THE MILLENNIUM OF MADNESS. 229 



guage of the East-Grecian anchorites, Askesis meant simply endeavor, 

 and that endeavor was an effort to tear the human mind from the 

 roots of its earthly sympathies. The doctrines which his successors 

 veiled in mystery, the hermit of Nepaul proclaimed with stern direct- 

 ness : absolute abstinence from all pleasures whatever, complete sup- 

 pression of all earthly instincts and desires. He who would hope to 

 reach the goal of salvation must court sorrow and affliction as others 

 woo the smiles of Fortune. He must avoid everything that could 

 reconcile him to life and lure him back to the delusions of earthly pur- 

 suits. He must despise worldly knowledge, the great object of life 

 being the suppression of our natural inclinations, and, if possible, of 

 our natural thoughts and feelings. He must have no fixed habitation, 

 and must avoid sleeping twice under the same tree, lest an undue affec- 

 tion for any earthly object should hinder his spirit in the progress of 

 its emancipation from the vanities of life ! 



The question remains, How could delusions of that sort ever as- 

 sume an epidemic form ? Upon which germ in the instincts of the 

 human mind could the gospel of renunciation ingraft its monstrous 

 dogmas ? There is a significant tradition that Buddha Sakyamuni en- 

 tered upon his mission only after exhausting the pleasures of wealth 

 and luxury. It is an equally suggestive circumstance that the chief 

 success of that mission was attained among the most effete nations of 

 the overpopulated East the Chinese, the Siamese, and the soul-sick 

 pariahs of the Indian Peninsula. The doctrines of Buddhism recom- 

 mended themselves to the pessimistic bias of a worn-out generation ; 

 moribund Impotence pleased herself in the idea that her lot is prefer- 

 able to that of the survivors. Anti-naturalism is an appeal to the life- 

 weary instincts of decrepitude. 



In the evening twilight of life Nature relaxes the bonds of vitality, 

 in order to reconcile her children to the prospects of the coming 

 change. The weariness of a toilsome day sweetens the rest even of a 

 dreamless sleep. To the germ of that instinct the doctrine of renun- 

 ciation applies its fomenting stimulus. Quietism is a precocious senil- 

 ity. It is the premature development of an instinct that should assert 

 itself only as a concomitant of superannuation. Hence the antago- 

 nism its dogmas encountered in the homes of health, hence the oppo- 

 sition of pagan philosophy and the latent protestantism of all manly 

 nations. Hence, its concomitance with disease and decrepitude, its 

 popularity in the bond-house of Despotism, its revival in the world- 

 renouncing zeal of caged criminals, worn-out sensualists, and superan- 

 nuated coquettes. Hence, also, the unparalleled progress of mankind 

 since the time when the sluice-gates of Asceticism were finally forced 

 by the explosion of the Protestant Revolt. Like the floods of a dam- 

 breaking river, the energies of the Caucasian race are rushing down 

 the long-forsaken channels of their former activity, and in all essen- 

 tial respects the triumphs of our boasted civilization have but followed 



