops, to get the worst eatables in the market, to read only of -wickedness in the papers, not to receive pleasant letters though they -have been posted, to miss my train, to see the last cab engaged under -my nose, to be given the only room in the hotel where a suicide has -been committed, not to meet the person I have taken a special journey -to see; to have the money I earn immediately snatched away, to have to -remain in a strange town from which all my acquaintances have gone? -Then at last, when I have no food, and am on the point of drowning -myself, I find a shilling in the street. That cannot be chance? What is -it then?" - -"It is something else, but how it happens we don't know, since we know -so little about the most ordinary phenomena." - -"That's only twaddle." - -"Crex, crex!" - -"That's the corn-crake." - -"Yes, it is." - -=The Electric Battery and the Earth Circuit.=--The pupil feigned -ignorance, and asked: "What is religion?" - -"If you do not know from experience or intuition, I cannot explain it -to you; in that case it would only seem to you folly. But if you know -beforehand, you will be able to receive my explanations, which are -many. Religion is connected with the Source or the head station. But in -order to carry on a conversation one must have an earth-current." - -"What is that?" - -"That is the draining off of superfluous earthliness to the earth. As -one advances in technical knowledge, one learns to speak without a -wire. But for that there are necessary strong streams of electricity, -clean instruments, and clear air. The electric battery is Faith, which -is not merely credence, but an apparatus for receiving and arousing the -divine electricity. Unless you believe in the possibility of success in -an undertaking, you will not set to work, and accordingly you acquire -no energy. With faith and a good will all is possible." - -"But Faith is a gift for all that." - -"Yes; but if, from pride or obstinacy, you refuse to receive it, it is -no gift for you. Is that clear?" - - -=Improper and Unanswerable Questions.=--The pupil asked: "If God -is one, why are there several religions?" - -"Since the existence of God is an axiom, you should say, '_Since_ God -is one, why are there several religions?' I answer: I do not know, -and, strictly speaking, it does not concern me. All agree in the chief -point--that there is a God, and that the soul is immortal." - -"If the soul is immortal, how is it that there are men who regard their -souls as mortal, and speak of the present life as their only one?" - -"Their feelings may be perverted, like a man's who believes he has a -snake in his stomach. Perhaps they have committed soul-suicide. Perhaps -they think the doctrine of immortality foolish, or their souls are -really so rudimentary that they can be buried and dissolved. If that -is the case, one cannot argue with them, for they are right as regards -themselves. Either theirs is an abnormal case, or their perceptions -are perverse; I cannot say which. I am inclined to regard the question -as among those which are unanswerable, or which have not yet been -answered, or which should not be asked." - - -=Superstition and Non-Superstition.=--The pupil asked: "What is -superstition?" - -"I don't know; but a sterile intellect calls the highest axioms -superstitions, _e.g._ God, the religious life, conscience. The -believing fertile intelligence, on the other hand, calls it -superstition when an unbeliever avoids a squirrel, spits when he sees -an old woman or when one wishes him luck, or dares not begin a journey -on the thirteenth of the month." - -"What is witchcraft?" - -"When bad men misemploy their psychic forces on weaker minds, dazzle -them, or torment them from a distance, and so on. You have seen all -this at hypnotic seances. In them, for example, the medium's eyesight -can be so perverted as to take a raw potato for an apple." - -"Are there then witches?" - -"Yes; certainly there are. An ugly and evil woman, who so dazzles the -eyes of a man that he sees her as the most beautiful and best, is a -witch." - -"Should she be burnt?" - -"No, for she burns herself through her wickedness when she meets a man -who is mail-clad with the love of God. Then the missiles of the witch -rebound and strike herself. But one should not talk of such. He who -touches pitch is defiled." - - -=Through Faith to Knowledge.=--The pupil asked: "How shall I know -that I believe rightly?" "I will tell you. Doubt the regular denials -of your everyday intelligence. Go out of yourself if you can, and place -yourself at the believer's standpoint. Act as though you believed, and -then test the belief, and see whether it agrees with your experiences. -If it does, then you have gained in wisdom, and no one can shake -your belief. When I for the first time obtained Swedenborg's _Arcana -Cœlestia_, and looked through the ten thousand pages, it appeared to -me all nonsense. And yet I could not help wondering, since the man was -so extraordinarily learned in all the natural sciences, as well as -in mathematics, philosophy, and political economy. Amid the apparent -foolishness of the book were some details which remained riveted in my -memory. - -"Some time later, in my ordinary life, there happened something -inexplicable. Subsequently light was thrown upon this by an experience -which Swedenborg refers to his so-called heaven and his so-called -angels. Then I began to search and to compare, to make experiments and -to find explanations. I come to the conclusion that Swedenborg has had -experiences which resemble those of earthly life, but are not the same. -This he brings out in his theory of correspondences and agreements. The -theosophists have expressed it thus: parallel with the earth-life we -live another life on the astral plane, but unconsciously to ourselves." - - -=The Enchanted Room.=--The pupil became curious and asked: "What -opened your eyes as regards Swedenborg?" - -"It is difficult to say, but I will try to do so. In my lonely dwelling -there was a room which I considered the most beautiful in the world. -It had not been so beautiful at first, but great and important events -had taken place there. A child had been born in it, and in it a man had -died. Finally I fitted it up as a temple of memory, and never showed it -to anyone. - -"One day, however, the demon of pride and ostentation took possession -of me, and I took a guest into it. He happened to be a 'black man,' -a hopeless despairer, who only believed in physical force and in -wickedness, and called himself 'a load of earth.' As I admitted him -I said, 'Now you will see the most beautiful room in the country.' I -turned on the electric light, which generally poured down from the -ceiling such a blaze that not a dark corner was left in the room. The -man stood in the middle of the room, looked round, grumbled to himself, -and said 'I can't see that.' - -"As he spoke, the room darkened, the walls contracted, the floor -shrank in size. My splendid temple was metamorphosed before my eyes. -It seemed to me like a room in a hospital, with coarse wall-papers; -the beautiful flowered curtains looked dirty; the white surface of the -little writing-table showed spots; the gilding was blackened; the brass -fittings of the tiled oven were tarnished. The whole room was altered, -and I was ashamed. It had been enchanted. - - -=Concerning Correspondences.=--"Now comes Swedenborg, but his -explanation is somewhat difficult. I must make a prefatory remark, in -order that you may not think I regard myself as an angel. By 'angel' -Swedenborg means a deceased mortal, who by death has been released from -the prison of the body, and by suffering in faith has recovered the -highest faculties of his soul. It is necessary to bear this definition -of Swedenborg's in mind, and to remember that it does not apply to my -guest or myself. - -"Swedenborg further remarks regarding these dematerialised beings: 'All -which appears and exists around them seems to be produced and created -by them. The fact that their surroundings are, as it were, produced -and created by them is evident, because when they are no longer -there the surroundings are altered. A change in the surroundings is -also apparent, when other beings come in their place. Elysian plains -change into their trees and fruits; gardens change into their roses and -plants, and fields into their herbs and grasses. The reason for the -appearance and alteration of such objects is that they are produced by -the wishes of these angel beings and the currents of thought set in -motion thereby.' - -"Is not this a subtle observation of Swedenborg's, and have not the -facts he alleges something corresponding to them in our lower sphere? -Does it not resemble my adventure in the 'enchanted room?' Perhaps you -have had a similar experience?" - - -=The Green Island.=--The pupil answered: "I have certainly had -strange experiences, but did not understand them because I thought -with the flesh. As I just heard you say that our experiences can -receive a symbolical interpretation, I remembered an incident which -resembled that which you have just related and compared with an -observation of Swedenborg's. After a youth spent under intolerable -pressure and too much work, a friend gave me a sum of money that I -might spend the summer on the sea in literary recreation. When I saw -the 'Green Island' with its carpets of flowers, beds of reeds, banks -of willows, oak coppices, and hazel woods, I thought that I beheld -Paradise. Together with three other young poets I passed the summer -in a state of happiness which I have never experienced since. We were -fairly religious, although we did not literally believe in the gods -of the state, and we lived, as a rule, innocently enough, with simple -pleasures such as bathing, sailing, and fishing. - -"But there was an evil man among us. He was overbearing, and regarded -mankind as his enemies; denied all goodness; spied after others' -faults; rejoiced in others' misfortunes. Every time he left us to go -to the town, the island seemed to me more beautiful; it seemed like -Sunday. I was always the object of his gibes, but did not understand -his malice. My friends wondered that I was not angry with him, as I -was generally so passionate. I do not myself understand it, but I was -as though protected, and noticed nothing, whatever the cause may have -been. Perhaps you ask whether the island really was so wonderful. I -answer: I found it so, but perhaps the beauty was in my way of looking -at it." - - -=Swedenborg's Hell.=--The pupil continued: "The next summer I came -again, but this time with other companions, and I was another man. -The bitterness of life, the spirit of the time, new teachings, evil -companionship made me doubt the beneficence of Providence, and finally -deny its existence. We led a dreadful life together. We slandered each -other, suspected each other even of theft. All wished to dominate, -nobody would follow another to the best bathing-place, but each went to -his own. We could not sail, for everyone wished to steer. We quarrelled -from morning till night. We drank also, and half of us were treating -themselves for incurable diseases. My 'Green Island,' the first -paradise of my youth, became ugly and repulsive to me. I could see no -more beauty in nature, although at that time I worshipped nature. But -wait a minute, and see how it agreed with what Swedenborg says! The -beautiful weed-fringed bay began to exhale such miasmas, that I got -malarial fever. The gnats plagued us the whole night and stung through -the thickest veil. If I wandered in the wood, and wished to pluck a -flower, I saw an adder rear its head. One day, when I took some moss -from a rock, I saw immediately a black snake zigzagging away. It was -inexplicable. The peaceable inhabitants must have been infected by our -wickedness, for they became malicious, ugly, quarrelsome, and enacted -domestic tragedies. It was hell! When I became ill, my companions -scoffed at me, and were angry, because I had to have a room to myself. -They borrowed money from me, which was not my own, and behaved -brutally. When I wanted a doctor, they would not fetch him." - -The teacher broke in: "That is how Swedenborg describes hell." - - -=Preliminary Knowledge Necessary.=--The pupil asked: "Is there a -hell?" - -"You ask that, when you have been in it?" - -"I mean, another one." - -"What do you mean by another one? Has your experience not sufficed to -convince you that there _is_ one?" - -"But what does Swedenborg think?" - -"I don't know. It is possible that he does not mean a place, but a -condition of mind. But as his descriptions of another side agree with -our experiences on this side in this point, that whenever a man breaks -the connection with the higher sphere, which is Love and Wisdom, a -hell ensues, it does not matter whether it is here or there. He uses -parables and allegories, as Christ did in order to be understood. - -"Emerson in his _Representative Men_ regards Swedenborg's genius as the -greatest among modern thinkers, but he warns us against stereo-typing -his forms of thought. True as transitional forms, they are false if -one tries to fix them fast. He calls these descriptions a transitory -embodiment of the truth, not the truth itself." - -"But I do not yet understand Swedenborg." - -"No, because you have not the necessary preliminary knowledge. Just -like the peasant who came to a chemical lecture and only heard about -letters and numbers. He considered it the most stupid stuff he had ever -heard: 'They could only spell, but could not put the letters together.' -He lacked the necessary preliminary knowledge. Still, when you read -Swedenborg, read Emerson along with him." - - -=Perverse Science.=--The teacher continued: "Swedenborg never -found a contradiction between science and religion, because he beheld -the harmony in all, correspondences in the higher sphere to the lower, -and the unity underlying opposites. Like Pythagoras, he saw the -Law-giver in His laws, the Creator in His work, God in nature, history -and the life of men. Modern degenerate science sees nothing, although -it has obtained the telescope and microscope. - -"Newton, Leibnitz, Kepler, Swedenborg, Linnæus, the greatest scientists -were religious God-fearing men. Newton wrote also an Exposition of the -Apocalypse. Kepler was a mystic in the truest sense of the word. It was -his mysticism which led to his discovery of the laws regulating the -courses of the planets. Humble and pure-hearted, those men could see -God while our decadents only see an ape infested by vermin. - -"The fact that our science has fallen into disharmony with God, shows -that it is perverse, and derives its light from the Lord of Dung." - - -=Truth in Error.=--The teacher continued: "Let us return for a -moment to your green island. There you discovered that the world is a -reflection of your interior state, and of the interior state of others. -It is therefore probable that each carries his own heaven and hell -within him. Thus we come to the conclusion that religion is something -subjective, and therefore outside the reach of discussion. - -"The believer is therefore right when he receives spiritual edification -from the consecrated Bread and Wine. And the unbeliever is also not -wrong when he maintains that _for him_ it is only bread and wine. But -if he asserts that it is the same with the believer, he is wrong. -One ought not to punish him for it; one must only lament his want -of intelligence. By calling religion subjective, I have not thereby -diminished its power. The subjective is the highest for personality, -which is an end in itself, inasmuch as the education of man to superman -is the meaning of existence. - -"But when many individuals combine in one belief, there results an -objective force of tremendous intensity, which can remove mountains and -overthrow the walls of Jericho. - - -=Accumulators.=--"When a race of wild men begin to worship a -meteoric stone, and this stone is subsequently venerated by a nation -for centuries, it accumulates psychic force, _i.e._ becomes a sacred -object which can bestow strength on those who possess the receptive -apparatus of faith. It can accordingly work miracles which are quite -incomprehensible to unbelievers. - -"Such a sacred object is called an amulet, and is not really more -remarkable than an electric pocket-lamp. But the lamp gives light only -on two conditions--that it is charged with electricity and that one -presses the knob. Amulets also only operate under certain conditions. - -"The same holds good of sacred places, sacred pictures and objects, -and also of sacred rites which are called sacraments. - -"But it may be dangerous for an unbeliever to approach too near to -an accumulator. The faith-batteries of others can produce an effect -on them, and they may be killed thereby, if they possess not the -earth-circuit to carry off the coarser earthly elements. - -"The electric car proceeds securely and evenly as long as it is in -contact with the overhead wire and also connected with the earth. -If the former contact is interrupted, the car stands still. If the -earth-circuit is blocked, an electric storm is the result, as was the -case with St. Paul on the way to Damascus." - - -=Eternal Punishment.=--The pupil asked: "What is your belief -regarding eternal punishments?" - -"Let me answer evasively, so to speak: since wickedness is its own -punishment, and a wicked man cannot be happy, and the will is free, an -evil man may be perpetually tormented with his own wickedness, and his -punishment accordingly have no end. - -"But we will hope that the wicked will not adhere to his evil will for -ever. A wicked man often experiences a change of nature when he sees -something good. Therefore, it is our duty to show him what is good. -The consciousness of fatality and being damned comes to everyone, -even to the incredulous. That proves that there is an inborn sense -of justice, a need to punish oneself, and that quite independent of -dogmas. Moreover, it is a gross falsehood that the doctrine of hell was -invented by Christianity. Greeks and Romans knew Hades and Tartarus -with their refined tortures; the Jews had their Sheol and Gehenna; -the cheerful Japanese rival Dante with their Inferno. It is therefore -thoughtless nonsense to make Christian theology solely responsible -for the doctrine of hell. It would be just as fair to trace it to the -cheerful view of life of the Greeks and Romans, who first came upon the -idea." - - -="Desolation."=--The teacher continued: "When this feeling of -fatality strikes an unbeliever, it often appears as the so-called -persecution-mania. He believes himself, for example, persecuted by men -who wish to poison him. Since his intelligence is so low that he cannot -rise to the idea of God, his evil conscience makes him conjure up evil -men as his persecutors. Thus he does not understand that it is God who -is pursuing him, and therefore he dies or goes mad. - -"But he who has strength enough to bow himself, or intelligence -enough to guess at a method in this madness, cries to God for help and -grace, and escapes the madhouse. After a season of self-chastisement, -life begins to grow lighter; peace returns; he succeeds in his -undertakings; his 'Green Island' again blooms with spring. This -feeling of woebegoneness often occurs about the fortieth or fiftieth -year. It is the balancing of books at the solstice. The whole past is -summed up, and the debit-side shows a plus which makes one despair. -Scenes of earlier life pass by like a panorama, seen in a new light; -long-forgotten incidents reappear even in their smallest details. The -opening of the sealed Book of Life, spoken of in the Revelation, is -a veritable reality. It is the day of judgment. The children of the -Lord of Dung who have lost their intelligence understand nothing, -but buy bromkali at the chemist's and take sick-leave because of -'neurasthenia.' That is a Greek word, which serves them as an amulet. - -"Swedenborg calls this natural process 'the desolation' of the wicked. -The pietists call it the 'awakening' before conversion." - - -=A World of Delusion.=--"Swedenborg writes: 'The angels are -troubled concerning the darkness on earth. They say that they can see -hardly any light anywhere, that men live and strengthen themselves in -lying and deceit, and so heap up falsity upon falsity. In order to -ratify these, they manage to extract, by way of inference, such true -propositions from false premises, as, on account of the darknesses -which conceal the true sources, and because the real state of the case -is unknown, cannot be refuted.' - -"This agrees with what every thinking man observes, that lying and -deceit are universal. The whole of life--politics, society, marriage, -the family--is counterfeit. Views which universally prevail are based -upon false history; scientific theories are founded on error; the truth -of to-day is discovered to be a lie to-morrow; the hero turns out to -be a coward, the martyr a hypocrite. Te Deums are sung over a silver -wedding, and the wedded pair, still secretly leading immoral lives, -thank God that they have lived together happily for five-and-twenty -years. The whole populace assembles once in a year to celebrate the -memory of the 'Destroyer of the Country.' He who says the most foolish -thing possible, receives a prize in money and a gold medal. At the -annual asses' festival, the worst is crowned the asses' king. - -"A mad world, my masters! If Hamlet plays the madman, he sees how -mad the world is. But the spectator believes himself to be the only -reasonable person, therefore He gives Hamlet his sympathy." - - -=The Conversion of the Cheerful Pagan, Horace.=--"Among the -conventional falsehoods of the apes,[1] one of the best known is that -conversion from irreligion is a purely Christian doctrine. By looking -into Kumlin's Swedish translation of Horace, even a schoolboy can find -this heading to the thirty-fourth ode of the first book, 'The Religious -Conversion of the Poet.' - -"Horace belonged to the Epicurean sect who only believed in phantom -gods, because they held that the divinities did not trouble themselves -with the course of the world or of events, but enjoyed a careless life -of continual ease. Horace accordingly had not been remarkably zealous -in his religious duties. But a sudden flash of lightning and a heavy -peal of thunder from a clear sky taught him at last that it was no -blind unconscious force of nature, but the hand of a God, which hurled -the lightning. Thereby he was awoken to reflection, and tried to warn -and sober his frivolous countrymen by dwelling on the power of Jupiter. -'God can change the lowest with the highest; He puts down the exalted -and uplifts the obscure.' - -"After this Horace preached like a Jeremiah against the corruption of -religion and morals. A modern 'ape' might feel justified in calling him -a pietist since he was converted! - - -=Cheerful Paganism and its Doctrine of Hell.=--"_Origen against -Celsus_ is the title of the first refutation of the lying accusations -which the pagans have brought against Christianity. Who will write a -second? Who will show that the hell of the pagans was seven times worse -than that of the Christians? In some Christian countries the Christian -religion may not be taught in the schools, but boys are obliged to read -Virgil's Sixth Æneid, which describes the terrors of the underworld. - -"There is the Lernæan Hydra, the Chimæra, Gorgons, and Harpies. On the -banks of Cocytus roam crowds of the unburied; there they must roam for -centuries because they have never found a grave. Is that humane? Then -there are the poor suicides everlastingly immersed in the Styx. And the -field of mourning where unhappy lovers hide themselves. 'Even after -death their pangs are not ended.' - -"But these were comparatively innocent. Criminals, however, are -punished first by the fury Tisiphone. She seizes the damned, mocks -them with hellish laughter, and threatens them with snakes. A Hydra -opens fifty black jaws.... And so on till we come to the sieve of the -Danaids, the wheel of Ixion, the thirst of Tantalus. - -"Let us remember, however, that the men of the Renaissance, Dante and -Michael Angelo, have depicted the most extreme torments, as though they -believed in them. Anyone who wants to see how the cheerful Japanese -describe hell, can look at the pictures which Riotor and Leofanti -published in Paris, 1895, in the _Enfers Bouddhiques_." - -[Footnote 1: Materialistic evolutionists.] - - -=Faith the Chief Thing.=--The teacher continued: "Pietism is -a condition of repentance, which men pass through like a purifying -bath and gain a consciousness of inward cleanliness. It is therefore -no hypocrisy, as the children of the Lord of Dung suppose. He -who is severe towards himself may easily appear malicious to the -unintelligent; and he who has suffered for his wickednesses feels -himself freed from the past. This feeling the unbelievers call -'self-satisfaction.' - -"A penitent never attains perfection, but ceaselessly relapses into -the desires of the flesh. This may easily cause him to appear a -hypocrite. Luther quickly saw that it is impossible to make one's acts -correspond to one's belief. Therefore he laid stress on faith, let acts -go, and adduced as his authority St. Paul's solution of the paradox: -'So I obey the law of God with the spirit, but with the flesh the law -of sin.' - -"Faith, Hope, and Love: that is the essence and kernel of religion. -One's acts never come up to one's faith, and often lag far behind -it. But there are some pious souls who persist in remaining in the -condition of penance, and it may easily seem as though they wished to -gain heaven in advance of the rest. But we should not blame them for -it. There may be secret reasons which we do not know, and have never -experienced. - -"Socrates regarded the sense of shame and conscience as what -distinguished man from the beasts. To these two Christ added pity." - - -=Penitents.=--The teacher continued: "Muhammed early traversed -the stage of desolation and became a pietist, when he believed himself -persecuted by devils. Set free finally by suffering and prayer, he -exclaims in the 93rd Sura: 'By the forenoon, and the night when it -darkens, thy Lord has not forsaken thee or hated thee, and surely the -future for thee will be better than the past. And thy Lord will give -thee sufficient, and thou shalt be satisfied. Did He not find thee an -orphan and give thee shelter? and find thee erring and guide thee? and -find thee poor with a family and nourish thee? But as for the orphan, -oppress him not; and as for the beggar, drive him not away; and as -for the favour of thy Lord, discourse thereof!' When Buddha left his -father's palace and saw the sufferings of men and the instability -of life, he became a penitent, left wife and child, went into the -wilderness, and chastened himself by fasting and renunciation. But -after he had undergone the severest penances, he cautiously returned to -ordinary life, and allowed himself moderate enjoyments in order not to -devastate his soul. Some of his disciples deserted him and called him a -recreant, but that did not trouble him. - -"Goethe himself passed through religious crises, and was at one period -intimate with the Hermhuters, the pietists of that time. In his old -age, when he grew wise, he became a mystic, _i.e._ he discovered that -there are things between heaven and earth of which the 'Beans' have -never let themselves dream." - - -=Paying for Others.=--The pupil said: "I must confess that I do -not understand the Atonement." "You mean, understand it with everyday -intelligence. No one can. The highest questions cannot be solved by us, -just as little as problems of the fourth dimension. But the solution is -given to us, if we ask for it in a proper way. - -"As regards the redemptive work of Christ, you can comprehend it by an -analogy. You remember, when you owed so many debts, that there were -knocks at your door all day long, that you had to go out early in the -morning in order to borrow, or to escape your creditors. Finally you -feared your room so, that you dared not go home to sleep. You sat on a -seat in the park, and said to yourself, 'It is hell!' Then there came a -man who knew you; he paid your debts; you called him your saviour. Do -you not see that one can pay for another, and deliver him?" - -"Yes, but one cannot make an evil deed undone." - -"No, but the Almighty can obliterate it from our memory, and from the -memory of others. But mark this well: every time that you rummage in -the past of another, although it has been atoned for, the memory of -your own evil deeds starts up. Just like a badly washed stain which -goes through the stuff and appears on the other side. All miracles are -conditional, just as vows are." - - -=The Lice-King.=--As the teacher roamed one day in Qualheim he -came into a wood under whose shadow many decaying funguses grew. On a -footpath he saw what he thought at first was a snake writhing about. -It was no snake, however, but a mass of grubs clotted together. The -teacher asked his guide: "What is the meaning of that?" - -"Ask first what it is; then I will tell you the meaning of it." - -"Well?" - -"These are the larvæ of the snake-worm, which are obliged, like clay -and wadded straw, to hold together in order not to perish. They love -poisonous funguses, and cannot bear the light. They maintain their -existence by a mutual interchange of slime, without which they become -dead and dry. But they call darkness light, because the sun would kill -them. They feed on the poisonous funguses. They hate each other, but -must keep together. Do you understand now, or not?" - -"What is the name of the creature?" - -"It is called the snake-worm or lice-king, appears once in every -generation, and is a herald of evil times." - -"What does it mean then?" - -"It is a symbol of the men who talk with their faces turned backwards, -and therefore see everything distorted; who call evil good, and good -evil. Because they live in pride and self-love they cannot see God, -but elect one of the mass to be their king, and believe that they are, -collectively, God. By 'freedom,' they mean freedom to do evil. Often an -ox or cow comes by and treads upon the motely mass. Then, of course, it -is obliterated in slime, but another soon takes it place." - -"It seems to be as eternal as evil." - - -=The Art of Life.=--The teacher said: "Life is hard to live, and -the destinies of men appear very different. Some have brighter days, -others darker ones. It is therefore difficult to know how one should -behave in life, what one should believe, what views one should adopt, -or to which party one should adhere. This destiny is not the inevitable -blind fate of the ancients, but the commission which each one has -received, the task he must perform. The theosophists call it Karma, and -believe it is connected with a past which we only dimly remember. He -who has early discovered his destiny, and keeps closely to it, without -comparing his with others, or envying others their easier lot, has -discovered himself, and will find life easier. But at periods when all -wish to have a similar lot, one often engages in a fruitless struggle -to make one's own harder destiny resemble the lot of those to whom an -easier one has been assigned. Thence result disharmony and friction. -Even up to old age, many men seek to conquer their destiny, and make it -resemble that of others." - -The pupil asked: "If it is so, why is not one informed of one's Karma -from the beginning?" - -The teacher answered: "That is pure pity for us. No man could endure -life, if he knew what lay before him. Moreover, man must have a certain -measure of freedom; without that, he would only be a puppet. Also -the wise think that the voyage of discovery we make to discover our -destiny is instructive for us. 'Let My Grace be sufficient for thee; My -strength is made perfect in weakness.'" - - -=The Mitigation of Destiny.=--The teacher continued: "Some appear -to be destined to honour and wealth, others only to honour, and others -only to wealth. Many seem to be born to humiliations, poverty, and -sickness--'struck like a coin in the mint,' as the saying is. Everyone -can mitigate his destiny by submitting and adapting himself to it--by -resignation, in a word. The inward happiness which one gains thereby, -excels all outward prosperity. All things work for good to him who -serves God. The man who does not strive after honour and wealth is -impregnable; in a certain sense, all-powerful. - -"The hardest thing is to see the injustice in the world; but even that -can be overcome by taking it as a trial. If the wicked prospers, let -him; we have nothing to do with it. Besides, his happiness is not so -great when one looks closer at it. - -"When you are persecuted by misfortune, and your conscience cannot -call it deserved, take it quietly. Regard the endurance of the ordeal -as an honour. There will come a day when everything will improve. Then -perhaps you will discover that the misfortunes were benefits, or, at -any rate, afforded opportunity for exercising endurance. Envy no man; -you know not what his envied lot might conceal, if it actually came to -changing places." - - -=The Good and the Evil.=--The pupil asked: "Is there really such a -great difference between men?" - -The teacher answered: "Yes and No! But a sure mark of the evil man -is, he does evil for evil's sake. That is the bad man--the sarcastic -schoolmaster, the domestic tyrant. That is the child, which torments -its mother by finding out everything she dislikes. That is the bad -wife, the fury, who enjoys torturing and humiliating a man who only -wishes her good. - -"In the battles of life it is quite human to rejoice when a foe is -defeated. On all battlefields God has been thanked for the victory. -That is something different. - -"When one sees the insolent struck by misfortune, one rejoices that -there is justice. When one sees the wicked punished, one feels -satisfaction at seeing the balance of equity restored. That is -something different. - -"But he who rejoices over every evil deed which he himself has been -under no necessity of committing; he who rejoices when the criminal -escapes his punishment; he who gloats over the misfortune of a good -man; he who suffers when goodness and merit are rewarded--that is the -evil man. Such were those who clamoured for the murderer Barabbas's -release and perhaps gave a feast in his honour." - - -=Modesty and the Sense of Justice.=--The teacher continued: -"Properly speaking, the question you should have asked just now is, -'What men are good?' Socrates, according to Plato, said, 'Those who -possess modesty and a sense of justice. Those are the religious men.' - -"He, on the other hand, who has neither faith nor hope, can assume the -outward aspect of an honourable man. But when his worldly interests or -advantages are concerned, he lets honour drop. Similarly, when it is a -question of saving one of his associates from punishment. Then he can -bear false witness, and believe it is a good act. He does not stick at -helping forward an unworthy friend or relative. He will swear falsely -in order to attack a believer. He thinks everything lawful, _i.e._ -on his side against others, and he never repents anything, saying to -himself, 'He who lets himself be misled must pay for it.' - -"When a religious man makes a slip, he is wont to feel ashamed, and to -reproach himself. Often he is naïve enough to confess his fault or his -mis-doing. Then the Lice-King shouts 'Hurrah!' For he would never be so -simple. Still, though a believer fall seventy times and seven, he rises -again and confesses his fault. That is the difference." - - -=Derelicts.=--The pupil asked: "How is one to judge of the men -who are overthrown in the battle of life without being armed for the -conflict? You remember such characters at school; they could not -learn, could not attend; they were not ashamed, however, but regarded -themselves as a kind of victims. They left school, went out into life, -and collapsed. It was not the fault of their domestic surroundings, -for they came of good families, who supported them. They were not bad, -possessed talents, were clever, but had no knowledge and no interests -in life. 'What is the object of it?' they were in the habit of saying. -They could not bring themselves to work, but dozed at their desks. They -seemed to be born to do nothing, which is a punishment for the active. -Explain to me their destiny!" - -"That I cannot." - -"Some have died young in poverty; others begged their way through to -their sixtieth year, while they saw former school-fellows who had been -worse than they, prosper and flourish." - -"I have seen and lamented them, but I cannot explain their destiny." - -"Then they are not to blame, and yet live such lives of shame and -poverty; that is cruel." - -"Hush! Criticise not Providence! What is now inexplicable may some -day be explained! And remember that life is not paradise. Two shall be -grinding at one mill; one shall be taken, and the other left!" - - -=Human Fate.=--The teacher said: "The destinies of men are -obscure; therefore one should be extremely careful in judging. The -Tower of Siloam was ready to fall, and fell on good and evil alike. -The disciples asked Christ what sin the man born blind had committed. -Christ answered that neither he nor his parents had committed any -special sin. When we see how some are born crippled, blind, deaf, -and dumb, we had best be silent. To lament their lot may annoy them, -for they seem to be protected in a mysterious way. They are objects -of pity, and seldom fall into abject poverty. They are good-humoured -through life, and hardly seem to suffer under their ailments. But -woe to the man who ridicules anyone marked out by such a fate! If he -is persistently pursued by calamity, or struck himself by a greater -misfortune, one can hardly ignore it by using the formula 'chance.' A -person who had scoffed at a blind man was struck in the eye by a stone -which was thrown into a tramcar. At first he was alarmed, and thought -of Nemesis. But when he heard that the stone had been so hurled as the -result of some blasting operations he became cheerful, _i.e._ more -ignorant, and said it was a chance. He saw the phenomenon, but nothing -behind it; the effect, but not the cause. - -"The 'Beans' cannot see beyond their noses. Sometimes, when they have -long noses, they see somewhat further. The supernatural in nature is -incomprehensible to their intelligence. Indeed, all which passes their -limited understanding is for them supernatural. That is logical, but -these rustics regard it as illogical." - - -=Dark Rays.=--As the teacher wandered through his Inferno, he came -to a temple of black granite, which was quite dark inside. Within it -something was going on, but he could not distinguish what. - -"What is it?" he asked a white-robed figure, which wore a -laurel-wreath, but had a green face spotted blue like a corpse. "That -is a temple of light," it answered; "but the initiated cannot see -our black rays until he receives the white arsenic-kiss from the -ultra-violet priestess." - -"Give me the kiss," answered the teacher, but he turned his back to her -at the same time. However, she did not notice this, as she could not -distinguish back from front. Now his eyes were opened, and he saw how -within the temple they were offering incense to their "gods of light," -as they called them. There stood the murderer Barabbas, a halo round -his head, and a plate on his breast with the inscription: "Acquitted -because of insufficient evidence." There sat Judas Iscariot under his -fig-tree, with the thirty pieces of silver, in the bosom of his family, -promoted to be general-director of customs. There were the Emperor -Nero, fresh from the bath, with a white dove on his hand, and Julian -the Apostate near an altar, with geese sacrificed upon it. - -The priests and priestesses sang a chant of New Birth and Resurrection, -burned incense compounded of rose-leaves and arsenic-acid, and danced -a snake-dance, which they called "the joy of life." Then they began to -quarrel about a laurel-wreath, and fought one another. As the teacher -went, they all sat there in the darkness and wept. But when a fresh -north wind blew through the temple, they trembled like dry leaves. - - -=Blind and Deaf.=--The teacher said: "There are, as you know, -people with whom one cannot be angry. Perhaps it is because of their -natural good-nature, which shines even through a cutting jest. And -there are people whose malice comes to light long after one has met -them. Such an after-effect I have experienced myself. - -"Five-and-twenty years after a conversation with a man, I felt angry -with him. Naturally, during a sleepless night, when memory threw a new -light on the scene which had taken place between us. Not till then did -the insulting word he spoke receive its proper signification, which I -now understood. There are words which can murder. Such a word this one -was. What a good thing that I did not understand it at the time! It -would have resulted in calamity to four people. - -"By developing a peculiar instinct I have succeeded in fabricating -a kind of diving-costume, with which I protect myself in society. -When the insulting word or the biting allusion is uttered, the sound -certainly reaches my ear, but the receptive apparatus refuses to let -it go further. In the same way I can make myself literally blind. I -obliterate the face of the person I dislike. How it is done, I do not -know, but it seems to be a psychological process. The face becomes -a dirty whitish-grey spot and disappears. It is necessary to make -oneself deaf and blind, or it is impossible to live. - -"One must cancel and go on! That is generally called 'forgiving,' but -it may be a device of the revengeful for sparing himself trouble, or a -scheme of the sensitive for not letting insults reach him. One cannot -undertake more than one can bear!" - - -=The Disrobing Chamber.=--The teacher continued: "Swedenborg says -in his _Inferno_...." - -"Say 'Hell,'" the pupil interrupted him. "I know that there is a hell, -for I have been in it." - -"Well, Swedenborg has in his _Hell_ a disrobing chamber into which the -deceased are conducted immediately after their death. There they lay -aside the dress they have had to wear in society and in the family. -Then the angels see at once whom they have before them." - -"Does Swedenborg then mean that we are all hypocrites?" - -"Yes, in a certain way. An inborn modesty compels us to conceal what -has to do with the animal; politeness obliges us to be silent on -many points. Consideration, friendship, kinship, love, oblige us to -overlook our neighbour's weaknesses, although we disapprove them even -in ourselves. A man who is ashamed of his faults is also silent about -them. To boast of one's faults is shamelessness." - -"Can one really call such consideration hypocrisy?" - -"Hardly; especially as things go wrong, however one behaves." - -"Yes, life is not easy; it is hard to be a man; almost impossible." - - -=The Character Mask.=--The teacher said: "I knew in my youth a man -who was imperious, quick to anger, revengeful, emotional. Accidentally -his gifts as a speaker were discovered. He could thrill the minds of -his hearers, bring them into touch with himself, lift them up--yes, and -nearly carry them away. But on one occasion when he was at the height -of his oratory he halted, became grotesque and ridiculous, and people -laughed. The first time that this happened, he was depressed. But they -thought he wished to produce a comical effect, and he obtained the -reputation of a humorous speaker. - -"Out of his misfortune he made a virtue, accepted the rôle which had -been assigned to him, and finally enjoyed a great popularity as a -humourist. He often felt annoyed at having to play the part of a -buffoon, but the desire to hear his own voice and to be greeted with -applause unceasingly spurred him on to win new triumphs. - -"Society had made of him a sort of 'homunculus,' which it cultivated. -But in his family and in his office it was not to be found." - - -=Youth and Folly.=--The teacher said: "What do you think of the -proverb, 'The young _imagine_ that the old are fools, and the old -_know_ that the young are fools?'" - -"It is quite true. When I was young, I imagined that I understood -everything better than the old, but I really understood nothing. I -was young and stupid, confused my own knowledge with that of others', -believed that what I had learnt was my own. When I had read a book, I -went into society and proclaimed what I had read, as though it were my -own discovery, I was therefore a thief. - -"But I was the victim of another delusion, _i.e._ I believed that I -understood all that I remembered, or that I knew what I happened at -the moment to remember. For instance, when I was fourteen I did not -understand logarithms, but I learnt the way of proceeding with them by -heart, and used logarithms as a short-cut. - -"When one studies a science in detail, one begins to collect material, -else the result is nil. But the young man attacks the difficult science -of life without experience, _i.e._ without material. And the result is -what we see. - -"I can see myself now as a young student. How proud I was of borrowed -knowledge and borrowed plumes! How I despised the old! And yet all that -I had stolen from books was stolen from the old, who had written the -text-books. The young write no text-books. O Youth! O Foolishness! - - -=When I was Young and Stupid.=--"When I was young and stupid, -I always had a band of hearers who saw a light in me. When I grew -older, and wisdom came, I was left alone with my lecture and regarded -as an old ass. But the passage from youth to age was bitter, when I -discovered that the old could not be deceived. They read my secret -thoughts behind my lofty words; they anticipated my evil purposes; they -unmasked my crude desires; they prophesied the results of my actions; -and found in my past the true cause of my present condition. They -seemed to me to be wizards and prophets, although they were simple -characters. - -"When I asked myself how they could know this and that, I found the -answer later--because they had collected material; because they had -passed through all the stages which were new to me; because they had -also tried to deceive the old in the same way, but had not succeeded. -Youth, however, is always believing that it can deceive old age, were -it only by stealing a thought from him. I know, moreover, why the -young obstinately imagine they are superior because they can deceive. -There are old wise men who have come to terms with life, and therefore -think it a duty to let themselves be deceived now and then; they let -themselves be deceived tastefully. - -"Youth is only an idea, an abstraction, a boast, a theme for an essay, -a song, a toast!" - - -=Constant Illusions.=--The pupil continued: "When I was young I -was never really happy, because my seniors oppressed me, because the -future disquieted me, because I lived on my parents' money almost as -though I were a pensionary. When the first symptoms of love showed -themselves, life became a hell. I was never very well, for the -most serious illnesses--measles, scarlet fever, agues, croup, and -others--affect only the young. I could never satisfy an innocent -fancy, for I had no money; every desire was nipped in the bud. I was a -slave, for my time was not at my own disposal, and I could not leave -my place in order to visit foreign countries. Such is the huge humbug -which is called 'youth.' No one has dared to unmask it, for fear lest -the young might pelt him with stones, or draw caricatures of him on -the walls. The teachers in the schools crouch before them, flatter -them, pretend to envy them. If anyone comes who does not flatter these -shameless and conscienceless little bandits, these lewd apes who live -in the age of innocence, these parent-murderers--there is always some -old woman there who exclaims, 'Ah! he does not understand the young!' -He understands them very well, for he has been young himself. But the -young do not understand the old, for they have never been old. - -"The young assert that the future is in their hands, and that therefore -they are feared by the cowardly. Let us wait and see! If thirty per -cent, reach the future at all, they will work just as their elders -have done, and with the thoughts which they have borrowed from them. -Exceptions prove the rule." - - -=The Merits of the Multiplication-Table.=--The teacher said: "All -wish to haul at the rope called 'Development.' The word generally -signifies 'alteration,' and men usually love any novelty which does -not injure them. But there are some excellent things which are very -old, and therefore they remain unaltered. The multiplication-table, for -instance, is splendid, though it is said to be as old as Pythagoras. -The Rule of Three holds good, though it was the ancient Hindus who -discovered this law of causes and effects. The geometry of Euclid and -the logic of Aristotle is still read in the schools. Our architecture -imitates Greek and Roman models, and the sculpture of the ancients is -not despicable. We regulate our calendar very much as the Egyptians -and Chaldæans did. Goethe and Schiller can be read, and Shakespeare is -still performed. - -"We see, therefore, that not all which has been done in the past is to -be despised. He who prophesies that Christianity will disappear because -it is old, makes a miscalculation. Homer is a thousand years older. And -the Old Testament would first have to be cancelled. But Christianity -lives and flourishes, although it may be in secret and not published in -the newspapers. Still they sing in schools and barracks every morning, -'Trust in God and in His word and strength in order to do good.' - -"But it must go hard with the Christians. 'In this world ye have -tribulation.' Through periodical seasons of bondage under Egyptian -Pharaohs, they learn patience till they begin their wanderings in the -wilderness." - - -=Under the Prince of this World.=--The teacher wandered in -Qualheim and came to a town. In the midst of the chief market-place -there stood a bronze image of the destroyer of his country. The youth -of the place came out in holiday attire in order to celebrate the -hero's memory. The teacher asked his guide: "Why do they celebrate the -destroyer of the fatherland?" - -"I do not know," answered the guide. - -"Are they mad?" - -"Probably. Here below everything is topsy-turvy. This hero[1] was -considered mad, and certainly he was so. He carried on mad wars, fled -when defeated, and cast the blame on others. When misfortune came -he collapsed like a weakling, took to his bed, and pretended to be -ill. In his leisure hours he plotted, but always ill. At last he made -false coins, but managed to procure a scapegoat, who was broken on -the wheel. The country was ruined and could never recover its former -prestige." - -"And this is the man they celebrate?" - -"Yes! but they have other statues besides. There back in the park -stands one, crowned with a laurel-wreath. He was the wickedest man of -his time. And there by the harbour is a third statue--of a perjurer..." - -"That is just as it is with us," said the teacher. - -"Yes, it is about the same." - -"Where are we then?" - -"Under the Prince of this World, the Lord of Dung. 'But be of good -courage! I have overcome the world!'" - - -[Footnote 1; He probably refers to Charles XII of Sweden.] - - -=The Idea of Hell.=--The pupil asked: "When I read Swedenborg's -_Hell_, I often believed he was describing our life on earth. Is it -possible that we are already there? As a Christian, I have learnt -that there was a Fall followed by a curse. Certainly life seems to me -rather an Inferno than a school and a prison, for nothing keeps what it -promises. The most beautiful things seem only made in order to become -ugly, the good in order to become bad." - -"Have you never seen anything permanently beautiful here below?" - -"Yes, Nature at all seasons is so beautiful, that I exclaim with -a feeling of pain, 'How super-naturally beautiful! And we are so -hideous!' Life may also seem beautiful in a well-ordered family where -there is peace and happiness and festival. I have seen it so, but only -for two minutes at a time, and perhaps it was my way of looking at it." - -"Yet there are people who can thrive down here." - -"He who can thrive here is a pig. I know fellows who think they are in -Paradise when they are on a summer holiday, have a well-spread table -lit up by Chinese lanterns, and let off rockets. But 'Woe to the man -who is born sensitive!' says Rousseau. Either he goes under, or he must -arm himself with brutality. In the last case it may happen that he -cannot divest himself of the armour, which has become a second nature. -There are some extremely sensitive natures who cannot come to terms -with life nor touch reality. These unfortunates finally lose the power -of looking after themselves, and end in asylums." - - -=Self-Knowledge.=--The teacher said: "One may have already lived -a long time, consider oneself a respectable man, and, as such, have -enjoyed the esteem of others. Then there comes a day when one awakes -as out of slumber, sees oneself as a spectre, is alarmed, and asks, -'Am I _that_' One discovers that one has done things which now appear -inexcusable. And one asks oneself, 'How could I?' On one occasion one -has even committed a crime; on another, one has been dragged, so to -speak, by the hair; on a third, one fell into a trap. - -"But there are men who are so sleepy that they never awake; and so -wanting in intelligence that they cannot see how black they are. Once I -had a friend who was sixty years old. On one occasion, with an outbreak -of stupid astonishment, he exclaimed, 'Why are people so prejudiced -against me? I seem to myself an excellent fellow!' And this man was -a tyrant who trampled men underfoot, a hired executioner, a murderer -who betrayed the innocent, took bribes, and practised simony and all -kinds of wickedness. I did not wish to condemn him, but tried to defend -him. Perhaps he felt justified in becoming an executioner, for there -must be such officials; so he adopted it as a profession. He had an -evil nature, and found it therefore natural or right when he acted -in accordance with it. He lived in complete harmony with himself, -and those who resembled him pronounced him a 'fine fellow'--'healthy, -naïve, and, therefore, excellent society.' - -"When he died, I drew a picture of his character for an acquaintance. -The latter was himself a black sheep, and answered quite naïvely, 'You -are unfair to him; I think he was a fine fellow.'" - - -=Somnambulism and Clairvoyance in Everyday Life.=---The teacher -said: "I am now fifty-eight years old, and have seen four generations. -I have not been pure-hearted, for all black blood streams into the -heart, but I have had moments in which I was transported into a -childlike, unconscious mood, and took delight in intercourse with men. -I knew that they hated me, laughed at my misfortune, and waited for my -fall. But I was immune against their malice. I saw in them only poor -men, who liked my company and were sympathetic with me. Even when they -made ill-natured jests against me, I did not understand them; and when -they gave vent to an open rudeness, I took it as a meaningless joke. -That is a kind of pleasant somnambulism. - -"Often, however, I can be wide-awake; then I see society naked; I see -their dirty linen beneath their clothes, their deformities, their -unwashed feet. But, worst of all, I hear the thoughts behind their -words; I see their gestures, which do not harmonise with what they say; -I intercept a side-glance; I notice a foot-stamp under the table, a -nose turning itself up over my wine, or a fork critically passing by a -dish.... Then life seems ghastly! I had a friend, who once in society -had an attack of this clairvoyance; he sat down on the middle of the -table, declared all he had seen in the course of the evening, and -stripped his friends bare. The result was, he was pronounced mad and -taken to an asylum. - -"There are many kinds of madness. Let us confess that!" - - -=Practical Measures against Enemies.=--The pupil asked: "How can -I love my neighbour as myself? In the first place, I ought not to -love myself; secondly, I feel so out of sympathy with men, that it is -difficult to regard them as objects of love." - -The teacher answered: "The verb ἀγάπαω generally means only -'treating kindly,' and that you can manage to do." - -"But to love one's enemies is suicide." - -"You think so! But have you tried this method? It is very practical, -and I have tested it. Once against my worst enemy, who attacked my -honour and means of livelihood, I established a wholesome hatred like -a bulwark, as I thought. But my hatred became a conductor by which I -received the currents of his. They surprised me in my weak moments, and -his wickedness passed over to me. He grew to gigantic proportions, and -became a Frankenstein which I had myself produced. - -"Then I resolved to break the conductor. I avoided seeing him, and -never mentioned his name, for that is a kind of incantation. When -people spoke of him in society, I was silent, or threw in a friendly -word on his behalf. My Frankenstein pined away for want of nourishment, -and disappeared out of my thoughts. Finally information reached my -enemy that I had spoken good of him. He was struck with amazement, -dwindled down, felt ashamed of himself, and believed he had made a -mistake. Therefore, never speak ill of your enemy; that only rouses -people in his defence, and procures him friends. You see, therefore, -what deep wisdom lies in the simplest teaching of the Gospel, which you -believed yourself competent to criticise." - - -=The Goddess of Reason.=--The teacher continued: "The fact -that our intelligence finds so many contradictions and difficulties -in the great truths of religion is due not only to defects in our -understanding but to an evil will. The presumption of wishing to -understand God and His purposes is as though one attempted to steer a -frigate with an oar. Every Greek tragedy closes with a warning against -insolence and [Greek: hubris] Nothing is so displeasing to the gods. - -"Swedenborg says: 'As soon as we break our connection with what is -higher, our understanding is darkened. At the same time we are punished -by being allowed to imagine ourselves more illuminated than others.' - -"All the philosophers of the 'Illumination' grope in darkness. That -period of history which is jestingly called the 'Illumination' is the -darkest we have had. The goddess of reason, Mademoiselle Maillard, -was adored only by madmen. The truths of religion never contradict -reason until the latter has been clouded by an evil will. But then the -discoveries begin, and then every religious truth 'contradicts reason,' -such as the simple truth that God exists, that the Almighty can employ -unknown laws or suspend laws which He Himself has given, that He can -impart spiritual blessings by means of material symbols, and so on. - -"All 'free-thinking' is foolishness, for thought is not free, but bound -by the laws of thought, by logic, just as nature is bound by the laws -of nature. The evil will seeks freedom in order to do evil, and the -evil mind seeks freedom in order to think perversely." - - -=Stars Seen by Daylight.=--The teacher said: "The fool lives only -for the present, for the moment, in the last fashionable error of the -day, in the diving-bell of his daily paper, in dependence on public -opinion, in the slavery of partisanship. The wise man lives in all -times. For him there is neither time nor space. He is present always -and everywhere; on this side and that side of the grave. He ranges -over the world's history and fathoms the depths of himself; he regards -himself as an inhabitant of the Universe, and not merely of the earth. -He feels himself related to Plato and Aristotle; holds converse with -the great spirits of the past in their writings. Sometimes he lives -in his childhood; sometimes in his mature age. He lives in the past, -as though it were present. He can 'think himself' into the lives of -others; he rejoices with the joyful, mourns with the sorrowful, -sympathises with the suffering. He feels on behalf of humanity; has -no age, no nation. He sees the record of to-day's conflict laid up in -historical archives, often without any other result. On the morrow, -to-day's wisdom is only straw, in which something else grows; even -errors are useful as manure. Everything serves. He bears everything, -for he hopes; and hope is a virtue; it means believing good of God. - -"Ephemeral flies get excited about trifles, and believe one can -discover new truths among the telegrams in the breakfast-table -newspaper. If a new star is discovered, they believe the others are -extinguished. But hitherto the new have all been extinguished. The new -star in Perseus appeared only for two years, and then it vanished. The -Chinese Y-King says, 'If one goes into one's tent, and makes it dark -about one, one can see the star Mei in the Archer in broad daylight.' - -"Retire then sometimes to your tent in the wilderness, and you will see -the stars by day." - - -=The Right to Remorse.=--The pupil asked: "Is one right in feeling -remorseful for one's past, after discovering one's errors?" - -"If you mean by 'feeling remorse,' wishing the past undone, you are not -right, for in every man's life there is a rectifying element; every -error by being refuted becomes an involuntary occasion for the triumph -of truth. But if you mean by 'remorse,' hating yourself as a purveyor -of falsity, you are right. But say something in your own defence." - -"I can say this much: I was the child of an evil time; I was misled -by the seducers of my youth; I mention none of them. My understanding -was stronger than my divine reason. My flesh ruled over my spirit. My -inborn defiance of authority, my inherited sensitiveness of nature -received impressions, without stopping to criticise them. In a word, I -might call myself a victim of my seducers, of heredity, of my natural -weakness, and sensitiveness. The final awakening of my reason, however, -I reckon not as a merit of my own, but as a grace conferred upon me. -The fact that I have had sufficient time in which to refute my former -errors, I count as the greatest good-fortune which has ever befallen -me. Therefore I do not wish my past undone, although I abominate it." - - -=A Religious Theatre.=--"It looks as though men did not think -very highly of themselves. If they see a maliciously satirical piece -represented, they enjoy it without applying it to themselves. They -take it as intended only for others. - -"In my youth there was a dramatist, who was at first a satirist, but -finally came to feel sympathy with men. After his feelings had become -modified by his living a steady and fairly happy life, he saw men in -a more cheerful light. Accordingly, he wrote a piece portraying only -noble characters with fine feelings and warm hearts. - -"What happened? The public believed at first it was irony. But during -the second act they discovered their mistake. A voice exclaimed from -the stalls: 'Deuce take it! It is meant seriously!' The further the -piece progressed, the greater was the disgust! The audience felt -ashamed before each other, and for the author. Some hurried out, and -those who remained ended by laughing. They laughed at the goodness, -self-sacrifice, renunciation, forgiveness depicted in the piece. -They did not know themselves any more, and regarded the descriptions -as unnatural; real life, they said, was not like that; men were not -angels. It may therefore be risky to speak well of men. But one must -not forget that religious people do not visit the theatre, because the -theatre is godless. Greek tragedies used to commence with a sacrifice -to the gods, and all tragedies deal with the powerlessness of men in -conflict with deities. Why do not our religious leaders build a theatre -in which one might see the evil unmasked and put to shame?" - - -=Through Constraint to Freedom.=--The teacher continued: "This -world is governed by constraint. All men are dependent on one another -and press upon one another like the stones in a vaulted building--from -above, from below, from the sides. They watch and spy on one another. -There is therefore no freedom, and there can be none, in this edifice -which is called Government and Society. - -"The foundation-stones have the most to bear; therefore they must be -of granite, while the upper ones are of light brick. For there are -fancy-bricks, which support nothing, but are merely ornamental; they -are supported by others, feel themselves in the way and dispensable; -but they serve as ornaments, and of that they are aware. - -"He who demands more freedom than the rest, is a thief and tyrant; if -he withdraws himself from his burden, he lays it upon others. This -perpetual longing for freedom, which figures in biographies as a virtue -and a distinction, is really only a weakness. More strength is required -to bear than to be home. The only justifiable striving after relative -freedom is, not to have to bear more than one ought. Therefore it is -the business of rulers to apportion the burdens precisely. But for -that, adequate knowledge, a mathematical gift, and a nice sense of -justice are necessary. - -"But behind this common longing after freedom lies another deeper one, -which is confused with the former. That is the sighing of creation for -deliverance from the bondage of the flesh. This has found its strongest -expression in St. Paul's exclamation: 'Oh, wretched man that I am! Who -shall deliver me from the body of this death?' But this freedom can -only be won by patiently bearing the constraint of this world. Through -constraint is the way to freedom therefore!" - - -=The Praise of Folly.=--"In this world of foolishness one sees -constantly how fools smile even when their views are ratified by time. -That is, in truth, a silly smile. The fool says, 'We are here in order -to develop ourselves.' When they see a man who, in the course of -years, has grown wiser and more righteous, they should be glad that -their assertion is established. Instead of that they make a malicious -grimace, and say scornfully, 'Yes, now you have grown old!' Yet we both -started with the assumption that wisdom should come with years. Let us -rejoice together that it is so. If the Devil really becomes a monk when -he is old, what a happiness and blessing for mankind that there is one -evil spirit the less. Is it not so? Why should they make a grimace at -it? - -"Voltaire was a scoffer and a bit of a knave up to old age. Finally, -however, he recovered his reason, just like lunatics shortly before -they die. And then he wrote of human life: - -"'Pleasure, in the freshness of youth, I sought thy deliciousness; - -"'Finally, in the winter of old age, I discover thy vanity; - -"'The thirst for reputation and honour makes men enemies to one -another. What was it that I thirsted for? Reputation is but vanity. - -"'Genius in its pride roams through realms of knowledge. - -"'But my knowledge only plagues me; knowledge is but vanity.' - -"But the fools make grimaces, when one of them recovers his reason. -Then they say, 'He has gone mad.'" - - -=The Inevitable.=--The teacher said: "The question, 'What has one -a right to feel remorse for?' is very complicated. I once followed the -career of a foreign writer. I read his works, which seemed to belong -to another world, with great admiration. His dramas all appeared to -breathe a melancholy fear of some unknown terror that was bound to -come. His philosophy was that of a saint. His landscapes seemed to be -bathed not in common air but in pure æther. He was then about forty -years old, and I expected every day to hear that he had gone into a -convent. - -"But afterwards I heard he had married an actress, with whom he went -about, and who appeared as a 'living statue' in one of his pieces. -He also wrote new dramas for her, and now, when they became cynical -and brutal, he achieved a greater popularity than he had ever been -able to gain before. He degraded his person, his genius, his wife; -and as he sank, I wept inwardly. One day I read in the paper that -she had deserted him, but that may have been false. The thought of -his fate tormented me; it seemed to have been predetermined. All his -dramas written while he was still unmarried treated of this terrible -thing which he foresaw and feared. It seemed to me as though he were -compelled to take a mud-bath, and obliged to let himself be besmirched -by life precisely in this way. It seemed as though he had not the right -to ante-date heaven; as though he were not allowed to lead a pure, -saintly life. It is terrible, because it is inexplicable." - - -=The Poet's Sacrifice.=--The teacher continued: "This man's -destiny reminds me of the Indian drama, _Urvasi_. A penitent who -withdraws to solitude in order to purify his soul by renunciation, may -finally attain such lofty spiritual heights that his power may become -dangerous to the lower deities. In order to hinder such a penitent in -his spiritual development, the god Indra sent an Apsara, a sort of -celestial courtesan, in order to distract and seduce him. - -"Does not that resemble the case which I mentioned just now? How can -the one who has been seduced feel guilty in such a case, or have -the right to repent a wrong he did not do? Now a poet is something -different to a recluse, and in order to be able to describe life in -all its aspects and dangers he must first have lived it. What sort of -a poet would Shakespeare have been if he had lived as a steady young -fellow, continued in his father's honourable profession, and in -leisure hours written about his little affairs? Although one does not -know much about the great Englishman, one sees from his works what a -stormy life he must have led. There is hardly a misfortune which he -has not experienced, hardly a passion which he has not felt. Hate and -love, revenge and lust, murder and fire, all seem to have come within -the circle of his experience as a poet. A real poet must sacrifice -his person for his work. I can conceive of a symbolical monument to -Shakespeare under the figure of Hercules kindling his own pyre on Mount -Oeta, sacrificing his opulent life as an offering for mankind. That is -a good idea, is it not?" - -The pupil answered: "Truly you have the power of binding and loosing; -now you have loosed me." - - -=The Function of the Philistines.=--The teacher said: "Israel -had some unpleasant neighbours called Philistines, who guarded the -coast-line along the sea. They worshipped weird gods, such as Dagon -the Fish-god, Beelzebub the Lord of Dung, and Astarte. But unpleasant -though they were, they seemed to have had a part to play in the -life of Israel. As soon as the chosen people abandoned the temple, -the Philistines came and closed the sanctuary, set the Lord of Dung -upon the altar, and burned incense before the Fish-god. As often as -the children of Israel quarrelled among themselves, the Philistines -advanced irresistibly. The hand of the Lord was with them, so that they -punished and chastised their enemies. Once they took possession of the -Ark of the Covenant. - -"We have our Philistines on the Bosphorus; they are called Turks. When -the Christians were unfaithful to their Lord, the Turk took possession -of Christ's grave, and St. Sophia became a mosque. Whenever the -Christians fought with each other, the Turk appeared. After the Thirty -Years' War, when the Christians had tom each other like bloodhounds, -the Turk came as far as Vienna, and the Crescent surmounted the Cross -in Hungary." - -The pupil asked: "Why do not the great powers recapture the Holy -Sepulchre and the Church of St. Sophia? They could do it in a moment!" - -"I do not know. Perhaps they cannot. We need our Philistine, the -bogie-man with whom one frightens children. In France the churches were -shut by the pagans when people ceased to attend Mass. Now they set up -the Lord of Dung on the altar. Marat, in his time, was buried in the -Pantheon; but when Christ reentered, Marat was thrown into the sewer. -The last to obtain apotheosis in the Pantheon was an engineer, who had -a single merit--that of being murdered by a friend of freedom. When we -become Christians again, we shall receive back both the Holy Sepulchre -and Santa Sophia. We do not need to take them. Such is the great -function of the Philistines in the spiritual economy of nature." - - -=World-Religion.=--The teacher continued: "Goethe wrote in his -youth a treatise maintaining that the religion imposed by the State was -the most favourable for the maintenance of the State." - -The pupil objected: "But how will it fare with the individual -conscience?" - -"As it has done hitherto. The State determines the views of the -individual in geometry, botany, history, and religion, by instruction -in the schools, by religious services in the colleges, and prayers in -camps and barracks." - -"But what about freedom of belief and thought?" - -"We have already agreed that there is no freedom, but that all is -dependence and compulsion enforced by mutual pressure. Therefore misuse -not the sacred name of freedom. During the course of my long life, -I have often thought I could interpret the intention of Providence -thus: If all religious forms fell off like husks, and only the kernels -remained, they might grow together like botanical cells, and form a -single plant--a world-tree, under whose shadow all nations might rest -in devotion and in unity." The teacher continued: "I had also believed -that I had noticed there is a special purpose in the intermingling of -races which is now proceeding. This has already gone so far, that in -my insignificant family, which is registered as Scandinavian, we find -traces of all the five quarters of the world." - -"But do you really believe it?" - -"I do not know." - -"And do you think that all nations will be united in a common -Christianity?" - -"I do not know! But the promise to Abraham, 'In thy seed shall -all nations be blessed,' has already been fulfilled by Abraham's -descendant, Jesus Christ. As a matter of fact, Christian Europe and -the western hemisphere of North and South America rule the world. -And before the actual reality, our wishes, ideas, theories, and -anticipations collapse." - - -=The Return of Christ.=--The pupil asked: "Are we to expect the -promised return of Christ?" - -"Christ Himself answered this importunate question of his disciples by -saying, 'The Kingdom of God is among you.' And when He left them He -said, 'Behold, I am with you always till the end of the world.'" - -"Good. But how is Christ's Kingdom to be set up on earth?" - -"Not by crusades, as you perhaps believe. You know that there are -plants which cannot simultaneously thrive in the same ground; one kind -must die out. So there are races which cannot dwell together in the -same land. As soon as Christians become Christians again, the pagans -do not thrive, and depart. Just like the giants who got earache when -they heard the sound of church-bells, sniffed and snorted when they -smelt Christian blood, and finally slunk back into their caves. One -ought to be tolerant, but not to carry it so far as to take down the -church-bells or lay the cross low, because they make the giants ill. -Swedenborg says that the gift of free-will is never revoked, and that -therefore the damned themselves choose their own hell. If they come -into a purer air, they are tested; if they happen to get into good -company, they do not thrive, and cast themselves headlong into the -region of the Lord of Dung. There they find an environment in which -they can breathe. If therefore you wish to fly evil companionship, you -need not shut your door. Only acquire an upright character, and your -fellows will shun you like the pest." - - -=Correspondences.=--The teacher said: "We have discussed -Swedenborg's hells and found that they are partly states of mind, and -partly resemble earthly life under certain conditions. I remember -now certain striking details in them, which bring to my mind certain -experiences of everyday life. The fire of hell consists, he says, -partly in this, that passions are aroused, only to be mocked and -punished; partly in the kindling of desires, which really must be -gratified, but die away immediately afterwards since suffering consists -in missing something. Do you know that?" "Yes, I know it." "Further, -when heavenly light reaches the damned, an icy chill pervades their -veins, and their blood ceases to flow. Do you know that?" "Yes, I know -it! And I remember once when I was very wicked a good man began to -talk kindly to me. I was not warmed thereby, but began to feel so cold -in the room where I was, that I put on my overcoat." "Further, they -wander about lonely and gloomy: they hunger, and have nothing to eat; -they go to houses, and ask for work, but when they get it, they go -their way, to be tormented again by ennui. But when they return, the -doors are shut; they must work for food and clothing, and have a harlot -for a companion, is that so?" "It is!" "The ruling principles of hell -are: the desire to rule from self-love; the desire for other people's -goods from love of the world; the desire for dissipation. The ruling -principles of heaven are: the desire to rule with a good object; the -desire for money and property, in order to use them for the benefit of -others; the desire for marriage." - - -=Good Words.=--The pupil asked: "Does Swedenborg never speak a -good word to comfort and cheer one?" - -The teacher answered: "Yes, certainly he does. He says, for example, -'The chosen are those who have conscience; the reprobate are those -who have no conscience.' That agrees with Socrates' definition of -a man as a being possessing both modesty and conscience. In another -place Swedenborg thus explains temptations: 'Evil spirits arouse in -the memory of a man all the evil and falsity which he has thought and -practised since childhood; but the angels who accompany him produce his -goodness and truth, and in this manner defend him. It is this conflict -which causes pangs of conscience. - -"'When a man is tried with respect to his understanding, evil spirits -summon up only the evil deeds which he has committed. These are -symbolised by unclean animals. The evil spirits accuse and condemn by -distorting the truth in a thousand ways.' - -"Swedenborg also mentions a kind of spirits who raise scruples about -trifles, and thus trouble the consciences of the unwary. Their presence -arouses a feeling of discomfort at the pit of the stomach, and they -take delight in burdening the conscience. Finally there are some -pagans from the countries inhabited by black men, who bring with them -from their earthly life the wish to be treated hardly, under the idea -that no one can enter heaven without having suffered punishments and -torments. _Because they have this belief_, they are at first treated -hardly by some whom they call devils. - -"In another place Swedenborg says: 'There are no devils except bad -men.' One word more. The Master met some in a state of despair, who -believed that pain would be everlasting. 'But it was given me to -comfort them.' These are good words for you." - - -=Severe and not Severe.=--The pupil objected: "But Swedenborg is -in general too severe." - -The teacher answered: "No! it is not he, but life which is severe, and -life's laws are severe for the unrighteous. The Master says: 'Women -who attain to power and wealth from the lower ranks often become -furies; but women who are born to power and wealth, and do not uplift -themselves, are happy.' 'To renounce the pleasures of life,' he says, -'and wealth and power, with the idea of earning heaven by asceticism, -is a false view.' - -"We know that Swedenborg was temperate in everyday life, but went -willingly into society, and then he allowed himself a _poculum -hilaritatus,_ a cup of cheer. He declares himself decisively against -those who retreat from the world: 'Many think it is hard to lead a -life which conducts to heaven, because they have heard that, for this -object, one must renounce the world and live to the spirit. By this -they understand that one must cut oneself off from all that is earthly, -and devotes one's whole life to spiritual contemplation and devotion. -But that it is not really so, I have learned through long experience. -He who thus separates from the world in order to live to the spirit, -enters a gloomy life, which is irreceptive of the joy of heaven. In -order to prepare for heaven one must live in the world in activity and -employment.... I have spoken with some who had withdrawn from their -occupations in order to live a spiritual life, and also with some -who had tormented themselves in various ways, because they believed -they ought to suppress the desires of the flesh.... As a rule they -are puffed up with pride, and regard heavenly joy as a reward without -knowing what heaven and heavenly joy is.'" - -The pupil interrupted: "This seems to be the case with the pietists." - -"Not with all. There are among them penitents, or those who really -prepare for death. Leave the pietists in peace, and don't try to sever -the wheat from the chaff.... Religion should not merely be a Sunday -suit, but a gentle accompaniment to mitigate the ponderous tones of -everyday life. But one must not be cowardly or indifferent, as so many -modern Christians are. When they hear the big words 'Development,' -'Modern Thought,' 'Science,' they think at once that Christianity is a -thing of the past. If they read in the papers that the Lice-King has -overcome the Christians, they believe at once that God has forsaken His -own. They forget that the Egyptian bondage was an education for Canaan, -and that the Philistines were employed as goads to spur on the lazy. - -"Unbelief, superstition, deliberate falsehood, error--all serve the -Truth, for all things serve. And to him who loves God, all things turn -out for good." - - -=Yeast and Bread.=--"The neo-pagans who have now rushed forward -on the stage, and believe they are the lords of the world because they -serve the Prince of the World, seem to be a sediment of savage races -which by marriage and immigration have penetrated the old nations of -Europe like yeast. Yeast fulfils its function in the warmth of the -oven, but is itself changed into gases and disappears, leaving bubbles -and holes behind. The dough remains, changed into mellow, low, crisp, -white, fragrant, warm bread. Yeast is a kind of mould produced by -corruption, yet it must be present in order to make white bread. - -"Everything serves! But mould by itself can make no bread. One ought -therefore not to be angry with the pagans, for they know no better. -To enlighten them is difficult; one can locate a grey star, but not a -black one. One ought not to fear them, for then they bite. But they -must have their day. 'I have seen the wicked in great power, and -spreading himself like a green tree in its native soil; but I passed -by, and, lo, he was not; yea, I sought him, but he could not be found.'" - - -=The Man of Development.=--The pupil asked: "Can the pagans really -not be enlightened?" - -"Experience has shown that it is almost impossible. For a blockhead -cannot understand the simplest things; he cannot see the self-evident -nature of an axiom. If he is systematically followed by misfortune, -he calls it 'bad-luck'; if he is prostrated with illness, he rises -as stupid as he was before; if he gets into prison, he sits there -and meditates new tricks; if he lies on the rack, he thinks he is -suffering for his faith, although he has not got any; from warnings -and trials he emerges as great a calf as he was before, for he has no -intelligence. All the denizens of the dunghill praise his firmness of -character, his strength of soul, his strong belief in his cause. He is -sixty years old, and he has worked for 'development,' but he has not -been able to develop himself. He hawks about the same rubbish as he -did forty years ago, when he discovered what he called 'the truth' in -the books of his teachers; he has never produced an original thought, -nor obtained a new view of an old subject. He has stood still, but the -world has gone forward; he believed he was leading the van, when he -was bringing up the rear. Christianity beckoned, but crab-like he went -backward to paganism. Such is the man of 'development.' Do you know -him?" - -"I have known him, but renounced his acquaintance." - - -=Sins of Thought.=--The teacher said: "According to Luther, man -is a child till his fortieth year. I was a child till my fiftieth, -_i.e._ unintelligent, conceited. I believed that I was inaccessible and -irresponsible as regards my thoughts. But I was obliged to change my -opinion when I began to observe myself. I discovered, that is, that -when I had sinned, hated, killed, stolen, though only in thought, and -then came into the company of friends, they treated me ruthlessly, -as though I were a murderer or a thief. I could not explain, but -finally believed that my evil thoughts were legible in my face. And -when I observed that my friends began to touch on precisely the same -unpleasant subject which had occupied my secret thoughts, I saw that -so-called thought-reading is daily and hourly practised in social life. - -"When subsequently I read Maeterlinck's fine book, _The Treasure of -the Humble_, my belief in this was strengthened, for he made the same -observation. When I finally took in hand my own spiritual education, I -found that this was the principal point, and by watching my thoughts -I prevented them breaking out into action. Now for the first time -I understood why I had so often in my life thought myself unjustly -accused and punished for offences which I had not committed. I confess -now that I had committed them in thought. But how did men know that? -Assuredly there is a hidden justice which punishes sins of thought, -and when men make each other accountable for suspicions, ugly looks or -feelings, they are right. That is a hard saying, but it is so." - - -=Sins of Will.=--The teacher continued: "There are also sins -of wish and volition. You know that one can hate and worry a man -dead. I was once in a watering-place in which the hotel proprietor -had introduced a sort of monopoly. He had arrogated to himself the -privilege of alone providing food for the boarders. He starved them by -cooking the goodness out of the meat before he roasted it, by making -soup of rye-meal, and so on. The boarders were patient, and no one -wished to make a disturbance. But their hatred of the man increased. -After a month I observed that the hotel proprietor began to look yellow -in the face and to pine away. As he sat at his bar he became the -object of glances full of hatred. At last, one day, the whole company, -a hundred in number, rose during the midday meal and departed. Then -the proprietor became ill of a liver disease. It seemed as though the -collected gall of all the guests had somehow transferred itself to his -liver, and curdled there. He vanished; they had killed him. But their -hatred was this time justified, or quite natural. - -"When, however, we hate a man because he will not admire us or further -our selfish interests, we may become simply murderers. That, however, -depends on the behaviour of the other. If he is innocent in the -matter, he will be immune and irreceptive of the poison. I know a -person who hated me because she could not rob me. She was a servant to -whom I had shown nothing but kindness. Her hate did not affect me so -long as I was upright." - - -=The Study of Mankind.=--The teacher said: "One ought not to -attempt to study men. Partly because they do not lay themselves open -to be studied, partly because they are aware when they became objects -of deliberate investigation. He who does not give himself, receives -nothing. He who does not approach men in a spirit of sympathy, finds -no point of contact with them. When I regard them as companions in -misfortune, fellow-wanderers in the wilderness, they open themselves to -me. If I expose myself, I show a confidence in them, which meets with -a response. If I approach them with suspicion, they show suspicion. -If anyone visits me, in order to examine me, I let him sit for his -portrait to me. - -"When I have had frank intercourse for a considerable time with a man, -and then sum up his characteristics in my recollection, I get a fair -idea of him, but never quite a correct one. Men have a right to hide -their secrets. When I was young and unintelligent, I believed that, as -an author, I had a right to investigate the past of others; but I soon -discovered that it is not allowed. They seemed to be guarded. - -"He who says one ought to be so on guard in one's intercourse with a -friend, as though he might some day become an enemy, has had little -pleasure in friendship. I have always behaved to men as though they -were going to be my friends for life, and therefore I have received -something in return. When they have disappointed me, I have said to -myself. 'What matters it? Nothing for nothing!'" - - -=Friend Zero.=--The teacher continued: "There are people who -seem friendly, harmless, considerate; they leave others in peace, -never pry into their affairs, never say evil behind people's backs, -nor allow evil to be said. I have admired and envied them for their -good natural qualities. But among such persons I have found some who -keep remote from unpleasantnesses out of pure selfishness, and who out -of love for ease and comfort wish to know nothing of other people's -affairs in order not to be drawn into them. These are those who will -not give evidence in court, even for the sake of defending a friend. -They are silent when they ought to speak. They avoid recommending a -relative on the plea that 'they do not know him.' When their names -are mentioned as authorities for such and such a report, they have -'lost their memories.' They will not lend money to anyone who needs -it, because 'they do not wish to have a disagreement with him.' They -have no positive virtues, and no positive faults. Consequently they -are colourless, unreliable, characterless, formless; they can not be -classified under any system. - -"I once knew one of these for ten years; then I forgot him. Twenty -years later I found some of my old letters in an attic; among them were -hundreds of letters from my formless friend. I was astonished to find -that I had had such a lengthy correspondence with him. And I looked -to see what he had had to say. I read five-and-twenty letters. They -contained nothing. I read fifty; the result was the same--nothing. -They consisted solely of handwriting, ink, paper, envelopes, and -postage-stamps. I burnt them and forgot Friend Zero henceforth. He did -not even leave a memory behind him." - - -=Affable Men.=--The teacher said: "When I have seen a -character-drama, I have always asked myself, 'Are men really so simple -and transparent?' There is a kind of men about whom one can never be -certain. They are so disposed by nature that they adapt themselves to -their companions out of pure affability. Such a man once came into my -circle; I found him sympathetic, lovable, good-natured. On one occasion -I imparted to a third person my opinion of my affable friend. He -answered, 'You don't know him! He is a malicious man; he has only put -on an air of affability with you.' - -"Then there came a fourth: 'He! He is the falsest man in existence!' -Finally his wife came: 'No! he is neither malicious nor false; he only -wants to be on good terms with people.' - -"At the beginning of our acquaintance (he confessed it himself later -on), he had determined to win me by affability, and to preserve my -affection by doing everything, or nearly everything, that I wished. He -also abstained from contradicting me. During a whole year I never heard -him express a view of his own; he only repeated my thoughts. I believed -he had no will, no views, not even feelings. He seemed to me to be a -mirror in which I was reflected; I never found him, only myself. Then I -became tired of him, did not know how to hold myself in, and asked him -to do something wrong. Then at last I discovered the man himself. With -an unparalleled strength of character, he left wife, child, and home! -In order 'to save his soul,' as he said. 'Have you then got a soul?' I -asked. 'Judge for yourself,' he answered, and departed. - -"It is dangerous to be affable, and it is dangerous to consider men -simple." - - -=Cringing before the Beast.=--The teacher said: "When a man once -yields to desire, the ceasing of a certain restraint carries with it a -feeling of freedom and deliverance. This pleasurable feeling we almost -regard as a reward, and conclude that we have acted rightly when we -have thrown a bone to the barking dog. But had we forborne to do so, -the dog would not have formed the habit of barking, and we might have -gone our way in the proud consciousness of not having cringed before -the beast, by bribing it to silence. The feeling of pleasure would have -been changed into a consciousness of victory and power, which is far -superior to sensuality. - -"Never cringe before the beast; then it will not get the better of -you. The suppression of an unlawful desire is like winding up a watch; -the mainspring contracts till it creaks, but it does not do its work -properly till then. Preserve your strength for yourself; then you will -conquer your foes in the battles of life. Waste not your virile energy, -or the woman will get the better of you. - -"You know very well what I mean by 'desire': I do not mean moderate -eating and drinking; and you know very well what 'waste' means. You -must also not believe that desire decreases with age. It is not so; but -the intelligence and will-power increase, and therefore the victory is -proportionably easier. I make you a present of this explanation: keep -it, and show that you are intelligent enough to be able to receive a -real one." - - -=Ecclesia Triumphans.=--The teacher said: "The world is full of -lies, but there are also errors and misunderstandings. No two men give -words the same meaning. But there are persistent lies which circulate -like coins. There are lies of the lower classes, and lies of the upper -classes; lies of the Catholics and of the Protestants. But those of -the pagans are the worst of all. They believe they have the right to -lie, because it profits them or their friends. One of the greatest -lies of the pagans which misled me for a long time is the false -assertion that Japan has accepted the material culture of Europe, but -rejected Christianity. Two Japanese professors, who lately visited our -land, declared on the contrary that there was a Christian church in -each of the larger towns of Japan. There are Christians in the army, -parliament, and universities. Their number is great--five-and-forty -thousand Protestants, eight-and-fifty thousand Catholics, and -five-and-twenty thousand adherents of the Greek Church. In the Second -Chamber of the Japanese parliament two of the presidents have become -Christians. And all that has taken place in thirty-five years. A -thousand years pass by like nothing, and the future seems to belong to -Christianity, since we have already seen that the chief powers of the -world, Europe and America, are Christian. - -"There is certainly no obligation to be a Christian, but some day -it may be a disgrace not to be one, when one is born in a Christian -country. It may come to be thought retrograde and conservative, and a -failure to keep pace with development. The pagans celebrated the end of -the eighteenth century as marking the overthrow of Christianity, but in -1802 appeared the finest book which has been written on Christianity, -_Le Génie du Christianisme_, by Chateaubriand, and by its means the -Church triumphed again." - - -=Logic in Neurasthenia.=--As the Teacher wandered in Qualheim, he -came into a mountainous region, and saw a castle which was of dreamlike -beauty. "Who is the enviable man who lives in such a palace?" he -asked. His guide answered: "He is an unhappy, helpless hermit, without -peace, and without a home. He was born with great artistic gifts, but -employed them on rubbish. He drew nonsensical and trifling caricatures, -distorted all that was beautiful into ugliness, and all that was great -into pettiness." - -"How does he occupy himself now?" - -"Shall I say it? He sits from morning till evening, making balls out of -dung." - -"You mean to say, he continues as he began. Is that his punishment?" - -"Yes! Isn't it logical? He obtained the castle, but cannot use it." -Then they went further and came into a garden, where they found a man -grafting peaches on turnips. "What has he done?" asked the teacher. "In -life he was especially fond of turnips, and now he wishes to inoculate -peaches, which he finds insipid, with the fine flavour of turnips. He -was, moreover, an author, and wished to rejuvenate poetry with bawdy -peasant songs." "Why, that is symbolism!" "Yes, and logical most of -all." - -Then they came to a cottage, where they found a man lying on a bed, -surrounded by piles of books. The man had read himself ill; he lay -there exhausted by hunger and thirst, and could hardly breathe. - -"What is he reading?" asked the teacher. - -"Only theology, exegetics, dogmatics, isogogy, eschatology. During -lifetime he denied the existence of God. Now he seeks Him in theology, -but has not yet found Him." - -"Will he find Him?" - -"Yes, certainly he will. But he must first seek!" - -"Why, it is just like that in our lunatic asylums." - -"And there is logic in neurasthenia, here as there." - - -=My Caricature.=--The teacher said: "Men often appear in our lives -as though they were sent; we do not know why they interfere with our -destiny; they themselves perhaps do not know. When I was a young man -who gave promise of a future, which I had not fulfilled, I received as -a colleague in my work a man whom I at once felt to be antipathetic to -me, and who hated me. But he sought me, drew me out, and compelled me -to drink, although I was not exactly difficult to persuade. He drank -himself terribly, and often I thought he wished to make me drink myself -to death. When half-intoxicated, he always made personal remarks on -me, both flattering and critical. He also appeared as a charlatan, -professing to know and prophesy my destiny. This sometimes attracted -me, and sometimes repelled me. - -"Finally, on one occasion when intoxicated, he attacked me before -others, and called me 'a humbug who would come to nothing.' I was at -that time fully conscious of my vocation as author; excited by the -attack, and being partially in liquor, I made a presumptuous assertion -that I would be 'great.' Then the man fell in a rage and swore by -h--l that I should not be great. After this our ways divided. My -friends noticed it, and asked, 'Do you not go about any more with your -caricature?' 'What do you mean by that?' I asked. 'His face was really -a caricature of yours.' And so it was. - -"Two years afterwards I emerged from the ruck, and remember that my -thoughts turned back to the mysterious person who had interested -himself in my destiny. Somewhat later I heard that the man had died -at twenty-seven years of age under peculiar circumstances. He was -standing on a mountain in the evening of Midsummer Day when he had -a stroke. 'He flew asunder like a goblin in the sunlight,' I said -jocosely. - -"This man looked like a Hun or a death's-head. He was born in the -seventh month, and preserved by being wrapped in wadding and laid in a -corner of the tiled stove. But that explains nothing perhaps?" - - -=The Inexplicable.=--The teacher continued: "He had, however, a -peculiar influence over people, and that not only because he flattered -them. I saw him when he was twenty-five years old talking with our -foremost statesman, who was then fifty. The widely experienced, -sceptical politician listened to the ill-dressed unwashed man, -flushed with wine, who almost monopolised the talk. He claimed an -authoritative knowledge of all subjects, teemed with facts and -figures, alluded to all prominent men as old acquaintances, was well -versed in family chronicles and political intrigues. 'Where did he -get all that?' I asked someone. 'I don't know, but he is a remarkable -man with great influence,' was the answer. In addition to his other -characteristics I can mention this: with all his coarseness he had -traits of sensitiveness. He wept when he read of the cruelties in -the Russo-Turkish war. He loved beautiful poetry. He had a chivalrous -enthusiasm for women. He gave out his money generously, but when he -was tipsy he was stingy. Demons plagued him, and he used to roam in -the woods alone; but he always smashed his top-hat first. One could -see into his nostrils, and, when he laughed, all his back teeth could -be counted. He always wore too long trousers on which he trod, for he -was in the habit of walking on his heels. He was beardless like Attila, -because his cheeks simply consisted of nerves. - -"But what had he to do with my destiny, and whence sprang his boundless -hatred for me? It is inexplicable, like so much else." - - -=Old-time Religion.=--The pupil said: "I have heard, I -have thought; now I will speak. I believe in Christianity as a -world-historical fact, with which a new era has begun and proceeds. I -believe that all nations will one day bow the knee in the name of Jesus -Christ. Every time that the pagans gain the upper hand, I will regard -it as a test, and not immediately believe that God is with them against -His own. - -"But let us have a simple, cheerful Christianity which gathers all -to the Sunday festival. Regard it as a misuse of God's name to have -religious services every day. Simplify the dogmas and keep them -flexible so that all may find a place in them. Shorten the services; -let praise, thanks, and worship predominate, and let the sermon, which -should be only twenty minutes long, be subordinate. The preacher should -stick to his text, and not make personal allusions like a journalist. -Not till that is done will one be able to talk of 'assemblies,' of -national festivals like the Pan-Athenæan and Olympian games. - -"But it is madness to put pagans at the head of a Christian State -as teachers, educators, or officials. That is not tolerance, but -tomfoolery. That is making the goat the gardener, setting the foe -in the fortress, playing the coward before public opinion, and mere -weakness. - -"There will come a day in which the name 'Christian' will be a title -of honour and a diploma of nobility. To say 'I am a Christian' is -equivalent to saying 'I am a Roman citizen.' He who dares to call -himself a pagan or an atheist, will be regarded as a blockhead, an -old-fashioned ass, a conservative reactionary, a stick-in-the-mud." - - -=The Seduced Become Seducers.=--The pupil continued: "The reason -why it has been so hard for me and many others to become really -Christian, is that we are all directly descended from the pagans. -We were not acclimatised in the Christian atmosphere, but liable to -wild impulses; our flesh was too coarse to endure renunciation and -restraint. We had been educated in the evolutionary ape-theory, and -been taught that man belongs to the department of zoology and not -that of anthropology. We had also been told that the physical process -that precedes the New Birth of the soul, which is called conversion -from evil, was neurasthenia, and should be treated with warm baths or -bromkali. Veterinary doctors held professorships of philosophy and -introduced zoology as a compulsory subject in priests' examinations. -The servants of the Lord learnt that religion was a deposit from the -tertiary period, that animals were more religious than man, and that -man had created God. The seducer of our youth taught us that the -Life of Jesus was a lubricous novel, that the doctrine of the Bible -regarding Christ simply amounted to this--that He was a prominent -Galilæan; and finally, that the superman was the bandit who may commit -any outrage against others, provided he can prove a false alibi and has -no witnesses. - -"It was a terrible period which recalled that of the Roman emperors, -and like that, heralded the arrival of Christianity. We, who had been -seduced, then became seducers. But we thank God that no harm was done. -Everything serves, and we had to serve as a terrifying example. There -is always something. - - -=Large-hearted Christianity.=--"But we ought not to frighten men -with Christianity, nor become hair-splitters. Let faith be a uniting -bond to lead us onward, let faith be hope in a better life after this, -a connecting-link with that which is higher. Let the fruits of faith -be seen to be humanity, resignation, mercifulness. But don't go and -count how many glasses of whisky your neighbour drinks; don't call him -a hypocrite if he once in a while gives way to the flesh, or if he is -angry and says hard words. Don't ask how often he goes to church; don't -spy on his words, if in an access of ill-humour he speaks otherwise -than he would. You cannot see whether in solitude he does not regret it -and chastens himself. A white lie or the embellishment of a story is -not a deadly sin; an impropriety can be so atoned for by imprisonment -that it ought to be forgotten. Do not secede from the Church because -of some dogmas which you do not understand. Don't form a sect with the -idea of raising yourself to the rank of shepherd, instead of forming -part of the flock. One should have a large-hearted Christianity for -daily use, and a stricter one for festival days. - -"Don't talk about religion. It is too good for that.... Virtue consists -in striving, even when it does not always succeed." - - "The noble Spirit now is free - And saved from evil scheming, - Whoer'er aspires unweariedly - Is not beyond redeeming. - And if he feels the grace of Love - That from on high is given, - The blessed hosts that wait above - Shall welcome him to heaven." - (_Faust_, Part II.) - - - -=Reconnection with the Aërial Wire.=--The pupil spoke: "You said -once that the tramcar comes to a standstill if it loses connection -with the aërial wire. I know that very well. Would that my friends -who are atheists and pagans knew what a relief it is to find the -connection again. It is like diving in crystal-clear sea-water after -perspiring in the heat of the dog-days on a dusty high-road. The heart -grows light; the systematic ill-luck ceases; one has some success, -one's undertakings prosper, one can sleep at night, and neurasthenia -ceases. I remember how, after a night of debauchery, the most beautiful -landscape at sunrise looked ghastly; while after a night of quiet sleep -the same scene looked paradisal. - -"When we gain the certainty, and the belief founded on certainty, that -life is continued on the other side, then we find it easier on this -one, and do not hunt after trifles till we are weary. Then we discover -the divine light-heartedness of which Goethe speaks, which finds -expression in a certain contempt of honours and distinction, promotion -and money. We become more in-sensible to blows and abuse. Everything -goes more softly and smoothly. However dark the surroundings may be, we -become self-luminous so to speak, and carry the little pocket-lamp hope -with us." - - -=The Art of Conversion.=--The pupil continued: "Plato describes -earthly life as follows: 'Men sit in a cavern with their backs towards -the light. Therefore they only see the shadows or simulacra of what -passes in front of the cavern. Whoever hits on the brilliant idea of -turning round, sees the originals, the realities in themselves, the -light.' - -"So simple is it! Only to turn round, or be converted, in a word. -But it is not necessary on that account to become a monk, ascetic, -or hermit. I almost agree with Luther that faith is everything. Our -deeds lag far behind, and need only consist in refraining from all -deliberate evil. As a beginning, one may be content with not stealing, -lying, or bearing false witness. If we have greater claims and wish to -train ourselves into supermen, we may. But if we do not succeed, we -should not throw the whole system over-board, but ceaselessly commence -anew, never despair, try to smile at our vain efforts, be patient with -ourselves, and believe good of God. - -"When the religious man falls, he gets up again, brushes himself, and -goes on; the irreligious one remains lying in the dirt. Thus the whole -art of life consists in not turning one's back to the light. - - -=The Superman.=--"The gentlemen who talk about development say -that Christianity is out of date and lies behind us. No! Christianity -is everywhere; behind us, near us, before us. - -"Pagans of all kinds really created their gods in their own likeness. -But with Christianity came the transcendent God and revealed Himself -to men who had the goodwill to understand Him. Therefore Christianity -is the beginning of the world's history, its middle, and its end. -'Whither and whence everything streams,' as Hegel says. - -"The multiplication-table is still older, but is not out of date; it -is still used, though logarithms have been discovered. The laws of -thought, atomic weights, oscillations of waves of light and sound, have -not been left behind us, but are still continually close to us. - -"But if one does reattach oneself to Christianity, one should take it -without refining--stock and barrel, dogmas and miracles. One should -swallow it uncritically, naïvely, in great gulps, then it goes down -like castor-oil in hot coffee. 'Open your mouth and shut your eyes.' -That is the only way. - -"I am a Christian, _i.e._ I am a nobleman; I belong to the upper -class; I have been vaccinated; I have served my time in the army; -I am a citizen and of full age; I am a white man; I have a clean -birth-certificate; I am a superman." - -To be a Christian Is not to be a Pietist.--The pupil continued: "If my -pagan friends would only give up the idea that a Christian must be a -pietist, they would come into our pantheon in crowds. Luther ate and -drank what was set before him, as St. Paul enjoins; he played, sang, -hunted, and played skittles. He swore also; but notice well, he never -asked God to curse him, or the Devil to take him; he only said, 'Curse -such and such a thing,' or 'To the devil with it!' Certainly I think he -might have modified that habit, as it created annoyance, and he was a -chief priest and prophet. - -"It is a standing error to think that we lay-men should live every -day like priests. We cannot; we have neither the time nor the means; -it is a shame to demand it. But with the priest it is otherwise. He -has devoted his life to the service of the Lord. He should spend the -six days of the week in so preparing his sermon that he can say it by -heart. I will not compare the clergyman with the actor, but on Sunday -he ought at any rate be able to repeat his rôle verbatim. For doing -that he gets his bread. If the congregation see that he reads his -sermon, they think, 'We could do that too; there is no art in that!' -And the minister of the Lord must take good heed to himself else he -arouses annoyance. People will not take it ill if he is austere, and -refrains from society, for he is a representative, not a private -person. With the layman it is otherwise. He is a poor sinful man, of -whom too much cannot be demanded as he drags his daily burden through -the wicked world." - - -=Strength and Value of Words.=--The teacher said: "Thought is an -act of the mind, and words are congealed thoughts. The uttered word can -have an effect like a charm or an adjuration. There are men who are so -sensitive that they are aware at a distance whether people are speaking -well or ill of them. There are men who are not afraid of committing a -crime, but are startled at the word which names it. Weak men cannot -endure hard words; they make them ill. A word may kill. If I were a -judge, I would always first ask the man-slayer, 'What did he say which -made you strike him down?' And then I should allow for extenuating -circumstances, or even acquit the man, if the deadly word caused the -deadly blow as a reflex-action. If for fifty years I have cherished the -memory of my parents, and my family, property, and honour is based on -my relationship to them, and then someone comes and tells me I am not -my father's son, he has killed me; the whole edifice of my emotional -life collapses. He has paralysed my energy and willingness to sacrifice -myself; he has imposed upon me the monstrous task of radically changing -my views of the world and men; he has rooted-up my filial affection; -with a single word he has annihilated my whole life. If he has lied, he -is simply a murderer!" - - -=The Black Illuminati.=--The teacher said: "Everything serves, -and error often helps forward truth. At the end of the last century, -the materialists began to sniff about in the occult. One day they -discovered the capacity of men, when in a hypnotic state, of seeing -at a distance, of beholding the invisible, and of penetrating the -future. Then they accomplished, curiously enough, the honourable task -of establishing the truth of clairvoyance and prophecy, as well as the -possibility of miracles. The theosophists, who really at a terrible -period of the 'black illumination' sought to penetrate behind phenomena -and dug up useful fragments of ancient wisdom, were however hostile -to Christianity. They went so far as to send one of their prophets to -India to warn the natives against the missionaries. - -"But in course of time they began to investigate Christianity again; -they were now provided with the proper means for understanding the -mysteries of Christ's incarnation and atoning death, of sacraments -and miracles. And see now! their latest prophetess has written a -book to explain and defend Christianity! All roads seem to lead to -Christ. No one has done such good service to Christianity as the -materialistic occultists and the atheistic theosophists. Young France -has been Christianised by the pagans. The last apostle of the rustic -intelligence stands isolated there in his damnable infatuation, -believing himself to be the only 'illuminated' one in the world. Let us -hope that he is the last of the 'Illuminati.'" - -"Yes, let us hope so." - - -=Anthropomorphism.=--"Man is inclined to make everything after -his own likeness. When the heathen made themselves gods, the latter -resembled their creators in all their defects and sins. That is called -Anthropomorphism. The artist who paints a portrait, always puts -something of his own into it. I know a sculptor who always used to -model his own undersized figure with its two short legs, whether he -was representing mountaineers, fauns, men of science, or kings. The -plumper he became in course of time, the more rotund his figures grew. -I know a photographer who always retouches his portraits of people -till they resemble himself. He must admire his own exterior, and wish -to have it taken as a standard-type. The critic when he describes an -author, proceeds in a similar fashion. Every point in which the author -resembles him is reckoned a merit; everyone in which he differs, a -fault. - -"When anyone says, 'This poet is the best I know; you must read him!' -that means, 'This poet has my views; you must share them, for they are -the best in the world.' Everyone would like to fashion humanity and the -world in his own image. But if everyone had his way, what would the -world look like?" - - -=Fury-worship as a Penal Hallucination.=--The teacher said: -"Swedenborg describes, in his fashion, how the greatest tyrant arrived -in Hades. He wished to stir up hell against heaven, and he was punished -by having a terrible woman sent to rule him, whom he worshipped. -She was a compendium of original sin, deliberate falsehood, wilful -deceit, ugliness, uncleanness, destructiveness. But he was compelled -to see in her the good, the beautiful, the lovable; he called her 'my -angel.' All his adherents were obliged to worship her, or he called -them 'woman-haters.' Whence Swedenborg derived his narratives, I know -not, but his descriptions are like photographs of our everyday life. -The modern worship of women does not come down from the Christian -ages of chivalry, for those romanticists honoured womanhood in its -virtues. Our new gyneolatry is derived from the heathen; it is a kind -of fury-worship imposed on us as a penal hallucination. The sons of -the Lord of Dung deify their furies, and praise their faults. In their -view sin is virtue, wickedness is character, deceitfulness is a proof -of intelligence, coarseness is strength. He who will not join in -this devil-worship is called a woman-hater. Chaste wives and mothers -are called old-fashioned and perverse. Euripides describes in the -_Hippolytus_ how this king's son dedicated his devotion to the chaste -Diana and fled the demotic Venus. This impure goddess avenged herself -by accusing the innocent Hippolytus of incest and then caused him to be -put to death. Euripides on account of writing this tragedy was called a -'woman-hater,' and is said to have been tom in pieces by female dogs. -That is a pretty legend!" - - -=Amerigo or Columbus.=--The teacher said: "Human greatness and -the way of becoming great is something very remarkable. Often envious -hatred of the deserving seems to be converted into immense love for -the undeserving. The infatuation of hatred may go so far that when -the deserving has done a good work, the undeserving gets the glory of -it. But often also there are secret reasons for this abnormal result. -Every schoolboy has asked why America was not named after Columbus, -who discovered it. I also made that inquiry, and while I served the -Lord of Dung I found it quite natural that the undeserving cartographer -Vespucci should have the honour of the discovery. - -"But when I recovered my reason (and men called me mad), I read the -biography of Columbus again. There I found that, together with his -merits, he had great faults. Like David, he sinned by pride, avarice, -cruelty, and deceit. His pride was boundless. Before undertaking his -doubtful voyage, he laid down as a condition that he was to be Viceroy -(he, the weaver's son!) and receive a tithe of the revenues. Well, he -never learnt that he had discovered a new quarter of the globe. He died -and was forgotten. - -"Vespucci, on the other hand, was not only a cartographer, but -sailed round South America, and discovered that the New World was -not India. He seems to have been a good-natured, upright, and modest -man. Toscanelli, his contemporary, is also said to have announced the -existence of a new world, but that is not so certain." - - -=A Circumnavigator of the Globe.=--The pupil said: "Can you -resolve my discords?" - -"I will call you a circumnavigator of the globe. You have sailed round -it, and returned to the point whence you set out. No one can go further -than that. But you return with a freight of experience, knowledge, -and wisdom. Therefore the journey was not in vain, or to speak more -correctly, it has fulfilled its object. Max Muller, who at the time of -the decadence was the scapegoat for all the atheists, concludes his -history of religion thus: 'It is easy to say that the completest faith -is a child's faith. Nothing can be truer. The older we grow, the more -we learn to comprehend the wisdom of children's faith.' And in another -place he says: 'To explain religion by referring it to a religious -impulse, or a religious capacity, is merely to explain the known by the -less known. The real religious impulse or instinct is the apprehension -of the infinite.' Thank your misfortunes that you have arrived at the -infinite. 'The fortunate do not believe that miracles still happen, for -only in misery we recognise God's hand and finger, which leads good men -to good.'" - -"Do you know who said that?" - -"No; is it Luther?" - -"No; it is Goethe in _Hermann and Dorothea._ And the 'great pagan' -wrote in 1779 to Lavater: 'My God, to whom I have been ever faithful, -has in secret richly blessed me. For my destiny is quite hidden from -men; they can neither hear nor see at all, how it is determined.' The -Lice-King omits such expressions when he wishes to incorporate Goethe -among his slimy larvæ." - - -=The Poet's Children.=--The teacher continued: "Moreover, as I -have already told you, you are a poet, and must pass through your -reincarnations here. You have a right to invent poetic personalities, -and at every stage to speak the speech of the one you represent. -Shakespeare has done so, whether he did it consciously, or whether life -assigned him the various roles he played. At one time he is a cheerful -optimist; at another, the misogynist Timon, or the world-despiser -Hamlet; he is the jealous Othello, the amorous Romeo, so-and-so the -panegyrist of women, and so-and-so the misogynist. I believe indeed -that he has, by way of experiment, been the murderer Macbeth, and the -monster Richard III. He utters the malignant speeches of the last with -real relish. Every rascal may defend himself, and Shakespeare is his -advocate. - -"There the poet should have no grave; his ashes should be strewn to -all the winds of heaven. He should only live in his works, if they -possess vital power. Men should accustom themselves to look upon him as -something different from an ordinary man; they ought not to judge him, -but regard him as something which they cannot understand. You remember -the dying Epaminondas. When they condoled with him because he left no -children, he answered: 'Children? I have Leuktra and Mantinea.'" - - -=Faithful in Little Things.=--The pupil said: "I had a friend, -who died lately at the age of sixty. According to my view, he has in -his own way realised the type of a good citizen and a good man. He was -a tradesman, and had passed through a youth of hardship, being from -six in the morning till ten at night in the shop, the doors of which -were open even in winter. Under his first master he quickly discovered -that dishonest tricks did not pay. Therefore he became rigidly honest, -studied the details of his trade, made rapid progress, kept sober and -wide-awake. Accordingly he soon became his own master, and wealth came -of itself. He married and had children, who turned out excellently in -consequence of their father's example. Now, this man lived his whole -life according to the teaching he had received in school and church. -He did his duty, honoured father and mother, obeyed law and authority, -never criticised those who managed the government of the country, -which he did not profess to understand. He took no notice of selfish -agitations, did not worry himself about the riddle of the universe, and -warned his children not to be eager after novelties. He also possessed -positive virtues; he was merciful and helpful, faithful and modest. - -"When his sons began to study, he did not attempt to vie with them in -learning. But when they attacked his childlike faith, he defended it -like a man. He never ventured to occupy a public post, for he knew his -limits. He never sought for distinctions, nor did he obtain any. Well, -what name do the larvæ of the snake-worm give such a blameless, good, -faithful man? They call him 'a servile rascal.' Is that just?" - -The teacher answered: "No! it is flagrantly unjust! But there are other -types of character, which are also laudable." - -"Yes, indeed, but that does not lessen the value of his life; he was -faithful in small things." - - -=The Unpracticalness of Husk-eating.=--The teacher said: "Young -people say, 'What do we want with the wisdom of age? We want to learn -for ourselves.' I generally answer, 'Yes, learn for yourselves--from -us! What good-fortune to be able to inherit the rich experiences of -others, and not to make these expensive, dirty experiments for oneself! -If the young commenced where we left off, the world and humanity would -progress with giant strides. Instead of this everyone begins afresh, -that is, in the moral sphere. When it is a question of making a new -incandescent lamp, we do not begin with a machine for generating -electricity, but continue from the latest discovery of our predecessors. - -"I have also asked myself whether it is necessary first to be burnt -in order to dread the fire. I have never seen my children go to the -oven and lay hold of the red dampers to see whether they would be -burnt. They let themselves be warned, and therefore escaped the painful -experience. I have asked myself whether one must first feed with the -swine before one can appreciate the food of the household, and whether -the Prodigal Son is a necessary transitionary type. But to all these -stupid and impertinent questions life has given a negative answer. - -"Swedenborg says that all sin and wickedness leave traces behind -them, but that these are not apparent in the human face till old age. -Subsequently, in the disrobing-room on the other side, they look as if -they had been thrown through a magnifying-glass on a white screen. I -once looked into an attic-room; the curtain was drawn aside, and an old -man put out his head in order to look at the sun. When he saw me he hid -his face immediately. - -"That was a face!... God protect us!" - - -=A Youthful Dream for Seven Shillings.=--The teacher said: "There -are people who carry about with them a measuring-rule for everything. -They demand exactness and order; they love perfection in all things. -They are called discontented, carping, pedantic. But it is unfair to -blame them. If one is content with the mediocre, one will at last only -get the worst. Men give only as little as they can, and the whole of -life is defective. Conscientious men are not happy, for they cannot -lower their demands; they appear to simpletons who have not learnt, -that nothing is what it gives itself out to be, that nothing answers -the expectations we formed of it. One is inclined to ask whether such -men bring with them at birth recollections of a place or a condition -where ideal perfection existed. When I was seven years old, I often -remained standing fascinated before a music-dealer's shop window, -and contemplated a hunter's horn which was hung up there. There was -something charming in the proportions of these curved lines. This brass -tube tapered off beautifully from the great width of its bell-mouth to -its narrowed mouthpiece. In the gloomy street it made me hear nature's -music in woods and fields; I loved the instrument. But when a boy told -me that it cost thirty shillings, I wondered whether life would ever -fulfil my desire, for in order to buy it I would have to go for two and -a half years without breakfast. Finally I got to be thirty years old, -and had some money to spare for the first time in my life. I bought the -hunting-horn; it cost only seven shillings; the boy had told a lie. -But the instrument had only three notes. When I got tired of my prize -it was consigned to the attic. - -"It was, at any rate, the fulfilment of a youthful dream!" - - -=Envy Nobody!=--The teacher said: "Envy nobody! As a child I was -boarded out in the country in mean surroundings. I lived in a kind of -shanty, ate from an earthenware plate, sat on a wooden stool. But there -was a castle in the neighbourhood, a real castle, with portraits of -kings in the entrance-hall, the ancestors of the young count who lived -there. One Sunday we were allowed to go, first into the castle, then -into the garden. That was paradise! We could bathe, and were allowed to -pick the cherries, blood-black, gold-yellow, fire-red. The count looked -on, but ate nothing; he had had enough. Then we left, and the gate of -paradise was shut behind us. - -"Fifty years later I saw the portrait of the young count, and heard -his history. He looked unhappy and despairing, as though he were weary -of everything. He had passed through the bitterest experiences of -life, including poverty for a time. His affairs came into liquidation, -and he had to spend ten years abroad in an hotel, his expenses being -defrayed by his creditors. He also had his wife with him, who, as she -thought, had married into paradise, in order to be immediately driven -out of it again. The man had been nothing and had done nothing; all -he could do was to wait for his meals. He had possessed horses and a -yacht; he had gambled and borrowed money; he had eaten truffles and -drunk wine; but when he was forty had to give it up, for his nose grew -red and he had gout in his great toe. I will not speak of his domestic -miseries. - -"Now he sits in his castle, rich as Crœsus, but lonely, and educates -his housekeeper's children, which are his, but which cannot bear -his name. His evening meal consists of gruel, and he goes to bed at -half-past nine. He dares not use his wine-cellar, for then his great -toe aches. His solitary comparative pleasure is to be able to walk, in -order to eat his gruel and be able to sleep. Envy nobody!" - - -=The Galley-slaves of Ambition.=--The teacher said: "Balzac speaks -in one place of the galley-slaves of ambition, and describes their -condition very much as Swedenborg describes certain of his hells, or as -Homer depicts Tantalus, Ixion, and the Danaides. They are ceaselessly -haunted by their passion to be superior to others; to be seen and heard -before all others. The malice and love of power which this involves -are necessarily punished. When the ambitious man cannot be the first -and only one he becomes ill. Voltaire had to go to bed when a prince -travelled past his house without visiting him. If one of such people's -letters remains unanswered they think it is a sign that their credit -has sunk, and they worry about the reason of it till they grow how -hypochondriacal. If they read in the paper such and such important -people were present when the king landed, and their names are omitted, -the world is darkened for them. That is to say, it is not enough for -them that they should be praised and called the greatest; they suffer -pains like death when others are eulogised. They feel perpetual fear -lest they should be set aside and their juniors get ahead of them. -In that they resemble a great criminal who expects to be detected. -The portrait of an ambitious man has a great resemblance to that of -a galley-slave. Imperiousness, hatred, fear--especially fear--are -depicted in his face. - -"Balzac, on the other hand, was impelled by the noble ambition to make -discoveries, and to do good work in which he took pleasure. But his -own life was hidden. Unknown and misunderstood in his own Paris, which -he had discovered, he saw petty chroniclers obtain the first prizes -without being made ill by it. And when, at the age of fifty-one, he -had succeeded in making a home for himself, into which he was about to -bring his first and only wife, he died on the day of the publication of -the banns. A fine death after a life of renunciation!" - - -=Hard to Disentangle.=--The teacher said: "With age, as is -well known, one arrives at a different view of life than one had -formerly. Then, on account of its wealth and variety, life is almost -immeasurable, and above all, very difficult to disentangle. - -"At the age of forty I came home after an absence of many years. On my -arrival I received a dunning letter from an antiquarian bookseller. -Curiously enough, without my being able to explain why, this debt -caused me no further uneasiness of conscience. But then a friend came -and advised me to settle the matter, as the bookseller was spreading -an evil report about me. I went and paid the trifling account, but the -bookseller looked so uneasy and strange, was so polite and grateful, -that I began to reflect about him. When I came home I remembered this: -twenty years previously I had entrusted him with an antique work of -art to sell. After I had visited the man several times in his shop -and the article had not been sold, I felt ashamed to go any more, -began to think of something else, and forgot the matter. His present -thankfulness showed that he had not forgotten it; we were then quits, -if he did not still owe me something. - -"Now I felt ashamed on his account, and determined not to mention the -matter. But then it occurred to me that I owed his predecessor a sum of -money for books. I went again, found him showing the same uneasy manner -as before, and asked for his predecessor's address. He was in America. -I asked whether he had relatives here in the town. He had none. I went -home and thought to myself, 'Then we must drop that matter also.' In -this way, in old age, one must alternate pay and let go; now as a -debtor, now as creditor. But who strikes the balance of accounts? The -goddess of justice, and she is neither deaf nor blind." - - -=The Art of Settling Accounts.=--The teacher continued: "It really -looks as though we could not go hence till everything is settled, -great and small alike. Recently there died an early friend of mine, -who, at an important juncture, had helped me with a hundred kronas.[1] -I had at first regarded it as a loan. But he never dunned me, and -during the forty years which have since elapsed he was gradually -transformed in my memory into a benefactor, and all was well. When at -last he died a millionaire, I did not wish to trouble his executors -with the trifle, but sent a wreath to the funeral with a sigh of -gratitude and many kindly thoughts. Was that the end? No! Shortly -afterwards I felt a kind of inward admonition to resume relations -with a bookbinder whom I had ceased to employ on account of his -carelessness. He came and was glad to get work again; he was greatly -pleased, and declared that I had appeared just in time to deliver him. -When I understood his difficulties, for he had a family, I was willing -to give him fifty kronas in advance, but as I had no change I gave him -a hundred, though reluctantly. I saw how his back straightened itself, -and his confidence in life reawoke. He went--and never returned. I was -angry at first, because he had treated me like a fool, and I dunned -him with letters. But then the memory of my departed friend recurred; -various thoughts wove themselves together in my mind--the pleasure -of calling him a scamp, the fifty-krona note which had turned into a -hundred-krona note, the scamp's need, and the part I had played as -deliverer. In my own mind I gave him a discharge, and became quite -quiet." - - -[Footnote 1: A krona = 1s. 3d.] - - -=Growing Old Gracefully.=--The teacher continued: "When one -becomes old, one wonders at first how men have, as it were, permission -to do one an injustice. If one complains, one finds no sympathy. Even -our friends take the part of those who injure us. But when we have -discovered the secret of it, we take it all quietly. One is cheated -in ordinary business, and says to oneself, 'This is in requital for -that.' Our children prove ungrateful and difficult to manage, exactly -like we were. Young people are insolent and pert towards us, and we -see our former selves reflected in them. Servants do their work badly, -and perpetrate petty thefts; we must put up with it, when we think of -our own work scamped on various occasions. Friends are faithless, just -as we have been ourselves. By practice one comes at last so far, that -one asks for no more, demands no more, and is no longer angry. I then -always think of David when Shimei cast stones at him and cursed him, -and Abishai wanted to strike off the calumniator's head. David declined -to take vengeance, saying, 'Let him curse, for the Lord hath bidden -him.' When the same king, because of his sins, had to choose between -famine, pestilence, or raids of the enemy, he prayed 'to fall into the -hands of God, and not into the hands of man.' - -"He understood how to grow old gracefully, and to make up his accounts. -So he departed praising God, 'Who proveth the heart and loveth -uprightness.'" - - -=The Eight Wild Beasts.=--The teacher said: "You know yourself -that when one awakes from somnambulism, one finds the world quite -mad. Then one loses all hope and all confidence, and believes we are -delivered into the power of the Devil. Once during such a moment of -awakening, I read the works of the Adventists, and the idea struck me -that they were right. They ground their belief on the Revelation of -St. John, and say as follows: 'We live in the last era during which -the eight wild beasts rule the earth. Of Christianity no trace is to -be found: power, wealth, industry, art, science, literature, are -in the hands of the pagans. The state-craft of the wild beasts is -lying and force, alternating with the most insidious hypocrisy. They -preach peace, distribute peace-prizes, build peace-palaces, but are -always seeking war in order to be able to rob and tyrannise. If their -subordinates believe them, and preach peace themselves, they are thrown -into prison. But, says St. John, nations will come from the East and -destroy the godless who have rejected Christ. The last battle is to -be at Megiddo in Syria. But since all this takes place under God's -control, the wild beasts are protected in order to carry out their -work of execution. The number of the last wild beast, 666, is not yet -interpreted, for it is not yet come. The eight wild beasts you can find -in a book, which is called _A de G_;[1] of the people of the East you -read every morning in your paper. It looks almost as though it were -true. The pietists believe it, and keep their lamps burning.'" - - -=Deaf and Blind.=--The teacher continued: "Under the rule of -the wild beast men have become demoralised. They reject every idea -of a retributive justice. If anyone points to an instance of it, -he is suppressed. If a blasphemer loses his tongue, they call it -'Actinomyces,' nothing more. And the obstinacy of the unrepentant -revolts against heaven itself: 'It is so far to heaven; what do we know -about it? We are ants; no God troubles himself about us.' If something -good happens to a man, he attributes it to his own power; if something -evil, he calls it 'bad-luck.' Science explains earthquakes by algebra, -and if it wants to be very learned, by seismology. The quantity of -crime and wickedness which _must_ exist is fixed by statistics. And -yet heaven is so near. God's invisible servants are around us, in -the streets and in our rooms. We do not see them, but those who have -eyes, and only they, behold their operations. The world is like a vast -institute for the deaf and blind, in which the unfortunates are told -by their teachers that they are the only ones who can see and hear. -The theosophists say that we are already living two lives--a conscious -one on the earth, and an unconscious one above. But most men seem to -have broken off communication with the higher plane, and therefore they -cannot comprehend what is from above, but have discovered that there is -no higher and no lower in the universe." - - -[Footnote 1: Not explained in original footnote.] - - -=Recollections.=--The pupil said: "Often has my experience -confirmed this saying of the theosophists, that, as well as here, we -live also on a higher plane from whence we receive our inspirations, -ideas, and intuitions. After such visitations (do they take place by -night?) I do not flourish down here, but find everything perverse, -defective, absurd. I once conceived the strange idea that I have my -true home somewhere else, and that a vague recollection has made me -give my present home an arrangement similar to that of my real one. - -"In my present abode there was a room which, after certain storms that -lasted for two years, was so devastated that it looked as if devils -had haunted it. Then a sum of money came into my hands unexpectedly. -The next morning I awoke with the distinct determination to repair -and furnish the room. I went at once to the upholsterer, and knew so -exactly what furniture and curtains I wanted, that when I saw the -material it looked to me familiar and welcome. A workman came, proved -honest, worked quietly like a spirit, and in a few days the room -was ready. When I entered it, I was seized with a sort of ecstatic -shiver as though I had already seen this room once before under happy -circumstances. And now when I enter the room alone, I see it resembles -something which I do not remember, but which waits for me. I seem to -know that _there_ I am waited for by my only true wife, by my children, -friends and relations, and that this incompleteness I see is only a -poor copy drawn from a dim recollection. Think, if it only were so!" - - -=Children Are Wonder-Children.=--The teacher answered: "What you -say accords with Plato's theory of recollection. He believes that all -which a child learns is recovered from some previous knowledge. During -my long experience it has often happened to me to meet people who, -the first time I saw them, seemed like old acquaintances. It seems, -too, that the woman we love appears congenial to us, made for us, sent -in our way. But most of all is this the case with our children. All -children are, in spite of idle talk, wonder-children--till they have -learnt to talk. Little children often say things which astound one. -They understand all that we say even when we hide it from them. They -seem to be thought-readers, divine our most secret purposes, and rebuke -us beforehand. 'Don't do that,' said my two-year-old child before my -plan was half formed. 'What?' I asked. The child did not answer, but -smiled roguishly and half embarrassed, as though it wished to say, 'You -know yourself already.' When the child had learnt to be silent, it -pushed with its foot against the chair when the parents' talk bordered -on impropriety. Often it spoke like an elder person who understands -things better than others. At three years old it pronounced this -opinion on the nurse, 'Hannah is very nice, but she does not understand -how to treat children.' When her mother was sad, it said, 'Sit down -here and don't be sad; I will tell you a story.' I will only add--there -was no mimicry about it, as the ape-king would be inclined to believe. -What was it then?" - - -=Men-resembling Men.=--The teacher said: "It seems as though -some errors were necessary and unavoidable. They appear as a kind of -infectious virus. A generation is inoculated with it, carries the germ -till it has sprouted, and then there is an end of it. Views of the -world and man come up, are disseminated, evaporated, and disappear. -But those who have been inoculated with them believe they are their -own views, because they have assimilated them with their personality. -Often the error ends in a compromise with a new view. Thus Darwinism -made it seem probable that men derived their origin from animals. Then -came the theosophists with the opinion that our souls are in process -of transmigration from one human body to another. Thence comes this -excessive feeling of discomfort, this longing for deliverance, this -sensation of constraint, the pain of existence, the sighing of the -creature. Those who do not feel this uneasiness, but flourish here, -are probably at home here. Their inexplicable sympathy for animals and -their disbelief in the immortality of the soul points to a connection -with the lower forms of existence of which they are conscious, and -which we cannot deny. The doctrine that we are created after God's -image involves no contradiction, for the spirit is from God; but there -is no word which frightens these anthropomorphists so much as the word -'spirit.' Yes, there is one, and that is the word 'spirits,' which -makes the fleshy part of them shudder." - - -=Christ Is Risen.=--The teacher said: "After we have had -Christianity as a civilising agency for nineteen hundred years, people -begin to discuss it. Is this the opportune time to ask whether Christ -has existed and whether the documents of Christianity are genuine? -It reminds one of the author who wrote a book to prove that Napoleon -never existed. It is as if we were now to discover that Cæsar's -_Commentaries_ are false, and that he never conquered Gaul, or as if -we discussed whether the discovery of America had been useful. Ibsen's -partisans have denied that Columbus discovered America; they say it was -Leif Erikssen (perhaps we shall soon hear it was his wife). - -"However, Christ returned again at the end of the last century, and was -received by all. The pagans depicted him as the poor school-teacher; -the anarchists celebrated him as the type of suffering humanity; the -symbolists did homage to him as Christus Consolator; the socialists -preached his gospel to the obscure, the weary, and heavy-laden. He was -to be seen every-where--in the quarters of the French general staff and -in the espionage office; in Lourdes and in Rome; on Mont Martre and in -Moscow. His churches and convents were purified; his miracles explained -by occultists, spiritists, hypnotists; science progressed and confirmed -the prophecies. Finally we saw at the congress of religions in Chicago -in 1897 that all peoples and religions of the world bent their knees -when Christ's especial prayer, the Lord's Prayer, was recited. Then -the believers gave each other the brotherly kiss and greeting, 'Christ -is risen!'" - - -=Revolution-Sheep.=--The teacher continued: "In the year 1889 -we celebrated the French Revolution, but there was little life or -order in the celebration. Everything which was uprooted in 1789 still -existed--Church and State, kings and courts, priests and officials. The -French republic was the worst of all, with its Panama Canal jobbers at -the head: Wilson, Herz, Clemenceau, Arton. The constitution was kept -alive by bribes, bills of exchange more or less false, and pensions. -Offices were created in order to find places for voters, husbands of -mistresses, and the discontented. At that time the French republic was -governed by criminals, and the Church by pagans. Military and civil -orders were sold, works of art bought, votes canvassed for. One could -not become a deputy for less than two hundred thousand francs. Then -executioners and revolutions were necessary, for the principles of the -Great Revolution, if one can talk of principles in connection with -a volcano in eruption, were forgotten. Now in the perspective of a -hundred years the 'Great' Revolution appeared only like an execution, -a decimation on a large scale; an experiment with negative results, -but as such certainly very interesting. One of the recollections of -my youth is that when we 'who were born with the ideas of the French -Revolution' (ideas revived in 1848) began to talk of the 'Great' -Revolution, we were called 'Revolution-sheep.' I did not understand -this at the time, for I did not yet think for myself but merely -drivelled. But now I understand it. Now we know that the constitution -of a country is almost a matter of indifference for the common weal; -thus one constitution is not much better or worse than another." - - -="Life Woven of the Same Stuff as our Dreams"=--The teacher said: -"Life itself can often appear like a bad dream. One morning I went for -a walk in the country, and was absorbed in my thoughts, when a great -Danish dog rushed towards me. A young rascal stood near, laughing. I -drew my revolver, and exclaimed, 'Call off the dog, or I shoot it.' The -young fellow only laughed, the dog retreated, and I went on. On my way -back, a man armed with a musket met me, and asked how I dared threaten -to shoot his son. I answered, that the threat had only referred to the -dog. On the evening of the same day I was told that the dog had been -found dead, and that I was suspected of having poisoned it. Although I -was innocent, I was regarded as an assassin. That was a nice business! - -"Again: one evening I went to see my four-year-old daughter, who waited -for me below in the park. From the distance I saw her in the company -of two unpleasant-looking children, but she did not see me. As I -quickened my steps, I saw that she went off farther with the children. -I called her, but she did not hear. I ran and saw her at the entrance -of a cellar, into which the children wanted to pull her down. She -resisted them, but they took hold of her clothes. Now she screamed, -and consequently did not hear my call. I wished to hasten to her, but -between us there was a grass lawn, with an iron railing round it, on -which I did not venture to tread for fear of the police. So I stood -there and called. At last my child pulled herself free, but did not see -me. So weirdly things may happen sometimes!" - - -=The Gospel of the Pagans.=--The teacher continued: "The gospel -of the pagans is immunity from punishment; if one mentions a case -where it has gone ill with a scoundrel, the pagans snort and say -one is too severe. But it is life which is severe. The gospel of the -pagans consists in showing that virtue is simplicity and is seduced; -that religion is a disease; that scoundrelism is a form of strength, -and ought to conquer by the right of the stronger. Sometimes, by way -of a change, they demand that a weak rascal should be pardoned; that -everything should be forgiven and tolerated. By 'toleration' they mean -that one should let oneself be suppressed and persecuted by them. If -one resists, they cry, 'He revenges himself. He is a bad man.' But -revenge presupposes some offence as the cause, and when the cause -disappears the effect disappears. Certainly there are some men who -avenge their own stupidity on the innocent. I have an enemy, who still -revenges himself on me because he could not steal my money. The gospel -for him would be the law reversed, 'You may steal, but others may not.'" - - -=Punished by the Imagination.=--The teacher continued: "Swedenborg -speaks of being punished by the imagination. That is what doctors -generally call 'hallucination.' He who suffers from persecution-mania -is persecuted. The Philistines think he is only persecuted by his -imaginations, but if the wise man asks why he is persecuted by his -imaginations, conscience answers by ceaselessly endeavouring to -discover the persecutor. The patient goes through the whole list of -the persons whom he has offended. If they are many in number, and -their hatred is justified, one may well suppose that the sick man is -persecuted by their hatred, for which his awakened conscience is now -receptive. - -"In my inner life punishment by hallucinations has played the chief -part; but after I had discovered the rationale of it, I regarded the -hallucination itself as a punishment. The severest form of punishment -is suspicion, when I am obliged to suspect the innocent. That is -irresistible. My thoughts sway between trust and mistrust. I struggle -and conquer myself gradually, either by acknowledging myself wrong, -or by accepting the breach of faith resignedly. But if I give vent to -suspicion I must ask for pardon; then I take this humiliation as a -discharge. Most of my misfortunes have been imaginary; but they have -had the same effect as real ones, because I came to the consciousness -of my own wrong-doing. The incurable man is the obstinate one who -believes himself wrongfully persecuted by other men. - - -=Bankruptcy of Philosophy.=--"When Kant during the dark period -of the 'Illumination' had proved that philosophy can prove nothing, -he set up the theory of the categorical imperative and postulate, -_i.e._ the demands of religion and morality. Put in plain language, -that is equivalent to faith. This declaration of the bankruptcy of -philosophy saved men from useless brain-cudgelling. Christianity -revived, now supported by the philosophers with Hegel at their head. -But the old stream flowed parallel with it once more. In spite of the -bankruptcy of philosophy, notes of exchange were issued and cashed by -the dunder-headed free-thinkers Feuerbach and Strauss. They wanted -to approach God with the everyday intelligence which one uses in -kitchens and grocers' shops. The last fool was Renan, whose cheques -still circulate mostly among college-students and the like. At the -beginning of the last century E.T.A. Hoffmann wrote thus: 'In ancient -times we had a simple generous faith; we recognised that there was a -Higher, but knew also that our senses were insufficient to reach it. -Then came the "Illumination," which made everything so clear, that for -sheer clearness not a trace could be seen. And now we are told that the -supernatural is to be grasped by a firm arm of flesh and bone.' To-day -it is called the Science of Religion. That is a science which starts -from the false presupposition that religion is a mental disease because -it cannot be mathematically proved." - - -=A Whole Life in an Hour.=--The teacher said: "I had a strange -experience, which I have not understood, but which I must remember. -I woke up one morning feeling cheerful without any special reason. -Obeying an impulse, I went into the town. As I wandered about at -random, I came into the quarter where I had been born and brought up. -I saw the kindergarten and school I used to attend, and my parents' -house. I went through narrow streets and passed by the national school -in which I was worried as a student-teacher. I saw two different houses -in which I had suffered as a private tutor. I went northwards and came -to another school in which I had been tortured. In a market-place -I passed another house in which, during my childhood, our only -acquaintance lived, and twenty years later in the same dwelling there -lived my worst enemy. I passed by a house in which my sister had been -married thirty years before, and another house in which my brother had -had a hard struggle. Then I came to a third school in which I was a -student; in the same house lives still my first and last publisher. I -passed by a house where, forty years ago, I was accepted as an aspirant -for the stage, and where I offered my first drama; also by the house -where I was married for the first time. Then the meaning of it began -to grow clearer. I saw the furniture warehouse whence I ordered my -furniture the last time. I passed by the house where my wife and child -lived three years ago. - -"In the space of one hour I had seen the panorama of my whole life in -living pictures. Only three years were wanting to the present time. It -was like an agony or a death-hour when the whole of life rushes past -one. - -"Then I felt drawn northward where my last child and her mother live. -An instinct told me to bring perfume for the mother and school-fees -for the child, as that day it was going to the kindergarten for the -first time. Then I began to hunt for the perfume; it ought to have been -lilac, but I had to take lily-of-the-valley. I also wanted flowers, but -could not find any. - -"So I continued northwards and came to their house; the sun shone -in, the table was spread for coffee; there was an air of comfort, -homeliness, and kindness over all. I was received in a friendly way, -felt in a moment that the whole of my black life lay behind me, and -realised the happiness of merely being alive." - - -=The After-Odour.=--The teacher continued: "As I went thence, -I felt the happiness of the present. All the past was only the dark -background. I was thankful in my heart, when I remembered all I had -come through without perishing. When I came home, I learnt through the -telephone that my worst enemy had died on the morning of this very day. -His death-struggle was taking place at the very time that I made the -pilgrimage through my past life. I reflected: Why should I pass through -my agony just when he died? He was a 'black man'[1] with an obsolete -materialistic view of things which he thought was modern; a literary -huckster who wrote reviews of marchionesses' rubbishy books, in order -to be invited to their castles, and praised his associates as long as -they consorted with him; the partisan of a coterie and a log-roller. - -"I had never come into personal contact with him, but once, a long -time ago, he had called himself my pupil. He could not however grow, -nor follow me upwards. It was now as though my old self had died in -him. Perhaps therefore I suffered his death and felt it just now. But -why the perfume? That I know not. But when I learnt that the deceased -decomposed so rapidly that he had to be buried at once, I could not -help connecting the perfume with his dissolution. When, eight days -afterwards, I read a posthumous review by the deceased of my last -work, and saw that he regretted that I was not a pagan and lamented -my defection from the Lord of Dung, it was as though I sniffed an -after-odour from the dunghole, and I seized the perfume-flask in good -earnest." - - -[Footnote 1: Strindberg's expression for a free-thinker.] - - -=Peaches and Turnips.=--The teacher continued: "At the same time -a similar death happened. Another of the 'Black Flags' departed under -peculiar circumstances two days after the first. I had known this man -during the period in which the ape-king ruled. We did not like each -other, but like condemned criminals were compelled to keep together. -Our friendship was only the reverse-side of a hatred; his hideous -appearance frightened me; his profession was equally repulsive, but -brought in much money. He wrote according to the taste of the time, and -lived in the false idea that he was 'illuminated' and liberal-minded. -When his father died, the son expressed his regret that 'his father -had recovered the faith of his childhood.' What happened then? The son -who lived in faith in wickedness and ugliness, began to develop this -faith in a peculiar way. He had in his writings shown a predilection -for turnips; in his latter days he inoculated peaches with turnip-juice -in order to make the southern fruit partake of the beautiful flavour -of the latter. The same perverse taste was evident in his last book; -there his sympathy is decidedly on the side of the 'blacks.' He ended -in an asylum. He could not be saved, for he did not know how to seek -the Saviour. So he died. I had just regretted not having sent some -flowers to his grave, when I saw in an obituary notice that the dead -man had vented a noisome lie against me, which a bosom friend of his -now repeats in print. In the same notice the world is threatened with -his posthumous writings. When they come out, I will buy a flower and -hold it under my nose, while I breathe a sigh of gratitude to him, -who restored to me the faith of my childhood and saved me from the -mad-house." - - -=The Web of Lies.=--The pupil said: "I am eight-and-fifty years -old; have lied less than others; and have therefore always believed -what others said. When, in my old age, I sit together with friends -of my youth and make comparisons, I find that my whole life is a web -of lies. Last night I sat with such a friend, and had a protracted -talk of the following intelligent kind. I said, 'When the Prince of -X. married....' 'Married! He isn't married.' 'Isn't he? Is that a lie -too?' 'He has never been married.' 'Now during twenty years I have -spread it abroad that he was married, and a whole story has been built -on this lie, which I was about to relate, but now I must drop it.' - -"Here is another lie! During thirty years I have told people that Dr. -H. was present when the Malunger murderer was executed. He had falsely -informed me that, as a medical student, he had received a commission to -examine the head after it had been cut off. He gave me such interesting -details on the subject that I was accustomed to describe them in -company. What a liar he was! - -"'But he _was_ there.' 'Was he there?' 'Certainly; I saw him standing -behind the priest when I took a photograph of the scaffold.' 'You? -Have you ... Are you lying or is he?' 'I am not.' 'No; now I don't -know where I am. Everything is topsy-turvy. For the last ten years I -have retracted the lie which I had spread. I have made Dr. H. a liar! -One ought never to speak or write, but only draw the things which one -absolutely needs. He was then really there! How can I restore to him -his honour, of which I have robbed him?'" - - -=Lethe.=--The teacher answered: "This whole web of lies, errors, -misunderstandings, which forms the basis of our lives, transforms life -itself into something dreamlike and unreal, and must be dissolved when -we pass into the other life. I read to-day of a dying man. Instead of -seeing his life pass by him, as is usually the case, his whole life -dissolved into a cloud; his memory failed; all bitterness and all -trouble disappeared; and on the other hand, all his disappointed hopes -assumed an aspect of reality. He thought he was loved by his wife, who -had been cold to him; he thanked her for all the tenderness which she -had never shown him. The children who had deserted him he saw again in -the bright light of youth; he seemed to hear the sound of little feet -upon the floor, the characteristic of a happy home, and his face wore -a happy smile. The dark autumn weather outside changed into spring; -little girls handed him roses to kiss in order to enchance their value. -Finally he saw himself and his family in an arbour drinking coffee out -of Dresden china cups, into which they dipped yellow saffron-cakes.... -Then he fell into his last sleep. It was a beautiful and enviable -death; it was paradise. From the ancient Lethe he drank forgetfulness -of the troubles he had undergone before he trod the Elysian fields. -If it only were so! To drag all one's bygone filth with one in memory -cannot be favourable to a new life in purity. There are illnesses in -which one loses memory. May death prove to be such an illness!" - - -=A Suffering God.=--The teacher said: "The idea of a suffering -God was foolishness to the Greeks, who considered a God as a tyrant -gloating over the sufferings of men. But the seeming contradiction -is solved if one supposes that a Holy Being deposits itself, so to -speak, in humanity, and that humanity then becomes defiled. That is -a boundless grief like his who has deposited the best part of his -soul and his emotions with a woman. If she then goes and defiles -herself, she defiles her husband. Or a father's nature has passed over -to his children, and he wishes to see his best impulses continued -and multiplied by them, and his likeness ennobled. If the children -dishonour themselves, the father suffers; the stem withers when the -roots are injured. - -"Such I imagine to be the feelings of God the Father when the -sinfulness of humanity grows noisome and dishonours Him, and -perhaps threatens to affect His own holiness. He will be wroth and -lament--perhaps even feel Himself defiled--rather than cut off the -cancerous limb of humanity. Christ is no more represented as beautiful, -but with features distorted by the sins of others; these he has -taken on himself or drawn to himself, for he who approaches pitch is -defiled. In order to be free from the impure element he must die by the -destruction of the body. Incarnation involved the greatest suffering of -all. - -"But the death of Christ may also signify that the Father freed himself -from the sins of humanity, and broke off connection with the evil race -who dishonoured Him. He who will now seek Him must rise to His heights, -and gain admission by a pure life. He Himself will descend no more into -this valley of filth; the air is too thick, the company too mixed. And -that is why things are as they are." - - -=The Atonement.=--The teacher said: "The work of the Atonement -has been very difficult for me to understand. Often I have tried to -explain in a way satisfactory to myself, but without success. If -God had offered up His Son as an atonement for mankind, there would -necessarily have been peace and paradisal quietness on earth, but -such is not the case. The period of the Roman emperors before Christ -was indeed terrible, but the next thousand years were no better; they -rather resembled a deluge in which the old nations were exterminated -by barbarians. The second millennium was better, very much better. -The third will perhaps close with a complete reconciliation between -humanity and God. Everything points to that, though the heathen may -reign for a while as instruments of chastisement, and executioners and -possessors of wealth. The Egyptian has an important part to play, and -slavery is not bad as a school of discipline. In the desert one learns -the difficult art of loneliness, and in the strange land of Assyria one -feels a wholesome home-sickness. Still, when the Egyptian raises his -stick to strike, comfort yourself with Christ's words to Pilate, 'Thou -wouldest have no power over Me, if it were not given thee from above.' -And when you eat the bread of the heathen, think like the Maccabees, 'I -eat thy bread, but I do not sacrifice upon thy altar.' Everything is -tolerable so long as we do not let ourselves be beguiled into believing -that those who are in power are God's friends and favourites. Our fine -gentlemen who imagine that they are forwarding development and are the -sole trustees of right, progress, and illumination, are only children -of this world. Let that be granted them, and much good may it do them!" - - -=When Nations Go Mad.=--The teacher said: "Nations are sometimes -seized by madness as by other diseases. The Javanese are said to suffer -from chronic madness; the men run amuck with a knife in order to slay; -the women suffer from a mania for mimicry; if they see anyone throw -something into the air, they imitate the gesture; they can even under -such circumstances throw their children away. The Japanese again are -attacked by megalomania; someone begins to shout, 'We will conquer -China!' and his cry is taken up by the whole town and the whole land. -The French were raving when, in 1870, they sang 'A Berlin,' and did -not even reach the Rhine. Paris was captured. But the French declared -it was not captured, but had surrendered. When the enemy had marched -in peaceably and spared the town, and after peace was concluded the -French set their own town on fire. That was madness. Then they shot -down thirty thousand of their own countrymen, while in the war itself -only eighty thousand French had fallen." - -"But some nations are seized by a mania for suicide. I know a land -from which people emigrate at the rate of a hundred a day; in which -the only important industry--iron-mining--is hampered by an export -duty; that is suicide. In the same land, where the taxes are generally -collected by levying distraints, they voted forty million pounds for -the army; but when the muster-rolls came to be made up, the men were -not to be found. In the same country the State maintains a railway of a -hundred miles in length; recently the train came in with one passenger, -whose journey had cost the State more than a thousand kronas. That is -suicide." - - -=The Poison of Lies.=--The teacher said: "Let us return to life, -and to men whom we think we know better than anything else, although -self-knowledge is the hardest of all. A perpetual accusation which -people bring against each other is that of lying. All lie more or -less--by omitting principal points and emphasising secondary ones, -or by colouring matters of fact. Often they do it with an excusable -purpose; for instance, when a friend is being spoken about. - -"But there are men who seem to be composed of falsehood and deceit. -Such are the liars from necessity, who lie in order to obtain -something; such, too, are the liars from ostentation, who lie in order -to be superior to others, and to keep them down. One may be poisoned in -the atmosphere which they spread around them. - -"There is a pair of liars whom I have never seen, but often heard -spoken about. When I merely hear about them and their falsehoods, I -feel my brain affected, and their poison works telepathically on my -nerves. The pair are dogged by misfortune, and live alone. They tell -each other lies also, and pretend to themselves that they are martyrs, -although their misfortunes are solely due to their deceits. They -believe that they are persecuted by men, while, on the contrary, men -fly from them. Such they have been since childhood, and seem unable to -change. Perhaps their mendacity is a form of punishment, for 'they that -hate the righteous shall be guilty.'" - - -=Murderous Lies.=--The teacher continued: "When one lives on -intimate terms with liars, one runs a risk of becoming a liar oneself. -One believes what they say, bases his views on their falsehoods, -spreads their false reports in good faith, defends their sophistries, -and is entangled in their deceits. Moreover, one's whole view of life -is distorted, one loses contact with reality, lives in a fictitious -world of feeling, regards friends as foes and foes as friends, thinks -one is loved while one is hated, and vice versa. - -"On one occasion a liar with whom I lived on intimate terms made me -think that my last book had been a failure. For five years I believed -it, suffered under the belief, and lost my courage. On my return to -Sweden I found that the book had had a great success. Five years had -been struck out of my life; I was nearly losing self-respect and the -courage to support existence. That is equivalent to murder. And this -behaviour on the part of my only friend, for whom I had worked and made -sacrifices, gave me such a shock that all my ideas were confused. It -took me years to rearrange them and bring them into proper order. True -and false were mingled together: lies became reality, and my whole life -seemed as unsubstantial as smoke. I was not far from ruin and the loss -of reason." - - -=Innocent Guilt.=--The teacher continued: "During the five years -in which I believed myself unjustly treated, I also incurred guilt. -I had cursed those who had been just towards me, wished evil to my -benefactors, repelled my admirers, avoided my adherents. And when I -should now have felt remorse for it, I could not do so sincerely. On -the one hand I felt myself innocent, and almost the victim of another's -falsehood. But the evil which I had done was there, and must be atoned -for. Such tangles are not easy to undo. Yet it is not good in life -to show mistrust towards men; one must take things easily, without -criticism and too careful reckoning. The deceiver says, to be sure, -'He who does not keep a sharp look-out, has himself to blame if he -is cheated.' But if one does look out, and will not let oneself be -cheated, one is credited with a morbid mistrustfulness. It is not -easy to live, and among lawless men it is better to be cheated than -to cheat. The Talmud says: 'Be rather among those who are cursed than -those who curse; rather among the persecuted than the persecutors: read -in the Scripture, No bird is more persecuted than the dove; yet God has -chosen it for a sacrifice on His altar.'" - - -=The Charm of Old Age.=--The teacher said: "The charms of old -age are many. The greatest is the consciousness that it is not long -till evening when one can undress and lie down, without the necessity -of rising up and dressing again. The diminution of the body's strength -lessens its resistance to the free motions of the soul. One's -interest in merely temporal matters decreases, and one begins to take -a bird's-eye view of things. Seemingly important trifles shrink to -insignificance. Old estimates of the values of things are changed. All -that one has experienced lies like a litter of straw under one's feet; -one stands in it and grows in the midst of one's past. We have found -a constant amid all variables, that is, the instability of life, the -transitoriness and mutability of all things. Everything is repeated; -there are scarcely any surprises. We know everything beforehand, expect -no improvement, are no more deceived by false hopes, demand nothing -more of men, neither gratitude, nor faithfulness, nor love, only some -companionship in solitude. If we are deceived, we think it is part -of the play, and even find a sort of consolation in it, because it -confirms our views, which we do not like to see refuted. We become, -finally, cheerful pessimists. When, on the discovery of a new cheat, we -can say, 'What did I tell you?' we feel almost a sense of pleasure." - - -=The Ring-System.=--The teacher said: "In our old schools, the -pupils were arranged not in classes, but in rings, and the forms -were not placed in rows, but in circles. When I read of the circles -of Dante's hell, I thought of my old school. But outside in life, I -found this ring-system also. Men seemed linked together in concentric -circles, each of which formed a little system of views. Each circle -spoke its own language, expressed its meaning in old formulas, revered -its gods, created its great men, often out of nothing. In each circle -they had found the truth, and worked for development, but in a -different way to the others. The first circle was really the lowest, -but it considered itself the most important, because it was the first. -When I read a paper or a book which comes from other circles than -mine, I only see so much--that they are mad or stand on their heads. -It stifles me, and has a hostile effect. I surmise that the five great -races of the earth feel that, when they meet one another. In their -minds they are as foreign to each other as though they came from the -five great planets, although they have many human characteristics in -common." - - -=Lust, Hate, and Fear, or the Religion of the Heathen.=--The -teacher said: "You know one of my tasks in life has been to unmask -gyneolatry, the worship of women in history and life. I have called -it 'the superstition of the heathen,' because there is something -exclusively heathenish about it. Woman-worship is the religion of the -heathen, but it is a religion of fear, which has nothing to do with -love. Lust, hate, and fear--those are the component parts of it. As -soon as a heathen comes in the proximity of a woman, he becomes tame -and cowardly; faithless towards his friends, his convictions, and -himself. He immediately desires that others should venerate his idol -whom he hates and fears. That is a side of his animal self-love. - -"Gyneolatry is not Christian in its origin, but heathenish. All animals -and savage races fear their women. When heathenism in the Græco-Roman -and Moorish colonies of southern France and Italy got the upper hand, -then began gyneolatry, the worship of mistresses. This worship was -dishonestly confounded with chivalrous reverence for the Madonna, which -was quite another thing. This religion of the heathen is the religion -of fear and concealed hatred. Therefore all tyrants have been punished -by having a woman oppress and torment them. Swedenborg explains the -reason." - - -="Whom the Gods Wish to Destroy."=--The teacher continued: "A -man's goodwill and generosity towards his wife stands in direct -relation to her behaviour. When therefore a woman is ill-treated by -her husband, we know of what sort she is. The apparently subordinate -position which the woman occupies is the direct result of the position -which nature has assigned to this immature transition-form between -child and man. The child has also a subordinate position; that is -quite natural, and no reasonable man has objected to it. Woman is the -earth-spirit who effectuates a certain harmony with the earth-life. To -this earth-life we must bring our sacrifice; therefore it is that a man -feels at home in his house, and therefore wife and child comfort and -protect us against the cold abstraction, life. - -"Marriage is the hardest school in which renunciation and self-conquest -is learned; it is also a forcing-house for wickedness of all kinds, -especially the hellish sin of imperiousness. How low the sons of the -Lord of Dung stand on the ladder of development may be seen from their -conviction that they are only equal to the woman or subordinate to -her. Blinded by this penal hallucination, they work for their own -destruction when they battle for the emancipation of women, for the -gods wish to destroy them. - - -=The Slavery of the Prophet.=--"Stuart Mill, who became the -prophet of the woman's cause, had formed an attachment for another -man's wife.[1] As a punishment he had to live in the hallucination -that he derived all his thoughts from her. She was indeed his medium, -and as such she repeated his thoughts as though they came from her, -and he believed she was his superior. When somebody asked if he had -received his 'Logic,' which he wrote before he knew her, also from -her, he answered, 'Yes.' This sober Positivist, who only believed in -tables of statistics, was obsessed by the powerful delusion that the -simple-minded woman was his Genius. He could not rise to a higher -idea of God. One thing I am sure of: as soon as a man deserts God, he -becomes the thrall of a female devil. All tyrants, above and below, are -caught in these chains, out of which only God in heaven can help a man. -But He can certainly. One sees it in those who have come alive out of -this hell. I know one...." - -"I know two!" the pupil interrupted. - - -[Footnote 1: Mrs. Taylor.] - - -=Absurd Problems.=--The teacher continued: "There are -several reasons why woman is depicted as a sphinx by men. She is -incomprehensible because her soul is rudimentary, and she thinks with -her body. Her judgments are dictated by interests and passions, she -draws conclusions according to the state of the weather and the phases -of the moon. She will sell her best friend for a theatre-ticket, or -leave her sick child to see a balloon ascend. She murders her husband -in order to be able to go to a bathing-resort, and forswears her -religion for a diamond ring. At the same time she can appear to be -a charming woman, tender towards her children, amiable, and before -all things polite and affable. She may also appear a good household -manager, or at any rate enjoy the reputation of being one. She can -produce the illusion that she is quick at apprehension, although she -does not really understand a word. She can exhibit sacrifices which -are only ostentation, and give away only in order to receive back. Why -cannot one guess the riddle of this sphinx? Because there is no riddle -there! Why is woman incomprehensible? Because the problem is absurd. -She is an irrational function because she operates with variable -quantities under the radical signs. - -"Nevertheless we take her as a charming actuality, a delightful child -who may pull three hairs out of our beard; but if it pulls the fourth, -there is an end to the enchantment." - - -=The Crooked Rib.=--The teacher said: "Goethe says in his -_Divan_,[1] 'Woman is fashioned out of a crooked rib; if one tries to -bend her, she breaks; if one lets her alone, she becomes still more -crooked.' Thus there is nothing to be done. The only tactics one can -adopt, as Napoleon did, are flight, or at any rate to break off contact -and intimacy. This never fails; if one deprives a woman of the victim -of her hatred, she pines away. - -"Man loves and woman hates; man gives and woman takes; man sacrifices -and woman devours. When the woman wishes to show her superiority in -intellect, she commits a rascality. Her utmost endeavour is to deceive -her husband. If she can trick him into eating horse-flesh without -noticing it, she is happy. When woman gets her milk-teeth, she does -not learn to speak but to lie, for speech and falsehood are synonymous -for her. Every married man knows all that. But politeness and his own -vanity keep him silent. Often he is silent because of his children; -often because he is ashamed in the name of humanity. He thinks how -often one has drunk the toasts of mother, wife, sister, daughter--these -fictions in a world of deceit, where all is vanity of vanities. -But many men are silent because they are afraid of being called -'woman-haters.' They are afraid!" - - -[Footnote 1: The saying is originally Muhammed's.] - - -=White Slavery.=--The teacher said: "In the whole of the upper and -middle classes and a good way below them the following is the case with -regard to marriage: When a man marries, his work, which he can devolve -on no one else, increases. His wife, on the other hand, at once gets -a servant to do her work; if she has children, then she gets a nurse -besides. But she herself sits there without occupation, and tries to -kill time with useless trivialities. In this way she can neither get -an appetite for dinner, nor sleep at night. In the evening her husband -comes home, and wants to enjoy the domestic hearth; but his wife wants -to go to the theatre and restaurant. She is not tired, but bored by -want of occupation, and therefore wants amusement. Women, in fact, seem -not to be born for domestic life, but for the theatre, the restaurant, -and the street. Therefore women complain that they must sit at home. -Although they have slaves to serve them, they call themselves 'slaves' -and hold meetings to their own emancipation, but not that of their -servants. Their animalised husbands support them without observing that -they themselves are slaves; for he who works for the idle is a slave. -But it is written, 'Ye are bought with a price; be slaves to no man.'" - - -=Noodles.=--The pupil asked: "What is a woman-hater?" - -The teacher answered: "I do not know. But the expression is used as a -term of reproach by noodles, for those who say what all think. Noodles -are those men who cannot come near a woman without losing their heads -and becoming faithless. They purchase the woman's favour by delivering -up the heads of their friends on silver chargers; and they absorb -so much femininity, that they see with feminine eyes and feel with -feminine feelings. There are things which one does not say every day, -and one does not tell one's wife what her sex is composed of. But one -has the right to put it on paper sometimes. Schopenhauer has done it -the best, Nietzsche not badly, Peladan is the master. Thackeray wrote -_Men's Wives_ but the book was ignored. Balzac has unmasked Caroline in -the _Petites Misères de la vie Conjugale_. Otto Weininger discovered -the deceit at the age of twenty; he did not wait for the consequent -vengeance, but went his own way, _i.e._ died. I have said that the -child is a little criminal, incapable of self-guidance, but I love -children all the same. I have said that a woman is--what she is, but -I have always loved some woman, and been a father. Whoever therefore -calls me a woman-hater is a blockhead, a liar, or a noodle. Or all -three together." - - -=Inextricable Confusion.=--The teacher continued: "If on the other -side of the grave there were a Judge Rhadamanthus appointed to arrange -the disputes of men, he would never come to an end. Life is such a -tissue of lies, errors, misunderstandings, of debts and demands, that -a balancing of the books is impossible. I know men who have been lied -about their whole lives through. I know of one who was branded through -his whole life with the stigma of a seducer, although he has never -seduced, but was seduced himself. I know of an uncommonly truthful man -who had the reputation of being a liar. I know an honourable man who -passed for a thief. I know a man who was three times married, and had -children in all three marriages, but was said to be no man, because -he, as a man, would not be the slave of his wife. I know many who -are sincerely religious and yet are called hypocrites, although the -chief point in religion is sincerity. But, on the other hand, I know -heathen who professed to be atheists, although in their bedchambers -they sang penitential psalms when they were nervous in the dark and -feared the consequences of their misdeeds. They were so cowardly -that they dared not fall under the suspicion of being religious, but -bragged of their courage and strength of character. They would not -abandon the Black Flag; they would not be untrue to the ideal of their -youth--godlessness. Rascally right and good-hearted stupidity form a -problem too complicated for Rhadamanthus himself to solve. Only the -Crucified could do it with the single saying which He addressed to the -penitent thief, 'To-day shalt thou be with Me in Paradise.'" - - -=Phantoms.=--The teacher said: "When intelligence and the power -of reflection are matured, and one thinks about men, their outlines -begin to dissolve, and they turn into phantoms. Indeed, one never -really knows a man; one knows only his own, or others' ideas of him, -but when these ideas change, the image of him becomes indistinct and -is obscured with a veil. We form our conception of a person whom we -have never seen according to others' ideas of him. Thus, for example, -the personality of a famous painter was described to me by an author. -After two years the author had formed another idea of him, and imparted -that to me, and I had to alter my view of him. Then there came another -describer, and gave me quite a different idea of the painter. He was -followed by a third and a fourth. After this I saw the painter's -pictures, and could not understand how he could paint in the way he -did. But the painter himself I never saw. He has become for me a -phantom without clear outlines, composed of different-coloured pieces -of glass, which do not harmonise, and alter according to my moods. I -expect that when I meet him he will not resemble my idea of him at all, -but have the effect of quite another independent phantom." - - -=Mirage Pictures.=--The teacher said: "When I have lived for some -time in solitude my acquaintances begin to appear like mirage-pictures -before me. Some gain by distance, occasion only friendly feelings, -and are surrounded by an atmosphere of light and peace. Others whom I -really like very well when they are near, lose by absence, and appear -to be hostile. Thus I may hate a friend in his absence, look upon -him as unpleasant and inimical, but as soon as he comes, enter into -friendly contact with him. There is a woman whose proximity I cannot -bear, but whom I love at a distance. We write letters to each full -of regard and friendliness. When we have longed for each other for a -time and must meet, we immediately begin to quarrel, become vulgar -and unsympathetic, and part in anger. We love each other on a higher -plane, but cannot live in the same room. We dream of meeting again, -spiritualised, on some green island, where only we two can live, or, -at any rate, only our child with us. I remember a half-hour which we -three actually spent hand in hand on a green island by the sea-coast. -It seemed to me like heaven. Then the clocks struck the hour of noon, -and we were back again on earth, and soon after that, in hell." - - -=Trifle not with Love.