Produced by Al Haines
MODERN SAINTS AND SEERS
TRANSLATED FROM THE FRENCH OF
JEAN FINOT
BY
EVAN MARRETT
LONDON
WILLIAM RIDER & SON, LTD.
CATHEDRAL HOUSE, PATERNOSTER ROW, E.C.
1920
PREFACE
_THE FOREST OF ILLUSIONS_
"Listen within yourselves, and gaze into the infinity of Space and
Time. There resounds the song of the Stars, the voice of Numbers, the
harmony of the Spheres."--HERMES TRISMEGISTUS.
_In these days the phenomenon of religion, which we believed to have
receded into the background of human life, is reappearing among us,
more vigorous than ever. The four years' desolation into which the
world was plunged has rendered the attraction of "the beyond"
irresistible, and man turns towards it with passionate curiosity and
undisguised longing. The millions of dead who have vanished from
mortal sight seem to be drawing the present towards the unsounded deeps
of the future. In many cases their loss has taken all joy and colour
from the lives of those who survive them, and tear-stained faces are
instinctively turned towards the portals of the Great Mystery._
_Occultism is triumphant. In its many different forms it now emerges
from obscurity and neglect. Its promises excite our deepest thoughts
and wishes. Eagerly we examine the strength of the bridge that it has
built between this world and the next; and though we may see our hopes
slip down between the crevices, though we may find those who have been
disappointed in a more despairing state than before--what matter? We
still owe thanks to occultism for some cherished moments of illusion._
_The number of its followers increases steadily, for never before has
man experienced so ardent a desire for direct contact with the
Unknowable. Science will have to reckon with this movement which is
carrying away even her own high-priests. She will have to widen her
frontiers to include the phenomena that she formerly contemned._
_The supernatural world, with its abnormal manifestations, fascinates
modern humanity. The idea of death becomes more and more familiar. We
even demand, as Renan happily expressed it, to know the truth which
shall enable us not to fear, but almost to love, death: and an
irresistible force urges us to explore the depths of subconsciousness,
whence, it is claimed, may spring the desired renewal and
intensification of man's spiritual life._
_But why is it that we do not return to the old-established religions?
It is because, alas, the Great Agony through which the world has passed
has not dealt kindly with any form of established faith. Dogmatic
theology, which admits and exalts the direct interference of the
divinity in our affairs, has received some serious wounds. The useless
and unjustifiable sacrifice of so many innocent lives, of women, of old
men, of children, left us deeply perplexed. We could not grasp the
reason for so much suffering. Never, at any period in the past, have
the enemies of humanity and of God so blasphemed against the eternal
principles of the universe--yet how was it that the authors of such
crimes went unpunished?_
_Agonising doubts seized upon many faithful hearts, and amid all the
misery with which our planet was filled we seemed to distinguish a
creeping paralysis of the established faiths. Just at the time when we
most had need of religion, it seemed to weaken and vanish from our
sight, though we knew that human life, when not enriched and ennobled
by spiritual forces, sinks into abysmal depths, and that even any
diminution in the strength of these forces is fatally injurious to our
most sacred and essential interests._
_Attempts to revive our faith were bound to be made sooner or later,
and we shall no doubt yet witness innumerable pilgrimages towards the
source of religion._
_The psychology of the foundations of the spiritual life; the
mysterious motives which draw men towards, or alienate them from,
religious leaders; the secret of the influence exercised by these
latter upon mankind in the mass--all these things are now and always of
intense interest. Through the examination of every kind of disease,
the science of medicine discovers the laws of health; and through
studying many religions and their followers we may likewise arrive at a
synthesis of a sane and wholesome faith. The ever-increasing numbers
of strange and attractive places of worship which are springing up in
all countries bear witness to man's invincible need to find shelter
behind immediate certainties, even as their elaborate outer forms
reflect the variety of his inward aspirations._
_In the great forest of ecstasies and illusions which supplies
spiritual nourishment to so many of our fellow-humans, we have here
confined ourselves to the examination of the most picturesque and
unusual plants, and have gathered them for preference in the soil of
Russia and of the United States. These two countries, though in many
respects further apart than the Antipodes, furnish us with
characteristic examples of the thirst for renewal of faith which rages
equally in the simple soul of an uncultured peasant and in that of a
business man weary of the artificialities of modern life._
_Many of us held mistakenly that our contemporaries were incapable of
being fired to enthusiasm by new religions, whose exponents seemed to
us as questionable as their doctrines. But we need only observe the
