in the drama and literature, all round the turn of the century, they produced less and less any new thing of H importance, whilst they disparaged the best age and called it inferior and obsolete ; as if this present epoch could ever conquer any part of its shameful inferiority.
A study of religious conditions before the War will show how everything got into a state of disintegration.
Even in this domain large sections of the nation had entirely lost all solid and comprehensive conviction. In this those who were openly and officially at variance with the Church played a smaller part than those who were merely indifferent. Both creeds maintain missions in Asia and Africa for the purpose of attracting fresh adherents to their doctrines—an aspiration which can show but very moderate results in comparison with the progress made by the Mohammedan faith—whereas in Europe they are continually losing millions and millions of genuine adherents, who either are entirely estranged from the religious life or simply go their own way. The consequences, from the point of view of morals, are far from good.