FirstofallletustakeDevoutness。Whenunbalanced，oneofitsvicesiscalledFanaticism。Fanaticismwhennotamereexpressionofecclesiasticalambitionisonlyloyaltycarriedtoaconvulsiveextreme。Whenanintenselyloyalandnarrowmindisoncegraspedbythefeelingthatacertainsuperhumanpersonisworthyofitsexclusivedevotion，oneofthefirstthingsthathappensisthatitidealizesthedevotionitself。Toadequatelyrealizethemeritsoftheidolgetstobeconsideredtheonegreatmeritoftheworshiper；andthesacrificesandservilitiesbywhichsavagetribesmenhavefromtimeimmemorialexhibitedtheirfaithfulnesstochieftainsarenowoutbidinfavorofthedeity。Vocabulariesareexhaustedandlanguagesalteredintheattempttopraisehimenough；deathislookedonasgainifitattracthisgratefulnotice；andthepersonalattitudeofbeinghisdevoteebecomeswhatonemightalmostcallanewandexaltedkindofprofessionalspecialtywithinthetribe。[199]Thelegendsthatgatherroundthelivesofholypersonsarefruitsofthisimpulsetocelebrateandglorify。TheBuddha[200]andMohammed[201]andtheircompanionsandmanyChristiansaintsareincrustedwithaheavyjewelryofanecdoteswhicharemeanttobehonorific，butaresimplyabgeschmacktandsilly，andformatouchingexpressionofman’smisguidedpropensitytopraise。
[199]Christiansaintshavehadtheirspecialtiesofdevotion，SaintFrancistoChrist’swounds；SaintAnthonyofPaduatoChrist’schildhood；SaintBernardtohishumanity；SaintTeresatoSaintJoseph，etc。TheShi-iteMohammedansvenerateAli，theProphet’sson-in-law，insteadofAbu-bekr，hisbrother-in-law。
VamberydescribesadervishwhomhemetinPersia，“whohadsolemnlyvowed，thirtyyearsbefore，thathewouldneveremployhisorgansofspeechotherwisebutinuttering，everlastingly，thenameofhisfavorite，Ali，Ali。HethuswishedtosignifytotheworldthathewasthemostdevotedpartisanofthatAliwhohadbeendeadathousandyears。Inhisownhome，speakingwithhiswife，children，andfriends，nootherwordbut’Ali！’everpassedhislips。Ifhewantedfoodordrinkoranythingelse，heexpressedhiswantsstillbyrepeating’Ali！’Beggingorbuyingatthebazaar，itwasalways’Ali！’Treatedillorgenerously，hewouldstillharponhismonotonous’Ali！’Latterlyhiszealassumedsuchtremendousproportionsthat，likeamadman，hewouldrace，thewholeday，upanddownthestreetsofthetown，throwinghisstickhighupintotheair，andshriekour，allthewhile，atthetopofhisvoice，’Ali！’Thisdervishwasveneratedbyeverybodyasasaint，andreceivedeverywherewiththegreatestdistinction。”ArminiusVambery，hisLifeandAdventures，writtenbyHimself，London，1889，p。69。OntheanniversaryofthedeathofHussein，Ali’sson，theShi-iteMoslemsstillmaketheairresoundwithcriesofhisnameandAli’s。
[200]CompareH。C。Warren：BuddhisminTranslation，Cambridge，U。S。，1898，passim。
[201]CompareJ。L。Merrick：TheLifeandReligionofMohammed，ascontainedintheSheeahtraditionsoftheHyat-ul-Kuloob，Boston。1850，passim。