=--The pupil said: "When a man and a woman -are united in love, a single being is the result, whose existence -is a positive pleasure, as long as harmony reigns. But this being -is an extremely sensitive receptive instrument, and is exposed to -disturbances from outer currents which act from all distances, an -inconvenience which it shares with wireless telegraphy. Therefore -a disturbance of the relationship between a married pair is the -greatest pain which exists. Unfaithfulness is a cosmic crime which -brings the one or the other member of the married pair into perverse -relations with their own sex. If the husband loves another woman, his -wife is exposed to terrible alternate currents; by turns she loves and -hates the woman who is her rival. Often she can be the friend of her -husband's paramour, but more often her enemy. Whoever comes between a -pair who love, does not so with impunity. The hate which he arouses is -so terrible, that he can be lamed by the discharge, lose all energy and -pleasure in life. Therefore it is rightly said, 'Trifle not with love.'" - - -=A "Taking" Religion.=--The pupil said: "When Buddhism, mixed -with Vedantism, became fashionable in 1890, all the renegades from -Christianity flocked to it and tried to fill the vacuum in their -religious lives. Six thousand new gods were received with applause -forthwith; the new trinity--Brahma, Vishnu, Siva--encountered no -objections; spirits, ghosts, genies, fairies were thought quite -natural; Gautama's heaven and hell were thrown into the bargain, -accompanied by a slight flavour of asceticism. Those who denied the -Resurrection found reincarnation quite a simple affair. But the -favourite was Krishna. He was the incarnation of the god Vishnu, who -descended to earth in order to be born of earthly parents and to save -fallen humanity. His coming was prophesied, and so dreaded that a -massacre of new-born infants like that at Bethlehem was plotted, but -unsuccessfully. Krishna fulfilled his mission, conquered the evil -powers, and finally endured a voluntary death. That 'took'! The trinity -Brahma, Vishnu, Siva 'took,' but Father, Son, Holy Spirit did not -'take.' Krishna 'took,' but not Christ. It was strange!" - - -=The Sixth Sense.=--The pupil continued: "The outer eye can -reflect images, the inner eye can conceive them. There are therefore -two kinds of sight, an outer and an inner. Of the senses, that of -smell is the most immediate when it has to do with the conveyance -of impressions. But there seem also to be two kinds of faculties of -smell. Swedenborg says that a false man smells of sour gastric juice, -but only for the person to whom he has been false. In this case the -smell-perception is only subjective, but it is of great objective value -in judging men. In this case the organ of smell seems to operate with -æther-waves. According to Swedenborg's doctrine of correspondences, -good men exhale sweet perfume, and bad men a stench like that of -corpses. He says that misers smell like rats, and so on. Legends of -the saints relate that the corpses of those who have kept their souls -and bodies pure, when they dissolve, exhale a flower-like perfume. -In short, every soul has its scent, which varies according to its -characteristics. - -"This sixth sense the clothes-hygienist Jäger believed he had -discovered after he had begun to observe and train his outer and -inner man. I will speak now of my own experiences in the matter. They -did not begin till I had passed through the great purgatorial fire -which burnt up the rubbish of my soul, and after I had scrambled out -of the worst of the mire by self-discipline and asceticism. They are -accustomed to boil off the gum from raw silk before it is spun, and -so my nerve-fibres seemed to have been 'scoured' by the sufferings of -life, and gone through a process like the 'fining' of silk." - - -=Exteriorisation of Sensibility.=--The pupil continued: "I -happened once, when watching a spider in a web, to see her 'exteriorise -her sensibility,' or in other words reel out a nerve-substance for -herself with which she remains in touch, and by means of which she -becomes aware when flies come and when the weather changes. Raspail, -who in his masterly works has cast many a far-reaching glance -behind the curtains of nature, has in one place philosophised over -the spider's web. In other works dealing with transcendent natural -sciences, one finds the doubt expressed whether the object of the -spider's web is only to be a fly-trap. I myself have counted four and -twenty radii in the web of the garden-spider resembling an hour-circle, -and have asked myself whether, besides being a barometer and trap, the -web is also a kind of clock. - -"Now it seems as though I had myself in a similar manner exteriorised -my sensibility. I feel at a distance when anyone interferes with my -destiny, when enemies threaten my personal existence, and also when -people speak well of me or wish me well. I feel in the street whether -those I meet are friends or foes; I have felt the pain of an operation -undergone by a man to whom I was fairly indifferent; twice I have -shared the death-agonies of others with the accompanying corporeal and -psychical sufferings. The last time I went through three illnesses -in six hours, and when the absent person with whom I suffered was -liberated by death, I rose up well. This makes life painful, but rich -and interesting." - - -=Telepathic Perception.=--The pupil said: "While I lived in the -most intimate relations with a woman, I arrived, like Gustav Jäger, at -'the discovery of the soul.' I was always in communication with her, -often through obscure sensations, but very often through the sense of -smell; these were subjective however, as other people were not aware -of them. When she was travelling I knew whether she was in a steamer -or on a train; I could distinguish the revolutions of the screw from -the vibration of the railway carriage and the puffing of the engine. -She used to make her presence felt by me at a certain hour of the -day, _i.e._ five o'clock in the morning. Once, when she was in Paris, -this time changed to four o'clock. When I consulted the table of time -variations, I found that it was four o'clock in Paris when it was five -o'clock with me. Another time she was in St. Petersburg, then our -meeting took place an hour later; that also agreed with the time-table. -When she hated me, I was conscious of a smell and taste like that of -mortalin; this happened one night so distinctly that I had to rise and -open the window. When she thought kindly of me, I perceived a smell -of incense and often of jasmine, but these scents sometimes changed -into sensations of taste. When she was in society without me I felt -that she was away, and when the conversation turned on me I was aware -whether they were speaking good or ill about me." - - -=Morse Telepathy.=--The pupil continued: "I was spending one -evening at home alone; I did not know where she was, but had the -feeling that she was lost to me. At 10.40 p.m. I was aware of a passing -breath of perfume. Then I said to myself, 'She has been in the theatre! -But in which?' I took the daily paper, read the theatre advertisements, -and found that one theatre closed at 10.40. Further inquiry proved that -my surmise was right. - -"On another occasion when in company I broke off a lively conversation -with a smile. 'What are you smiling at?' 'Just now the train from the -south entered the terminus.' Another time under similar circumstances -I said: 'Now the curtain falls on the last act in _Helsingfors_!' and -I heard the applause which greeted the prima donna who had played in -my piece. The conversation of the people in the restaurant after the -conclusion of the piece sounded like ringing in my ears. I can hear -that as far as from Germany when a prima donna is acting in one of my -pieces there, although I do not know beforehand that it is going to -be played. One evening I had gone to bed about half-past nine, and -was awoken about half-past eleven by a smell of punch and tobacco and -in the impression that two of my acquaintances in a café were talking -about me. I had every reason to believe that I had been present there -in some way or another, but I was so accustomed to this phenomenon that -this time I did not test it. Flammarion gives a hundred such cases in -his book _The Unknown_." - - -=Nisus Formativus, or Unconscious Sculpture.=--The pupil -continued: "Once I signed a contract with a merchant. After sleeping -the night over it, I noticed that he had cheated me. With angry -thoughts I went out for my morning stroll. When I came back I wished -to change my clothes, and threw my handkerchief on the table. After I -had undressed myself I noticed that the handkerchief had been crumpled -together by my nervous clutch, and now, where it lay, formed a cast -of the merchant's head, like a plaster-of-Paris bust. The question -arises: Had my hand unconsciously formed an image of my thoughts? Linen -is a very plastic material, and one often finds excellent pieces of -'sculpture' in handkerchiefs, sheets, and cushions. When a married -man comes home with his wife from a ball, he should look at the -handkerchief chief which she has held the whole evening in her hand, -and then perhaps he might see with whom she preferred most to dance. - -"In India a Buddhist priest is said to represent the 208 incarnations -of Vishnu by putting his hand in a linen bag, and moulding rapidly from -within the linen of the bag into the shapes of an elephant, tortoise, -etc. When St. Veronica's napkin retained the impress of Christ's face, -that is not more improbable than that my pillow in the morning should -show the impress of faces which are not like mine. I have read of -Indian vases which are so modelled that at first one only sees a chaos -resembling clouds, twisted entrails, or the convolutions of the brain. -After the eye has become accustomed to this the confusion begins to be -disentangled; all kinds of objects such as plants and animals emerge -in clear outline. Whether all observers see the same I know not. But -I believe that the moulder of the vase has worked unintentionally and -unconsciously." - - -=Projections.=--The pupil continued: "But there are also -projections which I cannot explain. It is possible that only poets and -artists possess the power so to project their inward images in every -life that they become half real. It is quite a usual occurrence that -the dying show themselves to their absent friends. Living persons can -also appear at a distance, but only to those who keep them in their -thoughts. I used to show my initiated friends the following phenomenon: -I observed a stranger who resembled an absent acquaintance. As soon -as my eye completed the image, whatever unlikeness remained was -erased. 'See, there goes X.,' I said. My friends saw the resemblance, -understood that it was not X., comprehended my meaning, and agreed -with me without further thought. If we shortly afterwards met X. we -were astonished, and attempted to find no explanation in face of the -inexplicable latter part of the phenomenon. - -"But one day I went down a street and 'saw' my friend Dr. Y. who lived -fifty miles away. It was he, and yet it was not he. It was the same -little figure although somewhat wavering and uncertain. The grey-yellow -face was also the same although almost ghost-like, with deep furrows -which followed the oval lines of the face, and with the forced laugh of -suffering. When I came home I read in the paper that the man was dead." - - -=Apparitions.=--The pupil continued: "One evening I passed a -well-known theatre while a performance was going on inside. There was -no one outside. Suddenly on the pavement I saw an actor who had died -thirty years previously, after he had first gone crazy with vexation -because he had failed as an actor in this very theatre. His face, like -that of my deceased friend the doctor's, was lined with those parallel -furrows which run from the forehead to the jaw. 'Was it he, or not?' -I asked myself, and left the question open. On another occasion I -was travelling by rail in a foreign country. The train halted at a -station for three minutes. On the platform in broad daylight a man was -going up and down with a paint-box in his hand. He looked nervous and -suffering and was badly dressed. 'That is he!' I thought. 'How has he -got here? Why has he come down in the world?' During this three minutes -I suffered all the tortures of uncertainty and of a bad conscience, for -I was partly to blame for his misfortune and his poverty. The train -went on, and I have never discovered whether it were really he. It was -certainly improbable. - -"Yet another time I was travelling by rail. At a remote station a man -came into my compartment and sat opposite me. I thought he was an -acquaintance, but he looked at me unrecognisingly. Then I let my eyes -fall. Immediately he regarded me with an ironical smile which I again -recognised. 'It is he,' I thought, 'but he will not greet me.' So I -suffered for some hours. My conscience endured all that I owed him. -Whether it really was he I know not, but the effect was the same." - - -=The Reactionary Type.=--The teacher said: "Men seem to react -against themselves and their own bad qualities when they demand from -others what they cannot themselves do. A man who is full of hate -demands to be loved. A faithless deceiver came lately to me and -finished his wily talk by saying, 'All I ask is that you trust me!' -He only asked that in order that he might be able to deceive me. But -perhaps he trusted me more than himself; he did not know himself, but -had an inkling of what he was. Perhaps he felt that my belief in him -would strengthen and elevate him, and might possibly neutralise his -untrustworthiness. It sounded at any rate very naïve, and I felt myself -honoured by the compliment. - -"Again, a spendthrift who had no means of his own always cautioned me -to be frugal. He gave brilliant parties, but when he came to me he only -got potatoes and herrings, and yet he thought that was beyond my means. -On one occasion I had bought 200 grammes of nickel-sulphate for my -chemical experiments. They cost fifty-two pence. The spendthrift came -to visit me, looked at the sulphate, and exclaimed, 'Can you afford it? -Nickel-sulphate which is so dear.' Fifty-two pence! Then he invited me -to a drive in a carriage, and a meal which cost fifty-two kronas for -an altogether unproductive purpose. When he had to pay the reckoning -he suffered torments. Perhaps he was by nature a skinflint, who had -yielded to a mania for extravagance and reacted against it. I tried to -explain this once to him, as on principle I wished to think well of the -man." - - -=The Hate of Parasites.=--The teacher continued: "There are -men who are spiritually so empty that they only live on others. I -have an acquaintance (when one is over fifty one does not ask for -friends any more) who constantly visits me but never says anything. -Our social intercourse consists in my speaking alone. When he -leaves me after several hours, I feel as if I had been undergoing -blood-letting. It is certainly good to be able to talk oneself out -often, but one would often like to have an answer to one's questions; -but I never get an answer, not even to a question in his own special -line. I can only remember one expression which this man used, and -that was extraordinarily stupid. Somebody had slandered me, and my -'acquaintance' had believed every word and painted my figure in false -colours. Finally one evening I defended myself, and proved that my -slanderer was not in his right senses. He rejected my explanation, -exclaiming 'Fie! how cynical you are!' - -"What did this answer mean? First, that I must not wash myself clean, -for he wanted to have me dirty; secondly, that he gave me the lie; -thirdly, that his sympathies were on the side of the slanderer. I draw -the inference that this man hated me, and therefore visited me. If he -could not have intercourse with me, he could not abuse my confidence -and gratify his hate. His tactics were--to live my life, to devour -my soul, to gnaw my bones. The attraction he felt to me he called -sympathy, though it was antipathy. There are many kinds of hate, and -a wife's 'love' to her husband is a variety of hate. She desires -his virile power in order to become a husband and make him into a -passive-wife." - - -=A Letter from the Dead.=--The teacher said: "It seems as though -one could live the life of another parallel with one's own, or as -though one might be in touch with a stranger on another continent. -One morning I received a letter of twenty-quarto pages from America. -Long letters make me nervous; they always begin with flattery and end -with scolding. I read, as I usually do, the signature first, which -was unknown to me. Then I dipped into the letter here and there, and -saw that the writer wished to influence me. One word pricked me like -a needle, and I tore the letter into small pieces which I threw in -the paper-basket. In the night I dreamt that the remarkable man,[1] -who seemed still to guide my steps after his death, showed me an old -manuscript which I had not found worth reading. The old servant held -the manuscript against the light, and then I saw like a water-mark -another writing between the lines. Immediately afterwards I saw in -my dream a broken-off leaden wire, but closer inspection showed its -surface to be gold. When I awoke in the morning I understood the -dream in its perfectly clear symbolism. I went to the paper-basket, -collected the fragments of the stranger's letter, and spent six hours -in piecing them together. Then I began to read. I should premise that -the handwriting was so like that of my deceased and honoured teacher, -that I believed I was reading a letter from the dead." - - -[Footnote 1: He refers probably to the Chief Librarian in the Royal -Stockholm Library, where he had been an assistant in his youth.] - - -=A Letter from Hell.=--"The letter pricked me like a packet of -needles. But it was so interesting that I was continually lured onward -to read to the end. The writer began by saying that he had received his -first intellectual awakening through my books. Since then his course -for twenty years had been very irregular; led astray by the prevailing -ape-morality, he had gone in evil ways. In the midst of his wandering, -it happened to him as to Dante and others--he came into hell, but found -a Virgil who led him out and saved him. Then his own real life began. -He passed all the sciences from philosophy to chemistry under critical -review, and found them consisting of mere conventional lies. He drifted -about helplessly till he found an anchorage-ground in faith in Christ, -the Exorciser of demons, the highest Wisdom, the Redeemer who saves -from doubt, despair, and madness. - -"During the perusal I felt sometimes as though I were reading my own -life or a satire on it. Annoyed by what seemed a tactless encroachment, -I often wished to throw the letter away but could not; the dream always -recurred to me, and the letter contained new and bold ideas sparkling -in a chaos of contradictions and paradoxes. In short, it proved a -turning-point in my life. It exposed my faults, but showed me at the -same time that I had held the right course, in spite of the deflections -and cross-currents to which I had been exposed." - - -=An Unconscious Medium.=--"Now let me say a few words about -my deceased mentor, who already in his lifetime exercised a great -influence on my development, though without knowing or wishing it. I -was young, precocious, dull, and untrustworthy, mostly because I wished -to preserve my personal independence, but also because I was godless, -and consequently immoral without any other principle except that of -getting on. He, my chief, attracted me, in spite of the fact that I was -antipathetic to him in most things. My position required that I should -serve him devotedly, but I wished also to serve my own interests. He -was a spiritist and Swedenborgian, but I was a materialist. This he was -aware of, because I was brutally truthful. But struggle as I might, -I came under his influence and became his medium. There were days on -which he was so blind that he could not read the old manuscripts which -he was editing. One day he gave me a mediæval codex in a difficult -character, and half in joke told me to read it. I read it at once, -without having learnt the character. Then he had discovered me. But -I worked alone, although unconsciously. One day I stumbled on a pile -of old documents, and found a date which he had been hunting for -for twenty years. Another time I found an historic detail of great -importance which altered our ideas of our early history. One day our -paths diverged. - - -=The Revenant.=--"Years passed. I lived abroad, but my thoughts -often reverted to the savant who had had a great influence on my -life. Often, without any special reason, I spoke of him for hours at -a time--not always with the respect which I owed him. I was, it must -be remembered, a pioneer, to whom nothing was sacred, neither parents -nor teacher. One day I heard that the old man was dead. Eight days -later there appeared in the paper this mysterious announcement. An -intimate friend of the deceased received, eight days after his death, -through the post, a letter from him. The paper considered it a jocose -mystification on the part of the deceased, who loved jokes. I guessed -who might have been entrusted with the letter, but felt astonished -that a dying man could take such pleasure in jesting, especially about -things which he had taken so seriously. When, two years later, began -the experiences described in my book _Inferno_, I felt that I was in -touch with my departed teacher. There were certain roguish traits in -the phenomena which reminded me of him. I remember one night addressing -the question to the darkness, 'Is it you?' The whole affair was in his -style, teasing in form, but well-meaning in purpose. I received no -answer, but the impression remained--a mixture of terrible grim earnest -and behind it a friendly smile, comforting, pardoning, protecting, just -as in his lifetime, when he practised patience with my ill manners." - - -=The Meeting in the Convent.=--The teacher continued: "During -my wanderings I happened once to visit a convent with a travelling -companion in a corner of Europe. What interested me specially was the -library, for I had long been trying to trace Anschar's[1] journal. -After I had slept the night in a cell which bore the inscription 'B. -Victor III. P.P.,' in memory of Pope Victor III 'who punished the -heretics who denied the divinity of Christ,' I was taken into the -library. The first thing shown me was a collection of Latin hymns of -the Middle Ages which had been edited by my deceased teacher. The -inner side of the title-page contained some handwriting by the editor, -which was so peculiar that it could hardly be imitated. I asked the -Benedictine monk who accompanied me, whose signature it was. He -answered, 'The convent librarian's.' 'Are you certain?' I asked. 'Yes, -quite certain.' This discovery of his handwriting, which I had never -seen elsewhere, after so many years made a deep impression on me. I -asked myself whether the monk, acting as a medium, could have imitated -the handwriting of the deceased editor. After an afternoon's search I -found the valuable explanation that Anschar's journal had been taken by -Abbot Thymo from Corvey to Rome in A.D. 1261. It was known that it had -since disappeared, but now I had found a trace of it. I felt as though -my deceased friend had brought me here into the convent in order to -discuss Anschar's journal, concerning the fate of which we had often -made guesses and searches." - - -[Footnote 1: A famous French missionary in Sweden, a.d. 801-865.] - - -=Correspondences.=--The teacher said: "It seems to me as though -Swedenborg's correspondences or correlatives were to be found again -in all departments, as though natural laws on a higher plane can be -applied to the spiritual life of man. If an object comes too close to -the magnifying glass, it becomes indistinct. Similarly one cannot see -the object of one's affections if she comes too close. She becomes -small and indistinct, loses outline and colour; but remove her to the -proper focus, and she becomes magnified and clear. Thus it is with -princes and their valets de chambre. - -"But there are also exceptions to the rule. Many friends gain by -proximity; one must see them often, otherwise they change their -shape and become ghostly and alarming. Others again seem better at a -distance; whenever we meet them we lose an illusion. The attraction -between lovers can increase in proportion to the square of the distance -between them, and also in reverse proportion; the greater the distance, -the greater the pain of separation. It seems also possible to apply the -facts of electricity in the psychical sphere. Pellets of elder-pith -attract one another so long as they are of opposite polarity, but when -they are saturated or over-saturated they repel one another. But the -mutual repulsion also takes place when a foreign body is interposed -between them, for then an influence is produced which operates -laterally." - - -=Portents.=--The teacher continued: "As soon as I believe in an -Almighty God, who can suspend the few natural laws which we know, and -bring into operation the countless host of laws which we do not know, -I must believe in miracles. Swedenborg does not deal so hardly with -anyone (at the same time that he commiserates them) as the asses who -revere the creation and the laws of nature, without believing in the -Creator and Law-giver. They go with their noses on the ground, and if -anything unusual happens 'in the air,' as they say, they call it 'a -meteorological phenomenon,' and attribute it to such and such natural -causes. They register the phenomenon in their records without dreaming -of anything behind it, and forthwith forget the matter. - -"We, on the other hand, will mention some events of recent years and -connect them with certain natural phenomena which may possibly denote -the presence of warning and chastising powers. - -"On the 7th June, 1905, Sweden and Norway separated. A year previous an -earthquake took place which had its centre in the Kattegat. One shock -reached Christiania and caused a terrible panic in the churches; people -trampled one another to death or lost their reason. Another shock -affected Stockholm and caused alarm, but in a minor degree; among those -affected by it was a prince of high military rank. In January, 1905, a -hurricane burst over Christiania, tore the roof from the royal castle, -and injured the fortress of Akershus. The same hurricane travelled -east-ward to Stockholm, tore the roof from the guards' barracks and -threw it on the drilling-ground. These statements can be verified by -reference to the newspapers. The question is: 'Are these portents or -not?' Are symbolic natural phenomena portents?" - - -=The Difficult Art of Lying.=--The teacher said: "When people -lie deliberately, usually with the object of gaining something, I -often do not hear what they say. One day a carpenter came to me with a -complaint. I listened to him and helped him. The next day he came again -in order to do a piece of work. Then, among other things he let this -remark fall: 'To-day, thank God, she is better.' 'Who?' I asked. 'I -mentioned yesterday that my child had fallen down the staircase.' Then -I felt ashamed of having taken so little interest in his troubles, -and murmured some sympathetic words. But when he had gone I thought -over the matter. Since I generally hear very well and attend to what -people say, I was astonished that I had not noticed his account of his -trouble. I could not explain it to myself. - -"Some time later, after some months, I conceived a strong feeling of -distrust towards this man. I remembered the German proverb, 'A liar -should have a good memory,' and determined to test him. Therefore I -said to him abruptly, 'Did you have a good summer?' 'Splendid,' he -answered. 'Is your wife quite well?' 'Perfectly.' 'Your child too?' -'She has never passed through the summer so well.' Accordingly he -had lied when he said the little girl had had an accident, and had -subsequently forgotten it. What was unreal could leave no impression -behind--an interesting fact, as it seemed to me. In connection with -this I remembered that an actor, a pessimist and hopeless despairer, -had to play the part of a believing and positive character on a certain -occasion. That evening the audience could hardly hear a word of what he -said. I was astonished at the time, but now I understand that he was -lying." - - -=Religious and Scientific Intuition.=--The pupil said: "The -everlasting strife between Faith and Knowledge would have been stifled -at the outset if some sharp wit had discovered in time that the problem -is wrongly stated, for the two ideas form no real antithesis. What -I know, that I believe; consequently faith presupposes knowledge, -consequently knowledge is subsumed under faith. But the word 'belief' -has received other significations. In religion it means reception -or absorption. Science recognises the fact of intuition or rapid -inference, _i.e._ the faculty of reaching certainty without sufficient -reason and without a complete chain of proof. That is scientific -belief, and is in complete analogy with religious belief. When a man -arrives at the knowledge of God and of His laws by way of intuition, -when he then tests this knowledge by observing his experiences and -finds it confirmed, then the final outcome of his investigation is -Belief. Belief is complete objective certainty, but on a higher plane, -so that all scientific chatter that Knowledge is higher than Belief -is mere nonsense. By 'knowledge' in this case one understands for the -most part information about stones, plants, and animals, and historical -facts such as the year in which a certain book was published, when -Goethe was in Strasburg, whether Rebecca Ost's real name was -Popoffsky or Johanna Hagelstrom, or whether an Apostle-mug is genuine -or imitation. The antithesis 'Faith _or_ Knowledge' is the stupidest -dispute about words which ever took place, and a disgrace to humanity." - - -=The Freed Thinker.=--The teacher said: "In order to think -rightly and in accordance with law, I must free my reason from fetters -of rustic intelligence, from interests, passions, conventional -considerations. One must go into deep solitude, and not be afraid of -remaining alone, deserted by all. Above all, one must not belong to -any party which regulates, inspects, and degrades. In order to be able -to dare to give up the weak and hampering support of men, one must -be able thoroughly to rely upon God. In order to do that one must -keep one's conscience as clean as possible, must hate evil, strive -after righteousness and goodness, bear everything except humiliation, -exercise mercifulness, and take trials as such and not as persecutions. - -"The electric clock has contact and connection with a correctly-timed -chronometer. And so my reason cannot think logically till I have opened -connection with the Logos, and no longer discharge contrary currents of -sterile denial and doubt. Only in life with God is there freedom of -thought, freedom from impure impulses, selfish and ambitious interests, -freedom from the wish to stand well with the crowd. That is the _freed_ -thinker in contrast to the 'free-thinker,' who has left the rails and -lost connection with the overhead wire; he will come to grief at the -next street-corner, and is of no more use as a vehicle of traffic." - - -=Primus inter pares.=--The pupil continued: "Religions seemed -to be determined by regions like nationalities. Swedenborg hints -at something of the sort, saying that people have the religion -which they ought to have. Those who have no religion are tramps and -vagabonds, pariahs and gipsies, scoundrels and swindlers. They think -they are at home everywhere, but are so only on the high-roads, in -the market-places, behind the circus-stable, in the alehouse. When -Lessing asserts in _Nathan der Weise_ that all religions are equally -good, he shows that he has not understood Christianity, which is the -beginning and end of the world's history. The Muhammedans are certainly -religious, more religious than the Christians, and among the adherents -of Islam are many sects, but no atheistic ones. All observe the hours -of prayer, fasts, and daily washings. Muhammed was no Christ-hater. But -they are alien to our climate. Still we have something to learn from -them; they are not ashamed to show their religion, while we shuffle -with it. They are not only religious on Sundays but every day and all -day. - -"But, if we heard that a Christian had gone over to Islam we should -regard it as a fall from the higher to the lower, while the conversion -of a Muhammedan to Christianity would be hailed as an ascent. Saladin -was certainly noble and Nathan wise, but the nobleness of the former -had somewhat of a pose about it, and the wisdom of the latter was of -the same homely kind as Voltaire's. On the other hand, Godfrey de -Bouillon accepted the crown of thorns instead of the king's crown, -and St. Louis gave his life for the wisdom which surpasses all -understanding." - - -=Heathen Imaginations.=--The teacher said: "Religions are -represented by regions, defined territories, circles, of which each -considers himself the centre. The modern heathen sit in their little -bag, which is big enough to be seen, and when they only see heathen -they imagine that Christianity is decaying or altogether done with. -And yet it is flourishing as it never did before; everything serves -the Gospel with or against its will. The heathen find new weapons in -heaps of ruins and in temple-libraries; they close churches and thereby -bring Christianity into life and into the domestic circle. When they -make life bitter for the Christians, the latter turn from the sour and -seek the fresh. The missionaries who were only lately regarded with a -contemptuous smile are now discovered by great explorers in deserts -and wildernesses, where they have established oases of humanity and -mercy. There the plundered wanderer can rest his weary head, secure of -having found one trustworthy man. He who wishes to know the effect of -Christianity on an idolater should read Kanso Utschimura's _Memoirs of -a Japanese; or, How I Became a Christian_. Those who preach 'cheerful -paganism' can see in this work how a polytheist is tom and tortured -by doubt, and tossed to-and-fro between the contradictory commands of -eighty million gods." - - -=Thought Bound by Law.=--The teacher said: "When a young man -comes and says he is a free-thinker, say to him: 'You lie. You think -with your stomach, your throat, your sexuality, with your passions and -your interests, your hate and your sympathies. But in your youthful -immaturity you do not really think at all, but merely drivel. What -is instilled into you, you give out, and dub your wishes by the -name of thoughts.' Moreover 'free-thought' is a contradiction in -terms, for thought obeys laws, just as sound, light, and chemical -combinations do. Thought is bound, bound by laws. If you say 'There -is no God,' you speak without thinking. 'Non-existence' and 'God' are -two incommensurate ideas which cannot be brought into juxtaposition. -If they are, there results an absurdity which is the secretion or -excretion of an illogical and confused mind. - -"If on the other hand you say 'There is no God _for me_,' there is -something probable in that. But you should be ashamed to speak of -it. It only means that you are a godless dog, a perverse ape, a -conscienceless deceiver and thief whom men must avoid and detectives -must watch. Fortunately godlessness is an hallucination imposed on -haughty blockheads as a punishment. When the 'free-thinker' discovers -some day how stupid he is, then he is freed, and that is a mercy for -him." - - -=Credo quia (et-si) absurdum.=--The teacher said: "If I call -myself a Christian it is because I recognise Christ as a power, a -source of strength, from whom I obtain strength by prayer in order to -support tolerably the burdens of life. But at the same time I confess -that I cannot understand nor explain the doctrine of Atonement through -sacrificial death. That is not, however, the fault of the doctrine but -a defect in me. I have also no right to deny a matter of fact because I -do not understand it. Here is an illustration. If I multiply 2 by 2 I -obtain an increase--4. But if I multiply ½ by ½ I obtain as a result a -decrease by half, _i.e._ ¼. Here is an incomprehensible contradiction. -Multiplication cannot produce a decrease. Yet it is mathematically -true that 2 multiplied by 2 is doubled, _i.e._ 4, but ½ multiplied by -½ is halved, _i.e._ ¼. My intelligence would fain deny it, but I must -believe it, and in doing so I do well, otherwise the whole science of -mathematics would be unusable, which would be a great loss. _Credo -quia absurdum._ That means, I must believe a fact just because it -is incomprehensible and absurd (for me, but not for others). If I -could understand it, the emergency short-cut of 'faith' would not be -necessary. That is the sacrifice, not of my reason, but of my rustic -understanding and of my pride." - - -=The Fear of Heaven.=--The pupil said: "The astronomy or -uranology of the astronomers has ceased to make any progress since -it has become godless. They have given up observing the sky. They sit -there and calculate, with the express purpose of calculating God's -existence away. Seven years ago I met a teacher of astronomy. He did -not know that the equator of the sky passes through the belt of Orion, -and could not point out the ecliptic. He boasted of not knowing the -constellations, saying it was no science to know them. Our nearest -neighbour the moon has been ignored for a long time. And yet in 1866 it -was noticed that changes had taken place there, and that the crater of -Linnæus was on the point of disappearing. On the other hand, they are -trying to signal to Mars. If man, who lately in his folly thinks he has -solved the riddle of the universe without God, only knew how the 'gods' -are to us, and if he understood the signals which they send to us daily -and hourly, he would go out like Peter and weep that he had denied his -Lord or behaved as though he knew Him not." - - -=The Goat-god Pan and the Fear of the Pan-pipe.=--The teacher -said: "Like all lower classes the apelings regard themselves as -supermen, who march at the head of all movements and can regulate -developments. Their god is the shaggy Pan, who had been a goat and -became a half-man, and later the Evil One, Satan, or God's opponent. -But they must be ashamed of their god, for they call themselves -atheists. Their religion is that of the Satanists. When they hear of -any good action they snort. They delight in persecuting and tormenting -anyone in whom there is any good visible, and call him a hypocrite. -Their children learn to lie as soon as they learn to talk. The greatest -poet of the apelings has written a lament over the 'Decay of lying' -and an heroic poem in six cantos in praise of unnatural vice. They -are all perverse, mostly in secret, but they betray themselves in -their writers, who write in the name of woman, and from the woman's -point of view, against man. For by confusion of sex they have lost all -distinction of sex; they have ceased to think and to feel as men. They -run like dogs with their noses on the track of the white man, in order -to bite him, that he may become like one of them. - -"There are white men who have been seduced by the females of the -apelings. The children are bastards, and their lives are a perpetual -conflict against the Satanic inheritance they have received from their -mothers. Some fight in vain; others find the Helper. There is only -One--Jesus Christ, the Exorciser of demons. You know that I was such a -bastard and fought the battle, which is not yet concluded. - -"The apelings preach toleration. By that they mean that whatever they -do must be overlooked, and that they should be left at liberty to -propagate their doctrines, while they more or less secretly persecute -the Christians. As soon as they begin to scent Christian blood they -shudder. Then they begin to excommunicate the 'heretic.' His name is -no more mentioned, and if it appears in print it is cut out. If he -formerly belonged to the body of the apelings he is now called an -apostate, and must die as a traitor. - -"When an apeling dies he obtains an apotheosis in the absence of a -pantheon. At the burial the wreaths are counted, and the inscriptions -attached to them examined; if anyone's name is missing he is -excommunicated. The ceremonial is just like that of a witches' sabbath -when the 'faithful' gave their testimony. But it may happen, when -they invoke Pan, that he answers with the reed-pipe. Then if he shows -himself in the wood or in the bedchamber, they are seized with a panic -fear; they weep like children who are afraid of the dark, or fly to -sanatoriums to be cured of their neurasthenia, their sleeplessness, and -their heart-complaints." - - -=Their Gospel=.--The teacher continued: "But the apelings -have also constructed a dogmatic theology which is a parody of -the Christian faith. They have a doctrine of reconciliation which -proclaims reconciliation with life, but it is really a compromise -with all the dirt of life which one generally wipes off on the mat at -the house-door. They teach men to be tolerant towards turpitude and -wickedness; they describe men as good fellows, as careless creatures -who are thoroughly good at bottom--'there is no malice in them.' The -really good men, who cannot do anything wicked, seemed to the apelings -puritanical. 'Why should we torment ourselves in the only life we -have?' they ask, feeling quite sure that they will be annihilated at -death, like maggots. - -"According to this distorted gospel, it is wrong to describe in a -literary work how the malicious, the liar, the deceiver, the pander -get their deserts. We should, they say, pardon the conscienceless and -obstinate. Christianity, on the other hand, teaches that we should -pardon the repentant who improve. In the apelings' gospel all the -teaching of Christ is sophisticated. In their view all Magdalenes are -interesting innocent victims of social circumstances, while Christ only -received the Magdalene who had abandoned vice." - - -=The Disposition of the Apes.=--The teacher continued: "This is -the whole kernel of Darwinism, this madness which infected the mind -of a generation which was overstrained with the pursuit of power and -luxury. But this Beelzebub could only be driven out by another. That -was Nietzsche. He was a demon let loose, who killed the ape, restored -the man, and altered the old popular estimates. He was understood -because he spoke the language of the apelings. That was the only way -to compel them to listen, for they would never have heard a Christian -prophet. But after he had his say his tongue was spiked and his tale -was over. - -"Joseph Peladan was a Christian prophet of the school of the Therapeutæ -and Essenes. The apelings feared him, and could not name his name, for -it stuck in their throats. Only the Christian upper class understood -him. His Christianity was luminous and esoteric, perhaps too luminous. -But after a pilgrimage to Christ's grave he discovered the deceit, -turned his back on the 'reconciliation with life,' and forswore the -worship of beauty which was merely the dressing up of the apes with -white sheets and ivy leaves. He ceased to be interested in the bestial -and the nude, saw through the 'joy of life' and Nora,[1] unmasked the -humbug of tolerance, and took the cross in real earnest, as it is, on -himself. Peladan was a living protest against apishness. He represented -the undercurrent, not the surface-stream. Still the undercurrent is -always ready to mount and overflow and cleanse the banks, which at the -ebb-tide have served as a place for dumping down rubbish." - - -[Footnote 1: The heroine of Ibsen's _Doll's House_.] - - -=The Secret of the Cross.=--The teacher said: "The conflict -between paganism and Christianity is now being fought out in the world. -But just as surely as Christianity preceded paganism in time, so surely -does the future belong to Christianity, although for the moment the -apelings have the upper hand. Their edict of toleration allows them in -the name of freedom to forbid the preaching of Christianity. They close -the churches, declare Judas innocent, give mad women the vote, write -heathenish schoolbooks for children, place forgers and pettifoggers in -power, for their kingdom is of this world. But it is with Christianity -as with the walnut-tree, whose fruit is knocked down with poles, and -which is roughly treated in order that it may bear fruit and thrive. -The night grows darker towards the dawn. Spinach-seed is trodden -down that it may grow better; the ground must be harrowed, broken, -and rolled in order to be able to yield a crop; gold must be refined -in fire, and flax be steeped in water. The cross points upwards, -downwards, sideways, to the four quarters of heaven at once; it is a -completion of the compass. Suffering bums up the rubbish of the soul. -I have seen a man who had suffered all the griefs endured by humanity; -yet the more he suffered the more beautiful he became. That is the -secret of the cross and of suffering. 'Because ye are not of the world, -therefore the world hateth you. In the world ye have tribulation, but -be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.'" - - -=Examination and Summer Holidays.=--The teacher said: "When, -on reaching maturity, one awakes to new consciousness and discovers -that everything one has is borrowed, one begins to cut oneself down -to the root, in order to let strike a new stem which is one's own. -When we enter old age this stem withers down to the root (the process -Swedenborg calls 'desolation'); the branches formerly cut down bloom -again and put forth new foliage which is like, and yet not like the -former. But when old and new flourish together, the whole result is -confusing; but the root remains the same and reveals the nature of -the plant. The dissonances of life increase with the years, and the -material of life becomes so immense that it is impossible to survey it -properly. Therefore one lives more in remembrance than in the present, -and along the whole line of one's experience. Sometimes I live in my -childhood, sometimes in my mature age. - -"But it is strange that one does not feel old age to be the beginning -of an end but the introduction to something new, _i.e._ when one has -recovered the belief or assurance that there is a life on the other -side. One feels as though one were preparing for an examination by -doing preliminary exercises and one becomes literally young again. -There is a little touch of examination fever with it, but also great -hopes mingled with dreams of the future. These remind us of Christmas -joys, summer holidays, family gatherings with reconciliations and -wishes fulfilled. But there is also a scent of broken-off birch-leaves -and the seashore; there is a sound of Sunday bells and organs, the -attraction of new clothes, white linen, and a bath in green sea-water. -There is a feeling like that of evening prayer and a good conscience, -wife, home, and child after a journey, the hearth-fire after a -snow-storm, the first ball and the one we loved to dance with most, -the opening of the savings-box, and first and last the examination and -the summer holidays." - - -=Veering and Tacking.=--The teacher continued: "The Theosophists -speak of the seven planes of the Kama-Loka, the condition after -death. I will admit that, in certain circumstances, I have lived -simultaneously on several planes. This was difficult for me, and -still more difficult for my enemies to understand. I should like to -have explained these contradictions in existence by a cleavage of the -personality or a multiplication of the ego. I have also sought the -solution of the riddle in the self-adaptation to one's surroundings, -to which St. Paul refers in the First Epistle to the Corinthians: 'To -the Jews I became a Jew.... To those who are under the law, I became -as under the law.... To those who are without law, I became as one -without law. To the weak I became as weak.' ... Kierkegaard speaks of -Sympaschomenos who rejoices with the joyful, mourns with the sad, is -coarse with the coarse, refined with the refined. - -"Swedenborg makes another suggestion, 'When a man is to be born again, -his desires and falsities cannot be stripped off at once, for that -would be equivalent to destroying the whole man, because as yet he -only lives in them. Therefore for a long while evil spirits are left -with him, to stir up his desires that they may be dissolved in many -ways.' - -"Formerly I believed, when I was young with the youthful, old and wise -with the old, mad with the mad, that I was doing them a service. As a -poet, I lived for the moment in their life and their moods, which I -then depicted and forgot myself. Often by these relapses into stages -I had left behind, I seemed to have worked myself higher, as the ship -tacks in order to get a more favourable wind." - - -=Attraction and Repulsion.=--The teacher continued: "There is both -an attraction and a repulsion between similar souls. Like loves like, -but not always; often the unlike seeks the unlike. A good man lamented -to me that it was his lot always to be in bad society, and never to -meet good men who could elevate him. Since he was strong he was at any -rate not drawn down, but he did not observe that he exercised a good -influence on his bad surroundings. He had, it is true, occasion to see -and to hear evil; but, on the other hand, he was able to react against -it through the disgust with which it inspired him. Without instituting -a comparison we may say that Christ did not attract people of high -position and good character, but poor devils and weak characters, the -sick, the possessed, the wicked, thieves, publicans, and harlots. His -disciples did not understand his doctrine, but interpreted it all in a -material way. He answered their reproaches by saying, 'Only the sick -need a physician.' I will suppress my former objection, for I bow -myself experimentally before 'the folly of the cross,' since experience -has taught me that wisdom can only be received by a humble mind, and -that obedience is more than sacrifice. In recent times my constant -prayer has been that I might come into good society which might elevate -me, and avoid evil companionship which, to say the least, involves an -injurious connection with the lower plane. It is in truth my fault -that those who seek me seek my old ego, and, when they do not find it, -believe that I am not to be found." - - -=The Double.=--The pupil said: "When a man begins to love a woman -he throws himself into a trance, and becomes a poet and artist. Out -of her plastic, unindividualised material he fashions an ideal form -into which he puts all that is best in himself. Thus he creates an -homunculus which he adopts as his double, and with that she lets him do -as he likes. - -"But this astral image may be also the doll which she the huntress -sets up as a decoy, while she with a loaded gun lies behind the -bush and watches for her prey. The love of a man for his homunculus -often survives every illusion; he may have conceived a deadly hatred -against herself, while his love for his double continues. But this -masquerade gives rise to the deepest dissonances and troubles. He -becomes squint-eyed by contemplating two images which do not coincide. -He wishes to embrace his cloud, but takes hold of a body; he wishes to -hear _his_ poem, but it is someone else's; he wants to see his work of -art, but it is only a model. He is happy during his trance, although -the world cannot understand him. When he awakes from his somnambulism, -his hatred to the woman increases in proportion as she fails to -correspond to his image of her. And if he murders his double, then love -is done with, and only boundless hate remains." - - -=Paw or Hand.=--The pupil said: "In Kipling's wonderful _Jungle -Book_, the boy is intimate with all kinds of animals but not with apes, -which are the worst of all creatures and composed of wickedness and -crime. When Goethe, in the second part of _Faust_, wishes to represent -phantoms and evil spirits, he uses the same masks and costumes as -for the monkeys in the Witches' Kitchen in the first part. And it is -among these degenerate brutes that man (?) now does his best to seek -his ancestry. For my part I would rather trace my origin from a noble -horse, or a sagacious and honest elephant, or from a courageous and -thankful eagle. - -"But it is probable that apes spring from degenerate men, escaped -criminals, and ship-wrecked Robinson Crusoes. The hand of the -chimpanzee is not a paw which is being evolved into a hand, but it is -a human hand which is degenerating into a paw. A palmist could read -the lines of it; a manicurist could improve it and make it capable of -wearing a glove. If man really sprang from apes, according to the law -of phylogeny, a child ought to be born with a hairy body. But now it -comes into the world as smooth as an angel, often without hairs even -on its head. It is a disgrace to me that I served the Ape-king, the -seducer of my youth! And it was so stupid!" - - -=The Thousand-Years' Night of the Apes.=--When the sun of -Christianity rose over the world, it naturally became night for the -apelings. When they turned their backs to the light, everything became -distorted for them. Right became left, east became west, good became -evil, black became white, day became night. Therefore one reads still -of their thousand-years' night, as they call the Middle Ages. When the -savage tribes of Europe became tame, when the aged and sick became -objects of pity, when governments ruled and laws protected, when -faith, hope and love, self-sacrifice and chivalry flourished, then it -was night for the pagans. When Europe received science, when Albertus -Magnus, Thomas Aquinas, Roger Bacon, Arnold, and Basilius founded -chemistry, metallurgy, and physic, their darkness increased. When -mediæval art culminated in the noblest work of art there is--the Gothic -cathedral--then it grew dark before the eyes of the giants; their ears -could not endure the chime of bells and organ-music. Finally the Middle -Ages discovered gunpowder, the compass, and printing. A religious man, -whose sails bore the sign of the cross, discovered America. But Pauli, -the disciple of Clemens Romanus, already knew "the ocean which cannot -be crossed by men, and the lands which lie behind it."[1] - -In the midst of the darkness of the heathen there was the light -of convent-schools and universities, in which spiritual as well as -worldly wisdom was taught. Poems of chivalry, romances and dramas -were composed. Charlemagne was a Christian King Solomon; he defeated -the Philistines in Saxony, built temples out of the ruins of Rome, -held learned conversations and listened to legends, cultivated the -land and gave laws. That was the brightest phase of a Europe grown -patriarchal and Christian. The gods certainly did not walk any more on -earth, but God's messengers were in constant communication with men, -and disclosed to them the secrets of God's kingdom, which were written -down in Apocalypses and, best of all, in the _Legenda Aurea_. Thomas à -Kempis's _Imitation of Christ_ was printed and is still read even by -Protestants. One can even read the Church Fathers, Augustine, Jerome, -Chrysostom; Augustine was used in my youth as a confirmation-manual. -Two hundred years before the Reformation--the schism in the Church -as it should rather be called--Dante wrote the most Christian of all -poems, which the heathen have tried to steal for themselves. Boccaccio -expounded the _Inferno_ from a professor's chair, a fitting penalty -for the trespasses of his youth. Botticelli, Lippi, Ghirlandajo were -the great religious painters of the Middle Ages. Their pupils Michael -Angelo and Raphael were devout Christians, although the heathen have -wished to appropriate them under the false designation Renaissance, -or new birth of heathenism. When at the beginning of modern times it -began to grow dusk, the dawn rose for the heathen and for "the last -Athenians." The last? There will certainly be more Athenians who will -wish to carry owls to Athens. - - -[Footnote 1: Clement, Epistle to the Romans, chap. xx.] - - -=The Favourite.=--Julian was an Illyrian, from the predatory state -composed of a mixed Phœnician race who worshipped Baal and Astarte. -He had a small head, and no occiput; he had thick lips, a beard that -swarmed with vermin, long nails and black hands with which he groped -in the bleeding bodies of slain beasts in order to prognosticate the -future from their hearts and livers. His cheerful religious services -consisted in the sacrifice of animals, and were accompanied by the -dances of immodest girls. In order to refute ancient prophecy, he -wished to build again the Temple at Jerusalem. But fire broke out of -the ground, so that the undertaking was frustrated at its commencement. -This madman once came to Antioch, where there were a hundred thousand -heathen whom he expected to receive him with public sacrifices and -dances. Instead of which he was met by a solitary priest bearing a -goose. That was all! - -This unattractive person, who has become the darling of _The Last -Athenian_[1] and the new heathen, was finally enticed into a desert. -There he suffered hunger and thirst till a lance pierced his liver. But -it is incredible that he exclaimed, "Thou hast conquered, O Galilean!" -He was far too stupid for that. - - -=Scientific Villainies.=--If anyone comes to you and says, "I -don't understand the proof for the existence of God," you should -answer, "You don't understand because your wickedness darkens your -understanding." All atheists are rascals, and all rascals are -atheists. Their intelligence is so beclogged with sin that they cannot -understand the simplest teachings of Christianity, the Incarnation and, -consequently, Immaculate Birth of God, His Resurrection and Ascension. - -When the sectaries came to Luther and said that they could not -understand him, because they had another Spirit, he answered, "I smite -your Spirit on the snout! God rebuke thee, Satan!" A godless man or a -so-called free-thinker is a rascal who permits himself everything. His -natural sympathy for scoundrels is so strong that he will swear a false -oath in order to save the guilty from condemnation by a false alibi. He -will accuse an innocent man, and persecute him from one court of appeal -to another, in order to get him into prison, and will demand a large -sum of money as a reward for his ill-doing. - -When the guilty is acquitted they give him a banquet, his companions -write odes in his honour, he is promoted and finally appointed to be -an instructor of youth. When an atheist adopts the pursuit of science, -one is sure only villainy will result. He says falsely that he has seen -such and such things under the microscope, in order to be able to write -a treatise on them. If he is an astronomer he will see as many canals -in Mars as his professor wishes. If his professor does not believe in -the canals in Mars, he will not see any. - - -[Footnote 1: _The Last Athenian_, title of a work by Victor Rydberg.] - - -=Necrobiosis, _i.e._ Death and Resurrection.=--During the -winter I found the chrysalis of a cockchafer and laid it on my -writing-table. One evening in the lamplight it began to click and -make small movements. Believing that the warmth had developed my -beetle I opened its black coffin, but found to my astonishment only -a white slime without a sign of organisation; it smelt of sour -gastric juice. This half-fluid mass, however, possessed the capacity -of movement. Later on, when I had a microscope with a large field -of view, I opened the chrysalis of a butterfly and examined it. On -a clear yellow background of fluid matter there was sketched, as it -were, the outline of the future butterfly in half-shadow, without, as -yet, any bodily organisation. That is called "necrobiosis," or the -dying-off of living tissue. And the deliquescence of the chrysalis in -slime is termed "histolysis." Its reorganisation is said to take place -by means of _corpora adiposa_, or particles of fat. More than this I -do not know. I wrote to Germany (where they are accustomed to know -everything) and asked for some works treating of the metamorphosis -of the chrysalis, but there were none on this most important and -interesting question. Father Darwin and his son Haeckel knew nothing -and wished to know nothing about the resurrection; they only knew about -birth and death. Finally I bought for five-and-twenty kroners a large -work on butterflies composed by a professor. There was not a word in -it regarding the necrobiosis of the chrysalis. But sometimes I see on -a gravestone within a church wall this symbol: caterpillar, chrysalis, -and butterfly. - - -=Secret Judgment.=--When one sees a fact repeated regularly and -under defined conditions, one believes one has discovered a law. I -think I have discovered a law, and consequently a tribunal whose -decisions we see, but whose inner working we can only guess at. I had -a relative who had reached a certain age without "ever having time" to -think of death. On the 18th January of the year 18-- he had a stroke -and fell. That was the first warning. Then he began to think about -death and the life after this, and occupied himself thus for six years; -then he died exactly on the same day, on the 18th of January. The -fact of the interval being six years made me think of Bismarck's six -years in Sachsenwald, when he sat alone and brooded on the transitory -character of greatness, and curiously enough injured his reputation -through being betrayed by vanity into making incautious revelations. -Then it occurred to me that Napoleon was six years on St. Helena, and -finally became so well "prepared" that he received the sacrament on his -death-bed. Whether Heine lay on the ground for exactly six years, with -his body wasted to the size of a child's and tormented by the fear of -losing his wife, I cannot say definitely; but it was about six. It is -well known that the pious Linnæus had to spend his last years seated in -a chair, lamed by paralysis; nor did even he escape being worried by a -quarrelsome wife, God alone knows why! - -Our great and glorious Tegner received his first warning in 1840. It -was accompanied by a condition like that described in my _Inferno,_ -during which, among other things, he saw his whole poetical work in a -depreciatory light, and even at last wished to cancel it all. After -just six years' preparation he died on November 2, 1846, in a cheerful -state of mind, the sky being lit up at the time by a splendid aurora. -Goldschmidt mentions that and still more remarkable things in his -excellent _Nemesis Divina_. I read lately how Fersen was murdered in -his carriage on June 20, 1810. I recalled to mind that it was the -same Fersen who drove the carriage in which Marie Antoinette fled to -Varennes. I referred to the _History of the World_, and found that the -flight to Varennes took place on June 20, 1791. The question arises: -"Was it a crime to wish to save the queen?" The author of the article -in the _Biographical Lexicon_ mentions the crime by name; but it was -something other than the attempt to further her escape. - - -=Hammurabi's Inspired Laws Received from the Sun-God.=--The laws -of Hammurabi occupy fifteen quarto pages. That is the whole find! And -these pages are to nullify the Bible, which is so unsearchably rich -and possesses such mysterious depths that everyone in trouble, who -with humility seeks for counsel and comfort there, finds it forthwith, -although he may first receive some blows which strike the nail on the -head! - -Hammurabi's laws in fifteen pages resemble Deuteronomy to a certain -degree, but are much more meagre; they often recall our old Swedish law -with its trivialities. For instance: "If anyone strikes out a man's -teeth, his teeth shall be struck out; but if he strikes out the teeth -of an emancipated slave, he shall pay one-eighth of a mina of silver." - -In any case God is one, and His laws are in principle the same. -The Bible may have used the same source as Hammurabi. But when the -heathen try to use the laws of the Assyrian clay tablets in order to -prove that the Bible is not inspired, they miss the mark. "Inspired" -means "received from God." See how the heathen has adorned his paltry -pamphlet with a frontispiece, which asserts, against his will, that -Hammurabi's laws were also inspired. For the frontispiece portrays -Hammurabi receiving his laws from the Sun-god. - - -=Strauss's Life of Christ.=--Now that I am sixty years old, it -occurred to me to see what sort of a book Strauss's _Leben Jesu_ is -before I depart. In my youth, in the 'sixties, we read in school (of -our own accord, however) "the last Athenian's doctrine of the Bible," -but we never succeeded in seeing the original _Life of Jesus_. And -although I have been in libraries, collected books, visited second-hand -book-stalls, I have not seen Strauss's book. It seemed as though it had -been confiscated by the Invisible Powers. Now when I am sixty, it has -arrived and I tried to read it. But I could not. - -It was simply unreadable! All these many pages contained nothing, and -what was printed seemed to me incomprehensible, soulless, dry. - -A man who writes a book about what he does not understand; a student -who has learnt the æsthetic systems by heart; a philosopher who tries -to define the beautiful; a mathematician who wants to prove or -disprove axioms; a drunken man who tries to play the flute; a feeble -foolish attempt to explain God's great miracle in the Atonement. I -threw the book away, else I should have gone to sleep over it. - -Strauss died in 1874, and in spite of the last stage of his -development, when he did not believe any more in the immortality of -the soul, he spent his last hours in reading Plato's _Phædo_, in which -at the death-bed of Socrates the immortality of the soul is so clearly -demonstrated. - -His death was like that of Socrates, his pupils said. But they do not -inform us whether the cup of poison was at hand. - - -=Christianity and Radicalism.=--Christianity is really more -radical than Radicalism. Christ turns his back on the whole of society -with its institutions, science, and art. He warns us against the -scribes; the rich are not his friends, but rather Lazarus; the rich -youth is told to sell all that he has and to give to the poor. To -soldiers Christ says, "Those who take the sword shall perish with the -sword." He says nothing about science, art, and industry because He -is indifferent to them. He has no great illusions about men, for he -calls them "a generation of vipers." And rightly; since the earth is -a prison for those who have committed crimes in heaven, we are all -rascals; but it is the prison chaplain's duty to preach pardon to those -who behave properly. To open the prison would be unwise and unlawful; -there Christianity differs from Anarchism. Give custom to whom custom -is due, and to Cæsar what is Cæsar's. Authority is ordained of God, and -beareth not the sword in vain. - -Christianity and Radicalism accordingly agree in their criticism of -society, but not in the inferences they draw. The Christian endures the -sufferings of the prison-house with religious resignation; he does not -waste valuable time in making foolish proposals regarding the reform of -prison-life and management. In order to obtain mitigation and pardon, -and to escape the dark cell and scourging, he tries to behave well, but -he does not believe that the prison can be a place of recreation. - -All that Rousseau, Max Nordau, and Tolstoi have said against the faults -of society is quite true, but their inferences are false. Socialism, -_i.e._ pagan socialism, which preached development and progress, went -its crab-like course backwards to the trade unions which had been -dissolved, limited industrial freedom, introduced inquisitorial -methods, excommunicated heretics. In the great strike non-socialists -were refused water and gas, bread and milk for children. They compelled -the contented to be discontented, made men wild and despairing, and -really made things worse, when they ought to have improved them. - -But in their pagan Radicalism they did not attain to the height of -Christianity. Unbelieving, they believed in everything that was -false--scientific fallacies, politico-economical errors, philosophical -stupidities. Into a pagan one may instil every possible falsehood and -stupidity; but for the truth in its real relations he is deaf and blind. - -To have a moderate quiet contempt of the world, to be already half out -of it, one's staff in one's hand and one's knapsack on one's back, ever -ready for departure, to have clean hands and a good conscience--that -is the way not to be easily assailable. Then one is not envied, and -suffers not from disappointments and humiliations, for one is prepared -for all, and has anticipated all in advance. - -"Vanity, Vanity," saith the Preacher. "Sow in the morning thy seed, and -in the evening withhold not thy hand, for thou knowest not which shall -succeed, or whether both alike are good." - - -=Where Are We?=--If men only knew where they are! - -The description which the ancients gave of Tartarus exactly fits our -condition in this life. The ambitious man rolls his stone up the hill -like Sisyphus, and when he has got it to the top it rolls down again. -A certain architect spent twenty-five years of his life in working and -intriguing in order to build a temple for the state. The temple was -built and consecrated, a torch-light procession was held in honour of -the architect, and he was crowned with a laurel-wreath. The next day -the newspapers informed us that the temple must be pulled down because -it was a failure. The architect died half a year afterwards in an -asylum; the temple was demolished and the architect's name forgotten -and obliterated. Tantalus, the rich miser, stands in the midst of a -spring of water, but cannot drink; branches laden with fruit hang over -his head, but when he stretches out his hand to pluck a fruit a gust -of wind comes and tears the branch away. The rich man has worked and -swindled till old age begins. Then at last, when the grouse come flying -towards him, he has no teeth left; his wine-cellar is full, but the -doctor has forbidden him wine. That is Tantalus! - -Ixion revolves on his wheel, at one moment up, at another down. The -ancients assigned as the reason of his punishment that he had boasted -of the favour of a woman who had never been his. - -The Danaides, the coquettes, are perpetually drawing water, but their -vessel is like a sieve; everything enters it, but nothing remains. - -All day long and every day one hears the expression "That is -hell!"--such is the universal view. When things look a little brighter, -the table is covered, the bed made, and we feel well again. We cheat -ourselves often with alcohol, and continue our somnambulism. Then we -are awoken by a noise, start up, rush about, weep, and then go to sleep -again. At last sleep is banished once for all, and we wake never to -sleep any more. Once we are well awake no opiates are of avail. - -Then we discover the whole cheat. We see where we are, and what our -past, which seemed so real, was. The comparatively wise man then -turns away from the phantoms and shadows of reality in order to seek -the other, the true, the actual Real. Then the state is seen to be a -prison; the defenders of the fatherland are body-snatchers; society is -a madhouse, whose warders are the officials and police; family life is -concubinage; capitalists are usurers; the fine arts are superfluities; -literature is printed nonsense; industry feeds unnecessary luxury; -railways are instruments of torture; the electric light ruins the eyes; -all the blessings of civilisation are either curses or superfluous. - -When we have seen this, we turn our backs on all and seek the only -thing that holds, that gives a real answer, that fulfils what it -promises. But this super-real fools call a phantom. - - -=Hegel's Christianity.=--There are two Voltaires: one, the mocker -at all definite religion, who is revered by the godless; the other, -the fanatical champion of God who is ridiculed by the atheists because -he believed in God as naïvely as a child. Voltaire recovered his -reason before he died, as lunatics are wont to do; when he died he was -definitely religious and took the sacrament. There are also two Hegels. -But they are more complicated than Voltaire, who was as simple as a -feuilletonist. Hegel discovered with his logic that what exists has a -right to exist; he defends the _status quo_, society, state, religion -with all their corollaries, because they have proceeded from God; -everything is right since it exists. "It belongs," he says, "to the -essence of religion that it should realise itself in several historical -religious forms. Of these, however, Christianity is the only one which -suitably expresses the essence of religion. In her doctrine of the -Trinity the Christian Church contains the nucleus of all philosophical -speculation. For this signifies nothing less than that the Eternal God, -enthroned in His majesty over the sphere of the finite, condescends -and reconciles Himself to the finite, becomes man, suffers, dies, and -returns to Himself as the Holy Spirit." That is well put; but every -schoolchild knew it already from Luther's "little catechism." For what -object then is this extraordinary accumulation of several thousand -pages of incomprehensible philosophy? To what purpose? Hegel died of -cholera in 1831, after traversing many devious ways, as a simple, -believing Christian, without any philosophy, repeating the penitential -psalms. - - -="Men of God's Hand."=--That is Kind David's expression (Ps. -xvii., 14) which he uses of the godless, to whom the Lord gave power -over His people Israel when they behaved badly. Thereby is the knotty -problem solved, why God gives the godless power, honour, and wealth, -while He often chastises His servants. - -The Pharaohs were idolaters and wizards, but God's chosen people had -to be their slaves. The Philistines worshipped Baal and Astarte, but -they were allowed to devastate Canaan and even to carry away the Ark -of the Covenant. Nebuchadnezzar was no saint, quite the contrary, but -he was permitted to carry the children of Israel into captivity. Good -men are not adapted to be instruments of chastisement, and the office -of executioner is not an enviable one. Everyone has his Egyptian armed -with a rod, whether they are called superiors, employers, customers, -the public, newspapers, or even public opinion. - -All strive for an imaginary independence or so-called freedom, while -there is no independence and no freedom. Therefore the effort is vain. -Only one thing remains--to reconcile oneself to obedience to human -authority for the Lord's sake, and to pay taxes where taxes are due. -And where one earns one's bread, one must be polite. Vex, not thyself -that thy trade and thy position are difficult; God has so appointed it. - - -=Night Owls.=--The maggot in the apple doubtless imagines that -the apple was grown for its sake, and that the world could not exist -without apples. So we also imagine that science and art are certainly -necessary. Swedenborg, in his description of another sphere, tells us -how happy men can be without such luxuries. "They know nothing of -sciences as we see them in our world, and wish to know nothing; they -call them 'shadows,' and compare them with clouds which come between -the sun and the spectator. This idea of the sciences they have derived -from certain spirits who came from our earth and introduced themselves -as those who had grown wise through science. These spirits from our -earth who made this claim belonged to those who see wisdom in such -things as are pure matters of memory, such as languages; in historical -matters, which belong to the literary world; in bare experiences and -terms, especially philosophical ones. Because these have not developed -their faculty of reasoning through science, they have in their second -life little power of perceiving the truth, for they see only in and by -means of technical terms, which like hills and thick clouds obstruct -the sight of reason. Those who have employed the sciences in order to -destroy matters of faith have their reason so thoroughly unsettled that -in pitch-darkness they take false for true, and evil for good, like -night-owls." - -The flag of the university also carries the sign of an owl, but they do -not know what it means. - - -=Apotheosis.=--When a man who has been near to us dies, he begins -to loom magnified through a kind of haze. All his less-pleasing -characteristics are obliterated, as if they were part of that dust -which is now dissolved. His better self, on the other hand, becomes -larger and clearer. It is indeed possible that the liberated spirit -becomes ennobled by death, and that therefore the survivor is right in -forming a new conception of the personality of the deceased. He with -whom the survivor now holds spiritual intercourse is perhaps what the -survivor feels him to be, and has ceased to be what he was in life. -It is almost invariably the case that the survivor torments himself -with reproaches that he has been guilty of some neglect towards the -dead, has done him slight injustices and spoken hard words. Even the -coldest-hearted begs the dead secretly for forgiveness--forgiveness -for all even when it was hardly ill-meant. All this seems to signify -that the dead one is alive, and has need of kindly thoughts as a -compensation for the reproaches he makes himself regarding those he has -left behind. - - -=Painting Things Black.=--There are men who anticipate their -troubles, hoping thereby to neutralise or to bribe destiny. But that is -a mistaken calculation. I know of an author who saw a great calamity -approaching and tried to _write_ it away. He composed a drama on that -theme, and hoped thereby to have escaped it. Soon afterwards, however, -it arrived and the effect was as strong as though it had never been -written about, perhaps even more. - -Theosophists say that we can create thought-forms which assume life and -reality. They mean that men can send from a distance evil suggestions -which others carry out. Thus criminal romances have never deterred -anyone from crime; they have on the contrary given scoundrels bright -ideas for new pieces of rascality. I actually know of a society novel -which criticised bank and joint-stock company frauds, with the result -that such frauds increased. It is as though one let loose demons. - -Therefore it is dangerous merely to think evil of men; one may do them -harm thereby. But what a supernatural effort is necessary always to -see good where so little is to be found! And when we try our best we -find that we have played the hypocrite. It is almost hopeless to hold -the balance level when it is a matter of judging men justly, for human -nature is evil and cannot be altered. - - -=The Thorn in the Flesh.=--Whence come evil and ugly thoughts -which start up in our most beautiful moments, in the hour of devotion, -and even in prayer? We wish to ignore them; we have the impression -that they come from without. But it is possible that they are born of -the habit of letting evil thoughts have free course in silence and -solitude. Still it is mysterious that the greater the height to which -we have attained by striving, the deeper we fall. And I can testify -from my own experience that it is at the very time of renunciation -and self-discipline that one is most liable to unclean thoughts and -imaginations. St. Anthony and other saints are examples of this. - -A great sorrow, for instance, the longing for a lost child, is the -quickest and best means of burning away the rubbish. But often, alas! -on the sorrow there follows a boisterous joy which is not of the -noblest kind. Immediately after our noblest moods, when we have been -inspired by the most beautiful thoughts and purposes, it is possible in -the next moment to feel like a coxcomb. - -It is not strange that the ancients believed in demons who whisper into -one's ear and suggest impure imaginations. Possibly this was St. Paul's -thorn in the flesh, which pricked him so that he should not be too much -uplifted. - - -=Despair and Grace.=--When in youth one sought to conquer evil -desires, and even harmless ones, with the severest scourge provided by -religion, and then saw that one could not change one's vices, one let -go of the reins and life went as it went. Work was the chief occupation -of middle life, and there was no time to think of one's soul. Life -itself moulded one's character, and one threw a bone to the dog--the -flesh in order to be able to work in peace. - -Then when in old age we come to reflect, and at sixty find that we have -remained very much the same, we wish to begin our spiritual education, -but with indifferent success. We had hoped that certain desires would -disappear and certain virtues take their place by a kind of natural -necessity, as we had believed when young. But, alas! that is not the -case. When now we again resume the struggles of our youth the case is -thus. We have raised our standard higher, and wish to root out all the -weeds. What formerly seemed quite natural--envy of a fellow-worker, -revenge on an enemy, pride in success, exultation at a foe's downfall, -a small white lie--we now find hateful. And so we begin to struggle -against the outward manifestations of these things. But when we find -the inner evil just as strong as before, we finally regard ourselves as -great hypocrites and are ready to despair. - -Where is comfort to be found then? Religion only asserts that we are -hypocrites, and our fellow-men regard it as a fact. Absolute despair -seizes us. What follows then? Grace! It becomes clear to us that -everything is grace, and from grace. And that we have been living on -the bread of charity which we believed we had earned. - - -=The Last Act (From the life of a leader of the -"Renaissance").=--The final act is the most important one in a -drama, and a dramatist generally begins his work at the end. We sit -out a long evening at the theatre in order to see the last act or "how -it will go." But in the significant lives of certain men people like -to ignore the last act, because it is uncomfortable and might show -how the godless fare at last. He who wrote the operetta _Boccaccio_ -had to append the last act to it; the jovial Florentine became a -priest and delivered lectures on Dante's _Hell_, though he only -reached the seventeenth canto. Voltaire's last hours, when he took -the sacrament, might furnish a subject for a tragedy like the second -part of _Faust_. Heine announced his conversion, which took place -in 1851, in the preface to the _Romancero_: "I have returned to God -like the prodigal son, after I had fed swine with the Hegelians for -a long time." This preface should be printed before every collection -of Heine's poems. Hegel singing penitential psalms on his death-bed -might form the subject of a fresco painting for the entrance-hall of -Berlin University. But the most affecting final act is Oscar Wilde's -description of his prison life in _De Profundis_. He was the so-called -renaissance leader, who disinterred heathenism with its false worship -of beauty, which contains the foulest of all. Kierkegaard[1] would have -called him the æsthete, the Sybarite cold as cast iron, the egoist -round whose petty "I" the whole world was to revolve in order to -understand him alone. Many, led astray like him by the seducing spirits -of his youth, remained fairly free from public punishment. Wilde -seems to have been picked out to furnish a startling example, for his -position, at any rate in his own country, was almost that of an idol. - -What he wrote lacks originality; it is whipped-up foam; glazing which, -when washed off, leaves no texture; it is as restless as cross-lights, -or like a mirror in a public restaurant, in a labyrinthine hall with -deceptive lines and false perspectives; it runs out of the hand like -albumen or frog-spawn; it is perverse as in _Dorian Gray_, the hero of -which should have lost his youth by nightly excesses, while on the -contrary it is only his portrait which changes. - -The last act was played, and that outdid all horror, was so horrible -that Wilde himself could not describe its details, which, however, oral -tradition has preserved in a Swedenborgian legend. - -_De Profundis_ arouses pity and fear, and one would gladly acquit the -man who was perhaps the victim of his delusion; a worldly tribunal -would not have judged him if he had not himself appealed to it, and -that indeed for a wrong done him. It was what our renaissance-critic -called a "piece of stupidity" when he made Wilde out to be a martyr of -"hypocrisy," as he called justice. Wilde however seems to have taken -another view of the matter to his impartial defender: "A day in prison -on which one does not weep is a day on which one's heart is hard, not -a day on which one's heart is happy. Once I had put into motion the -forces of society, society turned on me and said: 'Have you been living -all this time in defiance of my laws, and do you now appeal to those -laws for protection? You shall have those laws exercised to the full.' -A man's very highest moment, I have no doubt at all, is when he kneels -in the dust and beats his breast and tells us all the sins of his life." - -The "joy of life" whose perfume he had inhaled at Oxford through -Pater's _Renaissance_ now began to grow sour. - -"Clergymen and people who use phrases without wisdom sometimes talk of -suffering as a mystery. It is really a revelation. - -"Behind joy and laughter there may be a temperament coarse, hard, -and callous. Pain, unlike pleasure, wears no mask. There are times -when sorrow seems to me to be the only truth. The secret of life is -suffering." - -Let us add that Wilde derived his most dangerous doctrine from -Baudelaire and Shakespeare's sonnets. And let us close with the new -view of the Renaissance which he attained to in prison: "To me one of -the things in history the most to be regretted is that the Christ's -own renaissance which has produced the Cathedral at Chartres, the -Arthurian cycle of legends, the life of St. Francis of Assisi, the art -of Giotto, and Dante's _Divine Comedy_, was not allowed to develop on -its own lines, but was interrupted and spoiled by the dreary classical -Renaissance." - - -[Footnote 1: Danish theologian.] - - -=Consequences of Learning.=--As soon as a man buries himself in -books he gets black nails and dirty cuffs, forgets to wash, to comb his -hair, and to shave. He neglects his duties towards life, society, and -men; loses spiritual capacities, becomes absent-minded, short-sighted, -wears glasses, and takes snuff in order to keep himself awake. He -cannot follow a conversation with attention, cannot interest himself in -other people's affairs, does not see the face of the earth by day nor -the stars by night. Behind his desire to investigate lies the insidious -ambition to master his material, to become an authority, to tyrannise, -to make a career for himself, and to receive distinctions. - -If men only reflected what tyrants they obey--these black magicians who -are called professors; who settle what we are to think and believe; -who test and examine, reject and choose; who form committees, write -handbooks, deliver lectures, and bestow prizes on those who accept -_their_ hypotheses. - -And has it ever occurred to a student to criticise his teacher? No; he -swallows everything uncritically. But if he goes into a church where -he hears God's own word revealed by way of intuition to the prophets, -then he begins to exercise his critical faculty; then he finds it -very difficult to comprehend the simplest things; then he wants -mathematical certainty, which he considers the highest while it is -really the lowest. - -Swedenborg says in one place: "Though goodness and truth are sent down -through the heavens, when they reach the hells they are changed into -evil and falsity; the brilliant light of the sun changes into ugly -colours and its warmth becomes an evil odour." - - -=Rousseau.=--In my youth I read of an Englishman who shot himself -because life was so wearisome. He had counted the buttons which he -had to unbutton and button up every day--in his under-clothing half -a dozen, in his day-shirt half a dozen, in his collar and cuffs half -a dozen, in his waistcoat, trousers, and coat a dozen, in his boots, -gaiters, and gloves two dozen. When he wanted to ride out he had to -change, as he had also to do for dinner and the evening. - -This story, though absurd, reveals the naked truth. Life has become -so burdensome, and half the day is spent in useless occupations: -unnecessary visits, telephoning, writing letters about nothing, -reading the papers; especially in making one's toilette which formerly -consisted of a becoming mantle fastened with a single cord, but has -now developed into a whole set of things with buttons, hooks, eyes, -strings, ribbons, needles, buckles. Our toilettes are a miniature -picture of our civilisation with all its time-wasting fussiness, most -of which is useless nonsense. The man who lives in the country and -cultivates the ground needs neither art, science, nor literature. He -who has nature needs no art, and religion is more than science and -literature. There are churches everywhere, but museums, theatres, -book-shops, and clubs only in the towns. Whether they are necessary is -another question. - -That is Rousseau! - - -=Rousseau Again.=--In Southern France I once saw some half-wild -Arab horses running loose in a meadow. They still had their long tails -to hide what is not beautiful and to protect them against the stings of -insects. They seemed well adapted to their purpose, but they were more -than useful: they were beautiful. And when I contemplated the lines in -these beautiful creatures' bodies--the curve of the withers such as -is not found in geometry, its continuation along the back and loins; -the noble construction and movements of the hind-legs; the proportions -of the shank below the knee tapering down to the hoof, which leaves -on the sand graceful prints like Moorish arches--and when the proud -creatures sped over the meadow in full gallop with movements like -that of a sailing-boat on the waves, then the curves played into new -harmonies and changed their form, tail, mane, and forelock floated like -draperies about the body, and I thought "All that is certainly adapted -for running, but it is much more, it is beautiful; it has not come -to be of itself, but it is created by a Contriver, a wise and great -Artist." It is, however, more than a work of art, for it has life and -individuality, and no two horses are exactly alike. Then I thought -of the attempts of men to "improve" this masterpiece, of the English -race-horses--those machines! In this process of selection they have -chosen the ugliest, docked their tails, robbed them of their fairest -ornament, placed an apelike jockey on their backs in order to make -money by racing. To this caricature men have degraded the beautiful -gift of God. - -Anyone who has learnt at school to draw a horse knows how difficult -it is to make these lines harmonise, and fall and rise in the right -places; to draw the head not too large and not too small, but exactly -proportioned; to bring the forepart and the loins into symmetrical -relations with each other; to make the neck slope gently into the fine -curve of the back. It was the work of many days merely to copy the -outline correctly. Raphael could not draw a horse; his Attila rides on -a rocking-horse. One is often inclined to agree with Rousseau when he -says everything which comes from the hand of the Creator is perfect, -but when it falls into the hands of man it is spoiled. - - -=Materialised Apparitions.=--I have never seen it, but it is said -to be a fact that in hypnotic seances those who are present produce -from the half-etherialised substance of the medium a kind of being -which is visible and leads an apparitional life, so long as the circle -keeps together. Such among others was Professor Crookes' "Katie King." - -But what causes me to believe this is a matter of everyday experience. -Men create their idols out of nothing, and by means of their -imagination fashion their fellow-men, both living and dead, into -something quite different to what they really are. These creations -naturally partake of their own substance and are after their own -likeness. Sometimes they create something really great, sometimes a -monster, a demigod, or a devil. - -We often see that hatred against one person is, so to speak, polarised -and converted into love towards his antagonist. A great unpopularity -is, in the person of another, changed into a great popularity. The -reward which should have been given to the worthiest is given to the -unworthy, in order to crush the deserving. - -At the award of a famous prize one who was uninitiated lately asked: -"Why did not X get the prize?" - -"Because Y was to have it," was the answer. - -Fifteen years ago a very remarkable book of 650 pages was published. -It obtained no notice in the press. But at the same time a wretched -pamphlet received all the praise which the large book ought to have -had. When I read the reviews of the paltry pamphlet I thought I was -reading those of the book, for the subject-matter was the same. - -Recently an important post was filled up, connected, let us say, with -road-making and hydraulic structures. The person who received it was -a very remarkable man. Public opinion (though not private) regarded -him as the most deserving and suitable candidate. He passed for a -distinguished engineer, thoroughly up in his profession, was said to -be well off, an able organiser, diligent and considerate towards his -subordinates. - -Now it is to be remarked that the man was nothing of all that; he had -never made roads or constructed hydraulic works, but left that to -his skilful assistants; he did not know his profession; he neglected -what he had in hand; he was not to be found in his office, for he -played cards and spent the nights in carousing. He was hard towards -his employees, managed so badly that he never knew the state of his -affairs, and was careless in money matters. - -How then had he come to be elected? Some said he had been chosen in -order to punish and humble the conceited engineers who had become -unpopular. Others thought that the intention was that he should come to -grief and be ruined because he was feared and hated. - -However that may be, he was a materialised apparition created by the -hate, envy, and malignity of the crowd; he had become an idea, a -lucky rascal, a ruthless man whose elevation was necessary in order -to still the tumult. He was like a crude mass of ore which stood for -four hundred years in the market-place and was supposed to represent -Justice, but was really the counterfeit presentment of a thievish -alderman foisted in by the burgomaster. - - -=The Art of Dying.=--The wish for power is said to be a -fundamental condition of the existence of the ego, without which a -man would perish, as he could not resist the pressure of others. So -we were taught by the seducing spirits of our youth. But Swedenborg -says the thirst for power comes from hell, and Balzac speaks of the -galley-slaves of ambition who can never rest. Dante has a fine verse -regarding the fate of the great painters: one must retire in order to -make place for another; he passes into the shadow and is forgotten. - -Even when it is unjust, as it often is, one must acquiesce in being -relegated to the back-ground, for men get tired even of the best and -desire change. A great name becomes oppressive, is felt as a tyranny, -and hinders others from also making great names for themselves. -Napoleon and Bismarck saw this clearly, for both said beforehand that -the world would give a sigh of relief when they were gone. But, in -order to depart content, we require religious resignation, complete -irrevocable withdrawal from the world. Such as Charles the Fifth's -retirement into a monastery. To receive a "benefit" on one's retirement -and then to reappear on the stage is not becoming. If one considers -oneself dead to the world and takes no notice of it, then a new life -begins, but on the other side; it is a much more peaceful one, for it -is the resurrection from the dead already here! Beethoven was vexed -that the Viennese were ungrateful and forgetful when Rossini appeared -and brought again in fashion the Italian opera, which Beethoven, -had devoted his life to extirpate. Beethoven however, was a hard, -selfish, and very proud man, who was accordingly literally tormented -out of life, in great matters and in small. Increasing deafness, a -disagreeable lawsuit, a mad young relative, domestic scandal, illnesses -troubled his last years; he had even to be exposed to the undeserved -ridicule of underlings. Thus, well prepared, he turned his back on -life, and departed from all without missing anything. - -So it should be, in order that nothing should bind one either with -longing or with hope, in order that on the other side of the river one -may not look back but go straight forward. - -The object of the trials of old age is to adjust accounts, to finish -up unsettled affairs, to see through the cheat of life, and to become -weary of the incomplete, so that no backward longings may disturb the -repose of the grave. - - -=Can Philosophy Bring any Blessing to Mankind?=--Such was the -title of a pamphlet written in the 'sixties by a teacher of philosophy, -Pontus Wikner. The question was justified; how it was answered I do -not remember, but the answer must have been evasive, for the writer -of the pamphlet was a professor. If he had said that all philosophy, -especially systematic philosophy, was rubbish, his career would have -been at an end. - -When, in 1870 at the university, I wished to study æsthetics, the -professor of the subject sent me to the lecturer in order to take -lessons. As he sat there and talked for hours by the light of a -composite candle, I tried to decipher the furrowed brow of the pale -man and to ascertain whether he really understood what he taught, or -whether he only taught by rote. But I could not see through him and I -despaired, for I understood nothing, and I cannot learn by heart what I -do not understand. That would be humbug. - -About forty years later I met the professor who was now pensioned, and -consequently no longer a member of the college of augurs. Then I asked -him whether he had ever mastered æsthetics? - -"Good gracious, no! That is why I sent you to the lecturer." - -"Did he understand them then?" - -"I don't think so. But he had a good memory." - -Then after all it was not my fault, and I was not more stupid than the -rest. - -Anyone who reads a short history of philosophy, and observes how one -system replaces and refutes another, must be inclined to say, "Surely -it is time to make an end of this drivel!" For the whole history of -philosophy proves that thought cannot solve these problems, or that -they cannot be solved by constructing a system of philosophy. The -few philosophers, on the other hand, who have limited themselves to -reflections on the variegated medley of life as seen in man, politics, -and nature, have been of some use, but they are hardly counted -philosophers. One can read fragments of Plato with interest, and also -the unappreciated Schopenhauer, especially in his least-valued work -_Parerga and Paralipomena_, but not in his systematic treatise _The -World as Will and Idea_. Kierkegaard is not regarded as a philosopher, -nor are Feuerbach and his pupil Nietzsche, but they are extraordinarily -instructive. All who construct an empty system with facts are fools. -Such is Boström, who tries to subtilise conceptions, analyse ideas, and -classify and arrange God, man, and human life under heads. - -The history of philosophy is the history of errors, the history of -lying, for nearly all philosophers are disguised rebels against God and -opponents of religion. Philosophy is a history of falsehood, and since -it has demonstrated its own absurdity, all professorships of philosophy -should be abolished. For a Christian state frustrates its own aims and -is foolish if it supports a teacher of error and falsehood. - -If for once in a way a philosopher is religious, people give him the -contemptuous name of "mystic," although very few know what mysticism is. - -In one professorial chair sits an Hegelian and preaches Hegel's -pantheism as the truth, and in another sits a Boströmian and pulls -Hegel to pieces. But the student must be examined by both, and give -his adherence to both systems together. That is the higher education, -academic culture, and learning in its glory! - -The mass of people believe that all which is difficult to understand is -deep, but it is not so. What is difficult to understand is immature, -vague, and often false. The highest wisdom is simple, clear, and goes -through the brain straight into the heart. Set a philosopher on the -grave where his earthly hopes lie buried, and let him discourse of -Herbert Spencer and the blastoderm! Place a philosopher in the Privy -Council, and let him have a share in the conduct of the state! Ask a -philosopher to write a drama, to paint a picture, or even to teach -school-children, and he is useless. "Philosopher" is synonymous with -superannuated donkey! Away with him! - - - -=nd when he complained that the Apocryphal books were missing, Goethe -said among other things: "It is superfluous to raise the question -of authentic or unauthentic in matters of the Bible. I regard the -four gospels as completely genuine, for in them shines the reflected -splendour of the lofty personality of Christ, as divine as anything -which has appeared on earth. If any one asks me whether I find it -possible to pay him worship and reverence, I answer, 'Certainly!'" - -Then there follows some Voltairian talk about the sun and religious -relics, about priestcraft and bishops' incomes, which belonged to the -bad tone of the time. These stupid free-thinkers could not imagine -how three could be equivalent to one, and therefore they stumbled at -the doctrine of the Trinity. Did they not know that three thirds are -equivalent to one, and that one is equivalent to three thirds? Or was -their reason so darkened by pride? Or did they not know that spiritual -things must be spiritually judged; that the Highest cannot be reached -by the highest mathematics? For neither Laplace nor Poincaré, who -busied themselves with the "Mécanique céleste," reached heaven, much -less God. - - -="Now we Can Fly too! Hurrah!"=--A friend of my youth, who two -weeks ago died in a distant place, wrote on his last postcard to me -these words, "Now we can fly too! Hurrah!" He was a pagan, _i.e._ an -atheist, and this last word "Hurrah!" was an expression of scorn and a -threat against heaven. - -Every gift of God is regarded by the pagans as a victory over God. They -always think that _they_ have made the discovery, and they still build -at the Tower of Babel, the truth of whose story they deny, for they are -lying spirits. - -When the pious Franklin drew down lightning with his damp twine, -he trembled and thanked God that He had not killed him. But when -the godless physicists imitated Franklin, and wished to store the -lightning in laboratory bottles, they were slain. People do indeed make -lightning-conductors nowadays, but they are not always efficacious even -when the conduction is right. Only imagine!--a man receives a gift, and -as a mark of gratitude puts out his tongue! Every time that God gives -something, irreligious science celebrates a triumph--that is, puts out -its tongue! - -That is the nature of science! And it seems as though it were still at -present forbidden to touch the tree of knowledge, for the transgression -of the prohibition is always accompanied by ingratitude and a curse. - - -=The Fall and Original Sin.=--In these times when the ape-morality -rules, it is considered up-to-date to change the doctrine of vicarious -satisfaction for that of heredity. The blame for our faults is put -on our parents, especially, as might be expected, on the father. But -when the father was alive, he put the blame on his father, and so on -till we come to our first parents. That is indeed just like what the -Bible teaches about the Fall and original sin, and ought to confirm the -teaching of religion, but of course that cannot be! - -That is the doctrine of heredity. But whence comes it? Where is -the starting-point? Since everyone nowadays feels burdened with -evil impulses and disease germs which he has inherited, and all our -predecessors have felt the same, the only thing left is to lay the -blame on our first parents. - -How then is one to get rid of guilt--the consciousness of guilt and the -evil impulses? - -Christ answers more simply than the theologians who represent the work -of grace as an examination course. "To-day shalt thou be with Me in -Paradise," He said to the thief who confessed that he suffered for his -evil deeds; but He did not say so to the other who reviled Him. - -Generally speaking, one should take one's doctrine straight from the -Gospels, which are simpler, greater, diviner than other writings. -Devotional books are like the higher mathematics, mixed, complicated, -and affected with human weaknesses. - - -=The Gospel.=--All boast of the "Gospel," but they mean this -joyful message--the abrogation of civic laws and the opening of -the jails; in a word, immunity from punishment for themselves and -more stringent regulations for others. That was the Renaissance -morality preached at the conclusion of the Middle Ages as at the -end of our century. They wished to enlighten mankind by proclaiming -that everything is lawful (against others), and that if one only -"understood" men, one would forgive them. "He does not understand," was -the formula in common use. Were I now to enumerate all the victims of -this gospel, which we had to learn, people would cry "Scandal!" Then -they would proceed to explain the tragedies on natural grounds, such as -neurasthenia, infection, heredity (but not from our first parents); the -unfortunate Englishman,[1] they say, was wrongfully imprisoned, because -society consists of hypocrites; not because of his own sin, for it was -not his own sin: there is no sin. - -Every suggestion that there are misdemeanours which draw down the -unpleasant consequences, which are called punishments, is taken ill. - -Five years ago I heard one of these evangelists exclaim, "Morality! -that is a word which I cannot take in my mouth." This saying was often -quoted. - -But shortly afterwards the same gentleman set heaven and hell in motion -because a pupil had used a statement in one of his lectures to base a -treatise on. This innocent proceeding the "evangelist" stigmatised as -theft, and he wished to annihilate the thief. - -The young man answered quite rightly that in that case people ought -to be punished for "stealing" their knowledge out of manuals without -acknowledgment, or that if they gave chapter and verse for every -statement, a treatise would look like this: "Sum, 'I am' (Rabe's -Grammar, 6th edition, Stockholm, 1858), called an auxiliary verb -(_Sundelin Schwedische Sprachlehre_, Örebro, 1901), which indicates the -passive voice (Sjoberg, _Logic_, Upsala, 1895)," and so on. - -This gentleman was a very severe moralist, although he could not take -the word morality in his mouth. - - -[Footnote 1: Oscar Wilde.] - - -=Religious Heathen.=--Hardly anywhere are there such religious -men as the Orientals. Five times a day the _muezzin_ calls from each -minaret in eastern lands: "God is great! I bear witness that there is -no God but God! I bear witness that Muhammed is the Apostle of God! -Come to prayer! Come to salvation! God is great! There is no God but -God!" Early in the morning they cry in addition, "Prayer is better -than sleep." On the streets and market-places, in the shops and inns, -everywhere one is summoned to prayer. - -Is it not impressive to see a whole people, of whom not one is ashamed -of his God--not one! A people among whom, five times a day, this joyful -message comes from the Lord, the All-Merciful, who "has not forsaken -and has not repulsed thee!" And is it not uplifting in the midst of -the severe and squalid tasks of every day to hear a voice from above -witnessing, without attempting to convince, that God is God? Anything -so perverse and stupid as free-thinking and atheism does not exist in -the Orient. If anyone attempted to assert such an abominable tenet as -the non-existence of God, he would be imprisoned or put to death. And -if anyone came and tried to close the mosques ... but no one comes, for -the mosques are never empty: - - "By the splendour of the day, - By the darkness of the night, - Thy Lord hath not forsaken thee, - Neither hath He repelled thee."--_Koran_. - -That is the implicit and childlike faith which Christian heathen called -"intolerance," "fanaticism," and so on. - - -=The Pleasure-Garden.=--If the inexperienced man knew how much -suffering a separation between a married pair involves, he would -reflect before taking such a step. The two souls have so grown into -each other, that the dissolution of the duplex personality which they -form is the most painful operation possible. It is a kind of death. - -When one uproots the weeds round a flower, the flower fades -away--partly because its roots are injured, partly because it has -been deprived of shade, moisture, and support, or perhaps merely -companionship. - -The sorrow in this case resembles that which follows on a death, but -is not so uplifting and ennobling. The image of the separated wife -is always present to one's eyes, and becomes idealised in memory; -ugly traits are obliterated, one begins to reproach oneself, there -is a painful emptiness and longing; one's soul is tom in pieces by -her departure; she has carried off its finest-fibred roots, and one -feels as though bleeding to death. One can no more exchange common -recollections. The loss of the illusions of the first springtide of -love shatters one's faith in everything. A cry of mourning rings -through the universe as though an irreparable crime had been committed, -such as the sin against the Holy Ghost. Love, God's creative power, the -sun's warmth that fills the heavens, the origin of life has ceased to -exist. Chaos and darkness resume their reign. It is a spiritual death, -without comfort and without hope. - -Nevertheless something remains, if there ever was something there. And -though both may marry again, there is a recollection of the former tie. -It cannot be as though it had not been, nor be forgotten. However -unpleasant the relationship may have been, still in its best hours it -resembled something which is not to be found on earth. In its glorious -beginning it was a Garden of Eden, such a heightening of existence -that one felt nearer God. That was no optical delusion, but a higher -reality. Then came the Fall and the expulsion. But the memory of the -first joy remains, and it is true that a real love never ends. - -People ask whether it continues on the other side even when inclination -has "changed its object." Probably some of it remains, but in an -incomprehensible way, even if one were to suppose that the personality -is resolved into several "monads," of which one seeks a similar one, -and another another; and what is called love can here become friendship. - -According to Plato's doctrine of reminiscence and the reincarnation -theory of the theosophists, one might believe that when two fall in -love it is only a meeting again. And all the beauty which they then -see round them is the reflection of the memories of some far beautiful -land where they have met before, but which they now remember for the -first time. The continual illusions of love would then be connected -with experiences on the other side, which now come up in memory from -the side where all is completion and beauty. Therefore we have such -a terrible awakening from our dreams of happiness when we find that -everything down here is distorted, everything a caricature, even love -itself. - - -=The Happiness of Love.=--Even though earthly love be a caricature -or bad copy of the heavenly it has some traits of resemblance to its -prototype. In the first spring-days of love there are elevated moments, -in which one compassionates other mortals who are not so happy. We -tremble for our blessedness, finding it not quite just; yet it is -possible even to wish for a misfortune to rectify the balance. - -There was a dramatist who became engaged, and at the same time had just -celebrated his greatest triumph on the stage. The ground seemed to sway -under his feet, the air caressed his face, men paid him homage on the -streets; he felt hardly on earth, as he was beloved by the woman whom -he loved. - -Then there came the crash of a failure! All his former merits were -forgotten; he was called a noodle and a charlatan. But he was so happy -in his love that he did not feel the blow. He felt, on the contrary, -an inner joy that misfortune had drawn him and his fiancée closer -together; he was so high that he did not grudge men the joy of pulling -him down a little. His fame had begun to bore them; now that he was -down, he found sympathy, while formerly he had been the object of envy. - -That was the miracle of love! It made him so little self-seeking, that -on behalf of men he suffered under his oppressive fame and his great -happiness. - - -=Our Best Feelings.=--Life is not beautiful; on its animal, -domestic, and business sides it brings us into so many ugly situations. -Life is cynical since it ridicules our nobler feelings and flings scorn -on our faith. Therefore it is difficult to use fine words in the stress -of every-day; one hides one's better feelings in order not to expose -them to ridicule. One might therefore say that men are partly better -than they appear to be. One is forced to play the sceptic in order -not to perish, and one is made cynical by the cynicism of life. It is -therefore unjust to call men hypocrites in a bad sense, for most men, -on the contrary, make themselves out worse than they are. - -When a man writes a letter to an intimate friend, or to the woman he -loves, he puts on his festive dress; that is befitting. And in the -quiet letter, on the white paper, he expresses his best feelings. The -tongue and the spoken word are so vulgarised by everyday use, that they -cannot say aloud the beautiful things which the pen says silently. - -It is not posing or attitudinising, it is not falsity when one exhibits -in correspondence a better soul than in everyday life. The lover is not -untrue in his love-letters. He does not make himself out better than he -is; he becomes better, and _is_ so for the passing moment. He is true -at such moments, the greatest which life grants us! - - -=Blood-Fraternity.=--Blood-fraternity used to be sealed with a -sacred ceremonial--the mingling of blood. "The life of the soul is -in the blood," says the Old Testament; and it is probable that there -was something mysterious in it which we do not understand, as in all -sacraments, which we understand as little. - -An old saga tells us that Torger and Tormod had mingled their blood and -had fought battles and won victories together. But one day, when Torger -was intoxicated by success, he carelessly remarked to his brother, -"Which of us, do you think, would prove the better man if we ventured -on a conflict?" - -"I don't know," answered his brother, "but I know that your question -makes an end of our living together. I will not remain with you any -more." - -"I did not seriously mean that we should try our strength on one -another." - -"But it came into your mind, since you said it." He departed, and their -tie of brotherhood was at an end. The narrator adds, "The bond of their -friendship was so fragile, that it could not bear the touch of an -over-hasty thought." - -Marriage is a blood-bond and more--it is a sacred transaction. It is so -tender and so fragile, that a hasty word--a joke, as one calls it--can -make an end of it for the whole of life. It is no use afterwards to -say, "It was only a jest." We have the answer of the mediæval Norse -poet Tormod, "It came into your mind." "Long years must pay for the -wrong of a second." - -And then, "Which of us two do you think would prove the master?" As -soon as a married pair conceive their relation as a struggle for -power, while it is just the contrary, hell comes into the house. The -woman has an inclination to rule. But if, in her defence, I say that -this inclination is her way of reacting against the suppressing, not -oppressive, man (for such a one I have never seen), I hope I shall not -have to repent it. - -"If we ventured on a conflict!" Yes, then it is as if one drew a weapon -on oneself, or as if a kingdom were divided. Every blow which one -deals, strikes one's own heart. - -Cicero says that friendship is only possible between friendly equals. -Swedenborg says that marriage is impossible between godless people. -I am convinced of it; for without contact with God, who is the -Fountain-head of love, no stream of illumination can flow from the -Eternal. I have described the marriage of godless people. I have -suffered for doing so, but I do not regret it, and do not recall a -word. It is as I said. The devout do not describe their marriages, and -they write neither dramas nor romances; literary history which mostly -deals with irreligious books, should take notice of that. - - -=The Power of Love.=--In France there lives a marquis who is an -occultist. Endowed by nature with a sensitive type of soul, refined by -education, protected by wealth against the brutality of life, purified -by suffering and renunciation, he entered into contact with the higher -forms of existence, which the theosophists call "the astral plane." -His sensitiveness was elaborated to such a pitch, that he became a -medium, and could enter into touch with friends at a distance. - -Then he met a woman belonging to the same spiritual sphere, a -transparent airy figure, whose steps were inaudible, whose words were -rather to be apprehended than heard. - -This married pair were so united, that each was, as it were, born in -the other. He carried her heart about in him literally. When, on a -journey to some relatives, she was frightened by a shying horse and had -a fit of palpitations, he felt it in his breast, and his heart stood -still for a moment when she fainted. Similarly, when he once pricked -himself with a needle, she felt it. They lived in each other, were each -other's children and each other's parents. - -Then she died. He nearly died too, did die perhaps, and rose again. And -now he speaks with her, hears her voice in his heart, literally, not in -a figure. - -I do not doubt it at all, for I have had a similar experience, and -much, much more. - - -=The Box on the Ear.=--I was thirty years old, and life was mine -for the first time after I had lain in the potato-cellar and shot out -white rootlets instead of growing. I had secured a home, wife, and -child, and was my own master. After I had done the day's task I used -to invite friends in; I call them "friends" because they got on well -with me and I with them. We did no harm; we played like children with -words and sounds; we disguised ourselves in order to look more fine; we -composed and delivered speeches. I think no one would grudge me these -hours. - -But soon there was something of satiety in it; we had wounded the -dignity of sacred sleep; the wine turned sour in the glasses. One night -towards morning, in a cheerful circle, at a full table, my high spirits -broke bounds, since fortune had given me everything at once, and I -uttered a word which a married man should not utter. I immediately -received a box on the ear from a strong hand. I found it quite natural, -and continued what I was saying, but in another and better tone. No one -took notice of what had happened; all went on as before; and we all -parted as friends. - -He who gave me the buffet was a bachelor of not superfine morals. If he -had disapproved my point of view, it must have been a very low one. - -For several days I had a blue mark on my cheek. My wife said nothing, -only one of my friends let fall a remark, "How could you put up with -that?" - -"I must have felt that I deserved it! Otherwise I cannot explain it." - -Now, when I am sixty years old, I wish that I had received several such -boxes on the ear, for the first was no use. Recognising that, I feel -that it was a great piece of good-fortune that I was able to confess -it. And now I should like to live twenty years more, in order to forget -my slowness to learn, with its sad consequences. - - -=Saul, Afterwards Called Paul.=--Saul was standing by when -Stephen was stoned, or, at any rate, kept the clothes of those who -stoned him. He also persecuted Christ and the Christians. The question -is often, almost constantly asked, "Had he a right, later on, to be -severe against those who threw the stones?" One can only answer with an -unconditional "Yes," for he wished to make good the wrong he had done; -and it was his duty to speak with his new tongue. But he is honourable -and courageous enough to remind his hearers that he does not regard -himself as an exception. He calls himself "the chief of sinners," and -says, "I thank Him who has enabled me, who was formerly a blasphemer, -and persecutor, and evil doer; but mercy was shown to me because I did -it ignorantly in unbelief." - -How entirely Paul felt himself to be quite a different person to -the dead Saul one sees from his tremendous severity against the two -blasphemers, Hymenæus and Alexander, whom he delivered over to Satan, -"that they might learn not to blaspheme." - -What is to be understood by these terrible words, I have explained in -the _Inferno_. He who has not understood it there, can obtain a clearer -explanation in the asylums, where there is no rest, no peace, only -terror and despair. These cannot be cured by cold or by warm water -baths, for it is a sickness of the soul, often called Paranoia, because -the senses see what is not to be seen every day. - - -=A Scene from Hell.=--The man who had been separated from his -wife went one day to fetch his little six-year-old daughter from her -mother. They meant to go for a walk, look at the shop-windows, and buy -toys only for an hour. They were to meet before the mother's house. The -little one came, half-sad, half-joyful, with a slightly roguish look. - -This street, this street, this house, these stairs which only a short -time ago he had hurried up with his hands full of presents in order -for an hour long to see his beautiful home, and the best which life -has to show--the young maidenly mother putting her child to bed! The -two together! One still more beautiful than the other! And made more -beautiful by love, or a friendship which has sprung up in painful -solitude. - -He took the little girl's hand, and they went down the now darkened -street. Then the child turned round, and said aloud, "Mamma is coming -behind us." - -Why did he not turn round, but went on still faster, drawing the child -with him? - -Ask the pains of seven long years, which had robbed him of his -self-esteem so that he no longer believed he possessed the poor -solitary heart that followed him contritely and longed for -reconciliation. - -The child turned round yet again, and several times, as though it were -a plot laid in all friendliness, and the man felt by the throbbing of -the little hand how its heart beat in hope and expectation. - -But he went straight forward, for he did not believe any more in the -possibility of a return, and he did not dare to encounter a scornful -smile, or a proud, sharp word. He turned down side-streets, but he -felt that she followed. Who suffered most during this five minutes in -hell, in this interplay of feelings? The child with her beautiful hopes -which were disappointed; the mother with her injured self-esteem, as -she sought on the street what she had thrown away; or the man with -uncertainty and doubt in one half of his heart, and in the other -the immeasurable grief of being obliged to hurt the innocent little -child-heart? But while it was actually going on, he felt almost -nothing, for he was stunned by the shock. Not till the next day did he -feel the pain in his heart, and the longer the time that elapsed, the -more that pain increased. - - -=The Jewel-casket or his Better Half.=--When a man during the -first days of love has deposited the best and fairest part of his soul -with the woman he loves, he has laid up a treasure with her. If then he -sinks below the heavy burdens of everyday life and loses his ornaments, -he generally finds them again with her; she has kept and guarded them -(not always, however). - -At such moments he calls her his better half, and such she is. She can, -at the right time, return to him a beautiful thought or word, which -he has given her once; then he is ashamed and laments over his fall. -And when he sees his earlier better self in her, he realises how low he -has sunk, while she still stands on the clear cliff. Then he looks up -to her, cries out for help, and when she reaches him her hand, he is -raised, and he thanks her for having saved him. - -Paul explains this relation between man and wife, which is so often -misunderstood and really difficult to understand. "For in the Lord, -neither is the man without the woman, nor the woman without the man; -for as the woman is from the man, so also is the man by the woman, but -all is of God." - -Therefore in a true marriage neither the husband nor the wife appear -separate, but both regard themselves, and are regarded by others, as -one being. If one receives any good from the other, the recipient -should thank, and the giver also because he was able to give. They -thank each other because they are one being, and the interchange of -gifts is continuous and unceasing, so that they cannot distinguish -between giving and taking. - -Therefore a true marriage is indissoluble; it cannot suffer severance, -for what it possesses is not alienable, it is common; it is a spiritual -property which cannot be sold or bought. - -But in the rough tumult of life the man loses his ideal part sooner -than the woman, who sits sheltered by the warm hearth of the -well-protected home. There she can guard his jewel-casket for him, and -if she does it faithfully, he will always look up to her, as to his -better self. - - -=The Mummy-Coffin.=--Seven years of marriage had passed; they -had not tended their lamp, but it smoked so that everything in the -beautiful home was blackened. Now each sits in their own comer of the -dwelling, because they cannot look each other in the eyes. They lament -each other as dead, and miss each other like lost children. - -Then he opens a drawer and takes out a little box. A scent of fresh -roses streams into the room, although it comes from dry rose-leaves -pressed between sheets of paper. - -Those are her letters which she wrote during her engagement seven years -ago. How beautiful it all is: the paper with its fine, still unbleached -lavender tint and gold borders, just like the wedding-breakfast -glasses; the envelopes carefully folded like the embroidered -cushion-cover of the cradle; the letters themselves in beautiful rows -of gentle words from beautiful lips which smile gracefully. - -Beauty and love in thoughts and feelings--there he had found her again -in the little box embalmed with rose-leaves and violets. - -But now she is dead, and he weeps! - -And at the other end of the house she sits over her little mummy-coffin -and speaks with her beloved dead, and weeps. - -Lost for ever! For ever! - - -=In the Attic.=--Only three years had passed since his marriage, -and now the storm had carried away all--his wife and child. He had -occasion to go up to the attic to fetch something which had been put -away there. So he came up to this room, where it always rustled and -creaked, and cats slunk about, and the viscera of the house, so to -speak, were visible in beams and chimney, where there were rust and -soot and hanging cobwebs. He unfastened the padlock. There lay all the -flotsam and jetsam after the wreck. It was too late to turn back, and -he remained. There was the canopy of their marriage-bed, with green -silk and gilt-brass ornaments. There was the cradle of the little one, -and the six milk-bottles which the mother always used to wash with her -small hands in the ice-cold water; all the flower-vases and glasses -which came into the house on the wedding evening, when the table was -laid in the hall. - -There stood the basket once filled with roses, which she had received -on her engagement, which had afterwards become a work-basket. There -were withered bouquets, laurel-wreaths, and even books, presents from -him at Christmas and on birthdays, with beautiful inscriptions.... - -But there were also prehistoric articles: pieces of furniture belonging -to her girlhood which she had brought into the new home--a Japanese -umbrella adorned with chrysanthemums and golden pheasants, a small -carpet, a flower-stand.... - -But why did all these relics lie here in the dust and soot, and not -downstairs with him who cherished those memories? Was it that he did -not dare to see them every day, or did not wish to? - -Then his eyes fell on a little toy cupboard, which lay in a -paper-basket. There occurred to his mind the faint recollection of a -moment like a Christmas evening, a child's eyes, little white milk -teeth, the first musical-box which the little one played to the -Christmas-tree, the rocking-horse, and her dolls Rosa and Brita. - -He opened the toy cupboard; it contained no musical-box, but a -phonograph, very small and simple, a toy which could only utter a -single word! He did not remember which. The key lay close by; he wound -it up and set it going. At first it hummed like a bee; it did not -sting, however, but whispered the only word it could, "Darling!" - -And in her voice! Yes, she had spoken it into the phonograph, though he -had forgotten it. - -"Darling!" - -Then he cried to God, then he raged against fate, and then he fell to -the ground! And as he lay there he could only lament, "If they were at -least only dead! If...." - -For they were not dead. They lived. - -That was the thing which could not be altered nor atoned for, and all -these things were not relics; they were the flotsam and jetsam of a -wreck. - - -=The Sculptor.=--Even when a man has found a masterpiece of -creation in his wife, he still tries to improve away little faults in -design and colour, in order to make his work of art as free from faults -as possible. His little wife does not always understand that, and often -becomes irritable. - -"You only see faults in me." - -"On the contrary, you are for me the most beautiful that exists, but I -want to have you perfect. You should, for example, never be angry, for -then your beautiful eyes grow ugly, and I suffer. You must not dress in -verdigris-colour, for that does not suit you, and you look poisonous, -so that I turn my looks away." And so on. - -Eating is not beautiful, and to watch one's darling stowing away food -in her beautiful mouth, which ought to speak beautiful words, smile -bewitchingly, and purse up her tender lips to a kind of flower-bud -which one inhales in a kiss--that may be downright repugnant! -Therefore one is accustomed to hide this unseemly function under light -conversation, and forgets what the beautiful mouth is occupied with. - -"You are always finding fault! Say something nice for once." - -"Can you not read in my eyes that I admire you; I do not generally say -it first with my lips. But I want you to be perfect. That is the whole -matter!" - - -=On the Threshold at Five Years of Age.=--A certain Dr. Ogle -states in his statistics that in six-and-twenty years four cases of -suicide have taken place among children between five and ten years old. -When I read that, "between five and ten years old," I thought, "No! -between five and ten! Is that possible? And the reason of it?" I could -not think more, but I saw one scene, two scenes, three scenes.... - -The little girl was five years old; she was playing in the room near -her mother; children must have something to do, but the mother was -nervous, because she had been going into gaiety and flirting beyond -measure. - -"Don't rock the horse; it makes mamma's head ache." - -The little one took the cat, and pinched it, so that it mewed. - -"Don't do that, child; mamma is ill." - -The child was good, and did not wish to be troublesome. She sat down at -the table, and was silent in order not to irritate mamma. - -But a child's little body cannot be still; nor ought it indeed; it -moves of itself. Probably the child must have been singing a song to -itself, for the little unruly feet beat time against the legs of the -chair. - -The mother started up, "Go to Ellen in the kitchen, disobedient child!" - -The child was not disobedient; doubly wounded in her little heart, she -went into the kitchen, good and obedient. But immediately afterwards -she reappeared in the doorway, "Ellen was washing up." - -There stood the child on the threshold, turned out and repulsed from -both sides, and could not go anywhere. She looked like a despairing -child, tearless, but with all the terror of the lonely in her face. -Dumb, turned to stone, as though in the whole world there were no place -for her, as though no one would have her, and she knew not why. At this -moment she really stood on the threshold of life, for she suddenly -brightened up, and approached the open window, which was high above the -ground. - -To the honour of the mother, I must confess that she has described this -scene to me with the greatest remorse; it ended by her springing up, -taking the child in her arms, and playing with her till the sun went -down. - -"If anything had happened to the child, I should have lived in a hell -of self-reproach! And now I think; for every moment which I had not -devoted to my child, for every little joy which I had denied her, I -would, if it had departed, weep my soul out of my body; I would plunge -into space and seek the child under the stars in order to beg her -forgiveness, if I could be forgiven...." - -To think of it! At five years old, on the threshold of life! - -=Goethe on Christianity and Science.=--As I waded in Professor -Delitzsch's dung-heap,[1] I reached at last his third lecture. In the -last lines of the last page I found a pearl, which I will set, in order -to show it to those who misuse poor Goethe's name for their heathenish -propaganda. In a conversation with Eckermann, on March 11, 1832, that -is, eleven days before his death, Goethe spoke these ever memorable -words: "Let mental culture go on advancing, let the natural sciences go -on gaining in depth and breadth, and the human mind expand as it may, -it will never go beyond the elevation and moral culture of Christianity -as it shines in the Gospel." - -That was the fruit of a life of eighty years spent in seeking God and -His Son. After long useless detours, Goethe found it again at the end -of his life, as is apparent from the conclusion of the second part of -_Faust_. I will only add some words of Goethe's on superstition, as it -is not comprehended by the apelings: "Superstition is an inheritance -of powerful, earnest, progressive natures; unbelief is peculiarly -characteristic of weak, petty, retrogressive men." Such is unbelief as -Goethe said in 1808. - - -[Footnote 1: The work entitled _Babel und Bibel_.] - - -=Summa Summarum.=--Since destructive science has proved itself -so hollow, consisting as it does of guesses, false inferences, -self-deceit, hair-splittings, why does the State support these armies -of conjecturers and soothsayers? - -Rousseau's first prize-essay regarding the curse of culture and -learning should be repondered. - -A Descartes ought to return and teach men to doubt the untruths of the -sciences. - -Another Kant might write a new _Critique of Pure Reason_ and -re-establish the doctrine of the Categorical Imperative and Postulate, -which, however, is already to be found in the Ten Commandments and the -Gospels. - -And a prophet must be born to teach men the simple meaning of life in a -few words, though it has been already so well summed up: "Fear God, and -keep His commandments," or "Pray and work." - -All the errors and mistakes which we have made should serve to instil -into us a lively hatred of evil, and to impart to us fresh impulses to -good; these we can take with us to the other side, where they can first -bloom and bear fruit. - -That is the true meaning of life, at which the obstinate and impenitent -cavil in order to escape trouble. - -Pray, _but_ work; suffer, _but_ hope; keeping both the earth and the -stars in view. Do not try and settle permanently, for it is a place of -pilgrimage; not a home, but a halting-place. Seek truth, for it is to -be found, but only in one place, with Him who Himself is the Way, the -Truth, and the Life. - -THE END - - - - - -End of Project Gutenberg's Zones of the Spirit, by August Strindberg - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ZONES OF THE SPIRIT *** - -***** This file should be named 44118-8.txt or 44118-8.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/4/4/1/1/44118/ - -Produced by Marc D'Hooghe at http://www.freeliterature.org -(Images generously made available by the Internet Archive) - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions -will be renamed. - -Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no -one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation -(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without -permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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diff --git a/old/44118-0.txt b/old/44118-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 7eaadff..0000000 --- a/old/44118-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,7302 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Zones of the Spirit, by August Strindberg - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org - - -Title: Zones of the Spirit - A Book of Thoughts - -Author: August Strindberg - -Commentator: Arthur Babillotte - -Translator: Claud Field - -Release Date: November 6, 2013 [EBook #44118] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ZONES OF THE SPIRIT *** - - - - -Produced by Marc D'Hooghe at http://www.freeliterature.org -(Images generously made available by the Internet Archive) - - - - - -ZONES OF THE SPIRIT - -A BOOK OF THOUGHTS - -BY - -AUGUST STRINDBERG - -AUTHOR OF "THE INFERNO," "THE SON OF A SERVANT," ETC. - - -WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY - -ARTHUR BABILLOTTE - - -TRANSLATED BY - -CLAUD FIELD, M.A. - - -G.P. PUTNAM'S SONS - -NEW YORK AND LONDON - -The Knickerbocker press - -1913 - - - - -INTRODUCTION - - -Seldom has a man gone through such profound religious changes as this -Swede, who died last May. The demonic element in him, which spurred -him on restlessly, made him scale heaven and fathom hell, gave him -glimpses of bliss and damnation. He bore the Cain's mark on his brow: -"A fugitive and a wanderer shalt thou be." - -He was fundamentally religious, for everyone who searches after God -is so,--a commonplace truth certainly, but one which needs to be -constantly reiterated. And Strindberg's search was more painful, -exact, and persevering than that of most people. He was never content -with superficial formulas, but pressed to the heart of the matter, -and followed each winding of the labyrinthine problem with endless -patience. Too often the Divinity which he thought he had discovered -turned out a delusion, to be scornfully rejected the moment afterwards. -Until he found _the_ God, whom he worshipped to the end of his days, -and whose existence he resolutely maintained against deniers. - -As a child he had been brought up in devout belief in God, in -submission to the injustice of life, and in faith in a better -hereafter. He regarded God as a Father, to Whom he made known his -little wants and anxieties. But a youth with hard experiences followed -his childhood. The struggle for daily bread began, and his heavenly -Father seemed to fail him. He appeared to regard unmoved, from some -Olympian height, the desperate struggles of humanity below. Then the -defiant element which slumbered in Strindberg wrathfully awoke, and he -gradually developed into a free-thinker. It fared with him as it often -does with young and independent characters who think. Beginning with -dissent from this and that ecclesiastical dogma, his criticism embraced -an ever-widening range, and became keener and more unsparing. At last -every barrier of respect and reverence fell, the defiant spirit of -youth broke like a flood over all religious dogmas, swept them away, -and did not stop short of criticising God Himself. - -Meanwhile his daily life, with its hard experiences, went on. Books -written from every conceivable point of view came into his hands. -Greedy for knowledge as he was, he read them all. Those of the -free-thinkers supported his freshly aroused incredulity, which as yet -needed support. His study of philosophical and scientific works made a -clean sweep of what relics of faith remained. Anxiety about his daily -bread, attacks from all sides, the alienation of his friends, all -contributed towards making the free-thinker into an atheist. How can -there be a God when the world is so full of ugliness, of deceit, of -dishonour, of vulgarity? This question was bound to be raised at last. -About this time he wrote the _New Kingdom_, full of sharp criticisms of -society and Christianity. - -As an atheist Strindberg made various attempts to come to terms with -the existing state of things. But being a genius out of harmony with -his contemporaries, and always longing for some vaster, fairer future, -this was impossible for him. When he found that he came to no goal, -a perpetual unrest tortured him. His earlier autobiographic writings -appeared, marked by a strong misanthropy, and composed with an obscure -consciousness of the curse: "A fugitive and a wanderer shalt thou be." - -At last his consciousness becomes clear and defined. He recognises -that he is a lost soul in hell already, though outwardly on earth. -This was the most extraordinary period in Strindberg's life. He -lived in the Quartier Latin in Paris, in a barely furnished room, -with retorts and chemical apparatus, like a second Faust at the end -of the nineteenth century. By experiments he discovered the presence -of carbon in sulphur, and considered that by doing so he "had solved -a great problem, upset the ruling systems of chemistry, and gained -for himself the only immortality allowed to mortals." He came to the -conclusion that the reason why he had gradually become an atheist was -that "the Unknown Powers had left the world so long without a sign of -themselves." The discovery made him thankful, and he lamented that he -had no one to thank. From that time the belief in "unknown powers" grew -stronger and stronger in him. It seems to have been the result of an -almost complete, long, and painful solitude. - -At this time his brain worked more feverishly, and his nerves were -more sensitive than usual. At last he reached the (for an atheist) -astounding conclusion: "When I think over my lot, I recognise that -invisible Hand which disciplines and chastens me, without my knowing -its purpose. Must I be humbled in order to be lifted up, lowered in -order to be raised? The thought continually recurs to me, 'Providence -is planning something with thee, and this is the beginning of thy -education.'"[1] - -Soon after this he gave up his chemical experiments and took up -alchemy, with a conviction, almost pathetic in its intensity, that -he would succeed in making gold. Although his dramas had already -been performed in Paris, a success which had fallen to the lot of no -other Swedish dramatist, he forgot all his successes as an author, -and devoted himself solely to this new pursuit, to meet again with -disappointment. - -On March 29, 1897, he began the study of Swedenborg, the Northern -Seer. A feeling of home-sickness after heaven laid hold of him, and he -began to believe that he was being prepared for a higher existence. "I -despise the earth," he writes, "this unclean world, these men and their -works. I seem to myself a righteous man, like Job, whom the Eternal is -putting to the test, and whom the purgatorial fires of this world will -soon make worthy of a speedy deliverance." - -More and more he seemed to approach Catholicism. One day he, the former -socialist and atheist, bought a rosary. "It is pretty," he said, -"and the evil spirits fear the cross." At the same time, it must be -confessed that this transition to the Christian point of view did not -subdue his egotism and independence of character. "It is my duty," he -said, "to fight for the maintenance of my ego against all influences -which a sect or party, from love of proselytising, might bring to -bear upon it. The conscience, which the grace of my Divine protector -has given me, tells me that." And then comes a sentence full of joy -and sorrow alike, which seems to obliterate his whole past. "Born -with a home-sick longing after heaven, as a child I wept over the -squalor of existence and felt myself strange and homeless among men. -From childhood upwards I have looked for God and found the Devil." He -becomes actually humble, and recognises that God, on account of his -pride, his conceit, his ὕβρις, had sent him for a time to -hell. "Happy is he whom God punishes." - -The return to Christ is complete. All his faith, all his hope now rest -solely on the Crucified, whom he had once demoniacally hated. - -He now devoted himself entirely to the study of Swedenborg. He felt -that in some way the life of this strange man had foreshadowed his -own. Just as Swedenborg (1688-1772) had passed from the profession -of a mathematician to that of a theologian, a mystic, and finally a -ghost-seer and theosoph, so Strindberg passed from the worldly calling -of a romance-writer to that of a preacher of Christian patience and -reconciliation. He had occasional relapses into his old perverse moods, -but the attacks of the rebellious spirit were weaker and weaker. He -told a friend who asked his opinion regarding the theosophical concept -of Karma, that it was impossible for him to belong to a party which -denied a personal God, "Who alone could satisfy his religious needs." -In a life so full of intellectual activity as his had been, Strindberg -had amassed an enormous amount of miscellaneous knowledge. When he was -nearly sixty he began to collect and arrange all his experiences and -investigations from the point of view he had then attained. Thus was -composed his last important work, _Das Blau Buch_, a book of amazing -copiousness and originality. Regarding it, the Norwegian author Nils -Kjaer writes in the periodical _Verdens Gang_: "More comprehensive than -any modern collection of aphorisms, chaotic as the Koran, wrathful as -Isaiah, as full of occult things as the Bible, more entertaining than -any romance, keener-edged than most pamphlets, mystical as the Cabbala, -subtle as the scholastic theology, sincere as Rousseau's confession, -stamped with the impress of incomparable originality, every sentence -shining like luminous letters in the darkness--such is this book in -which the remarkable writer makes a final reckoning with his time and -proclaims his faith, as pugnaciously as though he were a descendant -of the hero of Lutzen." The book, in truth, forms a world apart, from -which all lying, hypocrisy, and conventional contentment is banished; -in it is heard the stormy laughter of a genius who has freed himself -from the fetters of earth, the proclamation of the creed of a strange -Christian who interprets and reveres Christ in his own fashion, the -challenge of an original and creative mind which believes in its own -continuance, the expression of the yearning of a lonely soul to place -itself in harmonious relations with the universe. - -An especially interesting feature of the _Blau Buch_ is the expression -of Strindberg's views regarding the great poets, artists, and thinkers -of the past and present. He speaks of Wagner and Nietzsche, the two -antipodes; of Horace, who, after many wanderings, recognised the hand -of God; of Shakespeare, who had lived through the experience of every -character he created; of Goethe, regarding whom he remarks, with -evident satisfaction, "In old age, when he grew wise, he became a -mystic, _i.e._ he recognised that there are things in heaven and earth -of which the Philistines never dream." Of Maeterlinck, he says, "He -knows how to caricature his own fairest creations"; and accuses Oscar -Wilde of want of originality. Regarding Hegel, he notes with pleasure -that at the end of his life he returned to Christianity. With deep -satisfaction he writes, "Hegel, after having gone very roundabout ways, -died in 1831, of cholera, as a simple, believing Christian, putting -aside all philosophy and praying penitential psalms." In Rousseau he -recognises a kindred spirit, in so far as the Frenchman, like himself, -hated all that was unnatural. "One can agree with Rousseau when he -says, 'All that comes from the Creator's hand is perfect, but when it -falls into the hands of man it is spoilt.'" - -The _Blau Buch_ marks the summit of Strindberg's chequered sixty years' -pilgrimage. Beneath him lies the varicoloured landscape of his past -life, now lit up with gleams of sunshine, now draped in dark mists, -now drowned in storms of rain. But Strindberg, the poet and thinker, -has escaped from both dark and bright days alike; he stands peacefully -on the summit, above the trivialities, the cares, and bitternesses of -life, a free man. He is like Prometheus, fettered to the rock for -having bestowed on men the gift of fire, but liberated after he has -learnt his lesson. In his calm is something resembling the dignity of -Goethe's old age. As the latter sat on the Kickelhahn, looking down -on Thuringia, and saw the panorama of his life pass before him, so -Strindberg takes a retrospect in his _Blau Buch_. It is the canticle of -his life, a hymn of thankfulness for the recovered faith in which he -has found peace. At its conclusion he thus sums up: - -"Rousseau's early doctrine regarding the curse of mere learning should -be repondered." - -"A new Descartes should arise and teach the men to doubt the untruths -of the sciences." - -"Another Kant should write a new Critique of Pure Reason and -re-establish the doctrine of the Categorical Imperative, which, -however, is already to be found in the Ten Commandments and the -Gospels." - -"A prophet should be born to teach men the simple meaning of life in a -few words. It has already been so well summed up: 'Fear God, and keep -His commandments,' or 'Pray and work.'" - -"All the errors and mistakes which we have made should serve to instil -into us a lively hatred of evil, and to impart a fresh impulse to good; -these we can take with us to the other side, where they will bloom and -bear fruit. That is the true meaning of life, at which the obstinate -and impenitent cavil, in order to save themselves trouble." - -"Pray, _but_ work; suffer, _but_ hope; keeping both the earth and the -stars in view. Do not try and settle permanently, for it is a place of -pilgrimage; not a home, but a halting-place. Seek the truth, for it is -to be found, but only in one place, with the One who Himself is the -Way, the Truth, and the Life." - - ARTHUR BABILLOTTE. - - -[Footnote 1: Strindberg's _Inferno_.] - - - - -CONTENTS - -THE HISTORY OF THE BLUE BOOK - -A BLUE BOOK-- - - The Thirteenth Axiom - The Rustic Intelligence of the "Beans" - The Hoopoo, or An Unusual Occurrence - Bad Digestion - The Song of the Sawyers - Al Mansur in the Gymnasium - The Nightingale in the Vineyard - The Miracle of the Corn-crakes - Corollaries - Phantasms which are Real - Crex, Crex! - The Electric Battery and the Earth Circuit - Improper and Unanswerable Questions - Superstition and Non-Superstition - Through Faith to Knowledge - The Enchanted Room - Concerning Correspondences - The Green Island - Swedenborg's Hell - Preliminary Knowledge Necessary - Perverse Science - Truth in Error - Accumulators - Eternal Punishment - "Desolation" - A World of Delusion - The Conversion of the Cheerful Pagan, Horace - Cheerful Paganism and its Doctrine of Hell - Faith the Chief Thing - Penitents - Paying for Others - The Lice-King - The Art of Life - The Mitigation of Destiny - The Good and the Evil - Modesty and the Sense of Justice - Derelicts - Human Fate - Dark Rays - Blind and Deaf - The Disrobing Chamber - The Character Mask - Youth and Folly - When I was Young and Stupid - Constant Illusions - The Merits of the Multiplication-Table - Under the Prince of this World - The Idea of Hell - Self-Knowledge - Somnambulism and Clairvoyance in Everyday Life - Practical Measures against Enemies - The Goddess of Reason - Stars Seen by Daylight - The Right to Remorse - A Religious Theatre - Through Constraint to Freedom - The Praise of Folly - The Inevitable - The Poet's Sacrifice - The Function of the Philistines - World-Religion - The Return of Christ - Correspondences - Good Words - Severe and not Severe - Yeast and Bread - The Man of Development - Sins of Thought - Sins of Will - The Study of Mankind - Friend Zero - Affable Men - Cringing before the Beast - _Ecclesia Triumphans_ - Logic in Neurasthenia - My Caricature - The Inexplicable - Old-time Religion - The Seduced become Seducers - Large-hearted Christianity - Reconnection with the Aërial Wire - The Art of Conversion - The Superman - To be a Christian is not to be a Pietist - Strength and Value of Words - The Black Illuminati - Anthropomorphism - Fury-worship as a Penal Hallucination - Amerigo or Columbus - A Circumnavigator of the Globe - The Poet's Children - Faithful in Little Things - The Unpracticalness of Husk-eating - A Youthful Dream for Seven Shillings - Envy Nobody! - The Galley-slaves of Ambition - Hard to Disentangle - The Art of Settling Accounts - Growing Old Gracefully - The Eight Wild Beasts - Deaf and Blind - Recollections - Children are Wonder-Children - Men-resembling Men - Christ is Risen - Revolution-Sheep - "Life Woven of the Same Stuff as our Dreams" - The Gospel of the Pagans - Punished by the Imagination - Bankruptcy of Philosophy - A Whole Life in an Hour - The After-Odour - Peaches and Turnips - The Web of Lies - Lethe - A Suffering God - The Atonement - When Nations Go Mad - The Poison of Lies - Murderous Lies - Innocent Guilt - The Charm of Old Age - The Ring-System - Lust, Hate, and Fear, or the Religion of the Heathen - "Whom the Gods Wish to Destroy" - The Slavery of the Prophet - Absurd Problems - The Crooked Rib - White Slavery - Noodles - Inextricable Confusion - Phantoms - Mirage Pictures - Trifle not with Love - A "Taking" Religion - The Sixth Sense - Exteriorisation of Sensibility - Telepathic Perception - Morse Telepathy - _Nisus Formativus_, or Unconscious Sculpture - Projections - Apparitions - The Reactionary Type - The Hate of Parasites - A Letter from the Dead - A Letter from Hell - An Unconscious Medium - The Revenant - The Meeting in the Convent - Correspondences - Portents - The Difficult Art of Lying - Religion and Scientific Intuition - The Freed Thinker - _Primus inter pares_ - Heathen Imaginations - Thought Bound by Law - _Credo quia (et-si) absurdum_ - The Fear of Heaven - The Goat-god Pan and the Fear of the Pan-pipe - Their Gospel - The Deposition of the Apes - The Secret of the Cross - Examination and Summer Holidays - Veering and Tacking - Attraction and Repulsion - The Double - Paw or Hand - The Thousand-Years' Night of the Apes - The Favourite - Scientific Villainies - Necrobiosis, _i.e._ Death and Resurrection - Secret Judgment - Hammurabi's Inspired Laws Received from the Sun-God - Strauss's Life of Christ - Christianity and Radicalism - Where are We? - Hegel's Christianity - "Men of God's Hand" - Night-Owls - Apotheosis - Painting Things Black - The Thorn in the Flesh - Despair and Grace - The Last Act - Consequences of Learning - Rousseau - Rousseau Again - Materialised Apparitions - The Art of Dying - Can Philosophy Bring any Blessing to Mankind? - Goethe on the Bible - "Now we Can Fly Too! Hurrah" - The Fall and Original Sin - The Gospel - Religious Heathen - The Pleasure-Garden - The Happiness of Love - Our Best Feelings - Blood-Fraternity - The Power of Love - The Box on the Ear - Saul, afterwards Called Paul - A Scene from Hell - The Jewel-Casket or his Better Half - The Mummy-Coffin - In the Attic - The Sculptor - On the Threshold at Five Years of Age - Goethe on Christianity and Science - _Summa Summarum_ - - - -Zones of the Spirit - - - - -THE HISTORY OF THE BLUE BOOK - -(_Prefixed to the Third Swedish Edition_) - - -I had read how Goethe had once intended to write a _Breviarium -Universale_, a book of edification for the adherents of all religions. -In my _Historical Miniatures_ I have attempted to trace God's ways -in the history of the world; I included Christianity in my survey by -commencing with Israel, but perhaps I made the mistake of ranging other -religions by the side of Christianity, while they ought to have stood -below it. - -A year passed. I felt myself constrained by inward impulses to write -a fairly unsectarian breviary; a word of wisdom for each day in the -year. For that purpose I collected the sacred books of all religions, -in order to extract from them "sayings" on which to write. But the -books did not open themselves to me! The Vedas and Zend-Avesta were -sealed, and did not yield a single saying; only the Koran gave one, but -that was a lion! (see "Faith the Chief Thing, ff.). Then I determined -to alter my design. I formed the plan of writing apothegms of simply -worldly wisdom regarding men, and of calling the book _Herbarium -Humane._ But I postponed the work since I trembled at the greatness of -the task and the crudity of my plan. Then came June 15, 1906. As I took -my morning walk, the first thing I saw was a tramcar with the number -365. I was struck by this number, and thought of the 365 pages which I -intended to write. - -As I went on, I entered a narrow street. A cart went along by my side -carrying a red flag; it was a powder-flag. The cart kept parallel -with me and began to disturb me. In order to escape the sight of the -powder-flag, I looked up in the air, and there an enormous red flag -(the English one) flaunted conspicuously before my eyes. I looked down -again, and a lady dressed in black, with a fiery-red hat, was crossing -the street in a slanting direction. - -I hastened my steps. Immediately my eyes fell on the window of a -stationer's shop; in it a piece of cardboard was displayed, bearing the -word "Herbarium." - -It was natural that all this should make an impression on me. My -resolution was now taken; I laid down the plan of my powder-chamber, -which was to become the _Blue Book_. A year passed, slowly, painfully. -The most remarkable thing that happened was this. They began to -rehearse my drama, the _Dream Play_, in the theatre; simultaneously, -a change took place in my daily life. My servant left me; my domestic -arrangements were upset; within forty days I had six changes of -servants--one worse than the other. At last I had to serve myself, lay -the table and light the stove. I ate black broken victuals out of a -basket. In short, I had to taste the whole bitterness of life without -knowing why. - -One morning during this fasting period I passed by a shop window in -which I saw a piece of tapestry which attracted and delighted me. I -thought I saw my dream-play in the design woven on the tapestry. Above -was the "growing castle," and underneath the green island over-arched -by a rainbow, and with Alpine summits illumined by the sun. Round it -was the sea reflecting the stars and a great green sea-snake partly -visible; low down in the border was a row of fylfots--the symbol -_Swastika_, signifying good-luck. That was, at any rate, my meaning; -the artist had intended something else which does not belong here. - -Then came the dress-rehearsal of the _Dream Play_. This drama I wrote -seven years ago, after a period of forty days' suffering which were -among the worst which I had ever undergone. And now again exactly forty -days of fasting and pain had passed. There seems, therefore, to be -a secret legislature which promulgates clearly defined sentences. I -thought of the forty days of the flood, the forty years of wandering in -the desert, the forty days' fast kept by Moses, Elijah, and Christ. - -My journal thus records my impressions: - -"The sun shines. A certain quiet resigned uncertainty reigns within me. -I ask myself whether a catastrophe will not prevent the performance -of the piece, which perhaps ought not to be played. In it I have, at -any rate, spoken men fair, but to advise the Ruler of the Universe -is presumption, perhaps blasphemy. The fact that I have laid bare -the comparative nothingness of life (with Buddhism), its irrational -contradictions, its wickedness and lawlessness, may be praiseworthy if -it teaches men resignation. That I have shown the comparative innocence -of men in this life, which of itself involves guilt, is not indeed -wrong, but...." - -Just now comes a telephone message from the theatre: "The result of -this is in God's hand." "Exactly what I think," I answer, and ask -myself again whether the piece ought to be played. (I believe it is -already determined by the higher powers what the issue of the first -performance will prove.) - -I feel as though it were Sunday. The "White Shape" appears outside on -the balcony of the "growing castle." - -My thoughts have lately been occupied with death and with the life -after this. Yesterday I read Plato's _Timæus_ and _Phædo_. At present -I write a work called _The Island of the Dead_. In it I describe -the awakening after death, and what follows. But I hesitate, for I -am frightened at the boundless misery of mere life. Lately I burned -a drama; it was so sincere, that I shuddered at it. What I do not -understand is this: ought one to hide the misery, and flatter men? -I _wish_ to write cheerfully and beautifully, but ought not, and -cannot. I conceive it as a terrible duty to be truthful, and life is -indescribably hideous. - -Now the clock strikes eleven, and at twelve o'clock is the rehearsal. - -The same day at 8 P.M. I have seen the rehearsal of the _Dream Play_, -and suffered greatly. I received the impression that this piece ought -not to be played. It is presumptuous, and certainly blasphemous (?). I -am disturbed and alarmed. - -I have had no midday meal; at seven o'clock I ate some cold food out of -the basket in the kitchen. - -During the religious broodings of my last forty days I read the Book -of Job, saying to myself certainly at the same time that I was no -righteous man like him. Then I came to the 22nd chapter, in which -Eliphaz the Temanite unmasks Job: "Thou hast taken pledges of thy -brother for nought, and stripped the naked of their clothing; thou hast -not given water to the weary to drink, and thou hast withholden bread -from the hungry.... Is not thy wickedness great and thine iniquities -infinite?" - -Then the whole comfort of the Book of Job vanished, and I stood again -forlorn and irresolute. What shall a poor man hold on to? What shall I -believe? How can he help thinking perversely? - -Yesterday I read Plato's _Timæus_ and _Phædo._ There I found so much -self-contradictory wisdom, that in the evening I threw my devotional -books away and prayed to God out of a full heart. "What will happen -now? God help me! Amen." - -The stage-manager visited me yesterday evening. We both felt, in -despair.... The night was quiet. - -_April 16, 1907_.--Read the proof of the _Black Flags_,[1] which I -wrote in 1904. I asked myself whether the book was a crime, and whether -it ought to be published. I opened the Bible, and came on the prophet -Jonah, who was compelled to prophesy although he hid himself. That -quieted me. But it is a terrible book! - -_April 17_.--To-day the _Dream Play_ will be performed for the first -time. A gentle fall of snow in the morning. Read the last chapter of -Job: God punishes Job because he presumed to wish to understand His -work. Job prays for pardon, and is forgiven. - -Quiet grey weather till 3 P.M. Then G. came with a piece of good news. - -Spent the evening alone at home. At eight o'clock there was a ring at -the door. A messenger brought a laurel-wreath with the inscription: -"Truth, Light, Liberation." I took the wreath at once to the bust of -Beethoven on the tiled stove and placed it on his head, since I had so -much to thank him for, especially just now for the music accompanying -my drama. - -At eleven o'clock a telephone from the theatre announces that -everything has gone well. - -_May 29_.--The _Black Flags_ come out to-day. I make very satisfactory -terms with the publisher regarding the _Blue Book_ (and I had thought -it would not be printed at all). So I determined to remain in my house, -which I had determined to leave on account of poverty. - -_August 20_.--I read this evening the proofs of the _Blue Book_. Then -the sky grew coal-black with towering dark clouds. A storm of rain -fell; then it cleared up, and a great rainbow stood round the church, -which was lit up by the sun. - -_August 22_.--I am reading now the proofs of the _Blue Book_, and I -feel now as though my mission in life were ended. I have been able to -say all I had to say. - -I dreamt that I was in the home of my childhood at Sabbatsberg, and saw -that the great pond was dried up. This pond had always been dangerous -to children because it was surrounded by a swamp; it had an evil smell, -and was full of frogs, hedgehogs, and lizards. Now in my dream I walked -about on the dry ground, and was astonished to find it so clean. I -thought now that I have broken with the _Black Flags_ the frog-swamp is -done with. - -_September 1_.--Read the last proofs of the _Blue Book_. - -_September 2_.--Came across tramcar 365, which I had not seen since I -began to write the _Blue Book_ on June 15, 1906. - -_September 12_.--The _Blue Book_ appears to-day. It is the first clear -day in summer. I dreamt I found myself in a stone-quarry, and could -neither go up nor down. I thought quite quietly, "Well, I must cry for -help!" - -The German motto to-day on the tear-off calendar is: "What is to be -clarified must first ferment." - -To-day I got new clothes which fitted. My old ones had been too tight -to the point of torture. - -My little daughter visited me. I took her home again in a chaise. - -_September 14_.--The whole day clear. Towards evening, however, about -a quarter to six, the sky became covered with most portentous-looking -clouds, with black outlines like obliquely hanging theatre-flies. -Afterwards these were driven out by a storm over the sea. - -This evening my _Crown Bride_ was performed. Thus, then, the _Blue -Book_ had appeared. It looked well with its blue and red binding, which -resembled that of my first book, the _Red Room_, but in its contents -differed as much from it as red from blue. In the first I had, like -Jeremiah, to pluck up, break down, and destroy; but in this book I was -able to build and to plant. And I will conclude with Hezekiah's song of -praise: - -"I said, in the noontide of my days, I shall go to the gates of the -grave: - -"My age is departed, and is removed from me as a shepherd's tent: - -"I have rolled up like a weaver my life; he will cut me off from the -loom. - -"From day even to night wilt thou make an end of me. - -"Like a swallow or a crane, so did I chatter; I did mourn as a dove: -mine eyes fail with looking upward. - -"Lord, I am oppressed; undertake for me. - -"What shall I say? He hath both spoken unto me, and himself hath done -it. - -"Behold, it was for my peace that I had great bitterness; - -"Thou hast in love to my soul delivered it from the pit of corruption. - -"The living, the living, he shall praise thee, as I do this day. - -"The father to the children shall make known thy truth." - - * * * * * - -I saw beforehand what awaited me if I broke with the _Black Flags_. But -I placed my soul in God's hands, and went forwards. I affix as a motto -to the following book, "He who departeth from evil, maketh himself a -prey." - -The strangest thing, however, is that from this moment my own Karma -began to complete itself. I was protected, things went well with me, -I found better friends than those I had lost. Now I am inclined to -ascribe all my former mischances to the fact that I served the _Black -Flags_. There was no blessing with them! - - -[Footnote 1: A _roman à clef_ in which Strindberg fiercely attacks the -Bohemians and emancipated women of Stockholm.] - - - - -A BLUE BOOK - - -=The Thirteenth Axiom=.--Euclid's twelfth axiom, as is well known, -runs thus: When one straight line cuts two other straight lines so that -the interior angles on the same side are together less than two right -angles, these two lines, being produced, will at length meet on that -side on which are the two angles, which are together less than two -right angles. - -If that is a self-evident proposition, which can neither be proved, nor -needs to be proved, how much clearer is the axiom of the existence of -God! - -Anyone who tries to prove an axiom, loses himself in absurdity; -therefore, we should not attempt to prove the existence of God. He who -cannot understand what is self-evident in an axiom belongs to the class -of people of a lower degree of intelligence. One should be sorry for -such dullards, but not blame them. - -The first point in the definition of God, is that He is Almighty. -Thence it follows that He can abrogate His own laws. But since we do -not know all His laws, we do not know when He employs a law which is -unknown to us, or suspends a law which is known to us. - -What we call miracles, may happen according to strict laws which we do -not know. We must therefore take care, when confronted by unusual or -inexplicable occurrences, to see that we make no mistakes. These draw -down upon us the contempt of our fellow-mortals who are gifted with -keener intelligence. - -=The Rustic Intelligence of the "Beans."=--The miller turns -his mill and the seaman trims his sails according to the force and -direction of the wind. They do not see the wind, but they believe in -its existence, since they observe the results produced by it. They are -wise people who use their intelligence. - -Intelligence ("ratio"), or rustic intelligence, is an excellent faculty -whereby to grasp what is perceptible by the senses, even when it is -invisible. Reason is a higher faculty wherewith one may grasp what is -not perceptible by sense. But when the rationalists try to comprehend -the highest things with their rustic intelligence, then they see light -as darkness, good as evil, the eternal as temporal. In a word, they see -distortedly, for they see by the light of nature. Just as the rustic -intelligence is indispensable when one goes to market, deals with -coffee and sugar, or draws up promissory-notes, even so is the use of -reason necessary when one wishes to approach what is above nature. - -Voltaire and Heine are counted among the greatest rationalists because -they judged of spiritual things by rustic intelligence. Their arguments -are therefore interesting, but worthless. - -And the most interesting fact about both these men is, that they -discovered their errors, declared themselves bankrupt, and finally used -their reason. But there the "Beans" can no longer follow them. - -"Beans" is a classical name for the Philistines who worshipped Dagon, -the fish-god, and Beelzebub, the god of dung. - - -=The Hoopoo, or An Unusual Occurrence.=--Johann was one day on -his travels, and came to a wood. In an old tree he found a bird's nest -with seven eggs, which resembled the eggs of the common swift. But the -latter bird only lays three eggs, so the nest could not belong to it. -Since Johann was a great connoisseur in eggs, he soon perceived that -they were the eggs of the hoopoo. Accordingly, he said to himself, -"There must be a hoopoo somewhere in the neighbourhood, although the -natural history books assert that it does not appear here." - -After a time he heard quite distinctly the well-known cry of the -hoopoo. Then he knew that the bird was there. He hid himself behind -a rock, and he soon saw the speckled bird with its yellow comb. When -Johann returned home after three days, he told his teacher that he had -seen the hoopoo on the island. His teacher did not believe it, but -demanded proof. - -"Proof!" said Johann. "Do you mean two witnesses?" - -"Yes!" - -"Good! I have twice two witnesses, and they all agree: my two ears -heard it, and my two eyes saw it." - -"Maybe. But _I_ have not seen it," answered the teacher. - -Johann was called a liar because he could not prove that he had seen -the hoopoo in such and such a spot. However, it was a fact that the -hoopoo appeared there, although it was an unusual occurrence in this -neighbourhood. - -=Bad Digestion.=--When one adds up several large numbers, one owes -it to oneself to doubt the correctness of the calculation. In order to -test it, one generally adds the figures up again, but from the bottom -to the top. That is wholesome doubt. - -But there is an unwholesome kind of doubt, which consists in denying -everything which one has not seen and heard oneself. To treat one's -fellow-men as liars is not humane, and diminishes our knowledge to a -considerable degree. - -There is a morbid kind of doubt, which resembles a weak stomach. -Everything is swallowed, but nothing retained; everything is received, -but nothing digested. The consequence is emaciation, exhaustion, -consumption, and premature death. - -Johann Damascenus[1] had passed through several years of wholesome -doubt, proving the truths of faith by systematic denial. But when, -after minutely checking his calculation, he had become sure of their -asserted values, he believed. Since then, neither fear of men, love -of gain, contempt, or threats could cause him to abandon his dearly -purchased faith. And in that he was right. - -=The Song of the Sawyers.=--As Damascenus wandered in Qualheim, -he came to a saw-mill. Outside it, on the edge of a stream, sat two -men, and sawed a steel rail with a double saw. They accompanied their -sawing with a rhythmic chant in two voices, and somewhat resembled two -drinkers quarrelling. - -"What are you singing about?" asked Damascenus. - -"About faith and knowledge," answered one. And then they recommenced. -"What I know, that I believe; therefore knowledge is under faith, and -faith stands above it." - -"What do you know then? What you have seen with your eye?" - -"My eye sees nothing of itself. If you were to take it out, and lay it -down here, it would see nothing. Therefore, it is my inner eye which -sees." - -"Can I then see your inner eye?" - -"It is not to be seen. But you see with that which is itself invisible. -Therefore, you must believe on the invisible! Now you know." - -"Yes, yes, yes, but, but, but.... Have you seen God?" - -"Yes, with my inner eye. Therefore, I believe on Him. But it is not -necessary for you to see Him, in order for me to believe on Him." - -"But knowledge is the highest." - -"Yes, but faith is the highest of all." - -"Do you know what you believe?" - -"Yes, although you don't know it." - -"Prove it." - -"By two concurring witnesses? Here in this district alone I can collect -two million witnesses. That must be sufficient proof for you." - -"But, but, but, but" ... And so on. - - -[Footnote 1: Strindberg gives himself this name, probably in allusion -to his mystery-play, _To Damascus_ (1900).] - - -=Al Mansur in the Gymnasium.=--Damascenus came into a large -gymnasium, which at first he thought was empty. But presently he -noticed that men stood along the walls with their backs turned towards -him, so that he only saw their perukes and red ears. "Why do they stand -and look at the wall, and why do they have such red ears?" he asked his -teacher. - -"They are ashamed of themselves," answered the teacher. "During their -lifetime they were regarded as very clever fellows, but now they have -discovered their stupidity." - -"What is stupidity?" - -"He is stupid, in the first place, who is unpractical. These have -practised gymnastics all their lives, but never used the strength which -they have gained. Furthermore, he is stupid who finds it difficult to -comprehend simple propositions, self-evident propositions or axioms; -for instance, the axiom of the existence of God. He is also stupid who -cannot understand a logical proof; he who cannot accept reasonable -premises, can draw no correct inferences. But the height of stupidity -is, not to be able to accept an explanation founded on fact. When the -Apostles told Thomas that Christ, the Son of God, was risen from the -dead, he could not receive the new truth, because it was beyond his -horizon. Such a man is usually called thick-headed, is he not?" - -Damascenus did not answer, but his ears grew red, for he saw behind on -the spring-board a man whom he thought he recognised by his broad neck -and small ears. - -"What are you looking at?" asked the teacher. - -"Who is the man there?" - -"He was, or was called Al Mansur, the Victorious, because he lost all -battles but one--the battle with himself. By the Greeks he is called -Chrysoroas, or 'Golden Stream'; by the Romans, John of Damascus." - - -=The Nightingale in the Vineyard.=--Johann went with his teacher -through a vineyard, at the season when the vines were flourishing -and exhaling their delicious perfume, which resembles that of the -mignonette. "Do you notice the fine scent?" asked the teacher. "Oh yes; -it is the scent of the vines." "Can you see it?" "No, it is invisible." -"Then you can believe in what is invisible, as well as enjoy it. You -are, then, on the way." - -A nightingale was singing in a pomegranate tree. "Can you see her -notes?" asked the teacher. "But you are delighted by them. Similarly, -I delight in the invisible God through His way of revealing Himself in -beauty, goodness, and righteousness. Do you think God cannot reveal -Himself, like the nightingale, by invisible but audible tones?" "Yes, -certainly." "Then you believe in revelations?" "Yes, I am obliged -to." "You believe that God is a Spirit?" "Yes." "Then you believe in -spirits?" "That is an incorrect inference. I believe in one Spirit." -"Have not men spirits or souls in their bodies?" "Certainly." "Then -you believe in spirits, _i.e._ in the existence of spirits?" "You are -right; I believe in spirits." "Don't forget that the next time one asks -you. And don't be afraid when the Lord of Dung comes and threatens you -with the loss of bread, honour, wife, and child." - - -=The Miracle of the Corn-crakes.=--One summer evening the teacher -went with Johann through the clover-fields. There they heard a sound, -"Crex! crex!" "What is that?" asked the teacher. "The corn-crake, of -course." "Have you seen the corn-crake?" "No." "Do you know a man who -has seen it?" "No." "How do you know, then, that it is it?" "Everyone -says so." "Look! If I throw a stone at it, will it fly up?" "No, for it -cannot fly, or flies very badly." "But in autumn, it always flies to -Italy! How does that happen?" "I don't know." "What do the zoologists -say?" "Nothing." "Do you believe that it flies over the Sound, runs -through Germany, and wanders over the Alps or through the St. Gothard -Tunnel?" "They say nothing about it." "Well! Brehm calculates there -are a pair of larks to every acre of field and meadow; if we reckon -that there are a pair of corn-crakes to every two acres, then there -are in our country in spring five million corn-crakes. The female lays -from seven to twelve eggs during the summer, so that in autumn in our -country there are five-and-thirty million corn-crakes. Ought they not -to be visible when they fly over the Sound?" "I cannot explain it. A -bad flyer cannot fly over the Sound. Is it possible that they go round -by the Gulf of Bothnia?" "No, for they have rivers to cross, and one -would see their flight like that of the lemmings. Besides, in England -there are seventy million corn-crakes every autumn, and they cannot -go by land." "Then a miracle happens." "What is a miracle?" "What one -cannot explain, but has no right to deny." "Then the flight of the -corn-crakes is a miracle; it must take place according to unknown -natural laws or be supernatural?" - - -=Corollaries.=--The teacher said: "The bee is a little creature, -but gives plenty of honey. The corn-crake is a little bird, but it has -shown us that some of the most ordinary natural occurrences cannot be -explained by known natural laws, and must therefore be regarded, for -the present, as supernatural, and for the rest, be taken on faith. - -"You have never seen the corn-crake in fields or meadows, but you -believe that it is there. If now a sportsman came, who had shot the -bird, you would be more quickly convinced that the bird does appear in -the district, even though the sportsman were a liar. - -"But the fact that millions of birds not accustomed to flying cannot -fly over great spaces of water or Alpine glaciers, does not explain the -autumn flight of the corn-crakes. - -"Since this cannot be explained on natural grounds, it is -supernatural. We must accordingly admit that we believe sometimes on -the supernatural, or on miracles. - -"From this proved thesis you can deduce the corollaries for yourself if -you possess the faculty of drawing inferences." - - -=Phantasms which Are Real.=--The teacher asked: "Can one see a -phantasm?" - -"What is a phantasm?" - -"There are in optics real images which can be caught on a screen. An -image reflected in a flat mirror cannot be caught upon a screen, and is -therefore a phantasm. Can you see your image in a flat mirror?" - -"Yes." - -"Then you can see a phantasm, or an unreal image. The eye, therefore, -is a skilful instrument, which can make the unreal real. One might thus -be tempted to believe in ghosts." - -"What are ghosts?" - -"They are phantasms, or unreal images which the eye can take in at -certain distances. Great and credible men, such as Luther, Swedenborg, -and Goethe, have seen ghosts." - -"Goethe?" - -"Yes; in the eleventh book of _Aus meinem Leben_ he relates how he met -the image of himself upon a country road. 'I saw, that is to say, not -with the eye of the body, but of the spirit,' he adds. Do you consider -Goethe's testimony credible?" - -"Yes." - -"Well, such sights are not seen every day, just as the hoopoo is not -seen every day. But that does not give one any right to doubt that they -are seen." - - -=Crex, crex!=--The pupil asked: "What is chance?" - -"It means something accidental, irregular, illogical in the occurrence -of an event. But the word is often misused by those who see, but do not -understand. For instance, if after an evil deed you are systematically -persecuted by misfortune, that is no chance. Firstly, because the -misfortunes appear regularly, but chance is irregular. Secondly, -because the punishment follows logically on the evil deed, and chance -is illogical. It is therefore something else." - -"Yes, it must be so. But what is it that causes me to fail in all my -undertakings, to meet in the streets only enemies, to be cheated in all -the shops, to get the worst eatables in the market, to read only of -wickedness in the papers, not to receive pleasant letters though they -have been posted, to miss my train, to see the last cab engaged under -my nose, to be given the only room in the hotel where a suicide has -been committed, not to meet the person I have taken a special journey -to see; to have the money I earn immediately snatched away, to have to -remain in a strange town from which all my acquaintances have gone? -Then at last, when I have no food, and am on the point of drowning -myself, I find a shilling in the street. That cannot be chance? What is -it then?" - -"It is something else, but how it happens we don't know, since we know -so little about the most ordinary phenomena." - -"That's only twaddle." - -"Crex, crex!" - -"That's the corn-crake." - -"Yes, it is." - -=The Electric Battery and the Earth Circuit.=--The pupil feigned -ignorance, and asked: "What is religion?" - -"If you do not know from experience or intuition, I cannot explain it -to you; in that case it would only seem to you folly. But if you know -beforehand, you will be able to receive my explanations, which are -many. Religion is connected with the Source or the head station. But in -order to carry on a conversation one must have an earth-current." - -"What is that?" - -"That is the draining off of superfluous earthliness to the earth. As -one advances in technical knowledge, one learns to speak without a -wire. But for that there are necessary strong streams of electricity, -clean instruments, and clear air. The electric battery is Faith, which -is not merely credence, but an apparatus for receiving and arousing the -divine electricity. Unless you believe in the possibility of success in -an undertaking, you will not set to work, and accordingly you acquire -no energy. With faith and a good will all is possible." - -"But Faith is a gift for all that." - -"Yes; but if, from pride or obstinacy, you refuse to receive it, it is -no gift for you. Is that clear?" - - -=Improper and Unanswerable Questions.