overshadow him entirely, the
stupendous caste system. And it has subordinated his every right and
privilege to the whim of this demon caste. Man is its abject slave--cannot
swerve one inch from its dictates; and these reach down to the smallest
detail of his life. If the vast majority of the members of a caste were
high in their morals and strict in their integrity and pure in their
beliefs, the aid to a higher life which this system might render to the
individual would, in small part, compensate for its destruction of his
manly independence. But caste discipline directs itself to petty forms and
observances and to the perpetuation of mean jealousies rather than to the
development of character.

In India alone is caste a religious institution. The Brahman merged the
individual in the corporate body, thus perfecting his bondage; and he set
class against class to prevent the lower from rising and to make national
union impossible. Men were said to have been created differently even as
different kinds of animals; to bring them together is as unnatural as it
is sinful.

Thus, every man within the pale of this religion has his social, as his
religious, status fixed unchangeably for him before his birth; and woe be
to him who tries to shake off this bondage, or even in a small degree to
kick against the pricks. No better system than this has been devised under
heaven to rob man of his birthright of independence and self-respect. And
the population of India bears, in its character and conduct, ample
testimony to the truth of this statement.

(_b_) Connected closely with this is another aspect.

The religion of Jesus fosters progress. Not only do we behold Christian
nations the most progressive, we also find that as this faith obtains in
its purity, so do its votaries enjoy the large spirit and results of
progress, both in religion, science, the arts and in civilization. In
India, on the other hand, conservatism is a fetish and custom a divine law
of conduct. In the West the question asked, as men approach a certain line
of action, is whether it be reasonable? Among Hindus the invariable
inquiry is,--is it customary?--did our forefathers practice it? This again
is the legitimate product of the caste system. It conserves and deifies
the past. It never tolerates a question as to the wisdom of the ancients.
The code of Manu, which is the source and supreme authority for this
system, has done more to stereotype and degrade socia