Voluntary simplicity of living has been advocated and practiced by the founders of most of the great religion: Buddha, Lao Tse, Moses and Mohammed,—also by many saints and wise men such as St. Francis, John Woolman, the Hindu rishis, the Hebrew prophets, the Moslem sufis; by many artists and scientists; and by such great modern leaders as Lenin and Gandhi. It has been followed also by members of military armies and monastic orders,—organizations which have had great and prolonged influence on the world. Simplicity has always been one of the testimonies of the Mennonites and of the Society of Friends.

Clearly, then, there is or has been some vitally important element in this observance. But the vast quantities of things given to us by modern mass production and commerce, the developments of science and the complexities of existence in modern industrialized countries have raised widespread doubts as to the validity of this practice and principle. Our present "mental climate" is not favorable either to a clear understanding of the value of simplicity or to its practice. Simplicity seems to be a foible of. saints and occasional geniuses, but not something for the rest of us.