=--The pupil asked: "If God -is one, why are there several religions?" - -"Since the existence of God is an axiom, you should say, '_Since_ God -is one, why are there several religions?' I answer: I do not know, -and, strictly speaking, it does not concern me. All agree in the chief -point--that there is a God, and that the soul is immortal." - -"If the soul is immortal, how is it that there are men who regard their -souls as mortal, and speak of the present life as their only one?" - -"Their feelings may be perverted, like a man's who believes he has a -snake in his stomach. Perhaps they have committed soul-suicide. Perhaps -they think the doctrine of immortality foolish, or their souls are -really so rudimentary that they can be buried and dissolved. If that -is the case, one cannot argue with them, for they are right as regards -themselves. Either theirs is an abnormal case, or their perceptions -are perverse; I cannot say which. I am inclined to regard the question -as among those which are unanswerable, or which have not yet been -answered, or which should not be asked." - - -=Superstition and Non-Superstition.=--The pupil asked: "What is -superstition?" - -"I don't know; but a sterile intellect calls the highest axioms -superstitions, _e.g._ God, the religious life, conscience. The -believing fertile intelligence, on the other hand, calls it -superstition when an unbeliever avoids a squirrel, spits when he sees -an old woman or when one wishes him luck, or dares not begin a journey -on the thirteenth of the month." - -"What is witchcraft?" - -"When bad men misemploy their psychic forces on weaker minds, dazzle -them, or torment them from a distance, and so on. You have seen all -this at hypnotic seances. In them, for example, the medium's eyesight -can be so perverted as to take a raw potato for an apple." - -"Are there then witches?" - -"Yes; certainly there are. An ugly and evil woman, who so dazzles the -eyes of a man that he sees her as the most beautiful and best, is a -witch." - -"Should she be burnt?" - -"No, for she burns herself through her wickedness when she meets a man -who is mail-clad with the love of God. Then the missiles of the witch -rebound and strike herself. But one should not talk of such. He who -touches pitch is defiled." - - -=Through Faith to Knowledge.=--The pupil asked: "How shall I know -that I believe rightly?" "I will tell you. Doubt the regular denials -of your everyday intelligence. Go out of yourself if you can, and place -yourself at the believer's standpoint. Act as though you believed, and -then test the belief, and see whether it agrees with your experiences. -If it does, then you have gained in wisdom, and no one can shake -your belief. When I for the first time obtained Swedenborg's _Arcana -Cœlestia_, and looked through the ten thousand pages, it appeared to -me all nonsense. And yet I could not help wondering, since the man was -so extraordinarily learned in all the natural sciences, as well as -in mathematics, philosophy, and political economy. Amid the apparent -foolishness of the book were some details which remained riveted in my -memory. - -"Some time later, in my ordinary life, there happened something -inexplicable. Subsequently light was thrown upon this by an experience -which Swedenborg refers to his so-called heaven and his so-called -angels. Then I began to search and to compare, to make experiments and -to find explanations. I come to the conclusion that Swedenborg has had -experiences which resemble those of earthly life, but are not the same. -This he brings out in his theory of correspondences and agreements. The -theosophists have expressed it thus: parallel with the earth-life we -live another life on the astral plane, but unconsciously to ourselves." - - -=The Enchanted Room.=--The pupil became curious and asked: "What -opened your eyes as regards Swedenborg?" - -"It is difficult to say, but I will try to do so. In my lonely dwelling -there was a room which I considered the most beautiful in the world. -It had not been so beautiful at first, but great and important events -had taken place there. A child had been born in it, and in it a man had -died. Finally I fitted it up as a temple of memory, and never showed it -to anyone. - -"One day, however, the demon of pride and ostentation took possession -of me, and I took a guest into it. He happened to be a 'black man,' -a hopeless despairer, who only believed in physical force and in -wickedness, and called himself 'a load of earth.' As I admitted him -I said, 'Now you will see the most beautiful room in the country.' I -turned on the electric light, which generally poured down from the -ceiling such a blaze that not a dark corner was left in the room. The -man stood in the middle of the room, looked round, grumbled to himself, -and said 'I can't see that.' - -"As he spoke, the room darkened, the walls contracted, the floor -shrank in size. My splendid temple was metamorphosed before my eyes. -It seemed to me like a room in a hospital, with coarse wall-papers; -the beautiful flowered curtains looked dirty; the white surface of the -little writing-table showed spots; the gilding was blackened; the brass -fittings of the tiled oven were tarnished. The whole room was altered, -and I was ashamed. It had been enchanted. - - -=Concerning Correspondences.=--"Now comes Swedenborg, but his -explanation is somewhat difficult. I must make a prefatory remark, in -order that you may not think I regard myself as an angel. By 'angel' -Swedenborg means a deceased mortal, who by death has been released from -the prison of the body, and by suffering in faith has recovered the -highest faculties of his soul. It is necessary to bear this definition -of Swedenborg's in mind, and to remember that it does not apply to my -guest or myself. - -"Swedenborg further remarks regarding these dematerialised beings: 'All -which appears and exists around them seems to be produced and created -by them. The fact that their surroundings are, as it were, produced -and created by them is evident, because when they are no longer -there the surroundings are altered. A change in the surroundings is -also apparent, when other beings come in their place. Elysian plains -change into their trees and fruits; gardens change into their roses and -plants, and fields into their herbs and grasses. The reason for the -appearance and alteration of such objects is that they are produced by -the wishes of these angel beings and the currents of thought set in -motion thereby.' - -"Is not this a subtle observation of Swedenborg's, and have not the -facts he alleges something corresponding to them in our lower sphere? -Does it not resemble my adventure in the 'enchanted room?' Perhaps you -have had a similar experience?" - - -=The Green Island.=--The pupil answered: "I have certainly had -strange experiences, but did not understand them because I thought -with the flesh. As I just heard you say that our experiences can -receive a symbolical interpretation, I remembered an incident which -resembled that which you have just related and compared with an -observation of Swedenborg's. After a youth spent under intolerable -pressure and too much work, a friend gave me a sum of money that I -might spend the summer on the sea in literary recreation. When I saw -the 'Green Island' with its carpets of flowers, beds of reeds, banks -of willows, oak coppices, and hazel woods, I thought that I beheld -Paradise. Together with three other young poets I passed the summer -in a state of happiness which I have never experienced since. We were -fairly religious, although we did not literally believe in the gods -of the state, and we lived, as a rule, innocently enough, with simple -pleasures such as bathing, sailing, and fishing. - -"But there was an evil man among us. He was overbearing, and regarded -mankind as his enemies; denied all goodness; spied after others' -faults; rejoiced in others' misfortunes. Every time he left us to go -to the town, the island seemed to me more beautiful; it seemed like -Sunday. I was always the object of his gibes, but did not understand -his malice. My friends wondered that I was not angry with him, as I -was generally so passionate. I do not myself understand it, but I was -as though protected, and noticed nothing, whatever the cause may have -been. Perhaps you ask whether the island really was so wonderful. I -answer: I found it so, but perhaps the beauty was in my way of looking -at it." - - -=Swedenborg's Hell.=--The pupil continued: "The next summer I came -again, but this time with other companions, and I was another man. -The bitterness of life, the spirit of the time, new teachings, evil -companionship made me doubt the beneficence of Providence, and finally -deny its existence. We led a dreadful life together. We slandered each -other, suspected each other even of theft. All wished to dominate, -nobody would follow another to the best bathing-place, but each went to -his own. We could not sail, for everyone wished to steer. We quarrelled -from morning till night. We drank also, and half of us were treating -themselves for incurable diseases. My 'Green Island,' the first -paradise of my youth, became ugly and repulsive to me. I could see no -more beauty in nature, although at that time I worshipped nature. But -wait a minute, and see how it agreed with what Swedenborg says! The -beautiful weed-fringed bay began to exhale such miasmas, that I got -malarial fever. The gnats plagued us the whole night and stung through -the thickest veil. If I wandered in the wood, and wished to pluck a -flower, I saw an adder rear its head. One day, when I took some moss -from a rock, I saw immediately a black snake zigzagging away. It was -inexplicable. The peaceable inhabitants must have been infected by our -wickedness, for they became malicious, ugly, quarrelsome, and enacted -domestic tragedies. It was hell! When I became ill, my companions -scoffed at me, and were angry, because I had to have a room to myself. -They borrowed money from me, which was not my own, and behaved -brutally. When I wanted a doctor, they would not fetch him." - -The teacher broke in: "That is how Swedenborg describes hell." - - -=Preliminary Knowledge Necessary.=--The pupil asked: "Is there a -hell?" - -"You ask that, when you have been in it?" - -"I mean, another one." - -"What do you mean by another one? Has your experience not sufficed to -convince you that there _is_ one?" - -"But what does Swedenborg think?" - -"I don't know. It is possible that he does not mean a place, but a -condition of mind. But as his descriptions of another side agree with -our experiences on this side in this point, that whenever a man breaks -the connection with the higher sphere, which is Love and Wisdom, a -hell ensues, it does not matter whether it is here or there. He uses -parables and allegories, as Christ did in order to be understood. - -"Emerson in his _Representative Men_ regards Swedenborg's genius as the -greatest among modern thinkers, but he warns us against stereo-typing -his forms of thought. True as transitional forms, they are false if -one tries to fix them fast. He calls these descriptions a transitory -embodiment of the truth, not the truth itself." - -"But I do not yet understand Swedenborg." - -"No, because you have not the necessary preliminary knowledge. Just -like the peasant who came to a chemical lecture and only heard about -letters and numbers. He considered it the most stupid stuff he had ever -heard: 'They could only spell, but could not put the letters together.' -He lacked the necessary preliminary knowledge. Still, when you read -Swedenborg, read Emerson along with him." - - -=Perverse Science.=--The teacher continued: "Swedenborg never -found a contradiction between science and religion, because he beheld -the harmony in all, correspondences in the higher sphere to the lower, -and the unity underlying opposites. Like Pythagoras, he saw the -Law-giver in His laws, the Creator in His work, God in nature, history -and the life of men. Modern degenerate science sees nothing, although -it has obtained the telescope and microscope. - -"Newton, Leibnitz, Kepler, Swedenborg, Linnæus, the greatest scientists -were religious God-fearing men. Newton wrote also an Exposition of the -Apocalypse. Kepler was a mystic in the truest sense of the word. It was -his mysticism which led to his discovery of the laws regulating the -courses of the planets. Humble and pure-hearted, those men could see -God while our decadents only see an ape infested by vermin. - -"The fact that our science has fallen into disharmony with God, shows -that it is perverse, and derives its light from the Lord of Dung." - - -=Truth in Error.=--The teacher continued: "Let us return for a -moment to your green island. There you discovered that the world is a -reflection of your interior state, and of the interior state of others. -It is therefore probable that each carries his own heaven and hell -within him. Thus we come to the conclusion that religion is something -subjective, and therefore outside the reach of discussion. - -"The believer is therefore right when he receives spiritual edification -from the consecrated Bread and Wine. And the unbeliever is also not -wrong when he maintains that _for him_ it is only bread and wine. But -if he asserts that it is the same with the believer, he is wrong. -One ought not to punish him for it; one must only lament his want -of intelligence. By calling religion subjective, I have not thereby -diminished its power. The subjective is the highest for personality, -which is an end in itself, inasmuch as the education of man to superman -is the meaning of existence. - -"But when many individuals combine in one belief, there results an -objective force of tremendous intensity, which can remove mountains and -overthrow the walls of Jericho. - - -=Accumulators.=--"When a race of wild men begin to worship a -meteoric stone, and this stone is subsequently venerated by a nation -for centuries, it accumulates psychic force, _i.e._ becomes a sacred -object which can bestow strength on those who possess the receptive -apparatus of faith. It can accordingly work miracles which are quite -incomprehensible to unbelievers. - -"Such a sacred object is called an amulet, and is not really more -remarkable than an electric pocket-lamp. But the lamp gives light only -on two conditions--that it is charged with electricity and that one -presses the knob. Amulets also only operate under certain conditions. - -"The same holds good of sacred places, sacred pictures and objects, -and also of sacred rites which are called sacraments. - -"But it may be dangerous for an unbeliever to approach too near to -an accumulator. The faith-batteries of others can produce an effect -on them, and they may be killed thereby, if they possess not the -earth-circuit to carry off the coarser earthly elements. - -"The electric car proceeds securely and evenly as long as it is in -contact with the overhead wire and also connected with the earth. -If the former contact is interrupted, the car stands still. If the -earth-circuit is blocked, an electric storm is the result, as was the -case with St. Paul on the way to Damascus." - - -=Eternal Punishment.=--The pupil asked: "What is your belief -regarding eternal punishments?" - -"Let me answer evasively, so to speak: since wickedness is its own -punishment, and a wicked man cannot be happy, and the will is free, an -evil man may be perpetually tormented with his own wickedness, and his -punishment accordingly have no end. - -"But we will hope that the wicked will not adhere to his evil will for -ever. A wicked man often experiences a change of nature when he sees -something good. Therefore, it is our duty to show him what is good. -The consciousness of fatality and being damned comes to everyone, -even to the incredulous. That proves that there is an inborn sense -of justice, a need to punish oneself, and that quite independent of -dogmas. Moreover, it is a gross falsehood that the doctrine of hell was -invented by Christianity. Greeks and Romans knew Hades and Tartarus -with their refined tortures; the Jews had their Sheol and Gehenna; -the cheerful Japanese rival Dante with their Inferno. It is therefore -thoughtless nonsense to make Christian theology solely responsible -for the doctrine of hell. It would be just as fair to trace it to the -cheerful view of life of the Greeks and Romans, who first came upon the -idea." - - -="Desolation."=--The teacher continued: "When this feeling of -fatality strikes an unbeliever, it often appears as the so-called -persecution-mania. He believes himself, for example, persecuted by men -who wish to poison him. Since his intelligence is so low that he cannot -rise to the idea of God, his evil conscience makes him conjure up evil -men as his persecutors. Thus he does not understand that it is God who -is pursuing him, and therefore he dies or goes mad. - -"But he who has strength enough to bow himself, or intelligence -enough to guess at a method in this madness, cries to God for help and -grace, and escapes the madhouse. After a season of self-chastisement, -life begins to grow lighter; peace returns; he succeeds in his -undertakings; his 'Green Island' again blooms with spring. This -feeling of woebegoneness often occurs about the fortieth or fiftieth -year. It is the balancing of books at the solstice. The whole past is -summed up, and the debit-side shows a plus which makes one despair. -Scenes of earlier life pass by like a panorama, seen in a new light; -long-forgotten incidents reappear even in their smallest details. The -opening of the sealed Book of Life, spoken of in the Revelation, is -a veritable reality. It is the day of judgment. The children of the -Lord of Dung who have lost their intelligence understand nothing, -but buy bromkali at the chemist's and take sick-leave because of -'neurasthenia.' That is a Greek word, which serves them as an amulet. - -"Swedenborg calls this natural process 'the desolation' of the wicked. -The pietists call it the 'awakening' before conversion." - - -=A World of Delusion.=--"Swedenborg writes: 'The angels are -troubled concerning the darkness on earth. They say that they can see -hardly any light anywhere, that men live and strengthen themselves in -lying and deceit, and so heap up falsity upon falsity. In order to -ratify these, they manage to extract, by way of inference, such true -propositions from false premises, as, on account of the darknesses -which conceal the true sources, and because the real state of the case -is unknown, cannot be refuted.' - -"This agrees with what every thinking man observes, that lying and -deceit are universal. The whole of life--politics, society, marriage, -the family--is counterfeit. Views which universally prevail are based -upon false history; scientific theories are founded on error; the truth -of to-day is discovered to be a lie to-morrow; the hero turns out to -be a coward, the martyr a hypocrite. Te Deums are sung over a silver -wedding, and the wedded pair, still secretly leading immoral lives, -thank God that they have lived together happily for five-and-twenty -years. The whole populace assembles once in a year to celebrate the -memory of the 'Destroyer of the Country.' He who says the most foolish -thing possible, receives a prize in money and a gold medal. At the -annual asses' festival, the worst is crowned the asses' king. - -"A mad world, my masters! If Hamlet plays the madman, he sees how -mad the world is. But the spectator believes himself to be the only -reasonable person, therefore He gives Hamlet his sympathy." - - -=The Conversion of the Cheerful Pagan, Horace.=--"Among the -conventional falsehoods of the apes,[1] one of the best known is that -conversion from irreligion is a purely Christian doctrine. By looking -into Kumlin's Swedish translation of Horace, even a schoolboy can find -this heading to the thirty-fourth ode of the first book, 'The Religious -Conversion of the Poet.' - -"Horace belonged to the Epicurean sect who only believed in phantom -gods, because they held that the divinities did not trouble themselves -with the course of the world or of events, but enjoyed a careless life -of continual ease. Horace accordingly had not been remarkably zealous -in his religious duties. But a sudden flash of lightning and a heavy -peal of thunder from a clear sky taught him at last that it was no -blind unconscious force of nature, but the hand of a God, which hurled -the lightning. Thereby he was awoken to reflection, and tried to warn -and sober his frivolous countrymen by dwelling on the power of Jupiter. -'God can change the lowest with the highest; He puts down the exalted -and uplifts the obscure.' - -"After this Horace preached like a Jeremiah against the corruption of -religion and morals. A modern 'ape' might feel justified in calling him -a pietist since he was converted! - - -=Cheerful Paganism and its Doctrine of Hell.=--"_Origen against -Celsus_ is the title of the first refutation of the lying accusations -which the pagans have brought against Christianity. Who will write a -second? Who will show that the hell of the pagans was seven times worse -than that of the Christians? In some Christian countries the Christian -religion may not be taught in the schools, but boys are obliged to read -Virgil's Sixth Æneid, which describes the terrors of the underworld. - -"There is the Lernæan Hydra, the Chimæra, Gorgons, and Harpies. On the -banks of Cocytus roam crowds of the unburied; there they must roam for -centuries because they have never found a grave. Is that humane? Then -there are the poor suicides everlastingly immersed in the Styx. And the -field of mourning where unhappy lovers hide themselves. 'Even after -death their pangs are not ended.' - -"But these were comparatively innocent. Criminals, however, are -punished first by the fury Tisiphone. She seizes the damned, mocks -them with hellish laughter, and threatens them with snakes. A Hydra -opens fifty black jaws.... And so on till we come to the sieve of the -Danaids, the wheel of Ixion, the thirst of Tantalus. - -"Let us remember, however, that the men of the Renaissance, Dante and -Michael Angelo, have depicted the most extreme torments, as though they -believed in them. Anyone who wants to see how the cheerful Japanese -describe hell, can look at the pictures which Riotor and Leofanti -published in Paris, 1895, in the _Enfers Bouddhiques_." - -[Footnote 1: Materialistic evolutionists.] - - -=Faith the Chief Thing.=--The teacher continued: "Pietism is -a condition of repentance, which men pass through like a purifying -bath and gain a consciousness of inward cleanliness. It is therefore -no hypocrisy, as the children of the Lord of Dung suppose. He -who is severe towards himself may easily appear malicious to the -unintelligent; and he who has suffered for his wickednesses feels -himself freed from the past. This feeling the unbelievers call -'self-satisfaction.' - -"A penitent never attains perfection, but ceaselessly relapses into -the desires of the flesh. This may easily cause him to appear a -hypocrite. Luther quickly saw that it is impossible to make one's acts -correspond to one's belief. Therefore he laid stress on faith, let acts -go, and adduced as his authority St. Paul's solution of the paradox: -'So I obey the law of God with the spirit, but with the flesh the law -of sin.' - -"Faith, Hope, and Love: that is the essence and kernel of religion. -One's acts never come up to one's faith, and often lag far behind -it. But there are some pious souls who persist in remaining in the -condition of penance, and it may easily seem as though they wished to -gain heaven in advance of the rest. But we should not blame them for -it. There may be secret reasons which we do not know, and have never -experienced. - -"Socrates regarded the sense of shame and conscience as what -distinguished man from the beasts. To these two Christ added pity." - - -=Penitents.=--The teacher continued: "Muhammed early traversed -the stage of desolation and became a pietist, when he believed himself -persecuted by devils. Set free finally by suffering and prayer, he -exclaims in the 93rd Sura: 'By the forenoon, and the night when it -darkens, thy Lord has not forsaken thee or hated thee, and surely the -future for thee will be better than the past. And thy Lord will give -thee sufficient, and thou shalt be satisfied. Did He not find thee an -orphan and give thee shelter? and find thee erring and guide thee? and -find thee poor with a family and nourish thee? But as for the orphan, -oppress him not; and as for the beggar, drive him not away; and as -for the favour of thy Lord, discourse thereof!' When Buddha left his -father's palace and saw the sufferings of men and the instability -of life, he became a penitent, left wife and child, went into the -wilderness, and chastened himself by fasting and renunciation. But -after he had undergone the severest penances, he cautiously returned to -ordinary life, and allowed himself moderate enjoyments in order not to -devastate his soul. Some of his disciples deserted him and called him a -recreant, but that did not trouble him. - -"Goethe himself passed through religious crises, and was at one period -intimate with the Hermhuters, the pietists of that time. In his old -age, when he grew wise, he became a mystic, _i.e._ he discovered that -there are things between heaven and earth of which the 'Beans' have -never let themselves dream." - - -=Paying for Others.=--The pupil said: "I must confess that I do -not understand the Atonement." "You mean, understand it with everyday -intelligence. No one can. The highest questions cannot be solved by us, -just as little as problems of the fourth dimension. But the solution is -given to us, if we ask for it in a proper way. - -"As regards the redemptive work of Christ, you can comprehend it by an -analogy. You remember, when you owed so many debts, that there were -knocks at your door all day long, that you had to go out early in the -morning in order to borrow, or to escape your creditors. Finally you -feared your room so, that you dared not go home to sleep. You sat on a -seat in the park, and said to yourself, 'It is hell!' Then there came a -man who knew you; he paid your debts; you called him your saviour. Do -you not see that one can pay for another, and deliver him?" - -"Yes, but one cannot make an evil deed undone." - -"No, but the Almighty can obliterate it from our memory, and from the -memory of others. But mark this well: every time that you rummage in -the past of another, although it has been atoned for, the memory of -your own evil deeds starts up. Just like a badly washed stain which -goes through the stuff and appears on the other side. All miracles are -conditional, just as vows are." - - -=The Lice-King.=--As the teacher roamed one day in Qualheim he -came into a wood under whose shadow many decaying funguses grew. On a -footpath he saw what he thought at first was a snake writhing about. -It was no snake, however, but a mass of grubs clotted together. The -teacher asked his guide: "What is the meaning of that?" - -"Ask first what it is; then I will tell you the meaning of it." - -"Well?" - -"These are the larvæ of the snake-worm, which are obliged, like clay -and wadded straw, to hold together in order not to perish. They love -poisonous funguses, and cannot bear the light. They maintain their -existence by a mutual interchange of slime, without which they become -dead and dry. But they call darkness light, because the sun would kill -them. They feed on the poisonous funguses. They hate each other, but -must keep together. Do you understand now, or not?" - -"What is the name of the creature?" - -"It is called the snake-worm or lice-king, appears once in every -generation, and is a herald of evil times." - -"What does it mean then?" - -"It is a symbol of the men who talk with their faces turned backwards, -and therefore see everything distorted; who call evil good, and good -evil. Because they live in pride and self-love they cannot see God, -but elect one of the mass to be their king, and believe that they are, -collectively, God. By 'freedom,' they mean freedom to do evil. Often an -ox or cow comes by and treads upon the motely mass. Then, of course, it -is obliterated in slime, but another soon takes it place." - -"It seems to be as eternal as evil." - - -=The Art of Life.=--The teacher said: "Life is hard to live, and -the destinies of men appear very different. Some have brighter days, -others darker ones. It is therefore difficult to know how one should -behave in life, what one should believe, what views one should adopt, -or to which party one should adhere. This destiny is not the inevitable -blind fate of the ancients, but the commission which each one has -received, the task he must perform. The theosophists call it Karma, and -believe it is connected with a past which we only dimly remember. He -who has early discovered his destiny, and keeps closely to it, without -comparing his with others, or envying others their easier lot, has -discovered himself, and will find life easier. But at periods when all -wish to have a similar lot, one often engages in a fruitless struggle -to make one's own harder destiny resemble the lot of those to whom an -easier one has been assigned. Thence result disharmony and friction. -Even up to old age, many men seek to conquer their destiny, and make it -resemble that of others." - -The pupil asked: "If it is so, why is not one informed of one's Karma -from the beginning?" - -The teacher answered: "That is pure pity for us. No man could endure -life, if he knew what lay before him. Moreover, man must have a certain -measure of freedom; without that, he would only be a puppet. Also -the wise think that the voyage of discovery we make to discover our -destiny is instructive for us. 'Let My Grace be sufficient for thee; My -strength is made perfect in weakness.'" - - -=The Mitigation of Destiny.=--The teacher continued: "Some appear -to be destined to honour and wealth, others only to honour, and others -only to wealth. Many seem to be born to humiliations, poverty, and -sickness--'struck like a coin in the mint,' as the saying is. Everyone -can mitigate his destiny by submitting and adapting himself to it--by -resignation, in a word. The inward happiness which one gains thereby, -excels all outward prosperity. All things work for good to him who -serves God. The man who does not strive after honour and wealth is -impregnable; in a certain sense, all-powerful. - -"The hardest thing is to see the injustice in the world; but even that -can be overcome by taking it as a trial. If the wicked prospers, let -him; we have nothing to do with it. Besides, his happiness is not so -great when one looks closer at it. - -"When you are persecuted by misfortune, and your conscience cannot -call it deserved, take it quietly. Regard the endurance of the ordeal -as an honour. There will come a day when everything will improve. Then -perhaps you will discover that the misfortunes were benefits, or, at -any rate, afforded opportunity for exercising endurance. Envy no man; -you know not what his envied lot might conceal, if it actually came to -changing places." - - -=The Good and the Evil.=--The pupil asked: "Is there really such a -great difference between men?" - -The teacher answered: "Yes and No! But a sure mark of the evil man -is, he does evil for evil's sake. That is the bad man--the sarcastic -schoolmaster, the domestic tyrant. That is the child, which torments -its mother by finding out everything she dislikes. That is the bad -wife, the fury, who enjoys torturing and humiliating a man who only -wishes her good. - -"In the battles of life it is quite human to rejoice when a foe is -defeated. On all battlefields God has been thanked for the victory. -That is something different. - -"When one sees the insolent struck by misfortune, one rejoices that -there is justice. When one sees the wicked punished, one feels -satisfaction at seeing the balance of equity restored. That is -something different. - -"But he who rejoices over every evil deed which he himself has been -under no necessity of committing; he who rejoices when the criminal -escapes his punishment; he who gloats over the misfortune of a good -man; he who suffers when goodness and merit are rewarded--that is the -evil man. Such were those who clamoured for the murderer Barabbas's -release and perhaps gave a feast in his honour." - - -=Modesty and the Sense of Justice.=--The teacher continued: -"Properly speaking, the question you should have asked just now is, -'What men are good?' Socrates, according to Plato, said, 'Those who -possess modesty and a sense of justice. Those are the religious men.' - -"He, on the other hand, who has neither faith nor hope, can assume the -outward aspect of an honourable man. But when his worldly interests or -advantages are concerned, he lets honour drop. Similarly, when it is a -question of saving one of his associates from punishment. Then he can -bear false witness, and believe it is a good act. He does not stick at -helping forward an unworthy friend or relative. He will swear falsely -in order to attack a believer. He thinks everything lawful, _i.e._ -on his side against others, and he never repents anything, saying to -himself, 'He who lets himself be misled must pay for it.' - -"When a religious man makes a slip, he is wont to feel ashamed, and to -reproach himself. Often he is naïve enough to confess his fault or his -mis-doing. Then the Lice-King shouts 'Hurrah!' For he would never be so -simple. Still, though a believer fall seventy times and seven, he rises -again and confesses his fault. That is the difference." - - -=Derelicts.=--The pupil asked: "How is one to judge of the men -who are overthrown in the battle of life without being armed for the -conflict? You remember such characters at school; they could not -learn, could not attend; they were not ashamed, however, but regarded -themselves as a kind of victims. They left school, went out into life, -and collapsed. It was not the fault of their domestic surroundings, -for they came of good families, who supported them. They were not bad, -possessed talents, were clever, but had no knowledge and no interests -in life. 'What is the object of it?' they were in the habit of saying. -They could not bring themselves to work, but dozed at their desks. They -seemed to be born to do nothing, which is a punishment for the active. -Explain to me their destiny!" - -"That I cannot." - -"Some have died young in poverty; others begged their way through to -their sixtieth year, while they saw former school-fellows who had been -worse than they, prosper and flourish." - -"I have seen and lamented them, but I cannot explain their destiny." - -"Then they are not to blame, and yet live such lives of shame and -poverty; that is cruel." - -"Hush! Criticise not Providence! What is now inexplicable may some -day be explained! And remember that life is not paradise. Two shall be -grinding at one mill; one shall be taken, and the other left!" - - -=Human Fate.=--The teacher said: "The destinies of men are -obscure; therefore one should be extremely careful in judging. The -Tower of Siloam was ready to fall, and fell on good and evil alike. -The disciples asked Christ what sin the man born blind had committed. -Christ answered that neither he nor his parents had committed any -special sin. When we see how some are born crippled, blind, deaf, -and dumb, we had best be silent. To lament their lot may annoy them, -for they seem to be protected in a mysterious way. They are objects -of pity, and seldom fall into abject poverty. They are good-humoured -through life, and hardly seem to suffer under their ailments. But -woe to the man who ridicules anyone marked out by such a fate! If he -is persistently pursued by calamity, or struck himself by a greater -misfortune, one can hardly ignore it by using the formula 'chance.' A -person who had scoffed at a blind man was struck in the eye by a stone -which was thrown into a tramcar. At first he was alarmed, and thought -of Nemesis. But when he heard that the stone had been so hurled as the -result of some blasting operations he became cheerful, _i.e._ more -ignorant, and said it was a chance. He saw the phenomenon, but nothing -behind it; the effect, but not the cause. - -"The 'Beans' cannot see beyond their noses. Sometimes, when they have -long noses, they see somewhat further. The supernatural in nature is -incomprehensible to their intelligence. Indeed, all which passes their -limited understanding is for them supernatural. That is logical, but -these rustics regard it as illogical." - - -=Dark Rays.=--As the teacher wandered through his Inferno, he came -to a temple of black granite, which was quite dark inside. Within it -something was going on, but he could not distinguish what. - -"What is it?" he asked a white-robed figure, which wore a -laurel-wreath, but had a green face spotted blue like a corpse. "That -is a temple of light," it answered; "but the initiated cannot see -our black rays until he receives the white arsenic-kiss from the -ultra-violet priestess." - -"Give me the kiss," answered the teacher, but he turned his back to her -at the same time. However, she did not notice this, as she could not -distinguish back from front. Now his eyes were opened, and he saw how -within the temple they were offering incense to their "gods of light," -as they called them. There stood the murderer Barabbas, a halo round -his head, and a plate on his breast with the inscription: "Acquitted -because of insufficient evidence." There sat Judas Iscariot under his -fig-tree, with the thirty pieces of silver, in the bosom of his family, -promoted to be general-director of customs. There were the Emperor -Nero, fresh from the bath, with a white dove on his hand, and Julian -the Apostate near an altar, with geese sacrificed upon it. - -The priests and priestesses sang a chant of New Birth and Resurrection, -burned incense compounded of rose-leaves and arsenic-acid, and danced -a snake-dance, which they called "the joy of life." Then they began to -quarrel about a laurel-wreath, and fought one another. As the teacher -went, they all sat there in the darkness and wept. But when a fresh -north wind blew through the temple, they trembled like dry leaves. - - -=Blind and Deaf.=--The teacher said: "There are, as you know, -people with whom one cannot be angry. Perhaps it is because of their -natural good-nature, which shines even through a cutting jest. And -there are people whose malice comes to light long after one has met -them. Such an after-effect I have experienced myself. - -"Five-and-twenty years after a conversation with a man, I felt angry -with him. Naturally, during a sleepless night, when memory threw a new -light on the scene which had taken place between us. Not till then did -the insulting word he spoke receive its proper signification, which I -now understood. There are words which can murder. Such a word this one -was. What a good thing that I did not understand it at the time! It -would have resulted in calamity to four people. - -"By developing a peculiar instinct I have succeeded in fabricating -a kind of diving-costume, with which I protect myself in society. -When the insulting word or the biting allusion is uttered, the sound -certainly reaches my ear, but the receptive apparatus refuses to let -it go further. In the same way I can make myself literally blind. I -obliterate the face of the person I dislike. How it is done, I do not -know, but it seems to be a psychological process. The face becomes -a dirty whitish-grey spot and disappears. It is necessary to make -oneself deaf and blind, or it is impossible to live. - -"One must cancel and go on! That is generally called 'forgiving,' but -it may be a device of the revengeful for sparing himself trouble, or a -scheme of the sensitive for not letting insults reach him. One cannot -undertake more than one can bear!" - - -=The Disrobing Chamber.=--The teacher continued: "Swedenborg says -in his _Inferno_...." - -"Say 'Hell,'" the pupil interrupted him. "I know that there is a hell, -for I have been in it." - -"Well, Swedenborg has in his _Hell_ a disrobing chamber into which the -deceased are conducted immediately after their death. There they lay -aside the dress they have had to wear in society and in the family. -Then the angels see at once whom they have before them." - -"Does Swedenborg then mean that we are all hypocrites?" - -"Yes, in a certain way. An inborn modesty compels us to conceal what -has to do with the animal; politeness obliges us to be silent on -many points. Consideration, friendship, kinship, love, oblige us to -overlook our neighbour's weaknesses, although we disapprove them even -in ourselves. A man who is ashamed of his faults is also silent about -them. To boast of one's faults is shamelessness." - -"Can one really call such consideration hypocrisy?" - -"Hardly; especially as things go wrong, however one behaves." - -"Yes, life is not easy; it is hard to be a man; almost impossible." - - -=The Character Mask.=--The teacher said: "I knew in my youth a man -who was imperious, quick to anger, revengeful, emotional. Accidentally -his gifts as a speaker were discovered. He could thrill the minds of -his hearers, bring them into touch with himself, lift them up--yes, and -nearly carry them away. But on one occasion when he was at the height -of his oratory he halted, became grotesque and ridiculous, and people -laughed. The first time that this happened, he was depressed. But they -thought he wished to produce a comical effect, and he obtained the -reputation of a humorous speaker. - -"Out of his misfortune he made a virtue, accepted the rôle which had -been assigned to him, and finally enjoyed a great popularity as a -humourist. He often felt annoyed at having to play the part of a -buffoon, but the desire to hear his own voice and to be greeted with -applause unceasingly spurred him on to win new triumphs. - -"Society had made of him a sort of 'homunculus,' which it cultivated. -But in his family and in his office it was not to be found." - - -=Youth and Folly.=--The teacher said: "What do you think of the -proverb, 'The young _imagine_ that the old are fools, and the old -_know_ that the young are fools?'" - -"It is quite true. When I was young, I imagined that I understood -everything better than the old, but I really understood nothing. I -was young and stupid, confused my own knowledge with that of others', -believed that what I had learnt was my own. When I had read a book, I -went into society and proclaimed what I had read, as though it were my -own discovery, I was therefore a thief. - -"But I was the victim of another delusion, _i.e._ I believed that I -understood all that I remembered, or that I knew what I happened at -the moment to remember. For instance, when I was fourteen I did not -understand logarithms, but I learnt the way of proceeding with them by -heart, and used logarithms as a short-cut. - -"When one studies a science in detail, one begins to collect material, -else the result is nil. But the young man attacks the difficult science -of life without experience, _i.e._ without material. And the result is -what we see. - -"I can see myself now as a young student. How proud I was of borrowed -knowledge and borrowed plumes! How I despised the old! And yet all that -I had stolen from books was stolen from the old, who had written the -text-books. The young write no text-books. O Youth! O Foolishness! - - -=When I was Young and Stupid.=--"When I was young and stupid, -I always had a band of hearers who saw a light in me. When I grew -older, and wisdom came, I was left alone with my lecture and regarded -as an old ass. But the passage from youth to age was bitter, when I -discovered that the old could not be deceived. They read my secret -thoughts behind my lofty words; they anticipated my evil purposes; they -unmasked my crude desires; they prophesied the results of my actions; -and found in my past the true cause of my present condition. They -seemed to me to be wizards and prophets, although they were simple -characters. - -"When I asked myself how they could know this and that, I found the -answer later--because they had collected material; because they had -passed through all the stages which were new to me; because they had -also tried to deceive the old in the same way, but had not succeeded. -Youth, however, is always believing that it can deceive old age, were -it only by stealing a thought from him. I know, moreover, why the -young obstinately imagine they are superior because they can deceive. -There are old wise men who have come to terms with life, and therefore -think it a duty to let themselves be deceived now and then; they let -themselves be deceived tastefully. - -"Youth is only an idea, an abstraction, a boast, a theme for an essay, -a song, a toast!" - - -=Constant Illusions.=--The pupil continued: "When I was young I -was never really happy, because my seniors oppressed me, because the -future disquieted me, because I lived on my parents' money almost as -though I were a pensionary. When the first symptoms of love showed -themselves, life became a hell. I was never very well, for the -most serious illnesses--measles, scarlet fever, agues, croup, and -others--affect only the young. I could never satisfy an innocent -fancy, for I had no money; every desire was nipped in the bud. I was a -slave, for my time was not at my own disposal, and I could not leave -my place in order to visit foreign countries. Such is the huge humbug -which is called 'youth.' No one has dared to unmask it, for fear lest -the young might pelt him with stones, or draw caricatures of him on -the walls. The teachers in the schools crouch before them, flatter -them, pretend to envy them. If anyone comes who does not flatter these -shameless and conscienceless little bandits, these lewd apes who live -in the age of innocence, these parent-murderers--there is always some -old woman there who exclaims, 'Ah! he does not understand the young!' -He understands them very well, for he has been young himself. But the -young do not understand the old, for they have never been old. - -"The young assert that the future is in their hands, and that therefore -they are feared by the cowardly. Let us wait and see! If thirty per -cent, reach the future at all, they will work just as their elders -have done, and with the thoughts which they have borrowed from them. -Exceptions prove the rule." - - -=The Merits of the Multiplication-Table.=--The teacher said: "All -wish to haul at the rope called 'Development.' The word generally -signifies 'alteration,' and men usually love any novelty which does -not injure them. But there are some excellent things which are very -old, and therefore they remain unaltered. The multiplication-table, for -instance, is splendid, though it is said to be as old as Pythagoras. -The Rule of Three holds good, though it was the ancient Hindus who -discovered this law of causes and effects. The geometry of Euclid and -the logic of Aristotle is still read in the schools. Our architecture -imitates Greek and Roman models, and the sculpture of the ancients is -not despicable. We regulate our calendar very much as the Egyptians -and Chaldæans did. Goethe and Schiller can be read, and Shakespeare is -still performed. - -"We see, therefore, that not all which has been done in the past is to -be despised. He who prophesies that Christianity will disappear because -it is old, makes a miscalculation. Homer is a thousand years older. And -the Old Testament would first have to be cancelled. But Christianity -lives and flourishes, although it may be in secret and not published in -the newspapers. Still they sing in schools and barracks every morning, -'Trust in God and in His word and strength in order to do good.' - -"But it must go hard with the Christians. 'In this world ye have -tribulation.' Through periodical seasons of bondage under Egyptian -Pharaohs, they learn patience till they begin their wanderings in the -wilderness." - - -=Under the Prince of this World.=--The teacher wandered in -Qualheim and came to a town. In the midst of the chief market-place -there stood a bronze image of the destroyer of his country. The youth -of the place came out in holiday attire in order to celebrate the -hero's memory. The teacher asked his guide: "Why do they celebrate the -destroyer of the fatherland?" - -"I do not know," answered the guide. - -"Are they mad?" - -"Probably. Here below everything is topsy-turvy. This hero[1] was -considered mad, and certainly he was so. He carried on mad wars, fled -when defeated, and cast the blame on others. When misfortune came -he collapsed like a weakling, took to his bed, and pretended to be -ill. In his leisure hours he plotted, but always ill. At last he made -false coins, but managed to procure a scapegoat, who was broken on -the wheel. The country was ruined and could never recover its former -prestige." - -"And this is the man they celebrate?" - -"Yes! but they have other statues besides. There back in the park -stands one, crowned with a laurel-wreath. He was the wickedest man of -his time. And there by the harbour is a third statue--of a perjurer..." - -"That is just as it is with us," said the teacher. - -"Yes, it is about the same." - -"Where are we then?" - -"Under the Prince of this World, the Lord of Dung. 'But be of good -courage! I have overcome the world!'" - - -[Footnote 1; He probably refers to Charles XII of Sweden.] - - -=The Idea of Hell.=--The pupil asked: "When I read Swedenborg's -_Hell_, I often believed he was describing our life on earth. Is it -possible that we are already there? As a Christian, I have learnt -that there was a Fall followed by a curse. Certainly life seems to me -rather an Inferno than a school and a prison, for nothing keeps what it -promises. The most beautiful things seem only made in order to become -ugly, the good in order to become bad." - -"Have you never seen anything permanently beautiful here below?" - -"Yes, Nature at all seasons is so beautiful, that I exclaim with -a feeling of pain, 'How super-naturally beautiful! And we are so -hideous!' Life may also seem beautiful in a well-ordered family where -there is peace and happiness and festival. I have seen it so, but only -for two minutes at a time, and perhaps it was my way of looking at it." - -"Yet there are people who can thrive down here." - -"He who can thrive here is a pig. I know fellows who think they are in -Paradise when they are on a summer holiday, have a well-spread table -lit up by Chinese lanterns, and let off rockets. But 'Woe to the man -who is born sensitive!' says Rousseau. Either he goes under, or he must -arm himself with brutality. In the last case it may happen that he -cannot divest himself of the armour, which has become a second nature. -There are some extremely sensitive natures who cannot come to terms -with life nor touch reality. These unfortunates finally lose the power -of looking after themselves, and end in asylums." - - -=Self-Knowledge.=--The teacher said: "One may have already lived -a long time, consider oneself a respectable man, and, as such, have -enjoyed the esteem of others. Then there comes a day when one awakes -as out of slumber, sees oneself as a spectre, is alarmed, and asks, -'Am I _that_' One discovers that one has done things which now appear -inexcusable. And one asks oneself, 'How could I?' On one occasion one -has even committed a crime; on another, one has been dragged, so to -speak, by the hair; on a third, one fell into a trap. - -"But there are men who are so sleepy that they never awake; and so -wanting in intelligence that they cannot see how black they are. Once I -had a friend who was sixty years old. On one occasion, with an outbreak -of stupid astonishment, he exclaimed, 'Why are people so prejudiced -against me? I seem to myself an excellent fellow!' And this man was -a tyrant who trampled men underfoot, a hired executioner, a murderer -who betrayed the innocent, took bribes, and practised simony and all -kinds of wickedness. I did not wish to condemn him, but tried to defend -him. Perhaps he felt justified in becoming an executioner, for there -must be such officials; so he adopted it as a profession. He had an -evil nature, and found it therefore natural or right when he acted -in accordance with it. He lived in complete harmony with himself, -and those who resembled him pronounced him a 'fine fellow'--'healthy, -naïve, and, therefore, excellent society.' - -"When he died, I drew a picture of his character for an acquaintance. -The latter was himself a black sheep, and answered quite naïvely, 'You -are unfair to him; I think he was a fine fellow.'" - - -=Somnambulism and Clairvoyance in Everyday Life.=---The teacher -said: "I am now fifty-eight years old, and have seen four generations. -I have not been pure-hearted, for all black blood streams into the -heart, but I have had moments in which I was transported into a -childlike, unconscious mood, and took delight in intercourse with men. -I knew that they hated me, laughed at my misfortune, and waited for my -fall. But I was immune against their malice. I saw in them only poor -men, who liked my company and were sympathetic with me. Even when they -made ill-natured jests against me, I did not understand them; and when -they gave vent to an open rudeness, I took it as a meaningless joke. -That is a kind of pleasant somnambulism. - -"Often, however, I can be wide-awake; then I see society naked; I see -their dirty linen beneath their clothes, their deformities, their -unwashed feet. But, worst of all, I hear the thoughts behind their -words; I see their gestures, which do not harmonise with what they say; -I intercept a side-glance; I notice a foot-stamp under the table, a -nose turning itself up over my wine, or a fork critically passing by a -dish.... Then life seems ghastly! I had a friend, who once in society -had an attack of this clairvoyance; he sat down on the middle of the -table, declared all he had seen in the course of the evening, and -stripped his friends bare. The result was, he was pronounced mad and -taken to an asylum. - -"There are many kinds of madness. Let us confess that!" - - -=Practical Measures against Enemies.=--The pupil asked: "How can -I love my neighbour as myself? In the first place, I ought not to -love myself; secondly, I feel so out of sympathy with men, that it is -difficult to regard them as objects of love." - -The teacher answered: "The verb ἀγάπαω generally means only -'treating kindly,' and that you can manage to do." - -"But to love one's enemies is suicide." - -"You think so! But have you tried this method? It is very practical, -and I have tested it. Once against my worst enemy, who attacked my -honour and means of livelihood, I established a wholesome hatred like -a bulwark, as I thought. But my hatred became a conductor by which I -received the currents of his. They surprised me in my weak moments, and -his wickedness passed over to me. He grew to gigantic proportions, and -became a Frankenstein which I had myself produced. - -"Then I resolved to break the conductor. I avoided seeing him, and -never mentioned his name, for that is a kind of incantation. When -people spoke of him in society, I was silent, or threw in a friendly -word on his behalf. My Frankenstein pined away for want of nourishment, -and disappeared out of my thoughts. Finally information reached my -enemy that I had spoken good of him. He was struck with amazement, -dwindled down, felt ashamed of himself, and believed he had made a -mistake. Therefore, never speak ill of your enemy; that only rouses -people in his defence, and procures him friends. You see, therefore, -what deep wisdom lies in the simplest teaching of the Gospel, which you -believed yourself competent to criticise." - - -=The Goddess of Reason.=--The teacher continued: "The fact -that our intelligence finds so many contradictions and difficulties -in the great truths of religion is due not only to defects in our -understanding but to an evil will. The presumption of wishing to -understand God and His purposes is as though one attempted to steer a -frigate with an oar. Every Greek tragedy closes with a warning against -insolence and [Greek: hubris] Nothing is so displeasing to the gods. - -"Swedenborg says: 'As soon as we break our connection with what is -higher, our understanding is darkened. At the same time we are punished -by being allowed to imagine ourselves more illuminated than others.' - -"All the philosophers of the 'Illumination' grope in darkness. That -period of history which is jestingly called the 'Illumination' is the -darkest we have had. The goddess of reason, Mademoiselle Maillard, -was adored only by madmen. The truths of religion never contradict -reason until the latter has been clouded by an evil will. But then the -discoveries begin, and then every religious truth 'contradicts reason,' -such as the simple truth that God exists, that the Almighty can employ -unknown laws or suspend laws which He Himself has given, that He can -impart spiritual blessings by means of material symbols, and so on. - -"All 'free-thinking' is foolishness, for thought is not free, but bound -by the laws of thought, by logic, just as nature is bound by the laws -of nature. The evil will seeks freedom in order to do evil, and the -evil mind seeks freedom in order to think perversely." - - -=Stars Seen by Daylight.=--The teacher said: "The fool lives only -for the present, for the moment, in the last fashionable error of the -day, in the diving-bell of his daily paper, in dependence on public -opinion, in the slavery of partisanship. The wise man lives in all -times. For him there is neither time nor space. He is present always -and everywhere; on this side and that side of the grave. He ranges -over the world's history and fathoms the depths of himself; he regards -himself as an inhabitant of the Universe, and not merely of the earth. -He feels himself related to Plato and Aristotle; holds converse with -the great spirits of the past in their writings. Sometimes he lives -in his childhood; sometimes in his mature age. He lives in the past, -as though it were present. He can 'think himself' into the lives of -others; he rejoices with the joyful, mourns with the sorrowful, -sympathises with the suffering. He feels on behalf of humanity; has -no age, no nation. He sees the record of to-day's conflict laid up in -historical archives, often without any other result. On the morrow, -to-day's wisdom is only straw, in which something else grows; even -errors are useful as manure. Everything serves. He bears everything, -for he hopes; and hope is a virtue; it means believing good of God. - -"Ephemeral flies get excited about trifles, and believe one can -discover new truths among the telegrams in the breakfast-table -newspaper. If a new star is discovered, they believe the others are -extinguished. But hitherto the new have all been extinguished. The new -star in Perseus appeared only for two years, and then it vanished. The -Chinese Y-King says, 'If one goes into one's tent, and makes it dark -about one, one can see the star Mei in the Archer in broad daylight.' - -"Retire then sometimes to your tent in the wilderness, and you will see -the stars by day." - - -=The Right to Remorse.=--The pupil asked: "Is one right in feeling -remorseful for one's past, after discovering one's errors?" - -"If you mean by 'feeling remorse,' wishing the past undone, you are not -right, for in every man's life there is a rectifying element; every -error by being refuted becomes an involuntary occasion for the triumph -of truth. But if you mean by 'remorse,' hating yourself as a purveyor -of falsity, you are right. But say something in your own defence." - -"I can say this much: I was the child of an evil time; I was misled -by the seducers of my youth; I mention none of them. My understanding -was stronger than my divine reason. My flesh ruled over my spirit. My -inborn defiance of authority, my inherited sensitiveness of nature -received impressions, without stopping to criticise them. In a word, I -might call myself a victim of my seducers, of heredity, of my natural -weakness, and sensitiveness. The final awakening of my reason, however, -I reckon not as a merit of my own, but as a grace conferred upon me. -The fact that I have had sufficient time in which to refute my former -errors, I count as the greatest good-fortune which has ever befallen -me. Therefore I do not wish my past undone, although I abominate it." - - -=A Religious Theatre.=--"It looks as though men did not think -very highly of themselves. If they see a maliciously satirical piece -represented, they enjoy it without applying it to themselves. They -take it as intended only for others. - -"In my youth there was a dramatist, who was at first a satirist, but -finally came to feel sympathy with men. After his feelings had become -modified by his living a steady and fairly happy life, he saw men in -a more cheerful light. Accordingly, he wrote a piece portraying only -noble characters with fine feelings and warm hearts. - -"What happened? The public believed at first it was irony. But during -the second act they discovered their mistake. A voice exclaimed from -the stalls: 'Deuce take it! It is meant seriously!' The further the -piece progressed, the greater was the disgust! The audience felt -ashamed before each other, and for the author. Some hurried out, and -those who remained ended by laughing. They laughed at the goodness, -self-sacrifice, renunciation, forgiveness depicted in the piece. -They did not know themselves any more, and regarded the descriptions -as unnatural; real life, they said, was not like that; men were not -angels. It may therefore be risky to speak well of men. But one must -not forget that religious people do not visit the theatre, because the -theatre is godless. Greek tragedies used to commence with a sacrifice -to the gods, and all tragedies deal with the powerlessness of men in -conflict with deities. Why do not our religious leaders build a theatre -in which one might see the evil unmasked and put to shame?" - - -=Through Constraint to Freedom.=--The teacher continued: "This -world is governed by constraint. All men are dependent on one another -and press upon one another like the stones in a vaulted building--from -above, from below, from the sides. They watch and spy on one another. -There is therefore no freedom, and there can be none, in this edifice -which is called Government and Society. - -"The foundation-stones have the most to bear; therefore they must be -of granite, while the upper ones are of light brick. For there are -fancy-bricks, which support nothing, but are merely ornamental; they -are supported by others, feel themselves in the way and dispensable; -but they serve as ornaments, and of that they are aware. - -"He who demands more freedom than the rest, is a thief and tyrant; if -he withdraws himself from his burden, he lays it upon others. This -perpetual longing for freedom, which figures in biographies as a virtue -and a distinction, is really only a weakness. More strength is required -to bear than to be home. The only justifiable striving after relative -freedom is, not to have to bear more than one ought. Therefore it is -the business of rulers to apportion the burdens precisely. But for -that, adequate knowledge, a mathematical gift, and a nice sense of -justice are necessary. - -"But behind this common longing after freedom lies another deeper one, -which is confused with the former. That is the sighing of creation for -deliverance from the bondage of the flesh. This has found its strongest -expression in St. Paul's exclamation: 'Oh, wretched man that I am! Who -shall deliver me from the body of this death?' But this freedom can -only be won by patiently bearing the constraint of this world. Through -constraint is the way to freedom therefore!" - - -=The Praise of Folly.=--"In this world of foolishness one sees -constantly how fools smile even when their views are ratified by time. -That is, in truth, a silly smile. The fool says, 'We are here in order -to develop ourselves.' When they see a man who, in the course of -years, has grown wiser and more righteous, they should be glad that -their assertion is established. Instead of that they make a malicious -grimace, and say scornfully, 'Yes, now you have grown old!' Yet we both -started with the assumption that wisdom should come with years. Let us -rejoice together that it is so. If the Devil really becomes a monk when -he is old, what a happiness and blessing for mankind that there is one -evil spirit the less. Is it not so? Why should they make a grimace at -it? - -"Voltaire was a scoffer and a bit of a knave up to old age. Finally, -however, he recovered his reason, just like lunatics shortly before -they die. And then he wrote of human life: - -"'Pleasure, in the freshness of youth, I sought thy deliciousness; - -"'Finally, in the winter of old age, I discover thy vanity; - -"'The thirst for reputation and honour makes men enemies to one -another. What was it that I thirsted for? Reputation is but vanity. - -"'Genius in its pride roams through realms of knowledge. - -"'But my knowledge only plagues me; knowledge is but vanity.' - -"But the fools make grimaces, when one of them recovers his reason. -Then they say, 'He has gone mad.'" - - -=The Inevitable.=--The teacher said: "The question, 'What has one -a right to feel remorse for?' is very complicated. I once followed the -career of a foreign writer. I read his works, which seemed to belong -to another world, with great admiration. His dramas all appeared to -breathe a melancholy fear of some unknown terror that was bound to -come. His philosophy was that of a saint. His landscapes seemed to be -bathed not in common air but in pure æther. He was then about forty -years old, and I expected every day to hear that he had gone into a -convent. - -"But afterwards I heard he had married an actress, with whom he went -about, and who appeared as a 'living statue' in one of his pieces. -He also wrote new dramas for her, and now, when they became cynical -and brutal, he achieved a greater popularity than he had ever been -able to gain before. He degraded his person, his genius, his wife; -and as he sank, I wept inwardly. One day I read in the paper that -she had deserted him, but that may have been false. The thought of -his fate tormented me; it seemed to have been predetermined. All his -dramas written while he was still unmarried treated of this terrible -thing which he foresaw and feared. It seemed to me as though he were -compelled to take a mud-bath, and obliged to let himself be besmirched -by life precisely in this way. It seemed as though he had not the right -to ante-date heaven; as though he were not allowed to lead a pure, -saintly life. It is terrible, because it is inexplicable." - - -=The Poet's Sacrifice.=--The teacher continued: "This man's -destiny reminds me of the Indian drama, _Urvasi_. A penitent who -withdraws to solitude in order to purify his soul by renunciation, may -finally attain such lofty spiritual heights that his power may become -dangerous to the lower deities. In order to hinder such a penitent in -his spiritual development, the god Indra sent an Apsara, a sort of -celestial courtesan, in order to distract and seduce him. - -"Does not that resemble the case which I mentioned just now? How can -the one who has been seduced feel guilty in such a case, or have -the right to repent a wrong he did not do? Now a poet is something -different to a recluse, and in order to be able to describe life in -all its aspects and dangers he must first have lived it. What sort of -a poet would Shakespeare have been if he had lived as a steady young -fellow, continued in his father's honourable profession, and in -leisure hours written about his little affairs? Although one does not -know much about the great Englishman, one sees from his works what a -stormy life he must have led. There is hardly a misfortune which he -has not experienced, hardly a passion which he has not felt. Hate and -love, revenge and lust, murder and fire, all seem to have come within -the circle of his experience as a poet. A real poet must sacrifice -his person for his work. I can conceive of a symbolical monument to -Shakespeare under the figure of Hercules kindling his own pyre on Mount -Oeta, sacrificing his opulent life as an offering for mankind. That is -a good idea, is it not?" - -The pupil answered: "Truly you have the power of binding and loosing; -now you have loosed me." - - -=The Function of the Philistines.=--The teacher said: "Israel -had some unpleasant neighbours called Philistines, who guarded the -coast-line along the sea. They worshipped weird gods, such as Dagon -the Fish-god, Beelzebub the Lord of Dung, and Astarte. But unpleasant -though they were, they seemed to have had a part to play in the -life of Israel. As soon as the chosen people abandoned the temple, -the Philistines came and closed the sanctuary, set the Lord of Dung -upon the altar, and burned incense before the Fish-god. As often as -the children of Israel quarrelled among themselves, the Philistines -advanced irresistibly. The hand of the Lord was with them, so that they -punished and chastised their enemies. Once they took possession of the -Ark of the Covenant. - -"We have our Philistines on the Bosphorus; they are called Turks. When -the Christians were unfaithful to their Lord, the Turk took possession -of Christ's grave, and St. Sophia became a mosque. Whenever the -Christians fought with each other, the Turk appeared. After the Thirty -Years' War, when the Christians had tom each other like bloodhounds, -the Turk came as far as Vienna, and the Crescent surmounted the Cross -in Hungary." - -The pupil asked: "Why do not the great powers recapture the Holy -Sepulchre and the Church of St. Sophia? They could do it in a moment!" - -"I do not know. Perhaps they cannot. We need our Philistine, the -bogie-man with whom one frightens children. In France the churches were -shut by the pagans when people ceased to attend Mass. Now they set up -the Lord of Dung on the altar. Marat, in his time, was buried in the -Pantheon; but when Christ reentered, Marat was thrown into the sewer. -The last to obtain apotheosis in the Pantheon was an engineer, who had -a single merit--that of being murdered by a friend of freedom. When we -become Christians again, we shall receive back both the Holy Sepulchre -and Santa Sophia. We do not need to take them. Such is the great -function of the Philistines in the spiritual economy of nature." - - -=World-Religion.=--The teacher continued: "Goethe wrote in his -youth a treatise maintaining that the religion imposed by the State was -the most favourable for the maintenance of the State." - -The pupil objected: "But how will it fare with the individual -conscience?" - -"As it has done hitherto. The State determines the views of the -individual in geometry, botany, history, and religion, by instruction -in the schools, by religious services in the colleges, and prayers in -camps and barracks." - -"But what about freedom of belief and thought?" - -"We have already agreed that there is no freedom, but that all is -dependence and compulsion enforced by mutual pressure. Therefore misuse -not the sacred name of freedom. During the course of my long life, -I have often thought I could interpret the intention of Providence -thus: If all religious forms fell off like husks, and only the kernels -remained, they might grow together like botanical cells, and form a -single plant--a world-tree, under whose shadow all nations might rest -in devotion and in unity." The teacher continued: "I had also believed -that I had noticed there is a special purpose in the intermingling of -races which is now proceeding. This has already gone so far, that in -my insignificant family, which is registered as Scandinavian, we find -traces of all the five quarters of the world." - -"But do you really believe it?" - -"I do not know." - -"And do you think that all nations will be united in a common -Christianity?" - -"I do not know! But the promise to Abraham, 'In thy seed shall -all nations be blessed,' has already been fulfilled by Abraham's -descendant, Jesus Christ. As a matter of fact, Christian Europe and -the western hemisphere of North and South America rule the world. -And before the actual reality, our wishes, ideas, theories, and -anticipations collapse." - - -=The Return of Christ.=--The pupil asked: "Are we to expect the -promised return of Christ?" - -"Christ Himself answered this importunate question of his disciples by -saying, 'The Kingdom of God is among you.' And when He left them He -said, 'Behold, I am with you always till the end of the world.'" - -"Good. But how is Christ's Kingdom to be set up on earth?" - -"Not by crusades, as you perhaps believe. You know that there are -plants which cannot simultaneously thrive in the same ground; one kind -must die out. So there are races which cannot dwell together in the -same land. As soon as Christians become Christians again, the pagans -do not thrive, and depart. Just like the giants who got earache when -they heard the sound of church-bells, sniffed and snorted when they -smelt Christian blood, and finally slunk back into their caves. One -ought to be tolerant, but not to carry it so far as to take down the -church-bells or lay the cross low, because they make the giants ill. -Swedenborg says that the gift of free-will is never revoked, and that -therefore the damned themselves choose their own hell. If they come -into a purer air, they are tested; if they happen to get into good -company, they do not thrive, and cast themselves headlong into the -region of the Lord of Dung. There they find an environment in which -they can breathe. If therefore you wish to fly evil companionship, you -need not shut your door. Only acquire an upright character, and your -fellows will shun you like the pest." - - -=Correspondences.=--The teacher said: "We have discussed -Swedenborg's hells and found that they are partly states of mind, and -partly resemble earthly life under certain conditions. I remember -now certain striking details in them, which bring to my mind certain -experiences of everyday life. The fire of hell consists, he says, -partly in this, that passions are aroused, only to be mocked and -punished; partly in the kindling of desires, which really must be -gratified, but die away immediately afterwards since suffering consists -in missing something. Do you know that?" "Yes, I know it." "Further, -when heavenly light reaches the damned, an icy chill pervades their -veins, and their blood ceases to flow. Do you know that?" "Yes, I know -it! And I remember once when I was very wicked a good man began to -talk kindly to me. I was not warmed thereby, but began to feel so cold -in the room where I was, that I put on my overcoat." "Further, they -wander about lonely and gloomy: they hunger, and have nothing to eat; -they go to houses, and ask for work, but when they get it, they go -their way, to be tormented again by ennui. But when they return, the -doors are shut; they must work for food and clothing, and have a harlot -for a companion, is that so?" "It is!" "The ruling principles of hell -are: the desire to rule from self-love; the desire for other people's -goods from love of the world; the desire for dissipation. The ruling -principles of heaven are: the desire to rule with a good object; the -desire for money and property, in order to use them for the benefit of -others; the desire for marriage." - - -=Good Words.=--The pupil asked: "Does Swedenborg never speak a -good word to comfort and cheer one?" - -The teacher answered: "Yes, certainly he does. He says, for example, -'The chosen are those who have conscience; the reprobate are those -who have no conscience.' That agrees with Socrates' definition of -a man as a being possessing both modesty and conscience. In another -place Swedenborg thus explains temptations: 'Evil spirits arouse in -the memory of a man all the evil and falsity which he has thought and -practised since childhood; but the angels who accompany him produce his -goodness and truth, and in this manner defend him. It is this conflict -which causes pangs of conscience. - -"'When a man is tried with respect to his understanding, evil spirits -summon up only the evil deeds which he has committed. These are -symbolised by unclean animals. The evil spirits accuse and condemn by -distorting the truth in a thousand ways.' - -"Swedenborg also mentions a kind of spirits who raise scruples about -trifles, and thus trouble the consciences of the unwary. Their presence -arouses a feeling of discomfort at the pit of the stomach, and they -take delight in burdening the conscience. Finally there are some -pagans from the countries inhabited by black men, who bring with them -from their earthly life the wish to be treated hardly, under the idea -that no one can enter heaven without having suffered punishments and -torments. _Because they have this belief_, they are at first treated -hardly by some whom they call devils. - -"In another place Swedenborg says: 'There are no devils except bad -men.' One word more. The Master met some in a state of despair, who -believed that pain would be everlasting. 'But it was given me to -comfort them.' These are good words for you." - - -=Severe and not Severe.=--The pupil objected: "But Swedenborg is -in general too severe." - -The teacher answered: "No! it is not he, but life which is severe, and -life's laws are severe for the unrighteous. The Master says: 'Women -who attain to power and wealth from the lower ranks often become -furies; but women who are born to power and wealth, and do not uplift -themselves, are happy.' 'To renounce the pleasures of life,' he says, -'and wealth and power, with the idea of earning heaven by asceticism, -is a false view.' - -"We know that Swedenborg was temperate in everyday life, but went -willingly into society, and then he allowed himself a _poculum -hilaritatus,_ a cup of cheer. He declares himself decisively against -those who retreat from the world: 'Many think it is hard to lead a -life which conducts to heaven, because they have heard that, for this -object, one must renounce the world and live to the spirit. By this -they understand that one must cut oneself off from all that is earthly, -and devotes one's whole life to spiritual contemplation and devotion. -But that it is not really so, I have learned through long experience. -He who thus separates from the world in order to live to the spirit, -enters a gloomy life, which is irreceptive of the joy of heaven. In -order to prepare for heaven one must live in the world in activity and -employment.... I have spoken with some who had withdrawn from their -occupations in order to live a spiritual life, and also with some -who had tormented themselves in various ways, because they believed -they ought to suppress the desires of the flesh.... As a rule they -are puffed up with pride, and regard heavenly joy as a reward without -knowing what heaven and heavenly joy is.'" - -The pupil interrupted: "This seems to be the case with the pietists." - -"Not with all. There are among them penitents, or those who really -prepare for death. Leave the pietists in peace, and don't try to sever -the wheat from the chaff.... Religion should not merely be a Sunday -suit, but a gentle accompaniment to mitigate the ponderous tones of -everyday life. But one must not be cowardly or indifferent, as so many -modern Christians are. When they hear the big words 'Development,' -'Modern Thought,' 'Science,' they think at once that Christianity is a -thing of the past. If they read in the papers that the Lice-King has -overcome the Christians, they believe at once that God has forsaken His -own. They forget that the Egyptian bondage was an education for Canaan, -and that the Philistines were employed as goads to spur on the lazy. - -"Unbelief, superstition, deliberate falsehood, error--all serve the -Truth, for all things serve. And to him who loves God, all things turn -out for good." - - -=Yeast and Bread.=--"The neo-pagans who have now rushed forward -on the stage, and believe they are the lords of the world because they -serve the Prince of the World, seem to be a sediment of savage races -which by marriage and immigration have penetrated the old nations of -Europe like yeast. Yeast fulfils its function in the warmth of the -oven, but is itself changed into gases and disappears, leaving bubbles -and holes behind. The dough remains, changed into mellow, low, crisp, -white, fragrant, warm bread. Yeast is a kind of mould produced by -corruption, yet it must be present in order to make white bread. - -"Everything serves! But mould by itself can make no bread. One ought -therefore not to be angry with the pagans, for they know no better. -To enlighten them is difficult; one can locate a grey star, but not a -black one. One ought not to fear them, for then they bite. But they -must have their day. 'I have seen the wicked in great power, and -spreading himself like a green tree in its native soil; but I passed -by, and, lo, he was not; yea, I sought him, but he could not be found.'" - - -=The Man of Development.=--The pupil asked: "Can the pagans really -not be enlightened?" - -"Experience has shown that it is almost impossible. For a blockhead -cannot understand the simplest things; he cannot see the self-evident -nature of an axiom. If he is systematically followed by misfortune, -he calls it 'bad-luck'; if he is prostrated with illness, he rises -as stupid as he was before; if he gets into prison, he sits there -and meditates new tricks; if he lies on the rack, he thinks he is -suffering for his faith, although he has not got any; from warnings -and trials he emerges as great a calf as he was before, for he has no -intelligence. All the denizens of the dunghill praise his firmness of -character, his strength of soul, his strong belief in his cause. He is -sixty years old, and he has worked for 'development,' but he has not -been able to develop himself. He hawks about the same rubbish as he -did forty years ago, when he discovered what he called 'the truth' in -the books of his teachers; he has never produced an original thought, -nor obtained a new view of an old subject. He has stood still, but the -world has gone forward; he believed he was leading the van, when he -was bringing up the rear. Christianity beckoned, but crab-like he went -backward to paganism. Such is the man of 'development.' Do you know -him?" - -"I have known him, but renounced his acquaintance." - - -=Sins of Thought.=--The teacher said: "According to Luther, man -is a child till his fortieth year. I was a child till my fiftieth, -_i.e._ unintelligent, conceited. I believed that I was inaccessible and -irresponsible as regards my thoughts. But I was obliged to change my -opinion when I began to observe myself. I discovered, that is, that -when I had sinned, hated, killed, stolen, though only in thought, and -then came into the company of friends, they treated me ruthlessly, -as though I were a murderer or a thief. I could not explain, but -finally believed that my evil thoughts were legible in my face. And -when I observed that my friends began to touch on precisely the same -unpleasant subject which had occupied my secret thoughts, I saw that -so-called thought-reading is daily and hourly practised in social life. - -"When subsequently I read Maeterlinck's fine book, _The Treasure of -the Humble_, my belief in this was strengthened, for he made the same -observation. When I finally took in hand my own spiritual education, I -found that this was the principal point, and by watching my thoughts -I prevented them breaking out into action. Now for the first time -I understood why I had so often in my life thought myself unjustly -accused and punished for offences which I had not committed. I confess -now that I had committed them in thought. But how did men know that? -Assuredly there is a hidden justice which punishes sins of thought, -and when men make each other accountable for suspicions, ugly looks or -feelings, they are right. That is a hard saying, but it is so." - - -=Sins of Will.=--The teacher continued: "There are also sins -of wish and volition. You know that one can hate and worry a man -dead. I was once in a watering-place in which the hotel proprietor -had introduced a sort of monopoly. He had arrogated to himself the -privilege of alone providing food for the boarders. He starved them by -cooking the goodness out of the meat before he roasted it, by making -soup of rye-meal, and so on. The boarders were patient, and no one -wished to make a disturbance. But their hatred of the man increased. -After a month I observed that the hotel proprietor began to look yellow -in the face and to pine away. As he sat at his bar he became the -object of glances full of hatred. At last, one day, the whole company, -a hundred in number, rose during the midday meal and departed. Then -the proprietor became ill of a liver disease. It seemed as though the -collected gall of all the guests had somehow transferred itself to his -liver, and curdled there. He vanished; they had killed him. But their -hatred was this time justified, or quite natural. - -"When, however, we hate a man because he will not admire us or further -our selfish interests, we may become simply murderers. That, however, -depends on the behaviour of the other. If he is innocent in the -matter, he will be immune and irreceptive of the poison. I know a -person who hated me because she could not rob me. She was a servant to -whom I had shown nothing but kindness. Her hate did not affect me so -long as I was upright." - - -=The Study of Mankind.=--The teacher said: "One ought not to -attempt to study men. Partly because they do not lay themselves open -to be studied, partly because they are aware when they became objects -of deliberate investigation. He who does not give himself, receives -nothing. He who does not approach men in a spirit of sympathy, finds -no point of contact with them. When I regard them as companions in -misfortune, fellow-wanderers in the wilderness, they open themselves to -me. If I expose myself, I show a confidence in them, which meets with -a response. If I approach them with suspicion, they show suspicion. -If anyone visits me, in order to examine me, I let him sit for his -portrait to me. - -"When I have had frank intercourse for a considerable time with a man, -and then sum up his characteristics in my recollection, I get a fair -idea of him, but never quite a correct one. Men have a right to hide -their secrets. When I was young and unintelligent, I believed that, as -an author, I had a right to investigate the past of others; but I soon -discovered that it is not allowed. They seemed to be guarded. - -"He who says one ought to be so on guard in one's intercourse with a -friend, as though he might some day become an enemy, has had little -pleasure in friendship. I have always behaved to men as though they -were going to be my friends for life, and therefore I have received -something in return. When they have disappointed me, I have said to -myself. 'What matters it? Nothing for nothing!'" - - -=Friend Zero.=--The teacher continued: "There are people who -seem friendly, harmless, considerate; they leave others in peace, -never pry into their affairs, never say evil behind people's backs, -nor allow evil to be said. I have admired and envied them for their -good natural qualities. But among such persons I have found some who -keep remote from unpleasantnesses out of pure selfishness, and who out -of love for ease and comfort wish to know nothing of other people's -affairs in order not to be drawn into them. These are those who will -not give evidence in court, even for the sake of defending a friend. -They are silent when they ought to speak. They avoid recommending a -relative on the plea that 'they do not know him.' When their names -are mentioned as authorities for such and such a report, they have -'lost their memories.' They will not lend money to anyone who needs -it, because 'they do not wish to have a disagreement with him.' They -have no positive virtues, and no positive faults. Consequently they -are colourless, unreliable, characterless, formless; they can not be -classified under any system. - -"I once knew one of these for ten years; then I forgot him. Twenty -years later I found some of my old letters in an attic; among them were -hundreds of letters from my formless friend. I was astonished to find -that I had had such a lengthy correspondence with him. And I looked -to see what he had had to say. I read five-and-twenty letters. They -contained nothing. I read fifty; the result was the same--nothing. -They consisted solely of handwriting, ink, paper, envelopes, and -postage-stamps. I burnt them and forgot Friend Zero henceforth. He did -not even leave a memory behind him." - - -=Affable Men.=--The teacher said: "When I have seen a -character-drama, I have always asked myself, 'Are men really so simple -and transparent?' There is a kind of men about whom one can never be -certain. They are so disposed by nature that they adapt themselves to -their companions out of pure affability. Such a man once came into my -circle; I found him sympathetic, lovable, good-natured. On one occasion -I imparted to a third person my opinion of my affable friend. He -answered, 'You don't know him! He is a malicious man; he has only put -on an air of affability with you.' - -"Then there came a fourth: 'He! He is the falsest man in existence!' -Finally his wife came: 'No! he is neither malicious nor false; he only -wants to be on good terms with people.' - -"At the beginning of our acquaintance (he confessed it himself later -on), he had determined to win me by affability, and to preserve my -affection by doing everything, or nearly everything, that I wished. He -also abstained from contradicting me. During a whole year I never heard -him express a view of his own; he only repeated my thoughts. I believed -he had no will, no views, not even feelings. He seemed to me to be a -mirror in which I was reflected; I never found him, only myself. Then I -became tired of him, did not know how to hold myself in, and asked him -to do something wrong. Then at last I discovered the man himself. With -an unparalleled strength of character, he left wife, child, and home! -In order 'to save his soul,' as he said. 'Have you then got a soul?' I -asked. 'Judge for yourself,' he answered, and departed. - -"It is dangerous to be affable, and it is dangerous to consider men -simple." - - -=Cringing before the Beast.=--The teacher said: "When a man once -yields to desire, the ceasing of a certain restraint carries with it a -feeling of freedom and deliverance. This pleasurable feeling we almost -regard as a reward, and conclude that we have acted rightly when we -have thrown a bone to the barking dog. But had we forborne to do so, -the dog would not have formed the habit of barking, and we might have -gone our way in the proud consciousness of not having cringed before -the beast, by bribing it to silence. The feeling of pleasure would have -been changed into a consciousness of victory and power, which is far -superior to sensuality. - -"Never cringe before the beast; then it will not get the better of -you. The suppression of an unlawful desire is like winding up a watch; -the mainspring contracts till it creaks, but it does not do its work -properly till then. Preserve your strength for yourself; then you will -conquer your foes in the battles of life. Waste not your virile energy, -or the woman will get the better of you. - -"You know very well what I mean by 'desire': I do not mean moderate -eating and drinking; and you know very well what 'waste' means. You -must also not believe that desire decreases with age. It is not so; but -the intelligence and will-power increase, and therefore the victory is -proportionably easier. I make you a present of this explanation: keep -it, and show that you are intelligent enough to be able to receive a -real one." - - -=Ecclesia Triumphans.=--The teacher said: "The world is full of -lies, but there are also errors and misunderstandings. No two men give -words the same meaning. But there are persistent lies which circulate -like coins. There are lies of the lower classes, and lies of the upper -classes; lies of the Catholics and of the Protestants. But those of -the pagans are the worst of all. They believe they have the right to -lie, because it profits them or their friends. One of the greatest -lies of the pagans which misled me for a long time is the false -assertion that Japan has accepted the material culture of Europe, but -rejected Christianity. Two Japanese professors, who lately visited our -land, declared on the contrary that there was a Christian church in -each of the larger towns of Japan. There are Christians in the army, -parliament, and universities. Their number is great--five-and-forty -thousand Protestants, eight-and-fifty thousand Catholics, and -five-and-twenty thousand adherents of the Greek Church. In the Second -Chamber of the Japanese parliament two of the presidents have become -Christians. And all that has taken place in thirty-five years. A -thousand years pass by like nothing, and the future seems to belong to -Christianity, since we have already seen that the chief powers of the -world, Europe and America, are Christian. - -"There is certainly no obligation to be a Christian, but some day -it may be a disgrace not to be one, when one is born in a Christian -country. It may come to be thought retrograde and conservative, and a -failure to keep pace with development. The pagans celebrated the end of -the eighteenth century as marking the overthrow of Christianity, but in -1802 appeared the finest book which has been written on Christianity, -_Le Génie du Christianisme_, by Chateaubriand, and by its means the -Church triumphed again." - - -=Logic in Neurasthenia.=--As the Teacher wandered in Qualheim, he -came into a mountainous region, and saw a castle which was of dreamlike -beauty. "Who is the enviable man who lives in such a palace?" he -asked. His guide answered: "He is an unhappy, helpless hermit, without -peace, and without a home. He was born with great artistic gifts, but -employed them on rubbish. He drew nonsensical and trifling caricatures, -distorted all that was beautiful into ugliness, and all that was great -into pettiness." - -"How does he occupy himself now?" - -"Shall I say it? He sits from morning till evening, making balls out of -dung." - -"You mean to say, he continues as he began. Is that his punishment?" - -"Yes! Isn't it logical? He obtained the castle, but cannot use it." -Then they went further and came into a garden, where they found a man -grafting peaches on turnips. "What has he done?" asked the teacher. "In -life he was especially fond of turnips, and now he wishes to inoculate -peaches, which he finds insipid, with the fine flavour of turnips. He -was, moreover, an author, and wished to rejuvenate poetry with bawdy -peasant songs." "Why, that is symbolism!" "Yes, and logical most of -all." - -Then they came to a cottage, where they found a man lying on a bed, -surrounded by piles of books. The man had read himself ill; he lay -there exhausted by hunger and thirst, and could hardly breathe. - -"What is he reading?" asked the teacher. - -"Only theology, exegetics, dogmatics, isogogy, eschatology. During -lifetime he denied the existence of God. Now he seeks Him in theology, -but has not yet found Him." - -"Will he find Him?" - -"Yes, certainly he will. But he must first seek!" - -"Why, it is just like that in our lunatic asylums." - -"And there is logic in neurasthenia, here as there." - - -=My Caricature.=--The teacher said: "Men often appear in our lives -as though they were sent; we do not know why they interfere with our -destiny; they themselves perhaps do not know. When I was a young man -who gave promise of a future, which I had not fulfilled, I received as -a colleague in my work a man whom I at once felt to be antipathetic to -me, and who hated me. But he sought me, drew me out, and compelled me -to drink, although I was not exactly difficult to persuade. He drank -himself terribly, and often I thought he wished to make me drink myself -to death. When half-intoxicated, he always made personal remarks on -me, both flattering and critical. He also appeared as a charlatan, -professing to know and prophesy my destiny. This sometimes attracted -me, and sometimes repelled me. - -"Finally, on one occasion when intoxicated, he attacked me before -others, and called me 'a humbug who would come to nothing.' I was at -that time fully conscious of my vocation as author; excited by the -attack, and being partially in liquor, I made a presumptuous assertion -that I would be 'great.' Then the man fell in a rage and swore by -h--l that I should not be great. After this our ways divided. My -friends noticed it, and asked, 'Do you not go about any more with your -caricature?' 'What do you mean by that?' I asked. 'His face was really -a caricature of yours.' And so it was. - -"Two years afterwards I emerged from the ruck, and remember that my -thoughts turned back to the mysterious person who had interested -himself in my destiny. Somewhat later I heard that the man had died -at twenty-seven years of age under peculiar circumstances. He was -standing on a mountain in the evening of Midsummer Day when he had -a stroke. 'He flew asunder like a goblin in the sunlight,' I said -jocosely. - -"This man looked like a Hun or a death's-head. He was born in the -seventh month, and preserved by being wrapped in wadding and laid in a -corner of the tiled stove. But that explains nothing perhaps?" - - -=The Inexplicable.=--The teacher continued: "He had, however, a -peculiar influence over people, and that not only because he flattered -them. I saw him when he was twenty-five years old talking with our -foremost statesman, who was then fifty. The widely experienced, -sceptical politician listened to the ill-dressed unwashed man, -flushed with wine, who almost monopolised the talk. He claimed an -authoritative knowledge of all subjects, teemed with facts and -figures, alluded to all prominent men as old acquaintances, was well -versed in family chronicles and political intrigues. 'Where did he -get all that?' I asked someone. 'I don't know, but he is a remarkable -man with great influence,' was the answer. In addition to his other -characteristics I can mention this: with all his coarseness he had -traits of sensitiveness. He wept when he read of the cruelties in -the Russo-Turkish war. He loved beautiful poetry. He had a chivalrous -enthusiasm for women. He gave out his money generously, but when he -was tipsy he was stingy. Demons plagued him, and he used to roam in -the woods alone; but he always smashed his top-hat first. One could -see into his nostrils, and, when he laughed, all his back teeth could -be counted. He always wore too long trousers on which he trod, for he -was in the habit of walking on his heels. He was beardless like Attila, -because his cheeks simply consisted of nerves. - -"But what had he to do with my destiny, and whence sprang his boundless -hatred for me? It is inexplicable, like so much else." - - -=Old-time Religion.=--The pupil said: "I have heard, I -have thought; now I will speak. I believe in Christianity as a -world-historical fact, with which a new era has begun and proceeds. I -believe that all nations will one day bow the knee in the name of Jesus -Christ. Every time that the pagans gain the upper hand, I will regard -it as a test, and not immediately believe that God is with them against -His own. - -"But let us have a simple, cheerful Christianity which gathers all -to the Sunday festival. Regard it as a misuse of God's name to have -religious services every day. Simplify the dogmas and keep them -flexible so that all may find a place in them. Shorten the services; -let praise, thanks, and worship predominate, and let the sermon, which -should be only twenty minutes long, be subordinate. The preacher should -stick to his text, and not make personal allusions like a journalist. -Not till that is done will one be able to talk of 'assemblies,' of -national festivals like the Pan-Athenæan and Olympian games. - -"But it is madness to put pagans at the head of a Christian State -as teachers, educators, or officials. That is not tolerance, but -tomfoolery. That is making the goat the gardener, setting the foe -in the fortress, playing the coward before public opinion, and mere -weakness. - -"There will come a day in which the name 'Christian' will be a title -of honour and a diploma of nobility. To say 'I am a Christian' is -equivalent to saying 'I am a Roman citizen.' He who dares to call -himself a pagan or an atheist, will be regarded as a blockhead, an -old-fashioned ass, a conservative reactionary, a stick-in-the-mud." - - -=The Seduced Become Seducers.=--The pupil continued: "The reason -why it has been so hard for me and many others to become really -Christian, is that we are all directly descended from the pagans. -We were not acclimatised in the Christian atmosphere, but liable to -wild impulses; our flesh was too coarse to endure renunciation and -restraint. We had been educated in the evolutionary ape-theory, and -been taught that man belongs to the department of zoology and not -that of anthropology. We had also been told that the physical process -that precedes the New Birth of the soul, which is called conversion -from evil, was neurasthenia, and should be treated with warm baths or -bromkali. Veterinary doctors held professorships of philosophy and -introduced zoology as a compulsory subject in priests' examinations. -The servants of the Lord learnt that religion was a deposit from the -tertiary period, that animals were more religious than man, and that -man had created God. The seducer of our youth taught us that the -Life of Jesus was a lubricous novel, that the doctrine of the Bible -regarding Christ simply amounted to this--that He was a prominent -Galilæan; and finally, that the superman was the bandit who may commit -any outrage against others, provided he can prove a false alibi and has -no witnesses. - -"It was a terrible period which recalled that of the Roman emperors, -and like that, heralded the arrival of Christianity. We, who had been -seduced, then became seducers. But we thank God that no harm was done. -Everything serves, and we had to serve as a terrifying example. There -is always something. - - -=Large-hearted Christianity.=--"But we ought not to frighten men -with Christianity, nor become hair-splitters. Let faith be a uniting -bond to lead us onward, let faith be hope in a better life after this, -a connecting-link with that which is higher. Let the fruits of faith -be seen to be humanity, resignation, mercifulness. But don't go and -count how many glasses of whisky your neighbour drinks; don't call him -a hypocrite if he once in a while gives way to the flesh, or if he is -angry and says hard words. Don't ask how often he goes to church; don't -spy on his words, if in an access of ill-humour he speaks otherwise -than he would. You cannot see whether in solitude he does not regret it -and chastens himself. A white lie or the embellishment of a story is -not a deadly sin; an impropriety can be so atoned for by imprisonment -that it ought to be forgotten. Do not secede from the Church because -of some dogmas which you do not understand. Don't form a sect with the -idea of raising yourself to the rank of shepherd, instead of forming -part of the flock. One should have a large-hearted Christianity for -daily use, and a stricter one for festival days. - -"Don't talk about religion. It is too good for that.... Virtue consists -in striving, even when it does not always succeed." - - "The noble Spirit now is free - And saved from evil scheming, - Whoer'er aspires unweariedly - Is not beyond redeeming. - And if he feels the grace of Love - That from on high is given, - The blessed hosts that wait above - Shall welcome him to heaven." - (_Faust_, Part II.) - - - -=Reconnection with the Aërial Wire.=--The pupil spoke: "You said -once that the tramcar comes to a standstill if it loses connection -with the aërial wire. I know that very well. Would that my friends -who are atheists and pagans knew what a relief it is to find the -connection again. It is like diving in crystal-clear sea-water after -perspiring in the heat of the dog-days on a dusty high-road. The heart -grows light; the systematic ill-luck ceases; one has some success, -one's undertakings prosper, one can sleep at night, and neurasthenia -ceases. I remember how, after a night of debauchery, the most beautiful -landscape at sunrise looked ghastly; while after a night of quiet sleep -the same scene looked paradisal. - -"When we gain the certainty, and the belief founded on certainty, that -life is continued on the other side, then we find it easier on this -one, and do not hunt after trifles till we are weary. Then we discover -the divine light-heartedness of which Goethe speaks, which finds -expression in a certain contempt of honours and distinction, promotion -and money. We become more in-sensible to blows and abuse. Everything -goes more softly and smoothly. However dark the surroundings may be, we -become self-luminous so to speak, and carry the little pocket-lamp hope -with us." - - -=The Art of Conversion.=--The pupil continued: "Plato describes -earthly life as follows: 'Men sit in a cavern with their backs towards -the light. Therefore they only see the shadows or simulacra of what -passes in front of the cavern. Whoever hits on the brilliant idea of -turning round, sees the originals, the realities in themselves, the -light.' - -"So simple is it! Only to turn round, or be converted, in a word. -But it is not necessary on that account to become a monk, ascetic, -or hermit. I almost agree with Luther that faith is everything. Our -deeds lag far behind, and need only consist in refraining from all -deliberate evil. As a beginning, one may be content with not stealing, -lying, or bearing false witness. If we have greater claims and wish to -train ourselves into supermen, we may. But if we do not succeed, we -should not throw the whole system over-board, but ceaselessly commence -anew, never despair, try to smile at our vain efforts, be patient with -ourselves, and believe good of God. - -"When the religious man falls, he gets up again, brushes himself, and -goes on; the irreligious one remains lying in the dirt. Thus the whole -art of life consists in not turning one's back to the light. - - -=The Superman.=--"The gentlemen who talk about development say -that Christianity is out of date and lies behind us. No! Christianity -is everywhere; behind us, near us, before us. - -"Pagans of all kinds really created their gods in their own likeness. -But with Christianity came the transcendent God and revealed Himself -to men who had the goodwill to understand Him. Therefore Christianity -is the beginning of the world's history, its middle, and its end. -'Whither and whence everything streams,' as Hegel says. - -"The multiplication-table is still older, but is not out of date; it -is still used, though logarithms have been discovered. The laws of -thought, atomic weights, oscillations of waves of light and sound, have -not been left behind us, but are still continually close to us. - -"But if one does reattach oneself to Christianity, one should take it -without refining--stock and barrel, dogmas and miracles. One should -swallow it uncritically, naïvely, in great gulps, then it goes down -like castor-oil in hot coffee. 'Open your mouth and shut your eyes.' -That is the only way. - -"I am a Christian, _i.e._ I am a nobleman; I belong to the upper -class; I have been vaccinated; I have served my time in the army; -I am a citizen and of full age; I am a white man; I have a clean -birth-certificate; I am a superman." - -To be a Christian Is not to be a Pietist.--The pupil continued: "If my -pagan friends would only give up the idea that a Christian must be a -pietist, they would come into our pantheon in crowds. Luther ate and -drank what was set before him, as St. Paul enjoins; he played, sang, -hunted, and played skittles. He swore also; but notice well, he never -asked God to curse him, or the Devil to take him; he only said, 'Curse -such and such a thing,' or 'To the devil with it!' Certainly I think he -might have modified that habit, as it created annoyance, and he was a -chief priest and prophet. - -"It is a standing error to think that we lay-men should live every -day like priests. We cannot; we have neither the time nor the means; -it is a shame to demand it. But with the priest it is otherwise. He -has devoted his life to the service of the Lord. He should spend the -six days of the week in so preparing his sermon that he can say it by -heart. I will not compare the clergyman with the actor, but on Sunday -he ought at any rate be able to repeat his rôle verbatim. For doing -that he gets his bread. If the congregation see that he reads his -sermon, they think, 'We could do that too; there is no art in that!' -And the minister of the Lord must take good heed to himself else he -arouses annoyance. People will not take it ill if he is austere, and -refrains from society, for he is a representative, not a private -person. With the layman it is otherwise. He is a poor sinful man, of -whom too much cannot be demanded as he drags his daily burden through -the wicked world." - - -=Strength and Value of Words.=--The teacher said: "Thought is an -act of the mind, and words are congealed thoughts. The uttered word can -have an effect like a charm or an adjuration. There are men who are so -sensitive that they are aware at a distance whether people are speaking -well or ill of them. There are men who are not afraid of committing a -crime, but are startled at the word which names it. Weak men cannot -endure hard words; they make them ill. A word may kill. If I were a -judge, I would always first ask the man-slayer, 'What did he say which -made you strike him down?' And then I should allow for extenuating -circumstances, or even acquit the man, if the deadly word caused the -deadly blow as a reflex-action. If for fifty years I have cherished the -memory of my parents, and my family, property, and honour is based on -my relationship to them, and then someone comes and tells me I am not -my father's son, he has killed me; the whole edifice of my emotional -life collapses. He has paralysed my energy and willingness to sacrifice -myself; he has imposed upon me the monstrous task of radically changing -my views of the world and men; he has rooted-up my filial affection; -with a single word he has annihilated my whole life. If he has lied, he -is simply a murderer!" - - -=The Black Illuminati.=--The teacher said: "Everything serves, -and error often helps forward truth. At the end of the last century, -the materialists began to sniff about in the occult. One day they -discovered the capacity of men, when in a hypnotic state, of seeing -at a distance, of beholding the invisible, and of penetrating the -future. Then they accomplished, curiously enough, the honourable task -of establishing the truth of clairvoyance and prophecy, as well as the -possibility of miracles. The theosophists, who really at a terrible -period of the 'black illumination' sought to penetrate behind phenomena -and dug up useful fragments of ancient wisdom, were however hostile -to Christianity. They went so far as to send one of their prophets to -India to warn the natives against the missionaries. - -"But in course of time they began to investigate Christianity again; -they were now provided with the proper means for understanding the -mysteries of Christ's incarnation and atoning death, of sacraments -and miracles. And see now! their latest prophetess has written a -book to explain and defend Christianity! All roads seem to lead to -Christ. No one has done such good service to Christianity as the -materialistic occultists and the atheistic theosophists. Young France -has been Christianised by the pagans. The last apostle of the rustic -intelligence stands isolated there in his damnable infatuation, -believing himself to be the only 'illuminated' one in the world. Let us -hope that he is the last of the 'Illuminati.'" - -"Yes, let us hope so." - - -=Anthropomorphism.=--"Man is inclined to make everything after -his own likeness. When the heathen made themselves gods, the latter -resembled their creators in all their defects and sins. That is called -Anthropomorphism. The artist who paints a portrait, always puts -something of his own into it. I know a sculptor who always used to -model his own undersized figure with its two short legs, whether he -was representing mountaineers, fauns, men of science, or kings. The -plumper he became in course of time, the more rotund his figures grew. -I know a photographer who always retouches his portraits of people -till they resemble himself. He must admire his own exterior, and wish -to have it taken as a standard-type. The critic when he describes an -author, proceeds in a similar fashion. Every point in which the author -resembles him is reckoned a merit; everyone in which he differs, a -fault. - -"When anyone says, 'This poet is the best I know; you must read him!' -that means, 'This poet has my views; you must share them, for they are -the best in the world.' Everyone would like to fashion humanity and the -world in his own image. But if everyone had his way, what would the -world look like?" - - -=Fury-worship as a Penal Hallucination.=--The teacher said: -"Swedenborg describes, in his fashion, how the greatest tyrant arrived -in Hades. He wished to stir up hell against heaven, and he was punished -by having a terrible woman sent to rule him, whom he worshipped. -She was a compendium of original sin, deliberate falsehood, wilful -deceit, ugliness, uncleanness, destructiveness. But he was compelled -to see in her the good, the beautiful, the lovable; he called her 'my -angel.' All his adherents were obliged to worship her, or he called -them 'woman-haters.' Whence Swedenborg derived his narratives, I know -not, but his descriptions are like photographs of our everyday life. -The modern worship of women does not come down from the Christian -ages of chivalry, for those romanticists honoured womanhood in its -virtues. Our new gyneolatry is derived from the heathen; it is a kind -of fury-worship imposed on us as a penal hallucination. The sons of -the Lord of Dung deify their furies, and praise their faults. In their -view sin is virtue, wickedness is character, deceitfulness is a proof -of intelligence, coarseness is strength. He who will not join in -this devil-worship is called a woman-hater. Chaste wives and mothers -are called old-fashioned and perverse. Euripides describes in the -_Hippolytus_ how this king's son dedicated his devotion to the chaste -Diana and fled the demotic Venus. This impure goddess avenged herself -by accusing the innocent Hippolytus of incest and then caused him to be -put to death. Euripides on account of writing this tragedy was called a -'woman-hater,' and is said to have been tom in pieces by female dogs. -That is a pretty legend!" - - -=Amerigo or Columbus.=--The teacher said: "Human greatness and -the way of becoming great is something very remarkable. Often envious -hatred of the deserving seems to be converted into immense love for -the undeserving. The infatuation of hatred may go so far that when -the deserving has done a good work, the undeserving gets the glory of -it. But often also there are secret reasons for this abnormal result. -Every schoolboy has asked why America was not named after Columbus, -who discovered it. I also made that inquiry, and while I served the -Lord of Dung I found it quite natural that the undeserving cartographer -Vespucci should have the honour of the discovery. - -"But when I recovered my reason (and men called me mad), I read the -biography of Columbus again. There I found that, together with his -merits, he had great faults. Like David, he sinned by pride, avarice, -cruelty, and deceit. His pride was boundless. Before undertaking his -doubtful voyage, he laid down as a condition that he was to be Viceroy -(he, the weaver's son!) and receive a tithe of the revenues. Well, he -never learnt that he had discovered a new quarter of the globe. He died -and was forgotten. - -"Vespucci, on the other hand, was not only a cartographer, but -sailed round South America, and discovered that the New World was -not India. He seems to have been a good-natured, upright, and modest -man. Toscanelli, his contemporary, is also said to have announced the -existence of a new world, but that is not so certain." - - -=A Circumnavigator of the Globe.=--The pupil said: "Can you -resolve my discords?" - -"I will call you a circumnavigator of the globe. You have sailed round -it, and returned to the point whence you set out. No one can go further -than that. But you return with a freight of experience, knowledge, -and wisdom. Therefore the journey was not in vain, or to speak more -correctly, it has fulfilled its object. Max Muller, who at the time of -the decadence was the scapegoat for all the atheists, concludes his -history of religion thus: 'It is easy to say that the completest faith -is a child's faith. Nothing can be truer. The older we grow, the more -we learn to comprehend the wisdom of children's faith.' And in another -place he says: 'To explain religion by referring it to a religious -impulse, or a religious capacity, is merely to explain the known by the -less known. The real religious impulse or instinct is the apprehension -of the infinite.' Thank your misfortunes that you have arrived at the -infinite. 'The fortunate do not believe that miracles still happen, for -only in misery we recognise God's hand and finger, which leads good men -to good.'" - -"Do you know who said that?" - -"No; is it Luther?" - -"No; it is Goethe in _Hermann and Dorothea._ And the 'great pagan' -wrote in 1779 to Lavater: 'My God, to whom I have been ever faithful, -has in secret richly blessed me. For my destiny is quite hidden from -men; they can neither hear nor see at all, how it is determined.' The -Lice-King omits such expressions when he wishes to incorporate Goethe -among his slimy larvæ." - - -=The Poet's Children.=--The teacher continued: "Moreover, as I -have already told you, you are a poet, and must pass through your -reincarnations here. You have a right to invent poetic personalities, -and at every stage to speak the speech of the one you represent. -Shakespeare has done so, whether he did it consciously, or whether life -assigned him the various roles he played. At one time he is a cheerful -optimist; at another, the misogynist Timon, or the world-despiser -Hamlet; he is the jealous Othello, the amorous Romeo, so-and-so the -panegyrist of women, and so-and-so the misogynist. I believe indeed -that he has, by way of experiment, been the murderer Macbeth, and the -monster Richard III. He utters the malignant speeches of the last with -real relish. Every rascal may defend himself, and Shakespeare is his -advocate. - -"There the poet should have no grave; his ashes should be strewn to -all the winds of heaven. He should only live in his works, if they -possess vital power. Men should accustom themselves to look upon him as -something different from an ordinary man; they ought not to judge him, -but regard him as something which they cannot understand. You remember -the dying Epaminondas. When they condoled with him because he left no -children, he answered: 'Children? I have Leuktra and Mantinea.'" - - -=Faithful in Little Things.=--The pupil said: "I had a friend, -who died lately at the age of sixty. According to my view, he has in -his own way realised the type of a good citizen and a good man. He was -a tradesman, and had passed through a youth of hardship, being from -six in the morning till ten at night in the shop, the doors of which -were open even in winter. Under his first master he quickly discovered -that dishonest tricks did not pay. Therefore he became rigidly honest, -studied the details of his trade, made rapid progress, kept sober and -wide-awake. Accordingly he soon became his own master, and wealth came -of itself. He married and had children, who turned out excellently in -consequence of their father's example. Now, this man lived his whole -life according to the teaching he had received in school and church. -He did his duty, honoured father and mother, obeyed law and authority, -never criticised those who managed the government of the country, -which he did not profess to understand. He took no notice of selfish -agitations, did not worry himself about the riddle of the universe, and -warned his children not to be eager after novelties. He also possessed -positive virtues; he was merciful and helpful, faithful and modest. - -"When his sons began to study, he did not attempt to vie with them in -learning. But when they attacked his childlike faith, he defended it -like a man. He never ventured to occupy a public post, for he knew his -limits. He never sought for distinctions, nor did he obtain any. Well, -what name do the larvæ of the snake-worm give such a blameless, good, -faithful man? They call him 'a servile rascal.' Is that just?" - -The teacher answered: "No! it is flagrantly unjust! But there are other -types of character, which are also laudable." - -"Yes, indeed, but that does not lessen the value of his life; he was -faithful in small things." - - -=The Unpracticalness of Husk-eating.=--The teacher said: "Young -people say, 'What do we want with the wisdom of age? We want to learn -for ourselves.' I generally answer, 'Yes, learn for yourselves--from -us! What good-fortune to be able to inherit the rich experiences of -others, and not to make these expensive, dirty experiments for oneself! -If the young commenced where we left off, the world and humanity would -progress with giant strides. Instead of this everyone begins afresh, -that is, in the moral sphere. When it is a question of making a new -incandescent lamp, we do not begin with a machine for generating -electricity, but continue from the latest discovery of our predecessors. - -"I have also asked myself whether it is necessary first to be burnt -in order to dread the fire. I have never seen my children go to the -oven and lay hold of the red dampers to see whether they would be -burnt. They let themselves be warned, and therefore escaped the painful -experience. I have asked myself whether one must first feed with the -swine before one can appreciate the food of the household, and whether -the Prodigal Son is a necessary transitionary type. But to all these -stupid and impertinent questions life has given a negative answer. - -"Swedenborg says that all sin and wickedness leave traces behind -them, but that these are not apparent in the human face till old age. -Subsequently, in the disrobing-room on the other side, they look as if -they had been thrown through a magnifying-glass on a white screen. I -once looked into an attic-room; the curtain was drawn aside, and an old -man put out his head in order to look at the sun. When he saw me he hid -his face immediately. - -"That was a face!... God protect us!" - - -=A Youthful Dream for Seven Shillings.=--The teacher said: "There -are people who carry about with them a measuring-rule for everything. -They demand exactness and order; they love perfection in all things. -They are called discontented, carping, pedantic. But it is unfair to -blame them. If one is content with the mediocre, one will at last only -get the worst. Men give only as little as they can, and the whole of -life is defective. Conscientious men are not happy, for they cannot -lower their demands; they appear to simpletons who have not learnt, -that nothing is what it gives itself out to be, that nothing answers -the expectations we formed of it. One is inclined to ask whether such -men bring with them at birth recollections of a place or a condition -where ideal perfection existed. When I was seven years old, I often -remained standing fascinated before a music-dealer's shop window, -and contemplated a hunter's horn which was hung up there. There was -something charming in the proportions of these curved lines. This brass -tube tapered off beautifully from the great width of its bell-mouth to -its narrowed mouthpiece. In the gloomy street it made me hear nature's -music in woods and fields; I loved the instrument. But when a boy told -me that it cost thirty shillings, I wondered whether life would ever -fulfil my desire, for in order to buy it I would have to go for two and -a half years without breakfast. Finally I got to be thirty years old, -and had some money to spare for the first time in my life. I bought the -hunting-horn; it cost only seven shillings; the boy had told a lie. -But the instrument had only three notes. When I got tired of my prize -it was consigned to the attic. - -"It was, at any rate, the fulfilment of a youthful dream!" - - -=Envy Nobody!=--The teacher said: "Envy nobody! As a child I was -boarded out in the country in mean surroundings. I lived in a kind of -shanty, ate from an earthenware plate, sat on a wooden stool. But there -was a castle in the neighbourhood, a real castle, with portraits of -kings in the entrance-hall, the ancestors of the young count who lived -there. One Sunday we were allowed to go, first into the castle, then -into the garden. That was paradise! We could bathe, and were allowed to -pick the cherries, blood-black, gold-yellow, fire-red. The count looked -on, but ate nothing; he had had enough. Then we left, and the gate of -paradise was shut behind us. - -"Fifty years later I saw the portrait of the young count, and heard -his history. He looked unhappy and despairing, as though he were weary -of everything. He had passed through the bitterest experiences of -life, including poverty for a time. His affairs came into liquidation, -and he had to spend ten years abroad in an hotel, his expenses being -defrayed by his creditors. He also had his wife with him, who, as she -thought, had married into paradise, in order to be immediately driven -out of it again. The man had been nothing and had done nothing; all -he could do was to wait for his meals. He had possessed horses and a -yacht; he had gambled and borrowed money; he had eaten truffles and -drunk wine; but when he was forty had to give it up, for his nose grew -red and he had gout in his great toe. I will not speak of his domestic -miseries. - -"Now he sits in his castle, rich as Crœsus, but lonely, and educates -his housekeeper's children, which are his, but which cannot bear -his name. His evening meal consists of gruel, and he goes to bed at -half-past nine. He dares not use his wine-cellar, for then his great -toe aches. His solitary comparative pleasure is to be able to walk, in -order to eat his gruel and be able to sleep. Envy nobody!" - - -=The Galley-slaves of Ambition.=--The teacher said: "Balzac speaks -in one place of the galley-slaves of ambition, and describes their -condition very much as Swedenborg describes certain of his hells, or as -Homer depicts Tantalus, Ixion, and the Danaides. They are ceaselessly -haunted by their passion to be superior to others; to be seen and heard -before all others. The malice and love of power which this involves -are necessarily punished. When the ambitious man cannot be the first -and only one he becomes ill. Voltaire had to go to bed when a prince -travelled past his house without visiting him. If one of such people's -letters remains unanswered they think it is a sign that their credit -has sunk, and they worry about the reason of it till they grow how -hypochondriacal. If they read in the paper such and such important -people were present when the king landed, and their names are omitted, -the world is darkened for them. That is to say, it is not enough for -them that they should be praised and called the greatest; they suffer -pains like death when others are eulogised. They feel perpetual fear -lest they should be set aside and their juniors get ahead of them. -In that they resemble a great criminal who expects to be detected. -The portrait of an ambitious man has a great resemblance to that of -a galley-slave. Imperiousness, hatred, fear--especially fear--are -depicted in his face. - -"Balzac, on the other hand, was impelled by the noble ambition to make -discoveries, and to do good work in which he took pleasure. But his -own life was hidden. Unknown and misunderstood in his own Paris, which -he had discovered, he saw petty chroniclers obtain the first prizes -without being made ill by it. And when, at the age of fifty-one, he -had succeeded in making a home for himself, into which he was about to -bring his first and only wife, he died on the day of the publication of -the banns. A fine death after a life of renunciation!" - - -=Hard to Disentangle.=--The teacher said: "With age, as is -well known, one arrives at a different view of life than one had -formerly. Then, on account of its wealth and variety, life is almost -immeasurable, and above all, very difficult to disentangle. - -"At the age of forty I came home after an absence of many years. On my -arrival I received a dunning letter from an antiquarian bookseller. -Curiously enough, without my being able to explain why, this debt -caused me no further uneasiness of conscience. But then a friend came -and advised me to settle the matter, as the bookseller was spreading -an evil report about me. I went and paid the trifling account, but the -bookseller looked so uneasy and strange, was so polite and grateful, -that I began to reflect about him. When I came home I remembered this: -twenty years previously I had entrusted him with an antique work of -art to sell. After I had visited the man several times in his shop -and the article had not been sold, I felt ashamed to go any more, -began to think of something else, and forgot the matter. His present -thankfulness showed that he had not forgotten it; we were then quits, -if he did not still owe me something. - -"Now I felt ashamed on his account, and determined not to mention the -matter. But then it occurred to me that I owed his predecessor a sum of -money for books. I went again, found him showing the same uneasy manner -as before, and asked for his predecessor's address. He was in America. -I asked whether he had relatives here in the town. He had none. I went -home and thought to myself, 'Then we must drop that matter also.' In -this way, in old age, one must alternate pay and let go; now as a -debtor, now as creditor. But who strikes the balance of accounts? The -goddess of justice, and she is neither deaf nor blind." - - -=The Art of Settling Accounts.=--The teacher continued: "It really -looks as though we could not go hence till everything is settled, -great and small alike. Recently there died an early friend of mine, -who, at an important juncture, had helped me with a hundred kronas.[1] -I had at first regarded it as a loan. But he never dunned me, and -during the forty years which have since elapsed he was gradually -transformed in my memory into a benefactor, and all was well. When at -last he died a millionaire, I did not wish to trouble his executors -with the trifle, but sent a wreath to the funeral with a sigh of -gratitude and many kindly thoughts. Was that the end? No! Shortly -afterwards I felt a kind of inward admonition to resume relations -with a bookbinder whom I had ceased to employ on account of his -carelessness. He came and was glad to get work again; he was greatly -pleased, and declared that I had appeared just in time to deliver him. -When I understood his difficulties, for he had a family, I was willing -to give him fifty kronas in advance, but as I had no change I gave him -a hundred, though reluctantly. I saw how his back straightened itself, -and his confidence in life reawoke. He went--and never returned. I was -angry at first, because he had treated me like a fool, and I dunned -him with letters. But then the memory of my departed friend recurred; -various thoughts wove themselves together in my mind--the pleasure -of calling him a scamp, the fifty-krona note which had turned into a -hundred-krona note, the scamp's need, and the part I had played as -deliverer. In my own mind I gave him a discharge, and became quite -quiet." - - -[Footnote 1: A krona = 1s. 3d.] - - -=Growing Old Gracefully.=--The teacher continued: "When one -becomes old, one wonders at first how men have, as it were, permission -to do one an injustice. If one complains, one finds no sympathy. Even -our friends take the part of those who injure us. But when we have -discovered the secret of it, we take it all quietly. One is cheated -in ordinary business, and says to oneself, 'This is in requital for -that.' Our children prove ungrateful and difficult to manage, exactly -like we were. Young people are insolent and pert towards us, and we -see our former selves reflected in them. Servants do their work badly, -and perpetrate petty thefts; we must put up with it, when we think of -our own work scamped on various occasions. Friends are faithless, just -as we have been ourselves. By practice one comes at last so far, that -one asks for no more, demands no more, and is no longer angry. I then -always think of David when Shimei cast stones at him and cursed him, -and Abishai wanted to strike off the calumniator's head. David declined -to take vengeance, saying, 'Let him curse, for the Lord hath bidden -him.' When the same king, because of his sins, had to choose between -famine, pestilence, or raids of the enemy, he prayed 'to fall into the -hands of God, and not into the hands of man.' - -"He understood how to grow old gracefully, and to make up his accounts. -So he departed praising God, 'Who proveth the heart and loveth -uprightness.'" - - -=The Eight Wild Beasts.=--The teacher said: "You know yourself -that when one awakes from somnambulism, one finds the world quite -mad. Then one loses all hope and all confidence, and believes we are -delivered into the power of the Devil. Once during such a moment of -awakening, I read the works of the Adventists, and the idea struck me -that they were right. They ground their belief on the Revelation of -St. John, and say as follows: 'We live in the last era during which -the eight wild beasts rule the earth. Of Christianity no trace is to -be found: power, wealth, industry, art, science, literature, are -in the hands of the pagans. The state-craft of the wild beasts is -lying and force, alternating with the most insidious hypocrisy. They -preach peace, distribute peace-prizes, build peace-palaces, but are -always seeking war in order to be able to rob and tyrannise. If their -subordinates believe them, and preach peace themselves, they are thrown -into prison. But, says St. John, nations will come from the East and -destroy the godless who have rejected Christ. The last battle is to -be at Megiddo in Syria. But since all this takes place under God's -control, the wild beasts are protected in order to carry out their -work of execution. The number of the last wild beast, 666, is not yet -interpreted, for it is not yet come. The eight wild beasts you can find -in a book, which is called _A de G_;[1] of the people of the East you -read every morning in your paper. It looks almost as though it were -true. The pietists believe it, and keep their lamps burning.'" - - -=Deaf and Blind.=--The teacher continued: "Under the rule of -the wild beast men have become demoralised. They reject every idea -of a retributive justice. If anyone points to an instance of it, -he is suppressed. If a blasphemer loses his tongue, they call it -'Actinomyces,' nothing more. And the obstinacy of the unrepentant -revolts against heaven itself: 'It is so far to heaven; what do we know -about it? We are ants; no God troubles himself about us.' If something -good happens to a man, he attributes it to his own power; if something -evil, he calls it 'bad-luck.' Science explains earthquakes by algebra, -and if it wants to be very learned, by seismology. The quantity of -crime and wickedness which _must_ exist is fixed by statistics. And -yet heaven is so near. God's invisible servants are around us, in -the streets and in our rooms. We do not see them, but those who have -eyes, and only they, behold their operations. The world is like a vast -institute for the deaf and blind, in which the unfortunates are told -by their teachers that they are the only ones who can see and hear. -The theosophists say that we are already living two lives--a conscious -one on the earth, and an unconscious one above. But most men seem to -have broken off communication with the higher plane, and therefore they -cannot comprehend what is from above, but have discovered that there is -no higher and no lower in the universe." - - -[Footnote 1: Not explained in original footnote.] - - -=Recollections.=--The pupil said: "Often has my experience -confirmed this saying of the theosophists, that, as well as here, we -live also on a higher plane from whence we receive our inspirations, -ideas, and intuitions. After such visitations (do they take place by -night?) I do not flourish down here, but find everything perverse, -defective, absurd. I once conceived the strange idea that I have my -true home somewhere else, and that a vague recollection has made me -give my present home an arrangement similar to that of my real one. - -"In my present abode there was a room which, after certain storms that -lasted for two years, was so devastated that it looked as if devils -had haunted it. Then a sum of money came into my hands unexpectedly. -The next morning I awoke with the distinct determination to repair -and furnish the room. I went at once to the upholsterer, and knew so -exactly what furniture and curtains I wanted, that when I saw the -material it looked to me familiar and welcome. A workman came, proved -honest, worked quietly like a spirit, and in a few days the room -was ready. When I entered it, I was seized with a sort of ecstatic -shiver as though I had already seen this room once before under happy -circumstances. And now when I enter the room alone, I see it resembles -something which I do not remember, but which waits for me. I seem to -know that _there_ I am waited for by my only true wife, by my children, -friends and relations, and that this incompleteness I see is only a -poor copy drawn from a dim recollection. Think, if it only were so!" - - -=Children Are Wonder-Children.=--The teacher answered: "What you -say accords with Plato's theory of recollection. He believes that all -which a child learns is recovered from some previous knowledge. During -my long experience it has often happened to me to meet people who, -the first time I saw them, seemed like old acquaintances. It seems, -too, that the woman we love appears congenial to us, made for us, sent -in our way. But most of all is this the case with our children. All -children are, in spite of idle talk, wonder-children--till they have -learnt to talk. Little children often say things which astound one. -They understand all that we say even when we hide it from them. They -seem to be thought-readers, divine our most secret purposes, and rebuke -us beforehand. 'Don't do that,' said my two-year-old child before my -plan was half formed. 'What?' I asked. The child did not answer, but -smiled roguishly and half embarrassed, as though it wished to say, 'You -know yourself already.' When the child had learnt to be silent, it -pushed with its foot against the chair when the parents' talk bordered -on impropriety. Often it spoke like an elder person who understands -things better than others. At three years old it pronounced this -opinion on the nurse, 'Hannah is very nice, but she does not understand -how to treat children.' When her mother was sad, it said, 'Sit down -here and don't be sad; I will tell you a story.' I will only add--there -was no mimicry about it, as the ape-king would be inclined to believe. -What was it then?" - - -=Men-resembling Men.=--The teacher said: "It seems as though -some errors were necessary and unavoidable. They appear as a kind of -infectious virus. A generation is inoculated with it, carries the germ -till it has sprouted, and then there is an end of it. Views of the -world and man come up, are disseminated, evaporated, and disappear. -But those who have been inoculated with them believe they are their -own views, because they have assimilated them with their personality. -Often the error ends in a compromise with a new view. Thus Darwinism -made it seem probable that men derived their origin from animals. Then -came the theosophists with the opinion that our souls are in process -of transmigration from one human body to another. Thence comes this -excessive feeling of discomfort, this longing for deliverance, this -sensation of constraint, the pain of existence, the sighing of the -creature. Those who do not feel this uneasiness, but flourish here, -are probably at home here. Their inexplicable sympathy for animals and -their disbelief in the immortality of the soul points to a connection -with the lower forms of existence of which they are conscious, and -which we cannot deny. The doctrine that we are created after God's -image involves no contradiction, for the spirit is from God; but there -is no word which frightens these anthropomorphists so much as the word -'spirit.' Yes, there is one, and that is the word 'spirits,' which -makes the fleshy part of them shudder." - - -=Christ Is Risen.=--The teacher said: "After we have had -Christianity as a civilising agency for nineteen hundred years, people -begin to discuss it. Is this the opportune time to ask whether Christ -has existed and whether the documents of Christianity are genuine? -It reminds one of the author who wrote a book to prove that Napoleon -never existed. It is as if we were now to discover that Cæsar's -_Commentaries_ are false, and that he never conquered Gaul, or as if -we discussed whether the discovery of America had been useful. Ibsen's -partisans have denied that Columbus discovered America; they say it was -Leif Erikssen (perhaps we shall soon hear it was his wife). - -"However, Christ returned again at the end of the last century, and was -received by all. The pagans depicted him as the poor school-teacher; -the anarchists celebrated him as the type of suffering humanity; the -symbolists did homage to him as Christus Consolator; the socialists -preached his gospel to the obscure, the weary, and heavy-laden. He was -to be seen every-where--in the quarters of the French general staff and -in the espionage office; in Lourdes and in Rome; on Mont Martre and in -Moscow. His churches and convents were purified; his miracles explained -by occultists, spiritists, hypnotists; science progressed and confirmed -the prophecies. Finally we saw at the congress of religions in Chicago -in 1897 that all peoples and religions of the world bent their knees -when Christ's especial prayer, the Lord's Prayer, was recited. Then -the believers gave each other the brotherly kiss and greeting, 'Christ -is risen!'" - - -=Revolution-Sheep.=--The teacher continued: "In the year 1889 -we celebrated the French Revolution, but there was little life or -order in the celebration. Everything which was uprooted in 1789 still -existed--Church and State, kings and courts, priests and officials. The -French republic was the worst of all, with its Panama Canal jobbers at -the head: Wilson, Herz, Clemenceau, Arton. The constitution was kept -alive by bribes, bills of exchange more or less false, and pensions. -Offices were created in order to find places for voters, husbands of -mistresses, and the discontented. At that time the French republic was -governed by criminals, and the Church by pagans. Military and civil -orders were sold, works of art bought, votes canvassed for. One could -not become a deputy for less than two hundred thousand francs. Then -executioners and revolutions were necessary, for the principles of the -Great Revolution, if one can talk of principles in connection with -a volcano in eruption, were forgotten. Now in the perspective of a -hundred years the 'Great' Revolution appeared only like an execution, -a decimation on a large scale; an experiment with negative results, -but as such certainly very interesting. One of the recollections of -my youth is that when we 'who were born with the ideas of the French -Revolution' (ideas revived in 1848) began to talk of the 'Great' -Revolution, we were called 'Revolution-sheep.' I did not understand -this at the time, for I did not yet think for myself but merely -drivelled. But now I understand it. Now we know that the constitution -of a country is almost a matter of indifference for the common weal; -thus one constitution is not much better or worse than another." - - -="Life Woven of the Same Stuff as our Dreams"=--The teacher said: -"Life itself can often appear like a bad dream. One morning I went for -a walk in the country, and was absorbed in my thoughts, when a great -Danish dog rushed towards me. A young rascal stood near, laughing. I -drew my revolver, and exclaimed, 'Call off the dog, or I shoot it.' The -young fellow only laughed, the dog retreated, and I went on. On my way -back, a man armed with a musket met me, and asked how I dared threaten -to shoot his son. I answered, that the threat had only referred to the -dog. On the evening of the same day I was told that the dog had been -found dead, and that I was suspected of having poisoned it. Although I -was innocent, I was regarded as an assassin. That was a nice business! - -"Again: one evening I went to see my four-year-old daughter, who waited -for me below in the park. From the distance I saw her in the company -of two unpleasant-looking children, but she did not see me. As I -quickened my steps, I saw that she went off farther with the children. -I called her, but she did not hear. I ran and saw her at the entrance -of a cellar, into which the children wanted to pull her down. She -resisted them, but they took hold of her clothes. Now she screamed, -and consequently did not hear my call. I wished to hasten to her, but -between us there was a grass lawn, with an iron railing round it, on -which I did not venture to tread for fear of the police. So I stood -there and called. At last my child pulled herself free, but did not see -me. So weirdly things may happen sometimes!" - - -=The Gospel of the Pagans.=--The teacher continued: "The gospel -of the pagans is immunity from punishment; if one mentions a case -where it has gone ill with a scoundrel, the pagans snort and say -one is too severe. But it is life which is severe. The gospel of the -pagans consists in showing that virtue is simplicity and is seduced; -that religion is a disease; that scoundrelism is a form of strength, -and ought to conquer by the right of the stronger. Sometimes, by way -of a change, they demand that a weak rascal should be pardoned; that -everything should be forgiven and tolerated. By 'toleration' they mean -that one should let oneself be suppressed and persecuted by them. If -one resists, they cry, 'He revenges himself. He is a bad man.' But -revenge presupposes some offence as the cause, and when the cause -disappears the effect disappears. Certainly there are some men who -avenge their own stupidity on the innocent. I have an enemy, who still -revenges himself on me because he could not steal my money. The gospel -for him would be the law reversed, 'You may steal, but others may not.'" - - -=Punished by the Imagination.=--The teacher continued: "Swedenborg -speaks of being punished by the imagination. That is what doctors -generally call 'hallucination.' He who suffers from persecution-mania -is persecuted. The Philistines think he is only persecuted by his -imaginations, but if the wise man asks why he is persecuted by his -imaginations, conscience answers by ceaselessly endeavouring to -discover the persecutor. The patient goes through the whole list of -the persons whom he has offended. If they are many in number, and -their hatred is justified, one may well suppose that the sick man is -persecuted by their hatred, for which his awakened conscience is now -receptive. - -"In my inner life punishment by hallucinations has played the chief -part; but after I had discovered the rationale of it, I regarded the -hallucination itself as a punishment. The severest form of punishment -is suspicion, when I am obliged to suspect the innocent. That is -irresistible. My thoughts sway between trust and mistrust. I struggle -and conquer myself gradually, either by acknowledging myself wrong, -or by accepting the breach of faith resignedly. But if I give vent to -suspicion I must ask for pardon; then I take this humiliation as a -discharge. Most of my misfortunes have been imaginary; but they have -had the same effect as real ones, because I came to the consciousness -of my own wrong-doing. The incurable man is the obstinate one who -believes himself wrongfully persecuted by other men. - - -=Bankruptcy of Philosophy.=--"When Kant during the dark period -of the 'Illumination' had proved that philosophy can prove nothing, -he set up the theory of the categorical imperative and postulate, -_i.e._ the demands of religion and morality. Put in plain language, -that is equivalent to faith. This declaration of the bankruptcy of -philosophy saved men from useless brain-cudgelling. Christianity -revived, now supported by the philosophers with Hegel at their head. -But the old stream flowed parallel with it once more. In spite of the -bankruptcy of philosophy, notes of exchange were issued and cashed by -the dunder-headed free-thinkers Feuerbach and Strauss. They wanted -to approach God with the everyday intelligence which one uses in -kitchens and grocers' shops. The last fool was Renan, whose cheques -still circulate mostly among college-students and the like. At the -beginning of the last century E.T.A. Hoffmann wrote thus: 'In ancient -times we had a simple generous faith; we recognised that there was a -Higher, but knew also that our senses were insufficient to reach it. -Then came the "Illumination," which made everything so clear, that for -sheer clearness not a trace could be seen. And now we are told that the -supernatural is to be grasped by a firm arm of flesh and bone.' To-day -it is called the Science of Religion. That is a science which starts -from the false presupposition that religion is a mental disease because -it cannot be mathematically proved." - - -=A Whole Life in an Hour.=--The teacher said: "I had a strange -experience, which I have not understood, but which I must remember. -I woke up one morning feeling cheerful without any special reason. -Obeying an impulse, I went into the town. As I wandered about at -random, I came into the quarter where I had been born and brought up. -I saw the kindergarten and school I used to attend, and my parents' -house. I went through narrow streets and passed by the national school -in which I was worried as a student-teacher. I saw two different houses -in which I had suffered as a private tutor. I went northwards and came -to another school in which I had been tortured. In a market-place -I passed another house in which, during my childhood, our only -acquaintance lived, and twenty years later in the same dwelling there -lived my worst enemy. I passed by a house in which my sister had been -married thirty years before, and another house in which my brother had -had a hard struggle. Then I came to a third school in which I was a -student; in the same house lives still my first and last publisher. I -passed by a house where, forty years ago, I was accepted as an aspirant -for the stage, and where I offered my first drama; also by the house -where I was married for the first time. Then the meaning of it began -to grow clearer. I saw the furniture warehouse whence I ordered my -furniture the last time. I passed by the house where my wife and child -lived three years ago. - -"In the space of one hour I had seen the panorama of my whole life in -living pictures. Only three years were wanting to the present time. It -was like an agony or a death-hour when the whole of life rushes past -one. - -"Then I felt drawn northward where my last child and her mother live. -An instinct told me to bring perfume for the mother and school-fees -for the child, as that day it was going to the kindergarten for the -first time. Then I began to hunt for the perfume; it ought to have been -lilac, but I had to take lily-of-the-valley. I also wanted flowers, but -could not find any. - -"So I continued northwards and came to their house; the sun shone -in, the table was spread for coffee; there was an air of comfort, -homeliness, and kindness over all. I was received in a friendly way, -felt in a moment that the whole of my black life lay behind me, and -realised the happiness of merely being alive." - - -=The After-Odour.=--The teacher continued: "As I went thence, -I felt the happiness of the present. All the past was only the dark -background. I was thankful in my heart, when I remembered all I had -come through without perishing. When I came home, I learnt through the -telephone that my worst enemy had died on the morning of this very day. -His death-struggle was taking place at the very time that I made the -pilgrimage through my past life. I reflected: Why should I pass through -my agony just when he died? He was a 'black man'[1] with an obsolete -materialistic view of things which he thought was modern; a literary -huckster who wrote reviews of marchionesses' rubbishy books, in order -to be invited to their castles, and praised his associates as long as -they consorted with him; the partisan of a coterie and a log-roller. - -"I had never come into personal contact with him, but once, a long -time ago, he had called himself my pupil. He could not however grow, -nor follow me upwards. It was now as though my old self had died in -him. Perhaps therefore I suffered his death and felt it just now. But -why the perfume? That I know not. But when I learnt that the deceased -decomposed so rapidly that he had to be buried at once, I could not -help connecting the perfume with his dissolution. When, eight days -afterwards, I read a posthumous review by the deceased of my last -work, and saw that he regretted that I was not a pagan and lamented -my defection from the Lord of Dung, it was as though I sniffed an -after-odour from the dunghole, and I seized the perfume-flask in good -earnest." - - -[Footnote 1: Strindberg's expression for a free-thinker.] - - -=Peaches and Turnips.=--The teacher continued: "At the same time -a similar death happened. Another of the 'Black Flags' departed under -peculiar circumstances two days after the first. I had known this man -during the period in which the ape-king ruled. We did not like each -other, but like condemned criminals were compelled to keep together. -Our friendship was only the reverse-side of a hatred; his hideous -appearance frightened me; his profession was equally repulsive, but -brought in much money. He wrote according to the taste of the time, and -lived in the false idea that he was 'illuminated' and liberal-minded. -When his father died, the son expressed his regret that 'his father -had recovered the faith of his childhood.' What happened then? The son -who lived in faith in wickedness and ugliness, began to develop this -faith in a peculiar way. He had in his writings shown a predilection -for turnips; in his latter days he inoculated peaches with turnip-juice -in order to make the southern fruit partake of the beautiful flavour -of the latter. The same perverse taste was evident in his last book; -there his sympathy is decidedly on the side of the 'blacks.' He ended -in an asylum. He could not be saved, for he did not know how to seek -the Saviour. So he died. I had just regretted not having sent some -flowers to his grave, when I saw in an obituary notice that the dead -man had vented a noisome lie against me, which a bosom friend of his -now repeats in print. In the same notice the world is threatened with -his posthumous writings. When they come out, I will buy a flower and -hold it under my nose, while I breathe a sigh of gratitude to him, -who restored to me the faith of my childhood and saved me from the -mad-house." - - -=The Web of Lies.=--The pupil said: "I am eight-and-fifty years -old; have lied less than others; and have therefore always believed -what others said. When, in my old age, I sit together with friends -of my youth and make comparisons, I find that my whole life is a web -of lies. Last night I sat with such a friend, and had a protracted -talk of the following intelligent kind. I said, 'When the Prince of -X. married....' 'Married! He isn't married.' 'Isn't he? Is that a lie -too?' 'He has never been married.' 'Now during twenty years I have -spread it abroad that he was married, and a whole story has been built -on this lie, which I was about to relate, but now I must drop it.' - -"Here is another lie! During thirty years I have told people that Dr. -H. was present when the Malunger murderer was executed. He had falsely -informed me that, as a medical student, he had received a commission to -examine the head after it had been cut off. He gave me such interesting -details on the subject that I was accustomed to describe them in -company. What a liar he was! - -"'But he _was_ there.' 'Was he there?' 'Certainly; I saw him standing -behind the priest when I took a photograph of the scaffold.' 'You? -Have you ... Are you lying or is he?' 'I am not.' 'No; now I don't -know where I am. Everything is topsy-turvy. For the last ten years I -have retracted the lie which I had spread. I have made Dr. H. a liar! -One ought never to speak or write, but only draw the things which one -absolutely needs. He was then really there! How can I restore to him -his honour, of which I have robbed him?'" - - -=Lethe.=--The teacher answered: "This whole web of lies, errors, -misunderstandings, which forms the basis of our lives, transforms life -itself into something dreamlike and unreal, and must be dissolved when -we pass into the other life. I read to-day of a dying man. Instead of -seeing his life pass by him, as is usually the case, his whole life -dissolved into a cloud; his memory failed; all bitterness and all -trouble disappeared; and on the other hand, all his disappointed hopes -assumed an aspect of reality. He thought he was loved by his wife, who -had been cold to him; he thanked her for all the tenderness which she -had never shown him. The children who had deserted him he saw again in -the bright light of youth; he seemed to hear the sound of little feet -upon the floor, the characteristic of a happy home, and his face wore -a happy smile. The dark autumn weather outside changed into spring; -little girls handed him roses to kiss in order to enchance their value. -Finally he saw himself and his family in an arbour drinking coffee out -of Dresden china cups, into which they dipped yellow saffron-cakes.... -Then he fell into his last sleep. It was a beautiful and enviable -death; it was paradise. From the ancient Lethe he drank forgetfulness -of the troubles he had undergone before he trod the Elysian fields. -If it only were so! To drag all one's bygone filth with one in memory -cannot be favourable to a new life in purity. There are illnesses in -which one loses memory. May death prove to be such an illness!" - - -=A Suffering God.=--The teacher said: "The idea of a suffering -God was foolishness to the Greeks, who considered a God as a tyrant -gloating over the sufferings of men. But the seeming contradiction -is solved if one supposes that a Holy Being deposits itself, so to -speak, in humanity, and that humanity then becomes defiled. That is -a boundless grief like his who has deposited the best part of his -soul and his emotions with a woman. If she then goes and defiles -herself, she defiles her husband. Or a father's nature has passed over -to his children, and he wishes to see his best impulses continued -and multiplied by them, and his likeness ennobled. If the children -dishonour themselves, the father suffers; the stem withers when the -roots are injured. - -"Such I imagine to be the feelings of God the Father when the -sinfulness of humanity grows noisome and dishonours Him, and -perhaps threatens to affect His own holiness. He will be wroth and -lament--perhaps even feel Himself defiled--rather than cut off the -cancerous limb of humanity. Christ is no more represented as beautiful, -but with features distorted by the sins of others; these he has -taken on himself or drawn to himself, for he who approaches pitch is -defiled. In order to be free from the impure element he must die by the -destruction of the body. Incarnation involved the greatest suffering of -all. - -"But the death of Christ may also signify that the Father freed himself -from the sins of humanity, and broke off connection with the evil race -who dishonoured Him. He who will now seek Him must rise to His heights, -and gain admission by a pure life. He Himself will descend no more into -this valley of filth; the air is too thick, the company too mixed. And -that is why things are as they are." - - -=The Atonement.=--The teacher said: "The work of the Atonement -has been very difficult for me to understand. Often I have tried to -explain in a way satisfactory to myself, but without success. If -God had offered up His Son as an atonement for mankind, there would -necessarily have been peace and paradisal quietness on earth, but -such is not the case. The period of the Roman emperors before Christ -was indeed terrible, but the next thousand years were no better; they -rather resembled a deluge in which the old nations were exterminated -by barbarians. The second millennium was better, very much better. -The third will perhaps close with a complete reconciliation between -humanity and God. Everything points to that, though the heathen may -reign for a while as instruments of chastisement, and executioners and -possessors of wealth. The Egyptian has an important part to play, and -slavery is not bad as a school of discipline. In the desert one learns -the difficult art of loneliness, and in the strange land of Assyria one -feels a wholesome home-sickness. Still, when the Egyptian raises his -stick to strike, comfort yourself with Christ's words to Pilate, 'Thou -wouldest have no power over Me, if it were not given thee from above.' -And when you eat the bread of the heathen, think like the Maccabees, 'I -eat thy bread, but I do not sacrifice upon thy altar.' Everything is -tolerable so long as we do not let ourselves be beguiled into believing -that those who are in power are God's friends and favourites. Our fine -gentlemen who imagine that they are forwarding development and are the -sole trustees of right, progress, and illumination, are only children -of this world. Let that be granted them, and much good may it do them!" - - -=When Nations Go Mad.=--The teacher said: "Nations are sometimes -seized by madness as by other diseases. The Javanese are said to suffer -from chronic madness; the men run amuck with a knife in order to slay; -the women suffer from a mania for mimicry; if they see anyone throw -something into the air, they imitate the gesture; they can even under -such circumstances throw their children away. The Japanese again are -attacked by megalomania; someone begins to shout, 'We will conquer -China!' and his cry is taken up by the whole town and the whole land. -The French were raving when, in 1870, they sang 'A Berlin,' and did -not even reach the Rhine. Paris was captured. But the French declared -it was not captured, but had surrendered. When the enemy had marched -in peaceably and spared the town, and after peace was concluded the -French set their own town on fire. That was madness. Then they shot -down thirty thousand of their own countrymen, while in the war itself -only eighty thousand French had fallen." - -"But some nations are seized by a mania for suicide. I know a land -from which people emigrate at the rate of a hundred a day; in which -the only important industry--iron-mining--is hampered by an export -duty; that is suicide. In the same land, where the taxes are generally -collected by levying distraints, they voted forty million pounds for -the army; but when the muster-rolls came to be made up, the men were -not to be found. In the same country the State maintains a railway of a -hundred miles in length; recently the train came in with one passenger, -whose journey had cost the State more than a thousand kronas. That is -suicide." - - -=The Poison of Lies.=--The teacher said: "Let us return to life, -and to men whom we think we know better than anything else, although -self-knowledge is the hardest of all. A perpetual accusation which -people bring against each other is that of lying. All lie more or -less--by omitting principal points and emphasising secondary ones, -or by colouring matters of fact. Often they do it with an excusable -purpose; for instance, when a friend is being spoken about. - -"But there are men who seem to be composed of falsehood and deceit. -Such are the liars from necessity, who lie in order to obtain -something; such, too, are the liars from ostentation, who lie in order -to be superior to others, and to keep them down. One may be poisoned in -the atmosphere which they spread around them. - -"There is a pair of liars whom I have never seen, but often heard -spoken about. When I merely hear about them and their falsehoods, I -feel my brain affected, and their poison works telepathically on my -nerves. The pair are dogged by misfortune, and live alone. They tell -each other lies also, and pretend to themselves that they are martyrs, -although their misfortunes are solely due to their deceits. They -believe that they are persecuted by men, while, on the contrary, men -fly from them. Such they have been since childhood, and seem unable to -change. Perhaps their mendacity is a form of punishment, for 'they that -hate the righteous shall be guilty.'" - - -=Murderous Lies.=--The teacher continued: "When one lives on -intimate terms with liars, one runs a risk of becoming a liar oneself. -One believes what they say, bases his views on their falsehoods, -spreads their false reports in good faith, defends their sophistries, -and is entangled in their deceits. Moreover, one's whole view of life -is distorted, one loses contact with reality, lives in a fictitious -world of feeling, regards friends as foes and foes as friends, thinks -one is loved while one is hated, and vice versa. - -"On one occasion a liar with whom I lived on intimate terms made me -think that my last book had been a failure. For five years I believed -it, suffered under the belief, and lost my courage. On my return to -Sweden I found that the book had had a great success. Five years had -been struck out of my life; I was nearly losing self-respect and the -courage to support existence. That is equivalent to murder. And this -behaviour on the part of my only friend, for whom I had worked and made -sacrifices, gave me such a shock that all my ideas were confused. It -took me years to rearrange them and bring them into proper order. True -and false were mingled together: lies became reality, and my whole life -seemed as unsubstantial as smoke. I was not far from ruin and the loss -of reason." - - -=Innocent Guilt.=--The teacher continued: "During the five years -in which I believed myself unjustly treated, I also incurred guilt. -I had cursed those who had been just towards me, wished evil to my -benefactors, repelled my admirers, avoided my adherents. And when I -should now have felt remorse for it, I could not do so sincerely. On -the one hand I felt myself innocent, and almost the victim of another's -falsehood. But the evil which I had done was there, and must be atoned -for. Such tangles are not easy to undo. Yet it is not good in life -to show mistrust towards men; one must take things easily, without -criticism and too careful reckoning. The deceiver says, to be sure, -'He who does not keep a sharp look-out, has himself to blame if he -is cheated.' But if one does look out, and will not let oneself be -cheated, one is credited with a morbid mistrustfulness. It is not -easy to live, and among lawless men it is better to be cheated than -to cheat. The Talmud says: 'Be rather among those who are cursed than -those who curse; rather among the persecuted than the persecutors: read -in the Scripture, No bird is more persecuted than the dove; yet God has -chosen it for a sacrifice on His altar.'" - - -=The Charm of Old Age.=--The teacher said: "The charms of old -age are many. The greatest is the consciousness that it is not long -till evening when one can undress and lie down, without the necessity -of rising up and dressing again. The diminution of the body's strength -lessens its resistance to the free motions of the soul. One's -interest in merely temporal matters decreases, and one begins to take -a bird's-eye view of things. Seemingly important trifles shrink to -insignificance. Old estimates of the values of things are changed. All -that one has experienced lies like a litter of straw under one's feet; -one stands in it and grows in the midst of one's past. We have found -a constant amid all variables, that is, the instability of life, the -transitoriness and mutability of all things. Everything is repeated; -there are scarcely any surprises. We know everything beforehand, expect -no improvement, are no more deceived by false hopes, demand nothing -more of men, neither gratitude, nor faithfulness, nor love, only some -companionship in solitude. If we are deceived, we think it is part -of the play, and even find a sort of consolation in it, because it -confirms our views, which we do not like to see refuted. We become, -finally, cheerful pessimists. When, on the discovery of a new cheat, we -can say, 'What did I tell you?' we feel almost a sense of pleasure." - - -=The Ring-System.=--The teacher said: "In our old schools, the -pupils were arranged not in classes, but in rings, and the forms -were not placed in rows, but in circles. When I read of the circles -of Dante's hell, I thought of my old school. But outside in life, I -found this ring-system also. Men seemed linked together in concentric -circles, each of which formed a little system of views. Each circle -spoke its own language, expressed its meaning in old formulas, revered -its gods, created its great men, often out of nothing. In each circle -they had found the truth, and worked for development, but in a -different way to the others. The first circle was really the lowest, -but it considered itself the most important, because it was the first. -When I read a paper or a book which comes from other circles than -mine, I only see so much--that they are mad or stand on their heads. -It stifles me, and has a hostile effect. I surmise that the five great -races of the earth feel that, when they meet one another. In their -minds they are as foreign to each other as though they came from the -five great planets, although they have many human characteristics in -common." - - -=Lust, Hate, and Fear, or the Religion of the Heathen.=--The -teacher said: "You know one of my tasks in life has been to unmask -gyneolatry, the worship of women in history and life. I have called -it 'the superstition of the heathen,' because there is something -exclusively heathenish about it. Woman-worship is the religion of the -heathen, but it is a religion of fear, which has nothing to do with -love. Lust, hate, and fear--those are the component parts of it. As -soon as a heathen comes in the proximity of a woman, he becomes tame -and cowardly; faithless towards his friends, his convictions, and -himself. He immediately desires that others should venerate his idol -whom he hates and fears. That is a side of his animal self-love. - -"Gyneolatry is not Christian in its origin, but heathenish. All animals -and savage races fear their women. When heathenism in the Græco-Roman -and Moorish colonies of southern France and Italy got the upper hand, -then began gyneolatry, the worship of mistresses. This worship was -dishonestly confounded with chivalrous reverence for the Madonna, which -was quite another thing. This religion of the heathen is the religion -of fear and concealed hatred. Therefore all tyrants have been punished -by having a woman oppress and torment them. Swedenborg explains the -reason." - - -="Whom the Gods Wish to Destroy."=--The teacher continued: "A -man's goodwill and generosity towards his wife stands in direct -relation to her behaviour. When therefore a woman is ill-treated by -her husband, we know of what sort she is. The apparently subordinate -position which the woman occupies is the direct result of the position -which nature has assigned to this immature transition-form between -child and man. The child has also a subordinate position; that is -quite natural, and no reasonable man has objected to it. Woman is the -earth-spirit who effectuates a certain harmony with the earth-life. To -this earth-life we must bring our sacrifice; therefore it is that a man -feels at home in his house, and therefore wife and child comfort and -protect us against the cold abstraction, life. - -"Marriage is the hardest school in which renunciation and self-conquest -is learned; it is also a forcing-house for wickedness of all kinds, -especially the hellish sin of imperiousness. How low the sons of the -Lord of Dung stand on the ladder of development may be seen from their -conviction that they are only equal to the woman or subordinate to -her. Blinded by this penal hallucination, they work for their own -destruction when they battle for the emancipation of women, for the -gods wish to destroy them. - - -=The Slavery of the Prophet.=--"Stuart Mill, who became the -prophet of the woman's cause, had formed an attachment for another -man's wife.[1] As a punishment he had to live in the hallucination -that he derived all his thoughts from her. She was indeed his medium, -and as such she repeated his thoughts as though they came from her, -and he believed she was his superior. When somebody asked if he had -received his 'Logic,' which he wrote before he knew her, also from -her, he answered, 'Yes.' This sober Positivist, who only believed in -tables of statistics, was obsessed by the powerful delusion that the -simple-minded woman was his Genius. He could not rise to a higher -idea of God. One thing I am sure of: as soon as a man deserts God, he -becomes the thrall of a female devil. All tyrants, above and below, are -caught in these chains, out of which only God in heaven can help a man. -But He can certainly. One sees it in those who have come alive out of -this hell. I know one...." - -"I know two!" the pupil interrupted. - - -[Footnote 1: Mrs. Taylor.] - - -=Absurd Problems.=--The teacher continued: "There are -several reasons why woman is depicted as a sphinx by men. She is -incomprehensible because her soul is rudimentary, and she thinks with -her body. Her judgments are dictated by interests and passions, she -draws conclusions according to the state of the weather and the phases -of the moon. She will sell her best friend for a theatre-ticket, or -leave her sick child to see a balloon ascend. She murders her husband -in order to be able to go to a bathing-resort, and forswears her -religion for a diamond ring. At the same time she can appear to be -a charming woman, tender towards her children, amiable, and before -all things polite and affable. She may also appear a good household -manager, or at any rate enjoy the reputation of being one. She can -produce the illusion that she is quick at apprehension, although she -does not really understand a word. She can exhibit sacrifices which -are only ostentation, and give away only in order to receive back. Why -cannot one guess the riddle of this sphinx? Because there is no riddle -there! Why is woman incomprehensible? Because the problem is absurd. -She is an irrational function because she operates with variable -quantities under the radical signs. - -"Nevertheless we take her as a charming actuality, a delightful child -who may pull three hairs out of our beard; but if it pulls the fourth, -there is an end to the enchantment." - - -=The Crooked Rib.=--The teacher said: "Goethe says in his -_Divan_,[1] 'Woman is fashioned out of a crooked rib; if one tries to -bend her, she breaks; if one lets her alone, she becomes still more -crooked.' Thus there is nothing to be done. The only tactics one can -adopt, as Napoleon did, are flight, or at any rate to break off contact -and intimacy. This never fails; if one deprives a woman of the victim -of her hatred, she pines away. - -"Man loves and woman hates; man gives and woman takes; man sacrifices -and woman devours. When the woman wishes to show her superiority in -intellect, she commits a rascality. Her utmost endeavour is to deceive -her husband. If she can trick him into eating horse-flesh without -noticing it, she is happy. When woman gets her milk-teeth, she does -not learn to speak but to lie, for speech and falsehood are synonymous -for her. Every married man knows all that. But politeness and his own -vanity keep him silent. Often he is silent because of his children; -often because he is ashamed in the name of humanity. He thinks how -often one has drunk the toasts of mother, wife, sister, daughter--these -fictions in a world of deceit, where all is vanity of vanities. -But many men are silent because they are afraid of being called -'woman-haters.' They are afraid!" - - -[Footnote 1: The saying is originally Muhammed's.] - - -=White Slavery.=--The teacher said: "In the whole of the upper and -middle classes and a good way below them the following is the case with -regard to marriage: When a man marries, his work, which he can devolve -on no one else, increases. His wife, on the other hand, at once gets -a servant to do her work; if she has children, then she gets a nurse -besides. But she herself sits there without occupation, and tries to -kill time with useless trivialities. In this way she can neither get -an appetite for dinner, nor sleep at night. In the evening her husband -comes home, and wants to enjoy the domestic hearth; but his wife wants -to go to the theatre and restaurant. She is not tired, but bored by -want of occupation, and therefore wants amusement. Women, in fact, seem -not to be born for domestic life, but for the theatre, the restaurant, -and the street. Therefore women complain that they must sit at home. -Although they have slaves to serve them, they call themselves 'slaves' -and hold meetings to their own emancipation, but not that of their -servants. Their animalised husbands support them without observing that -they themselves are slaves; for he who works for the idle is a slave. -But it is written, 'Ye are bought with a price; be slaves to no man.'" - - -=Noodles.=--The pupil asked: "What is a woman-hater?" - -The teacher answered: "I do not know. But the expression is used as a -term of reproach by noodles, for those who say what all think. Noodles -are those men who cannot come near a woman without losing their heads -and becoming faithless. They purchase the woman's favour by delivering -up the heads of their friends on silver chargers; and they absorb -so much femininity, that they see with feminine eyes and feel with -feminine feelings. There are things which one does not say every day, -and one does not tell one's wife what her sex is composed of. But one -has the right to put it on paper sometimes. Schopenhauer has done it -the best, Nietzsche not badly, Peladan is the master. Thackeray wrote -_Men's Wives_ but the book was ignored. Balzac has unmasked Caroline in -the _Petites Misères de la vie Conjugale_. Otto Weininger discovered -the deceit at the age of twenty; he did not wait for the consequent -vengeance, but went his own way, _i.e._ died. I have said that the -child is a little criminal, incapable of self-guidance, but I love -children all the same. I have said that a woman is--what she is, but -I have always loved some woman, and been a father. Whoever therefore -calls me a woman-hater is a blockhead, a liar, or a noodle. Or all -three together." - - -=Inextricable Confusion.=--The teacher continued: "If on the other -side of the grave there were a Judge Rhadamanthus appointed to arrange -the disputes of men, he would never come to an end. Life is such a -tissue of lies, errors, misunderstandings, of debts and demands, that -a balancing of the books is impossible. I know men who have been lied -about their whole lives through. I know of one who was branded through -his whole life with the stigma of a seducer, although he has never -seduced, but was seduced himself. I know of an uncommonly truthful man -who had the reputation of being a liar. I know an honourable man who -passed for a thief. I know a man who was three times married, and had -children in all three marriages, but was said to be no man, because -he, as a man, would not be the slave of his wife. I know many who -are sincerely religious and yet are called hypocrites, although the -chief point in religion is sincerity. But, on the other hand, I know -heathen who professed to be atheists, although in their bedchambers -they sang penitential psalms when they were nervous in the dark and -feared the consequences of their misdeeds. They were so cowardly -that they dared not fall under the suspicion of being religious, but -bragged of their courage and strength of character. They would not -abandon the Black Flag; they would not be untrue to the ideal of their -youth--godlessness. Rascally right and good-hearted stupidity form a -problem too complicated for Rhadamanthus himself to solve. Only the -Crucified could do it with the single saying which He addressed to the -penitent thief, 'To-day shalt thou be with Me in Paradise.'" - - -=Phantoms.=--The teacher said: "When intelligence and the power -of reflection are matured, and one thinks about men, their outlines -begin to dissolve, and they turn into phantoms. Indeed, one never -really knows a man; one knows only his own, or others' ideas of him, -but when these ideas change, the image of him becomes indistinct and -is obscured with a veil. We form our conception of a person whom we -have never seen according to others' ideas of him. Thus, for example, -the personality of a famous painter was described to me by an author. -After two years the author had formed another idea of him, and imparted -that to me, and I had to alter my view of him. Then there came another -describer, and gave me quite a different idea of the painter. He was -followed by a third and a fourth. After this I saw the painter's -pictures, and could not understand how he could paint in the way he -did. But the painter himself I never saw. He has become for me a -phantom without clear outlines, composed of different-coloured pieces -of glass, which do not harmonise, and alter according to my moods. I -expect that when I meet him he will not resemble my idea of him at all, -but have the effect of quite another independent phantom." - - -=Mirage Pictures.=--The teacher said: "When I have lived for some -time in solitude my acquaintances begin to appear like mirage-pictures -before me. Some gain by distance, occasion only friendly feelings, -and are surrounded by an atmosphere of light and peace. Others whom I -really like very well when they are near, lose by absence, and appear -to be hostile. Thus I may hate a friend in his absence, look upon -him as unpleasant and inimical, but as soon as he comes, enter into -friendly contact with him. There is a woman whose proximity I cannot -bear, but whom I love at a distance. We write letters to each full -of regard and friendliness. When we have longed for each other for a -time and must meet, we immediately begin to quarrel, become vulgar -and unsympathetic, and part in anger. We love each other on a higher -plane, but cannot live in the same room. We dream of meeting again, -spiritualised, on some green island, where only we two can live, or, -at any rate, only our child with us. I remember a half-hour which we -three actually spent hand in hand on a green island by the sea-coast. -It seemed to me like heaven. Then the clocks struck the hour of noon, -and we were back again on earth, and soon after that, in hell." - - -=Trifle not with Love.=--The pupil said: "When a man and a woman -are united in love, a single being is the result, whose existence -is a positive pleasure, as long as harmony reigns. But this being -is an extremely sensitive receptive instrument, and is exposed to -disturbances from outer currents which act from all distances, an -inconvenience which it shares with wireless telegraphy. Therefore -a disturbance of the relationship between a married pair is the -greatest pain which exists. Unfaithfulness is a cosmic crime which -brings the one or the other member of the married pair into perverse -relations with their own sex. If the husband loves another woman, his -wife is exposed to terrible alternate currents; by turns she loves and -hates the woman who is her rival. Often she can be the friend of her -husband's paramour, but more often her enemy. Whoever comes between a -pair who love, does not so with impunity. The hate which he arouses is -so terrible, that he can be lamed by the discharge, lose all energy and -pleasure in life. Therefore it is rightly said, 'Trifle not with love.'" - - -=A "Taking" Religion.=--The pupil said: "When Buddhism, mixed -with Vedantism, became fashionable in 1890, all the renegades from -Christianity flocked to it and tried to fill the vacuum in their -religious lives. Six thousand new gods were received with applause -forthwith; the new trinity--Brahma, Vishnu, Siva--encountered no -objections; spirits, ghosts, genies, fairies were thought quite -natural; Gautama's heaven and hell were thrown into the bargain, -accompanied by a slight flavour of asceticism. Those who denied the -Resurrection found reincarnation quite a simple affair. But the -favourite was Krishna. He was the incarnation of the god Vishnu, who -descended to earth in order to be born of earthly parents and to save -fallen humanity. His coming was prophesied, and so dreaded that a -massacre of new-born infants like that at Bethlehem was plotted, but -unsuccessfully. Krishna fulfilled his mission, conquered the evil -powers, and finally endured a voluntary death. That 'took'! The trinity -Brahma, Vishnu, Siva 'took,' but Father, Son, Holy Spirit did not -'take.' Krishna 'took,' but not Christ. It was strange!" - - -=The Sixth Sense.