“How does one know a religion?”

“When one is ready to sacrifice everything for it.  When one only desires that the Cause may triumph.  When one has no care for self and does not fear anything that man can do and has a faith which nothing can shake, not even one’s own weakness!”

There was a pause.  “I’ll try to be a Socialist of the right sort,” said Ned.

“You are young and hopeful and will think again and again that the day of redemption is dawning, and will see the night roll up again.  You will see great movements set in and struggle to the front and go down when most was expected of them.  You will see in the morning the crowd repent of its enthusiasm of the night before.  You will find cowards where you expected heroes and see the best condemned to the suffering and penury that weaken the bravest.  Your heart will ache and your stomach will hunger and your body will be bent and your head gray and then you may think that the world is not moving and that you have wasted your life and that none are grateful for it.”

“I will try not,” said Ned.

“You will see unionism grow, the New Unionism, which is simply the socialistic form of unionism.  You will see, as I said before, penal laws invoked against unionism here in Australia, under the old pretence of ‘law and order.’  You will see the labour movement diverted into political action and strikes fought and lost and won at the polling booths.”

“Will it not come then?”

“How can it come then?  Socialism is not a thing which can be glued like a piece of veneering over this rotten social system of ours.  It can only come by the utter sweeping away of competition, and that can only come by the development of the socialistic idea in men’s hearts.”

“Do you mean that unions and political action and agitations don’t do any good?”

“Of course they do good.  A union may make an employer rob his men of a few shillings weekly less.  An act of Parliament may prevent wage-slaves from being worked sixteen hours a day.  An act of Parliament, granted that Parliament represented the dominant thought of the people, could even enforce a change of the entire social system.  But before action must come the dominant thought.  Unions and Parliaments are really valuable as spreading the socialistic idea.  Every unionist is somewhat socialist so far as he has agreed not to compete any longer against his fellows.  Every act of Parliament is additional proof that the system is wrong and must go before permanent good can come.  And year after year the number of men and women who hold Socialism as a religion is growing.  And when they are enough you will see this Old Order melt away like a dream and the New Order replace it.  That which appears so impregnable will pass away in a moment.  So!” He blew a cloud of smoke and watched it disappear circling upwards.