The World’s Tragedy

PREFACE. XXIX It is in a way extremely trying to live in a world where connotation varies so wildly. The Sicilian peasant who can roar with laughter at some blasphemous obscenity of his village priest while pre- serving his devotion to the deities satirized, will justly be astonished and disgusted with me. He will hardly credit that anyone can take deities so seriously as to do anyone an injury on their behalf. He is at heart a Pagan ; Mary is his mistress and Jesus his « Bambino », and he loves to play with them in the woods where the sunlight traces its faint fan-patterns among the leaves. The idea of a Jesus who objected to people playing on a Sunday — who insisted on being worshipped in a silk hat and frock coat, who couldn’t stand people obtaining re- freshment after 12-30 — well, it never struck him, that’s all ! So when I go wandering among country-side Catholics I am nearly as happy in their simple worship as I am with the grander and austerer conceptions of Mohammed. But England ! The people have materialized their God into a Parish Councillor, at the best ; at the worst, he has been made the excuse for every crime. The prevalence of syphilis in the Indian army has in- creased from 8 % to 80 % lest God should be shocked by our unholy recognition of the human nature of the human soldier. It is useless to multiply examples. All I wish to do is to justify my agreement with Shelley and Nietzsche in