So Did This
Active Modern Life Have Even Then A Foothold And Lurking-Place In
The Midst Of The Stateliness And Contemplativeness Of Those
Eastern Plains.
In another era the "lily of the valley, cowslip,
dandelion," were to work their way down into the plain, and bloom
in a level zone of their own reaching round the earth.
Already
has the era of the temperate zone arrived, the era of the pine
and the oak, for the palm and the banian do not supply the wants
of this age. The lichens on the summits of the rocks will
perchance find their level erelong.
As for the tenets of the Brahmans, we are not so much concerned
to know what doctrines they held, as that they were held by any.
We can tolerate all philosophies, Atomists, Pneumatologists,
Atheists, Theists, - Plato, Aristotle, Leucippus, Democritus,
Pythagoras, Zoroaster, and Confucius. It is the attitude of
these men, more than any communication which they make, that
attracts us. Between them and their commentators, it is true,
there is an endless dispute. But if it comes to this, that you
compare notes, then you are all wrong. As it is, each takes us
up into the serene heavens, whither the smallest bubble rises as
surely as the largest, and paints earth and sky for us. Any
sincere thought is irresistible. The very austerity of the
Brahmans is tempting to the devotional soul, as a more refined
and nobler luxury. Wants so easily and gracefully satisfied seem
like a more refined pleasure.
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