he
founded a new religion based chiefly on his _Positivist Catechism_. In
this cult, Clotilde symbolised woman and the superior humanity which
shall proceed from her.

Although a profound and original thinker, Comte was like the rest in
considering himself the High Priest of his own religion. He sought to
make converts, and wrote to many of the reigning sovereigns, including
the Tsar; and he even suggested an alliance, for the good of the
nations, with the Jesuits!

But to do him justice we must admit that he led an ascetic and
saint-like life, renouncing all worldly pleasures. An Englishman who
saw much of him about 1851 declared that his goodness of soul surpassed
even his brilliancy of intellect.

Though he had so little sympathy for the past and present religions
upon whose grave he erected his own system, he himself reverted, as a
matter of fact, to a sort of fetishism; and his "Humanity," with which
he replaced the former "gods," manifested nearly all their defects and
weaknesses.

In his _Sacerdoce_ and _Nouvelle Foi Occidentale_ the principal ideas
are borrowed from inferior beliefs of the Asiatic races. He
incorporated the arts of hygiene and medicine in his creed, and
declared that medicine would reinstate the dominion of the priesthood
when the Positivist clergy succeeded in fulfilling the necessary
conditions.

The remarkable success of this religion is well known. Numerous sects
based on Comte's doctrines were founded in all parts of the world, and
his philosophy made a deep impression on the minds of thinking men, who
assisted in spreading it through all branches of society. Even to-day
believers in Positivism are found not only in France, but above all in
North and South America. In Brazil, Comte's influence was both
widespread and beneficial, and the very laws of this great Republic are
based on the theories of the Positivist leader.

The value of certain of his fundamental doctrines may be questioned,
equally with the ruling ideas of his religion, his Messianic role, and
his priesthood. But there is nevertheless something sublime in the
teaching that individual and social happiness depends upon the degree
of affection and goodwill manifested in the human heart. This is no
doubt one reason why the adherents of the Positivist Church are so
often distinguished by their high morality and their spirit of
self-sacrifice.

In addition to purely local sects and religions, France has always