Byron’s lines—Carnegie’s description—Parsee nature-worship—English Sunday—The sermon—Appeals to reason misplaced—Music better than words—The Mass—Zoroastrianism brings religion into daily life—Sanitation—Zoroastrian prayer—Religion of the future—Sermons in stones and good in everything 219 CHAPTER XV. PRACTICAL POLARITIES. Fable of the shield—Progress and conservatism—English and French colonisation—Law-abidingness—Irish land question—True conservative legislation—Ultra-conservatism—Law and education—Patriotism—Jingoism and parochialism—True statesmanship—Free trade and protection—Capital and labour—Egoism and altruism—Socialism and _laissez faire_—Contracts—Rights and duties of landlords—George’s theory—State interference—Railways—Post Office—Telegraphs—National defence—Concluding remarks 227 A MODERN ZOROASTRIAN. CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTORY. Experiment with magnet—Principle of polarity—Applies universally—Analogies in spiritual world—Zoroastrian religion—Changes in modern environment—Require corresponding changes in religions and philosophies. Scatter a heap of iron filings on a plate of glass; bring near it a magnet, and tap the glass gently, and you will see the filings arrange themselves in regular forms. If one pole only of the magnet is brought near the glass the filings arrange themselves in lines radiating from that pole. Next lay the bar-magnet on the glass so that the filings are influenced by both poles; they will arrange themselves into a series of regular curves. In other words, the Chaos of a confused heap of inert matter has become a Cosmos of harmonious arrangement assuming definite form in obedience to law. As the old saying has it, that ‘every road leads to Rome,’ so this simple experiment leads up to a principle which underlies all existence knowable to human faculty—that of Polarity. Why do the iron filings arrange themselves in regular curves? Because they are magnetised by the influence of the larger magnet, and each little particle of iron is converted into a little magnet with two opposite poles attracting and repelling. [Illustration]