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expressed his wants still by repeating 'Ali!'  Begging or buying



at the bazaar; it was always 'Ali!'  Treated ill or generously;



he would still harp on his monotonous 'Ali!'  Latterly his zeal



assumed such tremendous proportions that; like a madman; he would



race; the whole day; up and down the streets of the town;



throwing his stick high up into the air; and shriek our; all the



while; at the top of his voice; 'Ali!'  This dervish was



venerated by everybody as a saint; and received everywhere with



the greatest distinction。〃  Arminius Vambery; his Life and



Adventures; written by Himself; London; 1889; p。 69。  On the



anniversary of the death of Hussein; Ali's son; the Shi…ite



Moslems still make the air resound with cries of his name and



Ali's。







'200' Compare H。 C。 Warren:  Buddhism in Translation; Cambridge;



U。S。; 1898; passim。







'201' Compare J。 L。 Merrick:  The Life and Religion of Mohammed;



as contained in the Sheeah traditions of the Hyat…ul…Kuloob;



Boston。 1850; passim。















An immediate consequence of this condition of mind is jealousy



for the deity's honor。  How can the devotee show his loyalty



better than by sensitiveness in this regard?  The slightest



affront or neglect must be resented; the deity's enemies must be



put to shame。  In exceedingly narrow minds and active wills; such



a care may become an engrossing preoccupation; and crusades have



been preached and massacres instigated for no other reason than



to remove a fancied slight upon the God。  Theologies representing



the gods as mindful of their glory; and churches with



imperialistic policies; have conspired to fan this temper to a



glow; so that intolerance and persecution have come to be vices



associated by some of us inseparably with the saintly mind。 They



are unquestionably its besetting sins。  The saintly temper is a



moral temper; and a moral temper has often to be cruel。  It is a



partisan temper; and that is cruel。  Between his own and



Jehovah's enemies a David knows no difference; a Catherine of



Siena; panting to stop the warfare among Christians which was the



scandal of her epoch; can think of no better method of union



among them than a crusade to massacre the Turks; Luther finds no



word of protest or regret over the atrocious tortures with which



the Anabaptist leaders were put to death; and a Cromwell praises



the Lord for delivering his enemies into his hands for



〃execution。〃  Politics come in in all such cases; but piety finds



the partnership not quite unnatural。  So; when 〃freethinkers〃



tell us that religion and fanaticism are twins; we cannot make an



unqualified denial of the charge。







Fanaticism must then be inscribed on the wrong side of religion's



account; so long as the religious person's intellect is on the



stage which the despotic kind of God satisfies。  But as soon as



the God is represented as less intent on his own honor and glory;



it ceases to be a danger。







Fanaticism is found only where the character is masterful and



aggressive。  In gentle characters; where devoutness is intense



and the intellect feeble; we have an imaginative absorption in



the love of God to the exclusion of all practical human



interests; which; though innocent enough; is too one…sided to be



admirable。  A mind too narrow has room but for one kind of



affection。  When the love of God takes possession of such a mind;



it expels all human loves and human uses。  There is no English



name for such a sweet excess of devotion; so I will refer to it



as a theopathic condition。







The blessed Margaret Mary Alacoque may serve as an example。







〃To be loved here upon the earth;〃 her recent biographer



exclaims:  〃to be loved by a noble; elevated; distinguished



being; to be loved with fidelity; with devotionwhat



enchantment! But to be loved by God! and loved by him to



distraction 'aime jusqu'a la folie'!Margaret melted away with



love at the thought of such a thing。  Like Saint Philip of Neri



in former times; or like Saint Francis Xavier; she said to God: 



'Hold back; O my God; these torrents which overwhelm me; or else



enlarge my capacity for their reception。〃'202'







'202' Bougaud:  Hist。 de la bienheureuse Marguerite Marie; Paris;



1894; p。 145。















The most signal proofs of God's love which Margaret Mary received



were her hallucinations of sight; touch; and hearing; and the



most signal in turn of these were the revelations of Christ's



sacred heart; 〃surrounded with rays more brilliant than the Sun;



and transparent like a crystal。  The wound which he received on



the cross visibly appeared upon it。  There was a crown of thorns



round about this divine Heart; and a cross above it。〃  At the



same time Christ's voice told her that; unable longer to contain



the flames of his love for mankind; he had chosen her by a



miracle to spread the knowledge of them。  He thereupon took out



her mortal heart; placed it inside of his own and inflamed it;



and then replaced it in her breast; adding:  〃Hitherto thou hast



taken the name of my slave; hereafter thou shalt be called the



well…beloved disciple of my Sacred Heart。〃







In a later vision the Saviour revealed to her in detail the



〃great design〃 which he wished to establish through her



instrumentality。  〃I ask of thee to bring it about that every



first Friday after the week of holy Sacrament shall be made into



a special holy day for honoring my Heart by a general communion



and by services intended to make honorable amends for the



indignities which it has received。  And I promise thee that my



Heart will dilate to shed with abundance the influences of its



love upon all those who pay to it these honors; or who bring it



about that others do the same。〃







〃This revelation;〃 says Mgr。 Bougaud; 〃is unquestionably the most



important of all the revelations which have illumined the Church



since that of the Incarnation and of the Lord's Supper。 。 。 。 



After the Eucharist; the supreme effort of the Sacred



Heart。〃'203'  Well; what were its good fruits for Margaret Mary's



life?  Apparently little else but sufferings and prayers and



absences of mind and swoons and ecstasies。  She became



increasingly useless about the convent; her absorption in



Christ's love







〃which grew upon her daily; rendering her more and more incapable



of attending to external duties。  They tried her in the



infirmary; but without much success; although her kindness; zeal;



and devotion were without bounds; and her charity rose to acts of



such a heroism that our readers would not bear the recital of



them。  They tried her in the kitchen; but were forced to give it



up as hopelesseverything dropped out of her hands。  The



admirable humility with which she made amends for her clumsiness



could not prevent this from being prejudicial to the order and



regularity which must always reign in a community。 They put her



in the school; where the little girls cherished her; and cut



pieces out of her clothes 'for relics' as if she were already a



saint; but where she was too absorbed inwardly to pay the



necessary attention。  Poor dear sister; even less after her



visions than before them was she a denizen of earth; and they had



to leave her in her heaven。〃'204'







'203' Bougaud:  Hist。 de la bienheureuse Marguerite Marie;



Paris; 1894; pp。 365; 241。







'204' Bougaud:  Op。 cit。; p。 267。















Poor dear sister; indeed! Amiable and good; but so feeble of



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