第85部分(第1/7 頁)

things　as　they　are；　awaiting　the　end　with　resignation；　with　terror；　or　with　the　callous　indifference　of　despair；　according　to　their　individual　temperaments。　Others　start　out　on　wild　searches　of　their　own。　They　examine　the　remaining　religions；　they　try　spiritualism；　they　bring　themselves；　or　so　imagine；　into　some　faint　and　uncertain　touch　with　the　dead；　the　Unseen　and　the　Powers　that　dwell　therein；　only　after　all　to　return　unsatisfied；　unsettled；　hungry　—　frightened　also　at　times　—　and　doubtful　of　the　true　source　of　their　vision。　For　in　all　these　far　seas　they　can　find　no　sure；　anchored　rock　on　which　to　stand　and　defy　the　storms　of　Fate。　Those　alien　religions　may　suit　and　even　be　sufficient　to　the　salvation　of　their　born　votaries；　but　to　these　philosophical　inquirers　they　are　not　sufficient。　Moreover；　they　find　that　Christianity　embodies　whatever　is　true　and　good　in　every　one　of　them；　rejecting　only　the　false　and　evil。　To　take　but　one　example；　all；　or　very　nearly　all；　of　the　beautiful　rules　and　maxims　of　Buddha　are　to　be　found　in　the　teaching　of　our　Lord。　but　there　is　this　difference　between　the　faiths　they　preached。　Whereas　that　of　Buddha；　as　I　understand　it；　is　a　religion　of　Death；　holding　up　cessation　of　mundane　lives　and　ultimate　extinction　as　the　great　reward　of　virtue；　Christianity　is　a　religion　of　Life；　of　continued　individual　being；　full；　glorious；　sinless　and　eternal；　to　be　won　by　those　who　choose　to　accept　the　revelation　of　its　Founder。　Who　then　can　hesitate　between　the　two？　Who　wishes　to　be　absorbed　into　the　awful　peace　of　Nothingness？　Why；　such；　without　its　precedent　preparation；　was　the　refuge　of　the　Roman　who　opened　his　veins　when　things　went　wrong　or　Caesar　frowned！

Thus　it　es　about　that　these　seekers　after　spiritual　truth　remain　drifting　to　and