=--The pupil continued: "The outer eye can -reflect images, the inner eye can conceive them. There are therefore -two kinds of sight, an outer and an inner. Of the senses, that of -smell is the most immediate when it has to do with the conveyance -of impressions. But there seem also to be two kinds of faculties of -smell. Swedenborg says that a false man smells of sour gastric juice, -but only for the person to whom he has been false. In this case the -smell-perception is only subjective, but it is of great objective value -in judging men. In this case the organ of smell seems to operate with -æther-waves. According to Swedenborg's doctrine of correspondences, -good men exhale sweet perfume, and bad men a stench like that of -corpses. He says that misers smell like rats, and so on. Legends of -the saints relate that the corpses of those who have kept their souls -and bodies pure, when they dissolve, exhale a flower-like perfume. -In short, every soul has its scent, which varies according to its -characteristics. - -"This sixth sense the clothes-hygienist Jäger believed he had -discovered after he had begun to observe and train his outer and -inner man. I will speak now of my own experiences in the matter. They -did not begin till I had passed through the great purgatorial fire -which burnt up the rubbish of my soul, and after I had scrambled out -of the worst of the mire by self-discipline and asceticism. They are -accustomed to boil off the gum from raw silk before it is spun, and -so my nerve-fibres seemed to have been 'scoured' by the sufferings of -life, and gone through a process like the 'fining' of silk." - - -=Exteriorisation of Sensibility.=--The pupil continued: "I -happened once, when watching a spider in a web, to see her 'exteriorise -her sensibility,' or in other words reel out a nerve-substance for -herself with which she remains in touch, and by means of which she -becomes aware when flies come and when the weather changes. Raspail, -who in his masterly works has cast many a far-reaching glance -behind the curtains of nature, has in one place philosophised over -the spider's web. In other works dealing with transcendent natural -sciences, one finds the doubt expressed whether the object of the -spider's web is only to be a fly-trap. I myself have counted four and -twenty radii in the web of the garden-spider resembling an hour-circle, -and have asked myself whether, besides being a barometer and trap, the -web is also a kind of clock. - -"Now it seems as though I had myself in a similar manner exteriorised -my sensibility. I feel at a distance when anyone interferes with my -destiny, when enemies threaten my personal existence, and also when -people speak well of me or wish me well. I feel in the street whether -those I meet are friends or foes; I have felt the pain of an operation -undergone by a man to whom I was fairly indifferent; twice I have -shared the death-agonies of others with the accompanying corporeal and -psychical sufferings. The last time I went through three illnesses -in six hours, and when the absent person with whom I suffered was -liberated by death, I rose up well. This makes life painful, but rich -and interesting." - - -=Telepathic Perception.=--The pupil said: "While I lived in the -most intimate relations with a woman, I arrived, like Gustav Jäger, at -'the discovery of the soul.' I was always in communication with her, -often through obscure sensations, but very often through the sense of -smell; these were subjective however, as other people were not aware -of them. When she was travelling I knew whether she was in a steamer -or on a train; I could distinguish the revolutions of the screw from -the vibration of the railway carriage and the puffing of the engine. -She used to make her presence felt by me at a certain hour of the -day, _i.e._ five o'clock in the morning. Once, when she was in Paris, -this time changed to four o'clock. When I consulted the table of time -variations, I found that it was four o'clock in Paris when it was five -o'clock with me. Another time she was in St. Petersburg, then our -meeting took place an hour later; that also agreed with the time-table. -When she hated me, I was conscious of a smell and taste like that of -mortalin; this happened one night so distinctly that I had to rise and -open the window. When she thought kindly of me, I perceived a smell -of incense and often of jasmine, but these scents sometimes changed -into sensations of taste. When she was in society without me I felt -that she was away, and when the conversation turned on me I was aware -whether they were speaking good or ill about me." - - -=Morse Telepathy.=--The pupil continued: "I was spending one -evening at home alone; I did not know where she was, but had the -feeling that she was lost to me. At 10.40 p.m. I was aware of a passing -breath of perfume. Then I said to myself, 'She has been in the theatre! -But in which?' I took the daily paper, read the theatre advertisements, -and found that one theatre closed at 10.40. Further inquiry proved that -my surmise was right. - -"On another occasion when in company I broke off a lively conversation -with a smile. 'What are you smiling at?' 'Just now the train from the -south entered the terminus.' Another time under similar circumstances -I said: 'Now the curtain falls on the last act in _Helsingfors_!' and -I heard the applause which greeted the prima donna who had played in -my piece. The conversation of the people in the restaurant after the -conclusion of the piece sounded like ringing in my ears. I can hear -that as far as from Germany when a prima donna is acting in one of my -pieces there, although I do not know beforehand that it is going to -be played. One evening I had gone to bed about half-past nine, and -was awoken about half-past eleven by a smell of punch and tobacco and -in the impression that two of my acquaintances in a café were talking -about me. I had every reason to believe that I had been present there -in some way or another, but I was so accustomed to this phenomenon that -this time I did not test it. Flammarion gives a hundred such cases in -his book _The Unknown_." - - -=Nisus Formativus, or Unconscious Sculpture.=--The pupil -continued: "Once I signed a contract with a merchant. After sleeping -the night over it, I noticed that he had cheated me. With angry -thoughts I went out for my morning stroll. When I came back I wished -to change my clothes, and threw my handkerchief on the table. After I -had undressed myself I noticed that the handkerchief had been crumpled -together by my nervous clutch, and now, where it lay, formed a cast -of the merchant's head, like a plaster-of-Paris bust. The question -arises: Had my hand unconsciously formed an image of my thoughts? Linen -is a very plastic material, and one often finds excellent pieces of -'sculpture' in handkerchiefs, sheets, and cushions. When a married -man comes home with his wife from a ball, he should look at the -handkerchief chief which she has held the whole evening in her hand, -and then perhaps he might see with whom she preferred most to dance. - -"In India a Buddhist priest is said to represent the 208 incarnations -of Vishnu by putting his hand in a linen bag, and moulding rapidly from -within the linen of the bag into the shapes of an elephant, tortoise, -etc. When St. Veronica's napkin retained the impress of Christ's face, -that is not more improbable than that my pillow in the morning should -show the impress of faces which are not like mine. I have read of -Indian vases which are so modelled that at first one only sees a chaos -resembling clouds, twisted entrails, or the convolutions of the brain. -After the eye has become accustomed to this the confusion begins to be -disentangled; all kinds of objects such as plants and animals emerge -in clear outline. Whether all observers see the same I know not. But -I believe that the moulder of the vase has worked unintentionally and -unconsciously." - - -=Projections.=--The pupil continued: "But there are also -projections which I cannot explain. It is possible that only poets and -artists possess the power so to project their inward images in every -life that they become half real. It is quite a usual occurrence that -the dying show themselves to their absent friends. Living persons can -also appear at a distance, but only to those who keep them in their -thoughts. I used to show my initiated friends the following phenomenon: -I observed a stranger who resembled an absent acquaintance. As soon -as my eye completed the image, whatever unlikeness remained was -erased. 'See, there goes X.,' I said. My friends saw the resemblance, -understood that it was not X., comprehended my meaning, and agreed -with me without further thought. If we shortly afterwards met X. we -were astonished, and attempted to find no explanation in face of the -inexplicable latter part of the phenomenon. - -"But one day I went down a street and 'saw' my friend Dr. Y. who lived -fifty miles away. It was he, and yet it was not he. It was the same -little figure although somewhat wavering and uncertain. The grey-yellow -face was also the same although almost ghost-like, with deep furrows -which followed the oval lines of the face, and with the forced laugh of -suffering. When I came home I read in the paper that the man was dead." - - -=Apparitions.=--The pupil continued: "One evening I passed a -well-known theatre while a performance was going on inside. There was -no one outside. Suddenly on the pavement I saw an actor who had died -thirty years previously, after he had first gone crazy with vexation -because he had failed as an actor in this very theatre. His face, like -that of my deceased friend the doctor's, was lined with those parallel -furrows which run from the forehead to the jaw. 'Was it he, or not?' -I asked myself, and left the question open. On another occasion I -was travelling by rail in a foreign country. The train halted at a -station for three minutes. On the platform in broad daylight a man was -going up and down with a paint-box in his hand. He looked nervous and -suffering and was badly dressed. 'That is he!' I thought. 'How has he -got here? Why has he come down in the world?' During this three minutes -I suffered all the tortures of uncertainty and of a bad conscience, for -I was partly to blame for his misfortune and his poverty. The train -went on, and I have never discovered whether it were really he. It was -certainly improbable. - -"Yet another time I was travelling by rail. At a remote station a man -came into my compartment and sat opposite me. I thought he was an -acquaintance, but he looked at me unrecognisingly. Then I let my eyes -fall. Immediately he regarded me with an ironical smile which I again -recognised. 'It is he,' I thought, 'but he will not greet me.' So I -suffered for some hours. My conscience endured all that I owed him. -Whether it really was he I know not, but the effect was the same." - - -=The Reactionary Type.=--The teacher said: "Men seem to react -against themselves and their own bad qualities when they demand from -others what they cannot themselves do. A man who is full of hate -demands to be loved. A faithless deceiver came lately to me and -finished his wily talk by saying, 'All I ask is that you trust me!' -He only asked that in order that he might be able to deceive me. But -perhaps he trusted me more than himself; he did not know himself, but -had an inkling of what he was. Perhaps he felt that my belief in him -would strengthen and elevate him, and might possibly neutralise his -untrustworthiness. It sounded at any rate very naïve, and I felt myself -honoured by the compliment. - -"Again, a spendthrift who had no means of his own always cautioned me -to be frugal. He gave brilliant parties, but when he came to me he only -got potatoes and herrings, and yet he thought that was beyond my means. -On one occasion I had bought 200 grammes of nickel-sulphate for my -chemical experiments. They cost fifty-two pence. The spendthrift came -to visit me, looked at the sulphate, and exclaimed, 'Can you afford it? -Nickel-sulphate which is so dear.' Fifty-two pence! Then he invited me -to a drive in a carriage, and a meal which cost fifty-two kronas for -an altogether unproductive purpose. When he had to pay the reckoning -he suffered torments. Perhaps he was by nature a skinflint, who had -yielded to a mania for extravagance and reacted against it. I tried to -explain this once to him, as on principle I wished to think well of the -man." - - -=The Hate of Parasites.=--The teacher continued: "There are -men who are spiritually so empty that they only live on others. I -have an acquaintance (when one is over fifty one does not ask for -friends any more) who constantly visits me but never says anything. -Our social intercourse consists in my speaking alone. When he -leaves me after several hours, I feel as if I had been undergoing -blood-letting. It is certainly good to be able to talk oneself out -often, but one would often like to have an answer to one's questions; -but I never get an answer, not even to a question in his own special -line. I can only remember one expression which this man used, and -that was extraordinarily stupid. Somebody had slandered me, and my -'acquaintance' had believed every word and painted my figure in false -colours. Finally one evening I defended myself, and proved that my -slanderer was not in his right senses. He rejected my explanation, -exclaiming 'Fie! how cynical you are!' - -"What did this answer mean? First, that I must not wash myself clean, -for he wanted to have me dirty; secondly, that he gave me the lie; -thirdly, that his sympathies were on the side of the slanderer. I draw -the inference that this man hated me, and therefore visited me. If he -could not have intercourse with me, he could not abuse my confidence -and gratify his hate. His tactics were--to live my life, to devour -my soul, to gnaw my bones. The attraction he felt to me he called -sympathy, though it was antipathy. There are many kinds of hate, and -a wife's 'love' to her husband is a variety of hate. She desires -his virile power in order to become a husband and make him into a -passive-wife." - - -=A Letter from the Dead.=--The teacher said: "It seems as though -one could live the life of another parallel with one's own, or as -though one might be in touch with a stranger on another continent. -One morning I received a letter of twenty-quarto pages from America. -Long letters make me nervous; they always begin with flattery and end -with scolding. I read, as I usually do, the signature first, which -was unknown to me. Then I dipped into the letter here and there, and -saw that the writer wished to influence me. One word pricked me like -a needle, and I tore the letter into small pieces which I threw in -the paper-basket. In the night I dreamt that the remarkable man,[1] -who seemed still to guide my steps after his death, showed me an old -manuscript which I had not found worth reading. The old servant held -the manuscript against the light, and then I saw like a water-mark -another writing between the lines. Immediately afterwards I saw in -my dream a broken-off leaden wire, but closer inspection showed its -surface to be gold. When I awoke in the morning I understood the -dream in its perfectly clear symbolism. I went to the paper-basket, -collected the fragments of the stranger's letter, and spent six hours -in piecing them together. Then I began to read. I should premise that -the handwriting was so like that of my deceased and honoured teacher, -that I believed I was reading a letter from the dead." - - -[Footnote 1: He refers probably to the Chief Librarian in the Royal -Stockholm Library, where he had been an assistant in his youth.] - - -=A Letter from Hell.=--"The letter pricked me like a packet of -needles. But it was so interesting that I was continually lured onward -to read to the end. The writer began by saying that he had received his -first intellectual awakening through my books. Since then his course -for twenty years had been very irregular; led astray by the prevailing -ape-morality, he had gone in evil ways. In the midst of his wandering, -it happened to him as to Dante and others--he came into hell, but found -a Virgil who led him out and saved him. Then his own real life began. -He passed all the sciences from philosophy to chemistry under critical -review, and found them consisting of mere conventional lies. He drifted -about helplessly till he found an anchorage-ground in faith in Christ, -the Exorciser of demons, the highest Wisdom, the Redeemer who saves -from doubt, despair, and madness. - -"During the perusal I felt sometimes as though I were reading my own -life or a satire on it. Annoyed by what seemed a tactless encroachment, -I often wished to throw the letter away but could not; the dream always -recurred to me, and the letter contained new and bold ideas sparkling -in a chaos of contradictions and paradoxes. In short, it proved a -turning-point in my life. It exposed my faults, but showed me at the -same time that I had held the right course, in spite of the deflections -and cross-currents to which I had been exposed." - - -=An Unconscious Medium.=--"Now let me say a few words about -my deceased mentor, who already in his lifetime exercised a great -influence on my development, though without knowing or wishing it. I -was young, precocious, dull, and untrustworthy, mostly because I wished -to preserve my personal independence, but also because I was godless, -and consequently immoral without any other principle except that of -getting on. He, my chief, attracted me, in spite of the fact that I was -antipathetic to him in most things. My position required that I should -serve him devotedly, but I wished also to serve my own interests. He -was a spiritist and Swedenborgian, but I was a materialist. This he was -aware of, because I was brutally truthful. But struggle as I might, -I came under his influence and became his medium. There were days on -which he was so blind that he could not read the old manuscripts which -he was editing. One day he gave me a mediæval codex in a difficult -character, and half in joke told me to read it. I read it at once, -without having learnt the character. Then he had discovered me. But -I worked alone, although unconsciously. One day I stumbled on a pile -of old documents, and found a date which he had been hunting for -for twenty years. Another time I found an historic detail of great -importance which altered our ideas of our early history. One day our -paths diverged. - - -=The Revenant.=--"Years passed. I lived abroad, but my thoughts -often reverted to the savant who had had a great influence on my -life. Often, without any special reason, I spoke of him for hours at -a time--not always with the respect which I owed him. I was, it must -be remembered, a pioneer, to whom nothing was sacred, neither parents -nor teacher. One day I heard that the old man was dead. Eight days -later there appeared in the paper this mysterious announcement. An -intimate friend of the deceased received, eight days after his death, -through the post, a letter from him. The paper considered it a jocose -mystification on the part of the deceased, who loved jokes. I guessed -who might have been entrusted with the letter, but felt astonished -that a dying man could take such pleasure in jesting, especially about -things which he had taken so seriously. When, two years later, began -the experiences described in my book _Inferno_, I felt that I was in -touch with my departed teacher. There were certain roguish traits in -the phenomena which reminded me of him. I remember one night addressing -the question to the darkness, 'Is it you?' The whole affair was in his -style, teasing in form, but well-meaning in purpose. I received no -answer, but the impression remained--a mixture of terrible grim earnest -and behind it a friendly smile, comforting, pardoning, protecting, just -as in his lifetime, when he practised patience with my ill manners." - - -=The Meeting in the Convent.=--The teacher continued: "During -my wanderings I happened once to visit a convent with a travelling -companion in a corner of Europe. What interested me specially was the -library, for I had long been trying to trace Anschar's[1] journal. -After I had slept the night in a cell which bore the inscription 'B. -Victor III. P.P.,' in memory of Pope Victor III 'who punished the -heretics who denied the divinity of Christ,' I was taken into the -library. The first thing shown me was a collection of Latin hymns of -the Middle Ages which had been edited by my deceased teacher. The -inner side of the title-page contained some handwriting by the editor, -which was so peculiar that it could hardly be imitated. I asked the -Benedictine monk who accompanied me, whose signature it was. He -answered, 'The convent librarian's.' 'Are you certain?' I asked. 'Yes, -quite certain.' This discovery of his handwriting, which I had never -seen elsewhere, after so many years made a deep impression on me. I -asked myself whether the monk, acting as a medium, could have imitated -the handwriting of the deceased editor. After an afternoon's search I -found the valuable explanation that Anschar's journal had been taken by -Abbot Thymo from Corvey to Rome in A.D. 1261. It was known that it had -since disappeared, but now I had found a trace of it. I felt as though -my deceased friend had brought me here into the convent in order to -discuss Anschar's journal, concerning the fate of which we had often -made guesses and searches." - - -[Footnote 1: A famous French missionary in Sweden, a.d. 801-865.] - - -=Correspondences.=--The teacher said: "It seems to me as though -Swedenborg's correspondences or correlatives were to be found again -in all departments, as though natural laws on a higher plane can be -applied to the spiritual life of man. If an object comes too close to -the magnifying glass, it becomes indistinct. Similarly one cannot see -the object of one's affections if she comes too close. She becomes -small and indistinct, loses outline and colour; but remove her to the -proper focus, and she becomes magnified and clear. Thus it is with -princes and their valets de chambre. - -"But there are also exceptions to the rule. Many friends gain by -proximity; one must see them often, otherwise they change their -shape and become ghostly and alarming. Others again seem better at a -distance; whenever we meet them we lose an illusion. The attraction -between lovers can increase in proportion to the square of the distance -between them, and also in reverse proportion; the greater the distance, -the greater the pain of separation. It seems also possible to apply the -facts of electricity in the psychical sphere. Pellets of elder-pith -attract one another so long as they are of opposite polarity, but when -they are saturated or over-saturated they repel one another. But the -mutual repulsion also takes place when a foreign body is interposed -between them, for then an influence is produced which operates -laterally." - - -=Portents.=--The teacher continued: "As soon as I believe in an -Almighty God, who can suspend the few natural laws which we know, and -bring into operation the countless host of laws which we do not know, -I must believe in miracles. Swedenborg does not deal so hardly with -anyone (at the same time that he commiserates them) as the asses who -revere the creation and the laws of nature, without believing in the -Creator and Law-giver. They go with their noses on the ground, and if -anything unusual happens 'in the air,' as they say, they call it 'a -meteorological phenomenon,' and attribute it to such and such natural -causes. They register the phenomenon in their records without dreaming -of anything behind it, and forthwith forget the matter. - -"We, on the other hand, will mention some events of recent years and -connect them with certain natural phenomena which may possibly denote -the presence of warning and chastising powers. - -"On the 7th June, 1905, Sweden and Norway separated. A year previous an -earthquake took place which had its centre in the Kattegat. One shock -reached Christiania and caused a terrible panic in the churches; people -trampled one another to death or lost their reason. Another shock -affected Stockholm and caused alarm, but in a minor degree; among those -affected by it was a prince of high military rank. In January, 1905, a -hurricane burst over Christiania, tore the roof from the royal castle, -and injured the fortress of Akershus. The same hurricane travelled -east-ward to Stockholm, tore the roof from the guards' barracks and -threw it on the drilling-ground. These statements can be verified by -reference to the newspapers. The question is: 'Are these portents or -not?' Are symbolic natural phenomena portents?" - - -=The Difficult Art of Lying.=--The teacher said: "When people -lie deliberately, usually with the object of gaining something, I -often do not hear what they say. One day a carpenter came to me with a -complaint. I listened to him and helped him. The next day he came again -in order to do a piece of work. Then, among other things he let this -remark fall: 'To-day, thank God, she is better.' 'Who?' I asked. 'I -mentioned yesterday that my child had fallen down the staircase.' Then -I felt ashamed of having taken so little interest in his troubles, -and murmured some sympathetic words. But when he had gone I thought -over the matter. Since I generally hear very well and attend to what -people say, I was astonished that I had not noticed his account of his -trouble. I could not explain it to myself. - -"Some time later, after some months, I conceived a strong feeling of -distrust towards this man. I remembered the German proverb, 'A liar -should have a good memory,' and determined to test him. Therefore I -said to him abruptly, 'Did you have a good summer?' 'Splendid,' he -answered. 'Is your wife quite well?' 'Perfectly.' 'Your child too?' -'She has never passed through the summer so well.' Accordingly he -had lied when he said the little girl had had an accident, and had -subsequently forgotten it. What was unreal could leave no impression -behind--an interesting fact, as it seemed to me. In connection with -this I remembered that an actor, a pessimist and hopeless despairer, -had to play the part of a believing and positive character on a certain -occasion. That evening the audience could hardly hear a word of what he -said. I was astonished at the time, but now I understand that he was -lying." - - -=Religious and Scientific Intuition.=--The pupil said: "The -everlasting strife between Faith and Knowledge would have been stifled -at the outset if some sharp wit had discovered in time that the problem -is wrongly stated, for the two ideas form no real antithesis. What -I know, that I believe; consequently faith presupposes knowledge, -consequently knowledge is subsumed under faith. But the word 'belief' -has received other significations. In religion it means reception -or absorption. Science recognises the fact of intuition or rapid -inference, _i.e._ the faculty of reaching certainty without sufficient -reason and without a complete chain of proof. That is scientific -belief, and is in complete analogy with religious belief. When a man -arrives at the knowledge of God and of His laws by way of intuition, -when he then tests this knowledge by observing his experiences and -finds it confirmed, then the final outcome of his investigation is -Belief. Belief is complete objective certainty, but on a higher plane, -so that all scientific chatter that Knowledge is higher than Belief -is mere nonsense. By 'knowledge' in this case one understands for the -most part information about stones, plants, and animals, and historical -facts such as the year in which a certain book was published, when -Goethe was in Strasburg, whether Rebecca Ost's real name was -Popoffsky or Johanna Hagelstrom, or whether an Apostle-mug is genuine -or imitation. The antithesis 'Faith _or_ Knowledge' is the stupidest -dispute about words which ever took place, and a disgrace to humanity." - - -=The Freed Thinker.=--The teacher said: "In order to think -rightly and in accordance with law, I must free my reason from fetters -of rustic intelligence, from interests, passions, conventional -considerations. One must go into deep solitude, and not be afraid of -remaining alone, deserted by all. Above all, one must not belong to -any party which regulates, inspects, and degrades. In order to be able -to dare to give up the weak and hampering support of men, one must -be able thoroughly to rely upon God. In order to do that one must -keep one's conscience as clean as possible, must hate evil, strive -after righteousness and goodness, bear everything except humiliation, -exercise mercifulness, and take trials as such and not as persecutions. - -"The electric clock has contact and connection with a correctly-timed -chronometer. And so my reason cannot think logically till I have opened -connection with the Logos, and no longer discharge contrary currents of -sterile denial and doubt. Only in life with God is there freedom of -thought, freedom from impure impulses, selfish and ambitious interests, -freedom from the wish to stand well with the crowd. That is the _freed_ -thinker in contrast to the 'free-thinker,' who has left the rails and -lost connection with the overhead wire; he will come to grief at the -next street-corner, and is of no more use as a vehicle of traffic." - - -=Primus inter pares.=--The pupil continued: "Religions seemed -to be determined by regions like nationalities. Swedenborg hints -at something of the sort, saying that people have the religion -which they ought to have. Those who have no religion are tramps and -vagabonds, pariahs and gipsies, scoundrels and swindlers. They think -they are at home everywhere, but are so only on the high-roads, in -the market-places, behind the circus-stable, in the alehouse. When -Lessing asserts in _Nathan der Weise_ that all religions are equally -good, he shows that he has not understood Christianity, which is the -beginning and end of the world's history. The Muhammedans are certainly -religious, more religious than the Christians, and among the adherents -of Islam are many sects, but no atheistic ones. All observe the hours -of prayer, fasts, and daily washings. Muhammed was no Christ-hater. But -they are alien to our climate. Still we have something to learn from -them; they are not ashamed to show their religion, while we shuffle -with it. They are not only religious on Sundays but every day and all -day. - -"But, if we heard that a Christian had gone over to Islam we should -regard it as a fall from the higher to the lower, while the conversion -of a Muhammedan to Christianity would be hailed as an ascent. Saladin -was certainly noble and Nathan wise, but the nobleness of the former -had somewhat of a pose about it, and the wisdom of the latter was of -the same homely kind as Voltaire's. On the other hand, Godfrey de -Bouillon accepted the crown of thorns instead of the king's crown, -and St. Louis gave his life for the wisdom which surpasses all -understanding." - - -=Heathen Imaginations.=--The teacher said: "Religions are -represented by regions, defined territories, circles, of which each -considers himself the centre. The modern heathen sit in their little -bag, which is big enough to be seen, and when they only see heathen -they imagine that Christianity is decaying or altogether done with. -And yet it is flourishing as it never did before; everything serves -the Gospel with or against its will. The heathen find new weapons in -heaps of ruins and in temple-libraries; they close churches and thereby -bring Christianity into life and into the domestic circle. When they -make life bitter for the Christians, the latter turn from the sour and -seek the fresh. The missionaries who were only lately regarded with a -contemptuous smile are now discovered by great explorers in deserts -and wildernesses, where they have established oases of humanity and -mercy. There the plundered wanderer can rest his weary head, secure of -having found one trustworthy man. He who wishes to know the effect of -Christianity on an idolater should read Kanso Utschimura's _Memoirs of -a Japanese; or, How I Became a Christian_. Those who preach 'cheerful -paganism' can see in this work how a polytheist is tom and tortured -by doubt, and tossed to-and-fro between the contradictory commands of -eighty million gods." - - -=Thought Bound by Law.=--The teacher said: "When a young man -comes and says he is a free-thinker, say to him: 'You lie. You think -with your stomach, your throat, your sexuality, with your passions and -your interests, your hate and your sympathies. But in your youthful -immaturity you do not really think at all, but merely drivel. What -is instilled into you, you give out, and dub your wishes by the -name of thoughts.' Moreover 'free-thought' is a contradiction in -terms, for thought obeys laws, just as sound, light, and chemical -combinations do. Thought is bound, bound by laws. If you say 'There -is no God,' you speak without thinking. 'Non-existence' and 'God' are -two incommensurate ideas which cannot be brought into juxtaposition. -If they are, there results an absurdity which is the secretion or -excretion of an illogical and confused mind. - -"If on the other hand you say 'There is no God _for me_,' there is -something probable in that. But you should be ashamed to speak of -it. It only means that you are a godless dog, a perverse ape, a -conscienceless deceiver and thief whom men must avoid and detectives -must watch. Fortunately godlessness is an hallucination imposed on -haughty blockheads as a punishment. When the 'free-thinker' discovers -some day how stupid he is, then he is freed, and that is a mercy for -him." - - -=Credo quia (et-si) absurdum.=--The teacher said: "If I call -myself a Christian it is because I recognise Christ as a power, a -source of strength, from whom I obtain strength by prayer in order to -support tolerably the burdens of life. But at the same time I confess -that I cannot understand nor explain the doctrine of Atonement through -sacrificial death. That is not, however, the fault of the doctrine but -a defect in me. I have also no right to deny a matter of fact because I -do not understand it. Here is an illustration. If I multiply 2 by 2 I -obtain an increase--4. But if I multiply ½ by ½ I obtain as a result a -decrease by half, _i.e._ ¼. Here is an incomprehensible contradiction. -Multiplication cannot produce a decrease. Yet it is mathematically -true that 2 multiplied by 2 is doubled, _i.e._ 4, but ½ multiplied by -½ is halved, _i.e._ ¼. My intelligence would fain deny it, but I must -believe it, and in doing so I do well, otherwise the whole science of -mathematics would be unusable, which would be a great loss. _Credo -quia absurdum._ That means, I must believe a fact just because it -is incomprehensible and absurd (for me, but not for others). If I -could understand it, the emergency short-cut of 'faith' would not be -necessary. That is the sacrifice, not of my reason, but of my rustic -understanding and of my pride." - - -=The Fear of Heaven.=--The pupil said: "The astronomy or -uranology of the astronomers has ceased to make any progress since -it has become godless. They have given up observing the sky. They sit -there and calculate, with the express purpose of calculating God's -existence away. Seven years ago I met a teacher of astronomy. He did -not know that the equator of the sky passes through the belt of Orion, -and could not point out the ecliptic. He boasted of not knowing the -constellations, saying it was no science to know them. Our nearest -neighbour the moon has been ignored for a long time. And yet in 1866 it -was noticed that changes had taken place there, and that the crater of -Linnæus was on the point of disappearing. On the other hand, they are -trying to signal to Mars. If man, who lately in his folly thinks he has -solved the riddle of the universe without God, only knew how the 'gods' -are to us, and if he understood the signals which they send to us daily -and hourly, he would go out like Peter and weep that he had denied his -Lord or behaved as though he knew Him not." - - -=The Goat-god Pan and the Fear of the Pan-pipe.=--The teacher -said: "Like all lower classes the apelings regard themselves as -supermen, who march at the head of all movements and can regulate -developments. Their god is the shaggy Pan, who had been a goat and -became a half-man, and later the Evil One, Satan, or God's opponent. -But they must be ashamed of their god, for they call themselves -atheists. Their religion is that of the Satanists. When they hear of -any good action they snort. They delight in persecuting and tormenting -anyone in whom there is any good visible, and call him a hypocrite. -Their children learn to lie as soon as they learn to talk. The greatest -poet of the apelings has written a lament over the 'Decay of lying' -and an heroic poem in six cantos in praise of unnatural vice. They -are all perverse, mostly in secret, but they betray themselves in -their writers, who write in the name of woman, and from the woman's -point of view, against man. For by confusion of sex they have lost all -distinction of sex; they have ceased to think and to feel as men. They -run like dogs with their noses on the track of the white man, in order -to bite him, that he may become like one of them. - -"There are white men who have been seduced by the females of the -apelings. The children are bastards, and their lives are a perpetual -conflict against the Satanic inheritance they have received from their -mothers. Some fight in vain; others find the Helper. There is only -One--Jesus Christ, the Exorciser of demons. You know that I was such a -bastard and fought the battle, which is not yet concluded. - -"The apelings preach toleration. By that they mean that whatever they -do must be overlooked, and that they should be left at liberty to -propagate their doctrines, while they more or less secretly persecute -the Christians. As soon as they begin to scent Christian blood they -shudder. Then they begin to excommunicate the 'heretic.' His name is -no more mentioned, and if it appears in print it is cut out. If he -formerly belonged to the body of the apelings he is now called an -apostate, and must die as a traitor. - -"When an apeling dies he obtains an apotheosis in the absence of a -pantheon. At the burial the wreaths are counted, and the inscriptions -attached to them examined; if anyone's name is missing he is -excommunicated. The ceremonial is just like that of a witches' sabbath -when the 'faithful' gave their testimony. But it may happen, when -they invoke Pan, that he answers with the reed-pipe. Then if he shows -himself in the wood or in the bedchamber, they are seized with a panic -fear; they weep like children who are afraid of the dark, or fly to -sanatoriums to be cured of their neurasthenia, their sleeplessness, and -their heart-complaints." - - -=Their Gospel=.--The teacher continued: "But the apelings -have also constructed a dogmatic theology which is a parody of -the Christian faith. They have a doctrine of reconciliation which -proclaims reconciliation with life, but it is really a compromise -with all the dirt of life which one generally wipes off on the mat at -the house-door. They teach men to be tolerant towards turpitude and -wickedness; they describe men as good fellows, as careless creatures -who are thoroughly good at bottom--'there is no malice in them.' The -really good men, who cannot do anything wicked, seemed to the apelings -puritanical. 'Why should we torment ourselves in the only life we -have?' they ask, feeling quite sure that they will be annihilated at -death, like maggots. - -"According to this distorted gospel, it is wrong to describe in a -literary work how the malicious, the liar, the deceiver, the pander -get their deserts. We should, they say, pardon the conscienceless and -obstinate. Christianity, on the other hand, teaches that we should -pardon the repentant who improve. In the apelings' gospel all the -teaching of Christ is sophisticated. In their view all Magdalenes are -interesting innocent victims of social circumstances, while Christ only -received the Magdalene who had abandoned vice." - - -=The Disposition of the Apes.=--The teacher continued: "This is -the whole kernel of Darwinism, this madness which infected the mind -of a generation which was overstrained with the pursuit of power and -luxury. But this Beelzebub could only be driven out by another. That -was Nietzsche. He was a demon let loose, who killed the ape, restored -the man, and altered the old popular estimates. He was understood -because he spoke the language of the apelings. That was the only way -to compel them to listen, for they would never have heard a Christian -prophet. But after he had his say his tongue was spiked and his tale -was over. - -"Joseph Peladan was a Christian prophet of the school of the Therapeutæ -and Essenes. The apelings feared him, and could not name his name, for -it stuck in their throats. Only the Christian upper class understood -him. His Christianity was luminous and esoteric, perhaps too luminous. -But after a pilgrimage to Christ's grave he discovered the deceit, -turned his back on the 'reconciliation with life,' and forswore the -worship of beauty which was merely the dressing up of the apes with -white sheets and ivy leaves. He ceased to be interested in the bestial -and the nude, saw through the 'joy of life' and Nora,[1] unmasked the -humbug of tolerance, and took the cross in real earnest, as it is, on -himself. Peladan was a living protest against apishness. He represented -the undercurrent, not the surface-stream. Still the undercurrent is -always ready to mount and overflow and cleanse the banks, which at the -ebb-tide have served as a place for dumping down rubbish." - - -[Footnote 1: The heroine of Ibsen's _Doll's House_.] - - -=The Secret of the Cross.=--The teacher said: "The conflict -between paganism and Christianity is now being fought out in the world. -But just as surely as Christianity preceded paganism in time, so surely -does the future belong to Christianity, although for the moment the -apelings have the upper hand. Their edict of toleration allows them in -the name of freedom to forbid the preaching of Christianity. They close -the churches, declare Judas innocent, give mad women the vote, write -heathenish schoolbooks for children, place forgers and pettifoggers in -power, for their kingdom is of this world. But it is with Christianity -as with the walnut-tree, whose fruit is knocked down with poles, and -which is roughly treated in order that it may bear fruit and thrive. -The night grows darker towards the dawn. Spinach-seed is trodden -down that it may grow better; the ground must be harrowed, broken, -and rolled in order to be able to yield a crop; gold must be refined -in fire, and flax be steeped in water. The cross points upwards, -downwards, sideways, to the four quarters of heaven at once; it is a -completion of the compass. Suffering bums up the rubbish of the soul. -I have seen a man who had suffered all the griefs endured by humanity; -yet the more he suffered the more beautiful he became. That is the -secret of the cross and of suffering. 'Because ye are not of the world, -therefore the world hateth you. In the world ye have tribulation, but -be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.'" - - -=Examination and Summer Holidays.=--The teacher said: "When, -on reaching maturity, one awakes to new consciousness and discovers -that everything one has is borrowed, one begins to cut oneself down -to the root, in order to let strike a new stem which is one's own. -When we enter old age this stem withers down to the root (the process -Swedenborg calls 'desolation'); the branches formerly cut down bloom -again and put forth new foliage which is like, and yet not like the -former. But when old and new flourish together, the whole result is -confusing; but the root remains the same and reveals the nature of -the plant. The dissonances of life increase with the years, and the -material of life becomes so immense that it is impossible to survey it -properly. Therefore one lives more in remembrance than in the present, -and along the whole line of one's experience. Sometimes I live in my -childhood, sometimes in my mature age. - -"But it is strange that one does not feel old age to be the beginning -of an end but the introduction to something new, _i.e._ when one has -recovered the belief or assurance that there is a life on the other -side. One feels as though one were preparing for an examination by -doing preliminary exercises and one becomes literally young again. -There is a little touch of examination fever with it, but also great -hopes mingled with dreams of the future. These remind us of Christmas -joys, summer holidays, family gatherings with reconciliations and -wishes fulfilled. But there is also a scent of broken-off birch-leaves -and the seashore; there is a sound of Sunday bells and organs, the -attraction of new clothes, white linen, and a bath in green sea-water. -There is a feeling like that of evening prayer and a good conscience, -wife, home, and child after a journey, the hearth-fire after a -snow-storm, the first ball and the one we loved to dance with most, -the opening of the savings-box, and first and last the examination and -the summer holidays." - - -=Veering and Tacking.=--The teacher continued: "The Theosophists -speak of the seven planes of the Kama-Loka, the condition after -death. I will admit that, in certain circumstances, I have lived -simultaneously on several planes. This was difficult for me, and -still more difficult for my enemies to understand. I should like to -have explained these contradictions in existence by a cleavage of the -personality or a multiplication of the ego. I have also sought the -solution of the riddle in the self-adaptation to one's surroundings, -to which St. Paul refers in the First Epistle to the Corinthians: 'To -the Jews I became a Jew.... To those who are under the law, I became -as under the law.... To those who are without law, I became as one -without law. To the weak I became as weak.' ... Kierkegaard speaks of -Sympaschomenos who rejoices with the joyful, mourns with the sad, is -coarse with the coarse, refined with the refined. - -"Swedenborg makes another suggestion, 'When a man is to be born again, -his desires and falsities cannot be stripped off at once, for that -would be equivalent to destroying the whole man, because as yet he -only lives in them. Therefore for a long while evil spirits are left -with him, to stir up his desires that they may be dissolved in many -ways.' - -"Formerly I believed, when I was young with the youthful, old and wise -with the old, mad with the mad, that I was doing them a service. As a -poet, I lived for the moment in their life and their moods, which I -then depicted and forgot myself. Often by these relapses into stages -I had left behind, I seemed to have worked myself higher, as the ship -tacks in order to get a more favourable wind." - - -=Attraction and Repulsion.=--The teacher continued: "There is both -an attraction and a repulsion between similar souls. Like loves like, -but not always; often the unlike seeks the unlike. A good man lamented -to me that it was his lot always to be in bad society, and never to -meet good men who could elevate him. Since he was strong he was at any -rate not drawn down, but he did not observe that he exercised a good -influence on his bad surroundings. He had, it is true, occasion to see -and to hear evil; but, on the other hand, he was able to react against -it through the disgust with which it inspired him. Without instituting -a comparison we may say that Christ did not attract people of high -position and good character, but poor devils and weak characters, the -sick, the possessed, the wicked, thieves, publicans, and harlots. His -disciples did not understand his doctrine, but interpreted it all in a -material way. He answered their reproaches by saying, 'Only the sick -need a physician.' I will suppress my former objection, for I bow -myself experimentally before 'the folly of the cross,' since experience -has taught me that wisdom can only be received by a humble mind, and -that obedience is more than sacrifice. In recent times my constant -prayer has been that I might come into good society which might elevate -me, and avoid evil companionship which, to say the least, involves an -injurious connection with the lower plane. It is in truth my fault -that those who seek me seek my old ego, and, when they do not find it, -believe that I am not to be found." - - -=The Double.=--The pupil said: "When a man begins to love a woman -he throws himself into a trance, and becomes a poet and artist. Out -of her plastic, unindividualised material he fashions an ideal form -into which he puts all that is best in himself. Thus he creates an -homunculus which he adopts as his double, and with that she lets him do -as he likes. - -"But this astral image may be also the doll which she the huntress -sets up as a decoy, while she with a loaded gun lies behind the -bush and watches for her prey. The love of a man for his homunculus -often survives every illusion; he may have conceived a deadly hatred -against herself, while his love for his double continues. But this -masquerade gives rise to the deepest dissonances and troubles. He -becomes squint-eyed by contemplating two images which do not coincide. -He wishes to embrace his cloud, but takes hold of a body; he wishes to -hear _his_ poem, but it is someone else's; he wants to see his work of -art, but it is only a model. He is happy during his trance, although -the world cannot understand him. When he awakes from his somnambulism, -his hatred to the woman increases in proportion as she fails to -correspond to his image of her. And if he murders his double, then love -is done with, and only boundless hate remains." - - -=Paw or Hand.=--The pupil said: "In Kipling's wonderful _Jungle -Book_, the boy is intimate with all kinds of animals but not with apes, -which are the worst of all creatures and composed of wickedness and -crime. When Goethe, in the second part of _Faust_, wishes to represent -phantoms and evil spirits, he uses the same masks and costumes as -for the monkeys in the Witches' Kitchen in the first part. And it is -among these degenerate brutes that man (?) now does his best to seek -his ancestry. For my part I would rather trace my origin from a noble -horse, or a sagacious and honest elephant, or from a courageous and -thankful eagle. - -"But it is probable that apes spring from degenerate men, escaped -criminals, and ship-wrecked Robinson Crusoes. The hand of the -chimpanzee is not a paw which is being evolved into a hand, but it is -a human hand which is degenerating into a paw. A palmist could read -the lines of it; a manicurist could improve it and make it capable of -wearing a glove. If man really sprang from apes, according to the law -of phylogeny, a child ought to be born with a hairy body. But now it -comes into the world as smooth as an angel, often without hairs even -on its head. It is a disgrace to me that I served the Ape-king, the -seducer of my youth! And it was so stupid!" - - -=The Thousand-Years' Night of the Apes.=--When the sun of -Christianity rose over the world, it naturally became night for the -apelings. When they turned their backs to the light, everything became -distorted for them. Right became left, east became west, good became -evil, black became white, day became night. Therefore one reads still -of their thousand-years' night, as they call the Middle Ages. When the -savage tribes of Europe became tame, when the aged and sick became -objects of pity, when governments ruled and laws protected, when -faith, hope and love, self-sacrifice and chivalry flourished, then it -was night for the pagans. When Europe received science, when Albertus -Magnus, Thomas Aquinas, Roger Bacon, Arnold, and Basilius founded -chemistry, metallurgy, and physic, their darkness increased. When -mediæval art culminated in the noblest work of art there is--the Gothic -cathedral--then it grew dark before the eyes of the giants; their ears -could not endure the chime of bells and organ-music. Finally the Middle -Ages discovered gunpowder, the compass, and printing. A religious man, -whose sails bore the sign of the cross, discovered America. But Pauli, -the disciple of Clemens Romanus, already knew "the ocean which cannot -be crossed by men, and the lands which lie behind it."[1] - -In the midst of the darkness of the heathen there was the light -of convent-schools and universities, in which spiritual as well as -worldly wisdom was taught. Poems of chivalry, romances and dramas -were composed. Charlemagne was a Christian King Solomon; he defeated -the Philistines in Saxony, built temples out of the ruins of Rome, -held learned conversations and listened to legends, cultivated the -land and gave laws. That was the brightest phase of a Europe grown -patriarchal and Christian. The gods certainly did not walk any more on -earth, but God's messengers were in constant communication with men, -and disclosed to them the secrets of God's kingdom, which were written -down in Apocalypses and, best of all, in the _Legenda Aurea_. Thomas à -Kempis's _Imitation of Christ_ was printed and is still read even by -Protestants. One can even read the Church Fathers, Augustine, Jerome, -Chrysostom; Augustine was used in my youth as a confirmation-manual. -Two hundred years before the Reformation--the schism in the Church -as it should rather be called--Dante wrote the most Christian of all -poems, which the heathen have tried to steal for themselves. Boccaccio -expounded the _Inferno_ from a professor's chair, a fitting penalty -for the trespasses of his youth. Botticelli, Lippi, Ghirlandajo were -the great religious painters of the Middle Ages. Their pupils Michael -Angelo and Raphael were devout Christians, although the heathen have -wished to appropriate them under the false designation Renaissance, -or new birth of heathenism. When at the beginning of modern times it -began to grow dusk, the dawn rose for the heathen and for "the last -Athenians." The last? There will certainly be more Athenians who will -wish to carry owls to Athens. - - -[Footnote 1: Clement, Epistle to the Romans, chap. xx.] - - -=The Favourite.=--Julian was an Illyrian, from the predatory state -composed of a mixed Phœnician race who worshipped Baal and Astarte. -He had a small head, and no occiput; he had thick lips, a beard that -swarmed with vermin, long nails and black hands with which he groped -in the bleeding bodies of slain beasts in order to prognosticate the -future from their hearts and livers. His cheerful religious services -consisted in the sacrifice of animals, and were accompanied by the -dances of immodest girls. In order to refute ancient prophecy, he -wished to build again the Temple at Jerusalem. But fire broke out of -the ground, so that the undertaking was frustrated at its commencement. -This madman once came to Antioch, where there were a hundred thousand -heathen whom he expected to receive him with public sacrifices and -dances. Instead of which he was met by a solitary priest bearing a -goose. That was all! - -This unattractive person, who has become the darling of _The Last -Athenian_[1] and the new heathen, was finally enticed into a desert. -There he suffered hunger and thirst till a lance pierced his liver. But -it is incredible that he exclaimed, "Thou hast conquered, O Galilean!" -He was far too stupid for that. - - -=Scientific Villainies.=--If anyone comes to you and says, "I -don't understand the proof for the existence of God," you should -answer, "You don't understand because your wickedness darkens your -understanding." All atheists are rascals, and all rascals are -atheists. Their intelligence is so beclogged with sin that they cannot -understand the simplest teachings of Christianity, the Incarnation and, -consequently, Immaculate Birth of God, His Resurrection and Ascension. - -When the sectaries came to Luther and said that they could not -understand him, because they had another Spirit, he answered, "I smite -your Spirit on the snout! God rebuke thee, Satan!" A godless man or a -so-called free-thinker is a rascal who permits himself everything. His -natural sympathy for scoundrels is so strong that he will swear a false -oath in order to save the guilty from condemnation by a false alibi. He -will accuse an innocent man, and persecute him from one court of appeal -to another, in order to get him into prison, and will demand a large -sum of money as a reward for his ill-doing. - -When the guilty is acquitted they give him a banquet, his companions -write odes in his honour, he is promoted and finally appointed to be -an instructor of youth. When an atheist adopts the pursuit of science, -one is sure only villainy will result. He says falsely that he has seen -such and such things under the microscope, in order to be able to write -a treatise on them. If he is an astronomer he will see as many canals -in Mars as his professor wishes. If his professor does not believe in -the canals in Mars, he will not see any. - - -[Footnote 1: _The Last Athenian_, title of a work by Victor Rydberg.] - - -=Necrobiosis, _i.e._ Death and Resurrection.=--During the -winter I found the chrysalis of a cockchafer and laid it on my -writing-table. One evening in the lamplight it began to click and -make small movements. Believing that the warmth had developed my -beetle I opened its black coffin, but found to my astonishment only -a white slime without a sign of organisation; it smelt of sour -gastric juice. This half-fluid mass, however, possessed the capacity -of movement. Later on, when I had a microscope with a large field -of view, I opened the chrysalis of a butterfly and examined it. On -a clear yellow background of fluid matter there was sketched, as it -were, the outline of the future butterfly in half-shadow, without, as -yet, any bodily organisation. That is called "necrobiosis," or the -dying-off of living tissue. And the deliquescence of the chrysalis in -slime is termed "histolysis." Its reorganisation is said to take place -by means of _corpora adiposa_, or particles of fat. More than this I -do not know. I wrote to Germany (where they are accustomed to know -everything) and asked for some works treating of the metamorphosis -of the chrysalis, but there were none on this most important and -interesting question. Father Darwin and his son Haeckel knew nothing -and wished to know nothing about the resurrection; they only knew about -birth and death. Finally I bought for five-and-twenty kroners a large -work on butterflies composed by a professor. There was not a word in -it regarding the necrobiosis of the chrysalis. But sometimes I see on -a gravestone within a church wall this symbol: caterpillar, chrysalis, -and butterfly. - - -=Secret Judgment.=--When one sees a fact repeated regularly and -under defined conditions, one believes one has discovered a law. I -think I have discovered a law, and consequently a tribunal whose -decisions we see, but whose inner working we can only guess at. I had -a relative who had reached a certain age without "ever having time" to -think of death. On the 18th January of the year 18-- he had a stroke -and fell. That was the first warning. Then he began to think about -death and the life after this, and occupied himself thus for six years; -then he died exactly on the same day, on the 18th of January. The -fact of the interval being six years made me think of Bismarck's six -years in Sachsenwald, when he sat alone and brooded on the transitory -character of greatness, and curiously enough injured his reputation -through being betrayed by vanity into making incautious revelations. -Then it occurred to me that Napoleon was six years on St. Helena, and -finally became so well "prepared" that he received the sacrament on his -death-bed. Whether Heine lay on the ground for exactly six years, with -his body wasted to the size of a child's and tormented by the fear of -losing his wife, I cannot say definitely; but it was about six. It is -well known that the pious Linnæus had to spend his last years seated in -a chair, lamed by paralysis; nor did even he escape being worried by a -quarrelsome wife, God alone knows why! - -Our great and glorious Tegner received his first warning in 1840. It -was accompanied by a condition like that described in my _Inferno,_ -during which, among other things, he saw his whole poetical work in a -depreciatory light, and even at last wished to cancel it all. After -just six years' preparation he died on November 2, 1846, in a cheerful -state of mind, the sky being lit up at the time by a splendid aurora. -Goldschmidt mentions that and still more remarkable things in his -excellent _Nemesis Divina_. I read lately how Fersen was murdered in -his carriage on June 20, 1810. I recalled to mind that it was the -same Fersen who drove the carriage in which Marie Antoinette fled to -Varennes. I referred to the _History of the World_, and found that the -flight to Varennes took place on June 20, 1791. The question arises: -"Was it a crime to wish to save the queen?" The author of the article -in the _Biographical Lexicon_ mentions the crime by name; but it was -something other than the attempt to further her escape. - - -=Hammurabi's Inspired Laws Received from the Sun-God.=--The laws -of Hammurabi occupy fifteen quarto pages. That is the whole find! And -these pages are to nullify the Bible, which is so unsearchably rich -and possesses such mysterious depths that everyone in trouble, who -with humility seeks for counsel and comfort there, finds it forthwith, -although he may first receive some blows which strike the nail on the -head! - -Hammurabi's laws in fifteen pages resemble Deuteronomy to a certain -degree, but are much more meagre; they often recall our old Swedish law -with its trivialities. For instance: "If anyone strikes out a man's -teeth, his teeth shall be struck out; but if he strikes out the teeth -of an emancipated slave, he shall pay one-eighth of a mina of silver." - -In any case God is one, and His laws are in principle the same. -The Bible may have used the same source as Hammurabi. But when the -heathen try to use the laws of the Assyrian clay tablets in order to -prove that the Bible is not inspired, they miss the mark. "Inspired" -means "received from God." See how the heathen has adorned his paltry -pamphlet with a frontispiece, which asserts, against his will, that -Hammurabi's laws were also inspired. For the frontispiece portrays -Hammurabi receiving his laws from the Sun-god. - - -=Strauss's Life of Christ.=--Now that I am sixty years old, it -occurred to me to see what sort of a book Strauss's _Leben Jesu_ is -before I depart. In my youth, in the 'sixties, we read in school (of -our own accord, however) "the last Athenian's doctrine of the Bible," -but we never succeeded in seeing the original _Life of Jesus_. And -although I have been in libraries, collected books, visited second-hand -book-stalls, I have not seen Strauss's book. It seemed as though it had -been confiscated by the Invisible Powers. Now when I am sixty, it has -arrived and I tried to read it. But I could not. - -It was simply unreadable! All these many pages contained nothing, and -what was printed seemed to me incomprehensible, soulless, dry. - -A man who writes a book about what he does not understand; a student -who has learnt the æsthetic systems by heart; a philosopher who tries -to define the beautiful; a mathematician who wants to prove or -disprove axioms; a drunken man who tries to play the flute; a feeble -foolish attempt to explain God's great miracle in the Atonement. I -threw the book away, else I should have gone to sleep over it. - -Strauss died in 1874, and in spite of the last stage of his -development, when he did not believe any more in the immortality of -the soul, he spent his last hours in reading Plato's _Phædo_, in which -at the death-bed of Socrates the immortality of the soul is so clearly -demonstrated. - -His death was like that of Socrates, his pupils said. But they do not -inform us whether the cup of poison was at hand. - - -=Christianity and Radicalism.=--Christianity is really more -radical than Radicalism. Christ turns his back on the whole of society -with its institutions, science, and art. He warns us against the -scribes; the rich are not his friends, but rather Lazarus; the rich -youth is told to sell all that he has and to give to the poor. To -soldiers Christ says, "Those who take the sword shall perish with the -sword." He says nothing about science, art, and industry because He -is indifferent to them. He has no great illusions about men, for he -calls them "a generation of vipers." And rightly; since the earth is -a prison for those who have committed crimes in heaven, we are all -rascals; but it is the prison chaplain's duty to preach pardon to those -who behave properly. To open the prison would be unwise and unlawful; -there Christianity differs from Anarchism. Give custom to whom custom -is due, and to Cæsar what is Cæsar's. Authority is ordained of God, and -beareth not the sword in vain. - -Christianity and Radicalism accordingly agree in their criticism of -society, but not in the inferences they draw. The Christian endures the -sufferings of the prison-house with religious resignation; he does not -waste valuable time in making foolish proposals regarding the reform of -prison-life and management. In order to obtain mitigation and pardon, -and to escape the dark cell and scourging, he tries to behave well, but -he does not believe that the prison can be a place of recreation. - -All that Rousseau, Max Nordau, and Tolstoi have said against the faults -of society is quite true, but their inferences are false. Socialism, -_i.e._ pagan socialism, which preached development and progress, went -its crab-like course backwards to the trade unions which had been -dissolved, limited industrial freedom, introduced inquisitorial -methods, excommunicated heretics. In the great strike non-socialists -were refused water and gas, bread and milk for children. They compelled -the contented to be discontented, made men wild and despairing, and -really made things worse, when they ought to have improved them. - -But in their pagan Radicalism they did not attain to the height of -Christianity. Unbelieving, they believed in everything that was -false--scientific fallacies, politico-economical errors, philosophical -stupidities. Into a pagan one may instil every possible falsehood and -stupidity; but for the truth in its real relations he is deaf and blind. - -To have a moderate quiet contempt of the world, to be already half out -of it, one's staff in one's hand and one's knapsack on one's back, ever -ready for departure, to have clean hands and a good conscience--that -is the way not to be easily assailable. Then one is not envied, and -suffers not from disappointments and humiliations, for one is prepared -for all, and has anticipated all in advance. - -"Vanity, Vanity," saith the Preacher. "Sow in the morning thy seed, and -in the evening withhold not thy hand, for thou knowest not which shall -succeed, or whether both alike are good." - - -=Where Are We?=--If men only knew where they are! - -The description which the ancients gave of Tartarus exactly fits our -condition in this life. The ambitious man rolls his stone up the hill -like Sisyphus, and when he has got it to the top it rolls down again. -A certain architect spent twenty-five years of his life in working and -intriguing in order to build a temple for the state. The temple was -built and consecrated, a torch-light procession was held in honour of -the architect, and he was crowned with a laurel-wreath. The next day -the newspapers informed us that the temple must be pulled down because -it was a failure. The architect died half a year afterwards in an -asylum; the temple was demolished and the architect's name forgotten -and obliterated. Tantalus, the rich miser, stands in the midst of a -spring of water, but cannot drink; branches laden with fruit hang over -his head, but when he stretches out his hand to pluck a fruit a gust -of wind comes and tears the branch away. The rich man has worked and -swindled till old age begins. Then at last, when the grouse come flying -towards him, he has no teeth left; his wine-cellar is full, but the -doctor has forbidden him wine. That is Tantalus! - -Ixion revolves on his wheel, at one moment up, at another down. The -ancients assigned as the reason of his punishment that he had boasted -of the favour of a woman who had never been his. - -The Danaides, the coquettes, are perpetually drawing water, but their -vessel is like a sieve; everything enters it, but nothing remains. - -All day long and every day one hears the expression "That is -hell!"--such is the universal view. When things look a little brighter, -the table is covered, the bed made, and we feel well again. We cheat -ourselves often with alcohol, and continue our somnambulism. Then we -are awoken by a noise, start up, rush about, weep, and then go to sleep -again. At last sleep is banished once for all, and we wake never to -sleep any more. Once we are well awake no opiates are of avail. - -Then we discover the whole cheat. We see where we are, and what our -past, which seemed so real, was. The comparatively wise man then -turns away from the phantoms and shadows of reality in order to seek -the other, the true, the actual Real. Then the state is seen to be a -prison; the defenders of the fatherland are body-snatchers; society is -a madhouse, whose warders are the officials and police; family life is -concubinage; capitalists are usurers; the fine arts are superfluities; -literature is printed nonsense; industry feeds unnecessary luxury; -railways are instruments of torture; the electric light ruins the eyes; -all the blessings of civilisation are either curses or superfluous. - -When we have seen this, we turn our backs on all and seek the only -thing that holds, that gives a real answer, that fulfils what it -promises. But this super-real fools call a phantom. - - -=Hegel's Christianity.=--There are two Voltaires: one, the mocker -at all definite religion, who is revered by the godless; the other, -the fanatical champion of God who is ridiculed by the atheists because -he believed in God as naïvely as a child. Voltaire recovered his -reason before he died, as lunatics are wont to do; when he died he was -definitely religious and took the sacrament. There are also two Hegels. -But they are more complicated than Voltaire, who was as simple as a -feuilletonist. Hegel discovered with his logic that what exists has a -right to exist; he defends the _status quo_, society, state, religion -with all their corollaries, because they have proceeded from God; -everything is right since it exists. "It belongs," he says, "to the -essence of religion that it should realise itself in several historical -religious forms. Of these, however, Christianity is the only one which -suitably expresses the essence of religion. In her doctrine of the -Trinity the Christian Church contains the nucleus of all philosophical -speculation. For this signifies nothing less than that the Eternal God, -enthroned in His majesty over the sphere of the finite, condescends -and reconciles Himself to the finite, becomes man, suffers, dies, and -returns to Himself as the Holy Spirit." That is well put; but every -schoolchild knew it already from Luther's "little catechism." For what -object then is this extraordinary accumulation of several thousand -pages of incomprehensible philosophy? To what purpose? Hegel died of -cholera in 1831, after traversing many devious ways, as a simple, -believing Christian, without any philosophy, repeating the penitential -psalms. - - -="Men of God's Hand."=--That is Kind David's expression (Ps. -xvii., 14) which he uses of the godless, to whom the Lord gave power -over His people Israel when they behaved badly. Thereby is the knotty -problem solved, why God gives the godless power, honour, and wealth, -while He often chastises His servants. - -The Pharaohs were idolaters and wizards, but God's chosen people had -to be their slaves. The Philistines worshipped Baal and Astarte, but -they were allowed to devastate Canaan and even to carry away the Ark -of the Covenant. Nebuchadnezzar was no saint, quite the contrary, but -he was permitted to carry the children of Israel into captivity. Good -men are not adapted to be instruments of chastisement, and the office -of executioner is not an enviable one. Everyone has his Egyptian armed -with a rod, whether they are called superiors, employers, customers, -the public, newspapers, or even public opinion. - -All strive for an imaginary independence or so-called freedom, while -there is no independence and no freedom. Therefore the effort is vain. -Only one thing remains--to reconcile oneself to obedience to human -authority for the Lord's sake, and to pay taxes where taxes are due. -And where one earns one's bread, one must be polite. Vex, not thyself -that thy trade and thy position are difficult; God has so appointed it. - - -=Night Owls.=--The maggot in the apple doubtless imagines that -the apple was grown for its sake, and that the world could not exist -without apples. So we also imagine that science and art are certainly -necessary. Swedenborg, in his description of another sphere, tells us -how happy men can be without such luxuries. "They know nothing of -sciences as we see them in our world, and wish to know nothing; they -call them 'shadows,' and compare them with clouds which come between -the sun and the spectator. This idea of the sciences they have derived -from certain spirits who came from our earth and introduced themselves -as those who had grown wise through science. These spirits from our -earth who made this claim belonged to those who see wisdom in such -things as are pure matters of memory, such as languages; in historical -matters, which belong to the literary world; in bare experiences and -terms, especially philosophical ones. Because these have not developed -their faculty of reasoning through science, they have in their second -life little power of perceiving the truth, for they see only in and by -means of technical terms, which like hills and thick clouds obstruct -the sight of reason. Those who have employed the sciences in order to -destroy matters of faith have their reason so thoroughly unsettled that -in pitch-darkness they take false for true, and evil for good, like -night-owls." - -The flag of the university also carries the sign of an owl, but they do -not know what it means. - - -=Apotheosis.=--When a man who has been near to us dies, he begins -to loom magnified through a kind of haze. All his less-pleasing -characteristics are obliterated, as if they were part of that dust -which is now dissolved. His better self, on the other hand, becomes -larger and clearer. It is indeed possible that the liberated spirit -becomes ennobled by death, and that therefore the survivor is right in -forming a new conception of the personality of the deceased. He with -whom the survivor now holds spiritual intercourse is perhaps what the -survivor feels him to be, and has ceased to be what he was in life. -It is almost invariably the case that the survivor torments himself -with reproaches that he has been guilty of some neglect towards the -dead, has done him slight injustices and spoken hard words. Even the -coldest-hearted begs the dead secretly for forgiveness--forgiveness -for all even when it was hardly ill-meant. All this seems to signify -that the dead one is alive, and has need of kindly thoughts as a -compensation for the reproaches he makes himself regarding those he has -left behind. - - -=Painting Things Black.=--There are men who anticipate their -troubles, hoping thereby to neutralise or to bribe destiny. But that is -a mistaken calculation. I know of an author who saw a great calamity -approaching and tried to _write_ it away. He composed a drama on that -theme, and hoped thereby to have escaped it. Soon afterwards, however, -it arrived and the effect was as strong as though it had never been -written about, perhaps even more. - -Theosophists say that we can create thought-forms which assume life and -reality. They mean that men can send from a distance evil suggestions -which others carry out. Thus criminal romances have never deterred -anyone from crime; they have on the contrary given scoundrels bright -ideas for new pieces of rascality. I actually know of a society novel -which criticised bank and joint-stock company frauds, with the result -that such frauds increased. It is as though one let loose demons. - -Therefore it is dangerous merely to think evil of men; one may do them -harm thereby. But what a supernatural effort is necessary always to -see good where so little is to be found! And when we try our best we -find that we have played the hypocrite. It is almost hopeless to hold -the balance level when it is a matter of judging men justly, for human -nature is evil and cannot be altered. - - -=The Thorn in the Flesh.=--Whence come evil and ugly thoughts -which start up in our most beautiful moments, in the hour of devotion, -and even in prayer? We wish to ignore them; we have the impression -that they come from without. But it is possible that they are born of -the habit of letting evil thoughts have free course in silence and -solitude. Still it is mysterious that the greater the height to which -we have attained by striving, the deeper we fall. And I can testify -from my own experience that it is at the very time of renunciation -and self-discipline that one is most liable to unclean thoughts and -imaginations. St. Anthony and other saints are examples of this. - -A great sorrow, for instance, the longing for a lost child, is the -quickest and best means of burning away the rubbish. But often, alas! -on the sorrow there follows a boisterous joy which is not of the -noblest kind. Immediately after our noblest moods, when we have been -inspired by the most beautiful thoughts and purposes, it is possible in -the next moment to feel like a coxcomb. - -It is not strange that the ancients believed in demons who whisper into -one's ear and suggest impure imaginations. Possibly this was St. Paul's -thorn in the flesh, which pricked him so that he should not be too much -uplifted. - - -=Despair and Grace.=--When in youth one sought to conquer evil -desires, and even harmless ones, with the severest scourge provided by -religion, and then saw that one could not change one's vices, one let -go of the reins and life went as it went. Work was the chief occupation -of middle life, and there was no time to think of one's soul. Life -itself moulded one's character, and one threw a bone to the dog--the -flesh in order to be able to work in peace. - -Then when in old age we come to reflect, and at sixty find that we have -remained very much the same, we wish to begin our spiritual education, -but with indifferent success. We had hoped that certain desires would -disappear and certain virtues take their place by a kind of natural -necessity, as we had believed when young. But, alas! that is not the -case. When now we again resume the struggles of our youth the case is -thus. We have raised our standard higher, and wish to root out all the -weeds. What formerly seemed quite natural--envy of a fellow-worker, -revenge on an enemy, pride in success, exultation at a foe's downfall, -a small white lie--we now find hateful. And so we begin to struggle -against the outward manifestations of these things. But when we find -the inner evil just as strong as before, we finally regard ourselves as -great hypocrites and are ready to despair. - -Where is comfort to be found then? Religion only asserts that we are -hypocrites, and our fellow-men regard it as a fact. Absolute despair -seizes us. What follows then? Grace! It becomes clear to us that -everything is grace, and from grace. And that we have been living on -the bread of charity which we believed we had earned. - - -=The Last Act (From the life of a leader of the -"Renaissance").=--The final act is the most important one in a -drama, and a dramatist generally begins his work at the end. We sit -out a long evening at the theatre in order to see the last act or "how -it will go." But in the significant lives of certain men people like -to ignore the last act, because it is uncomfortable and might show -how the godless fare at last. He who wrote the operetta _Boccaccio_ -had to append the last act to it; the jovial Florentine became a -priest and delivered lectures on Dante's _Hell_, though he only -reached the seventeenth canto. Voltaire's last hours, when he took -the sacrament, might furnish a subject for a tragedy like the second -part of _Faust_. Heine announced his conversion, which took place -in 1851, in the preface to the _Romancero_: "I have returned to God -like the prodigal son, after I had fed swine with the Hegelians for -a long time." This preface should be printed before every collection -of Heine's poems. Hegel singing penitential psalms on his death-bed -might form the subject of a fresco painting for the entrance-hall of -Berlin University. But the most affecting final act is Oscar Wilde's -description of his prison life in _De Profundis_. He was the so-called -renaissance leader, who disinterred heathenism with its false worship -of beauty, which contains the foulest of all. Kierkegaard[1] would have -called him the æsthete, the Sybarite cold as cast iron, the egoist -round whose petty "I" the whole world was to revolve in order to -understand him alone. Many, led astray like him by the seducing spirits -of his youth, remained fairly free from public punishment. Wilde -seems to have been picked out to furnish a startling example, for his -position, at any rate in his own country, was almost that of an idol. - -What he wrote lacks originality; it is whipped-up foam; glazing which, -when washed off, leaves no texture; it is as restless as cross-lights, -or like a mirror in a public restaurant, in a labyrinthine hall with -deceptive lines and false perspectives; it runs out of the hand like -albumen or frog-spawn; it is perverse as in _Dorian Gray_, the hero of -which should have lost his youth by nightly excesses, while on the -contrary it is only his portrait which changes. - -The last act was played, and that outdid all horror, was so horrible -that Wilde himself could not describe its details, which, however, oral -tradition has preserved in a Swedenborgian legend. - -_De Profundis_ arouses pity and fear, and one would gladly acquit the -man who was perhaps the victim of his delusion; a worldly tribunal -would not have judged him if he had not himself appealed to it, and -that indeed for a wrong done him. It was what our renaissance-critic -called a "piece of stupidity" when he made Wilde out to be a martyr of -"hypocrisy," as he called justice. Wilde however seems to have taken -another view of the matter to his impartial defender: "A day in prison -on which one does not weep is a day on which one's heart is hard, not -a day on which one's heart is happy. Once I had put into motion the -forces of society, society turned on me and said: 'Have you been living -all this time in defiance of my laws, and do you now appeal to those -laws for protection? You shall have those laws exercised to the full.' -A man's very highest moment, I have no doubt at all, is when he kneels -in the dust and beats his breast and tells us all the sins of his life." - -The "joy of life" whose perfume he had inhaled at Oxford through -Pater's _Renaissance_ now began to grow sour. - -"Clergymen and people who use phrases without wisdom sometimes talk of -suffering as a mystery. It is really a revelation. - -"Behind joy and laughter there may be a temperament coarse, hard, -and callous. Pain, unlike pleasure, wears no mask. There are times -when sorrow seems to me to be the only truth. The secret of life is -suffering." - -Let us add that Wilde derived his most dangerous doctrine from -Baudelaire and Shakespeare's sonnets. And let us close with the new -view of the Renaissance which he attained to in prison: "To me one of -the things in history the most to be regretted is that the Christ's -own renaissance which has produced the Cathedral at Chartres, the -Arthurian cycle of legends, the life of St. Francis of Assisi, the art -of Giotto, and Dante's _Divine Comedy_, was not allowed to develop on -its own lines, but was interrupted and spoiled by the dreary classical -Renaissance." - - -[Footnote 1: Danish theologian.] - - -=Consequences of Learning.=--As soon as a man buries himself in -books he gets black nails and dirty cuffs, forgets to wash, to comb his -hair, and to shave. He neglects his duties towards life, society, and -men; loses spiritual capacities, becomes absent-minded, short-sighted, -wears glasses, and takes snuff in order to keep himself awake. He -cannot follow a conversation with attention, cannot interest himself in -other people's affairs, does not see the face of the earth by day nor -the stars by night. Behind his desire to investigate lies the insidious -ambition to master his material, to become an authority, to tyrannise, -to make a career for himself, and to receive distinctions. - -If men only reflected what tyrants they obey--these black magicians who -are called professors; who settle what we are to think and believe; -who test and examine, reject and choose; who form committees, write -handbooks, deliver lectures, and bestow prizes on those who accept -_their_ hypotheses. - -And has it ever occurred to a student to criticise his teacher? No; he -swallows everything uncritically. But if he goes into a church where -he hears God's own word revealed by way of intuition to the prophets, -then he begins to exercise his critical faculty; then he finds it -very difficult to comprehend the simplest things; then he wants -mathematical certainty, which he considers the highest while it is -really the lowest. - -Swedenborg says in one place: "Though goodness and truth are sent down -through the heavens, when they reach the hells they are changed into -evil and falsity; the brilliant light of the sun changes into ugly -colours and its warmth becomes an evil odour." - - -=Rousseau.=--In my youth I read of an Englishman who shot himself -because life was so wearisome. He had counted the buttons which he -had to unbutton and button up every day--in his under-clothing half -a dozen, in his day-shirt half a dozen, in his collar and cuffs half -a dozen, in his waistcoat, trousers, and coat a dozen, in his boots, -gaiters, and gloves two dozen. When he wanted to ride out he had to -change, as he had also to do for dinner and the evening. - -This story, though absurd, reveals the naked truth. Life has become -so burdensome, and half the day is spent in useless occupations: -unnecessary visits, telephoning, writing letters about nothing, -reading the papers; especially in making one's toilette which formerly -consisted of a becoming mantle fastened with a single cord, but has -now developed into a whole set of things with buttons, hooks, eyes, -strings, ribbons, needles, buckles. Our toilettes are a miniature -picture of our civilisation with all its time-wasting fussiness, most -of which is useless nonsense. The man who lives in the country and -cultivates the ground needs neither art, science, nor literature. He -who has nature needs no art, and religion is more than science and -literature. There are churches everywhere, but museums, theatres, -book-shops, and clubs only in the towns. Whether they are necessary is -another question. - -That is Rousseau! - - -=Rousseau Again.=--In Southern France I once saw some half-wild -Arab horses running loose in a meadow. They still had their long tails -to hide what is not beautiful and to protect them against the stings of -insects. They seemed well adapted to their purpose, but they were more -than useful: they were beautiful. And when I contemplated the lines in -these beautiful creatures' bodies--the curve of the withers such as -is not found in geometry, its continuation along the back and loins; -the noble construction and movements of the hind-legs; the proportions -of the shank below the knee tapering down to the hoof, which leaves -on the sand graceful prints like Moorish arches--and when the proud -creatures sped over the meadow in full gallop with movements like -that of a sailing-boat on the waves, then the curves played into new -harmonies and changed their form, tail, mane, and forelock floated like -draperies about the body, and I thought "All that is certainly adapted -for running, but it is much more, it is beautiful; it has not come -to be of itself, but it is created by a Contriver, a wise and great -Artist." It is, however, more than a work of art, for it has life and -individuality, and no two horses are exactly alike. Then I thought -of the attempts of men to "improve" this masterpiece, of the English -race-horses--those machines! In this process of selection they have -chosen the ugliest, docked their tails, robbed them of their fairest -ornament, placed an apelike jockey on their backs in order to make -money by racing. To this caricature men have degraded the beautiful -gift of God. - -Anyone who has learnt at school to draw a horse knows how difficult -it is to make these lines harmonise, and fall and rise in the right -places; to draw the head not too large and not too small, but exactly -proportioned; to bring the forepart and the loins into symmetrical -relations with each other; to make the neck slope gently into the fine -curve of the back. It was the work of many days merely to copy the -outline correctly. Raphael could not draw a horse; his Attila rides on -a rocking-horse. One is often inclined to agree with Rousseau when he -says everything which comes from the hand of the Creator is perfect, -but when it falls into the hands of man it is spoiled. - - -=Materialised Apparitions.=--I have never seen it, but it is said -to be a fact that in hypnotic seances those who are present produce -from the half-etherialised substance of the medium a kind of being -which is visible and leads an apparitional life, so long as the circle -keeps together. Such among others was Professor Crookes' "Katie King." - -But what causes me to believe this is a matter of everyday experience. -Men create their idols out of nothing, and by means of their -imagination fashion their fellow-men, both living and dead, into -something quite different to what they really are. These creations -naturally partake of their own substance and are after their own -likeness. Sometimes they create something really great, sometimes a -monster, a demigod, or a devil. - -We often see that hatred against one person is, so to speak, polarised -and converted into love towards his antagonist. A great unpopularity -is, in the person of another, changed into a great popularity. The -reward which should have been given to the worthiest is given to the -unworthy, in order to crush the deserving. - -At the award of a famous prize one who was uninitiated lately asked: -"Why did not X get the prize?" - -"Because Y was to have it," was the answer. - -Fifteen years ago a very remarkable book of 650 pages was published. -It obtained no notice in the press. But at the same time a wretched -pamphlet received all the praise which the large book ought to have -had. When I read the reviews of the paltry pamphlet I thought I was -reading those of the book, for the subject-matter was the same. - -Recently an important post was filled up, connected, let us say, with -road-making and hydraulic structures. The person who received it was -a very remarkable man. Public opinion (though not private) regarded -him as the most deserving and suitable candidate. He passed for a -distinguished engineer, thoroughly up in his profession, was said to -be well off, an able organiser, diligent and considerate towards his -subordinates. - -Now it is to be remarked that the man was nothing of all that; he had -never made roads or constructed hydraulic works, but left that to -his skilful assistants; he did not know his profession; he neglected -what he had in hand; he was not to be found in his office, for he -played cards and spent the nights in carousing. He was hard towards -his employees, managed so badly that he never knew the state of his -affairs, and was careless in money matters. - -How then had he come to be elected? Some said he had been chosen in -order to punish and humble the conceited engineers who had become -unpopular. Others thought that the intention was that he should come to -grief and be ruined because he was feared and hated. - -However that may be, he was a materialised apparition created by the -hate, envy, and malignity of the crowd; he had become an idea, a -lucky rascal, a ruthless man whose elevation was necessary in order -to still the tumult. He was like a crude mass of ore which stood for -four hundred years in the market-place and was supposed to represent -Justice, but was really the counterfeit presentment of a thievish -alderman foisted in by the burgomaster. - - -=The Art of Dying.=--The wish for power is said to be a -fundamental condition of the existence of the ego, without which a -man would perish, as he could not resist the pressure of others. So -we were taught by the seducing spirits of our youth. But Swedenborg -says the thirst for power comes from hell, and Balzac speaks of the -galley-slaves of ambition who can never rest. Dante has a fine verse -regarding the fate of the great painters: one must retire in order to -make place for another; he passes into the shadow and is forgotten. - -Even when it is unjust, as it often is, one must acquiesce in being -relegated to the back-ground, for men get tired even of the best and -desire change. A great name becomes oppressive, is felt as a tyranny, -and hinders others from also making great names for themselves. -Napoleon and Bismarck saw this clearly, for both said beforehand that -the world would give a sigh of relief when they were gone. But, in -order to depart content, we require religious resignation, complete -irrevocable withdrawal from the world. Such as Charles the Fifth's -retirement into a monastery. To receive a "benefit" on one's retirement -and then to reappear on the stage is not becoming. If one considers -oneself dead to the world and takes no notice of it, then a new life -begins, but on the other side; it is a much more peaceful one, for it -is the resurrection from the dead already here! Beethoven was vexed -that the Viennese were ungrateful and forgetful when Rossini appeared -and brought again in fashion the Italian opera, which Beethoven, -had devoted his life to extirpate. Beethoven however, was a hard, -selfish, and very proud man, who was accordingly literally tormented -out of life, in great matters and in small. Increasing deafness, a -disagreeable lawsuit, a mad young relative, domestic scandal, illnesses -troubled his last years; he had even to be exposed to the undeserved -ridicule of underlings. Thus, well prepared, he turned his back on -life, and departed from all without missing anything. - -So it should be, in order that nothing should bind one either with -longing or with hope, in order that on the other side of the river one -may not look back but go straight forward. - -The object of the trials of old age is to adjust accounts, to finish -up unsettled affairs, to see through the cheat of life, and to become -weary of the incomplete, so that no backward longings may disturb the -repose of the grave. - - -=Can Philosophy Bring any Blessing to Mankind?=--Such was the -title of a pamphlet written in the 'sixties by a teacher of philosophy, -Pontus Wikner. The question was justified; how it was answered I do -not remember, but the answer must have been evasive, for the writer -of the pamphlet was a professor. If he had said that all philosophy, -especially systematic philosophy, was rubbish, his career would have -been at an end. - -When, in 1870 at the university, I wished to study æsthetics, the -professor of the subject sent me to the lecturer in order to take -lessons. As he sat there and talked for hours by the light of a -composite candle, I tried to decipher the furrowed brow of the pale -man and to ascertain whether he really understood what he taught, or -whether he only taught by rote. But I could not see through him and I -despaired, for I understood nothing, and I cannot learn by heart what I -do not understand. That would be humbug. - -About forty years later I met the professor who was now pensioned, and -consequently no longer a member of the college of augurs. Then I asked -him whether he had ever mastered æsthetics? - -"Good gracious, no! That is why I sent you to the lecturer." - -"Did he understand them then?" - -"I don't think so. But he had a good memory." - -Then after all it was not my fault, and I was not more stupid than the -rest. - -Anyone who reads a short history of philosophy, and observes how one -system replaces and refutes another, must be inclined to say, "Surely -it is time to make an end of this drivel!" For the whole history of -philosophy proves that thought cannot solve these problems, or that -they cannot be solved by constructing a system of philosophy. The -few philosophers, on the other hand, who have limited themselves to -reflections on the variegated medley of life as seen in man, politics, -and nature, have been of some use, but they are hardly counted -philosophers. One can read fragments of Plato with interest, and also -the unappreciated Schopenhauer, especially in his least-valued work -_Parerga and Paralipomena_, but not in his systematic treatise _The -World as Will and Idea_. Kierkegaard is not regarded as a philosopher, -nor are Feuerbach and his pupil Nietzsche, but they are extraordinarily -instructive. All who construct an empty system with facts are fools. -Such is Boström, who tries to subtilise conceptions, analyse ideas, and -classify and arrange God, man, and human life under heads. - -The history of philosophy is the history of errors, the history of -lying, for nearly all philosophers are disguised rebels against God and -opponents of religion. Philosophy is a history of falsehood, and since -it has demonstrated its own absurdity, all professorships of philosophy -should be abolished. For a Christian state frustrates its own aims and -is foolish if it supports a teacher of error and falsehood. - -If for once in a way a philosopher is religious, people give him the -contemptuous name of "mystic," although very few know what mysticism is. - -In one professorial chair sits an Hegelian and preaches Hegel's -pantheism as the truth, and in another sits a Boströmian and pulls -Hegel to pieces. But the student must be examined by both, and give -his adherence to both systems together. That is the higher education, -academic culture, and learning in its glory! - -The mass of people believe that all which is difficult to understand is -deep, but it is not so. What is difficult to understand is immature, -vague, and often false. The highest wisdom is simple, clear, and goes -through the brain straight into the heart. Set a philosopher on the -grave where his earthly hopes lie buried, and let him discourse of -Herbert Spencer and the blastoderm! Place a philosopher in the Privy -Council, and let him have a share in the conduct of the state! Ask a -philosopher to write a drama, to paint a picture, or even to teach -school-children, and he is useless. "Philosopher" is synonymous with -superannuated donkey! Away with him! - - - -=nd when he complained that the Apocryphal books were missing, Goethe -said among other things: "It is superfluous to raise the question -of authentic or unauthentic in matters of the Bible. I regard the -four gospels as completely genuine, for in them shines the reflected -splendour of the lofty personality of Christ, as divine as anything -which has appeared on earth. If any one asks me whether I find it -possible to pay him worship and reverence, I answer, 'Certainly!'" - -Then there follows some Voltairian talk about the sun and religious -relics, about priestcraft and bishops' incomes, which belonged to the -bad tone of the time. These stupid free-thinkers could not imagine -how three could be equivalent to one, and therefore they stumbled at -the doctrine of the Trinity. Did they not know that three thirds are -equivalent to one, and that one is equivalent to three thirds? Or was -their reason so darkened by pride? Or did they not know that spiritual -things must be spiritually judged; that the Highest cannot be reached -by the highest mathematics? For neither Laplace nor Poincaré, who -busied themselves with the "Mécanique céleste," reached heaven, much -less God. - - -="Now we Can Fly too! Hurrah!"=--A friend of my youth, who two -weeks ago died in a distant place, wrote on his last postcard to me -these words, "Now we can fly too! Hurrah!" He was a pagan, _i.e._ an -atheist, and this last word "Hurrah!" was an expression of scorn and a -threat against heaven. - -Every gift of God is regarded by the pagans as a victory over God. They -always think that _they_ have made the discovery, and they still build -at the Tower of Babel, the truth of whose story they deny, for they are -lying spirits. - -When the pious Franklin drew down lightning with his damp twine, -he trembled and thanked God that He had not killed him. But when -the godless physicists imitated Franklin, and wished to store the -lightning in laboratory bottles, they were slain. People do indeed make -lightning-conductors nowadays, but they are not always efficacious even -when the conduction is right. Only imagine!--a man receives a gift, and -as a mark of gratitude puts out his tongue! Every time that God gives -something, irreligious science celebrates a triumph--that is, puts out -its tongue! - -That is the nature of science! And it seems as though it were still at -present forbidden to touch the tree of knowledge, for the transgression -of the prohibition is always accompanied by ingratitude and a curse. - - -=The Fall and Original Sin.=--In these times when the ape-morality -rules, it is considered up-to-date to change the doctrine of vicarious -satisfaction for that of heredity. The blame for our faults is put -on our parents, especially, as might be expected, on the father. But -when the father was alive, he put the blame on his father, and so on -till we come to our first parents. That is indeed just like what the -Bible teaches about the Fall and original sin, and ought to confirm the -teaching of religion, but of course that cannot be! - -That is the doctrine of heredity. But whence comes it? Where is -the starting-point? Since everyone nowadays feels burdened with -evil impulses and disease germs which he has inherited, and all our -predecessors have felt the same, the only thing left is to lay the -blame on our first parents. - -How then is one to get rid of guilt--the consciousness of guilt and the -evil impulses? - -Christ answers more simply than the theologians who represent the work -of grace as an examination course. "To-day shalt thou be with Me in -Paradise," He said to the thief who confessed that he suffered for his -evil deeds; but He did not say so to the other who reviled Him. - -Generally speaking, one should take one's doctrine straight from the -Gospels, which are simpler, greater, diviner than other writings. -Devotional books are like the higher mathematics, mixed, complicated, -and affected with human weaknesses. - - -=The Gospel.=--All boast of the "Gospel," but they mean this -joyful message--the abrogation of civic laws and the opening of -the jails; in a word, immunity from punishment for themselves and -more stringent regulations for others. That was the Renaissance -morality preached at the conclusion of the Middle Ages as at the -end of our century. They wished to enlighten mankind by proclaiming -that everything is lawful (against others), and that if one only -"understood" men, one would forgive them. "He does not understand," was -the formula in common use. Were I now to enumerate all the victims of -this gospel, which we had to learn, people would cry "Scandal!" Then -they would proceed to explain the tragedies on natural grounds, such as -neurasthenia, infection, heredity (but not from our first parents); the -unfortunate Englishman,[1] they say, was wrongfully imprisoned, because -society consists of hypocrites; not because of his own sin, for it was -not his own sin: there is no sin. - -Every suggestion that there are misdemeanours which draw down the -unpleasant consequences, which are called punishments, is taken ill. - -Five years ago I heard one of these evangelists exclaim, "Morality! -that is a word which I cannot take in my mouth." This saying was often -quoted. - -But shortly afterwards the same gentleman set heaven and hell in motion -because a pupil had used a statement in one of his lectures to base a -treatise on. This innocent proceeding the "evangelist" stigmatised as -theft, and he wished to annihilate the thief. - -The young man answered quite rightly that in that case people ought -to be punished for "stealing" their knowledge out of manuals without -acknowledgment, or that if they gave chapter and verse for every -statement, a treatise would look like this: "Sum, 'I am' (Rabe's -Grammar, 6th edition, Stockholm, 1858), called an auxiliary verb -(_Sundelin Schwedische Sprachlehre_, Örebro, 1901), which indicates the -passive voice (Sjoberg, _Logic_, Upsala, 1895)," and so on. - -This gentleman was a very severe moralist, although he could not take -the word morality in his mouth. - - -[Footnote 1: Oscar Wilde.] - - -=Religious Heathen.=--Hardly anywhere are there such religious -men as the Orientals. Five times a day the _muezzin_ calls from each -minaret in eastern lands: "God is great! I bear witness that there is -no God but God! I bear witness that Muhammed is the Apostle of God! -Come to prayer! Come to salvation! God is great! There is no God but -God!" Early in the morning they cry in addition, "Prayer is better -than sleep." On the streets and market-places, in the shops and inns, -everywhere one is summoned to prayer. - -Is it not impressive to see a whole people, of whom not one is ashamed -of his God--not one! A people among whom, five times a day, this joyful -message comes from the Lord, the All-Merciful, who "has not forsaken -and has not repulsed thee!" And is it not uplifting in the midst of -the severe and squalid tasks of every day to hear a voice from above -witnessing, without attempting to convince, that God is God? Anything -so perverse and stupid as free-thinking and atheism does not exist in -the Orient. If anyone attempted to assert such an abominable tenet as -the non-existence of God, he would be imprisoned or put to death. And -if anyone came and tried to close the mosques ... but no one comes, for -the mosques are never empty: - - "By the splendour of the day, - By the darkness of the night, - Thy Lord hath not forsaken thee, - Neither hath He repelled thee."--_Koran_. - -That is the implicit and childlike faith which Christian heathen called -"intolerance," "fanaticism," and so on. - - -=The Pleasure-Garden.=--If the inexperienced man knew how much -suffering a separation between a married pair involves, he would -reflect before taking such a step. The two souls have so grown into -each other, that the dissolution of the duplex personality which they -form is the most painful operation possible. It is a kind of death. - -When one uproots the weeds round a flower, the flower fades -away--partly because its roots are injured, partly because it has -been deprived of shade, moisture, and support, or perhaps merely -companionship. - -The sorrow in this case resembles that which follows on a death, but -is not so uplifting and ennobling. The image of the separated wife -is always present to one's eyes, and becomes idealised in memory; -ugly traits are obliterated, one begins to reproach oneself, there -is a painful emptiness and longing; one's soul is tom in pieces by -her departure; she has carried off its finest-fibred roots, and one -feels as though bleeding to death. One can no more exchange common -recollections. The loss of the illusions of the first springtide of -love shatters one's faith in everything. A cry of mourning rings -through the universe as though an irreparable crime had been committed, -such as the sin against the Holy Ghost. Love, God's creative power, the -sun's warmth that fills the heavens, the origin of life has ceased to -exist. Chaos and darkness resume their reign. It is a spiritual death, -without comfort and without hope. - -Nevertheless something remains, if there ever was something there. And -though both may marry again, there is a recollection of the former tie. -It cannot be as though it had not been, nor be forgotten. However -unpleasant the relationship may have been, still in its best hours it -resembled something which is not to be found on earth. In its glorious -beginning it was a Garden of Eden, such a heightening of existence -that one felt nearer God. That was no optical delusion, but a higher -reality. Then came the Fall and the expulsion. But the memory of the -first joy remains, and it is true that a real love never ends. - -People ask whether it continues on the other side even when inclination -has "changed its object." Probably some of it remains, but in an -incomprehensible way, even if one were to suppose that the personality -is resolved into several "monads," of which one seeks a similar one, -and another another; and what is called love can here become friendship. - -According to Plato's doctrine of reminiscence and the reincarnation -theory of the theosophists, one might believe that when two fall in -love it is only a meeting again. And all the beauty which they then -see round them is the reflection of the memories of some far beautiful -land where they have met before, but which they now remember for the -first time. The continual illusions of love would then be connected -with experiences on the other side, which now come up in memory from -the side where all is completion and beauty. Therefore we have such -a terrible awakening from our dreams of happiness when we find that -everything down here is distorted, everything a caricature, even love -itself. - - -=The Happiness of Love.=--Even though earthly love be a caricature -or bad copy of the heavenly it has some traits of resemblance to its -prototype. In the first spring-days of love there are elevated moments, -in which one compassionates other mortals who are not so happy. We -tremble for our blessedness, finding it not quite just; yet it is -possible even to wish for a misfortune to rectify the balance. - -There was a dramatist who became engaged, and at the same time had just -celebrated his greatest triumph on the stage. The ground seemed to sway -under his feet, the air caressed his face, men paid him homage on the -streets; he felt hardly on earth, as he was beloved by the woman whom -he loved. - -Then there came the crash of a failure! All his former merits were -forgotten; he was called a noodle and a charlatan. But he was so happy -in his love that he did not feel the blow. He felt, on the contrary, -an inner joy that misfortune had drawn him and his fiancée closer -together; he was so high that he did not grudge men the joy of pulling -him down a little. His fame had begun to bore them; now that he was -down, he found sympathy, while formerly he had been the object of envy. - -That was the miracle of love! It made him so little self-seeking, that -on behalf of men he suffered under his oppressive fame and his great -happiness. - - -=Our Best Feelings.=--Life is not beautiful; on its animal, -domestic, and business sides it brings us into so many ugly situations. -Life is cynical since it ridicules our nobler feelings and flings scorn -on our faith. Therefore it is difficult to use fine words in the stress -of every-day; one hides one's better feelings in order not to expose -them to ridicule. One might therefore say that men are partly better -than they appear to be. One is forced to play the sceptic in order -not to perish, and one is made cynical by the cynicism of life. It is -therefore unjust to call men hypocrites in a bad sense, for most men, -on the contrary, make themselves out worse than they are. - -When a man writes a letter to an intimate friend, or to the woman he -loves, he puts on his festive dress; that is befitting. And in the -quiet letter, on the white paper, he expresses his best feelings. The -tongue and the spoken word are so vulgarised by everyday use, that they -cannot say aloud the beautiful things which the pen says silently. - -It is not posing or attitudinising, it is not falsity when one exhibits -in correspondence a better soul than in everyday life. The lover is not -untrue in his love-letters. He does not make himself out better than he -is; he becomes better, and _is_ so for the passing moment. He is true -at such moments, the greatest which life grants us! - - -=Blood-Fraternity.=--Blood-fraternity used to be sealed with a -sacred ceremonial--the mingling of blood. "The life of the soul is -in the blood," says the Old Testament; and it is probable that there -was something mysterious in it which we do not understand, as in all -sacraments, which we understand as little. - -An old saga tells us that Torger and Tormod had mingled their blood and -had fought battles and won victories together. But one day, when Torger -was intoxicated by success, he carelessly remarked to his brother, -"Which of us, do you think, would prove the better man if we ventured -on a conflict?" - -"I don't know," answered his brother, "but I know that your question -makes an end of our living together. I will not remain with you any -more." - -"I did not seriously mean that we should try our strength on one -another." - -"But it came into your mind, since you said it." He departed, and their -tie of brotherhood was at an end. The narrator adds, "The bond of their -friendship was so fragile, that it could not bear the touch of an -over-hasty thought." - -Marriage is a blood-bond and more--it is a sacred transaction. It is so -tender and so fragile, that a hasty word--a joke, as one calls it--can -make an end of it for the whole of life. It is no use afterwards to -say, "It was only a jest." We have the answer of the mediæval Norse -poet Tormod, "It came into your mind." "Long years must pay for the -wrong of a second." - -And then, "Which of us two do you think would prove the master?" As -soon as a married pair conceive their relation as a struggle for -power, while it is just the contrary, hell comes into the house. The -woman has an inclination to rule. But if, in her defence, I say that -this inclination is her way of reacting against the suppressing, not -oppressive, man (for such a one I have never seen), I hope I shall not -have to repent it. - -"If we ventured on a conflict!" Yes, then it is as if one drew a weapon -on oneself, or as if a kingdom were divided. Every blow which one -deals, strikes one's own heart. - -Cicero says that friendship is only possible between friendly equals. -Swedenborg says that marriage is impossible between godless people. -I am convinced of it; for without contact with God, who is the -Fountain-head of love, no stream of illumination can flow from the -Eternal. I have described the marriage of godless people. I have -suffered for doing so, but I do not regret it, and do not recall a -word. It is as I said. The devout do not describe their marriages, and -they write neither dramas nor romances; literary history which mostly -deals with irreligious books, should take notice of that. - - -=The Power of Love.=--In France there lives a marquis who is an -occultist. Endowed by nature with a sensitive type of soul, refined by -education, protected by wealth against the brutality of life, purified -by suffering and renunciation, he entered into contact with the higher -forms of existence, which the theosophists call "the astral plane." -His sensitiveness was elaborated to such a pitch, that he became a -medium, and could enter into touch with friends at a distance. - -Then he met a woman belonging to the same spiritual sphere, a -transparent airy figure, whose steps were inaudible, whose words were -rather to be apprehended than heard. - -This married pair were so united, that each was, as it were, born in -the other. He carried her heart about in him literally. When, on a -journey to some relatives, she was frightened by a shying horse and had -a fit of palpitations, he felt it in his breast, and his heart stood -still for a moment when she fainted. Similarly, when he once pricked -himself with a needle, she felt it. They lived in each other, were each -other's children and each other's parents. - -Then she died. He nearly died too, did die perhaps, and rose again. And -now he speaks with her, hears her voice in his heart, literally, not in -a figure. - -I do not doubt it at all, for I have had a similar experience, and -much, much more. - - -=The Box on the Ear.=--I was thirty years old, and life was mine -for the first time after I had lain in the potato-cellar and shot out -white rootlets instead of growing. I had secured a home, wife, and -child, and was my own master. After I had done the day's task I used -to invite friends in; I call them "friends" because they got on well -with me and I with them. We did no harm; we played like children with -words and sounds; we disguised ourselves in order to look more fine; we -composed and delivered speeches. I think no one would grudge me these -hours. - -But soon there was something of satiety in it; we had wounded the -dignity of sacred sleep; the wine turned sour in the glasses. One night -towards morning, in a cheerful circle, at a full table, my high spirits -broke bounds, since fortune had given me everything at once, and I -uttered a word which a married man should not utter. I immediately -received a box on the ear from a strong hand. I found it quite natural, -and continued what I was saying, but in another and better tone. No one -took notice of what had happened; all went on as before; and we all -parted as friends. - -He who gave me the buffet was a bachelor of not superfine morals. If he -had disapproved my point of view, it must have been a very low one. - -For several days I had a blue mark on my cheek. My wife said nothing, -only one of my friends let fall a remark, "How could you put up with -that?" - -"I must have felt that I deserved it! Otherwise I cannot explain it." - -Now, when I am sixty years old, I wish that I had received several such -boxes on the ear, for the first was no use. Recognising that, I feel -that it was a great piece of good-fortune that I was able to confess -it. And now I should like to live twenty years more, in order to forget -my slowness to learn, with its sad consequences. - - -=Saul, Afterwards Called Paul.=--Saul was standing by when -Stephen was stoned, or, at any rate, kept the clothes of those who -stoned him. He also persecuted Christ and the Christians. The question -is often, almost constantly asked, "Had he a right, later on, to be -severe against those who threw the stones?" One can only answer with an -unconditional "Yes," for he wished to make good the wrong he had done; -and it was his duty to speak with his new tongue. But he is honourable -and courageous enough to remind his hearers that he does not regard -himself as an exception. He calls himself "the chief of sinners," and -says, "I thank Him who has enabled me, who was formerly a blasphemer, -and persecutor, and evil doer; but mercy was shown to me because I did -it ignorantly in unbelief." - -How entirely Paul felt himself to be quite a different person to -the dead Saul one sees from his tremendous severity against the two -blasphemers, Hymenæus and Alexander, whom he delivered over to Satan, -"that they might learn not to blaspheme." - -What is to be understood by these terrible words, I have explained in -the _Inferno_. He who has not understood it there, can obtain a clearer -explanation in the asylums, where there is no rest, no peace, only -terror and despair. These cannot be cured by cold or by warm water -baths, for it is a sickness of the soul, often called Paranoia, because -the senses see what is not to be seen every day. - - -=A Scene from Hell.=--The man who had been separated from his -wife went one day to fetch his little six-year-old daughter from her -mother. They meant to go for a walk, look at the shop-windows, and buy -toys only for an hour. They were to meet before the mother's house. The -little one came, half-sad, half-joyful, with a slightly roguish look. - -This street, this street, this house, these stairs which only a short -time ago he had hurried up with his hands full of presents in order -for an hour long to see his beautiful home, and the best which life -has to show--the young maidenly mother putting her child to bed! The -two together! One still more beautiful than the other! And made more -beautiful by love, or a friendship which has sprung up in painful -solitude. - -He took the little girl's hand, and they went down the now darkened -street. Then the child turned round, and said aloud, "Mamma is coming -behind us." - -Why did he not turn round, but went on still faster, drawing the child -with him? - -Ask the pains of seven long years, which had robbed him of his -self-esteem so that he no longer believed he possessed the poor -solitary heart that followed him contritely and longed for -reconciliation. - -The child turned round yet again, and several times, as though it were -a plot laid in all friendliness, and the man felt by the throbbing of -the little hand how its heart beat in hope and expectation. - -But he went straight forward, for he did not believe any more in the -possibility of a return, and he did not dare to encounter a scornful -smile, or a proud, sharp word. He turned down side-streets, but he -felt that she followed. Who suffered most during this five minutes in -hell, in this interplay of feelings? The child with her beautiful hopes -which were disappointed; the mother with her injured self-esteem, as -she sought on the street what she had thrown away; or the man with -uncertainty and doubt in one half of his heart, and in the other -the immeasurable grief of being obliged to hurt the innocent little -child-heart? But while it was actually going on, he felt almost -nothing, for he was stunned by the shock. Not till the next day did he -feel the pain in his heart, and the longer the time that elapsed, the -more that pain increased. - - -=The Jewel-casket or his Better Half.=--When a man during the -first days of love has deposited the best and fairest part of his soul -with the woman he loves, he has laid up a treasure with her. If then he -sinks below the heavy burdens of everyday life and loses his ornaments, -he generally finds them again with her; she has kept and guarded them -(not always, however). - -At such moments he calls her his better half, and such she is. She can, -at the right time, return to him a beautiful thought or word, which -he has given her once; then he is ashamed and laments over his fall. -And when he sees his earlier better self in her, he realises how low he -has sunk, while she still stands on the clear cliff. Then he looks up -to her, cries out for help, and when she reaches him her hand, he is -raised, and he thanks her for having saved him. - -Paul explains this relation between man and wife, which is so often -misunderstood and really difficult to understand. "For in the Lord, -neither is the man without the woman, nor the woman without the man; -for as the woman is from the man, so also is the man by the woman, but -all is of God." - -Therefore in a true marriage neither the husband nor the wife appear -separate, but both regard themselves, and are regarded by others, as -one being. If one receives any good from the other, the recipient -should thank, and the giver also because he was able to give. They -thank each other because they are one being, and the interchange of -gifts is continuous and unceasing, so that they cannot distinguish -between giving and taking. - -Therefore a true marriage is indissoluble; it cannot suffer severance, -for what it possesses is not alienable, it is common; it is a spiritual -property which cannot be sold or bought. - -But in the rough tumult of life the man loses his ideal part sooner -than the woman, who sits sheltered by the warm hearth of the -well-protected home. There she can guard his jewel-casket for him, and -if she does it faithfully, he will always look up to her, as to his -better self. - - -=The Mummy-Coffin.=--Seven years of marriage had passed; they -had not tended their lamp, but it smoked so that everything in the -beautiful home was blackened. Now each sits in their own comer of the -dwelling, because they cannot look each other in the eyes. They lament -each other as dead, and miss each other like lost children. - -Then he opens a drawer and takes out a little box. A scent of fresh -roses streams into the room, although it comes from dry rose-leaves -pressed between sheets of paper. - -Those are her letters which she wrote during her engagement seven years -ago. How beautiful it all is: the paper with its fine, still unbleached -lavender tint and gold borders, just like the wedding-breakfast -glasses; the envelopes carefully folded like the embroidered -cushion-cover of the cradle; the letters themselves in beautiful rows -of gentle words from beautiful lips which smile gracefully. - -Beauty and love in thoughts and feelings--there he had found her again -in the little box embalmed with rose-leaves and violets. - -But now she is dead, and he weeps! - -And at the other end of the house she sits over her little mummy-coffin -and speaks with her beloved dead, and weeps. - -Lost for ever! For ever! - - -=In the Attic.=--Only three years had passed since his marriage, -and now the storm had carried away all--his wife and child. He had -occasion to go up to the attic to fetch something which had been put -away there. So he came up to this room, where it always rustled and -creaked, and cats slunk about, and the viscera of the house, so to -speak, were visible in beams and chimney, where there were rust and -soot and hanging cobwebs. He unfastened the padlock. There lay all the -flotsam and jetsam after the wreck. It was too late to turn back, and -he remained. There was the canopy of their marriage-bed, with green -silk and gilt-brass ornaments. There was the cradle of the little one, -and the six milk-bottles which the mother always used to wash with her -small hands in the ice-cold water; all the flower-vases and glasses -which came into the house on the wedding evening, when the table was -laid in the hall. - -There stood the basket once filled with roses, which she had received -on her engagement, which had afterwards become a work-basket. There -were withered bouquets, laurel-wreaths, and even books, presents from -him at Christmas and on birthdays, with beautiful inscriptions.... - -But there were also prehistoric articles: pieces of furniture belonging -to her girlhood which she had brought into the new home--a Japanese -umbrella adorned with chrysanthemums and golden pheasants, a small -carpet, a flower-stand.... - -But why did all these relics lie here in the dust and soot, and not -downstairs with him who cherished those memories? Was it that he did -not dare to see them every day, or did not wish to? - -Then his eyes fell on a little toy cupboard, which lay in a -paper-basket. There occurred to his mind the faint recollection of a -moment like a Christmas evening, a child's eyes, little white milk -teeth, the first musical-box which the little one played to the -Christmas-tree, the rocking-horse, and her dolls Rosa and Brita. - -He opened the toy cupboard; it contained no musical-box, but a -phonograph, very small and simple, a toy which could only utter a -single word! He did not remember which. The key lay close by; he wound -it up and set it going. At first it hummed like a bee; it did not -sting, however, but whispered the only word it could, "Darling!" - -And in her voice! Yes, she had spoken it into the phonograph, though he -had forgotten it. - -"Darling!" - -Then he cried to God, then he raged against fate, and then he fell to -the ground! And as he lay there he could only lament, "If they were at -least only dead! If...." - -For they were not dead. They lived. - -That was the thing which could not be altered nor atoned for, and all -these things were not relics; they were the flotsam and jetsam of a -wreck. - - -=The Sculptor.=--Even when a man has found a masterpiece of -creation in his wife, he still tries to improve away little faults in -design and colour, in order to make his work of art as free from faults -as possible. His little wife does not always understand that, and often -becomes irritable. - -"You only see faults in me." - -"On the contrary, you are for me the most beautiful that exists, but I -want to have you perfect. You should, for example, never be angry, for -then your beautiful eyes grow ugly, and I suffer. You must not dress in -verdigris-colour, for that does not suit you, and you look poisonous, -so that I turn my looks away." And so on. - -Eating is not beautiful, and to watch one's darling stowing away food -in her beautiful mouth, which ought to speak beautiful words, smile -bewitchingly, and purse up her tender lips to a kind of flower-bud -which one inhales in a kiss--that may be downright repugnant! -Therefore one is accustomed to hide this unseemly function under light -conversation, and forgets what the beautiful mouth is occupied with. - -"You are always finding fault! Say something nice for once." - -"Can you not read in my eyes that I admire you; I do not generally say -it first with my lips. But I want you to be perfect. That is the whole -matter!" - - -=On the Threshold at Five Years of Age.=--A certain Dr. Ogle -states in his statistics that in six-and-twenty years four cases of -suicide have taken place among children between five and ten years old. -When I read that, "between five and ten years old," I thought, "No! -between five and ten! Is that possible? And the reason of it?" I could -not think more, but I saw one scene, two scenes, three scenes.... - -The little girl was five years old; she was playing in the room near -her mother; children must have something to do, but the mother was -nervous, because she had been going into gaiety and flirting beyond -measure. - -"Don't rock the horse; it makes mamma's head ache." - -The little one took the cat, and pinched it, so that it mewed. - -"Don't do that, child; mamma is ill." - -The child was good, and did not wish to be troublesome. She sat down at -the table, and was silent in order not to irritate mamma. - -But a child's little body cannot be still; nor ought it indeed; it -moves of itself. Probably the child must have been singing a song to -itself, for the little unruly feet beat time against the legs of the -chair. - -The mother started up, "Go to Ellen in the kitchen, disobedient child!" - -The child was not disobedient; doubly wounded in her little heart, she -went into the kitchen, good and obedient. But immediately afterwards -she reappeared in the doorway, "Ellen was washing up." - -There stood the child on the threshold, turned out and repulsed from -both sides, and could not go anywhere. She looked like a despairing -child, tearless, but with all the terror of the lonely in her face. -Dumb, turned to stone, as though in the whole world there were no place -for her, as though no one would have her, and she knew not why. At this -moment she really stood on the threshold of life, for she suddenly -brightened up, and approached the open window, which was high above the -ground. - -To the honour of the mother, I must confess that she has described this -scene to me with the greatest remorse; it ended by her springing up, -taking the child in her arms, and playing with her till the sun went -down. - -"If anything had happened to the child, I should have lived in a hell -of self-reproach! And now I think; for every moment which I had not -devoted to my child, for every little joy which I had denied her, I -would, if it had departed, weep my soul out of my body; I would plunge -into space and seek the child under the stars in order to beg her -forgiveness, if I could be forgiven...." - -To think of it! At five years old, on the threshold of life! - -=Goethe on Christianity and Science.=--As I waded in Professor -Delitzsch's dung-heap,[1] I reached at last his third lecture. In the -last lines of the last page I found a pearl, which I will set, in order -to show it to those who misuse poor Goethe's name for their heathenish -propaganda. In a conversation with Eckermann, on March 11, 1832, that -is, eleven days before his death, Goethe spoke these ever memorable -words: "Let mental culture go on advancing, let the natural sciences go -on gaining in depth and breadth, and the human mind expand as it may, -it will never go beyond the elevation and moral culture of Christianity -as it shines in the Gospel." - -That was the fruit of a life of eighty years spent in seeking God and -His Son. After long useless detours, Goethe found it again at the end -of his life, as is apparent from the conclusion of the second part of -_Faust_. I will only add some words of Goethe's on superstition, as it -is not comprehended by the apelings: "Superstition is an inheritance -of powerful, earnest, progressive natures; unbelief is peculiarly -characteristic of weak, petty, retrogressive men." Such is unbelief as -Goethe said in 1808. - - -[Footnote 1: The work entitled _Babel und Bibel_.] - - -=Summa Summarum.=--Since destructive science has proved itself -so hollow, consisting as it does of guesses, false inferences, -self-deceit, hair-splittings, why does the State support these armies -of conjecturers and soothsayers? - -Rousseau's first prize-essay regarding the curse of culture and -learning should be repondered. - -A Descartes ought to return and teach men to doubt the untruths of the -sciences. - -Another Kant might write a new _Critique of Pure Reason_ and -re-establish the doctrine of the Categorical Imperative and Postulate, -which, however, is already to be found in the Ten Commandments and the -Gospels. - -And a prophet must be born to teach men the simple meaning of life in a -few words, though it has been already so well summed up: "Fear God, and -keep His commandments," or "Pray and work." - -All the errors and mistakes which we have made should serve to instil -into us a lively hatred of evil, and to impart to us fresh impulses to -good; these we can take with us to the other side, where they can first -bloom and bear fruit. - -That is the true meaning of life, at which the obstinate and impenitent -cavil in order to escape trouble. - -Pray, _but_ work; suffer, _but_ hope; keeping both the earth and the -stars in view. Do not try and settle permanently, for it is a place of -pilgrimage; not a home, but a halting-place. Seek truth, for it is to -be found, but only in one place, with Him who Himself is the Way, the -Truth, and the Life. - -THE END - - - - - -End of Project Gutenberg's Zones of the Spirit, by August Strindberg - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ZONES OF THE SPIRIT *** - -***** This file should be named 44118-0.txt or 44118-0.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/4/4/1/1/44118/ - -Produced by Marc D'Hooghe at http://www.freeliterature.org -(Images generously made available by the Internet Archive) - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions -will be renamed. - -Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no -one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation -(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without -permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org - - -Title: Zones of the Spirit - A Book of Thoughts - -Author: August Strindberg - -Commentator: Arthur Babillotte - -Translator: Claud Field - -Release Date: November 7, 2013 [EBook #44118] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ZONES OF THE SPIRIT *** - - - - -Produced by Marc D'Hooghe at http://www.freeliterature.org -(Images generously made available by the Internet Archive) - - - - -ZONES OF THE SPIRIT - -A BOOK OF THOUGHTS - -BY - -AUGUST STRINDBERG - -AUTHOR OF "THE INFERNO," "THE SON OF A SERVANT," ETC. - - -WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY - -ARTHUR BABILLOTTE - - -TRANSLATED BY - -CLAUD FIELD, M.A. - - -G.P. PUTNAM'S SONS - -NEW YORK AND LONDON - -The Knickerbocker press - -1913 - - - - -INTRODUCTION - - -Seldom has a man gone through such profound religious changes as this -Swede, who died last May. The demonic element in him, which spurred -him on restlessly, made him scale heaven and fathom hell, gave him -glimpses of bliss and damnation. He bore the Cain's mark on his brow: -"A fugitive and a wanderer shalt thou be." - -He was fundamentally religious, for everyone who searches after God -is so,--a commonplace truth certainly, but one which needs to be -constantly reiterated. And Strindberg's search was more painful, -exact, and persevering than that of most people. He was never content -with superficial formulas, but pressed to the heart of the matter, -and followed each winding of the labyrinthine problem with endless -patience. Too often the Divinity which he thought he had discovered -turned out a delusion, to be scornfully rejected the moment afterwards. -Until he found _the_ God, whom he worshipped to the end of his days, -and whose existence he resolutely maintained against deniers. - -As a child he had been brought up in devout belief in God, in -submission to the injustice of life, and in faith in a better -hereafter. He regarded God as a Father, to Whom he made known his -little wants and anxieties. But a youth with hard experiences followed -his childhood. The struggle for daily bread began, and his heavenly -Father seemed to fail him. He appeared to regard unmoved, from some -Olympian height, the desperate struggles of humanity below. Then the -defiant element which slumbered in Strindberg wrathfully awoke, and he -gradually developed into a free-thinker. It fared with him as it often -does with young and independent characters who think. Beginning with -dissent from this and that ecclesiastical dogma, his criticism embraced -an ever-widening range, and became keener and more unsparing. At last -every barrier of respect and reverence fell, the defiant spirit of -youth broke like a flood over all religious dogmas, swept them away, -and did not stop short of criticising God Himself. - -Meanwhile his daily life, with its hard experiences, went on. Books -written from every conceivable point of view came into his hands. -Greedy for knowledge as he was, he read them all. Those of the -free-thinkers supported his freshly aroused incredulity, which as yet -needed support. His study of philosophical and scientific works made a -clean sweep of what relics of faith remained. Anxiety about his daily -bread, attacks from all sides, the alienation of his friends, all -contributed towards making the free-thinker into an atheist. How can -there be a God when the world is so full of ugliness, of deceit, of -dishonour, of vulgarity? This question was bound to be raised at last. -About this time he wrote the _New Kingdom_, full of sharp criticisms of -society and Christianity. - -As an atheist Strindberg made various attempts to come to terms with -the existing state of things. But being a genius out of harmony with -his contemporaries, and always longing for some vaster, fairer future, -this was impossible for him. When he found that he came to no goal, -a perpetual unrest tortured him. His earlier autobiographic writings -appeared, marked by a strong misanthropy, and composed with an obscure -consciousness of the curse: "A fugitive and a wanderer shalt thou be." - -At last his consciousness becomes clear and defined. He recognises -that he is a lost soul in hell already, though outwardly on earth. -This was the most extraordinary period in Strindberg's life. He -lived in the Quartier Latin in Paris, in a barely furnished room, -with retorts and chemical apparatus, like a second Faust at the end -of the nineteenth century. By experiments he discovered the presence -of carbon in sulphur, and considered that by doing so he "had solved -a great problem, upset the ruling systems of chemistry, and gained -for himself the only immortality allowed to mortals." He came to the -conclusion that the reason why he had gradually become an atheist was -that "the Unknown Powers had left the world so long without a sign of -themselves." The discovery made him thankful, and he lamented that he -had no one to thank. From that time the belief in "unknown powers" grew -stronger and stronger in him. It seems to have been the result of an -almost complete, long, and painful solitude. - -At this time his brain worked more feverishly, and his nerves were -more sensitive than usual. At last he reached the (for an atheist) -astounding conclusion: "When I think over my lot, I recognise that -invisible Hand which disciplines and chastens me, without my knowing -its purpose. Must I be humbled in order to be lifted up, lowered in -order to be raised? The thought continually recurs to me, 'Providence -is planning something with thee, and this is the beginning of thy -education.'"[1] - -Soon after this he gave up his chemical experiments and took up -alchemy, with a conviction, almost pathetic in its intensity, that -he would succeed in making gold. Although his dramas had already -been performed in Paris, a success which had fallen to the lot of no -other Swedish dramatist, he forgot all his successes as an author, -and devoted himself solely to this new pursuit, to meet again with -disappointment. - -On March 29, 1897, he began the study of Swedenborg, the Northern -Seer. A feeling of home-sickness after heaven laid hold of him, and he -began to believe that he was being prepared for a higher existence. "I -despise the earth," he writes, "this unclean world, these men and their -works. I seem to myself a righteous man, like Job, whom the Eternal is -putting to the test, and whom the purgatorial fires of this world will -soon make worthy of a speedy deliverance." - -More and more he seemed to approach Catholicism. One day he, the former -socialist and atheist, bought a rosary. "It is pretty," he said, -"and the evil spirits fear the cross." At the same time, it must be -confessed that this transition to the Christian point of view did not -subdue his egotism and independence of character. "It is my duty," he -said, "to fight for the maintenance of my ego against all influences -which a sect or party, from love of proselytising, might bring to -bear upon it. The conscience, which the grace of my Divine protector -has given me, tells me that." And then comes a sentence full of joy -and sorrow alike, which seems to obliterate his whole past. "Born -with a home-sick longing after heaven, as a child I wept over the -squalor of existence and felt myself strange and homeless among men. -From childhood upwards I have looked for God and found the Devil." He -becomes actually humble, and recognises that God, on account of his -pride, his conceit, his [Greek: hubris], had sent him for a time to -hell. "Happy is he whom God punishes." - -The return to Christ is complete. All his faith, all his hope now rest -solely on the Crucified, whom he had once demoniacally hated. - -He now devoted himself entirely to the study of Swedenborg. He felt -that in some way the life of this strange man had foreshadowed his -own. Just as Swedenborg (1688-1772) had passed from the profession -of a mathematician to that of a theologian, a mystic, and finally a -ghost-seer and theosoph, so Strindberg passed from the worldly calling -of a romance-writer to that of a preacher of Christian patience and -reconciliation. He had occasional relapses into his old perverse moods, -but the attacks of the rebellious spirit were weaker and weaker. He -told a friend who asked his opinion regarding the theosophical concept -of Karma, that it was impossible for him to belong to a party which -denied a personal God, "Who alone could satisfy his religious needs." -In a life so full of intellectual activity as his had been, Strindberg -had amassed an enormous amount of miscellaneous knowledge. When he was -nearly sixty he began to collect and arrange all his experiences and -investigations from the point of view he had then attained. Thus was -composed his last important work, _Das Blau Buch_, a book of amazing -copiousness and originality. Regarding it, the Norwegian author Nils -Kjaer writes in the periodical _Verdens Gang_: "More comprehensive than -any modern collection of aphorisms, chaotic as the Koran, wrathful as -Isaiah, as full of occult things as the Bible, more entertaining than -any romance, keener-edged than most pamphlets, mystical as the Cabbala, -subtle as the scholastic theology, sincere as Rousseau's confession, -stamped with the impress of incomparable originality, every sentence -shining like luminous letters in the darkness--such is this book in -which the remarkable writer makes a final reckoning with his time and -proclaims his faith, as pugnaciously as though he were a descendant -of the hero of Lutzen." The book, in truth, forms a world apart, from -which all lying, hypocrisy, and conventional contentment is banished; -in it is heard the stormy laughter of a genius who has freed himself -from the fetters of earth, the proclamation of the creed of a strange -Christian who interprets and reveres Christ in his own fashion, the -challenge of an original and creative mind which believes in its own -continuance, the expression of the yearning of a lonely soul to place -itself in harmonious relations with the universe. - -An especially interesting feature of the _Blau Buch_ is the expression -of Strindberg's views regarding the great poets, artists, and thinkers -of the past and present. He speaks of Wagner and Nietzsche, the two -antipodes; of Horace, who, after many wanderings, recognised the hand -of God; of Shakespeare, who had lived through the experience of every -character he created; of Goethe, regarding whom he remarks, with -evident satisfaction, "In old age, when he grew wise, he became a -mystic, _i.e._ he recognised that there are things in heaven and earth -of which the Philistines never dream." Of Maeterlinck, he says, "He -knows how to caricature his own fairest creations"; and accuses Oscar -Wilde of want of originality. Regarding Hegel, he notes with pleasure -that at the end of his life he returned to Christianity. With deep -satisfaction he writes, "Hegel, after having gone very roundabout ways, -died in 1831, of cholera, as a simple, believing Christian, putting -aside all philosophy and praying penitential psalms." In Rousseau he -recognises a kindred spirit, in so far as the Frenchman, like himself, -hated all that was unnatural. "One can agree with Rousseau when he -says, 'All that comes from the Creator's hand is perfect, but when it -falls into the hands of man it is spoilt.'" - -The _Blau Buch_ marks the summit of Strindberg's chequered sixty years' -pilgrimage. Beneath him lies the varicoloured landscape of his past -life, now lit up with gleams of sunshine, now draped in dark mists, -now drowned in storms of rain. But Strindberg, the poet and thinker, -has escaped from both dark and bright days alike; he stands peacefully -on the summit, above the trivialities, the cares, and bitternesses of -life, a free man. He is like Prometheus, fettered to the rock for -having bestowed on men the gift of fire, but liberated after he has -learnt his lesson. In his calm is something resembling the dignity of -Goethe's old age. As the latter sat on the Kickelhahn, looking down -on Thuringia, and saw the panorama of his life pass before him, so -Strindberg takes a retrospect in his _Blau Buch_. It is the canticle of -his life, a hymn of thankfulness for the recovered faith in which he -has found peace. At its conclusion he thus sums up: - -"Rousseau's early doctrine regarding the curse of mere learning should -be repondered." - -"A new Descartes should arise and teach the men to doubt the untruths -of the sciences." - -"Another Kant should write a new Critique of Pure Reason and -re-establish the doctrine of the Categorical Imperative, which, -however, is already to be found in the Ten Commandments and the -Gospels." - -"A prophet should be born to teach men the simple meaning of life in a -few words. It has already been so well summed up: 'Fear God, and keep -His commandments,' or 'Pray and work.'" - -"All the errors and mistakes which we have made should serve to instil -into us a lively hatred of evil, and to impart a fresh impulse to good; -these we can take with us to the other side, where they will bloom and -bear fruit. That is the true meaning of life, at which the obstinate -and impenitent cavil, in order to save themselves trouble." - -"Pray, _but_ work; suffer, _but_ hope; keeping both the earth and the -stars in view. Do not try and settle permanently, for it is a place of -pilgrimage; not a home, but a halting-place. Seek the truth, for it is -to be found, but only in one place, with the One who Himself is the -Way, the Truth, and the Life." - - ARTHUR BABILLOTTE. - - -[Footnote 1: Strindberg's _Inferno_.] - - - - -CONTENTS - -THE HISTORY OF THE BLUE BOOK - -A BLUE BOOK-- - - The Thirteenth Axiom - The Rustic Intelligence of the "Beans" - The Hoopoo, or An Unusual Occurrence - Bad Digestion - The Song of the Sawyers - Al Mansur in the Gymnasium - The Nightingale in the Vineyard - The Miracle of the Corn-crakes - Corollaries - Phantasms which are Real - Crex, Crex! - The Electric Battery and the Earth Circuit - Improper and Unanswerable Questions - Superstition and Non-Superstition - Through Faith to Knowledge - The Enchanted Room - Concerning Correspondences - The Green Island - Swedenborg's Hell - Preliminary Knowledge Necessary - Perverse Science - Truth in Error - Accumulators - Eternal Punishment - "Desolation" - A World of Delusion - The Conversion of the Cheerful Pagan, Horace - Cheerful Paganism and its Doctrine of Hell - Faith the Chief Thing - Penitents - Paying for Others - The Lice-King - The Art of Life - The Mitigation of Destiny - The Good and the Evil - Modesty and the Sense of Justice - Derelicts - Human Fate - Dark Rays - Blind and Deaf - The Disrobing Chamber - The Character Mask - Youth and Folly - When I was Young and Stupid - Constant Illusions - The Merits of the Multiplication-Table - Under the Prince of this World - The Idea of Hell - Self-Knowledge - Somnambulism and Clairvoyance in Everyday Life - Practical Measures against Enemies - The Goddess of Reason - Stars Seen by Daylight - The Right to Remorse - A Religious Theatre - Through Constraint to Freedom - The Praise of Folly - The Inevitable - The Poet's Sacrifice - The Function of the Philistines - World-Religion - The Return of Christ - Correspondences - Good Words - Severe and not Severe - Yeast and Bread - The Man of Development - Sins of Thought - Sins of Will - The Study of Mankind - Friend Zero - Affable Men - Cringing before the Beast - _Ecclesia Triumphans_ - Logic in Neurasthenia - My Caricature - The Inexplicable - Old-time Religion - The Seduced become Seducers - Large-hearted Christianity - Reconnection with the Arial Wire - The Art of Conversion - The Superman - To be a Christian is not to be a Pietist - Strength and Value of Words - The Black Illuminati - Anthropomorphism - Fury-worship as a Penal Hallucination - Amerigo or Columbus - A Circumnavigator of the Globe - The Poet's Children - Faithful in Little Things - The Unpracticalness of Husk-eating - A Youthful Dream for Seven Shillings - Envy Nobody! - The Galley-slaves of Ambition - Hard to Disentangle - The Art of Settling Accounts - Growing Old Gracefully - The Eight Wild Beasts - Deaf and Blind - Recollections - Children are Wonder-Children - Men-resembling Men - Christ is Risen - Revolution-Sheep - "Life Woven of the Same Stuff as our Dreams" - The Gospel of the Pagans - Punished by the Imagination - Bankruptcy of Philosophy - A Whole Life in an Hour - The After-Odour - Peaches and Turnips - The Web of Lies - Lethe - A Suffering God - The Atonement - When Nations Go Mad - The Poison of Lies - Murderous Lies - Innocent Guilt - The Charm of Old Age - The Ring-System - Lust, Hate, and Fear, or the Religion of the Heathen - "Whom the Gods Wish to Destroy" - The Slavery of the Prophet - Absurd Problems - The Crooked Rib - White Slavery - Noodles - Inextricable Confusion - Phantoms - Mirage Pictures - Trifle not with Love - A "Taking" Religion - The Sixth Sense - Exteriorisation of Sensibility - Telepathic Perception - Morse Telepathy - _Nisus Formativus_, or Unconscious Sculpture - Projections - Apparitions - The Reactionary Type - The Hate of Parasites - A Letter from the Dead - A Letter from Hell - An Unconscious Medium - The Revenant - The Meeting in the Convent - Correspondences - Portents - The Difficult Art of Lying - Religion and Scientific Intuition - The Freed Thinker - _Primus inter pares_ - Heathen Imaginations - Thought Bound by Law - _Credo quia (et-si) absurdum_ - The Fear of Heaven - The Goat-god Pan and the Fear of the Pan-pipe - Their Gospel - The Deposition of the Apes - The Secret of the Cross - Examination and Summer Holidays - Veering and Tacking - Attraction and Repulsion - The Double - Paw or Hand - The Thousand-Years' Night of the Apes - The Favourite - Scientific Villainies - Necrobiosis, _i.e._ Death and Resurrection - Secret Judgment - Hammurabi's Inspired Laws Received from the Sun-God - Strauss's Life of Christ - Christianity and Radicalism - Where are We? - Hegel's Christianity - "Men of God's Hand" - Night-Owls - Apotheosis - Painting Things Black - The Thorn in the Flesh - Despair and Grace - The Last Act - Consequences of Learning - Rousseau - Rousseau Again - Materialised Apparitions - The Art of Dying - Can Philosophy Bring any Blessing to Mankind? - Goethe on the Bible - "Now we Can Fly Too! Hurrah" - The Fall and Original Sin - The Gospel - Religious Heathen - The Pleasure-Garden - The Happiness of Love - Our Best Feelings - Blood-Fraternity - The Power of Love - The Box on the Ear - Saul, afterwards Called Paul - A Scene from Hell - The Jewel-Casket or his Better Half - The Mummy-Coffin - In the Attic - The Sculptor - On the Threshold at Five Years of Age - Goethe on Christianity and Science - _Summa Summarum_ - - - -Zones of the Spirit - - - - -THE HISTORY OF THE BLUE BOOK - -(_Prefixed to the Third Swedish Edition_) - - -I had read how Goethe had once intended to write a _Breviarium -Universale_, a book of edification for the adherents of all religions. -In my _Historical Miniatures_ I have attempted to trace God's ways -in the history of the world; I included Christianity in my survey by -commencing with Israel, but perhaps I made the mistake of ranging other -religions by the side of Christianity, while they ought to have stood -below it. - -A year passed. I felt myself constrained by inward impulses to write -a fairly unsectarian breviary; a word of wisdom for each day in the -year. For that purpose I collected the sacred books of all religions, -in order to extract from them "sayings" on which to write. But the -books did not open themselves to me! The Vedas and Zend-Avesta were -sealed, and did not yield a single saying; only the Koran gave one, but -that was a lion! (see "Faith the Chief Thing, ff.). Then I determined -to alter my design. I formed the plan of writing apothegms of simply -worldly wisdom regarding men, and of calling the book _Herbarium -Humane._ But I postponed the work since I trembled at the greatness of -the task and the crudity of my plan. Then came June 15, 1906. As I took -my morning walk, the first thing I saw was a tramcar with the number -365. I was struck by this number, and thought of the 365 pages which I -intended to write. - -As I went on, I entered a narrow street. A cart went along by my side -carrying a red flag; it was a powder-flag. The cart kept parallel -with me and began to disturb me. In order to escape the sight of the -powder-flag, I looked up in the air, and there an enormous red flag -(the English one) flaunted conspicuously before my eyes. I looked down -again, and a lady dressed in black, with a fiery-red hat, was crossing -the street in a slanting direction. - -I hastened my steps. Immediately my eyes fell on the window of a -stationer's shop; in it a piece of cardboard was displayed, bearing the -word "Herbarium." - -It was natural that all this should make an impression on me. My -resolution was now taken; I laid down the plan of my powder-chamber, -which was to become the _Blue Book_. A year passed, slowly, painfully. -The most remarkable thing that happened was this. They began to -rehearse my drama, the _Dream Play_, in the theatre; simultaneously, -a change took place in my daily life. My servant left me; my domestic -arrangements were upset; within forty days I had six changes of -servants--one worse than the other. At last I had to serve myself, lay -the table and light the stove. I ate black broken victuals out of a -basket. In short, I had to taste the whole bitterness of life without -knowing why. - -One morning during this fasting period I passed by a shop window in -which I saw a piece of tapestry which attracted and delighted me. I -thought I saw my dream-play in the design woven on the tapestry. Above -was the "growing castle," and underneath the green island over-arched -by a rainbow, and with Alpine summits illumined by the sun. Round it -was the sea reflecting the stars and a great green sea-snake partly -visible; low down in the border was a row of fylfots--the symbol -_Swastika_, signifying good-luck. That was, at any rate, my meaning; -the artist had intended something else which does not belong here. - -Then came the dress-rehearsal of the _Dream Play_. This drama I wrote -seven years ago, after a period of forty days' suffering which were -among the worst which I had ever undergone. And now again exactly forty -days of fasting and pain had passed. There seems, therefore, to be -a secret legislature which promulgates clearly defined sentences. I -thought of the forty days of the flood, the forty years of wandering in -the desert, the forty days' fast kept by Moses, Elijah, and Christ. - -My journal thus records my impressions: - -"The sun shines. A certain quiet resigned uncertainty reigns within me. -I ask myself whether a catastrophe will not prevent the performance -of the piece, which perhaps ought not to be played. In it I have, at -any rate, spoken men fair, but to advise the Ruler of the Universe -is presumption, perhaps blasphemy. The fact that I have laid bare -the comparative nothingness of life (with Buddhism), its irrational -contradictions, its wickedness and lawlessness, may be praiseworthy if -it teaches men resignation. That I have shown the comparative innocence -of men in this life, which of itself involves guilt, is not indeed -wrong, but...." - -Just now comes a telephone message from the theatre: "The result of -this is in God's hand." "Exactly what I think," I answer, and ask -myself again whether the piece ought to be played. (I believe it is -already determined by the higher powers what the issue of the first -performance will prove.) - -I feel as though it were Sunday. The "White Shape" appears outside on -the balcony of the "growing castle." - -My thoughts have lately been occupied with death and with the life -after this. Yesterday I read Plato's _Timus_ and _Phdo_. At present -I write a work called _The Island of the Dead_. In it I describe -the awakening after death, and what follows. But I hesitate, for I -am frightened at the boundless misery of mere life. Lately I burned -a drama; it was so sincere, that I shuddered at it. What I do not -understand is this: ought one to hide the misery, and flatter men? -I _wish_ to write cheerfully and beautifully, but ought not, and -cannot. I conceive it as a terrible duty to be truthful, and life is -indescribably hideous. - -Now the clock strikes eleven, and at twelve o'clock is the rehearsal. - -The same day at 8 P.M. I have seen the rehearsal of the _Dream Play_, -and suffered greatly. I received the impression that this piece ought -not to be played. It is presumptuous, and certainly blasphemous (?). I -am disturbed and alarmed. - -I have had no midday meal; at seven o'clock I ate some cold food out of -the basket in the kitchen. - -During the religious broodings of my last forty days I read the Book -of Job, saying to myself certainly at the same time that I was no -righteous man like him. Then I came to the 22nd chapter, in which -Eliphaz the Temanite unmasks Job: "Thou hast taken pledges of thy -brother for nought, and stripped the naked of their clothing; thou hast -not given water to the weary to drink, and thou hast withholden bread -from the hungry.... Is not thy wickedness great and thine iniquities -infinite?" - -Then the whole comfort of the Book of Job vanished, and I stood again -forlorn and irresolute. What shall a poor man hold on to? What shall I -believe? How can he help thinking perversely? - -Yesterday I read Plato's _Timus_ and _Phdo._ There I found so much -self-contradictory wisdom, that in the evening I threw my devotional -books away and prayed to God out of a full heart. "What will happen -now? God help me! Amen." - -The stage-manager visited me yesterday evening. We both felt, in -despair.... The night was quiet. - -_April 16, 1907_.--Read the proof of the _Black Flags_,[1] which I -wrote in 1904. I asked myself whether the book was a crime, and whether -it ought to be published. I opened the Bible, and came on the prophet -Jonah, who was compelled to prophesy although he hid himself. That -quieted me. But it is a terrible book! - -_April 17_.--To-day the _Dream Play_ will be performed for the first -time. A gentle fall of snow in the morning. Read the last chapter of -Job: God punishes Job because he presumed to wish to understand His -work. Job prays for pardon, and is forgiven. - -Quiet grey weather till 3 P.M. Then G. came with a piece of good news. - -Spent the evening alone at home. At eight o'clock there was a ring at -the door. A messenger brought a laurel-wreath with the inscription: -"Truth, Light, Liberation." I took the wreath at once to the bust of -Beethoven on the tiled stove and placed it on his head, since I had so -much to thank him for, especially just now for the music accompanying -my drama. - -At eleven o'clock a telephone from the theatre announces that -everything has gone well. - -_May 29_.--The _Black Flags_ come out to-day. I make very satisfactory -terms with the publisher regarding the _Blue Book_ (and I had thought -it would not be printed at all). So I determined to remain in my house, -which I had determined to leave on account of poverty. - -_August 20_.--I read this evening the proofs of the _Blue Book_. Then -the sky grew coal-black with towering dark clouds. A storm of rain -fell; then it cleared up, and a great rainbow stood round the church, -which was lit up by the sun. - -_August 22_.--I am reading now the proofs of the _Blue Book_, and I -feel now as though my mission in life were ended. I have been able to -say all I had to say. - -I dreamt that I was in the home of my childhood at Sabbatsberg, and saw -that the great pond was dried up. This pond had always been dangerous -to children because it was surrounded by a swamp; it had an evil smell, -and was full of frogs, hedgehogs, and lizards. Now in my dream I walked -about on the dry ground, and was astonished to find it so clean. I -thought now that I have broken with the _Black Flags_ the frog-swamp is -done with. - -_September 1_.--Read the last proofs of the _Blue Book_. - -_September 2_.--Came across tramcar 365, which I had not seen since I -began to write the _Blue Book_ on June 15, 1906. - -_September 12_.--The _Blue Book_ appears to-day. It is the first clear -day in summer. I dreamt I found myself in a stone-quarry, and could -neither go up nor down. I thought quite quietly, "Well, I must cry for -help!" - -The German motto to-day on the tear-off calendar is: "What is to be -clarified must first ferment." - -To-day I got new clothes which fitted. My old ones had been too tight -to the point of torture. - -My little daughter visited me. I took her home again in a chaise. - -_September 14_.--The whole day clear. Towards evening, however, about -a quarter to six, the sky became covered with most portentous-looking -clouds, with black outlines like obliquely hanging theatre-flies. -Afterwards these were driven out by a storm over the sea. - -This evening my _Crown Bride_ was performed. Thus, then, the _Blue -Book_ had appeared. It looked well with its blue and red binding, which -resembled that of my first book, the _Red Room_, but in its contents -differed as much from it as red from blue. In the first I had, like -Jeremiah, to pluck up, break down, and destroy; but in this book I was -able to build and to plant. And I will conclude with Hezekiah's song of -praise: - -"I said, in the noontide of my days, I shall go to the gates of the -grave: - -"My age is departed, and is removed from me as a shepherd's tent: - -"I have rolled up like a weaver my life; he will cut me off from the -loom. - -"From day even to night wilt thou make an end of me. - -"Like a swallow or a crane, so did I chatter; I did mourn as a dove: -mine eyes fail with looking upward. - -"Lord, I am oppressed; undertake for me. - -"What shall I say? He hath both spoken unto me, and himself hath done -it. - -"Behold, it was for my peace that I had great bitterness; - -"Thou hast in love to my soul delivered it from the pit of corruption. - -"The living, the living, he shall praise thee, as I do this day. - -"The father to the children shall make known thy truth." - - * * * * * - -I saw beforehand what awaited me if I broke with the _Black Flags_. But -I placed my soul in God's hands, and went forwards. I affix as a motto -to the following book, "He who departeth from evil, maketh himself a -prey." - -The strangest thing, however, is that from this moment my own Karma -began to complete itself. I was protected, things went well with me, -I found better friends than those I had lost. Now I am inclined to -ascribe all my former mischances to the fact that I served the _Black -Flags_. There was no blessing with them! - - -[Footnote 1: A _roman clef_ in which Strindberg fiercely attacks the -Bohemians and emancipated women of Stockholm.] - - - - -A BLUE BOOK - - -=The Thirteenth Axiom=.--Euclid's twelfth axiom, as is well known, -runs thus: When one straight line cuts two other straight lines so that -the interior angles on the same side are together less than two right -angles, these two lines, being produced, will at length meet on that -side on which are the two angles, which are together less than two -right angles. - -If that is a self-evident proposition, which can neither be proved, nor -needs to be proved, how much clearer is the axiom of the existence of -God! - -Anyone who tries to prove an axiom, loses himself in absurdity; -therefore, we should not attempt to prove the existence of God. He who -cannot understand what is self-evident in an axiom belongs to the class -of people of a lower degree of intelligence. One should be sorry for -such dullards, but not blame them. - -The first point in the definition of God, is that He is Almighty. -Thence it follows that He can abrogate His own laws. But since we do -not know all His laws, we do not know when He employs a law which is -unknown to us, or suspends a law which is known to us. - -What we call miracles, may happen according to strict laws which we do -not know. We must therefore take care, when confronted by unusual or -inexplicable occurrences, to see that we make no mistakes. These draw -down upon us the contempt of our fellow-mortals who are gifted with -keener intelligence. - - -=The Rustic Intelligence of the "Beans."=--The miller turns -his mill and the seaman trims his sails according to the force and -direction of the wind. They do not see the wind, but they believe in -its existence, since they observe the results produced by it. They are -wise people who use their intelligence. - -Intelligence ("ratio"), or rustic intelligence, is an excellent faculty -whereby to grasp what is perceptible by the senses, even when it is -invisible. Reason is a higher faculty wherewith one may grasp what is -not perceptible by sense. But when the rationalists try to comprehend -the highest things with their rustic intelligence, then they see light -as darkness, good as evil, the eternal as temporal. In a word, they see -distortedly, for they see by the light of nature. Just as the rustic -intelligence is indispensable when one goes to market, deals with -coffee and sugar, or draws up promissory-notes, even so is the use of -reason necessary when one wishes to approach what is above nature. - -Voltaire and Heine are counted among the greatest rationalists because -they judged of spiritual things by rustic intelligence. Their arguments -are therefore interesting, but worthless. - -And the most interesting fact about both these men is, that they -discovered their errors, declared themselves bankrupt, and finally used -their reason. But there the "Beans" can no longer follow them. - -"Beans" is a classical name for the Philistines who worshipped Dagon, -the fish-god, and Beelzebub, the god of dung. - - -=The Hoopoo, or An Unusual Occurrence.=--Johann was one day on -his travels, and came to a wood. In an old tree he found a bird's nest -with seven eggs, which resembled the eggs of the common swift. But the -latter bird only lays three eggs, so the nest could not belong to it. -Since Johann was a great connoisseur in eggs, he soon perceived that -they were the eggs of the hoopoo. Accordingly, he said to himself, -"There must be a hoopoo somewhere in the neighbourhood, although the -natural history books assert that it does not appear here." - -After a time he heard quite distinctly the well-known cry of the -hoopoo. Then he knew that the bird was there. He hid himself behind -a rock, and he soon saw the speckled bird with its yellow comb. When -Johann returned home after three days, he told his teacher that he had -seen the hoopoo on the island. His teacher did not believe it, but -demanded proof. - -"Proof!" said Johann. "Do you mean two witnesses?" - -"Yes!" - -"Good! I have twice two witnesses, and they all agree: my two ears -heard it, and my two eyes saw it." - -"Maybe. But _I_ have not seen it," answered the teacher. - -Johann was called a liar because he could not prove that he had seen -the hoopoo in such and such a spot. However, it was a fact that the -hoopoo appeared there, although it was an unusual occurrence in this -neighbourhood. - - -=Bad Digestion.=--When one adds up several large numbers, one owes -it to oneself to doubt the correctness of the calculation. In order to -test it, one generally adds the figures up again, but from the bottom -to the top. That is wholesome doubt. - -But there is an unwholesome kind of doubt, which consists in denying -everything which one has not seen and heard oneself. To treat one's -fellow-men as liars is not humane, and diminishes our knowledge to a -considerable degree. - -There is a morbid kind of doubt, which resembles a weak stomach. -Everything is swallowed, but nothing retained; everything is received, -but nothing digested. The consequence is emaciation, exhaustion, -consumption, and premature death. - -Johann Damascenus[1] had passed through several years of wholesome -doubt, proving the truths of faith by systematic denial. But when, -after minutely checking his calculation, he had become sure of their -asserted values, he believed. Since then, neither fear of men, love -of gain, contempt, or threats could cause him to abandon his dearly -purchased faith. And in that he was right. - - -=The Song of the Sawyers.=--As Damascenus wandered in Qualheim, -he came to a saw-mill. Outside it, on the edge of a stream, sat two -men, and sawed a steel rail with a double saw. They accompanied their -sawing with a rhythmic chant in two voices, and somewhat resembled two -drinkers quarrelling. - -"What are you singing about?" asked Damascenus. - -"About faith and knowledge," answered one. And then they recommenced. -"What I know, that I believe; therefore knowledge is under faith, and -faith stands above it." - -"What do you know then? What you have seen with your eye?" - -"My eye sees nothing of itself. If you were to take it out, and lay it -down here, it would see nothing. Therefore, it is my inner eye which -sees." - -"Can I then see your inner eye?" - -"It is not to be seen. But you see with that which is itself invisible. -Therefore, you must believe on the invisible! Now you know." - -"Yes, yes, yes, but, but, but.... Have you seen God?" - -"Yes, with my inner eye. Therefore, I believe on Him. But it is not -necessary for you to see Him, in order for me to believe on Him." - -"But knowledge is the highest." - -"Yes, but faith is the highest of all." - -"Do you know what you believe?" - -"Yes, although you don't know it." - -"Prove it." - -"By two concurring witnesses? Here in this district alone I can collect -two million witnesses. That must be sufficient proof for you." - -"But, but, but, but" ... And so on. - - -[Footnote 1: Strindberg gives himself this name, probably in allusion -to his mystery-play, _To Damascus_ (1900).] - - -=Al Mansur in the Gymnasium.=--Damascenus came into a large -gymnasium, which at first he thought was empty. But presently he -noticed that men stood along the walls with their backs turned towards -him, so that he only saw their perukes and red ears. "Why do they stand -and look at the wall, and why do they have such red ears?" he asked his -teacher. - -"They are ashamed of themselves," answered the teacher. "During their -lifetime they were regarded as very clever fellows, but now they have -discovered their stupidity." - -"What is stupidity?" - -"He is stupid, in the first place, who is unpractical. These have -practised gymnastics all their lives, but never used the strength which -they have gained. Furthermore, he is stupid who finds it difficult to -comprehend simple propositions, self-evident propositions or axioms; -for instance, the axiom of the existence of God. He is also stupid who -cannot understand a logical proof; he who cannot accept reasonable -premises, can draw no correct inferences. But the height of stupidity -is, not to be able to accept an explanation founded on fact. When the -Apostles told Thomas that Christ, the Son of God, was risen from the -dead, he could not receive the new truth, because it was beyond his -horizon. Such a man is usually called thick-headed, is he not?" - -Damascenus did not answer, but his ears grew red, for he saw behind on -the spring-board a man whom he thought he recognised by his broad neck -and small ears. - -"What are you looking at?" asked the teacher. - -"Who is the man there?" - -"He was, or was called Al Mansur, the Victorious, because he lost all -battles but one--the battle with himself. By the Greeks he is called -Chrysoroas, or 'Golden Stream'; by the Romans, John of Damascus." - - -=The Nightingale in the Vineyard.=--Johann went with his teacher -through a vineyard, at the season when the vines were flourishing -and exhaling their delicious perfume, which resembles that of the -mignonette. "Do you notice the fine scent?" asked the teacher. "Oh yes; -it is the scent of the vines." "Can you see it?" "No, it is invisible." -"Then you can believe in what is invisible, as well as enjoy it. You -are, then, on the way." - -A nightingale was singing in a pomegranate tree. "Can you see her -notes?" asked the teacher. "But you are delighted by them. Similarly, -I delight in the invisible God through His way of revealing Himself in -beauty, goodness, and righteousness. Do you think God cannot reveal -Himself, like the nightingale, by invisible but audible tones?" "Yes, -certainly." "Then you believe in revelations?" "Yes, I am obliged -to." "You believe that God is a Spirit?" "Yes." "Then you believe in -spirits?" "That is an incorrect inference. I believe in one Spirit." -"Have not men spirits or souls in their bodies?" "Certainly." "Then -you believe in spirits, _i.e._ in the existence of spirits?" "You are -right; I believe in spirits." "Don't forget that the next time one asks -you. And don't be afraid when the Lord of Dung comes and threatens you -with the loss of bread, honour, wife, and child." - - -=The Miracle of the Corn-crakes.=--One summer evening the teacher -went with Johann through the clover-fields. There they heard a sound, -"Crex! crex!" "What is that?" asked the teacher. "The corn-crake, of -course." "Have you seen the corn-crake?" "No." "Do you know a man who -has seen it?" "No." "How do you know, then, that it is it?" "Everyone -says so." "Look! If I throw a stone at it, will it fly up?" "No, for it -cannot fly, or flies very badly." "But in autumn, it always flies to -Italy! How does that happen?" "I don't know." "What do the zoologists -say?" "Nothing." "Do you believe that it flies over the Sound, runs -through Germany, and wanders over the Alps or through the St. Gothard -Tunnel?" "They say nothing about it." "Well! Brehm calculates there -are a pair of larks to every acre of field and meadow; if we reckon -that there are a pair of corn-crakes to every two acres, then there -are in our country in spring five million corn-crakes. The female lays -from seven to twelve eggs during the summer, so that in autumn in our -country there are five-and-thirty million corn-crakes. Ought they not -to be visible when they fly over the Sound?" "I cannot explain it. A -bad flyer cannot fly over the Sound. Is it possible that they go round -by the Gulf of Bothnia?" "No, for they have rivers to cross, and one -would see their flight like that of the lemmings. Besides, in England -there are seventy million corn-crakes every autumn, and they cannot -go by land." "Then a miracle happens." "What is a miracle?" "What one -cannot explain, but has no right to deny." "Then the flight of the -corn-crakes is a miracle; it must take place according to unknown -natural laws or be supernatural?" - - -=Corollaries.=--The teacher said: "The bee is a little creature, -but gives plenty of honey. The corn-crake is a little bird, but it has -shown us that some of the most ordinary natural occurrences cannot be -explained by known natural laws, and must therefore be regarded, for -the present, as supernatural, and for the rest, be taken on faith. - -"You have never seen the corn-crake in fields or meadows, but you -believe that it is there. If now a sportsman came, who had shot the -bird, you would be more quickly convinced that the bird does appear in -the district, even though the sportsman were a liar. - -"But the fact that millions of birds not accustomed to flying cannot -fly over great spaces of water or Alpine glaciers, does not explain the -autumn flight of the corn-crakes. - -"Since this cannot be explained on natural grounds, it is -supernatural. We must accordingly admit that we believe sometimes on -the supernatural, or on miracles. - -"From this proved thesis you can deduce the corollaries for yourself if -you possess the faculty of drawing inferences." - - -=Phantasms which Are Real.=--The teacher asked: "Can one see a -phantasm?" - -"What is a phantasm?" - -"There are in optics real images which can be caught on a screen. An -image reflected in a flat mirror cannot be caught upon a screen, and is -therefore a phantasm. Can you see your image in a flat mirror?" - -"Yes." - -"Then you can see a phantasm, or an unreal image. The eye, therefore, -is a skilful instrument, which can make the unreal real. One might thus -be tempted to believe in ghosts." - -"What are ghosts?" - -"They are phantasms, or unreal images which the eye can take in at -certain distances. Great and credible men, such as Luther, Swedenborg, -and Goethe, have seen ghosts." - -"Goethe?" - -"Yes; in the eleventh book of _Aus meinem Leben_ he relates how he met -the image of himself upon a country road. 'I saw, that is to say, not -with the eye of the body, but of the spirit,' he adds. Do you consider -Goethe's testimony credible?" - -"Yes." - -"Well, such sights are not seen every day, just as the hoopoo is not -seen every day. But that does not give one any right to doubt that they -are seen." - - -=Crex, crex!=--The pupil asked: "What is chance?" - -"It means something accidental, irregular, illogical in the occurrence -of an event. But the word is often misused by those who see, but do not -understand. For instance, if after an evil deed you are systematically -persecuted by misfortune, that is no chance. Firstly, because the -misfortunes appear regularly, but chance is irregular. Secondly, -because the punishment follows logically on the evil deed, and chance -is illogical. It is therefore something else." - -"Yes, it must be so. But what is it that causes me to fail in all my -undertakings, to meet in the streets only enemies, to be cheated in all -the shops, to get the worst eatables in the market, to read only of -wickedness in the papers, not to receive pleasant letters though they -have been posted, to miss my train, to see the last cab engaged under -my nose, to be given the only room in the hotel where a suicide has -been committed, not to meet the person I have taken a special journey -to see; to have the money I earn immediately snatched away, to have to -remain in a strange town from which all my acquaintances have gone? -Then at last, when I have no food, and am on the point of drowning -myself, I find a shilling in the street. That cannot be chance? What is -it then?" - -"It is something else, but how it happens we don't know, since we know -so little about the most ordinary phenomena." - -"That's only twaddle." - -"Crex, crex!" - -"That's the corn-crake." - -"Yes, it is." - - -=The Electric Battery and the Earth Circuit.=--The pupil feigned -ignorance, and asked: "What is religion?" - -"If you do not know from experience or intuition, I cannot explain it -to you; in that case it would only seem to you folly. But if you know -beforehand, you will be able to receive my explanations, which are -many. Religion is connected with the Source or the head station. But in -order to carry on a conversation one must have an earth-current." - -"What is that?" - -"That is the draining off of superfluous earthliness to the earth. As -one advances in technical knowledge, one learns to speak without a -wire. But for that there are necessary strong streams of electricity, -clean instruments, and clear air. The electric battery is Faith, which -is not merely credence, but an apparatus for receiving and arousing the -divine electricity. Unless you believe in the possibility of success in -an undertaking, you will not set to work, and accordingly you acquire -no energy. With faith and a good will all is possible." - -"But Faith is a gift for all that." - -"Yes; but if, from pride or obstinacy, you refuse to receive it, it is -no gift for you. Is that clear?" - - -=Improper and Unanswerable Questions.=--The pupil asked: "If God -is one, why are there several religions?" - -"Since the existence of God is an axiom, you should say, '_Since_ God -is one, why are there several religions?' I answer: I do not know, -and, strictly speaking, it does not concern me. All agree in the chief -point--that there is a God, and that the soul is immortal." - -"If the soul is immortal, how is it that there are men who regard their -souls as mortal, and speak of the present life as their only one?" - -"Their feelings may be perverted, like a man's who believes he has a -snake in his stomach. Perhaps they have committed soul-suicide. Perhaps -they think the doctrine of immortality foolish, or their souls are -really so rudimentary that they can be buried and dissolved. If that -is the case, one cannot argue with them, for they are right as regards -themselves. Either theirs is an abnormal case, or their perceptions -are perverse; I cannot say which. I am inclined to regard the question -as among those which are unanswerable, or which have not yet been -answered, or which should not be asked." - - -=Superstition and Non-Superstition.=--The pupil asked: "What is -superstition?" - -"I don't know; but a sterile intellect calls the highest axioms -superstitions, _e.g._ God, the religious life, conscience. The -believing fertile intelligence, on the other hand, calls it -superstition when an unbeliever avoids a squirrel, spits when he sees -an old woman or when one wishes him luck, or dares not begin a journey -on the thirteenth of the month." - -"What is witchcraft?" - -"When bad men misemploy their psychic forces on weaker minds, dazzle -them, or torment them from a distance, and so on. You have seen all -this at hypnotic seances. In them, for example, the medium's eyesight -can be so perverted as to take a raw potato for an apple." - -"Are there then witches?" - -"Yes; certainly there are. An ugly and evil woman, who so dazzles the -eyes of a man that he sees her as the most beautiful and best, is a -witch." - -"Should she be burnt?" - -"No, for she burns herself through her wickedness when she meets a man -who is mail-clad with the love of God. Then the missiles of the witch -rebound and strike herself. But one should not talk of such. He who -touches pitch is defiled." - - -=Through Faith to Knowledge.