es. His distorted
conception of truth led him to establish a system of false philosophy
and theology so framed as to allow of no alteration or adaptation. In
his elaboration of the system, he depended much upon his own
meditative habits, and no doubt thought it all out in the loneliness
of the mountains, to which he frequently retired for the observance of
certain ascetic customs of the Pagans. Thus his scheme of reform
crystallised into definite shape, and his call to the prophetic office
became a fixed idea.

He felt certain that success lay in the determined proclamation of one
god as opposed to the many of the Arab pantheon, and the more he
pondered over this Being, of whom he had heard from the Jews and
Christians, the greater became his certainty. God was supreme and
omnipotent; of that there could be no doubt. But how to convince the
people was a difficulty that needed much careful thought and cautious
propagation. Jews and Christians could boast of prophets--of men
inspired to speak with the voice of God--but the Arabs had had no one
who had spoken with such authority. Why had they been so neglected?
Surely they needed to hear the Divine voice, and that need was never
greater than now, when all was unrest and dissention. Where was the
man who would fill the office? Who would be willing to face the odds,
and declare against evil by proclaiming the good and the true? Such
must have been the questions that exercised Mohammed's mind. Then came
the thought--"Why should not I be the messenger?" And this so grew
upon him that he was convinced of his "call." The possession of this
idea made him sincere in his purpose at first, but after the tide had
turned in his favour, that sincerity was marred--nay, eclipsed--by an
inflated notion of self-importance, and a consuming ambition to which
every virtue and good feeling was subordinated, until at last he was
able, with superb arrogance, to bracket his name with Deity, making
the confession of his claim as important as the confession of the
Unity of God. Wherein his inconsistency and falsity is chiefly
apparent, for confession of Unity is insufficient without recognition
of Mohammed's apostleship!

Ascetic practices tend to lead to physical disorders, which generally
upset the mind and lead to mental and moral distemper. Judgment is
warped because the functions of the mind are thrown out of gear. The
varied departments of consciousness act with ungoverned caprice, with
th