ABSTRACT
It is a 'great truth', Strachey writes in the opening paragraph of this generic blend of dialogue and story that he read to the Sunday Essay Society on 9 November 1902, 'that holiness and tediousness are, essentially, the same thing'. This claim is presented as one of the 'thoughts that flitted through the mind of Senrab' the Arabian on his pilgrimage to Mecca; but it is also an accurate expression of Strachey's own attitude towards organized religion and religious piety. Most importantly, however, with respect to the early development of Strachey's ethical views, 'Senrab' provides further evidence that this development occurred in part through a sustained, informed and intelligent grappling with religious themes. Such were the thoughts that flitted through the mind of Senrab, as he sat at the door of his tent and watched the stream of travelers trudging past him along the great high road which leads from Jerusalem to Jericho.