=--The pupil asked: "How shall I know -that I believe rightly?" "I will tell you. Doubt the regular denials -of your everyday intelligence. Go out of yourself if you can, and place -yourself at the believer's standpoint. Act as though you believed, and -then test the belief, and see whether it agrees with your experiences. -If it does, then you have gained in wisdom, and no one can shake -your belief. When I for the first time obtained Swedenborg's _Arcana -Coelestia_, and looked through the ten thousand pages, it appeared to -me all nonsense. And yet I could not help wondering, since the man was -so extraordinarily learned in all the natural sciences, as well as -in mathematics, philosophy, and political economy. Amid the apparent -foolishness of the book were some details which remained riveted in my -memory. - -"Some time later, in my ordinary life, there happened something -inexplicable. Subsequently light was thrown upon this by an experience -which Swedenborg refers to his so-called heaven and his so-called -angels. Then I began to search and to compare, to make experiments and -to find explanations. I come to the conclusion that Swedenborg has had -experiences which resemble those of earthly life, but are not the same. -This he brings out in his theory of correspondences and agreements. The -theosophists have expressed it thus: parallel with the earth-life we -live another life on the astral plane, but unconsciously to ourselves." - - -=The Enchanted Room.=--The pupil became curious and asked: "What -opened your eyes as regards Swedenborg?" - -"It is difficult to say, but I will try to do so. In my lonely dwelling -there was a room which I considered the most beautiful in the world. -It had not been so beautiful at first, but great and important events -had taken place there. A child had been born in it, and in it a man had -died. Finally I fitted it up as a temple of memory, and never showed it -to anyone. - -"One day, however, the demon of pride and ostentation took possession -of me, and I took a guest into it. He happened to be a 'black man,' -a hopeless despairer, who only believed in physical force and in -wickedness, and called himself 'a load of earth.' As I admitted him -I said, 'Now you will see the most beautiful room in the country.' I -turned on the electric light, which generally poured down from the -ceiling such a blaze that not a dark corner was left in the room. The -man stood in the middle of the room, looked round, grumbled to himself, -and said 'I can't see that.' - -"As he spoke, the room darkened, the walls contracted, the floor -shrank in size. My splendid temple was metamorphosed before my eyes. -It seemed to me like a room in a hospital, with coarse wall-papers; -the beautiful flowered curtains looked dirty; the white surface of the -little writing-table showed spots; the gilding was blackened; the brass -fittings of the tiled oven were tarnished. The whole room was altered, -and I was ashamed. It had been enchanted. - - -=Concerning Correspondences.=--"Now comes Swedenborg, but his -explanation is somewhat difficult. I must make a prefatory remark, in -order that you may not think I regard myself as an angel. By 'angel' -Swedenborg means a deceased mortal, who by death has been released from -the prison of the body, and by suffering in faith has recovered the -highest faculties of his soul. It is necessary to bear this definition -of Swedenborg's in mind, and to remember that it does not apply to my -guest or myself. - -"Swedenborg further remarks regarding these dematerialised beings: 'All -which appears and exists around them seems to be produced and created -by them. The fact that their surroundings are, as it were, produced -and created by them is evident, because when they are no longer -there the surroundings are altered. A change in the surroundings is -also apparent, when other beings come in their place. Elysian plains -change into their trees and fruits; gardens change into their roses and -plants, and fields into their herbs and grasses. The reason for the -appearance and alteration of such objects is that they are produced by -the wishes of these angel beings and the currents of thought set in -motion thereby.' - -"Is not this a subtle observation of Swedenborg's, and have not the -facts he alleges something corresponding to them in our lower sphere? -Does it not resemble my adventure in the 'enchanted room?' Perhaps you -have had a similar experience?" - - -=The Green Island.=--The pupil answered: "I have certainly had -strange experiences, but did not understand them because I thought -with the flesh. As I just heard you say that our experiences can -receive a symbolical interpretation, I remembered an incident which -resembled that which you have just related and compared with an -observation of Swedenborg's. After a youth spent under intolerable -pressure and too much work, a friend gave me a sum of money that I -might spend the summer on the sea in literary recreation. When I saw -the 'Green Island' with its carpets of flowers, beds of reeds, banks -of willows, oak coppices, and hazel woods, I thought that I beheld -Paradise. Together with three other young poets I passed the summer -in a state of happiness which I have never experienced since. We were -fairly religious, although we did not literally believe in the gods -of the state, and we lived, as a rule, innocently enough, with simple -pleasures such as bathing, sailing, and fishing. - -"But there was an evil man among us. He was overbearing, and regarded -mankind as his enemies; denied all goodness; spied after others' -faults; rejoiced in others' misfortunes. Every time he left us to go -to the town, the island seemed to me more beautiful; it seemed like -Sunday. I was always the object of his gibes, but did not understand -his malice. My friends wondered that I was not angry with him, as I -was generally so passionate. I do not myself understand it, but I was -as though protected, and noticed nothing, whatever the cause may have -been. Perhaps you ask whether the island really was so wonderful. I -answer: I found it so, but perhaps the beauty was in my way of looking -at it." - - -=Swedenborg's Hell.=--The pupil continued: "The next summer I came -again, but this time with other companions, and I was another man. -The bitterness of life, the spirit of the time, new teachings, evil -companionship made me doubt the beneficence of Providence, and finally -deny its existence. We led a dreadful life together. We slandered each -other, suspected each other even of theft. All wished to dominate, -nobody would follow another to the best bathing-place, but each went to -his own. We could not sail, for everyone wished to steer. We quarrelled -from morning till night. We drank also, and half of us were treating -themselves for incurable diseases. My 'Green Island,' the first -paradise of my youth, became ugly and repulsive to me. I could see no -more beauty in nature, although at that time I worshipped nature. But -wait a minute, and see how it agreed with what Swedenborg says! The -beautiful weed-fringed bay began to exhale such miasmas, that I got -malarial fever. The gnats plagued us the whole night and stung through -the thickest veil. If I wandered in the wood, and wished to pluck a -flower, I saw an adder rear its head. One day, when I took some moss -from a rock, I saw immediately a black snake zigzagging away. It was -inexplicable. The peaceable inhabitants must have been infected by our -wickedness, for they became malicious, ugly, quarrelsome, and enacted -domestic tragedies. It was hell! When I became ill, my companions -scoffed at me, and were angry, because I had to have a room to myself. -They borrowed money from me, which was not my own, and behaved -brutally. When I wanted a doctor, they would not fetch him." - -The teacher broke in: "That is how Swedenborg describes hell." - - -=Preliminary Knowledge Necessary.=--The pupil asked: "Is there a -hell?" - -"You ask that, when you have been in it?" - -"I mean, another one." - -"What do you mean by another one? Has your experience not sufficed to -convince you that there _is_ one?" - -"But what does Swedenborg think?" - -"I don't know. It is possible that he does not mean a place, but a -condition of mind. But as his descriptions of another side agree with -our experiences on this side in this point, that whenever a man breaks -the connection with the higher sphere, which is Love and Wisdom, a -hell ensues, it does not matter whether it is here or there. He uses -parables and allegories, as Christ did in order to be understood. - -"Emerson in his _Representative Men_ regards Swedenborg's genius as the -greatest among modern thinkers, but he warns us against stereo-typing -his forms of thought. True as transitional forms, they are false if -one tries to fix them fast. He calls these descriptions a transitory -embodiment of the truth, not the truth itself." - -"But I do not yet understand Swedenborg." - -"No, because you have not the necessary preliminary knowledge. Just -like the peasant who came to a chemical lecture and only heard about -letters and numbers. He considered it the most stupid stuff he had ever -heard: 'They could only spell, but could not put the letters together.' -He lacked the necessary preliminary knowledge. Still, when you read -Swedenborg, read Emerson along with him." - - -=Perverse Science.=--The teacher continued: "Swedenborg never -found a contradiction between science and religion, because he beheld -the harmony in all, correspondences in the higher sphere to the lower, -and the unity underlying opposites. Like Pythagoras, he saw the -Law-giver in His laws, the Creator in His work, God in nature, history -and the life of men. Modern degenerate science sees nothing, although -it has obtained the telescope and microscope. - -"Newton, Leibnitz, Kepler, Swedenborg, Linnus, the greatest scientists -were religious God-fearing men. Newton wrote also an Exposition of the -Apocalypse. Kepler was a mystic in the truest sense of the word. It was -his mysticism which led to his discovery of the laws regulating the -courses of the planets. Humble and pure-hearted, those men could see -God while our decadents only see an ape infested by vermin. - -"The fact that our science has fallen into disharmony with God, shows -that it is perverse, and derives its light from the Lord of Dung." - - -=Truth in Error.=--The teacher continued: "Let us return for a -moment to your green island. There you discovered that the world is a -reflection of your interior state, and of the interior state of others. -It is therefore probable that each carries his own heaven and hell -within him. Thus we come to the conclusion that religion is something -subjective, and therefore outside the reach of discussion. - -"The believer is therefore right when he receives spiritual edification -from the consecrated Bread and Wine. And the unbeliever is also not -wrong when he maintains that _for him_ it is only bread and wine. But -if he asserts that it is the same with the believer, he is wrong. -One ought not to punish him for it; one must only lament his want -of intelligence. By calling religion subjective, I have not thereby -diminished its power. The subjective is the highest for personality, -which is an end in itself, inasmuch as the education of man to superman -is the meaning of existence. - -"But when many individuals combine in one belief, there results an -objective force of tremendous intensity, which can remove mountains and -overthrow the walls of Jericho. - - -=Accumulators.=--"When a race of wild men begin to worship a -meteoric stone, and this stone is subsequently venerated by a nation -for centuries, it accumulates psychic force, _i.e._ becomes a sacred -object which can bestow strength on those who possess the receptive -apparatus of faith. It can accordingly work miracles which are quite -incomprehensible to unbelievers. - -"Such a sacred object is called an amulet, and is not really more -remarkable than an electric pocket-lamp. But the lamp gives light only -on two conditions--that it is charged with electricity and that one -presses the knob. Amulets also only operate under certain conditions. - -"The same holds good of sacred places, sacred pictures and objects, -and also of sacred rites which are called sacraments. - -"But it may be dangerous for an unbeliever to approach too near to -an accumulator. The faith-batteries of others can produce an effect -on them, and they may be killed thereby, if they possess not the -earth-circuit to carry off the coarser earthly elements. - -"The electric car proceeds securely and evenly as long as it is in -contact with the overhead wire and also connected with the earth. -If the former contact is interrupted, the car stands still. If the -earth-circuit is blocked, an electric storm is the result, as was the -case with St. Paul on the way to Damascus." - - -=Eternal Punishment.=--The pupil asked: "What is your belief -regarding eternal punishments?" - -"Let me answer evasively, so to speak: since wickedness is its own -punishment, and a wicked man cannot be happy, and the will is free, an -evil man may be perpetually tormented with his own wickedness, and his -punishment accordingly have no end. - -"But we will hope that the wicked will not adhere to his evil will for -ever. A wicked man often experiences a change of nature when he sees -something good. Therefore, it is our duty to show him what is good. -The consciousness of fatality and being damned comes to everyone, -even to the incredulous. That proves that there is an inborn sense -of justice, a need to punish oneself, and that quite independent of -dogmas. Moreover, it is a gross falsehood that the doctrine of hell was -invented by Christianity. Greeks and Romans knew Hades and Tartarus -with their refined tortures; the Jews had their Sheol and Gehenna; -the cheerful Japanese rival Dante with their Inferno. It is therefore -thoughtless nonsense to make Christian theology solely responsible -for the doctrine of hell. It would be just as fair to trace it to the -cheerful view of life of the Greeks and Romans, who first came upon the -idea." - - -="Desolation."=--The teacher continued: "When this feeling of -fatality strikes an unbeliever, it often appears as the so-called -persecution-mania. He believes himself, for example, persecuted by men -who wish to poison him. Since his intelligence is so low that he cannot -rise to the idea of God, his evil conscience makes him conjure up evil -men as his persecutors. Thus he does not understand that it is God who -is pursuing him, and therefore he dies or goes mad. - -"But he who has strength enough to bow himself, or intelligence -enough to guess at a method in this madness, cries to God for help and -grace, and escapes the madhouse. After a season of self-chastisement, -life begins to grow lighter; peace returns; he succeeds in his -undertakings; his 'Green Island' again blooms with spring. This -feeling of woebegoneness often occurs about the fortieth or fiftieth -year. It is the balancing of books at the solstice. The whole past is -summed up, and the debit-side shows a plus which makes one despair. -Scenes of earlier life pass by like a panorama, seen in a new light; -long-forgotten incidents reappear even in their smallest details. The -opening of the sealed Book of Life, spoken of in the Revelation, is -a veritable reality. It is the day of judgment. The children of the -Lord of Dung who have lost their intelligence understand nothing, -but buy bromkali at the chemist's and take sick-leave because of -'neurasthenia.' That is a Greek word, which serves them as an amulet. - -"Swedenborg calls this natural process 'the desolation' of the wicked. -The pietists call it the 'awakening' before conversion." - - -=A World of Delusion.=--"Swedenborg writes: 'The angels are -troubled concerning the darkness on earth. They say that they can see -hardly any light anywhere, that men live and strengthen themselves in -lying and deceit, and so heap up falsity upon falsity. In order to -ratify these, they manage to extract, by way of inference, such true -propositions from false premises, as, on account of the darknesses -which conceal the true sources, and because the real state of the case -is unknown, cannot be refuted.' - -"This agrees with what every thinking man observes, that lying and -deceit are universal. The whole of life--politics, society, marriage, -the family--is counterfeit. Views which universally prevail are based -upon false history; scientific theories are founded on error; the truth -of to-day is discovered to be a lie to-morrow; the hero turns out to -be a coward, the martyr a hypocrite. Te Deums are sung over a silver -wedding, and the wedded pair, still secretly leading immoral lives, -thank God that they have lived together happily for five-and-twenty -years. The whole populace assembles once in a year to celebrate the -memory of the 'Destroyer of the Country.' He who says the most foolish -thing possible, receives a prize in money and a gold medal. At the -annual asses' festival, the worst is crowned the asses' king. - -"A mad world, my masters! If Hamlet plays the madman, he sees how -mad the world is. But the spectator believes himself to be the only -reasonable person, therefore He gives Hamlet his sympathy." - - -=The Conversion of the Cheerful Pagan, Horace.=--"Among the -conventional falsehoods of the apes,[1] one of the best known is that -conversion from irreligion is a purely Christian doctrine. By looking -into Kumlin's Swedish translation of Horace, even a schoolboy can find -this heading to the thirty-fourth ode of the first book, 'The Religious -Conversion of the Poet.' - -"Horace belonged to the Epicurean sect who only believed in phantom -gods, because they held that the divinities did not trouble themselves -with the course of the world or of events, but enjoyed a careless life -of continual ease. Horace accordingly had not been remarkably zealous -in his religious duties. But a sudden flash of lightning and a heavy -peal of thunder from a clear sky taught him at last that it was no -blind unconscious force of nature, but the hand of a God, which hurled -the lightning. Thereby he was awoken to reflection, and tried to warn -and sober his frivolous countrymen by dwelling on the power of Jupiter. -'God can change the lowest with the highest; He puts down the exalted -and uplifts the obscure.' - -"After this Horace preached like a Jeremiah against the corruption of -religion and morals. A modern 'ape' might feel justified in calling him -a pietist since he was converted! - - -=Cheerful Paganism and its Doctrine of Hell.=--"_Origen against -Celsus_ is the title of the first refutation of the lying accusations -which the pagans have brought against Christianity. Who will write a -second? Who will show that the hell of the pagans was seven times worse -than that of the Christians? In some Christian countries the Christian -religion may not be taught in the schools, but boys are obliged to read -Virgil's Sixth neid, which describes the terrors of the underworld. - -"There is the Lernan Hydra, the Chimra, Gorgons, and Harpies. On the -banks of Cocytus roam crowds of the unburied; there they must roam for -centuries because they have never found a grave. Is that humane? Then -there are the poor suicides everlastingly immersed in the Styx. And the -field of mourning where unhappy lovers hide themselves. 'Even after -death their pangs are not ended.' - -"But these were comparatively innocent. Criminals, however, are -punished first by the fury Tisiphone. She seizes the damned, mocks -them with hellish laughter, and threatens them with snakes. A Hydra -opens fifty black jaws.... And so on till we come to the sieve of the -Danaids, the wheel of Ixion, the thirst of Tantalus. - -"Let us remember, however, that the men of the Renaissance, Dante and -Michael Angelo, have depicted the most extreme torments, as though they -believed in them. Anyone who wants to see how the cheerful Japanese -describe hell, can look at the pictures which Riotor and Leofanti -published in Paris, 1895, in the _Enfers Bouddhiques_." - - -[Footnote 1: Materialistic evolutionists.] - - -=Faith the Chief Thing.=--The teacher continued: "Pietism is -a condition of repentance, which men pass through like a purifying -bath and gain a consciousness of inward cleanliness. It is therefore -no hypocrisy, as the children of the Lord of Dung suppose. He -who is severe towards himself may easily appear malicious to the -unintelligent; and he who has suffered for his wickednesses feels -himself freed from the past. This feeling the unbelievers call -'self-satisfaction.' - -"A penitent never attains perfection, but ceaselessly relapses into -the desires of the flesh. This may easily cause him to appear a -hypocrite. Luther quickly saw that it is impossible to make one's acts -correspond to one's belief. Therefore he laid stress on faith, let acts -go, and adduced as his authority St. Paul's solution of the paradox: -'So I obey the law of God with the spirit, but with the flesh the law -of sin.' - -"Faith, Hope, and Love: that is the essence and kernel of religion. -One's acts never come up to one's faith, and often lag far behind -it. But there are some pious souls who persist in remaining in the -condition of penance, and it may easily seem as though they wished to -gain heaven in advance of the rest. But we should not blame them for -it. There may be secret reasons which we do not know, and have never -experienced. - -"Socrates regarded the sense of shame and conscience as what -distinguished man from the beasts. To these two Christ added pity." - - -=Penitents.=--The teacher continued: "Muhammed early traversed -the stage of desolation and became a pietist, when he believed himself -persecuted by devils. Set free finally by suffering and prayer, he -exclaims in the 93rd Sura: 'By the forenoon, and the night when it -darkens, thy Lord has not forsaken thee or hated thee, and surely the -future for thee will be better than the past. And thy Lord will give -thee sufficient, and thou shalt be satisfied. Did He not find thee an -orphan and give thee shelter? and find thee erring and guide thee? and -find thee poor with a family and nourish thee? But as for the orphan, -oppress him not; and as for the beggar, drive him not away; and as -for the favour of thy Lord, discourse thereof!' When Buddha left his -father's palace and saw the sufferings of men and the instability -of life, he became a penitent, left wife and child, went into the -wilderness, and chastened himself by fasting and renunciation. But -after he had undergone the severest penances, he cautiously returned to -ordinary life, and allowed himself moderate enjoyments in order not to -devastate his soul. Some of his disciples deserted him and called him a -recreant, but that did not trouble him. - -"Goethe himself passed through religious crises, and was at one period -intimate with the Hermhuters, the pietists of that time. In his old -age, when he grew wise, he became a mystic, _i.e._ he discovered that -there are things between heaven and earth of which the 'Beans' have -never let themselves dream." - - -=Paying for Others.=--The pupil said: "I must confess that I do -not understand the Atonement." "You mean, understand it with everyday -intelligence. No one can. The highest questions cannot be solved by us, -just as little as problems of the fourth dimension. But the solution is -given to us, if we ask for it in a proper way. - -"As regards the redemptive work of Christ, you can comprehend it by an -analogy. You remember, when you owed so many debts, that there were -knocks at your door all day long, that you had to go out early in the -morning in order to borrow, or to escape your creditors. Finally you -feared your room so, that you dared not go home to sleep. You sat on a -seat in the park, and said to yourself, 'It is hell!' Then there came a -man who knew you; he paid your debts; you called him your saviour. Do -you not see that one can pay for another, and deliver him?" - -"Yes, but one cannot make an evil deed undone." - -"No, but the Almighty can obliterate it from our memory, and from the -memory of others. But mark this well: every time that you rummage in -the past of another, although it has been atoned for, the memory of -your own evil deeds starts up. Just like a badly washed stain which -goes through the stuff and appears on the other side. All miracles are -conditional, just as vows are." - - -=The Lice-King.=--As the teacher roamed one day in Qualheim he -came into a wood under whose shadow many decaying funguses grew. On a -footpath he saw what he thought at first was a snake writhing about. -It was no snake, however, but a mass of grubs clotted together. The -teacher asked his guide: "What is the meaning of that?" - -"Ask first what it is; then I will tell you the meaning of it." - -"Well?" - -"These are the larv of the snake-worm, which are obliged, like clay -and wadded straw, to hold together in order not to perish. They love -poisonous funguses, and cannot bear the light. They maintain their -existence by a mutual interchange of slime, without which they become -dead and dry. But they call darkness light, because the sun would kill -them. They feed on the poisonous funguses. They hate each other, but -must keep together. Do you understand now, or not?" - -"What is the name of the creature?" - -"It is called the snake-worm or lice-king, appears once in every -generation, and is a herald of evil times." - -"What does it mean then?" - -"It is a symbol of the men who talk with their faces turned backwards, -and therefore see everything distorted; who call evil good, and good -evil. Because they live in pride and self-love they cannot see God, -but elect one of the mass to be their king, and believe that they are, -collectively, God. By 'freedom,' they mean freedom to do evil. Often an -ox or cow comes by and treads upon the motely mass. Then, of course, it -is obliterated in slime, but another soon takes it place." - -"It seems to be as eternal as evil." - - -=The Art of Life.=--The teacher said: "Life is hard to live, and -the destinies of men appear very different. Some have brighter days, -others darker ones. It is therefore difficult to know how one should -behave in life, what one should believe, what views one should adopt, -or to which party one should adhere. This destiny is not the inevitable -blind fate of the ancients, but the commission which each one has -received, the task he must perform. The theosophists call it Karma, and -believe it is connected with a past which we only dimly remember. He -who has early discovered his destiny, and keeps closely to it, without -comparing his with others, or envying others their easier lot, has -discovered himself, and will find life easier. But at periods when all -wish to have a similar lot, one often engages in a fruitless struggle -to make one's own harder destiny resemble the lot of those to whom an -easier one has been assigned. Thence result disharmony and friction. -Even up to old age, many men seek to conquer their destiny, and make it -resemble that of others." - -The pupil asked: "If it is so, why is not one informed of one's Karma -from the beginning?" - -The teacher answered: "That is pure pity for us. No man could endure -life, if he knew what lay before him. Moreover, man must have a certain -measure of freedom; without that, he would only be a puppet. Also -the wise think that the voyage of discovery we make to discover our -destiny is instructive for us. 'Let My Grace be sufficient for thee; My -strength is made perfect in weakness.'" - - -=The Mitigation of Destiny.=--The teacher continued: "Some appear -to be destined to honour and wealth, others only to honour, and others -only to wealth. Many seem to be born to humiliations, poverty, and -sickness--'struck like a coin in the mint,' as the saying is. Everyone -can mitigate his destiny by submitting and adapting himself to it--by -resignation, in a word. The inward happiness which one gains thereby, -excels all outward prosperity. All things work for good to him who -serves God. The man who does not strive after honour and wealth is -impregnable; in a certain sense, all-powerful. - -"The hardest thing is to see the injustice in the world; but even that -can be overcome by taking it as a trial. If the wicked prospers, let -him; we have nothing to do with it. Besides, his happiness is not so -great when one looks closer at it. - -"When you are persecuted by misfortune, and your conscience cannot -call it deserved, take it quietly. Regard the endurance of the ordeal -as an honour. There will come a day when everything will improve. Then -perhaps you will discover that the misfortunes were benefits, or, at -any rate, afforded opportunity for exercising endurance. Envy no man; -you know not what his envied lot might conceal, if it actually came to -changing places." - - -=The Good and the Evil.=--The pupil asked: "Is there really such a -great difference between men?" - -The teacher answered: "Yes and No! But a sure mark of the evil man -is, he does evil for evil's sake. That is the bad man--the sarcastic -schoolmaster, the domestic tyrant. That is the child, which torments -its mother by finding out everything she dislikes. That is the bad -wife, the fury, who enjoys torturing and humiliating a man who only -wishes her good. - -"In the battles of life it is quite human to rejoice when a foe is -defeated. On all battlefields God has been thanked for the victory. -That is something different. - -"When one sees the insolent struck by misfortune, one rejoices that -there is justice. When one sees the wicked punished, one feels -satisfaction at seeing the balance of equity restored. That is -something different. - -"But he who rejoices over every evil deed which he himself has been -under no necessity of committing; he who rejoices when the criminal -escapes his punishment; he who gloats over the misfortune of a good -man; he who suffers when goodness and merit are rewarded--that is the -evil man. Such were those who clamoured for the murderer Barabbas's -release and perhaps gave a feast in his honour." - - -=Modesty and the Sense of Justice.=--The teacher continued: -"Properly speaking, the question you should have asked just now is, -'What men are good?' Socrates, according to Plato, said, 'Those who -possess modesty and a sense of justice. Those are the religious men.' - -"He, on the other hand, who has neither faith nor hope, can assume the -outward aspect of an honourable man. But when his worldly interests or -advantages are concerned, he lets honour drop. Similarly, when it is a -question of saving one of his associates from punishment. Then he can -bear false witness, and believe it is a good act. He does not stick at -helping forward an unworthy friend or relative. He will swear falsely -in order to attack a believer. He thinks everything lawful, _i.e._ -on his side against others, and he never repents anything, saying to -himself, 'He who lets himself be misled must pay for it.' - -"When a religious man makes a slip, he is wont to feel ashamed, and to -reproach himself. Often he is nave enough to confess his fault or his -mis-doing. Then the Lice-King shouts 'Hurrah!' For he would never be so -simple. Still, though a believer fall seventy times and seven, he rises -again and confesses his fault. That is the difference." - - -=Derelicts.=--The pupil asked: "How is one to judge of the men -who are overthrown in the battle of life without being armed for the -conflict? You remember such characters at school; they could not -learn, could not attend; they were not ashamed, however, but regarded -themselves as a kind of victims. They left school, went out into life, -and collapsed. It was not the fault of their domestic surroundings, -for they came of good families, who supported them. They were not bad, -possessed talents, were clever, but had no knowledge and no interests -in life. 'What is the object of it?' they were in the habit of saying. -They could not bring themselves to work, but dozed at their desks. They -seemed to be born to do nothing, which is a punishment for the active. -Explain to me their destiny!" - -"That I cannot." - -"Some have died young in poverty; others begged their way through to -their sixtieth year, while they saw former school-fellows who had been -worse than they, prosper and flourish." - -"I have seen and lamented them, but I cannot explain their destiny." - -"Then they are not to blame, and yet live such lives of shame and -poverty; that is cruel." - -"Hush! Criticise not Providence! What is now inexplicable may some -day be explained! And remember that life is not paradise. Two shall be -grinding at one mill; one shall be taken, and the other left!" - - -=Human Fate.=--The teacher said: "The destinies of men are -obscure; therefore one should be extremely careful in judging. The -Tower of Siloam was ready to fall, and fell on good and evil alike. -The disciples asked Christ what sin the man born blind had committed. -Christ answered that neither he nor his parents had committed any -special sin. When we see how some are born crippled, blind, deaf, -and dumb, we had best be silent. To lament their lot may annoy them, -for they seem to be protected in a mysterious way. They are objects -of pity, and seldom fall into abject poverty. They are good-humoured -through life, and hardly seem to suffer under their ailments. But -woe to the man who ridicules anyone marked out by such a fate! If he -is persistently pursued by calamity, or struck himself by a greater -misfortune, one can hardly ignore it by using the formula 'chance.' A -person who had scoffed at a blind man was struck in the eye by a stone -which was thrown into a tramcar. At first he was alarmed, and thought -of Nemesis. But when he heard that the stone had been so hurled as the -result of some blasting operations he became cheerful, _i.e._ more -ignorant, and said it was a chance. He saw the phenomenon, but nothing -behind it; the effect, but not the cause. - -"The 'Beans' cannot see beyond their noses. Sometimes, when they have -long noses, they see somewhat further. The supernatural in nature is -incomprehensible to their intelligence. Indeed, all which passes their -limited understanding is for them supernatural. That is logical, but -these rustics regard it as illogical." - - -=Dark Rays.=--As the teacher wandered through his Inferno, he came -to a temple of black granite, which was quite dark inside. Within it -something was going on, but he could not distinguish what. - -"What is it?" he asked a white-robed figure, which wore a -laurel-wreath, but had a green face spotted blue like a corpse. "That -is a temple of light," it answered; "but the initiated cannot see -our black rays until he receives the white arsenic-kiss from the -ultra-violet priestess." - -"Give me the kiss," answered the teacher, but he turned his back to her -at the same time. However, she did not notice this, as she could not -distinguish back from front. Now his eyes were opened, and he saw how -within the temple they were offering incense to their "gods of light," -as they called them. There stood the murderer Barabbas, a halo round -his head, and a plate on his breast with the inscription: "Acquitted -because of insufficient evidence." There sat Judas Iscariot under his -fig-tree, with the thirty pieces of silver, in the bosom of his family, -promoted to be general-director of customs. There were the Emperor -Nero, fresh from the bath, with a white dove on his hand, and Julian -the Apostate near an altar, with geese sacrificed upon it. - -The priests and priestesses sang a chant of New Birth and Resurrection, -burned incense compounded of rose-leaves and arsenic-acid, and danced -a snake-dance, which they called "the joy of life." Then they began to -quarrel about a laurel-wreath, and fought one another. As the teacher -went, they all sat there in the darkness and wept. But when a fresh -north wind blew through the temple, they trembled like dry leaves. - - -=Blind and Deaf.=--The teacher said: "There are, as you know, -people with whom one cannot be angry. Perhaps it is because of their -natural good-nature, which shines even through a cutting jest. And -there are people whose malice comes to light long after one has met -them. Such an after-effect I have experienced myself. - -"Five-and-twenty years after a conversation with a man, I felt angry -with him. Naturally, during a sleepless night, when memory threw a new -light on the scene which had taken place between us. Not till then did -the insulting word he spoke receive its proper signification, which I -now understood. There are words which can murder. Such a word this one -was. What a good thing that I did not understand it at the time! It -would have resulted in calamity to four people. - -"By developing a peculiar instinct I have succeeded in fabricating -a kind of diving-costume, with which I protect myself in society. -When the insulting word or the biting allusion is uttered, the sound -certainly reaches my ear, but the receptive apparatus refuses to let -it go further. In the same way I can make myself literally blind. I -obliterate the face of the person I dislike. How it is done, I do not -know, but it seems to be a psychological process. The face becomes -a dirty whitish-grey spot and disappears. It is necessary to make -oneself deaf and blind, or it is impossible to live. - -"One must cancel and go on! That is generally called 'forgiving,' but -it may be a device of the revengeful for sparing himself trouble, or a -scheme of the sensitive for not letting insults reach him. One cannot -undertake more than one can bear!" - - -=The Disrobing Chamber.=--The teacher continued: "Swedenborg says -in his _Inferno_...." - -"Say 'Hell,'" the pupil interrupted him. "I know that there is a hell, -for I have been in it." - -"Well, Swedenborg has in his _Hell_ a disrobing chamber into which the -deceased are conducted immediately after their death. There they lay -aside the dress they have had to wear in society and in the family. -Then the angels see at once whom they have before them." - -"Does Swedenborg then mean that we are all hypocrites?" - -"Yes, in a certain way. An inborn modesty compels us to conceal what -has to do with the animal; politeness obliges us to be silent on -many points. Consideration, friendship, kinship, love, oblige us to -overlook our neighbour's weaknesses, although we disapprove them even -in ourselves. A man who is ashamed of his faults is also silent about -them. To boast of one's faults is shamelessness." - -"Can one really call such consideration hypocrisy?" - -"Hardly; especially as things go wrong, however one behaves." - -"Yes, life is not easy; it is hard to be a man; almost impossible." - - -=The Character Mask.=--The teacher said: "I knew in my youth a man -who was imperious, quick to anger, revengeful, emotional. Accidentally -his gifts as a speaker were discovered. He could thrill the minds of -his hearers, bring them into touch with himself, lift them up--yes, and -nearly carry them away. But on one occasion when he was at the height -of his oratory he halted, became grotesque and ridiculous, and people -laughed. The first time that this happened, he was depressed. But they -thought he wished to produce a comical effect, and he obtained the -reputation of a humorous speaker. - -"Out of his misfortune he made a virtue, accepted the rle which had -been assigned to him, and finally enjoyed a great popularity as a -humourist. He often felt annoyed at having to play the part of a -buffoon, but the desire to hear his own voice and to be greeted with -applause unceasingly spurred him on to win new triumphs. - -"Society had made of him a sort of 'homunculus,' which it cultivated. -But in his family and in his office it was not to be found." - - -=Youth and Folly.=--The teacher said: "What do you think of the -proverb, 'The young _imagine_ that the old are fools, and the old -_know_ that the young are fools?'" - -"It is quite true. When I was young, I imagined that I understood -everything better than the old, but I really understood nothing. I -was young and stupid, confused my own knowledge with that of others', -believed that what I had learnt was my own. When I had read a book, I -went into society and proclaimed what I had read, as though it were my -own discovery, I was therefore a thief. - -"But I was the victim of another delusion, _i.e._ I believed that I -understood all that I remembered, or that I knew what I happened at -the moment to remember. For instance, when I was fourteen I did not -understand logarithms, but I learnt the way of proceeding with them by -heart, and used logarithms as a short-cut. - -"When one studies a science in detail, one begins to collect material, -else the result is nil. But the young man attacks the difficult science -of life without experience, _i.e._ without material. And the result is -what we see. - -"I can see myself now as a young student. How proud I was of borrowed -knowledge and borrowed plumes! How I despised the old! And yet all that -I had stolen from books was stolen from the old, who had written the -text-books. The young write no text-books. O Youth! O Foolishness! - - -=When I was Young and Stupid.=--"When I was young and stupid, -I always had a band of hearers who saw a light in me. When I grew -older, and wisdom came, I was left alone with my lecture and regarded -as an old ass. But the passage from youth to age was bitter, when I -discovered that the old could not be deceived. They read my secret -thoughts behind my lofty words; they anticipated my evil purposes; they -unmasked my crude desires; they prophesied the results of my actions; -and found in my past the true cause of my present condition. They -seemed to me to be wizards and prophets, although they were simple -characters. - -"When I asked myself how they could know this and that, I found the -answer later--because they had collected material; because they had -passed through all the stages which were new to me; because they had -also tried to deceive the old in the same way, but had not succeeded. -Youth, however, is always believing that it can deceive old age, were -it only by stealing a thought from him. I know, moreover, why the -young obstinately imagine they are superior because they can deceive. -There are old wise men who have come to terms with life, and therefore -think it a duty to let themselves be deceived now and then; they let -themselves be deceived tastefully. - -"Youth is only an idea, an abstraction, a boast, a theme for an essay, -a song, a toast!" - - -=Constant Illusions.=--The pupil continued: "When I was young I -was never really happy, because my seniors oppressed me, because the -future disquieted me, because I lived on my parents' money almost as -though I were a pensionary. When the first symptoms of love showed -themselves, life became a hell. I was never very well, for the -most serious illnesses--measles, scarlet fever, agues, croup, and -others--affect only the young. I could never satisfy an innocent -fancy, for I had no money; every desire was nipped in the bud. I was a -slave, for my time was not at my own disposal, and I could not leave -my place in order to visit foreign countries. Such is the huge humbug -which is called 'youth.' No one has dared to unmask it, for fear lest -the young might pelt him with stones, or draw caricatures of him on -the walls. The teachers in the schools crouch before them, flatter -them, pretend to envy them. If anyone comes who does not flatter these -shameless and conscienceless little bandits, these lewd apes who live -in the age of innocence, these parent-murderers--there is always some -old woman there who exclaims, 'Ah! he does not understand the young!' -He understands them very well, for he has been young himself. But the -young do not understand the old, for they have never been old. - -"The young assert that the future is in their hands, and that therefore -they are feared by the cowardly. Let us wait and see! If thirty per -cent, reach the future at all, they will work just as their elders -have done, and with the thoughts which they have borrowed from them. -Exceptions prove the rule." - - -=The Merits of the Multiplication-Table.=--The teacher said: "All -wish to haul at the rope called 'Development.' The word generally -signifies 'alteration,' and men usually love any novelty which does -not injure them. But there are some excellent things which are very -old, and therefore they remain unaltered. The multiplication-table, for -instance, is splendid, though it is said to be as old as Pythagoras. -The Rule of Three holds good, though it was the ancient Hindus who -discovered this law of causes and effects. The geometry of Euclid and -the logic of Aristotle is still read in the schools. Our architecture -imitates Greek and Roman models, and the sculpture of the ancients is -not despicable. We regulate our calendar very much as the Egyptians -and Chaldans did. Goethe and Schiller can be read, and Shakespeare is -still performed. - -"We see, therefore, that not all which has been done in the past is to -be despised. He who prophesies that Christianity will disappear because -it is old, makes a miscalculation. Homer is a thousand years older. And -the Old Testament would first have to be cancelled. But Christianity -lives and flourishes, although it may be in secret and not published in -the newspapers. Still they sing in schools and barracks every morning, -'Trust in God and in His word and strength in order to do good.' - -"But it must go hard with the Christians. 'In this world ye have -tribulation.' Through periodical seasons of bondage under Egyptian -Pharaohs, they learn patience till they begin their wanderings in the -wilderness." - - -=Under the Prince of this World.=--The teacher wandered in -Qualheim and came to a town. In the midst of the chief market-place -there stood a bronze image of the destroyer of his country. The youth -of the place came out in holiday attire in order to celebrate the -hero's memory. The teacher asked his guide: "Why do they celebrate the -destroyer of the fatherland?" - -"I do not know," answered the guide. - -"Are they mad?" - -"Probably. Here below everything is topsy-turvy. This hero[1] was -considered mad, and certainly he was so. He carried on mad wars, fled -when defeated, and cast the blame on others. When misfortune came -he collapsed like a weakling, took to his bed, and pretended to be -ill. In his leisure hours he plotted, but always ill. At last he made -false coins, but managed to procure a scapegoat, who was broken on -the wheel. The country was ruined and could never recover its former -prestige." - -"And this is the man they celebrate?" - -"Yes! but they have other statues besides. There back in the park -stands one, crowned with a laurel-wreath. He was the wickedest man of -his time. And there by the harbour is a third statue--of a perjurer..." - -"That is just as it is with us," said the teacher. - -"Yes, it is about the same." - -"Where are we then?" - -"Under the Prince of this World, the Lord of Dung. 'But be of good -courage! I have overcome the world!'" - - -[Footnote 1: He probably refers to Charles XII of Sweden.] - - -=The Idea of Hell.=--The pupil asked: "When I read Swedenborg's -_Hell_, I often believed he was describing our life on earth. Is it -possible that we are already there? As a Christian, I have learnt -that there was a Fall followed by a curse. Certainly life seems to me -rather an Inferno than a school and a prison, for nothing keeps what it -promises. The most beautiful things seem only made in order to become -ugly, the good in order to become bad." - -"Have you never seen anything permanently beautiful here below?" - -"Yes, Nature at all seasons is so beautiful, that I exclaim with -a feeling of pain, 'How super-naturally beautiful! And we are so -hideous!' Life may also seem beautiful in a well-ordered family where -there is peace and happiness and festival. I have seen it so, but only -for two minutes at a time, and perhaps it was my way of looking at it." - -"Yet there are people who can thrive down here." - -"He who can thrive here is a pig. I know fellows who think they are in -Paradise when they are on a summer holiday, have a well-spread table -lit up by Chinese lanterns, and let off rockets. But 'Woe to the man -who is born sensitive!' says Rousseau. Either he goes under, or he must -arm himself with brutality. In the last case it may happen that he -cannot divest himself of the armour, which has become a second nature. -There are some extremely sensitive natures who cannot come to terms -with life nor touch reality. These unfortunates finally lose the power -of looking after themselves, and end in asylums." - - -=Self-Knowledge.=--The teacher said: "One may have already lived -a long time, consider oneself a respectable man, and, as such, have -enjoyed the esteem of others. Then there comes a day when one awakes -as out of slumber, sees oneself as a spectre, is alarmed, and asks, -'Am I _that_' One discovers that one has done things which now appear -inexcusable. And one asks oneself, 'How could I?' On one occasion one -has even committed a crime; on another, one has been dragged, so to -speak, by the hair; on a third, one fell into a trap. - -"But there are men who are so sleepy that they never awake; and so -wanting in intelligence that they cannot see how black they are. Once I -had a friend who was sixty years old. On one occasion, with an outbreak -of stupid astonishment, he exclaimed, 'Why are people so prejudiced -against me? I seem to myself an excellent fellow!' And this man was -a tyrant who trampled men underfoot, a hired executioner, a murderer -who betrayed the innocent, took bribes, and practised simony and all -kinds of wickedness. I did not wish to condemn him, but tried to defend -him. Perhaps he felt justified in becoming an executioner, for there -must be such officials; so he adopted it as a profession. He had an -evil nature, and found it therefore natural or right when he acted -in accordance with it. He lived in complete harmony with himself, -and those who resembled him pronounced him a 'fine fellow'--'healthy, -nave, and, therefore, excellent society.' - -"When he died, I drew a picture of his character for an acquaintance. -The latter was himself a black sheep, and answered quite navely, 'You -are unfair to him; I think he was a fine fellow.'" - - -=Somnambulism and Clairvoyance in Everyday Life.=---The teacher -said: "I am now fifty-eight years old, and have seen four generations. -I have not been pure-hearted, for all black blood streams into the -heart, but I have had moments in which I was transported into a -childlike, unconscious mood, and took delight in intercourse with men. -I knew that they hated me, laughed at my misfortune, and waited for my -fall. But I was immune against their malice. I saw in them only poor -men, who liked my company and were sympathetic with me. Even when they -made ill-natured jests against me, I did not understand them; and when -they gave vent to an open rudeness, I took it as a meaningless joke. -That is a kind of pleasant somnambulism. - -"Often, however, I can be wide-awake; then I see society naked; I see -their dirty linen beneath their clothes, their deformities, their -unwashed feet. But, worst of all, I hear the thoughts behind their -words; I see their gestures, which do not harmonise with what they say; -I intercept a side-glance; I notice a foot-stamp under the table, a -nose turning itself up over my wine, or a fork critically passing by a -dish.... Then life seems ghastly! I had a friend, who once in society -had an attack of this clairvoyance; he sat down on the middle of the -table, declared all he had seen in the course of the evening, and -stripped his friends bare. The result was, he was pronounced mad and -taken to an asylum. - -"There are many kinds of madness. Let us confess that!" - - -=Practical Measures against Enemies.=--The pupil asked: "How can -I love my neighbour as myself? In the first place, I ought not to -love myself; secondly, I feel so out of sympathy with men, that it is -difficult to regard them as objects of love." - -The teacher answered: "The verb [Greek: agapao] generally means only -'treating kindly,' and that you can manage to do." - -"But to love one's enemies is suicide." - -"You think so! But have you tried this method? It is very practical, -and I have tested it. Once against my worst enemy, who attacked my -honour and means of livelihood, I established a wholesome hatred like -a bulwark, as I thought. But my hatred became a conductor by which I -received the currents of his. They surprised me in my weak moments, and -his wickedness passed over to me. He grew to gigantic proportions, and -became a Frankenstein which I had myself produced. - -"Then I resolved to break the conductor. I avoided seeing him, and -never mentioned his name, for that is a kind of incantation. When -people spoke of him in society, I was silent, or threw in a friendly -word on his behalf. My Frankenstein pined away for want of nourishment, -and disappeared out of my thoughts. Finally information reached my -enemy that I had spoken good of him. He was struck with amazement, -dwindled down, felt ashamed of himself, and believed he had made a -mistake. Therefore, never speak ill of your enemy; that only rouses -people in his defence, and procures him friends. You see, therefore, -what deep wisdom lies in the simplest teaching of the Gospel, which you -believed yourself competent to criticise." - - -=The Goddess of Reason.=--The teacher continued: "The fact -that our intelligence finds so many contradictions and difficulties -in the great truths of religion is due not only to defects in our -understanding but to an evil will. The presumption of wishing to -understand God and His purposes is as though one attempted to steer a -frigate with an oar. Every Greek tragedy closes with a warning against -insolence and [Greek: hubris] Nothing is so displeasing to the gods. - -"Swedenborg says: 'As soon as we break our connection with what is -higher, our understanding is darkened. At the same time we are punished -by being allowed to imagine ourselves more illuminated than others.' - -"All the philosophers of the 'Illumination' grope in darkness. That -period of history which is jestingly called the 'Illumination' is the -darkest we have had. The goddess of reason, Mademoiselle Maillard, -was adored only by madmen. The truths of religion never contradict -reason until the latter has been clouded by an evil will. But then the -discoveries begin, and then every religious truth 'contradicts reason,' -such as the simple truth that God exists, that the Almighty can employ -unknown laws or suspend laws which He Himself has given, that He can -impart spiritual blessings by means of material symbols, and so on. - -"All 'free-thinking' is foolishness, for thought is not free, but bound -by the laws of thought, by logic, just as nature is bound by the laws -of nature. The evil will seeks freedom in order to do evil, and the -evil mind seeks freedom in order to think perversely." - - -=Stars Seen by Daylight.=--The teacher said: "The fool lives only -for the present, for the moment, in the last fashionable error of the -day, in the diving-bell of his daily paper, in dependence on public -opinion, in the slavery of partisanship. The wise man lives in all -times. For him there is neither time nor space. He is present always -and everywhere; on this side and that side of the grave. He ranges -over the world's history and fathoms the depths of himself; he regards -himself as an inhabitant of the Universe, and not merely of the earth. -He feels himself related to Plato and Aristotle; holds converse with -the great spirits of the past in their writings. Sometimes he lives -in his childhood; sometimes in his mature age. He lives in the past, -as though it were present. He can 'think himself' into the lives of -others; he rejoices with the joyful, mourns with the sorrowful, -sympathises with the suffering. He feels on behalf of humanity; has -no age, no nation. He sees the record of to-day's conflict laid up in -historical archives, often without any other result. On the morrow, -to-day's wisdom is only straw, in which something else grows; even -errors are useful as manure. Everything serves. He bears everything, -for he hopes; and hope is a virtue; it means believing good of God. - -"Ephemeral flies get excited about trifles, and believe one can -discover new truths among the telegrams in the breakfast-table -newspaper. If a new star is discovered, they believe the others are -extinguished. But hitherto the new have all been extinguished. The new -star in Perseus appeared only for two years, and then it vanished. The -Chinese Y-King says, 'If one goes into one's tent, and makes it dark -about one, one can see the star Mei in the Archer in broad daylight.' - -"Retire then sometimes to your tent in the wilderness, and you will see -the stars by day." - - -=The Right to Remorse.=--The pupil asked: "Is one right in feeling -remorseful for one's past, after discovering one's errors?" - -"If you mean by 'feeling remorse,' wishing the past undone, you are not -right, for in every man's life there is a rectifying element; every -error by being refuted becomes an involuntary occasion for the triumph -of truth. But if you mean by 'remorse,' hating yourself as a purveyor -of falsity, you are right. But say something in your own defence." - -"I can say this much: I was the child of an evil time; I was misled -by the seducers of my youth; I mention none of them. My understanding -was stronger than my divine reason. My flesh ruled over my spirit. My -inborn defiance of authority, my inherited sensitiveness of nature -received impressions, without stopping to criticise them. In a word, I -might call myself a victim of my seducers, of heredity, of my natural -weakness, and sensitiveness. The final awakening of my reason, however, -I reckon not as a merit of my own, but as a grace conferred upon me. -The fact that I have had sufficient time in which to refute my former -errors, I count as the greatest good-fortune which has ever befallen -me. Therefore I do not wish my past undone, although I abominate it." - - -=A Religious Theatre.=--"It looks as though men did not think -very highly of themselves. If they see a maliciously satirical piece -represented, they enjoy it without applying it to themselves. They -take it as intended only for others. - -"In my youth there was a dramatist, who was at first a satirist, but -finally came to feel sympathy with men. After his feelings had become -modified by his living a steady and fairly happy life, he saw men in -a more cheerful light. Accordingly, he wrote a piece portraying only -noble characters with fine feelings and warm hearts. - -"What happened? The public believed at first it was irony. But during -the second act they discovered their mistake. A voice exclaimed from -the stalls: 'Deuce take it! It is meant seriously!' The further the -piece progressed, the greater was the disgust! The audience felt -ashamed before each other, and for the author. Some hurried out, and -those who remained ended by laughing. They laughed at the goodness, -self-sacrifice, renunciation, forgiveness depicted in the piece. -They did not know themselves any more, and regarded the descriptions -as unnatural; real life, they said, was not like that; men were not -angels. It may therefore be risky to speak well of men. But one must -not forget that religious people do not visit the theatre, because the -theatre is godless. Greek tragedies used to commence with a sacrifice -to the gods, and all tragedies deal with the powerlessness of men in -conflict with deities. Why do not our religious leaders build a theatre -in which one might see the evil unmasked and put to shame?" - - -=Through Constraint to Freedom.=--The teacher continued: "This -world is governed by constraint. All men are dependent on one another -and press upon one another like the stones in a vaulted building--from -above, from below, from the sides. They watch and spy on one another. -There is therefore no freedom, and there can be none, in this edifice -which is called Government and Society. - -"The foundation-stones have the most to bear; therefore they must be -of granite, while the upper ones are of light brick. For there are -fancy-bricks, which support nothing, but are merely ornamental; they -are supported by others, feel themselves in the way and dispensable; -but they serve as ornaments, and of that they are aware. - -"He who demands more freedom than the rest, is a thief and tyrant; if -he withdraws himself from his burden, he lays it upon others. This -perpetual longing for freedom, which figures in biographies as a virtue -and a distinction, is really only a weakness. More strength is required -to bear than to be home. The only justifiable striving after relative -freedom is, not to have to bear more than one ought. Therefore it is -the business of rulers to apportion the burdens precisely. But for -that, adequate knowledge, a mathematical gift, and a nice sense of -justice are necessary. - -"But behind this common longing after freedom lies another deeper one, -which is confused with the former. That is the sighing of creation for -deliverance from the bondage of the flesh. This has found its strongest -expression in St. Paul's exclamation: 'Oh, wretched man that I am! Who -shall deliver me from the body of this death?' But this freedom can -only be won by patiently bearing the constraint of this world. Through -constraint is the way to freedom therefore!" - - -=The Praise of Folly.=--"In this world of foolishness one sees -constantly how fools smile even when their views are ratified by time. -That is, in truth, a silly smile. The fool says, 'We are here in order -to develop ourselves.' When they see a man who, in the course of -years, has grown wiser and more righteous, they should be glad that -their assertion is established. Instead of that they make a malicious -grimace, and say scornfully, 'Yes, now you have grown old!' Yet we both -started with the assumption that wisdom should come with years. Let us -rejoice together that it is so. If the Devil really becomes a monk when -he is old, what a happiness and blessing for mankind that there is one -evil spirit the less. Is it not so? Why should they make a grimace at -it? - -"Voltaire was a scoffer and a bit of a knave up to old age. Finally, -however, he recovered his reason, just like lunatics shortly before -they die. And then he wrote of human life: - -"'Pleasure, in the freshness of youth, I sought thy deliciousness; - -"'Finally, in the winter of old age, I discover thy vanity; - -"'The thirst for reputation and honour makes men enemies to one -another. What was it that I thirsted for? Reputation is but vanity. - -"'Genius in its pride roams through realms of knowledge. - -"'But my knowledge only plagues me; knowledge is but vanity.' - -"But the fools make grimaces, when one of them recovers his reason. -Then they say, 'He has gone mad.'" - - -=The Inevitable.=--The teacher said: "The question, 'What has one -a right to feel remorse for?' is very complicated. I once followed the -career of a foreign writer. I read his works, which seemed to belong -to another world, with great admiration. His dramas all appeared to -breathe a melancholy fear of some unknown terror that was bound to -come. His philosophy was that of a saint. His landscapes seemed to be -bathed not in common air but in pure ther. He was then about forty -years old, and I expected every day to hear that he had gone into a -convent. - -"But afterwards I heard he had married an actress, with whom he went -about, and who appeared as a 'living statue' in one of his pieces. -He also wrote new dramas for her, and now, when they became cynical -and brutal, he achieved a greater popularity than he had ever been -able to gain before. He degraded his person, his genius, his wife; -and as he sank, I wept inwardly. One day I read in the paper that -she had deserted him, but that may have been false. The thought of -his fate tormented me; it seemed to have been predetermined. All his -dramas written while he was still unmarried treated of this terrible -thing which he foresaw and feared. It seemed to me as though he were -compelled to take a mud-bath, and obliged to let himself be besmirched -by life precisely in this way. It seemed as though he had not the right -to ante-date heaven; as though he were not allowed to lead a pure, -saintly life. It is terrible, because it is inexplicable." - - -=The Poet's Sacrifice.=--The teacher continued: "This man's -destiny reminds me of the Indian drama, _Urvasi_. A penitent who -withdraws to solitude in order to purify his soul by renunciation, may -finally attain such lofty spiritual heights that his power may become -dangerous to the lower deities. In order to hinder such a penitent in -his spiritual development, the god Indra sent an Apsara, a sort of -celestial courtesan, in order to distract and seduce him. - -"Does not that resemble the case which I mentioned just now? How can -the one who has been seduced feel guilty in such a case, or have -the right to repent a wrong he did not do? Now a poet is something -different to a recluse, and in order to be able to describe life in -all its aspects and dangers he must first have lived it. What sort of -a poet would Shakespeare have been if he had lived as a steady young -fellow, continued in his father's honourable profession, and in -leisure hours written about his little affairs? Although one does not -know much about the great Englishman, one sees from his works what a -stormy life he must have led. There is hardly a misfortune which he -has not experienced, hardly a passion which he has not felt. Hate and -love, revenge and lust, murder and fire, all seem to have come within -the circle of his experience as a poet. A real poet must sacrifice -his person for his work. I can conceive of a symbolical monument to -Shakespeare under the figure of Hercules kindling his own pyre on Mount -Oeta, sacrificing his opulent life as an offering for mankind. That is -a good idea, is it not?" - -The pupil answered: "Truly you have the power of binding and loosing; -now you have loosed me." - - -=The Function of the Philistines.=--The teacher said: "Israel -had some unpleasant neighbours called Philistines, who guarded the -coast-line along the sea. They worshipped weird gods, such as Dagon -the Fish-god, Beelzebub the Lord of Dung, and Astarte. But unpleasant -though they were, they seemed to have had a part to play in the -life of Israel. As soon as the chosen people abandoned the temple, -the Philistines came and closed the sanctuary, set the Lord of Dung -upon the altar, and burned incense before the Fish-god. As often as -the children of Israel quarrelled among themselves, the Philistines -advanced irresistibly. The hand of the Lord was with them, so that they -punished and chastised their enemies. Once they took possession of the -Ark of the Covenant. - -"We have our Philistines on the Bosphorus; they are called Turks. When -the Christians were unfaithful to their Lord, the Turk took possession -of Christ's grave, and St. Sophia became a mosque. Whenever the -Christians fought with each other, the Turk appeared. After the Thirty -Years' War, when the Christians had tom each other like bloodhounds, -the Turk came as far as Vienna, and the Crescent surmounted the Cross -in Hungary." - -The pupil asked: "Why do not the great powers recapture the Holy -Sepulchre and the Church of St. Sophia? They could do it in a moment!" - -"I do not know. Perhaps they cannot. We need our Philistine, the -bogie-man with whom one frightens children. In France the churches were -shut by the pagans when people ceased to attend Mass. Now they set up -the Lord of Dung on the altar. Marat, in his time, was buried in the -Pantheon; but when Christ reentered, Marat was thrown into the sewer. -The last to obtain apotheosis in the Pantheon was an engineer, who had -a single merit--that of being murdered by a friend of freedom. When we -become Christians again, we shall receive back both the Holy Sepulchre -and Santa Sophia. We do not need to take them. Such is the great -function of the Philistines in the spiritual economy of nature." - - -=World-Religion.=--The teacher continued: "Goethe wrote in his -youth a treatise maintaining that the religion imposed by the State was -the most favourable for the maintenance of the State." - -The pupil objected: "But how will it fare with the individual -conscience?" - -"As it has done hitherto. The State determines the views of the -individual in geometry, botany, history, and religion, by instruction -in the schools, by religious services in the colleges, and prayers in -camps and barracks." - -"But what about freedom of belief and thought?" - -"We have already agreed that there is no freedom, but that all is -dependence and compulsion enforced by mutual pressure. Therefore misuse -not the sacred name of freedom. During the course of my long life, -I have often thought I could interpret the intention of Providence -thus: If all religious forms fell off like husks, and only the kernels -remained, they might grow together like botanical cells, and form a -single plant--a world-tree, under whose shadow all nations might rest -in devotion and in unity." The teacher continued: "I had also believed -that I had noticed there is a special purpose in the intermingling of -races which is now proceeding. This has already gone so far, that in -my insignificant family, which is registered as Scandinavian, we find -traces of all the five quarters of the world." - -"But do you really believe it?" - -"I do not know." - -"And do you think that all nations will be united in a common -Christianity?" - -"I do not know! But the promise to Abraham, 'In thy seed shall -all nations be blessed,' has already been fulfilled by Abraham's -descendant, Jesus Christ. As a matter of fact, Christian Europe and -the western hemisphere of North and South America rule the world. -And before the actual reality, our wishes, ideas, theories, and -anticipations collapse." - - -=The Return of Christ.=--The pupil asked: "Are we to expect the -promised return of Christ?" - -"Christ Himself answered this importunate question of his disciples by -saying, 'The Kingdom of God is among you.' And when He left them He -said, 'Behold, I am with you always till the end of the world.'" - -"Good. But how is Christ's Kingdom to be set up on earth?" - -"Not by crusades, as you perhaps believe. You know that there are -plants which cannot simultaneously thrive in the same ground; one kind -must die out. So there are races which cannot dwell together in the -same land. As soon as Christians become Christians again, the pagans -do not thrive, and depart. Just like the giants who got earache when -they heard the sound of church-bells, sniffed and snorted when they -smelt Christian blood, and finally slunk back into their caves. One -ought to be tolerant, but not to carry it so far as to take down the -church-bells or lay the cross low, because they make the giants ill. -Swedenborg says that the gift of free-will is never revoked, and that -therefore the damned themselves choose their own hell. If they come -into a purer air, they are tested; if they happen to get into good -company, they do not thrive, and cast themselves headlong into the -region of the Lord of Dung. There they find an environment in which -they can breathe. If therefore you wish to fly evil companionship, you -need not shut your door. Only acquire an upright character, and your -fellows will shun you like the pest." - - -=Correspondences.=--The teacher said: "We have discussed -Swedenborg's hells and found that they are partly states of mind, and -partly resemble earthly life under certain conditions. I remember -now certain striking details in them, which bring to my mind certain -experiences of everyday life. The fire of hell consists, he says, -partly in this, that passions are aroused, only to be mocked and -punished; partly in the kindling of desires, which really must be -gratified, but die away immediately afterwards since suffering consists -in missing something. Do you know that?" "Yes, I know it." "Further, -when heavenly light reaches the damned, an icy chill pervades their -veins, and their blood ceases to flow. Do you know that?" "Yes, I know -it! And I remember once when I was very wicked a good man began to -talk kindly to me. I was not warmed thereby, but began to feel so cold -in the room where I was, that I put on my overcoat." "Further, they -wander about lonely and gloomy: they hunger, and have nothing to eat; -they go to houses, and ask for work, but when they get it, they go -their way, to be tormented again by ennui. But when they return, the -doors are shut; they must work for food and clothing, and have a harlot -for a companion, is that so?" "It is!" "The ruling principles of hell -are: the desire to rule from self-love; the desire for other people's -goods from love of the world; the desire for dissipation. The ruling -principles of heaven are: the desire to rule with a good object; the -desire for money and property, in order to use them for the benefit of -others; the desire for marriage." - - -=Good Words.=--The pupil asked: "Does Swedenborg never speak a -good word to comfort and cheer one?" - -The teacher answered: "Yes, certainly he does. He says, for example, -'The chosen are those who have conscience; the reprobate are those -who have no conscience.' That agrees with Socrates' definition of -a man as a being possessing both modesty and conscience. In another -place Swedenborg thus explains temptations: 'Evil spirits arouse in -the memory of a man all the evil and falsity which he has thought and -practised since childhood; but the angels who accompany him produce his -goodness and truth, and in this manner defend him. It is this conflict -which causes pangs of conscience. - -"'When a man is tried with respect to his understanding, evil spirits -summon up only the evil deeds which he has committed. These are -symbolised by unclean animals. The evil spirits accuse and condemn by -distorting the truth in a thousand ways.' - -"Swedenborg also mentions a kind of spirits who raise scruples about -trifles, and thus trouble the consciences of the unwary. Their presence -arouses a feeling of discomfort at the pit of the stomach, and they -take delight in burdening the conscience. Finally there are some -pagans from the countries inhabited by black men, who bring with them -from their earthly life the wish to be treated hardly, under the idea -that no one can enter heaven without having suffered punishments and -torments. _Because they have this belief_, they are at first treated -hardly by some whom they call devils. - -"In another place Swedenborg says: 'There are no devils except bad -men.' One word more. The Master met some in a state of despair, who -believed that pain would be everlasting. 'But it was given me to -comfort them.' These are good words for you." - - -=Severe and not Severe.=--The pupil objected: "But Swedenborg is -in general too severe." - -The teacher answered: "No! it is not he, but life which is severe, and -life's laws are severe for the unrighteous. The Master says: 'Women -who attain to power and wealth from the lower ranks often become -furies; but women who are born to power and wealth, and do not uplift -themselves, are happy.' 'To renounce the pleasures of life,' he says, -'and wealth and power, with the idea of earning heaven by asceticism, -is a false view.' - -"We know that Swedenborg was temperate in everyday life, but went -willingly into society, and then he allowed himself a _poculum -hilaritatus,_ a cup of cheer. He declares himself decisively against -those who retreat from the world: 'Many think it is hard to lead a -life which conducts to heaven, because they have heard that, for this -object, one must renounce the world and live to the spirit. By this -they understand that one must cut oneself off from all that is earthly, -and devotes one's whole life to spiritual contemplation and devotion. -But that it is not really so, I have learned through long experience. -He who thus separates from the world in order to live to the spirit, -enters a gloomy life, which is irreceptive of the joy of heaven. In -order to prepare for heaven one must live in the world in activity and -employment.... I have spoken with some who had withdrawn from their -occupations in order to live a spiritual life, and also with some -who had tormented themselves in various ways, because they believed -they ought to suppress the desires of the flesh.... As a rule they -are puffed up with pride, and regard heavenly joy as a reward without -knowing what heaven and heavenly joy is.'" - -The pupil interrupted: "This seems to be the case with the pietists." - -"Not with all. There are among them penitents, or those who really -prepare for death. Leave the pietists in peace, and don't try to sever -the wheat from the chaff.... Religion should not merely be a Sunday -suit, but a gentle accompaniment to mitigate the ponderous tones of -everyday life. But one must not be cowardly or indifferent, as so many -modern Christians are. When they hear the big words 'Development,' -'Modern Thought,' 'Science,' they think at once that Christianity is a -thing of the past. If they read in the papers that the Lice-King has -overcome the Christians, they believe at once that God has forsaken His -own. They forget that the Egyptian bondage was an education for Canaan, -and that the Philistines were employed as goads to spur on the lazy. - -"Unbelief, superstition, deliberate falsehood, error--all serve the -Truth, for all things serve. And to him who loves God, all things turn -out for good." - - -=Yeast and Bread.=--"The neo-pagans who have now rushed forward -on the stage, and believe they are the lords of the world because they -serve the Prince of the World, seem to be a sediment of savage races -which by marriage and immigration have penetrated the old nations of -Europe like yeast. Yeast fulfils its function in the warmth of the -oven, but is itself changed into gases and disappears, leaving bubbles -and holes behind. The dough remains, changed into mellow, low, crisp, -white, fragrant, warm bread. Yeast is a kind of mould produced by -corruption, yet it must be present in order to make white bread. - -"Everything serves! But mould by itself can make no bread. One ought -therefore not to be angry with the pagans, for they know no better. -To enlighten them is difficult; one can locate a grey star, but not a -black one. One ought not to fear them, for then they bite. But they -must have their day. 'I have seen the wicked in great power, and -spreading himself like a green tree in its native soil; but I passed -by, and, lo, he was not; yea, I sought him, but he could not be found.'" - - -=The Man of Development.=--The pupil asked: "Can the pagans really -not be enlightened?" - -"Experience has shown that it is almost impossible. For a blockhead -cannot understand the simplest things; he cannot see the self-evident -nature of an axiom. If he is systematically followed by misfortune, -he calls it 'bad-luck'; if he is prostrated with illness, he rises -as stupid as he was before; if he gets into prison, he sits there -and meditates new tricks; if he lies on the rack, he thinks he is -suffering for his faith, although he has not got any; from warnings -and trials he emerges as great a calf as he was before, for he has no -intelligence. All the denizens of the dunghill praise his firmness of -character, his strength of soul, his strong belief in his cause. He is -sixty years old, and he has worked for 'development,' but he has not -been able to develop himself. He hawks about the same rubbish as he -did forty years ago, when he discovered what he called 'the truth' in -the books of his teachers; he has never produced an original thought, -nor obtained a new view of an old subject. He has stood still, but the -world has gone forward; he believed he was leading the van, when he -was bringing up the rear. Christianity beckoned, but crab-like he went -backward to paganism. Such is the man of 'development.' Do you know -him?" - -"I have known him, but renounced his acquaintance." - - -=Sins of Thought.=--The teacher said: "According to Luther, man -is a child till his fortieth year. I was a child till my fiftieth, -_i.e._ unintelligent, conceited. I believed that I was inaccessible and -irresponsible as regards my thoughts. But I was obliged to change my -opinion when I began to observe myself. I discovered, that is, that -when I had sinned, hated, killed, stolen, though only in thought, and -then came into the company of friends, they treated me ruthlessly, -as though I were a murderer or a thief. I could not explain, but -finally believed that my evil thoughts were legible in my face. And -when I observed that my friends began to touch on precisely the same -unpleasant subject which had occupied my secret thoughts, I saw that -so-called thought-reading is daily and hourly practised in social life. - -"When subsequently I read Maeterlinck's fine book, _The Treasure of -the Humble_, my belief in this was strengthened, for he made the same -observation. When I finally took in hand my own spiritual education, I -found that this was the principal point, and by watching my thoughts -I prevented them breaking out into action. Now for the first time -I understood why I had so often in my life thought myself unjustly -accused and punished for offences which I had not committed. I confess -now that I had committed them in thought. But how did men know that? -Assuredly there is a hidden justice which punishes sins of thought, -and when men make each other accountable for suspicions, ugly looks or -feelings, they are right. That is a hard saying, but it is so." - - -=Sins of Will.=--The teacher continued: "There are also sins -of wish and volition. You know that one can hate and worry a man -dead. I was once in a watering-place in which the hotel proprietor -had introduced a sort of monopoly. He had arrogated to himself the -privilege of alone providing food for the boarders. He starved them by -cooking the goodness out of the meat before he roasted it, by making -soup of rye-meal, and so on. The boarders were patient, and no one -wished to make a disturbance. But their hatred of the man increased. -After a month I observed that the hotel proprietor began to look yellow -in the face and to pine away. As he sat at his bar he became the -object of glances full of hatred. At last, one day, the whole company, -a hundred in number, rose during the midday meal and departed. Then -the proprietor became ill of a liver disease. It seemed as though the -collected gall of all the guests had somehow transferred itself to his -liver, and curdled there. He vanished; they had killed him. But their -hatred was this time justified, or quite natural. - -"When, however, we hate a man because he will not admire us or further -our selfish interests, we may become simply murderers. That, however, -depends on the behaviour of the other. If he is innocent in the -matter, he will be immune and irreceptive of the poison. I know a -person who hated me because she could not rob me. She was a servant to -whom I had shown nothing but kindness. Her hate did not affect me so -long as I was upright." - - -=The Study of Mankind.=--The teacher said: "One ought not to -attempt to study men. Partly because they do not lay themselves open -to be studied, partly because they are aware when they became objects -of deliberate investigation. He who does not give himself, receives -nothing. He who does not approach men in a spirit of sympathy, finds -no point of contact with them. When I regard them as companions in -misfortune, fellow-wanderers in the wilderness, they open themselves to -me. If I expose myself, I show a confidence in them, which meets with -a response. If I approach them with suspicion, they show suspicion. -If anyone visits me, in order to examine me, I let him sit for his -portrait to me. - -"When I have had frank intercourse for a considerable time with a man, -and then sum up his characteristics in my recollection, I get a fair -idea of him, but never quite a correct one. Men have a right to hide -their secrets. When I was young and unintelligent, I believed that, as -an author, I had a right to investigate the past of others; but I soon -discovered that it is not allowed. They seemed to be guarded. - -"He who says one ought to be so on guard in one's intercourse with a -friend, as though he might some day become an enemy, has had little -pleasure in friendship. I have always behaved to men as though they -were going to be my friends for life, and therefore I have received -something in return. When they have disappointed me, I have said to -myself. 'What matters it? Nothing for nothing!'" - - -=Friend Zero.=--The teacher continued: "There are people who -seem friendly, harmless, considerate; they leave others in peace, -never pry into their affairs, never say evil behind people's backs, -nor allow evil to be said. I have admired and envied them for their -good natural qualities. But among such persons I have found some who -keep remote from unpleasantnesses out of pure selfishness, and who out -of love for ease and comfort wish to know nothing of other people's -affairs in order not to be drawn into them. These are those who will -not give evidence in court, even for the sake of defending a friend. -They are silent when they ought to speak. They avoid recommending a -relative on the plea that 'they do not know him.' When their names -are mentioned as authorities for such and such a report, they have -'lost their memories.' They will not lend money to anyone who needs -it, because 'they do not wish to have a disagreement with him.' They -have no positive virtues, and no positive faults. Consequently they -are colourless, unreliable, characterless, formless; they can not be -classified under any system. - -"I once knew one of these for ten years; then I forgot him. Twenty -years later I found some of my old letters in an attic; among them were -hundreds of letters from my formless friend. I was astonished to find -that I had had such a lengthy correspondence with him. And I looked -to see what he had had to say. I read five-and-twenty letters. They -contained nothing. I read fifty; the result was the same--nothing. -They consisted solely of handwriting, ink, paper, envelopes, and -postage-stamps. I burnt them and forgot Friend Zero henceforth. He did -not even leave a memory behind him." - - -=Affable Men.=--The teacher said: "When I have seen a -character-drama, I have always asked myself, 'Are men really so simple -and transparent?' There is a kind of men about whom one can never be -certain. They are so disposed by nature that they adapt themselves to -their companions out of pure affability. Such a man once came into my -circle; I found him sympathetic, lovable, good-natured. On one occasion -I imparted to a third person my opinion of my affable friend. He -answered, 'You don't know him! He is a malicious man; he has only put -on an air of affability with you.' - -"Then there came a fourth: 'He! He is the falsest man in existence!' -Finally his wife came: 'No! he is neither malicious nor false; he only -wants to be on good terms with people.' - -"At the beginning of our acquaintance (he confessed it himself later -on), he had determined to win me by affability, and to preserve my -affection by doing everything, or nearly everything, that I wished. He -also abstained from contradicting me. During a whole year I never heard -him express a view of his own; he only repeated my thoughts. I believed -he had no will, no views, not even feelings. He seemed to me to be a -mirror in which I was reflected; I never found him, only myself. Then I -became tired of him, did not know how to hold myself in, and asked him -to do something wrong. Then at last I discovered the man himself. With -an unparalleled strength of character, he left wife, child, and home! -In order 'to save his soul,' as he said. 'Have you then got a soul?' I -asked. 'Judge for yourself,' he answered, and departed. - -"It is dangerous to be affable, and it is dangerous to consider men -simple." - - -=Cringing before the Beast.=--The teacher said: "When a man once -yields to desire, the ceasing of a certain restraint carries with it a -feeling of freedom and deliverance. This pleasurable feeling we almost -regard as a reward, and conclude that we have acted rightly when we -have thrown a bone to the barking dog. But had we forborne to do so, -the dog would not have formed the habit of barking, and we might have -gone our way in the proud consciousness of not having cringed before -the beast, by bribing it to silence. The feeling of pleasure would have -been changed into a consciousness of victory and power, which is far -superior to sensuality. - -"Never cringe before the beast; then it will not get the better of -you. The suppression of an unlawful desire is like winding up a watch; -the mainspring contracts till it creaks, but it does not do its work -properly till then. Preserve your strength for yourself; then you will -conquer your foes in the battles of life. Waste not your virile energy, -or the woman will get the better of you. - -"You know very well what I mean by 'desire': I do not mean moderate -eating and drinking; and you know very well what 'waste' means. You -must also not believe that desire decreases with age. It is not so; but -the intelligence and will-power increase, and therefore the victory is -proportionably easier. I make you a present of this explanation: keep -it, and show that you are intelligent enough to be able to receive a -real one." - - -=Ecclesia Triumphans.=--The teacher said: "The world is full of -lies, but there are also errors and misunderstandings. No two men give -words the same meaning. But there are persistent lies which circulate -like coins. There are lies of the lower classes, and lies of the upper -classes; lies of the Catholics and of the Protestants. But those of -the pagans are the worst of all. They believe they have the right to -lie, because it profits them or their friends. One of the greatest -lies of the pagans which misled me for a long time is the false -assertion that Japan has accepted the material culture of Europe, but -rejected Christianity. Two Japanese professors, who lately visited our -land, declared on the contrary that there was a Christian church in -each of the larger towns of Japan. There are Christians in the army, -parliament, and universities. Their number is great--five-and-forty -thousand Protestants, eight-and-fifty thousand Catholics, and -five-and-twenty thousand adherents of the Greek Church. In the Second -Chamber of the Japanese parliament two of the presidents have become -Christians. And all that has taken place in thirty-five years. A -thousand years pass by like nothing, and the future seems to belong to -Christianity, since we have already seen that the chief powers of the -world, Europe and America, are Christian. - -"There is certainly no obligation to be a Christian, but some day -it may be a disgrace not to be one, when one is born in a Christian -country. It may come to be thought retrograde and conservative, and a -failure to keep pace with development. The pagans celebrated the end of -the eighteenth century as marking the overthrow of Christianity, but in -1802 appeared the finest book which has been written on Christianity, -_Le Gnie du Christianisme_, by Chateaubriand, and by its means the -Church triumphed again." - - -=Logic in Neurasthenia.=--As the Teacher wandered in Qualheim, he -came into a mountainous region, and saw a castle which was of dreamlike -beauty. "Who is the enviable man who lives in such a palace?" he -asked. His guide answered: "He is an unhappy, helpless hermit, without -peace, and without a home. He was born with great artistic gifts, but -employed them on rubbish. He drew nonsensical and trifling caricatures, -distorted all that was beautiful into ugliness, and all that was great -into pettiness." - -"How does he occupy himself now?" - -"Shall I say it? He sits from morning till evening, making balls out of -dung." - -"You mean to say, he continues as he began. Is that his punishment?" - -"Yes! Isn't it logical? He obtained the castle, but cannot use it." -Then they went further and came into a garden, where they found a man -grafting peaches on turnips. "What has he done?" asked the teacher. "In -life he was especially fond of turnips, and now he wishes to inoculate -peaches, which he finds insipid, with the fine flavour of turnips. He -was, moreover, an author, and wished to rejuvenate poetry with bawdy -peasant songs." "Why, that is symbolism!" "Yes, and logical most of -all." - -Then they came to a cottage, where they found a man lying on a bed, -surrounded by piles of books. The man had read himself ill; he lay -there exhausted by hunger and thirst, and could hardly breathe. - -"What is he reading?" asked the teacher. - -"Only theology, exegetics, dogmatics, isogogy, eschatology. During -lifetime he denied the existence of God. Now he seeks Him in theology, -but has not yet found Him." - -"Will he find Him?" - -"Yes, certainly he will. But he must first seek!" - -"Why, it is just like that in our lunatic asylums." - -"And there is logic in neurasthenia, here as there." - - -=My Caricature.=--The teacher said: "Men often appear in our lives -as though they were sent; we do not know why they interfere with our -destiny; they themselves perhaps do not know. When I was a young man -who gave promise of a future, which I had not fulfilled, I received as -a colleague in my work a man whom I at once felt to be antipathetic to -me, and who hated me. But he sought me, drew me out, and compelled me -to drink, although I was not exactly difficult to persuade. He drank -himself terribly, and often I thought he wished to make me drink myself -to death. When half-intoxicated, he always made personal remarks on -me, both flattering and critical. He also appeared as a charlatan, -professing to know and prophesy my destiny. This sometimes attracted -me, and sometimes repelled me. - -"Finally, on one occasion when intoxicated, he attacked me before -others, and called me 'a humbug who would come to nothing.' I was at -that time fully conscious of my vocation as author; excited by the -attack, and being partially in liquor, I made a presumptuous assertion -that I would be 'great.' Then the man fell in a rage and swore by -h--l that I should not be great. After this our ways divided. My -friends noticed it, and asked, 'Do you not go about any more with your -caricature?' 'What do you mean by that?' I asked. 'His face was really -a caricature of yours.' And so it was. - -"Two years afterwards I emerged from the ruck, and remember that my -thoughts turned back to the mysterious person who had interested -himself in my destiny. Somewhat later I heard that the man had died -at twenty-seven years of age under peculiar circumstances. He was -standing on a mountain in the evening of Midsummer Day when he had -a stroke. 'He flew asunder like a goblin in the sunlight,' I said -jocosely. - -"This man looked like a Hun or a death's-head. He was born in the -seventh month, and preserved by being wrapped in wadding and laid in a -corner of the tiled stove. But that explains nothing perhaps?" - - -=The Inexplicable.=--The teacher continued: "He had, however, a -peculiar influence over people, and that not only because he flattered -them. I saw him when he was twenty-five years old talking with our -foremost statesman, who was then fifty. The widely experienced, -sceptical politician listened to the ill-dressed unwashed man, -flushed with wine, who almost monopolised the talk. He claimed an -authoritative knowledge of all subjects, teemed with facts and -figures, alluded to all prominent men as old acquaintances, was well -versed in family chronicles and political intrigues. 'Where did he -get all that?' I asked someone. 'I don't know, but he is a remarkable -man with great influence,' was the answer. In addition to his other -characteristics I can mention this: with all his coarseness he had -traits of sensitiveness. He wept when he read of the cruelties in -the Russo-Turkish war. He loved beautiful poetry. He had a chivalrous -enthusiasm for women. He gave out his money generously, but when he -was tipsy he was stingy. Demons plagued him, and he used to roam in -the woods alone; but he always smashed his top-hat first. One could -see into his nostrils, and, when he laughed, all his back teeth could -be counted. He always wore too long trousers on which he trod, for he -was in the habit of walking on his heels. He was beardless like Attila, -because his cheeks simply consisted of nerves. - -"But what had he to do with my destiny, and whence sprang his boundless -hatred for me? It is inexplicable, like so much else." - - -=Old-time Religion.=--The pupil said: "I have heard, I -have thought; now I will speak. I believe in Christianity as a -world-historical fact, with which a new era has begun and proceeds. I -believe that all nations will one day bow the knee in the name of Jesus -Christ. Every time that the pagans gain the upper hand, I will regard -it as a test, and not immediately believe that God is with them against -His own. - -"But let us have a simple, cheerful Christianity which gathers all -to the Sunday festival. Regard it as a misuse of God's name to have -religious services every day. Simplify the dogmas and keep them -flexible so that all may find a place in them. Shorten the services; -let praise, thanks, and worship predominate, and let the sermon, which -should be only twenty minutes long, be subordinate. The preacher should -stick to his text, and not make personal allusions like a journalist. -Not till that is done will one be able to talk of 'assemblies,' of -national festivals like the Pan-Athenan and Olympian games. - -"But it is madness to put pagans at the head of a Christian State -as teachers, educators, or officials. That is not tolerance, but -tomfoolery. That is making the goat the gardener, setting the foe -in the fortress, playing the coward before public opinion, and mere -weakness. - -"There will come a day in which the name 'Christian' will be a title -of honour and a diploma of nobility. To say 'I am a Christian' is -equivalent to saying 'I am a Roman citizen.' He who dares to call -himself a pagan or an atheist, will be regarded as a blockhead, an -old-fashioned ass, a conservative reactionary, a stick-in-the-mud." - - -=The Seduced Become Seducers.=--The pupil continued: "The reason -why it has been so hard for me and many others to become really -Christian, is that we are all directly descended from the pagans. -We were not acclimatised in the Christian atmosphere, but liable to -wild impulses; our flesh was too coarse to endure renunciation and -restraint. We had been educated in the evolutionary ape-theory, and -been taught that man belongs to the department of zoology and not -that of anthropology. We had also been told that the physical process -that precedes the New Birth of the soul, which is called conversion -from evil, was neurasthenia, and should be treated with warm baths or -bromkali. Veterinary doctors held professorships of philosophy and -introduced zoology as a compulsory subject in priests' examinations. -The servants of the Lord learnt that religion was a deposit from the -tertiary period, that animals were more religious than man, and that -man had created God. The seducer of our youth taught us that the -Life of Jesus was a lubricous novel, that the doctrine of the Bible -regarding Christ simply amounted to this--that He was a prominent -Galilan; and finally, that the superman was the bandit who may commit -any outrage against others, provided he can prove a false alibi and has -no witnesses. - -"It was a terrible period which recalled that of the Roman emperors, -and like that, heralded the arrival of Christianity. We, who had been -seduced, then became seducers. But we thank God that no harm was done. -Everything serves, and we had to serve as a terrifying example. There -is always something. - - -=Large-hearted Christianity.=--"But we ought not to frighten men -with Christianity, nor become hair-splitters. Let faith be a uniting -bond to lead us onward, let faith be hope in a better life after this, -a connecting-link with that which is higher. Let the fruits of faith -be seen to be humanity, resignation, mercifulness. But don't go and -count how many glasses of whisky your neighbour drinks; don't call him -a hypocrite if he once in a while gives way to the flesh, or if he is -angry and says hard words. Don't ask how often he goes to church; don't -spy on his words, if in an access of ill-humour he speaks otherwise -than he would. You cannot see whether in solitude he does not regret it -and chastens himself. A white lie or the embellishment of a story is -not a deadly sin; an impropriety can be so atoned for by imprisonment -that it ought to be forgotten. Do not secede from the Church because -of some dogmas which you do not understand. Don't form a sect with the -idea of raising yourself to the rank of shepherd, instead of forming -part of the flock. One should have a large-hearted Christianity for -daily use, and a stricter one for festival days. - -"Don't talk about religion. It is too good for that.... Virtue consists -in striving, even when it does not always succeed." - - "The noble Spirit now is free - And saved from evil scheming, - Whoer'er aspires unweariedly - Is not beyond redeeming. - And if he feels the grace of Love - That from on high is given, - The blessed hosts that wait above - Shall welcome him to heaven." - (_Faust_, Part II.) - - - -=Reconnection with the Arial Wire.=--The pupil spoke: "You said -once that the tramcar comes to a standstill if it loses connection -with the arial wire. I know that very well. Would that my friends -who are atheists and pagans knew what a relief it is to find the -connection again. It is like diving in crystal-clear sea-water after -perspiring in the heat of the dog-days on a dusty high-road. The heart -grows light; the systematic ill-luck ceases; one has some success, -one's undertakings prosper, one can sleep at night, and neurasthenia -ceases. I remember how, after a night of debauchery, the most beautiful -landscape at sunrise looked ghastly; while after a night of quiet sleep -the same scene looked paradisal. - -"When we gain the certainty, and the belief founded on certainty, that -life is continued on the other side, then we find it easier on this -one, and do not hunt after trifles till we are weary. Then we discover -the divine light-heartedness of which Goethe speaks, which finds -expression in a certain contempt of honours and distinction, promotion -and money. We become more in-sensible to blows and abuse. Everything -goes more softly and smoothly. However dark the surroundings may be, we -become self-luminous so to speak, and carry the little pocket-lamp hope -with us." - - -=The Art of Conversion.=--The pupil continued: "Plato describes -earthly life as follows: 'Men sit in a cavern with their backs towards -the light. Therefore they only see the shadows or simulacra of what -passes in front of the cavern. Whoever hits on the brilliant idea of -turning round, sees the originals, the realities in themselves, the -light.' - -"So simple is it! Only to turn round, or be converted, in a word. -But it is not necessary on that account to become a monk, ascetic, -or hermit. I almost agree with Luther that faith is everything. Our -deeds lag far behind, and need only consist in refraining from all -deliberate evil. As a beginning, one may be content with not stealing, -lying, or bearing false witness. If we have greater claims and wish to -train ourselves into supermen, we may. But if we do not succeed, we -should not throw the whole system over-board, but ceaselessly commence -anew, never despair, try to smile at our vain efforts, be patient with -ourselves, and believe good of God. - -"When the religious man falls, he gets up again, brushes himself, and -goes on; the irreligious one remains lying in the dirt. Thus the whole -art of life consists in not turning one's back to the light. - - -=The Superman.=--"The gentlemen who talk about development say -that Christianity is out of date and lies behind us. No! Christianity -is everywhere; behind us, near us, before us. - -"Pagans of all kinds really created their gods in their own likeness. -But with Christianity came the transcendent God and revealed Himself -to men who had the goodwill to understand Him. Therefore Christianity -is the beginning of the world's history, its middle, and its end. -'Whither and whence everything streams,' as Hegel says. - -"The multiplication-table is still older, but is not out of date; it -is still used, though logarithms have been discovered. The laws of -thought, atomic weights, oscillations of waves of light and sound, have -not been left behind us, but are still continually close to us. - -"But if one does reattach oneself to Christianity, one should take it -without refining--stock and barrel, dogmas and miracles. One should -swallow it uncritically, navely, in great gulps, then it goes down -like castor-oil in hot coffee. 'Open your mouth and shut your eyes.' -That is the only way. - -"I am a Christian, _i.e._ I am a nobleman; I belong to the upper -class; I have been vaccinated; I have served my time in the army; -I am a citizen and of full age; I am a white man; I have a clean -birth-certificate; I am a superman." - -To be a Christian Is not to be a Pietist.--The pupil continued: "If my -pagan friends would only give up the idea that a Christian must be a -pietist, they would come into our pantheon in crowds. Luther ate and -drank what was set before him, as St. Paul enjoins; he played, sang, -hunted, and played skittles. He swore also; but notice well, he never -asked God to curse him, or the Devil to take him; he only said, 'Curse -such and such a thing,' or 'To the devil with it!' Certainly I think he -might have modified that habit, as it created annoyance, and he was a -chief priest and prophet. - -"It is a standing error to think that we lay-men should live every -day like priests. We cannot; we have neither the time nor the means; -it is a shame to demand it. But with the priest it is otherwise. He -has devoted his life to the service of the Lord. He should spend the -six days of the week in so preparing his sermon that he can say it by -heart. I will not compare the clergyman with the actor, but on Sunday -he ought at any rate be able to repeat his rle verbatim. For doing -that he gets his bread. If the congregation see that he reads his -sermon, they think, 'We could do that too; there is no art in that!' -And the minister of the Lord must take good heed to himself else he -arouses annoyance. People will not take it ill if he is austere, and -refrains from society, for he is a representative, not a private -person. With the layman it is otherwise. He is a poor sinful man, of -whom too much cannot be demanded as he drags his daily burden through -the wicked world." - - -=Strength and Value of Words.=--The teacher said: "Thought is an -act of the mind, and words are congealed thoughts. The uttered word can -have an effect like a charm or an adjuration. There are men who are so -sensitive that they are aware at a distance whether people are speaking -well or ill of them. There are men who are not afraid of committing a -crime, but are startled at the word which names it. Weak men cannot -endure hard words; they make them ill. A word may kill. If I were a -judge, I would always first ask the man-slayer, 'What did he say which -made you strike him down?' And then I should allow for extenuating -circumstances, or even acquit the man, if the deadly word caused the -deadly blow as a reflex-action. If for fifty years I have cherished the -memory of my parents, and my family, property, and honour is based on -my relationship to them, and then someone comes and tells me I am not -my father's son, he has killed me; the whole edifice of my emotional -life collapses. He has paralysed my energy and willingness to sacrifice -myself; he has imposed upon me the monstrous task of radically changing -my views of the world and men; he has rooted-up my filial affection; -with a single word he has annihilated my whole life. If he has lied, he -is simply a murderer!" - - -=The Black Illuminati.=--The teacher said: "Everything serves, -and error often helps forward truth. At the end of the last century, -the materialists began to sniff about in the occult. One day they -discovered the capacity of men, when in a hypnotic state, of seeing -at a distance, of beholding the invisible, and of penetrating the -future. Then they accomplished, curiously enough, the honourable task -of establishing the truth of clairvoyance and prophecy, as well as the -possibility of miracles. The theosophists, who really at a terrible -period of the 'black illumination' sought to penetrate behind phenomena -and dug up useful fragments of ancient wisdom, were however hostile -to Christianity. They went so far as to send one of their prophets to -India to warn the natives against the missionaries. - -"But in course of time they began to investigate Christianity again; -they were now provided with the proper means for understanding the -mysteries of Christ's incarnation and atoning death, of sacraments -and miracles. And see now! their latest prophetess has written a -book to explain and defend Christianity! All roads seem to lead to -Christ. No one has done such good service to Christianity as the -materialistic occultists and the atheistic theosophists. Young France -has been Christianised by the pagans. The last apostle of the rustic -intelligence stands isolated there in his damnable infatuation, -believing himself to be the only 'illuminated' one in the world. Let us -hope that he is the last of the 'Illuminati.'" - -"Yes, let us hope so." - - -=Anthropomorphism.=--"Man is inclined to make everything after -his own likeness. When the heathen made themselves gods, the latter -resembled their creators in all their defects and sins. That is called -Anthropomorphism. The artist who paints a portrait, always puts -something of his own into it. I know a sculptor who always used to -model his own undersized figure with its two short legs, whether he -was representing mountaineers, fauns, men of science, or kings. The -plumper he became in course of time, the more rotund his figures grew. -I know a photographer who always retouches his portraits of people -till they resemble himself. He must admire his own exterior, and wish -to have it taken as a standard-type. The critic when he describes an -author, proceeds in a similar fashion. Every point in which the author -resembles him is reckoned a merit; everyone in which he differs, a -fault. - -"When anyone says, 'This poet is the best I know; you must read him!' -that means, 'This poet has my views; you must share them, for they are -the best in the world.' Everyone would like to fashion humanity and the -world in his own image. But if everyone had his way, what would the -world look like?" - - -=Fury-worship as a Penal Hallucination.=--The teacher said: -"Swedenborg describes, in his fashion, how the greatest tyrant arrived -in Hades. He wished to stir up hell against heaven, and he was punished -by having a terrible woman sent to rule him, whom he worshipped. -She was a compendium of original sin, deliberate falsehood, wilful -deceit, ugliness, uncleanness, destructiveness. But he was compelled -to see in her the good, the beautiful, the lovable; he called her 'my -angel.' All his adherents were obliged to worship her, or he called -them 'woman-haters.' Whence Swedenborg derived his narratives, I know -not, but his descriptions are like photographs of our everyday life. -The modern worship of women does not come down from the Christian -ages of chivalry, for those romanticists honoured womanhood in its -virtues. Our new gyneolatry is derived from the heathen; it is a kind -of fury-worship imposed on us as a penal hallucination. The sons of -the Lord of Dung deify their furies, and praise their faults. In their -view sin is virtue, wickedness is character, deceitfulness is a proof -of intelligence, coarseness is strength. He who will not join in -this devil-worship is called a woman-hater. Chaste wives and mothers -are called old-fashioned and perverse. Euripides describes in the -_Hippolytus_ how this king's son dedicated his devotion to the chaste -Diana and fled the demotic Venus. This impure goddess avenged herself -by accusing the innocent Hippolytus of incest and then caused him to be -put to death. Euripides on account of writing this tragedy was called a -'woman-hater,' and is said to have been tom in pieces by female dogs. -That is a pretty legend!" - - -=Amerigo or Columbus.=--The teacher said: "Human greatness and -the way of becoming great is something very remarkable. Often envious -hatred of the deserving seems to be converted into immense love for -the undeserving. The infatuation of hatred may go so far that when -the deserving has done a good work, the undeserving gets the glory of -it. But often also there are secret reasons for this abnormal result. -Every schoolboy has asked why America was not named after Columbus, -who discovered it. I also made that inquiry, and while I served the -Lord of Dung I found it quite natural that the undeserving cartographer -Vespucci should have the honour of the discovery. - -"But when I recovered my reason (and men called me mad), I read the -biography of Columbus again. There I found that, together with his -merits, he had great faults. Like David, he sinned by pride, avarice, -cruelty, and deceit. His pride was boundless. Before undertaking his -doubtful voyage, he laid down as a condition that he was to be Viceroy -(he, the weaver's son!) and receive a tithe of the revenues. Well, he -never learnt that he had discovered a new quarter of the globe. He died -and was forgotten. - -"Vespucci, on the other hand, was not only a cartographer, but -sailed round South America, and discovered that the New World was -not India. He seems to have been a good-natured, upright, and modest -man. Toscanelli, his contemporary, is also said to have announced the -existence of a new world, but that is not so certain." - - -=A Circumnavigator of the Globe.=--The pupil said: "Can you -resolve my discords?" - -"I will call you a circumnavigator of the globe. You have sailed round -it, and returned to the point whence you set out. No one can go further -than that. But you return with a freight of experience, knowledge, -and wisdom. Therefore the journey was not in vain, or to speak more -correctly, it has fulfilled its object. Max Muller, who at the time of -the decadence was the scapegoat for all the atheists, concludes his -history of religion thus: 'It is easy to say that the completest faith -is a child's faith. Nothing can be truer. The older we grow, the more -we learn to comprehend the wisdom of children's faith.' And in another -place he says: 'To explain religion by referring it to a religious -impulse, or a religious capacity, is merely to explain the known by the -less known. The real religious impulse or instinct is the apprehension -of the infinite.' Thank your misfortunes that you have arrived at the -infinite. 'The fortunate do not believe that miracles still happen, for -only in misery we recognise God's hand and finger, which leads good men -to good.'" - -"Do you know who said that?" - -"No; is it Luther?" - -"No; it is Goethe in _Hermann and Dorothea._ And the 'great pagan' -wrote in 1779 to Lavater: 'My God, to whom I have been ever faithful, -has in secret richly blessed me. For my destiny is quite hidden from -men; they can neither hear nor see at all, how it is determined.' The -Lice-King omits such expressions when he wishes to incorporate Goethe -among his slimy larv." - - -=The Poet's Children.=--The teacher continued: "Moreover, as I -have already told you, you are a poet, and must pass through your -reincarnations here. You have a right to invent poetic personalities, -and at every stage to speak the speech of the one you represent. -Shakespeare has done so, whether he did it consciously, or whether life -assigned him the various roles he played. At one time he is a cheerful -optimist; at another, the misogynist Timon, or the world-despiser -Hamlet; he is the jealous Othello, the amorous Romeo, so-and-so the -panegyrist of women, and so-and-so the misogynist. I believe indeed -that he has, by way of experiment, been the murderer Macbeth, and the -monster Richard III. He utters the malignant speeches of the last with -real relish. Every rascal may defend himself, and Shakespeare is his -advocate. - -"There the poet should have no grave; his ashes should be strewn to -all the winds of heaven. He should only live in his works, if they -possess vital power. Men should accustom themselves to look upon him as -something different from an ordinary man; they ought not to judge him, -but regard him as something which they cannot understand. You remember -the dying Epaminondas. When they condoled with him because he left no -children, he answered: 'Children? I have Leuktra and Mantinea.'" - - -=Faithful in Little Things.=--The pupil said: "I had a friend, -who died lately at the age of sixty. According to my view, he has in -his own way realised the type of a good citizen and a good man. He was -a tradesman, and had passed through a youth of hardship, being from -six in the morning till ten at night in the shop, the doors of which -were open even in winter. Under his first master he quickly discovered -that dishonest tricks did not pay. Therefore he became rigidly honest, -studied the details of his trade, made rapid progress, kept sober and -wide-awake. Accordingly he soon became his own master, and wealth came -of itself. He married and had children, who turned out excellently in -consequence of their father's example. Now, this man lived his whole -life according to the teaching he had received in school and church. -He did his duty, honoured father and mother, obeyed law and authority, -never criticised those who managed the government of the country, -which he did not profess to understand. He took no notice of selfish -agitations, did not worry himself about the riddle of the universe, and -warned his children not to be eager after novelties. He also possessed -positive virtues; he was merciful and helpful, faithful and modest. - -"When his sons began to study, he did not attempt to vie with them in -learning. But when they attacked his childlike faith, he defended it -like a man. He never ventured to occupy a public post, for he knew his -limits. He never sought for distinctions, nor did he obtain any. Well, -what name do the larv of the snake-worm give such a blameless, good, -faithful man? They call him 'a servile rascal.' Is that just?" - -The teacher answered: "No! it is flagrantly unjust! But there are other -types of character, which are also laudable." - -"Yes, indeed, but that does not lessen the value of his life; he was -faithful in small things." - - -=The Unpracticalness of Husk-eating.=--The teacher said: "Young -people say, 'What do we want with the wisdom of age? We want to learn -for ourselves.' I generally answer, 'Yes, learn for yourselves--from -us! What good-fortune to be able to inherit the rich experiences of -others, and not to make these expensive, dirty experiments for oneself! -If the young commenced where we left off, the world and humanity would -progress with giant strides. Instead of this everyone begins afresh, -that is, in the moral sphere. When it is a question of making a new -incandescent lamp, we do not begin with a machine for generating -electricity, but continue from the latest discovery of our predecessors. - -"I have also asked myself whether it is necessary first to be burnt -in order to dread the fire. I have never seen my children go to the -oven and lay hold of the red dampers to see whether they would be -burnt. They let themselves be warned, and therefore escaped the painful -experience. I have asked myself whether one must first feed with the -swine before one can appreciate the food of the household, and whether -the Prodigal Son is a necessary transitionary type. But to all these -stupid and impertinent questions life has given a negative answer. - -"Swedenborg says that all sin and wickedness leave traces behind -them, but that these are not apparent in the human face till old age. -Subsequently, in the disrobing-room on the other side, they look as if -they had been thrown through a magnifying-glass on a white screen. I -once looked into an attic-room; the curtain was drawn aside, and an old -man put out his head in order to look at the sun. When he saw me he hid -his face immediately. - -"That was a face!... God protect us!" - - -=A Youthful Dream for Seven Shillings.=--The teacher said: "There -are people who carry about with them a measuring-rule for everything. -They demand exactness and order; they love perfection in all things. -They are called discontented, carping, pedantic. But it is unfair to -blame them. If one is content with the mediocre, one will at last only -get the worst. Men give only as little as they can, and the whole of -life is defective. Conscientious men are not happy, for they cannot -lower their demands; they appear to simpletons who have not learnt, -that nothing is what it gives itself out to be, that nothing answers -the expectations we formed of it. One is inclined to ask whether such -men bring with them at birth recollections of a place or a condition -where ideal perfection existed. When I was seven years old, I often -remained standing fascinated before a music-dealer's shop window, -and contemplated a hunter's horn which was hung up there. There was -something charming in the proportions of these curved lines. This brass -tube tapered off beautifully from the great width of its bell-mouth to -its narrowed mouthpiece. In the gloomy street it made me hear nature's -music in woods and fields; I loved the instrument. But when a boy told -me that it cost thirty shillings, I wondered whether life would ever -fulfil my desire, for in order to buy it I would have to go for two and -a half years without breakfast. Finally I got to be thirty years old, -and had some money to spare for the first time in my life. I bought the -hunting-horn; it cost only seven shillings; the boy had told a lie. -But the instrument had only three notes. When I got tired of my prize -it was consigned to the attic. - -"It was, at any rate, the fulfilment of a youthful dream!" - - -=Envy Nobody!=--The teacher said: "Envy nobody! As a child I was -boarded out in the country in mean surroundings. I lived in a kind of -shanty, ate from an earthenware plate, sat on a wooden stool. But there -was a castle in the neighbourhood, a real castle, with portraits of -kings in the entrance-hall, the ancestors of the young count who lived -there. One Sunday we were allowed to go, first into the castle, then -into the garden. That was paradise! We could bathe, and were allowed to -pick the cherries, blood-black, gold-yellow, fire-red. The count looked -on, but ate nothing; he had had enough. Then we left, and the gate of -paradise was shut behind us. - -"Fifty years later I saw the portrait of the young count, and heard -his history. He looked unhappy and despairing, as though he were weary -of everything. He had passed through the bitterest experiences of -life, including poverty for a time. His affairs came into liquidation, -and he had to spend ten years abroad in an hotel, his expenses being -defrayed by his creditors. He also had his wife with him, who, as she -thought, had married into paradise, in order to be immediately driven -out of it again. The man had been nothing and had done nothing; all -he could do was to wait for his meals. He had possessed horses and a -yacht; he had gambled and borrowed money; he had eaten truffles and -drunk wine; but when he was forty had to give it up, for his nose grew -red and he had gout in his great toe. I will not speak of his domestic -miseries. - -"Now he sits in his castle, rich as Croesus, but lonely, and educates -his housekeeper's children, which are his, but which cannot bear -his name. His evening meal consists of gruel, and he goes to bed at -half-past nine. He dares not use his wine-cellar, for then his great -toe aches. His solitary comparative pleasure is to be able to walk, in -order to eat his gruel and be able to sleep. Envy nobody!" - -=The Galley-slaves of Ambition.=--The teacher said: "Balzac speaks - - -=ondition very much as Swedenborg describes certain of his hells, or as -Homer depicts Tantalus, Ixion, and the Danaides. They are ceaselessly -haunted by their passion to be superior to others; to be seen and heard -before all others. The malice and love of power which this involves -are necessarily punished. When the ambitious man cannot be the first -and only one he becomes ill. Voltaire had to go to bed when a prince -travelled past his house without visiting him. If one of such people's -letters remains unanswered they think it is a sign that their credit -has sunk, and they worry about the reason of it till they grow how -hypochondriacal. If they read in the paper such and such important -people were present when the king landed, and their names are omitted, -the world is darkened for them. That is to say, it is not enough for -them that they should be praised and called the greatest; they suffer -pains like death when others are eulogised. They feel perpetual fear -lest they should be set aside and their juniors get ahead of them. -In that they resemble a great criminal who expects to be detected. -The portrait of an ambitious man has a great resemblance to that of -a galley-slave. Imperiousness, hatred, fear--especially fear--are -depicted in his face. - -"Balzac, on the other hand, was impelled by the noble ambition to make -discoveries, and to do good work in which he took pleasure. But his -own life was hidden. Unknown and misunderstood in his own Paris, which -he had discovered, he saw petty chroniclers obtain the first prizes -without being made ill by it. And when, at the age of fifty-one, he -had succeeded in making a home for himself, into which he was about to -bring his first and only wife, he died on the day of the publication of -the banns. A fine death after a life of renunciation!" - - -=Hard to Disentangle.=--The teacher said: "With age, as is -well known, one arrives at a different view of life than one had -formerly. Then, on account of its wealth and variety, life is almost -immeasurable, and above all, very difficult to disentangle. - -"At the age of forty I came home after an absence of many years. On my -arrival I received a dunning letter from an antiquarian bookseller. -Curiously enough, without my being able to explain why, this debt -caused me no further uneasiness of conscience. But then a friend came -and advised me to settle the matter, as the bookseller was spreading -an evil report about me. I went and paid the trifling account, but the -bookseller looked so uneasy and strange, was so polite and grateful, -that I began to reflect about him. When I came home I remembered this: -twenty years previously I had entrusted him with an antique work of -art to sell. After I had visited the man several times in his shop -and the article had not been sold, I felt ashamed to go any more, -began to think of something else, and forgot the matter. His present -thankfulness showed that he had not forgotten it; we were then quits, -if he did not still owe me something. - -"Now I felt ashamed on his account, and determined not to mention the -matter. But then it occurred to me that I owed his predecessor a sum of -money for books. I went again, found him showing the same uneasy manner -as before, and asked for his predecessor's address. He was in America. -I asked whether he had relatives here in the town. He had none. I went -home and thought to myself, 'Then we must drop that matter also.' In -this way, in old age, one must alternate pay and let go; now as a -debtor, now as creditor. But who strikes the balance of accounts? The -goddess of justice, and she is neither deaf nor blind." - - -=The Art of Settling Accounts.=--The teacher continued: "It really -looks as though we could not go hence till everything is settled, -great and small alike. Recently there died an early friend of mine, -who, at an important juncture, had helped me with a hundred kronas.[1] -I had at first regarded it as a loan. But he never dunned me, and -during the forty years which have since elapsed he was gradually -transformed in my memory into a benefactor, and all was well. When at -last he died a millionaire, I did not wish to trouble his executors -with the trifle, but sent a wreath to the funeral with a sigh of -gratitude and many kindly thoughts. Was that the end? No! Shortly -afterwards I felt a kind of inward admonition to resume relations -with a bookbinder whom I had ceased to employ on account of his -carelessness. He came and was glad to get work again; he was greatly -pleased, and declared that I had appeared just in time to deliver him. -When I understood his difficulties, for he had a family, I was willing -to give him fifty kronas in advance, but as I had no change I gave him -a hundred, though reluctantly. I saw how his back straightened itself, -and his confidence in life reawoke. He went--and never returned. I was -angry at first, because he had treated me like a fool, and I dunned -him with letters. But then the memory of my departed friend recurred; -various thoughts wove themselves together in my mind--the pleasure -of calling him a scamp, the fifty-krona note which had turned into a -hundred-krona note, the scamp's need, and the part I had played as -deliverer. In my own mind I gave him a discharge, and became quite -quiet." - - -[Footnote 1: A krona = 1s. 3d.] - - -=Growing Old Gracefully.=--The teacher continued: "When one -becomes old, one wonders at first how men have, as it were, permission -to do one an injustice. If one complains, one finds no sympathy. Even -our friends take the part of those who injure us. But when we have -discovered the secret of it, we take it all quietly. One is cheated -in ordinary business, and says to oneself, 'This is in requital for -that.' Our children prove ungrateful and difficult to manage, exactly -like we were. Young people are insolent and pert towards us, and we -see our former selves reflected in them. Servants do their work badly, -and perpetrate petty thefts; we must put up with it, when we think of -our own work scamped on various occasions. Friends are faithless, just -as we have been ourselves. By practice one comes at last so far, that -one asks for no more, demands no more, and is no longer angry. I then -always think of David when Shimei cast stones at him and cursed him, -and Abishai wanted to strike off the calumniator's head. David declined -to take vengeance, saying, 'Let him curse, for the Lord hath bidden -him.' When the same king, because of his sins, had to choose between -famine, pestilence, or raids of the enemy, he prayed 'to fall into the -hands of God, and not into the hands of man.' - -"He understood how to grow old gracefully, and to make up his accounts. -So he departed praising God, 'Who proveth the heart and loveth -uprightness.'" - - - -=hat when one awakes from somnambulism, one finds the world quite -mad. Then one loses all hope and all confidence, and believes we are -delivered into the power of the Devil. Once during such a moment of -awakening, I read the works of the Adventists, and the idea struck me -that they were right. They ground their belief on the Revelation of -St. John, and say as follows: 'We live in the last era during which -the eight wild beasts rule the earth. Of Christianity no trace is to -be found: power, wealth, industry, art, science, literature, are -in the hands of the pagans. The state-craft of the wild beasts is -lying and force, alternating with the most insidious hypocrisy. They -preach peace, distribute peace-prizes, build peace-palaces, but are -always seeking war in order to be able to rob and tyrannise. If their -subordinates believe them, and preach peace themselves, they are thrown -into prison. But, says St. John, nations will come from the East and -destroy the godless who have rejected Christ. The last battle is to -be at Megiddo in Syria. But since all this takes place under God's -control, the wild beasts are protected in order to carry out their -work of execution. The number of the last wild beast, 666, is not yet -interpreted, for it is not yet come. The eight wild beasts you can find -in a book, which is called _A de G_;[1] of the people of the East you -read every morning in your paper. It looks almost as though it were -true. The pietists believe it, and keep their lamps burning.'" - - -=Deaf and Blind.=--The teacher continued: "Under the rule of -the wild beast men have become demoralised. They reject every idea -of a retributive justice. If anyone points to an instance of it, -he is suppressed. If a blasphemer loses his tongue, they call it -'Actinomyces,' nothing more. And the obstinacy of the unrepentant -revolts against heaven itself: 'It is so far to heaven; what do we know -about it? We are ants; no God troubles himself about us.' If something -good happens to a man, he attributes it to his own power; if something -evil, he calls it 'bad-luck.' Science explains earthquakes by algebra, -and if it wants to be very learned, by seismology. The quantity of -crime and wickedness which _must_ exist is fixed by statistics. And -yet heaven is so near. God's invisible servants are around us, in -the streets and in our rooms. We do not see them, but those who have -eyes, and only they, behold their operations. The world is like a vast -institute for the deaf and blind, in which the unfortunates are told -by their teachers that they are the only ones who can see and hear. -The theosophists say that we are already living two lives--a conscious -one on the earth, and an unconscious one above. But most men seem to -have broken off communication with the higher plane, and therefore they -cannot comprehend what is from above, but have discovered that there is -no higher and no lower in the universe." - - -[Footnote 1: Not explained in original footnote.] - - -=Recollections.=--The pupil said: "Often has my experience -confirmed this saying of the theosophists, that, as well as here, we -live also on a higher plane from whence we receive our inspirations, -ideas, and intuitions. After such visitations (do they take place by -night?) I do not flourish down here, but find everything perverse, -defective, absurd. I once conceived the strange idea that I have my -true home somewhere else, and that a vague recollection has made me -give my present home an arrangement similar to that of my real one. - -"In my present abode there was a room which, after certain storms that -lasted for two years, was so devastated that it looked as if devils -had haunted it. Then a sum of money came into my hands unexpectedly. -The next morning I awoke with the distinct determination to repair -and furnish the room. I went at once to the upholsterer, and knew so -exactly what furniture and curtains I wanted, that when I saw the -material it looked to me familiar and welcome. A workman came, proved -honest, worked quietly like a spirit, and in a few days the room -was ready. When I entered it, I was seized with a sort of ecstatic -shiver as though I had already seen this room once before under happy -circumstances. And now when I enter the room alone, I see it resembles -something which I do not remember, but which waits for me. I seem to -know that _there_ I am waited for by my only true wife, by my children, -friends and relations, and that this incompleteness I see is only a -poor copy drawn from a dim recollection. Think, if it only were so!" - - -=Children Are Wonder-Children.=--The teacher answered: "What you -say accords with Plato's theory of recollection. He believes that all -which a child learns is recovered from some previous knowledge. During -my long experience it has often happened to me to meet people who, -the first time I saw them, seemed like old acquaintances. It seems, -too, that the woman we love appears congenial to us, made for us, sent -in our way. But most of all is this the case with our children. All -children are, in spite of idle talk, wonder-children--till they have -learnt to talk. Little children often say things which astound one. -They understand all that we say even when we hide it from them. They -seem to be thought-readers, divine our most secret purposes, and rebuke -us beforehand. 'Don't do that,' said my two-year-old child before my -plan was half formed. 'What?' I asked. The child did not answer, but -smiled roguishly and half embarrassed, as though it wished to say, 'You -know yourself already.' When the child had learnt to be silent, it -pushed with its foot against the chair when the parents' talk bordered -on impropriety. Often it spoke like an elder person who understands -things better than others. At three years old it pronounced this -opinion on the nurse, 'Hannah is very nice, but she does not understand -how to treat children.' When her mother was sad, it said, 'Sit down -here and don't be sad; I will tell you a story.' I will only add--there -was no mimicry about it, as the ape-king would be inclined to believe. -What was it then?" - - -=Men-resembling Men.=--The teacher said: "It seems as though -some errors were necessary and unavoidable. They appear as a kind of -infectious virus. A generation is inoculated with it, carries the germ -till it has sprouted, and then there is an end of it. Views of the -world and man come up, are disseminated, evaporated, and disappear. -But those who have been inoculated with them believe they are their -own views, because they have assimilated them with their personality. -Often the error ends in a compromise with a new view. Thus Darwinism -made it seem probable that men derived their origin from animals. Then -came the theosophists with the opinion that our souls are in process -of transmigration from one human body to another. Thence comes this -excessive feeling of discomfort, this longing for deliverance, this -sensation of constraint, the pain of existence, the sighing of the -creature. Those who do not feel this uneasiness, but flourish here, -are probably at home here. Their inexplicable sympathy for animals and -their disbelief in the immortality of the soul points to a connection -with the lower forms of existence of which they are conscious, and -which we cannot deny. The doctrine that we are created after God's -image involves no contradiction, for the spirit is from God; but there -is no word which frightens these anthropomorphists so much as the word -'spirit.' Yes, there is one, and that is the word 'spirits,' which -makes the fleshy part of them shudder." - - -=Christ Is Risen.=--The teacher said: "After we have had -Christianity as a civilising agency for nineteen hundred years, people -begin to discuss it. Is this the opportune time to ask whether Christ -has existed and whether the documents of Christianity are genuine? -It reminds one of the author who wrote a book to prove that Napoleon -never existed. It is as if we were now to discover that Csar's -_Commentaries_ are false, and that he never conquered Gaul, or as if -we discussed whether the discovery of America had been useful. Ibsen's -partisans have denied that Columbus discovered America; they say it was -Leif Erikssen (perhaps we shall soon hear it was his wife). - -"However, Christ returned again at the end of the last century, and was -received by all. The pagans depicted him as the poor school-teacher; -the anarchists celebrated him as the type of suffering humanity; the -symbolists did homage to him as Christus Consolator; the socialists -preached his gospel to the obscure, the weary, and heavy-laden. He was -to be seen every-where--in the quarters of the French general staff and -in the espionage office; in Lourdes and in Rome; on Mont Martre and in -Moscow. His churches and convents were purified; his miracles explained -by occultists, spiritists, hypnotists; science progressed and confirmed -the prophecies. Finally we saw at the congress of religions in Chicago -in 1897 that all peoples and religions of the world bent their knees -when Christ's especial prayer, the Lord's Prayer, was recited. Then -the believers gave each other the brotherly kiss and greeting, 'Christ -is risen!'" - - -=Revolution-Sheep.=--The teacher continued: "In the year 1889 -we celebrated the French Revolution, but there was little life or -order in the celebration. Everything which was uprooted in 1789 still -existed--Church and State, kings and courts, priests and officials. The -French republic was the worst of all, with its Panama Canal jobbers at -the head: Wilson, Herz, Clemenceau, Arton. The constitution was kept -alive by bribes, bills of exchange more or less false, and pensions. -Offices were created in order to find places for voters, husbands of -mistresses, and the discontented. At that time the French republic was -governed by criminals, and the Church by pagans. Military and civil -orders were sold, works of art bought, votes canvassed for. One could -not become a deputy for less than two hundred thousand francs. Then -executioners and revolutions were necessary, for the principles of the -Great Revolution, if one can talk of principles in connection with -a volcano in eruption, were forgotten. Now in the perspective of a -hundred years the 'Great' Revolution appeared only like an execution, -a decimation on a large scale; an experiment with negative results, -but as such certainly very interesting. One of the recollections of -my youth is that when we 'who were born with the ideas of the French -Revolution' (ideas revived in 1848) began to talk of the 'Great' -Revolution, we were called 'Revolution-sheep.' I did not understand -this at the time, for I did not yet think for myself but merely -drivelled. But now I understand it. Now we know that the constitution -of a country is almost a matter of indifference for the common weal; -thus one constitution is not much better or worse than another." - - -="Life Woven of the Same Stuff as our Dreams"=--The teacher said: -"Life itself can often appear like a bad dream. One morning I went for -a walk in the country, and was absorbed in my thoughts, when a great -Danish dog rushed towards me. A young rascal stood near, laughing. I -drew my revolver, and exclaimed, 'Call off the dog, or I shoot it.' The -young fellow only laughed, the dog retreated, and I went on. On my way -back, a man armed with a musket met me, and asked how I dared threaten -to shoot his son. I answered, that the threat had only referred to the -dog. On the evening of the same day I was told that the dog had been -found dead, and that I was suspected of having poisoned it. Although I -was innocent, I was regarded as an assassin. That was a nice business! - -"Again: one evening I went to see my four-year-old daughter, who waited -for me below in the park. From the distance I saw her in the company -of two unpleasant-looking children, but she did not see me. As I -quickened my steps, I saw that she went off farther with the children. -I called her, but she did not hear. I ran and saw her at the entrance -of a cellar, into which the children wanted to pull her down. She -resisted them, but they took hold of her clothes. Now she screamed, -and consequently did not hear my call. I wished to hasten to her, but -between us there was a grass lawn, with an iron railing round it, on -which I did not venture to tread for fear of the police. So I stood -there and called. At last my child pulled herself free, but did not see -me. So weirdly things may happen sometimes!" - - -=The Gospel of the Pagans.=--The teacher continued: "The gospel -of the pagans is immunity from punishment; if one mentions a case -where it has gone ill with a scoundrel, the pagans snort and say -one is too severe. But it is life which is severe. The gospel of the -pagans consists in showing that virtue is simplicity and is seduced; -that religion is a disease; that scoundrelism is a form of strength, -and ought to conquer by the right of the stronger. Sometimes, by way -of a change, they demand that a weak rascal should be pardoned; that -everything should be forgiven and tolerated. By 'toleration' they mean -that one should let oneself be suppressed and persecuted by them. If -one resists, they cry, 'He revenges himself. He is a bad man.' But -revenge presupposes some offence as the cause, and when the cause -disappears the effect disappears. Certainly there are some men who -avenge their own stupidity on the innocent. I have an enemy, who still -revenges himself on me because he could not steal my money. The gospel -for him would be the law reversed, 'You may steal, but others may not.'" - - -=Punished by the Imagination.=--The teacher continued: "Swedenborg -speaks of being punished by the imagination. That is what doctors -generally call 'hallucination.' He who suffers from persecution-mania -is persecuted. The Philistines think he is only persecuted by his -imaginations, but if the wise man asks why he is persecuted by his -imaginations, conscience answers by ceaselessly endeavouring to -discover the persecutor. The patient goes through the whole list of -the persons whom he has offended. If they are many in number, and -their hatred is justified, one may well suppose that the sick man is -persecuted by their hatred, for which his awakened conscience is now -receptive. - -"In my inner life punishment by hallucinations has played the chief -part; but after I had discovered the rationale of it, I regarded the -hallucination itself as a punishment. The severest form of punishment -is suspicion, when I am obliged to suspect the innocent. That is -irresistible. My thoughts sway between trust and mistrust. I struggle -and conquer myself gradually, either by acknowledging myself wrong, -or by accepting the breach of faith resignedly. But if I give vent to -suspicion I must ask for pardon; then I take this humiliation as a -discharge. Most of my misfortunes have been imaginary; but they have -had the same effect as real ones, because I came to the consciousness -of my own wrong-doing. The incurable man is the obstinate one who -believes himself wrongfully persecuted by other men. - - -=Bankruptcy of Philosophy.=--"When Kant during the dark period -of the 'Illumination' had proved that philosophy can prove nothing, -he set up the theory of the categorical imperative and postulate, -_i.e._ the demands of religion and morality. Put in plain language, -that is equivalent to faith. This declaration of the bankruptcy of -philosophy saved men from useless brain-cudgelling. Christianity -revived, now supported by the philosophers with Hegel at their head. -But the old stream flowed parallel with it once more. In spite of the -bankruptcy of philosophy, notes of exchange were issued and cashed by -the dunder-headed free-thinkers Feuerbach and Strauss. They wanted -to approach God with the everyday intelligence which one uses in -kitchens and grocers' shops. The last fool was Renan, whose cheques -still circulate mostly among college-students and the like. At the -beginning of the last century E.T.A. Hoffmann wrote thus: 'In ancient -times we had a simple generous faith; we recognised that there was a -Higher, but knew also that our senses were insufficient to reach it. -Then came the "Illumination," which made everything so clear, that for -sheer clearness not a trace could be seen. And now we are told that the -supernatural is to be grasped by a firm arm of flesh and bone.' To-day -it is called the Science of Religion. That is a science which starts -from the false presupposition that religion is a mental disease because -it cannot be mathematically proved." - - -=A Whole Life in an Hour.=--The teacher said: "I had a strange -experience, which I have not understood, but which I must remember. -I woke up one morning feeling cheerful without any special reason. -Obeying an impulse, I went into the town. As I wandered about at -random, I came into the quarter where I had been born and brought up. -I saw the kindergarten and school I used to attend, and my parents' -house. I went through narrow streets and passed by the national school -in which I was worried as a student-teacher. I saw two different houses -in which I had suffered as a private tutor. I went northwards and came -to another school in which I had been tortured. In a market-place -I passed another house in which, during my childhood, our only -acquaintance lived, and twenty years later in the same dwelling there -lived my worst enemy. I passed by a house in which my sister had been -married thirty years before, and another house in which my brother had -had a hard struggle. Then I came to a third school in which I was a -student; in the same house lives still my first and last publisher. I -passed by a house where, forty years ago, I was accepted as an aspirant -for the stage, and where I offered my first drama; also by the house -where I was married for the first time. Then the meaning of it began -to grow clearer. I saw the furniture warehouse whence I ordered my -furniture the last time. I passed by the house where my wife and child -lived three years ago. - -"In the space of one hour I had seen the panorama of my whole life in -living pictures. Only three years were wanting to the present time. It -was like an agony or a death-hour when the whole of life rushes past -one. - -"Then I felt drawn northward where my last child and her mother live. -An instinct told me to bring perfume for the mother and school-fees -for the child, as that day it was going to the kindergarten for the -first time. Then I began to hunt for the perfume; it ought to have been -lilac, but I had to take lily-of-the-valley. I also wanted flowers, but -could not find any. - -"So I continued northwards and came to their house; the sun shone -in, the table was spread for coffee; there was an air of comfort, -homeliness, and kindness over all. I was received in a friendly way, -felt in a moment that the whole of my black life lay behind me, and -realised the happiness of merely being alive." - - -=The After-Odour.=--The teacher continued: "As I went thence, -I felt the happiness of the present. All the past was only the dark -background. I was thankful in my heart, when I remembered all I had -come through without perishing. When I came home, I learnt through the -telephone that my worst enemy had died on the morning of this very day. -His death-struggle was taking place at the very time that I made the -pilgrimage through my past life. I reflected: Why should I pass through -my agony just when he died? He was a 'black man'[1] with an obsolete -materialistic view of things which he thought was modern; a literary -huckster who wrote reviews of marchionesses' rubbishy books, in order -to be invited to their castles, and praised his associates as long as -they consorted with him; the partisan of a coterie and a log-roller. - -"I had never come into personal contact with him, but once, a long -time ago, he had called himself my pupil. He could not however grow, -nor follow me upwards. It was now as though my old self had died in -him. Perhaps therefore I suffered his death and felt it just now. But -why the perfume? That I know not. But when I learnt that the deceased -decomposed so rapidly that he had to be buried at once, I could not -help connecting the perfume with his dissolution. When, eight days -afterwards, I read a posthumous review by the deceased of my last -work, and saw that he regretted that I was not a pagan and lamented -my defection from the Lord of Dung, it was as though I sniffed an -after-odour from the dunghole, and I seized the perfume-flask in good -earnest." - - -[Footnote 1: Strindberg's expression for a free-thinker.] - - -=Peaches and Turnips.=--The teacher continued: "At the same time -a similar death happened. Another of the 'Black Flags' departed under -peculiar circumstances two days after the first. I had known this man -during the period in which the ape-king ruled. We did not like each -other, but like condemned criminals were compelled to keep together. -Our friendship was only the reverse-side of a hatred; his hideous -appearance frightened me; his profession was equally repulsive, but -brought in much money. He wrote according to the taste of the time, and -lived in the false idea that he was 'illuminated' and liberal-minded. -When his father died, the son expressed his regret that 'his father -had recovered the faith of his childhood.' What happened then? The son -who lived in faith in wickedness and ugliness, began to develop this -faith in a peculiar way. He had in his writings shown a predilection -for turnips; in his latter days he inoculated peaches with turnip-juice -in order to make the southern fruit partake of the beautiful flavour -of the latter. The same perverse taste was evident in his last book; -there his sympathy is decidedly on the side of the 'blacks.' He ended -in an asylum. He could not be saved, for he did not know how to seek -the Saviour. So he died. I had just regretted not having sent some -flowers to his grave, when I saw in an obituary notice that the dead -man had vented a noisome lie against me, which a bosom friend of his -now repeats in print. In the same notice the world is threatened with -his posthumous writings. When they come out, I will buy a flower and -hold it under my nose, while I breathe a sigh of gratitude to him, -who restored to me the faith of my childhood and saved me from the -mad-house." - - -=The Web of Lies.=--The pupil said: "I am eight-and-fifty years -old; have lied less than others; and have therefore always believed -what others said. When, in my old age, I sit together with friends -of my youth and make comparisons, I find that my whole life is a web -of lies. Last night I sat with such a friend, and had a protracted -talk of the following intelligent kind. I said, 'When the Prince of -X. married....' 'Married! He isn't married.' 'Isn't he? Is that a lie -too?' 'He has never been married.' 'Now during twenty years I have -spread it abroad that he was married, and a whole story has been built -on this lie, which I was about to relate, but now I must drop it.' - -"Here is another lie! During thirty years I have told people that Dr. -H. was present when the Malunger murderer was executed. He had falsely -informed me that, as a medical student, he had received a commission to -examine the head after it had been cut off. He gave me such interesting -details on the subject that I was accustomed to describe them in -company. What a liar he was! - -"'But he _was_ there.' 'Was he there?' 'Certainly; I saw him standing -behind the priest when I took a photograph of the scaffold.' 'You? -Have you ... Are you lying or is he?' 'I am not.' 'No; now I don't -know where I am. Everything is topsy-turvy. For the last ten years I -have retracted the lie which I had spread. I have made Dr. H. a liar! -One ought never to speak or write, but only draw the things which one -absolutely needs. He was then really there! How can I restore to him -his honour, of which I have robbed him?'" - - -=Lethe.=--The teacher answered: "This whole web of lies, errors, -misunderstandings, which forms the basis of our lives, transforms life -itself into something dreamlike and unreal, and must be dissolved when -we pass into the other life. I read to-day of a dying man. Instead of -seeing his life pass by him, as is usually the case, his whole life -dissolved into a cloud; his memory failed; all bitterness and all -trouble disappeared; and on the other hand, all his disappointed hopes -assumed an aspect of reality. He thought he was loved by his wife, who -had been cold to him; he thanked her for all the tenderness which she -had never shown him. The children who had deserted him he saw again in -the bright light of youth; he seemed to hear the sound of little feet -upon the floor, the characteristic of a happy home, and his face wore -a happy smile. The dark autumn weather outside changed into spring; -little girls handed him roses to kiss in order to enchance their value. -Finally he saw himself and his family in an arbour drinking coffee out -of Dresden china cups, into which they dipped yellow saffron-cakes.... -Then he fell into his last sleep. It was a beautiful and enviable -death; it was paradise. From the ancient Lethe he drank forgetfulness -of the troubles he had undergone before he trod the Elysian fields. -If it only were so! To drag all one's bygone filth with one in memory -cannot be favourable to a new life in purity. There are illnesses in -which one loses memory. May death prove to be such an illness!" - - -=A Suffering God.=--The teacher said: "The idea of a suffering -God was foolishness to the Greeks, who considered a God as a tyrant -gloating over the sufferings of men. But the seeming contradiction -is solved if one supposes that a Holy Being deposits itself, so to -speak, in humanity, and that humanity then becomes defiled. That is -a boundless grief like his who has deposited the best part of his -soul and his emotions with a woman. If she then goes and defiles -herself, she defiles her husband. Or a father's nature has passed over -to his children, and he wishes to see his best impulses continued -and multiplied by them, and his likeness ennobled. If the children -dishonour themselves, the father suffers; the stem withers when the -roots are injured. - -"Such I imagine to be the feelings of God the Father when the -sinfulness of humanity grows noisome and dishonours Him, and -perhaps threatens to affect His own holiness. He will be wroth and -lament--perhaps even feel Himself defiled--rather than cut off the -cancerous limb of humanity. Christ is no more represented as beautiful, -but with features distorted by the sins of others; these he has -taken on himself or drawn to himself, for he who approaches pitch is -defiled. In order to be free from the impure element he must die by the -destruction of the body. Incarnation involved the greatest suffering of -all. - -"But the death of Christ may also signify that the Father freed himself -from the sins of humanity, and broke off connection with the evil race -who dishonoured Him. He who will now seek Him must rise to His heights, -and gain admission by a pure life. He Himself will descend no more into -this valley of filth; the air is too thick, the company too mixed. And -that is why things are as they are." - - -=The Atonement.=--The teacher said: "The work of the Atonement -has been very difficult for me to understand. Often I have tried to -explain in a way satisfactory to myself, but without success. If -God had offered up His Son as an atonement for mankind, there would -necessarily have been peace and paradisal quietness on earth, but -such is not the case. The period of the Roman emperors before Christ -was indeed terrible, but the next thousand years were no better; they -rather resembled a deluge in which the old nations were exterminated -by barbarians. The second millennium was better, very much better. -The third will perhaps close with a complete reconciliation between -humanity and God. Everything points to that, though the heathen may -reign for a while as instruments of chastisement, and executioners and -possessors of wealth. The Egyptian has an important part to play, and -slavery is not bad as a school of discipline. In the desert one learns -the difficult art of loneliness, and in the strange land of Assyria one -feels a wholesome home-sickness. Still, when the Egyptian raises his -stick to strike, comfort yourself with Christ's words to Pilate, 'Thou -wouldest have no power over Me, if it were not given thee from above.' -And when you eat the bread of the heathen, think like the Maccabees, 'I -eat thy bread, but I do not sacrifice upon thy altar.' Everything is -tolerable so long as we do not let ourselves be beguiled into believing -that those who are in power are God's friends and favourites. Our fine -gentlemen who imagine that they are forwarding development and are the -sole trustees of right, progress, and illumination, are only children -of this world. Let that be granted them, and much good may it do them!" - - -=When Nations Go Mad.=--The teacher said: "Nations are sometimes -seized by madness as by other diseases. The Javanese are said to suffer -from chronic madness; the men run amuck with a knife in order to slay; -the women suffer from a mania for mimicry; if they see anyone throw -something into the air, they imitate the gesture; they can even under -such circumstances throw their children away. The Japanese again are -attacked by megalomania; someone begins to shout, 'We will conquer -China!' and his cry is taken up by the whole town and the whole land. -The French were raving when, in 1870, they sang 'A Berlin,' and did -not even reach the Rhine. Paris was captured. But the French declared -it was not captured, but had surrendered. When the enemy had marched -in peaceably and spared the town, and after peace was concluded the -French set their own town on fire. That was madness. Then they shot -down thirty thousand of their own countrymen, while in the war itself -only eighty thousand French had fallen." - -"But some nations are seized by a mania for suicide. I know a land -from which people emigrate at the rate of a hundred a day; in which -the only important industry--iron-mining--is hampered by an export -duty; that is suicide. In the same land, where the taxes are generally -collected by levying distraints, they voted forty million pounds for -the army; but when the muster-rolls came to be made up, the men were -not to be found. In the same country the State maintains a railway of a -hundred miles in length; recently the train came in with one passenger, -whose journey had cost the State more than a thousand kronas. That is -suicide." - - -=The Poison of Lies.=--The teacher said: "Let us return to life, -and to men whom we think we know better than anything else, although -self-knowledge is the hardest of all. A perpetual accusation which -people bring against each other is that of lying. All lie more or -less--by omitting principal points and emphasising secondary ones, -or by colouring matters of fact. Often they do it with an excusable -purpose; for instance, when a friend is being spoken about. - -"But there are men who seem to be composed of falsehood and deceit. -Such are the liars from necessity, who lie in order to obtain -something; such, too, are the liars from ostentation, who lie in order -to be superior to others, and to keep them down. One may be poisoned in -the atmosphere which they spread around them. - -"There is a pair of liars whom I have never seen, but often heard -spoken about. When I merely hear about them and their falsehoods, I -feel my brain affected, and their poison works telepathically on my -nerves. The pair are dogged by misfortune, and live alone. They tell -each other lies also, and pretend to themselves that they are martyrs, -although their misfortunes are solely due to their deceits. They -believe that they are persecuted by men, while, on the contrary, men -fly from them. Such they have been since childhood, and seem unable to -change. Perhaps their mendacity is a form of punishment, for 'they that -hate the righteous shall be guilty.'" - - -=Murderous Lies.=--The teacher continued: "When one lives on -intimate terms with liars, one runs a risk of becoming a liar oneself. -One believes what they say, bases his views on their falsehoods, -spreads their false reports in good faith, defends their sophistries, -and is entangled in their deceits. Moreover, one's whole view of life -is distorted, one loses contact with reality, lives in a fictitious -world of feeling, regards friends as foes and foes as friends, thinks -one is loved while one is hated, and vice versa. - -"On one occasion a liar with whom I lived on intimate terms made me -think that my last book had been a failure. For five years I believed -it, suffered under the belief, and lost my courage. On my return to -Sweden I found that the book had had a great success. Five years had -been struck out of my life; I was nearly losing self-respect and the -courage to support existence. That is equivalent to murder. And this -behaviour on the part of my only friend, for whom I had worked and made -sacrifices, gave me such a shock that all my ideas were confused. It -took me years to rearrange them and bring them into proper order. True -and false were mingled together: lies became reality, and my whole life -seemed as unsubstantial as smoke. I was not far from ruin and the loss -of reason." - - -=Innocent Guilt.=--The teacher continued: "During the five years -in which I believed myself unjustly treated, I also incurred guilt. -I had cursed those who had been just towards me, wished evil to my -benefactors, repelled my admirers, avoided my adherents. And when I -should now have felt remorse for it, I could not do so sincerely. On -the one hand I felt myself innocent, and almost the victim of another's -falsehood. But the evil which I had done was there, and must be atoned -for. Such tangles are not easy to undo. Yet it is not good in life -to show mistrust towards men; one must take things easily, without -criticism and too careful reckoning. The deceiver says, to be sure, -'He who does not keep a sharp look-out, has himself to blame if he -is cheated.' But if one does look out, and will not let oneself be -cheated, one is credited with a morbid mistrustfulness. It is not -easy to live, and among lawless men it is better to be cheated than -to cheat. The Talmud says: 'Be rather among those who are cursed than -those who curse; rather among the persecuted than the persecutors: read -in the Scripture, No bird is more persecuted than the dove; yet God has -chosen it for a sacrifice on His altar.'" - - -=The Charm of Old Age.=--The teacher said: "The charms of old -age are many. The greatest is the consciousness that it is not long -till evening when one can undress and lie down, without the necessity -of rising up and dressing again. The diminution of the body's strength -lessens its resistance to the free motions of the soul. One's -interest in merely temporal matters decreases, and one begins to take -a bird's-eye view of things. Seemingly important trifles shrink to -insignificance. Old estimates of the values of things are changed. All -that one has experienced lies like a litter of straw under one's feet; -one stands in it and grows in the midst of one's past. We have found -a constant amid all variables, that is, the instability of life, the -transitoriness and mutability of all things. Everything is repeated; -there are scarcely any surprises. We know everything beforehand, expect -no improvement, are no more deceived by false hopes, demand nothing -more of men, neither gratitude, nor faithfulness, nor love, only some -companionship in solitude. If we are deceived, we think it is part -of the play, and even find a sort of consolation in it, because it -confirms our views, which we do not like to see refuted. We become, -finally, cheerful pessimists. When, on the discovery of a new cheat, we -can say, 'What did I tell you?' we feel almost a sense of pleasure." - - -=The Ring-System.=--The teacher said: "In our old schools, the -pupils were arranged not in classes, but in rings, and the forms -were not placed in rows, but in circles. When I read of the circles -of Dante's hell, I thought of my old school. But outside in life, I -found this ring-system also. Men seemed linked together in concentric -circles, each of which formed a little system of views. Each circle -spoke its own language, expressed its meaning in old formulas, revered -its gods, created its great men, often out of nothing. In each circle -they had found the truth, and worked for development, but in a -different way to the others. The first circle was really the lowest, -but it considered itself the most important, because it was the first. -When I read a paper or a book which comes from other circles than -mine, I only see so much--that they are mad or stand on their heads. -It stifles me, and has a hostile effect. I surmise that the five great -races of the earth feel that, when they meet one another. In their -minds they are as foreign to each other as though they came from the -five great planets, although they have many human characteristics in -common." - - -=Lust, Hate, and Fear, or the Religion of the Heathen.=--The -teacher said: "You know one of my tasks in life has been to unmask -gyneolatry, the worship of women in history and life. I have called -it 'the superstition of the heathen,' because there is something -exclusively heathenish about it. Woman-worship is the religion of the -heathen, but it is a religion of fear, which has nothing to do with -love. Lust, hate, and fear--those are the component parts of it. As -soon as a heathen comes in the proximity of a woman, he becomes tame -and cowardly; faithless towards his friends, his convictions, and -himself. He immediately desires that others should venerate his idol -whom he hates and fears. That is a side of his animal self-love. - -"Gyneolatry is not Christian in its origin, but heathenish. All animals -and savage races fear their women. When heathenism in the Grco-Roman -and Moorish colonies of southern France and Italy got the upper hand, -then began gyneolatry, the worship of mistresses. This worship was -dishonestly confounded with chivalrous reverence for the Madonna, which -was quite another thing. This religion of the heathen is the religion -of fear and concealed hatred. Therefore all tyrants have been punished -by having a woman oppress and torment them. Swedenborg explains the -reason." - - -="Whom the Gods Wish to Destroy."=--The teacher continued: "A -man's goodwill and generosity towards his wife stands in direct -relation to her behaviour. When therefore a woman is ill-treated by -her husband, we know of what sort she is. The apparently subordinate -position which the woman occupies is the direct result of the position -which nature has assigned to this immature transition-form between -child and man. The child has also a subordinate position; that is -quite natural, and no reasonable man has objected to it. Woman is the -earth-spirit who effectuates a certain harmony with the earth-life. To -this earth-life we must bring our sacrifice; therefore it is that a man -feels at home in his house, and therefore wife and child comfort and -protect us against the cold abstraction, life. - -"Marriage is the hardest school in which renunciation and self-conquest -is learned; it is also a forcing-house for wickedness of all kinds, -especially the hellish sin of imperiousness. How low the sons of the -Lord of Dung stand on the ladder of development may be seen from their -conviction that they are only equal to the woman or subordinate to -her. Blinded by this penal hallucination, they work for their own -destruction when they battle for the emancipation of women, for the -gods wish to destroy them. - - -=The Slavery of the Prophet.=--"Stuart Mill, who became the -prophet of the woman's cause, had formed an attachment for another -man's wife.[1] As a punishment he had to live in the hallucination -that he derived all his thoughts from her. She was indeed his medium, -and as such she repeated his thoughts as though they came from her, -and he believed she was his superior. When somebody asked if he had -received his 'Logic,' which he wrote before he knew her, also from -her, he answered, 'Yes.' This sober Positivist, who only believed in -tables of statistics, was obsessed by the powerful delusion that the -simple-minded woman was his Genius. He could not rise to a higher -idea of God. One thing I am sure of: as soon as a man deserts God, he -becomes the thrall of a female devil. All tyrants, above and below, are -caught in these chains, out of which only God in heaven can help a man. -But He can certainly. One sees it in those who have come alive out of -this hell. I know one...." - -"I know two!" the pupil interrupted. - - -[Footnote 1: Mrs. Taylor.] - - -=Absurd Problems.=--The teacher continued: "There are -several reasons why woman is depicted as a sphinx by men. She is -incomprehensible because her soul is rudimentary, and she thinks with -her body. Her judgments are dictated by interests and passions, she -draws conclusions according to the state of the weather and the phases -of the moon. She will sell her best friend for a theatre-ticket, or -leave her sick child to see a balloon ascend. She murders her husband -in order to be able to go to a bathing-resort, and forswears her -religion for a diamond ring. At the same time she can appear to be -a charming woman, tender towards her children, amiable, and before -all things polite and affable. She may also appear a good household -manager, or at any rate enjoy the reputation of being one. She can -produce the illusion that she is quick at apprehension, although she -does not really understand a word. She can exhibit sacrifices which -are only ostentation, and give away only in order to receive back. Why -cannot one guess the riddle of this sphinx? Because there is no riddle -there! Why is woman incomprehensible? Because the problem is absurd. -She is an irrational function because she operates with variable -quantities under the radical signs. - -"Nevertheless we take her as a charming actuality, a delightful child -who may pull three hairs out of our beard; but if it pulls the fourth, -there is an end to the enchantment." - - -=The Crooked Rib.=--The teacher said: "Goethe says in his -_Divan_,[1] 'Woman is fashioned out of a crooked rib; if one tries to -bend her, she breaks; if one lets her alone, she becomes still more -crooked.' Thus there is nothing to be done. The only tactics one can -adopt, as Napoleon did, are flight, or at any rate to break off contact -and intimacy. This never fails; if one deprives a woman of the victim -of her hatred, she pines away. - -"Man loves and woman hates; man gives and woman takes; man sacrifices -and woman devours. When the woman wishes to show her superiority in -intellect, she commits a rascality. Her utmost endeavour is to deceive -her husband. If she can trick him into eating horse-flesh without -noticing it, she is happy. When woman gets her milk-teeth, she does -not learn to speak but to lie, for speech and falsehood are synonymous -for her. Every married man knows all that. But politeness and his own -vanity keep him silent. Often he is silent because of his children; -often because he is ashamed in the name of humanity. He thinks how -often one has drunk the toasts of mother, wife, sister, daughter--these -fictions in a world of deceit, where all is vanity of vanities. -But many men are silent because they are afraid of being called -'woman-haters.' They are afraid!" - - -[Footnote 1: The saying is originally Muhammed's.] - - -=White Slavery.=--The teacher said: "In the whole of the upper and -middle classes and a good way below them the following is the case with -regard to marriage: When a man marries, his work, which he can devolve -on no one else, increases. His wife, on the other hand, at once gets -a servant to do her work; if she has children, then she gets a nurse -besides. But she herself sits there without occupation, and tries to -kill time with useless trivialities. In this way she can neither get -an appetite for dinner, nor sleep at night. In the evening her husband -comes home, and wants to enjoy the domestic hearth; but his wife wants -to go to the theatre and restaurant. She is not tired, but bored by -want of occupation, and therefore wants amusement. Women, in fact, seem -not to be born for domestic life, but for the theatre, the restaurant, -and the street. Therefore women complain that they must sit at home. -Although they have slaves to serve them, they call themselves 'slaves' -and hold meetings to their own emancipation, but not that of their -servants. Their animalised husbands support them without observing that -they themselves are slaves; for he who works for the idle is a slave. -But it is written, 'Ye are bought with a price; be slaves to no man.'" - - - -= -The teacher answered: "I do not know. But the expression is used as a -term of reproach by noodles, for those who say what all think. Noodles -are those men who cannot come near a woman without losing their heads -and becoming faithless. They purchase the woman's favour by delivering -up the heads of their friends on silver chargers; and they absorb -so much femininity, that they see with feminine eyes and feel with -feminine feelings. There are things which one does not say every day, -and one does not tell one's wife what her sex is composed of. But one -has the right to put it on paper sometimes. Schopenhauer has done it -the best, Nietzsche not badly, Peladan is the master. Thackeray wrote -_Men's Wives_ but the book was ignored. Balzac has unmasked Caroline in -the _Petites Misres de la vie Conjugale_. Otto Weininger discovered -the deceit at the age of twenty; he did not wait for the consequent -vengeance, but went his own way, _i.e._ died. I have said that the -child is a little criminal, incapable of self-guidance, but I love -children all the same. I have said that a woman is--what she is, but -I have always loved some woman, and been a father. Whoever therefore -calls me a woman-hater is a blockhead, a liar, or a noodle. Or all -three together." - - -=Inextricable Confusion.=--The teacher continued: "If on the other -side of the grave there were a Judge Rhadamanthus appointed to arrange -the disputes of men, he would never come to an end. Life is such a -tissue of lies, errors, misunderstandings, of debts and demands, that -a balancing of the books is impossible. I know men who have been lied -about their whole lives through. I know of one who was branded through -his whole life with the stigma of a seducer, although he has never -seduced, but was seduced himself. I know of an uncommonly truthful man -who had the reputation of being a liar. I know an honourable man who -passed for a thief. I know a man who was three times married, and had -children in all three marriages, but was said to be no man, because -he, as a man, would not be the slave of his wife. I know many who -are sincerely religious and yet are called hypocrites, although the -chief point in religion is sincerity. But, on the other hand, I know -heathen who professed to be atheists, although in their bedchambers -they sang penitential psalms when they were nervous in the dark and -feared the consequences of their misdeeds. They were so cowardly -that they dared not fall under the suspicion of being religious, but -bragged of their courage and strength of character. They would not -abandon the Black Flag; they would not be untrue to the ideal of their -youth--godlessness. Rascally right and good-hearted stupidity form a -problem too complicated for Rhadamanthus himself to solve. Only the -Crucified could do it with the single saying which He addressed to the -penitent thief, 'To-day shalt thou be with Me in Paradise.'" - - -=Phantoms.=--The teacher said: "When intelligence and the power -of reflection are matured, and one thinks about men, their outlines -begin to dissolve, and they turn into phantoms. Indeed, one never -really knows a man; one knows only his own, or others' ideas of him, -but when these ideas change, the image of him becomes indistinct and -is obscured with a veil. We form our conception of a person whom we -have never seen according to others' ideas of him. Thus, for example, -the personality of a famous painter was described to me by an author. -After two years the author had formed another idea of him, and imparted -that to me, and I had to alter my view of him. Then there came another -describer, and gave me quite a different idea of the painter. He was -followed by a third and a fourth. After this I saw the painter's -pictures, and could not understand how he could paint in the way he -did. But the painter himself I never saw. He has become for me a -phantom without clear outlines, composed of different-coloured pieces -of glass, which do not harmonise, and alter according to my moods. I -expect that when I meet him he will not resemble my idea of him at all, -but have the effect of quite another independent phantom." - - -=Mirage Pictures.=--The teacher said: "When I have lived for some -time in solitude my acquaintances begin to appear like mirage-pictures -before me. Some gain by distance, occasion only friendly feelings, -and are surrounded by an atmosphere of light and peace. Others whom I -really like very well when they are near, lose by absence, and appear -to be hostile. Thus I may hate a friend in his absence, look upon -him as unpleasant and inimical, but as soon as he comes, enter into -friendly contact with him. There is a woman whose proximity I cannot -bear, but whom I love at a distance. We write letters to each full -of regard and friendliness. When we have longed for each other for a -time and must meet, we immediately begin to quarrel, become vulgar -and unsympathetic, and part in anger. We love each other on a higher -plane, but cannot live in the same room. We dream of meeting again, -spiritualised, on some green island, where only we two can live, or, -at any rate, only our child with us. I remember a half-hour which we -three actually spent hand in hand on a green island by the sea-coast. -It seemed to me like heaven. Then the clocks struck the hour of noon, -and we were back again on earth, and soon after that, in hell." - - -=Trifle not with Love.=--The pupil said: "When a man and a woman -are united in love, a single being is the result, whose existence -is a positive pleasure, as long as harmony reigns. But this being -is an extremely sensitive receptive instrument, and is exposed to -disturbances from outer currents which act from all distances, an -inconvenience which it shares with wireless telegraphy. Therefore -a disturbance of the relationship between a married pair is the -greatest pain which exists. Unfaithfulness is a cosmic crime which -brings the one or the other member of the married pair into perverse -relations with their own sex. If the husband loves another woman, his -wife is exposed to terrible alternate currents; by turns she loves and -hates the woman who is her rival. Often she can be the friend of her -husband's paramour, but more often her enemy. Whoever comes between a -pair who love, does not so with impunity. The hate which he arouses is -so terrible, that he can be lamed by the discharge, lose all energy and -pleasure in life. Therefore it is rightly said, 'Trifle not with love.'" - - -=A "Taking" Religion.=--The pupil said: "When Buddhism, mixed -with Vedantism, became fashionable in 1890, all the renegades from -Christianity flocked to it and tried to fill the vacuum in their -religious lives. Six thousand new gods were received with applause -forthwith; the new trinity--Brahma, Vishnu, Siva--encountered no -objections; spirits, ghosts, genies, fairies were thought quite -natural; Gautama's heaven and hell were thrown into the bargain, -accompanied by a slight flavour of asceticism. Those who denied the -Resurrection found reincarnation quite a simple affair. But the -favourite was Krishna. He was the incarnation of the god Vishnu, who -descended to earth in order to be born of earthly parents and to save -fallen humanity. His coming was prophesied, and so dreaded that a -massacre of new-born infants like that at Bethlehem was plotted, but -unsuccessfully. Krishna fulfilled his mission, conquered the evil -powers, and finally endured a voluntary death. That 'took'! The trinity -Brahma, Vishnu, Siva 'took,' but Father, Son, Holy Spirit did not -'take.' Krishna 'took,' but not Christ. It was strange!" - - -=The Sixth Sense.=--The pupil continued: "The outer eye can -reflect images, the inner eye can conceive them. There are therefore -two kinds of sight, an outer and an inner. Of the senses, that of -smell is the most immediate when it has to do with the conveyance -of impressions. But there seem also to be two kinds of faculties of -smell. Swedenborg says that a false man smells of sour gastric juice, -but only for the person to whom he has been false. In this case the -smell-perception is only subjective, but it is of great objective value -in judging men. In this case the organ of smell seems to operate with -ther-waves. According to Swedenborg's doctrine of correspondences, -good men exhale sweet perfume, and bad men a stench like that of -corpses. He says that misers smell like rats, and so on. Legends of -the saints relate that the corpses of those who have kept their souls -and bodies pure, when they dissolve, exhale a flower-like perfume. -In short, every soul has its scent, which varies according to its -characteristics. - -"This sixth sense the clothes-hygienist Jger believed he had -discovered after he had begun to observe and train his outer and -inner man. I will speak now of my own experiences in the matter. They -did not begin till I had passed through the great purgatorial fire -which burnt up the rubbish of my soul, and after I had scrambled out -of the worst of the mire by self-discipline and asceticism. They are -accustomed to boil off the gum from raw silk before it is spun, and -so my nerve-fibres seemed to have been 'scoured' by the sufferings of -life, and gone through a process like the 'fining' of silk." - - -=Exteriorisation of Sensibility.