Project Gutenberg 2012-11-26 Public domain in the USA. 180 Cram, Ralph Adams 1863 1942 Cram, R. A. (Ralph Adams) The Decadent: Being the Gospel of Inaction Wherein Are Set Forth in Romance Form Certain Reflections Touching the Curious Characteristics of These Ultimate Years, and the Divers Causes Thereof Produced by Demian Katz and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (Images courtesy of the Digital Library@Villanova University (http://digital.library.villanova.edu/)) "The Decadent: Being the Gospel of Inaction" by Ralph Adams Cram is a philosophical narrative written in the early 1890s. This work is crafted as a novel and reflects on the themes of social action versus inaction, exploring the implications and motivations that underlie societal change during what is presented as an era of decay and decadence. The book delves into the contrasting beliefs of its characters, particularly focusing on the protagonist, Malcolm McCann, and his former pupil, Aurelian Blake, highlighting the tensions between revolutionary zeal and a desire to retreat into a life of art and contemplation. The story unfolds as Malcolm McCann arrives at Vita Nuova, Aurelian's luxurious estate, where he finds his former pupil seemingly lost in a life of opulence and pleasure, in stark contrast to the revolutionary ideals he once held. Throughout their conversations, McCann, fueled by a passion for social justice, attempts to reawaken Aurelian’s commitment to the socialist cause, while Aurelian advocates for a retreat from the chaos of the world, arguing that true art and individualism can only thrive in a place separate from societal strife. The narrative ultimately presents a profound philosophical struggle, capturing the conflict between action and inaction in a world perceived to be in decline, leading to a poignant conclusion about the nature of life, art, and societal evolution. (This is an automatically generated summary.) Reading ease score: 67.2 (8th & 9th grade). Neither easy nor difficult to read. en Fiction PS Text Category: Novels Category: American Literature Category: Philosophy & Ethics 91292 2025-08-16T16:55:01.587788 text/html 68083 2024-10-23T12:35:47 text/html 642359 2025-08-16T16:55:07.465286 application/epub+zip 639284 2025-08-16T16:55:04.481875 application/epub+zip 103392 2025-08-16T16:55:03.323793 application/epub+zip 767262 2025-08-16T16:55:09.580323 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 754280 2025-08-16T16:55:06.601306 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 111362 2022-09-19T04:12:29.754980 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 79085 2025-08-16T16:55:01.248789 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 59145 2024-10-23T12:35:47 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 16835 2025-08-16T16:55:09.716265 application/rdf+xml 15558 2025-08-16T16:55:03.830812 image/jpeg 3608 2025-08-16T16:55:03.574793 image/jpeg 697427 2025-08-16T16:55:01.625801 application/octet-stream application/zip Archives containing the RDF files for *all* our books can be downloaded at https://book.klll.cc/wiki/Gutenberg:Feeds#The_Complete_Project_Gutenberg_Catalog en.wikipedia