facts to behold with what inconceivable ease an age considered prosaic
and incredulous has adopted spiritual principles which frequently show
up the lack of harmony between our manner of life and our hidden
longings._
_The religious phenomena which we see around us in so many complex
forms seem to foreshadow a spiritual future whose content is
illimitable._
_Such examples of human psychology, whether normal or morbid, as are
here offered to the reader, may well recall to mind some of the
strangest products of man's imagination. The tales of Hoffmann or of
Edgar Allan Poe pale before these inner histories of the human soul,
and the most moving novels and romances appear weak and artificial when
compared to the eruptions of light and darkness which burst forth from
the depths of man's subconsciousness._
_These phenomena will interest the reader of reflective temperament no
less than the lover of the sensational and the improbable in real life._
CONTENTS
PREFACE: THE FOREST OF ILLUSIONS
PART I
THE SALVATION OF THE POOR
A. THE ORGANISED SECTS
CHAPTER
I. THE NEGATIVISTS
II. THE WHITE-ROBED BELIEVERS
III. THE STRANGLERS
IV. THE FUGITIVES
V. THE SOUTAIEVTZI
VI. THE SONS OF GOD
VII. THE TOLSTOYANS
VIII. THE SPIRITUAL CHRISTIANS
IX. A LABORATORY OF SECTS
X. THE DOUCHOBORTZI
XI. THE MOLOKANES
XII. THE STOUNDISTS
XIII. THE MERCHANTS OF PARADISE
XIV. THE JUMPERS AND THE HOLY BROTHERS
XV. THE LITTLE GODS
XVI. THE FOLLOWERS OF GRIGORIEFF
XVII. THE NAPOLEONITES
XVIII. THE DIVINE MEN
XIX. THE RELIGION OF RASPUTIN
XX. THE INSPIRED SEERS
XXI. THE RELIGION OF SISTER HELEN
XXII. THE SELF-MUTILATORS
B. THE NON-SECTARIAN VISIONARIES
I. THE BROTHERS OF DEATH
II. THE DIVINITY OF FATHER IVAN
III. AMONG THE MIRACLE-WORKERS
C. THE RISING FLOOD
I. THE MAHOMETAN VISIONARIES
II. THE RELIGION OP THE POLAR MARSEILLAIS
III. THE RELIGION OF THE GREAT CANDLE
IV. THE NEW ISRAEL
V. CONCLUSION
PART II
THE SALVATION OF THE WEALTHY
A. RELIGION AND ECONOMY
I. THE MORMONS, OR LATTER-DAY SAINTS
II. THE RELIGION OF BUSINESS
III. THE ADEPTS OF THE SUN OF SUNS
B. RELIGION AND MIRACLES
I. THE CHRISTIAN SCIENTISTS
II. SCHLATTER, THE MIRACLE-MAN
PART III
THE DEPTHS OF THE SUBCONSCIOUS MIND
I. SECTS IN FRANCE AND ELSEWHERE
II. THE RELIGION OF MURDER
III. THE REINCARNATIONISTS' PARADISE
CONCLUSION
MODERN SAINTS AND SEERS
PART I
THE SALVATION OF THE POOR
A. THE ORGANISED SECTS
The tragic death of the monk Rasputin made a deep impression upon the
civilised world, and truth was lost to view amid the innumerable legends
that grew up around his life and activities. One leading question
dominated all discussions:--How could an individual so lacking in
refinement and culture influence the life of a great nation, and become
in indirect fashion one of the main factors in the struggle against the
Central Powers? Through what miracle did he succeed in making any
impression upon the thought and conduct of a social order infinitely
superior to himself?
Psychologists are fascinated by the career of this adventurer who
ploughed so deep a furrow in the field of European history; but in
seeking to detach the monk from his background, we run the risk of
entirely failing to comprehend the mystery of his influence, itself the
product of a complex and little understood environment. The misery of
the Russian people, combined with their lack of education, contributed
largely towards it, for the desire to escape from material suffering
drove them to adopt the weirdest systems of salvation for the sake of
deliverance and forgetfulness.
The perception of the ideal is often very acute among the uneducated.
They accept greedily every new "message" that is offered them, but alas,
they do not readily distinguish the true from the false, or the genuine
saint from the impostor.
The orthodox clergy of the old Russian regime, recruited under deplorable
conditions, attained but rarely the moral and intellectual eminence
necessary to inspire their flock with feelings of love and confidence;
while, on the other hand, the false prophets and their followers,
vigorously persecuted by official religion, easily gained for themselves
the overwhelming attraction of martyrdom. Far from lessening the numbers
of those who deserted the established church, persecution only increased
them, and inflamed the zeal of its victims, so that they clung more
passionately than ever to the new dogmas and their hunted exponents.
These sects and doctrines, though originating among the peasantry, did
not fail to spread even to the large towns, and waves of collective
hysteria, comparable to the dances of death of the Middle Ages, swept
away in their train all the hypersensitives and neurotics that abound in
the modern world. Even the highest ranks of Russian society did not
escape the contagion.
We shall deal in these pages with the most recent and interesting sects,
and with those that are least known, or perhaps not known at all.
Beginning with the doctrines of melancholia, of tenderness, of suffering,
of exalted pietism, and of social despair--which, whether spontaneous or
inspired, demoniac or divine, undoubtedly embody many of the mysterious
aspirations of the human soul--we shall find ourselves in a strange and
moving world, peopled by those who accomplish, as a matter of course,
acts of faith, courage and endurance, foreign to the experience of most
of us.
