22 DECEMBER 1961, Page 9

Sta,--Mr. Gascoigne's recent article on MRA is thought-provoking. Why do

great spiritual leaders receive such varied reactions? They may be greeted with welcome, or with mere toleration. But now and then they are fated to provoke opposition and per- secution: examples of this last class are Jeremiah, Socrates, St. Paul, Fox, Wesley. What distinguishes this latter class from the others? It depends on one main factor—whether the man in question speaks and acts so as to cross the wills of selfish men. The world at large gives little more than a resigned sigh when faced with the toll of the roads, but it will react with vigour if anyone lays a finger on the least of its pet vices.