Page:The Descent of Bolshevism.djvu/19

THE DESCENT OF BOLSHEVISM Mazdak wanted freedom—the sort of freedom, in fact, that is today the object of popular clamor. "Where no law is, there is no transgression." St. Paul was twisted into a universal negation, which Mazdak pretended to have discovered, through the medium of Fire, in Zoroaster's own divine bosom. For he would destroy the new religion by invoking the aid of the old. And he would establish the reign of perfect equality on earth to justify divine ownership and power. For if all titles of worldly things are vested in God, they are destined for the common use of all human kind.

Mazdak's three cardinal fallacies were more attractive, indeed, to the people than Christianity. And they were excellent vehicles for a counter-movement. Mazdak moved and many others moved with him. In spite of his initial success, however, he knew that, without royal sanction and support, the new Temple—the Temple of Fire and Freedom and Common Ownership—would not long endure. But with a king [3]