John St. John

JOHN ST. JOHN 10.42. though, with a little scourging, torturing, and branding by fire. . . . Anything for a quiet life! But scourging oneself is not easy with a robe on; and though one could take it off, there is this point to be considered : that one can never (except by a regrettable accident) hurt oneself more than one wants to. In other words, it is impossible thus to inflict pain, and so flagellants have been rightly condemned as mere volup- tuaries. The only way to do so would be to inflict some torture whose severity one could not gauge at the time: e.g., one might dip oneself in petroleum and set light to it, as the young lady mystic did—I suppose in Brittany l—the other day. It’s not the act that hurts, but the consequences; so, although one knows only roughly what will happen, one can force oneself to the act. This, then, is a possible form of self-martyrdom. Similarly, mutilations; though it is perhaps just to observe that all these people are mad when they do these things, and their standard 01 pleasure and pain consequently so different from the sane man’s as to be incomprehensible. Look at my Uncle Toml who goes about the world bragging of his chastity. The maniac is probably happy—a peacock who is all tail! And squawk. Look at the Vegetarians and Wallaceites and all that crew of lunatics. They are paid in the coin 01 self- conceit. I shall waste no pity on them! υ 49