The perception of the ideal is often very acute among the uneducated.
They accept greedily every new "message" that is offered them, but alas,
they do not readily distinguish the true from the false, or the genuine
saint from the impostor.

The orthodox clergy of the old Russian regime, recruited under deplorable
conditions, attained but rarely the moral and intellectual eminence
necessary to inspire their flock with feelings of love and confidence;
while, on the other hand, the false prophets and their followers,
vigorously persecuted by official religion, easily gained for themselves
the overwhelming attraction of martyrdom. Far from lessening the numbers
of those who deserted the established church, persecution only increased
them, and inflamed the zeal of its victims, so that they clung more
passionately than ever to the new dogmas and their hunted exponents.

These sects and doctrines, though originating among the peasantry, did
not fail to spread even to the large towns, and waves of collective
hysteria, comparable to the dances of death of the Middle Ages, swept
away in their train all the hypersensitives and neurotics that abound in
the modern world. Even the highest ranks of Russian society did not
escape the contagion.

We shall deal in these pages with the most recent and interesting sects,
and with those that are least known, or perhaps not known at all.
Beginning with the doctrines of melancholia, of tenderness, of suffering,
of exalted pietism, and of social despair--which, whether spontaneous or
inspired, demoniac or divine, undoubtedly embody many of the mysterious
aspirations of the human soul--we shall find ourselves in a strange and
moving world, peopled by those who accomplish, as a matter of course,
acts of faith, courage and endurance, foreign to the experience of most
of us.

These pages must be read with an indulgent sympathy for the humble in
spirit who adventure forth in search of eternal truth. We might
paraphrase on their behalf the memorable discourse of the Athenian
statesman: "When you have been initiated into the mystery of their souls
you will love better those who in all times have sought to escape from
injustice."

We should feel for them all the more because for so long they have been
infinitely unhappy and infinitely abused. Against the dark background of
the abominations committed by harsh rulers and worthless officials, the
spectacle of these simple souls recalls those