=--The pupil continued: "I -happened once, when watching a spider in a web, to see her 'exteriorise -her sensibility,' or in other words reel out a nerve-substance for -herself with which she remains in touch, and by means of which she -becomes aware when flies come and when the weather changes. Raspail, -who in his masterly works has cast many a far-reaching glance -behind the curtains of nature, has in one place philosophised over -the spider's web. In other works dealing with transcendent natural -sciences, one finds the doubt expressed whether the object of the -spider's web is only to be a fly-trap. I myself have counted four and -twenty radii in the web of the garden-spider resembling an hour-circle, -and have asked myself whether, besides being a barometer and trap, the -web is also a kind of clock. - -"Now it seems as though I had myself in a similar manner exteriorised -my sensibility. I feel at a distance when anyone interferes with my -destiny, when enemies threaten my personal existence, and also when -people speak well of me or wish me well. I feel in the street whether -those I meet are friends or foes; I have felt the pain of an operation -undergone by a man to whom I was fairly indifferent; twice I have -shared the death-agonies of others with the accompanying corporeal and -psychical sufferings. The last time I went through three illnesses -in six hours, and when the absent person with whom I suffered was -liberated by death, I rose up well. This makes life painful, but rich -and interesting." - - -=Telepathic Perception.=--The pupil said: "While I lived in the -most intimate relations with a woman, I arrived, like Gustav Jger, at -'the discovery of the soul.' I was always in communication with her, -often through obscure sensations, but very often through the sense of -smell; these were subjective however, as other people were not aware -of them. When she was travelling I knew whether she was in a steamer -or on a train; I could distinguish the revolutions of the screw from -the vibration of the railway carriage and the puffing of the engine. -She used to make her presence felt by me at a certain hour of the -day, _i.e._ five o'clock in the morning. Once, when she was in Paris, -this time changed to four o'clock. When I consulted the table of time -variations, I found that it was four o'clock in Paris when it was five -o'clock with me. Another time she was in St. Petersburg, then our -meeting took place an hour later; that also agreed with the time-table. -When she hated me, I was conscious of a smell and taste like that of -mortalin; this happened one night so distinctly that I had to rise and -open the window. When she thought kindly of me, I perceived a smell -of incense and often of jasmine, but these scents sometimes changed -into sensations of taste. When she was in society without me I felt -that she was away, and when the conversation turned on me I was aware -whether they were speaking good or ill about me." - - -=Morse Telepathy.=--The pupil continued: "I was spending one -evening at home alone; I did not know where she was, but had the -feeling that she was lost to me. At 10.40 p.m. I was aware of a passing -breath of perfume. Then I said to myself, 'She has been in the theatre! -But in which?' I took the daily paper, read the theatre advertisements, -and found that one theatre closed at 10.40. Further inquiry proved that -my surmise was right. - -"On another occasion when in company I broke off a lively conversation -with a smile. 'What are you smiling at?' 'Just now the train from the -south entered the terminus.' Another time under similar circumstances -I said: 'Now the curtain falls on the last act in _Helsingfors_!' and -I heard the applause which greeted the prima donna who had played in -my piece. The conversation of the people in the restaurant after the -conclusion of the piece sounded like ringing in my ears. I can hear -that as far as from Germany when a prima donna is acting in one of my -pieces there, although I do not know beforehand that it is going to -be played. One evening I had gone to bed about half-past nine, and -was awoken about half-past eleven by a smell of punch and tobacco and -in the impression that two of my acquaintances in a caf were talking -about me. I had every reason to believe that I had been present there -in some way or another, but I was so accustomed to this phenomenon that -this time I did not test it. Flammarion gives a hundred such cases in -his book _The Unknown_." - - -=Nisus Formativus, or Unconscious Sculpture.=--The pupil -continued: "Once I signed a contract with a merchant. After sleeping -the night over it, I noticed that he had cheated me. With angry -thoughts I went out for my morning stroll. When I came back I wished -to change my clothes, and threw my handkerchief on the table. After I -had undressed myself I noticed that the handkerchief had been crumpled -together by my nervous clutch, and now, where it lay, formed a cast -of the merchant's head, like a plaster-of-Paris bust. The question -arises: Had my hand unconsciously formed an image of my thoughts? Linen -is a very plastic material, and one often finds excellent pieces of -'sculpture' in handkerchiefs, sheets, and cushions. When a married -man comes home with his wife from a ball, he should look at the -handkerchief chief which she has held the whole evening in her hand, -and then perhaps he might see with whom she preferred most to dance. - -"In India a Buddhist priest is said to represent the 208 incarnations -of Vishnu by putting his hand in a linen bag, and moulding rapidly from -within the linen of the bag into the shapes of an elephant, tortoise, -etc. When St. Veronica's napkin retained the impress of Christ's face, -that is not more improbable than that my pillow in the morning should -show the impress of faces which are not like mine. I have read of -Indian vases which are so modelled that at first one only sees a chaos -resembling clouds, twisted entrails, or the convolutions of the brain. -After the eye has become accustomed to this the confusion begins to be -disentangled; all kinds of objects such as plants and animals emerge -in clear outline. Whether all observers see the same I know not. But -I believe that the moulder of the vase has worked unintentionally and -unconsciously." - - -=Projections.=--The pupil continued: "But there are also -projections which I cannot explain. It is possible that only poets and -artists possess the power so to project their inward images in every -life that they become half real. It is quite a usual occurrence that -the dying show themselves to their absent friends. Living persons can -also appear at a distance, but only to those who keep them in their -thoughts. I used to show my initiated friends the following phenomenon: -I observed a stranger who resembled an absent acquaintance. As soon -as my eye completed the image, whatever unlikeness remained was -erased. 'See, there goes X.,' I said. My friends saw the resemblance, -understood that it was not X., comprehended my meaning, and agreed -with me without further thought. If we shortly afterwards met X. we -were astonished, and attempted to find no explanation in face of the -inexplicable latter part of the phenomenon. - -"But one day I went down a street and 'saw' my friend Dr. Y. who lived -fifty miles away. It was he, and yet it was not he. It was the same -little figure although somewhat wavering and uncertain. The grey-yellow -face was also the same although almost ghost-like, with deep furrows -which followed the oval lines of the face, and with the forced laugh of -suffering. When I came home I read in the paper that the man was dead." - - -=Apparitions.=--The pupil continued: "One evening I passed a -well-known theatre while a performance was going on inside. There was -no one outside. Suddenly on the pavement I saw an actor who had died -thirty years previously, after he had first gone crazy with vexation -because he had failed as an actor in this very theatre. His face, like -that of my deceased friend the doctor's, was lined with those parallel -furrows which run from the forehead to the jaw. 'Was it he, or not?' -I asked myself, and left the question open. On another occasion I -was travelling by rail in a foreign country. The train halted at a -station for three minutes. On the platform in broad daylight a man was -going up and down with a paint-box in his hand. He looked nervous and -suffering and was badly dressed. 'That is he!' I thought. 'How has he -got here? Why has he come down in the world?' During this three minutes -I suffered all the tortures of uncertainty and of a bad conscience, for -I was partly to blame for his misfortune and his poverty. The train -went on, and I have never discovered whether it were really he. It was -certainly improbable. - -"Yet another time I was travelling by rail. At a remote station a man -came into my compartment and sat opposite me. I thought he was an -acquaintance, but he looked at me unrecognisingly. Then I let my eyes -fall. Immediately he regarded me with an ironical smile which I again -recognised. 'It is he,' I thought, 'but he will not greet me.' So I -suffered for some hours. My conscience endured all that I owed him. -Whether it really was he I know not, but the effect was the same." - - -=The Reactionary Type.=--The teacher said: "Men seem to react -against themselves and their own bad qualities when they demand from -others what they cannot themselves do. A man who is full of hate -demands to be loved. A faithless deceiver came lately to me and -finished his wily talk by saying, 'All I ask is that you trust me!' -He only asked that in order that he might be able to deceive me. But -perhaps he trusted me more than himself; he did not know himself, but -had an inkling of what he was. Perhaps he felt that my belief in him -would strengthen and elevate him, and might possibly neutralise his -untrustworthiness. It sounded at any rate very nave, and I felt myself -honoured by the compliment. - -"Again, a spendthrift who had no means of his own always cautioned me -to be frugal. He gave brilliant parties, but when he came to me he only -got potatoes and herrings, and yet he thought that was beyond my means. -On one occasion I had bought 200 grammes of nickel-sulphate for my -chemical experiments. They cost fifty-two pence. The spendthrift came -to visit me, looked at the sulphate, and exclaimed, 'Can you afford it? -Nickel-sulphate which is so dear.' Fifty-two pence! Then he invited me -to a drive in a carriage, and a meal which cost fifty-two kronas for -an altogether unproductive purpose. When he had to pay the reckoning -he suffered torments. Perhaps he was by nature a skinflint, who had -yielded to a mania for extravagance and reacted against it. I tried to -explain this once to him, as on principle I wished to think well of the -man." - - -=The Hate of Parasites.=--The teacher continued: "There are -men who are spiritually so empty that they only live on others. I -have an acquaintance (when one is over fifty one does not ask for -friends any more) who constantly visits me but never says anything. -Our social intercourse consists in my speaking alone. When he -leaves me after several hours, I feel as if I had been undergoing -blood-letting. It is certainly good to be able to talk oneself out -often, but one would often like to have an answer to one's questions; -but I never get an answer, not even to a question in his own special -line. I can only remember one expression which this man used, and -that was extraordinarily stupid. Somebody had slandered me, and my -'acquaintance' had believed every word and painted my figure in false -colours. Finally one evening I defended myself, and proved that my -slanderer was not in his right senses. He rejected my explanation, -exclaiming 'Fie! how cynical you are!' - -"What did this answer mean? First, that I must not wash myself clean, -for he wanted to have me dirty; secondly, that he gave me the lie; -thirdly, that his sympathies were on the side of the slanderer. I draw -the inference that this man hated me, and therefore visited me. If he -could not have intercourse with me, he could not abuse my confidence -and gratify his hate. His tactics were--to live my life, to devour -my soul, to gnaw my bones. The attraction he felt to me he called -sympathy, though it was antipathy. There are many kinds of hate, and -a wife's 'love' to her husband is a variety of hate. She desires -his virile power in order to become a husband and make him into a -passive-wife." - - -=A Letter from the Dead.=--The teacher said: "It seems as though -one could live the life of another parallel with one's own, or as -though one might be in touch with a stranger on another continent. -One morning I received a letter of twenty-quarto pages from America. -Long letters make me nervous; they always begin with flattery and end -with scolding. I read, as I usually do, the signature first, which -was unknown to me. Then I dipped into the letter here and there, and -saw that the writer wished to influence me. One word pricked me like -a needle, and I tore the letter into small pieces which I threw in -the paper-basket. In the night I dreamt that the remarkable man,[1] -who seemed still to guide my steps after his death, showed me an old -manuscript which I had not found worth reading. The old servant held -the manuscript against the light, and then I saw like a water-mark -another writing between the lines. Immediately afterwards I saw in -my dream a broken-off leaden wire, but closer inspection showed its -surface to be gold. When I awoke in the morning I understood the -dream in its perfectly clear symbolism. I went to the paper-basket, -collected the fragments of the stranger's letter, and spent six hours -in piecing them together. Then I began to read. I should premise that -the handwriting was so like that of my deceased and honoured teacher, -that I believed I was reading a letter from the dead." - - -[Footnote 1: He refers probably to the Chief Librarian in the Royal -Stockholm Library, where he had been an assistant in his youth.] - - -=A Letter from Hell.=--"The letter pricked me like a packet of -needles. But it was so interesting that I was continually lured onward -to read to the end. The writer began by saying that he had received his -first intellectual awakening through my books. Since then his course -for twenty years had been very irregular; led astray by the prevailing -ape-morality, he had gone in evil ways. In the midst of his wandering, -it happened to him as to Dante and others--he came into hell, but found -a Virgil who led him out and saved him. Then his own real life began. -He passed all the sciences from philosophy to chemistry under critical -review, and found them consisting of mere conventional lies. He drifted -about helplessly till he found an anchorage-ground in faith in Christ, -the Exorciser of demons, the highest Wisdom, the Redeemer who saves -from doubt, despair, and madness. - -"During the perusal I felt sometimes as though I were reading my own -life or a satire on it. Annoyed by what seemed a tactless encroachment, -I often wished to throw the letter away but could not; the dream always -recurred to me, and the letter contained new and bold ideas sparkling -in a chaos of contradictions and paradoxes. In short, it proved a -turning-point in my life. It exposed my faults, but showed me at the -same time that I had held the right course, in spite of the deflections -and cross-currents to which I had been exposed." - - -=An Unconscious Medium.=--"Now let me say a few words about -my deceased mentor, who already in his lifetime exercised a great -influence on my development, though without knowing or wishing it. I -was young, precocious, dull, and untrustworthy, mostly because I wished -to preserve my personal independence, but also because I was godless, -and consequently immoral without any other principle except that of -getting on. He, my chief, attracted me, in spite of the fact that I was -antipathetic to him in most things. My position required that I should -serve him devotedly, but I wished also to serve my own interests. He -was a spiritist and Swedenborgian, but I was a materialist. This he was -aware of, because I was brutally truthful. But struggle as I might, -I came under his influence and became his medium. There were days on -which he was so blind that he could not read the old manuscripts which -he was editing. One day he gave me a medival codex in a difficult -character, and half in joke told me to read it. I read it at once, -without having learnt the character. Then he had discovered me. But -I worked alone, although unconsciously. One day I stumbled on a pile -of old documents, and found a date which he had been hunting for -for twenty years. Another time I found an historic detail of great -importance which altered our ideas of our early history. One day our -paths diverged. - - -=The Revenant.=--"Years passed. I lived abroad, but my thoughts -often reverted to the savant who had had a great influence on my -life. Often, without any special reason, I spoke of him for hours at -a time--not always with the respect which I owed him. I was, it must -be remembered, a pioneer, to whom nothing was sacred, neither parents -nor teacher. One day I heard that the old man was dead. Eight days -later there appeared in the paper this mysterious announcement. An -intimate friend of the deceased received, eight days after his death, -through the post, a letter from him. The paper considered it a jocose -mystification on the part of the deceased, who loved jokes. I guessed -who might have been entrusted with the letter, but felt astonished -that a dying man could take such pleasure in jesting, especially about -things which he had taken so seriously. When, two years later, began -the experiences described in my book _Inferno_, I felt that I was in -touch with my departed teacher. There were certain roguish traits in -the phenomena which reminded me of him. I remember one night addressing -the question to the darkness, 'Is it you?' The whole affair was in his -style, teasing in form, but well-meaning in purpose. I received no -answer, but the impression remained--a mixture of terrible grim earnest -and behind it a friendly smile, comforting, pardoning, protecting, just -as in his lifetime, when he practised patience with my ill manners." - - -=The Meeting in the Convent.=--The teacher continued: "During -my wanderings I happened once to visit a convent with a travelling -companion in a corner of Europe. What interested me specially was the -library, for I had long been trying to trace Anschar's[1] journal. -After I had slept the night in a cell which bore the inscription 'B. -Victor III. P.P.,' in memory of Pope Victor III 'who punished the -heretics who denied the divinity of Christ,' I was taken into the -library. The first thing shown me was a collection of Latin hymns of -the Middle Ages which had been edited by my deceased teacher. The -inner side of the title-page contained some handwriting by the editor, -which was so peculiar that it could hardly be imitated. I asked the -Benedictine monk who accompanied me, whose signature it was. He -answered, 'The convent librarian's.' 'Are you certain?' I asked. 'Yes, -quite certain.' This discovery of his handwriting, which I had never -seen elsewhere, after so many years made a deep impression on me. I -asked myself whether the monk, acting as a medium, could have imitated -the handwriting of the deceased editor. After an afternoon's search I -found the valuable explanation that Anschar's journal had been taken by -Abbot Thymo from Corvey to Rome in A.D. 1261. It was known that it had -since disappeared, but now I had found a trace of it. I felt as though -my deceased friend had brought me here into the convent in order to -discuss Anschar's journal, concerning the fate of which we had often -made guesses and searches." - - -[Footnote 1: A famous French missionary in Sweden, a.d. 801-865.] - - -=Correspondences.=--The teacher said: "It seems to me as though -Swedenborg's correspondences or correlatives were to be found again -in all departments, as though natural laws on a higher plane can be -applied to the spiritual life of man. If an object comes too close to -the magnifying glass, it becomes indistinct. Similarly one cannot see -the object of one's affections if she comes too close. She becomes -small and indistinct, loses outline and colour; but remove her to the -proper focus, and she becomes magnified and clear. Thus it is with -princes and their valets de chambre. - -"But there are also exceptions to the rule. Many friends gain by -proximity; one must see them often, otherwise they change their -shape and become ghostly and alarming. Others again seem better at a -distance; whenever we meet them we lose an illusion. The attraction -between lovers can increase in proportion to the square of the distance -between them, and also in reverse proportion; the greater the distance, -the greater the pain of separation. It seems also possible to apply the -facts of electricity in the psychical sphere. Pellets of elder-pith -attract one another so long as they are of opposite polarity, but when -they are saturated or over-saturated they repel one another. But the -mutual repulsion also takes place when a foreign body is interposed -between them, for then an influence is produced which operates -laterally." - - - -=lmighty God, who can suspend the few natural laws which we know, and -bring into operation the countless host of laws which we do not know, -I must believe in miracles. Swedenborg does not deal so hardly with -anyone (at the same time that he commiserates them) as the asses who -revere the creation and the laws of nature, without believing in the -Creator and Law-giver. They go with their noses on the ground, and if -anything unusual happens 'in the air,' as they say, they call it 'a -meteorological phenomenon,' and attribute it to such and such natural -causes. They register the phenomenon in their records without dreaming -of anything behind it, and forthwith forget the matter. - -"We, on the other hand, will mention some events of recent years and -connect them with certain natural phenomena which may possibly denote -the presence of warning and chastising powers. - -"On the 7th June, 1905, Sweden and Norway separated. A year previous an -earthquake took place which had its centre in the Kattegat. One shock -reached Christiania and caused a terrible panic in the churches; people -trampled one another to death or lost their reason. Another shock -affected Stockholm and caused alarm, but in a minor degree; among those -affected by it was a prince of high military rank. In January, 1905, a -hurricane burst over Christiania, tore the roof from the royal castle, -and injured the fortress of Akershus. The same hurricane travelled -east-ward to Stockholm, tore the roof from the guards' barracks and -threw it on the drilling-ground. These statements can be verified by -reference to the newspapers. The question is: 'Are these portents or -not?' Are symbolic natural phenomena portents?" - - -=The Difficult Art of Lying.=--The teacher said: "When people -lie deliberately, usually with the object of gaining something, I -often do not hear what they say. One day a carpenter came to me with a -complaint. I listened to him and helped him. The next day he came again -in order to do a piece of work. Then, among other things he let this -remark fall: 'To-day, thank God, she is better.' 'Who?' I asked. 'I -mentioned yesterday that my child had fallen down the staircase.' Then -I felt ashamed of having taken so little interest in his troubles, -and murmured some sympathetic words. But when he had gone I thought -over the matter. Since I generally hear very well and attend to what -people say, I was astonished that I had not noticed his account of his -trouble. I could not explain it to myself. - -"Some time later, after some months, I conceived a strong feeling of -distrust towards this man. I remembered the German proverb, 'A liar -should have a good memory,' and determined to test him. Therefore I -said to him abruptly, 'Did you have a good summer?' 'Splendid,' he -answered. 'Is your wife quite well?' 'Perfectly.' 'Your child too?' -'She has never passed through the summer so well.' Accordingly he -had lied when he said the little girl had had an accident, and had -subsequently forgotten it. What was unreal could leave no impression -behind--an interesting fact, as it seemed to me. In connection with -this I remembered that an actor, a pessimist and hopeless despairer, -had to play the part of a believing and positive character on a certain -occasion. That evening the audience could hardly hear a word of what he -said. I was astonished at the time, but now I understand that he was -lying." - - -=Religious and Scientific Intuition.=--The pupil said: "The -everlasting strife between Faith and Knowledge would have been stifled -at the outset if some sharp wit had discovered in time that the problem -is wrongly stated, for the two ideas form no real antithesis. What -I know, that I believe; consequently faith presupposes knowledge, -consequently knowledge is subsumed under faith. But the word 'belief' -has received other significations. In religion it means reception -or absorption. Science recognises the fact of intuition or rapid -inference, _i.e._ the faculty of reaching certainty without sufficient -reason and without a complete chain of proof. That is scientific -belief, and is in complete analogy with religious belief. When a man -arrives at the knowledge of God and of His laws by way of intuition, -when he then tests this knowledge by observing his experiences and -finds it confirmed, then the final outcome of his investigation is -Belief. Belief is complete objective certainty, but on a higher plane, -so that all scientific chatter that Knowledge is higher than Belief -is mere nonsense. By 'knowledge' in this case one understands for the -most part information about stones, plants, and animals, and historical -facts such as the year in which a certain book was published, when -Goethe was in Strasburg, whether Rebecca Ost's real name was -Popoffsky or Johanna Hagelstrom, or whether an Apostle-mug is genuine -or imitation. The antithesis 'Faith _or_ Knowledge' is the stupidest -dispute about words which ever took place, and a disgrace to humanity." - - -=The Freed Thinker.=--The teacher said: "In order to think -rightly and in accordance with law, I must free my reason from fetters -of rustic intelligence, from interests, passions, conventional -considerations. One must go into deep solitude, and not be afraid of -remaining alone, deserted by all. Above all, one must not belong to -any party which regulates, inspects, and degrades. In order to be able -to dare to give up the weak and hampering support of men, one must -be able thoroughly to rely upon God. In order to do that one must -keep one's conscience as clean as possible, must hate evil, strive -after righteousness and goodness, bear everything except humiliation, -exercise mercifulness, and take trials as such and not as persecutions. - -"The electric clock has contact and connection with a correctly-timed -chronometer. And so my reason cannot think logically till I have opened -connection with the Logos, and no longer discharge contrary currents of -sterile denial and doubt. Only in life with God is there freedom of -thought, freedom from impure impulses, selfish and ambitious interests, -freedom from the wish to stand well with the crowd. That is the _freed_ -thinker in contrast to the 'free-thinker,' who has left the rails and -lost connection with the overhead wire; he will come to grief at the -next street-corner, and is of no more use as a vehicle of traffic." - - -=Primus inter pares.=--The pupil continued: "Religions seemed -to be determined by regions like nationalities. Swedenborg hints -at something of the sort, saying that people have the religion -which they ought to have. Those who have no religion are tramps and -vagabonds, pariahs and gipsies, scoundrels and swindlers. They think -they are at home everywhere, but are so only on the high-roads, in -the market-places, behind the circus-stable, in the alehouse. When -Lessing asserts in _Nathan der Weise_ that all religions are equally -good, he shows that he has not understood Christianity, which is the -beginning and end of the world's history. The Muhammedans are certainly -religious, more religious than the Christians, and among the adherents -of Islam are many sects, but no atheistic ones. All observe the hours -of prayer, fasts, and daily washings. Muhammed was no Christ-hater. But -they are alien to our climate. Still we have something to learn from -them; they are not ashamed to show their religion, while we shuffle -with it. They are not only religious on Sundays but every day and all -day. - -"But, if we heard that a Christian had gone over to Islam we should -regard it as a fall from the higher to the lower, while the conversion -of a Muhammedan to Christianity would be hailed as an ascent. Saladin -was certainly noble and Nathan wise, but the nobleness of the former -had somewhat of a pose about it, and the wisdom of the latter was of -the same homely kind as Voltaire's. On the other hand, Godfrey de -Bouillon accepted the crown of thorns instead of the king's crown, -and St. Louis gave his life for the wisdom which surpasses all -understanding." - - -=Heathen Imaginations.=--The teacher said: "Religions are -represented by regions, defined territories, circles, of which each -considers himself the centre. The modern heathen sit in their little -bag, which is big enough to be seen, and when they only see heathen -they imagine that Christianity is decaying or altogether done with. -And yet it is flourishing as it never did before; everything serves -the Gospel with or against its will. The heathen find new weapons in -heaps of ruins and in temple-libraries; they close churches and thereby -bring Christianity into life and into the domestic circle. When they -make life bitter for the Christians, the latter turn from the sour and -seek the fresh. The missionaries who were only lately regarded with a -contemptuous smile are now discovered by great explorers in deserts -and wildernesses, where they have established oases of humanity and -mercy. There the plundered wanderer can rest his weary head, secure of -having found one trustworthy man. He who wishes to know the effect of -Christianity on an idolater should read Kanso Utschimura's _Memoirs of -a Japanese; or, How I Became a Christian_. Those who preach 'cheerful -paganism' can see in this work how a polytheist is tom and tortured -by doubt, and tossed to-and-fro between the contradictory commands of -eighty million gods." - - -=Thought Bound by Law.=--The teacher said: "When a young man -comes and says he is a free-thinker, say to him: 'You lie. You think -with your stomach, your throat, your sexuality, with your passions and -your interests, your hate and your sympathies. But in your youthful -immaturity you do not really think at all, but merely drivel. What -is instilled into you, you give out, and dub your wishes by the -name of thoughts.' Moreover 'free-thought' is a contradiction in -terms, for thought obeys laws, just as sound, light, and chemical -combinations do. Thought is bound, bound by laws. If you say 'There -is no God,' you speak without thinking. 'Non-existence' and 'God' are -two incommensurate ideas which cannot be brought into juxtaposition. -If they are, there results an absurdity which is the secretion or -excretion of an illogical and confused mind. - -"If on the other hand you say 'There is no God _for me_,' there is -something probable in that. But you should be ashamed to speak of -it. It only means that you are a godless dog, a perverse ape, a -conscienceless deceiver and thief whom men must avoid and detectives -must watch. Fortunately godlessness is an hallucination imposed on -haughty blockheads as a punishment. When the 'free-thinker' discovers -some day how stupid he is, then he is freed, and that is a mercy for -him." - - -=Credo quia (et-si) absurdum.=--The teacher said: "If I call -myself a Christian it is because I recognise Christ as a power, a -source of strength, from whom I obtain strength by prayer in order to -support tolerably the burdens of life. But at the same time I confess -that I cannot understand nor explain the doctrine of Atonement through -sacrificial death. That is not, however, the fault of the doctrine but -a defect in me. I have also no right to deny a matter of fact because I -do not understand it. Here is an illustration. If I multiply 2 by 2 I -obtain an increase--4. But if I multiply by I obtain as a result a -decrease by half, _i.e._ . Here is an incomprehensible contradiction. -Multiplication cannot produce a decrease. Yet it is mathematically -true that 2 multiplied by 2 is doubled, _i.e._ 4, but multiplied by - is halved, _i.e._ . My intelligence would fain deny it, but I must -believe it, and in doing so I do well, otherwise the whole science of -mathematics would be unusable, which would be a great loss. _Credo -quia absurdum._ That means, I must believe a fact just because it -is incomprehensible and absurd (for me, but not for others). If I -could understand it, the emergency short-cut of 'faith' would not be -necessary. That is the sacrifice, not of my reason, but of my rustic -understanding and of my pride." - - -=The Fear of Heaven.=--The pupil said: "The astronomy or -uranology of the astronomers has ceased to make any progress since -it has become godless. They have given up observing the sky. They sit -there and calculate, with the express purpose of calculating God's -existence away. Seven years ago I met a teacher of astronomy. He did -not know that the equator of the sky passes through the belt of Orion, -and could not point out the ecliptic. He boasted of not knowing the -constellations, saying it was no science to know them. Our nearest -neighbour the moon has been ignored for a long time. And yet in 1866 it -was noticed that changes had taken place there, and that the crater of -Linnus was on the point of disappearing. On the other hand, they are -trying to signal to Mars. If man, who lately in his folly thinks he has -solved the riddle of the universe without God, only knew how the 'gods' -are to us, and if he understood the signals which they send to us daily -and hourly, he would go out like Peter and weep that he had denied his -Lord or behaved as though he knew Him not." - - -=The Goat-god Pan and the Fear of the Pan-pipe.=--The teacher -said: "Like all lower classes the apelings regard themselves as -supermen, who march at the head of all movements and can regulate -developments. Their god is the shaggy Pan, who had been a goat and -became a half-man, and later the Evil One, Satan, or God's opponent. -But they must be ashamed of their god, for they call themselves -atheists. Their religion is that of the Satanists. When they hear of -any good action they snort. They delight in persecuting and tormenting -anyone in whom there is any good visible, and call him a hypocrite. -Their children learn to lie as soon as they learn to talk. The greatest -poet of the apelings has written a lament over the 'Decay of lying' -and an heroic poem in six cantos in praise of unnatural vice. They -are all perverse, mostly in secret, but they betray themselves in -their writers, who write in the name of woman, and from the woman's -point of view, against man. For by confusion of sex they have lost all -distinction of sex; they have ceased to think and to feel as men. They -run like dogs with their noses on the track of the white man, in order -to bite him, that he may become like one of them. - -"There are white men who have been seduced by the females of the -apelings. The children are bastards, and their lives are a perpetual -conflict against the Satanic inheritance they have received from their -mothers. Some fight in vain; others find the Helper. There is only -One--Jesus Christ, the Exorciser of demons. You know that I was such a -bastard and fought the battle, which is not yet concluded. - -"The apelings preach toleration. By that they mean that whatever they -do must be overlooked, and that they should be left at liberty to -propagate their doctrines, while they more or less secretly persecute -the Christians. As soon as they begin to scent Christian blood they -shudder. Then they begin to excommunicate the 'heretic.' His name is -no more mentioned, and if it appears in print it is cut out. If he -formerly belonged to the body of the apelings he is now called an -apostate, and must die as a traitor. - -"When an apeling dies he obtains an apotheosis in the absence of a -pantheon. At the burial the wreaths are counted, and the inscriptions -attached to them examined; if anyone's name is missing he is -excommunicated. The ceremonial is just like that of a witches' sabbath -when the 'faithful' gave their testimony. But it may happen, when -they invoke Pan, that he answers with the reed-pipe. Then if he shows -himself in the wood or in the bedchamber, they are seized with a panic -fear; they weep like children who are afraid of the dark, or fly to -sanatoriums to be cured of their neurasthenia, their sleeplessness, and -their heart-complaints." - - -=Their Gospel=.--The teacher continued: "But the apelings -have also constructed a dogmatic theology which is a parody of -the Christian faith. They have a doctrine of reconciliation which -proclaims reconciliation with life, but it is really a compromise -with all the dirt of life which one generally wipes off on the mat at -the house-door. They teach men to be tolerant towards turpitude and -wickedness; they describe men as good fellows, as careless creatures -who are thoroughly good at bottom--'there is no malice in them.' The -really good men, who cannot do anything wicked, seemed to the apelings -puritanical. 'Why should we torment ourselves in the only life we -have?' they ask, feeling quite sure that they will be annihilated at -death, like maggots. - -"According to this distorted gospel, it is wrong to describe in a -literary work how the malicious, the liar, the deceiver, the pander -get their deserts. We should, they say, pardon the conscienceless and -obstinate. Christianity, on the other hand, teaches that we should -pardon the repentant who improve. In the apelings' gospel all the -teaching of Christ is sophisticated. In their view all Magdalenes are -interesting innocent victims of social circumstances, while Christ only -received the Magdalene who had abandoned vice." - - -=The Disposition of the Apes.=--The teacher continued: "This is -the whole kernel of Darwinism, this madness which infected the mind -of a generation which was overstrained with the pursuit of power and -luxury. But this Beelzebub could only be driven out by another. That -was Nietzsche. He was a demon let loose, who killed the ape, restored -the man, and altered the old popular estimates. He was understood -because he spoke the language of the apelings. That was the only way -to compel them to listen, for they would never have heard a Christian -prophet. But after he had his say his tongue was spiked and his tale -was over. - -"Joseph Peladan was a Christian prophet of the school of the Therapeut -and Essenes. The apelings feared him, and could not name his name, for -it stuck in their throats. Only the Christian upper class understood -him. His Christianity was luminous and esoteric, perhaps too luminous. -But after a pilgrimage to Christ's grave he discovered the deceit, -turned his back on the 'reconciliation with life,' and forswore the -worship of beauty which was merely the dressing up of the apes with -white sheets and ivy leaves. He ceased to be interested in the bestial -and the nude, saw through the 'joy of life' and Nora,[1] unmasked the -humbug of tolerance, and took the cross in real earnest, as it is, on -himself. Peladan was a living protest against apishness. He represented -the undercurrent, not the surface-stream. Still the undercurrent is -always ready to mount and overflow and cleanse the banks, which at the -ebb-tide have served as a place for dumping down rubbish." - - -[Footnote 1: The heroine of Ibsen's _Doll's House_.] - - -=The Secret of the Cross.=--The teacher said: "The conflict -between paganism and Christianity is now being fought out in the world. -But just as surely as Christianity preceded paganism in time, so surely -does the future belong to Christianity, although for the moment the -apelings have the upper hand. Their edict of toleration allows them in -the name of freedom to forbid the preaching of Christianity. They close -the churches, declare Judas innocent, give mad women the vote, write -heathenish schoolbooks for children, place forgers and pettifoggers in -power, for their kingdom is of this world. But it is with Christianity -as with the walnut-tree, whose fruit is knocked down with poles, and -which is roughly treated in order that it may bear fruit and thrive. -The night grows darker towards the dawn. Spinach-seed is trodden -down that it may grow better; the ground must be harrowed, broken, -and rolled in order to be able to yield a crop; gold must be refined -in fire, and flax be steeped in water. The cross points upwards, -downwards, sideways, to the four quarters of heaven at once; it is a -completion of the compass. Suffering bums up the rubbish of the soul. -I have seen a man who had suffered all the griefs endured by humanity; -yet the more he suffered the more beautiful he became. That is the -secret of the cross and of suffering. 'Because ye are not of the world, -therefore the world hateth you. In the world ye have tribulation, but -be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.'" - - -=Examination and Summer Holidays.=--The teacher said: "When, -on reaching maturity, one awakes to new consciousness and discovers -that everything one has is borrowed, one begins to cut oneself down -to the root, in order to let strike a new stem which is one's own. -When we enter old age this stem withers down to the root (the process -Swedenborg calls 'desolation'); the branches formerly cut down bloom -again and put forth new foliage which is like, and yet not like the -former. But when old and new flourish together, the whole result is -confusing; but the root remains the same and reveals the nature of -the plant. The dissonances of life increase with the years, and the -material of life becomes so immense that it is impossible to survey it -properly. Therefore one lives more in remembrance than in the present, -and along the whole line of one's experience. Sometimes I live in my -childhood, sometimes in my mature age. - -"But it is strange that one does not feel old age to be the beginning -of an end but the introduction to something new, _i.e._ when one has -recovered the belief or assurance that there is a life on the other -side. One feels as though one were preparing for an examination by -doing preliminary exercises and one becomes literally young again. -There is a little touch of examination fever with it, but also great -hopes mingled with dreams of the future. These remind us of Christmas -joys, summer holidays, family gatherings with reconciliations and -wishes fulfilled. But there is also a scent of broken-off birch-leaves -and the seashore; there is a sound of Sunday bells and organs, the -attraction of new clothes, white linen, and a bath in green sea-water. -There is a feeling like that of evening prayer and a good conscience, -wife, home, and child after a journey, the hearth-fire after a -snow-storm, the first ball and the one we loved to dance with most, -the opening of the savings-box, and first and last the examination and -the summer holidays." - - -=Veering and Tacking.=--The teacher continued: "The Theosophists -speak of the seven planes of the Kama-Loka, the condition after -death. I will admit that, in certain circumstances, I have lived -simultaneously on several planes. This was difficult for me, and -still more difficult for my enemies to understand. I should like to -have explained these contradictions in existence by a cleavage of the -personality or a multiplication of the ego. I have also sought the -solution of the riddle in the self-adaptation to one's surroundings, -to which St. Paul refers in the First Epistle to the Corinthians: 'To -the Jews I became a Jew.... To those who are under the law, I became -as under the law.... To those who are without law, I became as one -without law. To the weak I became as weak.' ... Kierkegaard speaks of -Sympaschomenos who rejoices with the joyful, mourns with the sad, is -coarse with the coarse, refined with the refined. - -"Swedenborg makes another suggestion, 'When a man is to be born again, -his desires and falsities cannot be stripped off at once, for that -would be equivalent to destroying the whole man, because as yet he -only lives in them. Therefore for a long while evil spirits are left -with him, to stir up his desires that they may be dissolved in many -ways.' - -"Formerly I believed, when I was young with the youthful, old and wise -with the old, mad with the mad, that I was doing them a service. As a -poet, I lived for the moment in their life and their moods, which I -then depicted and forgot myself. Often by these relapses into stages -I had left behind, I seemed to have worked myself higher, as the ship -tacks in order to get a more favourable wind." - - -=Attraction and Repulsion.=--The teacher continued: "There is both -an attraction and a repulsion between similar souls. Like loves like, -but not always; often the unlike seeks the unlike. A good man lamented -to me that it was his lot always to be in bad society, and never to -meet good men who could elevate him. Since he was strong he was at any -rate not drawn down, but he did not observe that he exercised a good -influence on his bad surroundings. He had, it is true, occasion to see -and to hear evil; but, on the other hand, he was able to react against -it through the disgust with which it inspired him. Without instituting -a comparison we may say that Christ did not attract people of high -position and good character, but poor devils and weak characters, the -sick, the possessed, the wicked, thieves, publicans, and harlots. His -disciples did not understand his doctrine, but interpreted it all in a -material way. He answered their reproaches by saying, 'Only the sick -need a physician.' I will suppress my former objection, for I bow -myself experimentally before 'the folly of the cross,' since experience -has taught me that wisdom can only be received by a humble mind, and -that obedience is more than sacrifice. In recent times my constant -prayer has been that I might come into good society which might elevate -me, and avoid evil companionship which, to say the least, involves an -injurious connection with the lower plane. It is in truth my fault -that those who seek me seek my old ego, and, when they do not find it, -believe that I am not to be found." - - -=The Double.=--The pupil said: "When a man begins to love a woman -he throws himself into a trance, and becomes a poet and artist. Out -of her plastic, unindividualised material he fashions an ideal form -into which he puts all that is best in himself. Thus he creates an -homunculus which he adopts as his double, and with that she lets him do -as he likes. - -"But this astral image may be also the doll which she the huntress -sets up as a decoy, while she with a loaded gun lies behind the -bush and watches for her prey. The love of a man for his homunculus -often survives every illusion; he may have conceived a deadly hatred -against herself, while his love for his double continues. But this -masquerade gives rise to the deepest dissonances and troubles. He -becomes squint-eyed by contemplating two images which do not coincide. -He wishes to embrace his cloud, but takes hold of a body; he wishes to -hear _his_ poem, but it is someone else's; he wants to see his work of -art, but it is only a model. He is happy during his trance, although -the world cannot understand him. When he awakes from his somnambulism, -his hatred to the woman increases in proportion as she fails to -correspond to his image of her. And if he murders his double, then love -is done with, and only boundless hate remains." - - -=Paw or Hand.=--The pupil said: "In Kipling's wonderful _Jungle -Book_, the boy is intimate with all kinds of animals but not with apes, -which are the worst of all creatures and composed of wickedness and -crime. When Goethe, in the second part of _Faust_, wishes to represent -phantoms and evil spirits, he uses the same masks and costumes as -for the monkeys in the Witches' Kitchen in the first part. And it is -among these degenerate brutes that man (?) now does his best to seek -his ancestry. For my part I would rather trace my origin from a noble -horse, or a sagacious and honest elephant, or from a courageous and -thankful eagle. - -"But it is probable that apes spring from degenerate men, escaped -criminals, and ship-wrecked Robinson Crusoes. The hand of the -chimpanzee is not a paw which is being evolved into a hand, but it is -a human hand which is degenerating into a paw. A palmist could read -the lines of it; a manicurist could improve it and make it capable of -wearing a glove. If man really sprang from apes, according to the law -of phylogeny, a child ought to be born with a hairy body. But now it -comes into the world as smooth as an angel, often without hairs even -on its head. It is a disgrace to me that I served the Ape-king, the -seducer of my youth! And it was so stupid!" - - -=The Thousand-Years' Night of the Apes.=--When the sun of -Christianity rose over the world, it naturally became night for the -apelings. When they turned their backs to the light, everything became -distorted for them. Right became left, east became west, good became -evil, black became white, day became night. Therefore one reads still -of their thousand-years' night, as they call the Middle Ages. When the -savage tribes of Europe became tame, when the aged and sick became -objects of pity, when governments ruled and laws protected, when -faith, hope and love, self-sacrifice and chivalry flourished, then it -was night for the pagans. When Europe received science, when Albertus -Magnus, Thomas Aquinas, Roger Bacon, Arnold, and Basilius founded -chemistry, metallurgy, and physic, their darkness increased. When -medival art culminated in the noblest work of art there is--the Gothic -cathedral--then it grew dark before the eyes of the giants; their ears -could not endure the chime of bells and organ-music. Finally the Middle -Ages discovered gunpowder, the compass, and printing. A religious man, -whose sails bore the sign of the cross, discovered America. But Pauli, -the disciple of Clemens Romanus, already knew "the ocean which cannot -be crossed by men, and the lands which lie behind it."[1] - -In the midst of the darkness of the heathen there was the light -of convent-schools and universities, in which spiritual as well as -worldly wisdom was taught. Poems of chivalry, romances and dramas -were composed. Charlemagne was a Christian King Solomon; he defeated -the Philistines in Saxony, built temples out of the ruins of Rome, -held learned conversations and listened to legends, cultivated the -land and gave laws. That was the brightest phase of a Europe grown -patriarchal and Christian. The gods certainly did not walk any more on -earth, but God's messengers were in constant communication with men, -and disclosed to them the secrets of God's kingdom, which were written -down in Apocalypses and, best of all, in the _Legenda Aurea_. Thomas -Kempis's _Imitation of Christ_ was printed and is still read even by -Protestants. One can even read the Church Fathers, Augustine, Jerome, -Chrysostom; Augustine was used in my youth as a confirmation-manual. -Two hundred years before the Reformation--the schism in the Church -as it should rather be called--Dante wrote the most Christian of all -poems, which the heathen have tried to steal for themselves. Boccaccio -expounded the _Inferno_ from a professor's chair, a fitting penalty -for the trespasses of his youth. Botticelli, Lippi, Ghirlandajo were -the great religious painters of the Middle Ages. Their pupils Michael -Angelo and Raphael were devout Christians, although the heathen have -wished to appropriate them under the false designation Renaissance, -or new birth of heathenism. When at the beginning of modern times it -began to grow dusk, the dawn rose for the heathen and for "the last -Athenians." The last? There will certainly be more Athenians who will -wish to carry owls to Athens. - - -[Footnote 1: Clement, Epistle to the Romans, chap. xx.] - - -=The Favourite.=--Julian was an Illyrian, from the predatory state -composed of a mixed Phoenician race who worshipped Baal and Astarte. -He had a small head, and no occiput; he had thick lips, a beard that -swarmed with vermin, long nails and black hands with which he groped -in the bleeding bodies of slain beasts in order to prognosticate the -future from their hearts and livers. His cheerful religious services -consisted in the sacrifice of animals, and were accompanied by the -dances of immodest girls. In order to refute ancient prophecy, he -wished to build again the Temple at Jerusalem. But fire broke out of -the ground, so that the undertaking was frustrated at its commencement. -This madman once came to Antioch, where there were a hundred thousand -heathen whom he expected to receive him with public sacrifices and -dances. Instead of which he was met by a solitary priest bearing a -goose. That was all! - -This unattractive person, who has become the darling of _The Last -Athenian_[1] and the new heathen, was finally enticed into a desert. -There he suffered hunger and thirst till a lance pierced his liver. But -it is incredible that he exclaimed, "Thou hast conquered, O Galilean!" -He was far too stupid for that. - - -=Scientific Villainies.=--If anyone comes to you and says, "I -don't understand the proof for the existence of God," you should -answer, "You don't understand because your wickedness darkens your -understanding." All atheists are rascals, and all rascals are -atheists. Their intelligence is so beclogged with sin that they cannot -understand the simplest teachings of Christianity, the Incarnation and, -consequently, Immaculate Birth of God, His Resurrection and Ascension. - -When the sectaries came to Luther and said that they could not -understand him, because they had another Spirit, he answered, "I smite -your Spirit on the snout! God rebuke thee, Satan!" A godless man or a -so-called free-thinker is a rascal who permits himself everything. His -natural sympathy for scoundrels is so strong that he will swear a false -oath in order to save the guilty from condemnation by a false alibi. He -will accuse an innocent man, and persecute him from one court of appeal -to another, in order to get him into prison, and will demand a large -sum of money as a reward for his ill-doing. - -When the guilty is acquitted they give him a banquet, his companions -write odes in his honour, he is promoted and finally appointed to be -an instructor of youth. When an atheist adopts the pursuit of science, -one is sure only villainy will result. He says falsely that he has seen -such and such things under the microscope, in order to be able to write -a treatise on them. If he is an astronomer he will see as many canals -in Mars as his professor wishes. If his professor does not believe in -the canals in Mars, he will not see any. - - -[Footnote 1: _The Last Athenian_, title of a work by Victor Rydberg.] - - -=Necrobiosis, _i.e._ Death and Resurrection.=--During the -winter I found the chrysalis of a cockchafer and laid it on my -writing-table. One evening in the lamplight it began to click and -make small movements. Believing that the warmth had developed my -beetle I opened its black coffin, but found to my astonishment only -a white slime without a sign of organisation; it smelt of sour -gastric juice. This half-fluid mass, however, possessed the capacity -of movement. Later on, when I had a microscope with a large field -of view, I opened the chrysalis of a butterfly and examined it. On -a clear yellow background of fluid matter there was sketched, as it -were, the outline of the future butterfly in half-shadow, without, as -yet, any bodily organisation. That is called "necrobiosis," or the -dying-off of living tissue. And the deliquescence of the chrysalis in -slime is termed "histolysis." Its reorganisation is said to take place -by means of _corpora adiposa_, or particles of fat. More than this I -do not know. I wrote to Germany (where they are accustomed to know -everything) and asked for some works treating of the metamorphosis -of the chrysalis, but there were none on this most important and -interesting question. Father Darwin and his son Haeckel knew nothing -and wished to know nothing about the resurrection; they only knew about -birth and death. Finally I bought for five-and-twenty kroners a large -work on butterflies composed by a professor. There was not a word in -it regarding the necrobiosis of the chrysalis. But sometimes I see on -a gravestone within a church wall this symbol: caterpillar, chrysalis, -and butterfly. - - -=Secret Judgment.=--When one sees a fact repeated regularly and -under defined conditions, one believes one has discovered a law. I -think I have discovered a law, and consequently a tribunal whose -decisions we see, but whose inner working we can only guess at. I had -a relative who had reached a certain age without "ever having time" to -think of death. On the 18th January of the year 18-- he had a stroke -and fell. That was the first warning. Then he began to think about -death and the life after this, and occupied himself thus for six years; -then he died exactly on the same day, on the 18th of January. The -fact of the interval being six years made me think of Bismarck's six -years in Sachsenwald, when he sat alone and brooded on the transitory -character of greatness, and curiously enough injured his reputation -through being betrayed by vanity into making incautious revelations. -Then it occurred to me that Napoleon was six years on St. Helena, and -finally became so well "prepared" that he received the sacrament on his -death-bed. Whether Heine lay on the ground for exactly six years, with -his body wasted to the size of a child's and tormented by the fear of -losing his wife, I cannot say definitely; but it was about six. It is -well known that the pious Linnus had to spend his last years seated in -a chair, lamed by paralysis; nor did even he escape being worried by a -quarrelsome wife, God alone knows why! - -Our great and glorious Tegner received his first warning in 1840. It -was accompanied by a condition like that described in my _Inferno,_ -during which, among other things, he saw his whole poetical work in a -depreciatory light, and even at last wished to cancel it all. After -just six years' preparation he died on November 2, 1846, in a cheerful -state of mind, the sky being lit up at the time by a splendid aurora. -Goldschmidt mentions that and still more remarkable things in his -excellent _Nemesis Divina_. I read lately how Fersen was murdered in -his carriage on June 20, 1810. I recalled to mind that it was the -same Fersen who drove the carriage in which Marie Antoinette fled to -Varennes. I referred to the _History of the World_, and found that the -flight to Varennes took place on June 20, 1791. The question arises: -"Was it a crime to wish to save the queen?" The author of the article -in the _Biographical Lexicon_ mentions the crime by name; but it was -something other than the attempt to further her escape. - - -=Hammurabi's Inspired Laws Received from the Sun-God.=--The laws -of Hammurabi occupy fifteen quarto pages. That is the whole find! And -these pages are to nullify the Bible, which is so unsearchably rich -and possesses such mysterious depths that everyone in trouble, who -with humility seeks for counsel and comfort there, finds it forthwith, -although he may first receive some blows which strike the nail on the -head! - -Hammurabi's laws in fifteen pages resemble Deuteronomy to a certain -degree, but are much more meagre; they often recall our old Swedish law -with its trivialities. For instance: "If anyone strikes out a man's -teeth, his teeth shall be struck out; but if he strikes out the teeth -of an emancipated slave, he shall pay one-eighth of a mina of silver." - -In any case God is one, and His laws are in principle the same. -The Bible may have used the same source as Hammurabi. But when the -heathen try to use the laws of the Assyrian clay tablets in order to -prove that the Bible is not inspired, they miss the mark. "Inspired" -means "received from God." See how the heathen has adorned his paltry -pamphlet with a frontispiece, which asserts, against his will, that -Hammurabi's laws were also inspired. For the frontispiece portrays -Hammurabi receiving his laws from the Sun-god. - - -=Strauss's Life of Christ.=--Now that I am sixty years old, it -occurred to me to see what sort of a book Strauss's _Leben Jesu_ is -before I depart. In my youth, in the 'sixties, we read in school (of -our own accord, however) "the last Athenian's doctrine of the Bible," -but we never succeeded in seeing the original _Life of Jesus_. And -although I have been in libraries, collected books, visited second-hand -book-stalls, I have not seen Strauss's book. It seemed as though it had -been confiscated by the Invisible Powers. Now when I am sixty, it has -arrived and I tried to read it. But I could not. - -It was simply unreadable! All these many pages contained nothing, and -what was printed seemed to me incomprehensible, soulless, dry. - -A man who writes a book about what he does not understand; a student -who has learnt the sthetic systems by heart; a philosopher who tries -to define the beautiful; a mathematician who wants to prove or -disprove axioms; a drunken man who tries to play the flute; a feeble -foolish attempt to explain God's great miracle in the Atonement. I -threw the book away, else I should have gone to sleep over it. - -Strauss died in 1874, and in spite of the last stage of his -development, when he did not believe any more in the immortality of -the soul, he spent his last hours in reading Plato's _Phdo_, in which -at the death-bed of Socrates the immortality of the soul is so clearly -demonstrated. - -His death was like that of Socrates, his pupils said. But they do not -inform us whether the cup of poison was at hand. - - -=Christianity and Radicalism.=--Christianity is really more -radical than Radicalism. Christ turns his back on the whole of society -with its institutions, science, and art. He warns us against the -scribes; the rich are not his friends, but rather Lazarus; the rich -youth is told to sell all that he has and to give to the poor. To -soldiers Christ says, "Those who take the sword shall perish with the -sword." He says nothing about science, art, and industry because He -is indifferent to them. He has no great illusions about men, for he -calls them "a generation of vipers." And rightly; since the earth is -a prison for those who have committed crimes in heaven, we are all -rascals; but it is the prison chaplain's duty to preach pardon to those -who behave properly. To open the prison would be unwise and unlawful; -there Christianity differs from Anarchism. Give custom to whom custom -is due, and to Csar what is Csar's. Authority is ordained of God, and -beareth not the sword in vain. - -Christianity and Radicalism accordingly agree in their criticism of -society, but not in the inferences they draw. The Christian endures the -sufferings of the prison-house with religious resignation; he does not -waste valuable time in making foolish proposals regarding the reform of -prison-life and management. In order to obtain mitigation and pardon, -and to escape the dark cell and scourging, he tries to behave well, but -he does not believe that the prison can be a place of recreation. - -All that Rousseau, Max Nordau, and Tolstoi have said against the faults -of society is quite true, but their inferences are false. Socialism, -_i.e._ pagan socialism, which preached development and progress, went -its crab-like course backwards to the trade unions which had been -dissolved, limited industrial freedom, introduced inquisitorial -methods, excommunicated heretics. In the great strike non-socialists -were refused water and gas, bread and milk for children. They compelled -the contented to be discontented, made men wild and despairing, and -really made things worse, when they ought to have improved them. - -But in their pagan Radicalism they did not attain to the height of -Christianity. Unbelieving, they believed in everything that was -false--scientific fallacies, politico-economical errors, philosophical -stupidities. Into a pagan one may instil every possible falsehood and -stupidity; but for the truth in its real relations he is deaf and blind. - -To have a moderate quiet contempt of the world, to be already half out -of it, one's staff in one's hand and one's knapsack on one's back, ever -ready for departure, to have clean hands and a good conscience--that -is the way not to be easily assailable. Then one is not envied, and -suffers not from disappointments and humiliations, for one is prepared -for all, and has anticipated all in advance. - -"Vanity, Vanity," saith the Preacher. "Sow in the morning thy seed, and -in the evening withhold not thy hand, for thou knowest not which shall -succeed, or whether both alike are good." - - -=Where Are We?=--If men only knew where they are! - -The description which the ancients gave of Tartarus exactly fits our -condition in this life. The ambitious man rolls his stone up the hill -like Sisyphus, and when he has got it to the top it rolls down again. -A certain architect spent twenty-five years of his life in working and -intriguing in order to build a temple for the state. The temple was -built and consecrated, a torch-light procession was held in honour of -the architect, and he was crowned with a laurel-wreath. The next day -the newspapers informed us that the temple must be pulled down because -it was a failure. The architect died half a year afterwards in an -asylum; the temple was demolished and the architect's name forgotten -and obliterated. Tantalus, the rich miser, stands in the midst of a -spring of water, but cannot drink; branches laden with fruit hang over -his head, but when he stretches out his hand to pluck a fruit a gust -of wind comes and tears the branch away. The rich man has worked and -swindled till old age begins. Then at last, when the grouse come flying -towards him, he has no teeth left; his wine-cellar is full, but the -doctor has forbidden him wine. That is Tantalus! - -Ixion revolves on his wheel, at one moment up, at another down. The -ancients assigned as the reason of his punishment that he had boasted -of the favour of a woman who had never been his. - -The Danaides, the coquettes, are perpetually drawing water, but their -vessel is like a sieve; everything enters it, but nothing remains. - -All day long and every day one hears the expression "That is -hell!"--such is the universal view. When things look a little brighter, -the table is covered, the bed made, and we feel well again. We cheat -ourselves often with alcohol, and continue our somnambulism. Then we -are awoken by a noise, start up, rush about, weep, and then go to sleep -again. At last sleep is banished once for all, and we wake never to -sleep any more. Once we are well awake no opiates are of avail. - -Then we discover the whole cheat. We see where we are, and what our -past, which seemed so real, was. The comparatively wise man then -turns away from the phantoms and shadows of reality in order to seek -the other, the true, the actual Real. Then the state is seen to be a -prison; the defenders of the fatherland are body-snatchers; society is -a madhouse, whose warders are the officials and police; family life is -concubinage; capitalists are usurers; the fine arts are superfluities; -literature is printed nonsense; industry feeds unnecessary luxury; -railways are instruments of torture; the electric light ruins the eyes; -all the blessings of civilisation are either curses or superfluous. - -When we have seen this, we turn our backs on all and seek the only -thing that holds, that gives a real answer, that fulfils what it -promises. But this super-real fools call a phantom. - - -=Hegel's Christianity.=--There are two Voltaires: one, the mocker -at all definite religion, who is revered by the godless; the other, -the fanatical champion of God who is ridiculed by the atheists because -he believed in God as navely as a child. Voltaire recovered his -reason before he died, as lunatics are wont to do; when he died he was -definitely religious and took the sacrament. There are also two Hegels. -But they are more complicated than Voltaire, who was as simple as a -feuilletonist. Hegel discovered with his logic that what exists has a -right to exist; he defends the _status quo_, society, state, religion -with all their corollaries, because they have proceeded from God; -everything is right since it exists. "It belongs," he says, "to the -essence of religion that it should realise itself in several historical -religious forms. Of these, however, Christianity is the only one which -suitably expresses the essence of religion. In her doctrine of the -Trinity the Christian Church contains the nucleus of all philosophical -speculation. For this signifies nothing less than that the Eternal God, -enthroned in His majesty over the sphere of the finite, condescends -and reconciles Himself to the finite, becomes man, suffers, dies, and -returns to Himself as the Holy Spirit." That is well put; but every -schoolchild knew it already from Luther's "little catechism." For what -object then is this extraordinary accumulation of several thousand -pages of incomprehensible philosophy? To what purpose? Hegel died of -cholera in 1831, after traversing many devious ways, as a simple, -believing Christian, without any philosophy, repeating the penitential -psalms. - - -="Men of God's Hand."=--That is Kind David's expression (Ps. -xvii., 14) which he uses of the godless, to whom the Lord gave power -over His people Israel when they behaved badly. Thereby is the knotty -problem solved, why God gives the godless power, honour, and wealth, -while He often chastises His servants. - -The Pharaohs were idolaters and wizards, but God's chosen people had -to be their slaves. The Philistines worshipped Baal and Astarte, but -they were allowed to devastate Canaan and even to carry away the Ark -of the Covenant. Nebuchadnezzar was no saint, quite the contrary, but -he was permitted to carry the children of Israel into captivity. Good -men are not adapted to be instruments of chastisement, and the office -of executioner is not an enviable one. Everyone has his Egyptian armed -with a rod, whether they are called superiors, employers, customers, -the public, newspapers, or even public opinion. - -All strive for an imaginary independence or so-called freedom, while -there is no independence and no freedom. Therefore the effort is vain. -Only one thing remains--to reconcile oneself to obedience to human -authority for the Lord's sake, and to pay taxes where taxes are due. -And where one earns one's bread, one must be polite. Vex, not thyself -that thy trade and thy position are difficult; God has so appointed it. - - -=Night Owls.=--The maggot in the apple doubtless imagines that -the apple was grown for its sake, and that the world could not exist -without apples. So we also imagine that science and art are certainly -necessary. Swedenborg, in his description of another sphere, tells us -how happy men can be without such luxuries. "They know nothing of -sciences as we see them in our world, and wish to know nothing; they -call them 'shadows,' and compare them with clouds which come between -the sun and the spectator. This idea of the sciences they have derived -from certain spirits who came from our earth and introduced themselves -as those who had grown wise through science. These spirits from our -earth who made this claim belonged to those who see wisdom in such -things as are pure matters of memory, such as languages; in historical -matters, which belong to the literary world; in bare experiences and -terms, especially philosophical ones. Because these have not developed -their faculty of reasoning through science, they have in their second -life little power of perceiving the truth, for they see only in and by -means of technical terms, which like hills and thick clouds obstruct -the sight of reason. Those who have employed the sciences in order to -destroy matters of faith have their reason so thoroughly unsettled that -in pitch-darkness they take false for true, and evil for good, like -night-owls." - -The flag of the university also carries the sign of an owl, but they do -not know what it means. - - -=Apotheosis.=--When a man who has been near to us dies, he begins -to loom magnified through a kind of haze. All his less-pleasing -characteristics are obliterated, as if they were part of that dust -which is now dissolved. His better self, on the other hand, becomes -larger and clearer. It is indeed possible that the liberated spirit -becomes ennobled by death, and that therefore the survivor is right in -forming a new conception of the personality of the deceased. He with -whom the survivor now holds spiritual intercourse is perhaps what the -survivor feels him to be, and has ceased to be what he was in life. -It is almost invariably the case that the survivor torments himself -with reproaches that he has been guilty of some neglect towards the -dead, has done him slight injustices and spoken hard words. Even the -coldest-hearted begs the dead secretly for forgiveness--forgiveness -for all even when it was hardly ill-meant. All this seems to signify -that the dead one is alive, and has need of kindly thoughts as a -compensation for the reproaches he makes himself regarding those he has -left behind. - - -=Painting Things Black.=--There are men who anticipate their -troubles, hoping thereby to neutralise or to bribe destiny. But that is -a mistaken calculation. I know of an author who saw a great calamity -approaching and tried to _write_ it away. He composed a drama on that -theme, and hoped thereby to have escaped it. Soon afterwards, however, -it arrived and the effect was as strong as though it had never been -written about, perhaps even more. - -Theosophists say that we can create thought-forms which assume life and -reality. They mean that men can send from a distance evil suggestions -which others carry out. Thus criminal romances have never deterred -anyone from crime; they have on the contrary given scoundrels bright -ideas for new pieces of rascality. I actually know of a society novel -which criticised bank and joint-stock company frauds, with the result -that such frauds increased. It is as though one let loose demons. - -Therefore it is dangerous merely to think evil of men; one may do them -harm thereby. But what a supernatural effort is necessary always to -see good where so little is to be found! And when we try our best we -find that we have played the hypocrite. It is almost hopeless to hold -the balance level when it is a matter of judging men justly, for human -nature is evil and cannot be altered. - - -=The Thorn in the Flesh.=--Whence come evil and ugly thoughts -which start up in our most beautiful moments, in the hour of devotion, -and even in prayer? We wish to ignore them; we have the impression -that they come from without. But it is possible that they are born of -the habit of letting evil thoughts have free course in silence and -solitude. Still it is mysterious that the greater the height to which -we have attained by striving, the deeper we fall. And I can testify -from my own experience that it is at the very time of renunciation -and self-discipline that one is most liable to unclean thoughts and -imaginations. St. Anthony and other saints are examples of this. - -A great sorrow, for instance, the longing for a lost child, is the -quickest and best means of burning away the rubbish. But often, alas! -on the sorrow there follows a boisterous joy which is not of the -noblest kind. Immediately after our noblest moods, when we have been -inspired by the most beautiful thoughts and purposes, it is possible in -the next moment to feel like a coxcomb. - -It is not strange that the ancients believed in demons who whisper into -one's ear and suggest impure imaginations. Possibly this was St. Paul's -thorn in the flesh, which pricked him so that he should not be too much -uplifted. - - -=Despair and Grace.=--When in youth one sought to conquer evil -desires, and even harmless ones, with the severest scourge provided by -religion, and then saw that one could not change one's vices, one let -go of the reins and life went as it went. Work was the chief occupation -of middle life, and there was no time to think of one's soul. Life -itself moulded one's character, and one threw a bone to the dog--the -flesh in order to be able to work in peace. - -Then when in old age we come to reflect, and at sixty find that we have -remained very much the same, we wish to begin our spiritual education, -but with indifferent success. We had hoped that certain desires would -disappear and certain virtues take their place by a kind of natural -necessity, as we had believed when young. But, alas! that is not the -case. When now we again resume the struggles of our youth the case is -thus. We have raised our standard higher, and wish to root out all the -weeds. What formerly seemed quite natural--envy of a fellow-worker, -revenge on an enemy, pride in success, exultation at a foe's downfall, -a small white lie--we now find hateful. And so we begin to struggle -against the outward manifestations of these things. But when we find -the inner evil just as strong as before, we finally regard ourselves as -great hypocrites and are ready to despair. - -Where is comfort to be found then? Religion only asserts that we are -hypocrites, and our fellow-men regard it as a fact. Absolute despair -seizes us. What follows then? Grace! It becomes clear to us that -everything is grace, and from grace. And that we have been living on -the bread of charity which we believed we had earned. - - -=The Last Act (From the life of a leader of the -"Renaissance").=--The final act is the most important one in a -drama, and a dramatist generally begins his work at the end. We sit -out a long evening at the theatre in order to see the last act or "how -it will go." But in the significant lives of certain men people like -to ignore the last act, because it is uncomfortable and might show -how the godless fare at last. He who wrote the operetta _Boccaccio_ -had to append the last act to it; the jovial Florentine became a -priest and delivered lectures on Dante's _Hell_, though he only -reached the seventeenth canto. Voltaire's last hours, when he took -the sacrament, might furnish a subject for a tragedy like the second -part of _Faust_. Heine announced his conversion, which took place -in 1851, in the preface to the _Romancero_: "I have returned to God -like the prodigal son, after I had fed swine with the Hegelians for -a long time." This preface should be printed before every collection -of Heine's poems. Hegel singing penitential psalms on his death-bed -might form the subject of a fresco painting for the entrance-hall of -Berlin University. But the most affecting final act is Oscar Wilde's -description of his prison life in _De Profundis_. He was the so-called -renaissance leader, who disinterred heathenism with its false worship -of beauty, which contains the foulest of all. Kierkegaard[1] would have -called him the sthete, the Sybarite cold as cast iron, the egoist -round whose petty "I" the whole world was to revolve in order to -understand him alone. Many, led astray like him by the seducing spirits -of his youth, remained fairly free from public punishment. Wilde -seems to have been picked out to furnish a startling example, for his -position, at any rate in his own country, was almost that of an idol. - -What he wrote lacks originality; it is whipped-up foam; glazing which, -when washed off, leaves no texture; it is as restless as cross-lights, -or like a mirror in a public restaurant, in a labyrinthine hall with -deceptive lines and false perspectives; it runs out of the hand like -albumen or frog-spawn; it is perverse as in _Dorian Gray_, the hero of -which should have lost his youth by nightly excesses, while on the -contrary it is only his portrait which changes. - -The last act was played, and that outdid all horror, was so horrible -that Wilde himself could not describe its details, which, however, oral -tradition has preserved in a Swedenborgian legend. - -_De Profundis_ arouses pity and fear, and one would gladly acquit the -man who was perhaps the victim of his delusion; a worldly tribunal -would not have judged him if he had not himself appealed to it, and -that indeed for a wrong done him. It was what our renaissance-critic -called a "piece of stupidity" when he made Wilde out to be a martyr of -"hypocrisy," as he called justice. Wilde however seems to have taken -another view of the matter to his impartial defender: "A day in prison -on which one does not weep is a day on which one's heart is hard, not -a day on which one's heart is happy. Once I had put into motion the -forces of society, society turned on me and said: 'Have you been living -all this time in defiance of my laws, and do you now appeal to those -laws for protection? You shall have those laws exercised to the full.' -A man's very highest moment, I have no doubt at all, is when he kneels -in the dust and beats his breast and tells us all the sins of his life." - -The "joy of life" whose perfume he had inhaled at Oxford through -Pater's _Renaissance_ now began to grow sour. - -"Clergymen and people who use phrases without wisdom sometimes talk of -suffering as a mystery. It is really a revelation. - -"Behind joy and laughter there may be a temperament coarse, hard, -and callous. Pain, unlike pleasure, wears no mask. There are times -when sorrow seems to me to be the only truth. The secret of life is -suffering." - -Let us add that Wilde derived his most dangerous doctrine from -Baudelaire and Shakespeare's sonnets. And let us close with the new -view of the Renaissance which he attained to in prison: "To me one of -the things in history the most to be regretted is that the Christ's -own renaissance which has produced the Cathedral at Chartres, the -Arthurian cycle of legends, the life of St. Francis of Assisi, the art -of Giotto, and Dante's _Divine Comedy_, was not allowed to develop on -its own lines, but was interrupted and spoiled by the dreary classical -Renaissance." - - -[Footnote 1: Danish theologian.] - - -=Consequences of Learning.=--As soon as a man buries himself in -books he gets black nails and dirty cuffs, forgets to wash, to comb his -hair, and to shave. He neglects his duties towards life, society, and -men; loses spiritual capacities, becomes absent-minded, short-sighted, -wears glasses, and takes snuff in order to keep himself awake. He -cannot follow a conversation with attention, cannot interest himself in -other people's affairs, does not see the face of the earth by day nor -the stars by night. Behind his desire to investigate lies the insidious -ambition to master his material, to become an authority, to tyrannise, -to make a career for himself, and to receive distinctions. - -If men only reflected what tyrants they obey--these black magicians who -are called professors; who settle what we are to think and believe; -who test and examine, reject and choose; who form committees, write -handbooks, deliver lectures, and bestow prizes on those who accept -_their_ hypotheses. - -And has it ever occurred to a student to criticise his teacher? No; he -swallows everything uncritically. But if he goes into a church where -he hears God's own word revealed by way of intuition to the prophets, -then he begins to exercise his critical faculty; then he finds it -very difficult to comprehend the simplest things; then he wants -mathematical certainty, which he considers the highest while it is -really the lowest. - -Swedenborg says in one place: "Though goodness and truth are sent down -through the heavens, when they reach the hells they are changed into -evil and falsity; the brilliant light of the sun changes into ugly -colours and its warmth becomes an evil odour." - - -=Rousseau.=--In my youth I read of an Englishman who shot himself -because life was so wearisome. He had counted the buttons which he -had to unbutton and button up every day--in his under-clothing half -a dozen, in his day-shirt half a dozen, in his collar and cuffs half -a dozen, in his waistcoat, trousers, and coat a dozen, in his boots, -gaiters, and gloves two dozen. When he wanted to ride out he had to -change, as he had also to do for dinner and the evening. - -This story, though absurd, reveals the naked truth. Life has become -so burdensome, and half the day is spent in useless occupations: -unnecessary visits, telephoning, writing letters about nothing, -reading the papers; especially in making one's toilette which formerly -consisted of a becoming mantle fastened with a single cord, but has -now developed into a whole set of things with buttons, hooks, eyes, -strings, ribbons, needles, buckles. Our toilettes are a miniature -picture of our civilisation with all its time-wasting fussiness, most -of which is useless nonsense. The man who lives in the country and -cultivates the ground needs neither art, science, nor literature. He -who has nature needs no art, and religion is more than science and -literature. There are churches everywhere, but museums, theatres, -book-shops, and clubs only in the towns. Whether they are necessary is -another question. - -That is Rousseau! - - -=Rousseau Again.=--In Southern France I once saw some half-wild -Arab horses running loose in a meadow. They still had their long tails -to hide what is not beautiful and to protect them against the stings of -insects. They seemed well adapted to their purpose, but they were more -than useful: they were beautiful. And when I contemplated the lines in -these beautiful creatures' bodies--the curve of the withers such as -is not found in geometry, its continuation along the back and loins; -the noble construction and movements of the hind-legs; the proportions -of the shank below the knee tapering down to the hoof, which leaves -on the sand graceful prints like Moorish arches--and when the proud -creatures sped over the meadow in full gallop with movements like -that of a sailing-boat on the waves, then the curves played into new -harmonies and changed their form, tail, mane, and forelock floated like -draperies about the body, and I thought "All that is certainly adapted -for running, but it is much more, it is beautiful; it has not come -to be of itself, but it is created by a Contriver, a wise and great -Artist." It is, however, more than a work of art, for it has life and -individuality, and no two horses are exactly alike. Then I thought -of the attempts of men to "improve" this masterpiece, of the English -race-horses--those machines! In this process of selection they have -chosen the ugliest, docked their tails, robbed them of their fairest -ornament, placed an apelike jockey on their backs in order to make -money by racing. To this caricature men have degraded the beautiful -gift of God. - -Anyone who has learnt at school to draw a horse knows how difficult -it is to make these lines harmonise, and fall and rise in the right -places; to draw the head not too large and not too small, but exactly -proportioned; to bring the forepart and the loins into symmetrical -relations with each other; to make the neck slope gently into the fine -curve of the back. It was the work of many days merely to copy the -outline correctly. Raphael could not draw a horse; his Attila rides on -a rocking-horse. One is often inclined to agree with Rousseau when he -says everything which comes from the hand of the Creator is perfect, -but when it falls into the hands of man it is spoiled. - - -=Materialised Apparitions.=--I have never seen it, but it is said -to be a fact that in hypnotic seances those who are present produce -from the half-etherialised substance of the medium a kind of being -which is visible and leads an apparitional life, so long as the circle -keeps together. Such among others was Professor Crookes' "Katie King." - -But what causes me to believe this is a matter of everyday experience. -Men create their idols out of nothing, and by means of their -imagination fashion their fellow-men, both living and dead, into -something quite different to what they really are. These creations -naturally partake of their own substance and are after their own -likeness. Sometimes they create something really great, sometimes a -monster, a demigod, or a devil. - -We often see that hatred against one person is, so to speak, polarised -and converted into love towards his antagonist. A great unpopularity -is, in the person of another, changed into a great popularity. The -reward which should have been given to the worthiest is given to the -unworthy, in order to crush the deserving. - -At the award of a famous prize one who was uninitiated lately asked: -"Why did not X get the prize?" - -"Because Y was to have it," was the answer. - -Fifteen years ago a very remarkable book of 650 pages was published. -It obtained no notice in the press. But at the same time a wretched -pamphlet received all the praise which the large book ought to have -had. When I read the reviews of the paltry pamphlet I thought I was -reading those of the book, for the subject-matter was the same. - -Recently an important post was filled up, connected, let us say, with -road-making and hydraulic structures. The person who received it was -a very remarkable man. Public opinion (though not private) regarded -him as the most deserving and suitable candidate. He passed for a -distinguished engineer, thoroughly up in his profession, was said to -be well off, an able organiser, diligent and considerate towards his -subordinates. - -Now it is to be remarked that the man was nothing of all that; he had -never made roads or constructed hydraulic works, but left that to -his skilful assistants; he did not know his profession; he neglected -what he had in hand; he was not to be found in his office, for he -played cards and spent the nights in carousing. He was hard towards -his employees, managed so badly that he never knew the state of his -affairs, and was careless in money matters. - -How then had he come to be elected? Some said he had been chosen in -order to punish and humble the conceited engineers who had become -unpopular. Others thought that the intention was that he should come to -grief and be ruined because he was feared and hated. - -However that may be, he was a materialised apparition created by the -hate, envy, and malignity of the crowd; he had become an idea, a -lucky rascal, a ruthless man whose elevation was necessary in order -to still the tumult. He was like a crude mass of ore which stood for -four hundred years in the market-place and was supposed to represent -Justice, but was really the counterfeit presentment of a thievish -alderman foisted in by the burgomaster. - - -=The Art of Dying.=--The wish for power is said to be a -fundamental condition of the existence of the ego, without which a -man would perish, as he could not resist the pressure of others. So -we were taught by the seducing spirits of our youth. But Swedenborg -says the thirst for power comes from hell, and Balzac speaks of the -galley-slaves of ambition who can never rest. Dante has a fine verse -regarding the fate of the great painters: one must retire in order to -make place for another; he passes into the shadow and is forgotten. - -Even when it is unjust, as it often is, one must acquiesce in being -relegated to the back-ground, for men get tired even of the best and -desire change. A great name becomes oppressive, is felt as a tyranny, -and hinders others from also making great names for themselves. -Napoleon and Bismarck saw this clearly, for both said beforehand that -the world would give a sigh of relief when they were gone. But, in -order to depart content, we require religious resignation, complete -irrevocable withdrawal from the world. Such as Charles the Fifth's -retirement into a monastery. To receive a "benefit" on one's retirement -and then to reappear on the stage is not becoming. If one considers -oneself dead to the world and takes no notice of it, then a new life -begins, but on the other side; it is a much more peaceful one, for it -is the resurrection from the dead already here! Beethoven was vexed -that the Viennese were ungrateful and forgetful when Rossini appeared -and brought again in fashion the Italian opera, which Beethoven, -had devoted his life to extirpate. Beethoven however, was a hard, -selfish, and very proud man, who was accordingly literally tormented -out of life, in great matters and in small. Increasing deafness, a -disagreeable lawsuit, a mad young relative, domestic scandal, illnesses -troubled his last years; he had even to be exposed to the undeserved -ridicule of underlings. Thus, well prepared, he turned his back on -life, and departed from all without missing anything. - -So it should be, in order that nothing should bind one either with -longing or with hope, in order that on the other side of the river one -may not look back but go straight forward. - -The object of the trials of old age is to adjust accounts, to finish -up unsettled affairs, to see through the cheat of life, and to become -weary of the incomplete, so that no backward longings may disturb the -repose of the grave. - - -=Can Philosophy Bring any Blessing to Mankind?=--Such was the -title of a pamphlet written in the 'sixties by a teacher of philosophy, -Pontus Wikner. The question was justified; how it was answered I do -not remember, but the answer must have been evasive, for the writer -of the pamphlet was a professor. If he had said that all philosophy, -especially systematic philosophy, was rubbish, his career would have -been at an end. - -When, in 1870 at the university, I wished to study sthetics, the -professor of the subject sent me to the lecturer in order to take -lessons. As he sat there and talked for hours by the light of a -composite candle, I tried to decipher the furrowed brow of the pale -man and to ascertain whether he really understood what he taught, or -whether he only taught by rote. But I could not see through him and I -despaired, for I understood nothing, and I cannot learn by heart what I -do not understand. That would be humbug. - -About forty years later I met the professor who was now pensioned, and -consequently no longer a member of the college of augurs. Then I asked -him whether he had ever mastered sthetics? - -"Good gracious, no! That is why I sent you to the lecturer." - -"Did he understand them then?" - -"I don't think so. But he had a good memory." - -Then after all it was not my fault, and I was not more stupid than the -rest. - -Anyone who reads a short history of philosophy, and observes how one -system replaces and refutes another, must be inclined to say, "Surely -it is time to make an end of this drivel!" For the whole history of -philosophy proves that thought cannot solve these problems, or that -they cannot be solved by constructing a system of philosophy. The -few philosophers, on the other hand, who have limited themselves to -reflections on the variegated medley of life as seen in man, politics, -and nature, have been of some use, but they are hardly counted -philosophers. One can read fragments of Plato with interest, and also -the unappreciated Schopenhauer, especially in his least-valued work -_Parerga and Paralipomena_, but not in his systematic treatise _The -World as Will and Idea_. Kierkegaard is not regarded as a philosopher, -nor are Feuerbach and his pupil Nietzsche, but they are extraordinarily -instructive. All who construct an empty system with facts are fools. -Such is Bostrm, who tries to subtilise conceptions, analyse ideas, and -classify and arrange God, man, and human life under heads. - -The history of philosophy is the history of errors, the history of -lying, for nearly all philosophers are disguised rebels against God and -opponents of religion. Philosophy is a history of falsehood, and since -it has demonstrated its own absurdity, all professorships of philosophy -should be abolished. For a Christian state frustrates its own aims and -is foolish if it supports a teacher of error and falsehood. - -If for once in a way a philosopher is religious, people give him the -contemptuous name of "mystic," although very few know what mysticism is. - -In one professorial chair sits an Hegelian and preaches Hegel's -pantheism as the truth, and in another sits a Bostrmian and pulls -Hegel to pieces. But the student must be examined by both, and give -his adherence to both systems together. That is the higher education, -academic culture, and learning in its glory! - -The mass of people believe that all which is difficult to understand is -deep, but it is not so. What is difficult to understand is immature, -vague, and often false. The highest wisdom is simple, clear, and goes -through the brain straight into the heart. Set a philosopher on the -grave where his earthly hopes lie buried, and let him discourse of -Herbert Spencer and the blastoderm! Place a philosopher in the Privy -Council, and let him have a share in the conduct of the state! Ask a -philosopher to write a drama, to paint a picture, or even to teach -school-children, and he is useless. "Philosopher" is synonymous with -superannuated donkey! Away with him! - - -=Goethe on the Bible.=--Eckermann had bought an English Bible, -and when he complained that the Apocryphal books were missing, Goethe -said among other things: "It is superfluous to raise the question -of authentic or unauthentic in matters of the Bible. I regard the -four gospels as completely genuine, for in them shines the reflected -splendour of the lofty personality of Christ, as divine as anything -which has appeared on earth. If any one asks me whether I find it -possible to pay him worship and reverence, I answer, 'Certainly!'" - -Then there follows some Voltairian talk about the sun and religious -relics, about priestcraft and bishops' incomes, which belonged to the -bad tone of the time. These stupid free-thinkers could not imagine -how three could be equivalent to one, and therefore they stumbled at -the doctrine of the Trinity. Did they not know that three thirds are -equivalent to one, and that one is equivalent to three thirds? Or was -their reason so darkened by pride? Or did they not know that spiritual -things must be spiritually judged; that the Highest cannot be reached -by the highest mathematics? For neither Laplace nor Poincar, who -busied themselves with the "Mcanique cleste," reached heaven, much -less God. - -="Now we Can Fly too! Hurrah!"=--A friend of my youth, who two -weeks ago died in a distant place, wrote on his last postcard to me -these words, "Now we can fly too! Hurrah!" He was a pagan, _i.e._ an -atheist, and this last word "Hurrah!" was an expression of scorn and a -threat against heaven. - -Every gift of God is regarded by the pagans as a victory over God. They -always think that _they_ have made the discovery, and they still build -at the Tower of Babel, the truth of whose story they deny, for they are -lying spirits. - -When the pious Franklin drew down lightning with his damp twine, -he trembled and thanked God that He had not killed him. But when -the godless physicists imitated Franklin, and wished to store the -lightning in laboratory bottles, they were slain. People do indeed make -lightning-conductors nowadays, but they are not always efficacious even -when the conduction is right. Only imagine!--a man receives a gift, and -as a mark of gratitude puts out his tongue! Every time that God gives -something, irreligious science celebrates a triumph--that is, puts out -its tongue! - -That is the nature of science! And it seems as though it were still at -present forbidden to touch the tree of knowledge, for the transgression -of the prohibition is always accompanied by ingratitude and a curse. - - -=The Fall and Original Sin.=--In these times when the ape-morality -rules, it is considered up-to-date to change the doctrine of vicarious -satisfaction for that of heredity. The blame for our faults is put -on our parents, especially, as might be expected, on the father. But -when the father was alive, he put the blame on his father, and so on -till we come to our first parents. That is indeed just like what the -Bible teaches about the Fall and original sin, and ought to confirm the -teaching of religion, but of course that cannot be! - -That is the doctrine of heredity. But whence comes it? Where is -the starting-point? Since everyone nowadays feels burdened with -evil impulses and disease germs which he has inherited, and all our -predecessors have felt the same, the only thing left is to lay the -blame on our first parents. - -How then is one to get rid of guilt--the consciousness of guilt and the -evil impulses? - -Christ answers more simply than the theologians who represent the work -of grace as an examination course. "To-day shalt thou be with Me in -Paradise," He said to the thief who confessed that he suffered for his -evil deeds; but He did not say so to the other who reviled Him. - -Generally speaking, one should take one's doctrine straight from the -Gospels, which are simpler, greater, diviner than other writings. -Devotional books are like the higher mathematics, mixed, complicated, -and affected with human weaknesses. - - -=The Gospel.=--All boast of the "Gospel," but they mean this -joyful message--the abrogation of civic laws and the opening of -the jails; in a word, immunity from punishment for themselves and -more stringent regulations for others. That was the Renaissance -morality preached at the conclusion of the Middle Ages as at the -end of our century. They wished to enlighten mankind by proclaiming -that everything is lawful (against others), and that if one only -"understood" men, one would forgive them. "He does not understand," was -the formula in common use. Were I now to enumerate all the victims of -this gospel, which we had to learn, people would cry "Scandal!" Then -they would proceed to explain the tragedies on natural grounds, such as -neurasthenia, infection, heredity (but not from our first parents); the -unfortunate Englishman,[1] they say, was wrongfully imprisoned, because -society consists of hypocrites; not because of his own sin, for it was -not his own sin: there is no sin. - -Every suggestion that there are misdemeanours which draw down the -unpleasant consequences, which are called punishments, is taken ill. - -Five years ago I heard one of these evangelists exclaim, "Morality! -that is a word which I cannot take in my mouth." This saying was often -quoted. - -But shortly afterwards the same gentleman set heaven and hell in motion -because a pupil had used a statement in one of his lectures to base a -treatise on. This innocent proceeding the "evangelist" stigmatised as -theft, and he wished to annihilate the thief. - -The young man answered quite rightly that in that case people ought -to be punished for "stealing" their knowledge out of manuals without -acknowledgment, or that if they gave chapter and verse for every -statement, a treatise would look like this: "Sum, 'I am' (Rabe's -Grammar, 6th edition, Stockholm, 1858), called an auxiliary verb -(_Sundelin Schwedische Sprachlehre_, rebro, 1901), which indicates the -passive voice (Sjoberg, _Logic_, Upsala, 1895)," and so on. - -This gentleman was a very severe moralist, although he could not take -the word morality in his mouth. - - -[Footnote 1: Oscar Wilde.] - - -=Religious Heathen.=--Hardly anywhere are there such religious -men as the Orientals. Five times a day the _muezzin_ calls from each -minaret in eastern lands: "God is great! I bear witness that there is -no God but God! I bear witness that Muhammed is the Apostle of God! -Come to prayer! Come to salvation! God is great! There is no God but -God!" Early in the morning they cry in addition, "Prayer is better -than sleep." On the streets and market-places, in the shops and inns, -everywhere one is summoned to prayer. - -Is it not impressive to see a whole people, of whom not one is ashamed -of his God--not one! A people among whom, five times a day, this joyful -message comes from the Lord, the All-Merciful, who "has not forsaken -and has not repulsed thee!" And is it not uplifting in the midst of -the severe and squalid tasks of every day to hear a voice from above -witnessing, without attempting to convince, that God is God? Anything -so perverse and stupid as free-thinking and atheism does not exist in -the Orient. If anyone attempted to assert such an abominable tenet as -the non-existence of God, he would be imprisoned or put to death. And -if anyone came and tried to close the mosques ... but no one comes, for -the mosques are never empty: - - "By the splendour of the day, - By the darkness of the night, - Thy Lord hath not forsaken thee, - Neither hath He repelled thee."--_Koran_. - -That is the implicit and childlike faith which Christian heathen called -"intolerance," "fanaticism," and so on. - - -=The Pleasure-Garden.=--If the inexperienced man knew how much -suffering a separation between a married pair involves, he would -reflect before taking such a step. The two souls have so grown into -each other, that the dissolution of the duplex personality which they -form is the most painful operation possible. It is a kind of death. - -When one uproots the weeds round a flower, the flower fades -away--partly because its roots are injured, partly because it has -been deprived of shade, moisture, and support, or perhaps merely -companionship. - -The sorrow in this case resembles that which follows on a death, but -is not so uplifting and ennobling. The image of the separated wife -is always present to one's eyes, and becomes idealised in memory; -ugly traits are obliterated, one begins to reproach oneself, there -is a painful emptiness and longing; one's soul is tom in pieces by -her departure; she has carried off its finest-fibred roots, and one -feels as though bleeding to death. One can no more exchange common -recollections. The loss of the illusions of the first springtide of -love shatters one's faith in everything. A cry of mourning rings -through the universe as though an irreparable crime had been committed, -such as the sin against the Holy Ghost. Love, God's creative power, the -sun's warmth that fills the heavens, the origin of life has ceased to -exist. Chaos and darkness resume their reign. It is a spiritual death, -without comfort and without hope. - -Nevertheless something remains, if there ever was something there. And -though both may marry again, there is a recollection of the former tie. -It cannot be as though it had not been, nor be forgotten. However -unpleasant the relationship may have been, still in its best hours it -resembled something which is not to be found on earth. In its glorious -beginning it was a Garden of Eden, such a heightening of existence -that one felt nearer God. That was no optical delusion, but a higher -reality. Then came the Fall and the expulsion. But the memory of the -first joy remains, and it is true that a real love never ends. - -People ask whether it continues on the other side even when inclination -has "changed its object." Probably some of it remains, but in an -incomprehensible way, even if one were to suppose that the personality -is resolved into several "monads," of which one seeks a similar one, -and another another; and what is called love can here become friendship. - -According to Plato's doctrine of reminiscence and the reincarnation -theory of the theosophists, one might believe that when two fall in -love it is only a meeting again. And all the beauty which they then -see round them is the reflection of the memories of some far beautiful -land where they have met before, but which they now remember for the -first time. The continual illusions of love would then be connected -with experiences on the other side, which now come up in memory from -the side where all is completion and beauty. Therefore we have such -a terrible awakening from our dreams of happiness when we find that -everything down here is distorted, everything a caricature, even love -itself. - - -=The Happiness of Love.=--Even though earthly love be a caricature -or bad copy of the heavenly it has some traits of resemblance to its -prototype. In the first spring-days of love there are elevated moments, -in which one compassionates other mortals who are not so happy. We -tremble for our blessedness, finding it not quite just; yet it is -possible even to wish for a misfortune to rectify the balance. - -There was a dramatist who became engaged, and at the same time had just -celebrated his greatest triumph on the stage. The ground seemed to sway -under his feet, the air caressed his face, men paid him homage on the -streets; he felt hardly on earth, as he was beloved by the woman whom -he loved. - -Then there came the crash of a failure! All his former merits were -forgotten; he was called a noodle and a charlatan. But he was so happy -in his love that he did not feel the blow. He felt, on the contrary, -an inner joy that misfortune had drawn him and his fiance closer -together; he was so high that he did not grudge men the joy of pulling -him down a little. His fame had begun to bore them; now that he was -down, he found sympathy, while formerly he had been the object of envy. - -That was the miracle of love! It made him so little self-seeking, that -on behalf of men he suffered under his oppressive fame and his great -happiness. - - -=Our Best Feelings.=--Life is not beautiful; on its animal, -domestic, and business sides it brings us into so many ugly situations. -Life is cynical since it ridicules our nobler feelings and flings scorn -on our faith. Therefore it is difficult to use fine words in the stress -of every-day; one hides one's better feelings in order not to expose -them to ridicule. One might therefore say that men are partly better -than they appear to be. One is forced to play the sceptic in order -not to perish, and one is made cynical by the cynicism of life. It is -therefore unjust to call men hypocrites in a bad sense, for most men, -on the contrary, make themselves out worse than they are. - -When a man writes a letter to an intimate friend, or to the woman he -loves, he puts on his festive dress; that is befitting. And in the -quiet letter, on the white paper, he expresses his best feelings. The -tongue and the spoken word are so vulgarised by everyday use, that they -cannot say aloud the beautiful things which the pen says silently. - -It is not posing or attitudinising, it is not falsity when one exhibits -in correspondence a better soul than in everyday life. The lover is not -untrue in his love-letters. He does not make himself out better than he -is; he becomes better, and _is_ so for the passing moment. He is true -at such moments, the greatest which life grants us! - - -=Blood-Fraternity.=--Blood-fraternity used to be sealed with a -sacred ceremonial--the mingling of blood. "The life of the soul is -in the blood," says the Old Testament; and it is probable that there -was something mysterious in it which we do not understand, as in all -sacraments, which we understand as little. - -An old saga tells us that Torger and Tormod had mingled their blood and -had fought battles and won victories together. But one day, when Torger -was intoxicated by success, he carelessly remarked to his brother, -"Which of us, do you think, would prove the better man if we ventured -on a conflict?" - -"I don't know," answered his brother, "but I know that your question -makes an end of our living together. I will not remain with you any -more." - -"I did not seriously mean that we should try our strength on one -another." - -"But it came into your mind, since you said it." He departed, and their -tie of brotherhood was at an end. The narrator adds, "The bond of their -friendship was so fragile, that it could not bear the touch of an -over-hasty thought." - -Marriage is a blood-bond and more--it is a sacred transaction. It is so -tender and so fragile, that a hasty word--a joke, as one calls it--can -make an end of it for the whole of life. It is no use afterwards to -say, "It was only a jest." We have the answer of the medival Norse -poet Tormod, "It came into your mind." "Long years must pay for the -wrong of a second." - -And then, "Which of us two do you think would prove the master?" As -soon as a married pair conceive their relation as a struggle for -power, while it is just the contrary, hell comes into the house. The -woman has an inclination to rule. But if, in her defence, I say that -this inclination is her way of reacting against the suppressing, not -oppressive, man (for such a one I have never seen), I hope I shall not -have to repent it. - -"If we ventured on a conflict!" Yes, then it is as if one drew a weapon -on oneself, or as if a kingdom were divided. Every blow which one -deals, strikes one's own heart. - -Cicero says that friendship is only possible between friendly equals. -Swedenborg says that marriage is impossible between godless people. -I am convinced of it; for without contact with God, who is the -Fountain-head of love, no stream of illumination can flow from the -Eternal. I have described the marriage of godless people. I have -suffered for doing so, but I do not regret it, and do not recall a -word. It is as I said. The devout do not describe their marriages, and -they write neither dramas nor romances; literary history which mostly -deals with irreligious books, should take notice of that. - - -=The Power of Love.=--In France there lives a marquis who is an -occultist. Endowed by nature with a sensitive type of soul, refined by -education, protected by wealth against the brutality of life, purified -by suffering and renunciation, he entered into contact with the higher -forms of existence, which the theosophists call "the astral plane." -His sensitiveness was elaborated to such a pitch, that he became a -medium, and could enter into touch with friends at a distance. - -Then he met a woman belonging to the same spiritual sphere, a -transparent airy figure, whose steps were inaudible, whose words were -rather to be apprehended than heard. - -This married pair were so united, that each was, as it were, born in -the other. He carried her heart about in him literally. When, on a -journey to some relatives, she was frightened by a shying horse and had -a fit of palpitations, he felt it in his breast, and his heart stood -still for a moment when she fainted. Similarly, when he once pricked -himself with a needle, she felt it. They lived in each other, were each -other's children and each other's parents. - -Then she died. He nearly died too, did die perhaps, and rose again. And -now he speaks with her, hears her voice in his heart, literally, not in -a figure. - -I do not doubt it at all, for I have had a similar experience, and -much, much more. - - -=The Box on the Ear.=--I was thirty years old, and life was mine -for the first time after I had lain in the potato-cellar and shot out -white rootlets instead of growing. I had secured a home, wife, and -child, and was my own master. After I had done the day's task I used -to invite friends in; I call them "friends" because they got on well -with me and I with them. We did no harm; we played like children with -words and sounds; we disguised ourselves in order to look more fine; we -composed and delivered speeches. I think no one would grudge me these -hours. - -But soon there was something of satiety in it; we had wounded the -dignity of sacred sleep; the wine turned sour in the glasses. One night -towards morning, in a cheerful circle, at a full table, my high spirits -broke bounds, since fortune had given me everything at once, and I -uttered a word which a married man should not utter. I immediately -received a box on the ear from a strong hand. I found it quite natural, -and continued what I was saying, but in another and better tone. No one -took notice of what had happened; all went on as before; and we all -parted as friends. - -He who gave me the buffet was a bachelor of not superfine morals. If he -had disapproved my point of view, it must have been a very low one. - -For several days I had a blue mark on my cheek. My wife said nothing, -only one of my friends let fall a remark, "How could you put up with -that?" - -"I must have felt that I deserved it! Otherwise I cannot explain it." - -Now, when I am sixty years old, I wish that I had received several such -boxes on the ear, for the first was no use. Recognising that, I feel -that it was a great piece of good-fortune that I was able to confess -it. And now I should like to live twenty years more, in order to forget -my slowness to learn, with its sad consequences. - - -=Saul, Afterwards Called Paul.=--Saul was standing by when -Stephen was stoned, or, at any rate, kept the clothes of those who -stoned him. He also persecuted Christ and the Christians. The question -is often, almost constantly asked, "Had he a right, later on, to be -severe against those who threw the stones?" One can only answer with an -unconditional "Yes," for he wished to make good the wrong he had done; -and it was his duty to speak with his new tongue. But he is honourable -and courageous enough to remind his hearers that he does not regard -himself as an exception. He calls himself "the chief of sinners," and -says, "I thank Him who has enabled me, who was formerly a blasphemer, -and persecutor, and evil doer; but mercy was shown to me because I did -it ignorantly in unbelief." - -How entirely Paul felt himself to be quite a different person to -the dead Saul one sees from his tremendous severity against the two -blasphemers, Hymenus and Alexander, whom he delivered over to Satan, -"that they might learn not to blaspheme." - -What is to be understood by these terrible words, I have explained in -the _Inferno_. He who has not understood it there, can obtain a clearer -explanation in the asylums, where there is no rest, no peace, only -terror and despair. These cannot be cured by cold or by warm water -baths, for it is a sickness of the soul, often called Paranoia, because -the senses see what is not to be seen every day. - - -=A Scene from Hell.=--The man who had been separated from his -wife went one day to fetch his little six-year-old daughter from her -mother. They meant to go for a walk, look at the shop-windows, and buy -toys only for an hour. They were to meet before the mother's house. The -little one came, half-sad, half-joyful, with a slightly roguish look. - -This street, this street, this house, these stairs which only a short -time ago he had hurried up with his hands full of presents in order -for an hour long to see his beautiful home, and the best which life -has to show--the young maidenly mother putting her child to bed! The -two together! One still more beautiful than the other! And made more -beautiful by love, or a friendship which has sprung up in painful -solitude. - -He took the little girl's hand, and they went down the now darkened -street. Then the child turned round, and said aloud, "Mamma is coming -behind us." - -Why did he not turn round, but went on still faster, drawing the child -with him? - -Ask the pains of seven long years, which had robbed him of his -self-esteem so that he no longer believed he possessed the poor -solitary heart that followed him contritely and longed for -reconciliation. - -The child turned round yet again, and several times, as though it were -a plot laid in all friendliness, and the man felt by the throbbing of -the little hand how its heart beat in hope and expectation. - -But he went straight forward, for he did not believe any more in the -possibility of a return, and he did not dare to encounter a scornful -smile, or a proud, sharp word. He turned down side-streets, but he -felt that she followed. Who suffered most during this five minutes in -hell, in this interplay of feelings? The child with her beautiful hopes -which were disappointed; the mother with her injured self-esteem, as -she sought on the street what she had thrown away; or the man with -uncertainty and doubt in one half of his heart, and in the other -the immeasurable grief of being obliged to hurt the innocent little -child-heart? But while it was actually going on, he felt almost -nothing, for he was stunned by the shock. Not till the next day did he -feel the pain in his heart, and the longer the time that elapsed, the -more that pain increased. - - -=The Jewel-casket or his Better Half.=--When a man during the -first days of love has deposited the best and fairest part of his soul -with the woman he loves, he has laid up a treasure with her. If then he -sinks below the heavy burdens of everyday life and loses his ornaments, -he generally finds them again with her; she has kept and guarded them -(not always, however). - -At such moments he calls her his better half, and such she is. She can, -at the right time, return to him a beautiful thought or word, which -he has given her once; then he is ashamed and laments over his fall. -And when he sees his earlier better self in her, he realises how low he -has sunk, while she still stands on the clear cliff. Then he looks up -to her, cries out for help, and when she reaches him her hand, he is -raised, and he thanks her for having saved him. - -Paul explains this relation between man and wife, which is so often -misunderstood and really difficult to understand. "For in the Lord, -neither is the man without the woman, nor the woman without the man; -for as the woman is from the man, so also is the man by the woman, but -all is of God." - -Therefore in a true marriage neither the husband nor the wife appear -separate, but both regard themselves, and are regarded by others, as -one being. If one receives any good from the other, the recipient -should thank, and the giver also because he was able to give. They -thank each other because they are one being, and the interchange of -gifts is continuous and unceasing, so that they cannot distinguish -between giving and taking. - -Therefore a true marriage is indissoluble; it cannot suffer severance, -for what it possesses is not alienable, it is common; it is a spiritual -property which cannot be sold or bought. - -But in the rough tumult of life the man loses his ideal part sooner -than the woman, who sits sheltered by the warm hearth of the -well-protected home. There she can guard his jewel-casket for him, and -if she does it faithfully, he will always look up to her, as to his -better self. - - -=The Mummy-Coffin.=--Seven years of marriage had passed; they -had not tended their lamp, but it smoked so that everything in the -beautiful home was blackened. Now each sits in their own comer of the -dwelling, because they cannot look each other in the eyes. They lament -each other as dead, and miss each other like lost children. - -Then he opens a drawer and takes out a little box. A scent of fresh -roses streams into the room, although it comes from dry rose-leaves -pressed between sheets of paper. - -Those are her letters which she wrote during her engagement seven years -ago. How beautiful it all is: the paper with its fine, still unbleached -lavender tint and gold borders, just like the wedding-breakfast -glasses; the envelopes carefully folded like the embroidered -cushion-cover of the cradle; the letters themselves in beautiful rows -of gentle words from beautiful lips which smile gracefully. - -Beauty and love in thoughts and feelings--there he had found her again -in the little box embalmed with rose-leaves and violets. - -But now she is dead, and he weeps! - -And at the other end of the house she sits over her little mummy-coffin -and speaks with her beloved dead, and weeps. - -Lost for ever! For ever! - - -=In the Attic.=--Only three years had passed since his marriage, -and now the storm had carried away all--his wife and child. He had -occasion to go up to the attic to fetch something which had been put -away there. So he came up to this room, where it always rustled and -creaked, and cats slunk about, and the viscera of the house, so to -speak, were visible in beams and chimney, where there were rust and -soot and hanging cobwebs. He unfastened the padlock. There lay all the -flotsam and jetsam after the wreck. It was too late to turn back, and -he remained. There was the canopy of their marriage-bed, with green -silk and gilt-brass ornaments. There was the cradle of the little one, -and the six milk-bottles which the mother always used to wash with her -small hands in the ice-cold water; all the flower-vases and glasses -which came into the house on the wedding evening, when the table was -laid in the hall. - -There stood the basket once filled with roses, which she had received -on her engagement, which had afterwards become a work-basket. There -were withered bouquets, laurel-wreaths, and even books, presents from -him at Christmas and on birthdays, with beautiful inscriptions.... - -But there were also prehistoric articles: pieces of furniture belonging -to her girlhood which she had brought into the new home--a Japanese -umbrella adorned with chrysanthemums and golden pheasants, a small -carpet, a flower-stand.... - -But why did all these relics lie here in the dust and soot, and not -downstairs with him who cherished those memories? Was it that he did -not dare to see them every day, or did not wish to? - -Then his eyes fell on a little toy cupboard, which lay in a -paper-basket. There occurred to his mind the faint recollection of a -moment like a Christmas evening, a child's eyes, little white milk -teeth, the first musical-box which the little one played to the -Christmas-tree, the rocking-horse, and her dolls Rosa and Brita. - -He opened the toy cupboard; it contained no musical-box, but a -phonograph, very small and simple, a toy which could only utter a -single word! He did not remember which. The key lay close by; he wound -it up and set it going. At first it hummed like a bee; it did not -sting, however, but whispered the only word it could, "Darling!" - -And in her voice! Yes, she had spoken it into the phonograph, though he -had forgotten it. - -"Darling!" - -Then he cried to God, then he raged against fate, and then he fell to -the ground! And as he lay there he could only lament, "If they were at -least only dead! If...." - -For they were not dead. They lived. - -That was the thing which could not be altered nor atoned for, and all -these things were not relics; they were the flotsam and jetsam of a -wreck. - - -=The Sculptor.=--Even when a man has found a masterpiece of -creation in his wife, he still tries to improve away little faults in -design and colour, in order to make his work of art as free from faults -as possible. His little wife does not always understand that, and often -becomes irritable. - -"You only see faults in me." - -"On the contrary, you are for me the most beautiful that exists, but I -want to have you perfect. You should, for example, never be angry, for -then your beautiful eyes grow ugly, and I suffer. You must not dress in -verdigris-colour, for that does not suit you, and you look poisonous, -so that I turn my looks away." And so on. - -Eating is not beautiful, and to watch one's darling stowing away food -in her beautiful mouth, which ought to speak beautiful words, smile -bewitchingly, and purse up her tender lips to a kind of flower-bud -which one inhales in a kiss--that may be downright repugnant! -Therefore one is accustomed to hide this unseemly function under light -conversation, and forgets what the beautiful mouth is occupied with. - -"You are always finding fault! Say something nice for once." - -"Can you not read in my eyes that I admire you; I do not generally say -it first with my lips. But I want you to be perfect. That is the whole -matter!" - - -=On the Threshold at Five Years of Age.=--A certain Dr. Ogle -states in his statistics that in six-and-twenty years four cases of -suicide have taken place among children between five and ten years old. -When I read that, "between five and ten years old," I thought, "No! -between five and ten! Is that possible? And the reason of it?" I could -not think more, but I saw one scene, two scenes, three scenes.... - -The little girl was five years old; she was playing in the room near -her mother; children must have something to do, but the mother was -nervous, because she had been going into gaiety and flirting beyond -measure. - -"Don't rock the horse; it makes mamma's head ache." - -The little one took the cat, and pinched it, so that it mewed. - -"Don't do that, child; mamma is ill." - -The child was good, and did not wish to be troublesome. She sat down at -the table, and was silent in order not to irritate mamma. - -But a child's little body cannot be still; nor ought it indeed; it -moves of itself. Probably the child must have been singing a song to -itself, for the little unruly feet beat time against the legs of the -chair. - -The mother started up, "Go to Ellen in the kitchen, disobedient child!" - -The child was not disobedient; doubly wounded in her little heart, she -went into the kitchen, good and obedient. But immediately afterwards -she reappeared in the doorway, "Ellen was washing up." - -There stood the child on the threshold, turned out and repulsed from -both sides, and could not go anywhere. She looked like a despairing -child, tearless, but with all the terror of the lonely in her face. -Dumb, turned to stone, as though in the whole world there were no place -for her, as though no one would have her, and she knew not why. At this -moment she really stood on the threshold of life, for she suddenly -brightened up, and approached the open window, which was high above the -ground. - -To the honour of the mother, I must confess that she has described this -scene to me with the greatest remorse; it ended by her springing up, -taking the child in her arms, and playing with her till the sun went -down. - -"If anything had happened to the child, I should have lived in a hell -of self-reproach! And now I think; for every moment which I had not -devoted to my child, for every little joy which I had denied her, I -would, if it had departed, weep my soul out of my body; I would plunge -into space and seek the child under the stars in order to beg her -forgiveness, if I could be forgiven...." - -To think of it! At five years old, on the threshold of life! - -=Goethe on Christianity and Science.=--As I waded in Professor -Delitzsch's dung-heap,[1] I reached at last his third lecture. In the -last lines of the last page I found a pearl, which I will set, in order -to show it to those who misuse poor Goethe's name for their heathenish -propaganda. In a conversation with Eckermann, on March 11, 1832, that -is, eleven days before his death, Goethe spoke these ever memorable -words: "Let mental culture go on advancing, let the natural sciences go -on gaining in depth and breadth, and the human mind expand as it may, -it will never go beyond the elevation and moral culture of Christianity -as it shines in the Gospel." - -That was the fruit of a life of eighty years spent in seeking God and -His Son. After long useless detours, Goethe found it again at the end -of his life, as is apparent from the conclusion of the second part of -_Faust_. I will only add some words of Goethe's on superstition, as it -is not comprehended by the apelings: "Superstition is an inheritance -of powerful, earnest, progressive natures; unbelief is peculiarly -characteristic of weak, petty, retrogressive men." Such is unbelief as -Goethe said in 1808. - - -[Footnote 1: The work entitled _Babel und Bibel_.] - - -=Summa Summarum.=--Since destructive science has proved itself -so hollow, consisting as it does of guesses, false inferences, -self-deceit, hair-splittings, why does the State support these armies -of conjecturers and soothsayers? - -Rousseau's first prize-essay regarding the curse of culture and -learning should be repondered. - -A Descartes ought to return and teach men to doubt the untruths of the -sciences. - -Another Kant might write a new _Critique of Pure Reason_ and -re-establish the doctrine of the Categorical Imperative and Postulate, -which, however, is already to be found in the Ten Commandments and the -Gospels. - -And a prophet must be born to teach men the simple meaning of life in a -few words, though it has been already so well summed up: "Fear God, and -keep His commandments," or "Pray and work." - -All the errors and mistakes which we have made should serve to instil -into us a lively hatred of evil, and to impart to us fresh impulses to -good; these we can take with us to the other side, where they can first -bloom and bear fruit. - -That is the true meaning of life, at which the obstinate and impenitent -cavil in order to escape trouble. - -Pray, _but_ work; suffer, _but_ hope; keeping both the earth and the -stars in view. Do not try and settle permanently, for it is a place of -pilgrimage; not a home, but a halting-place. Seek truth, for it is to -be found, but only in one place, with Him who Himself is the Way, the -Truth, and the Life. - -THE END - - - - - -End of Project Gutenberg's Zones of the Spirit, by August Strindberg - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ZONES OF THE SPIRIT *** - -***** This file should be named 44118-8.txt or 44118-8.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/4/4/1/1/44118/ - -Produced by Marc D'Hooghe at http://www.freeliterature.org -(Images generously made available by the Internet Archive) - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions -will be renamed. - -Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no -one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation -(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without -permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org - - -Title: Zones of the Spirit - A Book of Thoughts - -Author: August Strindberg - -Commentator: Arthur Babillotte - -Translator: Claud Field - -Release Date: November 6, 2013 [EBook #44118] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ZONES OF THE SPIRIT *** - - - - -Produced by Marc D'Hooghe at http://www.freeliterature.org -(Images generously made available by the Internet Archive) - - - - - - -</pre> - - - - - -<h1>ZONES OF THE SPIRIT</h1> - -<h3>A BOOK OF THOUGHTS</h3> - -<h4>BY</h4> - -<h2>AUGUST STRINDBERG</h2> - -<h4>AUTHOR OF "THE INFERNO," "THE SON OF A SERVANT," ETC.</h4> - - -<h4>WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY</h4> - -<h4>ARTHUR BABILLOTTE</h4> - - -<h4>TRANSLATED BY</h4> - -<h4>CLAUD FIELD, M.A.</h4> - - -<h5>G.P. PUTNAM'S SONS</h5> - -<h5>NEW YORK AND LONDON</h5> - -<h4>The Knickerbocker press</h4> - -<h5>1913</h5> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_iii" id="Page_iii">[Pg iii]</a></span></p> - - - - -<h4><a name="INTRODUCTION" id="INTRODUCTION">INTRODUCTION</a></h4> - - -<p>Seldom has a man gone through such profound religious changes as this -Swede, who died last May. The demonic element in him, which spurred -him on restlessly, made him scale heaven and fathom hell, gave him -glimpses of bliss and damnation. He bore the Cain's mark on his brow: -"A fugitive and a wanderer shalt thou be."</p> - -<p>He was fundamentally religious, for everyone who searches after God -is so,—a commonplace truth certainly, but one which needs to be -constantly reiterated. And Strindberg's search was more painful, -exact, and persevering than that of most people. He was never content -with superficial formulas, but pressed to the heart of the matter, -and followed each winding of the labyrinthine problem with endless -patience. Too often the Divinity which he thought he had discovered -turned out a delusion, to be scornfully rejected the moment afterwards. -Until he found <i>the</i> God, whom he worshipped to the end of his days, -and whose existence he resolutely maintained against deniers.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_iv" id="Page_iv">[Pg iv]</a></span></p> - -<p>As a child he had been brought up in devout belief in God, in -submission to the injustice of life, and in faith in a better -hereafter. He regarded God as a Father, to Whom he made known his -little wants and anxieties. But a youth with hard experiences followed -his childhood. The struggle for daily bread began, and his heavenly -Father seemed to fail him. He appeared to regard unmoved, from some -Olympian height, the desperate struggles of humanity below. Then the -defiant element which slumbered in Strindberg wrathfully awoke, and he -gradually developed into a free-thinker. It fared with him as it often -does with young and independent characters who think. Beginning with -dissent from this and that ecclesiastical dogma, his criticism embraced -an ever-widening range, and became keener and more unsparing. At last -every barrier of respect and reverence fell, the defiant spirit of -youth broke like a flood over all religious dogmas, swept them away, -and did not stop short of criticising God Himself.</p> - -<p>Meanwhile his daily life, with its hard experiences, went on. Books -written from every conceivable point of view came into his hands. -Greedy for knowledge as he was, he read them all. Those of the -free-thinkers supported his freshly<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_v" id="Page_v">[Pg v]</a></span> aroused incredulity, which as yet -needed support. His study of philosophical and scientific works made a -clean sweep of what relics of faith remained. Anxiety about his daily -bread, attacks from all sides, the alienation of his friends, all -contributed towards making the free-thinker into an atheist. How can -there be a God when the world is so full of ugliness, of deceit, of -dishonour, of vulgarity? This question was bound to be raised at last. -About this time he wrote the <i>New Kingdom</i>, full of sharp criticisms of -society and Christianity.</p> - -<p>As an atheist Strindberg made various attempts to come to terms with -the existing state of things. But being a genius out of harmony with -his contemporaries, and always longing for some vaster, fairer future, -this was impossible for him. When he found that he came to no goal, -a perpetual unrest tortured him. His earlier autobiographic writings -appeared, marked by a strong misanthropy, and composed with an obscure -consciousness of the curse: "A fugitive and a wanderer shalt thou be."</p> - -<p>At last his consciousness becomes clear and defined. He recognises -that he is a lost soul in hell already, though outwardly on earth. -This was the most extraordinary period in Strindberg's<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_vi" id="Page_vi">[Pg vi]</a></span> life. He -lived in the Quartier Latin in Paris, in a barely furnished room, -with retorts and chemical apparatus, like a second Faust at the end -of the nineteenth century. By experiments he discovered the presence -of carbon in sulphur, and considered that by doing so he "had solved -a great problem, upset the ruling systems of chemistry, and gained -for himself the only immortality allowed to mortals." He came to the -conclusion that the reason why he had gradually become an atheist was -that "the Unknown Powers had left the world so long without a sign of -themselves." The discovery made him thankful, and he lamented that he -had no one to thank. From that time the belief in "unknown powers" grew -stronger and stronger in him. It seems to have been the result of an -almost complete, long, and painful solitude.</p> - -<p>At this time his brain worked more feverishly, and his nerves were -more sensitive than usual. At last he reached the (for an atheist) -astounding conclusion: "When I think over my lot, I recognise that -invisible Hand which disciplines and chastens me, without my knowing -its purpose. Must I be humbled in order to be lifted up, lowered in -order to be raised? The thought continually recurs to me, 'Providence -is planning<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_vii" id="Page_vii">[Pg vii]</a></span> something with thee, and this is the beginning of thy -education.'"<a name="FNanchor_1_1" id="FNanchor_1_1"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_1" class="fnanchor">[1]</a></p> - -<p>Soon after this he gave up his chemical experiments and took up -alchemy, with a conviction, almost pathetic in its intensity, that -he would succeed in making gold. Although his dramas had already -been performed in Paris, a success which had fallen to the lot of no -other Swedish dramatist, he forgot all his successes as an author, -and devoted himself solely to this new pursuit, to meet again with -disappointment.</p> - -<p>On March 29, 1897, he began the study of Swedenborg, the Northern -Seer. A feeling of home-sickness after heaven laid hold of him, and he -began to believe that he was being prepared for a higher existence. "I -despise the earth," he writes, "this unclean world, these men and their -works. I seem to myself a righteous man, like Job, whom the Eternal is -putting to the test, and whom the purgatorial fires of this world will -soon make worthy of a speedy deliverance."</p> - -<p>More and more he seemed to approach Catholicism. One day he, the former -socialist and atheist, bought a rosary. "It is pretty," he said, -"and the evil spirits fear the cross." At the same time, it must be -confessed that this transition<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_viii" id="Page_viii">[Pg viii]</a></span> to the Christian point of view did not -subdue his egotism and independence of character. "It is my duty," he -said, "to fight for the maintenance of my ego against all influences -which a sect or party, from love of proselytising, might bring to -bear upon it. The conscience, which the grace of my Divine protector -has given me, tells me that." And then comes a sentence full of joy -and sorrow alike, which seems to obliterate his whole past. "Born -with a home-sick longing after heaven, as a child I wept over the -squalor of existence and felt myself strange and homeless among men. -From childhood upwards I have looked for God and found the Devil." He -becomes actually humble, and recognises that God, on account of his -pride, his conceit, his ὕβρις, had sent him for a time to -hell. "Happy is he whom God punishes."</p> - -<p>The return to Christ is complete. All his faith, all his hope now rest -solely on the Crucified, whom he had once demoniacally hated.</p> - -<p>He now devoted himself entirely to the study of Swedenborg. He felt -that in some way the life of this strange man had foreshadowed his -own. Just as Swedenborg (1688-1772) had passed from the profession -of a mathematician to that of a theologian, a mystic, and finally a -ghost-seer<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_ix" id="Page_ix">[Pg ix]</a></span> and theosoph, so Strindberg passed from the worldly calling -of a romance-writer to that of a preacher of Christian patience and -reconciliation. He had occasional relapses into his old perverse moods, -but the attacks of the rebellious spirit were weaker and weaker. He -told a friend who asked his opinion regarding the theosophical concept -of Karma, that it was impossible for him to belong to a party which -denied a personal God, "Who alone could satisfy his religious needs." -In a life so full of intellectual activity as his had been, Strindberg -had amassed an enormous amount of miscellaneous knowledge. When he was -nearly sixty he began to collect and arrange all his experiences and -investigations from the point of view he had then attained. Thus was -composed his last important work, <i>Das Blau Buch</i>, a book of amazing -copiousness and originality. Regarding it, the Norwegian author Nils -Kjaer writes in the periodical <i>Verdens Gang</i>: "More comprehensive than -any modern collection of aphorisms, chaotic as the Koran, wrathful as -Isaiah, as full of occult things as the Bible, more entertaining than -any romance, keener-edged than most pamphlets, mystical as the Cabbala, -subtle as the scholastic theology, sincere as Rousseau's confession, -stamped with the impress of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_x" id="Page_x">[Pg x]</a></span> incomparable originality, every sentence -shining like luminous letters in the darkness—such is this book in -which the remarkable writer makes a final reckoning with his time and -proclaims his faith, as pugnaciously as though he were a descendant -of the hero of Lutzen." The book, in truth, forms a world apart, from -which all lying, hypocrisy, and conventional contentment is banished; -in it is heard the stormy laughter of a genius who has freed himself -from the fetters of earth, the proclamation of the creed of a strange -Christian who interprets and reveres Christ in his own fashion, the -challenge of an original and creative mind which believes in its own -continuance, the expression of the yearning of a lonely soul to place -itself in harmonious relations with the universe.</p> - -<p>An especially interesting feature of the <i>Blau Buch</i> is the expression -of Strindberg's views regarding the great poets, artists, and thinkers -of the past and present. He speaks of Wagner and Nietzsche, the two -antipodes; of Horace, who, after many wanderings, recognised the hand -of God; of Shakespeare, who had lived through the experience of every -character he created; of Goethe, regarding whom he remarks, with -evident satisfaction, "In old age, when he grew wise, he<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xi" id="Page_xi">[Pg xi]</a></span> became a -mystic, <i>i.e.</i> he recognised that there are things in heaven and earth -of which the Philistines never dream." Of Maeterlinck, he says, "He -knows how to caricature his own fairest creations"; and accuses Oscar -Wilde of want of originality. Regarding Hegel, he notes with pleasure -that at the end of his life he returned to Christianity. With deep -satisfaction he writes, "Hegel, after having gone very roundabout ways, -died in 1831, of cholera, as a simple, believing Christian, putting -aside all philosophy and praying penitential psalms." In Rousseau he -recognises a kindred spirit, in so far as the Frenchman, like himself, -hated all that was unnatural. "One can agree with Rousseau when he -says, 'All that comes from the Creator's hand is perfect, but when it -falls into the hands of man it is spoilt.'"</p> - -<p>The <i>Blau Buch</i> marks the summit of Strindberg's chequered sixty years' -pilgrimage. Beneath him lies the varicoloured landscape of his past -life, now lit up with gleams of sunshine, now draped in dark mists, -now drowned in storms of rain. But Strindberg, the poet and thinker, -has escaped from both dark and bright days alike; he stands peacefully -on the summit, above the trivialities, the cares, and bitternesses of -life, a free man. He is like Prometheus, fettered to the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xii" id="Page_xii">[Pg xii]</a></span> rock for -having bestowed on men the gift of fire, but liberated after he has -learnt his lesson. In his calm is something resembling the dignity of -Goethe's old age. As the latter sat on the Kickelhahn, looking down -on Thuringia, and saw the panorama of his life pass before him, so -Strindberg takes a retrospect in his <i>Blau Buch</i>. It is the canticle of -his life, a hymn of thankfulness for the recovered faith in which he -has found peace. At its conclusion he thus sums up:</p> - -<p>"Rousseau's early doctrine regarding the curse of mere learning should -be repondered."</p> - -<p>"A new Descartes should arise and teach the men to doubt the untruths -of the sciences."</p> - -<p>"Another Kant should write a new Critique of Pure Reason and -re-establish the doctrine of the Categorical Imperative, which, -however, is already to be found in the Ten Commandments and the -Gospels."</p> - -<p>"A prophet should be born to teach men the simple meaning of life in a -few words. It has already been so well summed up: 'Fear God, and keep -His commandments,' or 'Pray and work.'"</p> - -<p>"All the errors and mistakes which we have made should serve to instil -into us a lively hatred of evil, and to impart a fresh impulse to good; -these we can take with us to the other side, where<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xiii" id="Page_xiii">[Pg xiii]</a></span> they will bloom and -bear fruit. That is the true meaning of life, at which the obstinate -and impenitent cavil, in order to save themselves trouble."</p> - -<p>"Pray, <i>but</i> work; suffer, <i>but</i> hope; keeping both the earth and the -stars in view. Do not try and settle permanently, for it is a place of -pilgrimage; not a home, but a halting-place. Seek the truth, for it is -to be found, but only in one place, with the One who Himself is the -Way, the Truth, and the Life."</p> - -<p style="text-align: right;">ARTHUR BABILLOTTE.</p> - - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_1_1" id="Footnote_1_1"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1_1"><span class="label">[1]</span></a> Strindberg's <i>Inferno</i>.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xiv" id="Page_xiv">[Pg xiv]</a></span></p></div> - - - - -<h5><a name="CONTENTS" id="CONTENTS">CONTENTS</a></h5> - -<p style="margin-left: 35%; font-size: 0.8em;"><a href="#THE_HISTORY_OF_THE_BLUE_BOOK">THE HISTORY OF THE BLUE BOOK</a></p> - -<p style="margin-left: 35%; font-size: 0.8em;"><a href="#A_BLUE_BOOK">A BLUE BOOK—</a></p> - -<p style="margin-left: 35%;"> -<a href="#Page_12">The Thirteenth Axiom</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_13">The Rustic Intelligence of the "Beans"</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_14">The Hoopoo, or An Unusual Occurrence</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_15">Bad Digestion</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_16">The Song of the Sawyers</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_18">Al Mansur in the Gymnasium</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_19">The Nightingale in the Vineyard</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_20">The Miracle of the Corn-crakes</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_22">Corollaries</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_23">Phantasms which are Real</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_24">Crex, Crex!</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_25">The Electric Battery and the Earth Circuit</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_26">Improper and Unanswerable Questions</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_27">Superstition and Non-Superstition</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_28">Through Faith to Knowledge</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_30">The Enchanted Room</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_31">Concerning Correspondences</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_32">The Green Island</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_33">Swedenborg's Hell</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_35">Preliminary Knowledge Necessary</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_36">Perverse Science</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_37">Truth in Error</a><br /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xv" id="Page_xv">[Pg xv]</a></span> -<a href="#Page_38">Accumulators</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_39">Eternal Punishment</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_40">"Desolation"</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_41">A World of Delusion</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_43">The Conversion of the Cheerful Pagan, Horace</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_44">Cheerful Paganism and its Doctrine of Hell</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_45">Faith the Chief Thing</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_46">Penitents</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_48">Paying for Others</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_49">The Lice-King</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_50">The Art of Life</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_51">The Mitigation of Destiny</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_52">The Good and the Evil</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_54">Modesty and the Sense of Justice</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_55">Derelicts</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_56">Human Fate</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_57">Dark Rays</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_58">Blind and Deaf</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_60">The Disrobing Chamber</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_61">The Character Mask</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_62">Youth and Folly</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_63">When I was Young and Stupid</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_64">Constant Illusions</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_66">The Merits of the Multiplication-Table</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_67">Under the Prince of this World</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_68">The Idea of Hell</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_69">Self-Knowledge</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_70">Somnambulism and Clairvoyance in Everyday Life</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_72">Practical Measures against Enemies</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_74">The Goddess of Reason</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_75">Stars Seen by Daylight</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_76">The Right to Remorse</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_77">A Religious Theatre</a><br /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xvi" id="Page_xvi">[Pg xvi]</a></span> -<a href="#Page_79">Through Constraint to Freedom</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_80">The Praise of Folly</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_82">The Inevitable</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_83">The Poet's Sacrifice</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_84">The Function of the Philistines</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_86">World-Religion</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_88">The Return of Christ</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_89">Correspondences</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_89">Good Words</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_92">Severe and not Severe</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_94">Yeast and Bread</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_95">The Man of Development</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_96">Sins of Thought</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_98">Sins of Will</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_99">The Study of Mankind</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_100">Friend Zero</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_101">Affable Men</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_103">Cringing before the Beast</a><br /> -<i><a href="#Page_104">Ecclesia Triumphans</a></i><br /> -<a href="#Page_106">Logic in Neurasthenia</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_107">My Caricature</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_109">The Inexplicable</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_110">Old-time Religion</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_111">The Seduced become Seducers</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_113">Large-hearted Christianity</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_114">Reconnection with the Aërial Wire</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_115">The Art of Conversion</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_116">The Superman</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_117">To be a Christian is not to be a Pietist</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_119">Strength and Value of Words</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_120">The Black Illuminati</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_121">Anthropomorphism</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_122">Fury-worship as a Penal Hallucination</a><br /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xvii" id="Page_xvii">[Pg xvii]</a></span> -<a href="#Page_124">Amerigo or Columbus</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_125">A Circumnavigator of the Globe</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_126">The Poet's Children</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_127">Faithful in Little Things</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_129">The Unpracticalness of Husk-eating</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_130">A Youthful Dream for Seven Shillings</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_132">Envy Nobody!</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_133">The Galley-slaves of Ambition</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_135">Hard to Disentangle</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_136">The Art of Settling Accounts</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_138">Growing Old Gracefully</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_139">The Eight Wild Beasts</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_140">Deaf and Blind</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_142">Recollections</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_143">Children are Wonder-Children</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_144">Men-resembling Men</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_145">Christ is Risen</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_147">Revolution-Sheep</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_148">"Life Woven of the Same Stuff as our Dreams"</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_149">The Gospel of the Pagans</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_150">Punished by the Imagination</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_152">Bankruptcy of Philosophy</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_153">A Whole Life in an Hour</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_155">The After-Odour</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_156">Peaches and Turnips</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_157">The Web of Lies</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_159">Lethe</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_160">A Suffering God</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_161">The Atonement</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_163">When Nations Go Mad</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_164">The Poison of Lies</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_165">Murderous Lies</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_167">Innocent Guilt</a><br /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xviii" id="Page_xviii">[Pg xviii]</a></span> -<a href="#Page_167">The Charm of Old Age</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_169">The Ring-System</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_169">Lust, Hate, and Fear, or the Religion of the Heathen</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_171">"Whom the Gods Wish to Destroy"</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_172">The Slavery of the Prophet</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_173">Absurd Problems</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_174">The Crooked Rib</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_175">White Slavery</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_176">Noodles</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_177">Inextricable Confusion</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_178">Phantoms</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_179">Mirage Pictures</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_180">Trifle not with Love</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_181">A "Taking" Religion</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_182">The Sixth Sense</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_183">Exteriorisation of Sensibility</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_185">Telepathic Perception</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_186">Morse Telepathy</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_187"><i>Nisus Formativus</i>, or Unconscious Sculpture</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_188">Projections</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_189">Apparitions</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_191">The Reactionary Type</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_192">The Hate of Parasites</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_193">A Letter from the Dead</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_195">A Letter from Hell</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_196">An Unconscious Medium</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_197">The Revenant</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_198">The Meeting in the Convent</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_199">Correspondences</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_201">Portents</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_202">The Difficult Art of Lying</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_204">Religion and Scientific Intuition</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_205">The Freed Thinker</a><br /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xix" id="Page_xix">[Pg xix]</a></span> -<i><a href="#Page_206">Primus inter pares</a></i><br /> -<a href="#Page_207">Heathen Imaginations</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_208">Thought Bound by Law</a><br /> -<i><a href="#Page_209">Credo quia (et-si) absurdum</a></i><br /> -<a href="#Page_210">The Fear of Heaven</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_211">The Goat-god Pan and the Fear of the Pan-pipe</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_214">Their Gospel</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_215">The Deposition of the Apes</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_216">The Secret of the Cross</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_217">Examination and Summer Holidays</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_219">Veering and Tacking</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_220">Attraction and Repulsion</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_221">The Double</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_222">Paw or Hand</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_223">The Thousand-Years' Night of the Apes</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_226">The Favourite</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_227">Scientific Villainies</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_228">Necrobiosis, <i>i.e.</i> Death and Resurrection</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_230">Secret Judgment</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_232">Hammurabi's Inspired Laws Received from the Sun-God</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_233">Strauss's Life of Christ</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_234">Christianity and Radicalism</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_237">Where are We?</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_239">Hegel's Christianity</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_240">"Men of God's Hand"</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_241">Night-Owls</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_242">Apotheosis</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_243">Painting Things Black</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_244">The Thorn in the Flesh</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_245">Despair and Grace</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_247">The Last Act</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_250">Consequences of Learning</a><br /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xx" id="Page_xx">[Pg xx]</a></span> -<a href="#Page_252">Rousseau</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_253">Rousseau Again</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_255">Materialised Apparitions</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_257">The Art of Dying</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_258">Can Philosophy Bring any Blessing to Mankind?</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_263">Goethe on the Bible</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_264">"Now we Can Fly Too! Hurrah"</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_265">The Fall and Original Sin</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_266">The Gospel</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_268">Religious Heathen</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_269">The Pleasure-Garden</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_272">The Happiness of Love</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_273">Our Best Feelings</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_274">Blood-Fraternity</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_276">The Power of Love</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_277">The Box on the Ear</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_279">Saul, afterwards Called Paul</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_280">A Scene from Hell</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_282">The Jewel-Casket or his Better Half</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_284">The Mummy-Coffin</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_285">In the Attic</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_287">The Sculptor</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_288">On the Threshold at Five Years of Age</a><br /> -<a href="#Page_291">Goethe on Christianity and Science</a><br /> -<i><a href="#Page_292">Summa Summarum</a></i> -<br /> -</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<h3>Zones of the Spirit</h3> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_1" id="Page_1">[Pg 1]</a></span></p> -<h4><a name="THE_HISTORY_OF_THE_BLUE_BOOK" id="THE_HISTORY_OF_THE_BLUE_BOOK">THE HISTORY OF THE BLUE BOOK</a></h4> - -<h4>(<i>Prefixed to the Third Swedish Edition</i>)</h4> - - -<p class="p2">I had read how Goethe had once intended to write a <i>Breviarium -Universale</i>, a book of edification for the adherents of all religions. -In my <i>Historical Miniatures</i> I have attempted to trace God's ways -in the history of the world; I included Christianity in my survey by -commencing with Israel, but perhaps I made the mistake of ranging other -religions by the side of Christianity, while they ought to have stood -below it.</p> - -<p>A year passed. I felt myself constrained by inward impulses to write a -fairly unsectarian breviary; a word of wisdom for each day in the year. -For that purpose I collected the sacred books of all religions, in -order to extract from them "sayings" on which to write. But the books -did not open themselves to me! The Vedas and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_2" id="Page_2">[Pg 2]</a></span> Zend-Avesta were sealed, -and did not yield a single saying; only the Koran gave one, but that -was a lion! (<a href="#Page_45">page 45</a>). Then I determined to alter my design. I formed -the plan of writing apothegms of simply worldly wisdom regarding men, -and of calling the book <i>Herbarium Humane.</i> But I postponed the work -since I trembled at the greatness of the task and the crudity of my -plan. Then came June 15, 1906. As I took my morning walk, the first -thing I saw was a tramcar with the number 365. I was struck by this -number, and thought of the 365 pages which I intended to write.</p> - -<p>As I went on, I entered a narrow street. A cart went along by my side -carrying a red flag; it was a powder-flag. The cart kept parallel -with me and began to disturb me. In order to escape the sight of the -powder-flag, I looked up in the air, and there an enormous red flag -(the English one) flaunted conspicuously before my eyes. I looked down -again, and a lady dressed in black, with a fiery-red hat, was crossing -the street in a slanting direction.</p> - -<p>I hastened my steps. Immediately my eyes fell on the window of a -stationer's shop; in it a piece of cardboard was displayed, bearing the -word "Herbarium."</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_3" id="Page_3">[Pg 3]</a></span></p> - -<p>It was natural that all this should make an impression on me. My -resolution was now taken; I laid down the plan of my powder-chamber, -which was to become the <i>Blue Book</i>. A year passed, slowly, painfully. -The most remarkable thing that happened was this. They began to -rehearse my drama, the <i>Dream Play</i>, in the theatre; simultaneously, -a change took place in my daily life. My servant left me; my domestic -arrangements were upset; within forty days I had six changes of -servants—one worse than the other. At last I had to serve myself, lay -the table and light the stove. I ate black broken victuals out of a -basket. In short, I had to taste the whole bitterness of life without -knowing why.</p> - -<p>One morning during this fasting period I passed by a shop window in -which I saw a piece of tapestry which attracted and delighted me. I -thought I saw my dream-play in the design woven on the tapestry. Above -was the "growing castle," and underneath the green island over-arched -by a rainbow, and with Alpine summits illumined by the sun. Round it -was the sea reflecting the stars and a great green sea-snake partly -visible; low down in the border was a row of fylfots—the symbol -<i>Swastika</i>, signifying good-luck. That was, at any rate, my meaning; -the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_4" id="Page_4">[Pg 4]</a></span> artist had intended something else which does not belong here.</p> - -<p>Then came the dress-rehearsal of the <i>Dream Play</i>. This drama I wrote -seven years ago, after a period of forty days' suffering which were -among the worst which I had ever undergone. And now again exactly forty -days of fasting and pain had passed. There seems, therefore, to be -a secret legislature which promulgates clearly defined sentences. I -thought of the forty days of the flood, the forty years of wandering in -the desert, the forty days' fast kept by Moses, Elijah, and Christ.</p> - -<p>My journal thus records my impressions:</p> - -<p>"The sun shines. A certain quiet resigned uncertainty reigns within me. -I ask myself whether a catastrophe will not prevent the performance -of the piece, which perhaps ought not to be played. In it I have, at -any rate, spoken men fair, but to advise the Ruler of the Universe -is presumption, perhaps blasphemy. The fact that I have laid bare -the comparative nothingness of life (with Buddhism), its irrational -contradictions, its wickedness and lawlessness, may be praiseworthy if -it teaches men resignation. That I have shown the comparative innocence -of men in this life, which of itself involves guilt, is not indeed -wrong, but...."</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_5" id="Page_5">[Pg 5]</a></span></p> - -<p>Just now comes a telephone message from the theatre: "The result of -this is in God's hand." "Exactly what I think," I answer, and ask -myself again whether the piece ought to be played. (I believe it is -already determined by the higher powers what the issue of the first -performance will prove.)</p> - -<p>I feel as though it were Sunday. The "White Shape" appears outside on -the balcony of the "growing castle."</p> - -<p>My thoughts have lately been occupied with death and with the life -after this. Yesterday I read Plato's <i>Timæus</i> and <i>Phædo</i>. At present -I write a work called <i>The Island of the Dead</i>. In it I describe -the awakening after death, and what follows. But I hesitate, for I -am frightened at the boundless misery of mere life. Lately I burned -a drama; it was so sincere, that I shuddered at it. What I do not -understand is this: ought one to hide the misery, and flatter men? -I <i>wish</i> to write cheerfully and beautifully, but ought not, and -cannot. I conceive it as a terrible duty to be truthful, and life is -indescribably hideous.</p> - -<p>Now the clock strikes eleven, and at twelve o'clock is the rehearsal.</p> - -<p>The same day at 8 <span style="font-size: 0.7em;">P.M.</span> I have seen the rehearsal<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_6" id="Page_6">[Pg 6]</a></span> of the <i>Dream Play</i>, -and suffered greatly. I received the impression that this piece ought -not to be played. It is presumptuous, and certainly blasphemous (?). I -am disturbed and alarmed.</p> - -<p>I have had no midday meal; at seven o'clock I ate some cold food out of -the basket in the kitchen.</p> - -<p>During the religious broodings of my last forty days I read the Book -of Job, saying to myself certainly at the same time that I was no -righteous man like him. Then I came to the 22nd chapter, in which -Eliphaz the Temanite unmasks Job: "Thou hast taken pledges of thy -brother for nought, and stripped the naked of their clothing; thou hast -not given water to the weary to drink, and thou hast withholden bread -from the hungry. ... Is not thy wickedness great and thine iniquities -infinite?"</p> - -<p>Then the whole comfort of the Book of Job vanished, and I stood again -forlorn and irresolute. What shall a poor man hold on to? What shall I -believe? How can he help thinking perversely?</p> - -<p>Yesterday I read Plato's <i>Timæus</i> and <i>Phædo.</i> There I found so much -self-contradictory wisdom, that in the evening I threw my devotional -books<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_7" id="Page_7">[Pg 7]</a></span> away and prayed to God out of a full heart. "What will happen -now? God help me! Amen."</p> - -<p>The stage-manager visited me yesterday evening. We both felt, in -despair.... The night was quiet.</p> - -<p><i>April 16, 1907</i>.—Read the proof of the <i>Black Flags</i>,<a name="FNanchor_1_2" id="FNanchor_1_2"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_2" class="fnanchor">[1]</a> which I -wrote in 1904. I asked myself whether the book was a crime, and whether -it ought to be published. I opened the Bible, and came on the prophet -Jonah, who was compelled to prophesy although he hid himself. That -quieted me. But it is a terrible book!</p> - -<p><i>April 17</i>.—To-day the <i>Dream Play</i> will be performed for the first -time. A gentle fall of snow in the morning. Read the last chapter of -Job: God punishes Job because he presumed to wish to understand His -work. Job prays for pardon, and is forgiven.</p> - -<p>Quiet grey weather till 3 P.M. Then G. came with a piece of good news.</p> - -<p>Spent the evening alone at home. At eight o'clock there was a ring at -the door. A messenger brought a laurel-wreath with the inscription: -"Truth, Light, Liberation." I took the wreath at once to the bust of -Beethoven on the tiled stove<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_8" id="Page_8">[Pg 8]</a></span> and placed it on his head, since I had so -much to thank him for, especially just now for the music accompanying -my drama.</p> - -<p>At eleven o'clock a telephone from the theatre announces that -everything has gone well.</p> - -<p><i>May 29</i>.—The <i>Black Flags</i> come out to-day. I make very satisfactory -terms with the publisher regarding the <i>Blue Book</i> (and I had thought -it would not be printed at all). So I determined to remain in my house, -which I had determined to leave on account of poverty.</p> - -<p><i>August 20</i>.—I read this evening the proofs of the <i>Blue Book</i>. Then -the sky grew coal-black with towering dark clouds. A storm of rain -fell; then it cleared up, and a great rainbow stood round the church, -which was lit up by the sun.</p> - -<p><i>August 22</i>.—I am reading now the proofs of the <i>Blue Book</i>, and I -feel now as though my mission in life were ended. I have been able to -say all I had to say.</p> - -<p>I dreamt that I was in the home of my childhood at Sabbatsberg, and saw -that the great pond was dried up. This pond had always been dangerous -to children because it was surrounded by a swamp; it had an evil smell, -and was full of frogs, hedgehogs, and lizards. Now in my dream I walked -about on the dry ground, and was<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_9" id="Page_9">[Pg 9]</a></span> astonished to find it so clean. I -thought now that I have broken with the <i>Black Flags</i> the frog-swamp is -done with.</p> - -<p><i>September 1</i>.—Read the last proofs of the <i>Blue Book</i>.</p> - -<p><i>September 2</i>.—Came across tramcar 365, which I had not seen since I -began to write the <i>Blue Book</i> on June 15, 1906.</p> - -<p><i>September 12</i>.—The <i>Blue Book</i> appears to-day. It is the first clear -day in summer. I dreamt I found myself in a stone-quarry, and could -neither go up nor down. I thought quite quietly, "Well, I must cry for -help!"</p> - -<p>The German motto to-day on the tear-off calendar is: "What is to be -clarified must first ferment."</p> - -<p>To-day I got new clothes which fitted. My old ones had been too tight -to the point of torture.</p> - -<p>My little daughter visited me. I took her home again in a chaise.</p> - -<p><i>September 14</i>.—The whole day clear. Towards evening, however, about -a quarter to six, the sky became covered with most portentous-looking -clouds, with black outlines like obliquely hanging theatre-flies. -Afterwards these were driven out by a storm over the sea.</p> - -<p>This evening my <i>Crown Bride</i> was performed.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_10" id="Page_10">[Pg 10]</a></span> Thus, then, the <i>Blue -Book</i> had appeared. It looked well with its blue and red binding, which -resembled that of my first book, the <i>Red Room</i>, but in its contents -differed as much from it as red from blue. In the first I had, like -Jeremiah, to pluck up, break down, and destroy; but in this book I was -able to build and to plant. And I will conclude with Hezekiah's song of -praise:</p> - -<p>"I said, in the noontide of my days, I shall go to the gates of the -grave:</p> - -<p>"My age is departed, and is removed from me as a shepherd's tent:</p> - -<p>"I have rolled up like a weaver my life; he will cut me off from the -loom.</p> - -<p>"From day even to night wilt thou make an end of me.</p> - -<p>"Like a swallow or a crane, so did I chatter; I did mourn as a dove: -mine eyes fail with looking upward.</p> - -<p>"Lord, I am oppressed; undertake for me.</p> - -<p>"What shall I say? He hath both spoken unto me, and himself hath done -it.</p> - -<p>"Behold, it was for my peace that I had great bitterness;</p> - -<p>"Thou hast in love to my soul delivered it from the pit of corruption.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">[Pg 11]</a></span></p> - -<p>"The living, the living, he shall praise thee, as I do this day.</p> - -<p>"The father to the children shall make known thy truth."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>I saw beforehand what awaited me if I broke with the <i>Black Flags</i>. But -I placed my soul in God's hands, and went forwards. I affix as a motto -to the following book, "He who departeth from evil, maketh himself a -prey."</p> - -<p>The strangest thing, however, is that from this moment my own Karma -began to complete itself. I was protected, things went well with me, -I found better friends than those I had lost. Now I am inclined to -ascribe all my former mischances to the fact that I served the <i>Black -Flags</i>. There was no blessing with them!</p> - - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_1_2" id="Footnote_1_2"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1_2"><span class="label">[1]</span></a> A <i>roman à clef</i> in which Strindberg fiercely attacks the -Bohemians and emancipated women of Stockholm.</p></div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - - - - - - -<h3><a name="A_BLUE_BOOK" id="A_BLUE_BOOK">A BLUE BOOK</a></h3> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_12" id="Page_12">[Pg 12]</a></span></p> - -<p class="p2"><b>The Thirteenth Axiom</b>.—Euclid's twelfth axiom, as is well known, -runs thus: When one straight line cuts two other straight lines so that -the interior angles on the same side are together less than two right -angles, these two lines, being produced, will at length meet on that -side on which are the two angles, which are together less than two -right angles.</p> - -<p>If that is a self-evident proposition, which can neither be proved, nor -needs to be proved, how much clearer is the axiom of the existence of -God!</p> - -<p>Anyone who tries to prove an axiom, loses himself in absurdity; -therefore, we should not attempt to prove the existence of God. He who -cannot understand what is self-evident in an axiom belongs to the class -of people of a lower degree of intelligence. One should be sorry for -such dullards, but not blame them.</p> - -<p>The first point in the definition of God, is that He is Almighty. -Thence it follows that He can abrogate His own laws. But since we do -not<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13">[Pg 13]</a></span> know all His laws, we do not know when He employs a law which is -unknown to us, or suspends a law which is known to us.</p> - -<p>What we call miracles, may happen according to strict laws which we do -not know. We must therefore take care, when confronted by unusual or -inexplicable occurrences, to see that we make no mistakes. These draw -down upon us the contempt of our fellow-mortals who are gifted with -keener intelligence.</p> - -<p class="p2"><b>The Rustic Intelligence of the "Beans."</b>—The miller turns -his mill and the seaman trims his sails according to the force and -direction of the wind. They do not see the wind, but they believe in -its existence, since they observe the results produced by it. They are -wise people who use their intelligence.</p> - -<p>Intelligence ("ratio"), or rustic intelligence, is an excellent faculty -whereby to grasp what is perceptible by the senses, even when it is -invisible. Reason is a higher faculty wherewith one may grasp what is -not perceptible by sense. But when the rationalists try to comprehend -the highest things with their rustic intelligence, then they see light -as darkness, good as evil, the eternal as temporal. In a word, they see -distortedly,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14">[Pg 14]</a></span> for they see by the light of nature. Just as the rustic -intelligence is indispensable when one goes to market, deals with -coffee and sugar, or draws up promissory-notes, even so is the use of -reason necessary when one wishes to approach what is above nature.</p> - -<p>Voltaire and Heine are counted among the greatest rationalists because -they judged of spiritual things by rustic intelligence. Their arguments -are therefore interesting, but worthless.</p> - -<p>And the most interesting fact about both these men is, that they -discovered their errors, declared themselves bankrupt, and finally used -their reason. But there the "Beans" can no longer follow them.</p> - -<p>"Beans" is a classical name for the Philistines who worshipped Dagon, -the fish-god, and Beelzebub, the god of dung.</p> - - -<p class="p2"><b>The Hoopoo, or An Unusual Occurrence.</b>—Johann was one day on -his travels, and came to a wood. In an old tree he found a bird's nest -with seven eggs, which resembled the eggs of the common swift. But the -latter bird only lays three eggs, so the nest could not belong to it. -Since Johann was a great connoisseur in eggs, he soon perceived that -they were the eggs of the hoopoo. Accordingly, he said to himself, -"There<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">[Pg 15]</a></span> must be a hoopoo somewhere in the neighbourhood, although the -natural history books assert that it does not appear here."</p> - -<p>After a time he heard quite distinctly the well-known cry of the -hoopoo. Then he knew that the bird was there. He hid himself behind -a rock, and he soon saw the speckled bird with its yellow comb. When -Johann returned home after three days, he told his teacher that he had -seen the hoopoo on the island. His teacher did not believe it, but -demanded proof.</p> - -<p>"Proof!" said Johann. "Do you mean two witnesses?"</p> - -<p>"Yes!"</p> - -<p>"Good! I have twice two witnesses, and they all agree: my two ears -heard it, and my two eyes saw it."</p> - -<p>"Maybe. But <i>I</i> have not seen it," answered the teacher.</p> - -<p>Johann was called a liar because he could not prove that he had seen -the hoopoo in such and such a spot. However, it was a fact that the -hoopoo appeared there, although it was an unusual occurrence in this -neighbourhood.</p> - -<p class="p2"><b>Bad Digestion.</b>—When one adds up several large numbers, one owes -it to oneself to doubt the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16">[Pg 16]</a></span> correctness of the calculation. In order to -test it, one generally adds the figures up again, but from the bottom -to the top. That is wholesome doubt.