These pages must be read with an indulgent sympathy for the humble in
spirit who adventure forth in search of eternal truth. We might
paraphrase on their behalf the memorable discourse of the Athenian
statesman: "When you have been initiated into the mystery of their souls
you will love better those who in all times have sought to escape from
injustice."
We should feel for them all the more because for so long they have been
infinitely unhappy and infinitely abused. Against the dark background of
the abominations committed by harsh rulers and worthless officials, the
spectacle of these simple souls recalls those angels described by Dante,
who give scarcely a sign of life and yet illuminate by their very
presence the fearful darkness of hell; or those beautiful Greek
sarcophagi upon which fair and graceful scenes are depicted upon a
background of desolation. These "pastorals" of religious faith have a
strangely archaic atmosphere, and I venture to think that my readers will
enjoy the contemplation of such virgin minds, untouched by science, in
their swift and effortless communings with the divine.
The mental profundities of the _moujik_ exhale sweetness and faith like
mystic flowers opening under the breath of the Holy Spirit. In them, as
in the celebrated _Psychomachy_ of Prudence, the Christian virtues meet
with the shadows of forgotten gods, Holy Faith is linked to Idolatry,
Humility and Pride go hand in hand, and Libertinism seeks shelter beneath
the veils of Modesty.
This thirst for the Supreme Good will in time find its appeasement in the
just reforms brought by an organised democracy to a long-suffering
people. Some day it may be that order, liberty and happiness shall
prevail in the Muscovite countries, and their inhabitants no longer need
to seek salvation by fleeing from reality. Then there will exist on
earth a new paradise, wherein God, to use Saint Theresa's expression,
shall henceforth "take His delight."
CHAPTER I
THE NEGATIVISTS
The most propitious and fertile soil in which collective mania can grow
is that of unhappiness. Famine, unjust taxation, unemployment,
persecution by local authorities, and so on, frequently lead to a dull
hatred for the existing social, moral and religious order, which the
simple-minded peasant takes to be the direct cause of his misfortunes.
Thus it was that the Negativists denied everything--God, the Devil,
heaven, hell, the law, and the power of the Tsar. They taught that
there is no such thing as right, religion, property, marriage, family
or family duties. All those have been invented by man, and it is man
who has created God, the Devil, and the Tsar.
In the record of the proceedings taken against one of the principal
upholders of this sect, we find the following curious conversation
between him and the judge.
"Your religion?"
"I have none."
"In what God do you believe?"
"In none. Your God is your own, like the Devil, for you have created
both. They belong to you, like the Tsar, the priests, and the
officials."
These people believe neither in generosity nor in gratitude. Men give
away only what is superfluous, and the superfluous is not theirs.
Labour should be free; consequently they kept no servants. They
rejected both trade and money as useless and unjust. "Give to thy
neighbour what thou canst of that of which he has need, and he in turn
will give thee what thou needest." Love should be entirely free.
Marriage is an absurdity and a sin, invented by man. All human beings
are free, and a woman cannot belong to any one man, or a man to any one
woman.
Here are some extracts taken from some other legal records. Two of the
believers were brought before the judge, accompanied by a child.
"Is this your wife?" the judge inquired of the man.
"No, she is not my wife."
"How is it then that you live together?"
"We live together, but she is not mine. She belongs to herself."
Turning to the woman, the judge asked:
"Is this your husband?"
"He is not _mine_. He does not belong to me, but to himself."
"And the child? Is he yours?"
"No, he is not ours. He lives with us; he is of our blood; but he
belongs to himself."
"But the coat you are wearing--is that yours?" demanded the exasperated
judge.
"It is on my back, but it is not mine. It belonged once to a sheep;
now it covers me; but who can say whose it will be to-morrow?"
The Negativists invented, long before Tolstoi, the doctrine of inaction
and non-resistance to evil. They were deceived, robbed and ruined, but
would not apply to the law, or to the police. Their method of
reasoning and their way of speaking had a peculiar charm. A solicitor
who visited one of the Siberian prisons reports the following details
concerning a man named Rojnoff. Arrested and condemned to be deported
for vagabondage, he escaped repeatedly, but was at length imprisoned.
The inspector was calling the roll of the prisoners, but Rojnoff
refused to answer to his name. Purple with rage, the inspector
approached him and asked, "What is your name?"
"It is you who have a name. I have none."
After a series of questions and answers exchanged between the ever more
furious official and the prisoner, who remained perfectly calm, Rojnoff
was flogged--but in spite of raw and bleeding wounds he still continued
to philosophise.
"Confess the truth," stormed the inspector.
"Seek it," replied the peasant, "for yourself, for indeed you have need
of it. As to me, I keep my truth for myself. Let me be quiet--that is
all I ask."
The solicitor visited him several months later, and implored him to
give his name, so that he might obtain his passport and permission to
rejoin his wife and children.
"But I have no need of all that," he said. "Passports, laws,
names--all those are yours. Children, family, property, class,
marriage--so many of your cursed inventions. You can give me only one
single thing--quietness."
The Siberian prisons swarmed with these mysterious beings. Poor souls!
Their one desire was to quit as soon as possible this vale of injustice
and of tears!