Christ as a Child, visiting our world again as it is to-day and
sorrowfully observing the wickedness which men practise in His Name.
This book was seized upon by thousands of readers in all countries
of the world with an amazing avidity which proved how deep was the
longing for some clear exposition of faith that might console as
well as command,--and after its publication I decided to let it take
its own uninterrupted course for a time and to change my own line of
work to lighter themes, lest I should be set down as 'spiritualist'
or 'theosophist,' both of which terms have been brought into
contempt by tricksters. So I played with my pen, and did my best to
entertain the public with stories of everyday life and love, such as
the least instructed could understand, and that I now allude to the
psychological side of my work is merely to explain that these six
books, namely: "A Romance of Two Worlds," "Ardath: The Story of a
Dead Self," "The Soul of Lilith," "Barabbas," "The Sorrows of Satan"
and "The Master Christian" ARE THE RESULT OF A DELIBERATELY
CONCEIVED PLAN AND INTENTION, and are all linked together by the ONE
THEORY. They have not been written solely as pieces of fiction for
which I, the author, am paid by the publisher, or you, the reader,
are content to be temporarily entertained,--they are the outcome of
what I myself have learned, practised and proved in the daily
experiences, both small and great, of daily life.

You may probably say and you probably WILL say--"What does that
matter to us? We do not care a jot for your 'experiences'--they are
transcendental and absurd--they bore us to extinction."
Nevertheless, quite callous as you are or may be, there must come a
time when pain and sorrow have you in their grip--when what you call
'death' stands face to face with you, and when you will find that
all you have thought, desired or planned for your own pleasure, and