</p> - -<p>But there is an unwholesome kind of doubt, which consists in denying -everything which one has not seen and heard oneself. To treat one's -fellow-men as liars is not humane, and diminishes our knowledge to a -considerable degree.</p> - -<p>There is a morbid kind of doubt, which resembles a weak stomach. -Everything is swallowed, but nothing retained; everything is received, -but nothing digested. The consequence is emaciation, exhaustion, -consumption, and premature death.</p> - -<p>Johann Damascenus<a name="FNanchor_1_3" id="FNanchor_1_3"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_3" class="fnanchor">[1]</a> had passed through several years of wholesome -doubt, proving the truths of faith by systematic denial. But when, -after minutely checking his calculation, he had become sure of their -asserted values, he believed. Since then, neither fear of men, love -of gain, contempt, or threats could cause him to abandon his dearly -purchased faith. And in that he was right.</p> - -<p class="p2"><b>The Song of the Sawyers.</b>—As Damascenus wandered in Qualheim, -he came to a saw-mill.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">[Pg 17]</a></span> Outside it, on the edge of a stream, sat two -men, and sawed a steel rail with a double saw. They accompanied their -sawing with a rhythmic chant in two voices, and somewhat resembled two -drinkers quarrelling.</p> - -<p>"What are you singing about?" asked Damascenus.</p> - -<p>"About faith and knowledge," answered one. And then they recommenced. -"What I know, that I believe; therefore knowledge is under faith, and -faith stands above it."</p> - -<p>"What do you know then? What you have seen with your eye?"</p> - -<p>"My eye sees nothing of itself. If you were to take it out, and lay it -down here, it would see nothing. Therefore, it is my inner eye which -sees."</p> - -<p>"Can I then see your inner eye?"</p> - -<p>"It is not to be seen. But you see with that which is itself invisible. -Therefore, you must believe on the invisible! Now you know."</p> - -<p>"Yes, yes, yes, but, but, but.... Have you seen God?"</p> - -<p>"Yes, with my inner eye. Therefore, I believe on Him. But it is not -necessary for you to see Him, in order for me to believe on Him."</p> - -<p>"But knowledge is the highest."</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">[Pg 18]</a></span></p> - -<p>"Yes, but faith is the highest of all."</p> - -<p>"Do you know what you believe?"</p> - -<p>"Yes, although you don't know it."</p> - -<p>"Prove it."</p> - -<p>"By two concurring witnesses? Here in this district alone I can collect -two million witnesses. That must be sufficient proof for you."</p> - -<p>"But, but, but, but" ... And so on.</p> - - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_1_3" id="Footnote_1_3"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1_3"><span class="label">[1]</span></a> Strindberg gives himself this name, probably in allusion -to his mystery-play, <i>To Damascus</i> (1900).</p></div> - - -<p class="p2"><b>Al Mansur in the Gymnasium.</b>—Damascenus came into a large -gymnasium, which at first he thought was empty. But presently he -noticed that men stood along the walls with their backs turned towards -him, so that he only saw their perukes and red ears. "Why do they stand -and look at the wall, and why do they have such red ears?" he asked his -teacher.</p> - -<p>"They are ashamed of themselves," answered the teacher. "During their -lifetime they were regarded as very clever fellows, but now they have -discovered their stupidity."</p> - -<p>"What is stupidity?"</p> - -<p>"He is stupid, in the first place, who is unpractical. These have -practised gymnastics all their lives, but never used the strength which -they have gained. Furthermore, he is stupid who finds it difficult to -comprehend simple propositions,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">[Pg 19]</a></span> self-evident propositions or axioms; -for instance, the axiom of the existence of God. He is also stupid who -cannot understand a logical proof; he who cannot accept reasonable -premises, can draw no correct inferences. But the height of stupidity -is, not to be able to accept an explanation founded on fact. When the -Apostles told Thomas that Christ, the Son of God, was risen from the -dead, he could not receive the new truth, because it was beyond his -horizon. Such a man is usually called thick-headed, is he not?"</p> - -<p>Damascenus did not answer, but his ears grew red, for he saw behind on -the spring-board a man whom he thought he recognised by his broad neck -and small ears.</p> - -<p>"What are you looking at?" asked the teacher.</p> - -<p>"Who is the man there?"</p> - -<p>"He was, or was called Al Mansur, the Victorious, because he lost all -battles but one—the battle with himself. By the Greeks he is called -Chrysoroas, or 'Golden Stream'; by the Romans, John of Damascus."</p> - -<p class="p2"><b>The Nightingale in the Vineyard.</b>—Johann went with his teacher -through a vineyard, at the season when the vines were flourishing -and exhaling their delicious perfume, which resembles<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">[Pg 20]</a></span> that of the -mignonette. "Do you notice the fine scent?" asked the teacher. "Oh yes; -it is the scent of the vines." "Can you see it?" "No, it is invisible." -"Then you can believe in what is invisible, as well as enjoy it. You -are, then, on the way."</p> - -<p>A nightingale was singing in a pomegranate tree. "Can you see her -notes?" asked the teacher. "But you are delighted by them. Similarly, -I delight in the invisible God through His way of revealing Himself in -beauty, goodness, and righteousness. Do you think God cannot reveal -Himself, like the nightingale, by invisible but audible tones?" "Yes, -certainly." "Then you believe in revelations?" "Yes, I am obliged -to." "You believe that God is a Spirit?" "Yes." "Then you believe in -spirits?" "That is an incorrect inference. I believe in one Spirit." -"Have not men spirits or souls in their bodies?" "Certainly." "Then -you believe in spirits, <i>i.e.</i> in the existence of spirits?" "You are -right; I believe in spirits." "Don't forget that the next time one asks -you. And don't be afraid when the Lord of Dung comes and threatens you -with the loss of bread, honour, wife, and child."</p> - -<p class="p2"><b>The Miracle of the Corn-crakes.</b>—One summer evening the teacher -went with Johann through<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">[Pg 21]</a></span> the clover-fields. There they heard a sound, -"Crex! crex!" "What is that?" asked the teacher. "The corn-crake, of -course." "Have you seen the corn-crake?" "No." "Do you know a man who -has seen it?" "No." "How do you know, then, that it is it?" "Everyone -says so." "Look! If I throw a stone at it, will it fly up?" "No, for it -cannot fly, or flies very badly." "But in autumn, it always flies to -Italy! How does that happen?" "I don't know." "What do the zoologists -say?" "Nothing." "Do you believe that it flies over the Sound, runs -through Germany, and wanders over the Alps or through the St. Gothard -Tunnel?" "They say nothing about it." "Well! Brehm calculates there -are a pair of larks to every acre of field and meadow; if we reckon -that there are a pair of corn-crakes to every two acres, then there -are in our country in spring five million corn-crakes. The female lays -from seven to twelve eggs during the summer, so that in autumn in our -country there are five-and-thirty million corn-crakes. Ought they not -to be visible when they fly over the Sound?" "I cannot explain it. A -bad flyer cannot fly over the Sound. Is it possible that they go round -by the Gulf of Bothnia?" "No, for they have rivers to cross, and one -would see their flight like that<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">[Pg 22]</a></span> of the lemmings. Besides, in England -there are seventy million corn-crakes every autumn, and they cannot -go by land." "Then a miracle happens." "What is a miracle?" "What one -cannot explain, but has no right to deny." "Then the flight of the -corn-crakes is a miracle; it must take place according to unknown -natural laws or be supernatural?"</p> - -<p class="p2"><b>Corollaries.</b>—The teacher said: "The bee is a little creature, -but gives plenty of honey. The corn-crake is a little bird, but it has -shown us that some of the most ordinary natural occurrences cannot be -explained by known natural laws, and must therefore be regarded, for -the present, as supernatural, and for the rest, be taken on faith.</p> - -<p>"You have never seen the corn-crake in fields or meadows, but you -believe that it is there. If now a sportsman came, who had shot the -bird, you would be more quickly convinced that the bird does appear in -the district, even though the sportsman were a liar.</p> - -<p>"But the fact that millions of birds not accustomed to flying cannot -fly over great spaces of water or Alpine glaciers, does not explain the -autumn flight of the corn-crakes.</p> - -<p>"Since this cannot be explained on natural<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">[Pg 23]</a></span> grounds, it is -supernatural. We must accordingly admit that we believe sometimes on -the supernatural, or on miracles.</p> - -<p>"From this proved thesis you can deduce the corollaries for yourself if -you possess the faculty of drawing inferences."</p> - -<p class="p2"><b>Phantasms which Are Real.</b>—The teacher asked: "Can one see a -phantasm?"</p> - -<p>"What is a phantasm?"</p> - -<p>"There are in optics real images which can be caught on a screen. An -image reflected in a flat mirror cannot be caught upon a screen, and is -therefore a phantasm. Can you see your image in a flat mirror?"</p> - -<p>"Yes."</p> - -<p>"Then you can see a phantasm, or an unreal image. The eye, therefore, -is a skilful instrument, which can make the unreal real. One might thus -be tempted to believe in ghosts."</p> - -<p>"What are ghosts?"</p> - -<p>"They are phantasms, or unreal images which the eye can take in at -certain distances. Great and credible men, such as Luther, Swedenborg, -and Goethe, have seen ghosts."</p> - -<p>"Goethe?"</p> - -<p>"Yes; in the eleventh book of <i>Aus meinem<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">[Pg 24]</a></span> Leben</i> he relates how he met -the image of himself upon a country road. 'I saw, that is to say, not -with the eye of the body, but of the spirit,' he adds. Do you consider -Goethe's testimony credible?"</p> - -<p>"Yes."</p> - -<p>"Well, such sights are not seen every day, just as the hoopoo is not -seen every day. But that does not give one any right to doubt that they -are seen."</p> - - -<p class="p2"><b>Crex, crex!</b>—The pupil asked: "What is chance?"</p> - -<p>"It means something accidental, irregular, illogical in the occurrence -of an event. But the word is often misused by those who see, but do not -understand. For instance, if after an evil deed you are systematically -persecuted by misfortune, that is no chance. Firstly, because the -misfortunes appear regularly, but chance is irregular. Secondly, -because the punishment follows logically on the evil deed, and chance -is illogical. It is therefore something else."</p> - -<p>"Yes, it must be so. But what is it that causes me to fail in all my -undertakings, to meet in the streets only enemies, to be cheated in all -the shops, to get the worst eatables in the market,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">[Pg 25]</a></span> to read only of -wickedness in the papers, not to receive pleasant letters though they -have been posted, to miss my train, to see the last cab engaged under -my nose, to be given the only room in the hotel where a suicide has -been committed, not to meet the person I have taken a special journey -to see; to have the money I earn immediately snatched away, to have to -remain in a strange town from which all my acquaintances have gone? -Then at last, when I have no food, and am on the point of drowning -myself, I find a shilling in the street. That cannot be chance? What is -it then?"</p> - -<p>"It is something else, but how it happens we don't know, since we know -so little about the most ordinary phenomena."</p> - -<p>"That's only twaddle."</p> - -<p>"Crex, crex!"</p> - -<p>"That's the corn-crake."</p> - -<p>"Yes, it is."</p> - -<p class="p2"><b>The Electric Battery and the Earth Circuit.</b>—The pupil feigned -ignorance, and asked: "What is religion?"</p> - -<p>"If you do not know from experience or intuition, I cannot explain it -to you; in that case it would only seem to you folly. But if you know<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">[Pg 26]</a></span> -beforehand, you will be able to receive my explanations, which are -many. Religion is connected with the Source or the head station. But in -order to carry on a conversation one must have an earth-current."</p> - -<p>"What is that?"</p> - -<p>"That is the draining off of superfluous earthliness to the earth. As -one advances in technical knowledge, one learns to speak without a -wire. But for that there are necessary strong streams of electricity, -clean instruments, and clear air. The electric battery is Faith, which -is not merely credence, but an apparatus for receiving and arousing the -divine electricity. Unless you believe in the possibility of success in -an undertaking, you will not set to work, and accordingly you acquire -no energy. With faith and a good will all is possible."</p> - -<p>"But Faith is a gift for all that."</p> - -<p>"Yes; but if, from pride or obstinacy, you refuse to receive it, it is -no gift for you. Is that clear?"</p> - -<p class="p2"><b>Improper and Unanswerable Questions.</b>—The pupil asked: "If God -is one, why are there several religions?"</p> - -<p>"Since the existence of God is an axiom, you<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">[Pg 27]</a></span> should say, '<i>Since</i> God -is one, why are there several religions?' I answer: I do not know, -and, strictly speaking, it does not concern me. All agree in the chief -point—that there is a God, and that the soul is immortal."</p> - -<p>"If the soul is immortal, how is it that there are men who regard their -souls as mortal, and speak of the present life as their only one?"</p> - -<p>"Their feelings may be perverted, like a man's who believes he has a -snake in his stomach. Perhaps they have committed soul-suicide. Perhaps -they think the doctrine of immortality foolish, or their souls are -really so rudimentary that they can be buried and dissolved. If that -is the case, one cannot argue with them, for they are right as regards -themselves. Either theirs is an abnormal case, or their perceptions -are perverse; I cannot say which. I am inclined to regard the question -as among those which are unanswerable, or which have not yet been -answered, or which should not be asked."</p> - -<p class="p2"><b>Superstition and Non-Superstition.</b>—The pupil asked: "What is -superstition?"</p> - -<p>"I don't know; but a sterile intellect calls the highest axioms -superstitions, <i>e.g.</i> God, the religious life, conscience. The -believing fertile<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">[Pg 28]</a></span> intelligence, on the other hand, calls it -superstition when an unbeliever avoids a squirrel, spits when he sees -an old woman or when one wishes him luck, or dares not begin a journey -on the thirteenth of the month."</p> - -<p>"What is witchcraft?"</p> - -<p>"When bad men misemploy their psychic forces on weaker minds, dazzle -them, or torment them from a distance, and so on. You have seen all -this at hypnotic seances. In them, for example, the medium's eyesight -can be so perverted as to take a raw potato for an apple."</p> - -<p>"Are there then witches?"</p> - -<p>"Yes; certainly there are. An ugly and evil woman, who so dazzles the -eyes of a man that he sees her as the most beautiful and best, is a -witch."</p> - -<p>"Should she be burnt?"</p> - -<p>"No, for she burns herself through her wickedness when she meets a man -who is mail-clad with the love of God. Then the missiles of the witch -rebound and strike herself. But one should not talk of such. He who -touches pitch is defiled."</p> - -<p class="p2"><b>Through Faith to Knowledge.</b>—The pupil asked: "How shall I know -that I believe rightly?" "I will tell you. Doubt the regular denials<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">[Pg 29]</a></span> -of your everyday intelligence. Go out of yourself if you can, and place -yourself at the believer's standpoint. Act as though you believed, and -then test the belief, and see whether it agrees with your experiences. -If it does, then you have gained in wisdom, and no one can shake -your belief. When I for the first time obtained Swedenborg's <i>Arcana -Cœlestia</i>, and looked through the ten thousand pages, it appeared to -me all nonsense. And yet I could not help wondering, since the man was -so extraordinarily learned in all the natural sciences, as well as -in mathematics, philosophy, and political economy. Amid the apparent -foolishness of the book were some details which remained riveted in my -memory.</p> - -<p>"Some time later, in my ordinary life, there happened something -inexplicable. Subsequently light was thrown upon this by an experience -which Swedenborg refers to his so-called heaven and his so-called -angels. Then I began to search and to compare, to make experiments and -to find explanations. I come to the conclusion that Swedenborg has had -experiences which resemble those of earthly life, but are not the same. -This he brings out in his theory of correspondences and agreements. The -theosophists have expressed it thus: parallel with the earth-life we -live<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">[Pg 30]</a></span> another life on the astral plane, but unconsciously to ourselves."</p> - -<p class="p2"><b>The Enchanted Room.</b>—The pupil became curious and asked: "What -opened your eyes as regards Swedenborg?"</p> - -<p>"It is difficult to say, but I will try to do so. In my lonely dwelling -there was a room which I considered the most beautiful in the world. -It had not been so beautiful at first, but great and important events -had taken place there. A child had been born in it, and in it a man had -died. Finally I fitted it up as a temple of memory, and never showed it -to anyone.</p> - -<p>"One day, however, the demon of pride and ostentation took possession -of me, and I took a guest into it. He happened to be a 'black man,' -a hopeless despairer, who only believed in physical force and in -wickedness, and called himself 'a load of earth.' As I admitted him -I said, 'Now you will see the most beautiful room in the country.' I -turned on the electric light, which generally poured down from the -ceiling such a blaze that not a dark corner was left in the room. The -man stood in the middle of the room, looked round, grumbled to himself, -and said 'I can't see that.'</p> - -<p>"As he spoke, the room darkened, the walls<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">[Pg 31]</a></span> contracted, the floor -shrank in size. My splendid temple was metamorphosed before my eyes. -It seemed to me like a room in a hospital, with coarse wall-papers; -the beautiful flowered curtains looked dirty; the white surface of the -little writing-table showed spots; the gilding was blackened; the brass -fittings of the tiled oven were tarnished. The whole room was altered, -and I was ashamed. It had been enchanted.</p> - -<p class="p2"><b>Concerning Correspondences.</b>—"Now comes Swedenborg, but his -explanation is somewhat difficult. I must make a prefatory remark, in -order that you may not think I regard myself as an angel. By 'angel' -Swedenborg means a deceased mortal, who by death has been released from -the prison of the body, and by suffering in faith has recovered the -highest faculties of his soul. It is necessary to bear this definition -of Swedenborg's in mind, and to remember that it does not apply to my -guest or myself.</p> - -<p>"Swedenborg further remarks regarding these dematerialised beings: 'All -which appears and exists around them seems to be produced and created -by them. The fact that their surroundings are, as it were, produced -and created by them is evident, because when they are no longer<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">[Pg 32]</a></span> -there the surroundings are altered. A change in the surroundings is -also apparent, when other beings come in their place. Elysian plains -change into their trees and fruits; gardens change into their roses and -plants, and fields into their herbs and grasses. The reason for the -appearance and alteration of such objects is that they are produced by -the wishes of these angel beings and the currents of thought set in -motion thereby.'</p> - -<p>"Is not this a subtle observation of Swedenborg's, and have not the -facts he alleges something corresponding to them in our lower sphere? -Does it not resemble my adventure in the 'enchanted room?' Perhaps you -have had a similar experience?"</p> - -<p class="p2"><b>The Green Island.</b>—The pupil answered: "I have certainly had -strange experiences, but did not understand them because I thought -with the flesh. As I just heard you say that our experiences can -receive a symbolical interpretation, I remembered an incident which -resembled that which you have just related and compared with an -observation of Swedenborg's. After a youth spent under intolerable -pressure and too much work, a friend gave me a sum of money that I -might spend the summer on the sea in literary recreation. When I saw -the 'Green Island' with<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_33" id="Page_33">[Pg 33]</a></span> its carpets of flowers, beds of reeds, banks -of willows, oak coppices, and hazel woods, I thought that I beheld -Paradise. Together with three other young poets I passed the summer -in a state of happiness which I have never experienced since. We were -fairly religious, although we did not literally believe in the gods -of the state, and we lived, as a rule, innocently enough, with simple -pleasures such as bathing, sailing, and fishing.</p> - -<p>"But there was an evil man among us. He was overbearing, and regarded -mankind as his enemies; denied all goodness; spied after others' -faults; rejoiced in others' misfortunes. Every time he left us to go -to the town, the island seemed to me more beautiful; it seemed like -Sunday. I was always the object of his gibes, but did not understand -his malice. My friends wondered that I was not angry with him, as I -was generally so passionate. I do not myself understand it, but I was -as though protected, and noticed nothing, whatever the cause may have -been. Perhaps you ask whether the island really was so wonderful. I -answer: I found it so, but perhaps the beauty was in my way of looking -at it."</p> - -<p class="p2"><b>Swedenborg's Hell.</b>—The pupil continued: "The next summer I came -again, but this time<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34">[Pg 34]</a></span> with other companions, and I was another man. -The bitterness of life, the spirit of the time, new teachings, evil -companionship made me doubt the beneficence of Providence, and finally -deny its existence. We led a dreadful life together. We slandered each -other, suspected each other even of theft. All wished to dominate, -nobody would follow another to the best bathing-place, but each went to -his own. We could not sail, for everyone wished to steer. We quarrelled -from morning till night. We drank also, and half of us were treating -themselves for incurable diseases. My 'Green Island,' the first -paradise of my youth, became ugly and repulsive to me. I could see no -more beauty in nature, although at that time I worshipped nature. But -wait a minute, and see how it agreed with what Swedenborg says! The -beautiful weed-fringed bay began to exhale such miasmas, that I got -malarial fever. The gnats plagued us the whole night and stung through -the thickest veil. If I wandered in the wood, and wished to pluck a -flower, I saw an adder rear its head. One day, when I took some moss -from a rock, I saw immediately a black snake zigzagging away. It was -inexplicable. The peaceable inhabitants must have been infected by our -wickedness, for they became malicious,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35">[Pg 35]</a></span> ugly, quarrelsome, and enacted -domestic tragedies. It was hell! When I became ill, my companions -scoffed at me, and were angry, because I had to have a room to myself. -They borrowed money from me, which was not my own, and behaved -brutally. When I wanted a doctor, they would not fetch him."</p> - -<p>The teacher broke in: "That is how Swedenborg describes hell."</p> - -<p class="p2"><b>Preliminary Knowledge Necessary.</b>—The pupil asked: "Is there a -hell?"</p> - -<p>"You ask that, when you have been in it?"</p> - -<p>"I mean, another one."</p> - -<p>"What do you mean by another one? Has your experience not sufficed to -convince you that there <i>is</i> one?"</p> - -<p>"But what does Swedenborg think?"</p> - -<p>"I don't know. It is possible that he does not mean a place, but a -condition of mind. But as his descriptions of another side agree with -our experiences on this side in this point, that whenever a man breaks -the connection with the higher sphere, which is Love and Wisdom, a -hell ensues, it does not matter whether it is here or there. He uses -parables and allegories, as Christ did in order to be understood.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36">[Pg 36]</a></span></p> - -<p>"Emerson in his <i>Representative Men</i> regards Swedenborg's genius as the -greatest among modern thinkers, but he warns us against stereo-typing -his forms of thought. True as transitional forms, they are false if -one tries to fix them fast. He calls these descriptions a transitory -embodiment of the truth, not the truth itself."</p> - -<p>"But I do not yet understand Swedenborg."</p> - -<p>"No, because you have not the necessary preliminary knowledge. Just -like the peasant who came to a chemical lecture and only heard about -letters and numbers. He considered it the most stupid stuff he had ever -heard: 'They could only spell, but could not put the letters together.' -He lacked the necessary preliminary knowledge. Still, when you read -Swedenborg, read Emerson along with him."</p> - -<p class="p2"><b>Perverse Science.</b>—The teacher continued: "Swedenborg never -found a contradiction between science and religion, because he beheld -the harmony in all, correspondences in the higher sphere to the lower, -and the unity underlying opposites. Like Pythagoras, he saw the -Law-giver in His laws, the Creator in His work, God in nature, history -and the life of men. Modern degenerate science sees nothing, although -it has obtained the telescope and microscope.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37">[Pg 37]</a></span></p> - -<p>"Newton, Leibnitz, Kepler, Swedenborg, Linnæus, the greatest scientists -were religious God-fearing men. Newton wrote also an Exposition of the -Apocalypse. Kepler was a mystic in the truest sense of the word. It was -his mysticism which led to his discovery of the laws regulating the -courses of the planets. Humble and pure-hearted, those men could see -God while our decadents only see an ape infested by vermin.</p> - -<p>"The fact that our science has fallen into disharmony with God, shows -that it is perverse, and derives its light from the Lord of Dung."</p> - -<p class="p2"><b>Truth in Error.</b>—The teacher continued: "Let us return for a -moment to your green island. There you discovered that the world is a -reflection of your interior state, and of the interior state of others. -It is therefore probable that each carries his own heaven and hell -within him. Thus we come to the conclusion that religion is something -subjective, and therefore outside the reach of discussion.</p> - -<p>"The believer is therefore right when he receives spiritual edification -from the consecrated Bread and Wine. And the unbeliever is also not -wrong when he maintains that <i>for him</i> it is only bread and wine. But -if he asserts that it is the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38">[Pg 38]</a></span> same with the believer, he is wrong. -One ought not to punish him for it; one must only lament his want -of intelligence. By calling religion subjective, I have not thereby -diminished its power. The subjective is the highest for personality, -which is an end in itself, inasmuch as the education of man to superman -is the meaning of existence.</p> - -<p>"But when many individuals combine in one belief, there results an -objective force of tremendous intensity, which can remove mountains and -overthrow the walls of Jericho.</p> - -<p class="p2"><b>Accumulators.</b>—"When a race of wild men begin to worship a -meteoric stone, and this stone is subsequently venerated by a nation -for centuries, it accumulates psychic force, <i>i.e.</i> becomes a sacred -object which can bestow strength on those who possess the receptive -apparatus of faith. It can accordingly work miracles which are quite -incomprehensible to unbelievers.</p> - -<p>"Such a sacred object is called an amulet, and is not really more -remarkable than an electric pocket-lamp. But the lamp gives light only -on two conditions—that it is charged with electricity and that one -presses the knob. Amulets also only operate under certain conditions.</p> - -<p>"The same holds good of sacred places, sacred<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">[Pg 39]</a></span> pictures and objects, -and also of sacred rites which are called sacraments.</p> - -<p>"But it may be dangerous for an unbeliever to approach too near to -an accumulator. The faith-batteries of others can produce an effect -on them, and they may be killed thereby, if they possess not the -earth-circuit to carry off the coarser earthly elements.</p> - -<p>"The electric car proceeds securely and evenly as long as it is in -contact with the overhead wire and also connected with the earth. -If the former contact is interrupted, the car stands still. If the -earth-circuit is blocked, an electric storm is the result, as was the -case with St. Paul on the way to Damascus."</p> - -<p class="p2"><b>Eternal Punishment.</b>—The pupil asked: "What is your belief -regarding eternal punishments?"</p> - -<p>"Let me answer evasively, so to speak: since wickedness is its own -punishment, and a wicked man cannot be happy, and the will is free, an -evil man may be perpetually tormented with his own wickedness, and his -punishment accordingly have no end.</p> - -<p>"But we will hope that the wicked will not adhere to his evil will for -ever. A wicked man often experiences a change of nature when he sees -something good. Therefore, it is our duty to show<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_40" id="Page_40">[Pg 40]</a></span> him what is good. -The consciousness of fatality and being damned comes to everyone, -even to the incredulous. That proves that there is an inborn sense -of justice, a need to punish oneself, and that quite independent of -dogmas. Moreover, it is a gross falsehood that the doctrine of hell was -invented by Christianity. Greeks and Romans knew Hades and Tartarus -with their refined tortures; the Jews had their Sheol and Gehenna; -the cheerful Japanese rival Dante with their Inferno. It is therefore -thoughtless nonsense to make Christian theology solely responsible -for the doctrine of hell. It would be just as fair to trace it to the -cheerful view of life of the Greeks and Romans, who first came upon the -idea."</p> - -<p class="p2"><b>"Desolation."</b>—The teacher continued: "When this feeling of -fatality strikes an unbeliever, it often appears as the so-called -persecution-mania. He believes himself, for example, persecuted by men -who wish to poison him. Since his intelligence is so low that he cannot -rise to the idea of God, his evil conscience makes him conjure up evil -men as his persecutors. Thus he does not understand that it is God who -is pursuing him, and therefore he dies or goes mad.</p> - -<p>"But he who has strength enough to bow himself,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_41" id="Page_41">[Pg 41]</a></span> or intelligence -enough to guess at a method in this madness, cries to God for help and -grace, and escapes the madhouse. After a season of self-chastisement, -life begins to grow lighter; peace returns; he succeeds in his -undertakings; his 'Green Island' again blooms with spring. This -feeling of woebegoneness often occurs about the fortieth or fiftieth -year. It is the balancing of books at the solstice. The whole past is -summed up, and the debit-side shows a plus which makes one despair. -Scenes of earlier life pass by like a panorama, seen in a new light; -long-forgotten incidents reappear even in their smallest details. The -opening of the sealed Book of Life, spoken of in the Revelation, is -a veritable reality. It is the day of judgment. The children of the -Lord of Dung who have lost their intelligence understand nothing, -but buy bromkali at the chemist's and take sick-leave because of -'neurasthenia.' That is a Greek word, which serves them as an amulet.</p> - -<p>"Swedenborg calls this natural process 'the desolation' of the wicked. -The pietists call it the 'awakening' before conversion."</p> - -<p class="p2"><b>A World of Delusion.</b>—"Swedenborg writes: 'The angels are -troubled concerning the darkness<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42">[Pg 42]</a></span> on earth. They say that they can see -hardly any light anywhere, that men live and strengthen themselves in -lying and deceit, and so heap up falsity upon falsity. In order to -ratify these, they manage to extract, by way of inference, such true -propositions from false premises, as, on account of the darknesses -which conceal the true sources, and because the real state of the case -is unknown, cannot be refuted.'</p> - -<p>"This agrees with what every thinking man observes, that lying and -deceit are universal. The whole of life—politics, society, marriage, -the family—is counterfeit. Views which universally prevail are based -upon false history; scientific theories are founded on error; the truth -of to-day is discovered to be a lie to-morrow; the hero turns out to -be a coward, the martyr a hypocrite. Te Deums are sung over a silver -wedding, and the wedded pair, still secretly leading immoral lives, -thank God that they have lived together happily for five-and-twenty -years. The whole populace assembles once in a year to celebrate the -memory of the 'Destroyer of the Country.' He who says the most foolish -thing possible, receives a prize in money and a gold medal. At the -annual asses' festival, the worst is crowned the asses' king.</p> - -<p>"A mad world, my masters! If Hamlet plays the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_43" id="Page_43">[Pg 43]</a></span> madman, he sees how -mad the world is. But the spectator believes himself to be the only -reasonable person, therefore He gives Hamlet his sympathy."</p> - -<p class="p2"><b>The Conversion of the Cheerful Pagan, Horace.</b>—"Among the -conventional falsehoods of the apes,<a name="FNanchor_1_4" id="FNanchor_1_4"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_4" class="fnanchor">[1]</a> one of the best known is that -conversion from irreligion is a purely Christian doctrine. By looking -into Kumlin's Swedish translation of Horace, even a schoolboy can find -this heading to the thirty-fourth ode of the first book, 'The Religious -Conversion of the Poet.'</p> - -<p>"Horace belonged to the Epicurean sect who only believed in phantom -gods, because they held that the divinities did not trouble themselves -with the course of the world or of events, but enjoyed a careless life -of continual ease. Horace accordingly had not been remarkably zealous -in his religious duties. But a sudden flash of lightning and a heavy -peal of thunder from a clear sky taught him at last that it was no -blind unconscious force of nature, but the hand of a God, which hurled -the lightning. Thereby he was awoken to reflection, and tried to warn -and sober his frivolous countrymen by dwelling on the power of Jupiter. -'God can change the lowest <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44">[Pg 44]</a></span>with the highest; He puts down the exalted -and uplifts the obscure.'</p> - -<p>"After this Horace preached like a Jeremiah against the corruption of -religion and morals. A modern 'ape' might feel justified in calling him -a pietist since he was converted!</p> - -<p class="p2"><b>Cheerful Paganism and its Doctrine of Hell.</b>—"<i>Origen against -Celsus</i> is the title of the first refutation of the lying accusations -which the pagans have brought against Christianity. Who will write a -second? Who will show that the hell of the pagans was seven times worse -than that of the Christians? In some Christian countries the Christian -religion may not be taught in the schools, but boys are obliged to read -Virgil's Sixth Æneid, which describes the terrors of the underworld.</p> - -<p>"There is the Lernæan Hydra, the Chimæra, Gorgons, and Harpies. On the -banks of Cocytus roam crowds of the unburied; there they must roam for -centuries because they have never found a grave. Is that humane? Then -there are the poor suicides everlastingly immersed in the Styx. And the -field of mourning where unhappy lovers hide themselves. 'Even after -death their pangs are not ended.'</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45">[Pg 45]</a></span></p> - -<p>"But these were comparatively innocent. Criminals, however, are -punished first by the fury Tisiphone. She seizes the damned, mocks -them with hellish laughter, and threatens them with snakes. A Hydra -opens fifty black jaws.... And so on till we come to the sieve of the -Danaids, the wheel of Ixion, the thirst of Tantalus.</p> - -<p>"Let us remember, however, that the men of the Renaissance, Dante and -Michael Angelo, have depicted the most extreme torments, as though they -believed in them. Anyone who wants to see how the cheerful Japanese -describe hell, can look at the pictures which Riotor and Leofanti -published in Paris, 1895, in the <i>Enfers Bouddhiques</i>."</p> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_1_4" id="Footnote_1_4"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1_4"><span class="label">[1]</span></a> Materialistic evolutionists.</p></div> - - -<p class="p2"><b>Faith the Chief Thing.</b>—The teacher continued: "Pietism is -a condition of repentance, which men pass through like a purifying -bath and gain a consciousness of inward cleanliness. It is therefore -no hypocrisy, as the children of the Lord of Dung suppose. He -who is severe towards himself may easily appear malicious to the -unintelligent; and he who has suffered for his wickednesses feels -himself freed from the past. This feeling the unbelievers call -'self-satisfaction.'</p> - -<p>"A penitent never attains perfection, but<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46">[Pg 46]</a></span> ceaselessly relapses into -the desires of the flesh. This may easily cause him to appear a -hypocrite. Luther quickly saw that it is impossible to make one's acts -correspond to one's belief. Therefore he laid stress on faith, let acts -go, and adduced as his authority St. Paul's solution of the paradox: -'So I obey the law of God with the spirit, but with the flesh the law -of sin.'</p> - -<p>"Faith, Hope, and Love: that is the essence and kernel of religion. -One's acts never come up to one's faith, and often lag far behind -it. But there are some pious souls who persist in remaining in the -condition of penance, and it may easily seem as though they wished to -gain heaven in advance of the rest. But we should not blame them for -it. There may be secret reasons which we do not know, and have never -experienced.</p> - -<p>"Socrates regarded the sense of shame and conscience as what -distinguished man from the beasts. To these two Christ added pity."</p> - -<p class="p2"><b>Penitents.</b>—The teacher continued: "Muhammed early traversed -the stage of desolation and became a pietist, when he believed himself -persecuted by devils. Set free finally by suffering and prayer, he -exclaims in the 93rd Sura: 'By the forenoon, and the night when it -darkens, thy<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47">[Pg 47]</a></span> Lord has not forsaken thee or hated thee, and surely the -future for thee will be better than the past. And thy Lord will give -thee sufficient, and thou shalt be satisfied. Did He not find thee an -orphan and give thee shelter? and find thee erring and guide thee? and -find thee poor with a family and nourish thee? But as for the orphan, -oppress him not; and as for the beggar, drive him not away; and as -for the favour of thy Lord, discourse thereof!' When Buddha left his -father's palace and saw the sufferings of men and the instability -of life, he became a penitent, left wife and child, went into the -wilderness, and chastened himself by fasting and renunciation. But -after he had undergone the severest penances, he cautiously returned to -ordinary life, and allowed himself moderate enjoyments in order not to -devastate his soul. Some of his disciples deserted him and called him a -recreant, but that did not trouble him.</p> - -<p>"Goethe himself passed through religious crises, and was at one period -intimate with the Hermhuters, the pietists of that time. In his old -age, when he grew wise, he became a mystic, <i>i.e.</i> he discovered that -there are things between heaven and earth of which the 'Beans' have -never let themselves dream."</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_48" id="Page_48">[Pg 48]</a></span></p> - -<p class="p2"><b>Paying for Others.</b>—The pupil said: "I must confess that I do -not understand the Atonement." "You mean, understand it with everyday -intelligence. No one can. The highest questions cannot be solved by us, -just as little as problems of the fourth dimension. But the solution is -given to us, if we ask for it in a proper way.</p> - -<p>"As regards the redemptive work of Christ, you can comprehend it by an -analogy. You remember, when you owed so many debts, that there were -knocks at your door all day long, that you had to go out early in the -morning in order to borrow, or to escape your creditors. Finally you -feared your room so, that you dared not go home to sleep. You sat on a -seat in the park, and said to yourself, 'It is hell!' Then there came a -man who knew you; he paid your debts; you called him your saviour. Do -you not see that one can pay for another, and deliver him?"</p> - -<p>"Yes, but one cannot make an evil deed undone."</p> - -<p>"No, but the Almighty can obliterate it from our memory, and from the -memory of others. But mark this well: every time that you rummage in -the past of another, although it has been atoned for, the memory of -your own evil deeds starts up. Just like a badly washed stain which -goes<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_49" id="Page_49">[Pg 49]</a></span> through the stuff and appears on the other side. All miracles are -conditional, just as vows are."</p> - -<p class="p2"><b>The Lice-King.</b>—As the teacher roamed one day in Qualheim he -came into a wood under whose shadow many decaying funguses grew. On a -footpath he saw what he thought at first was a snake writhing about. -It was no snake, however, but a mass of grubs clotted together. The -teacher asked his guide: "What is the meaning of that?"</p> - -<p>"Ask first what it is; then I will tell you the meaning of it."</p> - -<p>"Well?"</p> - -<p>"These are the larvæ of the snake-worm, which are obliged, like clay -and wadded straw, to hold together in order not to perish. They love -poisonous funguses, and cannot bear the light. They maintain their -existence by a mutual interchange of slime, without which they become -dead and dry. But they call darkness light, because the sun would kill -them. They feed on the poisonous funguses. They hate each other, but -must keep together. Do you understand now, or not?"</p> - -<p>"What is the name of the creature?"</p> - -<p>"It is called the snake-worm or lice-king,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_50" id="Page_50">[Pg 50]</a></span> appears once in every -generation, and is a herald of evil times."</p> - -<p>"What does it mean then?"</p> - -<p>"It is a symbol of the men who talk with their faces turned backwards, -and therefore see everything distorted; who call evil good, and good -evil. Because they live in pride and self-love they cannot see God, -but elect one of the mass to be their king, and believe that they are, -collectively, God. By 'freedom,' they mean freedom to do evil. Often an -ox or cow comes by and treads upon the motely mass. Then, of course, it -is obliterated in slime, but another soon takes it place."</p> - -<p>"It seems to be as eternal as evil."</p> - -<p class="p2"><b>The Art of Life.</b>—The teacher said: "Life is hard to live, and -the destinies of men appear very different. Some have brighter days, -others darker ones. It is therefore difficult to know how one should -behave in life, what one should believe, what views one should adopt, -or to which party one should adhere. This destiny is not the inevitable -blind fate of the ancients, but the commission which each one has -received, the task he must perform. The theosophists call it Karma, and -believe it is connected with a past which we<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_51" id="Page_51">[Pg 51]</a></span> only dimly remember. He -who has early discovered his destiny, and keeps closely to it, without -comparing his with others, or envying others their easier lot, has -discovered himself, and will find life easier. But at periods when all -wish to have a similar lot, one often engages in a fruitless struggle -to make one's own harder destiny resemble the lot of those to whom an -easier one has been assigned. Thence result disharmony and friction. -Even up to old age, many men seek to conquer their destiny, and make it -resemble that of others."</p> - -<p>The pupil asked: "If it is so, why is not one informed of one's Karma -from the beginning?"</p> - -<p>The teacher answered: "That is pure pity for us. No man could endure -life, if he knew what lay before him. Moreover, man must have a certain -measure of freedom; without that, he would only be a puppet. Also -the wise think that the voyage of discovery we make to discover our -destiny is instructive for us. 'Let My Grace be sufficient for thee; My -strength is made perfect in weakness.'"</p> - -<p class="p2"><b>The Mitigation of Destiny.</b>—The teacher continued: "Some appear -to be destined to honour and wealth, others only to honour, and others -only to wealth. Many seem to be born to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_52" id="Page_52">[Pg 52]</a></span> humiliations, poverty, and -sickness—'struck like a coin in the mint,' as the saying is. Everyone -can mitigate his destiny by submitting and adapting himself to it—by -resignation, in a word. The inward happiness which one gains thereby, -excels all outward prosperity. All things work for good to him who -serves God. The man who does not strive after honour and wealth is -impregnable; in a certain sense, all-powerful.</p> - -<p>"The hardest thing is to see the injustice in the world; but even that -can be overcome by taking it as a trial. If the wicked prospers, let -him; we have nothing to do with it. Besides, his happiness is not so -great when one looks closer at it.</p> - -<p>"When you are persecuted by misfortune, and your conscience cannot -call it deserved, take it quietly. Regard the endurance of the ordeal -as an honour. There will come a day when everything will improve. Then -perhaps you will discover that the misfortunes were benefits, or, at -any rate, afforded opportunity for exercising endurance. Envy no man; -you know not what his envied lot might conceal, if it actually came to -changing places."</p> - -<p class="p2"><b>The Good and the Evil.</b>—The pupil asked: "Is there really such a -great difference between men?"</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_53" id="Page_53">[Pg 53]</a></span></p> - -<p>The teacher answered: "Yes and No! But a sure mark of the evil man -is, he does evil for evil's sake. That is the bad man—the sarcastic -schoolmaster, the domestic tyrant. That is the child, which torments -its mother by finding out everything she dislikes. That is the bad -wife, the fury, who enjoys torturing and humiliating a man who only -wishes her good.</p> - -<p>"In the battles of life it is quite human to rejoice when a foe is -defeated. On all battlefields God has been thanked for the victory. -That is something different.</p> - -<p>"When one sees the insolent struck by misfortune, one rejoices that -there is justice. When one sees the wicked punished, one feels -satisfaction at seeing the balance of equity restored. That is -something different.</p> - -<p>"But he who rejoices over every evil deed which he himself has been -under no necessity of committing; he who rejoices when the criminal -escapes his punishment; he who gloats over the misfortune of a good -man; he who suffers when goodness and merit are rewarded—that is the -evil man. Such were those who clamoured for the murderer Barabbas's -release and perhaps gave a feast in his honour."</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_54" id="Page_54">[Pg 54]</a></span></p> - -<p class="p2"><b>Modesty and the Sense of Justice.</b>—The teacher continued: -"Properly speaking, the question you should have asked just now is, -'What men are good?' Socrates, according to Plato, said, 'Those who -possess modesty and a sense of justice. Those are the religious men.'</p> - -<p>"He, on the other hand, who has neither faith nor hope, can assume the -outward aspect of an honourable man. But when his worldly interests or -advantages are concerned, he lets honour drop. Similarly, when it is a -question of saving one of his associates from punishment. Then he can -bear false witness, and believe it is a good act. He does not stick at -helping forward an unworthy friend or relative. He will swear falsely -in order to attack a believer. He thinks everything lawful, <i>i.e.</i> -on his side against others, and he never repents anything, saying to -himself, 'He who lets himself be misled must pay for it.'</p> - -<p>"When a religious man makes a slip, he is wont to feel ashamed, and to -reproach himself. Often he is naïve enough to confess his fault or his -mis-doing. Then the Lice-King shouts 'Hurrah!' For he would never be so -simple. Still, though a believer fall seventy times and seven, he rises -again and confesses his fault. That is the difference."</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_55" id="Page_55">[Pg 55]</a></span></p> - -<p class="p2"><b>Derelicts.</b>—The pupil asked: "How is one to judge of the men -who are overthrown in the battle of life without being armed for the -conflict? You remember such characters at school; they could not -learn, could not attend; they were not ashamed, however, but regarded -themselves as a kind of victims. They left school, went out into life, -and collapsed. It was not the fault of their domestic surroundings, -for they came of good families, who supported them. They were not bad, -possessed talents, were clever, but had no knowledge and no interests -in life. 'What is the object of it?' they were in the habit of saying. -They could not bring themselves to work, but dozed at their desks. They -seemed to be born to do nothing, which is a punishment for the active. -Explain to me their destiny!"</p> - -<p>"That I cannot."</p> - -<p>"Some have died young in poverty; others begged their way through to -their sixtieth year, while they saw former school-fellows who had been -worse than they, prosper and flourish."</p> - -<p>"I have seen and lamented them, but I cannot explain their destiny."</p> - -<p>"Then they are not to blame, and yet live such lives of shame and -poverty; that is cruel."</p> - -<p>"Hush! Criticise not Providence! What is<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_56" id="Page_56">[Pg 56]</a></span> now inexplicable may some -day be explained! And remember that life is not paradise. Two shall be -grinding at one mill; one shall be taken, and the other left!"</p> - -<p class="p2"><b>Human Fate.</b>—The teacher said: "The destinies of men are -obscure; therefore one should be extremely careful in judging. The -Tower of Siloam was ready to fall, and fell on good and evil alike. -The disciples asked Christ what sin the man born blind had committed. -Christ answered that neither he nor his parents had committed any -special sin. When we see how some are born crippled, blind, deaf, -and dumb, we had best be silent. To lament their lot may annoy them, -for they seem to be protected in a mysterious way. They are objects -of pity, and seldom fall into abject poverty. They are good-humoured -through life, and hardly seem to suffer under their ailments. But -woe to the man who ridicules anyone marked out by such a fate! If he -is persistently pursued by calamity, or struck himself by a greater -misfortune, one can hardly ignore it by using the formula 'chance.' A -person who had scoffed at a blind man was struck in the eye by a stone -which was thrown into a tramcar. At first he was alarmed, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_57" id="Page_57">[Pg 57]</a></span> thought -of Nemesis. But when he heard that the stone had been so hurled as the -result of some blasting operations he became cheerful, <i>i.e.</i> more -ignorant, and said it was a chance. He saw the phenomenon, but nothing -behind it; the effect, but not the cause.</p> - -<p>"The 'Beans' cannot see beyond their noses. Sometimes, when they have -long noses, they see somewhat further. The supernatural in nature is -incomprehensible to their intelligence. Indeed, all which passes their -limited understanding is for them supernatural. That is logical, but -these rustics regard it as illogical."</p> - -<p class="p2"><b>Dark Rays.</b>—As the teacher wandered through his Inferno, he came -to a temple of black granite, which was quite dark inside. Within it -something was going on, but he could not distinguish what.</p> - -<p>"What is it?" he asked a white-robed figure, which wore a -laurel-wreath, but had a green face spotted blue like a corpse. "That -is a temple of light," it answered; "but the initiated cannot see -our black rays until he receives the white arsenic-kiss from the -ultra-violet priestess."</p> - -<p>"Give me the kiss," answered the teacher, but he turned his back to her -at the same time.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_58" id="Page_58">[Pg 58]</a></span> However, she did not notice this, as she could not -distinguish back from front. Now his eyes were opened, and he saw how -within the temple they were offering incense to their "gods of light," -as they called them. There stood the murderer Barabbas, a halo round -his head, and a plate on his breast with the inscription: "Acquitted -because of insufficient evidence." There sat Judas Iscariot under his -fig-tree, with the thirty pieces of silver, in the bosom of his family, -promoted to be general-director of customs. There were the Emperor -Nero, fresh from the bath, with a white dove on his hand, and Julian -the Apostate near an altar, with geese sacrificed upon it.</p> - -<p>The priests and priestesses sang a chant of New Birth and Resurrection, -burned incense compounded of rose-leaves and arsenic-acid, and danced -a snake-dance, which they called "the joy of life." Then they began to -quarrel about a laurel-wreath, and fought one another. As the teacher -went, they all sat there in the darkness and wept. But when a fresh -north wind blew through the temple, they trembled like dry leaves.</p> - -<p class="p2"><b>Blind and Deaf.</b>—The teacher said: "There are, as you know, -people with whom one cannot<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_59" id="Page_59">[Pg 59]</a></span> be angry. Perhaps it is because of their -natural good-nature, which shines even through a cutting jest. And -there are people whose malice comes to light long after one has met -them. Such an after-effect I have experienced myself.</p> - -<p>"Five-and-twenty years after a conversation with a man, I felt angry -with him. Naturally, during a sleepless night, when memory threw a new -light on the scene which had taken place between us. Not till then did -the insulting word he spoke receive its proper signification, which I -now understood. There are words which can murder. Such a word this one -was. What a good thing that I did not understand it at the time! It -would have resulted in calamity to four people.</p> - -<p>"By developing a peculiar instinct I have succeeded in fabricating -a kind of diving-costume, with which I protect myself in society. -When the insulting word or the biting allusion is uttered, the sound -certainly reaches my ear, but the receptive apparatus refuses to let -it go further. In the same way I can make myself literally blind. I -obliterate the face of the person I dislike. How it is done, I do not -know, but it seems to be a psychological process. The face becomes -a dirty whitish-grey spot and disappears.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_60" id="Page_60">[Pg 60]</a></span> It is necessary to make -oneself deaf and blind, or it is impossible to live.</p> - -<p>"One must cancel and go on! That is generally called 'forgiving,' but -it may be a device of the revengeful for sparing himself trouble, or a -scheme of the sensitive for not letting insults reach him. One cannot -undertake more than one can bear!"</p> - -<p class="p2"><b>The Disrobing Chamber.</b>—The teacher continued: "Swedenborg says -in his <i>Inferno</i>...."</p> - -<p>"Say 'Hell,'" the pupil interrupted him. "I know that there is a hell, -for I have been in it."</p> - -<p>"Well, Swedenborg has in his <i>Hell</i> a disrobing chamber into which the -deceased are conducted immediately after their death. There they lay -aside the dress they have had to wear in society and in the family. -Then the angels see at once whom they have before them."</p> - -<p>"Does Swedenborg then mean that we are all hypocrites?"</p> - -<p>"Yes, in a certain way. An inborn modesty compels us to conceal what -has to do with the animal; politeness obliges us to be silent on -many points. Consideration, friendship, kinship, love, oblige us to -overlook our neighbour's weaknesses, although we disapprove them even -in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_61" id="Page_61">[Pg 61]</a></span> ourselves. A man who is ashamed of his faults is also silent about -them. To boast of one's faults is shamelessness."</p> - -<p>"Can one really call such consideration hypocrisy?"</p> - -<p>"Hardly; especially as things go wrong, however one behaves."</p> - -<p>"Yes, life is not easy; it is hard to be a man; almost impossible."</p> - -<p class="p2"><b>The Character Mask.</b>—The teacher said: "I knew in my youth a man -who was imperious, quick to anger, revengeful, emotional. Accidentally -his gifts as a speaker were discovered. He could thrill the minds of -his hearers, bring them into touch with himself, lift them up—yes, and -nearly carry them away. But on one occasion when he was at the height -of his oratory he halted, became grotesque and ridiculous, and people -laughed. The first time that this happened, he was depressed. But they -thought he wished to produce a comical effect, and he obtained the -reputation of a humorous speaker.</p> - -<p>"Out of his misfortune he made a virtue, accepted the rôle which had -been assigned to him, and finally enjoyed a great popularity as a -humourist. He often felt annoyed at having<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_62" id="Page_62">[Pg 62]</a></span> to play the part of a -buffoon, but the desire to hear his own voice and to be greeted with -applause unceasingly spurred him on to win new triumphs.</p> - -<p>"Society had made of him a sort of 'homunculus,' which it cultivated. -But in his family and in his office it was not to be found."</p> - -<p class="p2"><b>Youth and Folly.</b>—The teacher said: "What do you think of the -proverb, 'The young <i>imagine</i> that the old are fools, and the old -<i>know</i> that the young are fools?'"</p> - -<p>"It is quite true. When I was young, I imagined that I understood -everything better than the old, but I really understood nothing. I -was young and stupid, confused my own knowledge with that of others', -believed that what I had learnt was my own. When I had read a book, I -went into society and proclaimed what I had read, as though it were my -own discovery, I was therefore a thief.</p> - -<p>"But I was the victim of another delusion, <i>i.e.</i> I believed that I -understood all that I remembered, or that I knew what I happened at -the moment to remember. For instance, when I was fourteen I did not -understand logarithms, but I learnt the way of proceeding with them by -heart, and used logarithms as a short-cut.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_63" id="Page_63">[Pg 63]</a></span></p> - -<p>"When one studies a science in detail, one begins to collect material, -else the result is nil. But the young man attacks the difficult science -of life without experience, <i>i.e.</i> without material. And the result is -what we see.</p> - -<p>"I can see myself now as a young student. How proud I was of borrowed -knowledge and borrowed plumes! How I despised the old! And yet all that -I had stolen from books was stolen from the old, who had written the -text-books. The young write no text-books. O Youth! O Foolishness!</p> - -<p class="p2"><b>When I was Young and Stupid.</b>—"When I was young and stupid, -I always had a band of hearers who saw a light in me. When I grew -older, and wisdom came, I was left alone with my lecture and regarded -as an old ass. But the passage from youth to age was bitter, when I -discovered that the old could not be deceived. They read my secret -thoughts behind my lofty words; they anticipated my evil purposes; they -unmasked my crude desires; they prophesied the results of my actions; -and found in my past the true cause of my present condition. They -seemed to me to be wizards and prophets, although they were simple -characters.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_64" id="Page_64">[Pg 64]</a></span></p> - -<p>"When I asked myself how they could know this and that, I found the -answer later—because they had collected material; because they had -passed through all the stages which were new to me; because they had -also tried to deceive the old in the same way, but had not succeeded. -Youth, however, is always believing that it can deceive old age, were -it only by stealing a thought from him. I know, moreover, why the -young obstinately imagine they are superior because they can deceive. -There are old wise men who have come to terms with life, and therefore -think it a duty to let themselves be deceived now and then; they let -themselves be deceived tastefully.</p> - -<p>"Youth is only an idea, an abstraction, a boast, a theme for an essay, -a song, a toast!"</p> - -<p class="p2"><b>Constant Illusions.</b>—The pupil continued: "When I was young I -was never really happy, because my seniors oppressed me, because the -future disquieted me, because I lived on my parents' money almost as -though I were a pensionary. When the first symptoms of love showed -themselves, life became a hell. I was never very well, for the -most serious illnesses—measles, scarlet fever, agues, croup, and -others—affect only<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65">[Pg 65]</a></span> the young. I could never satisfy an innocent -fancy, for I had no money; every desire was nipped in the bud. I was a -slave, for my time was not at my own disposal, and I could not leave -my place in order to visit foreign countries. Such is the huge humbug -which is called 'youth.' No one has dared to unmask it, for fear lest -the young might pelt him with stones, or draw caricatures of him on -the walls. The teachers in the schools crouch before them, flatter -them, pretend to envy them. If anyone comes who does not flatter these -shameless and conscienceless little bandits, these lewd apes who live -in the age of innocence, these parent-murderers—there is always some -old woman there who exclaims, 'Ah! he does not understand the young!' -He understands them very well, for he has been young himself. But the -young do not understand the old, for they have never been old.</p> - -<p>"The young assert that the future is in their hands, and that therefore -they are feared by the cowardly. Let us wait and see! If thirty per -cent, reach the future at all, they will work just as their elders -have done, and with the thoughts which they have borrowed from them. -Exceptions prove the rule."</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_66" id="Page_66">[Pg 66]</a></span></p> - -<p class="p2"><b>The Merits of the Multiplication-Table.</b>—The teacher said: "All -wish to haul at the rope called 'Development.' The word generally -signifies 'alteration,' and men usually love any novelty which does -not injure them. But there are some excellent things which are very -old, and therefore they remain unaltered. The multiplication-table, for -instance, is splendid, though it is said to be as old as Pythagoras. -The Rule of Three holds good, though it was the ancient Hindus who -discovered this law of causes and effects. The geometry of Euclid and -the logic of Aristotle is still read in the schools. Our architecture -imitates Greek and Roman models, and the sculpture of the ancients is -not despicable. We regulate our calendar very much as the Egyptians -and Chaldæans did. Goethe and Schiller can be read, and Shakespeare is -still performed.</p> - -<p>"We see, therefore, that not all which has been done in the past is to -be despised. He who prophesies that Christianity will disappear because -it is old, makes a miscalculation. Homer is a thousand years older. And -the Old Testament would first have to be cancelled. But Christianity -lives and flourishes, although it may be in secret and not published in -the newspapers. Still they sing in schools and barracks every morning,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_67" id="Page_67">[Pg 67]</a></span> -'Trust in God and in His word and strength in order to do good.'</p> - -<p>"But it must go hard with the Christians. 'In this world ye have -tribulation.' Through periodical seasons of bondage under Egyptian -Pharaohs, they learn patience till they begin their wanderings in the -wilderness."</p> - -<p class="p2"><b>Under the Prince of this World.</b>—The teacher wandered in -Qualheim and came to a town. In the midst of the chief market-place -there stood a bronze image of the destroyer of his country. The youth -of the place came out in holiday attire in order to celebrate the -hero's memory. The teacher asked his guide: "Why do they celebrate the -destroyer of the fatherland?"</p> - -<p>"I do not know," answered the guide.</p> - -<p>"Are they mad?"</p> - -<p>"Probably. Here below everything is topsy-turvy. This hero<a name="FNanchor_1_5" id="FNanchor_1_5"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_5" class="fnanchor">[1]</a> was -considered mad, and certainly he was so. He carried on mad wars, fled -when defeated, and cast the blame on others. When misfortune came -he collapsed like a weakling, took to his bed, and pretended to be -ill. In his leisure hours he plotted, but always ill. At last he made -false coins, but managed to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_68" id="Page_68">[Pg 68]</a></span> procure a scapegoat, who was broken on -the wheel. The country was ruined and could never recover its former -prestige."</p> - -<p>"And this is the man they celebrate?"</p> - -<p>"Yes! but they have other statues besides. There back in the park -stands one, crowned with a laurel-wreath. He was the wickedest man of -his time. And there by the harbour is a third statue—of a perjurer..."</p> - -<p>"That is just as it is with us," said the teacher.</p> - -<p>"Yes, it is about the same."</p> - -<p>"Where are we then?"</p> - -<p>"Under the Prince of this World, the Lord of Dung. 'But be of good -courage! I have overcome the world!'"</p> - - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_1_5" id="Footnote_1_5"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1_5"><span class="label">[1]</span></a> He probably refers to Charles XII of Sweden.</p></div> - - -<p class="p2"><b>The Idea of Hell.</b>—The pupil asked: "When I read Swedenborg's -<i>Hell</i>, I often believed he was describing our life on earth. Is it -possible that we are already there? As a Christian, I have learnt -that there was a Fall followed by a curse. Certainly life seems to me -rather an Inferno than a school and a prison, for nothing keeps what it -promises. The most beautiful things seem only made in order to become -ugly, the good in order to become bad."</p> - -<p>"Have you never seen anything permanently beautiful here below?"</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_69" id="Page_69">[Pg 69]</a></span></p> - -<p>"Yes, Nature at all seasons is so beautiful, that I exclaim with -a feeling of pain, 'How super-naturally beautiful! And we are so -hideous!' Life may also seem beautiful in a well-ordered family where -there is peace and happiness and festival. I have seen it so, but only -for two minutes at a time, and perhaps it was my way of looking at it."</p> - -<p>"Yet there are people who can thrive down here."</p> - -<p>"He who can thrive here is a pig. I know fellows who think they are in -Paradise when they are on a summer holiday, have a well-spread table -lit up by Chinese lanterns, and let off rockets. But 'Woe to the man -who is born sensitive!' says Rousseau. Either he goes under, or he must -arm himself with brutality. In the last case it may happen that he -cannot divest himself of the armour, which has become a second nature. -There are some extremely sensitive natures who cannot come to terms -with life nor touch reality. These unfortunates finally lose the power -of looking after themselves, and end in asylums."</p> - -<p class="p2"><b>Self-Knowledge.</b>—The teacher said: "One may have already lived -a long time, consider<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_70" id="Page_70">[Pg 70]</a></span> oneself a respectable man, and, as such, have -enjoyed the esteem of others. Then there comes a day when one awakes -as out of slumber, sees oneself as a spectre, is alarmed, and asks, -'Am I <i>that</i>' One discovers that one has done things which now appear -inexcusable. And one asks oneself, 'How could I?' On one occasion one -has even committed a crime; on another, one has been dragged, so to -speak, by the hair; on a third, one fell into a trap.</p> - -<p>"But there are men who are so sleepy that they never awake; and so -wanting in intelligence that they cannot see how black they are. Once I -had a friend who was sixty years old. On one occasion, with an outbreak -of stupid astonishment, he exclaimed, 'Why are people so prejudiced -against me? I seem to myself an excellent fellow!' And this man was -a tyrant who trampled men underfoot, a hired executioner, a murderer -who betrayed the innocent, took bribes, and practised simony and all -kinds of wickedness. I did not wish to condemn him, but tried to defend -him. Perhaps he felt justified in becoming an executioner, for there -must be such officials; so he adopted it as a profession. He had an -evil nature, and found it therefore natural or right when he acted -in accordance with it. He<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_71" id="Page_71">[Pg 71]</a></span> lived in complete harmony with himself, -and those who resembled him pronounced him a 'fine fellow'—'healthy, -naïve, and, therefore, excellent society.'</p> - -<p>"When he died, I drew a picture of his character for an acquaintance. -The latter was himself a black sheep, and answered quite naïvely, 'You -are unfair to him; I think he was a fine fellow.'"</p> - -<p class="p2"><b>Somnambulism and Clairvoyance in Everyday Life.</b>—-The teacher -said: "I am now fifty-eight years old, and have seen four generations. -I have not been pure-hearted, for all black blood streams into the -heart, but I have had moments in which I was transported into a -childlike, unconscious mood, and took delight in intercourse with men. -I knew that they hated me, laughed at my misfortune, and waited for my -fall. But I was immune against their malice. I saw in them only poor -men, who liked my company and were sympathetic with me. Even when they -made ill-natured jests against me, I did not understand them; and when -they gave vent to an open rudeness, I took it as a meaningless joke. -That is a kind of pleasant somnambulism.</p> - -<p>"Often, however, I can be wide-awake; then I see society naked; I see -their dirty linen beneath<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_72" id="Page_72">[Pg 72]</a></span> their clothes, their deformities, their -unwashed feet. But, worst of all, I hear the thoughts behind their -words; I see their gestures, which do not harmonise with what they say; -I intercept a side-glance; I notice a foot-stamp under the table, a -nose turning itself up over my wine, or a fork critically passing by a -dish.... Then life seems ghastly! I had a friend, who once in society -had an attack of this clairvoyance; he sat down on the middle of the -table, declared all he had seen in the course of the evening, and -stripped his friends bare. The result was, he was pronounced mad and -taken to an asylum.</p> - -<p>"There are many kinds of madness. Let us confess that!"</p> - -<p class="p2"><b>Practical Measures against Enemies.</b>—The pupil asked: "How can -I love my neighbour as myself? In the first place, I ought not to -love myself; secondly, I feel so out of sympathy with men, that it is -difficult to regard them as objects of love."</p> - -<p>The teacher answered: "The verb ἀγάπαω generally means only -'treating kindly,' and that you can manage to do."</p> - -<p>"But to love one's enemies is suicide."</p> - -<p>"You think so! But have you tried this<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_73" id="Page_73">[Pg 73]</a></span> method? It is very practical, -and I have tested it. Once against my worst enemy, who attacked my -honour and means of livelihood, I established a wholesome hatred like -a bulwark, as I thought. But my hatred became a conductor by which I -received the currents of his. They surprised me in my weak moments, and -his wickedness passed over to me. He grew to gigantic proportions, and -became a Frankenstein which I had myself produced.</p> - -<p>"Then I resolved to break the conductor. I avoided seeing him, and -never mentioned his name, for that is a kind of incantation. When -people spoke of him in society, I was silent, or threw in a friendly -word on his behalf. My Frankenstein pined away for want of nourishment, -and disappeared out of my thoughts. Finally information reached my -enemy that I had spoken good of him. He was struck with amazement, -dwindled down, felt ashamed of himself, and believed he had made a -mistake. Therefore, never speak ill of your enemy; that only rouses -people in his defence, and procures him friends. You see, therefore, -what deep wisdom lies in the simplest teaching of the Gospel, which you -believed yourself competent to criticise."</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_74" id="Page_74">[Pg 74]</a></span></p> - -<p class="p2"><b>The Goddess of Reason.</b>—The teacher continued: "The fact -that our intelligence finds so many contradictions and difficulties -in the great truths of religion is due not only to defects in our -understanding but to an evil will. The presumption of wishing to -understand God and His purposes is as though one attempted to steer a -frigate with an oar. Every Greek tragedy closes with a warning against -insolence and [Greek: hubris] Nothing is so displeasing to the gods.</p> - -<p>"Swedenborg says: 'As soon as we break our connection with what is -higher, our understanding is darkened. At the same time we are punished -by being allowed to imagine ourselves more illuminated than others.'</p> - -<p>"All the philosophers of the 'Illumination' grope in darkness. That -period of history which is jestingly called the 'Illumination' is the -darkest we have had. The goddess of reason, Mademoiselle Maillard, -was adored only by madmen. The truths of religion never contradict -reason until the latter has been clouded by an evil will. But then the -discoveries begin, and then every religious truth 'contradicts reason,' -such as the simple truth that God exists, that the Almighty can employ -unknown laws or suspend laws which He Himself has given, that He can -impart<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_75" id="Page_75">[Pg 75]</a></span> spiritual blessings by means of material symbols, and so on.</p> - -<p>"All 'free-thinking' is foolishness, for thought is not free, but bound -by the laws of thought, by logic, just as nature is bound by the laws -of nature. The evil will seeks freedom in order to do evil, and the -evil mind seeks freedom in order to think perversely."</p> - -<p class="p2"><b>Stars Seen by Daylight.</b>—The teacher said: "The fool lives only -for the present, for the moment, in the last fashionable error of the -day, in the diving-bell of his daily paper, in dependence on public -opinion, in the slavery of partisanship. The wise man lives in all -times. For him there is neither time nor space. He is present always -and everywhere; on this side and that side of the grave. He ranges -over the world's history and fathoms the depths of himself; he regards -himself as an inhabitant of the Universe, and not merely of the earth. -He feels himself related to Plato and Aristotle; holds converse with -the great spirits of the past in their writings. Sometimes he lives -in his childhood; sometimes in his mature age. He lives in the past, -as though it were present. He can 'think himself' into the lives of -others; he rejoices with the joyful, mourns<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_76" id="Page_76">[Pg 76]</a></span> with the sorrowful, -sympathises with the suffering. He feels on behalf of humanity; has -no age, no nation. He sees the record of to-day's conflict laid up in -historical archives, often without any other result. On the morrow, -to-day's wisdom is only straw, in which something else grows; even -errors are useful as manure. Everything serves. He bears everything, -for he hopes; and hope is a virtue; it means believing good of God.</p> - -<p>"Ephemeral flies get excited about trifles, and believe one can -discover new truths among the telegrams in the breakfast-table -newspaper. If a new star is discovered, they believe the others are -extinguished. But hitherto the new have all been extinguished. The new -star in Perseus appeared only for two years, and then it vanished. The -Chinese Y-King says, 'If one goes into one's tent, and makes it dark -about one, one can see the star Mei in the Archer in broad daylight.'</p> - -<p>"Retire then sometimes to your tent in the wilderness, and you will see -the stars by day."</p> - -<p class="p2"><b>The Right to Remorse.</b>—The pupil asked: "Is one right in feeling -remorseful for one's past, after discovering one's errors?"</p> - -<p>"If you mean by 'feeling remorse,' wishing the past undone, you are not -right, for in every<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_77" id="Page_77">[Pg 77]</a></span> man's life there is a rectifying element; every -error by being refuted becomes an involuntary occasion for the triumph -of truth. But if you mean by 'remorse,' hating yourself as a purveyor -of falsity, you are right. But say something in your own defence."</p> - -<p>"I can say this much: I was the child of an evil time; I was misled -by the seducers of my youth; I mention none of them. My understanding -was stronger than my divine reason. My flesh ruled over my spirit. My -inborn defiance of authority, my inherited sensitiveness of nature -received impressions, without stopping to criticise them. In a word, I -might call myself a victim of my seducers, of heredity, of my natural -weakness, and sensitiveness. The final awakening of my reason, however, -I reckon not as a merit of my own, but as a grace conferred upon me. -The fact that I have had sufficient time in which to refute my former -errors, I count as the greatest good-fortune which has ever befallen -me. Therefore I do not wish my past undone, although I abominate it."</p> - -<p class="p2"><b>A Religious Theatre.</b>—"It looks as though men did not think -very highly of themselves. If they see a maliciously satirical piece -represented,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_78" id="Page_78">[Pg 78]</a></span> they enjoy it without applying it to themselves. They -take it as intended only for others.</p> - -<p>"In my youth there was a dramatist, who was at first a satirist, but -finally came to feel sympathy with men. After his feelings had become -modified by his living a steady and fairly happy life, he saw men in -a more cheerful light. Accordingly, he wrote a piece portraying only -noble characters with fine feelings and warm hearts.</p> - -<p>"What happened? The public believed at first it was irony. But during -the second act they discovered their mistake. A voice exclaimed from -the stalls: 'Deuce take it! It is meant seriously!' The further the -piece progressed, the greater was the disgust! The audience felt -ashamed before each other, and for the author. Some hurried out, and -those who remained ended by laughing. They laughed at the goodness, -self-sacrifice, renunciation, forgiveness depicted in the piece. -They did not know themselves any more, and regarded the descriptions -as unnatural; real life, they said, was not like that; men were not -angels. It may therefore be risky to speak well of men. But one must -not forget that religious people do not visit the theatre, because the -theatre is godless. Greek tragedies used to commence with a sacrifice -to the gods,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_79" id="Page_79">[Pg 79]</a></span> and all tragedies deal with the powerlessness of men in -conflict with deities. Why do not our religious leaders build a theatre -in which one might see the evil unmasked and put to shame?"</p> - -<p class="p2"><b>Through Constraint to Freedom.</b>—The teacher continued: "This -world is governed by constraint. All men are dependent on one another -and press upon one another like the stones in a vaulted building—from -above, from below, from the sides. They watch and spy on one another. -There is therefore no freedom, and there can be none, in this edifice -which is called Government and Society.</p> - -<p>"The foundation-stones have the most to bear; therefore they must be -of granite, while the upper ones are of light brick. For there are -fancy-bricks, which support nothing, but are merely ornamental; they -are supported by others, feel themselves in the way and dispensable; -but they serve as ornaments, and of that they are aware.</p> - -<p>"He who demands more freedom than the rest, is a thief and tyrant; if -he withdraws himself from his burden, he lays it upon others. This -perpetual longing for freedom, which figures in biographies as a virtue -and a distinction, is really only a weakness. More strength is required -to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_80" id="Page_80">[Pg 80]</a></span> bear than to be home. The only justifiable striving after relative -freedom is, not to have to bear more than one ought. Therefore it is -the business of rulers to apportion the burdens precisely. But for -that, adequate knowledge, a mathematical gift, and a nice sense of -justice are necessary.</p> - -<p>"But behind this common longing after freedom lies another deeper one, -which is confused with the former. That is the sighing of creation for -deliverance from the bondage of the flesh. This has found its strongest -expression in St. Paul's exclamation: 'Oh, wretched man that I am! Who -shall deliver me from the body of this death?' But this freedom can -only be won by patiently bearing the constraint of this world. Through -constraint is the way to freedom therefore!"</p> - -<p class="p2"><b>The Praise of Folly.</b>—"In this world of foolishness one sees -constantly how fools smile even when their views are ratified by time. -That is, in truth, a silly smile. The fool says, 'We are here in order -to develop ourselves.' When they see a man who, in the course of -years, has grown wiser and more righteous, they should be glad that -their assertion is established. Instead of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_81" id="Page_81">[Pg 81]</a></span> that they make a malicious -grimace, and say scornfully, 'Yes, now you have grown old!' Yet we both -started with the assumption that wisdom should come with years. Let us -rejoice together that it is so. If the Devil really becomes a monk when -he is old, what a happiness and blessing for mankind that there is one -evil spirit the less. Is it not so? Why should they make a grimace at -it?</p> - -<p>"Voltaire was a scoffer and a bit of a knave up to old age. Finally, -however, he recovered his reason, just like lunatics shortly before -they die. And then he wrote of human life:</p> - -<p>"'Pleasure, in the freshness of youth, I sought thy deliciousness;</p> - -<p>"'Finally, in the winter of old age, I discover thy vanity;</p> - -<p>"'The thirst for reputation and honour makes men enemies to one -another. What was it that I thirsted for? Reputation is but vanity.</p> - -<p>"'Genius in its pride roams through realms of knowledge.</p> - -<p>"'But my knowledge only plagues me; knowledge is but vanity.'</p> - -<p>"But the fools make grimaces, when one of them recovers his reason. -Then they say, 'He has gone mad.'"</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_82" id="Page_82">[Pg 82]</a></span></p> - -<p class="p2"><b>The Inevitable.</b>—The teacher said: "The question, 'What has one -a right to feel remorse for?' is very complicated. I once followed the -career of a foreign writer. I read his works, which seemed to belong -to another world, with great admiration. His dramas all appeared to -breathe a melancholy fear of some unknown terror that was bound to -come. His philosophy was that of a saint. His landscapes seemed to be -bathed not in common air but in pure æther. He was then about forty -years old, and I expected every day to hear that he had gone into a -convent.</p> - -<p>"But afterwards I heard he had married an actress, with whom he went -about, and who appeared as a 'living statue' in one of his pieces. -He also wrote new dramas for her, and now, when they became cynical -and brutal, he achieved a greater popularity than he had ever been -able to gain before. He degraded his person, his genius, his wife; -and as he sank, I wept inwardly. One day I read in the paper that -she had deserted him, but that may have been false. The thought of -his fate tormented me; it seemed to have been predetermined. All his -dramas written while he was still unmarried treated of this terrible -thing which he foresaw and feared. It seemed to me as though he were -compelled to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_83" id="Page_83">[Pg 83]</a></span> take a mud-bath, and obliged to let himself be besmirched -by life precisely in this way. It seemed as though he had not the right -to ante-date heaven; as though he were not allowed to lead a pure, -saintly life. It is terrible, because it is inexplicable."</p> - -<p class="p2"><b>The Poet's Sacrifice.</b>—The teacher continued: "This man's -destiny reminds me of the Indian drama, <i>Urvasi</i>. A penitent who -withdraws to solitude in order to purify his soul by renunciation, may -finally attain such lofty spiritual heights that his power may become -dangerous to the lower deities. In order to hinder such a penitent in -his spiritual development, the god Indra sent an Apsara, a sort of -celestial courtesan, in order to distract and seduce him.</p> - -<p>"Does not that resemble the case which I mentioned just now? How can -the one who has been seduced feel guilty in such a case, or have -the right to repent a wrong he did not do? Now a poet is something -different to a recluse, and in order to be able to describe life in -all its aspects and dangers he must first have lived it. What sort of -a poet would Shakespeare have been if he had lived as a steady young -fellow, continued in his father's honourable<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_84" id="Page_84">[Pg 84]</a></span> profession, and in -leisure hours written about his little affairs? Although one does not -know much about the great Englishman, one sees from his works what a -stormy life he must have led. There is hardly a misfortune which he -has not experienced, hardly a passion which he has not felt. Hate and -love, revenge and lust, murder and fire, all seem to have come within -the circle of his experience as a poet. A real poet must sacrifice -his person for his work. I can conceive of a symbolical monument to -Shakespeare under the figure of Hercules kindling his own pyre on Mount -Oeta, sacrificing his opulent life as an offering for mankind. That is -a good idea, is it not?"</p> - -<p>The pupil answered: "Truly you have the power of binding and loosing; -now you have loosed me."</p> - -<p class="p2"><b>The Function of the Philistines.</b>—The teacher said: "Israel -had some unpleasant neighbours called Philistines, who guarded the -coast-line along the sea. They worshipped weird gods, such as Dagon -the Fish-god, Beelzebub the Lord of Dung, and Astarte. But unpleasant -though they were, they seemed to have had a part to play in the -life of Israel. As soon as the chosen<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_85" id="Page_85">[Pg 85]</a></span> people abandoned the temple, -the Philistines came and closed the sanctuary, set the Lord of Dung -upon the altar, and burned incense before the Fish-god. As often as -the children of Israel quarrelled among themselves, the Philistines -advanced irresistibly. The hand of the Lord was with them, so that they -punished and chastised their enemies. Once they took possession of the -Ark of the Covenant.</p> - -<p>"We have our Philistines on the Bosphorus; they are called Turks. When -the Christians were unfaithful to their Lord, the Turk took possession -of Christ's grave, and St. Sophia became a mosque. Whenever the -Christians fought with each other, the Turk appeared. After the Thirty -Years' War, when the Christians had tom each other like bloodhounds, -the Turk came as far as Vienna, and the Crescent surmounted the Cross -in Hungary."</p> - -<p>The pupil asked: "Why do not the great powers recapture the Holy -Sepulchre and the Church of St. Sophia? They could do it in a moment!"</p> - -<p>"I do not know. Perhaps they cannot. We need our Philistine, the -bogie-man with whom one frightens children. In France the churches were -shut by the pagans when people ceased<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_86" id="Page_86">[Pg 86]</a></span> to attend Mass. Now they set up -the Lord of Dung on the altar. Marat, in his time, was buried in the -Pantheon; but when Christ reentered, Marat was thrown into the sewer. -The last to obtain apotheosis in the Pantheon was an engineer, who had -a single merit—that of being murdered by a friend of freedom. When we -become Christians again, we shall receive back both the Holy Sepulchre -and Santa Sophia. We do not need to take them. Such is the great -function of the Philistines in the spiritual economy of nature."</p> - -<p class="p2"><b>World-Religion.</b>—The teacher continued: "Goethe wrote in his -youth a treatise maintaining that the religion imposed by the State was -the most favourable for the maintenance of the State."</p> - -<p>The pupil objected: "But how will it fare with the individual -conscience?"</p> - -<p>"As it has done hitherto. The State determines the views of the -individual in geometry, botany, history, and religion, by instruction -in the schools, by religious services in the colleges, and prayers in -camps and barracks."</p> - -<p>"But what about freedom of belief and thought?"</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_87" id="Page_87">[Pg 87]</a></span></p> - -<p>"We have already agreed that there is no freedom, but that all is -dependence and compulsion enforced by mutual pressure. Therefore misuse -not the sacred name of freedom. During the course of my long life, -I have often thought I could interpret the intention of Providence -thus: If all religious forms fell off like husks, and only the kernels -remained, they might grow together like botanical cells, and form a -single plant—a world-tree, under whose shadow all nations might rest -in devotion and in unity." The teacher continued: "I had also believed -that I had noticed there is a special purpose in the intermingling of -races which is now proceeding. This has already gone so far, that in -my insignificant family, which is registered as Scandinavian, we find -traces of all the five quarters of the world."</p> - -<p>"But do you really believe it?"</p> - -<p>"I do not know."</p> - -<p>"And do you think that all nations will be united in a common -Christianity?"</p> - -<p>"I do not know! But the promise to Abraham, 'In thy seed shall -all nations be blessed,' has already been fulfilled by Abraham's -descendant, Jesus Christ. As a matter of fact, Christian Europe and -the western hemisphere of North<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_88" id="Page_88">[Pg 88]</a></span> and South America rule the world. -And before the actual reality, our wishes, ideas, theories, and -anticipations collapse."</p> - -<p class="p2"><b>The Return of Christ.</b>—The pupil asked: "Are we to expect the -promised return of Christ?"</p> - -<p>"Christ Himself answered this importunate question of his disciples by -saying, 'The Kingdom of God is among you.' And when He left them He -said, 'Behold, I am with you always till the end of the world.'"</p> - -<p>"Good. But how is Christ's Kingdom to be set up on earth?"</p> - -<p>"Not by crusades, as you perhaps believe. You know that there are -plants which cannot simultaneously thrive in the same ground; one kind -must die out. So there are races which cannot dwell together in the -same land. As soon as Christians become Christians again, the pagans -do not thrive, and depart. Just like the giants who got earache when -they heard the sound of church-bells, sniffed and snorted when they -smelt Christian blood, and finally slunk back into their caves. One -ought to be tolerant, but not to carry it so far as to take down the -church-bells or lay the cross low, because they make the giants ill. -Swedenborg says that the gift of free-will is never<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_89" id="Page_89">[Pg 89]</a></span> revoked, and that -therefore the damned themselves choose their own hell. If they come -into a purer air, they are tested; if they happen to get into good -company, they do not thrive, and cast themselves headlong into the -region of the Lord of Dung. There they find an environment in which -they can breathe. If therefore you wish to fly evil companionship, you -need not shut your door. Only acquire an upright character, and your -fellows will shun you like the pest."</p> - -<p class="p2"><b>Correspondences.</b>—The teacher said: "We have discussed -Swedenborg's hells and found that they are partly states of mind, and -partly resemble earthly life under certain conditions. I remember -now certain striking details in them, which bring to my mind certain -experiences of everyday life. The fire of hell consists, he says, -partly in this, that passions are aroused, only to be mocked and -punished; partly in the kindling of desires, which really must be -gratified, but die away immediately afterwards since suffering consists -in missing something. Do you know that?" "Yes, I know it." "Further, -when heavenly light reaches the damned, an icy chill pervades their -veins, and their blood ceases to flow. Do you know that?" "Yes, I know -it!<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_90" id="Page_90">[Pg 90]</a></span> And I remember once when I was very wicked a good man began to -talk kindly to me. I was not warmed thereby, but began to feel so cold -in the room where I was, that I put on my overcoat." "Further, they -wander about lonely and gloomy: they hunger, and have nothing to eat; -they go to houses, and ask for work, but when they get it, they go -their way, to be tormented again by ennui. But when they return, the -doors are shut; they must work for food and clothing, and have a harlot -for a companion, is that so?" "It is!" "The ruling principles of hell -are: the desire to rule from self-love; the desire for other people's -goods from love of the world; the desire for dissipation. The ruling -principles of heaven are: the desire to rule with a good object; the -desire for money and property, in order to use them for the benefit of -others; the desire for marriage."</p> - -<p class="p2"><b>Good Words.</b>—The pupil asked: "Does Swedenborg never speak a -good word to comfort and cheer one?"</p> - -<p>The teacher answered: "Yes, certainly he does. He says, for example, -'The chosen are those who have conscience; the reprobate are those -who have no conscience.' That agrees<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_91" id="Page_91">[Pg 91]</a></span> with Socrates' definition of -a man as a being possessing both modesty and conscience. In another -place Swedenborg thus explains temptations: 'Evil spirits arouse in -the memory of a man all the evil and falsity which he has thought and -practised since childhood; but the angels who accompany him produce his -goodness and truth, and in this manner defend him. It is this conflict -which causes pangs of conscience.</p> - -<p>"'When a man is tried with respect to his understanding, evil spirits -summon up only the evil deeds which he has committed. These are -symbolised by unclean animals. The evil spirits accuse and condemn by -distorting the truth in a thousand ways.'</p> - -<p>"Swedenborg also mentions a kind of spirits who raise scruples about -trifles, and thus trouble the consciences of the unwary. Their presence -arouses a feeling of discomfort at the pit of the stomach, and they -take delight in burdening the conscience. Finally there are some -pagans from the countries inhabited by black men, who bring with them -from their earthly life the wish to be treated hardly, under the idea -that no one can enter heaven without having suffered punishments and -torments. <i>Because they have this belief</i>,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_92" id="Page_92">[Pg 92]</a></span> they are at first treated -hardly by some whom they call devils.</p> - -<p>"In another place Swedenborg says: 'There are no devils except bad -men.' One word more. The Master met some in a state of despair, who -believed that pain would be everlasting. 'But it was given me to -comfort them.' These are good words for you."</p> - -<p class="p2"><b>Severe and not Severe.</b>—The pupil objected: "But Swedenborg is -in general too severe."</p> - -<p>The teacher answered: "No! it is not he, but life which is severe, and -life's laws are severe for the unrighteous. The Master says: 'Women -who attain to power and wealth from the lower ranks often become -furies; but women who are born to power and wealth, and do not uplift -themselves, are happy.' 'To renounce the pleasures of life,' he says, -'and wealth and power, with the idea of earning heaven by asceticism, -is a false view.'</p> - -<p>"We know that Swedenborg was temperate in everyday life, but went -willingly into society, and then he allowed himself a <i>poculum -hilaritatus,</i> a cup of cheer. He declares himself decisively against -those who retreat from the world: 'Many think it is hard to lead a -life which conducts to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_93" id="Page_93">[Pg 93]</a></span> heaven, because they have heard that, for this -object, one must renounce the world and live to the spirit. By this -they understand that one must cut oneself off from all that is earthly, -and devotes one's whole life to spiritual contemplation and devotion. -But that it is not really so, I have learned through long experience. -He who thus separates from the world in order to live to the spirit, -enters a gloomy life, which is irreceptive of the joy of heaven. In -order to prepare for heaven one must live in the world in activity and -employment.... I have spoken with some who had withdrawn from their -occupations in order to live a spiritual life, and also with some -who had tormented themselves in various ways, because they believed -they ought to suppress the desires of the flesh.... As a rule they -are puffed up with pride, and regard heavenly joy as a reward without -knowing what heaven and heavenly joy is.'"</p> - -<p>The pupil interrupted: "This seems to be the case with the pietists."</p> - -<p>"Not with all. There are among them penitents, or those who really -prepare for death. Leave the pietists in peace, and don't try to sever -the wheat from the chaff.... Religion should not merely be a Sunday -suit, but a gentle<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_94" id="Page_94">[Pg 94]</a></span> accompaniment to mitigate the ponderous tones of -everyday life. But one must not be cowardly or indifferent, as so many -modern Christians are. When they hear the big words 'Development,' -'Modern Thought,' 'Science,' they think at once that Christianity is a -thing of the past. If they read in the papers that the Lice-King has -overcome the Christians, they believe at once that God has forsaken His -own. They forget that the Egyptian bondage was an education for Canaan, -and that the Philistines were employed as goads to spur on the lazy.</p> - -<p>"Unbelief, superstition, deliberate falsehood, error—all serve the -Truth, for all things serve. And to him who loves God, all things turn -out for good."</p> - -<p class="p2"><b>Yeast and Bread.</b>—"The neo-pagans who have now rushed forward -on the stage, and believe they are the lords of the world because they -serve the Prince of the World, seem to be a sediment of savage races -which by marriage and immigration have penetrated the old nations of -Europe like yeast. Yeast fulfils its function in the warmth of the -oven, but is itself changed into gases and disappears, leaving bubbles -and holes behind. The dough remains, changed into mellow,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_95" id="Page_95">[Pg 95]</a></span> low, crisp, -white, fragrant, warm bread. Yeast is a kind of mould produced by -corruption, yet it must be present in order to make white bread.</p> - -<p>"Everything serves! But mould by itself can make no bread. One ought -therefore not to be angry with the pagans, for they know no better. -To enlighten them is difficult; one can locate a grey star, but not a -black one. One ought not to fear them, for then they bite. But they -must have their day. 'I have seen the wicked in great power, and -spreading himself like a green tree in its native soil; but I passed -by, and, lo, he was not; yea, I sought him, but he could not be found.'"</p> - -<p class="p2"><b>The Man of Development.</b>—The pupil asked: "Can the pagans really -not be enlightened?"</p> - -<p>"Experience has shown that it is almost impossible. For a blockhead -cannot understand the simplest things; he cannot see the self-evident -nature of an axiom. If he is systematically followed by misfortune, -he calls it 'bad-luck'; if he is prostrated with illness, he rises -as stupid as he was before; if he gets into prison, he sits there -and meditates new tricks; if he lies on the rack, he thinks he is -suffering for his faith, although he has not got any; from warnings -and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_96" id="Page_96">[Pg 96]</a></span> trials he emerges as great a calf as he was before, for he has no -intelligence. All the denizens of the dunghill praise his firmness of -character, his strength of soul, his strong belief in his cause. He is -sixty years old, and he has worked for 'development,' but he has not -been able to develop himself. He hawks about the same rubbish as he -did forty years ago, when he discovered what he called 'the truth' in -the books of his teachers; he has never produced an original thought, -nor obtained a new view of an old subject. He has stood still, but the -world has gone forward; he believed he was leading the van, when he -was bringing up the rear. Christianity beckoned, but crab-like he went -backward to paganism. Such is the man of 'development.' Do you know -him?"</p> - -<p>"I have known him, but renounced his acquaintance."</p> - -<p class="p2"><b>Sins of Thought.</b>—The teacher said: "According to Luther, man -is a child till his fortieth year. I was a child till my fiftieth, -<i>i.e.</i> unintelligent, conceited. I believed that I was inaccessible and -irresponsible as regards my thoughts. But I was obliged to change my -opinion when I began to observe myself. I discovered, that is, that<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_97" id="Page_97">[Pg 97]</a></span> -when I had sinned, hated, killed, stolen, though only in thought, and -then came into the company of friends, they treated me ruthlessly, -as though I were a murderer or a thief. I could not explain, but -finally believed that my evil thoughts were legible in my face. And -when I observed that my friends began to touch on precisely the same -unpleasant subject which had occupied my secret thoughts, I saw that -so-called thought-reading is daily and hourly practised in social life.</p> - -<p>"When subsequently I read Maeterlinck's fine book, <i>The Treasure of -the Humble</i>, my belief in this was strengthened, for he made the same -observation. When I finally took in hand my own spiritual education, I -found that this was the principal point, and by watching my thoughts -I prevented them breaking out into action. Now for the first time -I understood why I had so often in my life thought myself unjustly -accused and punished for offences which I had not committed. I confess -now that I had committed them in thought. But how did men know that? -Assuredly there is a hidden justice which punishes sins of thought, -and when men make each other accountable for suspicions, ugly looks or -feelings, they are right. That is a hard saying, but it is so."</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_98" id="Page_98">[Pg 98]</a></span></p> - -<p class="p2"><b>Sins of Will.</b>—The teacher continued: "There are also sins -of wish and volition. You know that one can hate and worry a man -dead. I was once in a watering-place in which the hotel proprietor -had introduced a sort of monopoly. He had arrogated to himself the -privilege of alone providing food for the boarders. He starved them by -cooking the goodness out of the meat before he roasted it, by making -soup of rye-meal, and so on. The boarders were patient, and no one -wished to make a disturbance. But their hatred of the man increased. -After a month I observed that the hotel proprietor began to look yellow -in the face and to pine away. As he sat at his bar he became the -object of glances full of hatred. At last, one day, the whole company, -a hundred in number, rose during the midday meal and departed. Then -the proprietor became ill of a liver disease. It seemed as though the -collected gall of all the guests had somehow transferred itself to his -liver, and curdled there. He vanished; they had killed him. But their -hatred was this time justified, or quite natural.</p> - -<p>"When, however, we hate a man because he will not admire us or further -our selfish interests, we may become simply murderers. That, however, -depends on the behaviour of the other.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_99" id="Page_99">[Pg 99]</a></span> If he is innocent in the -matter, he will be immune and irreceptive of the poison. I know a -person who hated me because she could not rob me. She was a servant to -whom I had shown nothing but kindness. Her hate did not affect me so -long as I was upright."</p> - -<p class="p2"><b>The Study of Mankind.</b>—The teacher said: "One ought not to -attempt to study men. Partly because they do not lay themselves open -to be studied, partly because they are aware when they became objects -of deliberate investigation. He who does not give himself, receives -nothing. He who does not approach men in a spirit of sympathy, finds -no point of contact with them. When I regard them as companions in -misfortune, fellow-wanderers in the wilderness, they open themselves to -me. If I expose myself, I show a confidence in them, which meets with -a response. If I approach them with suspicion, they show suspicion. -If anyone visits me, in order to examine me, I let him sit for his -portrait to me.</p> - -<p>"When I have had frank intercourse for a considerable time with a man, -and then sum up his characteristics in my recollection, I get a fair -idea of him, but never quite a correct one. Men have a right to hide -their secrets. When I was<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_100" id="Page_100">[Pg 100]</a></span> young and unintelligent, I believed that, as -an author, I had a right to investigate the past of others; but I soon -discovered that it is not allowed. They seemed to be guarded.</p> - -<p>"He who says one ought to be so on guard in one's intercourse with a -friend, as though he might some day become an enemy, has had little -pleasure in friendship. I have always behaved to men as though they -were going to be my friends for life, and therefore I have received -something in return. When they have disappointed me, I have said to -myself. 'What matters it? Nothing for nothing!'"</p> - -<p class="p2"><b>Friend Zero.</b>—The teacher continued: "There are people who -seem friendly, harmless, considerate; they leave others in peace, -never pry into their affairs, never say evil behind people's backs, -nor allow evil to be said. I have admired and envied them for their -good natural qualities. But among such persons I have found some who -keep remote from unpleasantnesses out of pure selfishness, and who out -of love for ease and comfort wish to know nothing of other people's -affairs in order not to be drawn into them. These are those who will -not give evidence in court, even for the sake of defending a friend. -They<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_101" id="Page_101">[Pg 101]</a></span> are silent when they ought to speak. They avoid recommending a -relative on the plea that 'they do not know him.' When their names -are mentioned as authorities for such and such a report, they have -'lost their memories.' They will not lend money to anyone who needs -it, because 'they do not wish to have a disagreement with him.' They -have no positive virtues, and no positive faults. Consequently they -are colourless, unreliable, characterless, formless; they can not be -classified under any system.</p> - -<p>"I once knew one of these for ten years; then I forgot him. Twenty -years later I found some of my old letters in an attic; among them were -hundreds of letters from my formless friend. I was astonished to find -that I had had such a lengthy correspondence with him. And I looked -to see what he had had to say. I read five-and-twenty letters. They -contained nothing. I read fifty; the result was the same—nothing. -They consisted solely of handwriting, ink, paper, envelopes, and -postage-stamps. I burnt them and forgot Friend Zero henceforth. He did -not even leave a memory behind him."</p> - -<p class="p2"><b>Affable Men.</b>—The teacher said: "When I have seen a -character-drama, I have always asked<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_102" id="Page_102">[Pg 102]</a></span> myself, 'Are men really so simple -and transparent?' There is a kind of men about whom one can never be -certain. They are so disposed by nature that they adapt themselves to -their companions out of pure affability. Such a man once came into my -circle; I found him sympathetic, lovable, good-natured. On one occasion -I imparted to a third person my opinion of my affable friend. He -answered, 'You don't know him! He is a malicious man; he has only put -on an air of affability with you.'</p> - -<p>"Then there came a fourth: 'He! He is the falsest man in existence!' -Finally his wife came: 'No! he is neither malicious nor false; he only -wants to be on good terms with people.'</p> - -<p>"At the beginning of our acquaintance (he confessed it himself later -on), he had determined to win me by affability, and to preserve my -affection by doing everything, or nearly everything, that I wished. He -also abstained from contradicting me. During a whole year I never heard -him express a view of his own; he only repeated my thoughts. I believed -he had no will, no views, not even feelings. He seemed to me to be a -mirror in which I was reflected; I never found him, only myself. Then I -became tired of him, did not know how to hold myself in, and asked<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_103" id="Page_103">[Pg 103]</a></span> him -to do something wrong. Then at last I discovered the man himself. With -an unparalleled strength of character, he left wife, child, and home! -In order 'to save his soul,' as he said. 'Have you then got a soul?' I -asked. 'Judge for yourself,' he answered, and departed.</p> - -<p>"It is dangerous to be affable, and it is dangerous to consider men -simple."</p> - -<p class="p2"><b>Cringing before the Beast.</b>—The teacher said: "When a man once -yields to desire, the ceasing of a certain restraint carries with it a -feeling of freedom and deliverance. This pleasurable feeling we almost -regard as a reward, and conclude that we have acted rightly when we -have thrown a bone to the barking dog. But had we forborne to do so, -the dog would not have formed the habit of barking, and we might have -gone our way in the proud consciousness of not having cringed before -the beast, by bribing it to silence. The feeling of pleasure would have -been changed into a consciousness of victory and power, which is far -superior to sensuality.</p> - -<p>"Never cringe before the beast; then it will not get the better of -you. The suppression of an unlawful desire is like winding up a watch; -the mainspring contracts till it creaks, but it<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_104" id="Page_104">[Pg 104]</a></span> does not do its work -properly till then. Preserve your strength for yourself; then you will -conquer your foes in the battles of life. Waste not your virile energy, -or the woman will get the better of you.</p> - -<p>"You know very well what I mean by 'desire': I do not mean moderate -eating and drinking; and you know very well what 'waste' means. You -must also not believe that desire decreases with age. It is not so; but -the intelligence and will-power increase, and therefore the victory is -proportionably easier. I make you a present of this explanation: keep -it, and show that you are intelligent enough to be able to receive a -real one."</p> - -<p class="p2"><b>Ecclesia Triumphans.</b>—The teacher said: "The world is full of -lies, but there are also errors and misunderstandings. No two men give -words the same meaning. But there are persistent lies which circulate -like coins. There are lies of the lower classes, and lies of the upper -classes; lies of the Catholics and of the Protestants. But those of -the pagans are the worst of all. They believe they have the right to -lie, because it profits them or their friends. One of the greatest -lies of the pagans which misled me for a long time is the false -assertion that Japan has accepted the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_105" id="Page_105">[Pg 105]</a></span> material culture of Europe, but -rejected Christianity. Two Japanese professors, who lately visited our -land, declared on the contrary that there was a Christian church in -each of the larger towns of Japan. There are Christians in the army, -parliament, and universities. Their number is great—five-and-forty -thousand Protestants, eight-and-fifty thousand Catholics, and -five-and-twenty thousand adherents of the Greek Church. In the Second -Chamber of the Japanese parliament two of the presidents have become -Christians. And all that has taken place in thirty-five years. A -thousand years pass by like nothing, and the future seems to belong to -Christianity, since we have already seen that the chief powers of the -world, Europe and America, are Christian.</p> - -<p>"There is certainly no obligation to be a Christian, but some day -it may be a disgrace not to be one, when one is born in a Christian -country. It may come to be thought retrograde and conservative, and a -failure to keep pace with development. The pagans celebrated the end of -the eighteenth century as marking the overthrow of Christianity, but in -1802 appeared the finest book which has been written on Christianity, -<i>Le Génie du Christianisme</i>, by Chateaubriand, and by its means the -Church triumphed again."</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_106" id="Page_106">[Pg 106]</a></span></p> - -<p class="p2"><b>Logic in Neurasthenia.</b>—As the Teacher wandered in Qualheim, he -came into a mountainous region, and saw a castle which was of dreamlike -beauty. "Who is the enviable man who lives in such a palace?" he -asked. His guide answered: "He is an unhappy, helpless hermit, without -peace, and without a home. He was born with great artistic gifts, but -employed them on rubbish. He drew nonsensical and trifling caricatures, -distorted all that was beautiful into ugliness, and all that was great -into pettiness."</p> - -<p>"How does he occupy himself now?"</p> - -<p>"Shall I say it? He sits from morning till evening, making balls out of -dung."</p> - -<p>"You mean to say, he continues as he began. Is that his punishment?"</p> - -<p>"Yes! Isn't it logical? He obtained the castle, but cannot use it." -Then they went further and came into a garden, where they found a man -grafting peaches on turnips. "What has he done?" asked the teacher. "In -life he was especially fond of turnips, and now he wishes to inoculate -peaches, which he finds insipid, with the fine flavour of turnips. He -was, moreover, an author, and wished to rejuvenate poetry with bawdy -peasant songs." "Why, that is symbolism!" "Yes, and logical most of -all."</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_107" id="Page_107">[Pg 107]</a></span></p> - -<p>Then they came to a cottage, where they found a man lying on a bed, -surrounded by piles of books. The man had read himself ill; he lay -there exhausted by hunger and thirst, and could hardly breathe.</p> - -<p>"What is he reading?" asked the teacher.</p> - -<p>"Only theology, exegetics, dogmatics, isogogy, eschatology. During -lifetime he denied the existence of God. Now he seeks Him in theology, -but has not yet found Him."</p> - -<p>"Will he find Him?"</p> - -<p>"Yes, certainly he will. But he must first seek!"</p> - -<p>"Why, it is just like that in our lunatic asylums."</p> - -<p>"And there is logic in neurasthenia, here as there."</p> - -<p class="p2"><b>My Caricature.</b>—The teacher said: "Men often appear in our lives -as though they were sent; we do not know why they interfere with our -destiny; they themselves perhaps do not know. When I was a young man -who gave promise of a future, which I had not fulfilled, I received as -a colleague in my work a man whom I at once felt to be antipathetic to -me, and who hated me. But he sought me, drew me out, and compelled me -to drink, although I was not exactly difficult<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_108" id="Page_108">[Pg 108]</a></span> to persuade. He drank -himself terribly, and often I thought he wished to make me drink myself -to death. When half-intoxicated, he always made personal remarks on -me, both flattering and critical. He also appeared as a charlatan, -professing to know and prophesy my destiny. This sometimes attracted -me, and sometimes repelled me.</p> - -<p>"Finally, on one occasion when intoxicated, he attacked me before -others, and called me 'a humbug who would come to nothing.' I was at -that time fully conscious of my vocation as author; excited by the -attack, and being partially in liquor, I made a presumptuous assertion -that I would be 'great.' Then the man fell in a rage and swore by -h—l that I should not be great. After this our ways divided. My -friends noticed it, and asked, 'Do you not go about any more with your -caricature?' 'What do you mean by that?' I asked. 'His face was really -a caricature of yours.' And so it was.</p> - -<p>"Two years afterwards I emerged from the ruck, and remember that my -thoughts turned back to the mysterious person who had interested -himself in my destiny. Somewhat later I heard that the man had died -at twenty-seven years of age under peculiar circumstances. He was -standing<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_109" id="Page_109">[Pg 109]</a></span> on a mountain in the evening of Midsummer Day when he had -a stroke. 'He flew asunder like a goblin in the sunlight,' I said -jocosely.</p> - -<p>"This man looked like a Hun or a death's-head. He was born in the -seventh month, and preserved by being wrapped in wadding and laid in a -corner of the tiled stove. But that explains nothing perhaps?"</p> - -<p class="p2"><b>The Inexplicable.</b>—The teacher continued: "He had, however, a -peculiar influence over people, and that not only because he flattered -them. I saw him when he was twenty-five years old talking with our -foremost statesman, who was then fifty. The widely experienced, -sceptical politician listened to the ill-dressed unwashed man, -flushed with wine, who almost monopolised the talk. He claimed an -authoritative knowledge of all subjects, teemed with facts and -figures, alluded to all prominent men as old acquaintances, was well -versed in family chronicles and political intrigues. 'Where did he -get all that?' I asked someone. 'I don't know, but he is a remarkable -man with great influence,' was the answer. In addition to his other -characteristics I can mention this: with all his coarseness he had -traits of sensitiveness. He wept when he read of the cruelties<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_110" id="Page_110">[Pg 110]</a></span> in -the Russo-Turkish war. He loved beautiful poetry. He had a chivalrous -enthusiasm for women. He gave out his money generously, but when he -was tipsy he was stingy. Demons plagued him, and he used to roam in -the woods alone; but he always smashed his top-hat first. One could -see into his nostrils, and, when he laughed, all his back teeth could -be counted. He always wore too long trousers on which he trod, for he -was in the habit of walking on his heels. He was beardless like Attila, -because his cheeks simply consisted of nerves.</p> - -<p>"But what had he to do with my destiny, and whence sprang his boundless -hatred for me? It is inexplicable, like so much else."</p> - -<p class="p2"><b>Old-time Religion.</b>—The pupil said: "I have heard, I -have thought; now I will speak. I believe in Christianity as a -world-historical fact, with which a new era has begun and proceeds. I -believe that all nations will one day bow the knee in the name of Jesus -Christ. Every time that the pagans gain the upper hand, I will regard -it as a test, and not immediately believe that God is with them against -His own.</p> - -<p>"But let us have a simple, cheerful Christianity which gathers all -to the Sunday festival. Regard<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_111" id="Page_111">[Pg 111]</a></span> it as a misuse of God's name to have -religious services every day. Simplify the dogmas and keep them -flexible so that all may find a place in them. Shorten the services; -let praise, thanks, and worship predominate, and let the sermon, which -should be only twenty minutes long, be subordinate. The preacher should -stick to his text, and not make personal allusions like a journalist. -Not till that is done will one be able to talk of 'assemblies,' of -national festivals like the Pan-Athenæan and Olympian games.</p> - -<p>"But it is madness to put pagans at the head of a Christian State -as teachers, educators, or officials. That is not tolerance, but -tomfoolery. That is making the goat the gardener, setting the foe -in the fortress, playing the coward before public opinion, and mere -weakness.</p> - -<p>"There will come a day in which the name 'Christian' will be a title -of honour and a diploma of nobility. To say 'I am a Christian' is -equivalent to saying 'I am a Roman citizen.' He who dares to call -himself a pagan or an atheist, will be regarded as a blockhead, an -old-fashioned ass, a conservative reactionary, a stick-in-the-mud."</p> - -<p class="p2"><b>The Seduced Become Seducers.</b>—The pupil continued: "The reason -why it has been so<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_112" id="Page_112">[Pg 112]</a></span> hard for me and many others to become really -Christian, is that we are all directly descended from the pagans. -We were not acclimatised in the Christian atmosphere, but liable to -wild impulses; our flesh was too coarse to endure renunciation and -restraint. We had been educated in the evolutionary ape-theory, and -been taught that man belongs to the department of zoology and not -that of anthropology. We had also been told that the physical process -that precedes the New Birth of the soul, which is called conversion -from evil, was neurasthenia, and should be treated with warm baths or -bromkali. Veterinary doctors held professorships of philosophy and -introduced zoology as a compulsory subject in priests' examinations. -The servants of the Lord learnt that religion was a deposit from the -tertiary period, that animals were more religious than man, and that -man had created God. The seducer of our youth taught us that the -Life of Jesus was a lubricous novel, that the doctrine of the Bible -regarding Christ simply amounted to this—that He was a prominent -Galilæan; and finally, that the superman was the bandit who may commit -any outrage against others, provided he can prove a false alibi and has -no witnesses.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_113" id="Page_113">[Pg 113]</a></span></p> - -<p>"It was a terrible period which recalled that of the Roman emperors, -and like that, heralded the arrival of Christianity. We, who had been -seduced, then became seducers. But we thank God that no harm was done. -Everything serves, and we had to serve as a terrifying example. There -is always something.</p> - -<p class="p2"><b>Large-hearted Christianity.</b>—"But we ought not to frighten men -with Christianity, nor become hair-splitters. Let faith be a uniting -bond to lead us onward, let faith be hope in a better life after this, -a connecting-link with that which is higher. Let the fruits of faith -be seen to be humanity, resignation, mercifulness. But don't go and -count how many glasses of whisky your neighbour drinks; don't call him -a hypocrite if he once in a while gives way to the flesh, or if he is -angry and says hard words. Don't ask how often he goes to church; don't -spy on his words, if in an access of ill-humour he speaks otherwise -than he would. You cannot see whether in solitude he does not regret it -and chastens himself. A white lie or the embellishment of a story is -not a deadly sin; an impropriety can be so atoned for by imprisonment -that it ought to be forgotten. Do not secede from the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_114" id="Page_114">[Pg 114]</a></span> Church because -of some dogmas which you do not understand. Don't form a sect with the -idea of raising yourself to the rank of shepherd, instead of forming -part of the flock. One should have a large-hearted Christianity for -daily use, and a stricter one for festival days.</p> - -<p>"Don't talk about religion. It is too good for that.... Virtue consists -in striving, even when it does not always succeed."</p> - -<p> -"The noble Spirit now is free<br /> -And saved from evil scheming,<br /> -Whoer'er aspires unweariedly<br /> -Is not beyond redeeming.<br /> -And if he feels the grace of Love<br /> -That from on high is given,<br /> -The blessed hosts that wait above<br /> -Shall welcome him to heaven."<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 10.5em;">(<i>Faust</i>, Part II.)</span><br /> -</p> - - -<p class="p2"><b>Reconnection with the Aërial Wire.</b>—The pupil spoke: "You said -once that the tramcar comes to a standstill if it loses connection -with the aërial wire. I know that very well. Would that my friends -who are atheists and pagans knew what a relief it is to find the -connection again. It is like diving in crystal-clear sea-water after -perspiring in the heat of the dog-days on a dusty high-road. The heart -grows light; the systematic ill-luck ceases; one has some success, -one's<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_115" id="Page_115">[Pg 115]</a></span> undertakings prosper, one can sleep at night, and neurasthenia -ceases. I remember how, after a night of debauchery, the most beautiful -landscape at sunrise looked ghastly; while after a night of quiet sleep -the same scene looked paradisal.</p> - -<p>"When we gain the certainty, and the belief founded on certainty, that -life is continued on the other side, then we find it easier on this -one, and do not hunt after trifles till we are weary. Then we discover -the divine light-heartedness of which Goethe speaks, which finds -expression in a certain contempt of honours and distinction, promotion -and money. We become more in-sensible to blows and abuse. Everything -goes more softly and smoothly. However dark the surroundings may be, we -become self-luminous so to speak, and carry the little pocket-lamp hope -with us."</p> - -<p class="p2"><b>The Art of Conversion.</b>—The pupil continued: "Plato describes -earthly life as follows: 'Men sit in a cavern with their backs towards -the light. Therefore they only see the shadows or simulacra of what -passes in front of the cavern. Whoever hits on the brilliant idea of -turning round, sees the originals, the realities in themselves, the -light.'</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_116" id="Page_116">[Pg 116]</a></span></p> - -<p>"So simple is it! Only to turn round, or be converted, in a word. -But it is not necessary on that account to become a monk, ascetic, -or hermit. I almost agree with Luther that faith is everything. Our -deeds lag far behind, and need only consist in refraining from all -deliberate evil. As a beginning, one may be content with not stealing, -lying, or bearing false witness. If we have greater claims and wish to -train ourselves into supermen, we may. But if we do not succeed, we -should not throw the whole system over-board, but ceaselessly commence -anew, never despair, try to smile at our vain efforts, be patient with -ourselves, and believe good of God.</p> - -<p>"When the religious man falls, he gets up again, brushes himself, and -goes on; the irreligious one remains lying in the dirt. Thus the whole -art of life consists in not turning one's back to the light.</p> - -<p class="p2"><b>The Superman.</b>—"The gentlemen who talk about development say -that Christianity is out of date and lies behind us. No! Christianity -is everywhere; behind us, near us, before us.</p> - -<p>"Pagans of all kinds really created their gods in their own likeness. -But with Christianity came the transcendent God and revealed Himself<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_117" id="Page_117">[Pg 117]</a></span> -to men who had the goodwill to understand Him. Therefore Christianity -is the beginning of the world's history, its middle, and its end. -'Whither and whence everything streams,' as Hegel says.</p> - -<p>"The multiplication-table is still older, but is not out of date; it -is still used, though logarithms have been discovered. The laws of -thought, atomic weights, oscillations of waves of light and sound, have -not been left behind us, but are still continually close to us.</p> - -<p>"But if one does reattach oneself to Christianity, one should take it -without refining—stock and barrel, dogmas and miracles. One should -swallow it uncritically, naïvely, in great gulps, then it goes down -like castor-oil in hot coffee. 'Open your mouth and shut your eyes.' -That is the only way.</p> - -<p>"I am a Christian, <i>i.e.</i> I am a nobleman; I belong to the upper -class; I have been vaccinated; I have served my time in the army; -I am a citizen and of full age; I am a white man; I have a clean -birth-certificate; I am a superman."</p> - -<p>To be a Christian Is not to be a Pietist.—The pupil continued: "If my -pagan friends would only give up the idea that a Christian must<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_118" id="Page_118">[Pg 118]</a></span> be a -pietist, they would come into our pantheon in crowds. Luther ate and -drank what was set before him, as St. Paul enjoins; he played, sang, -hunted, and played skittles. He swore also; but notice well, he never -asked God to curse him, or the Devil to take him; he only said, 'Curse -such and such a thing,' or 'To the devil with it!' Certainly I think he -might have modified that habit, as it created annoyance, and he was a -chief priest and prophet.</p> - -<p>"It is a standing error to think that we lay-men should live every -day like priests. We cannot; we have neither the time nor the means; -it is a shame to demand it. But with the priest it is otherwise. He -has devoted his life to the service of the Lord. He should spend the -six days of the week in so preparing his sermon that he can say it by -heart. I will not compare the clergyman with the actor, but on Sunday -he ought at any rate be able to repeat his rôle verbatim. For doing -that he gets his bread. If the congregation see that he reads his -sermon, they think, 'We could do that too; there is no art in that!' -And the minister of the Lord must take good heed to himself else he -arouses annoyance. People will not take it ill if he is austere, and -refrains from society, for he is a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_119" id="Page_119">[Pg 119]</a></span> representative, not a private -person. With the layman it is otherwise. He is a poor sinful man, of -whom too much cannot be demanded as he drags his daily burden through -the wicked world."</p> - -<p class="p2"><b>Strength and Value of Words.</b>—The teacher said: "Thought is an -act of the mind, and words are congealed thoughts. The uttered word can -have an effect like a charm or an adjuration. There are men who are so -sensitive that they are aware at a distance whether people are speaking -well or ill of them. There are men who are not afraid of committing a -crime, but are startled at the word which names it. Weak men cannot -endure hard words; they make them ill. A word may kill. If I were a -judge, I would always first ask the man-slayer, 'What did he say which -made you strike him down?' And then I should allow for extenuating -circumstances, or even acquit the man, if the deadly word caused the -deadly blow as a reflex-action. If for fifty years I have cherished the -memory of my parents, and my family, property, and honour is based on -my relationship to them, and then someone comes and tells me I am not -my father's son, he has killed me; the whole edifice of my emotional<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_120" id="Page_120">[Pg 120]</a></span> -life collapses. He has paralysed my energy and willingness to sacrifice -myself; he has imposed upon me the monstrous task of radically changing -my views of the world and men; he has rooted-up my filial affection; -with a single word he has annihilated my whole life. If he has lied, he -is simply a murderer!"</p> - -<p class="p2"><b>The Black Illuminati.</b>—The teacher said: "Everything serves, -and error often helps forward truth. At the end of the last century, -the materialists began to sniff about in the occult. One day they -discovered the capacity of men, when in a hypnotic state, of seeing -at a distance, of beholding the invisible, and of penetrating the -future. Then they accomplished, curiously enough, the honourable task -of establishing the truth of clairvoyance and prophecy, as well as the -possibility of miracles. The theosophists, who really at a terrible -period of the 'black illumination' sought to penetrate behind phenomena -and dug up useful fragments of ancient wisdom, were however hostile -to Christianity. They went so far as to send one of their prophets to -India to warn the natives against the missionaries.</p> - -<p>"But in course of time they began to investigate<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_121" id="Page_121">[Pg 121]</a></span> Christianity again; -they were now provided with the proper means for understanding the -mysteries of Christ's incarnation and atoning death, of sacraments -and miracles. And see now! their latest prophetess has written a -book to explain and defend Christianity! All roads seem to lead to -Christ. No one has done such good service to Christianity as the -materialistic occultists and the atheistic theosophists. Young France -has been Christianised by the pagans. The last apostle of the rustic -intelligence stands isolated there in his damnable infatuation, -believing himself to be the only 'illuminated' one in the world. Let us -hope that he is the last of the 'Illuminati.'"</p> - -<p>"Yes, let us hope so."</p> - -<p class="p2"><b>Anthropomorphism.</b>—"Man is inclined to make everything after -his own likeness. When the heathen made themselves gods, the latter -resembled their creators in all their defects and sins. That is called -Anthropomorphism. The artist who paints a portrait, always puts -something of his own into it. I know a sculptor who always used to -model his own undersized figure with its two short legs, whether he -was representing mountaineers, fauns, men of science, or kings.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_122" id="Page_122">[Pg 122]</a></span> The -plumper he became in course of time, the more rotund his figures grew. -I know a photographer who always retouches his portraits of people -till they resemble himself. He must admire his own exterior, and wish -to have it taken as a standard-type. The critic when he describes an -author, proceeds in a similar fashion. Every point in which the author -resembles him is reckoned a merit; everyone in which he differs, a -fault.</p> - -<p>"When anyone says, 'This poet is the best I know; you must read him!' -that means, 'This poet has my views; you must share them, for they are -the best in the world.' Everyone would like to fashion humanity and the -world in his own image. But if everyone had his way, what would the -world look like?"</p> - -<p class="p2"><b>Fury-worship as a Penal Hallucination.</b>—The teacher said: -"Swedenborg describes, in his fashion, how the greatest tyrant arrived -in Hades. He wished to stir up hell against heaven, and he was punished -by having a terrible woman sent to rule him, whom he worshipped. -She was a compendium of original sin, deliberate falsehood, wilful -deceit, ugliness, uncleanness, destructiveness. But he was compelled -to see in her the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_123" id="Page_123">[Pg 123]</a></span> good, the beautiful, the lovable; he called her 'my -angel.' All his adherents were obliged to worship her, or he called -them 'woman-haters.' Whence Swedenborg derived his narratives, I know -not, but his descriptions are like photographs of our everyday life. -The modern worship of women does not come down from the Christian -ages of chivalry, for those romanticists honoured womanhood in its -virtues. Our new gyneolatry is derived from the heathen; it is a kind -of fury-worship imposed on us as a penal hallucination. The sons of -the Lord of Dung deify their furies, and praise their faults. In their -view sin is virtue, wickedness is character, deceitfulness is a proof -of intelligence, coarseness is strength. He who will not join in -this devil-worship is called a woman-hater. Chaste wives and mothers -are called old-fashioned and perverse. Euripides describes in the -<i>Hippolytus</i> how this king's son dedicated his devotion to the chaste -Diana and fled the demotic Venus. This impure goddess avenged herself -by accusing the innocent Hippolytus of incest and then caused him to be -put to death. Euripides on account of writing this tragedy was called a -'woman-hater,' and is said to have been tom in pieces by female dogs. -That is a pretty legend!"</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_124" id="Page_124">[Pg 124]</a></span></p> - -<p class="p2"><b>Amerigo or Columbus.</b>—The teacher said: "Human greatness and -the way of becoming great is something very remarkable. Often envious -hatred of the deserving seems to be converted into immense love for -the undeserving. The infatuation of hatred may go so far that when -the deserving has done a good work, the undeserving gets the glory of -it. But often also there are secret reasons for this abnormal result. -Every schoolboy has asked why America was not named after Columbus, -who discovered it. I also made that inquiry, and while I served the -Lord of Dung I found it quite natural that the undeserving cartographer -Vespucci should have the honour of the discovery.</p> - -<p>"But when I recovered my reason (and men called me mad), I read the -biography of Columbus again. There I found that, together with his -merits, he had great faults. Like David, he sinned by pride, avarice, -cruelty, and deceit. His pride was boundless. Before undertaking his -doubtful voyage, he laid down as a condition that he was to be Viceroy -(he, the weaver's son!) and receive a tithe of the revenues. Well, he -never learnt that he had discovered a new quarter of the globe. He died -and was forgotten.</p> - -<p>"Vespucci, on the other hand, was not only a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_125" id="Page_125">[Pg 125]</a></span> cartographer, but -sailed round South America, and discovered that the New World was -not India. He seems to have been a good-natured, upright, and modest -man. Toscanelli, his contemporary, is also said to have announced the -existence of a new world, but that is not so certain."</p> - -<p class="p2"><b>A Circumnavigator of the Globe.</b>—The pupil said: "Can you -resolve my discords?"</p> - -<p>"I will call you a circumnavigator of the globe. You have sailed round -it, and returned to the point whence you set out. No one can go further -than that. But you return with a freight of experience, knowledge, -and wisdom. Therefore the journey was not in vain, or to speak more -correctly, it has fulfilled its object. Max Muller, who at the time of -the decadence was the scapegoat for all the atheists, concludes his -history of religion thus: 'It is easy to say that the completest faith -is a child's faith. Nothing can be truer. The older we grow, the more -we learn to comprehend the wisdom of children's faith.' And in another -place he says: 'To explain religion by referring it to a religious -impulse, or a religious capacity, is merely to explain the known by the -less known. The real<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_126" id="Page_126">[Pg 126]</a></span> religious impulse or instinct is the apprehension -of the infinite.' Thank your misfortunes that you have arrived at the -infinite. 'The fortunate do not believe that miracles still happen, for -only in misery we recognise God's hand and finger, which leads good men -to good.'"</p> - -<p>"Do you know who said that?"</p> - -<p>"No; is it Luther?"</p> - -<p>"No; it is Goethe in <i>Hermann and Dorothea.</i> And the 'great pagan' -wrote in 1779 to Lavater: 'My God, to whom I have been ever faithful, -has in secret richly blessed me. For my destiny is quite hidden from -men; they can neither hear nor see at all, how it is determined.' The -Lice-King omits such expressions when he wishes to incorporate Goethe -among his slimy larvæ."</p> - -<p class="p2"><b>The Poet's Children.</b>—The teacher continued: "Moreover, as I -have already told you, you are a poet, and must pass through your -reincarnations here. You have a right to invent poetic personalities, -and at every stage to speak the speech of the one you represent. -Shakespeare has done so, whether he did it consciously, or whether life -assigned him the various roles he played. At one time he is a cheerful -optimist; at another, the misogynist Timon, or the world-despiser -Hamlet;<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_127" id="Page_127">[Pg 127]</a></span> he is the jealous Othello, the amorous Romeo, so-and-so the -panegyrist of women, and so-and-so the misogynist. I believe indeed -that he has, by way of experiment, been the murderer Macbeth, and the -monster Richard III. He utters the malignant speeches of the last with -real relish. Every rascal may defend himself, and Shakespeare is his -advocate.</p> - -<p>"There the poet should have no grave; his ashes should be strewn to -all the winds of heaven. He should only live in his works, if they -possess vital power. Men should accustom themselves to look upon him as -something different from an ordinary man; they ought not to judge him, -but regard him as something which they cannot understand. You remember -the dying Epaminondas. When they condoled with him because he left no -children, he answered: 'Children? I have Leuktra and Mantinea.'"</p> - -<p class="p2"><b>Faithful in Little Things.</b>—The pupil said: "I had a friend, -who died lately at the age of sixty. According to my view, he has in -his own way realised the type of a good citizen and a good man. He was -a tradesman, and had passed through a youth of hardship, being from -six in the morning till ten at night in the shop, the doors<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_128" id="Page_128">[Pg 128]</a></span> of which -were open even in winter. Under his first master he quickly discovered -that dishonest tricks did not pay. Therefore he became rigidly honest, -studied the details of his trade, made rapid progress, kept sober and -wide-awake. Accordingly he soon became his own master, and wealth came -of itself. He married and had children, who turned out excellently in -consequence of their father's example. Now, this man lived his whole -life according to the teaching he had received in school and church. -He did his duty, honoured father and mother, obeyed law and authority, -never criticised those who managed the government of the country, -which he did not profess to understand. He took no notice of selfish -agitations, did not worry himself about the riddle of the universe, and -warned his children not to be eager after novelties. He also possessed -positive virtues; he was merciful and helpful, faithful and modest.</p> - -<p>"When his sons began to study, he did not attempt to vie with them in -learning. But when they attacked his childlike faith, he defended it -like a man. He never ventured to occupy a public post, for he knew his -limits. He never sought for distinctions, nor did he obtain any. Well, -what name do the larvæ of the snake-worm<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_129" id="Page_129">[Pg 129]</a></span> give such a blameless, good, -faithful man? They call him 'a servile rascal.' Is that just?"</p> - -<p>The teacher answered: "No! it is flagrantly unjust! But there are other -types of character, which are also laudable."</p> - -<p>"Yes, indeed, but that does not lessen the value of his life; he was -faithful in small things."</p> - - -<p class="p2"><b>The Unpracticalness of Husk-eating.</b>—The teacher said: "Young -people say, 'What do we want with the wisdom of age? We want to learn -for ourselves.' I generally answer, 'Yes, learn for yourselves—from -us! What good-fortune to be able to inherit the rich experiences of -others, and not to make these expensive, dirty experiments for oneself! -If the young commenced where we left off, the world and humanity would -progress with giant strides. Instead of this everyone begins afresh, -that is, in the moral sphere. When it is a question of making a new -incandescent lamp, we do not begin with a machine for generating -electricity, but continue from the latest discovery of our predecessors.</p> - -<p>"I have also asked myself whether it is necessary first to be burnt -in order to dread the fire. I have never seen my children go to the -oven<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_130" id="Page_130">[Pg 130]</a></span> and lay hold of the red dampers to see whether they would be -burnt. They let themselves be warned, and therefore escaped the painful -experience. I have asked myself whether one must first feed with the -swine before one can appreciate the food of the household, and whether -the Prodigal Son is a necessary transitionary type. But to all these -stupid and impertinent questions life has given a negative answer.</p> - -<p>"Swedenborg says that all sin and wickedness leave traces behind -them, but that these are not apparent in the human face till old age. -Subsequently, in the disrobing-room on the other side, they look as if -they had been thrown through a magnifying-glass on a white screen. I -once looked into an attic-room; the curtain was drawn aside, and an old -man put out his head in order to look at the sun. When he saw me he hid -his face immediately.</p> - -<p>"That was a face!... God protect us!"</p> - -<p class="p2"><b>A Youthful Dream for Seven Shillings.</b>—The teacher said: "There -are people who carry about with them a measuring-rule for everything. -They demand exactness and order; they love perfection in all things. -They are called discontented, carping, pedantic. But it is unfair<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_131" id="Page_131">[Pg 131]</a></span> to -blame them. If one is content with the mediocre, one will at last only -get the worst. Men give only as little as they can, and the whole of -life is defective. Conscientious men are not happy, for they cannot -lower their demands; they appear to simpletons who have not learnt, -that nothing is what it gives itself out to be, that nothing answers -the expectations we formed of it. One is inclined to ask whether such -men bring with them at birth recollections of a place or a condition -where ideal perfection existed. When I was seven years old, I often -remained standing fascinated before a music-dealer's shop window, -and contemplated a hunter's horn which was hung up there. There was -something charming in the proportions of these curved lines. This brass -tube tapered off beautifully from the great width of its bell-mouth to -its narrowed mouthpiece. In the gloomy street it made me hear nature's -music in woods and fields; I loved the instrument. But when a boy told -me that it cost thirty shillings, I wondered whether life would ever -fulfil my desire, for in order to buy it I would have to go for two and -a half years without breakfast. Finally I got to be thirty years old, -and had some money to spare for the first time in my life. I bought the -hunting-horn;<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_132" id="Page_132">[Pg 132]</a></span> it cost only seven shillings; the boy had told a lie. -But the instrument had only three notes. When I got tired of my prize -it was consigned to the attic.</p> - -<p>"It was, at any rate, the fulfilment of a youthful dream!"</p> - - -<p class="p2"><b>Envy Nobody!</b>—The teacher said: "Envy nobody! As a child I was -boarded out in the country in mean surroundings. I lived in a kind of -shanty, ate from an earthenware plate, sat on a wooden stool. But there -was a castle in the neighbourhood, a real castle, with portraits of -kings in the entrance-hall, the ancestors of the young count who lived -there. One Sunday we were allowed to go, first into the castle, then -into the garden. That was paradise! We could bathe, and were allowed to -pick the cherries, blood-black, gold-yellow, fire-red. The count looked -on, but ate nothing; he had had enough. Then we left, and the gate of -paradise was shut behind us.</p> - -<p>"Fifty years later I saw the portrait of the young count, and heard -his history. He looked unhappy and despairing, as though he were weary -of everything. He had passed through the bitterest experiences of -life, including poverty for a time. His affairs came into liquidation, -and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_133" id="Page_133">[Pg 133]</a></span> he had to spend ten years abroad in an hotel, his expenses being -defrayed by his creditors. He also had his wife with him, who, as she -thought, had married into paradise, in order to be immediately driven -out of it again. The man had been nothing and had done nothing; all -he could do was to wait for his meals. He had possessed horses and a -yacht; he had gambled and borrowed money; he had eaten truffles and -drunk wine; but when he was forty had to give it up, for his nose grew -red and he had gout in his great toe. I will not speak of his domestic -miseries.</p> - -<p>"Now he sits in his castle, rich as Crœsus, but lonely, and educates -his housekeeper's children, which are his, but which cannot bear -his name. His evening meal consists of gruel, and he goes to bed at -half-past nine. He dares not use his wine-cellar, for then his great -toe aches. His solitary comparative pleasure is to be able to walk, in -order to eat his gruel and be able to sleep. Envy nobody!"</p> - -<p class="p2"><b>The Galley-slaves of Ambition.</b>—The teacher said: "Balzac speaks -in one place of the galley-slaves of ambition, and describes their -condition very much as Swedenborg describes certain of his hells, or as -Homer depicts Tantalus, Ixion,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_134" id="Page_134">[Pg 134]</a></span> and the Danaides. They are ceaselessly -haunted by their passion to be superior to others; to be seen and heard -before all others. The malice and love of power which this involves -are necessarily punished. When the ambitious man cannot be the first -and only one he becomes ill. Voltaire had to go to bed when a prince -travelled past his house without visiting him. If one of such people's -letters remains unanswered they think it is a sign that their credit -has sunk, and they worry about the reason of it till they grow how -hypochondriacal. If they read in the paper such and such important -people were present when the king landed, and their names are omitted, -the world is darkened for them. That is to say, it is not enough for -them that they should be praised and called the greatest; they suffer -pains like death when others are eulogised. They feel perpetual fear -lest they should be set aside and their juniors get ahead of them. -In that they resemble a great criminal who expects to be detected. -The portrait of an ambitious man has a great resemblance to that of -a galley-slave. Imperiousness, hatred, fear—especially fear—are -depicted in his face.</p> - -<p>"Balzac, on the other hand, was impelled by the noble ambition to make -discoveries, and to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_135" id="Page_135">[Pg 135]</a></span> do good work in which he took pleasure. But his -own life was hidden. Unknown and misunderstood in his own Paris, which -he had discovered, he saw petty chroniclers obtain the first prizes -without being made ill by it. And when, at the age of fifty-one, he -had succeeded in making a home for himself, into which he was about to -bring his first and only wife, he died on the day of the publication of -the banns. A fine death after a life of renunciation!"</p> - -<p class="p2"><b>Hard to Disentangle.</b>—The teacher said: "With age, as is -well known, one arrives at a different view of life than one had -formerly. Then, on account of its wealth and variety, life is almost -immeasurable, and above all, very difficult to disentangle.</p> - -<p>"At the age of forty I came home after an absence of many years. On my -arrival I received a dunning letter from an antiquarian bookseller. -Curiously enough, without my being able to explain why, this debt -caused me no further uneasiness of conscience. But then a friend came -and advised me to settle the matter, as the bookseller was spreading -an evil report about me. I went and paid the trifling account, but the -bookseller looked so uneasy and strange, was<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_136" id="Page_136">[Pg 136]</a></span> so polite and grateful, -that I began to reflect about him. When I came home I remembered this: -twenty years previously I had entrusted him with an antique work of -art to sell. After I had visited the man several times in his shop -and the article had not been sold, I felt ashamed to go any more, -began to think of something else, and forgot the matter. His present -thankfulness showed that he had not forgotten it; we were then quits, -if he did not still owe me something.</p> - -<p>"Now I felt ashamed on his account, and determined not to mention the -matter. But then it occurred to me that I owed his predecessor a sum of -money for books. I went again, found him showing the same uneasy manner -as before, and asked for his predecessor's address. He was in America. -I asked whether he had relatives here in the town. He had none. I went -home and thought to myself, 'Then we must drop that matter also.' In -this way, in old age, one must alternate pay and let go; now as a -debtor, now as creditor. But who strikes the balance of accounts? The -goddess of justice, and she is neither deaf nor blind."</p> - -<p class="p2"><b>The Art of Settling Accounts.</b>—The teacher continued: "It really -looks as though we could<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_137" id="Page_137">[Pg 137]</a></span> not go hence till everything is settled, -great and small alike. Recently there died an early friend of mine, -who, at an important juncture, had helped me with a hundred kronas.<a name="FNanchor_1_6" id="FNanchor_1_6"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_6" class="fnanchor">[1]</a> -I had at first regarded it as a loan. But he never dunned me, and -during the forty years which have since elapsed he was gradually -transformed in my memory into a benefactor, and all was well. When at -last he died a millionaire, I did not wish to trouble his executors -with the trifle, but sent a wreath to the funeral with a sigh of -gratitude and many kindly thoughts. Was that the end? No! Shortly -afterwards I felt a kind of inward admonition to resume relations -with a bookbinder whom I had ceased to employ on account of his -carelessness. He came and was glad to get work again; he was greatly -pleased, and declared that I had appeared just in time to deliver him. -When I understood his difficulties, for he had a family, I was willing -to give him fifty kronas in advance, but as I had no change I gave him -a hundred, though reluctantly. I saw how his back straightened itself, -and his confidence in life reawoke. He went—and never returned. I was -angry at first, because he had treated me like a fool, and I dunned -him with letters. But<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_138" id="Page_138">[Pg 138]</a></span> then the memory of my departed friend recurred; -various thoughts wove themselves together in my mind—the pleasure -of calling him a scamp, the fifty-krona note which had turned into a -hundred-krona note, the scamp's need, and the part I had played as -deliverer. In my own mind I gave him a discharge, and became quite -quiet."</p> - - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_1_6" id="Footnote_1_6"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1_6"><span class="label">[1]</span></a> A krona = 1s. 3d.</p></div> - - -<p class="p2"><b>Growing Old Gracefully.</b>—The teacher continued: "When one -becomes old, one wonders at first how men have, as it were, permission -to do one an injustice. If one complains, one finds no sympathy. Even -our friends take the part of those who injure us. But when we have -discovered the secret of it, we take it all quietly. One is cheated -in ordinary business, and says to oneself, 'This is in requital for -that.' Our children prove ungrateful and difficult to manage, exactly -like we were. Young people are insolent and pert towards us, and we -see our former selves reflected in them. Servants do their work badly, -and perpetrate petty thefts; we must put up with it, when we think of -our own work scamped on various occasions. Friends are faithless, just -as we have been ourselves. By practice one comes at last so far, that -one asks for no more,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_139" id="Page_139">[Pg 139]</a></span> demands no more, and is no longer angry. I then -always think of David when Shimei cast stones at him and cursed him, -and Abishai wanted to strike off the calumniator's head. David declined -to take vengeance, saying, 'Let him curse, for the Lord hath bidden -him.' When the same king, because of his sins, had to choose between -famine, pestilence, or raids of the enemy, he prayed 'to fall into the -hands of God, and not into the hands of man.'</p> - -<p>"He understood how to grow old gracefully, and to make up his accounts. -So he departed praising God, 'Who proveth the heart and loveth -uprightness.'"</p> - -<p class="p2"><b>The Eight Wild Beasts.</b>—The teacher said: "You know yourself -that when one awakes from somnambulism, one finds the world quite -mad. Then one loses all hope and all confidence, and believes we are -delivered into the power of the Devil. Once during such a moment of -awakening, I read the works of the Adventists, and the idea struck me -that they were right. They ground their belief on the Revelation of -St. John, and say as follows: 'We live in the last era during which -the eight wild beasts rule the earth. Of Christianity no trace is to -be found: power,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_140" id="Page_140">[Pg 140]</a></span> wealth, industry, art, science, literature, are -in the hands of the pagans. The state-craft of the wild beasts is -lying and force, alternating with the most insidious hypocrisy. They -preach peace, distribute peace-prizes, build peace-palaces, but are -always seeking war in order to be able to rob and tyrannise. If their -subordinates believe them, and preach peace themselves, they are thrown -into prison. But, says St. John, nations will come from the East and -destroy the godless who have rejected Christ. The last battle is to -be at Megiddo in Syria. But since all this takes place under God's -control, the wild beasts are protected in order to carry out their -work of execution. The number of the last wild beast, 666, is not yet -interpreted, for it is not yet come. The eight wild beasts you can find -in a book, which is called <i>A de G</i>;<a name="FNanchor_1_7" id="FNanchor_1_7"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_7" class="fnanchor">[1]</a> of the people of the East you -read every morning in your paper. It looks almost as though it were -true. The pietists believe it, and keep their lamps burning.'"</p> - -<p class="p2"><b>Deaf and Blind.</b>—The teacher continued: "Under the rule of -the wild beast men have become demoralised. They reject every idea -of a retributive justice. If anyone points to an<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_141" id="Page_141">[Pg 141]</a></span> instance of it, -he is suppressed. If a blasphemer loses his tongue, they call it -'Actinomyces,' nothing more. And the obstinacy of the unrepentant -revolts against heaven itself: 'It is so far to heaven; what do we know -about it? We are ants; no God troubles himself about us.' If something -good happens to a man, he attributes it to his own power; if something -evil, he calls it 'bad-luck.' Science explains earthquakes by algebra, -and if it wants to be very learned, by seismology. The quantity of -crime and wickedness which <i>must</i> exist is fixed by statistics. And -yet heaven is so near. God's invisible servants are around us, in -the streets and in our rooms. We do not see them, but those who have -eyes, and only they, behold their operations. The world is like a vast -institute for the deaf and blind, in which the unfortunates are told -by their teachers that they are the only ones who can see and hear. -The theosophists say that we are already living two lives—a conscious -one on the earth, and an unconscious one above. But most men seem to -have broken off communication with the higher plane, and therefore they -cannot comprehend what is from above, but have discovered that there is -no higher and no lower in the universe."</p> - - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_1_7" id="Footnote_1_7"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1_7"><span class="label">[1]</span></a> Not explained in original footnote.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_142" id="Page_142">[Pg 142]</a></span></p></div> - - -<p class="p2"><b>Recollections.</b>—The pupil said: "Often has my experience -confirmed this saying of the theosophists, that, as well as here, we -live also on a higher plane from whence we receive our inspirations, -ideas, and intuitions. After such visitations (do they take place by -night?) I do not flourish down here, but find everything perverse, -defective, absurd. I once conceived the strange idea that I have my -true home somewhere else, and that a vague recollection has made me -give my present home an arrangement similar to that of my real one.</p> - -<p>"In my present abode there was a room which, after certain storms that -lasted for two years, was so devastated that it looked as if devils -had haunted it. Then a sum of money came into my hands unexpectedly. -The next morning I awoke with the distinct determination to repair -and furnish the room. I went at once to the upholsterer, and knew so -exactly what furniture and curtains I wanted, that when I saw the -material it looked to me familiar and welcome. A workman came, proved -honest, worked quietly like a spirit, and in a few days the room -was ready. When I entered it, I was seized with a sort of ecstatic -shiver as though I had already seen this room once before under happy -circumstances.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_143" id="Page_143">[Pg 143]</a></span> And now when I enter the room alone, I see it resembles -something which I do not remember, but which waits for me. I seem to -know that <i>there</i> I am waited for by my only true wife, by my children, -friends and relations, and that this incompleteness I see is only a -poor copy drawn from a dim recollection. Think, if it only were so!"</p> - -<p class="p2"><b>Children Are Wonder-Children.</b>—The teacher answered: "What you -say accords with Plato's theory of recollection. He believes that all -which a child learns is recovered from some previous knowledge. During -my long experience it has often happened to me to meet people who, -the first time I saw them, seemed like old acquaintances. It seems, -too, that the woman we love appears congenial to us, made for us, sent -in our way. But most of all is this the case with our children. All -children are, in spite of idle talk, wonder-children—till they have -learnt to talk. Little children often say things which astound one. -They understand all that we say even when we hide it from them. They -seem to be thought-readers, divine our most secret purposes, and rebuke -us beforehand. 'Don't do that,' said my two-year-old child before my -plan was half<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_144" id="Page_144">[Pg 144]</a></span> formed. 'What?' I asked. The child did not answer, but -smiled roguishly and half embarrassed, as though it wished to say, 'You -know yourself already.' When the child had learnt to be silent, it -pushed with its foot against the chair when the parents' talk bordered -on impropriety. Often it spoke like an elder person who understands -things better than others. At three years old it pronounced this -opinion on the nurse, 'Hannah is very nice, but she does not understand -how to treat children.' When her mother was sad, it said, 'Sit down -here and don't be sad; I will tell you a story.' I will only add—there -was no mimicry about it, as the ape-king would be inclined to believe. -What was it then?"</p> - -<p class="p2"><b>Men-resembling Men.</b>—The teacher said: "It seems as though -some errors were necessary and unavoidable. They appear as a kind of -infectious virus. A generation is inoculated with it, carries the germ -till it has sprouted, and then there is an end of it. Views of the -world and man come up, are disseminated, evaporated, and disappear. -But those who have been inoculated with them believe they are their -own views, because they have assimilated them with their personality. -Often the error ends in a compromise<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_145" id="Page_145">[Pg 145]</a></span> with a new view. Thus Darwinism -made it seem probable that men derived their origin from animals. Then -came the theosophists with the opinion that our souls are in process -of transmigration from one human body to another. Thence comes this -excessive feeling of discomfort, this longing for deliverance, this -sensation of constraint, the pain of existence, the sighing of the -creature. Those who do not feel this uneasiness, but flourish here, -are probably at home here. Their inexplicable sympathy for animals and -their disbelief in the immortality of the soul points to a connection -with the lower forms of existence of which they are conscious, and -which we cannot deny. The doctrine that we are created after God's -image involves no contradiction, for the spirit is from God; but there -is no word which frightens these anthropomorphists so much as the word -'spirit.' Yes, there is one, and that is the word 'spirits,' which -makes the fleshy part of them shudder."</p> - -<p class="p2"><b>Christ Is Risen.</b>—The teacher said: "After we have had -Christianity as a civilising agency for nineteen hundred years, people -begin to discuss it. Is this the opportune time to ask whether Christ -has existed and whether the documents<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_146" id="Page_146">[Pg 146]</a></span> of Christianity are genuine? -It reminds one of the author who wrote a book to prove that Napoleon -never existed. It is as if we were now to discover that Cæsar's -<i>Commentaries</i> are false, and that he never conquered Gaul, or as if -we discussed whether the discovery of America had been useful. Ibsen's -partisans have denied that Columbus discovered America; they say it was -Leif Erikssen (perhaps we shall soon hear it was his wife).</p> - -<p>"However, Christ returned again at the end of the last century, and was -received by all. The pagans depicted him as the poor school-teacher; -the anarchists celebrated him as the type of suffering humanity; the -symbolists did homage to him as Christus Consolator; the socialists -preached his gospel to the obscure, the weary, and heavy-laden. He was -to be seen every-where—in the quarters of the French general staff and -in the espionage office; in Lourdes and in Rome; on Mont Martre and in -Moscow. His churches and convents were purified; his miracles explained -by occultists, spiritists, hypnotists; science progressed and confirmed -the prophecies. Finally we saw at the congress of religions in Chicago -in 1897 that all peoples and religions of the world bent their knees -when<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_147" id="Page_147">[Pg 147]</a></span> Christ's especial prayer, the Lord's Prayer, was recited. Then -the believers gave each other the brotherly kiss and greeting, 'Christ -is risen!'"</p> - -<p class="p2"><b>Revolution-Sheep.</b>—The teacher continued: "In the year 1889 -we celebrated the French Revolution, but there was little life or -order in the celebration. Everything which was uprooted in 1789 still -existed—Church and State, kings and courts, priests and officials. The -French republic was the worst of all, with its Panama Canal jobbers at -the head: Wilson, Herz, Clemenceau, Arton. The constitution was kept -alive by bribes, bills of exchange more or less false, and pensions. -Offices were created in order to find places for voters, husbands of -mistresses, and the discontented. At that time the French republic was -governed by criminals, and the Church by pagans. Military and civil -orders were sold, works of art bought, votes canvassed for. One could -not become a deputy for less than two hundred thousand francs. Then -executioners and revolutions were necessary, for the principles of the -Great Revolution, if one can talk of principles in connection with -a volcano in eruption, were forgotten. Now in the perspective of a -hundred years the 'Great' Revolution<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_148" id="Page_148">[Pg 148]</a></span> appeared only like an execution, -a decimation on a large scale; an experiment with negative results, -but as such certainly very interesting. One of the recollections of -my youth is that when we 'who were born with the ideas of the French -Revolution' (ideas revived in 1848) began to talk of the 'Great' -Revolution, we were called 'Revolution-sheep.' I did not understand -this at the time, for I did not yet think for myself but merely -drivelled. But now I understand it. Now we know that the constitution -of a country is almost a matter of indifference for the common weal; -thus one constitution is not much better or worse than another."</p> - -<p class="p2"><b>"Life Woven of the Same Stuff as our Dreams"</b>—The teacher said: -"Life itself can often appear like a bad dream. One morning I went for -a walk in the country, and was absorbed in my thoughts, when a great -Danish dog rushed towards me. A young rascal stood near, laughing. I -drew my revolver, and exclaimed, 'Call off the dog, or I shoot it.' The -young fellow only laughed, the dog retreated, and I went on. On my way -back, a man armed with a musket met me, and asked how I dared threaten -to shoot his son. I answered, that the threat had only<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_149" id="Page_149">[Pg 149]</a></span> referred to the -dog. On the evening of the same day I was told that the dog had been -found dead, and that I was suspected of having poisoned it. Although I -was innocent, I was regarded as an assassin. That was a nice business!</p> - -<p>"Again: one evening I went to see my four-year-old daughter, who waited -for me below in the park. From the distance I saw her in the company -of two unpleasant-looking children, but she did not see me. As I -quickened my steps, I saw that she went off farther with the children. -I called her, but she did not hear. I ran and saw her at the entrance -of a cellar, into which the children wanted to pull her down. She -resisted them, but they took hold of her clothes. Now she screamed, -and consequently did not hear my call. I wished to hasten to her, but -between us there was a grass lawn, with an iron railing round it, on -which I did not venture to tread for fear of the police. So I stood -there and called. At last my child pulled herself free, but did not see -me. So weirdly things may happen sometimes!"</p> - -<p class="p2"><b>The Gospel of the Pagans.</b>—The teacher continued: "The gospel -of the pagans is immunity from punishment; if one mentions a case -where it has gone ill with a scoundrel, the pagans snort<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_150" id="Page_150">[Pg 150]</a></span> and say -one is too severe. But it is life which is severe. The gospel of the -pagans consists in showing that virtue is simplicity and is seduced; -that religion is a disease; that scoundrelism is a form of strength, -and ought to conquer by the right of the stronger. Sometimes, by way -of a change, they demand that a weak rascal should be pardoned; that -everything should be forgiven and tolerated. By 'toleration' they mean -that one should let oneself be suppressed and persecuted by them. If -one resists, they cry, 'He revenges himself. He is a bad man.' But -revenge presupposes some offence as the cause, and when the cause -disappears the effect disappears. Certainly there are some men who -avenge their own stupidity on the innocent. I have an enemy, who still -revenges himself on me because he could not steal my money. The gospel -for him would be the law reversed, 'You may steal, but others may not.'"</p> - -<p class="p2"><b>Punished by the Imagination.</b>—The teacher continued: "Swedenborg -speaks of being punished by the imagination. That is what doctors -generally call 'hallucination.' He who suffers from persecution-mania -is persecuted. The Philistines think he is only persecuted by his<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_151" id="Page_151">[Pg 151]</a></span> -imaginations, but if the wise man asks why he is persecuted by his -imaginations, conscience answers by ceaselessly endeavouring to -discover the persecutor. The patient goes through the whole list of -the persons whom he has offended. If they are many in number, and -their hatred is justified, one may well suppose that the sick man is -persecuted by their hatred, for which his awakened conscience is now -receptive.</p> - -<p>"In my inner life punishment by hallucinations has played the chief -part; but after I had discovered the rationale of it, I regarded the -hallucination itself as a punishment. The severest form of punishment -is suspicion, when I am obliged to suspect the innocent. That is -irresistible. My thoughts sway between trust and mistrust. I struggle -and conquer myself gradually, either by acknowledging myself wrong, -or by accepting the breach of faith resignedly. But if I give vent to -suspicion I must ask for pardon; then I take this humiliation as a -discharge. Most of my misfortunes have been imaginary; but they have -had the same effect as real ones, because I came to the consciousness -of my own wrong-doing. The incurable man is the obstinate one who -believes himself wrongfully persecuted by other men.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_152" id="Page_152">[Pg 152]</a></span></p> - -<p class="p2"><b>Bankruptcy of Philosophy.</b>—"When Kant during the dark period -of the 'Illumination' had proved that philosophy can prove nothing, -he set up the theory of the categorical imperative and postulate, -<i>i.e.</i> the demands of religion and morality. Put in plain language, -that is equivalent to faith. This declaration of the bankruptcy of -philosophy saved men from useless brain-cudgelling. Christianity -revived, now supported by the philosophers with Hegel at their head. -But the old stream flowed parallel with it once more. In spite of the -bankruptcy of philosophy, notes of exchange were issued and cashed by -the dunder-headed free-thinkers Feuerbach and Strauss. They wanted -to approach God with the everyday intelligence which one uses in -kitchens and grocers' shops. The last fool was Renan, whose cheques -still circulate mostly among college-students and the like. At the -beginning of the last century E.T.A. Hoffmann wrote thus: 'In ancient -times we had a simple generous faith; we recognised that there was a -Higher, but knew also that our senses were insufficient to reach it. -Then came the "Illumination," which made everything so clear, that for -sheer clearness not a trace could be seen. And now we are told that the -supernatural is to be grasped by a firm arm of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_153" id="Page_153">[Pg 153]</a></span> flesh and bone.' To-day -it is called the Science of Religion. That is a science which starts -from the false presupposition that religion is a mental disease because -it cannot be mathematically proved."</p> - -<p class="p2"><b>A Whole Life in an Hour.</b>—The teacher said: "I had a strange -experience, which I have not understood, but which I must remember. -I woke up one morning feeling cheerful without any special reason. -Obeying an impulse, I went into the town. As I wandered about at -random, I came into the quarter where I had been born and brought up. -I saw the kindergarten and school I used to attend, and my parents' -house. I went through narrow streets and passed by the national school -in which I was worried as a student-teacher. I saw two different houses -in which I had suffered as a private tutor. I went northwards and came -to another school in which I had been tortured. In a market-place -I passed another house in which, during my childhood, our only -acquaintance lived, and twenty years later in the same dwelling there -lived my worst enemy. I passed by a house in which my sister had been -married thirty years before, and another house in which my brother had -had a hard<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_154" id="Page_154">[Pg 154]</a></span> struggle. Then I came to a third school in which I was a -student; in the same house lives still my first and last publisher. I -passed by a house where, forty years ago, I was accepted as an aspirant -for the stage, and where I offered my first drama; also by the house -where I was married for the first time. Then the meaning of it began -to grow clearer. I saw the furniture warehouse whence I ordered my -furniture the last time. I passed by the house where my wife and child -lived three years ago.</p> - -<p>"In the space of one hour I had seen the panorama of my whole life in -living pictures. Only three years were wanting to the present time. It -was like an agony or a death-hour when the whole of life rushes past -one.</p> - -<p>"Then I felt drawn northward where my last child and her mother live. -An instinct told me to bring perfume for the mother and school-fees -for the child, as that day it was going to the kindergarten for the -first time. Then I began to hunt for the perfume; it ought to have been -lilac, but I had to take lily-of-the-valley. I also wanted flowers, but -could not find any.</p> - -<p>"So I continued northwards and came to their house; the sun shone -in, the table was spread for coffee; there was an air of comfort, -homeliness,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_155" id="Page_155">[Pg 155]</a></span> and kindness over all. I was received in a friendly way, -felt in a moment that the whole of my black life lay behind me, and -realised the happiness of merely being alive."</p> - -<p class="p2"><b>The After-Odour.</b>—The teacher continued: "As I went thence, -I felt the happiness of the present. All the past was only the dark -background. I was thankful in my heart, when I remembered all I had -come through without perishing. When I came home, I learnt through the -telephone that my worst enemy had died on the morning of this very day. -His death-struggle was taking place at the very time that I made the -pilgrimage through my past life. I reflected: Why should I pass through -my agony just when he died? He was a 'black man'<a name="FNanchor_1_8" id="FNanchor_1_8"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_8" class="fnanchor">[1]</a> with an obsolete -materialistic view of things which he thought was modern; a literary -huckster who wrote reviews of marchionesses' rubbishy books, in order -to be invited to their castles, and praised his associates as long as -they consorted with him; the partisan of a coterie and a log-roller.</p> - -<p>"I had never come into personal contact with him, but once, a long -time ago, he had called himself my pupil. He could not however grow,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_156" id="Page_156">[Pg 156]</a></span> -nor follow me upwards. It was now as though my old self had died in -him. Perhaps therefore I suffered his death and felt it just now. But -why the perfume? That I know not. But when I learnt that the deceased -decomposed so rapidly that he had to be buried at once, I could not -help connecting the perfume with his dissolution. When, eight days -afterwards, I read a posthumous review by the deceased of my last -work, and saw that he regretted that I was not a pagan and lamented -my defection from the Lord of Dung, it was as though I sniffed an -after-odour from the dunghole, and I seized the perfume-flask in good -earnest."</p> - - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_1_8" id="Footnote_1_8"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1_8"><span class="label">[1]</span></a> Strindberg's expression for a free-thinker.</p></div> - - -<p class="p2"><b>Peaches and Turnips.</b>—The teacher continued: "At the same time -a similar death happened. Another of the 'Black Flags' departed under -peculiar circumstances two days after the first. I had known this man -during the period in which the ape-king ruled. We did not like each -other, but like condemned criminals were compelled to keep together. -Our friendship was only the reverse-side of a hatred; his hideous -appearance frightened me; his profession was equally repulsive, but -brought in much money. He wrote according to the taste of the time, and -lived in the false idea that he was 'illuminated' and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_157" id="Page_157">[Pg 157]</a></span> liberal-minded. -When his father died, the son expressed his regret that 'his father -had recovered the faith of his childhood.' What happened then? The son -who lived in faith in wickedness and ugliness, began to develop this -faith in a peculiar way. He had in his writings shown a predilection -for turnips; in his latter days he inoculated peaches with turnip-juice -in order to make the southern fruit partake of the beautiful flavour -of the latter. The same perverse taste was evident in his last book; -there his sympathy is decidedly on the side of the 'blacks.' He ended -in an asylum. He could not be saved, for he did not know how to seek -the Saviour. So he died. I had just regretted not having sent some -flowers to his grave, when I saw in an obituary notice that the dead -man had vented a noisome lie against me, which a bosom friend of his -now repeats in print. In the same notice the world is threatened with -his posthumous writings. When they come out, I will buy a flower and -hold it under my nose, while I breathe a sigh of gratitude to him, -who restored to me the faith of my childhood and saved me from the -mad-house."</p> - -<p class="p2"><b>The Web of Lies.</b>—The pupil said: "I am eight-and-fifty years -old; have lied less than<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_158" id="Page_158">[Pg 158]</a></span> others; and have therefore always believed -what others said. When, in my old age, I sit together with friends -of my youth and make comparisons, I find that my whole life is a web -of lies. Last night I sat with such a friend, and had a protracted -talk of the following intelligent kind. I said, 'When the Prince of -X. married....' 'Married! He isn't married.' 'Isn't he? Is that a lie -too?' 'He has never been married.' 'Now during twenty years I have -spread it abroad that he was married, and a whole story has been built -on this lie, which I was about to relate, but now I must drop it.'</p> - -<p>"Here is another lie! During thirty years I have told people that Dr. -H. was present when the Malunger murderer was executed. He had falsely -informed me that, as a medical student, he had received a commission to -examine the head after it had been cut off. He gave me such interesting -details on the subject that I was accustomed to describe them in -company. What a liar he was!</p> - -<p>"'But he <i>was</i> there.' 'Was he there?' 'Certainly; I saw him standing -behind the priest when I took a photograph of the scaffold.' 'You? -Have you ... Are you lying or is he?' 'I am not.' 'No; now I don't -know where I am. Everything<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_159" id="Page_159">[Pg 159]</a></span> is topsy-turvy. For the last ten years I -have retracted the lie which I had spread. I have made Dr. H. a liar! -One ought never to speak or write, but only draw the things which one -absolutely needs. He was then really there! How can I restore to him -his honour, of which I have robbed him?'"</p> - -<p class="p2"><b>Lethe.</b>—The teacher answered: "This whole web of lies, errors, -misunderstandings, which forms the basis of our lives, transforms life -itself into something dreamlike and unreal, and must be dissolved when -we pass into the other life. I read to-day of a dying man. Instead of -seeing his life pass by him, as is usually the case, his whole life -dissolved into a cloud; his memory failed; all bitterness and all -trouble disappeared; and on the other hand, all his disappointed hopes -assumed an aspect of reality. He thought he was loved by his wife, who -had been cold to him; he thanked her for all the tenderness which she -had never shown him. The children who had deserted him he saw again in -the bright light of youth; he seemed to hear the sound of little feet -upon the floor, the characteristic of a happy home, and his face wore -a happy smile. The dark autumn weather outside changed into spring;<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_160" id="Page_160">[Pg 160]</a></span> -little girls handed him roses to kiss in order to enchance their value. -Finally he saw himself and his family in an arbour drinking coffee out -of Dresden china cups, into which they dipped yellow saffron-cakes.... -Then he fell into his last sleep. It was a beautiful and enviable -death; it was paradise. From the ancient Lethe he drank forgetfulness -of the troubles he had undergone before he trod the Elysian fields. -If it only were so! To drag all one's bygone filth with one in memory -cannot be favourable to a new life in purity. There are illnesses in -which one loses memory. May death prove to be such an illness!"</p> - -<p class="p2"><b>A Suffering God.</b>—The teacher said: "The idea of a suffering -God was foolishness to the Greeks, who considered a God as a tyrant -gloating over the sufferings of men. But the seeming contradiction -is solved if one supposes that a Holy Being deposits itself, so to -speak, in humanity, and that humanity then becomes defiled. That is -a boundless grief like his who has deposited the best part of his -soul and his emotions with a woman. If she then goes and defiles -herself, she defiles her husband. Or a father's nature has passed over -to his children, and he wishes to see his best impulses continued -and multiplied by<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_161" id="Page_161">[Pg 161]</a></span> them, and his likeness ennobled. If the children -dishonour themselves, the father suffers; the stem withers when the -roots are injured.</p> - -<p>"Such I imagine to be the feelings of God the Father when the -sinfulness of humanity grows noisome and dishonours Him, and -perhaps threatens to affect His own holiness. He will be wroth and -lament—perhaps even feel Himself defiled—rather than cut off the -cancerous limb of humanity. Christ is no more represented as beautiful, -but with features distorted by the sins of others; these he has -taken on himself or drawn to himself, for he who approaches pitch is -defiled. In order to be free from the impure element he must die by the -destruction of the body. Incarnation involved the greatest suffering of -all.</p> - -<p>"But the death of Christ may also signify that the Father freed himself -from the sins of humanity, and broke off connection with the evil race -who dishonoured Him. He who will now seek Him must rise to His heights, -and gain admission by a pure life. He Himself will descend no more into -this valley of filth; the air is too thick, the company too mixed. And -that is why things are as they are."</p> - -<p class="p2"><b>The Atonement.</b>—The teacher said: "The<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_162" id="Page_162">[Pg 162]</a></span> work of the Atonement -has been very difficult for me to understand. Often I have tried to -explain in a way satisfactory to myself, but without success. If -God had offered up His Son as an atonement for mankind, there would -necessarily have been peace and paradisal quietness on earth, but -such is not the case. The period of the Roman emperors before Christ -was indeed terrible, but the next thousand years were no better; they -rather resembled a deluge in which the old nations were exterminated -by barbarians. The second millennium was better, very much better. -The third will perhaps close with a complete reconciliation between -humanity and God. Everything points to that, though the heathen may -reign for a while as instruments of chastisement, and executioners and -possessors of wealth. The Egyptian has an important part to play, and -slavery is not bad as a school of discipline. In the desert one learns -the difficult art of loneliness, and in the strange land of Assyria one -feels a wholesome home-sickness. Still, when the Egyptian raises his -stick to strike, comfort yourself with Christ's words to Pilate, 'Thou -wouldest have no power over Me, if it were not given thee from above.' -And when you eat the bread of the heathen, think like the Maccabees, 'I -eat thy bread, but I do<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_163" id="Page_163">[Pg 163]</a></span> not sacrifice upon thy altar.' Everything is -tolerable so long as we do not let ourselves be beguiled into believing -that those who are in power are God's friends and favourites. Our fine -gentlemen who imagine that they are forwarding development and are the -sole trustees of right, progress, and illumination, are only children -of this world. Let that be granted them, and much good may it do them!"</p> - -<p class="p2"><b>When Nations Go Mad.</b>—The teacher said: "Nations are sometimes -seized by madness as by other diseases. The Javanese are said to suffer -from chronic madness; the men run amuck with a knife in order to slay; -the women suffer from a mania for mimicry; if they see anyone throw -something into the air, they imitate the gesture; they can even under -such circumstances throw their children away. The Japanese again are -attacked by megalomania; someone begins to shout, 'We will conquer -China!' and his cry is taken up by the whole town and the whole land. -The French were raving when, in 1870, they sang 'A Berlin,' and did -not even reach the Rhine. Paris was captured. But the French declared -it was not captured, but had surrendered. When the enemy had marched -in peaceably and spared<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_164" id="Page_164">[Pg 164]</a></span> the town, and after peace was concluded the -French set their own town on fire. That was madness. Then they shot -down thirty thousand of their own countrymen, while in the war itself -only eighty thousand French had fallen."</p> - -<p>"But some nations are seized by a mania for suicide. I know a land -from which people emigrate at the rate of a hundred a day; in which -the only important industry—iron-mining—is hampered by an export -duty; that is suicide. In the same land, where the taxes are generally -collected by levying distraints, they voted forty million pounds for -the army; but when the muster-rolls came to be made up, the men were -not to be found. In the same country the State maintains a railway of a -hundred miles in length; recently the train came in with one passenger, -whose journey had cost the State more than a thousand kronas. That is -suicide."</p> - -<p class="p2"><b>The Poison of Lies.</b>—The teacher said: "Let us return to life, -and to men whom we think we know better than anything else, although -self-knowledge is the hardest of all. A perpetual accusation which -people bring against each other is that of lying. All lie more or -less—by omitting principal points and emphasising secondary ones,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_165" id="Page_165">[Pg 165]</a></span> -or by colouring matters of fact. Often they do it with an excusable -purpose; for instance, when a friend is being spoken about.</p> - -<p>"But there are men who seem to be composed of falsehood and deceit. -Such are the liars from necessity, who lie in order to obtain -something; such, too, are the liars from ostentation, who lie in order -to be superior to others, and to keep them down. One may be poisoned in -the atmosphere which they spread around them.</p> - -<p>"There is a pair of liars whom I have never seen, but often heard -spoken about. When I merely hear about them and their falsehoods, I -feel my brain affected, and their poison works telepathically on my -nerves. The pair are dogged by misfortune, and live alone. They tell -each other lies also, and pretend to themselves that they are martyrs, -although their misfortunes are solely due to their deceits. They -believe that they are persecuted by men, while, on the contrary, men -fly from them. Such they have been since childhood, and seem unable to -change. Perhaps their mendacity is a form of punishment, for 'they that -hate the righteous shall be guilty.'"</p> - -<p class="p2"><b>Murderous Lies.</b>—The teacher continued: "When one lives on -intimate terms with liars, one<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_166" id="Page_166">[Pg 166]</a></span> runs a risk of becoming a liar oneself. -One believes what they say, bases his views on their falsehoods, -spreads their false reports in good faith, defends their sophistries, -and is entangled in their deceits. Moreover, one's whole view of life -is distorted, one loses contact with reality, lives in a fictitious -world of feeling, regards friends as foes and foes as friends, thinks -one is loved while one is hated, and vice versa.</p> - -<p>"On one occasion a liar with whom I lived on intimate terms made me -think that my last book had been a failure. For five years I believed -it, suffered under the belief, and lost my courage. On my return to -Sweden I found that the book had had a great success. Five years had -been struck out of my life; I was nearly losing self-respect and the -courage to support existence. That is equivalent to murder. And this -behaviour on the part of my only friend, for whom I had worked and made -sacrifices, gave me such a shock that all my ideas were confused. It -took me years to rearrange them and bring them into proper order. True -and false were mingled together: lies became reality, and my whole life -seemed as unsubstantial as smoke. I was not far from ruin and the loss -of reason."</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_167" id="Page_167">[Pg 167]</a></span></p> - -<p class="p2"><b>Innocent Guilt.</b>—The teacher continued: "During the five years -in which I believed myself unjustly treated, I also incurred guilt. -I had cursed those who had been just towards me, wished evil to my -benefactors, repelled my admirers, avoided my adherents. And when I -should now have felt remorse for it, I could not do so sincerely. On -the one hand I felt myself innocent, and almost the victim of another's -falsehood. But the evil which I had done was there, and must be atoned -for. Such tangles are not easy to undo. Yet it is not good in life -to show mistrust towards men; one must take things easily, without -criticism and too careful reckoning. The deceiver says, to be sure, -'He who does not keep a sharp look-out, has himself to blame if he -is cheated.' But if one does look out, and will not let oneself be -cheated, one is credited with a morbid mistrustfulness. It is not -easy to live, and among lawless men it is better to be cheated than -to cheat. The Talmud says: 'Be rather among those who are cursed than -those who curse; rather among the persecuted than the persecutors: read -in the Scripture, No bird is more persecuted than the dove; yet God has -chosen it for a sacrifice on His altar.'"</p> - -<p class="p2"><b>The Charm of Old Age.</b>—The teacher said:<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_168" id="Page_168">[Pg 168]</a></span> "The charms of old -age are many. The greatest is the consciousness that it is not long -till evening when one can undress and lie down, without the necessity -of rising up and dressing again. The diminution of the body's strength -lessens its resistance to the free motions of the soul. One's -interest in merely temporal matters decreases, and one begins to take -a bird's-eye view of things. Seemingly important trifles shrink to -insignificance. Old estimates of the values of things are changed. All -that one has experienced lies like a litter of straw under one's feet; -one stands in it and grows in the midst of one's past. We have found -a constant amid all variables, that is, the instability of life, the -transitoriness and mutability of all things. Everything is repeated; -there are scarcely any surprises. We know everything beforehand, expect -no improvement, are no more deceived by false hopes, demand nothing -more of men, neither gratitude, nor faithfulness, nor love, only some -companionship in solitude. If we are deceived, we think it is part -of the play, and even find a sort of consolation in it, because it -confirms our views, which we do not like to see refuted. We become, -finally, cheerful pessimists. When, on the discovery of a new cheat, we -can say, 'What did I tell you?' we feel almost a sense of pleasure."</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_169" id="Page_169">[Pg 169]</a></span></p> - -<p class="p2"><b>The Ring-System.</b>—The teacher said: "In our old schools, the -pupils were arranged not in classes, but in rings, and the forms -were not placed in rows, but in circles. When I read of the circles -of Dante's hell, I thought of my old school. But outside in life, I -found this ring-system also. Men seemed linked together in concentric -circles, each of which formed a little system of views. Each circle -spoke its own language, expressed its meaning in old formulas, revered -its gods, created its great men, often out of nothing. In each circle -they had found the truth, and worked for development, but in a -different way to the others. The first circle was really the lowest, -but it considered itself the most important, because it was the first. -When I read a paper or a book which comes from other circles than -mine, I only see so much—that they are mad or stand on their heads. -It stifles me, and has a hostile effect. I surmise that the five great -races of the earth feel that, when they meet one another. In their -minds they are as foreign to each other as though they came from the -five great planets, although they have many human characteristics in -common."</p> - -<p class="p2"><b>Lust, Hate, and Fear, or the Religion of the Heathen.</b>—The -teacher said: "You know one of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_170" id="Page_170">[Pg 170]</a></span> my tasks in life has been to unmask -gyneolatry, the worship of women in history and life. I have called -it 'the superstition of the heathen,' because there is something -exclusively heathenish about it. Woman-worship is the religion of the -heathen, but it is a religion of fear, which has nothing to do with -love. Lust, hate, and fear—those are the component parts of it. As -soon as a heathen comes in the proximity of a woman, he becomes tame -and cowardly; faithless towards his friends, his convictions, and -himself. He immediately desires that others should venerate his idol -whom he hates and fears. That is a side of his animal self-love.</p> - -<p>"Gyneolatry is not Christian in its origin, but heathenish. All animals -and savage races fear their women. When heathenism in the Græco-Roman -and Moorish colonies of southern France and Italy got the upper hand, -then began gyneolatry, the worship of mistresses. This worship was -dishonestly confounded with chivalrous reverence for the Madonna, which -was quite another thing. This religion of the heathen is the religion -of fear and concealed hatred. Therefore all tyrants have been punished -by having a woman oppress and torment them. Swedenborg explains the -reason."</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_171" id="Page_171">[Pg 171]</a></span></p> - -<p class="p2"><b>"Whom the Gods Wish to Destroy."</b>—The teacher continued: "A -man's goodwill and generosity towards his wife stands in direct -relation to her behaviour. When therefore a woman is ill-treated by -her husband, we know of what sort she is. The apparently subordinate -position which the woman occupies is the direct result of the position -which nature has assigned to this immature transition-form between -child and man. The child has also a subordinate position; that is -quite natural, and no reasonable man has objected to it. Woman is the -earth-spirit who effectuates a certain harmony with the earth-life. To -this earth-life we must bring our sacrifice; therefore it is that a man -feels at home in his house, and therefore wife and child comfort and -protect us against the cold abstraction, life.</p> - -<p>"Marriage is the hardest school in which renunciation and self-conquest -is learned; it is also a forcing-house for wickedness of all kinds, -especially the hellish sin of imperiousness. How low the sons of the -Lord of Dung stand on the ladder of development may be seen from their -conviction that they are only equal to the woman or subordinate to -her. Blinded by this penal hallucination, they work for their<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_172" id="Page_172">[Pg 172]</a></span> own -destruction when they battle for the emancipation of women, for the -gods wish to destroy them.</p> - -<p class="p2"><b>The Slavery of the Prophet.</b>—"Stuart Mill, who became the -prophet of the woman's cause, had formed an attachment for another -man's wife.<a name="FNanchor_1_9" id="FNanchor_1_9"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_9" class="fnanchor">[1]</a> As a punishment he had to live in the hallucination -that he derived all his thoughts from her. She was indeed his medium, -and as such she repeated his thoughts as though they came from her, -and he believed she was his superior. When somebody asked if he had -received his 'Logic,' which he wrote before he knew her, also from -her, he answered, 'Yes.' This sober Positivist, who only believed in -tables of statistics, was obsessed by the powerful delusion that the -simple-minded woman was his Genius. He could not rise to a higher -idea of God. One thing I am sure of: as soon as a man deserts God, he -becomes the thrall of a female devil. All tyrants, above and below, are -caught in these chains, out of which only God in heaven can help a man. -But He can certainly. One sees it in those who have come alive out of -this hell. I know one...."</p> - -<p>"I know two!" the pupil interrupted.</p> - - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_1_9" id="Footnote_1_9"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1_9"><span class="label">[1]</span></a> Mrs. Taylor.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_173" id="Page_173">[Pg 173]</a></span></p></div> - - -<p class="p2"><b>Absurd Problems.</b>—The teacher continued: "There are -several reasons why woman is depicted as a sphinx by men. She is -incomprehensible because her soul is rudimentary, and she thinks with -her body. Her judgments are dictated by interests and passions, she -draws conclusions according to the state of the weather and the phases -of the moon. She will sell her best friend for a theatre-ticket, or -leave her sick child to see a balloon ascend. She murders her husband -in order to be able to go to a bathing-resort, and forswears her -religion for a diamond ring. At the same time she can appear to be -a charming woman, tender towards her children, amiable, and before -all things polite and affable. She may also appear a good household -manager, or at any rate enjoy the reputation of being one. She can -produce the illusion that she is quick at apprehension, although she -does not really understand a word. She can exhibit sacrifices which -are only ostentation, and give away only in order to receive back. Why -cannot one guess the riddle of this sphinx? Because there is no riddle -there! Why is woman incomprehensible? Because the problem is absurd. -She is an irrational function because she operates with variable -quantities under the radical signs.</p> - -<p>"Nevertheless we take her as a charming<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_174" id="Page_174">[Pg 174]</a></span> actuality, a delightful child -who may pull three hairs out of our beard; but if it pulls the fourth, -there is an end to the enchantment."</p> - -<p class="p2"><b>The Crooked Rib.</b>—The teacher said: "Goethe says in his -<i>Divan</i>,<a name="FNanchor_1_10" id="FNanchor_1_10"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_10" class="fnanchor">[1]</a> 'Woman is fashioned out of a crooked rib; if one tries to -bend her, she breaks; if one lets her alone, she becomes still more -crooked.' Thus there is nothing to be done. The only tactics one can -adopt, as Napoleon did, are flight, or at any rate to break off contact -and intimacy. This never fails; if one deprives a woman of the victim -of her hatred, she pines away.</p> - -<p>"Man loves and woman hates; man gives and woman takes; man sacrifices -and woman devours. When the woman wishes to show her superiority in -intellect, she commits a rascality. Her utmost endeavour is to deceive -her husband. If she can trick him into eating horse-flesh without -noticing it, she is happy. When woman gets her milk-teeth, she does -not learn to speak but to lie, for speech and falsehood are synonymous -for her. Every married man knows all that. But politeness and his own -vanity keep him silent. Often he is silent because of his children; -often because he is ashamed in the name of humanity. He<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_175" id="Page_175">[Pg 175]</a></span> thinks how -often one has drunk the toasts of mother, wife, sister, daughter—these -fictions in a world of deceit, where all is vanity of vanities. -But many men are silent because they are afraid of being called -'woman-haters.' They are afraid!"</p> - - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_1_10" id="Footnote_1_10"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1_10"><span class="label">[1]</span></a> The saying is originally Muhammed's.</p></div> - - -<p class="p2"><b>White Slavery.</b>—The teacher said: "In the whole of the upper and -middle classes and a good way below them the following is the case with -regard to marriage: When a man marries, his work, which he can devolve -on no one else, increases. His wife, on the other hand, at once gets -a servant to do her work; if she has children, then she gets a nurse -besides. But she herself sits there without occupation, and tries to -kill time with useless trivialities. In this way she can neither get -an appetite for dinner, nor sleep at night. In the evening her husband -comes home, and wants to enjoy the domestic hearth; but his wife wants -to go to the theatre and restaurant. She is not tired, but bored by -want of occupation, and therefore wants amusement. Women, in fact, seem -not to be born for domestic life, but for the theatre, the restaurant, -and the street. Therefore women complain that they must sit at home. -Although they have slaves to serve them, they call themselves 'slaves' -and hold meetings to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_176" id="Page_176">[Pg 176]</a></span> their own emancipation, but not that of their -servants. Their animalised husbands support them without observing that -they themselves are slaves; for he who works for the idle is a slave. -But it is written, 'Ye are bought with a price; be slaves to no man.'"</p> - -<p class="p2"><b>Noodles.</b>—The pupil asked: "What is a woman-hater?"</p> - -<p>The teacher answered: "I do not know. But the expression is used as a -term of reproach by noodles, for those who say what all think. Noodles -are those men who cannot come near a woman without losing their heads -and becoming faithless. They purchase the woman's favour by delivering -up the heads of their friends on silver chargers; and they absorb -so much femininity, that they see with feminine eyes and feel with -feminine feelings. There are things which one does not say every day, -and one does not tell one's wife what her sex is composed of. But one -has the right to put it on paper sometimes. Schopenhauer has done it -the best, Nietzsche not badly, Peladan is the master. Thackeray wrote -<i>Men's Wives</i> but the book was ignored. Balzac has unmasked Caroline in -the <i>Petites Misères de la vie Conjugale</i>. Otto Weininger discovered -the deceit at the age of twenty;<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_177" id="Page_177">[Pg 177]</a></span> he did not wait for the consequent -vengeance, but went his own way, <i>i.e.</i> died. I have said that the -child is a little criminal, incapable of self-guidance, but I love -children all the same. I have said that a woman is—what she is, but -I have always loved some woman, and been a father. Whoever therefore -calls me a woman-hater is a blockhead, a liar, or a noodle. Or all -three together."</p> - -<p class="p2"><b>Inextricable Confusion.</b>—The teacher continued: "If on the other -side of the grave there were a Judge Rhadamanthus appointed to arrange -the disputes of men, he would never come to an end. Life is such a -tissue of lies, errors, misunderstandings, of debts and demands, that -a balancing of the books is impossible. I know men who have been lied -about their whole lives through. I know of one who was branded through -his whole life with the stigma of a seducer, although he has never -seduced, but was seduced himself. I know of an uncommonly truthful man -who had the reputation of being a liar. I know an honourable man who -passed for a thief. I know a man who was three times married, and had -children in all three marriages, but was said to be no man, because -he, as a man, would not be the slave of his wife. I know many who -are sincerely religious and yet<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_178" id="Page_178">[Pg 178]</a></span> are called hypocrites, although the -chief point in religion is sincerity. But, on the other hand, I know -heathen who professed to be atheists, although in their bedchambers -they sang penitential psalms when they were nervous in the dark and -feared the consequences of their misdeeds. They were so cowardly -that they dared not fall under the suspicion of being religious, but -bragged of their courage and strength of character. They would not -abandon the Black Flag; they would not be untrue to the ideal of their -youth—godlessness. Rascally right and good-hearted stupidity form a -problem too complicated for Rhadamanthus himself to solve. Only the -Crucified could do it with the single saying which He addressed to the -penitent thief, 'To-day shalt thou be with Me in Paradise.'"</p> - -<p class="p2"><b>Phantoms.</b>—The teacher said: "When intelligence and the power -of reflection are matured, and one thinks about men, their outlines -begin to dissolve, and they turn into phantoms. Indeed, one never -really knows a man; one knows only his own, or others' ideas of him, -but when these ideas change, the image of him becomes indistinct and -is obscured with a veil. We form our conception of a person whom we -have never seen<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_179" id="Page_179">[Pg 179]</a></span> according to others' ideas of him. Thus, for example, -the personality of a famous painter was described to me by an author. -After two years the author had formed another idea of him, and imparted -that to me, and I had to alter my view of him. Then there came another -describer, and gave me quite a different idea of the painter. He was -followed by a third and a fourth. After this I saw the painter's -pictures, and could not understand how he could paint in the way he -did. But the painter himself I never saw. He has become for me a -phantom without clear outlines, composed of different-coloured pieces -of glass, which do not harmonise, and alter according to my moods. I -expect that when I meet him he will not resemble my idea of him at all, -but have the effect of quite another independent phantom."</p> - -<p class="p2"><b>Mirage Pictures.</b>—The teacher said: "When I have lived for some -time in solitude my acquaintances begin to appear like mirage-pictures -before me. Some gain by distance, occasion only friendly feelings, -and are surrounded by an atmosphere of light and peace. Others whom I -really like very well when they are near, lose by absence, and appear -to be hostile. Thus I may hate a friend in his absence, look upon -him as unpleasant and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_180" id="Page_180">[Pg 180]</a></span> inimical, but as soon as he comes, enter into -friendly contact with him. There is a woman whose proximity I cannot -bear, but whom I love at a distance. We write letters to each full -of regard and friendliness. When we have longed for each other for a -time and must meet, we immediately begin to quarrel, become vulgar -and unsympathetic, and part in anger. We love each other on a higher -plane, but cannot live in the same room. We dream of meeting again, -spiritualised, on some green island, where only we two can live, or, -at any rate, only our child with us. I remember a half-hour which we -three actually spent hand in hand on a green island by the sea-coast. -It seemed to me like heaven. Then the clocks struck the hour of noon, -and we were back again on earth, and soon after that, in hell."</p> - -<p class="p2"><b>Trifle not with Love.</b>—The pupil said: "When a man and a woman -are united in love, a single being is the result, whose existence -is a positive pleasure, as long as harmony reigns. But this being -is an extremely sensitive receptive instrument, and is exposed to -disturbances from outer currents which act from all distances, an -inconvenience which it shares with wireless telegraphy. Therefore -a disturbance of the relationship between<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_181" id="Page_181">[Pg 181]</a></span> a married pair is the -greatest pain which exists. Unfaithfulness is a cosmic crime which -brings the one or the other member of the married pair into perverse -relations with their own sex. If the husband loves another woman, his -wife is exposed to terrible alternate currents; by turns she loves and -hates the woman who is her rival. Often she can be the friend of her -husband's paramour, but more often her enemy. Whoever comes between a -pair who love, does not so with impunity. The hate which he arouses is -so terrible, that he can be lamed by the discharge, lose all energy and -pleasure in life. Therefore it is rightly said, 'Trifle not with love.'"</p> - -<p class="p2"><b>A "Taking" Religion.</b>—The pupil said: "When Buddhism, mixed -with Vedantism, became fashionable in 1890, all the renegades from -Christianity flocked to it and tried to fill the vacuum in their -religious lives. Six thousand new gods were received with applause -forthwith; the new trinity—Brahma, Vishnu, Siva—encountered no -objections; spirits, ghosts, genies, fairies were thought quite -natural; Gautama's heaven and hell were thrown into the bargain, -accompanied by a slight flavour of asceticism. Those who denied the -Resurrection found reincarnation quite a simple<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_182" id="Page_182">[Pg 182]</a></span> affair. But the -favourite was Krishna. He was the incarnation of the god Vishnu, who -descended to earth in order to be born of earthly parents and to save -fallen humanity. His coming was prophesied, and so dreaded that a -massacre of new-born infants like that at Bethlehem was plotted, but -unsuccessfully. Krishna fulfilled his mission, conquered the evil -powers, and finally endured a voluntary death. That 'took'! The trinity -Brahma, Vishnu, Siva 'took,' but Father, Son, Holy Spirit did not -'take.' Krishna 'took,' but not Christ. It was strange!"</p> - -<p class="p2"><b>The Sixth Sense.</b>—The pupil continued: "The outer eye can -reflect images, the inner eye can conceive them. There are therefore -two kinds of sight, an outer and an inner. Of the senses, that of -smell is the most immediate when it has to do with the conveyance -of impressions. But there seem also to be two kinds of faculties of -smell. Swedenborg says that a false man smells of sour gastric juice, -but only for the person to whom he has been false. In this case the -smell-perception is only subjective, but it is of great objective value -in judging men. In this case the organ of smell seems to operate with -æther-waves. According to Swedenborg's doctrine of correspondences, -good<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_183" id="Page_183">[Pg 183]</a></span> men exhale sweet perfume, and bad men a stench like that of -corpses. He says that misers smell like rats, and so on. Legends of -the saints relate that the corpses of those who have kept their souls -and bodies pure, when they dissolve, exhale a flower-like perfume. -In short, every soul has its scent, which varies according to its -characteristics.</p> - -<p>"This sixth sense the clothes-hygienist Jäger believed he had -discovered after he had begun to observe and train his outer and -inner man. I will speak now of my own experiences in the matter. They -did not begin till I had passed through the great purgatorial fire -which burnt up the rubbish of my soul, and after I had scrambled out -of the worst of the mire by self-discipline and asceticism. They are -accustomed to boil off the gum from raw silk before it is spun, and -so my nerve-fibres seemed to have been 'scoured' by the sufferings of -life, and gone through a process like the 'fining' of silk."</p> - -<p class="p2"><b>Exteriorisation of Sensibility.</b>—The pupil continued: "I -happened once, when watching a spider in a web, to see her 'exteriorise -her sensibility,' or in other words reel out a nerve-substance for -herself with which she remains in touch, and by means of which she -becomes aware when flies come and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_184" id="Page_184">[Pg 184]</a></span> when the weather changes. Raspail, -who in his masterly works has cast many a far-reaching glance -behind the curtains of nature, has in one place philosophised over -the spider's web. In other works dealing with transcendent natural -sciences, one finds the doubt expressed whether the object of the -spider's web is only to be a fly-trap. I myself have counted four and -twenty radii in the web of the garden-spider resembling an hour-circle, -and have asked myself whether, besides being a barometer and trap, the -web is also a kind of clock.</p> - -<p>"Now it seems as though I had myself in a similar manner exteriorised -my sensibility. I feel at a distance when anyone interferes with my -destiny, when enemies threaten my personal existence, and also when -people speak well of me or wish me well. I feel in the street whether -those I meet are friends or foes; I have felt the pain of an operation -undergone by a man to whom I was fairly indifferent; twice I have -shared the death-agonies of others with the accompanying corporeal and -psychical sufferings. The last time I went through three illnesses -in six hours, and when the absent person with whom I suffered was -liberated by death, I rose up well. This makes life painful, but rich -and interesting."</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_185" id="Page_185">[Pg 185]</a></span></p> - -<p class="p2"><b>Telepathic Perception.</b>—The pupil said: "While I lived in the -most intimate relations with a woman, I arrived, like Gustav Jäger, at -'the discovery of the soul.' I was always in communication with her, -often through obscure sensations, but very often through the sense of -smell; these were subjective however, as other people were not aware -of them. When she was travelling I knew whether she was in a steamer -or on a train; I could distinguish the revolutions of the screw from -the vibration of the railway carriage and the puffing of the engine. -She used to make her presence felt by me at a certain hour of the -day, <i>i.e.</i> five o'clock in the morning. Once, when she was in Paris, -this time changed to four o'clock. When I consulted the table of time -variations, I found that it was four o'clock in Paris when it was five -o'clock with me. Another time she was in St. Petersburg, then our -meeting took place an hour later; that also agreed with the time-table. -When she hated me, I was conscious of a smell and taste like that of -mortalin; this happened one night so distinctly that I had to rise and -open the window. When she thought kindly of me, I perceived a smell -of incense and often of jasmine, but these scents sometimes changed -into sensations of taste. When she was in society without me I felt -that she<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_186" id="Page_186">[Pg 186]</a></span> was away, and when the conversation turned on me I was aware -whether they were speaking good or ill about me."</p> - -<p class="p2"><b>Morse Telepathy.</b>—The pupil continued: "I was spending one -evening at home alone; I did not know where she was, but had the -feeling that she was lost to me. At 10.40 <span style="font-size: 0.7em;">P.M.</span> I was aware of a passing -breath of perfume. Then I said to myself, 'She has been in the theatre! -But in which?' I took the daily paper, read the theatre advertisements, -and found that one theatre closed at 10.40. Further inquiry proved that -my surmise was right.</p> - -<p>"On another occasion when in company I broke off a lively conversation -with a smile. 'What are you smiling at?' 'Just now the train from the -south entered the terminus.' Another time under similar circumstances -I said: 'Now the curtain falls on the last act in <i>Helsingfors</i>!' and -I heard the applause which greeted the prima donna who had played in -my piece. The conversation of the people in the restaurant after the -conclusion of the piece sounded like ringing in my ears. I can hear -that as far as from Germany when a prima donna is acting in one of my -pieces there, although I do not know beforehand that it is going to -be played. One evening I had gone to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_187" id="Page_187">[Pg 187]</a></span> bed about half-past nine, and -was awoken about half-past eleven by a smell of punch and tobacco and -in the impression that two of my acquaintances in a café were talking -about me. I had every reason to believe that I had been present there -in some way or another, but I was so accustomed to this phenomenon that -this time I did not test it. Flammarion gives a hundred such cases in -his book <i>The Unknown</i>."</p> - -<p class="p2"><b>Nisus Formativus, or Unconscious Sculpture.</b>—The pupil -continued: "Once I signed a contract with a merchant. After sleeping -the night over it, I noticed that he had cheated me. With angry -thoughts I went out for my morning stroll. When I came back I wished -to change my clothes, and threw my handkerchief on the table. After I -had undressed myself I noticed that the handkerchief had been crumpled -together by my nervous clutch, and now, where it lay, formed a cast -of the merchant's head, like a plaster-of-Paris bust. The question -arises: Had my hand unconsciously formed an image of my thoughts? Linen -is a very plastic material, and one often finds excellent pieces of -'sculpture' in handkerchiefs, sheets, and cushions. When a married -man comes home with his wife from a ball, he should look at the -handkerchief<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_188" id="Page_188">[Pg 188]</a></span> chief which she has held the whole evening in her hand, -and then perhaps he might see with whom she preferred most to dance.</p> - -<p>"In India a Buddhist priest is said to represent the 208 incarnations -of Vishnu by putting his hand in a linen bag, and moulding rapidly from -within the linen of the bag into the shapes of an elephant, tortoise, -etc. When St. Veronica's napkin retained the impress of Christ's face, -that is not more improbable than that my pillow in the morning should -show the impress of faces which are not like mine. I have read of -Indian vases which are so modelled that at first one only sees a chaos -resembling clouds, twisted entrails, or the convolutions of the brain. -After the eye has become accustomed to this the confusion begins to be -disentangled; all kinds of objects such as plants and animals emerge -in clear outline. Whether all observers see the same I know not. But -I believe that the moulder of the vase has worked unintentionally and -unconsciously."</p> - -<p class="p2"><b>Projections.</b>—The pupil continued: "But there are also -projections which I cannot explain. It is possible that only poets and -artists possess the power so to project their inward images in every -life that they become half real. It is quite a usual<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_189" id="Page_189">[Pg 189]</a></span> occurrence that -the dying show themselves to their absent friends. Living persons can -also appear at a distance, but only to those who keep them in their -thoughts. I used to show my initiated friends the following phenomenon: -I observed a stranger who resembled an absent acquaintance. As soon -as my eye completed the image, whatever unlikeness remained was -erased. 'See, there goes X.,' I said. My friends saw the resemblance, -understood that it was not X., comprehended my meaning, and agreed -with me without further thought. If we shortly afterwards met X. we -were astonished, and attempted to find no explanation in face of the -inexplicable latter part of the phenomenon.</p> - -<p>"But one day I went down a street and 'saw' my friend Dr. Y. who lived -fifty miles away. It was he, and yet it was not he. It was the same -little figure although somewhat wavering and uncertain. The grey-yellow -face was also the same although almost ghost-like, with deep furrows -which followed the oval lines of the face, and with the forced laugh of -suffering. When I came home I read in the paper that the man was dead."</p> - -<p class="p2"><b>Apparitions.</b>—The pupil continued: "One evening I passed a -well-known theatre while a performance<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_190" id="Page_190">[Pg 190]</a></span> was going on inside. There was -no one outside. Suddenly on the pavement I saw an actor who had died -thirty years previously, after he had first gone crazy with vexation -because he had failed as an actor in this very theatre. His face, like -that of my deceased friend the doctor's, was lined with those parallel -furrows which run from the forehead to the jaw. 'Was it he, or not?' -I asked myself, and left the question open. On another occasion I -was travelling by rail in a foreign country. The train halted at a -station for three minutes. On the platform in broad daylight a man was -going up and down with a paint-box in his hand. He looked nervous and -suffering and was badly dressed. 'That is he!' I thought. 'How has he -got here? Why has he come down in the world?' During this three minutes -I suffered all the tortures of uncertainty and of a bad conscience, for -I was partly to blame for his misfortune and his poverty. The train -went on, and I have never discovered whether it were really he. It was -certainly improbable.</p> - -<p>"Yet another time I was travelling by rail. At a remote station a man -came into my compartment and sat opposite me. I thought he was an -acquaintance, but he looked at me unrecognisingly. Then I let my eyes -fall. Immediately he regarded<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_191" id="Page_191">[Pg 191]</a></span> me with an ironical smile which I again -recognised. 'It is he,' I thought, 'but he will not greet me.' So I -suffered for some hours. My conscience endured all that I owed him. -Whether it really was he I know not, but the effect was the same."</p> - -<p class="p2"><b>The Reactionary Type.</b>—The teacher said: "Men seem to react -against themselves and their own bad qualities when they demand from -others what they cannot themselves do. A man who is full of hate -demands to be loved. A faithless deceiver came lately to me and -finished his wily talk by saying, 'All I ask is that you trust me!' -He only asked that in order that he might be able to deceive me. But -perhaps he trusted me more than himself; he did not know himself, but -had an inkling of what he was. Perhaps he felt that my belief in him -would strengthen and elevate him, and might possibly neutralise his -untrustworthiness. It sounded at any rate very naïve, and I felt myself -honoured by the compliment.</p> - -<p>"Again, a spendthrift who had no means of his own always cautioned me -to be frugal. He gave brilliant parties, but when he came to me he only -got potatoes and herrings, and yet he thought that was beyond my means. -On one occasion I had bought 200 grammes of nickel-sulphate for my<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_192" id="Page_192">[Pg 192]</a></span> -chemical experiments. They cost fifty-two pence. The spendthrift came -to visit me, looked at the sulphate, and exclaimed, 'Can you afford it? -Nickel-sulphate which is so dear.' Fifty-two pence! Then he invited me -to a drive in a carriage, and a meal which cost fifty-two kronas for -an altogether unproductive purpose. When he had to pay the reckoning -he suffered torments. Perhaps he was by nature a skinflint, who had -yielded to a mania for extravagance and reacted against it. I tried to -explain this once to him, as on principle I wished to think well of the -man."</p> - -<p class="p2"><b>The Hate of Parasites.</b>—The teacher continued: "There are -men who are spiritually so empty that they only live on others. I -have an acquaintance (when one is over fifty one does not ask for -friends any more) who constantly visits me but never says anything. -Our social intercourse consists in my speaking alone. When he -leaves me after several hours, I feel as if I had been undergoing -blood-letting. It is certainly good to be able to talk oneself out -often, but one would often like to have an answer to one's questions; -but I never get an answer, not even to a question in his own special -line. I can only remember one expression which this man used, and -that was<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_193" id="Page_193">[Pg 193]</a></span> extraordinarily stupid. Somebody had slandered me, and my -'acquaintance' had believed every word and painted my figure in false -colours. Finally one evening I defended myself, and proved that my -slanderer was not in his right senses. He rejected my explanation, -exclaiming 'Fie! how cynical you are!'</p> - -<p>"What did this answer mean? First, that I must not wash myself clean, -for he wanted to have me dirty; secondly, that he gave me the lie; -thirdly, that his sympathies were on the side of the slanderer. I draw -the inference that this man hated me, and therefore visited me. If he -could not have intercourse with me, he could not abuse my confidence -and gratify his hate. His tactics were—to live my life, to devour -my soul, to gnaw my bones. The attraction he felt to me he called -sympathy, though it was antipathy. There are many kinds of hate, and -a wife's 'love' to her husband is a variety of hate. She desires -his virile power in order to become a husband and make him into a -passive-wife."</p> - -<p class="p2"><b>A Letter from the Dead.</b>—The teacher said: "It seems as though -one could live the life of another parallel with one's own, or as -though one<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_194" id="Page_194">[Pg 194]</a></span> might be in touch with a stranger on another continent. -One morning I received a letter of twenty-quarto pages from America. -Long letters make me nervous; they always begin with flattery and end -with scolding. I read, as I usually do, the signature first, which -was unknown to me. Then I dipped into the letter here and there, and -saw that the writer wished to influence me. One word pricked me like -a needle, and I tore the letter into small pieces which I threw in -the paper-basket. In the night I dreamt that the remarkable man,<a name="FNanchor_1_11" id="FNanchor_1_11"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_11" class="fnanchor">[1]</a> -who seemed still to guide my steps after his death, showed me an old -manuscript which I had not found worth reading. The old servant held -the manuscript against the light, and then I saw like a water-mark -another writing between the lines. Immediately afterwards I saw in -my dream a broken-off leaden wire, but closer inspection showed its -surface to be gold. When I awoke in the morning I understood the -dream in its perfectly clear symbolism. I went to the paper-basket, -collected the fragments of the stranger's letter, and spent six hours -in piecing them together. Then I began to read. I should premise that -the handwriting was so like that of my deceased<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_195" id="Page_195">[Pg 195]</a></span> and honoured teacher, -that I believed I was reading a letter from the dead."</p> - - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_1_11" id="Footnote_1_11"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1_11"><span class="label">[1]</span></a> He refers probably to the Chief Librarian in the Royal -Stockholm Library, where he had been an assistant in his youth.</p></div> - - -<p class="p2"><b>A Letter from Hell.</b>—"The letter pricked me like a packet of -needles. But it was so interesting that I was continually lured onward -to read to the end. The writer began by saying that he had received his -first intellectual awakening through my books. Since then his course -for twenty years had been very irregular; led astray by the prevailing -ape-morality, he had gone in evil ways. In the midst of his wandering, -it happened to him as to Dante and others—he came into hell, but found -a Virgil who led him out and saved him. Then his own real life began. -He passed all the sciences from philosophy to chemistry under critical -review, and found them consisting of mere conventional lies. He drifted -about helplessly till he found an anchorage-ground in faith in Christ, -the Exorciser of demons, the highest Wisdom, the Redeemer who saves -from doubt, despair, and madness.</p> - -<p>"During the perusal I felt sometimes as though I were reading my own -life or a satire on it. Annoyed by what seemed a tactless encroachment, -I often wished to throw the letter away but could not; the dream always -recurred to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_196" id="Page_196">[Pg 196]</a></span> me, and the letter contained new and bold ideas sparkling -in a chaos of contradictions and paradoxes. In short, it proved a -turning-point in my life. It exposed my faults, but showed me at the -same time that I had held the right course, in spite of the deflections -and cross-currents to which I had been exposed."</p> - -<p class="p2"><b>An Unconscious Medium.</b>—"Now let me say a few words about -my deceased mentor, who already in his lifetime exercised a great -influence on my development, though without knowing or wishing it. I -was young, precocious, dull, and untrustworthy, mostly because I wished -to preserve my personal independence, but also because I was godless, -and consequently immoral without any other principle except that of -getting on. He, my chief, attracted me, in spite of the fact that I was -antipathetic to him in most things. My position required that I should -serve him devotedly, but I wished also to serve my own interests. He -was a spiritist and Swedenborgian, but I was a materialist. This he was -aware of, because I was brutally truthful. But struggle as I might, -I came under his influence and became his medium. There were days on -which he was so blind that he could not read the old manuscripts which -he<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_197" id="Page_197">[Pg 197]</a></span> was editing. One day he gave me a mediæval codex in a difficult -character, and half in joke told me to read it. I read it at once, -without having learnt the character. Then he had discovered me. But -I worked alone, although unconsciously. One day I stumbled on a pile -of old documents, and found a date which he had been hunting for -for twenty years. Another time I found an historic detail of great -importance which altered our ideas of our early history. One day our -paths diverged.</p> - -<p class="p2"><b>The Revenant.</b>—"Years passed. I lived abroad, but my thoughts -often reverted to the savant who had had a great influence on my -life. Often, without any special reason, I spoke of him for hours at -a time—not always with the respect which I owed him. I was, it must -be remembered, a pioneer, to whom nothing was sacred, neither parents -nor teacher. One day I heard that the old man was dead. Eight days -later there appeared in the paper this mysterious announcement. An -intimate friend of the deceased received, eight days after his death, -through the post, a letter from him. The paper considered it a jocose -mystification on the part of the deceased, who loved jokes. I guessed -who might have been entrusted with the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_198" id="Page_198">[Pg 198]</a></span> letter, but felt astonished -that a dying man could take such pleasure in jesting, especially about -things which he had taken so seriously. When, two years later, began -the experiences described in my book <i>Inferno</i>, I felt that I was in -touch with my departed teacher. There were certain roguish traits in -the phenomena which reminded me of him. I remember one night addressing -the question to the darkness, 'Is it you?' The whole affair was in his -style, teasing in form, but well-meaning in purpose. I received no -answer, but the impression remained—a mixture of terrible grim earnest -and behind it a friendly smile, comforting, pardoning, protecting, just -as in his lifetime, when he practised patience with my ill manners."</p> - -<p class="p2"><b>The Meeting in the Convent.</b>—The teacher continued: "During -my wanderings I happened once to visit a convent with a travelling -companion in a corner of Europe. What interested me specially was the -library, for I had long been trying to trace Anschar's<a name="FNanchor_1_12" id="FNanchor_1_12"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_12" class="fnanchor">[1]</a> journal. -After I had slept the night in a cell which bore the inscription 'B. -Victor III. P.P.,' in memory of Pope Victor III 'who punished the -heretics who denied the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_199" id="Page_199">[Pg 199]</a></span> divinity of Christ,' I was taken into the -library. The first thing shown me was a collection of Latin hymns of -the Middle Ages which had been edited by my deceased teacher. The -inner side of the title-page contained some handwriting by the editor, -which was so peculiar that it could hardly be imitated. I asked the -Benedictine monk who accompanied me, whose signature it was. He -answered, 'The convent librarian's.' 'Are you certain?' I asked. 'Yes, -quite certain.' This discovery of his handwriting, which I had never -seen elsewhere, after so many years made a deep impression on me. I -asked myself whether the monk, acting as a medium, could have imitated -the handwriting of the deceased editor. After an afternoon's search I -found the valuable explanation that Anschar's journal had been taken by -Abbot Thymo from Corvey to Rome in A.D. 1261. It was known that it had -since disappeared, but now I had found a trace of it. I felt as though -my deceased friend had brought me here into the convent in order to -discuss Anschar's journal, concerning the fate of which we had often -made guesses and searches."</p> - - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_1_12" id="Footnote_1_12"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1_12"><span class="label">[1]</span></a> A famous French missionary in Sweden, a.d. 801-865.</p></div> - - -<p class="p2"><b>Correspondences.</b>—The teacher said: "It seems to me as though -Swedenborg's correspondences<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_200" id="Page_200">[Pg 200]</a></span> or correlatives were to be found again -in all departments, as though natural laws on a higher plane can be -applied to the spiritual life of man. If an object comes too close to -the magnifying glass, it becomes indistinct. Similarly one cannot see -the object of one's affections if she comes too close. She becomes -small and indistinct, loses outline and colour; but remove her to the -proper focus, and she becomes magnified and clear. Thus it is with -princes and their valets de chambre.</p> - -<p>"But there are also exceptions to the rule. Many friends gain by -proximity; one must see them often, otherwise they change their -shape and become ghostly and alarming. Others again seem better at a -distance; whenever we meet them we lose an illusion. The attraction -between lovers can increase in proportion to the square of the distance -between them, and also in reverse proportion; the greater the distance, -the greater the pain of separation. It seems also possible to apply the -facts of electricity in the psychical sphere. Pellets of elder-pith -attract one another so long as they are of opposite polarity, but when -they are saturated or over-saturated they repel one another. But the -mutual repulsion also takes place when a foreign body is interposed -between<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_201" id="Page_201">[Pg 201]</a></span> them, for then an influence is produced which operates -laterally."</p> - -<p class="p2"><b>Portents.</b>—The teacher continued: "As soon as I believe in an -Almighty God, who can suspend the few natural laws which we know, and -bring into operation the countless host of laws which we do not know, -I must believe in miracles. Swedenborg does not deal so hardly with -anyone (at the same time that he commiserates them) as the asses who -revere the creation and the laws of nature, without believing in the -Creator and Law-giver. They go with their noses on the ground, and if -anything unusual happens 'in the air,' as they say, they call it 'a -meteorological phenomenon,' and attribute it to such and such natural -causes. They register the phenomenon in their records without dreaming -of anything behind it, and forthwith forget the matter.</p> - -<p>"We, on the other hand, will mention some events of recent years and -connect them with certain natural phenomena which may possibly denote -the presence of warning and chastising powers.</p> - -<p>"On the 7th June, 1905, Sweden and Norway separated. A year previous an -earthquake took place which had its centre in the Kattegat. One<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_202" id="Page_202">[Pg 202]</a></span> shock -reached Christiania and caused a terrible panic in the churches; people -trampled one another to death or lost their reason. Another shock -affected Stockholm and caused alarm, but in a minor degree; among those -affected by it was a prince of high military rank. In January, 1905, a -hurricane burst over Christiania, tore the roof from the royal castle, -and injured the fortress of Akershus. The same hurricane travelled -east-ward to Stockholm, tore the roof from the guards' barracks and -threw it on the drilling-ground. These statements can be verified by -reference to the newspapers. The question is: 'Are these portents or -not?' Are symbolic natural phenomena portents?"</p> - -<p class="p2"><b>The Difficult Art of Lying.</b>—The teacher said: "When people -lie deliberately, usually with the object of gaining something, I -often do not hear what they say. One day a carpenter came to me with a -complaint. I listened to him and helped him. The next day he came again -in order to do a piece of work. Then, among other things he let this -remark fall: 'To-day, thank God, she is better.' 'Who?' I asked. 'I -mentioned yesterday that my child had fallen down the staircase.' Then -I felt ashamed of having taken so little<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_203" id="Page_203">[Pg 203]</a></span> interest in his troubles, -and murmured some sympathetic words. But when he had gone I thought -over the matter. Since I generally hear very well and attend to what -people say, I was astonished that I had not noticed his account of his -trouble. I could not explain it to myself.</p> - -<p>"Some time later, after some months, I conceived a strong feeling of -distrust towards this man. I remembered the German proverb, 'A liar -should have a good memory,' and determined to test him. Therefore I -said to him abruptly, 'Did you have a good summer?' 'Splendid,' he -answered. 'Is your wife quite well?' 'Perfectly.' 'Your child too?' -'She has never passed through the summer so well.' Accordingly he -had lied when he said the little girl had had an accident, and had -subsequently forgotten it. What was unreal could leave no impression -behind—an interesting fact, as it seemed to me. In connection with -this I remembered that an actor, a pessimist and hopeless despairer, -had to play the part of a believing and positive character on a certain -occasion. That evening the audience could hardly hear a word of what he -said. I was astonished at the time, but now I understand that he was -lying."</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_204" id="Page_204">[Pg 204]</a></span></p> - -<p class="p2"><b>Religious and Scientific Intuition.</b>—The pupil said: "The -everlasting strife between Faith and Knowledge would have been stifled -at the outset if some sharp wit had discovered in time that the problem -is wrongly stated, for the two ideas form no real antithesis. What -I know, that I believe; consequently faith presupposes knowledge, -consequently knowledge is subsumed under faith. But the word 'belief' -has received other significations. In religion it means reception -or absorption. Science recognises the fact of intuition or rapid -inference, <i>i.e.</i> the faculty of reaching certainty without sufficient -reason and without a complete chain of proof. That is scientific -belief, and is in complete analogy with religious belief. When a man -arrives at the knowledge of God and of His laws by way of intuition, -when he then tests this knowledge by observing his experiences and -finds it confirmed, then the final outcome of his investigation is -Belief. Belief is complete objective certainty, but on a higher plane, -so that all scientific chatter that Knowledge is higher than Belief -is mere nonsense. By 'knowledge' in this case one understands for the -most part information about stones, plants, and animals, and historical -facts such as the year in which a certain book was published, when -Goethe was in Strasburg, whether<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_205" id="Page_205">[Pg 205]</a></span> Rebecca Ost's real name was -Popoffsky or Johanna Hagelstrom, or whether an Apostle-mug is genuine -or imitation. The antithesis 'Faith <i>or</i> Knowledge' is the stupidest -dispute about words which ever took place, and a disgrace to humanity."</p> - -<p class="p2"><b>The Freed Thinker.</b>—The teacher said: "In order to think -rightly and in accordance with law, I must free my reason from fetters -of rustic intelligence, from interests, passions, conventional -considerations. One must go into deep solitude, and not be afraid of -remaining alone, deserted by all. Above all, one must not belong to -any party which regulates, inspects, and degrades. In order to be able -to dare to give up the weak and hampering support of men, one must -be able thoroughly to rely upon God. In order to do that one must -keep one's conscience as clean as possible, must hate evil, strive -after righteousness and goodness, bear everything except humiliation, -exercise mercifulness, and take trials as such and not as persecutions.</p> - -<p>"The electric clock has contact and connection with a correctly-timed -chronometer. And so my reason cannot think logically till I have opened -connection with the Logos, and no longer discharge contrary currents of -sterile denial and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_206" id="Page_206">[Pg 206]</a></span> doubt. Only in life with God is there freedom of -thought, freedom from impure impulses, selfish and ambitious interests, -freedom from the wish to stand well with the crowd. That is the <i>freed</i> -thinker in contrast to the 'free-thinker,' who has left the rails and -lost connection with the overhead wire; he will come to grief at the -next street-corner, and is of no more use as a vehicle of traffic."</p> - -<p class="p2"><b>Primus inter pares.</b>—The pupil continued: "Religions seemed -to be determined by regions like nationalities. Swedenborg hints -at something of the sort, saying that people have the religion -which they ought to have. Those who have no religion are tramps and -vagabonds, pariahs and gipsies, scoundrels and swindlers. They think -they are at home everywhere, but are so only on the high-roads, in -the market-places, behind the circus-stable, in the alehouse. When -Lessing asserts in <i>Nathan der Weise</i> that all religions are equally -good, he shows that he has not understood Christianity, which is the -beginning and end of the world's history. The Muhammedans are certainly -religious, more religious than the Christians, and among the adherents -of Islam are many sects, but no atheistic ones. All observe the hours<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_207" id="Page_207">[Pg 207]</a></span> -of prayer, fasts, and daily washings. Muhammed was no Christ-hater. But -they are alien to our climate. Still we have something to learn from -them; they are not ashamed to show their religion, while we shuffle -with it. They are not only religious on Sundays but every day and all -day.</p> - -<p>"But, if we heard that a Christian had gone over to Islam we should -regard it as a fall from the higher to the lower, while the conversion -of a Muhammedan to Christianity would be hailed as an ascent. Saladin -was certainly noble and Nathan wise, but the nobleness of the former -had somewhat of a pose about it, and the wisdom of the latter was of -the same homely kind as Voltaire's. On the other hand, Godfrey de -Bouillon accepted the crown of thorns instead of the king's crown, -and St. Louis gave his life for the wisdom which surpasses all -understanding."</p> - -<p class="p2"><b>Heathen Imaginations.</b>—The teacher said: "Religions are -represented by regions, defined territories, circles, of which each -considers himself the centre. The modern heathen sit in their little -bag, which is big enough to be seen, and when they only see heathen -they imagine that Christianity is decaying or altogether done with. -And yet it is flourishing as it never did before; everything<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_208" id="Page_208">[Pg 208]</a></span> serves -the Gospel with or against its will. The heathen find new weapons in -heaps of ruins and in temple-libraries; they close churches and thereby -bring Christianity into life and into the domestic circle. When they -make life bitter for the Christians, the latter turn from the sour and -seek the fresh. The missionaries who were only lately regarded with a -contemptuous smile are now discovered by great explorers in deserts -and wildernesses, where they have established oases of humanity and -mercy. There the plundered wanderer can rest his weary head, secure of -having found one trustworthy man. He who wishes to know the effect of -Christianity on an idolater should read Kanso Utschimura's <i>Memoirs of -a Japanese; or, How I Became a Christian</i>. Those who preach 'cheerful -paganism' can see in this work how a polytheist is tom and tortured -by doubt, and tossed to-and-fro between the contradictory commands of -eighty million gods."</p> - -<p class="p2"><b>Thought Bound by Law.</b>—The teacher said: "When a young man -comes and says he is a free-thinker, say to him: 'You lie. You think -with your stomach, your throat, your sexuality, with your passions and -your interests, your hate and your sympathies. But in your youthful -immaturity<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_209" id="Page_209">[Pg 209]</a></span> you do not really think at all, but merely drivel. What -is instilled into you, you give out, and dub your wishes by the -name of thoughts.' Moreover 'free-thought' is a contradiction in -terms, for thought obeys laws, just as sound, light, and chemical -combinations do. Thought is bound, bound by laws. If you say 'There -is no God,' you speak without thinking. 'Non-existence' and 'God' are -two incommensurate ideas which cannot be brought into juxtaposition. -If they are, there results an absurdity which is the secretion or -excretion of an illogical and confused mind.</p> - -<p>"If on the other hand you say 'There is no God <i>for me</i>,' there is -something probable in that. But you should be ashamed to speak of -it. It only means that you are a godless dog, a perverse ape, a -conscienceless deceiver and thief whom men must avoid and detectives -must watch. Fortunately godlessness is an hallucination imposed on -haughty blockheads as a punishment. When the 'free-thinker' discovers -some day how stupid he is, then he is freed, and that is a mercy for -him."</p> - -<p class="p2"><b>Credo quia (et-si) absurdum.</b>—The teacher said: "If I call -myself a Christian it is because I recognise Christ as a power, a -source of strength, from whom I obtain strength by prayer in order<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_210" id="Page_210">[Pg 210]</a></span> to -support tolerably the burdens of life. But at the same time I confess -that I cannot understand nor explain the doctrine of Atonement through -sacrificial death. That is not, however, the fault of the doctrine but -a defect in me. I have also no right to deny a matter of fact because I -do not understand it. Here is an illustration. If I multiply 2 by 2 I -obtain an increase—4. But if I multiply ½ by ½ I obtain as a result a -decrease by half, <i>i.e.</i> ¼. Here is an incomprehensible contradiction. -Multiplication cannot produce a decrease. Yet it is mathematically -true that 2 multiplied by 2 is doubled, <i>i.e.</i> 4, but ½ multiplied by -½ is halved, <i>i.e.</i> ¼. My intelligence would fain deny it, but I must -believe it, and in doing so I do well, otherwise the whole science of -mathematics would be unusable, which would be a great loss. <i>Credo -quia absurdum.</i> That means, I must believe a fact just because it -is incomprehensible and absurd (for me, but not for others). If I -could understand it, the emergency short-cut of 'faith' would not be -necessary. That is the sacrifice, not of my reason, but of my rustic -understanding and of my pride."</p> - -<p class="p2"><b>The Fear of Heaven.</b>—The pupil said: "The astronomy or -uranology of the astronomers has<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_211" id="Page_211">[Pg 211]</a></span> ceased to make any progress since -it has become godless. They have given up observing the sky. They sit -there and calculate, with the express purpose of calculating God's -existence away. Seven years ago I met a teacher of astronomy. He did -not know that the equator of the sky passes through the belt of Orion, -and could not point out the ecliptic. He boasted of not knowing the -constellations, saying it was no science to know them. Our nearest -neighbour the moon has been ignored for a long time. And yet in 1866 it -was noticed that changes had taken place there, and that the crater of -Linnæus was on the point of disappearing. On the other hand, they are -trying to signal to Mars. If man, who lately in his folly thinks he has -solved the riddle of the universe without God, only knew how the 'gods' -are to us, and if he understood the signals which they send to us daily -and hourly, he would go out like Peter and weep that he had denied his -Lord or behaved as though he knew Him not."</p> - -<p class="p2"><b>The Goat-god Pan and the Fear of the Pan-pipe.</b>—The teacher -said: "Like all lower classes the apelings regard themselves as -supermen, who march at the head of all movements and can regulate -developments. Their god is the shaggy<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_212" id="Page_212">[Pg 212]</a></span> Pan, who had been a goat and -became a half-man, and later the Evil One, Satan, or God's opponent. -But they must be ashamed of their god, for they call themselves -atheists. Their religion is that of the Satanists. When they hear of -any good action they snort. They delight in persecuting and tormenting -anyone in whom there is any good visible, and call him a hypocrite. -Their children learn to lie as soon as they learn to talk. The greatest -poet of the apelings has written a lament over the 'Decay of lying' -and an heroic poem in six cantos in praise of unnatural vice. They -are all perverse, mostly in secret, but they betray themselves in -their writers, who write in the name of woman, and from the woman's -point of view, against man. For by confusion of sex they have lost all -distinction of sex; they have ceased to think and to feel as men. They -run like dogs with their noses on the track of the white man, in order -to bite him, that he may become like one of them.</p> - -<p>"There are white men who have been seduced by the females of the -apelings. The children are bastards, and their lives are a perpetual -conflict against the Satanic inheritance they have received from their -mothers. Some fight in vain; others find the Helper. There is only -One—Jesus Christ, the Exorciser of demons. You know<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_213" id="Page_213">[Pg 213]</a></span> that I was such a -bastard and fought the battle, which is not yet concluded.</p> - -<p>"The apelings preach toleration. By that they mean that whatever they -do must be overlooked, and that they should be left at liberty to -propagate their doctrines, while they more or less secretly persecute -the Christians. As soon as they begin to scent Christian blood they -shudder. Then they begin to excommunicate the 'heretic.' His name is -no more mentioned, and if it appears in print it is cut out. If he -formerly belonged to the body of the apelings he is now called an -apostate, and must die as a traitor.</p> - -<p>"When an apeling dies he obtains an apotheosis in the absence of a -pantheon. At the burial the wreaths are counted, and the inscriptions -attached to them examined; if anyone's name is missing he is -excommunicated. The ceremonial is just like that of a witches' sabbath -when the 'faithful' gave their testimony. But it may happen, when -they invoke Pan, that he answers with the reed-pipe. Then if he shows -himself in the wood or in the bedchamber, they are seized with a panic -fear; they weep like children who are afraid of the dark, or fly to -sanatoriums to be cured of their neurasthenia, their sleeplessness, and -their heart-complaints."</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_214" id="Page_214">[Pg 214]</a></span></p> - -<p class="p2"><b>Their Gospel</b>.—The teacher continued: "But the apelings -have also constructed a dogmatic theology which is a parody of -the Christian faith. They have a doctrine of reconciliation which -proclaims reconciliation with life, but it is really a compromise -with all the dirt of life which one generally wipes off on the mat at -the house-door. They teach men to be tolerant towards turpitude and -wickedness; they describe men as good fellows, as careless creatures -who are thoroughly good at bottom—'there is no malice in them.' The -really good men, who cannot do anything wicked, seemed to the apelings -puritanical. 'Why should we torment ourselves in the only life we -have?' they ask, feeling quite sure that they will be annihilated at -death, like maggots.</p> - -<p>"According to this distorted gospel, it is wrong to describe in a -literary work how the malicious, the liar, the deceiver, the pander -get their deserts. We should, they say, pardon the conscienceless and -obstinate. Christianity, on the other hand, teaches that we should -pardon the repentant who improve. In the apelings' gospel all the -teaching of Christ is sophisticated. In their view all Magdalenes are -interesting innocent victims of social circumstances, while Christ only -received the Magdalene who had abandoned vice."</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_215" id="Page_215">[Pg 215]</a></span></p> - -<p class="p2"><b>The Disposition of the Apes.</b>—The teacher continued: "This is -the whole kernel of Darwinism, this madness which infected the mind -of a generation which was overstrained with the pursuit of power and -luxury. But this Beelzebub could only be driven out by another. That -was Nietzsche. He was a demon let loose, who killed the ape, restored -the man, and altered the old popular estimates. He was understood -because he spoke the language of the apelings. That was the only way -to compel them to listen, for they would never have heard a Christian -prophet. But after he had his say his tongue was spiked and his tale -was over.</p> - -<p>"Joseph Peladan was a Christian prophet of the school of the Therapeutæ -and Essenes. The apelings feared him, and could not name his name, for -it stuck in their throats. Only the Christian upper class understood -him. His Christianity was luminous and esoteric, perhaps too luminous. -But after a pilgrimage to Christ's grave he discovered the deceit, -turned his back on the 'reconciliation with life,' and forswore the -worship of beauty which was merely the dressing up of the apes with -white sheets and ivy leaves. He ceased to be interested in the bestial -and the nude, saw through the 'joy of life' and Nora,<a name="FNanchor_1_13" id="FNanchor_1_13"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_13" class="fnanchor">[1]</a> unmasked<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_216" id="Page_216">[Pg 216]</a></span> the -humbug of tolerance, and took the cross in real earnest, as it is, on -himself. Peladan was a living protest against apishness. He represented -the undercurrent, not the surface-stream. Still the undercurrent is -always ready to mount and overflow and cleanse the banks, which at the -ebb-tide have served as a place for dumping down rubbish."</p> - - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_1_13" id="Footnote_1_13"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1_13"><span class="label">[1]</span></a> The heroine of Ibsen's <i>Doll's House</i>.</p></div> - - -<p class="p2"><b>The Secret of the Cross.</b>—The teacher said: "The conflict -between paganism and Christianity is now being fought out in the world. -But just as surely as Christianity preceded paganism in time, so surely -does the future belong to Christianity, although for the moment the -apelings have the upper hand. Their edict of toleration allows them in -the name of freedom to forbid the preaching of Christianity. They close -the churches, declare Judas innocent, give mad women the vote, write -heathenish schoolbooks for children, place forgers and pettifoggers in -power, for their kingdom is of this world. But it is with Christianity -as with the walnut-tree, whose fruit is knocked down with poles, and -which is roughly treated in order that it may bear fruit and thrive. -The night grows darker towards the dawn. Spinach-seed is trodden -down that it may grow better;<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_217" id="Page_217">[Pg 217]</a></span> the ground must be harrowed, broken, -and rolled in order to be able to yield a crop; gold must be refined -in fire, and flax be steeped in water. The cross points upwards, -downwards, sideways, to the four quarters of heaven at once; it is a -completion of the compass. Suffering bums up the rubbish of the soul. -I have seen a man who had suffered all the griefs endured by humanity; -yet the more he suffered the more beautiful he became. That is the -secret of the cross and of suffering. 'Because ye are not of the world, -therefore the world hateth you. In the world ye have tribulation, but -be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.'"</p> - -<p class="p2"><b>Examination and Summer Holidays.</b>—The teacher said: "When, -on reaching maturity, one awakes to new consciousness and discovers -that everything one has is borrowed, one begins to cut oneself down -to the root, in order to let strike a new stem which is one's own. -When we enter old age this stem withers down to the root (the process -Swedenborg calls 'desolation'); the branches formerly cut down bloom -again and put forth new foliage which is like, and yet not like the -former. But when old and new flourish together, the whole result is -confusing; but the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_218" id="Page_218">[Pg 218]</a></span> root remains the same and reveals the nature of -the plant. The dissonances of life increase with the years, and the -material of life becomes so immense that it is impossible to survey it -properly. Therefore one lives more in remembrance than in the present, -and along the whole line of one's experience. Sometimes I live in my -childhood, sometimes in my mature age.</p> - -<p>"But it is strange that one does not feel old age to be the beginning -of an end but the introduction to something new, <i>i.e.</i> when one has -recovered the belief or assurance that there is a life on the other -side. One feels as though one were preparing for an examination by -doing preliminary exercises and one becomes literally young again. -There is a little touch of examination fever with it, but also great -hopes mingled with dreams of the future. These remind us of Christmas -joys, summer holidays, family gatherings with reconciliations and -wishes fulfilled. But there is also a scent of broken-off birch-leaves -and the seashore; there is a sound of Sunday bells and organs, the -attraction of new clothes, white linen, and a bath in green sea-water. -There is a feeling like that of evening prayer and a good conscience, -wife, home, and child after a journey, the hearth-fire after a -snow-storm, the first ball and the one we<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_219" id="Page_219">[Pg 219]</a></span> loved to dance with most, -the opening of the savings-box, and first and last the examination and -the summer holidays."</p> - -<p class="p2"><b>Veering and Tacking.</b>—The teacher continued: "The Theosophists -speak of the seven planes of the Kama-Loka, the condition after -death. I will admit that, in certain circumstances, I have lived -simultaneously on several planes. This was difficult for me, and -still more difficult for my enemies to understand. I should like to -have explained these contradictions in existence by a cleavage of the -personality or a multiplication of the ego. I have also sought the -solution of the riddle in the self-adaptation to one's surroundings, -to which St. Paul refers in the First Epistle to the Corinthians: 'To -the Jews I became a Jew.... To those who are under the law, I became -as under the law.... To those who are without law, I became as one -without law. To the weak I became as weak.' ... Kierkegaard speaks of -Sympaschomenos who rejoices with the joyful, mourns with the sad, is -coarse with the coarse, refined with the refined.</p> - -<p>"Swedenborg makes another suggestion, 'When a man is to be born again, -his desires and falsities cannot be stripped off at once, for that -would<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_220" id="Page_220">[Pg 220]</a></span> be equivalent to destroying the whole man, because as yet he -only lives in them. Therefore for a long while evil spirits are left -with him, to stir up his desires that they may be dissolved in many -ways.'</p> - -<p>"Formerly I believed, when I was young with the youthful, old and wise -with the old, mad with the mad, that I was doing them a service. As a -poet, I lived for the moment in their life and their moods, which I -then depicted and forgot myself. Often by these relapses into stages -I had left behind, I seemed to have worked myself higher, as the ship -tacks in order to get a more favourable wind."</p> - -<p class="p2"><b>Attraction and Repulsion.</b>—The teacher continued: "There is both -an attraction and a repulsion between similar souls. Like loves like, -but not always; often the unlike seeks the unlike. A good man lamented -to me that it was his lot always to be in bad society, and never to -meet good men who could elevate him. Since he was strong he was at any -rate not drawn down, but he did not observe that he exercised a good -influence on his bad surroundings. He had, it is true, occasion to see -and to hear evil; but, on the other hand, he was able to react against -it through the disgust<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_221" id="Page_221">[Pg 221]</a></span> with which it inspired him. Without instituting -a comparison we may say that Christ did not attract people of high -position and good character, but poor devils and weak characters, the -sick, the possessed, the wicked, thieves, publicans, and harlots. His -disciples did not understand his doctrine, but interpreted it all in a -material way. He answered their reproaches by saying, 'Only the sick -need a physician.' I will suppress my former objection, for I bow -myself experimentally before 'the folly of the cross,' since experience -has taught me that wisdom can only be received by a humble mind, and -that obedience is more than sacrifice. In recent times my constant -prayer has been that I might come into good society which might elevate -me, and avoid evil companionship which, to say the least, involves an -injurious connection with the lower plane. It is in truth my fault -that those who seek me seek my old ego, and, when they do not find it, -believe that I am not to be found."</p> - -<p class="p2"><b>The Double.</b>—The pupil said: "When a man begins to love a woman -he throws himself into a trance, and becomes a poet and artist. Out -of her plastic, unindividualised material he fashions an ideal form -into which he puts all that is best in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_222" id="Page_222">[Pg 222]</a></span> himself. Thus he creates an -homunculus which he adopts as his double, and with that she lets him do -as he likes.</p> - -<p>"But this astral image may be also the doll which she the huntress -sets up as a decoy, while she with a loaded gun lies behind the -bush and watches for her prey. The love of a man for his homunculus -often survives every illusion; he may have conceived a deadly hatred -against herself, while his love for his double continues. But this -masquerade gives rise to the deepest dissonances and troubles. He -becomes squint-eyed by contemplating two images which do not coincide. -He wishes to embrace his cloud, but takes hold of a body; he wishes to -hear <i>his</i> poem, but it is someone else's; he wants to see his work of -art, but it is only a model. He is happy during his trance, although -the world cannot understand him. When he awakes from his somnambulism, -his hatred to the woman increases in proportion as she fails to -correspond to his image of her. And if he murders his double, then love -is done with, and only boundless hate remains."</p> - -<p class="p2"><b>Paw or Hand.</b>—The pupil said: "In Kipling's wonderful <i>Jungle -Book</i>, the boy is intimate with all kinds of animals but not with apes, -which are<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_223" id="Page_223">[Pg 223]</a></span> the worst of all creatures and composed of wickedness and -crime. When Goethe, in the second part of <i>Faust</i>, wishes to represent -phantoms and evil spirits, he uses the same masks and costumes as -for the monkeys in the Witches' Kitchen in the first part. And it is -among these degenerate brutes that man (?) now does his best to seek -his ancestry. For my part I would rather trace my origin from a noble -horse, or a sagacious and honest elephant, or from a courageous and -thankful eagle.</p> - -<p>"But it is probable that apes spring from degenerate men, escaped -criminals, and ship-wrecked Robinson Crusoes. The hand of the -chimpanzee is not a paw which is being evolved into a hand, but it is -a human hand which is degenerating into a paw. A palmist could read -the lines of it; a manicurist could improve it and make it capable of -wearing a glove. If man really sprang from apes, according to the law -of phylogeny, a child ought to be born with a hairy body. But now it -comes into the world as smooth as an angel, often without hairs even -on its head. It is a disgrace to me that I served the Ape-king, the -seducer of my youth! And it was so stupid!"</p> - -<p class="p2"><b>The Thousand-Years' Night of the Apes.</b>—When the sun of -Christianity rose over the world,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_224" id="Page_224">[Pg 224]</a></span> it naturally became night for the -apelings. When they turned their backs to the light, everything became -distorted for them. Right became left, east became west, good became -evil, black became white, day became night. Therefore one reads still -of their thousand-years' night, as they call the Middle Ages. When the -savage tribes of Europe became tame, when the aged and sick became -objects of pity, when governments ruled and laws protected, when -faith, hope and love, self-sacrifice and chivalry flourished, then it -was night for the pagans. When Europe received science, when Albertus -Magnus, Thomas Aquinas, Roger Bacon, Arnold, and Basilius founded -chemistry, metallurgy, and physic, their darkness increased. When -mediæval art culminated in the noblest work of art there is—the Gothic -cathedral—then it grew dark before the eyes of the giants; their ears -could not endure the chime of bells and organ-music. Finally the Middle -Ages discovered gunpowder, the compass, and printing. A religious man, -whose sails bore the sign of the cross, discovered America. But Pauli, -the disciple of Clemens Romanus, already knew "the ocean which cannot -be crossed by men, and the lands which lie behind it."<a name="FNanchor_1_14" id="FNanchor_1_14"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_14" class="fnanchor">[1]</a></p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_225" id="Page_225">[Pg 225]</a></span></p> - -<p>In the midst of the darkness of the heathen there was the light -of convent-schools and universities, in which spiritual as well as -worldly wisdom was taught. Poems of chivalry, romances and dramas -were composed. Charlemagne was a Christian King Solomon; he defeated -the Philistines in Saxony, built temples out of the ruins of Rome, -held learned conversations and listened to legends, cultivated the -land and gave laws. That was the brightest phase of a Europe grown -patriarchal and Christian. The gods certainly did not walk any more on -earth, but God's messengers were in constant communication with men, -and disclosed to them the secrets of God's kingdom, which were written -down in Apocalypses and, best of all, in the <i>Legenda Aurea</i>. Thomas à -Kempis's <i>Imitation of Christ</i> was printed and is still read even by -Protestants. One can even read the Church Fathers, Augustine, Jerome, -Chrysostom; Augustine was used in my youth as a confirmation-manual. -Two hundred years before the Reformation—the schism in the Church -as it should rather be called—Dante wrote the most Christian of all -poems, which the heathen have tried to steal for themselves. Boccaccio -expounded the <i>Inferno</i> from a professor's chair, a fitting penalty -for the trespasses of his youth.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_226" id="Page_226">[Pg 226]</a></span> Botticelli, Lippi, Ghirlandajo were -the great religious painters of the Middle Ages. Their pupils Michael -Angelo and Raphael were devout Christians, although the heathen have -wished to appropriate them under the false designation Renaissance, -or new birth of heathenism. When at the beginning of modern times it -began to grow dusk, the dawn rose for the heathen and for "the last -Athenians." The last? There will certainly be more Athenians who will -wish to carry owls to Athens.</p> - - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_1_14" id="Footnote_1_14"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1_14"><span class="label">[1]</span></a> Clement, Epistle to the Romans, chap. xx.</p></div> - - -<p class="p2"><b>The Favourite.</b>—Julian was an Illyrian, from the predatory state -composed of a mixed Phœnician race who worshipped Baal and Astarte. -He had a small head, and no occiput; he had thick lips, a beard that -swarmed with vermin, long nails and black hands with which he groped -in the bleeding bodies of slain beasts in order to prognosticate the -future from their hearts and livers. His cheerful religious services -consisted in the sacrifice of animals, and were accompanied by the -dances of immodest girls. In order to refute ancient prophecy, he -wished to build again the Temple at Jerusalem. But fire broke out of -the ground, so that the undertaking was frustrated at its commencement. -This madman once came to Antioch,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_227" id="Page_227">[Pg 227]</a></span> where there were a hundred thousand -heathen whom he expected to receive him with public sacrifices and -dances. Instead of which he was met by a solitary priest bearing a -goose. That was all!</p> - -<p>This unattractive person, who has become the darling of <i>The Last -Athenian</i><a name="FNanchor_1_15" id="FNanchor_1_15"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_15" class="fnanchor">[1]</a> and the new heathen, was finally enticed into a desert. -There he suffered hunger and thirst till a lance pierced his liver. But -it is incredible that he exclaimed, "Thou hast conquered, O Galilean!" -He was far too stupid for that.</p> - -<p class="p2"><b>Scientific Villainies.</b>—If anyone comes to you and says, "I -don't understand the proof for the existence of God," you should -answer, "You don't understand because your wickedness darkens your -understanding." All atheists are rascals, and all rascals are -atheists. Their intelligence is so beclogged with sin that they cannot -understand the simplest teachings of Christianity, the Incarnation and, -consequently, Immaculate Birth of God, His Resurrection and Ascension.</p> - -<p>When the sectaries came to Luther and said that they could not -understand him, because they had another Spirit, he answered, "I smite -your<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_228" id="Page_228">[Pg 228]</a></span> Spirit on the snout! God rebuke thee, Satan!" A godless man or a -so-called free-thinker is a rascal who permits himself everything. His -natural sympathy for scoundrels is so strong that he will swear a false -oath in order to save the guilty from condemnation by a false alibi. He -will accuse an innocent man, and persecute him from one court of appeal -to another, in order to get him into prison, and will demand a large -sum of money as a reward for his ill-doing.</p> - -<p>When the guilty is acquitted they give him a banquet, his companions -write odes in his honour, he is promoted and finally appointed to be -an instructor of youth. When an atheist adopts the pursuit of science, -one is sure only villainy will result. He says falsely that he has seen -such and such things under the microscope, in order to be able to write -a treatise on them. If he is an astronomer he will see as many canals -in Mars as his professor wishes. If his professor does not believe in -the canals in Mars, he will not see any.</p> - - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_1_15" id="Footnote_1_15"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1_15"><span class="label">[1]</span></a> <i>The Last Athenian</i>, title of a work by Victor Rydberg.</p></div> - - -<p class="p2"><b>Necrobiosis, <i>i.e.</i> Death and Resurrection.</b>—During the -winter I found the chrysalis of a cockchafer and laid it on my -writing-table. One evening in the lamplight it began to click and -make small movements. Believing that the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_229" id="Page_229">[Pg 229]</a></span> warmth had developed my -beetle I opened its black coffin, but found to my astonishment only -a white slime without a sign of organisation; it smelt of sour -gastric juice. This half-fluid mass, however, possessed the capacity -of movement. Later on, when I had a microscope with a large field -of view, I opened the chrysalis of a butterfly and examined it. On -a clear yellow background of fluid matter there was sketched, as it -were, the outline of the future butterfly in half-shadow, without, as -yet, any bodily organisation. That is called "necrobiosis," or the -dying-off of living tissue. And the deliquescence of the chrysalis in -slime is termed "histolysis." Its reorganisation is said to take place -by means of <i>corpora adiposa</i>, or particles of fat. More than this I -do not know. I wrote to Germany (where they are accustomed to know -everything) and asked for some works treating of the metamorphosis -of the chrysalis, but there were none on this most important and -interesting question. Father Darwin and his son Haeckel knew nothing -and wished to know nothing about the resurrection; they only knew about -birth and death. Finally I bought for five-and-twenty kroners a large -work on butterflies composed by a professor. There was not a word in -it regarding the necrobiosis of the chrysalis.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_230" id="Page_230">[Pg 230]</a></span> But sometimes I see on -a gravestone within a church wall this symbol: caterpillar, chrysalis, -and butterfly.</p> - -<p class="p2"><b>Secret Judgment.</b>—When one sees a fact repeated regularly and -under defined conditions, one believes one has discovered a law. I -think I have discovered a law, and consequently a tribunal whose -decisions we see, but whose inner working we can only guess at. I had -a relative who had reached a certain age without "ever having time" to -think of death. On the 18th January of the year 18— he had a stroke -and fell. That was the first warning. Then he began to think about -death and the life after this, and occupied himself thus for six years; -then he died exactly on the same day, on the 18th of January. The -fact of the interval being six years made me think of Bismarck's six -years in Sachsenwald, when he sat alone and brooded on the transitory -character of greatness, and curiously enough injured his reputation -through being betrayed by vanity into making incautious revelations. -Then it occurred to me that Napoleon was six years on St. Helena, and -finally became so well "prepared" that he received the sacrament on his -death-bed. Whether Heine lay on the ground for exactly six<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_231" id="Page_231">[Pg 231]</a></span> years, with -his body wasted to the size of a child's and tormented by the fear of -losing his wife, I cannot say definitely; but it was about six. It is -well known that the pious Linnæus had to spend his last years seated in -a chair, lamed by paralysis; nor did even he escape being worried by a -quarrelsome wife, God alone knows why!</p> - -<p>Our great and glorious Tegner received his first warning in 1840. It -was accompanied by a condition like that described in my <i>Inferno,</i> -during which, among other things, he saw his whole poetical work in a -depreciatory light, and even at last wished to cancel it all. After -just six years' preparation he died on November 2, 1846, in a cheerful -state of mind, the sky being lit up at the time by a splendid aurora. -Goldschmidt mentions that and still more remarkable things in his -excellent <i>Nemesis Divina</i>. I read lately how Fersen was murdered in -his carriage on June 20, 1810. I recalled to mind that it was the -same Fersen who drove the carriage in which Marie Antoinette fled to -Varennes. I referred to the <i>History of the World</i>, and found that the -flight to Varennes took place on June 20, 1791. The question arises: -"Was it a crime to wish to save the queen?" The author of the article -in the <i>Biographical Lexicon</i> mentions the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_232" id="Page_232">[Pg 232]</a></span> crime by name; but it was -something other than the attempt to further her escape.</p> - -<p class="p2"><b>Hammurabi's Inspired Laws Received from the Sun-God.</b>—The laws -of Hammurabi occupy fifteen quarto pages. That is the whole find! And -these pages are to nullify the Bible, which is so unsearchably rich -and possesses such mysterious depths that everyone in trouble, who -with humility seeks for counsel and comfort there, finds it forthwith, -although he may first receive some blows which strike the nail on the -head!</p> - -<p>Hammurabi's laws in fifteen pages resemble Deuteronomy to a certain -degree, but are much more meagre; they often recall our old Swedish law -with its trivialities. For instance: "If anyone strikes out a man's -teeth, his teeth shall be struck out; but if he strikes out the teeth -of an emancipated slave, he shall pay one-eighth of a mina of silver."</p> - -<p>In any case God is one, and His laws are in principle the same. -The Bible may have used the same source as Hammurabi. But when the -heathen try to use the laws of the Assyrian clay tablets in order to -prove that the Bible is not inspired, they miss the mark. "Inspired" -means<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_233" id="Page_233">[Pg 233]</a></span> "received from God." See how the heathen has adorned his paltry -pamphlet with a frontispiece, which asserts, against his will, that -Hammurabi's laws were also inspired. For the frontispiece portrays -Hammurabi receiving his laws from the Sun-god.</p> - -<p class="p2"><b>Strauss's Life of Christ.</b>—Now that I am sixty years old, it -occurred to me to see what sort of a book Strauss's <i>Leben Jesu</i> is -before I depart. In my youth, in the 'sixties, we read in school (of -our own accord, however) "the last Athenian's doctrine of the Bible," -but we never succeeded in seeing the original <i>Life of Jesus</i>. And -although I have been in libraries, collected books, visited second-hand -book-stalls, I have not seen Strauss's book. It seemed as though it had -been confiscated by the Invisible Powers. Now when I am sixty, it has -arrived and I tried to read it. But I could not.</p> - -<p>It was simply unreadable! All these many pages contained nothing, and -what was printed seemed to me incomprehensible, soulless, dry.</p> - -<p>A man who writes a book about what he does not understand; a student -who has learnt the æsthetic systems by heart; a philosopher who tries -to define the beautiful; a mathematician<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_234" id="Page_234">[Pg 234]</a></span> who wants to prove or -disprove axioms; a drunken man who tries to play the flute; a feeble -foolish attempt to explain God's great miracle in the Atonement. I -threw the book away, else I should have gone to sleep over it.</p> - -<p>Strauss died in 1874, and in spite of the last stage of his -development, when he did not believe any more in the immortality of -the soul, he spent his last hours in reading Plato's <i>Phædo</i>, in which -at the death-bed of Socrates the immortality of the soul is so clearly -demonstrated.</p> - -<p>His death was like that of Socrates, his pupils said. But they do not -inform us whether the cup of poison was at hand.</p> - - -<p class="p2"><b>Christianity and Radicalism.</b>—Christianity is really more -radical than Radicalism. Christ turns his back on the whole of society -with its institutions, science, and art. He warns us against the -scribes; the rich are not his friends, but rather Lazarus; the rich -youth is told to sell all that he has and to give to the poor. To -soldiers Christ says, "Those who take the sword shall perish with the -sword." He says nothing about science, art, and industry because He -is indifferent to them. He has no great illusions about men, for he -calls them "a generation of vipers." And rightly; since the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_235" id="Page_235">[Pg 235]</a></span> earth is -a prison for those who have committed crimes in heaven, we are all -rascals; but it is the prison chaplain's duty to preach pardon to those -who behave properly. To open the prison would be unwise and unlawful; -there Christianity differs from Anarchism. Give custom to whom custom -is due, and to Cæsar what is Cæsar's. Authority is ordained of God, and -beareth not the sword in vain.</p> - -<p>Christianity and Radicalism accordingly agree in their criticism of -society, but not in the inferences they draw. The Christian endures the -sufferings of the prison-house with religious resignation; he does not -waste valuable time in making foolish proposals regarding the reform of -prison-life and management. In order to obtain mitigation and pardon, -and to escape the dark cell and scourging, he tries to behave well, but -he does not believe that the prison can be a place of recreation.</p> - -<p>All that Rousseau, Max Nordau, and Tolstoi have said against the faults -of society is quite true, but their inferences are false. Socialism, -<i>i.e.</i> pagan socialism, which preached development and progress, went -its crab-like course backwards to the trade unions which had been -dissolved, limited industrial freedom, introduced inquisitorial<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_236" id="Page_236">[Pg 236]</a></span> -methods, excommunicated heretics. In the great strike non-socialists -were refused water and gas, bread and milk for children. They compelled -the contented to be discontented, made men wild and despairing, and -really made things worse, when they ought to have improved them.</p> - -<p>But in their pagan Radicalism they did not attain to the height of -Christianity. Unbelieving, they believed in everything that was -false—scientific fallacies, politico-economical errors, philosophical -stupidities. Into a pagan one may instil every possible falsehood and -stupidity; but for the truth in its real relations he is deaf and blind.</p> - -<p>To have a moderate quiet contempt of the world, to be already half out -of it, one's staff in one's hand and one's knapsack on one's back, ever -ready for departure, to have clean hands and a good conscience—that -is the way not to be easily assailable. Then one is not envied, and -suffers not from disappointments and humiliations, for one is prepared -for all, and has anticipated all in advance.</p> - -<p>"Vanity, Vanity," saith the Preacher. "Sow in the morning thy seed, and -in the evening withhold not thy hand, for thou knowest not which shall -succeed, or whether both alike are good."</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_237" id="Page_237">[Pg 237]</a></span></p> - -<p class="p2"><b>Where Are We?</b>—If men only knew where they are!</p> - -<p>The description which the ancients gave of Tartarus exactly fits our -condition in this life. The ambitious man rolls his stone up the hill -like Sisyphus, and when he has got it to the top it rolls down again. -A certain architect spent twenty-five years of his life in working and -intriguing in order to build a temple for the state. The temple was -built and consecrated, a torch-light procession was held in honour of -the architect, and he was crowned with a laurel-wreath. The next day -the newspapers informed us that the temple must be pulled down because -it was a failure. The architect died half a year afterwards in an -asylum; the temple was demolished and the architect's name forgotten -and obliterated. Tantalus, the rich miser, stands in the midst of a -spring of water, but cannot drink; branches laden with fruit hang over -his head, but when he stretches out his hand to pluck a fruit a gust -of wind comes and tears the branch away. The rich man has worked and -swindled till old age begins. Then at last, when the grouse come flying -towards him, he has no teeth left; his wine-cellar is full, but the -doctor has forbidden him wine. That is Tantalus!</p> - -<p>Ixion revolves on his wheel, at one moment up,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_238" id="Page_238">[Pg 238]</a></span> at another down. The -ancients assigned as the reason of his punishment that he had boasted -of the favour of a woman who had never been his.</p> - -<p>The Danaides, the coquettes, are perpetually drawing water, but their -vessel is like a sieve; everything enters it, but nothing remains.</p> - -<p>All day long and every day one hears the expression "That is -hell!"—such is the universal view. When things look a little brighter, -the table is covered, the bed made, and we feel well again. We cheat -ourselves often with alcohol, and continue our somnambulism. Then we -are awoken by a noise, start up, rush about, weep, and then go to sleep -again. At last sleep is banished once for all, and we wake never to -sleep any more. Once we are well awake no opiates are of avail.</p> - -<p>Then we discover the whole cheat. We see where we are, and what our -past, which seemed so real, was. The comparatively wise man then -turns away from the phantoms and shadows of reality in order to seek -the other, the true, the actual Real. Then the state is seen to be a -prison; the defenders of the fatherland are body-snatchers; society is -a madhouse, whose warders are the officials and police; family life is -concubinage; capitalists are usurers; the fine arts are superfluities; -literature is printed nonsense; industry<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_239" id="Page_239">[Pg 239]</a></span> feeds unnecessary luxury; -railways are instruments of torture; the electric light ruins the eyes; -all the blessings of civilisation are either curses or superfluous.</p> - -<p>When we have seen this, we turn our backs on all and seek the only -thing that holds, that gives a real answer, that fulfils what it -promises. But this super-real fools call a phantom.</p> - -<p class="p2"><b>Hegel's Christianity.</b>—There are two Voltaires: one, the mocker -at all definite religion, who is revered by the godless; the other, -the fanatical champion of God who is ridiculed by the atheists because -he believed in God as naïvely as a child. Voltaire recovered his -reason before he died, as lunatics are wont to do; when he died he was -definitely religious and took the sacrament. There are also two Hegels. -But they are more complicated than Voltaire, who was as simple as a -feuilletonist. Hegel discovered with his logic that what exists has a -right to exist; he defends the <i>status quo</i>, society, state, religion -with all their corollaries, because they have proceeded from God; -everything is right since it exists. "It belongs," he says, "to the -essence of religion that it should realise itself in several historical -religious forms. Of these, however, Christianity is the only one<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_240" id="Page_240">[Pg 240]</a></span> which -suitably expresses the essence of religion. In her doctrine of the -Trinity the Christian Church contains the nucleus of all philosophical -speculation. For this signifies nothing less than that the Eternal God, -enthroned in His majesty over the sphere of the finite, condescends -and reconciles Himself to the finite, becomes man, suffers, dies, and -returns to Himself as the Holy Spirit." That is well put; but every -schoolchild knew it already from Luther's "little catechism." For what -object then is this extraordinary accumulation of several thousand -pages of incomprehensible philosophy? To what purpose? Hegel died of -cholera in 1831, after traversing many devious ways, as a simple, -believing Christian, without any philosophy, repeating the penitential -psalms.</p> - -<p class="p2"><b>"Men of God's Hand."</b>—That is Kind David's expression (Ps. -xvii., 14) which he uses of the godless, to whom the Lord gave power -over His people Israel when they behaved badly. Thereby is the knotty -problem solved, why God gives the godless power, honour, and wealth, -while He often chastises His servants.</p> - -<p>The Pharaohs were idolaters and wizards, but God's chosen people had -to be their slaves. The Philistines worshipped Baal and Astarte, but -they<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_241" id="Page_241">[Pg 241]</a></span> were allowed to devastate Canaan and even to carry away the Ark -of the Covenant. Nebuchadnezzar was no saint, quite the contrary, but -he was permitted to carry the children of Israel into captivity. Good -men are not adapted to be instruments of chastisement, and the office -of executioner is not an enviable one. Everyone has his Egyptian armed -with a rod, whether they are called superiors, employers, customers, -the public, newspapers, or even public opinion.</p> - -<p>All strive for an imaginary independence or so-called freedom, while -there is no independence and no freedom. Therefore the effort is vain. -Only one thing remains—to reconcile oneself to obedience to human -authority for the Lord's sake, and to pay taxes where taxes are due. -And where one earns one's bread, one must be polite. Vex, not thyself -that thy trade and thy position are difficult; God has so appointed it.</p> - -<p class="p2"><b>Night Owls.</b>—The maggot in the apple doubtless imagines that -the apple was grown for its sake, and that the world could not exist -without apples. So we also imagine that science and art are certainly -necessary. Swedenborg, in his description of another sphere, tells us -how happy men can be without such luxuries. "They know nothing<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_242" id="Page_242">[Pg 242]</a></span> of -sciences as we see them in our world, and wish to know nothing; they -call them 'shadows,' and compare them with clouds which come between -the sun and the spectator. This idea of the sciences they have derived -from certain spirits who came from our earth and introduced themselves -as those who had grown wise through science. These spirits from our -earth who made this claim belonged to those who see wisdom in such -things as are pure matters of memory, such as languages; in historical -matters, which belong to the literary world; in bare experiences and -terms, especially philosophical ones. Because these have not developed -their faculty of reasoning through science, they have in their second -life little power of perceiving the truth, for they see only in and by -means of technical terms, which like hills and thick clouds obstruct -the sight of reason. Those who have employed the sciences in order to -destroy matters of faith have their reason so thoroughly unsettled that -in pitch-darkness they take false for true, and evil for good, like -night-owls."</p> - -<p>The flag of the university also carries the sign of an owl, but they do -not know what it means.</p> - -<p class="p2"><b>Apotheosis.</b>—When a man who has been near to us dies, he begins -to loom magnified through a kind<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_243" id="Page_243">[Pg 243]</a></span> of haze. All his less-pleasing -characteristics are obliterated, as if they were part of that dust -which is now dissolved. His better self, on the other hand, becomes -larger and clearer. It is indeed possible that the liberated spirit -becomes ennobled by death, and that therefore the survivor is right in -forming a new conception of the personality of the deceased. He with -whom the survivor now holds spiritual intercourse is perhaps what the -survivor feels him to be, and has ceased to be what he was in life. -It is almost invariably the case that the survivor torments himself -with reproaches that he has been guilty of some neglect towards the -dead, has done him slight injustices and spoken hard words. Even the -coldest-hearted begs the dead secretly for forgiveness—forgiveness -for all even when it was hardly ill-meant. All this seems to signify -that the dead one is alive, and has need of kindly thoughts as a -compensation for the reproaches he makes himself regarding those he has -left behind.</p> - -<p class="p2"><b>Painting Things Black.</b>—There are men who anticipate their -troubles, hoping thereby to neutralise or to bribe destiny. But that is -a mistaken calculation. I know of an author who saw a great calamity -approaching and tried to <i>write</i> it away.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_244" id="Page_244">[Pg 244]</a></span> He composed a drama on that -theme, and hoped thereby to have escaped it. Soon afterwards, however, -it arrived and the effect was as strong as though it had never been -written about, perhaps even more.</p> - -<p>Theosophists say that we can create thought-forms which assume life and -reality. They mean that men can send from a distance evil suggestions -which others carry out. Thus criminal romances have never deterred -anyone from crime; they have on the contrary given scoundrels bright -ideas for new pieces of rascality. I actually know of a society novel -which criticised bank and joint-stock company frauds, with the result -that such frauds increased. It is as though one let loose demons.</p> - -<p>Therefore it is dangerous merely to think evil of men; one may do them -harm thereby. But what a supernatural effort is necessary always to -see good where so little is to be found! And when we try our best we -find that we have played the hypocrite. It is almost hopeless to hold -the balance level when it is a matter of judging men justly, for human -nature is evil and cannot be altered.</p> - -<p class="p2"><b>The Thorn in the Flesh.</b>—Whence come evil and ugly thoughts -which start up in our most beautiful moments, in the hour of devotion, -and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_245" id="Page_245">[Pg 245]</a></span> even in prayer? We wish to ignore them; we have the impression -that they come from without. But it is possible that they are born of -the habit of letting evil thoughts have free course in silence and -solitude. Still it is mysterious that the greater the height to which -we have attained by striving, the deeper we fall. And I can testify -from my own experience that it is at the very time of renunciation -and self-discipline that one is most liable to unclean thoughts and -imaginations. St. Anthony and other saints are examples of this.</p> - -<p>A great sorrow, for instance, the longing for a lost child, is the -quickest and best means of burning away the rubbish. But often, alas! -on the sorrow there follows a boisterous joy which is not of the -noblest kind. Immediately after our noblest moods, when we have been -inspired by the most beautiful thoughts and purposes, it is possible in -the next moment to feel like a coxcomb.</p> - -<p>It is not strange that the ancients believed in demons who whisper into -one's ear and suggest impure imaginations. Possibly this was St. Paul's -thorn in the flesh, which pricked him so that he should not be too much -uplifted.</p> - -<p class="p2"><b>Despair and Grace.</b>—When in youth one sought to conquer evil -desires, and even harmless ones,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_246" id="Page_246">[Pg 246]</a></span> with the severest scourge provided by -religion, and then saw that one could not change one's vices, one let -go of the reins and life went as it went. Work was the chief occupation -of middle life, and there was no time to think of one's soul. Life -itself moulded one's character, and one threw a bone to the dog—the -flesh in order to be able to work in peace.</p> - -<p>Then when in old age we come to reflect, and at sixty find that we have -remained very much the same, we wish to begin our spiritual education, -but with indifferent success. We had hoped that certain desires would -disappear and certain virtues take their place by a kind of natural -necessity, as we had believed when young. But, alas! that is not the -case. When now we again resume the struggles of our youth the case is -thus. We have raised our standard higher, and wish to root out all the -weeds. What formerly seemed quite natural—envy of a fellow-worker, -revenge on an enemy, pride in success, exultation at a foe's downfall, -a small white lie—we now find hateful. And so we begin to struggle -against the outward manifestations of these things. But when we find -the inner evil just as strong as before, we finally regard ourselves as -great hypocrites and are ready to despair.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_247" id="Page_247">[Pg 247]</a></span></p> - -<p>Where is comfort to be found then? Religion only asserts that we are -hypocrites, and our fellow-men regard it as a fact. Absolute despair -seizes us. What follows then? Grace! It becomes clear to us that -everything is grace, and from grace. And that we have been living on -the bread of charity which we believed we had earned.</p> - -<p class="p2"><b>The Last Act (From the life of a leader of the -"Renaissance").</b>—The final act is the most important one in a -drama, and a dramatist generally begins his work at the end. We sit -out a long evening at the theatre in order to see the last act or "how -it will go." But in the significant lives of certain men people like -to ignore the last act, because it is uncomfortable and might show -how the godless fare at last. He who wrote the operetta <i>Boccaccio</i> -had to append the last act to it; the jovial Florentine became a -priest and delivered lectures on Dante's <i>Hell</i>, though he only -reached the seventeenth canto. Voltaire's last hours, when he took -the sacrament, might furnish a subject for a tragedy like the second -part of <i>Faust</i>. Heine announced his conversion, which took place -in 1851, in the preface to the <i>Romancero</i>: "I have returned to God -like the prodigal son, after I had fed swine with the Hegelians for -a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_248" id="Page_248">[Pg 248]</a></span> long time." This preface should be printed before every collection -of Heine's poems. Hegel singing penitential psalms on his death-bed -might form the subject of a fresco painting for the entrance-hall of -Berlin University. But the most affecting final act is Oscar Wilde's -description of his prison life in <i>De Profundis</i>. He was the so-called -renaissance leader, who disinterred heathenism with its false worship -of beauty, which contains the foulest of all. Kierkegaard<a name="FNanchor_1_16" id="FNanchor_1_16"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_16" class="fnanchor">[1]</a> would have -called him the æsthete, the Sybarite cold as cast iron, the egoist -round whose petty "I" the whole world was to revolve in order to -understand him alone. Many, led astray like him by the seducing spirits -of his youth, remained fairly free from public punishment. Wilde -seems to have been picked out to furnish a startling example, for his -position, at any rate in his own country, was almost that of an idol.</p> - -<p>What he wrote lacks originality; it is whipped-up foam; glazing which, -when washed off, leaves no texture; it is as restless as cross-lights, -or like a mirror in a public restaurant, in a labyrinthine hall with -deceptive lines and false perspectives; it runs out of the hand like -albumen or frog-spawn; it is perverse as in <i>Dorian Gray</i>, the hero of -which<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_249" id="Page_249">[Pg 249]</a></span> should have lost his youth by nightly excesses, while on the -contrary it is only his portrait which changes.</p> - -<p>The last act was played, and that outdid all horror, was so horrible -that Wilde himself could not describe its details, which, however, oral -tradition has preserved in a Swedenborgian legend.</p> - -<p><i>De Profundis</i> arouses pity and fear, and one would gladly acquit the -man who was perhaps the victim of his delusion; a worldly tribunal -would not have judged him if he had not himself appealed to it, and -that indeed for a wrong done him. It was what our renaissance-critic -called a "piece of stupidity" when he made Wilde out to be a martyr of -"hypocrisy," as he called justice. Wilde however seems to have taken -another view of the matter to his impartial defender: "A day in prison -on which one does not weep is a day on which one's heart is hard, not -a day on which one's heart is happy. Once I had put into motion the -forces of society, society turned on me and said: 'Have you been living -all this time in defiance of my laws, and do you now appeal to those -laws for protection? You shall have those laws exercised to the full.' -A man's very highest moment, I have no doubt at all, is when he kneels<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_250" id="Page_250">[Pg 250]</a></span> -in the dust and beats his breast and tells us all the sins of his life."</p> - -<p>The "joy of life" whose perfume he had inhaled at Oxford through -Pater's <i>Renaissance</i> now began to grow sour.</p> - -<p>"Clergymen and people who use phrases without wisdom sometimes talk of -suffering as a mystery. It is really a revelation.</p> - -<p>"Behind joy and laughter there may be a temperament coarse, hard, -and callous. Pain, unlike pleasure, wears no mask. There are times -when sorrow seems to me to be the only truth. The secret of life is -suffering."</p> - -<p>Let us add that Wilde derived his most dangerous doctrine from -Baudelaire and Shakespeare's sonnets. And let us close with the new -view of the Renaissance which he attained to in prison: "To me one of -the things in history the most to be regretted is that the Christ's -own renaissance which has produced the Cathedral at Chartres, the -Arthurian cycle of legends, the life of St. Francis of Assisi, the art -of Giotto, and Dante's <i>Divine Comedy</i>, was not allowed to develop on -its own lines, but was interrupted and spoiled by the dreary classical -Renaissance."</p> - - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_1_16" id="Footnote_1_16"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1_16"><span class="label">[1]</span></a> Danish theologian.</p></div> - - -<p class="p2"><b>Consequences of Learning.</b>—As soon as a man<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_251" id="Page_251">[Pg 251]</a></span> buries himself in -books he gets black nails and dirty cuffs, forgets to wash, to comb his -hair, and to shave. He neglects his duties towards life, society, and -men; loses spiritual capacities, becomes absent-minded, short-sighted, -wears glasses, and takes snuff in order to keep himself awake. He -cannot follow a conversation with attention, cannot interest himself in -other people's affairs, does not see the face of the earth by day nor -the stars by night. Behind his desire to investigate lies the insidious -ambition to master his material, to become an authority, to tyrannise, -to make a career for himself, and to receive distinctions.</p> - -<p>If men only reflected what tyrants they obey—these black magicians who -are called professors; who settle what we are to think and believe; -who test and examine, reject and choose; who form committees, write -handbooks, deliver lectures, and bestow prizes on those who accept -<i>their</i> hypotheses.</p> - -<p>And has it ever occurred to a student to criticise his teacher? No; he -swallows everything uncritically. But if he goes into a church where -he hears God's own word revealed by way of intuition to the prophets, -then he begins to exercise his critical faculty; then he finds it -very difficult to comprehend the simplest things; then he wants<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_252" id="Page_252">[Pg 252]</a></span> -mathematical certainty, which he considers the highest while it is -really the lowest.</p> - -<p>Swedenborg says in one place: "Though goodness and truth are sent down -through the heavens, when they reach the hells they are changed into -evil and falsity; the brilliant light of the sun changes into ugly -colours and its warmth becomes an evil odour."</p> - -<p class="p2"><b>Rousseau.</b>—In my youth I read of an Englishman who shot himself -because life was so wearisome. He had counted the buttons which he -had to unbutton and button up every day—in his under-clothing half -a dozen, in his day-shirt half a dozen, in his collar and cuffs half -a dozen, in his waistcoat, trousers, and coat a dozen, in his boots, -gaiters, and gloves two dozen. When he wanted to ride out he had to -change, as he had also to do for dinner and the evening.</p> - -<p>This story, though absurd, reveals the naked truth. Life has become -so burdensome, and half the day is spent in useless occupations: -unnecessary visits, telephoning, writing letters about nothing, -reading the papers; especially in making one's toilette which formerly -consisted of a becoming mantle fastened with a single cord, but has -now developed into a whole set of things with buttons,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_253" id="Page_253">[Pg 253]</a></span> hooks, eyes, -strings, ribbons, needles, buckles. Our toilettes are a miniature -picture of our civilisation with all its time-wasting fussiness, most -of which is useless nonsense. The man who lives in the country and -cultivates the ground needs neither art, science, nor literature. He -who has nature needs no art, and religion is more than science and -literature. There are churches everywhere, but museums, theatres, -book-shops, and clubs only in the towns. Whether they are necessary is -another question.</p> - -<p>That is Rousseau!</p> - -<p class="p2"><b>Rousseau Again.</b>—In Southern France I once saw some half-wild -Arab horses running loose in a meadow. They still had their long tails -to hide what is not beautiful and to protect them against the stings of -insects. They seemed well adapted to their purpose, but they were more -than useful: they were beautiful. And when I contemplated the lines in -these beautiful creatures' bodies—the curve of the withers such as -is not found in geometry, its continuation along the back and loins; -the noble construction and movements of the hind-legs; the proportions -of the shank below the knee tapering down to the hoof, which leaves -on the sand graceful prints like Moorish arches<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_254" id="Page_254">[Pg 254]</a></span>—and when the proud -creatures sped over the meadow in full gallop with movements like -that of a sailing-boat on the waves, then the curves played into new -harmonies and changed their form, tail, mane, and forelock floated like -draperies about the body, and I thought "All that is certainly adapted -for running, but it is much more, it is beautiful; it has not come -to be of itself, but it is created by a Contriver, a wise and great -Artist." It is, however, more than a work of art, for it has life and -individuality, and no two horses are exactly alike. Then I thought -of the attempts of men to "improve" this masterpiece, of the English -race-horses—those machines! In this process of selection they have -chosen the ugliest, docked their tails, robbed them of their fairest -ornament, placed an apelike jockey on their backs in order to make -money by racing. To this caricature men have degraded the beautiful -gift of God.</p> - -<p>Anyone who has learnt at school to draw a horse knows how difficult -it is to make these lines harmonise, and fall and rise in the right -places; to draw the head not too large and not too small, but exactly -proportioned; to bring the forepart and the loins into symmetrical -relations with each other; to make the neck slope gently into the fine -curve of the back. It was<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_255" id="Page_255">[Pg 255]</a></span> the work of many days merely to copy the -outline correctly. Raphael could not draw a horse; his Attila rides on -a rocking-horse. One is often inclined to agree with Rousseau when he -says everything which comes from the hand of the Creator is perfect, -but when it falls into the hands of man it is spoiled.</p> - -<p class="p2"><b>Materialised Apparitions.</b>—I have never seen it, but it is said -to be a fact that in hypnotic seances those who are present produce -from the half-etherialised substance of the medium a kind of being -which is visible and leads an apparitional life, so long as the circle -keeps together. Such among others was Professor Crookes' "Katie King."</p> - -<p>But what causes me to believe this is a matter of everyday experience. -Men create their idols out of nothing, and by means of their -imagination fashion their fellow-men, both living and dead, into -something quite different to what they really are. These creations -naturally partake of their own substance and are after their own -likeness. Sometimes they create something really great, sometimes a -monster, a demigod, or a devil.</p> - -<p>We often see that hatred against one person is, so to speak, polarised -and converted into love<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_256" id="Page_256">[Pg 256]</a></span> towards his antagonist. A great unpopularity -is, in the person of another, changed into a great popularity. The -reward which should have been given to the worthiest is given to the -unworthy, in order to crush the deserving.</p> - -<p>At the award of a famous prize one who was uninitiated lately asked: -"Why did not X get the prize?"</p> - -<p>"Because Y was to have it," was the answer.</p> - -<p>Fifteen years ago a very remarkable book of 650 pages was published. -It obtained no notice in the press. But at the same time a wretched -pamphlet received all the praise which the large book ought to have -had. When I read the reviews of the paltry pamphlet I thought I was -reading those of the book, for the subject-matter was the same.</p> - -<p>Recently an important post was filled up, connected, let us say, with -road-making and hydraulic structures. The person who received it was -a very remarkable man. Public opinion (though not private) regarded -him as the most deserving and suitable candidate. He passed for a -distinguished engineer, thoroughly up in his profession, was said to -be well off, an able organiser, diligent and considerate towards his -subordinates.</p> - -<p>Now it is to be remarked that the man was nothing of all that; he had -never made roads or<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_257" id="Page_257">[Pg 257]</a></span> constructed hydraulic works, but left that to -his skilful assistants; he did not know his profession; he neglected -what he had in hand; he was not to be found in his office, for he -played cards and spent the nights in carousing. He was hard towards -his employees, managed so badly that he never knew the state of his -affairs, and was careless in money matters.</p> - -<p>How then had he come to be elected? Some said he had been chosen in -order to punish and humble the conceited engineers who had become -unpopular. Others thought that the intention was that he should come to -grief and be ruined because he was feared and hated.</p> - -<p>However that may be, he was a materialised apparition created by the -hate, envy, and malignity of the crowd; he had become an idea, a -lucky rascal, a ruthless man whose elevation was necessary in order -to still the tumult. He was like a crude mass of ore which stood for -four hundred years in the market-place and was supposed to represent -Justice, but was really the counterfeit presentment of a thievish -alderman foisted in by the burgomaster.</p> - -<p class="p2"><b>The Art of Dying.</b>—The wish for power is said to be a -fundamental condition of the existence of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_258" id="Page_258">[Pg 258]</a></span> the ego, without which a -man would perish, as he could not resist the pressure of others. So -we were taught by the seducing spirits of our youth. But Swedenborg -says the thirst for power comes from hell, and Balzac speaks of the -galley-slaves of ambition who can never rest. Dante has a fine verse -regarding the fate of the great painters: one must retire in order to -make place for another; he passes into the shadow and is forgotten.</p> - -<p>Even when it is unjust, as it often is, one must acquiesce in being -relegated to the back-ground, for men get tired even of the best and -desire change. A great name becomes oppressive, is felt as a tyranny, -and hinders others from also making great names for themselves. -Napoleon and Bismarck saw this clearly, for both said beforehand that -the world would give a sigh of relief when they were gone. But, in -order to depart content, we require religious resignation, complete -irrevocable withdrawal from the world. Such as Charles the Fifth's -retirement into a monastery. To receive a "benefit" on one's retirement -and then to reappear on the stage is not becoming. If one considers -oneself dead to the world and takes no notice of it, then a new life -begins, but on the other side; it is a much more peaceful one, for it -is the resurrection from the dead already here! Beethoven<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_259" id="Page_259">[Pg 259]</a></span> was vexed -that the Viennese were ungrateful and forgetful when Rossini appeared -and brought again in fashion the Italian opera, which Beethoven, -had devoted his life to extirpate. Beethoven however, was a hard, -selfish, and very proud man, who was accordingly literally tormented -out of life, in great matters and in small. Increasing deafness, a -disagreeable lawsuit, a mad young relative, domestic scandal, illnesses -troubled his last years; he had even to be exposed to the undeserved -ridicule of underlings. Thus, well prepared, he turned his back on -life, and departed from all without missing anything.</p> - -<p>So it should be, in order that nothing should bind one either with -longing or with hope, in order that on the other side of the river one -may not look back but go straight forward.</p> - -<p>The object of the trials of old age is to adjust accounts, to finish -up unsettled affairs, to see through the cheat of life, and to become -weary of the incomplete, so that no backward longings may disturb the -repose of the grave.</p> - - -<p class="p2"><b>Can Philosophy Bring any Blessing to Mankind?</b>—Such was the -title of a pamphlet written in the 'sixties by a teacher of philosophy, -Pontus Wikner. The question was justified; how it was answered<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_260" id="Page_260">[Pg 260]</a></span> I do -not remember, but the answer must have been evasive, for the writer -of the pamphlet was a professor. If he had said that all philosophy, -especially systematic philosophy, was rubbish, his career would have -been at an end.</p> - -<p>When, in 1870 at the university, I wished to study æsthetics, the -professor of the subject sent me to the lecturer in order to take -lessons. As he sat there and talked for hours by the light of a -composite candle, I tried to decipher the furrowed brow of the pale -man and to ascertain whether he really understood what he taught, or -whether he only taught by rote. But I could not see through him and I -despaired, for I understood nothing, and I cannot learn by heart what I -do not understand. That would be humbug.</p> - -<p>About forty years later I met the professor who was now pensioned, and -consequently no longer a member of the college of augurs. Then I asked -him whether he had ever mastered æsthetics?</p> - -<p>"Good gracious, no! That is why I sent you to the lecturer."</p> - -<p>"Did he understand them then?"</p> - -<p>"I don't think so. But he had a good memory."</p> - -<p>Then after all it was not my fault, and I was not more stupid than the -rest.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_261" id="Page_261">[Pg 261]</a></span></p> - -<p>Anyone who reads a short history of philosophy, and observes how one -system replaces and refutes another, must be inclined to say, "Surely -it is time to make an end of this drivel!" For the whole history of -philosophy proves that thought cannot solve these problems, or that -they cannot be solved by constructing a system of philosophy. The -few philosophers, on the other hand, who have limited themselves to -reflections on the variegated medley of life as seen in man, politics, -and nature, have been of some use, but they are hardly counted -philosophers. One can read fragments of Plato with interest, and also -the unappreciated Schopenhauer, especially in his least-valued work -<i>Parerga and Paralipomena</i>, but not in his systematic treatise <i>The -World as Will and Idea</i>. Kierkegaard is not regarded as a philosopher, -nor are Feuerbach and his pupil Nietzsche, but they are extraordinarily -instructive. All who construct an empty system with facts are fools. -Such is Boström, who tries to subtilise conceptions, analyse ideas, and -classify and arrange God, man, and human life under heads.</p> - -<p>The history of philosophy is the history of errors, the history of -lying, for nearly all philosophers are disguised rebels against God and -opponents of religion. Philosophy is a history<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_262" id="Page_262">[Pg 262]</a></span> of falsehood, and since -it has demonstrated its own absurdity, all professorships of philosophy -should be abolished. For a Christian state frustrates its own aims and -is foolish if it supports a teacher of error and falsehood.</p> - -<p>If for once in a way a philosopher is religious, people give him the -contemptuous name of "mystic," although very few know what mysticism is.</p> - -<p>In one professorial chair sits an Hegelian and preaches Hegel's -pantheism as the truth, and in another sits a Boströmian and pulls -Hegel to pieces. But the student must be examined by both, and give -his adherence to both systems together. That is the higher education, -academic culture, and learning in its glory!</p> - -<p>The mass of people believe that all which is difficult to understand is -deep, but it is not so. What is difficult to understand is immature, -vague, and often false. The highest wisdom is simple, clear, and goes -through the brain straight into the heart. Set a philosopher on the -grave where his earthly hopes lie buried, and let him discourse of -Herbert Spencer and the blastoderm! Place a philosopher in the Privy -Council, and let him have a share in the conduct of the state! Ask a -philosopher to write a drama, to paint a picture,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_263" id="Page_263">[Pg 263]</a></span> or even to teach -school-children, and he is useless. "Philosopher" is synonymous with -superannuated donkey! Away with him!</p> - -<p class="p2"><b>Goethe on the Bible.</b>—Eckermann had bought an English Bible, -and when he complained that the Apocryphal books were missing, Goethe -said among other things: "It is superfluous to raise the question -of authentic or unauthentic in matters of the Bible. I regard the -four gospels as completely genuine, for in them shines the reflected -splendour of the lofty personality of Christ, as divine as anything -which has appeared on earth. If any one asks me whether I find it -possible to pay him worship and reverence, I answer, 'Certainly!'"</p> - -<p>Then there follows some Voltairian talk about the sun and religious -relics, about priestcraft and bishops' incomes, which belonged to the -bad tone of the time. These stupid free-thinkers could not imagine -how three could be equivalent to one, and therefore they stumbled at -the doctrine of the Trinity. Did they not know that three thirds are -equivalent to one, and that one is equivalent to three thirds? Or was -their reason so darkened by pride? Or did they not know that spiritual -things must be spiritually judged;<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_264" id="Page_264">[Pg 264]</a></span> that the Highest cannot be reached -by the highest mathematics? For neither Laplace nor Poincaré, who -busied themselves with the "Mécanique céleste," reached heaven, much -less God.</p> - -<p class="p2"><b>"Now we Can Fly too! Hurrah!"</b>—A friend of my youth, who two -weeks ago died in a distant place, wrote on his last postcard to me -these words, "Now we can fly too! Hurrah!" He was a pagan, <i>i.e.</i> an -atheist, and this last word "Hurrah!" was an expression of scorn and a -threat against heaven.</p> - -<p>Every gift of God is regarded by the pagans as a victory over God. They -always think that <i>they</i> have made the discovery, and they still build -at the Tower of Babel, the truth of whose story they deny, for they are -lying spirits.</p> - -<p>When the pious Franklin drew down lightning with his damp twine, -he trembled and thanked God that He had not killed him. But when -the godless physicists imitated Franklin, and wished to store the -lightning in laboratory bottles, they were slain. People do indeed make -lightning-conductors nowadays, but they are not always efficacious even -when the conduction is right. Only imagine!—a man receives a gift, and -as a mark of gratitude puts out his tongue!<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_265" id="Page_265">[Pg 265]</a></span> Every time that God gives -something, irreligious science celebrates a triumph—that is, puts out -its tongue!</p> - -<p>That is the nature of science! And it seems as though it were still at -present forbidden to touch the tree of knowledge, for the transgression -of the prohibition is always accompanied by ingratitude and a curse.</p> - -<p class="p2"><b>The Fall and Original Sin.</b>—In these times when the ape-morality -rules, it is considered up-to-date to change the doctrine of vicarious -satisfaction for that of heredity. The blame for our faults is put -on our parents, especially, as might be expected, on the father. But -when the father was alive, he put the blame on his father, and so on -till we come to our first parents. That is indeed just like what the -Bible teaches about the Fall and original sin, and ought to confirm the -teaching of religion, but of course that cannot be!</p> - -<p>That is the doctrine of heredity. But whence comes it? Where is -the starting-point? Since everyone nowadays feels burdened with -evil impulses and disease germs which he has inherited, and all our -predecessors have felt the same, the only thing left is to lay the -blame on our first parents.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_266" id="Page_266">[Pg 266]</a></span></p> - -<p>How then is one to get rid of guilt—the consciousness of guilt and the -evil impulses?</p> - -<p>Christ answers more simply than the theologians who represent the work -of grace as an examination course. "To-day shalt thou be with Me in -Paradise," He said to the thief who confessed that he suffered for his -evil deeds; but He did not say so to the other who reviled Him.</p> - -<p>Generally speaking, one should take one's doctrine straight from the -Gospels, which are simpler, greater, diviner than other writings. -Devotional books are like the higher mathematics, mixed, complicated, -and affected with human weaknesses.</p> - -<p class="p2"><b>The Gospel.</b>—All boast of the "Gospel," but they mean this -joyful message—the abrogation of civic laws and the opening of -the jails; in a word, immunity from punishment for themselves and -more stringent regulations for others. That was the Renaissance -morality preached at the conclusion of the Middle Ages as at the -end of our century. They wished to enlighten mankind by proclaiming -that everything is lawful (against others), and that if one only -"understood" men, one would forgive them. "He does not understand," was -the formula in common use. Were I now to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_267" id="Page_267">[Pg 267]</a></span> enumerate all the victims of -this gospel, which we had to learn, people would cry "Scandal!" Then -they would proceed to explain the tragedies on natural grounds, such as -neurasthenia, infection, heredity (but not from our first parents); the -unfortunate Englishman,<a name="FNanchor_1_17" id="FNanchor_1_17"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_17" class="fnanchor">[1]</a> they say, was wrongfully imprisoned, because -society consists of hypocrites; not because of his own sin, for it was -not his own sin: there is no sin.</p> - -<p>Every suggestion that there are misdemeanours which draw down the -unpleasant consequences, which are called punishments, is taken ill.</p> - -<p>Five years ago I heard one of these evangelists exclaim, "Morality! -that is a word which I cannot take in my mouth." This saying was often -quoted.</p> - -<p>But shortly afterwards the same gentleman set heaven and hell in motion -because a pupil had used a statement in one of his lectures to base a -treatise on. This innocent proceeding the "evangelist" stigmatised as -theft, and he wished to annihilate the thief.</p> - -<p>The young man answered quite rightly that in that case people ought -to be punished for "stealing" their knowledge out of manuals without -acknowledgment, or that if they gave chapter<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_268" id="Page_268">[Pg 268]</a></span> and verse for every -statement, a treatise would look like this: "Sum, 'I am' (Rabe's -Grammar, 6th edition, Stockholm, 1858), called an auxiliary verb -(<i>Sundelin Schwedische Sprachlehre</i>, Örebro, 1901), which indicates the -passive voice (Sjoberg, <i>Logic</i>, Upsala, 1895)," and so on.</p> - -<p>This gentleman was a very severe moralist, although he could not take -the word morality in his mouth.</p> - - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_1_17" id="Footnote_1_17"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1_17"><span class="label">[1]</span></a> Oscar Wilde.</p></div> - - -<p class="p2"><b>Religious Heathen.</b>—Hardly anywhere are there such religious -men as the Orientals. Five times a day the <i>muezzin</i> calls from each -minaret in eastern lands: "God is great! I bear witness that there is -no God but God! I bear witness that Muhammed is the Apostle of God! -Come to prayer! Come to salvation! God is great! There is no God but -God!" Early in the morning they cry in addition, "Prayer is better -than sleep." On the streets and market-places, in the shops and inns, -everywhere one is summoned to prayer.</p> - -<p>Is it not impressive to see a whole people, of whom not one is ashamed -of his God—not one! A people among whom, five times a day, this joyful -message comes from the Lord, the All-Merciful, who "has not forsaken -and has not repulsed thee!" And is it not uplifting in the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_269" id="Page_269">[Pg 269]</a></span> midst of -the severe and squalid tasks of every day to hear a voice from above -witnessing, without attempting to convince, that God is God? Anything -so perverse and stupid as free-thinking and atheism does not exist in -the Orient. If anyone attempted to assert such an abominable tenet as -the non-existence of God, he would be imprisoned or put to death. And -if anyone came and tried to close the mosques ... but no one comes, for -the mosques are never empty:</p> - -<p> -"By the splendour of the day,<br /> -By the darkness of the night,<br /> -Thy Lord hath not forsaken thee,<br /> -Neither hath He repelled thee."—<i>Koran</i>.<br /> -</p> - -<p>That is the implicit and childlike faith which Christian heathen called -"intolerance," "fanaticism," and so on.</p> - -<p class="p2"><b>The Pleasure-Garden.</b>—If the inexperienced man knew how much -suffering a separation between a married pair involves, he would -reflect before taking such a step. The two souls have so grown into -each other, that the dissolution of the duplex personality which they -form is the most painful operation possible. It is a kind of death.</p> - -<p>When one uproots the weeds round a flower, the flower fades -away—partly because its roots<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_270" id="Page_270">[Pg 270]</a></span> are injured, partly because it has -been deprived of shade, moisture, and support, or perhaps merely -companionship.</p> - -<p>The sorrow in this case resembles that which follows on a death, but -is not so uplifting and ennobling. The image of the separated wife -is always present to one's eyes, and becomes idealised in memory; -ugly traits are obliterated, one begins to reproach oneself, there -is a painful emptiness and longing; one's soul is tom in pieces by -her departure; she has carried off its finest-fibred roots, and one -feels as though bleeding to death. One can no more exchange common -recollections. The loss of the illusions of the first springtide of -love shatters one's faith in everything. A cry of mourning rings -through the universe as though an irreparable crime had been committed, -such as the sin against the Holy Ghost. Love, God's creative power, the -sun's warmth that fills the heavens, the origin of life has ceased to -exist. Chaos and darkness resume their reign. It is a spiritual death, -without comfort and without hope.</p> - -<p>Nevertheless something remains, if there ever was something there. And -though both may marry again, there is a recollection of the former tie. -It cannot be as though it had not been, nor<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_271" id="Page_271">[Pg 271]</a></span> be forgotten. However -unpleasant the relationship may have been, still in its best hours it -resembled something which is not to be found on earth. In its glorious -beginning it was a Garden of Eden, such a heightening of existence -that one felt nearer God. That was no optical delusion, but a higher -reality. Then came the Fall and the expulsion. But the memory of the -first joy remains, and it is true that a real love never ends.</p> - -<p>People ask whether it continues on the other side even when inclination -has "changed its object." Probably some of it remains, but in an -incomprehensible way, even if one were to suppose that the personality -is resolved into several "monads," of which one seeks a similar one, -and another another; and what is called love can here become friendship.</p> - -<p>According to Plato's doctrine of reminiscence and the reincarnation -theory of the theosophists, one might believe that when two fall in -love it is only a meeting again. And all the beauty which they then -see round them is the reflection of the memories of some far beautiful -land where they have met before, but which they now remember for the -first time. The continual illusions of love would then be connected -with experiences on the other side, which now come up in memory from -the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_272" id="Page_272">[Pg 272]</a></span> side where all is completion and beauty. Therefore we have such -a terrible awakening from our dreams of happiness when we find that -everything down here is distorted, everything a caricature, even love -itself.</p> - -<p class="p2"><b>The Happiness of Love.</b>—Even though earthly love be a caricature -or bad copy of the heavenly it has some traits of resemblance to its -prototype. In the first spring-days of love there are elevated moments, -in which one compassionates other mortals who are not so happy. We -tremble for our blessedness, finding it not quite just; yet it is -possible even to wish for a misfortune to rectify the balance.</p> - -<p>There was a dramatist who became engaged, and at the same time had just -celebrated his greatest triumph on the stage. The ground seemed to sway -under his feet, the air caressed his face, men paid him homage on the -streets; he felt hardly on earth, as he was beloved by the woman whom -he loved.</p> - -<p>Then there came the crash of a failure! All his former merits were -forgotten; he was called a noodle and a charlatan. But he was so happy -in his love that he did not feel the blow. He felt, on the contrary, -an inner joy that misfortune had<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_273" id="Page_273">[Pg 273]</a></span> drawn him and his fiancée closer -together; he was so high that he did not grudge men the joy of pulling -him down a little. His fame had begun to bore them; now that he was -down, he found sympathy, while formerly he had been the object of envy.</p> - -<p>That was the miracle of love! It made him so little self-seeking, that -on behalf of men he suffered under his oppressive fame and his great -happiness.</p> - -<p class="p2"><b>Our Best Feelings.</b>—Life is not beautiful; on its animal, -domestic, and business sides it brings us into so many ugly situations. -Life is cynical since it ridicules our nobler feelings and flings scorn -on our faith. Therefore it is difficult to use fine words in the stress -of every-day; one hides one's better feelings in order not to expose -them to ridicule. One might therefore say that men are partly better -than they appear to be. One is forced to play the sceptic in order -not to perish, and one is made cynical by the cynicism of life. It is -therefore unjust to call men hypocrites in a bad sense, for most men, -on the contrary, make themselves out worse than they are.</p> - -<p>When a man writes a letter to an intimate friend, or to the woman he -loves, he puts on his<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_274" id="Page_274">[Pg 274]</a></span> festive dress; that is befitting. And in the -quiet letter, on the white paper, he expresses his best feelings. The -tongue and the spoken word are so vulgarised by everyday use, that they -cannot say aloud the beautiful things which the pen says silently.</p> - -<p>It is not posing or attitudinising, it is not falsity when one exhibits -in correspondence a better soul than in everyday life. The lover is not -untrue in his love-letters. He does not make himself out better than he -is; he becomes better, and <i>is</i> so for the passing moment. He is true -at such moments, the greatest which life grants us!</p> - -<p class="p2"><b>Blood-Fraternity.</b>—Blood-fraternity used to be sealed with a -sacred ceremonial—the mingling of blood. "The life of the soul is -in the blood," says the Old Testament; and it is probable that there -was something mysterious in it which we do not understand, as in all -sacraments, which we understand as little.</p> - -<p>An old saga tells us that Torger and Tormod had mingled their blood and -had fought battles and won victories together. But one day, when Torger -was intoxicated by success, he carelessly remarked to his brother, -"Which of us, do you<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_275" id="Page_275">[Pg 275]</a></span> think, would prove the better man if we ventured -on a conflict?"</p> - -<p>"I don't know," answered his brother, "but I know that your question -makes an end of our living together. I will not remain with you any -more."</p> - -<p>"I did not seriously mean that we should try our strength on one -another."</p> - -<p>"But it came into your mind, since you said it." He departed, and their -tie of brotherhood was at an end. The narrator adds, "The bond of their -friendship was so fragile, that it could not bear the touch of an -over-hasty thought."</p> - -<p>Marriage is a blood-bond and more—it is a sacred transaction. It is so -tender and so fragile, that a hasty word—a joke, as one calls it—can -make an end of it for the whole of life. It is no use afterwards to -say, "It was only a jest." We have the answer of the mediæval Norse -poet Tormod, "It came into your mind." "Long years must pay for the -wrong of a second."</p> - -<p>And then, "Which of us two do you think would prove the master?" As -soon as a married pair conceive their relation as a struggle for -power, while it is just the contrary, hell comes into the house. The -woman has an inclination to rule. But if, in her defence, I say that -this inclination<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_276" id="Page_276">[Pg 276]</a></span> is her way of reacting against the suppressing, not -oppressive, man (for such a one I have never seen), I hope I shall not -have to repent it.</p> - -<p>"If we ventured on a conflict!" Yes, then it is as if one drew a weapon -on oneself, or as if a kingdom were divided. Every blow which one -deals, strikes one's own heart.</p> - -<p>Cicero says that friendship is only possible between friendly equals. -Swedenborg says that marriage is impossible between godless people. -I am convinced of it; for without contact with God, who is the -Fountain-head of love, no stream of illumination can flow from the -Eternal. I have described the marriage of godless people. I have -suffered for doing so, but I do not regret it, and do not recall a -word. It is as I said. The devout do not describe their marriages, and -they write neither dramas nor romances; literary history which mostly -deals with irreligious books, should take notice of that.</p> - -<p class="p2"><b>The Power of Love.</b>—In France there lives a marquis who is an -occultist. Endowed by nature with a sensitive type of soul, refined by -education, protected by wealth against the brutality of life, purified -by suffering and renunciation, he entered into contact with the higher -forms of existence,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_277" id="Page_277">[Pg 277]</a></span> which the theosophists call "the astral plane." -His sensitiveness was elaborated to such a pitch, that he became a -medium, and could enter into touch with friends at a distance.</p> - -<p>Then he met a woman belonging to the same spiritual sphere, a -transparent airy figure, whose steps were inaudible, whose words were -rather to be apprehended than heard.</p> - -<p>This married pair were so united, that each was, as it were, born in -the other. He carried her heart about in him literally. When, on a -journey to some relatives, she was frightened by a shying horse and had -a fit of palpitations, he felt it in his breast, and his heart stood -still for a moment when she fainted. Similarly, when he once pricked -himself with a needle, she felt it. They lived in each other, were each -other's children and each other's parents.</p> - -<p>Then she died. He nearly died too, did die perhaps, and rose again. And -now he speaks with her, hears her voice in his heart, literally, not in -a figure.</p> - -<p>I do not doubt it at all, for I have had a similar experience, and -much, much more.</p> - -<p class="p2"><b>The Box on the Ear.</b>—I was thirty years old, and life was mine -for the first time after I had lain<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_278" id="Page_278">[Pg 278]</a></span> in the potato-cellar and shot out -white rootlets instead of growing. I had secured a home, wife, and -child, and was my own master. After I had done the day's task I used -to invite friends in; I call them "friends" because they got on well -with me and I with them. We did no harm; we played like children with -words and sounds; we disguised ourselves in order to look more fine; we -composed and delivered speeches. I think no one would grudge me these -hours.</p> - -<p>But soon there was something of satiety in it; we had wounded the -dignity of sacred sleep; the wine turned sour in the glasses. One night -towards morning, in a cheerful circle, at a full table, my high spirits -broke bounds, since fortune had given me everything at once, and I -uttered a word which a married man should not utter. I immediately -received a box on the ear from a strong hand. I found it quite natural, -and continued what I was saying, but in another and better tone. No one -took notice of what had happened; all went on as before; and we all -parted as friends.</p> - -<p>He who gave me the buffet was a bachelor of not superfine morals. If he -had disapproved my point of view, it must have been a very low one.</p> - -<p>For several days I had a blue mark on my cheek.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_279" id="Page_279">[Pg 279]</a></span> My wife said nothing, -only one of my friends let fall a remark, "How could you put up with -that?"</p> - -<p>"I must have felt that I deserved it! Otherwise I cannot explain it."</p> - -<p>Now, when I am sixty years old, I wish that I had received several such -boxes on the ear, for the first was no use. Recognising that, I feel -that it was a great piece of good-fortune that I was able to confess -it. And now I should like to live twenty years more, in order to forget -my slowness to learn, with its sad consequences.</p> - -<p class="p2"><b>Saul, Afterwards Called Paul.</b>—Saul was standing by when -Stephen was stoned, or, at any rate, kept the clothes of those who -stoned him. He also persecuted Christ and the Christians. The question -is often, almost constantly asked, "Had he a right, later on, to be -severe against those who threw the stones?" One can only answer with an -unconditional "Yes," for he wished to make good the wrong he had done; -and it was his duty to speak with his new tongue. But he is honourable -and courageous enough to remind his hearers that he does not regard -himself as an exception. He calls himself "the chief of sinners," and -says, "I thank Him who has enabled me, who was formerly a blasphemer, -and persecutor, and evil doer;<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_280" id="Page_280">[Pg 280]</a></span> but mercy was shown to me because I did -it ignorantly in unbelief."</p> - -<p>How entirely Paul felt himself to be quite a different person to -the dead Saul one sees from his tremendous severity against the two -blasphemers, Hymenæus and Alexander, whom he delivered over to Satan, -"that they might learn not to blaspheme."</p> - -<p>What is to be understood by these terrible words, I have explained in -the <i>Inferno</i>. He who has not understood it there, can obtain a clearer -explanation in the asylums, where there is no rest, no peace, only -terror and despair. These cannot be cured by cold or by warm water -baths, for it is a sickness of the soul, often called Paranoia, because -the senses see what is not to be seen every day.</p> - -<p class="p2"><b>A Scene from Hell.</b>—The man who had been separated from his -wife went one day to fetch his little six-year-old daughter from her -mother. They meant to go for a walk, look at the shop-windows, and buy -toys only for an hour. They were to meet before the mother's house. The -little one came, half-sad, half-joyful, with a slightly roguish look.</p> - -<p>This street, this street, this house, these stairs<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_281" id="Page_281">[Pg 281]</a></span> which only a short -time ago he had hurried up with his hands full of presents in order -for an hour long to see his beautiful home, and the best which life -has to show—the young maidenly mother putting her child to bed! The -two together! One still more beautiful than the other! And made more -beautiful by love, or a friendship which has sprung up in painful -solitude.</p> - -<p>He took the little girl's hand, and they went down the now darkened -street. Then the child turned round, and said aloud, "Mamma is coming -behind us."</p> - -<p>Why did he not turn round, but went on still faster, drawing the child -with him?</p> - -<p>Ask the pains of seven long years, which had robbed him of his -self-esteem so that he no longer believed he possessed the poor -solitary heart that followed him contritely and longed for -reconciliation.</p> - -<p>The child turned round yet again, and several times, as though it were -a plot laid in all friendliness, and the man felt by the throbbing of -the little hand how its heart beat in hope and expectation.</p> - -<p>But he went straight forward, for he did not believe any more in the -possibility of a return, and he did not dare to encounter a scornful -smile,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_282" id="Page_282">[Pg 282]</a></span> or a proud, sharp word. He turned down side-streets, but he -felt that she followed. Who suffered most during this five minutes in -hell, in this interplay of feelings? The child with her beautiful hopes -which were disappointed; the mother with her injured self-esteem, as -she sought on the street what she had thrown away; or the man with -uncertainty and doubt in one half of his heart, and in the other -the immeasurable grief of being obliged to hurt the innocent little -child-heart? But while it was actually going on, he felt almost -nothing, for he was stunned by the shock. Not till the next day did he -feel the pain in his heart, and the longer the time that elapsed, the -more that pain increased.</p> - -<p class="p2"><b>The Jewel-casket or his Better Half.</b>—When a man during the -first days of love has deposited the best and fairest part of his soul -with the woman he loves, he has laid up a treasure with her. If then he -sinks below the heavy burdens of everyday life and loses his ornaments, -he generally finds them again with her; she has kept and guarded them -(not always, however).</p> - -<p>At such moments he calls her his better half, and such she is. She can, -at the right time, return to him a beautiful thought or word, which<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_283" id="Page_283">[Pg 283]</a></span> -he has given her once; then he is ashamed and laments over his fall. -And when he sees his earlier better self in her, he realises how low he -has sunk, while she still stands on the clear cliff. Then he looks up -to her, cries out for help, and when she reaches him her hand, he is -raised, and he thanks her for having saved him.</p> - -<p>Paul explains this relation between man and wife, which is so often -misunderstood and really difficult to understand. "For in the Lord, -neither is the man without the woman, nor the woman without the man; -for as the woman is from the man, so also is the man by the woman, but -all is of God."</p> - -<p>Therefore in a true marriage neither the husband nor the wife appear -separate, but both regard themselves, and are regarded by others, as -one being. If one receives any good from the other, the recipient -should thank, and the giver also because he was able to give. They -thank each other because they are one being, and the interchange of -gifts is continuous and unceasing, so that they cannot distinguish -between giving and taking.</p> - -<p>Therefore a true marriage is indissoluble; it cannot suffer severance, -for what it possesses is not alienable, it is common; it is a spiritual -property which cannot be sold or bought.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_284" id="Page_284">[Pg 284]</a></span></p> - -<p>But in the rough tumult of life the man loses his ideal part sooner -than the woman, who sits sheltered by the warm hearth of the -well-protected home. There she can guard his jewel-casket for him, and -if she does it faithfully, he will always look up to her, as to his -better self.</p> - -<p class="p2"><b>The Mummy-Coffin.</b>—Seven years of marriage had passed; they -had not tended their lamp, but it smoked so that everything in the -beautiful home was blackened. Now each sits in their own comer of the -dwelling, because they cannot look each other in the eyes. They lament -each other as dead, and miss each other like lost children.</p> - -<p>Then he opens a drawer and takes out a little box. A scent of fresh -roses streams into the room, although it comes from dry rose-leaves -pressed between sheets of paper.</p> - -<p>Those are her letters which she wrote during her engagement seven years -ago. How beautiful it all is: the paper with its fine, still unbleached -lavender tint and gold borders, just like the wedding-breakfast -glasses; the envelopes carefully folded like the embroidered -cushion-cover of the cradle; the letters themselves in beautiful rows -of gentle words from beautiful lips which smile gracefully.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_285" id="Page_285">[Pg 285]</a></span></p> - -<p>Beauty and love in thoughts and feelings—there he had found her again -in the little box embalmed with rose-leaves and violets.</p> - -<p>But now she is dead, and he weeps!</p> - -<p>And at the other end of the house she sits over her little mummy-coffin -and speaks with her beloved dead, and weeps.</p> - -<p>Lost for ever! For ever!</p> - -<p class="p2"><b>In the Attic.</b>—Only three years had passed since his marriage, -and now the storm had carried away all—his wife and child. He had -occasion to go up to the attic to fetch something which had been put -away there. So he came up to this room, where it always rustled and -creaked, and cats slunk about, and the viscera of the house, so to -speak, were visible in beams and chimney, where there were rust and -soot and hanging cobwebs. He unfastened the padlock. There lay all the -flotsam and jetsam after the wreck. It was too late to turn back, and -he remained. There was the canopy of their marriage-bed, with green -silk and gilt-brass ornaments. There was the cradle of the little one, -and the six milk-bottles which the mother always used to wash with her -small hands in the ice-cold water; all the flower-vases and glasses -which came into the house on the wedding<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_286" id="Page_286">[Pg 286]</a></span> evening, when the table was -laid in the hall.</p> - -<p>There stood the basket once filled with roses, which she had received -on her engagement, which had afterwards become a work-basket. There -were withered bouquets, laurel-wreaths, and even books, presents from -him at Christmas and on birthdays, with beautiful inscriptions....</p> - -<p>But there were also prehistoric articles: pieces of furniture belonging -to her girlhood which she had brought into the new home—a Japanese -umbrella adorned with chrysanthemums and golden pheasants, a small -carpet, a flower-stand....</p> - -<p>But why did all these relics lie here in the dust and soot, and not -downstairs with him who cherished those memories? Was it that he did -not dare to see them every day, or did not wish to?</p> - -<p>Then his eyes fell on a little toy cupboard, which lay in a -paper-basket. There occurred to his mind the faint recollection of a -moment like a Christmas evening, a child's eyes, little white milk -teeth, the first musical-box which the little one played to the -Christmas-tree, the rocking-horse, and her dolls Rosa and Brita.</p> - -<p>He opened the toy cupboard; it contained no musical-box, but a -phonograph, very small and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_287" id="Page_287">[Pg 287]</a></span> simple, a toy which could only utter a -single word! He did not remember which. The key lay close by; he wound -it up and set it going. At first it hummed like a bee; it did not -sting, however, but whispered the only word it could, "Darling!"</p> - -<p>And in her voice! Yes, she had spoken it into the phonograph, though he -had forgotten it.</p> - -<p>"Darling!"</p> - -<p>Then he cried to God, then he raged against fate, and then he fell to -the ground! And as he lay there he could only lament, "If they were at -least only dead! If...."</p> - -<p>For they were not dead. They lived.</p> - -<p>That was the thing which could not be altered nor atoned for, and all -these things were not relics; they were the flotsam and jetsam of a -wreck.</p> - -<p class="p2"><b>The Sculptor.</b>—Even when a man has found a masterpiece of -creation in his wife, he still tries to improve away little faults in -design and colour, in order to make his work of art as free from faults -as possible. His little wife does not always understand that, and often -becomes irritable.</p> - -<p>"You only see faults in me."</p> - -<p>"On the contrary, you are for me the most beautiful that exists, but I -want to have you<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_288" id="Page_288">[Pg 288]</a></span> perfect. You should, for example, never be angry, for -then your beautiful eyes grow ugly, and I suffer. You must not dress in -verdigris-colour, for that does not suit you, and you look poisonous, -so that I turn my looks away." And so on.</p> - -<p>Eating is not beautiful, and to watch one's darling stowing away food -in her beautiful mouth, which ought to speak beautiful words, smile -bewitchingly, and purse up her tender lips to a kind of flower-bud -which one inhales in a kiss—that may be downright repugnant! -Therefore one is accustomed to hide this unseemly function under light -conversation, and forgets what the beautiful mouth is occupied with.</p> - -<p>"You are always finding fault! Say something nice for once."</p> - -<p>"Can you not read in my eyes that I admire you; I do not generally say -it first with my lips. But I want you to be perfect. That is the whole -matter!"</p> - -<p class="p2"><b>On the Threshold at Five Years of Age.</b>—A certain Dr. Ogle -states in his statistics that in six-and-twenty years four cases of -suicide have taken place among children between five and ten years old. -When I read that, "between five and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_289" id="Page_289">[Pg 289]</a></span> ten years old," I thought, "No! -between five and ten! Is that possible? And the reason of it?" I could -not think more, but I saw one scene, two scenes, three scenes....</p> - -<p>The little girl was five years old; she was playing in the room near -her mother; children must have something to do, but the mother was -nervous, because she had been going into gaiety and flirting beyond -measure.</p> - -<p>"Don't rock the horse; it makes mamma's head ache."</p> - -<p>The little one took the cat, and pinched it, so that it mewed.</p> - -<p>"Don't do that, child; mamma is ill."</p> - -<p>The child was good, and did not wish to be troublesome. She sat down at -the table, and was silent in order not to irritate mamma.</p> - -<p>But a child's little body cannot be still; nor ought it indeed; it -moves of itself. Probably the child must have been singing a song to -itself, for the little unruly feet beat time against the legs of the -chair.</p> - -<p>The mother started up, "Go to Ellen in the kitchen, disobedient child!"</p> - -<p>The child was not disobedient; doubly wounded in her little heart, she -went into the kitchen, good and obedient. But immediately afterwards<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_290" id="Page_290">[Pg 290]</a></span> -she reappeared in the doorway, "Ellen was washing up."</p> - -<p>There stood the child on the threshold, turned out and repulsed from -both sides, and could not go anywhere. She looked like a despairing -child, tearless, but with all the terror of the lonely in her face. -Dumb, turned to stone, as though in the whole world there were no place -for her, as though no one would have her, and she knew not why. At this -moment she really stood on the threshold of life, for she suddenly -brightened up, and approached the open window, which was high above the -ground.</p> - -<p>To the honour of the mother, I must confess that she has described this -scene to me with the greatest remorse; it ended by her springing up, -taking the child in her arms, and playing with her till the sun went -down.</p> - -<p>"If anything had happened to the child, I should have lived in a hell -of self-reproach! And now I think; for every moment which I had not -devoted to my child, for every little joy which I had denied her, I -would, if it had departed, weep my soul out of my body; I would plunge -into space and seek the child under the stars in order to beg her -forgiveness, if I could be forgiven...."</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_291" id="Page_291">[Pg 291]</a></span></p> - -<p>To think of it! At five years old, on the threshold of life!</p> - -<p class="p2"><b>Goethe on Christianity and Science.</b>—As I waded in Professor -Delitzsch's dung-heap,<a name="FNanchor_1_18" id="FNanchor_1_18"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_18" class="fnanchor">[1]</a> I reached at last his third lecture. In the -last lines of the last page I found a pearl, which I will set, in order -to show it to those who misuse poor Goethe's name for their heathenish -propaganda. In a conversation with Eckermann, on March 11, 1832, that -is, eleven days before his death, Goethe spoke these ever memorable -words: "Let mental culture go on advancing, let the natural sciences go -on gaining in depth and breadth, and the human mind expand as it may, -it will never go beyond the elevation and moral culture of Christianity -as it shines in the Gospel."</p> - -<p>That was the fruit of a life of eighty years spent in seeking God and -His Son. After long useless detours, Goethe found it again at the end -of his life, as is apparent from the conclusion of the second part of -<i>Faust</i>. I will only add some words of Goethe's on superstition, as it -is not comprehended by the apelings: "Superstition is an inheritance -of powerful, earnest, progressive natures; unbelief is peculiarly -characteristic of <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_292" id="Page_292">[Pg 292]</a></span>weak, petty, retrogressive men." Such is unbelief as -Goethe said in 1808.</p> - - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_1_18" id="Footnote_1_18"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1_18"><span class="label">[1]</span></a> The work entitled <i>Babel und Bibel</i>.</p></div> - - -<p class="p2"><b>Summa Summarum.</b>—Since destructive science has proved itself -so hollow, consisting as it does of guesses, false inferences, -self-deceit, hair-splittings, why does the State support these armies -of conjecturers and soothsayers?</p> - -<p>Rousseau's first prize-essay regarding the curse of culture and -learning should be repondered.</p> - -<p>A Descartes ought to return and teach men to doubt the untruths of the -sciences.</p> - -<p>Another Kant might write a new <i>Critique of Pure Reason</i> and -re-establish the doctrine of the Categorical Imperative and Postulate, -which, however, is already to be found in the Ten Commandments and the -Gospels.</p> - -<p>And a prophet must be born to teach men the simple meaning of life in a -few words, though it has been already so well summed up: "Fear God, and -keep His commandments," or "Pray and work."</p> - -<p>All the errors and mistakes which we have made should serve to instil -into us a lively hatred of evil, and to impart to us fresh impulses to -good; these we can take with us to the other side, where they can first -bloom and bear fruit.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_293" id="Page_293">[Pg 293]</a></span></p> - -<p>That is the true meaning of life, at which the obstinate and impenitent -cavil in order to escape trouble.</p> - -<p>Pray, <i>but</i> work; suffer, <i>but</i> hope; keeping both the earth and the -stars in view. Do not try and settle permanently, for it is a place of -pilgrimage; not a home, but a halting-place. Seek truth, for it is to -be found, but only in one place, with Him who Himself is the Way, the -Truth, and the Life.</p> - -<h4>THE END</h4> - - - - - - - - -<pre> - - - - - -End of Project Gutenberg's Zones of the Spirit, by August Strindberg - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ZONES OF THE SPIRIT *** - -***** This file should be named 44118-h.htm or 44118-h.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/4/4/1/1/44118/ - -Produced by Marc D'Hooghe at http://www.freeliterature.org -(Images generously made available by the Internet Archive) - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions -will be renamed. - -Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no -one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation -(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without -permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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